Racin' & Internet Stuff:

                                       By Tom Avenengo

                                           Volume # 20

 

First:

Has it been hot enough for ya?  Has your green grass, like my green grass, turned YELLOWISH/BROWN?  Guess to cool off we’d have to go south, to Florida!  My weather, here in Port Jervis, N.Y. for today, and the next few days is:

Today: Plenty of sunshine. Near record high temperatures. Heat index near 105F. High 97F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight: Mainly clear skies. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.

Tomorrow: Sunny skies. Near record high temperatures. High 96F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.

Tomorrow night: Clear skies. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.

Thursday: Partly cloudy with a stray thunderstorm. Highs in the low 90s and lows in the upper 60s.

While down in Cape Coral, FL. where we have some family, it’s:

Today: Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High 88F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Tonight: Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 73F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Tomorrow: Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. High 92F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Tomorrow night: Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms before midnight. Low 73F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Thursday: Partly cloudy, chance of a thunderstorm. Highs in the low 90s and lows in the mid 70s.

 

 

 

 

 

Second:

 

I kinda feel good about this, from last weeks column:

 

“This coming Saturday night, there will be double features for the Modified class, with the rained out June 5th feature being run.  Also, on tap will be a Sportsman “Elimination” race featuring the top ten in points.

Top ten, point wise, per the OCFS website:

1)     3 Erik Holmgren 499
2) J73 Joe Conklin 498
3) 44 Brian Krummel 487
4) 29 Sammy Piazza 443
5) 27V Frank Venezia 420
6) 71D Frank Doty 409
7) 6 Darryl Ford 378
8) 88 Dion Naples 362
9) 2X Eddie Burgess 354
10) 35 Shane Jablonka 351

As long as all of those above are able, it would be # 10 against # 9, then the winner against # 8 and so on.  The last time a similar event was run, with the Modifieds, the outside lane was best, by far, and with these races, the winner of the previous race has the option of starting outside.

Going out on a limb here and picking Sammy Piazza.”

 

Yep, Sammy was the overall winner.  He was able to beat all those that he was up against, and funny thing is, he did it from the inside row.  There were some “problems” in his last race, to the extent that I’ve heard that Erik Holmgren is finished as far as being a driver at OCFS for the 2010 season.

True?

 

 

 

 

 

Some of my thoughts:

 

What with Independence Day being celebrated of this past weekend, I often wonder why is it that not all towns have fireworks displays on or near the 4th of July.  Is it cost?  Cost for insurance?  Security?  If cost, might it be possible to have some places in town for folks to drop off change or small bills that might go towards the cost?   And, how can race tracks afford them if towns/cities can’t?

 

 

 

 

Going back, in time:

Note:  Most of the following information was found here: 

http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/history.html

 

Covering the days of July 1st to July 7th.

 

JULY 1

1962

Hugh Randall... Died ... USAC driver from the early 1960's. He died as a relief driver for Bob Mathouser in the Vargo Special at the Langhorne Speedways 100 Mile USAC Championship race July 1, 1962.

 

JULY 2

1924

Bob Tattersall... Born ... The 1969 USAC National Midget Champion also raced in Australia and New Zealand for thirteen winters, winning over fifty percent of the races he competed in, as well as the World Championship at the Sydney Showgrounds on seven different occasions. He also drove sprint and championship cars and passed his rookie test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1966. Bob started his career in stock cars and switched to midgets in 1950. He won the UARA Midget Championship twice and consistently beat the Offies with Frank Pavese’s famous Ford 60 V-8. In 1955 he won a heat race at Terre Haute with the car against the top AAA drivers. He began racing with USAC on a full time basis in 1960 and in eleven years of competition was never lower than 8th in the point standings. During many of those years, he got off to a late start due to his schedule in Australia. He had recorded 63 USAC feature wins.

1964

Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Jr.... Died ... On May 24, 1964, at the World 600 in Charlotte, Roberts had qualified in the eleventh position and started in the middle of the pack. On lap 7, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson collided and spun out and Roberts crashed trying to avoid them. Roberts' Ford slammed backward into the inside retaining wall, flipped over and burst into flames. Witnesses at the track claimed they heard Roberts screaming, "Ned, help me!" from inside his car after the wreck. Jarrett rushed to save Roberts as his car was engulfed by the flames. Roberts suffered second- and third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body and was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition. Although it was widely believed that Roberts had an allergic reaction to flame-retardant chemicals, he was secretly an asthmatic and the chemicals made his breathing worse. Roberts was able to survive for several weeks, and it appeared he might pull through, but Roberts' health took a turn for the worse on June 30, 1964. He contracted pneumonia and sepsis and slipped into a coma by the next day. He died on July 2, 1964. Roberts' death, as well as the deaths of two drivers at the Indianapolis 500 the same year, led to an increase in research for fire-retardant uniforms. It also led to the development of the Firestone RaceSafe fuel cell, and all race cars today use a foam-backed fuel cell to prevent severe fuel spillage of the massive degree that Roberts had. Also, fully fire-retardant coveralls would be phased in leading to the now mandatory Nomex racing suits.

1973

Swede Savage... Died ... Savage started racing 1/4 midgets then motorcycles and karts. He then graduated to NASCAR, Can-Am, Trans-A and finally into Indy cars where he tragically lost his life as a result of injuries sustained in the Indy 500 in 1973.

1979

Sam Hornish, Jr.... Born ... An American racecar driver. He is best known for his open wheel accomplishments, which include an Indianapolis 500 victory and three Indy Racing League championships. He now drives in the NASCAR Nationwide and Cup series.

 

JULY 3

1971

Mark Donohue won the Pocono 500 USAC Championship race on the 2.5 Mile Paved Oval Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond, PA. Joe Leonard was second followed by A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and Billy Vukovich Jr.

 

JULY 4

1951

Walt Faulkner won the Darlington 250 AAA Championship race on the 1.25 Mile Paved Oval Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Tony Bettenhausen was second followed by Cecil Green, Bill Mackey and Jack McGrath.

 

Note:  More on this race, below, in the “History of the Sport” section.

 

JULY 5

1928

Elmer George... Born ... He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1956-1963 seasons with 64 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in 1957, 1962, and 1963. He finished in the top ten 36 times, with one victory, in 1957 at Syracuse. George was also the 1957 USAC Sprint Car Series champion. Elmer George was married to Mari Hulman George, daughter of Tony Hulman, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Elmer and Mari's son is Tony George, founder of the Indy Racing League, and former CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On race day, May 31, 1976, Elmer George argued by telephone with a horse trainer at the family farm near Terre Haute. After the race, George drove to the farm and confronted the trainer. George was shot and died the next day.

1964

Tony Bonadies... Died ... A very popular midget car driver, Tony Bonadies' career spanned over twenty-four years during which he competed in more than one thousand races. Although he never won the ARDC Midget Championship, he was ranked amongst the top six in seven out of his last eight seasons in the series' final classification table, and he was twice the title runner-up. He entered the Indy 500 three times, but failed to qualify in all attempts: in 1955 and the following year his times aboard a Kurtis 3000D - Offenhauser were simply not quick enough, and in 1957 he wrecked his Kurtis 500C - Offenhauser at the Turn 4 at the northwest end of the track during practice and had to withdraw from the race. Bonadies was taking place in an ARDC midget race at the Williams Grove Speedway on 05 July 1964 when, as he pitched his Frankenfield - Offenahuser into a slide at the entrance to Turn 1, the right rear axle of the car snapped. The vehicle barrel rolled several times and then got airborne. Tony was thrown to the ground and died instantly.

2004

Rodger Ward... Died ... USAC Midget and Indy car driver. 2 time Indy 500 winner, 1959 & 1962

 

JULY 6

 

1952

Dana Carter ... Born ...ARDC, USAC and CART driver from the 1970's & 80's. Son of Duane Carter, brother of Pancho Carter and half brother of Johnnie Parsons Jr. Dana died on May 5th in 1983 of a heart attack after finishing second in a midget race in Indianapolis .

1958

Art Bisch ... Died ... Bisch started racing midgets in 1948 before moving on to Sprint Cars in California, dominating the 1956 season, winning 10 of the 27 races. He moved up to Champ cars in 1958 and won his first race in the Rex Mays 100. Sadly his career was cut short when he crashed at the Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia and succumbed to his injuries.

 

JULY 7

1906

Johnny Matera ... Born

1928

Cotton Farmer ... Born

1936

Eldon Rasmussen ... Born

1941

Mike Hiss ... Born

1946

Steve Krisiloff ... Born

1952

Stan Fox ... Born ... The Wisconsin native was one of America’s top midget pilots for more than 20 years. He won the 1979 Badger Midget Series title and went on to a successful USAC career that included 19 wins. Among his victories are the Belleville Nationals (twice), Turkey Night Grand Prix, 4-Crown Nationals and Copper World Classic (twice). Fox, who raced in eight Indianapolis 500s, was seriously injured during the 1995 Indy 500 and never raced competitively again. Fox is a member of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. Fox was killed in an automobile accident in New Zealand in 2000.

1965

My, how the time flies!  Forty-five years ago on this date, our son, Tom, Jr. was born – our third child and first son.  He lives up by Watertown, NY and has for many, many years been the chief Volkswagen mechanic for F.X. Caprara, up in that area.

2000

Kenny Irwin, Jr. ... Died ... He was a NASCAR stock car driver. He had driven in all three major of forms of NASCAR and had two total victories. Before that, he raced in the United States Auto Club against Tony Stewart who was one of his fiercest rivals. He died as a result of injuries suffered in a crash during a practice session at New Hampshire International Speedway.

 

 

 

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

 

Friday, July 9th:

9:00 AM to 10:30 AM on SPEED – Formula 1 practice from Silverstone, England

11:00 AM to 12:30 PM on SPEED – Nationwide practice from Chicago

12:30 PM to 2:30 PM on SPEED – Cup practice from Chicago

3:00 PM to 4:00 PM on SPEED – Cup final practice

4:00 PM to 6:00 PM on SPEED – Nationwide qualifying

6:00 PM to 7:30 PM on SPEED – Cup qualifying

8:00 PM to 10:30 PM on ESPN – Nationwide race

 

Saturday, July 10th:

8:00 AM to 9:30 AM on SPEED – Formula 1 qualifying

7:30 PM to 11:00 PM on TNT – Cup race

9:00 PM to 11:00 PM on SPEED – ARCA race from Iowa

10:00 PM to 12:00 AM on ESPN2 – NHRA qualifying from Seattle

 

Sunday, July 11th:

10:30 AM to 12:00 PM on SPEED – FIA GP2 Championship from England

12:00 PM to 2:00 PM on FOX – Formula 1 race from England

12:30 PM to 1:30 PM on SPEED – FIM World Superbike Race # 1 from Czech Republic

2:00 PM to 4:30 PM on SPEED – Truck race from Iowa

4:30 PM to 7:30 PM on SPEED – American LeMans Series race from Utah

11:30 PM to 12:30 AM on SPEED – FIM World Superbike race # 2 from Czech Republic

11:30 PM to 2:00 AM on ESPN2 – NHRA Eliminations from Seattle

 

 

 

Track news – (for tracks in my area):

 

Accord:

 

This coming Friday:

$2000 to win 30 Lap Modified Race, Plus Sportsman – Spec Sportsman,Pro Stocks – Pure Stocks & Mini Sprints.

Friday, July 16, 2010

5:00pm - $2000 to win Modified + all other divisions + ARDC Midgets and ACOT.  I see, according to the ACOT schedule, that they will be there for a “Still” show only, with no track time being shown.

 

OCFS:

The CRSA 305 Sprint Cars will be at OC on July 17th.

The Fair will run from July 21st to August 1st.

A 100 lap Enduro is scheduled for July 22nd.

On July 25th, it’s Demo Derby time.

The Sportsman class has a 50-lap feature on July 28th, and that will also be a qualifier for the Sportsman race on Eastern States Weekend.

The 358 Small Block Modifieds headline the racing on July 31st.  That is also a qualifier for the Small Block race on Eastern States Weekend.  The Big Blocks will not be racing on the 31st at OC.  I’m wondering how many Small Blocks they might get for that show on the 31st, since OC has, in effect, dropped that class for 2010.

Also, I’m not sure just what days/nights the drive-in section is open during the fair.  Probably not for the Demo Derby.

 

Some purse info on the 358 Challenge that’s coming up on Thursday, August 5th, with a rain date of Thursday, August 12th:

   1    $10,000.00

  2     $4,000.00

  3     $2,800.00

  4     $2,000.00

  5     $1,600.00

  6     $1,200.00

  7     $1,000.00

8       $900.00

9       $800.00

10     $700.00

11     $600.00

12     $500.00

13     $475.00

14     $425.00

15     $400.00

16     $400.00

17     $400.00

18     $400.00

19     $400.00

20     $400.00

21     $400.00

22     $400.00

23     $400.00

24     $400.00

25     $400.00

26     $400.00

Any additional Sponsorship will be distributed from 12th place on back.

Additional information is supposed to be forthcoming, so check it out, here:  http://www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net/Hard-Clay-Challenge-40.html

 

 

 

OVRP’s Dirt Oval:

Regular show of Karts and Slingshots, with an appearance by the World Formula Modifieds are scheduled for this coming Saturday.  I see that Quads and Motorcycles aren’t scheduled until the 18th and 25th of July.  As of now, no “Big” events are scheduled for July with the Karts.

 

 

Hamlin:

Regular show plus Regular Slingshot Qualifier for Linda’s PSC Event – top two qualify.

 

Bethel:

This coming Saturday:

Middletown Motorsports Show Night

Dirt Sportsman, Pro Stock, BMS Modified, Street Stock, 4 Cylinder, Bandoleros

 

Bethel is basically a flat ¼ mile paved oval.  Admission is only five bucks, too.

 

 

The History of the Sport:

Darlington, July 4, 1951 250 mile Indy car race.  Back then they were all like today’s  Silver Crown cars - or Sprint cars, only bigger.  And every car was powered by the reliable “Offy” engine.  I was at that race.  My father and brother, who still lived in New Jersey, came down for the race, and picked me up from where I lived, in Snow Hill, N.C.  It would be the very first time I’d see an Indy car race, having seen almost 100% midget racing prior to that.  Oh, and yes, July 4th in South Carolina – you just know it was hot, and I don’t recall any roof over the grandstand, either.  I do recall that once the race started, we moved down to the front row and were able to get a little breeze when the cars sent past.

 

28 cars started the race.  Johnny McDowell, in the Hart Fullerton “Water Injected”, blue # 79 had won the pole with an average of 112.652 MPH.  No idea as to how the water injection worked, but that car sure sounded sweet!

Mike Nazaruk, Bill Schindler, “Doc” Shanebrook and Joe Barzda were drivers that were there that were from my midget watching days.  Nazaruk ended up 8th, and Schindler 21st, dropping out after 117 laps due to magneto failure.  Shanebrook and Barzda were among the 11 cars that didn’t make the show.

Top ten qualifiers were:

McDowell, Cecil Green, Walt Brown, Vukovich, Jimmy Davies, Joe James, Walt Faulkner, George Connor, Kenny Eaton and Cliff Griffith.  McDowell was flagged after he completed 170 of the 200 laps.  Back then, the track was a mile and a quarter.

Bill Vukovich, in the Central Excavating # 81 the first 25 laps from his 4th starting spot.  Then a connecting rod let go.  He later relieved Walt Brown and that combo finished 10th.  Two others led the race – Gordon Reid led laps 26, 28-31.  Faulkner led laps 27, then 32 – 200.  Faulkner won by 72.100 seconds.  The average qualifying speed was 110.811 MPH.  The total purse was all of $22,452.00.  Faulkner won a whopping $5,616.00!  19th through 28th got all of $112.00.  Those that failed to make the show got a big fat zero, although I would imagine that if they were relief drivers they might have gotten something from the car owners.

Top ten finishers were:

Faulkner in the Agajanian # 7, Tony Bettenhausen – Belanger # 99, Green -  Zink # 4, Bill Mackey – Iddings # 33, Jack McGrath – Hinkle # 9, Manuel Ayulo – Coast Gran # 31, Henry Banks – Blue Crown # 1, Mike Nazaruk – Robbins # 83 (1 lap back), Chuck Stevenson – Bardahl/Marchese # 8 (4 laps) and Walt Brown/Vukovich – Federal Engineering # 44 (5 laps).

Sixteen cars were on the track when Faulkner got the checkered flag.  The other six were:

Griffith (193 laps), Andy Linden (188), Paul Russo (185), Eaton (181), Gene

 

Note:  More by Peter Kessler over then next two weeks!

 

Former Dirt Oval (Oakland Valley Speedway) runners:

 

Note:  In most cases, the names that appear in this section are names of those that have run at the Dirt Oval for an extended period of time.  And, in some cases, maybe some only had occasional appearances at the Dirt Oval, too.  And, yes, some I’m not even sure about!

 

At the Stafford Speedway, David Webb was 4th in the SK Light Modified feature.

At 5 Mile Point, in the RoC Sportsman feature, Brad Szulewski was 10th while in the CRSA 305 Sprint car feature, Josh Pieniazeck was 2nd.

There was a two-day event at Bethel, over the weekend, and in the Sportsman class, Rich Coons was 3rd overall, while Zachary Vavricka was 7th and Kyle Redner 8th.

Tiffany Wambold was 7th in the Rookie 270 Micro Sprint feature at Borgers, while Kyle Rohner had a 2nd place finish in the Stage One Modifieds.

Someone I’ve missed so far this year is Corey Ziegler.  At Penn Can, Corey was 2nd in the Sportsman feature.

Roger Coss had a 10th place finish in the Modified feature at Wall Stadium.

At Big Diamond, Mike Mammana was 2nd in the Sportsman feature.

Davie Franek had a 3rd place finish in the 358 Sprint car feature at Selinsgrove.

At Brewerton, Michael Storms was 20th in the Modified feature.

Rick Casario was 6th in the 270 Micro Sprint feature at Hamlin.  Brittany Tresch was the wingless 600 Micro feature winner, while Geordan Farry was 15th, Molly Chambers 17th Cait Chambers 20th and Luke Schostkewitz was 24th.  Joe Kata won the 600 Wingless Micro Rookie feature.

At Accord, in the Modified feature, Danny Creeden was 10th, Greg Hastie 12th, Clinton Mills 22nd, Tom Hindley 24th and Jimmy Johnson was (luckily he says) a DNQ

In the Sportsman feature, Mike Ruggiero was 3rd, Brian Krummel 4th, Anthony Perrego 8th and Brad Szulewski 11th.

Kayala Smykla was 6th, Jason Roe 9th, Kyle Rohner 10th and RJ Smykla 14th,  in his first race, in the Spec Sportsman feature.

At OCFS, Matt Janiak scored his first feature win in the Sportsman class.  Brian Krummel was 2nd, Keith Still 5th, Matt Hitchcock 8th, John Lodini 12th, Joe Conklin 13th and Anthony Perrego 20th.  In the held over Modified feature, Danny Creeden was 8th, Mike Ruggiero 13th, Clinton Mills 14th and Billy VanInwegen 19th.  In the nights regularly scheduled feature, Mike Ruggiero was 3rd, TimHindley 8th, Danny 10th, Clinton 15th, Billy 16th, while Corey Ziegler was a DNQ.  I believe he was running a Small Block.

Nick Pecko was 4th in the Modified feature at Sundance Vacations Speedway.Jeff Gallup is shown to have finished 13th at Grandview in the SpeefdSTR feature.

Kyle Armstrong was 5th, Kolby Schroder 6th and Alex Bell 13th in the Sportsman feature at Lebanon Valley.  In the Budget Sportsman feature, Bobby Hackel, III was 4th.

Jacob Hendershot was 2nd in the Wingless 270 Micro Sprint feature at Wyalusing.

 

Just looking over the above list, I counted 47 names of drivers that have competed at the Dirt Oval, and have gone on to bigger things.  I know there are others that are not mentioned, above, too.  I wonder if there are other Kart tracks that might have similar results?

 

More racin’ stuff:

 

After doing the above results for former OVRP Dirt Oval runners, I’m wondering, why can’t all the racetracks in this area name their “Crate” Sportsman classes the same?  We have “Spec”, “Budget”, “Crate” and who knows what else they’re being called.

Looking at the Sportsman classes at Lebanon Valley, it looks like their “Budget” class has really taken off.  Will the Valley keep their regular Sportsman class in the future?  At OCFS, the run both the racing engine and Crate engine cars together, with the Crate cars having some extra “bonuses” to make them competitive.  Some weeks ago, at Accord, Kyle Rohner, in his “Spec” Sportsman car, was faster than some of the modifieds!

 

 

Other forums/message boards and websites:

 

You might find some interesting reading if you go to the links below.

 

Track Forum: - http://www.trackforum.com/forums/

 

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

 

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

Open Wheel Racers3:  http://www.openwheelracers3.com/

Race Pro Weekly:  http://raceproweekly.com/

 

 

 

 

Video time:

Over the years I imagine that there might have been a song that just sticks with you, right?  Well, I have one – “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by the Tokens.  I found a great video of the song, and after a while, it disappeared.  Oh, there were other versions by the Tokens, but not the one I’m talking about.  Well, I finally was able to dig it up, and went to play it.  Huh?  My sound go off?  Dammit!  Oh, wait, what’s that message there?

“NOTICE This video contains an audio track that has not been authorized by WMG. The audio has been disabled.”

Click on the link below.  There will be no sound, actually, unless you click on that little doo-hickey on the bottom right – 4th from the right.  You’ll get sound, ok, but some weird kind of noise, for sure.  To see what might have happened, scroll down a little and read some of the comments, that usually appear under videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdGiQi5AkMg&feature=related

Here’s a 2008 version – with sound:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHB_STa-lxI&feature=related

 

Is this true?:

We all get e-mails about our problems.  Some are true, while others get discredited by “Snopes”.  I’ve requested, from “Snopes” some info on what’s below, but chances are I might not get it prior to this column being published.

You might want to check these out.  I’ll let you decide or check them out for yourselves, or if you believe them.

First Amendment suspended in the Gulf of Mexico as spill cover-up goes Orwellian

http://www.naturalnews.com/029130_Gulf_of_Mexico_censorship.html

What Mainstream Media is Not Telling You about the Gulf Oil Cleanup

http://www.naturalnews.com/029127_Gulf_Coast_cleanup.html

 

 

Other (non racing) news:

 

The economy – still not looking too good, for sure:

 

8 Problems That Could Trigger a Double-Dip Recession

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/8-Problems-That-Could-Trigger-usnews-2034065513.html?x=0

 

Suit: Arizona immigration law crosses 'constitutional line'

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/3558838

 

 

In part:  “The Justice Department Tuesday sued Arizona over its tough new immigration law, charging the state with crossing a "constitutional line" that would undermine the federal government's efforts to monitor illegal aliens.”

 

Note:  I wonder if our government has any idea as to just how many of its citizens, and even other states, are FOR that Arizona law?

 

 

 

Closing with these:

 

Why the US is in deep trouble

A DC airport ticket agent offers some examples of why.

 

(First six of twelve)

1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman (Carol Shea-Porter) ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)

2. I got a call from a Kansas Congressman's (Moore) staffer (Howard Bauleke), who wanted to go to Cape Town. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, and then he interrupted me with, ''I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Cape Town is in Massachusetts.''
Without trying to make him look stupid, I calmly explained, '' Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Cape Town is in South Africa.'' His response -- click.

3. A senior Vermont Congressman (Bernie Sanders) called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state.
He replied, 'Don't lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!'' (OMG)

4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife (Landra Reid) who asked,

''Is it possible to see England from Canada ?''
I said, ''No.''
She said, ''But they look so close on the map.'' (OMG, again!)

5. An aide for a cabinet member (Janet Napolitano) once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. I pulled up the reservation and noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, ''I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.'' (Aghhhh)

6. An Illinois Congresswoman (Jan Schakowsky) called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 a.m., and got to Chicago at 8:33 a.m.

I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.

 

And to think – some of those people, above, were probably VOTED into office!  And, they probably “multiply”, too.  Scary, isn’t it?

 

Note:  Next week, the remaining six.

 

 

 

 

May “Guardian Angels” sit on the shoulders of all of our race drivers and race fans, and guide them safely around the tracks!

Drive safe! 

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