Tag Cloud
July 11, 2022
On the weekend of June 12, 2022, the Indy Cars came to race at Road America. The Sensio Road America Grand Prix was a spectacular race! For a while we figured it was going to take all day though.
Alexander Rossi won the pole position and Josef Newgarden won the race with a great pit stop that put him ahead of Alex for the win.
The first 10 laps or so had a bit of crazy driving. Jimmie Johnson went off course on the first lap in turn 3 which brought out the yellow flag.
Alex Palou had contact on lap 4 for another yellow flag and then Will Power had a wild accident in turn 5. Will Power got a little push by Devlin DeFrancesco that put him into the wall and was facing the wrong way with a broken nose on his car. He attempted to continue on right in front of me, but had to stop on track and get the nose removed.
Finally, at lap 10 we got going again for a great race.
In my photos, checkout the hot brakes on many of the cars. Then look at winner Josef Newgarden doing some really nice victory donuts with alot of smoke and perfectly shaped donuts! Those tires were done after that for sure but his "favorite race car" he said was fine to race again.
Had great weather and it was a fun time at Road America!
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
April 18, 2022
On June 3, 2007 the Indy Racing League came to the Milwaukee Mile for the ABC Supply A.J. Foyt 225 Race.
The Milwaukee race was run traditionally one week after the Indy 500. Miss that race a lot. Bring it back please Roger Penske now that you have control and own the Indy Car series.
Helio had the pole for this race but his rear wing broke during the race right in front of me! He was done for the day and Sam Hornish had a similar situation and was out of the race a few laps later. Tony Kanaan won it with Dario Franchitti in second. Dan Wheldon finished third.
Danica and Dan Wheldon had a little track incident that had Danica steaming down to Dan Wheldon's pit after the race. They weren't friends anymore and fists almost came out!! Great seeing photos of Dan Wheldon again. Fun guy that I traded some photos with for his helmet visor that year. I also have Danica's visors in a photo trade I did every year she was in Indy Cars! I also have a Toyota Atlantic visor of hers from the early days.
Victory Lane was dedicated with a plaque now calling it the A.J. Foyt Victory Lane. A.J. Foyt loved it and he received a Packers Jersey from A.J. Hawk!
Enjoy a look at the Milwaukee Mile and some great racers.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
January 24, 2022
This week we look back at the great days of Indy Car racing with the CART race at Road America in 2002. It was a late season race on August 18, 2002.
These were the days of beautiful cars with big horsepower. Cristiano da Matta won the race with Alex Tagliani finishing second and Bruno Junquiera third. Cristiano da Matta would win the championship that year!
Tony Kanaan started last and finished fourth!!!
Notice a photo of Wilson Fittipaldi watching his son Christian at work. Also, notice a picture of me next to Adrian Fernandez's Indy Car sponsored by Tecate!! Beautiful race car livery!
I'm letting the photos do the talking this week.
Enjoy and be safe.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
December 27, 2021
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Let's hope that the coming new year is a good one.
On May 31-June 2, 2002, the Milwaukee Mile hosted the Miller Lite 250 for the CART Indy Car series. This was at the time when Tony George was trying to take over the series and started the Indy Racing League (IRL). We are still trying to recover from that mess!
The field of cars was down to 19 for this race thanks to the IRL taking a lot of teams over to their side of the fence.
The race was still a good one with Adrian Fernandez on pole position and Paul Tacy winning. Adrian Fernandez finished second and Max Papis third.
This was also the first year of the new grandstands at the Milwaukee Mile.
Today, the grandstands are still there but they actually have tried selling them through the years! Thankfully, that never happened but motor racing has really declined at the Milwaukee Mile. It's the oldest race track in the country. Traditionally, the race at the Milwaukee Mile was the first weekend after the Indy 500.
Take a peak at the old days of 2002. Those were some great racing cars. There's nothing like the smell of methanol fuel!
Talk to you next year and be safe.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
July 12, 2021
Last week, I focused my blog on the Vintage Indy Reserve cars. This week, I'm showing you the Indy Cars that ran that same weekend at Road America.
Included in this blog are some Indy Lights, USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 race cars and drivers.
The Indy Cars are my favorite race cars of all. They never cease to amaze me with what the drivers can do with them! Takuma Sato is a wild driver and his car shows it as the race went on. It will need some bodywork!
After two days of practice and qualifying, it seemed Joseph Newgarden had things under control for the pole and the race. Well, he got the pole position and led a lot of the race but did not win.
Joseph really seemed to have it done until the last few laps when his gearbox had other ideas. Alex Palou won the race and Colton Herta was close behind in second. Will Power finished third followed by Scott Dixon and the Formula 1 racers Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean.
It was interesting to watch NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson trying to handle an Indy Car. It's going to take some time for him to get up to speed.
Not so for Formula 1 veterans Marcus Ericksson and Romain Grosjean. Romain really is fast and has adapted very well to Indy Car and is having fun being very competitive. Marcus and Romain will be winning soon I believe.
Check out the photos and enjoy the HOT brake photos taken near the end of the race. One actually looked like it was on fire! Unfortunately I missed that shot though..
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
May 3, 2021
It is the month of May and that means it's Indy Car time and the Indy 500 is coming up on May 30th!
Time to practice for the greatest spectacle in racing as they say. Most of the month is dedicated to practice and setup of the cars.
Indy Car has had two races so far and it's been interesting with both races. The young drivers are moving up and really stepping it up. Colton Herta won the St. Petersburg race and Scott Dixon, the old master, won the first race in Texas. Pato O'Ward won the second race!
Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O'Ward, Colton Herta and more are very aggressive and ready to pounce for a victory. Veteran driver Scott Dixon will be trying for another Indy 500 win and moving for his seventh championship as well.
Here we look back at Road America last year where it was a great battle between Felix and Pato lap after lap. During the final ten laps they were a few feet apart from each other with Felix taking the win!
Get ready for some action with the Indy 500 and for Road America Indy Car June 17th through June 20th! The Vintage Indy Car series will be joining the Indy Cars at Road America again which is very cool to see and to hear those old cars.
Very sad to learn we lost Uncle Bobby Unser last night... One of the greatest old school Indy Car drivers around and all around nice guy. RIP Uncle Bobby...
Enjoy a nice month!
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
August 31, 2020
The Indianapolis 500 was a bit different this year because there were no fans and it was not held in the month of May. August 23, 2020 was the day of the great race with Marco Andretti securing the pole position!!
It became a unique race with Marco Andretti on the pole and Mario and Michael Andretti leading him to the green flag in the two seat Indy Car. Sadly, Marco didn't lead a lap, I believe.
Scott Dixon dominated the day except for the last 33 laps when Takuma Sato took the lead. Takuma is now a second time Indy 500 winner.
Congratulations to Takuma and teammate Graham Rahal who finished third. Great day for Bobby Rahal and his team that owns both cars!
I was really pulling for Marco, and then Scott Dixon if Marco couldn't get it done. Rinus Veekay was a rookie I was pulling for also. He survived a scary accident during the race with Spencer Pigot.
You just never know who will win in the end. That's racing!
Very disappointed at how NBC handled the television coverage for the great race cutting it short.
On another note, I turned 66 years old on August 30th!! Been retired for a year now and busy as can be!
Next project among others is a book on my father Carl Zimmermann! Been working on it for a while and it's a ton of work with lots to do yet.
Enjoy a look at the Indy 500 leaders. These pictures were taken almost two months ago at Road America.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
September 23, 2019
I have been retired now for 20 days and I'm tired!!! I have been catching up on chores I've wanted to do and have a ton more to do. I'm not complaining though!
Yesterday was the final race of the Indy Car season and it was an awesome race!
Colton Herta at 19 years old won the race from pole position and Joseph Newgarden won the championship! Personally, I was pulling for Scott Dixon for the race win and championship but it was not meant to be. Scott's previous two races with mechanical issues really put him out of the championship hunt. He tried very hard though starting and finishing yesterday's race in second place.
Here are a few photos of the guys from Road America this year and now we have to wait a whole year before we see them race again!
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
June 24, 2019
What a fun and busy weekend with Indy Cars at Road America! I even ended up on the radio at 105.7fm, The Final Inspection show on Saturday!! Check it out at radio.com in the "on demand" section.
Colton Herta and Alexander Rossi were the stories of the weekend. Colton at 19 years old won the pole position for the Indy Car race!
For the race, Colton only led the first three turns and then it was Alexander Rossi all day to win the race!
I let the photos tell the rest of the story.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann