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: It has become tradition for the IZOD IndyCar Series champion to be thrown in the pool during the annual series Championship Celebration.
But three-time title winner Dario Franchitti was not the only swimmer on Sunday.
Tony Kanaan orchestrated Franchitti’s dip in the pool, but Franchitti had a surprise for Kanaan, as Franchitti’s winning engineer Chris Simmons gave Kanaan a push into the pool as well.
A stunned and soaking wet Kanaan got a taste of his own medicine.
“Not only did Chris Simmons come up with a great setup for the weekend but he also threw Tony in,” Franchitti said. ”Perfect. That was great. I said to the boys before that Tony was going to throw me in. lf they can stop him, great, but if not make sure he goes into the pool, too.
“That’s two years in a row that I’ve gotten in the pool, but I guess that’s a good thing because it’s two years in a row that I have won the championship. It’s kind of cool. We’ll have to find somewhere with a pool in Vegas next year.”
Kanaan was stunned that he got pushed into the pool.
”Paybacks are hell, but when you play pranks on people you have to be able to accept those, too,” Kanaan said. ‘1 wasn’t prepared for that at all. I knew the risk. The next time I get thrown in I want it to be because I won the championship. After all the years and all the pranks that I pulled I think it’s going to be a bad prank when I finally win a championship.
Winners: Maybe the racing gods owed Sammy Swindell this one.
Swindell, of Germantown, Tenn., took the lead from Jason Meyers following a lap-26 restart and then held off Lance Dewease on the final lap to win $50,000 in the Morgan Hughes National Open at Williams Grove Speedway on Saturday night.
Swindell was leading the Knoxville Nationals in August when a blown tire cost him a potential victory with only a few laps remaining.
His second career National Open win also broke the Pennsylvania Posse’s nine-race win streak against the World of Outlaws at Williams Grove.
The longtime veteran will turn 55 years old later this month. He’s had a resurgence to his career since returning fulltime earlier this season.
”I’m not an outlaw; I’m just an old guy out here racing,” Swindell said. “This one’s for the old guys. We won a big one here tonight. I’m sure we can win some more.
“We’ve been struggling and trying to keep up.” Swindell said. “There are guys out here doing a lot of stuff, spending a lot of money, doing a lot of testing. For us to come out here and beat the crap out of them, they may not like that. but they may have to get used to it.”
30 Years Ago — 1995
News: Two of the major team owners in the IndyCar series — Roger Penske and Carl Haas — both emphatically refuted they will change the dates of their races on the 1996 IndyCar schedule in an effort to conflict with the 80th Indianapolis 500.
Penske’s Michigan Int’l Speedway was reported considering a 500-mile race in direct competition with the Indianapolis 500 oil May 26, 1996 in protest of the new qualification rules favoring teams in the rival Indy Racing League. Next year’s 500 qualifying will reserve 25 of the 33 starting places for IRL teams leaving eight for “at-large” entries based on qualification speeds. However, the IRL teams cannot be bumped from the event.
Also, Haas said he is not going to change the date of his Miller Genuine Draft 200 at The Milwaukee Mile from June 2, 1996 to conflict with Pole Day and the first weekend of time trials at the Indianapolis 500. Haas is the promoter of the 1-mile oval located in West Allis, Wis.
“No, I don’t intend to do that,” Haas said prior to last Sunday’s UAW-GM Quality 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “I don’t know where that started, there is no truth to it.
“In fact, I’m still optimistic we can get the whole issue with Tony George and the Indy Racing League resolved during the offseason.”
“That Is all speculation,” Penske said of the rival Michigan race the day of the 1996 Indianapolis 500. “We have a date for Michigan next year which will be the traditional date (late July). If there is another event run at Michigan, It would have to be a second race. We certainly won’t run the Marlboro 500 on May 26.”
Winners: Mark Martin loves to win, especially when he is not the favorite among the fans and in his own mind.
“Life doesn’t get much better than this for me,” said Ford Valvoline driver Martin, after winning the UAW-GM 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday.
“Because, three of my four wins this year have been surprises and that almost feels like the old days. It ain’t no fun to win when you expect to and everyone else expects it, like Watkins Glen. All that was was a relief when we won that one.
“Winning today was fun. It couldn’t happen at a better place. Charlotte Motor Speedway is the finest facility I have ever seen to showcase what we can do. It means an awful lot to win at Charlotte.”
Martin closed an 8-second gap, passing Earnhardt, Rudd, and leader Terry Labonte over the course of the final 44 laps of the 334-lap event. Closing the gap at about 2 tenths of a second
each lap, Martin had little room to spare at the end. But, first he had to realize it was Labonte he was chasing for the victory.
“I thought I had done good when I got by Ricky. Ran a few laps and Steve comes on the radio and says ‘You’re 6 seconds behind the leader,’ and I thought, ‘Wow! We’re running for second today.’ I couldn’t even see the leader.”
60 Years Ago— 1965
News: The Ford Motor Company will expand its already broad racing activity to International Formula 1, according to simultaneous announcements here and in London Friday.
Ford announced here that its affiliate, Ford of Britain, had entered into a research project with Lotus and Cosworth Engineering to study the design and development or new Formula II and Formula I racing engines.
The initial stage of the project is to develop a Formula II unit for 1966 and if development continues satisfactorily, the Formula 1 Grand Prix powerplant would be manufactured for the 1967 season.
International Formula I engine specifications change on January 1, 1961 to three liters (183 cubic Inches) non-supercharged and 1,500 cc (91.5 cu. in) supercharged.
Formula II currently stands at 1,000 cc (61 cubic inches) production based, but will change to 1,600cc maximum-1,300cc minimum on January 1, 1967. The existing Cosworth F·II engine is nearly unbeatable on European circuits.
The 1967 F-11 regulations call for the engine cylinder block to come from an FIA-approved car of which a minimum or 500 must have been produced.
According to Ford’s announcement, the F-11 engine will be available to all customers, but the F-1 engine will be for the exclusive use or Lotus. The Lotus factory has announced that they will use BRM·I engines in 1966 awaiting delivery of the Cosworth-Ford unit in 1967. All units are to be sold and serviced by Cosworth.
The proviso that the engines would be only for Lotus was received with disappointment on the part or Indianapolis car owners, who are faced with a limited choice of engines when the USAC formula goes to 3 liters on January I, 1968,
Winners: Johnny Rutherford whipped past Roger McCluskey on the 54th lap and went on to win the first Pepsi Cola 100 USAC sprint race at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway.
The win, worth 100 valuable championship points, vaulted the Fort Worth driver into second place in the national sprint car standings.
Rutherford has 451 points, only 12.5 behind leader Greg Weld’s 463.5. Weld, who favors the dirt, finished sixth and picked up 40 points.
McCluskey. who put his H and H Machine Chevy on the pole at 17.24 seconds, held the lead for the first 54 laps before Rutherford dived low into the first turn on the 55th circuit. Rutherford stretched his lead over McCluskey to as much as five seconds before yellow flags allowed the field to move up slightly.
The only serious accident of the afternoon occurred on the 74th lap when Ronnie Duman blew a right-rear tire on his Wergland Chevy and slid into the first turn guard rail tail first. He was uninjured and walked back to the pits.
Third behind Rutherford and McCluskey was AI Smith in the Vivian Buick sprinter, a Chevy-powered machine.
Other finishers in the top 10 were Bobby Unser, Arnie Knepper, Don Branson, Bobby Prah, Boby Black and Bud Randall.
