PRUETT: Triple Stint, 10.21

IndyCar

PRUETT: Triple Stint, 10.21

This week's topics include Loma Prieta, Welcome To The New School, Wondering How To Help AOWR?, 2006 ChampCar Media Guide, and your emails on Jim Hall and Jan vs Jorg.

Marshall Pruett | Posted October 21, 2009 Oakland, CA

Brett Smrz used his season in the Jim Russell Championship Series to prepare himself for a future in professional motorsports. The winner of the 2010 JRCS will receive a free seat in the European F2 series. (David Reite)

This week's topics include: Loma Prieta, Welcome To The New School, Wondering How To Help AOWR?, What I learned By Re-Reading The 2006 ChampCar Media Guide, Smart Calendar, You Heard It Here First, and your letters on Jim Hall and Jan vs Jorg.

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Loma Prieta

We all have a few dates that stand out in our lives – those events where you can remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when something happened. I relived one of those moments last Saturday, twenty years after an unfortunate collision of Mother Nature and the early days of my career in motorsports.

Like most people that lived in the Bay Area, October 17th, 1989 will be remembered for the Loma Prieta earthquake that killed more than sixty people, forced thousands from their homes, saw the collapse of a stretch of freeway overpass in Oakland and a section of the Bay Bridge collapse.

It brought the Bay Area to an abrupt and unpleasant halt, stranding commuters throughout San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley and every other major metro as electricity, road ways and communications came to a stop in an instant.

And what was I doing? Working outside our shop at Sears Point, loading the transporter for the drive down to the IMSA GTP race in Del Mar. Talk about being insulated from the realities everyone else was facing….

After a few dozen earthquakes, the fear was gone for me – you get used to the shaking and aftershocks – and while they’re never really fun, they lose their power to scare you. That’s my experience, at least.

Loma Prieta was no different. Our tractor-trailer setup didn’t have the hydraulic-lift tailgate that everyone has today. We used massively long aluminum ramps to wheel our Swift DB2 Sports 2000s up into chest-high trailer floor, and it was while walking up one of the ramps that I knew something was coming.

I had the trailer’s stereo system turned up, listening to a radio station based in San Francisco, and sections of the song began to disappear and then come back. It was like someone was turning the audio on and off, but the audio didn’t fade in and out – it was crisp each time it came back. This lasted for maybe five seconds before the 15-foot aluminum ramp I was walking up turned into the biggest surf board known to man.

I’d driven on DB2 up into the trailer, went back to get some ratchet straps to tie it down, and on my way up the ramp, the 7.0-magnitude quake hit and shot me about two feet in the air. As I was on my way up I noticed the unsecured DB2 was also reaching for the sky. We both came down and luckily the Swift didn’t roll back out of the trailer in my direction. The waves continued to hit, and with the flexible aluminum ramps acting like a spring under my feet, I continued to bounce up and down like I was on the narrowest of trampolines.

Something told me to put my arms out to my sides to help provide some semblance of balance as I rode the quake out. It might have lasted fifteen seconds, and despite being almost three hours North of the epicenter (near Laguna Seca), it kicked liked it emanated from a hundred feet away in Turn 11.

The shops at Sears Point emptied once the quake passed as people wanted to look around and see how much damage had been done. A few people reported cars being knocked off their stands and some other items crashing to the ground, but as a whole, the track was spared from the brunt of the damage.

Everyone’s attention turned to calling home, but with a lot of telephone poles being downed throughout the Bay (I’d never even seen a cell phone in 1989), that was a challenge. Some of us got through to our families a few hours later, but it was a very fraught time for all involved.

We finished loading the trailer but knew there was no hope of leaving that evening as we’d originally planned. Driving home was also impossible for many, including me. The hour drive from Sonoma to San Mateo wasn’t an option with the Golden Gate Bridge being closed and all the other freeways seemingly frozen in place.

I’d later learn that the reason for the radio signal dropping in and out was due to the shockwaves of the oncoming earthquake hitting and bouncing the radio waves from the sky. After seeing the images of part of San Francisco on fire and the collapse of Oakland’s Cypress Structure that killed so many drivers, thoughts of the quake coming at us like a silent wave of devastating power was rather humbling.

The comical scene of being bounced up and down on an aluminum ramp was tempered by the images of mayhem and death. It was impossible to be so blasé about earthquakes after seeing what a 7.0 could do.

Most of us had mixed emotions during our delayed trek to Southern California. Leaving your home after such a major event already felt weird, but leaving to go play with racecars at Del Mar only served to highlight how trivial this sport can be.

It’s amazing; it’s entertaining, but it’s also entirely unnecessary. That was the first time I’d ever not wanted to go racing, and I think everyone else on our team felt the same way.

Few things stand out from that weekend – seeing the Ferrari France F40 IMSA GTO car, watching a Joest Porsche 962 get wadded into a ball in front of me, and repairing the crash damage from my driver accident in practice. Beyond that, I can’t recall a thing. I have no clue if we won, lost, or failed to impress. Our minds were back home and despite all of the incredible IMSA machinery on display, loading up and leaving was all anyone wanted to do.

For those of us that went to Del Mar for most of the week, our first real opportunity to see and feel the impact of the Loma Prieta earthquake came when we got home and spent a few nights sleeping in our own beds. We were completely unscathed, if not somewhat disconnected from the realities so many others were facing.

As unnecessary as going to Del Mar to run our clients in a Sports 2000 race may have been, my father put it best when I got home, saying, “Maybe it was a good thing you didn’t have to deal with this stuff. It might have been good to get away and focus on something else.”

In retrospect, I think he was right. As much as I didn’t want to be in Del Mar, racing provided a bit of an escape at a time when everyone else in the Bay Area surely wanted one of their own. Our hearts were elsewhere that weekend, but if I had to pick one destination to get my mind off things, an IMSA GTP race near the ocean in SoCal was the perfect place to be.

If you have a story about a time when motorsports provided a similar form of sanctuary for you, regardless of the event or circumstances, and I’ll share it in the next Triple Stint.

Welcome To The New School

I’m loving the announcement made by the Jim Russell Racing School earlier this week about the prize they’ll award to the 2010 Jim Russell Championship Series winner: A paid seat in the 2011 F2 Series.

Depending on the exchange rate, that’s $400,000 worth of win-the-title-and-you’re-on-your-way-to-race-in-Europe-thanks-to-Jim Russell goodness.

The Del Mar IMSA event was popular from the late '80s through the early '90's, but the 1989 race weekend provided a respite for those dealing with the Loma Prieta earthquake. (GrandTouringPrototype.com)

With the help of two-time Le Mans winner Allan McNish, the school will also award two free seats in the 2010 JRCS to the winners of the Future Driver search, held this December in Sonoma, and that’s $260,000 more on offer.

Factor in the three additional subsidized seats for the JCRS Masters Class winner, the overall series winner and for the rookie of the year, and you’re looking at another $330,000 worth of cost free opportunities. That’s $990,000 worth of giving back to open-wheel hopefuls.

The Jim Russell Racing School isn’t the only operation to reward their drivers with money or cash prizes – I’ll feature them in upcoming columns – but at a time when there seems to be a dark cloud blanketing the open-wheel scene in America, a solid commitment from a respected company like Jim Russell sheds a lot of light for young drivers everywhere.

2009 Jim Russell Championship Series winner Brett Smrz is over racing Formula Fords in Europe as a part of the Team USA Scholarship program, and based on his impressive performances last weekend, it’s clear his JCRS training is serving him well.

The Russell School does a heck of a job with the drivers that train in their racing series, and I have no doubt the winner of the F2 seat will represent the school and his country very well.

And speaking of Brett Smrz…

Wondering How To Help AOWR?

If you’re like me, you’ve grown tired of the lack of American talent at the top levels of IndyCar and international motorsports. You also might be wondering how you can help to solve the problem.

Connor De Phillippi and Brett Smrz are representing the USA this month thanks to the contributions of racing luminaries and average AOWR fans. (LAT)

That one is simple: Team USA.

Like many other media outlets, SPEEDtv.com has covered the progress of Smrz and Connor De Phillippi during their outings in England, and the two American teens have so far demonstrated their potential.

I won’t bother rehashing the history of the Team USA Scholarship (learn more at www.teamusascholarship.org), but I will say that for nearly two decades, veteran journalist Jeremy Shaw has put countless dollars and hours into helping our future open-wheel stars to gain exposure and experience in the toughest European races.

Everyone from Vasser to Allmendinger, Hildebrand to Herta and Rice to Renna have taken part in the famed British Formula Ford Festival (or a similar Winter series) thanks to Shaw, with all of the backing coming from a collection of sponsors, professional teams, scholarship graduates and private donations.

While one’s nationality has no bearing on the ability to help people, it’s worth noting that Shaw’s benevolent efforts aren’t driven by memories of a youth spent with the American Flag waving overhead. If you’re looking for a bit of irony, it's the fact that Shaw, a Brit, is the mastermind behind the program. Yes, the inspiration and effort behind helping America’s finest is from England.

If you find that as motivating (and a wee bit embarrassing) as I do, the Team USA Scholarship is something you can influence directly. If you’d like to see more Americans in the IndyCar Series (just five of the drivers in the top-20 in 2009 are American), why not help by giving the next round of scholarship winners a better shot at making it to the top.

For all of the bitching and moaning that goes on about the state of our domestic open-wheel series (and no matter how accurate or justified that bitching may be), Team USA represents a real and substantive opportunity to start correcting many of the problems we face.

So, if you’re able or interested, drop Shaw an email and ask how you can help. Money is always needed. Offers of free services could also be of use. If nothing else, send him an email with ‘THANK YOU’ spelled out in all caps.

Bobby Rahal contributes. Patron Highcroft Racing contributes. Dyson Racing contributes. Most of the former drivers contribute. Maybe you can add yourself to that list.

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What I learned By Re-Reading The 2006 ChampCar Media Guide

"Ah, ah, ah....stayin' alive, stayin' alive..." (LAT)

• Mario Dominguez lists the Bee Gees as his favorite band. (I might have kept that one private, Mario)
• Entering 2006, Jimmy Vasser held the series record for most consecutive stars at 210 (!).
• Justin Wilson admits to considering miniature golf a hobby. (Really, Bad Ass? Do you have to get on your knees to reach the ball with the mini golf club?)
• After naming his children Eliott and Emilie, we can assume Eric Bachelart is fond of the letter ‘E’…
• Apparently encouraged by Dominguez’s show of strength, A.J. Allmendinger admits one of his favorite musicians is Usher. (Usher? Really, A.J.? I’d have never guessed.)
• If you’re drawn to ChampCar drivers with long or odd last names 2006 was your season. Favorites include Pizzonia, Pastorelli, Eddie’s cousin, Jan (Van) Heylen, Glock, Zwolsman, Caceres, Legge, and the fourth member of the neo-soul group Tony! Toni! Toné!, Tonis! Kasemets.
• I could find nothing amusing (or interesting) in Sebastien Bourdais’ profile.
• Alex Tagliani finished 5th in the 1998 Toyota Atlantic Championship, nine points behind runner-up Andrew Bordin. (Remember Bordin? He looked like he was going places for a while. How about Bertrand Godin? He was possibly the happiest racing driver I’ve ever met – huge smile at all times. And 1998 TAC champion Lee Bentham? There were so many strong Canadian drivers in the mid to late ‘90’s that should have made it to the top but never did. I’ll have to do a story on them soon.)
• Dan Clarke earned the nickname ‘Speedy Dan’ while in karting. (I guess the statute of limitations on ‘nicknames that no longer apply’ wasn’t brought to Clarke’s attention.)
• Rodolfo Lavin won the Pedro Rodriguez Trophy for ‘Best Driver in Mexico’ in 2001. (It doesn’t specify whether the ‘best driver’ award is related to auto racing or simply for exemplary driving on the streets in Mexico. You be the judge.)
• Oriol Servia was the 1999 Dayton Indy Lights champion. (Remember when Firestone tried to promote their Dayton brand through re-branding the Firestone Indy Lights series? If you’re wondering what a Dayton tire looks like, pull up a clip from a ‘70’s Dolomite movie, or maybe an early Snoop Dogg video. See the Caddy or Low Rider on wire rims with big white wall tires? Those are Daytons…a perfect fit for open-wheel racing…)
• Cristiano Da Matta is the son of a 14-time Brazilian touring car champion. (That is incredibly cool.)
• Nelson Philippe is credited for winning a pole in the 2001 Italian Karting Championship. (He later returned Robert Kubica and apologized for the mix-up.)
• Andrew Ranger became the first Canadian to win the Danish ICA Junior championship Viking Trophy. (First Canadian? How about the first human to win that trophy? I think we have a winner of the first inaugural ‘I have no idea what this award is’ award.)
• Pony up $10.69 at GoDaddy.com, and you can own the URL for the stillborn Champ Car Grand Prix of Ansan in Korea, www.ansangp.com. (And who said all the good URLs have been taken?)

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