Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
IndyCar
MILLER: Sin City SuperNationals
The talent buzzing around the parking lot of the Rio in last weekend’s SKUSA SuperNats in 'Vegas might have been as formidable and diverse as it was inauspicious.
Robin Miller  |  Posted November 26, 2009   Indianapolis, IN
Michael Schumacher spent time last weekend with 2004 Indy 500 winner and fellow karting enthusiast Buddy Rice. (Tom Donoghue)
The collection of talent buzzing around the parking lot of the Rio in last weekend’s SKUSA SuperNats at Las Vegas might have been as formidable and diverse as it was inauspicious.

While gamblers were throwing dice, pulling slot handles and betting football games, a few hundred feet from the casino Formula One’s all-time king, a pair of Indianapolis 500 winners, a handful of IndyCar, F1 and sports car regulars plus a swarm of the planet’s finest go-karters were running over a tight little road course and under the radar.

“It’s one of the best kept secrets, that’s for sure, because there’s not a lot of people who realize how big this event really is,” said Dan Wheldon, the 2005 Indy and IRL champ after making his second appearance in the SuperNats.

“It’s just a privilege to be invited and I am so glad to be part of it. I still believe karting is the purest form of motorsports because there’s no politics or b.s., just flat out competition.”

Aside from the good racing among 400-plus drivers in seven classes, the real cool thing about the event was its grass roots feel. There were no wives carrying helmets, no PR people dictating policy and the drivers didn’t hide in motor homes between heats.

Michael Schumacher pushed his TonyKart through tech inspection just like everyone else and then went back and worked on it alongside his tuner. Make no mistake, the seven-time world champion drew plenty of attention during the weekend but he was just another guy when they lined up the Super Pro race.

And that’s why so many racers applauded Schumey’s participation.

“I’m sure with all his millions, he could be vacationing somewhere but Schumacher is a true competitor and wants to be out here so that’s impressive,” said Memo Gidley, the mechanic-turned-driver who got his start in karts before making it all the way to Chip Ganassi’s CART squad.

“I think what you find is this paddock are the true racers.”

Among that definition were Buddy Rice, Raphael Matos, Joey Hand, Phil Geibler, Michael Valiante, Wheldon, Gidley and F1 regulars Sebastien Buemi and Nelson Piquet Jr. along with America’s top karter Gary Carlton and world class rated Marco Artigo, Jonathan Thonon and Baz Lammers.

“This is my passion and I wish I could do this every weekend because it’s not political like Formula One,” said Piquet, who is hoping to remain in F1 following his scandalous exit from the Renault team. “I begged the owner to let me race here and although we got a late start, it’s been worth it. I love it.”
The star power in the paddock was beyond measure, yet for all those that came to watch, a certain 7-time F1 driving champion garnered the most attention. (Tom Donoghue)

Since being abandoned by IndyCar, ’04 Indy winner Rice has jumped back into karting – fielding a four-kart team for Tony Kart West that includes upcoming Americans Joel Miller, Cody Hodgson and Gustavo Menezes, who was awarded a spot in the Jim Russell shootout for a full-time ride in that series in 2010.

“Go karts were a starting point for a lot of us, a platform to the next level, and it’s fun to watch these kids develop,” said Rice, who is again running a Grand Am car in 2010.

“There’s a lot of talent in this paddock and I know they all won’t make it big because so much of it is timing and luck. But some of these kids should be the stars of tomorrow.”

That’s what Hand hoped to be when he was competing in Formula Atlantic along with Ryan Hunter-Reay, A.J. Allmendinger, Valiante and Rice. He never got a shot at CART but has found solace in racing sports cars for Bobby Rahal and fielding a go-kart team with his father.

“This is great and I think it reminds a lot of us of how we started and how much fun racing was,” said Hand, whose Kartel team won the Tag Senior class with Taylor Miinch after Menezes got knocked out of the lead by Andre Nicastro on the last lap.

“Karting it’s accessible to everyone and a great way to learn how to race.”

Since taking over the SuperNats five years ago, promoter Tom Kutscher has built it into the top karting event in North America.

“It was on a downslide and I wanted to bring it back and do it the right way,” said Kutscher, a former karter who is the CEO of SKUSA (Super Karts USA). “I wanted to bring the best from around the world and this year we had the world champions from Belgium and Italy and so many good guys from the States.

“When Michael (Schumacher) looked at that roster, he wanted to be here and that truly shows what a competitor he is.”

Schumacher didn’t demand any star treatment, although Kutscher had to make a small change in the schedule.

“I worked on Michael for eight months to come to our race and he wanted us to run it on that day we call Thanksgiving,” said Kutscher with a chuckle. “I hated to say no to him on that one but we tweaked the schedule a little so he could be here for all the practices.

“I’ll say this. He brought an aura to this event like I’ve never seen. He was standing there in that white leather suit with those $200 sunglasses and his arms crossed and it was kinda like” ‘OK. Let the Olympics begin.”’

There was no gold medals, or even a silver or bronze, for any of the big names. Wheldon led the way by winning two heats and finishing fourth in Tag Senior. Gidley ran up front in both his S3 heats and finished 27th in the main event (after being taken out) while Rice was also crashed out of KF-2.

After running seventh in Super Pro, Schumacher got on his private jet and flew home while a lot of his competition towed their karts down the road.

But, for the better part of three days, the only class distinction came in the go karts and their engines. It was equal footing, even for the guy who wears Gucci.



~Robin

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.

Robin Miller became an Indy-car junkie in late 1950s and stooged for his hero, Jim Hurtubise, at the 1968 Indy 500. He went on to work as a vent man and board man on Indy pit crews from 1971-77. Miller bought a Formula Ford from Andy Granatelli in 1972 and raced it in SCCA until 1974 when he purchased a midget from Gary Bettenhausen, competing in the USAC midget series from 1975-82.

Robin flunked out of Ball State College in 1968 and began working at The Indianapolis Star sports department in 1969, covered motorsports there from 1969-2000.

In addition to his broadcast work. Miller's also covered IndyCar racing for Autoweek, Autosport, Car & Driver and On Track magazines over the past 35 years.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
robin_miller's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robin Miller

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.