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| 1.
Tell us about Open Wheel Times and what a “cash cow”
it has been for you
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Since
I was about 12 years old, I’d been keeping records of
sprint car races. When I turned 18, I began writing a
weekly column almost as an outlet for piles of
accumulated information. Since that time, I’ve
rationed it out in drips and drabs. One day, I thought
it made no sense to be the only guy in the sport capable
of answering obscure trivia questions. What if I made my
archives available to anyone with a computer? That led
to the Open Wheel Times, the only site for answers about
past, present and future. I felt that if I provided an
invaluable service, advertising revenue would follow. I
never want to charge a subscription. And by necessity,
anything that takes up all of a person’s time needs to
make money. As yet (with some exceptions) that has not
happened. However, I’ve made my bed and will make it
pay or die trying.
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| 2.
Any idea of how many tracks and or races you have seen?
– an “estimate” is fine |
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I’ve
seen races on 458 tracks in 43 states and
Australia
. At my zenith, I caught 192 races in 1987. I’ve
probably averaged about 100 races per year since 1974,
putting my total number of races between 2000-2500.
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| 3.
You’ve followed the sport hardcore since the ‘70’s
– what were the truly best years for the sport (3 year
window)
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Impossible
to say, but I believe 1979-1980-1981. The World of
Outlaws were new, gaining steam and still racing with
and without wings; big wings had not ruined surfaces
yet; All Stars spawned a traveling alternative;
Pennsylvania was still big blocks with little wings;
USAC still harbored a few Indy 500 hopefuls; and weekly
sprint racing was raging in big cities like Dallas and
Phoenix.
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| 4.
What is you favorite off-track racing story (that we can
print) – it does not have to “star” you |
| Having
just spent quality Chili Bowl time with Kevin Olson,
I’ll share a K.O classic. A.J Foyt had just won his
fourth Indy 500 and his car was on display at some
swanky hotel behind a velvet rope. Why Olson was there
has never been determined. Kevin’s buddy was on the
lobby phone when he heard a commotion and instantly knew
the source. K.O had crawled into A.J’s seat and was
making motor noises as he worked the wheel back and
forth. Security soon pulled him out and dragged him away
as Olson screamed, “Its okay! A.J and I are friends!
In fact, son of a bitch owes me twenty bucks!” |
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| 5.
Last spring when Eldora was having issues with the new
surface – everybody seemed to want to harken back to
“The Good Old Days of Earl’s surface Prep” – you
were one of the few, back in the day – that apparently
didn’t think Earl was a surface prep god - how were
you rewarded for you honesty? |
| With
a couple slaps in the head. Earl Baltes was a great
promoter - perhaps the greatest true promoter ever –
and an intensely proud and occasionally violent man. He
controlled the press through sheer intimidation and
because he built the single greatest arena ever, they
bowed at his feet. I of course, refused. I treated his
track like any other: good races = good reviews, bad
races = bad reviews. For this, I was banned in 1986 and
not fully reinstated until 2006 after a few ripped
shirts and bloody noses. |
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| 6.
Right now 360 racing seems strong but we all fear out of
control costs – What are your thoughts regarding both
360 & 410 racing’s future |
| The
410 class is definitely in trouble. The need to own what
The Outlaws own has pushed the class beyond the
financial range of all but a few weekly promoters. The
basic theme in all of auto racing is that teams need to
think that they have a chance to win. Now, if Steve
Kinser chose to be SOS champion, the rest of SOS would
stand little chance. But as long as 360 purses stay low
enough to draw no interest from the elite, parity has a
chance. As soon as
Little Rock
pays $15,000 to win, vacationing outlaws show up and
take it. As a historian, I wonder if the whole situation
is cyclical. If the World of Outlaws went to 360s, the
top teams would still spend ridiculous amounts, make
those motors cost-prohibitive and cause a surge in 410s
as the new working man’s motor. |
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| 7.
You’ve written about losing young drivers to the black
hole of the “NASCAR Star Maker Machine” – who are
the casualties? – and who would be the saddest story?
– both in terms of what they have missed and the sport
as well
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| Few
hear of those who left short track stardom for the south
and stumbled. In this age when
America
is dying for a winning female, Erin Crocker’s story is
a new twist. A good (not great) girl racer gets a break,
lands in bed with the boss, and now goes to the end of
the line. Stevie Reeves was a better racer than Crocker
but was nothing better than a spotter down there. Andy
Michner had a better pavement touch than Reeves, and
flamed out too. But the saddest story was Ricky Shelton,
who moved from
California
to
Indiana
(with an eye on NASCAR) and became the latest Keith Kunz
phenom until he broke his neck. While healing,
Shelton
drank and drugged his way out of a job and into jail.
That is far more tragic than Erin Crocker dating a
millionaire.
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| 8.
What is your favorite dirt track – past or present –
and why? |
| When
I was a kid, the Reading Fairgrounds was my window on
the world. As I got older and began to travel, I
realized that
Reading
was just a flat old half-mile designed for horses. What
made the place great was a surface that stayed heavier
for day races than night races are today. The opposite
of a flat half is a banked quarter, and these became my
favorites. When I saw the Riverside Speedway gumbo in
West Memphis
, it seemed the best of both worlds: small, banked,
sticky. But the more one visits a cherished place, the
greater the risk of losing its initial appeal. That is
why Tri-State Speedway in
Haubstadt
,
Indiana
has become my favorite track because no matter how many
times I visit, it almost never disappoints. |
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| 9.
What started your love affair with sprint car racing
? |
| Kenny
Weld. I was ten years old and thought enormous coupes
and coaches were our greatest gifts.
Reading
’s Lindy Vicari built Penn National in ’71. We did
not get there until ’73 because we lived in
New Jersey
. By the time we did, sprint cars were the weekly
attraction. I wanted to see the “Flyin’ Hippie”
Jan Opperman. Weld blew everyone away. And that winter,
he built the coolest modified that I had ever seen: a
red-white-and-blue Weikert Livestock Gremlin that was
too different, too streamlined and unique for my little
mind to comprehend. It won almost immediately. I
investigated this Kenny Weld and his top career
highlight was always listed as four-time Knoxville
Nationals winner. From that day, I wanted to visit
Knoxville
. That summer of ‘74, we went to see Opperman and Weld
race sprint cars at
East Windsor
. Weld won again. At the end of that season,
Reading
closed with three sprint/modified doubleheaders. Weld
won all three sprint races. He won the first five sprint
races I ever saw. But honestly, none of those races were
better than watching Brightbill, Chamberlain and Tobias
battle from nine rows deep. Not until 1975 when I saw an
awesome USAC race won by Lee Osborne over George Snider
and Joe Saldana that my wingless curiosity peaked.
Pancho Carter and Sheldon Kinser ran around my ol’
fairgrounds more sideways than I had ever seen. I was
also an autograph hound and upon reaching a USAC pit and
asking where the driver was, I was told that he was on
his way home to
Indianapolis
. It was then that I realized
Reading
was just another date to a traveling professional.
Subconsciously, I began plotting my western exodus
early.
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| 10.
You columns often allude to your love of music- who are
your favorite Canadian performers?
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| Neil
Young and Leonard Cohen are two the greatest writers
ever born. As a head-bangin’ teen, I was partial to
Triumph and April Wine. A buddy loaned the Universal
Juveniles album by Max Webster and I loved them. I’ve
been a Kim Mitchell fan since that day. There was a band
called Coney Hatch that I liked back then. I liked Moe
Berg’s power pop band called Pursuit of Happiness. As
I leaned more toward the blues, I found Jeff Healey and
Sass Jordan. But as someone who has seen Rush as many as
four times on a single tour, Neil Peart does the only
drum solo that does not send me on a piss break.
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| 11.
When are we going to see you in
Canada
? |
| Just
as soon as I can find a safe place for my stash.
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