My dad can beat up your IRL driver
Scott Dixon won the Camping World Watkins Glen Grand Prix this past weekend. Who cares? There was another altercation in the pits following the one between Danica Patrick and Dan Wheldon after the Milwaukee race in early June. This weekend's tangle, however, had a twist. In one corner we have Andretti Green Racing driver Tony Kanaan, the Vin Diesel of IRL we like to say. In the other corner we have... Sam Hornish Jr.'s dad, Sam Hornish Sr. Whaa?
Here's the run up. Early in the race Hornish Jr. and Kanaan made contact in a corner. Hornish got the edge there, which prompted Kanaan to attempt pushing him into the wall going into the pits after the race. With cars parked, Hornish Jr. approached Kanaan before the Brazilian had even gotten out of his car. Clearly words were said, but both drivers still had their helmets on. Hornish Jr. backs off, but after exiting his car Kanaan follows. Before you know it, Hornish SENIOR, who had begun restraining his son, turns around and plants a nice two-handed shove on Kanaan. Kanaan is literally stunned and stands there with what must be the look to end all looks hidden under his helmet.
Had Kanann and Hornish Jr. been left to work it out with words, most agree it would have gone no further, but the shove invited a whole mess of bystanders to enter the ensuing fray, which somehow resulted in Hornish Sr. hitting the ground.
Kanaan was quoted after the race saying, "That's why dads should be in the grandstands, not in the pits." BURN! Seriously, after watching the video, we had to wonder what the hell this guy in a short-sleeve button-down shirt from Sears was doing amongst the crowd of racing professionals.
The video is embedded after the jump, and a great write up of the action with quotes from each driver can be found by clicking the Read link.
[Source: Indy Car and ESPN]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Biff Baxter All American 3:10PM (7/09/2007)
I suggest the IRL stage parent/kid fights after every event. It would help liven up what is the world's most boring race series.
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lintsniffer 3:19PM (7/09/2007)
Something exists that is more boring than F1?
DemaSRV 3:22PM (7/09/2007)
I dont know why you say its boring... I love IRL. I've always enjoyed IRL over formula 1 or NASCAR.
Juan 3:21PM (7/09/2007)
Yeah. Nascar.
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Mr. Oak 3:32PM (7/09/2007)
Juan: The cars are ugly as sin, but NASCAR is not close to being as boring as F1.
F1 like baseball is a statician's dream. Otherwise, it's just a 200 mph parade.
Don't tell me how many cars Felipe Massa passed yesterday, They were all hapless backmarkers.
Show me a finish in F1, where a car crosses the finish on it's en flambe!!!
bmoredlj 3:33PM (7/09/2007)
Once again, the white background FAILS to make a floating effect on the top of the page, thanks to the gradient background.
Gotta ditch that gradient...
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Greg 3:33PM (7/09/2007)
I enjoyed watching the brawl.
John Neff.... you are the one who doesn't belong reporting on the incident, your bias against a Dad and comments on his 'Sears' shirt ... is quite pathetic to say the least.
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John Neff 4:00PM (7/09/2007)
Whoa, settle down there. This is a blog, not the New York Times. We're allowed to biased and we make jokes all the time. Although my point that Sam Hornish Sr. had no business pushing Kanaan and that other people on hand, "racing professionals", would not have pushed Kanaan, stands.
Vinny 3:35PM (7/09/2007)
They're just getting their practice in for when they finally get into the Nascar.
IRL drivers either aspire to be in F1 or Nascar.
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Mr. Oak 3:34PM (7/09/2007)
Show me a finish in F1, where a car crosses the finish on it's roof, en flambe!!!
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bmoredlj 3:35PM (7/09/2007)
They should've given Tony and Sam lightsabers; duke it out that way. Very silly little brawl, as it is.
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Vinny 3:38PM (7/09/2007)
I disagree. That's the kind of entertaining writing that I like about Autoblog. If one desires just the facts and no colorful commentary I recommend the sports section of USA Today.
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carmaniac 3:42PM (7/09/2007)
Champ Car > IRL
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Richard 4:06PM (7/09/2007)
High School Football Horses*&t.
Amateur.
Tony Kanaan was very professional about the whole thing. Sam was OK too. Dad needs to drink a little more of whichever brew sponsors them and chill out.
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epp_b 4:27PM (7/09/2007)
This is why American races series are three ring circuses. It's this kind of crap that make drivers look like a bunch of childish clowns.
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fizzandpop 5:08PM (7/09/2007)
It would have been funnier if it had been his mom. But that dad did look like a bit of a prick though. As did that other dweeb who was hanging about. The drivers seemed to know better than to throw down amongst fast moving cars, gasoline and powertools. I think the wives should duke it out next.
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Richard 5:53PM (7/09/2007)
On one of the Speed shows the guy hanging around was referred to a "one of the 'friends' of Team Andretti."
WOW! What's that? A little 'muscle' hanging around one of the teams.
Creepy!
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hays3151 6:28PM (7/09/2007)
Unlike most people commenting, I actually watched the race.
Weak by both drivers to run their mouthes at each other with their helmets on. That's what an F1 driver would do, if there was actually something interesting to fight over. This is America boys.
If we could hear what Tony said before Sam Sr. shoved him, we'd probably agree that Tony needed to be set straight. Nothing better than getting hit by a gray haired old man.
Tony was not professional about the whole thing. He ran into Sam Jr. after the race was over for payback over a racing incident. Settle it in the pits after the race is over like Sam tried to do (before Daddy got involved).
At least no one walked away like a pansy like in the Danica/Wheldon rant. I didn't know there was such a thing as a pretty boy Englishman but we found one. Not in the face Danica! Not in the face!
That was Andretti Green's Indy Pro Series driver wrestling with Sam Sr. What the heck was that all about? I thought he was a drunk fan.
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