Auto Racing and Cars
I am a car guy (actually a truck guy, but allow me to make my point). I’m not talking about the cars today. Everything looks the same. You can’t tell a Ford from a Dodge from a Chevrolet. It didn’t used to be that way. Back in the 1960s and into the 1970s, cars were cars. You could tell them apart. That was the muscle car era and everyone was in on the craze. You had to be or you were left in the dust.
Now, when I say everyone, I mean the big three. Dodge, Ford, and GM all had cars on the market that were muscle cars. I’m talking about cars that looked fast when they were perfectly still. The speeding tickets were already in the glove compartment. Those cars moved, moved fast, and were headaches for the local law enforcement. I have often stated that had I learned how to drive in one of these cars, and actually owned one, I would have been bad news. I would still be paying off speeding tickets today had I driven one of those muscle cars. In other words, I would have been “bad news!”
There was the Ford Mustang (including the Shelby Mustang), the Dodge Charger and the Challenger, the Barracuda, the Pontiac GTO, the Chevrolet Camaro, and so forth. These are just the tip of the iceberg. America was in love with cars, primarily men, but women as well. This was before the oil embargo of the middle 70s. These cars were street cars, but could also be found at racetracks and drag strips. Each car was distinct, with its own lines and features. They still exist at car shows and car cruises. Yes, those were the days!
This weekend is a traditional weekend for any fan of cars and of racing. I have been a racing fan for a long time; primarily and mostly NASCAR, but I also follow the Indy Series a little bit. But for any fan of racing, Sunday is a day of tradition. It is called the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” the Indianapolis 500. This will be the 94th edition of the classic.
Who would have thought that a state in America’s heartland would be home to the most famous racetrack in the world and attracts some of the most talented drivers in the world? The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is hallowed ground to those of us who love the marriage between man (and now woman) and machine. It has more than surpassed legendary status. IMS is now a national icon. A 2.5 mile racing oval, with two long straight-aways and two short-chutes. It is a Memorial Day weekend classic.
To those of us who are in tune with the racing world, the names of Andretti, Unser, Mears, Johncock, Rahal, Rutherford, and Foyt need no explanation and no introduction. They are legendary. Anyone even mentions the name Mario Andretti and you know who they are talking about. Mario only won one Indy 500, back in 1969, but he has raced and won in everything that has four wheels. Andretti lives in Pennsylvania, in the northeast corner of the state in a town called Nazareth.
The 500 consists of 33 cars, 11 rows of three, that are called open wheel cars. Most everyone knows them as Indy cars, synonymous with the city that boasts the most famous racetrack in the world. There are 200 laps that make up the race. When 100 laps are completed, the race is official. Some races in the past have been cut short by rain, but the driver leading at the time the race was called has been declared the winner.
Al Unser Sr., Rick Mears, and A.J. Foyt have all won the 500 four times. That’s impressive given the fact that everyone knows the Andretti name and the family has only won one race. A combined 12 victories by three men. It’s tough winning the race one time, let alone four. The names are legendary and they all go on the Borg-Warner trophy for winning the race, and they also get a ring as a symbol of their win. The winner also gets to drink a slug of milk, which is also a tradition, out of an old fashioned milk bottle. In this day and age, tradition is important.
For those of us who appreciate the marriage between man and machine, the Indianapolis 500 is important. My parents introduced me to Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars when I was a child, many of which I still have today in two cases. My dad introduced me to cars, and hot rods, when I was old enough to understand what cars were about. He was a car guy and appreciated what a good looking vehicle looked like. I got that from him and it stands to this day.
I am a huge NASCAR fan. The big race of the year for NASCAR is the Daytona 500 staged in February. My dad took me to Daytona in 1983, which was the 25th anniversary of the Great American Race. It is an experience I will never forget the rest of my days. What many may not understand about racing is the amount of engineering involved in race cars.
Now, today, stock cars are not like the cars on the showroom floors of auto dealerships. Only the nose of the cars resemble, somewhat, what today’s passenger vehicles look like. But the engineering is what is very important. The mantra for the Big Three and racing is “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.” Racing begats sales for the auto companies.
When I was really young, what is now a shopping plaza used to be a raceway. Heidelberg Raceway was a dirt track designed for racing and was located off I-79 in Collier Township. It existed until the early 1970s when it was torn down to make way for the shopping plaza that exists today. I was only in single digits when my dad took me to the track and, even then, I was immediately hooked. So began my love of cars and of racing.
With my dad gone, I now carry on the tradition of watching racing on television while between football seasons. For those who don’t quite understand the concept, or the excitement of those of us who enjoy this, I understand. However, don’t rain on my parade. If I could, just one time, take a race car around a track and just go wide open with it, I would do it in a heartbeat. Since that is not going to happen anytime soon, I am going to settle for watching Indy on Sunday.
Not to be outdone, NASCAR will run its longest race of the year Sunday night in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the cradles of stock car racing. It used to be called the World 600, back in the day, now it’s called the Coca Cola 600. That’s 600 miles around a 1.5 mile track. What makes that different than all the other races is that it starts in late afternoon and ends in the dark, with cooler conditions and different effects on the cars.
It might be a surprise to some that there are a lot of race fans in this area who make the trek to tracks in the eastern portion of the country. NASCAR even races in Pennsylvania, in the Pocono Mountains, twice a summer. While racing may look like cars going around in circles to some, it is a complex machine, designed and built by engineers and mechanics, and driven by the best racers in the world. Sunday will be a fruitful day for yours truly – a tradition that I proudly continue.
*Stanley Cup Final prediction – Chicago Blackhawks in six games over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Now, when I say everyone, I mean the big three. Dodge, Ford, and GM all had cars on the market that were muscle cars. I’m talking about cars that looked fast when they were perfectly still. The speeding tickets were already in the glove compartment. Those cars moved, moved fast, and were headaches for the local law enforcement. I have often stated that had I learned how to drive in one of these cars, and actually owned one, I would have been bad news. I would still be paying off speeding tickets today had I driven one of those muscle cars. In other words, I would have been “bad news!”
There was the Ford Mustang (including the Shelby Mustang), the Dodge Charger and the Challenger, the Barracuda, the Pontiac GTO, the Chevrolet Camaro, and so forth. These are just the tip of the iceberg. America was in love with cars, primarily men, but women as well. This was before the oil embargo of the middle 70s. These cars were street cars, but could also be found at racetracks and drag strips. Each car was distinct, with its own lines and features. They still exist at car shows and car cruises. Yes, those were the days!
This weekend is a traditional weekend for any fan of cars and of racing. I have been a racing fan for a long time; primarily and mostly NASCAR, but I also follow the Indy Series a little bit. But for any fan of racing, Sunday is a day of tradition. It is called the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” the Indianapolis 500. This will be the 94th edition of the classic.
Who would have thought that a state in America’s heartland would be home to the most famous racetrack in the world and attracts some of the most talented drivers in the world? The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is hallowed ground to those of us who love the marriage between man (and now woman) and machine. It has more than surpassed legendary status. IMS is now a national icon. A 2.5 mile racing oval, with two long straight-aways and two short-chutes. It is a Memorial Day weekend classic.
To those of us who are in tune with the racing world, the names of Andretti, Unser, Mears, Johncock, Rahal, Rutherford, and Foyt need no explanation and no introduction. They are legendary. Anyone even mentions the name Mario Andretti and you know who they are talking about. Mario only won one Indy 500, back in 1969, but he has raced and won in everything that has four wheels. Andretti lives in Pennsylvania, in the northeast corner of the state in a town called Nazareth.
The 500 consists of 33 cars, 11 rows of three, that are called open wheel cars. Most everyone knows them as Indy cars, synonymous with the city that boasts the most famous racetrack in the world. There are 200 laps that make up the race. When 100 laps are completed, the race is official. Some races in the past have been cut short by rain, but the driver leading at the time the race was called has been declared the winner.
Al Unser Sr., Rick Mears, and A.J. Foyt have all won the 500 four times. That’s impressive given the fact that everyone knows the Andretti name and the family has only won one race. A combined 12 victories by three men. It’s tough winning the race one time, let alone four. The names are legendary and they all go on the Borg-Warner trophy for winning the race, and they also get a ring as a symbol of their win. The winner also gets to drink a slug of milk, which is also a tradition, out of an old fashioned milk bottle. In this day and age, tradition is important.
For those of us who appreciate the marriage between man and machine, the Indianapolis 500 is important. My parents introduced me to Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars when I was a child, many of which I still have today in two cases. My dad introduced me to cars, and hot rods, when I was old enough to understand what cars were about. He was a car guy and appreciated what a good looking vehicle looked like. I got that from him and it stands to this day.
I am a huge NASCAR fan. The big race of the year for NASCAR is the Daytona 500 staged in February. My dad took me to Daytona in 1983, which was the 25th anniversary of the Great American Race. It is an experience I will never forget the rest of my days. What many may not understand about racing is the amount of engineering involved in race cars.
Now, today, stock cars are not like the cars on the showroom floors of auto dealerships. Only the nose of the cars resemble, somewhat, what today’s passenger vehicles look like. But the engineering is what is very important. The mantra for the Big Three and racing is “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.” Racing begats sales for the auto companies.
When I was really young, what is now a shopping plaza used to be a raceway. Heidelberg Raceway was a dirt track designed for racing and was located off I-79 in Collier Township. It existed until the early 1970s when it was torn down to make way for the shopping plaza that exists today. I was only in single digits when my dad took me to the track and, even then, I was immediately hooked. So began my love of cars and of racing.
With my dad gone, I now carry on the tradition of watching racing on television while between football seasons. For those who don’t quite understand the concept, or the excitement of those of us who enjoy this, I understand. However, don’t rain on my parade. If I could, just one time, take a race car around a track and just go wide open with it, I would do it in a heartbeat. Since that is not going to happen anytime soon, I am going to settle for watching Indy on Sunday.
Not to be outdone, NASCAR will run its longest race of the year Sunday night in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the cradles of stock car racing. It used to be called the World 600, back in the day, now it’s called the Coca Cola 600. That’s 600 miles around a 1.5 mile track. What makes that different than all the other races is that it starts in late afternoon and ends in the dark, with cooler conditions and different effects on the cars.
It might be a surprise to some that there are a lot of race fans in this area who make the trek to tracks in the eastern portion of the country. NASCAR even races in Pennsylvania, in the Pocono Mountains, twice a summer. While racing may look like cars going around in circles to some, it is a complex machine, designed and built by engineers and mechanics, and driven by the best racers in the world. Sunday will be a fruitful day for yours truly – a tradition that I proudly continue.
*Stanley Cup Final prediction – Chicago Blackhawks in six games over the Philadelphia Flyers.
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