This Week in Racing History
August 17 - F1 World Champion Nelson Piquet born (1952).
- Engine builder Fred Offenhauser dies in his sleep, at his home in California (1973).
August 18 - Drag racer Bob Glidden born (1944).
August 19 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens as a crushed stone and tar track (1909).
- Sportscar racer Oscar Laurrari born (1954).
- Luigi Chinetti dies of natural causes (1994).
August 20 - Drag racer Doug Kalitta born (1964).
- Alfred Neubauer dies of natural causes (1980).
August 21 - NASCAR great Elmo Langley born in Cresswell, North Carolina, USA (1929).
- Ettore Bugatti dies of natural causes (1947).
- Ford Mustang GTP debuts at Road America IMSA race. The car of Klaus Ludwig/Tim Coconis wins. The car of Bobby Rahal/Geoff Brabham car finished third. Only front-engined GTP car ever made. Only race win for the car (1983).
August 22 - Peter Collins born (1950).
August 23 - NASCAR racer Kenny Wallace born (1963).
- F1 racer Didier Pironi dies in boating accident (1987).
- The Tassi Vatis Offenhauser-powered midget racer sets an International 2000-cc speed record of 153.198 MPH on Bonneville Salt Flats (1989).
Previous issues of This Week in Racing History can be found at the Motorsport News International website (http://www.motorsport.com/).
