Linne Was A Giant

A lot of us lost a good buddy Aug. 2. Howard Linne was a USAC Hall-of-Famer and a giant in the midget world. He helped a lot of racers.
I raced my late model out of his shop for many seasons. When he came to Arizona for the winter, he was at my shop, and we did a lot together.
Dave Argabright probably has hundreds of stories about Howard.
Just a little advice to our young racers: Take some time and ask your heroes for some stories about Howard. He will be missed by the whole racing community.
Jack Ickes
Gilbert, Ariz.

Sub-Par Broadcast

Is there a network at present that can present a sprint-car race worthy of watching? Speed leaves a lot to be desired, and this was proved last Saturday night at Knoxville.
If this is the biggest sprint-car race, why not bring the A-team?
The old ESPN with Jenkins and crew is still the best ever. Remember Larry Nueber, Gary Lee and Larry Rice?
Jim Schmitt
Liberty, Mo.

Iowa Was Heavenly

Wow! What an awesome facility.
We are a relatively new racing family, but I must say we were very impressed with Iowa Speedway and the Casey’s General Stores 100 USAC Silver Crown race. We felt like we were at a special event from the moment we parked Friday night until we departed Sunday evening.
The people at the truck stop outside the track were excited about the weekend’s racing and let us know how welcome we were in Newton. The grounds were green and groomed with everything looking spruced up to the maximum. The Iowa Speedway employees were very polite and willing to help — from the guys guarding the gates to the concession workers.
Unfortunately, we also got to meet the rescue crews, tow-truck personnel and the medical-center staff, too. Like everyone else at Iowa Speedway, they were pleasant, professional and courteous. Our car made contact with the front stretch, and we are happy the driver, Jacob Wilson, was unhurt, and the car wasn’t hurt that bad either. The crash ended a very good run, driving from 16th at the start to sixth at lap 58 of 100.
Congrats to Cameron Dodson on the win. The track had multiple racing grooves, and from where we were on pit road, the race was pretty exciting to watch with lots of passing. I can’t imagine the show the folks in the stands saw.
Jacob enjoyed getting to meet the fans at the autograph session behind the grandstands; he wished every track would do that for the drivers and fans.
My dad said the breaded tenderloin was the best he had ever tasted, and for $7.50, it was a real value.
We were glad to see  the “Mercy One” medical chopper land before the day’s racing started and are also happy to report its crew only got to watch some good racing and took off empty at the day’s end.
I can’t wait to return to Iowa Speedway next year with the USAC Silver Crown Series. Iowa, you have a lot to be proud of with Iowa Speedway and Casey’s General Stores.
Mark Wilson
Crawfordsville, Ind.

Tires, CoT Had Help

It appears like a large number of people are either afraid to say anything about the track or have forgotten that the Indy 500 was not real racy either. Remember Kanaan’s spin due to the marbles outside the single-race groove? As far as I’m concerned, the grinding done to the track has flat ruined all the racing.
Tony needs to look at a composite paving, like what is on Bristol. Despite everyone saying, “it wasn’t the track,” it played a big part in the (Allstate 400 at the Brickyard) fiasco. I’m glad I didn’t go to either race.
Further, NASCAR has the right idea with the CoT. They have just allowed the engineers and drivers to adjust the suspension geometry completely out of whack. If they continue to allow F-1-type shocks (get rid of the bump stops) and the camber extremities, it never will be right. On top of this, we now have cars going down the straightaway dog tracking. Geez!
There’s a real simple solution: Straighten out the suspensions and (hold on, here it comes) slow them down! Slower straightaway speeds lead to better cornering. No wonder Goodyear can’t make a decent tire. They are building them for a twisted and crooked car. Good grief, stock may apply somewhat to the bodies, but surely not to the suspensions.
The racing is lousy (except between the 15th and 25th, which, of course, barely gets televised). I lost track of the top 10 at Chicago watching the mid-pack racing.
Mike Hickman
Washington, Ill.
 

Respect For Anthem

I wanted to comment about and add to the letter from Doug Rasmussen in the Aug. 6 edition regarding the national anthem.
Having been a motorsport fan for many years, I, too, have heard hundreds of renditions of the anthem. Living in Phoenix, I have had the pleasure of enjoying Jesse McGuire play it on many occasions.
Too often, in my opinion, the singer or player of the anthem for some reason feels that they need to put their own interpretation on the song by carrying the notes too long or emphasizing the wrong words.
If I want to hear so and so’s vocal talent and style, I will buy their album. The national anthem is not their song, it’s our national anthem. When performed, it should be done correctly, cleanly, honestly and with respect.
John D. Andrews
Scottsdale, Ariz.