COURTESY IMSPHOTO
preparations foragrueling500-milesprint
mightaswellhavebeen500milesaway.
IMS closed the book on its infamous
Snake Pit chapter in the 1990s, laying
pavedparking and bleachers throughout
the years over the muddy stomping
grounds. And it would be a great dis-
service to the grand old landmark to
paint it onlywith the brush of its former
excesses. Anold joke holds that history’s
first auto race occurred shortly after
theworld’s second automobilewas built.
The Indianapolis 500 came fast on the
heelsof that.Thefirst runningwas in1911,
when the thrill ofmanningmachines at
speeds faster thanhorse-drawncarriages
was still fresh.Many of the early drivers
weremechanically inclined (or hadme-
chanics ride along during the race), and
cars evolved with the event. Inaugural
winnerRayHarroun iscredited, ifapocry-
phally,withusingthefirstrearviewmirror.
(His car, theMarmon “Wasp,” is on dis-
playat theworth-a-visitIMSHallofFame
Museum.) “The speedwaywas conceived
as a testing ground,” says trackhistorian
DonaldDavidson. “Many of the automak-
erswere locatednearby.”
For the next 100-plus years, the race
marched in lockstepwith the advance of
vehicular technology, from carburetion
to fuel injection to aerodynamics to etha-
nol.By the 1990s, thecarswereso fast that
climbing intoonevergedonmadness; in ’96,
two-time champArieLuyendyk turned a
qualifying lap averaging 237mph. The ef-
forts of then-IMSpresident TonyGeorge
to cap such death-defying speed, as well
as to level thedriving surface formodestly
financed teams that couldn’t keepup, are
widelyblamedforprecipitatinganinfamous
split inopen-wheel racing thatwoulddrive
thesport’sbiggestnamestoboycottthe500
for several years.During that time, the sto-
riedeventsputteredalongwithsecond-tier
driversandlackluster,poorlyattendedraces
—adarkperiodfromwhichthenationaltrea-
surehasonly justbeguntorecover.
Thesedays, average lap speeds topout
in the220s—not ashot as indays goneby,
perhaps, but it’s impossible to grasp just
howfastthatisunlessyou’vefeltitfirsthand.
Ask around at the 500, and you’ll quickly
tireof fans recounting the first time they
stoodnearthestarting line,heard33turbo-
chargedengineswhineto life, thenwatched
breathlesslyas theywhiplashedpast— 132
exposedwheels gripping at the same thin
sliceof pavement. The rushhooks a lot of
newbies forever.
SPORTS
RayHarrounwon the inaugural Indianapolis500on
May30, 1911.
36
MAY 01, 2013
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