Racin' Stuff:
By Tom Avenengo
First things, first:
Last Saturday, I had the privilege of attending the
graduation of one Samantha Marie Avenengo from the
State University of New York College at
I went up with Sam’s father, my son, Eric, in his pick
up. After the ceremonies, we stopped to
eat at a place called Brooks House of Bar-B-Q Restaurant -
http://www.brooksbbq.com/
When I say “we” it was more than one family – ours and also that
of one Shane Warren Decker, who has been Sam’s boy friend for as long as I can
remember. He, too, graduated from SUNY
Oneonta. This last year they had an
apartment together in a little town called
Well as things usually happen, just as we were starting
to empty the apartment, “Mother Nature” mis-behaved. Yep, rain started to fall. Nothing serious, mind you – well, at least
until after we were finished. It’s about
a two hour ride from Oneonta to Port Jervis – in good weather. What we had for about 95% of the trip wasn’t
exactly what one would call “good weather”.
On our way home we were referring to it as a “Monsoon”. We’ve never seen so much rain, and so much
hard rain, ever before. At times, when
there were areas where there was some highway construction, and the road was
separated with
Going
back, in time:
Most of what will appear in this section will be about what’s happened, mostly in my area, through the years, by dates close to when the column is published. In some cases, you’ll surely recognize the names. Hey, maybe you might have even been in attendance at the events I make mention of.
On May 19th in:
1946:
Joie Chitwood won the AAA
Eastern Sprint Car race at the Williams Grove Speedway,
1963:
Ray Tilley won the Super Modified race over Bobby Hersh, Ralph Smith, Leroy Felty
and Johnny Crawford at the Susquehanna Speedway,
Ray Brown won the ARDC Midget race at the Thompson Int.
Speedway,
Bobby Gerhart won the Super Modified race over Roger Sowers, Pee/Wee Pobletts, Neil Haight and Ray Tilley at the Williams Grove Speedway, Williams Grove,PA
1973:
Jan Opperman won the Super
Sprint Car race over Lee Osborne, Rick Ferkel, Sam
Armstrong and Ben Showers at the Selinsgrove Speedway,
Johnny Coy won the ARDC Midget race over Hank Rogers Jr, Leigh Earnshaw, Jerry Stover and Rich Vogler at the New Egypt Speedway, New Egypt, NJ.
Wayne Reutimann won the
Modified Stock Car race at the Orange County Fair Speedway,
1995:
Bentley Warren won the "East vs. West Super-modified
Challenge" at
1997:
Troy Ruttman... Died ... AAA / USAC driver from the late 1940's to 1964. He raced in 12 Indy 500's and won in 1952. He was the older brother of NASCAR driver Joe Ruttman.
On May 20th, in:
1951:
Troy Ruttman, in the J.C. Agajanian # 98, won the AAA Sprint Car race at the Salem Speedway,
1956:
Bobby Courtwright, in the Scats
Anfuso # 3, won the URC Sprint Car race over Mike SanFelice, Toby Tobias, Tommy McAndrew
and Bobby Marshman at the Nazareth Raceway,
1961:
Red Riegel won the ARDC Midget
race at the Hatfield Speedway,
1966:
Dutch Schaefer won the ARDC Midget race at the Old Bridge
Stadium,
1971:
Tony Stewart... Born ... USAC / IRL/ NASCAR star.
1978:
Tom Sneva became the first man
to average over 200 mph in qualifying for the
1984:
Bill Holland... Died ... AAA driver
from the 1930's 40's and 50's. He won the
On May 21st, in:
1950:
Tommy Hinnershitz won the AAA
Eastern Sprint Car race at the Williams Grove Speedway,
Duane Carter won the AAA Sprint Car race at the Salem
Speedway,
1970:
Jan Opperman won the Super
Sprint Car race over Kenny Weld, Tom Spriggle, Lee
Osborne and Bobby Allen at the Susquehanna Speedway,
On May 22nd, in:
1948:
Ted Horn won the AAA Sprint Car race at the Richmond Int.
Raceway,
1964:
Al Tasnady won the Modified
Stock Car race at the Reading Fairgrounds ,
Dick Tobias won the Modified Stock Car race at the Williams
Grove Speedway ,
1966:
Greg Weld crashed at Indy and ended the saga of the
Johnny Mann won the ARDC Midget race at the Hatfield
Speedway,
On May 23rd, in:
1957:
Shorty Templeman won the 75 lap
USAC Midget race at the Motor City Speedway,
1958:
Lloyd Ruby won the 50 lap USAC Midget race at the Dayton
Speedway,
1964:
Red Riegel won the ARDC Midget
race at the HatfieldSpeedway ,
Frankie Schneider won the Sportsman-Modified Stock Car
race at the Victory Speedway ,
1965:
Fred Lorenzen drove a
Holman-Moody Ford to victory in the World 600 stockcar race at
1975:
Joe Saldana and George Snider won the Twin 50's USAC
Sprint Car races at the Indiana State Fairgrounds ,
On May 24th, in:
1952:
Tom Cherry wins the Little 500 Sprint Car race at the
Anderson Speedway ,
1960:
Ed "Dutch" Schaefer won the NEMA Midget race at
the Thompson Int. Speedway,
1963:
Ed "Dutch" Schaefer won the ARDC Midget race at
the Vineland Speedway,
Dick Tobias won the Super Modified race over Bobby Gerhart, Ralph Sowers, Ralph Smith and George Speck at the Williams Grove Speedway, Williams Grove,PA
1964:
Bill Brown, driving the Venezia
Brothers Chevy, won the URC Sprint Car race at the Victoria Speedway,
Dick Tobias won the Modified Stock Car race at the Susquehanna Speedway , Susquehanna, PA.
1969:
Leigh Earnshaw won the ARDC Midget
race at the East Windsor Speedway,
Earl Halaquist, in the # 27 Venezia / Nesler Chevy, won the
Don Gillette Memorial URC Sprint Car race over Tom Price, Billy Hughes, Hank
Rogers and Andy Brown at the Fonda Speedway ,
1972:
Kenny Weld, in the Bob Weikert
# 29, won the Super Sprint Car race over Jan Opperman,
Bobby Allen, Lou Blaney and Lynn Paxton at the Wayne
County Speedway,
1974:
A.J. Foyt won both Twin 50 USAC
Sprint Car races over Greg Weld at the Indiana State Fairgrounds,
1981:
Bobby Unser won the Indianaplois 500
1987:
Al Unser won the Indianaplois 500
1992:
Al Unser, Jr. won the Indianaplois 500
1998:
Eddie Cheever won the Indianaplois 500
Coming
up:
I’d imagine that most tracks will have something going on for our veterans this coming weekend. Lots of “big time” racing on tap, as you will see in the “Racing on TV” section, below. Let’s all hope the weather is great and that we can get out to our favorite tracks to watch our “heroes” in action!
Racing on TV:
This coming Friday:
11:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Versus – Carburetion Day at Indy. Hmm, might it also include the Indy Lights race?
This coming Saturday:
7:30 PM to 10:30 PM on ESPN2 – the Nationwide race from Lowes
This
coming Sunday:
7:30
AM to 10:00 AM on SPEED – the Grand Prix race from
1:00
PM to 4:30 PM on ABC – the Indy 500
5:45
PM to 10:30 PM on Fox – NASCAR Cup 600 mile race from Lowes
Other
forums/message boards and websites:
From
the Track Forum - http://www.trackforum.com/forums/
A
small discussion about GM and NASCAR can be found if you go here: http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123128
From
Jayski - http://www.jayski.com/
After back procedure, Gordon
ready to go 600 miles: UPDATE: For #24-Jeff Gordon, the 600- mile race at Lowe’s
Motor Speedway provides a test for his back after a recent procedure to ease
pain. Gordon, who has experienced progressively worse back pain over the past
few years, had treatment on Monday. The driver of the #24 DuPont Chevy hopes
the procedure will alleviate much – if not all – of the pain. “I had a facet
block procedure done on my back on Monday and it went well,” said Gordon. “I
was a little sore after the procedure, but I’ll definitely take that brief bit
of soreness if it stops the recurring back pain I’ve had. “I hope that will end
the back issues I’ve been having, but it’s too early to tell if that fixed the
problem.” Never mind 600 miles on Sunday, Gordon may have a better
understanding of the results of the procedure by midweek. He is scheduled to
participate in “Ultimate Speed” on Wednesday – a karting
event that will raise money for the Jeff Gordon Foundation and the
Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital in Concord.(Performance
Plus)(5-19-2009)
UPDATE: Sprint Cup points leader Jeff Gordon underwent a facet block
procedure on his back on Monday that he hopes will alleviate the pain that has
gotten progressively worse. A facet block injection is performed to confirm
that a facet joint is the source of pain and decrease the pain and inflammation
in a facet joint or joints. The injection is typically recommended for those
who fail to respond to other conservative treatments. In some cases the next
step if the problem is not corrected surgery may be necessary.(ESPN.com)(5-20-2009)
Note: I know what it’s like to have back
problems. Been there – had ‘em. I never had a
facet block injection, though.
Doctor:
Substance revealed to Mayfield: The administrator of NASCAR's drug-testing program
said Monday he personally told Jeremy Mayfield what banned substance was found
in his positive test. Dr. David Black, CEO of Aegis Sciences Corp., which runs
the testing program, said he specifically identified the drug in several conversations
with the Sprint Cup driver over a three-day period after NASCAR suspended him.
"I spoke with him about his positive test result on the day he was
suspended, and I spoke to him directly about the test result," Black told
The Associated Press. "Yes, by name of what he tested positive for."
On Saturday, Mayfield said he was never told what drug caused the positive test
and has yet to receive a copy of the results. Black said he was not sure if
Mayfield has seen the test results because a copy would be issued by NASCAR,
not Aegis. NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said he was not aware of any request
by Mayfield to obtain the results. "We'd be happy to provide one if he
wants it," Poston said. "We've done this in the past upon request for
those who tested positive." Mayfield maintains the use of a prescription
drug with over-the-counter allergy medication Claritin-D led to his positive
result. Black has repeatedly rejected that explanation.(Associated
Press)(5-19-2009)
Mayfield
hires lawyer, has toxicology report: NASCAR driver/owner #41-Jeremy Mayfield, suspended
indefinitely from the sport for violating its substance-abuse policy, has
retained legal counsel in the effort to clear his name. Bill Diehl, the same
attorney who represented Elliott Sadler last winter in a dispute with Richard
Petty Motorsports, confirmed Wednesday he is working with Mayfield, but that no
suit has yet been filed. "Yes, we're working hard for Jeremy," Diehl
said. "Either we'll work it out or the court will. We have not filed yet,
but we're working hard. That's all I can tell you." NASCAR spokesman Ramsey
Poston confirmed that Diehl had been in contact with the organization. "I
can confirm that Mr. Diehl has been in touch with NASCAR, and we've provided
him with relevant information pertaining to Jeremy's suspension, including the
toxicology report," Poston said. Mayfield was not immediately available
for comment.(ESPN)(5-20-2009)
Note: I have no idea as to how this will end up,
but I think that Jeremy might come out on the short end of the stick on this
one.
NASCAR Media Group prepping for NASCAR Network? The NASCAR Media Group is
not even two years old, but nowhere is the sanctioning body spending more money
or more carefully plotting its future. Over the next few months, the media
group will start moving out of its cozy, well-worn offices just south of
downtown
Note: Huh?
Darn! I thought SPEED TV was the
NASCAR Network! Well, if they ever do
come out with their own network, and are wanting to
charge for it, I doubt that they’ll get many “race fans” to sign up. Just what does this do with the nice multi
million dollar contract that they have with TV, now?
Long's
team penalized heavily, 12 race suspension & points: NASCAR has issued
penalties, suspensions and fines to the #46 team [#146] in the NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series, as a result of rules infractions committed during last weekend’s
event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The car was found to be in violation of
Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-I (any
determination by NASCAR Officials that the race equipment used in the event
does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-5.4A (engine exceeded the maximum
engine size of 358.000 cubic inch displacement) of the 2009 NASCAR rule book.
As a result, crew chief Charles Swing has been fined $200,000, suspended from
the next 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship events, suspended from NASCAR
until Aug. 18 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. Driver Carl Long
and owner Danielle Long have been penalized with the loss of 200 driver and 200
owner points, respectively, suspended from the next 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Championship events, suspended from NASCAR until Aug. 18 and placed on NASCAR
probation until Dec. 31.(NASCAR)
Note: Wow! I
wonder if the team will be “For Sale”.
Missing a dozen races – well, that’s a bit much. Hardly worth keeping the
team together. Has he even
qualified for a race in 09?
OCFS
- http://www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net/
The modified feature was rained out last Saturday, and will be run this coming Saturday night. Also scheduled for this coming Saturday night is “Veterans Night”.
From the tracks website:
“
Half-price
tickets for service men and women in uniform and veterans with identification
MIDDLETOWN,
NY (May 14)……..As part of our country’s celebration of Memorial Day, all
military personnel in uniform and veterans with appropriate identification will
be admitted for half-price for the Saturday, May 23 night of stock car racing
at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York.
“We
owe so much to our military people. Their sacrifices have kept us free,
allowing us to enjoy a way of life that is the envy of all the other nations,”
says Ken Sands, track manager. “It’s just a small token, but we’re happy to
have active and veteran military folks as our guests at the speedway on
Memorial Weekend.”
Sponsors
for the evening are Budweiser and Dana Distributors.
Admission
prices for the May 23 race meet remain at $14 adults, $12 seniors, and free for
children 12 and under. The full night of racing begins promptly at 6:00 pm.
Advance
ticket sales and track information is available at the
Accord
- http://www.accordspeedway.com/
Another regular week of racing at the “Big A” is coming up on this coming Friday night. Accord pays $2,000.00 to the modified feature winner every week. This coming Friday, they are also having the “Accord-Lebanon Valley Spec Sportsman Chase”.
“No-no’s” at Accord are alcohol and pets. Well, I believe that if you have a pet and are in the pits in a trailer, you can have your dog with you, but he/she must stay in the trailer. As for the no alcohol – I really don’t know what the real story is as far as having it in the pit area, and consuming it AFTER the nights racing is done. It is definitely not allowed in the stands, and that, to me, is good.
Beginning on Wednesday, June 3rd, Accord will start their “Mid Week Madness” series of races for Quads, Bikes, Slingshots and 4 cylinder Mini Stocks. Also, at the start of the season, I understand that Kid Karts will also be featured.
OVRP’s Dirt Oval - http://www.ovrpdirtoval.com/
Last Saturday night, “Mother Nature” threw a monkey wrench into the nights racing activities at the Dirt Oval.
A
regular point show is scheduled for this coming Saturday. Next week, on May 30th, the track
will be closed. If I’m not mistaken, I
believe the track has to be closed one weekend a month, per the agreement with
the Town of
Former OVRP Dirt Oval
runners:
Here are some results I was able to find on
the internet. It’s funny how some tracks
don’t have a “Results” section on their website, and if they have one, how it
isn’t updated by, say, Monday or Tuesday.
Some results can be found by going to “My Laps”, though.
Down at the New Egypt
Speedway, Johnny Guarino was 21st in the
modified feature.
Up at
At Penn Can, in the 600 modifieds, Brad Szulewski was 9th
in the feature while Geordan Farry
was a DNQ. In the modified feature,
Danny Creeden was 6th.
Up at the Stafford Speedway,
in
At Accord on Friday, Greg
Hastie was 8th in the modified feature. Clinton Mills won the sportsman feature,
while Brian Krummel was 4th and Mike
Ruggiero was 20th. In the
Spec Sportsman feature, Kyle Rohner was 3rd
and Anthony Perrego was 6th.
At OCFS, in the sportsman
feature, Doc Young was 4th, Matt Hitchcock 5th, Mike
Ruggiero 8th, Rich Coons 9th, Anthony Perrego
13th, Joe Conklin 16th, Matt Janiak
17th and Bobby Hassenmayer 23rd. The modified feature was rained out, and will
be held this coming Saturday.
At
At Five Mile Point, on
Sunday, in the CRSA 305 sprint car feature, Billy VanInwegen
was 4th, Benny Rizzo 16th, Danny Hennessy 20th
and Chuck Alessi 21st.
At Wyalusing, in the
Slingshots, Joseph Kata, III was 1st. In the 270 micro sprints, Jacob Hendershot was 3rd, Luke Schostkewitz
5th and Rick Casario 6th. In the 600 micros, Luke was a DNS for the
feature.
Family
members in racing:
Grandson John
Rizzo was still having problems with his new car and didn’t run at the
With
our 600 micro sprint still awaiting a couple of engine parts, grandson Brett
didn’t race again, although he did go to Five Mile Point and helped “Billy V”
on the CRSA 305 sprinter that Billy drives.
Other racin’
stuff:
There are a couple of things that have been said on the
internet, about a couple of tracks, and what some consider to
be problems.
There is this, about the
“Once you've seen one
dallara/honda specracer
you’ve seen them all. Once you’ve seen one of these
specracer slotcars run a
“flat foot” lap at the INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR
you’ve seen them all. . They have been running these same cars for six or seven
years without change and everybody is sick of them.
With the elimination of technical competition the Indy 500 is no longer a world
class race . In fact, it is no longer the greatest
race in the
Even with "guaranteed equal engines for everybody" and
identical specracer cars, there are only five or six
cars/drivers that have a chance to win.
Everybody is sick of it.
The bad news is that the INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY no longer has the greatest
race in the world.....The good news is that the INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY has
become the world's premier venue for over the hill, screaming, cursing rock
bands, which is the only thing that attracts people to the track anymore.
The INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY is 100 years old. It is the greatest sporting
arena in the world. It was also built to be the greatest automotive technical
playground in the world, where big automotive companies, with their latest
& greatest developments went "mano a mano" with small time automotive dreamers and their
latest "crackpot" ideas,
I use to enjoy running around town, to all of the local Indy shops, seeing the
new cars, coming together over the short winter, listening to the dyno runs of the turbo OFFYS, four cam Fords and, even, the
stock block hopefuls. I enjoyed reading all of the
magazine & newspaper articles about the new cars being built in
I read everything I could find about new Indy Lotus & Lolas
from
Serious rookies, named Gurney, Rutherford,
Opening Day! Happy Hour! Fast Friday! Pole Day! Bump Day! Carb
Day! Race Day!!
It's all gone, now, along with the fans and excitement.
Where did it all go so wrong???
All that's left is a bunch of identical overstuck specracer cars equipped with identical underpowered, understressed rental specengines.
The boring sameness amplifies as they use these same cars year after year after
year.
The once great INDY 500 MILE RACE has diminished to only a couple of pro level
teams and less than a handful of pro
level drivers. The rest, a bunch of substandard
teams and drivers, hardly able to field the traditional 33 car grid for the
past few years.
How sad that, what should be a great celebration of 100 years of incredible
history and heritage of the INDIANAPOLIS
500 and the INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, has become a "death vigil"
for the, once great, Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. The history, heritage and
importance of the "once upon a time" greatest race in the world is becoming a fading memory.”
“I agree that the homogenized product is much less interesting and cuts back on the publicity about new developments that used to add to the excitement and without the allowance for innovation, new teams are not coming to the Indy 500 to show that their products can beat the old standards, but I feel that there are a number of other factors as well. Now you can follow much of the life at the track on line or on TV, so there is no need to travel to the track to see each day's events. Why take a chance of the day being rained out when it is on TV in the comfort of your own home. Many people do much more leisure activities on their own now as well such as cruise ships and other destination travel, so they do not find that the Indy 500 is their one chance to get away. And many people's schedules would preclude the block of days off to give the race a proper setting. So I guess I feel the change is a combination of the technology and society.”..
“While watching the Indy time trails this last weekend for the
first time in many years one of my observations was that there seemed to be far
fewer spectators for the first weekend of qualifying than during the 1960
to1970 era.
Another observation was that now that the cars are driven full throttle all the
way around, the driver is no longer bothered by carefully feeling, or guessing
the amount of usable power he can use in the turns without loosing time if not
the car, and with computers keeping track of most of the other variables and
the driver being alerted from the pit on which button to push, there isn't a
whole hell of a lot left for the driver to do but to hang on. Yet the crew
managers seem to feel it necessary to inform the driver by radio of which lap
of the four qualifying laps he is on?”
“In the 1960's and 1970's Pole Day at Indy would attract
approximately 150,000 to 200,000 spectators. The Indianapolis Star estimated
there were about 20,000 in the stands this year. Things sure have changed!”
“Isn't this what we are getting from most Sanctioning bodies who -
for the
most part, seem to have adopted the NASCAR "iron-hand" regulatory
approach
to EVERYTHING to do with their Series?
I find it hard to ferret out ANY racing series these days where some
creative wrenching and "turn-'em-loose"
attitude prevails.
Control seems to be the direction we are being led into in most every phase
of our lives these days.”
“Once you've seen one
dallara/honda specracer
you’ve seen them all. Once you’ve seen one of
these
specracer slotcars run a
“flat foot” lap at the INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR
you’ve seen them all. . They have been running these same cars for six or
seven
years without change and everybody is sick of them”.
“While I agree with observations that radical innovations are few,
the 500 Race today has the most side-by-side, wheel-to-wheel excitement ever
--- in my opinion (I first saw the 500 in 1946, and have seen all races from
1951 on).
And the relative safety of drivers, at speeds over 200 mph, is almost
unbelievable. For many years I was afraid that 500 was
due to be terminated forever by some disastrous event such as a car cartwheeling into the grandstands or clear out onto
In any case, we wouldn't want a 500 race to resemble a Formula 1 race would we?
Let's appreciate the race that is, while still fondly remembering the races
that were!”
“Well now as the old saying goes, If you dont
go along with the new deals they will leave you behind!
This is 2009 and to lay blame as to why the 500 isnt
the way I enjoyed it the most is kinda funny on this
date.
There are many reasons why it is the way it is and least of all is Tony Georges
influence. Sure He has His hands in where it is but there are lots of folks who
got it to where it is. There are more that dont have
a thing to do with it that has caused it to well sort of lose its old and wore
out history so to speak. Which I mean to say is new fans and car owners moved
in other directions.
Now a days there is so much else going on in our
society the 500 is just a mere spec on this countrys
populace. Do you have any idea what new and exciting things are going on in the
country? Well there are way to many to list in this
short post and they are gobbeling up the youngsters
as fans and participants both at record numbers! And they have been doing this
for years now.
You want to lay blame on why it hasnt the old luster We saw back in the 50's 60's or? Well the car owners and the
sponsers have a bigger role in where it is today than
Tony George does.”
”Money talks and as they say BS walks, Well those footing the car bills have
choose they route it has taken. I dont like it that
much but IMHO it is better than the biggest series in the country sort of. Have
you seen them at TMS?
Well now its bigggest problem for Me
is the drivers I raised My son to watch at the local saturday
night bull rings across this country have little or no chance to get there. And
I dont blame them the money over there is way to good
to pass up. And they have been excluded buy the money guys (car owners)So guys like T Stewart and J Gordon are over there and none
We watched on Saturday nights have a chance to get to the 500!
Did you watch last nights big race on the tube? Wasnt that an
exciting race? Best show they put on all year and done mostly with our
local Saturday night heros
that moved up there. I for one dont like all those
long races they put on. Last nights races were a barn burner for sure one I
watch every year. funny but I think most race fans in
the country had tuned it in and dont even know that
the 500 qualifications were on the tube live also?
Well time marches on you go with it or it leaves you behind. I for one dont like the thought of being stuck in the 50's or even
the 60's even though I enjoyed it way more then todays
racing.Thats Something that cant taken away from Me.
Bottom line is, ITS JUST DIFFERENT Todays racing is
the cats meow for those who didnt experience what I
did back then.
Do you think that todays
fans will be saying the same thing in years to come like I just did? Well I
do.”
Note: The above are from some of the Yahoo! Race
History Group members.
More racin’ stuff:
I found this, below, on
the internet, in an article that’s linked too, under what I’ve copied and pasted:
“Another pressure situation was Billy Boat’s heroics. Baranouski continues, “In 2000 we put Billy (Boat) in a car
and his first laps in the car was his qualifying run. Billy was great under
pressure, it didn’t bother him.”
In the beginning of the month, Boat was in the Team Pelfrey
car. However while looking for extra speed earlier in the day, Boat wiped out
the car. Foyt watching the situation yelled to his
crew to get the spare car out. Afterwards Foyt was
happy to help an old friend out, "The kid's one hell of a good friend of
mine and that's one hell of a job he did. That takes guts to do what he did.
The car never had a hot lap, he never was in it. That's unbelievable."
The
link: http://www.foytracing.com/news/2009_archive/releases/index.shtml
Ralph Corwin:
Ralph continues to update his website, from
The
History of the Sport:
Something very different this week:
To some, I’m considered to be an “Historian” as far as
auto racing goes. Maybe that might be
true – but only as far as my memories go.
I first started going to the races way back in 1946. Back then, we’d go to tracks in Paterson, NJ
(Hinchliffe Stadium),
Victory
Over these last few years, it seems that things have gone down hill at OCFS. True, there is more out there for our entertainment dollar, and I imagine that has affected more tracks besides OC. But OCFS is slightly different in that the track is leased from the Fair people. Sadly, there have not been many improvements made over these last few years. Well, maybe more than a few years. To me, a “few” means three. I’d say it’s safe to say no improvements made over the last ten years.
A few years ago, I was in attendance when there was a
meeting about a “dust problem” for the track, that was
held in the Town of
“Next
up to speak was Michael Gurda, officer and director
of the Orange County Agricultural Society (the owners of the property that the
track and fairgrounds are on). He first
said that the track is leased to DIRT Motorsports for Stock Car racing. He said that the proposed law, in it’s present form, would make it impossible for any
Notice
that Mr. Gurda said that the Fair could not survive
without the races and vice-versa? Now,
maybe we’re not only looking at a great piece of racing history about to leave
us, but also the Fair itself. No, things
are not looking all that good at OCFS as I sit and write this column. Personally, I’ve only been to the track a
couple of times this season, so what I’ve heard about the attendance is what
I’ve read about on the internet, and from those that have been at the track, in
person. There’s an old saying: “It pays to advertise”. Well, sad to say, I don’t see any
advertisements for the racing at OCFS in our local (
Now,
on the internet, some of the OCFS die-hard race fans are beginning to sound off
about what they see, and how they feel, about the track - for today, and for
what looks like quite a dismal future – if any, for the track.
Here
are some of those thoughts:
“Less and less people
show up week after week. I see a Bethel Motor Speedway ad in the paper 3 times
a week and OCFS can't get a single picture of a car next to a half-way decent race
summary. I thought this joke Howie Commander was
supposed to help promote the races? Where’s the
discount flyers that were supposed to be in the stores? My 4 yr old godson
could do a better job advertising, standing on the side of 211 with a poster. Put
an ad in the paper with a picture of some of these sharp cars. Hang up some
posters in the malls. Do something! What’s the matter Ken McMillan? Can't stay
up until 10:30, write a quick recap of the races, slap it with a picture and
send it to the presses? Fans that can't make it to the track have to wait until
Mondays newspaper to get a wrap up? Are you kidding
me? Coming to the track is one of the greatest fun-filled experiences for a
youngster and I know that’s what made me come back for 15 plus years. But if a
child or his parents don't see a picture in the paper or some kind of
advertising they might never know how much fun they can have. What happened to
the old schedule with an enduro or a demo derby
almost every other week? Make things interesting again! Get more people out
here to see the racing and maybe some of them will become future racers.
Someone might see an advertisement for a demo derby and want to put their old chevy in it. Or maybe someone will enjoy the races so much
that they take their extra cash and put together a pro stock. You guys know
this. And on another note: if you management people want to be stubborn and
keep things the way they are you should at least add laps to each of the
features. Mods should be 35, Small Blocks should be
30, Sportsman 30, Pro Stocks 25, and pure stocks 20. And I think I speak for
everyone when I say that the foolish and cruel slashing of the 358's to 5
appearances was a bonehead move. The racing card was over a couple weeks ago by
9:30 and that was with a demo derby. You know for some of those drivers it not
all about the purse. Its a hobby and so is coming out
to enjoy them. I’ve been coming to OCFS since I was able to walk and If sh*t doesn’t change for the better ill be taking my money
elsewhere. Seriously, give me a break.”
“Here's a quick answer:
I believe it has been decided to let OCFS wither and die.
I despised the fact that WRG / DIRT / Boundless Motorsports
/ E-I-E-I-O Enterprises took so much money from OCFS and tossed it down a rat
hole.
I despise even more that the money I invested in a season
ticket has been tossed down a different rat hole, but a rat hole none the less.
For 20 years, not a dime has been reinvested in the speedway
other than funds required to keep the structures barely up to code. In other
words, the only money put back into the physical plant has been to keep it from
falling in on itself. Even those funds have been insufficient. Has anyone had a
"Maxi-Dough" or a "Dog Dish" of fries this season?
OCFS has been wrung out for its last penny.
I believe that the speedway has passed the point of no
return, and will soon fade into history.
It did not die a natural death.
It was murdered.”
“I so hope that xxxx is wrong, but the feeling in
my guts are that he is absolutely right on the money with this prediction. It
is true that it's not over 'till the fat lady sings....but it sure seems to me
like she's warming up in the wings. If not for the special group of people I
have had the privilege to meet and sit with at the speedway the past two
seasons, the racing in general would be very hard to sit through. Watching the
old girl die little by little each week, each year, is very painful. But, I
will support the speedway until the very end, which I hope is later, rather
than sooner. A fan for 42 years-“
“I grew up at that
place. My buddies and I could not wait until we got our drivers licenses so we
could drive ourselves to the track. I remember my first night in the pits, when
I was old enough to get in. That is why it's so difficult watching the place
decline year after year. It is like watching a close friend suffer from a
terminal illness. So very sad.”
So, might we now be
seeing the demise of what was at one time one of the premier race tracks here
in the northeast? The history of the old
place remains, but the question is – how much more history will we see from the
track?
I, myself, do not have
any solution to the problems at OCFS. I
am willing to bet that there will be a decent crowd on Wednesday, June 17th,
when Brett Hearn promotes the Super Dirt Series race. And, in the event it is
rained out on the 17th, then on the rain date on the 24th.
The
second largest event that OCFS has had, over the years, has been when the World
of Outlaws Sprint Car Series comes to town, and sadly, that isn’t happening in
2009. And, there is the event that has
always been their biggest spectator drawing event – Easter States Weekend.
That’s held every October. Although it’s
on the OCFS schedule, it is still not being sanctioned by any particular
sanctioning body like DIRTcar or the Race of
Champions (ROC). How that might affect
driver participation and fan turn out remains to be seen. There are rumors out there that there could
be a race on the same weekend at the Albany/Saratoga Speedway, and it might
even be sanctioned by DIRTcar. That was attempted a couple of years ago when
OC was independent, and due to rain, the opposing event was cancelled. Might it SNOW in the
Over
these last couple of years, up until 2009, there was a “Steering Committee”
that ran the track, first with it being “Independent”, then under DIRTcar sanction.
This year, no “Steering Committee” and no DIRTcar
sanction. It’s been strictly
independent. I expect that with some of
the rule changes, it’s affected the car counts.
When you affect car counts, you also affect fans in the stands. I’ve read, on the internet, that a few weeks
ago, the fan turnout – in the stands, was the best it’s been in years. But, right after that, I’ve read that in the
following weeks, although the drive-in has been more than decent, the
grandstands were basically empty. Keep
in mind, the racing has been over by an average of 9:30 PM! So what’s the problem?
Hey,
I’ve been to the Accord Speedway on a couple of occasions this season,
too. The racing there is great, with
lots of passing and/or side by side racing.
Maybe, with the almost “spec” cars that are now running on our dirt
tracks – maybe OCFS is a little too big now?
It’s being said that there’s no passing anymore. Well, it’s almost non-existent, any way. With all cars basically the same, with
everyone having to use the same tires, with the down force created by the large
bodies on the cars, it has, maybe in a way, taken some of the driver out of the
equation? Most of those that win at OCFS
now are starting up front. If so,
something has to be done to correct that.
Face it, the fans come to see passing and good racing.
You
know, years ago, at OCFS – like back in1977, the drivers roster for the modifieds had 126 names.
For the then called “Sportsman” cars, now called small blocks, they had
– are you ready for this – 214 names.
And, on most weeks, in the Sportsman class, they’d have up to 70 cars
entered for the nights racing.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case today. Looking at the drivers roster on the OCFS
website, there are 37 in the modified class, 25 in the small block class and 37
in the sportsman class. That’s all of 99
cars. That doesn’t include the Pro
Stocks or Pure Stocks.
Is
it that there is no interest in racing from the younger generation – the
generation that now drives around in those nice sounding “rice burners”? Would a class for those cars help? Who really knows? I do know that there is a 4 cylinder class at
OCFS this coming Saturday, but I have no idea as to what cars are allowed, what
rules they have to follow, or even it there will be enough cars for them to put
on a decent show. Remember, OCFS is a
big 5/8 mile track.
It
seems that they get a better fan count when they have demolition derbies. Heck, even they have a lot less cars than
what there used to be. One of the best
races that I had seen at OCFS was, believe it or not, a 200 lap enduro. Heck, when
the pole sitter got the green flag, the cars at the tail end were in the third
turn – and already a lap down! When is
the last time OCFS had a big enduro race? OCFS also seems to draw bigger crowds when
they have “Open Wheel” cars come in to run – like sprint cars. Still, there have not
scheduled a URC race for 2009.
They do have two CRSA 3-5 sprint car dates, though. I’d love to see what would happen if there
ever was a sprint car race scheduled like the ones they’ve had these last few
years up at Rolling Wheels during Super Dirt Week – on Saturday nights – the
Sprint Challenge races, where they had the URC, ESS and the ASCS all
together. I also heard that there was a
possible ARDC midget race to be held at OCFS in 2009, but from what I’ve heard,
from the ARDC, is that OC never got back to them as far as a date went. That’s a shame, too, because the ARDC does
run at Accord on Friday, July 10th. and the
following night would have been great if they had a date at OC. Then again, on July 11th, OC has
their “Nostalgia” night on that date, along with an appearance by the ACOT old
timers, so I guess time wouldn’t allow it.
Heh, heh, I did
notice that the CRSA did set up their schedule to go to Accord on Friday night,
June 12th, then Middletown the next night, the 13th. Nice to see that someone is using their head!
There
is something that I’m rather surprised about in the deal between OCFS and Howie Commander from the Lebanon Valley Speedway. Mr. Commander is listed as the promoter for
OCFS. From what I read on the internet,
on Wednesday, there is nothing signed between Mr. Commander and Mr. Gurda – the owner of OCFS – just a verbal agreement. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad,
especially in today’s lawsuit happy environment.
If
things work out, and the weather holds out, I guess I’ll see for myself just
how bad things are at OCFS, this coming Saturday night.
Video
time:
I think this is a fitting video to show this week – Jim Nabors with “Back Home In Indiana”. Enjoy! Oh yes, I read that he will be at Indy this year, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ3_2A5x53I
Other (non racing)
news:
In some of my columns
in the past, I came out with some of the worries that I have for the kids that
are getting out of college – my granddaughter Samantha, included, as to what do
they have to look forward to – job wise?
This past Tuesday, this, linked to, below, came out on Yahoo! It’s not too promising for those graduating
today, believe me.
As far as the new
“laws” concerning credit cards – as far as I’m concerned, it won’t help one
bit. Hell, I’ve had my interest rate
raised up a few weeks ago, and you just know that nothing will be done about
that, since there is no “grandfather” clauses in this new law or what ever it
is that’s being passed. And wait and see
– everyone will end up paying a yearly fee just to have a card. Nope, these new “laws” will only help the
banking and credit card industry.
I found this, on Yahoo! News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090521/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_credit_cards
What I’d like to know is why is it going to take NINE MONTHS? Boy oh boy, are we gonna get it! Watch and see!
How does this happen?
Sensitive data missing from the National Archives? They’re kidding, right? No, they’re not! How does this stuff happen, and who is really behind it? Check it out in the link, below.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090520/ap_on_go_ot/us_security_breach;_ylt=AtPilBpGt5VOtrx.O5LFw9kDW7oF
A tip of the iceberg:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/aknphahhhky8;_ylt=Atyu9igsEh2G2jDfV7X2nzMDW7oF
Closing with this:
The light turned yellow, just in front of him. He
did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have
beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration,
as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell
phone and makeup.
As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into
the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her
car with her hands up.
He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted,
photographed, and placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door.
She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was
waiting with her personal effects.
He said, ''I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your
car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you and
cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the
'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the'Choose
Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker,
and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally...I
assumed you had stolen the car.''
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