Donald Davidson (historian)
Encyclopedia
Donald Davidson is the current historian of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....

, the only person to hold such a position on a full-time basis for any motorsports
Motorsport
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...

 facility in the world.

Personal history

British born, Davidson first learned of the Speedway when he became passionately interested in Grand Prix
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 motor racing in the mid-1950s. It didn't take long for his interest to transfer over to the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

, plus other forms of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 oval track racing.
He came to the Speedway in 1964 after writing to radio announcer Sid Collins
Sid Collins
Sid Collins was an American broadcaster best known as the radio voice of the Indianapolis 500 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1952-1976...

 and amazed the crowd by being able to recite the record of every driver who had ever competed in the "500." He came back in 1965 and was hired by the United States Auto Club as statistician
Statistician
A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...

, a position he held for 31 years.
As of January 1998 he officially became the historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

 of the Speedway. He is also now the longest-serving commentator on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network , is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar, and the Brickyard 400 to radio stations covering most of North America....

 staff, having served in at least some capacity on every radio broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 since 1965.

USAC years

Davidson returned to the Speedway to attend the race in 1965. He reunited with Sid Collins
Sid Collins
Sid Collins was an American broadcaster best known as the radio voice of the Indianapolis 500 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1952-1976...

 and the Radio Network
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network , is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar, and the Brickyard 400 to radio stations covering most of North America....

 staff. He joined the staff as a popular fixture, and sought permanent employment in Indianapolis.

A few days after the 1965 race, he secured a job as a full-time statistician at USAC
United States Automobile Club
The United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500...

.

The Talk of Gasoline Alley

In 1966, Sid Collins
Sid Collins
Sid Collins was an American broadcaster best known as the radio voice of the Indianapolis 500 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1952-1976...

 arranged for Davidson to host a 15-minute daily semi-radio program on 1070 WIBC during the month of May. The program was called "Dial Davidson," and allowed phone-in callers to ask Davidson questions about the Indianapolis 500.

In 1967, Davidson was unable to continue the program because he was going through basic training
Basic Training
Basic Training may refer to:* Basic Training, a 1971 American documentary directed by Frederick Wiseman* Basic Training , an American sex comedy* Recruit training...

 in the National Guard. He missed a considerable part of the month of May at Indy in 1967, but was able to attend the race and serve on the radio network broadcast.

After management changes at 1070 WIBC in 1970, the station vastly increased their coverage of the Indianapolis 500 for 1971. Davidson was invited back to host a one-hour nightly quiz show
Quiz Show
Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film produced and directed by Robert Redford. Adapted by Paul Attanasio from Richard Goodwin's memoir Remembering America, the film is based upon the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s...

 about the Indy 500. The show was unnamed for the first two to three years, although Lou Palmer called it "Do it to Donald" and Chuck Riley called it "Stymie the Limey". Callers won prizes if Donald did not know the answer.

After a few seasons, the show evolved from a call-in quiz show to a caller-based question & answer talk show
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...

. Davidson began fielding the callers' questions, preferably of a nostalgic
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...

 nature, about the history of the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

. The program took the name The Talk of Gasoline Alley (in reference to the nickname of the garage area at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....

). Davidson was often invited (most often by now-deceased team owner Jonathan Byrd) to broadcast the program from one of the garages, and mechanics were usually heard in the background working on the cars.

Eventually, the show was expanded to two hours, with the second hour carried on Network Indiana. Starting in 1994, the program began to be added to the station's evening programming when events other than the 500 began to be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including the week in July/August for the Brickyard 400
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
The Brickyard 400 is an annual 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup points race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The event, when first held in 1994, marked the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1916...

, and the weekends involving the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 United States Grand Prix
United States Grand Prix
The United States Grand Prix is a motor race which has been run on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The race later became part of the Formula One World Championship. Over 41 editions, the race has been held at nine locations, most recently in 2007 at the...

, from 2000-2007, and the motorcycle Grand Prix
Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix
The Indianapolis Grand Prix is a motorcycling event held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States as part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. Its first edition took place on September 14, 2008 and was sponsored by Red Bull. The race was held again on August 30,...

 beginning in 2008. Starting in 2006, the program has also been available as a podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...

.

In 2008, after 37 years on 1070 WIBC, the station was reorganized, and the program moved to 1070 The Fan
WFNI
WFNI, known as 1070 The Fan, is a radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana owned by Emmis Communications. The station operates on the AM radio frequency of 1070 kHz. The studios are located at 40 Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis...

. Currently, both hours are carried by 1070 "The Fan."

On May 27th, 2010, Davidson was inducted as a member of the Auto Racing Hall of Fame at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Books and media

As chief historian for USAC and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Davidson has written, or contributed to numerous books about auto racing and the Indianapolis 500. His earlier contributions include the annual Carl Hungness 500 Yearbooks and magazine articles. In 1974 and 1975, he wrote a short-lived series of Indianapolis 500 yearbooks entitled "Donald Davidson's 500 Annuals." During the month of May for numerous years, Davidson penned a daily column in the Indianapolis Star about Indianapolis 500 history.

After many years of helping others with their books on the Indianapolis 500, Davidson wrote his own, put out through the publishers of Autocourse
Autocourse
AUTOCOURSE, or Autocourse, is a series of annuals covering motor racing, and Formula One in particular. The annuals cover a long period of the sport's history, from 1951 to the present day, and, as such, are highly collectible.-History:...

, entitled Autocourse Official History of the Indianapolis 500, co-authored by Rick Shaffer.

Davidson has appeared on numerous television programs, including SportsCentury
SportsCentury
SportsCentury is an ESPN biography program that reviews the people and athletic events that defined sports in North America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries....

, and Indy 500 The Classics on Speedvision.

Davidson is a lecturer at IUPUI and offers a regular class in motorsports history in the fall.
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