Tonight will mark the 14th running of the GRP Trivia Contest at the Mythical MDTR Speedway which if one stops and thinks about it has out lasted several real events. Since the Trivia Contest began it's run we have seen events like the Princeton National, the NCS WoO Sprint Race, and CLS's Badger (can't recall the full title of that one) come and go. There have probably been many others but those were the few that I could recall off the top of my head. Several tracks that have produced memorable nights of racing and much of our contest material have also come and gone. Places like Grove Creek, Fox Ridge and Owatonna are now silent but they live on in the GRP Trivia Contest.
I first met GRP and Track Rate Vinster at an NCRA 410 Sprint Car race at the Arlington Raceway on June 2nd, 1999. I was going through some of my pit photos from that event recently and found the Forbrook 5 (beats me who was in it at that time), the Trop Arctic 66 (I believe that Brooke Tatnell ran his own 7 that night and I don't remember who proceeded him in the 66 car) and several others that are no longer around. One that I noted in my stack of photos was the Comp USA sponsored car. CompUSA stores, the NCRA and probably that car carrying the CompUSA sponsorship are no longer around. The thing I remember most about that night was Greg Bakker about tearing down the front stretch fence, scaring the daylights out of the flagman (glad it wasn't the Mythical MDTR Speedway or it would have been me he ###ing my jeans) and nearly making the leap over the fence. Since then Vinster and GRP have become life long friends so it was one of the best nights of racing I have ever experienced. Good shows are a dime a dozen, we see many of those each season. Life long friends are priceless.
Greg Bakker's 11x prior to the start of the races on June 2, 1999
Several people have contacted me via email and Facebook asking when I was going to get the first half of the UMSS Sprint Car (w-360) awards presentation posted. First I want to thank everyone who has given me feedback about my Banquet blog post. I didn't know what to expect when I came up with the idea to put these posts out there. If my print column ever got any feedback I never heard about it so I have never felt very confident about my writing (my insecurity motivates me). I often wondered all those years if anybody actually paid attention or if I was simply indulging my own writer's fantasy. You see, I became a huge fan of writers and photographers during the days of Open Wheel magazine. I used to read articles by guys like John Sawyer and Dick Berggren and romanticize what it would be like to be able to communicate my passion to others through photos and the printed word. I have since found out that the reality of what it's like to actually do the writing falls somewhat short of what I envisioned paging through those magazines. Hanging around the infield of a dirt track isn't exactly a chick magnet or fast track to fame and fortune. You've got to love it and by the way, don't quit your day job.
Actually I had the opportunity to not only meet Dick Berggren but to spend a night in the infield with him. It wasn't hard to tell that Mr. Berggren is a regular guy like the rest of us, old sweatshirt, hat on backwards fumbling around with a camera in a dusty old infield. His down-to-earth easy going attitude and enthusiasm for everything on wheels was an eye opener in a lot of ways. I think it's safe to say that if Dick Berggren had never become a publisher, writer, or NASCAR television reporter he'd be hanging around some dirt track hawking 8x10's. The most important lesson that I took away from that night was that no matter what status a writer/photographer might reach a dusty infield, porta johns and hot dogs are humbling equalizers.
No matter what status a racing writer/photographer attains they're still down-to-earth fans of the sport.
By popular demand, UMSS Sprint Car awards part 1
Well, here's the UMSS Banquet video I promised you. This is going to about wrap it up for this week's blog post. Check back later this evening and watch the MDTR and 20/20 message boards and my Facebook posts for the start of the contest. I estimate that the green flag is going to drop around 10pm.
See you at the Mythical MDTR Speedway!
