Ron McQueeney is an American sports photographer. He served as Director of Photography at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway starting in 1977 until his retirement in 2011.
Ron McQueeney is an American sports photographer. He served as Director of Photography at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway starting in 1977 until his retirement in 2011.
Ron McQueeney was born in Denver, Colorado. He was raised in Plainfield, Indiana. [1]
McQueeney started working at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) as a part-time photographer in 1972. [2] He became Director of Photography at the IMS in 1977. Until his retirement, he annually photographed the Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400, the United States Grand Prix (when it was in Indianapolis), and the MotoGP. He also managed Indy Racing League's traveling photography staff starting in 1996 until his retirement. He also managed the photo archive at IMS which has over 4 million images in the collection. [1]
He is credited with moving the IMS into digital photography. The first digital photography shot at the track was in 1998 with a Canon that cost $20,000. In 2003, the track stopped using film. [3] He managed photography at other events, including all Team Penske owned race tracks and the Detroit Grand Prix and Dallas Grand Prix. McQueeney has spoken internationally about photo safety at racing events. [1]
McQueeney's work has been used in IndyCar video games. [4] His work has been published in and/or used by National Speed Sports News, Indianapolis Monthly , Motor Trend , [5] USA Today , [6] Street Tech , [7] Today , [8] The Birmingham News [9] and other publications and books.
McQueeney is responsible for staging many legendary photographs at the track. In the winter of 1983, he received permission from then IMS track superintendent Charlie Thompson to bring Gordon Johncock's winning car from the 1982 Indianapolis 500 to the track for a photo shoot at the track in snow. In 1989, Emerson Fittipaldi became the first Indy 500 winner to win more than $1 million. Two days after the race, McQueeney set up Fittipaldi's winning car on the track with the Borg-Warner Trophy and had more than $1 million in cash piled upon the car to celebrate the win. The piece has been nicknamed "the money shot." [2]
He collects Corvettes and in 2007, McQueeney was named an honorary member of the Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car Registry. [1]
He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana and is married. [1]
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis. The event is traditionally held over Memorial Day weekend, usually the last weekend of May. It is contested as part of the IndyCar Series, the top level of American open-wheel car racing, a formula colloquially known as "Indy car racing". The track itself is nicknamed the "Brickyard", as the racing surface was paved in brick in the fall of 1909. One yard of brick remains exposed at the start/finish line. The event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix, with which it typically shares a date.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and formerly the home of the United States Grand Prix. It is located six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.
The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1916. In its inaugural running, the Brickyard 400 became NASCAR's most-attended event, drawing an estimated crowd of more than 250,000 spectators. The race also paid one of NASCAR's highest purses. From 1994 to 2020, the race was held on the 2.5-mile oval, for a distance of 400 miles. The race was dropped in 2021 in favor of the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard which is run on a combined road course and run a distance of 200-mile (321.869 km).
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A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, and two-time 24 Hours of Daytona winner A. J. Foyt. Foyt won two of his four Indianapolis 500s driving for the team. The team also won the 1999 Indianapolis 500 and the IRL championship in 1996 and 1998.
The 60th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 1976. Polesitter Johnny Rutherford took the lead on lap 80, and was leading when rain halted the race on lap 103. Two hours later, the race was about to be resumed, but rain fell again. USAC officials called the race at that point, reverted the scoring back to the completion of lap 102, and Johnny Rutherford was declared the winner. Rutherford famously walked to Victory Lane, his second career Indy 500 triumph, having completed only 255 miles (410 km), the shortest official race on record. Janet Guthrie became the first female driver to enter the Indianapolis 500. However, her team was underfunded, and she experienced numerous mechanical and engine problems during the month. While she managed to pass her rookie test, and ran numerous practice laps in multiple cars, she was unable to make an attempt to qualify. She would return with a successful effort a year later in 1977.
The 61st 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 1977. Considered one of the most historically significant editions of the Indianapolis 500, several sidebar stories complemented the unprecedented accomplishment of race winner A. J. Foyt. Foyt became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times. As of 2023, Foyt's record has been tied by Al Unser Sr., Rick Mears and Hélio Castroneves, but still stands as an Indy 500 record. Foyt's victory is also the last time the winning car was built entirely within the United States.
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The 75th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 26, 1991. Rick Mears won from the pole position, becoming the third four-time winner of the Indy 500, joining A. J. Foyt and Al Unser. During time trials, Mears also established an Indy record by winning his sixth career pole position. The month of May for Mears was tumultuous, as he suffered his first ever crash at Indy since arriving as a rookie in 1977. The wreck during a practice run totaled his primary car, and broke a bone in his right foot. Mears kept the injury mostly secret, and later admitted that the pain he experienced during the race was so bad, he had to cross his legs in the car and push the accelerator pedal down with his left foot.
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The 73rd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 1989. The race was won by two-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi's victory made him the first Indianapolis 500 winner from Brazil, the first foreign-born winner of the race since Mario Andretti in 1969, and the first non-American winner since Graham Hill in 1966. Though Fittipaldi started on the front row and dominated much of the race, he found himself running second in the waning laps. Michael Andretti passed Fittipaldi for the lead on lap 154, then led until his engine blew. Al Unser Jr. moved up to second, but trailed Fittipaldi by a big margin. Gambling on fuel mileage, Unser caught up to Fittipaldi after a fortuitous caution period on lap 181, and subsequently took the lead on lap 196.
The 71st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 24, 1987. After dominating practice, qualifying, and most of the race, leader Mario Andretti slowed with mechanical problems with only 23 laps to go. Five laps later, Al Unser Sr. assumed the lead, and won his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory. During the month of May, an unusually high 25 crashes occurred during practice and qualifying, with one driver in particular, Jim Crawford, suffering serious leg injuries.
The 69th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 26, 1985. The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. The Speedway also celebrated 40 years of ownership by the Hulman/George family.
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