PHOTO: Chris Jones/IZOD IndyCar Series
The “Silver Surfer” is dead. Long live the IZOD IndyCar Series World Championship Trophy.
As you can see from this photo involving title combatants Dario Franchitti (left) and Will Power (right), one of them will have his name etched on a new piece of hardware after Sunday’s season-ending race. The previous trophy, which featured a stainless steel sculpture of a man balancing on a wheel atop a wooden base, was certainly different from the obligatory championship cup but also proved that sometimes, there’s a good reason why things become obligatory in the first place.
Enter the new trophy, which was originally commissioned by Vincent Astor, the son of legendary American industrialist John Jacob Astor, for a 350-mile race in Sheepshead Bay, New York known as the Astor Cup Challenge. The race ran in 1915 and 1916, and now, its trophy will see new life — not to mention two new granite bases that list all Indy car national champions from 1909 to the present.
According to INDYCAR, the champion driver and his team owner will receive replicas while the trophy itself will be on display at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Hall of Fame Museum.
