Racin' & Internet Stuff:

By Tom Avenengo

Volume # 49

03/24/2011

First:

Well, Spring has arrived, so they say! I woke up at around 7:45 AM on Monday, and it was snowing like h*ll. Glad it didn’t last! However, even though Spring is here, we’re having snow and “mixed precip” being forecast for a good part of this coming week, as you can see, below, with this forecast as of 2:00 PM on Tuesday:

Today: A mix of clouds and sun. High 48F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight: Cloudy skies with a few snow showers after midnight. Low 31F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 30%.

Tomorrow: Cloudy with snow showers becoming a steady accumulating snow later on. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.

Tomorrow night: A mix of wintry precipitation in the evening. Then mainly snow showers overnight. Low near 30F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 70%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected.

Thursday: Morning snow showers. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the low 20s.

Friday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 30s and lows in the low 20s.

Saturday: A few clouds. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the low 20s.

Spring has arrived?

Second:

Some coming up items:

Car show:

ROCKLAND MOTORSPORTS,

CUSTOM CARS & BIKE SHOW

March 25-26-27

Info for the Rockland County Car Show: http://www.motorsportshow2011.com/

OCFS:

http://www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net/index2.html

March 26th // 2011 WORK DAY | Orange County Fair Grounds - 10am to 3pm

April 6th // OPEN PRACTICE | All Divisions - 5pm to 9pm (Rain Date - April 8th 5pm-9pm)

April 9th // OPENING NIGHT

Accord:

http://www.accordspeedway.com/

April 1-Open Practice & Safety Inspection rain date 4/2

April 8-Open Practice & Safety Inspection rain date 4/9

April 15^th: Opening night.

Note: For you Brett Hearn fans, I see that he is scheduled to race at Accord on the 15^th. Also, per his schedule, as of Sunday, the following two Friday nights have nothing scheduled.

Third:

Remember the ad for the Tobias SpeedSTR being for sale in the previous two columns? Well, some good news – it’s been sold.

Fourth:

The Prelude to the dream race will be back again in 2011 – on June 8^th – maybe.

Some info from Jayski’s website:

Prelude to the Dream in June: The seventh annual Prelude to the Dream all-star dirt Late Model race at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio is slated for June 8, 2011 and just as last year's event benefited four of the nation's top children's hospitals, the 2011 edition will do the same. BUT it the event has no sponsor and may NOT be held if a sponsor is not found. The Prelude to the Dream is a Dirt Late Model all-star race featuring over 2 dozen NASCAR stars. Tickets go on sale April 4th. For past years results, see my Prelude to the Dream page.(3-21-2011)

Fifth:

National Speed Sport News closes up.

I've received a few e-mails from Yahoo! Race History Group members about the demise of the NSSN. Ernie Saxton posted this, below, on March 22^nd:

"After 77 years of publishing National Speed Sport News ran their last issue today. The publication that Chris Economaki and a talented staff made into such a wonderful source of auto racing news is now out of business.

The first story I ever wrote about auto racing appeared in National so many years ago."

From the NSSN’s website:

“HARRISBURG, N.C. — There’s so much to say, and so little time to say it. For nearly 77 years National Speed Sport News has brought the latest auto-racing news, information and opinions into the homes of readers around the world. Sadly — and heartbreakingly — for those of us who have contributed to National Speed Sport News and worked on its full-time staff, this — March 23, 2011 — is the final issue. The struggling economy and a technologically charged consumer base have left this publication’s ownership (see letter on page nine) with few options. It’s been a hell of a ride through 76 years of triumph and tragedy. The stars (A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Richard Petty, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones and the list goes on forever) this publication covered in their youth are now aging legends of the sport. Chris Economaki, whose column occupied this space for nearly 60 years, is 90 years old. His trusty Royal typewriter is now located in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The cars have changed. The sport is a thousand times safer than those earlier years when life was cheap and death was at every turn. Through the years hundreds of writers and thousands of hard-working photographers had their work published in these pages. For many of them covering racing was a hobby they pursued passionately, for others it was a profession and a way of life. Without them, National Speed Sport News would have meant little. Their work and their dedication to the sport they love is what made NSSN the Motorsports Authority. It is, indeed, the end of an era, yet we’re proud to have been part of the latest team to work on “The Bible.” The good times and the bad, the challenges and the successes are all items we’ll carry with us the rest of our lives. For nearly 77 years this newspaper honored a commitment to its readers to bring the best auto-racing coverage to their mailboxes on a weekly basis. We’re devastated that we will no longer be able to have that place in the lives of so many racing fans, but very proud you’ve welcomed us into your homes and racing shops for so very long. We hope NSSN will be remembered not for the way it bowed out, but for the entertainment and joy it brought its readers for generations.”

“NationalSpeedSportNews.com, the online version of the newspaper, will continue to be updated with daily news, giving Internet savvy readers the opportunity to keep up with some of the same news they enjoyed every week.

But as far as the newspaper goes, it’s the end of an era.”

Sixth:

Some “local” news:

Michael Storms had landed a ride for the 2011 season.

From him, on Facebook:

Michael Storms

Just want everyone to know I finalized my plans last night with the Sherlock Motorsports team. The plan as of now is run Accord on friday nights and start out at Middletown for the first few weeks and see where the saturday deal is with points. Its been a long winter not knowing if i was gonna be racing, but I am definitly excited to work with them and there team.

Note: Word going around is that Danny Johnson opted out of the Sherlock # 10 at Accord.

Found on Jayski’s website:

NC Judge denies Red Bull request to toss Speed's lawsuit: A North Carolina judge has allowed Scott Speed to proceed with his $6.5 million lawsuit against Red Bull Racing as she denied the race team's request to make a judgment based solely on what each side has presented in court without any investigation into Speed's claims. Judge Sharon Barrett's ruling came after a 35-minute hearing Monday in North Carolina Superior Court. She denied Red Bull's argument that it could release Speed for not meeting the performance clause in his contract that states if he didn't finish 15th in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series standings he could be fired. Speed filed the lawsuit Dec. 10 after he was fired by the team following his second season in Cup. In the lawsuit, Speed claimed that Red Bull did not fund the team as necessary to compete at the Cup level nor did it put forth the required technological resources for him to have a competitive car.(SceneDaily)(3-22-2011)

Rick Ware Racing soliciting donations for crewmen: from the Rick Ware Racing Facebook: To donate to the Dean Shaut and Steve Masch families please visit your local SunTrust Bank and mention you would like to donate to the Dean Shaut/Steve Masch Fund. On March 11, Dean Shaut, lost control of his vehicle while driving on Ball Park Road in Thomasville, NC and was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger Stephen Masch was airlifted to Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C., with spinal cord and head injuries and is listed in critical condition. Rick Ware Racing fields entries for the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series.(3-22-2011)

Entry list for the Cup race at the Auto Club Speedway, in California shows 43 for the Cup race and 45 for the Nationwide race.

Former Oakland Valley Speedway (Dirt Oval) runners:

At Selinsgrove this past weekend, Danny Creeden had a 13^th in the RoC Small Block feature and a 12^th in the RoC Big Block feature. Billy VanInwegen was a DNQ in the ROC Small Block event and had a 13^th in the RoC Big Block Feature. Mike Mammana was a DNQ in the RoC Big Block event.

Going back, in time – in racing history:

Note: Most of the following information was found here:

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

Covering the days of March 25^th to March 31^st.

MARCH 25
1925

Don Freeland... Born ... AAA / USAC driver from the 1950's & 60's. Freeland competed in the Indy 500 each year from 1953 to 1960. He appeared headed for a second place finish in 1955 before a transmission failure ended his day 22 laps prior to the end of the race. He came back with a best Indy finish of third the next year. He also finished in the top ten in 1954 and 1958.

1982

Danica Patrick... Born ... An American auto racing driver competing in the IndyCar Series, and NASCAR Nationwide Series. She was named the Rookie of the Year for both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 IndyCar Series season.

2009

Singer/song writer Dan Seals passed away. The brother of Jim Seals of Seals & Croft, Dan Seals sang under the name England Dan in the 1970s in a duo with John Ford Coley.

MARCH 26
2006

Paul Dana... Died ... An American race car driver in the Indy Racing League. After competing in 3 Indycar series events, Dana suffered a spinal fracture while practicing for the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and missed the rest of the season, replaced by Jimmy Kite. He returned to the series to race for Rahal Letterman Racing after he recovered from his injuries. In the practice session for the first race of the 2006 IRL season, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Dana collided with Ed Carpenter's disabled car after Carpenter's tire went flat, thrusting the car into retaining wall, before sliding to the bottom of the track. Paul Dana, in the Rahal-Letterman car, was told to "go low" by his spotter. Slow-motion footage showed that Paul had hit debris from Ed's car just before impact, which caused damage to the right-front suspension. ABC/ESPN's telemetry indicated Dana's car hit Carpenter's car at about 176 mph, while Scott Sharp, who was running alongside Dana, reported that he had slowed to approximately 50 mph by the time of Dana's impact. Dana was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

MARCH 27
1939

Cale Yarborough... Born ... A businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He was the first driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships. He had 83 wins on the all-time NASCAR winner's list. In 1984, he became the first driver to qualify for the Daytona 500 with a top speed of more than 200 miles per hour. He also raced in 4 Indy 500's with a best finish of 10th in 1972.

Maurice Petty ... Born ... A former NASCAR driver from Randleman, NC. He was the chief engine builder at Petty Enterprises and the lead mechanic for brother Richard Petty. In his driving career, Petty competed in twenty-six Nextel Cup Series events and earned sixteen top-tens. His best finish was a 3rd at Spartanburg in 1961.

1984

Joe Garson... Died ... AAA driver from the early 1950's.

MARCH 28
1935

Sonny Ates... Born ... USAC midget, sprint and championship car driver from the 1960's & 70's.

MARCH 29
1925

Johnny Coy... Born ... ( His real name was John Barbaro) Coy raced everything from jalopies to modifieds, but it was in the midgets where he excelled. He started running midgets in the late '40's at Freeport. He drifted out to Oklahoma where they ran 6 nights a week. Returning to Long Island in the '50's he jumped into the stocks and ran both. He ran NASCAR Grand Nationals at Langhorne in 1957 , beating Buck Baker and the Keikhafer crew in his own "ill prepared" Chrysler 300. Coy passed his drivers test at Indianapolis in 1962, but the car broke during a qualifying run. He continued driving midgets with ARDC and TQ's with ATQMRA until arthritis got the best of his hands in 1984 and helped his two sons ARDC and NEMA Champion Joey Coy and Johnny Coy Jr.

1944

Bill Vukovich Jr. ... Born ... A former driver in the championship car division of USAC and CART Championship Car series. He was named the 1968 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, a result of his 7th place finish. Vukovich raced in the 1965-1982 seasons, with 158 combined career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 in 1968-1977, 1979-1980. He finished in the top ten 85 times, with one victory in 1973 at Brooklyn. He also had 23 National midget car victories in his career, and drove for part of his career in Christopher J.C. Agajanian's midget car. He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1998. Bill Jr. is the son of 2-time Indy 500 Winner, Bill Vukovich and the father of Bill Vukovich III, both of whom were killed in racing accidents.

1954

Chip Robinson... Born ... A retired race car driver. He drove in the IMSA Camel GT series and won the 1987 24 Hours of Daytona (with Al Holbert, Derek Bell, and Al Unser, Jr. in a Porsche) and the 1989 12 Hours of Sebring (with Arie Luyendyk and Geoff Brabham) in a Nissan. He made 5 CART starts in 1986 and 1987 with a best finish of 6th at the 1987 Long Beach Grand Prix. Chip Robinson was invited to the International Race of Champions in 1988. During this time his best finish was second place, at Riverside International Raceway.

1961

Doug Heveron... Born ... An American race car driver from Liverpool, New York. He has driven supermodifieds, modifieds, Indy cars, NASCAR Winston Cup cars, NASCAR Busch Grand National cars, sprint cars, late models and midgets.

2006

Bob Veith... Died ... AAA and USAC driver. Ran the Championship Car series, racing from 1955 to 1968 with 63 starts. He finished in the top ten 37 times, with a best finish of 2nd twice, both in 1958. Veith qualified for his first Indianapolis 500 in 1956, finishing 7th that year to win the Rookie of the Year award. After another top 10 finish the next year, he qualified 4th in 1958 but was knocked out of the race in a first lap accident that killed Pat O'Connor. He competed in the 500 eight more times, with his last start coming in 1968.

MARCH 30

1927

Johnny Baldwin... Born ... USAC driver from the 1950's. Started racing midgets in 1946 & retired from driving in 1966

1939

John Martin... Born ... USAC driver from the 1970's & 80's.

1995

Edgar Elder... Died ... AAA driver from the early 1950's.

MARCH 31
1956

Kevin Cogan... Born ... A former racecar driver who drove in Formula One and Indy cars. He ran the Indy 500 twelve times with a best finish of 2nd in 1986.

Ralph DePalma... Died ... AAA driver from 1909 to 1933. Ran the Indy 500 ten times and won in 1915.
1964

Andy Granatelli's 4-wheel drive Novi Indycars damaged in a garage fire at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

1966

Nick Firestone... Born ... An American former race car driver from Phoenix, Arizona. His great-grandfather Harvey Firestone founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1900. Nick competed in 42 Indy Lights races from 1993 to 1996. His best finish was a pair of second places his rookie year (1993) at Nazareth Speedway and The Milwaukee Mile. He finished 6th in points in both 1993 and 1994, his best season result . He attempted to qualify for the 1999 Indianapolis 500 for McCormack Motorsports but failed to make the field.

1993

Chip Mead... Died ... USAC / CART driver from the 1980

1998

Tim Flock... Died ... One of NASCAR's early pioneers, and a two time series champion. He was a brother to NASCAR's second female driver Ethel Mobley and NASCAR pioneers Bob Flock and Fonty Flock.

2003

Fermin Velez... Died ... He was a two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring. He was also a driver in the Indy Racing League, racing in the 1996-1997 seasons with 6 career starts, including 2 at the Indianapolis 500.

News from the AARN:

http://www.aarn.com/

From their March 15^th issue:

It’s being said that although there is no “Big Show III” scheduled yet, it possibly could still be added to OCFS or even another facility.

The Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman championship series will end on October 16^th, in Brockville, one week prior to Eastern States Weekend at OCFS.

Note: Earlier, it was mentioned - by Michael Gurda, while interviewed on Doug’s Dirt Diary, that there would be TWO Sportsman races at Eastern States – one for OC Sportsman and one for DIRTcar Sportsman. I have no idea as to why the DIRTcar Sportsman event, at ESW, isn’t part of the championship trail. OR – maybe the two Sportsman race thing at ESW isn’t going to happen now? I’m attempting to get info on that from OCFS.

There was about 2/3 of a page devoted to Glenn Donnelly. Supposedly there are talks going on for an exit off of I-81 for the new ¾ mile track next door to Brewerton.

It’s being said that the new racing complex will cost more than $20 million, and that they are hoping to break ground on construction by June 1^st.

There also are plans for a two-mile road course on the property that the ¾ mile track will be on.

It’s till being said that DirtHetix, the new “surface” that Donnelly has been touting, will be the surface for that ¾ mile track.

Rick Martell has been chosen to be the GM of the new facility.

Corey Reed, Matt Thomas and Doug Logan will be part of Donnelley’s staff.

On Sunday, March 27^th, there will be a meeting with the new organization, with racetrack operators. Invited promoters will get to hear what Donnelly has planned, as he re-enters the sport.

WRG CEO Tom Deery is said to be closely watching what Mr. Donnelly is doing, as far as the new “surface” goes. He says: “If everything he believes can happen happens, we’ll be his second customer”.

Brett Deyo, promoter for the Short Track Nationals that runs the same weekend as SDW, has joined forces with John Wight. If a driver can win at Brewerton on Thursday, and at Five Mile on Saturday, he’ll get a $1,000.00 bonus.

With events being re-scheduled during Super Dirt Week, the 360 Sprint Car event is now toast.

Note: Truly a big loss for Sprint Car fans. They usually drew about 70 cars for that event.

For this past weekends racing at Selinsgrove, one race fan has posted a $1,000.00 bonus to any driver that can win both the Small Block and Big Block features.

Note: No driver won both features.

Did you know that the top five feature winners at the Williams Grove Speedway are still active? Fred Rahmer has 83 wins, Lance Dewease has 75, Don Kreitz, Jr. has 54, Keith Kauffman has 51 and Greg Hodnet has 45. Tommy Hinnershitz is tied in 19^th place with Jan Opperman.

Note: I found that hard to believe, about Hinnershitz, until I realized that when Tommy raced, they didn’t run at Williams Grove on a weekly basis.

New owner for Oswego Speedway – John Torrese. Final papers are now in the hands of lawyers.

The World Racing Group has leased Volusia Speedway Park, in Barberville, Florida, from March through the end of the year. Stanley Kolan and Ken Sands will be running the track. Both gentlemen have old ties to the Orange County Speedway. Kolan, a big fan of Orange County, purchased the East Bay Speedway in Florida several years back and employed Will Cagle to work for him. Kolan sold the track many years back and hadn’t been heard of until now resurfacing at Valusia. Sands has been the track manager at Orange County in recent years before making his way to the south. They plan on running an assortment of different divisions weekly right up until the year-end holidays. The World Racing Group will take the track back to promote the successful events during speedweeks, in 2012.

Are you aware that the late Warren Ruffner, who was an announcer here in the northeast, had worked out a way to get “crash money” to some drivers, mostly the “little guys” that raced at Reading, when they had a damaging crash. The monies would come from the tracks promoter, Lindy Vicari.

The IZOD IndyCar Series has set a limit of the amount of cars in their races (except for the Indy 500) at a maximum of 26 cars.

Bristol:

My wife taped the Nationwide race for me since I was at the RoC race in Selinsgrove on Saturday, but I have yet to watch it. So, I have no idea as to how the attendance was. However, I did watch the Cup race on Sunday. It was sad to see so many empty seats on Sunday – especially when just a few short years ago, you couldn’t get tickets to that event. I expect to see more of the same, and, at times, even worse that what we saw at Bristol. I think we all have ideas as to why fans are staying away, and it isn’t all NASCAR’s fault.

Not only were there a lot of empty seats, but TV viewing also suffered, per this, from Jayski’s website:

Bristol overnight TV Ratings down: NASCAR on Fox posted a 3.9/9 Sunday for racing from Bristol. There are two relevant comparisons to last year. Yesterday's race was the fourth Sprint Cup points race of the season, and compared to last year's fourth race yesterday's 3.9/9 is down -19% versus a 4.8/11 for racing from Atlanta. The other comparison is to last year's Bristol race, which was the fifth race of the season and also followed a bye week. Yesterday's 3.9/9 is down -7% compared to last year's Bristol race. The effect of last week's early season bye week, which is always damaging, was even worse than expected this year. Sunday's 3.9/9 is -26% lower than the 5.3/11 that FOX earned for the Las Vegas race that preceded the bye. Last year FOX came out of the bye week with a 4.2/9 for Bristol, which was just -12% lower than the 4.8/11 posted in Atlanta two weeks earlier. Competition from the NCAA Tournament does not appear to have been a major driver of the decline. Although the Tournament was generally stronger this weekend, the two windows that faced the Bristol race were up only +4% over last year (5.8/13 vs. 5.6/13). Despite this week's decline NASCAR is still pacing ahead of last year for the season-to-date. FOX has averaged a 5.7/12 for its first four races, up +10% over last season's 5.2/11.(3-21-2011)

I found these postings on the Internet.

“The TV coverage of the races is great compared to years ago. There is no plus points to going to the race and sitting on a metal bench all day when you can sit on the couch and get more coverage than your 2 eyes can give you watching it live.”

“I dont think Nascar is losing fans, the economy is still real bad for most of the country. Ive been to Bristol twice and I alone spent over a grand each trip between tickets, fuel, hotel rooms, food and ...beer. A lot of people dont have that type of $$$ to drop now a days.”

“Ive gone twice and the closest rooms were 1 3/4 hrs away. Still worth the trip. Id trade 10 Daytonas for a Bristol!”

“There aren't enough hotel beds in the area to accommodate all the fans. There were stories in the paper last year about people who won free tickets but the nearest vacant hotel was three plus hours away.”

“Thought this was the hardest ticket to get in racing???? place is empty”.

More about Bristol, on the Internet – via Jayski’s website:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/643063-nascar-track-facing-empty-seats-andf-the-ghost-of-bristol-past

http://www2.tricities.com/sports/2011/mar/22/bristol-motor-speedway-losing-its-lustere-ar-920791/

http://www.skirtsandscuffs.com/2011/03/5-questions-after-jeff-byrd-500.html

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/032311/spo_803986935.shtml

New England Tractor: http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/

Wheels of Speed: http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/

The Caruso Racing Museum website: http://www.carusomidgetracing.com/ A great website if you are interested in the history of legendary Mike Caruso, his cars and his drivers.

First Turn Pro: http://www.firstturnpro.com/

Vintage Sprint Car:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=236178

Vintage Midget: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337192

Briggs Cunningham race team – history:

http://www.briggscunningham.com/race_history.html?YEAR=1955

Note: Disregard the “error” notice on top left.

Racing and television:

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

Note: My son, Eric, asked me if I had seen the NASCAR show that was on Showtime. I hadn’t. From what he said, it really isn’t a show that the little ones should watch, since you actually her what’s said between driver and crew chief, etc etc, with no “beeping out”.

So I go to the link, above, to see when it’s on. Ok, how about Wednesday, March 9^th at:

9:00P-9:30	SHOW	Inside NASCAR, N
11:00P-11:30	SHOW	Inside NASCAR, R

So, what happened? Why isn’t it on more often? Well, actually, it is.

Ahah! I “Googled” it, and found this:

SHOe – Wed Mar 23 – 11:00 PM – Inside NASCAR

It also said the following times, on Showtime:

Sat Mar 26 – 1:30 AM & 9:00 AM

Sun Mar 27 – 9:00 AM

Wed Mar 30 – 9:00 PM

So I watched it at 11:00 PM on March 23^rd. At the end of the show, it made mention of it being back on next Wednesday - at 9:00 PM.

So, I’d have to say the Wednesday 9:00 PM showing is the first and the rest are all repeats. Oh, and yes, the “bad” words are NOT bleeped out.

Video time:

How about a few videos, this week? One, featuring a big crash that happened at the RoC race in Selinsgrove, Pa last Saturday, and a few featuring Ferlin Husky who passed away last week, on March 17^th, at the age of 85, and one for the late Dan Seals, too, who left us on March 25^th, 2009, at the young age of 61.

The Selinsgrove RoC race crash:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Papwu54_aA&feature=player_embedded#at=95

And, Ferlin Husky:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj6Vn5-rRcE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIwyhH1Y7qg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMtL_kqUxN4&feature=related

And Dan Seals:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUXCaXSTmns

Is this true:

I would suppose it is. However, if so, I think it’s quite a shame that:

1: It’s happening in our country

2: She wasn’t able to finish what she wanted to say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Ite9iqOi8

Closing with this:

Two little boys, ages 8 and 10, are excessively mischievous.

They are always getting into trouble and their parents
know if any mischief occurs in their town,
the two boys are probably involved.

The boys' mother heard that a preacher in town
had been successful in disciplining children,
so she asked if he would speak with her boys.
The preacher agreed, but he asked to see them individually.

The mother sent the 8 year old in the morning,
with the older boy to see the preacher in the afternoon.
The preacher, a huge man with a deep booming voice,
sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly,
"Do you know where God is, son?"

The boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response,
sitting there wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open.
So the preacher repeated the question in an even sterner tone,
"Where is God?!
Again, the boy made no attempt to answer.
The preacher raised his voice even more and shook his finger
in the boy's face and bellowed, "WHERE IS GOD?!"

The boy screamed & bolted from the room,
ran directly home & dove into his closet,
slamming the door behind him.
When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked,
"What happened?"

The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied,
"We are in BIG trouble this time!"
"GOD is missing, and they think WE did it!"

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!

Until next week!

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