I started going to Phoenix International Raceway in 1969, when it was dusty little oval in the middle of the desert that seated 10,000 people and book-ended the IndyCar season in March and November. It had a dogleg that couldn't be taken flat out for several years, and was a racers' track that always played to the strengths of A.J., Mario, J.R., Gordy, Michael Andretti, Mosley, Sneva and the Unsers. As the years went by, more grandstands went up and by 1995 we had to leave at 6:00 in the morning in order to get into a parking place in the infield – there was no tunnel – and a record 60,000 people turned out. By that time, CART had added so many other good events that Phoenix was down...
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