1992 The Coldest 500!!

"The Gang"...Me, Rick, Tom, Scott, Dennis, Brent, and "slow motion" John Cochran.

"The Vehicles"...Tom's 91 Ford Explorer (pulling camper) and my '88 Monte Carlo SS that I bought in July of '91. On a sad note the "boat" ('77 Chrysler N.Y.er) has been retired and is now in the racing shrine hall of fame.
"The Party"...Got to Boney's @ 4:30 Friday. Set up camper. Note: (Camper has new canvas on this year that Rick & I installed ourselves.) Boney met a woman (Karen) last year and the two were married last month in April. But on this trip she was in the hospital so she couldn't make the Friday cookout. Ate brats and watched crazy George and Patty line dance. Sat around camp fire and just relaxed. (we must be getting old?)

Saturday... Have a new camp sight this year. (remember, Debbie moved to Georgia) We now camp @ Bob Shanklins yard (4932 McCray St.). Rick's friend Tom (from Watertown, Wi) has camped at Bob's for years so he recommended that we stay there also. It turned out to be a good choice cause over the next few years we got to be good friends with Bob. Bob was an older gentleman but he could STILL PARTY! Note: (The Wisconsin Good-Time Gang always had a good time when came to these Indy trips, but we are always respectful of other peoples property and cleaned up after ourselves. And we never wrecked anything!) I guess that's why Bob always liked us. Bob always had alot of "Cheeseheads" camping/parking in his yard and we got along with all of them. Saturday night we took our (you guessed it) walk. If John walked any slower he'd be walking backwards! Big attraction on 16th & Georgetown is bungee cord jumping. Didn't walk very far this year.........TOO COLD!!!!!!!!!
Sunday..."The Race"... When the green flag dropped, it was 52'F with a wind chill factor of 39'F. We all thought we were back in Wisconsin in March! Because of the cold, the racing tires could not build up heat and as a consequence there were 13 caution flags for 85 laps. Time of race was 3hrs 43mins. Slowest Indy 500 since 1958. But the finish was exciting with Al Unser Jr. beating Scott Goodyear to the line by .043 seconds to win his first 500 and join his father and uncle on the Borg-Warner trophy.

1991 Camper Problems!!!

"The lead-up before leaving"! 1.) First week in May we discovered the camper has a broken spring. 2.) Second week in May Tom takes camper to shop. 3.) Third week in May camper still in shop, (they're waiting on parts?). 4.) 5/22/91... I drop off jackets to be stitched. Tom calls to tell me camper still in shop!! Says he will check back with them tomorrow. 5.) 5/23/91... I get off work @ noon (we are suppose to leave tomorrow), drop off Chrysler for front end alignment. Tom calls @ 1:30p.m. and says he is taking camper to a different spring shop in Appleton and tells the other shop (quote: "shove their shop up their ass"!.. end quote). I call to check on jackets, jackets aren't EVEN THERE!! They tell me to check back @ 3:00. Tom calls @ 2:45, says camper will be done @ 5:00. Call garage about car, car can't be aligned because of bad tires! Brent gives me a ride to get car. Pick up car, take to Tire America for a new set of tires. At 4:00p.m. I stop to check on jackets, (good news!) jackets will be done @ 7:00.

6:30..Pick up Chrysler

7:00..Pick up jackets. (no names on jackets, they said not enough time?)

7:30..Tom pulls into Milwaukee with camper!

5/24/91..."The Vehicles"...Tom's new Ford Explorer & the Chrysler (the boat)

The Gang"...Me , Tom, Rick, Brent, Scott, Dennis, "rookie" John Cochran ( a buddy of mine I met while in the Air Force) and a guy named Mike (I work with) but he is just catching a ride down to track with us. (he'll live to regret) On the way down to Boney's, I called Tom on the C.B. to tell him the left tire on the camper is wobbling. 35 miles from Lafayette tire blows out! Change tire and get to Boney's @ 5:00p.m. Set up camper, go to town, buy 2 new camper tires.

The food @ Boney's this year is on the Wisconsin Good-Time Gang. We brought Brats, Italians, and Rick even brought a box of his venison hot dogs. All the food went over real good with the River Rats. Boney has a new hot tub this year that Scott, myself, and Dennis tried out, while Mike passed out in his lawn chair.

Saturday 5/25/91...Tear down camper and pull camper into Boney's garage to put on new tires.

More problems! When the tire blew, it tore up the wheel well. Luckily "Sarg" had a piece of sheet medal in his truck and made a new well from it. Patch up wheel well, put on new tires and leave for Indy.

Get to Debbie's (she's another story). Set up camp, eat, take our traditional walk, ( I bought our rookie John his first Indy pin) party a little more, go to bed.

Note: Debbie's story is that she told us she is getting married and moving to Georgia. Looks like "The Gang" will have to find another place to camp in '92.

Sunday 5/26/91..."The Race"...

This year for the 500 was the first time 4 members of the same family started the race. (Mario, Michael, John, & Jeff Andretti). Saw a good, exciting race with a shoot out between Rick Mears and Michael Andretti over the last 13 laps. With Rick Mears going on to tie A.J. Foyt with 4 wins!

1990 My Son Scott is finally a "Rookie"

"The Gang"...Me, Rick, Tom, Brent, Dennis, Tony, Darold and yes my son Scott "the rookie"and our other "rookie", Jerry Brasch. Darold, Tony & myself work with Jerry. (With Scott along with us this year, us fathers (me, Rick & Tom) now have our 3 sons going to Indy to keep the tradition going. "The Vehicle's"... Tony's Van & Jerry's Suburban pulling the camper.

"The Party"... Left Milwaukee Friday and got to Boney's house around 5:00 p.m. The cookout Boney had this year was pig. (no one we know tho'). This year we finally met Boney's daughter "Mac". The Rats said they wanted her to come this year cause she could beat us in the drinking contest. (more on that later)... Darold took his annual ride down the Walbash with the Rats again. These parties @ Boney's always got a little on the wild side, and this year was no exception. One of the "River Rats" brought a PIANO in his truck to the party! Another brought an ol' washboard complete with hillbilly string bass. We all had a try on the washboard. (hey it's not as easy as it looks). The guy that brought the piano really knew how to play it and was acually pretty good! The "Rats" tried copying the G.T.G. this year with their own t-shirts and drinking gloves. ( as I said, they TRIED!) They even made a scorecard to kept track of the drinking contest. Note; Something I have failed to mention since we have been coming to Boney's on Indy weekend. Since we have been stopping @ Boney's for his Memorial Weekend party, the Wisconsin Good-Time Gang has brought their own beer. When we leave Milwaukee for the Indianapolis 500 weekend, we take 7 cases of beer AND a half barrel. The half barrel is usually gone by the time we leave Boney's on Saturday. Boney has a buddy that everyone calls "Sarg". Boney & Sarg had gone to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in Feb and while they were gone, the River Rats went to Sarg's house and moved his kitchen furniture into his livingroom & his livingroom furniture into his kitchen!!! We can verify it cause THEY VIDEO'D IT!!!! We all laughed watching that video. Now you know why we get along with these crazy people! Ok...the final tally on the drinking contest was; River Rats 1....G.T.G. 8. It is based on who is still awake @ the end of the night. Guess who the Rats 1 was? Yep......MAC!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday... Got to Indy (Debbie's house, she and Gary got divorced) and set up camp. Ate, (Scott did dishes, so he's not a rookie anymore), took our walk (bought pins...hats getting heavier!) and did a little partying.

Sunday... This was the first year the track had torn down our old wooden bleachers in the Tower Terrace Extension and built a new concrete section with VIP suites above us. The new section his now the Tower Terrace. That makes it nice for us in our seats to keep out of the sun & rain. Arie Luyendyk set a new record for a race average of 185.989 mph to win his 2nd 500. After race we left Indy and went back to Boney's for the night. (Not too much partying tho' I think we were out of beer!) Came home Monday.....See ya in 1991......

1989 New Gold Shirts & A Potty for the Camper!

"The Gang"... Me, Rick, Dennis, Tom, Brent, Darold, and 2 "rookies this year, Tony Gradecki & Tommy Kawcinski, 2 guys Darold & I work with.
"Vehicles"... My Chrysler NYer & Tony's Ford van that's pulling the camper. Note: We now have a porta- potty for the camper, and we even bought a small tent to put it in!
"Ensamble"... After wearing our black shirts to the race last year, we have come to the conclusion that sitting in the sun when it's 90F out, black is NOT a real good choice of colors. So we had new gold colored shirts made with black lettering......

Friday..."The Party"; Got to Boney's house and partied with the "River Rats". (Note: On a sad note, Boney's wife Cindy, died early this month. I had called Boney when we found out about Cindy and said we wouldn't bother him this year, but he said no, that he still wanted us to come, that he needed some company.) Darold got kidnapped AGAIN and went for his annual ride down the Walbash. This time he got his ass REAL wet. One of the "Rats" brought a jug full of homemade cherry brandy. The bottom of jug was full of cherries and if the liquid didn't kill you, the cherries DID! Tony got blasted and kept reaching into jug looking for numbers on the cherries? (I think he thought they were bingo balls?)

Saturday...Arrived in Indy and are now camping in Gary & Debbie Dickerson's yard. (Chet & Teresa have moved).... Their yard tho' is right behind Teresa's, so we didn't have to move the camp site too far. Gary & Debbie are BOTH county sheriff's, so at least we know we'll be safe...ha-ha. We were just pulling into camp when Tony informed us that his van's fuel pump took a puke. After camp was set up, Tony & I piled into the Chrysler and went to get a fuel pump. As Tony was installing pump, the rest of us got drunk. (hey, what are friends for?). Then we ate, took our walk (bought pins), and got to know the neighbors....ha-ha
Tommy K & Darold
Tom, Tommy K, and Darold looking for girls....

Sunday; "The Race"... Tommy K. & Tony didn't have tickets so they bought 2 cheap tickets from scalper in fourth turn bleachers. These 2 have never seen an Indy car race before, let alone the Indy Indy! Turns out when Kevin Cogan hit the wall and his car split in two, his accident happened right in front of our 2 "rookies"! I thought we all would die laughing at them when they were telling us about it.

This is the race that Al Unser Jr. was leading with Emerson Fittipaldi running a close second, when they touched wheels with "Little Al" hitting the 3rd turn wall and Fittipaldi going on to win his first 500 with the race finishing under the yellow flag.


Came home Sunday night after race...(After Tony changed his pants!....ha-ha)

1988 G.T.G. Black Shirts/Jackets/Hats & Drinking Gloves...."We Are Complete"

"The Gang"...Me, Rick M., Tom A., Brent A.,Dennis M., Darold F., and the "rookie" this year is a guy Darold & I worked with named Kenny Brost.

We have completed our ensamble this year to go along with our hats, we now have black t-shirts with white lettering AND jackets.....................

Brent with drinking glove/shirt & hat & "drunk"

Pictured top left; Boney & George (one of the River Rats)

Pictured top right; Rick, Dennis, Darold, Jim, Tom
Pictured lower left; Darold, Rick, Jim, Tom, Dennis
Pictured lower right; Darold, Rick, Tom
"The Party"...Got to Boney's house on Friday. Remember last year when they called us "cheese-puffs"? This year as we are driving into Boney's driveway (he has a long winding dirt driveway), They (River Rats), have left us a trail of cheese-puffs along the road to help us find the house!!

Anyway....Partied Friday with the "Rats" and this year they "kidnapped" our rookie Kenny and took him down the Walbash, AT NIGHT WITH NO LIGHTS!!!! The drinking contest they challenged us to never materialized......CHICKENS!
Saturday;... Went into Lafayette (to the greasy spoon again) with Boney & Cindy, had breakfast and left for Indy/Teresa's.
Set up camp, ate supper, walk, buy pins, (you get the picture..) Kenny is awed by the crowd and the festivities on 16th St. & Georgetown Rd.

Sunday;...Put on our new shirts and proceeded to our new seats. We are now in the Tower Terrace Extension, Sec 24, Row FF, 2nd row from the top! (Thanks to the C.O.B.)
Saw a good safe race with Rick Mears winning his 3rd 500....

After race we walked around by the corporate motorhomes and bumped into one of the Guiffrie brothers. (Guiffrie Bros. Inc is in the crane business and are from Milwaukee, they were the promotors @ The Milwaukee Mile for awhile in the '90's)...Anyway, he liked our ensamble so much that he took OUR picture!
1988 Indy 500 Winner; Rick Mears

See you in 1989...................................

1987 "The Good-Time Gang" meets "The River Rats"

The Gang-me, Rick, Dennis, Tom, Brent, & Darold.



The Vehicles - my 1977 Chrysler N.Yer & Darold's 1986 Jeep Cherokee.



Last year when the G.T.G. was at Michigan for the Nascar race (we went there every year also, but thats for another time) we met Jerry ("Boney") and his wife Cindy. They lived in Lafavette,Indiana on the Walbash river. They always had a cookout on the Friday of Memorial weekend with their friends the "River Rats". They liked us and invited us to stop @ their house for their party/cookout and stay at their house before we go to Indy on Saturday. We took them up on their invite. The picture on the left from left to right is; Brent Anderson, Tom Anderson, Dennis Madsen, Boney, Rick Madsen, Darold Faro.... The picture on the right from left to right is the same except replace Boney with me

Tom & NYer "the boat"

When Boney's "River Rat" buddies started arriving we started to party while Boney deep fried 4 turkeys. The "Rats" kidnapped Darold and took him for a ride on their john boats down the Walbash. AT NIGHT WITH NO LIGHTS!!! When they brought him back he was pretty drunk but he said he had a good time......oh boy!!! Late at night the "Rats" started calling us"cheesepuffs". The G.T.G. not taking this lightly, said; "ok, next year we'll do a Wisc. G.T.G. vs. River Rat drinking contest"...All parties agreed.

Saturday; Had breakfast at a "greasy-spoon" (had to get some grease in the belly) in Lafavette and left for Indy and camping again @ Teresa's. Set up camp and had dinner, then we always take our traditional walk down 16th st & Georgetown road. Since 1985 we have found a souvenir stand that sells ($2.00) pewter pins. They are inscribed with that particular year of Indy 500. (1985, 1986, 1987, etc,etc..) We are always buying various pins for our hats and now are hats are 62 pounds!!!!!!!

The Race; Mario Andretti led most of the race and was dominating when he went out on lap 177 with fuel pick up problems. Al Unser Sr. coming to Indy this year without a ride, landed one with Roger Penske at the last minute, qualified 20th and went out and became the 2nd man with A.J. Foyt being the first to win the 500 for a 4th time!!

On a sad note this year, a fellow Wisconsin fan was killed by a flying tire, when it came off Tony Bettenhausen's car and was hit by Roberto Guerrero's car and launched into the air.