Mark Knopfler Speedway at Nazareth

[Greg B]

I'm not sure if this has been discussed before but I heard this song yesterday for the first time on the XM. This is pretty cool he covers an entire CART season, maybe circa early 90's?


After two thousand came two thousand and one
To be the new champions we were there for to run
From springtime in Arizona 'til the fall in Monterey
And the raceways were the battlefields and we fought 'em all the way

Was at Phoenix in the morning I had a wake-up call
She went around without a warning put me in the wall
I drove Long Beach, California with three cracked vertebrae
And we went on to Indianapolis, Indiana in May

Well the Brickyard's there to crucify anyone who will not learn
I climbed a mountain to qualify I went flat through the turns
But I was down in the might-have-beens and an old pal good as died
And I sat down in Gasoline Alley and I cried

Well we were in at the kill again on the Milwaukee Mile
And in June up in Michigan we were robbed at Belle Isle
Then it was on to Portland, Oregon for the G.I. Joe
And I'd blown off almost everyone when my motor let go

New England, Ontario we died in the dirt
Those walls from mid-Ohio to Toronto they hurt
So we came to Road America where we burned up the lake
But at the speedway at Nazareth I made no mistake

[devilmaster]

definitely a good song.... :thumbup:

[fourrunner]

Knofler is good friends with Stefan Johanson ... I believe he said thats what inspired him on the Song ... He said he had been at a number of CART Races as guest of Stefan back then ... He also digs F1

I saw him at the Tower Theatre in Philly a few years back, and he sang that song, with a short intro mentioning Stefans name and CART also .. pretty cool !

[cameraman]

He sings it at most, if not all, concerts. He was here in July, the man puts on fantastic shows. Speedway At Nazareth was released in 2000 on Sailing to Philadelphia.

[G.]

That is VERY :cool: .

I never knew about that song. Might have to go buy "Sailing to Philadelphia".

amazon link (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004Y6Q0/qid=1134063421/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/103-9603041-7667811?v=glance&s=music)

[RacinM3]

It's available at iTunes as well.

[Andrew Longman]

That is VERY :cool: .

I never knew about that song. Might have to go buy "Sailing to Philadelphia".

amazon link (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004Y6Q0/qid=1134063421/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/103-9603041-7667811?v=glance&s=music)

Excellent album. I think its the best of his recent work.

Sailing to Philly is a duet with James Taylor about Mason and Dixon coming to America to "draw the line". Odd content for a popular song but a great story and song.

Most people think of the Mason Dixon line in the abstract as a division between the Southern and Northern states during the US Civil War. In reality it is the line that forms the Southern boundrary of Pennsylvania. It was surveyed through the wilderness in the the 1760 to settle a property dispute between Lord Baltimore and William Penn over land granted by King Charles I and II.

If you ever wondered why WV has that northern panhandle sticking up around the western edge of PA its because hostile Native Americans scared off Mason and Dixon's guides and crew about 30 miles short of the Ohio river and thats as far as they could survey.

Back to the song I remember that Knopfler said he wrote it while pondering a CART schedule Stephan had sent him. He admitted he didn't know too much about the series or many of the specific events, but looking at the schedule and imagining his friend working through the season gave him the inspriation for the song.

[theunions]

I've never understood the "died in the dirt" reference, given that we're not talking about the 1950's to '60's USAC Championship Trail here...

Wish Mark would've released this as a single and done the appropriate video for it.

[Gnam]

I've never understood the "died in the dirt" reference, given that we're not talking about the 1950's to '60's USAC Championship Trail here...
Stalled it in a gravel trap?

[DjDrOmusic]

Ontario, died in the dirt, maybe a reference to the old Ontario Motor Speedway????

[Sean O'Gorman]

Ontario, died in the dirt, maybe a reference to the old Ontario Motor Speedway????

Probably Toronto. It makes sense if you follow the progression of the schedule, as it seems to be some season in the early 90s.

[FCYTravis]

I did an analysis of the song over on that other Champ Car forum a long time ago. It kinda sorta fit with Nigel Mansell's 1993 title run, but it's not quite correct in spots.

Someone dug up a Knopfler quote in which he said he didn't base it on anyone specific... but I'm still suspicious. ;)

[FCYTravis]

Found it. From 2002. Sad how many people from back then now have "Banned" by their username :shakehead

I recently discovered the wonderful Mark Knopfler tune "Speedway at Nazareth" -- if you haven't heard it, find it -- it's about CART, and specifically, one driver's season.
But whose season? Knopfler doesn't say, but if you match up the lyrical races with the real-life drivers, one sticks out:
Nigel Mansell and his spectacular 1993 run to the PPG Cup.

How do I know this? Just take a look, here's the song lyrics, with my comments interspersed:

Speedway at Nazareth, by Mark Knopfler

After two thousand came two thousand and one
To be the new champions we were there for to run
From springtime in Arizona 'til the fall in Monterey
And the raceways were the battlefields and we fought 'em all the way

Throw out the years, as obviously CART wasn't racing in Arizona (or Indianapolis) in 2001. But they were in 1993...

Was at Phoenix in the morning I had a wake-up call
She went around without a warning put me in the wall

Nigel Mansell had his famous practice crash at Phoenix which forced him to withdraw.

I drove Long Beach, California with three cracked vertebrae
And we went on to Indianapolis, Indiana in May

Well the Brickyard's there to crucify anyone who will not learn
I climbed the mountain to qualify went flat through the turns
But I was down in the might-have-beens and an old pal good as died
And I sat down in Gasoline Alley and I cried

This section may have been artistic licence, as I don't know which "old pal" was there, if any, and Mansell didn't qualify in the "might-have-beens" - he sat 8th on the grid.

Well we were in at the kill again on the Milwaukee Mile

Nigel won his first CART race there at the MGD 200 (where Raul Boesel was yet again the bridesmaid)

And in June up in Michigan we were robbed at Belle Isle

Mansell wrecked on Lap 68, after sitting on pole. I'd call that getting "robbed," at least of points.

Then it was on the Portland, Oregon for the G.I. Joe
And I'd blown off almost everyone when my motor let go

It breaks down here, as Mark apparently uses more artistic licence. Mansell finished second at the GI Joe's 200.

New England, Ontario we died in the dirt

Knopfler skips around a bit here, missing Cleveland. Mansell finished 20th at Toronto after his wastegate failed. He didn't exactly die in the dirt at New England, either - Nigey sat on pole and led most laps en route to another victory.

Those walls from Mid-Ohio to Toronto they hurt

Eagle-eyed schedule-checkers will note that he rearranges the schedule here; Mid-Ohio was after Road America. I don't know if Mansell found any walls at Mid-O or Toronto, but he had a middling outing at the Sports Car Course, finishing 12th after sitting on pole.

So we came to Road America where we burned up the lake

Mansell wasn't quite as hot as Tracy, who led flag-to-flag, but second ain't anything to sneeze about - he burned Elkhart Lake up good, I'd say.

But at the speedway at Nazareth I made no mistake

Nigel sure didn't; after sitting pole and leading Lap 1, Mansell went on to dominate the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix, leading unchallenged from Lap 47 to when the checkers fell at Lap 200, having nearly lapped the field.

So, there you have it - Mark Knopfler's unnamed lyrical driver bears quite a striking resemblance to one of the few F1 stars to "step down" to Champ Cars, with a good bit of success (yeah, that's an understatement... rookie of the year and champion too, not bad.)

[FCYTravis]

Then from "CmndoCody" -

I've got a possibility for you: Nelson Piquet. Brazilian three times World Champion. In a long 14-year career, he drove for Parmalat Racing, Tissot Ensign, BS Fabrications, FILA Sport, MRD, Brabham, Williams, Lotus and Benetton, finishing with a massive 485.5 points, 23 fastest laps, 23 wins, 24 pole positions, from 204 starts.

A huge accident, worse than anything in his F1 career, caused major damage to Piquet’s leg during practice for the Indy 500 in 1992 and he didn't race. In 1993, your target year, Piquet returned to the Brickyard, many think to prove to himself and the world that he could conquer his fear of the place. He qualified 13th and finished next to last, exiting the race early with engine failure. It was, essentially, the end of Piquet's career. For someone who lived for racing, it was a kind of death: "an old pal as good as died."

[theunions]

Yeah, Piquet would seem to fit. Except for the "old pal" part. :D

As far as "might-have-beens" alluding to being a DNQ - maybe it's referring to "might have been a winner" instead, if not for Emmo and Arie snookering him.

[FCYTravis]

Good point :)

[Gnam]

If he was hanging out at the track, maybe he heard a couple of good stories and compiled a bunch of driver's experiences into one song.

[pferrf1]

Its mostly about Mansell - he was a big fan of Nigel and racing in particular.

[G.]

The glory days. :(

Thanks, Tony. :flame:

[oddlycalm]

First time I was at the track when this tune played over the PA it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. There's a bicycle racer where I work out that follows F1 and CCWS that loves "Sailing to Philadelphia" and plays it relentlessly. I like it fine, but it's not good workout music IMO...

oc

[Andrew Longman]

First time I was at the track when this tune played over the PA it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. There's a bicycle racer where I work out that follows F1 and CCWS that loves "Sailing to Philadelphia" and plays it relentlessly. I like it fine, but it's not good workout music IMO...

oc

I remember that. It was the 2001 race. I had bought the album a few months earlier and hearing about it on 7G. Made me sad though because word throughout the weekend was it would be the last year for CART at Nazareth. That's why the song made my hair stand up. :shakehead

Now the place is shut and the grandstands are at WG

[Ziggy]

Welcome to five years ago.

Glad you got XM, should keep you out of that messy business of supporting artists you like and **** :gomer:

[Anteater]

I remember hearing that song over the PA at the California Speedway in 2000 (during my first full race weekend), and thinking what a cool moment it was. The analyses of the lyrics are terrific! :thumbup:

Sailing to Philadelphia is one of my favorite discs; I love the way Knopfler tells a story in each song, and how he can switch personae from the brash young man in "Do America" to the ruined gambler in "Sands of Nevada". Not great workout music, though (as oc pointed out).