Editor’s Note: In a nod to our 90 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 15, 30 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.
15 Years Ago — 2010
News: The second fatal accident in the past four National Hot Rod Ass’n events and an earlier safety-related controversy marred Sunday’s NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways and overshadowed victories by Cory McClenathan (Top Fuel), Tim Wilkerson (Funny car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock).
Top Alcohol Dragster driver Mark Niver; 60, of Scottsdale, Ariz., died from a top-end accident during the semifinal round of eliminations.
The King County Sheriff’s Department, ruling the facility a crime scene, suspended all racing activities for about an hour and a half, pending an investigation.
However, it permitted racing to finish and extended the 5:30 p.m. noise curfew to 7 p.m.
However, the NHRA canceled traditional winner’s circle activities, except for photos that fulfilled business and contractual obligations and said its officials also are investigating the accident
A prepared statement also said, “NHRA and Pacific Raceways officials extend their deepest sympathies to the entire Niver family.”
Niver was married and had a daughter.
Sportsman racers mourned the popular Niver, whose death came exactly one month to the day after that of Top Alcohol Funny Car veteran Neal Parker at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park at Englishtown, N.J.
Winners: When David Reutimann took the checkered flag to win Saturday night’s LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, things were warm and dry all over.
But Reutimann took care of that when he got to victory Jane.
“I was about to cry,” he said, the tears much in evidence on his face.
It wasn’t the emotion of a first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory but it was close.
Reutimann’s first was at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2009 after rain had ended the race short of the checkered flag.
Since then, Reutimann said he felt he was constantly apologizing that it wasn’t a legitimate first victory.
“Tonight we earned this one and it’s a total team effort,” he said of a solid performance in the Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota. “There was no rain tonight. We earned this one, nobody gave it to us and that really feels good.
“We took a lot of heat for how we won the first race. Tonight we were just the car to beat.”
For the first two thirds of the 267-lap race on the 1.5-mile tri-oval, Reutimann drove a steady, patient race with the leaders always in sight until they started falling away.
For the first 200 laps. Reutimann’s No. 00 failed to sniff the clean air that comes to the leader. From lap 201 to the finish, he led 52 of the final 67 circuits. He held off a late charge from Carl Edwards, who was .728 seconds behind at the finish in the Aflac Silver Ford, but he had his
hands full staying in front of the likes of Edwards and Jeff Gordon.
”At the end we had the fastest car out there,” said Edwards. ”I felt like we had a great car.”
Likewise. Gordon was on the move.
“At times it looked like our car was the car to beat,” said Gordon, the third-place finisher, “But David was really strong.”
Clint Bowyer was fourth and polesitter Jamie McMurray was fifth.
30 Years Ago — 1995
News: Andrew Craig, president and CEO of IndyCar, revealed terms of a near compromise he had in February with Tony George, president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and founder of the rival Indy Racing League, which would have brought the two sides together into one unified series.
Craig also said he honestly believes George is a sincere individual whose view of Indy car racing is not necessarily correct with today’s racing.
Craig was part of a meeting in February held in Indianapolis which also included IndyCar team owners Carl Haas, Carl Hogan and Chip Ganassi, IRL executive director Jack Long, IRL board of governors member John Cooper, United States Auto Club President Dick King and George.
Details of the resolution would have separated the governing body into a completely
independent operation that would officiate the races with its headquarters in Indianapolis.
Also at least half of the races on the schedule would be on ovals.
According to Craig, IndyCar was prepared to completely restructure Its organization to merge with George’s group. It was a resolution which, according to sources, Haas found uncomfortable, but was willing to go along with to keep peace between the two organizations. Sources also said team owner Roger Penske was totally against this plan because he believed IndyCar was giving up too much power in the restructuring.
“It would have been a nine-man board with three IndyCar directors, three appointed by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and three independents,” Craig said Sunday morning at Toronto, site of the Molson Indy Toronto. “The three independents we would have mutually agreed between us (lndyCar and the IRL). We made no stipulations who would have been chairman of the board and I deliberately excluded myself from any role in that because I didn’t want personalities to get in the way of the concept. The board would have been headquartered in Indianapolis.
“Actually, it was a very pleasant and very constructive meeting. The thinking here was in the commercial area, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway clearly has well-developed marketing programs, you don’t want to surrender those and we feel on our side, we would like to keep those independent, but let’s look at the areas where we can come together. One of the areas was to take all the officiating out of the control of one side or the other. It wouldn’t be owned by us or by them, it would be owned by us all. I think all along, that is what Tony George had been wanting.”
Winners: Michael Andretti had become an expert this season on what happens to a race driver when it is “not your day.”
Since his return to Newman-Haas Racing this season, Andretti had won poles, dominated races, but denied victory by crashes or mechanical failure and just plain bad luck.
But Sunday at Toronto, Andretti finally got to experience the other side of racing by ending the frustration winning the Molson Indy Toronto IndyCar event.
It was the fifth victory for Andretti at the zig-zag I. 78-mile street course at Exhibition Place, his second in a row at Toronto and the 30th IndyCar victory of his career.
” I guess when it is your day it is your day,” Andretti said. “Thank God, today finally was.
“I was wondering if it ever was going to come again. This win was huge for us. It has been a really tough year. We’ve actually had better race cars than this. Today, we had an average car and it won.”
For Andretti, it has been a season marked by frustration despite flashes of outstanding performance. On Sunday, it was a masterful display of racing on a circuit that is demanding for the IndyCar drivers, but one that rewards an outstanding driver.
“I guess it just took Toronto to break the ice for me this year,” Andretti said. “Thls track has been really good to me. It was just my day. There were a lot of things that went my way.”
Andretti drove from the sixth starting position to take the lead two times for 74 laps.
He held off Bobby Rahal by 0.43 seconds. Canada’s Jacques Villeneuve, who started on the pole and led the first 23 laps, finished third, followed by Italy’s Teo Fabi and Robby Gordon of the United States.
60 Years Ago— 1965
News: Stock car race driver David Pearson, and factory-backed Chrysler made cars, are officially back In the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.
Pearson got a release from his commitments with the U. S. Auto Club last week and promptly signed up with the NASCAR circuit for the remainder of the year.
Pearson, a Dodge driver, and several drivers of Chrysler makes quit NASCAR and went to USAC earlier this year when NASCAR decided not to allow hemispherical engine Chrysler products in its races.
However, NASCAR recently changed its rules to allow the powerful hemi engines under certain conditions.
Pearson will probably run a Dodge Coronet in the Southeastern 500 race at Bristol, Tenn., July 25, according to Dodge mechanic Cotton Owens.
Owens said he is changing his Coronets to meet NASCAR’s specifications.
“Right now we’re planning to run only the major events remaining on the NASCAR schedule,” Owens added, “although we will race in a few scattered small events.”
Winners: When A.J. Foyt finishes, he finishes first.
That was the story of Sunday’s 150-mile USAC championship race at the Trenton International speedway which the burly Texan dominated from start to finish.
For the 30-year-old Texan, who won 10 of 13 title races last year to make him the sport’s first four-time champion, it was the end of a dry spell that started with a 150-mph crash at Riverside, Calif., on January 17th this year.
Going into Sunday’s race, Foyt had not reached the halfway mark in the five title races he started, mechanical trouble knocking him out on every occasion.
“I finally finished a race in a rear-engine car,” Foyt said. “The car ran beautifully and I’m very happy to get a first place for my new mechanic Johnny Pouelson.”
Pouelson joined Foyt only one week ago and was in his pit for the first time. He was formerly the chief mechanic for Parnelli Jones.
Jim Hurtubise finally finished second in the Golden 7 Halibrand Ford, after a spectacular charge from 16th.
