Davidson still happily 'living in the past' of Indy 500

Friday, April 22, 2016
Having answered a full slate of questions during his Wednesday Rotary appearance, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Historian Donal Davidson talks with Rotarian Ann Dever following his talk. Davidson and former Greencastle Mayor Mike Harmless are traveling the state's 92 counties to engage the state in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, slated for Sunday, May 29.

The answer to a question during Wednesday's meeting of the Greencastle Rotary Club was Donald Davidson's career in a nutshell.

The historian of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was asked a relatively simple question by Rotarian Lauralee Baugh: How many non-U.S. citizens have won the Indianapolis 500?

What followed was a common experience for listeners to "The Talk of Gasoline Alley," Davidson's seasonal question-and-answer show that returns to 1070 AM each May.

Davidson opened his response with a joke, "A lot of them recently," before taking his listeners on a journey through the history of the 500 and its winners. He warned the crowd that the answer was not right on the tip of his tongue.

While clearly thinking of each year's winner in his mind, he named only the foreign-born drivers, from Frenchman Jules Goux in 1913, to Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya winning his second Indy 500 just last year.

At the other end of that long straightaway, Davidson and his listeners emerged. He hadn't actually given them an answer, but he'd given them so much more.

This included obscure details about long-forgotten drivers. For example, 1920 winner Gaston Chevrolet's two brothers (one of whom founded the car company) were both Swiss-born, but Gaston was French. The two older brothers became American citizens, but Davidson wasn't sure about Gaston, since the baby of the family died just a few months after his 500 victory.

Noting another obscure detail, 1916 winner Dario Resta and three-time winner Dario Franchitti (2007, 2010, 2012) both have the same first name, along with Italian surnames and lineage, yet actually hailed from the United Kingdom.

"Everything about (Franchitti) is Italian until he speaks," Davidson said of Franchitti's Scottish accent.

This is common in dealing with Davidson, not only on his popular radio show, but in general conversation. As the chairman of the statewide engagement committee for the 100th running of the 500, set for May 29, former Greencastle Mayor Mike Harmless has the privilege of driving Davidson around the state in the run-up to the race, so he gets these extended conversations almost daily.

During lunch conversation, Harmless described a recent trip to Kokomo. A question was posed to Davidson as the car exited Interstate 465 on the north side of Indianapolis. Even through the heavy traffic of Hamilton County and current construction in the area, Davidson did not conclude his answer until the car was pulling into Kokomo. In other words, the answer spanned four counties, approximately 50 miles and one hour.

Such is the voluminous IMS and 500 knowledge that Davidson carries around in his head. Both in person and on the radio, he speaks extemporaneously, without the aid of the internet or any notes.

As such, he often gets off course, a joke even he is in on.

"I'm getting too detailed and running out of time, which has been known to happen," Davidson noted while answering a later inquiry.

Davidson's appearance in Greencastle is not simply due to a connection with the former mayor. Instead, it's a statewide engagement tour, that will take Davidson through all 92 counties before May 29.

"Mayor Harmless is my chauffeur, agent and publicist," Davidson said with a laugh.

The chauffeur part of that job carried the two men on to Clinton and Rockville later on Wednesday.

"The Indianapolis 500 is not an Indianapolis event," Harmless said. "It's a statewide event."

Speaking specifically about the 100th running, Davidson focused less on this year's race than he did on the "momentous occasion" that is 100 years of any race.

"What does it mean, 100 years?" Davidson asked.

He pointed out that no other auto race has been conducted 100 times. The first French Grand Prix was held in 1906, five years before the first 500, but it has been shut down several times, with the most recent running in 2008.

"By golly, I don't think that's ever been done," Davidson said in the congenial accent of his native south England.

Davidson also noted that the basic layout of the track has not changed. Although things have grown up in and around the "rectangular oval," even the original track surfaces remain in place under the years of new surfaces added in 105 years.

"You're doing the same 2.5 miles that (inaugural winner) Ray Harroun did in 1911," Davidson said. "You're just about three feet farther from sea level."

Davidson's own history at the track exhibits something of a charmed life. As a young man in his native Salisbury, England, he became obsessed with the 500, the men who raced it, the statistics -- everything Indy.

He saved for seven years to come to the 1964 race, thinking he might just get a glimpse of the men he idolized.

"They didn't invite me," he said. "I just came."

Rather than a passing glance, Davidson got what he called "the royal treatment," from his heroes.

"What was amazing to me was how friendly the drivers were and how interested they were in what I'd done," Davidson said.

His renown in drivers' circles grew as he recalled obscure facts from races of yesteryear.

"They would stand there with their jaws dropped, saying 'How did you know that?'" Davidson recalled. "I realized that when I was reciting their careers, I was taking them back."

Since that 1964 race the Englishman with a photographic memory hasn't missed a race. He became a statistician for the United States Auto Club (USAC) in 1965. He made his first appearance on 1070 WIBC in 1966, and has been on 1070 (now renamed WFNI "The Fan") every May since 1970, with his program officially named "The Talk of Gasoline Alley" in the late '70s.

"I'm still on 1070," Davidson said. "Where you find it on the dial hasn't changed -- and me. I haven't changed.

"I think I'm an example to follow your dreams."

Having now attended more than half of the runnings (52 of 99) of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," Davidson is a man who has gladly found his niche.

"I'm not a gearhead. I'm not into the politics and the controversies," Davidson said. "I just happily live in the past. I'm a historian by nature.

"When people say, 'Donald, you can't live in the past,' I say, 'Yes, you can! I've happily made a career of it.'"

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