Racin' & Internet Stuff:
By Tom Avenengo
Volume # 8
First things, first:
I hate to say this but I have to offer up an apology for an error on last weeks column. I’m wondering, how many might have caught it? I know of at least one that did – Jeff Johnson. He runs the New England Tractor website.
Last weeks column was # 7 of this current series. I had it as being #5, in the heading. Big “Brain Fart” on my end. No idea why I did that, either.
Some of my thoughts:
Digging up tracks. New clay problems. Starting on time. SRO signs. Being prepared, or not. Old grandstands. Traffic – where does it go? Bigger than normal people.
Digging up tracks: The last time I had seen a track getting “dug
up” had to be some time ago – when Lindy Vicari had
the dirt mile track in
New clay problems: Strange how it seem that when new clay is put down on a race track, it seems that the first few events after that have racing surfaces that get big ruts and/or holes develop. How can that be eliminated?
Starting on time: In most cases, tracks start their activities on time. That was surely the case last Friday at Big Diamond. Scheduled start was 7:00 PM, and they hit it dead on .
SRO signs: When was the last time you saw an SRO sign when you went to a race? They had to do that at Big Diamond. HUGE crowd for that facility. Reading on the Internet, they’re saying it was the largest ever, even more than their big events drew.
Being prepared, or not: Although it didn’t affect me, but at Big Diamond, they basically ran out of food – early. How can you actually have enough on hand, when you have the biggest crowd ever?
Old grandstands: They have them at Big Diamond. Where we sat, and I was sitting on the first aisle seat, my seat kept “bouncing” up and down whenever someone went past. I think the stands are about 18” above the ground, which is a bank the length of the front stretch. And some of the boards, from what I could see, really should have been replaced, years ago. I did read that one of the steps did actually break and someone did go through. True?
Traffic – where does it go?: At Big Diamond, quite a few of those in attendance left after the Small Block feature. Two more races were on tap. When the announcer came out and said, to those of us that remained, that it wouldn’t make much sense to leave now, since all you could see in the parking lot was brake lights and no cars moving, we decided to watch the last two features. After those last two features, and one of them had about four starts before one lap was scored, we ventured out to my car. And we sat. And sat. And sat, some more. Finally, someone let us out so we could get in line. Now that was our first trip to Big Diamond, and we exited the way we went in, making a right out of the track, going to Rt. 901 then to I-81. But once we made that right turn out of the track – no traffic! Where did all the cars go?
Bigger than normal people: OK, I’ll be the first to admit that I have quite a few extra pounds on my body. Some, come from age, maybe. But while we were sitting in the stands, early in the evening, my son commented on the size of the crowd. In return, I commented on the large amount of “big” people that were in attendance. This is really the first time that I can say that yes, we are getting to be a nation of overweight citizens.
Going
back, in time:
Some special things that happened, in years past, covering the dates
from April 7th to April 14th.
April 7
1963
A.J. Foyt and Roger McCluskey each won the twin 50 lap USAC Sprint Car
races at the Langhorne Speedway,
1966
Walt Hansgen... Died ... A
driver from the
1968
Jim (or Jimmy)
April 8
1910
The
1951
Marshall Teague won the first NASCAR Grand National
race held on the West Coast, a 100 mile race on the 1/2 mile dirt Carrell Speedway in Gardena, California.
Bill Schindler , driving the Malamud #29, won the 30-lap AAA
Eastern Sprint Car race on the 1/2 mile dirt Reading Fairgrounds in
1962
A.J. Foyt wins the USAC Champ Car race at
1984
Tim Richmond wins the NW Bank 400 over Harry Gant at the North
Wilkesboro Speedway , North Wilkesboro, NC.
April 9
1922
Johnny Thomson... Born
1961
Eddie Sachs drove an Offy
powered Kuzma chassis to victory in the 100 mile USAC
Championship race on the 1 mile
Fred Lorenzen scored his first career NASCAR
Grand National win in the rain shortened '
1967
Lloyd Ruby opened the USAC Championship season
by scoring a convincing victory in the 'Jimmy
1976
Kenny Brightbill won the Modified Stock Car race at
the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway, Reading, PA. ( Click here for the race
report. )
1988
Eddie Hill became the first person to run a
1/4-mile dragstrip in under 5 seconds when he ran a
4.990 second ET in his Top Fuel dragster in
Brett Hearn won
the 100 lap Northeastern Bi-Track Series Championship Modified Stock Car race
at the Flemington Fair Speedway , Flemington, NJ. Doug Hoffman was second followed Howie Cronce, Roger Laureno and Kenny Brightbill.
1989
Brett Hearn won the 100 lap Northeastern Dirt
Track Championship race at the Flemington Fair Speedway ,
Flemington, NJ. ( Click here for the race
report. )
1995
Dale Earnhardt wins the First Union 400 over Jeff
Gordon at the North Wilkesboro Speedway , North
Wilkesboro, NC.
2002
Pat Flaherty... Died
April
10
1914
Paul Russo... Born ... AAA /
USAC driver from 1934 to 1965.
1965
Al Tasnady won the Modified Stock Car race at the Orange County
Fairgrounds Speedway , Middletown, NY. ( Click here for the race
report. )
April
11
1920
Al Keller... Born He was the
first driver to win a NASCAR "Cup" race with a foreign car - a
Jaguar, at the Linden, NJ airport course in 1954.
1953
National Hot Rod Association holds its first sanctioned drag
racing event, at
April
12
1924
Curtis Turner ... Born
1969
Will Cagle won the Modified Stock Car race over Jackie Evans,
Rags Carter, Leon Manchester and Pee Wee
April 13
1931
Dan Gurney... Born ... American racing driver, race car
constructor, and team owner. He raced in Formula One, USAC Indy Car, NASCAR,
Can-Am, and Trans-Am Series.
1986
Michael Andretti drove to his first career Indy Car
victory, taking the CART
April 14
1912
George Rice
"Joie" Chitwood ... Born ... American racecar driver
and businessman. He is best known as a daredevil in the Joie Chitwood
Thrill Show. He was dubbed "Joie" by a track promoter and the name
stuck.
1960
Dan Drinan...Born
2002
Buck Baker... Died
Racing on TV - http://www.racefantv.com/USTV.htm
Friday,
April 9th:
1:00
PM to 3:00 PM on SPEED – Cup practice from
3:30
PM to 5:00 PM on SPEED – Cup final practice
5:00
PM to 6:30 PM on ESPN2 – Nationwide qualifying from
7:00
PM to 9:00 PM on SPEED – Cup qualifying
9:30
PM to 12:00 AM on ESPN2 – Nationwide race.
Saturday,
April 10th:
1:30
PM to 4:30 PM on SPEED – Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series from
6:00
PM to 7:00 PM on VS – Indycar qualifying from
7:30
PM to 11:00 PM on FOX – Cup race from
11:00
PM to 1:00 AM on ESPN2 – NHRA qualifying from
Sunday,
April 11th:
1:00PM
to 2:00 PM on SPEED – FIM World Superbike Race # 1 from
2:00
PM to 3:00 PM on SPEED – FIM World Superbike Race # 2
3:00
PM to 6:00 PM on VS – Indycar race from
4:00
PM to 5:00 PM on SPEED – FIM MotoGP World
Championship from
5:00
PM to 6:00 PM on SPEED – FIM Moto2 World Championship from
8:00
PM to 11:00 PM on ESPN2 – NHRA Eliminations from
Track
news:
Something
we always dread and don’t look forward to – a track not opening - found via
Dirt Track Digest’s Forum:
It is
very sad that the Genesee Speedway will not be running races this year, and it
is a loss for the whole area. Drivers, families, and race fans will not be
flowing through the gas stations, stores, resturants
and businesses that they have for years and years. The stands were typically
pretty full on most of the Saturday nights from late April untill
the end of summer.
No lease money for the Fairgrounds, no tax money for the town or county, and no
more local race entertainment for those of us who enjoy dirt track stock cars.
I guess those of us who will continue to enjoy the sport of auto racing will
have to take our money and go to Arcade, Canandaguia,
This is on the OCFS website about Fan Clubs. Remember them?
Driver
Fan Clubs
Fans
A Favorite DriverPosted:
March 30th 2010
Many years ago, drivers had fan clubs.
Fans would get together and form a club to support their favorite driver. They
sold memberships for a couple dollars, handed out membership cards, sold
t-shirts, raffle tickets for merchandise, generated a periodic newsletter, and
submitted news items to the weekly program at the speedway.
One of the best things about fan clubs was that the
drivers got to meet their fans every week. Fans enjoyed seeing their favorite
driver, and ask questions, etc. Fan clubs made going to the races more fun!
There used to be a “Banner Night” at the speedway. Fan
clubs (and anyone else) made large, colorful banners promoting their favorite
driver, and the best, most creative banner would win a prize.
Orange County Fair Speedway Management encourages and
supports the formation of driver fan clubs, and has offered to lend a hand.
So…
If you’d like to get a fan club up and running, here are a few things you’ll
need:
Membership
Cards
A Newsletter - These don’t need to be elaborate, but
they should be published on a regular basis.
Activities – at and away from the speedway
For example – you may wish to raffle off an inexpensive item to generate cash
for club expenses or to raise funds for something your favorite driver needs or
wants.
A Card Table – You’ll want to sign up new members during intermission. In the
old days, fan clubs would set up behind the grandstands with a card table, a
chair, and lots of fans!
New clubs will get “air support.” Our announcer will be glad to make any
announcements in regards to club activities.
There will be a “Fan Club News” section in the weekly program. You may submit
photos of your fan club for possible publication. “Hard Clay” publisher Steve Barrick will give fan clubs his full support.
Until your club gets up and running, I’ll be happy to edit and print your
newsletter for this season only. Next season, you’ll be on your own!
Future activities at the speedway: Banner Night, Fan Club Night (reduced admission
for fan club members), and whatever you can come up with!
Some of you have belonged to, or have run a fan club in the past. Your
assistance and encouragement would be most welcome!
A few things to think about:
Fan clubs
don’t need formal rules and regulations, but they need guidelines for conduct
at the speedway.
Assign a representative to submit material for your newsletters and weekly
announcements. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar. I’ll patch things up and
publish your newsletter for the 2010 season.
I’ll print membership cards.
The Opening Night program will have information regarding fan clubs. As the
weeks go by, I’ll give each new fan club a brief write-up, contact information,
etc.
It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old. If you have a favorite driver, and
you’d like to give him as much support as you can, starting or joining a fan
club is one of the best ways to do it!
If you start a fan club, you can be sure to have at least one member. I have
pledged to join each and every fan club at Orange County Fair Speedway!
If you have any questions, feel free to call the speedway office, or email me: VictorySpeedway@gmail
I can’t wait to see how many fan clubs there are by the time Eastern States
Weekend rolls around!
Have FUN!!
Pete Kessler
“Do You Remember?”
(Hard Clay)
So far, there are these, for 2010:
Joel Murns, Jr. will have a fan club.
Mike Consales will have a fan
club.
Tommy Meier will have a fan club.
Last year there was one
for James Devitt – not sure if it will be back or
not.
Eldora – problems?
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of problems with the track (Eldora) owned by Tony Stewart.
Fun and games at Eldora tonight – NOT
ADVERSE TRACK CONDITIONS FORCE ELDORA CANCELLATION
Interested? Then check out
what’s being said, here:
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135646
The
History of the Sport:
Something way different this week, and for the next couple of weeks,
too.
As you probably know by now, I’m a member of
the Yahoo! Race History Group. An
interesting query was sent out last week about “Who would you like to meet”? I thought I’d copy down most of the responses
and put them in this column. Gotta warn ya though – it’s
basically about racing “Back in the day” with Open Wheel cars.
Who would you like to meet?
Part
1:
This question is the result of an
email forwarded around our offices recently:
If you could meet any three people from racing history, who would they be? and why?
My three choices:
Wilbur Shaw - such and long varied career to
discuss.
Ray Harroun - what was
it like in the first "500'?
George Salih- to talk about the
development of the laydown.
Fortunately, A couple of my
favorites are still around to talk to, A.J. Watson
and Andy Granatelli.. ... SO, my other three would
be: #1. A shop tour with Fred Offenhauser/ Leo Goosen -
They could actually create what Miller thought up. #2. Lunch with Frank
Kurtis - Chat about the Kurtis/OFFY
and Kurtis/NOVI roadsters.
#3. Visit with Ted Halibrand
at his shop - Talk about racing wheels...
Just three? I think the '50s and '60s were the greatest decades at the
500, so I'd have to think it would be great to spend a day with A. J. Watson.
I'd have to list Parnelli Jones, who I idolized when I was a child. Third? So many come to mind - Ward, Gurney, Hurtubise, Bryan, Clark, Sachs, Vukie,
but I too, would love to hear about that first 500 with Ray
Harroun.
This is my first post but I've
been lurking for some time, this is my first post. I wish I had gotten to
speak with Tommy Hennershitz more than once. His
words helped me behind the wheel even though I was too young to see him race. Dick Miller and Ernie MCoy
would tell Tommy stories and I was all ears.
Who would I like to meet?
Leo Goosen - to ask about the thinking behind certain
aspects of his engine
designs
Ed Windfield - to hear about how he managed to
develop such advanced
camshaft profiles
Ettore Bugatti - to ask why he
stuck with splash fed rod and main bearings
This is a great question. Thanks
Kevin. #1, would be for me,
Barney Oldfield. One can only imagine the
stories...#2, Roger Penske, Just
being able to get him to sit down and talk about , Revson,
Donahue, Mears,
Fittipaldi, etc, etc...and
#3, Tony Hulman, I
would look him right in the
eye and say, " What happened?"..
I guess mine would have to start
with Bill Cummings and my uncle
Earl
Unversaw (family thing here).
No, 2 would have to be my hero Herk just because, and
then Mel Kenyon the
king of the midget men because midgets is where my heart lies (and he's my
other boyhood hero).
#1 Mark
Donohue - He was my hero when I really started to follow racing, and
I would just like to get try to get to know him.
#2 Eddie Sachs - Since we are
both from the
learn more about this region and its racing from him.
#3 Sam Posey - I know he is still alive, and I may meet him some time, but
anyone who can mention the "vagaries of the weather" on an ABC Indy
500
broadcast, and write interesting books like he has written, is someone I
would like to talk with.
Honorable Mention - another living driver - Oscar Kovaleski
- I ordered lots
of toy slot cars from his AutoWorld
company as a child, and I was a class 3
member of his PRDA club in college. He seems quite entertaining so I love to
talk with him about toy cars and Can-Am racing.
#1 - Jimmy Clark
(as I'm a 500 and F1 fan)
#2 - P.J.
#3 - Eddie Sachs (based mostly on his reputation
as the "Clown Prince." I think a guy who is careful about not taking
himself too seriously yet is an excellent driver is
great in my book.
Interesting Idea - The Duesenberg Bros, Reid Railton and Frank Kulick, early Ford driver and engineer.
Former Dirt Oval (
With the racing season finally starting, you can expect to see this section start to grow, now.
Last weekend, on Friday, at Big Diamond, in the Sportsman class, Mike Mammana had a 2nd in his heat and a 25th in the feature, having been involved in a big 1st lap crash. Anthony Perrego also had a 2nd in his heat but finished 3rd in the feature.
At Wall Stadium, Roger Coss, in his first modified race finished 9th in the feature.
At Selinsgrove, in the 358 Sprint Car feature, Davie Franek finished 6th.
More
racin’ stuff:
If you recall, last week I started off with news about the SFI Foundation and Impact Racing, and the problems they were having. Well, it sure looks like everything is now OK, which, of course is great news.
Here
is the link to a joint press release:
http://www.impactraceproducts.com/pdfs/2010/SFI%20Press%20Release_04012010.pdf
Video
time:
Over a race drivers career, he’s bound to have some accidents. I suppose it’s a “gimmie”. Well, since he made it through the accident you’re about to see, fairly un-injured, maybe this is why Michael Waltrip acts the way he does, today?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVlj7F8OJCY&feature=related
Is this true?:
This one is quite large, so it will take more than just this column to
get it all out for you to read. Again, via
an e-mail:
This letter, by Stephen E. Fraser, MD, appeared
in the Indianapolis Star (which is owned by the same people who own the
everyone what pressure these Democrats are currently under, so continue to let
them know how
you feel about the healthcare bill. Bill Stough---Shock
to NBC This morning.
An
( Note: Dr. Stephen E. Frazer, MD practices as an anesthesiologist
in
Here is a letter I sent to Senator Bayh. Feel free to
copy it and send it around to all
other representatives.
Stephen Fraser
Senator Bayh,
As a practicing physician I have major concerns with the health care bill before
Congress. I
actually have read the bill and am shocked by the brazenness of the
government's proposed
involvement in the patient-physician relationship. The very idea that the
government will
dictate and ration patient care is dangerous and certainly not helpful in
designing a health
care system that works for all. Every physician I work with agrees that we need
to fix our
health care system, but the proposed bills currently making their way through
congress will
be a disaster if passed.
I ask you respectfully and as a patriotic American to look at the following
troubling lines
that I have read in the bill. You cannot possibly believe that these proposals
are in the
best interests of the country and our fellow citizens.
Page 22 of the HC Bill: Mandates that the Govt will
audit books of all employers that
self-insure!!
Page 30 Sec 123 of HC bill: THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits
you get.
Page 29 lines 4-16 in the HC
bill: YOUR HEALTH CARE IS RATIONED!!!
Page 42 of HC Bill: The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC
benefits for you.
You have no choice!
Page 50 Section 152 in HC bill: HC will be provided to ALL non-US citizens,
illegal or
otherwise.
Page 58 HC Bill: Govt will have real-time access to
individuals' finances & a 'National ID
Health card' will be issued! (Papers please!)
Page 59 HC Bill lines 21-24: Govt will have direct
access to your bank accounts for
elective funds transfer. (Time for more cash and carry)
Page 65 Sec 164: Is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in
unions &
community organizations: (ACORN).
Page 84 Sec 203 HC bill: Govt mandates ALL benefit
packages for private HC plans in the
'Exchange.'
Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans -- The Govt will ration
your health care!
Page 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill: Govt mandates
linguistic appropriate services. (Translation:
illegal aliens.)
Page 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18: The Govt will use groups
(i.e. ACORN & Americorps to sign up
individuals for Govt HC plan.
Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans. (AARP
members - your
health care WILL be rationed!)
Page 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill: Medicaid eligible individuals will be automatically
enrolled in Medicaid. (No
choice.)
Page 12 4 lines 24-25 HC: No company can sue GOVT on
price fixing. No "judicial review" against
Govt monopoly.
Page 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill: Doctors/ American Medical Association - The Govt will tell YOU what
salary you can make.
Page 145 Line 15-17: An Employer MUST auto-enroll employees into public option
plan. (NO choice!)
Page 126 Lines 22-25: Employers MUST pay for HC for part-time employees AND
their families.(Employees shouldn't get excited about this as employers will be
forced to reduce its work force,
benefits, and wages/salaries to cover such a huge expense.)
More to come, next week.
Note: If you’re interested in
the whole thing, I’d be glad to send it out to you, via an e-mail. My e-mail address is always at the end of my
column.
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/
Does a race driver have any right to question the safety of a racetrack or racecourse? If so, whom should he tell his concerns to? A rather interesting thread on this can be seen, here:
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135735
A
new qualifying format for the Indy 500 and pole day –
From 11am Saturday, May 22nd, until 4pm, teams will have a shot at
all the spots on the grid. Then until 6pm that day, a psuedo
Firestone Fast 6 will have at it.
At the 4pm cutoff, the 9 fastest cars will compete for the pole!
Wow! Up top six pages
already, and some are for it, and some are against it.
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135769
Frontstretch.com: http://www.frontstretch.com/
http://www.frontstretch.com/ahenderson/28995/
Jayski: - http://www.jayski.com/
Jayski links to other articles that are out there on the Internet, and here is one that is rather interesting about insurance and NASCAR, by “Mad Mikie”
It
starts off with this:
“I’ve had several questions and comments about why an
organization the size of NA$CAR and with the amount of money it has, has to
hide behind the “independent contractor” clause when it comes to medical care
for the drivers, crew chiefs, and other people tied into the sport.”
A little further down, he has this to say:
“Richard Childress had to sue NA$CAR/I$C to get the life insurance
benefits paid out after the death of Dale Earnhardt and it took over 4 years to
get the benefits paid out. What does this say about NA$CAR/I$C/The Frances
ducking and dodging various obligations? Well, besides being a "family
tradition", it also establishes a pattern.”
To see what else he has to say, please go here:
http://www.laidbackracing.com/Articles2010/MM31.html
Latest on Larry Pearson:
There have been numerous calls for Bristol Motor Speedway to end its experiment with old-timer "legends" racing since the track's March 20 event resulted in a savage late-race accident. Larry Pearson, the driver seriously injured in that wreck, isn't one of the naysayers.
http://jayski.com/cupnews.htm#news-pearson
Note: I wonder what kind of insurance he has? The bill for his
time spent in the “crash house” along with the surgeries that were incurred,
must be astronomical.
Other
(non racing) news:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100405/ap_on_bi_ge/us_toyota_recall
How will the CARD act affect you? That depends in part on
which type of credit card you've got in your wallet.
The combined impact of the economic downturn and the
restrictions placed on credit card companies by the Credit CARD Act mean card
issuers will be changing how they do business in ways that will affect every
credit card -- but the impact will vary depending on the type.
Health Care Reform: Tax Hikes on the Way
One example – one of thirteen shown:
“1. A new 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services
on services provided after June 30, 2010”
Interested in the rest?
Here ya go:
This came out right after I sent last week’s column in:
Seniors wary of
health overhaul impact on Medicare:
While Democrats
hail the sweeping legislation as the greatest expansion of the social safety net since Medicare, they also fear that
seniors won't see it that way for this fall's elections. Indeed, Republicans
have portrayed the overhaul as a raid on Medicare — a bedrock of retirement
security — to provide money to pay for covering younger, uninsured workers and
their families.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100401/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_overhaul_medicare
Closing with this:
A man and his wife were
awakened at 3:00 am by a loud pounding on the door.
The man gets up
and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push.
"Not a
chance," says the husband. “It’s 3:00 in the morning!"
He slams the door
and returns to bed.
"Who was
that?" asked his wife.
"Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answers.
"Did you help
him?" she asks.
"No, I didn’t
– it’s 3:00 in the morning and it’s pouring rain out
there!"
"Well, you
have a short memory," says his wife. "Can't you remember about
three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped us?
I think you should
help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself! God loves drunk people too!”
The man does as he
is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding rain.
He calls out into
the dark, "Hello, are you still there?"
"Yes,"
comes back the answer.
"Do you still
need a push?" calls out the husband.
"Yes,
please!" comes the reply from the dark.
"Where are
you?" asks the husband.
"Over here on
the swing set," replied the drunk.
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