Editors Note: In a nod to our 90 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 15, 30 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.

15 Years Ago 2010

News: Dario Franchitti continued to celebrate his second IndyCar Series championship, winning the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Assns Jerry Titus Award for the second time in three years.

President Dusty Brandel announced Franchitti as the organizations Driver of the Year as AARWBA honored its 40th AllAmerica Team and kicked off its 55th year at the John Force Racing facility.

Im very proud to win the Jerry Titus award for a second time. It means a great deal to me to be AARWBAs driver of the year for 2009, Franchitti said. Thanks to everyone at Team Target and all the AARWBA members who voted.

Host Force, a four-time Titus winner, shared the Presidents Award with crew chief John Medlen. AARWBA recognized them for their dedication to race car safety in all forms of motorsports through the Brownsburg-based Eric Medlen Project.

After Erics crash, a roll cage was put on my car. Im standing here because of Eric Medlen, Force said, referring to his own brutal 2007 accident six months later. People say this is John Forces house, but it isnt. Its Eric Medlens house.

Journalist Lewis Franck presented IndyCar and NASCAR team owner Chip Ganassi the Pioneer in Racing Award for his longtime dedication and achievement in the industry.

As an industry, we need to stay relevant on the sports landscape, Ganassi said. We need to stay relevant to Detroit. Racing needs to take a leadership role. Innovation is what does it. We need to be bold, like our host. John Force.

The Jerry Titus Trophy is awarded to the driver who receives the most AllAmerica Team votes. It is named m memory of the late journalist and racer. who was a member of AARWBA, the countrys oldest and largest organization of motorsports media professionals.

It is the highest honor AARWBA offers.

Franchitti, the open-wheel honoree, shared First Team status with other Horsepower Trophy recipients Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney (road racing); Donny Schatz (short track); J.R Hildebrand (at-large); Tony Schumacher (drag racing); Ron Hornaday (touring); and Mark Martin (stock car).

Winners: Kevin Swindell added another Golden Driller Trophy to the Swindell family trophy case Saturday night, winning the 24th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.

The 50-lap feature capped off five nights of racing featuring 265 drivers in 92 racing events at the QuikTrip Centers Tulsa Expo Raceway.

After fading at the start from the front row, the 20-year-old driver rebounded to lead the second half of the event. The victory was his third major career midget victory, having previously captured the 2007 Night Before the 500 and Knoxville Midget Nationals last year.

I wish I would of have been too tight at the beginning, but I was way too free and that really worried me and I kinda felt that I wasnt gonna be good enough at the end, Swindell explained.

Polesitter Darren Hagen took the lead at the start. Followed by Cory Kruseman, while Swindell faded outside the top five.

On lap five, defending winner Sammy Swindell, who started last after using the defending race winners provisional, had advanced seven positions to 18th.

Kruseman took the lead from Hagen on lap nine and began lapping slower cars three laps later. S. Swindell, who was up to 16th, tangled with Brent Beauchamp five laps later and restarted from the tail of the field.

Cole Whitt charged past Jerry Coons Jr. and Hagen in a five-lap sequence to take second behind

Kruseman. The event changed dramatically starting on lap 21 when a

seven-car accident saw Brad Loyet flip. 

On the restart, K. Swindell restarted in fourth, but qulckly moved to second before Hagen

spun on the next lap.

One lap after the restart, K. Swindell passed Kruseman for the lead. Brad Mosen spun on lap 28

with S. Swindell up to 10th. Cole Whitt regained second from Kruseman and began challenging

1. Swindell for the lead.
2. Swindell used two caution flags between laps 36-40 to move into the top five. A caution flag with two laps remaining bunched up the field. On the restart, K. Swindell held off Whitt, while his father passed Jerry Coons Jr. for third.

Commenting on his fathers late charge, K. Swindell said, With 10 to go under the caution, I could see he was sixth. Then on the last caution I saw him in third. I thought, Oh, no, he might get me at the end.

1. Swindell drove the Swindell Racing-owned Esslinger-Spike No. 39 and finished two car lengths ahead of Whitt and S. Swindell.

I was trying everything I could and I couldnt really keep up with Kevin, Whitt explained. We were close. If Kevin made a few mistakes, I could kinda get close to him, but he made only a few.

Coons and Chris Wmdom rounded out the top five.

30 Years Ago 1995

News: Those who thought the Indy Racing League would vanish when the clock struck midnight on New Years Day, 1996 got a rude jolt Monday from Indianapolis Motor Speedway President and IRL founder Tony George in the form of a size-9 glass slipper.

The newly-formed Indy car entity announced its inaugural race, the Walt Disney World 200, in front of Cinderellas Castle here at Walt Disney World. The USAC-sanctioned race, which will carry a purse of $1 million, will be contested on a 1.1-mile, low-banked tri-oval to be built on the 43-square-mile Walt Disney World property under the direction of IMS Events, Inc., an affiliate of IMS. The track will be able to seat up to 50,000, depending on demand.

From the standpoint of a team owner or team sponsor or a driver, I think whats important to them is to have quality events in substantial markets where impact can be made, George said. This sport has become a complex business of sport and entertainment, and this marriage (between IMS, IRL and Walt Disney World) lends itself kindly.

The IRL delegation, headed by George, included IRL Executive Director Jack Long, IMS VP Bill Donaldson, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt and driver Eddie Cheever.

Representing Disney World at the formal announcement were Michael Wagner and public relations staffer John Story.

No term other than multi-year was announced, and no title sponsor has been named. Asked if a California copy at Dinseyland near Los Angeles might follow were the event successful, this newspaper was told that is up to Disney.

Since the late 1180s, members of the Walt Disney World cast have worked to bring an auto racing event of this magnitude to Walt Disney World, said AI Weiss, executive vice president Walt Disney World Resort. The impact this race will have on the Central Florida community is immeasurable. This will undoubtedly become one of the largest annual sporting events in the state of Florida, and Walt Disney World Is proud to be part of it.

Under the agreement, IMS will assume the role of the promoter, while Disney will limit itself to providing the venue.

We look at it as a partnership between Disney and IMS, Donaldson said. IMS will be in the promoter role, taking on the construction, the promotion, the advertising and the ticket sales. Disney is primarily the venue, but we look at that as a partnership because theres a lot of things we can do together in terms of marketing.

Questions were raised as to the reaction of the International Speedway Corp., whose flagship Daytona Intl Speedway is located just 90 minutes east of Walt Disney World. It was revealed that ISC head William C. France, also president of NASCAR, was apprised of plans from the outset and is a supporter of the event, reportedly pleased with its proximity to the annual Daytona Speedweeks opener-the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona sports car classic, which will follow the Super Bowl Saturday contest by 1 week.

We obviously consulted with Bill France at NASCAR about out intentions and our desire, and hes been very supportive of our efforts to date, George said. We have a very good relationship with him. I think his initial thought was that it might have an adverse impact, particularly on the IMSA race, but after having a chance to think about it, I think he may have changed his mind a little bit and thinks it may actually enhance that weekend.

Winners: Fifteen months ago, a day after winning his 14th career NASCAR Winston West Series race, Bill Sedgewick was relieved from his ride in the Spears Motorsportts Chevrolet and replaced by Ron Hornaday Jr.

Less than two weeks after returning to the teams driver role when Hornaday jumped to employment with Dale Earnhardts NASCAR SuperTruck Series outfit, Sedgwick was back in victory circle ironically passing Hornaday with 52 laps remaining in the Tucson Raceway Park Winter Heat finale.

Revenge? Maybe.

I wanted to win bad, Ill tell you, said the 39-year-old Sedgwick, who spent the past season as Hornadays crew chief. I lost a few races by not being aggressive enough. I told myself that wouldnt happen again.

And as for Hornaday, who led 90 of the $42,010 events 200 laps? l like to race with Ron but, to this day, hes never beaten me in a Winston West Series race.

60 Years Ago 1965

News: The United States Auto Clubs board of directors Thursday rejected its rules committees recommendation that gasoline be banned from use in open cockpit racing. The rules committee had earlier voted 13-4 in favor of the ban.

Instead, the board bucked the issue back to the committee for further study. As a result, use of the fuel will be permitted in this years 500-Mile Race as. well as other USAC-sanctioned events.

It was the consensus of the board in a unanimous vote that it is virtually impossible to define gasoline, and it was equally impossible to enforce a ban on the substance.

Thomas W. Binford, USAC president, said, We do not want the public to think we are trying to duck a problem. But in our discussion we have found that simply to say we ban gasoline would put us in an impossible policing situation. If the product cannot be defined, we would, in effect, not know what we were attempting to ban.

The problem was turned back to the rules committee with instructions to delve deeper into the subject and to seek further help from the petroleum industry.

Use of gasoline has been the subject of raging controversy within the ranks of USACs membership since the fiery crash of Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald in last years 500. It was further fanned when Bobby Marshman was burned when he crashed during tire tests at Phoenix Intl Raceway last November and died several days later.

Shortly after Marshmans accident, the United Racing Club, an eastern sanctioning organization, banned the use of gasoline in its

racing programs. URCs action made it the only sanctioning body to ban the use of the fuel.

Winners: For the third straight year, Dan Gurney captured the Motor Trend 500-mile NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race at Riverside Intl Raceway. 

He drove 1965 Ford over the 2.7 mile, nine-turn road-course in the first major stock-car race of 1965. Gurney, who grew up in Riverside, started his racing career on the twisty course in sports cars, hut has never won a major sports car event here.

Gurney became the first driver in NASCAR history to win three major races at the same track in a row. His winnings totaled $13,510 plus a 1965 Pontiac GTO.

It was a field day for the Ford Motor Co. as their products captured the first eight positions, with 1965 Fords running, one, two, three, four in the grind, as 61,474 race fans watched in 75-degree weather.

Second place went to Junior Johnson, while Gurneys mate on the Wood Brothers team, Marvin Panch, ran third. Fourth went to the team of Darel Dieringer and Dick Hutcherson in another 65 Ford. West Coast speedster Gene Davis, in a 64 Mercury, took fifth. 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin season is upon us and is shaping up to be one of the best yet. The series will start the year with a record Daytona grid of 35 cars from nine teams and a series record of six female drivers. Its an iconic way to kick off the 20th season of Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup racing.

All the main protagonists from last years championship battle are back, some of them on different teams.

Defending champion Gresham Wagner (No. 5 McCumbee McAleer Racing) leads a stable of seven entries for the North Carolina-based team, including last years third-place championship finisher Jeremy Fletcher (No. 22 McCumbee McAleer Racing).

Wagner, who is one of only two two-time series champions is one of a handful of drivers on the grid who knows what its like to win at Daytona. And winning at Daytona can be key, as the last four season champions have each taken at least one victory out of the Daytona season-opening weekend.

Each year, everyone is coming to Daytona to start their championship challenge and trying to get going on the right foot, to beat certain drivers, to leave with a certain amount of points, and so on, said Wagner. At the moment, the only race I have scheduled is Daytona so this year, Im here only because I really want to be, and to give Daytona another shot.

Whatever happens, Im not putting the same pressure on myself as other years. Ive already done everything there is to do, so this is just a victory lap around an awesome track and one of the best events of the season.

MMR will also welcome two new female drivers to the fray; Maite Cáceres (No. 12 McCumbee McAleer Racing) and Caroline Candas (No. 81 McCumbee McAleer Racing), both of whom have impressive international racing experience.

The other two-time Mazda MX-5 Cup champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) is back and searching for championship number three. The namesake of JTR Motorsports engineering is joined by a mostly unchanged lineup of experienced teammates. A notable addition, however, is Sally Mott (No. 15 JTR Motorsports Engineering) who has joined the squad for her sophomore season.

Speaking of Sally, the MX-5 Cup grid will have two of them in 2025. Spark Performance has added Sally McNulty (No. 78 Spark Performance), an accomplished touring car driver to its lineup.

Two of the Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout scholarship winners have opted to join (relatively) new teams for 2025. Ashlyn Speed (No. 31 Hendricks Motorsports), who won the Mazda Women in Motorsports Initiative Scholarship will be part of Hendricks Motorsports and race alongside a former scholarship winner, Heather Hadley (No. 54 Hendricks Motorsports).

The big winner from the 2024 MX-5 Cup Shootout, Noah Harmon (No. 77 AAG Racing) will run with AAG Racing, which is the team he raced with in four MX-5 Cup races last year.

Harmon is lucky he comes into the season opener with experience racing MX-5 Cup at Daytona, having finished an impressive fifth in race two last year.

Its an amazing feeling going into the 2025 season as a shootout winner, Harmon said. Im super excited. I know theres a lot of support around me and Im just hoping I can make the best of it. Even seeing the shootout winner sticker on the car the other day was a super surreal feeling and Im really looking forward to representing Mazda in the 2025 season.

Heading into Daytona, I think its going to be really helpful that I have the experience from last year. I mean, no one can predict that race, but I think just kind of knowing, having a good idea of what can happen is really going to benefit me for the race.

The third scholarship winner, Helio Meza (No. 27 BSI Racing) has chosen BSI Racing for his 2025 season. A wise choice considering two of the last three Rookie of the Year drivers have come from BSI. This includes the most recent Rookie of the Year, Westin Workman (No. 13 BSI Racing) who returns for his sophomore season.

In parallel with the 20th season of MX-5 Cup is the 35th Anniversary of the Mazda Miata. Without the Miata there would not be Spec Miata and thus no MX-5 Cup.

CONCORD, N.C. Standing atop the ranks of national midget racing, Cannon McIntosh enters the new year ready to defend his Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota title with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports (KKM).

The Bixby, Okla. driver will pilot KKMs Mobil 1-sponsored No. 71K Lynk Chassis for the  upcoming Xtreme Outlaw Midget season joining teammates Gavin Miller, Colton Robinson and Jacob Denney in his renewed title quest.

Im definitely excited to have the opportunity to defend our title, McIntosh said. Coming back with Keith Kunz again and having Mobil 1 on board this year is exciting, and I hope to do just as good, if not, better than what we did last year.

We have a couple of more goals in mind to try and achieve this coming year. Its been really good learning and working with Keith. I think we get better and better as we go, and we learn more and more. Another season to challenge ourselves and see what we can bring to the fight.

McIntosh is the all-time wins leader with the Series after earning six Feature wins through 2024, bringing his win column to 11.

In a championship battle that came down to the series finale at Jacksonville Speedway (Ill.) against teammate Ryan Timms, McIntosh secured his first Xtreme Outlaw title before also winning the POWRi Midget championship the next week.

I dont think (second place) would make me happy, McIntosh said. Were definitely set out to win the championship. Anything less than that would be disappointing and Im sure Keith feels the same way. We know what were capable of, so thats the goal. Were gonna go out and go be our best, try to minimize our mistakes, and I think everything will play out the way its supposed to.

After seeing his championship hopes slip away at the end of the 2023 season, McIntosh reunited with KKM in 2024, refocused and reenergized to find redemption. His lessons learned led him to his first national title, but the Sooner State driver knows theres still more knowledge to be gained.

Theres a few things (to improve) here and there, McIntosh said. Last season, I feel like I grew and learned a lot, did a lot of things right, did some things wrong, so we just need to work on those things and fine-tune my craft and just be the best driver I can be.

Theres always more you can improve on, even if you win every single race, theres always stuff to work on to be better, so Im gonna try and work on those things and hopefully improve on those things come (the season-opener at Farmer City Raceway).

With Februarys season-opening events in Florida rapidly approaching, Robert Ballou will once again contest the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Championship this year, but also has winged aspirations on his mind.

It has been a great offseason for our team, and I cant wait to get our season underway in Florida as we gear up for another USAC National Sprint Car Series title chase, Ballou said.

On top of our USAC slate, I am equally as excited for the winged schedule we have put together.

Cutting his teeth running a winged sprint car in his native Northern Calif., Ballou uprooted himself in 2007 and began his non-winged journey in Indiana, though dipped his tow in the winged ranks from time to time.

Committed to a full USAC National slate again this year, Ballou has plans to up his winged racing count as well as he hopes to mix in array of 25 winged shows with the World of Outlaws as well as High Limit Racing.

The winged stuff will always be a challenge for me despite getting my start running winged cars, Ballou said. In 2025 I am looking forward to running a very heavy national schedule and limiting the local shows we hit.

I think continuing to run with the best in both disciplines will keep me at my best and hopefully equate  a lot of wins and hopefully another USAC championship.

At one time a small, brick-front building crammed between Helens Café and Jim Narins Machine Shop on West Jefferson Street in Los Angeles, housed the most important race shop in America.

The sole indicator of its purpose was a large Champion Spark Plug sign over the door, and above that, Traco Engineering.

In the 1960s and 70s if your sprint car, Indy car, Trans-Am car, Can-Am car, or sports car wasnt powered by a Traco-built engine, you were running for second.

The proprietors of the little shop of horsepower were Jim Travers and Frank Coon. The Whiz Kids who created the first Indianapolis roadster, and wrenched Bill Vukovich Sr. to back-to-back 500 wins in 1953-54.

The duo got into the engine-building business when their eccentric Indianapolis car owner, Howard Keck, unexpectedly pulled out of racing in 1956.

They were unemployed, but not for long.

In 1957, Ford Motor Co. clandestinely initiated an Indianapolis engine project. For advice, they contacted 1925 Indianapolis 500 winner Pete DePaolo. DePaolo recommended Travers and Coon.

The Henry Ford Museum possessed a Mercedes Benz 300 SLR, powered by an engine with a desmodromic valve system. A system Ford desired for their Indy engine.

But they had no drawings, and the engine mystified Fords engineers. So, they tasked Travers, and Coon to disassemble the engine, explore how it functioned and collect critical details and dimensions.

The museums curator was adamantly against it, but relented when Henry Ford II got involved and assured him the engine would run afterward.

Travers and Coon completed the daunting task, and to the curators glee, fired the engine. Travers commented later, that damn thing probably didnt run before we tore it apart.

Ford was pleased, continued Travers, and in a meeting with the upper brass about the project, they asked our company name. We didnt have one. So, I thought real quick, combined our last names, and said Traco.

Ford eventually shelved the Indy engine, but Travers and Coon put the data gleaned from Ford to use. Betty Huttons son, Lance Reventlow, dreamed of creating an American Grand Prix car and hired Traco to design the engine.

Working with famed Miller/Offy engine designer, Leo Goossen, the result was a 2.5 liter, 4-cylinder engine, incorporating a desmodromic valve system similar to the Mercedes.

The engine proved powerful and reliable. Unfortunately, the Scarab was overweight and front-engined at a time when Formula 1 was transitioning to rear engines. Before the 1960 season concluded, Reventlow dropped the project.

Though done with Scarab, Traco had no shortage of work. They turned their focus to USAC oval racing where the Chevy was beginning to challenge the venerable Offy for supremacy. When Roger McCluskey won the 1963 USAC National Sprint Car Championship with a Traco Chevy, customers lined up at their door.

A.J. Foyt was in the queue and liked his Traco Chevy so well, he ran his sprinter as the Traco Special.

God almighty, exclaimed Travers. Talk about somebody hard to work with. Hell, Foyt was never happy. But we won a lot.

Foyt also figured prominently in the diversification of Tracos business. Driving John Mecums rear engine Scarab sports car with a Traco Chevy, Foyt beat a bevy of international racers at Nassau, in December, 1963. The entire road course community took notice, not the least of which was Roger Penske and Bruce McLaren.

McLaren, just beginning to build his namesake cars, used Traco engines in his sports cars, and Can-Am cars. When he built his first Formula 1 car in 1966, a Ford four cam engine, built by Traco powered it.

Penske, equally enamored by Tracos ability, used Tracos in his successful Daytona Corvettes. Still driving at that time, Penske trounced Carroll Shelbys highly touted Cobras at Nassau in 1964. In 1966, Penskes Traco Corvettes won both the Daytona 24 hours and the Sebring 12 hours.

With that, Tracos business spread internationally, and an extensive list of international drivers won with Traco power. Among them, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Dan Gurney, Graham Hill, Chris Amon and John Surtees.

Penske remained a loyal customer until he took his engine program in house. The famed Trans-Am Championship winning Sunoco Camaros, the Trans-Am Championship AMC Javelins, Penskes NASCAR cars, and the 1972 Indianapolis winning McLaren of Mark Donahue, all used Traco power.

Travers and Coon are gone now, but the shop Travers described as, 2100 square feet of organized confusion, remains on West Jefferson Street. A unique landmark in auto racing history.