Boston Girl Is 'an Indy 500 Fanatic'

INDIANAPOLIS, May 27, 2005 — -- I'm not supposed to like race cars. I am a sports fan, but I hail from Boston for crying out loud. We indulge in Fenway franks, not bottles of Bud, and run circles around the Yankees instead of an oval track.

But truth be told, my name is Alexa and I am an Indy 500 fanatic.

I've been lucky enough to have seen my beloved New England Patriots win the Super Bowl two years ago and the Red Sox win the World Series. What could be better?

Well, the biggest sporting event in America -- the Indy 500 -- ranks right up there. I walked into the track last year a skeptic, but left a full-fledged fan. The excitement, the adrenaline, the speed and the mind-blowing (and I'm sure for some ear-drum exploding) roar of the engines are just a few factors that make 300,000 fans descend upon Speedway, Indiana on the last Sunday in May -- some of whom possess a checkered past, but all of whom salute the checkered flag.

This year, I have been assigned a piece on the Indy 500 "Now and Then." And so my first assignment was to interview Donald Davidson, a historian from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. The man is a human history book. This is the 90th running of the race, and I think he explained each and every one of those years. Note to self: bring more tapes next time, because a 30-minute interview it was not. Anyway, I learned a lot, and in the spirit of giving I'm going to share some of his wisdom.

Until fire-retardant suits were mandated in 1965, drivers would wear simple t-shirts and caps while behind the wheel. Donaldson said some of the old-time fans lament the new outfits. They feel like they don't get to "know" the drivers since they're buried in clothing and a helmet.

The early days of the Indy 500 were more of a showcase than a race. Auto manufacturers would display their new models by having them race around the track: A large majority of the crowd was comprised of potential buyers. And the race drivers were not professionals, but instead test-drivers who worked for the car companies. A two-and-a-half mile track was a far cry from anywhere else they have driven.

Gasoline is highly flammable -- and eventually it gave way to methanol, which is harder to ignite. This year's race will feature two cars running on ethanol, which is basically grain alcohol. Next year, each and every car entering the race will follow suit. Could the rest of us be far behind?