Rick Popely with L. Spencer Riggs
Publications International, Ltd.
Year-by-year account for races 1911-1998. With a lot of color pictures and full box scores, many years have several pages each.
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| Indianapolis 500 Chronicle (1998) Rick Popely with L. Spencer Riggs Publications International, Ltd.
Year-by-year account for races 1911-1998. With a lot of color pictures and full box scores, many years have several pages each. |
| The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500, Fifth Edition (1994) Jack C. Fox. Revisions and update by Bob Mount, Donald Davidson, Phil Harms, Bob Laycock Carl Hungness Publishing- Previous editions: 1967, 1975, 1984.
A great source for box scores and many b/w pictures. Last updated through 1994. A sixth edition is not likely. |
 
| Carl Hungess 500 Yearbooks (1973-1997) Carl Hungness Indianapolis Stock Cars Yearbook (1994-1995) Carl Hungness Publishing
A great series with a abrupt ending. The early books are the best, and the later are, with reason, less than spectacular. Hungess published the series with great pride, but with weak support from the Speedway. In the early 1990s, the Speedway requested that Hungess sign a contract to legally continue to publish the book, but Hungess refused. The Speedway felt it was their right to control the content of the publication, and eventually Hungess ran out of money to continue the series. Many books have a lot of good information, but I have spotted numerous statistical and grammatical errors. Older books are in short supply, but are usually availible at memorabilia shows, or internet auction services. Hungness also published two books about the Brickyard 400 in 1994 and 1995, at the complete defiance of the Speedway. Neither of those books are well regarded. |
| Indy Review (1991-2001) Motorbooks International Publishers/IMS Corporation
An official Speedway publication, it succeded the Hungess yearbooks as the annual. Books from 1996-2001 also recap the entire IRL season. The series was never as popular as the Hungess books, and at the same time, suffered from the emergence of digital media. Expanded live television and internet coverage has rendered yearbooks nearly extinct. Autocourse, known for Formula One and CART yearbooks, was signed to continue a new series of yearbooks. A book for the 2002 race was never completed, but books for 2003-2004 were issued. The 2004 book, however, was not available in the United States. |
| Indy 500 Pace Cars (1997) Publications International Ltd. Annual photos, most in color, of each year's Pace car, official cars, winning car, and program cover. Each page featues history and general manuafacturing information about the Pace Cars, especially the exclusive models. A similar book, Pace Cars of the Indy 500 by L. Spencer Riggs was also published in 1989. |
| Brickyard 400: Five Years of NASCAR at Indy (1999) Motorbooks International Publishers/ IMS Corporation The Speedway chose this publisher to create a little known annual for the Brickyard 400 from 1994-1996, but ultimately found more interest in this title. This book, that recaps the first five runnings, is nice, but mostly because of the pictures. |
| INDY: 75 Years of Racing's Greatest Spectacle (1991) Rich Taylor Coffee table book that is nice to look at with a lot of color pictures and box scores. The text, however, dwells on the general history of automobile racing instead of concentrating on the "500" itself. |
| Indy 500: More Than A Race (1987) Tom Carnegie Nice addition to library with lots of photos and writings by longtime public address announcer, Tom Carnegie. |
| Floyd Clymer's 500 Mile Race History (1946)
The first real good book documenting the history of the race. It covers all of the pre-W.W.I.I. runnings. |
| Floyd Clymer's 500 Mile Race Yearbooks (1946-1968)
Best books ever for coverage of early post-war years. Discontinued after 1968 with Clymer's death. |
| Indianapolis 500 Record Book (2000-2002) Indy 500 Record and Fact Book Record and Fact Book IMS Properties; Indianapolis Star/News
For over 60 years, this annual record and fact book was printed by Indianapolis Newspapers, Inc., and originally compiled by Bill Pitman. The Speedway took over the rights, and published three editions edited by Dick Mittman. It included over a hundred pages of box scores, facts, and driver lists. At its time, it was one of the best sources for Indy info. |
 
| Indianapolis 500 & Brickyard 400 Media Guide Indy Racing League Media Guide CART Media Guide Indianapolis Motor Speedway media publication
These are only availible to members of the media, and not sold to the general public. Occassionally, they are sold or given away after the race. They contain a lot of facts, and driver biographies, but not much that can not be found elsewhere. The CART/IndyCar Media Guides only apply to Indianapolis prior to 1996. |
| Donald Davidson's 500 Mile Annual (1974-1975) A short-lived yearbook attempting to continue where Floyd Clymer left off. The author is the current Speedway and USAC historian, Englishman Donald Davidson. These books are difficult to acquire since very few of them still exist. |
Literally hundreds of Indy 500 and general automobile racing books are, or have been in print. A nice checklist is found in the 1997 Hungness 500 Yearbook.
More recent titles include:
Autocourse Official History of the Indianapolis 500 by Donald Davidson and Rick Shaffer
INDY: Racing Before the 500 by D. Bruce Scott
SportsCentury (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN Classic, 1999-2005)
In 1999, ESPN networks began a documentary series called SportsCentury: The Top 50 Athletes. It was shown as weekly countdown from #50 to #1 in celebration of the year 2000. The sports figures featured were chosen from a knowledgeable sports panel, and originally comprised of 100 sports personalities. After 2000, ESPN slowly expanded the series, with the intention of documenting #51 through #100. Eventually the series expanded to any famous sports figure, especially those who were deceased or recently retired. The original voting included some auto racing names: A.J. Foyt (#80), Mario Andretti (#92), and NASCAR driver Richard Petty (#90). Since the expansion of the series, the following Indy winners have been featured: A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Al Unser Sr., Bill Vukovich, and Rick Mears. Brickyard 400 winners Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart have also been featured. SportsCentury occassionaly airs on ESPN Classic.
| Legends of the Brickyard (Indy 500 Films, ESPN/ESPN2, 1987-1996)
In 1987, ESPN took the annual Indy 500 highlight films, made them into a television series. The original run consisted of episodes from 1975-1986. Each episode was hosted by Bob Jenkins and Larry Nuber, and also included brief commentary by the duo between segments. The segments featuring Jenkins and Nuber were recorded at the Speedway during the first week of practice in 1987. In 1988, the duo returned to record an episode for the 1987 race, which was added to the series. Episodes for the races from 1988-1996 were also created and added to the series annually, however, they featured only Jenkins as host, or no host at all. ESPN, and then ESPN2, showed the series regularly during the month of May through about 1997. Around 2000, the series was aired on ESPN Classic during the month of May sparingly. That was the last time it was aired. |
| Indy 500: A Race for Heroes (TELX, ESPN/ESPN2, 1989-1993) Similiar to the Legends of the Brickyard series, but each episode focuses on one particular driver, and their career at Indianapolis. It had been shown occassionaly on the ESPN networks in May, but has not been aired in nearly a decade. The drivers featured were Sam Hanks, Jimmy Bryan, Mauri Rose, Wilbur Shaw, Tony Bettenhausen, Dan Gurney, Bill Vukovich, Roger Penske, Mark Donohue, Tom Sneva, Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan, Troy Ruttman, Jim Rathmann, Louis Meyer, Johnny Rutherford, A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears, Al Unser, Sr., Al Unser, Jr., Bobby Unser, Gordon Johncock, Arie Luyendyk, Emerson Fittipaldi, Rodger Ward, British Invasion. Several episodes are currently available on Joost.com, and the Foyt episode was included on a 2007 IMS DVD. |
| Indy 500: The Classics (Speedvision, 1996)
A highlight series, similiar to Legends of the Brickyard, hosted by Donald Davidson and Mike King, highlighting the race from 1960-1989. Since Speedvision reorganized into SPEED-TV, this show is no longer being broadcast. |
| Live and Drive the Indy 500 (ABC Sports/CBS Video, 1989)
Hosted by Paul Page, this includes highlights of the first three decades of ABC Sports at the Indy 500. This VHS video contains actual television footage from some of the ABC broadcasts. It culminates with the last segment of the 1982 race. |
| Racing's Greatest Spectacle: ABC Sports 40 Years at the Indy 500 (ABC Sports, 2004)
Paul Page hosts this compilation of clips from the most exciting moments at the Indianapolis 500, compiled from forty years of ABC's coverage. |
Indianapolis 500 Collectors Edition Legacy Series Five-Disc Boxed Set (2005)
The 60's: A Decade of Change (2003)
The 70's: A Decade of Legends (2004)
The 80's: A Decade for the Ages (2005)
The 90's: A Decade of Drama (2005)
IMS Productions, Shoreline Media Group (SMG)
This special edition DVD series is the first of its kind. Nostalgic film and actual television coverage has been restored and combined with new interviews, behind the scenes looks, and tremendous narration by longtime Speedway public address announcer Tom Carnegie. Each DVD focuses on a specific decade at Indianapolis, and features in-depth coverage of each individual year. Along with race highlights, each disc has special features, such as bonus interviews, statistics, photos, and other featurettes. The five-disc boxed set features all four decades, and a bonus disc featuring the 2002 documentary Voices of the 500 highlighting the fiftieth anniversary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. It also includes a bonus image gallery and more featurettes.
Indianapolis 500 (ABC Sports, 1965-2009)
The race has been broadcast in the United States on ABC for over forty years. Recording the television broadcast for private use is a worthy investment, but obtaining older copies is rather difficult. Beta VCR's were introduced into the public market around 1975, but were very expensive. Reel-to-reel television recorders, although rare, were also sold. Numerous internet message boards and newsgroups have surfaced tapes of ABC-TV's Indy 500 telecasts dating back to at least the 1977 broadcast. Earlier years, such as 1975 and 1976 are also rumored to exist. These broadcasts are copyrighted, so they should not be sold. However, many argue that trading tapes is not illegal. In 2000, cable network ESPN Classic began showing a run of classic Indy 500 broadcasts in a clean, edited format. To date, they have shown telecasts from 1971, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1992. ESPN Classic has shown two versions of the 1981 race, recently re-editing the broadcast. Along with the new version, part of their "Big Ticket" series, there is interview footage of Bobby Unser and Mario Andretti, discussing the race's controversey. ESPN Classic has also shown three edited versions of the 1982 race. Its original airing in 2000 featured several minutes from the start removed. A new edit of the race in 2003 was aired, which restored several minutes from the start. In 2004, it was part of the "Big Ticket" series, and featured lengthly discussion with drivers Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears. ESPN Classic was reportedly planning to show the 1977 broadcast, however problems with the master tapes were incountered. It is not worthwhile to contact ABC or ESPN about old tapes. They do not sell copies of their broadcasts, nor appear willing to disclose the extent of their library. There is reliable suggestion that ABC's library of Indy 500 programming is complete, but in older format, making it prohibitively expensive to convert. ESPN Classic has also shown classic episodes of "ABC's Wide World of Sports," which the race was shown on from 1965-1970. It has not yet been determined whether any Indy broadcasts have, or will be shown in that series. ESPN sometimes re-runs the race once during the week following the race. The 2005 race and the 2006 race were featured on ESPN Classic as an "Instant Classic," shown the Friday after the race. In the greater Indianapolis area, the race is not shown live, instead it is taped and shown later that night locally.
Indy 500 Films/Indianapolis 500 Highlight videos (Indy 500 Films, IMS Productions, 1911-2006)
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has produced highlight films of the race annually dating back to the beginning. Film footage is known for 1911, and some other years have been found with footage collected from various sources. In early years, and through at least the 1960s, several companies had recorded and produced highlight films for the race. Many have surfaced and have been restored for sale to the general public. By about the 1960s and 1970s, the task of producing an annual highlight film has been done in-house by the Speedway. Narrators for the films included such hosts as Sid Collins, Bud Lindemann, Paul Page, Bob Jenkins, and others. Through 1989, the Speedway produced the highlight films using exclusively motion picture film footage. From 1990-1992, the highlight films began using a mix of motion picture film and video footage, filmed by Tel-X, an Indianapolis-based video company. By 1993, motion picture footage was no longer used, and only video footage was used, accompanied by clips of IMS Radio Network commentary. Each year's highlight film totaled approximately 22 minutes (a half-hour television broadcast window) or approximately 43 minutes (a one-hour television broadcast window). Through 2002, the highlight films were released on VHS cassette. Starting in 2003, they were released exclusively on DVD. In 2006, a special DVD featuring historic footage, and the entire 2003, 2004, and 2005 highlight films, were given out free to spectators at the track during time trials. Following the 2005 race, Indy 500 ticket holders who renewed their ticket orders through the Speedway's web site, were given a free DVD copy of the race's highlight film when it was released later that summer. Following the 2006 and 2007 race, the same offer was given. Fans at the track on opening day in 2007 were offered a free A.J. Foyt DVD, highlighting his 50 years of participation at Indy. Several of the hour-long episodes from the 1990s are currently available on Joost.com.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
IMS Radio Network (1952-Present)
1070 WIBC-AM (1952-2007)
WFNI ESPN 1070 AM (2008-present)
The original and longest running live broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 has been the annual Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network description of the race. The broadcast is typically picked up on hundreds of radio stations worldwide on race day. Since 1997, WIBC 1070 AM in Indianapolis has had an annual tradition of replaying classic radio broadcasts the night before the race. Dubbed the "All Night Race Eve Party," Mike Serowick has hosted classic broadcasts over the years. In June 2009, indy500.com began selling mp3 downloads of restored race broadcasts.
The Talk of Gasoline Alley
1070 WIBC-AM (1971-2007)
WFNI ESPN 1070 AM (2008-present)
Local Indianapolis affiliate, and former Speedway flagship station 1070 WIBC-AM had for many years extensive month of May coverage of the Indianapolis 500. Since 1971, after he arrived in the United States in 1964, USAC and Indy 500 historian Donald Davidson has hosted his own program, dubbed The Talk of Gasoline Alley. It is a caller-based radio show usually originating from the garage area at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Callers are invited to ask Davidson Indy-related trivia questions, with an emphasis on "500" nostalgia. The show typically starts on May 1st or around the first Monday in May, and continues through race day. Davidson, who works almost entirely on memory, typically can answer or respond to most questions asked. The show usually was one-hour, airing daily at 6 p.m. locally in Indianapolis, and is expanded on time trial weekends and for post-race coverage. Starting in the early 2000s, the program has been streamed live on the internet through WIBC's official site. Beginning in 2006, the show was also archived for streaming and podcast. For a few years in the mid-2000s, Davidson was joined by WIBC personality Dave Wilson. Since 1994, the program has also been aired during the week leading up to the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, and since 2000, it has been aired during the week leading up to the United States Grand Prix. These additional versions of the show are open-topic, however, are aimed towards their respective races.
On December 26, 2007, WIBC, at the time primarily a news/talk format, reorganized and moved to 93.1 FM. The 1070-AM frequency was changed to an all sports format, WNFI ESPN 1070 "The Fan," and re-launched January 7, 2008. WFNI was immediately rebranded as the flagship station for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, and became the new home for The Talk of Gasoline Alley. As of 2008, in response to the station shuffling, the show was expanded to two hours each night due to a decidedly permitting schedule.
Great Moments From the Indy 500
VanCamp's Pork and Beans Presents; I.M.S. Radio Network (1975)
Cassette Re-Release (1983)
Fleetwood Sounds, LLC compact disc re-release (2006)
The two sided, full LP record was offered as a special mail-in offer from VanCamp's Pork and Beans. Although the original producer may seem unusual, it is a huge collection of rare "500" history from 1911-1974. The late Sid Collins, former Voice of the 500, narrates a historical look at the races from 1911-1941, and a more detailed revisiting of the races from 1946-1974. Each of the post WWII races feature a few, if not several minutes of actual audio from the Mutual Radio Network or the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. The entire record is approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes. The record was advertised frequently during the broadcast of the 1975 race, and was originally offered in LP, 8-track or casette. In 1983, the album was re-released on cassette, with updated coverage. Sid Collins had died in 1977, so a different narrator accompanied this version. In addition, the race audio segments were from television broadcasts instead of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. In 2006, Fleetwood Sound acquired the rights to the album. It has been digitally remastered and released on compact disc, availbile throught fleetwoodsounds.com.
| Voices From the Speedway: 50 Years of the Indy 500 on Radio 1070 WIBC; I.M.S. Radio Network (2002)
This audio CD, hosted by Vince Welch, was released in 2002 by WIBC 1070 AM in Indianapolis, the flagship station of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. It revisits the first fifty years of the network broadcast of the race with highlights, interviews, and various memories of the race by current and former radio network members, including Speedway historian Donald Davidson. |
Speedway Audio Classic Broadcasts
speedwayaudio.com, 1070 WIBC-AM
In 2004, WIBC produced a special broadcast, entitiled the Fantasy 500, which included decades of real radio coverage, pitting the best Indy drivers of past and present in a fictional race. Following the success of the "All Night Race Eve Party," Mike Serowick, along with WIBC's Dave Wilson, began what was to be a restoration process of the entire Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network library. In 2005, official releases of each year's entire race on compact disc were released. Races from 1949, 1955 and 1969 were offered for sale, and plans were to release every race from at least 1952-present. After a couple years, the effort stalled, due to difficulties and a lack of funding. It is presumed to be abandoned.
| INDY 500: Pong Game (Universal Research, 1976)
This was one of the better "Pong" style console games made in the 1970's. "Pong" games were the first video game systems made for home use. This particular model appears to be extremely rare if intact, however, quite simple and rather antiquated. |
| INDY 500 (ATARI 2600)
This two-player, ATARI cartridge was the first ever console video game that featured the Indy 500 likeness. However, it has no resemblance whatsoever to the real-life Speedway, and in fact is simply an overhead view of little cars going around in a circle. It is simply a collector's item if still in its orginal box. |
| Indianapolis 500: The Simulation (Electronic Arts, PC, 1989)
In the history of computer simulation games, this was a landmark creation. It was the first game to feature 3-D graphics, active race car set-ups, and instant replays from numerous angles. Although it is rather antique compared to today's standard, this game is still a must have for serious Indy collectors. In it's original packaging, there were two 5" floppy disks, however, in 1996 it was re-released on CD-ROM. |
| IndyCar Racing (Papyrus, PC, 1993)
This game, a sequel to Simulation, was the first to include the entire Indy car schedule. The first version was released on 3.5" disks and included seven CART tracks, but not Indianapolis. An update was made later in the year that included seven additional circuits. Finally, a seperate update disk was soldto include the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The package was re-released on CD-ROM, but the Indianapolis circuit was not included. Two years later, Indy Car Racing II was released on CD-ROM, but that did not include Indy in its track lineup. NASCAR Racing, first released on CD-ROM in 1994, has had several updates and four versions. The first two did not include Indianapolis. |
| Indy 500 (SEGA arcade game, 1995)
This is the first arcade version of the Indianapolis 500, based on the stock car arcade game Daytona USA. It resembles the 1993 era of Indy racing, and can have from two to eight players. Although not a perfect simulation, it is very entertaining. Along with the Speedway, two road courses are also on the game. One is based on Long Beach, the other on Laguna Seca. |
| ABC Indy Racing (PC, 1997)
First game to feature the Indy Racing League circuit, including the Indy 500. There have been a couple version released on CD-ROM. |
| Indianapolis 500 Pinball Machine (Midway, 1995)
This arcade pinball machine was not extraordinarily popular, but can still be found in many used game dealers. Sound effects included race car noises and the commentary by ABC-TV's Paul Page. The game features an Indy-related gamefield, and Speedway logos throughout. |
| Indy Racing 2000 (Nintendo 64, 2000)
This game featured the Indy Racing League tracks, drivers, and cars from 1999-2000, including the Indianapolis 500. |
| IndyCar Series (X-Box, Playstation 2, PC)
In June of 2003, Codemasters released this game featuring the IRL schedule of the time, including the Indianapolis 500. The game, however, was mildly panned by critics, and did not enjoy success in the gaming world. |
| Indianapolis 500 Legends (Wii, Nintendo DS)
Released in 2007, the game recounts a golden era of Indy from 1961-1971. Players take on the roles of various famous racers from the period. |