Final practice, air demonstrations and music acts round out schedule Friday, May 24 at IMS. Read More>
Two departure times provide more flexibility for fans who want to commute to the track on their bike on Race Day. Read More>
This partnership represents the first time a major athlete's sponsorship has been decided by a vote using blockchain technology. Read More>
View images from the shortened first day of the Indianapolis 500 Open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. View Photos>
View images from the once-in-a-lifetime Total Solar Eclipse event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. View Photos>
Josef Newgarden unveils the 2024 Indianapolis 500 Ticket View Photos>
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway prides itself on its fire rescue and medical response teams that arrive to the scene of an accident within seconds. But how do they get that good? On Behind the Bricks, IMS President Doug Boles takes you through the annual Motorsports Safety Training at IMS, which features specific training scenarios for INDYCAR, NASCAR, IMSA and more to make sure every driver at IMS is safe. Watch Video>
On this episode of Doug and Drivers, 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson sits down with Doug Boles to talk about the pain of coming so close to scoring back-to-back wins, how he wanted to compete on ovals after his Formula 1 career and the transition to Andretti Global. Watch Video>
Why does Scott McLaughlin move his hands around so much in the car? What "button" is he pushing? What's the pressure of the iconic Yellow Submarine like? We cover that and so much more with Scott McLaughlin on the latest Doug and Drivers. Watch Video>
February 12, 2016 | By Donald Davidson
Jim Travers, the colorful co-chief mechanic on Bill Vukovich’s Indianapolis 500-winning Fuel Injection Special of 1953 and 1954, passed away in Kanab, Utah on Monday, Feb. 10, four days after being injured in a fall. He was 95. Known variously as “The Keck Kids” and “The Rich Kids,” Travers and his partner, the late Frank Coon, jointly ran the ultra-successful racing team for the reclusive and rather eccentric oil millionaire Howard Keck. Already a powerhouse in West Coast midget car racing, Travers and Coon arrived at Indianapolis in 1948 with an Emil Diedt-built front-drive car which utilized several revolutionary innovations such as Halibrand magnesium wheels and fuel injection developed by another friend and fellow crew member, Stu Hilborn. After top-10 finishes (10th and sixth) with Jimmy Jackson in 1948 and 1949, three-time “500” winner Mauri Rose came on board to finish third in the rain-shortened race of 1950. Ever the innovators, Travers and Coon then collaborated with car builder Frank Kurtis on the building of the first of the so-called “roadster” design, that nickname given the new car by its driver Bill Vukovich, who said the car strongly resembled the hot rod he had driven as a teenager. After dropping out of the 1952 “500” with a steering failure while leading with nine laps to go, Vukovich bounced back to win the race in 1953 and 1954. In 1957, two years after the untimely passing of Vukovich in a multi-car accident in the 1955 “500,” Travers and Coon formed Traco Engineering which “hopped up” Chevrolet engines for sprint cars and sports car racing. Traco sponsored A.J. Foyt’s USAC sprint car in 1963 and 1964, and also was heavily involved with Roger Penske’s early Chevrolet-powered Can-Am sports cars. Travers and Coon were jointly inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2010. There were to be no services.