The Front Row with Jerry Hitchcock May 25, 2010

I miss Indy.

My family traveled back east on vacation in June of 1977, and the highlight of the trip for my twin brother and I was a stop at the famed brickyard in Speedway, Ind., where that year's Indianapolis 500 had been run just a weekend prior.

Although slightly ticked that we couldn't attend the race, all our gloominess vanished as we pulled into the speedway from the south tunnel between turns 1 and 2 of the 2.5 mile rectangular raceway. What always seemed a cozy little track on television came to life, and we looked around the facility in awe - not only due to its massive size but also due to our knowledge of history in seemingly every inch of the place.

As we circled the track in a tour bus, we could easily pick out the tire tracks through the grass in Turn 1 where Gordon Johncock's car came to rest days before after having mechanical issues late in the race. He had a 16-second lead before the crankshaft decided it would rather be in two pieces, thus causing Gordy's ride to coast to a stop and handing A.J. Foyt his fourth Indy win.

WE WALKED pit road and marveled at the quarter-inch layers of foot-and-a-half-wide rubber piled up in most of the pit stalls, the result of many a tire-spinning exit after a stop.

We took in the sights at the speedway museum, including Ray Harroun's winning car from the inaugural 1911 event (yes, they've been racing there for 100 years now), Al Unser's rides from 1970 and '71, and dozens of other cars that had circled the track countless times over the decades.

The 1977 event ended another tumultuous month of May at the speedway. Like all prior events and those for decades after, cars starting lapping the facility in the first week of the month before getting down to business and qualifying almost two weeks later.

THIS YEAR the Indy experience is a little different for those in attendance. Qualifications for the Memorial Day weekend event were reduced to two days, with 24 of the 33 race starters gaining grid positions on Saturday (the top nine went into a runoff for the pole) and the last nine spots were filled on bump day on Sunday. I have to say I like the new format, with a lot of "bumping" going on Saturday afternoon just to get into the pole shootout.

And that made for some fast action, not only on the track but on pit lane and in Gasoline Alley as well.

Tony Kanaan, involved in two practice crashes, persevered and made his way into the field late on Sunday, the stress clearly evident on his face between practice and qualifying runs earlier in the day.

Helio Castroneves made a bold statement by choosing to be first out in the runoff Saturday, and he plastered an almost untouchable four-lap speed (226.774 mph), with fellow Penske Racing teammate Will Power grabbing the No. 2 spot for Sunday's race.

GEORGE FOLLMER, a Post Falls resident and real estate agent for Hope Realty, knows a few things about Indy, and about racing for Roger Penske, as well. George raced in the 500 for four straight years from 1968-71, with a best finish of 15th in his last year at the track.

"I worked my way up (in racing), started doing Indy and then the stock cars," he said. "I had committed in 1968 to be a professional racer, signed to drive Fords (In the Trans-Am Series) for Roger. It was a factory-backed team, and he doesn't use last week's parts - if he finds better parts, he'll buy them."

Follmer's teammate with Penske at the time was Parnelli Jones, who ran the 500 from 1961-67. Jones won in 1963, and finished second in 1965 in cars sponsored by J.C. Agajanian.

Follmer won Trans Am Series championships in 1972 and '76, and added a Can Am Series title in 1972. He competed in Formula One in 1973, and added a season in NASCAR with Bud Moore.

"George struck me as a good racer to begin with," Jones told me recently by phone. "He would always work to get the next edge. In my opinion, he could have gone further in racing, especially at Indy and other various series, if he had gotten the opportunity."

Follmer qualified Fords at the track in 1969 and 1970, and an Offenhauser-powered entry in 1971. Reliability of equipment was a big issue in the era, and Follmer's rides succumbed to demons more often than not.

"I had a couple pretty good shots (at winning)," he said. "But we never could finish. Seemed like we always were hit with mechanical problems."

Follmer's only Indy Car win came in 1969, in a stock-block powered car at a USAC event at Phoenix International Raceway.

So if you ever find yourself in the midwest with some time to kill and looking for some four-wheeled excitement, stop by Indy - even if it's a couple of days after the race.

Jerry Hitchcock is a copy editor for The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176 Ext. 2017, or via e-mail at jhitchcock@cdapress.com