In the Air
Editor's Notebook, June 1997
It's in the air! I can feel it! I can smell it! I can almost taste it! For me, here in America's mid-west, Spring and racing have finally arrived.
| After Indy, we all go to Milwaukee. |
The tulips are blooming, the squirrels are leaping through newly budded tree branches, Indianapolis, Indiana and Madison, Illinois are each a short hop down the highway and a million miles away, and I'm headed for Milwaukee.
After Indy, we all go to Milwaukee. (Tell me who said that in what movie, and win a year's subscription to Distant Thunder.)
The Summer and Fall stretch in front of me, landmarked by Milwaukee, Elkhart Lake, Mid-Ohio, Laguna Seca, Sears Point, modifieds at nearby dirt tracks, and stocks on the clay and asphalt.
Its great to be alive in the age of the internal combustion engine!
Breaking Through It's in the air and on the air. I don't know about you, but I'm getting the distinct feeling that women race car drivers are being recognized, understood, and applauded in ways that were not happening even last year. We may be on the cusp of a new era. (Think women's basketball of two years ago.)
| The good people at Lifetime |
Breaking Through: Women Behind the Wheel gave needed national recognition to the leading women in auto racing. If you didn't catch this hour-long show on the Lifetime Television cable channel, look for re-runs, or pester the good people at Lifetime to schedule it again.
On the show, we heard from Lyn St. James and Shelly Anderson. We got a look at up-and-comers Patty Moise and Tammy Jo Kirk. We met Christina Martin, a courageous young woman carving a niche for herself as a NASCAR team owner. (Look for a major profile of Christina and her team in the July issue of Distant Thunder.) The production was lacking, stilted, and predictable (sorry, my television background is poking through, here) but, for those of us with interest, it was well worth the time.
For me, what was truly special about the show was the opportunity to see Janet Guthrie and Shirley Muldowney, two legends of racing. I'd always thought of them as historical figures, but was pleased to see them as active, vibrant, competitive and very much alive women. Guthrie's physical presence is something I will remember.
Just a note: After the show was taped, Patty Moise has gotten back in a race car, with sponsorship for a limited season from Pure Silk. It can be done!
In This Issue Good material for Distant Thunder seems to be arriving from all over the place. We've got a Driver of the Month profile of a fourteen year old kid who is moving up fast in karting, an excellent article by a sports psychologist on self-talk and how it can improve performance, a feature article on the women of NASCAR, and a race report from the Legends series.
We have reader responses to a request for help about harassment on the track, and, of course, the racing diary of Lisa Devlin. Alison Hine is not feeling well, but I've reprinted the first installments of her series on computer racing simulation games, since it was so well received last month.
| Want to create a trivia quiz? |
If you'd like to contribute a race report, your thoughts on racing, a racing crossword puzzle or trivia quiz, race pictures or drawings, let me know. This forum is for you.
So, until the green flag drops....