Racin'
Stuff:
By Tom Avenengo
First things, first:
Back on December 18, 2008, I lost a good friend - and
mentor – John LeVan. I can still recall
each and every time we traveled together, whether it be
to
John got hooked up with Lenny Calinoff, and they had a great website called Open Wheel Racing.com. After Lenny passed away on December 1, 2004, John took the website over. That lasted until there was a failure to pay, whomever was due the monies, to keep the website up and running – something John wasn’t aware of. When the website went down, John started up Open Wheel Racers.com. While it was both of those, they were recognized as one of the best as far as Internet Motorsport websites went.
Craig made an attempt to keep the website up and running, but did tell me that he was one of the most dumbest early 20-ish men to ever get on a computer. Still, he did a fairly admirable job, until there was another problem with finances and with Craig not getting any assistance from one particular person that could have helped him keep the website going, eventually, as a website, it ceased operation. Dennis “aXe” Sylvia has started a new Open Wheel Racers3 website, but it is way different for the previous OWR’s.
So this weeks column is dedicated to my friend and mentor – John LeVan.
First things, second:
It’s been a long year, and these next few weeks will be rather hectic. So, if you don’t mind, I’ll be taking the next couple of weeks off. Look for my next column on January 7th. My sincerest wishes for everyone to have a Merry Christmas and a joyful, healthful, prosperous and Happy New Year. May 2010 be a hell of a lot better than 2009 was!
Some of my thoughts:
Believe it or not, this is basically the last thing that I did in this weeks column. I was trying to decide, over these last few days, as to what to put in here, and I’ve decided to talk about what next year might hold as far as my writing stuff goes.
As most of you know, I’m retired. That gives me time to check out the Internet, maybe more than the average person. So, I think I’ll continue to do these columns, with some possible changes, and also another type of column that might feature what’s being said on the Internet on mostly things associated with auto racing – things that kind of stir the pot up, if you know what I mean.
I’ll continue doing the “Former Dirt Oval Runners” section, but to be honest, since I’ve stopped doing their race reports, I have to admit that there are probably some out there that have advanced to bigger things, racing wise, and I just don’t know about them. Sorry on that.
Going
back, in time:
Going
back to December 17th in:
1960
Bob Tattersall won the USAC Midget race at the Chicago International Ampitheater, Chicago,IL
1968
Paul Tracy... Born... Paul competed in CART and the Champ Car World Series from 1991 to 2007 and Indycar in 2009
1977
Sammy Sessions...
Died... Sessions was one of the most likable race drivers to come out of the
state of
1980
Ryan-Hunter Reay...
Born... He started driving in 2003 with CART , Champ
Car World Series and later with IRL .
On
December 15th, in:
1927
Bill Mackey ... Born ...
AAA driver from 1949 to 1951. His name at birth was William Gretsinger, Jr. He
was killed in a sprint car crash at
1935
Rex Mays
won the AAA sanctioned Ascot 125 over Louis Meyer and Al Gordon on the .625
Mile Dirt Oval Legion Ascot Speedway in Alhambra,
On
December 18th, in:
1904: Singer Wilf
Carter (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilf_Carter I have never heard anyone yodel like he did,
and if you’re into his kind of music, check it out, here, and listen closely at
1:07 and 1:58 into the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM6aMb-PCw0&feature=related
1907
Bill Holland... Born ... AAA driver from the 1930's 40's and 50's. He won
the
1933
Don Davis ... Born ...
USAC driver from the late 1950's to the early 1960's. He drove in the USAC
Championship Car series, racing in the 1960-1962 seasons with 15 starts,
including the 1961 and 1962
1994
Henry Banks ... Died ...
He was the son of an early European race-driver. Henry began competing in 1932,
when he was 19-years-old, and became successful in the midget cars. He was the
first driver to pass the qualifying "rookie test" at the
2000
Stan Fox ... Died ...
The Wisconsin native was one of
Racing
on TV - http://www.racefantv.com/USTV.htm
To the best of my knowledge, the next “live” race on TV might be a PPV of the Chili Bowl. I do not know if SPEED will be telecasting any of the ARCA test at Daytona on Dec 18 – 20, but might, especially with Danica Patrick and now Milka Duno being there.
Note: From the Chili Bowl website:
“Chili Bowl on TV: Portions of the 24th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals will be broadcast on SPEED TV on a tape-delayed basis.”
Other
forums/message boards and websites:
Note: Unless I see something really interesting, I’ll just be posting links to the various places for a while.
NASCAR.com: http://www.nascar.com/
Dirt Track Digest’s forum: http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/forum/index.php
Track
Forum: - http://www.trackforum.com/forums/
Jayski:
- http://www.jayski.com/
Just
these two items:
No
NASCAR race at
Live coverage of
JR Motorsports conference: Fans interested in Thursday's JR Motorsports media event featuring
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt, Danica Patrick, and other key team
personalities will have multiple broadcasting options to choose from, as live
coverage will be provided by SPEED, SIRIUS | XM Radio, and GoDaddy.com,
respectively. All three broadcasts will start immediately at 11 a.m. ET / 8
a.m. PT. SPEED will interrupt regularly scheduled programming to provide live
television coverage with host Bob Dillner. SPEED's coverage kicks off a weekend
full of Danica Patrick, as Robin Miller will report live from Daytona
International Speedway during the three-day ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of
America) test session Dec. 18-20. JR Motorsports team partner Go Daddy, which
sponsors the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet that Patrick will drive in a partial
NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule in 2010 and 2011, will carry the press
conference live via webstream. Fans can log onto www.GoDaddy.com/Danica to access the
free Internet stream. For satellite radio listeners, SIRIUS | XM will carry the
entire press conference live followed by three hours of discussion and analysis
from the JR Motorsports team shop during "Dialed In" with Claire B.
Lang. SIRIUS NASCAR Radio can be found on SIRIUS channel 128 and also on XM
channel 128 with "The Best of SIRIUS" package. Other key participants
in Thursday's media event will be co-owner and crew chief Tony Eury Jr.,
director of competition and crew chief Tony Eury Sr., and driver of the #88
Hellmann's Chevy, Kelly Bires. Those three will join the Earnhardts and Danica
Patrick in a 45-minute question-and-answer session with the media.(JR Motorsports PR)(12-16-2009)
Back in 2006 – Late November and early December, the wife
and I ventured south to
Since then, and while www.openwheelracers.com was a working website, Rich would submit quite a few articles and photos for publication. With the demise of OWR, Rich did have an article or two on OWR3. Why he left OWR3, I have no idea, but he did, with the help of another former OWR staff member, Danny Burton, get hooked up with the Hoseheads website.
Rich is mostly an open wheel guy, and he had the opportunity to have a nice little sit down chat with USAC’s Jason McCord while at the PRI show in Orlando, last week. There are some interesting things said about USAC and the “Gold Crown” cars – a New oval track open wheel race car that, as it looks now, ain’t gonna make it – at least for some time. Interested? Check out what Rich found out by going here:
http://www.hoseheads.com/richard.html
Other
racin’ stuff:
It’s always sad when we race fans hear of a track closing up and not much chance of it re-opening. Here is an e-mail that has come out on the Yahoo! Race History Group:
“It looks like another historic track has seen its last
race. State Fair Speedway in
State Fair Speedway opened in 1954, with Marvin Pifer sweeping an IMCA weekend
which saw
More racin’ stuff:
On another forum, there was some talk about
having time trials for some races, like the SDS races here in the
Northeast.
“THE ONLY THING ENTERTAINING ABOUT THE "BAD
SHOW " WAS SEEING WHO WOULD BREAK THE LAP RECORD,THANKS TO VINNY AND
CREW,THE TRACK WAS FAST.THEN CAME THE HEATS,THE ONLY PASSES I SAW WERE FROM
PHELPS 98H AND HE ONLY PASSED A FEW. IF I WERE THE PROMOTER I WOULD SCRAP THE
TIME TRIALS ,AND HEADS UP STARTS,DRAW FOR HEATS AND REDRAW FOR THE FEATURE.MAKE
THESE GUYS DO SOME RACING.GIVE ME SOME ACTION FOR MY MONEY. BUT THAT WILL NEVER
HAPPEN ,I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY. ALSO,IF
YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT RACECARS , YOU KNOW DECKER "STOLE " THAT
MONEY.BUT I WON'T GET INTO THAT. SO DON'T EXPECT ANYTHING DIFFERENT."BAD
SHOW 2".
“Being a spectator of mostly late models,
there is something about time trials and heads up starts that I don't like. Oh
yeah, it is that they usually stink up a race.”
“Does anybody actually know why they like to do
qualifying by time trials?
Seriously....do the participants like it? I don't know of
any spectators that do. My guess is that just the top few guys like it, because
they know they'll always qualify up front.”
“Prob so's the hot dogs don't have to run a heat
and risk the possibility of crashing and then going home.”
“It's the same way with the NASCAR tour
mods....the OWNERS love time trials, less wear-n-tear on the equipment.”
“The hot dogs start complaining when with the
combination of no heads up start and lack of track prep has them just falling in
line behind the locomotive on the front for the duration of the race. Take for
example the 2009 World 100. Eldora is not the perfect track
but there are getting to be a lot of ticked off spectators, especially
this past year. The emphasis was on the Prelude for the NASCAR guys and a
couple of days later, when it came time for the World for the late model
drivers, the track was crap. The most sought after win of the late model season
is the World 100 and the track was crap. And then then more crap hit the fan
when the driver of the zero car made a spectacle of himself again crying about
the fast guys being penalized and the that the fans
who don't like time trials and and heads up starts should stay home. I'm not
going in to all he said because it was a long interview and his mouth had
nothing but crap in it. With him, it really doesn't matter what the format is
because if he doesn't win, it is always someone else's fault. I'm not a fan
anyway. I am a spectator. I don't know which is worse though. The tracks that
want to be lazy with track prep or the cry babys who keep going back to run at
crappy tracks. If Tony doesn't start tightening up, he is going to have a big
problem on his hands in Rossburg.”
“I got to thinking what I put on here a couple
of hours ago and I just want to make sure there is no misunderstanding and
someone jumps on me about it. On the previous post, I am not
not in any way knocking the Prelude. I realize that it is a charitable
race and has been affiliated with charities of which I agree. The one post
though really hit what has been a sore spot lately about time trials and heads
up start and the self-proclaimed best late model driver (not in my opinion as I
said self-proclaimed) best late driver there ever was is again thumbing his nose
at people who help support dirt track racing and also making his usual mockery
of tracks and series who don't agree with him.”
“Promoters need to listen less to the few
"pretty boys" who win the lion's share of the purses...and instead
consider the fans #1 and the "average" participants #2. There are a
lot more average racers filling their fields, than there are top-notch
professional racers who think they're God's gift to auto racing.
Besides, where are the professionals going to go? They
actually NEED the money that is being offered in the big shows!”
The
History of the Sport:
Something a little different this week. I have quite a few books that are about racing – naturally, and in the “Midget Auto Racing History” – Volume two book by Crocky Wright, which covers the years 1945 to 1951, here in the East, I thought I’d give you some of the information from that book. (I see that this particular book is still available and can be purchased through the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing for all of $12.00). One hundred and fifty nine pages, with a ton of photos, are in this Gold colored covered book.
http://www.emmr.org/books.htm is where
you can find and order it, if you so desire.
Some
things from 1948 that are in the book:
The
first race here in the Northeast in 1948 was held on January 10th,
at the Kingsbridge Armory, in
February
1st found the midgets racing in
Track
champions that year were:
Bill
Schindler won two 100lap races on the same day at the
In
December, two races were held in the Kingsbridge Armory, with Charlie Ethier
and Stan Disbrow winning. The ARDC also
sanctioned races in
The
ARDC wasn’t the only club that sanctioned midget racing here in the
Northeast. The ARA,
AAA,
Yes,
there were some fatalities, too. Bill Dils at Menands, Anthony Imbimbo at Hinchliffe Stadium, Harry
Sheeler at
Video
time:
Enjoy the lights that accompany this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S50cf3xIb50
Other (non racing) news:
Somehow, I have a real bad feeling on this subject. I can see it in my own family – people always checking their cell phones for messages. Would they have survived if they had grown up in my era – with no such things as cell phones? I’ve had people walk right out in front of me, while I was driving, and they were texting. I’m afraid that it will get to be so habit forming that more and more people will be doing it while driving. Check this out:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_drivers_texting_odd
While
on the subject of cell phones, what would you do if your cell phone bill was
$22,000.00? Check this out:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091216/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_huge_phone_bill
Saving
energy with “Energy efficient” lights, but guess
what? The heat from the light isn’t
warm/hot enough to melt snow. Check it
out:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091216/ap_on_re_us/us_snow_covered_stoplights
Week
Swine Flu shots:
A
little over a month ago I got my regular yearly flu shot. Since then, I’ve made up my mind not to get
the Swine Flu inoculation. Personally, I
felt that they’ve developed it way to fast, and maybe, in a way, I’m correct in
thinking that way. Check this out:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091215/ap_on_he_me/us_med_swine_flu_vaccine
More
lay-offs with Pfizer:
It’s
quite sad that when one company buys out another that the first thing to get
done is to get rid of a bunch of employees from that bought out company. What’s worse is when a company, such as
Pfizer, lay off personnel in a kind of illegal sort of way. Check this out:
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091215/BIZ/912159983
When I read this in our
local paper, earlier this week, I thought – what idiots, those that HAVE to get
THAT toy for their kids. I have
absolutely no idea as to why parents go to such extremes to “satisfy” their
children or even themselves. Check this
article out:
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091213/COMM/912130327/-1/news
Do you have any idea
what might be significant about the year 2050?
Well, other than most of those that are reading this might very well not
be around then, but the year 2050 is now what is being said is the year when
“White America” becomes a minority. What
I find to be somewhat amazing is the fact that it sure seems that the white
athlete has disappeared from sports lately, especially after high school. Even colleges that were all white, especially
in the south, now have a majority of non-white players on their teams. I believe the other day, when the NY Giants
played the Philadelphia Eagles, the starting defense
for Philly had no white players.
Baseball, too, seems to have a majority of “minority” players in the
game today, and also basketball. For an
article about 2050, and about White America being a minority, check it out,
here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091216/ap_on_go_ot/us_white_minority
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091217/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_overhaul
I
found it kind of hard to believe just who was named “Athlete of the
decade”. Then again, what with so many
“Athletes” being on, or having been on, “stuff”, I guess it’s no wonder. Check out who it is, here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/glf_athlete_of_the_decade
Note: Sure is a perfect role model, huh?
Closing with these:
PRESBYTERIAN When
you rearrange the letters: BEST IN PRAYER
ASTRONOMER When you rearrange the letters: MOON STARER
DESPERATION When you rearrange the letters: A ROPE ENDS IT
THE EYES When you rearrange the letters: THEY SEE
GEORGE BUSH When you rearrange the letters: HE BUGS GORE
THE MORSE CODE When you rearrange the letters: HERE COME DOTS
DORMITORYWhen you rearrange the letters: DIRTY ROOM
SLOT MACHINES When you rearrange the letters: CASH LOST IN ME
ANIMOSITY When you rearrange the letters: IS NO AMITY
ELECTION RESULTS When you rearrange the letters: LIES - LET'S RECOUNT
SNOOZE ALARMS When you rearrange the letters: ALAS! NO MORE Z'S
A DECIMAL POINT When you rearrange the letters: I'M
THE EARTHQUAKES When you rearrange the letters: THAT QUEER SHAKE
ELEVEN PLUS TWO When you rearrange the letters: TWELVE PLUS ONE
MOTHER-IN-LAW When you rearrange the letters: WOMAN HITLER
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
Remember
– I’ll return on January 7th!