R.I.P. Chris Economaki, the "Voice of American Motorsports" -and so many great weekends of my youth; #chriseconomaki

cjs3872 video: 1973 Indianapolis 500, Part 4 (The Start). Updated November 13, 2011. http://youtu.be/CysanZ78eBo

R.I.P. Chris Economaki, the TV Voice of American Motorsports -and so many great weekends of my youth.

Yes, back in those pre-cable TV days of only a handful of TV channels, when the day my Sports Illustrated magazine arrived in my mailbox, usually a Friday, was one of the highlights of the week. (In fact, the first issue I ever received as part of my subscription, in 1971, when I was ten years-old,  was of driving legend and ABC Sports analyst Jackie Stewart on the cover.)

Between ABC Sports' always excellent coverage of racing, including Wide World of Sports,  and SI's excellent news analysis and penetrating photography of motor sports -back when they had Indy-style racing on the cover more frequently than they have the past 20 years- I always knew what was really going on and who really disliked whom, when feuds were real and not always so contrived or orchestrated for marketing purposes.

By the time the Memorial Day weekend finally rolled around and Race Day arrived, I knew who all the drivers were, what their recent history had been, and which drivers or teams desperately needed to win or do well to keep going because of lack of sponsorship money.

USA Today
Chris Economaki changed motor sports coverage
by Nate Ryan, USA TODAY Sports
September 28, 2012
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nascar/story/2012/09/28/chris-economaki-changed-motor-sports-coverage/57851350/1

The multi-day 1973 Indy race featured in this video, eventually won by Gordon Johncock, back when ABC's coverage was Taped, Same-Day coverage, and NOT LIVE, which made the waiting all the worse, was one of the most deadly and tragic in Indy 500 history, with the death of two drivers, a pit crew member and several fans being seriously injured during a horrific crash. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Indianapolis_500

georgendy video: Uploaded February 16, 2008. http://youtu.be/X-IsOuo5be8

 
http://youtu.be/9yb9drI1XHk

Salt Walther's accident comes at 2:43, Swede Savage's deadly crash at 6:41 

Even now when watching thsi video, when the late-great Jim McKay goes thru the eleven rows of the starting drivers, I can almost recall what I was thinking, excited to see another race day come to Indy. When I think of those drivers now, this is exactly the way that I picture them.

And Chris Economaki as much if not more than anyone else, was the person most- responsible for filling my youthful head with all sorts of useful racing facts, telling historical anecdotes and amusing raceway trivia nuggets, to make me as fully prepared as possible to follow the race with some degree of understanding and intelligence -more than a thousand miles away in hot and humid North Miami Beach.
Little did I know then when listening to his informed words, that in just a few short years, Indiana would become a very important part of my life, as it remains to this day.

New York Times
Chris Economaki, Rumbling Voice of Auto Racing, Dies at 91
By Douglas Martin
Published: September 28, 2012

Chris Economaki, whose gravelly broadcast voice and prolific pen — specifically, his manual Royal typewriter — narrated the rise of auto racing from county-fair dirt tracks to a global multibillion-dollar business, died on Friday in a nursing home in Wyckoff, N.J. He was 91.

Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/29/sports/chris-economaki-rumbling-voice-of-auto-racing-dies-at-91.html

Look out NASCAR! The monkeys at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire have a car of their own to play with -they're 'grease monkeys' AND quick learners!

Monkey Mayhem Returns to Longleat!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sst5olU-0jw

Look out NASCAR!
The Rhesus macaques at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire have a car of their own to play with -they're 'grease monkeys' AND quick learners!

And their sponsors love them -or rather, will.
http://www.longleat.co.uk/

While they have learned how to keep making left-hand turns for 500 miles and how to pull into the correct spot in the pit-stop, there are certain things they still haven't quite caught on to, but give it some time.

For one, they haven't quite figured out how to do the celebratory donut in the infield after the race, an obligatory move in this day and age.

And most importantly for any professional automobile driver, they STILL haven't figured out how to start every post-race interview by thanking their sponsors and mentioning each one in declining order of financial investment.
Next year at Bristol and Martinsville!

I should also add that like me, other than at the Indy 500 or the Daytona 500, races with real tradition, the monkeys in Wiltshire see little value in having military flyovers at automobile races.
If it seems silly to them, imagine how it seems to those of us who can can add the taxpayer dollars involved...

I should mention here that one monkey wanted to put a Miami Dolphins pennant clip on his back window while still another wanted to put a bumper sticker on the back of the Mercedes that read "My child is a Honor Student at Jim Notter High School", but I talked them out of it.

While you're in the area, you may even want to visit a place that's even more famous, Stonehenge, which is why a friend is fond of saying, "Come for the Monkeys, Stay for the Druids."

Official tourism website for Salisbury & Stonehenge:
http://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/salisbury/home




STONEHENGE -Wiltshire, England
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yz0xNkMmAI




National Geographic video: Secrets of Stonehenge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6oxmxPKoSE

See also:


ITN Video: Monkeys ravage car at Longleat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be2Eqw5PGa0

BBC News
Longleat's monkeys given their own car

18 March 2011 Last updated at 07:47 ET

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-12773736

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/NationalGeographic
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/