There Goes My Hero (Card)

This weekend marked my yearly pilgrimage to the famed Brickyard, the home of the greatest spectacle of speed this side of the Atlantic, aka Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  For the better part of the last two decades, my family and I have made the three-hour trek southeast from Chicago to Speedway, IN to take in the festivities surrounding the famed Indianapolis 500.   While we have never been able to make it town for the race itself, since 2003, we have made it our mission to see how the field is set for the Memorial Day tradition, coming to town to enjoy the Pole Day and/or Bump Day drama.

This year, despite the overly-rainy spring and the dreary weather forecast, was no different.  Although precipitation was anticipated throughout the late morning and afternoon, making the likelihood of on-track action a longshot, at best, we still loaded up the car and drove three hours down I-65.  The risk vs. reward potential was potent - the chance that we might get to see if Penske Racing could win yet another Pole Position and whether or not Formula One Champion and international superstar, Fernando Alonso, could actually get "bumped" from the starting grid of 33 cars provided a strong draw.

From the moment we parked, most of the day was spent under awnings and umbrellas, soaking up rain instead of intrigue.  Luckily, the Speedway has a sprawling museum within it's walls, which provided a welcome distraction from the gloom around us.

The facility is stuffed to the gills with historic vehicles and artifacts from the facility's 111-year past, including a special exhibit dedicated to the most famous name in American auto racing, Mario Andretti, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his only triumph in the Indianapolis 500.  However, that being said, despite coming face-to-face with the very Marmon Wasp which crossed the finish line first in the inaugural "500" in 1911 and the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy itself within the museum walls, it was actually something that I came across in the lobby that caused me the most wonder:

Nestled among the complimentary maps and spotter's guides scattered on the ticket counter, was this sole hero card.... and I took one of each.  For those who are not overly familiar with motorsports memorabilia, hero cards are basically over-sized trading cards that are used by drivers to fulfill autograph requests during appearances. Thus, coming across something like this at the country's most famous racing circuit, on the surface, isn't much of a surprise.  But, here's the thing...

Sarah Fisher is one of a select few women who has qualified for the "international 500-mile sweepstakes" and broke down barriers at the speedway as both a driver and owner throughout the 2000's.  This hero card showcases Fisher's racing team, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing... which hasn't been to the track since, or any track at all, since 2014. Hmmmm....

A look at the reverse of this perplexing oddball indicates that our mystery card dates from the year 2012, a year in which she and her team provided future IndyCar Series Champion, Josef Newgarden with his first big break in the sport.

As cool as a find as this was, all I can think about is what in the world is a hero card from 2012 - a full seven years ago - doing here?  Was it left behind by a fan, who hoped to run across the famous driver and get her signature, while paying for their museum ticket?  Did a museum employee stumble across it in a stack of papers and tossed it out with the track maps to simply get rid of it?  Does Sarah Fisher sneak about the speedway and leave these hidden in secret places as a calling card?  The world may never know.

At any rate, this oddity is mine now.  Since Indy Car hasn't had a set of cards made since 2007 (and before that is spotty, at best), these hero cards are the closest thing to traditional trading cards the sport has.  I'm quite content adding this souvenir to my most "IndyCard" collection.  Maybe someday I'll even fulfill it's purpose and get Sarah to sign it in a future month of May.

Anyway, let me throw up a few pictures of what was found in the museum itself.  After all, I talked it up pretty heavily and then proceeded to blabber on and on about a random card I found in the lobby outside.

Ray Harroun piloted this appropriately-painted Wasp to victory in 1911, making use of the very first rearview mirror.

The most beautiful race car to ever hit the bricks - Al Unser's 1970 winning "Johnny Lightning Special."

Bill Vukovich piloted this roadster to victory in 1953 - he would tragically perish, while leading the race, two years later.

The Borg Warner Trophy awarded to the victor.

That's obviously a small sampling of what's to be found with the IMS Museum; however, I can't give away all their secrets in this silly blog post.  I will say, I've wandered around the museum many times and I am always awestruck by the incredible progress made in the automotive and racing industries.  Seeing all these eras of the race physically represented under one roof is an experience I can't recommend enough.  If you're ever in the area, I cannot recommend stopping by enough.  They're even open year round!

Luckily for us, a couple of hours after we wrapped up in the museum, the skies opened up and a little sunshine broke through.  Although, with more storms on the way, the window was going to be tight.  As such, the track-drying crews lept into action, fired up the fleet of jet-driers, and got the surface ready to go in just an hour and a half.  Lo and behold, there was racing, after all!

The drama was absolutely worth the wait, as well.  Lo and behold, the Goliath of Alonso and legendary Team McLaren were taken down by the David of Kyle Kaiser and his un-sponsored, single-car operation in the very last run of the qualifying session.  After witnessing that major upset, in person, made Simon Pagenaud winning Penske's 18th pole feel almost like a footnote.  The month of May began with Alonso's quest to win motorsports coveted "Triple Crown" - the Indy 500, 24 Hours of LeMans, and the Grand Prix of Monaco (the latter two of which he's already conquered) - as the dominating story line and, yet, he didn't even qualify for the race... beat by a team that didn't even know if they had enough money to make an attempt.  I do not think anyone could have possibly predicted such a shocking turn of events.

Team McLaren wheels their beaten racer back to Gasoline Alley shortly after being bumped.

Just a few minutes after the starting grid was officially set - we hadn't even made it back to the parking lot yet - the rain began to fall again.  Talk about perfect timing!  Considering the bleak outlook, the day could not have possibly gone better for us and our fellow spectators - everything worked out perfectly and we got a damn good show.

Now, the field of contenders is set.  All that's left to is to see who wins the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 this upcoming Sunday.  Rather than dodging raindrops, I will be watching the race comfortably from my couch, cheering on Graham Rahal and Sebastien Bourdais.

I'm glad I found that Sarah Fisher hero card hiding out at the museum, as it provided the perfect excuse to profess this on Wrigley Roster Jenga.  I have to wonder though, am I the only baseball card blogger who pays attentions to the goings-on of Indy?  Are there others on the blogosphere who enjoys the high-octane thrills of the greatest spectacle in racing?  Please feel free to revel with me in the comment section below.

This might come as some surprise, as I absolutely adore the Cubs and baseball (after all, I have this whole blog centered around the franchise); but, the Indianapolis 500 is my favorite annual sporting tradition!

Back Home Again in Indiana

May is a special month in my family.  My sister and I were both born in the fifth month of the year.  May is the month in which our local districts finish up the school year - school districts for which my parents, my brother, and I all work for.  Most importantly, May is the month in which the Indianapolis 500 and all of it's festivities take place.

My parents started making an annual pilgrimage to the super speedway in the mid-70's to take in Pole Day qualifications, on a lark.  Forty years later, our much larger family is still making the three hour drive from Chicago to Speedway, IN each and every year to see who will win the pole for the most storied auto race in American sports.  The family outing is one of the few constants in my life, having survived middle school confusion, high school drama, college sporting schedules and professional scheduling hurdles.  Personally, I've been attending the event since 2003, which I'm just now realizing is actually 14 years ago and I'm starting to feel kind of old.

Naturally, along the way, I've developed a certain affinity for the International 500-Mile Sweepstakes.

Pole Day at the Brickyard was this past Sunday; so, despite not-so-promising weather reports, my father, sister, brother, and now my wife and I loaded up a car and headed out to the track.  Thankfully we ignored the Weather Channel because, though the morning was a touch damp, by the time we got to the track, it was a beautiful, sunny afternoon.

For several years now, my favorite driver has been Graham Rahal.  The Ohio native is a second-generation racer and has been competing at the speedway since the 2008 season.  He's never won, but he has been a perennial threat to "kiss the bricks" since that debut.  I believe the reason that I've gravitated to the younger Rahal is that my first exposure to the 500 was through an old program that my parents bought during their 1987 visit, which I discovered, forgotten, in a desk drawer when I was just a kid.  I must have read through that program a hundred times before finally getting to visit the hallowed grounds myself and the publication prominently featured a spotlight on the 1986 champion of the race:  Bobby Rahal. 

My guy did pretty well, though he wasn't part of the "fast-nine" eligible to start first on the grid.  All in all, Rahal will start 14th on the grid after posting a four-lap average speed of 230.253 mph in the Steak n' Shake machine.  For reference, Scott Dixon took the pole averaging 232.164, the fastest qualifying run seen at Indy in 21 years!

No doubt it was an exciting afternoon, jam-packed with sensational speeds, junk food, family bonding and sunshine.  However, this is a trading card blog and I'm sure you're wondering what any of this has to do with cards.  Well, allow me to "shift gears," as they say, and discuss the souvenir findings that I made while waiting for the festivities to begin.

Unfortunately, Indy Car does not current have a licensed (or unlicensed, for that matter) producer of standalone trading cards and hasn't for many years now.  Since most of the top talent in American motorsports has been filtered towards NASCAR for the past couple of decades, I guess there's just not a lot of money to be made off of the current crop of Indy stars, when it comes to cardboard rectangles.  However, thankfully, the market isn't completely devoid of Indianapolis-related trading cards:


 

As is common in the die-cast market, the official producer of 1:64 scale Indy Car models, Greenlight, includes trading cards with most of it's little race cars.  Although I don't do much die-cast collecting anymore (I have too much clutter as it is), my little brother still likes to purchase a couple each year we go, as a personal memento.  This guy isn't one of those "mint in package" types either AND he really has no use for racing-related cards either; thus, over the years, we've developed a nice partnership, where with every car he buys, he graciously allows me to have the accompanying trading card.  In turn, I help out with his concessions or provide future favors.

As you can see above, last year's Indy 500 champ, Alexander Rossi was among my brother's purchases in 2017:

Therefore, I'm super stoked to be adding this Rossi card to my small, but beloved collection of Indy 500 cards.  I love the photograph that was selected for the background of this card, of Rossi's blue and yellow NAPA ride in front of the iconic Pagoda and in-line with the famed yard of bricks and finish line.  The blue sky certainly doesn't hurt the imagery either.

Furthermore, I like the choice of blue for the borders, as well.  Turns out that this Cubs fan has a thing for the color blue - who would have guessed that?

The back of the card features a snapshot of the rookie winner with the traditional victor's wreath and a brief write-up about his surprise victory.  Rossi and his Andretti Herta Autosport team used fuel mileage strategy to stun the field and come away with the win in the 100th running of the prestigious event.  Not a bad way to make your debut in the sport, eh?

Alexander, in case your curious, will be starting his second Indy 500 from the front row, in third position.

Moving on, Alexander Rossi's ride wasn' the only die-cast car that my brother purchased that afternoon.  Unfortunately for me though, the cards that came with his other buys left a lot to be desired:

 

In what seems to be a pattern, Greenlight only puts their full effort into the cards for the defending Indy 500 winner and the Indy Car Series points champion from the previous season.  Otherwise, if you aren't wearing one of those crowns, you get one of the generic accompaniments that you see above.  

Will Power, driving for Roger Penske, fell just short of the series championship last year to his teammate Simon Pagenaud.  Sadly, my brother did not opt for Simon.  Perhaps this year a little concentrated Power of Will will earn the 17th Indianapolis victory for the Penske crew and find himself on a real trading card.  Helio Castroneves has thrice won the Indy 500, but not in 2015, when the card you see above was manufactured.  Will he become the fourth, four-time winner of the event in 2017?  It would make for a great card, I'm just saying...

 

At least the back's got some attention, with a fairly detailed career wrap-up on include on the reverse side.  I wish I could say that I was from Toowoomba, Australia... that just seems super fun to say!  However, as we turn back the pages of time even further, the cards included with official IndyCar Series die-casts get more and more blah:

In addition to current rides, my brother also picked up some older die-casts off of a clearance rack outside of the track.  As you can see, going back a few years to 2014, the blander trading cards were smaller than standard and peculiarly shaped.  Furthermore, instead of a write up on the back, we got a season schedule for the IndyCar Series:

These aren't exactly the most exciting things that I've ever seen.  That said, options are limited for Indy 500 card collectors and they still make for nice bits of memorabilia to be autographed.

Speaking of autographs, I always come prepared with a stack of cards, as race car drivers may very well be the most generous signers out of all professional athletes.  There are numerous opportunities to catch drivers along the fence of the garage area, crossing over from Gasoline Alley to the pit lane, free sessions organized throughout the racetrack, and even just walking around among the crowd.  On that latter note, just a few years ago, my brother and sister happened to bump into '90 & '97 Indy 500 winner, Arie Luyendyk, behind the front stretch grandstands.

Speaking of which, my brother truly has the golden touch when it comes to autographs and he manages to land a few big names every year.  However, I thought I was going to have him beat this year, as I was ever-so-close to nabbing Castroneves' signature behind pit road; but, he quit signing for the crowd right before he got to me and my trading card.  Minutes later, I legitimately walked right into eight-time starter, Oriol Servia, walking around on his own, only to discover that I had lost my pen.  It was a touch frustrating, but sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles.

Meanwhile, as I was getting thwarted all over the track, Mike was having himself a banner day:

They may be hard to make out in the photograph above, but he was lucky enough to get both Marco and Mario Andretti to sign their names on his souvenir program.  Mario freakin' Andretti... outside of A.J. or maybe Al Unser, I don't think there's a bigger fish to land!  That lucky duck always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

I should have hung out with Michael, as I even brought a card of the most famous name in American motorsports along with me, just in case:

Wouldn't that 2013 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions single look just wonderful with an autograph on it?  Next year, I'm going to give Mike my cards and just have him go to town.  I don't know what he does or where he goes, but it's working out for him!


While I wasn't lucky enough to score any autographs while I was wandering about the Speedway grounds, I didn't walk away empty-handed.  In my wandering travels, I happened upon a folding table that was manned by some organization called "Ark Encounter."  I'd never heard of this biblical org, but they did have a few stacks of these oddball trading card/post card/hero card hybrids that I was all to happy to grab for the low, low price of free:

Apparently, they have some kind of sponsorship/partnership deal with hometown Indy veteran, Conor Daly.  Conor, like Graham Rahal, is also a second-gen racer, the son of Derek Daly, who competed at the Brickyard and in the Formula One ranks, contributing to his son's popularity.  All in all, not a bad name to attach yourself to for a little bit of local exposure.

These cards are about the size of a postcard, printed on thin cardstock, similar to that of the ubiquitous hero cards associated with the sport.  We get a checkered flag border around a white background, overlayed with a photograph of Daly's A.J. Foyt Enterprises road course car.  Also included is a photo of the young racer in his white fire-suit, which blends right into the color-less background.  Options are limited when it comes to Indy cards and free is always a worthwhile price, so I was thrilled to come across this oddball.

Flipping over to the backside, we get a brief bio for Conor.  Can I just mention that it seems a bit presumptious to list him as having already started the 2017 Indianapolis 500?  Granted, there are only 33 cars entered this year, meaning every team that shows up will make the grid; that said, injuries happen (just ask Sebastien Bourdais) and problems occur.  It seems like bad Juju McGumbo to me.

Additionally, we learn just what the "Ark Encounter" is all about.  Without getting to deep into the topic, all I can say is that I'm certain that I won't be visiting this place anytime soon... or ever.

That about did it for my trading card related finds; but, I did make one more souvenir purchase before I went back to find my seat for the qualifying sessions:

For the first time in all of my years of visiting the speedway, I noticed that the gift shop immediately next to the track museum (highly recommend, btw), which shares space with a concession stand, is an entire storefront full of "get rid of this stuff NOW" clearance-priced items from years past.  As a penny-pinching race fan and collector, this was a dream find.  My wife picked up a couple onesies for our friends with toddlers that are obsessed with anything that has wheels and I grabbed the above magnet of my guy Graham Rahal.  Our total for the three items was just under seven bucks... that won't even buy you a burger and a Coke at the neighboring concessions.

This trading card-sized magnet hails from the year 2014, when Graham and his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing squad drove with the National Guard livery.  It wasn't the best of years, as Graham finished dead last (33rd) in the 98th running.  Still, this might be as close as I ever get to a Graham Rahal "card" and it was basically free with the extreme discounting.  Plus, it looks good on my fridge:

Nestled right next to my wife's 3D cat magnet and our wonderful engagement announcement.  I don't know why, but it seems like the perfect spot for my favorite race car driver.

After all of that souvenir and autograph hunting, it was about time for the qualification sessions to start, so we journeyed to our usual post in the upper grandstand of turn one to take in the festival of speed.  All in all, I can say that I was extremely enthused with my card-related findings during the downtime.  I fully expected to come home skunked, as I so often do when it comes to Indy cards, but I ended up with plenty to show off on the ol' blog.  That combined with seeing Scott Dixon win the pole with the fastest individual lap and complete qualifying run in 21 years, Graham running respectably, and getting to spend some quality time with my family in our most hallowed tradition certainly made for a wonderful afternoon.

Now, I'm counting down the days 'til Sunday, when the green flag will drop on the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500.  My fingers are crossed that this will be the year that Graham Rahal get his face engraved on the Borg Warner Trophy.

I love the month of May!

Gaughan Daddy Gaughan

In less than an hour, NASCAR will officially be kicking off it's postseason schedule (aka The Chase) in my very own backyard.  This afternoon, Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL will play host to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 (what a ridiculous name for a race...) as sixteen qualified drivers begin their quest for the Sprint Cup Championship.  

Any time NASCAR rolls into town, drivers and teams hit the promotional trail hard during the preceding week.  Drivers make sponsored appearances to cut ribbons and sign autographs while show cars are towed all across the city to be parked in front of this and that business, all to drive up interest for the upcoming races.  Make all the jokes you want about the sport (rednecks, obnoxious sponsorship agreements, etc.), they sure do a lot for the fans to keep interest high.

For instance, last year, in the lead up to the Chicagoland race, I had the opportunity to meet NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth at the local shopping mall, with a full spread of food too, at absolutely no cost.  It sure seems like any appearance from even the most journeyman baseball player will at least run you up $20.

Unfortunately, this year, I kind of fell asleep at the wheel and didn't even notice that our local race was approaching. However, a couple of days ago, one event did catch my interest - this one, at a much lower profile than a Matt Kenseth autograph session.

One of those aforementioned show cars was parked at one of our local filling stations, Thorntons to be specific; luckily, that station is immediately across the street from the Walgreen's, a common haunt for the "Burb Herd."  A quick heads up from my brother let me know that there was a race car sitting in the parking lot across the street from our pharmacy and my inner child immediately went crazy. There was no way I was going to ignore that opportunity.

So, the fiancee and I sauntered over to the gas station - all it took was the promise of a slushie to convince the lovely lady.  It was a win/win situation.

There was no driver appearance scheduled, but had there been, it would have been the pilot of the #62 Thornton's Camaro in the Xfinity Series (the AAA of NASCAR) - Brendan Gaughan.

I was quite surprised to find out that Gaughan was even still in the sport, to be completely honest. When I was first starting to follow the sport in the early 00's, Brendan was a hotshot, young prospect in the developmental ranks.  A true athlete, he'd actually been a teammate of Hall of Famer Allen Iverson on the Georgetown basketball team and earned earned All-Conference honors as a placekicker on their football team.  

He earned a full-time ride with the storied Penske Racing team in the Cup series for 2004; however, it wasn't pretty.  Gaughan was rarely competitive and finished 28th in the point standings, losing his ride at the end of the season.  Since then, he's never made more than a cameo appearance at the sports top level.

As my interest in the sport began to wane, I assumed that was where his story ended.  Lo and behold, he pulled a Mike Hessman and went back to the "minors" and carved himself out a nice niche.  As a full-time competitor in the Xfinity ranks, he's become a weekly threat and won himself a couple of races for Richard Childress Racing, one of the sport's top teams.  Good for Gaughan!

I was happy to see that, while Brendan wouldn't be there to sign autographs, the Thornton's promotional team still had plenty of swag to hand out, including the above "hero card."  After all, this is a cardboard-based blog and I had to make some tangible tie-in here.

"Hero cards" seem to be unique to motorsports.  These over-sized promos are often a large 8x10 (though there's no standard) and, for all intents and purposes, they are essentially just gaudier trading cards that are used to fulfill autograph requests at driver appearances.   I don't think I've ever seen the format used for baseball, football, hockey, etc.; however, please let me know if I'm wrong.

For completeness' sake, here's the back of the huge hero:

As you can see, like your standard trading card, you get the driver's vitals and information.  Not to mention, with the added "canvas," there's much more room for expanded statistics; thus, you get a lot more career highlights than you would with a 2.5 x 3.5  single from Press Pass or Panini.

Of course, the added space is also used to tout the sponsor, so you also get to learn all about Thorntons and their brand of ethanol as well.

While the oddball hero card was what I was truly after from the swag table, I was also able to walk away with a couple of other novelty items:

I don't know what I'm going to do with the flag (nevertheless, I wasn't about to turn down free stuff); but, the magnet proved to be rather useful, seeing as our refrigerator never has enough of them to hold our greeting cards, invitations and photo-strips.

We also both entered a drawing to win free tickets to the race itself; that said, judging by the fact that I'm sitting here blogging right now should tell you how that went.  At any rate, I was able to add a new oddball card to my ever-growing NASCAR collection, acquire some other free swag, get an up close and personal look at a race car and reminisce in nostalgia town... not a bad way to spend an afternoon, in my personal opinion.  

Oh and in case you were curious, Brendan Gaughan finished 8th in the 40 car Xfinity field last night at Chicagoland - not a bad showing.  Maybe he'll be able to work his way back up to the Cup series again someday.

Anything's possible for this childhood "hero."