Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Wrigley Field: Sports Shrines

  Images from Indy Race Reviewer & chicago.cubs.mlb.com

Sui generous. Hallowed ground. Witness to history. Host of legendary greats and unforgettable events. All these phrases and more apply to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as its Midwestern sister stadium Chicago’s Wrigley Field. The over century old venues – IMS was built in 1909 while Wrigley was constructed five years later – stand proudly as symbolic gems from the past while retaining their modern relevance. They’re not mere stadiums, they’re sports shrines.

Photo from Indy Race Reviewer

That’s truly a rare combination in a time and place where buildings, mountains, monuments and men are routinely torn down to make way for the new. In Chicago and Indy, progress has swirled like a tempest around these landmarks of longevity, yet thankfully they remain standing. Imagine for a minute if there were no IMS and no Wrigley Field. Then recall that it almost happened, as both sacred spaces were slated for demolition at certain points in their history. Interrupted only by the occasional world war or – rarer still – millionaires on strike, IMS and Wrigley have stood witness to hundreds of races and thousands of games. All while the whole world changed around them, then changed again.

Photo from usatoday.com

IMS and Wrigley have changed too, yet they always remain somehow the same.

An Homage to A.J. in Honor of His 80th

Photo from toledoblade.com

There’s precious little that can be written about legendary racer Anthony Joseph Foyt that hasn’t been said before, which itself speaks volumes about the ornery octogenarian. The man’s an institution and we at IRR admire the hell out of him. After all, he’s the reason we’ve loved IndyCar our entire lives. With legions of fans to this day, the Texan’s popularity is unparalleled in the American racing world and with good reason.

Photo from 500legends.com

The first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and only winner of racing’s Triple Crown – Indy, Daytona & Le Mans – most of Foyt’s records likely never will be eclipsed. How many sports record holders can you realistically say that about? A.J. won sixty seven IndyCar races, seven IndyCar championships, twelve overall championships and a gasket blowing one hundred seventy two major league races. Incredibly, he also raced in thirty five consecutive Indy 500s and very nearly a thirty sixth.

Image from Indy Race Reviewer

Our fondest memory of Foyt – bittersweet though it was – is seeing his IndyCar driving farewell at Indianapolis in 1993.