When our friend Joe told us about a special short-term exhibit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, Chris suggested that we go there with Casey, Elvie and Shin-ya. I don’t think it took too much arm twisting. It seemed like the Japan Clarks wanted to go, too.
There have been 94 races, and 67 winning cars are currently on display at the Hall of Fame Museum. As an avid race fan, I’ve visited the museum many times. But I was shocked at seeing 67 winning cars packed into that relatively small building:
What a sight!
And here is the Borg-Warner Trophy, which includes a sculpture of each winning driver’s face.
Pictures of the winning drivers circle the main lobby where the trophy sits. There are two pictures for my favorite driver, Dario Franchitti, who won the race in 2007 and 2010.
Here are some highlights of the museum.
This is the car that won the first race. Ray Harroun drove this car, called the Marmon Wasp (named for its color scheme and wasp-like tail). This car looks pretty good, considering it’s 100 years old!
The museum also is home to the Auto Racing Hall of Fame. Several famous drivers, crew chiefs and others have been inducted, including Donald Davidson, the IMS track historian. And would you believe that he walked through the museum while we were there! But I didn’t have an autograph book or my camera handy! One of my lifelong goals is to take his Indy 500 History class at IUPUI. He knows so much history and so many interesting race facts. It’s absolutely fascinating to listen to him on the radio, so I imagine his class is very entertaining, too.
This is A.J. Foyt’s first winning car (1961).
Can you imagine him ever being small enough to fit in this cockpit? :o)
Here is Jim Clark’s winning car from 1965.
The famous “spin and win” car driven by Danny Sullivan in 1985.
Jacques Villeneuve’s 1995 winning machine in.
When Juan Pablo Montoya was a rookie in 2000, he also won the race.
Look at all of those Penske cars!
This is where the current champion is honored. Unfortunately, neither of Dario’s winning cars is at the museum. I was sorely disappointed.
And finally, we had to take pictures in the IRL demo car.
