The View From Amish Paradise

Motorsports Show/Gambler's Classic Recap and Daytona Picks

2012-02-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

Even though no NASCAR races have taken place, I have kept myself quite entertained just a month through the new year. I didn't have the highest expectations for this year's Motorsports Show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, but there was quite an impressive turnout despite the snowstorm that passed through the Northeast the evening before.

Apparently weather was wreaking havoc throughout most of the east coast as the flight to PA for early afternoon guest, Jimmie Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus, was canceled. Fans didn't need to worry thanks to late afternoon guest Matt Kenseth who offered to fly Knaus in as the driver and crew chief for competing teams signed autographs and answered fan questions together. The situation worked out well for me too. Due to the delayed autograph session, I had the opportunity to attend the "Taking Photos at the Track" seminar which was among those that were offered free to the public throughout the weekend. Although I would consider myself an amateur at best and some of what was covered went way over my head, I think that whenever the time comes where I am able to upgrade from my little and worn out digital camera I could use some of the beneficial information I learned during the 45 minute session. I also spent much of the afternoon exploring the countless booths and cars that were on display, and met some various personalities involved in the racing industry at both local and national levels. Overall, it was another positive experience and I will almost certainly be returning in 2013.

This past weekend, I made the annual trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey for the tenth addition of the Gambler's Classic Indoor Races. This was the first year that I attended both Friday and Saturday nights, and I must say that I seemed to enjoy Friday's preliminary features slightly more than Saturday's main events. My pick to win the main event, Johnny Benson Jr., didn't fare too well on Friday night. Benson was among a handful of competitors that were piloting a new Drinan TQ Midget, which looked sleek and certainly was fast. However, I can't remember a single competitor driving this new chassis that didn't spin out at one point or another during the weekend. While leading from the pole and pulling away from the field in his heat race Benson's car all of a sudden spun without the aid of any other competitors, and despite his best efforts did not qualify for Friday's feature. Friday featured two A-Mains, a 600cc "Dirt" Micro Sprints 20 lapper and a TQ Midgets 30 lapper. Both races were won by NASCAR Modified Tour competitors, Erick Rudolph in the 600s and Ted Christopher in the TQs. Another reason I enjoyed Friday more was the exciting maneuvering that Johnny Benson's owner "Liquid" Lou Cicconi made on several occasions throughout the evening. Cicconi spun early in his TQ heat race as well as in the 600 and TQ features and had to restart in the back of all three of them. He came back to win the TQ heat race, finished second in the 600 feature and finished sixth in the TQ feature. Unfortunately, after all that work he did it appeared that he may not have saved enough for the next day.

Saturday night included 25 lap features for the Slingshots and Champ Karts in addition to the 20 lap 600 Micro A-Main and 40 lap 10th Annual Gambler's Classic Main Event for the TQ Midgets. Saying that the evening's races had a few wrecks would be an understatement. The Slingshots had their share of altercations and controversies which resulted in a last corner pass for the win. The Champ Karts had a few recognizable names such as Modified driver Justin Bonsignore and NASCAR K&N East Series second generation driver D.J. Shaw, but they couldn't hold off a former winner of the division's race from a few years back. Erick Rudolph made a late race pass for the lead to win for the second night in a row in the 600s. In the TQ Main Event, the previous night's winner Ted Christopher was done for the night after a multi-car wreck in the first turn on the first lap. Johnny Benson Jr. started mid-pack and had steadily moved into the top five until he ran into one of the inside truck tires, ending his night due to damage to the left-front wheel. The track layout was modified from previous years with the placement of tires spread out through the inside of the turns rather than a solid guardrail. It provided for a wider racing groove and increased some side by side racing competition, but at the same time it caused some new problems for the competitors such as what happened to Benson. Top dirt modified competitor Stewart Friesen led for most of the race until Erick Rudolph emerged again and didn't look back for his third win during the two nights of racing.

Once again this year's trip whet my appetite for the racing season, and also provided some entertainment of the gambling kind. I took some money from a couple first and second place finishes I had during the month of January in some free poker tournaments, and ended up slightly ahead overall playing roulette, blackjack and war (yes, war the card game). I would not recommend playing war at a casino as they do certainly find a way to have the house advantage and you can risk losing your money fairly quickly playing such a simple game.

As I look ahead to the Spring months, besides a couple local shows that I'm planning to go to I will be spectating from my living room couch or the chair at my computer for the most part. One task that I need to accomplish during the month of February is to get my travel plans organized for my first trip to Las Vegas in late June. The World Series Of Poker schedule has been released and although most of the events don't seem to interest me during the time frame I'm able to go, I'm still planning to go out there for the experience. During the weekend I'm out there, I'm planning to drive out to California to see more parts of the country that I've never seen and check out a SRL Southwest Tour race at Madera Speedway.

In the immediate future, I'll be looking ahead to the Daytona Speedweeks festivities. My first pick is for the ARCA race, and it is the perennial favorite Bobby Gerhart. Until one of the teams shows that they can consistently outrun the Lebanon, Pennsylvania based team, the veteran driver will most likely be my pick year in and year out...or until he retires. The most exciting race during speedweeks could most likely be the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. With several veteran competitors switching teams during the off season and rising stars joining the series, the race could potentially be wide open. If I had to pick one driver it would have to be Todd Bodine in his new Red Horse Racing ride. Don't count out some dark horses such as Cale Gale in the Eddie Sharp Racing #33 though. The NASCAR Nationwide Series race is probably my toughest one to pick since I hardly followed the series in 2011. For that reason, my pick will be Elliott Sadler mainly because I think the KHI/RCR equipment will boost him to victory.

Finally my pick for the Daytona 500 is a standard one, none other than Jeff Gordon. Many may think it could appear biased to pick Gordon or another Hendrick car almost every year, but their past and present on track performance at the 2.5 mile tri-oval including January's preseason testing puts them at the forefront of the competition. Obviously there is the usual luck factor and the perennial dark horses that will be in contention, but Gordon appears to be the overall favorite to win. Expect to see drivers such as David Ragan, David Gilliland, Trevor Bayne, Regan Smith, Bobby Labonte and Dave Blaney to have a shot for at least a top ten finish once again. After all, my system for picking top ten finishers can't be too flawed considering that I am proud to be the defending Raceline Mechanix Wear Weekly Racing Challenge Daytona 500 winner!

10th Annual Gambler's Classic Videos

2012-02-07T19:57:00.000-05:00

2012 10th Annual Gambler's Classic
February 4, 2012
TQ Midgets, Champ Karts, Slingshots and 600cc Micro Sprints
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey

600 Micros, Slingshots and Champ Karts

Driver Intros

TQ Midgets Feature

Here Comes 2012!

2012-01-14T10:04:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the new year everyone. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm already getting set to see some racing. I've had the chance to watch some of SPEED's online stream of Daytona Testing. It's a nice feature that they offer and it is a delight not to have to put up with a handful of commercials every few minutes. I believe I have reached my quota for the number of times I've heard the words Danica and Twitter already. I might have to start extra early this year listening to the races on MRN so that I know what's actually happening on the track during a race.

Before I start going into some of my ambitious plans for 2012, I thought I would recap the last few weeks at the poker tables. The last time I posted, I left off down some from the Biloxi trip after pretty much no luck at all. Things turned for the better back home, as I five-way split a small grand-prize tournament and then went to Atlantic City and cashed in an invitational tournament. I still ended up behind for the year, but the late 2011 winnings sure did make up for some disappointments earlier in the year. January has started off alright as well winning a couple of nightly prizes already. Things are looking up for the time being.

Now it's time to shift gears once again to the world of racing, starting with the annual PA Motorsports Show next weekend. For the casual fan it might appear to be a little sparse when it comes to the driver appearances compared to other years, which may perhaps be in part due to the NASCAR Acceleration and Hall of Fame induction taking place the same weekend in Charlotte starting this year. However, the show as always plans to offer several cars on display as well as the latest information available regarding area tracks, regional touring series, parts suppliers and much more.

A couple weeks after the show will be the annual Atlantic City Indoor Races. Once again droves of competitors have signed up to compete across four different divisions, including defending Gambler's Classic race winner Ted Christopher and former NASCAR Busch Series and Truck Series champion Johnny Benson. Benson is my pick to win this year, not because of his recognizable name but because of his recent open wheel experience and success in ISMA supermodifieds. The TQ midgets are not the same, but I think his proven versatility and the fact that he will be driving for former winner Lou Cicconi will get him to the front. I will be at the track both Friday and Saturday night this year, and will have videos and photos to share from both Atlantic City and the Motorsports Show.

While I continue to pass the time through the late winter and early spring, I will be continuing to make some plans for the remainder of the year. I'm currently waiting patiently for the World Series of Poker schedule to be released in order to plan my first ever visit to Las Vegas this summer. I'm hoping I can coordinate the schedule so I can ride out to California for a few days and maybe see an SRL Southwest Tour race. Also, it was recently announced that the Pro All Star Series will be sanctioning the All American 400 at the historic Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and the distance will return to its traditional 400 laps. I most certainly will be planning some sort of trip around this race weekend in early October. As usual some other somewhat local races will be peppered in throughout the summer and in between the major trips, but many exact dates remain to be seen until more official schedules for 2012 have been released.

Gambling in Mississippi and My 2nd Annual Snowball Derby Trip Recap

2011-12-07T20:21:00.002-05:00

For the second straight year, my late fall trip south has been completed without delays, and with quite excellent weather and some exciting racing!

This year the week began in Mississippi, as I used a prize package I won earlier in the year for a three day, two night stay in Biloxi. The town is very clean and safe and the casinos are state of the art, but it is evident that they are still rebuilding after the tragic events as a result of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Maybe it was because I was there early in the week rather than the weekend, but many of the casinos were not very populated. Most of the poker rooms only had a handful of tables playing and the tournament I played in only had thirty-some players enter. Although I had a great time, luck was not on my side. Let's just say that the only profit I made in any session was $2.50 on a video poker machine. It would be neat to see in a few years how the town develops, hopefully barring any further roadblocks from mother nature.

From Wednesday on, it was time for me to travel to Pensacola for the 44th Annual Snowball Derby festivities. Once again, it was a superb time. Wednesday night was the Green Flag Party where fans can roam around the pit area and watch crews go to work in preparation for the next day's practice sessions. Also featured this year was the qualifying draw for both the Snowball Derby and the Snowflake 100 pro late model race, as well as some live music.

Thursday night was the Fast Eddie's Snowball Showdown at the local go-kart track and entertainment center, which featured a media race, drivers race and then heat races for the main event where fans could compete against the drivers and media for a very small fee. For the second straight year, I proved that I am not a race car driver after failing to qualify through my heat after three attempts. Although it was very brief, standing next to the eventual winner of the Snowball Derby and more than likely a future NASCAR star is indescribable and probably something that an ordinary race fan does not have an opportunity to experience just about anywhere else.

Friday was the site of Snowball Derby qualifying and the local Super Stock and Modified division features. I had the chance to witness 19-time late model winner in 2011 Bubba Pollard qualify on the pole and break a track record set by Gary Balough several years ago. The Super Stock and Modified races were unlike last year's crashfest and completed within a few hours with some decent racing.

Saturday featured qualifying for the Snowflake 100, last chance races for the Snowball Derby and Snowflake and the Snowflake 100 lap feature. The first 75 laps of the Snowflake were phenomenal and showed that these were some of the best pro late model drivers in the country. Then the last 25 laps occurred. The first 75 laps took less than an hour to complete, but after caution after caution the remainder of the race took about an hour and a half to conclude. For instance, there was so much attrition that 2010 race winner Chase Elliott finished fifth with no front end. Through it all, Augie Grill stayed out of trouble out front to become the first driver to win two Snowflake 100s and two Snowball Derbys.

Sunday's prestigious 300 lap race kicked off with some exciting green flag racing throughout the first half of the race. A mid-race incident took some of the top competitors out of contention. Chase Elliott was also involved, but managed to stay on the lead lap. The scariest moment of the race was with only a handful of laps to go when a multi-car wreck involved Derek Thorn, who's team traveled 36 hours from California to make the race, when his car clipped another car and flipped across turn one. Luckily he was okay. This was believed to be the first super late model at Five Flags Speedway to do such a thing. This set up a thrilling five lap dash to the finish between Elliott, who worked his way back to the front, and local driver D.J. Vanderley. The two raced side by side until the last turn of the last lap, resulting in Elliott winning by the smallest margin in Snowball Derby history.

It was certainly one if not the most exciting finishes of the year, and made it for me a requirement to work on coordinating getting a group together so I can make it to my third Snowball Derby in 2012. It was very nice catching up with old friends and meeting some new friends during the week, and I would recommend to anyone to go see this event at least once in their life. There is also so much to do in the area: Pensacola beach, downtown Pensacola, Naval Aviation Museum and nearby towns and beaches such as Mobile and Gulf Shores, Alabama just to name a few. I uploaded videos from just about every day of the week and they can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24.

Now I count down the days until the Atlantic City Indoor Races in the new year. Until then, have an excellent Festivus and see you in 2012!

44th Annual Snowball Derby (Sunday)

2011-12-06T23:30:00.002-05:00

Highlights from Sunday's running of the 44th Annual Snowball Derby, including the thrilling last laps!

44th Annual Snowball Derby (Saturday)

2011-12-04T11:22:00.000-05:00

Snowball Derby 50 Last Chance Race, Snowflake 100 Qualifying and Last Chance Races.

Snowflake 100 Pro Late Model race.

44th Annual Snowball Derby (Friday)

2011-12-03T13:39:00.000-05:00

Highlights from Friday's action, including Snowflake 100 practice, Super Stock, Modified and Snowball Derby qualifying and Super Stock and Modified 50 lap features.

44th Annual Snowball Derby (Thursday)

2011-12-02T10:37:00.000-05:00

Some footage from the first practice sessions during Snowball Derby weekend, and some footage from the 12th Annual Fast Eddie's Snowball Showdown.

44th Annual Snowball Derby (Wednesday)

2011-12-01T11:05:00.000-05:00

Green Flag Party which took place Wednesday night at Five Flags Speedway, including the Twisted Tea Qualifying Draw and live music from the Wayne Mills Band (featuring Landon Cassill).

44th Annual Snowball Derby Preview

2011-11-26T22:50:00.001-05:00

For a few years, my friend Andrew and I have been making picks for the annual 300 lap Snowball Derby super late model race and 100 lap Snowflake pro late model race at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida. This year we decided to make a video and share our picks with everyone!

This Is Not The New 1992, Plus The Final 2011 Trip Preview

2011-11-21T17:40:00.000-05:00

What Stewart has accomplished in turning around the former Haas CNC Racing team in such a short time is remarkable, but it still does not even compare to what Alan Kulwicki accomplished in 1992. Stewart has aligned himself with some phenomenal partners since day one, and it is obvious that some of the support came from those around him in these concluding races. I’m not throwing Stewart or his team under the bus as he is one of the most talented and versatile drivers we have seen in recent history. However, there is no argument that Stewart himself, the group from Haas Automation as well as many other corporate sponsors and the assistance from Hendrick Motorsports had already been established and had the luxury of investing a vast amount of funds in order to prepare for this moment. I do not consider Stewart an owner/driver. In my mind, he is a driver/partner.

The last owner/driver champion, Alan Kulwicki, turned a college education and impressive driving skills at the local level into a NASCAR championship in less than a decade. Clearly he gathered the support from a well-rounded team and highly engaged sponsors along the way, but he did this with very little personal funds and without a teammate or satellite team’s expertise. Even if he had the opportunity to consult with similar teams in the garage it would not have been entirely possible, because those were the teams in which he had to race against for the championship in the end.

Going back to 2011, there’s no doubt that Sunday’s race had a phenomenal conclusion. There’s not much in racing that is more exciting than seeing two of the finest competitors push their cars to the limit in order to achieve the victory. The problem I still have is how the champion has been decided in recent years. From a statistical standpoint, some of the numbers just don’t make sense. Stewart earned the least number of top five finishes among champions since 1950 (back when they only had 19 races), which equates to only 25% of this year’s 36 races. I believe that the unique competition in auto racing is entirely different than most other sports, so why try to make it like several of the others and add a playoff format? These teams are competing in a 36+ week marathon to be the best in the sport. From my perspective, the driver that completes the season with the most consistency should be the champion and it’s highly doubtful that my opinion will ever come to any other conclusion.

Now I will be moving on in just over a week to see a race where no points, only bragging rights are involved: the 44th Annual Snowball Derby weekend at Five Flags Speedway. Before I head there I will be stopping in Biloxi, Mississippi for a few days as part of a trip I won a few months back. I’ll be checking out a few of the casinos, playing in a poker tournament and since I’m so close perhaps driving into Louisiana for the first time in my life. Then it will be off to Pensacola, Florida where for the second straight year I plan to attend many of the week's events leading up to the 300 lap race on Sunday. Five Flags Speedway holds 3 nights of supporting races as well as a green flag party on Wednesday night where fans can meet the drivers and listen to live music. There's also the Fast Eddie's Snowball Showdown on Thursday night where fans can race against some of the drivers in go-karts. Speed51.com kicks off the week's festivities on Tuesday night at the local Beef O' Brady's restaurant with a radio show featuring many of the drivers as guests.

I’m going to try and put together a Snowball Derby preview video beforehand if time permits, and plan to upload photos and videos nearly every day during the week. Stay tuned to http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24!

North Carolina Never Ceases To Amaze Me

2011-10-20T17:47:00.000-04:00

So much to see, so much to do and such friendly people. Maybe I've just been fortunate, but that pretty much sums up my experiences in North Carolina to date. I arrived at my hotel in Hickory early Thursday evening a few weekends ago and from then straight through the time I packed by bags and started heading back home on Sunday morning it was non-stop enjoyment, much like most of my previous trips but once again with a few added bonuses.

I had the opportunity to experience my first race from the pits on Saturday night at Hickory Motor Speedway with the ISCARS Dash Series and the Super Cup Stock Car Series. I've had pit passes before, but only at small dirt tracks where the pits are on the outside of the track and major NASCAR events where you can only stay there for a particular period of time. This was all access! I had the chance to see the crews prepare their cars for the night's festivities, chat with a couple competitors, pose in a victory lane shot and see things from different vantage points such as the announcer's box and the passenger seat of the pace truck. I couldn't thank the folks with ISCARS enough for the great time I had, and I look forward to attending more events hopefully in the pits in the near future! Their PR guy was even gracious enough to show me around to some of the shops in the Concord area the day before.

Lots of positive and negative emotions have been involved during recent motorsports events. I don't wish to go into detail, as I could probably talk all day perhaps restating many things that others have already mentioned. However, I would like to say that my thoughts are with the families of those who have suffered losses in the racing industry recently. Despite recent unfortunate events, I am optimistic that this "off-season" will move into even more of a positive direction when it comes to technology, research and overall safety throughout the sport.

Turning to the future, I hope someday I can put myself in a position to be located in the heart of stock car racing as closely as I can. As with any of the above that I mentioned, patience must be a virtue not only visually but personally as well. Until then, I'll continue working hard and enjoy the moments at home.

Originally, it looked like my last race of the year would have been this trip to North Carolina. Fortunately, due to a trip I won playing cards I will be traveling south to take in some racing action once again...the deep south! I am coordinating the two-night visit to Biloxi, Mississippi I acquired with the annual Snowball Derby events in Pensacola, Florida, which I had so much fun attending a year ago. My next blog will highlight my plans in more detail. Stay safe everyone!

Hickory Motor Speedway Video Footage

2011-10-03T15:47:00.000-04:00

ISCARS 2011 Championship Night
October 1, 2011
Hickory Motor Speedway

100 lap feature for the Super Cup Stock Car Series. At the end, race winner and 2011 champion Jody Harrison puts on quite the donut show!

50 and 100 lap features for the ASA-sanctioned International Sport Compact Auto Racing Series (ISCARS). Includes footage from the announcer's booth, pits and even the pace truck!

Fortunate

2011-09-25T09:22:00.000-04:00

It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to compose a new blog post, mostly because I’ve spent most of my time recently working and traveling more than usual. During the minimal amount of down time I had during my latest travel to Dallas, Texas for a workshop last week, I've been reflecting a bit on the opportunities I’ve come across as well as the ability I’ve had to chase around my biggest hobby, which of course is auto racing. One word kept surfacing: fortunate. While timing, luck and circumstances certainly factor into life, my interpretation of the word fortunate is that some work has been involved and skills have been acquired to achieve or maintain goals in most cases. With that said, I never was fortunate to get even close to my childhood dreams of being an actual race car driver mainly due to lack of family/personal finances. However, I have been able to build my knowledge with some of my other hobbies such as computers and statistical and data analysis in order to achieve a sufficient education, maintain a job I enjoy and manage to set just enough funds aside to put myself in a position to do some traveling and spectate at several races during each year.

I don’t always have the time and money to travel far so Labor Day weekend was spent locally, but included three visits to race tracks in three days. Friday night was a trip to championship night at Big Diamond Speedway to see the 600cc Modifieds, 358 Modifieds, Road Runners (Street Stock type cars) and Sportsman Modifieds. It was a wild night with three cars flipping at once in a 600cc heat race (everyone was okay) and a caution filled and time-shortened Sportsman race which resulted in a former co-worker’s husband winning the feature, and a driver climbing from third in points to win the championship despite a winless season. Unfortunately, since it was such a late time and I had to make the hour and a half drive home, I did not stay for post-race festivities or get the chance to congratulate the winner.

Saturday and Sunday were spent at Mountain Speedway. The crowd as well as the pit area was much sparser than I had remembered from past years, and there was some confusion on Saturday regarding whether the start time for the races was at 3pm or 6pm. Turned out to be 6 and many fans were not happy about the delay. Despite this, the racing was fairly exciting. On Sunday, I went into the pits following the races thinking it would be similar to my experience at Old Dominion Speedway in July. However, it was mostly composed of teams packing up and heading home rather than drivers signing autographs and talking with fans. Video from the entire Labor Day Weekend can be found at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24.

This weekend I will be heading down to North Carolina one last time in 2011. Friday will be spent traveling to some more NASCAR race shops I haven’t seen yet as well as some other possible sightseeing. On Saturday, I will be heading to Hickory Motor Speedway for the ISCARS Dash Series and Super Cup Stock Car Series championship races. I was invited to play in a poker tournament in Atlantic City with a cash prize pool at no cost a few weeks back, but due to Hurricane Irene the tournament was rescheduled for this Sunday. Technically I could leave Hickory Saturday night and pull off an all-nighter driving to get to the tournament on time, but I do have another safer option at a later date which I might take instead. It will most likely be a judgement call. I will have access to my laptop throughout the weekend so I look forward to posting photos and videos with a quick turnaround.

Until then, I sincerely wish everyone fortunate days ahead…coupled with some good luck and timing as well!

Mountain Speedway Saturday and Sunday Video Footage

2011-09-05T12:52:00.000-04:00

Labor Day Spectacular
September 3 & 4, 2011
Mountain Speedway

Factory Stock and Late Model features.

75 lap cone race for the Sport Modifieds.

Late Model, Factory Stock and Sport Modified features.

Legends and Bandoleros Features.

Big Diamond Speedway Xcel 600cc Modified Series Video Footage

2011-09-03T11:38:00.001-04:00

Championship Night
September 2, 2011
Big Diamond Speedway

20 lap feature for the Xcel 600 Modified Series.

Ups And Downs

2011-08-24T22:38:00.000-04:00

To say my last several weeks have had their ups and downs is an understatement. Luckily, most things have ended on the upside...mainly on the racing and poker front.

The month of July finished off on a positive note with a beautiful night for some short track racing at the little 1/8 mile Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway in Newmanstown, Pennsylvania. The Micro Sprints put on a great show as usual, and I left the facility satisfied and looking forward to the next weekend's festivities.

What I should have known was that going to a race for a fifth weekend in a row and not having precipitation interfere was too good to be true. Heading to Pocono Raceway on the first Saturday of August for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA doubleheader, there was only a 30% chance of rain throughout the afternoon. During the first few laps of the Truck race following NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, that changed to 100% fairly quickly. After a few hours standing under the bleachers, the racing was finally called and rescheduled for Sunday morning. We even tried to ride out less than an hour west to Mountain Speedway, but when the haulers are driving in the opposite direction as you it is never a good sign. On the way home we were trying to coordinate how to make it back to the track at such an early hour on Sunday, but as we found out via a visit to the Pocono web site it wouldn't occur at all. The track required fans to purchase tickets for the Cup race, which also had an iffy weather forecast, and a $25 credit would be rewarded if a Saturday ticket was purchased. I was not happy with the circumstances, but what can you do against mother nature and also the fact that fans like me that attend only on Saturday are in the minority. My Saturday ticket will be exchanged at no charge for one of the Saturday races at Pocono next year, but now that I know what the consolation plan is when the races get rained out I probably won't attend again after next year unless I can get some sort of deal for the entire weekend.

Not letting the weather get me down I made a trip to see more races just two days afterward, although the track was just a fraction of the size of Pocono. I went to the Reading Fairgrounds for Kart and Slingshot racing. While the $10 probably wouldn't have been worth the admission to the fair, in my opinion, the racing made it well worth it. It was great to see some grassroots racing once again with the drivers going for the checkered flag just as much as the NASCAR guys. For instance, one driver battling for the lead in the Slingshot consolation race lost control of his car, got his right side tires on the wall, kept going and still finished in the fourth and final transfer position to the feature without the aid of a caution.

The following weekend was a break from the racing world and a trip back into the poker realm. Unfortunately, it would end in heartbreak and would continue a three month slump of failing to make any profit at the poker table.

The events during the next week would begin to improve. It would start with a second place finish in a small poker game and minimal, but reassuring money won during the middle of the week. As the weekend came around, the weather looked excellent for the Modifieds 100 lap appearance at Mahoning Valley Speedway as part of their Modified Poker Series. The last two races for this series ended in photo finishes. There would not be one this time around, but over 10 lead changes between the two leaders Earl Paules and Don Wagner wowed the fans, as well as the weekly local divisions which were all on hand this past Saturday evening.

Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified Poker Series 100

Mahoning Valley Speedway Local Racing

The day after was a rainy one, which meant it was a good afternoon to play some more poker. I drove to a tournament in which I qualified for where the top 10 finishers would win vacation prize packages. Some pigs must have been flying with that rain, because I dodged every bullet to make it to the finish. I was initially considering using the three day, two night package for a trip to Las Vegas next summer, but after thinking things through I'll probably want to go there on my own terms and for a longer period of time. I'm seriously considering choosing the trip to Biloxi, Mississippi later in the year and after my stay there driving nearly two hours east to Pensacola, Florida to take in the Snowball Derby festivities for the second year in a row. Overall, it was a great weekend...which happened to be my birthday weekend by the way!

Things are definitely looking up, although my car just broke down and I'm trying to figure out a way to get to Atlantic City this Sunday for a tournament that I also qualified for by finishing in the top 10 this past Sunday. We'll see what happens going forward, including potential trips to Big Diamond Raceway and Mountain Speedway during Labor Day weekend. Wish me luck!

Good Times With NASCAR And Local Short Track Stars

2011-07-27T20:19:00.000-04:00

So far July has been jam packed with nice weather and side by side racing. Following the Independence Day weekend, I set out North to Tioga Center, New York where the half mile Shangri-La II Motor Speedway is located. The one word to describe this track is "unique." It is one of the few short tracks with a concrete surface, and one of the very few that I know of that has a drag strip connected to the facility. With the purchase of one admission ticket, fans can walk freely between the two tracks and check out two different forms of racing action. Although there was a lot of racing taking place, the show did seem to drag on. A fireworks display entertained the crowd; however, it occurred in between features and the fans had to wait before the track lights came back on for the next race to be ready to get going. Racing for the night did not conclude until well after midnight, but it was still worth the price of admission. The Race Of Champions Modified Tour put on a whale of a show with Matt Hirschman proving once again that he deserves a shot at the big leagues. Despite the small car counts in the local divisions, the racing was still competitive. For a fairly new track they are heading in the right direction, and being under the ASA banner will do nothing but help them even further.

The next weekend I drove South to Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Virginia for the first time...and definitely not the last time. It was a very enjoyable experience with some exciting finishes to the end in the local division races as well as some thrilling battles for track positions in the twin 75 lap ISCARS features. The track surely knows how to attract the fans, as this particular evening was Scout Night in which boy and girl scouts wearing their uniforms were admitted free. I overheard several times of families that were there for the first time. The show kept moving smoothly and following the night's racing festivities the pits were opened up to fans of all ages to meet the drivers and get an up close look at some of the cars. It was neat getting a chance to say hi to the friendly ISCARS staff, crews and drivers once again as well as meet some drivers I hadn't heard of before in the local divisions. I even had the chance to sit in one of the Late Model Stock Cars!

The morning after the racing action I drove up to Kutztown, Pennsylvania to play in a poker tournament. I arrived just in time, sat down and hit four of a kind and took a massive pot. Unfortunately, as the afternoon went on the deck went cold and I ultimately finished 12th. The top four finishers qualified for another tournament in Atlantic City.

There was no doubt that I was returning the following weekend for Old Dominion Speedway's big 150 lap Late Model Stock Car event benefiting Joe Gibbs' Youth For Tomorrow Foundation. Another event that was going on in the town of Manassas was their 150 year Civil War commemoration. I had the chance to check out the Manassas Museum, see a cannon fire and wander about the town during the late morning and early afternoon hours before heading to the race track. The triple-digit weather may have turned some away, but the afternoon activities at the track definitely did not disappoint. Freestyle Motocross demonstrations, monster trucks, karting, show car displays and live music were all quite entertaining, but the autograph sessions featuring local and NASCAR drivers as well as a few Washington Redskins players seemed to attract the biggest crowd. Andy Lally, Ron Hornaday, Mike Skinner, Sterling Marlin, Johnny Benson, Max Papis and Curtis Markham were all on hand and competed in the late model race later in the evening. All of these drivers piloted cars prepared by other drivers in the region so it was neat to see them wheel cars they're not used to driving against the local drivers who compete at the track just about every weekend. The NASCAR stars did not fare too well in the feature and Mike Darne won his second straight Youth For Tomorrow 150, but some of them certainly gave back to the competitors in the form of bonuses for the 1st, 5th and 10th place finishers in some of the supporting features. Once again the pits were opened up to fans at the end of the evening and some of the NASCAR and local drivers stuck around to converse with the fans.

I can't wait to go back to Northern Virginia to see some more racing, but meanwhile I'll be staying fairly local and I'll have to enjoy my memories via video footage at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24. This weekend I'll be making an annual stop to Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway in Newmanstown, PA to see some Micro Sprint racing. The following weekend will be my debut seeing the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in action at Pocono along with the ARCA Series. A couple days after that the Reading Fair takes place in Berks County, PA and will feature some Slingshot and Kart racing. This will all lead up to a visit to Mahoning Valley Speedway in Lehighton, PA on my birthday later in August. The video footage will be taking a break, but keep posted for some more photos from all the excitement!

Old Dominion Speedway NASCAR Day/Youth For Tomorrow 150 Video Footage

2011-07-25T23:41:00.002-04:00

NASCAR Day/Youth For Tomorrow 150
July 23, 2011
Old Dominion Speedway - Manassas, Virginia

NASCAR Day events including Freestyle Motocross demonstrations, monster trucks, show cars, live music and autograph sessions featuring NASCAR and local drivers as well as a few Washington Redskins players all leading up to the 150 lap Late Model Stock Car Event benefiting Joe Gibbs' Youth For Tomorrow foundation.

Features for the UCAR, Legends Car and Bandelero local divisions as well as the Virginia Sprint Car Series.

Post race interviews with the first and second place finishers in the Youth For Tomorrow 150 Late Model Stock Car race.

Driver introductions for the Youth For Tomorrow 150 Late Model Stock Car race.

Old Dominion Speedway Scout Night Video Footage

2011-07-18T14:54:00.002-04:00

Scout Night/ISCARS Stock Car Tuner Series

July 16, 2011

Old Dominion Speedway - Manassas, Virginia

ISCARS Twin 75 Lap Features

Features for the Mini Cup, UCAR, Legends, Street Stocks and Late Model Stock Car Local Divisions

Shangri-La II Motor Speedway Video Footage

2011-07-10T22:03:00.007-04:00

ROC-N-Concrete Rumble

July 9, 2011

Shangri-La II Motor Speedway - Tioga Center, New York

The 100 lap Race of Champions Modified Tour feature

Features for the Speedstr Series as well as Sportsman Modified, Street Stock and Late Model local divisions

Some Additional footage from the Skyview Drag Strip, which is adjacent to Shangri-La II Motor Speedway and is included with admission into the facility. Yes, those are snowmobiles that are drag racing in the last clip!

The Summer 2011 Journey Has Just Begun

2011-06-29T19:54:00.002-04:00

The last time I blogged, I previewed my trip to Atlantic City and clued all of you readers in that I'll be making some journeys during the months of July and August. Unfortunately, I didn't fair too well in the tournament I played in or during the entire short-lived trip for that matter. I almost knocked a player or two out of the tournament for some bounty money and I almost folded what I thought was a winning hand instead of pushing all of my chips in, but "almost" doesn't pay anything. The gambling is over for the time being, but the travels to several racing venues are just about to begin.

In fact, the first brief trip occurred over this past weekend when my dad and I made the less than an hour trip to the 27th Annual Latimore Valley Fair in York Springs, Pennsylvania. The Latimore Valley Fairgrounds no longer features competitive racing, but the 1/2 mile dirt track still stands. The Saturday afternoon's festivities featured track time for some vintage stock cars, modifieds, sprint cars and midgets. The Eastern Museum of Motor Racing that overlooks the fairgrounds was opened for extended hours, and the fairgrounds also featured tractor pulls, a hot cruise-in, food and other entertainment from Friday through Sunday. I had intentions of going to this the past few years and could never make it, but it sure was worth going to. I uploaded some photos, which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.569010970669.2071711.37801386&l=73c3a3fa90.

Following the July 4th holiday, I will be kicking my own personal street car into high gear and visiting some new places as well as some old favorites. Shangri-La II Motor Speedway, which is located west of Binghamton and near the New York-Pennsylvania border will be the site of my first stop. I believe that several precipitation related circumstances have kept the fairly new track from completing a full program on schedule this year to date, but I'll be crossing my fingers that all of it has passed as the Race of Champions modified tour visits the "concrete castle" on Saturday, July 9. This tour features some very well known names from the northeast, including Matt Hirschman, Chuck Hossfeld and Jan Leaty. Late Models, Sport Modifieds, Street Stocks and the unique Speedstrs will run supporting features as well.

The next weekend will be even busier as I make my initial trip to the NASCAR-sanctioned Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Virginia close to Washington, D.C. Several weekly local divisions will be racing as well as the ASA sanctioned ISCARS Dash Touring Series. This longtime sport compact racing series is now dubbed "the world's premier stock car tuner racing series." Although I have seen them many times before, I'm really looking forward to seeing the new body styles up close and seeing some of their side by side racing much closer to my home than usual. As a matter of fact, with the proximity back to Pennsylvania I'll be waking up early Sunday morning and making the three and a half hour drive from my hotel in Northern Virginia up to Kutztown, PA for a poker tournament.

If I enjoy my first experience at Old Dominion, which I'm confident I will, I plan to return the following weekend for a special event benefiting Joe Gibbs' Youth for Tomorrow foundation. It will include an entire afternoon of events, concluding with a 150 lap late model race featuring drivers such as Mike Skinner, Ron Hornaday, Max Papis, Johnny Benson, Andy Lally and road racer Spencer Pumpelly as well as several of the area's top local drivers.

From there, I plan to make some stops locally at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Mahoning Valley Speedway and perhaps the New Reading Fairgrounds. I'll check in later in July and summarize my experiences as well as post links to photos and video footage. I'm purchasing a lap top this week, so I actually may have the ability to upload while on the road so stay tuned to my YouTube page for uploads: http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24.

April Showers Bring...May Showers?

2011-05-25T20:34:00.001-04:00

While many of the major racing series across the country have managed to avoid the recent miserable weather across much of the Eastern half of the United States, it has been a rough start to the 2011 season for many local tracks. Some tracks in the area I live have canceled or postponed at least half of their events for the year so far! It has to be putting a dent in the tracks' and competitors' pockets when showers pop up nearly each and every weekend.

Luckily, after several consecutive days of wet weather the sky was sunny and clear for my first visit to Port Royal Speedway. This dirt track had a couple unique features such as a grassy fan accessible infield where you can bring the kids, the frisbee and the family dog for a bit of a day at the park feel at the race track. The flag stand was about three-quarters of the way down the front straightaway, which gave potential for some competitive and fast racing to the line. Despite all of this and some great side by side racing, I quickly remembered why I am not as fond of dirt track racing compared to asphalt short track racing. There were frequent delays due to the soft track from the recent weather, and a noticeable and potentially dangerous groove was forming at least from what I could see into turn one. This and the numerous red flags for clean up following wrecks made me want to go back to the closest asphalt oval where if the track is dry then it's time to go racing!

Mother nature played some havoc during Indianapolis 500 bump day qualifying this past weekend. That is fine and it's all part of the Indy 500 strategy, but what angered me was that almost immediately when the rain drops started falling the announcers part of the online broadcast I was listening to started naming off possibilities in which Danica Patrick could buy her way into the field. Is this what professional auto racing has come to? Buying your way into such a prestigious race like this and punishing those who worked hard to correctly strategize and make the field fair and square? Also, I think it would be a major slap in the face to former open wheel greats such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal who all at one time had to deal with the frustration of missing the field for their biggest race of their season.

One of my goals in life has always been to travel to the Hoosier state for the entire month of May, and as that possibility draws closer to one of these years a situation such as this actually happening would completely change that goal. Luckily, it will not happen this year and it looks to be one of the most competitive Indy 500s in years! Ganassi and Penske could possibly be dethroned and many drivers making one off appearances have a realistic chance, much like how it used to be. I'm going quite a bit out on a limb and predicting Ed Carpenter to win in the Sarah Fisher Racing ride. He has been fast the entire month and why not choose the Greatest Spectacle in Racing for a breakthrough win. Don't count out veteran Dan Wheldon, the pole winner Alex Tagliani or former Indy 500 champion Buddy Rice among others either.

Shifting to the Coca-Cola 600, I'm thinking it will be one of the top drivers this year that will be the favorite. Carl Edwards was strong last weekend with his in win the All-Star race, but Jimmie Johnson is my pick to win the longest race of the year. Despite its longevity, this race always has the potential for a first time winner. Maybe Marcos Ambrose, David Ragan, A.J. Allmendinger or Ricky Stenhouse, who will make his debut subbing for Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne, will breakthrough into victory lane. It would be nice to see a driver that hasn't won in awhile take the checkers, such as Bobby Labonte or Mark Martin.

As I sit on my couch for in my opinion the biggest overall day of racing during the year, I will be hoping for some precipitation free and less severe weather as we approach the summer months...during the weekends at least. I'll be taking a break from traveling to the races during the early summer due to some other events going on. One of these events will be a trip to The Borgata in Atlantic City to play in another poker tournament during their Summer Poker Open. I haven't decided which one I will play yet, but I am leaning towards the newly introduced bounty tournaments. The format of this is you are given a "bounty" chip as part of the tournament fee and every time you knock a player out you earn another chip. Each chip that you earn is worth a specified sum of money, regardless of whether you cash in the tournament.

My next post will report on my results and provide a preview of my various racing journeys during the months of July and August. Until then, take care and stay dry!

Bowman Gray Lived Up To It's Name, Richmond - Not As Much

2011-05-04T20:18:00.001-04:00

Bowman Gray Stadium is known as "The Madhouse," and it surely was one on Saturday night. It was amazing how they can pack in so many fans at such a small track all while feeling so close to the action. The fans' reactions to their favorite or least favorite drivers being introduced added to the drama of the event. While some of the racing was a bit dull and follow the leader, the exciting atmosphere surrounding the roar of the engines elevated the experience to the next level. I also enjoyed the "choice" rule. For those not familiar, one lap prior to the green flag one of the track officials placed a cone in the middle of the start-finish line. Each driver then would choose if they would like to start on the inside or outside line when the race restarts. This made things very interesting, considering that the inside was by far the preferred line. It made for some very intense racing though with cars racing side by side for several laps, occasionally with the car on the outside line powering into the lead. This is exactly what Burt Myers was able to do later in the race and took the win in the GMAC Insurance 200 modified feature, only a few weeks after a scary super modified wreck where he suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Myers also competed in a late model stock car a couple days earlier at Richmond International Raceway, as I attended the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown and NASCAR K&N Pro East Series races. RIR's slogan is "Racing Perfection." While I had a good time, I wouldn't necessarily say the racing and the facility was close to perfect. It could have had something to do with the impending weather, but there were some other factors that turned me off. I understand that the racing program had to be rushed along a little bit, but they could have said something over the public address system. I was expecting a brief intermission and while I waited in line for food the East Series race started, resulting in me missing out on the first ten laps. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I haven't been to a high level NASCAR track since Daytona in 2008, but it seemed like everywhere I wandered in the midway there was a track worker telling me that I couldn't go any further. Also, the grandstand ushers kept telling fans to keep moving along when the track was quiet or while just a practice session was going on. I would expect that immediately prior to race conditions, but the fact was the stands weren't completely packed so what was the point? Were they practicing for Saturday evening? I don't think I ever felt so restricted as a fan at a race track. Maybe it's too much to gripe about such little things for Thursday night at a NASCAR facility, but the fact was I didn't feel 100% content being there. Despite this, the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown was entertaining and I'm sure it raised a lot of money for a good cause. I just hope that Denny Hamlin and his fellow NASCAR and Late Model Stock Car friends and competitors consider going back to their roots next year with Southside Speedway opening back up.

Photos can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.563204407069.2069888.37801386&l=f887e6820a. Video from the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24; however, I ran into a problem with the Bowman Gray Stadium video editing. Somehow all of the footage was corrupted and permanently deleted. I may be experienced with computers, but apparently I lack the common sense to save raw footage on my hard drive before editing. Oh well, it is what it is. If you want to see some excellent footage from The Madhouse, go to http://www.youtube.com/racingrulz.

For the next couple months, I'll be taking a little bit of a break. I'll be staying local with my first visit to Port Royal Speedway for some dirt racing during the month of May. I'll be leaving behind the camera and Flip Video, but expect a recap from the experience and perhaps a brief preview of one of the single most exciting race days of the year, the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600, later in the month!

THE RACE Was Quite The Race

2011-04-15T18:15:00.001-04:00

This is what happens when there's a field of 44 of the best super late model drivers on the continent: great side by side green flag racing for 300 laps! THE RACE at the Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway was rained out Saturday night, but that didn't stop the competitors from racing under green flag conditions for the first 50 laps before the first caution flew on Sunday afternoon. Then when it looked like things were going to get crazy, the last 100 laps went caution free with about 35 cars still running at the end. I would like to see NASCAR's finest do that on a regular basis when they go to Bristol, Martinsville or Richmond.

I captured much of it on video, from the downtown hauler parade to the unique qualifying heat and last chance race format to the 100 lap modified feature (which despite having only 11 cars had some great racing) to THE RACE. It can all be found at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24.

Various photos were taken during the weekend as well. Not only did we travel to North Wilkesboro, but we visited the NASCAR Hall Of Fame, Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing and Childress Vineyards. Photos from the track can be found at https://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=561865195859&id=37801386&aid=2068481&l=8e893d2c12 and photos from the other stops are at https://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=561868758719&id=37801386&aid=2068482&l=8ff62b625e.

More travels are in store very soon as I will be heading to the Borgata in Atlantic City on Sunday morning for a free invitational poker tournament I qualified for with a $10,000 purse distributed to the players finishing in the top 10%. Hopefully missing the Talladega races will be worth it after all is said and done! Then later this month I am planning on traveling down to Richmond International Raceway to catch the Thursday night racing action, which includes the NASCAR K&N East Series and the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown featuring many top NASCAR drivers. It's only $25 to see both races and part of it goes to the Denny Hamlin Foundation. The next day I will travel a few hours west in preparation to attend my first ever race at the Madhouse, Bowman Gray Stadium, for their season opener. The fun shall continue!

Less Than A Month Until THE RACE!

2011-03-12T17:00:00.001-05:00

Most might refer to the 2011 Daytona 500 as potentially the race of the year even though we're not even a month into the official racing season, and while NASCAR is off to a positive start with the excellent competition in the Cup and Truck Series I think the best stock car race of the year might not even be NASCAR sanctioned.

The Pro All Stars Super Late Model Series has continued to gain momentum each year since adding its presence in the Southeast in 2006 during the demise of the old NASCAR Southeast/All Pro Series, and in 2010 they announced the country's richest asphalt short track race to take place at the Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway on April 9, 2011. The winner will take home, at a minimum, $75,000 for the victory in this 300 lap race. A PASS Series regular will receive a bonus and with supporters signing up to sponsor nearly a third of the race's laps, the victor could easily see a 6 figure payday. The drivers and teams have come calling with over 70 entered from all over the United States and Canada, and more are expected.

As a fan, once this race was announced and it was assured that this event would take place, I began to plan my trip. Now that the preliminary racing events from the winter months have taken place, I'm ready to head South! Before I go into the plans for my trip, I'll briefly recap the latest two events I attended. The 26th Annual Racing Legends Reunion and Car Show took place in late February at the Fairgrounds Mall in Reading, Pennsylvania. I don't recall ever going to this show before and was quite surprised about how much there was to offer and see. Photos can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067223&id=37801386&l=47282190cc. The following weekend I attended the Laurel Mall Racing Show in Hazleton, Pennsylvania for the second straight year. This show was smaller than the previous year and turned out to be a bit disappointing. Photos from this show can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067427&id=37801386&l=7b8f986673.

I've done quite a bit of sightseeing in the past, but this trip might be one of the best. In addition to "The Race," there will be a transporter parade through North Wilkesboro, plenty of practice sessions, qualifying, heat races and a 100 lap Modified race to witness from Thursday through Saturday. Outside of North Wilkesboro, my travel plans will include but are not limited to the Richard Childress Racing and Hendrick Motorsports race shops, the Sam Bass Gallery and the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. I like the move of the Hall of Fame induction to January, but I wish they would have done it a year sooner so I could see the second class when I visit. Nevertheless, it's going to be an excellent time!

There's a lot of preparation for a trip like this even as a fan, but I will make sure I tune in to see some NASCAR short track racing with Bristol and Martinsville coming up. I've also been getting back into playing some more poker in recent months and have a couple tournaments coming up for some nice prizes (perhaps some travel money for North Carolina!) Lastly I'll be making my picks and paying close attention to the NCAA College Basketball tournament as always. My pick to win it all is dependent on one player. If Kyrie Irving comes back, I have a feeling Duke will be hard to beat for two championships in a row. If he doesn't, Ohio State will easily be the favorite to win it all.

Next month I'll be back to share photos and videos from North Wilkesboro and preview my next trip which I'm trying to put together for the end of April.

If I Ran A Racing Series

2011-02-10T22:21:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is staying warm. Spring and the racing season are just about officially around the corner! Before I delve into the topic my title states, I wanted to share that the Motorsports 2011 show and the Atlantic City Indoor Races were once again a success and a great time. Photos from the show can be viewed at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066219&id=37801386&l=0c43f11051 and videos from the races can be watched at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24.

Now, for the main topic. I came up with this idea after reading the numerous articles prior to, during and after NASCAR announced their changes for 2011. Many are clearly not my own original ideas, but I think put together these would make for a competitive racing series. Since I'm not close to knowledgeable with cars themselves, this is mostly an overview regarding the competition:

- Practice - An hour and a half to two hour practice session, which takes place prior to qualifying. If the practice session is postponed due to inclement weather, the qualifying session will be replaced with a practice session and the speeds will set the order for the race.

- Qualifying - Slowest car in practice qualifies first, fastest qualifies last. If a car does not practice a specified number of laps, it will not be eligible to qualify. A pre-determined amount of cars, depending on the race track's size, will qualify for the race. In the event that qualifying is canceled, practice session speeds will set the order for the race.

- Provisionals - Up to 4 provisional starters will be added to the field. A team must be in the top 25 in points and have competed with the same driver for at least 90% of the races to be eligible. A team can use up to 2 provisional starts a year.

- Last Chance Race - To set the remaining 4 spots in the field, a short distance last chance race will be held. Teams will be paid a small sum of money for competing in this race. I stress small so that it will not benefit a team to start and park in the race. To transfer into the field, the driver must finish on the lead lap. In the unlikely event that less than four cars finish the scheduled distance, then only the drivers that finish will transfer into the field.

- Race - Declared official once one lap more than half the race has concluded. Caution laps due to weather will not count. A pre-determined limited number of tires may be used per car in each race. Sharing tires between teams will be forbidden. Drivers will not race back to the caution, but there will not be a lucky dog/free pass rule. Lapped cars that are determined to be running a comparable pace with the leaders are allowed to hold their track position under caution and prior to the double-file restart. They are also allowed to pit on the same lap as the leaders. Pit stops for tires under caution will be disallowed during the last 10% of the race distance and will result in a two lap penalty, unless a flat or flat-spotted tire can be proved. Caution laps will count, except during the last ten laps. In other words, ten non-consecutive green flag laps must be run to finish the race.

- Post-Race - If a technical infraction is found or a team breaks any other unlawful rules, they will forfeit all points and money won for the weekend. A post-race autograph/meet-and-greet session will take place following victory lane festivities. Post-race should allow the fans, teams and drivers to embrace the race that just took place. Drivers shouldn't have to race out to catch their plane and fans shouldn't have to race out to beat traffic. Drivers will be required to participate, but of course exceptions will be made in the unfortunate event where a driver is forced to seek further medical attention following the race.

- Points - Will be rewarded in a fashion where first will receive the most points and last will receive the least, as it is with most stock car racing series. Bonus points will be rewarded to lap leaders, but laps under caution will not count towards bonus points. The driver leading the most green flag laps will receive a further bonus. Due to the close competition in this day and age, qualifying points will not be rewarded. The driver with the most points at the end of the season will win the points championship.

- Money won - Similar to golf, poker tournaments and major short track races across the country, the winner of the race will win a larger sum of the money. 2nd through last will receive a slightly decreasing amount of money. The driver who wins the most money (contingency money not included) at the end of the season will be rewarded with a further bonus as well as the money won championship. The top 20 in points will also receive bonuses via a point fund.

- Rookie of the Year - A driver is eligible for rookie of the year if they competed in less than seven races in the series or another series of a pre-determined higher or same level during previous seasons. A driver will lose their eligibility if they fail to attempt at least 90% of the races during the season. If no eligible driver meets the aforementioned criteria, then there will be no rookie of the year award. The rookie with the most driver points (same as what determines the points champion) will win the rookie of the year award.

To sum things up, I think it would be advantageous to have both a points champion and a money won champion. Rewards would go out for both winning and consistency. From various short track races I've been to recently, I think that a race not ending until ten non-consecutive green flag laps are completed is a better idea than multiple green-white-checkered finishes. While racing back to the caution is quite unsafe, I still think that a driver should earn their lap back rather than receive a free pass. I strongly object to a driver winning rookie of the year for only competing in approximately half the races. I also dislike when a race is decided based on pit strategy very late in the race. As important as the pit crews are, I think the drivers should have to earn the victory on the race track and I think it's thrilling to see them wheel an ill-handling car on older tires for the win as well. A driver should have to earn their way into the field, but I don't think there is anything wrong with a mulligan or two. Bad weekends happen. Most important of all, the races take place mainly because of the fans. Their ticket purchase should give them the right to meet the drivers and personalities no matter high or low the level of racing is.

Love them or hate them, those are the ideas that I think would work the best. Next time, I'm sure I'll be talking about some more racing related subjects. I'll also talk about my preparation for attending the big race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in April.

Time To Go Racing in 2011!

2011-01-16T20:52:00.003-05:00

It's time to leave a decent 2010 with quite a few bright spots behind and begin the new year! Personally the first couple weeks of 2011 have been going fairly well. Made some money twice at the poker tables already and once again thinking that this could finally be the year that I win something big. Had a bit of a scare thinking we had to put my cat of 16+ years down, but the old lady hung in there and is doing better at home now. Aside from these, it's just about time for the 2011 racing season to begin!

I have several exciting plans in store, but first up will be the same as what I've done to begin the last couple years. On Saturday 1/22 I will be heading to the Motorsports 2011 show in Oaks, Pennsylvania. This year I will get the chance to meet drivers from past and present such as Kenny Wallace, David Pearson, John Force and 2010 ARCA champion Patrick Sheltra. Oddly enough, also on hand to sign autographs will be Danny Bonaduce! Not sure what he has to do with motorsports, but it should be interesting to meet him. There will once again be lots of cars and displays to take pictures of as well.

The following weekend I will be making the two and a half hour trip east to Atlantic City, New Jersey for the Atlantic City Indoor Races. The last two years I attended were quite the wild races and I'm sure this year will be no less suspenseful. Approximately 75 TQ/Micro entries are once again expected in addition to the full Slingshots, Champ Karts and 600 Micro Sprints fields. Here is a one-minute promo video from the Area Auto Racing News Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=193350684014937. Once again I plan to take some video of all the racing action.

From there I will be taking a brief two-month break from seeing any racing in person, but from then on I will be getting into a high gear! In early April, North Wilkesboro Speedway is already on the definite traveling list for their big 300 lap, $75,000 to win PASS Super Late Model race. It's still over two months away, but 61 teams have already entered to compete in the race! After some other possible stops throughout May and June, there is a possibility that I may be attending races four weeks in a row from mid-July through early-August. The annual stop to the local Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway for some Micro Sprint races followed by the NASCAR Camping World Trucks and ARCA Series at Pocono Raceway are confirmed, but the two weeks prior to that I'm thinking about traveling out to Ohio for the first time ever to attend the Eldora Speedway Kings Royal and then head to Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Virginia for a benefit race the next weekend. We'll see how it all pans out.

I'll be back in a few weeks to share my experiences, photos and videos from the next two weeks and maybe I'll even talk a little NASCAR if I feel like it.

What A Week!

2010-12-12T21:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been back in Pennsylvania for nearly a week now and I'm still recalling the week's events from the Pensacola, Florida area. I apologize that I didn't get a chance to post any sooner, but I've been so busy with work that it has taken me all week to get around to posting photos, videos and typing this. Over 300 photos can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064408&id=37801386&l=2fad6e2f6a and http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064439&id=37801386&l=2d91f346c3, and over an hour of videos can be found at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24.

The trip started off a little bit sluggish. Due to the dreary weather, my connecting flight from Charlotte to Pensacola was delayed about an hour and a half. Once I arrived in rainy Pensacola and got my rental car, I was ready for some dinner and headed straight to Beef O' Brady's where Speed 51 was doing a Internet radio show. Guests included Snowball Derby competitors Mike Garvey, Dan Fredrickson and eventual winner Johanna Long. From there, I headed back to the hotel to get some much needed rest. The good news was absolutely no inclement weather was expected for the remainder of the week.

When I woke up Wednesday I did my first of three days of sightseeing. After all, an advantage of traveling to races is seeing some great parts of the country as well. I headed west into Alabama for the first time in my life and into downtown Mobile. It's a very nice little historic city with good food. I then headed a little further south and checked out where Mobile Dragway and Mobile International Speedway were located. On the way back, I saw Hank Aaron stadium, which includes his childhood home and museum. Little did I know that I was only 15 minutes away from entering Mississippi. There's always next time!

Wednesday evening I headed to Five Flags Speedway for their Green Flag Party. As a spectator, I have never experienced anything like this! The pit area was opened to the fans for FOUR hours, with live music on the frontstretch part of pit road where fellow fans, drivers, crews and staff mingled and had a great time. I had a chance to talk to Chase Elliott about the Pro Late Model the team was working on right in front of us. The highlight of the night is when I got my picture taken with NASCAR driver David Ragan. Afterward, a guy nudged me and told me to look at the picture that was just taken. I looked up and it was Rusty Wallace's son Steve, and in the picture he was making a goofy face behind us. Priceless stuff right there! Before the evening came to an end, I made sure to thank the track general manager Tim Bryant for all him and his staff do and that as I fan I appreciated them making me feel welcome.

Thursday morning it was time for some more sightseeing. I headed down towards Pensacola Beach. Since the high temperature was only around 60 degrees the beach and area around it were fairly empty, but it was nice to see the Gulf looking very nice again. After my brief experience at the beach, I drove back to downtown Pensacola. I really like downtown there because it didn't really feel like much of a big city at all. There were very few one way roads, there was ample free parking available in lots of areas and there was plenty to check out. Following this it was finally time to head to the track to see some racing, even though it only consisted of Snowball Derby and Snowflake 100 practice sessions during the afternoon. Even at that hour in the middle of the week, the track parking lot was full. It would be that way the remainder of the week, but there were free parking and shuttles available about a mile down the road every day and night.

After practice concluded, I could have stayed to watch two of the local races at the track. However, I decided that I wanted to do some racing (or so I call it). Down at the Fast Eddie's Fun Center there were affordable go-kart races being held, in which some drivers and members of the media were competing too. It was a small slick track so you had to have some ability to handle your kart, although many of the races turned out to have quite a bit of beating and banging. I purchased a pass to race in one of the normal races they do as practice and I finished 3rd. This wasn't too bad because later on the top two finishers from each heat race would transfer to the next round. Following the media and Snowball Derby drivers races it was time for the Snowball Showdown heat races. I was in the first heat race, and I must say it was pretty neat hearing SPEED's Bob Dillner introducing my name prior to the heat race! It was even neater getting to rub fenders with him and drivers like former NASCAR Southeast Series champion J.R. Norris and Revolution Racing development driver Rebecca Kasten. Unfortunately, I did not transfer in either of the heat races I competed in. I was knocked around like a pinball and came home 7th in the first one. Then for an additional fee they allowed you to enter more heat races. I didn't do too bad in the next heat race, finishing 4th a few seconds behind three guys that are actually race car drivers. Overall, it was a fun experience and even though I hadn't seen an actual feature race at Five Flags Speedway I already had a spectacular week so far.

Friday morning was my last stint sightseeing and then later that day began the main reason I came to Pensacola. I drove down to the National Naval Aviation Museum. Prior to walking in I thought this will be something I can walk around and tour for about a half hour to an hour. I was totally wrong. I spent at least two hours gazing at all that the museum had to offer. Even if you are like me and don't have much knowledge about the subject matter, I would highly suggest learning from everything available in this museum. It was simply breathtaking and a privilege to walk around a building like this.

After a bite for lunch it was time to head to the track. Up first were practice sessions followed by Super Stock, Modified and Snowball Derby qualifying sessions. Cale Gale tied the all time track record set by Gary Balough in 1980 for the Snowball Derby! Qualifying was so competitive that big names such as Jeff Fultz, Mike Garvey and Clay Rogers were forced to take provisionals for Sunday's race. The night's Super Stock and Modified feature races were complete mayhem. I seriously lost count of how many red flags were flown during the evening. The modified winner took the checkered flag at 11:59PM, concluding a long, cold and probably expensive night for some.

Saturday turned out to be a much more pleasant day weather and racing wise. The late morning began with the final Snowball Derby practice session and then Snowflake 100 qualifying for the Pro Late Models. Then followed the Snowball Derby last chance race where Scott Hantz beat out Ryan Sieg for the win. Top drivers such as David Rogers, Stephan McCurley and Ryan Blaney were sent packing. Next up were the Snowflake last chance races. Chase Elliott qualified 2nd for the race, but his time was disqualified due to a minor technical infraction. Him and Daniel Hemric, who was DQ'd prior to qualifying, marched to the front and transferred into the feature. During the Snowflake 100 race it looked like Augie Grill was going to run away with the race, which surprisingly only had two cautions. However, Chase Elliott steadily moved towards the front all while saving his tires and came from 31st starting spot to win the 100 lap race. I was listening to the radio on my scanner and there is probably no one better than his dad and spotter Awesome Bill to calmly coach him to the front. The evening's festivities were over by 8:30PM, a full three and a half hours prior to the previous night. Now it was time to get some rest and get set for the big race on Sunday!

Sunday morning, the streets and the track were packed. It was finally time for the 43rd Annual Snowball Derby! The race started off very clean, with some great battles and passing for the lead positions. It seemed like no one could hold down the lead for more than ten consecutive laps. The first caution was a heartbreaker, because Eddie Mercer in his last Snowball Derby was involved and done for the day. The next 200 laps saw some great green flag racing with some cautions and multi-car wrecks peppered through. The first 250 laps showed me that these are some of the best short track racers in the country. It seemed like just about every driver in the race took their turn at running in the top five or top ten. Lots of pit strategies occurred and near the closing stages it looked like my dark horse pick Donnie Wilson was going to be the car to beat. He had already passed by such talents as Chase Elliott and Landon Cassill and had his sights set on leader at that time Bubba Pollard. Then the two got together sending Pollard spinning and the first of many cautions near the end of the race. I still thought that Wilson had this race won, but when crash after crash occurred it was apparent that Johanna Long had the car to beat on fresher tires. Making things a little more confusing for the fans and competitors was Five Flags Speedway's rule about finishing under green. Their rule is once lap 295 is complete they must run five non-consecutive green flag laps. It took them until about lap 325 to do this, which perhaps cost Wilson the win. After some controversial battles for the top positions Long ended up taking the lead and pulled away during the last two green flag laps of the race. The local girl from Pensacola secured the popular win! Even if the rules may have been confusing it was still quite the exciting finish, which is what I'm sure each and every fan went there for.

So now my time vacationing is over and it's back to reality. I would definitely like to go again, but even as a spectator the cost of traveling on my own to an event like this starts to escalate. I highly recommend experiencing the entire week's festivities and what Pensacola and the surrounding areas have to offer. If anyone reading this has an interest in going in the future, please let me know and maybe as a group we can all cut some of the travel costs for transportation, lodging, etc.

Next up will be the Motorsports 2011 show followed by the Atlantic City Indoor Races in mid to late January once again. Until then, I hope everyone has a great holiday season! Thanks for reading!

It's Almost Snowball Derby Time!

2010-11-18T19:44:00.002-05:00

As I sit at my computer typing this blog, I keep counting down the days for what might be the single most exciting trip of my life! On Tuesday, November 30 I will depart the Harrisburg International Airport and connect to a flight to Pensacola from Charlotte. Amazingly, it will be my first time outside the eastern time zone. After arriving in Pensacola, I will ride in my first official rental car to my hotel and from there it will be time to check out the many attractions Pensacola, Florida has to offer and the several events going on all week leading up to the 43rd Annual Snowball Derby. I will document the entire trip with my camera and flip video, posting photos and videos for everyone to see when I get back.

If you are unfamiliar with the Snowball Derby, it is a who's who of short track super late model racing with a bit of NASCAR flavor. Current NASCAR drivers David Ragan, David Stremme and Landon Cassill as well as Truck Series drivers Ryan Sieg and Johanna Long will be there competing. Although defending race winner Kyle Busch will be busy attending the NASCAR banquet, he will still have a presence fielding two cars for the race. Future stars with some familiar last names Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Ross Kenseth will be there contending for the win. Former winners of the 300 lap race Augie Grill, Clay Rogers, Eddie Mercer, Dave Mader III and perhaps Bobby Gill will all be there. Other notables among the current 55 entries include former ARCA champion Tim Steele, current ARCA driver Grant Enfinger, ASA Midwest driver Dan Fredrickson, former Kevin Harvick Inc. driver Cale Gale just to name a few. A couple drivers who have a ton of laps at Five Flags Speedway but have come up short from winning the Snowball Derby will be there to try again: Wayne Niedecken Jr. and David Rogers.

The night preceding the big race will be a 100 lap pro late model race called the Snowflake. Currently approximately 65 cars are entered including many of the names that will headline the Snowball Derby. Among the drivers doing double duty will be Mike Garvey, Stephan McCurley, Johanna Long, Ryan Crane, Bubba Pollard, Josh Hamner, Chase Elliott and Augie Grill. Modifieds, Super Stocks, Sportsman and Bombers will all be on hand for feature races during the week as well.

Predictions for Snowball Derby: How can you go against the 14 year old phenom Chase Elliott who has 12 wins in a late model in 2010? I think he will be taking the biggest win of his career so far at the Snowball Derby. Ross Kenseth will turn in an excellent second place performance with 2010 USAR Pro Cup champion Clay Rogers finishing third. My dark horse pick is Donnie Wilson. This Oklahoma driver has not won any races of this magnitude, but he has someone who has calling the shots. Freddie Query has been his crew chief all year and they have steadily improved race after race. The feel good story will be if David Rogers, after years of trying, would make it into victory lane.

Predictions for Snowflake: The double duty drivers will reign supreme as Mike Garvey, who has won two recent pro late model races and I think he will be able to take home his third during the Snowflake 100. Fan favorite Johanna Long will finish second and Georgia driver Bubba Pollard third. Kenzie Ruston will be my dark horse for this race. She hasn't really had the finishes to show for it, but she has run very well in some of the late model races she has competed in this year. The feel good pick would go to Eddie Mercer as this may quite possibly be his last Snowball Derby week as a driver.

Predictions for Homestead: Jeff Gordon wins and becomes the first full time driver to win at every Cup track he's competed on. Despite the silly chase format, Kevin Harvick finishes 2nd and wins the championship anyway when Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin finish just outside the top ten, giving Richard Childress Racing their first Cup championship since they won it with Dale Earnhardt in 1994. Finally, after the major set back of the week when Furniture Row Racing's hauler was involved in an accident going back to the race shop, the team regroups and Regan Smith gets his first top ten since his win at Talladega in 2008!

Babbling About Television Ratings

2010-10-29T21:51:00.002-04:00

It's a given that week after week the television ratings for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races continue to sag. Given the arguments about the economy with less people investing in cable and satellite television, opinions that the radio announcing team is better than certain television networks and the presentation of television coverage (with all the commercials) taking a hit; let's set those aside and look at a couple other factors that I feel are making a major impact.

I do not like comparing NASCAR to other professional sports, but for the television aspect it must be viewed this way. NASCAR, much like all professional sports, has several teams/drivers/players a fan can pick from and some have a greater fan base over others. For instance, in Major League Baseball how many times do you hear the phrase: this outcome "will reduce the TV ratings" whenever mainstream teams such as the Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox or Braves fail to make the World Series? The answer to that question brings us to NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been by far the Most Popular Driver over more than half of the last decade. With millions of fans, his continuous fading away from a chance at wins and championships over recent years has to be impacting the sport in a negative way, as many slowly turn their backs and lose interest.

I think while the culture of individualizing sports players/drivers into big stars through fan bases, contracts and endorsement deals has definitely made professional sports what they are today, it is no doubt killing them at the same time. Some members of these fan bases focus on their one particular team and could care less about the rest of them, and when their team is out of the running they change the channel to find other entertainment. Whatever happened to people watching sports for the sheer enjoyment of it? Less and less people seem to be interested in the underdog story anymore. Society has pushed this selfishness onto many of us, leaving us saying "if my team's not winning, then it doesn't matter!" Obviously, when I say many or most I'm referring to mainly the casual fans. The hardcore sports fans tend to stick with their sport through thick and thin.

The one exception appears to be the NFL, which continues to thrive in the ratings category. Just think that no matter who is playing, millions of people look forward to the Super Bowl each year. To add to it, gatherings occur throughout the season for Monday night, Sunday night football, etc. no matter what teams are in the limelight (of course I am aware in areas around the major cities there normally is a spike in interest). NASCAR has some elements similar to it, but in addition to the tracks' promotions I think NASCAR and the television networks need to strive a little more to make each of their races their own major event. More needs to be done than the posts on NASCAR.com's homepage or the 15 second commercial that airs. Some random person off the street will most likely be familiar with the Daytona 500 or Brickyard 400, but would they know what the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 in Loudon is unless they live in the New England area? Trying to think from the casual fan's mindset, it just seems like some of these races are just another weekend at some track that looks different from the last one they were at. How is that supposed to convince more people to watch?

NASCAR should take some aspects from the marketing efforts of the NFL, or even other successes such as the Olympics or college basketball's March Madness and learn something about making themselves something absolutely unique as possible once again. Make it something that anybody that just has a glimmer of interest can't miss. I'm just tired of seeing events generalized and the officials wondering why their ratings are down every week. The answers are right in front of you. Do something about it!

NASCAR On South Park

2010-10-07T20:47:00.001-04:00

Before I begin, I would honestly say that I am quite the South Park fan. While some of their humor can be considered vulgar, derogatory or sometimes childish; most often they successfully and brilliantly put a hilarious spin on pop culture and make some things questionable in the world today pretty funny.

That was not entirely the case with the "NASCAR" episode of South Park. In no way was I offended by their take on their views of auto racing; however, I would like to critique the episode without going into too much detail and ruining it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

This particular episode could have been about just about any subject and I would have been slightly unimpressed. It appeared that they just slapped an episode together in a few hours and said "here you go, Comedy Central!" Obviously I'm not referring to the visual aspect of the show (which always sort of looks to be thrown together in a short amount of time, haha!), but more the substance and plot of the episode.

In retrospect, maybe the creators should have done some research such as reading articles about what has been going on recently, or even read various fans' blogs all over the Internet criticizing some moves NASCAR has made recently and somehow factor it into the episode. They've done the same thing with hundreds of other topics for years and kept audiences laughing over and over again.

I wouldn't even mind if they completely tore NASCAR apart as long as they did it the right way, which normally involves me laughing and saying "that's true!" It was unfortunate that I went into the evening looking forward to this episode and ended up for the most part disappointed.

All is good though. I'm sure they will be back to their normal ways next week...when they make fun of Jersey Shore.

I Honestly Never Thought I Would Say This, but...

2010-09-15T21:08:00.005-04:00

...I went to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway to watch some live racing! After experiencing the 2008 Daytona 500, I thought nothing would ever top that. Then, just over a year later I went to the reopened Rockingham Speedway and thought nothing would ever top that. Now I've been to the first stock car races at North Wilkesboro since 1996 and I've come to the conclusion that it just keeps getting better! The short track in the small North Carolina town may not have had as much three wide racing or hype as the Daytona 500 or didn't have Andy Hillenburg's rejuvenation and the speed of Rockingham, but it was the best overall race weekend atmosphere I've ever witnessed. Great food, great competitors and most importantly a great turnout of great fans were on hand and that's all North Wilkesboro needed to make it a successful first weekend back. Smiles were on everyone's faces throughout the entire race day. The only minor complaint I had was the old scoring pylon was not operable and it was a little hard to follow how many laps were complete during green flag racing. Initially I thought the old NASCAR Winston Cup Series painted walls were going to make the place look a little run down, but it along with the old 76 gasoline ball on pit road gave the track a very nostalgic look that you just don't see at almost any race track anymore. I literally cannot wait to go back for the 300 lap Pro All Stars Series Super Late Model race in April 2011! Photos from my trip can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2061668&id=37801386&l=5ec159c551 (you do not need to be a Facebook member to view the album). Videos from the racing action can be found on my YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24.

And now...it's time to wind down for the next few months. I've been paying a moderate amount of attention to the NASCAR ranks, but haven't had a chance to watch or listen to any races from green to checker. Speaking of which, does anybody else mute their ESPN/ABC TV broadcast and listen to the MRN radio broadcast instead? In the news, I saw that Justin Allgaier has been set free by Penske to seek other options. How can Roger Penske do this?! Allgaier has proved that he is the most talented stand-alone Nationwide Series driver and has proved he is quite the versatile driver winning the ARCA championship a few years back with wins throughout his short career on short tracks, intermediate tracks, superspeedways, dirt tracks, road courses and even Pocono! If someone doesn't sign this rising star for 2011, something is completely wrong with NASCAR and I will be completely baffled about what can be done to save the future from going down the tube. Hopefully he doesn't go the same route as talent like Stephen Leicht and virtually disappear from the sport. On the other hand, I hope he doesn't go the Landon Cassill route and take one-race start and park rides with underfunded teams. Good for Landon getting his name out there, but there has to be a better way although I'm not sure what that could be. Auto racing has something that no other sport or competition experiences. Sure you need to have a bankroll if you want to aspire to be a professional at just about anything, but the bankroll needed for a professional racing career is astronomical when you compare it to just about anything else. Maybe that's what makes it so fascinating yet frustrating at the same time. It might be too early to be worried about this entire subject, but I sincerely hope that I'm not the one saying I told you so at Daytona in 2011.

Like I said before, I will pretty much be winding down getting into a bit of a save mode. I have one major poker tournament coming up in October where approximately the top dozen players will get invited to another tournament in Atlantic City where various prize packages will be offered. After that I'll be counting down the days until I get to fly down to Pensacola, Florida for the 43rd Annual Snowball Derby! More details about this upcoming trip to follow...

2011 Schedule Analysis and Other Exciting Happenings

2010-08-30T16:09:00.000-04:00

I don't have much to gripe about regarding the last few weeks' happenings, but one thing I wanted to talk about is some of the schedule changes for the three major NASCAR series in 2011. Here's my summary of wins and fails:

- Kansas 2nd date: I'm torn between whether this is a WIN or FAIL. I don't really think they or any other 1.5 mile track with one date on the schedule deserves a second date, but technically it is replacing a California race date which suffered with sub par crowds and less competitive races. The June date is also a plus. The Midwest location is good and the new casino traffic could increase crowds much like I'm sure it does with Las Vegas and Dover; however, I would think Iowa should have been in the running for a Cup date. It has a Midwest location as well and it would put another short track on the schedule.

- Kentucky date: I'll have to go with this being a WIN. Excellent location, or so I've heard, for a race to be held and that along with the July date should attract a decent crowd. I'm not a big fan of Bruton or 1.5 mile tracks, but this race should be a pretty good one.

- Only one California date: WIN! The move of their only race back to late March should be a good thing, and maybe it will even attract some more fans to the races. Moving Phoenix to the old California date should also be a WIN, maybe a little bit reminiscent to the old Copper World Classic days.

- Only one Atlanta date: FAIL, but not necessarily NASCAR's fault. I think the track would be much better off if they had stuck with the original configuration and didn't convert it to the cookie cutter tri-oval format. When they lost the season finale they haven't really been able to rebound back either. Deletion of the March race is most likely a good thing, especially with the weather problems there have been in the past.

- Chicagoland date change: FAIL! It may be NASCAR's second largest market, but isn't that the case for most sports? It may attract fans to the race track, but I don't see any TV ratings increasing.

- Late July & August races being pushed back a week: WIN, but that might just be me being selfish. Now I get to see the annual micro sprint races that I go to every year during the last Saturday of July AND get the option of going to Pocono the following weekend to see the Truck Series and ARCA compete on Saturday. The races are back to the way they originally fell. The only downside is the Cup Series last break will be July 24. That's a lot of consecutive racing.

- Nationwide addition of Iowa race: WIN! Iowa gets rewarded after some large crowds and great racing. Now, if only the Cup Series would get a date and maybe you could hear or read the words SOLD OUT for once!

- Nationwide addition of Chicagoland race: FAIL! What is the point of this? Why not just run a second Kansas race with the Cup that weekend. If this is the start of their stand-alone plan to get less Cup drivers to compete for the championship then that is a FAIL as well, especially since none of the actual race dates conflict.

- Other Nationwide Schedule notes: Montreal moved to the same weekend as Michigan will take away from the prestige of the event a little, but on the other hand it will be a nice alternative for that weekend. One other note, two off weekends in a row in October? Why not go back to Martinsville or another short track that used to be on the schedule back in the series heyday instead?

- Truck Series notes: Overall schedule is still a FAIL. Way too many holes in the first half of the year. They tried to patch it a little bit with Darlington in March, but that doesn't make too much sense either. That may be an awfully cold race weekend for the fans. One Truck Series date is still TBA and it would be nice to see them go back to their roots with an additional short track race, but it's looking like they're going to Kentucky for a second time which doesn't make much sense. To sum it up the Truck Series will once again have great racing, but the schedule is quite unsatisfactory.

I have a couple more comments to add about this past weekend's races at Montreal. First of all the competition hasn't been the greatest to say the least regarding the Nationwide Series recently, but this is the race that I end up missing? Great finish and congratulations to Boris Said III and the entire RAB Racing crew. It's great to see a team like this in victory lane, and it can very well be the biggest upset since David Gilliland won at Kentucky a few years back. I hope the nice paycheck will keep RAB Racing around for awhile, and maybe the powers that be at Zaxby's may now think twice about not keeping their racing sponsorship predominantly within the family.

Prior to the Nationwide race was the Canadian Tire Series race, which also had an exciting although more controversial finish. If you didn't see it or hear about it, please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hba5ntCOLaw or to user Battalionfan888's YouTube page. My impression is there's a difference between payback for slight contact and dumping someone. Sounded and looked like there was a little favoritism from the officials and the crowd; however, the initial contact probably kept the officials from doing anything about it. There's been quite a conversation about this going on all year regarding Keselowski vs. Edwards, and it looks to be evident in other series as well.

Things have been a little quiet recently on the local front, as I'm gearing up for the return of racing to North Wilkesboro Speedway! Earlier in the month I enjoyed some 358 sprint and late model racing at Williams Grove Speedway featuring Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. The NASCAR drivers got schooled! I went to Sundance Vacations Speedway during my birthday weekend and as always had a good time at the 1/3 mile track north of Hazleton, Pennsylvania up in the mountains. Videos from the racing action can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24. I also finished eighth in a Borgata qualifier tournament that same weekend and won the runner-up prize of $50 cash. It's better than nothing I suppose. It doesn't look like there will be any major poker tournaments coming up until October or November.

Next up will be the return of racing to North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina for the first time since Jeff Gordon won a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race there in 1996. The always exciting Pro All Stars Series along with the Allison Legacy Series, Limited Sportsmans and Stadium Stocks will be there Labor Day Weekend for the Labor Day Classic 200. The PASS South cars will be running 200 green flag laps and a fairly large turnout is expected. I'll have photos and video footage available after I get back.

Should We Start Keeping Track of Crew Chief Victories?

2010-08-04T21:46:00.001-04:00

Ok...so the title is a little sarcastic, but seriously! Has anyone else noticed that the winners of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2010 have been decided by mixed pit strategies in the end much more often than in the past? A team's pit crew plays a HUGE part in the overall performance during any given race weekend, but with late race cautions it's becoming a fact that one little mistake or one little gamble is the difference between a crew chief looking like a genius or a complete idiot. In the end it results in the best car sometimes not even having a chance to win. When the rain started falling after what ended up being the final pit stops during Sunday's race at Pocono, the announcers started comparing Sam Hornish staying out on the track to Dave Marcis' win at Richmond in 1982. I was barely a thought in 1982, but there's a huge difference. While he may not have battled for the lead, Marcis was one of a handful of cars that was in contention for the win. Hornish lost a lap on at least one occasion on a 2.5 track and ran around 25th the entire race with an ill-handling car and the team perhaps made a lucky gamble. As it turned out, the race went back to green and Greg Biffle who's team also made a gamble in the pits had the all important clean air and pulled away for the win. Congratulations to his team, but with these sometimes gutsy calls it takes out teams who stuck with their plans for four tires and fuel from contention. Where or should they draw the line? I have never looked at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as a 20 lap dash with an inverted field, but it sure is starting to look that way sometimes. One way to alleviate this is to not permit these teams from pitting for tires under caution after a certain point of the race. It would cut costs with teams possibly saving them at least one set of tires, and the end of the race would be more in the drivers' hands trying to handle their race car on old tires.

These sudden winners are also making the chase more of a crapshoot than it already is. To date, Biffle has been in contention for the win at most a couple occasions while Jeff Gordon has been in contention at least a half dozen times. However, due to the current rules Biffle will start the chase ten points ahead. If they're going to include the bonus points for winning the race, why not also include the bonus points for leading laps? It's ridiculous that Carl Edwards has led only six laps all season and currently will start the chase with as many points as guys like Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon who have led hundreds of laps during the season and ended up unlucky at the end of the race! Based on my calculations, with laps led included after 21 races the start of the chase would like this:

Notice that instead of what would normally be a 50 point difference between first and twelfth, there would be a 130 point difference. However, 130 points is still a margin that can be made up in ten races. Also, with laps led points maybe we could see some more intense challenges for the lead during the middle stages of races and not so many teammates letting each other by to lead some laps. One thing that so far would not make a difference this year, but I think should be reflected in the chase as well are points penalties. If a team gets penalized prior to the chase, why should they be allowed to start with a clean slate? Just look at how 2007 would have started for example:

Notice despite having the most wins Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are mid-pack to start off the chase due to their 100 point penalty earlier in the season. After the chase races the final point standings would have looked like this:

No major change in the final standings, right? However, the final points margin actually ended up being smaller. Maybe if NASCAR would have factored in laps led and penalties then maybe it would quiet many of the naysayers that think Johnson or Gordon cheated their way to the top two in points that year, or say that Bowyer didn't deserve third in points. This system would show teams earning their championships based on performance more than it does now. Why won't NASCAR look at a system like this that encompasses more than just one stat or a silly elimination format?

On the local side of things, mother nature butted into the night's racing action at Motordrome Speedway and postponed the last two local races. Luckily they were able to get the first two local shows and the Super Cup Stock Car Series race in, which turned out to be some decent races with some old names from the Pro Cup Series competing. Perhaps the biggest name in the field was Todd Peck, and unfortunately they suffered mechanical problems prior to the green flag and weren't even able to start the race. Videos from the trip can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24. Two weeks later I made an annual stop at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway and for the first time in three years we didn't haven't to put up with any rain delays. The weather and the micro sprint racing were great!

Thanks to the encouragement from a friend, I have made a spur of the moment decision to attend the Battle at the Grove at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania on Thursday, August 4. This night of racing will feature Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart racing sprint cars and Kyle Busch racing a dirt late model. From there, I might go to Sundance Vacations Speedway north of Hazleton, PA for some local racing a couple weeks later. Possibly more videos and another blog post coming in late August.

Empty-Handed, But At Least The Future Looks Good

2010-07-10T18:41:00.000-04:00

There are various subjects to talk about in this blog edition. Unfortunately, I came back from Atlantic City empty handed. I played in the $300 + $50 No Limit Hold'Em Poker Tournament on Tuesday, June 22nd, and for seven hours the deck of cards was extremely cold to me. I managed to hold on to about 35th place out of the 191 that started, which I feel was very respectable considering the cards I was dealt and the very few maneuvers I was able to make with the cards I did have. Despite not cashing it was a very enjoyable experience. The only thing I'll have to do differently next time will be to change my mindset a little bit on how a play certain hands. After playing free tournaments and $100 and less cash tournaments for the past five years, I found out that playing a $300 tournament is a very different game. People respect your raises and I feel like I could have made a couple more maneuvers with some hands that I decided to fold, or not raise so much when I had a good hand. Would it have made the difference between making the final four tables and making it into the cash? Probably not, but you never know with the game of poker. It was definitely a learning experience and I left Atlantic City satisfied with how I played. I'll be saving up some money to head down there another time. Back home the game of poker has worked out well for me, making a profit in every game I played in during the last week. The Pennsylvania table games are opening for business during the month of July, but I'm trying to stay away for the moment, avoiding the crowds and saving a few bucks. I'm entered in a couple more invitational tournaments in the coming weeks, which offer some more prize packages including Atlantic City trips so we'll see how I do in them. One of them that I'm proud to say I've qualified for the third year in a row for is the Venue Leader Tournament. I qualified for this through a bar I play a free game at just about every week and I accumulated the most points for 2009. In the past couple years, this tournament has offered prizes to all the finishers at the final table and the winner has received a Borgata prize package valued at approximately $1,000.

Moving over to NASCAR News, I must say that I'm very discouraged with some of these things Brian France has to say about what they are considering for the chase. Elimination format? Jumbling race tracks around each year? Why would they want to do this? I can't stand when they start comparing racing to other sports, saying that an elimination format would be similar to College Basketball March Madness. No, it won't be. Competition in racing has NOTHING to do with other sports and should not be compared to them. Instead of trying to find a way to boost interest in the season finale, why not help the individual race tracks some more and focus on each individual race? The more they focus on the end of the season, the more the ratings and fan interest in races throughout the rest of the season will continue to decline. Shuffling or revolving dates around in the chase will not work either. NASCAR has set itself apart for being the unique sport to hold it's "Super Bowl" during the beginning of the year at the Daytona 500. Now, they're thinking about trying to revolve dates around like the NFL does for their season finale? It will not work and I don't know how they expect to generate increased interest in this besides on television. Sponsors have commitments to the current last race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Many fans count on the race in their area to be in a certain specific date range each year so they can plan accordingly and purchase tickets. It's not the same as other sports. NASCAR fans don't have half the season as home games; at most they have two. A maneuver like this would price out several fans, which I assume would decrease the attendance at races even more.

Despite some of the questionable moves NASCAR is considering and the almost non-existent rookie battle in 2010, the next generation of possible NASCAR competitors looks very promising. Three sons of current NASCAR competitors have especially caught my eye over the last couple years: Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Ross Kenseth. All three, while they most likely have more funding, media training and are getting an earlier start than many competitors, are proving with their performance on the short tracks that they are the drivers of the future while keeping a very level-headed and often times humble demeanor. The thing I like most about these three is the steady approach that their families are taking in moving them up the racing ladder.

- Most notably is Chase Elliott, son of 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Bill Elliott. He has taken the Super Late Model world by storm with several wins in recent months. With support from Ford, Aaron's and Red Bull, just about any good driver should be running well in that equipment, but Chase isn't getting overly cocky about his performance and appears to be learning something every time he takes to the racetrack. And who better to have as a mentor than his dad Bill? His young age of 14 will allow him to continue to gain track time before he's able to move up to the next level at 16 and then to the top NASCAR levels if he's ready at age 18.

- Ryan Blaney may be the more underfunded of the three with his dad, NASCAR competitor and former USAC and World Of Outlaws champion Dave Blaney, providing support pretty much for the entire race team. However, he has definitely caught my eye as the one to watch for in the next few years. I had the chance to see Ryan for the first time in 2008 at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, North Caroliona when he was making one of his first PASS South Super Late Model Series starts. He qualified about mid-pack, but kept his car in one piece and finished sixth. The next year I saw him race at Orange County Speedway and at one point he held a half lap lead. Unfortunately, he was involved in an altercation not of his own doing which led to a cut tire and an unfavorable finish. In 2010 he has been one of the drivers to beat in the PASS series, nearly lapping the field at the season opener in Dillon, South Carolina and winning once more to date. This is another example of a young driver who is taking his time to move up. He has spent nearly three years in super late models and him and his dad have even discussed some dirt track racing in the near future. By the time Ryan is ready to make the next step, he will already be a well-seasoned short track racer.

- Ross Kenseth is probably the one that I know the least about, but he is the son of 2003 NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth. In my opinion, he quietly came onto the stock car racing scene in 2007 when he began competing in the Big 8 Late Model Series, which I believe is a limited late model series in the Midwest that competes in some shorter distance races. He was fast qualifier that year in October at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway in Wisconsin, and claimed two wins in 2008. In 2009, he won the series championship. Later that year, he gained some recognition when he qualified his super late model on the outside pole for the 2009 Snowball Derby. While being involved in a couple minor altercations, Ross brought his car home to a 12th place finish completing all 300 laps. Matt Kenseth finished last in his first Snowball Derby in 1995. In 2010, Ross has moved up to the ASA Midwest Tour and won for the first time in the second race of the season. In the tour's most recent race at Madison International Speedway in Wisconsin, he finished third to his father and Midwest short track legend Steve Carlson. Ross will run the balance of the series schedule and also has a few trips South planned, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him run one more season with the tour in 2011 while traveling a little bit more when he can before making the move to the next level.

My racing travels will take me next to Motordrome Speedway in Smithton, Pennsylvania to see the Super Cup Stock Car Series along with the track's local racing divisions on Friday, July 16. The Super Cup Stock Car Series was formed in late 2007 after escalating costs chased out some teams from the USAR Pro Cup Series. It's a very low cost and low profile racing series that I look forward to seeing for the first time. The current point leader is Todd Peck, who's uncle Tom Peck raced in the NASCAR Busch Series for many years. I once again will be capturing video footage and will upload it to my YouTube account. A couple weeks later I will be making an annual stop at the local Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway North of Lititz, PA to see some Micro Sprint races with some friends. I will not be taking any video or pictures as I've decided to just take in the racing for the evening.

So Close Yet So Far Away

2010-06-16T21:31:00.000-04:00

The title is the main theme for this blog post, as it pertains to many aspects in the poker and racing world. My first example unfortunately once again is in the poker world. I qualified for a tournament which occurred over the weekend where the top three finishers win prize packages to the Borgata in Atlantic City valued at $2,000 for first and $1,000 for the runners up. I fought through the field of 80 players and nearly six hours later arrived to the final table of eight. I was down in chips compared to most of the other players and knew it was going to be an uphill battle. I made it pretty far, but once again got unlucky and came up short finishing fifth. It gets frustrating being so close to winning a major prize, but I've been keeping my head up. It's excellent practice for the real thing, which will occur Tuesday, June 23 when I go to the Borgata with my own cash and play in a $300 tournament. My recent finishes keep me optimistic because if I play as well as I have and dodge some tough luck there is no doubt in my mind that I can make it into the cash.

Being so close yet so far away can sometimes be a good thing. This past Saturday night was a prime example. The weather forecast looked iffy, but my friend and I made the two hour drive to Mahoning Valley Speedway to see some local racing as well as the Seven Card Stud Modified 100. Everything was going fine until early evening when the clouds started closing in during the heat races. Then during the preliminary features the thunder started rumbling, and during and following the 4C Super Modified race lightning was seen appearing to be striking behind the trees right outside the track. Things looked grim. The Modifieds came out for their pace laps and on the wave lap the raindrops started coming down. Fans including my friend and myself started briskly walking to our cars. Modifieds were called into the pits. However, before we made it to my car the rain suddenly stopped. Modifieds were called back onto the track and we headed back to the stands. The rain diminished to some drizzle and then a few minutes later came to a stop. We had dodged a bullet. The rest of the night was precipitation free and full of lots of side by side action. Videos from the night's racing can be found at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24.

A driver that has been the class of the field in the series that they race in is a prime example of someone who has been so close yet so far away from making it in NASCAR's top series: Clay Rogers. In my opinion, this guy is the number one short track driver in the country that deserves another shot. He has won three USAR Pro Cup Series championships with three different teams and is running circles around the competition with a fourth different team in 2010. He's had his chance in the NASCAR Nationwide and Truck Series, but I don't feel he's had a legitimate opportunity to show what he can do. In 2001, the then 20 year old received the call to drive for Robbie Reiser when Cup Series rookie Matt Kenseth couldn't drive the stand-alone events. At this time, Rogers only had one full year experience in these types of cars and struggled much like Ricky Stenhouse and Colin Braun have in the Nationwide Series this year. His other full time opportunity came mid-season in 2007 in the Truck Series. However, the team he drove for Spears Motorsports closed their doors following the season and Rogers never had much of a chance to show his talent on the track with a team that was on it's way out of the series. What impressed me the most was in 2005 when he drove for the underfunded Glynn Motorsports team. He had a fourth and eighth place finish and only failed to complete two laps in five starts. He even competed in the Nationwide Series finale that year for the same team and finished 14th on the lead lap, moving up from 33rd starting position. Unfortunately, once again, the team closed up in 2006. His impressive finishes in recent years in one-off starts with ARCA should be turning somebody's head as well. If I was an owner or a sponsor this guy would be the first person on my radar, and I'm baffled why he hasn't received the nod to move up to a top series with a top team.

NASCAR's latest announcements and rumors regarding their cars are an example of an organization being so close yet so far away. They're finally getting it. The current STOCK cars look absolutely nothing like anything you would drive on the street and it seems like they're finally going to change some things around with the splitter and perhaps switch to the pony car models. It may not be exactly what NASCAR in the past was all about, but it's a way better option than the Fusion and Impala which are not very comparable to the Thunderbirds and Monte Carlos of the past. Even if these new cars are a success and eventually result in less of an expense for the teams, there is still a lot that needs to be done regarding cost containment. The disconnect between the main three series and all of the developmental, short track touring and grassroots series is outrageous. I miss the days when the K&N Pro Series (then Winston West and Busch North) teams could run semi-competitively in front of a live national audience with the Cup and Nationwide Series a few times a year when they came to their neck of the woods. Besides the tape-delayed broadcasts of their races where has the exposure gone? How does NASCAR expect anyone besides a multi-millionaire businessperson or a kid with a vast amount of financial backing to make the giant leap to the top three series in the future? At this moment, the expansion or even stability of NASCAR (there is always team attrition) are looking bleak. Just look at the manufacturer involvement in stock car racing in recent years:

- Besides Penske, there is ONE competitive Dodge team in the top three series, Jason White. However, Mopar has a vast involvement in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series with nearly half the field driving Dodges, sponsorship of the Mopar Fast Five Award and primary sponsorship of one of the full time drivers.

- Despite struggling GM's gradual movement away from NASCAR the Chevrolets are still strong, predominantly because of Hendrick and Childress equipment. However, they helped produce the new Chevrolet Camaro body that races in the Sunoco National Tour: a model that they wouldn't even approve to race in the Nationwide Series! GM Performance Parts is also a sponsor with the series and I believe they have at least some involvement in the development of their spec engines.

- Ford's decline in involvement is evident with their performance in the top three series, especially the Truck Series where their only remaining long time representative Rick Crawford's team recently stopped competing due to a lack of funding. However, they announced that they will have a contingency program with the American Canadian Tour for teams that support their Ford crate engine program.

- Even Honda is entering the world of stock car racing, but through the development of a new body and fuel injected engine in the ISCARS series. Fuel injection is being considered for the future of NASCAR. Even though the cars and motors differ shouldn't NASCAR be paying more attention to and endorsing this concept?

The only manufacturer that seems to be keeping up with their involvement is the youngest of NASCAR's manufacturers: Toyota. As you can see from the examples, the manufacturers are continuing involvement in stock car racing throughout North America while they gradually reduce support in the most advanced series. It's very interesting because years back the short track series were saturated with General Motors products and none of the other manufacturers were providing any support. Now it appears to be going in the reverse direction. Something is wrong! If NASCAR worked more with the manufacturers and the lower-level series to explore technology that is more cost effective, maybe the manufacturers, sponsors and most importantly the fans would regain interest and more teams would be capable of advancing into NASCAR's mainstream!

As I digress finally, the next race I'll be going to is so close yet so far away. In fact, I'm not 100% sure when and where I'll be going next. Chances are I'll be traveling a few hours west to Motordrome Speedway near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the month of July. They have a few special events to pick from during the month: the Super Cup Stock Car Series visits on the 16th, ISCARS on the 23rd and the ARCA Truck Series will be there on the 30th.

Close But No Cigar and Looking Ahead to Upcoming Races and the Summer Months

2010-05-26T21:08:00.002-04:00

Once again I have come home empty handed after the latest round of poker tournaments over the past couple weeks. Some heartbreak was involved including finishing second in a $500 winner-take-all tourney when I got unlucky during the last hand. I'm starting to feel like Jeff Gordon with all these recent second place finishes, haha! Suffered an enormous bad beat this past Sunday during the middle stages of a tournament, which I prefer not to go into detail about in this blog. Have no fear though, I'll be back on the horse and giving it another try again. Next month I'm putting up my own money and plan to enter one of the Borgata Summer Poker Open events in Atlantic City, most likely the Tuesday June 22nd $300 + $50 event.

The bad news is with all the poker playing I didn't get to see hardly any of the NASCAR All-Star race. Heard it was a good race, but since I don't have much to say about it I'll just move on. I did catch some of Indy 500 qualifying. I didn't mind the new and much easier to follow qualifying format; however, it seemed to lack the suspense that the old drawn out process had in the past. Maybe it was just the fact that Helio Castroneves set a blistering pace and backed it up twice. Maybe it's just my perception of it, considering I don't get Versus and had to watch and listen to the IMS feed on my computer. I miss ABC/ESPN's coverage of qualifying; for the most part I thought they have done a great job covering the Indy 500. Nevertheless, it should be a good race even though it might be another battle between Penske and Ganassi for the win. The favorite once again is Castroneves, but I'm going to predict one of his teammates Will Power or Ryan Briscoe will be drinking the milk in victory lane at the end of the day.

The good news about my early exit from the poker tournament on Sunday was that I arrived home in time to see the tail end of the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It looked like it was very well run. One of a few things that crossed my mind after reading a couple articles online is down the road who will and won't be "Hall of Fame" worthy? Sure there are at least a couple dozen drivers that no doubt will be inducted over the next few years, but what will happen a decade or so from now? In my opinion, since it is the NASCAR Hall of Fame the inductees should cover all of NASCAR's current and past series. Future inductees should include the late great Modified legend Richie Evans, Jack Ingram, Sam Ard, Hershel McGriff, multi-time Whelen All American Series champion Larry Phillips, and dirt racers Steve and Joe Kosiski just to name a few. What about guys like A.J. Foyt who had their share of stock car success in addition to their open wheel fame or anyone else who may make a successful crossover in the future? Will their overshadowing success in other forms of racing prohibit them from being a NASCAR Hall of Fame member? Will they continue inducting five a year or will they begin to back off at some point? If it eventually only becomes a couple a year this could all be a moot point.

The one sad thing I see is out of today's racers I don't see many current non-Cup drivers being future Hall of Famers. The Nationwide Series is so top-heavy with Cup drivers and there doesn't seem to be many dominating forces in the touring series anymore. There are a few current or fairly recent drivers that I wouldn't be surprised to see there when I become old and gray. Ron Hornaday Jr. since he pretty much has been the face of the Truck Series. Mike Stefanik who won championships in stock cars and modifieds in the same season two years in a row. Robert Huffman some may not remember brought Toyota it's initial success in NASCAR in the Dash Series. He's now a crew chief for the Revolution Racing team in the East Series, and if he remains with the team and they achieve continued success for years to come that's one more reason he should be considered. Phillip Morris could also be considered if he continues his championship winning ways in the Whelen All-American Series.

No matter what happens in the future, the NASCAR Hall of Fame looks like an immaculate facility. I plan to visit there sometime in 2011; a little bit after the initial hype similar to my interest in going to Bowman Gray Stadium following the Madhouse TV series.

Over the upcoming weeks there will be a few things to look forward to. The annual day before Memorial Day and perhaps one of the greatest days of the year in auto racing: the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne appear to be the men to beat in the 600 so I'll have to pick one of them to win again. However, the great part about the 600 is drivers have broken through with their first career win or first win in awhile before. I don't realistically see a first-time winner this year, but there are many drivers that are looking for their first win in quite awhile. Could Jeff Gordon return to the glory he had at Charlotte in the 1990's? The Roush drivers and guys like Burton, Martin and Earnhardt Jr. are looking for their first win of the year. This race is always worth staying up for!

The next race I will be going to is coming up quick. Current plan is to go to Mahoning Valley Speedway in Lehighton, Pennsylvania on Saturday, June 12th for some local racing including a 100 lap Modified race, the first of a seven race 7 card stud poker series where the driver with the best five card poker hand wins a $2,500 cash bonus at the end of the year. A unique idea I must say. I'll be posting a blog update following the race and will post links for some video that I plan to capture again.

Hickory Recap and More NASCAR Analysis

2010-05-05T21:31:00.000-04:00

I'm back from another great trip to North Carolina and saw some great races at Hickory Motor Speedway. I completely forgot that the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown was in Virginia on Thursday night. Maybe next year if the dates align again I could take a longer vacation and head down to the Richmond area for that race and head down to North Carolina the following day. Although all five divisions at Hickory seemed a little low in car count (biggest field I believe was 21 USAR Pro Cup cars), it definitely was worth going.

The winners of the Allison Legacy Series and Rolling Thunder Modifieds led every lap of the race, which is fine with me because if you have the fastest car why not try and lap the field. It seemed like in the ISCARS race that many of the teams suffered and dealt with mechanical problems, but there was a great side by side battle for the lead for much of the race. In the USAC Ford Focus Midgets and USAR Pro Cup Series races it goes to show you that even if a car runs away with the show it's not over until the checkered flag. It always amazes me that people will just leave the track in the middle of a race if there's not a battle for the lead. In my book, they're not real race fans. There were still battles for position all over the track and near the conclusion of both races the dominant leader's engine expired. I must add that it was awesome seeing a Food Country USA #75 in victory lane! Videos of the races can be found at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24. Recaps and race results can be found at all of the series official web sites.

I said in the previous paragraph that the race isn't over until the checkered flag and it could not be more true especially in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2010. I have to admit that the Daytona 500 finish was one of the best I've seen in a long time and at first was a fan of the multiple green-white-checker rule. However, it seems like time and time again the same story evolves. Someone gets into trouble late in the race and whether it is a big wreck or just an innocent spin, NASCAR has thrown the caution. This is where I feel the end of these races have turned into something comparable to the end of a poker game. The stakes are high and the drivers and teams have used skill to get into the position they are currently at. Everyone is gunning for the current leader who in many cases this year has led the most laps and failed to win; basically making him a bit of a sitting duck during the late stages. So the teams start gambling whether it be through pit strategy or risking thousands or maybe even millions of dollars worth of parts by making a decisive maneuver for the win (Talladega for instance). This has happened in past years on occasion as well, but even more so this year. The multiple green-white-checkered finishes are where the luck factor comes into play, which isn't all that bad but for it to happen almost every race (once again Talladega for instance) has been getting sort of ridiculous.

What is the solution? Maybe it will just take time. Maybe these drivers just have to get used to it and prove they are the best drivers in America. After all it's worked well for years in the Truck Series and several short track divisions throughout the entire country. Maybe I'm not like most race fans, but I don't mind seeing the dominant car win more often than not, and a lot of times if that car, driver and/or team falters near the end of a race I feel their pain. For the time being, if I want to see the end of a poker game I'll go to Atlantic City.

Over the next month I won't be going to or watching many races anyway due to some poker tournaments I will be concentrating on, including playing for top prizes such as $500 cash, a trip to Atlantic City and a trip to Las Vegas. Just like every year, I look forward to tuning in to see the Indy 500 and Coca Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend. In June, I'll probably go see a local race or two at Mahoning Valley Speedway, Sundance Vacations Speedway or maybe even consider traveling to Port Royal Speedway for the first time to see some dirt racing.

I'll be back later in the month to share my poker results, preview the summer and maybe have another comment or two regarding the world of NASCAR.

Victory at Last in the Poker World and Recent Weeks in the Racing World

2010-04-17T16:20:00.000-04:00

I can finally say that I won a fairly major poker tournament "freeroll," with the help of a friend of mine. We competed in a "Tag-Team" Texas Hold'em tournament where I would play the first blind level and then he would take over the next level with the same chip stack and so on until the tournament was over. We came back several times from near death and while I didn't think I pulled my weight in the beginning, I definitely feel like I redeemed myself near the end!

As with many free to enter tournaments there was not an outright cash prize, but we both are now qualified for another tournament later in the year in which we will play against approximately thirty players for a chance at entry into another tournament that takes place at the Borgata in Atlantic City. In the invitational tournament at the Borgata, everyone gets a prize and the winner normally gets an entry into a major tournament that takes place at the Borgata as well. As with many things in life, you have to use momentum to your benefit in order to succeed consecutive times and win the ultimate prize. We'll see if I'm up for the challenge, but most of all I'm just happy to have the opportunity and have a good time while I'm trying!

The next major poker tournaments might potentially take place on the same day in late May. One of them will be for a trip to the Borgata and another will be for a trip to Las Vegas and entry into a $1,500 World Series of Poker event in the summer. Last year in the WSOP qualifier event, I finished second so I will be very hungry to redeem myself. Win or lose, I have some money set aside to travel down to Atlantic City for one of the Borgata Summer Open events in June. Should be a fun experience!

The most intriguing news as of late in auto racing has to be Kasey Kahne's move to Hendrick for 2012. While I'm not really a fan of Kahne, I see it as a pretty good maneuver by Hendrick Motorsports to sign him. I just hope that they will work closely with Mark Martin to keep him in competitive equipment if he wishes to keep racing past 2011. The last thing I would want to see is such a class act like Martin struggle in sub-par equipment during his twilight years in NASCAR.

Talladega is coming up. Let's hope that this year's races will rekindle my interest in attending races there someday. Usually my favorite race to watch during the Talladega race weekend is the ARCA race. I'll be rooting for the restrictor plate master, Lebanon, PA's Bobby Gerhart to win once again! I feel that overall ARCA has the most entertaining race, although the Nationwide and Cup races normally have some wild finishes. Let's hope those finishes this year are mostly a result of competitive side-by-side racing during the late stages and not a complete demolition derby like we've seen often in recent years at Talladega.

For any short track racing fans, how about the competitive fields and car counts in some of these series? Namely, the fifty cars that showed up for the PASS South Series Easter Bunny 150 that took place at Hickory Motor Speedway. It makes me look forward to going to their North Wilkesboro race on Labor Day weekend later in the year even more! Another short track series that is turning some heads but may not get as much attention is out in the Southwestern part of the United States: the SRL Southwest Tour which has many of the same drivers and cars that competed in the former NASCAR Southwest Series. There were more than thirty cars for their season opener last month at All American Speedway in California. This is a series that struggled to get twenty competitive cars to an event during the past few years. Great to see short track racing alive and well!

On the local front, a friend and I made it out to Big Diamond Raceway near Pottsville, Pennsylvania to see some dirt modified racing last weekend. The weather would have been much nicer if we had gone the weekend before, and we heard that it was standing room only throughout the stands which is a great thing to hear. However, the Friday night we made the trip we braved the approximately forty degree weather to see some great racing. It was probably the best time I have ever had watching an event in weather that chilly.

No pictures or videos were taken from the Big Diamond event; however, I will be bringing my Flip Video when I travel down to Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina later this month for what should be an excellent night of short track racing. Scheduled to compete are the USAC Ford Focus Midgets, Allison Legacy Series, Rolling Thunder Modifieds, ISCARS Dash Series and the USAR Pro Cup Series headlining the night with a 250 lap race. Videos will be posted on my YouTube account following the race. Hopefully the weather will be a little warmer for this event, and most important of all precipitation free!

Last of all, how about them Duke Blue Devils?! They weren't my pick to win it all this year, but it's always great to see coach Mike Krzyzewski and his players work hard and take home another title. In my opinion, it was one of the best championship games in years and both Duke and their unlikely opponent the Butler Bulldogs showed that they deserved to play for the college basketball title. Now college basketball is over and it's full steam ahead in the racing world for the next several months!

Spring And Short Track Racing Are Right Around The Corner

2010-03-13T15:42:00.000-05:00

There's been a hint of warmth in the air and it's making me look even more forward to the Spring, Summer and the start of the short track racing season! The first month of the NASCAR season has been interesting to say the least. My opinion of the Edwards/Keselowski wreck is that there is a difference between retaliation and purposely wrecking someone on a straightaway going over 190mph. Clearly I didn't agree with the call, but since the subject has been beaten to death over the last week that's all I am going to say.

Many might say that there is nothing to look forward to during this weekend with the lack of NASCAR races, but the casual NASCAR fan just has to look a little harder as several racing series are in action. The UARA late model stock car series is in Hickory, North Carolina for their season opener and in addition to the great short track drivers in the field is Sprint Cup Series competitor Max Papis. He's driving a car owned by Jarit Johnson (Jimmie's brother). The PASS South Series has approximately 30 super late models in Dillon, South Carolina for their first points race of the year. The CRA super late models are at the new Gresham Motorsports Park in Georgia. These races, along with most of their races all season long, have live coverage and online radio broadcasts at various Web sites. In addition, many short tracks around the country are opening up for the season now or in the coming weeks. If one of the tracks near you is opening up or if one of the aforementioned series is coming to town I strongly urge anyone to record the NASCAR race on TV and go see some great short track racing!

As for my travels, I'm still trying to firm up where to go in 2010. I got a taste of the racing world in early March with a visit to the Sundance Vacations Speedway Laurel Mall Race Car Show. Lots of great 2010 cars that will race at that track in various divisions were on display. Photos I took can be viewed at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050378&id=37801386&l=ec73e7e6ee. The next local race I'll be going to will be in April to Big Diamond Raceway near Pottsville, PA. I went there for the first time last year and can't wait to get back and see some great dirt modified racing.

May will be my first travel South for the year, but I'm not 100% sure where I'll be going yet due to the various amount of options during that month. UARA and the USAR ProCup Series will be at Rockingham in mid-May. CRA has put together a two-race weekend taking place at Tri-County Motor Speedway and Hickory Motor Speedway, which is sure to see many of the Southeast's top super late model drivers. However, the race I'll most likely be going to is Saturday, May 1 at Hickory. The USAR ProCup Series will headline a jam packed night of touring series action with a 250 lap race. In addition, the ISCARS Dash Series will have a 125 lap race and will debut their new Honda in that race, the Rolling Thunder Modifieds, Allison Legacy Series, and USAC Ford Focus Midgets will also be there.

One thing is for sure: my flight and rental car are booked for my trip to the Snowball Derby in December!

As for the next few weeks, racing will slightly take a back seat to March Madness as I enter numerous NCAA Tournament pools and probably lose miserably again. My pick to win it all: Kansas.

Atlantic City Wrap Up and Daytona Preview

2010-02-07T16:45:00.000-05:00

Well it was a snowy weekend, but the Atlantic City Indoor Races still went on as scheduled! This year's race was a lot more exciting, and many believe it was due to some of the changes that were made to the layout of the track. There were still several cautions and some scary moments, but there was lots of side by side racing. It was interesting seeing the mix of drivers in the field, including some of the Northeast's top Micro Sprint and TQ Midget drivers, a few NASCAR modified drivers and even a multi-time Indy 500 competitor! It was my first time using my Flip Video and I love it! I got some great shots from the pre-race "FanFest" and compiled them together. The videos are up at http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24. Also, photos from the Motorsports 2010 show can been viewed at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049140&id=37801386&l=aefe0df5fa.

Now the focus has shifted to Daytona Speedweeks. It looks like Hendrick Motorsports is the team to beat once again. I may be biased since I'm a fan of them, but I think this is the year Jeff Gordon becomes a 4-time Daytona 500 champion. If not, then it could be Jimmie Johnson with his second Daytona 500 victory. Don't count out the Childress cars either, and my underdog picks are David Reutimann or Marcos Ambrose. The sentimental pick would be fast qualifier Mark Martin. No doubt he will have a front running car, but it would be great to see him pull off the victory.

The Nationwide Series looks like it will be another dose of "Cup Lite" this year. I haven't seen an entry list yet, but the Gibbs cars are most likely the favorites, but my pick is whoever is in the KHI #33. I think it's going to be Kevin Harvick, but it could be Tony Stewart or Ryan Newman.

The Truck Series should be exciting this year with a bunch of new teams coming in, but I believe it will be another battle between Ron Hornaday and Todd Bodine, with Hornaday coming out on top this time for KHI and new crew chief Dave Fuge. Surprisingly, Hornaday has never won a Truck race at Daytona.

Lastly, I'd like to say kudos to a team from my neck of the woods as Lebanon, PA's Bobby Gerhart won his sixth Daytona ARCA 200 Saturday. He has Daytona down to a science and seems to be one of the nicest guys in the garage area. In fact, he was one of the first drivers I ever met when I moved to PA at the age of five.

As for me, it looks like I'll be spectating from the couch the next few months. No travels planned, except for a poker tournament in late February in Myerstown, PA. However, I might venture out in the Spring weather to one of my local tracks in April, perhaps Big Diamond Raceway near Pottsville, PA. In May I plan to travel down South for the first time in 2010, but haven't decided where yet. The good thing is there are many options for where to go in May when it comes to short track racing!

First Big Racing Weekend of 2010 Preview

2010-01-14T08:08:00.000-05:00

Welcome to 2010 everyone! I've already cashed in a poker tournament and the racing season is about to begin!

In fact, I'm looking forward to the first big racing weekend of 2010. No, I'm not talking about the Daytona 500 or Speedweeks. I'm talking about the last weekend of January where there will be several races across the United States and even one major event overseas.

In my opinion, the Free State 500 sanctioned by the American Speed Association taking place at Phakisa Freeway in South Africa will be the most interesting race of the weekend. There are two ways to look at this event and they're both valid points. On a track similar to Las Vegas Motor Speedway with cars very similar to the NASCAR Camping World East and West Series, some have been saying that it's going to be a very inexperienced field and could potentially be a disaster. I'm taking the optimistic approach and applauding ASA president Dennis Huth for giving several drivers, their crews and families an opportunity of a lifetime to be a part of this race. Two very experienced drivers, Geoff Bodine and Ron Barfield, could be the favorites but they are no doubt going to be helping out some of these inexperienced drivers prior to the race. Many time Midwest late model champion Steve Carlson and many time Northwest late model champion Gary Lewis have deserved a shot like this for several years. Don't count them out, as well as NASCAR competitor Scott Wimmer's younger brother and my pick to win Chris Wimmer, and young drivers Marc Davis and Tiffany Daniels. Also, who knows what the international competitors in the field will have for the drivers from the states. It should be an exciting race, and is supposedly going to be televised although I haven't seen anything official.

Perhaps the most notable race of the weekend will be the 24 Hours of Daytona. Although I don't follow sports car racing very much, the annual endurance event always has an interesting mix of drivers and this year is no different. There will once again be a strong presence of NASCAR and IRL drivers, including Jimmie Johnson, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, and Bobby Labonte. My picks to win are one of the Ganassi teams in the Daytona Prototypes and one of The Racer's Group teams in the GTs. The race will be televised once again on SPEED and the weekend will also feature the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge as a support race.

Also being televised once again on SPEED this year will be the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown in Irwindale, California. After last year's rain-plagued and shortened events this year may be a little up in the air as to who will show up. Already some big names have announced they will run in the Camping World Series event though, including Joey Logano who was involved in a controversial finish in 2009. This year; however, Logano may be a slight underdog driving for former East Series champion Mike Olsen rather than the big buck Joe Gibbs equipment. Short track up and comer Matt DiBenedetto will drive for JGR. Local driver Nick Joanides made news that he will compete in all three events during the weekend. There will once again be a super late model and late model race, and hopefully the bad weather will stay away this year and not drastically shorten the support events. I'm going with somewhat of an underdog to win the Showdown: making the tow all the way from New England, Eddie MacDonald.

If the Showdown in California isn't enough, there will be plenty of short track racing on the East Coast as well. The annual Speedfest will return again to Lanier National Speedway in Georgia for a 250 lap CRA sanctioned event. This race will feature a star-studded field with defending race winner Kyle Busch being joined by David Stremme and Steven Wallace. Short track standouts currently entered include Eddie Hoffman, Johanna Long, Brian Campbell, Bubba Pollard, John VanDoorn, Jeff Fultz, Scott Hantz, Casey Smith and Ryan Blaney. My pick to win will be the local guy Jason Hogan who went winless in 2009 and is hungry for a victory. There will also be a 150 lap Pro Late Model race and if a driver wins both races they will win a $10,000 bonus. Speedfest can be heard live on Race Talk Radio.

Entering the trend of early season races will be the Pro All Stars Series with a 150 lap Winter Fest event at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida for their super late models. This will be a PASS National points event so expect some teams to come down all the way from Maine. One driver that will not be competing is 2009 PASS South and National champion Ben Rowe whose team parted ways with him following the season. Former NASCAR Camping World East Series champion Brad Leighton takes over in that ride and could definitely be a threat to win right away. The exciting thing I find about PASS especially in the South is there never seems to be a clear cut favorite to win during the season and for the championship. With Rowe departing it appears to be that way again. Maybe this could be the breakthrough year for Cassius Clark from Maine. However, with this particular race being in Florida the local favorites are going to be hard to beat which is why my pick to win is Tim Russell.

Finally we come to the race that I will be attending in much colder Atlantic City, New Jersey: the Gambler's Classic Atlantic City Indoor Race! There are already over 80 TQ Midgets/Micro Sprints entered, including former NASCAR Modified champion Mike Stefanik who will definitely give 2009 winner and another former NASCAR Modified champion Ted Christopher a run for his money. Other notable racers entered for this event include Bobby Santos III, Billy Pauch, former Gambler's Classic winners Mike Tidaback and Joey Payne, 2009 ATQMRA champion Alison Cumens, sprint car racer Becca Anderson and an Indy 500 veteran (which I'm assuming will be Davey Hamilton). Slingshots and Champ Karts will also be in competition during the weekend. My roulette money will be on Mike Stefanik coming down from Rhode Island to steal the win away!

I'll be debuting my recently purchased Flip Video at the Atlantic City Indoor Races and will post the videos to my YouTube account upon my return. I'll also post a blog update when I get back, which will include a link to photos from my visit to the Motorsports 2010 Race Car & Trade Show the weekend prior, a summary of the January events and perhaps a Daytona preview.

Who's ready to begin the 2010 racing season?!

2009 Recap and 2010 Preview

2009-12-19T20:31:00.000-05:00

Well, the 2009 racing season is all but over and overall it was a pretty good year. NASCAR still has some things they definitely need to work out, and while I continue to get annoyed when I watch the TV broadcasts I'll get lured back in during the Daytona 500 coverage in February 2010.

Short track racing (asphalt and dirt) appears to be headed in the right direction for the most part. In a time where the economy has seemed to wreak havoc on many things, most short tracks and series have survived and I'm looking forward to attending some of their races in 2010. It will be neat to see the return of North Wilkesboro Speedway late next year, but at the same time sad to see historic tracks like Nashville and Milwaukee perhaps going away.

My travels were a success in 2009. Drove down to North Carolina three times: PASS South Series at Orange County Speedway, ISCARS at Hickory Motor Speedway, and my first visit to Rockingham Speedway for the ARCA and UARA series! Also, supported some of the local tracks in the area including an annual stop at Mountain Speedway in St. Johns, PA, a return to Williams Grove Speedway for the first time in awhile, and my first trips to Mahoning Valley Speedway in Lehighton, PA and Big Diamond Raceway near Pottsville, PA.

2010 will be even more exciting, beginning with my 2nd annual trip to the Atlantic City Indoor Races in late January. I'm still trying to firm up the rest of my travel plans, but I will be going to North Wilkesboro either for the Labor Day weekend PASS race or the October USAR Pro Cup race. What I'm looking the most forward to is my first trip to Pensacola, Florida for the 43rd annual Snowball Derby next December! I plan on purchasing a Flip Video over the holidays so I'll be posting more videos to my YouTube account in the new year.

2009 was a year to forget in the poker world. I only had the opportunity to play in one tournament in Atlantic City and did pretty poorly. In fact, I don't really recall making it into the money in any cash tournaments I played in. Then there was my second place finish in a tournament where the winner received an all-expenses-paid trip and $1,500 buy-in into a tournament in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. That was probably the heartbreak of the year. Oh well, there's always next year. I plan on attempting to win a couple trips to the Borgata in Atlantic City and the World Series of Poker again. No matter what happens, over the summer I will be traveling to Atlantic City to play in at least a $300 tournament.

So until next year, I wish everyone happy holidays!

Not My Four-Time Champion!

2009-11-30T20:15:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and their entire team on being four straight ten race chase champions! I’ll give them that. They got the job done when they needed to, but I still can’t convince myself that it was history in the making. It’s incomparable to the feats that Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, and Jeff Gordon have accomplished and besides being on paper I don’t see it as something better than any of them have done.

I have to admit that I am a “classic” points fan, but before anyone forms a rebuttal saying that they would have raced differently if there wasn’t a chase, “classic” points are different from when Richard Petty won some of his championships before 1975, etc., they have to realize that I am looking at the overall season statistics and what the outcome may or may not have been.

Saying that the drivers would have raced differently does have some accuracy. 2008 and 2004 done the “classic” way could have had a different outcome due to the close points race. However, 2007 is where this point is flawed. No matter how you crunch the numbers, in any other system that rewards consistency Jeff Gordon would have been the champion. Not since 1990, did a driver with as good of an average finish as him fail to win the championship AND have a better average finish than the champion. That was Mark Martin, and the reason he was second in points is because his team incurred a 46 point penalty following the spring Richmond race. The final difference in the championship was 26 points. One thing I have to add regarding Mark Martin is that if after he and his current Hendrick teammates retire, and Jimmie Johnson and/or Jeff Gordon are inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame before he is then I will refuse to visit that place for the rest of my life. There is no better driver representative for NASCAR, a sponsor, and fans today than Mark Martin and while he has or may never achieve a championship I think those aspects alone make him a true NASCAR Hall of Famer once he is eligible.

The Richard Petty different points system theory is debatable for two of his championships. Based on my rough calculations, he still would have edged his closest competitors for the championship though (Cale Yarborough in 1974, Bobby Allison in 1972). However, for his other three championships prior to 1975 there is no doubt in my mind he would still have been champion in almost any points system. Also, with the “classic” point system Petty would have been a contender for the championship in 1973, 1968, and 1963 so clearly he could be a seven (or more) time champion no matter what system is used to calculate points. I consider Jimmie Johnson at best a three time champion, which is still great and a notch above Tony Stewart (he pretty much has two fair and square) and a notch below Jeff Gordon who I believe at worst has five (or maybe six) championships.

What are historic are the team combination aspects. Maybe only twice has a driver and crew chief combination been successful for so long besides Jimmie Johnson/Chad Knaus: Richard Petty/Dale Inman and Dale Earnhardt/Kirk Shelmerdine. Jeff Gordon/Ray Evernham I actually put below the Johnson/Knaus combination since they weren’t together for as long.

The team itself Hendrick Motorsports, has performed historic proportions never seen before in NASCAR. For the past decade and a half, no matter how it’s calculated, the team has racked up nearly two-thirds of the championships. That has never been done in such a vast amount time, although some may argue that back in the day there weren’t multi-car operations like todays. It still goes to show that no other team today can seem to win championships and back it up year in and year out.

One other thing that I believe is historic is the driver to driver relationship. While Jeff Gordon tends to downplay the fact that he’s mentored Jimmie Johnson somewhat, the fact is it’s still a fact! Gordon was integral in choosing Johnson as a driver and while some say Johnson doesn’t deserve the ride I believe he paid his dues at least more than many other drivers currently in the series. Johnson raced for two years in the American Stock Association which was an excellent proving ground, and he and his ASA team together moved into the NASCAR Nationwide (Busch) Series. While their success was marginal it showed that Johnson could perform with a startup team in a series, which in a way was what the #48 team was their first year. I would consider Jeff Gordon the legend here, because I have never seen a former NASCAR champion have so much impact on a driver and have it result in championships. Ned Jarrett and Dale Jarrett might be the closest to those criteria, but Ned didn’t really play a major part in Jarrett being with the Yates Racing team. Many are similar but didn’t result in championships on one end or the other (Junior Johnson never won a championship but helped Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip win multiple). Other father-son/mentor-protégé combinations may have worked out well, but never resulted in Cup Series championships on both sides (Earnhardt/Earnhardt Jr., Richard/Kyle Petty, David/Larry Pearson, Richard Childress/Dale Earnhardt, Benny Parsons/Greg Biffle).

To sum things up, I believe Jimmie Johnson and the entire team is the best out there right now, but I still need to give it time before I call them historic or legendary. We’ll see what happens over the next decade and maybe I’ll change my mind. As far as the chase goes, it is what it is. People can keep suggesting methods in which some of them seem very good on paper, but there always seems to be some sort of flaw. I'll believe what I believe, and everyone else can believe what they want to believe.

As for the 2009 season as a whole, it was one of my least favorite seasons since I started watching in 1988. It was the first time where I watched Talladega and was rather disappointed. The first time I have completely lost interest in traveling to Talladega to see a race there. The first time I wished my favorite driver would just retire already so I didn’t have to watch anymore. The first time that I couldn’t stand watching pretty much all of the races on TV (from Digger to the mentioning of Jimmie Johnson every five seconds). Maybe I’ll just listen to them all on MRN next year. Time will tell if I gain/lose interest in NASCAR from now forward.

I'll be back soon to discuss my plans for races I'll be attending for the 2010 season.

One more non-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series related thing: for anyone looking forward to the Snowball Derby race this Sunday I've uploaded the entire 1995 Snowball Derby which was broadcast live on Prime Network affiliates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXCoW50cjBw&feature=PlayList&p=F9E4A25FD0657EB1&index=0&playnext=1

November North Carolina Trip Summary

2009-11-22T16:32:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the lack of an update, but it's been an extremely busy week since I got back from my mini-vacation to North Carolina.

It was an excellent trip, even though there wasn't much going on at most of the dozen or so race shops the Friday I visited them. Most if not all of the teams were in Phoenix already. I thought it was amazing that these race shops look like usual corporate offices, but then you can look in the wide windows in many of them and check out the race shops. I stayed local to the hotel I was at, which was in a business park with several race shops. Next time I plan to go a little off the beaten path and visit Penske, JR Motorsports, and maybe even over to Charlotte to check out Hendrick Motorsports and some other teams.

One of my personal favorites during the weekend was my visit to the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame. If you haven't been there, I would recommend checking it out if you get a chance. What an excellent museum with tons of motorsports history that is very informative and interesting! I even purchased an old school Jeff Gordon Baby Ruth early 1990's T-shirt from the gift shop! In addition, I made touristy stops at Lake Norman and downtown Mooresville.

Then Saturday was race day! The ISCARS Dash Touring Series sanctioned by ASA was at Hickory Motor Speedway for their championship event. Three drivers were separated by eight points coming into the event. Danny Bagwell, who was the two-time defending champion, won both 75 lap races. Bagwell was not eligible for the championship since he missed a couple races earlier in the season. The championship battle came down to the wire. After race #1, Randy Humphrey finished 2nd and Jason Shultz 3rd. However, Shultz led laps so Humphrey's point lead was still slim. In race #2 Shultz jumped out to an early lead, while Humphrey marched through the field. Humphrey would spin going for second place and rebounded for a third place finish, but it wouldn't be enough. With his second place finish, rookie Jason Shultz won the championship! The full article can be found at: http://iscarsonline.com/viewnews.asp?News_ID=8462.

Along with the ISCARS were the East Coast Flathead Fords. It was my first time seeing this series, and was cool to see some of the vintage vehicles racing around the historic track. Stuntman James Smith was on hand as well doing some neat stunts.

Photos from the race can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajcrdstr2009/sets/.

Photos from the entire trip can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046856&id=37801386&l=185bb0e747.

Videos from the race can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24

Next week probably following the Thanksgiving holiday and after I collect my thoughts, I will post/rant a post-NASCAR season summary.

Last North Carolina Trip of 2009 Preview

2009-11-10T17:27:00.000-05:00

I've changed my mind and have decided to post every now and then on here in addition to my new blog on www.racing-reference.info for the time being.

I've been waiting three months for this trip (I was planning on going in September, but mother nature had other plans)! Looks like Ida will pass through and hopefully cause little harm and the weekend is looking beautiful. I'm heading down Thursday and stopping first in Race City USA, Mooresville North Carolina. I'll be doing some touristy things, at the least visiting a few race shops and the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame. It's probably not the best week to visit the shops since the teams will be heading out to Phoenix, Arizona this week, but it will still be fun.

Then Saturday, I'll be heading to the historic Hickory Motor Speedway for the ISCARS (former Goody's Dash Series) season finale doubleheader in which the top three are only separated by eight points, including two rookies! The classic East Coast Flathead Fords will be there as well and I'll get to see them for the first time. One other thing I'll be looking forward to is the fact that I won't have to hear Jimmie Johnson's name mentioned every five seconds, haha!

Overall, it should be an exciting weekend. I'll make another post with links to photos and videos that I take upon my return.

I'm Moving!

2009-11-07T12:02:00.000-05:00

Actually my blog is moving. It's been picked up by www.racing-reference.info. I don't have an individual page yet, but all blogs including mine (ajcrdstr24's Racing and Poker Blog) can be seen at http://racing-reference.info/blogmaster.jsp. For those not familiar with Racing-Reference.info it is an interactive motorsports statistical Web site. I'm excited for this opportunity because several race fans visit the site every day, it's one of my favorite Web sites since I love statistics, and I've found out that many racing fans are also poker players!

One Good Day, One Bad Day

2009-10-06T17:06:00.000-04:00

Both of the past two weekend resulted in a great Saturday and a not so great Sunday. Two weekends ago, I went to the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing in York Springs for the first time. Boy was it neat. My favorite was seeing a modified that Bobby Gerhart raced back in the 1970's. Photos can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajcrdstr2009/sets/72157622342284097/. Once again weather foiled my plans on Sunday, which was to go back to Sundance Vacations Speedway for some more racing.

Last weekend I had my fingers crossed once again that the weather would hold up for some racing at Mahoning Valley Speedway Saturday night. The forecast began to look promising later in the week, but on Saturday there became a chance of thunderstorms. Luckily, mother nature finally cooperated and my first visit to Mahoning was definitely worth the wait. Over six hours of side-by-side racing around that small track. The faster modifieds went around the track in less than ten seconds! Photos can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajcrdstr2009/sets/72157622516354216/

Then Sunday, I was ready to drive to the Eastern region's TOC poker tournament. However, 45 minutes into the tournament I woke up with pocket Queens and raised pre-flop...got three callers. Flop was KQ8...3 diamonds. Every checks so I bet the heck out of it and still get two callers. Turn is meaningless...everyone checks and I bet again, only to get min-re-raised. At this point I had over half my chips in the pot. End result was, he had the nut flush and the board didn't pair and I just drove an hour and a half to play 45 minutes of poker! Oh well, there's always next time.

The rest of October will be pretty quiet before making my final trip to North Carolina in November. More details to come.

Change Of Plans

2009-09-24T17:21:00.000-04:00

Good things come to those who wait. I won't be going to North Carolina this weekend since the race that was originally scheduled was postponed, and the weather forecast for the weekend is looking quite miserable as well. Instead I'll be staying local, but still trying to leave Lancaster county. I might consider going to the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing in York Springs, since I've never been there. Also, if the weather is nice, I might possibly go back to Sundance Vacations (Mountain) Speedway for their Sunday afternoon races.

I still hope to attend at least two more races the remainder of 2009, including Saturday night October 3rd at Mahoning Valley Speedway where there will be two Modified features along with all of their local divisions (once again, weather permitting). Then the trip to North Carolina will be in either October or November. Right now it looks like I'll be going to Hickory for the ISCARS finale. It fits well in my schedule since I have off work for Veterans Day on Wednesday, November 11 and I can spend Thursday and Friday in Charlotte and Mooresville. We'll see when the date gets closer.

Post Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-07T17:39:00.000-04:00

Well, it was an eventful Labor Day Weekend. Not as eventful as last year since I went to two races in North Carolina then. However, the local races were great! The weather was clear for both. Friday night there was some great racing at Big Diamond Raceway with Modifieds, Road Runners, and Sportsman all racing on the wide and short dirt track. The article and finishing order can be found at the track's Web site: http://www.bigdiamondraceway.com/PressRelease.asp?ID=578.

On Sunday, it was off to Sundance Vacations (formerly Mountain) Speedway. It was a very nice day compared to the past couple times I've been there when it was freezing. The show moved along very smoothly and it was some of the best racing I've ever seen there. The article and finishing order from that race can also be found at the track's Web site: http://sundancevacationsspeedway.com/.

I posted more photos and a few videos from the race. They can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044346&id=37801386&l=84cd254a04 and http://www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24. I apologize for the bad picture quality from Friday night. I didn't realize that the camera battery was low and tried to get as many pictures out of it. After that I used my cell phone to take pictures, but they came out very blurry.

By the way, I wasn't even in contention to win the trip to Atlantic City Thursday night. I guess I'll try again next month.

Next weekend will be another weekend away from racing and poker, as I will be in Massachusetts. The weekend of September 26 will be the next racing weekend at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina. I'll give more details on that in the following weeks.

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-02T18:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm not really interested in talking about this past weekend. Everything went smoothly moving in my sister, but the driving in New York and the parking garage debacle was murder! I had a better time at Pocono Raceway sitting in the parking lot not moving for two hours!

Looking forward, Thursday night is one more chance at winning a trip to Atlantic City...once again at the Watering Trough. After that I'll be cutting back with the poker playing a little bit. Next major tournament will be the Tournament of Champions (if I qualified) on Sunday, October 4th. Since I'll be in North Carolina the last weekend of September, I'll be playing in the Eastern region's TOC.

Labor Day weekend should be exciting, and for once the weather forecast is looking nice! Friday night, if everything goes according to plan I'll be going to Big Diamond Raceway for some dirt racing. Then on Sunday, I'll be heading up to Mountain Speedway for the first time in 2009 for several different divisions of racing.

Have a good Labor Day weekend everybody!

I Guess I'll Go To Atlantic City Some Other Time...

2009-08-26T18:20:00.000-04:00

So things started off well during the Monday night tournament. Some guy limped in with KK and so did I with J5 and the board came in this order: K-9-5-5-5. He bet the minimum on the flop so I called, I smooth called his bet on the turn since there were no straight or flush draws and then we ended up getting all the chips in on the river. Next hand I crack AA when I hit a full house with K9. After that I didn't do too well, but I guess I can't be mad after those suck outs!

Next chance to win a trip to Atlantic City will be next Thursday at the Watering Trough once again. This weekend I'll be stepping away from poker and racing world to send off my sister to college.

Crushed By Quads!

2009-08-23T20:56:00.000-04:00

So things didn't go incredibly well on Saturday, but I guess I can't complain. The race I was planning to go to was canceled Saturday morning due to rain in the forecast so I had the whole day to devote to poker. The Borgata qualifier was going well and I was ahead in chips and satisfied with the way I played until one hand in the middle stages of the tournament:

I get dealt KJ and three players see the flop: AA9, everyone checks. Turn is a K, big blind bets. Player to the right of me asks how much he has and looked like she was ready to raise until she just called. At this point, I thought she had an A and I should have just folded, but I call to see the turn. River is another A and the big blind puts out a decent sized bet. I was not convinced that this guy had an A just by the way he played the hand. Girl to the right thinks for awhile, which means she doesn't have an A, and finally folds. Just in case my instincts are wrong I just call. I was wrong and he flips over an A, and my chip stack is crippled. I spent the next hour and a half trying to double up, keep up with the blinds, and stay alive, but ultimately I was knocked out with about 17 players remaining. Oh well, there's always next time!

Later at the Watering Trough I was doing really well and catching cards and for awhile thought that I could possibly win two in a row there, but things went downhill at the final table and I finished seventh. However, the $10 bounty went to a good player.

On Monday night at the Watering Trough I have another chance at winning a seat in an Atlantic City tournament. In the racing world, I'm considering going to two races on Labor Day Weekend: 1. dirt racing at Big Diamond Raceway Friday night, 2. Mountain Speedway Sunday afternoon.

Once again, we'll see what happens!

Alright, Here's The Deal Me!

2009-08-21T19:31:00.000-04:00

Title is a reference from comedian Jim Gaffigan's act. Saturday afternoon I will be playing in a poker tournament in Harrisburg hoping to win a "Suite Vacation" at the Borgata in Atlantic City.

If all goes well, I'll be a happy man.

If things don't go well and I'm out before 4pm I'll head to Mahoning Valley Speedway (weather permitting) for two modified races (remainder of a previous race and another 100 lap race) as well as other local divisions.

If things go somewhat well but I'm out before 7pm I'll head to the Watering Trough in Mount Joy to play poker where there is a $10 bounty over my head since I won last time.

Worst case scenario is if I get so far but don't finish in the top three and I don't make it to the other two things. Let's hope Saturday is not a heartbreaking day!

Back from North Carolina!

2009-08-10T22:09:00.000-04:00

I had a great weekend in North Carolina at Orange County Speedway. Photos from the races are available at www.flickr.com/ajcrdstr2009 /sets and photos from the entire vacation are available at www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043252&id=37801386&l=89839dd919. Videos are being posted and can be found at www.youtube.com/ajcrdstr24.

Race results from all seven divisions of racing can be found at multiple sources: www.speed51.com/2009_Stories/PASS_South/Trackside_Now_OrangeCounty_8-8.html, www.racewithpass.com, www.allisonlegacy.com, www.prochallenge.net and www.motorstats.com/TrackResults.php?trackId=1.

The next race I will be going to is tentatively Saturday, August 22nd at Mahoning Valley Speedway in Lehighton. However, it depends on how I do in the Borgata qualifier poker tournament that I play in earlier that day in Harrisburg.

OCS This Weekend!

2009-08-06T23:51:00.000-04:00

Well it's finally here...packing up the car and traveling to North Carolina Friday morning for the Southern Sizzler at Orange County Speedway (www.ocstrack.com) in Rougemont Saturday night! The night's racing action will include the PASS South Series (www.racewithpass.com), the PASS Trucks, Legends, Bandoleros, Pro Challenge, Allison Legacy, and the local Limited Sportsman. I'm taking my mom and sister and this will be the first race they have ever attended, 11 years after I became hooked when I saw my first race at the same track. It should be a fun night!

I'll let you know how the weekend went when I get back and will post a link to the pictures I take. Have a great weekend!

The Weekend

2009-07-28T20:29:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was eventful to say the least. Saturday night was the "Clyde" at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway and all week up through Saturday morning there was a very little to no chance of rain. Of course I check the weather forecast 15 minutes before I leave and there is a thunderstorm watch and an 80% chance of rain from 7-8pm! Of course it rained following the heat races and then once the track was dried they got the first feature race under way and it started raining again. Luckily, the track crews do all they can to get the race in and close to 1am the features were finished. Some great micro sprint races I must say! Article and results are available at www.lancomicrosprint.com.

Sunday was the team heads up tournament in Pottstown and we "won" the first round...we ended up getting a bye! In the second round my team carried me to victory. Despite my loss, I didn't go down without a fight. I think we were the only second round pair that was still playing at the end of the match. In the next round I beat the defending TOC grand champion, but unfortunately my teammates didn't win and we fell into the losers bracket of the double elimination tournament. In the next round I played the TOC Day 2 winner. Unfortunately my teammates had some bad luck and lost their matches and we were eliminated, so my match didn't really matter. However, I kept playing and was ahead in chips and ended up "winning". I now have a 6-2 record in heads up matches.

This weekend isn't going to be too exciting. I'll be getting my car ready for traveling to the PASS South race at Orange County Speedway the following weekend!

Time To Go See Some Racing!

2009-07-24T20:29:00.000-04:00

So I began my weekend Friday night at the vet with the cat, but everything went fine. Then watched an episode of Seinfeld where Elaine failed a drug test twice...remind you of someone? Blahahahaha!

Finally I get to go to a race Saturday night, first one since Williams Grove back in May. I can't wait, even if it's just Micro Sprint racing...it's still racing!

Then it's the three-man heads up poker tournament on Sunday. Hopefully we'll do well.

I'll update during the week sometime!

:(

2009-07-15T19:59:00.000-04:00

I didn't win Bristol tickets...

Exhausted

2009-07-14T20:35:00.000-04:00

Exhausted after a long weekend, but it was well worth it. Glad I got to see my family and I'm glad it was this past weekend, because otherwise I probably would have traveled to Orange County Speedway and the races were rained out. They rescheduled the races for August 22nd in the afternoon, which makes me think that if I don't win Bristol tickets perhaps a day trip to NC?

For the third year in a row I was away during the Chicagoland race weekend and for the first time I might have missed a good race. Mark Martin winning, Jeff Gordon second, Kyle Busch DNF'ing...sounds good to me.

One of my favorite poker players Phil Ivey is still in the WSOP with less than 50 players remaining which is exciting. Maybe this year will be the year for him!

This weekend will be a much needed uneventful weekend followed by a busy weekend with the "Clyde" race Saturday the 25th and the Team Heads Poker Tournament in Pottstown on Sunday the 26th.

Stats

2009-07-07T20:42:00.000-04:00

I was just looking at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, and noticed if Regan Smith made every race and had the same average finish he would be 26th in points...ahead of drivers like Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte, and David Ragan! If Brad Keselowski made every race with the same average finish he would be 13th in points, six points out of the chase!

Looks like Jason White made it to day 2 of the World Series of Poker, unless there is another Jason White playing in the main event. Good luck to him!

Hope Everyone Had A Happy 4th!

2009-07-05T13:13:00.000-04:00

So I got home in time to see the end of the Daytona race and I must say thank you to Tony Stewart. Kyle Busch finally gets what he deserves for continuously blocking at the restrictor plate tracks! Also, give a call to Regan Smith and that Furniture Row team. They continue to get things done.

One more thing to mention, I just read that NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Jason White is playing in the World Series of Poker main event. Being both a racing and poker fan, I thought that was pretty cool. Best of luck to him.

You Don't Have to Look it Up Because We Already Did!

2009-07-02T19:14:00.000-04:00

So I guess it's farewell to Bill Weber after reading he won't be a part of the last two TNT Cup races. He wasn't one of the best announcers, but as a database guru I will miss his statistics and his slogan mentioned in the title above. I guess I'll just have to look up stats on racing-reference.info and pretend Weber is reading them to me (creepy, huh? LOL!) Ralph Shaheen definitely is qualified to announce in the booth though, after all of the various racing series he has been a part of over time.

In other NASCAR news Jeremy Mayfield has received an injunction to compete as early as this weekend at Daytona. I'm not too sure how I feel about it. There's no way he is going to receive a respectable ride, but at the same time I think NASCAR was a little harsh. If he's innocent, it's going to be very embarrasing for them. It's not like Mayfield showed signs of being a meth addict. If he used it once or twice I think the suspension he's received so far was enough. I never like hearing about drug problems in racing especially since the only Aaron to ever race in NASCAR was caught doing heroin and hasn't been back since, thus giving my name a bad name, haha!

I won't be traveling to any races in the near future. I'm going to North Carolina the weekend of the 11th for a family reunion. I'm slightly bummed out that I won't get to go to Orange County Speedway that weekend where the ISCARS, ASA Southeast and Rolling Thunder Modifieds will all be competing, but I'll get to see some family that I haven't seen in awhile. I'm looking forward to attending all three of those series races when they go to Hickory Motor Speedway in September! For now the next race I will be attending is the Clyde at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway in Brickerville, PA on Saturday night, July 25 for some great Micro Sprint racing. If you're in the area check out lancomicrosprint.com

Not much on the horizon in the poker world either. I want to wish everyone good luck that will be competing in Atlantic City at the Borgata on July 19th for a major tournament seat. On Sunday July 26, I will be playing in a three-man team heads up tournament. Hopefully we'll do well. There might be a trip to Atlantic City sometime before the end of the summer as well!