2015-09-03 the Post-Standard, Sad

PAGE A-2 THE POST-STANDARD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2015

ePOST-STANDARD 09/03/2015 PAGECopy ReducedT to %d%%WO from original to fit letter page Sadﬁnishformileof‘mystery,loreandlegend’

he alpha and omega of the five remaining mile-long automobile racing at the SEAN KIRST dirt tracks in the nation. While T New York State Fair may [email protected] Boettcher said he understands well have come from the that “time sometimes over- same Albany office. takes these places,” the rever- The beginning: The ence in his voice when he Onondaga Historical speaks of racing in Syracuse Association has a letter in is exactly what was missing its files dated June 12, 1900, from the governor’s news con- in which Timothy Woodruff ference Tuesday morning. — lieutenant governor to That emotion is certainly Theodore Roosevelt — urges size that Super DIRT Week, intertwined with recognition Frederick C. Stevens, a future a series of major dirt races for some of the biggest names state senator, “to get up an held each October at the fair- in the sport. Still, Boettcher automobile race for the State grounds, will be moved to and Spaid also pay homage to Fair.” another location in Central the legion of everyday drivers If “one bigger than any New York. There was no and mechanics who routinely other so far attempted could talk of the economic reason- go out to the garage after get- be gotten up,” Woodruff wrote, ing for tearing up the track, ting home from their day jobs, “it would arouse a good deal and maybe — at some point who toil over car engines until of interest and lead to much — Cuomo and his staff will the middle of the night. free advertising in the newspa- explain in detail why they feel They do painstaking tasks of pers of the Fair.” racing doesn’t fit into what magnificent precision in pur- In 2015, columns like this the governor envisions as “a suit of one dream: one are still proving his point. year-round, premier, multi-use Making it to Syracuse. Woodruff wrote the letter facility.” Sometimes, as night fell less than a month after the In any event, the decision during Super DIRT week, state went to bid for a new is made. Yet before bulldozers you’d see reverent fans mak- $10,000 dirt track at the fair- plow up the mile, it seems as ing their way out onto the grounds. Automotive technol- if someone ought to say what quiet oval, walking the track ogy was in its infancy, but his went unsaid at that news con- Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Bettenhausen races at the New York State Fair in 1956. He won and leaving their footprints in wish came true in a big way: ference. In the words of Brian at Syracuse three times, but lost the 100-mile “big car classic” in 1960 by 10 feet, one of many the dirt, the way a kid might Within three years, there’d be Boettcher, an author and his- exciting ﬁnishes at the “Moody Mile.” (Photo courtesy of the Onondaga Historical Association) walk the grass in center field auto racing at the fair, racing torian who has written exten- in Yankee Stadium. that soon grew into world- sively about the Indianapolis gering. Gary Spaid, an Upstate Murphy, who’d won the Tony Bettenhausen, a former Maybe the state is right. class competition. Over more 500: racing historian, can tell French Grand Prix, in 1921, national champion, to capture Maybe the world has changed than a century, a collection “In a sense, I see this like you about such DIRT racing then came home in 1922 to the 100-mile “big car classic” and racing at the fairgrounds of driving legends would find tearing down Ebbets Field or champions as Jack Johnson win the Indianapolis 500. On at the state fair. has to go. triumph — and sometimes the Polo Grounds,” he said of and Brett Hearn and their Sept. 14, 1924, he was bat- The race was decided But it should never be some tragedy — on what’s called the mile, comparing it to lost triumphs at Syracuse, or how tling for the lead in a race by about 10 feet, costing shrug, some news conference the “Moody Mile.” ballparks that retain a kind of Indianapolis legends Al Unser at the fairgrounds when his Bettenhausen — who died a afterthought. The Moody Mile As for the track’s goodbye, spiritual power. “People don’t and Mario Andretti battled car hit the inside rail, and he year later, at Indianapolis — is a gritty and unadorned mon- that arrived Tuesday. Gov. realize how much history is on the oval in 1974, or about was killed. That was 13 years his chance for a fourth win at ument to the essential nature Andrew Cuomo, in a news associated with this (track), the exploits of Steve Kinser, a after Lee Oldfield’s vehicle the fairgrounds. of American auto racing, “a conference at the Empire not just sporting history but monumental figure from the flew into the crowd, killing In third place, behind the place of mystery, of lore and Room, spoke of a “reimag- technological history and World of Outlaws, who was 11 people in one of American leaders: A.J. Foyt. legend,” as Spaid put it beauti- ined” fairgrounds as another social history as we made the often a leader in “some of the racing’s worst disasters. All of that, in Syracuse. fully. step toward Upstate revival. transition out of an agricul- scariest races you’ll ever see” Those deaths, Boettcher Compelling racing rolled Upstate revival? This track He made a quick reference to tural society. at the fairgrounds. said, give the track a solemn on, in a different form, once cuts deeper. Guts and dust, it’s removing the grandstand and “There is a respect due for The loss of the mile, Spaid resonance that goes beyond Glenn Donnelly brought his Upstate soul. track, part of a $50 million what happened, especially said, “is a big thing, a big mere sport. But the year-to- DIRT racing championships to plan that would include such on these major tracks, where chunk of Northeastern rac- year chronology more often the Moody Mile, in the 1970s. Sean Kirst is a columnist with attractions as a new exposition people risked their lives and ing history going right out of involved celestial racers in “Oh my God,” Spaid said. The Post-Standard. Email him at center and expanded eques- (sometimes) lost their lives.” there.” great duels, before big crowds. “There were so many great [email protected] or write to him trian facilities. The Syracuse racing legacy, The tragedies included An example: On Sept. 10, events.” in care of The Post-Standard, 220 Cuomo would later empha- once you look back, is stag- the death of the great Jimmy 1960, Bobby Grim held off He said the mile is one of S. Warren St., Syracuse 13202. Quad angles There is no better time of the year to hang out outdoors on a college campus than the last weeks of summer. Spring weather can be so iffy, and we won’t even bring up the period that comes after autumn. A good book, a good friend, a patch of grass, maybe a Frisbee or a dog for entertainment. It’s prime time for making the most of a favorable climate, friendly environs and the fact that the workload isn’t that bad.

Abby Hawryluk, left, and Mariam Bhatti share a backstop while delving into their work on the Shaw Quadrangle on the SU campus. PHOTOSBYKEVINRIVOLI/[email protected]

Stacey Ramirez, left, and Tammy Nguyen share a laugh, and some audio, on a quadrangle bench.

View a photo gallery at syracuse.com/photos

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