My name is Bill Foland but most of you know me as "BF". Ya, I know, go ahead think of all the nicknames that you can but it is really easy....it is my initials. (B.F.) Now that we have that out of the way, Bob Gerould and Jim Allen have asked me to write a little something so I will go with what I know, and that is Sprint Car, Midget and Silver Bullet racing. I will mix in some NASCAR stuff every now and again but I will mainly stick with the open wheel stuff.
My first column will consist of statements, questions and general topics from the 1999 year and the upcoming year 2000. So here we go.....Mark Kinser is the most underrated and misunderstood driver in sprint car history...Brad Doty was a great sprint car driver but he might be an even better human being...I love non-wing racing...I wish they still ran without wings at Calistoga...I bet Frankie Kerr could win lots of non-wings races if he did that full time...Does anybody remember Chuck Knuckey??? I wonder what Billy Kennelly is doing these days??? Dave Blaney/Dale Earnhardt Jr./Matt Kenseth, I wish Blaney the best in the Winston Cup battle for Rookie Of The Year...Dave Steele could drive a wheel barrel fast on any surface...Brad Furr is a qualifying treat...Good thing Jeff Swindell doesn't win that much because I can't stand the wing dance...I miss Kevin Gobrecht.
...How many more Championships can Brent Kaeding win??? How many Championships will Tim Kaeding win??? Cory Kruseman is a very talented driver that can go a long way and can teach lots about sprint car racing at his new school...Who will be in the Zemco 1Z??? How about the Apple 12??? What ever happened to Bobby Davis Jr.??? Jeff Shepard 2000 World Of Outlaws Rookie Of The Year...Danny Wood will open some eyes...Good luck to Jason Meyers and Brad Furr on the World Of Outlaws Support Tour...What will Bud Kaeding do this year??? I miss seeing the Steve Kinser/Sammy Swindell/ Doug Wolfgang battles...How will Greg Hodnett and Guy Forbrook do on the World Of Outlaws??? I miss Dave Bradway Jr.
...Danny Lasoski had a championship year but came up just short...I think Al Peterson and Bob Miller were separated at birth...Dean Jacobs is a very good All-Star driver...Kendra Jacobs is a very good writer...Kenny Jacobs is the best All-Star ever...If you are in a racing fantasy pool, go with Jac Haudenschild, he always bounces back strong after an off year...Have you ever seen what Peter Murphy can do with a torque tube??? Morrie Williams is a very nice man...Katie makes some great cookies...How many Faria's are there??? How ever many there are they all stand on the loud pedal...The one track that I have never been to that I would love to go to -Williams Grove...Dave Argabright is a great writer...Tony Jones might finally be able to get out of his dad's (Bubby) shadow...Richard Griffin has become one of the most consistent non-wing drivers in the country
...Mark Monico's Race for Research night is the best event of the year for a great cause...Dave Darland won in everything that he got in last year. What can he do for an encore??? Fred Rahmer, Brent Kaeding and Gary Wright are THE BEST locals in the country...Karl Kinser is funny...How will Joey Saldana do this year??? Good to see Damien Gardner get a shot at a good ride (Tiner 83) in a 410, keep your eye on this guy...Stevie Smith is a very good Sprint Car driver...I bet Steve Smith could still win races...Jimmy Sills will drive anything, anytime, anywhere...Ryan Newman could be the next Tony Stewart...Floyd Alvis can collect social security and BCRA midget points this year...J.J Yeley and Scott Benic will be a tough combination...Roger Crockett might literally be the quietest sprint car driver...Tony Elliott impressed me with a wing on at The Sacramento Mile...What is Tyler Walker going to do???
Donny Schatz should have gotten a Professional Bull Rider's belt buckle for his performance at the Las Vegas World Of Outlaws finale...Kelly Kinser runs the bottom as well as anybody since Bobby Allen...Jack Hewitt-Hero...Kasey Kahne could be the next Tyler Walker or the first Kasey Kahne...Billy Pauch should have raced with Jud Larson...Johnny Herrera had the most surprising year on the World Of Outlaws...What happened to Garry Lee Maier??? Rick Williams could be a future USAC 360 Champion...The Chesson's are the future of the World Of Outlaws...Brian Sperry did a great job working with Todd Bammer last year...Butch Schroeder could challenge for the All-Star title if he ran all the shows...Dale Blaney might have a breakout year back in the Amoco 93...I wish Aaron Berryhill would come back to California...Derek Davidson was having a championship year until he got brutally injured in a crash at Terre Haute...What was a bigger upset? - Jason Statler at Santa Maria against the WoO or Al Roepke against the All-Stars??? Eric Gordon was reborn last year...Dan Jones will win a lot of races in Central PA this year...Is there a bigger character than Kevin Olson??? I remember a game of Bun Darts at Chili Bowl between KO and Ken Schrader's wife...Chuck Gurney Jr. will be the next Chuck Gurney...Knoxville Nationals, Dirt Cup and The Gold Cup use to be great parties... They are still great races though.
Craig Dollansky is the most underrated driver in the country...John Heydenreich-Gasser...Kevin Pylant got married last year...Jimmy Carr is getting married this year...Amy Barnes, Sarah McCune, Becca Anderson, Sarah Fischer, Shauna Hogg, Shawna Wilskey and Judi Bates; race car drivers in no particular order...Critter Malone is a great name but I don't want to know how he got it...Danny Smith just keeps on going...Terry Pletch drove his heart out at Terre Haute last year with a flat front tire, and won...Russ Gamester from Midget Champion to Silver Bullet front runner...Ed Lynch Jr. has the ugliest paint job...Chad Riolo drove a great race last year at the Fall Nationals at Chico...Lindsey Casto retired from racing last year...I think Joe Gaerte did too...Chad Kemenah is the best racer that you probably have never heard of...Bill Rose gets the tree trimmer of the year for his exit of Manzanita...Dan Drinan is the best driver-builder in the country...I have seen Verne Sweeney take some hard crashes...Billy Wilburn: NASCAR tire changer and pretty good 360 sprint car driver...Did anyone notice that Keith Kauffman got faster last year??? Kevin Besecker is an indoor midget hero...Herman Klein is Hash Brown's son...Jason Solwold is going on the road in 2000...Johnny Anderson was one of my favorite driver's ever...Look for Danny Sheridan to win the SCRA Rookie Of The Year in 2000...Chad Hillier could be the next Bobby Burrow...I wish Willie Kahne was still in California...Mike "The Rat" Andreetta was a master at Calistoga without a wing...Ronnie Day will win the Super Dirt Cup someday...The best rookie crop in NARC in years; Damien Gardner,Mike Faria, Ricci Faria and David Robinson...Tim Shaffer had a good rookie year with the World Of Outlaws...I wish Randy Hannagan well with the World Of Outlaws...Paul McMahan is missed around the California bullrings...Andy Hillenburg always has nice looking cars...Daryn Pittman and Kenny Woodruff will be good together...I would like to meet Bruce Ellis...Rick Hirst, NARC Champion and really nice guy...I can't wait for the Chili Bowl.
Well that is it for my first, and who knows, maybe - last column. If you have any comments or answers to my questions, feel free to e-mail me at autobiff2m@aol.com I would enjoy hearing what people have to say. Remember this was just random thoughts and statements and weren't meant to make anyone look or feel bad. Thanks for taking the time to read my first effort into auto racing journalism. BF
Editors note: We are proud to welcome Bill Foland to the HammerDown! Online team of contributors. BF is a RACER. He eats, & sleeps open-wheel racing. And why not? BF is a second generation guy who has been viewing races and working on cars since birth. He has been keeping stats on drivers and teams for as long as we've known him (15 years). He is, as they say, "plugged in". We know you'll dig his stuff. ED.