More than 125 vintage racecars are expected to participate in the 2016 Historic Indycar Exhibition that will take place as part of the celebrations surrounding this year’s 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. That number includes 27 Pre-War cars, 39 cars from the Roadster Era, and 60 from the Speedway’s Rear-Engined Era including the Kimberly Cooper Special with which reigning World Champion Jack Brabham began the rear-engined revolution in 1961 (above). Organized by the IMS Museum under the direction of Ellen Bireley, the exhibition will also include a display of Historic Transporters to illustrate how that aspect of the game has changed over the years.
The festivities kick off on Wednesday May 25 with the historic cars on display outside the Speedway Museum from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Thursday May 26 the display will be in place from 8 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., when the cars will take to the big oval in three groups for an on-track exhibition. On Friday May 27, Carburetion Day, that sequence will be reversed, with the three-group on-track exhibition in the morning from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., and the cars on display from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Saturday May 28, Legends Day, the historic cars will perform on the track between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. and then be on display outside the museum from 10 a.m. until 12 noon.
