Blog
July 1, 2024
During the Indy Car weekend at Road America, the Vintage Indy Registry cars come along and run some track sessions.
It's always fun to see these beautiful cars that don't get enough track time unfortunately. They usually run the first and last session of the day so a lot of fans miss seeing them on track but they are on display all day to look at.
It's good to learn the history of our sport and learn about the beautiful sounds they make. The woosh of the Lotus STP turbine car is something to hear as it is hot exhaust from kerosene that it is using for fuel. Makes for an interesting photo if caught right and I've got a couple here..
Al Unser Jr. was our usual pace car driver but in a beautiful orange Corvette this year rather than the usual Mini Cooper S.
Enjoy a look at the cars during one of the few dry sessions of the weekend. They won't run in the rain because it would be a lot of work to dry these old cars out. I even went through two pairs of shoes and got soaked!!
Next blog will be the present day Indy Cars running in the rain during this race weekend.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
June 17, 2024
I've been a busy photographer since the Indy 500 and I'm trying to catch up here.
I've been doing a lot of editing and shooting Indy Cars at Road America with Vintage Indy Reserve which was followed by a test of Indy Car at the Milwaukee Mile the following Tuesday and Wednesday.
I'm going do the Indy Car test blog first because it's the least amount of photos taken!
Tuesday June 11, 2024 was a great day for running Indy Cars, especially in the morning.
We had about a 30 minute delay because they worked on the fence to make it perfect. The track with all it's improvements is really looking great.
So I'm standing next to driver Will Power watching the repairs going on across from his car in pit lane. We had a nice chat for about 10 minutes about his race win at Road America a few days earlier and the new hybrid power unit.
The new power unit brings Honda, Chevrolet and Ilmor together making parts to bring 120 plus extra horsepower with hybrid assist and push to pass combined horsepower. It will be the first time in over 20 years with more than 800hp.
The car is also around 20 pounds heavier which Will wasn't too happy about it seemed.
With myself being a music photographer since 1971, we got talking about music since Will is also a drummer. I'm 69 years old and he said that I've photographed the good music days but he didn't know who guitarist Jeff Beck is! I'm working on that education with him!
They had a great test with David Mulukas being the fastest of Indy Cars and Louis Foster the fastest in Indy NXT. It was a test to learn the new engines and to become familiar with the track that Indy Cars haven't been to since 2015.
Enjoy a look at the cars and come join us on my 70th birthday weekend August 30th through September 1. There will be two races- one on Saturday August 31 and the other Sunday September 1.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
June 3, 2024
I took another item off my bucket list! I went to the Indy 500 at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway! I have never been there to see the famous Brickyard.
It figures that I go for the longest Indy 500 ever in one day as we had a four hour rain delay.
When I went there a week earlier to get my credentials and become a little familiar with the place, I wasn't that impressed by the size of it all. Access was limited and we couldn't really see much.
Well, that changed come race weekend when I saw most of the track, the media center and more. Never got to turn 2 or 3 because it's so big and I had a lot going on.
Nice to meet Rick Mears, Scott McLaughin, Pato O'Ward, Mario Andretti again and so many more like Kyle Larson, the NASCAR star who did a great job racing. It was fun to tell Rick Mears while we were in an elevator, that I sign my blog like he signs his autographs with a Thanks!! That made him smile.
Walked in on Friday morning for the photo meeting and then went to work right away with a half hour interview with Mario Andretti for IndyCastBrasil. I worked with IndyCastBrasil all weekend. They are great folks. Check them out on You Tube, Instagram and all the social medias.
I could go on and on but I'll let the photos do the talking. Take a look at the race won by Josef Newgarden. Pato O'Ward was heartbroken finishing in P2 and then my main man, Scott Dixon, finished P3. Scott almost won it but he did win yesterday in Detroit!
Time to get ready for Road America and Indy Cars this coming weekend.
Hope you enjoy these photos.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
