Editor’s Note: In a nod to our 91 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 15, 30 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.
15 Years Ago — 2010
News: If the IZOD IndyCar Series was going to be “twice as nice” with Chevrolet joining Honda as engine suppliers in 2012, why stop at just two?
That’s what IndyCar Series IZOD IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard and Lotus CEO Dany Bahar thought.
The Lotus Car Co. of England has become the third engine manufacturer for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season. An agreement between Lotus and IndyCar was signed last Tuesday night at 8 p.m., barely making the Nov. 16 deadline the series had set for engine manufacturers to announce their intentions to participate in 2012, when IndyCar adopts the 2.6-liter, turbocharged engine formula.
This comes on the heels of the Nov. 12 announcement in Indianapolis that Chevrolet would return to the series for the first time since 2005. Both engine manufacturers will join Honda Performance Development in the IZOD IndyCar Series.
That gives the series an engine manufacturer from the United States in Chevrolet, one from Asia in Honda and one from Europe with the addition of Lotus.
“It’s almost like another niche,” Bernard said. ”The great thing about Honda and Chevy and Lotus is they represent something different — they have something different to offer. Lotus has a European aspect to it. The IndyCar purists remember 1964 and 1965 when Jim Clark and Parnelli Jones ran it at the Indianapolis 500.”
The Lotus announcement was made Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
“After the Chevrolet announcement I flew out and met with some of the Lotus folks,” Bernard said. ”They were unveiling a car out in Los Angeles in Beverly Hills. I flew out for the unveiling because I knew they were going to do an aero kit. I had not met Dany Bahar yet. I was able to meet Dany that they were not optimistic they would get the deal done. I said, that’s fine because the aero kit will be fantastic and we look forward to having it. I’m not sure how much of it was thinking about it to the very end, but they did. Tuesday morning we got an email that
said they were 95 percent confident they would meet the deadline that day.
“They asked us if there was any chance they could get three or four more days and I told them we couldn’t do any more days.”
While Lotus was already committed to building an aero kit for the new Dallara chassis, joining forces with Cosworth to supply the engines was the next step
Winners: Donny Schatz led all 30 laps to pocket the $15,000 top prize in Saturday night’s 43rd annual Kronik Energy Drink Western World Championships at USA Raceway.
Schatz earned his second Lucas Oil ASCS National win of the weekend after topping Thursday’s preliminary feature.
The four-time World of Outlaws champion finished it off in strong form, gunning into the lead at the outset and pacing every circuit of the three-eighths-mile track aboard Tony Stewart’s Bass Pro Shops No. 20 machine for his second career Western World triumph.
“The nice thing about race cars is some days they’re awesome and some days you can’t find your ass. I guess that was one of those good nights tonight,” Schatz commented.
While Schatz led throughout, until a late caution gave him open track, he had company most of the way as Friday night winner Johnny Herrera and Danny Lasoski kept the heat on as they sought any opportunity to pounce for the lead as traffic played a factor.
Schatz, who reached the tail of the field by the lOth circuit, found open track once again when the race’s only caution flag waved after 21 laps for Michael Dupuy’s stalled mount. Schatz checked out on the restart and raced to the checkered flag with a substantial 1. 726-second advantage over Herrera’s JHR No. 45x Maxim.
“After that restart he was a lot better than me. He got away there and I couldn’t get going as good as I was before that restart,” Herrera explained.
Lasoski settled for third in the Kistler-powered Michael Ross Foundation No. 33 Eagle. While Lucas Oil ASCS National points leader Jason Johnson battled his way to a fourth-place finish in the JJR Don Ott-powered Haynes/ Pope Transportation No. 41 Maxim.
30 Years Ago — 1995
News: In a move that may have far-reaching political implications, PPG Industries announced last week it is reviewing all its activities in motorsports. PPG Is the title sponsor of the PPG Indy Car World Series, as well as presenting sponsor for Firestone Indy Lights, the pole award sponsor for the Indianapolis 500 and sponsor of the winner’s trophy for the Brickyard 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
PPG is the world’s leading producer of automotive coatings, glass, fiberglass and chemicals with sales of $6.3 billion in 1994.
“PPG is looking forward to our 17th consecutive season as title sponsor of the PPG Indy Car World Series in 1996,” said Rich Zahren, vice president of automotive products for PPG Industries.
“During the course of our first 16 years, we have added and expanded a number of our support programs. As we typically do with any successful and long-running program, we are undertaking a comprehensive review of our many support activities during 1996 to determine the true costs and benefits of each element.
“We operate in a constantly changine business environment and some of the support programs which may have been valid several years ago may no longer be as effective as they once were.”
Zahren said in 1996 PPG will continue as title sponsor of the PPG Indy Car World Series, presenting sponsor of the Firestone Indy Lights series, pole award sponsor at the Indianapolis 500 pending renewal by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and sponsor of the winner’s trophy at the Brickyard 400.
Winners: Donnie Moran wrapped up the Short Track Auto Racing Stars championship with a victory in the season finale Blue-Gray 100 at Cherokee Speedway Sunday afternoon.
Moran took the lead on lap 33 when Scott Bloomquist dropped from competition and kept his No. 99 ahead of the field to score the $12.000 victory in the fifth annual event.
Bloomquist took the lead at the start with Moran and Freddy Smith in tow. The first yellow flag waved when Mike Duvall crashed on lap 13 and collected the cars driven by Bart Hartman, Kenny Merchant and Jeff Smith.
During the next 15 laps of racing, Bloomquist opened a near straightaway lead over Moran. However, Bloomquist’s car exploded in names on lap 32 as o cracked oil pan fed oil onto the headers. As Bloomquist rolled to a stop, Moran had the lead.
Moran and Smith ran nose-to-tail until the next yellow flag waved on lap 52 when Booper Bare stopped on the track.
When racing resumed, Moran and Smith battled hard for the lead, while the remainder of the field gave chase.
After several yellow flag periods, Smith pulled even on lap 87 as the pair raced off of tum four. Moran won the drag race and kept the lead as John Gill and Bill Frye fought for third.
60 Years Ago— 1965
News: The widow or race driver Bobby Marshman killed last year in the crash or his Lotus-Ford race car, last week filed a $5 million damage suit against the Ford Motor Company.
Marshman, 28, or Gilbertsville. Pa., died of burns Dec. 3, 1964, six days after his rear-engined race car rammed a wall on the 18th lap of a 20-lap practice run at the Phoenix International Raceway and burst into names.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court by Janet F. Marshman, stated that the car was owned by Ford and supplied to Marshman. It contended that as a result of negligence by Ford, the car rammed a fence of the one-mile oval near Phoenix.
It was the same car Marshman had driven In the Indianapolis 500 the previous Memorial Day.
The action charged that Ford “breached” the warranty to Marshman that the race car and its component parts were safe.
Marshman jumped out of the car after the crash, his clothing in names. Track officials said that he was not wearing protective clothing usually worn during a race.
It was estimated the race car was traveling at 115 mph when it crashed.
Marshman was moved from a Phoenix hospital to the Brooke Army Medical Center Burn Treatment Unit at San Antonio, where he succumbed to second and third degree burns over 85 percent of his body.
Officials of the Ford Motor Company had no comment to make on the suit, which claimed $2 million for compensation and loss of income and $3 million for damages.
Winners: Hap Sharp of Midland, Texas, drove his favored Chevrolet-powered Chaparral to a record-breaking victory in the 252-mile Nassau Trophy Road Race for sports racing and grand touring cars on the Oakes Field course.
Sharp, in outclassing a field of Nassau Trophy Rundown 58 international racing stars in the feature event of the 12th Bahamas Speed Weeks competition, averaged a record 103.273 miles per hour.
The previous mark was 95.383 set in 1963 by A. J. Foyt of Houston.
In second place was John Cannon of Montreal in a Nickey Vinegaroon, an Oldsmobile-powered car owned by Dan Blocker, star of the TV hit show “Bonanza.”
Blocker was on band to see his entry score its surprising place position.
Third was Peter Revson of White Plains, N. Y., in a Brabham Climax. Revson’s under two-liter car won its class.
Finishing fourth and winning Grand Touring honors was Bob Grossman of West Nyack, N.Y., in a Shelby Cobra.
Following the race, the 37-yearold Sharp said that his victory plan worked perfectly.
“Jim (Hall) and I figured that if we could force McLaren out of the race, one of us would win. Our plan was to set a pace that would be too fast for McLaren to follow. Luckily, that’s how things turned out.”
Sharp, however. did have his doubts as to McLaren’s staying power.
“I knew that if we couldn’t force him out or the race soon he would win,” Sharp said. “We didn’t have enough speed to keep up with him.”
Sharp’s victory closed out a fantastic year for the Chaparral cars. They have won sixteen out of 22 races and finished second four times.
Commenting on the winding 4.5-mile Oakes Field course Sharp said, “It was rough but good for a strong car.”
