Millers at Milwaukee Vintage Indy Car Event 2010

Sports Car Illustrated Feature Article

Millers at Milwaukee Vintage Indy Car Event 2010

David V. Uihlein Sr. Memorial
Vintage Indy Car Event
July 9-10, 2010
Milwaukee Mile
West Allis, Wisconsin

Photographs by Mike Beckers
Article by Gary Becker

When I was eleven years old I went to my first “Big Car Race” at the Milwaukee Mile or as it was called by the locals, “The Fair Park”. It was the Rex Mays Classic 100 mile race held a week after the 1964 Indy 500 which was AJ Foyt’s second win at the speedway and would be the front engine roadsters last.

I had been kidnapped off a baseball diamond and forced to go to a race of which I had little or no interest. It took about 30 seconds of the noise, color, smells and speed to turn me into a lifelong racing junky. The one memory that jumps out is that of AJ’s white, red, blue and gold number one Sheraton Thompson Special Watson Roadster. The long sleek body, the long chrome exhaust and the teardrop rear end sporting a huge gold number one was etched in my memory forever.

Over the next three years I witnessed firsthand the end of the front engine “Big Car” and the completion of the rear engine revolution. It was also the end of teams that worked out of the corner garage and cars named “Specials”. Drivers would no longer work their way up from midgets to sprints to “Big Cars”. It was the end of the beginning. Indy Car racing would become “CART” and then Indy Cars. Drivers would no longer come from small towns in Indiana and Wisconsin but countries we spent a day learning about in seventh grade social studies class.

All these memories returned when I got a call from photographer Mike Beckers telling me he was attending the Millers at Milwaukee Vintage Indy Car Event. I told Mike to take as many pictures and videos as possible for this feature and his work is displayed on this page for your enjoyment. Take a moment to browse through Mike's photographs, view his video and remember a time when men tuned cars with wrenches not computers and drivers raced five or six nights a week instead of Dancing with the Stars.

The 2010 Millers at Milwaukee Vintage Indy Car Event was held at the famous Milwaukee Mile with 53 cars in attendance. This year’s event was held as Memorial to David V. Uihlein Sr. who loved vintage race cars especially those cars touched by the genius of car and engine designer Harry Miller. Mr. Uihelin founded the Harry A. Miller Club which made this event and events like this possible. Mr. Uihelin passed earlier this year at the grand age of 89.

For more information about Harry A. Miller Club and future events they can be contacted at:

Harry A. Miller Club
P.O. Box 541
Germantown, Wisconsin 53022
262-388-5221
http://www.harrymillerclub.com