I agree w KT above on all fronts. Gerster had 2nd by sheer will until the last two laps when he got moved up and the other three cars in that pack got around him. Decaire was fast and CONFIDENT all night long. His dives to the bottom going into 1 & 3 could've been tragic if executed differently. But he was moving up all night. He actually qualified faster in the spring (14.299 in May) to his 14.329 in the heat of August. Both impressive. The May race may have been the stronger field, but after having that win vanish in the last corner he was determined to put that option out of play.

I really hope those who came to Salem for the race were satisfied with the program. Yes, the USAC field was (is) down, and pulling that wing around for thirty laps in that heat took a big toll on the MSR field. A curious note; the USAC drivers are all in very goood shape. The MSR field has a cross section of driver from all avenues of life. Some of them, just like some of the fans, had a tougher time with the heat. After ther race I had almost every driver tell me their sweat in the helmet caused problems. Some of the cars pulling off were for that reason alone.

150 mph and eyes burning with sweat will seem to make people rethink things.

This Saturday the wing cars go to Slinger (WI) Speedway. One has to believe the weather will be cooler up there.


The Salem race will be available on tv and archived at www.mustseeracing.com in about two weeks. Click in to see where you can catch the replays.