|
|
Post by Calvin on Oct 5, 2011 20:44:35 GMT -5
besides the Indy 500 (which has been gone over and over again)
What is some of your personal favorite regular season races in American Open Wheel history.
A few of my personal Favorites are:
1975 Michigan 150 (Sneva wins first race - Bobby Unser in the Sugaripe Eagle!!!! crashes with JR on the final lap, Bobby got a broken leg)
1976 Fall Phoenix 150 ( A great battle for the champ. Johncock vs Rutherford)
1980 Phoenix 150 (JR flips the 2k and just an all around crazy race)
1981 Michigan 500 (first Flag to flag 500 mile race on National TV and just flat out crazy race)
1984 Michigan 500 ( Lots of great racing - some crazy crashes - Mario comes back after a bad plug to win by Inches!)
1985 Grand Prix of Miami (Unser vs Unser - Jr. vs Sr.)
I have many more favorites but these are the first that come to my mind.
|
|
|
|
Post by stonecold44 on Oct 5, 2011 20:54:47 GMT -5
Wow, great topic. I'll preface this by saying my favorite races were won by Mario so I'll start off with, I'm pretty sure, the 1986 Portland race. Michael had the field covered and was in the lead until the final straight. He ran out of gas and Mario too him at the line. As a sied note, that race was run on Father's Day and Michael said he just gave his dad a present.
The other is the 1993 Phoenix 200. A 53 year old Mario won his last race there.
|
|
|
|
Post by Michael Chriss on Oct 5, 2011 23:02:29 GMT -5
I assume that by regular season races, you mean non Indy 500.
1984 Portland 200, my first in person. When they came around to take the green, with Mario leading, the pack tightly bunched just waiting to explode, it was one of the most exciting moments I’ve ever had.
All the Portland 200s after that. I went to every one. Damm I miss that.
The 1981 Michigan 500. I worked all night and stayed up and watched the race. I thought for sure the fuel tank would explode.
The 1984 Michigan 500. Mario and Sneva wheel to wheel.
Which year was the Michigan 500 where Pruit and little Al went at it and Pruit won?
|
|
|
|
Post by Calvin on Oct 6, 2011 0:52:57 GMT -5
I assume that by regular season races, you mean non Indy 500. Yep. Because the Indy 500 has been done time and time again, this is a chance to talk about something different. There is a lot of very interesting non Indy 500 story's that get missed. |
|
|
|
Post by alwaysindy on Oct 6, 2011 8:24:11 GMT -5
In June of 1998, I took my youngest son and cousin Ray to see the IRL race at Texas Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart sat on the pole @224+mph. As the race progressed, Stewart cut a tire down while in the lead. After pitting, he set out from last place and began to reel in the leaders. He began turning 227-228+ laps IN TRAFFIC. As he came upon cars, he would go high, low, or whatever it took to get by. Every time I recall it, the hair stands up on the back of my neck. After regaining the lead, he had to pit AGAIN for a problem and then did the same thing to get back to the front. I remember turning to Derek and saying " You'll be talking about this to your grandkids." Finally a radiator gave out and when he pulled in the pits, he got out of the car, slammed down his helmut, and sat down on the pit wall, frustrated as HELL.
I'm not a big Tony Stewart fan, but I know I'll never forget that race. Billy Boat won (after losing to Luyendyke the year before). Nowadays, they go about 216+mph.
The best racing in any series is when a guy gets on the ragged edge and still manages to keep it off the wall...
Enjoy your day!
Tim
|
|
|
|
Post by stuboyle on Oct 6, 2011 9:56:09 GMT -5
Al Jr's last win at Texas Motor Speedway a number of year's back. I was there with my Dad and we pretty much listened to Al over the radio the whole time.
|
|
|
|
Post by mrindy77 on Oct 6, 2011 10:06:38 GMT -5
I was there....I was 16...it was impressive and left an idelible image of great race and great race driver....it was also one the coolest Indy cars ever....
On Saturday June 6th, 1981, over twenty six race teams prepared for the 32nd annual Gould Rex Mays Classic 150 held at historic Milwaukee Mile. An unexpected engine failure during practice caused the Dan Gurney led All-American Racers Team of Santa Ana, CA to miss qualifying for the 24 positions available for the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) event. Gordon Johncock placed Pat Patrick's light-blue and day-glo orange STP Oil Treatment Wildcat-Cosworth on the pole at a speed of 134.700 mph. Bobby Unser positioned his blue Norton Spirit Penske PC9B-Cosworth alongside on the front row.
However, even after missing qualifying, Gurney and his All-American Racers (AAR) team continued to thrash on the distinctive yellow and white car. The car, a 1981 Eagle designed by John Ward was unique in several areas. One was aerodynamics, most open wheeled cars of that era and even today have sidepods on either side of the main tub with venturis trailing the sidepods. The '81 Eagle was narrow with a wide 'platform' or whale tail at its rear which produced tremendous downforce. The other uniqueness was its powerplant. Gurney with the help of builders Stump Davis and Jerry McGarrity were developing serious horsepower with their pushrod Chevrolet stock block. The car started to show its potential several weeks prior. Gurney remembers in an earlier interview, "We qualified in the middle of the front row at Indy, that car was no slouch, even though it had a stock-block Chevy in it." Radiator failure at Indianapolis the week before grounded the car after 16 laps. Gurney and crew brought the same chassis and engine combination to Milwaukee.
Packing up and going home for the weekend was never was an option for the AAR team. Gurney, "We came there to race. We had a great deal of faith in Mike. Mike Mosley was an absolutely, fantastic oval racer. Our car was a lot better than people realized. "Gurney adds, "We had a feeling we had a good combination, Mike felt good about it. We just rolled our sleeves up and worked on getting that car ready. Promoter's options in those days were common, a throwback to the days when fans would show up and want to watch their favorite stars race on their hometrack. Fans didn't want their favorites on the sidelines, they wanted them on the racetrack. Adding Mosley in Gurney's car was a no-brainer to promoter John Kaishian. They were Milwaukee favorites. Mosley started his open wheel career with the locally owned Leader Card Racers in 1967. Moving on to the Jerry O'Connell Sugaripe Prune team in 1975, Mosley won two races in a row at Milwaukee in 1975 and 1976. Gurney with driver Bobby Unser and the white Olsonite Eagle dominated in consecutive Rex Mays Classics in 1972 and 1973. Gurney a Formula One veteran, made his Milwaukee debut at Milwaukee as a Lotus teammate to famed Scotsman Jimmy Clark in 1963.
There was no real race strategy for the 150-mile race. It was basically a sprint race. Gurney recollects, "The (race) strategy was just, if there was an opportunity he (Mosley) was going to take it. Obviously, as he got going, the car was working real well and he was too. Gurney added, "Mike wasn't bashful about it, he got with the program."
At the drop of the green flag, Bobby Unser took the lead from polesitter Johncock. Unser, Johncock and Mario Andretti exchanged the lead for the first 76 laps as Mosley passed twelve cars in the first five laps. "He was passing the top teams, the best drivers out there, Gurney calls to mind. "He kept after it, he would pass them on the inside and he'd pass them on the outside. He was really great in traffic. The car was really working beautifully and Mike was doing his usual fantastic job. We were watching him pass those cars, and we know it was going to get more difficult. We thought he's going to get to the point it's going to get so hard, he won't be able to pass anyone anymore. But it never happened. He managed to find a way around every single time." Mosley took the lead from Tom Sneva on lap 106 and never looked back. Passing the likes of Penske and Patrick Racing and drivers such as the Al and Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford and Gordon Johncock, Mosley sent a message to the establishment. Long time AAR chief mechanic Wayne Leary remembered in a interview a few years ago, "Once the race started and we got half way, it was in my mind, if nothing broke we were going to win this thing. He passed them all before they fell out." The crowd cheered wildly as Mosley took the lead. The Fallbrook, CA leadfoot impressed the fans that day. Mosley went on to take the lion's share of the $153,780 purse.
Looking back, Gurney recalled the John Ward designed chassis, "It was very good at all the tracks. In fact it was so good, all the powers to be wanted to get rid of it and change the rules so it couldn't run anymore. It was very good at Michigan, it qualified 12th, once again with all the guys with blown Cosworths, and sure enough he (Mosley) picked them off one at a time. He was leading by 2/3 of the race." Leary adds, "It adjusted very well, anywhere we went, it ran well."
Why didn't Mosley and the AAR team return for the Tony Bettenhausen 200 later that year? Dan remembers, "We ran out of funding, the experts at Pepsi didn't know which end was up so they pulled the plug on us." Without proper funding, the team was sidelined for the remainder of the year.
The race is special to Gurney and his All-American Racers because, "Well it had an American engine in it and we had designed it here, and we were using a completing different concept-aerodynamically. It was dog gone efficient. It was a hellava terrific car. What we didn't realize it bothered a lot of the established teams." Leary adds, "It was our own, it was different." Leary succinctly sums it up, "Any race you win is a good deal."
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2011 13:07:58 GMT -5
The 2 that stand at top of my list are....
2008 Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi.... Danica wins her first Indycar race.
2005 Indianapolis 500 - Danica led laps and almost won the race in her rookie year.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2011 15:57:28 GMT -5
-Any of the Michigan 500's. Even the Handford device races were electric there. IMO that track has some of the best views in racing. Never saw a bad race there.
-The first couple of Houston GP's were terrific for a street race. The paddock was in the convention center and was super fan friendly.
|
|
|
|
Post by Calvin on Oct 10, 2011 1:40:49 GMT -5
Which year was the Michigan 500 where Pruit and little Al went at it and Pruit won? 1995  |
|
|
|
Post by Calvin on Oct 10, 2011 1:42:05 GMT -5
On Saturday June 6th, 1981, over twenty six race teams prepared for the 32nd annual Gould Rex Mays Classic 150 One of my favs also! Thanks for the story! |
|
|
|
Post by Calvin on Oct 10, 2011 1:43:30 GMT -5
The 2 that stand at top of my list are.... 2008 Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi.... Danica wins her first Indycar race. 2005 Indianapolis 500 - Danica led laps and almost won the race in her rookie year. 2010 Texas was pretty good race for her. |
|
|
|
Post by Calvin on Oct 10, 2011 1:55:49 GMT -5
1976 Phoenix 150 (this is a film that was actually found in a airport storage because back in the day they would show sports films, in first class) 1980 Phoenix 150 (highlights of the highlights  ) JR and team Chaparral 1980 Championship tribute CART Highlights! CART on ESPN Do you guys know what the very first CART race televised on espn was? If anyone gets it I'l be very impressed. (very few people know this, and I doubt if anyone can get on this forum. ;D |
|
|
|
Post by Michael Chriss on Oct 10, 2011 15:13:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the Youtube links. Great stuff.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2011 6:49:23 GMT -5
There are a few I like. It would take me a bit to sort through and remember the titles of some of them though as I can only recall bits and pieces. I remember I believe it was 1992 at Long Beach where Danny Sullivan got a win in a Galmer chassis Indycar. Nazareth was always known for great racing on its short oval and I've got memories of Mario and Michael having good fortune there. My favorite though would be the one I got to watch in person. I was able to secure a couple tickets for the inaugural Kansas IRL race in July 2001. This was back when somebody had to buy tickets to the three NASCAR races to get the IRL tickets, and I was able to get some from a guy who didn't want his (he had GOOD seats too). The race was an experience. Seeing those machines go around the track live almost didn't seem real. It was like a big slot car race almost. I had a friend who showed up at the track (I didn't know he was coming, but he lived in the area) and he let me borrow his scanner for a few laps. So I got to listen to Eddie Cheever cussing like a sailor over the radio about back marker Eliseo Salaizar who was blocking him big time on the restarts (Salazar was known for doing stupid crap like that sometimes). During one restart, I hear Eddie exclaim as he makes a pass "You don't own an Infiniti! Resistance is Futile! Get the &*^% out of the way!!!"  Eddie Cheever ended up winning that race. Scott Sharp I remember had the big single car wreck as his car backed into the wall on the far stretch (he was okay). Sarah Fisher drove well, although her car was off the pace from the leaders all day and I recall she retired with a motor problem. I picked up a diecast of Eddie's car after the event. It was an interesting year as Eddie was sponsored by Excite and the sponsor went backrupt in the dot com stock tumble earlier that year. So his car was mostly unsponsored. But, I got to see a master open wheel veteran strut his stuff that day. I should have stayed for the Indy Lights event that came after as they had the closest finish ever that year. But I still had fun at my first live open wheel event (and to date my only race event at a big track on a race day). |
|
)