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.

Book Review: Victory Road: The Ride of My Life by Helio Castroneves

Helio Castroneves joined the elite group of race car drivers who have won the Indianapolis 500 four times in May 2021. At the end of the race, he lived up to his nickname “Spiderman” by climbing the fence at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as racing fans cheered.
 

Indy Autonomous Challenge

Today’s news is filled with articles about driverless vehicles. How appropriate that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is contributing to making autonomous vehicles safer.
 

Why a balloon is painted on the side of a restroom at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

On the outside of the restroom in turn 4 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway there is a balloon painted on the outside.  Here is the backstory.
 
The first race held at the Speedway was not auto, but rather manned hot air balloons. One of the founders of the Speedway, Carl Fisher, had experienced balloon flight in Europe and wanted to bring the national balloon races to Indianapolis. Fisher was always on the cutting edge and I believe if he was alive today, he would be clamoring to experience outer space on one of the SpaceX flights.
 

Book Review: Mark Donohue, Technical Excellence at Speed

This book chronicles the life of Mark Donohue, the race car driver who along with Roger Penske started what has become Team Penske. Despite having suffered from polio as a child, Donohue had a remarkable career, winning 119 of the 311 races he entered (38%). The vast majority of these races were sponsored by the Sports Car Club of America. He started racing in 1960 after completing the SCCA Drivers School in his own Elva Courier and later he drove for Carroll Shelby. His association with Penske started in 1966 on a part-time basis.
 

The Great Zoline Caper

In 1904, Carl Fisher, one of the founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), was approached by P.C. Avery with a cylinder containing acetylene gas. At the end of the cylinder was a long metal tube which when lit produced a steady light.  Fisher immediately recognized that this could be the solution to one of the early automobile issues—namely that it would provide a steady source of light for driving at night. The headlights of the time were famous for going out as they were basically lanterns.
 

Cummins Special

By Sigur Whitaker.
 
The Cummins Special holds a couple of Indianapolis 500 records even though it did not win the 1931 race. The car was entered by the Cummins Engine Company of Columbus, Indiana.
 

Cummins, Part 2

By Sigur Whitaker.

Book Review--Barney Oldfield, The Life and Times of America's Legendary Speed King by William F. Nolan

In the 1920s and 1930s, speeding motorists would be asked by the patrolman, “Who do you think you are, Barney Oldfield?” The question referenced Barney who was widely known as the Speed King.
 

The Fulford-Miami Speedway

By Sigur Whitaker.
 
In 1925, Carl Fisher was busy developing and promoting Miami Beach. It was at the peak of the Roaring Twenties development in south Florida. Miami Beach had 56 hotels with 4,000 rooms, 178 apartment buildings, and 858 private residences. Some of the wealthy residents included Harvey Firestone, J. C. Penney, Harry Stutz, Albert Champion (spark plugs), Frank Seiberling (Goodyear Tire & Rubber), John Oliver LaGorce (National Geographic), Roy Chapin (Hudson Motor Company), Alfred DuPont, R J. Reynolds, and William Randolph Hearst.
 

Sigur Whitaker on the Golden Submarine

(By Sigur Whitaker)
Barney Oldfield was one of the preeminent race car drivers of the early era in auto racing. He set many speed records ranging from one mile to 100 miles including a 100 mph record for one lap (2.5 miles) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  He was so renown that through the 1940s, if a person was stopped for speeding by a policeman, he was frequently asked, “Who do you think you are, Barney Oldfield?”