In 55 years of watching races, tragedy is something I simply deal with and expect. The good news is that in recent years our sport is safer. The bad news is people will always die racing.
I have never heard of a more sorrowful accident than the one that happened last week at Thompson (Conn.) Speedway. During the running of a 150-lap Whelen Modified Tour race, the absolute worst thing happened.
John Blewett III and his younger brother, Jimmy, had been fighting hard for the win. This was not new for them. They have run 1-2 as many times as most brothers who race.
Early details are sketchy, but apparently on a 105th-lap restart, John III, who was leading, crashed. His brother hit him. It is reported the bumper of the younger Blewett’s modified hit the older brother’s helmet.
It was an unsurvivable crash.
This is a double blow to this family, which has been in racing since the 1950s. No one is to blame ... it was a racing accident.
The sad irony of it will hurt this family for a long time. The Blewetts always brought a lot of emotion to the track. Now they have the sad kind to deal with.
My thoughts go to them at this very difficult time.
• It’s a shame no one gave much dap to A.J. Foyt IV on his fine third-place finish at Kentucky.
• What’s with the IRL?
Both Marco Andretti and Dario Franchitti have dumped over twice this season. Trying to emulate Reggie Himes is not a good idea in my book. I remember when Tony Romit dumped his ARDC midget in two-straight shows at Freeport. The next time he showed up at the track office and demanded “appearance money” from promoter Duke Donaldson.
No, he didn’t get it.
• You think maybe NASCAR at least fined Robby Gordon with Canadian money? People keep asking what NASCAR does with this ever-emerging lump of cash. Why not help injured out-of-work drivers such as Steve Park and Jerry Nadeau?
Nadeau had to sell his house to pay his medical bills.
• I’d love to see the check Toyota is writing to Joe Gibbs for the right to run its nameplate in the future.
Chevrolet has the hot setup right now, so leaving them for a mid-pack name should be costly. If Toyota remains midpack, I imagine a certain driver in an orange car might get “cranky.”
• Uncle Ernie Saxton is wrapping up his 39th year as track announcer at Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway. Ernie would like to know if anyone is serving longer elsewhere. It proves that Ernie is both dedicated and old.
• Word is that Mahoning Speedway, a chummy little track in Pennsylvania, will be replaced by a Target store. Orange County is struggling again, and it is the fastest-growing county in New York.
Riverhead, N.Y., at a million bucks an acre, seems doomed, too. The local politicians might get their way like a crooked ex-mayor, who helped the demise of Freeport.
• See you at the reunion at Riverhead Sunday.
Hiding Ferrari blueprints in my mattress at 25 Emerson Place, Valley Stream, NY 11580. E-mail to racewri771@aol.com.