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In the 1950s, cruising swept the nation. American street became impromptu racetracks as soon as the police turned their backs. Young people piled into friends' cars and cruised their main streets with a new sense of freedom. Pent-up desires after the hardships of World War II plus a booming economy fueled a car-buying frenzy. To lure buyers to their particular makes and models, automobile companies targeted the youth market by focusing on design and performance. No place was that more relevant than on metro Detroit's Woodward Avenue, the city's number-one cruising destination and home of the world's automobile industry. Barely 50 years earlier, Henry Ford rolled his first Model T off the assembly line at Piquette and Woodward, just south of where cruisers, dragsters, and automobile engineers ignited each other's excitement over cars. This unique relationship extended into the muscle car era of the 1960s, as Woodward Avenue continued to reflect the triumphs and downturns of the industry that made Detroit known throughout the world.

From the Indianapolis 500 Motor Speedway to the dirt oval tracks in small Indiana towns, thousands of Hoosiers frequent the raceway of their choice each year. Today, there are an estimated 40 asphalt, clay, and dirt-covered oval tracks in Indiana where race fans cheer local drivers, often navigating jalopies pieced together from junkyard parts, to victory lane. Though many racetracks remain in operation throughout the state, dozens have fallen to the wayside over the past 100 years. Forever in remembrance are the famous and not so famous Indiana-born drivers who thrilled fans at those now defunct tracks. Evansville native Charlie Wiggins won the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes four times. Bob Kinser from Bloomington raced over 40 years and is an inductee of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, and Tom Cherry of Muncie won the Little 500 four times.

The 1950s and early 1960s are considered by many to be the Golden Era of Racing at the Indianapolis 500, and photographer Ben Lawrence was on hand taking photos of the Greatest Spectacle for the Indianapolis Times.

During that era, Ben captured many images of the race and race events that surrounded the Indy 500. He was there when Bill Vukovich met his fate in 1955. He photographed the first Indianapolis 500 Parade, which has become an annual event. He captured A.J. Foyt winning his first race at the Brickyard. He was on hand to photograph the breaking of the 150-mph barrier. Then he saw the transition from the front-engined Offenhauser to the rear-engined Lotus-Fords, which ended the Golden Era.

Discover a time when hydroplane racing captured the heart of the Detroit community in a way that has never been equaled.

Since the start of the 20th century, Detroit has been the hub of the motorized world. It was only natural that the powerful motors built in Detroit's huge factories eventually found their way into high-speed boats and that organized racing soon followed. Starting in 1916, Detroit became the center of powerboat racing. Names like Gar Wood, Chris Smith, and Horace Dodge dominated the sports pages of the 1920s and 1930s. Following World War II, racing in Detroit entered its golden era, led by local businessmen like Jack Schafer, Joe Schoenith and George Simon.

Speed has always been the Milwaukee Mile's hallmark, and the one-mile oval track has given race fans and drivers thrills, chills, and memories for 130 years. "The Mile," once a proving ground for the latest in mechanical engineering, has seen it all: from harness racing to endurance races, NASCAR, midgets, sprints, and Indy open wheel. The checkered flag has waved at the Mile for greats such as Barney Oldfield, Rex Mays, Al Unser, and Mario Andretti, as well as a new generation of drivers, including Dale Jarrett, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, and Will Power. The infield saw its share of action, too, including circus acts under the big top and Green Bay Packers games.

Hot Rodding began in Southern California in the 1930s and had spread throughout the United States by the mid 1950s, spawning the sport of drag racing and the advent of the Detroit "muscle cars" of the '60s and '70s. Hot Rod Magazine and the National Hot Rod Association promoted the formation of responsible car clubs to combat the delinquent reputation of hot rodders, earned through illegal street races and Hollywood's portrayal in "B" movies. And thus were born the Middletown Pacemakers in 1951.

The Pacemakers brought southern Ohio its first reliability runs (1952), custom auto shows (1954), and drag racing competitions-setting national records (1958, '63, '64) and winning national championships (1963, '64, '65). When the hot rodders were not busy upgrading their drive train for more horsepower or "chopping" and "channeling" for improved performance, they could often be seen on the streets of Middletown feeding expired parking meters or rescuing motorists whose cars had broken down or run out of gas. By 1966, as was the fate of so many hot rod clubs, the mass production of Detroit muscle cars ushered the Pacemakers to fold.