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.

The Blue Crowns

By Sigur Whitaker
With his victory in the 2024 Indianapolis 500, Joseph Newgarden became the sixth driver to win back-to-back races. The others were Wilbur Shaw (1939-1940), Mauri Rose (1947-1948), Bill Vukovich (1953-1954), Al Unser, Sr. (1970-1971) and Helio Castroneves (2001-2002).
 
Mauri Rose’s consecutive victories were driving Lou Moore’s Blue Crown Spark Plug Special. He is the only driver in Speedway history to beat his teammate, Bill Holland, in two consecutive races.
 

ASPAR

By Sigur Whitaker

Pace Car Crash!

By Sigur Whitaker
 
One of the traditions of the Indianapolis 500 is the pace car leading the field of 33 through the pace lap. It began in 1911 at the very first Indianapolis 500  when Carl Fisher drove his white Stoddard-Dayton with his initials in bold letters on the radiator grill.
 

Auburn Museums

By Sigur Whitaker
Auburn, Indiana, a town of less than 14,000 residents, has three notable automobile museums. The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum and the National Auto and Truck Museum are well known. The Early Ford V-8 Foundation Museum is Auburn’s newest, and it is not as well known but worthy of a visit. It has a collection of Fords manufactured between 1932 and 1953.
 

Indy 500 Pace Car Drivers

By Sigur Whitaker
Speedway co-founder Carl Fisher began the tradition of the pace car starting the Indianapolis 500 when he drove a Stoddard-Dayton to start the 1911 race. He drove the pace car to start the first five Indianapolis 500s (1911-1915). He owned a Stoddard-Dayton dealership and in 1911, 1913, and 1914 this was the brand driven. In 1912, he drove a Stutz and in 1915, he drove the Packard “6”.
 

The Belond Special

By Sigur Whiaker

The Belond Exhaust Special has a special place in Indianapolis 500 history. It won the Indianapolis 500 twice but with different drivers. Sam Hanks drove to Victory Lane in 1957 and Jimmy Bryan in 1958.

Empire Motor Car Company

By Sigur Whitaker

Louis Schwitzer

By Sigur Whitaker
Louis Schwitzer is legendary in Indianapolis but not for winning the first automobile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rather, he founded Schwitzer Corporation which became a major producer of turbochargers and superchargers.
 

Erwin "Cannon Ball" Baker

By Sigur Whitaker
The first races at IMS were for motorcycles. The Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) held their annual convention in Indianapolis and were the first to take to the track. It was still a work in progress. Big rollers were still smoothing the track made of crushed stone and taroil.
 

The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926

By Sigur Whitaker
One of the major players in the development of Miami Beach was Carl Fisher, one of the four founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He first fell in love with Miami on a visit in 1910 and decided to build a winter home in Miami.  Pretty soon, Carl, who was always doing something, decided that Miami Beach would be the perfect place to develop. Having been involved along with IMS co-founder Jim Allison in the development of the Speedway City, Fisher quickly saw the possibilities presented by the sun, the sand, and the warm weather.