September/October 1998 MTM Newsletter

Michigan Turn Marshals Newsletter
September - October 1998 (Page 2)

The National at Grattan

As usual, the weather was the story at the National. Saturday was HOT, HOT, HOT. Fortunately, Martin Waalkes donated cases of bottled water from his sponsor, Country Fresh. We even got it, and other cold drinks, (though I was begging for ice cream!!) delivered to our stations in the afternoon. Sunday morning was rainy, so the races were changed to half-hour timed sessions. Although the rain stopped for the afternoon races, they too were classified "rain races", for parity for all groups.

We had a comfortable number of workers, some from the Chicago, Milwaukee, and Ohio regions, as well as Detroit and WMR. We even opened Station 5A on Sunday! The West Michigan Grand Prix sparked some interest, and there were a few first-time flaggers in attendance.

The Schilke's got this e-mail message from Bob and Judy Cowie: "Had a GREAT time at the National at Grattan. Thank you to all Detroit, Western Michigan, and track personnel for the fun."

Though suffering with a nasty cold, Dave Johnston prepared the questions, gathered prizes, and held his traditional Trivial Trivia contest. For those who didn't make it to Grattan this year, here's a sampling of what you missed. You'll have to wait until the next issue of MTM News for the answers. Good luck:

In 1989, an Indycar car powered by Porsche won its first and last race in the PPG series. Name the driver and the track. (Hint: It was a road coarse.)
In 1970, an F1 driver was awarded the F1 Championship posthumously after he was killed during a practice session at Monza, two races before the season would end. Name the driver.
In 1998, Grand Rapids, Michigan hosted the West Michigan Grand Prix. Name the Trans-Am Series winner for the WMGP.
In 1970, Trans-Am had Mark Donohue and Peter Revson in AMC Javelins; Parnelli Jones and George Follmer in Ford Mustangs; Jim Hall, Vic Elford and Milt Minter in Chevrolet Camaros; Sam Posey in a Dodge Challenger; and Swede Savage in a Plymouth Barracuda. One of the above drivers won the series by one point! Name him.

Thank you to those who donated the prizes:

Mike Burke
Ford Motor Co.
Karen Genslak
Bill Gibbs (from Windsor Honda)
MTM
Willy Perez

Double Regional at Grattan

Ah…Labor Day weekend. Three whole days to do whatever I want, or nothing at all. Let's see…..should I go to Grattan, or stay home and get in as much pool time as I can stand before they close it for the winter? Hey…why not do both!! After all, it's a double regional. There'll be races both days. Besides, there's nothing wrong with being a "one-day-wonder", is there? I think not!!

So, at 5:15 on Saturday morning I left the house and headed to Doug Mitchell's in Howell, with whom I would share a ride for the rest of the trip west. A large full moon, sitting low in the clear, dark sky, lit my way. It was breathtaking!!

When we departed from Doug's in the early morning darkness, there wasn't much traffic. En route, we approached a car that looked familiar. After much honking and waving, we managed to bring Rob LaMoreaux "back to earth". I guess we weren't the only ones doing the "oh-dark-thirty" thing.

We got to Grattan well before the morning meeting, after having made just one stop at McDonald's to get "breakfast" for Doug and a hefty mug of coffee for me. At registration, they loaded us down with goodies. We got two tee-shirts, one a vintage offering from a 1996 race weekend, and the other the event shirt, with "Labor Day Leap" on the front and "RIBBIT" on the back, in HUGE green letters. I asked for size large…thinking these would make perfect sleep-shirts!!

At the morning meeting I heard my name at the top of the list of an "all-girl-turn" at Station 3. Whoopee!! I was hoping that as a "short-timer", I wouldn't be blessed with the duties of being a captain. Oh darn, not true!! No problem, there were three of us…so I deemed that we were all in charge!!

The qualifying sessions and races for 6 groups provided just enough action to keep us on our toes. This bunch of regional drivers came to the track with a wide range of equipment and skills, so the blue-flagger was continuously busy!! The leader lapped the entire field during one of the races. There was some great dicing for the lead in one of the others, and plenty of dandy mid-pack battles.

As the day drew to a close, I had but one thing on my mind. PIG ROAST!!! The Saturday evening feast is always high on my list of reasons why I like to go to Grattan. While dining with some of the other flaggers, I was reminded of another reason I like doing this, when we were joined by a driver and his wife.

He thanked us for being "out there for them", and I replied that we couldn't do what we do without the drivers. He said that although he knew it was true, no one had ever said it to him before today!! We all smiled!! I was so glad that I spent the day with my racing "family". What a wonderful beginning to the holiday weekend!!

Page 1