Car shows are starting - local racing season is upon us

Warm weather has finally arrived and we'll see how long it stays around. Memorial Day is quickly approaching signaling the unofficial start of a gearhead's favorite time of year - CAR SHOWS!

This weekend has a couple of shows on tap in Ashland and Huntington.

Friday, May 3
Downtown Live - Downtown Ashland, Ky. Registration fee $5. Door prizes and a 50/50 drawing. Cars, trucks and motorcycles welcome.

Saturday, May 4
Crusing with Tri-State Streetrods, McDonalds and HIMG - HIMG parking lot at US Route 60 and 29th Street; 5 p.m. to dusk. Registration donations. Door prizes and a 50/50 drawing. No alcohol allowed. 304-416-0205.

Whether you have a car, truck or cycle to show off, it's a good time. You can stroll around the cars, search out your favoriteMustangcars, talk to the owners and the folks who baby those machines and keep them in pristine condition.

Was my favorite car in that last paragraph subtle enough? Yep, I love the Mustang. I may drive something else, but can't get enough of the Mustang.

Ready to race, yet?
If racing is more your style, either as a driver or spectator, Ona Speedway is getting ready to drop the green on May 25. Yes, May 25, the weekend when 150,000 people converge on Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. And the pre-race concert will be Trace Adkins.

Saturday, May 25
Ona Speedway will have live music, just not Trace Adkins. But they will have free WiFi! OK, it's not quite the same, but it is a perk! If you are bringing children, there will be a play area for the kiddos.

There will be live music, food and beer available, free WiFi and a play area for the children.

Classes running will be Late Models, Modifieds, Classics, Hobby Stocks, 6-Cyl Stocks and U-cars. The series is now called the Hughes Motorsports Stock Car Racing Series.

Opening night will be the Vernon Craddock Memorial Race. 

 Gates open at 5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults; $7 for children ages 11-18; and children 10-years and younger are free. Pit passes are available for $25 and an All-Access admission is $30 which includes the pits and grandstand seating. Parking is free.

Dave Hughes and a passel of volunteers have been readying the track, pits, concessions area and grandstands, and mowing the massive parking field every Saturday. If you want in on that fun, just show up at the track on Saturday morning after 9 a.m.

The Next Stock Car Star

A local racer wants to get in the development program at Michael Waltrip Racing and needs our help!
Jake Keaton of Barboursville, W.Va., has been a fixture on local tracks for quite a few years and has entered a Facebook and Twitter contest “Peak Stock Car Dream,” to earn one of 10 spots in a three-day racing school.

The school is another competition in itself and the winner gets more training and the opportunity to be licensed and qualify for the chance to be the Next Stock Car Star as a Michael Waltrip Racing development driver.

But for Jake to get there, people need to click this link:

http://peakstockcardream.com/contestant-bio.php?CID=277

When you get there, “like” it, Tweet it, “share” it and watch the video on the page. There are links for each of them.

Jake gets points for each of those and you can do this five times each day.

 

Just to be fair, there are a lot of drivers who have entered  including Joshua White from Charleston, WV and a couple of hopefuls from Corbin, KY. 

So, peruse the entries, make you choice, hopefully for a driver from Barboursville. 

Click on, race fans, click on…

Fontana fun

Ah, the traveling peeps.

Their last stop was sunny southern California at Auto Club Speedway. They sent along photos from their seats, of themselves in those seats, and various other adventures of the day like posing on pit road, a place which after the race garnered much attention.  

Of course, they were first hand witnesses to the post race melee. Depending on where you sit, your view of pit road can be not so great. At home, we saw every punch and heard every 7-second delay comment from the always amusing, often fiery, Tony Stewart. That would be the Tony we have missed since he became a team owner.

And no penalties – points or cash – for anyone. When you get called to the big red truck after a race, you expect a penalty or two on Tuesday. But not on this Tuesday. When the race incidents break into fisticuffs after drivers climb out of the cars, the Peeps turn to each other and in unison say, “Mr. Stewart to the big red truck. Calling Mr. Stewart to the big red truck,” followed by much laughter and discussion of money and points. Just insert whichever driver is involved in whatever happened. Gordon, Bowyer, Busch (either one), Harvick.

Now, when you are at the track, you have to check Twitter for updates from the teams, but the RaceViews are generally set on certain drivers, not the broadcast. So, texting was fast and furious after the race.

But, here are the photos, courtesy of Peep Roberta Hunter. Sista, hopefully I’ll see ya in May in Charlotte!

For all the fans of the 24. . .

Disclaimer: I am not a Jeff Gordon fan. I will give him props for being a 4-time champion. I will recognize he has been a mega talent on the race track. I do, however, take issue with him saying he's from Indiana. Have you noticed he's from the Hoosier state when he races in Indianapolis, but not necessarily any other time? But we digress.

He's a great product spokesman. He's articulate. He's comfortable in front of a camera. He can read a script with the best of them. He can improve pretty well, too. Did you see the show, "I Get That a Lot"? Pretty funny stuff.

Which leads me to today's offering.

Jeff Gordon on You Tube. A few favorites for your viewing enjoyment.

I don't care if there was a stuntman driving. I don't care if the "car salesman" was an actor. This has already gotten 8 million hits on You Tube and it is funny! Dukes of Hazard and Smokey and the Bandit have NOTHING on this clip.

http://youtu.be/Q5mHPo2yDG8

Jeff and the Hendrick shop folks doing the Harlem Shake? That's pretty funny, too. 

http://youtu.be/shJBFyct2XE

How about taking a road trip with Gordo? In an 18-wheeler, headed to Daytona, no less. 

http://youtu.be/trkMYnP67Wo

And finally, something I always laugh and laugh when I replay. The Jeffy Shuffle, or the Texas Two Step with Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton. For the best view of the fight itself skip to about the 4 minute mark when you see the side camera view.

http://youtu.be/dM_H2nM50Wc

There you go, Gordon fans! My homage to the 24. 

Peeps – not just for Easter baskets

Peeps have always been a sweet, sugary, yellow chick treat this time of year. Did you know they explode if you put them in a microwave? But, that’s a whole other story.

This story is about peeps. People peeps. That wonderful slang term for your friends, your group, your posse, the folks you hang with and have fun with regularly.

Where’s my peeps?

Most recently, the peeps were at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Without me.

Well, here are the adventures in peepdom at Vegas. We have Roberta Hunter, Bert for short. Junior fan. And Laura Hepner, Lol for short, and for laughs. She’s a Five-Time fan.  And Joni Baumgart, as I call her Joni Stewart for her favorite driver who’s name happens to rhyme with Joni. Well, he’s my driver, too. We share lots of inside Smoke jokes. 

There are more NASCAR Members Club peeps, but these are my primary posse. 

Now that you've met the peeps, here we go!

First off, they send where they are sitting for the race.

Next came the text saying it was raining. Raining a lot. They were headed back to Circus Circus 25^th floor.

Did we mention driver appearances? They caught the Stewart-Haas team hamming it up at the MGM Grand. Here, well, the boss is pretty amusing and Danica has been the talk of the track since winning the pole at Daytona.

But the jet driers hit the track without Juan Pablo Montoya, and the rains left. The race is on! So were trips to the souvenir haulers where they posed with the ginormous driver faces. And a quick trip to the Sprint Experience to take a photo with the Cup.

Did we mention you can see the cars come out when you are perched in the Neon Garage?

And listening to the driver meeting, held outdoors for the fans to see.

There was more mugging in their seats, headsets in place, waiting for the green flag to drop.

When the laps were done and the winner proclaimed  - Matt Kenseth – it was time to head back to pack, nap and fly home.

But first. Traffic. Plenty of traffic. And they all texted about it, too. Can you whine in text language?

So, next, it’s off to Bristol. Pray for no snow.

Oh, and here's the news from Bristol - Charlie Daniels will lead the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and San Francisco 49ers Daniel Kilgore, a native of Kingsport, Tenn., and played at Appalachian State, will be the race's honorary starter.

Don't hate the driver

There are a lot of Danica haters out there today and the demographic is what surprises me.

For the most part, its women, which surprises me. Fans of the sport or fans of the driver? My allegiance may be to Tony Stewart, but if someone makes a super save, or sweeps a weekend at Bristol like Kyle Busch, I’ll give that some props. Even 5-Time has my admiration for that feat.

“Wish it was someone more worthy.” “Not a fan.” I don’t get the hate. Up to now, stock car racing has been a good-old-boys network. Women fans of racing should be shouting!

Personally, I’m pretty proud of her for shattering another barrier. So, she’s not the first woman driver to make it, there are a few ahead of her.

We’re not discounting what women like Louise Smith did in 1946, being hand-picked by Big Bill to bring novelty to the newly-formed stock car series.

Nor are we forgetting Janet Guthrie who was the first woman to compete in the Indy 500 AND the Daytona 500. Janet was quite the star in NASCAR and the IRL.

The list of women drivers in NASCAR continues, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chrissy Wallace, Erin Crocker, Amber Cope, Angela Cope, Shawna Robinson, Johanna Long.

Then there’s Ashley Force in NHRA. Yeah. That’s fast. Not for very long, but that’s scary fast for those few seconds.

But Danica winning P1 for the Great American Race has people abuzz and some making some pretty disgusting jokes.

Is she good for the sport? Do sponsors like her? Does she attract attention for the sponsors?

Well, yes.

But it’s not all Danica. It’s Stewart-Haas Racing. Its Hendrick engines. She may drive, but the guys in the shop put it all together and give it giddy-up-go.

Remember, she’s not exactly new to racing. She has talent to go with the looks and being well-spoken. She started out in K&N and Nationwide and learned how to handle the super heavy stocks.

Until the last month, you never heard much about her private life, unlike other drivers whose off-track escapades are splashed all over the web, the Twitter-verse and gossip rags.

Will I live vicariously through Danica at next Sunday’s Daytona 500? You bet I will. Hers will be the in-car camera I want to watch. Although the gyro-cam was pretty amazing and I want to see more of that!

Bottom line is she had the fastest car on the track in qualifying and in practice. Therefore, she starts in the pole position. Plain and simple. It could have been Jeff Gordon. Or it could have been any one of 40 other drivers. But it’s Danica Patrick.

Live with it.

 So, now for the gratuitous photo of me at Daytona last year. I'd love to be there this week with the racing world. 

Here are the Race Peeps, Roberta Hunter, Laura Hepner and me at The Intimidator statue outside the speedway one of the sunny days before last year's rain-delayed race. 

 

 

 

Ashland to Australia, Francis takes the championship

This series is going on my bucket list.

Local racer Steve Francis is getting off to an awesome start with the Australian Late Model title.

He'll be headed to Florida shortly to begin the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, racing the #15 Georgia Boot Toyota Camry for Clint Bowyer Racing.

This is a release from the Australian series following the championship along with a couple of photos, and has been posted on Facebook.

Steve Francis Wins the 2013 Australian Dirt Late Model Championship at Bunbury
Press Release for Late Model Racing Australia by Allan Smallwood

American Late Model superstar Steve Francis has won the 2013 Australian Dirt Late Model Championship at Quit Bunbury Speedway last night (January 12th).
 
Francis lead the forty lap championship A Main from start to finish and was never defeated for the entire running of the Australian Championship.

Craig Vosbergen drove a great race to finish second from Warren Oldfield who finished third.

Thirty cars fronted for the second night of the Australian championship with American Devin Moran and Ross Nicastri both sidelined with engine dramas after the first night. South Australian Luke Raymond would also not start the second night with mechanical issues.

Four heat races were held on the second night with drivers contesting one heat each. Steve Francis would win heat nine comfortably over Ryan Halliday and Jamie Oldfield.

Warren Oldfield held off Matt Goodlad in heat ten with New South Wales Darryl Grimson following them home in third.

Craig Vosbergen would continue to show he was a serious chance in the title with another heat win in heat eleven with Vosbergen getting the job done ahead of Matt Noakes and Mick Hamon who had a great battle for second for the entire race.

The final heat race of the weekend would see a depleted field contest the ten laps with Lee Watt scoring maximum points ahead of Koran Atkinson and Matt Nylander.

The top sixteen pointscorers at the end of all the heat races went on to contest the A & B dashes over eight laps.

Steve Francis dominated the A dash, earning himself pole position for the A main. Vosbergen, Warren Oldfield and Jamie Oldfield followed Francis home in the A dash.

Jason Oldfield would lead the early laps of the B Dash before spinning in turn one right in front of Darryl Grimson. Oldfield would retire to the infield with issues in the rear of the MDR transport machine. Grimson would restart in the lead and win the B Dash from Mick Hamon and Koran Atkinson.

A big opening lap accident would occur involving Brad Ludlow, Matt & David Nylander and Dale Clark at the start of the B Main. David Nylander would be the only driver to restart.

Jac Dolmans and Clint Noakes had a great battle for the lead in the B Main with Noakes coming out on top. Matt Noakes got the better of Dolmans in the closing laps finished second from Dolmans, Simon McNab, Ray Leonard and Peter Seaton who all qualified into the A main. Mick Clune and Craig Greentree rounded out the finishers with Mick Clune earning himself a starting position in the A main after Jason Oldfield withdrew with mechanical issues.

Twenty two cars would start the forty lap championship A Main to decide the 2013 Australian Late Model Champion. Francis would lead away at the start with Matt Goodlad and Koran Atkinson both retiring to the infield on the opening lap.

 After ten laps the first restart would occur when Mick Clune hit the wall heavily in turn three. Clune would walk away from the nasty accident with his car sustaining major damage.

Darryl Grimson would hit the wall on the back straight with twenty four laps remaining ending the New South Welshman’s chances while running in seventh place.

 Francis would continue to lead with the laps winding down with Vosbergen comfortably in second place. Jac Dolmans and Mick Hamon would both retire from the race with ten laps remaining with Francis lapping the field up to fifth place.

Matt Noakes would make heavy contact with the wall with six laps remaining bringing Francis back to the field for the sprint to the finish. 

Francis would charge away at the restart and go on to comfortably to win his second straight Australian championship over Vosbergen and Warren Oldfield. Jamie Oldfield who was driving the Brad Blake owned Rocket held onto fourth from Michael Holmes who finished in fifth after doing an engine changed before the main event, Holmes started the race from fifteen.

Ryan Halliday would battle an ill handling racecar into a sixth place finish from Lee Watt, Phil Zuidema, Paul Joss, Matt Crimmins, Clint Noakes and Simon McNab who rounded out the finishers.

Francis was delighted in victory lane, “Great to win this race again, its means a lot to me to come out here and win the title for Michael Holmes and his Ozmine team. Hopefully I can continue the momentum when I go to the east coast now for a couple more races”.

The 2014 Australian Dirt Late Model Championship will be held at the picturesque Borderline Speedway in Mount Gambier in South Australia. The Championship will be held on the 6th, 7th& 8th of March 2014.

2013 Australian Late Model Championship A Main Official Placings
1. USA91 Steve Francis (40 Laps)
2. W8 Craig Vosbergen (40 Laps)
3. W15 Warren Oldfield (40 Laps)
4. W0 Jamie Oldfield (40 Laps)
5. W91 Michael Holmes (39 Laps)
6. W99 Ryan Halliday (39 Laps)
7. W10 Lee Watt (39 Laps)
8. W39 Phil Zuidema (38 Laps)
9. W22 Paul Joss (38 Laps)
10. SA10 Matt Crimmins (38 Laps)
11. W23 Clint Noakes (37 Laps)
12. W49 Simon McNab (37 Laps)
DNF W20 Matt Noakes (31 Laps)
DNF W57 Michael Hamon (28 Laps)
DNF W46 Jac Dolmans (27 Laps)
DNF NSW6 Darryl Grimson (14 Laps)
DNF W5 Ray Leonard (10 Laps)
DNF W3 Mick Cline (8 Laps)
DNF W9 Ben Ludlow (4 Laps)
DNF W65 Peter Seaton (2 Laps)
DNF W18 Matt Goodlad (0 Laps)
DNF W63 Koran Atkinson (0 Laps)