Bob Jennings

The 1994 CART race at Elkhart Lake was the first of two consecutive racing weekends for me. The next weekend, I was at Nazareth for the CART 200 miler. That was the final time I traveled to the Pennsylvania "oval." However I'm planning to return to Nazareth next April for the big Indy Racing League and USAC extravaganza.

Jim Covington was a good friend during my final six and 1/2 years in Chicago. Jim and I worked together at three different companies from 1992 through 1998. Jim is a sharp guy and a good computer programmer. He was directly responsible for my going to work for Computer Task Group (CTG) in April, 1995. I can't count the number of times Jim and I met on cold winter nights at The Motorsport Collector (what a great store) in Downers Grove, Illinois to buy racing die casts, prints, posters, books, videos and other racing paraphernalia. Afterwards we'd usually stop at a tavern (I can't recall the name) across the street to assess our racing purchases while had a couple drinks and something to eat. Those were good days. Jim quietly supported CART when the Indy car split occurred in 1996 and we went separate ways. I miss being with him. He's a neat guy. Perhaps I can talk him into coming down from his home in Des Plaines, Illinois for the "Indianapolis 500" some time. There are probably going to be ten or twelve CART guys at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May.  If you read this Jim, what about it?    

I don't think Jim Covington had been to an Indy car race previously when I asked him to go to Elkhart Lake in September 1994. He and I went to Road America on Saturday September 10 for practice and qualifications. The following day, Jim and a lady I dated for awhile named Laurie went back up for the CART race. 

Beginning with "Indianapolis 500" weekend in 1994, speculation and rumors ran rampant that Nigel Mansell was going to leave CART to make a Formula One comeback. We know how that turned out. Of course it was a big disappointment for me because I desperately wanted to see Mansell win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. So Road America and Nazareth were especially important because by September I knew Nigel was going away and I probably wouldn't see him race again. Unfortunately  Mansell had disappointing runs in both races.    

Al Unser Jr. was at the very top of his game in his first season racing Roger Penske's Marlboro cars in 1994. He won for Penske, in his third try, with the fifth of his six career wins at Long Beach. Next came the opportunistic win in the "Indianapolis 500" after Emerson Fittipaldi had brain fade and crashed with only 16 laps left in the race. The following weekend I saw Unser kick ass, like I'd never seen him do on an oval before, leading a one - two - three Penske sweep at Milwaukee. Al Jr.'s fourth win of 1994 came in Portland, with a victory two weeks later in Cleveland. Then I watched Unser win at Mid Ohio on August 14 in person, followed by consecutive victories at New Hampshire International Speedway and Vancouver.

As a result of being preoccupied with Nigel Mansell, I missed most of the fun of Al Unser Jr.'s career best season. Had Unser's big year come in 2000 or 2001, I would've been ecstatic. Al's 1992 "Indianapolis 500" win is one of my great racing moments. I thoroughly enjoyed his run to the 1990 CART championship. Little Al's two Indy Racing League wins, especially the victory last August at Gateway, made me extremely happy. But as much as I like Al Unser Jr., I was more fascinated with Nigel Mansell. It's similar to the situation with Tony Stewart now. Tony Stewart represents  something of a Nigel Mansell figure, while Little Al is just Little Al.  

But in 1994 Al Unser Jr. was the best racing driver in the world. There was a fire burning in Little Al's (not little) belly. Unser combined the superb race craft he learned from his father with raw aggression and  absolute confidence. When a racing driver puts those three components to work in a good race car, he becomes unbeatable. Little Al had it all in 1994. Emerson Fittipaldi had Unser covered in the "Indianapolis 500." However beginning with the next race at Milwaukee, there was no comparison. After Indianapolis, Unser made Fittipaldi look old. Al Jr. was so much better than Paul Tracy in 1994 that Roger Penske farmed the Canadian out to Carl Haas in 1995. It was exciting and I wish I'd taken more time to savor Little Al's success.

The 1994 CART race at Road America was one of the more significant races in Al Unser Jr.'s career because he clinched his second Indy car title. I missed a great photo opportunity after the race, when Roger Penske made a ceremonial lap around Road America with Little Al to celebrate the first Indy car title for his team since 1988 with Danny Sullivan.   

It was hazy and overcast when Jim and I went to Road America on Saturday, but race day was sunny and hot. After we got to the circuit Laurie went into a "port-a-john" and changed from jeans to a long sun dress. She was a cute, slender, bra-less, aging hippie with long, curly red-brown hair and a big smile. She was a nice gal.

Take a look at the starting grid for Road America in 1994 on this page. It takes you back doesn't it? Where did some of those guys come from? Mark Smith? Giovanni Lavaggi? Ross Bentley? Franck Freon?

The Road America win was the first Indy car win for Jacques Villeneuve. It was the start of a meteoric three years in which Villeneuve would win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the next May, followed by the 1995 CART championship, eleven Formula One victories and the 1997 World Championship. 

I cheated and read the account of the Road America race in the October 7, 1994 issue of On Track magazine to refresh my memory. 

Paul Tracy was trying to save his job with Penske racing and he was fast at Road America that weekend. At the start of the race, the number 3 Marlboro Penske - Ilmor powered into the lead ahead of Villeneuve. Shortly after I took the photo on this page, Unser and Robby Gordon went by Mansell to move into third and fourth.

Nigel's Lola - Ford experienced an electronics problem on Saturday that left him parked outside turn five for the final 15 minutes of qualifying. On Sunday Mansell was losing about 1000 rpm because of a misfire. He ran with the top four or five cars for the first half of the race, but eventually dropped back in the closing stages. 

Tracy, Villeneuve and Unser ran at the front in that order for the first 35 laps. Arie Luyendyk's crash brought out the yellow flag and the leaders pitted. Villeneuve stalled momentarily in the pits and Little Al pulled ahead of Tracy. But Paul improperly passed Unser before they got to the exit. The CART officials missed the infraction however and Tracy led Al Jr. and Jacques to the green flag on the restart. 

There was a scramble to the first corner. Tracy's engine went flat and Unser went by on the outside. Meanwhile Tracy bumped Villeneuve as Jacques passed. In the confusion Villeneuve went into first place and Tracy settled into second ahead of Unser. I need to go back and look at the race video to see what happened in turn one since I was on the other side of the circuit on the hill overlooking turn seven.

With eight laps remaining, Tracy's car stopped in turn five. Unser radioed Roger Penske that he was going for second place points and the championship rather than chase Villeneuve for the win and the "Captain" concurred. After the race, while Villeneuve, Unser and third place Emerson Fittipaldi were celebrating on the podium, Mansell came up to hug Little Al in a symbolic passing of the Indy car crown.

The inaugural "Brickyard 400" had been run five weeks before. As we were walking to Jim's car after the race, he remarked about how many fans were wearing "Brickyard 400" apparel. There were a lot of them. In 1994, the three biggest stories in racing were the first running of the "Brickyard 400," Al Unser Jr.'s dominance for Roger Penske in Indy cars and the death of Ayrton Senna in that order. For the sake of comparison, Dale Earnhardt's death in the "Daytona 500" has to be an undisputed number one story for 2001. In fact I read that Earnhardt's death was selected overwhelmingly in a media poll conducted by the Associated Press as the top sports story of 2001, beating even Barry Bond's record 73 home run season.

Why am I writing about that now?