Racin' & Internet Stuff:

By Tom Avenengo

Volume # 50

03/31/2011

First:

Not racing related, but this really could suck:

I found this on Yahoo! this past Sunday night:

Medicare rise could mean no Social Security COLA

In part:

“Millions of retired and disabled people in the United States had better brace for another year with no increase in Social Security payments.

The government is projecting a slight cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits next year, the first increase since 2009. But for most beneficiaries, rising Medicare premiums threaten to wipe out any increase in payments, leaving them without a raise for a third straight year.”

“David Certner of AARP estimates that as many as three-fourths of beneficiaries will have their entire Social Security increase swallowed by rising Medicare premiums next year.”

“Medicare premiums are absorbing a growing share of Social Security benefits, leaving retired and disabled people with less money for other expenses, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.”

“Consumer prices dropped, but Social Security benefits didn't drop, Biggs said. At the same time, health care costs went up, but Part B premiums stayed the same for most beneficiaries.”

Note: Huh? When did consumer prices drop? Not in my area over these last few years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110327/ap_on_bi_ge/us_social_security_cola

Second:

Some coming up items:

OCFS:

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

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

Note: Long range weather forecast, as of Tuesday, 3/29, for 4/6 for OCFS is 60% chance of showers, with a 50% chance of showers on 4/5

April 9^th - OPENING NIGHT

Accord:

http://www.accordspeedway.com/

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

Note: Forecast for Accord - as of 3/29 is:

Tomorrow: Snow showers becoming mixed with rain later. High near 40F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 70%.

Tomorrow night: Rain and snow in the evening turning to all snow late. Low 32F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 80%. 3 to 5 inches of snow expected.

Friday: Windy. Snow during the morning will mix with rain at times during the afternoon. High 39F. Winds NW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of precip 80%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.

Saturday: Windy with a mix of rain and snow. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the low 30s.

April 8 – Open practice with rain date of April 9^th, if needed.

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, and now on the 22^nd, also. And, I’ve also read that Danny Johnson will not be running at the Accord Speedway this year – at least on a steady basis, I should add. That’s sad. Danny always puts on a good show at the “Big A”.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Loudon)

The 21^st annual Vintage Open Wheel Race Car meet will be on May 17, 18 & 19 – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – the usual days. This meet is one of, if not the biggest Vintage Open Wheel Race car meet in the country.

From their website:

“From Tuesday, May 17, to Sunday, May 22, history will come alive as legendary racing machines from around the world gather to compete in the 21st Annual Vintage Racing Celebration.

Beginning Tuesday, May 17, through Thursday, May 19 some of the world’s best vintage midgets, sprint cars, champ cars, roadsters and NASCAR stock cars will race on the speedway’s 1.058-mile oval.

From Friday, May 20, through Sunday, May 22, New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s tricky 1.6-mile road course will challenge vintage road racers from around the world. Classic car enthusiasts can see vintage sports cars, formula cars and motorcycles compete for bragging rights on the 12- turn NHMS course.

Join us on Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22 for the Classic and Custom Car Show along with an Automotive Flea Market. If you love cars, this event is for you!

Gates open each day at 9:00 a.m.”

Info for the Open Wheel portion of the show can be found here: http://www.vintagecelebration.com/accomodations.htm

Oakland Valley Speedway (The Dirt Oval):

Practice this Saturday for Karts and Slingshots – weather permitting. First point race is scheduled for April 8^th.

As of 1:00 PM on Tuesday, it wasn’t all that promising, weather wise:

Friday: Snow. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the low 30s.

Saturday: Rain and snow showers. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the low 30s.

Third:

Do you watch NASCAR races on TV? If so, then surely you’ve seen the drivers get interviewed, and as soon as the camera goes on them, up goes the bottle of Coke or Pepsi or what ever – more than likely to satisfy a sponsor, right? Have you also noticed that in most cases, those bottles are FULL?

Oh and congrats to those that remove their sunglasses when interviewed, too.

Fourth:

Question: Why does NASCAR wave a black flag and a red flag to show the end of practice? Wouldn’t a checkered flag do the exact same thing?

Fifth:

Question: Why in major league racing, like NASCAR and Indycar, do they hide “Victory Lane” in the middle of the infield, usually out of the eye of those that paid big bucks to see the race? What with today’s technology, isn’t it possible to have something done between the track and pit area?

OOPS! Spoke too soon! Out in California it was between pit road and the track for the Nationwide race.

Sixth:

Prior to the Indycar race this past Sunday; I posted this on the Track Forum:

“So, what are the odds of them making it through the first turn, at the start, with no problems? What are the odds of them making it through the first lap with no problems? Slim to none?”

Guess what happened? Uh huh – 1^st turn, 1^st lap.

Seventh:

A couple of 7’s.

It was said, during the Cup race from California, this past Sunday, that there were 7 drivers in the race from California.

When I looked at the starting lineup for the Indycar race at St. Petersburg, FL, I counted 7 drivers with US addresses. Quite a diference, huh?

Eighth:

Watching the start of the Cup race from California last Sunday, and in the very early laps, Trevor Bayne got high in one of the turns, got into the “marbles” so they said, and had contact with the wall. Excuse me – “marbles” on the track at the very beginning? Must have been, because there was quite a bit of dust. Don’t they clean off the track prior to the race? Surely they have the equipment, right?

Ninth:

Not too many race fans were happy with the “demo derby” Indycar race last Sunday, as you would see if you go to this particular thread over on the Track Forum:

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?147962-St.-Pete-Race-Thread!!!

Tenth:

One of the forums/message boards that I frequent had this as a topic:

“I almost wouldn't mind gas prices...”

With theses comments:

“...if the quality was any good!! I live in Pa and everyone is bitchin but how their mileage has gone in the toilet. Anyone else feel this way?”

“its all this wonderful, green burning ethanol they're mixing in our fuel. sure it burns cleaner but does it really in the long run with how much more we have to burn?”

“yes I feel same way. My 88 Chevy Beretta I was getting around 30-35 mpg. Now I'm down to 23-25 if I'm lucky. I did find this gas station in Terre Hill ,PA that has no ethanol and gas mileage went back up to 33mpg. Just a shame station is far away from me. It did cost a few more cents, but mileage was much better and the performance was unreal, almost like I had jet fuel in it...LOL”

“My 99 F250 started bucking a few weeks ago. Took it to my mechanic and he said to do an injector cleaner. He sees this every day since the intro of ethanol in the gas. He also told me to use a fuel stabilizer and it will help with the adverse effects of E10.”

“I went from being able to drive 400 miles on a tank..to about 330ish. But im assuming that it’s because of winter”

“Its the ethanol more than the winter, definintely. My car has a miss in it at 50 mph. Ethanol sucks. Just more tree huggin' hippie crap from the environmentalists. Costs more in the long run for all of us to run that junk. It's not saving anybody anything.”

Eleventh:

Believe it or not, I found a link to what’s below on Facebook!

HEDGER: Turmoil In The Northeast

In part:

“OCALA, Fla. — World of Outlaw Late Model Series stalwart Tim Fuller told NSSN prior to Friday night’s Sunshine 50 that the three-race Southern Swing would mark the end of his tenure with car owner John Wight.

“John wants nothing to do with World Racing Group anymore,” explained the New Yorker succinctly. “My Gypsum Express deal is all done.”

Fuller is the apparent victim of a WRG vs. Wight feud revolving around Wight’s two speedways — Brewerton and Fulton which recently dropped their DIRTcar sanction for 2011.

The dispute began over Wight’s desire to advertise Sunoco’s Fulton ethanol plant at the speedway, a move at odds with WRG’s VP Racing Fuels sponsorship, and escalated to Wight dropping his DIRTcar sponsorship and signing with American Racer Tire for his two central N.Y., speedways.

This led to a Super DIRT Week scheduling battle, with Brewerton losing its satellite small-block event, Rolling Wheels moving its Friday night DIRT event, with the WoO LMs added to Brewerton’s traditional Thursday night date and Friday afternoon’s Syracuse qualifying program going to a nighttime show.

With Wight talking of running against both weeknight DIRT programs, the dispute is far from settled.

Also affected are Wight’s other race teams, with DIRT ace Billy Decker reportedly not running the DIRTcar tour this season and Wight’s son, Larry, committed to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The third Gypsum Express team, with driver Pat Ward, has not run the DIRT tour for a number of years, instead concentrating on the Race of Champions tour and independent events.

As for Fuller, he will continue to run modified events for the Knoth/Hastings No. 74 team and says, “I’m working on a lot of things, including with the late model series. I’ll know for sure this week.”

http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/opinion/columns/hedger-turmoil-in-the-northeast/

Found on Jayski’s website:

Smaller restrictor plate for Dega: Sirius NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody has learned that NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams have been notified that they will be using a 7/8 inch diameter restrictor plate in next month's event at Talladega. That represents a 1/64 reduction from what was used in the season-opening Daytona 500. Cooling system regulations will remain the same as at Daytona, with maximum air inlets mandated at three inches high by 20 inches wide.(Sirius Speedway)(3-24-2011)

Bryan Keith had a rather interesting article about the Cup race from California. Interested? Check it out, here: http://www.frontstretch.com/bkeith/33291/

And:

TV Times: LA Times Says NASCAR is Basically Tanking

In part:

“The Los Angeles Times published a very negative piece concerning NASCAR, citing the organization’s downshift in popularity over the past four years.”

http://motorsportsnews.net/archives/5929

Michigan adds credit card payments at concession stands:

Knowing race fans want convenience when they attend NASCAR events, Americrown and Michigan International Speedway officials have announced credit card systems will be installed at most of the track's concessions stands in time for the 2011 season. Concession stands will accept credit cards at most locations including the Coca-Cola Champions Grill at the base of the center grandstand tower near the start-finish line, inside the MIS Champions Club and at the permanent infield stand just off the Pit Patio, to name a few. All major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover will be accepted. Stands that accept credit cards will be marked.(MIS)(3-28-2011)

Former Oakland Valley Speedway (Dirt Oval) runners:

Down at the New Egypt Speedway, this past Saturday night, they had a couple of RoC races – one for the Sportsman and one for the Modifieds.

Sportsman:

Mike Mammana had a 3^rd in his heat and a 22^nd in the feature. Anthony Perrego had an 8^th in his heat and is not listed for a consi. Brad Szulewski had a 9^th in his heat, a first in his consi and was 8^th in the feature – that after breaking a RR shock on the 7^th lap.

Modifieds:

Johnny Guarino broke a transmission in hot laps and was done for the day. Danny Creeden had a 7^th in his heat and is not listed in any consi. Mike Mammana had a 6^th in his heat and a 6^th in his consi.

Note: Did you know that Tom Hager is the uncle of Mike Mammana?

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 April 1^st to April 7^th.

April 1

1976

David Gilliland ... Born ... NASCAR driver

1981

Harlan Fengler ... Died ... AAA driver from 1923 to 1927. Fengler acted as Chief Steward of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1958 until 1974.

1993

Alan Kulwicki... Died ... NASCAR Winston Cup racecar driver. He arrived at the highest and most expensive level of stock car racing in the United States, with only a borrowed pickup truck, a race car, no sponsor, and a limited budget. Kulwicki was a perfectionist and liked doing things his way: his scientific methodology approach to NASCAR racing inspired the way teams are currently run.He is known for driving for his own race team during most of his NASCAR career. Kulwicki was the 1986 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and won the 1992 Winston Cup by the closest margin in NASCAR history. In 1998 he was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers] and he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002. Kulwicki's nicknames were "Special K" and the "Polish Prince". Kulwicki died in a plane crash on April 1, 1993 at age 38. He was returning in a Hooters corporate plane from an appearance at the Knoxville Hooters prior to the spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

April 2

1926

Jack Brabham... Born ... An Australian racing driver who was Formula One champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966. He ran the Indy 500 four times with a best finish of 9th in 1961.

1939

Henry Guerand... Died ... AAA driver from the 1930's. He died in a horrifying accident witnessed by 6500 spectators during the third midget event of 1939 at Nutley Velodrome, NJ. At twenty-first lap of the feature race, while riding in sixth position, Guerand lost control of the car, which was owned by Ernie Gesell, and slammed against the outside guard rail. The body of the driver was thrown half way out of the cockpit and impacted against a steel support overhanging the track, which caused him horrible and not survivable injuries. The car, still carrying Guerand's lifeless body, continued its course around the turn colliding with Bill Schindler and finally came to a stop when it ran into a hay bale. Schindler received cuts about the face and nose. The race was halted with Johnny Ritter declared the winner. Henry Guerand, who was of French parentage, was a very popular sprint car (then known as big cars) driver and was one on the very first sprint car competitors to race midgets. He had started his racing career in 1933, in 1938 he obtained the fifth place in the East Coast sprint car standings and then started the 1939 season racing in the Hatkinson series at Tampa, FL. His remarkable results secured him a ride in the famous Gus Strupp's Miller, but unfortunately Guerand was killed before he had the chance to drive it.

1963

Fabrizio Barbazza... Born ... USAC / CART driver from the 1980's and 90's.

1972

Alfred "Speedy" Thompson... Died ... A NASCAR pioneer and driver in the Grand National (now Cup ) series from 1950 to 1971, capturing 20 wins along the way. During a late model race on April 2, 1972 at Metrolina Fairgrounds in Charlotte, where he started the race despite reporting he was not feeling well, Thompson suffered a suspected heart attack during the race and crashed his car, breaking his neck as well. He died on the way to the hospital, one day before his 46th birthday.

1975

Mark Light... Died ... Mark Light drove Sprint Cars, Stock Cars and Midgets at tracks mostly around Pennsylvania. He took 34 career wins but failed to qualify for the Indy 500 in his one attempt in 1950.

April 3
1923

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

Chuck Weyant... Born ... AAA / USAC driver from the 1940's to the early 1970's.

1926

Alfred "Speedy" Thompson... Born ... A NASCAR pioneer and driver in the Grand National (now Cup ) series from 1950 to 1971, capturing 20 wins along the way.

1959

Fermin Velez... Born ... 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.

2005

Walter H. "Curly" Boyd... Died ... AAA / USAC driver from the 1950's and 60's.

April 4
1915

Bob Burman won a match race at Ascot in California driving a Peugeot powered by a Harry Miller built engine. This was the first race win for a Miller built engine.

1924

Bob Christie ... Born ... Christie raced in the USAC Championship Car series in the 1956-1963 seasons, with 15 career starts, including every Indianapolis 500 race in that span. He finished in the top ten 5 times, with his best finish in 3rd position in 1959 at Daytona.

1928

Bud Tingelstad... Born ... USAC driver from 1957 to 1972 in the Midget, Sprint, Stock Car and Championship Car series. In the Championship Cars he raced in the 1960-1971 seasons with 120 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 in each year except 1961 and 1970. He finished in the top ten 56 times, with his one victory in 1966 at DuQuoin.

1933

William Clifton France, "Bill Jr."... Born ... After serving as vice-president for six years, he became the head of NASCAR when his father Bill France, Sr. retired on January 10, 1972. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame describes the transition: "Other than the founding of NASCAR itself, Bill Jr.'s appointment to leadership is probably the most significant event in the history of the sanctioning body." NASCAR went from a Southern regional sport to a national sport during his tenure.

1949

John Force ... Born ... 14 time NHRA Funny Car Champion.

1957

Chet Fillip... Born ... A former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1982-1985 seasons, with 9[1] career starts, and started in the Indianapolis 500 in 1982 and 1983. His best CART finish was in 10th position in 1985 at Milwaukee. At the end of the 1985 season, he switched to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, where he continued racing through 1987, making 24 starts with a best finish of 15th. After NASCAR, Fillip raced several years in USAC sprint car, with 8 victories and also winning the prestigious Little 500 in 1999. The year 2006 saw the formation of a new racing series, the Premier Racing Association (PRA) utilizing the former pavement racing cars of the USAC Silver Crown Series which had switched to a different type of car more suitable for faster, larger tracks a mile or more in length. Chet Fillip won the first championship of this series driving a car of his own design and manufacture. Though he won no races he finished no lower than 6th in any event while always running near the front. After at least 28 years driving everything from sports cars to Indy cars to stock cars, he won his first series championship.

1958

Christian Danner... Born ... A Formula One racer from 1985 to 1989 who also raced on the road courses in the CART series from 1992 to 1997.

1959

George Amick... Died ... AAA / USAC driver 1954 to 1959. He was killed in a crash in a USAC 100-mile Indy car race at Daytona International Speedway.

Jim Rathmann won the 100 mile USAC Championship race at Daytona International Speedway, averaging 170.261 mph. As Rathmann took the checkered, George Amick died in a crash on the backstretch, possibly from the nose of the car lifting off the track. USAC immediately cancelled a 300 mile race scheduled for July 4th due to safety concerns. Amick was the fastest qualifier with a speed of 176.887, a speed not exceeded by an Indy Car for another nine years.

1966

Jimmy Daywalt ... Died ... Jimmy drove AAA sprint cars and in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1950, 1953-1957, 1959, and 1961-1962 seasons with 20 starts. He finished in the top ten 3 times. His best finish was in the 1953 Indianapolis 500, where he finished 6th and was named Rookie of the Year.

1993

Mario Andretti achieved his last CART victory with a win at Phoenix International Raceway.

2000

John W. Rollins... Died ... One of the founders of Dover Downs International Speedway in Dover, Delaware, died at age 83.

April 5
1922

Andy Linden... Born ... AAA driver from the1940's and 1950's. Ran in 7 Indy 500's with a best finish of 4th in 1951.

1965

Mike Bliss... Born ... Started driving USAC in 1993 and NASCAR in 1995.

1976

Hall of Fame Museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was opened to the public.

2000

Lee Petty... Died ... Was an American stock car driver in the 1950s and 60s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR, and one of its first superstars. He is the father of Richard Petty, who would become NASCAR's all-time race winner. With sons Richard and Maurice, he founded Petty Enterprises, which became NASCAR's most successful racing team. He was the grandfather of Kyle Petty, and great grandfather of Adam Petty. In 1990, Lee Petty was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1996. He was elected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

April 6
1885

Jules Goux... Born ... AAA driver from 1913 to 1923. He was a Grand Prix racing champion and the first Frenchman to win the Indianapolis 500 (1913) , as well as the first European to do so.

1898

Pete DePaolo... Born ... AAA driver from 1922 to 1934. He won the 1925 Indianapolis 500.

1912

Tommy Hinnershitz... Born ... Eastern AAA driver from 1932 to 1960. Also known as "The Flying Dutchman", Hinnershitz ran in the Indy 500 three times with a best finish of 9th in 1948. He captured seven Eastern sprint-car championships and posted 103 feature victories during his 30-year racing career. While he first gained success and popularity near his Pennsylvania home, racing at the Reading Fairgrounds and Williams Grove Speedway, he also was very popular with fans and fellow racers in the Corn Belt. From the very start of his career, Hinnershitz preferred driving his own cars as opposed to wheeling machinery owned by others. He was an excellent mechanic and did all the work on his cars, including rebuilds on his Offenhauser engines. During the midget racing boom in the late 1930s, Hinnershitz wheeled an outboard-engine car with great success on the board track at the Nutley (N.J.) Velodrome. He was one of a handful of racers, who won races on dirt, asphalt and boards. He retired from driving in 1960, only hours after his friend and rival, Johnny Thomson, was killed in a race at the Allentown Fairgrounds. Hinnershitz was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in the first class in 1990.

1923

Dick Linder... Born ... In the late 1940's and early 1950's, the Linder name was one of the biggest in racing in the entire country. Dick Linder's career was cut short in a USAC "big car" event at Trenton in 1959. He was Indy-bound and had the talent to become one of the real good ones.

Herb Thomas... Born ... A NASCAR pioneer who won the Grand National Racing (now Winston Cup) championship in 1951 and 1953; ranks 12th on the career victory list with 48 wins in 230 starts; won Southern 500 three times in the 1950s; inducted in International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994.

1941

Don "The Snake" Prudhomme... Born ... Funny Car and Top Fuel racer.

1968

Affonso Giaffone... Born ... IRL driver 1996-1998.

1975

A.J. Foyt scored a milestone victory, earning his 50th career USAC Champ Car win in the 200 mile race at Trenton Speedway. Foyt's 50th win came in his 229th start and 2nd on the active drivers list at the time was Mario Andretti with 32. With gusting winds and below freezing temperatures cancelling qualifying, a draw determined the grid for just the second time in USAC Champ racing history to that point. Tom Sneva drew the pole and Foyt 10th as just 16 cars lined up, and when Jim McElreath's Brabham-Chevy failed to start, just 15 cars took the green flag, the smallest field at Trenton since 13 cars started the 1958 race. With 20 to 30 mph winds and a wind chill of 10 degrees, drivers requested the first 5 laps be run as green/yellow in order to warm up tires. Sneva held the early lead and when Johnny Rutherford ran out of fuel and coasted to the pits on lap 47, Foyt took over for good. Other than the 5 lap warm-up period, the yellow did not fly and Foyt averaged 154.625 mph around the unusual, 1.5 mile peanut shaped track. It was Foyt's 13th career win at Trenton. The win also was Foyt's 3rd in four 1975 races.

2008

Shane Hammond ... Died ... Shane was a NEMA midget driver that died as a result of crash at the Thompson International Speedway , Thompson, CT.

April 7

1941

Roger West... Born ... USAC driver from the 1960's

1966

Bert Dingley... Died ... AAA driver from the early 1900's.

Walt Hansgen... Died ... A driver from the United States. He participated in 2 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on October 8, 1961. He scored a total of 2 championship points. Hansgen also raced in the 1964 and 1965 Indianapolis 500 races finishing 13th and 14th. In addition to Formula One, Walt Hansgen was an active road racer from the early 1960's through his death. He participated in several runnings of the 24 hours of Daytona and Le Mans as well as the 12 hours of Sebring endurance races. He was notable for introducing Mark Donohue to professional road racing. He was killed when he crashed a 7-liter Ford Mk2 sports car at the Le Mans tests during the spring of 1966.

Loy Allen Jr. ... Born ... NASCAR stockcar driver.

1968

Jim (or Jimmy) Clark... Died ... He was the dominant driver of his era, winning two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. At the time of his death, he had won more Grand Prix races (25) and more pole positions (33) than any driver up to that time. He also competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, and won it once, in 1965. Jim Clark's life tragically ended in a crash. He was originally slated to drive in the BOAC 1000 km sportscar race at Brands Hatch but instead chose to drive in a minor Formula 2 race for Lotus at the Hockenheimring in Germany, mostly due to contractual obligations with Firestone. On the fifth lap, his Lotus 48 veered off the track and crashed into the trees, killing him instantly.

News from the AARN:

http://www.aarn.com/

From their March 22^nd issue:

Issue # 14, due out on April 5^th, is the issue that will have all the schedules for all those tracks that send their schedules into the AARN. I did notice that there was a $100.00 charge for that, so I imagine some tracks might hold off sending.

“Big Daddy” Mike Rivers will not open Big Daddy’s Speedway in Rumney, N.H. for the 2011 season. There is a slight chance that another party might attempt to run the track, however.

With Big Daddy’s closed, the Canaan, NH Fair Speedway has added the Late Models that competed at Big Daddy’s to it’s schedule, for two times a month.

Wiscasset Raceway, up in Maine, is another track that looks like it won’t be running in 2011. Track owner Doug White has confirmed that he’s trying to sell the track. There are some negotiations going on.

On a lighter side, there’s some talk about some drivers having a meeting last week to see if the could get Whip City opened up for racing in 2011.

The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame has announced the launching of the “Racers at Rest” project to place markers on the unmarked graves of open-wheeled race drivers who have perished in racing crashes. Donations are being accepted. More information is available from Tom Schmeh at: tschmeh@sprintcar hof.com

Volusia Raceway Park has 13 Sprint Car races scheduled from early April through early December. The races will be run under the Florida Sprint Car Assoc. rules along with the East Bay Raceway Park Sprint Car rules.

Lebanon Valley Speedway had their banquet and they paid out over $100,000.00 to their top drivers from the 2010 racing season.

Note: I think one can see why Brett Hearn will be traveling up the NY Thruway to run at the Valley, instead of OCFS on Saturday nights. He was the track champion for both the Big Block and Small Block modifieds at the Valley last year. It’s said that he received $7,000.00. I’m not sure if that was for both titles or just the Small Block title since it’s shown that the Budget Sportsman champion, Jeff Watson got just over $3,400.00. I would think that the Small Block champion would get more than the Budget Sportsman champ, and if so, well, you can see where I’m heading, right?

At Port Royal Speedway, Keith Kauffman leads in feature wins with 128. He’s followed by Todd Shaffer with 94 and Lance Dewease with 92.

In a write-up about the OCFS car show, it more or less says the same thing about ESW as what was said in a PR I received about the OCFS 2011 season – pertaining to ESW. It says time trials on Friday, heats on Saturday – so I have to assume they’re just talking about the Big Block Modifieds, and that the Small Block Modifieds will still have their heat races on Friday.

I’m also attempting to get clarification about the Sportsman class at OC for ESW, too. Supposedly they are supposed to have two Sportsman events – one for the OCFS “Open” engined cars and one for the DIRTcar “Crate” engined cars – those events on two different days. At least that’s what promoter Mike Gurda had to say in an interview on Doug’s Dirt Diary a while back.

Five Mile Point Speedway handed out $70,000.00 in point fund monies. Also, new for 2011 is that those 17 and under can get into the stands free on Saturday nights.

Down at the Punta Gorda Speedway, in Florida, Jack Duffy came in 2^nd in the TQ feature. If I’m not mistaken, Jack is about 80 years old – maybe more. He used to race midgets here in the northeast back in the day.

When they have opening night at OCFS on April 9^th, the Pro Stock feature will be for 20 laps and the winner will get $400.00

Since 1950, there have been only 11 opening night winners at OCFS that have gone on to win the years track championship.

At Port Royal Speedway last week, both Lance Dewease and Daryn Pittman were clocked at over 128 MPH as they got to the end of the backstretch. The 358 Sprinters were hitting 115-116.

Bob Perran is the track photographer at the Volusia Speedway down in Florida.

Vinnie Salerno expects to enter 30 – 35 races in 2011 with T-Mac driving for him. First race might very well be at Fonda on the 9^th of April. Vinnie has two Big Blocks and one Small Block.

More racin’ stuff:

MILLER: There’s No Cure For Stupid

In part:

“Big cars, Indy cars, champ cars … whatever you want to term them have been doing flying starts for over 100 years – roughly twice as long as NASCAR has existed. That breathtaking moment when 33 cars stormed down the straightaway and into Turn 1 became the Indianapolis 500’s signature.

For much of this period the start was the most exciting part of any race but, during the past decade, it’s become more strung out, more single-file, more predictable and a lot less exciting.

At most street shows or road courses, the start is about the only prayer of improving one’s position because it quickly becomes follow-the-leader and it can get boring in a heartbeat.

It’s amazing to think 24 midgets can gang up on each other at a quarter mile dirt track like the Chili Bowl for 20 laps and not crash into each other. Or the old Hut Hundred at Terre Haute when 11 rows of three managed to run four and five wide at a half mile and not bring out a yellow for 25 laps.

Sure, Indy cars are wider, faster and less maneuverable than midgets and sprint cars and stock cars are a lot stouter along with having bumpers and much slower acceleration.

But watch the start of the Indy 500 in the ‘50s or ‘60s when the entire field was nose-to-tail and nary a wheel was fed to anybody because they were respectful of each other and a permanent trip to Conkel’s Funeral Home was the consequence.

What seemed to get lost in the translation Sunday afternoon was that the big accident happened on the original start – which has always been two abreast (except for Indy, Pocono, Ontario MIS 500-milers which were three) –not a restart.

And there have always been first-lap crashes at St. Pete with that long straightaway and inviting braking zone going into Turn 1 so don’t try to suddenly say this new procedure was the culprit.

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

Is these true?:

Got an e-mail the other night – Tuesday, to be precise. In it was this:

“Subject: Tyson Foods eliminates Labor Day in favor of Muslim Holiday!”

“Tyson Food in Shelbyville, Tennessee has eliminated Labor Day as a
paid holiday in favor of the last day of Ramadan because they have 700
Muslim employees. The fact that they have almost that many non-Muslim
employees is beside the point apparently!”

Then there was this: verified http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/outrage.asp

Well, apparently it is true, per the link above. Check it out.

And:

Nightly News stays mum on GE’s $0 tax bill

“As the New Yorker's former press critic, A.J. Liebling, famously said, "Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." Perhaps that quotation is framed somewhere in a boardroom at the General Electric Corp., which owns NBC News.

In spite of robust profits of $14.2 billion worldwide, GE has calculated a corporate tax bill for 2010 that adds up to zero, via a creative series of tax referrals and revenue shifts. (This was, indeed, the second year running that the company—which has an enormous, and famously nimble, 975-employee tax division, led by former Treasury official John Samuels—paid nothing in U.S. taxes; indeed by claiming a series of losses and deductions, GE came up with a negative tax of 10.5 percent in the admittedly dismal business year of 2009, and realized a $1.5 billion "tax benefit.")

The curious thing about this year's tax story is that it turned up in many major news outlets, with one key exception: NBC News. As the Washington Post's Paul Farhi notes, the network's "Nightly News" broadcast, hosted by Brian Williams, has not mentioned anything about its corporate parent's resourceful accounting, even though the story has been in wide circulation in the business and general-interest press for nearly a week. "This was a straightforward news decision, the kind we make daily around here" network spokeswoman Lauren Kapp told the Post.

One press critic who begs to differ: Daily Show host Jon Stewart, who noted that the Nightly News found the time for a dispatch on the inclusion of slang expressions in the Oxford English Dictionary, such as "LOL" and "OMG." Of course, Comedy Central's corporate parent, Viacom, is also no slouch when it comes to tax strategy: Earlier this year it sold its struggling videogame unit Harmonix for $50—so that it could claim a tax credit of $50 million.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/nightly-news-stays-mum-on-ges-0-tax-bill

Video time:

Hope ya enjoy this one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVwlMVYqMu4&feature=player_embedded#at=216

Closing with these:

Alas, where has all our innocence gone – part 1:

While I sat in the reception area of my doctor's office, a woman rolled an elderly man in a wheelchair into the room. As she went to the receptionist's desk, the man sat there, alone and silent. Just as I was thinking I should make small talk with him, a little boy slipped off his mother's lap and walked over to the wheelchair. Placing his hand on the man's, he said, I know how you feel. My mom makes me ride in the stroller too..'

As I was nursing my baby, my cousin's six-year-old daughter, Krissy, came into the room. Never having seen anyone breast feed before, she was intrigued and full of all kinds of questions about what I was doing.
After mulling over my answers, she remarked, 'My mom has some of those, but I don't think she knows how to use them..'

Out bicycling one day with my eight-year-old granddaughter, Carolyn, I got a little wistful. 'In ten years,' I said, 'you'll want to be with your friends and you won't go walking, biking, and swimming with me like you do now. Carolyn shrugged. 'In ten years you'll be too old to do all those things anyway.'

Working as a pediatric nurse, I had the difficult assignment of giving immunization shots to children.. One day, I entered the examining room to give four-year-old Lizzie her needle. 'No, no, no!' she screamed. 'Lizzie,' scolded her mother, 'that's not polite behavior.' With that, the girl yelled even louder, 'No, thank you! No, thank you!

More of these next week!

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