[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11844]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING CHRIS ECONOMAKI AND THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF ``NATIONAL 
                           SPEED SPORT NEWS''

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Posey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POSEY. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to take a few moments today 
to recognize the 75th anniversary of ``National Speed Sport News'' and 
the man whose commitment to auto racing, journalism and broadcasting 
has not only kept this publication alive and thriving throughout all 
these years, but has kept racing fans glued to their seats during some 
of the biggest moments in motorsports history, Chris Economaki.
  Born October 15, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, Chris was the son of a 
very successful businessman whose family lived a very good life until 
the unfortunate crash of 1929, when they lost everything and were 
forced to move into his grandparents' home in New Jersey. As a kid he 
could hear the roar of the race car engines from a nearby track, and he 
often found himself sneaking in under the fence to watch the races.
  At the age of 14, Chris started selling copies of ``National Speed 
Sport News'' on weekends to fans during races, and he wrote a regular 
column while he was still in high school. But he quickly noticed that 
the success of his paper depended largely on the event's announcer. So 
he started announcing at races and found that he had a real talent for 
that. Suddenly, Chris began getting requests to announce from all over 
and to deliver the commentary at the races. He became one of the most 
competent and respected announcers in the history of motorsports. Chris 
was later made editor and publisher of the paper he sold and wrote for 
as a kid.
  On July 4, 1961, Chris did his first live telecast on ABC's ``Wide 
World of Sports'' for their Firecracker 250 at the new Daytona 
International Speedway. Since then he has announced for CBS, ESPN and 
the Indianapolis 500 to name just a few.
  In 1993, Chris Economaki was inducted into the National Sprint Car 
Hall of Fame. In 1994, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of 
Fame of America.

                              {time}  1615

  He received both the NASCAR Award of Excellence and the NASCAR 
Lifetime Achievement Award, and he has come to be known as the dean of 
American motorsports.
  Truly, Chris is one of the most influential journalists in the 
history of motorsports, and is the greatest ambassador for motorsports 
that has ever lived. His level of institutional knowledge is 
unparalleled. Not only is Chris most knowledgeable, he imparts or 
articulates his vast knowledge better than anyone else in the business 
ever has. And he does it with integrity, he does it with kindness, he 
does it with poise, he does it with aplomb, is a word that he has often 
used to describe people with a lot of class, and he has it.
  In Florida, we recognize the day of the Daytona 500 every single year 
as Chris Economaki Day since the governor first declared it in 2005.
  As a stock car racing fan and a participant, it is a great privilege 
to stand here and offer this salute to Chris Economaki, a man so many 
admire and who has done so much for a sport that has pushed the 
envelope in the advancement of automotive technology, brought families 
and friends together on weekends, and kept the American competitive 
spirit alive for decades, Chris Economaki.

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