100 years of Indy "Invented" at Indy

[jacksmar]

Great Indy innovation
Automobile innovations: rearview mirror, diesel engine turbocharger, seat belt, car heater

Since the first Indianapolis 500 at the Brickyard in 1911, there’s been a never-ending chase to increase the speed and efficiency of the cars circling the 2-1/2-mile oval.

The need for speed has led to innovations like the seat belt, rearview mirror and diesel engine turbocharger that all made their way to automobile showrooms worldwide.

• Ray Harroun stirred controversy in the inaugural Indy 500 by entering a single-seat car, the Marmon Wasp. His competitors, each of whom had a mechanic/spotter riding shotgun, knew that, by motoring solo, Harroun would have an edge in weight and aerodynamics.

They complained that he would be blind to racers closing in from behind and thus be a hazard to all.

Harroun proposed a rectangular mirror mounted on his car with four steel dowels. He won the race and, by 1915, the device—marketed as a “mirrorscope” or “cop-spotter”—was a popular aftermarket accessory.

• Turbochargers evolved from blowers used to stoke blast furnaces, but didn’t catch on in the auto industry until Mercedes sent a team of turbocharged cars to Indianapolis in 1923.

The German cars were also-rans, but the underlying idea—that pumping air into an engine’s intake manifold boosts power—inspired Fred Duesenberg. His operation moved from Auburn to Indianapolis in 1919 to develop a centrifugal turbocharger for the 1924 race. Duesenberg’s car won, and the technology quickly moved into the mainstream.

Meanwhile, Columbus-based Cummins Engine Co. Inc. helped develop a variation on the technology that was found in ships, airplanes and locomotives. That technology debuted at Indy in the Cummins Diesel Special of 1952, a car that ran at record speeds.

• Many fatalities during the Speedway’s early years came when drivers were ejected from vehicles. In 1922, Barney Oldfield ordered a harness for his car from a parachute manufacturer—and became the first driver to install a seat belt. It took a while for Oldfield’s idea to catch on. Wisconsin-based Nash Motor Co., which had a plant in Indianapolis, offered factory-installed seat belts in 1949, and the Big Four made front-seat belts standard in 1964.

• In 1938, Nash introduced a conditioned air-heating/ventilating system. This was the first hot-water car heater to draw fresh air from outside, and is the basis of all modern car heaters. The invention was an outgrowth of a Nash division that made high-end refrigerators and kitchen appliances.

The Jaws of Life were invented by George Hurst, who was a mechanical engineer and auto racing enthusiast. He conceived the idea after witnessing an accident at the Indy 500 where the driver died because he couldn’t be extracted from his car in time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAFER_barrier

The Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) Barrier, sometimes generically referred to as a soft wall, is a technology found primarily on oval automobile race tracks intended to absorb and reduce kinetic energy during the impact of an accident, and thus, lessen injuries sustained to drivers. It was designed by a team of engineers led by Dr Dean Sicking at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It was developed from 1998-2002, and first installed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 2002.

http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Indianapolis-Motor-Speedway-Logo-198x150.jpg

[jacksmar]

America Made the Indy 500 | Wilford Brimley ~ ESPN on ABC


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUdfuvqs60Y

[jacksmar]

An unknown and unregistered DLR Army fan..............:biggrin:

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2014/07/15/carl-fisher-indianapolis-motor-speedway/12666435/

Retro Indy: Carl Fisher, founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

A sixth-grade dropout from a broken home, Greensburg native Carl Fisher made and lost several multimillion-dollar fortunes throughout his life. In Indiana, he's best remembered for founding the Indianapolis 500 race.

Fisher was a hard-drinking, profane, cigar-smoking, risk-taking businessman. It was either his way or the highway. Highways which he conceived - the coast-to-coast Lincoln Highway and the Dixie Highway from Chicago to Miami. He was a man with a plan - big plans and lived a life just as big.

He literally "invented" Miami Beach, Fla., out of swampland and then the Dixie Highway, so Midwesterners could reach his new playground and the $760 waterfront lots he wanted to sell.

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http://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/sites/default/files/1911%20Indy-email.jpg

[Kristy]

Ghey.

[WARF]

100 years of Ghey

[jacksmar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz17O8GNX5E

1973 Indy 500 Start

[jacksmar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srDGQ_S8pho

Gordon Smiley Newscast 05-15-1982

[jacksmar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOmk3pSiUso

1981 Indy Danny Ongais

[cadaverdog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzYUZFQr-K4
This one was pretty nasty too. I remember watching this live but not knowing what I was really seeing until recently. You can see the video of the crew member getting run down after this one.

[jacksmar]

c-dog, i had forgotten about Swede. 1973 was a terrible year. They finally, thankfully finished on Wednesday. Johncock and the rest had their winning checks mailed. No banquet and Johncock and his crew ate a a local Burger Chef to celebrate the win. Gordon Johncock had a farm in Morgan county and was called off the tractor to the track in 1991. He smoked like a chimney and was a really good poker player.

and his schnauzer was named ----Indy..................

[Kristy]

100 years of Ghey

Yes sir!

Nuthin' gheyer than shit boredom auto racing.

"Hey, what did you do today?"

"Why I turned left all afternoon at 100 MPH. Did this until it turned me into a god damn millionaire."

"Waste much fossil fuels?"

"A ton!"

[jacksmar]

kristy, indycars run on E85 (85% Ethanol, 15% Racing Gasoline). prior to that a wood-based alcohol called methanol.

i would love to take you around the track just for fun one afternoon...............my treat.........

[cadaverdog]

Yes sir!

Nuthin' gheyer than shit boredom auto racing.



Is there anything other than smoking pot you do like?

[cadaverdog]

kristy, indycars run on E85 (85% Ethanol, 15% Racing Gasoline). prior to that a wood-based alcohol called methanol.

i would love to take you around the track just for fun one afternoon...............my treat.........
Pay for her to run a couple laps with Mario Andretti in that two seater Indy car he drives. Guaranteed she'd get the crotch of the fire suit soaking wet. She's either piss herself or have an orgasm. Maybe both.

[jacksmar]

http://www.andrettiracing.com/

it's more fun than any 3some and you don't have to answer any stupid questions afterward..............

I HIGHLY recommend this to all RA members. You only live once, so drive really fast. Just once.

[Kristy]

Indy cars suck. Good for wrecks.

Everyone knows the baddest of the bad ass racing cars was the 1966 Shelby GT
http://www.sportscardigest.com/wp-content/uploads/SCD-82.jpg

And I want one. Just not in that color.

[jacksmar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0orHQo57S9Q

1992 Indy 500 finish - The Best Indy 500 ever

[twonabomber]

kristy, indycars run on E85 (85% Ethanol, 15% Racing Gasoline). prior to that a wood-based alcohol called methanol.

i would love to take you around the track just for fun one afternoon...............my treat.........

Kristy's Malibu gets "her" girly parts all tingly!

[chefcraig]

Indy cars suck. Good for wrecks.

Everyone knows the baddest of the bad ass racing cars was the 1966 Shelby GT


And I want one. Just not in that color.

Actually, this one is the baddest...:yo:


http://i.imgur.com/ECRuvmT.jpg

[cadaverdog]

That's a good one Craig but I'd rather have this one.

13067

[chefcraig]

Or of course, this... :rockit2:




http://i.imgur.com/pWDtmL3.jpg

[chefcraig]

Used to love going to the dragstrip next to the Sportatorium in (link) Hollywood . (http://www.dragzine.com/news/flashback-friday-south-floridas-miami-hollywood-motorsports-park/)

http://i.imgur.com/nu8QcTo.jpg

[cadaverdog]

There was a small dragstrip 15 miles or so from my house where you could sit in or in front of car and watch the races. They had grudge night once a month but you could run watch ya brung almost every race for a couple extra bucks. If you wanted to see the pros you had to go to Pomona or Orange County. There were a few more smaller drag strips around So Cal then but they're all gone now except Pomona.

[chefcraig]

That's a good one Craig but I'd rather have this one.

13067

Don't we all, brother?

Sorry for being slow on the uptake, we have two people on vacation and the plumbing...well, it went into the shitter again. :duh:

I'm dancin' around like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.

Thanks for the reply, that image means a bunch to me.

[cadaverdog]

Thanks for the reply, that image means a bunch to me.
Nascar's not the same without Dale. He'd be retired by now anyway but he'd probably be in the booth with DW.

[chefcraig]

Nascar's not the same without Dale. He'd be retired by now anyway but he'd probably be in the booth with DW.

Can you imagine that?

Waltrip: "Well, that 24 car looks to go a lap down at this caution..."

Earnhardt: "You catfish-eating bonehead, he's second on the lead lap and Kyle Busch, broke foot and all will take the lead, with Gordon coming around third or fourth".

Larry McReynolds: "Hey you two..."

Waltrip and Earnhart together: "Shut the fuck up, Larry".

Mike Joy: "OK, back after this commercial announcement, followed by a "Turn It Up" segment here on FOX.

[twonabomber]

Penske-Mercedes IndyCar of 1994. Exploited a loophole in the rules for production-based engines, knowing that the "forgotten" loophole would be closed immediately after they took advantage of it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Mercedes_Indycar.jpg

[jacksmar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XZxGvH6Asw

1995 Indy 500 finish

[jacksmar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Q6zQNf4y8

1989 Indy 500 finish

[jacksmar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoaSAlkjCBQ

[jacksmar]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Miller_%28auto_racing%29

Among Miller's innovations include perhaps the first engine mounted on a bicycle and the first outboard motor.
Miller built a 4 cylinder engine and mounted it on a boat.
Miller also produced the first aluminum pistons, developed the aluminum alloys still used in engine development today, and the first carburetors and induction system to use Helmholtz resonators.

Miller also produced the first front drive race cars and the first 4 wheel drive car.

Miller then progressed to making Miller single-seater race cars that used supercharged versions of his 2.0 and 1.5 liter (122 and 91 in³) engines. The engines took four more wins in the (Indy) 500 up to 1929, twice (1926 and 1928) in Miller chassis, and won the race another seven times between 1929 and 1938 (twice again, in 1930 and 1932, in Miller chassis).

[Kristy]

This "modified" 1965 Shelby Daytona looks like a Bond spy car. Much better than all those other pieces of shit.

http://ecofriend.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/1965_shelby_daytona_image_title_9gv8h.jpg
Now this, this car I want.

[Kristy]

Read a book on Carroll Shelby quite some time ago:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vGzZaD6SL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Didn't think it would interest me one bit but turned out to be a okay read. The man was a god damn genius, if not a complete asshole.

[jacksmar]

http://www.sportscardigest.com/cars-for-sale/1968-shelby-turbine-indy-car/


http://i0.wp.com/www.sportscardigest.com/cars-for-sale/wp-content/uploads/ShelbyTurbine.jpg

Unconventional, Never Raced – 1968 Shelby Turbine Indy Car

Indianapolis, more than any other race track, has had an interesting relationship with turbine-powered race cars. The 500 was very nearly won by turbines in both 1967 and ’68, and for a short time turbines looked like they could be the way of the future at the Brickyard. By 1969, however, the USAC had issued rule changes that effectively rendered them uncompetitive and relegated them to footnote status in the history books.

While turbines were still viable Ken Wallace, designer of the almost successful 1967 STP Oil Treatment Special, approached Carroll Shelby with a plan to do another car for the 1968 race. Working with Wallace to refine his earlier design, Shelby planned to build three cars with extremely expensive GE gas turbine motors and a hydraulic all-wheel-drive system by Einar Johnson. Two cars were completed at Wallis’s shop in California and were to be driven by the dynamic duo of Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme.

[Kristy]

The 1966 GT 350 Shelby Mustang was one sexy car
http://2-photos.ebizautos.com/used-1966-shelby-gt350-hertz-9423-9480800-2-640.jpg

Interesting story behind these cars:
Muscle Car Of The Week Video #46: 1966 Shelby G.T.350H from MuscleCarOfTheWeek on Vimeo.

[jacksmar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlcBdeQfnzA

Enjoy.

Notice the speeds, the crowds, the excitement, the full infield, and the names.

INDY 1992

[jacksmar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pazPy0NI0eA

Pole sitter and the "gas man".

[chefcraig]

Read a book on Carroll Shelby quite some time ago:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vGzZaD6SL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Didn't think it would interest me one bit but turned out to be a okay read. The man was a god damn genius, if not a complete asshole.

By the way, this shit is fucking awesome...http://www.carrollshelbyschili.com/site.php :appl:

Not kidding. It rocks in it's socks...:rockon: :nanana::jammin:

[jacksmar]

http://www.theindychannel.com/sports/indycar/lionheart-remembers-indy-500-champ-dan-wheldon

Great new Dan Wheldon piece.

[jacksmar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_p1UB8N7iI

Reigning F1 champ vs Former F1 champ

[jacksmar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSeYB-8rivg

A taste of 2011.