Bessie Lee Paoli was the third female car owner to enter the Indianapolis 500 and was the most successful. Like Maude Yagle, who entered the 1929 Indianapolis 500 with Ray Keech at the wheel for an eighth-place finish, Bessie was not permitted in the pits. She had to hand notes ...
Bessie Lee Paoli
January 6, 2024 by uvsw14Leave a comment
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USAC Is Formed
January 6, 2024 by uvsw14Leave a comment
Between January 1 and June 30, 1955, auto racing killed ninety-one and injured over 100. The American Automobile Association, the sanctioning body for championship series, sprint car racing and midget racing, decided its mission of better automobile safety was inconsistent with auto racing. On August 3, 1955, AAA president Andrew ...
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The Crisis in Auto Racing
January 6, 2024 by uvsw14Leave a comment
Auto racing is inherently dangerous. The 1955 Championship racing season was particularly bloody and brought things to a head for the AAA Contest Board, which was the sanctioning body not only for championship racing but also for sprint cars, run on one-half mile tracks, midgets run on one-quarter mile tracks, ...
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The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
January 6, 2024 by uvsw14Leave a comment
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is one of Tony Hulman’s lasting legacies. After buying IMS, he began thinking about a museum focused on racing cars and accessories. At the 1947 One Hundred Mile an Hour Dinner honoring those drivers who had driven an Indianapolis 500 with an average speed of ...
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Lucy O’Reilly Schell
January 6, 2024 by uvsw14Leave a comment
In 2021, the Indianapolis 500 had a female team including the owner, Beth Paretta and driver, Simona de Silvestro as well as the majority of the crew. But Beth Paretta was not the first woman to own a team which participated in the Indianapolis 500. That honor probably belongs to ...
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