“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way.” –Charles Dickens–
Murphy’s 2008 was a landmark year, perhaps – he hopes not – a year in which he saw a high water mark in his favorite sport.
Shortly before New Year’s past, Murphy lost his best friend, Jeannie. That cast a pale over everything that came after, though much that came after was good. He might have enjoyed it more under different circumstances, but it’s onward, isn’t it? One paw in front of the other. Here the Bear reflects on sportscar racing in 2008.
January - At the end of the month was the Wheels Down Winter Test at Sebring, which created big photo gallery traffic for Murphy’s friends over at Last Turn Clubhouse. Paddock Poop projected “four full time GT Porsches” for the ALMS season. There were five, counting both Farnbacher Loles and VICI, neither of which made all the races. Earlier in January, he projected sixteen GT entries, 6 Porsches, 4 Ferraris, 2 Fords, 1 Aston, 1 Corvette, 1 Viper, 1 Panoz (50-50), and 0 Spykers. We got to a pretty good idea of the actual entry by subtracting Rahal and a second car from Farnbacher Loles and adding a VICI 911. The Bear wrote “five rules for picking the Rolex,” then listed three. Not one of 5,000 readers wondered why. That reminds me. There was the Roval Race at the World Center. Along with his rules, Murphy picked five teams as “most likely to be on the podium. Three of them were. The winner was exactly as described in “Murphy’s Five Rules.”
February - Nothing much happened. Champ Car died, but that wasn’t exactly news. Houston was collateral damage – also no surprise.
March - Sebring. The GT winner was a 3-1 – that was the second favorite – in Murphy’s GT Punter’s Guide. In prototype, Murphy’s favorite, an Audi, stumbled home third overall. Tabby collected autographs. Murphy published a bedtime story for the cubs, a tire fairy tale called “The Great King of World Center and the Prince of Milan.”
Solo Al didn’t make it to Sebring. Scott A. hinted at a new manufacturer.
April - AC Guillermo debuted as a guest columnist. The Corvette prototype project and Le Mans EVO rules were still alive, but on life support. Murphy’s friends contributed some things they thought were Awesome. None were sports cars. Solo Al didn’t make it to St. Pete or Long Beach. There was a rumor of a new manufacturer.
May - Murphy’s Indy 500 Punter’s Guide made Ganassi’s Scott Dixon a 3-1 favorite. Bingo. At Utah it was friends, beer and babes. The race? A bit of bashing about. Lou howled. Ho hum. Solo Al didn’t make it to Salt Lake City. A new manufacturer was rumored.
June - Nothing important happened. Murphy’s Punter’s Guide for Le Mans departed from conventional wisdom and made Audi’s “Mutt and Jeff with TK” the favorite. Bingo. Solo Al didn’t make it to Le Mans. The paddock thought there might be a new manufacturer in the wings. AC Guillermo kept Murphy and his friends entertained.
July - ALMS butchered a race on a butchered Lime Rock race course. Murphy published his own “Best North American Road Racing Events,” after Katrina Flood did a similar piece over on Last Turn Clubhouse. Mid-Ohio had another big event. The Bear looked in vain for Solo Al. Apparently the new manufacturer wasn’t ready yet either.
August - Road America was one of those whoo-whee fun times again, with Siebken’s and the Commercial Break highlighting the weekend schedule. It was a pretty good race, too. The crowd looked ok, but when the accounting was in, George’s stewardship of the great track had laid another promotional egg. Perhaps it was because neither Solo Al nor the new manufacturer showed up.
September - Mosport delivered the third largest ALMS crowd – as it always does. In the Dumbest Quote Department was this gem on Midweek Motorsport. “Er, any championship that wants to be taken, er, seriously in North America, er, has to race at Watkins Glen.” Geez. For those being sentient enough to recognize the signs, it began to be clear that Petit Le Mans might be the sport’s high water mark for a long time to come. Solo Al missed his home race in Canuckistan, then disappointed us by passing on Roger’s last party in Detroit. The new manufacturer clearly figured that rural Ontario wasn’t a good place for a debut. Was skipping Motown a clue that the manufacturer isn’t one of the Detroit 3?
October - Petit Le Mans. It’s “The Drive” by the Wee Scot. Or should we call it “The Drives” and include the one on the way to the grid? Murphy spent the high water mark with good friends, including tippling Black Label at Paddy’s. The conversation was proof positive that even the best-placed in the sport didn’t see the extent of the trouble ahead. Neither Solo Al nor the elusive manufacturer made it to Petit.
Laguna Seca didn’t disappoint. The much awaited ECO Racing made its appearance, to the cheers of the crowd, and the jeers of competitors who didn’t appreciate the oiling of the track. No Lizard party this year, so Murphy spent Friday night with friends above Turn 9. He was given a book about a pooch who loved racing. It’s now his favorite.
Murphy was still hopeful about double figure prototypes in the new season. Wrong. He made an early call on Poughkeepsie coupes, and raised questions about a Wisconsin builder. Bingo both times. The Bear searched the paddock high and low, but couldn’t find Solo Al or the new manufacturer.
November - Silly season. Is the new manufacturer Jaguar? The Bear heard it was. The outlook for 2009 continued to worsen. AC Guillermo answered the questions everybody had on their minds about Grand Am and NASCAR.
December - Murphy was told that IMSA would react to the worsening economy. Among cuts would be the Sebring Test. That seemed to be the trigger for a disclaimer; there would be a testing bulletin “later.” The P2s got a little rule break from stone-cold-stupid ACO aero tinkering. The P1s got nothing. For the rest of the month there was deafening silence from Braselton. In the meantime more entrants – and the Detroit race – slipped away. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported on the 18th that “series officials hope to add at least one more manufacturer to the lineup before next year.”
Murphy had a quiet Christmas. He hopes for a better 2009 than it now appears, but he’s not holding his breath. It’s been a while since he’s published a recipe, so here’s a reprise of his favorite snacks, just in time for New Years and the Bowl season.
Murphy’s Simple Football Dip1 Sixteen oz. can Refried Beans
1 Eight oz. jar queso dip
4 oz Salsa
Spread refried beans in pie tin. Layer with queso, leaving a half inch of beans at the edge. Bake in oven pre-heated to 350° for twenty minutes or until headed through. Top with your favorite salsa. Serve with tortilla chips.
Murphy’s Racin’ and Football Wings
Marinade (for 3 lbs, approximately 2 dozen wings, increase or decrease as needed)
1 ¼ cups Louisiana hot sauce (Crystal or similar)
¼ cup white wine vinegar
½ tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Cajun spice
Mix in bowl, marinade wings overnight in covered shallow pan or in sealable plastic bag. Remove wings from marinade, and in batches, microwave wings two minutes, turn over, microwave two minutes more. Heat about 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (enough to cover bottom) in a large skillet, fry wings until golden brown on each side (one of those screens-with-a-handle thingies for spatters is a good idea). Meanwhile, in a small skillet, prepare the wing sauce.
Wing Sauce (for approximately 1 dozen)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon flour
(the above for medium, add ½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper for hot, 1 teaspoon for blazin’)
Melt butter, whisk together with other ingredients and toss with, or simply spoon over wings. Serve with favorite dipping side, ranch, blue cheese or other dressing.
It was a roller coaster ride throughout the year, wasn’t it Murph? On a personal level, I hope 2009 is kinder to you and the guy with the opposing thumbs…
Happy New Year Murph! I hope you are recovering from a nice Merlot induced hangover this morning. How are bears at adapting to newer dry climates?