RM's latest

[midtown]

Robin sat down with Gordon Johncock and Bobby Unser at Michigan. An interesting read.

Speed Article

[SJFast]

"That really hurt the midget and sprint guys chances to get to Indy," he said. "And I hated it because that's what made the USAC national champion so distinct and so versatile."

That is still true today.

[MichaelP]

That... was awesome. While we may villify him, I'll be the first to tip my hat to him for that piece.

[tnindyman]

One of the best memories I have of the early '60s at INDY was that, with a few exceptions, we saw all of those same guys go at it at Eldora. WOW!!! I'll never forget that and, probably, will NEVER see it happen again.

Tom Eidemiller

[Littleman]

Tom Eidemiller, said this, above: "One of the best memories I have of the early '60s at INDY was that, with a few exceptions, we saw all of those same guys go at it at Eldora. WOW!!! I'll never forget that and, probably, will NEVER see it happen again."

Tom, the same could be said when they came east to run either Trenton or Langhorne. They would run at Reading or the Grove with sprinters. Yep, sad to say, we will NEVER see it again.

[fossil]

That was a good read. It was also neat to see GJ on stage at pre race MIS dressed as casual as if he was ready to go to work. That put a smile on my face. I'm glad I'm just old enough to have seen that era of men race.

[indyrjc]

In the article Bobby Unser is quoted as follows:

"I remember the first time I went to Winchester," he says. "I'd run Pikes Peak and sprint car tracks all over the country but I'd never seen anything like that place. In my first practice session I thought I was flying and Rodger Ward went by me like I was tied to a tree. That really had me confused."

I'm confused as well. I don't ever remember Rodger Ward in a sprint car at Winchester although I guess it's possible. Could Bobby have meant Roger McCluskey instead of Ward? With a few exceptions (sports cars and stock cars included) Rodger Ward was mostly a midget and Championship Car driver. Does anyone remember Ward in a sprint car at Winchester???

[lululj]

Originally posted by indyrjc
In the article Bobby Unser is quoted as follows:

"I remember the first time I went to Winchester," he says. "I'd run Pikes Peak and sprint car tracks all over the country but I'd never seen anything like that place. In my first practice session I thought I was flying and Rodger Ward went by me like I was tied to a tree. That really had me confused."

I'm confused as well. I don't ever remember Rodger Ward in a sprint car at Winchester although I guess it's possible. Could Bobby have meant Roger McCluskey instead of Ward? With a few exceptions (sports cars and stock cars included) Rodger Ward was mostly a midget and Championship Car driver. Does anyone remember Ward in a sprint car at Winchester???

The best I can tell, Ward ran in three USAC Sprint features....one in 1957, and two in the Leader Card sprinter, in 1961. No Winchester races in 1961, and '57 was a little early for Bobby. Soooooooo.....maybe Bobby's talking about 1962, and maybe I can't find anything about Ward, because he didn't make the feature. That's the only possibility I can come up with!

[fossil]

The time frame seemed wrong to me too. Also I just happen to own a 1962 Usac yearbook. Ward has no sprint points for that year. Champ car- 1st ; Stock-8th ; road race ( short lived sports car division)- 5th ; Midget-121 st. No starts for Bobby Unser listed that year. Hope that helps. I cant say otherwise, I was only 4

[DedFlrs]

When RM is quiet, and lets the principles tell thier story, he is an enjoyable read. When he drags out the soap box, he lost me some time back.

[indyrjc]

Originally posted by lululj
The best I can tell, Ward ran in three USAC Sprint features....one in 1957, and two in the Leader Card sprinter, in 1961. No Winchester races in 1961, and '57 was a little early for Bobby. Soooooooo.....maybe Bobby's talking about 1962, and maybe I can't find anything about Ward, because he didn't make the feature. That's the only possibility I can come up with!

Thanks for the information, lululj. I believe there is something a little unique about the 2 starts in the Leader Card sprinter in 1961. This was in an A.J. Watson car with a BUICK engine instead of the normal Offy. I have no idea what the plan was but I have seen photos of this car at some point in the past. Does anyone else know more about this?

[damilt]

I saw all foru of those guys on the stage in Jackson. Walked up and saw Gordy, Booby and Johnny thought "wow!" Then I spotted Miller as the facilitator of the event and turned and walked away.

Somehow I knew i couldn't stand there and listen to Miller. Too bad too. I bet I really missed somethin'.

[Roadrage]

Originally posted by damilt
I saw all four of those guys on the stage in Jackson. Walked up and saw Gordy, Booby and Johnny thought "wow!" Then I spotted Miller as the facilitator of the event and turned and walked away.

Somehow I knew i couldn't stand there and listen to Miller. Too bad too. I bet I really missed somethin'.

Kinda makes a person wonder who made that particular arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and why.

[Railbird]

A lot of the old heroes stayed away from the "hills" and rightfully so.

When Jimmy Bryan was asked about Salem/Dayton/Winchester he replied that he didn't even drive by those places during the week.

Uncle Bobby probably had enough scotch in him to confuse Ward with Bud Tinglestad.

I would imagine the reason RM was there was because he had a lot to do with organizing the gathering.

[lkchris]

Originally posted by DedFlrs
When RM is quiet, and lets the principles tell thier story, he is an enjoyable read. When he drags out the soap box, he lost me some time back.

Kind of like "we report, you decide?"