Re: Back from USPG

Thomas JS Brown wrote:

Quoted text (8 lines)

> > > > All in all an awesome experience and I can hang with Tony > > George (because of what he did for F1). > > I still can't stand the guy, and when he talks I get the impression he's > not all there...Just goes to show you that you don't need to be > intelligent to be wealthy.

I think, he does pretty well in English. You do know, it's his second language, don't you? Duh! BTW, I'd like to see you talk after an F1 race (argh, cough, hurl)... And calling someone not intelligent after a couple of short interviews is quite stupid, IMO. -- l8er ronny Your mouse has moved. Windows must be restarted for the change to take effect. Reboot now? |\ _,,,---,,_ I want to die like my Grandfather, ZZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ in his sleep. |,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' Not like the people in his car, '---''(_/--' `-'\_) screaming their heads off!

Greg, You should have looked me up in the phone book and called while you were in town! As for Tony George and your perception that he hates road courses and foreign drivers, I'm afraid you're a victim of misconceptions -- TG wanted to preserve the purity of INDY-style racing and the Indy 500 itself, which is based on ovals and American drivers, and THAT is why he wanted to create the IRL with it's all-oval focus. There's no hatred of road courses in his history -- I believe he raced Formula Fords on both ovals AND road courses when he was younger (not absolutely positive on that fact, though). And foreign drivers have been a part of Indy's history since the very beginning, in 1911 (I believe there was a Peugeot and a Mercedes in the field them, but I'm not positive). Since the time Tony George took the reigns at the Speedway, he has had his eye on bringing F1 to Indy -- original plans for a road course were drawn up in the early 1990s while the track was undergoing improvements and infrastructure changes; the golf course was planned AROUND eventual plans for the road course, I believe. TG brought NASCAR to Indy in 1994 because the time was right given the atmosphere and popularity of NASCAR, but he REALLY wanted to do the road course then for F1. I believe that cutting ties with CART (and the ultimate formation of the IRL as a result) was all part of the Speedway's long-term plan to bring F1 to Indy. The animosity between Bernie and CART is tangible, and Indy's alliance with CART could have been seen as a stumbling block, perhaps. This is speculation on my part, mind you, but I do know that F1 has been on Tony George's agenda for over a decade now -- and he made it both a reality and a success. And, given that TG is such a shrewd businessman, I would bet that if things eventually fall apart with F1 a few years down the road, there is probably already a contingency plan in place to have CART run the road course, just in case Bernie decides to take his toys and go home at some point. <G> -- JB In article <jN0A5.19000$[email hidden]>, "Greg Cisko" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted text (35 lines)

> Well while I didn't get to meet anyone from RAS, the race itself > was awesome. I was in the PaddockPenthouse right across > from the jumbotron monitor just to the left of the podium. So > between the screen and live viewing it was a pretty good time. > > While the view was great (combined with the screen) the > facilities need a little to be desired. Namely no doors on > any of the johns. The poncho's do come in handy there. > Also the Paddock vending areas were constantly out of hot > food and drink. > > Man o man are those cars loud! I did some of the laps without > earplugs. But in general you do need them. I am also thinking > about getting a scanner to get the live TV feed next year. Where > do you get the frequencies from? > > All in all an awesome experience and I can hang with Tony > George (because of what he did for F1). IMHO he made the > in roads into F1 because of the total failure of the IRL. Indy > is once again the premier track. What I find amazing though is > TG's hatred of road racing being put on the back burner for > F1. One of the reasons for the IRL was his disgust for road > courses and foreign drivers. So he started the IRL and > essentially kicked CART out of Indy. Weird... > > Also Schumacher said he would never run at the Indy 500 > because it is too dangerous mainly because they don't have > any run off areas. What, the concrete walls aren't good > enough? What a puss :-) > > -- > > [email hidden] > >

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

The previous poster was talking about Tony George being not so intelligent. I think you thought that he was talking about Michael Schumacher. Kyle "Ronald Stoehr" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted text (16 lines)

> Thomas JS Brown wrote: > > > > > > > All in all an awesome experience and I can hang with Tony > > > George (because of what he did for F1). > > > > I still can't stand the guy, and when he talks I get the impression he's > > not all there...Just goes to show you that you don't need to be > > intelligent to be wealthy. > > I think, he does pretty well in English. You do know, it's his > second language, don't you? Duh! BTW, I'd like to see you talk > after an F1 race (argh, cough, hurl)... > > And calling someone not intelligent after a couple of short interviews > is quite stupid, IMO.

Well while I didn't get to meet anyone from RAS, the race itself was awesome. I was in the PaddockPenthouse right across from the jumbotron monitor just to the left of the podium. So between the screen and live viewing it was a pretty good time. While the view was great (combined with the screen) the facilities need a little to be desired. Namely no doors on any of the johns. The poncho's do come in handy there. Also the Paddock vending areas were constantly out of hot food and drink. Man o man are those cars loud! I did some of the laps without earplugs. But in general you do need them. I am also thinking about getting a scanner to get the live TV feed next year. Where do you get the frequencies from? All in all an awesome experience and I can hang with Tony George (because of what he did for F1). IMHO he made the in roads into F1 because of the total failure of the IRL. Indy is once again the premier track. What I find amazing though is TG's hatred of road racing being put on the back burner for F1. One of the reasons for the IRL was his disgust for road courses and foreign drivers. So he started the IRL and essentially kicked CART out of Indy. Weird... Also Schumacher said he would never run at the Indy 500 because it is too dangerous mainly because they don't have any run off areas. What, the concrete walls aren't good enough? What a puss :-) -- [email hidden]

> All in all an awesome experience and I can hang with Tony > George (because of what he did for F1). I still can't stand the guy, and when he talks I get the impression he's not all there...Just goes to show you that you don't need to be intelligent to be wealthy. Did you get a chance to see the classic F1s up close?? My brother, father and a friend of mine were lucky enough to walk up and see them just moments before they started them up and took them out on the track. Those old Cosworths are the most wonderful sounding thing, as are the Ferrari engines. Among some of the classics there were: 67 Brabham 67 Eagle 67 Ferrari 69 Ferrari 68 Lotus The Ferrari that N. Lauda almost died in One of Gilles Villeneuve's Ferraris F. Cevert's Tyrrel Geez a whole bunch of 'em...must've been 25 or 30 of them... My brother had a sony video camera with him and got footage of it, I'll upload it to the net here in a week or so when he gets a chance to give me a copy. TJ

Comments from another there... I had tix on the "short chute", ie between traditional turns 1 and 2. Not the best, but we did have a big screen right in front. I think I know the best seats to have, but I'll keep that quiet until I get them for next year :-) Actually, no secret, given it was the single full section on Saturday (gen adm allowed you sit anywhere in the stands, nice job!). We did walk around a lot on that Saturday, getting many different views. Yes, it is amazingly LOUD, but I was able to get by without earplugs *except* on the main straight. There, the sound reverbed off all the stands. I'd been to one F1 race before (Mtl, '98), so I was prepared for it, and was looking forward to again hearing what to me is the best sound in the world, an F1 car at 17000+ rpm. The Porsches sounded pretty rough, the Ferraris a nicer shriek (IMHO). If I heard it on the street, I'd think it was amazing. But after the F1 cars, it sounded tame. I barely got to see the historic cars, both in the tent and on the track. Too bad given the GPL connection. I was hoping to give them more time on Sunday, but the rain prevented them from lapping. There were a few contemporary cars on display (Arrows, McLaren) as well as the Mercedes SLR (~$500K), the new M3 (can it be mine?) and Z8. Skip Barber had a booth and you could sit in one of their open wheel cars. The race itself was pretty good. Rain, or the threat thereof, always makes it more of a race. Too bad it was essentially over when Mika's engine gave out. But there was at least a good amount of action (and passing!) amongst the cars mid-pack and in the lower points-paying positions. The long oval stretch paid off. I wonder what the drivers think of it in retrospect. As to Indy as an icon, I now have a bit more feel for it than before. I went with two regulars who have been going for 15+ years (one's mom has been there for 35 or so!). A lot of these people live, eat, and breathe Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's almost a religion, with all that entails. You and I might not agree with it, or fully understand it, but it is best (and safest :-)) to respect it. IMS put on a good show. Well run, crowd was well behaved. I think it'll do well in the future.

Hi Greg, Enjoyed yer post. BTW - wot does it feel like to be a part of F1 history.? Heckuva crowd....well done that man. The sight of Schumacher right under Coulthard's McLaren coming round that banked bend onto the front straight was just so so......well, fer once words fail me. As fer Mika duelling with that Minardi...snorted beer through me nose at that one.!! Can just imagine what Mr Dennis was thinking as that was going on.. "Eh....?" Great stuff....great USGP. Ian. ps: ITV suck..long live RTL - loved the mini screen in top left corner during ad breaks...neat.!! "Greg Cisko" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:jN0A5.19000$[email hidden]...

Quoted text (37 lines)

> Well while I didn't get to meet anyone from RAS, the race itself > was awesome. I was in the PaddockPenthouse right across > from the jumbotron monitor just to the left of the podium. So > between the screen and live viewing it was a pretty good time. > > While the view was great (combined with the screen) the > facilities need a little to be desired. Namely no doors on > any of the johns. The poncho's do come in handy there. > Also the Paddock vending areas were constantly out of hot > food and drink. > > Man o man are those cars loud! I did some of the laps without > earplugs. But in general you do need them. I am also thinking > about getting a scanner to get the live TV feed next year. Where > do you get the frequencies from? > > All in all an awesome experience and I can hang with Tony > George (because of what he did for F1). IMHO he made the > in roads into F1 because of the total failure of the IRL. Indy > is once again the premier track. What I find amazing though is > TG's hatred of road racing being put on the back burner for > F1. One of the reasons for the IRL was his disgust for road > courses and foreign drivers. So he started the IRL and > essentially kicked CART out of Indy. Weird... > > Also Schumacher said he would never run at the Indy 500 > because it is too dangerous mainly because they don't have > any run off areas. What, the concrete walls aren't good > enough? What a puss :-) > > -- > > [email hidden] > > > >

Quoted text (7 lines)

> I think, he does pretty well in English. You do know, it's his > second language, don't you? Duh! BTW, I'd like to see you talk > after an F1 race (argh, cough, hurl)... > > And calling someone not intelligent after a couple of short interviews > is quite stupid, IMO. >

Well, you're assuming that I've only seen a couple short interviews, but you're wrong. I've seen him talk on numerous occasions and he always seems dull witted. You are of course welcome to disagree... OTOH....he did get a F1 race but that has a lot more to do with financial resources than smarts TJ

Yes I think you're right, I was talking about Tony George (a person for whom I have little respect), not M. Shumacher (a person for whom I have great respect) TJ Kyle Roberts wrote:

Quoted text (24 lines)

> > The previous poster was talking about Tony George being not so intelligent. > I think you thought that he was talking about Michael Schumacher. > > Kyle > > "Ronald Stoehr" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > Thomas JS Brown wrote: > > > > > > > > > > All in all an awesome experience and I can hang with Tony > > > > George (because of what he did for F1). > > > > > > I still can't stand the guy, and when he talks I get the impression he's > > > not all there...Just goes to show you that you don't need to be > > > intelligent to be wealthy. > > > > I think, he does pretty well in English. You do know, it's his > > second language, don't you? Duh! BTW, I'd like to see you talk > > after an F1 race (argh, cough, hurl)... > > > > And calling someone not intelligent after a couple of short interviews > > is quite stupid, IMO.

Hi, I saw them just as they were running back from the sat. parade. It was awesome, because they were hitting full throttle right behind me. There were a lot of early 70's cars, mainly lower place teams, but it was still very cool to seem them. Got lots of pictures of the Lotus 49B (which seemed to be in C spec, not B) and the Lotus 77 and 79. When the pictures come out, if any of them are good, I'll try and put them on the net (took 9 rolls of film though, got Villneves spin (twice) and schumacher's spin late in the race.) -Stuart Becktell "Thomas JS Brown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted text (31 lines)

> > > All in all an awesome experience and I can hang with Tony > > George (because of what he did for F1). > > I still can't stand the guy, and when he talks I get the impression he's > not all there...Just goes to show you that you don't need to be > intelligent to be wealthy. > > Did you get a chance to see the classic F1s up close?? My brother, > father and a friend of mine were lucky enough to walk up and see them > just moments before they started them up and took them out on the track. > Those old Cosworths are the most wonderful sounding thing, as are the > Ferrari engines. > > Among some of the classics there were: > > 67 Brabham > 67 Eagle > 67 Ferrari > 69 Ferrari > 68 Lotus > The Ferrari that N. Lauda almost died in > One of Gilles Villeneuve's Ferraris > F. Cevert's Tyrrel > Geez a whole bunch of 'em...must've been 25 or 30 of them... > > My brother had a sony video camera with him and got footage of it, I'll > upload it to the net here in a week or so when he gets a chance to give > me a copy. > > TJ

Hi, I thought the race was great, I was in turns 8,9 and 10. And got some great pictures of the action. The only problem was that the rain fell for an hour, and I didn't have a poncho :( Another problem was people on golf carts, half of them were running at full clip in a crowd of 5000, but I now have stories of almost getting run over by Derek Bell and Ron Dennis, so I guess that that was okay. Did anyone else walk behind the pits to get to gen admission in Turns 8,9,10 or turn 4? There was this ass "directing" traffic with a whissle on Friday and Saturday, blowing the whissle every second, and not making any friends at all. The TV coverage did nothing to show how well turns 8,9 and 10 were. Cars were constantly getting oversteer or understeer coming out of the turns, and, other then turn 1, I think it was one of the best areas around the track. Just wondering how others liked the race? -Stuart Becktell "Greg Cisko" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:jN0A5.19000$[email hidden]...

Quoted text (37 lines)

> Well while I didn't get to meet anyone from RAS, the race itself > was awesome. I was in the PaddockPenthouse right across > from the jumbotron monitor just to the left of the podium. So > between the screen and live viewing it was a pretty good time. > > While the view was great (combined with the screen) the > facilities need a little to be desired. Namely no doors on > any of the johns. The poncho's do come in handy there. > Also the Paddock vending areas were constantly out of hot > food and drink. > > Man o man are those cars loud! I did some of the laps without > earplugs. But in general you do need them. I am also thinking > about getting a scanner to get the live TV feed next year. Where > do you get the frequencies from? > > All in all an awesome experience and I can hang with Tony > George (because of what he did for F1). IMHO he made the > in roads into F1 because of the total failure of the IRL. Indy > is once again the premier track. What I find amazing though is > TG's hatred of road racing being put on the back burner for > F1. One of the reasons for the IRL was his disgust for road > courses and foreign drivers. So he started the IRL and > essentially kicked CART out of Indy. Weird... > > Also Schumacher said he would never run at the Indy 500 > because it is too dangerous mainly because they don't have > any run off areas. What, the concrete walls aren't good > enough? What a puss :-) > > -- > > [email hidden] > > > >

Thomas JS Brown wrote: > > Yes I think you're right, I was talking about Tony George (a person for > whom I have little respect), not M. Shumacher (a person for whom I have > great respect) Ooops, my disgust for unfounded hatred against Schumi from some people made me ignore some parts of your post, I guess. Sorry... -- l8er ronny Your mouse has moved. Windows must be restarted for the change to take effect. Reboot now? |\ _,,,---,,_ I want to die like my Grandfather, ZZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ in his sleep. |,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' Not like the people in his car, '---''(_/--' `-'\_) screaming their heads off!

Unfortunately, Jesse, it takes FAR more than a couple of hours for the Speedway to do the oval-to-road course conversion (more like weeks). My seats were in the Northwest Vista (in the oval's Turn 4 section, right next to section H), and for $75 (the cheapest seat in the house), I think I actually had the BEST seats in the house (my view was very similar to yours, but I got a little better view of the first 6 turns, I think, plus I was only 7 rows from the top). -- JB In article <TKoA5.1290$[email hidden]>, "Wosco" <[email hidden]> wrote: > Now is this winner takes all Indy 500 on the Road Course so we cansee who > the best driver is? Or if they really want to run the oval, maybemake it > half and half...run 250 on oval, then have an hour break to changesetups > and then go out and run the road course for the last 250 miles. > > Jesse Black > > PS I was in section J at Indy...the is the last curved grandstand inIndy > turn 4...basically right across from F1 turn 3. Got to see a head onshot > as they came down the front straight and could see them until theygot to > the back straight. Very nice seats...especially with the jumbotronahead of > me when they went to the back side of the track. > > <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:8qs1pl$6pl$[email hidden]... > > CART really does need some focus -- they advertise a mixed packageat > > the moment that just doesn't go together well. Fans who love CARTon > > ovals are perplexed by the F1-type strategy (and lack of oval"action") > > that CART delivers on road and street course, and fans who love the > > road and street courses become bored with the percieved monotony of > > oval racing on those venues. CART really needs some identity, andit > > would be nice to see the IRL and CART eventually cooperate to putforth > > a unified open-wheel program with common engine and chassis rules.Let > > the IRL run the ovals (the "American League" of the "Indycar" > > organization), and CART run the road and street courses (the"National > > League" of the "Indycar" organization). You have one race per year > > that overlaps BOTH series -- Indy, of course -- and let the best 33 > > cars/drivers qualify with no restrictions. You crown an oval champfor > > the year, a road/street champ for the year, and by allowing for > > crossover between both "leagues" via the combined Indy 500 event,you > > also crown an overall series champion. This way CART and the IRLboth > > win (both survive and prosper through cross-promotion and a healthy > > utilization of the existing rivalry), and so will the fans (moreracing > > overall with more solid teams and series). > > > > It could work. I just hope someone's listening before CARTimplodes.

Quoted text (16 lines)

> > Rahal's departure doesn't bode well, I fear. > > > > -- JB > > > > P.S. Yeah, I know -- "post this stuff on the r.a.s.i. forum . . . " > > > > :-P > > > > > > In article <6teA5.20066$[email hidden]>, > > "Greg Cisko" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > > <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8qqvu8$c74 > > $[email hidden]... > > > > Greg, > > > > > > > > You should have looked me up in the phone book and called while

you > > > > were in town! > > > > > > Well there is next year. > > > > > > > NASCAR, but he REALLY wanted to do the road course then forF1. I > > > > believe that cutting ties with CART (and the ultimate formationof > > the > > > > IRL as a result) was all part of the Speedway's long-term planto > > bring > > > > F1 to Indy. The animosity between Bernie and CART is tangible,and > > > > > > If that indeed is the case, then I take back every bad thing Isaid > > > about TG :-) I guess what it boils down to is I like F1 way more > > > than CART or IRL. CART does indeed seem focused on becoming > > > a F1 wanna be series with all of their world wide oval racing and > > > road courses in canada and australia. > > > > > > > Indy's alliance with CART could have been seen as a stumblingblock, > > > > perhaps. This is speculation on my part, mind you, but I doknow > > that > > > > F1 has been on Tony George's agenda for over a decade now --and he

Quoted text (15 lines)

> > > > made it both a reality and a success. > > > > > > Actually makes sense. I'll bet you are more right than wrong. > > > > > > -- > > > > > > [email hidden] > > > > > > > > > > > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > > Before you buy. > >

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8qqvu8$c74$[email hidden]... > Greg, > > You should have looked me up in the phone book and called while you > were in town! Well there is next year. > NASCAR, but he REALLY wanted to do the road course then for F1. I > believe that cutting ties with CART (and the ultimate formation of the > IRL as a result) was all part of the Speedway's long-term plan to bring > F1 to Indy. The animosity between Bernie and CART is tangible, and If that indeed is the case, then I take back every bad thing I said about TG :-) I guess what it boils down to is I like F1 way more than CART or IRL. CART does indeed seem focused on becoming a F1 wanna be series with all of their world wide oval racing and road courses in canada and australia. > Indy's alliance with CART could have been seen as a stumbling block, > perhaps. This is speculation on my part, mind you, but I do know that > F1 has been on Tony George's agenda for over a decade now -- and he > made it both a reality and a success. Actually makes sense. I'll bet you are more right than wrong. -- [email hidden]

CART really does need some focus -- they advertise a mixed package at the moment that just doesn't go together well. Fans who love CART on ovals are perplexed by the F1-type strategy (and lack of oval "action") that CART delivers on road and street course, and fans who love the road and street courses become bored with the percieved monotony of oval racing on those venues. CART really needs some identity, and it would be nice to see the IRL and CART eventually cooperate to put forth a unified open-wheel program with common engine and chassis rules. Let the IRL run the ovals (the "American League" of the "Indycar" organization), and CART run the road and street courses (the "National League" of the "Indycar" organization). You have one race per year that overlaps BOTH series -- Indy, of course -- and let the best 33 cars/drivers qualify with no restrictions. You crown an oval champ for the year, a road/street champ for the year, and by allowing for crossover between both "leagues" via the combined Indy 500 event, you also crown an overall series champion. This way CART and the IRL both win (both survive and prosper through cross-promotion and a healthy utilization of the existing rivalry), and so will the fans (more racing overall with more solid teams and series). It could work. I just hope someone's listening before CART implodes. Rahal's departure doesn't bode well, I fear. -- JB P.S. Yeah, I know -- "post this stuff on the r.a.s.i. forum . . . " :-P In article <6teA5.20066$[email hidden]>, "Greg Cisko" <[email hidden]> wrote: > <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8qqvu8$c74$[email hidden]...

Quoted text (9 lines)

> > Greg, > > > > You should have looked me up in the phone book and called while you > > were in town! > > Well there is next year. > > > NASCAR, but he REALLY wanted to do the road course then for F1. I > > believe that cutting ties with CART (and the ultimate formation of

the > > IRL as a result) was all part of the Speedway's long-term plan tobring

Quoted text (10 lines)

> > F1 to Indy. The animosity between Bernie and CART is tangible, and > > If that indeed is the case, then I take back every bad thing I said > about TG :-) I guess what it boils down to is I like F1 way more > than CART or IRL. CART does indeed seem focused on becoming > a F1 wanna be series with all of their world wide oval racing and > road courses in canada and australia. > > > Indy's alliance with CART could have been seen as a stumbling block, > > perhaps. This is speculation on my part, mind you, but I do know

that

Quoted text (10 lines)

> > F1 has been on Tony George's agenda for over a decade now -- and he > > made it both a reality and a success. > > Actually makes sense. I'll bet you are more right than wrong. > > -- > > [email hidden] > >

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Now is this winner takes all Indy 500 on the Road Course so we can see who the best driver is? Or if they really want to run the oval, maybe make it half and half...run 250 on oval, then have an hour break to change setups and then go out and run the road course for the last 250 miles. Jesse Black PS I was in section J at Indy...the is the last curved grandstand in Indy turn 4...basically right across from F1 turn 3. Got to see a head on shot as they came down the front straight and could see them until they got to the back straight. Very nice seats...especially with the jumbotron ahead of me when they went to the back side of the track. <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8qs1pl$6pl$[email hidden]...

Quoted text (71 lines)

> CART really does need some focus -- they advertise a mixed package at > the moment that just doesn't go together well. Fans who love CART on > ovals are perplexed by the F1-type strategy (and lack of oval "action") > that CART delivers on road and street course, and fans who love the > road and street courses become bored with the percieved monotony of > oval racing on those venues. CART really needs some identity, and it > would be nice to see the IRL and CART eventually cooperate to put forth > a unified open-wheel program with common engine and chassis rules. Let > the IRL run the ovals (the "American League" of the "Indycar" > organization), and CART run the road and street courses (the "National > League" of the "Indycar" organization). You have one race per year > that overlaps BOTH series -- Indy, of course -- and let the best 33 > cars/drivers qualify with no restrictions. You crown an oval champ for > the year, a road/street champ for the year, and by allowing for > crossover between both "leagues" via the combined Indy 500 event, you > also crown an overall series champion. This way CART and the IRL both > win (both survive and prosper through cross-promotion and a healthy > utilization of the existing rivalry), and so will the fans (more racing > overall with more solid teams and series). > > It could work. I just hope someone's listening before CART implodes. > Rahal's departure doesn't bode well, I fear. > > -- JB > > P.S. Yeah, I know -- "post this stuff on the r.a.s.i. forum . . . " > > :-P > > > In article <6teA5.20066$[email hidden]>, > "Greg Cisko" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8qqvu8$c74 > $[email hidden]... > > > Greg, > > > > > > You should have looked me up in the phone book and called while you > > > were in town! > > > > Well there is next year. > > > > > NASCAR, but he REALLY wanted to do the road course then for F1. I > > > believe that cutting ties with CART (and the ultimate formation of > the > > > IRL as a result) was all part of the Speedway's long-term plan to > bring > > > F1 to Indy. The animosity between Bernie and CART is tangible, and > > > > If that indeed is the case, then I take back every bad thing I said > > about TG :-) I guess what it boils down to is I like F1 way more > > than CART or IRL. CART does indeed seem focused on becoming > > a F1 wanna be series with all of their world wide oval racing and > > road courses in canada and australia. > > > > > Indy's alliance with CART could have been seen as a stumbling block, > > > perhaps. This is speculation on my part, mind you, but I do know > that > > > F1 has been on Tony George's agenda for over a decade now -- and he > > > made it both a reality and a success. > > > > Actually makes sense. I'll bet you are more right than wrong. > > > > -- > > > > [email hidden] > > > > > > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > Before you buy.

> I also attended the U.S. Grand Prix, and man, what a great time it was ("The crack was mighty", as my Irish friends informed me). Five of us drove out from Colorado in a motor home (three avid American Ferrari/Schumacher fans, and a couple from Ireland who were strongly anti-Schumy). Good natured ribbing throughout the weekend, but we all know who got the last laugh. We arrived on Thursday afternoon, parked our motor home, and went exploring. The track was closed, including the museum, so we stopped off at the Brickyard Crossing hotel / golf course. Saw a bunch of Prost mechanics and Eddie Cheever. We then decided to hoof it to Stefan Johannsen's Kart Center - not realizing that it was a 6 mile walk! After an eternity, we arrived to find that it was closed for a private F1 related party. My Irish friend, Fergus, spotted someone he knew from Dublin (small world), so we just crashed the party. I grabbed a Foster's (one of the sponsors) and pretended that I belonged. Frentzen and Fisichella were there. We eventually were given the boot. Wisely, we chose to catch a cab back to our base camp. The next morning we headed out to the track. We first went to our assigned seats for Sunday and found that they really sucked, in spite of having sent for them on October 1, 1999, the first day allowed. We were in a stand between the pits and turn one, which looked like a decent spot on the map, but actually was quite poor. Couldn't see the pits, and we were too far from turn one to really see any action. To make it worse, we were in the fourth row! As the cars hugged the wall near us, you could barely see the top of the drivers' helmets. We then went to the infield paddock area, and noticed a throng of people greeting the drivers as they got to the track. We decided to play F1 groupies, and hung out there for a while. We saw many of the drivers pull up - Barrichello, Hakkinen, Coulthard, Panis, Button, Fisichella, Wurtz, Villeneuve, Diniz, Irvine. We also saw some CART guys - Max Papis and Roberto Moreno, plus Eddie Cheever again, Tony George and Murray Walker. The biggest thrill though was when Jackie Stewart walked by - I wished I had a pen to get his autograph. It was then approaching time for the first F1 practice. We headed for the stands at Turn 1. The place was pretty full for practice day - maybe 75,000 people or more. It was really exciting when the cars, led by Frentzen, hit the track - the crowd went nuts. A truly historic moment. The most impressive thing about seeing the cars in person was their incredible braking power - braking from over 200 m.p.h. down to about 70 in just over 100 meters! The sound was pretty impressive too. You could actually tell many of the cars apart, despite them all having 10 cylinder engines, by their sound. The Benettons had very loud, explosive backfire as they braked for the turn. The McLarens emitted a high pitched squeal, etc. The place was full of fellow Ferrari fans. Jacques had a strong following as well. Lots of flags from around the world. After the first practice, I headed off to gasoline alley to try and meet a friend from a GPL league (Bruce Boembeke - Bo Bruce). We never did find each other, but I did run into two friends from my office who had just arrived after a 17 hour drive! We then hurried back to turn one for the second session (and saw Jean Todt by the paddock entrance). After the practice, we headed off to the museum. Some great stuff on display - tons of cars from the Indy 500 (including a Jim Clark Lotus, Parnelli Jones STP turbine mobile, etc.), plus lots of other famous race cars (a Ford GT40 driven by Bruce McLaren, a Fangio 50's Mercedes F1 car with closed wheels, etc.). I then spent some dough in the museum gift shop - a commemorative T-shirt, plus some souvenirs for the family who didn't make the trip. Back to our seats for the Porsche qualifying (Mario Andretti and Al Unser, Jr. were in the race, but finished WAY down the field). After that was the historic car parade. I loved seeing these great cars - 1967 Brabham, Ferrari and Eagle, right out of GPL, a winged Lotus 49B, Francois Cevert's Tyrrell, a Ferrari driven by Gilles Villeneuve, an orange McLaren driven by Dennis Hulme, and much, much more! Very cool. After that was a Ferrari Challenge practice (355's and 360's). Following this we went back to the infield and checked out all the souvenir stands - there were ones dedicated to Ferrari, Jordan, McLaren, Arrows, Williams, as well as the official Indy merchandise. Picked up a couple of Ferrari F12000 Hot Wheels cars (one for me and one for my 8 year old son), plus a hat and another official shirt. We also ran across the place where all the historic cars were parked. Got to see most of them up close (a few were covered for the night). We then headed outside the track where there were many unofficial souvenir booths selling all kinds of cool stuff. I bought a Jim Clark T-shirt and a Lotus 49 die cast (1/18th scale, 1967 Clark at Silverstone - only $25.00!). I felt like a wealthy woman on Rodeo drive, arms laden with shopping bags. Back at our motor home, we met the guys next door (Canadians down from Ontario). They were watching the video tape they had shot at the track during the day. These guys had actually walked down the pit lane after the security had left and had taken close up shots of the cars - including a zoomed in shot of the Ferrari diffuser!!! They even recorded a conversation they had with Adrian Newey. The next day was incredibly humid. It was warm, but felt like it was on the verge of raining at any minute. We again went to turn 1 to watch practice and qualifying. It was fun seeing the cars towing each other down the straight. Three of us were stoked to see Schumacher on pole - the other two were not. We then checked out various other places to sit in general admission. There were some pretty good views from the mounds around turn 8. But no Jumbotron, so we thought it might be tough to tell what was going on in the race. Race day was incredibly cold and very damp. I never heard the official temperature, but there was a strong wind chill. We went to our official seats, but moved back about twenty rows, hoping that the owners wouldn't show up. We were able to sit there four and a half hours (warm-up, Porsche race, drivers parade, Ferrari race, grid presentation), but at the very last minute, the folks with those tickets arrived. Who shows up at a race one minute before the start? The race was great - Schumacher's pass on Coulthard, Hakkinen reeling Schumacher back in before his engine blew, Villeneuve right on Frentzen's tail and his unsuccessful passing attempt, Schumacher's lapse of concentration, etc. And how can you beat a Ferrari 1-2 finish? Everybody but the die hard McLaren fans went home happy. It took us a while to get the motor home out of the lot, then on to the airport to drop off Michele and Fergus, followed by a long drive of 1100 miles through the night back to Colorado (where it had snowed on race day!). We arrived exhausted, but really glad we had made the trip to take part in this historic event. We've already sent away for tickets for next year. Dave Ewing -- ***************************************************** David A. Ewing Xilinx Boulder [email hidden] *****************************************************

On Thu, 28 Sep 2000 12:13:28 -0600, David Ewing <[email hidden]> wrote: >We arrived exhausted, but really glad we had made the trip to >take part in this historic event. We've already sent away for tickets >for next year. Sounds like you had a really good time. Thanks for the report! Jan

[email hidden] (David Ewing) wrote: > I also attended the U.S. Grand Prix Good report! Thanks Dave. Andrew McP

Yep ;-) MS "Bruce Kennewell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > "Craic", I think. > > -- > Regards,

"Craic", I think. -- Regards, Bruce Kennewell, Canberra, Australia. --------------------------- David Ewing <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > > > > I also attended the U.S. Grand Prix, and man, what a great time it was > ("The crack was mighty", as my Irish friends informed me).