Will it be as Famous as “THE FIGHT?”
NASCAR’s most famous fight is generally regarded occuring at the end of the 1979 Daytona 500. In the 500’s first live TV broadcast the last lap came down to a duel between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough. Cale dove low to pass. Donnie blocked, traded paint and both wrecked in turn 3. Richard Petty took the win.
After the race Allison and Yarborough got into a fight with brother Bobby Allison also stopping to join in, all on national television. This incident helped spark an interest in NASCAR that no amount of advertising could ever match.
There have been other incidents of course, most notably when Jimmy Spencer jumped out of his car and apparently punched Kurt Busch in the face multiple times. But last nights public hearing in Staten Island may rival the Daytona incident in importance to NASCAR’s history. At least its history in the greater New York area.
At stake are plans by ISC to build a three-quarter mile, 80,000-seat track on the Island. The public hearing turned from a rational debate over the myriad of issues but involved into a shouting match, cum WWE clone.
The meeting was only 20 minutes old when Councilman Andrew Lanza had a microphone stripped from his hand and placed in a headlock by Mike Wallace, a business agent for the local carpenters union. No one was arrested, but police quickly shut down the meeting reportedly because of overcrowding.
As expected that was quickly followed by the local politicians involved, ISC project manager Michael Printup and ISC executive Michael Tresta issuing statements. Also present was ISC President Lesa France Kennedy.
Councilman Clown-cilman Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore) graced these pages last July with his overblown rhetoric and outlandish charges. At the time he claimed ISC intended on “borrowing the Staten Island Ferry” and later was quoted accusing NASCAR of trying to “hijack” the boats. Nothing is further from the truth, the proposal calls for charters of
Marc, we generally see eye to eye on most things of a racing nature. Regardless of the reasons made by the no-mind opposition, allow me to illuminate the single valid reason why a track does not belong there; Staten Island, the operative word being ISLAND! I don’t care how many ferries you hire or how many new bridges you could build (not that they will), how do you get 80,000 people on and off the place on a race weekend?
In a place where traffic congestion is a way of life, and Sundays are relatively painless, would you want this in your backyard? And if anyone thinks it will be one weekend a year, please tell me another one.
My arguement isn’t with the location, or any reasons pro and con.
I just hate the mindless politicians (synonymous I know, not to mention redundant)who have had no intention to debate the issue in a coherrent and truthful way.
As for the nutjobs in the opposition - they speak for themselves - between themselves, because no one else on the planet has a clue what they are saying.
I live on Staten Island. I think one of the reasons this track proposal is dying is because of the attitude of it’s proponants, which is mirrored in this blogs words.
From ISC down to the little boy in a Nascar shirt who told me I “sucked” outside that hearing, the track proponants have been responding to opposition with dismissive patronizing and downright nastiness.
I’ve seen this in local civic meetings, the press, blogs, web forums, bars, and on the streets. When this track goes down, it’s going to be the fault of it’s supporters mouths, more than any anti track group.
“…mirrored in this blogs words.”
Nice how you avoid mentioning the words of lawyer John Luisi: “no way that this track belongs anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon line.