[Pat O'Connor Fan]

Originally Posted by RxIxCxH Can you imagine The Mad Man giving an interview on national TV? Sign me up

That just might be as good as Jack Hewitt at IRP telling the crowd why he had shaved his moustache

[DAD]

Rich

The Mad Man would do just fine on national tv in an interview. I would think it would be a lot easier to make a public speaker out of a driver as opposed to making a driver out of a public speaker.

Back when "Smoke" was coming up there was a guy named Chris Economaki. Chris held free public speaking classes up in Indy at the IMS Hotel right next to the Big Track for "any young driver" that wanted help in conducting interviews with the press. I wouldn't be surprised if "Smoke" wasn't one of his students.

Honest Dad himself

[Will Shunk]

Originally Posted by Mud Packer What a sad but true picture of Indycar.

Conor needs to win at Kokomo, Haubstadt, Terre Haute, Eldora, and Perris in the same year. Next move to North Carolina and become acquainted with those who have won previously at those same tracks. Start a new and proven racing career path that rewards racers. He would reach the top level in three years or less.

[RxIxCxH]

Dad,

Oh how i miss reading Chis Economaki's column. I love Chris's book, Let 'Em All Go! and the part where he goes to Indy in 1938 and the things he discovered for one thin dime

Rich

[DAD]

Originally Posted by RxIxCxH Dad, Oh how i miss reading Chis Economaki's column. I love Chris's book, Let 'Em All Go! and the part where he goes to Indy in 1938 and the things he discovered for one thin dime Rich

Rich

In today's money that would be a "Buck Seventy Five". I miss 12C White Castle's.

What I really miss is a big race for real open wheel drivers to aspire to. I guess they figure the average attention span for a red neck open wheel fan is about 50 Laps on a 1/2 mile track. What would be wrong with 500 miles on a 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 mile race track. I think NASCAR has proven they can make an engine run that long with fenders on their cars. How about the same engine in a Roadster. Kentucky Motor speedway would be a good place to start. It would be close to a lot of open wheel race fans, and could probably use a few more days of race action.

Honest Dad himself

[Mud Packer]

Originally Posted by DAD Rich In today's money that would be a "Buck Seventy Five". I miss 12C White Castle's. What I really miss is a big race for real open wheel drivers to aspire to. I guess they figure the average attention span for a red neck open wheel fan is about 50 Laps on a 1/2 mile track. What would be wrong with 500 miles on a 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 mile race track. I think NASCAR has proven they can make an engine run that long with fenders on their cars. How about the same engine in a Roadster. Kentucky Motor speedway would be a good place to start. It would be close to a lot of open wheel race fans, and could probably use a few more days of race action. Honest Dad himself

Dad,

I hate to disagree with you but Kentucky Speedway would be the last place I would go to watch a race. The first thing that they did when Jerry Carroll built it was hire Darrell Waltrip to be the company schill. That doofuss certainly didn't help the cause in my opinion. They also installed their smug and better than thou attitude which also turned people off with their Bluegrass Club members treating regular customers like dirt.

I bought tickets for the initial race, the NASCAR Truck Series. I was less than a mile of the speedway 3 hours before race time and they couldn't get anymore cars in due to a totally screwed up parking problem that they had. I sat on the Interstate that whole time not moving and at the start of the race, listened to the radio broadcast that said their wasn't an empty seat in the house. In looking at the grandstand, I bet they didn't have more than 60% filled. I can guarantee you that the 25 mile backup on I-71 had a lot of race fans fuming.

The governor of Kentucky finally flew over in his helicopter and told the state police to shut down the exit (like it was moving anyway) and send everyone on their way. A great way to open a new speedway. Ole DW was still schilling days afterwards about what a great experience it was.

Jerry Carroll finally gave up on his dream of getting a NASCAR Cup Series race and sold it to Bruton Smith. Bruton was able to buy his way into moving a race from another race track he owned to Kentucky. Even with that, they still had problems getting fans in and out two years ago.

They also dumped Indycar racing as apparently it didn't meet their business model. So tell me again, why open wheel fans should embrace the impossible. We all know that race isn't going to happen. Bruton Smith certainly isn't in your corner on this one. Honest as you may be, IT AIN'T GUNNA HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DAD]

Mud

Aren't we talking about the impossible here!!

I went to the first truck race ever held there also. Only took about 2 hours to get in. We left L'ville at 9 AM. However they had run out of parking lots so they parked us in a cow pasture.>> Well the rains came, we stayed around for a couple of hours and decided it was going to be a non event. We left,> problem they didn't have parking lot lights nor did the cow pastures have names or locations marked on them, just tree rows. After walking around in 2 feet of mud from pasture to pasture with a 75 year old friend we finally found our van after about 3 hours of wondering. We got out to the interstate> the south entrance was closed so we had to drive to Cincy and turn around to go back south to L'ville. As we drove by the track on the interstate they had just re started the race. I swore that would be my last trip.

I was kinda of hoping that things had changed under new management. I did go to a midget race there once to help AJ after that time, but except for that instance with Midgets they have not run any races that I would pay to watch.

I think Indy left because they could not get enough fans to support a race, which seems to be getting more and more prevalent with that series. Burton likes crowds and the money that goes with them.

Honest Dad himself

[DAD]

I would go back KMS and pay to watch roadsters race, but then I am an Old Fart stuck in the past. I remember being a young progressive thinking how great them rear engine race cars where going to be, boy did I get snookered.

One of the prettiest race cars that I can remember was the last roadsters that old "Herk" had built for his last hurrah against them darned rear engine machines. It didn't make any difference if it was powered by that big old Turbo Offy or a Cooler full of Millers, it was cool.

Honest Dad himself

[Mud Packer]

Originally Posted by DAD Mud Aren't we talking about the impossible here!! I went to the first truck race ever held there also. Only took about 2 hours to get in. We left L'ville at 9 AM. However they had run out of parking lots so they parked us in a cow pasture.>> Well the rains came, we stayed around for a couple of hours and decided it was going to be a non event. We left,> problem they didn't have parking lot lights nor did the cow pastures have names or locations marked on them, just tree rows. After walking around in 2 feet of mud from pasture to pasture with a 75 year old friend we finally found our van after about 3 hours of wondering. We got out to the interstate> the south entrance was closed so we had to drive to Cincy and turn around to go back south to L'ville. As we drove by the track on the interstate they had just re started the race. I swore that would be my last trip. I was kinda of hoping that things had changed under new management. I did go to a midget race there once to help AJ after that time, but except for that instance with Midgets they have not run any races that I would pay to watch. I think Indy left because they could not get enough fans to support a race, which seems to be getting more and more prevalent with that series. Burton likes crowds and the money that goes with them. Honest Dad himself

Well at least you got in. After the race started, the rains came. We were on our way home then and with traffic and all it was about a 4 hour trip home. We got home in time to see the last 10 laps on TV. That was enough for me.

[DAD]

Mud

Yeh!!!! You got home before us. We had mud up to our knees, my poor old friend had both of his shoes pulled off by the mud. Getting in might not have been the best thing to happen to me that day.

I think that was one of the biggest earth moving projects in Kentucky history, too bad they didn't move about another trillion yards and put in parking.

But hey we worry too much >>>>>as soon as mass transit gets a spur into up there all we will have to do is hop a train and be deposited right at the race track. Boy I like progressive thinking!!!!

BUT>>Probably before they do that they will first ban all forms of racing events and it won't matter.

Honest Dad himself