TOM'S BIG DAY

NEW YORK CITY! (26Mar2013) - I know, I know, it's only taken me about six months to think of this angle, but does anyone else find it curious or just "coincidental" that descendants of the former Axis Powers-That-Be are again joining together. (That would be Germany and Japan, Menendez.)

Of course, those two are tonight joining with a former arch enemy, U.S.-based IMSA, er, Grand-Am . . . naw, let's just do what's right and go with "IMSA" from here-on-out; might as well get used to it considering "IMSA" evidently will never go away. (Okay by me.)

It's a deal now a little better than two years in the making or, maybe three. Somewhere in there. Knowing that telephone bills are records so solid that law enforcement communities nationwide salivate at the mere mention of the idea, yours truly could exactly ascertain when called was Grand-Am immediate past president Tom Bledsoe and he happened to be in Italy on "business," his having been in Spain just the day previous, and so on . . .

Bledsoe still was the organization's potentate (the "grand potentate" being, well, you know who), who happened at that moment to be answering his cell phone when it was something like 2 a.m. IT ((Italy Time, Menendez)).

Now, Mr. Bledsoe having demanded (commanded?) an Off The Record ("OTR," Menendez) chat agreement just after the point in time when he said, "Hello, DC" upon answering his cell phone, little was subsequently seen on paper or in blogs excepting a hint here and there.

When Bledsoe surrendered his title to Mr. Ed Bennett - who since has done one whale of a better job than Bledsoe (er, just kidding, there, Tom.)(No I wasn't, Ed) - asked afterward of Mr. Bledsoe by yours truly during one of our quiet moments of solitude together was, "So, now that you're heading for the over-50-only The Villages (Florida) community, Tom, what's to become of the DTM thing."

"I ain't gonna let that sucker go untill'in' I get that sucker nailed on down," - or something of that nature, though it is believed Bledsoe used a few more $50 words than the above. Not many; but a few.

At the time, most in the racing community didn't know much about Bledsoe; some thinking he got the potentate job due to he and Jim France being related by blood.

It was a "blood" relationship based on coincidental logic (should such even exist) and having extrapolated that relationship based only on Bledsoe's surname and "Anne B." France's* maiden name being the same in spelling, suddenly his being there was "a family thing, you know," when it was nothing of the sort.

*(Anne France, who died Jan. 2, 1992, is the mother of Jim France and his late brother, Bill France Jr. She is the grandmother of JC and Brian France, as well as Lesa F. Kennedy and still other family members who aren't as publicly prominent as the aforementioned.

(As Big Bill France's capable business partner, Anne France oversaw NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation's front office from the now-separate organizations' earliest days. Indeed, she even sat in ticket booths, exchanging money for race tickets. Man, these folks weren't always wealthy beyond mere mortals' beliefs - they actually worked for it.

(Which begs a question: All things considered, might the more preferable be a welfare recipient or a person who happened to love what he or she did and made some serious money while doing it?

(While Big Bill and "Annie B" may have hoped for wealth beyond the wildest of dreams, be assured there were times when the family could hardly rub together just two nickels between the four of them.)

(So, what's it gonna be: welfare money - the original intent of which was to provide basic sustenance until the recipient was able to again provide for themselves - or someone who said, "No thanks, I'll just do it on my own" and, because he loved it, made some darn good change in the process?)

Okay, where were we before the soapbox appeared? Ah, yes: Mr. Bledsoe and DTM.

So, while Mr. Bennett was pursuing knowledge of the strange thinking processes found within these "alien" race car owners, teams, drivers, officials and fans -- otherwise known as sportscar types -- Mr. Bledsoe was out chasing one of his dreams: bringing DTM to the U.S. under Grand-Am's auspices.

Eventually, Bledsoe's pursuit would include a suddenly interjected Japanese-based Super GT Sports Car series, too, which was kinda, sorta self-wedged into the process about a year after the whole DTM deal first started smoking and, last fall, announced those two series' forming a joint pursuit of rules, races and etc. At the time, one got the feeling "that was that." Only, it wasn't.

The impetus for DTM and, eventually, Super GT getting in touch with Grand-Am and, dare we be so bold, those entities eventually joining?

Forcing the issue was the cost of racing and the want of containing such - yep, you read correctly - because even DTM and Super GT couldn't afford the series' owners and manufacturers (yep, them, too) not being able to afford the cost of racing. That being the case, then how in heck could a team afford something that the manufacturers and series' owners couldn't afford? If no one was able to afford racing, no fan could, either - or, at least, the bulk of them.

With a mindset bent on controlling costs and before anyone could seven-times say, "Super GT Sports Car series," DTM called the one professional sports car sanctioning body that had the best, most effective in-place cost controls: Grand-Am.

And it all culminates with tonight's New York City announcement - yours truly not even remotely wishing to miss personally seeing Bledsoe's crowning achievement (before he moves to The Villages, finally).

Without getting too emotionally involved, Bledsoe wasn't really much different than anyone who has been successful: He started with an idea, put so much work into it that even when he "retired" he really didn't, and got it done.

Congratulations, Tom. Very cool.

Later,

DC