VCR ALERT! 1981 Indy 500 tonight on ESPN Classic

[Doctorindy]

Yikes, usually I'm good at checking the schedule, but this one snuck up on me...

Tonight (Wed) on ESPN Classic
8PM-9PM eastern (daylight) SportsCentury Mario Andretti
9PM-1130PM 1981 Indy 500 (ABC broadcast)
1130 PM Rerun of Mario Andretti SportsCentury

Get to the TV!

[Brent_the_Lazier_fan]

If this is what I think it is, you need to see it, if you haven't. This has a ton of entertainment value, in addition to coverage of a great race. Bobby and Mario debate all sorts of issues, from the passing under caution issue to safety in the wake of the Ongais crash. Excellent stuff. Of course, 22 years have mellowed things a bit, and alot of it is good natured ribbing.

[dog-ring]

:mad: Comcast Indy :mad:

No ESPN CLASSIC :mad:

[Mackie]

They run these same races all the time, I just wish they would do more of the roadster era. Even though there may not be footage enough to devote a show to one race, they should be able to do perhaps 3 at a time.

[Doctorindy]

Originally posted by Mackie
They run these same races all the time, I just wish they would do more of the roadster era. Even though there may not be footage enough to devote a show to one race, they should be able to do perhaps 3 at a time.

ABC's first trip to Indy was for time trials in 1961, but didn't make it to race day until 1965. By then it's nearly all rear-engine stuff in the race...

ESPN Classic's has shown the 1971 race a bunch of times, I thought they showed 1969 once, they've also shown 81,81,85,86,87,90,92. Not very "classic," but good if you didn't have a VCR back then. They were supposed to show the 1977 race, but it never materialized. I heard the their master tape was in too poor of condition to show it, but who knows...

This "Big Ticket" version of the 1981 race is greatr though. It's the same thing they showed the night before the race a couple moths ago, and it sure is fun...

[TM1511]

Bobby Unser just said Tom Binford didn't know any more about racing than a guy who picks up garbage for a living.

[MichaelP]

By the end of the show both Bobby's and Mario's noses were several inches longer

[Mackie]

Originally posted by TM1511
Bobby Unser just said Tom Binford didn't know any more about racing than a guy who picks up garbage for a living.

That may have been the smartest thing Uncle Bobby ever said. IMO, Binford was a pompous azz, greatly overrated. His daughter's book, where she tried to justify and support all his flubbed up decisions, made me so mad I threw the book in the trash before half-book. The Unser/Andretti decision was the worst in all racing history, IMO. Whatever you believe on that one, Andretti did the same thing Unser did, pass under the caution. When Binford didn't penalize Bobby within laps of the pass, he should have dropped it, but faced with ABC footage, he took the pressure pill, the same footage showed Mario doing the same thing. Unser had the best car in the race, set back a lap at the time, he would have made it up, or could have, we will never know. Later, the stupid decision was reversed, the right driver won.

The one thing that can be said for Tom Binford was that he was decisive, even if he was often wrong. I remember walking away from a race called "official" by Binford shortly after halfway, in the sunshine, it was still early afternoon, it was a warm day and there was plenty of time to dry the track! That's my Binford moment.

[slinger]

I think it was Joe Scalzo who said that Binford was hired as USAC president to " hold USAC's public ludicrosities to one a week".

[Doctorindy]

Originally posted by Mackie
but faced with ABC footage, he took the pressure pill, the same footage showed Mario doing the same thing.

Too bad it didn't happen in 1991 instead of 1981...that way ABC would have surely been at a commerical when it happened, and nbody would have seen it!!!!


Honestly though, both of those guys will go to the grave thinking they won it...just like Paul Tracy in the '02 race. Their input about the safety factors was interesting, but you can tell that race is still haunting both of them.

Why it happened I think was a combination of reasons, back then the field was not required to "pack-up" before they could pit, they could dive in whenever the yellow came out, which often juggled up the order, there was no speed limit on pit road, nowadays they'd never make it to the end of the pit before the field was completely by...the blend rule was unclear, heck there were only
a couple cars on the lead lap at the time, something like that would never happen today...


And what the h3!! was that story about how Bobby Unser's car was ALSO ON FIRE! I never heard that story before that show. Typical Bobby....hmmm...the car's on fire....hmmmm...fan the flames, that'll put it out

[MichaelP]

Food for thought. CART was only two years old at the time and tensions with USAC were still very high. The two teams involved with the controvercial finish were founding members of CART. Maybe, just maybe, USAC let the situation unfold the way it did to try to create massive tension within the CART community?

[Brent_the_Lazier_fan]

Watching that again reminded me how much I miss Jackie Stewart, rolling his "r"s and using words like "gaggle"...