Even using heavy equipment, explosives, and fire, it had taken the whole winter to set up the race course.  Every time the weather warmed up above freezing, we had to stop and retreat to our holes.  Fortunately, this was one of the coldest winters in thirty years, which gave us almost 100 days to work from dawn to dusk, from mid-November to the last cold days of March.  Deepening or digging the pits was the hardest, most grueling work of all although getting the track walls high enough was a close second.  However, we expected it was all going to be worth it when the flag came down, the engines revved up, and our fans literally clawed their way onto the course.  Doing this kind of construction and prep work close to a major city these days seemed to just be asking for trouble but the Chief was adamant.  He told us again and again that putting the course out in the boondocks wouldn’t give us the huge crowds that would make this event profitable enough to justify our efforts. (more…)