Hoosier Thunder

December 1, 2018









Hoosier Thunder

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of my favorite places in the world, I have been visiting the place annually since my first visit with my father and grandfather when I was all of three years old in 1968. I have attended forty-seven straight Indy 500 races and come May of 2019, I should be back in the stands again to take in my forty-eighth race. In addition to the Indy Car races, I have attended numerous NASCAR Brickyard 400 races, a few of the Formula One races, three MotoGP motorcycle races as well as any number of other events at the facility from the annual Mutt Strut pet event to receptions, parties, the opening ceremonies of the PanAm games and even a funeral service for my friend Matt Elliott.











I seem to be drawn to the place whenever I am in town for any reason and this visit was no exception. One of the days I was visiting, it started to snow pretty heavily and in addition to being excited to just see snow, I wanted to head out to the Speedway to see it in the snow, something that I have rarely done. There is something quiet and magical about seeing the huge facility covered by a dusting of snow.









While there was not much of a measureable accumulation, it was enough to cover the track, stands and everything with a nice layer of white that I wanted to see. I started out by visiting the museum, and even though I have visited literally hundreds of times before, there is almost always a new rotating exhibit on display and this visit featured a new exhibit since I was last there in May, Hoosier Thunder: Indiana’s Short Track Heritage.









Hoosier Thunder tells the story of the many drivers and families who have made Indiana short-track racing a way of life: surnames such as Carter, Darland, Elliott, Kenyon, and Kinser among others. It also honors the drivers, such as three- and four-time NASCAR Cup Series champions Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, respectively, who made a name for themselves on Indiana bullrings on their journey to superstardom.





The exhibit is the largest in the IMS Museum’s 60-year history, with 41 Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown series cars along with many trophies, drivers’ suits, helmets, and artifacts. A floor-to-ceiling wall map lists the name and location of every known oval short track, used for motorized competition, that has existed in the state of Indiana.





Nine decades of USAC (United States Auto Club) race car development is on display, from a 1937 Dreyer Special midget, to the car that carried a young Jeff Gordon to his first USAC midget victory, to Kody Swanson’s 2018 Silver Crown Series championship-winning car. It was a pretty cool exhibit about a form of racing that has played an important role in the development of the Indianapolis 500 over the years and one that I am largely unfamiliar with.









Of course I also took the opportunity to do something that I rarely do and that is take the guided tour bus around the famed oval. I was the only one to take the tour and had the bus to myself with the driver and a tour guide. It was the first bus since the snow had started and the track was covered with a layer of snow, especially the turns and back stretch, the front stretch was largely in the sun and not quite so white. Still it was pretty magical to tour the track mostly covered in fresh snow while the heavy snow continued to fall.









The driver and guide were also huge race fans and they ended up turning off the recorded tour and we simply talked among ourselves as long-time race fans. It was a pretty cool and amazing experience having basically the track to ourselves and all the time we wanted to circle the track.









Before the snow began and I headed out to the Speedway, I took in the large murals that have appeared in recent years in downtown Indianapolis featuring people who are either important
Hoosiers or have been important in Indianapolis history. There are three so far including writers Kurt Vonnegut and Mari Evans and the newest, former Indiana Pacers star, Reggie Miller. The murals are part of the continued growth and development of downtown Indianapolis as a cultural and entertainment center. The city is getting better and better each time I return as far as that goes.









https://indyracingmuseum.org/