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Classic Indy Car Photos
01/13/99 - Added second archive of 22 shots.
My father, Rex Miller, shot at the Indianapolis Speedway during the 1970's and also made a trip the the USGP at Watkins Glen in 1972. He also was one of the shooters standing on the photo stand in 1971 when the pace car collided with the photo stand.
1971 Pace Car Incident
There's a lot of lore about this
episode in Speedway history. Some of it is fact, other parts are
question marks.
Here's facts as I know them: In 1971 a local Dodge dealer won the rights to drive the pace car to start the 1971 Indianapolis 500. His name is/was Eldon Palmer, namesake of Palmer Dodge in Indy. After pulling into the pits to turn things over to the starter, Palmer broke too late and lost control of the car at the end of pit lane. Up until 1972, the speedway would haul a portable stand (the same one used for driver's meetings) out to the end of the pits so selected photographers could get an excellent angle of the start of the race. The stand would be towed away after the green flag dropped. The stand was basically a three tiered riser built on a glorified hay wagon with red, white & blue bunting around it. The car struck the base of the stand sideways and sent photographers spilling forward onto (and into) the pace car and the ground.
The conjectures: There are several stories about why Eldon Palmer muffed the start of the race. They all center around a flag that was used in his practice runs to signal his braking point, but on race day (pick one):
