More On Dave And Danica

Dave Argabright’s May 28 column is chauvinistic and several other things besides. Only in his mind did Danica Patrick intend to slap Ryan Briscoe. (Of course, if Danica was a man, his word would have been punch, not slap.) What she most probably intended was to give Briscoe the dressing down he richly deserved.
Like several of my male racing friends, Mr. Argabright clearly suffers from Daniphobia — horror that a woman might actually compete on equal terms with men in this most he-man of sports, and shock that she might not always comport herself as a perfect lady.

Great ARDC Experience

I recently attended my first ARDC race at New Egypt Speedway. Wow! What great racing.
I strongly urge anyone who hasn’t seen this group run recently to go.  I can assure you that you are missing some of the best racing going. These guys (and a lady) are doing it right — without wings.
I can’t wait until I get to see them again.

Not Schindler’s List?

In response to Dave Argabright’s June 4 column about the greatest midget driver in the 75-year history of the sport: I would offer the name of Bill Schindler, which apparently Mr. Argabright is unfamiliar with since he didn’t mention it in his list of all-time greats.

More Midget Names

Jack Turner, Leroy Warriner and Gene Hartley were the (midget drivers) to beat in the Midwest when I was a kid.
I wanted to make sure their names were included. Mel Kenyon did come along and spoil their fun. Hands down, Mel is my choice for the top spot.

Praising Old-School Illini

I would like to repond to Kevin Olson’s June 4 column. I agree 100 percent that midget racing is “a training ground like no other.” I also agree that midget racing has been hurt by the high costs of racing. It is impossible for the average team of blue-collar types to assemble and race a competitive midget to go against the mega-funded teams.
That doesn’t mean that all midget racing is out of reach for the average person. The Illini Racing Series is a group of midget racers who still live by the idea of “winning with talent, not dollars.” This group of sportsman midgets uses a spec tire to control costs, equalize the cars and to put on exciting, close racing on dirt and pavement. The variety of chassis types (including home-builts) and engines really adds to the club’s excitement. National class motors are also invited — all they have to do is put in the appropriate restrictors and spec tires, and they’re ready to go.
While everyone is competitive on the track, they’re all friends in the pits. It is common to see drivers and crew from several teams helping out a car that had an unfortunate incident. I have seen parts loaned out of three trailers to get a car back on the track. Then, the repaired car goes out and wins the feature, beating all the teams who helped get the car going.
The old-school essence of open-air trailers, home-built cars, elbows-up racing and camaraderie is still alive and well here. They offer a great place for rookies of all ages to start midget racing (I was over 40 when I started) or veterans to continue their racing ambitions. Economical midget racing is not dead. It can be found in the Illini Racing Series.

Thanks For The Tip

I always read Chris’s well-written column. Thanks for the tip on ordering the 2008 Indy program.
Your column had a reference to Big Bill Simpson, the former Indy driver who practically created the race-car safety industry. Although I know nothing about his reputation in the industry, I applauded the gutsy move when the Earnhardt lawyers were trying to bust him, and he sold the business, name and all. Interesting guy. Maybe he would be the subject of a good future NSSN story.
I liked your remark about what would (Jeff) Gordon and Earnhardt, Jr. be earning if they really won a race.

Eldora Work Incomplete

The improvements Tony Stewart has made to Eldora are great. The new catch fence was long overdue. The new restrooms are great. The safety crew is now as good as the one at Indy.
New this year is being able to pre-pay for reserved seats for any race you plan to attend all year is great and eliminates the hour-long wait in line. The snack-bar food is as good and, so far, no price increases.
Now, for the down side: The dust.
Tony, get Earl to come back and teach Larry Kemp how to prepare the track. The dust was terrible at last year’s 4-Crown. You couldn’t even see the cars. People were leaving early in disgust, including this writer. This year, at last month’s USAC sprint race, the dust was terrible. Tracy Hines remarked at the end of the race that he couldn’t see the cars in front of him.
At the recent  World of Outlaws race, you could hardly see the cars. On Speed Sunday, they remarked about the dusty conditions.
Tony, your track is going to get someone killed. Educate Kemp or get rid of him.

No Respect For Programs?

My admiration and respect for National Speed Sport News Editor-Publisher Emeritus Chris Economaki as an auto-racing journalist, businessman and consummate professional knows few bounds.
That’s why I am quite surprised to read in a recent NSSN, his characterization of my life’s work — racing programs — as “by and large, in a sense, meaningless.”
Admittedly, none of the approximately 5,400 programs my company has published since 1975 measure up to Mr. Economaki’s rigorous 2008 Indianapolis 500 program standard.
But I know Chris once found some meaning in a few of them — Orange County (N.Y.), Wall Stadium (N.J.), Flemington (N.J.) and the Atlantic City (N.J.) Boardwalk Hall come to mind.
Program Dynamics programs consist of weekly race reports, point standings, profiles, features, statistics, contests and current and nostalgic photos in an attractive package at a reasonable price.
Unfortunately, Mr. Economaki’s broad generalization eschews exceptions.

Ethanol Isn’t The Answer

Your correspondent’s recent and uninformed diatribe about ethanol and the IRL is not typical of NSSN’s usually intelligent editorials. The IRL’s recent spate of publicity about ethanol is as much a scam as the ethanol market itself.
Let’s just get three things about ethanol out of the way first:
1. Ethanol is an inefficient fuel to produce since it requires extremely large amounts of water to grow the base material.
2. Ethanol produces less energy when combusted than gasoline.
3. Ethanol produces more pollutants than gasoline when burned.
I won’t even get into the way that fuel derived from corn takes food off our plates, feed away from our farm animals and raises the price of both, even when mixed with $4-plus per-gallon gasoline or how billions of subsidies to corporate farmers rip us off, even when we don’t use ethanol.
And we still have enough oil in the ground in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, California and even in New York and Pennsylvania to lower gas prices if the greedy oil companies would bother to retrieve and refine it.
If the IRL wants good publicity, let them get it by delivering better racing. “Energy-responsible racing” is and will always be an oxymoron.