`Humpy' Wheeler's The Name, Racetrack Entertainment His Game
Most operators of auto-racing facilities rely on the racing to bring fans back for more.
H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, high-octane honcho at Charlotte Motor Speedway, takes a different tack - he wants spectators to feel they've gotten their money's worth before the racing begins.
Wheeler's prerace exploits have included a flying school bus crashing into a pile of junked cars, a re-enactment of the invasion of Grenada, a flyover by a B-1 bomber, and "Robosaurus," a huge, car-eating mechanical dinosaur.
When early arrivals "sit down at a racetrack, if you've never seen one, it's going to mesmerize you for about 15 minutes," Wheeler said. "And after 15 minutes, it's just like a 12-year-old kid - you're going to get up and start walking around and be bored. . . ."
Promoters should ponder crowd-wowing ideas the way a child would, he said, adding, "When you lose the ability to think like a 12-year-old, you're lost in this business."
That credo will come into play Sunday, when a crowd approaching 200,000 is expected to cram into the track for a 600-mile NASCAR race.
Wheeler won't divulge exactly what he'll do before race time, but here's a hint: "This is a pretty red-white-and-blue crowd. We've had the Army, we've had the Navy and we've had the Air Force. . . . I think you'll see quite a few Marines."
GOOD-OL'-BOY RUSSIANS?
Enver Safir will call TBS' coverage of the Charlotte 600 - in Russian.
Safir, a Voice of America broadcaster, will explain to TV viewers in Russia that the event represents "party time in the South." But some things, he says, you just can't translate, "like the phrase `swapping paint.' "
NEVER MIND
With an assist from Earl Gustkey of the Los Angeles Times, tune in for a moment to a broadcast from Harry Caray, the Chicago Cubs' veteran announcer:
"Aw, get someone warmed up! This guy's got nothin'!" Caray said of Chicago starter Jose Guzman early in the second inning of Monday's game against the Dodgers.
Soon, Caray's slow burn turned to high heat as opposing pitcher Kevin Gross rounded the bases after hitting a three-run homer.
"Just because we pay these pitchers these big salaries," Caray bellowed, "does that mean we have to keep usin' 'em? This guy's awful!"
Guzman settled down after that, and so did Caray. Guzman didn't give up another hit until the fifth, and the Cubs won 6-3.
BUNKING IN BLOOMINGTON
Most New York Knicks will stay in dorms at Indiana University in Bloomington this weekend as their NBA playoff series against the Pacers moves to Indianapolis. With the Indy 500 going on, all the hotels within a 90-mile radius of downtown Indianapolis are booked.
OOPS
Marv Albert tells this story about Mike Tyson, who happened to meet a boxing reporter from the UPI wire service.
"One of your trucks ran over my dog," Tyson said.
"No, no Mike," one of Tyson's associates whispered. "That was UPS."
VINTAGE KNEES
Dr. Philip Marone, whose clients include the Philadelphia Phillies, performed arthroscopic knee surgeries May 13 on four patients, among them John Kruk and coach Mike Ryan. Marone said of the four: "The best knee I saw belonged to a 77-year-old woman."
HANTOM FOE
Art Aragon, recalling his fight in Los Angeles with Carmen Basilio on Sept. 5, 1958, said he lost because he was too nervous.
"The bell rings for the first round, and I rush to the center of the ring and throw two left jabs, a hard left hook, two right hands and an uppercut," Aragon said.
"Then, he comes to the center of the ring."
TWIN TOWERS II
Remember when Hakeem Olajawon and Ralph Sampson of the Houston Rockets were called the Twin Towers? Well, Sammie and Simeon Haley, 7-foot identical twins, have announced they intend to play at the University of Missouri.
PIONEER SPIRIT
Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe has a love affair with Fenway Park, ancient home of the Red Sox:
"Go ahead, America, laugh at us. Sit in your climate-controlled Skydomes with Hard Rock Cafes in right field. We'll walk up the sticky, smelly ramps that our fathers and our grandfathers climbed all those years."
FASTER PACE
Martin Buser, Iditarod sled-dog race winner, has traded his parka for a summertime flame-retardant jumpsuit. He's part of the pit crew for driver Stan Fox in Sunday's Indianapolis 500. It's the third year Buser has worked for Ron Hemelgarn's racing team.
How is Buser adjusting to the warmer weather in the Lower 48? "It's a welcome change," he said. "I don't mind it at all."
DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
Detroit Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson empathizes with Tony La Russa, manager of the floundering Oakland Athletics.
"I know what the guy in the other dugout is feeling because I've been there myself," Anderson told Tom Gage of the Detroit News after a recent series with the A's. "My God, what an awful feeling it is! I understand that. But understanding is something you'll never truly understand."
Compiled by Chuck Ashmun, Seattle Times