Fitting Farewell

I went to the funeral/memorial for Ed Justice, Sr. yesterday and witnessed the most incredible tribute to a racing legend I’ve ever seen. This was a funeral the way it is supposed to be.
It was attended by the likes of Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney, Jerry Grand and other racing notables, with written tributes from A.J. Foyt, Bobby Unser and nine-time motorcycle champion Ivan Mauger.
His son, Ed, Jr., gave a touching tribute to his father with humorous stories of his dad’s life. I knew Ed for 30-plus years, and it was great to see such a sincere turnout for he and his brothers’ efforts in auto racing and the oil industry.
Ted Johnson
Los Angeles, Calif.

Wings And Things

I read the Lesson In History by Bob Gates in the Sept. 3, 2008 issue with great interest since it was about a mid-fifties Indy car. 
This was about the time I was beginning to become interested in racing as a teenager. The article makes reference to the Travers and Coon car using a wing to balance the car and makes the statement that, “the concept of using a wing to produce down force was still some 15 years in the future and beyond what Travers and Coon had in mind.” 
Actually, the use of a wing to create down force was only five years in the future and was first introduced at Columbus Motor Speedway in Columbus, Ohio, by Jim Cushman and Gene Miller in May of 1959, if my memory serves me correctly. 
The idea of a wing was an outgrowth of a model-airplane hobby that Miller's brother was involved in. There were a couple versions of the car. The first was a single wing extending to the outer edges of the tires. After complaints from competitors, John Knuckles, the track owner, told them the wing could not extend beyond the body.  Since there was no surface-area limit, the second version was a two-tiered wing creating even more down force. There was also some experimentation with rudders, but that idea was abandoned.
This is a very interesting story of a couple guys with a radical idea that revolutionized auto racing.
Dave Schleppi
Batavia, Ohio

Stick To Ovals

Well, it didn’t take long. The IRL and CART got back together and already they are leaning toward more follow-the-leader road and airport racing. Did I say racing? What a joke.
Good job, Tony George. Keep listening to Penske, Ganassi and the rest of these Formula One wannabes, and before long they and you will be holding the Indy 500 in the makeshift road course of that beautiful speedway. What a shame.
I just witnessed the last race at Chicagoland Speedway — what a show. No street race even comes close.
Congratulations to Scott Dixon’s championship and Helio Castroneves’ win. Now that’s racing in its purest form.
Frank Orsillo
Wharton, N.J.

Too Bad For IRL

Yesterday was the end of the road and the end of another year for the IRL.
We were having a good time watching all those commercials until all those million-dollar sophisticated open-wheel racers that American people love so well kept popping up on the screen.
Some guy won the championship, but since it wasn’t Marco, Carpenter, A.J. the fourth, Danica, Sarah Fisher, Buddy Rice or Rahal, no one will ever remember who it was after one month has passed.
To add more killing efforts to what could be the best organization in the world, we hear they have added more road courses for next year. Duhhhh! The IRL does not need road courses.
Too bad Tony Hulman couldn’t have lived forever.
Curt Wright
Lawrence, Kan.

Little Help For The Booth

It seems to me that television broadcasters assigned to racing events should be able to bring a sense of drama and excitement about the racing activities. Bob Varsha and David Hobbs do this exceptionally well with F-1 events.
Watching the IRL telecasts, and the great racing that’s happening, it is unbelievable how such a matter-of-fact attitude is shown and no sense of excitement is conveyed to the audience — none, whatsoever.
For the IRL to go forward now that unification is in place, one of the things that is needed is to attract the casual fan. That will never happen with the type of announcing for instance at the Chicagoland finale. Scott Goodyear’s calm demeanor may have served him well in a race car, but it does nothing in the booth to generate enthusiastic feelings about what are usually super-competitive and exciting races.
If you were a person who had never seen one of these races, I can’t imagine you would be motivated to attend one in person from watching and listening to the IRL telecasts this year.
Dave Wilhoit
Carmel, Ind.

Why I Care

1952: Orange County Show Stadium Friday evenings. URA midgets. Started a life-long love affair with racing.
1953: Flemington, N.J. Saw first fatal accident. Some guy named Economaki was listed as the announcer.
1954: A week after Indy, got Jimmy Bryan’s autograph after a midget race at Reading. This Economaki guy again as announcer.
1964: On the track at Ascot as an owner/driver with some of my former heroes, including the 1952 URA champ, Billy Cantrell.
Fast forward to June 2008: Leaving a track where I watched some child racer block or turn into Levi Jones to win a race, and then, on local TV, heard the winner state that is “how I was told to drive,” or similar words. I decided my career as a race fan was over. I had grown tired of dust-bowl tracks where kids drive open-wheel cars like street stocks while daddy pays the bills.
August, 2008: On the way to Indiana midget week and wondering why. Answer? Dave Darland. To watch him run hard and clean is why we go. Then, to boot, he is such a laid-back gentleman off the track. Then, we read he is no longer in the No. 9 and rumor is the No. 9 cars are now buy-a-rides.
USAC needs to wake up and recognize that there is a difference between talent and character. Dave Darland has both. Men like him are why we go to races.
USAC needs to promote itself as a destination instead of a route to taxicab country. Then learn that less is more, so the morning after the race, people discuss how great it was instead of how late the races were.
John Henderson
Dingman’s Ferry, Pa.

Don’t Blame Bowyer

I have read that some fans are upset at Clint Bowyer for saying that Michael Waltrip is the worst driver on the track.
Why get mad at Clint for telling the truth? Mikey couldn’t drive a duck to water, even if he was sponsored by Aflac.
Debbie Jones
Mt. Ida, Ark.