Conference oass::racers

    
    Bruce,
    
    FWIW - WMUR did broadcast the race, on tape, at 12:35 this morning.  I
    set up my VCR to record it but didn't get a chance to check it before
    coming to work.
    
    I do know that ...
    
    Little Al and Sullivan were 1-2 with 4 laps remaining when Sully ran into
    Little Al and spun him as they were lapping traffic.
    
    Finish order	1 - Sullivan
    			2 - Rahal
    			3 - Fittipaldi (?)
    			4 - Little Al
    
    I bet things were a bit tense in the Galles-Kraco compound after the
    race.
    
    Don't bother to CC WCVB a copy of your protest.  Save the paper.  They
    don't give a rat's a$$ about our interest in motorsport.  I know this
    because I have spoken with them about it before.
    
    - Nate

>    Little Al and spun him as they were lapping traffic.

From what I saw Al cut down and ran over Danny, spinning himself.

    RE: .2
    
    That's how I saw it too.  Danny had outbraked him and had
    taken the line away going into that corner.  Little Al chopped
    down on him and spun himself out.  Very light contact.
    
    Now, of course, I could have this all wrong, since I was 
    watching a very fuzzy B&W picture achieved by dangling all
    sorts of antenna-like equipment from the ceiling to pull in
    the R.I. ABC station.  I can't believe the absolute crap that
    channel 5 puts on instead of covering the racing---reruns of
    stuff that no one would bother watching in the first place.  I'm
    sure the race would have attracted a much bigger audience.
    Unfortunately, channel 5's problem is that it has a PC editorial
    board that considers racing to be un-PC.
    
    WMUR's problem is that they are a rinky-dink station without a clue.
    
    I think ABC might be interested in knowing that these affiliates pull
    this crap on a regular basis and that the advertisers are getting no
    exposure in the Boston and northern N.E. market.
    
    It was an excellent race.  I think the NHIS race will be very
    exciting.
    
    Ken

    Bruce,
    
    I too missed the race. I live in Leominster Ma. and couldn't get the
    R.I. station. I planned to send a letter to WCVB (Ch.5) and let them
    know my feelings on their programming. Star Search, unbelievable! I
    thought that I would stop watching WCVB, especially locally produced
    shows, and encourage others to do the same. I would be glad to help
    you in your efforts.
    
    Tom

RE: .0

WMUR did show the Long Beach race on tape delay at 12:30 AM.  I don't think
they deserve to be flamed for attempting to fulfill their public service
commitments, given that they did show the race later on.


RE: Sullivan and Unser, Jr.

This is a tough one to call.  On the one hand, it's always the responsibility
of the party making a pass to be sure it can be done cleanly before making it.
On the other hand, Little Al shut the door well after Danny was irretrievably
committed to the pass.  In any event, it would have been better for the
Galles/Kraco team as a whole, as well as for Little Al personally, if he'd
not tried to shut the door.


On a different aspect of the race, what about the Mario/Cheever collision?
It looked to me as though Mario simply wasn't paying attention to what he
was doing and had to suddenly swerve out to avoid hitting the wall.  That
move ranks right up there with hitting the parked car a few years back and
ramming the CART safety vehicle last year.

--PSW

I think they were both tough calls to make from the sidelines.

Mario pulled out to make a pass and clipped Cheevers right rear. Since 
they were coming to a heavy braking zone, you can't tell if Cheever 
took his foot off the gas just as Mario went to make his move. I've 
had close calls when I pulled out to pass just as the other car hit 
the brakes well before I was expecting it. Neither driver seemed to 
have an intelligible explanation for the incident.

As far as Little Al & Sullivan? Little Al shut the door. Sullivan 
wasn't far enough alongside to claim the line or to be certain that
Unser could see him. Sullivan had LOTS of pressure from behind and had
to make a move or risk being passed himself. Rahal made a move to the
outside of Sullivan, then Sullivan made the move to the inside of
Unser. My opinion from the sidelines was that Sullivan didn't get far 
enough alongside and should have backed off.

Glenn

    
    Got to watch the tape of the race last night...
    
    I am weary of Mario blaming everybody but himself for his incidents. 
    His assertion that Cheever "moved over" on him was way off base.  Mario
    seems to have aquired a nasty habit of making huge mental errors.
    
    I feel sorry for Little Al.  Yes Sullivan was under a lot of pressure. 
    Yes Al shut the door hard.  That said, I think Sullivan has a greater
    share of the blame for the incident.  It's a shame the team couldn't
    pull of a 1-2 finish.
    
    - Nate

    I agree with Glenn and Nate. Danny's front wing didn't even appear to
    be up to Lil Al's cockpit, so he couldn't make the pass...
    
    jim e

RE: .6 (Mario/Cheever incident)

>Neither driver seemed to 
>have an intelligible explanation for the incident.

In the ABC interviews after the drivers returned to the pits, Eddie Cheever
said that all he knew about it was that Mario ran over his right rear tire
for some reason.  I thought Eddie went out of his way to be diplomatic about
the incident and give Mario the benefit of the doubt.  Mario claimed that
Eddie Cheever suddenly swerved towards him as he was about to pull along side.
This is not borne out by the in-car camera view from Cheever's car, which
shows him maintaining a straight and steady line, until the car is suddenly
clipped by Mario swerving over to avoid the wall.  If Mario had had some sort
of mechanical problem that led to this, I think he would have said so.
I'm thus forced to conclude that it was another case of brain fade.

--PSW

.5>  WMUR did show the Long Beach race on tape delay at 12:30 AM.  I don't think
.5>  they deserve to be flamed for attempting to fulfill their public service
.5>  commitments, given that they did show the race later on.
    
    Given that they didn't publicize the tape delay at all, at least not to
    my knowledge, I have little sympathy for them.
    
    I decided to flame them for the 6pm newscast more than for the
    telethon.
    
    Having the sportscaster report on the NASCAR race (telecast on ESPN!)
    while the inset showed a frame from the LBGP feed on ABC and then not
    even mentioning the IndyCar race shows an insulting ignorance of not
    only the sport, but their own programming.
    
    BTW, as far as the earlier comments regarding local station management
    being unconcerned about racing, my strategy is to catch the attention
    of someone at ABC headquarters in NY (I know approximately the job
    title, not yet sure of the individual's identity) by making them feel
    the network's financial interests are threatened, so that they are then
    motivated to address the issue with local station management. 
    Alternatively, if it ends up that more races go to ESPN and not ABC,
    that's ok too.
    
    I would urge anyone who feels motivated to contact WMUR and WCVB
    management about the issue, just to make it clear there are more of us
    than they think!
    

re: .11

There are 2 (maybe others?) sanctioning organizations for drag racing here
in the US. They are the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) and the
IHRA (International Hot Rod Association). Sorry, but I don't know the address
of either. You may also want to check the Drag Racing conference, located at
NWTIMA::DRAG_RACING. 


Steve