Racin' & Different Stuff:

By Tom Avenengo

Volume # 140

05/23/2013

Special note:

Please keep those people down in Oklahoma in your thoughts and prayers. The loss of lives and property is devastating. During an interview on Tuesday, on FOXNews, an older man was talking about how his daughter went to the local school and took her two children out, citing the weather and forecasted tornados. She got them home and they went into the tornado safe under ground storm shelter they had in their back yard. I can see where that older man was coming from – saying he did not know what he would have done if he lost his grandchildren.

Also, on Facebook, there have been photos posted of some of our racing family and what has happened to their race cars during the tornado.

First:

Chances are that you might very well be reading this before or while I’m either in surgery, or that the surgery has been completed. I was due to arrive at the hospital at 11:00 AM today, for a supposed 1:00 PM surgery. I was told that as long as there are no problems, I should be able to go home tomorrow – Friday.

Update: Surgery time has been advanced. Now I have to be there at 8:00 AM for surgery at 10:00 AM.

As for a column next week – not sure yet.

Second:

I was treated to the races at OCFS this past weekend by my son, Eric. He got tickets for both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, of course was washed out. They announced that we could use the wristband for monies off on the Sunday ticket or can use it for next Saturday. Since we already have our Sunday tickets, that leaves next Saturday. With my surgery on Thursday, I won’t be able to make the show next Saturday. In the past, you had a couple of weeks to use your rain check. I’m hoping they go back to that policy, or I’ll end up eating the ticket – or son will, since he paid for it.

Note: Per a telephone conversation with OCFS on Wednesday, the wrist bands are good for the next two Saturdays, and could be extended if one of those Saturdays get rained out.

Third:

The WoO show at OCFS:

It was about what I expected. Not much passing with the WoO contingent. I was somewhat disappointed that there were only 23 cars. If you consider Ryan Smith as a “PA Posse” member, then he was one, of maybe a few, to represent the “Posse”. Tony Stewart was there to race. Seems there were two NY State Police officers assigned to his pit area. When I was at the USA International Speedway, down in Florida, some years ago for a PRA Silver Crown race, Tony was the only driver then that had a “law officer” in his pit. Not sure why, but I’ve heard that the track really couldn’t advertise Stewart being in competition. I notice that Lebanon Valley is already advertising the fact that Tony will be racing there, in the near future. As for attendance – the drive in looked about the same as a regular Saturday night. Where we were, in the half covered, it wasn’t that bad, but surely wasn’t packed, as it probably would have been if the race went off on Sunday. Somewhere, things got screwed up between the report of the race and what appeared in this weeks AARN as far as who won the Sportsman feature. It was said that Anthony Perrego was second, in the short write up and in the results, but he was the race winner.

I heard that Kasey Kahne was in the pit area. I wonder why he didn’t run? And, I wonder – did anyone tell Tony Stewart that OCFS is for sale?

The 50/50 was a little over a thousand dollars. Methinks they should have called the number a little earlier, not after most of the fans were heading to their cars. I do believe that the holder of the winning ticket was still there to collect her winnings, though! Congrats, Carol!

Something that does other me – there never was an ad in the Middletown Times Herald-Record advertising that the WoO was coming to town. It’s a shame they could not advertise that Tony was gong to be there, like Lebanon Valley is already advertising that Tony will be there next month. Yes, I know, with Tony it was a last minute deal. I heard he was at OC a day early – yet a radio station could only say something like “A couple of guest drivers” will be at the track.

Fourth:

An interesting thread over on the DTD forum – where are all the modifieds?

http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/topic/47450-where-are-all-the-modifieds/

Fifth:

From last week:

Quiz:

He is the only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport — the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and Formula One World Championship.

Any idea? If so, email me your answer!

Correct answer is: Sir Graham Hill. He won the F1 championship in a BRM in 62 and a Lotus 49 in 68 (driving Colin Chapman crazy), He won Indy in a Lola ford in 66 and Lemans in a Matra with Henri Pescalaro in 72.

Sixth:

This weeks quiz:

In his career he ran just about everything, and retired very young. He won 31 percent of the NASCAR Cup races he entered, 25 percent of the Indy Car races, and 5 percent of the Formula One races. What is his name?

Answer will be in my next column.

Seventh:

Found this on the OCFS Facebook page – from their website:

“This Coming Saturday May 25 - Veterans Night brought to you by McGannon Excavating. Modifieds, Small Block Modifieds, Sportsman, Rookie Sportsman and Street Stocks will all be in action. Pit Gates open at 3:30, Drive In at 4:30 and Main Grandstands open at 5.”

Note: Now as far as I know, Veterans, with proper ID, get admitted free. However, what if said Veteran was in attendance last Saturday, when the show rained out, and was told he has to use his wrist band this coming Saturday?

Note: Per a telephone conversation with OCFS on Wednesday, the wrist bands are good for the next two Saturdays, and could be extended if one of those Saturdays get rained out. And, if this Saturday should rain out, then the Veterans Day date would be carried over to next week. So, you Vets with a wrist band – use your Vet status this coming Saturday and the wrist band later – my suggestion.

Eighth:

Racing on TV:

http://tvracer.com/

Ninth:

I’m pretty sure I saw a post or two on Facebook about how a certain thing will be sneaked through, what with all the extra things going on – The IRS deal, the deal with the papers – phone records, Benghazi, and now, the unfortunate tornados that have hit the mid west. Funny how that just happened now, just when the sh*t was hitting the fan on the other three things. No, not funny, really! Of course no one wished it. Just a damn bad coincidence.

Senate panel passes U.S. immigration bill; Obama praises move

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/u-senate-panel-approves-sweeping-000103921.html

Yeah, they passed the immigration bill.

Oh, and yes, on quite a few meetings with the media, FOXNews has not been invited. Kinda stinks, doesn’t it?

Tenth:

Congress' Option on IRS: Testify or Lose Your Job

Lois Lerner, the IRS official who headed the division that targeted Tea Party and other conservative groups for special tax scrutiny, invoked her Fifth Amendment right to refuse questions before Congress on Wednesday. The decision could cost her her job.

And it doesn't mean that she won't be forced to answer questions. In fact, it's relatively easy for Congress to force her to testify.

In general, Congress hates when government officials refuse to answer questions. This time, of course, it is especially those in the House's Republican majority who are unhappy.

Republican Darrell Issa, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, required Lerner to come before the committee and invoke her Fifth Amendment in person at the hearing, rather than just letting her lawyer inform the committee that she's not going to answer their questions. That's not something you do to a witness you regard as friendly.

Her lawyer has said that requiring her to appear at the hearing served "no other purpose than to embarrass or burden her." That's half true. It certainly is a burden and an embarrassment to have to stand up in front of the nation and refuse to answer questions from elected representatives. Regardless of what the law says about this, a lot of ordinary folks think that only criminals fear self-incrimination.

But there's a broader purpose served by making her appear before the committee. Very often seeing public officials appear before Capitol Hill panels helps to focus public attention on government abuse—even when the public officials refuse to answer the questions put to them by lawmakers. Perhaps especially when the officials refuse to testify. Think of Oliver North refusing to testify before the Senate in 1986.

A lot of regular folks watching this unfold will wonder why the sons of guns who refuse to answer questions about possible government abuses cannot just be fired. The sophisticated folks among us tend to shake their heads, wondering why so many people don't understand that the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination includes a right not to be fired from a government job for refusing to testify. Threatening a government official's livelihood is just another form of compelling self-incrimination, the sophisticates say.

As is usually the case, however, the ordinary folks are closer to the truth than the sophisticates. Congress can require Lerner to choose between testifying and losing her job. But the cost of putting this choice to her is granting her immunity from any future prosecution based on what she says before Issa's committee.

"[The government] has every right to investigate allegations of misconduct, including criminal misconduct by its employees, and even to force them to answer questions pertinent to the investigation, but if it does that it must give them immunity from criminal prosecution on the basis of their answers," Judge Richard Posner explained in a 2002 case, Atwell v. Lisle Park District.

This is what happened when Oliver North invoked the Fifth Amendment in the Iran-Contra hearings. The Congressional investigating committees found the need for his testimony compelling enough that they granted him immunity from being prosecuted for the contents of his testimony and required him to appear before the committees.

The case for doing the same thing in the IRS case is pretty persuasive. Even if Lerner authorized the targeting of the Tea Party groups, there's a good deal of doubt that she could be criminally prosecuted for doing so. No federal statute that I'm aware of directly criminalizes that kind of behavior, and federal courts refuse to impose criminal penalties for just doing bad things that Congress hasn't specifically outlawed. So granting her immunity from prosecution might not actually involve giving anything up at all.

What's more, Lerner's testimony could be instrumental in understanding two things that are still murky about the IRS targeting scandal.

First, we need to know how deep this goes in the IRS. Is this conduct deeply ingrained in the organization? How many employees were involved? How many different offices? Was this a huge deviation from normal IRS activity or something that involved just inching over very blurry lines?

Second, more importantly, we need to know how high up this goes. Was Lerner the top official involved? Or were her superiors aware of what was happening? Did the IRS see itself as acting alone here or as part of a broader government effort to crack down on the tea-party groups?

Surely a better public understanding of how the IRS targeting program developed would be worth the price of granting Lerner immunity from prosecution for her answers to Congress.

Another advantage to granting Lerner immunity is that it might lead to evidence of actual criminal wrong-doing on the part of others in the IRS or elsewhere in the government. Lerner's immunity wouldn't extend to them and she cannot refuse to testify to avoid incriminating fellow IRS employees.

Lerner is not a big fish and whatever she might have done probably is not a federal crime anyway. If Issa and the GOP are serious about getting to the bottom of the IRS scandal, they should grant immunity and require testimony.

Note: You should see what Judge Napolitano says on this. She more or less has cooked her eggs, and could be recalled and made to testify. She, in her comments, today, opened that door.

Should get to be interesting, AS LONG AS SOMEONE DOES THEIR JOB!

Eleventh:

Hey! There’s quite a lot, racing wise, coming up on TV over these next few days. Qualifying and some races at Charlotte, with different NASCAR divisions. Then there’s the Indy 500 on Sunday, followed by the 600 at Charlotte, later on, on Sunday.

http://tvracer.com/

Covers most everything, folks.

Twelfth:

A late breaking news bit about the Hinchliffe Stadium and their “Racing Expo”:

This year's Hinchliffe Stadium Racing Expo is set for Labor Day weekend. We will release more details in the coming weeks...

Coming up:

Taken, in part, off of Facebook:

Orange County Fair speedway's 2013 Nostalgia night is June 8th. Hope the weather is great and all can make it. Please spread the word. Drivers that said they will be here; Carl Van Horn, Frankie Schneider, Bobby & Steve Bottcher,Gerald Chamberlain, Carl Reynolds, Jerry Wilson, Hank Goranson, Del buss, Rich Eurich, Bob Schmitt, Bob Schoenberger, Steve Makocy, Ed Davis, Stan Sherman, Joe Romer, Sam Rogers Sr and Jr, Ron and Scott Goodrich, Ed Stevens, Lou Inezo, Rich Marenelli, Red Muir, Loren Holland Sr, Bruce Quinn,Ed D'Angelo,George Van der Wall and we are still waiting to hear back from other drivers.

Note: I didn’t see “Buzzie” on that list. I know he usually comes to every one of the Nostalgia Nights. No Robbie Green, either.

The Port Jervis, N.Y. Soap Box Derby:

This year it will be held on June 9^th. It’s the largest local Soap Box Derby in the world, is what is said. A major portion of the cars that compete were bought and furnished by local businesses.

Info can be found here: http://pjsoapboxderby.com/

Going back in time:

On May 23^rd in:

1925

Joe James ... Born ... AAA driver from the 1950's. Joe started racing in the AAA National Championship in 1950 when he made five starts with a best finish of seventh at Detroit. In 1951 had had a best finish of fourth on the dirt oval at Denver. At Indy he retired after just eight laps with a broken driveshaft. He made 12 starts during the year. He had a number of top ten finishes in 1952. At Indy, driving a Kurtis Kraft 4000 Offy he finished 13th. Then late in the year, on the 2nd November, in the San Jose 100-Mile Race at the 1.0-mile dirt oval San Jose Speedway at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, James had qualified his Bob Estes Lincoln-Mercury entered Watson roadster second. At the start he grabbed the lead and led the first five laps before he was passed by Bobby Ball in his Kurtis 4000. James retook the lead on lap 26 and was dicing with Mike Nazaruk for first place when he clipped one of Nazaruk's tires. James' car was flipped into a series of rolls down the main straight before hitting the wall in Turn 1. Seriousely injured he was taken to hospital in San Jose but passed away three days later.

1935

Jim Malloy... Born ... USAC driver 1950's , 60's and 70's. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1967-1972 seasons, with 61 career starts, including the 1968-1971 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten 23 times, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1969 at Milwaukee. He also attempted to race in the 1966 Daytona 500 but only managed a 21st place finish in his qualifying race and failed to make the field. On Sunday Morning, May 14th 1972, he turned in a lap at 186mph and was going into the 3rd Turn when he lost control of the car. He had no time to apply the brakes and the Thermo King Eagle veered right and crashed almost head-on into the wall. There were skid marks for 75 feet and car parts scattered 150 yards away. A USAC official said it crumpled up the steering column and folded the tub right back into the rest of the car. It took more than 10 minutes to extricate Malloy, unconscious, fom the car. He had head injuries, fractures of both legs and hips, a broken right arm, and second-degree burns on his hands and feet. Never having regained consciousness, Malloy died four days later - five days before his 37th birthday.

1949

Jerry Sneva... Born ... Jerry is a former off-road driver who also drove in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1977-1982 seasons, with 26 combined career starts, including the 1977-1980 and 1982 Indianapolis 500 and was named 1977 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. He finished in the top ten 5 times, with his best finish in 4th position in 1979 at Pocono. Jerry is the younger brother of 1983 Indianapolis 500 winner Tom Sneva.

1963

Wally Dallenbach, Jr.... Born ... A former NASCAR Winston Cup driver. He competed in 226 Winston Cup races from 1991 to 2001, but had only 23 top 10 finishes and no wins. The son of legendary open wheel racer and former CART chief steward, Wally Dallenbach, Sr., Wally Jr. is also an accomplished road racer. Aside from NASCAR, Wally has raced in SCCA Trans-Am, IMSA Camel GT, CART, and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Without a ride, Wally took up TV commentating in 2001, covering the NASCAR races.

1970

Bryan Herta... Born ... CART / Champcar/ IRL Indy Car & ALMS driver

1982

Don Prudhomme set an NHRA Funny Car top speed record of 250.00 mph in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Some racin’ stuff:

Action Track Update (Kutztown):

The Monday night test and tune went over very well,track conditions held up through all the laps put on the speedway.We started at 6 laps,advanced to 8 laps and had 5 lap sessions to close out the evening,so if you were looking at tire wear or fuel use,this is how we went last night.

A few suggested to brighten up the homestretch and entrance into turn 1,a couple of the drivers said they could not see the flags or the upper groove heading into turn 1.Rich and I talked about it this morning.

There will be a driver in car radio system used this year,the frequency has not changed and should be 454.000 unless otherwise noted.

Transponders will be used for all scoring and rentals will be available for the evening.

Qualifying events will be 9 laps this year,they were always 8,but a new twist this year will be if the white flag is waving and a yellow is needed before the checkered is thrown the race will considered over with no 1 lap restart being used.Single file with 5 laps to go will be used for all events this year.

There will be a starting zone and the green will wave when the leader takes off anywhere from point A to point B of that zone.You get to Point B and the leader doesn't accelerate,Race is On.

Drivers meeting will be at 5:45.Pit gates will open at 4 PM,grandstand gates will open at 5 PM.Slingshots will be part of the 6 PM hot laps with the timed dashes for the SpeedSTR's slated for 7:30.

TOP 3 from each feature will go to victory lane for photos.Friends and family may take photos,but must be ready when photo session begins.

USAC membership will save you $5.00 each week when purchasing a pit pass.

Thanks,Mike

Found on Jayski’s website:

http://www.jayski.com/

Bruton Smith could move fall race out of Charlotte UPDATE: NASCAR mogul Bruton Smith says there is a strong possibility that he will move the Bank of America 500 out of Charlotte, NC. The Bank of America 500 is one of two annual races held at Smith's Charlotte Motor Speedway, along with May's Coca-Cola 600. The BoA 500 is held in October. "I know you're not gonna cut this one out, but I've been having some strong conversations about one of these events being moved," Smith told WBTV's Paul Cameron in an exclusive interview. "And Las Vegas is a great place - it's the entertainment capital of the world - and they want another event." In addition to owning the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the North Carolina native owns eight NASCAR tracks, including the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which host eleven NASCAR Sprint Cup events. The only Sprint Cup race that is currently held on the LVMS is the Kobalt Tools 400, which is held in early March. Smith says he's flown out to Vegas several times to talk about moving a Sprint Cup race to his track there. "They've made me offers to move one," Smith said. "But you can't just move the race though, doesn't NASCAR have to move it?" Cameron asked. "I know they would approve this," Smith responded. "And say the October race... Las Vegas. You're gonna get a lot of phone calls about this - I'm gonna predict that." Smith says the idea of moving to Vegas is not just a fishing expedition. "I've made two trips out to Vegas and it costs money to go out there. I know all the powers out there," he told WBTV. "I have a lot of friends in Las Vegas - I have businesses out there, I have six businesses in Las Vegas." The Charlotte Motor Speedway is based in Concord, North Carolina. Smith has been involved in legal fights with Cabarrus County for years over money he is owed. Smith says he initially kept the track there after a $80 million deal was presented to him, $60 million from Cabarrus County and another $20 million from the state. He says the county still hasn't come through with their end of the deal. When asked if he thought he could make more money at a race in Las Vegas versus having a race in Charlotte, Smith's answer was simple. "Yes, yes, yes. Oh yes," he said. "Plus, we're discussing a ten-year contract for a lot of money every year." Smith played a major role in getting NASCAR to move the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards from New York to Las Vegas five years ago. When it comes to a timeline on the potential move, Smith says this isn't a spur of the moment idea. "Oh, now there you're pinning me down. I don't know how soon, that's just, it's something that's been in the stages now for at least a year." So what's it going to take to move the race from Charlotte to Vegas? "When the game is over, it'll be money, money, money. Money will move it," Smith said. "I'd say [the chances] are about 70/30."(wbtv.com)(5-20-2013)

UPDATE - Statement From O. Bruton Smith: The following is a statement from Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, O. Bruton Smith:

"The 'done deal' report by WBTV regarding moving a race is false. No final decision has been made regarding any race date move, and I have not discussed this with NASCAR. "Instead of what 'could' happen, let's set the facts straight about what has happened. We've invested $100 million in the Charlotte Motor Speedway complex in the past six years to make it even better for the fans. We've expanded our fan zone, added pit road suites and built the world's largest HDTV for every fan to enjoy. We've put more people to work with these projects and we've added more events to the calendar to bring in more tourists and fans. And we've done this during the worst economy since the Great Depression. We've done this without asking for a handout from the government, like we've seen from so many other sports facilities, teams or franchises, and yet at the same time property values are falling during the recession, our Cabarrus County taxes have doubled since 2005. We absolutely love the fans that come to Charlotte Motor Speedway. It's frustrating to think about the future and consider that the local government doesn't share the same excitement about Charlotte Motor Speedway that our fans do. The Cabarrus County politicians may say nice things to the media, but raising taxes does not support the tourism business, the area economy or companies trying to grow."(CMS)(5-21-2013)

TV graphic mistake leads to fan confusion: A television graphic incorrectly showed #48-Jimmie Johnson should have entered pit road 11th instead of fourth on the mandatory four-tire stop before the final segment of Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race. It started a social media outcry for those who didn't know the facts. It grew louder when Johnson left pit road second. It grew even louder when the five-time Sprint Cup champion won for the second straight year and a record fourth time overall, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt and future Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon. "People just want to hate," Johnson said with a laugh inside the media center at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "That's fine. I'm just lucky. NASCAR rigs the races and whatever they want to believe. I'm going home with a cool trophy and a big check and we all really know what happened. So whatever."(ESPN)

NOTE: Johnson coming in 4th for the pitstop was correct, see the averages of the four segments and the order of pit road entry on my Jayski's Sprint All-Star Race page.(5-19-2013)

Note: They had me going, I'll tell ya! What pizzes me off is that when Jimmy pitted in 4th place, instead of 11th, they never said one word.

Kulwicki Team Assembles 20 Years After Title: Twenty years after losing their mentor, their leader, in a plane crash near Bristol, Tenn., nine members of Alan Kulwicki's 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup championship team reunited. It was a time to laugh, shed a few tears, renew friendships and help raise money for the Alan Kulwicki Memorial Scholarship fund at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Held Sunday, the storytelling hour, reception and dinner was the idea of Ryan Zeck, the scholarship's first recipient. Folks can still donate directly to the scholarship fund by visiting giving.uncc.edu, then select "William States Lee College of Engineering" on the right drop down menu. Click "Submit Dropdown Field", and on the next page, you will see the "Alan Kulwicki Memorial Scholarship" in the Designation Name drop down menu.(See full story at RacinToday)(5-21-2013)

Schrader wins ARCA race, oldest driver to win an ARCA race: Ken Schrader won the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care Sunday afternoon at Toledo Speedway, making him the oldest winner in ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards history. Schrader started second in his Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet and led 163 laps. The NASCAR veteran took command of the lead early in the race and held off a long side-by-side battle with Grant Enfinger and took the checkered flag while waving to a capacity crowd. "I love it," Schrader said in Victory Lane. "That's five (at Toledo). We'll take it. But, now, it means nothing because we have to go to Elko." Schrader's Federated Car Care team celebrated in victory lane. It was his fifth win at Toledo Speedway and 16th all-time ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards win. The race will be re-broadcast on SPEED at noon Monday.(ARCA)(5-20-2013)

Kahne says he and Kyle Busch are good: Despite three on-track incidents between them in just 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup races this season, #5-Kasey Kahne told SPEED.com that he doesn't have a problem with #18-Kyle Busch. Prior to Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kahne told SPEED.com that he and Busch talked things out and are OK going forward. "Yes, it's over. I thought it was over before Darlington," said Kahne. Kahne said Busch called him earlier in the week. "We talked about & it was just hard racing. We were both going for the lead."(SPEED)(5-19-2013)

2014 NASCAR Hall Of Fame Class Announced: NASCAR announced the inductees who will comprise the 2014 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The five-person group the fifth in NASCAR Hall of Fame history consists of Tim Flock, Jack Ingram, Dale Jarrett, Maurice Petty and Fireball Roberts. Next year's Induction Day is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, broadcast on Fox Sports 1 from Charlotte, N.C. The 54-member NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met today in a closed session in Charlotte, N.C., to vote on the induction class of 2014. NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France made the announcement this evening in the NASCAR Hall of Fame's "Great Hall." Next year's class was determined by votes cast by the Voting Panel, which included representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, media members, manufacturer representatives, retired competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs), recognized industry leaders and a nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.com which counted for the 55th and final vote. The accounting firm of Ernst & Young presided over the tabulation of the votes. Voting for next year's class was as follows: Tim Flock (76%), Maurice Petty (67%), Dale Jarrett (56%), Jack Ingram (53%) and Fireball Roberts (51%). The next top vote getters were Jerry Cook, Joe Weatherly and Wendell Scott. Results for the NASCAR.com Fan Vote, in alphabetical order, were Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Dale Jarrett, Benny Parsons and Fireball Roberts. The five inductees came from a group of 25 nominees that included: Red Byron, Richard Childress, Jerry Cook, H. Clay Earles, Tim Flock, Ray Fox, Anne Bledsoe France, Rick Hendrick, Jack Ingram, Bobby Isaac, Dale Jarrett, Fred Lorenzen, Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons, Maurice Petty, Larry Phillips, Les Richter, Fireball Roberts, T. Wayne Robertson, Wendell Scott, Ralph Seagraves, O. Bruton Smith, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly and Rex White.

Class of 2014 Inductees:

Tim Flock - A two-time NASCAR premier series champion, Flock was one of the sport's first dominant drivers. In 187 starts, Flock had 39 victories, a total that still ranks 18th on the all-time wins list. Flock won his first series title in 1952 while driving Ted Chester's Hudson Hornet, and his second in 1955 driving Carl Kiekhaefer's Chrysler. He dominated that season, posting 18 wins, 32 top fives and 18 poles in 39 races. Flock's 18 wins stood as a single-season victory record until Richard Petty surpassed it with 27 wins in 1967.

Jack Ingram - The NASCAR Nationwide Series has had a variety of incarnations through the years but when considered collectively, an argument can be made that Jack Ingram is the series' all-time greatest driver. Before the formation of the series, Ingram won three consecutive championships, from 1972-74, in its precursor the Late Model Sportsman Division. When the NASCAR Busch Series was formed, he won the inaugural title in 1982 and again in '85. In his 10 years of competition in what was called the NASCAR Busch Series, Ingram had 31 wins, a record that stood until Mark Martin broke it in 1997. All but two of Ingram's 31 wins came on short tracks.

Dale Jarrett - Dale Jarrett personified big-stage performances. A three-time Daytona 500 winner and two-time winner of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jarrett excelled under NASCAR's brightest spotlights. His 32 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories 21st all-time also include the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jarrett won the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, and recorded six additional top-five championship finishes. With father Ned, the Jarretts are only the second father-son combination with NASCAR premier series championships after NASCAR Hall of Famers Lee and Richard Petty. Ned Jarrett was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in May 2011. Ned and Dale Jarrett become the third father-son duo selected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, following Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr., and Lee and Richard Petty.

Maurice Petty - The chief engine builder at Petty Enterprises, Maurice Petty becomes the fourth member of the dynasty to be chosen for membership in the NASCAR Hall of Fame following his older brother Richard, father Lee and his cousin Dale Inman. The man simply called "Chief" supplied the horsepower that propelled Richard Petty to a majority of his record 200 NASCAR victories, plus his seven NASCAR premier series championships and seven Daytona 500 victories. Lee Petty, Buddy Baker, Jim Paschal and Pete Hamilton were also among those who won with his engines. Petty had a brief driving career 26 premier series races with seven top-five and 16 top-10 finishes between 1960 and 1964 but was satisfied to work behind the scenes as one of the top engine builders ever seen in the sport.

Fireball Roberts - Glenn Roberts, who got his legendary nickname from his days as a hard-throwing pitcher in high school, is perhaps the greatest driver never to win a NASCAR title. He was arguably stock car racing's first superstar, an immensely popular prototype for some of today's competitors who are stars on and off the track. During his career he often came up big in the biggest events, winning the Daytona 500 in 1962 and the Southern 500 in 1958 and '63. Overall, he won seven races at Daytona International Speedway, starting with the Firecracker 250 in the summer of 1959 the year the speedway opened.(NASCAR)(5-22-2013)

Woods Poised To Make Milestone Start At Charlotte: Like nearly everyone in America this week, Eddie Wood and his fellow members of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team have had the weather on their minds, especially after the heart-breaking death and damage that massive tornados caused in Oklahoma on Tuesday. Wood and his crew also have been keeping an eye on the forecast for Charlotte on Thursday, when qualifying is scheduled for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, and there's a chance of rain. Wood is hoping for clear skies and a fast Ford Fusion so his family team can reach a milestone 1,400 Sprint Cup starts, dating back to Glen Wood's first appearance in NASCAR's elite division, at Martinsville Speedway on May 17, 1953, driving a 1953 Lincoln. Should there be rain, enough rain for qualifying to be cancelled, the team would miss the race. By competing on a limited schedule, the team has made fewer attempts to qualify for races this season than the other teams not otherwise locked into the starting field. In rainouts, the final starting slots go to teams based on the number of attempts to qualify. "Considering the tragedy and loss the people of Oklahoma have suffered, our weather concerns don't seem that important," Wood said. "But the Wood Brothers have run 1,399 races, and we plan to run a lot more in the future. If we miss Charlotte, we'll make our 1,400th start somewhere else."(Wood Brothers Racing)(5-21-2013)

Former OVRP Dirt Oval runners:

Davie Franek was 14^th in the ESS Sprint Car race at Selinsgrove.

Brad Szulewski won the Sportsman feature at Five Mile.

Kyle Rohner was 4^th in the Sportsman feature at Penn Cann.

Tiffany Wambold was 7^th in the 270 Micro Sprint feature at Big Diamond, on the “Little track”.

Danny Creeden was 4^th and Billy VanInwegen 9^th in the Modified feature at Accord. Anthony Perrego won the Sportsman feature with Tyler Dippel 4^th and Brad Szulewski 10^th. Mike Traver was 4^th in the Spec Sportsman feature, while Tyler Boniface was 9^th and Andrew Reeves 12^th.

Jacob Hendershot was 6^th in the 270 Micro Sprint feature at Hamlin. Tyler Pirone was 3^rd in the All Star Slingshot feature. Paul Tigue was 4^th in the Junior Slingshot feature. Kyle Rohner was 2^nd and Molly Chambers 13^th in the Wingless 600 Micro Sprint feature.

Rich Coons was 1^st and Bobby Morris 3^rd in the Sportsman feature at Bethel.

Bobby Hackel, IV, was 8^th, Kolby Schroder 10^th and Kyle Armstrong 12^th in the Modified feature at Lebanon Valley. Tyler Dippel was 1^st and John Virgilio 6^th in the Sportsman feature.

Note: There was a protest on the Dippel car.

AJ Filbeck was 2^nd in the Sportsman feature at Utica/Rome.

BJ Wambold was 1th in the Street Stock feature at Mahoning Valley, while

sister Tiffany was a DNQ. Roger Coss was 2^nd in the Modified feature.

Nick Pecko was 9^th in the RoC Modified feature at Shangri-La.

Davie Franek was 22^nd in the WoO Sprint Car feature at OCFS. Anthony Perrego won the Sportsman feature, with Tyler Dippel 3^rd,Tyler Boniface 4^th, Joe Conklin 9^th, LJ Lombardo 10^th, Matt Janiak 11^th, Joey Falanga 12^th, Zack Vavricka 17^th, Andrew Reeves 23^rd, Brian Krummel 24^th (rolled over after contact with wall coming out of turn 2) and John Illanovasky is listed as a DQ – not because of the Krummel accident, I believe.

Note # 1: On that protest on the Tyler Dippel win at Lebanon Valley – this was posted on Facebook Wednesday evening:

TO ALL MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS, FAMILY, FANS, COMPETITORS AND HATERS:

It is with great pride and pleasure to inform you of the findings regarding the protest of my Crate Sportsman motor at Lebanon Valley last Saturday night. A certified representative for DIRTcar Northeast first put the engine on the Dyno. Resulting in approx. 12hp less than what the average crate engine makes coming in at 370hp. The representative then continued to check the crankshaft, rods, cam, pistons, cylinder and threw in the carburetor just for the heck of it. ALL were LEGAL GM stock items. However, due to this motor being purchased used from a racer that only raced at a non DIRTcar sanctioned track, unbeknownst to us, a component of the motor (timing chain) had been replaced. This had no bearing pertaining to the performance of the engine. This fact was confirmed by the DIRTcar representative and also told to the protester, who at that time was in agreement. The representative also stated that the reason that I am beating him was definitely not due to this old motor. After many hours of consideration, a partial determination was made by the several parties involved. The determination will include but will not be limited to myself being penalized for this item being replaced without our knowledge and for the race that took place on 5/18. PLEASE NOTE: I will not be suspended from or disqualified from racing for 1 year due to technicalities and the motor being in good standing order. I will post more information as needed when I receive it. I would like to thank my family, friends and fans for all your support. I would also like to thank all of my haters for all of your gossip and jealously, because if it wasn't for all of you, my name would not be out there as much as it is. So please, keep up the great work and keep those comments coming. The more the better! See you ON the track at Lebanon Valley guys!!!!!

Note # 2 – from the DTD Forum:

“That Facebook post has been deleted. idk what that means.”

Hmm, I wonder why it was taken down? Maybe because of something that was said on the Forum??

News from the AARN:

http://www.aarn.com/

Note: Don’t forget – if you’re a subscriber to the AARN, you can have the free digital version. That is available on Tuesday mornings.

Note: Due to time, and being a little extra busy these past few days, I’m forced to skip news from the AARN, this week. Hope ya don’t mind!

However –

In AARN

This Week:

Another ACT Photo Finish;

This Time Hoar Wins

Hometown Driver Danny Dietrich

Dusts The Outlaws

For Popular Lincoln Win

Hirschman Continues

RoC Asphalt Tour Mastery;

Wins At Shangri-La

Second Mike Heffner

410 Sprint Team Ready To Roll

Jimmie Johnson Win Again

In Charlotte's All Star

NASCAR Cup Race

Matt Sheppard Hot

At Merrittville;

Claims DIRTcar Monday

358 Mod Race

'Cowboy' Steinman Honored

At Mercer Speedway

By Friends, Fans

Selinsgrove 358 Double Header:

Stutts, Cannon Both Claim Victories

Bachetti Ends Hearn's

Leb Val Mod Win Streak

At Four

Press releases:

NEWS FROM

Orange County Fair Speedway

239 Wisner Avenue

Middletown, NY10940

CONTACT

Mike Gurda

845-342-2573

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ORANGE COUNTY FAIR SPEEDWAY HONORS VETERANS ON MEMORIAL WEEKEND

Small-Block Modifieds Return to the Hard Clay

MIDDLETOWN, NY (May 19)……..As part of our country’s celebration of Memorial Day, all military personnel in uniform and veterans with appropriate identification will be admitted FREE for the Saturday, May 25 night of stock car racing at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York.

“We owe so much to our military people. Their sacrifices have kept us free, allowing us to enjoy a way of life that is the envy of all the other nations,” says Mike Gurda, speedway promoter. “It’s just a small token, but we’re happy to have active and veteran military folks as our guests at the speedway on Memorial Weekend.”

Orange County’s full complement of Big-Block Modified, Sportsman, Rookie Sportsman, and Street Stock race cars will be in action with qualifying and feature races. And the lightning-fast Small-Block Modifieds return to the Hard Clay racing surface for the second time in 2013. McGannon Excavating is the evening’s sponsor.

Defending point champion Jerry Higbie leads a strong corps of Big-Block Modified drivers in the ir quest for Orange County racing supremacy. His championship reign is being challenged by young guns Billy Vaninwegen and Clinton Mills, the always exciting Tim Hindley, two-time Modified titlist Tommy Meier, and two-dozen other top Modified drivers.

Admission prices for the May 25 race meet remain at $14 adults, $12 seniors, and free for children 12 and under. The full night of racing begins promptly at 6:30 pm.

Advance ticket sales, including the 52nd Annual Eastern States Weekend, and track information is available at the Orange County website, www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net, or from at the Track Office. Call 845-342-2573 weekdays during business hours.

I get e-mails:

From 5/20:

Make this YOUR business!

Did you notice who ObamaThreatened?

It's incredible that 42% of Americans think that this unqualified, incompetent, dishonorable, ego-driven fraud is doing a good job. Take a moment. Admit it to yourself. You know who his supporters are. They are the people that YOU support -- financially.

Did you notice who Obama threatened when he wasn't getting his way on raising the debt ceiling? He threatened to not pay:

- Social Security Retirees

- Military Retirees

- Social Security

- Disability

and

-Federal Retirees.

- Now let this sink in really good...

- He did not threaten to stop payments to illegal aliens.

- He did not threaten to take frivolous benefits such as Internet access away from violent inmates.

- He did not offer to fire some of the thousands of unnecessary federal employees that he hired.

- He did not offer to cut down on his or his wife's frivolous gallivanting around. $20 Million already spent on family vacations. (One Million on a FL golf outing). All our money...why not?

- He did not threaten to not pay the senator s and representatives or any of their staff.

- He did not threaten to take benefits away from welfare recipients or to stop the free cell phones they get.

- He did not threaten the food stamp programs.

- He did not threaten to reduce payments in foreign aid.

- He did not threaten to cut back on anything that involves his base voters.

- The list could go on and on. He is in full political mode!

Why are we allowing this person to destroy this wonderful country with his selfishness and his lies? Have WE lost our blooming minds!!!!!!!!

His type of change is killing our country. He needs to be stopped.

Do not forget about his tactics when it's election time 2014.

Get out and Vote in the mid-term election - 2014. Support the people in the House and Senate that are willing to cut taxes and spending.

LET'S MAKE 2014 - THE Beginning of a turn around. Forget change, we want our $$$$$$$$$ back and we want to take our country back!

We the people are coming.

Only 86% will send this on. Should be 100%. What will you do ?

Here, in part, is from an email I received the other day:

“Tom,

I enjoy your column each and every week and if no one has told you in a while, I think you do a great job and please keep up the good work! I read your column on Thursday mornings at newenglandtractor.com while having my morning coffee and cigarette.

Did you ever see the commercials long ago for Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups? You know the ones, when the guy exclaims “You’ve got your chocolate in my peanut butter!” And then the other guys says “You got your peanut butter in my chocolate!” I kind of feel the same way about reading your column sometimes. “You’ve got your politics in my racing. ” LOL! It reads like this:

Racing good

Politics bad

Racing good

Politics corrupt

Racing good

Politics lopsided

Racing good

Politics a shame

Racing good

Politics terrible”

Note: To be honest, I’ve given serious thought about the political crap in my columns. There’s a little in this weeks column, but in the future, I’m going to try to keep it at a bare minimum.

Good News from the White House Concerning Pensions and Benefits

نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره

ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت

نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ررفت ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدانيست نقش ديوار و چشمخيره ماسايه

ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدانيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيرهماپيدا

نيست نقش

If I hear anything else, I'll let you know.

Found on Facebook:

Found on 5/20:

If putting your taxpayer dollars to work means massively wasting them, then give the Department of Energy (DOE) an A+. The President told us in 2008 that DOE loan programs would create 5 million jobs over 10 years. 5 years later, just over 2,000 jobs have been "created" for the $26 Billion of your hard-earned money that's been spent. I'll save you pulling out the calculator: that's $11.5 Million PER JOB. That's not just stupid, it's obscene. And it has to stop.

Note: Don’t ya just love how they spend OUR money?

On Facebook on 5/17:

The acting chief of the IRS claims he was told who was responsible for the Tea Party attacks... then smiles and says he can't remember who it was.

Watching the IRS scandal unfold is like watching a cheesy mafia movie. These people are crooks and they're proud of it.

The acting IRS commissioner claims he “can’t remember” who was responsible for the attack on the Tea Party. He admits that he asked who it was, that he was told who it was — but claims he can’t remember. This is an old legal move where people can simply say they don’t remember in order to protect the guilty. Everyone knows what’s happening, which is why it’s frustrating to those in the room. Watch him lie here:

Link: http://www.capitalisminstitute.org/irs-official-remember/

Geoff Styner update – May 17^th:

It's time again for a Geoff Styner update .... Geoff is still doing as well as possible. His Dr has taken him off of the pain medication because it was causing him to hallucinate. He will hopefully see his neurosurgeon on Tuesday to have the halo readjusted and get a new pain prescription to help him deal with the uncomfortable feeling as they will have to re-torque the screws in his skull. We will be on location at Full Throttle Speedway again tomorrow night to collect some donations with the members of the FMARA. If you haven't already, please check out YouCaring.com to HELP Geoff Styner. Every $1 matters.

Need a Fund Raiser? http://www.youcaring.com/

Found on the Internet:

About the passing of the immigration bill:

In other words, the American Citizen who is out of a job and has been for the past year(+) will still be out of a job. To the crooks in congress "illegal" is no longer a word it has been replaced by "perspective voter".

There ya go. Sell the country out to the illegals.. As far as I can tell there was only one thing wrong with the current immigration laws, they weren't being enforced! Amnesty didn't work in '89 and it wont work now. What a mess.

I'm surprised the WH twerp even knew there was a vote. He seems to be unaware of anything else that is going on. In fact his whole administration is stricken with a case of the "I didn't know" syndrome. Conveniently contagious.

Note: Somewhere I had seen it that “Don’t be surprised if they sneak that immigration bill through while we’re trying to figure out the other damaging things – the IRS and it’s dirty dealings, Benghazi, the deal with the papers and now the God awful weather and storms that have hit Oklahoma.” And, damn if they didn’t!

From the Track Forum: In the past, the “Road to Indy” was through the Midget, Sprint Car and Silver Crown divisions. With the advent of rear engine cars and racing on more road courses than ovals, and no more racing on dirt tracks, the “Road to Indy” has changed. Now it’s things like Indy Lights. But for how long? What follows might give you an idea:

THE INDY LIGHTS SERIES IS IN TROUBLE: Here’s Why

May 13, 2013

Imagine you’re in a McDonald’s restaurant. You order a Big Mac. The cashier plops your sandwich on the counter and says, “That’ll be six hundred and twelve dollars, sir.”

“Uh… excuse me. Did you actually say six hundred and twelve dollars?”

“Yes, sir. Our Big Macs come with special sauce, lettuce and cheese. They’re really good.”

You would probably respond, “They’re not that good!” and walk out of the restaurant.

I was recently offered a sponsorship package for the Indy Lights series. My sponsors were willing to spend $50,000 as an associate sponsor in four or five races. But it soon became apparent that no other sponsors were willing to chip in on the deal.

No problem. My sponsors are reasonable people. They reduced the expected number of races to only two… the Freedom 100 and any other race of choice. And I had specific offers from three teams. But the sponsorship necessary to support a two-race deal ranged from $92,500 to $160,000.

Still, I was not dissuaded. I sent my resume to Indycar and they approved me for the Lights series. A two-hour visit to the friendly folks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s infield medical facility got me through my physical with no problems. The Indycar staff helped me plan my initial testing.

But money was still the issue. So I called the Indy Lights series directly to check out prices for myself. Turns out that engine leases are $10,000. And that only gets you a used motor that cannot be raced without a $17,000 rebuild. You are not allowed to buy an engine or build your own. You must lease and rebuild through the series, which owns all 50-some-odd engines.

Tires are $2,700 per set. They’re mandated, too. And constructed from a soft compound that burns up quickly. The series also prescribed two preliminary test sessions. Track rental, tires and travel expenses racked up a $25,000 bill for testing alone.

The $50,000 budget I was given would not even pay for an engine lease and the mandatory tests.

So I did the obvious. I asked my sponsors for more money. They are fair people. They looked at the series, the exposure, attendance and the television package and their response was simple and honest – “This series doesn’t return enough value to justify more than a $50,000 investment.”

Nay-sayers will indignantly claim that big time racing costs big time money. That’s all well and good. But two weeks later the Firestone Indy Lights Series opened the 2013 season in St. Petersburg with nine cars.

Reality stinks.

At the end of the day, the market says that the Indy Lights series is not worth fifty to eighty thousand dollars per event.

You can argue till you’re blue in the face, but corporate America will not pay six hundred and twelve dollars for a Big Mac and they are walking out of the restaurant.

It’s simply not worth it.

The Indy Lights series is set to introduce a new chassis in 2015 in the hopes of getting European bankers and South American oil tycoons to spoil their children by writing seven-figure checks to buy their way into Indycar.

Okay, that’s a fair plan. But how’s it working out so far? Fan Force United has cars for sale. So do Younessi Racing and Andretti Autosport. Two other cars are rusting in a Texas warehouse. Conquest’s car is ready to race but has no driver. Bryan Herta’s team told me they were already spread too thin and would rather park the car than risk losing money on engines and tires.

It appears there are more available cars than rich kids to drive them.

Dallara told me they have stacks of spare parts in their Speedway warehouse but no one to sell them to. Genuine, cash-paying sponsors have no interest in the series. And fifteen months from today, every Lights car in existence will have the approximate value of an 8-track player.

As business plans go, this one is only slightly better than the White Star Line’s idea for a new ocean liner.

I may try for the Freedom 100 again next year. And I certainly have no bitterness against the series. On the contrary, the entire Indycar staff could not have been more helpful. They openly wanted me in the series and did everything in their power to promote my program. They are fantastic people and I support them and the series wholeheartedly.

But like it or not, one of three things is going to happen to Indy Lights:

The series will return vastly more value to its teams and sponsors.

The series will slash operating costs to a small fraction of their current levels.

The series will cease to exist.

There are no other alternatives. The writing is on the wall, and I hope someone reads it in time.

Stephen Cox

Sopwith Motorsports Television Productions

#20 Boschett Timepieces/Ed & Co. Racing Supplies ARCA Truck

Co-host, Mecum Auto Auctions

Some non-racing stuff:

IRS official will refuse to answer questions at U.S. House hearing

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/irs-official-assert-fifth-amendment-house-hearing-201537467.html

The Autocrat Accountants

Link: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/348687/autocrat-accountants-mark-steyn

In part:

"Try this thought experiment: You decide to donate money to Mitt Romney. You want change in the Oval Office, so you engage in your democratic right to send a check.

Several days later, President Barack Obama, the most powerful man on the planet, singles you out by name. . . . The message from the man who controls the Justice Department (which can indict you), the SEC (which can fine you), and the IRS (which can audit you), is clear: You made a mistake donating that money."

"Kimberley Strassel wrote that on April 26, 2012. Five weeks later, one of the named individuals, Frank VanderSloot, was informed by the IRS that he and his wife were being audited. In July, he was told by the Department of Labor of an additional audit over the guest workers on his cattle ranch in Idaho. In September, he was notified that one of his other businesses was to be audited. Mr. VanderSloot, who had never previously been audited, attracted three in the four months after being publicly named by el Presidente. More to the point he attracted that triple audit even though Miss Strassel explicitly predicted in America’s biggest-selling newspaper that this was exactly what the Obama enforcers were going to do. The “separate, sinister entity” of the government of the United States went ahead anyway. What do they care? If some lippy broad in the papers won’t quit her yapping about it, they can always audit her, too — as they did to Miss Strassel’s sometime colleague Anne Hendershott, a sociology professor who got rather too interested in Obamacare and wrote about it in the Journal and various small Catholic publications. The IRS summoned Professor Hendershott to account for herself, and forbade her husband from accompanying her, even though they filed jointly. She ceased her political writing."

This is really sad, folks!

How the Fort Hood shooting suspect made $278,000 sitting in jail

Nidal Hasan, accused of killing 13 at Fort Hood, is still collecting paychecks

In 2009, Nidal Malik Hasan was arrested for allegedly killing 13 people and wounding 31 others during a shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas. But despite sitting in jail for more than three years, he has collected a healthy sum from the U.S. military: $278,000.

How is that possible? The answer is that the Army can't stop paying his salary under the Military Code of Justice, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.

SEE MORE: Why Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn doesn't want tornado relief money

If Hasan was a civilian instead of a U.S. Army Medical Corps officer, his pay could have been suspended after seven days. Instead, the Army has to pay him until he is proven guilty.

Meanwhile, the victims of the shooting are fighting to maintain benefits because the shooting wasn't "combat related."

SEE MORE: Today in business: 5 things you need to know

Retired Army Spc. Logan Burnett, who was shot three times during the attack, was livid after NBC 5 told him about Hasan's salary:

There have been times when my wife and I cannot afford groceries. We cannot afford gas in our car. Literally, times where we ate Ramen noodles for weeks on end. This makes me sick to my stomach. [NBC 5]

Unlike military personnel who were injured during the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon, those injured at Fort Hood aren't eligiblefor combat pay, Purple Hearts, or health benefits. Currently, the military classifies the shooting as a case of workplace violence.

SEE MORE: Managing the growing Millenial workforce

In the House, Reps. Tom Rooney (R-Fl.), Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.) are petitioning Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to change that:

Calling this terrorist attack 'workplace violence' is an insult to the victims and their families, and it denies them the benefits they deserve. The Department of Defense and the Army should be ashamed of the terrible care and service they've provided to these heroic American soldiers, and they should rectify this situation immediately by re-classifying their injuries and deaths as combat-related. [Thomas Rooney]

Hasan's trial will begin on July 1, despite his defense team's efforts to delay the trial over bias concerns stemming from the Boston Marathon bombings.

Video time – Music

The late Roy Orbison, with some songs. Hope you all don’t mind, but I’d really like to dedicate the first and third songs to my wife or some 52 years, Joan Marie (Rose) Avenengo – the love of my life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i51CyfyO_Ok&feature=related

Video time – racin stuff:

Dick Wallen’s Open Wheel Tribute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=q_r5hY49jLM

Names of those in the video, as best I can tell:

At 10 seconds: Jimmy Bryan

25 Sec: Don Branson

28: From right to left, Bryan, Tony Bettenhausen and AJ Foyt

36: Shorty Templeman

47: Bob Sweikert in black shirt

52: Sweikert fatal

1:00: Johnny Thomson

1:11: Foyt

1:30: Don Branson

1:47: Roger McCluskey

1:51: Tony Bettenhausen

2:20: Elmer George

2:28: Eddie Sachs

3:10: Gary Bettenhausen

3:24: Jud Larson

3:30: Rodger Ward on left, Bobby Marshman on right

3:47: Shorty Templeman

3:50: Rodger Ward

3:53: Parnelli Jones

3:55 Jim Hurtubise.

Photos:

Note: The photos are not available on Dirt Track Digest, only on New England Tractor - http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/

Note: I have to apologize for the mess up last week. No idea as to what happened. I had a short paragraph along with a photo, but somehow it went “poof” out into wherever Internet things disappear to.

The 1953 Indy 500, which, as usual, back then, played out in front of a full house, had some major problems with extreme heat that caused many drivers to ask for a relief driver. One driver, Carl Scarborough, died due to the extreme heat – temps in the 90’s and track temps at 130 degrees.

Here’s a photo of the winning driver from that race, the late Bill Vukovich, as he was pulling off of the track and heading to “Victory Lane”. Yes, his face is just a little “dirty”!

Closing with this:

Subject: FW: Humor - How did the human race appear?

A little girl asked her Mother, "How did the human race appear?"

The Mom answered, "God made Adam and Eve and they had children, and so was all mankind made.."

Two days later the girl asked her father the same question.

The father answered, "Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved."

The confused girl returned to her mother and said,

"Mom, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and dad said they developed from monkeys?"

The mother answered, "Well, Dear, it's very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his.."

Remember, there’s a possibility of no column next week. Time will tell!

Until next column, folks!

As usual, you can reach me at: ygordad@yahoo.com