The closest experience I've had was at Brands Hatch in 2003. But that doesn't count because it was 1) ChampCar and 2) in England.

Lewis Hamilton dominated the Formula Renault race? Hmmm... maybe one of them (the Sunday race), but the first one I proudly said to my wife (the girlfriend) "watch this kid, he's amazing" at which point Hamilton threw it off at Paddock Hill bend while leading... lol

Also, the first BTCC race set the tone for years to come it was won by Matt Neal after he shovelled off Paul O'Neill at the last corner of the last lap. That became Matt's signature move for years to come and almost the entire paddock that day couldn't believe Matt was allowed to keep that win.

Just booked Pocono tickets for my son and I. It will be his first race meeting and my first Indycar event.

Indycar have put the full 1989 CART race from Pocono up on YouTube:

Bit suspicious that a soon as they come back from that ad break at about 55 mins in, there's a wreck in progress...
Cheaters

Barkingside Single seater champion Scott Malvern hopes that his maiden test on USA soil can lead to a professional career stateside. Scott travelled to Florida last week to spend time with USA Formula Star Mazda Champions Team Pelfrey at their workshops in Clearwater culminating in a two day test at Sebring International circuit. Despite not being used to the searing temperatures, which topped 112 degrees on track, Scott performed well over the two days and was very much on the pace.

The team already have a good record with British drivers having won the 2012 Star Mazda Championship with Yorkshire’s Jack Hawksworth who was able to move up to the next level Indy Lights Series thanks to the prize money he collected for taking the title. Scott commented “I really enjoyed the test in spite of the heat which really does take some getting used to, though I coped with it much better on the second day than I did on the first. I am confident that if I was out there full time I’d be able to acclimatise without a problem and as races are held right across the whole of the USA and Canada conditions wouldn’t always be so extreme. The team were very happy with my input and my pace and we are now looking to see what can be done to get me into the car on a permanent basis. That could mean that I join them for a race or two towards the end of this season but the main focus now is really fixed towards mounting a full championship campaign in 2014”

Scott who won the British & European Formula Ford title in 2011 & The UK Formula Renault Championship in 2012 as well as collecting the coveted Autosport National Club Driver of the Year Award, previously won by the likes of Lewis Hamilton and David Coulthard, has struggled to mount a campaign in the UK this season after losing his seat at Jamun Racing after just one event at Brands Hatch at Easter. “The economy in the UK has certainly made things very difficult and people just cannot understand that I have won so much but that doesn’t automatically reward you with the right to move up to the next level. You are still required to bring finance to most teams. In the USA they pay substantial prize money and because they have the Road To Indy ladder in place the champion of any series within the structure will always move up all the way to Indycar, which includes the Indy 500, arguably along with Le Mans the most famous motor race in the world. Star or Pro Mazda as it is now referred to sits just two levels below that. The cars are very fast using the Mazda Rotary engine producing 260 BHP so roughly equivalent to our own Formula 3 but the budgets are considerably less”

Scott will also be hosting his own business networking event at Brands hatch on Friday 9th August where he will talk about his career and his recent experience in the USA.