The Kenny Woodruff #21
won the first World of Outlaws race with Jimmy Boyd at the wheel. Johnny
Anderson drove it to Calistoga Classic WoO glory later that same year.
Karl Kinser's #5m (1996) looked like this.
Bakersfield Speedway
in Oildale, California was the destination this past weekend (Sept. 15-16,
2006). USAC Western Midgets and Ford Focus Midgets were part of a six division
card Saturday night. If I ever promote races you won't see me throwing a
six-division race. Ever. I get so bored when the other cars are on the track
I often question why I am at the track at all. Thankfully the midgets at
Bakersfield usually overpower my negative thoughts simply because they are
so darn fun to watch. I've said it a million times (okay - at least seven
times) - that the midgets are a perfect fit for Bakersfield Speedway. The
track is fast, high-banked, plenty wide (for midgets), and full of good
clay. You can quickly separate the best racers from the rest of field because
the track is so challenging. Rookie Alfred Galedrige said he couldn't
believe how busy he was in the cockpit. The track always has a deep cushion,
and usually just enough ripples, and ridges to keep the cars jumping. Maybe
someday there will be a USAC National Midget race or special event at the
track that will get some of you sprint car heads out to Oildale. ...Galedrige,
(16), looked sharp in his heat race with a rim-riding win. Likewise, SCRA
top-runner, Steven Williams, (23), was impressive in his Bakersfield
Speedway debut. ...Matt Mitchell is presently the favorite for 'best
cushion abuser' in 2006. His style is HammerDown! to the fifth power. ...Hall
of Famer Jimmy Sills was in the pits helping Galedrige at Bakersfield.
...The first heat in
our "Baddest Car" poll had two transfers to the Final 30. They
were: Karl Kinser's MOPAR #5m (1999), and the OFIXCO #21- (80's).
The Irwindale Speedway
USAC race scheduled for October 14th has been cancelled. Irwindale Speedway
officials told USAC that "noise" was the main reason for the cancellation.
All cars hoping to compete in the Turkey night sprint car and midget races
will have to be 'mufflered up' in a big way. It seems clear with the cancellation
that a zero tolerance policy is going to be in effect on Thanksgiving.
...The
Gold Cup Race of Champions is an institution in Northern California. There
is no bigger race to the natives from Sacramento to Chico and all points
in between. 53 of them have now been contested following this past weekend's
World of Outlaws sanctioned event at Silver Dollar Speedway. We took in
all three nights of action and came away with the following thoughts and
notes. ...The Donny Schatz fire on Thursday night was among the most
frightening things I've ever seen at a sprint car race. His fuel cell was
punctured and it ignited - sending flames higher than the scoreboard on
the back chute. Brent Kaeding got to Schatz just ahead of the fire
crew. With an extinguisher in hand - BK - always thinking on his feet -
was the first to actually douse the burning Schatz. Donny's Dad, Danny
wondered aloud to us Friday what the family could do to ever repay Kaeding.
It was that kind of deal. So many factors kept this from becoming the worst
tragedy in Gold Cup history, beginning with the fact that Schatz's flipping
car landed upright. That made it easier for Schatz to unbuckle and get out
of his car. Thankfully, Schatz never lost consciousness. As it was, Donny
did suffer burns but anyone who saw the crash and fire as it unfolded could
only say that Schatz was very lucky to be able to race again two nights
later. ...On Saturday Schatz transferred from the D-main to the C-Main but
came up one spot short of a B-Main berth. He used a provisional to start
the A-Main and roared past 17 cars from 25th to eighth. You can't measure
the heart Donny Schatz showed this weekend. ...The racing was very close
most of the weekend. I was dazzled by the precision moves of many. Saturday
night winner Daryn Pittman made one razor-thin slice of two lapped
cars in turn three late in the feature that was as good a pass as you will
ever see. Craig Dollansky's traffic driving on Thursday was special
too. He put the car wherever it needed to be and executed a rare steal of
Danny Lasoski's money. Lasoski had taken the lead from Dollansky
and looked to be on his way to a prelim win until Dollansky rebounded with
counter moves. ...It seemed like the entire USAC Western contingent was
watching the Chico races live. We saw Tony Hunt, Mike Murgoitio,
Ryan Kaplan, Jenna Frazier, and Bradley Galedrige at
one point or another in the pits. ...Justin Henderson, in my mind,
separated himself from some of the other first-time WoO travelers with a
strong run at Chico. ...Bud Kaeding was amazingly good in a second
Kaeding Performance Maxim. Bud - who doesn't have but a handful of winged
starts in the last five years, started 18th and finished sixth. He told
us post race that he hopes to race winged sprint cars a bunch more in the
near future. He also may get a shot at some dirt late-model racing. ...Joey
Saldana said he wants to win the Racer's Racing Series points standings
this year. He knows that only two more WoO shows are on the points
schedule though. The Williams Grove National Open and the Las Vegas
race in October remain. Saldana said he would consider racing the Trophy
Cup at Tulare if need be to gain some more points. ...I am happy that Kasey
Kahne made 'the chase' but I don't care for the concept that limits
NASCAR's championship options to ten teams. ...The track itself at Chico
was as good on Saturday night as I can remember. It was hard packed yet
moist enough to be fast. It provided a perfect showcase for the 850-plus
horsepower sprinters. ...Maybe his result wasn't what he hoped for but Sean
Becker impressed me this weekend with his blend of aggressiveness and
skill. ...Kudos to Billy Wallace - who with the help of tuner Larry
Shelton put the #83v car into the Gold Cup A-Main. Wallace earned his
first RRS points with a top-15 finish. ...Jac Haudenschild is so
much fun to watch race. 'Haud' was as always HammerDown! The 48 year-old
from Ohio still runs the rim at Chico in a fashion that is uniquely his
own. He seemingly gets a better drive off the turns than others do at Silver
Dollar. ...Jason Solwold was excellent on Friday in scoring a prelim
win. It was his first WoO victory. We'll predict it will be far from his
last. ...Ted Johnson, the founder of the World of Outlaws, made the
trip to Chico despite another battle with lung cancer. "TJ" smiled
and shook my hand from inside his town car parked in the infield. ...Jason
York is seeking a ride for 2007. York says he is selling his winged
sprint car, truck, and trailer. He has a ride stationed in Southern California,
and he will continue to run at Perris when his schedule allows. ...Dan
Menne is a better racer than I knew he was. Menne was in the mix all
weekend at Chico.
...Andy Forsberg
should be proud of his performance Thursday. The 2006 SDS champion finished
third behind Dollansky, and Lasoski. ...Some of the former racers we spotted
at Chico included Joe Hill, Johnny Tiner, Mitch Sue, Ron Horton, Tres
Gurney, Ed Watson, Jerry Ponzo, Ed Wilbur, Chuck Gurney, Greg Yanazzo, Richard
Forsberg, Jimmy Sills, Shane Carson, Brad Doty, Brian Crockett, Steve Scott,
and Shane Scott. ...Sills is now competing for fun in a Moto-X
series that uses older bikes. He races with Mike Zine - a name some
of the West Capital Raceway fans might remember. Speaking of WCR, make sure
to support Brenda & Johnny Anderson's big vintage race at Roseville
this weekend. Parnelli Jones is the headliner amongst a HUGE field
of super-modifieds, midgets, sprint cars, and big cars. The great Kenny
Takeuchi will be announcing the event.
...The
World of Outlaws announced they have a deal with
ESPN2 for some TV coverage in 2007. This can be a really good thing
if the right announcers, and producers are hired to represent the sport.
Sprint car racing ITSELF is extreme. The sport doesn't need overbearing
personalities stirring up stuff for the sake of stirring up stuff. It is
my opinion that, by nature, shit will happen and all ESPN2 needs to do is
cover it as professionally and as skillfully as possible. The 2007 WoO TV
deal on ESPN2, as I understand it, is a time-buy by the World of Outlaws.
In other words they are paying to be on ESPN2. There are eight one-hour
shows scheduled (eight
hours total programming). I
am happy that sprint car racing will have a chance to reach such a broad
audience.
We were able to see
five races in four nights in the span from Saturday (Sept. 2) through Tuesday
(Sept. 5). The stops were Calistoga, Madera, and Hanford - all in California.
Of course the notebook is overflowing with tidbits of info, and random thoughts.
...Dave Yingst and Rob Hart are the wrenches on Craig Dollansky's
car right now. The 'Crowd Pleaser', said his car was "so perfect"
at Calistoga that he felt he HAD to win the race. He did just that. As good
as Dollansky was at Chico in 2005, I'd have to list him among the two or
three favorites headed into this weekend's Gold Cup. ...The World of Outlaws
have adopted some rules in 2006 that I like. They told all racers to be
staged for their heat by the time the checkered flag of the prior heat falls.
So simple. So common sense - yet seldom executed at the majority of races
I've been to in my life. ...They have also added a second chalk line in
turn four to create a box where the front row cars must be lined up together
to get a green flag start. ...Danny Lasoski is in a groove right
now. The Dude won Saturday's race at `Stoga although he was challenged by
Paul McMahan on the final 'green-white-checkered' restart. McMahan
clearly threw caution to the wind by ripping the high-side, and it took
Lasoski slamming the door shut off turn four as they hit the white flag
to win it for the Roth #83. I loved seeing McMahan give the effort that
made the finish of the race suspenseful. Too many times we see boring last
two lap efforts from drivers willing to settle for second (usually because
of points). ...Randy Hannagan made me laugh on Sunday at Calistoga.
He was the designated T-shirt shooter and he used a slingshot to 'ham it
up' with the crowd. He was having so much fun I couldn't help but smile.
Johnny Gibson and I were announcing and we were both waiting for
a chance to have some wordplay fun with Hannagan's new sponsor Penthouse
Magazine. The opportunity to say "Hannagan is spreading out a big lead"
never materialized. ...McMahan told us he hasn't been to his Nashville home
since late May. He hasn't seen his kids since the end of the Knoxville Nationals
(three weeks ago). ...Jac Haudenschild should be extra strong at
Chico this year. Rodney Tiner and Dean 'Bonzai' Bruns share
crew duties on the Rick Wright #35. Tiner has always had fast setups
for Chico, and Haud is really good there too. The Wild Child owns two Gold
Cup wins. ...Terry McCarl fought engine woes most of the Calistoga
weekend but he looked fast when the car cooperated. I've always enjoyed
talking to McCarl who spent time in California in the early nineties. He
was a San Jose Speedway regular. ...Jason Statler won the 2006 Calistoga
Speedway points championship. ...Becca Anderson set quick-time Sunday
at Calistoga. It was her first visit to the big half-mile dirt track. ...Jason
Martin impressed me with his willingness to hold the pedal down. ...A
veteran crew chief that I respect told me that Justin Henderson is
a guy to keep an eye on. The feeling is that once Henderson sees the World
of Outlaws tracks a few times - he will become a threat to run up front.
...We missed
the Altamont USAC (BCRA & CASA) races Saturday but we were not shocked
when we heard that Kody Swanson won the midget feature. It was only
his second midget race. In his first race he broke the track record at the
Tracy, CA half-mile. ...Nick Green dominated the sprint car feature
leading every lap for his first USAC win. Nick is a great kid and I think
we will hear his name lots in the near future. ...Monday it was off to Madera
for a big USAC Western show. The midgets put on a great race ultimately
won by Bobby Grewohl. He was strong in holding back Ryan Kaplan
and Evan Margesen. ...Jerome Rodela had to jump into an
unfamiliar car Monday following a deal at Altamont Saturday. I am told,
although I didn't see it, that Rodela was the innocent victim in the car
crushing Altamont crash. Rodela is the USAC Western points leader, defending
his 2005 championship. ...Alfred Galedrige was fast again. ...The
Ford Focus cars at Madera are racier than at most tracks. The size of the
Madera Speedway paved facility seems to really test the Focus drivers. Laura
Hayes won the Ford Focus feature with an impressive performance. ...Bradley
Galedrige dominated the sprint car race lapping up to sixth place. ...Tuesday's
track was Kings Speedway for the National Sprint Tour. The Elite Promotions
staff deserves high praise for putting on a successful promotion with relatively
short notice. The place had temporary 'fair-style' concession stands, and
an air-conditioned bathroom trailer. Quality Sound brought out their boomin'
system, and The Umbrella Girls looked stunning. ...It was 'Hanford-hot'
Tuesday. The track changed since I was last there at the end of the 2004
season. The turns were not as wide (deep) or as high banked. The front chute
was noticeably more narrow. Behind Lasoski - who ran off - there was a great
battle for second between Jason Solwold, and Stevie Smith.
Solwold ended up earning the runner-up. Smith, in my opinion, is a big addition
to the NST drivers roster. He is a skilled racer. ...Kerry Madsen
did a good job in scoring fifth place finish despite his limited laps at
Kings Speedway. ...Travis Rilat was the show in the B-Main. In his
first Hanford try - he rode the rim to earn a transfer spot from deep in
the pack. ...Blake Robertson set quick-time in his own BR MotorSports
car. ...Tommy Tarlton has a new sponsor in Fresno First Bank. ...I
spent time prepping for announcing at Hanford by attempting to compile a
"All-Time Winner's List" for Kings Speedway. Here are the results
(updated following Tuesday's race.) ... #1 Brent Kaeding (45). #2
Steve Kent (20). #3 Ronnie Day (17). #4 Ricci Faria
(15), #4 Jimmy Sills (15). #6 Danny Sheridan (12), #6 Jerome
Warmerdam (12). #8 Monte Faccinto (11). #9 Tim Kaeding
(9). #10 Chuck Miller (8), #10 Tommy Tarlton (8). #12 Ron Shuman
(7), #12 Steve Kinser (7). #14 Luke Babereia (6), #14 Billy
Boat (6), #14 Bud Kaeding (6), #14 Gene Manhire (6), #14
Davey Pombo (6), #14 Blake Robertson (6). #20 Robby Flock
(5), #20 Tim Green (5), #20 Kevin Pylant (5), #20 Craig
Stidham (5), #20 Jeff Swindell (5). #24 Sammy Swindell
(4), #24 Rip Williams (4), #24 Danny Lasoski (4).
...The
World of Outlaws show at Calistoga was a model of efficiency with both nights
ending before 9:30 PM. Kudos to all involved. ...Jeremy Campbell
was very impressive in his first `Stoga run. On Sunday night he finished
fifth after starting in the rear.
Yahoo!! The Outlaws
are coming! I always get excited as the time approaches for the Harvest
Classic at Calistoga and the Gold Cup at Chico.
This year, the NST will also throw in a date at Hanford, a track that seems
to produce exciting racing. The Calistoga dates remain over the Labor Day
weekend. This year it is a two-night affair on Saturday and Sunday. It will
be fun to see who shows up for the World of Outlaws sanctioned event that
was won last year by Donny Schatz. The NST guys have the weekend
off so hopefully many of them will run `Stoga. ...We made a quick trip to
Irwindale for the USAC Western Sprint Cars and Ford Focus Midgets on Saturday
night (Aug. 26, 2006). Tony Hunt put a 'smack-down' on the field,
lapping up to fifth on the fast half-mile. Hunt's 2006 success has been
remarkable. He now owns 60% of the wins in the series. ...Bradley Galedrige
looked as good as I've seen him look in a sprint car this year. He raced
from eleventh to third in the feature. ...Audra Sasselli was back
in the Ford Focus ranks for the first time since a traffic accident sidelined
her for two-thirds of the season. Sasselli hadn't raced since the Chili
Bowl in January but that didn't keep her from being competitive. She wound
up as the runner-up in the feature to Tim Skoglund.
Be sure to support the National Sprint Tour
event at Kings Speedway in Hanford, CA - September 5th, 2006. While you
are at it - you should take in the USAC Western races at Madera on Monday
September 4th as well. ...Dave Darland is such a racer's racer! He
was in competition at both the Springfield, IL Silver Crown race and the
Lakeside Sprint Bandits deal on Saturday. He finished fifth in the sprint
car race in Kansas City, KS, and he was 14th in the Silver Crown race.
Australian sprint car
racer Veronica McCann has lined up a ride with Brian Stewart.
She will run some laps in the series that feeds Indy Car style racing. Here
is a pic from McCann's 'fitting' at Kentucky...
Kahne - himself drove
in Monday nights Front Row Challenge at Oskaloosa. Kasey nabbed a fourth
place finish in a race won by Kenny Jacobs.
...Brett Miller,
a 17 year-old from Chico won the Friday night winged sprint car feature
at Silver Dollar Speedway. ...Greg DeCaires won the Civil War show
at Placerville Saturday night. The
defending series champion leads the winged 360's to Calistoga this Saturday
night (August 12, 2006). Andy Forsberg ran second at the last Calistoga
race. He said, "I've won championships and some races that are pretty special
to me, but a win a Calistoga versus a championship when it comes to my career,
that's pretty tough to compare because a win there would be pretty special
to me. I remember watching my dad race there for so many years, it would
definitely rank pretty high for me."
...Rich Vleck tips
that Carl Edwards will be running his first-ever ASCS Patriot race
at the Black Rock Speedway in Dundee, NY, this Saturday. Edwards has already
driven in one ASCS race this season, competing with the ASCS Sooner region
at the Cowtown Speedway back in April, where he won the B-Main and proceeded
to finish 10th in the A-Main. It will be the second night in a row that
the NASCAR star will run at Black Rock, competing in a modified match race
on Friday; on Saturday though he will compete with some of the best 360
sprint car drivers in the country.
...Bud Kaeding recaptured
the lead in the USAC Silver Crown ppoint standings with a win at Terre Haute
in Saturday's "SUMAR Classic". Kaeding and Shane Cottle traded the
lead nine times according to Dick Jordan. Trailing Kaeding and Cottle
were Levi Jones, Dickie Gaines and Tom Capie. The race
had a dozen lead changes, setting a record for the series on dirt, and three
short of the all-time series record, set in 1999 at Gateway International
Raceway in Madison, Ill. Brian Tyler suffered misfortune at Terre
Haute, when he was knocked out of the event on Lap 9 after an accident.
The Terre Haute round was the first of three straight dirt races for the
series, which continues Aug. 19 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield,
Ill.
...Tony Hunt is seeking
to become only the 11th driver in USAC history to claim five driving championships.
He won the 2001 and 2004 Western Sprint Car titles, the 2002 Western Regional
Sprint Car title and the 1992 Russell Pro Series crown. Hunt earned a record
20th series triumph and fourth in the last five races with Saturday night's
50-lap victory at Meridian Speedway in Boise, Idaho. He led the final 46
laps of the Boise race in his Thompson Toyotas/Paul Oil Company Eagle/Chevy
after passing early leader Shauna Hogg on lap 20. Hogg finished second
ahead of Tim Barber, fast qualifier Mike Murgoitio and Jim
Waters. The 10 drivers who own at least five USAC driving championships
are: A.J. Foyt (13), Rich Vogler and Sleepy Tripp (9),
Mel Kenyon (8), Michael Lang (7), Shorty Templeman
and Steve Butler (6), Butch Hartman, J.J. Yeley and
Roger McCluskey (5). ...Gary Wright picked up his first Knoxville
Raceway feature victory since 1998 by winning Sunday night's Eighth Annual
Brodix Tournament of Champions 30-lap feature win.
...Shane
Golobic finished third in the feature in his first sprint car race ever
at Petaluma Speedway in Petaluma, CA. The young racer qualified sixth quick
in his family owned #57 winged 360 sprint car. The HammerDown! spies tell
us his debut brought memories of Kasey Kahne's Petaluma performance
when Kasey was a raw rookie. ...The National Sprint Tour was sold from the
Brownfield Family to a group that includes Steve Kinser, Guy Stockbridge,
Lonny Parsons, and Don Lamberti. ...In
our own Racer's Racing Series point standings
the battle for the lead is incredibly tight. One race past the halfway point
in the 60-race series - we have seven points
separating the top three drivers. Joey Saldana, Donny Schatz,
and Craig Dollansky are the trio that have performed best at the
biggest races to date in 2006. Coming on strong is Daryn Pittman
who has wins in 2006 at the Eagle Nationals, the Williams Grove Summer Nationals,
and the Princeton National. ...The weather man is finally giving us some
good news out this way. The heatwave that pushed temps to 116 degrees in
my neighborhood last week has subsided.
It is 111 degrees at
the home-office in Rocklin, CA. (Yikers!!!!!) ...Sammy
Swindell was driving the famous Al Hamilton #77 sprinter at Williams
Grove on Thursday night. ...I
stand corrected. Brent Kaeding did not race at Placerville last week.
Thanks to Chris Lovett for pointing out the error. ...This week -
many movers and shakers in the sprint car promotion industry gathered in
Pittsburgh, PA for a 'summit' on the future of the sport. According to reports,
talk centered on lowering costs for race teams.
Michael Trimble,
a young sprint car / midget driver from San Jose, is healing from a broken
collar-bone suffered in a sprint car crash a few weeks back. Trimble is
eyeing a late July return as he looks to stay in the mix for the Grand Slam
championship. The Grand Slam is a mini-series that combines results from
non-wing 360 sprint car events at Santa Maria, Ventura, and Bakersfield.
...Kyle
Hirst proved he is suffering no ill effects from his nasty Placerville
Speedway crash a couple weeks back. Hirst won $5,000 in the Forni Memorial
winged sprint car feature Saturday night (July 15, 2006). The event drew
the likes of Steve Kent 'up the hill'. ...Joey Saldana is
the hottest driver in the sprint car game right now. Saldana won his fourth
big race of the year when he captured his second Kings Royal crown Saturday
night (actually early Sunday morning) at Eldora Speedway.
Wingless spec sprints
on dirt are all the rage right now in Northern California. Placerville Speedway
had 39 cars Saturday night! Bob Newberry of Antioch won his third
series feature event in the P-Ville affair. ...Terry Schank Jr. won
in the same division at Chico Friday. ...Jac Haudenschild drove the
Rick Wright #35 to a World of Outlaws win at Lawrenceburg Speedway
earlier this week. 'Haud' made a sick three-wide, no-man's land, pass of
Joey Saldana and Craig Dollansky to steal the win in the waning
stages. ...Jason
Johnson won the first two legs of the ASCS National Speedweek. (Pictured
below)
Peter Murphy was the
Friday night points racing winner at Chico (July 7, 2006). He backed it
up with a third place run in Golden State action the following night. ...We
hear that Dennis Moore Jr. will be a 'free-agent' at the end of the
Golden State season (end of July). Morrie Williams' team will return
to a one car operation. ...Stephen Allard has parted company with
the McMillen family. We are not sure who will steer the #10 car next.
Dennis Moore Jr was
the Friday night (June 30, 2006) winner at Silver Dollar Speedway. "DMJ"
deserves high praise for his perseverance after injuries ruined his last
two racing seasons. ...Kyle
Hirst, the 2005 Golden State Challenge Rookie of the Year, took a trip
to the hospital after a wild flip at Placerville Speedway Saturday night
(July 1, 2006). According to reports, Hirst started his crash in turn three
and landed well outside turn four of the high-banked quarter-mile red-dirt
track. He was expected to be released from the 'crash-house' late Saturday
night. Andy Forsberg won the A-Main at P-Ville. ...Tyler
Brown won the USAC Western Midget event at Ventura Raceway Saturday
night (July 1, 2006). In-so-doing Brown moved to within one point of the
series leader and defending champion Jerome Rodela in the quest for
the 2006 USAC Western Midget title. ...Cameron Veach was the Ford
Focus division winner at Ventura on the same card. ...Racing lost another
treasure last week when longtime motorsports writer and historian Gary
Jacobs died of a heart attack. Our friend from Turlock, CA. probably
watched more races than any other West Coast scribe. It was not uncommon
for Jacobs to see 100-plus events each season. Always a champion for young
drivers, Jacobs touched the lives of racers up and down the Golden State
with his informative and positive reviews of their racing endeavors. He
will be missed.
...Jonathan
Allard won again in Golden State Challenge action at Thunderbowl Raceway
in Tulare Saturday (June 24th). ...Cody Veenstra made the trip to
Richmond Virginia for the USAC National sprint car race. The Idaho pilot
snared a top 15 finish in his first run at the intimidating track. The RRS
points earning event was won by All-HammerDown! Team racer Brian Tyler.
...Terry
McCarl is back. McCarl won a feature at Husets Speedway before racing
the World of Outlaws event at Knoxville Friday night. ...The Saturday race
was rained out. ...Kyle Larson finished fifth in the mdiget show
at Manzanita Speedway last Saturday. He started 18th. ...Racers planning
on competing in the upcoming $30,000-to-win Non-Wing Ultimate Challenge
event at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, IA, are reminded that the
pre-entry deadline of June 30 is rapidly approaching. Pre-entry for the
event, which will take place on Tuesday night, August 8, is $50 if submitted
by June 30. Entries received after July 1 will be $100. Entry forms are
available by contacting McTwo Promotions at 515-957-0020. Entries should
be returned to McTwo Promotions, P.O. Box 185, Altoona, IA 50009. Last year,
Levi Jones of Olney, IL, kicked off his O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT
championship drive with a victory in the fifth edition of Southern Iowa
Speedway's $30,000-to-win Non-Wing Ultimate Challenge. Other past winners
include Dickie Gaines (2004), Boston Reid (2003), Travis
Rilat (2002) and J.J. Yeley (2001).
Among my favorite hip-hop
artists is a kid named Talib Kweli who has a lyric that says…
I don't believe I
know or decide
My fate
So just go on and
ride.
The loss of Fred
Brownfield was and continues to be stunning. Fred was killed when he
was hit by a modified while officiating a race at Grays Harbor Raceway in
Elma, WA last Friday. …I had just come to know Fred a bit this year as he
used me to fill-in as announcer at three National Sprint Tour events where
his regular announcer Fred Rennard Jr had a conflict. From that standpoint
it is hard for me to come up with a fitting tribute. I just didn't know
Brownfield very well. However, I do know that he was respected by people
I am close to. People that I respect looked at Fred as a pioneering risk
taker, and confident businessman. I knew of him as a racer first. He came
down to California from Washington where he was a champion at Skagit Speedway.
I saw him run the Gold Cup just about every year - and then continued to
associate his name with racing once he retired from the driver's seat in
1994. The Brownfield Enterprises logo backed cars wheeled by Steve Beitler,
and later Travis Cram. When Brownfield started the Northern Sprint
Tour for winged 360's he immediately had fans in the car-owner, mechanic,
and driver ranks. I recall Larry Shelton telling me about the purse
structure for the Northern Sprint Tour, which Larry felt was a perfect fit
for such racing. Brent Kaeding and Steve Kent both offered
unsolicited praise of Brownfield for the fair manner that he officiated
and for the way he treated the teams. It took considerable 'sack' to step
out on his own with a new traveling winged sprint car series. In recent
weeks - Brownfield's plate was overflowing with details small and large
connected to the National and Northern Sprint Tours. It was Fred that negotiated
the National points fund for the next three years. It was Fred that emailed
and phoned employees to make sure their schedules jived with the road map.
It was Fred that was responsible ultimately for getting the NST touring
apparel semi rig, and traveling pagoda. He was involved in every detail.
Why Fred's time ended with us too soon is a question that we will never
know the answer to - unless we simply say as Shelby Nicoletti of
Snohomish, Mr. Brownfield's daughter, said to the Seattle Times, "We have
always tried to say, it's God's timing and not ours." A memorial will be
held to celebrate the life of Fred Brownfield at the Grays Harbor Raceway
at 2 p.m. June 26.
Racing is in overload
mode right now but all our thoughts are with the family of Fred Brownfield.
The Calistoga Speedway
2006 Scarborough Trophy point standings are
here. ...Brent Kaeding is leading the SCRA non-wing 360 points. He won
his second SCRA feature Friday June 9, 2006 at
Ocean Speedway in Watsonville.
...Madera
Speedway was my destination Saturday June 3, 2006. The USAC Western Sprint
Cars put on a great show in their 50-lap feature. The first 27 laps were
caution free and the top-seven on the 1/3-mile pavement track were all running
in a pack through traffic. Good stuff! Kody Swanson won the race
- showing me again why my gut tells me he is a special talent. He drove
high or low, he was patient, he was aggressive, and he always seemed in
command. Out of the cockpit Swanson is thoughtful, articulate, and grounded.
If I could buy stock in Swanson I would. ...Michael Faccinto did
a good job to win the companion Ford Focus feature from sixth starting position.
...Brian McClish avoided serious burns when his 'backup car' burned
during Friday's practice session at Madera. ...Congratulations to Robert
Ballou and his team on sweeping the weekend Golden State Challenge features
at Watsonville and Placerville. The race at P-Ville was said to be "sick"
by my buddy BF. Another homey, Steve-O, said the race was
incredible. Steve-O gets to see Ballou race more than I do - and he says
the 17 year-old is "so good it's scary".
Memorial Day weekend
typically is a notebook filler. …I made it all the way to Ohio Thursday
night late in preparation to announce at Attica Raceway Park for Friday's
National Sprint Tour event. However, that deal was rained out by Friday
at noon. The race was re-scheduled for Sunday but I had a prior commitment
to be in Calistoga for the Gary Patterson Memorial race on that night
- so I hoped back onto a Southwest jet and headed home way too early on
Saturday morning. The two-day show at Calistoga Speedway produced some pretty
good racing with Steve Kent sweeping both A-Mains. Kent moved into
a tie for fourth place on the all-time Calistoga winner's list. He along
with Johnny Anderson and Tim Green own eleven feature wins
on the scary half-mile dirt track. …Kent was competing all weekend with
a jimmy-rigged tape job on his thumb (left-hand). A shop incident dislocated
Kent's thumb. He said he "popped it back into place" after a few tense moments
of pain-induced clarity. After Sunday night's win - Kent told infield announcer
George Hague that he banged his thumb during the feature and cried
for three laps. …Brad Furr and Carl Droivold both were flip
victims after their left-side panel on the top-wing 'folded' due to the
intense air-pressure placed on them in the tight Calistoga turns. We've
seen this happen far too often at Calistoga. We urge all teams who are going
to race at the half-mile for the Civil War event in June to investigate
which wing manufacturers have a good track record for staying strong under
the duress received at Calistoga. Furr's frame was damaged in his Saturday
flip - while Droivold lost a starting berth in the Sunday A-Main due to
his flip after the checkered flag in his heat race. …I was impressed by
Droivold - especially in his heat race on Saturday. …Cliff Sealock,
and Jason McMillen were retired drivers seen by some this weekend
at Calistoga. I never bumped into either. I did run into Kevin Urton
and Damion Gardner who rode in on their custom motorcycles. Damion
said he had salvaged an otherwise forgetful night on Saturday at Perris
in USAC-CRA racing. "DG" owns the points lead in that series. …Robert
Ballou - the 17 year-old masher from Rocklin, CA. led the early portions
of the Sunday feature - begging the question of who is the youngest driver
to win a feature at Calistoga Speedway? I don't know. A bit of research
suggests that it is most likely Jason Meyers who won as a 19 year-old
at the 1999 season opener. …Meyers finished second at Calistoga Saturday
night and then drove two hours to Sacramento for a 6:00 AM Sunday departure
back to Ohio for the NST race. Meyers won the Attica shindig Sunday to complete
a hectic but satisfying 'holiday weekend'. …Jon Allard was impressive
in earning a fourth place finish Saturday at Calistoga after an early feature
flip. The Chico driver owns three wins in Golden State action so far in
2006.
…Jimmy Sills
will be among those inducted in to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
this weekend. Sills was at `Stoga with his buddy Johnny Medina. The
two friends are riding their Harley's back to Iowa. Sills tipped that he
will run the Masters Classic in the Kenny Woodruff prepared #94 normally
driven by Natalie Sather. The Sacramento connected Sills and Woodruff
join the late Gary Patterson and LeRoy VanConett (Galt) as Sacramento
area racers inducted to the Hall in Knoxville, IA. …Sometimes it takes a
half of a lap to see the potential in a young racer. Such was the case on
the opening lap of Sunday's Calistoga A-Main. Jason Statler, who
has never won a feature at `Stoga, was on the pole. To his right was Ballou.
Knowing Statler would be hungry, I figured he would drive harder than hard
to 'get the jump' and try to lead wire-to-wire. As expected, Statler seemingly
gave it his all. He drove hard down the long narrow front straightaway -
under the green flag and into turn one. What I didn't expect was Ballou
- in his first weekend in a 410 at Calistoga - to stay side-by-side the
whole way and emerge with the lead off turn two. When you see something
like that you know a kid is going to win some races. …Bud Kaeding
is now tied for the points lead in the USAC Silver Crown Series. Up next
for Bud is the USAC National Midget event at Knoxville. The RRS points earning
feature will also see Ryan Kaplan's Knoxville debut. …Kevin Pylant
made his first start of 2006 at the Calistoga races. More responsibility
at the Riley Collins Body Shop in Santa Cruz has kept Kevin away. …It has
now been 21 years since a non-wing sprint car race was held at Calistoga
Speedway. Bud Kaeding campaigned over the public address system for fans
to write to USAC about putting the Silver Crown cars on the half-mile. Personally
- if it ever happened - I would prefer to see the USAC National Sprint Car
Series. I think the best of the USAC/CRA series would mix with the National
drivers to provide a deep and EXPERIENCED field of drivers. …You may have
noticed I am no longer writing Travel Guides for each trip. This is simply
a move to make Positivity more about the racers and less about me. It doesn't
mean that I won't share with you the best and worst experiences. It does
mean you will not be subjected to the average toils of travel that maybe
I enjoyed complaining about too much. ...Racer's
Racing Series winners in the big week of late-May 2006 action were Kevin
Swindell (WoO at Charlotte), Brian Tyler (Little 500), Bobby
Santos III (USAC National Midgets at IRP - "Night before the 500"),
and Fred Rahmer (WoO at Williams Grove). ...James
Patterson has been hard at work on a tribute website for his fallen
father Gary. Check out the
site here!
The weekend of action
upcoming for us includes an initial trip to Attica, Ohio for a National
Sprint Tour race on Friday. ...Calistoga promoter Mike Kenney tipped
to us that we won't be the only ones trying to hustle back to California
for the Walt Ross Memorial, and Tribute to Gary Patterson
races Saturday and Sunday at the Napa Valley half-mile. Jason Meyers
- who won the 2002 Calistoga track championship - will return from his National
schedule to run both nights. ...We also hear that Bud Kaeding, the
1999 `Stoga champ, is also making the trip from his Indiana home. Expected
to join Meyers, and Bud will be Steve Kent, Brent Kaeding,
Jon Allard, Dennis Moore Jr., and many more. ...Our prayers
go out to Randy Hannagan's mom Marge who is fighting Cancer.
Randy has flown home to be with her while Gary Wright drives the
THR #1x in WoO races. ...Tim Shaffer is filling in for Terry McCarl
in the Big Game #24 while McCarl nurses his broken leg.
This is the time of
the year when racing goes nutso! Starting with Wednesday's World of Outlaws
return to Lowe's Motor Speedway Dirt Track, the open-wheel grass roots world
gets busy with big race after big race welcoming the summer. HammerDownUSA.com's
Racer's Racing Series is going to tighten up with Terry McCarl pit-bound
with a broken leg. McCarl dominated the earliest portions of the 2006 schedule
but history tells us that the guys who are hot when the weather is - are
the guys who go down in the record books as legends. ...Mike Murgoitio
proved his knack for qualifying quick isn't limited to the West Coast. Murgoitio
was the fastest in time-trials at Sunday's USAC National event at Concord
Motorsports Park in North Carolina. The Idaho pilot then finished second
to Bryan Clauson in the feature event. ...Andy Forsberg was
the winner at Placerville Speedway (CA.) Saturday night in points racing.
Altamont Motorsports
Park underwent a renovation with their new owners (Riverside MotorSports
Park) making some fantastic improvements. The new pavement on the ½ mile
produced ultra fast speeds and record times. Nick Green destroyed
the old track record for sprint cars - ripping off a 16.595 lap that was
the best of 13 drivers below the old mark of 17.20. Simply put - a sprint
car can be a sprint car on a track the size of Altamont. It had been over
25 years since I last visited the track that lies roughly halfway between
Sacramento, and San Francisco. The racing was consistently entertaining
if for no other reason than that the cars were 'on the edge' every lap.
…Rookie Jimmy Pelk did another nice job finishing eighth in the feature.
However, it was another rookie, Bradley Galedrige, that won
the event. Galedrige drives the #21 Davey Hamilton / Wirtgen America
Eagle tuned by Larry Triguiero Jr. …Green showed me something with one of
his passes at the end of the back straightaway. He dove low to steal third
in the feature before a mechanical problem sidelined him. …Kody Swanson,
the 2005 USAC Western Sprint Car Champion attended his Senior Prom Friday
night but was ready to compete Saturday afternoon. …Nick Rescino Jr.
has more sprint car wins (nine) than any other driver at Altamont. Second
on the list is Ron Horton with six wins. …Tony Hunt performed
a clean sweep in the Midgets. Hunt showed his patience and skill all night
long. His sprint car battle for second with Tim Barber was among
the highlights of the night that was breezing along until the sprint car
feature. Too many yellow flag laps forced a red flag for fuel and a long
delay for a wicked crash by Brian Geiszler stretched out the 50-lapper
to epic proportions. …Jo-Jo Helberg is a 16-year kid that did a great
job Saturday. Jessica's younger brother started 20th and finished
seventh. …Travis Berryhill jumped into the E.J. Dolner sprinter
for some laps Saturday. Berryhill won a BCRA midget race Friday night at
"Ocean Speedway" (Watsonville, CA.). …Brea Lopez impressed me in
a midget at Altamont. …NHRA Superstar Gary Scelzi was hanging out
at Altamont. He is part owner of Michael Faccinto's Ford Focus Midget.
Faccinto - a 16 year -old from Hanford, CA was the quickest qualifier in
the Focus action. Chris Veach won the Focus feature - which was a
pleasing 25 lapper. …Friday night (May 12, 2006) winner at Chico was Brent
Kaeding. …Greg DeCaires won the Saturday night points race at
Placerville.
People, people, people…
I made my first visit to Davenport Speedway in Davenport, Iowa last Tuesday.
Actually, the trip started on Monday with flights from Sacramento to Denver
and then into Moline, IL. The Quad Cities include Moline, Davenport, Rock
Island, IL, and Bettendorf, IA. I learned that. ...Davenport Speedway is
a big half-mile (on the pole), with flat corners and concrete walls. It
is narrow in a way that made passing a bit hazardous but the National Sprint
Tour drivers didn't have a hard time dicing it up. The 30-lap feature ran
nonstop despite a large difference in speed between the fast guys and the
tailenders. Danny Lasoski was dominant, winning by 13.5 seconds!
That is unheard of in sprint car racing. I think it is possible I've seen
only one performance that dominating in all the years I've enjoyed watching
sprint car races. The only race I can remember where something like that
happened was a Jimmy Boyd Gold Cup win at the old Capital Speedway
in West Sacramento, CA. Lasoski lapped up to eighth! Think about that for
a second. A 13.5 second victory in anon-stop winged sprint car race where
only eight cars were on the same lap as the leader. Most tracks you can
turn a full lap in 13.5 seconds. Here, the laps were in the low 17's. Lasoski
said his team had been reworking their engine program with Kistler. Admittedly
- the car was working great but I give "The Dude" the most credit. He figured
the track out early in the night and he drove away from everyone on the
low side. That win for Lasoski makes the NST scorecard read: seven races,
three winners. Lasoski has two wins as does Steve Kinser. Tim
Kaeding leads the tour with three W's. …The battle for second position
at Davenport was an unbelievable race between Jason Sides, Steve
Kinser, Tim Shaffer, Jason Solwold, and Jason Meyers.
In heavy traffic seemingly the full 30-laps these guys flip flopped spots
with regularity. It was crazy! They would charge up on the 'lappers' and
then be forced to 'checkup' in the narrowest portions of the speedway. Sides
had his top-wing left side panel bend on him right at the start of the race.
Somehow he held on for second place although he lost the position at different
junctures of the event. The large crowd sitting in the tin-covered grandstand
that was built in 1922 seemed to enjoy the feature event very much.
...Perris
Auto Speedway will play host the to the 6th Annual Sokola Classic
when Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply presents the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars on
Saturday, May 13. The event will culminate with a 40-lap main event that
pays $5,000.00 to win and $500.00 to start. ...Check out Kyle Larson
driving a midget for the first time at
his website.
...We are headed for
Davenport Iowa for the Tuesday night National Sprint Tour event. Winners
in World of Outlaws racing at Davenport Speedway in the past were Jeff
Swindell (1995), and Stevie Smith (1996). Paul McMahan
won a WoO Gumout Series race in 2000 at Davenport's
1/2-mile. Other winners at the joint in various sanctions are Craig Dollansky,
Kim Mock, Terry McCarl, and Randy Smith. ...We made
the drive south to Madera on Saturday for the USAC Western Sprint Car race.
There were at least three support divisions racing so the day and night
really seemed to drag on. When the sprint cars were on the track - the racing
was fun to watch. Kody Swanson, as we've been saying, is the real
deal. He has that special combination of poise, talent, character, and 'HammerDown!
ability'. Swanson (18) won the race by attacking the track in his family
#75. He won in front of many family members and friends at the Madera track
where his father Mike won championships in Super Modifieds. Kody
became the youngest winner in a Grand American Modified at Madera a couple
years back (May 1, 2004). Since then, Kody's little brother Tanner
(15) has claimed that distinction. ...Nick Green was especially good
in the All-Weld #14. Green hung tough despite falling back a bit at the
beginning of the 50-lap feature. He then proceeded to regain the positions
he lost with some deft maneuvering. I was impressed. ...Among
those walking the pits at Madera Saturday night was driving star and 2004
USAC Western Sprint Car champion Michael Lewis. The Noblesville,
Indiana driver has recently parted company with the Western Speed Racing
midget team. Too bad because that guy is a smart racer and a fierce competitor.
I doubt if he will be without a ride for long.
...USAC Western Sprint
Car champion Kody Swanson's dad Mike told us that a family can run a mini
sprint for less money than the quarter-midgets that were racing adjacent
to the Madera Speedway. That blows my mind. In watching a few laps of the
quarter-midgets I quickly concluded that those things need left side weight,
and a cage net or something to keep the kids from hanging out of the left
side of the car. It was ridiculous.
… Chase Barber
purchased one of Mike Sala's pavement midgets. That was the car that
Barber drove to his first career USAC Western Midget top-five finish at
Stockton last Saturday. ...Darren Rusconi's #66 pavement sprinter
is the former property of Amy Barnes.
...Who has the most
USAC Western Sprint Car wins at Madera since 1996? The answer is: Davey
Hamilton and Tony Hunt both have four sprint car wins during
that ten year time span. USAC did not race at Madera in 2005 but are set
for a return Saturday April 29, 2006.
- 08-21-04 Michael
Lewis (3)
- 08-07-04 Tony Hunt (4)
- 05-01-04 Michael Lewis (2)
- 04-24-04 Michael Lewis
- 09-20-03 Tony Hunt (3)
- 06-19-03 Shauna Hogg
- 04-19-03 Tony Stewart
- 09-21-02 Chad Nichols
- 08-17-02 Jeff Gardner (3)
- 08-03-02 Todd Ellison
- 06-08-02 Jeff Gardner (2)
- 05-04-02 Tony Hunt (2)
- 04-06-02 Bryan Bullard
- 09-22-01 Kevin Kierce
- 04-21-01 Davey Hamilton (4)
- 09-16-00 Davey Hamilton (3)
- 05-06-00 Davey Hamilton (2)
- 03-25-00 Tony Hunt
- 09-18-99 Davey Hamilton
- 04-10-99 Dave Fitzgerald
- 05-03-98 Jeff Gardner
- 03-31-96 Bobby McMahan
Last weekend (April
21-22, 2006) we took in a National Sprint Tour race in Hutchinson, Kansas.
It was my first visit to the spot that is east of Wichita and about a four
hour drive from Tulsa, OK. The Hutchinson Raceway Park is a big 3/8's to
a 1/2-mile dirt track with lots of potential. The second turn is narrow
and the joint has no fence or wall around it. The track had a unique cut
to it in turn four where it was flat, then banked, then flat. The improvements
that I would immediately like to see would be in the lighting (turn one
was especially poor), and the track public address system. The current P.A.
was not strong enough for the masses that turned out to see a National touring
winged 410 sprint car series hit the track for the first time since 1992.
Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, and Danny Lasoski were all
there in `92 as well as on this night. Kinser won for Karl Kinser 'back
in the day'. Sammy was in the TMC #1, and Lasoski was riding for Casey
Luna back then. On this 2006 Friday night though it was all Tim Kaeding.
He passed early leader Jason Solwold and then withheld Steve Kinser
in traffic to earn the 30-lap $10,000 victory. ...I had a chance to chat
with Tim for a bit before the races started. He reports that he loves living
in Indiana - especially the Sunday Fundays at his Plainfield home. He told
us that so far this season his car has been a dream to drive. You will say
that when you are leading the points, and batting .500 in feature events.
Kaeding (Tim) was also nursing a sore broken nose suffered at the hand of
his brother Bud. The two were 'rough housing' when an unexpected
backhand from Bud caught Tim square on the beak. According to Tim, no-one
felt worse than Bud. The nose didn't seem to bother Tim at all in his strong
run at Hutchinson. Tim also said he hopes to maybe run some non-wing stuff
this season. He would like nothing better than to race his brother's #29
at Eldora without a wing. "Since Bud is in (Scott) Benic's
car - Bud's cars are just sitting there in the shop", says Tim. "I
just want to try it." ...That - and the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Yes,
Tim wants to be the first to climb the mountain in under ten minutes. ...Saturday
- we hit the Stockton 99 Speedway (CA.) - which is in it's final season,
for the USAC/CASA Sprint Cars & USAC/BCRA Midgets. The entertaining
racing was best during the sprint car feature. Tony Hunt did a super
job of driving from eleventh to win the 50-lapper in Alan Kaiser's
#4. Several young drivers also looked sharp. I was impressed by Jimmy
Pelk, a 20 year-old from Port Alberni, B.C., Canada. Running for Bob
& Lori Scott, Pelk was in the top-ten mix all night. Bradley
Galedrige also made his sprint car debut, earning a top-five finish
for the Davey Hamilton Racing Team. ...Ryan Kaplan ran a strong
second in the Midget 100 lap race. That kid is racer. ...Cameron Beard
bought Ken Molica's pavement midget car. ...Tyler Brown showed
up with a new car that they took delivery of on Wednesday night. Brown earned
the hard-charger award for improving eleven positions in the feature. ...Jason
Meyers will run the Tulare Thunderbowl event this Saturday. With a week
off from the National Sprint Tour - Jason has time to hit the local scene.
On the card with the Golden State winged sprints are the SCRA non-wing 360's.
We hear double duty is a possibility for Robert Ballou, Brent
Kaeding, Ricci Faria, and Peter Murphy.
Capitani named sprint car racing's most
influential - By Tom Schmeh - Knoxville, IA. - (April 23, 2006) -
For the third year in a row, Ralph "Cappy" Capitani, director of racing
at the Knoxville Raceway, has been named the sport's 'Most Influential Leader'
by the North American Sprint Car Poll, an industry-wide voting panel of
manufacturers, media members, sanctioning officials and promoters. Capitani,
who guides weekly winged 360-cubic-inch and 410 c.i. sprint car racing at
the self-proclaimed "Sprint Car Capital of the World", captured thirteen
(13) of the 35 first-place ballots cast in the 2006 pre-season poll. Knoxville
Raceway will also host its 46th annual Knoxville National Sprint Car Championships,
which will be open-competition for the first time since 1977, on August
9-12. (Read it all)
...Don
Krietz Jr. is running a MOPAR these days in Central Pennsylvania. The
engine is a collaborative effort between Gary Stanton and Davey Brown.
Says Kreitz, "It runs better than any Chevy I've ever had, and we're
looking forward to running it again this weekend." ...Gary Wright,
Lonne Wheatley notes, can add another entry to the record books this
weekend, as the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour takes to Poplar Bluff
Speedway in Poplar Bluff, MO, on Friday night before moving on to Little
Rock's I-30 Speedway on Saturday night. Wright can tie an existing mark
held by Zach Chappell on Friday night at Poplar Bluff Speedway, then
set a new standard on Saturday night at I-30 Speedway. Wright enters the
weekend with a streak of 100 consecutive O'Reilly ASCS National Tour feature
starts, just one start short of Zach Chappell's existing record of 101 consecutive
feature starts. ...A hectic schedule over the past 72 hours allowed us to
take in the National Sprint Tour event in Hutchinson Kansas Friday night
and the Fred Gerhardt Open Wheel Classic USAC event Saturday in Stockton,
CA. Winners were Tim Kaeding (Friday), and Tony Hunt and Billy
Wease (Saturday).
Jon Stanbrough
was the best among 51 entrants at Lawrenceburg Speedway (Indiana) Saturday
night. Non-wing sprint car racing is obviously alive and well in Hoosier-land.
...Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Hooker Hood Sprint Shootout
in dominating fashion. Stenhouse lapped up to fifth in the USCS winged sprint
car feature at Garnertown Speedway. ...Super sprint car mechanic Larry
Shelton is going to be helping Destiney Hays this season in Friday
night winged 410 action at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. Hays is making
a dirt return after two years of pavement racing in USAC. You can vote for
Destiney (or others) in another
website's poll. Check it out here! ...I
thought it was cool that Jerry Coons Jr. ran the Western Midget event
at Ventura last weekend. Coons is an established National driver these days.
...Read
about Carl Edwards night at the sprint car races here! ...The rain in
Northern and Central California has claimed the first six Golden State Challenge
events. ...Kudos to Kyle Hirst for his hustle to compete in USAC-CRA
non-wing events while the rain pours over his winged tracks. Hirst made
it to Tucson Arizona this past weekend. ...Brent Kaeding, Robert
Ballou and Andy Forsberg also ditched their regular schedules
to run an SCRA event at Chowchilla. ...Congratulations
to Kasey Kahne who is really on a roll right now at the highest level
of American racing. I am still waiting and hoping for Kasey to say "HammerDown"
in a winner's interview on National television.
There was a tragedy
at Evergreen Speedway last Friday when veteran midget racer Rory Price
was killed following a throttle-sticking accident in a test session. Price
was driving Robert Beck's sprint car in the single car accident on
the paved 5/8's-mile track. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the Price
family and to our friend Robert Beck. ...Brenda
Anderson reports that her massive undertaking of gathering vintage racers
is taking shape quickly. Scheduled for September in Roseville, CA, the All
American Vintage Classic will gather cars and stars from everywhere! "We
have a tour of Aussies coming over and I have set up a group of guys like
Larry Burton, Wally Baker, Gene Welch, Mike Andreetta,
The Andersons, Hash Brown, Big Ed Wilbur, etc etc that drove
downunder to be there to sign autographs for them", said Brenda. Al
Pombo - now 81 years old is coming and Walt James who will be
83, will be in his sprint car turning laps. Kenny Takeuchi is going
to announce. 21 cars have registered so far including Roadsters, Hardtops,
Midgets, Supers and Sprint cars. Display cars at the event include Bill
Vukovich's Drake and the 1935 Franklin Sprint car with a double over
head cam. Brenda adds, "Parnelli Jones told me he is coming
Friday and Saturday." Brenda has trophies going to the top-three in
the vintage car races, and fans in the grandstands are going to choose their
favorites with a ballot. Plans for a 32 page magazine are being laid out
so that fans will have a quality souvenir program. ...The Hall of Fame inductees
for the West Capital Raceway Hall of Fame for 2006 are DuWayne Starr,
Kenny Woodruff, Nick Rescino, Johnny Soares, Howard,
"Captain America" Holtsman, and Richard Wyrsch.
...We learned that Bill
Pratt passed away. The long-time CRA car-owner will be missed. ...We
also found out courtesy of Blake Johnson that Grass roots Open Wheel
supporter and Silver Crown owner, Roger Johnson is a co-owner with Ron
Hemelgarn in the (formally Infiniti Pro Series) Indy Pro Series. The
team has fielded a car in the series since the inaugural season including
the 2004 season where Paul Dana drive the No. 91. That year he brought Ethanol
to the IRL. Blake Johnson says, "Dana was an excellent marketing person
who sold several companies that made Ethanol on joining him in the IRL.
Today, the IRL runs a 90% methanol 10% methanol mix. In 2007, the IndyCar
Series will run 100% ethanol." Blake wrote more in his blog http://openwheeler.blogspot.com/.
...(A
little stream of consciousness writing today) …I am what I am and I cannot
help but feel great sadness with the death of Paul Dana. I do not
know him. I don't think we ever met - unless it was when I did some SCCA
work. It says on the internet that Dana is from St. Louis - and that a Roger
Johnson was one of his sponsors on the way to his IRL ride. (Is that
Roger Johnson of Kele & Associates?). My auto racing friends in St. Louis
I'm sure knew of him. Jim Compton comes to mind. I bet Danny Lasoski
knows him. I read that Dana's wife Tonya was in church in Indianapolis
on Sunday morning when told of the crash. I cannot even begin to imagine
her loss. I admit to freaking a bit when my wife Kim told me that
"an Indy driver was killed today." Immediate thought was - "not P.J."
Kim was reading the scroll on the television during the NCAA basketball
game. I was working in my home office (with the television on above my desk.)
She said it was Paul Dana. I immediately hit Google to find out more. I
see Ed Carpenter was involved. I learn that Dana is part of the Bobby
Rahal/David Letterman team. The reason why this happened is secondary
to the loss but I have to question how it could occur. Carpenter's crash
happened way in front of Dana. Why was he going so fast during a morning
warmup after his spotter told him of the crash? I pray for Carpenter's health.
…I have to use my tools to deal with depressing thoughts so let's think
about some stuff with Positivity. …How will Letterman react? …Bud Kaeding
is a friend of Carpenter's. Bud finished sixth in the USAC Silver Crown
race at Homestead. He made $5,000 for his work. That deal pays well ya know.
Brian Tyler took home $25,000 for his win. Tim Barber finished
third in the Sacramento area owned Ken Pierson car. They took home
nine grand. …The Bakersfield Speedway USAC Western Midget show was good
up to the point when the yellow-checkered flags appeared before the end
of the scheduled 30-lap distance. The track made the call. Bakersfield Speedway
would be wise to start earlier, given the unmovable 11:00 PM curfew. Maybe
open the front gates at 4PM instead of 5PM. Start hot-laps at 4:30PM. Saturday,
hot laps were running by 5:30 PM. It was a shade past 10:30 with two laps
to go when Garrett Hansen's motor blew on the back chute. They had
to clean up the track, and still had their late model feature race to run
so they called the race. I understand. The stock cars are their regular
deal and their fans deserved to see their entire event. The track was again
heavy and several nasty midget spills took precious time to clear and re-start.
The stock cars ran an efficient show but they had a big car count. The whole
program just needed more time to be run. …It was a privilege to see so many
good racers on the grounds for the event. Josh Wise, the 2005 USAC
National Midget Champion, was driving for Dallen McKenney. Brad
Kuhn, the 2005 National Midget Driver of the Year, was in a Mike
Sala car. Johnny Rodriguez and Robby Flock - both former
series champs were on-hand. And anyone who reads my stuff with any regularity
knows I am a fan of Tyler Brown, and Ryan Kaplan - who were
both in the house. Michael Lewis was racing on dirt! He has done
plenty of dirt racing in his career but not nearly as much dirt as pavement.
He looked good in winning his heat race. In the feature - aside from jumping
the cushion a few times, Lewis was solid bringing home a sixth place finish.
He leads the USAC Western Midget points two races into the season. Alex
Pruett - teammate to Lewis will run for the Western USAC Midget championship.
Lewis will mix it up on the National stage in 2006. Said Lewis of his time
on the Bakersfield dirt after qualifying, "This is fun!" Both Western Speed
dirt midgets are Spike chassis machines. …Danny Stratton, the 2005
Four Crown Nationals Midget winner, was also a surprise entrant. …Matt
Mitchell looked as good racing as I've ever seen him. The blonde haired
methanol masher was spectacular in the feature in turn three and four -
carrying his front end in the air all the way around the corner. (Below
photo of Mitchell at work by John's Racing Photos)
2005 USAC Western Midget
champion Jerome Rodela was at the track but not competing. This season
Rodela will ride at special selected midget events for NHRA star Cruz
Pedregon. …Cameron Beard used some mini-sprint knowledge from
the previous week to impressively win his heat race Saturday night. …Quentin
Crye - a 17 year-old from Gridley, CA did a nice job in his first Ford
Focus midget race at Bakersfield Speedway. He ran in the top-three most
of the race before some bad luck hit him. …Bradley Galedrige's violent
snap roll flips in his heat race were some of the fastest turnovers I've
ever witnessed. The crash ripped the lower left side frame rail off the
car - and crushed the rear-end housing into so many pieces. Galedrige turned
the fastest lap in a midget of the last three seasons with a 12.618 second
clocking in time trials. Eight drivers were in the 12 second bracket. …Your
next chance to see the USAC Western Midgets fling around Bakersfield Speedway
is June 24, 2006. We again urge you to do so. They put on a great show.
…Travel Guide for
Bakersfield Speedway March 24-26, 2006. ...A one day race spills into
parts of three days for me. I again left Rocklin Friday night after the
NCAA hoop games were done. I drove to Fresno and checked in at the Courtyard
by Marriott on Shaw. On the way to Fresno I tried a Home-style Chicken Sandwich
from Wendy's drive through in Turlock. It was pretty good. …The Marriott
was okay but they messed up my request for a non-smoking room. That's life
when you check in after midnight. You get what is available. Actually, the
room was fine. Courtyard properties have new beds and high-speed internet
in every room. I enjoyed both. …Saturday I drove to Selma to stop for lunch
and to try to find somewhere with the LSU vs. Texas game on TV. Me & Ed's
Pizza filled the bill. The pizza was excellent and although the television
reception was poor (regular over the air signal with rabbit-ear antenna)
I was able to make out the players and enjoy a terrific hoops contest. The
rest of the drive to Oildale was uneventful. I skipped eating at the track
since I had so much pizza. …Made the drive home immediately after interviewing
Tyler Brown for the USAC race story. A New Track Record may have been established
as I rolled into Rocklin just a tick after 3:00 AM Sunday morning.
Belated
kudos to P.J. Chesson for landing an IRL ride on a team owned in
part by the Denver Nuggets Carmelo Anthony. Chesson has undeniable
star quality and as long as he doesn't have some bad luck prior to Memorial
Day weekend - he will be racing in the 2006 Indy 500. HammerDown! P.J.
...Travel
Guide for March 17-18, 2006. ...Bakersfield Speedway in Oildale was
the ultimate destination. I trekked to Fresno Friday night after the NCAA
Tournament games were complete. I stayed at the Marriot Residence Inn. As
usual for the brand - the hotel was perfect for my taste. I had a fridge,
a microwave, high speed Internet access, a comfy bed, and a clean overall
room. From my home in Rocklin, CA - Fresno is about three hours and change
- which left me a short, one hour 45 minutes to go on Saturday. I was announcing
Saturday night - and I don't like to travel too much on those days. It zaps
my energy. Saturday - I stopped in Delano? at the Pioneer Restaurant just
off highway 99. Their billboard advertising worked. I found a cozy diner
style joint with friendly service. My breakfast burrito was huge and fairly
tasty. ...Doubt if I'd order it again but I would go back for something
different. I did not eat at the track. I drove home after the event with
a stop in Fresno at In N Out Burger. A cheeseburger and fries was typically
good. I was back in Rocklin at 4:35 am. ...The
overall experience Saturday (March 18, 2006) for the National Sprint Tour
event at Bakersfield Speedway was a study of contrast. On one hand, we were
racing - which is what they were not doing at Ventura, Marysville, or Madera.
All those California racetracks were forced to cancel their events due to
rain and cold that seems more and more the norm in March. At Bakersfield
Speedway - in the town of Oildale, the race was indeed on. Promoters - Elite
Promotions did the karmacally correct thing by pressing onward despite knowing
that their 'walk-up' crowd would be crushed by the iffy weather conditions.
So in that sense alone we had a victory. The loss was a curfew shortened
feature event that went 12 of a scheduled 40 laps. The curfew is an ugly
reality in the Golden State. Some tracks can fudge a bit sometimes - but
at Bakersfield Speedway that is not the case. Saturday night there was no
rain delay. No power outage. What happened was a bit fluky but also probably
could have been avoided if the show moved along at a faster pace. The track
was 'heavy' and ultra fast. Listed as a 1/3-mile dirt oval, Bakersfield
Speedway is closer to a 1/5-mile than a 'third'. Starting 24 cars in the
feature on a narrow track predictably produced mayhem. Flips by Jon Allard,
Robert Ballou, Lucas Wolfe, Steve Kinser, and Mark
Barrosso during the feature all took precious time off the clock. If
the red flag wasn't out - the yellow flag was. There were tangles, and cars
stalling. It was one of those nights. Yes, full moon too. …I don't think
fans want to hear driver intros when the temperature is low. That driver
intro stuff is for a warm night when you are ahead of schedule. There was
probably 15 minutes wasted right there. There was a support class of mini
sprints that ran two, eight lap heats, and a lengthy 20-lap main event with
its own share of incidents. That probably cost 20 minutes. Finally, there
was a delay between the end of the mini sprint feature and the time the
first sprint car appeared on the front straightaway prior to the A-Main.
On the positive side - the track record was lowered to a ridiculously quick
10.342 seconds. Jason Sides did it. …The Umbrella Girls did all the
trophy presenting. They add class to any show. : )) …Back to the negative
side - the ambulance EMT's were the laziest I have ever witnessed at a race
track. Time after time I watched hard crashes with no response from these
two jokers just standing in the infield near turn one. …A positive was seeing
Lucas Wolfe rebound from losing his power steering on his first qualifying
lap to turning the third fastest lap when the pressure was on - taking one
at the end of time trials. The 19 year old son of Pennsylvania racer Randy
Wolfe, Lucas went on to win his heat race and his dash. … Chuck Gurney
Jr. raced well Saturday night. He passed and then held off Shane
Stewart to earn the last 'transfer' in his heat race. Some car-owner
in Indiana (where Gurney is living now) is going to get a helluva good racer
when he gets his first ride back there. …Tim Kaeding was setting
a blistering pace when the racing was green. He was in traffic on lap three
in the feature. His second NST win coupled with Steve Kinser's two Tulare
victories means that no one outside of Steve Kinser Racing has won an NST
feature yet. …Brandon Wimmer from Fairmount Indiana was driving for
Davey Key in the #15 car. Wimmer finished tenth in the feature. He
is still seeking a full-time ride for 2006. Brandon says he will race anything;
winged, non-winged, dirt, pavement - whatever. …Brian Coelho had
a good night earning sixth place money. The Coelho family deserves high
praise for their support of sprint car racing in the Central Valley. It
was good to see them have a good night with Brian winning his heat and performing
well in his dash too. …Jeff Delte made the trip from San Jose to
compete. Delte has a Maxim with a 410 engine for 2006. …Tommy Tarlton
tipped that he has only seven races on driving schedule for this season.
He plans to run at Thunderbowl Raceway (Tulare, CA.) in the GSC events.
…Ronnie Day was again faster than fast. He's going to win some races
this year.
BR Motorsports released
their latest Sprint Car & Midget parts catalog. With over 100 new items
the 2006 super parts catalog is an astonishing 175 pages and is overflowing
with the latest parts and equipment available today. To receive your FREE
copy please call 1-800-328-3333 or go online to www.brmotorsports.com
...Andy
Forsberg is ready for 2006. The two-time Civil War champion is setting
his sights on championships at Chico, Placerville, and the Civil War series.
"I am very excited to get the season underway," said Forsberg. "We will
be running over sixty-five races and I am thrilled to be running at Placerville
on a consistent basis." Crew chief Brian Cannon points out that the
Forsberg, A&A #92 team built four new cars from the ground up during
the off season.
...Kraig Kinser
will be racing at Southern New Mexico Speedway this weekend, March 10 and
11. He will pilot a third Steve Kinser Racing machine. ...The ASCS
is ready for their Southern start to 2006. Lonnie Wheatley points
out that Thirty-three consecutive weekends of racing in the American Sprint
Car Series kicks off this weekend with the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars
on Tour taking center stage at Baton Rouge Raceway and Houston Raceway Park.
...Read about Geoff Dodge who
won the IRL "Road to Indy" competition at the Knoxville Nationals
in 2005.
...Mat
Neely was driving the Garrett/Jerry Ishii #71G in his top
five run at Perris Saturday. ...The
2006 version of the Tony Hunt Karting Challenge raised $15,000 for
the Make-A-Wish Foundation. A lengthy spell at the RPM Indoor complex Sunday
brought with it a few 'pearls' (as the late Doug Fort would say)
of information. As I decompress on a rainy Sunday night I will try my best
to share with you some of the tidbits I remember. Bam. Brad Sweet
tips that he has 70 plus races on his `06 schedule. Brad tells me that he
is excited about running at Kokomo Speedway which has undergone some transformation.
Sweet said, "Kokomo is a racer's racetrack." That is good to hear since
we put the Kokomo race during Indiana Sprint Week on the Racer's racing
Series schedule this year. …The Green Room was buzzing with talk of Paul
McMahan's WoO win at Tucson, and Cory Kruseman's triumph at Perris
in USAC/CRA racing. Racers getting ready for the Kart competition were watching
the Busch race from Mexico on a large TV. We heard chit-chat about Chad
Kemenah's grinding crash at Manzanita. …Audra Sasselli still
does not have her plans nailed down for this season. She has been racing
for more than 20 years and is feeling the frustration of the lack of quality
opportunities for good drivers. Among the best in the USAC Ford Focus Midget
ranks, Audra said she feels it is time for a new challenge. However, the
only viable opportunity for her right now is a dirt midget ride. She feels
most comfy on the pavement. Audra, from Fresno, is married and works as
a teacher. She admitted she sometimes wonders what life would be like if
she were not at the track every weekend. We totally understand if she steps
away. But we sure hope she stays with racing. Sasselli is a fan favorite
that consistently shows class in all situations. If racing lost her it would
be a sad day. …Jerry Kobza shared a story of his days in North Carolina
when he was helping Carl Edwards meet NASCAR types. I'd say Edwards
has made it. …Robert Ballou's kart team won the overall competition.
It was a good day for sprint car drivers as Kyle Hirst's team was
second, and Sweet's squad finished third. …Jason Meyers made the
long tow from Clovis to Sacramento to participate. He was blown away by
the RPM facility which is a first class establishment. The always-scheming
Meyers was already having thoughts of a 'sponsor-day' at the karting joint.
Meyers said he will run some events outside of the National Sprint Tour
but those events will be 'hit and run' type deals where the team simply
shows up without having the event as part of their posted schedule. Jason
will run at Eldora, and he will run the Gold Cup at Chico. …Kyle Larson,
the kid with 117 career dirt-kart wins, is going to race a full midget in
Arizona at a few events later in the year. Larson still owns a track-record
at the RPM facility. Readers of this space know that I try not to hype anyone
under age 16 but this kid is so good I got my picture taken with him today
just to say "I knew him when…".
The above pic was snapped
at the Tony Hunt Kart Challenge - Sunday March 5, 2006. The Umbrella Girls
are teamed with my fictional crew of (L to R) Brad Sweet, Kyle Larson, and
Hunt.
…One more reason to love RPM is that they
have Mountain Dew both from the soda fountain or bottled. …Matt Sherman
is a fast young racer I met Sunday. His dad Frank Sherman Jr. grew
up at Capitol Speedway in West Sacramento. Matt is also a track record holder
at RPM. …Benny Moon tipped that he will drive a stock-car in 2006.
We will miss him at the USAC events. The Shingle Springs driver won Ford
Focus races in `05 for car-owner Ron Sutton. Moon is yet another
young driver we think has a future as a professional racer. …Mike Henry,
two-time Civil War champion, is set to drive a dozen shows in the 410 ranks
for Mike Stallings. Henry said the team is seeking sponsors to keep
the car as active as possible. Larry Shelton will turn wrenches on
the #93. …Newly named Hall of Famer Jimmy Sills was one of many who
received a stop-and-go penalty for rough kart driving. He said, "If you
don't get back flagged at a kart track - you're not racing." The Professor
reports he is doing great and waiting for the rain to stop so he can get
going with his racing school in Marysville, CA. Sills said he spends lots
of time on his Harley Davidson or riding dirt bikes. Among his friends he
rides with are Jimmy Boyd, and Mike Zine. …Another pilot seeking
a ride is Garrett Peterson. The son of Greg is an engineering
student at Sac State that has a rich history of good performances in karting.
…Greg DeCaires will run two cars this year. His 410 sprint car will
be #39, and his 360 will remain #35. Greg said he is attacking the Civil
War series again.
Please excuse the HammerDown!
Online Store for being temporarily closed. Wells Fargo told us we had to
switch our "E-Store" over to a new merchant services company because
W.F. would no longer be offering the service. The whole deal is a pain in
my #$$. But hopefully soon we will have our store ready to take orders through
the new Serra Host configuration. In the meantime - thanks for your patience.
...Tulare's
Thunderbowl Raceway was the destination this weekend past. The National
Sprint Tour event had many positive moments for the large fan turnout. Steve
Kinser won both nights but not without challenge from the likes of Sammy
Swindell, Tim Kaeding, Jason Meyers, Paul McMahan,
Tim Shaffer, and Ronnie Day. Three moments really stood out
to me this weekend. The first was the end of the first heat race on Friday
night. Tim Kaeding, in his first drive for Steve Kinser Racing, won the
heat with a last lap, last corner, high-side, pass that brought the fans
to their feet.
Tim Kaeding in the
new #11k. (John's Racing Photos)
Moment two was Robert
Ballou's stirring B-Main transfer drive. The Rocklin Rocket, a 16 year-old,
ripped around the top of the high-banked 1/3-mile clay track, scraping the
wall at each end for a miraculous A-Main transfer berth. It was the kind
of sprint car racing performance that raises your hair! Finally, the A-Main
on Saturday at one point had the top-five all within striking distance of
the lead. McMahan was flying past cars on the bottom, and Tim Kaeding was
charging on the top. Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell were battling, chasing
after Shaffer. Meyers and Brooke Tatnell were right there in contention.
It was hard to watch all the action. …We paid Kinser and Danny Lasoski
their Racer's Racing Series winnings for the 2005 season. …Meyers will now
turn his attention to the promotion of a Bakersfield Speedway NST race on
March 18th. He was fast all weekend at the track closest to his Clovis,
CA. home. Meyers told us that Day will run the entire Golden State Challenge
in 2006. Ronnie was quick in the team car of Meyers. …Our condolences -
belated - to Rick Bragg and his family for the loss of his son. ...McMahan
was fast in the Tony Stewart #20. Jimmy Carr, the crew-chief
on the Bass Pro Shops machine said the team did not have any test time before
the Tulare races. Carr confirmed that some things were changed by the team
on the MOPAR engines. …37 cars turned out on Friday. 40 cars made it Saturday.
…Tatnell won his fifth World Series Sprint Car Championship in his season
down under. …Kevin Swindell turned 17 years old last Tuesday. He
celebrated by driving across the country 30 hours to compete in Tulare.
Kevin finished eighth after starting 15th on Saturday. He and Garrett
Ishii had a good battle in the B-Main that entertained. …Brian Paulus
accepted his All-HammerDown! Team certificate Saturday afternoon then drove
from 22nd to ninth in the A-main later that night. …Morrie Williams
was true to his word in supplying cars for both Jon Allard and Dennis
Moore Jr. …Lucas Wolfe put the Dave Helm #11h where it
needed to be. The Pennsylvania 19 year-old was seeing California tracks
for the first time. …Craig Stidham was back in his own J&J. Stidham
was leading the points in the 2005 Rebel Cup when Kings Speedway shut the
gates last year. We understand that Kings will be operated by the Soares
family in 2006. …Peter Murphy was racing his own car #4 at Tulare.
Pete will steer the Redi Green #1k this season in winged events and drive
his own car at non-wing races. Murphy towed into the pits in an open trailer
and claimed no spare parts. …We heard sprint car engine prices ranging from
the bargain of $11,000 - to the expensive - $50,000. …Phoenix driver Ben
Gregg, who we last saw non-wing racing at Manzy, was winged up and dicing
at the Thunderbowl.
…Travel Guide for
Tulare, CA. (February 23-25, 2006) …The plan was to leave Rocklin Thursday
afternoon giving myself time to get to the Visalia Radisson by 7:30 pm so
I could watch the Sacramento Kings play the Lakers on national television.
The game was on TNT. Traffic was rough and a normal three hour and 40 minute
trip took almost four hours and 45 minutes. I did stop at a Jack in the
Box in Ripon. I tried the Brushetta Chicken Ciabatta sandwich which I must
say was pretty tasty for a fast food sellout. So I get to the hotel having
sacrificed the first quarter of the game and what do you know? Their hotel
TV deal doesn't have TNT. Luckily - there was a radio station that carried
the Kings Radio Network. The Radisson, I learned, will become a Marriott
soon. …Friday - I hit Pick up Stix for House Fried Rice in Visalia before
heading to the track. Post race - it was take-out from Carrow's. I had a
Pot Roast Melt with Fries. Sandwich was good, fries were mushy. Saturday
- I ate two things from the track. A Frito Boat was tasty even though they
still use the little corn chips rather than the 'scoops'. I also tried the
'homemade' potato chips from the Chippery; a mobile unit that cooks specialty
chips. No complaints. The races ran long - and I didn't hit the road `til
12:30 am. I was back in Rocklin bleary eyed some time after 4 am.
We are pleased to welcome
Hunt's Race World, and Racing
Fans Direct as new backers. Check out Hunt's new 'on-line store' for anything
collectible. ...Racing Fans Direct
made a donation to the Racer's Racing Series! ...What
do racers do when they have an off weekend? They watch racing on television
and pick fantasy teams for the upcoming season. Sunday was such a day as
my buddy B.F. held his annual fantasy league draft at his San Jose,
CA home. B.F. lives with his brother Burt not far from the famous
Silicon Valley computer 'shops'. The Daytona 500 was playing on two TV's
and after the race was finished we commenced the draft of 20 drivers per
team. There were 13 teams choosing pilots this year. The concept is simple
and could be followed by any race fan that wanted to devise their own fantasy
league. Scoring is based on top-five feature finishes for the year. Five
points for a win, four for a second place finish, three for third, and so
on. In B.F.'s league we count all kinds of divisions of competition. B.F.
gives each driver a designation for their respective category. You pick
two nationally touring winged sprint car drivers from the WoO, NST or All-Stars,
three USAC drivers from sprints, midgets or Silver Crown, four 'California'
drivers, one USAC-CRA pilot, one ASCS National driver, two 'Pennsylvania'
drivers, and four NASCAR wheelers. Finally when all that drafting is done
- you select three 'at-large' competitors. I had the second pick overall
after we picked marked pennies from a baseball hat for draft position. Fred
Rahmer was the first driver selected leaving me a choice, in my mind,
of Donny Schatz, Steve Kinser, Daryn Pittman, Greg
Hodnett, Terry McCarl, Joey Saldana or Lance Dewease.
Last year, Rahmer scored the most points overall followed by Steve Kinser.
I wasn't sure that Kinser would race as much in 2006 as he did in 2005.
I picked Schatz. Having the second pick means you wait a long time for the
selections to snake back to you for your next choice. Rightfully, and logically
BF does his draft so that if you have the last pick in round one - you are
first to choose in round two. I was next-to-last in round two and I thought
I could still get a 100 point scorer in Brooke Tatnell - so I snatched
him up and completed my roster of national winged guys. Picking your one
ASCS driver can be crucial in this pool and I was happy to find Darren
Stewart still on the board when I picked in the third round. Yes, Gary
Wright was long gone. …Matt Kenseth was my top NASCAR pick. He
races lots of Busch races and he is a talented driver according to his peers.
I don't know much about NASCAR but I did hear Dave Blaney say Kenseth
was the best driver in the series. That is good enough for me. Ted Musgrave
is on my team based totally on his success in the trucks in 2005 - and
the fact that I knew he runs a Toyota (which I think is the right engine
package in the trucks?). The other two NASCAR guys I selected were Todd
Kluever and Burney Lamar. Lamar raced a USAC Western Sprint Car
a few years ago and I saw him win a karting event that included some strong
racers. He already has four fantasy league points from his second place
run in the Busch Series opener a Daytona. Kluever was picked because I read
that Jack Roush owned his car. My
USAC trio came as the result of a bit of a dice roll. I tabbed Bryan
Clauson very early - hoping he can get me 60 points. Mat Neely was
available late as my second choice in USAC. Finally I took a chance on Kyle
Nicholas who has some rides with MOPAR lined up for 2006. …My
CRA pick was Mike Spencer. The front runners (Damion Gardner,
Cory Kruseman, Rip Williams, Tony Jones, and Mike
Kirby were 'off the board' already when I selected. I took Spencer because
his smooth style impresses me almost every time I've seen him race. …My
California drivers lean heavy to the USAC Western Sprint Car Series but
my first CA driver picked was Kyle Hirst. I see Kyle continuing to
improve as he gains experience. Tim Barber was my second 'California'
driver selected. He seems to be in the hunt at all the events he enters.
I was pleasantly surprised to be able to pick Mike Murgoitio as my
third CA driver. He came on strong late in 2005 under the tutelage of Larry
Triguero Jr. My final CA driver picked was Nick Green. Tim's
son should score me some points on the blacktop in 2006. …I picked my Pennsylvania
drivers late in the going. I think 21 of the 26 PA drivers were gone when
I took Kevin Nouse. Todd Hestor was my other pick. …Minor
heartbreak occurred several times during the draft for me. I would be ready
to select a certain driver - and to my dismay they were taken right in front
of me. This happened to me with Colby Wiesz, Kody Swanson,
Johnny Sauter, and Jon Stanbrough. …At-large
picks are guys that did not get selected in the first part of the draft.
You can pick anyone who is leftover. My three at-large picks were Kerry
Madsen, Brock Mayes and Mike Faria. ...The draft was fun
despite a five hour round trip drive. The best part is having some added
incentive to scrutinize those crucial top-fives when the season really gets
rolling. I now have a reason to care about races in other regions that I
might not pay as much (or in the case of NASCAR any) attention to. Drivers
that are on my team... let's put the HammerDown!
...Please
dig JackSlash.com which is run by
my buddy Sean Buckley. Sean and I announced together a few times
at Kings Speedway in Hanford, CA. He is a cool cat - and his site is lots
of fun. ...Look for Scott Hall and Nick Green to run at selected
Chico events this season. Brian Sperry is said by Hall to be the
car owner in the winged 410's (Hall) and spec sprint (Green). ...The World
of Outlaws announced that Joey Saldana will run the entire WoO schedule
in 2006 for car-owner Kasey Kahne. ...Meanwhile the National Sprint
Tour event at Tulare in a couple weeks has confirmed that Sammy Swindell
will run. ...Watsonville Speedway is now called Ocean Speedway in Watsonville.
Rip Williams
took the win in the Perris Auto Speedway opener. 40 cars were on hand in
the USAC-CRA sanctioned event. ...I hear we may see Brad Galedrige
in a USAC Western Sprint Car this season. The 2004 Ford Focus CA. North
Champion showed good speed at Phoenix on the mile in a midget. ...Brooke
Tatnell won the 2006 Australian Sprintcar Championship.
...Garrett
Hansen is going to run a 410 sprint car in the Perris Auto Speedway
season opener. The Manhattan Beach, CA driver is coming off of an impressive
performance at the Chili Bowl where he made the Saturday night A-Main. Hansen
has run a 360 sprinter at Ventura with good success in the VRA series.
"Travel
life's road with a loving heart" - Pat
Holtsman
Time / Temp. in ``The Rock'
(Jim Fisher photo)
(Jim
Fisher photo) 
