The Write Track – Canandaigua Motorsports Park – 2nd Annual Jan Corcoran Memorial – April 7th 2012

I first want to say that I apologize with my blog being late as my personal life with family was on a sore side and my mind hasn’t been clear enough to write. Also it was excellent to see family members on Easter Sunday as well. Anyone will tell you, that family first and then racing. I’m a true believer in this, but it is hard to take, as it just isn’t me. I did only attend the race as a fan so I’m not media and obligated to get a story out on a deadline, because if that were the case, I would have quit as Family Rules. Now onto the racing part of my blog.
I was extremely excited for this day to arrive and arrive it did! I have missed all of last year’s shows at Canandaigua, as simply put, work and racing sometimes just don’t go well together. The anticipation of this event had all internet message boards filled up with chatter and conversations of many things from the weather, to who is going to show up. With all the hype that surrounded this event, I’ll start off by saying it sure did live up to it.
The grandstand gates were set to open up at 3pm and racing was going to start at 5 pm and I usually like to get there early and cook some food out on the grill and relax. Show up early and go put some blankets down to save our seats and we would be all set to go. I was trying to tell my buddy that we have to get going, or the line will be huge, which it was.

I was out relaxing, “tailgating” and heard the first roar of a BIG BLOCK MODIFIED out on the track for hot laps, I WAS PUMPED!!! I normally get the “Midway” parking and pay a bit extra to park behind the grandstands, but to my avail I found out that you couldn’t have a cookout and/or bring alcohol into this area. The security guy was very polite to me and I was back to him also. He was checking cars for the “booze” which was fine with me; he was just doing his job. Without me being there last year, I did not know that the rules have changed, which was not a problem. Think of this in a promoters view, he owns the place and sells food and beer there and in this economy any business owner needs to make as much as possible to stay above debt. The “Midway” parking is also used for handicapped so there isn’t too far to walk and be able to get up close. This is the first time in years that I saw so many people and cars in the parking lot for a special show at “The Land of Legends”. It was a great day with the weather so that was to be expected. No one really knew what the car count was going to be and all were guessing on the internet and anymore in this day in age I’ll settle for who ever shows up and keep supporting local racing, 41 Modifieds signed up for the series opener, which is a real good car count, as my friend said, “that’s it”? I said be thankful it wasn’t 40 or 26!!
Along with the Modifieds, DIRTcar sportsman and also Pure Stocks and Street Stocks were on the card and I was hoping for a good car count in the full-fendered divisions as they put on a great show too. After hot laps and grouped time trials, Justin Hears set fast time. The track was getting ready for the anthems, and the drivers lined up on turns three and four to pay tribute to the late Paul Britten who was the father of Peter Britten who drives #21a Troyer Big Block Modified and also tribute to the late Jan Corcoran.

After the anthems, we were ready to get into heat races and start out the 2012 season for the Super DIRTcar Series and also for Canandaigua Motorsports Park. The crowd in the grandstands was packed and almost elbow-to-elbow.

I usually sit to the left of the flag stand toward turn four and I used to have season passes here back from like 2000-2004 when the racing was in a better economy than what it is today. It was real good to see old racing friends and to meet new friends as well. It was good to see that the children came out with their parents and a few of them already have the racing blood in them and you can see this by some of the “junior flagger’s” which I think is a real good deal for the younger generation. The track also has a kid’s club set in place to help and entertain the younger base of fans, and yes folks that is the future of racing!

A familiar face that you will see every Saturday night is that of Bob Miller who is on the video camera catching all the action. Here he is just getting ready to hit that record button or maybe just trying to get the camera in focus. If you see him be sure to say thank you, as a thank you goes a long way and he does what he does for the love of the sport.

Enough of my rant, it is time to get onto the racing, the Pure Stocks came out for their one and only heat for the night and the first real racing action in over a year! Vance Vanderwall would lead them to the field and never look back and take the heat victory.
The Street Stocks were up for their heat and Nate Daggett wound up taking the victory.
The DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds were set to run their 5 qualifying heats, which were won by Todd Henderson, Justin Henderson, Greg Cool, Eric Giguere, and Cody McPherson. This was a real good field with a total of 40 cars in the pits.
The ground pounding Big Block Modifieds was set to go in their 4 heats with 41 Mods signed in. It was time to Start the season for the Super DIRTcar Series 2012 edition Billy Decker, Larry Wight, Matt Sheppard and Danny Johnson won the heats. It looked like many cars were really hooked up and that it was going to be a great feature. The staff at the track and officials did a great job of keeping the show moving right along! The weather was getting colder as the day went on, but with the great on-track action it didn’t bother me too much.
While heading back to the car during a break to grab another sweatshirt, I have noticed that someone has apparently pranked someone or intentionally doesn’t like the person, but either way this is what you don’t want to see at the races!!

I have said many times that the racing family and fans are some of the best and will do anything to help you out in a time of need, and this was just a bad example of this. Then again, maybe the people who knew about this, are still laughing and was done all in fun with friends, but I don’t know take it for what it is.
The redraw for the Modifieds took place right behind the flag stand and all the drivers had to pick from a pile of white Jan Corcoran t-shirts that had a number on them which would set the top-12 starting positions.
The drivers would pick their shirt and then sign the shirts and give them to a fan, most of the drivers had someone pick them for them and also the kids loved getting up close to see their favorite drivers, it was good to see smiles on faces!

Dave Farney was in the house to flag for the Super DIRTcar Series, and also the honorary starter was Ms Motorsports Samantha LaGas, who threw the green flag for the 2nd Annual Jan Corcoran Memorial!! Jeremie and Lori Corcoran’s two kids gave the call to start the engines, just another showing of how the racing family comes together! The track set off a ton of fireworks, which was a spectacular way to get the crowd into pre-race excitement!
Take into consideration that I take these pictures with my Android X cell phone, so they might not be the best, but trying to keep the good word about racing and tweeting results and updates. Here is the picture that I captured when they took the green.

Yes, that is Larry Wight on inside and Tim McCreadie on the outside and just behind him you can get a glimpse of the eventual winner Danny Johnson.
The racing was extremely exciting and fast and at many times from like 2nd-8th place the drivers were going 3-4 wide. The Doctor Danny Johnson took the lead passing Larry Wight on the 6th lap and never looked back only four cautions plagued the event and Danny was still able to prevail claiming his first SDS victory since 1995 at Canandaigua.
I had a blast and so did my friends and my neighbors boy called it right and picked Danny to win. It was getting interesting near the end as Brett Hearn looked like he really found something on the top groove and was closing in on Danny, but just ran out of time. Justin Haers finished third by getting by Matt Sheppard on the last lap and Sheppard showed his frustration by “tapping” the rear bumper of Haers when exiting the track headed to the scales. Too me it seemed like a little love tap and just provided a bit more to the experience of the first race of the year.
Thanks to Jeremie and Lori Corcoran for a well-run show and also to all the employees and volunteers that helped make the first night a huge success!! The track was in great shape, food was great and so was the racing.
I was doing updates from the grandstands and it really does help with good speakers and also two great announcers in Shane Andrews and Mel Thomas. Lookout world because the LAND OF LEGENDS IS BACK!!! Until Next Time, Keep it on “THE WRITE TRACK” and get off your duff and go and support your local track no matter what is racing!! Full Results are below along with some helpful Internet links. Remember if you want complain about this and that, how about you think “outside” the box and be part of the solution instead! For any and all comments, you can reach me at the following> tomames2@yahoo.com or by phone
607-368-3617 LETS GO RACING!!!!

Event Summary – April 7, 2012
49th Season-Opener
Empire Seneca Recycling of Waterloo and Xtreme Lubricants present 2nd Annual Jan Corcoran Memorial
Big-Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series
*Feature (64 laps): 1. (4)27j-Danny Johnson, ($6,400), 2. (17)20-Brett Hearn, 3. (6)3-Justin Haers, 4. (5)9s-Matt Sheppard, 5. (10)98h-Jimmy Phelps, 6. (1)99L-Larry Wight, 7. (12)91-Billy Decker, 8. (18)8r-Rob Bellinger, 9. (3)7x-Steve Paine, 10. (20)10j-Alan Johnson, 11. (14)77x-Dale Planck, 12. (7)21a-Peter Britten, 13. (8)99b-Chuck Bower, 14. (16)21k-Randy Chrysler, 15. (23)49-Billy Dunn, 16. (11)62s-Tom Sears Jr., 17. (2)4*-Tim McCreadie, 18. (15)89b-Todd Burley, 19. (25)1jr.-Mike O'Brien, 20. (29)48too-Dave Rauscher, 21. (9)21-Derrick Podsiadlo, 22. (24)8-Rich Scagliotta, 23. (22)10-Tim Currier, 24. (28)72-Tommy Flannigan, 25. (26)23-Billy VanInwegen, 26. (19)91h-Chad Homan, 27. (21)74-Tim Fuller, 28. (27)22-Gil Tegg Jr., 29. (30)96-Mike Turner, 30. (31)20x-Gary Tomkins, 31. (13)56-Vince Vitale.
Heats (8 laps, 5 Qualify, Top-3 redraw)
#1: Decker, Haers, Phelps, Vitale, Hearn, Dunn, Fuller, Wright, Payne, Mangiarelli(DNS).
#2: Wight, Britten, Sears, Planck, Bellinger, O'Brien, Tegg, Rauscher, Bresnahan, Hilkert.
#3: Sheppard, Bower, Podsiadlo, Burley, Homan, VanInwegen, Turner, Siri, Chappius, Tomkins.
#4: D.Johnson, McCreadie, Paine, Chrysler, A.Johnson, Currier, Scagliotta, Flannigan, Allen, Willix, Dinkins.
Consolations (10 laps, 5 Qualify)
#1: Fuller, Dunn, O'Brien, Tegg, Rauscher, Wright, Bresnahan, Hilkert, Dinkins, Payne, Mangiarelli(DNS).
#2: Currier, Scagliotta, VanInwegen, Flannigan, Turner, Allen, Siri, Willix, Chappius, Tomkins(DNS).
Added: Tomkins.
Time Trials: 1. Justin Haers 17.881 sec (100.665 mph), 2. Billy Decker 17.964, 3. Jimmy Phelps 18.046, 4. Vince Vitale 18.072, 5. Matt Sheppard 18.142, 6. Brett Hearn 18.185, 7. Tim Fuller 18.237, 8. Peter Britten 18.476, 9. Billy Dunn 18.483, 10. Justin Wright 18.504, 11. Larry Wight 18.686, 12. Tom Sears Jr. 18.699, 13. Dale Planck 18.715, 14. Rob Bellinger 18.786, 15. Eldon Payne Jr. 18.854, 16. Mike O'Brien 18.856, 17. Derrick Podsiadlo 18.872, 18. Gil Tegg Jr. 18.935, 19. Tim McCreadie 18.950, 20. Steve Paine 19.028, 21. Todd Burley 19.031, 22. Chuck Bower 19.145, 23. Chad Homan 19.155, 24. Randy Chrysler 19.180, 25. Danny Johnson 19.269, 26. Tommy Flannigan 19.378, 27. Daryl Hilkert 19.415, 28. Tim Currier 19.424, 29. Billy VanInwegen 19.491, 30. Chris Mangiarelli 19.648, 31. Mike Turner 19.781, 32. Tyler Siri 19.808, 33. Dave Allen 19.822, 34. Marcus Dinkins 19.841, 35. Dave Rauscher 19.964, 36. Colton Chappius 20.768, 37. Rich Scagliotta, 22.581, 38. Alan Johnson(NT), 39. Gary Tomkins(NT), 40. Roy Bresnahan(NT), 41. Lance Willix II(NT).

Safety Awareness Solutions Sportsman Modified
*Feature (20 laps): 1. 66-Dan Wiesner, 2. 777-Tyler McPherson 3. 29g-Steve Gray, 4. 18h-Todd Henderson 5. 7am-Cody McPherson, 6. 83x-Tim Sears Jr., 7. 67g-Eric Giguere, 8. 20x-Kevin Ridley, 9. 22-Greg Cool, 10. 24a-A.J. Lewis, 11. 57s-Beth Schneider, 12. m1-Dave Marcuccilli, 13. 06-Brandon Easey, 14. 7f-Matt Farnham, 15. 11-Ben Wheeler, 16. 10-Karl Comfort, 17. 52-Jessica Power, 18. 31-Kane Bristol, 19. 1f-A.J. Lloyd, 20. 111-Allan Wills, 21. 25g-Nick Guererri, 22. 21-Justin Henderson, 23. 11-Dean Patterson, 24. p5s-Rich Swarthout, 25. 76-Rob Bussey, 26. 57b-Frank Burnell Jr., 27. 6r-Nate Reynolds, 28. 21m-Randy McCulloch.
Heats (8 laps)
#1: T.Henderson, Wiesner, Schneider, Wheeler, Easey, Ayers, Lincoln, Scales, Livingston(DNS).
#2: J.Henderson, T.McPherson, Power, Lewis, Burnell, Chappius, M.Guererri, P.Guererri(DNS).
#3: Cool, Comfort, Farnham, Lloyd, Reynolds, Henry, Martin, Pavlick.
#4: Giguere, Swarthout, Ridley, Marcuccilli, N.Guererri, Wills, McCulloch, Cook.
#5: C.McPherson, Gray, Sears, Patterson, Bristol, Bussey, Ellsworth, Wilber.
Consolation (8 laps)
#1: Easey, Bristol, Reynolds, Wills, Martin, Lincoln, Wilber, Ellsworth, Chappius(DNS), Pavlick(DNS), P.Guererri(DNS).
#2: N.Guererri, Burnell, Bussey, McCulloch, Henry, Cook, Ayers, Scales, Keyes, M.Guererri, Livingston(DNS).

Parts Plus Street Stock
*Feature (12 laps): 1. 28-Russ Marsden, 2. 00-Mike Welch, 3. 3d-Nate Daggett, 4. 90-Nate Peckham, 5. 55b-Blane Smith, 6. 715-Michael Cooper, 7. 3-Patrick Hobbs, 8. 38-Jason Whipple, 9. 9r-Roger Bush, 10. 98t-Jack Terrell, 11. 5k-Keith Keuer.
Heat (6 laps)
#1: Daggett, Welch, Peckham, Smith, Marsden, Terrell, Whipple, Cooper, Hobbs, Keuer, R.Bush.

Pure Stock
*Feature (12 laps): 1. 742-Vance Vanderwall, 2. 25b-Marc Minutolo, 3. 02-Brad Steinruck, 4. 10-Chris Gingerich, 5. 6-George LaVare Jr. 6. 70-Rod Comfort, 7. 22t-Eric Chapman, 8. 11-Jeremy Pifer, 9. 4p-Dave Bush.
Heat (6 laps)
#1: Vanderwall, Steinruck, Minutolo, LaVare, D.Bush, Gingerich, Chapman, Pifer, Comfort(DNS).

NEXT EVENT: Sat., April 14 @ 7pm; Big-Block Modified/Sportsman/Street Stock/Pure Stock/New Legends Sportsman plus Pit Stop Challenge.

LINKS OF INTEREST

Canandaigua Motorsports Park
http://www.canandaiguamotorsportspark.com
Super DIRTcar Series
http://www.superdirtcarseries.com/
Bob Miller’s Number Nine Video Page Has Highlight video posted
http://www.youtube.com/user/NumberNineVideo
My Blogsite The Write Track Racing
http://thewritetrackracing.blogspot.com/
DIRT 365 – Exclusive Site Where all my Blogs will be posted
http://www.dirt365.com/
My Twitter Account @fastlaneradio
https://twitter.com/#!/fastlaneradio

The Write Track – Little Valley Speedway – Brock Young Memorial – July 15th, 2011

I’m back with part two of a two-day race fest, as this is the second track in two days that it was my first time being there. This was a bit different, as I was a guest with the Knowles racing team. I rode along with Brian Knowles who drives the number 7 BRP 360 late model who was going to be racing in the Brock Young Memorial Race,

a race that his father Larry has won before. Brian’s brother Jason was also racing(number 4)

and he beat us there, but we weren’t really racing to get there, but we were plenty early. As soon as we pull into the pits, the lady come right up to the truck and let us sign in and we were on our way. Thanks to Larry Knowles also for offering up the ride to get there and also on a side note, Larry is the owner of Doug Gross Construction, who obviously is helping out his kids racing now and he has retired from racing.

This racetrack is actually the Cattaraugus County Fairgrounds, so there are plenty of horse barns, fenced in areas and a bunch of buildings on the property. Brian parked the truck and trailer just outside of turn three which he was telling me the whole way there is you can see everything from where we park.

He wasn’t kidding, after we got the racecar un-strapped and the ladder out, I set that up and climbed up on the platform on the roof of the hauler. Wow, what a view. I am told that the track is a measured ½ mile and I think it looks a bit bigger than that. The straight-aways are very long and the corners are very tight, so I guess you could say it was a big “paper clip” so to speak. I could not wait to see some racing as I figured any car on this track is absolutely going to be flying down the long straight-aways.

I left Brian and John (Crew) to get their stuff out of trailer and set up so that I could walk around and check the place out. I noticed that the “Snack Shack”

was opened and went on over to see what was on the menu. This is the concession stand in the pits. To my surprise, you can get anything from a taco salad, ice cream, eggs and bacon, sloppy joes, potato and macaroni salad and much more.

They also were making milkshakes and ice cream floats along with serving coca-cola products for beverages. The condiment table was filled with a ton of things for your goodies. I had some French fries and a taco salad along with a hot dog, all was very good and another thing I like is that they have combo deals that save you some money. Just outside the Snack Shack is also the pit shack/office and there are two boards that they write the lineups on.

We had some time as we are there early and Brian took me for a ride out on the track on the four-wheeler, which gave me a great opportunity to snap some pictures.

^Turn 4^

The grandstands that are there are huge and are down into turn one. The flag stand is also closer to turn one and not centered on the straightaway.

I find it amazing that the place actually has no tower for the officials or scorers to sit and they sit in chairs on the platform with tables setup.

I could not believe this at all, I’m sure they are using pencils, as soon as you get dirt flying in the air you can’t write to good on paper with a pen. They also have a lap counter with the top 3 positions and this sits in between turn 1 and 2.

It was still a bit hard to see from where we were standing in turn three as it is or it seems like a mile away.

On the inside of the corners they have tires half buried and Brian is telling me it isn’t good when you get into to of them as they run right close to the bottom and many guys have been bitten by this.

I have a bunch of video that I will have posted on my youtube channel that shows a great speed shot of the E-Mods racing down the backstretch. I never made it over to sit in the grandstands or check out the food over there, but I guess the pizza you can get over in the grandstand area is huge.

This event was the 100th event on the BRP 360 Late Model Can Am Series that is run and operated by Gary Montgomery. Along with this racing were street stocks, UEMS E-Mods and also the super late models. The UEMS (United E-Mod Series) was doing a make-up feature from an earlier date as well as a regular show. They did no hot laps for the event and also had a drivers meeting. They pretty much covered all the basics in the meeting and Chris Zuver talked with the E-Mod drivers as he also runs this series along with the ULMS for the super late models.

John, Brian’s crew guy drew #6 and it ended up putting Brian on the pole in the first heat as no one drew any lower than that. The heats went 8 laps in distance and Brian would go on to win his heat, putting him in the redraw for the feature. John would then again draw the number six and that is where he would be starting the feature event. Brian’s brother Jason drew #3 just one row ahead of Brian. There was a total of 23 BRP cars in attendance which all would qualify and make the feature event. Bruce Miller started on the pole and went on to lead all the laps with Jeremy Wonderling in tow right behind him. There were 7 cautions in the first 8 laps, and unfortunately Brian ended up spinning out in turns 1 and 2. And lost some positions. On another restart it looked like someone hit Brian in the rear and then got banged up on the right hand side and ruined a great run giving Brian two flat rear tires. The crew was hustling around to get ready for him to come in and do some tire changes and we did, it was fast and he was able to get back out there and finish the race.
Jason held on for a 4th place finish while Brian charged up from the tail of the pack to salvage a 12th place finish. Hats off to Gary Montgomery for his 100th race and also to all the drivers who supported him along the way. Without much rain in the area, the track crew had watered down the track, but at feature time it was already hard and bumpy and very dry and dusty.

All the racing divisions put on great shows and there was racing and passing throughout each feature. Each class enters the corners completely different and some of the super late models were sliding it in so hard the rear of their cars was almost hitting the guardrail fence on the outside. The E-Mods were as loud as the super late models and put on a very competitive race in their makeup feature. Bob Close would take the win in that one while Dan Davies took the win in the regular feature event. I did not get to see the second feature as we were on our way out of there and going home. Andy Michael won the street stock race in their 15th lap feature while Richard “Boom” Briggs won the super late models.

Overall, this racing experience was really fun, I got to see some really great racing and more important is the speed that I got to see with the super lates. It was fun helping Brian out getting the mud of the car and just being part of the team was super fun and it gave me someone to cheer for. I want to say thanks again to the Knowles Racing family and a friends for allowing me to go with them racing. Be sure to check out there team website below and also find them on facebook under Team 4 Racing. Also check out Doug Gross Construction for all your construction needs. They specialize in equipment rentals, dumpster and roll off service, and much more. Give them a call at 607-936-0168.

No plans of yet where the next race track that I will be at, Little Valley will be racing next on September 4th for the Labor Day Coca-Cola Classic. So keep it tuned right her and stay on “The Write Track” and get out and support racing at your local track. Be sure to always visit sponsors who support racing as it helps us all in the long run. Thanks again to the Knowles family for taking me to a great racetrack I really enjoyed myself, THANKS!!
After a tought night of racing, the car is loaded and we were headed home.

Website Links of interest

Little Valley Speedway>
http://www.littlevalleyspeedway.com
BRP Can Am 360 Late Model Series
http://www.brpcanamseries.com/
UEMS E Mod Series>
http://unitedlatemodelseries.com/
Knowles Racing Team>
http://www.goteam4racing.com/
My Blogsite>
http://thewritetrackracing.blogspot.com/
My YouTube Channel>
http://www.youtube.com/user/tazman27j

Full Results July 15th, 2011

Super Late Models: (30 laps) 1. Boom Briggs 2. Mike Knight, 3. Chad Valone, 4. Jason Dupont, 5. Rod Maloy, 6. Dick Barton, 7. Greg Oakes, 8. David Scott, 9. John Lacki, 10. Chris Hackett, 11. Jeff Dayman, 12. Terry Porter, 13. Doug Ricotta, 14. Dutch Davies, 15. Paul Grigsby, 16. James Mason, and 17. Bump Hedman. Heat winners were Knight and Briggs.

360 Late Models Brock Young Memorial: (22 laps) 1. Bruce Miller, 2. Jeremy Wonderling, 3. Mikey Wonderling, 4. Jason Knowles. 5. Bryce Davis, 6. Greg Galligan, 7. Dave Dubois, 8. Dusty Waters, 9. Mike Wonderling, 10. Brian Hoffman, 11. Bob Close, 12. Brian Knowles, 13. Jon Rivers, 14. DJ Krug 15. John Waters, 16. Glen Writenour, 17. Jarod Hill, 18. Carl Cleveland, 19. Ron Wilkins, 20. Jeff Chesebro, 21. Quinn Sutherland, 22. Bob Babbitt, and 23. Barry Payne. Heat winners were Brian Knowles, Mikey Wonderling, and Chesebro.

E-Mod Makeup: (20 laps) 1. Bob Close, 2. Joel Watson, 3. Rich Michael, 4. Jack Young, 5. Craig Bedell, 6. Kyle Bedell, 7. Al Brewer, 8. Justin Carlson, 9. John Woodward, 10. Tim Peterson, 11. Vic Vena, 12. Mike McGee, 13. Randy Hall, 14. Nate Hill, 15. Brian Fardink, 16. Bud Watson, 17. Kari Gasser, 18. Kyle Inman, 19. Butch Southwell, 20. Dan Davies, and 21. Tim Rockwell. Heat winners were Joel Watson, Michael, Rockwell, and Davies. Consi winner was Woodward.

E-Mod Feature: (20 laps) 1. Dan Davies, 2. Justin Carlson, 3. Butch Southwell, 4. Rich Michael, 5. Joel Watson, 6. Al Brewer, 7. John Woodward 8. Darren Tarabori, 9. Craig Bedell, 10. Tim Rockwell, 11. Brain Fardink, 12. Bud Watson, 13. Kari Gasser, 14. Vic Vena, 15. Kevin Buff, 16. Tim Peterson, 17. Mike McGee, 18. Jeff Johnson, 19. Jack Young, 20. Randy Hall, 21. Nate Hill, 22. Bob Close, 23. Ben Asel, and 24. Kyle Bedell.

Street Stocks: (15 laps) 1. Andy Michael 2. Rich Wojtowicz, 3. Critter Hemphill, 4. Rob Stromecki, 5. Butch Talbot, 6. John Woodward 7. Levi Watson, 8. Jeff Woodward, 9. Josh Wilcox, 10. Tim Bruce, 11. Steve Sklar, 12. Barry Tingue, 13. Chris Austin, 14. Kevin Dzuroff, and 15. Craig Rex. DNS: Bruno Mowery. Heat winners were Michael and Wojtowicz.

The Write Track – McKean County Raceway – July 14th, 2011 Jim Duffy Memorial

Racing and friends it can’t get any better than that, simply put I had some money saved up and was planning on attending MCR either way, by myself or with someone. I have never been to this track and was excited for sure. A big thanks goes out to Jerry who drove us to the track and I was able to go along.

For anyone that doesn’t know, McKean County Raceway is 1/3rd mile track and is absolutely a nice track, and this like many others is also a fairgrounds so there is many barns and even had a flea market set up too.

The track is run by McKean Motorsports who is Ken Leet, Rich Yeager, Rod Biehler, Tom Gleason. Before I get into to my story, I want to thank all of these people who let me in to the track, Thank You!!

This was a Thursday night, mid-week show and I was excited as on the racing card was the ULMS Super Late Models, E-Mods, Street Stocks and Mini Stocks and Fastrak Crate Late Models. The ULMS series is short for United Late Model Series, which is run by Chris Zuver. (There will be links to the sites at bottom of story.)

When arriving at the track I didn’t notice any big signs stating that it was McKean County Raceway, but my friends knew where to go. This place was different for sure, there is no area that is fenced in at all, you pay for your ticket at the right of the grandstands

and they just have people standing making sure that you paid and your right into the grandstands. The grandstands are really awesome with them being all aluminum and also have backs on them too.

I figured after walking from turn one to turn four there really isn’t any bad seat in the house at all. There is also a small section of stands setup in the pits just outside of turn four. The cars enter the track from turn four and the exit to the pits is down the backstretch off turn three. The pits are outside of turns 3+4 and it is almost like they are in the woods, trees are all over the place, so it gives you that feeling like a big campground, but instead of tents/campers, you have haulers and race cars all over SWEET!

The restrooms in the pits are the good ole fashioned Port-a-Johns. However I found it interesting that the restrooms for those not in the pits are right behind the stands. I always rate the bathrooms, so here goes, the men’s room has only two urinals and many were all standing in line waiting to go and many were noticed “doing the dance”, so to speak. However they were clean but just need more toilets. Heck us guys we know where to go, go find a tree or whatever. Just couldn’t resist on that one! The food prices were fair and not expensive, didn’t really notice that many different items, just the normal things you find on the menu. The French fries and burger I had were good. The concession stand over in the grandstands is literally inside a barn along with a vendor selling racing stuff and toys for kids. It is the booth of Fast Pace Photos, who is the official photographer at the track. (Link to site below)

So with this being the case no dirt is flying at you while your ordering or adding those condiments to your grub. There was also a vendor just under the grandstands also selling a bunch of hats, racing t-shirts and much more.

When I went to sign in the lady knew and was expecting me to show up, awesome; it was obvious that Rich Yeager let them know I was on my way and communication is the key in running a track or any business for that matter. This made my day as the staff was all very friendly and it was great to get to a new track I never been to before and greeted with great hospitality. THANKS.

The tower where all the officials sit is dead smack in the center of the stands all the way at the top.

I sat about 5-6 rows down from the top row and sitting in turn four, it was a little hard to hear the announcers, however when the Super Lates and E-Mods hit the track they are super loud, so it was still a great experience even though I couldn’t hear all the calling of the race.
With me working at South Arcade Speedway and knowing that some of our racers race down here, I knew that I would see some racers that I knew. I was able to meet up with some new drivers as well and people.

I counted 85 cars total in the pits, which is not too bad for 5 divisions of racing especially on a weeknight. I took some pictures sitting outside of turn three from the pits and it was a different view rather than from the stands.

It was nice to see the Bud Light scoreboard showing the top 3 and also a lap counter as well sitting off of turn two. I love lap counters as this gives the average person an idea on how many laps to go and also if your not paying attention you will know who is leading.

I also spotted the big Hoosier Tire truck in the pits selling tires. Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic covers the following areas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and Ohio.

The Mini Stocks ran their feature first and Brad Ullman took the checkers. Then it was time for the Super Late Models for the Jim Duffy Memorial ULMS race. I don’t get to see these cars too many times so this was going to be something different for sure. It must have been just a bad night for some drivers in this class as in the first 8 laps we had 7 cautions. After the cars finally got in a rhythm the racing was fast loud and just amazing around this little bullring. Robbie Blair would end up taking the checkers over Mike Knight, and Chad Valone. This was a great preview of the Super Lates as the World of Outlaws is coming to race here on July 26th. I have some video posted as a small preview, I definitly recommend anyone to attend this show. Bob Close of Close Racing Supply located in Eldred, PA. Went on to win the E-Mod feature, which was his first of the year. He (Close) builds chassis’ and sells a bunch of racing related parts, tires and stuff for your street stock to Late Models. The Fastrak Late Model feature was on tap next and these have crate motors and always put on a great show as there usually is plenty of passing and the competition is tough. Adam Sixt in the 6t took the checkers in this feature, which was filled with some drama.

The 50 car of Steve Dixion was closing in on him after a few cautions and it seemed that Dixon was catching him, but had to settle for second. During one caution, John Lacki looked like he never lifted off the gas while his right front was into the left rear of Max Blair’s car who then got into Brian Haggerty who ended up in the infield and over on his side.

Lacki was black flagged and sent to the pits. I’m sorry but that could have been real scary for sure and luckily everyone was okay. The street stocks put on one heck of a show, however Andy Michael was the class of the field and started on the pole and never looked back to take the checkers. Overall, a great night of racing and I had fun with friends and also met some new ones. Congrats to all the winners and I send out a big Congrats to Adam Sixt, great race Adam. I was like the little kid in the candy store, I made it to victory lane to get my picture taken with Adam, as his family’s business Sixt Lumber supported us at South Arcade this year and last, so Congrats from all the staff on win and Thank You!

It was interesting as the features were going on, I took a bathroom break and these kids were all looking under the stands and apparently there was a skunk on the loose, obviously no one scared it and it didn’t spray as that would have made the night stinky for sure. The bathroom rating has to be set at a 4 as there aren’t enough stalls as mentioned above, but what are you going to do. The food was great and the staff even better. It really has a great family atmosphere there and it is a relaxed and well-run show. Thank you MCR for giving me some great entertainment on a weeknight and I will be back. The next event is on July 27th, 2011 with the World of Outlaws Late Models come to town along with UEMS E-Mods and MCR Street Stocks. Another thing that I was told is that at MCR, they are racing for fun and money, no points apparently from what I am told, now that is racing!!

Be sure to check out the links below and always visit sponsors that support racing, and tell them you heard about them at the track. I also had the chance to meet Jay Pees who is the owner of the website Raceway Magazine, so be sure to check it out as he takes a bunch of great pictures and also you will find results from local area tracks there.

Until Next time, keep it on “The Write Track” and be safe and don’t drink and drive, be sure to have a DD (Designated Driver) or how my new friend calls it a DDH, which stands for Designated Drunk Hauler!! Thanks to Jerry for that one. Full results are Below the Links.

My Blogsite>
http://thewritetrackracing.blogspot.com/
My Youtube Channel>
http://www.youtube.com/user/tazman27j
Mckean County Raceway>
http://www.mckeancountyraceway.com/index.html
Fast Pace Photos (Official Track Photographer)
http://www.fastpacephotos.com
Bob Close Racing Supply>
http://closeracingsupply.com/index.html
Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic>
http://hoosiermidatlantic.com/
Chris Zuver’s ULMS/UEMS Series>
http://unitedlatemodelseries.com/
Raceway Magazine>
http://www.racewaymagazine.com/


RESULTS, July 14th, 2011:

ULMS Jim Duffy Memorial:

ROB BLAIR, Mike Knight, Chad Valone, Dennis Lunger, Dave Hess, Greg Oakes, Dutch Davies, Jason Dupont, Jeff Hoffman, Andy Boozel, Brent Rhebergen, Dick Barton, Boom Briggs, David Scott, Doug Ricotta, Matt Lux, Bump Hedman, Paul Grigsby, Derek Frank, Greg Satterlee

Mini Stocks:
BRAD ULLMAN, Chad Babcock, Tom Boylan, Riley Ellison, Duane Powers, Shawn Byerly, Eric Canfield, Michael Oakes, Davey Lowe Jr., Joe Boylan, Jeff Buhl, Theresa Shelley, Taylor Jacobs, Dave Kineston

Emods:
BOB CLOSE, Dave Hess, Travis Asel, Butch Southwell, Vic Vena, Nathan Hill, Rich Michael, Brent Rhebergen, Mike Eschrich, Tim Peterson, Jaben Hill, Alex Froman, Leonard Enos, Darren Tarabori

Fastrak Late Models:
ADAM SIXT, Steve Dixon, Tommy Kronenwetter, Max Blair, Damien Bidwell, Justin Tatlow, Jr Peters, Darren Peters, Brad Mesler, John Haggerty, Cody Mason, Justin Smith, Matt Cobb, Kyle Zimmerman, Brian Haggerty, Ron Baker, Ike Fanton, John Lacki (DQ) and Patrick Willar (DNS)

Street Stocks:
ANDY MICHAEL, Randy Taylor, Steve Mowery, Josh Wilcox, Chris Austin, Craig Rex, Kevin Dzuroff, Scott Fuller, Patrick Yohe, Steve Field, Mark Schweikart, Joe Chamberlain, Chris Conkey, Steve Sklar, Bruno Mowery, Rich Hemphill, Ron Budinger

The Write Track – Five Mile Point Speedway – 61st Anniversary Special ROC Modifieds July 5th, 2011

The Write Track – Five Mile Point Speedway – 61st Anniversary Special ROC Modifieds July 5th, 2011

After a late start and a late dinner I was off to Five Mile Point Speedway and was anticipating a great show with Modifieds and Sportsman on the card racing. A total of 35 Modifieds and 27 Sportsman were in the pits for both competing in a Race of Champions Series race. They also had the enduro cars or what they call the Colossal Cats racing also. The place didn’t change much that I could remember from the last time I was there, however the pits were now behind the backstretch

and not off of turns three and four. I almost forgot to mention the new aluminum bleachers that were in place in front of the towers and also a new handicap seating at the top of them as well.

This is a great addition, as I can remember just the old school boards down as seats. I have a bunch of pictures I’ll be posting.

The first thing that I noticed was that when they were doing hot laps that they put the tires that normally sit on the very inside of the track out on the track. .

(Picture shows this) No idea why this is, but either way I figured it was to save the inside groove. They have a nice big Lap Counter down in turn one which is always good to see, as many fans love knowing how many laps left, or how many have been completed either way.

Hot laps were going on and they brought all the cars out on the track from the pits that are off of turn two now and staged them all in the infield. During the hot laps, it was getting dusty so I knew I was in for more dust than normal just like Uncle Dennis said to me, “I’m Warning You!” My cousin Rich brought all the family with him as he was one that had the opportunity to use the Family Pack deal, which is good for two adults and three children, and with his 8 kids, it was one heck of deal especially with all 17 and younger getting in free. Senior citizen prices were fair at $15 with just adult admission at $19. Normally series races it costs more and I thought this wasn’t that bad of a deal. Weekday shows it is sometimes hard to get people there, but the place was pretty filled up for sure.

During the heat races I noticed it was looking like a one-groove racetrack, which I was hoping it was going to get better come feature time. So I took some time and walked around taking pictures of the place. I spoke with Tom and Joanne Schwarz, owners of Racing Collectibles, who had their trailer full of racing memorabilia there for sale, and I can say they have a bunch of great stuff.

Speaking about great stuff, Garys U-Pullit was the sponsor of the nights racing and just from experience; they have a ton of parts in their yard for many cars. I think my uncle Dennis lives there as he is always going to get spare parts for all his vehicles and most anything you find there is cheap!!

The heats were run off rather quickly and notables that did not make it were Brett Hearn, Danny Johnson and also Matt Sheppard. There are many others, but I’m just getting used to the drivers down this way, so it has been taking me some time. Danny ended up breaking in his heat and later would still not make the consi and get a RoC Provisional to start the feature. Usually at all tracks I’ll get some popcorn and popcorn is popcorn right? Well for $2.50 you get a huge bag of it, more popcorn than any other place that I have been to before, not bad for the money. I also had the normal Hot Dog and Hamburger but was told I had to try the Cheese Steak Sandwich and for $4 it was well worth it, I recommend it now if you go there. The funny thing is at this place the condiment table with all the fixing’s for food is under a canopy, which is rather hilarious, as I would find out soon later on why it is.

I sat down in turn four on the good old wooden benches with a bunch of friends that I met over the Internet on the forums. We had Danny Johnson, Friesen, Planck and Holland fans their and we all were getting along just fine. That’s the best thing about racing, family. The sportsman feature was set to go for their 40-lap affair and let me tell you I didn’t know many of these guys but the competition was tough and very competitive. The leader Clay Butler was going into turn four after leading most of race and lost it all on his own

and gave up the lead to eventual winner Nick Petrilak in the #72.

I'm sure that Butler was mad at himself for sure on screwing up, but sometimes that is just racing I guess. This race was very exciting to see, a bunch of passing and these guys were really moving around this small bullring, so I couldn’t wait to see the modifieds! Of course it was dusty,

but not as bad as I could remember the last time I was there back like 7-8 years ago. (I have said it before it’s a dirt track, get used to it) The modified’s were all set to get lined up along the fence for driver introductions which gives it as more of a special event status, which was really cool, all the fans can go down and look through the fence and get a up close look at the cars. Meanwhile the water trucks were out watering the track down the whole time and with all the talk on the message boards lately I couldn’t wait to see if this was going to help or not. Near the end of the feature, the track was getting a little bit rubbered up and the longer the green flag runs the dust seemed to settle down a bit. There was no wind either so the dust just went where it did. Well After the intro’s were over the Modifieds were out on the track and even from the announcers, said they are working in the track and were going green soon, (After putting some more water down). My Uncle Dennis left me there and had my Aunt come get him, he had enough. I really think he didn’t think that Danny Johnson wasn’t going to run the feature and if he isn’t racing, my uncle doesn’t usually want to go. That is just the way he is.
I loved the dirt coming at me because I was prepared for it, but never thought it put a damper on the good racing that I seen in all classes. Another bad thing was the Bugs were out in big numbers and all over you during the racing program after it was dark and getting later into the night.

I still was able to hear the announcers fairly well, which is always good to have a sound system you can hear. Another interesting tidbit is when I was looking at some of the Modifieds up close, while they were lined up is the front bumpers on them have another row of bars and are bigger than what I have seen before, has anyone else noticed this?

Well besides the dust problem the night would even get worse so it seemed. My phone was about dead from doing updates all night. (Backup battery ordered so it will last the whole night) Billy Decker was in the lead early on from his 2nd place starting position with Larry Wight who started on the pole right behind him most of the way. Stewart Friesen was running third in the later stages of the race and this was a 61 lap scheduled race. Well on lap 59 the yellow came out for no apparent reason that any of us could see. So the running order was Decker, Wight, and Friesen 1-2-3. They go green again and Friesen gets by Wight going into turn three and the yellow comes out again for a car slowing on the track going to the infield. So this is where it gets a little messed up. All night long when they had a caution they would go back to the last lap completed and if anyone passed someone like in this case would have been put back in position. But, this didn’t happen and Friesen was still in second place and the crowd could not understand why, along with myself. The checkers would fly one lap later and Decker wins

with Friesen second and Wight in third. I know from experience on being in a tower at a racetrack and one of the hardest jobs is to be a scorer. I’m not saying it was their fault by any means, but someone really screwed up and this is definitely not a good situation to be left with as many are thinking the place is playing favoritism to Friesen. I just don’t think that Andrew Harpell would go and do that type of thing. Everyone is human and when us humans get under pressure or in the heat of the moment we are prone to make mistakes at times, and if someone honestly made a mistake, Sh*t happens and it makes everyone pissed off at something or someone. It is human nature to always blame someone or something, I have been in the tower before at racetracks and it is no easy job for sure. That includes the scorers, race directors and even the announcers have all made mistakes. Andrew Harpell has a good staff set in place at the speedway and I’m sure he sticks behind him when they make a mistake and/or tells the public/media/fans the truth on what happened.

In the official Press Release from the RoC Series on there website found here> http://www.rocdirt.com kills all the confusion on what happened. Andrew Harpell is quoted with the explanation. I was waiting to post this as I made a call to Andrew myself and wanted to hear his side of the story, and him being a professional returned my phone call and explained it to me.

Andrew told me on the phone, “If their isn’t anyone more disappointed with the dust, it is myself, I work hard on the surface the whole week and we do our best, Tuesday night there wasn’t much wind, and the track has been super smooth weekly and you have some good nights and bad nights; The hot weather with the sun beating down didn’t help much either.”

There was a pile up early on and a few of the drivers from way back got to the front quick and there was passing and close racing all night, the sportsman were almost coming of turn four 3-4 wide at times along with the Modifieds. The bathrooms are a bit small and they are what they are, no feedback on the ladies room, but still a 7 out of 10 bathroom rating. The people were friendly, food was good and so was the racing. I’ll try to forget the drama and move on to the next race. Andrew Harpell does a great job with the RoC Series and also Five Mile Point, as the weekly car counts prove it.. The best thing to do is go back out there Saturday night and go racing again!!! I had a fun time at this track and I’ll go back. The next RoC Series race is next Tuesday Night on July 12th at Lincoln Speedway

in PA. And also Five Mile Point will be racing this coming Saturday night on July 9th. The info sheet for the Lincoln event is found under the schedule page on the RoC Dirt Site.

Until next time Let’s all try to stay positive and go to the track near you and keep on doing what we all like to do, go to the races, talk races, and live racing!!! While doing so keep it on “The Write Track” and be part of the solution not the problem… Any and all feedback is welcomed and can be sent to me via email at tomames2@yahoo.com . I’ll post some pictures when I get the blog updated I’ll let you all know. Also Jay Fish was there shooting with his camera, who Does work for RacePro Weekly and Luvracin.com and also Dougs Dirt Diary. I have included his link to the pictures below, Thanks Jay for the great shots and work you do! I also have two small videos that will be on my youtube channel soon.

LINKS OF INTEREST>

Five Mile Point Speedway>
http://www.fivemilepointspeedway.net/
RoC Dirt Series>
http://www.rocdirt.com
Gary’s U-Pull It>
http://garysupullit.com/
Racing Collectibles>
http://www.07racingcollectibles.com
Jay Fish Pictures>
http://luvracinphotos.smugmug.com/Jay-Fish/Five-Mile-Point-ROC-Mods-July/17925530_dW9Pkq#1372290147_dMMLJFv

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/tazman27j
Full Results>

Gary’s U-Pull It Official RoC Modified Feature Finish 61 laps: BILLY DECKER, Stewart Friesen, Larry Wight, Dale Planck, Rick Laubach, Danny Johnson, Pat Ward, Jeff Strunk, Justin Holland, Matt Sheppard, Bobby Varin, Joey Grammes, Danny Tyler, Kevin Bates, Kevin Albert, Mike Colsten, Ryan Watt, Tim Votra, Scott Brady, Mike Nagel Jr., Jim Gabriel Jr., Jimmy Phelps, Ronnie Johnson, Joey Colsten, Glenn Knapp, Dan Vauter, Brett Hearn, Doug Manmiller, Nick Rochinski, Ken Titus.

Lap 61 Bonus $ Sponsors…In Memory of Five Mile Point Speedway Track Founders Anna and Irving Heat ($100), Keystone Electrical Contractors, Inc. Lake Ariel, PA ($61), Spiegel’s Recycling Elmira, NY go Mike Bills Woodhull Speedway ($21), LogoThis – Logothistee.com ($20), 07 Racing Collectibles Endwell, NY ($20), To 99L Lightning Larry Wight Good Luck from Dillon Falter ($20), Village Train & Hobby Windsor, NY ($10), Good Luck to the New Egypt Speedway (NJ) teams ($10), VanDyke Trash Hauling – Sidney, NY ($10), Webstore.com ($10), RJM Automatic Fire Protection – Phillpsburg, NJ ($10), Martini Room – Grosset Drive Kirkwood, NY ($10)…

Gary’s U-Pull It Official RoC Sportsman Feature 40 laps: NICK PETRILAK, Chris Wood, James Cornell, Sammy Piazza, Ryan Olsommer, Jeff Crambo, Greg McCloskey, Mike Dougherty, Ben Bushaw, Claude Hutchings, Jerry Tonti, Clay Butler, Brad Szulewski, Alex Stanton, P.J. Goodwin, Anthony Perrego, Vinnie DeCicco, Chris Stevens, Bryan Batzel, Bill Shire, Dusty Barton, Bob Lineman Jr., Chance Spoonhower, Mike Austin, Ryan Beltz, Justin Andrews, Brad Weaver.

Gary’s U-Pull It Official Colossal Cat Challenge Feature 20 laps: ANDY BRIGHAM, Nick Griest, Dan Wood, Duane Kinne, Andy Colwell, Travis Hayes, Jeff Hayes, Dave Husnay, Jason Colwell, Bobby Edwards, Robbie Finney, Dennis Keesler.