Racin'
& Internet Stuff:
By Tom Avenengo
Volume # 74
09/29/2011
First:
I’m starting this column on Sunday, the 25th of
September. While doing so, I’m
attempting to do four other things – watch football and the NASCAR race on TV
and also doing a weeks worth of laundry, along with
checking out the Internet, and what’s going on, both racing wise and
world-wise. Oh! Giants TD!
Second:
Speaking of watching TV – will NASCAR ever realize that it cannot
compete with the NFL? For a while,
NASCAR was boasting of how many millions of fans it had, but, really, where
have they all gone? Later on, in this
column, you’ll see where NASCAR is still trying to do things to hopefully help
the mess of auto racing that they’ve caused with their rules.
Third:
Not that it really matters all that much, since this writer sees a gradually decline in oval tracks for the Indycar races, where it might well end up with maybe a half dozen ovals and up to maybe 16 road/street/parking lot courses in the very near future, but how about this:
Nazareth Speedway rebirth taking slow turns
In part:
“Once known as the world’s "fastest mile," the Nazareth
Speedway today has slowed to a halt.
It’s
been seven years since auto racers lapped around the Nazareth Speedway, six
years since the property went on the sales block.
All
that's left are a few rusty signs and some overgrown grass. The track’s
grandstands and most of the signage has been removed.
A fence surrounds the site.
Still, municipal officials, business owners and residents
are optimistic the now shuttered property, listed since January 2005 for $18.8
million, will be resurrected and help bring back the township’s identity.
The
property is owned by Daytona-based International Speedway Corp., also known as
ISC, which owns or operates about 13 motorsports facilities.
"We did lose an icon and an identity," Township
Manager Timm Tenges said
about the speedway’s closure in 2004. "It was the focal point. It was cool
to have events of that caliber come to your community."
“Dilsaver said spectators patronized local businesses,
flooding into restaurants and overbooking hotels. He said the speedway put
“Luis
Gonzalez, manager of Pizza Joe’s on
"That was a big help for the business," Gonzalez
recalled. "We would deliver all day there."
“What isn’t
being envisioned by municipal officials is a massive housing development, which
is what the last potential buyer pitched. Ashley Development Corp. of
In May 2005, Abraham Atiyeh
wanted to build an 8,000-seat professional hockey arena. Atiyeh
was unable to solidify his deal and time ran out on his agreement to buy it.”
Interested? More,
followed by some comments, can be found here:
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2011/06/future_uncertain_for_shuttered.html
Note: Just for “Ha-has”, I thought I’d e-mail that
article to a friend of mine that lives in Nazareth and has been associated with
auto racing for almost as long as me, to find out what he knows or thinks about
this. I also did ask him if I could use
what his response, if any, could be used in my column and he had no problem
with that.
From
what he says, via e-mail:
“Yes you can use it.
In my opinion the writer of this story was not very
knowledgeable of the situation. So many
times these things happen with a daily newspaper and when they should go to
racing people for the facts they fail to do so.
To be truthful I don't know what the property is good for
other then a racetrack. Under the
topsoil is limestone and the area is dotted with sinkholes. When they built the media center it took tons
of explosives to blast for the footer.
The main problem is the high tension wires that go through the property. There is not enough acreage for any type of
major development if these obstacles could be overcome.
There were developers interested but what I understood is
it was a deal where they wanted taxpayers money and it
could not be obtained.
The track was missed opportunities from day one when jerry
Fried opened it. the
towns people did not want it and all the township did was give trouble to
everyone that tried to operate the track.
The problems they gave Lindy was unbelievable and it continued with
Penske and ISC. I think with today's economic conditions people might have a much
different approach. All homes and no
industry equals schools, roads, and other
infrastructure that have to be paid for and with no industry it comes from the
taxpayers pockets.
Just like with the Andretti's. No one gave a shit about them until they
became famous and then everyone was their friends. The people in
For them to say there was not enough interest is
crap. The track was never promoted to
the local people that would put asses in the seats. We are not talking a wine and caviar crowd
but a beer and hot dogs crowd that should have been targeted.
If ISC was serious about running the track it could of easily been changed.
the warm-up apron could of been merged to widen
the track which would of shortened it a bit but it would of made for better
racing.
If someone would have the financial backing it could be
made to work. Keep the mile tri-oval and
put a 3/8-mile dirt track in the infield for modifieds,
sprints, late model, and a 1/7-mile track for the small cars. Fairs, concerts, car shows could be
held. The possibilities are endless if
it was done right. The track always was like a cat with nine lives but I think
it is at the end. It could be done if
you had the money.
What makes me laugh is everyday when I go to the end of
town I sit in traffic for 10 minutes and it gets worse by the day and how the
good town folks bitch. People complained
when the races left out of the congestion, which there was none. The half-mile maybe for 15
minutes late at night when no one was on the streets and the big track a few
weekends a year and then it was only for an hour or so. Now I get pleasure in thinking you assholes
wished for it and now you got it.”
Note # 1: I must
say that there was just a little bit more said about the track and property,
but for now, it was between just the two of us.
Note # 2: Damn, but
I’d love to see that track open up again in some form!
Fourth:
Remember in last weeks column – those $16.00 Muffins?
$16 muffins? No, says Hilton
The government did
not pay $16 apiece for breakfast muffins at a Justice Department conference, no
matter what the department's inspector general thinks.
So says Hilton
Worldwide, which hosted the 2009 legal training conference in
Hilton Worldwide,
which manages and franchises hotels including the Capital Hilton where the
conference took place, says the price included not only breakfast baked goods
but also fresh fruit, coffee, tea, soft drinks, tax and tips. It says the
report misinterpreted its invoices, which often use shorthand and don't reflect
the full menu and service provided.
The IG's report allocates $4,200 for the muffins but also noted
15 gallons of complimentary coffee, 30 gallons of complimentary ice tea and 200
pieces of free fruit included in the overall price of $39,360.
The IG says that
the total cost per person at the reception was $14.74 — 2 cents over the
allowable Justice Department limit. Totaling up the items in the IG's report, the 534 attendees over five days were given
1,150 pastries, 1,350 pieces of candy and fruit, 1,250 cups of coffee and tea
and 250 soft drinks.
The IG's audit of excessive spending at 10 Justice Department
conferences was one of those news stories that make the public sit up and take
notice. Once again, the profligate government was overspending. But it wasn't
billions. Or even millions. It was muffins at $16 apiece, according to the IG's office.
The report
referenced the $16 muffins half a dozen times and it said their cost was one of
many food items that "appeared extravagant and potentially wasteful."
Not so, Hilton
Worldwide said in a statement Thursday.
"In
"Dining
receipts are often abbreviated and do not reflect the full pre-contracted menu
and service provided, as is the case with recent media reports of breakfast
items approved for some government meetings," Hilton Worldwide's
statement added.
On Thursday night,
IG spokesman Jay Lerner said that "we stand by our report."
In its report, the IG's office said the cost of the muffins was one of many
food items that "appeared extravagant and potentially wasteful."
"Many
individual food and beverage items listed on conference invoices and paid by
the" Executive Office for Immigration Review for a legal training conference
"were very costly," said the IG report. "The EOIR spent $4,200
on 250 muffins and $2,880 on 300 cookies and brownies. By itemizing these
costs, we determined that, with service and gratuity, muffins cost over $16
each and cookies and brownies cost almost $10 each."
Hilton Worldwide is
owned by private equity firm Blackstone Group LP.
http://news.yahoo.com/16-muffins-no-says-hilton-004116135.html
Fifth:
From
my 72nd Column:
“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
Well,
sad to say, but it sure looks like there will not be an Indycar
race at Loudon in 2012, as one has to figure, when reading this:
“Allen
Lessels Motor Sports: IndyCar series unlikely to return to NHMS
ALLEN LESSELS
Published Sep 22, 2011 at 3:00 am (Updated Sep 21, 2011)
LOUDON -- Jerry Gappens and his New
Hampshire Motor Speedway team geared up on Wednesday for what he hopes will be
a crowd of 100,000-plus people for the
Gappens sat in his office and talked excitedly about how the results Tony
Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had on Monday at Chicagoland Speedway energized
their championship runs and about how tight the competition is as the Chase
continues with Sunday's race.
The track's general manager and executive vice president was much more subdued
when he discussed how next season is apt to be a little less busy at the track.
Gappens said it is “highly unlikely,” that
the Izod IndyCar series will be returning to the track next summer.
“Based on the information I have right now, I'd say they won't be coming back,”
Gappens said.
It is not an assessment Gappens expected, or wanted, to make.
He pushed hard for three years to get the Indy cars, which last raced at the
speedway in 1998, back on the track's schedule and was thrilled a year ago when
he landed a date for this August.
But then a crowd of about 28,000 showed up.
“Forty thousand was what it was going to
take to have a chance to make money,” Gappens said. “When the bills got paid,
it was a significant loss.”
A final decision has not been made and Gappens said the door is not closed on a
return for the series, but he's not at all optimistic about the event happening
again.
“I'd say it's highly unlikely at this point,” Gappens said. “If they wanted to
come in and rent the track and assume the risk, they could do that. Or if they
brought in some corporate sponsorship that would help underwrite some of it,
those are really the only two ways we could look at continuing it.”
Gappens said he enjoyed working with Randy Bernard, who
runs IndyCar, and the series.
“I like Randy, the series people were good and the drivers were
very cooperative,” Gappens said. “I have nothing negative to say about the
series. The bottom line is we didn't sell enough tickets to cover the expenses
of putting on one of those races. I'm responsible for selling tickets here and
at the end of the day I didn't get the job done.”
He's not quite sure why and he feels especially bad for the fans who did come
and support the event, many of whom sent him notes in praise of it afterwards.
The track advertised the race — which carries an expense in sanction and purse
fees of more than seven figures, Gappens said — and he's proud of how hard his
team worked, with the help of the Indy people, at promoting and marketing it.
Perhaps, he said, having
three major events over the span of three months was too much. Perhaps the
IndyCar series, which has been down in recent years, has not sufficiently
recovered.
“I can't figure out why there weren't more
advanced ticket sales,” Gappens said. “As I've said before, we're in a business
where people vote by buying tickets whether they like it or not, or want to
support it.”
It appears likely that race fans have voted out Indy cars, as they continue to
vote NASCAR in.
The Chase resumes with Stewart, who won at Chicagoland, in second place and
trailing leader Kevin Harvick by seven points. Carl Edwards is 10 points behind
Harvick, Kurt Busch 11 back and Earnhardt, Jr. 13 out of the lead.
Sixth:
Andretti Autosport and Chevrolet Confirm IndyCar
Series Partnership
In
part:
“09.23.11 – Andretti Autosport™ and Chevrolet
announced today that the famed auto manufacturer will provide the Andretti Autosport™ entries with its new Chevy IndyCar
V-6 racing engine. The announcement marks the reunion of two of racing’s most
famous brands for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series.
Andretti Autosport™, led
by team owner and CEO Michael Andretti, has recorded 39 victories in the IZOD IndyCar Series dating back to the team’s entry into IndyCar in 2003. In addition, Andretti Autosport™
has captured three driver championships and two
Chevrolet, a leader in motorsports for 100 years,
has totaled 104 Indy car wins, including six series crowns and seven Indy 500
championships. The 2012 Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 will
have an aluminum block and cylinder heads, direct injection and
twin-turbochargers. The engine will also be a fully stressed chassis member
supporting the gearbox and rear suspension”
More can be found if you go here: http://andrettiautosport.com/news/?p=893
Seventh:
If you read my column last week, in this, the AARN’s section, you would have read this:
“Guy
Smith, the “Race chaser” was down in
Well,
believe it or not, Guy Smith made a return visit to Volusia the following
Friday, the 19th of August.
On the 19th Mr. Smith says this about the car counts: 12 Late Models, 11 Sportsman, 16 Economy Modifieds and 9 Street Stocks. One of those in action that night was Buzzie Reutimann, who Mr. Smith
used to watch race at the Nazareth Speedway, “back in the day”. He also made mention that the crowd was
fairly small, too. Admission was
$12.00. The track, he said, was in great
shape.
After
hot laps, it looked like they might get started fairly close to the advertised
starting time. Then things went down
hill. A transformer fire knocked out the
electric to the front stretch lights, refreshment stand and announcer tower. The PA system for the stands wasn’t working,
but the system in the pit area was. It
was heard that it would take the power company 45 minutes to an hour for them
to get there and shut the power off so the transformer could be taken care
of. They had no idea as to how long that
might take. Mr. Smith goes on to say
that during the down time, he watched various customers try to either get a
refund or a rain check, as several said they had to get home by a certain
time. The track would not budge on
either a refund or a rain check. Mr.
Smith did say he supported the track in the no refunds, but thought the track
could have issued rain checks as a good will purpose. Rather than attempt to diffuse the situation,
track people seemed to escalate it, by yelling back at the fans, insulting
them, and then calling security on them.
He goes on to say that it wasn’t somewhat deserved, or that the track
people did not have the right to be frustrated too, but they certainly did
themselves no favors by most likely driving off race fans when they clearly
didn’t have a lot to spare.
Once
the power company got there, things went a lot faster than everyone thought
they would, and the racing started two hours late. Mr. Smith repeated some of what he said the
previous week – about the track going to be the most successful Saturday night
track in
Eighth:
Kyle Larson
No,
I’m not talking about the football player, but rather a 19 year old that has
been setting the Open Wheel Racing scene on fire, lately.
A
little about him – found on the Internet:
Full Name: Kyle Miyata Larson
Birth
Date: July 31, 1992 – 19 yrs old
2011 Midgets, Non-Wing Sprints Cars, Silver Crown, Winged
Sprint Cars (410 & 360) & Outlaw Sprint Karts:
(As
of Sept. 14, 2011)
Currently 12 Feature Wins – Seven
Midget/Four Sprint Car/1 Silver Crown
World of Outlaw Gold Cup Race of
Champion, Silver Dollar Speedway, Chico, CA (youngest to win GC)
1st USAC Driver to win in each
division in 2011 - Midget,
Sprint Car & Silver Crown Car
USAC Silver Crown Ted Horn Memorial
100, DuQuoin, IL
Ultimate Challenge USAC Non Wing 410
Sprint Car Feature Winner – Oskaloosa, IA.
Belleville Midget Nationals Champion
Two USAC National Midget Feature Wins
American Sprint Car Series National
360 Feature Winner – Hanford, CA.
American Sprint Car Series Northwest
Regional 360 Speedweek Champion
Fast Time Qualifier in First Pavement
Attempt- USAC Silver
Crown, Nonwing Sprint Car, Midget
Lakeport Speedway 500cc Outlaw Karts
Perpetual Trophy Champion
Just swept all 3 of the USAC National races at Eldora
Speedway...Midget, Sprint & Silver Crown.
Article
by Robin Miller: http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/usac-larson-sweeps-4-crown
Over these last few days, Kyle has made it to a couple of forums,
and some interesting things have been, and are being, said about this young
man.
http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/topic/41213-kyle-larson/page__gopid__348920
and:
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?155672-Is-Indycar-talking-to-this-kid
Ninth:
I see that the Cup race at Loudon was no different than the rest of them – just not quite as much aluminum showing where fans should have been sitting as has been seen at other venues.
Oh, and as for
Tenth:
It sure seems like every Cup race is now being decided on who has enough fuel or who doesn’t. So, when NASCAR does go with fuel injection, will it all change?
Eleventh:
Injuries – So two quarterbacks get injured last week – one with a supposed “concussion” and another with a broken rib and punctured lung. The one with the concussion, Michael Vick, was cleared to play against the NY Giants, this past Sunday. He left at the end of the third quarter with a broken hand*, and later was kind of complaining about the refereeing and getting hit. I’m trying to figure out why he was cleared to play in the first place. The other quarterback, Tony Romo, is scheduled to play on Monday night. Huh? Broken rib and punctured lung, and he’s cleared to play, too? OK, let me see – has Brad Keselowski set a precedent with participating in a sport even with a rather serious injury? Heck, even “A-Roid” has been playing with a sore thumb.
*An up-date on Michael Vick as of Monday, 9/26:
PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Michael Vick’s(notes) injured
right hand is bruised, not broken as originally thought.
Eagles coach Andy Reid said a CT
scan Monday showed the star quarterback bruised his hand in
“Today, he had a
scan and it showed there was no break,” Reid said. “It was a blood vessel
sitting above the bone. That happens at times with X-rays. The blood vessel
makes it look like it was a fracture. There is still a bunch of swelling. It is
sensitive to the touch. The positive is there is not a fracture there.”
It’s uncertain if
Vick, who throws left-handed, will play when the Eagles (1-2) host the San Francisco 49ers (2-1)
next Sunday.
“We will see how he
does over the next couple of days,” Reid said. “We have to get the swelling
where it is manageable and he feels comfortable.”
Vick was injured on
a hit from Chris Canty(notes) after
completing a 23-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin(notes) in the
third quarter. He finished off the series and led the Eagles to a go-ahead
field goal.
Vick left for
X-rays, but returned without missing a play. He then left the game for good
after another series.
The hit from Canty didn’t sit well with Vick. He blasted officials for
not calling a roughing-the-passer penalty, and said he wants to be treated like
other quarterbacks.
“His best interest
is always in my mind, when he’s on the football field, in particular,” Reid
said. “I know he’s a marked man. I think it’s important that we all keep a
close eye on him.”
And, info on Romo:
Despite a cracked
rib that led to a punctured lung last Sunday, Romo
seems to have healed enough to start for the Dallas Cowboys when they play
host to Hall and the Washington
Redskins on Monday night. He did
lead the team to a win, even though the Cowboys scored no TD’s,
but six field goals.
Twelfth:
Speaking of other sports, and especially football, is it really necessary for the players to “show boat” and act the way they do after completing a play. “Back in the day” it hardly ever happened.
Thirteenth:
While watching a football game this past weekend, there was, what I would say, was a real bad call against the N.Y. Jets – a “roughing the passer” call. True, he was contacted after throwing a pass, but was only moved back a few steps. Ah, but that call was made prior to a second penalty, one the announcers made mention of, even before the roughing the passer call – “Intentional grounding” was called on the quarterback and the pass he threw. Maybe the ref and other officials saw their error and made a slight correction? The entire play was nullified due to both penalties, however.
Fourteenth:
Checking out a forum I frequent, I see the following was
posted about the 200 lap Big Block race for Super Dirt Week up in
“REVISDED FOR OCTOBER 9th, 2011 – ONLY:
In a 200-lap event, there will be one (1) mandatory pit stop any time after the
completion of lap 50. During caution periods after the conclusion of lap 50,
the caution will remain out to give teams the opportunity to pit and for the
field to‘cycle’ through required pit stops (a minimum
of three (3) laps of caution). REVISED – For the ‘SEF 200’ the one (1)
mandatory pit stop must take place any between the completion of lap 150 and
the completion of lap 175.”
Verification
on the above: http://www.superdirtweekonline.com/images/stories/PDF/SDW40CompetitorsGuide.pdf
It
also says this: “For a pit stop to be
considered official, the car must come to a complete stop in its assigned pit
stall.”
There’s quite a bit
being said about this on the Dirt Track Digest’s Forum, which you can check out
if you go here: http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/topic/41240-stupid-rule-2-by-dirt/
Note: Sure!
At least they have a pit road a little longer than OCFS has, but I’ve
seen some “double file” pit stops up there in the past. At OCFS, that’s almost a gimmie
– double file pit stops during ESW.
Fifteenth:
While
on the subject of the 200 at
Meanwhile,
just the opposite will happen at Easter States with their 200. All restarts will be double-file. Well, maybe as long as it doesn’t take three
or four re-starts for one particular re-start, then I imagine they have the
option to go single file, as they’ve done on occasion during some regular shows
at OCFS.
Sixteenth:
Here ya go:
Kurt Busch's car
held up going through pre-race inspection:
The car of Kurt
Busch did not pass prerace inspection the first time through Sunday morning,
and NASCAR sent a message to the team to stop having small issues in technical
inspection. NASCAR did not release the car until 10 minutes before the engines
were fired for the
Note: You know what? After reading things on this, I truly believe
that even Roger Penske is somewhat afraid of NASCAR. Yup, you can’t bite the hand that feeds ya, right?
Seventeenth:
And now it seems
that Tony Stewart also had a slight problem with some Media folks:
Then, after his win
at Loudon –
Stewart doesn't
elaborate on
From a Team Chevy
Post-Race Winner's Press Conference Transcript:
Q. Tony, ever since you were on TV in Victory Lane, the buzz all around the track
and Internet is wondering what you meant when you said, We dropped some dead
weight earlier this week.
TONY STEWART: We're just going to leave it at that.
Q. Could we ask if that was
TONY STEWART: You can't ask anything. It is what it
is. That's all it was is what you said. That's where
we'll leave it.
Q. Darian said there's not been any
personnel changes on the team.
TONY STEWART: No, there hasn't. (Team Chevy)(9-25-2011)
OK, making you a
little bet here – Tony has a slight problem within the next couple of races,
maybe – like Kurt Busch had? Hmm, car #
14 – too fast on pit road!
Eighteenth:
Last
year, for the Eastern States 200, there was a special “Hard Charger” award of
$500.00 in the memory of the late Eric Koster. Some of us on the Victory Speedway Forum have
gotten together to continue this award again for this years race – each
chipping in with some dollars to hit that same figure again. In two days we’ve got the figure up to
$550.00! Interested in helping out? E-mail me.
My address is at the end of each and every column.
A
message from OCFS to Pete Kessler regarding this:
“Hi,
Pete got your e-mail.
The
award last year for the Hard Charger was $500.00. According to your e-mail you
will come up with the money. We will provide a page in the Hard Clay for a
carton drawing (Todd Lewis?) of the 62 car and a small write-up about Eric and
include the same info as was on the bottom of the page in last years book. I
will have a large check for $500.00 made to present to the winner, just let me
know what sponsors you want mentioned.
If you
have any questions please call me at the speedway.”
Nineteenth:
If
you’re a regular reader of my columns, you might remember a few columns back
when I made mention of me getting an itemized bill from when I was in the
hospital at the end of July. Some of the
prices that I was charged, for “meds”, seemed kind of high. This past Tuesday I needed a new prescription
on a medication I’ve been taking for blood pressure. At Wal-Mart it cost me $10.00 for 90 pills, a
three-month supply. The hospital did not
have that exact medication, but gave me a different medication for my blood
pressure and I was charged $9.65 for each pill.
Uh huh! You know what I
think? We should be able to bring in our
own meds. No wonder Medicare and/or
Medicaid are in such big trouble!
Twentieth:
This
past Tuesday I had the Nick Fornoro piece out on the
Internet. Some nice
responses about it, too.
Things
like:
“Just
read your note on the track forum website. Thanks for posting it! I met Mr. Fornoro in the 1960's. I really do not remember much, is
anything about him other than he was very pleasant and answered several
questions I had pertaining to starting races.”
“Thanks
Tom, that was great. I had the good
fortune to spend many hours with Nick in my years covering NEMA.
I
remember one day walking through the pits with him at
“My
brother Jimmy and Nicky were very good friends, being Italian they were really
"Brothers" in the early days of racing where the other Italian
brothers were the Andrettis.”
“Sorry
but I forgot to sign my name to an email I sent you a short while ago. Can I
use your article on Nick Fornoro as a post on our
site today? Your name will be the author.
Mike
Calla
Wheels
of Speed”
“Thank
You Tom. Memory's are not gone, They in our hearts forever, He was a great person and he is
missed.”
“Thank
you Tom, for never forgetting! He is still missed so much… I think of him every
single day and keep his ashes, just as all of his children and grandchildren
do. We all wanted an extra piece of him forever!”
“Outstanding driver and racing official. I met him when
ASA ran its first companion race with CART at
“Thanks
for posting this again Tom!”
“Mr. Fornoro always stopped by to say hello at the races. He
made me proud to be part of midget racing.”
“Years ago Lenny Sammons had driver cards made up for his
Motorsports show. Nick signed one for me
from 1993. The photo is from him in the
50's in helmet and goggles with that familiar grin. I've got it on my desk overlooking my
laptop. Probably more
valuable than the laptop!”
“Thanks for the link Tom, I added it to
my favorites list. I first saw Nick when he drove at the Bloomsburg Fair back
in the early 50s. I remember him well as the ARDC flagman a few years later
when the flagmen still stood on the track. As we were lined up on the
straightaway waiting to be pushed off, Nick would come up to each car and say,
"Be safe out there," and we all knew that he really meant it.”
Twenty-First:
For what it’s worth, especially for those fans of IndyCar racing, there’s a thread on the Track Forum about
testing the “New” car. In a way, I’m not
that all excited about this new car since what was supposed to happen in some
areas, has now been pushed back to a year or two more. However, it seems that the V-6 Turbo engines
will be in effect in 2012.
On page nine, in the link, below, there’s a video of this new
car on track at Indy, in a test. I have
to agree, to an extent, that it is kind of “fugly” –
especially at the rear, as one poster put it.
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?155741-New-car-at-IMS-today
Twenty-Second:
From a PR that I received on Wednesday, 9/28:
XCEL
CHASSIS ANNOUNCES NEW INTERNET POLICIES
Going
back to the basics and a time when things were settled face to face and not
thru channels has come to the Xcel Chassis 600 series. Doug Borger, series
owner, sat down and had an open discussion with his fellow drivers. Anyone
involved with the series was invited to talk openly with their opinions and
concerns with out having to worry about be bashed for voicing the opinion.
After much discussion plans were put into place and a decision was made.
Doug
explained his decision and why that Sunday afternoon, “ We are now shifting all
news releases, schedules, forms, and updates to an in house system that will
allow the public and anyone directly associated with the series an outlet to
express their opinions and not be bashed for it. Most forum boards and web
sites don’t hold accountable the users for what they chose to put in print. As
an example you can post anything you want on Facebook,
whether it be true or not, and not see consequences for those words. I want to
change that and the first step is to bring everything back in house. “explained
Doug, “Starting immediately a rule has been implemented as follows: Any and all
actions by person or persons ruled detrimental to the series, officials,
drivers and owners will receive a $75.00 fine or higher along with possible
suspensions and/or will possibly receive a life time ban.
“I
strongly believe we have got to start being held accountable for our actions
not only with words but with words in print because what you write on the
internet is there forever. You can sign up for the forum board thru my website
xcelchassis.com and you scroll down and the link will be on the left. You are
required to sign in with your name along with a display name if you chose. I
will be deleting our group page on face book within the next week. My phone
number is 610-681-2689 and is always open so feel free to call and I can
discuss it further.”
Coming up:
Accord:
From their website:
“From the Accord Speedway’s website, last Friday:
King of the Catskills
Due to the weather
Has been rescheduled for next weekend . Events on Friday 9/23 will be held on
Friday 9/30. Events on Sat. 9/24 will be
held on Sat. October 1st.
See you next weekend!”
With last weeks entire weekend rained
out, here is a repeat of what was in last weeks column, with just the dates
changed.
Friday September 30th
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 October 1st
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
ROCKET SPEED
AMERICAN RACER TIRES -PARTS & FUEL DEALER
TIRES-PARTS-FUEL AVAILABLE AT THE
Dave & Joanne Rocket
845-778-3839
Note: As of 12:30 PM on Wednesday, 9/28, here’s the weather forecast for Accord:
Today: Overcast with
rain showers at times. High 66F. Winds E at 5 to 10
mph. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
Tonight: Rain showers
early then thundershowers overnight. Low near 65F.
Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Tomorrow: Rain showers in
the morning then thundershowers in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 68F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance
of rain 60%.
Tomorrow night: Partly to
mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms before midnight. Low near 55F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Friday: Morning
showers. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the low 50s.
Saturday: Chance of
showers. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the mid 40s.
OCFS:
All the
info for Eastern States Weekend should come up if you go here:
http://www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net/
Their Novemberfest races are scheduled for November 4th,
5th and 6th.
For more info,
please go here: http://www.oaklandvalleyspeedway.com/schedules-fees/
Found
on Jayski’s website:
NASCAR prohibiting
teams from greasing bumpers at
Along with changes
to the size of the restrictor-plate and the pressure release valves of Sprint
Cup cars there is another change mandated by NASCAR that will affect the racing
there next month. In the technical bulletin issued to teams this week outlining
the changes at
NASCAR changes
NASCAR has
eliminated a scheduled Sprint Cup practice on Thursday of race weekend at
Phoenix International Raceway Nov. 11-13. Sprint Cup teams are scheduled to
participate in an open test at
AND: Goodyear has selected its tire for Phoenix International Raceway.
Stu Grant, Goodyear's general manager/Worldwide Racing,
said that when the Sprint Cup tour returns to PIR for the two-day test, Oct.
4-5, teams will use the same left-side tires as they did at
Villeneuve interested in Red Bull: UPDATE:
Brian Vickers says he isn't feeling pressure to prove himself on the track, but that doesn't mean his future is secure or he knows where he'll be racing in 2012. Red Bull announced in late June that it was selling the team and it's been nearly three months with no announcement of a buyer. Vickers has even worked to line up potential buyers but nothing has materialized. There could be some rides available with other teams, depending on sponsorship. Among those who have inquired about purchasing the Red Bull assets is former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve. His business manager confirmed that Villeneuve has inquired about buying the team, but gave no indication of whether talks have been productive. Villeneuve has never hidden his interest in Cup racing and if the Canadian driver can find investors to put him in a seat, he likely would do it. He also could have investors purchase the team with the idea of him running a partial Cup schedule along with another driver.(Scene Daily)(9-21-2011)
UPDATE:
In June it was reported that Red Bull will put the brakes on its involvement with NASCAR at the end of this year but this seems to be premature. [Red Bull owner Dietrich] Mateschitz says "this is not yet a final decision but we had many reasons to re-analyse our involvement with the goal of either to confirm our participation in NASCAR or to question it." He adds that the key factors which will affect Red Bull's decision are target groups, marketing, media values, the engine, the fact that NASCAR is a purely American series and of course success and the cost to benefit ratio.(PitPass)(9-23-2011)
UPDATE 2:
Red Bull Racing expects to layoff 152 employees when it
shutters operations in December. Red Bull Racing filed a notice this week as
part of
AND:
The notification with the state does not mean the team
will or will not be sold but covers Red Bull if it does not sell the team and
shuts it down or sells the team to a buyer that lays
off workers.
JTG Daugherty ending alliance with MWR? UPDATE - Bowyer in, JTG out?:
Michael Waltrip Racing currently fields two teams with #56-Martin Truex Jr. and #00-David Reutimann, and supplies cars for #47-Bobby Labonte and JTG Daugherty Racing out of its Mooresville, N.C., shop. Sources said JTG Daugherty Racing may cut its tie to MWR but remain in the sport with Labonte as its driver in 2012.(ESPN)(9-16-2011)
UPDATE:
MWR has paved the way for a third full-time entry [with Clint Bowyer] by ending its affiliation with JTG Daugherty Racing, which had housed its #47 entry at the team's headquarters as part of its alliance. Team owner Brad Daugherty plans to keep his organization on track next season but is currently looking at options to align with another team, with speculation of a partnership with Richard Petty Motorsports. Daugherty's affinity to and admiration of Petty has even included the former college basketball and NBA star wearing the #43 throughout his career. An association as NASCAR business partners would further that connection. RPM was close to launching a third team with Bowyer before contract talks with the driver broke down so the desire to expand is evident.(CBS Sports)(9-22-2011)
UPDATE 2:
JTG Daugherty Racing hasn't decided on an affiliation for next season, and retaining its relationship with Michael Waltrip Racing is still an option, team owner Tad Geschickter told Sporting News on Thursday. Geschickter said his phone had been "blowing up" in the wake of a report on CBSsports.com that MWR had terminated its relationship with JTG Daugherty, which fields Toyotas for Bobby Labonte, and speculation in the same story that JTG Daugherty might align itself with Richard Petty Motorsports. "I haven't talked with Richard Petty Motorsports," Geschickter said. "There's no truth to that at all." Geschickter said that, to his knowledge, MWR was still exploring its capacity to supply cars to JTG in light of possible expansion.(Sporting News)(9-23-2011)
UPDATE 3:
Michael Waltrip Racing is preparing to add a driver but not a team. Team co-owner Michael Waltrip said Friday he hopes to have a deal completed with driver Clint Bowyer and a sponsor within seven to 10 days. The move will not necessitate the addition of new personnel or expansion, however. MWR has been providing resources for the JTG Daugherty team - in essence a third team - but that relationship will end at year's end. Beginning next season, all three Cup teams operated out of the MWR shop will be owned by the organization.(Charlotte Observer)(9-24-2011)
Katie Kenseth in wreck practicing for Better Half Dash:
The wife of NASCAR
driver Matt Kenseth left Charlotte Motor Speedway by
stretcher early Monday evening after a crash at the race track during a
practice session for a charity race next month. Katie Kenseth
crashed in to what typically is the pit stop wall in a driving school bandolero vehicle after taking a sharp turn. Her husband
rushed to check on her, and emergency track officials loaded her onto a
stretcher. Other NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano,
Casey Mears, Michael McDowell and David Ragan were also in attendance to watch
their wives and girlfriends practice for the inaugural Better Half Dash on
October 15. The charity race will benefit Speedway Children's Charities and
Motor Racing Outreach and will feature a 25-lap race on the front stretch
quarter-mile oval before the Bank of American 500.(WCNC)
AND: Monday night, Kenseth tweeted,
"That didn't turn out so well. Katie and I are home, she has a broken
scapula and some bumps and bruises. Thanks for all the well
wishes."(9-27-2011)
NASCAR Releases
2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Schedule:
NASCAR announced
the 2012 schedule for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, with a lineup featuring a
number of adjustments from the 2011 edition.
"We believe the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will once again
provide fans with what they've come to expect every season the world's
most exciting and competitive form of motorsports," said Brian France,
NASCAR chairman and CEO. "Next year's schedule has a few adjustments that
we think will be good for the fans and good for the overall flow of the season.
One thing will remain constant, however, and that's the intense competition we
see week in and week out from our drivers and race teams."
One of those adjustments takes place during NASCAR's playoffs the Chase
for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and could affect the strategy during the
championship run. Talladega Superspeedway's Chase event moves up two weeks to
Oct. 7, becoming the fourth race in the Chase. Often labeled as the wild-card
track in the Chase,
As previously announced, the season-opening Speedweeks
at Daytona International Speedway will start one week later with the running of
the preseason "non-points" Shootout at Daytona on Feb. 18. The 54th
annual Daytona 500 will run on Feb. 26. The race dates for Phoenix
International Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway have likewise been moved a
week later, to March 4 and March 11, respectively.
Two other featured
adjustments to the 2012 schedule: Texas Motor Speedway's spring date will be
moved to April 14, to accommodate the traditional open week for the Easter
holiday. Daytona's summer event and Kentucky Speedway's race will swap weekends
in 2012, as the July 4th holiday falls mid-week next year.
The schedule:
http://www.jayski.com/pages/2012cup_sched.htm
Pattie Petty
Reveals Parkinson's Diagnosis MORE:
Pattie Petty, the
wife of former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty, has revealed that she has Parkinson's
disease. It was confirmed through a new test at the University of Kansas
Hospital. Petty talked exclusively with FOX 4 medical reporter Meryl Lin
McKean, and says Parkinson's won't stop her efforts to build a camp in
MORE:
Petty, 60, suspected she had Parkinson's in early 2010 when she
began experiencing resting tremors and aching muscles two symptoms her
father suffered in the early stages of his 15 year battle with the disease. A
doctor in
"Pattie's dedication to Victory Junction Midwest is firm," said Kyle
Petty, her husband of 33 years. "Staying active is an important part of
managing Parkinson's and that will not be hard for my wife. Pattie will not let
Parkinson's regulate her life. She will continue her initiative to expand
Victory Junction, while our kids and I will support her and help her cope with
this disease."(Victory
Junction)(9-28-2011)
Former
Here’s how some former OVRP Dirt Oval runners have done as
far as OCFS Points goes for 2011:
OCFS
Modified:
10) 1H Tim Hindley 530
11) 53 Mike Ruggiero 521
13) 23 Billy VanInwegen 510
14) 10S Mike Storms 508
23) 21
29) 11 Danny Creeden 170
41) 10H Matt Hitchcock 25
OCFS
Sportsman:
3) 44
Brian Krummel 835
5) 33H Matt Hitchcock 714
9) 3S R J Smykla 564
10) 6L John Lodini 553
11) 17J Matt Janiak 550
14) 11 Keith Still 514
22) 18 Anthony Perrego 326
25) 91 Jason Roe 281
28) 78 Zack Vavricka 211
29) 69 Tyler Boniface 195
35) 77 Jimmy Johnson 118
44) 37J Jake Schlagel 30
45) 27 Corey Ziegler 30
And,
how they did with Accord points:
Modified Points
.4) 16X Dan Creeden 690
.5) 15) 10S Mike Storms 416
18) 43
24) 18 Anthony Perrego 214
26) 4R Mike Ruggiero 186)
43 Tim Hindley 40
Sportsman Points
17) 14Z Brad Szulewski 314
18) 18 Anthony Perrego 304
22) 4T Michael Traver 151
28) 6L John Lodini 76
30) 69
33) 6X Brian Krummel 42
Spec Sportsman Points
1) 1R Kyle Rohner 817
5) 33H Matt Hitchcock 574
8) 85 Kyle VanDuser 532
11) 1
21) 69
30) 44 Brian Krummel 38
As for recent
racing:
On September 24th,
at Borgers, Tiffany Wambold
was 7th in the 270 Micro Sprint feature,
In NEMA Lites, at
The CRSA 305 Sprint
Cars ran at Mohawk on the 17th of September and John Virgilio was 5th and Josh Pieniazek
6th, while Chuck Alessi did not start,
having turned his car over to another competitor who had problems.
Roger Coss was 7th in the Modified feature at Wall
Stadium.
At
Anthony Perrego was 22nd in the Sportsman feature at
Fonda on 9/24, while Tyler Dippel was a DNQ. In the ESS Sprint Car feature, Josh Pieniazek was 10th.
Nick Pecko was 8th and Roger Coss
18th at Mountain Speedway in the Modified feature.
At the Greenwood
Valley Action Tracks, both Molly and Cait Chambers
were DNQ’s.
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 30th to October 6th:
SEPTEMBER 30
1919
Cecil Green ... Born ... An
American racecar driver from
1937
Don Brown... Born ... USAC Sprint and INDY Car driver from the 1960's and 70's.
He was also one of the best car fabricators.
1956
Johnny Thomson won the USAC
Eastern Sprint Car race over Tommy Hinnershitz at the
Trenton International Speedway (1.0d) ,
Note: How much have things changed since 1956? Would you believe that I was there that day,
and, as usual, I got there early. After buying my ticket, I walked across the
still dirt mile track and actually was able to talk to Sam Traylor and some of
his drivers, including Thomson. Try
doing that today.
OCTOBER 1
1921
1978
A.J. Foyt
won the USAC sanctioned Daily Empress Indy Silverstone on the
Note: I'm kind of surprised that Indycar has not returned to this track. After all, they've been going to
OCTOBER 2
1921
Mike Nazaruk...
Born ... ARDC / AAA driver He raced midget cars, sprint cars, and IndyCars. He was nicknamed "Iron Mike." He won
the track championships at
1925
Paul Goldsmith... Born ... A motorcycle Hall of Famer and former USAC and NASCAR
driver. Goldsmith was a famous AMA motorcycle racer during the late
1940s through the mid-1950s. He was the winner of the final stock car race at
the famous Daytona Beach Road Course in 1958. He was also the only driver to
win the
1956
Lucky Lux...
Died ... AAA driver from the 1940's.
Note: He also was a winner of the Eastern States
race that is still held in October at the Orange County Fairgrounds in
OCTOBER 3
1927
Chuck Hulse
... Born ... USAC Sprint & Indy Car driver from the 1950's and 1960's . Hulse raced in the USAC
Championship Car series in the 1959-1964 and 1966-1968 seasons, with 60 career
starts, including the
1969
Max Papis
... Born ... Formula One, CART Champ Car driver and NASCAR driver from the
1990's and 2000's.
1988
Richard "Mitch"
Smith... Died ... From
Note: You might want to check this out, about
"Mitch": http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/shaker.html
1993
Jim Epler
became the first man in NHRA history to break 300 mph in a Funny Car when he
ran 300.40 mph at
OCTOBER 4
1946
Barney Oldfield ... Died
... AAA driver from 1905 to 1918. He was the first man to drive a car at 60
miles per hour (96 km/h). His accomplishments led to the expression "Who do
you think you are? Barney Oldfield?" Oldfield was suspended by the AAA for
his "outlaw" racing activities and was unable to race at sanctioned
events for much of the prime of his career. Speed records, match races and
exhibitions made up most of Oldfield's career. He was reinstated and he
competed in the 1914 and 1916
1970
Curtis Turner ... Died ...
One of NASCAR's earliest starts and among its most controversial drivers....won
17 poles and 17 races in his career, which spanned 1949 through 1968....he won
the fourth Winston Cup race of its inaugural season of 1949, then won 16 more,
almost all of them during the '50s....he was suspended from competition by
NASCAR president Bill France, Sr. in 1960 because he tried to organize the
drivers for the Teamsters Union...was the first president of the Charlotte
Motor Speedway, and needed a loan from the Teamsters in 1960 to repay
creditors....when France got wind of it, he banned Turner until late in the
1965 season. During the time that he was banned from NASCAR Turner raced in the
USAC stock car series....he died in a plane crash in 1970.
1980
Sarah Fisher ... Born ...
As a child, she raced quarter midgets and go-karts until she was a teenager,
winning the 1991, 1993 & 1994 World Karting Association Grand National
Championships, the 1993 Circleville Points Championship and the 1994 WKA Grand
National Championship. From 1995–99, she raced in the sprint car and midget
ranks, winning the 1995 Dirt Track Racing Round-Up Rookie of the Year award.
She had a very successful career racing in the World of Outlaws. In 1997, she
was named to the 62-race All-Stars Circuit of Champions series, earning a
second place finish at Eldora Speedway. She held the track record at historic
Winchester Speedway until it was broken by NASCAR driver Ryan Newman. In 1998,
Fisher and her father and then-crew chief Dave Fisher
sought out new challenges in the world of asphalt midget racing. She raced in
ARCA, NAMARS and USAC sanctioned events, a competitive schedule that helped
prepare her for life in the IRL. She signed a contract in 1999 to compete at
the top level of open-wheel racing and qualified for her first
Fisher was a pioneer in the
early days of her career, setting a wealth of first's
for women in motorsports but later fell from the ranks in 2004. She returned to
the IndyCar Series in late 2006, ran full time in the
series in 2007 and ran a limited schedule under her own umbrella, having
founded her own race team in January 2008, Sarah Fisher Racing.
Note: Sarah just recently became a mother, having a
daughter, Zoey Marie O'Gara, born on September 13th.
And a video of Sarah in the
All-Star race from Eldora:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEOIzkC8apI
1992
Denny Hulme...
Died ... A
2001
Blaise Alexander ... Died ... Blaise
was killed in a racing accident during the ARCA RE/MAX EasyCare
100 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in
OCTOBER 5
1962
Michael Andretti ... Born
... Retired CART, Formula One, IRL driver , IRL Car
owner and the son of Mario Andretti .
1963
A.J. Foyt
won the USAC Sprint Car race at the Williams Grove Speedway, Williams Grove,PA. Roger McCluskey was second followed by Johnny White, Chuck Arnold
and Chuck Hulse. Jim Maguire, in the Venezia # 27, finished first but was put back to 18th after
a protest found his engine to be a few inches oversize.
Race report: http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/report/10_5_63-2.html
Note: That trophy, believe it or not, was fought
over between AJ and Maguire, and in the process, was broken. AJ ended up holding a small piece of a
handle, while Jimmy had the remaining part.
The trophy has made appearances at the Stan Lobitz
Movie Party/EMMR Auction that is held in
1976
J.J. Yeley
... Born ... USAC Midget, Sprint, Silver Crown, IRL and NASCAR driver.
Note: Quite a few years ago, when they raced at the
OCTOBER 6
1946
Tony Bettenhausen
won the AAA sanctioned George Robson Memorial 100 Race on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval
Good Time Park in
Note: While I was on Jury Duty, in
News
from the AARN:
From my 9/15 column in the AARN section:
“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.”
While
checking out the AARN’s website on 9/23, I found this
last column by Jerry. Hope this link
works for you!
http://www.aarn.com/AA_PDF/aa-aarncolumn9-6.pdf
As
I might have said, some nice photos of Jerry are in the article.
From
their September 20th edition:
Ron
Mentus, in his column makes mention of Keith Rocco
and the possibility of him driving a truck for Kyle Busch in 2012. Some things have to be worked out,
however. Rocco, as of the September 20th
AARN issue, is the leading feature race winner here in the northeast with 28,
so far for 2011.
Lenny
Sammons, in his column makes mention of a split between Jimmy Blewitt and car owner Dick Barney. Lou Cicconi got
into a dirt modified at the Bridgeport Speedway, on their quarter mile track,
and went home the winner of the nights feature – his first time ever racing on
dirt. Lou did say that he had a blast
racing on the dirt and wants to do more of it.
It
was said that all re-starts at
Ernie
Saxton thinks that NASCAR does not treat all of their race people right, citing
the Kurt Busch/Media deal and then LW Miller who had a problem with some rules
at the NASCAR Whelen Modified race at Thompson, Ct,
which led to some verbal abuse of officials, and some contact, too. Seems Mr. Miller was fined $500.00 and placed
on probation until the end of 2011.
Xcel
600 Modified racer Brian “Big Daddy” Mady has been
diagnosed with Lymphoma in his throat area and is facing a long road to
recovery. He has a wife and a two year
old daughter, and the family is having it rather tough, financially. To help out, Ernie is helping out Joe
“Geezer” Fanelli in an attempt to raise funds for the
family by offering one of his sponsorship kits, valued at $200.00, to the
highest bidder, with the money going to the Mady
family. You can send your bid to Mr.
Saxton at: Esaxton144@aol.com. And if you desire to help the family out,
donations can be sent to Cortney Mady
–
Craig
Breedlove, the first person to exceed 400, 500 and 600 MPH on land, will
receive the fourth annual Simeone Foundation Automotive
Museum “Spirit of Competition” Award at a dinner at the Museum on Wednesday,
October 19, 2011. Others in racing that
have won that award are Mario Andretti, Janet Guthrie and John Fitch.
An
article in the AARN said that the winner of the URC’s
final race for the 2011 season, held at the
Mike
Mallett, in his column was talking about Andrew Harpell, Series Director for the ROC Asphalt Modified
Series looking into making some changes to increase car counts in 2012.
There
are full page ads for the Williams Grove WoO National
Open races on 9/30, 10/1 and 10/2 and also for Super Dirt Week up in
Pavement
drivers Ted Christopher and Chuck Hossfield will be
attempting SDW in Big Block Modifieds, while Jimmy Blewett will be in a 358 Modified.
The
column by Gary London was about race cars and their numbers and how some of
them are and have been quite significant over the years. Like AJ Foyt and
the # 14, the Petty’s with # 43, Steve Kinser and his
# 11 and Richard Childress with the # 3, as examples.
Brett
Tonkin won his second feature of the season at Penn Can. Ok, so what?
Well, would you believe he did it with an 11 year old TEO?
John
Snyder, in his column makes mention of Frankie Schneider winning the first ESW
race, a 100 lap event back on October 28, 1962.
He won by over a lap, beating Bob Mlazahn, Don
Stumpf, Ernie Gahan and
Kenny Shoemaker.
AJ Foyt and others – Larry Foyt, and
several crew members in the area where they live, in
21
year old Jessica Bean, of Farmland, Ind is this years
recipient of USAC’s prestigious Kara Hendrick Spirit Award, with the award being presented to
her by Tricia Hecker, the Director of Mopar Service and Parts Marketing for Chrysler at the Lyn
St. James “Women in the Winners Circle” gala.
Jessica is currently sixth in the USAC’s
Midwest Ford Focus racing series.
More
racin’ stuff:
From the Track Forum:
The oval track issue,
and how to fix it
It was up to three pages as of last
Friday night. Personally, I still think
that with hardly any American drivers - of note, not in the Indycar Series is
also contributing to low fan counts.
Sadly, Open Wheel racing in the
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?155584-The-oval-track-issue-and-how-to-fix-it
Anne
Fornoro does the PR for the AJ Foyt
race team, and I’m on her mailing list.
On Wednesday I received a report, and in it was this:
“Race
Driver to Ironman: (Vitor) Meira
(along with fellow driver Tony Kanaan) will fly to
Racing and
television:
Racing on TV - http://www.racefantv.com/USTV.htm
Some non-racing stuff:
e-mail from an Internet friend of mine who lives in
“Great going,
Hooray
for
I-75
will be jammed for the next month or so........Druggies and deadbeats heading
North out of
Gov.
Rick Scott said, "If Floridians want welfare, they better make sure they
are drug-free.
Applicants who test positive for illicit substances won't be eligible
for the funds for a year, or until they undergo treatment.
Those
who fail a second time would be banned from receiving funds for three years!
Naturally,
a few people are crying this is unconstitutional.
How
is this unconstitutional?
It's
completely legal that working people have to pass a drug test in order to get
and/or keep a J-O-B which supports those on welfare!
Forward
if you agree!!
Let's
get Welfare back to the ones who NEED it, not those who WON'T get a JOB.....
I
AGREE 100%”
Is
this true?:
Something
entirely different this week: Just to make you think about the things that
happened on 9/11/2001. Conspiracy theories?
Who really knows for sure!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRm41tj9FAs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv7BImVvEyk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huK0MAb0Xa4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2QAh0rBrew&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-WZpXiEKAo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNK1V6S2cbo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0qdLoobkUI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0qdLoobkUI&feature=related
Video time:
Video # 1:
I was sent this
video clip last Sunday. To be perfectly
honest, I’ve had, at times, doubts about some of those that enter this type of
competition and have some kind of problems, either physical or other types –
and getting what I call the “sympathy” vote.
Not true, in this case, though, I believe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W86jlvrG54o&feature=email
Video
# 2:
Again, via an e-mail, this one on Wednesday, 9/28, and I just had to put it in this column. Remember the “Space Junk” that just recently fell from space?
Well,
here ya go!
http://www.wimp.com/nasasatellite/
Photos:
Here are the two photos I made mention of, above – The broken trophy and
the JJ Yeley and my grandson Brett, photo, taken at Nazareth
Look at the trophy photo closely, and you’ll notice the “arms” of the bottom right statue are broken. That’s the little piece that AJ Foyt ended up with.
As
for the JJ Yeley and my grandson Brett photo – JJ
hasn’t changed much, but Brett sure has!
Damn, but how the time sure flies!
Note: The two photos are not available for viewing
on Dirt Track Digest, but can be seen in this column, if you go to the New
England Tractor’s website: http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/ and click on volume # 74
Closing with these:
You
think English is easy?? – Continued:
You
lovers of the English language might enjoy this .
There
is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter
word, and that is 'UP.'
It's
easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but
when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ?
At
a meeting, why does a topic come UP?
Why
do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the
secretary to write UP a report?
We
call UP our friends.
And
we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers
and clean UP the kitchen.
We
lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.
At
other times the little word has real special meaning.
People
stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP
excuses.
To
be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.
A
drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.
We
open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.
We
seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!
To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in
the dictionary.
In
a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to
about thirty definitions.
If
you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used.
It
will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may windUP with a hundred or more.
When
it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP.
When
the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.
When
it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.
When it doesn't rain for a while, things dry UP.
One
could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP,
for
now my time is UP,
so........it
is time to shut UP!
Now
it's UP to you what you do with this email.
Note: This ends this little series of the English
class!
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