Bismillah.
It all started back in 1992, when I was still studying in Canada. During the summer break, me and a couple of friends decided we were going to tour the East Coast of the United States of America by road. So we rented a minivan and off we went.
Since IndyCar is big in North America, and me being a racing nuts, naturally the ultimate destination would be the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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| Indianapolis Motor Speedway Entrance |
Upon arriving, I was simply awestruck by the aura of the speedway. It exceeded my expectations from watching it on television and computer games. It was just awesome to be there. The place is just magic. Anybody who said that oval racing is boring and dull, they just have to come here and feel the aura of this track, and tour the whole length of the oval and they will know what I'm talking about.
With steep bankings on all four corners, even walking or riding a tour bus require a certain degree of balance in order not to fall off to the inside of the corners. They don't call the Indy 500 the fastest race in the world for nothing. Even taking the first corner at racing speed requires a lot of expertise and finesse.
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| Indianapolis Motor Speedway Plague |
With history spanning more than 100 years, it has played a huge part in developing racing car technologies. The progression of Indy racing cars from 1909 until today can be seen at the Hall of Fame museum inside the speedway. A lot of information can be found and used even for today's racing cars.
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| The classic racing cars at Indy Hall of Fame museum |
It got me thinking that Malaysia my country, needs a lot of catching up to do. I was not sure how at the time, but it will have to wait until I got back home.
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| The classic racing cars at Indy Hall of Fame museum. |
In the meanwhile, I continued to soak in all the information and awesomeness of the track and its history, while quietly thinking that this is the field I wanted to get myself into. I wanted to make a contribution to my country Malaysia. This was in 1992, and I was twenty one years old at the time.
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| Arie Luyendyk's 1990 Domino's Pizza Lola |
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The Borg Warner Tropy of the Indy 500
All previous winners have their faces embossed on this metal trophy. |
End of part 1.
Muhammad Jefri Bin Jamaludin
Founder and Promoter
Super Compact Championship
Email: muhammadjefrijamaludin@gmail.com
