Mostly
Racin' Stuff
By
Tom Avenengo
Volume # 216
03/12/2015
This week’s
photo:
The
above photo is of Russ Klar in the Nagy # 36, after a race win. The other gentleman is Nick Fornoro, Sr. Russ's daughter, Anne is married to Nick's
son,
Drew. More about Russ is below in my "Mystery
Race" section.
Some
personal/family stuff:
Pretty quiet this week. Our "Baby" , Sarah, has a birthday
coming up on the 9th of March. Won't
tell ya how old she is, but she was born in 1973. She lives a little of north of where I am, in
North Port, Florida. My son, Eric, left
on Saturday afternoon, heading to North Carolina and searching for a job down
there. He, like me and so many others
just can't afford living in New York, anymore.
He'd like to stay in the same form of work - being a car painter.
Racin’
stuff:
Over on Facebook, there have been quite a
few photos posted of some Eastern States races from back in the day. Back when it was a one day show and featured
only modifieds. Photos showed jam packed
pits, drive-in and stands. One day in,
get it all done, and go home. Now, it
seems that you have to get there on Thursday, if you're race team, spend extra bucks on lodging &
eats and wait around. On top of that,
besides the modifieds, there are now 358 modifieds, sportsman, sprint cars,
street stocks and maybe a truck or two. Each team has maybe at least 3-4
members who pay "extra" because of it being a big "show".
Tire wear has been an issue, since the track is basically almost hard pan now,
instead of real clay. There's an additional
cost. Back in the day, you had quite a
few choices as to what you could eat.
Today, that's down to basically one vendor - Maxwell's.
People making mention of the track on
Social Media consider it to be a "dump", and, maybe they're
right. All one has to do is look around
to see how the whole place has deteriorated.
This is not good. What's worse
is, when they race there weekly, the stands are, well, let's say - not
full. One can arrive just as the racing
is starting and sit anywhere you desire.
Talk of no more Super Dirt Week up in
Syracuse after 2015. Somehow, I can see
the same thing happening in Middletown, NY.
Sad to have to say this about a place that has been around for so long,
a place that has bought such happiness & joy to thousands over the years
and a place where some well known drivers got their start. I should be quite interesting to see just
what the future holds.
Eldora
Speedway website hacked with ISIS message
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/eldora-speedway-website-hacked-with-isis-message-133941010.html
NASCAR
reinstates Kurt Busch; grants him waiver for Chase
http://news.yahoo.com/nascar-reinstates-kurt-busch-grants-him-waiver-chase-163912556--spt.html
Keselowski
crew chief placed on probation for rest of season
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/keselowski-crew-chief-placed-probation-rest-season-030150995--nascar.html
IndyCar: Simona de Silvestro
confirmed in fourth Andretti entry for St. Pete
http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2015/03/11/indycar-simona-de-silvestro-confirmed-in-fourth-andretti-entry-for-st-pete/
The
"Mystery Race":
It had to be in the late 60's - 68 or 69
(Aug 31, 1969?), when I ventured out to the Pocono Speedway to take in a 100
lap midget race on the 3/4 mile oval.
Both the ARDC and NEMA were sanctioning the event. The big track still had not been completed
yet. Best I know, it was the first race
ever held at Pocono. There were some concerns about tire wear, and
they had a tire test. After the test,
they felt it would be best to have a mandatory pit stop during that 100 lapper.
From what I can recall, Jimmy Kirk had the
fastest qualifying time in the Mike Sheehan Sesco. Maybe a tad too fast. The NEMA contingent said that if that car
ran, they would pull out of the race. It
didn't race. Keep in mind, this is when
midgets ran on both dirt and paved tracks, with the same cars, too. Oh, and no wings, either.
I had my eye on Russ Klar, in the Nagy
Offy, throughout the duration of the race, noticing that as the laps wound
down, he had not pitted for that tire change.
Come around - maybe lap 85, the announcer also made a comment about Russ
not pitting yet. Lap 90 passed - still
he had not pitted. Lap 95 - same thing -
he continued to lead the race and no pit stop.
Lap 99 and Russ took the white flag, still leading. As he came out of the 4th turn, he went onto
pit road. His crew physically picked up
the front end, changed the left front tire, and attempted to push him towards the track and the checkered
flag. An official stopped them. And there the car sat. Apparently that mandatory pit stop had to be
made between certain laps, or prior to the last lap? I don't know, for sure. When I left, I really wasn't sure who had
won.
Note:
This was posted on Facebook on Sunday AM:
Paul
Weisel - I was speaking
of the 1972 Pocono race on the .75 mile. I have no personal recollections of
who won -- I was busy. My records indicate the 9-4-72 event at Pocono was run
in two segments with Jimmy Kirk the winner of both. An event on 8-31-69 at
Pocono was won by Hubbard.
In fact, I wasn't sure for quite a few
years.
Then one night at an "Enduro"
race at OCFS, who was sitting in front of me buy Guy Smith. He's a writer for the AARN. I asked him if he had any idea as to who
won. He told me he'd check it out and
get back to me, which he did. He said
the winner was Johnny Hubbard. OK. But now, that seems to be debatable. No where can I find any info on this
race. So and so says "Joe Doe
" won. Another says "so and so"
won.
The Pocono records don't show the
results. Checking a win list for Johnny
Hubbard and nothing comes up on this particular race. So, the mystery remains - who won?
Back
in the day:
It sure was different back in the
day. You happen to catch the last few
laps of the XFINITYrace from Lost Wages?
Ryan Blaney was coming on like a tiger and about to pass the leader,
Austin Dillon. Back in the day, it would
not have been a problem, but things are different today. They don't race anymore - they block. I'd love to see all racing do away with
spotters and mirrors. All that really
should be necessary would be radio communication between the track and the
drivers.
Just wondering - NASCAR check the engine
in Dillons car? I see he was a lot
faster in qualifying. Oh wait - car is
owned by Richard Childress - sorry!
Super DIRT Week CEO says this year's event will be
at fairgrounds. After that? He isn't sure
http://www.syracuse.com/kirst/index.ssf/2015/03/state_fair_and_amphitheater_and_super_dirt_week.html#incart_story_package
Super DIRT week:
It's more than a race.
Toby LaGrange has a nice article about SDW and his
memories and thoughts.
http://raceproweekly.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5323%3Asuper-dirt-week-its-more-than-a-race&catid=3%3Acolumnists&Itemid=4
As for the Glenn Donnelly track:
I sent an email to one that is very much involved
with it, just to get an idea how things are progressing. He came back, with this:
"Tom:
Things are going well. By mid month or so, depending on the weather, Riccelli
will begin moving 200 trucks a day off the site of excess dirt. We have sold it
to Honeywell to cleanup the area around the lake.. The state will be opening up
the rest area for us to do so. Lan-Co will finish with the cut and fill and
layout of the oval and road course. by Spring. After that, ModSpace will start
the buildings and we will begin the tracks. We expect to be ready for a late
Spring to Early Summer opening in 2016"
Note: More on this below in the Track Forum
section.
I don't know about you, but I find it's getting very
tiring watching drivers sip from their soda bottles when being interviewed.
And, why is it necessary to put "Victory
lane" in the middle of the infield instead of on the track in front of the
fans? Surely with today's cameras it
could be held on the track instead of adding to the "show".
Well,
I'll be dam*ed:
A few months ago, if you
recall, the TBARA decided not to race in 2015.
Who stepped forward to help bail out Florida winged sprint car racing
but Davey Hamilton. My friend, Rich
Golardi, kept us informed, on
www.hoseheads.com as to what was happening.
From his first article on
this - in part:
"Hamilton Moves Forward With 2015
Plans for Florida King of the Wing Races
By
Richard Golardi
Davey
Hamilton spoke at the Sunday meeting with Florida’s sprint car racing community
in Gibsonton, FL. "I'm doing it then. I'll tell you right now I'm doing
it," he stated after hearing support from the racing community. During the
meeting, no one openly urged him not to go forward with his plans. The new
Southeast regional winged pavement sprint carseries would operate under the
banner of the King of the Wing Series. "I am going to start working on it
immediately," Hamilton stated. There were 16 Florida pavement sprint car
owners present at the meeting, which came to a little over half of the number
of entrants for The Frank Riddle Memorial in October (which had 31
entrants)."
And
Davey also answered some questions, too - again, in part:
"I
spoke to Davey Hamilton shortly after he had left the Southern California video
production facilities of MAVTV in Corona. The meeting concerned plans for the
airing of the 2015 King of the Wing sprint car races on MAVTV. After conducting
six races in 2014, the series will expand to twelve races in 2015, and Florida
will be included for the first time. But Davey Hamilton’s plans for Florida go
beyond one weekend of racing with three Florida races. He has planned a meeting
for this coming weekend in Gibsonton, and has invited the entire Florida sprint
car racing community to attend.
The following interview will serve to provide a summary of the points that Hamilton
plans to present at the meeting on Sunday.
Q. Why
bring the King of the Wing Series to Florida, and what are your intentions with
bringing the series to Florida?
A. I
want to keep the King of the Wing as a national tour, and we hope to race in
Florida. We have nine races confirmed, and we’d like to make it a twelve race
series, which would be four weekends, twelve races. We want to be in the
Midwest, we want to be in the Southeast, we want to be in California and the
Northwest. We’ve got everything but the Southeast taken care of. To kind of
clarify – the King of the Wing, that is the national races. Now Florida, that
would be under the King of the Wing banner. I haven’t completely come up with a
name, because I’m not going to move forward until after the meeting on Sunday
to make sure that everybody’s on board with my plan. Without the racers and
without cooperation, I’m nobody. I need support. I’m doing the regional series
in California. I’m doing the regional series in the Midwest. The Northwest has
called about me coming up there and taking over their regional part. I’m trying
to get every sprint car that runs on pavement with a wing on the same rules
package.
I spent over a year reading everybody’s rule book, and dissecting it and seeing
where the differences are. The difficult part was the engines. Some were 360s,
some were cast iron, there were 410s, I mean it was just all over the place. I
had to put them on dynos, and then the chassis dynos, just to make sure that at
the end of the day we had the same numbers. Now that that’s worked, and we’ve
been able to prove that it’s worked, it’s allowed us to do the regional type
programs where no matter what kind of engine you have, you could participate.
You could get the car count up, and make it much less expensive at the end of
the day.
To make the series stronger as a whole, I’m willing to come down to Florida and
work directly with the promoters. A lot of the tracks told me that they are
behind the concept. Without the racers, we don’t have anything. It’s like I’m
going to explain to the racers – without you, I’m nothing. I’m going to make
the best decisions possible for you guys, because it’s my money on the line. I
don’t want to lose it. This is a very important meeting on Sunday. As a club,
when they had their club meeting, I wasn’t invited to the meeting because I’m
not a member and I didn’t race with their series.
Q. You
are referring to the TBARA meeting that was held earlier this month?
A.
That’s correct. At the meeting, they basically decided no one wanted to run it
anymore. Dave Steele said the checkbook was like a hot potato. Nobody wanted to
hang onto that darn thing. So they made a decision that let’s have Davey come
in and tell what he has to offer, and let’s just put TBARA on hiatus for a little
while, just to see if this is a better program. Here’s who I’ve invited to the
meeting on Sunday – I’ve invited owners, drivers, sponsors, promoters, media,
fans, whoever.
To see
all of what was said, when you go to Hoseheads, scroll down to "Florida
Open Wheel".
Now, it
seems there might be a huge "Monkey Wrench" thrown into this -
An email
I received from USAC this past Monday:
USAC Racing Announces Major
Organizational Changes
Davey Hamilton Named Executive Director
of USAC Racing
Note: Quite a bit being said on this on the
Internet. I've heard that Davey will be
in charge of winged midgets & sprint cars, with USAC. Also heard that, in Florida, the newly
created winged sprint car series would be USAC.
Then I get this, via Facebook,
from 3 Palms Speedway, one of the tracks that was supposed to host one
of the newly sanctioned winged sprints:
"Tbra is coming back to
life.. Sprints should be here in apirl"
Note: I've
had the OK from Rich Golardi as far as me taking things from his articles on
Hoseheads and putting them in my columns.
On Wedensday, 3/11/15, Rich linked to what follows, via Facebook. Yeah, it's a little long.
TBARA and King of the Wing and USAC –
Florida’s Winged Sprint Car Cocktail
By Richard Golardi
USAC racing wasn’t always open wheel cars on dirt, as it is mainly
viewed today. For nearly thirty years, the USAC Stock Car Division once rivaled
NASCAR in popularity, racing mainly in the Midwest and Northeast. They raced on
pavement tracks as well as dirt tracks and road courses. Winged pavement sprint
car racing is USAC racing’s new venture, to be led by King of the Wing series
founder and owner Davey Hamilton. It’s a major departure from non-wing dirt
sprint cars, USAC’s core series. On Monday, Hamilton was announced as the new
Executive Director of USAC Racing, effective immediately. He will retain his
ownership of the King of the Wing series, which will now be USAC sanctioned.
The previously announced eleven race schedule for the series, racing
exclusively on pavement with wings, will be retained. A Florida race on April
10th at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola will begin the 2015 season.
“King of the Wing will be
run the same just under the USAC banner,” Hamilton told me on Monday. “I am
full steam ahead with King of the Wing and it will be under the USAC banner and
want to continue with the Southern Sprint Car Series,” he added. The Southern
Sprint Car Series is a regional series for Florida, Alabama and Georgia, to be
run under the King of the Wing aegis. The new series was announced earlier this
year, when it appeared that the TBARA would not race in 2015 and two February
TBARA races were cancelled by New Smyrna Speedway. Subsequently, a February
TBARA member meeting was held, which resulted in the election of some new club
officers and the stated intention to race this year. I spoke to both TBARA Vice
President Josh Wichers and Davey Hamilton and asked about their plans for
Florida, and if both series can co-exist in The Sunshine State.
Davey
Hamilton got a very positive response from all but one of the Florida track
owners that he contacted regarding scheduling races this year under the
Southern Sprint Car Series banner. Many remarked that they never had anyone
offer to do co-promotion with them to try to build the series. He found that
the track owners like sprint cars, but they know of the controversy and the
discontent within the pavement sprint car ranks. He has been driving to each race
track, to meet face-to-face with each track owner or promoter. Hamilton has
also spoken to Josh Wichers about TBARA’s plans for this year.
“The Southern Sprint Car
Series has points races scheduled at Pensacola and at Mobile, on April 10th and
11th. After that, if TBARA does decide to reactivate, then I’ll probably just
stand back and let TBARA do their thing. If they do not decide to reactivate,
then I’ll continue on going to Florida to schedule additional races for the
year,” Hamilton said. But instead of 8 to 10 races in the Southern Series,
would there be only half that number this year, because of the delay in the
2015 schedule being finalized? “My goal would be 7 to 10. I think that’s really
doable. I talked to Three Palms (in Punta Gorda), and he talked about doing
four races with our series. We need to start racing for better money. I think
the opportunities are huge down there. You probably heard my excitement in the
meeting. The opportunity is there to get a lot of additional cars down there during
the winter months from up here in the north. I had some sponsors. Everything
seemed to be really in the right direction. I’m not a controversial guy. I
think I even said it – if you guys want me, I’m here. If you don’t want me, and
want somebody else to do it, that’s great too, just as long as it’s going to
happen, right?”
“That’s
why I talked to Josh,” Hamilton said, referring to his last phone call to TBARA
officer Josh Wichers. “I asked him, do you intend on scheduling races and
moving ahead, pursuing TBARA races at the same tracks as usual? He said yes. I
said OK, if you’re going to do that, then I’m not going to step in your way.
There’s no sense in me coming in there. I’ll support you in any way to make it
strong. That’s kind of where I made the final decision. If he told me, ‘no I’m
not even going to do it this year’, well I’m not even slowing down. I told them
if anything changes, and you don’t think you’re going to be able to move
forward, please give me a call and let me know. And then I’ll proceed on.I
don’t want to have two series down there working against each other, because
somebody’s always the bad guy in that. My hope is that Josh calls up and says
you know what, we are going to put it on ice for one year to allow you to come
and see what you can pull off down here,” according to Davey Hamilton.
Winged pavement sprint car racing teams, drivers and fans may need
to wait a couple of months with the holding pattern that has developed for
Florida sprint car racing. Without an announced schedule for either TBARA or
the Southern Sprint Car Series beyond April, will one of the two parties step
aside and allow the other to be the sole winged pavement series for Florida
this year? Will Florida tracks run their own winged pavement sprint car races to
fill the void? Desoto Speedway and Showtime Speedway did exactly that during
February.
“He did call me and we did speak,” Josh Wichers told me, referring
to his phone call with Davey Hamilton. “He asked what my plans were, and I told
him that following our annual meeting that we planned on, as a series, moving
forward. We are still going to run down here as TBARA with our 360s. He said
that there’s not enough room for both of us, and I kind of concur. We talked
about a lot of stuff. Some ideas back and forth. I wished him luck. I said that
if you can come down here and run a few, it gives their guys a place to go run.
For now, I think we’re just going to continue with our weekend warrior series.”
Wichers said that he met with a track owner on Saturday, in his
duty of developing a TBARA race schedule for this year. The track was Three
Palms Speedway in Punta Gorda. The two parties plan to race at the southwest
Florida track once the spectator grandstands are completed. Tentative talks
have outlined three possible races at Three Palms, with one in the spring and
two in the fall. Other possible tracks include New Smyrna Speedway and Citrus
County Speedway, with a pair of races at each track. Auburndale Speedway was
mentioned also, for a desired total of eight races for 2015. “If I can get
eight races this year, I think I’ll be pretty satisfied moving forward,
considering where we’re at right now,” Wichers said.
Would it be best for Florida for TBARA to step aside, now that the
King of The Wing has USAC sanctioning, and the possibility of greater media
exposure, sponsor involvement, and prize money for its Southeast regional
sprint car series? “Do I think that our guys are ready for something like that?
I would have to say the majority are not,” Wichers responded. “Now don’t get me
wrong. I feel that we have some of the most talented drivers anywhere in the
country. But we’ve been running 360s for forty plus years. And for them to try
to make the transition to 410s, I think it’s going to be a bit of a process for
them. More than three years. I think it’ll take a lot more than three years to
make that happen. As far as them coming down if that’s going to change anything
that we’re going to do? I would say, not at this point. I don’t know what their
plans are, but Jerry (Mathis) and I still plan on moving forward and doing our
thing down here.” Jerry Mathis is the newly elected club President, elected
during last month’s Sarasota club meeting. Ann Gimmler is the Secretary, and
the appointed Treasurer is Ernie Teed Sr.
“I hope we would hold our first race by mid-April.”A tentative
race schedule readied by mid-April is also planned. “It’s going to be very
difficult for a lot of tracks to maneuver their schedules around, trying to fit
us in.” What if the King of the Wing series states that they will back out of
their southeast regional plans if TBARA announces a 2015 race schedule for
Florida? “We’re going to move forward regardless,” Josh Wichers stated
emphatically. “Whether he’s in or not. We have to. We can’t sit on our hands
any longer. We’ve been stalled too long. Our guys want to go race. The tracks
are now doing their own thing and that’s going to diminish our product.”
Could TBARA transform itself into something different for the
future, perhaps going to non-wing 360 racing only, and thereby not competing
with other winged pavement series planning to race in Florida? “I’ve always
said change is inevitable. We have to transition with the times and we have to
do what is best for our racers. We did discuss in our annual meeting about
scheduling some non-wing races this year. And there was overwhelming support on
doing that. I’m the Vice President of the TBARA, so I have to look out for
what’s good for the members.”
The most
recent race video from the Florida Open Wheel channel, “USAC National Sprint
Cars at East Bay Raceway Park, February 2015”is here:
From
Jayski:
http://www.jayski.com/news/pages/story/_/page/NASCAR-Television-Listings
Another
driver hits unprotected wall:
For the
third week in a row, a NASCAR race car went headfirst into a concrete wall
unprotected by a SAFER barrier, though this time the driver was uninjured. On a
Lap 173 restart during Saturday's Boyd Gaming 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney got loose on the bottom lane, his Team
Penske Ford drifting up into the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Erik Jones. After the
contact, Jones lost control of his car, which first swung left and then turned
back to the right, where it went hard headfirst into a concrete wall. Jones was
able to get under the car on his own and appeared uninjured.
Last week, Jeff Gordon crashed headfirst into a concrete infield wall at
Atlanta Motor Speedway after being hit by Jamie McMurray and turned down the
track. During the same incident, Denny Hamlin hit a section of the outside wall
that had no SAFER barrier. In the season-opening XFINITIY race at Daytona
International Speedway last month, JGR driver Kyle Busch suffered a compound
fracture of the lower-right leg and a mid-foot fracture of his left foot when
his car hit an unprotected infield wall. Numerous tracks have begun programs to
improve safety, either by adding more SAFER barriers, tire walls and other
enhancements. Gordon has a meeting with NASCAR next week to discuss safety.(FoxSports)(3-8-2015)
PIR considering SAFER upgrade to safety tire wall:
NASCAR
drivers apparently won't know until after Sunday's CampingWorld.com 500 if the
tires stacked inside Phoenix International Raceway's Turn 4, near pit entrance,
will be replaced with a permanent SAFER barrier to soften impact against the
concrete wall. Safety - specifically, increased use of so-called
"soft" wall technology - has been a major issue since Kyle Busch
suffered leg and foot fractures last month at Daytona International Speedway.
He's sidelined indefinitely. Jeff Gordon avoided injury after a hard hit two
weeks ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Both struck walls not protected with SAFER
(Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers, first used at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway in 2002, which reduces G-force impact kinetic energy by over
50%. A NASCAR official last week recommended the 160-foot long tire wall - four
high and two deep - after a track inspection. "The way we're going to approach
this is work closely with NASCAR and ISC (International Speedway Corp., PIR's
parent) on a thorough and updated review," said PIR President Bryan
Sperber. "We'll be thoughtful about it. It will be a constant
evolution." SAFER costs about $500 a foot. Race cars have sometimes
bounced off tire walls and back into oncoming traffic. "If that was a
concern, it wasn't mentioned to me," Sperber said.(Arizona Republic)(3-10-2015)
Financial reports provide insight into seating capacities for tracks that
host NASCAR races:
Each year,
publicly traded companies that own race tracks must list their grandstand
seating capacities. International Speedway Corp., which owns 12 tracks that
NASCAR races, issued its report in January. Speedway Motorsports Inc., which
owns eight tracks NASCAR races, and Dover Motorsports Inc., which owns one
track with Sprint Cup races, issued their reports last week. With those
reports, a list of seating capacities can be compiled for the NASCAR circuit.
Only Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway - both privately owned - do
not release such information. The Indianapolis Star has reported the seating
capacity at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as 235,000. Among tracks that report
seating capacity, Daytona International Speedway remains the largest at 147,000
- but that won't last much longer. Once the Daytona Rising project is
completed, Daytona will have about 101,000 seats. That project is set to be
completed in time for next year's Daytona 500. Six of the top 10 tracks that
report seating capacities are owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc., including
Bristol Motor Speedway, which is set to take over the No. 1 spot next year with
its seating capacity of 146,000.(see more at NBC Sports)(3-10-2015)
Kurt Busch discusses reinstatement:
#41-Kurt
Busch held a teleconference Wednesday afternoon:
KURT BUSCH: It means the world to me to be back in
the car. It's been a tough situation the last few months, and I've gone through
this with confidence knowing that I know the truth and that I never did any of
the things that I was accused of. It was a complete fabrication. But it's
unfortunate that my personal life crossed over and affected my business life,
but I can't wait to get to the track, to see my team, to shake their hands and
say thanks for the support, and to go out there and make my first lap this
weekend.
Q. I'm wondering during the last few
weeks what you felt you were fighting for, and maybe the answer is all of the
above, if you were fighting for your reputation, your innocence, or your
career?
KURT BUSCH: Well, I understand why NASCAR needed
to take the action that it did. This is a very serious issue. I mean, the way
that NASCAR reacted, it was different than what we had been told all along.
They were more focused on the criminal side, as were we, but the commissioner's
ruling was not necessarily what was the important factor here. The important
factor is that what I was accused of was a complete fabrication, and I never
wavered through this whole process because of the confidence in the truth, and
I had the support from Gene Haas and everybody at SHR, and that's where my
focus has been. It's been on the racing side of it, and I never lost that
confidence and that drive, and so it's a humbling experience, but it's made me
more focused and determined.
Q. Kurt, you talked about kind of
regaining your reputation. Will you still keep "Outlaw" above the
door to your car? Do you still kind of go with that outlaw persona? Does that
have to change or is that still who you are?
KURT BUSCH: You know, my focus is the race car. My
reputation has always been what I've done behind the wheel, and it's moments
that I hope to battle and put out on the track like I did with Ricky Craven in
the closest finish in the history of NASCAR, it's to focus on the wins at the
tracks that I haven't won on or to deliver for Gene Haas on the trophies that
he signed me on for that he wants in his trophy room. My reputation will iron
itself out in whichever way that it is, but my focus is the race car, and as I
move forward, I'm putting my signature above the door of the car, and I'm proud
to have my signature on the side of a car that Gene Haas has and to carry his
name into victory lane.
Q. I'm curious if you can give any
details about what NASCAR and the outside expert that they summoned to put you
through the paces here required of you, and secondly, what's been the hardest
part about this whole thing for you?
KURT BUSCH: You know, I'm appreciative of the
process, of the road to recovery. To me it's a roadmap that they laid out that
I am respecting. It's created such a good foundation to utilize moving forward
that I wish I would have done it sooner. And the hardest part about all of this
has been sitting out watching the 41 car go around the racetrack, especially at
the Daytona 500. Atlanta is one of my favorite tracks, and Las Vegas is my
hometown track. It's been torture sitting out of the car.
Q. What did you learn being out of the
race car, because difficult times teach everybody something. As you sat out of
the car and went through all of this for a very long time, what did you learn
being out of the car? What did you learn during this time period? And will it
be hard to race the way that you race with all attention on you as you move
forward?
KURT BUSCH: You know what I learned, the best
thing is or what I have been to deal with and what's been the hardest is out of
the race car. Being in that race car is a privilege, and it's a feeling that
you can't describe when you go out there for practice each and every weekend.
You drive down into the corner, the car sticks, you stand on the gas, and you
drive out of the corner, it's an experience that not a lot of people get to do,
and I get a chance to race against the best in the world in NASCAR. Talking
with Brian France and going through this road, he told me, he says, don't
change. Don't be the person that's different in the car, but be a different
person outside of the car, and so Brian said, go be yourself in that car.
That's what we really love. We love Kurt Busch behind the wheel. Go out there,
use that passion, go for those wins, and that's my focus is to be humble
through this whole process but let actions speak louder than words. (Chevy
Racing)(3-11-2015)
From
Track Forum:
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/forum.php
Foyt--Trophy
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php/192524-Foyt-Trophy
Moody Mile -- Replacement?
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php/192556-Moody-Mile-Replacement
Competition Yellow
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php/192537-Competition-Yellow
From the Dirt Track Digest Forum:
http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/
A lot more
now about New York State, Syracuse, the Fairgrounds and Super Dirt Week:
super dirt week
http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/topic/53047-super-dirt-week/
Jumpin Jack
Night at FONDA
http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/topic/53058-jumpin-jack-night-at-fonda/
‘Hard Clay Open’ Awards &
Bonuses: Orange County Fair Speedway/Middletown, N.Y. April 7, 2015
*Last updated March 11, 2015
American Racer/Lias Tire Bonuses: Via a random drawing, one driver
finishing in positions 6-10 and another driver placing in positions 11-15 will
each receive a certificate for a FREE American Racer tire courtesy of Lias
Tire, the regional American Racer distributor in Indiana, Pa. Lias Tire
is online atwww.liastireonline.com.
ATL Fuel Cell Bonus: The fifth-place finisher in the ‘Hard
Clay Open’ 50-lap Modified event will receive a $100 product certificate for
use at ATL Fuel Cells. The official ATL Fuel Cells website is:www.atlfuelcells.com.
Behrent’s Performance Warehouse
Bonuses: The drivers
finishing fourth and ninth, respectively, in the ‘Hard Clay Open’ 50-lap
Modified event will receive $50 gift cards courtesy of Behrent’s Performance
Warehouse in Florida, N.Y. Behrent’s is online at www.behrents.com.
Bob Hilbert Sportswear Bonuses: The drivers finishing second, 12th and
22nd in the ‘Hard Clay Open’ 50-lap Modified event will each
receive a $100 gift certificate for use at Bob Hilbert Sportswear in Boyertown,
Pa. Bob Hilbert Sportswear is on the web at www.bobhilbert.com.
Elmo’s Speed & Supply Crate 602
Sportsman Bonuses: The
winner of the ‘Hard Clay Open’ Crate 602 Sportsman 25-lap main will receive an
increased $1,250 thanks to Elmo’s Speed & Supply of Ballston Lake, N.Y. The
highest-finishing Crate 602 driver with an Elmo’s Speed & Supply decal on
their car will also receive $100 cash and a $50 store credit. Find Elmo’s Speed
& Supply on the web at:www.elmosspeedandsupply.com.
Fast Axle Bonus: The driver finishing seventh in the
‘Hard Clay Open’ 50-lap Modified main will receive a $50 product certificate
for use at Fast Axle. To learn more about Fast Axle and Front Axle Special
Technology LLC, visit www.fastaxle.com.
Grand Rental Station of Middletown
Hard Charger Award: The driver advancing the most positions in the ‘Hard Clay Open’
event from their scheduled starting position to the finish of the 50-lap
Modified main will receive a $500 cash bonus courtesy of Grand Rental Station
Tool & Party Rental Center of Middletown, N.Y. Grand Rental Station is on
the web at www.grandrentalmiddletown.com.
Hi-Tek Race Fuel/VP Racing Fuel
Bonuses: The
top-three drivers in the ‘Hard Clay Open’ Modified event utilizing Hi-Tek Race
Fuel or VP Racing Fuel, and displaying the corresponding decal on their car,
will each receive $50 Hi-Tek/VP credits. VP Racing Fuel is online at www.vpracingfuels.com and Hi-Tek Race Fuel is on the web
at www.hitekfuels.com.
‘Lucky 7’ Lap Money: Lap money, at a minimum of $20 per lap,
will be distributed to drivers running inside the top-seven during the ‘Hard
Clay Open’ 50-lap Modified main event. More than $700 in lap money has already
been collected for the event.
McGannon Excavating 21st-Place
Bonus: The
driver placing 21st in the 50-lap ‘Hard Clay Open’ Modified
event will earn a cash bonus of $210 courtesy of McGannon Excavating in
Garnerville, N.Y. The bonus brings a driver’s payout for 21st to
an astounding $710!
Rock Fantasy Halfway Bonus: The driver leading the halfway lap, 25,
in the 50-lap ‘Hard Clay Open’ Modified main event will receive $400 cash
thanks to Rock Fantasy Hard Rock, Metal, and Classic Rock Concert Shop &
Smoke Shop owner Stephen Keeler. Rock Fantasy, located in Middletown, N.Y., is
on the web at www.rockfantasy.com.
Shiley Fabrication Hard Luck Award: A driver selected by officials and media
members as the ‘Hard Clay Open’ Hard Luck Award recipient will receive a set of
bumpers and rubrails from Shiley Fabrication of Williamstown, Pa. Shiley
Fabrication is online at www.shileyfabrication.com.
S&W Awards & Photos Provides
Winner’s Hardware: The
‘Hard Clay Open’ Modified and Crate 602 Sportsman event winners will receive
custom-produced hardware from S&W Awards & Photos of Lindley, N.Y.
Vahlco Wheels Bonus: The driver finishing fifth in the
50-lap ‘Hard Clay Open’ Modified main event will receive a FREE wheel courtesy
of Vahlco Wheels. The wheels will be given out on-site; no certificates needed.
To learn more about Vahlco Wheels, visit www.vahlco.com.
Zubi’s Racing Heat Race Hard Charger
Awards: The driver
advancing the most positions from scheduled starting position to the finish of
each ‘Hard Clay Open’ Modified heat race will receive a $50 cash bonus courtesy
of Zubi’s Racing owner David Zubikowski.
Brett Deyo
BD Motorsports Media
www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com
BD Motorsports Media on Facebook
No BS. No Politics. Real Racing.
From
the AARN:
This week in the AARN
Syracuse Super
DIRT Week In Jeopardy For 2016 And Beyond
Weather
Cancellations Continue To Plague Northeastern Speedway Promoters; Openers
Delayed
No Repeat
Winners: McCarl, Brown Swell WoO Swell WoO ‘15 Sprint List
All Stars
Release Sprint Schedule; Some Pennsy Renegade Races Cut
Bradford
Speedway To Reopen In 2015 Under New Ownership
Church
Worshipped By PASS South Rivals In S.C. Opener
‘Specials Only’
For Lake Erie After Track Sale Talks Collapse
Trail-Way Says
360s, 305s Can Run Together In 2015
NEMA To Journey
To Chemung Speedrome For First Time
29th Motorsports
Expo To Open Central New York State Racing Season This Weekend
New Ohio Late
Model Speedweek Is Announced
And some other
stuff I dug up:
After being
closed for two years, the Bradford Speedway, in PA will see racing action again
in 2015.
Andy Bachetti
will run at the I-88 Speedway, rather than Accord, on Friday nights. He'll still make a few appearances at the
"Big A".
Rolling Wheels,
Central New York Raceway Park, Bridgeport and the Atlantic City Race Course -
some 5 hours south of Syracuse, and a one mile dirt horse track, are being
mentioned in Lenny Sammons column as to alternatives IF the Syracuse track is
lost. The Atlantic City track ceased
operations on January 16, 2015. Some
major work would have to be done at that track.
In another
article on Syracuse, by Sammons, he says that NY Governor Cuomo said there
would be much discussion and public hearing before work begins.
Note: So what are those photos we've seen on the
Internet with all the heavy equipment?
Your
thoughts: Ernie Saxton thinks
NASACAR should get rid of their current
qualifying system and go to heat races.
Ernie and I
think the same on quite a few things - like letting 3 year olds race.
Over 40 teams
have signed an Oswego Commitment Roster to compete at every race in 2015. The speedway has agreed to pay the racers an
increased and guaranteed purse for their loyalty.
Two pages were
dedicated to a Q&A session between Lenny Sammons and Mike Laguzza (Pay Dirt
- who bought Rolling Wheels).
I see a possible
problem between Rolling Wheels and DIRTcar.
The Wheels had scheduled a "Detonator" race for Wednesday, May
20th. DIRTcar has an SDS race that same
date at Canandaigua. Per the Wheels,
that May 20th event is sold out. When
asked if they've been in touch with Jeremy Corcoran (Canandaigua), they have
not, but did get a message from him saying he will not change his date.
Note: On that May 20th date - Q&A from the article:
Q: The Detonator
opener on Wednesday, May 20th is scheduled against a Super Dirt car
Series event at N,Y's Canandaigua Speedway.
Has there been discussion regarding ending the date conflict?
A: Not much.
Q: Is a war developing between
DIRTcar/Canandaigua and Pay Dirt with modified drivers caught in the crossfire? Can a drivr skip Wednesday and race Thursday
and Sunday for the big money?
A: There is not a war developing, but we have
asked for that date months and months ahead of any other track. Considering we revised our entire schedule so
we did not conflict with other tracks is upsetting that this happened.
Mr. Skotnicki
(former DIRTcar Northeast Director) was well aware of this and we have the
appropriate documentation required to prove this.
John Matrafailo
(he was a classmate of my daughter Judy in the Washingtonville NY High School)
is looking for a three-peat as the driving champion with the CRSA 305
Sprints. First we knew he raced was at a
midget race at OCFS when the ARDC raced there many, many years ago. After running some regular sprint cars, he was
offered a ride in the Chuck Alessi owned 305.
He's been in them ever since. He
likes the 305's mainly because of the rules and Frenchy Grimes. Yes, he says there are a few $20,000.00
engines in the CRSA, but his is about half of that and he still manages to run
up front.
Herb Anastor
continued with part 2 of the Joe Barzda story.
In the article was a beautiful photo of "Basement Bessie", a
well known Champ car.
Found on the South Jersey Dirt Racing
Forum:
Posted by New Egypt Speedway:
"Today was the first day our track crew was able to dig into the track
and unfortunately after digging we discovered the frost is much deeper and
thicker than expected. With the lows predicted in the 20s much of next week, we
unfortunately have decided to cancel the Cabin Fever event scheduled for
Saturday, March 21st. Our first event will now be Open Practice on
Saturday, March 28th with
a rain date of Wednesday, April 1st. Thank you to everyone who was
getting ready and helping us with the event! We look forward to a great season
opener on Saturday, April 4th."
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Author: Warren Alston Date: 3/11/2015 1:46:30 PM |
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Last weekend, I was one of the
instructors for the first annual Track Services Safety
Summit. We had over 75 attendees from 4 states in addition to our
safety teams and track operators from all three race tracks in NJ.
I believe there is an article in this weeks AARN to further discuss the
summit. One of the items discussed was
this new helmet removal device. This new device,
which many of us feel, will improve the process of removing the helmet
on an injured driver. I've have added the link below so you can see the
device in action. The Stand 21 Lid Lifter provides the SFI protection
of a head sock, as the lid lifter device is built in to the
sock. If I recall Mark Blackwell from Metal Fab can order these
for you and the cost was around $129.00. The video clip speaks for
its self on how much the lid lifter reduces the movement in the C-Spine
(neck). Thank you for taking the
time to look at the clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaCXhsvAsGo Be safe, Warren |
Press Releases:
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This weeks video:
This week it's not about a
race, race driver, or accidents. Well,
in a way, yes, accidents. It's about a
well known personality in motor sports - Dr. Terry Trammel. If you have about 13 minutes to spare, might
I suggest you watch this:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=829927923748977&fref=nf
Facebook stuff:
This came out on Tuesday evening. Any idea as to who might have posted it? Answer in next week's column.
The
year was 2001 Flemington has closed there for ever. I lost everything in my
life time prime, equipment, my mother home. Then it happen my son call me get
home quickly. We were target of a home invasion thru out our street. I stuffer
a Heart Attack when I enter the back door of my house.Follow with a stroke. I
was saved because the police was already at my house writing the report.
Rushing me too the Hospital half a mile up my street. The doctor told me it was
a miracle I was alive. I believe today it was the hands of God. He
wanted me to lived for a reason. Many racers supported me for my recovery
including Doug
Wolcott, Doug Wolfgang. Thank
You both. Also two outstanding Ladies who help so hard to getting back too the
tracks photography were the Late Janet Brice and Debbie
Gastelu they knew what this mean for me. Thank You again for all your help.
Non racin' stuff:
Some accomplishments of our
"President" - Part 1:
Obama has actually accomplished
quite a bit, and here’s a long list of his accomplishments, so stop bashing,
haters!
First President to be photographed smoking a joint.
First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was
a foreigner.
First President to have a social security number from a state he has never
lived in.
First President to preside over a cut to the credit-rating of the United
States.
First President to violate the War Powers Act.
First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil
drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third
party.
First President to spend a trillion dollars on “shovel-ready” jobs when there
was no such thing as “shovel-ready” jobs.
First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to
his union supporters.
First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through
executive fiat.
First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation
of illegal immigrants across the U.S., including those with criminal
convictions.
First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his
political appointees.
First President to tell a CEO of a major corporation (Chrysler) to resign.
Yeah, right:
Obama
says learned about Clinton's emails from news reports: CBS
This
came out on Tuesday:
Meanwhile,
the White House has now admitted that President Obama did not tell the truth in
a TV interview in which he claimed that he didn’t know his then-secretary of
state was using private email and not an official government account, and that
he only learned about the practice after seeing the news.
White
House spokesman Josh Earnest acknowledged Monday that President Obama did
exchange e-mails with Clinton while she was the nation’s top diplomat and knew
she was using a private e-mail account.
Obama had said during a CBS News interview that he learned of Clinton’s
non-governmental e-mail system “the same time everybody else learned it,
through news reports.”
Read more at
http://www.westernjournalism.com/breaking-heres-what-hillary-says-shell-now-do-as-trey-gowdy-blasts-state-dept-on-emails/#3jH0iy4fHsMbKc8s.99
Banning
the American flag? Why UC Irvine flap might be glimpse of future
http://news.yahoo.com/banning-american-flag-why-uc-irvine-flap-might-120115563.html
There
was a photo posted on Facebook showing just who those students were that voted
on banning the American flag. They are:
Mathew
Guevara, Khaalidah Sidney, Naty Rico, John Salazar, Matthew Tsai and Negar
Fatahi. Yup, not one is American.
Yup! This clown fits right in with the rest of the
corrupt people that are running (ruining) our country!
Suspicious Fires
Twice Destroyed Key Sharpton Records
by
JILLIAN KAY MELCHIOR, National Review
As
Al Sharpton ran for mayor of New York City in 1997 and for president in 2003,
fires at his offices reportedly destroyed critical financial records, and he
subsequently failed to comply with tax and campaign filing requirements.
The
first fire began in the early hours of April 10, 1997, in a hair-and-nail salon
one floor below Sharpton’s campaign headquarters at 70 West 125th Street. From
the start, investigators deemed the fire “suspicious” because of “a heavy volume
of fire on arrival” and because many of the doors remained unlocked after
hours, according to the New York Fire Department’s fire-and-incident report.
As
the fire crept upward into Sharpton’s headquarters, it destroyed nearly
everything, including computers, files, and campaign records, the Reverend’s
spokesperson at the time told Newsday, adding that “we have lost our entire
Manhattan operation.” But a source knowledgeable about the investigation tells
National Review Online that Sharpton’s office was mostly empty, and that the
damage was not extensive.
http://nation.foxnews.com/2015/03/11/suspicious-fires-twice-destroyed-key-sharpton-records
Emails:
Yes, quite a few times we get
emails that might not seem believable.
Check this one out that I got on Tuesday:
AMERICA'S HUNTERS Pretty Amazing!
A blogger added up the deer license sales in just a handful of
states and arrived at a striking conclusion:
There were over 600,000 hunters this season in the state of
Wisconsin .... Allow me to restate that number: 600,000!
Over the last several months, Wisconsin's hunters became the
eighth largest army in the world.
(That’s more men under arms
than in Iran .. More than France and Germany combined.)
These men, deployed to the woods of a single American state,
Wisconsin, to hunt with firearms, And NO ONE WAS KILLED.
That number pales in comparison to the 750,000 who hunted the
woods of Pennsylvania and Michigan's 700,000 hunters, ALL OF WHOM HAVE RETURNED
HOME SAFELY.
Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia and it
literally establishes the fact that the Hunters of those four states alone
would comprise the largest army in the world.
And then add in the total number of hunters in the other 46
states. It's millions more.
________ The point? ________
America will forever be safe from foreign invasion with that kind
of home-grown firepower! Hunting... it's not just a way to fill the freezer.
It's a matter of national security.
That's why all enemies, foreign and domestic, want to see us
disarmed.
Food for thought, when next we consider gun control. Overall it's
true, so if we disregard some assumptions that hunters don't possess the same
skills as soldiers, the question would still remain... What army of 2 million
would want to face 30 million, 40 million, or 50 million armed citizens??? For
the sake of our freedom, don't ever allow gun control or confiscation of guns.
(If you agree, as I do, pass it on, I feel good that I have an
army of millions who would protect
our land and I sure don't want the government taking control of the possession
of firearms)
AMERICA! Designed by geniuses, Run by idiots!
And, to go along with the above email, I had this sent to me on
Tuesday evening:
Another
interesting story about the Swiss is that during the early 1900s, Kaiser
Wilhelm of Germany brought his 10 top rifle marksmen to Switzerland for a
shooting competition. When the day was over, the Swiss had placed 1 through
10 and the Germans 11 through 20. Kaiser Wilhelm, visibly embarrassed,
asked the Swiss how many men they had under arms. The Swiss replied that
all Swiss men were armed – 1 million of them. The Kaiser said he had 4
million men in his army and asked what the Swiss would do if he invaded.
The Swiss replied that each man would fire 4 shots and go home. The
Germans never invaded Switzerland.
The Swiss don’t
have as many hunters as we do but they have a law that REQUIRES every male over
the age of 21 to maintain a fully automatic rifle and 1000 rounds of ammunition
in their home. Every year they are required to demonstrate their
proficiency with the weapon. Those that can’t must go to summer camp for
two weeks of training. I don’t know of anyone planning to invade them
either.
This weeks joke:
Well, not really
a joke, but reality:
On Facebook on
Tuesday evening:
Went
to auto zone today: me:: I need a clutch for 1988 Toyota 4 runner (autozone
worker) says is it standard or automatic? Really wtf?
I
mean, really? More than likely the
autozone worker is a college grad.
Until my next column – next
week
Columns are
available on the Dirt Track Digest at: http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/ at Contributing Columnists
And:
http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/