Racin' & Internet Stuff:

                                      By Tom Avenengo

                                         Volume # 62

                                           06/30/2011

 

First:

 

So good old “Mother Nature” acted up again last weekend.  My daughters, Sandra and Sarah, who came up from Florida last Friday, although attending the “Big Show III”, were really set on hitting the “Big A” this past Friday night, especially after a lot of people have told them how much better the racing is there.  Of course, for the second week in a row, Accord had to cancel.  As I type this out at 7:45 PM on Monday evening, both girls have left to go to a friends house – the one who will take them back to Newark Airport early on Tuesday morning (4:00 AM!!) for their flight back home.  Damn!  I miss them already!

Both came up to do some major things in and to our house.  Both are really intense on having us move to Florida, and to be honest, it is quite tempting.  The housing market, along with time, will tell, I suppose.

 

On a personal note, I’ve had some health issues, and have had some tests done over these past few days.  The results of those tests could also have a bearing on us possibly making a move.

 

On Wednesday, I got the results, and to be honest, I’m not all that thrilled about them.  I’ve got a couple of things that need some work on – a heart problem and also the aneurysm in my aorta has increased in size.  What can be done to fix both – well, another doctor will have to decide that.  The partially torn tendon in my shoulder will be put on the back shelf, for now, until the other problems get solved.  My main worry is that it was 15 years ago on June 28,1996 when I had five arteries by-passed, and I was a lot stronger, physically, back then,  Yes, I’m somewhat worried.

 

 

Second:

 

I was on the Track Forum, looking for some news, and came across someone saying that there would be a practice session at Loudon for the Indy cars on July 5th.

Here it is:  Doing what I'm going to, go down for the test on 7/5 (lucky that is holiday for me) and check out where you want to sit, then order tickets! I know roughly where I want to be since I go to both cup races.”

 

Note:  As for the practice on 7/5 – in e-mails between me and the track – Tom Blanchette, Mr. Blanchette had this to say:

“I would prefer it to say that there will be limited guest amenities available”.  In other words, if you go, no food available, no elevators, etc, etc, either.

 

Also, in that thread:

 

Here's the schedule:

Friday, August 12

American Canadian Tour Qualifying
10:25 a.m.

Whelen Modified - Granite State Classic Qualifying
4:00 p.m.

Saturday, August 13

American-Canadian Tour 50 Lap Race
10:30 a.m.

Firestone Indy Lights 100 Qualifying
2:15 p.m.

IZOD IndyCar - MoveThatBlock.com INDY 225 Qualifying
3:00 p.m.


Whelen Modified - Granite State Classic Race
4:15 p.m.

American-Canadian Tour 25 Lap Race
6:15 p.m.


Sunday, August 14

Firestone Indy Lights 100
1:15 p.m.

IZOD IndyCar - MoveThatBlock.com INDY 225
3:30 p.m.

 

 

 

Third:

 

Got this in an e-mail on Wednesday morning:

 

Charlie Sheen is 45 and his story is all over the news because
he is a substance abuser, an adulterer and sexually promiscuous.
Lindsay Lohan is 24 and her story is all over the news because
she is a celebrity drug addict and thief.


While........
Justin Allen 23, Brett Linley 29, Matthew Weikert 29, Justus Bartett 27,
Dave Santos 21, Jesse Reed 26, Matthew Johnson 21, Zachary Fisher 24,
Brandon King 23, Christopher Goeke 23, and Sheldon Tate 27, all Marines,
that gave their lives this week for you. There is no media for them,
not even a mention of their names. Honor THEM by sending this on.
I did, will you?

 

Fourth:

 

Talking about celebrities – where have they been lately, what with massive destruction by tornados and floods?  Nowhere to be seen to be raising funds to help those in need.  Funny, huh?

 

 

 

Coming up:

 

Accord:

 

JULY 1ST CORDOVA PLUMBING & HEATING AND BARRETT PLUMBING & HEATING NIGHT

Fireworks & Chicken BBQ

Modifieds $2000 to win

Plus Sportsman, Spec Sportsman, Pro Stocks-Pure Stocks

No Legends or Lightning Sprints.

Pit gates open at 4:30 Spectator gates 5:00

Warm ups 6:30 Racing at 7:00

Adult admission $15   Kids $3 (11 & under)

Family 4 Pack $46- admission for 2 adults & 2 kids plus $20 in food vouchers

Reserved seating $14  Indoor seating $25

KB Racing Photos will have their auction for Cancer Awareness on 7/1 and have requested that all donations be brought to the track.

RAIN DATE JULY 8TH

JULY 6th

Mid Week Madness

Racing Quads-Karts-Slingshots-Bandoleros-Legends-Jr & Sr 4 cylinder

600 Wingless Micros & 270 Winged Micros

Gates open at 5pm Spectator Admission $5

 

OCFS:

July 2nd:  Chet's Garage / DR.RV - Sportsman Elimination Race – Kids Club – Modifieds, Sportsman, Pro Stocks and Street Stocks

Weekly Admission:

From the OCFS website - but shows this is for 2010:

Adult grandstand admission will be $14, seniors $12, and kids 12 and under will be admitted free. Those entering the racing pits with an Orange County Fair Speedway member-ship card will be charged $25; non-members $35.

At the Orange County Fair Speedway, you can view the races from many different locations. Seating areas are located throughout the home stretch, starting in the first turn with bleachers, full covered seats with full backs located behind the starters stand and half covered grandstands located on the front stretch coming out of turn 4. The drive in area is located on the back stretch and this allows you to watch the races from the comfort of your vehicle while listening to the races on 98.3 FM on your radio.

Note:  What?  No fireworks this Saturday???

 

Lebanon Valley:

 

SATURDAY, JULY 2ND
BERKSHIRE BANK & HALPINS GRUB AND GROG WILL PRESENT A FULL NIGHT OF RACING ALONG WITH OUR UNBELIEVABLE FIREWORKS DISPLAY!!! ALONG WITH THE $4,000 To Win “Maynard Forrette Memorial” Modified Feature

Divisions Racing:
Modified, Sportsman, Pro Stocks and Pure Stocks

Pit Gate Opens @ 3pm
Pit Fee With A License = $15
Pit Fee Without A License = $17

Front Gate Opens @ 5pm
Racing Starts @ 6pm
Adults GA = $11
Kids 11 & Under GA = $2
Reserved Seating = $12
Tower or Roof Tickets = $20

 

 

Found on Jayski’s website:

 

From my column, last week:

Fox interested in moving some races to SPEED:

Fox has held informal discussions with NASCAR about a new TV rights agreement that would allow the network to put some of its Sprint Cup races on Speed. David Hill, Fox Sports chairman, said Fox would like to see some of the 13 regular-season races it televises on Speed. A Fox source said the company could ask for as many as six races for the network. Fox is five years into an eight-year, $1.76 billion contract with NASCAR that mandates Fox televise all of its Sprint Cup races on its broadcast channel except for two non-points, specialty events - the Sprint All-Star Race and the Gatorade Duels from Daytona, which air on Speed. If it wants to move regular-season Cup races to Speed before its contract expires in 2014, it would have to amend its agreement. Fox sources were skeptical such a move would be made before the contract ends. The move would allow Speed to use live NASCAR broadcasts to increase the license fee that cable and satellite operators pay each month, which is currently around 30 cents, according to sources. In addition to talking about putting Sprint Cup races on Speed, Fox has raised the possibility of making NASCAR a stakeholder in Speed and turning it into a joint-venture project. Sources familiar with those conversations said that they have been ongoing for several years. By partnering with NASCAR on Speed, Fox could avoid competing with the property if it decided to launch its own channel.(Sports Business Journal/Scene Daily

 

Here’s an up-date:

 

UPDATE:

Even though Fox confirmed recently it was considering moving some of its races to Speed, NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said Sunday at Infineon Raceway that the question is still open. "We're having a lot of discussions right now," France told Sporting News before the Toyota/Save Mart 350. "We're unsure where that's going to go. We're having good discussions, and they're our partner for a long time. We've got to make sure that all of our interests get met. We're not at that place (of moving the races to Speed). There are going to be a lot of discussions. That's just not a direction we're going right now." As to the Cup schedule itself, France says there won't be as many big changes as there have been over the past two seasons. "I'm not anticipating any significant changes," France said. "There are always requests and always tweaks-but nothing like we've done in the last couple of years, when we made some significant changes, so I don't anticipate that."(Sporting News)(6-27-2011)

 

Note:  Somehow, in the back of my mind, I see SPEED TV doing most of the racing telecasts for NASCAR.

 

MWR to field full time Grand Am team in 2012:

SiriusXM NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody has learned that Michael Waltrip Racing will field a Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series entry in 2012. Team owners Michael Waltrip and Rob Kauffman recently drove a Ferrari 458 Italia in the 24 Hours of Lemans endurance event, and sources say thay are in Daytona Beach, FL, today talking with Grand Am boss Jim France about adding a sports car effort to their two-car NASCAR Sprint Cup Series operation. Executive Vice President for Competition Steve Hallam will reportedly oversee the effort.(6-29-2011)

 

Indycar stuff:

From the Track Forum:

Where to sit at NHMS?

A nice thread about the up-coming Indycar race at Loudon.  Interested?  Check out what’s being said here, if your’e thinking of attending:

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?152215-Where-to-sit-at-NHMS

Note:  I called the track on Tuesday to see if the practice session on 7/5 would be open to the public.  It isn’t.  My thoughts:  It should be.

 

A nice thread about “Long Yellows” in Indycar races.

The thread starts with this:

The long yellows”

At one point they commented on the radio that about 28 of 89 laps of the race being under caution. The cleanup of debris needs to be done after a wreck but all of the yellows last almost that long. Sitting there I couldn't help but put the blame on a combination of the double file restarts and Firestone.

From the start one of the drivers' complaints was restarting on the outside with marbles. In response the series began sending sweepers and blowers out on every caution to make that outside lane clearer. That means even a simple spin with no debris causes a long delay for those slow sweepers to make a lap.

They wouldn't have to do that if Firestone wasn't making such soft, and grippy and fast tires that shaved off so many marbles.

The trade off appears to be, higher racing speeds with the racier tires and the closer racing competition by bunching up for double file restarts but longer caution periods while the marbles are swept up by those slow sweepers and blowers because the outside lane needs to be cleared.

After the season I think they should evaluate not how many yellows there are but how much of the racing laps they eat up to clear the marbles. Then decide if the clean up for the double file restarts makes those restarts worth the racing time lost or if Firestone should make more of an effort to have tires that give off less rubber that needs to be swept.

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?152419-The-long-yellows

 

 

Former Oakland Valley Speedway (Dirt Oval) runners:

Note:  I’ve been away from the track for more than a few years now, so it’s very possible that there have been other drivers – other than those I make mention of, that have also gone onto bigger forms or racing vehicles, so chances are real good that I do not know their names.  If you know of anyone that’s gone onto bigger things, and had run at the Dirt Oval, how about dropping me a line and let me know their names and where and with what they are now racing.  Thanks!

At the Greenwood Valley Action Track, Rick Casario was 10th in the 270 Micro Sprint feature, while Joe Kata was 5th and Jacob Hendershot a DNF in the wingless 600 Micro Sprint feature.

AJ Filbeck finished 3rd in the Sportsman feature at Utica/Rome.

Danny Creeden was 11th in the Modified feature at Five mile Point and Brad Szulewski 10thin the Sportsman feature.

In the Sport Modified feature at Mountain Speedway, Nick Pecko finished 4th.

Rich Coons was 6th in the Sportsman feature at Bethel.

Roger Coss was 21st in the Wall Stadium Modified feature.

Mike Mammana finished 5th in the Sportsman feature at Big Diamond.

Kyle Armstrong was 12th in the Modified feature at Lebanon Valley.  Kolby Schroder was 18th in the Budget Sportsman feature, while John Virgilio was a DNS.

At OCFS, Tim Hindley was 6th, Mike Ruggiero 10th, Billy VanInwegen 12th and Michael Storms 22nd in the Modified feature.  John Lodini won the Sportsman feature, while Matt Janiak was 2nd, Brian Krummel 5th, Matt Hitchcock 8th, RJ Smykla 9th, Jason Roe 16th and Keith Still 21st.  Anthony Perrego and Seth Pacella were both DNQ’s.

At Williams Grove, on June 24th, Davie Franek finished 7th in the 358 Sprint Car main.

At the NEMA Lights race at Waterford, Kenney Johnson lost a clutch in warm-ups and was a DNS.

At Accord, last Wednesday night, Rick Casario won the winged 270 Micro Sprint feature.  Jacob Hendershot was the winner in the wingless 600 Micro Sprint feature.  Charlie Lawrence won the Slingshot feature while Tyler Pirone was 3rd.

Here’s one I missed last week – David Webb at the Waterford Speedbowl.  He finished 7th in the SK Light Modified feature.  David, who has competed at the Stafford Speedway for a few years, has left that track, and is now racing on occasion, at various speedways.

And these, too:  Davie Franek won the 358 Sprint Car main at Williams Grove, on the 17th, then went south to run with the URC at the Delaware International Speedway where he won that feature, too.

Note:  There’s a possibility that I might have missed some, so if I did, I’m sorry!

 

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 from July 1st to the 7th – mostly:

 

Note:  I missed a few dates last week - personal ones for me.

June 25, 1996:

My son, Eric, and I attended the Syracuse qualifier race at the Accord Speedway.  Danny Johnson won that race.

June 26, 1996:

That's the day I had my last cigarette.  Can distinctly remember throwing it away as I was walking towards the entrance to the Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ.  A few tests, and a doctor asked me what I did for a living.  When I said I was a Produce Manager for the Grand Union Company, he said I wasn't going to do that, anymore.  He then told me what was going to happen.  So, what with me not being a fan of Danny Johnson, I kinda figured that God would look over me and not let the last race I'd ever see be one that was won by the "Doctor".

June 28, 1996:

Had some work done on my "engine" - five arteries by-passed.  Thanks to the anesthesia, I lost one whole week of my life, due to memory loss, but I'm still around, some 15 years later, being a pain in the ass to some folks and via my writings, have made many, many more friends.

 

JULY 1

1962

A.J. Foyt won the 100 mile USAC Championship race on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval Langhorne Speedway, Langhorne, PA. Parnelli Jones was second followed by Jim Hurtubise, Don Branson and Bobby Marshman.

Hugh Randall... Died ... USAC driver from the early 1960's. He died as a relief driver for Bob Mathouser in the Vargo Special at the Langhorne Speedways 100 Mile USAC Championship race July 1, 1962.

 

JULY 2

1924

Bob Tattersall... Born ... The 1969 USAC National Midget Champion also raced in Australia and New Zealand for thirteen winters, winning over fifty percent of the races he competed in, as well as the World Championship at the Sydney Showgrounds on seven different occasions. He also drove sprint and championship cars and passed his rookie test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1966. Bob started his career in stock cars and switched to midgets in 1950. He won the UARA Midget Championship twice and consistently beat the Offies with Frank Pavese’s famous Ford 60 V-8. In 1955 he won a heat race at Terre Haute with the car against the top AAA drivers. He began racing with USAC on a full time basis in 1960 and in eleven years of competition was never lower than 8th in the point standings. During many of those years, he got off to a late start due to his schedule in Australia. He had recorded 63 USAC feature wins.

1964

Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Jr.... Died ... On May 24, 1964, at the World 600 in Charlotte, Roberts had qualified in the eleventh position and started in the middle of the pack. On lap 7, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson collided and spun out and Roberts crashed trying to avoid them. Roberts' Ford slammed backward into the inside retaining wall, flipped over and burst into flames. Witnesses at the track claimed they heard Roberts screaming, "Ned, help me!" from inside his car after the wreck. Jarrett rushed to save Roberts as his car was engulfed by the flames. Roberts suffered second- and third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body and was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition. Although it was widely believed that Roberts had an allergic reaction to flame-retardant chemicals, he was secretly an asthmatic and the chemicals made his breathing worse. Roberts was able to survive for several weeks, and it appeared he might pull through, but Roberts' health took a turn for the worse on June 30, 1964. He contracted pneumonia and sepsis and slipped into a coma by the next day. He died on July 2, 1964. Roberts' death, as well as the deaths of two drivers at the Indianapolis 500 the same year, led to an increase in research for fire-retardant uniforms. It also led to the development of the Firestone RaceSafe fuel cell, and all race cars today use a foam-backed fuel cell to prevent severe fuel spillage of the massive degree that Roberts had. Also, fully fire-retardant coveralls would be phased in leading to the now mandatory Nomex racing suits.

1973

Swede Savage... Died ... Savage started racing 1/4 midgets then motorcycles and karts. He then graduated to NASCAR, Can-Am, Trans-A and finally into Indy cars where he tragically lost his life as a result of injuries sustained in the Indy 500 in 1973.

1979

Sam Hornish, Jr.... Born ... An American race car driver. He is best known for his open wheel accomplishments, which include an Indianapolis 500 victory and three Indy Racing League championships. He also drives in the NASCAR Nationwide and Cup series.

 

JULY 3 - a fairly good day for Tony Bonadies

1960

Tony Bonadies won the ARDC Midget race at the Williams Grove Speedway, Williams Grove,PA.

Note:  It was on July 5, 1964, when the Grove took Tony from us.  He was 47 years old

1962

Tony Bonadies won the ARDC Midget race at the Westboro Speedway, Westboro, MA.

1963

Tony Bonadies won the ARDC Midget race at the Old Bridge Stadium, Old Bridge,NJ.

 

JULY 4

1951

Walt Faulkner won the Darlington 250 AAA Championship race on the 1.25 Mile Paved Oval Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Tony Bettenhausen was second followed by Cecil Green, Bill Mackey and Jack McGrath.

Note:  I was at that race with my father and brother.  More on this race further down in the column under "More racin' stuff"

 

JULY 5

1928

Elmer George... Born ... He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1956-1963 seasons with 64 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in 1957, 1962, and 1963. He finished in the top ten 36 times, with one victory, in 1957 at Syracuse. George was also the 1957 USAC Sprint Car Series champion. Elmer George was married to Mari Hulman George, daughter of Tony Hulman, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Elmer and Mari's son is Tony George, founder of the Indy Racing League, and current CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On race day, May 31, 1976, Elmer George argued by telephone with a horse trainer at the family farm near Terre Haute. After the race, George drove to the farm and confronted the trainer. George was shot and died the next day.

1964

Tony Bonadies... Died ... A very popular midget car driver, Tony Bonadies' career spanned over twenty-four years during which he competed in more than one thousand races. Although he never won the ARDC Midget Championship, he was ranked amongst the top six in seven out of his last eight seasons in the series' final classification table, and he was twice the title runner-up. He entered the Indy 500 three times, but failed to qualify in all attempts: in 1955 and the following year his times aboard a Kurtis 3000D - Offenhauser were simply not quick enough, and in 1957 he wrecked his Kurtis 500C - Offenhauser at the Turn 4 at the northwest end of the track during practice and had to withdraw from the race. Bonadies was taking place in an ARDC midget race at the Williams Grove Speedway on 05 July 1964 when, as he pitched his Frankenfield - Offenahuser into a slide at the entrance to Turn 1, the right rear axle of the car snapped. The vehicle barrel rolled several times and then got airborne. Tony was thrown to the ground and died instantly.

2004

Rodger Ward... Died ... USAC Midget and Indy car driver. 2 time Indy 500 winner, 1959 & 1962

 

JULY 6

1952

Dana Carter ... Born ... ARDC/USAC and CART driver from the 1970's & 80's. Son of Duane Carter, brother of Pancho Carter and half brother of Johnnie Parsons Jr. Dana died on May 5th in 1983 of a heart attack after finishing second in a midget race in Indianapolis .

1958

Art Bisch ... Died ... Bisch started racing midgets in 1948 before moving on to Sprint Cars in California, dominating the 1956 season, winning 10 of the 27 races. He moved up to Champ cars in 1958 and won his first race in the Rex Mays 100. Sadly his career was cut short when he crashed at the Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia and succumbed to his injuries.

 

JULY 7

1906

Johnny Matera ... Born ... AAA driver from the 1930's and 40's.

1928

Cotton Farmer ... Born ... IMCA and USAC driver from the 1950's and 60's. 

1936

Eldon Rasmussen ... Born ... A former Canadian driver in the USAC Championship Car series. He raced in the 1971 and 1973-1979 seasons, with 23 career starts, including the 1975, 1977, and 1979 Indianapolis 500. His Indy career was unremarkable except for a single moment on lap 125 of the 1975 race: Tom Sneva, attempting to lap Rasmussen, ran over his left front wheel and was launched into the Turn 2 wall, exploding and disintegrating before tumbling to a stop. The spectacular nature of the accident, and the fact that Sneva miraculously escaped serious injury, have led to its being constantly replayed on television and becoming one of the iconic images of the race. Rasmussen's image is therefore familiar to nearly every fan of the Indy 500, even though his name might not be. In his Champcar career, Rasmussen finished in the top ten 3 times, with a best finish in 7th position in 1975 at Ontario. He built his own race chassis which he dubbed the "Rascar" which he campaigned with limited success from 1973 to 1979. In all 3 of his Indy starts, Rasmussen qualified his Rascar on the last row. Eldon Rasmussen has been a fabricator of race parts in Indianapolis for years and was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

1941

Mike Hiss ... Born ... A former driver in the USAC Championship Car series. He raced in the 1972-1976 seasons, with 28 career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 in 1972-1975. He finished in the top ten 13 times, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1972 at Ontario. His 7th place finish at Indy in 1972 earned him the title of Rookie of the Year. In 1978, at the Indy 500, Mike Hiss qualified a Penske Racing Cosworth for Mario Andretti, who was racing Formula 1 during qualification weekends.

1946

Steve Krisiloff ... Born ... A former driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1969-1979, 1981 and 1983 seasons, with 111 combined career starts, and started in the Indianapolis 500 all but 1969-1970. He finished in the top ten 46 times, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1978 at Phoenix. After racing, he served from 1984-1995 as Vice-President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and later as the Team Manager for Patrick Racing and assistant team manager for PKV Racing until 2006. Steve is the father of NASCAR driver Kyle Krisiloff, who has raced in the Busch and Craftsman Truck Series. Krisiloff currently is the team manager for Carl A. Haas Motorsports where his son Kyle Krisiloff drives the #14 Ford Fusion with Clabber Girl sponsorship. Tony George, CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation and founder of the Indy Racing League and Vision Racing, is his former brother-in-law.

1952

Stan Fox ... Born ... The Wisconsin native was one of America’s top midget pilots for more than 20 years. He won the 1979 Badger Midget Series title and went on to a successful USAC career that included 19 wins. Among his victories are the Belleville Nationals (twice), Turkey Night Grand Prix, 4-Crown Nationals and Copper World Classic (twice). Fox, who raced in eight Indianapolis 500s, was seriously injured during the 1995 Indy 500 and never raced competitively again. Fox is a member of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. Fox was killed in an automobile accident in New Zealand in 2000.

1965

Our first son, Norman T. Avenengo, Jr. was born.  Like it's been for me over my lifetime, we call him "Tom"

2000

Kenny Irwin, Jr. ... Died ... He was a NASCAR stock car driver. He had driven in all three major of forms of NASCAR and had two total victories. Before that, he raced in the United States Auto Club against Tony Stewart who was one of his fiercest rivals. He died as a result of injuries suffered in a crash during a practice session at New Hampshire International Speedway.

 

 

 

 

News from the AARN:

http://www.aarn.com/

Note:  With the hectic week I’ve had, I completely neglected to make mention of the wonderful center page they had with an artists drawing of the late Richie Evans over a photo of his # 61 Modified in their June 21st issue.  They had the issue, hot off the presses, at the Big Show III a week ago.  I was hoping to get a copy of the photo from the AARN so I could post it here, but no such luck.  If you’re a big fan of Richie Evans, you might want to contact the AARN and see if you can order that particular issue – June 21st issue.

From their June 21st issue:

 

In Lenny Sammons’ column, he starts off about Daniel Johnson, Jr. – son of the “Doctor” – Danny Johnson, and his starting to race modifieds.  My thoughts:  I hope he isn’t a carbon copy of his father.

 

Ernie Saxton makes mention of the next “Legends Million” at Charlotte on August 1st and 2nd.  If there are 250 entrants, then the total purse would be $250,000.00.  If they get 700 entrants, then the purse would be a cool million.   Legends and Bandoleros will be in action.  Yes, you can register online at:  http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.

 

Billy “The Kid” Pauch, Sr. now has 95 wins at the New Egypt Speedway.  I dunno, but he seems to be winning at that track every week.  It’s a shame that he no longer runs any DIRTcar events.

 

At Grandview, Bruce Rogers added an abbreviated enduro race to his Saturday night race card.  I guess it’s so those in attendance could see what they are like.  Hey, one of the better races I’ve seen at OCFS was a 200 lap 200 car enduro that wasn’t decided until that last couple of laps.  Yes, they circled the whole track, plus, when the green flag fell.

 

Ciddi Cinelli – you’ve heard of her?  She was a motor sports writer out in Pennsylvania, mostly at the Reading Speedway.  She passed away last week.

 

Jack Roush has come out and said that it will be “soon” for us to see the 2013 Ford Mustang Cup car – a racecar that will be more “Stock” appearing.

 

“Bad boy” Kyle Busch – like him or not, he’s worth quite a few bucks to his sponsors.  With the time he’s seen on TV, it’s estimated he’s gotten 28.4 million dollars worth of exposure.  Meanwhile “Joonyer” is worth 21.8 million.

 

Bruton Smith and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. have resurrected their lawsuit against Concord, N.C. and Cabarrus County, alleging 80 million in incentives and infrastructure upgrades promised Smith in October 2007, have not been delivered in a timely fashion.  If you recall, it wasn’t all that long ago when Bruton threatened to move the Charlotte track to another location.

 

There will be a seven million dollar “face lift” to the Michigan International Speedway after the August Cup race.  Among things being done will be two layers of new asphalt on the two mile track.

 

Ryan Larkin, son of former race driver Dickie Larkin, has decided not to race anymore.  So who will be in the car?  Dickie will.  He hasn’t raced in five years.

 

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is reportedly negotiating to host a Grand Am Rolex Series race as part of the 2012 “Brickyard” weekend.

 

Who was it that developed the racing chassis using 2x4 tubing?  Any idea?  Check the end of my column.

 

I’m working on this column at 4:20 PM on Wednesday, June 29th, after seeing my doctor.  It helps take my mind off of things, ya know?  Anyway, today, down at Ray Evernhams East Lincoln Speedway, in Stanley, N.C. they’re having another Legends Dirt Modified “Test Drive”.  $50.00 for 8 laps, for those 14 and older.  Info on the cars and on future “Test Drives” can be found if you go here:  http://www.legendsmodified.com/

 

Inside the back page of the AARN – page 79, this week, is a color photo of Richie Evans in his modified from the 1980’s.  The AARN always has a bunch of colored photos inside their last page, along with quite a few more in the paper.

 

 

 

 

More racin’ stuff:

 

From the Frontstretch:

 

So who won the Nationwide race at Road America?  Justin Allgaier?  Ron Fellows?  Reed Sorenson?  Jacques Villeneuve?  Steve Wallace?  Andrew Ranger?  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. or Mike Wallace?

 

By Bryan Davis Keith

 

In part:

When the yellow flag flew on lap 56 for Aric Almirola’s machine being stuck in a gravel trap after the afternoon’s third and final attempt at a green-white-checker finish, Justin Allgaier and crew celebrated the win over the radio. Then, disaster struck as the No. 31 team ran out of gas coming back to the line to take the checkers.”

 

Start-and-parkers occupied 8 of the 42 starting positions in Saturday’s field, taking home $88,455 in purse money.”

 

“Cup regulars occupied 1 of 42 starting positions in the field, taking home $25,218 in purse money.”  That was Michael McDowell.

 

When is NASCAR going to learn how to use a local yellow?  The drama surrounding the finish on Saturday was definitely something worth watching, but why throw the yellow in the first place on that final lap?”

 

To see who did win, check it all out, here:  http://www.frontstretch.com/bkeith/34431/

 

 

 

 

Racing and television:

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

 

Note:  Cup race is at Daytona this coming Saturday night.  I have a suspicion that that race might keep some fans away form their local tracks.  Will it be 43 cars in a bunch or will it be 2x2 racing?

 

7:30P-11:00

 TNT

 NASCAR Sprint Cup Coke Zero 400, Daytona Intl. Speedway, FL, HD, L (expect green at 7:45P)

 

 

 

Some non-racing stuff:

 

Really folks, you have to love this stuff:

 

FACT CHECK: Bachmann bomblets raising eyebrows

In part:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michele Bachmann's claim that she has "never gotten a penny" from a family farm that's been subsidized by the government is at odds with her financial disclosure statements. They show tens of thousands in personal income from the operation.

And, on a less substantive note, she flubbed her hometown history when declaring "John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa," and "that's the kind of spirit that I have, too," in running for president.

The actor was born nearly 150 miles away. It was the serial killer John Wayne Gacy Jr. who lived, for a time, in Waterloo.

Those were among the latest examples of how the Minnesota congresswoman has become one to watch — for inaccuracies as well as rising support — in the Republican presidential race.”

“The farm, which was owned by her father-in-law, produced income for Bachmann of at least $32,500 and as much as $105,000 from 2006 through 2009, according to the reports she filed for that period. The farm also received federal crop and disaster subsidies, according to a database maintained by the Environmental Working Group. From 1995 through 2010, the farm got $259,332 in federal payments.

When asked about the subsidies and her income from the farm late last year, a spokesman for Bachmann said only that she wasn't involved in decisions about the running of the farm.”

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/fact-check-bachmann-bomblets-raising-eyebrows-205945347.html

Note:  Another Palin?

 

 

Is this true? – Part 1:

 

Got, what follows, in an e-mail a couple of weeks ago:

 

Part 3 of 3:

 

What if they left?

 

Somebody really did their homework on this one.
Best on the subject to present date.
What if 20 Million Illegal Aliens Vacated America?

Interesting Statistics ! 
 
Here are 14 reasons illegal aliens should vacate America, and I hope they are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them:
 
1. $14 billion to $22 billion dollars are spent each year on welfare to illegal aliens. (that's Billion with a 'B')  http://tinyurl.com/zob77.html 

 

 3. $7.5 billion dollars are spent each year on Medicaid for illegal aliens. http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
 
4.
$12 billion dollars are spent each year on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they still cannot speak a word of English! http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
 
5.
$27 billion dollars are spent each year for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

 

6. $3 Million Dollars 'PER DAY' is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. That's $1.2 Billion a year. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

7. 28% percent of all federal prison inmates are illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
 
8.
$190 billion dollars are spent each year on illegal aliens for welfare & social services by the American taxpayers. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html
 
9.
$200 billion dollars per year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
 
10.
The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US . http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html

 

11. During the year 2005, there were 8 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our southern border with as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from other terrorist countries. Over 10,000 of those were middle-eastern terrorists. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin, crack, Guns, and marijuana crossed into the U.S.from the southern border. http://tinyurl.com/t9sht

 
12. The National Policy Institute, estimates that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion, or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period and nbsp; http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/publications.php?b=deportation
 
13. In 2006, illegal aliens sent home $65 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin, to their families and friends. http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm
 
14.
The dark side of illegal immigration: Nearly one million sex crimes are committed by illegal immigrants in the United States ! http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml

 

Total cost a whopping $538.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR!
 
If this doesn't bother YOU, then just delete the message. Otherwise, forward this to everyone YOU know!

 

Is this true? – Part two:

 

From an e-mail I received:

 

Huma Abedin Weiner Posted by T L C on June 19, 2011

Through all the talk about Anthony Weiner we have mostly listened to jokes about his private parts and his name. His wife was often mentioned as a victim to his online tomfoolery.  Today I want to talk about his wife, Huma Abedin Weiner.

In 1996, while Bill Clinton was president, he and Hillary met Huma while on a trip to Saudi Arabia. It’s unclear what transpired, but she ended up in Washington DC with close ties to the Clintons. We now know she is Secretary State Hillary Clinton’s deputy Chief of Staff. This is a very sensitive position so we would think Huma was well vetted.

Huma Abedin Weiner is a devout Muslim. Her brother, Hassan, works at the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies (OCIS) at Oxford University. He has close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptian Al-Azhar University, is well known for a curriculum that encourages extremism and terrorism, and is active in establishing links with OCIS.

Huma’s mother is co-founder of the Dar El-Hekma women’s college in Saudi Arabia, which has close ties to the Muslim Sisterhood, the female version of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Sisterhood is also known as International Women’s Organization (IWO).

We watched in Egypt as the left sided with the Muslim Brotherhood to take over the country. We are watching the same thing in Libya, only this time we have sent American forces to help the very same people we are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The left, no matter whether it’s from America or Europe, defends the Muslims at all cost, while making Israel out to always be the bad guy. We are fighting Islamic extremist, and their biggest allies are sitting inside our own government, the Democratic Party. With Huma Abedin Weiner having access to so much classified material, the radicals know our every move.

I have written in the past asking why we have not experienced any major terrorist attacks. I now know the answer. They have no need to destroy or attack what they are taking over from within. The Islamic radicals learned from history when Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, the former head of the Soviet Union, said that the communist would take over the USA from within, not with weapons. The left is using our schools and televisions to slowly, methodically give over our country to the radical Islamists, who are also the radical left.

You can’t turn on the television without hearing how bad Christianity is, while they defend Islam. Sheila Jackson Lee (D, Texas) is not alone when she stood before the podium and said that Christian abortion clinic bombers were comparable to the 9/11 terrorist, or the countless other Islamic terrorists.

America, we are at war, and the enemy is not across an ocean, it lies within our own borders.

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Video time:

 

How about the 1983 Eastern States 200?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE1mpuzMuvU

 

Or earlier?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-5JraUV19E&feature=share

 

 

 

 

Closing with this:

 

A man lay sprawled across three entire seats in the posh theater. When the usher came by and noticed this, he whispered to the man, "Sorry, sir, but you're only allowed one seat." The man groaned but didn't budge. The usher became impatient. "Sir, if you don't get up from there I'm going to have to call the manager."
 
Again, the man just groaned, which infuriated the usher who turned and marched briskly back up the aisle in search of his manager.

In a few moments, both the usher and the manager returned and stood over the man. Together the two of them tried repeatedly to move him, but with no success. Finally, they summoned the police. The cop surveyed the situation briefly then asked, "All right buddy, what's your name?" "Sam," the man moaned. "Where ya from, Sam?" With pain in his voice Sam replied "The balcony."

 

 

The question, above, in the AARN section, was:  “Who was it that developed the racing chassis using 2x4 tubing?  Any idea?”

 

How about Dick “Toby” Tobias?  That was mentioned in the column by Ken Kuhlman. 

 

 

 

May “Guardian Angels” sit on the shoulders of all of our race drivers and race fans, and guide them safely around the tracks!

 

Drive safe! 

 

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