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>
e.l.f. is believed to be the first beauty brand to serve as a primary sponsor for an entry in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” as Legge will drive the No. 51 e.l.f. Honda on Sunday, May 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 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>
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>
On this episode of Behind the Bricks, IMS President Doug Boles truly goes behind the bricks of the IMS Museum and checks in on the renovation progress. He also gets an exclusive look at the vision of the refreshed Museum, which opens a year from this week. The Museum is a separate entity from IMS and is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Consider supporting the Museum by visiting imsmuseum.org Watch Video>
On this episode of Doug and Drivers, 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi talks his chances to win "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" again, adjusting to Arrow McLaren, getting married over the offseason and so much more. Watch Video>
August 12, 2016 | By Donald Davidson
Bill Alsup, who lost his life while operating a crane in Colorado on Tuesday, was primarily a road racer, who moved up in the racing world just as Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was being formed. Born in Honolulu, Alsup ran USAC for a short time in the short-lived “Mini Indy” series for Super-Vee cars on oval tracks, a support series not unlike today’s Indy Lights. It began in 1977 and produced many future “500” drivers including Howdy Holmes, Dennis Firestone, Josele Garza, Geoff Brabham, Herm Johnson, Tom Bagley and Arie Luyendyk. Alsup won the second USAC Mini Indy championship in 1978, positioning himself for a ride in the inaugural season of CART in 1979. He won rookie of the year honors for that season but failed to qualify for the 35-car Indianapolis 500, after a bizarre Month of May. He made a couple of incomplete attempts to qualify in an older McLaren, then all of a sudden showed up for another attempt in a Team Penske backup car. He qualified fast enough but then had his run disqualified when a tech inspection discovered that his engine was the same one that Bobby Unser had used to qualify. The rule was plain as day – one engine qualifies a car. In an unrelated controversy, pop-off valves were in the news that month as several cars had tried to circumvent the valves to generate more horsepower. Some cars were deemed to be unfairly bumped in qualifying and some litigation ensued, with the end result being an additional qualifying session on Saturday morning the day before the race. If one could exceed the slowest speed in the field (owned by Roger McCluskey, at 183.908 mph), then one would be added to the back of the 33-car field. Two drivers did just that, Bill Vukovich II and George Snider, while Alsup appeared on his way to being another in a Spike Gehlhausen backup car. He turned two laps at over 189 mph – six mph more than necessary! – then had a hard crash in Turn 2 of his third lap, taking him out. Alsup, who was bumped from the field to the second alternate position in both 1980 and 1982, did actually make it in 1981 as the rather surprise teammate to Bobby Unser and Rick Mears on the Penske “works” team. He finished 11th. Alsup was a very steady runner who scored a trio of third-place finishes in USAC or CART competition, including Mid-Ohio in 1980 (behind Johnny Rutherford and Gordon Johncock), and at Riverside and Watkins Glen in 1981 (behind Mears and Johncock, and Mears and Rutherford respectively.) In 1981, his consistency in CART competition---eight finishes of eighth or higher in only 10 starts---earned him second ranking for that season behind teammate Mears. He had attended the “500” for most of the last several years and would regularly sign autographs on the afternoon before the race as one of the “returning veterans,” normally seated next to his longtime friend Chip Ganassi.