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Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Retro Indy: The cars may be on the track but the party's in the Snake Pit at the Indy 500
While Indianapolis 500 fans have never been known for their demure behavior, those who watch the race from the Snake Pit have long had a reputation for being the rowdiest of the rowdy. One of the earliest mentions in print of Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Snake Pit appeared in 1961, when an Indianapolis News story used the term to refer to the oval's southwest turn, which it described as being filled with 'sunbathers, smoochers and picnickers.' Eight years later, the paper reported that the days of the Snake Pit, now described as 'a virtual no-man's land,' might be numbered. About 40 guards roamed the area, which was rife with underage drinkers. The Speedway mulled banning carry-in beer to decrease the debauchery, the story said. But no action was taken and the next year, the Indianapolis News reported that college-age race fans 'packed ice bucket to ice bucket' filled the area near Turn 1. Many played frisbee or engaged in the less tame activity of tossing a person sitting on a blanket high into the air. Streaking became the favored pastime for restless fans during breaks in the racing action in 1974. One man snuck into the officials' tower, dropped his trousers and jumped to the ground. He seized the checkered flag and hit his head as he landed. His bleeding wound did not keep him from running down the track, waving the flag, clad only in sneakers, according to a 1974 Indianapolis News story. Meanwhile in the Snake Pit, 'streakers by the dozens and rioters by the hundreds' partied hard. On one day about 130 people were arrested after a melee in which police were attacked and injured. In a deliberate move to calm the party, the following year track officials allowed people to park their cars and vans in the problem area. The season did not get off to a great start, however, with reports in the Indianapolis News that police had to stop some 'impromptu stripping and the like.' On one practice day, police tried to arrest a 15-year-old who was drinking. In protest, the Snake Pit crowd broke antennas and smashed fenders on police cars, leading police to resort to tear gas. Still by race day, the Snake Pit fans had toned down their act enough that an Indianapolis Star article approvingly described the crowd as 'something less than berserk.' The Snake Pit party turned tragic on Carb Day in 1980. A 19-year-old man drove to the gate, saying he planned to return after filling his Jeep with gas. When track personnel told him that he would have to pay to reenter, he backed the vehicle up and tried to speed off. The Jeep rolled over, killing him and injuring his passenger. Over the next decade, newspaper mentions of a raucous Snake Pit faded. By 1991 Turn 1 had become the media parking lot and spectator bleachers. Turn 4 at one point was considered the Snake Pit heir apparent but bleachers there prevented it from becoming the new Snake Pit. In 2009, the Snake Pit resurfaced inside Turn 3, an Indianapolis Star story reported. For $20 a head, race fans could park in the lawn there. Frisbee gave way to cornhole but there was still plenty of alcohol. After decades of trying to ignore the Snake Pit shenanigans, Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials embraced the Snake Pit legacy in 2011 as they celebrated the centennial anniversary of the inaugural race. For the first time, the Snake Pit had DJs and bands. Ever since, the Snake Pit hosts an electronic dance music festival each year on race day and the party continues. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Retro Indy: Snake Pit at Indianapolis Motor Speedway through the years
Indianapolis Star
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Retro Indy: The cars may be on the track but the party's in the Snake Pit at the Indy 500
While Indianapolis 500 fans have never been known for their demure behavior, those who watch the race from the Snake Pit have long had a reputation for being the rowdiest of the rowdy. One of the earliest mentions in print of Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Snake Pit appeared in 1961, when an Indianapolis News story used the term to refer to the oval's southwest turn, which it described as being filled with 'sunbathers, smoochers and picnickers.' Eight years later, the paper reported that the days of the Snake Pit, now described as 'a virtual no-man's land,' might be numbered. About 40 guards roamed the area, which was rife with underage drinkers. The Speedway mulled banning carry-in beer to decrease the debauchery, the story said. But no action was taken and the next year, the Indianapolis News reported that college-age race fans 'packed ice bucket to ice bucket' filled the area near Turn 1. Many played frisbee or engaged in the less tame activity of tossing a person sitting on a blanket high into the air. Streaking became the favored pastime for restless fans during breaks in the racing action in 1974. One man snuck into the officials' tower, dropped his trousers and jumped to the ground. He seized the checkered flag and hit his head as he landed. His bleeding wound did not keep him from running down the track, waving the flag, clad only in sneakers, according to a 1974 Indianapolis News story. Meanwhile in the Snake Pit, 'streakers by the dozens and rioters by the hundreds' partied hard. On one day about 130 people were arrested after a melee in which police were attacked and injured. In a deliberate move to calm the party, the following year track officials allowed people to park their cars and vans in the problem area. The season did not get off to a great start, however, with reports in the Indianapolis News that police had to stop some 'impromptu stripping and the like.' On one practice day, police tried to arrest a 15-year-old who was drinking. In protest, the Snake Pit crowd broke antennas and smashed fenders on police cars, leading police to resort to tear gas. Still by race day, the Snake Pit fans had toned down their act enough that an Indianapolis Star article approvingly described the crowd as 'something less than berserk.' The Snake Pit party turned tragic on Carb Day in 1980. A 19-year-old man drove to the gate, saying he planned to return after filling his Jeep with gas. When track personnel told him that he would have to pay to reenter, he backed the vehicle up and tried to speed off. The Jeep rolled over, killing him and injuring his passenger. Over the next decade, newspaper mentions of a raucous Snake Pit faded. By 1991 Turn 1 had become the media parking lot and spectator bleachers. Turn 4 at one point was considered the Snake Pit heir apparent but bleachers there prevented it from becoming the new Snake Pit. In 2009, the Snake Pit resurfaced inside Turn 3, an Indianapolis Star story reported. For $20 a head, race fans could park in the lawn there. Frisbee gave way to cornhole but there was still plenty of alcohol.
Indianapolis Star
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Indianapolis Star
'Flat miserable:' Indy 500's most extreme weather and drivers who outsmarted Mother Nature
INDIANAPOLIS -- For 108 years of spectacular Indy 500 racing -- no matter what the lineup has been for the field of 33 drivers circling each May around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- one contender has remained the same. The wild car racer. She's been there for every single running of the greatest spectacle in racing, putting her own spin on the results. Her name is Mother Nature and she has proven to be the great equalizer for drivers, sometimes wreaking havoc on track conditions and, when it suits her, putting on a glorious sun-drenched display. She is an opponent and an ally, depending on the weather. Through more than a century of Indy 500s, teams have wilted in 92-degree heat and cold tires have struggled to gain traction, performing in 36-degree wind chills. Rain storms have delayed races -- and most certainly affected the outcome. And one May, snow added a layer of heavy flakes during practice. Take a look back on the most extreme weather conditions in Indy 500 history and the drivers who outsmarted Mother Nature. "Speed records fall despite wilting heat," read the headline in the May 31, 1937, Indianapolis News. By 7 a.m. on race day 88 years ago, the temperature at IMS had already reached 75 degrees. By 10 a.m., it had risen to 87 and, by the time the cars were whizzing around the track, the mercury had shot up to 92 degrees. Drivers called the weather "blistering." "Records tumbled at each successive 25-mile mark as the race progressed, but with the records went drivers, tires and motors. They could not stand the terrific heat," the News reported. "It was above 90 degrees this last day of May which had threatened at first to be a showery one and the excessive speeds made the heat from the motors doubly unbearable." Race winner: Local Speedway legend and Hoosier native Wilbur Shaw won the first of his three Indy 500s, despite the heat. It wasn't easy. In the final laps, Shaw's car started leaking oil and it battled critically low oil pressure. Shaw "had to nurse his car to the finish line," newspapers reported. Second place driver Ralph Hepburn noticed Shaw's troubles and began closing in dramatically. While Shaw held off Hepburn at the checkered flag, it was the closest finish in Indy 500 history to that point, just 2.16 seconds separating first and second place. That record would stand 45 years until 1982 when Gordon Johncock beat pole sitter Rick Mears by a margin of 0.16 seconds. Hottest runner-up: Coming in second as the hottest Indy 500 is a four-way tie in 1919, 1953, 2012 and 2018 when temperatures reached 91 degrees. Cold tires and a cold track made for tricky driving at the 1992 Indy 500 where multiple accidents involving 13 drivers sent eight of them to Methodist Hospital. "You know the problem. Cold tires on a cold track don't provide the traction you get with warm tires on a warm track," sportswriter Wayne Fuson wrote in the Indianapolis News. "In case you missed it, the temperature hovered around 50 all day with the windchill factor in the high 30s. It was flat miserable." While the high temperature reached 58 degrees, the weather was windy, cloudy and filled with blustery conditions that made if feel more like January. More than 30 years later, the race is still the coldest Indy 500 in history. "It was terrible, terrible out there," sixth place finisher Eddie Cheever told IndyStar after the race. "The safety out there was a concern. It wasn't a race, just stop-and-gos, yellows, accidents." One analyst called the race a "wild, wintry 200-lap tire test." "The next time you have trouble getting your car going in cold weather?" wrote Joseph Siano, who covered the race for The New York Times. "Take comfort in the fact that chilly temperatures can stop the best drivers in the fanciest race cars." Race winner: Al Unser, Jr. won the race, but he acknowledged the trials of the chilly weather. "With the cold last night and the cold today, those tires are rock hard," he said after beating second place finisher Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds. The race is still the closest finish in Indy 500 history. Coldest runner-up: The next coldest Indy 500 took place in 1997 with a temperature of 60 degrees. The coldest low temperature recorded on race day was 37 degrees in 1947. But, it reached 63 degrees during that Indy 500. What meteorologists like to classify as "measurable rainfall" has occurred at 30% of Indy 500 races -- 32 races, to be exact. That means at least one hundredth of an inch of rain fell in a 12-hour period. But the rainiest Indy 500 race day in history in 2004 blew that so-called measurable rainfall out of the water when 3.8 inches poured down. The race started two hours late after morning showers, then on Lap 27 was stopped due to rain. The track was dried and the race resumed but, on Lap 180 with 50 miles to go, the race was called when severe weather invaded the area. A monstrous thunderstorm, which eventually produced an F2 tornado, formed in Speedway shutting down the track and leaving fans and drivers to take cover. Race winner: Buddy Rice, a 28-year-old driver from Phoenix captured the trophy in the rain-shortened race. "But nothing about Rice's victory was soggy," IndyStar wrote. Rice led a race high 91 of 180 laps to become the first pole sitter to win since Arie Luyendyk in 1997. "It's indescribable. I don't think the rain made any difference," David Letterman, with Rice's team Rahal Letterman Racing, said after the weather-impacted race. "We could've gone the whole 200 laps." Rainiest runner-up: In 1973, the Indy 500 was stopped after one lap by an accident, then it was postponed by rain before it could be restarted. The next day, it was rained out again. It restarted the third day but was shortened after 332.5 miles by rain yet again. Most humid: The 1953 Indy 500 is widely considered the most brutal race in history, due to a combination of high temperatures, poor ventilation in cars and high humidity. The front straightaway's brick surface reached 130 degrees on race day. The muggy, suffocating conditions on track resulted in more than 10 drivers receiving medical treatment. Even more devastating, driver Carl Scarborough was taken to the infield hospital during the race suffering from heat exhaustion. A few hours later, Scarborough died. He was 38 years old. Race winner: Bill Vukovich. Snow? There's never been snow on race day, but the most famous May snow in Indianapolis happened during the Indy 500's opening day in 1989, when heavy flakes fell during practice. Just 0.2 inches were recorded, but the wintry precipitation briefly covered the track.
Indianapolis Star
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
Indy 500 drivers to win Borg-Warner Trophy 3 times or more: See the full list of racers
Louis Meyer won the Indy 500 in 1928, 1933 and 1936. Kirkpatrick Photo Wilbur Shaw won the Indy 500 in 1937, 1939 and 1940. KIRKPATRICK / IMS PHOTO Mauri Rose won the Indy 500 in 1941, 1947 and 1948. Star File A.J. Foyt won the Indy 500 in 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977. Vern Atkins/Indianapolis News Bobby Unser won the Indy 500 in 1968, 1975 and 1981. Vern Atkins / The Star File Photo Al Unser won the Indy 500 in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987. Lyle Mannweiler/Indianapolis News Johnny Rutherford won the Indy 500 in 1974, 1976 and 1980. Rick Mears won the Indy 500 in 1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991. Gary Moore/Indianapolis News Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar Dario Franchitti won the Indy 500 in 2007, 2010 and 2012. Mike Fender / The Star
