Adventure: What a Day for a Trip to Speedway

It’s a beautiful day in May here in central Indiana, so what better way to enjoy it than to take a lunchtime trip into Speedway?

As I drove west on 16th Street, I couldn’t help but smile as John Mellencamp’s classic “Pink Houses” started playing on the radio (thanks WKLU!). A sunny day in May, headed toward Speedway (and THE Speedway) on a newly repaved 16th Street, green grass growing, flowers blooming, birds undoubtedly singing (though I couldn’t possibly hear them) and Mellencamp singing “Ain’t that America…”. Man, ain’t it though?

You’re right, I guess you had to be there. Well, for those of you keeping score at home, just call it reason number 23,462 to be jealous of Indy residents!

As I drove by IMS, I noticed that all of the large square banners on the back of the grandstands have been replaced with nice shiny new ones showing different moments from the history of the track. I couldn’t really catch all of them as I didn’t want to ruin the day by rear-ending the car in front of me, so I’ll make it a point to check them all out when I get a chance later in the month.

I stopped by to see Frank at The Mail Room and was very happy to be able to pick up a copy of Dorie Sweikert’s book “Along for the Ride: A Love Story”. I had tried to find this book a few years ago and was unable to, or maybe I just didn’t try hard enough.

For those of you that may not already know, Dorie Sweikert was the wife of Bob Sweikert, winner of the 1955 Indianapolis 500. His car was one of the first Carousel 1 diecast models I collected, and I will admit that it was one of the first because it was on sale for close to half price! But it’s funny how these things work out, you get a model at half price or something and then you become more interested in the driver and his story, and if you let yourself go with the flow a little bit it’s a great way to use something tangible to learn more about a particular topic in history.

The book comes highly recommended by many people, including Donald Davidson. However, almost everyone also mentions that it’s quite an emotional book as well and to be prepared for that. I believe it was originally published by Carl Hungness but since getting back to my office and checking online I see that it was republished by Nicholas Ward Publishing and is now available at Amazon.com! Then again, what isn’t available at Amazon.com anymore?

On my way back to work I was happy to spot a crew painting the railroad bridge on 16th Street near the Speedway. They were only working on the railings next to the sidewalk, but it would really be nice if they plan to paint the entire structure. It’s nice to have everything “spruced up” in time for the 500.

At that point I was pretty satisfied with my little trip but then WOW, did I get a pleasant surprise! Ahead of me I could see an old roadster on an open trailer being pulled down 16th Street. I would have to put my low-speed traffic negotiation skills to work to pull up alongside and finally managed to do so several blocks down the road.

Pat Flaherty in the 1956 #8 John Zink Special
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway Photo)

So what car was it? It was the 1956 Indianapolis 500-winning #8 John Zink Special driven by Pat Flaherty! How cool is that? I pulled up to the truck at the next stoplight and exclaimed “Beautiful car!”. The passenger was an older gentleman and explained to me which car it was and that it had won the 1956 Indianapolis 500 and I told him I wished it could *still* run at Indy. He and the driver both waved and we were on our way again. Definitely a nice little treat for the start of “The Month of May”.