ABC Sports - Motorsports are Wide World variety

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		Thursday, April 12, 2001 Motorsports are Wide World variety By Jack Arute Special to ABC Sports Online When Wide World of Sports first went on the air, a tag line was born that henceforth has characterized the essence of sports. How many times have each of us described a sporting effort as "The Thrill of Victory" or "The Agony of Defeat?" But, the preamble to those immortal words, "Spanning the Globe to bring you the Variety of Sports" is in my estimation far more telling when you look at the world of motorsports. "I have always said that Indy made me," recalls A.J. Foyt, "Not the other way around." While talking to AJ at a recent Indy Racing Northern Light Series event he expanded upon his Indy analogy." Wide World of Sports made Indy a big deal." He said. "When you get guys like Jim McKay talking about you on TV, you become a star." Back in Wide World's hey-day, racing was a fractionalized, mostly regional endeavor. Few mainstream sports fans knew much about racing. For some of us it was considered so inferior to stick and ball sports that we would hide our passion for racing from our non-racing brethren. But then guys like Keith Jackson showed up at Daytona. McKay at Indianapolis. ABC touted racing with the same enthusiasm as they did the Olympics. Up close and personal features told us about Richard Petty, Mario Andretti, David Pearson and yes, Super Tex, A.J. Foyt. Wide World's coverage from Darlington , S.C. captured Cale Yarborough catapulting out of the track and into the parking lot. It also documented his climb up the palmetto dotted banking to wave to the crowd that he had survived. Washington Post writer Tony Kornheiser recently said that the most unbelievable and compelling sports TV broadcast that he ever watched was ABC's Wide World of Sports same-day coverage of the Indianapolis 500. "It took you on the track, in the pits it was terrific," he said. Many of racing's 20th century milestones are in the Wide World of Sports archives. Foyt's 4 Indy 500 wins. His stunning victory in Le Mans. Phil Hill's Formula One Championship drive. Richard Petty's story book 200th NASCAR win in front of President Reagan. But Wide World of Sports captured more. Current ABC racing analyst, Larry Rice first gained national attention at Eldora's ½ mile dirt track where Al Michaels and the WWOS cameras covered a USAC sprint car race in 1984. It was on Wide World of Sports that we first met Rick Mears, Roger Penske, Junior Johnson, Fireball Roberts, Cale Yarborough, Mario Andretti Bobby and Al Unser. Its where we learned through his tears, what winning the Indy 500 meant to Al Unser, Jr. It is where we witnessed racing's "Thrill of Victory and Agony of Defeat." The late Dale Earnhardt's racing prowess was captured by Wide World when they televised his in-the-grass pass on Bill Elliott in The Winston at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Wide World of Sports captured Adny Granatelli's smooch of Mario Andretti when he captured his only Indy 500 win in 1969. It showed us his frustration after finishing second to Danny Sullivan almost 15 years later when Sullivan recovered from a full 360 degree spin to win the Brickyard classic. It eulogized fallen warriors like Art Pollard and Don McTavish. It elevated heroes like Emerson Fittipaldi and Bobby Rahal. Jackie Stewart's global "q-rating" became "Americanized" during his time as an Wide World of Sports commentator. Sure, he was a Formula One champion. But ask most U.S. fans about Jackie Stewart and they'll cite his Scottish accent and break into an imitation of his Indy 500 commentary. "Heeees passing with just a wee bit of room", they'll squeak. Wide World of Sports legitimized racing. It became a TV staple on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. It gave rise to the admonition that at one time or another every husband has heard while driving too quickly with his spouse. "Slow down," she'll say. "Who do you think you are? AJ Foyt!."