The Official Blog of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

I think it is fair to say that Tom Carnegie probably stands out as one of the most iconic personalities in the entire history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, certainly since World War II.

While one has to consider that many of those who have only ever watched the Indianapolis 500 on television or listened to the radio broadcasts conceivably might not even be aware of who he is (hard to believe!), for the legions who have attended the race or qualifications over the last seven or eight decades, that thundering voice has stirred enough memories and emotion to have long since elevated him to the status of a legend.

Ask any track-going fan to reel off a few names of people who they consider synonymous with the track, and surely “Tom Carnegie” would have to be among the first names one would hear.

We all have our favorite Carnegie stories and our memories concerning that extraordinary voice and his legendary “calls.” Personally, I well remember several times in the 1970s when I would be in the pit area at around 7:45 a.m. on the first day of Qualifications and the public address would fire up for the day. You’d hear a click and a hum, followed by Carnegie saying, “Testing, one, two, three … GOOD MORNING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,” after which would come a huge roar from the crowd. I would think, wow, his voice creates so much excitement and evokes such a wave of nostalgia and even comfort—all is right with the world—that he even gets an ovation with a sound check!

Not surprisingly, word of his untimely passing has traveled quickly and tributes and stories about Tom have been pouring in all day. With that said, I would like to hear from you. If you have a favorite Carnegie memory or anecdote concerning a personal brush with ‘The Man,’ then please share it with me below.

My 500 traditions with my father and family

---

My favorite racing memories are the traditions that my father and I started in the late 1960′s to 1980′s.
The first time that my father took me to the track was the rain-out pole day in 1969 when Jigger Sirois  failed to qualify.  We returned every year for the first day of qualfications and sometimes the race.    We would wake up at 5am and park on Falcon Lane off of the third turn.  At 6am when the track opened, we would watch the mad dash of cars and motorcycles race into the track.  Then with the other hundreds of people,  we made the long trek from the third turn to the grandstands across from the pits.  Every year we would bring the same food for breakfast (donuts),  the same lunches (sandwich, pickles and cookies) in a big paper bag and a thermos filled with ice, juice and cans of soda.  Of course, we also brought a rain poncho in case it rained.  We had it down to a science.
The 1970′s and the 1980′s were exciting times.  The grandstands were packed by 8am on pole day.  For many years, we heard Tom Carnegie say “It’s a new track record” and the crowd would go wild.  It was so thrilling when Tom Sneva cracked the famous 200 mph lap barrier and then a few years later cracked the 210 mph barrier.  There were so many great legends back then like Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears to say the least.
Over the years, I continued to follow the qualifications and race throughout the month of May.  In the early 1990′s, I started a new tradition when I went to qualifications with my wife.   Over the past few years, I have learned a lot about the history of the 500 dating back to 1909.  Now, I am teaching my kids all the famous drivers over the 90 years by playing “500 bingo” and “500-monopoly” games I created.  They have already started to learn some of the top drivers from the early days like Ray Harroun, Ralph DePalma and Jim Hurtubise from the 1960s.
The old traditions continue and new ones are being formed.  Just this past year, my father and I went back to qualifications again although we walked from my house in Speedway instead of the third turn.   We brought similar food and drinks but in a thermal lunch bag instead of the paper bag.  Now, I am forming a new tradition with my kids.  For the last two years, I have taken them to the track on a practice with our thermal lunch bag.  Due to their young age, they do not last long.  Next year, it would be a wonderful time to start a new tradition by going to qualification with my father, my wife and my kids on the 100th anniversary of the track.

What Indy Means to me?

---

My Indy 500 experience started at the young age of 7 as my family and next door neighbors went to the 1972 indy 500 sitting in the southeast vista. But my first time I went to quals was probably 1969 or 70.  I have been going to the speedway for almost 40 years now. this will be my 25th race in a row and I plan on coming until I can’t walk to my seats. Indy is so magical to me from the first time I heard the old offy engine or the bass voice of the legendary Mr Carnegie saying “AND HES ON IT….still gives me chills to this day. Indy in my opinion is Pure MAGIC and will always be that way to me. I try to spend as much the month as possible at the track walking through the garage area with my Camcorder and enjoying all the drivers and my past heroes who are only a handshake away to say hi or just good luck for the month. So I guess what I am trying say is Indy means Great memories with great drivers through out the years and no other place besides Home means more to me!!!!!!!!!!

It was a quiet racing weekend over Easter in the United States, as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and IZOD IndyCar Series both had the holiday weekend off.

Still, it’s funny sometimes how a common thread can emerge from even the sleepiest of racing weekends.

The bond between two races on the schedule last weekend was breakage – or lack thereof.

Formula One raced at the Grand Prix of Malaysia in steamy Sepang. Once again, the dominant Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel proved they were the fastest cars on the grid by taking the top two spots in qualifying.

Vettel appeared to be running away with the first two races of the season, in Bahrain and Australia, before mechanical problems forced his retirement. Much like the Infiniti engine in the IZOD IndyCar Series back in the late 90s and early 00s, the Red Bulls were fast but about as brittle as cold glass.

So when Vettel made a brilliant move to dive past Webber in the first turn of the opening lap at Malaysia, the big question wasn’t whether Webber could catch him. He can’t. He’s not as fast as Vettel regardless of how much of the Aussie hard man act he puts on. Webber better learn to handle the truth: Sebastian Vettel is faster than him and a better racer than him.

The big question was whether the pin had been pulled on the hand grenade known as the Red Bull RB6. Would Vettel make it to the finish? It was almost as if the clock had been turned back, and I was watching Eddie Cheever Jr. lead with an Infiniti-powered car back around 2000. Could the damn thing stay together and win?

Well, hells bells: The RB6 didn’t detonate or shatter, and Vettel cantered to an impressive victory. Webber finished second.

But Vettel didn’t produce the most impressive drive of the race. That laurel goes to Fernando Alonso, who drove without a clutch after it broke during the formation lap. Alonso was forced to push the throttle while downshifting for the gearbox to work. Yet Alonso still managed a feisty battle for position with fellow World Champion Jenson Button until Alonso’s engine expired with a big exhale of white smoke with two laps remaining.

I know people like to rip F1 for its sometimes-processional racing. Fair enough. But F1 still maintains an interesting aspect of motor racing that is almost extinct in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and IZOD IndyCar Series – mechanical unreliability.

The mechanical engineering of Honda, Dallara and NASCAR chassis and engine builders is fantastic. Stuff does not break anymore in those two series. The chassis and engines are damn near bulletproof.

That’s great for the reputation of those companies, but it does rob the sport of some drama. Can you imagine the lore of the Indianapolis 500 without Parnelli’s turbine breaking with four laps to go in 1967? Without Bill Vukovich dropping out with nine laps remaining in 1952 due to steering failure, handing a win to a young California cat named Troy Ruttman? Without Tom Carnegie’s famous “Mario Andretti is slowing down on the backstretch!” declaration on the PA to the crowd? Hell, this blog wouldn’t have a name without that, either.

I don’t yearn for the days when one-third of the field is eliminated by engine detonations that look like crop dusting in an IZOD IndyCar Series or Sprint Cup Series race. But it would be cool if once, just once, the thought of “Is this dude’s rig going to hold up to the finish?” entered the equation like it sometimes does in F1, especially early in the season while teams are still finding and squashing mechanical bugs.

The other issue of breakage came Friday night during the Camping World Truck Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.

Winners of races at that facility receive a gorgeous Gibson electric guitar hand-painted by renowned motorsports artist Sam Bass. Kyle Busch infuriated track officials, Bass and millions of fans last year when he smashed his winner’s guitar in Victory Lane, Pete Townshend-style, after winning the Nationwide Series race last June in Nashville.

Busch pulled off a dominant win in the truck race last Friday night at Nashville. But he wisely decided to keep the guitar in one piece in victory lane. Smart move, Kyle. Busch actually gave the guitar to Bass and told him he could smash Busch’s truck in retribution for Busch’s antics last year.

Yeah, right, Kyle.

•This weekend: After a low-key Easter weekend of racing, worldwide racing blasts back into life this weekend. NASCAR Sprint Cup races Saturday night at Phoenix, the IZOD IndyCar Series races for the first time on the road course at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday in Birmingham, Ala., MotoGP finally comes alive like Peter Frampton on Sunday at Qatar, World Superbike is racing at Valencia, Spain, and Grand-Am races Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park.

Damn, I better check the fuse box here to ensure my DVR doesn’t blow up my electrical system. The good, old recorder will be humming this weekend.

Best of luck to Americans Colin Edwards, Nicky Hayden and Ben Spies as the Americans take on the “aliens” – Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo – in MotoGP. I’m not going to rank series by excitement factor, but I will say that you’re seriously missing out on insanely good racing if you don’t watch MotoGP. Good luck also to American rookie Kenny Noyes in Moto2, the new final ladder class en route to MotoGP.

•Song of the Week: With all this talk about parts breakage, Tom Petty’s classic “Breakdown” is an easy choice as this week’s top tune. Here’s a killer version from the “Southern Accents” tour in 1985, in which lead guitarist Mike Campbell is en fuego: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNxfPAF1frM

Until next time, keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel … and don’t forget to visit IMS on Twitter at www.twitter.com/IndyTalk and continue to stop by here at our place on Facebook.