How'd you get started with CART/ChampCar, and where are you going?

[FormerFF]

Now that CART/ChampCar is no more, would anyone care to share how they first became interested, and as an auto racing fan, where they're going from here? I'll start:

I first became aware of car racing when I saw the movie Le Mans, at the age of 14. I instantly became interested in sports car racing, and started asking my father what he knew about it. It turns out that as a young man, he had raced short track in Chicago, and had worked for Andy Granatelli for a while, but had quit and had never mentioned it to me. The first race I attended was a Formula 5000 race at Road America. He was also interested in road racing, and we spent the summer of 1973 going to lots of races, in Florida, at Watkins Glen, and at Road America. He started SCCA racing in 1974, and I started in 1976. We continued club racing until 1985, at which time I needed a break. In the late 80s, I started watching Formula 1. In 1990, he and I both moved back to the Chicago area, and this was when CART was really getting going. As road racers, the previous USAC oval series didn't have any interest for us, but since CART had enough road racing to keep us interested, it became our favorite series. About that time I started to get the itch again, and began club racing for the second time. Unfortunately, he died shortly after I started racing again.

Since I was not racing a full schedule, I was still interested in spectating. This was when CART was at its peak, especially when Nigel Mansell came over. It really had my interest, certainly more so than F1, and even more so than the sports car racing I had grown up with. As a road racing fan, I didn't have any use for the all oval version of the IRL. I watched with dismay as Joe Hetzler and crew wrecked the foundations of CART, but it was still my favorite series.

As the ALMS started to develop, I became more and more interested in it. Sports car racing was my first love, and I suppose my greatest loyalty will always be there. Still, up until the middle part of this decade, CART/ChampCar was my favorite series, though by about 2005 if I had a choice between ChampCar and the ALMS, I'd have chosen ChampCar if I was watching it on TV, but the ALMS if going to it live.

I will have to admit I wasn't the best ChampCar fan last year, but that was because I had taken up hang gliding, and didn't get to see all that many races.

My favorite moments in CART? Watching the races with my father is the best memory I have. I also really enjoyed the race in St. Pete, where I got to see guys ripping up the streets in St. Pete, where I spent my teenage years. There was also one Road America race that really got me. I had been watching a football game waiting for the race to come on. It was a classic battle between Al Unser Jr. and Michael Andretti, on that fabulous track. I remember turning the TV off after the race and thinking that it made football look so silly, that it was nothing more than 22 grown men fighting over a leather ball. I gave up watching the NFL after that.

Worst memory? Greg Moore's crash, no doubt.

Where am I going from here? The ALMS is my home now. I'll probably watch most of the IRL road and street races, but not many of the ovals. I especially don't like the ovals that can be driven flat out all the time. That's all car set up, and let's face it, the only part that counts is the part after the last yellow, so most of those races aren't interesting. I'll try to catch Formula Mazda and Speed World Challenge, and maybe a few F1 races as well. My interest in the IndyCar series will depend on how it develops. If it says 75 percent oval and winds up being a training ground for NASCAR, I'll probably forget about it. If it goes 50/50 oval and road course, I may very well become interested, but it will never displace the ALMS as my favorite series.

Anyone else?

[bblocker68]

My fascination started in 1974 watching the Indy 500 on Wide World Of Sports. I was an avid SuperTex fan and it pained me to watch him dominate the race, only to have mechanical failures ruin it for him until 1977. I continued to watch every year until ABC finally picked up the whole schedule. I live near Long Beach (Torrance) and was a cameraman for a mobile television outfit who was contracted out to shoot the race. I really got hooked after being around the cars and watching every car from warmup to race finish. Since that, it has been CART/Champcar 24/7.

My favorite memories so far? AJ Foyt winning Indy in 1977, Greg Moore passing Zanardi on the outside for the win at Rio, Greg Moore's first win, AJ Almendinger's forst win and "The Pass".

Worst memory was watching the crew tend to Greg after the accident at Fontana. Being there in person illustrated to me how violent the sport really is.

Where am I going from here? Getting info for the Homestead test and hooking up with friends for the LBGP for the 20th (I think) year in a row.

[nigelred5]

I have pictures of my mother holding me watching my dad driving at Hockenheim when I was 4 months old. If it has wheels, I've watched it race. Damn mother wouldn't let me race anything as a kid, but I don't remember not listening or watching the 500 as a kid. Before the days of safety car seats, I had a car seat I remember that hung over the back seat that had a steering wheel and horn, I also remembe my carriage as a kid had a steering wheel. Attended my first F1 race at the Glen in 1973. I remember going to Trenton with my old man to watch Mario back in the late 60's I guess it was. Guess I've been fascinated with the 500 my whole life and CART was just connected to it.

Where am I going from here? Probably to bed to be honest. It's been a long mentally exhausting day........... but I'll still be watching all forms of racing, including the 500, just like I always have.

[nigelred5]

I have pictures of my mother holding me watching my dad driving at Hockenheim when I was 4 months old. If it has wheels, I've watched it race. Damn mother wouldn't let me race anything as a kid, but I don't remember not listening or watching the 500 as a kid. Before the days of safety car seats, I had a car seat I remember that hung over the back seat that had a steering wheel and horn, I also remembe my carriage as a kid had a steering wheel. Attended my first F1 race at the Glen in 1973. I remember going to Trenton with my old man to watch Mario back in the late 60's I guess it was. Guess I've been fascinated with the 500 my whole life and CART was just connected to it. Where am I going from here? Probably to bed to be honest. It's been a long mentally exhausting day........... I'll still be watching all forms of racing, including the 500, just like I always have.

[NOVI]

Born and spent youth about 60 miles north of Indy. Parents were in the infield when Vukovich died, Mom never went again. Always had Memorial Day picnic at one of the family's; radio broadcast of the race was mandatory.

Exhausted the local libraries books on racing, domestic and foreign histories mostly. Built models, remember the Aurora H.O. "reed-vibration" cars? Cousin and I would carve balsa roadster bodies for them.

Occasionally went to the local race tracks: Kokomo, Winchester, Anderson. They used to have a night before Indy race at Anderson, 33 sprinters on 1/4 mile track! Used to cut high school to sneak into practice at Indy during May.

Loved it all. Everything. USAC, NHRA, Le Mans, CART, land-speed trials....
Foyt, Granitelli, Parnelli, Clark, Hill, Moss, Mears, etc......
Got a picture of my son standing on the track across from the scoring tower just after 6am race day 1984, at age 7.

Of course, the later 90's are a little hazy...medication for split-personality disorder. I followed both series.

Hell yes I'll be watching! Might even try for tickets this year and take my grandson. And I'll be watching ANY racing I have the opportunity. Locally in person or on television...ALMS, NASCAR, and Whatever This New Series May Be Named!

[TurboV8]

Not as big a fan as some of you guys, but I really was into CART in the mid to late 90s. I used to watch one race a year growing up in the late 70s, early 80s... not sure what drew me to it, but it was just a real "spectacle", I guess. Then I started realizing there was a whole series that was an American version of F1, which I also used to follow a bit. The 90s was an incredible journey for CART, for me it was the peak.

Then Tony George had to ruin a great thing. CART and Champcar stayed interesting for quite a few years for me, but then with all the drivers, owners, sponsors, engine manufacturers, etc. jumping ship to the IRL, I started to lose serious interest. Might have watched 2 or 3 races last year.

Now, I will probably watch a few more just because of the novelty of the merger, but in all honesty, I hope the whole thing crumbles, including the Indy 500. This think still needs to hit bottom before starting to rise up. Too much time has passed in getting the two series together; it's too little, too late, and I'm indifferent to it. Tony George and all the traitors deserve to fail. They've killed my interest in the sport. Bad attitude perhaps, but I just don't care. Haven't posted here in over a year I think, and probably won't for some time to come.

I appreciate everything Kevin and Gerald have done, but I think they are smart for jumping out of a sinking ship.

[bennybigb]

I became a fan in 1988 when I was in the 4th grade. My dad went to the Indy 500, and my mom told me to watch it on TV so I could see what Dad was doing. Later in the year my Dad took me to Michigan, and I loved it! I found a favorite driver to root for (Raul Boesel because he drove the Domino's Pizza car, and cause the team was from Michigan). We went back to Michigan every year until CART got ran out of there, haven't been back since. We also went to almost all of the Detroit GP's. I started going to Cleveland in the late 1990's and that turned into an annual event as well.

I'll admit that I am an IRL hater, I have scene Tony George completely destroy the sport. Everything that I enjoyed about CART/ChampCar racing is now gone, even though life is to short to hold grudges, I doubt I will be a fan of the new IRL.

I will follow F1 and GP2. But closer to home I will follow the ALMS and Speed GT. You will also be able to find me at vintage races (love those GTPs!!!) and SCCA events.

I've enjoyed the ride, but nothing lasts forever.

[Chris R]

I first became a fan in 1977 or 1978 when I found a copy of "AJ Foyt - The Only Four Time Winner" in my grade school library. I was hooked.

I became a paved open wheel racing history fan. Pavement always was and still is my thing - I have never really been a fan of dirt tracks. Since pavement is the defining measure of my racing interest, I really liked what CART had to offer - all sorts of paved courses.....

Today, I am a fan of AOWR, F-1, ALMS and I even watch the occasional rally. I really do not like NASCAR or Grand-Am - dumbed down spec racing in my book..... Frankly, both CCWS and IRL have become that too - so my hope is that the unification will produce a more varied series in a couple of years.

My plans are to follow the IRL in spite of TG (who I still hold largely responsible for the destruction of AOWR). However, if they do not vastly improve the product in the next several years my interest will continue to wane. They need more technical diversity, less NASCAR style ovals (not necessarily less ovals overall, just lass NASCAR ovals), and just a mor appealing product in general. Despite what the hardcore fans of both series might have thought - the product offered by either series has serious flaws that need to be addressed....

[champcarray]

I grew up following the I500 and F1. Born in 1963, my racing memories only go back to the early 1970s. I listened to the I500 on the radio and kept lap charts (they did full-field summaries every 10 or 20 laps as I recall). I followed F1 through the newspaper and Road & Track, because that's about all there was in those days. My two favorite drivers were Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi. My father took my brother and I to the local dirt tracks and Lime Rock Park every once in a while. And better still, he took us to the USGP at Watkins Glen for the last 4 or 5 years of its existence.

When Mario returned to champ car racing, I paid more attention to it. As more and more races were show -- Long Beach, Pheonix, etc. -- I became a full-fledged CART fan. With the loss of Lotus and Senna from F1, my interest in that series faded.

My wife and I attended races at The Meadowlands (what an awful track that was!), New Hampshire, and Nazareth. We always made a 3 day weekend of it and loved hanging out in the paddock and pits. That was a great side of CART -- being able to walk right up to and say hi to the drivers -- Mario, Michael, Johnny Rutherford, Arie, Bobby Rahal, Paul Tracy, Nigel, ...

Where will I go from here? It's hard to say. I'll try to watch an IRL race all the way through. Maybe Indy or Watkins Glen can hold my attention. We'll see. F1? Lewis Hamilton has made it a little more interesting, but it's not what I'm looking for. ALMS? I'm a fan of open wheel racing more than sports cars. NASCAR? I really only enjoy watching them at The Glen and Sanoma!

The nearest experience I have with with something like this was when our beloved Hartford Whalers were sold down the river. My wife and I haven't followed NHL hockey since. I guess we can hold a grudge.

We have a 7 year old, so I've got plenty to keep my busy...

[dataman1]

Can't tell for sure but I might be a bit older. Racing began for me like most of you, as a child along with my parents. I too lived within a short distance from INDY so there are many memories of that place. Later I happened to get a chance to drive quarter midgets and then midgets. Money, graduation from high school, US Navy/Viet Nam, etc.. got in the way of a racing career.

Became an obsessed fan of anything that raced with a motor. Still went to I500 religiously no matter where I lived. Eventually I bought into what Roger Penske was preaching back when CART was formed and I started attending their races. I kept trying to get closer to the action. One day I ran into Billy Kamphausen and he signed my wife and I up as CART volunteers. We began at MIS back in 1984. Later became a traveling official with CART.

When the split took place I stayed loyal to CART then Champcar and was still officiating until yesterday. I have spent every drop of my paid benefit time for the past 25+ years traveling with CART/CCWS.

My fondest memory is the seeing Zanardi drive again in Germany.

My worst memory was reconstructing the car after Zanardi's accident in Germany.

What am I going to do now? Take a real vacation. I'll wait to see if the unification will bring me an alumni credential so I can visit old friends at the track. I doubt the IRL will give me a call as they have guys like me doing the same job. I'll try to keep up with my fellow officials and staff from CCWS.

[Rex Monaco]

My love for racing developed naturally due to my love for cars. So as long as cars are racing, I'll find a something to watch or attend. Even if it's VW drag races.

Favorite memory, besides standing in turn one watching Donny Osmond end up on his roof at Long Beach, would be the spin and win at Indy of Danny Sullivan.

Worst memory, besides TG splitting the open wheeled community, is seeing the flag lowered to half mast in Fontana before an official announcment and realizing that Greg Moore had died.

[Cart750hp]

Watching Michael Jordan killing the NBA teams in the 90's, 49ers won the Superbowl in 95, and those Yankees who dominated the 90's in World Series, F1 caught my interests. Not knowing the difference of F1 and Indy, I got hooked up with Indy just because of their TV appearance. When Indy split, CART then became more interesting to watch due to the competition and their solid events. I went to Laguna Seca to them live and this is when I got hooked up until today. I've been to Long Beach since 1998 and missed last year because I was against the management. Now that they are back together, I'm really looking forward for some good racing that we all missed. Finally, the hatred and the politics are about to be history and instead talk about the competition every week.

That's what I'm looking forward to.

[VkmSpouge]

I started watching the series when Nigel Mansell came over in 1993 and instantly fell in love the series then. My best moments are Mansell winning the title in 1993, Mark Blundell's first victory by the narrowest of margins and Montoya just edging Franchitti to the title. My worst memories were the crashes like Greg Moore and Alex Zanardi.
I'll happily try to watch Indycar now (if it gets shown anywhere but Sky Sports that is).

[Easy Drifter]

Picked up a long defunct car mag in 52 and was hooked. Conned my parents into going to a race at Edenvale (sports cars) that year. Even more hooked. Parents not interested so saw few race until I got a car. Started racing in 61 (MGA) although I had done some dirt track until my age got in the way (got caught). Also raced boats. Shortly into a sports racer through the 60's. Followed all racing. Through the 70's mechanic, crew chief, tech inspector, senior official, etc. Worked mostly on Atlantics but included Indy car, Can-Am and F1. Through the 80's worked on F4 cars (750 motorcycle engines on methanol). Even did some design work. Since then spectator. I enjoy going to club races and vintage as much as anything. Enjoy WOO.
Worst moment: Gilles death. I knew him well. 60's through early 80's were tough. More than 20 drivers I knew died, several of whom I had raced against.
Dislike TG but life goes on and will watch races, usually on tape.

[edv]

I became interested around the time Colin Chapman and Jimmy Clark came to Indy. It was must-see TV from then on. I had all the slot cars. Interest waxed and waned over the years, depending upon whether there were Canadians to cheer for (or Andrettis to cheer against!)
I knew that I'd dislike the IRL from the moment Arie cursed into his radio after a particularly amateurishly managed I500. Always enjoyed CART/CC because they drive the way I like to drive...left and right and always trying to find the apex.

[SoTex]

I became interested when the split happened. I never really cared before then but the news of the split peaked my interest. I watched the US500 and soon after became a fan of Zanardi. When he left and Montoya entered CART, that hooked me for good. Now considering the death of CCWS and the fact that Montoya is in NASCAR, I have little choice but to watch Juan.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I became a fan of racing through going to Mosport since I was 5. My Uncle was a rep for Valvoline in the mid 70's and because of the F5000 series had a few guys who ran indy, and the cars were similar, I followed it. Also understanad that the Indy 500 was about the only race shown in full on TV in the 70's and I was rabid to watch any racing, so I fell in love with the magic of the 500.

As an adult, always loved all forms of racing, but I was a timing and scoring official for 20 plus years (quit now...we wont get into why) at Mosport, so I also was a volunteer when the CART boys came to Indy. Met all the drivers, met the teams, really fell in love with the series as much as my love for IMSA ( they were always a feature at Mosport) so my interest was just about peaked when CART was at a peak. Then came the split....


I followed CART. It had the Canadian connections and Toronto was a gem in the series. I didn't like one bit what Tony George did to the sport with his temper tantrum, but I always kept an eye on Indy. The rest of the series I really could care less about or at least at that point I thought that way. In the last 5 years though, it because obvious whatever Tony didn't know about the sport in 1995, he was figuring out. By last year, it was obvious that he was going to win this "war" and I started watching the IRL since CCWS was never on when it was supposed to here ( another reason I say good riddance to the Amigo's )in Canada. IN short, I wont say I LOVE the IRL, but I can tolerate it. Deep six the idiots at ABC who make such a mess of any broadcast and I might start to really like the racing. I do like the guys, and it was obvious to me that my respect for Rahal, Penske and the Green's was well founded in how they dealt with the politics of all of this, just like I respected Walker and Carl Haas for how they dealt with their side of it.

The family was torn asunder long enough. The new beginning might have a few warts on it (Dallara's are ugly) but I will follow. That said, if Toronto isn't on the 09 sched ( I can miss it for one year), then my ALMS attendance will just be upped and I have always loved NASCAR so really, I will fill the void. To the IRL "winners" I say, you want me as a fan, bring my race back and get rid of that ugly car....the clock is running.

Highlights? Seeing Jacques win the last united 500. Seeing PT all these years and his winning the championship. Nigel and PT dueling at New Hampshire (for those who think ovals are dull, watch that 92 race.).

Lows? Greg Moore. His death brought me to tears, since I watched that kid in Ontario racing FFords at Mosport and Shannoville and he was by FAR my favourite driver. Seeing CCWS fritter away what capital they had with the public. Seeing CART fritter away all the advantages they had in 1996. In short, the only asset Tony had in the beginning was the 500. With a different strategy, they should have BURIED him.....the lure of the 500 nothwithstanding.....instead, the low was watching supposively smart people pour down the drain massive dollars going nowhere...such a waste.

[gerkebi]

I was always obsessed with cars and racing was a natural outgrowth. Early 80's I started watching and by the late 80's I was a rabid fan of CART. I like the road courses of the IRL, but I wish the cars sounded like Champ Cars. No way in hell I'll watch that stupid "Corn 200" instead of my beloved Cleveland Grand Prix.

I still have the photo of me and my son in the stands that was on the front page of the Plain Dealer, as well as a photo of him and Greg Moore at testing at Mid Ohio. You know what my worst memory is.

Best memories? Alex Zanardi climing the start/finish flag stand to wave the green at Toronto after his accident. It was his first race visit after the crash and I (along with everyone else in the stands) couldn't help the tears.

Second favorite memory was partying with Michel Jourdain and crew in Montreal after his win. Note to self: Guiness and tequila shots do NOT go together!

Where to from here? St Pete, Detroit, Mid Ohio and maybe Sonoma. Go Graham!!!

[Champcar4life]

I fell in love with CART/Champcar when I was a kid the funny thing it was the 1982 Indy 500, those turbo screaming woke me up,from my sleep, from there I was hook on racing. CART and IMSA was my cup of racing.I Stay with CART until it went under and I stay with Champcar through all the mess, but for me this new buy out series is not for me, so I will start following the ALMS more.

[djparky]

I got into it back in 1991/92 when i first got Sky TV at home- back then it was the old PPG Indy Car World Series and it was fab- from then until 2002 when it generally produced the best open wheel racing on the planet

my best memories of that era are:

1993- Nigel Mansell's title win
Alex Zanardi's pass on Bryan Herta at Laguna Seca at the Cork Screw
The Handford wing era races at Michigan/ Fontana
Zanardi's post win donuts
CART at Rockingham in 2001/2002
Being sat on the pit straight grand stand at Surfers Paradise in 1995 yelling at Hiro Mastu****a to get out of the way of the leaders when they were trying to lap him

low points

Losing Greg Moore in that horrible accident at Fontana
the politics of the split
the last 4 years of CCWS which has frankly been a joke

where will i go??? Have already largely moved to NASCAR- I used to watch the CART races religiously (or when Eurosport allowed) but largely lost interest in it after all the teams/drivers I liked switched to the IRL, which coincided with NASN showing NASCAR every Sunday night-

since then I've followed NASCAR rather than IRL/CCWS and it's likely to remain that way- that said if we're now looking at a single series then I can see myself getting back into it again- Penske v NHL v Ganassi v Andretti Green- yeah that will be interesting

[994ever]

The family was torn asunder long enough. The new beginning might have a few warts on it (Dallara's are ugly) but I will follow. That said, if Toronto isn't on the 09 sched ( I can miss it for one year), then my ALMS attendance will just be upped and I have always loved NASCAR so really, I will fill the void. To the IRL "winners" I say, you want me as a fan, bring my race back and get rid of that ugly car....the clock is running.

Highlights? Seeing Jacques win the last united 500. Seeing PT all these years and his winning the championship. Nigel and PT dueling at New Hampshire (for those who think ovals are dull, watch that 92 race.).

Lows? Greg Moore. His death brought me to tears, since I watched that kid in Ontario racing FFords at Mosport and Shannoville and he was by FAR my favourite driver. Seeing CCWS fritter away what capital they had with the public. Seeing CART fritter away all the advantages they had in 1996. In short, the only asset Tony had in the beginning was the 500. With a different strategy, they should have BURIED him.....the lure of the 500 nothwithstanding.....instead, the low was watching supposively smart people pour down the drain massive dollars going nowhere...such a waste.

Couldn't say it any better, except for the I will follow: I need to be convinced first.

[Hiryu]

I started really watching Champ Car again to get the sense of how Montoya might hack it in F1. As for what I do now I know that I will not show up at an IRL event until they run a formula that I can respect. Keep in mind that my expectations have been low for awhile in regards to the survival of Champ Car, due to the declining economy.

[SFChamp]

Laguna 94

I am off to F-1 &ALMS
No Crap Wagons For Me

I will have nothing to do With anything associated With TG And His B-League
series

Man This Stnks!! :(

[garyshell]

How did I get started with Champ Car??? Gosh, to be honest I really don't know. I can't remember a time as a kid, when I wasn't listening to the Indy 500 on the radio. Cincinnati, where I live and grew up, is very close to Indy and the local press, radio and TV all made a big deal about the race every year. We are so close that the race used to be televised on a tape delay.

I grew up in a house where racing was the norm. My mother had a very close cousin who was a racer, Nelson Stacy. He was the ARCA Champion for three years 1958, 1959, 1960, prior to entering Winston Cup racing when he was over 40. Because of this it was my mom who always made sure that Wide World of Sports was on the TV if there was a chance we'd get to see "uncle" Nelson. That TV exposure thanks to Chris Economaki (sp?) and Jim McKay meant I got to also see Monaco, Riverside and all manner of other venues. I soon grew to really love the road courses, but liked to watch the oval stuff as well.

In 1964 my dad took me to the time trials at Indy and I got to see the Lotus Ford entries run.

In 1967 my high school sweat heart and her brother took me to Mid Ohio for the first time. We saw the TransAm event! Damn, I was REALLY hooked. That same year I saw the CanAm series and the earth moved, literally.

The CanAm became my favorites (and still are), but as that series collapsed I began to follow the "indy cars" more closely and it became the focus of my racing attention. (I'd watched them all along, but my love was CanAm.) When the CART series started coming to MidOhio, I was there for every single event.

My high point and low points all revolve around Alex Zanardi. The low is obvious, the high being "the pass", the climb to the flag stand, and the completed 13 laps. Another huge low was th passing of Greg. I got to spend about ten or fifteen minutes talking to him one on one at Sebring when the FIA cars came there to race for the first time in like thirty years. Greg was the friendliest driver I ever met, and I have met quite a few over the years while hanging out in the paddock at MidOhio.

Where do I go now? If that isn't obvious from my musings over past few weeks, I'll make it obvious. I am going to follow the new merged, absorbed, whatever the hell you want to call it, series. I will still despise "...king George's" tantrum that started this all. But at the same time I am able to move past it as I stated in my starting of the "What do I hate" thread.

Gary

[Roninho]

The papyrus game 'indycar racing 2' was what got me hooked on indycar. I was already a f1-fan, and of course knew about indy being from holland and Arie having a lot of succes @ indy. But during the early 90's it was hard to follow indycar racing over here.

The game got me very interested in the serie, especially the combination of ovals, rc's, street's and airport with the addition of the strange effect of the sc-periods.

With eurosport starting to broadcast the serie i followed the serie more and more intense, and mid 90's and early 00's were a great period to follow cart. Apart from the fatalaties and serious injuries, my personal low has been the period after cc's bankruptcy. That should have been the end of the split, unfortunately it wasn't and for me the serie was not even close to the serie which i loved (like no ovals, awfull street circuits, international events, no american drivers, loss of the mexican market, etc.).

[CHAMPMOM]

I started following CART long ago. My Dad introduced me to open wheel racing when I was 8 years old, even though I had 3 brothers, I am the one who followed my Dad's passion for auto racing.

I have attended races for many years and honestly I have enjoyed every one.

What are you thinking? memory: Was when Danny Sullivan switched to Alpha Romeo.

A favorite: When Alex Zanardi passed Bryan Herta on the final lap at Laguna Seca at the hairpin turn (two years in a row). Paul Tracy going 245 mph on the back stretch at Michigan. Unbelieveable!

Saddest: Greg Moore's death, Alex Zanardi's horrible accident, death of fans at Michigan 500 1997 when Adrian Fernandez tire and suspension flew over the fence and into the stands (I was within 20 feet of the impact).

Frustrating moment: Max Papis about to win Marboro 500 and ran out of gas on the last lap. Of course the IRL/CART split.

Now I am hoping for new memories, great racing and hopefully Ovals, Road and Street courses! AND Turbo's.

[Rudy Tamasz]

The first race I saw was '95 Indy but it was Michigan that year that had me thrilled. My personal high was PT winning the title on the streets of Surfers Paradise after he flopped but Junky flopped more!

I'll give the new series a shot, but I'm too bitter about how it happened. If there's no decent TV coverage in Europe, I'm afraid I mey be heading F1 way full time.

[seppefan]

The name Andretti, Gurney took me over and then when I saw the speeds at indy first time. WOW. Then Mansell and Justin Wilson coming over which is why having Americans in the series is so important for the local fans. Having a mix will be great and given time and TG's wallet it will grow again to be a major spectacle. Who cares if it bigger or smaller than NASCAR. It is different.

[Shai-Hulud]

The papyrus game 'indycar racing 2' was what got me hooked on indycar. I was already a f1-fan, and of course knew about indy being from holland and Arie having a lot of succes @ indy. But during the early 90's it was hard to follow indycar racing over here.

The game got me very interested in the serie, especially the combination of ovals, rc's, street's and airport with the addition of the strange effect of the sc-periods.

With eurosport starting to broadcast the serie i followed the serie more and more intense, and mid 90's and early 00's were a great period to follow cart. Apart from the fatalaties and serious injuries, my personal low has been the period after cc's bankruptcy. That should have been the end of the split, unfortunately it wasn't and for me the serie was not even close to the serie which i loved (like no ovals, awfull street circuits, international events, no american drivers, loss of the mexican market, etc.).


I already thought that this was an excellent thread for a first post (after having been present on this forum for quite a while), but seeing another papyrus-related story finally convinced me. For me, it was an older, but similar game called "Indianapolis500", also by papyrus. I found it somewhere on my uncle's computer and was fascinated by the close racing and the sheer speeds. Ironically, discovering that game made me miss the 1995 I500 which was being broadcast at the same time, but from then on I started following CART through Eurosport. The '96 and '97 were stellar; the racing was a lot more exciting than F1.

Seeing the series' decline a few years later was tragic and the lack of diversity in the schedule and recognizable teams and drivers made it very difficult to stay really interested in Champcar. Additionally, Bourdais' sheer dominance didn't exactly help in making the series interesting (although it was of course an absolutely brilliant performance on his behalf).

My eye caught the IRL around the same time that they introduced a couple of road courses in their schedule. It had several of the key elements that I missed in cc: several constructors, ovals (given that there's an abundance of road course racing here in Europe, the ovals have always been a very important element of AOWR's identity to me; an all-oval series would be too much of a good thing though) and a title fight that wasn't already decided in the fifth round or so. Unfortunately the comptition among constructor's was soon gone but I kept following the series despite the utter lack of tv coverage here.

Now that this split has come to an end, I will be very glad to follow the "new" series with interest. There might have been a lot of criticism about the way that both series have been brought under one roof, some of it mainly frustration and some of it quite valid, but in the end the most important thing IMO is that one single series provides a more healthy foundation for a rebuild. It might not be ideal in the beginning, but let's hope that's something that will be worked on in the near future. And let's hope there will be some decent tv coverage in Europe again...

[nigelred5]

"I'm Paul Page, and THIS, is Indycar Racing"

I had both I and II when they came out but I could never seem to get them to run properly on my computers at the time. I don't think I ever had the right video cards. I still pop them in once and a while just to drive Nazareth.

[Shai-Hulud]

"I'm Paul Page, and THIS, is Indycar Racing"

I had both I and II when they came out but I could never seem to get them to run properly on my computers at the time. I don't think I ever had the right video cards. I still pop them in once and a while just to drive Nazareth.

I actually still have both I and II and they run fine even on today's computers, albeit with a little bit of help from a surprisingly active modding community.

I guess they're going to have to spend some time making a brand new unified carset. ;)

[gshevlin]

I started watching in 1993 when Nigel Mansell came over to join the series after leaving F1. I remained interested until around 2004, when it became clear that both series were going bush league.
I will not be watching the merged series. I invested a lot of effort in watching the races (usually watching the live feeds from the circuits rather than the official broadcasts or highlights programs) and also went to a couple of races after moving to the US in 1998. However, the appalling stewardship and culpability of many of the players in the past 10 years has soured me and made me a good deal more than cynical.
I may regain my interest if I see some enlightened, transparent and visionary leadership. I am not going to hold my breath for that to happen however.

[!!WALDO!!]

I grew up in a house where racing was the norm. My mother had a very close cousin who was a racer, Nelson Stacy. He was the ARCA Champion for three years 1958, 1959, 1960, prior to entering Winston Cup racing when he was over 40. Because of this it was my mom who always made sure that Wide World of Sports was on the TV if there was a chance we'd get to see "uncle" Nelson. That TV exposure thanks to Chris Economaki (sp?) and Jim McKay meant I got to also see Monaco, Riverside and all manner of other venues. I soon grew to really love the road courses, but liked to watch the oval stuff as well.
Gary

Well Gary here is something I bet you didn't know.


1 1 11 Rodger Ward Leader Card 500 Watson Offy 100 1:00:19.38 99.465 200
2 5 4 A.J. Foyt Bowes Seal Fast Kurtis Offy 100 Finished 160
3 9 19 Len Sutton S-R Racing Enterprises Watson Offy 100 Finished 140
4 2 8 Tony Bettenhausen Dowgard Watson Offy 100 Finished 120
5 6 21 Eddie Sachs Dean Van Lines Ewing Offy 100 Finished 100
6 98 1 Lloyd Ruby Agajanian Watson Offy 100 Finished 80
7 17 12 Gene Force Tiz-So Silnes D Offy 100 Finished 60
8 27 3 Jack Turner King O'Lawn Epperly Offy 100 Finished 50
9 8 5 Johnny Boyd Bowes Seal Fast Epperly Offy 100 Finished 40
10 45 22 Dick Rathmann Braund Plywood Epperly Offy 100 Finished 30
11 56 7 Jim Hurtubise Travelon Trailer Christain Offy 100 Finished 20
12 24 16 Bill Cheesbourg Greenman-Casale Kuzma Offy 98 Flagged 10
13 26 9 Shorty Templeman Federal Engineering Kurtis Offy 98 Flagged
14 37 10 Bob Veith Roy McKay Kurtis Offy 97 Flagged
15 77 20 Nelson Stacy Dayton Steel Foundry Sutton Offy 97 Flagged
16 51 13 Parnelli Jones Fike Plumbing Kuzma D Offy 97 Flagged
17 89 17 Chuck Rodee Dunn Engineering Dunn Offy 93 Flagged
18 3 2 Johnny Thomson Adams Quarter Horse Lesovsky Offy 80 Clutch failure
19 14 18 Bobby Grim Bill Forbes Racing Meskowski Offy 54 Mechanical
20 65 6 Chuck Stevenson Leader Card 500 Watson Offy 51 Spun out turn 4
21 32 15 Wayne Weiler Ansted-Rotary Kuzma Offy 27 Wrecked turn 4
22 7 14 Don Branson Bob Estes Philipp Offy 18 Spun out



Non-Qualifiers

42 Jim Packard Stearly Motor Freight Lesovsky D Offy DNS, too slow

34 Jimmy Davies Harry Turner Epperly Offy DNS, too slow
4 Jim Rathmann Ken-Paul Watson Offy DNS, too slow
16 Jim McWithey Hoover Motor Express Epperly Offy DNS, too slow
19 Duane Carter Hoover Motor Express Kuzma D Offy DNS, too slow
93 Red Amick Iddings Meyer D Offy DNS, too slow
73 Don Freeland Ross Babcock Kurtis Offy DNS, too slow
28 Troy Ruttman John Zink Heater Watson Offy DNS, too slow
24 Roger McCluskey Koopman's Lesovsky D Offy DNS, too slow
88 Eddie Johnson Hardwood Door Kurtis Offy DNS, too slow
61 Bob Cleberg Detroiter Mobil Homes Epperly Offy DNS, too slow
53 Bill Homeier Wyandotte Tool Meskowski D Offy DNS, too slow
48 Gene Hartley Sumar Kurtis Offy DNS, too slow
64 Tommy Copp Shannon Brothers Watts Offy DNS, too slow
62 Johnny Tolan Queen Of Them All Kurtis Offy DNS, too slow
29 Cliff Griffith North Electric Kurtis Offy DNS, too slow
79 Gary Congdon Hall-Mar Curtis Offy DNS, too slow
23 Dempsey Wilson Bryant Heating Kurtis Offy DNS, too slow
41 Ebb Rose Ebb Rose - Zink Moore Offy DNS, too slow
18 Jimmy Bryan Metal-Cal Epperly Offy DNS, too slow
87 Bud Tinglestad Wheeler-Foutch Kurtis Offy DNS, too slow
35 Cotton Farmer Glessner Silnes D Offy DNS, too slow
36 Norm Hall Roy McKay Kurtis Offy DNS, too slow
52 Jack Rounds Hart Fullerton Lesovsky Offy DNS, too slow
95 Bruce Jacobi Safety Auto Glass Kurtis Offy DNS, too slow
1) Attendance 26,527
2) Rodger Ward set new track record for 100 miles.

Consi results: Sachs, D. Rathmann, Packard, Davies, Ruttman, Bryan, J. Rathmann and McCluskey.
How about your mother's cousin driving for George M Walther in 1960 at the Milwaukee Mile in 1960 in a 3 year old Roadster? He made the race but the 1960 500 Winner, 1958 500 winner and the 1952 500 winner did not. Plus the 500 Pole sitter had to win the Consi to make it in. Good job by Nelson Stacy.
My route was the same as yours, family friends that raced. Speedway in 1964, and have been to nearly 1000 races over the years.
For me, I understood the Speedway for starting its own series as than December 1991 CART Meeting and the "no vote" (No second) on the George/Mehl Proposal caused this to fester. If yes, the make up of CART would have changed but they would have gotten the sanction at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and would have inherited USAC and owned Open Wheel racing. Then how could the IRL have started if CART owned the 500 Sanction?
Many mistakes were made on all sides of the sport. Car Owners that ran CART thought they were bigger than the sport and TG realized he was the Sport. These cars were called Indy Cars, not Long Beach or Toronto car.
I wasn’t a happy camper with the November 1st 1978 announcement of the formation of CART as a sanction and not a Car Owner’s Union. I was pleased with the Championship Racing League of 1980. I was disgusted when John Cooper and IMS busted that up in favor of 8 years of disharmony.
Remember also only one person actually raced under CART as a driver and it was in the American Racing Series, Tony George. So he saw first hand how things were done and not done.
I just wish everyone would just let go of the past mistakes and let the hatred subside as life is short and the Sponsors need to see happy faces not venomous people set on getting several pounds of flesh.

[garyshell]

Well Gary here is something I bet you didn't know.

15 77 20 Nelson Stacy Dayton Steel Foundry Sutton Offy 97 Flagged



WOW! Thanks, I did not know the particulars of that at all! I knew Nelson raced a open wheel car somewhere but not the specifics.

I agree it is time for everyone to move on. I am excited at the prospect of seeing a full field and some bump day action!

Gary

[dataman1]

Well Gary here is something I bet you didn't know.


December 1991 CART Meeting and the "no vote" (No second) on the George/Mehl Proposal caused this to fester.


Not many people who write in this forum really know about that vote. Someday I think that story needs to be told again so the fanatics understand better. Thanks Waldo!

[!!WALDO!!]

Not many people who write in this forum really know about that vote. Someday I think that story needs to be told again so the fanatics understand better. Thanks Waldo!

Oh yes, it causes beliefs to be shattered like the April 4th, 1995 meeting at the O'Hare Hyatt Regency that in lies the split. Only people there were CART Car Owners and no one from the IRL. I was asked to do background for a local Sports Radio show for that meeting. 3 months after that was the dreaded 25/8.
Kind of like dropping the bomb on Hiroshima as the reason for Pearl Harbor being attacked.
Talked to most car owners and to a man they said they were not coming to Indy in 1996 again the date, April 4th, 1995.

[ezhop7]

I became a open wheel fan watching AJ Foyt jr driving that Orange Coyoto to Victory Lane. I remember watching Tom Sneva, Danny Ongasis, Pancho Carter and Johnny Rutherford. I always loved the race at Pocono and Meadowlands. The Danny Sullivan spin and win at Indy was a great moment too. I've attended CART races at Portland...I always thought Mario was a tall guy as a kid....until I saw him in person...he is shorter than my 13 yr old son. The last time the IRL race at Pikes Peak the Ganassi team was really nice to my son and I . We were just walking in the paddock looking at the car after qualifying when one of the crewmembers ask us if we wanted to come to the Target hospitality tent. Man the Target team showed us a good time. Scott Dixon is a cool dude!

[cartpix]

I was born into racing. My dad raced Cal Club & the story goes, my first race, I was in my mother's arms. I cried becaus ethe cars were too loud. When she trie to take me away, I cried more. We watched Indy, every year, taped delayed. In 1969, my dad took me to the Los Angeles Forum, to watch Indy, Live, on a big screen, in balck & white.

Since I was a kid, I loved everything racing. I hung on the fence at turn 6, at Riverside Raceway, saw races at Ontario, & airport races all over Southern California. Watched anything that was on TV. As a teenager got into Drag Racing but still made it to Riverside, Ontario, or the F1 race in Long Beach, at least once a year. I did a little drag racing & clandestine solo canyon racing, in Malibu.

In the late 80's / early 90's I watched CART races, on the local Spanish language station because that's the only place to see some of the races. Couldn't understand what they were saying but I could understand what was going on, on the track. I also watched Winston Cup, F1, IMSA, NHRA, or enything with an engine, that 2 or more people were racing.

For the last 8 years, my wife & I have been covering CART / Champ Car, part time, for a popular Champ Car oriented web site. At this time, we are uncertain of our future, with the site. We are not sure what direction it will take. I will still watch the new IndyCar series, if we can't cover it. Like Robin Miller, I think it's about damned time, they got together.

Jeff

[Chaparral66]

I've been watching racing since I could breathe. If was anything to do with cars, I was into it. I was very hyper-active when I was little, but when I saw an auto race on, I sit and not budge for the whole event. I was fascinated. I watched it all, NASCAR, open wheel, Cam-Am, sportscars, all of it. I was into Indy Car racing and followed along with the rise of CART in 1979, and followed it as much as I could. At the time, my favorite drivers were still in it, from AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti to Emerson Fittipaldi and Rick Mears. I loved it when CART began to get into the roadcourses in the 80's which really boosted the sport as a whole as well as the tracks themselves; it was exciting to see the racing at a Road America one week, and then at Michigan the next.

The low point for me was Alex Zanardi's wreck. I am thankful as we all are that he survived.

As for a high point, I think it was when Michael Andretti won at Long Beach a few years ago. Mikey was coming to the end of a great career at this point, and the hand-writing was on the wall as to his future and his impending buy out of Barry Green and the creation of Andretti-Green racing, which was headed for the IRL. I know many people on the CART side will always be bitter to him for defecting, but he is a free and independent businessman and he can do what he thinks is best for him and his team (that must have been one hell of a Thanksgiving Dinner with his dad once he made his plans known). Anyway, that was a perfect cap to a long and great career, especially at Long Beach.

[fugariracing]

Joined this forum because I no longer like the SPEEDTV forums since they have been renovated and all the bickering among some of the members there. I hope this is more civilized.

I guess you could say I was born with the passion for open-wheel. My parents toured the 1988 IndyCar season and assembled a fan guide, an idea later copied by AutoWeek that stayed in circulation for a number of years.

I first watched in '96, the first year of the split and consequently have been intrigued ever since. I have always preferred the CART/Champ Car product, I rarely if ever missed a race growing up into my teen years. High points were attending Long Beach four times, the first two staying on the Queen Mary where I met a very young Michel Jourdain Jr. who extended an olive branch to me. We stayed in contact for a number of years, and it was exciting for me to finally see him contend in '03 - he finished ahead of Bourdais in the standings that year. Also had an amazing experience at the Long Beach airport in '98 when I got to talk to Greg Moore, who was a genuinely down-to-earth guy and graciously took time to talk to me.

Races I attended were Phoenix (for IRL events, it was my hometown), first CART race at Fontana, the last at Chicago Motor Speedway, Long Beach and Road America twice. I watched both series' events and it's nice to finally be able to see one series this year, even as they feel out the growing pains.

Moore's accident was the lowest point, Zanardi's almost as much. Seeing Champ Car disintegrate the last 18 months or so has been difficult to watch almost as bad, I love the turbochargers far more than normally-aspirated. Really any of the bad accidents are low points, it's fortunate Briscoe, Brack and the like weren't killed in theirs.

My passion for the sport ultimately led to being able to write about it, for this website since Feb of '06. So maybe forum members may have seen some of my work before and it's great to join this forum.

-TDZ

[garyshell]

My passion for the sport ultimately led to being able to write about it, for this website since Feb of '06. So maybe forum members may have seen some of my work before and it's great to join this forum.

Nice first post. Which website would that be? Remember these forums are affiliated and accessed via with more than one website.

Gary

[bblocker68]

Welcome fugariracing. Gary, I think he's talking about the actual forum over at SpeedTV. There are a few guys who like to bully poeple around and others with certain Italian usernames are just not very nice to deal with, lol.

Chaparral, I was at the Long Beach when Mikey won and was elated. I was a huge fan of his at one time. His crew bought me a bottle of Champage at Laguna Seca the night I proposed to my wife. G Nice folks for sure. I haven't been too happy of some of the things he has said over the past couple of years, but I still root for him (quietly) at Indy.

Jimmy Vasser had the Long Beach race won, but didn't get out of the pits in time during the last yellow. He got his revenge at the last race of the year at Fontana. They had a 2 lap shootoout at the end and Vasser drafted past Mikey for the win. That was the year the big teams defected and I never heard such louf booing during the race.

All in all, it will be nice to us all together again. The nice thing is, we'll all be cheering now!

[fugariracing]

Thanks both BBlocker and Gary, the website I contribute to is motorsport.com and the "-TDZ" I ended the post with was sort of a hint about it. Most recent news pieces I have done were on Cotman leaving CC and joining IRL, and also two features on the site's front page about Star Mazda champ Dane Cameron and ex-IndyCar driver Ross Bentley's switching to driver coaching.

"Fugariracing" is kind of a tongue-in-cheek joke on my dad's old days doing autocross, when he said "Where the f are we?" when getting lost on course. He converted that into "We're the fugari!" as a sign of Italian heritage and in passing to the autocross days. Hence the origin of the username, and something that doesn't immediately give away what I do on the side ;) .

-Tony DiZinno, aka fugariracing

[ddnaomi]

I really started watching all forms of racing in the mid 1980's but I followed the Indy 500 since I was a kid. My interest was further peaked when F1 was televised more regularly in the US. After following F1 I really started to dislike any form of racing that had anything to do with oval tracks.

I don't think I will follow Indy car racing that much any more for several reasons
1) Tony George
2) Oval track races (open wheeled cars do not belong on ovals)
3) The cars really do suck
4) 100% full throttle racing takes no driving skill and is boring.

CCWS finally got rid of the ovals and got a new car and it lasted only one year. If the IRL would have stayed all ovals it would have been fine. But Tony George was looking to muscle in on the CCWS world (St. Pete for example) and go to road course racing. I think he realized his business model was not working.

Anyhow, Tony George got what he wanted so let him have fun. I might keep an eye on Indy car racing but I won't be an avid follower or fan. Looks like F1 and ALM racing for me now. I don't think American open wheel racing will thrive again like it did in the early 90's if it survives at all.

[portlandCARTfan]

As background, I am 63 and began listening to the 500 when I was about 8 or so as a neighbor was into racing. The 500 became an institution and every every year the kids would gather in the living room, laying on the floor and listen to the voice of the 500, Sid Collins, and his able staff of reporters around the track. Collins was so good you felt like you were there.

Got my first taste of the tragedy of racing by listening to Vucky accident. Would not be the last.

In high school began to go to Riverside for sports cars, Times Grand Prix was the highlight but many Cal Club Nationals also. Santa Barbara, Pomona, Dodger Stadium and, when in college, my first view of Laguna Seca in 1963.

In 65 I met Ronnie Bucknum while shooting pool in a tiny pub in Playa del Rey. Became close friends with him as he flew out for F1 races, then LeMans in GT40s. Got into pits for qual at Indy using his pit pass. What a thrill.

Ronnie also raced with Penske in TransAm and I got access to lots of races at Bridgehampton, Sears Points and Riverside. When he raced Indycars I also saw him at Hanford, CA.

In the mid 70s a friend introduced me to dirt racing at Ascot Park in Gardena, CA. Nothing is comparable to the slide that happens on every lap. One weekend he and I went to Ascot for a Saturday night show, then on a moments notice flew to Dayton on a red eye, drove to Eldora for a USAC double header sprint show, then flew home. Three sprint features in 24 hours.

I have a list of tracks I have attended that now stands at 76, many of which are now inactive.

I have participated as both team manager and series officials in lower formula organizations as well as publicist/agent in ALMS, GrandAM and IRL.

Memorable moments? JV t-boneing Mashusta in front of me at PHX, Mario's last win, also at PHX, Rahal's 4 consecutive victories at Laguna Seca, being on the grid at Indy as crew and listening to Nabors sing, and a thousand more.

Lows? Watching closed circuit TV live the MacDonald/Sachs tragedy, being at Fontana to watch the 99 run his last event, and falling asleep in front of my computer watching a yellow from Germany in 2001 only to wake up in am to find out the severity of Alessandro's injury. BTW, when two weeks after the accident Alex was quoted as saying something along the lines of "now i have to decide how tall I will be" I cried and also, along with my wife. elected the name of Alessandro/Alessandra for our expected child. Alessandra is now 5.

Will I be there? For sure. I am not bitter at all. All that is important is that there is now a unified series. Racing is bigger than any one element. Racing will always be a part of me and our community.

All the best.

[Copperbankbz]

I’ve been a CART/Champcar fan for many, many years. I preferred CART over F1 simply because CART offered great racing without the haughtiness attitude that F1 exuded. I was very disappointed when Tony George formed the IRL (we called it the “Indy Roundy-Round League”) and hoped it would fall flat on it’s face. I never watched the IRL and even turned down free tickets to Indy (as my father would say, “You’ll only encourage the *******s”). I continued to watch and attend CART/Champcar races but couldn’t fail to notice that the quality of the product was slowly deteriorating. As the IRL-Champcar feud continued it appeared to me that Champcar was more faithful to the fans and the sport although it is obvious now that if the IRL and Champcar never really gave a damn they would have ended the fight long ago.

So, now the fight is over and with the demise of Champcar my bitterness with North American Open Wheel Racing is complete. It is now clear that the haughtiness of F1 is far preferable than the petty greed and insatiable egos of American Racing (including NASCAR). So, I will take my interest, support and dollars to F1 (I’ve always wanted to go to Turkey anyway). As for the new Indy Car League perhaps I’ll check back in, say, twelve years from now. That only seems fair...

[!!WALDO!!]

As background, I am 63 and began listening to the 500 when I was about 8 or so as a neighbor was into racing. The 500 became an institution and every every year the kids would gather in the living room, laying on the floor and listen to the voice of the 500, Sid Collins, and his able staff of reporters around the track. Collins was so good you felt like you were there.

Got my first taste of the tragedy of racing by listening to Vucky accident. Would not be the last.

In high school began to go to Riverside for sports cars, Times Grand Prix was the highlight but many Cal Club Nationals also. Santa Barbara, Pomona, Dodger Stadium and, when in college, my first view of Laguna Seca in 1963.

In 65 I met Ronnie Bucknum while shooting pool in a tiny pub in Playa del Rey. Became close friends with him as he flew out for F1 races, then LeMans in GT40s. Got into pits for qual at Indy using his pit pass. What a thrill.

Ronnie also raced with Penske in TransAm and I got access to lots of races at Bridgehampton, Sears Points and Riverside. When he raced Indycars I also saw him at Hanford, CA.

In the mid 70s a friend introduced me to dirt racing at Ascot Park in Gardena, CA. Nothing is comparable to the slide that happens on every lap. One weekend he and I went to Ascot for a Saturday night show, then on a moments notice flew to Dayton on a red eye, drove to Eldora for a USAC double header sprint show, then flew home. Three sprint features in 24 hours.

I have a list of tracks I have attended that now stands at 76, many of which are now inactive.

I have participated as both team manager and series officials in lower formula organizations as well as publicist/agent in ALMS, GrandAM and IRL.

Memorable moments? JV t-boneing Mashusta in front of me at PHX, Mario's last win, also at PHX, Rahal's 4 consecutive victories at Laguna Seca, being on the grid at Indy as crew and listening to Nabors sing, and a thousand more.

Lows? Watching closed circuit TV live the MacDonald/Sachs tragedy, being at Fontana to watch the 99 run his last event, and falling asleep in front of my computer watching a yellow from Germany in 2001 only to wake up in am to find out the severity of Alessandro's injury. BTW, when two weeks after the accident Alex was quoted as saying something along the lines of "now i have to decide how tall I will be" I cried and also, along with my wife. elected the name of Alessandro/Alessandra for our expected child. Alessandra is now 5.

Will I be there? For sure. I am not bitter at all. All that is important is that there is now a unified series. Racing is bigger than any one element. Racing will always be a part of me and our community.

All the best.

Got 9 years on me but started follwing the sport for 57 years but interviewed
Cliff Woodbury and he took me back to the the first 500 as he drove for annd against some that were in the early days of the sport.

Watch it many do not like us that seen and know the history of the sport.

[CGormally]

I got hooked into motor racing when I was 6. I remember my grandad having numerous videos of F1 from the past in his office and one day I was bored so I asked him if we could watch 1 of them. He put one on and told me to 'watch the bloke with the moustache.' 'That bloke with the moustache' was Nigel Mansell. I just sat there for about 2 hours watching this man drive a car better than anybody I'd ever seen. So, as I grew up I watched more of the videos and my fascination grew. I started to buy the tapes of Mansell when he was driving for Newman-Haas in '93 and '94. When the ovals came on, they took my breath away. I could not believe how fast these cars could go. I just kept watching and watching the IndyCars as well as the F1 and my passion only grew. Last year, was probably the best year ever in F1 because of Lewis' arrival, the McLaren/Ferrari spying scandal, and the last race in Brazil, where for the first time since 1986, 3 drivers still had a chance to win the title. I wanted Lewis to win so much, but having said that, Kimi drove tremendously over the season too. This year, I'll be watching the F1 again (hoping Lewis will become World Champion) and the unified IndyCar series because I'd like to see how that works out. Come on Briscoe!