My father took me on a business trip to Indianapolis when I was twelve-years-old. He sold investment casting products for a foundry in Milwaukee called Sivyer Steel. Every May during practice for the Indy 500, he would plan a trip down to see the massive, front-engine Roadsters pound around the 2.5-mile oval and entertain his clients. In 1963, in addition to the bellowing sounds and speed of the traditional roadsters, it would also be my introduction to the petite, hi-pitched, rear-engine cars like the International Racing Series, (F1). Humming Birds among the roaring Lions.
In those days, he could drop me at the track at 11:00 am, give me five dollars for the day, and say he’ll meet me at the hotdog stand in corner one at 4:00pm. In today’s culture, that’s child neglect and half a hotdog, maybe.
Dad also had me look nice for meeting his clients. I felt like a dork, but his lessens to dress appropriately would serve me well in my life.
I was curious about those little cars and because it was practice, the crowd was small and I could sit anywhere. From the program, I learned the two drivers were Jim Clark and Dan Gurney, a Scotsman and an American. Clark sat on the pit wall in a one-layer beige driver’s suit void of the advertising billboards we see now and soft black leather shoes for driving. He looked like an English teacher amongst the burly, he-man, vibe of the American drivers like: AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones and Jim Hurtubise. To me, he was an everyman and in the new-fangled, read-engine car, he was as fast or faster than the roadsters.
Clark would finish second at Indy in 1963. The following race at the Milwaukee Mile was the following weekend. Sitting with my dad, we watched Clark lead every lap and pass every car except AJ Foyt out of respect, for the win. Jim Clark would become one of my heroes and I became a F1 fan.
To follow F1 back then, my only avenue was the Road & Track magazine my dad received once a month. I learned about the famous circuits around the world like: Monaco, Monza, and Spa, and followed my hero’s exploits to two world championships and victory in the 1965 Indianapolis 500. The first win for a rear engine car at Indy that would change the paradigm and doom the front engine roasters.
Clark was killed racing in 1968. His peers considered him the best among them. His car control was above the rest and he never made mistakes. In the aftermath, the investigation would discover it was a tire failure, not driver error. When I heard the news on the radio, I cried. So goes the power of our heroes.
I remained an F1 fan. I saw my first F1 race in Mosport, Canada in 1974 followed by twenty-five live F1 races around the US and Canada. Both my wife and two sons have been to races.
Fast forward to 2024. F1 and all forms of racing are now part of the global entertainment business and I continue to foster my heroes. All the F1 races are broadcast on TV and streaming services. Viewers and subscribers can view all the weekend activities: three practice sessions, qualifying, and the race.
Now days, I can sit in my TV room with the big screen and watch several days of activities: three practice sessions, qualifying, and the race. During the races, I also stream the F1TV app on my laptop and see driver in-car cameras and lap time charts. Heck, I can even watch live F1 coverage on my phone now.
And yeah, eating a hotdog, especially at a race track, still awakens the twelve-year-old.
The Adventures of Spaghetti Eddie 