May 25, 2015

It's Sunday evening here as I write my blog in Wisconsin.  It's  a cool, rainy, sleepy day, and good day to sit and watch the Indy 500.

My blog today takes a look at Jeff Beck, who I had the pleasure of photographing Friday night at Milwaukee's Riverside Theater. He is so good and my favorite guitarist.

We sat and watched Juan Pablo Montoya win the Indy 500 today! He was in last place for a bit, and then wins it all!! Congrats to him, wife Connie and family.

For fun, I have included my first ever Indy car photos from the Milwaukee 1971, Rex Mays Classic race at the Milwaukee Mile. Dad wouldn't take me, so the photos are done with a tripod and shot through the television!!! Bobby Unser won it and looks so young!  A.J. Foyt has a plain old white helmet with AJ written on it! Funny stuff to look at until you see the one photo of someone's car in flames on the track. Love the #1 Bardahl car of Joe Leonard!

Thanks and have a good week,

Rich Zimmermann

May 11, 2015

Ok, I promise that this is the last blog on the 1990 CART race at the Milwaukee Mile!

I finally scanned all the film, and I just kept coming across some good memories of good times in Indy car racing!  Here are a few of my favorites.

Michael and Mario Andretti sitting on the pit wall having a talk with an engineer.

A. J. Foyt and Mario on their motor scooters having a discussion about who knows what. Would love to know what it was about. Next to them, is legendary engineer, Jim McGee.

Scott Brayton in his Amway car is no longer with us and the photo of Jeff Andretti is the last photo I took of him racing.

Pancho Carter, Danny Sullivan, Rick Mears and Eddie Cheever are looking good in their cars.

So, enjoy the last look of 1990 at the Milwaukee Mile, when they used a board to list qualifying speeds!!!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

May 4, 2015

Last week was so much fun with scanning old film from the Milwaukee Mile, Miller 200, 1990 CART race, that we are going to do this for a while!

So this week, we are looking at a few images of Danny Sullivan, Rick Mears and Emerson Fittipaldi. This is the power house Team Penske of 1990.

This team, was full of Indy 500 winners and CART champions.

They are all personal favorites, especially Emerson Fittipaldi, whose helmet I adored! I still think it's one of the most beautiful helmet designs around!

The aero devices on Emmo's helmet are the earliest form of aero dynamic work.

Enjoy a look at some of the fastest cars EVER made and a beautiful helmet!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

April 27, 2015

Time to switch my blogs to some Indy car racing photography for my racing fans! Also, because it's almost Indy 500 time!

So, for the next few blogs we are going to be looking at the 1990, Miller Beer 200, CART race at the Milwaukee Mile.

This was a good time for Indy cars with big name drivers. We had and will look at today, Emerson Fittipaldi, Raul Boesel, Arie Luyendyk, Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan and A.J. Foyt Jr.

Team owner Roger Penske and his right hand man Teddy Mayer are also shown today. Teddy Mayer was one of the best engineers on the planet, coming from years in Formula 1.

It is interesting to me to see the dashboards of 1990, when now, all information for the driver is on the steering wheel!

Enjoy a look at film roll number one of my collection with more to come next week.

Time for me to mow the grass for the first time now while you look at this!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

The CART Indy Car series at the Milwaukee Mile on June 3, 1990.

March 30, 2015

First of all, I must thank Larry Widen for helping me with last week's blog about Steve Miller. He helped me to get the year that the photos were taken all straightened out! The show that was pictured in last week's blog of Steve Miller with Leslie West at Summerfest was 1977. I wasn't sure, so I asked all of you for some feedback and thanks to Larry, who was at the show, it's all figured out now! Love feedback from you and please know that I read and respond to every comment.

This week's blog came about because of a photograph of mine that appeared on a Facebook page without my knowledge. I was like, I think that is my photo!! So, I got home, checked it out and it is my photo!

It is one of seven images of boat racer Tim Seebold, racing in the SST 140 class race during the St. Louis Grand Prix weekend in 1991. Tim Seebold and his family is probably the most famous family of boat racers. His father Bill, brother Mike, and grandfather Bill senior, all race boats.  They usually win every race they participate in!

So, in the race shown here, Tim Seebold didn't win. Going into the turn, Mark Miller driving the boat on the inside of the turn, trimmed down a little bit, then Tim did, and then Mark straightened out and ran under Tim's boat forcing it into the air. This lifted Tim's boat and then it just forced him up, up, up into the air!  It was amazing.

I watched it all in the viewfinder of my Nikon and just let the motordrive do it's job until it ran out of film! Remember film? Wow, do I wish this was a digital situation and I could have just kept on shooting. But back then, there were only 36 shots to a roll. I wish I could have gotten a few more photos of the landing of Tim's boat.

Well, Tim walked away from this but the boat didn't! It was broken up pretty good and I never did hear what happened to it after the accident. If anyone knows, let me know about the boat repair job and if it ever raced again.

One last interesting fact for you- in the last frame you can see a fellow photographer without his shirt on running away! He is the official Mercury Racing photographer and he got a few great shots of Tim coming directly at him before he ran away!

Have a great week.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Tim Seebold, getting a little air at the St. Louis Grand Prix on 8-11-1991.

December 29, 2014

This is our last blog of the year and I have to wish Happy Birthday to my racing friend Tony Kanaan! TK was born on December 31, 1974!! Puppy!

Just a simple blog today to wish TK the best birthday ever on New Years Eve and to wish him a safe and successful 2015.

Here is a little look back at TK in the year 2000 and 2014 in Milwaukee's Indy car races.

I also want to thank all of you for the business you have given me and Happy New Year everyone! My wish to you all for the New Year is much success in whatever you do!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Tony Kanaan in Milwaukee's IRL race in 2014.

Tony Kanaan, in Milwaukee's CART race in 2000.