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HammerDown! Hats

BF's B.S. 07/01/01

Hello once again and I know what you are thinking, I just wrote a column last week. What is the occasion??? Well, I have been getting ALLOT of heat from my fans?? about not writing enough so you know who you are and you have guilted me into writing yet again. Since I have started going to the races this year to sell tires, fuel, parts, etc.. I have come to realize some new facts in racing. I enjoy being able to help a team out in need of a part or the right tire that goes out and wins the race. Take last night for instance at Calistoga. There was only 23 cars which is not the worst car count but just enough to make an A-Main field. It was a strong one with driver's like Steve Kent, Tim and Brent Kaeding, Peter Murphy and Kevin Pylant just to name a few. With the track being extremely dry and a very warm day in the wine country, it looked to be a tire eater and it was. Guys were running over after their heat race looking for hard tires and I was lucky enough to be able to have enough for everybody.

After watching the race at Calistoga and the WoO race at Knoxville it became very clear to me just how much tires have to do with a race car. Even on the non-winged USAC series race from Eldora they were talking about tires on the ultra slick surface. At Calistoga it came down to the correct tire choice, which in California rarely do you need to make a choice because of the right rear tire rule at the Golden State races. The right rear tire rule in Golden State is an HTW 14 which is fairly soft but with the California tracks rarely being abrasive it normally can go a whole main event. With Calistoga being a fast more abrasive track that can lay rubber down, the Golden State decided to allow at Hoosier 55 be allowed to run at Calistoga. On the left side normally a d10 compound tire will be fine but at Calistoga a D12 is more like the tire to have because you are driving very hard off the left side. Last night it was so slick that most people went even harder with a D15 left rear. The fronts even burn off with D10 on the left and a D12 on the right, but last night guys were looking for D15 fronts. Steve Kent picked the correct combination as he drove to victory with a late race pass of Brent Kaeding. Kent and Henderson chose the harder 55 while Kaeding went with the 14. Kent had tire left at the end and had to abuse it to get to the front. The track laid rubber down on both ends of the race track which played into Kent's hands. Had the track just stayed slick, the 55 probably would never have gotten going. That is why it is called racing, you can make the right decision or the wrong one at any time. At Knoxville it looked like Jeff Shepard in Guy Forbrook's car had the right combination until a yellow just past halfway played into Stevie Smith's hand.

The first ever 40-lapper at Knoxville looked very exciting for everybody except maybe Sammy Swindell who was lapped traffic and Steve Kinser who crashed down the back chute. It is funny how when Sammy is lapped he will race like crazy, but when he is trying to lap somebody he always has to make a crack about that guy racing him. Did anybody else catch that ridiculous remark that Sammy said about being the only Outlaw left? When they asked him where the World Of Outlaws came from he said that he is the only real Outlaw left because he come in, takes ALL the money and goes home. That is so silly because mostly he has been just going home and last night he was in the way. OK I usually like to stay pretty impartial but that really got to me when I heard that. There are plenty of guys that are having way better years and you don't see them tooting there horns (Schatz, Hillenburg, Dollansky) just to name a few.

Stevie Smith went for the gamble of a smaller tank and it worked but I wonder how much fuel he had left? It worked out for him as he is one of the nicest driver's on tour that I have met in my travels.

BF Notes: Danny Wood has had the year of his life with a win at Vegas and a TV win at Eagle...Randy Hannagan has had some impressive runs in his brother's Eagle...Andy Hillenburg is still stomp and steer, in a good way...Craig Dollansky will win the WoO points some day...Jac Haudenschild is really struggling right now but he always bounces back...Good to talk to Willie Kahne from Mark Kinser's crew a while back, I miss ya buddy...Also heard from Kendra Jacobs on the computer the other night, always nice to talk to her...Congrats to Mindy Stephens on making the Indianapolis Colts cheerleading squad, she is truly one of the sweetest people I know...Where did Craig Keel come from? He has been strong in some recent PA shows...Billy Pauch returned to sprint cars with a win at Grandview...Lance Dewease is en fuego!!!!!!!...Brent Kaeding debuted a new Maxim car with the extended roll cage and ran 2nd at the dirt cup and won at Hanford...Steve Kent won his 2nd Dirt Cup with a stellar drive...I was very impressed with Destiny Hays after a 6th place finish at the Civil War race at Marysville...Billy Wallace stands on the gas...Jay Drake finally snapped out of his "slump" with a sweep of Eldora last week...What is Kasey Kahne up too???...Chuckie "cheese" Gurney Jr. has been on a tear lately on pavement in California...Good to see Jack Hewitt still winning races...Shane Matthews has won a couple of BCRA midget races with former sprint car owner/mechanic Rod Fauver twisting the wrenches...Congrats to Cory and Carrie Kruseman on the birth of their child last week, it continues to be his best year ever...That is all I have as I will write again soon I promise........BF

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