I appreciate Glenn1963 clearing up the whole NASCAR/Earnhardt confusion. This song is about the 2001 CART racing season. It is fictional though. No one ran at Long Beach with "three cracked vertebrae" that year, or any year that I could find in extensive research. But, I do believe Mark Knopfler did an excellent job of capturing the essence of the CART driver mindset. The season is a grind, with mishaps and blown motors ruining your run when all else seems to be going well.
The championship chase is largely a survival and endurance ordeal for the mid to lower-echelon car/driver teams.
The reverence for Indy is right on target. There is so much to learn from every veteran you can corner for a beer or coffee, and every practice lap. Try going 230mph and make a nano mistake - you are toast.
Scott Dixon ran in the CART races in 2001, but his victory at Nazareth came in early May (6th), before Indy. He finished on the lead lap at Toronto and Mid-Ohio, so he must not have hit the wall hard enough to make it hurt.
But, as a fan of open-wheel racing, I must congratulate Mark on giving me a glimpse of the grind that drivers feel as they go through a season. Just to keep at it and take away the one time you made no mistake as the shining moment, that is why so few can do what these guys do. (Sorry, Danika).
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach.
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach.
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach. The song does hint at 1993 in other ways too. Mansell won Nazareth that year as well.
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach. The song does hint at 1993 in other ways too. Mansell won Nazareth that year as well.
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach. The song does hint at 1993 in other ways too. Mansell won Nazareth that year as well.
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach. The song does hint at 1993 in other ways too. Mansell won Nazareth that year as well.
I appreciate Glenn1963 clearing up the whole NASCAR/Earnhardt confusion. This song is about the 2001 CART racing season. It is fictional though. No one ran at Long Beach with "three cracked vertebrae" that year, or any year that I could find in extensive research. But, I do believe Mark Knopfler did an excellent job of capturing the essence of the CART driver mindset. The season is a grind, with mishaps and blown motors ruining your run when all else seems to be going well.
The championship chase is largely a survival and endurance ordeal for the mid to lower-echelon car/driver teams.
The reverence for Indy is right on target. There is so much to learn from every veteran you can corner for a beer or coffee, and every practice lap. Try going 230mph and make a nano mistake - you are toast.
Scott Dixon ran in the CART races in 2001, but his victory at Nazareth came in early May (6th), before Indy. He finished on the lead lap at Toronto and Mid-Ohio, so he must not have hit the wall hard enough to make it hurt.
But, as a fan of open-wheel racing, I must congratulate Mark on giving me a glimpse of the grind that drivers feel as they go through a season. Just to keep at it and take away the one time you made no mistake as the shining moment, that is why so few can do what these guys do. (Sorry, Danika).
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach.
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach.
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach. The song does hint at 1993 in other ways too. Mansell won Nazareth that year as well.
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach. The song does hint at 1993 in other ways too. Mansell won Nazareth that year as well.
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach. The song does hint at 1993 in other ways too. Mansell won Nazareth that year as well.
@TruthSleuth this must be a composite of years with foundations in truth for all references. For instance, Nigel Mansell (Brit, presumably an acquaintance of rabid race fan Knopfler) did have a huge qualifying crash at Phoenix in 1993 in which he did crack three vertibrae and then race a week later in Long Beach. The song does hint at 1993 in other ways too. Mansell won Nazareth that year as well.