The 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 is next week, making the "sudden penchant for going retro" at Indianapolis Motor Speedway "much more fitting," according to Michael Marot of the AP. Driver Scott Dixon said of his car, "This year there was more of an emphasis on the throwback." Marot noted Dixon's traditional red-and-white Target Chip Ganassi car "has brought back the yellow lightning bolt." The lightning bolt "first appeared" on the team's cars in '95 and the decal remained there through '01, a "span in which Ganassi's drivers combined to win four series titles." At Team Penske, Helio Castroneves is "driving the 'yellow submarine' while teammate Simon Pagenaud climbs into the trademark neon yellow car former team owner John Menard" used in the '90s. The paint scheme on the No. 35 of A.J. Foyt Enterprises "rekindles memories of the cars he drove late in his storied career." Alex Tagliani will drive the Alfe Heat Treating car "with a number that signifies two parts of Foyt's incredible legacy." He was born in '35 and he "started a record 35 consecutive races at Indy." For Alfe, this is the "third straight year it's sponsored a retro-look car and fans are hoping it won't be the last" (AP, 5/16). In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin noted a portion of the Indianapolis Star's front page from Ray Harroun's inaugural victory in 1911 "will adorn the uniform of driver Townsend Bell, who has a partnership with Gannett," the paper's parent company (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/14).
