Now That Is Stacking

Watching the Indy 500 today. A little factoid one of the announcers shared was the the winners trophy (Borg Warner Trophy) is fabricated of more than 100 POUNDS of silver.

 

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According to wikipedia, it weighs 153lbs and is made from sterling silver. That comes out to 2,063.8449 troy oz of pure silver. At today's value of $14.53/oz, the melt value for the trophy is $29,987.67.

 

I had to look it up.. WOW!

 

How did the winner carry that home?

 

I bet he made room in his big rig!

 

I haven't watched a Indy race for almost 20 years. Just how big are those cars nowadays?

 

I been addicted to open wheel racing since I cut my teeth in the late 60’s watching open wheel racers battle on the Oklahoma dirt tracks. A fellow named Jack Zink had several open wheel pilots on those tracks. But the really cool thing was Mr. Zink owned several cars that raced Indy in the 1950’s. Anyway, his driver & crew took on this youngster on as an honorary crew member. I been addicted ever since..... But the cars wheelbase is same as it has always been. With all the modern aerodynamics they look much larger because they are in effect a track bound airplane wing.

 

I went to a sprint car race track in Louisiana many years ago. That was fun watching them. One guy got knocked off of the track. Two laps later he came flying back in just about where he went out. This guy was 20 feet plus in the air, he landed on the track and completed that heat. He was last but he finished.

 

I think the Indy 500 trophy and the Stanley cup are the most beautiful trophies in sports.

 

They are quite lovely and worth a ton, but I really think NASCAR's Martinsville Grandfather Clock is the coolest trophy around.

 

Not a cup or trophy. I'm sure the Mrs. prefers it, but you can't feed your dog or have your baby baptized from it.

 

Might not be a cup, but not sure how it isn't a trophy....

 

It's a clock, that's how.

 

I like to look at their TROPHY wife...tooooooooo

 

It's a trophy:
". . . something gained or given in victory or conquest especially when preserved or mounted as a memorial. . ."

Merriman-Webster is our friend.
This trophy happens to be a decorative item that is also functional.

 

I'd have to agree that the Martinsville clock is the best on the Nascar circuit.
Didn't realize that the Indy trophy was worth that much.

With a very strong back. Not many are going to pick that one up and walk away with it.

 

I can believe that!

 

The winning drive does not get to take the Borg-Warner trophy home. They receive a smaller replica called the Baby Borg. Each year the winning drivers likeness is added on the trophy. With only 70 squares on the original trophy, a base was added.

On the top of the trophy is an unclothed man waving a checkered flag. Because this man is depicted naked, after the tradition of ancient Greek athletes, the trophy is most often photographed so that the man's arm is swooping down in front of him.


Just to keep this coin related:

 

I did not know that. All my life being a major Indy fan... I never knew the trophy stayed.

 

The trophy is almost always on display at the IMS museum. Unfortunately the one time I got to go there, it was behind some velvet ropes. This was as close as I could get:

I really wanted a couple closeups. Alas, it was not to be.

FYI. If anyone plans to go to the IMS and you want to do the track bus tour, (and it's worth it) call ahead as there's car clubs that rent the track to race on. The one and only day we could go, it was raining and their event was postponed.