One of the most famous nostalgic stories of the Indianapolis 500 occurred with driver Chet Miller during the 1930 race. Just short of the midway point, Miller was in for a pit stop in his Ford. The car, which was made up mostly of Model T parts, was discovered to have a broken right front spring. Race officials wouldn’t let Miller return to the track until repairs were made, so the crew began a search for suitable replacement parts. Within a short time, they spotted an unattended Model T that belonged to a spectator parked nearby in the infield. With the owner nowhere in sight, the crew proceeded to remove the spring they needed, and subsequently installed it on Miller's race car sitting in the pit area. After a stop of over 41 minutes, Miller was back out on the track with the borrowed spring, and drove to a 13th-place finish. Following the race, with the vehicle's owner still not located, the crew went back to the infield and re-installed the spring on the unknown spectator's Model T. It is believed that the owner of the car was never aware of the entire situation.
