At many speedways, there are signs or billboards advertising what is on tap for tonight’s show. I’d like to ask ticket-buying fans, what would they do if the sign said, “Forecast for heavy rain tonight. We will race.”
The talk about racing in the rain has been around for years. It reached fruition at the Nationwide race at Montreal. They did indeed race in the rain. I guess NASCAR wanted its friends at Goodyear to empty its warehouse of those 6-year-old rain tires.
I don’t care if the effete snobs in Formula One do this. They also, for years had races decided by “team orders.” As far as this observer is concerned, there is nothing dumber than “racing” in the rain.
First of all, it’s terrible for the fans. Sit in one spot, you will get drenched. If a guy brings his wife and kids to the races, how will they enjoy the show? Also, a race in the rain will take longer, because the pace is slower. One dummy on TV said the fans will be OK if they bring umbrellas. How does one see the action if everybody in the stands opens a parasol?
As far as the racers go, it’s dangerous. You can’t see, you have poor car control and you really can’t “race” with anybody. They red flagged the race at Montreal because cars ran into each other.
Let’s face it, this is done just so the track operator and the sanctioning body can take the money and run. Rain dates are expensive. There are no better fans anywhere than in our sport. Let’s not “soak” them.
• In my last column, I mentioned I thought off-shore drilling was the answer to our nation’s problems with oil. A lot of people disagreed. I guess I should be flattered that my little Mom ’n Pop column could actually have influence. Did you notice that when 65 percent of Americans polled said they were in favor of OSD, the Senator from Illinois changed his stand on the issue?
• Marty Himes will hold an open house at his museum at 15 O’Neill Ave., Bay Shore, N.Y., Aug. 24 from noon until darkness. There will be free food and refreshments and a chance for us gray-haired folks to get together again. For info, call Marty at (631) 666-4912.
• Friend Spencer Riggs is wrapping up his long-awaited book on Langhorne (Pa.) Speedway. It has been especially hard for him to identify cars that raced in the modified open. For scoring purposes they used to whitewash new car numbers to avoid duplicates. The scoring there was such a nightmare that wasn’t necessary.
• Sorry to report the unexpected passing of racer Jay Miller. His father Ray was a top modified driver in New England. Jay had just won his first feature. He was only 35. It’s also very sad to hear of the passing of longtime modified driver Ed Farley.
• I hope Frankie Schneider had a great 82nd birthday Aug. 11.
No competition yellows at 25 Emerson Place Valley Stream, N.Y., 11580. E-mail to Racewri771@AOL.com.