SWC75
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1952 began the amazing but tragically brief Bill Vukovich era at Indianapolis. He failed to qualify in 1950 and ran 29th in 1951. In ’52 he was leading with 9 laps to go when his steering broke and he crashed into a wall. He won the race in 1953 and 1954 and was leading again in 1955 when he had his fatal accident. He might have won Indy four times- in a row! But fate limited him to two victories. Still, his achievements rank him with the greatest drivers of any era.
The winner was 22 year old Troy Ruttman, who overcame a fire in the pits to win. He just sat there, looking, (but probably not being), calm, while his crew put the fire out and then roared back onto the track. He still couldn’t catch Vukovich until Bill’s steering gave out. Since Indy was a Formula One race from 1950-1960, Troy became the youngest winner of a Formula One race until the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix 51 years alter. Of course Troy was thought to be older at the time as he’d lied about his age to begin his racing career. Unlike so many of his contemporaries he survived his career and lived until 1997.
The highlight film opens with images of the qualifying runs, including shots of the driver’s families watching them race around the track, hoping they will qualify- and hoping that they will be OK. Qualifying at Indy can be as dangerous as the race itself. Three of the drivers shown in this segment later died at Indy in the qualifying phase- Chet Miller, who did so the very next year, (1953), Manny Ayulo, (1955) and Tony Bettenhausen, (1961), who crashes here. We see shots of Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Ayulo and Mrs. Bettenhausen and Tony’s boys, who both became race car drivers. They are seen smiling here but you can’t help but think they must have been watching in those later years, as well. Drivers are fueled by the adrenaline the sport produces. Being a member of the driver’s family may be the hardest role.
We see scenes of fans building scaffolding outside the walls so they can watch the race from a height. This would later lead to disaster in the 1960 race as one scaffolding, poorly assembled, collapsed. But they held up in 1952.
Here are some drivers not mentioned in previous posts who are prominently mentioned in this highlight film:
Freddie Agabashian was a 38 year old Armenian from California who had been racing since the 30’s. He won the pole but his turbocharger gave out and he wound up 28th.
Joe James was killed in a race in San Jose the following November.
Manny Ayulo was a friend of Jack McGrath’s who got his start running roadsters in California.
Bobby Ball crashed on January 4, 1953 and remained in a coma until he died more than a year later on February 27, 1954.
Alberto Ascari was a legendary Italian driver, (Mario Andretti’s youthful idol), who was the only European driver to come to Indy because of it’s status as a Formula One race in the 50‘s. He lost a wheel and finished 31st. He won every other Formula One championship race that year to win the driver’s title and won it again the next year, establishing himself as one of the great racers of all time. In the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix, his car left the track and plunged into the bay, a incident re-created for the film “Grand Prix”, (1966). He survived that crash but was killed four days later in a test run at Monza.
Henry Banks was born in England but grew up in Michigan. He’d been driving since 1932 but this was the last of only six appearances at Indy, in which his average finish was
20th.
Here is the U-Tube Highlight film. Again, you can expand it to full-screen by clicking on the box with the arrows in it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGt7ONY9CB4
The winner was 22 year old Troy Ruttman, who overcame a fire in the pits to win. He just sat there, looking, (but probably not being), calm, while his crew put the fire out and then roared back onto the track. He still couldn’t catch Vukovich until Bill’s steering gave out. Since Indy was a Formula One race from 1950-1960, Troy became the youngest winner of a Formula One race until the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix 51 years alter. Of course Troy was thought to be older at the time as he’d lied about his age to begin his racing career. Unlike so many of his contemporaries he survived his career and lived until 1997.
The highlight film opens with images of the qualifying runs, including shots of the driver’s families watching them race around the track, hoping they will qualify- and hoping that they will be OK. Qualifying at Indy can be as dangerous as the race itself. Three of the drivers shown in this segment later died at Indy in the qualifying phase- Chet Miller, who did so the very next year, (1953), Manny Ayulo, (1955) and Tony Bettenhausen, (1961), who crashes here. We see shots of Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Ayulo and Mrs. Bettenhausen and Tony’s boys, who both became race car drivers. They are seen smiling here but you can’t help but think they must have been watching in those later years, as well. Drivers are fueled by the adrenaline the sport produces. Being a member of the driver’s family may be the hardest role.
We see scenes of fans building scaffolding outside the walls so they can watch the race from a height. This would later lead to disaster in the 1960 race as one scaffolding, poorly assembled, collapsed. But they held up in 1952.
Here are some drivers not mentioned in previous posts who are prominently mentioned in this highlight film:
Freddie Agabashian was a 38 year old Armenian from California who had been racing since the 30’s. He won the pole but his turbocharger gave out and he wound up 28th.
Joe James was killed in a race in San Jose the following November.
Manny Ayulo was a friend of Jack McGrath’s who got his start running roadsters in California.
Bobby Ball crashed on January 4, 1953 and remained in a coma until he died more than a year later on February 27, 1954.
Alberto Ascari was a legendary Italian driver, (Mario Andretti’s youthful idol), who was the only European driver to come to Indy because of it’s status as a Formula One race in the 50‘s. He lost a wheel and finished 31st. He won every other Formula One championship race that year to win the driver’s title and won it again the next year, establishing himself as one of the great racers of all time. In the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix, his car left the track and plunged into the bay, a incident re-created for the film “Grand Prix”, (1966). He survived that crash but was killed four days later in a test run at Monza.
Henry Banks was born in England but grew up in Michigan. He’d been driving since 1932 but this was the last of only six appearances at Indy, in which his average finish was
20th.
Here is the U-Tube Highlight film. Again, you can expand it to full-screen by clicking on the box with the arrows in it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGt7ONY9CB4
