April 05, 2016
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54 days until the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500
Happy belated birthday to Chuck Weyant! He turned 93 on April 3rd and is the oldest living Indianapolis 500 veteran and one of the few left that drove a front-engine car in the race.
Chuck grew up in a racing family, racing against his brother and father in the early 1940s in the midget car series. Chuck dropped out of high school when he was 16 to work at the International Shoe Factory. He earned $16.35 a week and used the money to buy that first race car, Red No. 7, paying it off $10 a week at a time.
In WW II he served in the Army Air Forces as a control tower operator in Europe. While many soldiers carried photographs of their sweethearts, the picture Chuck held dear was of Red No. 7.
He raced in four Indy 500s - 1955, 1957, 1958, and 1959. He finished 12th in his first Indy 500, finishing a little farther back in the field each time.
He balanced his midget car career with his Indy 500 runs. He won the 1955 Hut Hundred in Terre Haute, on famed half-mile Action Track in 1955 - his rookie year at the 500.
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I'm counting down the days until the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.
I'm not a race fan in the fanatic sense. I've only been to the Indy 500 a handful of times. My memories center around listening to the race on the radio in the backyard while filling out the leading laps grid from the Indianapolis Star.
I do love Indianapolis, tradition, and most of all a theme! Each day I will share a memory or tidbit of history.
By Nora Spitznogle | 4 Images