An appreciation for Bob Jenkins on his final race

As we head to the MAVTV 500 INDYCAR World Championships Saturday, we come to the end of Bob Jenkins' career in television broadcasting. As was mentioned earlier in the year, the 65-year old Mr. Jenkins announced his retirement during Carburetion Day, as his wife Pam is undergoing treatment for a serious illness.

Here are some classic Jenkins clips as we celebrate the career of a motor racing legend behind the microphone. ◙













Black Sunday:





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Now this?

Wait a minute, this is Classic Sports Thursday isn't it? We're not here to talk "dating" "reality" (or as Steve Beverly of Union University near Memphis calls them, game operas). But . . .

If rumour has it, Emily Maynard (mother of a seven-year old daughter, Josephine Riddick, was born months after the father died in a plane crash) may have found a son of The Hot One. And she visited the family in Scottsdale, where The Hot One lives, to see if The Hot One, his wife, and siblings approve of her romance with the son of The Hot One.

Now what is with the reference of The Hot One?

Let's go back to 1990, and a record that still stands, to see that one of Emily's attractions is a father who is "The Hot One":

Jenkins retiring

NBC's Bob Jenkins officially announced his retirement during Carburetion Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And contrary to published reports, Mr. Jenkins, who turns 65 in September, will officially call it a career at the IZOD IndyCar World Championships September 15 in Fontana. As we come closer to Fontana, we'll collect a Bob Jenkins archive. ◙

Classic Sports Thursday

A recent tweet at the Michigan International Speedway reminded me of this Kmart vs Target 2000 battle in CART's FedEx Championship Series between Michael Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya that thrilled the battle in one of the more exciting races during The Split II.

At a recent tire test at the two-mile speedplant, Mr. Montoya sent this:

"Pouring here in Michigan. Track needs a jet dryer. They used to have one, but somebody blew it up!" ◙

Las Vegas tragedy

I had just finished some housekeeping chores when I turned on our Vizio HDTV to our ESPN Broadcast affiliate and saw the IZOD IndyCar World Championship had been stopped for what was cleanup.

After finishing our Bible study tonight, on the drive home, I learned the horrifying tragedy of what happened, and saw what was clearly X-rated clips (violence) of the Bowers & Wilkins Honda flying into the catchfence. In the past three and a half years, we've seen fatal crashes in drag racing from various classes of cars flying into netting at the end of drag strips when cars are unable to slow down sufficiently in the sand trap. Now we've had another INDYCAR* fatality with a car flying into the catchfencing, open cockpit first.

The ultimate irony is that INDYCAR was criticised for a Nerf Bar (something that's seen on a NASCAR Modified) style tail for the new Dallara cars that will be used starting in March. After seeing the gruesome tragedy of today, maybe the Nerf Bars are a must. And the Nerf Bar may not be good on aerodynamics, but to prevent cars from flying is the most important issue. Wheel-to-wheel contact, regardless of it being an IndyCar, F1, GP2/3, Modified, or Formula Nippon (built in California), is the most dangerous because exposed wheels in contact with exposed wheels is easily grounds for launch. This bar may have prevented three cars from going airborne.

It was horrifying to see replays of what happened. Our thoughts and prayers go to the Wheldon family.

Réquiem ætérnam dona eis Dómine; et lux perpétua lúceat eis. Requiéscant in pace. Amen.



Let's Flash Back: 2005. 2011.

* The stylebook issued by Indy Racing League LLC states INDYCAR, the trade name of the IRL (the legal name of the organisation is Indy Racing League, LLC). All rule books posted by the organisation in regards to the sanctioning body has the name in all capital letters. ◙

Classic Sports Thursday

Sunday's INDYCAR race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the first IZOD IndyCar Series race since 1998 at the 1.058 mile speedway, and the first with Bruton Smith, who has INDYCAR races at Texas and Sonoma, in control.

Here was the last INDYCAR race from 1998, and note who is calling the race -- the man regarded as America's premier motorsport voice. (Courtesy INDYCAR.) ◙

Classic Sports Thursday

I've had occasion recently to spend some time rooting around the online archives of the Indianapolis 500, reading articles, watching videos, and listening to audio. By far Johnson's Indy 500 is the best site on the net for historical data - it even tells you who's sung "Back Home Again in Indiana" over the years.

It's not the only site on the web, however, which means that anyone can spend hours - even weeks - surfing through different sites, pouring through clips on YouTube and stories from Google Archives, seeing hours bleed away from your life, hours that you'll never get back - but you likely won't care about that.*

*Such is the life of a cultural archaeologist - or an anal nerd.

For some reason, the 1964 500 has always carried a greater-than-others interest for me. Perhaps it's because it's the first 500 I can actually remember - sort of.  I'd just turned four, and my sole recollection of the event is seeing pictures from the race in the paper the next day.* And there were plenty of pictures, of perhaps the worst, and certainly one of the most graphic, crashes in the history of the 500.

*Back in those days, the race was still run on Memorial Day, unless it fell on a Sunday. In 1964 Memorial Day was Saturday, which meant the Sunday sports section was full of details.

At the end of the second lap, a car driven by rookie Indy driver Dave MacDonald spun coming off the fourth turn and crashed into the inner wall, exploding immediately. The flaming wreck then spun back across the track, clipping several cars and casting an enormous black cloud of smoke across the front stretch, before being hit by the car of longtime Indy favorite Eddie Sachs, which in turn also exploded. Sachs was killed more or less immediately (not from burns, as many thought at the time, but apparently from the sheer impact of the collision), while MacDonald died a couple of hours later, primarily from the fire's damage to his lungs.

Here's video of the crash - I'm linking to it rather than putting it right on the site because some of you might find it a bit graphic. The spectacular burst of flame and smoke came from the massive quantities of gasoline used by both cars - there were no limits to fuel capacity back then, and most cars used gas rather than methanol, which is used today. In addition, the magnesium used to construct the framework of many of the cars was highly flammable, contributing to the overall mess. The race was stopped for an hour and 45 minutes; the first time in Indy history that a race had been stopped because of a crash. A.J. Foyt won, driving a front-engine roadster - the last time a winner would do so. The next year Jim Clark would win in his F1 rear-engine Lotus, and after that nothing would be the same.

As far as I can tell, this is the only crash in Indy history to kill multiple drivers, and one of the last fatal accidents in the race itself (most fatalities since then have happened in practice.) It was the cap to a brutal week in motor sports; the legendary NASCAR driver Fireball Roberts had suffered horrific burns in an accident the week before, from which he would die in July.

In listening to the live radio broadcast of the race, one thing above all is apparent - that racing is dangerous, and that the drivers both know and accept the danger as the price of doing something they love. Implicit in that is a deep respect for the power of a race car, and the risk of being a racing driver. There's no doubt that racing has become safer in the years since; the last F1 driver to die was Senna over 20 years ago, and Earnhardt died at Daytona over 10 years ago.

And this safety is great, but I do wonder whether or not drivers still have the same respect for the sport they had in the past. Especially in NASCAR, the "Have at it" mentality holds firm, so much so that Judie refers to it as "Wrestling on Wheels." Pushing someone out of the way is commonplace, and while "wrecks" are common, major injuries are few and far between - it's the egos that seem to be more fragile.

Is this good? It reminds me of one of the unintended consequences of the mandatory helmet in hockey. Back when helmets were rare, players policed themselves, aware that a stray stick could do serious damage. That's not to say that stick fights weren't common; hockey was a brutal sport even then. But there was a measure of self-discipline to it, one that disappeared as helmets became more prevalent. Watch some footage from a recent game compared to one from 50 years ago and see how much lower the players carried their sticks back then.

The same goes for racing. Perhaps if the drivers remembered how dangerous racing was and is - how these cars are still guided missiles - we might see a little more discipline on the track. Our desire to make life safer and safer, to cut down on the risk involved, isn't limited to sports - as Harry Reasoner once said, no matter how much you try to eliminate risk in life you can't achieve immortality. But maybe, just maybe, if racing were a little more dangerous, a little less protected, the drivers themselves might be a little more responsible. The way it stands now, as commentator David Hobbs often says, one day it will surely end in tears. ◙

Retro TV Friday

Until about a decade ago, every ABC broadcast from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway carried the same background music in the cold open for the broadcast (500, 1988-2001; 400, 1994-2000), the background being the theme to the TWA Flight 847-inspired movie The Delta Force.

Note this is from the 1998 Brickyard 400, but note the voice narrating this introduction is current Versus INDYCAR lead broadcaster Bob Jenkins (compared to current ESPN NHRA broadcaster Paul Page). Jenkins called last week's qualifying, henceforth the decision to use a Jenkins call and not a Page call for the signature theme of Indianapolis. ◙

Classic Sports Thursday

On Saturday the time trials begin for the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500. This is also the 50th anniversary of the first 500 win of the legendary A.J. Foyt. Foyt's going to drive the pace car for this year's race, replacing the will-he-or-won't-he (he didn't) Donald Trump. My question: why weren't they commemorating Foyt's golden anniversary by having him drive the pace car in the first place? ◙

Thoughts of the week

In response to Mitchell's commentary, I had a comment that was too long for commentary. But I'll start with some thoughts of Mitchell's post.

When I've been on stage, I've had to apply makeup, although it's not that well-thought. Bright lights will interfere with your face in more ways than others, so the rule is always makeup to "deaden" the glare. Hair? Too simple but the Pat Riley look has taken control in too many places. As for "purses" for men, I have had a chiropractor since the day at 20 when I destroyed my car in a crash. Chiropractors would rather have people sitting stable than one side higher than the other, which can happen with a purse. In an age where health is a bigger issue than ever, chiropractors recommend it for spinal protection reasons. Also, because men are now familiar with carrying items such as computers, tools, and workout clothing in bags, it has only desensitised the idea of men carrying a bag in public. A combination of chiropractors and the familiarity with carrying a laptop, workout clothes, or tool bag has made it possible for men to carry identification, money, and other important information in purse-style bags.

Our society is increasing feminised. The School Formerly Known As The Citadel is talking eliminating sports in order to comply with federal feminisation standards and punishing students for things that thanks to the courts are illegal as they mandated women to the school (which paves the thought: we have a girls' secondary school and two women's colleges in our state, but men don't have their own). Some schools have no sports for men in the fall but women have choices. UCLA built a new natatorium for women only. USA Gymnastics has grown increasing concerned about more men's gymnastics programmes being dropped.

Our increasing feminised society is taking place in church. Solid hymns and sacred song (which is what I prefer) have been replaced by feminised rock tunes and kids dancing to hip-hop. Female pop divas replace serious sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses. Modern church music is on the XX and not the XY side, with the tone of the songs increasing romantic ("I Could Sing of Your Love Forever," "Here With Me," "The Potter's Hand," and other numerous "worship" songs have this tone) and away from the strong God of the past. But since generations have been taught rock music in church, the effeminate is accepted. The strong-willed music that a classically trained singer would accept is gone, replaced by the pop tunes of the lowest common denominator.

And a few more things that came to me.

ESPN The Liar. All week ESPN was running advertising regarding ESPN Saturday Night Football on the ESPN Broadcast Network featuring the Stanford-Oregon match. Imagine when I checked the television, the ESPN Broadcast Network (#1105) had an ACC game, the ESPN Cable network (#1500) had a Big Ten game, and ESPN2 (#1501) had a Pac-10 game but it was not the Stanford-Oregon game. So the game being promoted all week was not even available here in this market. Maybe it could have been available on Game Plan or online, but the lying was proven. Meanwhile, the SEC was purring in the excitement of its CBS deal, as Florida-Alabama was available in 100% of the United States on CBS as the conference's status as the only conference with a guaranteed national game of the week continued.

NOTE: The channel numbers represent the author's home cable market, Time Warner Cable of the Midlands of South Carolina.

Verizon Choke. Just how many times can Penske Championship Racing choke at Homestead. They are thankful the Miami circuit is not on next year's Izod IndyCar Series because in two season-ending showdowns at the circuit, they have lost point leads to rival Ganassi.

ObamaCare Is Doing Its Job. Companies such as The Principal are leaving the health insurance business, and this is exactly what the proponents of ObamaCare have wanted. They are wanting to create the single payer, government as all, with rationing, and forcing everyone else out is the first piece of work. And for that, I am irritated because my legislators weren't allowed to participate in discussion or block it. It was run over like a monster truck by the West Coast Offense.
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Weekend thoughts

We have now seen a $100,000 fine for Scuderia Ferrari ******** for “illegal team orders” involving a pass of Felipe Massa by Fernando Alonso with 18 laps to go in Sunday's Großer Preis Santander von Deutschland.

Where have we seen it with the big red cigarettes?

Should be an interesting week inside the World Motor Sport Council, and the Eni Magyar Nagydíj puts Formula One back on the live map.

NOTE: The team's name is censored under federal regulations

And another controversial restart? Scott Dixon makes it a Ganassi Weekend with a victory at the Honda Edmonton Indy, joining Jamie McMurray (Brickyard 400) as Chip's Winners of the Day. A controversial call on the final restart with Verizon Penske teammates Castroneves and Power is still reverbrating.

And the backlash over Sen. Graham's endorsement of Elena Kagan is proper. Why are we endorsing a judicial candidate who has publicly wanted to replace the Constitution with foreign law? And her hatred of the military and wanting it to be a social experiment has led to this:

Harry Reid wants total control to keep his No Debate, No Discussion in order to force as much of the Left's wicked secularist agenda down our throats. ◙

Opinion Digest

Charles Krauthammer on NASA administrator Charles Bolden’s interview with Al Jazeera in which he said that President Obama’s “perhaps foremost” priority for NASA was “to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and math and engineering”:

This is a new height in fatuousness. NASA was established to get America into space and to keep us there. This idea of "to feel good about their past scientific achievements" – it’s the worst combination of group-therapy psychobabble, imperial condescension, and adolescent diplomacy.  (H/T The Corner)

Tony Johns (Pop Off Valve) on the disaster that is ABC's coverage of IndyCar:

That low level of performance only exacerbates the issues facing ABC’s auto racing coverage, particularly concerning the IZOD IndyCar Series. ABC treats IndyCar racing the same way they would treat professional basket-weaving or Extreme Hair Styling - superficially, and with an underlying sense that they’d rather be somewhere else.

Finally, to end the Independence Day weekend (one day late), here's Chet Atkins with The Stars and Stripes Forever: ◙

Memorial Day: Japan's Double Atomic Bombing, America Surrenders

By Bobby

The great William Faulkner could say it well. Japan reigns supreme, while America is a supreme failure.

And might Grantland Rice say it when saying the captains of the Japanese Armada in Castroneves and Reutimann formed the crest of a Japanese tsunami that flooded the Americans.

Or could he have said it as captains of the Hinomaru that dropped atomic bombs in Indianapolis and Charlotte, leading to a quick surrender of the United States, as the Hinomaru is raised high above this country as an American surrender has been called.

What Else Is There?

By Mitchell

Admit it - you didn't really have anything else planned for today, did you?

Reading the Wires

By Bobby

In the wake of auto racing's new open-wheel unified series following the IRL-Champ Car merger, IRL Ministry.com, a charity of the League, discusses open-wheel reunification as an analogy with unity in the Bible.

According to the IRL site, there will be three religious services on race day (Saturday):

9 AM - Chapel services (Grand-Am Road Racing and Indy Lights)
4 PM - Chapel services (IRL)
4:30 PM - Mass

Mass will be held just before the drivers' meeting.

In related IRL news, as per recommendation of Rusty Wallace after the tragic 2006 practice session at Homestead, FL (site of the season opening race) in which IRL rookie Paul Dana was killed, there is no race-day practice before any IRL race, just like Indianapolis. The last practice will be held before qualifying, which will be a 4-lap format.

Wallace, who was the ESPN IRL analyst in 2006, criticises the idea of race-day practice, being a short-track racer who believes if you have two days of practice and a one-engine rule, race-day practice isn't needed.

"They used to have morning practice sessions because teams used to change engines all the time; and when you put a new motor in the car, the driver wants to try it out and make sure everything is fine. But now with the one-engine rule (they don't change engines) they don't need to have it."

Bruce Martin previews the upcoming season, which begins tomorrow night at Homestead, here.