SUPER VEE: NEW YOUNG GIANT OF RACING

[Music] [Applause] what makes you 1965 with gold cards and i can get paid for doing it you know enough to to live on and it's i just love it i just love it i just love every bit of it and it could be like a number of other professional or semi-professional sports i'm a little more mature travel too i certainly enjoy the competition and the camaraderie with the with the other drivers something i've always wanted to do and uh i don't know of uh anything else i'd be any good at you are seeing this raceway from the driver's point of view the view that up to now has been experienced by only a handful of persons every year just a few hundred drivers who can truly be called a breed apart for their quick thinking fast acting instinctive reactions for both speed and for safety for this is super v unknown until a few short years ago a category and competition of auto racing that is drawing the new and more competitive drivers who one day could write the biggest racing headlines of them all [Music] so [Music] automobile race america's largest non-vetting spectator sport a thrilling blend of man's many dreams and desires a thrill-a-minute sport that combines cars and tracks and drivers and fans in a way that is changing but always exciting [Music] racing machines have certainly changed since this car set track records more than 50 years ago today super vs are one of the hottest and most challenging cars of them all because they open the door to big time racing they provide the proving ground and the wealth of experience so essential if the driver is to move up to the big indy car competition flag some of them like tom bagley race for a living howdy homes also makes racing his full-time career and bill palmer is still another full-time racer jim george has just made the transition from insurance executive to full-time racing driver stuart moore not only a driver but a mechanic as well combines both his loves into this one sport but then there's tom thompson off the track he's a financial systems analyst also in finance noah bennett is an investor eddie miller a contractor perm johnson heads his own custom painting firm bob lazier owns a ski lodge bill alsup operates a company that constructs and installs ski lifts but career drivers or weekend racers they all have one thing in common in these days of mass production of plastic same for fitting a mold these are individuals who refuse to fit the mold racing drivers are a breed apart [Music] we're behind the scenes in the paddock the get ready area for any race the place where the cars are lined up checked out fussed over lovingly coaxed into top condition [Music] on the track itself it's just one man in his machine but what gets him on the track is the teamwork of a tightly knit group the driver his mechanic and often members of the family with future generations of racers already understudying their parents they're always ready to share their views too to talk about the things uppermost in their minds racing and cars what is it that makes a sports car a super v dick kramer is asking the question he's a former racing driver and also president of the montgomery ward auto club which sponsors two of the super v's in competition it's primarily a designation that's created within scca for a formula car with a lot of volkswagen components in its standard volkswagen components that are modified for racing the car is a very small very high powered car with a volkswagen engine and there isn't very much to the car other than the suspension and the engine super v is a open wheel racing car uh similar to an indianapolis car that a lot of americans are familiar with they're powered by a volkswagen engine put out about 160 horsepower top speeds about 160 mile an hour range the uh open of the chassis to a monocoque and you know the wings and different things like that is what makes it different from a formula v and also being open wheel would make it different from a sports car well just that they're super fun i guess the uh the motor is uh came from the early uh squareback type 4 volkswagens and although they're highly modified now they start out life that way and uh to differentiate them from uh regular formula v which uses the type one motor uh they call it super v well if they uh have vw engines what makes the difference in performance between the cars bob well primarily just the the care you take to the detailing of what you do with the engines what you do with the chassis and uh you just massage each little piece to get a little quicker or a car handling a little better i think it's basically the driver the driver has to try quite a bit harder because everything is decently controlled so the driver is very important here that's what we're battling with right now is trying to figure out how we can go faster than anybody else with the same basic cars everybody else has got just a lot of little uh things that take probably a year or two to pick up or maybe even five or six years to pick up well if you try and make it handle better and get the best engine builder you can and then it's pretty much up to the driver the elements are all there but it's how you arrange them and how you get the most out of them to uh get the most horsepower howdy tell us a little about this car is this an expensive automobile uh race automobile or is this a low cost compared to other racing uh classes well you're absolutely right compared to other racing classes it is a low-cost vehicle as the car sits right now or if one would want to go out and buy a new one you'd uh you'd have to invest about twenty thousand dollars to have a car two spare motors and a few extra wheels so that you could have enough equipment to be competitive when super v first became a professional racing series in the early 1970s they raced only on road courses but now billed as many indy cars they are competing on oval tracks as well they race at trenton in new jersey at lexington's mid-ohio circuit at seattle at milwaukee at many courses such as nelson's ledges in ohio watkins glenn in new york elkhart lake a sports park a score of tracks in both the united states and canada [Applause] [Music] how does that differ in so far as your driving uh style jim smoothness really counts on an oval you have to be as precise as possible because even the smallest change in direction scrubs off an enormous amount of speed here on an oval there's other things to consider too in oval racing you don't do as much braking and you don't do any shifting how about the young people who are considering entering racing as amateurs is this a good class of car for them are there a lot of these cars around and are there the best because you have an amateur division you have professional division and there's enough cars out i would venture to say that there's probably four to six hundred super bees in the country so it gives one someone who's new and starting out you have enough horsepower in these cars to get an idea of what a what a real race car is like it's a pretty good entry point i think there are some smaller classes in the scca or the sports car club of america that might be a little bit more economical and give you the same experience it depends on the individual though if you're willing to take your time and not try to go out and win the first race there's certainly uh nothing wrong with starting professionally and run the super b i have to think that it's probably the best thing that's happened to young drivers racing careers here in the states ever it allows you to get into big league racing race in front of good crowds and it also gives you the experience to race in front of the big teams what's more usak has never really been able to have uh super speedway experience for young drivers they'd have to go directly from cars which don't necessarily apply to the championship division and now they've got a vehicle where people can kind of test their test their wings as it were yes super v offers a chance to develop and refine the techniques of driving that a man or a woman must have if he or she is to move into the front ranks of all races a racing season is a lot of things it's the fun and excitement of the race itself [Music] and it's long days and nights of demanding behind the scenes work [Music] it's thrill the checkered flag [Music] it's disappointment the yellow flag it's the heartbreak of failing to qualify perhaps not even being able to leave the track under your own power but up or down win or lose is one thing for sure most will be back to race again and again because like a disease racing gets into the blood and there's no cure and racing gets into the blood of the fans as well as the drivers the racing weekend is something special for the tens of thousands who come to see the action [Music] it's a holiday it's a family picnic it's proud worst in beer it's soda pop and cotton candy [Music] and occasionally it's also rain but rain like this heavy drizzle in seattle can't dampen the enthusiasm of the true race beam in fact it adds to the thrill and excitement [Music] a race brings out fans from all over the united states and canada and it attracts its share of celebrities too ladies and gentlemen we're about to start the race in a few moments and miss yajna gabor is going to give the command to these handsome young drivers gentlemen start your engine this is a tense moment in any race as they follow the pace car weaving back and forth to warm up tires and check handling but this event like all of them really started the day before during the time trial to determine the lucky drivers to make it to the main event because not everyone who wants to compete is fast enough [Music] there must be a number of many indy cars around here uh will they all race tomorrow or is there a limit well uh at every type of track be it an oval track or road racing course excuse me they have x number of cars are allowed per mile at this track they will allow 22. it's a mile long track they'll allow 22 cars to start there are however 37 cars entered there are the lucky ones out there right now yes these racing cars really burn up the track do you think the popular concept about racing being dangerous is accurate it's dangerous but so is driving on the freeway with today's cars and the equipment that we have the safety equipment the design of the cars the clothes we wear and and after all the ultimate safety device is the driver himself i guess one of the old adages is that you're going to finish first first you have to finish so there's a lot of attention paid to detail uh everyone who's racing wants to be on the track that day so everybody is concentrating 100 on what they're doing uh which is different than let's say driving down the freeway where someone makes mind way wander and maybe thinking about something else safety is the biggest factor that all of the sanctioning bodies in uh international road racing are concerned with they work with catch fences in case the cars go off we have the type of construction within the race cars is oriented a hundred percent for its safety the weight limits are all adequate enough so that you can put in the safety equipment so i think it may be a touch dangerous but i think it's really offset with a conscientious effort for its safety when you get a car ready for a race i'm sure you're concerned too about speed but what comes first speed or safety oh without any question safety you you in order to win a race you have to finish the race okay and you it has to be a safe car to do that i'd say safety is very very important again just a safe car has a lot better chance of finishing so safety is pretty high in my life still i think i honestly have to save speed but but if the car isn't safe then you don't feel like going fast the two go together i think because a great deal of going fast in a race car has to do with the driver's confidence [Music] the longer you know these drivers the more you talk about them and see them in action the more you're aware of their strong emphasis upon one guiding principle importance of safety safety and car design safety and driving safety off the track as well as on [Applause] the place where it all pays off is here on the day of the race [Music] today we're in the rolling hills of mid-ohio at lexington the crowd gathers and the excitement mounts for the fans it is getting the best possible vantage point perhaps a favorite corner to capture every bit of action and excitement with the mechanics being sure they hear that certain sweet reassuring sound of a finely tuned engine [Music] [Applause] for the drivers it's fighting tension psyching themselves up for the moment the starting flag drops and no car can go out on the track unless it first passes a rigid technical and safety inspection by race officials an inspection that is repeated on the three top placing cars after the race has ended to make sure they have adhered to all specifications we are watching scca professional racing technical administrator john tomanis inspect jim george's car front suspension looks good [Music] no play in the wheel bearings brake level brake fluid level's good good fitting gas cap throttle springs look good rear suspension looks good got the calipers bolt safety wired up that looks real good okay i think we're okay for this event to give you a tech sticker mid-ohio super v race attention all super v drivers drivers meeting in the pit area in 10 minutes this meeting is a must before every race okay fine a couple of points to cover first of all we've got a very tight first turn and a bridge down there i've checked the prize money there'll be no prizes for the first guy under the bridge so let's have a good safe start stay apart and let's all get out on the other side pole car will bring you up the hill slow you want a nice accelerating gradual accelerating pace coming up the hill and you'll get the green flag the first time around a couple of questions the grass is awful wet if you get off course you may slide for a good distance but when you're off course you're under control and command of the corner captain he knows more about where it's safe on that corner than you do so please put your cars where you're instructed to let's have a good safe race and we'll see you on the grid at two o'clock thank you [Music] welcome to the robert bosch super v gold cup race 25 laps totaling 60 miles the crowd that has gathered all around the scene in 2.4 mile track now numbers 25 000 all avid racing fans and all eyes are on the super b as they follow the pace car around the track green flag here come the super b car 61 herm johnson jumps from the second row position to take the lead bob lazier car two is right on his heels roger big house is third harry macdonald fourth billy mcconnell is fifth and tom bagley sick 34 cars in the running now as they start the second lap the order is johnson lazier big house and mcdonald [Music] car three ted field is starting to smoke lap three and we have a new leader bob lazier passes herm johnson as they race into turn seven meanwhile tom bagley is moving up as everyone expected he has now jumped from sixth position to third right behind lazier and johnson mcdonald is still in fourth place stuart moore has moved up to fifth big house is in sixth and phil scott lies seven bagley is still in third as the leaders pull away from the pack big house car 18 moves up to fifth position while mcdonnell hangs in there in fourth bob lazier from bale colorado continues to lead kerm johnson still running second is starting to smoke tom bagley still behind the leaders is running third and still holding off big house who's in fourth mcdonald fifth and billy mcconnell's six [Music] [Applause] it's now left 12 of 25 laps almost halfway through this 60 mile race 16 billy mcconnell and 10 bennett make contact at station 8 and bennett hits the guardrail it's a bad break but both drivers are okay [Music] the miscues bring out a yellow here tommy thompson and jerry broselow hold position as do all the drivers responding to the yellow flag [Music] [Applause] green flag again and part two bob lazier continues to pull away to stretch his lead now herm johnson is really smoking out there tom bagley is coming up fast and he's worth watching tom chalked up the highest qualifying speed here on the track yesterday 92.21 miles an hour term johnson clocked up 91.82 and lazier 91.43 closed [Music] it's the black flag in the pit for car 61 durham johnson who's had that smoking problem almost from the start uh oh that's tommy thompson losing it on the carousel corner 15. but he cuts across the pit road and he's back on the track tommy makes a great recovery he loses only a few seconds but of course in this type of racing every second is crucial is beginning to last the slower card right now passing number 45 bill kruger uh oh big house appears to be blocking peter moody that's not sporting you know if he continues that he could be in trouble [Music] it's the 19th lap and lazier has now built a five and a half second lead over bagley this race was expected to be a close one between these two cars and that's what it's turning out to be you can see that bagley car number one is using all his skill and determination to whittle away lazier's lead and behind lazier bagley come roger big house in third and peter moody in fourth bill scott is fifth [Music] [Applause] on the back stretch lazier still hangs onto his lead but bagley continues to nibble at his heel both now way ahead of the pack the crowd here today is really getting its money for it the competition is brutal 34 men fighting it out dog eat dog all of them with a single goal to be number one at the checkered flag lazier and bagley still first and second and behind them roger big house peter moody and billy scott jockey for position [Music] [Applause] uh oh cross alone big house rub wheels as they round corner eight could that be the result of blocking these super bees are really eating up the track out there probably doing 120 and more on the straight away on a track like this every corner every turn means a new challenge and demands the utmost in safety and skill from every driver [Applause] [Music] only three laps left and the excitement among the fans is mounting as they watch two men who have been leader of the season bagley and lizzie battle it out for number one [Music] lazier continues to hold the lead but now it looks as though bagley is starting to gain [Music] here come the rest of the pack around 415 way behind the two liters [Applause] [Music] last lap ladies and gentlemen and bagley is moving up fast pushing with every ounce of power can he overtake lazier and this crowd of 25 000 is getting the action they came here to see [Music] checkered flag lazier comes in first gets five seconds ahead of bagley to win this mid-ohio race and build up precious points to add to his score in this year's gold cup competition mid-ohio bob lazier uncorks the bubbly [Music] in milwaukee noel bennett collects the winners do trent tom bagley takes the cup another day on another track the winner might be george or holmes or miller or any one of the other new young giants of race but no matter how tough to fight no matter how fierce the competition there is one element that is foremost in all of their minds jim george puts it into words i want to drive safely and i hope you do too [Music] [Applause] [Music] you