Random thoughts, observations and questions surround what is racing’s biggest weekend of the year.
From Monaco to Indianapolis and Charlotte, racing buffs had a smorgasbord of action to select from.
Racing couldn’t have a better ambassador than newly crowned Indianapolis 500 victor Dario Franchitti, a class act both on and off the track, win or lose.
What would a Memorial Day weekend be without a Mears in victory lane? It may not have been at Indy but one would be hard-pressed to find a more elated winner than Casey Mears at Charlotte.
While viewing the closing laps of the Monaco Grand Prix one still marvels at the prospects of Formula One being a fixture on the area racing scene. Bernie’s boys will be here in just three weeks.
Can than there be any more loyal, patient and forgiving fans in all of sports than those in racing? The marathon affairs at Indianapolis and Mansfield, Ohio, tend to bear this out.
Hopefully the F-1 contingent can provide a better start than Sunday’s 500. What ever happened to the trademark three abreast start at the Speedway?
Diehard sprint and midget fans still have a difficult task accepting the fact that the biggest open-wheel show of the year doesn’t have the likes of a Steve Kinser, Dave Steele, Mike Bliss, Brian Tyler or Eric Gordon in the starting lineup.
Sadly, only two drivers in Sunday’s starting field at Indy, John Andretti and Ed Carpenter, have ever turned a competitive lap at the Action Track. So much for the road to Indy.
Even all the hype surrounding Indy can’t erase the fallout of the debacle of the Hulman Classic run a week earlier.
The future of racing and under present management continues to be a hot topic in racing circles. Rumors are running rampant the Hulman Classic would be the one and only race of the year at Wabash Valley Fairgrounds this summer.
The track’s new Director of Competition, Tim Wolfe, says that’s not the case at all. In fact he’s hard at work trying to find a makeup date for the UMP modifieds, who lost a feature at the Hulman Classic when the show was halted because of curfew.
The purse was divided equally among those slated to run the modified feature. The makeup race, if one can be arranged, would help drivers get valuable UMP points which they never had a chance to run for because of the cancellation.
It is now known that USAC has pulled the plug on racing at the Action Track. Their relationship soured to the point they refuse to run here or at Lincoln Park. This means two Indiana Sprint Week dates lost.
In talking with USAC President Rollie Helmling earlier this week, he said the organization is working with adjustments to the Sprint Week schedule.
Joe Buckles can be reached at jbuckles@verizon.net.
Auto Racing
Trackside: Racing couldn’t have a better ambassador than Franchitti
- Auto Racing
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Kanaan can: Tony Kanaan finally wins Indy 500, ends heartbreak
Tony Kanaan had been so close so many times in the Indianapolis 500 until Sunday. Now he’s a winner.
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Crowd, competitors erupt in celebration for Brazilian driver
Tony Kanaan has always been philosophical about his not winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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Rookies fare well in 97th running of the Indy 500
Rookies did real well in the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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Top guns, again
For the sixth time in his Indy career Friday, three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves won the Pit Stop Challenge on Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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Looking for Indy breakthrough, Kanaan enjoying role as team mentor
Ask any IZOD IndyCar series champion and he’d say he would gladly give up that championship to win one Indianapolis 500.
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TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
In its rich 43-year history, the Tony Hulman Sprint Car Classic has long carried on a strong local racing tradition.
From its early beginnings starting in 1971, the U.S. Auto Club-sanctioned event has been the annual centerpiece of the racing calendar at the Terre Haute Action Track as well as a key stop on the USAC sprint schedule and one of the most sought after wins in big league sprint-car racing. -
Carpenter arrives as Indy 500 threat
And the crowd went wild.
Not only did Ed Carpenter win the pole for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500, he is the hometown son. Carpenter, the stepson of Tony George, completed his rookie orientation in 2004 and has spent the last several years, proving he deserved to be the IZOD IndyCar Series. There is no questioning his credentials now. -
Carpenter wins Indy 500 pole
Ed Carpenter is on the pole for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The native of Marshall, Ill., earned the No. 1 spot for the May 26 race with a strong run in the Fast Nine competition at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday. He is the first American driver on the pole since 2006. -
TRACKSIDE: Rain still a pain for Wabash Valley racing organizers
Soggy weather conditions, which have rightfully drawn the ire of Wabash Valley race fans and crews in recent days, continue to plague promoters where it hurts the most — their pocketbooks.
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TRACKSIDE: Tough to rise from sprint-car racing, especially in challenging financial times
Open-wheel sprint-car racing, whether it be at the national or local level, has earned a reputation over the years of generating its share of thrills and excitement for its fans and a valuable training ground for drivers seeking to hone their skills that someday might elevate them to the “major leagues” of their sport.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose baseball wins another thriller
Rose-Hulman earned its third victory in its last at-bat in the last five days with a 6-5 win over Franklin in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball Tuesday night at Art Nehf Field.
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East gets jump at SUMAR Classic
In his relatively brief but successful racing career, young Bobby East has at times unfairly been labeled as a driver who could master the pavement ovals but one who was still a work in progress on the dirt.
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Hurtubise, Sumar races on Action Track slate this weekend
Championship racing is scheduled this weekend at the Terre Haute Action Track with U.S. Auto Club features set for today and Saturday.
One USAC championship will be decided and the spread in the other division could widen or tighten up as a result of the races.
The Jim Hurtubise Classic for sprint cars is today. Only 26 points separate three drivers in the point totals. -
TRACKSIDE: Chase Stockon hopes momentum stays with him in Terre Haute
Momentum, an element that can be as elusive to a race driver as that perfect setup, can spell the difference in winning or running at the rear of the pack.
It’s a force difficult to achieve and maybe even harder to maintain. One learns quickly to make the most of the opportunity when it comes his way.
It’s something Chase Stockon will carry with him coming into today’s Jim Hurtubise Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Only days following the biggest victory of his young and promising career, the $10,000-to-win USAC feature at Lawrenceburg, Stockon followed that up with another rich payday this past weekend at Tri-State Speedway. -
IndyCar celebrates return to Pocono
IndyCar driver Ed Carpenter had the chance to take a drive around Pocono Raceway, and promptly handed the car keys to racing great Mario Andretti.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rain forces postponement of Jim Hurtubise Classic
Rain and the chance of inclement weather forced postponement of the Jim Hurtubise Classic scheduled for Saturday evening at the Terre Haute Action Track.
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METRO ROUNDUP: USAC points leader Levi Jones out for season
Levi Jones, the five-time and reigning United States Auto Club (USAC) National Sprint Car champion, will undergo season-ending surgery on Tuesday to repair two herniated discs in his neck. While a full recovery is expected, the 12-week rehabilitation period will not allow for Jones to finish out the 2012 season, where he has competed in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car and TRAXXAS Silver Crown divisions for Tony Stewart Racing (TSR).
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TRACKSIDE: Stockon takes giant step forward in USAC
One of the more impressive and welcomed storylines of the recently completed Indiana Sprint Week was the emergence of area driver Chase Stockon on the national sprint car scene.
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JJ joins hero Mears among four-time winners of Brickyard
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Jimmie Johnson is a master at the Brickyard.
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Hamlin wins Brickyard 400 pole position
Denny Hamlin captured his first ever pole for the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
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Keselowski gives Penske first stock-car win at IMS
Brad Keselowski made history Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he took the checkered flag at the inaugural Indy 250 NASCAR Nationwide race.
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Bordais, Popow take checkered flag after downpour
While it never rained a drop during the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Super Weekend at the Brickyard certainly saw its share Friday as both the inaugural Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the Rolex Sports Car Series met with the wet stuff.
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TRACKSIDE: Indiana Sprint Week rises above heat, rain, poor economy
The 25th annual version of Indiana Sprint Week is now officially in the record books and the latest chapter will go down as one of the most successful in recent years.
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Red-hot Hunter-Reay goes for fourth straight at Edmonton
Ryan Hunter-Reay goes for his fourth straight victory Sunday in IZOD IndyCar Series action in Canada.
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Clayton wins at Don Smith Classic
They call Daron Clayton, “The Modern Day Cowboy.”
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The King of Speed
Born in Terre Haute, Roger Curtis grew up on Franklin Street, moved to Riley with his family when he was in sixth grade and attended Thornton Elementary School and Honey Creek Junior High before graduating from Terre Haute South High School in 1985.
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Jones occupies driver’s seat: Six-time THAT winner leads Sprint Week series
When you think of USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week, thoughts of Levi Jones shouldn’t be far behind.
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TRACKSIDE: Late models may have no long-term future in Indiana
Reflecting on what was billed as the biggest week of the summer for dirt-track stock-car racing … while preparing to shift gears for the busiest week of the year for non-wing sprint-car racing in the Wabash Valley.
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Kenny Wallace realizes Action Track dream
Kenny Wallace won the UMP modified feature, leading flag-to-flag for the victory on Thursday night at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Wallace, a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver from 1990-2008, couldn’t have more thrilled to become part of a racing revival at the venerable dirt oval. -
TRACKSIDE: Summer heat has made this ‘The Hell Tour’
It is fittingly billed as “The Hell Tour” for many of the Midwest’s leading late model stock car drivers and their crews.
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