Large contingent of vintage IndyCars coming to Gateway during IndyCar weekend
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| Vintage IndyCars |
The largest assembly of vintage Indy Cars outside of the Indianapolis 500 will take place at the annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline for the NTT IndyCar Series on August 23-24 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
The Open Wheel Icons exhibit is a unique opportunity to see the colorful history of the sport through the Vintage Indy Registry’s membership roster. The cars not only will be on display in the infield of the speedway for all fans to enjoy – they also will make exhibition laps on the track on Friday and Saturday. Owners will be bringing their cars in from Australia, California, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Fans young and old will view the progression of the earliest Indy Cars – front-engined racers with narrow tires and riding mechanics – to single-occupant cars to the rear-engine revolution through to the aerodynamic innovations of the 1970s and 1980s. While we all agree today’s INDYCARS certainly are thrilling, there’s nothing like experiencing the gleaming, screaming flashes of motorsports history from your – or your parents’ – childhood.
Some of the more notable entries include Johnny Rutherford’s 1979 M24 Budweiser McLaren, Joe Leonard’s Indy 500 pole-winning 1968 STP Lotus Turbine, a classic 1961 Leader Card Watson Offy (Offenhauser) roadster, Bobby Unser’s 1972 AAR Dan Gurney Racing Olsonite Eagle and Cale Yarborough’s 1971 Gene White Firestone Mongoose.
This year’s entries include:
1922 No. 22 Winker Ford Special Model T
1932 No. 7 Brightwood Airport Special Ford
1958 No. 9 Seal Fast Kurtis Indy Roadster
1960 No. 2 Dowgard Watson Roadster
1960 No. 98 Willard Battery Agajanian Special (replica) Watson Alfa Romeo
1961 No. 41 Leader Card Watson Roadster Offenhauser
1964 No. 1 Sheraton Thompson Special Watson Roadster
1968 No. 8 G.C. Murphy AAR Eagle Offenhauser
1968 No. 60 STP Lotus Turbine
1969 No. 7 Olsonite Eagle AAR Ford
1969 No. 44 Joe Leonard-Smokey Yunick AAR Eagle Ford
1971 No. 21 Mongoose Ford
1972 No. 6 AAR Olsonite Eagle Offenhauser
1972 No. 92 Sport Magazine/Barbary Coast Casino AAR Eagle Chevrolet
1973 No. 26 Eagle Offenhauser
1975 No. 24 Performance Engineering NCRA Dirt Champ Car
1977 No. 4 Budweiser McLaren Cosworth
1979 No. 56 Penske PC-7 Chevrolet
1979 No. 70 Tipp Machine USAC Dirt Champ Car
1980 No. 8 Lightning Cosworth DFX
1981 No. 6 Gould PC 9B Cosworth
1981 No. 56 Genesee Beer AAR Eagle Offenhauser
1983 No. 1 Calumet Farms March Cosworth
1987 No. 4 STP True Value March
1993 No. 63 USAC Silver Crown Beast Chevrolet
1996 No. 12 Terre Haute First Bank USAC Silver Crown Champ Car
1998 Riley & Scott MKV Oldsmobile Aurora V-8
2005 No. 55 Panasonic Panoz
The annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline brings the cars and international racing stars of the Indianapolis 500 to the St. Louis-Metro East region. Tickets start at just $40 for adults and kids 15 and under are free. Race day also includes races for Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000 and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West cars – not to mention fireworks and a pre-race show. To purchase tickets or obtain more information about WWTR, please call (618) 215-8888 or visit www.wwtraceway.com. Follow WWTR on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.