Racin'
& Different Stuff:
By Tom
Avenengo
Volume # 118
12/06/2012
Special note:
You ain’t gonna believe what happened last
week, folks. As you know, there was no
column scheduled. Well, I guess “Chemo
Brain” is catchable! Come Monday, last
week, I really got to working on the column, had every thing done by around
11:30 PM on Wednesday night. I first
send my column to the New England Tractor website, via e-mail. Then I go back and post my column on Dirt
Track Digest. Around 12:15 AM on
Thursday, part one – to New England Tractor was done. I then commenced to work on part two, which
is fairly easy to do – posting it on DTD.
But to do that I have to separate the heading from the
rest of the column, and post it separately. I did that, then
posted the column. I then went to
“preview” the column, and up comes the 12/06/2012 date. OOPS!
Damn! The column wasn’t due until
THIS WEEK!
So, a good part of it was already
done. I’ll be making some changes, that’s for sure!
First:
There will be no column next week, and
columns will be every other week, for a while – at least until the beginning of
2013. Next column will be on December 20th.
Second:
Hoping
everyone had a real nice and filling Thanksgiving! At our house, we had plenty to eat. Son Tom Jr., his wife Penny and daughter
Marisa came down from
Third:
Over the years I’ve had a problem with my
sugar. Yes, most of it is/was my
fault. I’ve been waiting for the day
that I’d start using Insulin as a means of controlling it, and that day finally
has come – this past Sunday night I started on it, using one of those
pens. Let’s see what happens.
As for the wife – she had IV Chemo treatment
# 5 of 8 this past Tuesday. Kind of kicked her butt a little, since she napped for few hours
after we got home. It’s about
three hour deal for the IV Chemo.
Basically we sit and watch TV.
Only three more!
Fourth:
Best Indy Car (Champ Car) driver of the
1950's?
Believe it or not, not many names mentioned!
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?171022-Best-Indy-Car-driver-of-the-1950-s
Fifth:
From a year ago – Volume 82 – 11/24/2011:
“Dec 1, 2004
On December 1,
2004, the wife and I were visiting our daughter down in
Sixth:
Nothing against the Red
Cross, but why is it that the American Red Cross is the only one we see
advertised on TV about sending money to, to help with those affected by
Sandy? Whatever happened to the
Salvation Army and others?
Seventh:
Alex Lloyd is an Indy Car driver. Where he comes from, they don’t have Sprint
Cars. He’s heard a lot about the history
of American racing and how, in the past, one had to usually come from racing
Sprint Cars to get to Indy and the 500.
He had the opportunity to drive a Sprint Car – wingless, on dirt. Yes, his eyes were opened!
Alex Lloyd – Sprint car
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayhtGHDqNY8&feature=watch-vrec
Eighth:
Over on Facebook, former ARDC driver and President, Ron Lauer
posted this, along with a photo:
“1948 Tony Bonadies and Ed "Dutch" Schaefer in the Wheeler team
cars.
Tony will join Dutch as a member of the National
Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame at the Induction ceremonies in
For information on purchasing tickets for the
casual dress luncheon go to Kingdoodlebug@sbcglobal.net
Deadline for reservations is December 31,2012”
Note: The photo is at the
end of this weeks column in my photo section.
Ninth:
Catalogs:
Maybe you’re like
us and get a ton of them in the mail.
What I’d love to see – where all the crap they have advertised is
made. Betcha over 90% is from
Tenth:
I would imagine that there are quite a few
out there that would love to do what was done in the video, below. Maybe you know of someone that has done it or
had done to them?
Eleventh:
CUP: Penske Offers Stewart Indy 500 Ride
http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/cup-roger-penske-offers-tony-stewart-indy-500-ride-nascar-sprint/
And, on the track
forum:
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?171177-Penske-s-offer-to-Stewart-for-Indy-500-Ride
Note: As of 2:00 PM on Wednesday, there have been
257 postings on that thread. Some hinting of an earlier Indy 500 start and some looking to see
if NASCAR might change the starting time of the World 600 to a little later.
Indy start time
could be changed to help Smoke run both
And, the latest,
as of Wednesday evening – found on Jayski’s website:
UPDATE:
#14-Tony
Stewart has passed up a chance to race for Roger Penske in the
Twelfth:
The NASCAR Truck Series will
have a race at Eldora in 2013.
Wednesday
Jul 24 Eldora Speedway
Eldora truck test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6V7GJdn9rZE
Any idea as to what drivers
other than regular Truck Series drivers will attempt this race? Think hard – quite a few from Cup and
Nationwide have raced on dirt before. My
choice to win: Kyle Larson.
Notes: I can truly see a Nationwide
race at Eldora in 2014.
Man, didn’t Facebook light up
when that schedule came out!
Thirteenth:
Another little tid bit found on Facebook on
11/28/12:
Ocfs
Racing
Look
For The Return Of The 358S On A Part Time Schedule In 2013!!
Note: Pretty sure that was also mentioned in a
previous column? What they do not say in
that post above is that, from what I’ve heard/read, no more Open Sportsman,
just Crates at OCFS. 358’s every other
week. Question is: How many from either the Open or Crate
Sportsman classes will move up, with them only racing every other week – or is
there a chance that they could go weekly?
I do not expect any “outsiders” like Hearn coming to OCFS to run both
big and small blocks the same nights – unless maybe they went to a weekly
schedule right off the bat. Might there
also be an increase in admission when the 358’s run?
Fourteenth:
What a clever idea! Yes, Christmas cards. This is coming
early so that you can get ready to include an
important address to your list.
Want to have some fun this CHRISTMAS?
Send the ACLU a CHRISTMAS CARD
this year.
As they are working so very hard to get rid of the
CHRISTMAS part of this holiday, we should all send them a nice, card to
brighten up their dark, sad, little world. Make sure it says "Merry
Christmas" on it.
Here's
the address, just don't be rude or crude:
ACLU
125 Broad Street , 18th Floor
New York , NY 10004
Two
tons of Christmas cards would freeze their operations because they
wouldn't know if any were regular mail containing contributions. So spend
45 cents and tell the ACLU to leave Christmas
alone. Also tell them that there is no such thing
as a " Holiday Tree". It's always been called a CHRISTMAS TREE!
And pass this on to your email lists. We really want to
communicate with the ACLU! They really DESERVE us!!
For those of you who aren't aware of them, the ACLU, (the American
Civil Liberties Union) is the one suing theU.S. Government to take God,
Christmas or anything religious away from us.
They represent the atheists and others in this war. Help put Christ back
in Christmas!
** Suggestion: Pass this on to your church, co-workers,
family, and friends. What do you have to lose
but 45 cents, what do you have to gain --- more than you may ever know
possible.
Fifteenth:
Since
this is close to December 2nd, I thought I throw it in that on
12/02/1960, “Uncle Sam” said he needed me more than the Grand Union Company
did, and I was drafted into the Army. - a little less
than three months after we were married.
After Basic Training, I re-enlisted, figuring as long as I was going to
be in, I might as well do what I wanted to do.
In a way, I guess it was a good move.
Took the Basic Army Administration Course at Fort Dix, after Basic
Training, then was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, and I got there towards the end
of May in 1961. I was interviewed by
Sergeant First Class Harold Redfern. He
asked me if I’d like to work for him. I told
him I’d like that. Stayed
there until 02/28/1964, when I was discharged. Left as an E-5. The wife got down there towards the end of
summer – pregnant with our first. Judy
was born on November 22nd. A
couple of years later, Sandra was born – August 9th,
1963.
Sixteenth:
Rules
in racing:
Can
you think of any that have saved the racers any money? Hard to, isn’t it? I recall one time when John Snyder made
mention of the rule book for OCFS being ONE PAGE. Today, it’s like a phone book.
There’s
some interesting things said on the Dirt Track Digest’s Forum about Smaller
Radiators. Yes, rules have made it so
there’s no more ingenuity in racing any more.
http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/topic/46243-smaller-radiators/
Seventeenth:
Some Hinchliffe
Stadium news:
City Ready to Release $1 Million For Hinchliffe
Repairs
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
• 9:48am
The
money would goes towards the basic stabilization of the crumbling landmark, one
of three stadiums still standing where old Negro League baseball games were
played. But the funds would not cover the comprehensive renovations needed to
restore the stadium to regular use, a job that
officials say will likely cost more than $15 million.
Representatives
of The Friends of Hinchliffe Stadium and the National Trust for Historic
Preservation pitched the stabilization project at Tuesday night’s City Council
workshop meeting. The council indicated it would vote to release the funds at
an upcoming meeting.
The
city would lose a $500,000 New Jersey Historic Trust grant if it does not put
up its own money to match those funds by February 1, officials said.
In
addition to the city funds and historic grant, the project also would get
$198,000 from Paterson Public Schools funded through the federal government and
a $30,000 grant that the Friends of Hinchliffe got through the 1772 Foundation.
The
plan is to spend $1.2 million on stabilization work and $528,000 on planning
and analysis for the long-range repairs.
Walter
Gallas, a field director for the National Trust, a private, nonprofit group
that works on historic preservation projects, said starting the stabilization
work will make it easier to generate contributions for the more costly renovations.
“After all these years, we’re closer than ever before to begin making a
difference at the stadium,’’ Gallas said.
“We
definitely want to bring it back,’’ said City Council President Anthony Davis,
who played football at the stadium for Kennedy High.
Councilman
Rigo Rodriguez said the city needed to make plans for traffic parking as it
moves forward with Hinchliffe renovations. Brian LoPinto, one of the founders
of Friends of Hincliffe, said those issues would be addressed when the project
moves further along.
Eighteenth:
New
Nineteenth:
Usually at night, just prior
to going to bed, I play Internet Scrabble.
Of course, prior to getting into the games there are commercials. This past Sunday night one of them was in
SPANISH! WTH?
And, watching some football
on Sunday, man, do back up quarterbacks suck!
While on the subject of
football – do you know there are some college teams in Bowl games this season
that have LOSING records? WTH? Quite a few have
6-6 records, too. Once, there was a time
when there were just a few bowl games, like Sugar, Cotton, Sun and Rose. Today, there are umpteen bowl games. Talk about getting something watered down!
Twentieth:
Here are some links to
various websites where you might find some interesting things, gift-wise, for
family and friends.
http://www.aarn.com/
(subscription)
http://www.hotlapsracin.com/hotparts.htm
http://www.modelroundup.com/category-s/94.htm
http://www.pitstopbooks.com/videos-snyder.html
http://www.tbrwins.com/ (Kart items)
http://www.racerspreferredmodels.com/
Of course there are other
things that one could get as a gift – like a season pass to ones favorite
track, or maybe a pit pass for your favorite driver?
Or better yet, if your loved one is a race driver, and races in a vehicle that
has a roll cage – how about buying him some insurance? We’ve all read of drivers being injured last
year, and I often wondered if they had insurance over and beyond what the
tracks had.
For insurance: http://www.stida.com/
Twenty-first:
Rules for the 358
Modified division are now posted on the official web
sight.
http://www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net/
http://www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net/FILES/2013-OCFS-SB-rulebook.pdf
Twenty-second:
Oh, you’re gonna love this
one, folks – an e-mail I received this past Monday night. Read it and weep! You can see where our country is heading!
A Ford Dealer's Report
This is exactly why Mitt
Romney said that 40 some % of the people are too dependent on the government.
They have learned to work the system.
A Ford
Dealer's Report - From Tom Selkis' (Latham Ford) Facebook - True story
yesterday at the dealership.
"I'll try to make this
as short and to the point as I can.
One of my salesmen here had a
woman in his office yesterday wanting to lease a brand new Focus.
As he was reviewing her
credit application with her he noticed she was on social security disability.
He said to her you don't look
like you're disabled and unable to work.
She said well I'm really not.
I could work if I wanted to, but I make more now than I did when I was working
and got hurt (non-disabling injury).
She said the gov't sends her
$1500.00 a month in 1 check. And she gets $700.00 a month on an EBT card (food
stamps), and $800.00 a month for rent.
Oh yeah, and 250 minutes free
on her phone.
That is just south of
$3500.00 a month.
When she was working, she was
taking home about $330.00 per week.
Do the math and then ask
yourself why the hell should she go back to work.
If you multiply that by
millions of people, you start to realize the scope of the problem we face as a
country.
Once the socialists have 51%
of the population in that same scenario, we are finished.
The question is when do we
cross that threshold if we haven't already, and there are not enough people
working to pay enough taxes to support the non-working people? Riots?? Be prepared to protect your homes.
She didn't lease the Focus
here because the dealer down the road beat our deal by $10.00/month.
Glad to know she is so frugal
with her hard earned money."
How passing
info on to others in
PASS THIS ON TO 10
10 pass it on to their 10
100 then pass it on to their
10
1,000 then pass it on to
their 10
10,000 then pass it on to their
10
100,000 then pass it on to
their 10
1,000,000 then pass it on to
their 10
10,000,000 then pass it on to
their 10
100,000,000 then pass it on
to their 10
Yes, through the power of the
Internet America is becoming aware.
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR
10!
Nice, huh?
Twenty-third:
Smaller radiators
There’s a thread on Dirt
Track Digests Forum about smaller radiators for dirt style modifieds.
http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/topic/46243-smaller-radiators/
I really got a kick out of
this post:
“god forbid anyone modify anything on a modified”
Damn
rule books!
Twenty-fourth:
Every
day I look in the paper and see baseball players being signed to outrageous
contracts, when either staying with a team or going elsewhere. In most cases, those players never would have
made the majors – back in the day.
What’s so sad is that there
are never any “performance clauses” in those contracts. I found this, on Wednesday, while on the
Internet:
“For the Jets, the decision to keep Sanchez as the starter has
far more to do with finances than performance. The team gave Sanchez, the
fifth-overall selection in the 2009 NFL draft, a five-year, $58.5 million
contract extension in March of this year that guarantees him $8.25 million in
2013 whether he plays or not. This season, he's completed just 55 percent of
his passes, and thrown 13 interceptions to 12 touchdowns.”
Twenty-fifth:
From
a Yahoo! Race History Group e-mail:
Former local race driver George Wilkins has
passed away. A victim of spine cancer, the wheelchair-bound Wilkins had
attended the September 29th “Race Chaser” luncheon at the Pit Stop Bar-Be-Q
when Steve
Stapp and Pancho Carter were our
guests. His obit follows:
George Wilkins, 51, a
lifelong resident of the Traders Point area of
George worked in video
and film, most notably the film "Hoosiers" and won numerous Addy and
Telly Awards. He served as Gaffer, Grip, Writer, Producer, and Director during
his career in video. George came from an auto racing family, following in his
father's footsteps, racing sprint cars and midgets. George won the 1986
"Rookie of the Year" in the World Wide Auto Racing Group and the 1995
sprint car track championship at Paragon Speedway. George leaves a legacy of
friendship, a testament to courage, and a passion for fatherhood.
George is survived by
his wife of 24 years, Crista Cockerill Wilkins, and his children Emma, age 14,
and Eddie, age 10. He was preceded in death by his parents, George E. Wilkins,
and his mother, Patricia Gault Wilkins.
Calling will be held on
Friday, December 7, 2012 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Flanner and Buchanan - Zionsville , where a Celebration of Life Service will also
be held on Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 11 a.m. A private burial will be at
In lieu of flowers,
contributions can be made to the George Wilkins Memorial Children's Education
Fund, at any branch of Old National Bank.
You are invited to
offer you condolences, share a memory, or watch a video tribute to George's
life at:
http://www.flannerbuchanan.com
Timothy A McQuinn
Found
on Jayski’s website:
ISC steps up to help
The
multi-pronged campaign to provide relief for the many Staten Islanders
devastated by Superstorm Sandy got a sizable boost this week from an unexpected
source the International Speedway Corp (ISC). You'll recall that ISC and
Staten Island did not part company on the best of terms, after borough
residents and most elected officials soundly reject the company's effort to
build a massive, 82,500-seat NASCAR racetrack in
Son of Newman's crewman killed in ATV accident: info
added:
A
For services info and to sign a guest book, go
to cavin-cook.com and to help the family, go to theBryce Rueger Memorial Fund page.(11-25-2012)
2012 Stewie Awards:
Three-time
NASCAR champion Tony Stewart and Matt Yocum hosted the 6th Annual Stewie Awards live from the Cabo Wabo Cantina at the
Miracle Mile Shops on the Las Vegas Strip on Thu.,
Nov. 29. The annual highlight of NASCAR Champions Week honored the best,
boldest and funniest moments from the NASCAR season. The Stewie Awards featured
live interviews with several of Stewart’s competitors in this year’s Chase for
the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, plus other special guests. Fan votes helped
determine the Stewie Award winners.
During the show, Tony and Matt also presented
the special Golden Stewie Award to Dr. Dick Berggren and the Lifetime
Achievement Award to Bob Jenkins.
The award recipients:
Best
Original Drama: Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson
Bonehead Move of the Year Award: Danica Patrick
“Feels Like The First Time” Award: Dale
Earnhardt Jr.
Best Vocal Performance: Tony Stewart
Best “Driver2Crew Chatter”: Carl Edwards
Best Original Comedy: Matt Kenseth
Hal Needham Award (Best Stunt Sequence): Juan Pablo
Montoya (jet dryer)
‘Boys, Have At It” Award: Jeff Gordon vs. Clint
Bowyer
The Social Stewie Award: Matt Kenseth
See images at siriusxm.com/stewieawards.(SiriusXM and explanations of the awards
at the Charlotte Observer)(12-1-2012)
Keselowski
staying with long-term Penske deal:
After #2-Brad Keselowski
had such a strong season in 2011, he signed a contract extension with Penske
Racing that was termed a multiple-year agreement. His 2012 Sprint Cup
championship so far hasn't resulted in anything new or different. Keselowski
said that increasing the length of his contract hasn't been discussed in the
weeks following his championship run. "I've got plenty of years left on my
current one," Keselowski said, while not revealing how long his current
contract is for. "So there's no reason to rush into it. I think we all
just want to enjoy what we've got right now." Team owner Roger Penske also
said there was no urgency. It is believed that Keselowski's deal is through at
least 2014 or 2015. "We have a long-term agreement," Penske said.
"We have options. As long as you're successful, I don't think you need a
contract." Crew chief Paul Wolfe also signed a multiyear deal after last
season.(Sporting News)(12-2-2012)
Hamlin Lobbied for Kenseth:
#11-Denny
Hamlin believes Matt Kenseth will be a perfect fit for Joe Gibbs Racing, and he
made his feelings known when Kenseth started discussions with the organization.
JGR announced in early September that Kenseth would drive the #20
Earnhardt Regrets Hiding Injury:
In
part, the 2012 Cup season will be remembered for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s exit from
the #88 Chevy because of a concussion. In retrospect, Earnhardt regrets not
taking a hiatus from competition sooner than he did. On Aug. 29, during a tire
test at
Scheduled NASCAR testing for the 2013 car:
Dec. 11-12 at Charlotte Motor
Jan. 10-12 at Daytona International
Jan. 17-18 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Harvick still not confirming move to Stewart-Haas:
Kevin
Harvick won't confirm that he will drive for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, but
he did confirm last week in
Auto Racing the favorite
sport of few Americans:
What
do auto racing, soccer, tennis and golf have in common? All received less than 5
percent in a recent poll asking Americans to name their favorite sport. A Rasmussen Reports poll released Sunday found that football, not
surprisingly, was far and away the national pastime in the
Jones wins the Snowball Derby:
16-year-old
Erik Jones won the 45th annual Snowball Derby, in part by besting NASCAR star
Kyle Busch at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL. Jones became the second
consecutive 16 year old to win America's most prestigious short-track race, a
year after Chase Elliott became the event's youngest winner. Jeff Choquette
finished 2nd followed by Kyle Busch, Jeff Fultz and Chase Elliott. More info at snowballderby.com and 51sports.com.(12-3-2012)
Foundation to honor Guthrie:
Janet
Guthrie will
be honored at the 10th Women in the Winner's Circle Awards Celebration Dec. 7
at the
NASCAR submits rules package to teams:
NASCAR
provided teams with the long-awaited rules package for the new car that will
debut in the 2013 Daytona 500 in February. The first test with the package,
which was distributed Tuesday, will be held Dec. 11-12 at Charlotte Motor
Speedway. About 14 drivers so far are on the list to test, but teams will be
allowed for this session only to bring in multiple drivers and additional cars
to participate. Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president for competition, said
there are a few minor things the governing body continues to work on to improve
the handling of the cars around each other, but added this basically is the
package teams will have for Daytona. "We've told them what splitters and spoilers
they'll use," said Pemberton, noting the splitters will have a different
shape to improve aerodynamics. "They know what they need for suspensions
and stuff like that." Getting the final rules package has been a concern
for several team owners. Pemberton said the package was the culmination of more
than a year of research and testing to find what will improve cars being able
to pass and race better around each other. The front grandstand at Charlotte
Motor Speedway will be open and free to the general public.(ESPN)(12-5-2012)
Michael Waltrip Racing invests in auto research
center:
The
opportunity to be part of the racetrack and automotive-research center being
built on the site of Cooper Stadium [in
The
following information was sent to me from John DaDalt.
Results
for August 30 to Oct. 11th 1947
18
wins, 5 2nd place finishes, 3 third place finishes
Aug.
30
Aug.
31
Sept.
1
Sept.
4
Sept.
5
Sept.
8
Sept.
11
Sept.
12
Sept.
13
Sept.
14
Sept.
17
Sept.
18
Sept.
20
Sept.
21
Sept.
22
Sept.
23
Sept.
25
Sept.
27
Sept.
27
Sept.
28
Sept.
29
Sept.
30
Oct.
4
Oct.
5
Oct.
6
Oct.
11
1948:
Feature
wins:
Stafford
Candlelite
Stadium;
Hinchliffe
Stadium; Paterson, NJ- 6/1 7/20
Notes:
Champion at
Drove
a variety of cars, Bourgnon #36, Smith #21, Jolson #, Curtis #8 Hagedorn Cycle
Broke the 25 lap track record at Stafford Springs on
August 20th, 6:18.52 his first race at
June
5- Polo Grounds board track in
1949:
Feature
wins:
Candlelite
Stadium; Bridgeport, CT- 5/9 5/9
Notes:
Designed
and built his own car and engine over the winter, Sally Strickland says that
the car won it's first race out at either Thompson
June
30th was final midget race of the season at
weekly programs featuring stock cars.
Announced his retirement from racing at
Oct.
3- Williams Grove Speedway in
AAA National Championship race.
1950:
Feature
wins:
Cherry
Park Speedway;
Century
Stadium;
Notes:
He
had a bout with Polio in August, suffered from paralysis of portions of the
left side including his arm and leg. Doctors were amazed at how
he responded to treatment. One month later he was back at Century
Stadium winning the 50 lap feature!
In
1952, George was a team member on the Briggs Cunningham LeMans race team, being
partnered with the late John Fitch.
|
103 |
06-14-52 |
LeMans 24 Hours |
|
Cunningham C4R |
John Fitch |
3 |
DNF |
engine
failed after 4 hrs. in 3rd |
News from the AARN:
From their November 20th issue:
When the Tobias SpeedSTR’s race at Kutztown in 2013, they’ll do it
minus the small wings they have over the cages.
Mike Van Duser, President of the CRSA, will let the teams decide if
they want to stay with American Racer tires or go back to allowing them a
choice.
Joe Plazek will be inducted into the FOAR Hall of Fame on December 8th.
Georgetown Speedway had to cut their purse on November 17th,
due to low car counts and also low fan turn out.
The USAC Silver Crown Series will join the USAC Midgets at the 36th
Bellville Nationals, on August 1st to 3rd.
There was a pretty good sized ad for “Langhorne Memories” – three
DVD’s.
# 1: “Langhorne Thriller” – The
1951 RoC race that started 120 cars and had a 60 car wreck.
# 2: “Best of Langhorne” – 1950
– early 1960’s Stocks & Midgets.
# 3: “Champ Cars at Langhorne” –
1950 – early 1960’s – Champ Cars NASCAR Speedway Cars.
They sell for $17.00 each or three for $45.00. You would have to send the form and a check
or money order to AARN/Langhorne Memories PO Box 8547
Banquets:
Danny Dietrich was the 410 champion at
Ryan Tidman was the ATQMRA’s 2012 champion.
Duane Howard was the Modified champion for
Tom Tombarello, Jr. was the Lee USA Speedway’s NASCAR Super Modified
champion.
Chris Donnelly was the
Randy Cabral -
NEMA Midgets and Ian Cumens -
NEMA Lights were the NEMA champions for 2012.
Note: None of the articles made
mention of any monies won.
There was a 2/3 page ad for the Hamlin Speedway’s banquet, where Kyle
Lick was the 600 Wingless Micro Sprint champion. Again, no mention of monies won.
While looking at that article, I thought back to when my son, Eric, and
I, were attending a race car show over in
Lenny Sammons:
Clay on Airborne? Just might be. No, not permanently, but maybe for just a
couple of races in 2013. A Friday, July
27th date has been secured for the WoO Sprint Cars and an SDS race
the following week. Plans for this
however, are still up in the air.
From their November 27th issue:
New Egypt Speedway is installing an automated track watering system,
and a new clay surface. 358 Modified
feature winners next year get $2,500.00 for wins on regular race nights. $175.00 to take the green.
At Wall Stadium, for their
John Snyder:
Mr. Snyder had a nice, touching article/column on his late wife,
Barbara, who passed away recently.
Ted Christopher was the Modified champion at
Tim Buckwalter was the ARDC’s driving champion.
Nick Pecko was the Mountain Speedway Modified champion.
Kevin Chaffee was the USAC Dirt Midget Association (DMA) driving
champion.
T. J. Zacharias was the Chemung Modified driving champion.
Craig Mintz was the Freemont Speedway 410 Sprint Car driving champion.
Craig Mintz was the Attica Raceway 410 Sprint Car driving champion.
Rob Neely was the Can-Am Midget driving champion.
Kenny Pettyjohn was the Late Model driving champion at
Note: In all the notices on
those above, there was never any mention of any monies won. Wonder why this happens anymore?
Chuck Hebing was the Lucas Oil ESS driving champion, and he ended up
with $8.852.00, which also included a $1,300.00 shot gun.
Terry McCarl was the Knoxville Raceway driving champion, and they gave
out over $250,000.00
Hey! Don’t forget:
AARN subscribers will be able to enjoy both print and digital issues as
of January 8, 2013! Digital will be
available on Tuesday mornings, while the paper will still arrive (hopefully!)
later in the week at your home. Due to
cost increases, the AARN has been forced to increase their charge for a years subscription to $51.00 for the 50 issues. Current subscribers will continue to be
charged the $49.00, however.
To subscribe to the digital service, you have to send an e-mail to the
AARN at: sub@aarn.com You must include your
name, complete postal address and your e-mail address.
And, in this weeks (12/4) issue:
In AARN
This
Week:
Sixteen
Year old Erik Jones
Wins
Snowball Derby
In
Pensacola, Fla.
Indoor
TQ, Kart Racing Debuts At
1st
Mariner Center In Baltimore Saturday
Former
Modified Driver
Jim
Long, Jr. Found Dead In Home
NJ Car
Owner Hewlett
To
Return In 2013 At Bridgeport,
Eric
Kormann In Seat
New
Egypt To Pay Big Money
For
Heat Race Winners
Keselowski,
Penske Crowned
NASCAR
Sprint Cup Champs In Vegas
Motorsports
2013 To Be
'Fueled
By Sunoco,
Distributed
By Insinger'
NASCAR'S
Camping World Trucks
On
Eldora's Dirt In '13
Geoff
Bodine Announces
Retirement
From Driving
Former Oakland Valley Speedway (Dirt Oval) runners:
I saw on Facebook where Roger Coss posted he was 8th
at Wall Stadium on 11/24, in the Modified 100 lap feature. Also, at Wall, Rich Coons was 3rd
in the Dirt Modified (Sportsman?) feature on Sunday.
Press Releases:
Work on the Action track (Kutztown) is
going well and looking great ! There is a lot of
action for cars if anyone has used cars and maybe looking to update there old
let me know we have people looking for used and the supply is running short for
them . opening day for the Action track will be Sunday
March 17 which will be Media day and practice . All engine rebuilds right now
will be 4-5 week behind so if you are planning please get them here ASAP to
avoid delays .Have a Happy Holiday Rich
Speedway
Entertainment
Home of the Slingshot by
www.speedwayentertainment.com
Contact: Shawn
Miller
World of Outlaws
STP Sprint Cars PR
704-467-7803 | smiller@dirtcar.com
Pavement Track Welcomes World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars
Elko Speedway to cover pavement for unique
dirt event on Friday, May 10
ELKO,
Elko Speedway, a 3/8-mile
pavement track located approximately a half hour south of Minneapolis, will
host its first-ever World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event on Friday, May
10.
Sammy Swindell, who won
twice on the dirt-caked Bristol Motor Speedway, touted the job of covering
Bristol Motor Speedway as a success. He also added that it levels the playing
field for all competitors.
"You don't know what
you're going to be up against until you get there," Swindell said.
While it will be the
first World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event at Elko Speedway, it's far
from the first race on dirt at the semi-banked oval. Track owner Tom Ryan said
Elko Speedway is covered in dirt each fall to end the season and begin the
ensuing season. A variety of events are held on the dirt before it is pealed
for the pavement season.
"We do it all the
time," Ryan said. "It's not so much a new thing for us to have dirt
on our track, but to have the World of Outlaws is certainly huge.
"We've had nothing
but success on dirt. It really, truly is a progressive banking. For sprint
cars, there are three full grooves all around the track. They can run low. They
can run high. They can run a diamond pattern. We see it all."
XCEL CHASSIS PRESS RELEASE
Sunday, 25
November, 2012 4:28 PM
From: "JoAnne
Mady" <joannemady@yahoo.com>
RYAN HIGGS
CLOSES OUT THE 2012 SEASON AS XCEL CHASSIS CHAMPION
Every racer dreams of the season Ryan
Higgs had for his 2012
campaign clinching his first Xcel Chassis championship in high fashion.
The
Ryan learned his way around racing
helping his uncle at the now closed but still talked about Moc-A-Tek Speedway
and the ever popular Five Mile Speedway located in Lisle, Ny. His first time behind the wheel was
his uncles street stock at Moc-a-Tek for warm ups and the following weekend
at Five Mile Point Speedway doing warm ups again. Who would have guessed a
racing career would come full circle when one of the first tracks he drove would also be the one where he
would clinch the 2012 Xcel Chassis 600 modified championship.
During the winter of 2007, Ryan
decided he wanted to
drive his own race car and with his families support looked into different
classes. He had heard about the Xcel Chassis series and the affordability to
run full time all season. " It's not like it used
to be when my grandfather raced. Now a days you go to
a speed shop to get your parts instead of the junk yard. I didn't want to get into a car I
couldn't run every week because of finances and the Xcel Modifieds
seemed the way to go. It's not all about the wallet but more about the racer
and doing your homework." Starting out in a used car that year gave Ryan
the learning curve he needed to start his racing career and work towards his
goal.
Coming into the 2012 season Ryan had
set his goal of winning the championship and little did he know this would be
the year that Ryan Higgs could only have dreamed of with an average of 4.4 for
the season finishing in the top 5 13 out of 17 races with 2
wins for the year. The most memorable win was the last lap pass at Grandview
Speedway in April and
the second win would come towards the end of the season with Higgs taking home
a "King of the Can" plaque courtesy of Penn Can Speedway. The only
night Ryan finished out of the top ten was at Black Rock Speedway after a multi
car wreck with a torn up front axle.
Sponsors have played a big role in
today's economy. Jim Flurers of Flurers Auto Body has been the primary sponsor
for the #16 of Higgs since 2007 with SR Recycling and Joe's Garage coming on
board later. "It's so hard to find a sponsor these days let alone have one
stay with you for 5 years. Jim has always been a big supporter of mine and I
can't thank him enough for sticking with us."
Ryan and his family will cap the 2012
season with the champion being crowned at the Xcel Chassis Banquet on December 1st . Brian Mady stated how the majority of Ryan's
competitors felt on his year. "You couldn't ask for a better champion than
Ryan. The way he carries himself on and off the track makes him an all around
good guy. He treats
everybody with respect whether you're a veteran or a rookie. He takes what he
learns and passes it on. The whole team deserves it and I hope they enjoy every
minute of it.
I asked Ryan on his plans for the 2013
season and at this point a decision hasn't been made. He will be making an
appearance at the AARN Motorsports show held in January and hopes to have his
plans in place by then.
After reliving the 2012 season, Ryan
didn't know how he could thank his dad for all the late nights in the garage
and the advise thru out the year. "Consistency is
the key to any championship. You
can bring home a win but at the end of the season I wanted to bring the
championship home. Since I started in 2007, my dad, Chris, has been by my side
thru the highs and lows. I
can remember when I
blew the head gasket on my mom's car on the way to the track knowing she wasn't
happy about it. When we pulled into my driveway at the end of the night my mom
and dad came outside but when my dad walked over the race car and asked if it
was good versus asking about mom's car it wasn't a good thing. Now looking back
I realize that my dad and I had memories that could never be taken away just
like I had with my grandfather."
""I wouldn't have been able
to do this if it wasn't for my dad being there all these years. All the time
and effort he invested this year alone is overwhelming and just saying thanks doesn't seem to do it justice. At the beginning of the year, we sat
in the garage and talked a lot about the memories from
Subject: NSSN partners with award-winning
producer, launches video, TV initiative
NATIONAL SPEED SPORT NEWS PARTNERS WITH
AWARD-WINNING PRODUCER, LAUNCHES VIDEO, TV INITIATIVE
Fulfilling its vision to take the
venerable brand to new heights as a full-fledged media company, National Speed
Sport News begins SPEED SPORT TV
Roller, who has enjoyed a 31-year career
in broadcasting, has produced or directed programs for three major networks
(ABC, NBC and CBS) as well as every major cable entity in the United States
(ESPN, TNN, USA, TBS Superstation, FOX Sports and SPEED). He has produced
pay-per-view programs including NASCAR Winston Cup racing, boxing, college
football and basketball.
While spearheading the development of the
new SPEED SPORT TV and its related initiatives, Roller will continue in his
role as senior producer for the American Le Mans Series, which airs on the FOX
Media group and the ESPN family of networks in 2013.
Turn 3 Media, LLC, a
"National Speed Sport News is the
most trusted name in American motorsports journalism and soon we'll be taking
the brand to areas never dreamed of just a few years ago," said Sheheen.
"As more fans get their motorsports video from a wide variety of sources,
it's imperative that SPEED SPORT works to serve those fans on their terms. Jim
Roller is the ideal person to lead our company into that arena."
SPEED SPORT TV will include an online
video channel featuring on-demand and streaming events, professional video and
television production services, and will also develop and produce programs for
broadcast.
The group plans to announce additional
details at IMIS 2012 in
About Turn 3 Media, LLC
Turn 3 Media, LLC is a motorsports media
company holding the exclusive rights to the National Speed Sport News brand.
Turn 3 Media, LLC publishes motorsports news, information and media via its
www.nationalspeedsportnews.com website, monthly SPEED SPORT Magazine, and its
weekly radio show "SPEED SPORT on FOX Sports Radio."
For more information, contact:
Turn 3 Media LLC d/b/a National Speed
Sport News
I
get e-mails:
Lest you began to think the ‘progressives’
were done using the Cloward and Piven Strategy, think again. Regulations, entitlements and widespread
government dependency all continue to swell dramatically, and all of that Marxist agenda is pushing us ever closer and
faster towards the end game. And here is a reminder of just what that end
game
The comment left by ‘EddyJames’ on Nov. 24 is
perhaps the most appropriate response to that piece.
If you are a business owner, you are well
aware that President Obama has imposed over 6,000 new regulations on businesses
in just 90 days. This doesn’t even begin to address the massive amount of
regulations imposed over the last 4 years. The bigger picture is that it’s all
part of his plan to “OVERWHELM” the system.
Karl Marx said that capitalism will
eventually fail and that communism is the solution and end game. He says you
can wait for that to happen, or you can accelerate the process by overwhelming
the system and destroying capitalism. There will be so much chaos that it is
easy to take away rights and take control as the government savior.
Once that occurs, you implement communism.
This process can only be understood by the “enlightened” government leaders
(Obama and the like). The masses are too stupid and ignorant to understand how
good communism will be for them, so they need to be forced down that path, by
any and all means possible. Lie, deceive, create class and race warfare issues,
and use catastrophes (and if there are none, make some up; the ends justify the
means.) That is why every time Obama speaks about anything, you will notice
that it is always very dramatic (and the world will end if we don’t do it right
away.) Examples include Obamacare and his “Jobs bill.”
If the progression is not fast enough, then
Karl Marx says you need to kill people to help the greater good achieve
“enlightenment”. That is why in
To deflect those who say that Obama is not a
Marxist..
His favorite college professors are
Marxists, his favorite books were written by Marxists, his parents and
grandparents were Marxists, their friends were Marxists, and his administration
is full of Marxists. I know they don’t like that term; it is “progressives”
now.
As dumb as he seems, I actually believe he
knows what he is doing. The unfortunate part is that we don’t think it could
ever happen here, and we don’t know enough about communism to realize what is
happening.
Most of us don’t even know much about our
own Constitution and the reasoning and brilliance behind its development.
Read the Federalist Papers and other
writings from our Founders; they knew we would want to move towards socialism,
and so they wrote the Constitution the best they could to prevent that.
And, this one, too:
THIS IS FOR ALL REAL AMERICANS TO
READ, read the Reuters website,
AMERICANS MADE AMERICA WHAT IT IS,
and since our revolutionary war, NO ! OTHER COUNTRY HAS
EVER CAME TO THE AID OF THE UNITED STATES FOR ANY
REASON, IT IS
Sent: Saturday, December 1,
2012 2:14 PM
Subject: Gun Control
Surprise Surprise!!!
A lot of people have sworn to
support and defend the constitution against all enemies -- foreign and
domestic. Last time I looked... 2nd amendment was part of the constitution.
Civil War is Coming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
United States reversed policy on Wednesday and said it would back launching
talks on a treaty to regulate arms sales as long as the talks operated by
consensus, a stance critics said gave every nation a veto. The decision,
announced in a statement released by the U.S. State Department, overturns the
position of former President George W. Bush's administration, which had opposed
such a treaty on the grounds that national controls were better. On Wednesday
Obama Took the First Major Step in a Plan to Ban All Firearms in the
The Obama administration
intends to force gun control and a complete ban on all weapons for US citizens
through the signing of international treaties with foreign nations. By signing
international treaties on gun control, the Obama administration can use the US
State Department to bypass the normal legislative process in Congress. Once the
US Government signs these international treaties, all US citizens will be
subject to those gun laws created by foreign governments. These are laws that
have been developed and promoted by organizations such as the United Nations
and individuals such as George Soros and Michael Bloomberg. The laws are
designed and intended to lead to the complete ban and confiscation of all
firearms. The Obama administration is
attempting to use tactics and methods of gun control that will inflict major
damage to our 2nd Amendment before US citizens even understand what has
happened. Obama can appear before the public and tell them that he does not
intend to pursue any legislation (in the United States) that will lead to new
gun control laws, while cloaked in secrecy, his Secretary of State, Hillary
Clinton, is committing the US to international treaties and foreign gun control
laws.
What it means is that there
will be no publicized gun control debates in the media or votes in Congress.
We will wake up one morning
and find that the
We will wake up another
morning and find that the
We are being led like a lamb
to the slaughter house. DON'T KEEP THIS
- SEND IT TO YOUR LIST.
Note: Did you watch the football game on Monday
night – Giants/Washington? Bob Costas
kind of opened up a can of worms by voicing his thoughts, at halftime, about if
a certain football player didn’t have a gun, both he and his girlfriend would
still be alive. Hey, Mr. Costas – what
should be outlawed next? Knives? Baseball bats? Frying pans?
Bob Costas advocates for gun control in ‘Sunday Night Football’ halftime
comments
Note: Some pretty good comments under that article!
Plus:
Subject: DO YOU REMEMBER
JANUARY 3, 2007?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2813194/posts
DO YOU REMEMBER JANUARY 3,
2007? READ THIS
This tells the story, why
Bush was so bad at the end of his term...
Don't just skim over this,
it's not very long, read it slowly and let it sink in. If in doubt, check it
out!!!
The day the democrats took
over was not January 22nd 2009, it was actually January 3rd 2007 the day the
Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very
start of the 110th Congress.The Democrat Party controlled a majority in both
chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.
For those who are listening
to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is "Bush's
Fault", think about this:
January 3rd, 2007 was the day
the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress.
At the time:
The DOW Jones closed at
12,621.77
The GDP for the previous
quarter was 3.5%
The Unemployment rate was
4.6%
George Bush's Economic
policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB GROWTH
Remember the day...
January 3rd, 2007 was the day
that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris
Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee.
The economic meltdown that
happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy?
BANKING AND FINANCIAL
SERVICES!
Unemployment... to this
CRISIS by (among MANY other things) dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans
on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac FIASCOES!
Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES
to stop Fannie & Freddie - starting in 2001 because it was financially
risky for the
And who took the THIRD
highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac? OBAMA
And who fought against reform
of Fannie and Freddie?OBAMA and the Democrat Congress
So when someone tries to
blame Bush.
REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd,
2007.... THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!"
Budgets do not come from the
White House. They come from Congress and the party that controlled Congress
since January 2007 is the Democrat Party.
Furthermore, the Democrats
controlled the budget process for 2008 & 2009 as well as 2010 &2011.
In that first year, they had
to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending, when
Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases.
For 2009 though, Nancy Pelosi
& Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions
to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time,
they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the 2009 budgets.
And where was Barack Obama
during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of
these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to
complete 2009.
If the Democrats inherited
any deficit, it was the 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets. That
deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in
deficit spending. After that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending,
and that includes Barack Obama, who voted for the budgets.
If Obama inherited anything,
he inherited it from himself.
In a nutshell, what Obama is
saying is I inherited a deficit that I voted for and then I voted to expand
that deficit four-fold since January 20th.
There is no way this will be
widely publicized,unless each of us sends it on!
Found on Facebook:
Rhode
Island will now light the Holiday Tree instead of the Christmas Tree.Every
religion and every nationality has their own thoughts ,let them have their own
damn celebration some where else in the state,to me it will always be a
Christmas Tree.Politically correct is now the major divider in this once united
country.The minority is controlling the majority.
Hey
race fan's.. My friend Mike Colsten is in the toughest
race of his life. Please take a moment and say a prayer for him or drop him a
card to let him know you're thinking of him. I am so sure he'd appreciate it.
Mike Colsten
Some
non-racing stuff:
Foot baths cause controversy at Dearborn
http://www.michigandaily.com/content/foot-baths-cause-controversy-dearborn-campus
Note: They’re for the large Muslim population,
folks. Interesting article.
Islamic Community in Hancock , N.Y.
http://vinienco.com/2012/11/18/islamic-community-forms-government-usa/
Glenn Beck on Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0EfXnSFVfc&feature=youtu.be
Cancer cure
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150635846921971
Grapefruit and
Medications May Be A Deadly Mix
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/grapefruit-and-medications-may-be-deadly-mix
For Motorcycle
riders:
Wal-Mart, Disney clothes found in Bangladesh
http://news.yahoo.com/wal-mart-disney-clothes-found-bangladesh-fire-203417088--finance.html
Rice Gains Little Ground With Senators
Shifting account of CIA's Libya
http://news.yahoo.com/shifting-account-cias-libya-talking-points-fuels-rice-020905401--finance.html
Note: I usually check some of the comments under
these types of articles. Some good ones
under this one!
U.S.
Note: Temporarily?
Why has it taken so long to do this, anyway? Also, will this put an end to the “BP”
commercials, now, about how they’ve done so much good for the
The NFL will support Jovan Belcher’s and Kasandra Perkins’ daughter through
college
Video
time:
The
72nd Turkey Night Grand Prix from the ½ mile dirt Perris Speedway –
thanks to Loud Pedal Productions and those that posted it on Facebook!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ghx9iYoEw10
Photos:
Note: The photos are not available on Dirt Track
Digest, only on New England Tractor - http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/
The photo
posted on Facebook from Ron Lauer – Tony Bonadies in the Wheeler # 21 and Ed
“Dutch” Schaefer in the Wheeler # 62. Photo taken at Hinchliffe Stadium in
Closing with this:
HYMN # 365
This
is too funny - but I suspect the minister didn't appreciate it.
A minister was completing a temperance sermon. With great
emphasis he said,
'If
I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river.'
With even greater emphasis he said,
'And if I
had all
the wine in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the
river.'
And then finally, shaking his fist in the air, he said,
'And if I had all the whiskey in the world,
I'd take it and pour it into the river.'
Sermon complete, he sat down...
The song leader stood very cautiously and announced
with a smile, nearly laughing, 'For our closing song,
Let us sing Hymn
#365, 'Shall We Gather at the River.'
Again - Special notice: There will be no column next week.
Wishing all race
fans, drivers, teams, team owners and sponsors to remain safe and out of harms
way!
As usual, you can reach me
at: ygordad@yahoo.com