Racin'
& Internet Stuff:
By Tom Avenengo
01/13/2011
First:
If you’re reading this, then welcome to 2011! We managed to survive 2010 – maybe not the way we wanted to, still we managed it - getting though the year. 2011 should be an interesting year – both racing wise and personally, for all of us.
Racing wise: Lots of stuff going around the Internet these days as far as racing here in the Northeast. Whether it’s all going to be true, or not, will depend – as time goes bye.
I’m not one to make “New Year’s resolutions”. Never have, before. But this year, on New Years Day, I did make one, in a way. In order to lose some of the weight I’ve gained over the years, I’ve decided to attempt to not have my “midnight snacks” anymore. So far, as I’m working on this column, on Monday the 10th of January, I’ve somewhat succeeded – in a way, by just having a Tangerine late at night. No more peanut butter and jelly and a glass of mile, or an English muffin and milk – or some other type of food.
Second:
Some sad news:
I
received this via an e-mail to all those that are members of the Yahoo! Race
History Group about “Fast” Freddie Lorenzen:
“The Golden Boy of NASCAR in the
60's life has started fading as he has
been hit with dementia. His family has had to place him a nursing home
and according to his daughter the pleasures that he has during his days
are from talking about his racing career. Cards and well wishes inspire
these moments. I know most of us were raised on mostly following open
wheel racing, but when ABC would cover one of the big Grand National
races during his dominance Fast Freddy would always seem to be up front
in his Holman Moody Ford. If you enjoyed watching
the guy from up north
hammering the Good ole' Boys I would ask that you to join me in passing
along a card to let him know how much you enjoyed him.
His address is:
Bridgeway Christian Village
Attn: Fred Lorenzen
Room No. 146
111 E. Washington
Bensenville, Ill. 60106-2674
If you are interested in the article where I learned of this it is @
Nascar.com.
http://www.nascar.com/news/110107/florenzen-legacy/index.html”
Note: I was not aware of
the fact that Lorenzen was the first NASCAR driver to have earned $100,000.00
for a season. I found that out in a
video I was able to watch that was linked to in a thread I started about Fred
over on the Track Forum. That video is
linked to further down in this column in the “Video time” section.
Third:
Well, it’s official! In NASCAR, a driver can only run for one championship – at least as of now and for 2011.
Found
on Jayski’s website early Tuesday AM – like 1:45 AM, just as I was going to
shut things down for the night.
“Drivers must
choose which series to run for championship:
Drivers in NASCAR's
three national series will have to elect a single championship to chase in
2011, eliminating the ability of drivers such as Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards
and Paul Menard -- who were full-time double-dippers in 2010 -- to chase two
championships at once. NASCAR has scheduled a "competition update" on
Jan. 21 with NASCAR president Mike Helton and vice president for competition
Robin Pemberton as part of the "Preseason Thunder" Sprint Cup test
session at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp
declined to comment on the change in 2011 license applications Monday except to
say, "I'm sure we can answer all your questions at our competition
update." But when Kenny Wallace picked up his 2011 NASCAR competition,
membership and license application last Saturday while taking a break from a
Grand-Am Rolex Series test at Daytona, he knew at least one rumor was true.
Wallace stopped on his way to the U.S. Post Office on Monday to tear open his
license application and read the news. "The brand-new license forms that
are out, there's a box and in it, it states that you have to mark -- put an X
-- what championship you're running for," Wallace said, quoting his
application. "A driver will only be permitted to earn driver championship
points in one (1) of the following three series: NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR
Nationwide or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Please select the series in which
you would like to accumulate driver championship points. Choose one."(NASCAR.com)(1-11-2011)”
Note: I made mention of this on a few different
forums/message boards. Notice that it
says this: "A driver will only be
permitted to earn driver championship points in one (1) of the following three
series: NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide or NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series.” Nowhere does it say anything
about a CAR OWNER – something that was questioned by another Internet race fan.
Fourth:
“Even more Racin’ stuff:
Someone has come out with a
“list” of the top 25 “dirtiest” race drivers, over on the South Jersey Dirt
Racing’s message board. The first part
goes from 25th down to 11th. I’m not positive when the top ten on the list
will be released, but here are 11th through 25th:
Dec 4th
http://www.onedirt.com/features/top-25-dirtiest-dirt-track-drivers-of-all-time-pt-1-25-11/
#25 Greg Weld (03/04/44 – 08/04/08)
#24 Lee Arnold Petty (03/14/14 –
04/05/00)
#23 Elzie Wylie “Buck” Baker Sr
(03/04/19 – 04/14/2002)
#22 Stick Elliott [Gene Daves]
(07/27/34 – 11/01/80)
#21 Glen “Fireball” Roberts (01/20/29 –
7/2/64)
#20
#19 Frank Lockhart (04/08/03 –
04/25/28)
#18 Rufus Parnell “Parnelli” Jones
(08/12/33 – )
#17 Rick Ferkel (02/19/39 – )
#16 DeWayne Louis “Tiny”
#15 Brett Hearn (09/01/58 – )
#14 Joseph
“Joe” Weatherly (05/29/22 – 01/19/64)
#13 Jack Smith (05/24/24 – 10/17/01)
#12 Carl D. “Lightning” Lloyd Seay
(12/14/19 – 09/02/41)
#11 Charles Water “Jud” Larson
(01/21/23 – 06/11/66)”
Well, the top 10 are now listed. I was sure I’d see old “Iron Head” listed,
and am really wondering why Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was left off of the list. Intimidating? Of course!
Dirty? Yes, in my way of thinking
– a lot “dirtier” than most of those that are listed.
#10 Lloyd Merlyn Beckman (5/6/1927 –
1/9/2000)
#9 Scott Bloomquist (11/14/1963)
#8 Danny Johnson (3/3/1960)
#7 Curtis Turner (4/12/1924 –
10/4/1970)
#6 Jerry “Butch” Weld ( -10/30/70)
#5 Lonnie “LeeRoy” Yarbrough (9/17/1938
– 12/7/1984)
#4 Anthony Wayne “Tony” Stewart
(5/20/1971)
#3 Kenneth
#2 Ralph Lee Earnhardt
(2/23/1928 – 9/26/1973)
#1
Anthony Joseph “A.J.” Foyt, Jr. (January 16, 1935)
http://www.onedirt.com/news/top-25-dirtiest-drivers-of-all-time-part-2-the-top-ten/
Fifth:
Personally,
I never was a big fan of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. - but while I was on the NASCAR
section on the Track Forum, there was a thread about him and it being almost
ten years since he’s been gone – February 18th, 2001 - to be precise. Where in the world does the time go???
Sixth:
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but there’s something
that really bothers me about the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. It seems that the 2008 inductees, who were
inducted into the
The
2008 Newsletter: http://www.worthyofhonor.com/NewsLetters/Fall%2008%20Newsletter.pdf
The
On
the website, over on the left side, is where you can click to see all those
that have been inducted if you click on “Inducted members”.
What’s
even more disturbing is that the website has been up-dated this past December
16th, still with none of the last couple of years inductees added!
Some
of those that were inducted a year ago are:
Page Jones, Bob Nowicke, Ken Hickey, George Amick, “Buzz” Barton, George
Rice and Len Sutton. None of their names
are listed on the website, still. I must
note however, that at least those that were inducted for the 2008-year are mentioned when one receives “snail mail” info from the
Seventh:
It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a photo article on the New England Tractor website. So, if my friend Jeff Johnson is up to it (was laid up with an injured back) I’ll work on a new one and hopefully it will be on the website next Thursday. Just another “Going back in time” with photos from “Back in the day”
For
those of you that read my columns on Dirt Track Digest, to view the photo
article, and other photo articles I have over on New England Tractor, you‘ll
have to go here:
http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/
Going back, in time:
Note: Most of the following information was found
here:
http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/history.html
Covering the days of
January 1st to January 13th:
Going back, in time:
JANUARY 1
1913
George Hill won the AAA Championship San Diego Road Race in a
Fiat. Hill covered the 183.4 miles in a time of 3 hours, 58 minutes and 12
seconds in taking the only AAA Championship win of his career. The race was 2
laps of a 91.7 mile loop of public roads.
1945
Jacky Ickx -- Born -- (F1 & Sportscar Driver)
1971
Scott Riggs --- Born -- (NASCAR Cup Driver)
1981
Mauri Rose ... Died ... Rose won the INDY 500 three times; 1941,
1947 and 1948. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
in 1994, and Motorsports of Hall of Fame of
JANUARY 2
1969
Robby Gordon ..... Born
..(Indy Car & NASCAR driver)
JANUARY 3
1915
Joe Sostilio ... Born ... Sostilio raced both sprint cars and
midgets. He won the New England Dirt Championship in 1935, 1936 and 1938. He
also won the Bay State Midget Racing Association Championship in 1947 and
Eastern Sprint Car Championship in 1953. In 1949, he turned to Stock Car racing
but still continued in open wheel racing. Between 1948 and 1950 Joe won seven
races in AAA competition as teammate to Johnnie Parsons. Joe was 5th in the AAA
Eastern Sprint Car Championship in 1952, he beat Tommy Hinnershitz to the title
in 1953 and finished 6th in 1954. His best finishes on the Champ Car circuit
were a 7th at Langhorne Speedway and another 7th at Darlington Speedway in
1954.
1918
Allen Heath ... Born ... West Coast open cockpit driver who raced
for years, despite losing a hand in a racing accident.
1926
Mike McGreevy ... Born ... Racecar driver – drove midgets and Indy
cars
1932
Coo Coo Marlin ... Born ... NASCAR driver and father of NASCAR
driver Sterling Marlin
1956
Willy T. Ribbs ... Born ... Sports Car and Indy Car driver
1969
Michael Schumacher... Born ... Formula 1 driver
1988
George Rice "Joie" Chitwood ... Died ... American
racecar driver and businessman. He is best known as a daredevil in the Joie
Chitwood Thrill Show. He was dubbed "Joie" by a track promoter and
the name stuck. Chitwood started his racecar driving career in 1934 at a dirt
track in
Note: No, this is not the “George Rice” that is the
1947 ARDC driving champion who drove midgets, sprint cars and sports/racing
cars – using the name George Rice rather than his real name of George Viola.
2009
Sam McQuagg... Died ... Sam was the 1965 NASCAR Rookie of the
Year. McQuagg began racing in the 1950s and entered his first NASCAR race in
1962. In 1966, McQuagg claimed his only NASCAR victory, winning the Firecracker
400 at Daytona International Speedway. In the 1965 Southern 500, McQuagg was involved
in a spectacular wreck that sent Cale Yarborough tumbling over a guardrail.
Footage of the crash was later used to illustrate the agony of defeat on
"ABC's Wide World of Sports." McQuagg drove in his last NASCAR race
in 1974 and worked as a corporate pilot until retiring in 1997.
JANUARY 4
1910
Dee Toran ... Born ...( Eastern Midget
racer )
Note: I posted this information on the ARDC’s
message board about Toran:
“
1967
Donald Campbell killed while attempting to break the world water
speed record on
1971
Richie Hearn ... Born ...( Indy Car
driver )
1989
Graham Rahal ... Born ... Road racer and Indy car driver. Son of Indy car racer Bobby Rahal
JANUARY 5
1965
Billy Wade NASCAR Grand National driver, died when his
Mercury crashed during Goodyear tire tests at Daytona Intl. Speedway. The 34 year old
Wade, a native of
2000
Ottis Stine... Died ... Ottis was a Pennsylvania Sprint Car driver
who was a founder member of the York County Racing Club in 1979. He drove his
first race in 1934. His main claim to fame is that he was the first ever driver
to turn a racing lap of the legendary Williams Grove speedway in 1934. He
attempted to run at Indy in 1952 in a Scopa-Offenhauser, but failed to qualify.
Stine once finished second in the AAA points and when he retired in 1954, he
held numerous track records.
Note: On occasion, his name
is also spelled “Otis”.
JANUARY 6
1924
Dick Rathmann ... Born ... AAA & USAC driver from the 1940's,
50's & 60's
Note: Hmmm, wondering here – I know the Rathmann
brothers changed names, so is this really Dick or Jim???
1926
Pat Flaherty ... Born ... He drove in the AAA and USAC
Championship Car series, racing in the 1950, 1953-1956, 1958,1959, and 1963
seasons with 19 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in 1950, 1953,
1955, 1956, and 1959. He finished in the top ten 9 times, with victories in
1955 and 1956 at
1989
Jim Hurtubise ... Died ... An American race car driver who raced
in USAC Champ Cars (including the
2000
Sam Schmidt paralyzed after he broke his neck in a crash while
testing his IRL car at Walt Disney World Speedway in
JANUARY 7
1968
George Constantine... Died ... F1 driver.
Note: It was
1993
Honda announced that starting in 1994,
they will become an engine supplier in the CART PPG World Series.
2007
Bobby Hamilton... Died ...
JANUARY 8
1956
USAC.. The United States Auto Club (USAC)
sanctioned it's first race, a Midget race indoors on a
1/10 mile oval on the concrete floor of the Allen County Coliseum Ft. Wayne,
Indiana. The race was won by Indy 500 veteran Gene Hartley.
1978
Bobby Hamilton Jr.... Born ... NASCAR driver
JANUARY 9
1938
Karl Busson ..Born .. USAC Sprint Car
driver
1959
Mark Martin ..Born .. NASCAR driver
1960
Russ Klar won the TQ Midget race at the Teaneck Armory,
Note: Chances are that my soon to be wife and I
were in attendance that night, since we usually went to every race in
For a report on that race, go here: http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/report/1_9_60-1.html
1965
Russ Gamester ..Born .. USAC Midget and
Silver Crown driver
JANUARY 10
1921
Rodger Ward... Born ... USAC Midget and Indy car
driver. 2 time Indy 500 winner, 1959 & 1962
1940
Harry Gant... Born ... NASCAR driver.
1953
Bobby Rahal... Born ... Indy car driver and now
car owner.
1958
Eddie Cheever... Born ... Indy car driver and the 1998 Indy 500
winner
Note: While in the media center at the Nazareth
Speedway a few years back, I had the opportunity to ask Eddie, while we were at
a table eating lunch, if he had ever driven a midget. I put that out as a trivia question as to
where it might have been and no one was able to answer it. Eddie drove a midget one time – at
1959
Larry McReynolds ..Born .. One of NASCAR's most successful and recognized crew chiefs.
JANUARY 11
1923
Carroll Shelby... Born ... legendary racer, car builder.
2001
Quinn Epperly famed
Louis Krages Sports car driver, AKA "John Winter",
winner of the 1985 24 Hours of
JANUARY 12
1879
Ray Harroun... Born ... winner of the first
1928
Lloyd Ruby... Born ... He raced in the USAC Championship Car
series in the 1958-1977 seasons, with 177 career starts, including every
1968
Robby Unser ... Born ... Indy Racing League driver and son of
Bobby Unser
JANUARY 13
1959
Ernie Irvan... Born ... NASCAR Winston Cup driver
2007
Danny Oakes... Died ... In the 1940s and 50s, he was one of
The History of the Sport:
If you remember,
some weeks ago, one of the members of the Yahoo! Race History Group sent out
some links (35 of them, to be precise) to some auto racing articles that
appeared in Time magazine, many years ago, via e-mail. So, if you don’t mind, here are the last
three of those links. Why only three
this time – simple, one of the original 35 was a duplicate of another one, and
another one really didn’t have anything to do with racing. Hope you have had some enjoyment reading
them.
Win some – lose some:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,854915,00.html
Sam Hanks – his last 500:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,937469,00.html
Sometimes, more isn’t better:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,800329,00.html
More racin’ stuff:
The Chili Bowl
isn’t the only racing down in
“Lonnie Wheatley,
TULSA, Okla. (December 29, 2010) – A world record count of more than 700 Micro
Sprint Cars flooded into Tulsa Fairgrounds QuikTrip Center on Wednesday for the
running of this weekend’s 26th Annual Tulsa Shootout.
The first all open-wheel edition of the storied Tulsa Shootout features six
classes of Micro Sprint Cars along with the ASCS Chevy Ecotec Midgets and
1200cc Non-Wing Micro Sprint with heat races on Thursday evening and Friday
setting the New Year stage for Saturday’s feature action.
Competitors from at least 23 different states as well as
A number of other scheduled Chili Bowl competitors will take advantage of the
opportunity to get an early look at the track this weekend, including the likes
of six-time Shootout winner Donnie Ray Crawford, Gary Taylor, Kevin Ramey and
Tim Crawley among others.
Defending Tulsa Shootout champions include
Classes & Counts:
Micro Sprints:
Outlaw – 125
Non-Wing Outlaw – 111
“A” Class – 146
Non-Wing – 146
Restricted “A” Class – 92
Junior Sprint – 38
ASCS Ecotec Chevy Midgets – 19
1200cc Non-Wing Mini Sprints – 39”
Some
Racin’ stuff from the AARN:
The AARN is published on Tuesdays. Unfortunately, I normally get my AARN on Thursday afternoon. For my columns to be published on Thursday, I send them out late Wednesday night. So, what you get to read, below, will usually be a week late. Sorry!
From
the January 4, 2011 issue:
Some
“Big news” from DIRTcar was being forecast as being forthcoming “soon”.
John
Force will be at the AARN’s Motorsports show on Saturday, January 22nd. Others that are due to appear are: David Pearson, Rusty Wallace, Rick Ferkel,
Shane Carson, Curt Michael, Kenny Wallace, Danny Bonaduce, Stewart Friesen,
Keith Rocco, Tim Shaffer and Josh Richards – along with countless others. The show will be held on January 21, 22 &
23 at the greater
More
info can be found here: www.aarn.com
Will
it be Danny Johnson in the Petruska # 66 in 2011 – and might it be for racing
at New Egypt? If so, that’s a long haul
for Danny to make every Saturday.
Petruska has basically ruled out running at Accord on Friday nights –
something I think might have helped having Danny in the car if Accord was being
run by the team. That would give Danny
two nights in a row. If
you recall, Danny lef the team a couple of years ago when there were so many
rain outs at Accord. Might
rainouts at New Egypt cause the same to happen again?
As
for Jerry Higbie – it looks like he’ll run his own # 97 at Accord and drive for
another team at OCFS – the Tuit owned # 673.
Even
though there were “For Sale” put up on the property where Wall Stadium is, it
looks like there will be racing at Wall in 2011, with Cliff Krause having
leased the facility.
Way back when NASCAR was formed, did you know that one of their first rules was: “Foreign manufactured cars will not be permitted”?
And
another: “Multiple carburetion
will be permitted. Any type carburetor
may be used”. Those were some of the
rules that Ernie Saxton pointed out in his column.
In
racing “Down under” at the Parramatta City Raceway, a few weeks ago, it seems
that Tony Stewart and Garry Brazier had some “problems” with each other on the
track. Guess Garry was “racing” Tony Nothing new for
Tony, I’d say.
“Dirt
Trackin’ 2011” a trade show with cars, stars and drivers will be held on
January 14, 15 & 16 at the York Fairgrounds Expo Center in York, PA.
Info
on this show can be found here: www.dirttrackinshow.com
A
couple of weeks ago, there was a “tire test” at the newly re-paved Daytona
International Speedway. Jamie McMurray
seems to think the new surface will probably increase the chances for some “big
ones”.
The
Tri-State Racesaver Series (TSRS) for 305 Sprint Cars – NJ,
Indoor
racing returns to
February
5, 2011 is the date for the one day indoor TQ racing show at the Dunkin’ Donuts
Center in
Info
at: www.aarn.com
An article titled “New rules in place for Accord Speedway as clay project nears completion” really did not come out and specify exactly what the new rules are for their Modified and Sportsman classes. From what little was said, in the article, it appears that the new rules pertain to engines.
It’s said that the Race of Champions Dirt Modified Tour 2011 schedule is almost complete, with tracks such as Big Diamond, Lincoln, and New Egypt being listed. Personally, I’d love to see a RoC race at OCFS. It seems no one wants to say just why there isn’t one.
John
Snyder was comparing the OCFS rule books – 2010’s versus the 1969 book. 1969’s had all of five 4” x 7” pages. As for 2010 – well there are 62 standard
full-size 8.5” x 11” pages. So much for “progress”, huh?
And, sad to say, all the newer “rules” sure do cut out any ingenuity,
don’t they? I can recall back when I interviewed Rich Ricci,
Sr. when I was working on the Bob Green article I did, and Rich had this to
say: "I raced against him .. he
was a tough competitor. He wasn't, if I can remember..
he wasn't a very steady competitor ... like he would
race three or four weeks in a row, then he would take a couple of weeks off,
and then he would come back. But when he came back, you would have to go look
at his car because.. he was
an innovator. He always had something different than anybody else. Uh, whether
it was suspension points or a little piece of tin here or a little piece of tin
there, you know he was always looking for the aerodynamics.” There’s not much that one can do to a racecar
today, especially in dirt modified racing here in the Northeast, and in NASCAR
too, due to the “rules”. Ingenuity on race
cars isn’t allowed, anymore.
A
“Motorsports Expo” has been added to the 2011 Frank Maratta Auto and Cycle Show
being held at the
Former
racing promoter Lindy Vicari, will have been inducted
into the EMPA’s Hall of Fame on January 8th. I can recall when we went to the dirt mile
track at
The
“Prelude to the Dream” Late Model race is scheduled for June 8th at the
Tony Stewart owned Eldora Speedway. I
imagine PPV will be available? Will
there be an Indycar driver in competition?
Seems like Tony Canaan had a blast last year. Maybe Danica?
Additional
Racin’ stuff:
I don’t know, maybe this falls into a
“Feast of famine” category? It seems
that there will now be TWO Motor Sports shows that will be involving OCFS in
one way or another. At least they’re
scheduled for different weekends!
Some info:
THE
20TH ANNUAL
MOTOR
SPORTS SHOW 2011
Has a new venue & a new location....
THE
March 25th, 26th and 27th.
Info on this car show can be found, here:: http://www.middletownmotorsportshow.com/
And:
Car show at OCFS:
PRESS RELEASE January 3, 2011
OCFS Motorsports Show on tap for March 11-13, 2011
MIDDLETOWN, NY…After the change of venue announced by the
promoters of the former Middletown Motorsports Show, a new plan was hatched to
continue the tradition of having a show at the home of the legendary Orange
County Fair Speedway. The new Motorsports Show, to be promoted by the Orange
County Fair Speedway with promotional assistance by Ken Reed and seasoned stock
car driver Joel Murns, is set to go off the weekend of March 11-13, 2011. The
event will be held at the Orange County Fairgrounds Arena at
The focal point of the show will be the numerous race cars,
go-carts, custom cars, and much more all vying for the unprecedented $1,000
Best of Show award. Other show events planned for the weekend include the
crowning of Ms. OCFS Motorsports on Friday evening, karaoke contest on
Saturday, and a mega autograph session on slate for Sunday afternoon. Many
other events are planned for the weekend for fans of all ages.
Admission to the show will be $8 with a weekend pass
available. For more information or if interested in entering a car or exhibitor
space, please contact the show office at 845-343-4826.
Note:
I feel that it’s something for me to do - to list BOTH shows.
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
(must register to post)
Victory
Yahoo Race History
Group: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/RacingHistory/
(when one posts something on an
e-mail to the group, they do have what is called the “Len Sutton rule” – you
put in your name and where you live.
And, yes, things are “policed” too.
Wheels of Speed: http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/
The
Note: You might want to keep an eye on the “Racing
on TV” link if you’re interested in watching the tape delay of the Chili Bowl.
Racing and
television:
Chili Bowl on
TV: Portions of the 25th
Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals will be broadcast on SPEED TV on a
tape-delayed basis. As of Monday,
December 27th, I found no date for this showing. More than likely it will be some of the daily
features then most of the 50 lap main feature.
Here’s a link to
the Chili Bowl qualifying night schedules:
http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/uncategorized/chili-bowl-qualifying-nights-set/
Here is the entry list with
over 250 names: http://www.chilibowl.com/2011chilibowlentries.asp
And:
SPEED to provide
Daytona testing coverage: SPEED and SPEED.com are presenting 23 hours of live testing coverage
from Daytona Jan. 20-22 as the Sprint Cup Series engines roar back to life in
the month of January for the first time in three years. John Roberts and Jeff
Hammond host SPEED's on-air coverage from the studio above
Thursday, Jan. 20
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (SPEED.com)
1 p.m. - 5 p.m. (SPEED.com)
5 p.m. - 7 p.m. (same-day delay) (SPEED)
Friday, Jan. 21
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (SPEED.com)
1 p.m. - 2 p.m. (SPEED)
2 p.m. - 5 p.m. (SPEED.com)
Saturday, Jan. 22
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (SPEED.com)
1 p.m. - 2 p.m. (SPEED)
2 p.m. - 5 p.m. (SPEED.com)
(SPEED)(1-4-2011)
2011
Track Schedules:
Here
are some track listings that have 2011 schedules listed as of the date of this
column:
Accord: http://www.accordspeedway.com/
Big
Diamond: http://www.bigdiamondspeedway.net/
Selinsgrove: http://www.selinsgrovespeedway.com/
Wyalusing: http://www.wvmpracing.com/
CRSA
Sprint Cars: http://www.crsasprintcars.com/
I’ve
seen the schedules for OCFS and also for the Xcell 600 Modifieds, but they have
not yet been released to the general public as I’m sending this column in.
Video time:
As mentioned above – a video about Fred Lorenzen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWQk_XqJ4fc
Non racing news:
First, some
“local” news from my area:
In part:
“News
two weeks before Christmas that Macy's had decided to build its $150 million
fulfillment center in West Virginia instead of Orange County cost the region
1,900 permanent and temporary jobs and was a blow to the morale of economic
development officials hoping for a win in the midst of a dry time for
recruiting new businesses.”
“
“Another
problem, many say, is that the state doesn't have any concerted strategy for
landing new business.”
Note: In most cases, when there’s an article such
as this one, there are comments made by the general public, under the
article. Here, below is one about the
above subject:
“Why did our local representatives
chase after Macys?
A few months ago the Record
reported that a worker had to make about $23 per hour to afford to live and
work in
A couple of articles
about “Illegals”:
From December 30:
In part:
“On Monday morning, state troopers
pulled over a van with a broken windshield on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and
discovered 10 illegal aliens inside the vehicle. According to Pennsylvania
State Police Sgt. Anthony Deluca, three of the illegal aliens escaped during
the traffic stop but were captured a short time later.
The nine Salvadoran nationals and one
Honduran were all turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The illegal aliens were on their way
from
“As we have seen so many times, those
who hire illegal aliens simply pass the buck of responsibility to everyone, but
themselves.
With 1 in 5 Americans out of work, we
simply cannot afford to allow one job go to an illegal alien. The issue of
illegal immigration is now a fight for the survival of the American family.”
And:
Illegal aliens caught building public
housing project in
In part:
“On Tuesday, Bay County Sheriff Frank
McKeithen announced that his deputies arrested 14 illegal aliens who had been
working at a taxpayer-funded construction site on the corner of 11tth Street
and
Deputies stopped a truck being driven
erratically just after it left the construction site, when they discovered the
driver had a suspended license, he admitted to being in the country illegally.
The driver also told the deputies that he lived with 16 other illegal aliens in
two nearby homes.
When
“Sheriff McKeithen told reporters: “I
have received information that within the last 24 hours local construction
workers have been to this particular construction site seeking work and were
denied employment. It is a shame that a multi-million dollar site is being
constructed in
Harden Contracting, the firm building
the housing project, has blamed a sub-contractor called "Spurs" out
of
Note: Don’t ya just love it when these companies
are always “passing the buck” as to who is responsible? Maybe if some of them were
to get closed down, immediately, it might stop? Nah, doubt it.
Is this true?:
I got the following in an e-mail on January 8th.
The question should be why is there even a poll on this?
What the heck is happening in
this country? I can’t believe that we are even discussing this!
CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?
Vote NO on FOX to banning the flag in
VOTE !!! This is
disgusting, to put it politely.
Your
help is needed. This is just sickening. Only 72% have voted on the FOX
poll to NOT
|
ban the flag in school and something like 21% voted YES, to ban
it. What is going on in this country?? Read below. |
Fox is running a poll about whether the flag should be banned
in schools in order not to inflame Hispanic students. The poll is
being sandbagged by SEIU and we should mount
a counter action if you agree with me that the flag should be taken down for no
one.
Moveon.org,
funded by George Soros,
Organizing for America , and SEIU, "Service Employee International
UNION", have been twittering today to go to Fox Poll and vote to BAN
the Flag and right now it is still working (21%).
It's time to SHOW THEM WHAT TRUE PATRIOTS BELIEVE!!!
GO
HERE NOW:
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/05/06/american-flag-banned-america/
VOTE.........and then pass it along!
Would this work?
From an e-mail I received a while ago:
“There recently was an article in the
Dear Mr. President,
Please find below my suggestion for fixing
You can call it the "Patriotic Retirement Plan":
There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1
million apiece severance for early retirement (tax free) with the following
stipulations:
1)
They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment
fixed.
2)
They MUST buy a new
AMERICAN Car. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.
3)
They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!!
P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress pay
their taxes...
Mr. President, while you're at it, make Congress retire on Social
Security and Medicare. I'll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!
Closing with these:
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity
clothes as soon as
your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last
time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month..
The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them
neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and
discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper,
a frown--you pick up the baby
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten
to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to
rewind the mechanical swing.
Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until
you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it
off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in..
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!
Remember – My next column will be back on
January 27th, and a possible photo article on January 20th.
As usual, you can reach me
at: ygordad@yahoo.com