A.J. WATSON CAR DESIGNER

A. J. Watson  was a car builder and chief mechanic from 1949 through 1984 in the Indianapolis 500, winning the race seven times, which leaves him tied for the record for most wins by a builder.

A native of southern California, Watson came to Indianapolis in 1948 but missed the race. He returned the following year with a home-built car that failed to qualify. For the next 11 years, his cars not only qualified but were leaders in many years. From 1955 to 1958 he was associated with the John Zink team, and from 1959 on with Bob Wilkes. His cars dominated the race through 1964. Although he continued entering cars for another two decades, he was never able to regain the commanding position of his heyday.

In 1964, with many teams following Lotus's example and moving to rear engined "funny cars", Watson built a pair of cars based on Rolla Vollstedt's successful car. These worked reasonably well but could not reproduce the success he had with his front-engined "roadsters". He built monocoque rear-engined cars in 1966 and 1967 with ever-decreasing success.

From 1969 until 1977, Watson ran Eagles and then built a small series of highly derivative new 'Watson' cars in 1977, 1978 and again in 1982 based on Lightning and March designs before retiring. He is frequently listed on the Indy 500 entry sheet as the "race strategist" for PDM Racing, though his role with the team is largely honorary.

Fred Offenhauser Automotive Engineer *

Fred Offenhauser  was an automotive engineer and mechanic who designed the Offenhauser racing engine, nicknamed the "Offy", which dominated competition in the Indianapolis 500 race for decades.

Offenhauser began working in the shop of Harry Arminius Miller in 1913 at age 25, when the state of the art double overhead cam, four valve per cylinder Peugeot Grand Prix car, an engine design which would be contemporary even today, won the Indianapolis 500. Miller named Offenhauser the head of Miller's engine department in 1914. Bob Burma was campaigning the engine that year, but when World War I made it impossible to get parts, Miller's shop got the job of maintaining it. The design so impressed Miller and Offenhauser that they designed an engine on largely similar principles.

In 1917, Offenhauser designed and built Barney Oldfield's famous "Golden Submarine".

In 1919, Leo Goossen joined Miller’s shop and Offenhauser became plant manager. Miller's company went bankrupt in 1933. Offenhauser bought the patterns and equipment from Miller, and began developing the engine with Goossen.^[ The engine experienced great success at the Indianapolis 500, with 24 victories in 27 years. Offenhauser himself was not frequently seen in Indianapolis.

In 1934, Offenhauser built his first 97 cubic inch engine for midget car racing. The car won its first race in Curly Mills' car. 

Offenhauser sold the business in 1946 to Louis Meyer and Dale Drake. Meyer and Drake continued producing the motor using the Offenhauser name. 

GRAHAM HILL INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER WORLD DRIVING CHAMPION

Norman Graham Hill was a British racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. He was born in Hampstead, London.

Graham Hill is the only driver to win the so-called Triple Crown of Motorsport.

After serving in the Royal Navy as an Engine Room Artificer, Hill re-joined Smiths Instruments. He had been interested in motorcycles but in 1954 he saw an advert for the Universal Motor Racing Club at Brands Hatch offering laps for 5 shillings. He made his debut in a Cooper 500 Formula 3 car and was committed to racing thereafter. Graham joined Team Lotus as a mechanic soon after but quickly talked his way into the cockpit. The Lotus presence in Formula One allowed him to make his debut at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix, retiring with a halfshaft failure.

In 1960, Hill joined BRM, and won the world championship with them in 1962. Hill was also part of the so-called 'British invasion' of drivers and cars in the Indianapolis 500 during the mid-1960s, triumphing there in 1966 in a Lola-Ford.

In 1967, back at Lotus, Hill helped to develop the Lotus 49 with the new Cosworth-V8 engine. After team mates Jim Clark and Mike Spence were killed in early 1968, Hill led the team, and won his second world championship in 1968 . The Lotus had a reputation of being very fragile and dangerous at that time, especially with the new aerodynamic aids which caused similar crashes of Hill and Jochen Rindt at the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix. A crash at the 1969 United States Grand Prix broke his legs and interrupted his career.

Upon recovery Hill continued to race in F1 for several more years, but never again with the same level of success. Colin Chapman, believing Hill was a spent force, placed him in Rob Walker's team for 1970, sweetening the deal with one of the brand-new Lotus 72 cars. Although Hill scored points in 1970 he started the season far from fully fit and the 72 was not fully developed until late in the season. Hill moved to Brabham for 1971-2; his last win in Formula One was in the non-Championship International Trophy at Silverstone in 1971 with the "lobster claw" Brabham BT34. But the team was in flux after the retirements of Sir Jack Brabham and then Ron Tauranac's sale to Bernie Ecclestone; Hill did not settle there.

Hill was known during the latter part of his career for his wit and became a popular personality - he was a regular guest on television and wrote a notably frank and witty autobiography when recovering from his 1969 accident, Life At The Limit. Hill was also irreverently immortalized on a Monty Python episode ("It's the Arts (or: Intermission)" sketch called "Historical Impersonations"), in which a Gumby appears asking to "see John the Baptist's impersonation of Graham Hill." The head of St. John the Baptist appears on a silver platter, which runs around the floor making putt-putt noises of a race car engine.

Hill was involved with four films between 1966 and 1974, including appearances in Grand Prix and Caravan to Vaccarès, in which he appeared as a helicopter pilot.

Although Hill had concentrated on F1 he also maintained a presence in sports car racing throughout his career (including two runs in the Rover-BRM gas turbine car at Le Mans). As his F1 career drew to a close he became part of the Matra sports car team, taking a victory in the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans with Henri Pescarolo. This victory completed the so-called Triple Crown of motorsport which is alternatively defined as winning either:

JOHN "JACK" BRABHAM  WORLD DRIVING CHAMPION 

John Arthur "Jack" Brabham,   racing driver who was Formula One champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966. He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name.

Brabham was a Royal Australian Air Force flight mechanic and ran a small engineering workshop before he started racing midget cars in 1948. His successes in midgets and Australian and New Zealand road racing events led to him going to the United Kingdom to further his racing career. There he became part of the Cooper Car Company's racing team, building as well as racing cars. He contributed to the design of the mid-engined cars that Cooper introduced to Formula One and the Indianapolis 500, and won the Formula One world championship in 1959 and 1960. In 1962 he established his own Brabham marque with fellow Australian Ron Tauranac, which became the largest manufacturer of customer racing cars in the world in the 1960s. In 1966 Brabham became the only man to win the Formula One world championship driving one of his own cars.

Brabham retired to Australia after the 1970 Formula One season, where he bought a farm and maintained various business interests, which included the Engine Developments racing engine manufacturer and several garages. As of 2008, he is the oldest surviving Formula One world champion.

HENRY " SMOKEY" YUNICK*  NECHANIC CAR DESIGNER

Henry "Smokey" Yunick   was a mechanic and car designer associated with motorsports in the United States.

Yunick was deeply involved in the early years of the NASCAR, and he is probably most associated with that racing genre. He participated as a racer, designer, and other jobs relating to the sport but was best-known as a mechanic, builder, and crew chief. He was renowned as a crotchety, crusty, opinionated character who "was about as good as there ever was on engines," according to Marvin Panch, who drove stock cars for Yunick and won the 1961 Daytona 500. His trademark white uniform and battered cowboy hat, together with a cigar or corncob pipe, were a familiar sight in the pits of almost every NASCAR or Indianapolis 500 race for over twenty years. In 1990 he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

MARION "MICKEY" THOMPSON * DRAG RACER OFF ROAD RACING CHAMPION

Marion Lee "Mickey" Thompson  was an American off-road racing legend. He won many championships as a racer, and later formed sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). He also raced in dragsters and land speed record automobiles.

Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. He was known universally as "Mickey." In his early twenties, he worked for the Los Angeles Times newspaper while becoming involved in the new sport of drag racing. He developed a brilliant career as both a driver and an innovative automotive technician; later as a designer, manufacturer and seller of racing and performance equipment. In addition to being a drag racing champion, Mickey Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster and for creating the signal starting and foul light systems used in drag racing. In 1968, he redesigned the Funny Car, and his vehicle went on to win the 1969 NHRA Springnationals and Nationals for driver Danny Ongais.

In 1960, at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Thompson achieved international fame when he became the first American to break the 400mph barrier hitting 406.60 mph surpassing John Cobb's one-way Land speed record of 402mph. In his long career, Thompson raced everything from stock cars to off-road vehicles and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960's and then, in 1963 he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. In 1965 he published "Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of speed."

Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. He and his wife Trudy formed the "Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group" (MTEG) which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country terrain to stadiums in the heavily populated metropolitan areas.

Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip near Long Beach, California in 1955.

* Bill France Jr. NASCAR EXECUTIVE AND PROMOTER

William H.G. “Big Bill” France yanked stock car racing from liquored-up, backwoods brawls, cleaned it up and turned it into a legitimate sport. Then he handed the baton to his oldest son who took the sport to unimaginable heights.

For 32 years or so, starting in January of 1972, William C. France, known to all as Bill France Jr., was the “go-to’’ guy at the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing.

When you look at France’s reign, you can gain a greater appreciation for what the man did for the sport of stock car racing.

He took a sport popular only in the Southeast and turned it into a national phenomenon. Now NASCAR, with a fan base of 75 million folks, is nipping at the heels of the NFL in terms of national popularity.

When France was appointed president by his father, NASCAR racing was a regional sport. The majority of Winston Cup Series events were not on television and those that did get air time were mixed into sports anthology shows such as ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.”

In a groundbreaking live, flag-to-flag broadcast, France had a breakthrough when he signed a deal with CBS Sports in 1978 to televise the 1979 Daytona 500.

The race produced astronomical ratings due in part to winter weather conditions in the Midwest and Northeast (keeping people in front of their TVs) and a spectacular finish on the track in Florida. Richard Petty won when Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crashed each other out on the final lap, then exchanged punches at the scene of the accident.

Soon after, Winston Cup and Busch Series broadcast rights started selling like crazy to sports-minded cable networks such as ESPN, TNN and TBS. Under France’s direction, NASCAR got its first taste of big-league attention when it signed an NFL-like $2.4 billion television contract with FOX, NBC, and Turner in 1999. The contract took effect in 2001.

After the manufacturers’ wars of the 1950s and 1960s, Detroit had cooled to NASCAR racing in the 1970s and that led France to look for new money outside the automotive corporate sector.

Beginning with R. J. Reynolds, Bill France Jr. brought a host of non-automotive related corporations into sponsorship positions with NASCAR, which boasts some of the most brand loyal fans on the planet.

Race cars, which once plugged only spark plugs, oil and gas companies, have now become high speed billboards for wireless phones, home improvement centers and laundry detergent.

France’s three top priorities on the competition side of the company were always safety, close finishes and holding the line on expense.

The $20 million NASCAR Research and Development Center officially opened last spring in Concord, N.C., to help pursue France’s three goals, with safety a paramount issue.

While other forms of racing have advanced technology, NASCAR uses the same simple engine components that were available in the 1950s. You won’t find fuel injection or turbo systems in stock car racing.

France believes low tech keeps the competition close and saves race teams vast amounts of money.

France also has guided NASCAR through several patches of troubled waters.

At the height of the energy crisis in the mid-1970s, France shortened the 1974 Daytona 500 to 450 miles to show its concern for the country’s gas predicament.

In the 1980s France again battled Capitol Hill on a tax bill that would have done away with most business leisure expense deductions, which would have been disastrous for NASCAR’s corporate clients.

Presently, France has stepped out of the limelight at NASCAR and turned the day-to-day management of the sanctioning body over to his son and his lieutenants.

Nevertheless, he still figures to shape auto racing as chairman of International Speedway Corp., which boasts 12 major racing facilities.

Did France achieve all he set out to do as NASCAR czar all those years?

"I did what I was supposed to do with a lot of help from a lot of people," he continued. "I got some recognition for it and some credit for it, which quite frankly should slide on down the line to the people who came up with the idea.

" 

  *Carl Fisher American entrepreneur Founder Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Carl Graham Fisher) was an American entrepreneur. Despite having severe astigmatism, he became a seemingly tireless pioneer and promoter of the automotive, auto racing, and real estate development industries.

Regarded as a promotional genius for most of his life, in the late 19th century, he became a bicycle enthusiast and became involved in bicycle racing and later auto racing. After being injured in stunts, he helped develop paved racetracks and roadways. An Indiana native, Fisher operated what is believed to be the first automobile dealership in the United States and he helped organize the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In 1913, Fisher conceived and helped develop the Lincoln Highway, the first paved road planned across the entire United States. A convoy trip a few year later by the U.S. Army along Fisher's Lincoln Highway was a major influence upon then Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower years later in championing the Interstate Highway System during his presidency in the 1950s.

Carl Fisher followed the east-west Lincoln Highway in 1914 with the conception of the north-south Dixie Highway, which first led from Indianapolis, and eventually extended in several northern branches from the Mid-West U.S. at the Canadian borders to southern mainland Florida. Under his leadership, the initial portion was completed within a single year, and he led an automobile caravan to Florida from Indiana.

At the south end of the Dixie Highway in Miami, Florida, Fisher became involved in the successful real estate development of the new resort city of Miami Beach, built on a largely unpopulated barrier island and reached by the new Collins Bridge across Biscayne Bay directly at the terminus of the Dixie Highway. Fisher was one of the best known and active promoters of the Florida land boom of the 1920s. By 1926, he was worth an estimated $100 million, and redirected his promotional efforts when the Florida real estate market bubble burst after 1925. His final major project, cut short by the Great Depression, was a "Miami Beach of the north" at Montauk, located at the eastern tip of Long Island, New York.

His fortune was lost in the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression in the United States which followed shortly thereafter. He found himself living in a small cottage in Miami Beach, doing minor work for old friends. Nevertheless, years after his fortune had been lost, at the end of his career, he took on one more project, albeit more modest than many of his past ventures, and built the famous Caribbean Club on Key Largo, intended as a "poor man's retreat."

Although he had lost his fortune and late in life considered himself a failure, Fisher is widely regarded as a very successful man in the long view of his life. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1971. In a 1998 study judged by a panel of 56 historians, writers, and others, Carl G. Fisher was named one of the 50 Most Influential People in the history of the State of Florida by The Ledger newspaper. PBS labeled him "Mr. Miami Beach." Fisher Island, one of the wealthiest and most exclusive residential areas in the United States, just south of Miami Beach, is named for him.

Tom Carnegie Chief  announcer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for 60 years.

Few of us can honestly say we’ve contributed to the lexicon of a sport, but one man certainly has: Phrases like: “Heeeezzzzzz ON IT!” Or, “It's a newwwww track rrrrecord!” Or, “Mario is slowing on the backstretch!”

All courtesy of Tom Carnegie, the announcer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for 60 years.

“He is one of those rare individuals who created a persona that can be imitated, but can never be duplicated,” says the subject of one of those trademark phrases, Mario Andretti. “He represents so many exciting moments in motor racing.”

Through the myriad changes in motorsports, Carnegie's voice is one of the few constants. After a couple of artificial hips and artificial knees, he shows no signs of slowing.

Carnegie, a native of the Kansas City area, had hoped to play professional sports until a viral fever hospitalized him for months and weakened his legs to the point where he knew he'd never play with the pros. But even as a young man, Carnegie had those pipes, and it led him to broadcasting. He ended up in Indiana, and his narration of a car parade caught the ear of Indy 500 officials. He called his first Indy 500 in 1946. Until then, he'd seen only one race, and that was in Illinois while on vacation. It took 10 years, he says, before he was comfortable with the job.

Throughout the years, Carnegie has had a front-row seat for triumph and tragedy. In the early days, injuries and fatalities occurred on a regular basis. After losing many friends in racing, perhaps most notably one of his best friends, racer Jim Clark, Carnegie learned why many people in motorsports try not to get too attached to drivers.

Carnegie considers the advances in safety to be the most positive change he's witnessed. “We didn't know anything about safety then. Danger was just a fact of life.”

Dramatizing the dramatic has been Carnegie’s challenge—and his forte. And not only on race day. For decades, his descriptions of the relentless quest to break speed barriers built main event sized crowds—for time trials!

Still, the last Sunday in May was Carnegie’s Main Gate to immortality.

For 61 Memorial Day Weekends, Tom Carnegie’s calendar was full. As were the calendars of hundreds of thousands of fans, for whom it just wasn’t Indy until they heard those phrases, those Carnegie-isms.

Phrases that, Carnegie says, “just happened. I never intended to patent any of them.” Maybe he should.

After the 2006 race, Tom Carnegie put down the Indianapolis Motor Speedway microphone for the last time. The Indy 500 will never be the same

“When he is no longer in the announcer’s booth, there will be a huge void,” says Mario Andretti. “You cannot say that about too many individuals in life. He is an intricate, exciting part of our sport and of the biggest spectacle in racing, the Indianapolis 500.”

*Henry Ford Race Car innovator

Few automakers are more closely associated with motorsport than Ford Motor Company.

That commitment began with the entrepreneurial zeal of its founder, Henry Ford. In the earliest days of the automobile, many people worked on motor carriages, and a variety of trials, tests and races were held that attracted widespread attention. Ford noted the acclaim and enthusiasm automobiles brought, so he built his first cars to establish his name through motorsports. He also noted the prize money, sometimes as large as $10,000.

Oliver Barthel and Ford built a racer for the October 10, 1901, races sponsored by the Detroit Driving Club. When it came time for the feature, preliminary races had taken so much time that the main 25-lap race was shortened to just ten laps. To the starting line came three entrants: Henry Ford aboard his racer, the famed Alexander Winton on his and another driver who discovered a mechanical problem and withdrew. Ford had never raced before, but fortune was in his favor after Winton's machine began leaving a trail of smoke after three laps. Racing had indeed brought what he wanted-acclaim. But the experience was such that Ford retired as a competitive driver, saying, "Once is enough."

That success led to the formation of the Henry Ford Co. on November 30, 1901. The company didn't go in the direction Ford wanted, so he left to join forces with Tom Cooper, the foremost cyclist of the time, in building a much more aggressive racer, the 999. Because of its potential speed, Ford became concerned about his driver's safety. But he need not have been too concerned: his driver, 23-year-old Barney Oldfield, had already proven himself in bicycle racing. Oldfield practiced at Grosse Pointe the week before the occasion of the next race, the Manufacturer's Challenge Cup held October 25, 1902.

Four drivers started; again, the main opposition was Winton. Oldfield led from the start, as he opened up 999 and didn't let off. His lead grew to the point of lapping the two lagging cars, and Oldfield soundly beat Winton, who dropped out on the fourth lap. Ford's 999, with its 70, perhaps 80 horsepower, was described as "low, rakish, and makes more noise than a freight train." It was in that machine that two things happened: Oldfield made Ford famous and Ford made Oldfield famous. Both went on to become the most recognized figures in early motoring-Ford as a builder, Oldfield as a driver.

The excitement that Henry Ford's products generated became the source of explosive growth in motorsport throughout the 20th century. Today, Ford is the only automaker that can claim victory in the Indy 500, Daytona 500, 24 hours of LeMans and Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, the Monte Carlo Rallye and the Baja 1000. That commitment is certain to continue in the future, given Ford's ongoing, global support of virtually all forms of motorsport. Henry would certainly have been proud.

* Ralph  Depalma Indianapolis 500 winner and racing pioneer

Ralph DePalma  was an Italian-American racecar driving champion, most notably winner of the 1915 Indianapolis 500.

Born in Troia Apulia, Italy, DePalma's family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old. As a young man of twenty-two, he began racing motorcycles before switching to the automobile dirt track racing circuit in 1909, the year that the American Automobile Association established the national driving championship.

DePalma was immediately successful in car racing. In 1911, DePalma won the first Milwaukee Mile Championship Car race. However, he is still remembered for the dramatic manner in which he lost the 1912 Indianapolis 500. After leading for nearly 196 of the 200 laps, his Mercedes cracked a piston and with only 2 laps remaining, he and his mechanic had to push the car across the finish line to take twelfth place. He went on to earn the U.S. national driving championship that year, but was almost killed in an accident at on October 5th at the Milwaukee Mile during the 400-mile Vanderbilt Cup. Hospitalized for a considerable time, he recovered and was back to racing the following spring.

In 1912 and again in 1914, DePalma won the Elgin National Trophy at Elgin, Illinois and in 1914 he scored what he called his greatest victory when he beat Barney Oldfield to capture the Vanderbilt Cup in Santa Monica, California. DePalma had been let go by the Mercer Automobile Co. racing team in favor of the great Barney Oldfield and in a Mercedes "Gray Ghost," DePalma showed he was a master tactician in beating Oldfield's much faster car. Things got even better that year when he again won his second U.S. national driving championship. The following year, 1915, he drove to long-awaited victory at Indianapolis.

Ralph DePalma was an intense competitor but one of the most popular racers with his fellow drivers and the fans because of his good sportsmanship, a quality he displayed on and off the track. In June 1917 he lost to Barney Oldfield in a series of 10 to 25 mile match races ath the Milwaukee Mile. On February 12, 1919 at Daytona Beach, Florida, he drove a Packard to a world speed record of 149.875 mph over a measured mile. International competition began following the adoption of the three liter engine limit in the U.S. and Europe in 1920. DePalma began the year driving for the French manufacturer, Ballot. His Ballot vehicle was one of the fastest qualifiers at the 1920 Indy but bad luck dogged him in the race. However, DePalma traveled with other Americans to Le Mans to compete in the French Grand Prix. There, he finished second to the  Dusenberg driven by fellow American, Jimmy Murphy.

Ralph DePalma had a small role in the 1920 Hollywood film, High Speed and in 1924 played the part of the Champion in an action/drama written by Wilfred Lucas titled Racing for Life. In 1923, he established the DePalma Manufacturing Company in Detroit to build race cars and engines for automobiles and aircraft.

Ralph DePalma retired from racing after a career in which he competed in 2,889 races, winning an astonishing 2,557. He died in South Pasadena, California in 1956 and was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. The Mercedes in which he narrowly lost the 1912 Indianapolis 500 remains on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

DePalma was the brother of 500 competitor John DePalma and the uncle of  1925 Indy winner Pete DePaolo.

  * Benny Parsons NASCAR Winston Cup Champion

Wicked-looking black clouds boiled ominously over Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25, 1980 as darkness approached.

In the press box, gallows humor prevailed.

"I imagine this is what the End Of Time sky will look like," someone said.

Lightning bolts blazed in the distance.

There also was great electricity on the track.

Benny Parsons and Darrell Waltrip were locked in an exciting, tense battle for victory in a race then known as the World 600.

The lead see-sawed, it seemed, almost every time around the 1.5-mile layout between the two drivers, who were two laps ahead of their nearest challenger.

They swapped the front spot eight times in the final 26 laps, four times in the final 10.

Parsons managed to pull ahead on the 399th of the 400 laps and then held off Waltrip by half a car-length to triumph in what many observers rate the most thrilling finish in the history of the Charlotte track, which dates to 1960.

That victory, plus the 20 others he scored at NASCAR's top level in a two-decade career, have earned 1973 Winston Cup Series champion Benny Parsons induction into the Motorsports Hall Of Fame of America.

His 12 superspeedway wins include the 1975 Daytona 500, the 1978 Rebel 500 at Darlington, the 1984 Gabriel 400 at Michigan International Speedway and the '84 Coca-Cola 500 at Atlanta.

NASCAR's roster of drivers is replete with relative rags-to-riches stories.  Few are more compelling than that of Benny Parsons.

Benny grew up far back in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in a beautiful, remote cove known as Parsonsville.

He lived in a log home with his great-grandmother, helping the elderly lady with her chores.  Benny's parents had moved to Detroit for work following World War II, but he stayed behind to attend Millers Creek High School, where he played football.

Another sport he loved was stock car racing, and Benny seldom missed watching from the grandstand when the NASCAR stars competed at the local track, North Wilkesboro Speedway.

After graduating from high school, Benny joined his parents in Detroit, where his father operated a cab company.  Benny began working at a service station.  One night some fellows towing a race car behind a pickup truck stopped at the station for fuel en route to an area short track.  They invited Benny to come along and he climbed into the bed of the pickup.  When the regular driver didn't show up, Benny took the wheel of the race car that night.

Thus began a driving career that was to produce that Winston Cup championship in '73, one of the sport's most memorable.

Parsons crashed early in the season-finale at N.C. Motor Speedway at Rockingham, much to the dismay of a very partisan crowd.  At that time Benny lived at nearby Ellerbe, N.C., where he was president of the local school's Parent-Teachers Association.

In a remarkable development, members of other teams rallied to help make repairs and get Parsons' badly damaged car rolling again so that he could amass enough points to win the title.  He was able to complete 308 of the race's 500 laps, finished 25th and edged Cale Yarborough by 67 points.

That rivals came to his rescue is a measure of the respect that the personable Parsons, now 64, has commanded throughout his racing career.

Benny never rated himself a strong qualifier, but he was fastest in time trials 20 times.  And among his notable achievments is becoming the first NASCAR driver to officially qualify in excess of 200 mph when he hit 200.176 at Talladega Superspeedway in 1982, taking the pole for the Winston 500.

After his retirement as a driver in 1989, Benny became a member of ESPN's NASCAR telecast team and won an Emmy for his prowess as an analyst.  He now provides expert commentary on NBC's NASCAR telecasts.

In looking back on a wonderful driving career, Benny Parsons touchingly rates among his favorite accomplishments a short track triumph in 1979.  That win came in the Holly Farms 400 at little North Wilkesboro Speedway, only 15 miles or so from that old log home at Parsonsville.

CHRIS ECONOMAKI SPEED SPORT NEWS FOUNDER AND PUBLISHER

CHRIS ECONOMAKI is a legendary American motorsports commentator, pit road reporter, and journalist. Chris Economaki has been given the title "The Dean of American Motorsports.

Economaki was born in Brooklyn, New York. Economaki’s father was a Greek immigrant and his mother a great-niece of Robert E. Lee. He saw his first race at age 9 at the board track in Atlantic City. He was immediately hooked on the sport. He once attempted driving a midget car at a cinder track in Pennsylvania. "It wasn’t for me," says Economaki. "It was a really frightening experience. That was the first and last time I drove in competition

He started his career at age 13 selling copies of National Speed Sport News newspapers. He wrote his first column at age 14 for the National Auto Racing News. Economaki became the editor of the National Speed Sport News in 1950. He began writing a column called "The Editor’s Notebook", which he continues to write over fifty years later. He eventually became owner, publisher, and editor of the National Speed Sport News. His daughter Corinne Economaki is the current publisher. The newspaper is considered "America’s Weekly Motorsports Authority".

He has co-written an autobiography called Let 'Em All Go: The Story of Auto Racing by the Man who was there.

 SHIRLEY MULDOWNEY NHRA LEGEND 1ST WOMAN TO WIN MAJOR EVENT

SHIRLEY MULDOWNEY the "First Lady of Drag Racing" was the first woman to receive a licence to drive a top fuel dragster by the NHRA. She won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977 in 1980 and 1982. After a crash in 1984 she was sidelined for a long period but returned to the circuit in the late 1980s. She continued to race, mostly without major sponsorship, throughout the 1990s in IHRA competition as well as match-racing events. She returned to the NHRA towards the end of her career, running select events until her retirement at the end of 2003.

Muldowney's success came in the face of enormous opposition from those who felt drag racing was no place for women. Don Garlits, the "Big Daddy" of drag racing, has said about her:

Muldowney was described by longtime drag racer Fred Farndon as the "best 'natural' driver (top fuel or funny car), no question".

She was nicknamed "Cha-Cha" - a name chosen by car owner and then boyfriend Connie Kalitta. She later dropped the moniker, stating: "There is no room for  bimbosim in drag racing."

Shirley Muldowney is married to Rahn Tobler, who was her crew chief. After Muldowney's retirement, Tobler became crew chief for the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster of Doug Kalitta Connie Kalitta's nephew.

DON PRUDHOMME NHRA DRIVER

Don 'Snake' Prudhomme is an American dragster racer, who won the NHRA funny car championship four times in a thirty-five-year career. He was the first funny car driver to exceed 250 mph. He retired in 1994 to manage his own racing team. With driver Larry Dixon, Prudhomme's team won the top fuel championship in 2002 and 2003. Known for his yellow 1970 Plymouth Barracuda in which he raced rival driver Tom " Mongoose" McEwen in his red 1970 Plymouth Duster, later both drivers gained more attention from the Hot Wheels versions that were released in 1970. Hot Wheel celebrated their 35th anniversery in 2003 with a two day event.

STEVE KINSER 17 TIME WoO CHAMPION " KING OF THE SPRINTS"

Steve is a professional sprint car racer. He has won 20 championships in the World of Outlaws (WoO) series, and currently drives the #11 Quaker State car. Kinser left the World of Outlaws in 2006 to compete with the new National Sprint Tour series.

Steve also finished 14th in the 1997 Indianapolis 500. He has been a perennial competitor in IROC winning a race at Talladega Superspeedway in 1994. He also finished a career best 6th in IROC points in 1994.

He began the 1995 season as a full-time NASCAR Winston Cup driver for Kenny Bernstein, but he was released after only five starts after a best finish of 27th and average finish of 35th.

 GEORGE BIGNOTTI 7 TIME INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER CHIEF MECHANIC

A. J. Foyt won 27 races in cars prepared by Bignotti while other drivers who scored wins for him included Al Unser, Gordon Johncock, Tom Sneva, Joe Leonard, Wally Dallenbach, Rodger Ward, Graham Hill and Jud Larson.

George also holds the record for most victories for a chief mechanic in the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race - seven! His cars won in 1961, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1973, and 1983 driven by Foyt, Hill, Unser, Johncock and Sneva.

He started as a race car owner in the San Francisco area and in 1954 made his debut as a crew member at Indianapolis.

In 1956, teaming with co-car owner Bob Bowes, he scored his first Indy Car win in the 100-miler at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix. I he driver was Jud Larson.

A. J. Foyt joined the team in 1960 and USAC National Championships ensued, both in 1960 and 1961. A. J. also grabbed the Indianapolis 500 in 1961, but in the summer of 1962 they decided to part company. Reforming as a team before the end of the year, they immediately stormed back to the winners circle and ended up second in the point standings. Piling up 27 victories in just five seasons, they again claimed the USA National Championship in 1963 and 1964.

Following a final split with Foyt in 1965, Bignotti collaborated with John Mecom on what evolved into the Vel s Parnelli Jones superteam , comprised of drivers Al Unser, Mario Andretti and Joe Leonard. George subsequently led a heavily revamped Patrick Racing Team starting in 1973 and the Dan Cotter team beginning in 1981, enjoying a measure of success with each.

*COLIN CHAPMAN INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER, INVENTOR AND CAR BUILDER

Colin was an influential designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry. In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. He studied structural engineering at University College, London where he joined the University Air Squadron and learned to fly. After graduating in 1948, he briefly joined the Royal Air Force. His knowledge of the latest aeronautical engineering techniques would prove vital towards achieving the major automotive technical advances he is remembered for. His Formula One Team Lotus won seven World Championships and the Indianapolis 500 between 1962 and 1978. The production side of Lotus Cars has built tens of thousands of relatively affordable, cutting edge sports cars. Lotus is one of but a handful of British performance car builders still in business after the industrial decline of the 1970s

 *LEE PETTY LEGENDARY NASCAR DRIVER

Lee Petty  was one of the pioneers of  NASCAR  and one of its first superstars.

Lee Petty was thirty-five years old before he began racing. He began his NASCAR career at NASCAR's first race at Charlotte Speedway (not Charlotte Motor Speedway). He finished in the Top 5 in season points for NASCAR's first eleven seasons. He won the NASCAR Championship on three occasions and the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959.

In that inaugural Daytona 500 race, Petty locked horns with Johnny Beaucamp during the final laps of the race. The finish was so close that evne though Johnny was declared the unofficial winner, it took 3 days to decide the winner. In the end, with the help of the national newsreel, Petty was officially declared the winner and cemented his place as one of stock-car racing's all time greats.

 BOBBY UNSER  3 TIME INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER

Bobby is the brother of Al Unser and Jerry Unser, the father of Robby Unser, and the uncle of Al Unser, Jr. and Johnny Unser. Often under-rated, he was an astute and occasionally very rapid exponent of the subtle art of oval racing. He is one of seven drivers to win the Indy 500 three times and one of only two to have won the 500 in three different decades (1968, 75, 81).

Bobby was apart of one of the most controversial finishes in Indy 500 history. In lap 149, during a caution period, Bobby and Mario Andretti made their pit stop and headed back to the race, the problem was Bobby passed 8 cars during the caution, while Mario passed 2 cars himself, a subject that was heatily debated on ESPN Classic's Big Ticket episode in 2000. Unser won the race, but was stripped the next morning to the 2nd place finisher Mario Andretti, but Unser got his win back in October 1981.

Bobby was the 1975 IROC champion.

Bobby Unser won the USAC Indy car championships in 1968 and 1974. He also competed in the 1968 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International, driving for the BRM team.

He also drove in 3  NASCAR Grand National races from 1969 to 1973 with a best finish of fourth.

*JIMMY BRYAN  USAC NATIONAL CHAMPION

Jimmy was born in Phoenix, Arizona, Bryan died in Langhorne, Pennsylvania as a result of injuries sustained in a champ car race. He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1952-1960 seasons with 72 starts, including each year's Indianapolis 500 race. He finished in the top ten 54 times, with 23 victories.

Bryan won the 1958 Indianapolis 500 and the 1954(AAA), 1956 and 1957(USAC) National Championship.

As the Indianapolis 500 counted as a round of the Formula One World championship from 1950 to 1960 his career is credited with participation in 9 grands prix, with 1 win, 3 podiums and 18 championship points scored. (Note that drivers who won the Indy 500 only are often not listed in totals of Grand Prix winners, as the race's inclusion in the World Championship was largely symbolic, with very few F1 drivers taking part.)

He died after a crash in a Champ car race at Langhorne Speedway in 1960, on the same day that two drivers were killed in the Belgian Grand Prix, making the day one of the most tragic in racing history.

*EDDIE SACHS SPRINT MIDGET DRIVER

Eddie Sachs was a United States Auto Club driver who was known as the "Caped Crusader of Auto Racing" and "Clown Prince of Auto Racing" for his personality at the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.

His career included eight USAC Championship Trail wins, 25 top-five finishes in 65 career AAA and USAC starts, including the 1958 USAC Midwest Sprint Car Championship, in a career which included consecutive pole positions (1960-1961) in the Indianapolis 500, coming closest to winning the race in 1961 but falling short by one position.

Sachs and sports car driver and Indy rookie Dave MacDonald were killed on the second lap of the 1964 Indianapolis 500 in a fiery crash involving seven cars, which resulted in the USAC ban on gasoline and the switch to methanol-alcohol fuel.

*TONY BETTENHAUSEN AAA NATIONAL CHAMPION

Tony  won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958. He is a member of numerous Halls of Fame.

He was born in Tinley Park, Illinois. He was nicknamed the "Tinley Park Express" in honor of his hometown.He was nicknamed "Tunney" after heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney. "Tunney" later became "Tony." 

Bettenhausen was part of the "Chicago Gang" with Duke Nalon. They toured tracks in the Midwest and East Coast of the United States.

He drove in the AAA and USCAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1941 and 1946-1961 seasons with 121 starts, including 14 in the Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 74 times, with 21 victories.

He won the track championship at the Milwaukee Mile in 1942, 1946, and 1947. He was the Chicago Raceway Park champion in 1941, 1942, and 1947.

He won the 1959 Turkey Night Classic, and the Hut Hundred in 1955 and 1956.

He won the National Championship in 1951 after recording eight victories and two second place finishes in fourteen events. He announced his retirement from all racing but the Indianapolis 500 after the season. He decided to return full-time for the 1954 season. He was involved in a midget car wreck in Chicago. He suffered head injuries after striking a concrete wall. He was in critical condition for several days. 

In 1958 he became the only driver to win the national championship without a win. He was assured the title with a second place finish at Phoenix. He finished second in the national championship to Rodger Ward in 1959.

Bettenhausen was killed in 1961 in a crash at Indianapolis while testing a car for Paul Russo.

As the Indianapolis 500 counted as a round of the Formula One World championship from 1950 to 1960 his career is credited with participation in 11 grands prix, with 1 podium and 10 championship points scored.

*MAURI ROSE 3 TIME INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER

Mauri was born in Columbus, Ohio.

He started from the pole position driving a  Maserati in the 1941 Indianapolis 500, but spark plug problems put him out of the race after sixty laps. He then took over the Wetteroth/Offenhauser car being driven by Floyd Davis that had started in 17th place and won the race. In 1947 and 1948, Rose captured back-to-back Indy 500's driving a Deidt/Offenhauser

Mauri Rose made his fifteenth and final Indianapolis 500 start in the 1951 race which that year was part of the Formula One circuit. Knocked out from an accident after 126 laps, the forty-five-year-old Rose retired to a home in California. For the 1967 race, officials of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway invited him to drive the Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car.

While his career in racing was filled with success, Rose considered his most important accomplishment to be his invention of a device that made it possible for amputees to drive an automobile.

*RAY HARROUN 1ST WINNER INDIANAPOLIS 500

Ray was born in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania , he was the AAA season champion in 1910. At the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, his use of what would now be called a rear-view mirror, rather than the riding mechanic specified in the rules, created controversy, but was ultimately allowed. Harroun went on to win, which created another controversy; to this day, some say a scorer's error cheated Ralph Mulford of his rightful victory. Harroun, who came out of retirement to race in the first 500, would never race again.

DAVID " THE SILVER FOX" PEARSON 3 TIME NEXTEL CUP CHAMPION

David  was Known as the "Silver Fox", he debuted on the Grand National racing circuit in 1960 and earned Rookie of the Year honors that same season. He went on to win the NASCAR Championship in 1966, 1968 and 1969. Pearson ranks as one of the greatest of all NASCAR drivers and his duels with Richard Petty are legendary. Between August 8, 1963 and June 12, 1977, they finished one/two on sixty-three occasions, with Pearson coming out on top with thirty-three victories. Their most famous encounter came at the 1976 Daytona 500 when the two were running bumper-to-bumper on the final lap. They slammed hard against each other's front fender and both hit the wall. Petty's damaged car spun off the track just twenty-five yards from the finish line and the engine quit running and he could not get it to restart. All Petty could do was sit in his famous #43 and watch as Pearson's wrecked #21 limped across the finish line to claim victory.

Pearson won the "Most Popular Driver" award in 1979 and 1980. After twenty-six seasons in racing, he retired in 1986. He finished his career in second place behind Richard Petty on NASCAR's all-time win list with 105, and second in all-time pole positions.

Pearson is one of eight drivers in NASCAR history to win a Career Grand Slam, by winning the sport's four majors; Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Buddy Baker are the other six to have accomplished the feat.

*MARK DONOHUE SPORTS CAR DRIVER

Mark was an  racecar driver known for his ability to set up his own race car and drive it consistently on the absolute limit. Donohue is probably best-known as the driver of the 1000+ bhp “Can-Am Killer” Porsche 917-30.

Donohue met an experienced race driver named Walt Hansgen while running in SCCA events around the country. Hansgen quickly realized that Donohue had unbelievable talent as a driver, but more importantly, had an incredible working knowledge of vehicle mechanics and dynamics thanks to his engineering background. Hansgen befriended Donohue, and even provided an MGB for Donohue to race at the 1964 Bridgehampton 500-mile SCCA endurance event, which Donohue won. In 1965, Hansgen invited him to co-drive a Ferrari 275 at the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race. This would be Donohue's big break into international sports car racing. Hansgen and Donohue combined to finish 11th in that race.

Mark paricipated in The Indianapolis 500 for several years and  won the 1972 Indianapolis 500 driving for Roger Penske

Midway through the 1975 F1 season, Penske abandoned the troublesome PC1 and started using the March 751. Donohue had recently arrived in Austria for the Austrian Grand Prix following the successful closed-course speed record attempt in Alabama just a few days earlier. During a practice session for the race, Donohue lost control of his March after a tire failed sending him careening into the catch fencing. A track marshal was killed by debris from the accident, but Donohue didn't appear to be injured significantly. However, a resulting headache worsened and after going to the hospital of  Graz the next day, Donohue lapsed into a coma from a brain hemorrhage and died.

DON " BIG DADDY" GARLITS NHRA CHAMPION

Don is considered the father of drag racing. He is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pioneer, with the help of T.C. Lemmons, and after he lost a portion of his foot in a drag racing accident, he perfected the design rear-engine "top fuel" dragster (notable because it put the most explosive parts of the dragster behind the driver) and was an early endorser of a full-body, fire-resistant suit. He was the first drag racer to officially surpass 170, 180, 200, 240, 250, 260, and 270 miles per hour; he was also the first to top 200 in the 1/8 mile.

Drag Racing was a California-based sport. Don Garlits, being from Florida, was the outsider who came in and beat them at their own game. He was sometimes referred to as the Floridian, before permanently adopting the nickname, "Swamp Rat," which also became the theme for each generation of his innovative dragster designs. Such is his uniqueness.

Garlits was the first driver to win three National Hot Rod Association national titles and three world championships, the last coming at the age of 54. He won a total of 144 national events. On October 20, 1987, His home-built Top Fuel dragster, Swamp Rat XXX, the sport's only successful streamlined car, was enshrined in The Smithsonian museum in Washington, D.C., which also houses The Spirit of St. Louis and NASA's first manned space capsule.

"Big Daddy" was compelled to retire due to separated retina, a product of the 4g deceleration produced by a Top Fuel Dragster's chutes.

AL UNSER SR. DIRT TRACK MASTER 4 TIME INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER 

Al  is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of Bobby Unser and father of Al Unser, Jr.. He is the second of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times, the fourth of five to have won the race in consecutive years, and is the only person to have both a sibling (Bobby) and child (Al Jr.) as fellow winners. Al's brother Jerry and nephews Johnny and Robby have also competed in the 500.

His father Jerry Unser and two uncles, Louis and Joe, were also drivers. Beginning in 1926 they competed in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, an annual road race held in Colorado.

Joe Unser became the first member of the Unser clan to lose his life to the sport, killed while test-driving a FWD Coleman Special on the Denver highway in 1929.

Al's oldest brother Jerry became the first Unser to drive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, qualifying 23rd and finishing 31st in the 1958 Indianapolis 500. However, tragedy struck the next year when he was killed from injuries sustained in a fiery crash during a practice session.

Middle brother Bobby drove in his first Indianapolis 500 in 1963, becoming in 1968 the first member of the family to win, and in 1983 son Al Unser Jr. drove in his first.

While driving the Johnny Lightning Special and winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1970 and 1971 for Vel's Parnelli Racing, a team owned by Vel Melatich and Parnelli Jones, he had Mario Andretti and Joe Leonard as his team mates.

He began racing in 1957, at age 18, initially competing primarily in modified roadsters, sprint cars and midgets. In 1965 he raced in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time and finished ninth.

He won the Indy 500 in 1970, two years after his brother, Bobby. During the race, he led for all but 10 of the 200 laps and averaged 155.749 miles per hour. His quick pit stops were a factor in the victory. That season he won a record 10 times on oval, road and dirt tracks to capture the United States Auto Club national championship.

In 1971 he won the Indy 500 again, starting from the fifth position with an average speed of 157.735 mph.

Unser's bid to become the first three-time consecutive Indy 500 champion was thwarted when he finished second to Mark Donohue in the 1972 Indianapolis 500.

Starting 1978 Indianapolis 500 from 5th position in an FNCTC Chaparral Lola, he was considered a long shot. He took the lead on lap 75 and won following the fortuitous engine failure of challenger Danny Ongais, averaging 161.363 mph.

*BILL VUKOVICH SR. 2 INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER

Bill was of Serbian descent, known variously as "Vuky", "The Silent Serb" and "The Mad Russian" for his intense driving style, and called by several of his generation the greatest driver ever encountered

Before he began Indy racing, Vukovich drove midget cars for the Edelbrock  dirt track racing team. In 1952, his sophomore year in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 500-Mile Race, he quickly moved up from his starting position in the middle of the third row to take the lead, and led 150 laps in dominant fashion before suffering steering failure on the 192nd of the 200 laps. He returned to win the race in consecutive years, 1953 and 1954, but was killed in a chain-reaction crash while holding a 17-second lead on the 57th lap of the 1955 event.

Vukovich was exiting the second turn, trailing three slower cars — driven by Rodger Ward, Al Keller, and Johnny Boyd — when Ward's car swerved as the result of a strong gust of wind. Keller, swerving into the infield to avoid Ward, lost control and slid back onto the track, striking Boyd's car and pushing it into Vukovich's oncoming path. Vukovich's car struck Boyd's, became airborne, and landed upside down after going over the outside backstretch retaining wall, killing him. Vukovich was the second of two not only former winners but also defending champions of the race to have died in competition, following Floyd Roberts in 1939, and the only former winner to have been killed while leading. Coincidently, Robert's car was also hurdled over the backstretch fence during his fatal accident.

As the Indianapolis 500 counted as a round of the Formula One World championship from 1950 to 1960, his career is credited with participation in 5 grands prix, with 2 wins, 19 championship points and 1 pole position scored. However, it should be noted that Indianapolis' inclusion in the championship was largely symbolic and the Indy drivers rarely entered any other Formula One races. Because of this Indy winners are often not listed in totals of Grand Prix winners and especially in statistics tables. As an example, Vukovich has an F1 winning percentage of 40%, which puts him just behind the 5-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio (47%). In percentage of lap-leader statistics in the history of Indianapolis, Vukovich holds for multiple-500-mile-race competitors a decisive record 485 laps led out of a possible 685 (70.8%).

His son, Bill Vukovich II, and his grandson, Bill Vukovich III, also competed in the Indianapolis 500, with Vukovich II taking second in 1973, and Vukovich III being named Rookie of the Year in 1988.

*JIMMY CLARK 2 TIME F-1 CHAMPION AND INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER

Jimmy was a Scottish Formula One (F1) racing driver. Twice World Champion, he was the dominant driver of his era.

He was born James Clark Jr. into a farming family at Kilmany House Farm, Fife, the youngest child of five, and the only boy. In 1942 the family moved to Edington Mains Farm near the town of Duns in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. He was educated at primary schools, first in Kilmany and then in Chirnside, and then following three years of preparatory schooling at Clifton Hall near Edinburgh he was sent to Loretto School in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh.

Although his parents were opposed to the idea, Clark started his racing career driving in local road rallies and hill climb events driving his own Sunbeam-Talbot, and proved to be a fearsome competitor right from the off. By 1958 Clark was racing for the local Border Reivers team, racing Jaguar D-Types and Porsches in national events, and winning 18 races.

Then on Boxing Day 1958, Clark met the man who would launch him to superstardom. Driving a Lotus Elite, he finished second to Colin Chapman. Chapman was sufficiently impressed to give Clark a run in one of his Formula Junior cars, and the rest, as they say is history.

After Aston Martin's F1 programme fell through, Clark was a free agent. Colin Chapman snapped him up for his F1 squad, and Clark made his debut in the 1960 Dutch Grand Prix. Throughout his F1 career from 1960 to 1968 Clark drove only for the Lotus team. He developed a near telepathic relationship with Chapman, which contributed to their outstanding success together. Chapman's innovative and nimble designs combined with Clark's skills at the wheel made for a nearly unbeatable force. 1962 saw Clark battling Graham Hill who drove for BRM for the World Championship in Chapman's brilliant Lotus 25, but in the final race an oil leak caused him to drop out just as victory seemed a formality.

His first Drivers' World Championship came driving the Lotus 25 in 1963, winning seven out of the ten races and Lotus its first Constructors' World Championship. That year he also competed in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, and only the oil on the track from winner Parnelli Jones' car prevented him from winning, as he finished in second position and won Rookie of the Year honours. In 1964 Clark came within just a few laps of retaining his crown, but just as in 1962, an oil leak from the engine robbed him of the title, this time conceding to John Surtees. Tyre failure put paid to that year's attempt at the Indianapolis 500. He made amends and won the Championship again in 1965 and also the Indianapolis 500 in the Lotus 38. He had to miss the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix in order to compete at Indianapolis, but made history by driving the first mid-engined car to win at the fabled "Brickyard," as well as becoming the only driver to date to win both that race and the F1 title in the same year.

At the same time, Clark was competing in the Australbasia based Tasman series, run for older F1 cars, and was series champion in 1965, 1967 and 1968 driving for Lotus. He won 14 races in all, a record for the series.

The FIA decreed from 1966, new 3-litre engine regulations would come into force. Lotus were less competitive. Starting with a 2-litre Coventry-Climax engine in the Lotus 33, Clark did not score points until the British Grand Prix and a third-place at the following Dutch Grand Prix. From the Italian Grand Prix onward Lotus used the more complex BRM H16 engine in the Lotus 43 car, with which Clark won the United States Grand Prix. He also picked up another second-place finish at the Indianapolis 500, this time behind Graham Hill.

During 1967 Lotus and Clark used three completely different cars and engines. The Lotus 43 performed poorly at the opening South African Grand Prix, so Clark used an old Lotus 33 at the following Monaco Grand Prix, retiring with suspension failure. Lotus then began its fruitful association with Ford-Cosworth. Their first car, the Lotus 49 featuring the most successful F1 engine in history, the Ford-Cosworth DFV, won its first race at the Dutch Grand Prix, driven by Clark. He won with it again at the British, United States and Mexican Grands Prix; and, in January 1968, at the South African Grand Prix. He had established himself as the dominant driver in the dominant car, save for its reliability.

Jim Clark's 1967 Italian Grand Prix drive in Monza is regarded one of the greatest drives ever in F1. After starting from pole, he was leading in his Lotus 49 (chassis R2), when a tyre punctured. He lost an entire lap while having the wheel changed in the pits. After rejoining 16th, Clark then showed his genius by driving at his own limit, something which is not required when leading. He ripped back through the field, progressively lowered the lap record, eventually equalling his pole time of 1m 28.5s (233.9 km/h), to regain the lost lap and the lead. He was narrowly ahead of Brabham and Surtees starting the last lap, but his car had not been filled with enough fuel for such a performance - it faltered, and finally coasted across the finish line in third place. This performance is considered unmatched in the long history of F1.

Other examples for his skills are his drive in a Lotus 23 sportscar during the 1962 1000km Nürburgring race or the qualifying for the 1967 German Grand Prix, when he took pole position by nine seconds and more.

The 14.2-mile Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit brought out the very best in Clark. In the 1962 1000km he drove the small Lotus 23, fitted with a 1500 cc Lotus-Ford twin-cam engine. On a patchily damp track, he outperformed the similar-powered Porsche 718 and the more powerful cars from Ferrari, with drivers like Phil Hill, Dan Gurney and Willy Mairesse at the wheel, and led with nearly 2 minutes outright until, affected by fumes from a broken exhaust, he went off course into the bushes.

Jim Clark also raced at Crimond in the North East of Scotland on 16th June 1956 in his very first car race he was behind the wheel of a DKW "sonderklasse".

Amazingly though, despite his mercurial talent, Clark never won at Monaco. He came close once in 1963 only to be stopped with 22 laps to go with a broken gearbox.

On 7 April 1968, however, Jim Clark's life and driving career was brought to a premature and tragic end. He was originally slated to drive in the BOAC 1000km sportscar race at Brands Hatch but instead chose to drive in a minor Formula 2 race for Lotus at the Hockenheimring in Germany, mostly due to contractual obligations with Firestone. On the fifth lap, his Lotus 48 veered off the track and crashed into the trees, killing him instantly. The cause of the crash was never definitively identified, but investigators concluded it was most likely due to a deflating rear tire. Colin Chapman was devastated and publicly stated that he had lost his best friend. As a sign of respect, Chapman ordered the traditional green and yellow badge found on the nose of all Lotus road cars to be replaced with a black badge for a month following Clark's death. The 1968 F1 Drivers' Championship was subsequently won by his Lotus team-mate Graham Hill, who pulled the heartbroken team together and held off Jackie Stewart for the crown, which he later dedicated to Clark.

Clark achieved 33 pole positions and won 25 races from his 72 Grands Prix starts in championship races. He is remembered for his ability to drive and win in all types of cars and series, including a Lotus-Cortina, with which he won the 1964 British Touring Car Championship, IndyCar, NASCAR, driving a Ford Galaxie for the Holman Moody team, Rallying, where he took part in the 1966 RAC Rally of Great Britain in a Lotus Cortina, and nearly won the event before crashing, and sports cars. He competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1959, 1960 and 1961, finishing 2nd in class in 1959 driving a Lotus Elite, and finishing 3rd overall in 1960, driving an Aston Martin DBR1.

He was also able to master difficult Lotus sportscar prototypes such as the Lotus 30 and 40. Clark had an uncanny ability to adapt to whichever car he was driving. Whilst other drivers would struggle to find a good car setup, Clark would usually set competitive lap times with whatever setup was provided and ask for the car to be left as it was.

He apparently had difficulty understanding why other drivers were not as quick as himself. After his death, Clark's father told Dan Gurney that he was the only driver his son ever feared. When Clark died, fellow driver Chris Amon was quoted as saying, "If it could happen to him, what chance do the rest of us have?"

Jim Clark is buried in the village of Chirnside in Berwickshire. A memorial stone can be found at the Hockenheimring circuit, moved from the site of his crash to a location closer to the current track.

*GASTON CHEVROLET DRIVER INVENTOR

Gaston was a French-born racecar champion driver and automobile manufacturer.

Born near Beaune, in the Côte-d'Or département of France where his Swiss parents had emigrated to a few years earlier, he was the younger brother of Louis (1878-1941) and Arthur Chevrolet (1884-1946). After brother Louis emigrated to the United States and earned enough money, he sent for Gaston and Arthur to join him. Once there, Gaston worked as an automotive mechanic and joined his brother in auto racing.

In 1916, Gaston Chevrolet became a partner with his brothers in the Frontenac Motor Corporation. Driving a Frontenac race car, he competed in the 1919 Indianapolis 500, finishing in tenth place while brother Louis finished seventh. The following year, Gaston Chevrolet broke the European dominance at the Indianapolis Speedway, winning the race in a redesigned Monroe-Frontenac. In the process, he became the first driver in the history of the 500 mile race to go the distance without making a tire change. Following his victory at Indianapolis, he competed in several more events, winning a 100-mile match race against Tommy Milton and Ralph Mulford. With winter, racing moved to the West Coast and at the Los Angeles Speedway board track in Beverly Hills, California Gaston Chevrolet was killed when his racecar crashed on lap 146.

Gaston Chevrolet is interred next to his brothers in the Roman Catholic Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.

KENNY BERNSTEIN NHRA CHAMPION

Bernstein won two NHRA top fuel championship and was NHRA funny car champion four times. He was the first driver to win the NHRA championship in both divisions. In 1992 he was the first drag racer to exceed 300 mph in competition. He was an innovator of corporate sponsorship in drag racing, and his team's deal with Budweiser, which earned his cars the name of 'Budweiser King', is the longest running sponsorship deal in motorsports history.

He retired in 2002 and currently runs a car for his son Brandon Bernstein. However, he has announced that he will return to racing in the Monster Energy Dodge Charger funny car in 2007.

Bernstein owned King Racing, a NASCAR team in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is also the only owner to record victories in NASCAR, the NHRA, and Indy Car racing.

*RODGER WARD 2 TIME INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER

Rodger won the 1959 and 1962 Indianapolis 500. He also was the 1959 and 1962 USAC Championship Car champion.

Born in Beloit, Kansas, Ward died in Anaheim, California. He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1950-1966 seasons with over 150 starts, including the 1951-1964 and 1966 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten in more than half his starts, with 26 victories.

Ward was the oldest living winner of the Indy 500, and, at the time of his retirement, was the only driver to be in the top 10 of all Indianapolis 500 statistics.

Before Indy racing, Ward drove midget cars for the Edelbrock dirt track racing team. He was also the 1951 AAA Stock Car champion.

Ward raced in the 1959 United States Grand Prix and the 1963 United States Grand Prix and, as the Indy 500 was a Formula One race from 1950-1960, is credited with participating in 12 grands prix with 1 victory, 2 podiums and 14 championship points.

MARIO ANDRETTI  F-1 DAYTONA 500 AND INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER

Mario was born in Montona d'Istria, Italy (now Motovun, Croatia) is an Italian American racing driver, and one of the most successful Americans in the history of auto racing.

During his career, Andretti won four Champ Car titles, the 1978 Formula One World Championship, and the 1979 IROC championship. To date, he remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, and the Formula One World Championship.

In the USA, the name Mario Andretti has become synonymous with speed, similar to Stirling Moss in the UK and Barney Oldfield in the early twentieth century in the United States.

Andretti began racing cars in 1959, just after his family had moved to the United States, on dirt oval tracks near Nazareth, Pennsylvania, in an old Hudson. His twin brother, Aldo Andretti, raced on the same tracks in the same car (at different times), but quit after an accident. Andretti placed 3rd in the Indianapolis 500 in his first year.

Mario made his debut in the U SAC series in 1964, and won the championship the very next season. He took part in many different categories of racing including drag racing, and by 1969, he had won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500 and the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Andretti also started driving in Formula One, taking the pole for his first race at Watkins Glen in 1968, and winning his first race in 1971 for Ferrari. By the mid-1970s, Andretti started to focus on Formula One, driving for Parnelli Jones's fledgling Parnelli Formula One team and Colin Chapman's famous Lotus outfit. In 1977, at Long Beach, he became the only American to win the United States Grand Prix West, in the Lotus 78 "wing car". With the revolutionary "ground effect" Lotus 79 of 1978, Andretti won six races in 1978, and took the title—a bitter-sweet victory in the light of the death of his teammate Ronnie Peterson, whom Andretti had grown to regard as a close friend. However, Andretti would find little success after 1978 in Formula One, failing to win another race in that series. In the following year, 1979, he was summarily outclassed by his Argentinian teammate Carlos Reutemann. In 1980, he was paired with Italian ace Elio de Angelis. Again, Mario was usually beaten by his team-mate. Nearly two years later, hired by Ferrari to enter the final two races of the 1982 season, he took an impressive pole position at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza (the Italian-born Andretti's success causing what Nigel Roebuck said was the loudest roar the famous circuit had ever seen), just as he did at Watkins Glen in his debut race in 1968.

He returned to Champ Cars in the 1980's, and won his fourth title in 1984, the first series title for Champ Car owner, sports car driver, and actor Paul Newman. His last victory in that class came in 1993. Andretti kept racing to try to win the only important missing award—the 24 hours of Le Mans, but failed to do so. His best finish is 2nd in 1995, and 3rd in 1983 (Porsche 956), both with his son Michael.

Mario ran only a few NASCAR races, but he captured the crown jewel in the series by winning the 1967 Daytona 500 for legendary car owners Holman-Moody.

Andretti also made the saying "Mario is slowing down!" famous at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While no one doubts his credentials as one of the greatest drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti's futility at Indy is also, unfortunately, legendary.

In the 1985 Indianapolis 500, he was passed by Danny Sullivan who then spun in front of him, pitted on his own caution, and then passed Mario again to go on for the win. His frustration came to a head in the 1987 Indianapolis 500 when he dominated the month of May and led most of the race but was taken out by an electrical problem.

Mario finished all 500 miles just five times with the 1969 Indianapolis 500 victory included. Andretti suffered broken ankles in the 1992 Indianapolis 500 crashing hard in turn four during the race. His last race at Indy was the 1994 Indianapolis 500.

While shaking down a car for his son in tire testing at Indianapolis before the month of May in 2003, Andretti survived a horrifying accident. His car hit a piece of debris left on the track by another car and went flying end over end between turns one and two. The crash was captured by a local television station helicopter. Luckily, the car landed right side up and Andretti walked away from the crash with very minor injuries.

For all his greatness and legendary skill, Andretti, and, by extension, the Andretti family, will long be associated with what many consider to be simply bad luck at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500.

Both of Mario Andretti's sons, Michael and Jeff, are also involved in auto racing, and Michael has won the Champ Car title as well. As of 2003, he was Champ Cars' winningest driver. Mario's nephew, John, has had success in both Champ Cars and NASCAR, winning races in both series. His grandson, Marco, won a championship in Champ Cars' "Stars of Tomorrow" kart racing series, before moving into the Star Mazda single-seater series. Marco is currently running his first full season in the Indy Racing League (IRL), driving for his father Michael's Andretti-Green Racing Team, and upon finishing second in the 2006 Indianapolis 500, became the first third-generation-recipient of the race's Rookie of the Year Award, following in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather.

Mario Andretti and son Michael Andretti both reside today in their respective close sitting mansions overlooking the town of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, from the north side of the town, home to Mario Andretti and his family since the 1950's. Andretti continues day-to-day work as a spokesman for Texaco and Firestone (his longtime sponsors). He is also something of a spokesman for CART, although he has been spotted at IndyCar races recently as he watches over his grandson Marco.

*JOHNNIE PARSONS SR AAA NATIONAL CHAMPION AND INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER

Johnnie won the Indianapolis 500 in 1950.

As the Indianapolis 500 was included in the Formula One World Championship from 1950 to 1960, he is credited with participation in 9 grands prix, debuting on May 30, 1950, with 1 race victory, 1 podium, and a total of 12 championship points.

Parsons had the dubious distinction of being the only Indianapolis 500 winner to have his name misspelled on the Borg-Warner Trophy. Silversmiths carved "Johnny" instead of "Johnnie." The error was corrected posthumously when the trophy was restored in 1991. Ironically, he had a son named Johnny who competed at Indy a dozen times.

MEL KENYON  " KING OF THE MIDGETS "

Mel began his racing career in 1954 racing Chevy Coupes. Then, in 1958, Mel began his historic career in the midgets that continues today (as of June 2006).

In that span, he has raced to unprecedented accompishments in the series, which includes: seven USAC Midget Championships standings, eight runner ups in the USAC Midget season points standings, 111 USAC Midget Feature wins, three NAMARS midget championships, and over 380 midget feature wins in all.

Mel's first career race came in a USAC Champ Car race in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. The engine in Mel's car blew up, and sent oil all over his car and his firesuit. After losing control of the car, Mel hit the wall, and was knocked unconscious while two cars slid in the oil and ran straight into Mel's fuel tank.

As a result of the accident, Mel lost all of his fingers on his left hand. Along with his brother and father, Mel designed a special glove that would fit on to his hand and hook on to the steering wheel.

In addition to his midget racing exploits, Mel captured four top-5 finishes in his eight career starts in the Indianapolis 500. Kenyon finished 5th in 1966, 3rd in 1968, 4th in 1969, and 4th in 1973.

*WILBUR SHAW 1ST 3 TIME INDIANAPOLIS 500 SAVED INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Wilbur Shaw won the Indianapolis 500 race three times, in 1937, 1939 and 1940. In the 1941 race, Shaw was injured when his car crashed; it was later discovered that a defective wheel had been placed on his car.

During World War II, Shaw was hired by the tire manufacturer Firestone to test a synthetic rubber automobile tire at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which had been closed due to the war. He was dismayed at the dilapidated condition of the already-historic racetrack. Then-owner Eddie Rickenbacker, the famed World War I flying ace and president of Eastern Air Lines, was not exactly sentimental about the track, of course. When the United States entered World War II, ending racing at Indianapolis and elsewhere for the duration, Rickenbacker essentially padlocked the gates and let the great race course slowly begin to disintegrate.

During a meeting soon after the tire test, Rickenbacker informed Shaw that what was left of the track would be demolished and the land turned into a housing subdivision ... unless Shaw could find someone else who might have other ideas. Little did Rickenbacker know that he had presented a challenge to a man who relished challenges.

Shaw immediately began looking for a "savior" for his beloved Speedway, and in short order was introduced to a man who lived not too far from Indianapolis; a man who had the resources to do virtually anything. In Terre Haute, Indiana, Tony Hulman had inherited his family's business, Hulman & Company, a wholesale grocer and producer of coffee and baking powder, and he made a fortune by raising the country's level of consciousness about the company's mainstay baking powder -- Clabber Girl.

A lifelong fan of automobile racing in general and the "500" in particular, Hulman listened with great interest to what Shaw had to say. Despite what Hulman saw amongst the weeds and deterioration when Shaw took him to Indianapolis, he purchased the Speedway from Rickenbacker in November 1945 for the sum of $750,000.

As a reward for his efforts to revive the Speedway, Shaw was anointed as its president, where he would have complete day-to-day control over the track. To this job, Shaw brought his extensive knowledge of the business of auto racing, something Hulman would admit that he himself didn't have, and Shaw's hard work only cemented the reputation of the "500" as the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

It seemed as though Shaw and Hulman had a "Midas touch" at the Speedway. Hulman poured money into improvements, and Shaw delivered the world's greatest automobile race to enthusiastic crowds, which grew in number by the year. The Indianapolis "500" of the late Forties and early Fifties was a very special event through the work of Hulman and Shaw, although Hulman was always sure to point out that it was Wilbur putting it all together.

Sadly, at the height of his power in the racing world, Shaw was killed in an airplane crash near Decatur, Indiana on October 30, 1954, one day before his fifty-second birthday. The pilot, Ray Grimes, and artist Ernest Roose were also killed.

BOB GLIDDEN ALL TIME NHRA WINNIEST DRIVER

Bob Glidden won the National Hot Rod Association's Pro Stock championship in ten seasons, and won 85 NHRA national events. In 2001, a panel ranked him fourth in the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000.

He is most closely associated with Ford cars, but also won the 1979 championship with a Plymouth.

ROGER PENSKE 14 TIME INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNING CAR OWNER

Roger is the owner of a very successful automobile racing team Penske Racing, the Penske Corporation, and other automotive related businesses.

He also is one of the corporate directors at General Electric and was chairman of Super Bowl XL in Detroit, Michigan. He is a 1959 graduate of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.

Starting in 1958, Penske purchased, raced and sold race cars, and was very successful both financially and on the track.

By 1960, he was a well known race car driver (Sports Illustrated SCCA Driver of the Year), winning prestigious races until 1965, when he retired as a driver, to concentrate on the business of owning and running a successful race car team. Interestingly enough, although Penske competed in two Formula One Grand Prix, and won a NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model race at Riverside in 1963, he never ran the Indy 500.

His team first competed in the Indianapolis 500 in 1969, winning that event 14 times between 1972 and 2006, and their first NASCAR win was in 1973. His teams have won many races in the subsequent years. He closed his European-based Formula One business in 1977. In 1982, he became the Chairman of the Penske Truck Leasing business.

Penske Racing now operates a NASCAR team comprising Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, and his development driver Billy Wease. They also operate an Indy Racing League team composed of Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish, Jr. Previously, they ran cars in the CART series that included some of the best drivers of the time, including Gary Bettenhausen, Tom Sneva, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Al Unser, Al Unser, Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi, Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan, Paul Tracy and Gil de Ferran.

ANDY GRANATELLI STP FOUNDER DRIVER 

Andy  once a racecar driver himself, and eventually became very visible in the racing world as the entrepreneur of his oil and gasoline treatment products, appearing on television and radio as well as sponsoring racecar drivers. His cars were a significant presence at the Indianapolis 500. His most notable entry was that of his turbine powered cars in the late 1960's. He fielded cars in the Indy 500 until 1991.

RICK  MEARS  4 TIME INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER

Rick is the third of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991), and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991). Mears is also a 3-time Champcar  national champion (1979, 1981 and 1982).

Mears was raised in Bakersfield, California, and began his racing career in off-road racing. He switched to Champcar racing in the late 1970s, making his debut for the small Art Sugai team, driving an obsolete Eagle-Offenhauser. His speed attracted the attention of Roger Penske. Although at the time Penske Racing had the services of Tom Sneva and Mario Andretti, Andretti was also racing in Formula One with Lotus at the time and Penske wanted another young driver who would focus exclusively on American racing. For 1978 Mears was offered a drive in nine of the eighteen championship races, including the Indianapolis 500.

Mears qualified on the front row at Indy, but did not lead a lap and retired at half-distance with a blown engine. Two weeks later, at the Rex Mays 1