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I'm surprised no one has mentioned it. Like it or not, it is a very significant day in the history of the sport.
Friday, March 11, 1994, Tony George announced his intention to form a new sanctioning body for Indy cars.
I know this is a passionate subject on TF and I know threads like this usually turn ugly. But for those who were around at the time I would like to know what your thoughts were when you heard the news.
I was in Daytona working the Daytona 200 bike race. The news spread through the tv compound pretty quickly. And I'll be honest - unlike most on here who I'm sure will say they saw how bad it was going to be for the sport, I thought it was a good thing. For the simple reason I was going to get to see more top level open wheel racing.
Little did I know the impact it would have on my life. Earlier that week I had received a phone call from the producer of the CART races offering me the job of statistician on the telecasts. I had been working in tv part time for six years at that point. As a life-long open wheel fan, it was the dream job. But it would mean quitting my day job of 17 years. They needed a decision before they left for Australia, which was only a couple of days after Daytona. I talked to people I respected in the industry in Daytona and obviously made the decision to take the job. And 19 years and 11 months later I'm still at it. And it's been an interesting journey, seeing it from my position.
Someone made a snarky comment in the Bob Varsha thread about him being the "Voice" of the US 500 and wondering if Bob needed milk. I can tell you it wasn't that simple. Starting with the '96 season, if you worked in tv doing open wheel, you pretty much went where ABC told you. I was lucky - at the opening race at Disney they asked which race I wanted to work in May. They knew the answer before they asked, but I have always been very appreciative they asked and allowed me to spend the month of May in Indy. I remember horror stories from fellow crew members of snow in Brooklyn on qualifying weekend. But someone had to call the US 500 and that race, along with Elkhart in August, fell to Bob.
As I said, it would be nice to see a civil discussion of memories of March 1994. But I understand this is, after all, Track Forum.
Happy Anniversary (?)
Friday, March 11, 1994, Tony George announced his intention to form a new sanctioning body for Indy cars.
I know this is a passionate subject on TF and I know threads like this usually turn ugly. But for those who were around at the time I would like to know what your thoughts were when you heard the news.
I was in Daytona working the Daytona 200 bike race. The news spread through the tv compound pretty quickly. And I'll be honest - unlike most on here who I'm sure will say they saw how bad it was going to be for the sport, I thought it was a good thing. For the simple reason I was going to get to see more top level open wheel racing.
Little did I know the impact it would have on my life. Earlier that week I had received a phone call from the producer of the CART races offering me the job of statistician on the telecasts. I had been working in tv part time for six years at that point. As a life-long open wheel fan, it was the dream job. But it would mean quitting my day job of 17 years. They needed a decision before they left for Australia, which was only a couple of days after Daytona. I talked to people I respected in the industry in Daytona and obviously made the decision to take the job. And 19 years and 11 months later I'm still at it. And it's been an interesting journey, seeing it from my position.
Someone made a snarky comment in the Bob Varsha thread about him being the "Voice" of the US 500 and wondering if Bob needed milk. I can tell you it wasn't that simple. Starting with the '96 season, if you worked in tv doing open wheel, you pretty much went where ABC told you. I was lucky - at the opening race at Disney they asked which race I wanted to work in May. They knew the answer before they asked, but I have always been very appreciative they asked and allowed me to spend the month of May in Indy. I remember horror stories from fellow crew members of snow in Brooklyn on qualifying weekend. But someone had to call the US 500 and that race, along with Elkhart in August, fell to Bob.
As I said, it would be nice to see a civil discussion of memories of March 1994. But I understand this is, after all, Track Forum.
Happy Anniversary (?)
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