Just thinking back today while watching the Derby......Anybody else remember when ABC Wide World of Sports carried the Tony Hulman Classic and the Kentucky Derby live on the same program?

I'll always remember the day I got home from Terre Haute after a fabulous time watching the Hulman from the infield in turn one. I called my brother to tell him all about it, and after watching the telecast he was berserk telling me about this Rich Vogler guy running the majority of the A-Main after losing his floor pan!! (in the Leyba 74?) Hell I was there and wasn't aware of that... I do recall he ran the crap out of that car on that day, the first time I ever saw him race. My memory fades me anymore, but this might have been '78 or 79??

Anyway, I sure miss Rich Vogler, I dearly miss my brother Bill, and I really miss how the Tony Hulman Classic used to be a really big deal....

yep i was there morty...

1978, We finished 2nd to Toby Tobias. It was fast, but it was rough.We filled the car to the brim for the feature.We knew we'd run some laps while the derby was going on, but never knew how many, so we filled the old car up, and that car had a 40 gallon tank, with a tail.
Man , those really were the good old days.

As for a big deal, look at an old USAC yearbook from back then, and check the payout, it really was a HUGE deal.

Yes the were the days. I was in the ABC booth working with the ABC announcers Jackie Stewart ate a Peppermint Paddy then took of his ABC coat and knocked out 30 push ups to work off the paddy. There was a long time that the tower didn't have step and you went up via a man lift. 2 people at a time and the operator was drunk and made that real thrilling.
Too bad those days are gone, plus USAC got a huge TV rights fee from the networks for each race that was PAID to the teams. Not like today were almost everything other than NASCAR on TV is a time buy.

I remember walking the pits with Producer Bob Goodrich and Jim McKay and I said there is Ralph Ligouri, wach him cause he will be upside down. Sure enough later in the day he was and Goodrich asked how did he know that? Maybe from being around the sport?

My first job in TV was 1966 at the INDY 500 for MCA pay per view as chief spotter on top of the tower. Didn't realize at age 16 were that would take me and thank full for everything that came afterwards.

One year I worked for every network and cable network doing F-1, Nascar, USAC, Cart, IMSA, IROC, ACRA, WoO, Speedrome as Chief Spotter, Producer or in the Booth.

Those were the days, ABC would cut into the derby with Hulman Classic LIVE !!!!!

1971 was the first year ABC carried the Tony Hulman Classic live. That was when local favorite Don Nordhorn was beaten out on a late race restart by George Snider. Actually, the first race known as the Tony Hulman Classic was run in August, 1970 (won by Dick Tobias), but it didn't have the status of the later races. 1971 was when it truly became an event.

There were some great Hulman Classics. Some that I remember that stand out was 1985 when Ron Shuman won. Another was about 1980 and Eddie Leavitt won in the Louie Seymour car. Both drivers were great on a dry slick track.