Racin'
& Internet Stuff:
By Tom Avenengo
Volume # 87
12/29/2011
First:
I sure hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and that Santa was able to
drop off the kind of presents you desired!
In a few more days, 2011 will be history. How it will be remembered is up in the air,
for now. Hopefully, 2012 will be a
better year for all of us.
Second:
More than likely, over these next few months, things will be kind of
quiet on the motor sports scene. Hey, I
might even take off a week or two.
I did find the following, however, on one of the message boards/forums
that I frequent:
“All
of us at orange County Fair Speedway would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year. We
hope to see you at the Banquet and Opening Day 2012. We are working hard to
release our new exciting schedule and new handicapping system within the next
week or two.”
Note: Hmmm, new handicapping system? Wonder how that will work?
Third:
New Indy car still needs work
In part:
"
The Dallara DW12 Indy car, which has an
alarming number of people involved in the Izod IndyCar Series only half-joking that Dallara is Italian for disaster.
The car is named after the late Dan Wheldon,
who handled the initial shakedown tests of Italian race car manufacturer Dallara Automobili's first new
Indy car design since 2003. But Wheldon was maybe too
diplomatic, a PR-minded party-line kind of guy, so he never played up the car's
shortcomings. There are many of those, a fact that became obvious when testing
moved on to the engine manufacturer phase and the car scared the likes of Dario
Franchitti and Tony Kanaan
while resolutely refusing to top 216 mph at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Following another round of testing at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana,
Calif., Scott Dixon gave the most honest assessment of the car to date, calling
it "a bit of a pig" with an even more pronounced pendulum effect than
the current Dallara IR03, which is already a
tail-heavy car. The numbers don't lie; the DW12 has a weight distribution of 41
percent front, 59 percent rear, as compared to the IR03's 45/55."
More on this can be found here:
Fourth:
The Chili Bowl is just around the corner. As of December 28th, there are 255 entrants. Chances are you’ll know some of the drivers that will be in competition. Are there any well-known NASCAR drivers entered? Yes, so far JJ Yeley is entered. I’ve read that Kasey Kahne will be running, although I have yet to see his name listed. I have not seen anything about Tony Stewart, yet – (see “Fifth”, below). Nor have I seen any from drag racing – yet. I really don’t expect to see any from Indy car, which, to me is a shame. At times, in the past, there were some that entered.
As expected, there are quite a few USAC drivers listed. And, from here in the east, there are some from the ARDC, too. Also, the WoO Sprint Car Series has some of its drivers listed as running. I did notice that former Chili bowl winner Tim McCreadie is not listed, and I would imagine that serious accident he had there a couple of years ago has something to do with that. Local modified drivers Brett Hearn and Jerry Higbie have run in the Chili Bowl in the past, but they are not listed for the 2012 event.
The entry list, and who will be racing on what nights, can be found if you go here: http://www.chilibowl.com/entries/manual.aspx?c=1033
Info on the tape delayed telecast of the Chili Bowl is further down in the column, in the TV section.
Fifth:
An update on the above:
Stewart
To Lead Chili Bowl ‘Team of Champions’
December
26th, 2011
Stewart
made his most recent appearance in the event in 2008, finishing eighth in the
A-main finale. After taking a three-year hiatus from the biggest Midget race of
the year, Stewart will return in January behind the wheel of the No. 14
Chevrolet/Chevrolet Performance Parts/Spike.
The
26th annual event inside the typically fan-packed confines of the
Stewart
has two Golden Drillers in his collection after scoring Chili Bowl victories in
2002 and 2007. The newly crowned, three-time NASCAR titlist will lead the
four-car “Team of Champions” into the 2012 Chili Bowl behind the wheel of a
special edition black, carbon-fiber entry that has been dubbed the “Back in
Black” car. He’ll look to give Chevrolet its second Chili Bowl triumph.
Clauson will pilot the No. 39c INDYCAR/Indy 500/Spike/Esslinger for
co-entrants Corey Tucker Racing (CTR)/Bryan Clauson,
Inc. (BCI)/Curb-Agajanian Racing. The four-time USAC
champion has made two A-main starts in the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. He
scored his best finish in 2008, taking the checkered flag in fourth place. Clauson has also won a preliminary A-main in the Chili Bowl
in the Tuesday-night 25-lap qualifier last January.
The
22-year-old open-wheel standout has a long list of credentials that includes 23
USAC National Midget Series victories, two USAC National Midget Series championship
titles, two USAC Indiana Midget Week titles and two Belleville Midget Nationals
triumphs. In addition to being a two-time USAC National Drivers champion, Clauson has also been named National Midget Driver of the
Year three times in his young career. IZOD IndyCar
Series CEO Randy Bernard recently announced that Clauson
will compete in the 2012
Recently
crowned NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Stenhouse
Jr., will compete for the Team of Champions for CTR/BCI/Curb-Agajanian Racing in the No. 39i Curb Records/Spike/Esslinger. Fresh off his championship run, Stenhouse Jr., will look to earn his first Golden Driller
trophy. While his full-time efforts in the USAC National Midget Car Series
ranks were short term, Stenhouse earned five
victories and was named the series’ 2007 Rookie of the Year. He enters this
year’s event with one A-main start to his credit and will look to put the Curb
Records entry in the show again in 2012.
Blackhurst, the 2011 POWRi Rookie of the Year, will
drive the No. 39b Kitchen Cooked/Spike/Esslinger
entry for the CTR/BCI team. Blackhurst looks to make
his first Chili Bowl start and will be vying for event Rookie of the Year
honors, as well as a shot at the Golden Driller. The 16-year-old is no stranger
to racing success as he won the 2010 USAC Ford Focus Midget Midwest Pavement
Championship.
Tony
Stewart, Owner and Driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet/Chevrolet Performance Parts/Spike
for Tony Stewart Racing
You’re
making your return to the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals by leading a very
powerful lineup of championship-winning drivers. Are you looking forward to the
challenge of making Saturday night’s A-main finale?
“Having
taken a few years off from competing in the Chili Bowl, I’m really looking
forward to returning to
Bryan
Clauson, Co-Owner and Driver of the No.
39c/INDYCAR/Indy 500/Spike/Esslinger for CTR/BCI/Curb-Agajanian
Racing
As
a key part of a team that is sure to be a major player in the Chili Bowl Midget
Nationals, what part of the event are you looking forward to the most?
“Over
the last few years I’ve been fortunate enough to add a lot of marquee wins to
my resume, but there’s still one hole I’d like to fill, and that’s the Chili
Bowl. We came so close last year before settling for a fifth-place finish. I’m
definitely looking forward to returning to
“It’s
really exciting to be part owner of a team that includes some of the best in
the business. Tony Stewart and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.,
are definitely guys you want to have as teammates and it’s exciting to see a
younger guy like Jack Blackhurst make his first
start. Ricky has been a long-time friend of mine and I’m really excited to have
him in one of our cars for this year’s race. It’s something we’d talked about
for the past few years and, any time you can add the NASCAR Nationwide Series
champion to your slate of drivers, it’s a great thing.”
The
above was found here:
http://tsrfan.com/stewart-to-lead-chili-bowl-team-of-champions/2011/12/26/
Sixth:
A normal football game – College or Pro, is a contest that is 60
minutes long. Somehow, it is now taking
over three hours for the games to be completed.
What I can’t figure out is why so long between changes of
possession? On the game Monday night it
was a good two and a half minutes the one time I thought I’d time it. And as for those “60 second time outs” - no way.
Seventh:
IndyCar: A return to Watkins Glen possible for 2012
According
to reports, the IndyCar Series is supposedly in
discussions with Watkins Glen track officials for a possible return alongside
the NASCAR Truck Series for the 2012 season.
With
only 15 tracks on the schedule so far, Michael Printup,
President of the Watkins Glen circuit and IndyCar CEO
Randy Bernard have already spoken about the potential for the series to run at
the
IndyCar raced at Watkins Glen between 2005 and 2010, but pulled out this year
due to dwindling crowds.
NASCAR
Trucks last visited the track in 2000.
The
above was found here:
Note: From what I’ve been reading, the only Indycar race that is scheduled for the eastern part of the
country is the one for
Eighth:
An interesting thread on the Track Forum with a title: "Ah, the irony".
It's
about having American Drivers in the Indycar
Series. Some good points made in the
discussion, such as:
"Besides
the fact that Indycar HAS American drivers (Rahal, Andretti, RHR, Kimball, Carpenter, Hildebrand, Newgarden) and 6/7 are pretty good drivers. Bottom line, 7 isnt enough for some of the bitching/moaning fans we have.
If we had 10, that wouldnt be enough either. They
really wouldnt be happy unless all but a few drivers,
if not all, were Americans.”
“I dont care what country you were born in, I care if you can
drive and I want the best in our series. I will bash the foreign ride buyers as
much as the next guy, but im not going to give a
driver who isnt any good a pass just because they are
american, like many on TF do. I evaluate them all
with the same criteria, american
or not."
"I
agree, sort of. Americans want to root for Americans who are winning. And right
now most race victories are being shared by a Scott and an Aussie.”
“I
don't think that the popularity of NASCAR is derived from the drivers being
American. Otherwise the IRL would have been alot more
popular wouldn't it? I think NASCAR's popularity is derived from their stars
being good marketable Americans with personalities. In NASCAR the only
reference you have to nationalism is maybe creating antagonists out of foreign
born drivers (JPM, for example).”
“By
the same token, in Indycar, you need to have some
American protagonists going up against worthy foreign competition. Both of
these characters have got to be good marketable personalities.”
“In
F1, American's don't watch because there isn't an American worth watching.
Scott Speed wasn't worth rooting for because he wasn't at the pointy end of the
field. That's where Americans want to see their guys. Daly and Rossi remain our
best hopes over there.”
“I
think in Indycar, you need both Americans and
foreigners to make it interesting and to make it work. A battle of nations, or
whatever you want to market it as, arises. We have been very weak on american talent recently because american talent is either going elsewhere or just doesn't
match up talent-wise (where are all the IRL drivers now in the combined series?
They were on the top rung of open wheel completely artificially. Race fans who
knew anything knew that. That can't be the case.). By the same token, the
foreigners have got to be electric personalties who
can race (Tracy, Zanardi, Franchitti,
Montoya, Bourdais etc) instead of subdued F1 ladder
washouts who can't (too many names have come and gone to list).”
“Indycar will work with diversity. Call it 50/50
American/Foreign split, but more importantly, make them all be good racers who
you can market."
More
on this can be found if you go here:
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?158874-Ah-the-irony
Ninth:
Another
young racer that wants to get into Indycar racing -
Shannon McIntosh
A thread about her on the Track Forum. One has to give the young lady credit for
getting news out about herself and her racing.
How good is she? I have no idea,
except for what I've read on the thread.
In time, maybe she'll make it, then again, maybe not. What will hurt drivers in her position is the
economy and lack of sponsorship - good sponsorship.
You
can read about her here:
http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?158836-Shannon-McIntosh
Tenth:
Sears, Kmart to close 100-120
stores
In
part:
"
The
closings fueled speculation about whether the 125-year-old retailer can turn itself around.
The
closings are the latest and most visible in a long series of moves to try to
fix a company that has struggled with falling sales and shabby stores as rivals
like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. spruced up their looks and turned
into one-stop shopping sources.
"There's
no reason to go to Sears," said New York-based independent retail analyst
Brian Sozzi, "It offers a depressing shopping
experience and uncompetitive prices."
Billionaire
investor Edward Lampert purchased Kmart out of
bankruptcy in 2003 and bought Sears, Roebuck & Co. a year later. Since 2004
Sears Holdings — which operates both Kmart and Sears
stores — has watched its cash and short-term investments go from about $2.09
billion for the year ended Jan. 31, 2004 to $1.34 billion for the year ended
Jan. 31, 2011, according to FactSet. The figure now
stands at about $700 million."
More
on this can be found here:
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111227/BIZ/111229837
Eleventh:
The photo that I have towards the end in this week’s
column is one of the Kingsbridge Armory that is in the Bronx,
in
While going over my column, and seeing that photo, I thought I’d “Google” the place. There’s quite a bit about it, with the last things that have come up showing some possible racing returning to the big place. No, not cars, but bicycles. Six-day bicycle races, that is. Way back when, they used to be quite popular.
What I did find kind of disturbing was that reading various things that turned up in the search, quite a few of them did not mentioned the midget races or later on, in the early 50’s, the stock car races that were held there.
Doing more of a search, this time including “Auto Racing” in the search, I found this, below. Yes, the building was H U G E!
Kingsbridge Armory
From Auto
Racing
On April 22, 2008, the New York City
Economic Development Corp. announced their selection of The Related Companies
to redevelop The Bronx’s Kingsbridge Armory - a former Post World War II indoor
midget track venue.
The world's largest armory will be
redeveloped into commercial space, including some community space among a big
box retailer, a cinema, a bank branch, a fitness center and a local business
incubator to fit within the armory’s 575,000 square feet.
The four-block square
The castle-styled building was
constructed in 1912-17 to house the Eighth Artillery Rainbow Division but has
had various civilian uses into the 1990s.
Local midget car promoter Jack Kochman
leased 180,000 square feet of the armory and reopened it as Kingsbridge Speedrome
Dec. 4, 1946.
Spectators filed into the 4,000 box
seats to watch midgets and NASCAR-sanctioned stock cars race on a concrete
one-fifth-mile oval under the armory’s 121-foot-tall roof on winters into 1962.
Bicycle velodrome races, stockholders
meetings and boat shows were also held in the armory until the New York
Coliseum at
The Related Companies last proposed
developing the year-round retail part of the International Speedway Corp.’s
2002-06 Staten Island Raceway proposal. Related helped
build and develop the
Sources: Walter Elliott
Some other things I’ve found:
Since the City acquired the Armory, multiple attempts to find a new life for the site have fallen through. The latest plan, for a mixed-use facility with retail, entertainment, and community space recently came to a halt after the developer and community representatives were unable to reach a community benefits agreement (CBA). (The Center for Urban Pedagogy held a public program on the Kingsbridge CBA on September 14. For more information, go to http://www.anothercupdevelopment.org/news and scroll down).
Kingsbridge
Armory Velodrome Design REVEALED
Bicycle racing was a popular spectator sport in
Yesterday
NCA CEO Jack Simes announced his plan to stage the
six day demo on a temporary velodrome, in hopes of
winning over the community to build a permanent facility. The demo would use no
city funds, and would also include a vintage bicycle museum and programs
encouraging cycling for youth. According to the Daily News, the Kingsbridge
Armory hosted six-day races in the 1920s and 1940s. This temporary installation
would accommodate over 2,500 spectators and cost $700,000, and be built by
Ralph Schuermann, designer of velodromes
for the Olympic Games.
The
velodrome was one of several ideas suggested by Diaz
Jr. as an alternative to the mall, but he hasn't officially endorsed a
permanent installation, and the city has not yet agreed to rent the armory to the
NCA. But at least some community members are endorsing the idea; Barbara Stronczer, president of one local community association,
called the NCA plan “exciting," telling the News, "There are a lot of
unanswered questions. But cycling wouldn’t compete with existing businesses and
I think it would be great for our youth."
The
above by John
And this, too:
Call to convert Kingsbridge Armory to bike race hot spot
DANIEL BEEKMAN
Thursday, November 03, 2011
The National Cycling Association unveiled its plan on
Thursday to build a world-class velodrome and BMX
park in the
CEO Jack Simes of NCA revealed that the group hopes to rent the landmark building from the city for eight weeks next spring to host a demonstration project, including youth programs and a six-day bicycle race.
“We want to install a temporary velodrome
in the building and bring six-day bicycle racing back to the
And even more:
09/23/2011
Lack
Of Development At Kingsbridge Armory Draws Criticism
From Bloomberg
By:
Courtney Gross
The
Kingsbridge Armory has stood vacant in the Bronx for over a decade despite
proposals that would’ve used it to generate jobs, and after the United States
Census revealed that the
The
Kingsbridge Armory has stood vacant in the Bronx for over a decade despite
proposals that would’ve used it to generate jobs, and after the United States
Census revealed that the
Nearly
two years after the City Council defeated a proposal to develop the Kingsbridge
Armory, the project has once again sparked a dispute between City Hall and the
On
his radio show Friday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg took a dig at Bronx Borough
President Ruben Diaz Jr. for letting the project die.
"Related
Companies wanted to go and build there. There was this craziness that they had
to guarantee that whoever they leased space to would pay prevailing
wages," said Bloomberg.
The
mayor said the building, which has sat vacant for more than a decade, wastes
taxpayer dollars.
The
city spends $120,000 on the building's upkeep every year. The project was
supposed to bring more than 2,000 jobs.
"The
borough president said he was going to find solutions and he was going to find
people to come in. Well that went nowhere," said Bloomberg.
Diaz
begs to differ.
"I
am really confused about what the mayor said this morning. I don't know where
it's coming from, and I don't think it's conducive or productive in moving the
conversation forward," said Diaz.
Related
would have received city subsidies for the project. There is now a bill at the
City Council to require living wages at every city subsidized development. Its
future is uncertain.
"Having
living wage jobs, passing the living wage bill, will make sure people aren't
living in poverty," said Ademola Oyefeso of the RWDSU/Living Wage NYC Coalition.
The
Kingsbridge debate has particular relevance now because the city is still
grappling with unemployment.
On
Thursday, the U.S. Census unveiled figures showing poverty was at its highest
here in 10 years. It's the highest in the
Nonetheless,
the borough president has no regrets.
"I
have no regrets about what happened before. There has got to be a better way to
develop the armory," said Diaz.
This
is not the first time a project has been rejected at the Kingsbridge Armory.
Mayor Giuliani also wanted to develop there, but that was rejected because of
community opposition. The Bloomberg administration says there are no projects
in the pipeline.
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Twelfth:
Super Dirt week tickets for 2012 – I found this out on the Internet:
2012 Super DIRT Week Tickets
by jhachmann, 12/28/11 12:06 PM
I hope everyone is having a great holiday season. Following the excitement around 2011 Super DIRT Week I wanted to make sure everyone completely understands the process in renewing and purchasing your tickets for the 2012 Super DIRT Week October 3-7 at the NYS Fairgrounds.
If you are renewing tickets, camping or parking you will have until December 31 to renew by calling 877.395.8606. The renewal deadline has been mid-December in the past, but we have extended it this year to accommodate many customer requests and all the Super DIRT Week loyal fans. If you are interested in additional seats, camping or parking please notify the ticket agent while renewing and they will assist you in accommodating your request.
2012 tickets, camping and parking become open to the public January 3rd for those of you who were unable to attend 2011 Super DIRT Week. You can make your purchase by calling 877.395.8606, calling 315.834.6606 or online atwww.dirtcar.com/tickets
As always please feel free to contact me (Jeff Hachmann) by calling 315.834.6606 or e-mailjhachmann@dirtcar.com if you have any questions.
Thirteenth:
Something I overlooked last week when I posted the photo of Tony Stewart in his Munchkin Midget, racing with an Open Face helmet – the photo was taken by Dave Merritt.
Fourteenth:
Abortion, immigration changes among
new 2012 laws
Some
of the new ones:
Girls
seeking abortions in
Employers
in
A
People
18 and under in
A
Opponents
have filed five potential initiatives to repeal the requirement outright or let
parents remove their children while gays' contributions are being taught.
A
few laws try to address budget woes. In Delaware, new state employees will have
to contribute more to their pensions, while state workers hired after Jan. 1 in
Nevada will have to pony up for their own health care costs in retirement.
More
can be seen if you go here:
http://news.yahoo.com/abortion-immigration-changes-among-2012-laws-174958515.html
Coming up:
The AARN's annual
Motor Sports show - January 20th, 21st & 22nd, 2012.
Greater
For GPS use this address:
484-754-3976
http://www.aarn.com/motorsports2012.html
Atlantic City Indoor Race 2012
February 3rd & 4th, 2012
Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall 2301 Boardwalk
http://www.aarn.com/acindoorrace2012.html
Note: As of now, it looks like
I’ll be in
Banquets:
Orange County Fair Speedway Banquet from their website:
2011 OCFS Awards Banquet - January 7th, 2012
Posted: November 21st, 2011
Saturday, January 7th @ 5:30pm
@ Kuhls Highland House
For ticket info contact Bob Perran at 352-503-3847
Note: While reading over this
column on Wednesday afternoon, I started to wonder – is it too late to order
tickets for this? So I called Bob Perran, down in
If you’re into Sprint Car and NASCAR racing, and are heading to
Short SpeedWeeks Trip
Friday, Feb. 17 – WoO Sprint Cars (Night),
Saturday, Feb. 18 – ARCA Racing Series (Day) & Budweiser Shootout -
NASCAR Sprint Cup (Night), Daytona Int’l Speedway
Sunday, Feb. 19 – TBARA Sprint Cars (Day), New
Monday, Feb. 20 – TBARA Sprint Cars, New
Ultimate SpeedWeeks
Vacation
Friday, Feb. 17 – WoO Sprint Cars (Night),
Saturday, Feb. 18 – ARCA Racing Series (Day) & Budweiser Shootout -
NASCAR Sprint Cup (Night), Daytona Int’l Speedway
Sunday, Feb. 19 – TBARA Sprint Cars (Day), New
Monday, Feb. 20 – TBARA Sprint Cars, New
Tuesday, Feb. 21 – Off Day (Beach Day!)
Wednesday, Feb. 22 – Modifieds and Super Late
Models, New
Thursday, Feb. 23 – Twin 150 Qualifying Races, NASCAR Sprint Cup (Day),
Daytona Int’l Speedway, or All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars (Night),
Bubba Raceway Park, Ocala
Friday, Feb. 24 – 360 Sprint Car Winternationals
(Night),
Saturday, Feb. 25 – NASCAR Nationwide Series (Day), Daytona Int’l
Speedway, or All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars (Night), Bubba Raceway
Park, Ocala, or 360 Sprint Car Winternationals
(Night), East Bay Raceway Park, Gibsonton
Sunday, Feb 26 – Daytona 500 (Day), NASCAR Sprint Cup, Daytona Int’l
Speedway
NOTE: This longer vacation can be extended out even further, for those
who want to include the USAC National Sprint Car series (Feb. 9-11 at Bubba
Raceway Park), and another 2 nights of All Star Circuit of Champions races at
Volusia Speedway Park (Wed. & Thurs. Feb 15-16).
The above was found here:
http://www.hoseheads.com/richard.html
Also, some interesting things about Dave Steele at the beginning of
Richards article.
Found
on Jayski’s website:
No Trucks or
Nationwide races for Kyle Busch in 2012?
#18-Kyle Busch is unlikely
to compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2012, at the request of
Joe Gibbs Racing and their Sprint Cup Series sponsor, M&Ms. Kyle Busch
Motorsports General Manager Rick Ren confirmed today
that there is "a high probability" that Busch will withdraw from the
2012 Truck Series. "That topic is being discussed almost constantly around
here right now," he said, adding, "It is not necessarily something
that Kyle chose. If he doesn't run Trucks this year, it will be at the request
(of JGR). Not by demand, but by request. Things change on an hour-by-hour
basis, but if I had to answer you right now, I'd say he will probably not race
in the Truck Series next year. There is a possibility of him running no Nationwide races under certain circumstances, as well. There
are a lot of things being discussed right now, which makes it pretty tough on
me. I've been trying to figure out whether Kyle's going to be available to run
our Trucks and Nationwide cars, then determine whether the individual sponsors
will stay around without him behind the wheel. I believe Kyle will drive a KBM
Nationwide Series Toyota in a certain number of races next year," said Ren. "I can't swear to it, but that's what it look
like today."(Sirius
Speedway)(12-24-2011)
#43 driver to be announced today?
UPDATE –
No; Almirola? Sources say David Ragan is likely to replace A.J.
Allmendinger [who went to the #22 Penske Dodge] in
the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, with an announcement possible as soon
as tomorrow [Friday].(Sirius
Speedway)(12-23-2011)
UPDATE:
Aric Almirola,
who finished fourth in points in the Nationwide Series this season, has emerged
as the leading candidate to take over the #43 Ford for Richard Petty
Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series in 2012. The deal, which has come together
very quickly, will be officially announced after the Christmas and New Year's
holidays and will include a sponsor announcement. Almirola, was set to begin
his second full season with JR Motorsports' #88 team in 2012, but his move to
the Cup series now leaves his future with that organization unclear. A
spokesperson for RPM said Friday night the organization did plan to make a
driver announcement for the #43 after the holidays but would have no other
comment at this time.(Charlotte
Observer)(12-24-2011)
Front Row still
working on driver lineup:
Last season, Front
Row Motorsports team owner Bob Jenkins and general manager Jerry Freeze put
together a team of #34-David Gilliland, #38-Travis Kvapil
and #55-J.J. Yeley and were able to deliver solid
efforts for the NASCAR team located in Statesville, NC. Gilliland drove in all
36 Cup races last year in the #34 Taco Bell Ford with one top-five finish -- an
impressive third-place in the season-opening Daytona 500 -- and two top-10
finishes. Kvapil competed in 29 races in the #38 Long
John Silver's Ford [and a few in the #55] car but did not crack the top 10. Yeley ran a limited schedule for the team [in the #38 and
#55. None of the three drivers are under contract for 2012, but Freeze said the
team intends to have all three back because they are the type of drivers the
team needs at this stage of its development. "All three drivers have been
really good for Front Row Motorsports," Freeze said. "They all fit
the same profile. They are drivers with five or six years of Cup experience.
They were all champions in another form of racing but haven't made their mark
yet in Sprint Cup racing. They are all really hungry to make their mark. We
aren't quite set to announce our formal driver lineup yet ... but our plan is
to run the #34 and the #38 car along with a third car [which won't use #55 at
MWR is running that car number in 2012] that will make some other appearances
for us."
There are several high-profile drivers without a ride, and Freeze said with
their uncertain lineup, Front Row Motorsports has explored the free-agent
market. "We've talked to [David] Ragan and [David] Reutimann,"
Freeze admitted. "Ragan has been in the Ford family and we talked to him
after the season was over out of respect for Ford because they really liked him
and wanted to see if there was a fit there. We've talked to David Reutimann, too. If there is a place where he might fit
along with a sponsor, we could be an option there. But it's been more casual
conversations with those guys and our focus has been on David and J.J. and
Travis and [working] on the packages that we have discussed with them."(in part from Sports
Illustrated)(12-26-2011)
Finch Talks About Hiring Kurt Busch:
Phoenix Racing made
a big hire on Wednesday night as team owner James Finch reached an agreement
with 2004 NASCAR champion Kurt Busch. Busch agreed to drive the #51 car for
Phoenix Racing in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide series. Busch has
had his share of embarrassments in the last few months, getting into a heated
argument with a reporter, amongst other things. That led to his departure from
Penske racing, and the opening for him to sign with
Motorsports Hall of
Fame announces 2012 finalists:
Finalists for the
next enshrinees into the Motorsports Hall of Fame have been determined.
The class of 2012 Inductees will be announced early in the year. Who will be
selected? In the Open Wheel category, nominees on the ballot include veteran
driver and official Wally Dallenbach, four-time Indy
winning owner Chip Ganassi, American auto racing
impresario Carl Haas, and two-time Indy 500 winner "The Flying
Dutchman" Arie Luyendyk,
Other names being considered by the Voting Panel are Pat Patrick who served as
the first president of CART and whose teams won 3 Indy 500s, Danny Sullivan who
"spun and won" at Indy in 1985, and Alex Zanardi
who captured CART titles in 1997 and 1998.(12-26-2011)
Nashville
Superspeedway will be available for race team testing in 2012:
Dover Motorsports,
Inc. has announced that Nashville Superspeedway, the company's track in
Stewart to race in
'Rumble in
#14-Tony Stewart
will return to his roots to race an open-wheeled midget car in the 14th annual
Rumble in
AND:
#14-Tony Stewart will return to
AMP returns to #88
at
#88-Dale Earnhardt
Jr. is scheduled to run a green AMP Energy paint scheme on the #88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy at Martinsville in April and
supposedly run a slightly different version for three races later in the
season. AMP Energy has been the primary sponsor for the #88 since Earnhardt Jr.
started driving the car. In 2012, the #88's primary sponsors will be Diet
Mountain Dew and the Army National Guard. See an image of the scheme on my #88 Team Schemes page.(12-28-2011)
Note: A lot more can be found on Jayski, if you go here:
http://www.jayski.com/news/story?id=5547367
Going back, in time – in
racing history:
Note# 1: Most of the following information was found
here:
http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/history.html
Note: 2: Yes, most of this info is mostly from Open
Wheel racing from “Back in the day”.
Covering
the days from January 1st to January 5th.
JANUARY 1
1945
Jacky Ickx
-- Born -- (F1 & Sportscar Driver)
1965
NASCAR's ban of the Hemi
engine goes into effect, a major blow to Chrysler and several drivers,
including Richard Petty and David Pearson. Two of NASCAR's greatest drivers,
Petty and Pearson will sit out the majority of the season, not returning until
July in race No. 34 of the 55-race season. Each will qualify for 14 races in
1965.
1971
Scott Riggs --- Born --
(NASCAR Driver)
1981
Mauri Rose ... Died ... Rose won the INDY 500 three times;
1941, 1947 and 1948. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of
Fame in 1994, and Motorsports of Hall of Fame of
JANUARY 2
1967
Pedro Rodriguez wins the
first South Africa Grand Prix to be held on the Kayalami
track near
1969
Robby Gordon
..... Born ..(Indy Car and NASCAR driver and
Off-Road racer)
2003
Leroy Warriner
... Died ... an American racing driver from
2007
Dan Shaver
..... Died ... Shaver raced in several road
racing series before moving to stock cars, mostly ARCA where his best finish
was ninth. In the last four years Shaver was a team owner, and he was one of
the first to put Denny Hamlin and Aric Almirola in superspeedway cars.
JANUARY 3
1915
Joe Sostilio
... Born ... Sostilio raced both sprint cars and
midgets. He won the New England Dirt Championship in 1935, 1936 and 1938. He
also won the Bay State Midget Racing Association Championship in 1947 and
Eastern Sprint Car Championship in 1953. In 1949, he turned to Stock Car racing
but still continued in open wheel racing. Between 1948 and 1950 Joe won seven
races in AAA competition as teammate to Johnnie Parsons. Joe was 5th in the AAA
Eastern Sprint Car Championship in 1952, he beat Tommy Hinnershitz
to the title in 1953 and finished 6th in 1954. His best finishes on the Champ
Car circuit were a 7th at Langhorne Speedway and another 7th at Darlington
Speedway in 1954.
1918
Allen Heath ... Born ...
West Coast open cockpit driver who raced for years, despite losing a hand in a
racing accident. He's a member of the Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, and,
while racing with one hand, won a 500 mile Midget race on the Riverside Road
Course in
1926
Mike McGreevy ... Born ...
Midget race car driver.
1932
Coo Coo
Marlin ... Born ... NASCAR driver and father of NASCAR driver Sterling Marlin
1956
Willy T. Ribbs ... Born ... Sports Car and Indy Car driver
1969
Michael Schumacher... Born
... Formula 1 driver
1980
Wally Meskowski...
Died ... Sprint car builder and Indy 500 crew chief
1988
George Rice
"Joie" Chitwood ... Died ... American
racecar driver and businessman. He is best known as a daredevil in the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show. He was dubbed "Joie" by a
track promoter and the name stuck. Chitwood started
his racecar driving career in 1934 at a dirt track in
1999
Chuck Parsons... Died ...
Sports car driver . Ran one USAC
race at
2009
Sam McQuagg...
Died ... Sam was the 1965 NASCAR Rookie of the Year. McQuagg
began racing in the 1950s and entered his first NASCAR race in 1962. In 1966, McQuagg claimed his only NASCAR victory, winning the
Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. In the 1965 Southern 500, McQuagg was involved in a spectacular wreck that sent Cale Yarborough tumbling over a guardrail. Footage of the
crash was later used to illustrate the agony of defeat on "ABC's Wide
World of Sports." McQuagg drove in his last
NASCAR race in 1974 and worked as a corporate pilot until retiring in 1997.
JANUARY 4
1892
Roscoe Sarles
... Born ...( Indy Car driver )
1910
Dee Toran
... Born ...ARDC Midget driver. One of
the few, if maybe the only race driver, convicted of manslaughter, when another
driver was fatally injured in a racing accident.
1967
Donald Campbell killed
while attempting to break the world water speed record on
1971
Richie Hearn ... Born ...( Indy Car driver )
1989
Graham Rahal
... Born ... Road and Indycar racer. Son of Indy car
racer Bobby Rahal
1991
Maynard Clark ... Died ...
Thrill show motorcycle rider and Midget driver
JANUARY 5
1965
Billy
Wade NASCAR Grand National driver, died when his Mercury crashed during
Goodyear tire tests at Daytona Intl. Speedway. The 34 year old Wade, a native of
2000
Ottis Stine... Died ... Otis was a Pennsylvania Sprint Car
driver who was a founder member of the York County Racing Club in 1979. He
drove his first race in 1934. His main claim to fame is that he was the first
ever driver to turn a racing lap of the legendary Williams Grove speedway in
1934. He attempted to run at Indy in 1952 in a Scopa-Offenhauser,
but failed to qualify. Stine once finished second in the AAA points and when he
retired in 1954, he held numerous track records.
News
from the AARN:
Nothing this week due to no
AARN being published as they annually shut down for two weeks at the end of the
calendar year.
Former
Nothing
to report on this week.
Racing and
television:
CLICK HERE FOR U.S.
LISTINGS WITHOUT THE SPEED CHANNEL (PDF FORMAT)
http://www.racefantv.com/xUSTV-NS.pdf
And this: CLICK HERE FOR
U.S. LISTINGS WITHOUT NASCAR (PDF FORMAT)
http://www.racefantv.com/xUSTV-NN.pdf
Also this one: CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE PDF VERSION
http://www.racefantv.com/xUSTV.pdf
As for any telecasting of
the Chili Bowl:
I
get e-mails:
# 1:
I
don't usually forward this type of message, but as it is Christmas, there
couldn't be a better time to send it. Merry Christmas to all.
WHAT
HAPPENS IN HEAVEN WHEN WE PRAY?
I
dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around.
We
walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.
My
angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, '
This
is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in
prayer are received.
I
looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many
angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and
scraps from people all over the world.
Then
we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.
The
angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery
Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are
processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them." I
noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working
hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and
were being packaged for delivery to Earth.
Finally at the farthest end of the long
corridor we stopped at the
door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel
was
seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment
Section,
my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed
embarrassed." How is it that there is no work going on here? ' I
asked.
"So
sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that
they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments"
"How
does one acknowledge God's blessings? " I asked..
"Simple,"
the angel answered. Just say, "Thank you, Lord. "
"What
blessings should they acknowledge?" I asked.
"If
you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof
overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world.
If
you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a
dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. "
"And
if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in
the
world who has that opportunity."
"If
you woke up this morning with more health than illness ..
You
are
more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day. "
"If
you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of
imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ...
You
are ahead of 700 million people in the world."
"If you can attend a church without the
fear of harassment, arrest,
torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three
billion people in the world."
"If your parents are still alive and
still married ..you are very
rare."
"If
you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm,
you're unique to all those in doubt and despair......."
Ok, what now? How can I start?
If you can read this message, you just
received a double blessing in
that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more
blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at
all.
Have a good day, count your blessings, and if
you care to, pass this
along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are
ATTN:
Acknowledge Dept.
"Thank
you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and
for
giving me so many wonderful people with whom to share it. "
If you have read this far, and are thankful
for all that you have
been blessed with, how can you not send it on ??? ? I thank God for
everything, especially all my family and friends
#
2:- Not sure if this will come out on the Dirt Track Digest:
Some non-racing stuff:
Federal Judge Blocks Key Provisions of S.C. Immigration Law (Obama Appointee!)
In part:
"The Obama circle of corruption continued to grow, as a Democrat Party hack (see below) appointed to the bench by the President himself just a year ago – and who made political contributions to Obama in 2008 – today blocked the key provisions of South Carolina’s AZ-style immigration law.
With just 10 days to go until the law was scheduled to take effect, U.S. District Judge Richard Mark Gergel granted a motion that Obama’s own Justice Department made. It doesn’t get any more incestuous than this.
The ruling applies to portions that require law officers to check the status of anyone they stop for something else and suspect is in the country illegally. Gergel also halted the implementation of sections pertaining to the transportation of illegal immigrants and immigrant registration cards."
About the Judge:
"Judge Richard Mark Gergel – Ambulance Chaser and Democrat Big Wig
Judge Gergel had never before served as a judge at any level before Obama picked him in 2010. What was he before? An ambulance chaser. Oh, sorry, that was politically incorrect of me – a “personal injury attorney“. In fact he was named a “South Carolina Super Lawyer” several years’ running. Those are the types that bring in the big cash settlements – as John Edwards did across the state line in N.C. for years – bankrupting OBGYNs with phony science.
And like Edwards, Gergel wasn’t shy in throwing his money around: in just 8 years, Gergel gave a staggering $62,450 to Democrat politicans – including Barack Obama. And it paid off, handsomely with a LIFETIME APPOINTMENT to the U.S. District Court."
More on this can be found here:
And, how about this – and the Sheriff?
In part:
"A federal judge dealt a new setback Friday to the immigration enforcement efforts of America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff," barring his deputies from detaining people based solely on the suspicion that they're in the country illegally.
The ruling sets the stage for a possible trial in a
lawsuit that alleges racial profiling in the patrols in
Lawyers pushing the lawsuit on behalf of five Latino clients also won class-action status that lets other Hispanics join the case if they have been detained and questioned by Arpaio's deputies as either a driver or passenger in a vehicle since January 2007.
U.S. District Judge Murray Snow hasn't yet ruled on the ultimate question of racial profiling, but notes the case's evidence could lead a judge or jury to conclude that Arpaio's office racially profiles Latinos.
"Sheriff Arpaio has made public statements that a fact-finder could interpret as endorsing racial profiling," Snow said."
More on this can be seen, here:
http://news.yahoo.com/arizona-sheriff-faces-setback-over-immigration-030206765.html
Is
this true?:
More than likely, yes, it is.
Same-sex
families pay thousands of dollars more in taxes
Same-sex
spouses are paying as much as $6,000 a year in extra taxes because the federal
government doesn't recognize gay marriage, according to an analysis conducted
for CNNMoney by tax specialists.
While
marriage provides tax benefits for many heterosexual couples, same-sex families
don't enjoy the same perks because they are not allowed to file their federal
returns jointly.
The
imbalance persists despite increasing acceptance of gay marriage as a legal
right. More than 12 states now grant full or partial marriage rights to
same-sex couples, and a recent
But not the federal government, which is constrained
by the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. Even as more same-sex couples are able to file
jointly at the state level, they are still forced to file as single when
submitting federal returns to the IRS.
This
means they can't combine their income and deductions to take advantage of lower
tax rates. It's also harder for them to qualify for certain tax breaks because
the credits phase out sooner for single filers.
"It's
costing these families thousands of dollars a year, as well as the emotional
pain and suffering," said Ken Weissenberg, a
partner at accounting firm EisnerAmper who is in a
same-sex marriage himself.
State
tax changes on the way in 2012
Why
gay couples pay more: To zero in on the tax bill gap between same-sex families
across the country, CNNMoney asked H&R Block to
crunch number comparing same-sex and heterosexual families according to a
variety of scenarios. (Check out H&R Block's methodology)
One
scenario involved families with one spouse earning $100,000 and the other
spouse staying at home with the family's two kids.
In
the same-sex family's case, the working spouse files as "head of
household," and the stay-at-home spouse is considered a "qualifying
relative."
Say
that couple reported no other income or deductions. In that case, the same-sex
household's federal tax bill is $15,199, which includes tax the head of
household must pay on health insurance premiums to cover the stay-at-home
spouse. That's $4,543 higher than the straight couple's liability.
Why?
Because the "head of household" designation comes
with some disadvantages.
Filing
as "head of household" instead of "married filing jointly"
exposes more income to a higher tax bracket. Plus, standard deductions, which
are given based on the filing status to taxpayers who don't itemize deductions,
are lower for a head of household than they are for married couples filing
jointly.
And
then there are the kids. When a child tax credit is claimed, the gap between
same-sex households and married couples can grow even wider.
The
heterosexual couple in H&R Block's example is able to claim the full $1,000
child tax credit for each kid. But the credit phases out sooner for families
claiming "head of household." So in this case, the cost of being
unable to file jointly comes out to $6,043 for same-sex households.
The
one exception where same-sex spouses can actually come out ahead is the
so-called marriage penalty. For some same-sex spouses in the higher tax
brackets who work and have no children, filing tax returns using the
"single" status makes the liability a little lower than that of
heterosexual married couples. Still, "single" status is typically
less advantageous than "married filing jointly."
Other
factors driving up the bill: It's not just income taxes that are costing
same-sex couples more.
They
tried to deduct what?!
Many
same-sex spouses don't qualify for the same marital exemptions given to other families
for inheritance taxes and gift taxes. In addition, same-sex households receive
lower tax exclusions for capital gains on the sales of a home (unless the home
is jointly owned and each spouse qualifies for the exclusion).
All
of this is not only costing same-sex couples more, but it's a paperwork and
compliance nightmare.
Same-sex
families who live in states where gay marriage is recognized typically have to
fill out up to four separate returns -- including mock federal returns -- to
cover both their state and federal taxes. Plus, hiring a tax preparer to take
on these more complicated returns tends to be significantly more expensive.
"But
it shouldn't stop anyone from getting married," said Weissenberg,
who says he pays an extra $5,000 in taxes per year simply because he is in a
same-sex marriage. "If I had to pay twice as much in taxes to be married
to my husband, I would."
The
above was found here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/same-sex-families-pay-thousands-002300778.html
Video time:
Somehow, after I
made a promise to put this video on one of my columns - column # 84 on December
8th, I failed to do so. So here is an
excellent example of how one must turn right to go left when racing on a dirt
track with Sprint Cars and no wings:
Photos:
I’m posting a photo - or
more, a week for a while. Majority of
them will be from “Back in the day”.
Note: The photos are not available on Dirt Track
Digest, only on New England Tractor - http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/
Back in the late
1940’s, I’d go to the indoor midget races that were held in the Kingsbridge
Armory, in the
I don’t recall if
anything was ever put down on the track, either – like Coke syrup.
Here’s a photo of
the Armory:
I realize that
this might be a long column, but at around 10:30 PM last night – Wednesday, I
received an e-mail from Chris Romano – an e-mail sent out to the Yahoo! Race
History Group. I felt that I should
include what Chris sent in this weeks column – it’s
something he usually does every year around this tine.
For
Auld Lang Syne 2011 by Chris Romano
I
beg your indulgence once more to pause
before we start the engines for the 2012 racing season and remember those who
left us this year.
Veteran
Santa Fe Speedway Late Model driver
Al
Johnson succumbed at 68 of a heart attack.
Jimmy
“Porky” Edwards Jr., a Fayetteville Motor Speedway regular with
over 400 wins on the dirt passed on at age 57.
car
owner who won championships with his son Tim at the wheel. Harold died this year at age 67. At 37 Steven Howard, the 1996 Late Model
champion at Greenville Pickens Speedway died in his sleep from a heart
ailment. And let’s not forget Hal
Fastrak champion, Gary Knollinger was killed at age
39 in a pedestrian
accident. Johnny Johnson, long time
sponsor and Late Model Driver died this year at age 75. Central Georgia Late Model racer Beau Slocumb
lost his battle with cancer at just 26 years of age. Cancer also claimed B.J. Parker, co-founder
of
the Southern All Stars Late Model series.
Darrell
Brown, the 1984 All Pro Super Series champion died at age 66 in
an
industrial accident at his business. At
age 73 Charles Keply died suddenly in his
sleep. Charles founded the North
South
Shootout
which pitted the best of southern modified drivers against their
northern counterparts at Concord Motor Speedway in
year at age 60. Arlene Pittman,
Late
Model driver, promoter, and track owner lost her battle with breast cancer
this year.
Ray
Elder, multi-time Winston West champion, died at 69. Ray won six Winston West championships and
two
Cup races at
Daytona. And how about
Reds Kagle.
A mid-Atlantic regular Kagle was a five time
Old
Dominion Speedway Late Model champ, despite having lost a leg in a crash at
It
was a tough year in
wherever he showed up, passed away this year.
Gene
Bergin, the veteran New England Modified driver and champion at
MacClaren, a Supermodified legend who mixed it up with
Ollie Silva and Howie
Brown, among others. Big Daddy
died this
year from complications of diabetes.
Jimmy
Smith,
multi-time Danbury Arena Champion left us as did
Sweet. Dick Beauregard, another
Speedbowl regular and many time feature winner passed on, as did veteran New
John
DiBurro, a regular at Star,
do
without “Nasty” Neil Murray? A
veteran car owner on the Star,
breed that actually had fun in this business.
Sonny
Rabideau, veteran
car
racer and NEAR Hall of Famer, died at 82, and
Lee
died suddenly at age 58. John Hoyt,
Valenti Modified Racing Series director
died suddenly at home, at 37.
Back
in 1951 Langhorne held a race for
Modifieds that
blossomed into the Race of Champions. The winner
on that dusty, fiery day was Hully
Bunn. The veteran shoe left us this
year
at
age 91.
In
open wheel racing a big void was created
with the death of Earl Gaerte, the maestro who
put together bulletproof motors
for
sprints and midgets. Earl died this
year at 67. Jim Streicher
won the USAC
midget car owner title 3 times, including one with his son, Mike. Jimmy passed on this year at age 87. At age
90
Bruno Brackey took the checkered flag.
A
Sportsman. Bob Miley,
multi time midget
champion in
Tenney died at 75 in a house fire. Tenney was a multi-time midget champion in his
native state of
Sprints,
Midgets and Indy Cars also left us this year.
Ricky Moore, supermodified engine builder and
Bob
Nowicki, veteran midget owner passed on.
Joe
Kennely, the last of the pre-war
Indy
500 riding mechanics died this year at age 97.
And let’s not forget Smokey Snellbaker, the
king of the Pennsylvania Posse sprint car gang, who left us this year at
age
79.
Chris
Griffis, who guided Sam Schmidt
Motorsports
Indy Lights team to five championships, collapsed after a
basketball game at age 45. Mark Bridges,
veteran mechanic and chief mechanic for Tom Sneva’s
1983 win at Indy, died of
cancer.
Jim
Rathman swapped the lead with Rodger
Ward
29 times on his way to winning the
Across
the pond Derek Gardner, the
Formula
One designer who gave us the six-wheeled Tyrrell in the mid-70’s died
this year at 79. Martin Bartek, Ford
GT40
entrant in the GT1 series died suddenly at age 44. Bill Boddy, who
founded Motorsport Magazine,
kept it going through World War II, and was still meeting deadlines after
other
scribes had retired passed away this year at age 98. Longtime Formula Two entrant Roy Winklemann,
who
helped launch the career of 1970 World Champion Jochen
Rindt died this year
at
age 81. Louis Rosier fulfilled a
national dream, winning the 24 Hours of
his
father. Louis outlived a lot of his
fellow drivers to reach the ripe old age of 86 this year. Christian Bakkerud,
a Formula Three winner
and
rising star was killed at age 26, in a traffic accident. Martin Hines, karting
guru to the stars, and
the
catalyst for many a Formula One career died this year at age 62. Richard Bond, 72, veteran British sports car
racer left us this year as did Australian V8 Touring Car driver Jason
Richards,
dying at age 35 to a rare form of cancer.
Sergio Scaglietti designed the gorgeous Testa
Rossa, among others. The Ferrari
craftsman died this year at age 91.
And
let’s not forget Peter Gethin. A two time British Formula 5000 champ Gethin
got
a Formula One shot first with McLaren and then with BRM. In his second race with BRM he won the
closest,
fastest Grand Prix ever at
He
beat the Formula One regulars again a few years later at Brands Hatch
in
a Formula 5000 car, the only man ever to do so.
The plucky Brit passed away this year after a
long illness at age 71.
Road
racing on this side of the
lost Walt Bohren, an IMSA veteran who drowned in
the
faithfully to Watkins Glen each year, but he was a class winner for Lotus at Le
Mans. The perennial northwest entrant
died this year at age 85. Bob
Schroeder, Goodyear Tire distributor in
year.
Bill
Summers built the Goldenrod with
his
brother Bob, who drove it to a land speed record for piston powered, wheel
driven cars in 1965 at 409.277 mph. It
stood for 26 years.
The
sport remained cruel in 2011. At Eastern
Creek in
just 16 years old, was killed in the crash of his Formula Vee car. Paul Clark,
the 1982 BMARA midget champion
died at age 58, having spent the last 22 years of his life in care after
life
threatening injuries in a 1988 USAC race.
Gustavo
Sonderman, 29, died in a crash in the Copa Montana series at
Interlagos in
veteran Paulo Kunze, 67, was killed in a touring car
crash at the same track. Guido
Falaschi, 22, was killed in a touring car race in
Langton,
a GT racer gravely injured at Nogaro in 1996 and
hospitalized since
died this year at age 44. William Mefford,
49,
an Anderson Speedway Late Model veteran died in a crash at the
his
Subaru Impreza at the Levoca
hillclimb in
BMW-Judd at the Rieto-Terminilli hillclimb in
while racing his Formula Ford at Castle Combe in
Sonny
McCoy, 73, died of injuries
suffered in a crash at the Outer Banks Speedway drag strip in
of
his Pro Mod at Rockingham Dragway, also in
And
at 33, Dan Wheldon, two time and
defending winner of the
IndyCar season
finale in
Don
Naman, former manager of
Motor
this year.
For
decades the distinct voice booming
over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway belonged to Tom Carnegie. A true professional, Carnegie left us this
year at age 90. Seekonk Speedway had
their
own
voice, Jim Powers, every bit as booming as Carnegie. The voice of the Konk
was silenced this year.
The
Fourth Estate lost Ciddi Cinnelli,
veteran journalist for Area Auto Racing News.
The
Area Auto newsroom also lost Jerry Riegle at age
43. Jerry was the go to guy for
Sprint
cars. Dick Greenawalt,
a long
time AARN contributor and EMPA member passed away at age 71. John Hall covered Seekonk for years for
Speedway
Scene, and left us all too soon this year.
David E. Davis founded Autoweek and was the
long time editor for Car and Driver.
He
died this year at age 80. For years
I
shared the press room with Walt Renner covering midgets. The veteran National Speed Sport News writer
died this year at age 90.
And,
done in by the Internet and falling
print ad revenue, National Speed Sport News shut down after 76 years of
covering the sport across the globe, from Saturday night racers to Formula
One. Such is the price of progress.
The
Northeast Midget Association lost
veteran car owner Blackie LaMaccia late last
year. And what will we do without Jim
O’Brien? Jimmy was a stalwart of NEMA;
veteran car
owner, contest board member, treasurer.
He
left us all too soon this year after complications following surgery,
but
his Sweet 16 midget, built from the ground up by O’Brien & Sons
Engineering, will continue to be at NEMA events with son Matt at the wheel.
Life
and time goes on. We pause to remember
the characters, the
geniuses, the Saturday night heroes. We
shed a little tear, and lift our glasses to not just their memory, but how
they
lived, for Auld Lang Syne.
Joyeux Noel, bonne annee
– Chris Romano.
Closing with these –
continued from last week:
TIME TO PRAY
A
pastor asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night.
'Yes,
sir.' the boy replied.
'And,
do you always say them in the morning, too?' the pastor asked.
'No
sir,' the boy replied. 'I ain't scared in the daytime.'
ALL MEN / ALL GIRLS
When my daughter, Kelli, said her bedtime
prayers, she would bless every family member,
every friend and every animal (current and past).
For
several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, 'And all girls.'
This
soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing.
My
curiosity got the best of me and I asked her,
'Kelli,
why do you always add the part about all girls?'
Her response, 'Because everybody always finish their prayers by saying
'All Men'!'
SAY A PRAYER
Little
Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's
house.
Everyone
was seated around the table as the food was being served.
When
Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away.
'Johnny! Please wait until we say our prayer.' said
his mother.
'I
don't need to,' the boy replied.
'Of
course, you do.' his mother insisted.
'We always say a prayer before eating at our house.'
'That's
at our house.' Johnny explained.
'But
this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook!'
That’s
the end of these types of jokes, folks.
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