WEST ALLIS – Sure, the Milwaukee Mile has its problems.
In places it shows its age and is not used as often for its intended purpose.
On a day like Sunday, when the temperature hits 90 degrees, the idea of spending the afternoon sitting on a slab of aluminum will test a lifelong fan’s will and keep marginal ones at bay.
Being part of the State Fair Park adds complications — parking isn’t always as easy as at a one-time use facility — though that may also have helped it stay there for as long as it is. Converting it into a distribution center or luxury apartments is not an option.
The Mile is very popular with the people who love it. But history has shown that it’s far easier for people to call themselves racing fans and crow about the need to keep history alive at the nation’s oldest speedway than it is to buy them tickets and go to an event appear.
And a flat racetrack is a big challenge for drivers and crews, but also lends itself to expansive fields, as the 27 cars of Sunday’s ARCA Midwest Tour did at times. A leader quickly finds himself in traffic on a quarter-mile or a third-mile course, the type that the super-late Tour models drive most often. This is entertainment.
All things considered, what happened on Father’s Day 100 Sunday afternoon was all there is to it with racing the Milwaukee Mile.
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Casey Johnson is one of today’s top regional talents, someone whose work ethic and usually clean style would impress Wisconsin’s stock car greats who stormed the mile a few generations ago when it was at its peak. Think Dick Trickle. Joe Shear. Jim Sauter. These people.
William Sawalich is a pleasant and wise beyond his years 15-year-old from Minnesota on this star orbit that could be fun for decades to come.
Sawalich, making his Midwest Tour debut, raced forward early while Johnson struggled with a backfire before his team replaced a coil wire during a mid-race stop.
Then on lap 60 at Turn 4, Johnson made a triple pass from third to the lead, not long after the field was pooled for a warning.
“Johnny (DeAngelis Jr.) and William pushed hard,” Johnson said. “Both of these guys preferred the high side in 3 and 4 and I kept them hidden right down there on the Rumble Strip. When they shot up I just went low and hit the gas and we were down by 4. Stuck when needed.
Sawalich showed strength on the final lap, finishing closer than anyone would have predicted three laps earlier when Johnson’s misfire returned.
“He got up in a hurry,” Johnson said. “Every time I put the gas back on it would pop it 3, 4 times and I knew he was going to get huge runs of 4 so I figured whatever you do just make sure you block that run.
“I did everything to stay in front of William. He didn’t break me there in the end and I really appreciate that. I know I’ve been everywhere.”
When it was over, two-time Tour champion Johnson was on the road to victory at his home state’s greatest stretch.
Hugs from Ms. Whitney and her three daughters, next to a giant cardboard check for $7,500.
And posed for photos with his father Jeff. On Father’s Day.
“It’s absolutely huge,” Johnson said. There was nothing more to say about the moment.
On the other hand, it seemed worth exploring the event with both the Edgerton veteran and the out-of-state youngster.
The headline race featured cars and drivers competing much longer than usual at a track where wear and tear and the possibility of an accident are both more expensive. Even a good Saturday night short-track crowd would get lost in the 30,000-seat grandstand. And the best days of the mile are fading memories, the days when Indy cars raced right after the Indianapolis 500 and USAC stock cars came out three times a season.
“It’s definitely a fun track, I can tell you that,” said Sawalich, who was eight the last time Indy cars raced at the Mile. “No, I know, there is a lot of history and a lot of good racers have raced here. I’m just happy to be here and to be a part of the story.”
Johnson quickly shook his head at the idea that this was just some race he’d won at some track.
“The mile is the mile,” Johnson said. “The whole history of this place… I really wish it was in its prime, but as a racer in Wisconsin you know everything there is to know about the mile.
“So yeah, it’s huge for me.”
That’s encouraging.
Send an email to [email protected] consequences @davekallmann on twitter.
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