It's Wednesday evening July 16 and it's about that time when I usually start watching the weekend weather. So far it's looking like we're going to have a rainy couple of days but Saturday doesn't look as bad so far. My two options this Saturday are the Deer Creek IRA show or if the chance of rain is too high then I'll opt for Cedar Lake's weekly program. There was a time when it didn't bother me to take a chance on a 250 mile round trip regardless of the weather. In today's world it amounts to about a $35 difference in gas. I remember a couple times when Cedar Lake rained out and racing was still on down at Jackson so I'd change plans at the last minute. Now it's about a $70 trip and requires some advance planning so that rules out last minute trips unless I hit the jackpot at Hinckley.
Anyways, I'm always excited to see Sprint Cars, especially the IRA, and they're in the area for the next two weekends. Deer Creek kind of snuck up on me. For some reason that I can't remember I removed it from my schedule. I think going into the season I wasn't sure how much of a budget I'd have so I was real conservative on scheduling races out of town when I couldn't share the ride with someone. Unfortunately this weekend my two main travel companions GRP and Vinster won't be available and my son Les has cut back on his racing this year. That leaves it up to me to make sure the Ranger is up to the task and that I've got enough gas money to make the trip. Maybe this would be a good weekend to take the Olds and make sure that one is running alright. If the wife doesn't have anything going maybe I'll do that. It's got air and cruise which makes the trips on hot July days more pleasurable. We'll see how it goes and what the weather does.
I think I missed the IRA at Deer Creek last year but it must have been the year before that Les and I went there. That's a good place for me to stay under the radar and keep a low profile. Maybe I can get a few shots for my driver gallery while I'm there. I wanted to get a couple last Saturday night but I got lazy and didn't push myself to fill an agenda last weekend.
Typically I arrive at the tracks around 4pm and spend a couple hours walking the pits talking to people and distributing MRC if I'm traveling. Then I'll run around with my zoom lens and monopod during hot laps and/or time trials. I'll take driver portraits in the pits usually during the Heat races then go down to the infield for the Features. Most of the time it ends up being around six hours, most of it on my feet. When the races are over my back and feet ache so I usually like get in the truck and get on the road as soon as possible so I can sit down. I carry a folding chair into the infield when I'm taking photos and should probably take a few more breaks so I can pace myself. And it wouldn't hurt to drop about 25#...
On that note I think I'm going to sign out for the night so we'll type to ya' again soon.
Stan
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