PTRACER wrote: ↑3 years agoIgnore the naysayers. I am interested in knowing your story and how you came to be there, could you tell us?
I have somewhere else on The FL, iirc. 'Sho' 'nuff though.......
'Twas the Trenton 200 (the 150 was the Spring race), Sept.'68. Had been going to Trenton since our first Indy car race in Langhorne, '66. We went to Langhorne from a friend's house we were staying at for a few days in 'Jersey. Thereafter it was Trenton as it was closer to home (NYC).
I was 14 at the time and getting autographs as the teams rolled in by the registration booth outside of T-4. ('Told the story about thinking Aldo was Mario in the "Remembering the Fallen" thread with Aldo's passing in it.) I caught Art putting on his shoes hanging out the back seat passenger side door. 'Asked him for his John Hancock and if I could ask him about the turbines. I don't know why but he took a liking and told me to go sit on the other side. I didn't hesitate.
"What do you want to know?"
"Why they all broke."
He turned around from facing out the door and swung his feet in and gave me a puzzled look. "Waddaya mean?"
"I don't believe all broke so close to the end."
"Why not? Cars break close to the finish very often."
"I believed Parnelli did last year, but when it was both of you (he and Joe) for the same reason, only three laps apart I started to have my doubts. My father also questioned the turbines' failure and suggested something wasn't right."
He turned to me again with a serious look on his face; no more the smile. "Why the doubt about the turbines?"
"Because with so few moving parts they're pretty dang reliable, and again, the same reason so close together? Awfully coincidental to me..."
He just stared at me, 'didn't say a word.
I continued "I know USAC doesn't want 'em just like they didn't want Jim to win with that "furrin' " car, so something doesn't smell right."
I could tell he was taken aback as he sorta leaned back a little. "Is this your dad's idea? To ask me this?"
"Naaw, we've talked about it but he doesn't care about racing as much as I do."
"How old are you? You're pretty perceptive."
I was a pretty shy kid and prolly blushed some. At this time I was in my third year of slot car racing, spent a lot of time refurbishing the one I used last, building, and developing my next, (we raced almost every Friday night, one store or anther) and I didn't participate in most of the activities other kids did. Most of my thoughts were on racing,and in NYC that wasn't a real popular "social" activity....
I told him "I'm fourteen, already able to fly* and know quite a bit about machines, as my father was always working on something or other. I like to learn."
[*No, I didn't have a license, but I was in airplanes with my father since I can remember, and he often turned control over to me. I finally soloed shortly after my 17th birthday. Dad was an instructor and Air Traffic Controller. Footnote: He taught Bob Said (Yup, Boris' father) to fly late '50s or early '60s, who later became some U.S. stunt plane Champion or other.]
Anywho, Art said he had to go, and that I should "Keep thinking the way you do, you know your stuff."
Believe or not, 'matters not to me. I sat with him.....listened to him......watched him.
I had my doubts prior to the encounter. After, I didn't anymore.
Then, (and now) I
knew.
Those were the days my friends, we thought they'd never end.....
jimclark