This post got me to thinking about the first race I ever attended. In 1963 I was 10 years old, growing up on the outskirts of Trenton, NJ. We lived a mile from the Trenton Speedway, a one mile oval on the NJ state fairgrounds. That year three USAC Champ car races and one NASCAR race was held there, so it was common to walk outside on a Sunday and hear the cars. In September my dad was given two tickets to the Trenton 200, and asked if I'd like to go. Of course I did!

There were 26 cars in the field, and all but two were front engine 'roadsters', most with Offenhauser power. The exceptions were a pair of Lotus 29s with 4.2 liter Ford V8 power. These F1 based cars had just made their debut at the Indy 500. The drivers were Dan Gurney and Jim Clark.

Even at 10 I could tell something big was taking place. The Lotus-Fords would effortlessly pass the other cars in the turns. Before long they had lapped everyone except AJ Foyt. Even though both retired (for the same problem) it was obvious that this was the future of Indy car racing. Foyt won the race, but Clark went on to win Indy in 1965 and the old roadsters faded into history.