Racin' & Internet Stuff:
By Tom Avenengo
Volume # 12
First things, first:
Don’t say you forgot – this Sunday is Mother’s day, folks.
Note: Effective with this column, I’ll be cutting back on things not racing related.
Some
of my thoughts:
Where do I start on this one? OK, let me go back to around 1946. That was the year I started going to the races with my father. Midget races. I’m not sure if we hit most of the tracks I remember from back then, in 1946, or not, but I know we did go to Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey, and also to the paved track that they had in Middletown, New York – a 1/5 mile track that was inside the larger, dirt, half miler, and basically in front of the main grandstand.
It’s
the dirt track that’s in
Prior
to the beginning of this 2010 racing season, it was decided to take down a good
portion of the “banking” that was in the turns, supposedly to create better
competition – for the fans – those that still would come, which is nothing
compared to what used to be in those stands every Saturday night. They were hoping to “slow” the cars down,
some.
I’ve
been to the first three shows at OCFS so far this season. Personally, I can’t see much of an
improvement, competition wise. Lap times
are, for those that are the faster cars, in the 21-second bracket – so they
haven’t slowed them down very much. And
with the lowering of the banking, it’s pretty difficult to go high in the turns
and be able to pass. But the biggest
problem that the speedway is facing, presently, is that the track has developed
some serious “ruts”, would be one of the best ways to describe what is in turns
1, 2, 3 & 4. So far, a ton of money
has been spent – not by the track, but by the race teams themselves, replacing parts
that get bent, broken or just plain disappear during the racing action. Already some drivers have left the track to
race elsewhere.
To
me, if you race at OCFS now, if you don’t completely dismantle your car and go
over it completely, you’re asking for trouble with weakened parts breaking later
on. And, face it,
those that run weekly at OCFS are basically doing it as a “Hobby” and not for a
living. So, once the monies run out, the
cars will eventually get parked.
So
now I’m wondering, are we slowly seeing the death of a speedway that’s been
around for oh, so many years? It was
first used as a horseracing track back in 1857.
Cars first raced on it in 1919, and except for a few years during WW II,
there’s been car racing at
The
property, it’s buildings, and even the old grandstands
have really fallen into disrepair. The
track, having broken away from the DIRTcar sanction,
and going on as an Independent, has been the main reason for it’s top driver of
all time, Brett Hearn, to leave and race elsewhere. I don’t blame him for doing so. He races for a living. Others have left too, just too get a change
or to follow the DIRTcar circuit. Can’t blame them for doing
that, either. But now, with such
deplorable track conditions, I fully expect to see more drivers and race teams
leaving OCFS. When they leave, some fans
will leave, too. There was a time that
if you weren’t at OCFS well before the nights racing began; you’d struggle to
find a seat. Sad to say, but it isn’t
like that, anymore. You can get there
after the racing has started, and still have basically any good seat of your
choice.
And,
something else has to be thought about, too.
It’s been said that Ken Sands could very well be leaving OCFS – maybe as
early as June, to head south to
Time
will tell, I suppose. Right now, it’s
the track conditions that must be addressed and corrected, and it’s almost
gotten to the point where an immediate solution is found. Those of you that are reading this on the
New England Tractor website, will see the photo that was taken last Saturday
night – turns 1 & 2. I was told that
turns 3 & 4 were worse.
Those
that are reading this on Dirt Track Digest, if you haven’t seen this photo on
the Forum, then kindly go to the New England Tractor website to see it.
Link
for the website: http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/ And, you’ll have to
copy and paste that link, too, to get to the site.
Note: I don’t know, can I add to something that’s
later on in a column?
On
Wednesday, I found this on DTD’s forum:
“Went
past OCFS today, they were digging up turns one and two from the middle to the
bottom.
You could see a big pile of dirt from wisner ave, at least there trying to work on the problem wishing them lots of luck for this saturday.”
Would
be nice if things work out, and “Mother Nature” behaves long enough for them to
get the work done. Now, if they do get
to race on Saturday – some wet weather is being forecast, then
just how will this re-worked surface hold up?
Going
back, in time – Part 1:
Some special racing related things that happened, in years past, covering the dates from May 9th to May 12th:
May 9th, in:
2001
Smokey Yunick... Died ... NASCAR and Indy mechanic and owner of the "Best Damn
Garage in Town" in
May 10th, in:
1960
Erwin George
"Cannon Ball" Baker... Died ... He was a motorcycle and automobile racing driver and
organizer in the first half of the 20th century. In 1908, Baker purchased an
Indian motorcycle and began entering and winning local races. His most famous
victory came in 1909 at the first race ever held at the newly built
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Baker also raced at the 1922
1964
Don Prudhomme was officially nicknamed "The Snake" when it is used in an
article in Drag News magazine.
1967
Lorenzo Bandini ,F1 driver, died from his injuries
suffered in the Monaco GP. He was running second to Denny Hulme
in the Monaco GP when he lost control at the chicane and crashed. The car
overturned and caught fire and Bandini was trapped
beneath the flaming wreck. It was several minutes before he was rescued and his
burns were terrible. For three days he fought for his life before succumbing to
his injuries.
1985
Gordon Johncock , two-time
1988
Rick Mears turned the first unofficial 220 mph
lap (220.048) at Indy.
May 11th, in:
1924
Tim Flock... Born ... One
of NASCAR's early pioneers, and a two time series champion. He was a
brother to NASCAR's second female driver Ethel Mobley and NASCAR pioneers Bob
Flock and Fonty Flock.
May 12th, in:
1961
Tony Bettenhausen ... Died ... AAA / USAC driver from 1941 to 1961. He drove
in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1941 and 1946-1961
seasons with 121 starts, including 14 in the
1973
Art Pollard ... Died ... He drove in the USAC
Championship Car series, racing in the 1965-1973 seasons, with 84 career
starts, including the 1967-1971 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top
ten 30 times, with 2 victories, both in 1969, at
2000
Adam Petty ... Died ... The son of Kyle Petty, he was widely expected to become the next great
Petty, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather Richard, and
great-grandfather Lee. He was the first fourth generation athlete in all of of sports to participate in the chosen profession of his
generations. On May 12, 2000, Petty was practicing his Busch Series car at New
Hampshire International Speedway in
Going back, in
time – Part 2:
OK, you know that I
first started going to watch midgets race back in the mid 1940’s. Well, the other day I received an e-mail that
showed a couple of midgets from back in that era that will be in kit form –
1/25 scale, along with an open trailer. Hopefully the link, below, will work, and
you’ll see the photo once you bring up the link.
In
the past, I’ve ordered some models from Model Roundup. So I inquired about these new kits with them,
and this is the response I got:
“Hello, these will be available in the last quarter of 2010
and early 2011. Most of the manufacturers announce kits at least
one year in advance. We will have them available for pre-sell six months
prior to release. We will send you an email briefing when we have these
available for pre-order.
Regards, Jack at modelroundup.com”
And then I received this, from Dave Morehouse:
“Tom
My distributor will have them and I have a case of each on
order.
Dave”
Dave can be contacted in a few ways:
Dave's Racing Collectibles
Nutmeg Collectibles
61 Stony
(203) 798-7622
Racing on TV - http://www.racefantv.com/USTV.htm
Live racing telecasts
Friday,
May 7th:
8:00
AM to 9:30 AM on SPEED – Formula 1 practice from
11:30
AM to 1:00 PM on SPEED – Cup practice from
3:00
PM to 4:30 PM on SPEED – Nationwide qualifying from
5:00
PM to 6:30 PM on Speed – Cup qualifying
7:30
PM to 10:00 PM on ESPN2 – Nationwide race
Saturday,
May 8th:
8:00
AM to 9:30 AM Formula 1 qualifying from
7:30
PM to 11:30 PM on FOX – Cup race
10:00
PM to 1:30 AM on SPEED – AMA Supercross from
Sunday,
May 9th:
6:00
AM to 7:30 AM on SPEED – Formula 1 race from
3:00
PM to 4:00 PM on SPEED – FIM World Superbike race 1 from
4:00
PM to 5:00 PM on SPEED – FIM World Superbike race 2 from
Track
news:
It’s been posted that on Tuesday, some equipment was seen on the track at OCFS – namely a machine with discs, going around the track. Hmmm, I dunno if “discs” will make much of a difference. I’ve also read that there was some “digging up” being done in the turns, too. As for weather for the rest of the week, as of Wednesday, there’s a chance of isolated thunder storms on Wednesday night, scattered storms on Thursday, clearing on Thursday night, a few clouds on Friday and showers and possible thunder storms on Saturday. Earlier on Wednesday, it was calling for showers only on Saturday morning. And, it will be cool all week, too with temps in the 70’s during the day and down into the 40’s at night.
Note: Those Saturday morning “showers” has now changed to - Saturday: Cloudy with showers and thunderstorms.. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid 40s – as of 3:45 on Wednesday afternoon. Gotta love these weather forecasts!
The
History of the Sport:
Continuing something quite a bit different for this week. Years ago, I met up with a gentleman named Peter Kessler. Pete is what we all refer to as the present day “Historian” for the Orange County Fair Speedway. Not only does he have a website devoted to “Victory Speedway”, Pete also has articles in the Hard Clay racing program that one can get every week, at OCFS.
1961, and Americans are admonished to “Ask not what your
country can do for you. Ask what you can
do for your country.” The "Poppin' Fresh" Pillsbury Dough Boy was
introduced. Eddie Murphy was born in
Average Income: $5,315.00 a year. A gallon of regular (leaded!) gasoline cost twenty-seven cents. A new house cost $12,500.00. Average price of a new car was $2,850.00.
From the
Van Horn Wins Stock Car Opener
Following Van Horn to his checkered flag was Lou Lazzaro of
Heat winners were Charles, Van Horn, and Al Tasnady.
Although some of the Stock car owners and drivers were not able to get their cars in shape for the opening race a field of 25 cars put on a thrilling show for the good sized crowd of fans that braved the cold spring breezes.
The first heat was the most hotly contested as Charles, Sonny Strupp, and Ken Wismer battled a wheel to wheel duel throughout the race. Van Horn, in the second heat, led his competitors at a pace which was near record breaking. In fact, unofficial time checks indicate that Carl will soon be setting a new track one lap record.
Starter June Metz gave the red flag a good work out during the main event as four accidents blocked the track. Before the first lap was complete Van Horn rolled on the first turn and Ronnie Seiple spun out on the fourth.
As a result of Seiple’s spin Tasnady became fouled up and spent the rest of the evening in the pits. Nine laps later, Ray Anderson flipped as he hit the first turn barricade.
1961 also saw the first – and only – drag race ever run at
the speedway. The race was sanctioned by
NASCAR and run under the supervision of “TANY,” the Timing Association of New
York. Where, exactly, it was run (old
timers tell me the cars raced down the front stretch) is a mystery. Why a drag race was held at a dirt track
without a ¼-mile stretch of pavement is a bigger mystery. Never the less, the winners were Bill Braim of
As I mentioned in last week’s installment, 1961 was the year that the Sportsman Division was born. The domination of overhead valve V-8 engines would have meant the demise of the flatheads and six-cylinder power plants, so a class was created for them. It was originally called the “Flat Head / Inline” division, and it began on June 17.
Some fans were concerned about the short fields in attendance on Opening Night, 2010. Compared to Opening Night, 1961, it was a bumper crop of competitors.
Next week: 1941, the last Annual Race to be held for a long time.
As for the
“Victory Speedway” website, here ya go:
http://www.victoryspeedway.net/
It is a website that’s continually being up-dated.
Former Dirt Oval (
You’ll notice as we get more into the racing season, more names will appear.
Note: In most cases, the names that appear in this section are names of those that have run at the Dirt Oval for an extended period of time. In some cases, maybe only an occasional appearance at the Dirt Oval, too.
Last Saturday at OCFS – in the modified feature, Tim Hindley was the winner, Danny Creeden 2nd, Clinton Mills 5th, Mike Ruggiero 12th and Billy VanInwegen 17th. In the sportsman feature, Bobby Hassenmayer was 2nd, Brian Krummel 3rd, Joe Conklin 4th, Matt Hitchcock 8th, Matt Janiak 14th, Keith Still 16th, Rich Coons 18th and Doc Young 24th. John Lodini was a DNQ.
At Hamlin, Molly Chambers (who I missed last week) was 18th in the Slingshot feature. In the 270 Micro Sprints, Jacob Hendershot was 9th and Rick Casario 10th. In the wingless 600 Micros, Brittney Tresch was 13th. In the Rookie 600 Micros, Joey Kata was 10th and Geordan Farry 11th.
At New Egypt, Johnny Guarino was 2nd in the modified feature.
At
At Sundance Vacation, Nick Pecko was 5th in the modified feature.
At Five Mile, Mike Mammana was 7th in the sportsman feature.
At Rolling Wheels, Michael Storms was 17th in the modified feature.
At Accord, in the modifieds, Greg Hastie was 11th and Lex Burritt 22nd. Clinton Mills was a DNQ. In the sportsman feature, Anthony Perrego won the race, then was put back two spots for jumping a re-start. Brian Krummel was 19th and Mike Ruggiero 20th. In the Spec sportsman feature, Kyle Rohner won again. Kayla Smykla was 8th, Jason Roe 9th and Matt Hitchcock 20th.
At Lindas, in the 600 modifieds, Brad Szulewski was 21st.
At Trailways, Brad was 2nd in the 600 modifieds
At Lebanon Vally, Kyle Armstrong was 12th, Kolby Schroder 13th and Alex Bell 15th in the sportsman feature.
At Borgers, Tiffany Wambold was 13th in the regular 270 Micro feature, and 1st in the rookies 270’s. Kyle Rohner was 2nd in the Stage 1 Modifieds.
At
At Penn Can, Danny Creeden was 15th in the modified feature.
At Utica/Rome, AJ Filbeck was 2nd in the sportsman feature.
Note: Sorry if I missed anyone!
More
racin’ stuff:
This coming weekend, the wingless 600 Micro Sprints will be in action at Accord on Friday night – a short series that includes the Hamlin track. And, at OCFS on Saturday, the CRSA 305 Sprint Cars are added to the program.
Other forums/message boards and websites:
Note: In this section, from now on, I’ll be making mention of some certain things being said on the Internet, and will give you links to those items, along with links to various websites, message boards and forums. Hope you get a kick out of what some people are saying.
Track Forum: - http://www.trackforum.com/forums/
Graham with Rahal/Letterman for the 500 - http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?136899-Graham-with-Rahal-Letterman-for-the-500
Per Miller: ICS to drop all ISC tracks next year (most
likely) - http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?136838-Per-Miller-ICS-to-drop-all-ISC-tracks-next-year-(most-likely)
Sit-down Interview with Tony George. - http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/05/04/exclusive-tony-george-unplugged-former-indycar-ceo-speaks-o/
Frontstretch.com: http://www.frontstretch.com/
Did You Notice? … Ford’s Flop, Veteran Victory Droughts, And Silly Season Ends Early?
http://www.frontstretch.com/tbowles/29293/
Jayski: - http://www.jayski.com/
Kentucky Speedway
lawsuit gets resolved: http://jayski.com/pages/tracks/lawsuit-kentucky.htm
Video
time:
I
really miss Waylon. And I wish I had
seen him more than just that one time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKiyoQwiYDc&feature=related
Is this true?:
WHEN A THIEF FORCES YOU TO TAKE MONEY
FROM THE ATM, DO NOT ARGUE OR RESIST, YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW WHAT HE OR SHE MIGHT
DO TO YOU. WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IS TO PUNCH YOUR PIN IN THE REVERSE,
I.E..
IF YOUR PIN IS 1254, YOU PUNCH 4521. THE MOMENT YOU
PUNCH IN THE REVERSE, THE MONEY WILL COME OUT BUT WILL BE STUCK INTO THE
EVERY ATM HAS IT; IT IS SPECIALLY MADE TO SIGNIFY DANGER
AND HELP. NOT EVERYONE IS AWARE OF THIS.
Other
(non racing) news:
I suppose you can also put this in the “Is this true?” section. The other day I received an e-mail that dealt with Illegal Immigration. It was a copy of an item from a newspaper. This is what it said:
“
Business
owners declared the boycott a success as well, pointing out that shoplifting
was reduced by 77 percent, money orders sent out of the country were down by 97
percent, and the cost of daily clean-up and trash collection was down by 84
percent. Shoppers reported they could
actually hear English being spoken throughout the community for the first time
in recent memory, and customers paid for purchases with real money, not
government debit cards or food stamps.”
And: Car Crashes Leading Cause of
Teen Deaths in
In part: WEDNESDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) --
Of the more than 16,000 teenagers who die in the United States each year, most
are killed in automobile accidents, but murder, suicide, cancer and heart disease also take their toll, a new government
report finds.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100505/hl_hsn/carcrashesleadingcauseofteendeathsinus
Closing with this:
TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR
PETS:
(1) They live here. You don't.
(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.
That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.
(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are
short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.
Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
(1) eat less,
(2) don't ask for money all the time,
(3) are easier to train,
(4) normally come when called,
(5) never ask to drive the car,
(6) don't smoke or drink,
(7) don't want to wear your clothes,
(8) don't have to buy the latest fashions,
(9) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and
(10)
if
they get pregnant, you can sell their children
May “Guardian Angels” sit on the shoulders of all of our race drivers and race fans, and guide them safely around the tracks!
Drive safe!
As usual, you can
reach me at: ygordad@yahoo.com