Dave... you're nuts!

Pretty unique angle... thanks for sharing.

Just call him Digger

That's freaking awesome dude!!

Sick Man!!!! Can't you get any closer??????

I had only seen Silver Crown cars at Eldora and Manzanita before last Friday. Let me tell you shooting against the rail during daylight, during hot laps was fun.

I rarely ever shoot on the straightaways, but during qualifying I was standing near the frontstretch, and those cars were hauling it!

So come feature time, I made my usual trip to the turns and what a rush those things flying by were. We have a track north of where I live called Merrittville (no relation to Dave), where you're right on the rail, but the sheer size of the Fairgrounds is so much faster. Nose to tail or not, those cars all rushing by under the lights was awesome, scary, fast and I had a great time. Once these tracks or races are gone, all the complainers will be crying about how the old timers talk about champ cars, and the miles that people would race on back in the day. So if they only race there once a year, I say go support them. If it stinks that bad, it will just make your regular Friday night show that much better the next weekend.

Well stated, James. And thanks for the video, Dave. The experience of these cars along the rail is hard to describe, but your video is a start. What doesn't translate is the feeling of power that shakes the ground as these cars roar past. What an experience.

HA! wow! If these cars want to run any lower on the track they will have to move to the inside of the guardrail and the photogs will have to move to the outside of the guardrail to keep from getting run over.

Back in the days of the real Hoosier Hundred, the only guys running in the "gutter" were the losers who were trying to stay out of the way of the real racers, like Foyt, Parnelli, Unser, Branson, Larson, Rutherford, Andretti and Ruby, who were racing up on the real part of the race track. How sad what this once great race has turned into.

It is not all that much different today from 39 years ago as you can see in this HH clip from 1970.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0qL5ZitM_4

This is the first HH I have missed since 1958.

I've followed this sport since 1955. I love the good old days too. But the old days are gone. Take this and enjoy it for what it is today. Quit pining for the old days. That will never be back. If it makes you so miserable, maybe you should direct your attention elsewhere.

Is it as good now as 50 years ago? Maybe. Maybe not. That's a matter of opinion. IMO, it's still better than any stick and ball sport or pro poker or cooking competition or spelling bees or any of that other crap that is around these days that is passed off as "sport".

If we can ever get the state of Indiana to put some real clay down and keep that damn sand away, the on track product might change.

I pieced together some video from the Hoosier 100 as well, includes some footage very similar to the video above, from just inside the rail. Looks like I was further on around in turn 1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fs3V...e=channel_page