November 14, 2016
In a continuation of my past couple of blogs, I'm focusing on May 24th and 25th of 1993. These were two testing days at the Milwaukee Mile for CART drivers.
Way back when in the old Indy car days, the guys would practice and test at the Milwaukee Mile in between the Indy 500 and the Milwaukee race that was traditionally the weekend after the Indy 500. Not anymore, but back then and for many years it was tradition to come up and test at Milwaukee. The guys couldn't practice at Indy and they were looking for something to do! You could say that they were a little itchy for some driving or practice!
Paul Tracy is pictured here with Rick Mears coaching him along with Teddy Mayer who both were Team Penske engineer wizards! Teddy Mayer worked at McLaren F1 with the legendary Bruce McLaren and many others.
The biggest thing I remember of this test session was Paul telling Rick Mears that "wait until Nigel Mansell gets here and feels the bump in turn one"! There used to be a big bump in turn one that caught everyone by surprise. The track has been repaved since then of course.
Paul Tracy was in his first full season of Indy cars in 1993 and was Rick Mears' replacement driver. He scored five victories and finished third in points. He also led the most laps, named most improved driver by his peers and won from pole position twice.
Enjoy a look at 24 year old Paul Tracy at Milwaukee.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
May 16, 2016
Well, as I see it, 1993 was a VERY good year for Indy car racing. Last week I shared some pictures with you and now I have more for you to see from 1993.
Bobby Rahal won the 1992 CART championship and Emerson Fittipaldi had just won the Indy 500, a week before these photos were taken.
Jacques Villeneuve is shown in his Toyota Atlantic car here. This being the year before he went on into Indy cars. Nigel Mansell and Mario Andretti were teammates who did not get along. There are so many stories here in these photos. One of my favorites is the photo of Mario and Paul Newman. Then we have Carl Haas and his never lit cigar that he always seemed to have. These were the people that made Indy car racing what it is today and I thank them for that.
There are a lot of photos here for you to enjoy! Check them out.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
May 9, 2016
This week we look at Indy cars at the Milwaukee Mile in 1993. These were the good days of Indy car racing with some big names in the field and great competition.
Mario Andretti, Al Unser Jr., Paul Tracy, Rick Mears, Scott Goodyear, Willy T. Ribbs, Danny Sullivan, Bobby Rahal and many other good ones were racing at that time. Plus, we had Nigel Mansell who just finished clinching the Formula 1 championship in 1992!
These were really good times for Indy car that I don't think will ever be equalled again for competition and rivalries!
I'll let the photos do the talking now. Good looking cars and big names to enjoy!
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann