Racin' Stuff:

By Tom Avenengo

First things, first:

One of the hardest things to do is to say just who is the best/greatest in sports. When you talk of stick and ball sports, not much has changed in them, over the years. Boxing – same goes there except that championship fights are now 12 rounds instead of 15. Basketball has gone to a shot that is worth 3 points. There has been talk of the “juicing” of baseballs and players, too. As for track and field, it sure seems that the athlete of today is bigger and stronger that those of yesteryear, so can they be compared?

But in auto racing, things have constantly been changing. Cars, tracks, tires, engines, chassis and safety features – they’ve all changed. Heck, in a lot of cases, even the drivers have changed – in a way – smaller and younger. So, it’s quite difficult to really say – who is the best – ever. What must one consider as far as qualifications for being great? Surely the era when the drivers raced has to be considered – as well as the competition he faced. Does longevity enter into what’s required? How about if a driver races in more than one type of racecar, and does real good in all of them? Should that be taken into consideration? What about racing in different types of racecars and also on different types or racing surfaces – dirt and asphalt – oval and road courses?

Has technology taken away some of the “talent” that is required to wheel a racecar successfully? Has the lack of money kept some from “greatness”? What if a driver’s career is cut short due to injuries or a fatal accident – or an early retirement? Should what a driver had to do – or has to do in the era he raced in, figure into things? Should the amount of times that a driver has raced figure into the equation – both in races per week, year, or over his career? How about speed – should that also apply?

It’s quite hard to compare drivers from one era to another, isn’t it? Can we compare, as an example – Tommy Hinnershitz and Steve Kinser in Sprint Car racing? Tommy started in the 30’s driving midgets and big cars. He also ran “Indy” cars, too, but when he raced, the Indy cars were basically about the same thing he ran mostly – Sprint Cars, only larger. Safety features? None, really. Back when he ran, there were no interstate highways, and in most cases, he towed his own racecar – and did the mechanical work on it, too. No wings, either, to put “down force” on the cars he drove. In his day, Tommy was the “master” on the half-mile dirt tracks. The same can be said of Steve, too, in his day.

Steve Kinser came along after Tommy had retired. In the beginning, he did run some racecars without wings, but most of his racing was done with a wing. That, in a way, surely made his car faster, and maybe easier to drive, too. The tracks that Steve raced/races on are now hard as pavement. Over his career, he too, has run an Indy car on occasion - but rear engined – completely different that what he was used to racing. He got into racing Stock Cars, too, with minimal success. Might that be held against him? Or should he be considered in what he excelled in? That seems logical, I’d say.

NASCAR has had it’s share of good/great drivers, too. Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt and others. They’ve all mostly just raced stock cars, though. Should that be enough to get them mentioned? Should a drivers versatility be something that has to be included? Why is it that to be the “greatest”, one must be a competitor in a major sanctioning racing series?

Can we compare a midget driver of today – like, say, Bobby East, to a Bill Schindler? Nowhere does East race as much as Schindler did. Must one take that into consideration? Can we compare a Bill Vukovich with a Helio Castroneves? Think about that. Compare the difference in cars of their day, and the various tracks they race/raced on. Who might have been the better driver – Jimmy Bryan or Tony Bettenhausen? Pretty hard to figure out that one, and they are about from the same era.

Now you might wonder what brought this subject up? Quite simple, really. I found a thread on the Track Forum that was titled:

“The greatest F1 ever driver breaks neck and no news about it??” It was about Michael Schumacher the former World Champion driver in Formula One Grand Prix racing, and the fact that he could not come out of retirement now, to race for Ferrari in place of an injured driver due to him having an accident on a motorcycle and injuring his neck. So, how can we really figure out just who was/is “The greatest F-1 ever driver”? The very next post on the tread asked: “Jim Clark broke his neck?” See what I mean? Heck, even I joined in and made a comment that it would be hard not to include Juan Manuel Fangio as “The greatest”. Compare what the cars were like in his day, to those of recent years. Should one also take into consideration that when Fangio raced, he did not just run Formula One Grand Prix cars, but also raced sports/racing cars, too. With today’s “contracts” Schumacher didn’t do that. Should that be held against him?

Quick questions: Who do you think is the greatest race driver? Why?

Some of my thoughts:

As most of you know, I’m a big fan of midget and other forms of open wheel racing. But some hard times have fallen on my favorite sport. Last week, there was the annual Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial race that featured the USAC Sprint Cars and USAC Midgets. Well, a TOTAL of 22 cars showed up! Yes, TWENTY TWO! I have my suspicions as to what caused the low car count – especially in the Midgets. I feel that USAC is pricing themselves out of Midget racing with the mega buck cost of the engines that are in use with USAC. Sadly, other Midget clubs seem to follow what USAC does – mainly, as far as I can surmise, to compete with USAC whenever they’re in the area. Without the other clubs cars/drivers being used as “field fillers”, I truly believe that the USAC Midgets would now be a thing of the past. Yes, the economy hasn’t helped any, either, that’s for sure. But when one has to pay up to $30,000.00+ for an engine and run for purses that might pay $1,000.00 to win, or less, well, it sure is a losing deal, I’d say. Even the World of Outlaw Sprint Car Series has to, and has had to, rely on “Field fillers” to have sufficient car counts, at a lot of tracks.

It has gotten to be a pretty sad situation when a long standing event, like the “Hutt 100” gets cancelled. I had read that it was cancelled for 2009 - on the Internet, and while doing this column, I decided to check out news on the Terre Haute Speedways website. I found this: “The scheduled Midget series race for September 12th at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track is being replaced by a National Sprint Car series race. The traditional “Hut 100” midget race is being postponed for 2009”. I guess “sad” isn’t a strong enough word?

Going back, in time:

On August 20th, in:

1949

Mel Hansen won the AAA sanctioned Springfield 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois. Rex Mays finished second followed by Johnnie Parsons, Bill Holland and Lee Wallard.

Tommy Hinnershitz won the AAA Eastern Sprint Car race at the Orange County Fair Speedway, Middletown, NY.

1950

Mark Light won the AAA Sprint Car race over Tommy Hinnershitz at the Erie County Fairgrounds, Hamburg, NY.

Tony Bettenhausen won the 100 lap AAA Midget race at the Milwaukee Mile (1.0d) , West Allis, WI.

1955

Jimmy Bryan won the AAA sanctioned Springfield 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois. Bob Sweikert finished second followed by Andy Linden, George Amick and Jiggs Peters.

Buddy Powers won the URC Sprint Car race at the Erie County Fairgrounds, Hamburg, NY. Charlie Miller was second followed by Lou Johnson, Buss Olsen and Bobby Courtwright.

Jim DiMarco won the ARDC Midget race at the Islip Speedway, Islip,NY.

1960

Jim Packard won the USAC sanctioned Springfield 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois. Eddie Sachs finished second followed by Elmer George, Lloyd Ruby and Wayne Weiler.

Hal Rettberg won the URC Sprint Car race at the Erie County Fairgrounds, Hamburg, NY. Vern Harriman was second followed by Bill Holland, Earl Halaquist and Eddie Gallione.

Leroy Neumayer won the IMCA Sprint Car race at the Hawkeye Downs Speedway, Cedar Rapids,IA.

1961

Lloyd Ruby won the USAC sanctioned Milwaukee 200 on the 1 Mile Paved Oval The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin. Len Sutton finished second followed by A.J. Foyt, Dick Rathmann and Eddie Sachs.

Jim McElreath won the IMCA Sprint Car race over Harold Leep, Buzz Rose, Buzz Barton and Colby Scroggin at the Sedalias State Fair Speedway, Sedalia,MO.

Bob Tattersall won the USAC Midget race over Chuck Marshall and Bob Wente at the Terre Haute Action Track, Terre Haute, IN.

Bert Brooks won the ARDC Midget race at the Williams Grove Speedway, Williams Grove, PA.

Lou Blaney won the Sprint Car race at the Tri-City Speedway, Franklin,PA.

1966

Don Branson won the USAC sanctioned Springfield 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois. Mario Andretti finished second followed by A.J. Foyt, Joe Leonard and Bobby Unser.

1967

Mario Andretti won the USAC sanctioned Tony Bettenhausen 200 on the 1 Mile Paved Oval The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin. Al Unser finished second followed by Roger McCluskey, Gordon Johncock and Joe Leonard.

1978

Danny Ongais won the USAC sanctioned Tony Bettenhausen 200 on the 1 Mile Paved Oval The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin. Rick Mears finished second followed by Gordon Johncock, A.J. Foyt and Al Unser.

The Jeremy Mayfield saga continues:

Police called to Mayfield house: Catawba [NC] Police have confirmed that they were called to NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield's home for a trespassing call on Saturday. Now, Jeremy Mayfield and his wife confirm to NewsChannel 36 that trespasser is Mayfield's former stepmother, Lisa Mayfield. He and his wife say Lisa Mayfield was drunk, banging on their door, and they claim she even threatened to kill them. This is just the latest chapter in the saga between Mayfield and his former step-mother with whom he has been trading insults and lawsuits for the past few months. Lisa Mayfield has sued the race car driver for slander. Mayfield, on the other hand, tells NewsChannel 36 he is putting the finishing touches on his wrongful death lawsuit against his step mother. Mayfield has said publicly he doesn't believe his father committed suicide, as is listed in a 2007 police report, but that he believes his step mother had something to do with this.(wcnc.com)(8-16-2009)

UPDATE: The wife of Jeremy Mayfield on Tuesday took out a restraining order against her husband's stepmother and principal witness for NASCAR's case against the suspended Sprint Cup driver. Shana Mayfield filed the request at the Iredell County sheriff's department. "She will be served as soon as they can find her," Shana told ESPN.com. The order was sought three days after Lisa Mayfield showed up intoxicated at her stepson's home Saturday night and arrested on four counts of simple assault and for trespassing. According to the arrest warrant, Lisa physically confronted the husband and wife caretakers living on the property, their daughter and her boyfriend. She is scheduled for trial on Sept. 14. "[She] told our caretakers she would come back to kill us, she wasn't done," Shana said.(ESPN)(8-18-2009)

Note: As some have said, on the Internet, this will surely not help NASCAR’s case one bit.

Racing on TV:

Check out what’s on TV, racing wise, here: http://www.racefantv.com/USTV.htm

Last night, on SPEED TV, they had a taped delay of the NASCAR modifieds at Bristol. I don’t know if it will be re-played, or not, at a later date. It was on the hour before the Truck Series race came on, so you might want to check SPEED TV’s schedule.

Other forums/message boards and websites:

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

Sarah Fisher finally has a back-up car. So far, as of Tuesday, this thread is up to four pages:

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127462

Do you think the lack of oval tracks has hurt Indycar? This thread is now up to 10 pages, as of Tuesday:

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127330

At times, things are not so “Rosy” within race teams. Check this out, about Kevin Harvick and RCR:

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127498

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

Vickers officially signs to stay at Red Bull: Red Bull Racing Team announced that Brian Vickers has signed a multi- year extension to his contract. Vickers will continue to drive the #83 Toyota under the leadership of crew chief Ryan Pemberton. "The team is continuing to prove that it is a consistent force week in and week out," said Jay Frye, Vice President and General Manager of RBRT. "Brian has been here from the beginning and he continues to be a vital piece of the puzzle with regards to our ultimate goal of building Red Bull Racing into a consistent contender." Since joining RBRT at the beginning of the 2007 season, Vickers has racked up a win, eight top-five and 22 top-10 finishes, along with seven poles. "I'm thrilled," said Vickers. "This has been a long time coming, and there is no where else I would rather be. I am looking forward to building on what we have started the last couple of years. It is an interesting experience being with a team from the ground up going through the growing pains, then successes, together. I am so proud to have been able to bring this team their first win." The #83 currently sits 13th in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver points, 12 points out of the top-12.(Red Bull Racing)(8-18-2009)

Note: Smart move!

Keselowski meets with Penske?: Monday, an anonymous tipster spotted driver Brad Kesolowski meeting with Roger Penske [at thier Mooresville shop?]. The 'tipsters' report: "was doing business at Penske this morning and saw Brad Kesolowski go into the building with a man who appeared to be his agent, the car was still there three hours later when i left.(jalopnik.com)(8-18-2009)

UPDATE: Brad Keselowski says there's a scenario that could keep him affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports in 2010 that nobody knows of. Turns out Phoenix Racing isn't his only option with HMS ties. Here are some possibilities:
Richard Petty Motorsports: Most of the speculation has RPM leaving Dodge for Toyota, but multiple sources said RPM has had discussions with HMS and Richard Childress Racing should they switch to General Motors. An HMS official, however, assured us that talks with RPM haven't gotten serious.
Furniture Row Racing: Furniture Row Racing could expand to two teams -- #78-Regan Smith will be in one car -- with Keselowski. But it's a huge risk for Keselowski to join a team that can't run a full schedule this season.(ESPN Insider)(8-19-2009)

Note: This would be a big surprise if he should go with Penske. Then again, Stremme has been a one man wrecking crew lately.

Edwards & Ambrose testing sports cars: #99-Carl Edwards and #47-Marcos Ambrose will make their Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Daytona Prototype testing debut Tuesday, driving the Doran Racing #77 McDonald's Ford Dallara on the North Course at Virginia International Raceway. The next action for the Grand-Am Rolex Series will be the Aug. 29 Montreal 200 in Canada (SPEED Live, 2 p.m. ET), sharing Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.(VIR)(8-18-2009)

Note: I like the idea of drivers going into other forms of racing. Can’t wait until we actually see a NASCAR driver that has never run an Indy car, go to Indycar for a ride.

Fuel Injection coming to NASCAR?: When NASCAR Sprint Cup director John Darby, a few weeks ago, raised the issue of 'fuel injected' racing engines in NASCAR, it raised eyebrows. NASCAR Cup engines are some of the most technically advanced engines in racing, except for the antique carburetors. Every other major form of racing, even ASA, uses fuel injected engines. NASCAR has long shied away from things electronically complicated like electronic fuel injection, for fear with goodly reason that the mechanical wizards on these racing teams might figure out a way to put some tricks in that electronic box. However NASCAR officials are raising the issue to team owners of fuel injected engines possibly in the Truck series as soon as next season, according to one scenario and asking how owners think NASCAR ought to police it. "We think fuel injection is just the right way to go in NASCAR," Pat Suhy, Chevrolet's NASCAR field director, says. "And it wouldn't be that difficult. Every other top racing series uses fuel injection. We could put something together in about a week depending on how simple or complex you wanted to do it and then test it for two months or so, and be ready to go."(MikeMulhern.net)

Note: Sooner or later – sooner or later. Watch and see.

Dodge committed to NASCAR: Dodge doesn't plan to disappear from the Sprint Cup series in the near future even it is reduced to one team, the CEO of Dodge Brand said on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. "We're committed to this sport,'' Mike Accavitti said. "It's a match made in heaven.'' Accavitti, who was promoted to CEO after Chrysler filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, declined to speculate on whether Dodge would lose Richard Petty Motorsports. RPM has been in discussions with other manufacturers and reportedly is headed to Toyota in 2010, although team officials deny a decision has been made. If that were to happen Dodge would be left with the three-car Penske Racing organization. Accavitti would only say that he values RPM as a partner. He added that RPM has been mailed a check for services that were past due after the bankruptcy was filed. "You really only need a couple of good cars,'' he said.(ESPN)(8-16-2009)

Note: This writer would not be surprised it Dodge were to drop out of NASCAR racing after the 2010 season, if not sooner.

Lots more on Jayki’s website if you go here: http://jayski.com/pages/stories.htm

NASCAR.com: http://www.nascar.com/

A fairly good article about a “rivalry” between Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers can be seen, here:

http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/features/08/18/head.2.head.kybusch.bvickers.cedwards/index.html

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

So, when is “legal” not legal? How many other tracks have rule changes within weeks on the same thing? Check this thread out:

http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=31217&st=0&gopid=257883&#entry257883

The Modifieds at Bristol – check out what some think about the TV coverage by going here:

http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=31249

http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/

On this website you’ll find race reports for OVRP’s Dirt Oval, photos from Ralph Corwin, and this column, too. In the future, I’m planning on a few articles with photos – from “Back in the day”.

Tracks:

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

This week, it’s a regular show, minus the 358 Modifieds, but with the Vintage cars competing, per the OCFS schedule.

This, from the OC website, kind of puzzles me a little:

“On Saturday Sept 12, in addition to the Modified winner getting a guaranteed spot in the Eastern States 200, the highest finishing 358 Modified finisher in the main that night will get a guaranteed starting spot in the Eastern States 100 for 358 Modifieds.”

I was at OC last Saturday night, and if I’m not mistaken, one 358 might have attempted to qualify in the big block class, but failed to do so. A good portion of those that run the big blocks at OC also run the 358’s, too, so why would a driver run a 358 in place of his big block? Then again, the point season would be over, so one never knows. It’s just a shame that OC has cut back the 358 schedule so much. Bet the point “championship” for the 358’s won’t be worth much, money wise.

I have yet to have any info sent to me about ESW, nor have I seen any news at all, but I’ve seen it posted (as above) that the Small Block race is still going to be 100 laps and not 150, like it used to be. Nothing on what tires will be allowed at ESW, yet, either. Before you know it, ESW will be here. It’s kind of hard to order tickets when one has no idea as to what’s going to happen.

Bethel Motor Speedway: http://www.bethelmotorspeedway.com/BethelMotorSpeedway/HomePage.html

A regular show is on tap this coming Saturday night. Admission: Just five bucks!

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

From their website: Regular show – Special TBA Plus: “Rebel Series Unlimited Flat Karts” – whatever that means!

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

About an hour north of where I live is the Accord Speedway. It’s a high-banked ¼ mile dirt track. The track has been around for years, and has had several owners. The latest owner is Gary Palmer. Mr. Palmer is constantly improving the track and the property that the track is on. Enlarging the pit area became a necessity due to increasing car counts. New aluminum stands were put in, along with a lap counter and lighting. New fencing has been added to the top of the fencing that’s already been up, as more protection for the race fans. Plans for additional stands are on hold for a while. This current season has not been kind to Mr. Palmer and the Accord Speedway. “Mother Nature” has been the winner on more Friday nights than race meets having been run. And, looking at the forecast for the next few days, it will be touch and go for this coming Friday.

There was an article about Gary Palmer - his track, and the weather problems he’s encountered, and if interested, you can see it here:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090815/SPORTS/908150330/-1/SPORTS02

This Friday – Camera and autograph night.

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

Regular points show this Saturday. Their website could use some up-dating, though.

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

From their website:

Saturday August 22^nd
Rotax (ALL CLASSES also) Extravaganza
All Rotax classes and All WKA Classes Practice and Race
Open Practice and instruction by appointment
10:00am-3:00pm

Saturday Night Race
All WKA Classes and All Rotax Classes
Rotax Northeast Series Race # 5

Race Practice starts at 4:00pm
Followed by Qualifier, Heat & Final

Note: I was told that the new owner of OVRP, Tim Hannen, a racer himself, visited the Dirt Oval last Saturday and was rather impressed with the racing there and said he might try it himself. As far as I know, he’s never raced on dirt. Bet once he tries it, he’ll get “hooked”.

Former OVRP Dirt Oval runners:

Brad Szulewski had a 8^th place finish in the 600 Modifieds at Linda’s Speedway.

At Penn Can, Danny Creeden was 4^th in the Modified feature.

At Accord, in the Modified feature, Greg Hastie had a 3^rd. In the Sportsman feature, Mike Ruggiero was 1^st, Brian Krummel 11^th and Clinton Mills 12^th. In the Spec Sportsman held over feature from July 10^th, Kyle Rohner was 3^rd, Jason Roe 10^th and Anthony Perrego 16^th. In the nights regular feature, Anthony was 1^st, Kyle 14^th and Jason 18^th.

At OCFS, in the CRSA 305 Sprints, Anthony Brennan was 6^th, John Lodini 9^th, Danny Hennessey 10^th, Chuck Alessi 19^th, while Benny Rizzo and Billy VanInwegen were DNQ’s. In the Modified feature, Danny Creeden was 16^th, Clinton Mills 28^th, while Jimmy Johnson, who was checking out a new car, was a DNQ. In the Sportsman feature, Rich Coons was 2^nd, Mike Ruggiero 4^th, Joe Conklin 5^th, Anthony Perrego 7^th, Bobby Hassenmayer 8^th, Matt Hitchcock 14^th and Matt Janiak 16^th.

At Wyalusing, in the 270 Micro Sprints, Jacob (Jake) Hendershot was 6^th and Tiffany Wambold 7^th.

At Lebanon Valley, in the Sportsman feature, Kolby Schroder was 4^th, Kyle Armstrong 18^th and Alex Bell 22^nd.

At Greenwood Valley Action Track, in the 270 Rookie Micro feature, Jake Hendershot was the winner.

At Hamlin, in the 600 wingless Micro Sprints, Molly Chambers was 9^th and Brittany Tresch 17^th.

RJ Tufano was 12^th in the 1200 Mini Sprint feature, and came back to win the Quad 4 feature, at Whip City.

At Borgers, in the 270 Micro Sprints, Tiffany Wambold was 7^th. In the “Stage One Modifieds” – a class very similar to the 600 Modifeds – in appearance, anyway, Kyle Rohner was the feature winner.

Note: Do we really need another class that is so similar to the 600 Modifieds?

At Bethel, in the special Sportsman feature, Danny Creeden was 12^th. In the special Legends Car feature, Roger Coss was 7^th.

At the Sundance Vacation Speedway, in the Tobias SpeedSTR feature, Billy VanInwegen was 3^rd, Nick Pecko 5^th, and Jeff Gallup 11^th.

Note: For unknown reasons, this class still can’t pull in more than a dozen cars per race meet. I would not be surprised to see some drivers leave this series. And what has happened to the Ray Evernham connection? I’m really surprised that the Tobias SpeedSTR cars have not had a race scheduled for the track that Ray owns.

John Guarino had a 21^st place finish in the Modified feature at New Egypt.

Thanks to Tom Ervin, the Modified Outlaw Micro Stock results from Wall Stadium are: Nick Cottone 1^st, Brian Braddock 2^nd, Tom Ervin 3^rd, Ritchie Price 4^th, Jim VanDine 5^th, Rob Marino 6^th and Dennis Hiddemen 7^th. Note: I’m not positive that all of them have competed at the Dirt Oval, though! Isn’t Nick well into his 70’s?

At Selinsgrove, in the 358 Sprint feature, Davie Franek was 3^rd.

At Stafford, in the SK Light feature, David Webb was 16^th and Lauren Cooper 20^th.

Note: I moved this to last after reading about this event on Lauren’s website. It seems that during a practice session in the afternoon, last Friday, Lauren turned a lap of 19.9. Modified star, Ted Christopher got in her car and turned a lap of 19.8, after a few changes were made. Lauren went back out and equaled Ted’s time – 19.8. Good going, Lauren!

http://laurencooperracing.com/

Family members in racing:

Grandson Brett, made a return to the OVRP Dirt Oval and ran a Kart for the first time in about 3 years. He finished 3^rd in the 4 Cycle Light class.

Other racin’ stuff:

I’ve noticed, when talking to some parents of younger drivers, that a good part of them really have no idea about the history of auto racing, and that’s a shame. Oh, they know of NASCAR, for sure. Most have no idea as to what a Silver Crown car is. And I suppose it’s like this all over our country? While checking out the Internet, I came across this:

“Oh...... and Duke. I don't consider you a "bitter ol man". You might be a little grouchy, but not bitter. Jack Yeley said it best a few weeks ago. To paraphrase him.... "If it happened before 2005, it's like it never happened to these guys nowdays". This was said after he asked his driver of the day if he knew who Don Branson was. Said "driver" had no clue who he was....”

I caught a good portion of the Cup race this past weekend – the one from Michigan. I was somewhat impressed by the amount of fans in the stands, since Michigan is one of the states hit hardest with bad economic conditions. Not as many empty seats as I thought there would be.

The NASCAR 150 lap Modified race at Bristol was on a tape delay last night. Qualifying was rained out. With that, neither Ryan Newman or Kasey Kahne would be in the event – they being two of the three that would go home. HOWEVER, the field was INCREASED by three spots. I wonder why they can’t do that when there is one extra car at a Cup race? Really! The pre-race part of the show just had to show Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne in their modifieds. I’m typing this as the race is on TV, so I’m hoping that SPEED TV does not concentrate on a certain two drivers – you know whom I’m talking about, right? Of course Newman has an inboard camera! Guess what? Newman didn’t last long – being knocked out before 5 laps were in, with major damage to his right front. Kasey wasn’t on TV much, either. Being edited for TV, a good portion of the first part was eliminated. Hopefully this will be an annual event and if so, more TV time will be allowed.

It sure didn’t take long to run 150 laps. It was a decent show, competition wise. It wasn’t a “Crash fest” either.

Ralph Corwin:

Ralph “Gypsy” Corwin adds more photos to his “Victory Speedway” section on his website, on occasion. Here’s the link:

http://ralphcorwinphotos.com/VictorySpeedway1.htm

Speaking of Ralph – yes, he was one of those 400,000 people that made an appearance at the first “Woodstock Festival” some 40 years ago. He’s gone back there many times, and, yes, he was back there this past weekend for the 40^th anniversary of that historical event. He was one of those that was interviewed about Woodstock, and here is a link to a video of that interview:

http://gannett.a.mms.mavenapps.net/mms/rt/1/site/gannett-poughkeepsieny-066-pub01-live/current/launch.html?maven_playerId=sect_frontpage&maven_referralObject=1216248802

And, a little more, too, about Woodstock:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2009/08/11/VI2009081102564.html

No, this writer did not attend the event 40 years ago, and, I’ve never even been to where it was held. Maybe some day.

More racin’ stuff:

Well, from what I know, everything is set for the CRSA 305 Sprint Cars to be at Eastern States Weekend. A few dots on the “i’s” and crosses on the “t’s”, and it should be a done deal. They’ll be there on Friday and Saturday, as it stands, now. As of now, I have no idea as to how their program will be run – time trials with heats consi and feature, or time trials and maybe a “B” main and a feature. It would be nice if it was advertised and if so, maybe some of the 305 Sprinters from Pennsylvania might think about entering. The way OC advertises, I guess it would be up to the CRSA to spread the word.

While watching Wind tunnel the other night, Ray Dunlap was a guest. He said that it is a done deal for the NASCAR Truck Series will run at Pocono when NASCAR has their second race there in 2010. You can’t imagine the amount of people that would love to see a return of the Indy cars to Pocono. Watkins Glen is the only track for them now, in the east. And, yes, Loudon is not happy they did not get an Indycar event for 2010 – if you remember what was in a column of mine a few weeks ago.

One of my “Facebook” friends posted this on Wednesday:

“For all the NASCAR fans looking to go to Dover . They seem to would rather have empty seats than to lower the prices .Other tracks have responded to the economy with prices as low as $29 . Lowest Dover price is double that . Want to fill the seats , ...”

Note: This friend runs bus trips to selected races, and as far as I know, he’s always had a full bus. From what I’ve read of his trips to race tracks, it was well worth the money – as long as the race is held on raceday, and not later due to rain, I believe. I do know that most bus trips to racing events are only for the original day of the race.

respond DOVER!!! Wouldn'tyou rather make something than to show America another empty section on TV.

I see that there will be another type of racecar taking some practice laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This September 3^rd, nine Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series cars are scheduled to practice on the Road course. This writer would not be surprised to see a second Indycar race at the speedway, one on the road course. Watch and see!

Info on this was found here: http://www.openwheelracers3.com/TRACKS.html

Oh, in case you’re wondering why my columns have not appeared on OWR3, it’s rather simple, really. Per what they want on their website, and what they feel comfortable at the present time with space taken up, my columns are way to large. I can’t fault them on their policies – it’s their website, and they should know what kind of space they have to work with. As of now, I’ll continue columns of this size, on this website, with an occasional article on OWR3, like this one in their “Vintage” section: http://www.openwheelracers3.com/Vintage.html Just scroll down to the August 15, 2009 date.

The History of the Sport:

At times, we’ve lost drivers while they were competing on the speedways. Here, below, is just a small, partial list of those that have perished while doing what they loved to do – alphabetically, with last names starting with the letter “P”, this week. I imagine that you might recognize some of the names listed. Later on, in future columns, I’ll continue my way through the alphabet.

Skip Pabis, Jim Packard, Jim Pagel, Pete Panaia, Carlos Panini, Al Papini, Jim Pardue, Dion Parish, Gary Patterson, Lem Patterson,

James Patterson, Dinny Patterson, Mike Pearce, David Pearl, Earl Pearson, Leon Peavy, Ducky Pehlman, Ed Pellegrini, Boyd Pennington, Ron Perez, Bob Perley, Len Perlich, Stan Perry, Ronnie Peterson, Dave Peterson, George Petit, Bill Pettit, Adam Petty, Russell Phillips, Maurice Phillips, Tim Phillips, Cecil Phillips, Wanda Phillips, Jake Pickler, Pat Pigott, Boley Pittard, Ray Platte, Jim Plummer, Ronny Polis, Art Pollard, Robert Polmateer, Alfonso de Portago, Stubby Porter, Don Porter, John Potts, Yvon Poulin, Bob Powell, Keith Powell, Timothy Powell, Don Pratt, Sonny Pratt, Billy Joe Pressley, Frank Presutti, Sr., Rory Price, Cotton Priddy, Elmer Priddy, Talmadge "Tab" Prince, Charlie Prince, Harl Prior, Margaret Pritchard, Milton Pritchard, Steve Pritchard, Swayne Pritchett, Paul Pritchett, Wayne Pruden, Alva Pruden, Tom Pryce, Andrew "Honey" Purick, Lucky Purnell, Ernie Purssell, Al Putnam and Don Putnam

Video time:

Going back some 10 years here. As I mentioned, and showed, above – no “Hut 100” this season. Somewhere I believe I’ve read that there have been problems at Terre Haute. Here’s a video from the 1999 Hut 100. And, yes, I do believe the announcer did make a slight error when he mentioned the driver that started 6^th – AJ Foyt instead of AJ Fike. At least that’s what my ears picked up – and my ears ain’t the best, that’s for sure!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgZyzR0j1PE

Other (non racing) news:

So you’re old enough to retire, and do so, and start drawing your pension. But, due to a “glitch” in the laws, you find that you can continue to work and still draw your regular salary along with that pension. Cool, huh? Especially if you’re a lawmaker. Check this out:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090819/ap_on_re_us/us_lawmaker_pensions

“Cash for Clunkers” – a bust? In the article linked to, below, it makes mention of hundreds of NT car dealers dropping out of the program, because they haven’t received any monies from the government, yet. Is this happening nationwide? Like, maybe we didn’t have an idea this was going to happen?

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090819/BIZ90/908199970

There is a house across the street where I live, here in Port Jervis, NY. About a month ago, it was in the paper as being foreclosed on. I rarely spoke to the folks that lived there, and the last time was when they were moving out – to the other side of town, I was told. That was before this past winter. I often wondered if the house had heat on or if it was winterized. Well, I found out yesterday, Wednesday, that it had no heat and was not winterized, and, yes, the pipes burst during the winter’s cold weather. Originally I had heard the asking price was over $200,000.00. While speaking to a real estate saleswoman, the new quoted price is now $69.000.00. A lot of water damage done to the first floor, and quite a lot of mold is also present. What really bothers me is that whatever bank held the mortgage seemingly had no interest in making sure that the property was protected. Hell, they’ll just write it off, probably, as a loss. Why not? Taxpayer monies probably helped that bank out, anyway. So now, if that house does not sell, it will sit there, going to waste, and become an eyesore - or more to our neighborhood.

Closing with these:

Creative puns for smart minds

1. The roundest knight at King Arthurs Round Table was Sir Cumference.
He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated in an algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.

6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.

7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

Note: More to come on this subject, next week.

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