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University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, September 5, 1972
5
Racing Pageantry Lures Crowds
By JAN KESSINGER
The death of a veterian race car driver, Ralph A. Miller of Wichita, dampened what was an otherwise perfect race day at the 2010 Cincinnati Reds despite Miller's death, the crowd of 10,000 maintained an enthusiastic profile and reveled in the return of road racing to Garmett.
A sparse crowd between 1,000 and 3,000, had watched the qualifications and two class races during Saturday's intermittent rain. But the lure of faster cars, racing for national Sports Carriers, and dry weather brought a larger attendance on Sunday.
Members of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) rose early in their campsites in a special area three miles from the crews and raiders also were updrafttune and pamper their cars.
their $6 two-day pass to one of the more than one hundred policemen imported from other Kansas towns to help with the cases and zipped up to the race gate.
Early arrivals were able to find the ideal spot for viewing their favorite aspects of the races. Some chose to plant themselves
at Flatiron Turn, a 120-degree
at Flettron turn that challenges the drivers
to slow from 150 m.p.h. speeds off
the p to a bare crawl around the
track for the Santa Fe Straight along
the backside of the course.
Still others chose to view the Clubhouse Turn, where a missed shuttle speed turn can lose valuable seconds and parked themselves across from the start-finish line to watch the mechanics as they feverishly
MID MORNING the fans call
Lawrence and hundreds
wilmington cities began to
through the gate, paying $4 a
day.
Kansan Photos by T. Dean Caple and Steve Craig
The wait for race time, 12:55 p.m., was punctuated by an occasional driver circling the track on practice runs or time qualifications. Spectators gave a look at the car and went back to the business of discussing the chances of the Sprites against the Coopers.
Among those who came early to select a prime location for viewing the races were members of the Jayhawk Sports Car Club, of Lawrence. A driver and teammate of the winning car at Lawrence, show making final preparations to his
F production MGA prior to the race. Below, Ralph Miller, of Wichita, driving car No. 71, is seen rounding a curve moments before he was killed in an accident.
Portable barbecue grills popped out and the smell of wood over the ever present odor of gas and oil. The popping of beer tops could be heard all around. The smell was so tense as the minutes went by.
Fred Stout, of Webster Grove, Mo., retrieves the nose portion of his formula Vee car after losing it earlier in the race. Stout, like several drivers, missed the "corkscrew" curves. After the last race of the day,
Dr. Charles Grauel, of Wichita, winner of the Formula C category, congratulates Kendall Noah, of Kansas City, Mo., winner of the Formula A category, in the victory lane.
POLITICIANS made their rounds. Gov. Robert Docking, Sen. Bob Dole and Rep. Joe Skibitz rode around the track as a mayor. The governor had 100 cars. Various candidates for state office accompanied them, including Morris Kay, Republican candidate for governor andake Manning, Democratic candidate for secretary of state.
Kay walked around the fence bordering the track after the parade and greeted the race fans. One young woman did likewise, handing out mimeographed photos to people who vote for George McMahon representative for Skubitz also handed out publicity sheets.
A MORTAR signaled that five minutes were left until race time. The crowd pushed to the edge of the pit lane for a view of the pit area. Hundreds of cameras ranging from instatamics to motorized Nikons recorded the race, 12:55, 37 streaking red, green, white and black cars took the
green flag. Spectators settled back and cheered their favorite cars and drivers as a normally 20 m.p.h. road around Lake Garnett resumed its role as one of the county road race tracks in the country.
In auto racing, it is the speeds and nearness of death that attract large crowds.
Ralph Miller was blistering track records in the group 4 race, while the afternoon. Miller had just completed a record with his white Zinker racer and was lengthening his overall score, which was killed in a spectacular crash.
AS MILLER NEARED the clubhouse turn, Daniel Burke, a St. Louis driver in a red Elva, was signalled on the pits and the straight. Secondes later Miller apperched the straight and the eyes of the crowd followed him as he whizzed along at 145 mph. Suddenly Burke signaled to the ahead. Burke signalled for Miller on the left, but it was too late.
WHAT WAS LEFT of the canes upright. MES医ically tore at the twisted metal and flipped glass that pinned the body of the injured they had him out and on his way to Anderson County Hospital. The track physician, Don Gidani, a former sports car racer, said he arrived. He had been killed by the initial impact of the crash.
It wasn't until the final race of the day that the crowd was able to put the Miller crash out of mind and become fully involved in the races. During the finale, nine racers snaked over the track in a showdown over the production and race models had raced before them.
As the two cars crossed a small bridge before Fiatiron Turn, Milaer rammed the back of the Eliva. Miller's Zink was thrown off the ground, "air," hesitating for what seemed full at the second top of its arce. At that point the fragile fiberglass car exploded into a thousand pieces, without a sign of fire or damage. Buried hurt to the ground, bounced off the end of a guardrail and landed on a hill inside the track.
After the races, the crowd left much as it had come—some early, some late, but all satisfied.
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