Meeting the Drivers

When I was in 4th or 5th Grade, I lived in Speedway. One night a father of one of my friends asked if we would like to go with him over to the Goodyear Tire Shop located in the Speedway Plaza at Crawfordsville Road.  It was where the Hooks Drug Store was located…I believe the Goodyear Shop is still there. Well, I was absolutely awestruck as I stood there and listened to Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, Al Unser, and several others stood there and talked with everyone, signed autographs, and just seemed like regular guys. (My favorite driver was, and still is, Johnny Rutherford). It started raining and we all jumped under the tents that had been provided and after a brief downpour, the sun came back out. Most of the drivers got back to the tables and were signing autographs, and then I saw Johnny Rutherford push one of the tent poles that made the tent fabric itself buckle just enough to allow a pool of water that had collected in a “pocket” find its way to the edge of the tent to the top of Gordon Johncock’s head!!! Everyone just started busting out laughing and was quite hilarious!!!