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!
October 16, 2016
It's been five years since we lost Dan Wheldon... Five years ago on a nice Sunday in Las Vegas we lost a great racer, great father, and a comic who started racing with karts in England at age 4. He came across the pond to the United States in 1999 and started open wheel racing with Formula 2000 and kept moving up in the ranks of racing.
Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, Bryan Herta and Dan were all famous for pulling pranks and jokes on each other. I've heard about a lot of the pranks they have done to each other all for fun. They would hide or move rental cars, motor homes and motorbikes or their keys and even throw pies in each others faces. These guys had fun.
Today, we are remembering all of that and his Indy 500 wins in 2005 and 2011 in addition to his IRL Championship win in 2005.
I still have his helmet visor in my race room that he traded with me for a photograph. When I saw him a couple years later and asked for a visor with new sponsors on it for my collection he said, "for $100 mate", because that was what a lot of people were now doing. People were getting a free visor from a driver and then selling it somewhere for $100 or more.
Never did get that visor.
Miss you Dan. Miss ya mate.
Thanks for the fun.
Rich Zimmermann
May 29, 2016
Wow!! Now that was a good race today my friends! The 100th running of the Indy 500 did not disappoint me at all. It was full of drama and highs and lows just like it should be.
I really wanted James Hinchcliffe to win because of all that he has gone through with his injury last year almost bleeding out and dying. Then he gets pole position this year. That would have made a great story.
My number two pick was Helio Castroneves to win again and climb the fence like he does. He is always fun and a great racer.
My number three pick was Juan Pablo Montoya who won last year and is an amazing racer.
I have photos of all these guys and I was ready for my blog work but no, we have a big surprise winner! It is American racer Alexander Rossi who has been in Europe racing. He ran a great race!
His team owner is Brian Herta who did the same thing with Dan Wheldon in 2011, took a long shot and won it!
We lost Dan Wheldon to a bad accident in Las Vegas a few years back... so my blog has photos of Dan today in his memory since I don't have any of Alexander Rossi, not many people do unless you have been in Europe!
The photos are from 2005, 2007, and 2008. One is of Dan and Tony Kanaan, a teammate who had a great race today. Another photo here is of a visor I have of Dan's. I still have it. I traded a photograph with Dan for the visor.
I'm sure Dan is smiling upstairs with this victory of his old team.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
May 21, 2012
Attention lovers of my music blogs- for the next two weeks we are in the Indy 500 mode! It's time for the "greatest spectacle in racing", the Indy 500!
We are almost ready for the 2012 Indy 500 race and it seems strange that we won't have last year's winner, Dan Wheldon, there to defend his Indy 500 win. Dan also won the 2005 Indy 500 and he won the 24 hours of Daytona in 2006. Dan died in 2011 in a terrible accident at the track in Las Vegas, the final race of the 2011 IRL season.
Dan, after finishing second in the Indy Lights championship in 2001, started his Indy Car run with Panther Racing in 2002. In 2003, he became the rookie of the year driving for Andretti Green Racing and then for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. When he won the Indy 500 in 2011 he was driving for Bryan Herta Autosport. He was a superstitious man in that every time he got into the car he would pat the nose of his car three times!
I have a helmet visor of Dan's that he gave me in 2005 when I gave him some photographs. I will be looking at it during the race this year and thinking about Dan. He was a great race car driver and his record shows it. He won the 2005 Indy Racing League championship.
This week, as you enjoy the race, think about Dan and know he watching his friends from upstairs.
Attached are a few photographs from the past few years for you to enjoy.
All blog photographs are for sale at a special price of $30.00 for a limited edition 8 X 10 or 8 1/2 X 11 gloss print which includes shipping in the U.S.. This sale is just during the week of the featured blog. Contact us soon.
Please visit me on Facebook or Twitter @ richzimmermann.com
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
