| The jets and the rockets provided much of the
drama and glamour. Sammy Miller, being the American showman that he is, always
put up a good pre-race psyche out. While Herridge was being strapped in,
he walked round Vanishing Point, looking up the nozzle, underneath, checking
dials and gauges, looking worried, waving his arms,and generally getting
everybody wired up for the run. The announcer warned the crowd to stand with
their mouths open and their hands over their ears, to minimise the shock
waves. the fireman, and there were dozens (if Zandvoort town had caught fire
it would have burned down because all the firemen were at the strip), shooed
everybody away from the sides of the track, and made a very big deal generally
out of anything.............When Sammy wasn't winding up the Dutch crowd,
he was having a good time with the groupies. These young ladies seemed determined
to participate in every stage of the jet and rocket show. Sammy used them
as pushers to get his Oxygen rocket staged, and personally kissed every one
of them before getting his helmet on. Strangely he seemed upset by the lack
of reaction from the crowd after he gave them a rabble rousing speech over
the PA - did it occur to him that virtually none of the audience could understand
English?
Dragster & Custom news, August 1982 |
