I was just digging through some old pics of my grandfather's, and found a few from the '39 Indy 500. There are a few of the parking lots, and a few from the track. I thought you guys might like these. The pictures of the wrecked #3 car were labeled "Floyd Roberts Killed."
I just found a few more, but these are labeled "1939 Akron, Ohio Midgets." It's a shame that I never knew my grandfather had any interest in cars or racing.
Those are really cool. I'd make sure to protect those. You have to be amazed at the area around the track and how sparse it was. Also, one would think you would still find more Model A's in the parking lot than there seems to be.
Those are bad... Anyone know where this was for sure ? I've heard that there was a dirt track near the Akron Airport/Derby downs where the return road is that they used to drag on. Maybe where the BMX track was before the Airport expanded? I'm not sure it could be bull but I do remember my Grandpa and others talking about it. He lived a couple miles down the road from this area but he was more from the 50's return road era than anything else that may have happened there earlier.
Nice pics. I'm a long-time Indy fan so it's cool to see stuff other than what IMS puts on the site. Have you thought to submit those as digital copies to the Speedway Museum? I'd bet they'd love copies for the archives. Thanks for posting 'em.
Very cool pics, goes to show sometimes you find out things after someone is gone, my grandfather was a bootlegger in Detroit and I had no idea untii many years after his death. wish I knew! so many stories and adventures are lost when we loose those who were there!
Give your Grandpa some additional props for having a steady hand...most older snapshots seem invariably shaky, but your Pops had a very steady hand and had a great eye for shooting the event, as well as a spectator without a press pass can, especially with vintage 1939 equipment. Nice work, Pops!! Thanks to you for sharing with us.
These pics look like what Dan Collins was aking for this week? I also remember a Hamber selling a grill shell much like the heart shaped one here, I almost bought that grill shell. Sweet piece, in a faggy kinda way.
Very kool pics, in some ways it looks more like a summer club event than the Indy 500. I dig the "grass level" perspective of a lot of the shots.
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