Three-time world F1 Champion Jack Brabham (left) at the Milwaukee Mile early in the career of his son Geoff Brabham, [Paul Gohde Photo]
Many iconic family names fill the record books here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; but none as varied as the Brabham clan: Jack, Geoff and now Matthew.
Jack, a three-time Formula One champion, came to the 500 in 1961 with his new-to the-Speedway, rear-engine, under-powered Cooper-Climax; and race car building hasn’t been the same since.
Matt will start his first 500 on Sunday after a career in a variety of series from Indy Lights to Stadium Super Trucks and a variety of series in the family’s native Australia.
In between those two, Geoff played the role of Jack’s son and now father to Matt, having seen those roles from both sides.
We talked with Geoff recently in the Gasoline Alley garage where the Team Murray crew was working on Matt’s car in preparation for qualifying.
Following is a condensed Q/A with the ten-time 500 starter (1981-94).
Racing Nation: How does it feel to be the dad of a racer at the 500 like Mario Andretti and Bobby Rahal have had the chance to experience?
“Well, it’s punishment for what we put our parents through. I can’t say it’s fun when you’re not in the car yourself; looking from the outside. But Matt doesn’t do anything crazy normally and I’ve got faith in his ability. There are a few butterflies at times.”
RN: “Have you been able to give Matt advice, not just about driving here but also how to carry himself?
“I think the greatest advantage we second and third generation drivers have is we’ve grown up with the sport. We’ve been to the tracks early (in our lives) and sort of soaked things up. So by the time we’re ready to forge our own careers, we’re maybe, and this includes Matt, a bit more level-headed. So if he has questions, I can answer them from my experience other than someone who hasn’t ever raced.”
RN: And how have things changed here since you drove in the 500?
“For one, there are many more demands on drivers outside of the race car now, with sponsorship appearances and that sort of thing, but once you get in the car, whether now or when I drove you try to maximize your performance; you try to win a race. But the technology changes and the way you approach your driving changes because you have a lot more tools to try to maximize your effort, where back then it was more “seat-of-the-pants” in some ways. You know that driving a race car has never been easy. There seemed to be more variance in the drivers’ abilities then and it seems to be a little closer now.”
RN: And for you, how did an Aussie get to Indianapolis to race 35-years ago?
“Basically I was in Europe running Formula 3 cars and ran out of money. I had an opportunity to come to the United States and a friend of my dad’s was running a Super Vee (then a support series for Indy cars) and I did a year of that and won the championship. Then I moved on to Can-Am with the VDS team and hooked up with Josele Garza. They formed an Indy car team and came to the 500 in 1981 and ran several races; Indy being one of them. Actually the first 500 I ran in was the first 500 I ever saw.”
RN: And what about the one NASCAR Winston Cup race you ran here at the Inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994?
“When I kind of left Indy car racing I went to sports cars and won the IMSA championship four-years in-a-row. Because of that I was invited to do the IROC series, and did it for six years. I won two IROC races at Michigan and when Carl Haas and Michael Kranefuss were putting together a NASCAR team and because I had won at Michigan and had experience at Indy, they chose me after a shoot-out (test) among several other drivers. That was very cool to run the first Brickyard and I enjoyed that. I qualified well but we had some trouble in the race and I ended up crashing.”
RN: And, finally, do you regret not being able to have a Formula One career like your dad?
“That was the plan, but when I came to America that sort of went away. My focus quickly became getting into Indy cars. And, if you’re in F1 and aren’t driving for a competitive team like Ferrari, Williams or McLaren, you’ll likely be satisfied to just be part of the show, where Indy car racing is very competitive and more satisfying.”
And when he was asked whether he had ever driven his father Jack’s Cooper-Climax from the 1961 500, Geoff revealed a little secret. “The car in the museum (here at IMS) isn’t the original car, but I’ll get a chance to drive the original sometime this month.”
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