Wait 'till next year...

Halloween 310 has come and gone at Ona Speedway and I am again reminded how much more fun you have at the local short tracks versus the NASCAR events.
You are closer to the action.

There are lots of prizes just for showing up and paying $5 as opposed to $130 and $4 for a bottle of water, with roughly the same amount of time at the track.
When they aren’t in the car, drivers sit in the stands before and after their races and visit with the fans.

The wrecks can be just as big, just not at 190 mph. And the drivers still jump out of their cars, voices wailing and arms flailing, the difference is you can actually hear what they are saying.

So if you missed the action Saturday at Ona, you missed out on prizes from the track management and the Official NASCAR Members Club; keeping lots of money in your pocket for chicken sandwiches, reasonably prices beverages and unofficial race pools with your friends; some pretty big wrecks with drivers yelling at each other; and meeting some of those drivers before the race.

Prize winners from the ONMC to non-club members, who received their choice of Dale Jr., Dale Sr., Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart 2002 Championship caps were:
Curtis Hedrick of Milton, W.Va., Peter B. Garrett of Huntington, W.Va., Susan Arthur or Kenova, W.Va., Donna Wageman of Hurricane, W.Va., Terry Lee Solt of St. Albans, W.Va., and Jerry Dean of Branchland, W.Va.

And as a special gift for ONMC club members, the management of the track let me wave the green flag for the Any Car race. Thanks to photographer Jim Ellis for the picture of me on the flagstand.

But don’t fret, next season non-club members will be in the running for “Lucky Dog” prizes at each race. And there will be prizes for ONMC members, too.

So watch the NASCAR chase for the next five weeks, although the winner already seems to be determined. No conspiracy theory here, although there’s always room in NASCAR for that.

Then bide your time, watch the races you’ve taped, and show up in mid-May at Ona Speedway.