. Stephen Cox Blog Presented by McGunegill Engine Performance The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has announced a new event designed to draw short track fans back to the mecca of motorsports. A quarter mile dirt track will be constructed inside Turn 3 for a USAC midget race, which will be held in the first week of September in an effort to pump up sagging attendance at the Brickyard 400 stock car race. Speedway president J. Douglas Boles told the Indianapolis Star, “The short track community in a lot of ways is the heart and soul of racing, so… we thought, ‘Is Read More
1922 INDY 500: Two Boys, a Train and the Making of a Race Fan
Stephen Cox Blog Presented by McGunegill Engine Performance Here’s a short story to help you enjoy this year’s 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500. In the spring of 1922, Alton Hartley was a college student at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He and a friend decided they wanted to attend the 10th International 500 Mile Sweepstakes, as the race was then known, on Tuesday, May 30th. Having no car, Hartley and his friend needed a cheap method of transportation for the 65-mile southbound trip to Indianapolis and the local freight train beckoned. Hopping trains was illegal and considered trespassing in Read More
STEALING THE 500: The Story of Carroll Shelby’s 1968 Turbine-Powered Indycars, Part 2 of 2
INDYCAR: Catching Up With 4-Time Indy 500 Starter Darren Manning
LOST TREASURE: Trophies Discovered from Shasta Speedway’s 1951 Season
Ban Indycar Forever, Says Associated Press Writer
Carroll Shelby’s Turbine: The Car That Was Supposed to Win Indy
INDY 500: The Best Spec Racing a Lot of Money Can Buy
May 26, 2014
The Stephen Cox Blog is Presented by McGunegill Engine Performance
Many will assume that the title of this week's column is based in sarcasm. It is not. We can debate whether Sunday's Indy 500 was a “good” race, or if the NASCAR-like red flag ruined an honest end to the event (all we need now is “overtime”), but we cannot challenge the fact that it was entertaining.
UNSCRIPTED: WHAT RACERS THINK OF INDYCAR – Answers from 10 Random Participants at All Levels
March 3, 2014
The Stephen Cox Blog is Presented by McGunegill Engine Performance
“It's all about money nowadays. I don't think it matters about how much talent you've got. It seems like if you've got more money, you get the shot. People like Oriol Servia, he's out of a ride and a talented guy. You've got Alex Tagliani... me... people who could do it. It's really difficult to get funding.”
- Katherine Legge, 2-time Indy 500 starter, to Autoweek magazine