FAQ
Here's (hopefully) the answers to everything you wanted to know about this site.
Why did you start this project?
Why don't the numbers always add up?
What's with those symbols and such in the driver results?
Why do some points totals have an asterisk next to them?
Are these early points accurate?
What's with the messages at the top?
Are you going to add a message board?
Why did you start this
project?
Because there simply wasn't anything like this for Indy Car
racing. I always found it odd that there were literally dozens of
databases online for F1 statistics, but there was nothing for Indy Cars.
There was plenty of Indy 500 data, but nothing about anything else other than a
list of race winners I had in an old CART media guide. Eventually I found
out why it was so difficult, with early record keeping not being the
greatest. It also didn't help when the AAA took all of the old race
reports and tossed them in a dumpster in the mid-1950s. Then in 2000 full results
of all the races were posted on motorsport.com, courtesy of Phil Harms, who had
complied the data. It was like a godsend. I cannot stress enough how
important, or imagine how difficult, the work he did on this was. When all
of the old results were finally made widely available, I realized it would now
be possible to put together what I wanted, a FORIX-style database for Indy
Cars. For those who haven't seen it, FORIX is an astounding F1 site for
statistics and photos. This site will never reach the size of that, I
simply don't have space for photos or time for the incredible volume of data
they put up. But I do feel confident in saying that this is the best
database available for Indy Car data.
How long did this take?
From the beginning planning stages to the time it went online, it
was a little over 4 years.
What the? Are you
nuts?
Maybe a little. It really wasn't as bad as it sounds, it's not
like I was spending 40 hours a week on it. It was a lot of lunch hours at
work, and some of that time at night when I'd just be watching TV or goofing
around on the internet, so at least I got something productive done. I
really didn't mind taking the extra time, it allowed me to dig deeper into the
numbers and the stories behind them. The more I dug, the more fascinating
it all got.
Why don't the numbers always add up?
The numbers in the drivers tables don't always add up. That's
because of a problem with races that counted in more than one series, and trying
to display the info as such. You can read more about this issue in the
Page Keys.
What's with those symbols
and such in the driver results?
It's a way of keeping track of multiple entries for drivers in one
race, as well as different types of races. Again, consult the Page Keys
for more information.
Why do some points totals
have an asterisk next to them?
That's because they're sort of official, sort of not. While there
were Indy Car races in the years 1909-15 and 1917-19, there wasn't a
championship. The races were all run as stand alone events. In 1927
points were retroactively awarded for those years, and champions were
created. These standings were revised in 1951. It's hard to consider
these true championships, since the drivers at the time didn't even know they
were competing in one. Had there been a championship at the time, they may
have driven differently, and maybe entered races at the end of the year that
they skipped. That's why it's hard to go back and simply award someone a
title after the fact. Nevertheless, I have included those in this site to
help explain why you see those drivers listed as champions and to try and give
the full picture. Points scored in these races have an * after them to
show that they are only sort of official.
Are these early points
accurate?
Well, probably not, as much as I'd like them to be. The official
record keeping from the early years is a mess. I've seen the points tables
used, and tried to reconstruct the points as best I can. I've seen other
points tables from other sources, and they don't always match mine, or each
other. Points weren't always awarded in a consistent manner, and the AAA
was notorious for penalizing drivers for whatever infraction as well. It's
probably a good thing these early championships aren't truly official.
Most of the other early points, from 1920 on, should be correct, although I may
be off here and there thanks to a AAA "adjustment" that I didn't know
about. Once you get out of the early years things should be accurate.
What's with the messages at the top?
They're part of the Sponsor A Driver program. In order to keep
this site free of charge and uncluttered with pop-ups, this is how I'm raising
money to cover the site's expenses. You can sponsor your favorite driver
for a small fee and have your message placed atop that driver's page.
Check out the Sponsor A Driver page for more info.
Are you going to add a
message board?
No, no, no. Forums and message boards are fun to read and post
on. And an Indy Car History message board sounds like it would be
entertaining. But I have neither the time nor the interest in moderating a
forum. Nor do I want to deal with the inevitable attacks and flame wars
that would develop. I just don't want that on my site.