Take a look at the 1984 F1 circuit around Fair Park from an onboard video:
http://www.myvrl.com/video/f1-at-fair-park-dallas-1984

Track-side Doctor's story - 1984 Gran Prix

1984 Dallas GP Doctor at the Circuit
Claire Furnell / Tony Romack January 19, 2010
Tony Romack and his fellow doctors at the Dallas Grand Prix.

We have brought you stories of previous grand prix from many former F1 stars and journalists. Now we bring you a story from one of our readers, Tony Romack, who was a young doctor who got his chance to work track side for the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix.

I became interested in Formula One when I watched Jochen Rindt chase Jack Brabham around Monaco in 1970, passing on the last lap. In America in those days, the only F1 on TV was the delayed broadcast of the race on Wide World Of Sports. By the end of the year (I was 12) I had a weekly subscription to Autoweek, which I kept for many years.

By 1978, when Mario Andretti won the championship, the local paper started to run a single line in the Monday edition listing the winners of the previous day's race. Sadly there was still not much coverage on TV.

Like a lot of fans I hoped to attend a race in person someday, and that dream came true for me when F1 came to Dallas in 1984. I had recently finished my ER rotation and the hospital where I worked got the contract to supply track doctors. Nearly all of the ER doctors were F1 fans, but I ended up with a plumb posting in the first aid station next to the pits. My doctor's badge was my ticket into the garages - it made having to take four days vacation very worthwhile.

One of my first customers was Ayrton Senna, who came in looking for a specific kind of tape for his blistered hands. I found what he was looking for and he was soon patched up and ready to go. I remember telling him:"Everyone knows you will be world champion when you get a better car."

It was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit that weekend so all of the TV crews were looking for interviews from the doctors. My advice was "drink fluids and wear good shoes". You may recall the track surface broke up badly due to too-recent paving, multiple support races, and the severe heat.

A huge feature of the circuit was the roller coaster, now sadly no longer there; however the track is still clearly visible in the Texas State Fairground 25 years later.
Although we had a few drivers come in for IV fluids, there were a lot of fans who also needed treatment for dehydration or blisters. The biggest accident was in practice when Martin Brundle crashed his Tyrrell and had to be taken to hospital with two broken ankles - not something we could deal with track side.

I also saw Niki Lauda spin and crash in practice right in front of my station - in a wreck which looked remarkably like his wreck at the Nurburgring. He was fine and only needed some physical therapy so I pointed him to a rival hospital's trailer where they helped him out.

My colleagues were not very pleased, and as a result I was banished to the back straight for the day of the race. That was fine by me as the passing attempts were mostly at the back chicane - I say attempts because I don't remember anyone actually succeeding.

I did manage to get over to the start line and I have the photos to prove it. Nigel Mansell was on pole, but he wouldn't speak to anyone. I remember being really pleased that Lotus had tied up the front row as I was still a Lotus fan from the first race I saw on TV in 1970.

My best photo was of a Ferrari, I found what I felt was good angle, only to have some guy bump me while I lined up the shot. It was Leroy Nieman [an American artist famous for his bright modern images of sports] who obviously liked the same angle.

The race was superb; Mansell broke a driveshaft on the last lap and tried to push his car across the finish line - only to pass out in the heat. The local TV news used that shot on their late sports broadcast for years.

Keke Rosberg won the race and Rene Arnoux came from last, after trouble on the grid, to finish second. All in all it was great fun. The acceleration, turning, and braking are much faster in real life and the cars were almost all turbocharged, so they weren't as loud as they are now.

Too bad F1 never came back to Dallas again.

Do you have an interesting F1 story that you want to share? If so contact us and tell us about it.

Claire Furnell is the senior editor of ESPNF1

Dallas Fair Park Race Track early Postcard

Delete Comment Time-line regarding Automobile Races at Fair Park in Dallas
State Fair Timeline Racing.doc

Colonel E.H.R. Green buys the "Gray Wolf"

Motor Age Vol.7

March 25th, 1905

October 27, 1917 : 1-mile dirt oval - Fair Park Racetrack at the Texas State Expo in Dallas, Texas. Breed drove black and white #1 Hudson “Super-Six” special. Breed competed against the likes of Jules `Ellingboe and Fred Horey in car No.4 whom he lost to on this day in a match race.

OSCAR LLOYD COLEMAN
(1905-1938) of Dallas, Texas was two-time defending Southwest Racing Association champion when he set quick time in time trials at Winfield in his family owned dual overhead cam Cragar Ford on July 28, 1934. He was not able to capitalize on his fast pace though as damage from a crash with Cotton Grable in the fast heat race put Oscar out of competition for the remainder of the program. Oscar was named in Who’s Who in Automobile Racing in 1936. He was fatally injured in an accident while racing a midget at Sportsman Park Raceway in Dallas, Texas in 1938 and is buried in Restland Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.

Tex West, whose real name was Austin E. Wetzler, was born in 1903 at Marysville, Kansas and later moved to Dallas TX. He died in an airplane crash in Texas in 1962.

Tex West of Dallas, Texas is shown below at speed in his Model-A Ford Riley #22A. This is the car that he won the feature race in at Winfield, Kansas on this day

Ben Musick "Bill Morris" of Dallas Texas (1908-1966)

This photo of Ben Musick a.k.a. Bill Morris was taken on July 21, 1934 at Anthony, Kansas just one week before Musick won the feature race at Winfield, Kansas in the #4 McDowell Ford. The man in the darker shirt is Carl Goosbe

Ben Musick, a.k.a. Bill Morris is shown here in 1936 in the yellow #3 Messer Special at V.F.W. Speedway in Detroit, Michigan

Ben Musick with the #4 Messer Special that he drove at the Kansas State Fair at Hutchinson, Kansas in September of 1937

This photograph of Ben Musick was taken in 1939 at Topeka, Kansas. Note that the trees are inside the fence around the track. The fence must have been more for keeping nonpaying spectators from watching the race than it was for the protection of the participants



The Alias

For a time, Ben Musick, Sr. was wanted by federal agents in connection with the theft of a truck load of moonshine while it was impounded by authorities during Prohibition. Ben continued to drive racing cars under the alias “Bill Morris” while trying to elude capture. He was eventually apprehended, convicted, and served time in prison for the offence.

Great research Wilbert - thank you:-)))))))

Dallas Morning News 1-02-1922: Racing Car Driver Harry Milburn Has Narrow Escape

This amazing picture shows the Sate Fair Grounds in Dallas, back in the good old days. You can see the race track next to the cotton bowl stadium

A Postcard from the State Fair of Texas (Dallas) from October 15-30, 1910

Floyd Willard enters the race at the State Fair in Dallas Texas in 1917

Has everyone become a "FAN" of the Texas Museum of Automotive History via Facebook as well?! Take a second to do so.....
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http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Worth-TX/FUNCTIONS-CREATIVE-EVEN...!/pages/Dallas-TX/THE-TEXAS-MUSEUM-OF-AUTOMOTIVE-HISTORY/264585369494?ref=ts

Stephen, are there plans for a library or reading room?

Here's a link to the initial Hard Hat Fundraiser Photos:

http://www.myvrl.com/photo/album/show?id=1465153%3AAlbum%3A176890&a...

Wha abou de ole Thames? Used for racin 'ere'!!!