North Carolina Never Ceases To Amaze Me

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

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

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!

Good Times With NASCAR And Local Short Track Stars

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 Scout Night Video Footage

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

The Summer 2011 Journey Has Just Begun

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.

So Close Yet So Far Away

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.

Hickory Recap and More NASCAR Analysis

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

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

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.

November North Carolina Trip Summary

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

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.

Change Of Plans

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.

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

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!