Traditions By: John E. Aibel

We all have certain traditions we follow. Be it religious, family, or personnel, we follow certain rituals in our lives. I must admit some of the traditions I follow are deeply rooted in my earliest memories.

I am not a great baseball fan and yet I always seem to find the time to watch at least the last game of the World Series. Back in Brooklyn the Dodgers were the only team for me. When they moved to Los Angles my love of baseball left me completely. I watch the World Series but my heart isn't in it. 

And, like baseball, the same applies to football. I admit to watching a pro game or two during the regular season, but I always watch the season-ending Super Bowl. It is, in a word, tradition.

When spring comes along I watch the Kentucky Derby, and not long after this race I have to watch the Indianapolis 500. 

1911 Indianapolis 500

I have followed this race for years. Even before it was shown on TV I would listen to the race reports on the radio, and before that I would read about the race in Speedage magazine.

Bill Vukovich
1953

In the 1950s I remember pictures of Bill Vukovich, Roger Ward, and A.J. Foyt and the wonderful race reports. These guys drove the typical race car of the era, big Sprint cars with Offy engines and usually Kurtis chassis. They did not differ from the cars raced around the country on dirt tracks.

Johnny Parson's Kurtis Offy '270' 1950 Indy winning chassis.

By the end of the decade the cars started to change becoming lower with engines layered over on their sides.  Newer drivers started to appear and we had the likes of Johnny Rutherford, and the Unser family coming along.

Johnny Rutherford

One of the greatest Indy races was held in 1985. I favored Danny Sullivan as he had come from the sports car school of driving. 

I remember listing to the race on the radio, and was stunned when Danny spun his race car one complete revolution while trying to pass Mario Andretti for the lead. To my surprise he hit nothing and kept on going to actually win the race. I sure wish I could have been there to have seen this.

Danny Sullivan's spin in the
1985 Indianapolis 500
Danny went on to drink the milk at the end of the race!

With the TV coverage came the arrival of the great women drivers. Janet Guthrie showed the way for Lyn St.James and all those who have followed. Indy was the last race track to ban women from the infield and pit areas. When Janet appeared these old rules had to change, and fortunately they did change.

Janet Guthrie
1st female Indianapolis 500 competitor

What are some of the Traditions you follow?