The Indy 500 – Now and Then ...

The 100th Indianapolis 500 is just around the corner, and it’s making out to be an exciting race.

Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe captured the pole position at 230.760 mph!! It’s doubly amazing because a year ago, Hinchcliffe almost died from the results of an Indy 500 practice crash!

The first running of the Indy 500 was just as exciting.

In 1911, there were 40 cars running the race vs the 33 cars for 2016.

Driver Ray Harroun was running his car, the Marmon Wasp, without a riding mechanic, the only one doing so in the race. To have an idea of what was going on around him, Harroun installed a mirror on the cowl, the first recorded use of a rear-view mirror!




Hand-carved/acrylic painted 22"x 12.5"
© Paul Chenard 2016

Harroun, relieved by driver Cyrus Patschke for 35 laps of the race, lead for 88 laps of the 200-lap race, and won it with an average speed of 74.602 mph.

He retired from racing after the race, and lived to the ripe age of 89 years old, passing away in early 1968.

The lovely Marmon Wasp survives still, residing in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

René Dreyfus - Bugatti Star

Frenchman René Dreyfus was born in Nice in 1905.


When he was 22, he convinced his mother that he needed a Bugatti to get to the clients of his paper company faster. He actually used it for racing.

He was hired as a driver by a local Bugatti dealer, and in 1929 won the Grand Prix de Dieppe in a Type 35B. His real fame came when he beat the factory team driver Chiron in the 1930 Grand Prix de Monaco.

He was briefly with the Maserati team and later joined the Bugatti factory team. With them, he won the 1934 Grand Prix de Belgique, driving a Type 59.



For 1935, he drove for Scuderia Ferrari, alongside drivers like Nuvolari and Chiron. Dreyfus had one more major win before the war, racing a Delahaye to victory at the 1938 Grand Prix de Pau.

He went to the U.S. to race in the 1940 Indianapolis 500, finishing a creditable 10th place. It became impossible to return because of World War Two, so he stayed.


He enlisted in the United States Army during the war, and at the end of it became an American citizen. He opened the famous “Le Chanteclair” restaurant in New York City in 1953, which became a gathering place for the rich and famous, and for the racers coming to the city.

Dreyfus died in New York City in 1993.

Peter Revson 1939-1974

Peter Revson started racing in the early 1960’s.

He was heir to the considerable Revlon cosmetics empire, but chose not to be part of it.

Instead, he chose a life of motor sports, starting in club events and moving into Formula Junior, traveling around Europe in a converted bread-van to race the events.

In the late sixties, he raced for the AMC Javelin team in the Trans-Am series, with some success.

In 1969, he raced to a 5th place in the Indianapolis 500, the top rookie finish. In 1970, he co-drove with Steve McQueen to finish 2nd in the 12 Hours of Sebring in McQueen's Porsche 908/02. He also raced Penske Racing AMC Javelins, and raced the L&M Lola in Can-Am racing.

In 1971, he raced for McLaren in the Can-Am series, becoming the first American to win the Can-Am Championship, driving a McLaren M8F. He came in 2nd place at the Indy 500, also racing in a McLaren.


Pen&ink and paint markers on archival light orange stock
© Paul Chenard 2013

McLaren brought him into the Formula 1 team for 1972-73, and in 1973 he won two races, the British Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix, driving a Yardley McLaren M23.

For 1974, Revson moved to the Shadow Team, but sadly, this popular driver was killed while testing the UOP Shadow-Ford DN3 before the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami.

Team Lotus wins the 1965 Indianapolis 500

In 1962, Dan Gurney invited Colin Chapman as his guest at the Indianapolis 500 to show him the potential of bringing a Lotus race car there to compete.

Chapman was impressed and decided to give it a go with his rear-engine racers.

For 1963, Team Lotus raced a Lotus 29, and came very close to winning with Jim Clark driving. They came back in 1964 with the Lotus 34, but tire problems sidelined the cars.

Jim Clark - Lotus 38 - 1965 Indianapolis 500

Pen&ink, paint markers and markers on green archival paper

© Paul Chenard 2012

Private commission - Available as a limited edition

In 1965, they came back, this time with the lovely Ford-powered Lotus 38.

Clark went on to lead all but 10 of the full 200 laps, averaging a new record speed of over 150 miles-per-hour (241 kph), coming in to win with an amazing margin of victory of just under 2 minutes.

It was a first Indianapolis 500 win for Jim Clark, Lotus Racing and the Ford Motor Company. It also broke the long-standing curse of bad luck racing a green race car at the Indianapolis 500.

Significantly, it was the first win there for a rear-engine car, spelling the end of traditional front-engine roadster.

The STP Turbocar

The 1960’s were a period of great change and experimentation in American Champ car racing, sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC).

Nowhere was there more experimentation than the annual Indianapolis 500.

For two decades, all of the Indianapolis winning cars were front-engined roadsters, mostly powered by the famous 4-cylinder Offenhauser (Offy) engine.

After Jack Brabham raced a rear-engined Cooper to 9th place in the 1961 race, Colin Chapman took notice, bringing rear-engined Lotus Indy cars to the race, starting in 1963. They finally succeeded in 1965, with Jim Clark winning in a Ford-Cosworth powered Lotus 38.

STP Turbocar

Pen&ink, paint-markers and markers on red archival stock © Paul Chenard 2012

In 1967, another dramatic new racer was presented at the Indianapolis 500. Envisioned by STP President Andy Granatelli, the race car was designed by Ken Wallis, and used a Ferguson 4-wheel-drive systems. The biggest surprise was that it was powered by gas turbine helicopter engine located beside the driver!

For this Indianapolis 500, the grid was almost completely dominated by rear-engined race cars. Granatelli’s STP Turbocar was raced by Parnelli Jones, who loved driving the car.

Jones took an early lead and led the race for 171 of the 200 laps. He was well on his way to victory when a $6 bearing in the gearbox failed, dropping his car into neutral. A. J. Foyt took the lead from Jones in his own rear-engined Coyote and won the race.

It was a frustration end to a near perfect and memorable race for Jones and the famous STP Turbocar.

Emerson Fittpaldi in a Lotus 72D

Primacolor pencils on yellow archival stock 12"x 9"
© Paul Chenard 2008

Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi won the 1972 F1 Driver's World Championship driving Colin Chapman's Lotus 72D John Player Special. At the age of 25, he was then the youngest driver to win the title. Two years later, Fittipaldi won the Championship again, driving an M23 for Team McLaren.

He left Formula 1 for the American CART series driving for Patrick Racing, taking the Championship in 1989. He won the Indianapolis 500 in his Championship year, and again in 1993 driving for Penske Racing.

Marmon "Wasp" 1911 Indianapolis 500

Pen & ink on board, digitally painted
© Paul Chenard 2007

Ray Harroun driving the 1911 Marmon "Wasp" on his way to the first Indianapolis 500 win ... also the first car with a rear-view mirror.