SVRA Pro-Am Veterans Never Tire of Coming Back Home Again to IMS
August 02, 2019 | By Phillip B. Wilson, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
If there’s anything veteran racers enjoy more than driving a car again at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s sharing favorite stories and reliving their glory days.
Who better to sum up a Friday congregation of such legends than Willy T. Ribbs, the first African-American driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500? Ribbs, quite the comedic character at 64, sounded rather inspired to be in the company of Dick Simon, Lyn St. James, Davey Hamilton, Geoff Brabham, Bobby Labonte and Mike Skinner, among others.
“Everyone is a little heavier and lost a step and lost some feathers,” Ribbs said. “We’ve lost some feathers up here.”
But they’ll still get quite a kick out of racing again in the Vintage Race of Champions (VROC) Charity Pro-Am at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3 as part of the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association’s (SVRA) Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational.
Legends team up with vintage car owners to drive Corvettes, Camaros and Mustangs on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile IMS road course. The field includes three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, a first-time participant at 81.
“It’s revitalized a lot of us to be able to continue to do what we love to do,” said St. James, the 1992 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. “It’s changed our lives.”
St. James and Ribbs have participated in each SVRA event at IMS since the 2014 debut.
“The place never loses its ambience,” Ribbs said of IMS. “On planet Earth, this is the place.”
That popular opinion was shared others such as the spry Simon, still driving at 86, who is serving as grand marshal.
“Just the fact that I’m still here today is probably one of the best things to happen to me,” Simon said. “It’s an exciting thing to be here and be a part of this.”
Simon was known as a popular car owner for fielding talented rookies in the Indy 500. He's proud of the fact that each rookie made the race. But he also mentioned the 1987 “500,” when he “had a car that should have won the race. Mario (Andretti) and I were actually drafting each other at the front of the field.” But a fuel miscalculation caused him to run dry and stop in the middle of Turn 2. By the time he received a tow to pit road, he was only able to salvage sixth place.
“The most enjoyable thing for me in all the racing was have so many rookies do so well,” Simon said of IMS, “and having the opportunity myself one time to possibly have won this race.”
St. James, 72, recalled one of her favorite Indianapolis 500 memories, when she drove a Simon car and qualified sixth in 1994. The seven-time “500” starter never won “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” which made a podium finish in a past SVRA event even more special.
“I got to drink milk in Victory Circle,” St. James said. “I’ve never been on that podium, I’ve never drank milk at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and I knew very well it wasn’t the ‘500.’ But let me tell you, for me it was that moment. I was running up and down pit lane and hugging (IMS President) Doug Boles.”
Labonte and Skinner shared their IMS affinity with stories from their NASCAR days of driving in the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard. Labonte won the 2000 Brickyard while with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Skinner recalled his best chance to win the Brickyard in 1998, when he finished fourth due to a pair of slow pit stops. What stood out was when he passed Jeff Gordon for the lead.
“I catch him in the short chute down there between (Turns) 1 and 2 and got beside him and passed him on the backstretch,” Skinner said. “I came around, and I’m just elated; I’m so excited.”
In hindsight, he conceded that’s the “dumbest” feeling a race car driver can have.
“The next lap, I want to see that (No.) 31 up on the top of that pylon,” Skinner said. “I’m going down the front straightaway and trying to look out the windshield because I want to see that car number up top.
“I miss Turn 1, slid all the way to the top of the racetrack, didn’t hit the wall, but you probably couldn’t have slid a dollar bill between the car and the wall. Here comes Jeff Gordon digging on the bottom. I got him back in (Turn) 2 and passed him.”
When Skinner came around again on the front straight, crew chief Larry McReynolds was stunned by the driver’s explanation about what happened. That earned Skinner an earful on the radio.
“I’m not going to say the words he used,” Skinner said. “I’ll never forget that story.”