Racin' & Internet Stuff:

                                       By Tom Avenengo

                                            Volume # 9

 

 

First things, first:

I received an e-mail the other day from a John Conklin.  His grandfather was a midget driver, from the ‘40’s & ‘50’s,  Chet Conklin.  He found me while doing a search on his grandfather, and one of my columns came up, which happened to make mention of his grandfather.  Hey, ya never know!  He says he’s looking for anything about his grandfathers racing, so if anyone reading this has any info, how about contacting me?  My e-mail addy is always at the end of my column.  Already, prior to my sending this column in we’ve received some info from noted photographer John DaDalt.  In one of my Crocky Wright books, I see that Chet Conklin appears 13 different times, so that might well be more info for the young man.

 

 

 

Some of my thoughts:

Last Saturday I went to OCFS to check out the practice session.  Actually it was more to check out the new track, with up to almost three feet of banking having been removed.

The track really didn’t look much different, really.  Once the cars got onto it, I think I could detect some extra careful driving into and through the flatter turns.  Track conditions really didn’t warrant any real side by side racing, to an extent.  Those that got up high, were in some “way to loose stuff”, and that wall comes up pretty quickly.  Then the track started breaking up, pretty badly, in turns one and two.  I couldn’t see turns 3 & 4, but I would imagine that there might have been some rough spots there, too.  I haven’t seen any comments from the drivers as to their liking or not liking the new flatness of the hard clay.

My thoughts:  I really hope I’m wrong here, but in a way, I don’t think the flattening of the track will improve the racing, especially for the fans.  I suppose we MIGHT find out this coming Saturday?

 

There were some people in the stands – but I think that those that run OCFS kind of miss the boat by not advertising that the practice session is FREE to the public.  Who really knows if they had advertised it, if more would have shown up to watch?

 

 

 

Going back, in time:

 

Note:  With this week’s column, this section has now been dramatically reduced in size.

 

Again, most of this info is taken from:  http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/history.html

 

Some special things that happened, in years past, covering the dates from April 15th to April 21st

 

 

April 15

1933

Mel Kenyon... Born ... A hall of fame midget car driver. He is known as the "King of the Midgets" The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America says "Many consider him to be midget car racing's greatest driver ever."

 2005

Art Cross... Died ... AAA driver. He was the first recipient of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award in 1952. He raced in 4 Indy 500 with a best finish of 2nd in 1953.

 2006

Louise Smith... Died ... She was tied for the second woman to race in NASCAR at the top level. She was known as "the first lady of racing."

 

April 16

1935

Leon Duray"Jigger" Sirois ... Born ... He started racing UMARA midgets in 1957, IMCA sprint cars and USAC. Though he never qualified for the Indianapolis 500, Sirois is most known in racing circles for events surrounding his qualifying attempt in 1969. He took to the track on Pole Day and achieved a speed of 161.535 mph before his qualifying attempt was called off by his car owner (who thought the speed was not fast enough to make the race). Shortly afterwards, it began to rain, and qualifying was washed out. If Sirois had completed his qualification attempt, he would have won the pole (as the race's slowest qualifier's speed of 160.851 mph was not enough to bump Sirois). However, he made two more unsuccessful qualifying attempts and did not make the field.

 1946

Arthur Chevrolet... Died ... AAA driver 1909 to 1920. One of 3 brothers that emigrated to America and went into auro racing.

 

April 17

1968

Andy Granatelli lost a lawsuit against United States Auto Club. He claimed USAC had broken their own "3-year" engine rule when they severely restricted his turbine-powered Indy car. He did have his USAC membership reinstated.

 2002

Buzz Barton... Died ... Raced in IMCA & USAC Sprints and Indy Cars

 

April 18

1942

Jochen Rindt... Born ... Rindt was a German-Austrian racing driver. He is the only driver to posthumously win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship (in 1970), after being killed in practice for the Italian Grand Prix.

 1949

Geoffrey Bodine... Born ... The oldest of the three Bodine brothers (Brett Bodine and Todd Bodine) who are all NASCAR drivers.

 

April 19

1942

Jack Roush... Born ... NASCAR and Trans-Am team owner. Never seen without his trademark Panama hat, Roush is affectionately known on the NASCAR circuit as "The Cat in the Hat".

 1959

Dick Linder... Died ... In the late 1940's and early 1950's, the Linder name was one of the biggest in racing in the entire country. Dick Linder's career was cut short in a USAC "big car" event at Trenton in 1959. 

Note:  I was there that day, and can still see his car going over the fence between turns three and four, in what seemed to be slow motion.

 

 1962

Al Unser, Jr.... Born ... Nicknamed "Little Al" or "Al Junior" is an American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. He is the son of Al Unser and the nephew of Bobby Unser, who both won the Indianapolis 500 themselves. Ran CART from 1982 to 1999 and the IRL from 2000 to 2007. Drove in 19 Indy 500's and won in 1992 and 1994.

 1979

USAC board rejected the entries by CART teams for the Indianapolis 500.

 

April 20


1946

Gordon Smiley... Born ... American race car driver from Omaha, Nebraska that ran SCCA Formula Atlantic, Can-Am, Formula 5000, Formula Super Vee and Indy cars. Smiley raced in the Indianapolis 500 twice, in 1980 and 1981, and was killed while trying to qualify for a third in 1982.

 

April 21

1979

Ira Vail... Died ... AAA driver from 1915 to 1928

 

Bobby Bottcher won the Modified Stock Car race at the Orange County Fair Speedway, Middletown, NY. ( Click here for the race report. )

 

C.D. Coville won the Modified Stock Car race at the Fonda Speedway, Fonda, NY. ( Click here for the race report. )

Ken Brenn Jr won the Modified Stock Car race at the Flemington Fair Speedway, Flemington, NJ. ( Click here for the race report. )


 

 

 

 

 

 Racing on TV - http://www.racefantv.com/USTV.htm

 

Friday, April 16th:

2:00 AM to 3:30 AM on SPEED – Formula 1 practice from China

11:30 AM to 1:00 PM on ESPN2 – Nationwide final practice from Texas

1:00 PM to 2:30 PM on SPEED – Cup practice from Texas

2:30 PM to 4:30 PM on ESPN2 – Nationwide qualifying

4:30 PM to 6:30 PM on SPEED – Cup qualifying

7:30 PM to 9:30 PM on SPEED – ARCA race from Texas

 

Saturday, April 17th:

2:00 AM to 3:30 AM on SPEED – Formula 1 qualifying from China

12:30 PM to 3:00 PM on SPEED – Cup practice & final practice

3:30 PM to 6:00 PM on ESPN2 – Nationwide race from Texas

6:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Versus – Indycar qualifying from Long Beach, CA.

6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on ESPN2 – NHRA qualifying from Las Vegas

8:00 PM t0 10:00 PM on SPEED – American LeMans Series from Long Beach

 

Sunday, April 18th:

2:30 AM to 5:00 AM on SPEED – Formula 1 race from China

3:00 PM to 7:00 PM on FOX – Cup race from Texas

3:30 PM to 6:30 PM on Versus – Indycar race from Long Beach

7:00 PM to 10:00 PM on ESPN2 – NHRA Eliminations from Las Vegas

 

 

 

 

 

 

Track news:

 

As I was leaving OCFS on practice day, since I wasn’t all that interested in watching the track grader do “laps”, I happened to meet up with Michael “Suitcase” Sanchelli the race director for OCFS.  “Suitcase” informed me of a special race coming up for 358 Small Blocks at OC.  He’s been doing some leg work – visiting some of the Pennsylvania tracks and getting some of the Pa. guys committed to coming up to OCFS to run the show.  I’ll not say, at this time, what it will cost to sit in the stands and watch, but I was told a figure that is under $20.00.

 

Here’s info on the event:

"Middletown, New York: On Wednesday night August 4th, 2010, Suitcase Promotions and Orange County Fair Speedway will host a 40 lap 358 Race "The Hard Clay Challenge". This race will be open to any legal 358 motor at your home track. Gas or Alcohol. Any American Racer tire with a maximum of 92 inches can be used. (NO LATE MODEL TIRES). This exciting event will be a first for the Hard Clay of Orange County. The winner of this event will take home $10,000.00 dollars. with $400.00 to take the green flag. We will be giving away many special awards for various finishers of the race including a guaranteed starting spot in the Rocktoberfest at New Egypt Speedway, The Eastern States 150, and many more. There will be more information forthcoming in the weeks ahead. Mark your calendar. (Rain Date is Wednesday August 11th). For more information or sponsorship opportunities contact Michael Sanchelli at 862-432-3597 or email him : suitcase@optimum.net."

 

Also, his phone number (Cell) is:  862-432-3597.  A couple of good things about the date – it looks like there is nothing scheduled, anywhere, on that date - as of now, and it is three days after the fair closes, so parking shouldn’t be a problem.

 

 

 

 

The History of the Sport:

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 2:

 

I would like to go back in time and go on tour with Barney Oldfield.
I`d like to ride with Ralph De Palma,and I`d like to get to know Harry A Miller.

 

1)      Willie K. Vanderbilt, Jr. -- to learn about all his plans he had for racing, the Vanderbilt Cup, the Long Island Motor Parkway, and potential racetracks that never materialized.

2) George Robertson -- to hear about his winning the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup.

3) Ralph DePalma -- just sit back and listen to the amazing racing stories he would tell.

Honorable Mention -- Jimmy Murphy (ditto DePalma reason and hear about the 1921 French GP), George Schuster (to hear about winning the 1908 New York to Paris race).

 

I would like my wife and son to meet my great-grandfather, Harry McQuinn. Next, maybe the Marchese Brothers. and then maybe Mr. Hulman. . .

 

I would like to share a few beers with any group of guys who raced the short tracks in the twenties & thirties. John Gerber would be at the top of the list, but any of his competitors would be welcome.

 

Kevin, it always amazes me the amount of responses you get to your questions.
I would think a meeting with Frank Lockheart and or Tommy Milton would be most rewarding.

 

Great question. The first person I would like to talk to is my dad. He died when I was sixteen in 1961. He was involved in racing from 1925 to 1952. Even though he took me to my first 500 when I was 13 and to quite a few races in the Detroit area in the late 50's, he was gone before I was smart enough to ask him about all the famous and infamous people he knew.

That said, I would want to talk to some of the people he knew and admired.

#1: Frank Lockhart comes to mind because he was not only a brilliant driver but also a brilliant engineering mind. If I recall correctly, he made modifications to Harry Miler's engines (supercharger) that caused a rift between the two but gave him extra speed. As the first rookie (other than Ray Harroun) to win the Indianapolis 500, he was, in my dad's opinion, "The Greatest of Them All". And, of course, his pursuit of the world land speed record puts him in a class by himself. He died young on the sands of Daytona and who knows what else he would have accomplished if he had lived.

#2: Wilbur Shaw is on my list for a bunch of reasons. He was racing his Whippet at Toledo in 1930 where my dad first photographed him. Then my dad took some fabulous photos of Shaw in Victory Lane in 1939 when he won his second 500. These were featured on the front page of the Illustrated Speedway News that year. But most of all, I would love to talk to Shaw about his role in restoring the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the war. He was more than just a great driver. He had a long-term impact on the sport.

#3: Duane Carter rounds out my top three. "Pappy" Carter was one of those hot-shot California drivers that came to the midwest about 1935 when midgets were all the rage and stayed. He was one of six drivers who went to introduce American midget racing to Auckland, New Zealand in 1937. That trip was featured in LIFE magazine. In 1940, at the age of 27 he was the track champion at Detroit's Motor City Speedway. He was a regular at Motor City after the war and a frequent feature winner. He went on, of course, to be a veteran driver at Indianapolis. He was in on the ground floor when USAC was formed in 1956 as its first Director of Competition. He returned to driving in 1959 and I was in the pits (with the help of Chris Economaki) during qualifying in 1963 (his last year) and managed to take a few photos of Duane as he prepared to qualify. I never really got to meet him but I think he would have great stories to tell.

Finally, among the living, I would love to spend some time with Chris Economaki. He was a friend of my dad's and was kind enough to issue me press credentials in the 1960's after my father's death. I think he understood how much I wanted to be like my dad and experience the things he had done. In addition to being a stringer at Indianapolis, I was the track photographer and NSSN reporter for the Mt. Clemens Speedway for three years and I loved it. My relationship with Chris was just through correspondence however and I have never met him. In checking for this letter, I also found out that Chris was Duane Carter's unofficial crew chief in the late 30's when he was racing midgets at Nutley. I'll bet those two would have stories to tell.

 

 

 

Former Dirt Oval (Oakland Valley Speedway) runners:

At Big Diamond, last Friday night, Mike Mammana won the Sportsman feature.

Michael Storms was 8th in the SDS Big Block race at Fulton.

Anthomy Perrego was 4th in the ROC Sportsman feature at Five Mile Point.

Davie Franek was 7th in the 358 Sprint feature at Selinsgrove.

Justin Grosz had engine problems at Susquehanna during the ARDC show, and couldn’t make either of the two features.

 

 

 

 

 

More racin’ stuff:

 

Coming up:  I’ve missed this show these last couple of years, and was really thinking of going there this year.  However, something (family wise) has come up to kind of threw a monkey wrench into my plans.

The 20th Annual Vintage Racing Celebration – Vintage Racer Group, is scheduled for May 18th to the 23rd, with the Open Wheel cars on the mile track on May 18, 19 & 20.

http://www.vintagecelebration.com/index.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video time:

In a way, I think that some of the best racing drivers in the world are those that compete in World Rally events.  This video, linked to, below, doesn’t include many of the more competent drivers, as you’ll see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PEqHNKJZVs

 

 

 

Is this true? – Continued:

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 
Arizona Republic) and was sent to a very popular Indiana Senator. This just goes to show 
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 Indianapolis doctor's letter to Sen. Bayh about the Bill 
( Note: Dr. Stephen E. Frazer, MD practices as an anesthesiologist in Indianapolis, 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 149 Lines 16-24: ANY Employer with payroll 401k & above who does not provide public option will pay 8% tax on all payroll! (See the last comment in parenthesis.)

 
Page 150 Lines 9-13: A business with payroll between $251K & $401K who doesn't provide public option will pay 2-6% tax on all payroll. 
 
Page 167 Lines 18-23: ANY individual who doesn't have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income. 
 
Page 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill: Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay.) (Like always) 
 
Page 195 HC Bill: Officers & employees of the GOVT HC Admin.. will have access to ALL Americans' finances and personal records. (I guess so they can 'deduct' their fees) 
 
Page 203 Line 14-15 HC: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." (Yes, it really says that!) ( a 'fee' instead)

 Page 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill: Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid Seniors. 
(Low-income and the poor are affected.) 
 
Page 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill: Doctors: It doesn't matter what specialty you have trained 
yourself in -- you will all be paid the same! (Just TRY to tell me that's not Socialism!) 
 
Page 253 Line 10-18: The Govt sets the value of a doctor's time, profession, judgment, etc. (Literally-- the value of humans.) 
 
Page 265 Sec 1131: The Govt mandates and controls productivity for "private" HC industries. 
 
Page 268 Sec 1141: The federal Govt regulates the rental and purchase of power driven 
wheelchairs. 
 
Page 272 SEC. 1145: TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing! 

Page 280 Sec 1151: The Govt will penalize hospitals for whatever the Govt deems preventable (i.e...re-admissions).

 

 

 

 

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/

An interesting thread titled:  Short track question of the day. WHY.....

do these people feel like they have to stand all night to watch races on a 4/10 mile bullring?

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135938

 

Frontstretch.com:  http://www.frontstretch.com/

 

How about “Did You Notice? … How Richard Petty Motorsports is facing almost certain death?

Or:  Did You Notice? … The degree to which Roush got suckerpunched on this Kahne deal.

Or:  Did You Notice? … The awful irony in Kelly Bires getting fired the same day John Wes Townley remains with his organization?

And:  Did You Notice?… That JR Motorsports’ new Nationwide driver is…Steve Arpin?

You can check it all out if you go here:  http://www.frontstretch.com/tbowles/29081/

 

 

 

 

Jayski: - http://www.jayski.com/

 

Kahne to Hendrick in 2012 UPDATE 2 HMS PR:

http://jayski.com/cupnews.htm#news9tue

 

Richard Petty Motorsports in default on loan UPDATE:

http://jayski.com/cupnews.htm#news19tue

 

SFI and Impact Racing settle case:

http://jayski.com/pages/safety.htm

 

 

 

 

Other (non racing) news:

Maybe this could be a “Is this true # 2, but since it says it was in the LA Times, maybe it is?  From an e-mail I received this past Monday:

 

From the L. A. Times
1.40%of all workers in L. A. County ( L. A. County has 10.2 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes.
This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card.
2. 95%of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.
3. 75%of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.
4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose births were paid for by taxpayers.
5.Nearly 35%of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.
6.Over 300,000 illegal aliensin Los Angeles County are living in garages.
7... The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border.
8Nearly 60%of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.
9. 21 radio stations in L. A. are Spanish speaking.
10. In L.. A. County 5.1 million people speak English, 3.9 million speak Spanish.. (There are 10.2 million people in L. A. County .)

(All 10 of the above facts were published in the Los Angeles Times)

Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but29% are on welfare. Over 70% of the United States ' annual population growth(and over 90% of California , Florida , and New York ) results from immigration.29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens.

We are fools for letting this continue

HOW CAN YOU HELP ?

Send copies of this letter to at least two other people. 100 would be even better.

 

Regarding the above:

I believe it was sometime last year, in June, when I had this in one of my columns:

“THREE PRESIDENTS

HOOVER, TRUMAN AND EISENHOWER
Here is something that should be of great interest for you to pass around.

I didn't know of this until it was pointed out to me. But, back during The Great Depression,
President Herbert Hoover ordered the deportation of ALL illegal aliens in order
To make jobs available to American citizens that desperately needed
work.

Harry Truman deported over two million Illegal's after WWII to create jobs for returning veterans.

And then again in 1954, President
Dwight Eisenhower deported 13 million Mexican nationals! The program was called 'Operation Wetback' so that American WWII and Korean veterans had a better chance at jobs. It took 2 Years, but they deported them!

Now, if they could deport the illegal's back then, they can sure do it today!! If you have doubts about the veracity of this information, enter Operation Wetback into your favorite search engine and confirm it for yourself.”

Oh – I did check out “Operation Wetback”.  It confirms what is said, above.”

So what’s the problem, now?

 

 

 

 

Closing with these:

To many, I guess you could say that I’ve led a somewhat quiet and uneventful life.  I’ve only been in an airplane one time – from Philadelphia to El Paso, Texas – courtesy of “Uncle Sam”, back in 1961.

Here are some rather comical sayings from some flights:

 

Airline Announcements? 
United Flight Attendant announced, 'People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it! 

On landing, the stewardess said, 'Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have. ' 
 
'There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane' 

 
An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard.The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them a 'Thanks for flying our airline.'  He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane.   
She said, 'Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?' 
'Why, no, Ma'am,' said the pilot. 'What is it?' 
The little old lady said, 'Did we land, or were we shot down?' 
 
As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Ronald Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: 'Whoa, big fella,  WHOA!' 
 
After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, 'Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because sure as hell everything has shifted after a landing like that.' 
 
Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing:  'We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal.' 
 
Overheard on an American Airlines flight into Amarillo , Texas on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo . Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!' 
 
'Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments.' 
 
'As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses........except for that gentleman over the right wing' 

Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard landing in Salt Lake City . The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, 'That was quite a bump, and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt.' 
 
After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix , the attendant came on with, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.' 
 
Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: 'We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you'll think of US Airways.
 
Heard on a Southwest Airline flight - 'Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing and if you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em.' 
 
A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport . After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, 'Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from New York to Los Angeles .
The weather ahead is good and therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax.... OH, MY GOD!'  Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap.  You should see the front of my pants!' 
A passenger in Coach yelled, 'That's nothing. You should see the back of mine!'

 

 

 

 

 

 

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