Racin' & Internet Stuff:

                                      By Tom Avenengo

                                         Volume # 46

                                           03/03/2011

 

 

First:

OK!  Back to weekly columns, again!

 

Second:

Starting with this column, you’ll see some changes made, with some sections now being eliminated.  Maybe not permanently, but for a while, any way.  I’ll be dropping the following:

“The History of the Sport”, “Non-racing news” and “Is this true?” – At least for a while, unless something big should come up!

 

 

Third:

As of February 28th, neither Brewerton nor Fulton has anything on their websites regarding a 2011 schedule.    And, still no word as to whether they’ll be running as an independent or still with DIRTcar, either.  Lotsa rumors, though!

 

Same goes for OCFS, although I’ve seen a “Schedule” that was out prior to their signing back up with DIRTcar, no schedule on their website. 

 

 

Fourth:

No word yet as to whether Whip City Speedway has had a buyer, or not.

http://www.whipcityspeedway.com/

 

 

Fifth:

Danica – Yeah, you know who “Danica” is, right?  What are your thoughts of her – especially in NASCAR?  There’s a thread about her on the Track Forum.  As of Wednesday evening, it’s three pages long and has had 90 comments, so far.  Some very interesting thoughts, I should say.

Check it out, here:  http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?146709-The-ALL-Danica-Patrick-NASCAR-thread-for-2011

 

Sixth:

Coming up:

OCFS:

March 26th /2011 WORK DAY Orange County Fair Grounds - 10am to 3pm 

 

OCFS Practice will be held on Wednesday, April 6th from 5pm-9pm (Rain Date Friday, April 8th)
 
Info on the OCFS car show:  http://www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net/
 
OPENING NIGHT APRIL 9th
 
About the car show – This is what’s being said, as of Tuesday, March 1st:
Sundays autograph session may be the biggest Orange County has ever seen. We have over two dozen drivers already confirmed to be doing autographs and more are being added everyday. Brett Hearn, Bobby Varin, Jerry Higbie, Robbie Green are just some of the drivers that will be in attendance. Don't miss out March 11-13 at the Orange County Fairgrounds arena. For more info call 845-343-4826 or email ocfsmotorsportsshow@yahoo.com
 
 
 
Accord:

April 1-Open Practice & Safety Inspection rain date 4/2

April 8-Open Practice & Safety Inspection rain date 4/9

OCFS MOTORSPORTS SHOW

March 11-12-13

For more info call 845-343-4826

ROCKLAND MOTORSPORTS,

CUSTOM CARS & BIKE SHOW

March 25-26-27

For more info call 845-778-3839

OPENING DAY APRIL 15, 2011

Info for the Rockland County Car Show:  http://www.motorsportshow2011.com/

 

Sunday, March 13, 2011:

Daylight Savings Time begins!

Sunday, March 20, 2011:

First day of Spring!

 

A good way to get fired:

Kinda hard to believe on this one, but if you’re in an announcers booth, it’s said that you should not “cheer” for a winner.  This young man did, and was fired for it:

 http://www.frontstretch.com/tbowles/32940/

 

Going back, in time:

Note:  Most of the following information was found here: 

http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/history.html

 

Covering the days of February 25th to March 3rd.

 

FEBRUARY 25

1961

Davey Allison ... Born ... A NASCAR race car driver, best known as the driver of the Robert Yates Racing #28 Texaco-Havoline Ford. Born in Hollywood, Florida, he was the eldest of four children born to NASCAR driver Bobby Allison and wife Judy. The family moved to Hueytown, Alabama and along with Bobby's brother Donnie Allison, family friend Red Farmer, and Neil Bonnett, became known in racing circles as the Alabama Gang. Davey Allison died as a result of a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway on July 13, 1993. Racing legend Red Farmer was a passenger in the helicopter and survived the crash.

 

FEBRUARY 26
1903

Alexander Winton driving his Winton Bullet, set the first speed record ever achieved at Daytona Beach, Florida. Built in 1902 the "Bullet Number 1" drove a measured mile at over 65 MPH.

1944

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America is incorporated in Boston by seven sports car enthusiasts.

1949

Danny Frye Jr. ... Born ... USAC midget and sprint racer

1998

Russ Congdon ... Died ... USAC midget and sprint racer from the 1950's and 60's

2001

Duke Nalon ... Died ... AAA midget, sprint and Indy car racer .

 

FEBRUARY 27

1910

Ted Horn... Born ... AAA driver from the 1930's and 40's. Ted Horn has the best 9-year streak of finishes in Indianapolis 500 history. Over his Indianapolis 500 career, Ted Horn completed 1944 out of a possible 2000 laps (97%).

1925

Ebb Rose... Born ... USAC racer from the 1960's

1930

Jack Conely... Born ... USAC racer from the 1960's

1939

Peter Revson... Born ... Formula One and the Indy car driver. The nephew of Revlon Cosmetics industry magnate Charles Revson, he was an heir to his father Martin's fortune (reportedly worth over $1 billion). During a practice run for the 1974 South African Grand Prix in Johannesburg, he was killed as a result of suspension failure on his Shadow Ford DN3.

1945

Steve Chassey... Born ... USAC/Cart sprint and Indy car driver.

1949

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida .... A NASCAR sanctioned racing program at the 2 mile paved Broward Speedway featured Roadsters, Sports Cars and the first NASCAR race for a class of passenger cars known as Strictly Stocks, a class that would evolve into the Grand National division. Ft. Lauderdale's Benny Georgeson won the 5 lap Strictly Stock race in a Buick. The featured 100 mile Roadster race was won by Atlanta's Bob Flock with future Indy Car star Jim Rathmann 2nd. Tom Demetry won the 25 mile Sports Car race.

1954

Bobby Ball... Died ... AAA driver from the early 1950's. On January 4, 1953, he was involved in midget car accident at Carrell Speedway, Gardena Calif., which left him with terrible head injuries. He remained in a coma and died 14 months later.

 

FEBRUARY 28

1940

Mario Andretti... Born ... One of the most successful Americans in the history of auto racing. He has competed and won in many different types of auto racing, including stock cars, midget cars, sprint cars, IndyCars, drag racing cars, sports cars, and single-seater Formula One cars. During his career, Andretti won four IndyCar titles, the 1978 Formula One World Championship, and IROC VI (the 1978 - 1979 IROC). To date, he remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), NASCAR's Daytona 500 (1967), and the Formula One World Championship. Andretti had a long career in racing. He was the only person to be named United States Driver of the Year in three decades (1967, 1978, and 1984). He was also one of only three drivers to win races on road courses, paved ovals, and dirt tracks in one season, a feat that he accomplished four times. At his final IndyCar win in April 1993, Andretti became the first driver to win IndyCar races in four decades and the first to win races in five decades.

 

Mario had a twin brother – Aldo Andretti.  Some say that when they started racing, Aldo was better than Mario.  Aldo’s racing career ended on August 17, 1969, when he had an accident while racing with the IMCA in a Sprint Car race at DesMoines, Iowa – an accident that left him with sever facial injuries – 14 fractures to his facial bones.

 

Singer Joe South (Joseph Alfred Souter) was born. (Check him out in the “Video” section, below.

1964

It was on this date that I was discharged from the US Army – some 47 years ago.  1964 was a Leap Year, and March 1st, the day I should have been discharged, was a Sunday, so my discharge day was moved up two days.  The time just keeps flying bye!

1965

Richard Petty, driving in a drag race at the Southeastern International Dragway in Dallas Georgia, lost control of his car and it went into the spectators killing an 8 year old boy.

1966

Joe Gaerte... Born ... World of Outlaws sprint car driver.

1971

A.J. Foyt won the 500 mile NASCAR GN race at Ontario Motor Speedway. Foyt drove the Wood Brothers Mercury past Buddy Baker with 14 laps left and crossed the finish line 8.5 seconds in front of Baker's Petty Dodge. 51 cars took the green flag starting three-abreast in the first NASCAR race on the 2.5 mile OMS oval.

2000

Note:  Any idea as to whether that might be the only NASCAR Cup race that started 3-wide?

 

Tony Schumacher drove his Top Fuel dragster through the 1/4 mile at 330.23 mph at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona. His speed is nearly 4 mph faster than his previous record in 1999.

 

FEBRUARY 29
1932

Masten Gregory... Born ... Masten Gregory was born in Kansas City, Missouri and raced in Formula One between 1957 and 1965, participating in 43 World Championship races, and numerous non-Championship races.

 

MARCH 1

1903

Harlan Fengler ... Born ... AAA driver from 1923 to 1927. Fengler acted as Chief Steward of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1958 until 1974.

 1919

Leroy Warriner ... Born ... an American racing driver from Indianapolis who attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 every year from 1951 to 1958 without succeeding. Warriner only managed to qualify for a single Championship Car race, the September 1953 race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds where he started and finished 18th. He retired from racing in 1962 then owned the Indianapolis Speeddrome with Gene Hartley until 1977. An accomplished midget car racer, he was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

1941

Dave Marcis... Born ... NASCAR Cup driver from 1968 to 2002

1995

Jackie Holmes ... Died ... AAA racer from 1947 to 1953

 

MARCH 2
1913

Duke Nalon ... Born ... AAA midget, sprint and Indy car racer .

1947

Ken Nichols... Born ... USAC driver

1949

Lonnie Caruthers... Born ... USAC midget racer 1970's. Cousin to Jimmy & Danny Caruthers.

1996

Randy Anderson sets NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car national record of 253.73 mph at Texas Motorplex.

2004

Louie Unser... Died ... He was the twin brother of Jerry Unser, who in 1958 became the first of the famed racing family to qualify for the Indy 500. Louie served as chief mechanic for Jerry in that race and handled the same duties for younger brother Al Unser's 500 debut in 1965.

 


MARCH 3
1944

Pete Halsmer... Born ... USAC/CART driver from the 1980's

1981

Ed Carpenter... Born ... IRL Indy car driver

1984

Mike Mosley... Died ... USAC/CART driver from 1967 to 1983. Mosley died in an off-road vehicle accident.

 

 

 

Former OVRP Speedway (Dirt Oval) racers:

 

I see that Davey Franek ventured down to Florida to run with the 360 Sprint Cars at East Bay.  He had finishes of 18, 19 and a DNQ in the three events.

 

Also, in the AARN, they showed how the modified drivers finished, point wise, and with monies won, from their racing at Volusia.  It shows that Billy VanInwegen was 25th in points and had won $675.00.  However, I did notice that in the AARN a week ago, they were showing Billy to have run only 3 of the 4 races, while in actuality, he did run all 4.  In a conversation with his father, via the Internet, it seems that Billy won at least $1,000.00.

 

 

More racin’ stuff:

For 600 Modifieds:

ALL DRIVERS IN BOTH DIVISIONS  MUST SIGN IN TO RECEIVE

5 BONUS POINTS FOR 2011 SEASON SERIES MEETING

MARCH 13TH

12 NOON

POLK TOWNSHIP FIREHOUSE

IF YOU DO NOT SIGN IN, NO POINTS WILL BE GIVEN.

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING FOR THE UPCOMING RACING SEASON !

ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT DOUG BORGER AT 610-681-2689



Some Racin’ stuff from the AARN:

 

If you recall, a while back, there was some talk about the WoO Sprint Cars going to a larger tail tank in order to eliminate “fuel stops” in their racing events.  Well, it seems the drivers “rule the roost” as far as that goes, and those larger tail tanks will NOT be in use.

 

Volusia – the track in Barberville, FL – it’s being said that it would close down after the Speed Weeks racing.  Supposedly, a “one well known individual” is interested in buying it.

 

Wayne County Speedway, out in Ohio is on the auction block, with the auction being scheduled for April 6th.

 

A photo of Glenn Donnelly, holding a sample of his synthetic racetrack was on page 7.  Sadly, no comments could be found throughout the paper on what some thoughts were about it.

 

The USAC Sprint Cars will return to the Ocala Speedway in 2012

 

While at Ocala, a couple of the USAC drivers had some uniforms stolen out of their trailers – Chase Stockton lost one and Shane Cottle lost two.

 

Yes, Bryan Clauson will be racing in the Firestone Indy Lights cars for those six races – at least, with that $300,000.00 in scholarship monies he won last year.

 

Looking at the asphalt modifieds that raced down in Florida, I noticed that in the SK-Modifieds, they only had six (6) cars entered for their four events at the New Smyrna track.  Tour-type Modifieds had 16, 17, 17 and 19 cars.  The dirt Modifieds had at least 29 entrants for their shows.

 

In other Open Wheel racing, in Mini Sprints, at East Bay, had 26 & 27 entrants, while the Micro Sprints (Lightning Sprints?), at Ocala had 12, 9 and 12

 

 

Additional Racin’ stuff:

 

On the Dirt Track Digest’s forum, there’s a real good discussion going on about how the economy might affect racing in 2011.

 

http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/forums//topic/38001-will-speedways-and-racing-in-general-survive/

 

More OCFS news – from their website:  OCFS is proud to announce that longtime announcer, Tim Pitts, will once again be behind the mic weekly at OCFS. Welcome back Tim!”

 

As of noontime on Wednesday, I see that there are only 44 entrants for the Cup race at “Lost Wages” and 42 for the Nationwide race.

 

And, from Jayski’s website:

Displaced Super Bowl fans to enjoy NASCAR Weekend: When the NFL and the country’s largest football stadium dropped the ball on hundreds of disappointed football fans, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Stratosphere Hotel, Casino & Tower recovered the fumble and scored a touchdown with many of them. Earlier this month, LVMS and the country’s tallest hotel-tower partnered to offer tickets to the March 4-6 NASCAR Weekend in Las Vegas to those who were displaced from their seats at this year’s Super Bowl. A total of 34 fans took advantage of the speedway’s offer. The displaced football fans who took advantage of the free ticket offer also were placed in a random drawing to win airfare and three nights of accommodations at the Stratosphere as well. Amanda Saldana of San Antonio, Texas was one of the hapless pigskin fans who sailed through the uprights in Las Vegas. She not only received free NASCAR Weekend tickets, but also won one of the four drawings for airfare and a hotel stay. Other winners responded from as far away as Valencia, Pa., New Berlin, Wis., Charlotte, N.C. and Pittsburgh. Tickets for all events, Neon Garage passes and Lucky 7 parking permits are on sale at www.lvms.com or by calling (800) 644-4444.(LVMS)(3-2-2011)

 

Who’s the GOAT (Greatest of all time):

It’s really kind of hard to pick just one, that’s for sure.

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?147019-The-GOAT

 

 

 

Other forums/message boards and websites:

 

You might find some interesting reading if you go to the links below.

 

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

Frontstretch.com:  http://www.frontstretch.com/

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

Open Wheel Racers3:  http://www.openwheelracers3.com/

Race Pro Weekly:  http://raceproweekly.com/

Syracuse forum:  http://www.syracuse.com/forums/motorsports/ (must register to post)

South Jersey Dirt Racing:  http://theboard.southjerseydirtracing.com/Msgboard.asp?ForumID=27&Return=Msgboard.asp&D83jsd=True

(must register to post)

Victory Speedway:  http://s2.excoboard.com/VictorySpeedwayForum (must register to post & no nonsense allowed)

Yahoo Race History Group: 

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/RacingHistory/ (when one posts something on an e-mail to the group, they do have what is called the “Len Sutton rule” – you put in your name and where you live.  And, yes, things are “policed” too.

New England Tractor:  http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/

Wheels of Speed:  http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/

The Caruso Racing Museum website:  http://www.carusomidgetracing.com/  A great website if you are interested in the history of legendary Mike Caruso, his cars and his drivers.

First Turn Pro:  http://www.firstturnpro.com/

Vintage Sprint Car: 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=236178

Vintage Midget:  http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337192

 

 

 

Racing and television:

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

 

 

2011 Track and other Schedules:

 

SpeedSTR & Slingshots:  http://www.speedstr.biz/

I-88 Speedway (Some info):  http://www.i-88speedway.com/

Bethel:  http://www.bethelmotorspeedway.com/BethelMotorSpeedway/Home_Page.html

OVRP – The Dirt Oval (Oakland Valley Speedway):  http://www.oaklandvalleyspeedway.com/schedules-fees/

Wall Stadium:  http://www.wallspeedway.com/

Utica/Rome Speedway:  http://www.uticaromespeedway.com/

 

 

From previous columns:

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

Big Diamond:  http://www.bigdiamondspeedway.net/

Selinsgrove:  http://www.selinsgrovespeedway.com/

Wyalusing:  http://www.wvmpracing.com/

Stafford:  http://www.staffordspeedway.com/

New Hampshire:  http://www.nhms.com/

Lincoln:  http://www.lincolnspeedway.com/

Hagerstown:  http://www.hagerstownspeedway.com/

CRSA Sprint Cars:  http://www.crsasprintcars.com/

NEMA:  http://www.nemaracing.com/

ARDC:  http://www.ardcmidgets.com/

Bethel:  http://www.bethelmotorspeedway.com/BethelMotorSpeedway/Home_Page.html

Williams Grove:  http://www.williamsgrove.com/

Xcel 600 Modifieds:  http://www.xcelchassis.com/

Mountain Speedway:  http://www.mountainspeedway.com/

Indy car:  http://www.indyracing.com/

Kutztown:  http://www.kutztownfairspeedway.com/

RoC – Dirt: http://www.rocdirt.com/

Penn Can:  http://www.penncan.com/

New Egypt:  http://www.newegyptspeedway.net/

Hamlin:  http://www.hamlinspeedway.com/

Lebanon Valley:  http://www.lebanonvalley.com/Home.html

 

 

Video time:

As mentioned, above – Joe South.  (More tunes by him are over on the right)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijq3_tkQK_w

 

 

Closing with these:

STRANGE BUT TRUE AND UNVERIFIED FACTS

 -Look at your zipper. See the initials YKK? It stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushibibaisha, the world's largest zipper manufacturer.


-40 percent of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.


-315 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.


-On the average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily.


-Chocolate kills dogs! True, chocolate affects a dog's heart and nervous system. A few ounces is enough to kill a small sized dog.


-Ketchup was sold in the 1830's as a medicine.

-Leonardo Da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time.


-Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.


-There are no clocks in Las Vegas casinos.


-Leonardo Da Vinci invented scissors. Also, it took him 10 years to paint Mona Lisa's lips.


-Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to slow a film down so you could see his moves.

-The original name for the butterfly was "flutterby"..


-By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can't sink in quicksand

.
-Mosquito repellents don't repel... they hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there.


-
Dentists recommend that a toothbrush be kept at least six feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.


-The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.


-Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than the entire Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.


-Marilyn Monroe had six toes on one foot.


-Adolf Hitler's mother seriously considered having an abortion but was talked out of it by her doctor.

More to come, next week

 

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