2009 Recap and 2010 Preview

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!