Indianapolis 500 – 100th Anniversary

There are many automotive racing milestones this year, but without a doubt, the most important is probably the 100th anniversary of the first Indianapolis 500. It also most of the most widely followed sporting events on the planet, so this birthday is doubly important.

That first race was won by Ray Harroun, driving a Marmon Model 32 “Wasp”. His average speed was 74.6 mph (120 kph).

Since that first Indy 500, the race has been won by drivers like Ralph De Palma, Jimmy Murphy, Tommy Milton, Louis Meyer, Wilbur Shaw, Mauri Rose, Bill Vukovich, Roger Ward, A.J. Foyt, Jim Clark, Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Mark Donohue, Rick Mears, Emerson Fittipaldi, Arie Luyendyk, Jacques Villeneuve, Hélio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti … and the race speeds have gone up as high as 236 mph (379 kph!)

The most successful racers have been A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears with 4 wins each; the most successful team is by far Penske Racing with 15 victories, their first in 1972 and their most recent in 2009.

The Indy 500 has always been held in the last weekend in May, and has been held every year except the war years of 1917 and 1918, and 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945.

This year, the Indianapolis 500 is held on the same day as another famous race, the Grand Prix de Monaco … lots of stimulation in one day for motorsports fans!

Porsche 917 – 40th Anniversary of the Legend - Part 2

Changing Lanes in 1972
For 1972, the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) changed the Makes rules, basically rendering the 917 obsolete for Group 5 Sports Cars.

At the time, Porsche was also involved with the Can-Am Challenge, having decided to re-purpose their racer to this end, and raise their growing profile in the North American market.

Can-Am racing patch, circa 1972

They created a new light-weight spyder body for the car and re-christened it the 917-10. At the time, they were also experimenting with engine turbo-charging, giving the car 850 bhp.

The new car, fielded by Penske Racing, was initially driven by Mark Donohue, but a testing accident sidelined him for the season. Driving duties were then taken up by George Follmer, who successfully broke McLaren Racing’s five-year dominance of the series, and won the Championship.




Penske Sunoco Porsche 917-30 - Can Am 1973
Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted
© Paul Chenard 2007
Limited editions available.

917-30 – A Monster Machine
For 1973, Roger Penske and Mark Donohue redesigned the 917-10, giving a longer wheelbase, a more aerodynamic body, and a much more powerful twin-turbo-charged engine … 5.4-liters, 12 cylinders, 1250 bhp’s worth! The resulting top speed was 414 km/h (257 mph)!

The Penske Sunoco Porsche 917-30 was unstoppable, with the Donohue-driven car winning six out of the 8 races, and taking the Championship.

For 1974, the fuel-consumption rule-change, and the dwindling interest in Can-Am basically killed the series as it was, and the Porsche 917-30.



Martini Racing/Herbert Muller Interserie winner poster
80 cm x 37 cm, autographed by Muller, 1974.

The 917-30 found a renewed purpose in the European-based Interserie. In the hands of Swiss driver Herbert Müller, it was the winner of the 1974 Championship.

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.