On the way to Springfield Illinois

We got a treat on our way through to Springfield from Canton. The Woman’s good friend, Debby Downes owns a B&B there, so we stopped to pay a nice visit, since we don’t get to see her very often. We caught a couple hours of hiking at the Englewood City Park, which allowed the ladies to catch up on old times. Then we stopped back at Colectiva to show it off to Debby and have a nice turkey breast crockpot lunch by the fire. Debby and the Woman ended the nice visit by toasting smores, the first time on this trip, so the Woman was really happy.

On the way to Springfield we passed through Indianapolis. We stopped to see the Brick Yard – the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – and were really glad we did. We had no idea of the history of this track, and were quite surprised when we learned it.

At the turn of the century, apparently Indianapolis was right there with Detroit as far as the developing car industry was concerned. No fewer than 5 manufacturers called Indianapolis home, Duisenberg, Stutz, Cole, Marmon and National (looks like Detroit eventually won the competition as these brands are no longer around) were all trying to perfect their autos and capture the exploding market. Asphalt would not be invented for a long time, so there were only rutted dirt roads to drive on, and the manufacturers desperately wanted to figure out a way to test their vehicles’ capabilities and design in speed and reliability.

In 1908, a local businessman, Carl Fisher (later of Fisher Autobody) convinced a couple of other wealthy businessmen to pool their resources and build this 2 ½ mile oval track so that the manufacturers would have it available to test their vehicles. Originally the surface was dirt, and proved to not be durable enough for the intended use. So Fisher had 3.2 million red paving bricks brought in, and the 2 ½ oval was entirely paved with brick – hence the nickname.

It wasn't until 2 years later that the first Indianapolis 500 car race was held. The track had served its purpose and cars were being made faster and more reliable. Fisher believed that a national level race to showcase cars to the public would draw huge crowds, and provide another income opportunity from the investment. He turned out to be right, and in time, different kinds of car races were held at the Speedway.

We were there just as a guided tour of the track and facilities started, so we got to learn about how the Speedway and the races changed over time, and some of the significant historical events. Because early cars smoked heavily, Fisher decided that his guests would not be able to see a traditional European standing start, so he decided he would start his races by having a pace car lead the pack around to the starting line, with a moving start – first time that was ever done in the racing industry. It didn't hurt at all that Fisher owned an auto dealership so he supplied the “pace car” and began the long history of advertising on them.

We got to see the actual Borg Warner Trophy given to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 each year – but only to hold and have their names and faces inscribed, and the actual trophy remains at the Museum at the Speedway. All the winners since Ray Harroun won it in 1911, with an amazing average speed of 74.59 MPH, have their faces and names engraved on the trophy.

The trophy had to be enlarged twice as the number of winner’s faces and names filled it up. Two separate extensions of the base were added, which will be good for races through 2034. With those two based additions, the trophy is now taller than the winner of the 1911 race.

We learned a bunch of other interesting facts. The famous war pilot Eddie Rickenbacker was part owner of the track for 18 years from 1927 to 1945. They began paving the oval where deterioration of the bricks began back in 1936 - however, the surface still had intact brick areas up until 1961 when the entire surface was covered in asphalt – except of course for the finish line which is still brick. The “Pagoda”, as the main structure at the finish line is referred to, was actually a Japanese style pagoda because those styles were in during the Roaring 20’s – they still keep the theme although the building is now high tech metal and glass.

Race activities last about week with qualifying runs and such. We sat in one of the huge corporate suites which can be scored for a cool $70,000 for the week – that is a lot of customer entertainment value for the buck. Oh, and its $70,000 for 1/3 of the suite, not the whole thing. And you have to provide all the food and drinks, which of course the Speedway is more than happy to cater for you.

With all this fun under our belt, we hopped back into Colectiva and continued our drive to Springfield.

Talk to you soon!