December 16, 2024

Since June of 2023 our lives have here been a bit messy here with surgeries and non medical fun for my wife and me. A big Monday and Tuesday here this week but I hope and pray that we are on the right path now.

December 29th last year was really a bad day as all of us lost a great race car driver at just 56 and I think about him a lot. Gil de Ferran was a special racer and a prankster. Gil passed away last year of a heart attack on the Concours Race Track in Opa-locka.  Very sad day and he was having fun with his son that day at the track.

I did not know him very well but had some fun with him at the Milwaukee Mile and Road America.

So I feel the need to look and remember our friend as it's so close to a year that he has been gone.

Gil gave Team Penske it's 100th win and consecutive CART championships in 2000 and 2001.

The Milwaukee Mile put my photo of Gil in the Media Center at the Milwaukee Mile. It's also in one of the suites in the grandstand. It's a picture of Gil sitiing in his car giving a thumbs up. The photo was from 2001 and I've cherished it for a long time in my race room here.

In 2000 Team Penske almost had Gil de Ferran and future superstar Greg Moore who we lost in 1999 as teammates. Who knows what could have happened with Greg Moore and Gil together. Gil would have mentored Greg for sure but without Greg we got Helio Castroneves and Gil mentored Helio very well into the Spiderman!

Enjoy some photos of Gil through the years.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

May 20, 2024

The world's oldest race track is 15 minutes from our house here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I have been there often since my first visit in 1968 with my Polaroid camera at 14 years old. I still have three of those photos!

Since 1876 the track has seen hot air balloon races, horse races and ostrich carriage races!  Auto racing didn't start until 1903 with Indy Car/Champ Cars coming from 1933 to 2009. Then a little break and Indy Cars were back in 2011 to 2015.

Our Green Bay Packers played there a bit from 1934 to 1951 with the "Dairy Bowl" and in 1939 won the NFL Championship game 27-0 over the New York Giants. That had to be quite a game!

The July 17, 1933 race was rained out and Wilbur Shaw suggested a rain date for the following day. The term "rain date" was first used that day here in Milwaukee.

The track was dirt for many years and finally paved in 1954 which is the year I was born! Ha!!

Rock 'n' roll has been performed at the Mile and the Wisconsin State Fair for many years starting with the "Midwest Rock Festival" in 1969 with Led Zeppelin, Blind Faith, Joe Cocker and others. My father didn't allow me to go...but I still became a rock 'n' roll and racing photographer.

The old track has seen many improvements since 1876 especially in the last two years with many more to come.  It's looking better every day.  Recent improvements include a new concrete pit lane, new inner walls, a lot of fencing and new safer barriers are coming soon.

The crews are getting the track ready for Indy Cars coming back on August 31 and September 1, 2024. It will be the first time Indy Cars are racing at the Mile since 2015. I had the opportunity to see Will Power running the first laps October 18, 2023 in an Indy Car at the Mile. It was awesome to see and hear him running a Firestone Tire test.

Jim Trewtow of the "Racing Roundup" radio and television show and race promoter Bob Sergent had a press conference with NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver Tyler Ankrum a few days ago. They announced the sponsor for the LiUNA! 175 NASCAR CRAFTMAN Truck Series Race.

The plan was to run some RC cars around the Victory Circle but rain had us running the cars in the newly remodeled Media Center.

We also have the Father's Day June 16th ASA tour racing and the Menards ARCA Sprecher 150 with the Liuna 175 NASCAR CRAFTMAN Truck Series Playoffs on Sunday August 25th.

The crews are working very hard to get the track ready and they very much deserve our gratitude and thanks as well as the State Fair board and the State of Wisconsin.

Here is a peak at some of the improvements being done.  Come join us for some great racing at our awesome track, The Milwaukee Mile.

Time for this track to get rockin' again!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

April 22, 2024

The weekend of September 11, 1994 at Road America, the CART Indy Cars raced in the the Texaco Havoline 200.

That was a big year of change in CART because of the formation of the IRL series starting up. It was trying to take over the series. That is a whole story in itself someday for another blog, book or movie, but 1994 was a great year of CART racing.

On that nice Fall weekend at Road America we got to see a Canadian in the front row with Paul Tracy in the pole position and a young superstar named Jacques Villeneuve right next to him.

Nigel Mansell was on his last visit to Road America and had the fastest lap of the race but Jacques Villeneuve won it that day.

Team Penske showed up with Emerson Fittipaldi, Paul Tracy and Al Unser Jr. who won the Indy 500 that year with the very secret Mercedes Benz 500I engine that had 1,100hp! Al would end up winning the 1994 championship.

Michael Andretti came back to CART after a year in F1 that didn't go so well. Michael came back driving for Chip Ganassi's new team and won the first race of the year. This was also the last year of Mario Andretti racing in CART and Indy Cars.

Some other great racers you will see here in my photos are Stefan Johansson, Raul Boesel, Arie Luyendyk, Teo Fabi, Adrian Fernandez, Willy T. Ribbs, Scott Goodyear, Mauricio Gugelmin and Bobby Rahal in his beautiful Miller Genuine Draft race car.

Nice to see and remember Dick Simon who was a great team owner for several years for multiple drivers.

Notice the top of Al Unser Jr.'s helmet full of tire rubber and someone else's oil leak!!

Enjoy a look and some beautiful sounding and great looking Indy Cars.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

On September 11, 1994 the CART Indy Cars raced the Texaco Havoline 200 at Road America. A young 22 year old Jacques Villeneuve won the race.

The CART Indy Cars at the Milwaukee Mile in 1994.

January 29, 2024

Listening to the 24 Hours of Daytona IMSA Race as I write this and there is one hour left to race! Pulling for my friend Pipo Derani in the Cadillac who had the fastest pole position ever at the track and has led many of the laps. Team Penske Porsche with Pipo's old teammate Felipe Nazr is leading right now...

My blog this week is about one of our great Indy Car, CART and Champ Car drivers, Cristiano da Matta. He won the CART Championship in 2002 for Newman Haas Racing.

Cristiano drove F1, Indy Lights where he won the championship in 1998, F3, Formula Ford and more after starting racing in karts at 16 years old. His father was a 16 time Brazilian touring car champion so Christiano had racing in his blood.

On August 3rd in 2006 Christiano collided with a deer that ran across the track at Road America as he was coming up the hill to turn 6 during testing. Thankfully, Christiano survived but had a head injury that took him until September 21 before being released from the hospital in Neenah, Wisconsin. On September 24th he gave the command to start your engines at Road America for the Champ Car race.

Thanks to his great physical shape and a great safety team, he made it back to a race car in 2008 and then raced in 2009 and 2011 in the American LeMans Series.

The Championship Auto Racing Auxiliary (CARA) was formed years ago to help drivers and their families pay for medical services and other things.  Insurance for race drivers is like being a fisherman for a living. CARA has helped injured racers for years and had an auction with Autoweek magazine to raise money for the Christiano da Matta Recovery Fund.

I bid on a Firestone race tire signed by all the drivers and Paul Newman.  Surprisingly, I won it. I later had Mario Andretti sign it and that photo is on my Rich Zimmermann Photography Facebook page. The tire proudly sits in our race room/man cave.

Christiano is doing well now and so is his family. Did you know that he is a musician too?

Enjoy some photos of racer Cristiano through the years.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

January 15, 2024

In this blog we take a look back at the 1994 CART Miller Genuine Draft 200 at the Milwaukee Mile on June 5, 1994.

The weekend prior to the Milwaukee Mile race was the Indianapolis 500 which was won by Al Unser Jr. in his Team Penske Ilmor powered Indy Car.

There are not too many racers that have won the Indy 500 and the Milwaukee Mile race the following weekend but Al Unser Jr. was one of them to win both in 1994!

This was the year that Michael Andretti came back to Indy Car with the Target Chip Ganassi Team after an unsuccessful year in Formula 1.

Notice also the photos of Rick Mears giving Casey Mears some advice in his Indy Lights car.

One of the best liveries ever of an Indy Car is Adrian Fernandez Tecate car seen here. It's just beautiful, as is Bobby Rahal's Miller Genuine Draft car.

The Miller Genuine Draft 200 actually became the Miller Genuine Draft 192 because rain ended the race on lap 192.

Raul Boesel was on the pole position but Al Unser Jr. dominated the race.

Finishing second to Al Unser Jr. was Emerson Fittipaldi and Paul Tracy making the top three cars, all Team Penske.

Enjoy a look at the Milwaukee Mile in 1994 and get your tickets for the races this year on August 31 and September 1.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Gil de Ferran racing Indy Cars at the Milwaukee Mile and Road America 1995 through 2003.

December 18, 2023

This blog is about the 1992 Miller Genuine Draft 200 at the Milwaukee Mile on June 28, 1992.

CART and the whole Indy Car series at this time period were in a bit of a mess and needed some organizational help. So for this race the Wisconsin State Fair board hired Carl Haas to organize all track activities at the famous Milwaukee Mile.

Carl Haas was the head of Newman Haas Racing with Paul Newman. Their drivers were Michael Andretti and Mario Andretti and they had a great winning team.

Michael Andretti would win this race and he finished second in the 1992 championship that Bobby Rahal won. Michael would finish second in the championship to Bobby Rahal three times.

After the 1992 season Michael Andretti went to Formula 1 without much success. In 1994 Micheal would be back to Indy Cars where I believe he has always belonged.

Notice Robby Gordon having some fun in an Indy Car here and John Andretti in the photos. Also Eddie Cheever giving Chip Ganassi a hug and a little chat.

Don't forget that the Indy Car series is coming back to the Milwaukee Mile after being gone for eight years. August 31 and September 1 for two races will be a great return for the Indy Cars. So buy your tickets now from the Milwaukee Mile.

Enjoy a look at the great cars and the wonderful old main grandstand at the Milwaukee Mile.

Have a wonderful Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

The Miller Genuine Draft 200 at the Milwaukee Mile won by Michael Andretti.