Racin' Stuff:

                                                                                 By Tom Avenengo

 

 

First things, first:

With the racing season winding down, I guess it’s safe to say that my columns will be somewhat shorter in the very near future.  On top of that, I’m thinking of some minor changes too.  Time will tell as to what might get changed, but it looks like shorter columns would remain, even once the racing season resumes.

 

 

 

Some of my thoughts:

Towards the end of the 2009 racing season, there was talk going around about a new business going up quite close to the Albany/Saratoga Speedway.  Rumors were pretty hot and heavy about complaints from this new business on dust from the track and how it might affect them.  Some kind of “micro Chip” business, if I can recall it correctly, was what was going to be opening up.  At the end of the 2009 season, they removed the dirt from A/S to get to the paved track that was under the dirt.  It was originally said that dirt would cover the paved track again in 2010, more than likely in April of 2010.  They’ve already held some racing shows on the pavement.  Now it’s being said that both A/S and it’s sister track, Devil’s Bowl will both be paved for the full 2010 racing seasons.  Good?  Bad?  Who really knows, for sure?  There’s another track up in New York that runs the dirt cars on pavement, and reports are that it is successful.

One of the top drivers here in the northeast, Brett Hearn, has, for the last few years, raced at A/S on Fridays.  I’ve read that he has said he wouldn’t race there if it were to be a paved track.  What might he do?  Might he make the Accord Speedway his Friday night “home”?  I could see that happening – he is quite competitive when he runs there.  On top of that, it’s a lot closer to home, for him.  And what about OCFS?  Might he just go out and run more big dollar races like he started doing this past season?  Somehow I have a strong feeling, in my gut, that OCFS might very well either go back to Hoosier tires or maybe even some kind of “open” tire rule for 2010.  Might Brett consider running at OCFS on a steady basis in 2010?

One thing I’d love to see is that DIRTcar get away from having their Super Dirt Series races on weekends.

 

 

 

 

Going back, in time:

Going back to October 29th in:

 

1950

Troy Ruttman won the AAA Western Sprint Car race at the Clovis Fairgrounds, Clovis, CA.

 

1955

Bobby Grim won the IMCA Sprint Car race at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds,Shreveport, LA.

 

1960

Colby Scroggin won the 100 lap CRA Sprint Car race at the Ascot Park Speedway (1/2d) , Gardena, CA.

Hank Arnold won the Sprint Car race at the Manzanita Speedway, Phoenix, AZ.

 

1961 

Rodger Ward won the USAC sanctioned Golden State 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval California State Fairgrounds in Sacramento, California. Parnelli Jones was second followed by Bobby Marshman, Len Sutton and Cotton Farmer.

Bill Randall won the ARDC Midget race at the Trenton International Speedway (1.0p), Trenton, NJ.

Johnny Mackison won the Super Modified race over Leroy Felty, Dick Tobias, Johnny Crawford and Neil Haight at the Williams Grove Speedway, Williams Grove,PA.

 

1966

Roger McCluskey won the USAC Sprint Car race at the Ascot Park Speedway, Gardena,CA. Hal Minyard was second followed by George Benson, Bobby Unser and Bruce Walkup.

Hank Arnold won the Sprint Car race at the Manzanita Speedway (1/2d) , Phoenix, AZ.

 

1967

Bobbie Adamson won the National Open Super Sprint Car race over Buddy Cochran, Ted Wise, Bobby Allen and Kenny Weld at the Williams Grove Speedway , Williams Grove,PA.

 

1977

Gordon Johncock won the USAC sanctioned Bobby Ball 150 on the 1 Mile Paved Oval Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, AZ. Al Unser was second followed by Pancho Carter, Mario Andretti and Roger McCluskey.

Steve Howard and Jimmy Oskie won the feature CRA Sprint Car races at the Ascot Park Speedway (1/2d) , Gardena, CA.

 

1978

Shane Carson won the World of Outlaws Sprint Car race at the Eldora Speedway , Rossburg,OH. Charlie Swartz was second followed by Doug Wolfgang, Dub May and Fred Linder.

 

1983

Ron Shuman won the Sprint Car race at the Ascot Park Speedway, Gardena,CA. Steve Kinser was second followed by Gary Howard, Dean Thompson and Brad Noffsinger.

Dave Blaney won the Super Sprint Car race at the Southern Ohio Raceway, Portsmouth,OH. Kenny Jacobs was second followed by Lee Osborne, Jeff Swindell and Danny Smith.

 

1986

Bobby Davis Jr. won the first nights preliminary race of the 19th annual Valvoline/Coors Western World Sprint Car Championship at the Manzanita Speedway, Phoenix, AZ.

 

1987

Kenny Jacobs won the second nights preliminary race of the 20th annual Valvoline/Coors Western World Sprint Car Championship at the Manzanita Speedway, Phoenix, AZ.

 

 

Coming up:

 

Ok, it’s over a month away, but on Sunday, November 8th, the annual Lobitz Movie Party/EMMR Auction will be held in Hazelton, Pa.  This function is always a blast to attend, and is for such a worthy cause – raising monies for the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing.  One never knows just who might show up, too.  Quite a few vendors are in attendance, as well as photographers with tons of photos from “Back in the day”, so to say.  Race drivers and racecar owners from yesteryear are always in attendance.  During the auction part, there is always a lot of “busting chops”, if you know what I mean.  There’s a free lunch, and later on, somewhere around 5:00, there is a sit down dinner, too – also on Stan.  Stan has done this for over 20 years now.

You can call Lynn Paxton for information on this at:  717-432-8188.  The number I’ve found for the Lobitz Catering Hall is:  570-455-2037.  If you plan on attending, get there early – at least before noon.  And, if you have something you’d like to contribute for the auction, all the better!

Note:  I’ll continue to post this item throughout the month of October.

 

 

 

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

Actual live racing on TV:

Saturday, October 31st:

4:00 PM to 6:30 PM on SPEED:  Truck race from Talladega

8:00 PM to 10:00 PM on SPEED:  Tape delayed showing of Super Dirt Week – Modifieds from Syracuse, NY

10:00 PM to 12:00 AM on ESPN2:  NHRA qualifying from Las Vegas

 

Sunday, November 1st:

7:30 AM to 10:00 AM on SPEED:  Formula One race from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

1:00 PM to 5:00 PM on ABC:  Cup race from Talladega

7:00 PM to 10:00 PM on ESPN2:  NHRA Eliminations from Las Vegas

 

 

 

Other forums/message boards and websites:

 

From the Track Forum - http://www.trackforum.com/forums/

 

Should there be a second Open Wheel race held on the Indianapolis Speedway?  Some say yes, and some say no.

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129958&page=1&pp=20

 

 

 

From Jayski - http://www.jayski.com/

 

 

Edwards hopes to meet with injured fan: #99-Carl Edwards is looking forward to one aspect of returning to Talladega Superspeedway one week from this Sunday. He hopes to be able to meet in person with Blake Bobbitt, the young woman whose jaw was broken when a piece of Edwards' #99 Ford flew into the frontstretch grandstands as the Aaron's 499 Sprint Cup race reached its wild and controversial conclusion this past April. "We text back and forth," Edwards said. "And I think she's going to come down and say hey at Talladega, so that's cool." Bobbitt had to be helped to a local hospital after the incident. Then 17 (she since has celebrated her 18th birthday and graduated from high school), Bobbitt underwent reconstructive surgery where two plates had to be inserted in her jaw, which was then wired shut for six weeks. Edwards said he called Bobbitt recently and had a "really positive conversation" with her. "A piece of my car hit her in the face. I just felt bad. I wanted to talk to her about it," Edwards said. "I just wanted her to know that everybody on my team was behind her and wanted to help her. She's doing OK. She had a broken jaw. We didn't talk at length about her injuries -- but the way I understand it, it broke her jaw and knocked [some of] her teeth out. So it was a bad deal. It was right before she graduated high school, so that was tough. From what I can tell, she handled it well." Edwards said when he discovered Bobbitt and seven other fans had been injured (the rest were relatively minor injuries) as a result of his airborne car slamming into the catch fence, it was a horrible feeling. "That's the worst feeling I've had in racing," Edwards said. "When I landed in my airplane in Washington [D.C.] after that race -- I was going to a Ford appearance -- Randy [Fuller], my PR guy, told me, 'Look, there were some people injured.' That was a really bad feeling." Edwards said he looks forward to meeting in person with Bobbitt -- even if he's not all that pumped about participating in the upcoming race at Talladega. "She's really nice and she's a pretty cool chick," Edwards said. "We've been talking a little bit and I think she's gonna come out to the race. Hopefully, we'll be able to meet up, but that was crazy. I hope nothing like that happens again."
Rick Humphrey, the president of Talladega Superspeedway, hired an outside engineering firm to examine what could be done to his track's infrastructure to improve safety in the aftermath of Edwards' accident. Humphrey recently announced that the catch fence along the frontstretch has been raised an additional eight feet, from 14 to 22 feet.(in part from NASCAR.com)(10-27-2009)

 

Note:  Hmm, they’ve raised the fence another 8 feet.  Correct me if I’m wrong here, but I believe that parts off of the car went THROUGH the fence, not over it?  I can only think of one thing that might keep parts from going through the fence, and that would be 4x8 sheets – or larger, of ¼ inch or ½ inch or so of clear Lexan that would be attached to the fence but on the track side of the fence, not on the spectator side.

 

 

 

NASCAR.com:  http://www.nascar.com/

 

Larry McReynolds, Kyle Petty and Jimmy Spencer have some thoughts about NASCAR racing as it was and as it is, today:

http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/opinion/10/26/cross.words.martinsville/index.html

 

 

 

Dirt Track Digest’s forum:  http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/forum/index.php

 

Yes, it’s called the “Dirt Track Digest Forum”, and there are some that are annoyed that there are postings on it that pertain to an ASPHALT track – Albany/Saratoga.  Should postings about Albany/Saratoga still be posted on the DIRT Track Digest or should they be posted in the NASCAR/Asphalt section?  Some good serious comments and some not so serious comments can be found if you go here:

http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=32551&st=0

 

 

 

http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/

 

On this website you’ll find some race reports for OVRP’s Dirt Oval, photos from Ralph Corwin, and this column, too.  There are 25 photos up from last week in case you didn’t know of them, and they can be viewed if you go to “Going back in Time Vol 1”.  More photos will be coming soon!   I’ve sent more in, but there has been a problem, so hopefully, if they are not up yet, they’ll soon be.

 

 

 

Tracks:

 

OCFS - http://www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net/

 

This, from the OCFS website:

 

On Saturday, November 7, all gates will open at 7:00 AM, with track action beginning with warm-ups at 9:00 AM and racing an hour later at 10:00 AM.

Prior to the headline Eastern States 200, the Modified stock car drivers will have a last chance consolation race to determine the final starters in the 200-lap grind around the five-eighths-mile Hard Clay track. In addition, the Vintage Modifieds will run their feature race, and the Pro Stock class will see action in qualifying races and a 30-Lap feature.

Entries for the Eastern States 200 are still open and additional competitors are welcome to attempt to qualify, although they will start behind those drivers already assigned a position in the consolation race.

 

Note:  Here’s hoping that those events that are scheduled for this coming weekend do get to be run and that “Mother Nature” does behave like we want her to!

 

 

Accord - http://www.accordspeedway.com/

 

From their website:

 

Scarecrow Showdown
October 24th & 31st

Racing-Quads Bikes Slingshots 4 & 2 cyl Karts

 Oct 24th Gates open at 3 Racing at 5
Oct 31st-opening time to be announced

CHECK OUT THE MID WEEK MADNESS SECTION
FOR CLASSES
Call 845-626-3478 for more info

 

 

OVRP’s Dirt Oval - http://www.ovrpdirtoval.com/

 

As you are probably aware of it by now, the Octoberfest racing weekend was postponed last weekend, thanks to “mother Nature” doing her usual weekend weather stuff.

 

From their website:

Octoberfest - POSTPONED

Rescheduled for October 30th, 31st, and November 1st. - All Times to Remain the Same

Trailer Treat - we are asking everyone to bring some candy so that the kids can trick or treat after racing on Saturday night!

Costume Contest - Saturday October 31st

1st Prize - Single Membership for 2010 & Toys R Us Gift Card

2nd Prize - Toys R Us Gift Card

3rd Prize - Gift Certificate to JK Performance Kart Shop

Last Points Race - November 7th

Upcoming Special Events

Octoberfest 2009

 

Note:  Octoberfest info can be found, here:  http://www.ovrpdirtoval.com/Octoberfest.html

 

 

 

 

OVRP’s road course:  http://www.ovrp.com/ovrp/pages/home.asp

 

From their website:

 

Thursday, October 29th
& Friday, October 30th
Practice 12:00pm-6:00pm

Saturday, October 31st
Open Practice
10:00am-3:00pm

Endurance Race 3:00pm

Sunday, November 1st
OVRP Race Series
All times are normal

 

 

 

Former OVRP Dirt Oval runners:

 

With racing about done, there isn’t much to report on nowadays. 

Roger Coss did race last weekend and finished 4th in the Legends feature at the Sundance Vacation Speedway, in St. Johns, Pa.

Mike Ruggiero was 10th and Mike Mammana was 23rd in the Sportsman feature at New Egypt.

 

 

 

Family members in racing:

Nothing much to report on for right now.  Grandson Brett has some college stuff to do this coming Saturday, so that killed his running at Octoberfest.  Along with that, Kart owner Clark McCollum also can’t make it either.  Grandson John Rizzo, down in Florida, did tell me that they have a meeting coming up this coming week about a race team (I take it he’s part of it the way he’s talking) getting a Ford Mustang ready for the 24 hour race at Daytona.  Maybe I’ll have more on that later on.

 

 

 

Other racin’ stuff:

From last week:

 

The lineup for the Eastern States 200, now re-scheduled to November 7th, as of October 18, 2009:

1-Tim Fuller *
2-Matt Sheppard
3-Brett Hearn
4-Jerry Higbie ***
5-Jimmy Phelps
6-Billy Decker *
7-Rick Mill ***
8-Chuck McKee
9-Tommy Meier
10-Mitch Gibbs
11-David Van Horn
12-Rich Eurich ***
13-Rick Laubach
14-Pat Ward **
15-Danny Creeden
16-Kenny Tremont
17-Tim Hindley
18-Steve Dodd
19-Jeff Heotzler
20-Andy Bachetti ***
21-Michael Storms
22-Chris Schultz
23-Bobby Varin **
24-Clinton Mills
25-Gary Edwards Jr
26-Bob McGannon
27-Craig Mitchell
28-Mike Kolka
29-Ric Hill
30-Jeremy Markle
31-Jimmy Johnson
32-Donnie Wilson
33-Kirk Horton
34-Billy Eggers
35-Jimmy Horton
36-Tim Bayles
37-44 Consi cars yet to be determined

 

Note #1:  It is being said on the OCFS website that it is still possible to enter for the 200, but if you did, you’d start at the rear in the consi.  They’ll be taking at least 8 out of the consi.  That can be seen, here:  http://www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net/09-News/10-18.html

 

* Tim Fuller is scheduled to run a Late Model at Lowes on 11/7.  Same for Billy Decker, from what I could find.

** Both Pat Ward and Bobby Varin have a Utica/Rome Banquet to attend on the night of 11/7.

*** Jerry Higbie, Rick Mill, Andy Bachetti and Richie Eurich might be attending the Accord Speedway banquet too, after the ESW 200, on the 7th.

 

 

More racin’ stuff:

I found this over on the Track Forum:

“The 2010 USAC National racing season will start in the Sunshine State with the announcement today of the February 8-9-10 non-wing 410-c.i. USAC National Sprint Car races at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa, Fla. It’s part of East Bay’s big six-night February slate which also includes the All Star Sprint Car Series, which competes at the track February 11-12-13.

Located in Gibsonton, the 1/3-mile clay oval has been a hotbed of Sprint racing in recent years but the February races mark the debut of USAC Sprint racing at the track. The only previous USAC appearance at the facility was in 2006 when Ryan Smith and Mike Ward won Ford Focus races at East Bay.”

A few years ago, they had a 400 lap Sprint Car race at the DeSoto Super Speedway.  At that time, it sure looked like there would be some USAC cars for that event, but somehow things got messed up between the track and the PRA (I believe they sanctioned the event) and those USAC cars really didn’t make the show.  Oh, they had the race and most of the field was made up of the pavement Sprint Cars (TBARA) that run down in Florida – with wings.  The 400 lapper was wingless.  Quite interesting, to be sure.  A driver had to pit previous to lap 200 and also after lap 200 – two mandatory pit stops.

It will be interesting to see how many Sprint Cars they can draw for these USAC races – USAC Sprinters, that is.  It will also be interesting to see if any drivers that might run in those All Star races would be willing to take off their wings and run without them.

 

 

 

NASCAR Cup Points, as they would have been, and as they are – from Jayski’s website:

 

UNOFFICIAL Sprint Cup CLASSIC - the OLD way - Driver Points Standings
[after Martinsville, race 32 of 36]:
pos, car#, driver, points, behind
1). #14-Tony Stewart, 4682
2). #48-Jimmie Johnson, 4602, -80
3). #24-Jeff Gordon 4565, -117
4). #5-Mark Martin, 4231, -451
5). #11-Denny Hamlin, 4217, -465
6). #2-Kurt Busch, 4170, -512
7). #42-Juan Montoya, 4149, -533
8) #39-Ryan Newman, 4058, -624
9). #16-Greg Biffle, 3997, -685
10). #99-Carl Edwards, 3965, -717
11). #18-Kyle Busch, 3920, -762
12). #9-Kasey Kahne, 3919, -763
13). #17-Matt Kenseth, 3895, -787
14). #33-Clint Bowyer, 3805, -877
15). #00-David Reutimann, 3764, -918
16). #83-Brian Vickers, 3761, -921
(10-25-2009)

 

 

UNOFFICIAL Sprint Cup CHASE Standings
[after Martinsville, Chase race 6 of 10; Season race 32 of 36]:
pos, car#, driver, points, behind, [wins], race finish
1) #48-Jimmie Johnson [6 wins], 6098, finished 2nd
2) #5-Mark Martin [5 wins], 5980, -118, 8th
3) #24-Jeff Gordon [1 win], 5948, -150, 5th
4) #14-Tony Stewart [4 wins], 5906, -192, 9th
5) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya 5898, -200, 3rd
6) #2-Kurt Busch [1 win], 5858, -240, 17th
7) #39-Ryan Newman 5786, -312, 7th
8) #16-Greg Biffle 5748, -350, 25th
9) #11-Denny Hamlin [3 wins], 5746, -352, 1st/WON
10) #99-Carl Edwards 5685, -413, 20th
11) #9-Kasey Kahne [2 wins], 5659, -439, 32nd
12) #83-Brian Vickers [1 win], 5568, -530, 11th
For the drivers points standings, see my Drivers Points Standings.(10-25-2009)

 

 

 

 

 

The History of the Sport:

 

I have to consider myself as fortunate as far as being able to have met, and become a friend of, the late Keith Herbst.  We first met at the Museum in Paterson, NJ about five years ago, I guess.  He told me that his reading of my “Ah Yes, I Remember it Well” series of articles got him to thinking of writing about the midget racing that was held up in Buffalo, NY back in the 40’s.  Well, didn’t actually tell me in person, but did so in a short note he had written to me in my copy of his book – “Daredevils of the Frontier”.  It kind of means something when someone else makes mention of ones writing that was an inspiration for someone else to write similar things.  Keith did an awful lot of investigating and searching and gathering of information, and when he felt he had enough, he had Coastal 181 publish what is really quite an interesting book – in fact, it’s the very first hard-cover book that Coastal 181 came out with.  The book has 180 pages and around 350 photos, and is really quite easy to read.  If you’re an historical “buff”, it is well worth adding it to your library, at a very reasonable cost of only $23.95.  No, I don’t get anything for publicizing the book - believe me!  But if you like to read about racing from “Back in the day”, well, I’d suggest you give serious thought and then order this book.

Check out the Coastal 181 website here:  http://www.coastal181.com/

 

 

 

Don’t forget – part one:

This coming Saturday is Halloween – a day/night when little “creatures” of all descriptions will be out and about, so if you’re driving, please be extremely careful – especially if the weather isn’t to nice!

 

Don’t forget – part two:

 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1 – (DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ENDS)

2:00 AM – Make sure you get out of bed (yeah, right!) and change your clocks – turn them BACK on hour!

 

 

 

Video time:

 

A little comedy for you, this week.  Sorry for the somewhat poor quality in the first video, at the beginning!  Enjoy!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CcfShFm0RU&feature=related

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ7By1MVVgE&feature=related

 

 

 

 

Other (non racing) news:

Like you probably do, I get e-mails up the “ying-yang” about this new Health care bill.  Can you imagine if all those in Congress, the Seante and in the House of Representatives were to be on the exact health care plan that they’re trying to pass for us?  Maybe WE should have the same health care plan that THEY have!

Here’s an e-mail I received the other day.  It would be great if it were true and that it would actually happen:

“Go on line and checked this out and you can see for yourself.  http://freedomeden.blogspot.com/2009/07/john-flemming-hr-615.html 

 HR 615 - Please forward to everyone you know



Subject: HR 615
 
On Tuesday, the Senate health committee voted 12-11 in favor of a two-page amendment, courtesy of Republican Tom Coburn which would require all Members of Congress and their staff members to enroll in any new government-run health plan.

Congressman John Fleming has proposed an amendment that would require Congressmen and Senators to take the same health care plan that they would force on us. (Under proposed legislation they are exempt.)

Congressman Fleming is encouraging people to go to his Website and sign his petition.  The process is very simple  I have done just that at:

http://fleming.house.gov/index.html . 
 Fill out name address, etc..click "YES" and submit!! 


Senator Coburn and Congressman Fleming are both physicians.
Regardless of your political beliefs, it sure seems reasonable that Congress should have exactly the same medical coverage that they impose on the rest of us.
Please urge as many people as you can to do the same!”

 

Note:  I did read, somewhere, that these “petitions” that get signed on the Internet, more or less end up in “file 13” and don’t really get to the people they’re supposed to get to.  Just thought I’d pass that along.

 

A poor “Band-aid”?

 

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge has been shut down because a rod that was put in place a short time ago – like last month, snapped.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091028/ap_on_re_us/us_bay_bridge_closure

 

 

 

 

Closing with this:

 

Just in case you weren't feeling old enough today.....


The people who started college this fall were born in 1991.

They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.

Their lifetime has always included AIDS.

They have always had an answering machine.

They have always had cable.

Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.

Popcorn has always been microwaved.

They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.

They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.

They never heard: 'Where's the Beef?', 'I'd walk a mile for a Camel ', or 'de plane Boss, de plane'.

They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

 

 

 

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

 

Drive safe! 

 

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