Sigur Whitaker Articles

Sigur Whitaker is an acclaimed auto racing history book author. First Super Speedway and Sigur are collaborating with this platform for her articles. You can receive her articles directly by subscribing to her e-mail newsletter. If you would like to be added to my subscriber list, please let her know at sigurwhitakerbooks881@gmail.com.

Hitting on all cylinders Inbox

Penske’s IndyCar team has been exceptionally successful winning 18 Indianapolis 500s and 16 championships in American open-wheel racing (United States Auto Club, and successors Championship Auto Racing Teams and IndyCar). They are perennial favorites and strong competitors. I believe the 1994 season was one of the strongest performances in Team Penske’s storied history.

The Miami Aquarium Inbox

Carl Fisher was charmed by the Miami Beach that he saw in 1910. Much like the development of Speedway, Indiana, he quickly saw the development possibilities presented by the sun, the sand, the warm temperatures. He began modestly enough with 200 acres of land gained by loaning property owners funds with which to complete a bridge to the mainland and an additional 150 acres by loaning a developer with funds to continue his real estate development.

He Drives A Duesenberg

The Wall Street Journal magazine recently had an article featuring a special Boat Tail Rolls Royce. Three lucky customers are working with Rolls designers to create their one-of-a-kind luxury auto in Roll’s Coachbuild program. One customer has chosen to have a custom refrigerator in the truck instead of a luggage storage area or an engine. The customer pushes a button on the key fob and the trunk opens into two compartments. Then, two trays rise up and tilt at a 15-degree angle for easy access to food and beverage kept at the perfect temperature.

The Great Speedway Heist (Almost)

Between 1906 and 1911, the country was hit by a series of intentional explosions in an effort to intimidate construction companies into having a closed-shop where only union labor was used. As with many things, it started off small with an explosion in the northeast against a steel contractor. When that succeeded, another explosion occurred, and then another explosion and another at a quickening pace.
 

Book Review: The Legend of the First Super Speedway

Mark Dill has ventured back in time in his book The Legend of the First Super Speedway, The Battle for the Soul of American Auto Racing. Set in the early 1900s, he delves into the emerging sport of automobile racing.  His well-crafted book skillfully blends the facts and the larger-than-life personalities of Barney Oldfield, Carl Fisher, Alexander Winton and others into easily read history. It portrays the excitement and danger in early auto racing as well as the skill, determination and bravery needed to drive the temperamental racers primarily on dirt hor

Speedway, Indiana

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is not inside Indianapolis. Rather, it is part of Speedway, Indiana, a 4.79 square mile independent town surrounded by Indianapolis.
 

Maude Yagle--Ahead of Her Time

Maude A. Yagle is a unique part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway history. She is the only woman to ever own the winning car. This is particularly unusual as women, even those that owned race cars, were not permitted in the pits until the 1970s. Yagle followed her car’s progress from the grandstands across from the pits.
 

Kissing the Bricks Tradition

Marcus Ericsson won the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday in a two lap shootout. After celebrating by drinking whole milk, Ericsson eventually went to kiss the three-foot-wide strip of bricks which were original to the track. This is a relatively new tradition. How it started is probably not what you think.
 
A decision by Tony George in 1992, then the CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, led to the treasured tradition of the winning driver and his crew kissing the bricks as part of the victory celebration. 
 

Tradition of the Indianapolis 500 winner drinking milk

This Sunday is the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500. At the conclusion of the race, one of the traditions is the race winner drinks milk. What is the story behind this tradition?
 
Louis Meyer, after winning his second Indianapolis 500 in 1933, drank a glass of buttermilk in Victory Lane. After a long day, he wanted buttermilk to quinch his thirst. His mother had always told him that buttermilk was refreshing and who would know better than mother.
 

Polo at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Carl Fisher, the driving force behind the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was a man of big ideas. Fisher first visited the barrier islands off of Florida’s east coast in 1910 and immediately had a vision of a thriving beach community. He dug in, clearing mangrove swamps and developing what became Miami Beach to appeal to wealthy Northeasterners and Midwesterners. What was there not to like? While the skies back home were gray and depressing, with snow and temperatures that could make you shiver, Miami Beach offered sunshine, clear blue water, warm temperatures and pleasant breezes.