Mostly
Racin' Stuff
By Tom
Avenengo
Volume # 180
05/08/2014
Some
personal/family stuff:
On Monday, at 3:30 PM the wife had an
appointment to schedule her next colonoscopy.
Both of us have an appointment on Wednesday to see a new doctor. Late Sunday I sent a PM to my daughter Sandy,
who we stayed with while in
I still think it’s the higher altitude and
cooler weather that has some effect on how I’m feeling. I’m due to get my Pacemaker checked out on
6/13. The wife’s colonoscopy will be on
5/22.
On a brighter note – our daughter, Judy
Kehlenbeck, asked me a while back if I’d like to accompany her to her daughters
(our granddaughter) Kathleen’s Spring
Athletic Banquet Program, at the Lackawanna College in Scranton, Pa. this past
Wednesday, May 7th, at the Lackawanna College Reception Hall.
We knew that “Kat” was going to get some
kind of an award for her playing on the softball team, which she did. She was also mentioned as one of the women on
the women’s basketball team. The very
last award given out during the ceremonies was the Sterling B. Seeley
Award. It was quite a shock to here the
name Kathleen Kehlenbeck named as the recipient of that award. It was quite a shock to “Kat”, too!
The Award:
The Sterling B. Seeley Award
– The Seeley Award is given annually to an individual who demonstrates
all-around abilities as a student and an athlete as well as an active
involvement in the community. It is named in honor of Sterling B. Seeley, who
was an essential part of the administration of this college for over forty-five
years. He was the person responsible for the introduction of many of
Below is a photo of Judy, me and “Kat”,
with her awards. If Judy looks a little
red in the face, she had an excuse. The
tears were flowing!
“Kat”:
Special congrats from your Nanny & Pop Pop!!
As usual, photos can only be seen on: http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/
Racin’
stuff:
Gotta love rainy Saturdays – Not! Or gotta love when during the morning hours,
a track cancels their night time show due to a weather forecast. Of course those forecasted rains were
basically, if anything, a passing shower.
Methinks – if your driver has a problem on
the track with another driver – it’s best to keep comments off of the Internet
and “Social Media”.
So, on Tuesday evening, while working on
this column, I thought that for the h*ll of it, I’d check out the OCFS website
and see if they have corrected their link to MyLaps. I mean, I did send a request for them to do
so via an email, remember? Guess
what? It still comes up as “Oops,
something went wrong” and “Page not found”.
I guess I’ll have to take it that no one else has asked them to make the
correction?
2014
May 3, 2014 – 11:41 am | 123
0 137 1
2014
(All times local, subject to
change)
Thursday, May 8 GRAND PRIX OF
PRACTICE - Free Admission
9 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Public Gates Open
10 a.m-5:30 p.m., Verizon IndyCar Series & Mazda Road to
Indy Practice
10 a.m.-10:45 a.m., Verizon IndyCar Series practice
11 a.m.11:45 a.m., USF2000 Practice
Noon-12:45 p.m., Pro Mazda Practice
1 p.m.-1:45 p.m., Indy Lights Practice
2 p.m.-2:45 p.m., Verizon IndyCar Series Practice
3 p.m.-3:30 p.m., USF 2000 Practice
3:45 p.m.-4:15 p.m., Pro Mazda Practice
4:30 p.m.5:15 p.m., Indy Lights Practice
5:30 p.m., Celebration of
Automobiles Track Laps Begin
Friday, May 9 GRAND PRIX OF
INDIANAPOLIS QUALIFYING / RACE - $20 admission, 12 and under free
9 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Public Gates Open
10 a.m.-10:45, Verizon IndyCar Series Practice
11 a.m.-11:45 a.m., USF2000 Qualifying
Noon-12:45 p.m., Pro Mazda Qualifying
1 p.m.-1:45 p.m., Indy Lights Qualifying
2:00 p.m.-3:10 p.m., Verizon IndyCar Series Qualifying
3:30 p.m.-4:10 p.m., USF2000 Race #1
4:30 p.m.-5:10 p.m., Pro Mazda Race #1
5:30 p.m.-6:10 p.m., Indy Lights Race #1
7 p.m. Rev Methodist Health Foundation, in
Partnership with
University Health, Event
Begins (Separate Admission)
Saturday, May 10 GRAND PRIX
OF INDIANAPOLIS RACE DAY - Tickets start at $25, 12 and under free
7 a.m.-6 p.m., Public Gates Open
7 a.m.-4 p.m., Celebration of Automobiles
10 a.m. Firestone "Race Car"
Pin Distribution,
11:00 a.m.-11:50, USF2000 Race #2
12:10 p.m.-1 p.m., Pro Mazda Race #2
1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Indy Lights Race #2
2:45 p.m., IMS Grid Girl Entrance - Pagoda
Yard of Bricks
3:50 p.m., Grand Prix of
Sunday, May 11 - Thursday, May
15
10 a.m.-6 p.m., Public Gates Open
Noon-6 p.m., Practice
Friday, May 16 FAST FRIDAY
PRACTICE - $15 admission, 12 and under free
10 a.m.-6 p.m., Public gates Open
Noon-6 p.m., Practice
Saturday, May 17 QUALIFYING
DAY 1 - $20 admission, 12 and under free
7 a.m.-6 p.m., Public Gates Open
8:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m., Verizon IndyCar Series Group 1 Practice
8:30 a.m.-9 a.m., Verizon IndyCar Series Group 2 Practice,
500
Festival Breakfast at the
Brickyard Begins
9 a.m.-10 a.m., Verizon IndyCar Series (All) Practice
10 a.m., Chevy Pin Distribution Begins -
10:15 a.m., Qualifying Pre-Race Show,
11:00 a.m.-5:50 p.m., Verizon
IndyCar Series Qualifying
2 p.m., LIVE Concert,
Sunday, May 18 OLD NATIONAL
ARMED FORCES POLE DAY - $20 admission, 12 and under free
7 a.m.-4 p.m., Public Gates Open
8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m., Verizon IndyCar Series Practice
9:45 a.m., Enlistment Ceremony Begins - Plaza
Stage
10:15 a.m., Verizon IndyCar Series Group 1
Qualifying Begins (Positions 10 - 30)
11 a.m. Rapid Fire Concert, Plaza Stage
12:15 p.m., American Dairy Pin Distribution
Begins,
12:45 p.m.-1:30 p.m., Verizon
IndyCar Series Group 2 Qualifying Begins
(Positions 31 - 33)
2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m., Verizon IndyCar Series Fast 9 Qualifying
3:00 p.m., Verizon Pole Award Celebration
Monday, May 19
10 a.m.-6 p.m., Public Gates Open
Noon-5 p.m., Practice
Tuesday, May 20 NO TRACK
ACTIVITY
Wednesday, May 21 AMERICAN
FAMILY INSURANCE 500 FESTIVAL COMMUNITY Day (No Track Activity) $10 gate
admission, 6 and under free
9 a.m.-6 p.m., Public Gates Open
10 a.m.-10:50 a.m., 500 Festival Pin Distribution,
11 a.m.-Noon, Indy Lights Drivers Autograph Session,
Pagoda Pavilion
1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.,
(Wristbands Required)
3 p.m.-4 p.m.
Pagoda Pavilion.
(Wristbands Required)
4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Pagoda Pavilion
(Wristbands Required)
Thursday, May 22 INDY LIGHTS
PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING - Free
8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Public Gates Open
9:00 a.m.-Noon, Indy Lights Practice
1:15 p.m.-2:15 p.m., Indy Lights Qualifying
Friday, May 23 COORS LIGHT
CARB DAY - $30 admission, 12 and under free
8 a.m.-6 p.m., Public Gates Open
8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m., Vintage Car Exhibition
10 a.m.-11 a.m., Firestone Pin Distribution,
11:00 a.m.-Noon, Verizon IndyCar Series Practice Begins
12:30 p.m.-1:20 p.m., Indy Lights Race Begins
1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Pit Stop Competition Begins
3:30 p.m., Carb Day Concert Begins Featuring
Sammy Hagar and the Wabos and Sublime
With
7:00 p.m.–9:30 pm., Meet Angela Savage, daughter of the late
Swede Savage, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art
Saturday, May 24 LEGENDS DAY
HONORING MARIO ANDRETTI PRESENTED BY FIRESTONE - $10 admission, 12 and under
free
8 a.m.-8 p.m., Public Gates Open, Vintage Car
Display, Memorabilia Show
8:45 a.m., Rookie Chat -
9:00 a.m.-10 a.m,
9:30 a.m.-10:15 a.m., Vintage Race Car Laps
10:30 a.m.-11 a.m., Public Drivers Meeting, Tower Terrace
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m., Legends of IMS Radio Q&A,
1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Former Driver Autograph Session A, North
Chalet
2:30 p.m.-3 p.m. Q&A with Mario Andretti -
3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m., Former Driver Autograph Session B, Mario
Andretti Meet and Greet (Wristband Holders Only)
5:30 p.m., Tyler Farr Concert Begins followed
by Jason Aldean Concert at 6:30 p.m. on Turn 4 Stage (Separate Admission)
Sunday, May 25 98th
INDIANAPOLIS 500 RACE DAY - Tickets start at $40
5:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Public Gates Open
8 a.m., Parade of Bands
10:50 a.m., Vintage Car Laps
11:33 a.m., Driver Introductions
Noon, Start of 98th
***
2014 ticket information :
Ticket information is available for the four events in 2014 at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway – the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, 98th
Fans can order tickets at
www.ims.com/tickets , by calling 800-822-INDY or 317-492-6700 between 8 a.m.-5
p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday or by visiting the IMS Ticket Office at the
Tickets for groups of 20 or
more also are available. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866)
221-8775 for more information.
Source: Indiandapolis Motor
Coming up:
Saturday, June 7th
at OCFS – Nostalgia Night.
Info found on Facebook on
Tuesday, May 6th:
Nostalgia Night update;
Drivers/Owners planning on attending June 7th at OCFS; Carl Van Horn, Sonny
& John Strupp, Bobby & Steve Bottcher, Frankie Schneider, Tighe Scott,
LeRoy Amy, Hank Goranson, Rich Maranelli, Tony & Anthony Ferraiuolo, Carl
Collis, Carl Reynolds, B.C. Wood,Chuck McKee, Jeff Farber, Ed D'Anglo, Rich
Eurich, Bill Wilson, Jerry Morgan, Jerry Wildrick, Lou Inzeo, Peter Chichitano,
Bud Christman, Bob Decker, Red Muir, Jerry Howard, Ron & Scott Goodrich,
Bruce Quinn, Joe Romer Jr, Bob Schmitt, Bud DePuy, Jim Tuit, Steve Makocy, Russ
Meyer, Ed Davis, Stan Sherman, Keith Majka, Tom Allen, Roger Horvath, Chris
Kelley, Gary Palmer, Terry Zuidema, Loren Holland Sr, Carl Pittenger, Kenny
Leach, Harry Shortway, Jack Whitehead, Gary Edwards Sr., Bob Dini, Steve
Dodd,Ed Stevens, George Vanderwall, Nick Illobre, Jackie DuBois, Everett
Haubrick...That's 59 Drivers ....so far....waiting on call backs for others.
Please repost, spread the news, etc. This will be a fun night!! Doug
Yes, times have changed – but for the better?
Facebook - 5/6/14 on the 500:
What a modern day father
tells his son about the Indy 500
"just think, if you get
rich enough one day you too can run the
Sad, but true. The 500 went
from "The 33 best drivers in the world" to the 33 best funded drivers
in the world.
It's been that way for a
while now.
I was just reading how in
1966 Gary Bettenhausen was declined his entry and told to get more experience
and come back next year. Times have sure changed.
you don't need to be rich,
you need to be able to sell a sponsorship program to a sponsor. A background or
aptitude in marketing is just as essential of a skill as driving.
and therein lies the problem.
That said, I am still looking
forward to Indy
My sons dream was to race
Indy, I told him we have to win the lotto.
AND a big one
Im still tying to figure out
how dirt track racers can afford it.
They can't.
Period.
Former
OVRP Dirt Oval runners:
At Accord last Friday, Danny Creeden was 4th,
Tom Hindley 9th and Anthony Perrego 20th in the Modified
feature. In the held over Modified
feature from the previous week, Tom was 4th, Anthony 6th,
Danny 13th. Tyler Boniface
was a DNS. Joey Bruning was 4th
in the Spec Sportsman feature. Wyatt
Clark was 2nd in the All Star Slingshot feature.
Brad Szulewski was 9th in the
Sportsman feature at 5 Mile. Danny Creeden
was 7th and Mike Mammana 16th in the Modified feature.
At OCFS, LJ Lombardo won the Sportsman
feature, with Matt Janiak 2nd, Joe Conklin 4th, Brian
Krummel 5th, Dominick Roselli, Jr 13th and Andrew Reeves
21st. Believe Joey Falanga
and Johnny Illanovsky were DNQ’s. Antony Falanga was 8th in the
Rookie Sportsman feature.
As for the CRSA 305 Sprint Cars – they
lost their feature to the weather and will open up the May 31st show
with their race. However, in the heat
races, Emily VanInwegen was 4th in the first heat and Joe Kata was 7th. I read on Facebook that Joe lost an
engine. In the second heat, Brittany
Tresch was 4th and Danny Hennessey was 6th. I only saw 15 names listed for the CRSA – I
imagine weather kept some away?
Nick Pecko was 15th in the
Modified feature at Chemung.
At Susquehanna, in the Late Model feature,
Ben Whitaker was 17th.
Danny Buccafusca was 13th in
the Rookie Wingless 600 Micro Sprint feature at Hamlin. The All Star Slingshots, 270 Micros and 600
Wingless Micro features were victims of the wet weather. The 600’s have been re-scheduled for May 24th.
At
Tyler Dippel was 25th, Brett
Wright 26th and Alex Bell 29th in the Modified feature at
A/S. Hunter Bates was 5th, LJ
Lombardo 14th and Brian Krummel 27th in the Sportsman
feature.
Ben Whitaker was 4th in the
Late Model feature at Big Diamond.
Molly Chambers was 16th in the
Wingless 600 Micro feature at Linda’s.
Davie Franek was 3rd in the 360
Sprint Car feature at Selinsgrove.
32 names this week.
A
little trip back in time:
A few Midget racing results from 1941:
7th May 1941
1 Henry Banks Mike Caruso
Offenhauser 30 laps
ARDC Midget races.
10th May 1941
1 Bill Schindler 30 laps
ARDC Midget races.
11th May 1941
Feature
1 Henry Banks
2 Bill Schindler
3 Johnny Sweir
ARDC midgets
Yellow Jack
12th May 1941 – 1/5 mile dirt
oval
1 Harry Felton
AAA Midget races.
Castle Hill
13th May 1941
1 Johnny Ritter Ritter Elto
30 laps
AAA midget races
14th May 1941
1 Bill Holmes 30 laps
ARDC Midget races.
15th May 1941
25 laps - Feature
1 Bob Walker
2 Ted Tappett
3 Bill Holmes
ARDC Midget races
And,
further back in time:
There have been some emails back and forth
with the Yahoo! Race History Group about some Midget races held in
Here’s one of them:
“The
Bruce Hiney
The article read:
On November 5, 1938 a group
of drivers, car owners and cars sailed from
A total of 25 cars and drivers
made the trip. Each driver was to receive $75 per week in salary with two races
to take place each week with a minimum purse of $1,000 per race.
Bruce Hiney
Note: During my involvement with racing, as a
spectator, I did manage to see Red Redmond, Mike Joseph, Buster Warke, Roscoe
Hough, Len Golen and Duane Carter race at various tracks here in the northeast.
Some interesting threads on the DTD forum –
Is 20 the new 24?
http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/topic/50629-is-20-the-new-24/
Issue with stadium seats??
Anyone else??
http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/topic/50624-issue-with-stadium-seats-anyone-else/
Updating track web sites
http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/topic/50631-updating-track-web-sites/
Hig Fab Adds Great Incentive
To Five Mile Pt. Sportsman Class.
Day 4: Richard Petty reflects
on retirement
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/day-4-richard-petty-reflects-170400052--nascar.html
Jeremy
Mayfield:
Remember him? It might interest you in what’s been
happening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozcm9OX9_jw
From
Jayski:
Kyle Busch cited for
speeding:
#18-Kyle Busch was issued a
speeding citation on April 29 in
Camping World extends NASCAR
deal to sponsor Truck Series:
NASCAR announced it has
reached a seven-year agreement with Camping World to remain the entitlement
sponsor of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series through 2022. The new deal
ensures that Camping World will own exclusive rights as title sponsor for a
total of 14-consecutive years, equaling the longest entitlement sponsorship in
the history of the national series, which is celebrating its 20th season. The
renewed partnership aligns two brands in the midst of significant growth. Since
originally becoming series entitlement sponsor in 2009, Camping World has
expanded its number of stores by 35%, resulting in the company eclipsing $3
billion in annual revenue. The new deal provides Camping World exclusive rights
to market its Good Sam Roadside Assistance program as the Official Roadside
Assistance of NASCAR. With a network that includes 40,000 tow and service
providers in North America, Good Sam Roadside Assistance has provided roadside
services to more than two million stranded motorists in the past 30 years.
Additionally, the new agreement provides official NASCAR status to two growing
automobile companies; CarCash as the Official Auto Buying Service of NASCAR,
and AutoMatch
AND The recreational vehicle
retailer, which became title sponsor of the series in 2009, signed a seven-year
extension that will begin in 2016. The deal is valued at more than $5 million a
year in rights fees and media commitments.(Sports Business Journal)(5-5-2014)
Keselowski comments on
#2-Keselowski, six laps down
on lap 136, was in the middle of a big pack when the car appeared to get loose
and spun in front of #21-Trevor Bayne, which started a wreck that involved over
a dozen cars. Keselowski commented on the wreck and and incident on lap 145
with #10-Patrick:
Q) WHAT HAPPENED?
Keselowski: "I just spun
out in front of the whole field. I don't know why, if I just busted my butt on
my own or lost a tire, but I feel bad for everyone that got torn up. We had a
really fast Team Penske Ford, but I just feel bad for the whole Miller Lite
team."
Q) WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FIRST
INCIDENT? Keselowski: "We took the lead there and made a really aggressive
move to take the lead and then it all just kind of bottlenecked from there. I
don't know if I cut somebody off or got ran over, but just enough to get spun
out and tear the car up."
Q) WHAT HAPPENED?
Keselowski: "We were
just racing really hard towards the front half of the field. I was trying to
get my lap back and those guys are trying to lead laps. There's obviously a
long way to go and I just had to get to the front and try to stay up there to
try and get my lap back. I was racing really hard for that, but for some reason
the car took off on me and I spun out. I don't know why, but I feel bad that we
tore up a bunch of cars."
Q) WHAT HAPPENED WITH DANICA?
Keselowski: "I'm not
really sure what happened. I made an aggressive move to take the lead and the
next thing I knew I was spinning, so I'm not really sure. Obviously, there was
some kind of contact but I don't know what happened."
Q) A BYPRODUCT OF
Keselowski: "Every wreck
is a byproduct of
STILL 41 CARS ON THE LEAD
LAP.
Keselowski: "Yeah, and
that's even more the reason why I had to race hard to get my lap back because I
was at the back half of that."
Q) HOW AGGRESSIVE WAS THIS
RACE BY COMPARISON TO THE LAST COUPLE YEARS?
Keselowski: "The cars
are handling a lot worse than I thought they would and I think everybody is
kind of fighting that. Everybody still has the same level of aggression as when
the cars handled a little better and sometimes we learn the hard way."
Q) THERE'S A FINE LINE
BETWEEN FRUSTRATION AND SUCCESS.
Keselowski: "Yeah, we
had a lot of close calls and I guess most of them were my fault, but I'm just
being real aggressive. That's what it's gonna take to win here and whoever wins
here will be really aggressive, too."
Q) WAS IT A CASE WHERE DANICA
DIDN'T GIVE YOU ENOUGH ROOM?
Keselowski: "I don't
know. I'd have to go back and look at it."
Q) WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR
MIND AT THE END? IS THERE A FEELING SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN?
Keselowski: "You assume
something is gonna happen, but you don't know. That's why I had to race so
hard. I was one or two debris yellows from being back in the race and I wasn't
gonna give up."(Ford Racing)(5-5-2014)
Earnhardt Jr. squashes
marriage rumor:
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. met
with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed a few
things, among them was marriage/weddings. The transcript in part:
Q) FROM EVERYTHING I
UNDERSTAND YOU ARE A PRETTY FRUGAL GUY SO COULD YOU EVER IMAGINE IF YOU WERE
EVER TO GET MARRIED THAT YOU WOULD SPEND TWO MILLION DOLLARS LIKE THE NATIONAL
ENQUIRER SAYS THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE DOING LATER THIS YEAR?
Earnhardt Jr.: "I
definitely would have a hard time writing that check (laughter)."
Q) WOULD YOU DO IT AT
DAYTONA?
Earnhardt Jr.: "No of
course not. I would not force everybody to go down to Daytona for my wedding. I
probably would just have it right there in the back yard, but whatever is
easiest. That was funny. I read that and it was a roller coaster of an article.
Pretty good."
Q) DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE
GETTING MARRIED?
Earnhardt Jr.: "I
didn't. So we just skipped the engagement I guess, went right to the
wedding."(Team Chevy)(5-3-2014)
On Friday, the Florida
Legislature approved House Bill 7095, recommending the bill be signed by Gov.
Rick Scott. The bill establishes a process by which sports franchises are able
to apply to receive sales tax refunds from the state based on the amount of
sales tax generated by the facility. Daytona International Speedway's DAYTONA
Rising project, a $400 million reimagining of an American icon, is eligible for
application under the bill to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
For tickets and more information on Daytona International Speedway events,
visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call
1-800-PITSHOP.(DIS)(5-3-2014)
Marcos Ambrose Allows Fans to
Pay Fine Forward:
Marcos Ambrose and his #9
Richard Petty Motorsports team are on a mission from now to the Sprint Showdown
to make the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. If Ambrose does make it to All-Star
night, he will pay forward the $25,000 fine he received after the event at
Richmond International Raceway to Victory Junction. Ambrose and the team have
committed to pay the fine forward from potential All-Star Race winnings and
donate it to the camp founded by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their son,
Adam. Victory Junction enriches the lives of children with serious illnesses by
providing life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and
empowering, at no cost to children or their families.
Ambrose first entertained the
idea after so many of his fans here in the
"I had a tremendous
outpouring of support after
GM Starts Work on New
Performance and
Last week General Motors
began construction of a state-of-the-art facility for race engine design and
development, as well as an electric motor laboratory and gear center. GM's
continued investment in motorsports comes from the time-tested belief that
racing is the ultimate proving ground for much of the technology that applies
to the vehicles GM sells. Engineers and technicians from GM's race engineering
center in
MWR announces extensions with
Bowyer, Pattie and 5-Hour Energy & a baby:
Michael Waltrip Racing
announced today it has signed multiyear contract extensions with sponsor 5-hour
ENERGY, driver Clint Bowyer and crew chief Brian Pattie to race its #15 Toyota
Camry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series starting in 2015. The trio joined MWR in
2012 and has scored three wins and earned two Chase berths including a
runner-up finish in 2012. "This is big news for all of us," said
Bowyer, an eight-time winner in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition. "It creates
great stability and excitement about what the next few years can bring. MWR is
my racing home and continuing this relationship with 5-hour ENERGY was a high
priority. It's time to put the paperwork in a drawer and focus on
winning."
"Since the first day
5-hour ENERGY, Clint and Brian showed up at MWR, we have been a contender for
wins and championships. I am so thankful that we get to continue and add to
what we have built," said co-owner Michael Waltrip. "I am most happy
for the employees of MWR who are the foundation of everything we do."
The familiar red, black and
yellow brand colors of 5-hour ENERGY will adorn the #15 in 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup
events each year starting in 2015. Additional primary partners on the #15
include PEAK and AAA Mid-Atlantic. "We have clearly aligned ourselves with
one of the most competitive and energetic drivers in racing and we felt it was
really important for us to continue the equity we have built over the past
three years," said Scott Henderson, president of 5-hour ENERGY. "We
love Clint, the people at MWR and the sport of NASCAR. The extension decision
was also based on our racing program's success with our sales team and all of
our participating retailers." Bowyer celebrates his 300th start Sunday at
Kansas Speedway.(MWR). Bowyer also announced on his Twitter that he and wife
Lorra are expecting a baby.(5-5-2014)
Yates talks about horsepower
reduction:
Doug Yates from Roush Yates
Racing Engines talks about what's coming in regards to reduced horsepower for
Cup teams:
Yates: So where we are today
is reducing RPM, talking about taking 500 RPM away. Effectively, that reduces
speed on the racetrack and goes along with making the parts last longer.
Talking about roller cams. The Cup series is the only series that has a flat
tappet cam. It is a really hard application and it is probably the only series in
the world that has a flat tappet cam. It gets it more like Nationwide and Truck
so the parts could be passed down and they would last longer. If we need to
reduce power more, we'd do it through a reduced throttle body size, reducing
the air flow through the throttle body. Those are the mechanisms that will be
utilized to reduce power.
They are [also] looking at
[limiting RPM] through gear ratios. We crossed that bridge years ago when we
decided to limit the RPMs and they did it with the final drive ratio. It was a
really good way to do it. If the engine will achieve more RPM because it is
making more power or the driver gets off of the corner better and he achieves
more RPM, then so be it. I think the final drive ratio is a good,
easy-to-police way to get there. That is the adjustment they'll make. They do
the same thing today in Nationwide and Trucks based on the RPM range they want
to run. That has been a good, effective way to run.
NASCAR has had more
engagement with the engine building community than they ever have before. We've
had five meetings now and Gene Stefanyshyn has done a great job leading those
meetings. At first, it was a little bit of going through a process to get
everyone to talk and open up. Our lives are about competition so those meetings,
at first, were a bit of "I can outdo you on this." Everybody has now
settled in to try and achieve Brian France and NASCAR's two initiatives of
trying to improve racing through a reduction of horsepower and to try and
figure out how to save some cost for the teams."(Frontstretch)(5-7-2014)
From
Track Forum:
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/forum.php
NASCAR Penalties for Ambrose,
and Mears, "Have At It Boys"...
Note: Some of the comments:
" don't get it. Nascar
told everyone they have a "Have At It Boys" policy, so as soon as two
guys, in the pits and not on the track, "have at it", they get fined
and put on probation. Nascar wants it both ways. But, typical. I don't know why
I'd expect anything different. It's all about the Benjamins."
"I also thought this was
how you settled it back in the good old, old days? Oh, well. I think it's a
b.s. call but it doesn't much matter in the overall scheme, I guess. I don't
see either of them having an issue in the next month that would lead to any
bigger punishment. Besides, there's always double secret probation."
"Probation ends just in
time for
Probably just a coincidence
of a one-month probation, but then they won't complain if this rivalry
continues."
"What they want is
publicity.
They encourage the fighting,
then fine the particpiants so they can stay in the news cycle all week.
It's too bad the on-track
action isn't quality enough for them to publicize 90% of the time."
Some photos of some “Hot”
wives can be seen in this thread:
Wife shots
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?185550-Wife-shots
emails – racing related:
Beginning May 8 The
1955 SAC Fireboid Turbine
(yes that is spelled correctly) 1962 John Zink Trackburner 1966 Jack Adams
Aircraft Special 1967 STP Oil Treatment Special both 1968
Last year, Gene Ingram and I
were fortunate enough to visit an un-named garage to view one of Lotus 56 cars,
one of the
Since it doesn't look like
I'll make it to Indy this year, I'm hoping that one of our RH members will
visit and post a lot of photographs.
Kevin Triplett
Found
on Facebook – racing related:
Facebook on 5/6/14:
One Driver held an AAA, USAC
and CART license in his career.....Who is it??
Think ya know? You might be surprised!
Answer next week.
From
the AARN:
This Week
In AARN
Danny Dietrich’s Grove
410 Sprint Score Puts
World Of Outlaws On Notice
Race Of Champions Asphalt
Tour
Starts At Chemung:
Matt Hirschman
Promoter Dan Harpell
To Rave Reviews
Wild Opening Night At
Riverhead:
Shawn Solomito Wins Mod Main
Brett Hearn Stays
On Albany-Saratoga Win Tear
David Gravel Shocks
World Of Outlaws Community
With Eldora Win With New Roth
Ride
Wet Weather Causes
Numerous
Rainouts-In-Progress;
Outright Cancellations
Billy Pauch Clips Sail
Panels,
Still Trims New Egypt Mod
Field
Jeff Rine Flies Highest
In
Mark McKeon:
He tells us that Bear Ridge
Speedway, one of the few tracks (the only one?) that runs USAC Midgets and
DIRTcar, will now have their Coupe class sanctioned by DIRTcar. They've been running Coupes at Bear Ridge for
47 years now. Cars range from 1932 to
1948 steel bodied coupes and sedans and are powered by either crate or home
built engines. Leaf springs are
mandatory.
Ernie Saxton:
He wonders why Ambrose &
Mears were fined for fighting after the race at
Lenny Sammons:
In one of his articles, he
touches on track handicapping. One of
the major problems today is that most cars are the same, all run the same tires
and that makes passing difficult.
Different tracks are now trying different ways of handicapping. Some get rather confusing to the fans - like
"passing points".
In his weekly column, he has
quite a bit about Jeff Heotzler, along with Andy Bachetti, Jerry Higbie and the
Jackie Brown trip to Bethel a couple of weeks ago, with his Modified, which had
to be changed some (using only two barrels of the four in the carb) and having
to borrow some tires to run the pavement.
Brett Deyo:
Tires were the thing at Big
Diamond last week. With the track now
being sanctioned by DIRTcar, last week was the first week of the cars having to
use the mandatory Hoosier tire. The
purse for the "Dirty Jersey" race at New Egypt on Tuesday, June 17th
(rain date the 18th) was announced.
$42,180.00, prior to any bonuses or cash incentives. That race is a DIRTcar Big Block Series
race. Their portion of the purse will be
$6,000.00 for the winner and $29, 405.00 for their portion of the purse. Also on the card that night will be the 360
Sprint Cars and they'll be running for $3,000.00 to win.
Todd Heintzelman:
He tells us that for May, the
WoO Sprint Cars have 12 races on their schedule yet to run. They'll be here in the east for some of those
shows - Lincoln on May 14th, Williams Grove on the 16th & 17th, May 18th at
OCFS and May 20th at New Egypt.
J R Kennerup:
He tells us that in the area
where he lives (near
Gary London:
Towards the end of his column
he says: "This points to a pet
peeve of mine - too many rules. A
simplified rule book will more than likely keep things fair. We have enough people straying away from
racing. Having officials or a rule book
decide who wins and not the competitors is not racing".
The opening night of racing
at the newly names Yates County Speedway, formerly known as
And, the write up on the TQ
50 lap race at Borgers shows only a dozen TQ's.
A write up about the racing
at the Evergreen Speedway shows only three cars for their Modified main event
and only four for their Late Model main.
Street Stocks had 15, Pure Stocks 7 and 4 Cylinders had 14.
Denny Zimmerman is still at
it. He's racing USAC Midgets at the Bear
Ridge Speedway. A photo in this weeks
AARN shows him to be on his side after flipping. He was not hurt.
Press releases:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 5, 2014
DICK JORDAN
14-57
A pair of
Rico Abreu, who swept the recent
"Kokomo Grand Prix," leads teammate and defending Honda National Dirt
Midget Champion Christopher Bell by 14 points entering the two races.
Friday's "Hut Hundred" at
Brady Bacon, who just took over the
point lead in the AMSOIL USAC National Sprit Car series this past weekend, is
the most recent "Hut Hundred" winner, taking the 2012 race at
Zach Daum, Bryan Clauson, Darren
Hagen, Bobby East, Dave Darland and Tracy Hines, like Bacon, have all won the
"Hut Hundred" in the past 15 years. Trey Marcham, who leads the 2014
Honda USAC Western Dirt Midget standings, is also expected to compete in
Friday's "Hut Hundred."
Hagen and Clauson each scored
victories at Belle Clair Speedway last year.
2014 Honda USAC National
Midget Standings: 1-Rico Abreu-139; 2-Christopher Bell-125; 3-Tracy Hines-114;
4-Tanner Thorson & Kevin Thomas Jr.-102; 6-Dave Darland-94; 7-Chris
Windom-89; 8-Zach Daum-84; 9-Bryan Clauson-80; 10-Tyler Thomas-75.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 5, 2014
DICK JORDAN
14-56
"TONY HULMAN
CLASSIC" ON TAP MAY 21;
DARLAND GETS #49 AT EAGLE;
SCHUERENBERG TOPS AT THE JUNCTION
Brady Bacon of
Bacon was third in Friday's
"Rumble in the Bullring" at Eagle,
Dave Darland of
Justin Grant led nine laps before
yielding to Darland, then finished second ahead of Bacon, Tracy Hines and
Clauson, who led the first four laps.
Hunter Schuerenberg of
2014 AMSOIL USAC National
Sprint Car Standings: 1-Brady Bacon-459; 2-Bryan Clauson-452; 3-Dave
Darland-431; 4-Tracy Hines-425; 5-Justin Grant-412; 6-Chase Stockon-410; 7-Jon
Stanbrough-396; 8-Hunter Schuerenberg-367; 9-Chris Windom-314; 10-C.J.
Leary-274.
Spring Green Rescheduled for
Father’s Day at Devil’s Bowl Speedway
American-Canadian Tour to run
Sunday, June 15 afternoon event
For Immediate Release DBS-050614-1
WEST HAVEN, VT – Devil’s Bowl
Speedway and the American-Canadian Tour have rescheduled the 101.5 The Fox
Spring Green 114 stock car event, postponed last weekend, to Father’s Day on
Sunday, June 15. The Spring Green will
also include regular championship events for the NASCAR Whelen All-American
Series Bond Auto Parts Modifieds, Renegade, Central Vermont Motorcycles Mini
Stocks, and SK Lights.
The Spring Green is now
scheduled to be the halfway point of the ACT Late Model Tour championship
season and will set up the stretch drive into the summer. Wayne Helliwell, Jr., of
The 2014 Devil’s Bowl
Speedway season will open on a Friday night for the first time ever, as Whelen
Engineering and Mobil 1 present the lid-lifter on Friday, May 16 at 7:00
p.m. The event features the Modified,
Late Model, Mini Stock, and SK Light divisions, and honors its hometown fans
with free general admission for residents of Fair Haven, VT and
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is
located on Route 22A in
-30-
Contact: Justin St.
Louis
Phone: (802) 355-3282
Email: devilsbowlspeedway@gmail.com
Devil's Bowl
Phone: (802) 265-3112
Email: devilsbowlspeedway@gmail.com
Hello all –
Our inaugural Olum’s
‘Lightning on the Mountain’ presented by Rochinski Contracting Services &
Husqvarna at Thunder Mountain Speedway on Tuesday, May 20 (rain date: May 21)
is fast-approaching. With $30,013 on the line plus contingency awards, the
second round of the National Dirt Racing League (NDRL) Short Track Super Series
Fueled By VP will be a blockbuster. The NDRL Modifieds run 50 laps for $5,100
to win, $1,500 for fifth, $1,000 for 10th and $500 to start. Sportsman, Opens and Crates running together,
join the program in a 25-lap main paying a minimum of $1,000 to the winner and
$100 to start. This will be the richest night ever in the history of Thunder
Mountain Speedway!
As at all our events, media
coverage is welcomed and appreciated. If you would like to attend, please
e-mail Deyo99H@aol.com prior to May 13 with your request.
Media sign-in will be at the
pit gate.
Directions for first-time
visitors can be found at the following direct link:
http://thundermtnspeedway.com/directions/
Special note for
photographers: due to the tight confines of the
Writers: any pre-race
coverage you can provide is greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Brett
Brett Deyo
BD Motorsports Media LLC
Phone: 845.728.2781
E-Mail: Deyo99H@aol.com
Web:
www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/BDMotorsportsMedia
Twitter: @BrettDeyo
This week’s photo:
One of racings greats – Ted
Tappett (Phil Walters), is pictured in the Frank Curtis # 8 Offy Midget. Ted not only excelled in the Midgets, but was
quite good in stock cars, too, back in the day.
Then he hooked up with Briggs Cunningham and got into road racing where
he once again excelled. He was good
enough to get signed by Ferrari to drive their Sports/Racing cars and their Formula
1 Grand Prix cars in 1955. The tragic
events of the 1955 LeMans 24 hour race caused Tappett to retire from
racing.
While I was talking to Teds
son once, on the telephone, I asked him why his father never tried
As usual, photos can not be
seen on Dirt Track Digest. To see
photos, one must go here: http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/
Racing videos:
We don’t get to see hardly
any wingless Sprint Car racing here in the northeast. Yes, there was talk about some possible
wingless 305 Sprint Car races, and URC was giving it some thought a couple of
years ago, but for some unknown reasons, we just have not been fortunate (until
USAC comes east for a couple of shows) to get to see some racing as it used to
be, back in the day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JVTZBUhVipw
Not
racing related:
Don't use aspirin to prevent
cardiovascular disease, FDA warns
Note: Really?
Ya know, it's really getting kind of ridiculous. One week some of this sh*t is supposed to be
good for us, and then the next week it isn't?
The highway repair fund is
going broke
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/highway-repair-fund-going-broke
Interesting. So how might they raise monies for repairs?
email on 5/2:
Hmm, interesting, for sure!
Jay Carney’s wife is employed
by ABC.
CNN President Virginia
Moseley, is married to Hillary Clinton’s Deputy Secretary Tom Nides.
CBS President, David Rhodes
is a brother of Ben Rhodes, a top Obama official who changed
ABC President, Ben Sherwood,
is brother to Obama special adviser, Elizabeth Sherwood.
See a pattern?
From Facebook:
Found on 5/6/14:
Written By Constitutional
Attorney Michael Connelly, J.D.
How would you feel if you
received a letter from the U.S. Government informing you that because of a
physical or mental condition that the government says you have it is proposing
to rule that you are incompetent to handle your own financial affairs? Suppose
that letter also stated that the government is going to appoint a stranger to
handle your affairs for you at your expense? That would certainly be scary
enough but it gets worse.
What if that letter also
stated: “A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing,
possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you
knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or
both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159,
as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2).”?
That makes is sound like
something right from a documentary on a tyrannical dictatorship somewhere in
the world. Yet, as I write this I have a copy of such a letter right in front
of me. It is being sent by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of
The letter provides no
specifics on the reasons for the proposed finding of incompetency; just that is
based on a determination by someone in the VA. In every state in the
Obviously, the Department of
Veterans Affairs can’t be bothered by such impediments as the Constitution,
particularly since they are clearly pushing to fulfill one of Obama’s main
goals, the disarming of the American people. Janet Napolitano has already
warned law enforcement that some of the most dangerous among us are
Think about it, the men and
women who have laid their lives on the line to defend us and our Constitution
are now having their own Constitutional rights denied. There are no clear
criteria for the VA to declare a veteran incompetent. It can be the loss of a
limb in combat, a head injury, a diagnosis of PTSD, or even a soldier just
telling someone at the VA that he or she is depressed over the loss of a buddy
in combat. In none of these situations has the person been found to be a danger
to themselves or others. If that was the case than all of the Americans who
have suffered from PTSD following the loss of a loved one or from being in a
car accident would also have to be disqualified from owning firearms. It would
also mean that everyone who has ever been depressed for any reason should be
disarmed. In fact, many of the veterans being deprived of their rights have no
idea why it is happening.
The answer seems to be it is
simply because they are veterans. At the USJF we intend to find the truth by
filing a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Veterans
Affairs to force them to disclose the criteria they are using to place veterans
on the background check list that keeps them from exercising their Second
Amendment rights. Then we will take whatever legal steps are necessary to
protect our American warriors.
The reality is that Obama
will not get all of the gun control measures he wants through Congress, and
they wouldn’t be enough for him anyway. He wants a totally disarmed
-- Michael Connelly, J.D.
Executive Director, United
States Justice Foundation
Follow Us: @redflagnews on
Twitter
And these, too:
Why do inmates get free food,
but school kids don’t?
There are too many people
counting calories and not enough people counting chemicals!
Please tell me more about how
you came to our country and now want us to change our traditions because they
offend you.
Music videos:
Here’s a song I’ve always
enjoyed listening to. Something for the
truck drivers out there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ElCpHuiWkA
Joke
of the week:
These one liners might be why
NBC retired Jay Leno!
NBC was upset by the fact
Leno's comments were ALWAYS right on target.
"I was going to start
off tonight with an Obama joke, but I don't want to get audited by the
IRS."
On NSA surveillance: "We
wanted a president who listens to all Americans - now we have one."
On a new IRS commissioner:
"He's called 'acting commissioner'
because he has to act like
the scandal doesn't involve the White House."
On closing the
Concerning the
On Obama saying he didn't
know about the IRS scandal: "He was too busy
not knowing anything about
"The White House has a
new slogan about
"It's casual Friday,
which means that at the White House, they're casually going through everybody's
phone calls and records."
"It is not looking good
for President Obama. Today his teleprompter took the fifth."
"Fox News has changed
its slogan from 'Fair and Balanced' to 'See, I told you so!'"
On Obama's commencement
address: "He told the young graduates
their future is bright
unless, of course, they want jobs."
On a
On White House claims of ignorance
on the scandals: "They took 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' out of the Pentagon
and moved it into the White House."
Now the last, and I think
best!--
"These White House
scandals are not going away anytime soon. It's gotten so bad that People in
Please don’t forget:
Note:
Kinda looks like
Until my next column – next
week
I can be reached, via e-mail, at: ygordad@yahoo.com