Racin'
Stuff:
By Tom Avenengo
First things, first:
This coming Friday is September 11th. How we can all not recall the happenings of
Tuesday, September 11, 2001? In a way, I
suppose it means more to us than the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese,
since most of us were a witness to the actual attack in
9/11 means a little more than that attack to this writer, I should say - a couple of things – one 49 years ago, and one this coming 9/11. 49 years ago the wife and I said our “I do’s”. It’s been a great marriage!
This coming 9/11, our grand daughter, Jessica, will be undergoing some tests, and procedures, to see why her heart stops for up to 40 seconds at a time, then rapidly beats up to 200 times/minute. Hopefully, it will be something that can be cured with some medicines, and not by an immediate surgical procedure. Been there – done that. Jessica is all of 24 years young. If possible, please keep her in your prayers.
Some of my thoughts:
Sponsorship in racing is a necessary evil. Without some kind of financial help, most race teams wouldn’t be around today. In a way, it does get rather tiring seeing drivers hoist a bottle of their sponsors’ product just as they’re about to get interviewed. It’s also nice to see Carl Edwards remove his sunglasses when interviewed. More drivers should do that. Granted, the track announcers – especially at the local speedways, should announce sponsors that are on the cars, but to what extent?
The scenario: The cars are on the parade laps, and the announcers start off by giving the drivers name, car number and list of sponsors, beginning with the front row. Before they can get done doing this with the whole field, they’re about to get the green flag. So, in order to get the remaining names, the sponsors aren’t mentioned on a portion of the field. Are those sponsors not being named, short changed? Maybe instead of naming 4, 5 or 6 sponsors on the cars that are starting up near the front, there could be a cut back on some, and maybe name those other sponsors later on in the evening? I would imagine that the announcers have a list of sponsors that are by each driver’s name, right? Well, simply cross off the ones that have been announced. My thoughts, of course.
Hard to believe that there are only 44 entrants for the
Cup race at
Get those NASCAR announcers out of their pavement element and they sure can get confused, can’t they? Some of the things they came out with on the telecast of the Prelude to the Dream were rather comical, even if not correct.
Going
back, in time:
On
September 10th, in:
1948
Ted Horn won the AAA
Eastern Sprint Car race at the Erie County Fairgrounds,Hamburg,
NY.
1949
Johnnie
Parsons won the AAA sanctioned Syracuse 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval New York
State Fairgrounds, Syracuse,
Bill Holland won the AAA
Eastern Sprint Car race at the Port Royal Speedway,
1950
Henry Banks
won the AAA sanctioned Detroit 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval Michigan State
Fairgrounds, Detroit,
Emory Collins
won the IMCA Sprint Car race at the Topeka Fairgrounds, Topeka, KS.
1952
Mike Nazaruk won the AAA
Midget race at the Cincinnati Race Bowl, Cincinnati,OH.
1954
Johnny
Thomson won the AAA Eastern Sprint Car race over Tommy Hinnershitz at
the Rutland Fairgrounds, Rutland, VT.
1955
Bob Sweikert
won the AAA sanctioned Syracuse 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval New York State
Fairgrounds, Syracuse,
Charlie Miller won the
URC Sprint Car race at the Orange County Fair Speedway,
1960
Bobby Grim
won the USAC sanctioned Syracuse 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval New York State
Fairgrounds, Syracuse,
1961
Len Duncan
won the ARDC Midget race at the Thompson Int. Speedway, Thompson, CT.
Parnelli Jones won the
USAC Sprint Car race at the New Bremen Speedway, New Bremen,OH.
A.J. Foyt finished second followed by Jim Hurtubise, Elmer George and Bud
Tingelstad.
1966
Mario
Andretti won the Hoosier Hundred USAC Champ Car race at the 1 Mile Dirt
Oval Indiana State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis,
1971
Smokey Snellbaker, in the Al Hamilton # 77, won the Tuscarora 50 Super Sprint Car race over Billy Cassella, Rick Schmelyun, Barry Camp and Tom Spriggle at the Port Royal Speedway , Port Royal, PA
Racing on TV:
Actual races on live TV:
Friday:
7:30 – 10:00 PM on ESPN2, the Nationwide
race from
Saturday:
2:30 – 5:00 PM on SPEED, Truck Series race from Gateway Raceway
7:30 – 11:30 PM on ABC, Cup race from
Sunday:
7:30 – 10:00 AM on SPEED, The Italian Grand Prix from
Other
forums/message boards and websites:
From
the Track Forum - http://www.trackforum.com/forums/
A
rather interesting thread has been started about the possibility of NASCAR
changing some starting times for its Cup races.
It can be seen, here: http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128271
Another one about no IRL race on Labor Day weekend. That can be found, here: http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128276
From
Jayski - http://www.jayski.com/
HANS Secures Court Order Against Impact: HANS Performance Products
has been granted a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and expedited discovery in a suit against Impact Racing Products. The SFI Foundation's motion to become a party in HANS' action against Impact has also been granted. The orders relate to counterfeit HANS Post Anchors that have been discovered at the track in recent weeks. The Federal Court orders require Impact to advise its customers that Post Anchors they have received from them may be counterfeit. Impact is also required to preserve all related products and business records to help identify the source of the counterfeit parts. Post Anchors are a vital part of a racer's head and neck restraint safety system. Genuine HANS Post Anchors provide a robust and reliable latching method to connect racers' HANS Devices to their helmets.(HANS PR/Reuters)(9-8-2009)Note: What I wonder about is – did the counterfeit
parts work? Are the inferior?
Roush Fenway Racing looking for sponsors: Roush Fenway Racing is
still looking for many sponsors for next season. What it is not looking for is
sponsorship for Danica Patrick. Roush Fenway President Geoff Smith said time is
running out to get sponsorship for the organization's #26
team in order to be able to move that group to Yates Racing. Roush
Fenway must cut from five to four Cup teams after the 2009 season. It still
needs to find half a season of sponsorship for #17-Matt Kenseth on the Cup side
as well as sponsors to help field the organization's three or four Nationwide
teams. Smith said the problem in trying to do a multiple-sponsor deal with one
team is that the organization can't guarantee it would run the entire season.
Even if a company isn't interested in a full primary sponsor role, it wants to
be with a team that is running the full schedule, Smith said.(SceneDaily)(9-8-2009)
Note: I believe I’ve said this quite a few times
already – sponsorship will be difficult to obtain and more so for the smaller
teams.
Chase Clinch
Scenarios For
#99-Carl Edwards is currently 105 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
24th or better
25th and leads at least one lap or
27th and leads most laps.
#9-Kasey Kahne is currently 96 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
21st or better
23rd and leads at least one lap or
24th and leads most laps.
#2-Kurt Busch is currently 95 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
20th or better
22nd and leads at least one lap or
24th and leads most laps.
#42-Juan Pablo Montoya is currently 88 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any
other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
18th or better
20th and leads at least one lap or
21st and leads the most laps.
#39-Ryan Newman is currently 81 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
16th or better
17th and leads at least one lap or
19th and leads the most laps.
#5-Mark Martin is currently 69 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
12th or better
14th and leads at least one lap or
15th and leads the most laps.
#16-Greg Biffle is currently 68 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
11th or better
13th and leads at least one lap or
15th and leads the most laps.
#17-Matt Kenseth is currently 20 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any
other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
Second and leads at least one lap.
Third and leads the most laps.
#83-Brian Vickers currently sits 13th, 17 points ahead of #18-Kyle
Busch. He would need to gain 21 points on Kenseth and stay ahead of Busch to
clinch a Chase spot. Busch, 37 points behind 12th, needs to gain 17 points on
Vickers and 37 points on Kenseth to clinch. #00-David Reutimann, 132 points
behind Kenseth, has an outside shot at clinching. He would have to gain 133
points on Kenseth. A maximum of 161 points can be made up in a given race.(NASCAR Public Relations)(9-7-2009)
The Mayfield
saga, continued:
Mayfield sued
over engine bill: Suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield is being sued by Arrington Manufacturing for $71,000
in unpaid engine bills for four events, according to a complaint filed last
week in North Carolina Superior Court in Newton, N.C. Arrington provided
engines for Mayfield Motorsports for the Sprint Cup races at Phoenix,
Talladega, Richmond, Darlington, and Charlotte as well as the Sprint Showdown
race that preceded the all-star event. Prior to each event, Mayfield and
Arrington Manufacturing agreed on a price, according to the complaint. The
price was based on how many miles were actually put on the motor. Mayfield paid
the engine costs for
Mayfield files
wrongful death lawsuit against stepmother: Suspended NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jeremy
Mayfield has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his stepmother, Lisa
Mayfield, over the death of his father two years ago. Terry Mayfield died Sept.
5, 2007, in what police investigators and the medical examiner concluded was a
suicidal gunshot wound to the chest, according to investigation and medical
examiner reports. Jeremy Mayfield's lawsuit, filed late Friday afternoon in
North Carolina Superior Court in
Note: I really wonder what will happen next, and with the problems that Lisa Mayfield had a couple of weeks ago, how will that help the NASCAR case?
NASCAR.com: http://www.nascar.com/
A “shakeup” is coming to RCR racing:
http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/cup/09/03/rcr.shakeup.jburton/index.html
Dirt
Track Digest’s forum: http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/forum/index.php
If you’re into racing in the Northeast area, this is a good place to visit.
http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/
Tracks:
Note: In a way, as of Wednesday, September 9th,
you really don’t want to see the weather forecast for this coming weekend, but
as of 12:20 AM on Thursday, this is what’s said:
Friday: Rain showers in
the morning will evolve into a more steady rain in the afternoon. High 59F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Saturday: Rain. Highs in
the upper 50s with temperatures nearly steady overnite.
Sunday: Few showers. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the upper 50s.
OCFS
- http://www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net/
From the OCFS website:
“this year, a season
plagued with too many rained out and canceled race meets, the racing schedule
has been extended and on Saturday, September 12, all four weekly racing
divisions will see action in an extra “no-points” Bonus Night. The competitors
will be racing for their division’s standard purse, with the winners of the
Modified, Sportsman, and Pro Stock features earning the night’s bonuses:
guaranteed starting spots in their respective main events during Eastern States
Weekend.
And as an added bonus for the fans, the Vintage Modifieds will make a return
visit to the Orange County Hard Clay.
Admission prices for the September 12 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.
Tickets for the 48th Annual Eastern States Weekend, Friday through Sunday,
October 16-18, are on sale. Be sure to check the official
In
this past Tuesday’s edition of the Middletown Times Herald-Record, there is an
article about how the wet summer affected so many things. One of them was the Orange County Fair, which
seems to get rained on EVERY year. In
the article, there is this:
"Orange
County Fair general manager Mike Gurda said the fair, which ran from July 23
through Aug. 2, was a "borderline disaster." The wet weather soaked
the fairgrounds nine out of 11 fair days, and despite record attendance on the
mere two dry days, nothing could make up the financial loss currently estimated
in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"It
will definitely affect us going forward," Gurda said. "We're looking
at financing and just trying every day to exist."
Note: So, should we be concerned about this, and
how it might affect the track, and racing, in the future?
A normal Saturday night at
Hamlin
Upcoming:
Sat 9/12/09 **270cc & 600cc Micro Mountain Nationals III - $1000 to win!
Non Handicap, Time Trials (round robin), 30 Lap feature $1,000 to win for both
270's & 600's! (with 24 cars) Pre-Entry Fee: $75
Accord
- http://www.accordspeedway.com/
From their website:
September 11
Ruge's Dodge Night
Modifieds
$2000 to win
+ all other divisions
This week's bonus $$ sponsor
Modified - WLR Construction
Spectator Gates open at 5:00 Pit Gates open at 4:30
Adults $12 Kids $3 (11 and under)
Family
4 Pack-2 Adults 2 Kids +$20 in food vouchers for $40
Attention Racers & Fans:
End of Points for all divisions
is Sept 18
OVRP’s
Dirt Oval - http://www.ovrpdirtoval.com/
Looks
like another regular point race for the Dirt Oval this coming Saturday, along
with a World Formula point race, per the schedule on their website.
OVRP’s
road course: http://www.ovrp.com/ovrp/pages/home.asp
From their website:
Sat Practice 10
Points Race # 16
CLOSED SUNDAY
Former
OVRP Dirt Oval runners:
Last week, at the
end of this session, I had this: “I’m
not sure if there were other results from other tracks, but it is doubtful,
what with “Mother Nature” doing her thing last Friday and Saturday.”
Well,
for sure there were some results that I missed.
And while I was at OCFS last Saturday night, I spoke with Tom Hindley,
Sr. and found out that both of his sons, Tim and Tom, Jr. also raced at the
Dirt Oval.
Those
missed results from a week ago:
At
Utica Rome, A.J. Filbeck was 6th in the Sportsman feature. At Borgers, Tiffany Wambold was 1st
in the 270 Micro Sprint Rookie feature, while Luke
Schostkewitz was 18th. At
For
this past weekend:
At
Accord, Greg Hastie was 5th and Lex Burritt was a DNQ in the
Modifieds. Brian Krummel was 2nd
and Mike Ruggiero 5th in the Sportsman feature. Kyle Rohner was the Spec Sportsman feature
winner, with Rich Coons 16th and Anthony Perrego 18th.
At
OCFS, in the Big Block Modified feature, Tim Hindley was 6th, Danny
Creeden 11th, Jimmy Johnson 20th and Clinton Mills 22nd. In the Small Block Modified feature, Tim was
1st, Danny 9th, Tom Hindley 15th, Jamie
Yannone 16th and Lex Burritt 17th, after making hard
contact with the first turn wall. In the
Sportsman class, Mike Ruggiero was 2nd, Matt Hitchcock 3rd,
Rich Coons 4th, Bobby Hassenmayer 6th, Joe Conklin 11th
and Matt Janiak 23rd, after breaking while leading. Keith Still and Anthony Perrego were both
DNQ’s
At
Utica/Rome, AJ Filbeck was 5th and Rich Coons 12th in the
Sportsman feature.
Michael
Storms was 13th in the Modified feature at
At
The
CRSA 305 Sprint Cars were at Devil’s Bowl and Chuck Alessi was 2nd
with Danny Hennessey 4th in the feature.
Danny
Creeden was 7th at Penn Cann in the Modified feature.
Michael
Storms was placed 22nd after he left the ball park on turn three up
at Rolling Wheels, in the Modified 100 lapper.
At
David
Webb was 7th and Lauren Cooper 11th, in the SK Light
feature at
John
Guarinao was 17th in the Modified feature at New Egypt.
Billy
VanInwegen was the feature winner at
Note: The final point race for OCFS was last
Saturday. Here’s how the former runners
at OVRP’s Dirt Oval did, point standing wise, for the 2009 racing season at OC:
Big
Block Modifieds:
Danny
Creeden – 6, Clinton Mills – 14, Tim
Hindley – 21, Michael Storms – 24, Tom Hindley – 34, Jamie Yannone – 37, Jimmy
Johnson – 42 and Billy VanInwegen – 47.
Small
Block Modifieds:
Tom
Hindley – 7, Danny Creeden – 11, Tim Hindley – 15, Lex Burritt – 19, Jamie
Yannone – 21, Michael Storms – 25 and Clinton Mills 30
Sportsman:
Mike
Ruggiero – 1, Matt Hitchcock – 2, Rich Coons – 3, Joe Conklin – 7, Anthony
Perrego – 9, Matt Janiak – 11, Bobby Hassenmayer – 14, Doc Young – 17, Brian
Krummel – 51 and Keith Still - 53
Paul
Martin:
Who might Paul Martin be, you ask? Well, he was the son of Ray Martin, who was the former announcer at OCFS and author of the book “The Hard Clay”, a book about the history of the Orange County Fair Speedway. Sadly, Paul left us way to early in life, at the age of 51. I’ve never met the man, myself, but did have a couple of phone conversations with him. He was interested in coming out with a volume two of “The Hard Clay”.
A
few blocks from my house is where Jeremy Markle keeps his modifieds. The VanInwegens – Billy V and Emily, also
have their racing machines at Markles shop.
Paul was one of those that was always at the
shop – a crew member, in a way. On Billy
V’s website, he has a photo of Paul. You
can see it if you go here: http://www.freewebs.com/billyvracing/ Just scroll down a little.
His
obituary:
Paul R. Martin
Sparrowbush, NY
Paul R Martin of Sparrowbush, died August 30, 2009, at
He was born in
Paul loved fishing, camping and the outdoors. His greatest
love and commitment was his two daughters, and dirt track racing, which was introduced to him by his loving father.
Paul is survived by his wife, Dorothy Cusano Martin; two
daughters, Shanon and Cora, at home; three brothers: Phillip and his wife, Lynn
of Pine Bush, Peter of Kiamesha Lake, and Michael of Montgomery; sister, Susan
Maitner and her husband, Jack of Baca Raton, FL; several nieces, nephews, as
well as an aunt and two cousins.
Visitation hours are 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, September 8, at
Applebee-McPhillips Funeral Home, Inc. 130 Highland Ave.,
Arrangements by Applebee-McPhillips Funeral
Home, Inc.; 845-343-6309.
Nofri
(Nick) Fornoro, Sr.:
It’s
hard to believe that come September 27th, Nick Fornoro, Sr. will
have been gone for two years already. I
got to know Nick maybe about eight years ago when he was sitting at the same
table as I was at an ACOT Banquet. I was
fortunate to have been able to take him to a couple of events, and had a blast
doing it.
If
you recall, in my last column, I made mention that I had nominated George Rice,
the 1947 ARDC driving champion for induction into the National Midget Auto
Racing Hall of Fame, and George will be inducted this coming January, at the
Chili Bowl. My next project is to see if
I can accumulate enough information on Nick’s racing career, so I can send his
name in, as a nominee. Nick was the ARDC
driving champion in 1950 and also was the first NASCAR Midget driving champion
in 1953. So, if anyone out there reading
this has something I might be able to use, by all means please contact me at
the e-mail address at the end of this column,
Other racin’ stuff:
In quite a few of my columns, I have, in a
way, criticized the car counts for the Tobias SpeedSTR shows, noting that in
about 99% of the time, they only seem to get about a dozen cars, or
thereabouts. One of the main problems,
if you have one of these cars, is the fact that they can’t be run with any
other “midget” organizations – only amongst themselves at various tracks,
mostly here in the east. In a way, the
same applies to the other cars that Tobias has come out with – the Slingshots.
While checking out the
Internet, I came across the following from the “Speedway Entertainment”
website:
“
Come
join a series that has your best interests in mind. Rich started this series to
give his Slinger teams the opportunity to advance to the next level in
Motorsports. Most other series costs to compete are enormous or their purse
structure is miniscule for what you spend. The STR's offer you a platform to
get the recognition you deserve, don't get caught up in a division that doesn't
care. Our public relations team for the STR's works
diligently to get every ounce of exposure for the teams that compete
with us. Join the STR's, this series has been very
successful in just a short 1 1/2 years with over 30 STR's in competition. As
you all know since 1999 (just 10 years) Speedway Entertainment has produced
over 600 of its beloved Slingers and the STR's are sure to follow. You are all
familiar with the Speedway Entertainment program, you
understand that it is geared to offer you affordable racing with a purse
structure that is expectable for what you spend. So, stick with the program
that has proven to work.
This is
an exciting opportunity that Rich is offering, but will be limited. So get your
order in soon as possible. Most of you are still racing and that is fine, we
don't need your Slinger today. Get your deposit in on your new STR and start
getting geared up to compete in one of the Nation's most exciting series in
2010.
Call
Rich at Speedway Entertainment for further details. Remember this $5000.00 "Cash
for Slingers" stimulus program is limited, so call today and get your
2010 season started. Rich, 717-866-7450.”
In a
way, I guess this is a pretty good deal if you just want to race the SpeedSTR
cars alone, and not travel to other race events, like, say the ARDC, here in
the east.
The
website: http://www.speedwayentertainment.com/
More
racin’ stuff:
How many of you have gone into the pits at a race? Prior to going in, there is a piece of paper with lots of “legal” words on it for you to sign. Most everyone just goes ahead and signs the paper, since they are in a hurry to get pit-side. Many, many years ago, noted race mechanic Clay Smith, signed such a paper, and he was fatally injured when hit by an out of control racecar, while he was in the “pits”. At that time, at the track that this happened at, the pits were on the front stretch of the track – a common thing back then. His widow sued USAC and the race promoters, claiming that the document released USAC from liability for the negligence of others, but not explicitly release USAC from it’s own negligence.
USAC
was released from any claims on a 2 to 1 verdict, in USAC’s favor by the three
appeals court judges who heard the case.
Smith's attorneys failed to show any willful lack of
duty, or any predictable knowledge that existing conditions would cause a
serious accident.
Note: The above was shown in an article about Clay
Smith on the Motorsports Memorial website
A
simple plea for some assistance:
On
September 7th, Michael Sanchelli (Suitcase),
posted this on the Syracuse Forum:
“This morning a very young
(31 yrs old) John Romano passed away. John was a Sportsman and SS Sprint driver
at New Egypt Speedway. He was a great person. He left behind a wonderful wife
and one child, with another on the way. His family has been devestated with
medical bills and now the grief of losing a father and husband. I would like to
ask all the great fans and drivers of
Contact
info for New Egypt:
Track: 609-758-1900
Danny
Serrano (Pimp): 609-548-5794
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 a final partial list of last names beginning with the letter “S”, 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.
Note:
If you click on the names below, you should be led to info on that
particular driver and the circumstances he was involved with.
Bill Sheffler, Howard Shelly, Dennis Shelton, Lee Shepherd, George Sherrerd, Lyle Sherwood, Chris Shields, Jim Shinn,
Ron Shirkey, John Shoemaker, Wayne Shollenberger*, Ray Shollenberger*, Dwane Shultz, Bob Shupp, Hal Shuster,
Walt Shutt, Jerry Sides, Jo Siffert, Jeff Sikes, Metz Simmons (Mitchell Siemienski), Tommy Simonetti, Earl Sims,
Dave Skari, Buren Skeen, Don Skogmo, Bob Slater, Tony Slogar, Robert Smeltzer, Gordon Smiley, Clay Smith**,
Larry Smith, David Smith, George Smith, Jimmy Smith, Stan Smith, John Paul Smith, Gary Smith, Robert Smith,
Lou Smith, Glen Snider, J. B. Snow, Burt Sonner, Mike Sorokin, Martin South, Lowell Southam, Jay Southworth,
Les Spalding, Les Spangler, Mike Spence, Bill Spencer, Al Speth, Steve Spitler, Herb Spivey, Walt Sprague, Alan Stacey,
Gwyn Staley, Bill Staley, Eddie Staneck, Robbie Stanley, Hank Stanley, Rex Stansell, Chuck Stapleton, Bud Sterrett,
Dick Stetler, Tom Stewart, Steve Stiles. Brad Stillwagon***, Rolf Stommelen, Dick Stoneking, Jimmy Storm, John Stout,
Emile Stricker, Stubby Stubblefield, Kirk Sturgeon, Fred Stutz, Court Summerfield, Howard Sumner, Henry Surtees,
Mike Swangler, Bob Swanson, B. J. Swanson, Hal Swarmer, Paul Swedberg, Max Sweeney and Bob Sweikert.
* Wayne and Ray Shollenberger were brothers that passed away three
and a half months apart. Some say the
correct spelling of their name was: Schollenberger.
** Clay Smith was not a driver, but a
first class mechanic.
From Motorsports Memorial:
Clay
Smith was the chief mechanic for J.C. Agajanian, the 1951 AAA Midwest Sprint
Car Champion and the owner of the 1952 Indy winner Troy
Ruttman's Kuzma - Offenhauser. Smith's first visit to the
In 1950 Smith did the engine preparation on a big Mercury sedan belonging to
Bill Stroppe's wife, which was entered in the Mobilgas Economy Run. With
Stroppe as co-driver, Clay Smith won the overall sweepstakes award.
Clay Smith had been in charge of the heavily-financed Lincoln Team that swept
the first four places of the Mexican Road Race in 1953, and the first three
spots in the "International Touring" class in the Carrera
Panamericana in 1952 and 1953, then a round of the World Sportscar
Championship. Smith rode as mechanic and co-pilot with driver Chuck Stevenson,
the pair won the class, 7th place overall in 1952 and did the same in 1953.
Team
Clay Smith's driver again was Chuck Stevenson, the 1952 AAA National Champion
in the Springfield Welding Special, who was in contention for the 1954 title.
While running second late in the Ted Horn Memorial held on Labor Day 06
September 1954 at DuQuoin circuit, Stevenson's Kuzma - Offenhauser, the
Agajanian Special, came up to lap Rodger Ward's Trevis - Offenhauser, the
Central Excavating Special. The two cars touched wheels, sending Ward's car
spinning into the pits, striking down Clay Smith and several other people
working there. Smith was killed instantly. Eight others were injured, some from
the rush to get out of the path of the car.
J.C. Agajanian
escaped injury by leaping over the pit wall. He yelled to Smith "Let's
go" when he saw the car coming, but Smith was too absorbed in giving a pit
signal to Stevenson, and stood his ground. Ward's car flipped after hitting the
guard rail in Smith's pit and apparently carried Smith with it as it ended up
several pits away. Ward suffered only minor cuts and bruises.
Clay Smith was Ward's close friend and former crew chief, and the accident
shocked Rodger Ward deeply. As he recalled later, "I almost quit that
night. Clay had been a mentor to me and was one of the men I most respected in
racing". Pallbearers at his funeral included J. C. Agajanian, Chuck
Stevenson, Chuck Daigh, Bill
Vukovich, Johnny
Mantz, Troy
Ruttman and Walt
Faulkner, among others.
For his successes, in 1954 the Ford Motor Company appeared ready to sign up on
Clay Smith for its factory competition department. Ironically, he assured his
friend Bill Stroppe that Du Quoin on Labor Day was going to be his last issue
in dirt track racing, before concentrating on performance work for Ford.
***
Brad Stillwagon was the very first driver that was fatally injured in an ARDC
race, having been fatally injured on June 1, 1940
Video
time:
This
coming Saturday, September 12th, marks the 6th
anniversary of the passing of country singer Johnny Cash. I was lucky to have seen him perform in
person, many times, with the first time being around 1955 or 1956 at the
Newburgh Armory. Heck, Johnny didn’t
even have an album out yet! Back then;
it cost all of four bucks to see the show.
So, if you’re not a fan of Mr. Cash, you might want to skip over what
follows. If you are, then enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_HL0WA_bas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zgja26eNeY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnS57qkFnc4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcuMcs2BFz4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCqpPj87ekE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go&feature=related
Other (non racing)
news:
So, if you don’t have
any kind of health insurance, possibly in the future, when there is some kind
of health plan passed, you might find your self getting fined $3,800.00. Hard to believe, huh? Check this out: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090909/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_health_care_overhaul
Walmart – out for the
“kill”?
Well, it is being
reported in this article, in the link below, that they are. One thing that I have some concerns on is the
$4.00 cost for prescriptions at Walmart.
It seems that they (Walmart) has, in a way,
caused other pharmacies to go out of business.
If more go out, and Walmart is left alone, what might become of the
$4.00 prescriptions? You see where I’m
going, right?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090909/us_time/08599192069800
Closing with these:
Maybe you’ve received this in a e-mail, like I have. Joe Legal v/s Jose Illegal.
Joe
Legal vs. Jose Illegal
lHere is an example of why hiring illegal alien is not
economically
productive for the State of
You have 2 families..."Joe Legal" and "Jose Illegal". Both
families
have 2 parents, 2 children and live in
any State)
"Joe Legal" works in construction, has a Social Security
Number, and
makes $25.00 per hour with payroll taxes
deducted....
"Jose Illegal" also works in construction, has "NO" Social
Security
Number, and gets paid $15.00 cash "under the table".
Joe Legal...$25.00 per
hour x 40 hours $1000.00 per week, $52,000 per year
Now take 30% away for state federal tax
Joe Legal now has $31,231.00
Jose Illegal...$15.00 per hour x 40 hours $600.00 per week, $31,200.00 per year
Jose Illegal pays no taxes...
Jose Illegal now has $31,200.00
Joe Legal pays Medical and Dental Insurance with
limited coverage
$1000.00 per month
$12,000.00 per year
Joe Legal now has $19,231.00
Jose Illegal has full Medical and Dental coverage through the state
and local clinics at a cost of $0.00 per year
Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00
Joe Legal makes too
much money is not eligible for Food Stamps or
welfare
Joe Legal pays for food
$1,000.00 per month
$12,000.00 per year
Joe Legal now has $ 7,231.00
Jose Illegal has no documented income and is eligible for Food Stamps
and Welfare
Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00
Joe Legal pays rent of
$1,000.00 per month
$12,000.00 per year
Joe Legal is now in the hole... minus (-) $4,769.00
Jose Illegal receives a $500 per month Federal rent subsidy
Jose Illegal pays rent
$500.00 per month
$6,000.00 per year
Jose Illegal still has $25,200.00
Joe Legal now works
overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after work.
Jose Illegal has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family.
Joe Legal's and Jose Illegal's children both attend the same school..
Joe Legal pays for his children's lunches
Jose Illegal's children get a government sponsored lunch.
Jose Illegal's children have an after school ESL program.
Joe Legal's children go home.
*Joe Legal and Jose Illegal both enjoy the same Police and Fire Services,
** but Joe paid for them and Jose did not pay.
* Don't vote/support any politician that supports illegal aliens...
Its PAST time to take a stand for
And, another e-mail that I received:
WHY
IS IT.......IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS
HARD LABOR......BUT IF YOU CROSS THE USA BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET A DRIVERS
LICENSE, SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, AND FREE HEALTH CARE?
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