Racin'
& Internet Stuff:
09/15/2011
First:
I ran into a slight problem last week.
As far as I’m concerned, I believe that ALL websites, forums and
message boards that are associated with auto racing should, in a way, work
together – for the betterment of the sport – agree? Face it, not only is attendance down in a lot
of cases, but also down as far as competitors go, in some cases, too. I feel we should all stick together and
attempt to get the sport back up to like it was in the recent past. If that means that some should “bite their
tongue” and keep silent on certain subjects – so be it.
Well, I’ve had a problem with one particular forum with the inability
to mention “DTD” or “Dirt Track Digest” in anything I’ve posted – or better
yet, attempted to post, when I’ve made mention of those two items. Immediately a message pops up that those
items cannot be used on that particular forum, in a post, and to post what I
wanted to, I’d have to remove them.
Well, since I’ve now become a “member” of DTD, I thought I’d attempt to
find out why this can’t be done and what might have caused the friction between
that forum and DTD. No response from that forum, as to the reasons, were
forthcoming. I thought I’d check with
Adam Ross, who runs DTD, to see if he had any idea, and he doesn’t – thinking
that whatever it was, happened prior to him taking over the website.
Now maybe I was wrong last week in what I did – very late on Wednesday
night, after I had posted my column on DTD – attempting to post on that forum
with a message pertaining to the ESW schedule – not by just copying and pasting
the PR release, but by making mention of the schedule being in my column on the
New England Tractor’s website, along with a link to it, and also saying it
would be able to be viewed sometime on Thursday. I also made mention of it being on another
website – one that I could not mention on that forum, and could be read at that
time.
I have to imagine that is what caused the sh*t to hit the fan with that forum. I went back later just to see if it had been
posted, since 99% of the time, anything posted gets a review prior to it
getting published on their forum.
Well sad to say, it was not posted, but what came up was a link to some
“Dude” that supposedly had “porn” sites.
No, I won’t put that link in this column, for sure! This happened a few times. Finally, when I attempted to even read
something that had been posted on that forum, a message, to me, came up – this
message was ordering me to either “Accept” or “Not accept” how one must behave
on their forum. Along with that,
underneath it was another thing that one could really, in a way, take as a
threat – on the Internet, which I believe might be kind of against the law –
maybe?
What it said:
“This Message has been sent to you from the Forum Administrator. You
must accept that you Read the message and agree to its terms otherwise you will
not be permitted to continue participating on this forum.
Author: Forum Administrator Date: :9/8/2011 3:34:39 PM
YO TOM..........THAT WAS JUST A TASTE OF THE HORROR THAT AWAITS YOU
NEXT TIME YOU TRY TO RUN UR PIE HOLE ABOUT OTHER WEBSITES ON THE BOARD. HAVE A NICE DAY!”
As of now, I’m undecided if I might attempt to pursue this little
problem further, or not – if, indeed it is to be considered as a threat – a
threat that in a way tells me that if I’m not a good boy and don’t play by
their “rules” (can’t mention other racing related websites, and/or forums and
message boards, so it says?) that they would, in a way send a virus to my
computer. I’ve been told that what
they’ve sent me is against the “law” as far as making threats – in various
ways, with the Internet being one of those ways.
I have no idea as to why this forum thinks it has some kind of an
“exclusive” as far as auto racing information goes. Surely, they seem to have some kind of
problem with working with other auto racing websites, forums and message
boards. Sad, isn’t it?
Second:
Prior to my being selected for Jury Duty, the judge told all of us that
this particular case could go to September 23rd. After the first few days, I would not be
surprised to see it go longer.
Third:
I “go back in time” while on Facebook
about the racing at the Hinchliffe Stadium in
Nine
days before I turned nine year old – September 13, 1946, race driver Ray
Jackson was fatally injured on the thirteenth lap of the feature race at Hinchliffe. As a
result of that accident, the other driver involved, Jeep Colkitt
was suspended from racing for the remainder of the ARDC’s
racing season. I can still vividly
recall the motion that Bill Schindler did in signaling the ousting of Colkitt – kinda like an umpire
signaling that “you’re out!”
Then,
on Saturday, September 13, 1952, I was at the AAA Sprint Car race at the
There’s
a photo of Russo after his win on the Caruso Museum’s website, under “Racing
Photos”, which can be seen if you go here and scroll down a bit: http://www.carusomidgetracing.com/
Fourth:
While taking a break during Jury Duty the other day, I was reading the label on the water bottle I had with me – a bottle of water that I had bought while shopping at our local Shop Rite Supermarket.
Reading from where the spring water came from, there were these
places – in the
state of
Foster, Molleystown,
Take a guess as to where it was bottled:
How about bottled by Niagara Bottling, LLC –
Fifth:
The latest PR from the Orange County Fair Speedway:
News from
Contact: Mike Gurda
845-342-2573
FOR RELEASE ON OR AFTER SEPTEMBER 14
EASTERN STATES WEEKEND---IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER!
MIDDLETOWN, NY (September 14)……..On October 28, 1962, legendary stock
car driver Frankie Schneider won the first Eastern States race at the historic
Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York. Now on October 21-23,
2011, Arkel Motors presents the 50th Annual Eastern
States Weekend, the oldest consecutively-run championship event for dirt track
Modified stock cars in the country. It is three action-packed days of high
speed racing excitement that culminates with the Eastern States 200, the
“granddaddy” of all fall championship races.
Much of the weekend’s focus will be on the headline big-block Modifieds, with time trials, heat races, and a Top-Six Dash
for Cash on Friday, all leading up to Sunday’s Eastern States 200. Friday’s
activities will also include a 25-lap Street Stock championship race plus full
program for the Open Sportsman division, culminating in a 50-lap feature race.
Saturday’s “Hard Clay” racing focuses on the 358 Modifieds,
with time trials qualifying races, and a 100-lap feature. Also on Saturday, the
Crate Sportsman and 305 Sprint Cars will be in action with qualifying and
feature races---30 laps for the Crate Sportsman and a 20-lap main for the 305
Sprint Cars.
On Sunday, following the morning fan-oriented Pit Party, the re are
last chance consolation races for the Modifieds, a
Northeast Vintage Modified championship race, and a 30-lap Pro Stock feature.
These preliminaries lead up to the 50th Annual Eastern States 200 Modified
Championship race.
Tim McCreadie, a second generation driver
whose father has also won the Eastern States 200, is the race’s defending
champion. Brett Hearn,
Tickets, camping permits, and parking permits for the 50th Annual
Eastern States Weekend, Friday through Sunday, October 21-23, are on sale. Be
sure to check the official
MEDIA MEMBERS: Credentials requests for Eastern States Weekend should
be made to Bobby Armbruster at 201-323-2913, or
BArmbr6493@aol.com. Deadline is October
10, 2011.
Sixth:
Go this in an e-mail the other day:
9/9/2011
Bob
Marlow
Vintage
TQ Midget Division Formed
oldest and largest TQ Midget sanctioning body, has approved the formation
of
a Vintage Division for the purposes of preserving and displaying
historic and distinctive racing machines from the organization's long
history.
Spearheaded
by Gary Mondshein, a former racer himself and an avid
collector of vintage race cars, the ATQMRA's Vintage
Division will be
managed by its own separate Board of Directors and governed by its own
rule book, but will be an integral part of the club that was founded in
1956.
"I
had noticed a significant increase of interest in the vintage TQs that
raced at Pine Brook and elsewhere during 'the golden age' of TQ
racing,"
Mondschein said. "Most vintage organizations
are focused on full midgets,
sprint cars and stock cars. I saw a
need to separate the TQs from these
larger cars, especially for reasons of safety during exhibition events."
While
the ATQMRA Vintage Division initially will welcome TQs
that are 30
or
more years old, the eventual goal is to have two separate categories,
one
for pre-roll cage cars (pre-1971) and one for cage-equipped cars.
An
annual calendar that includes three exhibition runs of
the vintage TQ
racers is planned, with two speedway operators already having expressed
interest in being host to such events in 2012.
Several
owners of vintage TQ race cars have committed to the effort
including:
numerous race victories by drivers such as Len Duncan, Hank Rogers, Jr.,
and
Lenny Boyd;
Jay
Young, owner of the Charlie Smith conventional and rear engine #5
cars, both of which were many-time race winners;
Paul
Wiesel, owner of many vintage cars including the Crosley
powered Fred
Brink
#54;
Art
Lawshe with his classic Crosley
#22, which he has retained throughout
the
years;
Wayne
Laucius, owner of many historic TQs
including the famous John Wehrle
#02,
the Jon Fick #11, and the Bill Force #26;
and
Gary Mondschein himself, with five cars including his
late father's #6
Holmquist machine
and the Tom DeMasco Crosley
#18.
Each
participant will be required to join the ATQMRA and drivers will be
required to purchase the drivers insurance for the on-track events. "A big part of the appeal of this
Vintage Division is being associated with
the
grand history and wide notoriety of the ATQMRA," Mondschein
said.
A
meeting for members and interested parties will be held on Tuesday,
October
4, 2011, at 7:00 PM in the facility of Dimension Design in
from Gary Mondschein at 570-656-5962.
Seventh:
In
part:
“Turns out, $5
million wasn't enough incentive to challenge IndyCar's
drivers.
In
March, IndyCar series CEO Randy Bernard announced the
series would pay that mega sum to any driver who could beat the open-wheel
professionals at their own game in their championship race in
The
bonus originally was intended to lure a driver from outside the series.
Instead, Bernard turned to one of his own drivers Tuesday - two-time
Bernard
said three other drivers were considered: NASCAR's Kasey Kahne;
former Champ Car and Formula One driver Alex Zanardi;
and extreme sports athlete Travis Pastrana.
Zanardi, Bernard said, wanted to drive for Chip Ganassi,
a team he drove for earlier in his career. Kahne was
interested in driving for Roger Penske. But with Dario Franchitti,
Ganassi's driver, and Will Power, Penske's driver,
battling for the points title for a second straight
year, neither team was willing to help.
Pastrana, the 11-time X Games gold medalist, was a no-go after breaking his
right ankle and foot in July at the X Games.
That
left Wheldon as the only other contestant, albeit one
with plenty of IndyCar experience.
He'll
take it.”
More
(three pages) can be seen if you go here:
http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20110913/APS/1109130928?p=1&tc=pg
Eighth:
This
weekend, NASCAR is racing in
Ninth:
There’s
a young man in my area by the name of Erwin Benz – or as we all know him as “Benzee”. He
organizes bus trips to various events, including some auto races at tracks that
are not too far from the area. There was
talk of a possible Indycar race at
Tenth:
Not
racing related, but I thought I’d sneak this in here:
“WASHINGTON (AP) — House
Republicans questioned Wednesday whether the White House rushed approval of a
half-billion-dollar loan guarantee for a now-bankrupt solar panel manufacturer
once cited as the kind of renewable energy company worthy of federal stimulus
money.
Solyndra Inc. was a major presence
in
The collapse of the
Fremont, Calif.-based company once touted by President Barack Obama ultimately
left taxpayers on the hook for $528 million, raising questions if the loan was
rushed to accommodate a company event in September 2009 that featured Vice
President Joe Biden.
The congressional
panel examining the loan disclosed emails that appeared to show senior staff at
the Office of Management and Budget chafing about having to conduct
"rushed approvals" of federal loan guarantees designed to help
jumpstart the nation's renewable energy industry.
"We would
prefer to have sufficient time to do our due diligence reviews and have the
approval set the date for the announcement rather than the other way
around," said one of the emails from an unnamed OMB aide to Biden's
office.
Obama cited Solyndra as an example of how the economic stimulus bill
would create jobs. But the company has since filed for bankruptcy and shed
1,100 workers, saying it couldn't compete with foreign manufacturers of solar
panels.”
Interested? You can read more about this if you go
here: http://news.yahoo.com/house-probing-528m-loan-failed-solar-company-125931197.html
Note: Watching the News on Wednesday evening on NBC
& Brian Williams, led me to search out this news. Mr. Williams had quoted what someone had said
in the past – that this company would run out of money
by September 2011. Bingo!
Eleventh:
Any idea as to
where I found this?
“This Page was last
Updated:"
I found it on this
website: http://www.worthyofhonor.com/
That’s the website
for the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. They just announced the new inductees
scheduled for induction into the
Sad thing is, the
“page” was up-dated, but still not an update on the website, which still does
not show the inductees listed from three years ago. At least they did correct the spelling for
Rodger Ward from Roger to Rodger.
The
new inductees are:
Billy
Boat, Ron Shuman, Eddie Jackson, Bobby Ball, Bob Barker, Jimmy Bryan, Marvin
Burke, Edgar Elder, Ted Halibrand, Earl Motter, Ed Normi, Alex Pabst, Bob
Pankratz and Gordy Youngstrom.
Coming up:
Accord:
King of the Catskills
Sept 23rd & Sept 24th
Wreckage in the
Catskills October 15th
Again, from their
website:
Racing fans should begin to make plans for the exciting King of the
Catskills two-day weekend of great racing on September 23rd and 24th. With
eight diverse divisions of racing on the schedule, every true racing fan will
want to make sure they are in attendance to take in every second of the great
competition that will unfold. The ROC Modified Tour heads up the Friday evening
of action September 23rd with a large $7,000.00 payday awaiting the winner of
the 100-lap headliner with the Sportsman and Lightning Sprints also on the
schedule. September 24th finds the Spec Sportsman, the CRSA Sprint Cars, Pro
Stock and Pure Stocks in action.
Also, this info from their website:
Friday September 23rd
Roc Modifieds $7000 to win* 100
laps
Sportsman 50 laps
Lightning Sprints 25 laps
4 cylinders 20 laps
ENTRY FORMS-GO TO “FILE” SECTION
Adult admission $23 Kids $5 Family 4 Pack $66** Indoor $30
Reserved $25
Pit gates open 3:30 Warm ups 6:30 Spectator gate opens at
5pm
For Tickets call the speedway:
845-626-3478
Saturday September 24th
Spec Sportsman 50 laps
Pro Stock 25 laps
Pure Stock 25 laps
Jr Slingshots 20 laps
305 Sprints 20 laps
ENTRY FORMS-GO TO “FILE” SECTION
Adult admission $20 Kids $4 Family 4 Pack $58** Indoor $25
Reserved $22
Pit gates open 3:30 Warm ups 6:30 Spectator gate opens at
5pm
*Modified payout is based on 40 entries
** Family 4 Pack is admission for 2 adults, 2 kids and $20 in
food vouchers
Rain Date: Sept 30 and October 1st
ROCKET SPEED
AMERICAN RACER TIRES -PARTS & FUEL DEALER
TIRES-PARTS-FUEL AVAILABLE AT THE
Dave & Joanne Rocket
845-778-3839
OCFS:
September 17th:
Note: It was also mentioned
last Saturday night that there would be a Modified “Dash for Cash” race on the
17th. Six cars, I believe. I believe they did that last year too –
something I’ve told OCFS many times that should be done – some kind of a race
so those in attendance (packed house, I believe) might get a glimpse of what
went on at OC on Saturday nights. I
understand they told those in attendance last year that this was what they’d
see on a Saturday night, but from what I’ve seen, I didn’t help any. Oh well!
September 17th:
2011 Season points final – Sportsman, Budget Sportsman (LV & Accord
602 chase), Pro Stocks, 4 Cylinders and Vintage Modifieds.
September 17th:
Sportsman, Pro Stock, Legends, Bandoleros,
Street Stock, 4 Cylinder
September 24th:
Sportsman, Pro Stock, Legends, Bandoleros,
BMS Modified, Street Stock, 4 Cylinder
Empire Sport Trucks
From a PR from
Tracy
Chirico
Sep.09.2011
While
Reigle worked hand in hand with journalists and
photographers from all forms of racing at all levels of the sport, his primary
focus was dirt racing, prompting the management at Bethel to host the race in
his honor for the Sportsman cars, a dirt division that has made Bethel Motor
Speedway its home on asphalt, with exciting competition and sizeable fields
each week.
“Jerry
did so much for the sport of auto racing, for motorsports journalism, and for
all of the people that he touched, that we felt it was fitting to honor him,”
stated Tracy Chirico,
“There
is no more fitting way to pay tribute to someone like Jerry than out there on a
race track,” Chirico commented, “And it made sense to run a race in his memory
with the Sportsman cars.”
An
anonymous contributor has stepped forward to boost the winner’s payout for the
event, and the race will pay $750 to win.
The
growth of the Sportsman class at
Bethel
Motor Speedway is a quarter-mile asphalt oval, which was resurfaced in
preparation for the 2011 season. Grandstand gates at the speedway open at 1 pm
weekly, and the concession stand is open for lunch. Pit gates open at 3 pm, and
hot laps take to the track at 5 pm. The wheel-to-wheel racing excitement that
More
information about Bethel Motor Speedway can be obtained at www.bethelmotorspeedway.com or by calling (845) 319-7908.
Note: There is an
excellent photo of Jerry Reigle that can be seen if
you go to the
Found
on Jayski’s website:
Kurt Busch goes
after reporter, restrained:
It started with a
simple question to Kurt Busch from NASCAR.com
reporter Joe Menzer following two on-camera
interviews by ESPN and MRN on pit road at Richmond International Raceway.
"Kurt, can either you or Jimmie win the Chase&" Menzer began to ask. Before Menzer
could finish his thought, Busch cut him off. "How did I see you were going
to come with that? We're good." Busch said. In an attempt to end the
interview, Busch turned away and started walking down pit road. Menzer called after him and said the question was
legitimate following the multiple incidents with Jimmie Johnson during Saturday
night's race. At that moment, Busch turned around yelling expletives at Menzer, coming at him as if he wanted to fight. As he
called Menzer names and continued to try to get at
him, team members from Busch's Penske Racing team had to physically restrain
Busch.(SB
Nation)
AND It was the 2004 champion, though, who seemed to be feeling the pressure
afterward. He castigated a reporter during a pit-road interview and renewed a
heated discussion with him before a news conference 30 minutes later in the
media center. He then challenged another reporter who asked Johnson to respond
to Busch's contention that he was in the five-time champion's head. "I
didn't say that tonight," retorted Busch, who later tore up a transcript
of the interview (which was broadcast on national TV) handed to him by the
reporter. "Did not."(USA
Today and more news on this at Sports
Illustrated)(9-11-2011)
Danica waiting on 2012 Schedules
to be released for Cup races to be decided:
Danica Patrick, who is moving to
NASCAR's Nationwide Series full time in 2012, said Friday her limited Sprint
Cup schedule wouldn't be determined until NASCAR released next year's schedule
in its entirety. "Go Daddy's input is important (in determining the schedule)
and they'll play a part, but they're also respectful enough to understand that
I'm the driver and the team owners are drivers, too, and they're not NASCAR
professionals necessarily" Patrick said about her sponsor. "Taking
the advice of those around me who have been in the sport for a long time, they
realize that's the smart thing to do, too, and they don't stand in the
way." When Patrick discussed her limited Cup schedule with team owner Tony
Stewart, he suggested going to the tougher tracks, such as Darlington,
Childress discusses
Bowyer's situation UPDATE:
On Wednesday,
September 8th on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, hosts Rick
Benjamin and Chocolate Myers spoke with Richard Childress about the status of
negotiations with driver #33-Clint Bowyer.
Host/Rick Benjamin: "What's the future of the #33 car
and Clint Bowyer at this stage of the game with you?"
Richard Childress:
"You know, we've tried and we've really worked really hard to put the deal
together to keep Clint. It's not 100% off the table but it's getting tougher
and tougher as the day goes by. Clint's got a couple of really good
opportunities there facing him. We just, for us it just didn't seem that we
could get everything worked out. Clint's still a good friend. I want the best
for him. I feel like that we've done a lot together and I hope that if we can't
put him in a car next year that he gets in a ride that he's really good and
happy with."
Benjamin: "So
the door's not completely closed yet but almost there, huh?"
Childress:
"Well, the door's not closed for sure and it'll always be open no matter
where he ends up. But we're still looking at other options and trying to put
some things together. It'd be great to get him back in that #33 and run him but
if we don't I want him to have the best for him because he's a great guy, a
great talent, a lot of fun and I look at him as a good friend."
SiriusXM NASCAR Radio is available to listeners
nationwide on channel 90 on Sirius and XM Premier (formerly known as "The
Best of Sirius")(SiriusXM)(9-8-2011)
UPDATE - Bowyer:
Bowyer has
repeatedly said he wants a three-year contract extension to stay with RCR, but
talks have seemed strained over the last month. Bowyer two weeks ago even
expressed frustration over the free agency process and lashed out at how he was
being characterized in the media of late. He called Childress' Thursday
comments "fair" and said there's no updates
in his situation. "There's opportunities and stuff we're just trying to
weigh out and, again, you've got to have all the stars line up," Bowyer
said. "You can't just have one piece of the puzzle or a couple pieces of
the puzzle. You have to have the whole puzzle put together and that's how you
do that in today's world and you're wasting your time talking about it to any
media because you don't really have anything to deliver to them."(Associated
Press)(9-9-2011)
Most chase races
will be available online:
UPDATES: NASCAR,
ESPN and Turner Sports will announce plans Wednesday to air nine of the 10
Chase races live online, allowing fans to view the end of the Sprint Cup season
in ways never before available. Fans can view the nine ESPN races via NASCAR.com's RaceBuddy and ESPN's
WatchESPN.com platform and the free WatchESPN app, beginning with Sunday's Cup race from Chicagoland Speedway. The lone Cup race fans won't be able
to view online will be the Oct. 15 event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. That race
airs on ABC, which does not air events live online to protect its affiliate
stations. Here's what fans can see online:
• NASCAR.com's RaceBuddy
will feature two mosaics with a mix of eight in-car and stationary cameras
positioned around the track. Team radio audio will be associated with each of
the in-car cameras.
• ESPN's live broadcast can be viewed via computer, smartphone
and tablet through ESPN's WatchESPN app and at WatchESPN.com.
Also, it will be announced that ESPN's daily NASCAR show "NASCAR Now''
will be available for the first time through WatchESPN.com
and the WatchESPN app. Telecast of NASCAR Nationwide
Series races on ESPN and ESPN2 also will be available on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN
app.(Virginian-Pilot)(9-14-2011)
UPDATE: Heading
into the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR, ESPN and Turner
Sports, which manages NASCAR.COM, announced details of
a new partnership that will provide race fans with a never-before-seen digital
viewing experience during the sport's postseason run. NASCAR.COM's
RaceBuddy product will be available for the first
time ever during the Chase while NASCAR content will appear for the first time
ever in ESPN's WatchESPN.com platform and WatchESPN
app. WatchESPN and WatchESPN.com, which give sports
fans access to 24/7 live programming from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU, will,
for the first time ever, exclusively feature the live ESPN telecasts of NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series races. WatchESPN is available on
computers, smartphones and tablets through
WatchESPN.com and the free WatchESPN app, which are
accessible to fans who receive their video service from an affiliated provider.
Also, ESPN2's daily NASCAR news and information program, "NASCAR
Now", will be available on multiple devices to NASCAR fans for the first
time ever through WatchESPN and WatchESPN.com.
Telecasts of NASCAR Nationwide Series races on ESPN and ESPN2 will also be
available.(ESPN)(9-14-2011)
UPDATE 2: Here's a few more details:
• The agreement goes through the length of the TV contract, which is 2014. So,
this will be not just a one-time thing.
• The agreement is for ALL ESPN Cup races, not just the Chase races, as is the
case this year. ESPN is broadcasting 14 of the final 17 Cup races. So, provided
that number stays the same, you will get to see a few more Cup races online
next year. (Of course, the six TNT races are also on NASCAR.com's
RaceBuddy, so that can mean about 20 races online
next year).
• The agreement does NOT cover the ABC races. Those races aren't shown to
protect the affiliate.
• The agreement covers practice sessions and qualifying sessions that ESPN
broadcasts, along with the Nationwide races and "NASCAR Now'' and any
other NASCAR content.
• As part of this agreement, you can watch the ESPN broadcast on WatchESPN.com
or the WatchESPN app that allows you to view the race
broadcast on your smartphone, computer or tablet. As
of now, those with Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Verizon FiOS TV can get the WatchESPN
feed.(Virginian-Pilot)(9-14-2011)
RPM no longer
interested in Bowyer:
Richard Petty
Motorsports has withdrawn its offer to Clint Bowyer to drive a car for the
organization in 2012. Team owner Andrew Murstein
confirmed to FOXSports.com that RPM has decided to go in another direction with
the program. "We are no longer in discussions with Clint," Murstein said. "We just feel that RPM is in a great
place today, especially how far we have come since last year. Both #9-Marcos
(Ambrose) and #43-A.J. (Allmendinger) are not only
having career years, but they are both moving in the right directions and
improving. "Clint is a great driver and we wish him the best wherever he
ends up. For now, we will continue to focus on our two teams and continuing to
make great strides as we return the King and his unmatched tradition and legion
of loyal fans back into
Fuel Injection
Tests:
NASCAR will hold
fuel injection tests Oct. 18 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Oct. 20 at Talladega
Superspeedway and Oct. 30 at Martinsville Speedway. Teams will be allowed to
test fuel injection Oct. 4-5 at the open
Former
I usually go to
various track websites to get results.
What I find somewhat disturbing is that when they put up an article
about their races, in most cases there is no date. Or, it might take forever to get results up,
too. Wonder why?
Nick Pecko was 7th in the Modified feature at
Mountain Speedway.
AJ Filbeck had a 2nd place at Utica/Rome last
weekend and in one I missed from the previous week, a 17th – both in
the Sportsman class.
Tyler Boniface was
21st at
Rich Coons was 5th
in the Sportsman feature at
Johnny Guarino had a 22nd place at New Egypt in the
Modified feature.
At Hamlin, Charlie
Lawrence was 2nd in the All Star Slingshot feature, while Tyler Dippel was 14th.
Molly Chambers was 15th, Joe Kata
19th and Kyle Rohner 23rd in
the wingless 600 Micro Sprint feature.
Rick Casario was 17th in the 270
Micro feature.
Kenney Johnson was
11th in the Boston Louie NEMA Lites race
at
Danny Creeden was the Modified feature winner at Accord with
Clinton Mills 13th. Tyler Dippel won the Spec Sportsman feature with Kyle Rohner 3rd and Kyle VanDuser
10th.
At OCFS in the CRSA
305 Sprint Car feature, Josh Pieniazek was 4th,
John Virgilio 11th, Billy VanInwegen 13th, Danny Hennessy 20th
Benny Rizzo 21st and Brittany Tresch 25th. Emily VanInwegen
was a DNS.
At Big Diamond, in
the Coal Cracker race, Mike Mammana was a DNQ.
Tiffany Wambold was 2nd in the 270 Micro Sprint feature
at Borgers.
Note: No idea as to what happened with results from
OCFS for all the racing from last Saturday, other than the CRSA 305 Sprint
Cars, as far as any results to be found on the Internet or even My Laps. As of Tuesday evening, nothing has been
found. Kinda
sad, I’d say.
Going back, in time – in
racing history:
Note# 1: Most of the following information was found
here:
http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/history.html
Note: 2: Yes, most of this info is from Open Wheel
racing from “Back in the day”.
Covering
the days from September 16th to the 22nd.
SEPTEMBER 16
1975
Jason Leffler...
Born ... USAC and NASCAR driver.
SEPTEMBER 17
1911
Tony Romit...
Born ... Tony was an open cockpit driver from
1929
1938
LeeRoy Yarbrough... Born ... A NASCAR
racer. His best season was 1969 when he won seven races and tallied 21
Top Ten finishes. During his entire career from 1960-1972, he competed in 198
races, scoring 14 wins, 65 top fives, 92 top tens, and 10 poles. His racing
number was 98. LeeRoy ran the Indy 500 3 times with a
best finish of 19th in 1970. A succession of crashes ended his career and he
struggled to cope without driving. After an attack on his mother, Lee Roy, real
name, Lonnie, was committed to a mental hospital for life. In 1984, he suffered
a seizure and fell, hitting his head and died the next day, from his head
injury.
1980
Elbert "Babe" Stapp... Died ... AAA driver from 1920 to 1940
SEPTEMBER 18
1918
Johnny Mantz
... Born ... AAA / USAC and NASCAR driver from the 1940's and 50's. He made 17
starts in the AAA Championship Car series from 1948 to 1952, capturing a
victory in his rookie season at the Milwaukee Mile as well as winning the
Indianapolis Sweepstakes at Williams Grove Speedway. He was the first USAC
Stock Car national champ in 1956. Mantz also made 12
NASCAR Grand National starts from 1950-1951 and 1955-1956. He won his third
race, the first Southern 500 held at Darlington Raceway using truck tires which
did not wear while his competitors had to stop and pit for new tires. It was
his only NASCAR win.
1937
Billy Foster... Born ... The first Canadian to ever race in the
1963
Boris Said ... Born ...
Trans-Am and sports car driver (and NASCAR ringer).
1981
Arie Luyendyk, Jr.... Born ... Racing driver and son of
SEPTEMBER 19
1949
Rex Mays drove an Offenhauser powered midget racer 147.037 MPH on the
1992
Cory McClenathan , in a Top Fuel
dragster, ran the 1/4-mile in 4.799 seconds at
SEPTEMBER 20
1952
Bill Schindler... Died ...
East Coast midget, sprint and Indy car driver. Raced with only one leg after a
crash in 1936, but died in an AAA sprint car race at
1975
Juan Pablo Montoya... Born ... Formula One, ChampCar, NASCAR
driver and the 2000 INDY 500 winner.
SEPTEMBER 21
1973
Kenny Weld wins the only
USAC race of his career. The victory came at the Reading Fairgrounds in a
sprint car built by Floyd Trevis and owned by Bob Weikert. All three are in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame .
SEPTEMBER 22
1937
Just think - if I wasn't
born on this date, you would not be reading this!
1942
Louis Schneider... Died ... AAA Midget and Indy Car driver from the 1920's and 30's.
He won the 1931 Indy 500.
1956
Dutch Schaefer won the ARDC
Midget race at the Eastern States Expo Speedway,
Dutch Schaefer won the ARDC
Midget race at the Freeport Speedway,
Note: Kinda hard to
believe that, huh? Just for the heck of
it, I went to Mapquest to see how long it would take,
today, with the
News
from the AARN:
From
their September 6th edition:
What
with the passing of Jerry Reigle on August 30, 2011,
at the young age of 43, there really wasn’t enough time for the AARN to get
much out about Jerry. In the September 6th
edition, the following columnists had nice words, thoughts and comments about
his passing: Lenny Sammons, Ernie
Saxton, Earl Krause, Kyle Hardner, Dave Roberts, Jeff
Ulrich, Stephen Bubb, Don and Jo Ann Davies, Walt Wimer, Mark Garman and Scott Pacich
Besides
most of his column pertaining to Jerry, Lenny Sammons also made mention of an
injury to Lou Cicconi and why he hasn’t raced
lately. It seems Lou hurt himself in bed
– turning over and reaching out to turn off his alarm clock. He had a “procedure” done and it’s 50/50 as
to whether it will be successful, or not.
If not, an operation will be needed.
Ernie
Saxton had a little about Tony Stewart and if Tony had any idea as to what age
he’d retire from racing. Stewart has no
idea and said he didn’t think he’d live to see 30, let alone 40.
Ernie
had in his column that UPS has just signed a 100 million dollar marketing deal
with 68 colleges. He says more and more
corporations are fining they can no longer afford a full season of sponsoring
cars in Cup and are going elsewhere. I
think I’ve said about the same thing, a time or two?
There
was a “column” by Jerry Reigle – well sort of. In the past, in his columns, he always had
his “Final 50”. In this
weeks AARN, there was a “Final 50”, with things from 49 different people
expressing their thoughts about Jerry.
Why only 49? When Jerry had his,
he always left # 43 open for “King Richard” Petty. The AARN sought fit to do the same.
Kevin
Rice made mention of Chuck Hossfeld, after winning
the 200 lap Modified race at
URC
Sprint Car Driver Tim Higgins had a heart attack while at Delaware
International Speedway during the URC races.
Taken to the hospital, he had a stent put in.
There
was an ad for the Final 2011 $150,000.00 American Racer Cup Point Standings,
with Billy Pauch 1st (New Egypt Speedway),
Alex Friesen second (Five mile), Billy Van Pelt third (Wooodull),
Al Rudalavage fourth (Woodull)
and Matt Jester fifth (Delaware)
Note: What I found to be somewhat strange was no
mention of the Accord Speedway or it’s point champion,
Brett Hearn as far as the top 10 went.
Although
John Snyder says he enjoyed watching “Mad House” on TV, he believes that it
gave people across the country a false impression of what real NASCAR pavement
Modified racing is really like.
Note: I only watched part of their first airing and
left, not being a fan of the so called “entertainment” the show offered. Yes, Mr. Snyder is correct, a false
impression, for sure.
Two
people, associated with auto racing were mentioned as having passed away. Richard “Reds” Kagle on 8/29 – one of the South’s legendary stock car
drivers, and Lynn “Red” Wines, 70, on 8/26. He was a driver, car owner and sponsor out on
There
was a question asked of Sleepy Gomez, “Racers Tech Questions” about any
alternative to buying the rather expensive HANS device, and if “I really need
one”. The one questioning this races a
Street Stock on a ¼ mile dirt track. Mr.
Gomez did say
that, yes, one should wear some kind of protective device. He said that when Dale Earnhardt was fatally
injured, the impact on the Daytona wall was at 55 MPH. He suggested that the driver “put away some
dollars every week towards the purchase of some kind of device, and race with
all the protection you can afford.
Another ad reminding the readers of the
Motor Sports 2012 show on January 20, 21 & 22 at the Greater Philadelphia
Expo Center in Oaks,
And,
on their website, which can usually be seen late on Monday night, I found this
for this weeks edition:
Former Driver,
Old Guard Stands Up
To Young Lions
In ATQMRA Action
More
racin’ stuff:
Do you like racing – especially Open Wheel, from “Back in the day”? How about photos from back then? Midgets and Sprint Cars?
Well
then, here ya go:
http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/ta/backintime11-2/pg1.htm
Check
out page three and the crowd at the Midget race at
Racing and
television:
Racing on TV - http://www.racefantv.com/USTV.htm
Some non-racing stuff:
The following
e-mail stirs a great deal of emotion and thought. Check out this link, which gives you more
information regarding the origination of the e-mail.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/realestate.asp
Also, consider
looking at the following links, which further tell of the impact of the
healthcare reform bill from Representative Paul D. Ryan:
http://budget.house.gov/UploadedFiles/HC-Ed-Final-7Apr10.pdf
http://paulryan.house.gov/Issues/Issue/?IssueID=9978
Forwarded e-mail:
The National
Association of REALTORS is all over this and working to get it repealed, before
it takes effect. But, I am very pleased we aren't the only ones who know about
this ploy to steal billions from unsuspecting homeowners. How many realtors do
you think will vote Democratic in 2012?
Did you know that
if you sell your house after 2012 you will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it? That's
$3,800 on a $100,000 home, etc. When did this happen? It's in the health care
bill and goes into effect in 2013.
Why 2013? Could it
be to come to light AFTER the 2012 elections? So, this is "change you can
believe in"? Under the new health
care bill all real estate transactions will be subject to a 3.8% Sales Tax.
If you sell a
$400,000 home, there will be a $15,200 tax. This bill is set to screw the
retiring generation who often downsize their homes. Does this make your November and 2012 vote
more important?
Oh, you weren't
aware this was in the Obama-care bill? Guess what, you aren't alone. There are
more than a few members of Congress that aren't aware of it either.
Check out the
following website for more info.
http://na06.mypinpointe.com/link.php?M=11054534&N=3591&L=4051&F=T
http://na06.mypinpointe.com/link.php?M=11054534&N=3591&L=4051&F=T
I hope you forward
this to every single person in your address book. VOTERS NEED TO KNOW.
Is
this true?:
AZ
Gov. Brewer Hammers Obama on Amnesty: Acts Like He’s
“Above the Law”
In
part:
“While few elected officials have denounced Barack Obama’s amnesty-by-decree
for illegal aliens – even as of this morning – one in particular stepped up
with a forceful response within hours of this outrageous edict. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer
issued a statement denouncing the anti-Constitutional move (and had to re-issue
it, after Facebook, ahem, “mistakenly” took it down)…
“The
Obama administration cannot get its amnesty schemes through Congress, so now it
has resorted to implementing its plans via executive fiat….This plan amounts to
backdoor amnesty for hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of illegal
aliens…. With this announcement, the President is encouraging more illegal
immigration at the exact moment we need federal focus on border security.
Then Brewer pointed out something the media has taken great pains
to ignore this weekend: how just one month ago, Obama rejected such a move in
front of the National Council of La Raza (“The
Race”). In case you missed it, Obama first said “I swore an oath to uphold the
laws on the books”. And he went on from
there…
More on this can be found here:
http://standwitharizona.com/blog/2011/08/22/az-gov-brewer-hammers-obama-on-amnesty-acts-like-hes-above-the-law/
Video time:
Going
along for the ride on a 305 Sprint Car at the Orange County Fair Speedway.
Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbSoY9NMcJU
Closing with these:
1)
The bandage was wound around the wound.
2)
The farm was used to produce produce.
3)
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4)
We must polish the Polish furniture.
5)
He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6)
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7)
Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the
present.
8)
A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9)
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10)
I did not object to the object.
11)
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12)
There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13)
They were too close to the door to close it.
14)
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15)
A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16)
To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17)
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18)
Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19)
I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20)
How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
More
“English” 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!
As usual, you can reach me
at: ygordad@yahoo.com