Indyslotcar has completed 25 seasons as of the spring of 2018.
51 drivers have attempted to race in the league, and recently as part of the season long celebration of the league, commissioner Mike Kristof invited everyone that ever raced in the league to a reunion and race on the Shrine Race Course. A good time was had by all as drivers from across the country came to celebrate and have fun. This writer was invited and here is what he saw through his lens.
Thanks guys for all the memories and fun.
Drivers gather
Two-time champ Jim Iverson shares stories with five-time champ Mike Lack, while...
...future champ John Wiedemann gets some advice from Iverson
Dan Margetta, Chris Spehert, Pete Dorn catch highlights from the past. Dorn looks surprised that I made the guest list
Champion Dave Austin mugs for the camera
Five-time champ Phil Cianciola reminisces with John Baas and Iverson
Scoring guru Tom Spehert catches up with two-time champion Jim Kaehny
Two future drivers attended, one being Hiro, son of Ev Kamikawa
Commissioner Mike Kristof, Margetta, Austin, bend the ear of two-time starter and reporter of the most recent new story about the league, Lance Allen of Todays TMJ4 TV
Iverson downloads telemetry about the track
A shot of the drivers who started in the original season in 1993:
Austin, Margetta, Cianciola, two-time champion Ev Kamikawa, Kaehny
Drivers that came in the "second wave" of drivers who started in the league circa 1999ish
Baas, Chris Spehert, Iverson, Tom Spehert, Kristof
Drivers from the "fourth wave" circa 2007ish or later:
Allen, Lack, Dorn, Wiedemann
Five of the seven league champions in order of their titles and how many they have won:
Cianciola-5, Austin-one, Kaehny-2, Kamikawa-2, Iverson-2, Lack-5
Baas was known as the brawler in his driving days. Here he gets a quick shot at Cianciola for old times sake
All the drivers gathered for a quick group shot
The Hall-of-Famers:
Cianciola, Iverson, Kaehny, Austin, and the newest member Margetta.
Missing of course is the beloved Larry Rotter. Race in Peace Larry!
The vets pummel the rookie for his initiation
After the food and pagentry, the drivers competed in heat races based on when they came into the league
Cianciola easily won his heat to advance to the final
Marshall! Red Lane!
Austin's championship winning Penzoil car, Dan Margetta's Christmas car (known as the ugliest car in league history-but it won a race!), and Cianciola's Shell car were raced for the first time in several years
Indyslotcar TV covered the event
Austin jumped back into his car and won his heat
son and father race the champ in the second heat
The third heat saw Iverson win, making it the third yellow car to win on the day
Wiedemann, Lack, and Dorn in the fourth heat picked up were the season left off and showed their racecraft for the first time to many of the league veterans
John Wiedemann won the heat to advance to the final. His car wasn't completely yellow, but featured a yellow stripe making yellow the color car to have on the day
During final four interviews fans sneak into the live shot like always. Some more subtle than others
Teo Fabi even dropped by to see how his old teammate Austin was doing
There is that fan again...
...and again...
...and again...except Baas wasn't in the final four. A celebrity none-the-less though for this fan
The final four get underway!
John Wiedemann wins a tight race
Austin-4th, Iverson-3rd, Cianciola-2nd, Wiedemann-1st
and his car in victory lane
The picture of the cake with the original logo and current logo
A great time was had. Lets hope it isn't another 25 years before the next reunion!
Until next time...It's great being...
In The Pits!
Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett
