Racin' & Internet Stuff:
By Tom Avenengo
Volume # 5
First things, first:
Wow! Talk about one thing completely turning the world of Motor Sports upside down – this release from SFI!
“March 26, 2010 - NOTICE OF DECERTIFICATION; NOTICE TO CEASE AND DESIST AND TERMINATION OF ALL CONTRACTS OF PARTICIPATION ISSUED TO IMPACT RACING
SFI
Foundation, Inc., has issued a Notice of
Decertification; Notice of Cease and Desist, and a notice terminating all
Contracts of Participation to Impact Racing. Effective
April 27, 2010, all products manufactured and/or distributed by
Impact Racing pursuant to SFI Specification Programs 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1, and 16.5
are decertified. Evidence obtained by SFI shows that over a period of years
Impact Racing has engaged in the production and use of counterfeit SFI
conformance labels and patches, and affixed them to Impact products for use in
motorsports. Under the Contracts of Participation between SFI and Impact, SFI
conformance labels and patches may only be obtained from SFI and no other
source. Evidence shows that Impact had counterfeit SFI labels and patches made
in
Impact has been directed to cease and desist from this practice. SFI has directed Impact to immediately notify all affected customers to remove the counterfeit labeling and to offer the affected customers a full refund of the purchase price. SFI is requesting that all counterfeit conformance labels removed from Impact products be sent to SFI.
SFI has elected not to decertify these products immediately in order to minimize the potential hardships to members of the racing community that have been brought about by Impact’s counterfeiting activities.
SFI has also elected to terminate all Contracts of Participation with Impact Racing effective 90 days from March 24, 2010. Under the terms of the Contracts, either party may terminate the agreements without penalty upon 90 days notice. This means that Impact will no longer be able to participate in any SFI programs after this 90 day period.
SFI has taken these actions in the best interests of the safety and integrity of the racing community. This is in keeping with SFI’s mission and purpose.
For a downloadable .pdf of this notice, please click on the following link: Decertification Notice 03-26-10.”
Does this mean that all Impact products are unsafe? I doubt it. How much will this affect those that have Impact safety equipment? That depends. Will those that have their equipment decide to change because of this? What if an organization, or track, does not go by what SFI decrees? And if they did, surely, at this point in time – the beginning of the racing season, they would have to have some kind of “grace” period, I believe, for those that opt to keep the Impact products, for the time being.
Impact
has come out and issued their own statement on this,
too. It might get ugly, folks!
From
Impact – on March 26th:
“SFI
has posted on the Internet an Announcement that effective April 27th
our products will be decertified. Impact
is legally challenging this proposed action by SFI. Impact strongly disagrees with the statement
on SFI’s website.
This is a dispute over SFI tags.
Our products are certified. They
are safe, and we stand behind them.
Also, from Impact:
“Impact Racing would like to respond to the statement on March 26, 2010 by SFI regarding their intention to decertify all SFI labeled Impact Racing products. All SFI labeled products currently being sold by Impact Racing have current SFI certification and legally obtained labels.
The safety or our products has in no way been compromised.
The allegation from SFI is in relation to the actual SFI tag only.
We suggest at this time to continue to use your equipment, which is safe and has been certified and do not have anyone replace your tags on your products.
On March 26, 2010 the attorneys representing Impact Racing filed an appeal. There is also a hearing in court on April 1, 2010.
Impact Racing will keep all of our customers informed as details unfold.
We are not accepting returns or refunds on delivered products. Wee suggest at this time to wait until further notice until we learn more about the details and allegations.
A formal press release will follow shortly.
Their website: http://www.impactraceproducts.com/default.wws
First
things, second:
I
had this in my column from March 4th:
“First things, first:
So much for “Global warming”, huh? Mother Nature closed out February quite nicely in our area. I know we got over two feet of snow where I live. A grandson of mine, Joshua, lives maybe 15 – 20 minutes away, and he had over four feet. He has a “flat” roof on his house, so you know he was constantly up on it shoveling the snow off. March has come in like a Lamb. Will it go out as a Lion?”
Well, not really as a “Lion” – more like a wet sponge, I’d say!
Going
back, in time - part 1:
Again,
most of this info is taken from: http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/history.html
Yeah,
I know, I said this section would be a lot smaller in last weeks
column! Hey, I’m working on it - believe
me!
MARCH 28
1954
Johnny Thomson ,
driving the Traylor #9, won the 30-lap AAA Eastern Sprint Car race on the 1/2
mile dirt Reading Fairgrounds in
1964
Rolla Vollstedt buys the first Offenhauser
engine built for rear-engine application. It was put in the Bryant Heating
Special which finished 15th in the
1971
Mario Andretti, driving an F1 Ferrari 312B, won the F1/F5000 Questor Grand Prix at Ontario Motor Speedway in
MARCH
29
1925
. Johnny Coy.. Born ... ( His real name was John Barbaro)
1944
Bill Vukovich Jr. ... Born
1953
Herb Thomas took the lead from Dick Rathmann with 18 laps to go and went on to win the 125 mile
NASCAR Grand National race on the .625 mile dirt North Wilkesboro Speedway
(North Wilkesboro,
Tommy Hinnershitz , driving the Hinnershitz
#1, won the 30-lap AAA Eastern Sprint Car race on the 1/2 mile dirt Reading
Fairgrounds in
1961
Doug Heveron... Born
MARCH 30
1947
Bill Holland , driving the Malamud #29, won the
20-lap AAA Eastern Sprint Car race on the 1 mile dirt Lakewood Speedway in
1952
Bill
Vukovich , driving the #45 Gerhardt Offy, won the AAA Midget race at the Phoenix Speedway,
1958
Len Sutton won his first USAC championship race, at
1969
Cale Yarborough debuted
the new Ford 'Boss' 429 c.i. engine, dominating the
NASCAR GN '
George Follmer drove a stock block V8 Chevy powered car to a stunning
upset victory in the USAC Championship 'Jimmy Bryan 150' at Phoenix
International Raceway.
MARCH 31
1956
Kevin Cogan... Born
Ralph DePalma... Died
1957
Johnny Thomson won the 30 lap USAC Sprint Car race at the Reading
Fairgrounds Speedway,
1964
Andy Granatelli's 4-wheel drive Novi Indycars damaged in a garage fire at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway.
1979
Leigh Earnshaw won the Midget race at the Thompson
Speedway ,
1998
Tim Flock... Died
April 1
1910
Diego
(Dee) Toran was
born. He ran mostly with the ARDC here in the Northeast. He was convicted
of manslaughter after the death of
1933
Sarah (Sally) Viola (Rice) now (Srickland) was born. Her father was George Rice (Viola) ARDC's
1947 driving champion and National Midget Hall of Fame member.
1951
Curtis Turner held off a late charge by Lee Petty to win the 150 lap
NASCAR Grand National race on the 3/4 mile dirt Charlotte Speedway in
1959
Parnelli Jones , driving the #1 Fike Plumbing Chevy, won the CRA Sprint Car race at the
Ascot Stadium, Los Angeles, CA. ( Click here for the race report. )
1976
David Gilliland ... Born
1979
Dale Earnhardt took his first career NASCAR GN win in the 'Southeastern
500' at Bristol International Raceway.
1993
Alan Kulwicki... Died
April 2
1926
Jack Brabham... Born
1939
Henry Guerand... Died ... AAA
driver from the 1930's. He died in a horrifying accident witnessed by
6500 spectators during the third midget event of 1939 at Nutley Velodrome, NJ. At twenty-first lap of the feature race,
while riding in sixth position, Guerand lost control
of the car, which was owned by Ernie Gesell, and slammed against the outside
guard rail. The body of the driver was thrown half way out of the cockpit and
impacted against a steel support overhanging the track, which caused him
horrible and not survivable injuries. The car, still carrying Guerand's lifeless body, continued its course around the turn
colliding with Bill Schindler and finally came to a stop when it ran into a hay
bale. Schindler received cuts about the face and nose. The race was halted with
Johnny Ritter declared the winner.
Note: From what I was
told, Guerand was decapitated when his head was
caught in the fence, and the car continued around the track by itself, due to
the high banking. There were three
fatalities at
1972
Alfred "Speedy" Thompson... Died
1975
Mark Light... Died
1976
Gerry Chamberlain won the Modified Stock Car race at the Reading Fairgrounds ,
1995
Robbie Gordon won the Slick-50 200 at Phoenix International Raceway,
April 3
1926
Alfred "Speedy" Thompson... Born
1960
Carroll Shelby drove a Bird Cage Maserati to
victory in the 200 mile 'Herald-Examiner Grand Prix' Sports Car race on the 3.2
mile Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.
1976
Wayne Reutimann won the Late Model Stock Car race
and Frank Riddle won the Sprint Car race at the Golden Gate Speedway , Tampa,
FL. ( Click here for the race report. )
April 4
1933
William
1948
Ted Horn
, driving
the Ted Horn #1, won the 25-lap AAA Eastern Sprint Car race on the 1/2 mile
dirt Reading Fairgrounds in
1949
John Force ... Born
1954
Dick Rathmann, despite blowing a tire with 2 laps
to go, won the 100 mile NASCAR Grand National race on the 5/8 mile dirt North
Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro,
Johnny Thomson , driving the Traylor #9, won the 30-lap AAA Eastern Sprint
Car race on the 1/2 mile dirt Williams Grove Speedway in
1957
Chet Fillip... Born
1959
George Amick... Died ... AAA /
USAC driver 1954 to 1959. He was killed in a crash in a USAC 100-mile
Indy car race at Daytona International Speedway.
Jim Rathmann won the 100 mile USAC Championship
race at Daytona International Speedway, averaging 170.261 mph. As Rathmann took the checkered, George Amick
died in a crash on the backstretch, possibly from the nose of the car lifting
off the track. USAC immediately cancelled a 300 mile race scheduled for July
4th due to safety concerns. Amick was the fastest
qualifier with a speed of 176.887, a speed not exceeded by an Indy Car for
another nine years. ( Click here for the race report. )
Joe Lacy won the TQ Midget race over his brother Jim at the Rhode
Island Auditorium,
1976
Rags Carter won the
Modified Stock Car race and Mike Geiser won the
Sportsman Stock Car race at the Nazareth Speedway ,
1993
Mario Andretti achieved his last CART victory with a win at Phoenix International
Raceway.
April 5
1959
Elmer George won the 30 lap USAC Sprint Car race
at the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway, Reading, PA. ( Click here for the race report. )
Carl Van Horn won the Modified Stock Car race at
the Victory Speedway, Middletown, NY. ( Click here for the race report. )
1980
Tom Hager won the Modified Stock Car race at the Nazareth Raceway , Nazareth, PA. ( Click here for the race report. )
Hank
Rogers Jr won the ARDC Midget race at the
Thompson
2000
Lee Petty... Died
April 6
1898
Pete DePaolo... Born
1912
Tommy Hinnershitz... Born ... Eastern AAA driver from
1932 to 1960. Also known as "The Flying Dutchman", Hinnershitz ran in the Indy 500 three times with a best
finish of 9th in 1948. He captured seven Eastern sprint-car championships and
posted 103 feature victories during his 30-year racing career. While he first
gained success and popularity near his
1923
Dick Linder... Born
Herb Thomas... Born
1941
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme... Born
1975
A.J. Foyt scored a milestone victory, earning
his 50th career USAC Champ Car win in the 200 mile race at
2008
Shane Hammond ... Died ... Shane was a NEMA midget driver that
died as a result of crash at the Thompson International Speedway , Thompson,
CT. ( Click here for the story. )
Note: Part 2 will be in the “Video time” section.
Racing
on TV - http://www.racefantv.com/USTV.htm
Friday,
April 2nd:
2:00
AM to 3:30 AM on SPEED – Formula 1 practice from
8:00
PM to 10:30 PM on SPEED – Truck race from
Saturday,
April 3rd:
4:00
AM to 5:30 AM on SPEED – Formula 1 qualifying
4:00
PM to 7:00 PM on ESPN – Nationwide Series race from
Sunday,
April 4th:
3:30
AM to 6:00 AM on SPEED – Formula 1 race from
Bus
trip to
A gentleman named Erwin Benz (Benzee)
usually has bus trips to some of the Cup races in this area – the
Northeast. He has one coming up for the
Some
info:
NASCAR Dover Bus Trip May 16th in the works. R/T Deluxe Motorcoach
, Premium Reserved Seat , Hospitality Tent all day with Food and Drinks
, Trackside Tour and meet and greet with NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle . Proceeds to support the FOP and the Law Enforcement Memorial in
Wash DC. Approx cost $160 per . Interested PM
me or email .
“Benzee” can be reached here: benzee95@hotmail.com
Note: This is the final notice about
this trip. I understand that the bus is
getting pretty full.
Track
news:
This past weekend, they did some massive work on the track surface at OCFS. I’ve read that they’ve lowered the banking in the turns by up to three feet. Still photos and a short video can be seen, here:
http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=33804&st=0&gopid=279888&#entry279888
The
Accord Speedway is due to have practice sessions this Friday night – April 2nd
and next Friday, April 9th.
Rain dates: the 3rd
and 10th.
They
do have this posted on their website:
Please Note: Rt 213 in
Rosendale is closed between
Oakland
Valley Speedway, formerly know as the Dirt Oval at OVRP, has this on their
website:
3rd - Opening Weekend - Practice 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
EASTER EGG HUNT
Note: There’s a
chance the bridge between
The
History of the Sport:
Taking you back to THE RACE – July 25, 1959 – Lime Rock,
It was
what they called a “Formula Libra” or “Formula Libra” race, where just about
anything that had four wheels on it, could enter. About the only thing not entered were stock
cars. There were Grand Prix cars,
Sports/racing cars, regular road worthy sports cars and some open wheel midget
racing cars, too. Yours truly was one of
those that sat on the banking that ran parallel with the main straightaway.
Once
they started practice, and I saw the first midget come down this hill onto the
main straight, well, I thought the driver was going to get killed, for
sure. Damn, was it fast! Oh, and Lime Rock only had/has one left hand
turn, too, something that midgets always did, and hardly ever turned right
(unless on dirt, of course – then they turn right while going left)
I guess
you could say that history was made that day.
Chuck Daigh was driving a Formula 1 Maserati. George
Constantine was in an Aston Martin DBR-1 that had been victorious at LeMans. John Fitch
was in a 2 litre Cooper Monaco, Pedro Rodriguez was
driving a 3 litre Maserati
Sports/Racing car, Dick Thompson was in a Corvette Sting Ray, Loyal Katskee was driving a 3 litre
Ferrari Monza, Denise McCluggage was in the seat of a
1.5 litre Porsche RS, Gordon MacKenzie
had a 3.5 C-Jag, Jokko Maggiacomo
was piloting a 4.9 Ferrari-Corvette, Paul O’Shea was in a 4.6 Bocar-Corvette, Lance Reventlow
was driving a Formula 2 Cooper, Russ Klar, Bert
Brooks and Duane Carter were in Offy powered midgets,
like Rodger Ward was. Ward was driving
for Ken Brenn, and that car was about 12 years old,
with me having seen it makes it’s maiden voyage on the
race track at Hinchliffe Stadium on September 30,
1947, with Johnny Ritter being the owner/driver.
After
time trials, with Ward being the fastest, the racing consisted of three races –
two 20 lap heats and then a 60 lap feature.
All this on the mile and a half road course, racing
clockwise, where as the midgets were used to only racing counter clockwise.
The top
five in the first heat were:
Constantine, Ward, Daigh, Fitch and Pedro
Rodriguez.
A short
break between the first and second heat, and Russ Klar
was replaced by Tony Bettenhausen, in the Caruso Offy midget. To the
amazement of the sports car people, Ken Brenn and his
race team changed rear gears between the first and second race – something
unheard of, to them.
The
second 20-lap race ended up like this:
Ward, Constantine, Daigh, Fitch and Rodriguez.
The
third race was over the 60 lap – 90 mile distance.
There
was quite a battle between Ward, Constantine and Daigh. Then the Aston Martin broke. Ward, to the surprise of most everyone there,
and most everyone world wide, won the race – a midget, designed for small oval
track racing, winning on a road course.
The top
ten at the end of those 60 laps: Ward, Daigh, Rodriguez, Fitch, Colombosian
(2 litre
With
the win by a midget, it, more or less, gave some other midget drivers and car
owners some thoughts of entering future “Formula Libra” races, and with some
thoughts of similar results. They would
come to find out it wasn’t going to happen at places like Watkins Glen and Road
Later
on, at Lime Rock, midgets did return to race, although mainly racing amongst
themselves during some racing programs that also had sports cars on the menu.
Note: If you’re reading this on the Dirt Track Digest, and if you want to see two photos that are included
with this part about Lime Rock, then please go over to the New England Tractor
website so you can see them.
http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/
Here,
in a photo that I found on the Internet, one from the Joe Corbett archives, is Rodger Ward, in the Ken Brenn
midget, outside the Aston Martin of George Constantine, as they came out of the
first and only left hand turn at Lime Rock.
Another
photo from the Joe Corbett archives. This one is of Rodger Ward as he is
exiting the Ken Brenn # 24 midget after the
Lime Rock Formula Libra race victory.
Former Dirt Oval runners:
I received a couple of items from a couple of former Dirt Oval runners – Justin Grosz and Lauren Cooper.
From Justin:
Justin Grosz, a
senior this year at
“Cove Haven is our primary sponsor for this year. We
proposed our plan and it took off from there,” said Grosz. “It’s really helped
us get the car ready for this year. Basically it helped us get through the
off-season to get ready to do well when we start off the year. Hopefully with
the sponsorship and the extra money we’ll be able to go to the
Splitting time between schoolwork, work, and running and operating a race team
is a lot of work, but Cove Haven feels it is a great investment and a great
opportunity to be able to help a dedicated employee in their outside ventures.
“We definitely think that Justin, as being a team member at Cove Haven is
extremely hard-working, the same thing he does out on the race track. We’re
very lucky to have a very impressive young man to work for us and we thought
this was a great opportunity. Team members have their lives here with us and
have their lives outside of here and we like to support them in everything they
do,” said Maura Foley, Director of Marketing for Cove Haven.
Last season may not have gone exactly the way Justin and his crew envisioned
it, but he gained valuable experience and has been studying tracks and
preparing for this year’s campaign.
“It’s a completely fresh start. We’ve got a lot of stuff straightened out and
picked up a lot of things in the last three months of racing last year,” said
Grosz. “I’m looking forward to Williams Grove Speedway, there’s a lot of
history there and we did good at New Egypt Speedway last year.”
The first race of the season will be on Sunday, March 28 at Big Diamond
Raceway. Justin will be at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, April 30. For a
complete listing of the racing schedule visit the American Racing Drivers Club.
“We still have a little work to do, get all the bugs straightened out. Pretty
much the car is all together. I’ve been studying other races to see how to
enter the corners and things like that,” said Grosz.
From Lauren:
The 2010 race season brings some very exciting news for
Lauren Cooper Racing. Lauren was asked to drive for Brit Andersen Motorsports –
Brit Andersen car owner and Stash Butova co-owner of
the #70 S.K. Light Modified at Stafford Motor Speedway in
Lauren
and her new team will be hitting the track early this year getting an extra
practice in on April 9th and then the open practice on April 17th.
That will lead into the opening weekend of the 39th annual Tech Net
Spring Sizzler Weekend scheduled for April 23-25.
Anyone
wishing to follow Lauren and her race teams season can
do so by checking her highly successful website www.laurencooperracing.com. The
website has surpassed 120,000 unique views in a little over a year and half.
Lauren also has a fan club on facebook under Lauren
Cooper Racing where you can chat with Lauren on a daily basis.
Lauren’s
other focus is attending Western Connecticut State College where she is on the
Deans List as a freshman and also an Honorary Member of The National Honor
Society.
Lauren
is proud to be
sponsored by:
U Oughtta Be On Chocolates, (www.yoboc.com)
Magnolia DE., Riverview Restaurant & Pizza of East Windsor Ct., Kenny’s Oil
LLC Southbury Ct., Laurel Diner, Southbury Ct., Jason’s – The Southbury
Salon, Southbury Ct., Total Fence LLC New Haven Ct., A&L Eastern Hydraulics, New Haven Ct.,
Newtown Car Care, Newtown Ct., A Sign Of The Times, New Milford Ct. and The
Williams Family, Oxford Ct.
Racing
wise, last weekend, Justin had a second in his heat with the ARDC at Big
Diamond. The feature was rained out, but
he’ll start outside pole when it resumes, on May 2nd.
Down
in
Michael
Storms qualified 4th in TT’s, was 3rd in
his heat and 3rd in the big block feature
More
racin’ stuff:
With the season now open in some places, and tracks set to open in the immediate future, might I suggest you check out some of the tracks websites to see what’s happening?
This past week I received an e-mail that was rather disappointing, but, in a way, I knew it, and more similar to it, would be coming. Not good news, at all, especially for the print media that covers auto racing.
It said:
“BTW. We've recently lost two
more weekly trade papers. We are now down to just nine papers that cover oval track racing on a
weekly basis during the summer. There used to be about 25.”
And:
“The King” of
stock car racing again has joined with Window World Inc. and John Andretti to
field an IZOD IndyCar Series entry – this time with the First Family of the
Yes, John
Andretti wil be driving for Michael Andretti at
More to the
story can be found if yo go here:
Video
time:
Going
back, in time - part 2:
While I was working on this column, on Wednesday afternoon, I had a notice pop up that I was receiving an e-mail from the one and only Stan Lobitz. I immediately went to my e-mails and checked out what he had sent. If you’re an “old timer” like me, you’ll recognize some of those cars and drivers that appear in this video. I must warn you though, in this video there is an accident that took the life of Bob Sweikert. Stan made mention of that because Stan is in possession of that racecar, today. Also, at 3:59, the video goes black. It is not over. You’ll be surprised at what’s left!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_r5hY49jLM
Some of my thoughts:
I caught some of the Cup race this past Monday. I can’t figure out why, when a driver knows he has a tire going down, he doesn’t pit immediately – like Jeff Burton didn’t do when they knew he had a right front going down and he stayed out on the track until it let go with 9 laps to go in the race, putting him into the wall, and naturally causing a yellow that led to more and finally the ever present (so it seems anymore) green/white/checkered flag situation. Or why doesn’t the crew chief order the driver to pit? Maybe NASCAR has instructed ALL the drivers to do this – so a yellow gets thrown with just a few laps to go? Hey, ya never know what NASCAR might be up to – after all, they’re hurting – both in attendance at the races and in TV viewer ship.
Is this true?:
More things are sent out via e-mails today, and this was one of them:
|
Internet stuff:
Other
forums/message boards and websites:
Note: In this section, from now on, I’ll be making mention of some certain things being said on the Internet, and will give you links to those items, along with links to various websites, message boards and forums. Hope you get a kick out of what some people are saying.
Track
Forum: - http://www.trackforum.com/forums/
A
few new “girls” are now acing Indycar – One of them
is Simona De Silvestro. Quite a lot being said about her, and you can read it if you go here:
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135457
How
about this, for a topic of conversation:
Any proposals for a
modern front engine Indycar?
Some interesting thoughts – pro and con,
and they can be seen, here:
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135496
Frontstretch.com: http://www.frontstretch.com/
New School NASCAR Non-stalgia Eroding Sport’s Fan Base – by Doug Turnbull, is an interesting read, and you’ll find it, here:
http://www.frontstretch.com/dturnbull/28965/
Jayski: - http://www.jayski.com/
New
driver named for #90 Keyed-up Motorsports ride, Hamlin to have knee surgery on
Wed and Tire tests at Indy and
Hamlin to have knee surgery on Wed UPDATE 2 surgery done.
http://jayski.com/cupnews.htm#news11tue
Fuel changes coming
in NASCAR: The only question about fuel injection in the NASCAR Sprint Cup
series is when it will be added not if.
More on that can be
read if you go here:
http://jayski.com/cupnews.htm#news-fuels
You’ve heard the old saying – “The rich get richer, and the poor get
poorer”, right?
Well, Highest
paid NASCAR drivers: #88-Dale Earnhardt
Jr. is NASCAR's highest-paid driver for a second straight year with earnings of
$30 million in 2009.
How the top 10 rank
can be seen, here: http://jayski.com/cupnews.htm#news-pay
I also found this
on Jayski’s website:
Was the finish of the Martinsville race legitimate?
- By Richard Allen
Kind of interesting, I thought.
Find out what he has to say by visiting this link: http://racingwithrich.com/?p=1120
Other
(non racing) news:
At about 7:45 PM on Wednesday, I received an e-mail from Ron Lauer, former race driver, mechanic and former President of the ARDC. Quite interesting, to say the least. You might want to check this out:
Speeding 'cushion' may dwindle due to recession
The recession may
be claiming a new victim: the 5-10-mph "cushion" police and state
troopers across the
Check it out,
here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-30-speeding-cushion_N.htm?se=yahoorefer
Is
it like this where you live?
“A record number of more than 2,000 children in Orange, Sullivan and Ulster County schools are homeless – an increase of 500 in just one year, according state figures compiled from each school.”
The above is just a small part in an article about homeless kids in the area where I live – and it does not take into account “toddlers”, either.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100328/NEWS/100329764
Closing with these:
My Doctor
Let me tell you about my doctor. He is very good. If you
tell him you want a second opinion, he will go
out and come in again.
He treated one woman for yellow jaundice for three years before he realized she
was Chinese.
Another time he gave a patient six months to live. At the
end of the six months, the patient hadn't paid his bill, so the doctor gave him
another six months.
While he was talking to me his nurse came in and said,
"Doctor, there is a man here who thinks he is invisible." The doctor
said, "Tell him I can't see him now."
Another time a man came running in the office and yelled,
"Doctor, doctor, my son just swallowed a roll of film." The doctor
calmly replied, "Let's just wait and see what develops."
One patient came in and said, "Doctor, I have a serious
memory problem." The doctor asked, "When did it start? "The man replied, "When did what start?"
I remember one time I told my
doctor I had a ringing in my ears. His
advice: "Don't answer it."
My doctor sure has his share of nut cases. One said to him,
"Doctor, I think I'm a bell." The doctor gave him some pills and
said, "Here, take these. If they don't work, give me a ring."
Another guy told the doctor that he thought he was a deck of
cards. The doctor simply said, "Go sit over there. I'll deal with you
later."
When I told my doctor I broke my leg in two places, he told
me to stop going to those places.
You know, doctors can be so frustrating. You wait a month
and a half for an appointment he says, "I wish you had come to me
sooner."
May “Guardian Angels” sit on the shoulders of all of our race drivers and race fans, and guide them safely around the tracks!
Drive safe!
As
usual, you can reach me at: ygordad@yahoo.com