RIP Chris Economaki

[herr_oberst]

_From Joe Saward

"Long-time racing journalist Chris Economaki has died at the age of 91. Although he was primarily known in the United States of America, he spent many seasons attending the F1 races as a commentator with ESPN. A native of Brooklyn, Economaki came from a curious background: his father being an immigrant from Greece and his mother a relative of Confederate General Robert E Lee. He saw his first race, on a board track, at Atlantic City, when he was nine and later tried driving by realised that his talents lay elsewhere. He began writing in his teens and became the editor of National Speed Sport News in 1950, after serving in the US Army in Europe at the end of World War II. He eventually became owner, publisher, and editor of the magazine and passed it on to his daughter Corinne until it finally closed its doors in March last year.

Chris became a track commentator in the late 1940s and early 1950s and moved to television in 1961 with ABC Wide World of Sports, his commentaries including Indianapolis 500s, Daytona 500s, Formula 1 Grand Prix races, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the East African Safari, and even the Bathurst 1000. He remained with ABC for more than 20 years before switching to CBS Sports and covered F1 with ESPN in the late 1980s before being replaced by Bob Varsha."

More than most, this man loved this sport.

[kaisen]

91 years old.... he had a great life. Rest In Peace.

[bivenator]

That is a name forever linked to motor sports. RIP sir.

[sc_rufctr]

Rip and gods speed Mr Economaki

[Z-man]

Heard him speak at a local PCA meeting a few years ago -- quite an outspoken fellow.

Rest in Peace Mr. Economaki...

-Z

[Halm]

RIP. A terrific talent, for sure.

[Zeke]

I can say with some certainty that the Indy 500 was not on live TV in 1961 but I remember hearing Economaki's voice on AM radio talking about guys like Eddie Sachs and Bill Vukovich as they raced around the track. They had an announcer for each turn. Net research shows CE was the pit reporter on TV as early as '67 but no record of him being on radio. Seems inaccurate to me.

But I could be wrong. He was a good F1 announcer for several years before Bob Varsha.

[Buckterrier]

I always liked his voice.
RIP CE

[NY65912]

Great motorsports figure. I read his book, Let'em All Go!

He has been involved for ever, especially on the east coast, writing about racing. His stories of small town dirt track racing back in the old days are really interesting.

As a kid I remember watching Wide World of Sports with Chris commentating, he hooked me on racing for the rest of my life.

He really LOVED racing.

God's probably going to talk racing with him. Rest in Peace Chris.

[Noah930]

One of the great motorsports commentators. He will be missed.