Frontstretch.com: The best seat at the track... the best view on the net! Friday, November 20th 2009

Driven to the Past: Some Thoughts Before Going Into Hibernation...

John Potts · Friday November 20, 2009

Since I voiced the opinion a couple of weeks back that NASCAR should consider going back to stock bodied cars, I think it behooves me to comment on the introduction of the new Nationwide Series car.

They’ve definitely taken a step in the right direction. The cars they tested look much more like those you see on the street than their upscale CoT counterparts.

No doubt they were working on this long before I and others put forth the idea that the CoT’s chassis with all its safety modifications could be put under a stock-appearing body, but it makes me feel like they’re headed the right way.

Driven to the Past: Working Inside...

John Potts · Friday November 13, 2009

I worked quite a few races indoors in my officiating career, and each one was an experience in itself. Just like outdoor tracks, each venue has its own personality.

The first time was with the United Midget Racing Association TQs in the coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in the ’60s.

We’d run some pretty short dirt tracks on the fair circuit in Indiana and Ohio, but this one was the shortest yet.

Driven To The Past: Let's Go Back A Few Years ...

John Potts · Friday November 6, 2009

OK, I’m not going to tell any stories about back in the day with this writing. I’m going to voice my opinion on what to do about today’s racing, and the tragedy that’s waiting to happen at Talladega and Daytona. However, I believe it bears talking about in this space because my personal remedy involves past history.

What got me rolling was Ryan Newman’s flip at Talladega last Sunday. That wasn’t just one of my favorite drivers inside that wheels-up hulk, it was a friend of mine. And I was worried! I was hoping that the radio just wasn’t working, and that turned out to be the case, thank God.

Driven to the Past : The Old ASA Crossover

John Potts · Friday October 30, 2009

In September, on our last visit for the year—the race was the World Cup 400—we were sitting in the motorhome on race morning when our esteemed president, Rex Robbins, said we needed “…something to spice up the show a little.” After some furrowed eyebrows and thoughtful expressions, Wayne Doebling (the photographer of whom I have written before) piped up, “Hey, John. How about the old UMRA crossover?” And Steve Stubbs chimes in, “Oh yeah, that’ll get their attention.”

Driven to the Past : Making Your Own Decisions

John Potts · Friday October 23, 2009

There were times in my race officiating career when I was told that I was “a little quick” sometimes to throw the caution flag. I usually responded that I’d much rather throw a quick caution than to wait too long or not to throw one when it was needed.

One of the last ASA races I worked, in 1984 at Winchester, Ind., was one of my proudest. Anybody who has ever raced at Winchester will tell you that it’s so fast and so narrow that a one-car caution is extremely rare. We ran 400 laps that day, with 36 cars starting, and didn’t have any multi-car incidents at all. There was once when somebody got crossways and I came down with the yellow, and he straightened it out – but my conscience was clear.

Driven to the Past : Parental Participation (And Interference)...

John Potts · Friday October 16, 2009

The actions of Joey Logano’s father at California have been well documented by now, and the comparisons to soccer and little league parents have been aired. As some other writers have noted, I understand as a parent, but there comes a time when you have to let the kid stand on his own, and I think Joey’s going to do OK in that department.

The reason for mentioning it in this space is that I’ve had a little experience with racing fathers myself. I’m going to slip into drag racing for this column, but I think the situation applies to virtually all types of competition.

Driven to the Past : Rules? In A Knife Fight?

John Potts · Friday October 9, 2009

Had to use that as a headline. It’s one of my favorite movie lines, delivered by Richard Kiel early in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I’ve been known to quote it often when somebody asks about rules at the race track.

What brought about the attention to rules this week was the “controversy” over NASCAR telling the 48 and the 5 that they were getting close to the limit on one of the body standards.

My reaction to this was, “What’s new about this?” I can recall that happening several times back in the day. Leo Parrish, the original ASA’s long-time chief inspector, regularly warned competitors that they were approaching the edge of he envelope, and the envelope wasn’t going to move.

Driven to the Past: When We Were Young and Crazy, Part II...

John Potts · Friday October 2, 2009

Quite a few of my ramblings in this space generate phone calls and e-mails from people who remember and revere what happened “back in the day,” but I never expected my dissertation about my first Corvair to bring so many out of the woodwork. I’d rather these folks comment on the website, but I’m glad to hear from them regardless of how they do it.

One caller asked if I had any trouble with clutch cables. Corvairs were infamous for breaking clutch cables, some of them lasting only a couple thousand miles. I can remember breaking only two of them – one at 5,000 miles and the second at 9,500 – and after the second one my favorite racing mechanic figured out the problem.

Driven to the Past : When We Were Young and Crazy...

John Potts · Friday September 25, 2009

I was going to head this column, “Getting There Is Half The Fun,” but the above seemed more appropriate after I thought about it. Back in the ’60s, I owned a 1965 Corvair. Loved it, and by the way, Ralph Nader can take a long walk on a short pier. Funny he never mentioned that the problem with the rear suspension was corrected in the 1963 model.

I really didn’t want one until they changed the styling for the ’65 model. My first one was destroyed in an intersection collision in Louisville when a drunk driving a big Pontiac ran a red light and hit me square in the driver’s door, knocking me head on into a utility pole. I emerged without a scratch, asking how the other guy was because I wanted to kill him. That was my first new car, and it didn’t have 1,500 miles on it before it was wrecked.

Driven to the Past : Getting Off The Ground...

John Potts · Friday September 18, 2009

I’ve always been a fan of all kinds of racing. When things are dull and we were waiting for a shower to pass over, I can recall watching two raindrops race down a windshield. Anyway, my interest included boat racing for a long time, partly because my father was interested in it, and he served for a while as commodore (I’ve never really figured that title out, usually deciding to let well enough alone) of the Falls Cities Motorboat Racing Association in Louisville. We put on a minor-league regatta of our own, racing everything from outboards all the way up to 7-litre hydroplanes.

While I was in the newspaper business in southern Indiana, I got a press invitation to attend the Madison Regatta. This is a historic event, and of course featured the unlimited hydros. Thunderboats. With a weekend off from the ASA schedule, I decided this was something my son and I had to experience.

The Frontstretch: jpotts by -- Friday November 20, 2009

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