November 4, 2024

During the famous split of Indy Car we had Champ Car and the Indy Racing League both at the Milwaukee Mile in 2006. This is the IRL at the Milwaukee Mile on July 23, 2006 where Helio Castroneves won the pole position but was out of the race quickly in an accident.

Tony Kanaan won the race with Sam Hornish Jr. second and Tomas Schecter third. Young Danica Patrick finished fourth which was a good run for her.

The cars to my eye just were not as good looking as a Champ Car and didn't sound as good. Not as fast as a Champ Car either, I believe.

Take a look at the cars and see if you like them better than the Champ Cars in my last blog.

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

Sunday June 3, 2007 the Indy Racing League raced the ABC Supply A.j. Foyt 225!

March 18, 2013

The start of the open wheel race season is this weekend in Melbourne, Australia with Formula 1.  Next weekend we have the IRL in St. Petersburg, Florida.  It's time for a racing blog!

Today, we look back at Danica Patrick in 2005 at the Milwaukee Mile's IRL race.

Danica had three years of Toyota Atlantic racing and many years of kart experience.  She was now ready for Indy cars.  Bobby Rahal and David Letterman took a chance and put her on their team with Buddy Rice as her teammate.

She had a pretty good year winning the Rookie of the Year award and finished 12th in points.  Her highlight of the year was the Indy 500 where she started 4th and finished 4th and also led for 19 laps.  She was the first woman to lead at Indianapolis in history.

Danica also earned 3 pole positions in 2005.  At Milwaukee she started 6th and finished 19th due to an accident.

Thanks to Danica, every little girl was now into racing and Indy cars.  I also think that Danica was a popular name for babies in 2005!  When these little girls grow up we will find out how many become race car drivers and have the name Danica.

Television ratings went up and so did interest in Indy cars thanks to Danica.  Every step of her life was now being followed. Her parents, Bev and TJ, have been her number one supporters.

It is a nice little racing family and I continue to wish them the best of luck even though she is now in NASCAR!

Blog photos for your office or race room are on sale for $50.00 for a limited edition 8 1/2 X 11 archival print.  Danica would look nice in your race room. Wouldn't she?

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Danica Patrick, racing for Bobby Rahal in the IRL in 2005 at the Milwaukee Mile.

Danica Patrick

April 16, 2012

Most of us work in an office or cubicle, but if you are lucky enough to be a race car driver your office is the cockpit. If you are lucky enough to be a musician the stage is your office.  Those jobs are very similar in many ways.  Both demand a lot of brain power and both require stamina because the work environment can change at any second.  Your reflexes need to be quick and you must have the ability to focus only on the task at hand.   Both, hopefully, are in front of a large and excited crowd interested in what you are doing.  Adrenaline pours through the body of the musician on stage or the race car driver in the cockpit.  I feel the same thing when I photograph them! It really is alot of fun for me.

In 2003, after years of photographing race car drivers I wanted to find a different angle, a different view that we don't see very often, a view to call my own.  I thought a view of the race car driver from above, in his office, would be an interesting angle.  On pit lane one day, I put the Nikon directly above Indy Car driver Tiago Monteiro, who I was photographing for Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing.  There it was!  I knew I had something good there.  This started my cockpit photograph library.  It is a difficult photograph to take because I am shooting blind with just putting the camera above the driver and firing away.  Digital photography makes that so easy,  but in 2003, those first cockpit pictures were taken with film.  I did not make the switch to digital until 2005.

My cockpit photographs have traveled around the world since then and all of a sudden it seems that the racing world is catching on.  I see other photographers doing and publishing the same thing!  It is a nice compliment and I believe that maybe I started a little something way back in 2003.  I'm not sure, maybe I didn't start it, but it is a cool view, isn't it?

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann