Los Angeles, CA. - The Las Vegas Motor Speedway half-mile dirt track again hosted USAC National and Western Midgets and the USAC National/CRA Sprint cars as stop two of a three state 2010 western swing sandwiched between stops in Arizona and California. On Thursday, February 25 USAC half-mile racing kicked off NASCAR week at the 1.5-mile “big track”.

MIDGETS: The 27 Midgets had seven chassis builders as follows: 14 Spike, 6 Beast, 2 each Bullet and Stealth, and 1 each Buzzard, TCR and Viper.
There were 11 engine builders represented. Esslinger Ford engines powered 13 midgets and Mopar three. Fontana and Gaerte were in two cars each. Hawk, Stanton Mopar, Stanton Toyota, TRD Toyota, Toyota, Van Dyke and VDS Ford each supplied one engine.

SPRINTS: The 34 sprint cars came from 12 constructors. Maxim had 14, Viper 5, and Bullet 4. Eagle and Triple X supplied 2 each. Beaber-built, Buckley, Competition Welding, DRC, F5, J & J, and Stinger all built one chassis.
There were 14 engine builders represented. Ron Shaver-6, Mopar-5, Chevy-4, Speedway Chevy and Wesmar Chevy-3 each, Gaerte Chevy, ITI Performance, Kistler Chevy, and Speedway Mopar-2 each, plus Claxton Chevy, Cummings, Gresham Chevy, Don Ott, and RC Performance-1 each.

Wheel-packing started after 2 pm with half-hour hot lap sessions for midgets and then sprints. After 4:00 pm group qualifying for sprinters and then midgets preceded a break in on-track action to blade the track's top layer, re-water the surface and have push trucks re-pack it. USAC National one-lap track records at the LVMS dirt half-mile: MIDGETS - 18.359 by Brad Sweet on 2/25/09. Sweet ran a fast lap at 18.106 during USAC Western Midget qualifying on 10/27/07. This year for time trials there were four groups of seven cars in each. Brad Kahn's 20.547 on his fourth lap of group TT was the FQ time. The only other driver in the 20 second bracket was Zach “the Dauminator” Daum at 20.972. Fourteen drivers ran 21 laps, 8 were in the 22s and 2 were in the 23 second bracket. Robby Josett DNQ. The median time was 21.6. SPRINTS - 17.334 (103.842 mph) by Jon Stanbrough on 2/25/09 was the existing standard. Mike Spencer, CRA's 2008-09 champion, ran a FQ lap at 17.015 on 2/28/08 and Rick Ziehl posted a lap at 16.530 during Western Sprint qualifying on 11/29/97. This year had five groups of seven cars per group and they all ran four qualifying laps. Jerry Coons, Jr set the FQ lap of 19.191 this year on his second of four laps. Tracy Hines' 19.358 was second fastest on his third lap. Five drivers were in the 19s, 12 in the 20s, 14 in the 21s and 3 ran 22s. The median time was 20.972. Greg Bragg (5th FQ) was the fastest of 11 CRA qualifiers in the 34 car field. Dave Duseck, a USAC timer/scorer from Indy, worked the Tucson and Las Vegas events.

One of the pusher vehicles was the famous “Workin' Woody” that follows the national World of Outlaws circuit. Art & Carol Malies have retired and their son, who retired from the US Navy, now drives the unique rig. ... Nellis AFB is adjacent to the LVMS North Las Vegas site. During afternoon pit activities one could not help but watch US Air Force fighter jets taking off in the distance beyond turns one and two. They took off almost vertically every 10-15 seconds for training flights. Fans were admitted at 3 pm and drivers went to the midway at 5:15 for one hour of autograph signing and talking to fans. The National Anthem at 7 pm was followed by sprint and midget heats, the B and A mains. With 27 midgets present, there were three nine-car heats. The 34 sprinters had four heat races with nine or eight cars in each. The first sprint heat had cars hot lap to work in the re-groomed track. The second heat actually became the first race as heat one cars went to the pits beyond the first two turns to refuel and make adjustments.

USAC inverts the first six cars in each heat with the fastest qualifier in each heat starting sixth and the sixth quickest driver starting from pole position. Only two of the fastest qualifiers in each of the four 8-lap heats transferred directly to the A-main. In the most exciting heat finish, Dave Darland, called “the people's champion” by USAC announcer Rob Klepper, started fourth. He made an inside pass from turn four to the finish line to take the victory. Johnny Herrera, the L 1-7 leader, started fifth and passed four cars on the opening lap by turn two to lead in a rare USAC start for the Albuquerque driver. Dave nipped Johnny by a few feet. Chad Boat used a similar last lap move from turn four to the finish line to take fourth place, the final direct transfer to the A, from Cory Kruseman. Sprint and midget heats provided much passing high and low and tire wear all night was better than last year thanks in part to reworking of the track during the one hour autograph session. It was a chilly night with a brisk wind that had flags straight out. It was a mid-60s day and mid-50s evening. The crowd was an estimated 5,000+ in the 8,000+ seat main metal grandstand. They seemed to enjoy the competitive USAC non-wing sprint and midget action on display in every race.

Sprint heat winners were D. Gardner (from P. 2), L. Jones (P. 3), B. Clauson (P. 1) and Darland (P.4). P 1-5 in heat races advanced to the feature. Midget heats inverted eight cars and quickest qualifier Kuhn came from P. 8 to fifth to just earn a feature berth. Heat winners and their starting positions were: Clauson (5th), D. Hagen (7th) and Darland (7th). The 12-lap lap sprint “B” had 17 starters and the all-green flag race clicked off rapidly in five minutes with all 15 finishers on the lead lap. FQ Coons led all 12 laps in the Hoffman No. 69, the only F5 chassis present in the 34 car field. The midget 12-lap “B” main started 11 cars and sent the first seven finishers to the 22-car “A” main. The speedy race also ran green all the way, took only six minutes and all ten finishers ran every lap.

SPRINT MAIN: The 30-lap sprint feature started at 9:32, had two yellow flags and finished at 9:52. Leaders were pole starter Darland (L 1, 8-26), 2nd starter Robert Ballou (L 2-7), 15th starter D. Gardner (L 27-30). Gardner's exciting charge to the victory captivated fans during the closing laps as his Eagle found speed at the top of the track. He was 11th at L 10, 6th at L 22, 4th at L 24, and 3rd on L 25. In three-way racing with Darland and Chris Windom on L 27, Gardner shot from P. 3 to P 1 on the outside from the third turn to start/finish. He pulled away during the final three laps and won by 50 yards over Darland. Impressive Windom, 19, was five yards back in Jeff Walker's Maxim/Chevy, with 19 finishers on the lead lap. Gardner told the crowd, “That's a dream there. Good teams build confidence. That's the way we run. Good teams make it work. The track was slick and they worked on it. I kept picking cars off and prayed they wouldn't see what I was doing. I got up to third and went for it.”

MIDGET MAIN: The 30-lap midget feature started 22 cars and ran from 10:10 to the 10:26 pm checkers. It had two race leaders—Brad Sweet (L 1-6 and 29-30) and Chad Boat (L 7-28). Boat had the race all but won with two laps to go as Sweet closed on him. Boat's No. 30 had 25 yards on Sweet's Kasey Kahne No. 49 at the end of 27 laps and only five yards after 28 of 30 laps. Sweet made a low backstretch and third turn pass on L 29 with 18 cars racing. Boat went back to P. 1 on the outside at turn four. Then the yellow flag flew for two stalled cars –Kuhn in turn 3 and Dennis Carrier in turn 1. A green, white checkered flag finish of L 29-30 had Boat leading Sweet at the L 29 green. With Boat running high, Sweet pulled away to a ten yard victory margin over Boat. Brad Loyet was third, five yards back. Sweet told pit announcer Toby Cruz,”He (Boat) found the the top before I did. We were lucky to do it. All the WoO guys and Kasey (team owner) are here and I wanted to win in front of all of them. We tightened up the car for the main. My guys have been on it. Let's go celebrate.” Sweet and Boat both said they believed they would win if the lap 29 yellow flag had not occurred.

Seth Wilson, 35, moved from San Clemente, CA to Las Vegas a year and a half ago with his Racing Optics (tear-offs) family-run firm. It is housed at the LVMS industrial complex. The family moved their operation to no state income tax Nevada from Cali, went from a 4,000 sq. ft to 7,000 sq. ft shop, and lowered their heating/AC bill by $600 a month. He was going to use No. 17 on his sprint car as usual, but it was taken. So as 2008-09 Victorville track champion he put No. 1 on his black Competition Welding/Shaver sprinter and added an X for USAC racing. Seth, as did Gardner in the feature, thrilled fans with his outside groove running and he did so in both the “B” and “A” mains. Seth, the grandson of 1950s Indy 500 driver Dempsey Wilson, started 14th in a 17-car “B” field with only the first six finishers moving to the back of the “A”. Seth charged to fourth place by L 3 and he finished fourth behind Coons, Casey Shuman and Hines. In the 30-lap “A” Seth started 22nd (with only provisional starters Kruseman and Cody Williams behind him). Driving “high, wide and handsome”, Seth was 9th by L 10, 7th two laps later, 5th on L 13, and 4th on L 14. On L 17 Seth made a sensational high-side pass exiting turn two to pass both Windom and Ballou and move into second position. Leader Darland held half a straightaway lead at that point and to L 21. At that point, Wilson slowed and lost a position to Windom because of his deflating RR tire. Gardner passed Seth on L 25 and he continued to slide to his eventual sixth place finish. After the race his team found Seth's RR tire only had a pound and a half of air in it.

INJURIES: Rip Williams had his Jory No. 3 Viper in the pits at LVMS and planned to race. However, during the afternoon he was working at the front of the car and it came off the jack. The car's front bar landed on the middle finger of his right hand. The extreme laceration exposed bone and he went to a local hospital in pain. Rip, 53, said, “They wanted to cut off my finger and I said no.” They cleaned and bandaged the finger and gave him pain pills. He “lost count of the stitches made”. Rip returned to the pits and did not race they new Viper they put together to replace the car 2009 Viper he flipped and totaled at Tucson six days earlier. Still in pain, he helped his two sons, Cody and Austin, compete at LVMS. Rip saw a doctor in So Cal Friday and was scheduled for surgery on the finger Wednesday, March 3. He was in the pits at Perris Sunday, February 28 helping work on Cody's No. 44 and Austin's No. 2 Jory team cars. He told me despite pain pills he still felt pain in his bandaged finger, so he again did not race the new No. 3 Viper. Rip, a 2009 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee, is tough. His awful February ended without any additional misfortune.

BOWMAN FLIP: One serious on-track incident at LVMS marred the otherwise highly successful and entertaining night of USAC racing. During the second midget heat race, Alex Bowman, a 16-year old rising star and personable young man from Tucson, was in fifth position on L 6 when he crashed hard in Troy Cline's Haas Automation No. 55 Beast/Esslinger Ford. Later, he said something broke in the LF end and turned his car left where it struck a huge white tire that marked the inside of the track. The impact sent his midget flipping across the third and fourth turns in about five or six quick barrel-rolls. The car stopped upright near the fourth turn crash-wall with Alex unconscious. Rescuers arrived and it was 10-15 minutes before he revived enough to move him. Cage bars were cut to remove him on a backboard. Alex was taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for days. His injuries included his left clavicle (collarbone) broken in two places, broken rib, swollen and black eyes, plus assorted aches and bruises. He also had air trapped outside a lung reportedly and had oxygen administered. Alex, a recent USAC California Dirt and Paved Track champion and National Ford Focus Midget champion, planned to race for USAC National Midget 2010 rookie of the year. He also had a late model stock car ride lined up with former CRA/SCRA and NASCAR driver Troy Cline his mentor. Everything is now on hold for months until Alex recovers from his injuries.

LVMS – Day 2: World of Outlaws third event of 2010: Friday, February 26 was WoO winged sprint and IMCA Modified night on the LVMS dirt half-mile.
There were 28 WoO cars (up from 26 last February) and 33 IMCA Modifieds in the pits. The afternoon had cloudy and sunny conditions and it was 62 degrees at 2 pm. It was still in the low 50s when racing concluded. Wind was much lighter than Thursday when USAC raced. The 8,000 to 8,500 seat main grandstand was filled to capacity with racing fans in town for the NASCAR Nationwide (Saturday) and Sprint Cup (Sunday) races. The track crew dug and watered the track and had it prepared even better than Thursday and it produced the most exciting WoO feature finish I've seen in decades. Dave DeSpain's “Wind Tunnel” show on SPEED Channel Sunday even showed the thrilling last lap with Johnny Gibson's call and interviewed Gibson on the telecast. The 28 WoO sprinters present included 23 touring WoO cars. Drivers came from 16 states and one from Canada. CA led with 5 drivers, followed by IN and PA with 3 each. AZ, OH, and TN had 2 drivers each. CO, IA, MN, MO, ND, NM, OK, OR, TX and WA each sent 1 driver. Chassis: Eight chassis builders had cars in the WoO field. Maxim predominated with 18, followed by 3 KPC by ex-driver Steve Kent, 2 JEI, and 1 each A.R.T, Blandford, J & J, Doug Wolfgang Wolfweld, and Triple X. WoO drivers competed for a purse of $50,200 including the “B” main--($47,800 went to “A” main teams).The winner received $10,000 and it paid $800 to the last place finisher.

DRIVERS: Paul McMahan subbed for Cody Darrah, who suffered serious leg injuries in a highway crash en-route to the Volusia Speedway two opening events at Barberton, FL. Joey Saldana and Brad Sweet drove the other two Kasey Kahne-owned cars. Sweet and J. Herrera were the only two WoO drivers who raced with USAC Thursday in different sprinters. ... Phoenix-area residents Ben Gregg and John Gaston, 36, drove team cars sponsored by Kronik Energy Drink and Master Craft Boats of Arizona. ... One of the most unusual WoO sponsors was Big Game Tree Stands on Craig Dollansky's No. 7 Minnesota-based team now owned by Tod Quiring. ... Chad Kemenah, from Findlay, OH, raced the No. 8K John Kantor car at LVMS last February and the team folded weeks later. This year Chad drove the Golden Flavor Sesame Sticks car with sponsorship from his father-in-law Bob Hampshire, a long-time USAC car owner. Chad used Hampshire's traditional number 63. ... Jerry Wise, Jr, of Fresno, used a down nozzle 360 cu. in. engine loaned to him by Anthony Simone, 60, also from Fresno. It was Anthony's paved track engine; Anthony used his 410 engine. Jerry, 29, towed his No. 23M older Maxim to LVMS on an open 1970s-like trailer. His car is an ex-No. 11H Selma Shell car once owned by the late Dave Helm. Jerry's uncle, Sonny Kratzer, was Helm's crew chief for many years.

“Fast” Fred Rahmer, 51, is from Salfordville, PA and he made his LVMS debut. His No. 51 Maxim ride has been his “PA Posse” ride for three years. Don Ott, from York Springs, PA, built his engine. I enjoyed a leisurely chat with affable Fred in the pits before hot-lapping. “With snow on the ground at home we decided to come west and race with the WoO at Las Vegas and in Tulare.” ... It was strange seeing Steve Kinser not driving his own No. 11. The 20-time WoO champion drove Tony Stewart's Bass Pro Shops Maxim No. 11 and Steve's son Kraig drove Steve's now No. 11K Quaker State Maxim. In effect, father and son switched rides. ... Ex-WoO rookie of the year Sid Blandford, 40, came from his home in Eagle, CO. He operates a grading and excavating firm in Eagle, where NBA star Kobe Bryant had his infamous legal problem years ago. Sid slapped together a car to go 410 racing again with WoO “just for fun”. He has been racing 305 cu. in. and ASCA 360 sprints in Colorado and nearby states. Sid said his bad crash on the front straight at Manzanita Speedway years ago caused neck and upper body injuries that kept him out of racing. He had three operations in Germany to resolve the problem. ... Second generation driver Austen Wheatley is a 17-year old from Lake Stevens, WA. His dad Shannon raced at Skagit Speedway in WA and was Steve Beitler's crew chief when he raced with WoO. Austen, an ASCA 360 sprint veteran, made his debut with 410 power in his No. 44W Wolfweld chassis at LVMS. He made the “A” feature by finishing fifth in the “B”.

WoO ran three segments of hot laps from 7:00 to 7:30 pm to work in the track for qualifying. Groups one and two ran again before the track was ready. WoO drivers qualified individually from 7:34 to 7:56. Seventeen drivers ran their FQ lap on L 2 of 2. Terry McCarl, the 14th qualifier, ran the FQ time of 14.344 (125.488 mph). World Racing Group, of Charlotte, N.C, now owns WoO after taking the formerly publicly owned company private. Tom Deery is top executive and he attended the LVMS event. Chris Morgan, formerly employed at Ventura and as racing director at Irwindale Speedway, and with USAC Western racing and at Arizona tracks, is now WoO director of western operations. He said his daughter Audrey is now 2 and a half. WoO had the WoO timer/scorer and WoO racing director Donnie Grabey in the officials booth. Enthusiastic WoO traveling announcer Johnny Gibson called action on the LVMS PA system. LVMS announcer Chet Christner called the IMCA Modified races. WoO ran three 8-lap heats from 8:19-8:39 pm. New this year was NASCAR-like double file restarts in which the race leader chose either the inside or outside position in row one. After yellows at LVMS drivers picked the inside position twice and the outside position twice. The WoO 6-lap trophy dash at 9:18 started ten and the finish order set “A” main starting positions 1-10. Donny Schatz, driving the Armor All No. 15 for Tony Stewart, won over Sweet with Rahmer third. WoO's“B” main ran from 9:24-9:35 and the top six finishers advanced..

WoO FEATURE: Prior to the “A” main, a question over the PA asked which driver came from the farthest back to win a WoO feature at LVMS. The answer was Jeff Swindell, who charged from 17th starting slot in the No. 104 car to win the February 1997 event. Little did we know that his amazing feat would be topped this year. Jason Meyers, from Clovis, CA, thrilled fans by charging from 18th grid position to win the 30-lap Las Vegas feature February 26. The race had three lead changes and three leaders--Schatz (L 1-10 & 12-27), Saldana (L 11) and Meyers (L 28-30). Meyers' charge forward in his No. 14 KRP had him in P. 10 at L 12, P. 5 on L 14, P. 3 on L 18, P. 2 on L 23 via an inside pass from the fourth turn to start/finish as Schatz lapped cars 50-yards ahead of him. By L 27 Meyers was only five yards behind Schatz and he made his P. 1 pass on L 28 at turn two. Meyers had a 15-yard lead starting L 29 when Steve Kinser also passed Schatz in the second corner and cut Meyers' lead to ten yards. On the final lap, Kinser shot past Meyers on the inside at the end of the backstretch and appeared to have the race won. However, Meyers shot back under Kinser in turn 4 and out-dragged him to the finish line by a length and a half. Meyers won $10,000 and had fans in the packed grandstand standing and cheering. “That was one of the most unbelievable WoO main event finishes in recent memory,” said announcer Gibson over the PA. Obviously the winner received the hard charger award.

Meyers said, “I tried to get into the top ten. I had a fuel cell problem earlier. To make a drive like that is almost impossible. They gave us the best Las Vegas track ever.” Runner-up Kinser stated: “I gave it away there in turns 3 and 4. A lapped car held me up. I should've won the race. I gave it back to him by how I drove the last turn. I was tight to start with and loosened it up a bit. He gave it to me and I gave it right back.” Third place Schatz, who finished five yards in back of Kinser, told the crowd: “It wasn't what we wanted, but as the race went on it got harder and harder to drive. As they both went into turn 3 on the last lap I thought I might yet get it. We'll keep working hard and it'll come to us.” It was Meyers' 36th WoO feature victory. He won by 0.237 over Kinser and 0.475 over Schatz, who ran the fastest lap of the race at 15.463 (116.407 mph). The race time was 7:25.120 and 22 of 24 starters finished, with 16 drivers on the lead lap. Two drivers were down a lap, and four drivers were down two laps. Versatile Brad Sweet finished seventh and a week later, driving the No. 90 Great Clips truck, finished 12th in the March 6 NASCAR truck race at the 1.5-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway.

IMCA MODIFIEDS: This support event was put together in a week by IMCA No. 87 owner/driver Dan Fitzgerald, of Las Vegas. He hoped to attract 20 cars on such short notice and had 33 race teams in the pits eager to start their 2010 racing campaigns. Twelve drivers came from California, seven came from Pahrump, NV and two from Rock Springs, WY. Las Vegan Sonny Wahl, a former track champ, drove his own No. 98W modified. He is currently the crew chief for the No. 94 Vision Airlines NASCAR SLM No. 94 driven by Dusty Davis. He keeps his modified at the 9,000 sq. ft. Vision AL shop at the LVMS industrial complex beyond turn one of the 1.5-mile track. The IMCA “A” main paid the winner $1,000 and it paid $100 just to start the feature. IMCA raced three 8-lap heats from 8:43-9:10 pm that sent P 1-6 from each to the feature. The IMCA “B” main started 11, including female driver Terri Little, and ran from 10:05-10:23 with one caution on L 12. IMCA ran its 20-lap “A” main from 10:35-11:01 pm in front of about 80% of the original full-house grandstand. Ninth starter Alex Stanford, 21, from Chowchilla, CA, became the third and final race leader on L 6 and won by 15-yards. Stanford said, “I love the track. We just had to tighten it up for the main event. We'll be back for the big November “Duel in the Desert”. That huge modified race attracted more than 240 cars last year and LVMS management hopes to have 300 cars in the pits this year. My next Racing Scene column will cover the USAC Midget and Sprint doubleheader at Perris on February 28



Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions add four inaugural dates to the 2010 Schedule

Camargo, IL (3-10-10) by Kelly Brown  Public Relations Director  The
O?Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions has not visited the state of New
York in over ten years, but the fans of the 410 racing series will not be
waiting much longer as the series has inked a deal with Chapmans Can Am
Motorsports Park, Fonda Speedway, and Utica-Rome Speedway which will bring
the series back to the Empire State. For the 410 sprint car fans north of
the boarder, the All Stars are taking their style of fast-paced sprint car
racing to Canada for the first time in 2010 when they visit
Autodrome-Grandby.

Autodrome-Grandby & Fonda Speedway in June

The stretch of inaugural events will begin in Canada in Quebec just
southeast of Montreal. Autodrome-Grandby, which is a half-mile, long time
mainstay for dirt racing in Quebec on Friday nights. The All Star Circuit
of Champions will be visiting the track in the heart of French Canada on
Monday, June 7th, which promises to be an exciting event for northern
sprint car fans. Autodrome-Grandby is a wide half mile, with walls both
inside and out.?The surface is usually easy on rubber and produces two
solid grooves, either way down low or right up against the outside wall the
track promises to produce exciting racing action.

The first stop in New York this season for the All Stars will be Fonda
Speedway on Wednesday, June 9th. Fonda Speedway is a 1/2 mile dirt oval
located at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Fonda, NY, which has been
hosting races for a number of years. Fonda Speedway hosted its first race
in 1927, so it has a much-storied history. The name Fonda Speedway was
first used in 1953. The track has also operated as Thruway Speedway,
Fonda-Fultonville Speedway and New Fonda Speedway over the years.

July in New York

The 2010 schedule for Chapmans Can Am Motorsports Park is by far the
biggest in the history of the Lafargeville, New York racetrack and on
Monday, July 12, the All Stars will be a part of the schedule racing at the
4/10-mile track. This event is part of the SUNY Canton Summer Sizzler event
in the month of July. Then the following evening on Tuesday, July 13, the
series will be traveling to Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, New York to race
on the 1/2-mile banked oval. Each night the drivers of the All Star Circuit
of Champions will be contending for $5,000 prizes.

Chapmans Can Am Motorsports Park dates back to 1974 when it was built by
an Evans Mills, NY real estate broker, Leslie W. Brown. The current owner
is racer and local businessperson Tiger Chapman. Normally the track is
known for its various modified classes and street stocks, but in July, the
locals will be experiencing 410-sprint car racing at its best.
The Utica-Rome Speedway is a racetrack with deep history. It began life in
1961, when it was built on some old farmland by Joe Lesik. Utica-Rome
replaced the Vernon Speedway, an early stock car track which was converted
into a horse racing facility. The track typically sees modified classes and
street stock weekly, but when the All Stars invade the track the New York
race fans will get to experience the thrilling action of the series.

In All Star racing history, the series has raced at three different tracks
and held four different races in New York State. They include
Albany-Saratoga Speedway (two races), Fulton Speedway, and Ransomville
Speedway. The last race for the All Stars in the Empire State was held at
Ransomville Speedway in May of 2000. Kelly Kinser went on to win that
event.

For more information visit on Autodrome-Grandby, it can be found at
www.autodrome-granby.com. To check out Fonda Speedway visit
www.fondaspeedway.com. More information on Chapman's Can Am Motorsports
Park?can be found at www.canammotorsports.com. In addition, for the latest
information on Utica-Rome Speedway visit www.uticaromespeedway.com.

Do not miss a minute of the racing action with the All Star Circuit of
Champions. To view the full 2010 O?Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions
schedule and the latest news regarding the series visit
www.allstarsprint.com.




Mar 10 2010

ASCS – Tuesday Top Ten
 
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (March 9, 2010) – There’s nothing like a weekend along the Gulf Coast to set the stage for a second consecutive edition of the American Sprint Car Series Tuesday’s Top Ten.
 
In its typically indefinable order, TTT follows…
 
1. Bermuda Triangle – Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, TX, the site of last Friday night’s season opening event for the ASCS Gulf South Region, is familiar territory for the regular Gulf South forces.  After all, the series stopped off in Beaumont seven times last year after four events in both 2007 and 2008.
 On Friday night, however, it may as well have been the Bermuda Triangle as it tripped up the series top three contenders from 2009.
 Defending champion Aaron Reutzel sailed out of the park in spectacular fashion on the second attempt to start the feature, 2009 runner-up Channin Tankersley missed the main altogether due to pesky mechanical woes that cut both heat and “B” Main runs short and third-ranked Tommy Bryant tumble in turn two as well four laps into the feature.
 With both Reutzel and Tankersley eying the Lucas Oil National trail in 2010, Reutzel broke out a second car for Saturday night while fellow 19-year-old Tankersley replaced the light-weight plumbing that failed him twice with more substantial hardware.
 Bryant, moving to the seat of Jerry Bell’s No. 85 for Gulf South and some wingless Sprint Bandits TNT action in 2010, escaped the weekend as best in class with a ranking of seventh in points, tops amongst the Gulf South regulars after overcoming early magneto issues to claim sixth at Battleground.
 
2. The Return – Aside from a couple of recent weekend practices, it had been nearly ten years since Sprint Cars had slung the clay at Battleground Speedway in Highlands, TX.
 After some primarily single-file heats on a too-fast track that prompted Friday night victor Gary Wright to call it an early night rather than start 19th at best in the feature, the main event turned into a legitimate barnburner.
 Jesse Hockett and Brian Brown threw repeated sliders at each other over the final ten rounds that could only help evoke mental images of this 2009 Missouri carnage involving the same duo frozen in time forever by lensman Mark Funderburk (http://www.ascsracing.com/gallery/hockettbrowncarnage09.jpg).
 There were no errant sliders this time though, and after 19-year-old “Broken Arrow Bandit” Brady Bacon nearly slipped in and stole the win, Brian Brown added his first career Gulf South score to previous Midwest, Northern Plains and Sooner triumphs along with four National wins.
 “It’s pretty crazy, we live so close together and we come 15 hours to race each other like this,” Brown surmised in victory lane.
 
3. Best in Class – The ASCS Gulf South point charts look a little out of whack right now with Missouri’s Jesse Hockett leading a host of Lucas Oil regulars and other invaders.
 Pulling out the invaders, the current true top ten in ASCS Gulf South points looks something like this; 1. Tommy Bryant 220, 2. Brandon Berryman 216, 3. Wes Miller 215, 4. Aaron Reutzel 206, 5. Scottie McDonald 198, 6. Klint Angelette 195, 7. Travis Knighton 191, 8. (tie) Ray Allen Kulhanek and Jimmy Brooks 184, 10. Greg Rilat 173.
 Berryman, a two-time series champ that suffered a woeful 2009, claims to have sent the monkey packing that haunted him last year.  Wes Miller, a Travis Rilat crew member seven or eight years ago, has put together enough pieces to likely run the full Gulf South slate, particularly after getting off to a solid start.  Reutzel is still somewhat riding the fence between National and Gulf South, with fortune at Devil’s Bowl and then Kilgore and I-30 likely a determining factor.  
 McDonald is back to his familiar No. 88 for a run at the Gulf South title, 16-year-old Angelette was fast in heat races both nights and Knighton junked a car on the opening lap of the Battleground feature after Angelette looped it.
 Kulhanek tagged a valve in Beaumont heat race action before returning to finish seventh at Battleground, Jimmy Brooks broke out the second car after an opening lap feature flip at Beaumont and Greg Rilat made his 130th career ASCS Gulf South feature start at Battleground after missing the cut at Beaumont.
 Other likely ASCS Gulf South regulars in action over both nights included Chris Sweeney (blown engine at Battleground), Brandon Corn (soon to be replaced by 15-year-old son Chevy Corn), Travis Elliott (collected in Battleground carnage with Angelette, McDonald and Knighton), Logan Bledsoe, James Cooper, Roger Oakes, Beau Smith and Bruce Griffith, Jr.
 
4. Keepin’ Busy – Eric Baldaccini has ranked atop the overall ASCS events competed-in category over each of the past two years, logging 50 nights of competition in 2009 after 47 events in 2008.
 The 22-year-old from Keller, TX, made his 2010 debut over the weekend and following a Friday night in which the No. 4 was set up ideally for some track other than Golden Triangle, Baldaccini was in the mix much of the way at Battleground before finishing ninth.
 Baldaccini, the 2008 Brodix Rookie of the Year, may very well be another full-time Lucas Oil Sprint Car title contender in 2010.  “If we’re in the top ten in points after the first few races, we’ll definitely do it all,” Baldaccini explained.  “If not, we may focus on the Lone Star Region; it just depends on a couple of sponsorships.”
 
5. The Dork Rides Again – Not my words, but rather the phrase emblazoned upon the leading edge of Ray Allen Kulhanek’s top wing (http://www.ascsracing.com/gallery/rakbg030610.jpg).  Kulhanek has rejoined forces with car owner David Miller, taking the wheel of the No. 21T for the first time since the 2004 season.  Kulhanek began his Sprint Car career in the No. 21T in 2003 before finishing fourth in ASCS Gulf South points for Miller in 2004.
 As car owner, Miller has ranked seventh in 2005 with Kent Lewis, Jr., and then fourth (2008) and third (2009) the past two seasons with Tommy Bryant.
 The 2005 ASCS Gulf South champion, Kulhanek ranks fifth in career ASCS Gulf South feature wins with nine triumphs, trailing only Jason Johnson (22), Kevin Ramey (15), Gary Wright (14) and Travis Rilat (12).
 
6. Spring Training II – Much like East Bay the previous weekend, this past weekend’s ASCS Gulf South openers provided a paid test ‘n tune session for some prospective Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters title contenders.
 Jesse Hockett, Tony Bruce, Jr., Travis Rilat, Gary Wright and Michael Dupuy each took in both East Bay and Gulf South weekends along with Wayne Johnson and Ocean Springs, MS, shoe Michael Miller, who missed Battleground after engine woes at Beaumont.
 While Hockett has finished among the top-five in four of five main events, including three runner-ups, Rilat and Bruce, Jr., have yet to finish outside the top ten in five feature events.
 Wright parlayed Friday’s pole starting position at Golden Triangle into a $3,000 payday before making an early exit on Saturday.  Dupuy, a former National points runner-up, has experimented with a new homemade chassis that, “Seems to work pretty well, we’ve just had a lot of little problems so far.”
 Also dropping in on the Gulf South festivities were Oklahoma shoes Brady Bacon and Dustin Morgan, Missouri’s Brian Brown, Arkansas native Ricky Logan, and North Texas reps Eric Baldaccini, Michael Lang and John Ricketts.
 Bacon survived Beaumont madness with wrinkled top and nose wings (http://www.ascsracing.com/gallery/baconwinggtrp030510.jpg) despite never turning over and then took the show position at Battleground, Morgan salvaged 11th at Beaumont before making an early Battleground feature exit and Logan was much racier than most of 2009.
 
7. Last Minute – After taking in the ASCS Rebel opener at East Bay the previous weekend, Jesse Hockett had planned on an off weekend.  But, “The Rocket” is not known to stick around his Warsaw, MO, home for too long, especially if there’s any kind of race within a day or two’s drive, which covers most of the continental United States.
 So, newlywed Hockett and crew loaded up the No. 75 at the last minute to take on a pair tracks for the first time.
 A ninth to fourth run at a muddy Golden Triangle Raceway Park led the way to Battleground, where a broken push rod in hot laps forced the crew to swap out Don Ott powerplants before heat race action.
 Mission accomplished and Hockett led a majority of the feature laps before Brian Brown stole the $3,000 winner’s share in the final rounds, forcing Hockett to settle for runner-up honors for the third time in five starts.
 “If I’d stayed on the bottom like I should have then he wouldn’t have got around me, it was my fault,” a disappointed Hockett explained.
 
8. Dropping In – While Charles Davis, Jr., will have his hands full with the usual ASCS Canyon Region suspects such as R.J. Johnson, Stevie Sussex, Ronnie Clark, Andrew Reinbold and Mike Martin among others when the 2010 season fires off Saturday night at Tucson’s USA Raceway, there will be another familiar face among the mix.
 Dave Darland is expected to drop in on the Canyon Region contingent, mixing things up in the BRAT Racing No. 8 that was recently piloted in somewhat spectacular USA fashion by reigning ASCS Southwest champ Rick Ziehl.
 
9. New Scorecard Please – A new season always brings about new combinations.  But, particularly confusing is to see a No. 41 entry with Johnson at the wheel, and it’s not Jason.
 This weekend, it was Wayne Johnson, who picked up weekend work aboard a former Jason Johnson car now owned by Louisiana’s Joe Zierolf.
 Fresh off a $14,500 Ronald Laney Memorial win at East Bay, mechanical issues plagued Johnson and the No. c41 at Beaumont and then after leading the early rounds at Battleground, a severed power steering line brought an early end to the night after Wolfie worked his typical magic by pulling the number one pill in the redraw.  End result was a pair of 18th place finishes.
 As for the other No. 41, Jason Johnson was hard at work back in Greenville, TX, putting the pieces together for a Lucas Oil Sprint Car title assault out of the Jason Johnson Racing shop.
 
10. Expanding Families – With veteran crew chief Rob Hart spinning the wrenches on the F&J Construction No. 29, Travis Rilat and wife Marianne had their newborn daughter on hand for the weekend’s action.  Born between the Tulsa Shootout and Chili Bowl in January, it was already her second weekend of racing after taking in the East Bay opener.
 The weekend also marked Gary Wright’s first official ASCS feature win as a Grandfather after daughter Lauren and son-in-law Nick Smith welcomed twin girls in January.  Look for Nick back in some racing action as well soon.
 This weekend’s ASCS Canyon opener at USA Raceway leads into next weekend’s Lucas Oil Sprint Car season opener at Devil’s Bowl and the ASCS Southwest opener at USA, while at least one Lucas Oil contender (Brady Bacon) shifts to the little cars for some Micro Sprint National action in Little Rock this weekend.
 

Mar 9 2010
                                                   View From the Cockpit 
                                                  
                                                                  View from the Cockpit   
                                                                          By JR Williams
                                                                                Nevada
                                                                      OWR3 Contributor 
                                 
Last week we were waiting for Alex Bowman to get out of the crash house and head home. I guess I was in the process of writing the column when he and dad Sean headed back to Arizona and Alex is now recuperating and chomping at the bit to get the midget back together so he can run in the USAC National Midget show in Hickory. It will only be four weeks after his bad crash at Las Vegas, but young bones heal quickly, so please keep him on your prayer list. I last spoke to Sean over the weekend and things are coming along.
 
  Speaking of prayer lists, I guess we should update who's still on there. Walt Johnson is still not 100%, but was back to work back on Thanksgiving, and according to his mother Pat, he was kind enough to phone Alex to wish him well. Walt is one of Alex's many mentors.
 
  Keith Iaia himself is doing well, although he pulled his back out while moving into his new shops over by the coast, but his lovely wife Mata is still waiting to see if her right eye will recover to normal, I spoke to her today and she told me that she just has to be patient.
 
  I think I told you over a year ago that Charlie Patterson had formed his new endeavor called NexGen to help out new drivers. I spoke with him on Sunday and he informed me that he has a pilot program on his web site. You can take a look at it by going to: makingthedriver.com. You'll get a brief glimpse into his busy life over the past 50 years. Now he's making driveshafts for the mini-mods that he's gotten involved in and has been improving the suspension on them.
 
  Boy, this season is coming up upon us quickly. The first California Focus dirt show will be this coming weekend down in Ventura. The junior Focus youngsters will also be competing, and then the California Pavement Focus cars will be putting on their first show of the year next weekend (March 20th) down in Lake Havasu at the Havasu 95 Speedway. This will be a combined show with the Utah Focus Division, so it should be a lot of fun. The old man's pavement car is about ready to go. All we have to do is air up the shocks and the tires, wieght the car, straighten out the trailer, load the car and change the oil in the trailer genset. The harsh winter destroyed the trailer battery, but we put in a new one and everything seems to be working normally.
 
  The injectors, wiring harness and ECU have all arrived for the EcoTech, and I've been busy putting that together. It's all magic to me. Where electricity is concerned, I get confused when a light bulb doesn't go on, so this thing is really magical. The wiring harness looks like the inside and outside of a computer, with small and large modules that plug into everything. There's one for the intake cam, another for the exhaust cam on front of the engine, and larger ones for the cams that plug into the back of the engine, there's a coil for each spark plug with a plug into each of them, as well as a plug into each of the injectors (which, by the way, don't screw in, they just plug in with "O" rings) and the injectors are held in place with the fuel log, which itself is just held on with two small screws. Did I mention the intake air temperature sensor? I looked all over the engine to find where to put that, and finally had to put a call into Keith who told me to look at the base of the air cleaner --- sure enough, there it was. I can't wait to start it up, but first I have to take the radiator into a welding shop to have the inlet and outlet hose barbs repositioned as this engine is backwards from the Focus. It won't be long now, though, and we'll find out if it will fire off. Keith says not to worry, as he hasn't had one fail yet.
 
  Speaking of the engines not failing to start, when they go out on the track they hold their own, especially when they're driving by a young 15-year old named Tyler Thompson who had a good night for himself down at Cowtown over the weekend, where he ran his EcoTech against the "big boys" and did quite well, ending up with the hard charger award. He started in the back of his heat and finished seventh, then made the main event by finishing third in the semi and finished ninth in the main after coming from the rear. Now I'm really anxious to see what that engine will do in my old Stealth combo car.
 
  Brad Loyet, the defending champion, won his heat race, finished second in the dash and went on the win the feature, keeping him in the points lead in the USAC/SMRS Great Plains Midget Points. I first met Brad down at the Chili Bowl about four years ago when he impressed everyone by running the first Super Focus that we had seen.


Carl Edwards updates Facebook with his side of the story
By Jay Busbee

Another season, another Carl Edwards flip drama. As soon as Edwards' collision sent Brad Keselowski flying into the Atlanta dusk on Sunday night, the screaming began -- was it intentional? Was it payback? Did Edwards realize he could've killed somebody?

Edwards took to Facebook to explain himself, and the answers were, in order, yes, yes and no. In short, Edwards himself confirmed what everybody already suspected:

My options: Considering that Brad wrecks me with no regard for anyones safety or hard work, should I: A-Keep letting him wreck me? B-Confront him after the race? C-Wait til bristol and collect other cars? or D-Take care of it now? I want to be clear that I was surprised at his flight and very relieved when he walked away. Every person has to decide what code they want to live by and hopefully this explains mine.

So there you have it. Carl Edwards likes the frontier justice



Mar 8 2010
Stirling Moss Falls Down Elevator Shaft at London Home
 
Mar 8,  LONDON (AP) -Former Formula One driver Stirling Moss has broken both ankles and hurt his back in a fall down an elevator shaft at his London home.
The 80-year-old Briton was taken to the Royal London Hospital on Saturday after falling three floors.

A statement on Moss' Web site says he stepped through the open elevator door without noticing the elevator had malfunctioned and stopped on the floor above.

Moss broke four bones in a foot and chipped four vertebrae but did not lose consciousness. The statement says his "body still has the same resilience to injury as it did in his racing days."

Moss won 16 Grand Prix races but never the world championship. He was runner-up four times.
 
From
http://sports.excite.com/news/03082010/v5041.html



USAC News

Midgets
LOYET 1ST AT COWTOWN; TAKES 2-RACE TITLE
  
  Kennedale, Texas…….Brad Loyet of Sunset Hills, Mo. won Saturday night’s 35-lap City vending “Cowtown Midget Championships” USAC/SMRs Great Plains Midget feature at Cowtown Speedway near Fort Worth. He piloted the Beaver Stripes & Custom Graphics/Bell Helmets Spike/Esslinger Ford to the victory over Chett Gehrke, Zach Daum, Matt Sherrell and Don Droud Jr.. A post-race technical inspection resulted in the disqualification of the car driven by Danny Stratton, who had taken the checkered flag first after winning Friday’s night’s 30-lapper as well. Loyet’s victory, officially leading all 35 laps, earned him the 2-race “Cowtown Midget Championship.”
      USAC/SMRS GREAT PLAINS MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: March 6, 2010 – Fort Worth, Texas – Cowtown Speedway – 2nd Annual City Vending “Cowtown Midget Championships” 

   FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Kevin Bayer (#91k Bayer), 2. Andy Shouse (#27 Bishop), 3. Matt Sherrell (#35 Sherrell), 4. Kevin Ramey (#7m Ramey), 5. Andrew Felker (#11a Felker), 6. Ryan Cole (#11R Cole), 7. Andrew Deal (#15D Deal), 8. Eric Sandage (#60 Sandage), 9. Matt Johnson (#85 Johnson). NT

  SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Chett Gehrke (#11c Matteson), 2. Zach Daum (#5 Daum), 3. Brandon Moeller (#39 Moeller), 4. Rusty Dukes (#88D Dukes), 5. Blake Moeller (#18 Moeller), 6. Ryan Harvey (#93x Harvey), 7. Doug McCune (#9 Urbanosky), 8. Steve Newman (#11x Newman), 9. Roy Larkin (#24L Larkin). NT

  THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Brad Loyet (#05 Loyet), 2. Paul White (#1x White), 3. Don Droud Jr. (#44 Smith), 4. Justin Melton (#11 Melton), 5. Ronnie Burke Jr. (#4B Burke), 6. George White (#10w White), 7. Tyler Thompson (#91T Thompson), 8. Murray Erickson (#8 Guardian), 9. Will Pierce (#10 Pierce). NT

  DASH: (4 laps) 1. Gehrke, 2. Loyet, 3. Bayer, 4. Shouse, 5. P.White, 6. Stratton (#5k Simmons). NT

  SEMI: (10 laps) 1. Deal, 2. Sandage, 3. Thompson, 4. Pierce, 5. Johnson, 6. McCune, 7. Larkin, 8. Harvey, 9. Newman, 10. Erickson. NT

  FEATURE: (35 laps) 1. Brad Loyet, 2. Chett Gehrke, 3. Zach Daum, 4. Matt Sherrell, 5. Don Droud Jr., 6. Ronnie Burke Jr., 7. Rusty Dukes, 8. Paul White, 9. Tyler Thompson, 10. Justin Melton, 11. Matt Johnson, 12. Doug McCune, 13. Andrew Felker, 14. Kevin Bayer, 15. Kevin Ramey, 16. Andrew Deal, 17. Andy Shouse, 18. Eric Sandage, 19. Blake Moeller, 20. Brandon Moeller, 21. George White, 22. Will Pierce, 23. Ryan Cole. (NOTE: Danny Stratton car disqualified after winning race for failure to pass post-race technical inspection).
 

  FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-35 Loyet.

  NEW USAC/SMRS GREAT PLAINS MIDGET POINTS: 1-Loyet-272; 2-Droud-252; 3-Daum-242; 4-Gehrke-228; 5-Bayer-226; 6-Sherrell-218; 7-R.Burke-218; 8-Ramey-214; 9-Dukes-206; 10-Melton-204.

  NEXT USAC/SMRS GREAT PLAINS MIDGET RACE: April 30 – Pontoon Beach, IL – Tri-City Speedway

Focus

VENTURA RACEWAY HOSTS FORD FOCUS & YOUNG GUNS ‘DOUBLEHEADER”

The 2010 USAC Western Ford Focus and Young Guns Series begin Saturday night at the Ventura (Calif.) Raceway.

  Ten different USAC feature winners were crowned during 2009 USAC Ford Focus and Young Guns action at the 1/5-mile dirt oval, one of USAC’s most active tracks.

  Rains forced cancellation of last Saturday’s scheduled Ventura season opener, so this Saturday’s program opens the campaign for the southern California oval. In addition to the USAC races, competition is also scheduled for VRA Sprints, Senior Sprints and Sport Compacts.

  USAC’s 2009 California Dirt Ford Focus and Young Guns champions were Brody Roa and Kyle Edwards respectively. Under restructured guidelines, Saturday’s races will afford points toward both the overall Western Ford Focus and Young Guns championships, as well as 2010 Dirt Ford Focus and Dirt Young Guns titles.

USAC 360s out west

USAC 360s AT HANFORD SATURDAY

ALEXANDER GRABS 2010 OPENER AT TULARE

  Dean Alexander of Visalia, Calif. Leads the USAC Western Regional 360 Sprint Car Series to Giant Speedway in Hanford, Calif. this Saturday night for round two of the brand-new series.

  Alexander has a five-point lead over Craig Stidham after winning last Saturday night’s 25-lap feature event at the Groppetti Automotive Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway. He led the final 14 laps at Tulare driving the McCowan Motorsports Special. He passed Danny Sheridan on lap 12 and led the rest of the way to beat Stidham, Danny Faria Jr., Jace VanderWeerd and Garrett Ishii to the checkered flag.

  The 2010 Western Regional 360 calendar includes 20 races at four different speedways.

  Saturday’s race at Hanford is the first of five at the 3/8-mile dirt oval. The 360s return there June 5, July 17, August 21 and September 11.

Mar 7 2010
 
                                                                      RACING SCENE 
                                               Part I of III – USAC Triple-header @ Tucson 
                                                                  
                                                                       Tim Kennedy
                                                                     Los Angeles Ca. 
                                                                              OWR3 Contributor

Los Angeles, CA. - This will be the first of my three part coverage of the USAC three states Western Swing at dirt tracks during late February.   Stops included
The USA Raceway, a banked, three-eighths mile in south Tucson,
The Las Vegas Motor Speedway dirt half-mile,
The Perris Auto Speedway half-mile south of Riverside.
 
Stop one was the 4th annual Copper on Dirt = "C On D", which was the brainchild of Dennis Woods, the Manzanita Speedway GM in Phoenix at the time. The first three years of Copper on Dirt USAC triple-header action (Midgets, Sprints and Silver Crown cars) took place on the half-mile clay Manzanita track and were successful. Manzy was sold and closed in April 2009 so the Copper on Dirt needed a new home. I checked USA Raceway last year following Manzy's C on D on my way to legendary Tombstone, AZ., home of the Gunfight at the OK Corral south of Tucson. I wrote last April that USA Raceway would be a great site for the USAC C on D and it is. I drove by Manzy February 22 on my way home. It is now a storage yard for Southwest Crane rigs behind metal fencing. The main grandstand metal framework and press box were still standing, as was the main entry archway.

  Fortunately, second year USA Raceway co-promoters Kevin Montgomery and Benji Lyons stepped up and continued the USAC C on D this year. They selected Friday-Saturday February 19-20 to kick off the USAC western tour. They deserve praise and support for continuing this outstanding event. Their financial commitment was considerable. The Midget purse was $22,040, with Sprint teams racing for $26,040, and the Silver Crown purse $39,250. The combined purse was.$87,330. Feature winners received $4,000 (Midgets), $6,000 (Sprints), and $9,000 (S/C). The enterprising promoters trucked in new clay during the off-season and booked a 30 week schedule for a variety of home track classes and touring series. The first USA Raceway C on D attracted a solid field of 90 cars—30 Midgets, 40 Sprints and 20 Silver Crown = "S/C" cars. It marked the first time S/C cars have raced on a track less than a half-mile. They put on an entertaining race with a dramatic finish thanks to Levi Jones.

  The 3,000 seat main grandstand was about 75% full Friday night for qualifying, heat races and three trophy dashes. The enclosed suite area and the grassy knoll at the fourth turn exit also were crowded, as were the pits. Saturday night was projected to be a full-house as Phoenix area residents who worked Friday were expected to drive 120 miles south on I-10 for some early season open-wheel racing. Friday had a 73 degree, sunny day and mid 60s for the solid night of racing. Some midget drivers said USA Raceway reminded them of the Belleville (KS) half-mile because they stayed on the throttle all the way around the fast USA oval.

  Predicted rain on Saturday arrived just after 12 noon and made the pits muddy. With rain predicted for that night, about 3 pm promoters postponed the second day events to Sunday afternoon. It rained again from 5 to 6 pm and later that evening so they made the right choice. The Sunday schedule called for pit gates to open at 10 am, with wheel-packing at 11:15, followed by hot-lapping for Midgets (11:30) Sprints (12 noon) and S/C (12:30). Racing began 1:00 pm with three “B” mains and then three “A” mains from 2 pm to 5+ pm. Midgets ran a 30-lap main, followed by 40-laps for Sprints and 50-laps for S/C cars. Track crews re-prepped the track before the Midget and Sprint “A” mains. They used a tiller that they acquired from Emmett Hahn and dug into the track from top to bottom before watering and wheel-packing the track made it like new for the first two features.

 The crowd Sunday was about 50 to 60% full in the grandstands under 56 degrees, sunny, blue sky. Some fans were unable to stay the extra day because they had Sunday flights home. Saturday night would have been packed if the predicted rain was not an imminent factor. Even some USAC competitors were unable to stay in Tucson for the extra day. Car owner Don Fike had to fly home to Illinois for a business meeting. Son A. J. Fike, the S/C 2009 second place driver, finished in P. 7 Sunday afternoon and flew home to IL Monday via Dallas. The John Jory USAC-CRA team towed home to California with both sprint cars. Dick Jordan, USAC V-P Communications, had to fly to Las Vegas early Sunday. Dick said it was only the third S/C race he has missed in 42 years. He missed two S/C races decades ago when he covered a USAC stock car race in Milwaukee and an Indy Car race during USAC's early involvement with that series. Sunday was sunny with blue sky again. The track crew had the track racy and the pit area manageable. Everyone I spoke to (competitors and fans alike) said they hope the USAC C on D at USA Raceway becomes an annual event. Tucson does not get a lot of rain annually so this one day rainstorm should not deter racers.

  C on D DRIVERS BY STATES: The 30 Midget Division drivers came from ten states as follows: 8 each from AZ and CA, 5 from IN, 3 from IL, and 1 each from CO, KS, MO, OH, TX and WA. The 40 Sprint car drivers also hailed from ten states: 13 from CA, 12 AZ, 6 IN, 2 each from IL and OH, and 1 each MO, NC, NM, NY and SD. The 20 S/C drivers came from 10 states as well: 5 IN, 3 each CA and IL, 2 each AZ and NC, and 1 each from AR, MA, NY, TN and TX. ... Three C on D drivers raced in all three divisions, They were Bryan Clauson, Tracy Hines and hometown driver Jerry Coons, Jr., 37, a graduate of Tucson's Palo Verde High School. Fourteen drivers did double duty--Midgets & Sprints-B. Loyet, R. J. Johnson, C. Boat, H. Clarke, D. Darland, and B. Sweet; Midgets & S/C—B. East, Z. Daum, M. Erickson, Kody & Tanner Swanson; Sprints & S/C—L. Jones, S. Hmiel, and B. Kaeding.

  C on D CHASSIS/ENGINE STATS:
 MIDGETS: 6 Chassis – 18 Spike, 5 Beast, 3 Stealth, 2 Bullet, and 1 each Buzzard and Ellis;
13 Engine Builders – 12 Esslinger Ford, 4 Mopar, 3 Toyota, 2 Fontana, 1 each Chevy II, Gaerte, Hawk, Honda, Proflyer Esslinger, Stanton Mopar, Stanton Toyota, TRD Toyota and VDS Ford. ...
 
SPRINT CARS: 13 Chassis – 17 Maxim, 4 Bullet, 3 each DRC and Viper, 2 each Ellis, F5, Stinger and XXX, 1 each Buckley, Beaberbuilt, Eagle, J & J, and RSS;
20 Engine Builders – 6 Chevy, 5 Shaver, 4 Gaerte, 3 each ITI Performance and Speedway Chevy, 2 each Don Ott, Kistler Chevy, Speedway Mopar and Wesmar, 1 each Advanced Engines, Claxton Chevy, Cummings, Garrett, Gresham Chevy, Hansen, Klein, Mopar, Proflyer Chevy, RC Performance, and Shark. ...
 
SILVER CROWN: 7 Chassis - 10 Beast, 3 DRC, 2 each Drinan and Maxim,1 each Competition Welding, GRR and J & J;
11 Engine builders – 5 Toyota, 2 each Dynotec, Foxco, Gaerte, Kistler Chevy, Mopar, 1 each Chevy, Ford, Roush-Yates Ford, Speedway Mopar and Wesmar.

  USA Raceway's Thursday evening (5 to 9 pm) practice for all three divisions was fast. Both midgets and sprints ran laps under existing USAC one-lap track records. Six sprint drivers ran best laps under the track mark of 15.582 with Damion Gardner's 15.394 the best of his 40 laps. Coons, Sweet, C. Shuman, Kaeding and Hines (15.581) all bettered the one lap mark. Drivers ran nine to 52 laps during three practice sessions. All 20 S/C drivers had up to four sessions to get use to the track. Levi Jones ran the most laps (41) and turned his fastest lap of 15.957 on lap 6 of session two. Shane Hmiels's 16.047 was the next quickest lap of 13 drivers in the 16 second bracket and five drivers in the 17s. In Friday time trials Levi ran the FQ time of 17.016, well off his Thursday night 15.957, which was almost as fast as the one lap sprint car track record. The 1.059 second difference shows how much quicker night times are over daytime laps. ... Brad Kuhn ran 42 laps Thursday with his best lap at 16.195. Sweet, G. Taylor, R. Allen, Coons, Daum, East, Hagen and Boat also ran beast laps under the 16.542 Midget track record. Drivers ran anywhere from 10 to 45 laps in three sessions.

  While in Tucson racers discovered a great Tucson restaurant—Cattletown Steakhouse & Saloon—two miles from the Tucson Airport area hotels where most racing teams stayed. The race HQ with racer rates is only three miles from the track. Sprint car owner Casey Minks, from El Paso, TX (Sprint No. 8m--Tony Elliott--and No. 75--Jo Jo Helberg) was there after the Saturday rain postponement with his entire crew and Nor Cal driver Jo Jo, a USAC Western 360 CI sprint vet trying 410 ci sprints on dirt. Minks also employs Travis Rilat in his 8 car at times. He said Tucson to El Paso is about 300 miles and a six hour drive. He enjoys competing at USA Raceway and is one of the few teams with experience at USA. The track began life a decade or so ago as Saguaro Speedway and had midget racer Dave Burns promoting races. The property owner is Pat Robles, who leases the track. Longtime Manzanita Speedway promoter Keith Hall promoted at USA in 2008. His son Ladd still runs the bar/concessions as he did at Manzanita. The track is now in its seventh year of operation and co-promoters Montgomery and Lyons are second year promoters. Locals said their weekly efforts are outstanding.

  Retired USAC driver Jack Hewitt was the Grand Marshal at Tucson. He brought his two-seater yellow No. 21 sprint car and gave rides Friday and Sunday to “lucky” winners. They received four hot laps and were able to use the second seat “steering wheel” to simulate driving the car. Hewitt's quickest lap was the 23rd fastest among the 40 sprint car qualifiers. Hewitt's first passenger Friday was Jolene, the VIP/suites bartender and a relative of promoter Montgomery, who owns the No 76 sprint car that Mike Leslie has driven for many years. ... The $5.00 color cover C on D 28-page program was outstanding. It contained 25 driver bios with head-shots, action photos and pages of color photos, plus pages for lineups and finishes. ... Tim Spillman, the American Racing Ministries chaplain from Indianapolis, gave the vocation at Tucson each day and at Las Vegas. His wife Ginny sang American the Beautiful and the National Anthem. ... S/C car owner Gene Nolen, of Greenwood, IN., flew to Tucson to watch Shane Hollingsworth, of Lafayette, IN. race his No. 20. Shane, a 25-year old engineering graduate from Rose-Hulman Institute, won the May 2009 Hoosier 100 at the Indianapolis Fairgrounds mile in the same F5 car. He led all 100 laps for his first S/C victory. After the 2009 C on D at Manzanita the Nolen S/C car, trailer and tow rig all were stolen during an overnight stop at the Red Roof Inn in Oklahoma City. Nolen said he had insurance only on the tow rig and he received insurance payment for it. Two months after the theft Oklahoma City police caught thief and recovered the tow rig. Gene took possession of it and repaid the insurer. The trailer and race car and engine were trashed and unusable.

  QUALIFYING: Friday time trials divided the series into groups for qualifying. Midgets had four groups of seven cars from 5:34-5:45 pm. USAC announcer Rob Klepper kept fans informed of the fast times as did the turn four electronic scoreboard. Sprinters had six groups of six or seven cars from 5:50-6:15; S/C had three groups of six or seven cars from 6:16-6:30 pm. USAC 1 Lap TRs: Midgets – 16.542 by Jerome Rodela on 11/18/06. Sweet's 16.606 on his fourth lap was quickest this year with nine qualifiers at 16 seconds. Sprints – 15.582 by Cory Kruseman on 10-8-05. Bud Kaeding's 16.281 on his second timed lap was fastest this year with 19 qualifiers in the 16 second bracket. S/C cars were at USA for the first time. Levi Jones' 17.016 on his third of four laps became an automatic NTR. Clauson's 17.157 was second FQ time, with 11 qualifiers in the 17s, 7 in the 18s and 2 in the 19s.

  Four drivers (20%) made their S/C debuts at Tucson. They were: Bobby Santos III, Justin Carver, Tanner Swanson and AZ sprint car vet Mike Martin, who drove the ex-No. 00 Wayne Reutimann ride owned by Chuck Christensen, of Plant City, FL. Case Containers backed his No. 116. Martin dropped out on lap 8 with a broken valve cover gasket. ... Coleman Gulick, 16, drove the ex-No. 56 Galen Fox DRC/Foxco. The NY-based Gulick team picked up a pavement sprint car built by a new constructor in Phoenix and planned to test it at the Tucson paved track, skipping the Las Vegas race. The Kingsburg, CA based Swanson brothers—Kody, 21, and Tanner, 19—have won rookie and championship honors in nearly every series they have run. At Tucson they both drove midgets and S/C cars for Team 6 Racing owner Darrell Guiducci, of Indiana. The Swansons brought sponsorship from Lyons Transportation of Clovis (a frozen fruit hauler), HJ Hay Co., of Visalia, and Brad's Auto Body of Clovis. Kody blew his No. 19 midget Toyota engine (dropped valve) in Heat 1 Friday. He used a Toyota engine borrowed from the No. 11 Wilke Racing team to race in Sunday's feature and that engine also blew on lap 11. The Wilke team deserves a sportsmanship award for their sporting gesture/loan. ... Bud Kaeding's dad Brent and grandfather Howard were in the pits helping his sprint car and S/C efforts.

  Following the Sunday S/C race ex-NASCAR truck and Nationwide Series driver Shane Hmiel, from NC, used his cell phone in the R-W Racing pits. He called his father Steve, a former Jack Roush Ford crew chief and current competition director for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. Shane said, “Sorry dad, I had a bad day.” He was in fourth place at the halfway mark in the S/C 50 when he slowed and dropped out “with a broken RR tire bleeder valve” on lap 30. Levi Jones, 27, won his first career S/C victory after he won the 40-lap sprint car main, also for Tony Stewart's Bass Pro Shops team. “It seems like I've had 20 second place finishes.” Levi, a three-time USAC National Sprint champion, held up huge wooden first place symbolic checks of $9,000 (S/C) and $6,000 (Sprint) for photos in the pits.

  The No. 4 Maxim/Shaver sprint car raced by Tracy Hines, of New Castle, IN, was listed as his car. Actually, Dave Calderwood, of Bakersfield, CA, owns the new car and uses his MP Environment Services and his usual No. 4 on it. Dave owned the winning USAC Western Series Midget No. 4 that Jimmy Sills raced during the 1990s. Dave said he had been out of racing for six years. His son Shawn, 32, races NASCAR SLM cars and son Rex, 30, races open-wheel cars in Las Vegas. ... Sprint car owner/driver Hmiel, 29, bought his No. 17 sprinter over the winter from Kasey Kahne Motor-sports. The car was the World of Outlaws No. 9 that Joey Saldana drove last year on the WoO trail. ... Casey Shuman raced the No. 4G Maxim/Chevy owned by Gerry Cook, of Indianapolis. Damion Gardner, 32, drove the same Pace Lighting older Eagle/Shaver in which he won the first two USAC features of 2010 at East Bay Raceway in Gibsonton, FL. ... Owner/driver Jerome Rodela, a two-time USAC Western Midget champion, hired Alex Schutte to drive his No. 25 Trench Shoring Stealth/Toyota this year. “I hired someone to go faster. I'll be an owner only with a little one due in August.”

  Non-Finishers: Midgets – Darland – set up too loose; Daum – jumped cushion, got RR nerf bar into the tire; Boat – ignition problem; Alex Bowman – electrical problem, broken cell in the battery on L 16; Robby Josett – broken valve on L 21. Buddy Lowther's No. 31 DNQ because he broke his fuel pump Thursday and did not have a spare. ... Sprint DNFs – Chris Windom, 19, had the Tucson 40 lap main all but won in Jeff Walker's No. 11 Maxim when he ran out of fuel with two laps to go. He ran high at the cushion (using more fuel) and opened a straightaway lead en-route to his first USAC National Sprint victory. The team informed me they filled the 28 gallon tank fully. They checked other teams afterwards and many had only one or two gallons in their tanks after the race. ... Teenager Keith Bloom, Jr. got into turn one too fast on L 2, rode up the cushion and flipped the beautiful No. 27 Kaeding Motor-sports Maxim several times without injury. The car was a write-off and he had to use a backup No. 27 at Las Vegas. ... Brad Sweet's Kahne No. 49 Maxim/Mopar sprinter dropped out after he hit the wall on L 26 and “bent up a bunch of stuff.” D. Darland's No. 67K Kunz sprinter dropped out on L 16 after contact by the No. 71 caused front axle damage. Danny Sheridan's Kittle No. 18 broke the RF suspension on L 8. Mathew Shadarowich's colorful No. 9 blew a hole in the side of the block. Ricky Williams, 16, said a rock knocked the oil plug off on L 2.

  RACING ACTION: Two of three Midget 10-lap heat winners started in row two of four. Gary Taylor, from WA, made the trophy dash as one of the six FQ who made the A-main from their heat races. He ran fifth from L 1 until he edged past Mike Hess by a few feet on the inside at the finish line for the important transfer position. There were four 10-lap sprint car heats that sent P 1-4 to the feature. The first sprint heat had three race leaders with passing throughout the field. Sheridan led L 1. R. J. Johnson led L 2-9 and sixth starter Kaeding made an amazing slide job pass in the third turn without contact to win by a few yards. ... That same ten-car heat had father Rip Williams, 54, and son Cody, 20, starting in P. 9-10. On L 5 Rip exited turn two and his RR tire slapped the concrete base of the wall sending his Jory No. 3 Viper flipping down the backstretch. Son Cody, in tenth, said he saw his dad flipping in the center of the track and tried to pass on the left, but Rip's car flipped to the left and landed on the No. 44 Jory team car atop the RR corner of Cody's cage. Cody continued and Rip's car landed overturned after about five flips that covered 40 or 50 yards. He was unhurt. Cody restarted and finished ninth. With day two on Saturday postponed by rain the Jory team towed home to So Cal. Rip's No. 3 was a write-off and the team put together a new Viper for the Thursday, February 25 USAC race in Las Vegas. ... Following the midget and sprint heat races Friday all three divisions ran 8-lap trophy dashes for the six fastest qualifiers who earned feature berths in their heat races. The TD finishing order determined the starting order for the features. Pole starter Clauson led all the way in his No. 39 midget. Second starter Sweet led all the way in Kahne's No 49 sprinter. The six FQ in the S/C class started straight-up in P. 1-6 and Levi Jones led all the way to defeat Tony Stewart teammate Clauson by half a straight. Friday racing concluded at 9:35 pm. Saturday racing called for wheel-packing at 5:15 pm, hot laps for three divisions from 7 to 8 pm, and main events from 8 to 10 pm. Rain postponed the three B and three A mains to Sunday afternoon from 1 to 5+ pm.

  FEATURES: Sweet (No. 49 Midget) led L 1-21 and 28-30 and won by 15 yards. He became the first two-time C on D Midget feature winner. Hines (No. 8x) passed Sweet on a L 22 restart on the inside at turn two and led L 22-27. Sweet re-passed him on L 28 with an inside move entering turn one. Bobby East nipped Hines by a few feet for second spot at the finish line with his inside pass. The race ran from 2:48-3:09 pm and 18 of 26 starters finished, with 16 drivers on the lead lap. Winner Sweet said: “Track maintenance did an awesome job for a day race. Tracy (Hines) drove by me so I put my elbows up and got back by him. I have one race to go (sprints) and hope to do it again.” ... The track crew reworked the track and made it like new for the sprints. The 26 sprint car field took the green flag at 4:11, had two red flags (L 2 and L 18) and ended at 4:52 pm. Chris Windom started second (next to Sweet) and opened a straightaway lead by L 11. He ran the fastest lap of the race at 16.346 on L 12. Kaeding's 16.806 on L 10 was the next fastest lap and winner Jones ran his best lap (16.905) on L 7. By lap 26 Windom again had a straightaway lead and lapped up to 11th place. His lead began to evaporate by lap 38 and his sputtering engine stalled high in turn three on L 39—out of fuel. Jones (in Stewart's No. 20 Maxim) inherited the lead and won by five yards (0.374 officially) over Coons, who had five yards (0.381) on third place Kaeding, The sixth and seventh place cars got together and spun out entering turn one after they received the checkered flag from track starter Jason Weyminger. Sixteen cars finished, with 13 on the lead lap. Asked whether he had anything for long-gone Windom, Levi said “Definitely not. He set a helluva pace. He probably ran out of fuel.” Coons said: “I gave it everything I had. Attrition helped us. We had nothing for Chris. I came up one position short, but it was a good race for us.”

  Silver Crown >S/C< Main: The race ran from 5:17-5:39 pm in daylight and concluded before track lights became necessary. Pole-man Jones led L 1-8 until ninth starter Kaeding made an inside pass through the first two turns; he opened a straightaway lead by L 25 crossed flags with cars in P. 2-9 virtually nose to tail. A L 30 caution for a stalled car made the final 20 laps a close, three-car duel with Kaeding and P. 3 Hines running low and P. 2 Jones high. Jones and Hines traded P. 2 on L 39 and again on L 46 after a yellow flag for Gulick's stalled car at turn three (flat RR tire). Kaeding led Jones by five yards as they started the final lap. Jones stayed high in all four turns and Hines dropped him to third briefly on the backstretch. Jones kept the power on entering turn three and re-passed Hines and powered by leader Kaeding exiting turn four for the lead. Jones (No. 10) won by a length and a half over surprised Kaeding. B. East was third, ten yards back. It was a thriller. Sixteen of 19 starters (Daum DNS) finished and all 16 drivers completed 50 laps. Winner Jones said: “This is my first S/C win. To have a race like that at the end of a long day is really something.” Kaeding said: “My car was tight and did not have enough stagger. I was freaking out a little bit.” He admitted he thought he had it won in the fourth turn on L 50. “It was a no-brainer for me.” S/C winner Jones ran his fastest lap (18.601) on L 49. Kaeding's best lap (18.519) came on L 9. Brian Tyler ran the fastest lap of the race at 18.321 on L 13. My next Racing Scene column will cover the Las Vegas Motor Speedway half-mile dirt track Feb. 25 USAC event and the Feb. 26 WoO winged sprint & IMCA Modified races.

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  “Just about every day of the week we get calls asking how do I find information on various companies, “ said Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News publisher Ernie Saxton. “Now we have something easy to use and inexpensive to offer those asking that question. It is called Sponsor-Disk.”
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                                           Gone Racin’…Illegal Street Racing
                                                               
                                                              Richard Parks
                                                          Southern California
                                                         OWR3 Contributor
                                                       From
                                                          
    The News is rife with stories of illegal street racing. In Southern Asia, gamblers bribe officials to cordon off the streets so that huge sums can be wagered on car and motorcycle races. Innocent people are injured or killed when cars go out of control and cities are reporting rising numbers of unsafe and dangerous street racing events, some spontaneous and others well planned. Each event is treated with surprise, and yet, why should we feel this way. Illegal street racing predates the automobile. European dandies of the 18th century were infamous for acts of thugism and reckless acts in their horse drawn hansoms and coaches. No period of history is safe from the trepidation of those who feel the excitement of the chase or the race. It’s as if we feel that merely wishing away such dangerous sport is enough. We say that it shouldn’t happen and that people need to be logical and follow an altruistic course of action. Such hogwash shows that educated and urbane men and women are just as foolish in neglecting facts and human psychology as are the more ignorant and unlettered.
      Every generation seeks its own identity and flaunts the laws and mores of their parents. Eventually, given time and experience, most of us mature and develop into more rational citizens. As parents, we hope that our children will survive long enough to learn wisdom and make proper decisions. Why is it any different today. Illegal street racing was widespread during the 1930-40’s, and then declined during the next generation. There are many reasons for an increase in street racing: 1) fewer sanctioned race tracks, 2) legal opposition by local homeowners to organized racing, 3) a new generation of “muscle cars,” 4) new trends toward street racing among young people, 5) movies that glamorize a by-gone era, 6) the excitement of speed, 7) fewer cities and police departments willing to spend resources on prevention or control, 8) the mindset that those who are illegally street racing aren’t really “their children,” 9) a disinclination among non-racing adults to see any benefit at all in any kind of Motorsports racing, and 10) the demise of the car clubs.
      What caused the decline of street racing a generation ago? Powerful forces were arrayed against it. Policemen took a major step in reaching out to their generation’s youth. They fought for new venues to race and often gave those arrested a choice. Help make the new tracks work, pay the fines or go to jail. The S.C.T.A. (Southern California Timing Association) and other car clubs rallied their members together and exerted a positive control over themselves and other young people. Sometimes they even used a little negative force as well to bring order. But they were respected and they took the lead on the streets. NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) was organized in 1951 and took a strong presence in denouncing illegal street racing. I saw my father act on two guest appearances in the 1950’s, once on “The Life of Riley” with William Bendix, and a second time with Ozzie and Harriet Nelson on their show. Both Television shows based their plots on showing that street racing wasn’t smart, and that there was an alternative in legalized and sanctioned racetracks. The Petersen Publishing Company and other magazines and newspapers threw their considerable support behind organized track racing. Governors, mayors and politicians of all kinds put their support behind safe racing. President Richard Nixon invited the Motorsports racing community to the White House on several occasions to show his concern and support.
      There was illicit street racing, even during the heyday of track racing, but it barely existed against the powerful forces that opposed it during the 1950-80’s. Today, what do we have at hand to defeat illegal street racing? Where are all the supervised and safe tracks that we used to race on? They have been turned into tract homes and shopping centers. The police have seen their budgets cut year after year and their “priorities” weighted down with drug and street gang violence. The car clubs that once numbered in the tens of thousands throughout the nation have dwindled down to a fraction of that number. The sheer numbers and energy devoted to controlling street racing has diminished. Is it any wonder that “the problem” has returned? We can learn from the past and create new programs tailored to the needs of our youth today. The city of Anaheim has invested time, energy and money into youth programs that have reduced street racing and improved their image in the community. NHRA has joined with The Automobile Club of Southern California to sponsor youth racing programs and the JR Drag Racing League.  California Speedway and Irwindale Speedway have begun development of new racing tracks for street racers. There is far more that needs to be done and we, as a community, have yet to invest the resources needed to deter street racing. But the lives saved are worth the effort. Do we have a choice?
 
originaly posted on http://www.hotrodhotline.com/



March 24-25 USAC Mopar National Midget and Eastern Ford Focus Midget races

HICKORY MIDGET TICKET DISCOUNT AVAILABLE
2 LUCKY FANS WILL WIN A “RICHARD PETTY DRIVING EXPERIENCE”
Tickets for the March 24-25 USAC Mopar National Midget and Eastern Ford Focus Midget races at the Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway are now available and race fans can take advantage of a $5 discount by purchasing tickets on line at www.usacracing.com, by calling the USAC Headquarters at 317-247-5151 or by accessing the following link: http://www.usacracing.com/store/hickory-motor-speedway.html. Tickets are priced at $20 each night but a two-night ticket is available at the price of $35.

  Fans attending the March 24-25 Hickory races will also have the opportunity to win a free “Richard Petty Driving Experience” in a 600-horsepower NASCAR-style stock car at Charlotte Motor Speedway!

  The Hickory races continue a tradition of USAC racing in the Carolinas which stretches back to 1956 when the USAC Championship Cars raced at Darlington, S.C. The Hickory oval hosted Ford Focus races between 2004 and 2006 but the March 24-25 program marks the debut of USAC National racing at the .363-mile paved oval.

  Kody Swanson of Kingsburg, Calif. Won USAC’s last National Midget race in the Tarheel state, at Kenly in 2008. Previous National Midget winners in the state included Mel Kenyon at Asheville in 1968, Jim Hettinger at the Charlotte Coliseum in 1990, Tony Stewart at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1998 and Bobby Santos III at Concord in 2006.

  Each night of racing includes a 40-lap feature for Midgets and a 30-lapper fot the Ford Focus Midgets. Brad Sweet of Grass Valley, Calif., who pilots the Kasey Kahne Midget entry, leads the 2010 USAC Mopar National Midget standings after wins at Tucson, Ariz. And Las Vegas, Nev., while Jeremy Frankoski of Huntersville, N.C. is the defending USAC Carolina Ford Focus Champion.



Mar 3 2010

Joe Leonard is doing well after Quadruple Bypass' surgery. I was told He had 2 heart attacks then drove hmself to the hospital where the surgery was performed.
Hey Joe get well soon the gang over in Santa Clara on wednesday nights is sure gonna miss you.
aXe

Mar 2 2010
                                                   View From the Cockpit

                                                  
                                                                  View from the Cockpit   
                                                                          By JR Williams
                                                                                Nevada
                                                                      OWR3 Contributor

  The racing widow and I flew from Molokai to Sacramento last Thursday, arriving in Sacramento at 8:50 P.M. When I walked into the lobby and turned on my cell phone, I had two messages waiting for me. One was from Gregg Fuette and the other from Verlyn Gibson, both friends of mine from Salt Lake City, and both with the same basic questions: 
    "Did you hear about Alex crashing in Las Vegas? How is he, we heard that he's in the hospital? Did they really have to cut his belts to get him out of the car?" 
    Well, to be honest, my heart about stopped and I put in an immediate call to his father Sean and learned that at that time Alex was in ICU at the University Memorial Hospital in Las Vegas. That as far as they knew, he was awake and responding to questions, but that he had a broken clavicle (collar bone), possible a broken rib and possible internal injuries as well as a concussion. Sean also told me that Alex had reported that something on the car had broken entering turn three and that the car swerved suddenly into the large tires that lined the inside of the track, when it hit the tire it flipped and rolled violently, ending up near the outside rail in turn four, and that they didn't have to cut his belts, but they did have to cut some of the roll cage rails away to get him out."
    I wished them both well, put them on my prayer list and told them that I'd call when I got over the Sierras, but for him to call me if anything further developed as I wouldn't get home much before 2:00.A.M.
    I called again about 10:00 Friday morning as soon as I woke up, and spoke with Sean. By then they had determined that Alex had a broken left collar bone, a broken rib, a punctured lung (although it never collapsed there was some air outside the lung) and his eyes were swollen so bad he couldn't see.
    I spoke to them both each day since. His eyesight is returning to normal, but on Saturday Alex told me that they told him he had two collar bones broken, but by yesterday he told me that he had misunderstood. The left collar bone was broken in two places, but the right side is OK. But - by Saturday the air outside the lung had increased in size and they put him back on oxygen. By Sunday the air had decreased in size to what is was Friday, so it would appear as though the healing process was beginning to take place. This morning, Alex told me that he would be released either tonight or tomorrow, pending any reversal in his condition.

                 So, once again I'm asking you to put someone on your prayer list. This time both Alex and his parents.
                                                                        Alex & His Dad Sean Bowman
                                                         

  Alex will be laid up for about six weeks or more, and although he'll be missing a number of USAC National Midget races, his seat is still being held for him in the late model car he will be driving this year, and for this we have to thank Gene Haas and Jim Custer, who are true gentlemen as Alex was chosen to take part in the Haas Racing Development program for this coming season. Kudos also have to go out to Troy Cline. All of these gentlemen recognize Alex's potential and are willing to wait out his injuries.
   Those who have been reading my columns for the past few years know full well how I feel about Alex. As I've told Sean, I consider Alex as the son I never had, and as a father myself, I can fully understand the pain and heartache that Sean has been going through. I can remember the joy and pride on his face when Alex turned second-fast time at ORP last summer. I am sure that Alex's bones will heal quicker than Sean's heart.
   Alex, though, is still Alex. He doesn't brag about his wins or accomplishments, nor has he complained -- at least to me --- about his pains right now. Every time I talk to him on the phone I have to pry information out of him.
  "Alex," I'll start the conversation, "how do you feel?" and he always says, "fine". Then I'll have to ask him questions about whether the pain pills make him dizzy when he stands up, if he's been eating, if he's been walking around. That's Alex.

  That doesn't mean that he doesn't talk smack around the other drivers near his age, but win, lose, or draw, he never mentions it in front of the fans. The only one who really knows how he feels is Sean, who hears Alex's complaint all the way home if he doesn't win, because Alex doesn't go out on the track hoping to win, he goes out expecting to win and is disappointed if he comes in second or worse.
   I've been privileged to know and to race against many great drivers. Back in the 50s and 60s there were such great names as Parnelli, Mario, A.J., Sachs, Harkey, Duncan, Coy, and on and on. The best of all of them may have been a toss-up between A.J. and Mario, and I consider Alex in the same group as time will tell. After all, how many drivers do you know who can say that they have won 44% of all races they have entered in one year, while running both dirt and pavement?
   Since getting back to racing, I've had another group of drivers who I have come to admire, such as Audra Sasselli, Bobby McGowan, Josh Lakatos, Bradley Galedrige, Tony Hunt, Jessica Brunelli, Jimmy Waters, and the list goes on. Those who I've met but have not run with consist of Michael Lewis, Brad Kuhn, Jerry Coons, Jr., Bryan Clauson, J.J. Yelley, and on and on. I've surely been blessed, but I can't wait until I'm called to provide coffee for young Alex Bowman when he gets to drive in a NASCAR Sprint Race --- and that day is coming.

  If you feel up to it, and have the time, please send a get-well card to Alex. This young, 16-year old can use all the support he can get as he'll be in a world of hurt for weeks to come. You can send it to:

  Alex Bowman
470 E. Crescent Moon Drive
Oro Valley, AZ  85755 

    Speaking of photos and drivers. We just returned from Molokai and I remember going over there with Bob Harkey back in 1975. He and Jerry Grant were in Hawaii speaking to high school students as part of the Champion Spark Plug Company safe driving program. By the end of the tour, they had two schools to visit. One on Kauai, and the other on Molokai. Harkey asked me which one he should go to and as I had the day off, I told him to go to Molokai as I had some friends over there, one of which was my wife's oldest brother, although at the time I hadn't met her yet. Anyway, after the talk at the high school we went touring around the island and took a few pictures, one of which ended up in the Illustrated Speedway News. Well, just recently I decided to digitize some of my old slides and came across this one of Bob Harkey and my brother-in-law "Bootie" Poepoe that was taken at the Kalaupapa lookout. 
                                                                         "Bootie" Poepoe & Bob Harkey
                                                          
                          When I mentioned it to Harkey I told him that I don't remember either of us ever being so young.

  I was going to write more tonight, about the races as Las Vegas and then at Perris, but to tell you the truth, my heart isn't in it right now. Believe me, I'll make up for it later in the year. You can still e-mail me at: jrw-jnw@sbcglobal.net.


                      Lonnie Wheatley's ASCS – Tuesday Top Ten
 
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (March 2, 2010) – A happening that occurs at least twice as often as the Olympics, the latest rendition of Tuesday’s Top Ten has been freed from the gates.
 
All things ASCS, in no particular order as per the norm, follows…
 
1. The Unemployed – It’s the dead of winter in Iowa, so what better place to go than Florida, right?  Even without the security of a full-time ride.
   That’s exactly what Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson, a current Knoxville, IA, resident, opted to do, picking up a swing shift or two in a second Glenn Styres entry along the way.  After a couple of less than stellar prelim nights at Tampa’s East Bay Raceway Park on Thursday and Friday, Lady Luck flattened a Texan’s (Gary Wright) left rear and then detonated that Steel City fella’s (Tim Shaffer) engine to open the door to victory lane in the Ninth Annual Ronald Laney Memorial.
 Wayne waltzed right through and snared a $14,500 victory that included the originally posted $10,000 winner’s share from East Bay Raceway Park, another $4,000 from the Laney family and $500 from CnB Mushroom farms. 
 Wayne left Florida behind with crown in hand and no certain plans for the balance of 2010, as Styres took the owner’s share back north of the border.
 
2. Top Tenners – Three drivers ran among the top ten in all three East Bay feature events last weekend.  Two would be expected, including two-time Short Track Nationals champ Tony Bruce, Jr. (8th, 4th and 6th) and new father Travis Rilat (6th, 6th and 5th).  The third would have been considered a dark horse however, as Winnipeg, Manitoba’s Lou Kennedy, Jr., followed up a Thursday runner-up run with a seventh-place showing on Friday and then a third-place podium run in Saturday’s finale.
 
3. Full Slate – With Monday’s unveiling of the 2010 ASCS Patriots schedule, the number of ASCS races on the 2010 calendar now numbers 212 events at 86 different tracks throughout 23 different states and two Canadian provinces.
 
4. Point Scales – The Lucas Oil Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters as well as the eleven ASCS Regional series will each be subject to a revised championship points scale in 2010.  Feature winners will still receive 150 points, however the runner-up will now get 142 rather than 146, with the full feature scale as follows; 150, 142, 135, 130, 125, 122, 119, 116, 113, 110, 108, 106, 104, 102, 100, 98, 96, 94, 92, 90, 89, 88, 87, 86.
 Tested at the ASCS2 Micro Sprint level over the past two years, the revised point scale places a greater emphasis on wins and top-five finishes than the former system.
 
5. Spring Training – Some Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series contenders take advantage of events like last weekend’s East Bay Winter Nationals and this weekend’s ASCS Gulf South openers as a “Spring Training” of sorts.  Seven National contenders took in the past weekend’s Rebel action at East Bay, including Gary Wright, Tony Bruce, Jr., Travis Rilat, Jesse Hockett, Darren Long, Joe Ramaker and Michael Dupuy.
 Several of those will travel to Beaumont and Battleground to harass the Gulf South regulars this weekend along with other Lucas Oil contenders including the likes of Okies Brady Bacon and Dustin Morgan.
 
6. Iron Man – When the ASCS Gulf South Region fires off at Beaumont’s Golden Triangle Raceway Park on Friday night, Texas City, TX, veteran shoe Greg Rilat will be making his 130th consecutive ASCS Gulf South start, easily an overall series Regional record. 
 Among the top-ten in ASCS Gulf South points over each of the past eight seasons (and either second or third on five occasions), Travis’ father last missed an ASCS Gulf South event at Many, LA, in September of 2002.
 
7. For Openers – While East Bay hosted the ASCS Rebel 2010 opener, Beaumont’s Golden Triangle Raceway Park hosts one of two openers this weekend.
 While the ASCS Gulf South kicks off Friday at Golden Triangle before moving on to Battleground on Saturday, Golden Triangle will also host the 2010 opener for the 410-ci Sprint Bandits Tour ‘n Topless series on Friday night, April 30.  That event will mark the first wingless 410-ci Sprint Car event in the Lone Star State since Ron Shuman bested a CRA vs. NCRA showdown at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in the olden times of May 1988.
 Golden Triangle, Houston Raceway Park (May 1) and Waco’s Heart O’ Texas Speedway (May 2) each host the wingless forces for the first time ever before the series moves on to Devil’s Bowl (May 7) and then Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway (May 8).
 
8. Gulf South Title Hopes? – If reigning ASCS Gulf South champ Aaron Reutzel and 2009 runner-up Channin Tankersley, both 19 years of age, both hit the Lucas Oil National trail full-time in 2010 as suspected, the Gulf South points race could very well be up for grabs.
The Gulf South contender that can flex the best with the invading forces this weekend will be the one to watch.  Some possibilities would include two-time series champ Brandon Berryman, who hopes to shake the demons of 2009, 2006 champ Gary Watson, 2005 champ Ray Allen Kulhanek, Greg Rilat, Tommy Bryant (who takes the wheel of Jerry Bell’s No. 85), Klint Angelette and the brothers Elliott (Bean and Travis).
 Resurfacing from the way-back machine is Beau Smith, who will wheel a TSR Motorsports entry after a ten-year layoff.
 
9. Saturdays Are for Racing – Saturday’s Ninth Annual Ronald Laney Memorial at East Bay Raceway Park marked the first of 36 consecutive Saturday nights that will include at least one scheduled ASCS event somewhere around the country.
 
10. Lucas Oil Title Hopefuls – When the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters kicks off the 2010 season with the 37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals in Mesquite, TX, on March 19-20, Oklahoma native Shane Stewart will have his hands full in defense of his 2009 title.
 Back on the trail are most of last year’s full-timers including Jason Johnson, Gary Wright, Travis Rilat, Tim Crawley, Tony Bruce, Jr., Jack Dover, Jesse Hockett, Sean McClelland, Kenneth Walker and Darren Long.  The Benjamin No. 3d entry has yet to formally announce a driver, while it is uncertain whether Danny Wood will take on the full series in the Hammers No. 94.  Washington native Gary Taylor is trying to finalize 2010 Lucas Oil Sprint Car plans at this very moment, while no official word has been revealed from the Bobby Sparks No. 91 camp.
 Others set for the road include Brady Bacon and Ricky Logan along with a Brodix rookie crop that includes Matt Covington, Dustin Morgan, Kyle Hirst, Justyne Cox, Joe Ramaker, Aaron Reutzel and Channin Tankersley.
 
 
 The 2010 Lucas Oil Sprint Car trail will also be markedly more scenic than in years past, as Rock Star girls much like those spotted at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals will reportedly be on hand for selected events at the very least.
 
Ending on that good note, find whatever you may need to know at www.ascsracing.com.


                              Vogler Joie Chitwood Inducted Into Motorsports HoF

Ohsweken Speedway will host six dates on the calendar, with three dates throughout the season as part of challenges with the ASCS Sprints on Dirt leading up to the 6th Annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.  This year’s event will be contested for three nights, with the Saturday finale paying out a record $10,000 to the winner.
 
Canandaigua Speedway will host the second event of the year, extending their streak to eight consecutive years of hosting a full-point Patriot event, the only speedway to hold such an honor.
 
Sharon and Eriez Speedways will host Memorial Day and Labor Day Weekend Doubleheaders for the second straight year.  All four events will each pay $2,000-to-win.
 
Woodhull Raceway will not only hold a stand-alone Patriot show on May 22, they will also team with Clinton County Raceway, their sister speedway, to set up a pair of $2,500-to-win challenge events at the end of July between Patriot competitors and those from the newly formed Sprint Xpress Series.
 
Brockville Speedway is back with a pair of full-point shows, plus their season-ending event in October for the Riverside Bar and Grill King of the St. Lawrence as part of their major weekend.  Cornwall Speedway returns for a second consecutive year to pair up with “The BOS” in July.
 
After a year off, Ransomville Speedway is back on the Patriot tour.  “The Big R” will become part of the always-popular A-Verdi Storage Containers King of Central New York Series.  Ransomville will also be on the front-end of two-race weekend in June, paired with 1st Annual Paul Johnson Memorial at Stateline Speedway.  Stateline, that track that hosted the inaugural Patriot event in 2003, will also be the site of the Insinger Race Fuels King of the Southern Tier Championship Event.
 
Little Valley Speedway is the only venue the Patriots will visit the first time, as the big ½-mile will come to life on the Independence Holiday Weekend.
 
Rolling Wheels Raceway returns to the schedule with two big nights of racing in July, including a $3,000-to-win Feature on Saturday Night.
 
Canada’s Autodrome Drummond will for the second straight year put on the Quebec Sprint Nationals in August.  The following week the Patriots will be back in Canada, this time at Merrittville Speedway in Southern Ontario for the Fine Touch Collision King of the Golden Horseshoe Finale.

In 2009, Bryan Howland scored his second-straight Patriot title, a record-breaking third overall for the Auburn, NY driver.  Howland, along with runner-up Jared Zimbardi, Don Adamczyk, Bubba Broderick and the Breen Brothers are just some of the familiar front runners ready to attack the tour once again in 2010.
 
More information will be out in the weeks to come, including at Gater’s Motorsports Expo on March 13 and 14 at the NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse, where five teams will have their car on display.  Details can be found at www.ASCSracing.com or www.ASCSpatriotsprints.com.

Abreviations for use in schedule below
           
  (PP): Patriot Points Event, Only Patriot Drivers Count       (SP): Show-Up Points Only    (NP):   Non-Points Event    
  CNY A-Verdi Storage Containers King of Central New York Series    
  St. Law Riverside Bar and Grill King of the St. Lawrence Series                
  G.H. Fine Touch Collision King of the Golden Horseshoe Series     
  S. Tier Insinger Race Fuels King of the Southern Tier Series                          
  OH/PA King of Ohio/Pennsylvania Series
 
Day  Date Track Location King of                      Notes
Fri April 30 Black Rock Speedway Dundee, NY CNY Abtex Corp. Season Opener
Sat May 15 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua, NY CNY  
Sat May 22 Woodhull Raceway Woodhull, NY S.Tier  
Sat May 29 Sharon Speedway Hartford (Fowler), OH OH/PA $2,000-to-win Holiday Bonus Race
Sun May 30 Eriez Speedway Hammett (Erie), PA OH/PA $2,000-to-win Holiday Bonus Race
Fri June 4 Ohsweken Speedway Ohsweken, Ontario G.H. ASCS Corr Pak Sprint Challenge 1 (PP)
Sat June 12 Brockville Ontario Speedway Brockville, Ontario St. Law  
Fri June 18 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville, NY CNY  
Sat June 19 Stateline Speedway Busti (Jamestown), NY S.Tier  
Fri July 2 Ohsweken Speedway Ohsweken, Ontario G.H. $3,000-to-win Northern Summer Nationals (PP)
Sat July 3 Little Valley Speedway Little Valley, NY S. Tier $2,000-to-win Holiday Bonus Race
Sat July 17 Brockville Ontario Speedway Brockville, Ontario St. Law  
Sun July 18 Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall, Ontario St. Law  
Fri July 23 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge, NY   $2,000-to-win Summer Shootout Prelim (SP)
Sat July 24 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge, NY   $3,000-to-win Summer Shootout Finale (SP)
Fri July 30 Clinton County Raceway Lock Haven, PA OH/PA $2,500-to-win Sprint Xpress Challenge (PP)
Sat July 31 Woodhull Raceway Woodhull, NY S. Tier $2,500-to-win Sprint Xpress Challenge (PP)
Fri Aug 6 Black Rock Speedway Dundee, NY CNY $4,000-to-win Insinger NY Nationals
Sat Aug 14 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville, QC   $6,000-to-win Quebec Sprint Nationals (NP)
Fri Aug 20 Ohsweken Speedway Ohsweken, Ontario G.H. $2,000-to-win ASCS Corr Pak Sprint Challenge 2 (PP)
Sat Aug 21 Merrittville Speedway Thorold, Ontario G.H. $2,000-to-win Fine Touch Golden Horshoe Championship
Sat Aug 28 Stateline Speedway Busti (Jamestown), NY S.Tier  
Sat Sept 4 Sharon Speedway Hartford (Fowler), OH OH/PA $2,000-to-win Holiday Bonus Race
Sun Sept 5 Eriez Speedway Hammett (Erie), PA OH/PA $2,000-to-win Holiday Bonus Race
Fri Sept 10 Black Rock Speedway Dundee, NY CNY 360 Fall Nationals Prelims 
Sat Sept 11 Black Rock Speedway Dundee, NY CNY $5,000-to-win 360 Fall Nationals 
Thur Sept 17 Ohsweken Speedway Ohsweken, Ontario   Canadian Sprint Car Nationals (NP)
Fri Sept 18 Ohsweken Speedway Ohsweken, Ontario   Night Before the Nationals (NP)
Sat Sept 19 Ohsweken Speedway Ohsweken, Ontario   CSCN $10,000-to-win (SP)
Fri Oct 8 Cayuga County Fair Speedway Weedsport, NY   $3,000-to-win NY Sprint Challenge (SP)
Sat Oct 16 Brockville Ontario Speedway Brockville, Ontario St.Law $2,000-to-win St. Lawrence Championship (SP)

Feb 27 2010

 Scott Lee Daloisio Perris Auto Speedway(FEBRUARY 26, 2010, PERRIS, CA)
Due to the incoming heavy st...orm that is slated to hit Southern California late Friday and into Saturday, Perris Auto Speedway, promoter Don Kazarian announced that the Sokola Shootout, featuring the Amsoil USAC National & CRA Sprint Cars and the USAC National & Western Midgets, has been postponed until Sunday, February 28th. Spectator gates will open at 1:00 PM. Qualifying will start at 3:00 PM with the first race at 5:45.

Due to the amount of rain expected and the mud it will make in the pits, the pit area will be located outside of turn one on the pavement (same place they were a few years back when heavy rains hit the night before the Oval Nationals). The pit gate entrance will be gate B, off Lake Perris Drive. The pit booth will be by the main large brown arches (the main entrance to the Southern California Fair).

Advance tickets are available 24 hours a day by calling 1-800-595-4849. They can also be ordered on the Internet at tix.com or perrisautospeedway.com.

You can keep up with all of the latest news from Perris Auto Speedway on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/perrisautospdwy.

American Sprint Car Tour news

 ASCT Heads To Freeport Il June 12th.

The American Sprint Car Tour heads up the highway to the Freeport Raceway Park in Freeport IL on June 12th. We plan on having the regular classes run with us but we will verify this for everyone at a later date.
The Sprint Pay-out will be $1500 to win $225 to start and a $100 guaranteed tow!

 ASCT Sprnts & Midgets June 26 Scotts Co.

We are excited to announce the
Open Wheel Extravaganza II will be held at the Scotts County Speedway located in Scottsburge Indiana. ASCT Sprints $1200 to win $200 to start and a $100 guaranteed tow money. Midget pay-out will be $1200 to win and $200 to start and a $100 guaranteed tow money! Mods pay-out will be $800 to win and a $100 to start $50 Guaranteed tow. Hornets have been added as well with a pay-out of $300 to win $45 to start and $35 guaanteed tow money

With Sadness, I write this today day after learning that a woman attending the drag races yesterday at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix was killed by a lose tire and wheel from a crashing top fuel dragster.

Curiously, just the other day as I was looking at old Indianapolis 500 movies, and I saw the almost complete lack of safety fencing way back in the 30s and early 40s there. It was astounding to see that whole front straight had hardly any fencing and the fans were right behind the wall, only a few feet from race cars going by at 100mph+ speeds. How lucky that in all those years there wasn't a car tossed into the crowds, like the horrific crash at Lemans in 1955.  Something like that could very well have meant the end of auto racing in this country. The Lemans crash was a devastating blow to world wide racing at that time, and it lead to the end of AAA sanctioning of auto racing in this country, and the creation of the USAC organization we know of today. We were sure lucky in that regard it seems.
 
Today with all the safety fencing and other safety features we have, we don't expect to hear of any fan deaths or injuries, but with racing cars hurtling around the tracks so close together at astounding speeds, anything could happen, and it some times does.

My Heart goes out the woman's family and friends who never in their lives dreamed that this could have happened to her. Also for the driver of that Dragster, Antron Brown, who was just doing his job, and got involved in that disaster. He must surely be feeling very bad at this time.
 
I have been going to races of all kinds since 1957 and know when at racing events you have to always be aware of what is going on.

When I was younger, I used to go surf jumping for those delicious smelt out on the West Coast, One of the first things I learned was when standing in the surf, never turn your back on the Ocean because you never know When a big wave will come in and knock you down and then your problems would have just started. There were several guys knocked down in those days and were found drowned several days later.

This also brings Me back to a day at the indoor midget races in the Cow Palace in South San Francisco back in 1959. As a new fan to midget racing, and being in the pit area, I had lots to learn. I was with Don Radbruch standing out side the turn watching Dave Imrie warming up the Taylor Hughes V8 60 midget.  Someone said something and I turned to listen for a while.  Immediately Don grabbed Me and turned Me back towards the track and speeding cars, with that familiar stern warning, "Don't ever turn your back on those race cars!"
 
You may be wondering now why I have brought this up today?
Well it seems every time there is a disaster with injuries and death there is a segment in our population that would like to shut down our racing. At times like this they seem to come out of the wood work it seems. My point for this is if We are to be living,  We have to deal with these happenings as they come up. We can never accept the safety standards we have set as ‘good enough, for there will always be unexpected, even unnoticed at times, mishaps just waiting to happen. Danger is there just in the background every day of our lives! No matter how safe We can make things there is always the unseen, unexpected, and uncalled for experience just waiting to happen.
By the way that is called life - You deal with it one step at a time.

I once read if there is a crowd of 100,000 people doing what ever for entertainment or? YOU CAN EXPECT at the LEAST one DEATH in the Crowd on average from what ever reasons! That said should we ban all crowds that might be that big? Could you just imagine in this day and age how many events would have to close down? Hell lets just stop living!
 
Well the only thing I know for sure is there is a plan that every one of us will check out of here when it is our time. How we as individuals chose to live our lives is our own choice.
How do you want to do it, live scared as if your time is now and cringe, living a mostly unhappy existence. Or get up do what you like, get past those fears and enjoy life to the fullest?
In My life I have seen far more than My share of injuries and death and not just at racing events.  The rest of us went on, enjoying life as best We could.  With the thought that those we saw perish were doing as much as the wanted to do in their lives hopefully.
 It would be very sad to leave this Earth knowing You held back in fear and didn't do lots of things that were easier than you thought they would be to do.
Franklin D Roosevelt at his Inugarual address said, “Only Thing We (You) Have to Fear Is Fear Itself”,  Was that the silliest little statement ever?  Taken in the realm of the living, 99 percent of what you fear COULD happen, in fact will never will happen to YOU!
 This was kind of windy but I needed to say it before those few start the noise, "BAN AUTO RACING it is UNSAFE!!!!" LIFE is UNSAFE - lets get on with it before it is our time!
aXe

Feb 20 2010
Copper on Dirt Postponed to Sunday Due to Rain

Kevin Montgomery Tucson, Arizona (February 20th, 2010) – Rain has forced the Copper on Dirt to move to Sunday’s rain date. The event finale will kick off Sunday February 21st at 1pm with gates opening at 10am.

The 4th Annual Copper on Dirt, Presented by Rosemont Copper, featuring USAC Silver Crown, USAC National/CRA Sprint Cars and USAC National/Western States Midgets all taking part in a sensational racing spectacle at Tucson’s USA Raceway’s for two nights on February 19th and 20th marking USA Raceway as one of only two dirt track venues to host USAC’s Triple Crown all in one event. More than a hundred of the nations top open wheel teams are anticipated to take part in the must see event of 2010.

When & Where – The 4th Annual Copper on Dirt Presented by Rosemont Copper:

Sunday, February 21st – The 4th Annual Copper on Dirt Presented by Rosemont Copper
Gates Open 10:00 am
Hot Laps 11:30 am
Race Time 1:00pm

Track Information:
USA Raceway (Tucson, AZ) – 3/8-mile, clay oval located east of Tucson off I-10 Exit 268, then 1.6 mile south on Craycroft Road, which turns into Los Reales. Track phone: 520-574-8515.

Tickets:
Ticket pricing, seating charts and purchasing information can be found online at http://www.usaraceway.net/Uploads/Co...TicketForm.pdf or by calling the USA Raceway office at 520-574-8515




Feb 18 2010

Feb 18 Tucson Practice for copper on Dirt
The track was in great shape and FAST!
In the midgets Kuhn (didnt He win this last time here?
In the Sprints the Deamon hasnt shout off the throttle since florida it seems, *Under the Track record tonight also Coons and sweet under it.
Hmiel did a slow tommy tip over in the sprints He was Ok.
Looks to be headed for a great race weekend.


                                                              
                                                              Richard Parks
                                                          Southern California
                                                         OWR3 Contributor
                                                       From
                                                        

Danny Oakes & Ralph Foster Midget drivers from times past

Danny Oakes was born in Santa Barbara, California, in 1911 and moved to
the Los Angeles area in the early 1930's to pursue a racing career.  California was one of the
major racing areas during the Depression, with over a hundred tracks in the Los Angeles area alone.
 Weather, Hollywood, a large and avid car racing population and large prize winnings played a
part in the success of auto racing on the West Coast.  Here racers from across the country could
congregate in the numerous repair shops and get a head start for that year's racing.  While the rest
of the country was in the grips of cold, snow and rain, race car owners and drivers were busy winning
races in sunny California. 
Then as the nation slowly warmed up, these California race teams exploded
eastward and northward as the country's tracks and racing seasons began to open.  Oakes was one
of those Depression era drivers who knew how to win a race.  He always said that a good driver
knows how to finish a race.  He sneered at all of the hotshot drivers of those days who "had a lead
foot, and not much else."  He always told me that there was no use in winning races if you destroyed
your car and yourself in the process.  He drove cautiously, biding his time, waiting like a shark for
that school of fish, and at theend of the race he knew exactly when and where to make his move.  Danny
believed in conditioning. 
He was a generation ahead of his time in keeping fit.  While others were
at the saloons, Danny was out walking or dancing.  Dancing, he always told me, kept him fit and
endeared him to the ladies. 
Perry Grimm won more than his share of races, but often found Oakes to be
his most dangerous competitor.  "Weren't you tired," said Grimm, "you beat me in that last
lap."  Oakes would tease his competitor and say, "No, I had another 100 laps in me."  Danny won the
1945 Turkey Night Grand Prix and 3 West Coast Midget Championships along with numerous other
races in his career, but struggled at the Indy 500.  "Just didn't have enough car for me," he said
on many occasions.  But as a chief mechanic, he put many people into the winners circle.  As good a
race car driver as Danny Oakes was, he was by far one of the best mechanics to have ever worked on
a race car.

 
       HALF MOON BAY, California (AP)—huge waves swept away spectators watching a Northern California surfing contest Saturday morning, causing broken bones and other injuries to people standing on a seawall.

Thirteen people were injured, with two immediately transported to area hospitals. Eleven others were being treated at the beach for injuries including “a couple broken legs and broken hands and so forth,” according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Battalion Chief Scott Jalbert.

“They’re being treated here and if necessary they’ll be transported” to hospitals, he said.

He estimated “a couple hundred” people were on the seawall when the waves struck.

Witnesses said the wave knocked out a large scaffold holding speakers broadcasting the Mavericks Surf Contest, held in this tiny harbor town 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of San Francisco along Highway 1.

“It just came out of nowhere and wiped us all out,” said Pamela Massette of Corte Madera. Her left hand and left knee were scraped and bleeding and she was wet from head to toe. She was heading home minutes after arriving.

Brandon Snider also was hurt. He said everyone’s concentration was on the contest when a 5-foot to 6-foot (1.5-meter to 1.8-meter) wave “wiped out the entire seawall.”

Snider was getting his knee taped up by a contest volunteer as he spoke to an Associated Press reporter.

Authorities moved bystanders from the sea wall and about 100 yards (90 meters) back from the water, but spectators were still able to watch the surf contest, he said.

“Nobody was swept away into the water. They were just swept onto the beach area pretty hard,” Jalbert said. “It’s pretty rocky. We’ve cleared the beach area so this doesn’t happen again.”

The surfing contest offers a $150,000 purse, making it the most lucrative big-wave contest in the world.

The contest is not held every year and is called only when conditions are prime. Competitors voted to hold the contest because forecasts called for record-breaking tall waves, despite warnings that strong winds could make those breakers dangerously unpredictable.



SPEED's TV coverage of the 24th Annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is now rescheduled to premiere Saturday "Tonight"  at 11:30am central, and replay Sunday afternoon at 2pm Central.
 Friday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race was postponed because of rain and rescheduled for Feb 13, TONIGHT Saturday at 6pm ? central live on SPEED


Feb 12 2010

The OReilly All Star Circuit of Champions at East Bay Raceway Park


                    CANCELED

Camargo, IL (2-12-10) by Kelly Brown  Public Relations Director - As the
saying goes when it rains it pours, and unfortunately right now rain is
pouring at East Bay Raceway Park, with the rain in the area officials have
decided to cancel the event for tonight (February 12, 2010).

The OReilly All Star Circuit of Champions
allows fans to enjoy the racing action at East Bay Raceway Park. For the
most up to date information on the All Star Circuit of Champions and the
2010 edition of Winter Nationals, bookmark www.allstarsprint.com on your
computer.



   Record Weather Event Moves Cowtown Midgets/Mods/600’s to March

Kennedale TX (2/12/10) by DarinShort.com. 24 hours ago, “1 to 3 inches of snow” was predicted for the DFW area, and Cowtown Speedway was prepared to accommodate, by shuffling the weekend schedule to Saturday and Sunday. But the reality turned into an all-time DFW record 24-hour snowfall total – in excess of 11 inches.

So, instead of fighting Mother Nature on Valentine’s Day weekend, Cowtown Speedway is rescheduling the entire Cowtown Midget Championships, Fast 50 and ASCS2 series events ahead three weeks, to the first weekend in March. The exact weekend schedule will be announced early next week.

Track promoter Bo Rawdon comments: “We have equipment to move the snow, but many of our teams and fans don’t and can’t even get out of their driveway, so in the interest of safety, we’ll just postpone this event and hopefully the next all-time record weather event won’t happen on that weekend too.”

177 drivers from 11 states have entered the event in advance. For those teams returning in March, they are still entered and there is nothing additional those teams need to do. If you are one of those teams that cannot return the first weekend in March, simply email CowtownSpeedway@yahoo.com with your intent to withdraw from the event by February 28. New entries will be accepted at the track website, and registration is up and running.

To those fans that had purchased advanced 2-day passes, the same applies. If you are coming the first weekend in March, then there is nothing further you need to do. If you cannot make it, please email CowtownSpeedway@yahoo.com by February 28.

Again, no one predicted a ‘historic’ weather event in the DFW area, but now that it has happened, we’ll clean up the mess and try it again in March. Click www.CowtownSpeedway.com for the latest in event news.                                                                      

                                                            

Feb 10 2010

I dont normaly deviate from open wheel racing but this caught my eye on yahoo from the AP. it is kinda dissapointing because I always thought that Father "Paul" was going to have a heart attack while filming an episode? I wouldnt want to really see that but that guy just seems to be ready for one?
Guess we wont see that now. I am also dissapointed We wont get to see any more of those guys doing the single bike builds any more.
aXe

NEW YORK – "American Chopper" is riding off into the sunset

The popular TLC series based on the feuding Teutul family and their custom-built motorcycle business is going off the air after six seasons. TLC said Wednesday that the final episode will air Thursday.

The end isn't a surprise. Paul Teutul and his son, Paul Jr., have frequently fought on the air. The son recently left the New York-based Orange County Choppers to start his own business, and the two are in a court dispute over money.

The network said that "the show has always been about building one-of-a-kind bikes and the drama of running a family business. The Teutuls will always be part of the Discovery family and we congratulate them on a tremendously successful series run."

 

Feb 9 2010 
                                                           
                                                                   View from the Cockpit   
                                                                          By JR Williams
                                                                                Nevada
                                                                      OWR3 Contributor

     Welcome from the friendly island of Molokai. The racing widow and I drove over the Sierra's to the Sacramento Airport, where we were early enough for a nice leisurely breakfast and a very long 6+ hour flight to Honolulu due to the jet steam hanging right over our route with 100+ knot winds, but at least they were smooth.

    Once on the ground, the racing widow continued over to Kauai, where her hula group was participating in a big show, and I went to up Waikiki for an hour business meeting and then two nights at the Hawaii Yacht Club meeting with friends I hadn't seen in ten years. By Friday afternoon I was here in our apartment where I'll be undergoing some serious R&R watching the whales play in the channel, and that's about all. The RW arrived here this afternoon, thoroughly exhausted after her days of hiking into the hinterlands to gather flowers and leaves for her costumes, hours of practice, and little sleep.

   With no racing to discuss this week, or so I thought, I decided it would be time to talk about some of the tracks we run on out here in the west and what I like and dislike about them. You can't please everyone, and some things that bother the heck out of me, might not mean a thing to you, but in any case, here we go.

   Then, just before I started, I got the sprint car results from East Bay show back east in Florida. Congratulations to the Demon for the win. The top five in the main event went to Damion Garner, Bryan Clauson, Brady Short, Shane Cottle and Jon Stanbrough. Thanks to both Pat Johnson and Dick Jordan for the recaps.

 

Now to the race tracks. When I left racing back in 1963, we only ran one type of race a night, so everyone pitted in the same place. Now, the tracks are all running from four to six, and even more classes a night and for the most part the cars are scattered from here to yon throughout the pits. This is a real pain when the officials try to get the word passed to us, as they have to wander all over to try to find us. It's also a pain for those of us who need a little help with a spare part, or a spare hand, as we have to also wander around for help.

   A few tracks have tried to keep us together. One of the best of all was Reno-Fernly. I think that it was probably the most user friendly track I've been to in a long while. First of all, the competitors didn't have to stand around in the hot sun waiting to check in. The check-in stand was in the middle of the road leading into the pits, and you stayed in your tow vehicle while the officials came out to you to sign you in. They would then ask you what type of car you were driving and would then tell you what portion of the pits your class was pitted in.

   Blythe comes in second in that regard. They pit all of the midgets in one area also. The only draw-back there is that it the furthest area from the track entry/exit and you have to go down an inclination that tears up the bottom of the car as midgets sit so close to the ground. They try to help you out by putting a 6x8 piece of plywood over the drop, but it doesn't help that much, and the pits themselves are just that --- the pits. It has to be the most chewed up pavement pit area in the United States. That might not affect the "tin-tops" with their higher ground clearance and thicker tires, but it tears the heck our of the belly pans on our cars, as well as the frames, and the pebbles all over the place are bad enough that flat tires develop just from pebbles in the pits.

    The people down in Blythe are outstanding, however, and you can get into the pits very early, which is great for a traveling show like ours as there is always a lot to do once you roll your car off the trailer after towing it for 500 miles or so, and I know I'm speaking for all when I say how much we appreciate such a courtesy.

    The folks over in Lake Havasu at Havasu 95 Speedway are about the same as Blythe. You can get into the pits early and unload to get your work down, but the cars are scattered around the pits, and gravel is everywhere. Like Blythe, the pits are very dirty.

    On the other hand, the cleanest tracks and pits that we run on are Irwindale and Rocky Mountain Raceway. I don't know about Irwindale, but the sweepers are broomng the track and pits at RMR starting about 6:30 in the morning.

    At one time, Irwindale kept the registration windows closed until about 11;00, That meant that it was difficult for the traveling racer to all of the work done in time for the first practice session, so a meeting was held with Lester Boyer, one of the best Competition Directors in the business, and he moved the opening time up an hour which has worked out very well.

   RMR, on the other hand, doesn't open until noon. That causes the traveler to often times miss the first practice session, and trying to talk to their management is like talking to a wall.

   Both Irwindale and RMR have bad holes in their pit PA systems. RMR makes it worse by having a female voice on the pit PA. Its not that I'm prejudiced against women, but their voices aren't made to be clear over speakers.

   Some of the best PA systems are in Blythe, Havasu, Altimont, and Stockton 99 Speedway. The winner in that category, however, has to go to Stockton 99. Not only can you hear the pit steward over the PA, but when the pit steward isn't talking, you can hear the track announcer. I would assume that the pit PA system cuts off the track announcer when it's in use, but it sure is nice to be able to hear what's going on in the pits, and to be able to hear the track announcer when you're in the pit grandstand. I wish more tracks would give that much concern to those of us in the pits --- especially those of us who are travelers and who don't know the local competitors. After all, those of us in the pits pay more to get in than those in the grandstands.

   Speaking of Stockton, that's another track that will let you pit early, and will then "sweep" the pits when the registration window opens. That really means a lot.

 

Well that's it for this week. As usual, e-mails can reach me at: jrw-jnw@sbcglobal.net.

PBIR ANNOUNCES MODSPACE AS PRESENTING SPONSOR OF FEB. 27 ARCA RACE

(Jupiter, Fla.) February 8, 2010 - Palm Beach International Raceway is pleased to announce ModSpace Motorsports has signed on as the presenting sponsor for the Feb. 27 ARCA Racing Series event. The official race title is now the Tire Kingdom 150 presented by ModSpace.
Based out of Berwyn, Penn., ModSpace, is the premier provider of modular buildings for both businesses and organizations that have temporary or permanent space needs. With 80 locations throughout the United States and Canada, ModSpace has over 40 years expertise in providing their customers with products such as; site offices, portable storage, custom designed buildings, and state of the art medical facilities.
“ModSpace has an outstanding reputation within the racing community so it was only fitting to form this partnership and have them become the presenting sponsor of the ARCA race at Palm Beach International Raceway,” said Jason Rittenberry, president and CEO of PBIR. “This partnership between ModSpace and PBIR will be highly beneficial to both of us.”
The Feb. 27 ARCA race date marks the sanction's inaugural appearance at PBIR and only the 12th time the nationally touring stock car series has contested a road course race.
“ModSpace is very proud to serve as the presenting sponsor at the ARCA race at Palm Beach International Speedway,” says Charles Paquin, President & CEO of ModSpace. “It has been a great experience for ModSpace to be involved with ARCA and this sponsorship only further demonstrates our commitment to the motorsports community.”

 

Tickets for the Tire Kingdom 150 presented by ModSpace at Palm Beach International Raceway are available now through www.racepbir.com. Spectators can get a general admission two day pass for $45. Two day passes for children 6-12 years of age are $25 and children 5 years old and under are free. Adult single day tickets for Friday are $20 and $35 for Saturday. Children 6-12 tickets on Friday are $10 and on Saturday are $20.
The green flag is set to wave at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 27 for the Tire Kingdom 150 presented by ModSpace ARCA Racing Series race presented by RE/MAX and Menards at Palm Beach International Raceway.
To follow along with everything at Palm Beach International Raceway check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/racepbir or our Twitter page at www.twitter.com/racepbir.

 

About ModSpace:
Modular Space Corporation (ModSpace), based in Berwyn, PA, is a leading provider of modular building, storage and services for temporary or permanent space needs. Building on forty years of experience, ModSpace serves a diverse set of customers and markets - such as construction, commercial, education, industrial, healthcare, and government - through an extensive nationwide branch network throughout the United States and Canada. Offering a full range of site solutions and service options from furniture and steps to storage and wireless security, ModSpace provides everything needed for accessibility, protection, comfort and productivity in a modular unit. Additionally, MedBuild, a division of Modular Space Corporation, provides state-of-the-art medical facilities to the healthcare industry with complete turnkey capabilities. For more information, visit www.ModSpace.com.
.
About Palm Beach International Raceway:
Palm Beach International Raceway, formerly Moroso Motorsports Park, was purchased approximately 18 months ago by a group of real estate and corporate investors. The re-branded and re-designed state of the art venue is rapidly becoming one of the most popular raceways in the country for racers and spectators alike. As a leader in its operating form and function, PBIR seeks to provide its drivers with a higher level of challenge, excellence and opportunity. PBIR boasts three completely refurbished, exceptionally designed racetracks, including a high-performance road course, an all-concrete drag strip and a 7/10 mile karting track and a karting center. The technologically superior two-mile road course features some of the most challenging corners and straightaway’s offered by any track in North America. PBIR is currently sanctioned by the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) and the Indy Racing League (IRL) as a test facility and is pending certification by the Fèdèration Internationale de I'Automobile (FIA), the governing body for many major racing events. For more information about PBIR, please visit the venue's Web site at www.racePBIR.com.


Feb 8 2010
Cowtown Schedule NOW SAT/SUN, 2-13-14, 34 midgets and total of 170 Entries

Kennedale TX  by DarinShort.com. As can be the case this time of year, ‘weather interference’ can cause schedules to be adjusted when necessary.

With precipitation currently forecasted for Thursday, and below normal temperatures on Friday, the entire Cowtown Midget Championships weekend has now been shifted to racing on Saturday February 13th and Sunday February 14th.

The racing forecast for Saturday and Sunday currently looks very good with temperatures in the 50’s and no precipitation expected.

At the time of print, 170 race teams have entered early for the event, with around 200 expected to hit the high banked ¼ mile dirt track of Cowtown Speedway when a triple-header weekend kicks off the 2010 race season.

Here’s a quick glance at the revised weekend schedule, with details following below:

Friday February 12 – Practice night for cars competing this weekend only. Parking is assigned for this event, so cars not racing are not allowed on this special practice night. Gates open at 5pm, practice until 9 or 10pm.  Main grandstand closed. Pits may or may not open prior to 5pm, will be determined Friday.

Saturday February 13 – Complete Midget program, with heats and qualifying features for all other racing divisions. Fan Fest from 12-1:15pm, Pits open at 1:30, Hot Laps at 3 and Races at 4pm.

Sunday February 14 – Complete Midget program, with last-chance races and features for all other racing divisions. Pits open at 11am, Grandstands 11:30am, Hot Laps at 12:15pm with races at 1pm. We expect to have racing concluded around 5-6pm.

Here are weekend event details:

The 2nd Annual Cowtown Midget Championship presented by City Vending, National Health Care Advisors and Sunoco Race Fuels will now take place on February 13-14, 2010; and will certainly provide a weekend of wild racing action once again. The full-blown midgets will compete for $1,000 to win on Friday and $3,000 to win on Saturday. Each of their feature events will start 24 cars. The midget portion of the weekend is sanctioned by SMRS/USAC.

The race in 2009 also resulted in the largest field of midgets in the state of Texas in recent memory, as over 40 teams assembled. With the Copper on Dirt scheduled the following weekend (visit www.USAraceway.net for more info), it is possible to see more touring teams take on the USAC/SMRS series drivers, as was the case in 2009. This changein the schedule will also make it easier for USAC traveling teams that have their final event at East Bay on Wednesday night, thus giving them another travel day.

The ASCS2 Series will be on hand to kick off their 2010 season with the Winged Outlaw ‘Multi’ and Non-Winged ‘A’ classes (of what Cowtown fans know as the Winged 600’s, just without wings). With $1,500 earmarked to win for each ASCS2 division, there’s sure to be full fields of top quality cars from throughout the region, as was the case with both ASCS2 events at Cowtown in 2009.

Plus, the first ever visit of the ASCS2 Restricted 600’s will take to the brand new 1/6 mile “Action Track” at Cowtown, with the winner taking home a cool $1,000. 

The always exciting Cowtown Modifieds will race their traditional Feb Fast 50 for $2,000 to win and $400 to start (24th). The race will be sanctioned by NCRA. Visit www.NCRAracing.org for more info.

With over $60,000 cash posted for the weekend, fans can expect another great field of cars. Discounted race pre-entry has now concluded, but you can still register online at the track website. Midgets do not have a pre-entry fee, but must pre-enter to receive a reserved pit parking space.

Race fans, you can enjoy the entire weekend’s action by purchasing your 2-day tickets in advance at the track website by 2/12/10 (Friday). 2-day adult grandstand passes are just $30, a savings of $5 off of race night pricing. We also moved the deadline for the 2-day passes ahead one day, due to the schedule change.

And the extremely popular “Fan Fest” returns to Cowtown Speedway on Saturday, February 13th from Noon until 1:15pm. Ticket holders for that day’s race will be allowed into the pit area during that time to meet with the race teams, get autographs, apparel, pictures and much more. The main ticket booth will be open at noon as well.

An open practice night for all weekend competing race divisions (only) will be held on Friday February 12th from 5pm-9pm. Concessions and fuel will be available, and pit passes are $20. (The main grandstand will be closed Friday night.) It is possible that the pits will not open until 5pm on Friday, and will be determined on Friday.

As of the morning of February 8th, here is the complete final pre-entry list for the weekend’s action, 20-40 additional teams are expected to enter on race day:

COWTOWN MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIPS,  sanctioned by SMRS/USAC:  34 entries os of 2 -8- 2010
 
 
24J    Kyle Jones, Kennedale TX
 
15      Danny Burke, Houston TX
 
54      Evan Pardo, Gatesville TX
 
27      Andy Shouse, Oklahoma City OK
 
77      Matt DeWitt, Magnolia TX

11R    Ryan Cole, Porter OK
 
5*      Ray Allen Kulhanek, Magnolia TX
 
9        Doug McCune, Colleyville TX
 
24R    Bill Eslick, Burleson TX
 
39      Brandon Moeller, San Antonio TX
 
15D    Andrew Deal, Caney KS
 
4F      Chad Frewaldt, Kansas City KS
 
17     Todd Plemons, Arvada CO
 
F5     Danny Stratton, Indianapolis IN
 
11C   Chet Gehrke, Broken Arrow OK
 
91     Kevin Bayer, Bixby OK
 
93     Dustin Morgan, Tulsa OK
 
93M  Jake Mosley, Claremore OK
 
96    Cody Brewer, Choctaw, OK
 
10    Will Pierce, Lees Summit, MO
 
7M    Kevin Ramey, Ft. Worth TX
 
88D  Rusty Dukes, Fair Grove MO
 
5D    Zach Daum, Pocahontas IL
 
10W George White, Ft. Worth TX
 
16    Jimmy Winkler, Parkville MO
 
4      Ronnie Burke Jr., League City TX
 
05    Brad Loyet, Sunset Hills MO
 
11    Justin Melton, Flower Mound TX
 
36    Jonathan Beason, Broken Arrow OK
 
85    Matt Johnson, Oklahoma City OK
 
35    Matt Sherrell, Owasso OK
 
11A Andrew Felker, Carl Junction MO
 
18   Blake Moeller, Garden Ridge TX
 
60   Eric Sandage, Alexander AR


Feb 6 2010

Camargo, IL by Kelly Brown Public Relations Director All Star Circuit of Champions
This season the All Star Circuit of Champions will visit a combination of tracks
including some legendary ovals with historical significance and new venues
that promise to bring fans thrilling race action.
    After opening the season for the 27th year with Winter Nationals which
features three tracks in the Sunshine State, the All Stars will be moving
north for a two events at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tennessee. The
last time the All Stars raced there was in 1998 and Frankie Kerr was the
victor.
   In April, the All Stars will have their traditional Spring Nationals at
Attica Raceway Park, before embarking on a stint that will see the All
Stars run throughout Pennsylvania including an inaugural event at Big
Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pennsylvania.
   June will feature the 28th annual Ohio Speedweek which will consist of nine
nights of thrilling racing action. Moving into the month of July the All
Stars will include another fan favorite event: Thunder through the Plains.
Then the O?Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions will feature three nights
that will cap the grueling stretch of races with some notable events, the
Ironman 55 at I-55 Raceway and the Front Row Challenge at Southern Iowa
Speedway


Feb 4 2010

                2010 USAC “NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP” ANNOUNCED

  The United States Auto Club announced today a new “National Drivers Championship” which will recognize extraordinary performance in 2010 for drivers competing in USAC Racing’s National Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget Championships. The new National Driving Championship is being instilled to complement the tradition of awarding Championships in each of USAC’s three pillar series.

  For 2010, the “National Drivers Championship” will calculate points earned based on performance in all three National Series combined. Of the eighty-eight potential races between the three national series (Silver Crown, Sprints & Midgets), USAC will tally points for the best 25 finishes of competitors for recognizing the new overall National Driving Champion.

  The National Drivers Champion will be awarded with a year-end payout of $40,000 for the first place alone. A large fund has been established for the top 10 finishing competitors of the National Driving Championship. The total point fund for the three National series combined is being increased by 35% in 2010, with the increase benefitting both car owners and drivers with USAC’s 50/50 points fund structure.

  “The new National Drivers Championship has been established to bring fan focus to our top drivers and allow for expanded marketing efforts,” stated Kevin Miller, CEO of USAC Racing. “During 2009, we ran a parallel points structure which proved to have a close top 10 race and dramatic finish for the season. This will now allow a competitor with just a dirt sprint car or midget, or one with a pavement concentration, to compete for a USAC Championship.”

  Also for 2010, along with the overall National Sprint Car and Midget Championships, USAC will recognize dirt and pavement points leader car entrants in each of these series at their annual “Night of Champions” banquet scheduled for December 3 at the eloquent Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis.

  USAC Championships have a storied past and are recognized among the sports most iconic thresholds. Past USAC National Champions include Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Al and Bobby Unser, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne.


NorCal Racing Expo/Vallejo Speedway 2 Reunion February 27, 2010
Solano County Fairgrounds, McCormack Hall, Vallejo
NorCal Racing Expo10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Vallejo Speedway 2 Reunion at 1 p.m.
 
The 2010 racing season will open with the inaugural NorCal Racing Expo/Vallejo Speedway 2 Reunion at the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo on Saturday, February 27, 2010.
 
The 16,000 square foot hall will be lined with an array of racing vehicles, including Midgets, Midget Lites and Vintage Midgets from the Bay Cities Racing Association, Sprint Cars, Drifting Cars, Dwarf Cars, Modifieds, Karts, D36 motorcycles, Race Boats displayed from the California Speedboat Association including Hydroplanes, Crackerbox and Vintage race boats, BAEM small engines, and much, much more, creating a fantasy of Motorsports, a true world of Motorsports on display.
 
Several Northern California speedways will be in attendance to promote their 2010 schedules, while over 60 race vehicles will be displayed for patrons to see, touch and learn about.
 
The Race Expo will also feature Q&A tech sessions, racecar set up demonstrations, driver autograph appearances and more.
 
Lines of Diversity and Gender will be crossed for the first time in many cases. The show is a connection of the racing world to new fans, old fans, new racers, current racers, and old timers.
 
Vallejo Speedway 2 was the Field of Dreams for Steve Hazelton.  The 1/6th mile banked dirt oval was the start for many new racers, with dreams of being the next Jeff Gordon.
 
The speedway was in operation from 1998 through 2003 and provided local recreation and excitement for many racers and their families. Old friends and families, racers and non-racers, from all over Northern California will be reunited for an exciting event, with this being the first since the track’s premature demise in 2003.
 
The Vallejo Speedway 2 Reunion Ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. during the Racing Expo.
 
The NorCal Racing Expo and Vallejo Speedway 2 Reunion is open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Adults $10 (16 and older) $5 for youth (under 16), Children under 5 free.
 
Concessions will be sold by Ovations Catering at the event.
 
For additional information, and photos, please contact Steve or Bobbie Hazelton at 707-554-3140, E-mail Vallejospeedway2@sbcglobal.net or visit www.vallejospeedway.com.


Feb 2 2010

Winter Nationals Focus Moves to Volusia Speedway Park

Camargo, IL (2-1-10) by Kelly Brown ? Public Relations Director ?With only one night of racing, after the second night fell victim to rain last weekend, it is time for the drivers and teams of the All Star Circuit of Champions to pack up and head to the site that has hosted the most All Star Winter National Races: Volusia Speedway Park.
    Not only has Volusia hosted the most races, but it also hosted the first Winter National race in 1983. In that event Kenny Jacobs would win his first of three All Star races there. On both the 3/8 mile and half-mile dirt and pavement ovals, that Volusia has transitioned to over the years.
    On Wednesday February 3rd, there will be $5,000 on the line as the drivers hit the track, but if rain can stay away both days Thursday February 4th could be historic. Not only will $7,000 be on the line, but a lucky driver will get to be etched in the history books as the winner of the 200th All Star Circuit of Champions Winter Nationals Race. 
    Last year Donny Schatz was a man on a mission. On the first night it was a challenge for the North Dakota native as he spun to miss an incident early in the race and restarted the race at the tail end. It took until the half way point of the race for Schatz to work his way into the top ten and he stole the lead away from Stevie Smith with just a few laps to go for the win. The second night of racing action would see Schatz lead wire-to-wire to claim the second night of racing action. On the third night Smith would get revenge by claiming the victory. It was a thrilling event that saw Smith slide around Craig Dollansky in Turn 2 on the last lap. 

Ticket Information

On both Wednesday February 3rd and Thursday February 4th General Admission for the event is $29 with a Pit Pass running $40. Reserved seats can be purchased on race day for $2 more per seat. This year Volusia is extending a one of a kind chance to get close to the racing action to fans, as they will have unprecedented access throughout the racing program. Every ticket purchased is a FREE Fan Pit Pass. All fans have to do is show their grandstand ticket and sign in to at a table near the pit entrance, and they will be free to visit the pit area at any time during the course of the race night to see the best sprint car drivers in the world, their cars and their crews hard at work. For tickets and more information visit: www.DIRTcarNationals.com or call Volusia Speedway Park at 386-985-4402. 

Official Hotel 

When the All Stars take on Volusia Speedway on February 3rd with $5,000 on the line and February 4th with $7,000 up for grabs, the Extended Stay Deluxe is the place to stay. To get the special racers rate all fans and racers a like need to do is use the company code STR.

Extended Stay Deluxe
255 Bill France Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386) 257-4311
*Use Company Code STR                                                           


From the USAC officee's

In the coming days USAC will “officially” announce a new addition to our National Championship point system. The new “National Driving Championship” will recognize extraordinary performance in 2010 for drivers competing in USAC Racing’s National Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget Championships.  The National Driving Championship is being instilled to complement the tradition of awarding Champions in each of USAC’s three pillar series.

I have been asked a few questions about this exciting announcement that I want to clarify with our competitors prior to a public announcement. I will try and summarize them here:

Why is there a need for another Championship? Won’t this dilute our traditional champions?

USAC has recognized the need to attract the multitude of competitors who have a singular preference for either dirt cars or pavement cars. Our current Championships, while the greatest in open wheel today, do not offer an option for the hundreds of competitors who feel they cannot compete with USAC without both a dirt AND pavement program. Our Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget Championships will still be the backbone of USAC. The National Driving Championship is an additional pillar to our core.

Our goal this year is to increase the marketing behind our top drivers, those leading the charts in our individual series and through the new National Driving Championship. We do intend to expand greatly the marketing efforts, both at track and on the web, of our most successful drivers in all of our series. Our intent is to not overshadow our traditional Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget Championships.

There has been mention of a large points fund dedicated to the new Championship? 

A significant fund has been established for the National Driving Championship. A $40,000 award will go to the winner, with fifth place paying $10,000. The total fund will pay the Top 10 in points for the National Driving Championship.

Additionally, USAC will award the individual series, each with a drivers fund. In past years, a driver winning all three USAC series would earn a maximum of $30,000 in points fund contributions. For 2010, a driving winning all three series would earn at least $70,000.

USAC will publish the complete points payout in the coming weeks based on sponsorship renewals

What about Car Owners.

USAC is increasing the overall point’s funds by 35% to accommodate the new Driving Championship. The Owners / Driver split of our points funds has been 50/50, and will maintain that ratio in 2010. This means that there is more money in the fund for all, equally.

For 2010, Owners will continue to earn points funds for the Top 10 overall in each Division. For the Sprint and Midget series only, we will be adding Top 3 points fund money for the points leaders in each Dirt Only and Pavement Only categories, to recognize performance for car owners who may have only a single focus. A car owner could easily (and most likely) earn points money in both the Top 10 and Top 3 pavement / dirt funds. Seperately, an owners point fund for the top 3 has been established for the Sprint Series Eastern Tour and Top 3 for Indiana Sprint Week.

How does the new points system work for the National Driving Championship?

For 2010, the “National Driving Championship” will calculate points earned based on performance in all three National Series combined. Of the eighty plus potential races between the three national series (Silver Crown, Sprints & Midgets), USAC will tally points for the best 25 finishes of competitors for recognizing the new overall National Driving Champion.

Points are determined starting from last place in the Feature event earning 2 points, and each position increase will add two points. This is a system used successfully by NASCAR to recognize achievement in their Weekly Racing Series, which pits competitors from different tracks, series, cars and surfaces into a large national program. Bonus points are awarded for each victory.

What’s in it for the Fan?

We ran a parallel points system in 2009 to understand the impact on USAC. What transpired was an exciting point battle down to the last race, with quite a bit of drama along the way. We expect a similar pattern in 2010 coming to an exciting finish.

Are there rules?

Yes. To be eligible a Driver must be licensed as a 2010 Competition Driver in each of the series they are earning points in. To earn points in both Sprint Car and Midget series during competition, a Driver must be licensed in both Series.

For this new Drivers Championship only, we will be instituting a loyalty clause, which has proven successful in other racing series.  We are instituting policy which helps maintain the integrity for the promoters of USAC event’s who consistently have paid out the largest purses in non-wing racing.

Drivers competing in the National Drivers Championship must agree to not compete in a non-USAC, same series event (series meaning Sprint, Midget, etc), on the day of a scheduled USAC series event. Additionally, the Driver agrees not to compete in a non-USAC same series event within twenty four hours prior or after a USAC series event within two hundred miles of the race facility which the USAC sanctioned Series event is scheduled to be held, without prior written consent of the USAC VP of Competition. This new policy is not imposed for competitors who elect to compete at a non-USAC event at a track conducting at least one (1) USAC National Series event within the calendar year. This rule will go into effect April 1, 2010 and only impacts points earned for The National Drivers Championship and does not impact points earned for traditional USAC Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget National Driver and Owner Championships.

We are excited to begin a new era in USAC Racing. For 2010, we are working hard on many fronts to improve your experience with our sport. From automated pit processing for members (testing in Tampa) to working on creating "the show" for fans both at track and at home, we are hard at work to take USAC Racing to the next frontier. The National Drivers Championship will help achieve our goals of enhanced marketing of our drivers to fans and add excitement to our series.

Kevin Miller
CEO - USAC Racin

  
                                                               
                                                                   View from the Cockpit   
                                                                          By JR Williams
                                                                                Nevada
                                                                      OWR3 Contributor


    Well, the old man misread the calendar and I won't be leaving here until midnight tomorrow night, so I thought I'd get this column out. Don't know what will happen the next few weeks as I'll be on the island of Molokai in Hawaii, but time will tell.
 
First off, please put another of my friends on your prayer list and pray for Mike Swenson. He lost his wife early last week and I know that your prayers will ease his mind. Not all that many people know Mike --- except for those around the Salt Lake City area. He's not a driver, but he's a great crew person and friend to all who need a hand around the pits. The sad news is that he woke up about 5:00 A.M. to go to work, went downstairs to find his wife's pillow on the couch and she was on the floor. He reached down to wake her so she could go to bed, and found that she had passed away. Her funeral was on Saturday, and Mike relayed to me that he never knew he had so many friends.
 
Sympathy cards can be sent to: Mike Swenson
                                               7909 South Chadbourne Dr.
                                               Unit A
                                               Cottonwood Heights, Utah  84121
 
Charlie Patterson called me early Friday or Saturday  afternoon, but I missed the call. The message was that he was heading for the Union Jack, a popular racers restaurant and bar just west of the Speedway. They were having a memorial celebration for Crocky Wright.
 
I called him Sunday, and he and Bob Harkey were on their way back home from Lafayette, IN where there was another memorial for Bob Higman.
 
He told me that the Union Jack was filled with people on Friday evening and that Tony Stewart came up on Skypes (?) from where ever he was at the time, to say a few words about his long-time friend Crocky and in closing, he made mention that in honor of Crocky, the management should treat everyone to a beer. I don't know if they did or not, but good on Tony. I don't know what Skypes is either, except it's some kind of computer communications deal.
 
 
As I'll be up to my ears trying to get everything together tomorrow, I wanted to have today off also, so thought I'd go up to the shop and get the rear end completely installed in the combo car, so I wouldn't have to do that after returning from Hawaii, as there won't be any time then. Unfortunately, the torque tube ball wouldn't fit in the firewall housing and retainer. I always block that car at 3 1/2" for dirt, and it was really bound up bad. I finally got it unbound by raising the blocks (lowering the rear end) to 4 1/2". I knew that wouldn't work right, but I was out of time and ambition all at the same time. On the way home from the shop and called Sean Bowman to see if he had any ideas. He couldn't think of anything off hand, but told me that being that low would make the car really loose, and that it would probably bind up also. He also told me that he was working on Alex's dirt car as there was a dirt race coming up soon in Tuscon and then another in Perris. They were supposed to be USAC National Midget races, but I couldn't find any references to them on the USAC website, so all I can do is wish "the kid" well and I'll call from Hawaii. I didn't get into too many details with Sean as I was driving, but my guess is that Alex will be running in at least the midget division of the Copper on Dirt down there in Tuscon that will be held on February 19th and 20th. As usual, he'll be in really tough company. Sort of wish I'd still be here in Nevada as I'd sure like to see that show.
 
After I talked to Sean, I called Rick Young, the founder of Capital City Midgets, who is running a number of the Chevy engines and told him my problem. He told me that he had to get a larger torque tube ball and housing for one of his cars. So, when I got home, I called Randy Chastain, Ron Sutton's crew chief, and told him my problem and I had never heard of two different size midget torque tube balls and housings, he confirmed that there was such a thing, and he knew that my pavement car (which they had just put together a few months ago) used a large housing. That meant that if the combo car had a small one, all I would have to do would be swap them out.
 
So, today, I went up to the shop and unbolted the retainers on both cars and slid the balls back to measure them --- they were both the same size, so --- back to the drawing board, I called Keith Iaia who owns Revolution Racing and used up a bunch of his valuable time discussing my situation. We did a lot of measuring and talking and then he said that as neither he nor I were chassis people that he'd call Josh Lakatos and see if he had any ideas. Well, it didn't take more than ten minutes for him to get back to me to tell me that Josh suggested to take the rear end completely out again, hang it from the roll cage with straps. and start all over squaring the rear end. Well, I started to do that and then noticed that the right-side bird cage looked as though it was out of time - even though the rear axle was square to the motor plate.
 
I re-timed the birdcage, and everything slid on back together like it had eyes. Thanks Josh, you saved me a lot of time and heartache. Now I can enjoy my vacation without having that on my mind.
 
Also, Mata answered the phone when I called Keith, and Keith said she is regaining her strength and is helping out in the office, even though she's wearing a pirate eye-patch on her right eye. We still have to keep her in our prayers, and with God's help the doctors will be able to get to the root of that problem and fix it.
 
Before I get off the subject of Keith and Mata, I received a really nice thank you note from Mata last week. On the front it had a great photo of a hot-air balloon on land, with a perfect reflection of it on a body of water, when I mentioned it to Keith, he told me that it was one of Mata's photos. He also told me that she goes up in hot-air balloons and has also be known to parachute out of perfectly good airplanes. She has more guts that Keith or I have.
 
Speaking of Randy Chastain and Ron Sutton and all, Ron has started a parts business over in Sacramento. For now he's going to be specializing in pavement car parts and will also be handling Hoosier Tires for those up in Northern California. I recently ordered some new seat belts and a few other parts and the service was great.
 
 
If you're interested, the General Manager of the parts operation is Bill Floyd, and you can contact him at Star Racing Supply. You can look them up at their web site: www.StarRacingSupply.com or e-mail Bill@StarRacingSuppy.com. Or, if you'd rather talk to a real live person, you can call Bill at (916) 914-1284. Bill's cell phone is: (916) 471-8195, the fax number is (916) 383-3135. If you're in the Sacramento area and would like to stop by and see their really neat shop, you can find them at 8581 Younger Creek Dr. Ste 150, Sacramento, CA. 95828. If you've got some midget or modified questions, give them a call and I'm sure someone there will be able to help you out. I'm really lost when I go to a race and their outfit isn't there. They're really a great help to all of us and have been great for the sport. I'm looking forward to seeing them all on March 20th when we run our season opener down in Lake Havasu and Havasu 95 Speedway.
 
Once again, e-mails will get to me at: jrw-jnw@sbcglobal.net.

Jan 27 2010
NEWS FROM MOTORSPORTS 2010 PRESENTED BY STREETBLAZE 100 RACE CAR & TRADE SHOW
"THE MID-WINTER MOTORSPORTS EXTRAVAGANZA"
AND THE GAMBLERS CLASSIC INDOOR AUTO RACING EVENTS

25TH ANNIVERSARY MOTORSPORTS 2010 IS A HUGE SUCCESS
 
OAKS, PA January 25, 2010 . . . Success!!!
 
 The return of the Motorsports 2010 Presented by StreetBlaze 100 Race Car and Trade Show to the Philadelphia area was a huge success.
 Fans loved the new location (with loads of free parking and a chance to ride on a school bus) and vendors were ecstatic about the increased sales that they enjoyed during the three day show that filled more than 225,000 square feet of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA.
 “This is the start of what we believe is going to be a long history of great shows, one right after another, here in Oaks. It was a great 25th anniversary celebration,” said show promoter Len Sammons. “Thought not everything ran smoothly it was a fantastic three days. We are already working on correcting those things that did not run smoothly and seeing what else we can do to make the next show even better.”
 NASCAR Sprint Cup stars  Kasey Kahne and Marcos Ambrose along with NASCAR legend Bobby Allison, drag racing star Morgan Lucas, SPEED TV broadcast personalities Hermie Sadler and Jeff Hammond, open cockpit legend Ralph Liguori, NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chief Frankie Kerr along with a variety of local and regional stars attracted long lines of fans seeking autographs and the opportunity to meet their auto racing heroes.
 The new Ms. Motorsports is lovely Danielle Wilson of Stephens City, Virginia. She is currently a student at Lord Fairfax College in Middletown, VA. Ms. Wilson, 20 years old, represented the Steel Block Bandits organization which sanctions late model racing events in the Mid-Atlantic States.
 Ms. Wilson, a green eyed beauty, received $1,500 from BPG Racing, the sponsor of Ms. Motorsport, a beautiful watch from Golden Pleasure Jewelers in Bordentown, NJ, a custom made jacket from Design 500 and a poster deal from Area Auto Racing News. She will represent the Motorsports 2011 at a number of races and special events throughout 2010.
 The first runner-up was Kelsey Johnson, an 18-year-old student from Elmer, NJ who loves racing here micro-sprint. She received $500 and a watch from Golden Pleasure Jewelers.
 Second runner-up was Raven Reed of Grafton, Ohio. The 18-year-old student received $250 from BPG Racing and a watch.
 The fans, a huge turnout, voted Melissa Hassall as the best in the bathing suit category. The judges gave Danielle Wilson the top vote in the swimwear category.
 Lauren Culbertson earned the top honors in the photo category. Loralyn Brinster was tops in interviews. Raven Reed won in sportswear while the honors in the congeniality category went to Mindy English.
 BPG Racing’s Chad Sinon was very excited about the great interest in the pageant and the wonderful support given the event by the young ladies that participated. He has agreed to sponsor the pageant in 2011.
 Exhibitors did an outstanding job of having their displays in excellent condition and made it touch for judges to pick the “best of show” award winners but the winners were:
Drag Car - Reidnauer Racing
Stock Car - NASCAR (H&H Racing No. 98H)
Vintage Stock Car - Moe Pagani’s Budd Olsen No. 0
Quarter Midget/Kart - Doylestown Quarter Midget Club
Open Cockpit - ARDC with Gary Becker’s No. 20 midget
Vintage Car Club - the new Flemington Speedway Historic Society
Race Car Display - Kevin Hirthler’s Four Star Racing
Commercial Booth Display - Jamerson Motorsports with Dangerous Red Wines
Speedway or Club Display - Maple Grove Raceway
Vintage Open Cockpit - Harry Hespell No. 5 midget
 The prestigious Joe Pratt Award of Excellence was presented to Program Dynamics president Steve Barrick. They have been responsible for producing the show program book for all 25 years that the show has been in operation.
 Ernie Saxton, who has been involved with the promotion of the show for all 25 years and recently announced his retirement as president of the Eastern Motorsport Press Association after more than 40 years, accepted an award from EMPA Vice President Len Sammons for him and his wife Marilyn. They award was a plaque that made them both lifetime members of the organization.
 Winners of the Dangerous Red Wine model search presented by Jamerson Motorsports and sponsored by Valenzano Winery were Tiffany Skias of West Reading, Pa.; Chelsea Miller of Geneva, N.Y.; Karin Heisey of Mechanicsburg, Pa; and Raven Reed of Grafton, Ohio.
Each winner received $500 and were company representatives for the remainder of the show.
 Sunday’s Metal Fab Family Day proved to be a huge success with a large number of children coming out to participate in the Big Wheel competition, see the track mascots and enjoy the magician. This was a special promotion that offered free admission for children and $10 tickets for adults. It was a great way to introduce the sport to young people.
 In the Big Wheel competition the 3-4 year old division was won by Bryce Smith followed by Amanda Zvorsky and Mitchell Carp. The 5-6 year old division had Cody West winning with Rylan Heckman finishing second and Owen Koch in third. The 7-8 year old competition had Jacob Mueller winning with Madison Boyd and Nathan Griffith finishing second and third. Many of the current day racers competing at area speedways were competitors in the Big Wheel races in the past.
More than 80 youngsters saw competition.
 The 2011 edition of the Motorsports show will return to Oaks, PA January 21-23, 2011. Several 2010 show exhibitors have already put on hold on booth space for next year and a number of them have asked about expanding their display area.  Plans for the 2011 show will be announced in the near future.



As it gets closer to May My thoughts are already turning to the Indianapolis speedway and
                                                                     THE 500
Our first Indy 500 Trip

There was an Old easy going Texan who went by the name of (Al) Cotten Farmer. Cotton has since passed on.
   He was one helluva Midget driver and did quite well in the Champ dirt cars also. But to many injuries from Racing and Rodeoing slowed him down early on in his life. Any way he had a flight out of Dallas to the 500 every year. It is a day trip, Up there at six AM and back in Dallas by eight PM same day.
When we moved to Texas that's one of the first things I spotted in the Austin newspaper.  He still had seats left on his flight that year, So Lee (My son) and I signed up to see our first INDY 500 together. This was in 1992.

  I can still vividly remember walking in the gate on sixteenth street for the very first time, It still sends chills down my back thinking about it!

  I also remember looking at the weather forecast at home and the prediction was for cold and colder!!
 
My son since moving from California had took up wearing shorts all the time, I told him about the weather forecast, He pooh pooed it and said he was going in his shorts! I said "better take some pants along just in case", But what do parents know right? So off we go Lee in his shorts (without any extra clothes!) and me warmly dressed, I thought!
 Well in case you didn't know, it was one of the coldest races ever if not the coldest! I had to end up giving my jacket to the kid to wrap his legs so he didn't suffer hypothermia! Yes, it was dam cold for us from Out West who see snow about once every ten or twenty years were we lived!
  Now that was the year of "the cold tires meet the first turn wall." We sat right in the middle of that short chute (between 1 & 2) and most of the carnage ended up right in front of us,  At one time I counted Seven  cars parked off the track in front of us due to some one hitting the wall,  
   I was amazed at the wrecks, Especially the noise, It did not sound like the normal crash to me, You know the kind with the screeching tires and the shredding of metal to metal. It reminded me more of like a Bomb going off! 
These wrecks were caused by not waiting for the tires to warm up before blasting into the first turn after a yellow flag. 
   I picked up on that quick, I had the VHS camera pointed at the first turn on every Green after a Yellow. I got some good footage that way.
 
   After the race we went into the garages and also walked down the front straight.
  We went into the garages of the car driven by Stan Fox ( Hemelgarn /Byrd Racing team) and were welcomed warmly buy the crew,  Great bunch of guys on that team. They even let me charge my VHS camera there. They showed Lee everything about the garage.
   This year Stan had crashed (not the year he got hurt bad) and the wrecked car was there for us to get a close up and personal look.  Stan T-Boned Philippe Gache right in front of us. If I remember right he was shielded out from seeing Gache stopped in the short chute by AJ,  When AJ turned at the last minute to avoid Gache it was to late for Stan and he T-Boned Gache, The crash broke Gaches tub right in the middle, Gache sustained a broken leg and pelvis. Now that crash was what a real explosion sounded like! 
   It was nothing to be taken out of this race by a wreck, no less than 13 cars were taken out by accidents. Guerro who was on the POLE! lost it on one of the parade laps just to our right as he disappeared down the back stretch and hit the inside wall even before the green flag dropped!
We saw some of the "best drivers" crash into the first turn wall, There was Mears, Brayton, Fittipaldi, Gache. Crawford, J. Andretti, and Fox amongst the ones who made it no further than the inside of the short chute wrecked!
   The Best part of the whole race was when Big Al was closing in on Little Al, Big Al with the Menard V6 looked as though their game plan was coming into play just like they wanted! But it came up short and Little Al won.  It was great for about fifteen or twenty laps as Big Al kept gaining on his Son, Now of course my son was pulling for Little Al and I was pulling for big Al.  The suspense was electrifying! Would he catch his Son?  Then if he did would he pass him! Guess we will never find out now.
   The ghosts were in action after that race what with all the electricity churned up by the cars in the race. As I walked down the front stretch of the track I almost could hear them Drivers talking and the sounds of the Cars going by at top speed!  Erie to say the least but there are real ghosts there, lots of them.
   Looking down that front stretch towards the fourth corner it seemed to me that it was way to narrow to race cars on at over two hundred miles an hour.
   Not sure why it took me so long to get there?
   Oh yea finances, When you are from the West coast as a kid growing up with hardly more than enough to eat, INDY seemed like it took place on the moon!
   This was  one of the very best Memories of My life and I am just glad I got to share it with My Son.
Can't wait to again hear the command,
 Gentlemen Start Your Engines!
aXe
  
Jan 26 2010

                    USAC will debut a National Driver of the Year championship in 2010
That will include performances in Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget car competitions, USAC President and CEO Kevin Miller told Examiner.com on Friday. The competition will pay the top ten drivers, with the national Driver of the Year earning a $40,000 year-end bonus.

I saw this last friday on that news web site, I waited to se if it was confirmed by USAC. Nothing showed up on their site, So I put in a call there and was told it was gonna happen but it wasnt finalized as of today. I was told it should be all finished by this friday? A formal announcment should be released after that.
aXe

                                                                   
                                                                   View from the Cockpit   
                                                                          By JR Williams
                                                                                Nevada
                                                                      OWR3 Contributor
     
   It's difficult to believe that our 2010 racing season is just around the corner --- while I'm looking out the window at the snow falling, the temperature hovering just around freezing, and the peaks of the Sierra's shrouded in snow. Still and all, our opener is not far away.
   In fact, the last schedule I got, our California Focus pavement division will open in just two months at Havasu 95 Speedway down in Lake Havasu, Arizona. The pavement car is just about ready to go. All I have to do to it tomorrow is polish the body panels and put them on, polish the wheels and put them on, and except for weighing the car and setting the air pressures in the shocks and the tires, it's ready to roll on the trailer. Can't wait. The week after that we'll be down in Blythe, and the week after that, the racing widow and I will be taking a two-day tactical shotgun course down at Front Sight near Pahrump, Nevada. Whew, the next weekend we'll be seeing action at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That will be four hauls down US-95 here in Nevada. Two long ones of around 400 miles, and two that will be 200 miles further. As far as the last schedule I saw showed, both the Havasu 95 and LVMS shows will be California Pavement and Utah Pavement combined shows. 

  At the shop today, I posted my 2010 temporary schedule on the white board, and it looks like 25 pavement races with USAC and seven dirt shows that will be combined CCM/BCRA/ ASCS shows. That may change before the season really gets underway, but for now it looks like a pretty neat summer. Right now it even looks as though I'll be able to get out Indianapolis to run one night at the Speedrome. That will be fun.

  I received a nice thank you note from Keith Iaia's lovely wife Mata today, thanking me for my get-well concerns. Oddly enough I just spoke with Kieth today and learned that although Mata still has the use of her right eye, it isn't working all the properly and she may need more surgery on it, so --- if you're a prayerful person like me, please keep her on you prayer list.

  At first, both Keith and Mata thought that their SUV had hydroplaned. When I spoke to Kieth about it today, I asked him if he had turned of the cruise control, and he answered in the affirmative. He had also been slowing down from 65 to 55 to be on the safe side, when the vehicle just "snapped" around, and he thinks that it was possibly caused by something like a ball joint breaking. I think that's entirely possible, because Kieth has enough dirt track racing under his butt to know the difference between a normal spin and something going wrong and "snapping" the car around. Doesn't make any difference now - just know that Mata can still use a lot of help from our Lord.

  I had my weekly phone conversation with Harkey. He called me on Friday night to ask whether or not we had ocean front property out here yet. Then he told me that Charlie Patterson would still be having a fairly large birthday party on the 29th, as a lot of racing friends will be showing up --- and they'll be tipping a few in memory of Bob Higman. If my math is correct, Charlie will be 72. Happy Birthday my friend.

  For those of you who don't know Charlie,

                                                              
                                                                                 Charlie and Vicky Patterson 
                                                                              at Frank and Mary's Restaurant
 
Charlie has been in racing for over 50 years. He's been an owner, driver, mechanic, and driver's agent. He wrenched at the Speedway for years, owned the last Silver Crown dirt car that Emmett Hahn ever drove, built most or all of NASCAR's drive shafts for a number of years, and started a toastmaster club for young drivers in Indianapolis years ago. He has also been very helpful to a number of young, up-coming drivers, including; Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, and newer hot shoes like Bryan Clauson and Billy Wease. I'm very happy and proud to be able to count Charlie as one of my friends.

  While talking to Harkey, I mentioned that I'll have to get hold of Mel or Don Kenyon to get some set-up information regarding the Speedrome, as I've never driven there. Harkey told me that it was sort of like Islip out on Long Island, New York. Well, Islip was one of the few Northeastern tracks that I never got to. Then Bob told me a story about he and Parnelli Jones at Islip. The way I remember the story was that Parnelli got into Bob going into one of the turns and the Bob returned the favor, spinning them both into the infield, but Bob was able to keep the car going. After the race ended, Parnelli went up to Bob and shook his hand. Wish I could have been there.

  I don't know if this column will be up next week or not. I may write it a day early on Sunday as I'll have to get on the road about midnight Monday to drive over the Sierra's to Sacramento as the racing widow and I will be flying over to Hawaii for a few weeks R&R on her island of Molokai. Leaving the cold and snow won't bother me one bit.
  e-mails will still get to me at: jrw-jnw@sbcglobal.net

Jan 24 2010


                                                             

                                                                 Kevin Triplett 
                                                              Walnut Creek, CA
                                                             OWR3 Contributor

We’ve all done it- driven down a narrow two-lane country road past a home with a large shop building behind it and wondered “what is in that shop?” Last week, prior to the 2010 Chili Bowl, this writer took a turn down a driveway off a narrow two-lane country road near Talala, Oklahoma and visited  the, 
                                                                     David "Chappell" Shops.
 
                     
           Exterior of Chappell’s shop, with the team’s hauler                     David Chappell’s trophy room
               parked outside in the bitter Oklahoma winter
     
 For those of you who are not familiar with the name, David is the owner and chief mechanic of one of the top independent teams in the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) National Tour with the 50Z sprint car driven by his son, Zach Chappell.   David started out years ago as a teenage rodeo champion, before becoming interested in sprint car racing on the way to becoming a many-time Sprint car champion at Tulsa Speedway.
                                                   
                        Historic photo of David Chappell’s ground breaking V6 sprint car at Tulsa Speedway

  David started Zach in a 360 ASCS sprint car in 1999, and Zach captured the ASCS National championship in 2001. Since that time, Zach has tried his hand at the World of Outlaws and ARCA stock car, while continuing to run his father’s sprint car in selected events. Racing runs in the Chappell family’s blood, as Zach’s sister, Stephanie, raced the ASCS series for several years, but is presently managing the family’s restaurant, Legends BBQ and Steak Joint, in Owasso, Oklahoma. 

                       
   2006 Maxim non-winged car under going conversion                   2006 Maxim winged sprint car ready for testing
           to a winged configuration as a back up car

                                                  
                                    Computer and printer for in-house production of race car graphics

                                                    
                                                 Four freshly rebuilt race engines ready for 2010 action

                                                    
                                          Shock dynometer for testing Chappell Racing’s collection of 170 shock absorbers.
                            David also owns a unique proprietary torsion bar tester, which he asked not be photographed

I was fortunate enough to be invited to David Chappell’s shop to document their preparations for the 2010 season. The team currently plans to run for the ASCS Sooner Region championship, and selected ASCS National events. The writer thanks David Chappell for his time and hospitality.

During the weekend before the Chili Bowl, I paid a visit to,
 
                        Mike and Judy Stewart’s Car and Fleet Parts in Tulsa Oklahoma.

Mike and Judy are the proud parents of 2009 ASCS National Champion Shane Stewart, and his younger brother Darren Stewart, 2003 ASCS Rookie of the Year. If you’re ever in the area of 4141 S 68th East Avenue in Tulsa, stop in and pay Mike and Judy a visit.
The name of the shop is a bit deceptive, as this shop is a stocking distributor of parts for mini sprints and sprint cars.
 
                                                            
                                  “On a side street of the industrial area of Tulsa, you'll find Car and Fleet Parts.”  

                                                          
                                    “The lobby features historic photos of Mike, Shane, and Darren’s racing cars
                                                            and a wall of autographs from famous visitors.”

                                                          
                                 “The order desk is where you’ll find all the information you’ll ever need-
                                                        provided you can get Mike Stewart to stop working.”

 
                     
                             “The Stewarts showroom contains enough parts to make any racer’s mouth water.”
 Pictures and article by Kevin Triplett

Jan 19 2010
This story first appeared on http://www.hotrodhotline.com 
aXe           
                    Ed Iskenderian Gardena, Calif  May 25, 2006
                                  Story by Richard Parks

                                        
                              Photos by Roger Rohrdanz
                                          
 
                                
                              Author Richard Parks with Ed Iskenderian
  Ed Iskenderian, the famous ‘Camfather’ to generations of hot rodders and racers, is known affectionately as just Isky to his friends. Ed is a charming and friendly man who inquisitiveness is well known. From the day he ground his first cam to the present day, Isky has never lost that desire to learn more and to do more. He was born on July 10, 1921, in Cutler, Tulare County, California, to Dick and Armine Iskenderian. His parents were born in Turkey, but left before the Armenian population was rounded up by the Turks and exterminated. After World War I, the defeated Turks retreated in a xenophobic rage and the scapegoats that they blamed were their own Armenian Turkish people. The Armenian Turkish people were forced from their homes, shot at, bayoneted and sent on a forced march that ended in the Syrian desert where over a million and a half innocent people were systematically murdered. Ed’s mother survived when her family sent her to a German Christian convent to protect her from the Turks. His father was a blacksmith in Turkey, but after he immigrated to America, Dick Iskenderian started a grape farm in California’s wide San Joaquin Valley. In 1922 the family moved to Los Angeles, California, near Western and Exposition Avenues. 
                                                                           
                                               Ed in what use to be his office before his “treasures” took it over.
  
 Ed grew up in a rapidly growing area of Southern California, known for the emergence of the hot rodding culture in the United States. He went to Mount Vernon Junior High School, then graduated up to Los Angeles Polytechnic High School, before transferring to Dorsey High School to complete his education. The SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) was just getting started around that time, and those that had a hot (fast) car, would join and race at the dry lakes, preferably Muroc. Dry lake racing had begun in the 1920’s, developing an organization and standardization with the influence of George Wight and George Riley in the 1930’s. In 1937, Wight and Riley decided to stop promoting the speed trials and the car clubs got together and formed the SCTA to continue racing at Muroc, now known as Edwards Air Force Base near Mojave, California. Ed hung out with the Bungholers car club. In the club were Bud Hines, Bob ‘Baldy’ Baldwin, Eugene Van Arx, Ike Williams, Si Perkins, Stringfield and Leaman. Each neighborhood had their own club, strictly male and typically devoted to the car culture. Usually the leader was the one whose father had a garage they could work in. Girls weren’t allowed to join in this inner sanctum of the male car culture during the height of the Great Depression. 
 
  Their hangout was Hugo’s Hot Dog Stand on Pico Boulevard. It was their world, removed from the horrors of an oncoming war, and the desperation of a world faced with a vicious depression. Ed was only 14 when he first went to Muroc to see his first race. He went to the dry lakes from 1935 until war broke out in 1941, and the dry lakes land speed racing was to have a lasting impact on the man who helped to make cam grinding an exact science. He took every shop course he could and did very well in the auto and electric shop courses. So well did he master what he was taught, that he was allowed to work on the wiring for the school buses. Ed graduated in 1940 and apprenticed at a tool and die shop for 50 cents an hour, a huge sum of money in those days. One hours pay at that rate could buy nearly 4 gallons of gasoline, or a meal of a hamburger, fries and malt for two people, back in the days when a hamburger was huge and a malt the size of a quart. Ed was learning how to be an electric welder in a shipyard on the day that the Japanese attack force struck Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941. That day changed his life as it changed the entire country. No longer isolated from the world’s problems and wars, America was now at the forefront of World War II and the fight against the Great Depression. He remembers how our soldiers lined up the Japanese Americans, before sending them to camps to wait out the war, on the suspicion that American citizens of Japanese ancestry might be spies for the Imperial Japanese Army. 
 
   Isky was incensed at the sneak attack, and like millions of Americans, men and women, he tried to enlist in the Navy Air Corp, but they turned down his request to be a flyer. Ed joined the Army Air Corp and was assigned to Ground School, at the old Santa Ana Air Base. He was an air cadet at last, but the military reassigned him to be a flight traffic clerk on air transports in and out of the theatres of war. He flew 5 trips between San Francisco and Australia in a B-24 Liberator. Then he was stationed in Australia for runs up to New Guinea and the Philippines. After VJ day, he was reassigned to Japan with flights to Manila. He saw US prisoners of war as they were released from Japanese labor camps, emaciated, in pain, starved and beaten by their captors, and a marked difference from how we treated those enemy combatants that we captured. With the war ending, men were being discharged from the military in vast numbers as fast as the government could send them home. Ed returned to California with a desire to return to dry lakes racing and the car culture that he loved. With a military discharge severance payment of $20 a month for 52 months, Ed decided to go racing. He tried to buy a cam from Clay Smith, who had learned the craft of cam grinding from Pierre Bertrand. Clay was well known for his cams, but so great was the demand from all the returning servicemen for parts for their hot rods, that the best Clay could do was to tell him to wait a month. Ed thought to himself, “I could do this myself,” and turned to another cam grinding genius, Ed Winfield, for advice and help. Winfield was a success at whatever he put his mind to, whether it was oval track racing in the 1920’s, his famous carburetor, or his equally famous cams.
 
   
    Isky is successful because he has that type of inquisitive mind that is forever learning, growing and adapting. He is a man hungry for knowledge.
 
                                                       
Ed absorbed all he could from Winfield, then bought an old cylindrical grinder at an auction. Machine shops all over the country were closing down after the war as government contracts came to an end. Machines were plentiful, and Ed devised an attachment of his own design to alter the configurations of the grinder to accommodate what he wanted to achieve in grinding cams. As Isky and his son Richard explain it, early cam grinding was more art than science. A steady hand and a good eye were important, but the great cam grinders, like Winfield could visualize the problem and solve it in their minds. One could always copy a cam but custom grinding a cam to a specific engine was an art. 
 
 
  Over time specific designs and engineering formulas would solve many of these problems and throughout the 1950’s there would be great advances in scientifically creating the programs that brought cam grinding to an exactness. Ed states that his first cams were noisy, but they were popular and the kids heard about him and bought his cams. He also sold to speed shops, notably Karl Orr, a legendary racer and a true curmudgeon. Karl’s wife, Veda, was equally his match at land speed racing, but she was famous for sending a newsletter to the hot rod soldiers in the war, keeping them updated on the car scene back home. Isky was there at the 1st Hot Rod Show at the National Armory, in Exposition Park. Bob Barsky had brought Pete Petersen and Bob Lindsay together to publicize the event, with the SCTA providing the cars and manpower. Petersen and Lindsay would form a team and create Hot Rod Magazine, and the young Ed would take advantage of the hurricane of interest in this magazine with his innovative ads for his cams
 
  Ed fell in love and married Alice Garbooshian on May 17, 1947. Ronald Iskenderian was born a year later, in the great Baby Boom following World War II. Richard was born in 1951, followed by Timothy and Amy. Ed had witnessed the Great Depression, World War II, the beginning of the Atomic Era, and the start of a cam grinding business that would grow ever more successful. The family was living on West Adams Avenue, in Los Angeles, and Ed was producing cams out of his garage for a living. His business was beginning to grow larger than the garage could handle and he took out a lease on a shop on Culver, behind Mercury Tool and Die, owned by his good friend and high school buddy, John Athan. Ed and Athan are inseparable friends. Athan is an innovator, inventor and master craftsman, who is often called upon to solve mechanical problems.  
     
                                                         
 John Athan, Ed’s inseparable friend, built the “Isky” roadster that is on display at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, which the actor, Elvis Presley used in his movie ‘Loving Me.’
  
 Ed’s business was booming now as his quality cams and his natural PR and advertising genius was creating a huge demand. He moved to a larger site on Western and Pico Avenues, in Los Angeles, but that was only temporary as the orders began to grow larger and larger. He moved to Jefferson and Harcourt Avenue, in Los Angeles, across from Vic Edelbrock’s shop. The orders grew and the need for even more space forced him to move to a bigger shop on West Slauson in Culver City, then to a building in Inglewood. Finally he spotted a building on Alondra and Broadway in Gardena that covered half a city block and would give him the space to expand as he needed, and Isky Racing Cams found a permanent home there in 1966.
 
   Today Isky Racing Cams is in the top 3 among American Cam manufacturers, with a reputation for quality and performance. Part of the success that Ed had was due to the quality of the finished products; cams, valve lifters and valve springs. But Isky is successful because he has that type of inquisitive mind that is forever learning, growing and adapting. He is a man hungry for knowledge. He never stops in a quest to find markets, products and better ways to produce those goods and services. Finally, he has a charisma, charm and character that attracts attention and a following. His first ad in Hot Rod Magazine was in the second issue. He realized that this magazine would be a huge success with the hot rodders after the war ended. In the late 1940’s, Ed was one of the first to understand the power of marketing, and few did it better. He was selling cams to the racers now, as well as the kids on the street, and to a fledgling racecar circuit called NASCAR, where the big Hudson dominated the stock car circuit. He said he was ashamed at how noisy those early cams of his were, but they had a stronger mid-range power curve that the kids loved. His sales stagnated at the lakes but took off in stock car racing, which opened doors in other areas for him. “Flathead engines were simple in those days,” he said. The early 1950’s saw the rise of a new sport called drag racing and he sold a lot of cams. It was also the heyday of oval track racing and the demand for his products kept him too busy to go dry lakes racing.
 
 
  “I got real boisterous with those ads,” he would say. Parts makers and specialty equipment makers would battle each other in ads in racing and car magazines, trumpeting their successes and the inability of their competitors to keep pace. Pete Millar, the drag and hot rod cartoonist, drew a cigar chomping Isky, and named him the ‘Camfather,’ portraying Ed as the leader in his field. Exaggeration and hyperbole reached crazy limits. The government, with truth in advertising, would probably not allow it today. But it was Grand Theatre for car buffs back then to see the ads, which were far more entertaining than the articles in the magazines and newspapers. Isky’s skill at ad and marketing drove his business to the top and the racers and car fans loved this genial man and his products. Those were the days when magazines were first starting to tap into the car market, and competition exploded from that first Hot Rod Magazine to dozens more, and ad rates were negotiable. “I got great deals,” said Ed, “and I exploited them to the fullest.” Ed also made cams for the boat racers, sponsoring Ed Olson in the Cream Puff. Olson was a baker, and named the boat after his specialty, but the Cream Puff was no easy boat to beat. With Isky Cams and backing, the Cream Puff was one of the fastest in marine dragboat racing. At that time Ed’s biggest competitor in cams was Harman and Collins, and the fight was fierce. 
  
 The 1950’s may have been all expansion and fun, but the 1960’s saw the continued dominance of car racing, especially dragracing and oval track racing. His new competition was with Herbert Cams, which devised the new roller cams. When it became apparent that the new cams would be successful, Iskenderian Racing Cams came out with its own roller cams. Ed has 5 patents for his special hardening of the lobes in his roller cams. Devising, innovating and inventing better cams has kept Isky at the forefront of the cam grinding business. “All the cam grinding companies buy the cam core from a cam core making company. That’s not unusual, but it is the skill of the grinding that determines the end quality of the product,” he said. Some of the cam manufacturers have the cam core makers do the grinding and produce cams in mass produced quantities. The cam core makers then put on the name of the company they are producing the cams for, thus the cam grinding companies never actually have any control over the finished product. If the work is done in India or China, as many cheaper cams are, then the quality suffers and the buyer has little recourse. Isky cams are all done in-house, with American cores, and every step of the process is overseen by men who have been in the business nearly as long as Ed has. 
 
  Isky may not have started the Contingency Racing programs, but he was an early adherent and user of the system. The Contingency Racing programs in motorsports racing is where a manufacturer offers a prize, product, or cash payment for any racer using their product while winning the race. The racer has to display the decal of the product he is using so that fans and fellow racers can see what products the winning racer has in his car or boat. Ed used this program to its fullest, sponsoring a wide range of racers, leagues and products. The result was to spur a growth in sales that pushed him past his competitors. His battle with Crane in the 1950’s and ‘60’s was legendary in the battle of the Contingency Wars. In 1949, at the first Bonneville Nationals Salt Flats Time Trials, Doug Harrison and Norm Lean asked Isky for sponsorship money to make the trip from Southern California, to compete. With part of the money that they received from Isky, Harrison and Lean created a design on their T-shirts extolling the car, the team and Iskenderian Racing Cams. There is no one better at seeing a great idea and borrowing it for his own use that Ed. He began making up Isky T-shirts to sell or give away, and business stayed strong all year.
 
  There is another facet of Ed Iskenderian that probably goes back to his days struggling with the Great Depression, or to the fact that so many of his family were brutally murdered and robbed by the Turks in the 1920’s. Ed is fascinated by bargains, whether it is machinery, appliances or some bizarre type of mechanical equipment or part. It doesn’t matter what it is, if it’s a deal he will buy it and bring it home. In the storage area behind the 50,000 square foot (more than an acre) manufacturing plant is another acre of stored treasures. He owns another 5-acre lot with additional things he has bought and saved. Ed is a recycler and conservationist. He doesn’t waste anything and constantly looks for ways to use ideas and objects that he collects. But he is also a very generous man, with his time and with his money. He sponsors many racers and race teams, and gives generously. He is quick to spot the up-and-coming racedriver, and understands that it benefits both the racing community and his company to spend generously. Stories abound about his habit of acquiring and saving things that many of us would just casually toss away. Isky doesn’t toss anything away, especially his friends.

                                  
                                                                             It doesn’t matter what it is, if it’s a deal he will buy it and bring it home. 
                                                                In the storage area behind the manufacturing plant is another acre or more of stored treasures.
 
 
                                                                             
                                                                    Ed Iskenderian, a special man that doesn’t toss anything away, especially his friends.
  
                                                                              
                                                                     Ed Iskenderian (r) and long time friend Nick Arias see each other almost every day.
  
                                                                             
                                                  Richard Iskenderian is the son of the founder and current General Manager and President of the company

                  TONY GEORGE RESIGNS BOARD MEMBERSHIPS

                                                                       OF INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, HULMAN & COMPANY

 

INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010 - The Board of Directors of Hulman & Company and affiliated companies, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has received the resignation of Anton H. "Tony" George from the board of directors effective immediately, according to Mari Hulman George, chairman.

"As members of his family, we are sorry to see Tony leave," said Mrs. George. "We are grateful for his service to our company as a board member and of course for formerly serving as CEO and president of our companies. I speak for our whole family in wishing him well.

"All of us had hoped that Tony would continue to serve on the board, and we made that clear to him. We are disappointed with his decision to step down despite our wishes."

His resignation removes George from any remaining role in Hulman & Company, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League, IMS Productions and other affiliated companies. His term as CEO of the family companies ended June 30, 2009. He continues to be involved in racing through his ownership of Vision Racing, a competitor in the IZOD IndyCar Series of the Indy Racing League.

The board vacancy will be addressed at a later date. In addition to Mari Hulman George, board members include Nancy George, Josie George, Kathi George-Conforti and Jack Snyder.

Mari Hulman George said she is very pleased with the direction of the company and the progress that has been made during the last six months.

"Our company is healthy and is weathering the economic recession well," she said. "Jeff Belskus, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Curt Brighton, president and CEO of Hulman & Company, are both doing excellent jobs in guiding our companies through this difficult time. Many hard decisions have been made, and now our companies are well positioned for the future."


                                                                                                       
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                   View from the Cockpit   
                                                                                                                          By JR Williams
                                                                                                                               Nevada
                                                                                                                    Contributor to OWR3



IN MEMORIUM

 

BOB HIGMAN

 

For the second time in three weeks, the world of auto racing has lost another icon. After years of fighting a brave fight against a very serious illness, Bob Higman has lost his battle. He will be sorely missed by all who were graced with the honor of knowing him.

 

For those interested in the details of Bob's funeral arrangements, there will be a viewing on Wednesday from  3:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. at:

 

Soller & Baker Funeral Home

400 Twyckenham Blvd.

Lafayette, IN 47909

Phone - (765) 474-1111

 

There will also be another viewing and service at the funeral home on Thursday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 and the funeral will follow.

 

For anyone interested in helping the family with funeral costs, donations can be sent to the

 

USAC Benevolent Fund

% Bill Marvel

4910 West 16th Street

Speedway, IN 46224

 

In the memo line of your check please enter - Bob Higman

 

I met Bob about nine years ago and like all others who knew him, I was enamored by his always present smile and the fact that once he met someone, he never forgot the person, or the name. What a gift.

 

The only photo I have of Bob is one I took of him in his wheelchair at OR aroundnd 2007. I met with him a few times after that photo was taken.

                                                                                       
On Turkey Night of 2008, I mentioned to Bob that I heard that Eddie Sachs had once driven for him. He replied that although he always wanted to have Eddie in the seat, the circumstances never permitted. Whenever the seat was empty, Eddie had another ride, and when Eddie was without a ride, Bob's seat was already spoken for. A few weeks after that conversation, an envelope arrived from Bob. Inside was a letter and a list of all of the drivers who had driven for him --- over 120 -- that included just about a real who's who of midget drivers, including such great names as Mel Kenyon, A J Foyt, Rich Volgler, Wally Pankratz. Bob Harkey, Len Sutton, Bill Homier, Mario Andretti, and the list goes on and on.

 

Bob was more than a car owner. He was also a builder, and an innovator. He was never afraid to try something new and a number of innovations in today's chassis can be attributed to him.

 

Where Crocky Wright was a driver and historian, Bob Higman was an owner, builder, and maker of history.

 

I was hoping to see Bob again at this year's Turkey Night, but he wasn't there. The last I saw him was at the Old Timer's Club at the Speedway last May while we watched the race on TV and Bob told numerous racing tales. He did make it to the Rumble this year however.

 

I got the phone call of his passing from Bob Harkey last week. Charlie Patterson had called Bob and had asked Bob to pass the news on to me.

 

I had quite a long conversation with Charlie on Sunday. He told me a number of stories about he and Bob. He considered Bob as a father figure and spent many days driving across the country towing Bob's cars from coast to coast.

 

On one occasion, Charlie was planting corn on his farm when he got a call from Bob asking him to come over. Charlie dropped everything and went to Bob's shop where Bob was putting a car together for Trenton, New Jersey. It was a new car and the paint on the frame was still wet. Charlie mentioned that over the next 48 hours that it took to put the rest of the car together, that he had to be very careful not to scratch anything hanging shocks and all as the paint on the frame was so soft.

 

On another occasionon, as they were driving to California, Charlie was falling asleep and Bob was sleeping. Charlie would wake Bob up to tell him that he had to wake up and drive for a while as Charlie was dozing off. Bob would say OK, but would go right back to sleep. Back in those days, the shoulders of the roads were just gravel, so Charlie eased off the road and the gravel hitting the fenders snapped Bob out of his sleep instantly and he began driving. Charlie slept for a little while - maybe two hours - and woke up to find that they were parked off the road and Bob was sleeping --- Bob had driven all of five miles before pulling over,

 

Bob and Charlie both had the same birthday - January 29th, and they always had their birthday parties together with dozens of friends attending. Needless to say that friend Charlie is not planning on a birthday party this year.

 

Naturally, I was going to do a piece on the Chili Bowl, but all of the results can be seen on other sites. But, this morning I received a nice note from friend and racing photographer Galen Kurth. He had just shot his 17th Chili Bowl and sent me a photo of Floyd Alvis. Floyd is a real old man -- older than me by three months -- and won his "J" main on Saturday night after nine years of traveling out there from California. Like Galen says, winning one of the main events on Saturday at the Chili Bowl is a great accomplishment when you think of the hundreds of drivers who have been there and who have never won anything. The only thing that upset Floyd was that his crew couldn't hold up and wanted to turn in by 11 P.M. while he (Floyd) was still running his gasoline powereMargaritata mixer. Galen sent me the attached photo of Floyd with his new yellow paint job.
                                                 Floyd Alvis  photo by Galen Kurth
                                                

 

Other than Galen, the only person I was in contact with from the Chili Bowl this year was Sean Bowman - Alex Bowman's father. I tried to call him after the Friday night qualifiers. Alex made it to the "A" Main on Friday, but finished back far enough to put him in the "C" Main on Saturday. Still and all, not bad for the youngster's first attempt at the Chili Bowl.

 

Anyway, every time I tried to call Sean on Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, or today, his cell phone picked up on the first ring to leave a message. At first I thought he had turned it off, but finally contacted him at his home and found out that he lost his phone on Wednesday night. He'll have a new one tomorrow. Anyway, Alex was upset that he didn't do any better, but to have moved up he would have had to ease someone else out of the way, and that's not Alex. Still and all, he made the "A" Main on Friday, the "C" Main Saturday, and the car rolled onto the trailer.

 

Sean also told me that Alex is moving out to Charleston where he will continue his high school education, while working in a racing shop and it looks as though this coming season will see Alex in late model stock cars as well as competing in the USAC National Midget division. It looks like the personable young man has turned a few heads, and with luck can make the grade. He certainly has the driving abilities that should make any owner and sponsor proud. Good luck Alex.

 

We finally put our tentative 2010 schedule together and it looks like we'll run 23 or 24 pavement races and seven or eight dirt shows. The pavement races will be with the Focus engine and the dirt shows will be with the Chevy EcoTech. One of the pavement shows may be the Speedrome in Indianapolis during race week. If it works out, I'll run at RMR in Salt Lake City the Saturday before, then tow out to Harkey's in Indianapolis, where I'll arrive on Tuesday afternoon. I'll run at the Speedrome on Wednesday night and spend the rest of the week hanging out with Harkey and Charlie watching races at the Fairgrounds, ORP and the 500, before heading back to RMR for another show before heading home. Here's hoping the highway will be in better shape than it was last year.

 

It's snowing again outside the hacienda. Hopefully I'll be able to get up to the shop tomorrow.

 

As usual, e-mails can reach me at: jrw-jnw@sbcglobal.ne



Jan 17 2010

                   
            FRESNO California  "Western Speed and Fuel" announces 
                                   A celebration of new ownership 

"In celebration of its recent ownership change we will be having a blow-out open house event" states Kevin Gerhardt the new owner of the 15-year plus motor sports supply company.  "We plan on continuing the great service and supply of specialty related items geared towards the professional and weekend racer".  "We also cater to the street rod builders market, marine industry as well as your average car guy looking to spruce up his / her vehicle". The company is going into its 15th year in business and was acquired by Kevin Gerhardt in November of 2009.  The new owner has vast experience in the motor sports industry having been involved in racing his whole life as well as owning / fielding many open wheel USAC cars such as Midgets, Sprint cars and Silver Crown Cars.  Kevin' grandfather, Fred Gerhardt, built and fielded many USAC cars from the 1930's to the mid 80"s with such drivers as Vukovich, Kenyon, Snider to name a few.  At one time 3/4 of the cars entered in the Indianapolis 500 were based from a Gerhardt built Chassis.
 
The open house which will be held on Saturday January 23rd between 10am-3pm will feature TWO gigantic Snap On Tools display rigs with factory support dealer vehicles.  Also on display will be race boats, Rock Crawlers, Street Rods and professional show cars as well as USAC open wheel race cars.  Food service will be available.  Also on display will be the new and improved professional race shock rebuilding business "Western Speed Suspensions".  This program encompasses years of shock building experience with our modern shock dyno and computer programs for dirt and asphalt racing.  The shock technician will be on hand performing demonstrations on AFCO shocks in our modern facility that features the latest tooling for the service of all shocks.  Some of the shocks we service are JRI, Penske, Carrera and ARS.
 
The entire public is welcome to this event and the spacious store will be open with additional product display and specialty parts sales. Johnny Frias, our in store manager, will be on hand to answer specific questions and help customers with their specialty items needs.
 
Western Speed and Fuel
2202 S. Van Ness
Fresno CA. 93721
www.westernpseedandfuel.com
Jfrias@westernspeedandfuel.com
559-485-7442
559-264-2314                            

                          Indianapolis 500 Veteran Set For Gambler’s Classic Debut


ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – January 17, 2009 . . .  Davey Hamilton’s journey this season will take him to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
 

But first, he’ll be making a stop at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., where he will participate in the two-day indoor Three Quarter Midget race car event on January 29-30.
 

Hamilton, 47, is a nine-time Indianapolis 500 starter, is one of nearly 96 entries for the upcoming event, which culminates with the prestigious Gambler’s Classic TQ-Midget main event on Jan. 30.
 

This marks Hamilton’s first-ever entry at Boardwalk Hall, and his first-ever race in the state of New Jersey.
 

In fact, Hamilton never drove a feisty TQ-Midget indoors until he drove a Lou Cicconi Jr.-owned car in December at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I.
 

“At least this time, I feel a bit more confident,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t know what to expect when I first got in a TQ-Midget.
 

“I couldn’t believe what it was like out there on the track. Everything happens so fast. You never have a time to relax like you get on a bigger-outdoor track.”
 

Hamilton has made 50 career Indy Car starts and while never winning a race, he did finish second on three times.
 

He placed second in the Indy Racing League points in the 1996-1997 season and again in 1998.
 

Hamilton retired from the cockpit in 2001 after a serious crash at Texas Motor Speedway. After numerous surgeries, he returned to Indy Car racing in 2007 when he drove for Vision Racing.
 

In nine career starts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Hamilton’s best finish is a fourth (1998). He has three top-10 finishes.
 

Hamilton is a late Atlantic City entry because he thought he would be racing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, but that plan fell through as the car was not fully built.
 

Hamilton is literally going from a 3.56-mile road course to a 1/10th-mile indoor track that is constructed on top of a hockey rink.
 
“At least I am racing and that’s what matters,” Hamilton said. “I really love racing, and it doesn’t matter what it is. Indoor racing a short-track racing mixes you among the fans. I really enjoy being with the race fans.”
 
  
The high-powered, TQ-Midget cars will headline the two-day card. Some 100 drivers are expected to contend for the Gambler's Classic title.
 
 The Slingshot and Champ Kart race cars, which provide just as much entertainment as the TQ Midgets, will be on the card each night as well.
 
 Defending champions are Paul Lotier Jr. of Lebanon, Pa. (Slingshots) and Ryan Kendall of East Greenbush, N.Y. (Champ Karts).
 
 Fans can purchase tickets by calling Ticketmaster at (800)-736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
 
 Tickets will also be on sale at this weekend’s Motorsports 2010.
 
 Information on the event is available at aarn.com or by calling (609)-888-3618.
 
 Fans can also purchase tickets at the Boardwalk Hall Ticket Office. Tickets will be $2 more at the door on the day of the ra



Jan 14 2010

LOYET MOTORSPORTS PRESS RELEASE

“Lasoski released from Chili Bowl Ride”

Tulsa, Okla., Jan. 14---Joe Loyet of Loyet Motorsports has released Danny Lasoski from his driving duties at the 2010 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, effective Thursday morning.

This decision comes as a response to the financial situation stemming from the Bull Ring Midget Nationals at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. Lasoski and Scott Pennington were co-promoters of the December 18-19 event. Competitors have yet to receive the purse payout for Saturday Night’s events.

“Loyet Motorsports feels they have an obligation to show support to the other owners and drivers who participated in that event.

“We hold no ill-will to Danny, but felt that it was best for both parties to go their separate ways at this time” said Loyet.

Lasoski competed in Tuesday night’s event for the team. There will be no replacement driver for the event.

Jan12 2010

CASTRONEVES SEES FACE ON INDY 500 TROPHY, GETS CHAMPION’S RING

INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 – If the old saying “To the victor go the spoils” is true, then Helio Castroneves was spoiled rotten for his victory in the 2009 Indianapolis 500.

Castroneves received the spoils of his third “500” victory – the Herff Jones Champion of Champions Ring and the unveiling of his likeness on the famed Borg-Warner Trophy  – in a ceremony Tuesday, Jan. 12 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of fame Museum.  
“Where is it?” Castroneves said as he tried to locate his newest likeness on the trophy. “Ohh, here we go. Wow! We can see that the years are passing by. My hair is kind of going backward. I can see that. Isn’t that amazing? Oh my goodness! This is just incredible.”

Surrounded by the cars that A.J. Foyt, Wilbur Shaw and Johnny Rutherford drove to their third “500” victories, IMS Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Belskus presented Castroneves with his winner’s ring. Event host Bob Jenkins and a crowd of fans counted down the time until Castroneves removed the covering from the trophy to see his face sculpted in sterling silver.

Belskus also surprised Castroneves by giving him a basket of baby clothes as a congratulatory gift on the recent birth of his first child, daughter Mikaella.

In addition to the champion’s ring and likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy, Castroneves and Team Penske owner Roger Penske will receive scaled-down replicas of the Borg-Warner Trophy in a ceremony Wednesday night. The “Baby Borg” is traditionally presented by BorgWarner to the winning driver and car owner in Detroit during the North American International Auto Show. Castroneves’ likeness also will be featured on the event ticket for the 2010 “500.”

“I have to work four times harder now,” Castroneves said of his drive for a record-tying fourth “500” win May 30. “I have the right team. I have great people surrounding me. I guess I know what I need to do. Certainly, it will be tough. It will be difficult, but I have no doubt in my mind that everything is possible, so I’m going to go for it.”

2010 Indy 500 tickets: Tickets for the 2010 Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 30 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, are on sale now. Race Day ticket prices start at just $20.

Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, call the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800)822-INY  outside the Indianapolis area or visit the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street. Online orders can be made at any time. Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. /9et) Monday-Friday. 
Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775  for more information.

                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                   View from the Cockpit   
                                                                                                                          By JR Williams
                                                                                                                               Nevada
                                                                                                                    Contributor to OWR3

      Congratulations to Rick and Meg Young who added an addition to their family. Sophia Rae Young has joined her older sister Alexa in the Young family. Now, for those of you who are new to this column, or who are not aware of the name Rick Young,
                                                                                        
 
Rick is the founder of Capital City Midgets, an organization that is working very hard to develop a reasonably priced midget forum for Northern California. Rick has been working tirelessly on this program over the past few years, and this year he has made a major breakthrough by tying in both with Keith Iaia who has been developing the Chevy EcoTech racing engine program, and Emmitt Hahn and his ASCS program. This year it looks as though it is all coming together and Rick has a great program of racing set up for Northern California for the 2010 season.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that the racing widow and I had dinner with Keith, Rick and some other racing people at the annual promoter's workshop in Reno. At that time, Rick was awaiting the arrival of Sophia Rae and I believe he mentioned at that time that Bryan Clauson would be driving his car at the shootout in Tulsa last week. Whether he mentioned it or not is not the point, if he did, the old man forgot, and last week I mentioned that I didn't know what type of engine powered Bryan's car to third place at the shootout. Now I know, it was Rick Young's EcoTech.

  Speaking of Tulsa, by the time this column sees print, the Chili Bowl should be well on its way, as the first night of racing will being tomorrow (Tuesday - 01/12/10). Once again, over 270 cars will be on hand, and the old man will be missing it. I really wish I could have been there, but with the economy the way it is, I can either be at the Chili Bowl, or make more races during my 2010 summer season, and I'd rather make the races myself.

  Still and all, I'll miss seeing a lot of friends and acquaintances there, as the Chili Bowl is much more than a series of races, it is a variable mixing pot of all racing people; owners, drivers and crew.

  I always enjoyed wandering through the pit areas, seeing old acquaintances and friends, and making new ones. Then again, who can not go there and not enjoy the fantastic racing that goes on from Tuesday through Saturday?

  Looking through the competitors who will be on hand each night, I recognize many of the names, but only know a few of them. Each night, though, will see a number of high-quality competitors on hand to vie for the "golden driller".

  Tomorrow night, Tuesday, will see Greg Bragg back on hand. I haven't seen Gregg in a few years, as our racing paths haven't crossed. The same is true of Bobby East who I last ran into at ORP the Night Before Indy. I did get time to say hello to Dave Darland at Turkey Night however.

  Two of my favorite lady drivers will be on hand Tuesday night; Shannon McQueen and Randi Pankratz, both of whom are hard chargers and great competitors.

  I don't remember when I last saw friend Billy Wease, but I know it was since I last saw him at the Chili Bowl a few years ago, but I know that I haven't seen Brady Bacon since then.

  Wednesday night will see Davey Ray on hand. I'll miss talking to Davey who is a great competitor. He'll be competing with friends Scott Pierovich, Rick Hendrix, Dave Prickett, Brad Kuhn, and the really old man Floyd Alvis. I'll miss Floyd's margaritas this year. Also on hand Wednesday night will be friends Bryan Clauson, A.J. Fike, and Daniel Adler.

  Thursday night will see action involving more of my friends. Dennis Rodriguez will be on hand again for his third year. I haven't had the privilege of hanging out with Dennis this past year as he drives his 360 sprint car with the VRA group down in Southern California, but I'll never forget his first midget ride that occurred at the Chili Bowl two years ago when he made it up to the "C" Main on Saturday night. What a drive. I wish him well this year.

  Also on hand Thursday night will be friends Thomas Meseraull and Nic Faas. Two really hot shoes also from Southern California. Friend Michelle Decker will be competing Thursday night as well, driving the other Shannon McQueen car.

  Three other California friends will be in competition on Thursday night; Tanner Swanson, Johnny Rodriguez and Garrett Hansen. Garrett will be driving one of the Bondio cars which will be a real thrill for this hard-charging competitor.

  It looks as though the rumors are true, Tony Stewart has dropped out of the midget competition, as his name isn't listed, nor are his cars, and Tracy Hines and Levi Jones are driving for other owners.

  It looks like Jerry Coons, Jr. will be back from "down under" to run on Friday night. He will be competing against a bunch of fast, California drivers including Justin Grant, Josh Wise, Kody Swanson and Cory Kruseman. Other California friends who will be on hand are: Travis Berryhill, Matt Mitchell, Bobby Michnowicz and Brian Camarillo.

  All of the fore mentioned drivers have competed at the Chili Bowl in years past, but this year we will see another friend of mine, a rookie to the Chili Bowl Arena, young Alex Bowman from Tuscon, Arizona. I'd love to be there this year just to help out in his pits as I really feel that his young man has a good chance to take the whole bag of marbles.

  In any case, whatever happens, we'll have a full update next Monday night.

  As for the old man, the snow has melted enough out here that I can see the trailer tires, if I really had to I think I could load a race car into it, hook up the tow truck, and get it out of the yard, but they're forecasting rain, wind and snow to come in tomorrow.

  I've been working on the two cars a little each day, but now, except for polishing some parts, there's nothing more that I can do until I get some parts. The week before Christmas I decided to change the birdcage bearings on the pavement car. That was bad timing, as the machine shop I use was having a lot of days off for their employees, so we're still waiting for the new bearings to come in. They should be here by next week. Then, all I'll have to do on that is install them, square the rear end and change the oil and filter. 
  I rebuilt the brakes a few weeks ago, and must have spent ten hours trying to get a good pedal. Finally, I found that the brake line elbow on the left front caliper was leaking, so once that was changed that problem was done.
   I put a new rear nerf bar on the combo car today and am waiting for a new torsion tube and some engine parts before I can get that finished up. I won't have any problem making the first race with the pavement car, but the combo car still has me concerned. I don't work quite as fast as I used to.

  Last week I got into a pissing contest with a poster on one of the racing bulletin boards. He was upset that Steve Lewis was getting back into racing with his 9 cars. I tried to explain to him that Steve is a gentleman who has really been helpful to the sport, but that didn't satisfy his concerns. It seems as though Steve, with his field of cars was actually hurting the sport instead of the other way around.

  Well, one thing about being old is that you've had the opportunity to view and experience a lot of different things, and I've seen a number of multi-car teams over the years     --- all of who helped the sport.

  Years back, before I began driving, Pappy Hough was a big name on the East Coast. He had a number of midgets that were called "the pigs," He towed four of them on an open trailer, back in the days when you could compete eight and nine times a week. Back in those days, tow vehicles weren't anywhere near as dependable as they are today, and whenever Pappy would have a breakdown on the highway, he'd go to the nearest dealer and buy a new tow vehicle.

  When I was racing with the ARDC, Harry Hespell had a four-car team as well. They were all red and white KK Offies. Until Sunday I remembered them as being all red until I talked to friend Bob Harkey who drove one of them from time to time. I also remember Hespell as owning a bus line somewhere around Philadelphia, but Bob worked for him once in a while and reminded me that he was quite an entrepreneur, owning a large quarry and machine shop. Anyway, he had the best of the best driving for him; Len Duncan, Red Marlow, Harkey, Red Reigel, Ed "Dutch" Schaefer. and others. He would bring one driver in for a few races and then replace him with another depending on the tracks they would be running on. The same was true of Steve Lewis in these later years who has put the hottest shoes in his cars. His championships prove it.

  Ron Sutton also fields a number of cars, and although he is running a driver development program, without his team of cars the sport would suffer terribly, not the other way around.

  What is the difference between the multi-car owners and the owner/driver teams? Money? Perhaps, but I really think that besides the money available, time is the greatest thing that the multi-team owners have. The multi-team owners have the resources to hire enough team personnel to really take care of the smallest detail in car preparation. If you spend any time in their shops, or in their pits during competition, you will find that they leave nothing to chance. They have check-lists, and check-lists for their check-lists. In other words, they have the time for preparation that the owner/driver doesn't necessarily have.

  In my own case, I have a weekly check-list that has to be accomplished. Once the items on that list are checked off, there are other items that can be worked on, but the car will work without them. All of these items takes time, and when you are all by yourself, there is  only so much you have time for, and the older you get, the slower you become.

  Sure, I'd love to have a few crew members who would be able to help me out all the time, but in the first place there is no one that I know living close enough to me to help me out. Those that I know are working and can't take three-day weekends off to help me, and I can't afford to hire a crew.

  So, I do the best I can with what I have available - time wise and money wise.

  I'm not going to sit around and complain that so and so has so much much more money to spend on equipment and that. God Bless them for it. They are helping the sport and the car count. If I can get everything together properly for the race, and if I can be physically and mentally prepared, I'll be able to beat them. If I didn't think I could win I wouldn't go to the races, but I don't begrudge anyone for what they can afford. We all need each other. So, quityourbitchin and do your best --- or stay home.

  Lots of luck to all at the Chili Bowl. Until next week, e-mails can reach me at: jrw-jnw@sbcglobal.net.


Jan 10 2010

 USAC, FRIDAY’S 54th “NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS” CELEBRATION

Bud Kaeding, Levi Jones and Brad Kuhn headlined Friday night’s 54th USAC “Night of Champions” National Awards Banquet in Indianapolis, Ind.

Kaeding, of Campbell, Calif. and his BK Motorsports Team, celebrating their third series championship. The title makes Kaeding only the second to claim three Silver Crown titles since the series debuted in 1971. Jimmy Sills won championships in 1990, 1994 and 1996. Joining Kaeding in Friday’s spotlight were National Sprint Car Champion Levi Jones of Avon, Ind. and Mopar National Midget Champion Brad Kuhn, also of Avon. They were among numerous racing series champions and special recipients who earned distinctive Medallions, Oakley timepieces, trophies, Hoosier championship jackets and plaques.

Keys to the City of Indianapolis from the Mayor were presented to Kaeding, Jones and Kuhn in recognition of their 2009 achievements.

Emcee Rob Klepper orchestrated the presentations, which included driver and car entrant champions, Rookies of the Year, Most Improved Drivers and special award recipients, at the Indiana Roof Ballroom.

Driving champions in addition to the aforementioned included Mike Spencer of Temecula, Calif. (USAC/CRA Sprints), Tanner Swanson of Kingsburg, Calif. (Western Sprints), Garrett Hansen of Manhattan Beach, Calif. (Western Midgets), Mike Murgoitio of Meridian, Ida. (Rocky Mountain Sprint), Brad Loyet of Sunset Hills, Mo. (USAC/SMRS Great Plains Midget), Kyle Hamilton of Danville, Ind. (National Pavement Ford Focus and Regional Midget), Joe Liguori of Tampa, Fla. (Midwest and UMARA Ford Focus), Jeremy Frankoski of Huntersville, N.C. (Carolina Ford Focus), Nik Romano of Atherton, Calif. (California Pavement Ford Focus), Brody Roa of Buena Park, Calif. (California Dirt Ford Focus), Kipp Posey of Lehi, Utah (Utah Ford Focus), Kyle Edwards of Fountain View, Calif. (California Young Guns) and Dillon Welch of Noblesville, Ind. (Kenyon Midget). Alex Jacobsen of San Jose, Calif. and Andrew Mulhearn of Whittier, Calif. joined Hamilton as recipients of the Henry Ford Sweepstakes Trophy emblematic of National Ford Focus titles. Jasobsen won the Young Guns and Mulhearn won the California Dirt.

USAC’s inaugural champions of the Traxxas TORC Off-Road Championships were honored and included Jeff Kincaid of Argonne, Wisc. (Pro Light), Rob MacCachren of Las Vegas, Nev. (Amsoil Pro 2WD) and Rick Huseman of Riverside, Calif. (Kumho Pro 4x4).

Honored as inaugural USAC .25 Midget National Champions as a result of their victories at the “Battle at the Brickyard” were Garrett Ottman, Groveport, OH (Junior Rookie), Mox Price, Payne, OH (Junior Honda), Ross Rankine, Willard, OH (Senior Honda), Frankie Nervo, Stow, OH (Light 160), Ryan Fleming, Xenia, OH (Heavy B & Heavy AA), Logan Wennesheimer, Waterford, MI (Junior Stock), Cannon Konzer, Holly, MI (Heavy 160 & Heavy World Formula), Dean Creech, Clawson, MI (Half), Miranda Bieghler, Plainfield, IN (Senior Rookie), Gage Walker, Fairland, IN (Light World Formula), Zachary Hampton, Clayton, IN (Light B), Braden Nash, Winauma, FL (Junior Rookie), Brayden Trigueiro, Caruthers, CA (Senior Stock), Mike Gass, Worth, IL (Heavy Honda), Brendon Bock, Franklin Square, NY (Light AA & Light Mod) and Michael McConahay, Pickerington, OH (Heavy Mod).

A special USAC “Spirit of Youth Award” was presented to Eric Rankine of Willard, Ohio for his many contributions to the sport of quarter-midget racing.

National car entrant champions included BK Motorsports of Indianapolis, Ind. (Silver Crown), Tony Stewart Racing of Brownsburg, Ind. (National Sprint Car), RW Motorsports of Lederach, Pa. (National Midget) and Gregg Steele of Shelbyville, Ind. (Pavement Ford Focus).

Car entrant champions honored Friday night also included TK Motorsports of Kingsburg, Calif. (Western Sprint Car); Jerome Rodela of El Monte, Calif. (Western Midget); Ron Chaffin Motorsports of Madera, Calif. (USAC/CRA Sprint Car); John Givens of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (Midwest and UMARA Ford Focus); Tracy Trotter of Denver, N.C. (Carolina Ford Focus); Western Speed Racing of Fresno, Calif. (California Paved Ford Focus); Brody Roa (California Dirt Ford Focus); Mike Hamilton of Danville, Ind. (Regional Midget); Welch Racing of Noblesville, Ind. (Kenyon Midget) and Kerry Posey of Springville, Utah (Utah Ford Focus).

 USAC President Kevin Miller presented USAC Special Recognition Awards to Oakley (corporate) and Ricky Johnson (individual) for their contributions and dedicated service to the racing community.

 Retiring USAC Chairman of the Board John Capels was named as the recipient of USAC’s prestigious Roger McCluskey Award of Excellence, recognizing his long tenure as a USAC participant and executive.

 USAC’s 2010 “Race Organizer of the Year” awards were presented to Eldora Speedway (National) and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Western).

 Kody Swanson of Kingsburg, Calif. earned the 2009 USAC Silver Crown “Rookie of the Year” honors, while Henry Clarke of Villa Park, Calif. received the National Sprint Car “Rookie of the Year” honors. The Bob Stroud Memorial National Midget “Rookie of the Year” Award went to Zach Daum of Pocahontas, Ill.

 Shane Hmiel of Huntersville, N.C. was named USAC “Most Improved” National Driver of 2009.

 USAC’s 2009 “Mechanical Achievement of the Year” award went to Scott Benic of Fairmount, Ind.

 Cole Whitt of Alpine, Calif. was presented the 2009 USAC “Super License,” earning the most National feature event points.

 Buck and Betty Rice of Pro Source Consultants of Grand Saline, Texas presented their 2009 “Hard Work” awards to Thomas Buch/VKCC Racing of Brownstown, Pa. (National Sprint cars) and Dan Daum of Greenville, Ill. (National Midgets).

 Second and third-place drivers and car entrants in USAC’s National racing series also received their year-end recognition and awards.

 Joe DeFabis of DeFabis Photography, USAC’s Official Portrait Studio, presented his Championship Photo Artworks to the 2009 National driving champions.

 Two special awards ordinarily presented during the “Night of Champions” will be presented January 30 at USAC’s “Western Awards Banquet.” They are the Jim Blunk Award for contributions to the sport of Midget racing and the Ross Hadley Memorial Achievement Award. Wally Pankratz of Orange, Calif. was announced as the recipient of the Blunk Award and Gordon Tyler of Centerville, Utah was announced as the winner of the Hadley Award.

 Highlighting the evening’s ceremonies were appearances by seven-time USAC National Midget Champion Mel Kenyon, who presented Brad Kuhn’s championship awards, and three-time USAC National Sprint Car Champion Larry Dickson, who presented Levi Jones’ championship awards.

 Floral decorations were provided by Jockish Flowers of Indianapolis. Tim Spillman of Auto Racing Ministries delivered the invocation, while the acoustical duo of Dave and Rae served as entertainment for dining and dancing.

Jan 9 2010

                                                                                                                         Gerald Laurie
                                                                                                    California
                                                                                          Contributor to OWR3

Mid-Winter Supermodified Soap Opera

The last Western States Supermodified Race of 2009 was Halloween Night at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring. Troy Regier wrapped up yet another Championship for the S&S Motorsports Team in the Supermodified Racing Association Sanctioned Event. The 2010 Season appears to a very big question mark. The West Coast Supermodified Sanctioning Scene has rolled through numerous deaths and reincarnations over the last thirty years. There are pockets of these short track rockets throughout the West, but only in Colorado are there enough to hold a regional series sanctioned by the long time owner driven club known as the Englewood Racing Association. Maybe a little history is in order.

There are two separate types of Supermodifieds in the Western States. There are the ultimate short track hot rods with fuel injected engines pumping out upwards of eight hundred horsepower, offset chasses featuring nearly 70% left side weight bias, and the widest tires allowed on any oval track racecar. These are glued to the track by front and top inverted wings projecting huge down force through the tires to the ground. These cars were sanctioned by both SMRA and ERA in 2009. ERA sanctioned events only in Colorado last year but had fourteen to sixteen cars at nearly every show. The SMRA sanctioned events in California, Nevada, Idaho, and Utah, but struggled mightily to bring car counts over 10 teams. There is also a group of cars sporting similar chasses with less left side bias, similar wing and tire combinations, but with engines restricted to 360 cubic inches, with a single twin throat carburetor, and around 500 horsepower. These 360 Supers run primarily in Central California at Madera Speedway and have a long history going back many years. The number of cars running this class has waxed and waned over the years, but has generally remained between eight and fifteen regular teams. Madera combines the 360’s with the SMRA cars for six races a season with its own separate points system.

 

There are enclaves of Supermodified teams in several areas of the West. Most of the ERA competitors are domiciled within about fifty miles of the Denver Metro area. The Madera 360 Teams all seem to cluster in Central California between Stockton and Bakersfield with a couple of teams located a bit farther away. The SMRA has small enclaves of teams in Central and Northern California, West Central Nevada, in the Salt Lake City area of Utah, near Boise, Idaho, and in and around Seattle, Washington. There are other teams scattered around Oregon and the more rural areas of California and Washington. Not all of these teams have competed over the more recent years. Purses for Supermods have shrunk some over the years since the mid 1990’s and many cars have not ventured out of the shops because of the economics involved. The recession that took hold at the end of 2008 has really affected the Supermod car counts for traveling events. Unlike traveling Sprint Car and Late Model groups, the core group of travelers are not being complemented by the addition of local cars when the Supers arrive in town. The exception is Madera where the 360’s are added to the field and compete in a race within a race. In 2009, the SMRA car counts ranged from 5 to 15 cars with the larger numbers actually including some ERA teams that traveled out of their own area.

 

It is now January of 2010 and other than the ERA sanctioned enclave in Colorado, only one track has announced a schedule including Supermodifieds. Madera has scheduled six races for a combined show of SMRA and 360 cars. They also have a stand alone 360 championship show scheduled. However, SMRA has not yet said they will sanction the Madera Shows. Madera Speedway Promoter Kenny Sheppard will run the six shows whether sanctioned by SMRA or not. The problem is that several teams based outside the immediate area do not wish to travel to Madera six times for points races. However, they have no alternate locations to race nearer their team domiciles as yet and purse structure for those possible races seems to be the sticking point. The tracks want more cars and the racers want more money. Right now, the economics favor the tracks. There are only two tracks willing to pay the published SMRA purse (2009 version, the 2010 amount is not known to the author at this time) and one of them is Madera.

 

There are several California and Nevada based SMRA teams that plan to race all of the shows at Madera. However, there is one two car team that will venture out of Central California for only shows that pay a full purse. There are two single car and one two car team in Nevada that have attended only one or two shows each in 2008 and 2009 due to economic reasons. I have received information from those teams that nothing has changed in 2010 that will allow them to compete more often if at all. That is four cars virtually sitting out the season. There is a Northern California based team that scattered an engine in mid 2009 and has not competed since. They do not have the economic where with all to compete in 2010 unless they are able to find a sponsor to supply an engine. There is a Central California Team that did not compete in 2009 that had purchased a second chassis in order to upgrade their team and run both a 360 and SMRA car in 2010. However, Personal injury to the owner driver in a non racing accident has canceled those plans. In fact the team had to sell the newly acquired chassis for economic reasons. There are two teams in Idaho that have competed on a limited basis only for 2008 and 2009 and have not traveled to any California shows in that time. Two additional Idaho teams plan to curtail the amount of travel in 2010. Most of these Idaho based teams also own sprint cars and plan to compete in the winged sprint car series at local tracks and compete in Supers only at tracks close to home. It appears therefore, that the core traveling group of teams has shrunk further in 2010 from that of recent years. There is a Northern California based team that returned to competition in late 2009 that plans to run the full season with one car and, if an engine sponsor can be found, they may run a second car as well. Both chasses are prepped and ready for the races, but one still needs an engine.

 

However, the 360 Supermodified group based at Madera seems to on an upswing. There are three cars being prepped for competition that have not run in recent years. Jerry Brancato of Southern California has purchased the ex Kelly Johnson Hyder and has it nearly ready for Madera. He will be the long tow champion of the 360’s this year. Jerry is veteran racer with years of experience, but this will be his first foray into the ranks of the sidewinders. Carl Mott has purchased a Hyder chassis and plans to run it as a team car to his other 360. The Slider race team is resurrecting their car for an as yet to be announced driver to run. However, one team is selling the car they purchased just two years ago as they have found the economy too risky to continue to race. However, it does look as though the 360 Supermodified group may have as many fourteen cars ready to run by the first or second Madera race. This is fast approaching a number that will allow some stand alone races at not only Madera, but possibly other California venues as well.

 

And then there is the politics. The SMRA went through turmoil last year as the elected President and Race Director resigned. There were mid year rules changes and interpretations that upset teams and had threats of boycotts flying from a few teams. I know for fact that at least two members did not receive ballots for the election of the new board of directors or officers for 2010. In addition, in 2009 everyone complained about the cost of traveling. The SMRA groups travel as far a thousand miles one way to race at sanctioned shows. The Washington and Idaho based teams travel ridiculous distances to compete in Madera and Las Vegas. The California guys go just as far to Salt Lake City. Travel costs are tremendous with gasoline and diesel fuel topping $3.00 per gallon again.

Sponsorship is dwindling as businesses large and small retreat from large advertising budgets as revenues shrink and markets dry up. Most teams are largely self funded by the owners with minimal additional sponsorship coming from local businesses. And this is one more reason not to travel. An auto parts distributor in Boise does not really reap any benefit from sponsoring a car that competes in California and Nevada just as a California agricultural equipment dealer gets no benefit from putting his name on car that runs half the time in Utah and Idaho. No one seems to have an answer to the sponsorship problem at this time.

 

It would be nice if Idaho had enough cars for a six or eight race series of their own. If California could muster the same, and all of the cars in Washington came out of the barns to run a short series in the Pacific Northwest, then a series that ran three or so races in each region would do very well with the addition of local cars. But these regional series do not exist. The closest thing is the Madera combined shows, but even that is short of cars, especially the injected cars.

 

It will be interesting to see what will happen in 2010. The Madera series seems set in concrete and should draw well for 360’s at least. It appears that three to seven open Supermods will compete at Madera as well. Traditional tracks in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas should eventually be sanctioned but the car counts could be a big question mark. Rocky Mountain Raceways should fare well as their purse is usually attractive and the car count responds to that incentive. I know that Shasta Speedway is interested in a Supermodified event although only five cars showed for last year’s event. It still sold out the house. Purse at this venue with its small grandstand capacity will be a question mark. But it is possible that some of the Madera 360 cars may make the trek to Shasta to fill out the field.

 

New SMRA President Jim Belfiore has his work cut out for him. The SMRA seems to be a bit fractured at this time with special interest groups based on locale pushing for differing advantages. If he accomplishes nothing else, Belfiore must unite the owners and get them all on the same page. I haven’t talked to Jim as yet since I just found out yesterday that he was the new President of SMRA. I certainly wish him luck in what appears to be a daunting task. The survival of the traveling Supermodified Racing Series is at stake!


Jan 7 2010

 

 

 

           Coons Jr wins 50 lapper and  2010 Samsung International World Midget Series

                            California's Jonathan Allard wins 3rd Sprint car feature in NZ

   American Jerry Coons Jnr won his first 50-Lap World Midget Championship on Saturday night at Western Springs Speedway, and in the process also won the 2010 Samsung International World Midget Series. To complete the trifecta, he was also the top individual points scorer in the Ampro Midget Test Series on Wednesday night, picking up the prestigious Herman Tros Memorial Shield for the first time as well.
    USAC Triple Crown winner Coons also won another 50 lap World Championship for car owner Danny Lendich, who provided cars for nine-time 50 lap winner Sleep Tripp for so many years at Western Springs. Coons dominated this years World Series with two wins, the first coming on the first night on December 26.
   The first caution amazingly came out for this years 50 lapper on lap 41 of 50, with Coons Jnr controlling the lead after passing polesitter Michael Pickens and Michael Kendall. Pickens retired with a broken differential. Kevin Swindell was the big mover in a quality field, having started from grid seventeen. He worked the highline on a flat Western Springs surface and worked his way into second behind his compatriot at the chequered flag. Reigning Champ Brad Mosen was running fourth into the final lap and cruelly suffered a flat right rear tyre that dropped him back, not only in the results for the 50 in thirteenth, but it also cost him second in the World Series as well.
    Coons won from Swindell, with first Kiwi home Michael Kendall in third. Shaun Insley finished fourth, followed by Tony Elliott, Shane Alach, Michael Brunt, Scott Hatton, Bill Clarkson Jnr, and Lance Beale completing the top ten. 
    Michael Pickens was the top qualifier in the time trials setting a best lap of 14.311 seconds. Lance Beale won the semi-main, while Tony Elliott won the 'B' Dash, and Pickens won the 'A' Dash to start the 50 lapper from pole.

Samsung Midget World Series Points (Top 6)
(1) 3USA Jerry Coons Jnr - 127 Points (2) 1USA Kevin Swindell - 83 points (3) 13 Brad Mosen - 78 points (4) 77 Shaun Insley - 70 points (5) 17K Michael Brunt - 69 points (6) 75 Bill Clarkson Jnr - 56 points

   California's Jonathan Allard, fresh from his overall win in The International Sprintcar Series, won his third Sprintcar feature of the season at The Springs, making a stunning late race pass on NZ Champ Dean Brindle. Brindle held on for second, with Ryan O'Connor posting another podium in third to retain the Sprintcar Track Championship points lead. The heats were won by Jamie McDonald, O'Connor and Allard.

The next meeting at Western Springs Speedway is on January 16, featuring the Wynns NZ Sprintcar Grand Prix.


From IOW.com web site
Wow this guy is good, hard to believe He has to advertise for a ride? Guess it is part of the down economy?
I have seen him race He is a charger and wins more than His share.  aXe

The article below was done by Richard a while back but still fitting today with all the oval track closeings still going on. aXe
Richard Parks
Southern California
contributor to OWR3
From
 

Gone Racin’…on politics in motor racing

Hot rodders and motor racing fans often pucker up their nose and squint their eyes whenever the word politics and religion are mentioned.  “We don’t like to discuss such issues because they cause arguments,” they say. Then, a few moments later the conversation changes to, isn’t it sad that they’re closing another oval track or dragstrip to build more homes or shopping malls?  The answer to the question is no, it isn’t sad that they are building something on the wreck and ruin of a great racing facility, but what is sad is that hot rodders, racers and fans are so naïve. The truth is that we are losing tracks in the more populated areas not because builders are so greedy to build homes but because racers are unwilling to fight to keep them open. I have visited with racing groups in vain efforts to keep our racing facilities alive. Most of the time it is only a feel good effort of the organizers who have a need to vent. They know the task is daunting and they are looking for a scapegoat to hang the coat of despair and blame on before they retreat to their garages and dream of the glories of the past. If that is what you want to do, then be my guest. Wallowing in self-pity and blaming others will get you through that cold wintry day and ease that worthless feeling in the pit of your stomach that you failed.

But if you are not into a narcissistic urge to pity yourself and your sport, what can you do? Politics. That’s right, good old fashioned, down in the mud, filthy politics. You’ve got to use the very techniques and means that others are using to close your tracks, in order to save them from destruction. You can’t hide from the concept. Wherever you get two or more people together you have political intrigue going, or haven’t you discovered that when dealing with the wife, kids, friends, neighbors and boss. Everybody has their own special needs, and cannot readily see the needs of others. We are convinced that we are right, and if the other person could only see what we see then they would change their opinion and agree with us. That, in a nutshell, is politics. It is the constant urge in us that tries to manipulate others to agree with our opinion, and when we opt not to continue the fight, we surrender what we believe in. We have lost racetracks because we have let others, with their ideas, prevail in the public fight over motor racing. But the question is what can we do? I will present a solution that has been mentioned before.

	The first concept to grasp is that everyone is right. You are right to want a racetrack to race on or watch your favorite sport. The land developer is right to want to make a profit by building homes or shopping malls. The homeowner is right to want a place to live. The second concept is that politics is mainly about power. We can’t get away from this nasty word. Everything we do is based on power; that is, one side will always prevail over the other side in a dispute. Power can be used for good or evil, and conversely, the person that refuses to use power concedes it to others to be used for good or evil. Therefore you cannot say that the opposition did an evil thing, for you conceded the power to him to do that evil deed. You did not contest him. You did not defeat the councilman, or the land developer, or the neighbor who always complained of noise and traffic. You let them prevail, and then you blamed them, and not yourself. If everyone is right and power should be attained and used, then the question is, why didn’t you defend your views, and seek to use your power to keep what you wanted? Why did you withdraw and give up what you desired? Perhaps the answer lies more with ignorance than with cowering in the face of opposition. All right, if we have the will and the drive to keep our tracks open, then what can we do?
	The next thing to understand is how our system of laws and politics work. We have a system that is simple enough. Fifty percent of the votes of the electorate plus an extra vote will ensure that we will get what we want. But it is more complex than that, because our system of governing has many layers, from the Federal government on down to the local level. Then the courts weigh in with their views on whether the laws and the elections pass the test of Constitutionality. They can override the local will of the people. Lobbyists infuse money into the political landscape and it is hard to know what that will do to your project. To keep a racetrack open you have to convince the local zoning boards, the City, County, State and sometimes the Federal government. Then there are groups who are not part of the governing process, but who are powerful enough to exert a great pressure on government, such as the environmentalists. But contrary to what people believe, you do not have to corral 50 percent plus 1 vote to win your argument. You only have to control 5% or less. Let’s look at some examples. A typical city where our racetracks are located might have 50,000 residents, of which half are eligible voters. They will elect a mayor and 4 or 6 council members. It is always an uneven number. Usually, only about 25% of the residents, who are eligible to vote, will actually cast a ballot. That means that out of the 50,000 residents, 1/4 of the 25,000 voters will cast a ballot, or roughly 6000. Three or four spots are up for re-election every 2 years, and you usually see about 8 to 10 people running for a seat. The range of votes will be from 3500 down to just a handful of votes. We can’t do much to stop candidate A who has those 3500 votes in his pocket, or candidate B with his 2500, but candidate C with 1500 and candidate D with 1000 votes are very vulnerable to losing and need every vote available.
	Now, can you overcome your aversion and hatred of politics long enough to see that if you combine with your fellow racers, friends and family members, that you can exert enough power to affect the outcome of a political race and therefore your chances of keeping your favorite racetrack? What do you need? 100 allies is the number at this level, in this city, to effect change. Your buddies have wives, husbands, sons, fathers, neighbors and friends in the city, and if each can find 4 more supporters you can bring the numbers into play. 500 votes taken away from candidate C or D and given to E or F can make all the difference. When your group talks to the candidates in the race you must never overtly threaten someone. It is always posed in the positive. We would love to support you in your bid, because we feel that you would support us in keeping our racetrack alive and well in our community, isn’t that right? The threat or punishment is that you are seen talking to ALL of the candidates, and your votes will be voted in a bloc, and not broken up. The really wonderful part of politics is that there is a vote going on every two years, somewhere close to where we are, and we are invited to attend. If someone goes back on their word, they have to pay for that by the loss of our support.

It’s even sweeter on a larger scale. A typical House of Representative’s seat is usually decided on a vote count that rarely exceeds 200,000 voters. The two parties split 90% of the total, and the victor is lucky if he get 46% of the total amount of the votes in his district, to 44% for his major opponent. That means that winning candidate A received 92,000 votes to losing candidate B with 88,000 votes. Not all races are this close, but a surprising number are decided by such a margin. With 4000 votes separating the winner from the loser, let’s look at our formula of 4 voters tagging along for every member of our group. In this case, we have organized from many cities and we have found 1000 car racing zealots who will stick together and vote as a block, even though that means that we will have to put aside our feelings and literally vote for the devil. Each of our 1000 allies in the SAVE THE RACETRACK COMMITTEE has committed to convincing their wives, husbands, family, friends and neighbors to vote with them. The leaders of STRC have visited with the two top candidates to express their views and to sound out the parties on their willingness to support the idea of racetracks in their areas. The STRC leaders have also made a demand on the candidates for financial support from the government to help continue and support motorsport racing in their districts. With 1000 members, and 4000 supporters, the STRC has changed the dynamics of the election. It doesn’t take 100,000 rabid electors to get your way. You can do it with a fraction of the total number of voters. In fact, any number can have an effect on the candidates who are within such a close range, that defeat and victory will be determined by little things, such as those fighting to keep open a racetrack. Organize your committees today and fight back against the interests opposed to your favorite hobby, or withdraw to the sofa and the remote and watch the professional races thousands of miles away. It’s your choice, but whatever you decide to do, stop bellyaching about it being someone else’s fault.

Jan 6 2010

                                                                                            
                                                                                                     View from the Cockpit   
                                                                                                           By JR Williams
                                                                                                                 Nevada
                                                                                                     Contributor to OWR3

 It started as one of those weeks when I really didn't think I'd have all that much to prepare a column around. This happens quite frequently in a writer's life and it's called Writer's Block. I used to hate it when I was writing for an income source and had a deadline to meet. As the years went by I slowly moved out of that problem - and it still doesn't bother me, especially now when this is a labor of love.

 To begin with, while culling through a few other web sites last week, I noticed that one of them mentioned friend Crocky Wright, and that he had been born in Trenton, NJ. I reread my piece, thinking that I had it right, and discovered that I had neglected to notate that Crocky was born in Duquesne, PA. I did mention that his parents were both immigrants, They settled in Duquesne and his Father worked in the steel mills. He realized that the air was very bad for his family, so they moved to Trenton.

 Our great editor sent me a photo of he and Crocky that was taken at the Speedway Museum last May and I think it's much better than any I have so I'm attaching it. Thanks aXe.

 AXe sent the photo I used a few weeks ago that showed a bunch of us with Tommy Hinnerschitz over to Stan Lobitz to see if he could identify anyone else in the photo that I couldn't and he replied that on the top row from the left was Elton Meitzler who is the current promoter of the Kutztown Fair Grounds micro track, next to him was Jimmy Del Camp then Tommy hinnerschnitz, Dick Miller, Len duncan and Your's Truely. (There is a debate wether or not it is really him going on? by theEditor) 
Second from the left on the bottom row was Al Keller. Thanks Stan. I don't know how you remember that my old garage was on Blackman Street in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

 Speaking of Dick Miller, who was the third from the right in that photo, Stan mentioned that Dick bought the last Hillegass midget that was ever made, and that he, Stan, has that car in his shop. Dick ended up selling it to Connie Oles, but I can't ever remember knowing Connie. I know that when I left the area, Dick still owned the car.

 Speaking of Dick. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Dick Miller who turned  86 today -- if my math is right.

 USAC opened its 2010 season with a Focus midget New Years Day race in Tuscon. The field was quite short - only six cars, but there were some real hot shoes in attendance. The old man was not there, for a number of reasons. First of all, all season long, Turkey Night was my last race of the season and then I'd be off until March. I didn't find out about Tuscon until Turkey Night and there was no way that I could have gotten myself up mentally for that.

 Secondly, the racing widow (who hates racing) spends Thanksgiving by herself -- there's no way that she would be alone on New Years Eve. Not that we ever do anything, but it's the principle of the thing.

 Thirdly - the old man was broke. The economy is hard on all of us, and I managed to make it through all of the 2009 season, but now I have to regroup and save something up for next season.

 Finally, even if the car had been together, there was no way that I could have loaded it up in the ice and snow behind the trailer, and if I could have accomplished that I would not have been able to get the tow truck into the lot, hook it up to the trailer, and get the rig out of the property. The snow was just too deep.

 With any luck I'll be ready for the first race of the year for the Western Divisions that will be somewhere around the third week of March.

 Friends Austin Luttmer and Gregg Fuette made the long tow down from Salt Lake City. The roads were in pretty bad shape the short way to Tuscon, which would have taken them down through Flagstaff, so they took the long way around down through Las Vegas. It added about three hours to the drive, but as my father used to teach me, "the long way around is sometimes the shortest way home."

 As it was, they made it in plenty of time, although both suffered problems in the race itself, and Gregg lost a clutch before the whole day was over. That's the bad news. The good news is that it happened early on, so he'll have it all ready to go when his season really starts.

 The Western Speed group made the trip over from the Coast, with Michael Lewis and Cody Gerhardt signed in to do the driving chores. Local driver Connor Kassik was on hand, as was Alex Bowman.

 The program and the payoff changed from what was originally planned due to the low car count, and it was decided to run two, 20-lap main events, with the finishing order of the first being inverted for the second.

 Alex Bowman didn't plan on driving. Up until about 11:00 the day before the race, Alex helped his dad get their combo car ready for the show, but the plans were to have one of Sean's mechanics handle the driving chores. As luck would have it, he was unable to fit into either of Alex's seats, so Alex agreed to drive.

 From what I heard, Alex was running fast times during the New Years Eve practice session, being the only car to break the 16-second barrier. That was not an official time as the times were taken by hand-held watches, and on race day itself, Michael Lewis set the fast time of 16.028 seconds, a full quarter second faster than his team-mate Cody Gerhardt who timed in at 16.268. Bowman was third quick, with a 16.315, Austin Luttmer ran a 16.463, followed by Gregg Fuette with a 16.474 and Connor Kassik who timed at 16.572.

 Gregg Fuette led the first lap until he was passed on lap two by Michael Lewis won the first 20-lap feature, followed by Cody Gerhardt and Alex Bowman. That put Alex and Michael in the back row for the second portion of the show. Alex took the lead coming out of the second turn and held it to the finish. Cody held on for second place, and Michael ended up third, so when the points were totaled, Alex won the first USAC feature of the 2010 season - congratulations to the young warrior, and to all who braved the weather to make the tow.

 Connor Kassik ended up finishing fourth, while Austin Luttmer came in fifth.

 The shootout at Tulsa was between Ford Focus engines and the new EcoTechs. I haven't received any information yet on who ran what, and I'm unfamiliar with most of the names, but I do know that Bryan Clauson finished third and I would guess that he was in one of the Chevy-powered cars so I'm anxious to talk to him to find out his impressions and to see if he can give me any tips for this coming summer.

 Finally this week, I know that at one time or other I've mentioned that the last race that Emmett Hahn drove in was in friend Charlie Patterson's Silver Crown car at the Indianapolis Fairgrounds. Well, there's a photo of Emmett in the car in this month's Sprint and Midget Magazine. Lookin' good.

 Well, that's about it for this week. As usual, mail can reach me at: jrw-jnw@sbcglobal.net. Until next week drive safe and have a Happy New Year.

Dec 28 2009 

 1ST USAC RACE OF 2010 SET FOR TUCSON RACEWAY PARK NEW YEAR’S DAY

Dec 18 2009

INDIANA “SPRINT WEEK” & “MIDGET WEEK” SLATES ANNOUNCED

     The 2010 USAC “Indiana Sprint Week” and “Indiana Midget Week” dates have been released and each contains new venues.

     The 2010 USAC “Indiana Midget Week” opens on Wednesday night, June 16, at Gas City I-69 Speedway.\ Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, new to the calendar, is the Thursday night, June 17 venue. Additional dates are Friday, June 18 at Bloomington Speedway and Saturday night, June 19 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, with the series closer Sunday night, June 20 at the Kokomo Speedway.
  
     USAC’s “Indiana Sprint Week” commences on Friday night, July 9 at Lawrenceburg. The series continues Saturday night, July 10, at Gas City and Sunday night, July 11 at Kokomo before a two-night hiatus. The Terre Haute Action Track hosts the Wednesday night, July 14 race, while Brownstown Speedway, new to the calendar, is the Thursday night, July 15 venue. The final events are Friday night, July 16, at Bloomington and Saturday night, July 17, at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt.
Bryan Clauson edged Brad Kuhn by eight points to win last year’s “Indiana Midget Week” title, while Levi Jones topped Clauson by two points in last year’s sensational “Indiana Sprint Week” finish.
Clauson joins two-time champ Shane Cottle, Jerry Coons Jr. and Tracy Hines as previous “Indiana Midget Week” Champs, while Jones’ third “Indiana Sprint Week” title in 2009 put him in select company. Only Kevin Thomas has more ISW titles (4) and Dave Darland also has 3 in the series which debuted in 1988.
USAC’s 2009 National racing schedules are now posted on the USAC website at www.usacracing.com. Please consult the website for future schedule changes, additions and/or deletions. 

   Victory in Saturday night’s “Glenn Howard Memorial” Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Series finale could be worth a whopping $32,500-plus for a driver willing to take the “Glenn Howard Challenge.”  
   Courtesy of So-Cal Performance, USAC and Perris Auto Speedway, a $30,000 bonus awaits a driver who earns the pole starting position but elects to start last, then ends up winning the 30-lap feature on the half-mile dirt oval.  
   Only twice in Perris Auto Speedway history has a driver been able to start last and win a Sprint car main event. Both drivers are expected to be in Saturday’s field, namely Rip Williams and Damion Gardner.  
   The bonus creates added excitement to what already shapes up as one of the best races of the season.
   Mike Spencer of Temecula, Calif. is headed for this year’s series championship, becoming the first two-time champion in         USAC/CRA history.
   Runner-up David Cardey of Riverside, Calif. is currently 100 points back, but only 74 are available Saturday.   Cardey is 50 points ahead of third-ranking Garrett Hansen of Manhattan Beach, Calif. Hansen will put the lid on his 2009 USAC Western Midget championship season Thursday at the 69th Lucas Oil “Turkey Night Grand Prix” at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, Calif. Four of the eight victories posted by the point-leading trio this year have come at the Perris oval.  
   Gardner won the last Perris race, the Budweiser Oval Nationals feature contested November 7, a race in which Spencer took second.  
   Saturday’s race honors the memory of the late driver, car owner, racing equipment businessman, sanctioning body leader and father of three sprint car drivers who passed away in 2007.

Frank Polimeda Crowned 2009 ARDC Champion

By Dino Oberto ….”Keeping Track”

During the 1930’s and ‘40’s midget car racing was the most popular form of motorsport in the nation. On any given night you could easily find an event taking place including right here in Hazleton.

             In the summer of 1935 promoter Ed Hoch staged a series of midget car races at Harman-Geist Memorial Stadium, then known as Buhler Stadium.

             One of the first drivers to claim a win was Bill Schindler. Hazleton was said to be the sight of Schindler’s first of countless victories during his stellar career as he would go on become one of the most renowned midget racers of all-time.

             In 1939 Schindler led a group of drivers and owners and formed the American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC). He would serve as the club’s first president and also prevailed as the club’s initial champion.

             This past Saturday night ARDC came to Hazleton to celebrate the club’s 70^th anniversary season awards banquet which was held at Stan Lobitz’s Catering Hall. For the past 16 years Lobitz has served as host to the time-honored organization and is regarded as one of the biggest supporters of the club.

             Receiving top honors on this night was 2009 champion Frank Polimeda of Fort Lee, NJ. Polimeda won this year’s crown on the strength of his consistency. In the dozen races that were run Polimeda had one win and 10-top ten finishes. He beat out Brett Arndt of Topton 1368 to 1240.

“This is a huge honor. It’s something we set out to do three years ago. We fell a little short last year but accomplished our goal this year and I’m just proud to be part of this organization and proud to be its champion,” said Polimeda who is in his third season with ARDC.

             “To have my name amongst some of the great champions that this club has had over the years is a true honor and this is something I’ll cherish the rest of my life.”

             2009 was a difficult year for the traveling club as ten of its races were lost to rain including the last five.

             “The rainouts were tough this year because we all are racers and we all want to race and Mother Nature is completely out of our control. We almost feel like we got cheated this year competition wise,” said Polimeda.

             Title winning is nothing new for Polimeda as this marked his fourth career championship. He has a pair of micro sprint crowns and a Legends car title. It was early on in the season when he felt hopeful of being in the ARDC title fight as he opened the year win a victory at Big Diamond and then followed that up with steady top fives and tens.

             “I realized we had a legitimate shot after we made our New York trip to Five Mile Point and Penn Can in Susquehanna. We had suffered through some pretty significance engine trouble up there. My guys had worked on the car so long and hard over that weekend and we salvaged a second and a fourth.

             “I said to myself ‘If we can overcome obstacles like that then we got a shot at this (title).”

             Polimeda has raced in an assortment of different cars including micro sprints, Legends, asphalt modifieds, super modifieds and sprint cars with wins in most of them. He noted, however, that the midget has been one of the rides he’s enjoyed most.

“I’ve done a lot of different racing and I would consider this some of the best racing I’ve done and some of the most fun I’ve had.

             “Midget racing in general is a great steppingstone. Look at all your great drivers in NASCAR and Indy Car. Many of them have midget racing on their resumes. This is a great steppingstone to bigger and better things and for those who make a career out of midget racing there’s no shame in that either.”

             ARDC has a long and storied history and has endured the test of time in being one of the oldest racing clubs in America. Some of midget racings greatest names have competed  with the club including Mario Andretti, Fred “Jiggs” Peters, Dutch Schaefer, Pancho Carter, Mel Kenyon and Len Duncan to name a few. It is an impressive list to say the least.

As part of the 70^th anniversary celebration some of the past stars and champions such as Jimmy McGuire, Brian Kobylarz, Leigh Earnshaw, Jr., Hank Rogers, Jr., and Ray Bull were in attendance.

             “I’m 32 years old and still a little bit young but not wet behind the ears and I do appreciate history and I have studied some of the history of ARDC and once again when I see the names of some of these past champions who made this club what it is today, I can only hope that someday people will hold me in those same regards,” said Polimeda.

             Polimeda can indeed be proud of his accomplishment and will be a fine and deserving representative champion of ARDC and midget car racing.

Nov 28 2009
 
CLAUSON CLOSES OUT 2010 WITH WIRE-TO-WIRE “GLENN HOWARD MEMORIAL” VICTORY



Perris, CA…….Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Ind. scored his 11th USAC feature victory of the 2010 season Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway, leading all 30 laps of the “Glenn Howard Memorial” Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Car race at the half-mile dirt oval. The race concluded the 2010 USAC racing season. Clauson, who also won Thursday night’s “Turkey Night Grand Prix” Midget race at Irwindale, Calif., put his Parker Stone Company Maxim/Gaerte in victory lane and was never seriously challenged during the 30-lap contest. Tony Jones, who started on the pole but declined the option to take the $30,000 Glenn Howard Challenge and retained his starting spot instead of going to the back of the field, finished second ahead of Damion Gardner, Garrett Hansen and 2009 Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Champion Mike Spencer.  

LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: November 28, 2009 – Perris, California – Perris Auto Speedway – “Glenn Howard Memorial”  

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Damion Gardner, 71, DG-16.848, 2. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-16.899, 3. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.984, 4. Nic Faas, 17F, Faas-17.082, 5. Cory Kruseman, 21k, Kruseman-17.094, 6. Greg Bragg, 92, Sertich-17.231, 7. Garrett Hansen, 7, Priestley-17.263, 8. David Cardey, 38, Crossno-17.273, 9. Dave Darland, 41k, Kruseman-17.276, 10. Bryan Clauson, 7c, Tucker-17.442, 11. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-17.462, 12. Robert Ellis, 12, Blair-17.466, 13. Tony Jones, 4, Alexander-17.475, 14. Blake Miller, 93, Gardner-17.522, 15. Danny Sheridan, 18, Kittle-17.559, 16. Ronnie Gardner, 96, Gardner-17.621, 17. Jimmy Crawford, 11, Crawford-17.704, 18. Charles Davis Jr., 66, Miller-17.710, 19. Rip Williams, 3, Jory-17.731, 20. Cole Carter, 7x, Carter-17.734, 21. Dennis Howell, 62, Howell-17.804, 22. Josh Ford, 73, Ford-17.833, 23. Mathew Shedarowich, 8z, Shedarowich-17.884, 24. Brent Camarillo, 51, Camarillo-17.958, 25. Brian Camarillo, 22, Camarillo-18.033, 26. Ludvig Solberg IV, 84, Persall-18.134, 27. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-18.167, 28. Royal Adderson, 40, Adderson-18.254, 29. Billy Felts Jr., 39, Gardner-18.302, 30. Jonny Bates, 33, Bates-18.577, 31. Cal Smith, 39c, Smith-18.640, 32. Jerry Welton, 62x, Welton-19.019, 33. Matt Stewart, 27, McWilliams-19.517.    
DASH: (3 laps) 1. Faas, 2. Mitchell, 3. Spencer, 4. D.Gardner. 51.49  
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Brian Camarillo, 2. D.Gardner, 3. Crawford, 4. T.Jones, 5. Kruseman, 6. Felts, 7. Howell, 8. Stewart, 9. Darland. NT  
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Solberg, 2. Clauson, 3. Spencer, 4. Davis, 5. Ford, 6. Miller, 7. Bragg, 8. Bates. 2:55.02  
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. R.Williams, 2. Mitchell, 3. Hansen, 4. Sheridan, 5. A.Williams, 6. Shedarowich, 7. Smith, 8. C.Williams. NT  
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Brent Camarillo, 2. Cardey, 3. Faas, 4. Carter, 5. R.Gardner, 6. Ellis, 7. Adderson, 8. Welton. 2:56.48  
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Bragg, 2. Kruseman, 3. A.Williams, 4. Darland, 5. Miller, 6. R.Gardner, 7. Ford, 8. Ellis, 9. Shedarowich, 10. Felts, 11. C.Williams, 12. Adderson, 13. Bates, 14. Stewart, 15. Smith, 16. Howell, 17. Welton. NT  

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Tony Jones, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Garrett Hansen, 5. Mike Spencer, 6. David Cardey, 7. Matt Mitchell, 8. Cory Kruseman, 9. Nic Faas, 10. Greg Bragg, 11. Rip Williams, 12. Danny Sheridan, 13. Austin Williams, 14. Dave Darland, 15. Blake Miller, 16. Ludvig Solberg IV, 17. Brent Camarillo, 18. Cole Carter, 19. Josh Ford, 20. Brian Camarillo, 21. Charles Davis Jr., 22. Cody Williams, 23. Jimmy Crawford, 24. Ronnie Gardner. NT ---------
 
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Clauson  

FINAL LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Spencer-1,056; 2-Cardey-949; 3-Hansen-904; 4-Miller-743; 5-Bragg-738; 6-Sheridan-732; 7-Mitchell-687; 8-R.Williams-640; 9-Kruseman-608; 10-D.Gardner-510. 


 Nov 26 2009


CLAUSON CAPS GREAT SEASON  “TURKEY NIGHT” VICTOKUHN, HANSEN TAKE TITLES Irwindale, CA

Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Ind. capped a great 2009 USAC season with a victory in Thursday night’s 69th Lucas Oil “Turkey Night Grand Prix” Mopar National/Midget race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
Clauson caught early leader Josh Wise on lap 42 and led the rest of the way in his F & F Mechanical/Esslinger Beast/Esslinger Ford. Teammate Levi Roberts finished second to garner the Don Basile “Rookie of the Race” award. Pole winner Josh Wise led the first 41 laps and finished third, ahead of Jerome Rodela and Tanner Swanson.
Brad Kuhn of Avon, Ind. emerged as the 2009 USAC Mopar National Midget Champion by eight points over Brad Sweet, who finished sixth in Thursday’s race. Kuhn was involved in a lap 12 incident and was unable to finish the 98-lap race. Garrett Hansen of Manhattan Beach, Calif. is the 2009 USAC Western Midget Champion and finished seventh Thursday.
  
USAC MOPAR NATIONAL/WESTERN MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: November 26, 2009 – Irwindale, California –

Toyota Speedway at Irwindale – 69th Lucas Oil “Turkey Night Grand Prix”
  
QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Josh Wise, 11, Wilke-Pak-16.705; 2. Jerome Rodela, 25, Rodela-16.728; 3. Levi Roberts, 2D, DeBeaumont-16.738; 4. Bobby East, 4, Klatt-16.742; 5. Garrett Hansen, 70, Hansen-16.749; 6. Ryan Kaplan, 20k, Kaplan/Gennuso-16.775; 7. Bryan Clauson, 11D, DeBeaumont-16.790; 8. Jason Leffler, 45, Western Speed-16.809; 9. Dakoda Armstrong, 7A, C & A-16.844; 10. Darren Hagen, 3, RFMS-16.853; 11. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-16.857; 12. Brad Sweet, 49, Kahne/Curb-16.881; 13. Brad Kuhn, 17B, RW-16.898; 14. Cole Whitt, 1, Kunz-16.901; 15. Kody Swanson, 40, Western Speed-16.911; 16. Davey Hamilton, 8, Rev 1-16.940; 17. Cale Conley, 3c, Conley-16.989; 18. Chad Boat, 30, Boat-17.004; 19. Tanner Swanson, 51, DeBeaumont-17.012; 20. Evan Margeson, 50, Margeson-17.014; 21. Scott Pierovich, 35, Pierovich-17.017; 22. Bobby Santos III, 98, Santos-17.019; 23. Thomas Meseraull, 38, McGerigle-17.027; 24. Alex Bowman, 55, Specialty Racing-17.075; 25. Tracy Hines, 05H, Loyet-17.091; 26. Mike Murgoitio, 10, Murgoitio-17.098; 27. Dave Darland, 12k, Kruseman-17.101; 28. Adam Kramer, 2, Kramer-17.103; 29. Shane Hmiel, 97, Kunz-17.115; 30. Cole Carter, 15, Neverlift-17.120; 31. Tony Hunt, 4x, Rosen-17.133; 32. Brad Loyet, 05, Loyet-17.180; 33. Alex Schutte, 21D, DeBeaumont-17.233; 34. Bobby Grewohl, 10c, Eskesen-17.271; 35. Henry Clarke, 67, Kunz-17.276; 36. Nick Wagner, 93, Wagner-17.475; 37. Caleb Armstrong, 7c, C & A-17.528; 38. Cody Swanson, 5, VanDyne-17.532; 39. Austin Mero, 14k, Kruseman-17.766; 40. Nick Chivello, 27B, Chivello-17.798; 41. #80, Western Speed-NT.  

   FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps) 1. K.Swanson, 2. Hines, 3. T.Swanson, 4. Darland, 5. Pierovich, 6. Schutte, 7. Hmiel, 8. C.Armstrong, 9. Meseraull, 10. Clarke, 11. Conley, 12. Hunt, 13. Mero. NT  
  SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps) 1. Boat, 2. Santos, 3. Hamilton, 4. Kramer, 5. Margeson, 6. Carter, 7. Bowman, 8. Murgoitio, 9. Loyet, 10. Grewohl, 11. C.Swanson, 12. Wagner, 13. Chivello. 3:26.03  

  FEATURE: (98 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Levi Roberts, 3. Josh Wise, 4.Jerome Rodela, 5. Tanner Swanson, 6. Brad Sweet, 7. Garrett Hansen, 8. Alex Bowman, 9. Davey Hamilton, 10. Dakoda Armstrong, 11. Kody Swanson, 12. Caleb Armstrong, 13. Bobby East, 14. Zach Daum, 15. Henry Clarke, 16. Dave Darland, 17. Cole Whitt, 18. Chad Boat, 19. Adam Kramer, 20. Alex Schutte, 21. Evan Margeson, 22. Cole Carter, 23. Ryan Kaplan, 24. Bobby Santos III, 25. Shane Hmiel, 26. Tracy Hines, 27. Mike Murgoitio, 28. Brad Kuhn, 29. Scott Pierovich, 30. Brad Loyet, 31. Jason Leffler, 32. Darren Hagen. NT  
   FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-41 Wise, Laps 42-98 Clauson.  
   FINAL MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR POINTS: 1-Kuhn-1,239; 2-Sweet-1,231; 3-Hagen-1,186; 4-Jerry Coons Jr.-1,103; 5-East-1,023; 6-Whitt-1,022; 7-Hines-958; 8-Clauson-900; 9-Boat-765; 10-Daum-544.  
   FINAL WESTERN MIDGET CAR POINTS: 1-Hansen-1,123; 2-Rodela-1,000; 3-Schutte-973; 4-T.Swanson-767; 5-David Prickett-699; 6-Pierovich-640; 7-Shannon McQueen-583; 8-Josh Ford-501; 9-Bowman-501; 10-Roberts-424.

Nov 23 2009


Stewart Takes Top Lucas Oil Sprint Car Accolades
 

Lonnie Wheatley, TUCSON, Ariz. (November 22, 2009) – A Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters record $250,000 point fund plus contingencies and other prizes were distributed at the 18th Annual ASCS Awards Banquet presented by Brodix on Sunday afternoon at Old Tucson Studios. Bixby, OK, native Shane Stewart and California car owner Paul Silva reeled in the lion's share of the awards, collecting $60,000 for his first Lucas Oil Sprint Car title, becoming the first Oklahoma native to capture the ASCS National crown since Zach Chappell accomplished the feat in 2001. In addition to the 16 Lucas Oil Sprint Car honorees, the top ten from both the winged ASCS Southwest Region and wingless Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region were honored during Sunday's ceremonies, with Rick Ziehl (Southwest) and Charles Davis, Jr. (Canyon) taking top honors. Picking off three Lucas Oil Sprint Car feature wins over the course of the season and finishing outside the top ten just once aboard Silva's Wesmar-powered ProBilt Construction/Palmero Properties No. 57 A.R.T., Stewart took the title by a slim 25-point margin over 2008 series champion Jason Johnson. "This is amazing, there's so many people to thank it's unreal," Stewart commented from the podium. "My wife, Kimberly, she's my backbone, Paul (Silva) is a best friend…" Stewart continued on while overwhelmed with emotion. Joining Stewart as Lucas Oil Sprint Car honorees were runner-up Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), fourth-ranked Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), fifth-ranked Paul McMahan (Hendersonville, TN), sixth-ranked Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), seventh-ranked Danny Wood (Norman, OK), eighth-ranked Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS), ninth-ranked Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), tenth-ranked Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO), 11th-ranked Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK), 12th-ranked Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK), 13th-ranked Darren Long (Elida, OH), 14th-ranked Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO), 15th-ranked Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA) and 16th-ranked Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA). Thirteen drivers received awards for Perfect Attendance including Stewart, Johnson, Wright, Rilat, McMahan, Crawley, Wood, Bruce, Dover, Hockett, McClelland, Walker and Corken. Stewart's car owner and crew chief, Paul Silva, picked up the Brodix Lee Maier Crew Chief of the Year award. Stewart also earned the Ronald Laney Hard Charger Award by accumulating the most passing points during the 2009 season. Paul McMahan got the nod in the Brodix Rookie of the Year battle, worth a set of Brodix heads, by besting fellow rookie contenders Dover, Long, Corken, Bergman, Brady Bacon and Ricky Logan. Tony Bruce, Jr., who promoted events at the Jetmore Motorplex and Riverside Speedway, was presented with the Sportsmanship Award for his efforts in furthering the sport of Sprint Car racing and the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series. Nineteen-year-old Jack Dover was presented with the Horizon Award, which is annually awarded to a driver who displays promise of glory in future seasons with ASCS. Twenty-year-old Colorado shoe Chad Corken was presented the 2009 Young Lion award, which is annually presented to a promising driver under 21 years of age for their support of the American Sprint Car Series. Ohio's Darren Long picked up the Hard Luck Award, worth a set of Brodix cylinder heads. Danny Wood was presented with the Lowest Average Draw award, with Kenneth Walker at the other end of the spectrum with the Highest Average Draw award. While the top 15 in driver and owner points all received cash prices totaling $250,000, 16th-ranked Seth Bergman was presented with a complete set of Brodix cylinder heads and other prizes worth approximately $3,500. After recently celebrating his 20th birthday, Glenpool, OK, shoe Matt Covington was presented with the Newcomer of the Year award, worth $1,000 in cash. Rick Ziehl picked up ASCS Southwest championship honors for the second year in a row, with other Southwest honorees including Ben Gregg, Joshua Hodges, John Gaston, Ronnie Clark, Charles Davis, Jr., John Van Horn, Mike Martin, Jessica Van Dyke and Joshua Williams. Charles Davis, Jr., captured the Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region championship, delivering car owner Jim Massey his first series title. Joining Davis and Massey among Canyon Region honorees were R.J. Johnson, Nathan High, Stevie Sussex, Johnathon Henry, Ronnie Clark, Andrew Reinbold, Mike Martin, Jeremy Sherman and Bruce St. James. Fourteen-year-old Joshua Hodges of Tijeras, NM, who earlier in the season became the youngest feature winner in ASCS history by posting a Rocky Mountain Region triumph, picked up Rookie of the Year honors with a ranking of third in ASCS Southwest points, while Johnathon Henry made the most of the frequent 12-hour one-way trek from his Stockton, CA, home to Arizona by collecting Rookie of the Year honors with the ASCS Canyon Region. Stevie Sussex collected Most Improved honors with the ASCS Canyon Region, with Ronnie Clark earning Most Improved with the ASCS Southwest Region. A number of dignitaries were on hand for the day's festivities at Old Tucson Studios including representatives from Lucas Oil, Brodix Cylinder Heads and Hoosier Tires. Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

“GLENN HOWARD MEMORIAL” CRA FINALE SATURDAY AT PERRIS

   Saturday’s “Glenn Howard Memorial” serves as the finale for the Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway and defending series champion Mike Spencer has already put a lock on the 2009 title.
   That doesn’t mean there will be any less competition when the green flag drops, though. Spencer is set to become the first two-time series champion, currently 100 points ahead of David Cardey with only 74 points available Saturday. Cardey holds down the number two position in the rankings, 50 ahead of Garrett Hansen, who is on his way to the 2009 USAC Western Midget crown. Cardey has a total of six “podium” finishes the season (1st, 2nd or 3rd), including two victories, one at Perris.
   Nine of Spencer’s 12 career USAC/CRA wins have come at Perris and he has three wins, a second and two thirds at the half-mile dirt oval already in 2009.
   Saturday night’s second annual race honors the memory of one of southern California’s most active race participants, a former driver, car owner, racing equipment businessman, sanctioning body leader and father of three sprint car drivers. Howard passed away in 2007 at age 76.
   Saturday night’s Perris race also concludes the 2009 USAC racing campaign and champions of all USAC racing series will be honored January 8, 2010 at the USAC “Night of Champions” National Awards Banquet in Indianapolis, Ind.

Nov 19 2009

USAC SUPER LICENSE CHAMPIONSHIP DOWN TO FINAL RACE

  The annual “Super License Championship” has become one of USAC’s most contested prizes in recent years.   
 
  This year is no exception with the champion yet to be crowned after the November 26 “Turkey Night Grand Prix” at Irwindale, Calif.   The prize is a USAC “Super License,” good for competition in USAC’s various racing series in 2010. Points are awarded only for feature positions in all USAC National events during the calendar year and the driver amassing the largest point total is the winner.   
 
  Cole Whitt of Alpine, Calif. holds a 34-point lead over Jerry Coons Jr. of Tucson, Ariz. entering the final event. A total of 60 points are available at Irwindale and a 15th-place finish or better would clinch the “Super License” for Whitt.   
 
  Tracy Hines won last year’s “Super License” by just three points over Levi Jones, with Coons only seven points behind. 
 
  Coons was the 2007 titlist and Josh Wise won the honors in 2005 and 2006. Jay Drake was the 2004 champ, while J.J. Yeley was a runaway winner in 2003 after also claiming the 2001 and 2002 honors. Hines wore the inaugural crown in 2000.  
 
  The “Super License” will be presented at the USAC “Night of Champions” Banquet at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis, Ind. January 8.

Nov12

Coming Jan 30, 2010
Swap Meet & Trade show

Nov 9

30TH “PACIFIC COAST NATIONALS” AT TULARE SATURDAY & SUNDAY

 This Saturday and Sunday the USAC National and Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Car series will compete in the 30th “Pacific Coast Nationals” at the Tulare (Calif.) Thunderbowl Raceway. The event is being revived after a 14-year hiatus as a tribute to the Agajanian family, who spearheaded its 29-year success.

  The championship point focus has shifted to the USAC/CRA series, where Mike Spencer of Temecula, Calif.; holds an 80-point lead over David Cardey of Perris, Calif. with three races remaining in the 2009 series. The series concludes November 28 at Perris.

  Last weekend’s point-rich “Budweiser Oval Nationals” at Perris Auto Speedway resulted in an insurmountable point lead for Levi Jones of Avon, Ind. in the National series. He will celebrate his third National title this weekend at Tulare.

  The winner of Sunday’s “twilight” feature will earn a paycheck of $12,500, while minimum feature-start money is $700. Saturday night’s standard USAC/CRA purse offers $4,000-to-win. USAC has been to the Tulare Fairgrounds five times, but only once before with Sprint Cars, a race won by Cory Kruseman.

  Damion Gardner of Concord, Calif. caught Spencer on lap 37 and led the final four laps to win Saturday night’s 14th :”Budweiser Oval Nationals” 40-lap feature at Perris, claiming the $12,500 winner’s prize in his Pace Lighting Eagle/Shaver. Spencer took second ahead of Jones, Bryan Clauson and Bud Kaeding.

  Dave Darland, second entering the Perris event, suffered car damage in a B Main incident Saturday and was unable to start the feature.

  Rip Williams, the only driver to win both the “Budweiser Oval Nationals” and the “Pacific Coast Nationals,” led the first 21 laps of Saturday’s race. Spencer led the next 15 and Gardner led the final four.

  Jones won a thrilling 25-lap preliminary feature at Perris on Friday. He passed Gardner on lap 14 and led the final 12 laps in his Tony Stewart Racing Chevy/Bass Pro Shops Maxim/Kistler Chevy. Fast qualifier Jon Stanbrough finished second ahead of Spencer, Gardner and Darren Hagen.

  Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Ind. led all 25 laps to win Thursday night’s Perris prelim in the Parker Stone Company/Gaerte Engines Maxim. It was his ninth victory in USAC competition this season. Stanbrough finished a close second ahead of Jones, Gardner and Williams

Nov 2

Interesting post from,  http://www.indianaopenwheel.com/


$40,000 in Winner's Purse's Awaits Sprint Teams Nov. 5-21st

Rockwall TX (10/28/09) by DarinShort.com. With Tuesday's weather related postponement of the 22nd Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tire; this now creates an eye popping opportunity for sprint car teams and fans across the southern states.

In the span of 17 days there are now three sprint events with a combined winner's purse of $40,000.

Here are the details of each event:

Event #1, Nov. 5-7: 22nd annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tire. I-30 Speedway, Little Rock AR. Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint series sanctioned, $15,000 to win. Due to the weather postponement, event pre-entry has been extended through Nov. 4 at the rate of $150. On race day, event entry becomes $250. Fans can also take advantage of 3-day grandstand passes to this $100,000+ event for just $45, which has also been extended to Nov. 4; a savings of $10 over race night pricing. Please click http://www.I-30speedway.com for complete details. The track phone number for more information is 501-455-4567.

Event #2, Nov. 13-14: 3rd annual $85,000 City Vending November Sprint Shootout. Cowtown Speedway, Kennedale (DFW) TX. Head down I-30 from Little Rock to Ft. Worth the following week to this exciting unsanctioned, ASCS-type sprint rules, event. (ASCS mufflers required.) Friday night all sprint cars make the field in a $1,000 Twin or Triple 25's A-feature qualifiers. (46 sprints or more equals 3 A-features; as in 2008.) Saturday night's 35-lap championship winner will take home $7,000; with $500 to start the 24-car field. For reserved pit parking requests, teams must register by Nov. 8th at the track website, after that date, parking will be assigned by the race track on race night. A total field in excess of 200 teams will be on hand, as it is also the ASCS2 Series finales presented by Eagle Chassis. Sprint pre-entry is $150 whether you pre-enter online or register at the track on race night. There has been $10,000 added to this year's NSS purse, without any increase in ticket, pit or entry pricing. 2-day advance adult tickets are just $35 available at the track website only, through Nov. 12th, a savings of $10 over race night pricing. A limited supply of 2-day, reserved-seat tickets are currently available for $40. Please click http://www.CowtownSpeedway.com for complete details. Also, teams and fans can enjoy "Fan Appreciation Night at the Topless 100" on Nov. 12th with free grandstand admission to this triple header that was weather postponed from Oct. 11th.

Event #3, Nov. 19-21: 42nd annual Kronik Energy Western World Championships presented by Old Tucson Studios. USA Raceway, Tucson AZ. Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint series sanctioned as well as 2009 series finale, $1500 to win each qualifying night, $15,000 to win championship finale. Also on the weekend racing card is the Discount Tire ASCS Non-Winged championships paying $5,000 to win. Early pre-entry deadline to this event is Oct. 31st at $100; after that date $150. A variety of seating options and upgrades are available to fans for the weekend's events. Click http://www.USAraceway.net for event pre-entry, grandstand ticket and purse details. Or, reach USA Raceway by phone at 520-574-8515 during normal business hours (8AM-5PM Arizona time) for more information.

The season winds down with three of the biggest weekends of sprint car racing in a row. Make your plans now to be a part of some, or all, of the action!

                             SPENCER HOPES TO CONTINUE USAC/CRA WINNING STREAK IN THIS WEEK’S
                                                         “BUDWEISER OVAL NATIONALS”

The 2009 Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series doesn’t conclude until November 28, but the next two weekends will be pivotal in the battle for the championship.

  Only 83 points separate the top four in the standings with five point-paying events in California comprising this week’s “Budweiser Oval Nationals” at Perris and next week’s “Pacific Coast Nationals” at Tulare. Perris Auto Speedway hosts this week’s 14th running of the “Budweiser Oval Nationals” and series point leader Mike Spencer of Temecula, Calif. is “on the spot,” having won the last two races at the half-mile dirt oval.

  Spencer is only eight points ahead of David Cardey, while Blake Miller and Garrett Hansen are not far behind in the standings. Collectively then have won eight races this year, five at Perris. Spencer is on a winning streak, with three consecutive wins entering this week’s action. The last driver to win four straight in the USAC/CRA series was Damion Gardner back in 2005.

  Gardner will be among USAC National drivers challenging the USAC/CRA stars this weekend in the races which offer points toward both titles. Gardner is currently sixth in the National standings, with a victory last month at Lawrenceburg, Ind.

  Other USAC/CRA winners this year at Perris have been Rickie Gaunt, Cory Kruseman and Tony Jones.

  Twenty-five-lap features are slated at Perris Thursday and Friday and Saturday’s main event is 40 laps, offering $12,500 to win. Wednesday’s practice session is free for race fans and an on-track autograph session is planned prior to Saturday




TULSA, Okla. (November 1, 2009) - Sprint Car racing fans are reminded to tune into the VERSUS Network today, Sunday afternoon, at 5:00 p.m. EST for some high-powered Lucas Oil Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters action.

Sunday's one-hour broadcast of the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars will be the second night of the 19th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals from Iowa's Knoxville Raceway on August 7, so take a break from the gridiron action or set the DVR or VCR to record all the high-octane competition from the famed half-mile Marion County Fairgrounds dirt oval.

Those that miss Sunday's broadcast get a second chance when the event re-airs on VERSUS on Thursday, November 5, at 6:00 p.m. EST.

The final night of Lucas Oil Sprint Car competition from the 19th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals airs on VERSUS on Sunday, November 22, at 6:00 p.m. EST, with the September 26 event from Lucas Oil Speedway on the VERSUS airwaves on November 29 at 6:00 p.m. EST.

Susquehanna Speedway Park

Rain Dampens SSP Candy Bowl V on Saturday for the Fourth Straight Year; Features Postponed to Later Dates

Newberrytown, PA (October 31, 2009) ? Rain played a major role once again at the 5^th Annual Candy Bowl presented by J&K Salvage of York held on Saturday, October 31.  A slow drizzle began to fall during the Mini Van feature event.  Track crews immediately began circling the track to keep it in racing shape and after a 45 minute delay, plans were in place to resume racing when a second band of showers developed out of nowhere just west of the track.  When the second band hit, all hopes of completing the features on Saturday night were lost. 

Although there was a scheduled raindate for Sunday, it will not used due to the fact that all qualifying events were completed and the feature lineups were set.  The raindate is only untilized if an event is postponed before the gates open or if all of the qualifying heats are not completed before the event is postponed.  The features for the 600cc Micro Sprints, Legends Cars, Thundercars and Mini Vans will be completed on Saturday, November 7 in conjunction with the Turkey 200.  After consoltation with the ARDC Board of Directors, it was agreed that the make-up feature will be completed at the first event in 2010 in which the ARDC Midgets return.  No additional entries will be accepted for the postponed features as qualifying was completed and feature lineups are already set.

Since all of qualifying has been completed and all rainchecks for the pits and grandstands have been declared null and void by the SSP Rain/Cancellation policy, SSP owners Todd and Rhonda Fisher have announced some adjustments to this policy for this event only due to some extrordinary circumstances.  Each division has a different set of circumstances which are described in detail below.

Grandstand Tickets from 10/31/09 (Two Options):

1) will be accepted for equal ticket exchange for the November 7 events which includes the makeup features for the 600cc Micro Sprints, Thundercars, Legends Cars and Mini Vans.  For example an Adult ticket for 10/31 will be exchanged equally for one Adult ticket on 11/7 (no refund on monies).

2) will be accepted in exchange for ½ price of an equal exchange ticket when the ARDC Midgets return for their first appearance in 2010 in which the make-up feature will be completed along with another full program of qualifying events and feature for the midgets.

Pit Passes from 10/31/09 (by division):

ARDC Midgets ? all pit passes are not valid as the make-up feature will be completed in 2010 along with another full program including qualifying events and feature.

600cc Micros, Legends Cars and Thundercars ? each driver in the feature will receive their pit pass complimentary along with two additional crew members.  The driver and 2 crewmembers must sign in together at the driver registration line (white building). 

Mini Vans - all pit passes are not valid as the make-up feature will be completed on November 7, 2009 along with another already scheduled feature event.

The Susquehanna Speedway Park is located off I-83 to exit 32, then 1.4 miles NW on SR382 to York Road, then 1.3 miles south.  For more information, contact the speedway offices at (717) 292-1696 or visit online at sspracing.net.  On raceday, use the track phone at (717) 938-9170 for up-to-date information at the ?Big Track? and (717) 932-1608 for the ?Outback Track.?

Race Results from Saturday, October 31, 2009

Postponed ARDC Midget Feature for 2010 (Unofficial Starting Lineup) (20 laps):  Row 1: Scott Zipp and Drew Heistand; Row 2: Jimmy Commock and David Shirk; Row 3: Justin Grosz and Carey Becker; Row 4: Trevor Kobylarz and Greg Robinson; Row 5: Chris Zrinski and Tracy Readinger; Row 6: Dusty Heistand and Bruce Buckwalter Jr.; Row 7: Brett Arndt and Nick Wean; Row 8: P.J. Gargiulo and Frank Polimeda; Row 9: Steve Buckwalter and Andrew Hannula; Row 10: Eric Heydenreich and Randy Reid; Row 11: Stephanie Stevens and Bobby Goerner; Row 12: Steve Lenig and Brad Cox; Row 13: Warren Kohler and Donnie Trent; Row 14: Jason Rice.

HEAT RACE WINNERS: Not available at release time.