jade_gurss's avatar
Author:
Jade Gurss
Login For More
Rate this article:
  • 0/5 Stars
  • Related Photos
  • Related Videos
SPEEDtv.com Store
DVD: David Jefferies Story
The David Jefferies Story is a reminder of the much loved and much missed Yorkshireman.
Our Price: $24.95
Visit Button
Buy Button
Man-Made Thunder
The book examines the sport of stock car racing through the eyes and ears of the men behind the wheel and the wrenches.
Our Price: $49.00
Visit Button
Buy Button
Unisex Sandwich Cap
Unisex Velcro back hat with SPEED logo on front. PINKS logo embroidered on left and PAO logo on right. One size fits all.
Our Price: $24.95
Visit Button
Buy Button
Speedway T-shirt
Men's 6 oz. 100% Cotton Jersey Short Sleeve Tee. SPEED logo imprinted on the front center chest.
Our Price: $24.99
Visit Button
Buy Button
Ferrari Red Classic Hat
100% cotton twill. Ferrari shield embroidered on front, piping on the peak and Ferrari logo embroidered on back strap adjuster.
Our Price: $30.00 ($27.00 Member)
Visit Button
Buy Button
Footer Bg
  • Zoom More Photos Button
  • Camera Icon
GURSS: Motorsports 101, In One Hour or Less?
Written by: Jade Gurss   
09/02/2008
Mooresville, NC
 
Faster. Louder. The weekly column on SPEEDtv.com by Jade Gurss. (Harold Hinson Photo) ยป More Photos

Last week marked the start of my first semester as an adjunct professor in the new MBA program in Sports Marketing and Management at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. My first assignment? Present the history of motorsports… in one hour or less.

Impossible, right?

Early in the process I resigned myself to the futility of the task: it’s like teaching the history of a giant sea by water-skiing across a small portion. You’re merely skimming the surface, and each time you jump the wake, you’re skipping large chunks of time and history. How to scan more than 100 years of racing history when the many storylines of the 2001 Daytona 500 alone could fill an entire semester?

What would you include in your one-hour summary? Use the ‘comment’ section to make your suggestions or ask questions about the gloried and complex history of motorsports. In the meantime, here are only a few of the items included in class:

Any recap must start in 1894 with the first auto race, a 78-mile jaunt between Paris and Rouen, France. The race was won at the blazing average speed of 12.6 miles per hour in a 3.5-hp Daimler-powered car.

Where did the mystical race distance of 500 miles originate? Credit Carl Fisher, the founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, who chose the length for the first Indy 500 in 1911 by figuring the distance would take roughly seven hours to complete, allowing the farmers and townsfolk enough time to watch the race then get home before dark. (Not to mention the invention of the rear-view mirror by the first Indy winner, Ray Harroun.)

To this day, why are F1’s Ferrari’s red and Mercedes’ silver? Since major sponsorship liveries were not allowed in F1 until 1968, each country of origin had an official color of car: British racing green continues this day, as does the deep red of Italy – and inextricably linked to Ferrari. The Germans were originally in white cars, until they chose to save weight by not painting their aluminum cars – creating the term “Silver Arrows.” which continues to this day.

And if one lists the record of Mario Andretti as the greatest and most versatile driver ever, how can you exclude mentions of AJ Foyt, Steve Kinser, Jim Clark, Bill Vukovich, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Richard Petty, John Force and Dale Earnhardt?

How much time do you allot to discuss ‘Big Bill’ France and his creation of NASCAR in the aftermath of World War II, plus Wally Parks and his similar formation of the National Hot Rod Association to organize
and make drag racing safer and less of an ‘outlaw’ activity in 1955?

One must not ignore the darker side of its history, including the worst tragedy in motorsports history as Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes launched into the crowd at LeMans in 1955, killing more than 75 spectators and injuring scores more. Bobby Allison’s crash at Talladega in 1987 nearly re-created the LeMans horror – if not for a few remaining strands of catch fence. The sight of Allison’s car flying toward the grandstands led to the creation of the restrictor plate - and remains the most prominent reason insurers still refuse to allow any NASCAR average lap speed of 200 mph (making Bill Elliott’s 212+ mph qualifying record likely to stand for many, many more years).

How does one even begin to describe the inane and ego-fueled open-wheel wars of the 1980s and 90s, which led Sports Illustrated to name the creation of the Indy Racing League as one of the “10 Worst Moves in Sports History?”

This decade, the previously mentioned 2001 Daytona 500 seems most significant, as it was not only the debut of a huge television contract, but marked the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt, which created the push to create today’s Car of Tomorrow.

And those few topics only got things started. What would you add to the list?

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Jade Gurss is the owner of fingerprint, inc., a sports publicity company. He has written two New York Times Best Sellers, including what is believed to be the biggest-selling motorsports book in American publishing history (Driver #8 with Dale Earnhardt Jr.). His two decades of publicity and marketing experience involves nearly every category of motorsports, including nine innovative seasons as NASCAR publicist for the Budweiser brand and Earnhardt Jr. His blog can be seen at: http://fingerprint.typepad.com


Attention Race Fans! Play SPEED's 'CHASE For The FANTASY CUP' Pick a team of 5 championship drivers every week... Compete throughout the 10 CHASE race weeks. Cash prizes are awarded to teams with the most year-to-date and weekly points!
View All Comments