Beautiful examples of some of the oldest Indy roadsters once again took to the Milwaukee Mile–America’s oldest active track for the 22nd Millers at Milwaukee meeting last Saturday. This has been a low-key, mid-summer event — and conceivably one of vintage racing’s best-kept secrets — until an IndyCar series race was scheduled to share the weekend this year.
The appearance of the Indycars meant a number of current-day personalities were able to stroll among this significant collection of Indy roadsters, so that A.J. Foyt was briefly reunited with the famed Meskowski Dirt Champ Car with which he beat the rear-engined Indycars to pole position here at the Mile 50 years ago. Although the four-time Indy 500 winner, age 80, was unable to get into the car himself, fellow gawker Dario Franchitti nimbly jumped in the seat and quipped, “How did you fit in this thing?”
A cast of 50 racecars was on hand — the oldest of which were a 1912 Mercer and a 1912 Cutting — presenting a cornucopia of historic front-engined beauties through the ’60s. Both fast and slow sessions allowed the cars to stretch their legs and offer rides to attendees in those cars built to the two-seat riding mechanic format. Even Porsche endurance legend Hurley Haywood was on hand to drive several of the beautiful machines. It was a weekend that offered a full palette of American open wheel history for those treated to this formerly covert Miller Club event.
