iNSIDE SCOOP: Homeward Bound

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is home for me.

Those of you who have read the SCOOP for any length of time know that I am a proud Hoosier son, born and bred on Indiana clay, and it just so happens that the world’s most famous race track was born there too.

Now, as NASCAR fans, you can make the case that Daytona or Darlington is more important, and you can even throw Talladega in there for good measure. For NASCAR, yes, they are more important than Indianapolis.

But in the overall aspect of motorsports, at least in this country, Indy has them all beat.

In 1909, a guy named Carl Fisher built the huge, 2.5-mile oval on what was then farm land west of downtown as a place to test this newfangled thing called the automobile. Speed was a big thing back in that day, because the fastest mode of transport anyone had then required a saddle and care and feeding.

If the name Carl Fisher sounds familiar, it should. He was one of the early pioneers of auto dealerships (think Rick Hendrick with a monacle and a derby hat) who thought that the auto industry was being limited by the fact that cars couldn’t go very fast on the dilapidated roads they had then.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation was formed Feb. 9, 1909, when 328 acres of farmland northwest of Downtown Indianapolis was purchased by Fisher and his partners Jim Allison, Frank Wheeler and Arthur Newby.

A 2 1/2 mile rectangular track was built and the first race, a five-mile dash, was held on Aug. 19, 1909. After several unsuccessful automobile and motorcycle races, Fisher decided a single extravaganza was needed. The Indianapolis 500 was born, with great success, on May 30, 1911. Ray Harroun bested the other 39 drivers in the field, winning the race with an average speed of 74.59 miles-per-hour in six hours and 42 minutes.

Allison, one of the partners, owned Allison Transmission, and if you are in Indy this weekend, take a little trip with me. Turn right on 16th St. off Georgetown Road into the town of Speedway, then take an immediate left. Go to the end of the street, and before you is the Allison Transmission facility. It’s now owned by Mercedes-Benz N.A., but still…

My grandmother worked there for 38 years, including during World War II. Allison made transmissions for things like tanks and heavy trucks. They also made aircraft parts and a thousand things useful to the war effort.

Indianapolis has seen more than its share of history, and the 20th running of the Brickyard 400 will add to it. Sure, you can’t see all the way around the track, but that’s what video boards are for, isn’t it? Enjoy the history. There’s 104 years of it sitting right there.

Be sure to go into the Museum too. You’ll be amazed at what is in there.