First of all, the rage meter is off the hook for shizzy here in Iowa as thousands of people were stuck in an epic traffic jam and missed much if not all of the race. The Super Deuce's track is neato and super-keen, so we were told over and over and over, state-of-the-art and ultra cool -- except for the traffic design, which sucked. And, if you'd been in the traffic jam, as I was, you'd know that the inane traffic design for the track was to blame for the delays and it was NOT just one of them racin' deals. This was not 100,000 trying to get to Bristol or 150k descending on TMS.
Apparently the track didn't have 1) the figures on how many tickets had been sold, 2) a map of the area, including the points of entry to their track, 3) what people coming to the event for the first time were most likely to do (it takes a total psychic to anticipate most will come down Interstate 80) and 4) the ability to anticipate that it occasionally rains really hard in Iowa that it might just rain right before your race. That's $250 in tickets I won't get back.
Story from the Des Moines Register on the traffic snarl here: "What Caused the Traffic Jam?"
Notes taken during the ABC broadcast of the Iowa Corn 250 in Newton, Iowa, on June 25, 2007.
pressdog's beer of the race is zero beer, since I had no beer in my car when the race started an no time to even get one when I got there.
Broadcast starts with traffic shot. Nice. Obligatory shot of corn. Iowa is the heart of Middle America. ABC keeps calling this the Ethanol 250 when the official name is the Iowa Corn 250 presented by Ethanol. Can't say the c-word or something.
Danica/Wheldon, Sheckter/Andretti rage montage. Somehow I can relate to that. I'd like to whip my gloves at the track GM.
Marty Reid says the traffic is just huge. Thanks, Marty. It would have been nice to at least be able to tune in the IMS radio network while I was counting the paint flecks on the truck in front of me two miles from the track, but nobody carries it here.
Marty and Scott Goodyear on camera. Goodyear -- Short oval (7/8 mile) but like a super speedway. No lift.
Sam Hornish. Texas win.
Starting lineup: Scott Dixon, Helio Castronevez, Dario Franchitti, Scott Sharp (!), Ed Carpenter (!), Jeff Simmons (!), Tony Kanaan, Sam Hornish Jr., Dan Wheldon, AJ Foyt IV, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Vitor Miera, Tomas Scheckter, Darren Manning, Kosuke Matsuura, Buddy Rice, Sarah Fisher, Milka Duno.
Vince Welch (note to Vince: Sorry for misspelling your last name for about a year). With Sam. Sam -- a lot different track than expected. Lot more like Texas. Hard to pass because you have to make a move outside to do it. Good restarts, pit stops, not giving up the bottom line of the track are all key.
Danica montage. Danica was HUGE in Iowa. Danica went to AGR because she wants to win. She really does want to win. Seriously. Unlike those drivers stuck with pig cars. Bev Patrick gets air. Danica is willing to put in the hard work to win. Here it occurs to me that if Danica wins she'll be a Corn Star.
Jack Arute: Danica will have to be bold. Tough day. Starting 11th.
Progressive banking. Three different degrees of banking in the corners: 12, 13 and 14 in three lanes moving out toward the wall. White lines tell you where the new inclines start.
Onboard with Helio. 4.6gs in corner. That's lots. A fighter pilot will pull 9 occasionally, but 4.6 is the most of any IRL track.
Rage Montage: Scheckter and his most-excellent gloves hurl at Marco. (Note. Arni the Indy Insider has a great photo of this that he refused to share.) Danica vs. Kanaan at KS. Marco's car flipping like a freshly beheaded chicken down the straight at Indy. Danica and Dan at Milwaukee and her famous "I'd like to brake check Wheldon right now. Rip his front wing off" radio transmission.
Ashley Judd is in the house. Came to Iowa (early, apparently, since she was actually at the track for the start of the race). Points rundown: Dario, Tony, Dixon, Wheldon, Hornish.
Brienne Pedigo, IRL New Pit Hotty (NPH) with Tony and Dario. Difference this year, Dario? Dario -- Little bit lucky this year with some quick cars. Tony -- Tough track. Tested last two days. Steering is extremely heavy and hard on the shoulders. Gs are killer.
Marco. Crappy season. Oval suckage. Festival of Carbon Fiber Montage. Indy crash replay again.
Goodyear -- Marco feeling pressure of the Andretti name.
Marty -- The 40,000 in attendance are ready (insert me screaming obscenities at the TV here). AJ Foyt and Kyle Phillips, a corn producer who is the president of a corn group (Iowa Corn Board, maybe) to give the command. AJ: Boys and Girls. Kyle: Start your engines!
Fireworks. Right here I'm still about 300 yards from the very far entrance of the track. A guy in a pickup next to me launches into a ripple-fire of F-words SCREAMED into his cell phone.
The hat (running order) commences across the top of the screen. Shout out to my posse in the B Unit who controls such stuff. Hope you made it to the track in under seven hours. Sorry I missed ya.
Average age of ICS driver today: 26. In 1997: 39. In 1987: 44. Could be the work of my boy Russ Thompson, the king of race stats who feeds Goodyear and Marty the prime nuggets. Props to you, Russ.
Marty says the traffic coming into the race is incredible. What a great way to start off the inaugural race. WTF, Marty? Unless you're not even to the f-ing parking lot yet. Maybe take a gander out the tower and see the thousands of cars still coming in and say to yourself, "I wonder if those paying customers are enraged."
Jack -- Marco woke up with nasal issues. Difficulty breathing.
1 to go. Let's light this candle. We are green-green-green. (More screamed swear words from the pickups around me as we hear -- but not see -- the cars wind up.)
Yellow yellow yellow. Turn 2. Wheldon and Scheckter. They come to a stop stuck together with one facing one direction and the facing the other so they are about three feet from each other. Almost could have reached out and touched. Had to be awkward for Dan.
Replays. Wheldon got totally lose alone. Just lost it. Ass around. WTF Dan? Very un-Wheldon like. Scheckter was totally screwed. Had no part in the accident and no place to go. I'm disappointed because Dan was working it, pre-race. Smiling. Greeting fans. Talking it up. Working the Geiko accent. Props to him for his pre-race PR effort. Seriously.
Onboard with Danica. Gets WAY loose. Sawing at the wheel to save it. Nice save, Danica. Seriously. Extremely dirt trackish. Get her in a car at Knoxville!
With Dan's Dude, Barry Wanser (don't hold me to the spelling). Barry -- Got down there and lost it. (That's about all there is to say, actually It was about that simple.)
Replays. Shows a car loose almost losing it. I think it was Kanaan.
Bre with Scheckter -- Dan just lost it. Had no where to go. Wrong place, wrong time. Sucks to be Scheckter. I was looking to talk to Tommy during the weekend but didn't find him. Note to his PR people: email the 'dog!
Lap 13 -- We're green. Vince: Dixon coming in with steering issues. Can't turn. Can't drive.
Condensation trials (con trails) coming off the back wings look cool. Humid, cooler Iowa weather causes the trails.
Arute: Mike Andretti told Marco to go out and get in the cockpit and just have fun. Pretty awesome advice when your car is too scary to drive. Wings feel like they are on upside down? Just go have fun. That would mean sitting in the shade with a bottle of Patron if your car is FUBARed.
Lap 20 -- Helio, Dario, Sharp, Ed, Kanaan, Hornish, Simmons, Quattro, Miera, Marco.
Vince: Crew chief sprayed WD-40 into Dixon's steering column with no effect. True story: the smell of WD-40 (in the morning or any time else) reminds me of my father's auto mechanic garage. I wipe a manly tear.
Helio leads. Rusty Wallace gets air. Saw that coming. Track designer. Rusty says they are lined up on Interstate 80 trying to get in, (this is on lap 30-ish) like that's a really good sign! Super! Having thousands of paying customers still trying to get in after the race is started. Rusty says they wanted to make it as small as they could but big enough to do a lot of things. 12, 13, and 14-degree banking make it good for stock cars.
Fabulous. It's great for stock cars. But until they show up, I guess we'll have the IRL come on over.
Bre with Dan Wheldon -- I got loose into 1 and 2. Normally I could hold onto it but it caught me by surprise. Unfortunately I took Tomas with me. Props, Dan. Stand up and say you screwed up. Refreshing.
Arute -- Cut away car with the rack and pinion steering, which you cannot see. It's a shadowy slit. My viewing is enhanced.
Lap 31 - Milka gets passed high and low. HFS. (Holy [really bad word] shit). Is she in third gear or something? At some point Milka gets black flagged. When that is is none of our business, according to ABC's non-mention.
Rusty -- When made track, drove it, kept cutting dirt on the corner etc. until it felt right when he drove it.
Arute -- Helio has more push on bottom. But if he goes up a lane he opens the door for Dario.
Lap 40. Vitor moving up.
Lap 49 -- Helio, Dario, Sharp, Kanaan, Hornish, Ed, Vitor, Simmons, Marco Having Fun, Quattro, Manning(!)
Lap 51 -- Kanaan fourth. These are 18-ish second laps, so they pretty much click off quickly.
Lap 54 -- Arute -- Ed said yesterday his driving style is more consistent this year.
Lap 69 -- Helio pitting.
Lap 70 -- Dario, Sharp, Vitor, Ed, Marco, Quattro (!), Manning, Matuura (!), Danica, Rice.
Lap 72, Helio comes out and spins -- Yellow yellow yellow. Spins alone on the outlap down on the apron. WTF? This may, in fact, be Helio's first race ever given that move.
Arute -- Helio bit by cold tires. Replays. Brain fade. Stalls it. Has to wait for a push start. Many laps lost.
Lap 81 -- Vince -- Danica hopes to win today. (Breaking news there, Vince.) Danica came in on lap 5 to top off after the debacle start. May help her.
Lap 82 -- green green green.
Four wide into 1. There are 1000+ corn grower ethanol sponsors here for Simmons. Major hospitality tent throng.
Lap 86 -- Yellow yellow yellow. Kanaan is around into Simmons. Holy Curse. Right after his peeps got a shout out, Simmons gets slapped by Tony.
Onboard with Simmons. Replay. Kanaan just goes ass around and smacks him. Simmons was minding his own business. Innocent victim. Goodyear -- He just becomes a passenger at that point.
Goodyear -- You can hear the impact there. I've lived it. It's not nice.
Goodyear gives what has to be the most tortured explanation of the next-generation SAFER barrier that I have ever heard. No idea what he's saying.
Bre with Tony. Cold tires situation. Just caught me by surprise. Just got loose and spun and crashed. I feel sorry for Jeff. He had no where to go. Again, props for taking responsibility, Tony. Didn't blame it on the tires. Class.
Dude, did all these drivers go to Brewfest in downtown Des Moines last night? Are we all hung over?
Corn shot. I recall many shots of a tractor hauling a huge round bail of hay (I believe) up the road. At least the road was paved. Nice. Also some shots in there of the state capital, so props for mixing in some Big City along with the corn.
Lap 89 -- pressdog and his family are finally in the house. If you think I sound pissed, you should have seen my wife at this point. My 15-year-old, who thinks racing is incredibly boring, now thinks I'm also a heroine addict for liking this stuff. Waiting 2 1/2 hours to see an hour of racing seriously impressed her.
Got there just in time to watch a bunch of yellow laps.
Lap 99. Green green green.
Yellow yellow yellow. Holy pinball. From my seat just down track from the start-finish, I saw Danica smack into Ed and then all hell broke loose. A festival of carbon fiber right in front of me. Thank God for the catch fence.
Four cars going into a three-wide hole. Danica. Ed under Danica. I think Quattro is high. Major Danica sandwich until she got into Ed and everything went black. Onboard with Danica. Boink, boink, camera gets nuked and goes to snow. Onboard with Ed. Does a 360 spin-o-rama and then continues down the track as Matsuura goes smashing into the wall. Nice.
Helio got caught up in it too. Sam is darted.
Kim Greene, Danica's pit boss -- Everyone struggle a little bit on hard tires. She's trying really hard. 4 wide around here is not very (smart).
Not sure who said this -- Everybody trying to make a pass early. Danica spun the tires and got into Ed.
Sharp on the radio "I'm going to buy a lottery ticket today!" I guess he had major luck a couple of times.
Bre with Danica. Danica -- I went turn 3 and four and green. Looked like whoever was squeezing down and I had no where to go. "It sucks, you know?" Unfortunate. It's going to be a funny race. Certainly it wasn't Danica's fault. Of that we can be sure.
Arute with Quattro -- Had a good run on Danica on the restart. Ed under her. Unfortunate for us. Quattro is coming on this year. I dig him. He's very laid back. Very rangy Texan. Approaches Justin Wilson for the title of World's Tallest Open-Wheel Driver. Glad to see he's getting his schwerve on with Vision this year. Whole Vision team is rocking it and representing.
Bre with Sam, who is giving this interview on the walk so he must be smoking pissed. Sam -- Restarts were terrible. Last two were bad. Four-wide down the front straight. Nobody wants to lift. (Insane). People in points race crashing. Dogs and cats, living together. (Made that last sentence up.)
No passing on the track since the low line rules, so people try to pass on the starts and in the pits. I went to an oval race and a street race broke out, where it's all about restarts and pit stops. Major street race vibe here. Also a NASCAR restricter race vibe wherein people can run in packs and side-by-side, but not pass.
Dixon is back out and a mere 80 laps down. Dan Wheldon is out and 105 laps down. Nutty thing is I think they are 10th and 11th.
Starts are too slow. Goodyear talks about the go zone, which is the first of two sets of cones. Widely ignored. Brian Barnhard, the Iron Hand of Justice, better have a talk with some people post-race about their restart insanity.
Arute with Mike Andretti. Having a pretty good race so far. Biggest problem is cold tires. Cloud cover makes the track cold.
Lap 112. (we're in the midst of a 20-lap yellow here. That's a tenth of the race.) Only six cars on the lead lap.
Bre -- John Barnes is wearing a hat in tribute to Indiana U football coach Terry Heppner. Died recently. Great guy. I saw John rolling around on a Segway during the weekend. Striking.
Lap 120 -- we may be about to go green. Arute -- Marco came in for a pit stop and it was lucky since he had a puncture.
Can't talk now, Jack, because we are green.
Helio went from 5th to ninth with the nose thing. (That might not be right given the laps down situation from the stall.)
Lap 125 -- Vitor, Dario, Sharp, Manning, Marco, Rice, Ed, Sarah, Helio, Dixon (like minus 77 laps) and Wheldon (like minus 100 laps). The Festival of Carbon Fiber is in full effect.
Goodyear -- Cold tires. With hard tires everybody is in the same boat. Drivers need to adjust for conditions. (But it's easier for them to blame the tires, Scott.)
Lap 143 -- Yellow yellow yellow. DEBRIS. Right. Fifth caution. Debris on the front straight. Sure. A tiny safety car comes out 12 clowns jump out of it to pick up the pretend debris. Cue the circus music. I saw the safety guys pick up something the size of a dime off the front straight. Extremely skeptical. I think the rule should be you have to bring the "debris" to a certain spot and TV can show it on the air to convince us this wasn't a "bunch them up to create some passing opportunities since there have been zero passes for the lead so far" yellow.
Vitor pits. Buddy Rice leads. A DRR car leads. Reports of the sun starting to freeze. Next thing you know the Foyt car will lead and then we'll have dogs and cats living together. About now Marty Roth is pissed that he gave away a top 10 just by not showing up.
Lap 150 -- Restart. Green. Buddy is passed immediately by Dario. A PASS FOR THE LEAD. ON THE TRACK. Media alerted. I expected it to be Champ Car's street-only Sebastien Bourdais passing Justin Wilson given the nature of this race.
Goodyear -- Buddy last won in 2004. Recently his cars have been pigs. (I'm paraphrasing.) As Buddy says, flat out is flat out. Not much more a driver can do.
Buddy and Sarah. Arute says the two have been stopping on every yellow to adjust something to try and depig the cars. Limited success.
Lap 152 -- Dario, Buddy, Marco, Sharp, Miera, Manning, Ed, Sarah, Helio, Dixon, Wheldon.
158 -- Marco and Dario. Much talk of the Marco Oval Curse.
Dario is glued to the low line. Mario will have to around high to pass. Virtually impossible. There's always the chance of carnage in this race, though.
Vince -- last Marco pit he almost didn't get in far enough so the fueler could reach his car.
Arute -- Mike had heartburn every time Marco goes high. Ashley gets air. What is with that floppy hat and huge shades? Is this to create unmarketable photographs of her? I don't get it. Not a good look for anyone, including Ashley.
Lap 166 -- Jack -- Carpenter. Involved in the Danica thing. Just had to replace rear toe link. Got him back out and now he's back on the lead lap. (Stayed out when everyone else pitted, as did Buddy Rice. Sarah Fisher, who was a lap down, pitted with the leaders. Not sure what that was about.)
Sharp is throwing major block parties out there. Sir Blocks Alot. He's told by the Iron Hand of Justice to pick line, any line. Totally chops Ed on a replay. The IHJ says blocking is illegal on the IRL, sort of, after the fourth of fifth occurrence you may get a tersely worded letter.
Seven of the top 10 in points are screwed for the race. Glad to know the stars of the league are watching the same race I am.
Lap 183 -- Vitor fading from the front two. Bright side -- DRR and Foyt are getting MONSTER air. Pretty much the getting the as much air time for all of last year in this one race.
Lap 187. Ed gets around Sharp and shows him a little chop of his own, coming down in front of him sharply. Bah. SHARPLY.
Arute -- Buddy will pit soon.
Carpenter in. 8.7 seconds. Rice in. 9.7 seconds. A sub-10 is good for DRR.
Crash montage recap. Wheldon, Dixon, Danica.
38 to go. Dario pits. Fuel only. Vince says it will be about 6 seconds. Out. Marco in. New tires.
Vitor in. Left front suspension blows. Seriously. In car camera view of his left front suspension just collapsing. This race is now officially fugly.
Vince says Sharp is in, no new tires.
31 to go. Dario up by 4.1 over Marco. The fuel only pit stop helped him stretch it out.
Marco is now 5 seconds back.
26 to go. Yellow Yellow Yellow. DEBRIS. What-ever. The speedway is now pretty much playing circus music continually over the loud speakers.
Bre with Vitor -- Left front suspension. When he braked the pressure broke it. It's a shame.
Scott Dixon is 77 laps down and in 10th. You read it right.
18 to go. Green green green. Dario is off like a shot. Radio: Good job, Dario.
Team orders? Arute says No. Marco has been given the green light to by is dad, Mario. (??) Pretty sure Marco's dad, who may actually be Mike, isn't going to tell him to stay behind Dario. Not difficult to believe. Now, tell me that Dario hasn't been told to accidentally go high on the last lap, please.
13 to go. Arute -- Marco has a severe sinus infection and a monkey on his back but no team orders.
10 to go: Dario, Marco, Sharp (!), Ed (!), Manning (!), Rice (!), Sarah (!), Helio, Dixon, Wheldon. Fire department officials huddle and decide that, yes, the track can hold 10 cars. Thank God Dixon and Wheldon came back out or it would be EIGHT on the track. Holy B-feature trophy dash field!
If Dario continues to holds the bottom. This race is over barring air strike or brain fade.
Five to go. Ashley gets more air. 4 to go. Ed slowing. Pitting. Seventeen clowns are pushing him around the track but having difficulty getting grip with their huge shoes.
Three to go. Marco can't go high, Dario is staying low. Ed is reportedly out of fuel.
White flag. 17 seconds left in this race.
Dario wins. He's a right-sexy wee bastard. Ashley gets air.
Ashley gets interviewed. One of their dogs got loose for 24 hours. Distraught. (Had a night on the town in Iowa.) Found him. (But he's so hung over today!) Ashley: Oh (Dario) is doing some Zanardis." WTF? Zenardis? Ashley is, um, unique. Her interviews are always interesting, that's for sure. Dario does some donuts for the crowd. First donuts I've seen all year. Right in front of the start finish.
Lap 250: Dario, Marco, Sharp, Buddy, Manning, Ed, Sarah, Helio, Dixon, Wheldon.
Arute with Dario. Something about losing the dog. Dario says the Canadian Club team did a great job. Car was fun-tastic. Pretty physical out there. He had total confidence he would have no drop off in tires. He only ran his tires about 100 laps, so what's the issue?
Bre. Marco. Marco overshot the pit box. Definitely no confidence lost on here. Awesome job by Andretti Greene. It's a different short oval. Flat out and the Gs are unbelievable.
Aerial replay of Dario's Zenardis (known by most people as donuts).
Darren Manning and Buddy Rice are about to be interviewed on air for the first time since the late 90s, I swear. Arute -- when AJ called Manning he was having a pint of beer in a pub. What tell him now? Manning -- "That we definitely need some more pints of beer!" You, my friend, are sidepod worthy.
Just nice to run with Buddy all the way. I just let him bloody through at the end there. That wasn't so good, was it? I could have chopped him, but that wouldn't have been good. (Works for Sharp.)
Buddy said something I didn't catch. Something about changing his luck in Vegas or on vacation or something.
Ed says the fuel pump or fuel pump drive went on his car. Like he hit the kill switch -- it just died.
Helio in 8th. Revved the tires, went around, kept it running. Thought he was in first but was actually in third. Stalled it. So slippery just amazing. I let my guys down.
Sarah Fisher post-race interview. A freak snowstorm breaks out in Iowa. Hell reports a crust of ice forming. Sarah is about to be interviewed after a race. I think she is holding a dirt track magazine or something. Sarah -- Place reminds her of Winchester in a midget car. (I think Sarah still holds the track record for Winchester, a place so terrifying it makes grown men shriek with fear as they go around it.) The car has to be pretty dialed in to win in the IRL. Margins are pretty narrow these days. Margins are down to a half inch rather than three feet wide. Keep working at it.
Arute -- No truth to the rumor that Sarah is going to the World of Outlaws (where, I'm afraid, she may have better cars). Iowa has the second most oval race tracks of any state in the nation, behind Pennsylvania. Marty and/or Goodyear did not know that. And basically all of them have better parking contingency plans than this one.
Tune in for Richmond, 7:30 p.m. June 30. Bullring II. Festival of Carbon Fiber II. Note to the Richmond fans: Leave for the track now.
--
Note: I think (hope) the IRL will help (or makes sure that) the Iowa Speedway fix the traffic issues and undo any damage with the fans. I hope so, anyway. I want the track to be wildly successful and I want to spend hundreds of dollars there when the IRL comes to town every year. Everything right up to Sunday morning was great. I think most fans caught in the jam will give the track a second chance, but not a third.
I feel for you pressdog. Bummer of a traffic control job. I thought Rusty said that the traffic was still backed up to I-80 during the race. He said it with pride. I thought WTF? After 15 years of fighting traffic at Indy, I figured out to go all the way around and sneak in the back. I drive right in and drive right out. No waiting for the last 20 years. Decent walk though.
I remember the first race at St. Louis (East St. Louis IL) back when it was still CART. Hell of a race. Two Penskes side by side lap after lap. I think it was Tracy and Al Jr. Also had Helio and Dario when they first started. I think Helio was with Paul Hogan and was Dario with A.J.?
Anyway, they must've had the same traffic control guy there that day. Thousands of cars all getting off of I-70 as the track is right on I-70 and they had one idiot letting cars in one at a time. There was a stop light at the entrance, and he would make everyone sit until it went green. A thousand cars waiting and no one coming from the other direction! Several lanes empty and one lane in and one guy directing traffic. They say they fixed the traffic problem, but I've never gone back. If these guys today were to come back, I'd go again.
Surely you remember Alex Zanardi being the first in CART to do donuts for Chip? Highly frowned on back then.....maybe even fined for it.
Better luck next year.............on to Richmond!
Posted by: ramblinman | June 25, 2007 at 11:15 PM
P'dog... Oh man, I feel terrible for you. I've never seen such traffic in my life. When I was watching the broadcast and they showed the backed-up traffic pre-race... I thought it was a shot way before the race. I'm pretty sure there would have been many unsavory words flying out of my mouth if I missed that many laps! I've only been to a couple of tracks besides Indy and I've never had that much trouble getting into a track. But getting out of Kentucky is a whole different story - YIKES! Thanks for the GREAT notes. The were outstanding as usual.
Posted by: LR | June 26, 2007 at 07:40 AM
Sorry about your traffic woes Pressdog--the people at ISpdwy are so damned nice it hurts, they just need to get this parking lot stuff figured out when it rains
Interesting race for sure
I'm wondering about the G's and the remarks later by Dario that the cars needed LESS downforce here...will we see the big cars barreling through the turns sideways like a dirt-track racer next year???
Posted by: Allan Brewer | June 26, 2007 at 10:09 AM
That there was so much traffic with a crowd of under 40,000 is crazy, I guess i'll not be attending any races at that track. I avoid Kentucky because they have such horrid traffic issues, getting out at least. Richmond is not too bad, especially if you do not park in the track parking lot. Parking outside the track and walking a while can literally prevent hours of waiting post race. I alwys enjoy your press accounts. Thanks-
ps- the term Ashley was using was that Dario was doing a "Zanardi" - The donuts that were popularized in the old CART days by Alex Zanardi. Dario & Zanardi are good friends.
Posted by: Reefy | June 26, 2007 at 01:28 PM
I think the issues are fixable and I further think the IRL will help the Iowa Speedway get unFUBARed. Since the track is 45 minutes (on a non-race day) from my house, I want the race to stay here and be a success and I want to spend hundreds of dollars there every year, so I hope they do whatever it takes to avoid a repeat performance. I think most fans will give them a second shot, but not a third.
Posted by: pressdog | June 26, 2007 at 01:47 PM
ramblinman, I was at Gateway (E. St Louis, IL) for the 1998 race, and the traffic flow was still f@#$ed up that year as well. I'd paid for a parking pass along with my tickets and came down 2+ hours before the race only to find out that the lot I paid for was full and there was nowhere near the track to park! We were sent to the other side of I-70 to some "alternate" lots. This took us through a scary tour of East St. Louis to get there. Luckily a farmer took it upon himself to open up a barren field on his property and let people park (for a fee, of course). We offroaded our rental Toyota Corolla sedan, paid the fee, and trudged across I-70 to the track. ABSOLUTELY the worst traffic control I've ever seen, but Pressdog's story takes the cake! It's even worse than trying to get out of Nashville after the 2003 IRL race when it took my wife and I two hours to get to the main road out of the parking lot (and I believe Nashville seats less people than Iowa).
reefy, I heard the same thing about traffic at Kentucky that you have. My wife and I met a couple at Indianapolis last year that related their horror story about the track. We crossed THAT one off our list.
Pressdog, sorry once again to hear you were stuck in traffic. From attending races at the late and unlamented Chicago Motor Speedway, I know how poor traffic flow and parking planning can doom a racetrack to declining attendance. If you attend the season closer at Chicagoland, look my wife and I up and you can tailgate with us and drink all the ice cold beer you missed stuck in traffic.
Posted by: mmack | June 26, 2007 at 02:34 PM
I'll be at Chicagoland! My fav track, fan amenity-wise (although its sister track in Kansas doesn't suck in that area either). Easy in and out. Spacious concourse. Great pits and garage. Virtually a straight shot east on I-80 from the dog house. We'll drink an icy beverage and savor the wafting smell of ethanol exhaust, my friend.
Posted by: pressdog | June 26, 2007 at 02:39 PM
It is one thing to have crap traffic leaving, (I once spent 3 hours getting clear of Watkin's Glen after a NASCAR show, and I ran for the car on the cool down lap!) but when you miss half the race getting in, THAT is worse.
My sympathies to you Dog. I cant figure out how management there could be so thick on traffic management? Do they not have access to experts through the IRL and NASCAR who would give them tips and ideas on how to manage traffic? Heck, I could have done it myself, being as I have been in traffic jams enough to know how people react.
Sounds like the IRL needs to take the wings off the cars pretty much for this track too, allow the guys to race a little.
Posted by: Mark in Bowmanville | June 26, 2007 at 03:09 PM
Pressdog, thanks for the getting the answers on the banking for me...had to go the last minute to Europe (16 hours of flying in economy class for a 4 hour meeting...don't ask, it was fugly) or I would have thanked you earlier. I went to the first CART races at Gateway and Chicago so I can relate on the traffic deal, not fun in any way shape or form. My major problem with this race was the drivers...to win you have to make it to the end of the race, the tires were the same for everyone, use your head for more than a helmut rack and drive within the conditions...lots of respect for Dario's achievements on the short ovals. Best line of the week about Sarah and Winchester, that place was spooky scary and shows me what a racer she is. Well off to Richmond and taking my 9 year old daughter to her first race, she is so excited she laid out her clothes to wear on Monday...actually so did I...pressdog t-shirt!!
Posted by: Mel Hull | June 28, 2007 at 08:11 AM
Mel. Tears in my eyes, Bubby. Mainly for you taking your daughter to a race (mega props!) but also for planning to sport the pressdog gear. You, sir, are sidepod worthy. Sarah is the shit! "Track record at Winchester" is all you gotta hear to know that. Just a tip: LEAVE EARLY.
Posted by: pressdog | June 28, 2007 at 08:59 AM
KY speedway traffic isn't bad now that they have 2 exits for the traffic, but you have to be sure to check beforehand so that you park in the correct lot to get routed south or north.
I went to N'ville in 2003 also and traffic was terrible getting out and I haven't gone back. Homestead doesn't do a real good job at traffic either.
The only problem I had a gateway was discovering at the gate that I couldn't take beer in.
Hopefully IA will make improvements for next year...they should talk to KY and MIS for ways to do it.
Posted by: Steve | July 01, 2007 at 06:13 PM
The nutty thing is, all they have to do is create some lots that are all weather -- whether that's gravel or what or just creating a flooded-parking field back up plan. The fields were too soft to park in and the track didn't have a Plan B. Then they compounded the problem by blaming the fans. I think they'll fix it. It's very fixable.
Posted by: pressdog | July 01, 2007 at 06:24 PM
"What is with that floppy hat and huge shades? Is this to create unmarketable photographs of her? I don't get it. Not a good look for anyone, including Ashley."
Hell, if Ashley can't make it work, what chance does anyone else have? ;)
Posted by: Thlayli | July 08, 2007 at 02:24 PM