Jack Bright - Racing Legend

Mr. Jack Bright - circa 1936

Jack Bright and driver, Ted Horn, competing in the 1936 Indy 500. Jack was the riding mechanic that day and the pair finished second to race winner, Louie Meyer at an average speed of 109.069 mph Between 1936 and 1948, Ted Horn never finished below fourth place in the "500" (there was no "500" from 1942-1945). No one has ever matched this consistency. You can find more information about Ted Horn by clicking here.

A little family history......

Jack would often take his kids, all seven of them, to the speedway with him. They would follow him to tracks like Pocono, Langhorne, Trenton, and Nazareth. They enjoyed watching and cheering for their dad and other drivers in the sprint and Championship car races. Jack was quite fond of his black and white saddle shoes and wore them to each event. When they got to the race gates, Jack often hid a number of the youngsters in the trunk so he wouldn't have to pay for all of them to enter.

Another tradition were the "race sandwiches" which were made out of liverwurst and onions. Thankfully, the current generation of racing Brights do not continue that particular family tradition. You can only imagine the taste of those sandwiches after a hot day in the summer sun,YUCK!

Indy Trivia: Q. Why does the winner of the Indianapolis 500 drink milk in Victory Lane?
A. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Louis Meyer regularly drank buttermilk to refresh himself on a hot day and happened to drink some in Victory Lane as a matter of habit after winning the 1936 race. An executive with what was then the Milk Foundation was so elated when he saw the moment captured in a photograph in the sports section of his newspaper the following morning that he vowed to make sure it would be repeated in coming years. There was a period between 1947-55 when milk was apparently no longer offered, but the practice was revived in 1956 and has been a tradition ever since.