Racin'
& Internet Stuff:
By Tom Avenengo
Volume # 34
10/14/2010
First:
Over the years I’ve seen my
share of bad accidents on the racetracks that I’ve been to. I’ve seen some that looked bad and weren’t –
like the time my grandson was thrown out of his Kart in front of the whole
field, and no one hit him. The Kart –
that’s another story. I’ve witnessed
some accidents that proved fatal, too, to the driver. How Shane Hmiel survived the accident he had
last weekend, at
Note # 1: As of Tuesday evening, it was up to 13 pages
– 14 by Wednesday
Note # 2: Somehow, the video, on youtube, is back
up. Not sure for how long, but here’s
the link, below. Warning: It is a very scary looking accident. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txca5xYVFiM
Note: I don’t know
if this will work – a link to a special Facebook page for Shane: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Shane-Hmiel-Road-to-Recovery/156856564346848
Second:
This
coming November 14th, the annual Lobitz Movie Party/Auction will be
held at the Lobitz Catering Hall, which is located at
http://wilkesbarre.citysearch.com/profile/8845771/hazleton_pa/lobitz_catering_svc.html
The
map, on the upper right shows you where it is located.
Things
get started fairly early in the day, like around 9:00 AM, and continue all day
long, culminating in a sit down dinner that starts around 5:00. The auction benefits the EMMR. One never knows just who might show up, as
far as racing folks go. Lots of vendors in the house, too. Also I believe the ARDC has a meeting and
election of officers at the Hall, during the day. You can also expect a lot of “chop busting”
to go on during the auction. There is an
“open” bar and lunch is also served.
Usually there are some old Indy 500 movies shown prior to the auction.
To
give you an example of how long it might take to get there, it takes an hour
and a half from where I live, in Port Jervis, NY. We take I-84 West to I-81 South. I get off for Route 80 East, then the first
exit, for PA Route 309 South.
Third:
Wow! Fifty-one entrants for the Cup race at
http://jayski.com/stats/2010/entries/31cms2010entry.htm
I hope that “Sink hole” doesn’t decide to
return!
Going back, in time:
Note: Most of the following information was found
here:
http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/history.html
Covering
the days of October 8th to October 14th.
OCTOBER 8
1890
Eddie Rickenbacker ... Born ...
An American fighter ace in World War I and Medal of Honor recipient. He was
also a racecar driver and automotive designer, a government consultant in
military matters and a pioneer in air transportation. Rickenbacker
raced in the 1912, 1914, 1915 and 1916
1910
Travis "Spider"
Webb... Born ... AAA driver, ran 6 Indy 500's
1919
Jack McGrath... Born ... AAA
driver from the 1940's & 50's, ran 8 Indy 500's.
He was killed in the final race of the 1955 season in
1955
Bill Elliott... Born ... A former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of
OCTOBER 9
1928
Pat O'Connor... Born ... AAA / USAC driver from the 1950's. He was killed in
the 1958 INDY 500.
1971
Jan Opperman won the Western
World Sprint Car race at the Manzanita Speedway ,
Phoenix, AZ. The event was marred when veteran driver Jimmy Cox was fatally
injured in a consolation race. Cox , 42, a 20-year
veteran from
OCTOBER 10
1926
Ralph Liguori... Born ... NASCAR Grand National, USAC Midget, Sprint, Silver Crown
& Indy Car Driver from the 1950's, 60's & 70's. He competed in
the USAC Championship Car series from 1957 to 1971 making 61 starts. His best
finish was 2nd place at the
1930
Arnie Knepper... Born ... USAC driver 1950's to 1983. He drove Midgets,
Sprints and the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1963-1972 seasons,
with 75 career starts, including the 1965-1969 Indianapolis 500 races. He
finished in the top ten 21 times, with his best finish in 3rd position twice in
1966.
1948
Ted Horn... Died
... AAA driver from the 1930's and 40's. Ted Horn has the best 9-year
streak of finishes in
OCTOBER 11
1937
Jerry Weld
... Born ... Supermodified, Sprint and USAC Indy Car Driver from the 1960's. Brother of drivers Greg and Kenny.
1975
Don Garlits ran the 1/4-mile in
5.636 seconds at 250.69 mph in his T/F dragster. This elapse time record would
stand for another six years and the top speed record for 9 years.
1993
Joe Barzda ... Died ...
ARDC/AAA / USAC driver in the 1940’s and 1950's. Quit after Van Johnson's fatal
crash in 1959, in which Joe was involved in. With brother
Jim, he ran the Californian Speed and Sport Shop in
OCTOBER 12
1928
Fred Comer... Died ... AAA driver 1923 to 1928. Killed in a crash at the
Rockingham Board Track
1941
Tony Willman
... Died ... AAA driver 1926 to 1941, died in a midget race at Thompson, CT.
1948
Johnny Ritter Died. Standing just
5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) tall and weighing 135 lb (61 kg),[1] Ritter was "one of the best"
board track
drivers of his time, racking up an unequalled winning record. He scored five
wins in a row at the Velodrome in Nutley, New Jersey
and four straight at the Coney Island Velodrome. At Castle
Hill Speedway in the Bronx in 1940, Ritter won the
150-lap race from last place, an "unprecedented" performance for an
outboard midget. He claimed the national flat track racing title that year,
also, and the Heiserman championship in 1940 and 1941. He was the track champion at the Hinchliffe
Stadium in
Ritter often won
against opponents in larger and more powerful cars.
He was killed in
October 1948 while changing a tire at trackside, when he was hit by another
competitor.
He was inducted
into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2003.
He was born in
Info on him from
the
“Originally from
His career blossomed after he headed east,
becoming a mainstay in the sport from the middle 30’s until his death at the
Medford (Massachusetts) Bowl in 1948 at age 37. In 1938 he placed 8th in the
final standings at both
He was third in the AAA Eastern point standings as
well. During his career Ritter won five
track titles,
His death came on October 12, 1948 on the 20th lap
of a 200-lap event at the Medford Bowl. Ritter was changing a tire on the track
apron when a midget racer crashed into him. Several people, including the track
owner, George Hatfield, were injured as well.”
Note: He was my
favorite driver when I first started going to the races, back in 1946, and
still ranks as my # 1 favorite, even today.
1950
Drew Fornoro, son of Nofri
(Nick) Fornoro, Sr. was born. He went on
to win many midget championships over his racing career.
1956
Mark Dismore ... Born ... IRL
driver from the 1990's and 2000's.
1985
Duke Dinsmore... Died ... AAA /
USAC driver from 1946 to 1960
1997
John Denver, noted singer, Died
when a plan he was piloting crashed.
OCTOBER 13
1902
Lucien Gerard Avenengo was born.
He was my father. His love of
auto racing was passed down to me. That’s why you’re reading this, now.
1946
Howard Wilcox ... Died ... AAA
driver 1932 & 1933
1964
Craig Breedlove drove
his "Spirit of
1989
Fred Agabashian... Died ...
Born in
2005
Wayne Weiler ... Died ...
Weiler started as a dirt track driver in
OCTOBER 14
1974
Bob Sall ... Died ... AAA
Sprint car ace who later became NASCAR's Eastern field manager.
2000
Wayne Bailey, Top Fuel drag
racer, died from injuries suffered in a crash at the completion of a 5.015,
289.94 qualifying run during the IHRA National event at Shreveport, Louisiana.
Track news – (for tracks
in my area):
Accord:
From their
website:
WRECKAGE IN THE CATSKILLS!
October 16th
ENDUROS-$1000 to
win!*
4 CYL
6 CYL
8 CYL
*Based on 25 entries
for each division
Demo
4 CYL
6 CYL
8 CYL
*Based on 25 entries for each division
“Run What Ya Brung”
$1000 TO WIN!**
**Based on 15 entries
Pro Stocks- 30 Laps
Pure Stocks- 30 Laps
Powder Puff Enduro
Powder Puff Pure Stock Race
&
Legends
Pit Gates open at 11
AM Spectator Gates open at 12
Adult Admission
$12 Kids (11 & under) $3
Family 4 Pack $40-2 adult & 2 kids admission & $20 in food vouchers
OVRP – the dirt
track: http://www.oaklandvalleyspeedway.com/
Another
weekend of racing on Saturday and Sunday, with Karts and Slingshots on Saturday
and Bikes and Quads on Sunday. The following weekend, there’s a practice
session scheduled for Friday, the 22nd, then Kart and Slingshots on
the 23rd and more Bikes and Quads on the 24th. Saturday, October 30th the Karts
and Slingshots run their last point show.
Novemberfest will be held
on November 5th, 6th and 7th. I’ll have more info on that event next week.
At times, I get
questions:
Similar
to this one, below. I knew the late Eric Koster quite well, some
years ago, when my son, Eric, worked for him, at Kneisel’s Speed and Sport.
“Tommy - Have you heard anything
on the "Potential" Eric Koster Tribute over the Eastern States
Weekend?
I myself have
heard nothing since that dreaded phone call that evening.
I have NO
information regarding and was wondering if they were really going to even do
anything?”
I did respond to that. Last I had heard was that there was supposed
to be a racecar driven around the track with some of his ashes being spread
around. That was said shortly after Eric
passed away. Hopefully that is still
true.
I knew I did write
something about Eric Koster in one of my columns, and part of what was written,
back in my column from August 12th, was this:
“Note #2: I found this on the Dirt Track Digest’s
forum, what one person had to say about Eric:
“Ive never met Mr. Koster but do
have a simple but cool little story that we talk about to this day. We were in
the pits at middletown in 2001 and we just happened to be watching Jimmy Hauser
who showed up with a sweet looking car went out for hot laps,and
pulled pitside and we witnessed the absolute fastest torsion bar change ever,
lol, Eric was the man doing the changing and Im telling you Hauser was not off
the track for 2 minutes. If any of you have pulled a bar out put a new one in
and reset it to height it not exactly a 2 miute job. He makde it look like a
routine tire change. lol. Also worth mentioning
about that same car a tidbit on the side read something like this, Precisely
designed, engineered, built and powered by Eric Koster, and how often in the
modern era can one man say that. Must have been just an
unbelievable mind and mechanic.”
That, in bold,
above would be nice to hear over the PA system if they were to spread his ashes
around the speedway!
Note # 1: If I don’t get some expected info about Eric
Koster and ESW, prior to my sending this column in, I should have something for
next weeks column.
Note # 2: At approximately 10:30 PM on Wednesday night,
I received the information I was waiting for.
There will be a $500.00 Hard Charger award for the 200 lap Big Block
modified race at this years Eastern States event. It will be in memory of Eric Koster. There will also be a special write-up in the
Eastern States racing program on Eric.
Some family members will be in attendance. I’m not sure about the spreading of his
ashes, however.
OCFS:
Bill Boyle (Doctor
Dirt) has a couple of things that he’s written up about OCFS that will be in
the Eastern States Hard Clay racing program.
He told me I could add them to this week’s column, if I wanted to. Enjoy!
A pre-release of
what will be appearing in the Easter States edition of the Hard Clay
magazine...enjoy the reading..
FAMILY AFFAIR – THE DODD’S AND ORANGE COUNTY
By Bill Boyle
Orange County Fair Speedway, a race track since 1919,
first introduced stock car racing to their agenda in 1949, and the first
regular scheduled Saturday night attraction in 1950 when the first champion was
crowned.
Over those 60 years, many families have supported the
Modified venue, be it grandfather, father, son, uncle or brother. Families like
the Heotzler’s (Jeff, Ralph and little Jeff), Strupp’s (Sonny and John),
Reutimann’s (Buzzi and Wayne), Van Horne’s (Carl and David), Bottcher’s (Bobby
and Steve), Ricci’s (Mike and Rich Sr.), Harry and Steve Behrent, Tim and Tom
Hindley, the Jashembowski’s (Frank and Ray) along with Danny and Alan Johnson and
others have rode the landscape over those years..
But when it comes to longevity, there is one family
that stands head and shoulders above all the others, and that is the Dodd
Family who have been associated with Victory Speedway / Orange County since the
years when they ran Sprints and Midgets at the 5/8th mile hard clay oval
located in Middletown, NY..
The association with the arena starts in 1947 when Russ
Dodd, then at the ripe old age of 35, climbed aboard a midget and took to the
hard clay oval for a little bit of enjoyment during the summer months. When the
track decided to run a few Stock Car races in 1949, Russ Dodd climbed aboard
his friend Burt Fuller’s five window #88 coupe and
challenged the invaders who wanted to be the first stock car driver to win at
the fabled
Enjoying the success he had in ’48 and ’49, Russ Dodd
got serious in 1950, and finally took home his first checkered flag on May 28
and became the first
When 1950 was finished, Russ Dodd had officially
visited victory lane seven times and became the first stock car champion ever
crowned at Victory Speedway. As his daughter Joyce McLarnon explained,
“Everyone had a chore to do for the race team, and mine was to take a quarter
from him, run up to the novelty stand, buy a stick-on checkered flag, run back
to the pits and put the checkered flag on the car. He really kept me busy that
year.”
Russ Dodd ran until 1955 accumulating ten feature
victories before hanging up his helmet at the ripe old age of 43. The Flying
Milkman, a local favorite of the
When Russ went racing, his younger brother Stan Dodd
wasn’t far behind and like Russ, raced a #89 coupe out
of the Burt Fuller fleet. On September 6, 1952, the younger Dodd flashed to
victory to add his name to the list of Dodd’s on the winners list. Like brother Russ, the Dodd boys loved racing, and would tow
anywhere as long as it didn’t interfere with work. They would race at State
Line Speedway in
Although Stan didn’t win his first dirt feature until
1952, there was a Saturday night when the local boys were taking a ribbing
about being afraid to run against the big boys at Hinchliffe Stadium in
Once his Uncle and Father retired to the rocking
chairs, young Stan Dodd was fitted with a helmet, and took to the racing wars
at what was now named the Orange County Fair Speedway. Always an avid
competitor, Stan Jr. fielded cars in the 60’s, but could not shed the monkey
from his back against the likes of Schneider, Malzahn, Ray Brown, Sonny Strupp
and the other professional drivers who would invade the speedway. As a local
boy, Stan Jr. was a favorite of the
Now we come to Steve, son of Stan Jr., grandson of Stan
Sr., and Russ was his Great Uncle. Having been born into a racing family, it
was only natural that Steve would want to race. When he turned old enough to
race in 1986, he went out and purchased a 1969 Chevelle SS that he saw a “for
sale” sign on the car, removed the interior, and built a roll cage inside of
the car. By mid-season, the car was ready for the track, and the team brought
the car to the speedway and raced in the Rookie Street Stock division.
“Man was that car all over the place” recounted Steve.
“We didn’t know what we were doing when we built the car. People would help us
with parts, and we made them work on the car. But I drove the car the best I
could and loved every minute of it.” In 1987, Dodd was forced to move up to the
Novice Class Street Stock division, and with more expertise in how to build and
maintain the car, him and the pit crew fielded a better car. Before the year
was over, he would grace the team with a well deserved victory.
1988 would be a career definer for Steven Dodd. The
speedway was starting a new division that could be used as a stepping stone to
the bigger and faster Small Blocks and Big Blocks. It was called the Sportsman
Division and had special rules. The car had to be older than 2 years, stock
engine and a 2 barrel carburetor run on gas.
They purchased a car formerly run by Dom “The Iceman”
Roselli, painted it white with blue stripes, and were prepared to use the Dodd
#88 on the side. “Just before we started to paint the car, my father asked me
to number it #22, and I did what he requested.”
The third race out, Dodd took an early lead, and raced
to his first open wheel victory. “The car was easier than driving that
Chevelle, and we really settled down in the driver’s seat.” “Settled down” was
to soft a word as Dodd ran off eight feature wins in route to the newly created
Championship. Like his Great Uncle Russ, Steve was the first champion in a new
division.
Then came the big 50 lap feature at Eastern States
weekend for the newly formed Sportsman, and
competitors from most of the DIRT sanctioned tracks were on hand for the big
$1,000 to win feature. “Some of those outsiders gave me a run for my money”
stated Steve, “but in the end, it was my win and my trophy.” That was win
number nine for the season.
Being forced up to the Small Block ranks in 1989
because of the championship, Dodd settled into the new division without
changing gears. “We had a heck of a season and took home Rookie of the Year
honors, but alas, not a single win. We had a lot of seconds and thirds, but it
was the year when Modified drivers Danny Johnson and Brett Hearn battled tooth
and nail every week and left nothing for the pure Small Block racers.”
In 1993, the Dodd Racing Team built their first
Modified and went racing against the cream of the crop big block drivers.
Showing his ability to compete at the highest level of racing at Orange County,
Dodd constantly challenged the best drivers that the track had to offer, and in
the final rundown, was voted the Rookie of the year. It took Dodd five years,
but on July 25, 1998, Steve added his name to the list of drivers to checker in
the Modified division along with Grand-pa Stan and Great-uncle Russ.
Over the years, Steve has continued his assault on the
hard clay oval, picking up eight Modified wins along with two Small Block
features, including his mid-summer victory this year. “I really look forward to
the Eastern States 200. We finished 7th last year, and this year were looking
for a top five placement.”
How long will the Dodd’s continue to grace the local
track?? Until there aren’t any more Dodd’s. From the
first championship by Russ Dodd, to the current competitor Steve, there have
been Dodd’s around Orange County Fair Speedway for over 50 years…..and there
are no plans to end that in the foreseeable future.
And:
A CONVERSATION WITH
MIKE GURDA
By Bill Boyle
The Gurda family has had a presence at the Orange
County Fair grounds for almost 60 years, but there appears to be little that
the general public knows about them. Recently, I had a chance to talk to Mike
Gurda IV, the current director of the facility, to discuss the past, the current
and the future of the historic tract of land that lies in
In the beginning, the Fair Grounds were owned by the
Orange County Agricultural Society which was formed in the early 1900’s as a
place to hold the annual Orange County Fair, a tradition that holds true to
this day. It was a Trust that was owned by individual shareholders.
In the early 1950’s, a local businessman and attorney
Michael Gurda II took interest in the local plot of land, and because he
dabbled in stocks and properties in his spare time, approached the Trust to see
if he could purchase shares in the facility. Through the 50’s Mike II continued
to purchase shares until the family had amassed a majority of the property.
Today, there are more than 300 shareholders, but the Gurda’s hold the
controlling interest.
As Mike IV explained, “The Fair Grounds comprise 32
acres of prime realty, which includes the 5/8th mile
“My Grandfather was active in running the place until
the late 80’s when he became ill. It was then that my Father (Michael Gurda
III, also a local Attorney) became active with the Trust, and when my
Grandfather passed away in 1992, he stepped in as Director.”
With two Attorneys’ in the family, one would think it
would only be natural for the next generation to enter those ranks. “I wasn’t
interested in the legal profession” reiterated Mike, “and I enjoyed building
things. I would spend the summer working for my father and overseeing the
annual fair, and during the winter months I’d do construction work building
houses.
“I remember when fire destroyed one of the buildings on
the property, and my Father decided to replace it with an arena that could be
used year-round. At that time, I was racing motorcycles and enjoying myself as
a young adult. I would think of the arena as my own playground when it wasn’t
being used. My friend Keith Jacobsen and I would take our motorcycles and race
indoors. We had a ball.”
In the late 70’s Stanley Gurda, Mike Gurda II’s
brother, promoted the racing at the lightning fast hard clay oval during it’s
heyday of crowds and race cars. Then in 1982, Glenn Donnelly and his DIRT
organization approached the Gurda’s about leasing the
“Yep, DIRT brought in a new Sportsman division to
develop new drivers, and I was rearing to go. In 1988 and 89, I drove a Green
#13 at the track. I then decided that I was better at Motorcycles then stock
cars, so I hung up my helmet and retired back to the office.
“It was around 1991 that I thought it would be fun to
hold some races indoor during January when the arena wasn’t being used. So we
organized some races on Saturday nights, and what started out as a lark,
somehow turned out to be a money maker. That lasted 18 years, and we’d still be
doing it today if the Township didn’t put a halt to it last year.”
When Donnelly sold his DIRT organization to Boundless
Motorsports in the late 90’s, they kept their lease
agreement with the Fair Grounds and continued to promote the races. But after
five years, Boundless wanted changes to the lease, and a new group wanted to
try their hand at promoting the facility. Enter JoAnne Chadwick and Corey Reed.
They had idea’s to enhance the level of racing at the track, but they ran into
the worse weather in 30 years, losing a third of the races to rain and cold. It
was too much to recover from, and Boundless had reorganized and was now called
the World Racing Group. They wanted to return to promoting the races, and inked
a multi-year lease.
When that lease was completed after the 2008 season,
WRG approached the Fair Grounds about gaining a new lease, but the points of
the deal could not be ironed out. Mike Gurda IV, who was now running the show
after his father retired, said “I could pay more rent running the place myself
than what WRG was willing to pay for the lease, and I told them that. I sat
back to think the deal out, and I contacted Howie Commander concerning the
alternative. We had known Howie since I was a kid, and we had a long
relationship with him and the communications between us were good. Having
talked to Ken Sands, who was the Operations Manager for WRG at the track, he
promised that he would stay with OCFS if a deal could be worked out. Howie
convinced me that we were strong enough to promote the races, and he would help
should we run into problems.”
“I was brought into racing at OCFS, and I expect to see
racing here for a long time. Every time there is a change at the top, all I
ever hear are negative comments about OCFS closing up. Well, that’s not true,
nor has it ever been true. I have always known that there would be racing at
Orange County Fair Speedway, and I can assure you that there will continue to
be racing at OC for many years to come.”
“I’ve been asked why the Fairgrounds are for sale.
There are things that I would like to see done to enhance the grounds, but in
today’s environment, those funds are not available to us. The grounds need an
infusion of new cash to enhance the buildings and grounds. I’d like to see a
“We’ve had a few nibbles to date from race related
enterprises, but nothing solid to date. I would expect it to take a few years
to complete any deal.”
“Yes” concluded Mike Gurda IV, “I foresee the speedway
existing forever, with or without the Gurda family.”
The History of the Sport:
Something a little
different, this week. While I was on the Track Forum, I came across
a thread about “Who's the Luckiest To Have Survied A Crash totally UNHURT?” Wow!
Some pretty scary looking accidents were linked to in the thread. But what was a surprise to me was a link to
the Charlie Musselman accident that he had at Langhorne on September 1,
1957. I was there that day, and to be
honest, I truly believe that Musselman (himself – not in the car) was as high
in the air as I was in the stands. Fate
was kind to Musselman that day. Had he
not been thrown from that Sam Traylor owned,
Check out the photos, here: http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/showthread.php?p=849
Former Dirt Oval (
Not much to report
on this week.
At Borgers, on October 8th,
Tiffany Wambold was 8th in the 270 Wingless feature
while Luke Shostkewitz was 5th in the wingless 600 Micro
feature. On October 9th,
Tiffany was 6th in the 270 Micro feature.
At Rolling Wheels, in the
Sportsman race, Anthony Perrego was 23rd.
At Five Mile, in the
Supernationals, Clinton Mills was 16th and Jamie Yannone 25th
in the Modified 50 lap feature.
Up in
At Sundance Vacations, Nick
Pecko was 12th in the 150 lap Modified feature.
For sale:
My son, Eric,
still has the dirt modified for sale:
2006
Teo, Complete car minus engine. Kirkey full
containment seat, Winters rear, Bert transmission,
inboard starter, profile steering, parker pumper, wilwood hubs. $5000.
Interested? Send me an e-mail at: ygordad@yahoo.com
or send him one at: ema19us@yahoo.com
More racin’ stuff:
NASCAR’s point
standings – two ways – as they used to be (still should in my way of thinking),
and how they are with the “Chase”.
How they still should be:
2010 Sprint Cup
Driver 'Classic' Points Standings:
[after Auto Club, race 30 of 36....the OLD way]:
rank, car#, driver, points, behind
1) #29-Kevin Harvick, 4312
2) #24-Jeff Gordon, 4081, -231
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson, 4040 -272
4) #14-Tony Stewart, 3973, -339
5) #18-Kyle Busch, 3951, -361
6) #99-Carl Edwards, 3938, -374
7) #11-Denny Hamlin, 3919, -393
8) #31-Jeff Burton, 3886, -426
9) #2- Kurt Busch, 3850, -462
10) #17-Matt Kenseth, 3778, -534
11) #39-Ryan Newman, 3656, -716
12) #33-Clint Bowyer, 3647, -656
13) #16-Greg Biffle, 3625, -665
And, the “Chase”:
|
1 |
Jimmie Johnson |
|
5673 |
|
2 |
Denny Hamlin |
|
5637 |
|
3 |
Kevin Harvick |
|
5619 |
|
4 |
Jeff Gordon |
|
5588 |
|
5 |
Tony Stewart |
|
5566 |
|
6 |
Kurt Busch |
|
5533 |
|
7 |
Carl Edwards |
|
5511 |
|
8 |
Jeff Burton |
|
5496 |
|
9 |
Kyle Busch |
|
5486 |
|
10 |
Greg Biffle |
|
5458 |
|
11 |
Matt Kenseth |
|
5432 |
|
12 |
Clint Bowyer |
|
5426 |
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/
Racing on TV - http://www.racefantv.com/USTV.htm
Some of my thoughts:
Question: When one writes article and/or columns,
should one refrain from getting on the case of, say a speedway? If not, how far should one go? If you’re a faithful reader of my columns,
you might have noticed something a little different on these last few columns -
no mention in “Track news – (for tracks in my area):” on one of the
tracks that’s pretty close to my home – OCFS.
Well, if you recall, a few
columns back, I went back a year and copied what was in my column about OCFS
“missing the boat” by not having run a couple of open wheel racing car features
when they held their “Eve of Destruction” night in front of a packed house,
back in September of 2009. I also made mention of that on more than one occasion. My feelings were that since the place has
been so “empty” on Saturday nights, it might be worth a try at holding an open
wheel racecar race – letting those that were packed into the stands be able to
see what was normally held on Saturdays during the racing season. How well I can recall that to get a good seat
on a Saturday night, you really had to get to the track way before race
time. Over these past
years, that’s not so, anymore – you can get there at race time and
almost have your choice of any seat.
Well, during this past “Eve
of Destruction”, such a race was held – although it was, in a way, quite a
secret. Now why do I say that? Well, there was a post, I believe on Facebook,
from a driver, and he didn’t know of that race.
OK, there were only five cars and I believe it was a race of only five
laps. From what I’ve read (I was not in
attendance, having to attend a wedding for a niece that day) one of the tracks
announcers, Joel Murns, was on the “Mic” and was telling all those in attendance
that what they were seeing, was what happens at OCFS every Saturday night. From my talking to some of those that were in
attendance, I gather that the “race” was pretty well received by the crowd.
So me, being me, came out
and said something, on Facebook, to the effect that those at OCFS woke up
and did actually have an open wheel car race during the “Eve of
Destruction”. Was I wrong in saying that
– about being woke up? I really don’t
know. But what I did suggest, over a
year ago, was done – although quite secretive.
But it was done.
My making mention of
someone being “awake” kind of got some feathers ruffled, and I heard from OCFS,
on Facebook, in no uncertain terms. I
won’t put on here exactly what was said, just the last part, which was: “We do not need you to say ANYTHING avbout the
speedway."
So,
since then, I’ve followed their wishes, until this week, when I did put in what
Bill Boyle (Doctor Dirt) has written up for the up-coming ESW program.
Just
thought I’d let you know why any OCFS news was missing. I’m just glad that an attempt was done, with
an open wheel race during the EoD night.
Hopefully, some new race fans were made.
Time will tell, I suppose?
I’ll
be at OCFS for Eastern States Weekend.
Will you? Got our seats – Row “N”
seats 44 & 45 in the half covered.
If you’re there, stop bye for a visit!
“Mother Nature” had best behave that weekend!
Video time:
Going back up in this week’s column, I had
this – from October 12th:
“1997
John Denver, noted singer, Died
when a plan he was piloting crashed.”
Here are a couple of videos of John from the “Wildlife Concert”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uYag4yPdlA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkGS263lGsQ&feature=related
Note: The young woman doing
the back-up singing is Pat Hawk.
Other (non racing) news:
From 10/10:
“As if voters don't have enough to be angry about this election year, the government is expected to announce this week that more than 58 million Social Security recipients will go through another year without an increase in their monthly benefits.
It would mark only the second year without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation were adopted in 1975. The first year was this year.”
“The cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, are automatically set each year by an inflation measure that was adopted by Congress back in the 1970s. Based on inflation so far this year, the trustees who oversee Social Security project there will be no COLA for 2011.”
"Costs of living are inevitably going up, regardless of what that formula says," Pomeroy said. "Seniors in particular have items such as uncovered drug costs, medical costs, utility increases, and they're on fixed incomes."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101011/ap_on_bi_ge/us_social_security_no_cola
“WASHINGTON
– Officials in 50 states and the
The states' attorneys general and bank regulators will examine whether mortgage company employees made false statements or prepared documents improperly.”
“"This is not simply about a glitch in paperwork," said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who is leading the probe. "It's also about some companies violating the law and many people losing their homes."
"What we have seen are not mere technicalities," said Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray. "This is about the private property rights of homeowners facing foreclosure and the integrity of our court system, which cannot enter judgments based on fraudulent evidence."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101013/ap_on_bi_ge/us_foreclosures_states
In part:
“Growing numbers of Americans with health insurance are walking
away from their prescriptions at the pharmacy counter, the latest indication
that efforts to contain costs may be curbing health-care consumption.
A review of insurance-claims data shows that so-called abandonment
-- when a patient refuses to purchase or pick up a prescription that was filled
and packaged by a pharmacist -- was up 55% in the second quarter of this year,
compared with four years earlier.”
“The trend is driven in part by higher out-of-pocket costs for
covered medicines, pharmacists and Wolters Kluwer officials say. The average
co-pays for brand-name drugs such as cholesterol fighter Lipitor rose to $28 a prescription this year, an 87% jump from 2000,
according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Some co-pays can be as high as
$100.”
Note: Been there –
done that, myself. Have you noticed more
drug commercials on TV with the notice similar to: “If you have a hard time financially” to call
a certain number? Been there – did that,
too – to no avail. You basically have to
be on public assistance to get some kind of price reduction.
Is this true?:
Again, something I
received in an e-mail:
The shoe is on the other foot and the Mexicans from the State of Sonora, Mexico do not like it. Can you believe the
nerve of these people? It's almost funny.
The
State of
A
delegation of nine state legislators from
The
The Mexican legislators are angry because their own
citizens are returning to their hometowns, placing a burden on THEIR state
government. 'How can
Wrong!
The
Too
bad that other states within the
New Immigration Laws:
Read
to the bottom or you will miss the message...
1.
There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools.
2. All ballots will be in this nation's language.
3. All government business will be conducted in our language.
4.
Non-residents will NOT have the right to vote no matter how long they
are
here.
5.
Non-citizens will NEVER be able to hold political office.
6. Foreigners will not be a burden to the taxpayers. No welfare, no food stamps,
no health care, or other government assistance programs.
Any burden will be deported.
7.
Foreigners can invest in this country, but it must be an amount at least equal
to 40,000 times the daily minimum wage.
8. If foreigners come here and buy land... options will be restricted. Certain
parcels including waterfront property are reserved for citizens naturally born
into this country.
9. Foreigners may have no protests; no demonstrations, no waving of a foreign
flag, no political organizing, no bad-mouthing our president or his policies. These will lead
to deportation.
10. If you do come to this country illegally, you will be actively hunted
&, when caught, sent to jail until your deportation can be arranged. All
assets will be taken from you.
Too strict ?
The
above laws are current immigration laws of
Closing with these:
EVER
WONDER...
Why the sun lightens
our hair, but darkens our skin?
Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why
you don't ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?
Why "abbreviated" is such a long word?
Why doctors call what they do "practice"?
Why you have to click on "Start" to stop Windows 98?
Why lemon juice is made with artificial flavor, while dishwashing liquid is
made with real lemons?
Why the man who invests all your money is called a broker?
Why there isn't mouse-flavored cat food? And who tastes dog
food when it has a "new & improved" flavor?
Why they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
Why they don't make the whole plane out of the material used for the
indestructible black box ?
Why sheep don't shrink when it rains?
Why they are called apartments when they are all stuck together? if con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of
progress?
Why they call the airport "the terminal" if flying is so safe?
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