By Fred Shonk
Southsider Voice correspondent
We have finally reached the month of May, and it’s going to be an exciting one.
A couple of years ago The Southport/Perry Township Historical Society presented a program titled “Perry Township’s Contribution to the Indianapolis 500.” It was an amazing evening, which featured Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson as emcee. He did a wonderful job of introducing the speakers and sharing great stories.
The two daughters of former chief mechanic Joe Langley gave a great presentation, and the three daughters of Howdy Wilcox II told some special stories. Both families lived on Madison Avenue.
Wendy Barth-Servics, the 500 Festival queen in 1986, was also present. She is the daughter of Diane Hunt-Barth, the 1961 queen. They are the only mother/daughter team to hold that distinction. I remember going over to Diane’s house on Carson Avenue in 1961 to see the gold Thunderbird pace car for the race.
Three gals from my Southport High School graduating class had fathers who were involved in the race: Nancy Wilcox-Vittorio-DeBaun’s father was a driver; Betty Jo McCrary-Ball’s dad worked with Firestone Tire racing division; and Sue Shuster-Jenson’s family owned Troy Oil Co. and sponsored cars.
Southsider Voice correspondent
We have finally reached the month of May, and it’s going to be an exciting one.
A couple of years ago The Southport/Perry Township Historical Society presented a program titled “Perry Township’s Contribution to the Indianapolis 500.” It was an amazing evening, which featured Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson as emcee. He did a wonderful job of introducing the speakers and sharing great stories.
The two daughters of former chief mechanic Joe Langley gave a great presentation, and the three daughters of Howdy Wilcox II told some special stories. Both families lived on Madison Avenue.
Wendy Barth-Servics, the 500 Festival queen in 1986, was also present. She is the daughter of Diane Hunt-Barth, the 1961 queen. They are the only mother/daughter team to hold that distinction. I remember going over to Diane’s house on Carson Avenue in 1961 to see the gold Thunderbird pace car for the race.
Three gals from my Southport High School graduating class had fathers who were involved in the race: Nancy Wilcox-Vittorio-DeBaun’s father was a driver; Betty Jo McCrary-Ball’s dad worked with Firestone Tire racing division; and Sue Shuster-Jenson’s family owned Troy Oil Co. and sponsored cars.
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