By Dick Mittman
indy500.com
Thursday, May 22, 2008
On Wednesday, May 21, IMS Chairman Mari Hulman George held her annual Oldtimers of the 1950s luncheon in the Bombardier Learjet Pagoda as a string of race cars from 40 and 50 years ago lined the pits below. Two of her many guests were Toddy Ruttman, daughter of 1952 Indianapolis 500 champion Troy Ruttman, and Jennifer Revson, sister of Peter Revson, who sat on the pole and finished second to Al Unser in 1971.
Each had a unique experience to remember forever.
Toddy Ruttman, who lives in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, decided the previous day to drive down to Salem, Ind., where she lived on a 23-acre farm with her father and mother as a little girl. All she wanted to do was make a quick but nostalgic trip to the small southern Indiana town to see whether the house was still there.
"I just wore a T-shirt and no makeup," she said.
She was in for an amazing day.
When Toddy arrived, she went to the courthouse to learn whether the house was still there. Not only was it there, it is actually going to be sold on auction this Saturday, May 24, the day before the 92nd Indianapolis 500.
Soon Toddy was introduced to someone with authority who said he would take her to the house and even allow her to go through the rooms for the first time since her dad had sold it in 1959.
"We had lived in it from 1954," she said. "It used to be 23 acres, but now it was down to 3 acres. My dad used to drive his sprint car into the basement. He had a pig farm in the back.
"A.J. Watson (famed Indy car mechanic) told me they used to drink white lightning out of a shoe in the house."
Meanwhile, word was quickly spreading around town Tuesday that Troy Ruttman's daughter was visiting. Toddy was due to return to Indianapolis for lunch with a friend and then an evening cookout. Instead, she lunched in Salem as old-timers came to talk to her.
Next Toddy was taken to Salem Speedway, one of Indiana's most storied short tracks, where she met the current owner. She went through archival photographs and identified some of the people in them. She learned that Troy's eight sprint victories still is the track record. Her father passed away May 19, 1997.
Toddy concluded her surprising day with dinner in Salem. She arrived back in Indianapolis after dark.
In the Pagoda on Wednesday, she had to explain to her friend why she missed the barbecue.
After lunch on the Pagoda outside balcony with Toddy, Jennifer Revson said she had not returned to the Speedway since 1973, when her brother made the last of his five Indy 500 starts. He was killed the following spring in a Formula One accident in South Africa.
But Jennifer never lost her passion for racing. She has attended numerous races since, lives in Raleigh, N.C., and is involved with the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Novi, Mich.
Jennifer and Toddy headed down to the pits to look at the cars that came from their kin's eras. And there sat Peter's Gulf McLaren he drove in the 1972 Indy 500. Jennifer couldn't resist asking if she could sit in it and was quickly assisted into the cockpit. She smiled happily as a few photographs were snapped.
It, too, was like she had found a long, lost home of her youth.
As she edged her way back out, Toddy said her adventure wasn't complete yet.
"I might got down to the auction Saturday and see how many people bid on the house," she said. "If no one does, I might buy it myself."
***
Indy 500 tickets on sale: Tickets are on sale for the 2008 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25, the 92nd running of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or at the ticket office at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (ET) Monday-Sunday during May, with special hours of 6 a.m.-1 p.m. on Race Day, Sunday, May 25. Online orders can be made at any time. Race Day ticket prices start at just $20.
Indy 500 TV, radio: ABC and ESPN2 will provide live Race Day television coverage of the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25. Pre-race coverage starts at 11 a.m. (ET) on ESPN2, continuing at noon on ABC. Race coverage begins at 1 p.m. on ABC.
IMS Radio Network Race Day coverage starts with a pre-race show at noon, followed by the race at 1 p.m. The radio network's coverage also will be broadcast live on XM Satellite Radio Channel 145, "IndyCar Series Racing," and XM Channel 144.
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