Indianapolis Leica Meet

[abrewer]

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is offering free admission to the Hall of Fame Museum, and free bus-driven track tours, again this year as part of the City's Twelve Days of Christmas activities.

Last year myself, Steven Wright and wife, and Mike Richards met at the Speedway for a shoot, followed by lunch at the famous Union Jack Pub just down the street from the legendary racetrack.

I'm proposing we do the same again this year, and meet at 11AM at the Hall of Fame Museum parking lot on Sunday, December 23rd for a reprisal of the holiday fun we had last year.

All are welcome to join and see the new construction of the MotoGP circuit, enjoy the historic exhibits in the museum, and share some cheer at the pub afterwards with us!

Bring your Leica! (Or other camera if you wish)

Thanks.

Allan

[abrewer]

Here's a few of mine from last year's shoot to whet your appetite:

IndyDayThirteen.jpg

IndyDayTwelve.jpg

IndyDayEight.jpg

[abrewer]

More Info about the Speedway:

From Wikipedia

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana (a separate town completely surrounded by Indianapolis) in the United States, is the second-oldest surviving automobile racing track in the world (after Milwaukee), and the home of the most famous open wheel race in the United States, the Indianapolis 500.

It has existed since 1909, and is the original "Speedway," the first racing facility historically to incorporate the word. With a permanent seating capacity for more than 257,000 people [1] and infield seating that raises capacity to an approximate 400,000, it is the largest and highest-capacity sporting facility in history [2] (by comparison, the world's largest soccer stadium seats 150,000 spectators).

Considered relatively flat by American standards but high-banked by Europeans, the Motor Speedway is a two and a half mile, nearly rectangular oval with dimensions that have remained essentially unchanged since its inception: four 1/4 mile turns, two 5/8 mile long straightaways between the fourth and first and second and third turns, and two 1/8 mile short straightaways, termed "short chutes," between the first and second, and third and fourth turns.

A modern infield road course, constructed between 1998 and 2000, includes the southern parts of the oval to create a 2.6-mile (4.2 km) track. Altogether, the current grounds have expanded from an original 320 acres (1.3 km²) on which the Speedway was first built to cover over an area of over 559. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, it currently remains the only such landmark to be affiliated with automotive racing history since its inception.

Besides the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR's Brickyard 400 also takes place there. The Speedway also hosted the United States Grand Prix for Formula One from 2000-07, the inugural race drew an estimated 225,000 which set an Formula One attendance record. It was also the venue of the opening ceremonies for the 1987 Pan American Games.

Between August 19, 1909 and July 29, 2007, 226 automobile races took place, with 125 separate drivers winning. After winning the Grand Prix in 2006, Formula One driver Michael Schumacher holds the record for most victories between the 500, 400, and Grand Prix with five, though all having come on the infield road course. A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears each won four times in the Indianapolis 500 on the rectangular shaped oval track, and Jeff Gordon has also won four times on the oval in the Brickyard 400. No driver to date has won any combination between the three events, with only one driver (Juan Pablo Montoya) having competed in all three.

[elansprint72]

Allan,
Unfortunately I can't be there; by way of an apology I offer this Roadster on possibly it's least-intended circuit- Oulton Park, where despite being "unfit for purpose" it sure kicks some limey ass.

And yes, that is three feet of grass between me and the beasts.

Please post more of your great shots; the piano hinge on the Leader Card Special- you don't see that these days!

[abrewer]

Hey Pete!

Perhaps it's an illusion from the angle, but the apparent right-side offset makes me wonder how fit the vehicle would be in the counter-clockwise oval-racing we have here!



Here's a few more from last year:

IndyDayFour.jpg

IndyDayFourteen.jpg

IndyDayNine.jpg


Thanks.

Allan