Hemmings Daily: Indiana State Fairgrounds discontinues motorsports at historic one-mile oval

It predates the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway and has seen nearly as many famed drivers kick dirt from under their tires. It has hosted both championship and exhibition races and served as the venue for perhaps the grandest chapter of African-American motorsports. But after one final race next month, the Indiana State Fairgrounds will discontinue auto racing at its one-mile oval and instead prioritize horse racing and parking. "USAC, Track Enterprises, Bob Sargent and I have been in meetings with the Fairgrou [View in Browser | Subscribe]( [Hemmings Daily] Friday, April 5, 2019 [Indiana State Fairgrounds discontinues motorsports at historic one-mile oval]( [Indiana State Fairgrounds discontinues motorsports at historic one-mile oval]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - It predates the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway and has seen nearly as many famed drivers kick dirt from under their tires. It has hosted both championship and exhibition races and served as the venue for perhaps the grandest chapter of African-American motorsports. But after one final race next month, the Indiana State Fairgrounds will discontinue auto racing at its one-mile oval and instead prioritize horse racing and parking. "USAC, Track Enterprises, Bob Sargent and I have been in meetings with the Fairgrou... [Read More]( [Sponsor]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1993 Mazda RX-7]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1993 Mazda RX-7]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Maintained and garaged 1993 Mazda RX-7 for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: A beautiful and highly original example of one of the best sports cars ever made. Gorgeous red with a tan leather interior. The car is in excellent condition, with less than 31,000 respectfully-driven miles. Runs flawlessly. Clean CARFAX. Always garaged, under a heavy car cover for extra protection. Paint very good, with a couple of minor scratches and dings; the paint on the mirrors has faded a bit...I have electe...[Read More]( [Petersen Museum hosts first exhibit dedicated to custom electric motorcycles]( [Petersen Museum hosts first exhibit dedicated to custom electric motorcycles]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - Motorcycles have long been a part of Southern California's motoring culture, so it's no surprise that a recent custom-bike exhibit at The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California, was a hit with visitors. On April 6, the exhibit will be replaced by Electric Revolution, which the museum describes as the "world's first exhibit exclusively showcasing custom electric motorcycles." Contemporary electric motorcycles have been around for over a decade, existing primarily on the fringe of the hobby. Manufact...[Read More]( [Sponsor]( [This or That - Season 3: 1977 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 or 1978 Plymouth Fury Police Pursuit?]( [This or That - Season 3: 1977 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 or 1978 Plymouth Fury Police Pursuit?]( Posted by Matt Litwin - 1978 Plymouth Fury Police Pursuit (top); 1977 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 (bottom). Images by the author. During the summer of 1978, Foreigner's Hot Blooded hit the airwaves, mixing it up with tunes from the Bee Gees, Wings, and Rolling Stones. Odds are good that a few of you may have been hot-footing it down a country road, belting out your own rendition of "Who Do You Love" (by George Thorogood & The Destroyers), when "The Man" lit up your rear view mirror with a set of wig-wags. Whether your brief encounter e...[Read More]( [WATCH THIS: Tearing up the French countryside!]( [WATCH THIS: Tearing up the French countryside!]( Posted by Dan Stoner - In celebration of the Franco-American '70 Hemi 'Cuda we're featuring this week, we thought we'd share a little context for why the car is so totally bitchin:' this blurry, grainy, vintage analog filmstrip of these cars actually running across the French countryside in an epic display of American foreign policy in France. When it comes to the earliest days of the glorious Muscle era, we love nothing more than seeing these cars out of their natural element (American dragstrips, surface streets, highways, deserts, c...[Read More]( [Detroit, 1965]( [Detroit, 1965]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: August 1965 Location: Detroit, Michigan Source: Wayne State University Libraries Digital Collections What do you see here?...[Read More]( [Sponsor]( [This Day in Automotive History] THIS DAY IN AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY 4/5/1923: 1st regular production of balloon tires (Firestone) 4/5/1940: The Buick Y-Job concept car is introduced UPCOMING EVENTS [Southwest Street Rod Nationals]( April 12, 2019 - Oklahoma City, OK [15th Annual La Jolla Concours d'Elegance]( April 12, 2019 - La Jolla, CA [Gasparilla Concours d'Elegance]( April 12, 2019 - Tampa, FL [Pack the Park - Car, Truck & Tractor Show]( April 13, 2019 - Decherd, TN [Supercar Saturdays Florida at Lamborghini/Bugatti Broward 3 year Anniversary]( April 13, 2019 - Davie, FL [Great Gainesville Car Show]( April 13, 2019 - Gainesville, FL [See All Events]( [Sponsor]( FEATURED CLASSIFIEDS [1964 Dodge D200]( [1964 Dodge D200]( [$8,000]( [1965 Plymouth Fury 3]( [1965 Plymouth Fury 3]( [$67,000]( [1973 Ford Maverick]( [1973 Ford Maverick]( [$19,500]( [1974 Norton 850 Commando]( [1974 Norton 850 Commando]( [$16,000]( [1968 Pontiac Firebird]( [1968 Pontiac Firebird]( [$44,000]( [1966 Chevrolet Impala]( [1966 Chevrolet Impala]( [$16,000]( [1952 Rover P4]( [1952 Rover P4]( [$8,750]( [1956 Ford Crown Victoria]( [1956 Ford Crown Victoria]( [$63,000]( PROMOTED LISTING [2000 Chevrolet Corvette]( [2000 Chevrolet Corvette]( [$23,000]( PROMOTED LISTING [1965 Volvo P1800]( [1965 Volvo P1800]( [$51,150]( [FORD Y-BLOCK V8 ENGINE 292 CUBIC INCHES CIRCA 1956]( [FORD Y-BLOCK V8 ENGINE 292 CUBIC INCHES CIRCA 1956]( [$650]( [View All Classifieds]( FEATURED IN THE BLOG [Reminiscing - White Breeze]( [Reminiscing - White Breeze]( [Recommended Reading - Reid Railton, Man of Speed]( [Recommended Reading - Reid Railton, Man of Speed]( [See All Featured Blog Posts]( FOLLOW US: [Get RSS Feeds of Hemmings Blog]( [Follow us on Twitter]( [Join us on Facebook]( [View our Flickr pool]( [View Newsletter Archives]( WEEK IN REVIEW Thursday, April 4, 2019 ["Best-looking ever" Allard wasn't enough to keep the company's carbuilding efforts alive]( ['Best-looking ever' Allard wasn't enough to keep the company's carbuilding efforts alive]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Sydney Allard cared about many things when building his sports cars. Aesthetics were not among those priorities. Yet with the Palm Beach Mark II, the prototype of which will head to auction in May, he had on his hands perhaps the sleekest car to come out of his works. Too bad it came far too late to keep the works doors open. Along with their utilitarian looks, Allard's J-series cars provided performance aplenty with their tuned Ford flathead V-8 engines. By the early 1950s, however, Allard sensed a need for a mo...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1979 Plymouth Volare]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1979 Plymouth Volare]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Unrestored 1979 Plymouth Volare for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: I am selling my 1979 Plymouth Duster Volare. I bought it off the original owner 3 years ago and have been fixing it since then. Outside: original brown/gold paint from 1979 Inside: Tan leather Like I said, I have done a lot of work on it (recently new tires, new gas tank, new AC, new battery...). The car drives like a charm. I have all receipts and details of work done on it and you can check it all with the shop. Slant ...[Read More]( [2019 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport to pace this year's Indianapolis 500]( [2019 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport to pace this year's Indianapolis 500]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - Introduced in 1953, the Chevrolet Corvette was into its third-generation before being selected as a pace car for the Indianapolis 500. Since that year, 1978, a Corvette has led the pack to the green flag a record-setting 16 times, more than any other single model in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For the 103rdrunning of the Memorial Day classic, taking place on Sunday, May 26, a 2019 Corvette Grand Sport will serve as pace car, while 33 visually similar Grand Sport Corvettes will serve as "Festiva...[Read More]( [Bill Mitchell's 1956X Buick Century emerges from an eight-year restoration]( [Bill Mitchell's 1956X Buick Century emerges from an eight-year restoration]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - As the director of styling at General Motors (and later, upon Harley Earl's retirement, vice president of its Styling Section), Bill Mitchell enjoyed a fair amount of latitude when creating custom cars, some for his personal use. Over his 42-year career at GM, Mitchell was responsible for more than 50 concepts and customs, including one personal-use Buick that might have been lost to history had it not been for the efforts of a volunteer group of craftsmen. After a restoration that lasted 100 months, Mitchell's 19...[Read More]( [Philadelphia, 1977]( [Philadelphia, 1977]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: March 1977 Location: 20th Street and JFK Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Source: Frederick A. Meyer, via Temple University Libraries Digital Collections What do you see here?...[Read More]( Wednesday, April 3, 2019 [Jones-Benisek Buick GS used backdoor Stage 2 parts to dominate Seventies Stock class racing]( [Jones-Benisek Buick GS used backdoor Stage 2 parts to dominate Seventies Stock class racing]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - In many ways, the story of the Jones-Benisek 1970 Buick GS is the story of the car(s) that it is not. It is not the Stage 1 car that its flanks and badging indicate. It is not the lost Stage 2 GSX prototype. Instead, the GS that heads to auction next month is the car once considered the world's fastest Buick as well as one of the last remnants of the Stage 2 ultra-high-performance program. At the height of the muscle car era, pretty much every American carmaker that offered a high-performance vehicle had some ext...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1980 Toyota Cressida]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1980 Toyota Cressida]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - From the seller's description: 1980 Toyota Cressida White exterior with maroon velour interior. The car has one owner with low original mileage of 73,417. The vehicle has always been garage kept and is in very good condition (Grandma used for groceries - literally). New front tires & a new battery were installed a couple of weeks ago (Feb 2019). Original Bill of Sale shows equipped with Standard Factory Equipment: Lusterizing Sealant Rustproofing Shield Textile & Vinyl Sealant Sound ...[Read More]( [Classics on the Green: The 2019 London Concours announces its special invitational classes]( [Classics on the Green: The 2019 London Concours announces its special invitational classes]( Posted by Mark J. McCourt - Images courtesy of the London Concours. When we think of road transportation in London, we think of congestion charges and double-decker buses towering over crowded streets swarming with black cabs. But residents of (and visitors to) England's capital city have a real appreciation for the finer things, including the world's rarest, fastest, and most glamorous automobiles. Few places is this appreciation more visible than at theLondon Concours, which will return to the manicured Artillery Gardens of theHonoura...[Read More]( [Cheap collectibles - the memorable motoring attributes of shot glasses]( [Cheap collectibles - the memorable motoring attributes of shot glasses]( Posted by Richard Lentinello - Souvenirs come in all forms, but none are more useable than the little shot glass. For a small glass container that holds only 1.5 ounces of your favorite liquid, shot glasses hold a lifetime of memories. Decorated with the name of a particular place -- be it a city, state, museum, state park, national monument, or race track -- shot glasses will forever be a constant reminder of that memorable vacation you took with your family. Besides being cheap to buy, usually costing between $3 and $8 each, their small ...[Read More]( [Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1960s]( [Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1960s]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: circa 1960s Location: North Green Bay Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Source: via Jim and Chester's Garage What do you see here?...[Read More]( Tuesday, April 2, 2019 [Brubaker Box to make another go at the sport economy surf wagon segment with plans for reproduction]( [Brubaker Box to make another go at the sport economy surf wagon segment with plans for reproduction]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Even the people behind the Brubaker Box didn't quite know how to position the people mover. Was it a minivan before the term took hold? A surf wagon? A camper, sports car, station wagon, economy car? Whatever its designation, it had a strange sort of appeal, and now 40 years after it was discontinued, that appeal has a pair of Californians itching to bring back the fiberglass box on wheels. "They're almost like a mythical creature or a unicorn," said Tomo Bullum, one of the two entrepreneurs behind the project. "...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1981 Dodge Mirada]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1981 Dodge Mirada]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Restored 1981 Dodge Mirada CMX for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: Beautifull and rare CMX trim model. A turnkey collector model with the Chrysler mags and 8-track radio (with even lots of 8-tracks included). Imported into Canada from Indiana in 2010 by current owner, this car won best restoration award at the 2008 North Dakota Nationals by the previous owner. Current owner continued extensive work of meticulously preserving the vehicle. 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We're just getting to the mid-point of the first quarter of the New Year and already several of the biggest shows of the year have announced their 2019 plans. Among them is Concorso Italiano: the quintessential, and world's largest, all-Italian car show, which has been an intricate part of California's Monterey Automobile Week every August. More than a car show, Concorso -- as it's affectionately known -- is also a lifestyle event festooned with the country's rich he...[Read More]( [America's Car Museum seeking pre- and postwar Cadillacs for upcoming exhibit]( [America's Car Museum seeking pre- and postwar Cadillacs for upcoming exhibit]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - Founded by machinist and inventor Henry M. Leland in 1902, Cadillac would go on to establish itself as one of the world's premier luxury automotive brands, renowned for its innovation, engineering, and design. LeMay - America's Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, will open a new exhibit on May 11, entitled Cadillac The Standard of the World, and is actively seeking both pre- and postwar Cadillac models for display. Born in Vermont in 1843, Leland learned machining and manufacturing as an apprentice to measuring...[Read More]( [Coventry, England, 1960]( [Coventry, England, 1960]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: circa 1960 Location: Coventry, England Source: British Motor Industry Heritage Trust Archive on Flickr What do you see here?...[Read More]( Monday, April 1, 2019 [Fort Wayne to open its arms to Internationals once again for Harvester Homecoming]( [Fort Wayne to open its arms to Internationals once again for Harvester Homecoming]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - By the late 1990s, it had seemed to Ryan DuVall that the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, had entirely forgotten International Harvester. Where other Indiana cities had built museums and organized annual car shows that celebrated the carmakers that once put those cities on the map, the citizens of Fort Wayne seemed content letting that chapter of its history -- the chapter in which, according to DuVall, the city became "the heavy-duty truck capital of the world" -- fade from their memories. "Ten thousand people wo...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1990 Ford Taurus SHO]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1990 Ford Taurus SHO]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Original 1990 Ford Taurus SHO for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: incredibly nice first-generation 1990 Ford Taurus SHO. As some may remember, when the SHO arrived on the market in 1989, it was the fastest four door sedan on the market. These cars were very impressive for their day but, today you rarely see them for sale and often when you do, they are not well preserved. I think you would be hard pressed to find another car as nice or nicer than this one. I feel this is one of the nicest Gen 1...[Read More]( [AutoFair returns to Charlotte, April 4 to 7]( [AutoFair returns to Charlotte, April 4 to 7]( Posted by Terry Shea - All photos by the author. Early April in North Carolina means one thing for the collector-car hobby: Charlotte AutoFair. This year's Spring Charlotte AutoFair will take place from Thursday, April 4, through Sunday, April 7 -- and people will come from distances far greater than the Carolinas to attend! Combining an AACA National, a huge car corral, thousands of vendors at a massive, multi-field swap meet, and dozens of little car shows over a long weekend, AutoFair is a unique and well-attended event like no o...[Read More]( [Open Diff - What's the best car-themed prank?]( [Open Diff - What's the best car-themed prank?]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Be forewarned! Trickery is or may be afoot today. Mischief and tomfoolery may encroach on your well-deserved slumber and quietude, so in order to prepare you for the worst that imps and villains may attempt to afflict upon your head, we have instituted this forum in which you may share with others the trickery that you or others may have perpetrated on this vilest of days. Such "pranks," as the degenerates call them may occur in or on your selected means of conveyance, a most heinous means of attempting to extric...[Read More]( [Lost and Found overflow: that time Mr. Rogers visited a mystery EV builder]( [Lost and Found overflow: that time Mr. Rogers visited a mystery EV builder]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - In the years since his death, Fred Rogers has been hailed as a champion for educational television, a practitioner of radical kindness and acceptance, and a balm for the ills of our modern world. He also, apparently, liked the idea of electric cars. Or, at least, we can discern as much from an episode in the show's 11th season, which Brian Austin recently dug up and forwarded to us. Except, after watching the segment, we're left scratching our heads over which EV manufacturer Rogers actually visited. Here's th...[Read More]( [London, 1964, part 3]( [London, 1964, part 3]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: 1964 Location: London, England Source: Gene E. Drubek, via Randy Drubek What do you see here?...[Read More]( Sunday, March 31, 2019 [The therapeutic benefits of the far-from-perfect, anything-goes rat rod]( [The therapeutic benefits of the far-from-perfect, anything-goes rat rod]( Posted by Jim Van Orden - Your first car may have been like mine. Rust everywhere, peeling paint, torn upholstery, smelly interior, worn out clutch, engine that burned oilyou name it, my 1951 Mercury had it. That was about 60 years ago. You know what I miss today? Besides wishing I still had it, I miss not caring that the car was a mess. Even after treating the Merc to a $19.95 Earl Scheib paint job, which did little to hide bondo-covered rust holes, dents and other imperfections, I didn't worry about making it look nice. Everythi...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1970 Nissan Patrol]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1970 Nissan Patrol]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Restored 1970 Nissan Patrol for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: Not only was the Patrol obviously well-maintained and never abused, but the restoration of aged chassis elements and the new paint job and canvas top is of utmost quality. The engine purrs like a kitten, and has the pleasurable torque expected from the original 4.0L overhead valve inline 6. Ride and drive is better than similarly aged FJ40s by far, largely due to Datsun/Nissan's better build quality of the era coupled with how well...[Read More]( [Four-Links - Watkins Glen, Seal Cove, Akron, preserving historic places]( [Four-Links - Watkins Glen, Seal Cove, Akron, preserving historic places]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - How exactly did Watkins Glen make its way from the tiny upstate village to the massive racing complex outside of town? The International Motor Racing Research Center provided the whole story this week. In its January 1953 session, the New York State Legislature considered two proposed laws to ban racing on public roads. One bill was passed in the Senate but never made it out of committee in the Assembly. Thus, there was never a law enacted to ban racing on public roads in New York State. What the State actually did...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1964 Pontiac Bonneville Safari station wagon]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1964 Pontiac Bonneville Safari station wagon]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - From the seller's description: Beautiful 1964 Pontiac Bonneville Safari Wagon. Fabulous Driver quality and fun for a cruise. Original engine 389 and tranx. Pwr windows, A/C (not currently working), fold down rear seat for cargo, roof rack, Saddle "79" interior (in rough, to "so-so" shape). Not shown: I just purchased an original, correct "Pontiac" radio to be installed. Also installed correct side view mirror. Stripped to bare metal and repainted original Singapore Gold "T" paint in 2008, but showing so...[Read More]( LAST WEEK'S MOST READ [After losing court appeal, Onondaga Dragway fights to remain open]( [After losing court appeal, Onondaga Dragway fights to remain open]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - A bittersweet farewell message greeted visitors to Onondaga Dragway's website earlier this month, noting that "we don't know where to go from here" after a six-year-running court battle to keep the eighth-mile Michigan drag strip open. However, operators of the track have vowed they'll continue to fight any attempts to shut down the racing facility, starting with a fundraising effort announced this past weekend. "Nothing is guaranteed, but we are willing to do whatever we can to make this work and we will not giv...[Read More]( LAST WEEK'S BEST DISCUSSION [From testing at Indy to resting in Tupelo - Tucker 48 chassis 1028]( [From testing at Indy to resting in Tupelo - Tucker 48 chassis 1028]( Posted by Kurt Ernst - By September 1948, Preston Tucker had little left to lose. Production at his Chicago plant was all but halted by an SEC investigation, while critics had already tried and convicted him in the media. To demonstrate that his Tucker 48 was a real and legitimate automobile, Tucker brought seven examples to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for endurance testing, and on April 27, one of these Indy-driven 1948 Tucker 48s heads to auction as part of Bonhams Tupelo Automobile Museum Auction in Tupelo, Mississippi. Oddl...[Read More]( Hemmings Motor News will not sell or share your e-mail address with other companies. 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