Indy legends connect past and present at the Brickyard Invitational – Day 2

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway experienced a whole new kind of history Saturday. For the first time, classic cars of all makes and models, with their amateur drivers, got to experience high-speed laps around the world-famous 2.5-mile oval on day 2 of the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association's inaugural Brickyard Invitational, led by legendary Indy 500 winners Parnelli Jones and Bobby Unser (BELOW).

• Insight: Day 1 at the Brickyard Invitational

• Shadow F-5000's new owner shrugs off shunt

"I have been racing Indy Lights cars on road courses for 10 years now and that is the first time I have been on an oval," said Travis Engen, driver of a 2001 Lola T97/20. "It was a blast."

He got a whole new appreciation for the beauty and feel of the racetrack he has visited many times as a spectator.
"Obviously, going on the oval you have a sense of this place, the 105-year history, that you don't as a spectator," he said.

Engen wasn't afraid to open the Lola up and let it fly.

"I was hitting the rev limiter, which for this gearing was 158mph, a third of the way down each of the straights," he noted with a grin. "It was awesome fun, it really was."

The Speedway does something similar on Thursday and Friday before the Indianapolis 500, but nothing on the scale of what happened Saturday. The fans turned out Saturday, filling Gasoline Alley and making their way all over the infield as they enjoyed the broad spectrum of cars parked on the grounds.

One fan spotted IMS President Doug Boles walking in the Pagoda Plaza and approached him. "Thanks for bringing it here," the man said as he shook Boles' hand. The IMS president later took to the track himself in a vintage Corvette.

It was exhilarating for fans and management alike to see so many different cars, including classic roadsters, sprint cars, midgets, Indy cars and F1 cars take to the oval, something most of the cars would never get to do. There was no speed limit, only three lanes: the inside was for slower cars, middle for the slightly faster ones and the outside for those who just stuck the pedal to the metal.

Next page: Parnelli takes to the track...

Seen at the Brickyard Invitational – enjoy this gallery of cars and stars from the first two days of the vintage meeting at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (all images courtesy of IMS photo)

{igallery id=259|cid=170|pid=5|type=category|children=0|addlinks=0|tags=|limit=0}

1963 Indy 500 winner Jones paced the first set of cars in his No. 98 Agajanian's Willard Battery Special.

It was evident over lunch, and the hour or so before he was to run, that Jones loves being at the Speedway and in this atmosphere. He joked, recalled stories and wheeled us around in a golf cart like he owned the place.

"It kind of is just a lot of memories coming back of how it was," Jones said of running his car again at Indy.

Jones added that he thinks the SVRA event needs to stick around.

"Seven-hundred cars is pretty exciting and I think it will be a yearly thing now," he said.

Running at the Speedway didn't seem to faze him much once he figured out where he was leading the field. Having to go through a small part of the road course caused a slight misunderstanding as to how the cars were getting onto the oval. The layout is different because all of the previous runs had been on the road course.

Jones decided to just take a quick golf cart trip out onto the track (while the activity stopped) and figure it out. Before he climbed into his car he was as cool and collected as could be...aside from getting all of his stuff, out of his pockets and his VIP card out from around his neck.

"I feel naked," he joked as he removed everything before he had to put on his classic racing jacket. He ran about four laps before bringing it in and climbing out with a wide grin.

Jones said he was happy that vintage racers are now getting to run on the legendary Speedway.

"It is a great opportunity for people who have these old cars. And, you know, they have some places to run them and they have been doing it all around the country," Jones noted. "Wherever (they've raced), this is the peak of their opportunities because it is Indianapolis...I mean, I ran Indy. So you know, I think it is in their hearts and minds to come here."

After his time on track, Jones stopped by three-time Indy 500 winner Bobby Unser's car to give him a hard time before he, too, went on track in his 1981 "500"-winning Penske PC9B. Jones, much to the delight of the gathered crowd, ended up holding Unser's shade umbrella (LEFT).

Jones, who will be 81 in August, was a hit with the fans, as always. He never missed a chance or turned anyone away who wanted a quick word or autograph. He signed a T-shirt seconds before he was about to roll away and head onto the track.

SATURDAY FEATURE WINNERS & PRO/AM PRACTICE

There were several feature races Saturday on the road course before the oval activities began, as well as the Pro/Am practice for the professional drivers.

Al Unser Jr., led the practice session in a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette with a time of 1:43.853. Mark Dismore, driving a 1967 Ford Mustang, was second (1:45.899) and Pete Halsmer, driving a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster, was third (1:47.214).

The 1985 Porsche 944 Turbo driven by Fishers native Kurt Fazekas edged out the 1966 Ginetta G4 driven by Thomas Grudovich by 0.065sec to win the feature for recognized series-produced sports cars and sedans in production prior to 1979, and later cars by invitation. The 1970 Porsche 914/6 driven by Tom Briest took third.

The pre-war class saw a 1939 Maserati 4CL driven by Paddins Dowling take the top spot on the podium. The 1947 Kurtis Kraft Midget driven by Richard Corrow finished second and the 1931 Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3 came home third.
The 1968 McLaren M6B driven by Jim Pace beat the 1971 Chevron B19 driven by Alex Macallister. The 1975 Toj 205C driven by Howard Katz came home third in Group 7, which contains World Championship of Makes sports cars raced after 1970, under-liter sports cars as raced after 1972, Can-Am cars as raced after 1967, center-seat Can-Am cars, SCCA ASR, BSR and Sports 2000.

The 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 driven by Curt Vogt took the win in the group consisting of selected big-bore production sports cars and sedans through 1972. A '72 Porsche 914/6 driven by Frank Beck placed second and the 1967 Ford Mustang driven by Scott Hackenson was third.

Group 5 contained World Sports Car Championship and World Manufacturer's Championship GT's and prototypes as raced between 1960 and 1972. USRRC sports cars and Can-Am cars as raced before 1969, and Front engine "specials" as raced after 1959. The 1969 Lola T70 MKIII driven by Hobart Buppert finished ahead of the 1966 Lola T70 MKII driven by Dan Cowdrey. The 1965 Genie MK-10B driven by A.C. D'Augustine finished third.

The last feature was the pre-1973 formula cars. The 1970 Chevron B17b driven by Travis Engen finished ahead of a 1971 Brabham BT35 driven by Bobby Brown and a 1967 Brabham BT21 driven by Bob Lima.

The remaining groups will race Sunday after the Indy Legends Vintage Charity Pro/Am.

Next page: The star car of the day

Seen at the Brickyard Invitational – enjoy this gallery of cars and stars from the first two days of the vintage meeting at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (all images courtesy of IMS photo)

{igallery id=259|cid=170|pid=5|type=category|children=0|addlinks=0|tags=|limit=0}

STAR CAR OF THE DAY

Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3
Owner: Peter Giddings

The 1930s Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3 has seen its fair share of history. During its prime, it raced at Monza, Monaco and all over Europe with such famous racers as Tazio Nuvolari behind the wheel. But the car never set wheel on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway... until Saturday.

"This is the first time any car of this type has been at IMS," owner Peter Giddings said. He did note that a few cars that were similar did participate in the 500-mile race.

Giddings brought the Alfa to IMS for the inaugural Brickyard Invitational, where he finished third in his exhibition race Saturday morning.

The Alfa was designed in 1930 by Vittorio Jano. Giddings' red, No. 31 car is the sole surviving first series Tipo B. It is one of only five Tipo Bs out of the 13 survivors that was considered genuine by the legendary motorsports journalist Denis Jenkinson.

It has an in-line, 8-cylinder engine with a 3,000CC + blower. Its maximum speed ranges from 140 to 170mph. In its prime, the car was driven by racing legend Nuvolari, who won 92 races, the European Championship in 1932, three Italian Championships (1932-'35-'36), and held two international speed records.

The car won its last race at the Donington Grand Prix with R.O. Shuttleworth at the helm (ABOVE, LAT archive) in 1935.

In 1929, Enzo Ferrari founded Scuderia Ferrari and eventually took over Alfa Romeo's racing department.

"It was this car, and actually motorcycles, that Enzo Ferrari started stamping his own numbers on," noted Giddings (LEFT), who said it had been passed around a group of enthusiasts for years before it came into his possession.

"It's been in a small group of enthusiasts, in this case Alfa enthusiasts, that know each other," he said. "Usually it's decided that you are the next best custodian and you'll do a good job with it."

In recent years, Giddings has raced it all over the world and doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon.

"That would be sacrilege," he said of not running the car or putting it in a museum. "These cars have to be heard, smelt, felt and watched, not gathering dust."

Seen at the Brickyard Invitational – enjoy this gallery of cars and stars from the first two days of the vintage meeting at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (all images courtesy of IMS photo)

{igallery id=259|cid=170|pid=5|type=category|children=0|addlinks=0|tags=|limit=0}