Quote:
Originally Posted by herr_oberst
So many drivers talented drivers back in the Bobby Rahal era; a great mix of the old soldiers like the Unsers and Johncock, the current kings of the track like Mears and Tom Sneva and Emmo, and all the young lions like Little Al, Paul Tracy, Dario all hoping to grab the brass ring.
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I've told this story many times, but I lived in Speedway, IN for a few years when I was a kid. You could hear the cars from my house. This was back in the old days when drivers didn't stay in fancy RVs, etc. They often stayed in local apartments or stayed with residents. When we first moved there (spring of 1973?), we lived in some apartments before we found a house and Gordon Johncock stayed in the apartment next to ours during the month of May. I was ~9 years old at the time, but my Dad was a big racing fan, so we would hang out in the parking lot and talk racing with Johncock. Not all day long, but he was literally "just another car guy" and had no problem hanging out talking. Another driver (back-marker guy named Larry McCoy) stayed with some people in the house next to ours once we moved to a house. And...I don't remember the whole story but my Dad knew a guy named Bob Harkey who drove back then. Heck, Billy Vukovich (the 3rd?) went to my junior high.
Fun times back then. A couple of pictures my Dad took:
