RIP: Bobby Unser

[ChrisLong]

I just thought it was cool when one of them was running on Firestone and the other was running on Goodyear. Their mom used scissors and thread to make FIREYEAR AND GOODSTONE jackets.

 

[wicked]

The phantom cautions are the worst.

NASCAR’s overtime rule encourages more of them, because people can make dumbass moves with two to go and no matter how stupid it is, they’re ok if they don’t suffer the ramifications. The noted scholar Darrell Waltrip once said “cautions breed cautions,” and he’s correct.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Shoooooooot. None of them boys ever won at Bristol or Darlington, so they must not be too good.

I recall not too many years ago that we had such a loose sports section that I ended up running a story on Michael Schumacher and his clinical progress and status. Keep in mind this is an area where "motor sports" automatically means "NASCAR."

I could not be more certain that more than a few someones picked up that section and declared, "Schoo-MACK-er? He never won no Cup."

 

[maumann]

I recall not too many years ago that we had such a loose sports section that I ended up running a story on Michael Schumacher and his clinical progress and status. Keep in mind this is an area where "motor sports" automatically means "NASCAR."

I could not be more certain that more than a few someones picked up that section and declared, "Schoo-MACK-er? He never won no Cup."

Oh, that must be the guy running for Mikey in the Boosch Series. McDowell. Shoemaker. Same difference.

 

[da man]

I believe the Woods also introduced the idea of "stagger" at the Speedway by manipulating air pressures and tire diameters. Nobody had ever seen that before. Plus the Woods basically created the idea of modern pit stops. They were true innovators.

And Smokey Yunick certainly introduced some fascinating design concepts, including the "sidecar."

When people try to compare F1 and IndyCar in the present, the biggest issue is that ICS is a spec series -- all of the chassis are identical -- so the ability to innovate has been severely curtailed. It saves money and artificially creates closer competition, which is supposed to keep a Lewis Hamilton from lapping the field every weekend.

Do I agree? Hell, no. I much prefer the era when Johnny Rutherford dominated in Jim Hall's ground effects Chapparal. The Lotus. The turbine. The rear wings. Penske's Mercedes PC-23.

Set ground rules and let the boys have at it.

I had a Hot Wheels Chaparral when I was a kid. And I definitely remember the turbine car.

 

[qtlaw]

The stretch between 1961 and 1987 was definitely the golden era for open-wheel racing.

In addition to the eventual transformation of the sport from front-engine roadsters and dirt-track sprint cars to low-slung, aerodynamic winged rear-engine rockets, there was a Right Stuff feel to the guys who thrived and survived across that major change.

Parnelli Jones. A.J. Foyt. Bobby Unser. Mario Andretti. Al Unser. Gordon Johncock. Johnny Rutherford. Other than Parnelli and Mario, all multiple winners of the 500 over a stretch where those were the dominant names at the Speedway no matter how much the cars evolved.
....

Sorry bud but as much as I rooted for Mario, he sadly only had the one Indy 500 victory in '69.

 

[Driftwood]

I recall not too many years ago that we had such a loose sports section that I ended up running a story on Michael Schumacher and his clinical progress and status. Keep in mind this is an area where "motor sports" automatically means "NASCAR."

I could not be more certain that more than a few someones picked up that section and declared, "Schoo-MACK-er? He never won no Cup."

Way back in the day when I was an assistant sports editor at a small down daily, the SE always took vacation over Memorial Day and July 4th. The local rubes got a good dose of Monaco and then the Tour de France.