The showers south of here aren't a concern but that big mass up on the MN/ND/CN border area is huge and rotating like a damn hurricane. The forecasts all call for 30% to 40% chance of precipitation for this afternoon and evening. It appears to be light and spotty so hopefully they won't prevent us from getting the races in. I guess worst case scenario is that 10 adults, three toddlers and a puppy will spend some bonding time under a 12x12 canopy.
I'm going to proceed as scheduled and watch the weather.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Friday, the rain comlplicates everybody's plans...
An observation made when a blob of rain three states wide was bearing down on every track in the upper Midwest. Who are these people who start posting on the boards looking for a track that isn't going to rain out? They post that they're going to drive long distances so they can attend a Friday night race somewhere.
I'm not knocking the more affordable classes of racing in our area so don't get that idea. Nevertheless, does it make sense to haul a $300 to win class of car hundreds of extra miles when your regular Friday track rains out? To take it a step further, what if you're a fan of these classes and your regular Friday track rains out? Are you going to hop in your car and drive hundreds of miles to find some track where the lineup is Mods, MWM, Supers, Streets and Pures? Me? I'd just find something else to do and stay home.
If it was something really special, say the USA Nationals for instance, you better believe that I'd be on the road regardless of the weather. When it's a race of that stature I'm going to do everything within my power to see a race and I'm going to wait out their rain date if necessary. On the other hand, I enjoy watching Mods, Midwest Mods, Supers and Streets but I can see those a couple nights a week every weekend all summer long. If I missed a night no big deal, I'd just do something else. Evidently some people take these entry classes or more affordable classes or whatever you want to call them way more seriously than I do.
And the posts on the message boards criticizing the tracks for canceling when they see severe storms bearing down on them. These people actually get angry at the tracks for canceling when it's obvious they're going to get hit. I don't get it. Don't they ever pickup a newspaper or fill their gas tanks? It ought to be pretty obvious why the tracks no longer wait it out like they used to. It's d*mn expensive just to get the cars to the race track anymore and the tracks are doing their racers a favor by not luring them out there only to pull the plug after everyone signs in. That way if there is another direction they can go where the weather is more favorable they have time to do so. Also, everyone saves travel expenses when a rainout is imminent anyways and can apply that towards the next week of racing. You can't fault any tracks for doing that, some of them are having a tough time this year and it wouldn't take much to upset the balance.
Now I'm going to say something that will make me look like a big hypocrite. Tomorrow night is the annual Firecracker at Cedar Lake. I have been waiting for my grandkids to get a little older so I could bring them out to their first race. Finally tomorrow was going to be that night that I've been looking forward to for three years and have been planning since early this year. I made a mistake, I looked forward to it too much, got my expectations too high, and now it looks like I could be disappointed. Earlier in the week (as has happened way too many times this year already) the weather for tomorrow looked like it was going to be ok. As each day passed the forecast for Saturday kept getting a little worse until now it's not looking too good. In addition to bringing the grandkids and all my kids and their spouses out there I bought a bunch of food and was going to host a cookout.
I was going to camp at CLS and have a good time with my racing buddies after the family left but if Saturday rains out I'm probably going to invite the family over to my house instead. If they race we'll be there, if we get rain sometime during the course of the evening I hope they'll still be able to shoot of the fireworks. Wow, I'm close to having a nervous breakdown worrying about the weather and how I'm going to accommodate my family. I can't even begin to imagine the stress involved promoting one of these tracks with the weather we've been having. There have even been two nights where the sirens went off during the races.
It has been a tough year and I'm sure that many of you have dealt with disappointments so I'll stop being a hypocrite and think of ways to deal with the circumstances. It's my job to show everyone a good time tomorrow whether it's at the track or here at the house.
I'm not knocking the more affordable classes of racing in our area so don't get that idea. Nevertheless, does it make sense to haul a $300 to win class of car hundreds of extra miles when your regular Friday track rains out? To take it a step further, what if you're a fan of these classes and your regular Friday track rains out? Are you going to hop in your car and drive hundreds of miles to find some track where the lineup is Mods, MWM, Supers, Streets and Pures? Me? I'd just find something else to do and stay home.
If it was something really special, say the USA Nationals for instance, you better believe that I'd be on the road regardless of the weather. When it's a race of that stature I'm going to do everything within my power to see a race and I'm going to wait out their rain date if necessary. On the other hand, I enjoy watching Mods, Midwest Mods, Supers and Streets but I can see those a couple nights a week every weekend all summer long. If I missed a night no big deal, I'd just do something else. Evidently some people take these entry classes or more affordable classes or whatever you want to call them way more seriously than I do.
And the posts on the message boards criticizing the tracks for canceling when they see severe storms bearing down on them. These people actually get angry at the tracks for canceling when it's obvious they're going to get hit. I don't get it. Don't they ever pickup a newspaper or fill their gas tanks? It ought to be pretty obvious why the tracks no longer wait it out like they used to. It's d*mn expensive just to get the cars to the race track anymore and the tracks are doing their racers a favor by not luring them out there only to pull the plug after everyone signs in. That way if there is another direction they can go where the weather is more favorable they have time to do so. Also, everyone saves travel expenses when a rainout is imminent anyways and can apply that towards the next week of racing. You can't fault any tracks for doing that, some of them are having a tough time this year and it wouldn't take much to upset the balance.
Now I'm going to say something that will make me look like a big hypocrite. Tomorrow night is the annual Firecracker at Cedar Lake. I have been waiting for my grandkids to get a little older so I could bring them out to their first race. Finally tomorrow was going to be that night that I've been looking forward to for three years and have been planning since early this year. I made a mistake, I looked forward to it too much, got my expectations too high, and now it looks like I could be disappointed. Earlier in the week (as has happened way too many times this year already) the weather for tomorrow looked like it was going to be ok. As each day passed the forecast for Saturday kept getting a little worse until now it's not looking too good. In addition to bringing the grandkids and all my kids and their spouses out there I bought a bunch of food and was going to host a cookout.
I was going to camp at CLS and have a good time with my racing buddies after the family left but if Saturday rains out I'm probably going to invite the family over to my house instead. If they race we'll be there, if we get rain sometime during the course of the evening I hope they'll still be able to shoot of the fireworks. Wow, I'm close to having a nervous breakdown worrying about the weather and how I'm going to accommodate my family. I can't even begin to imagine the stress involved promoting one of these tracks with the weather we've been having. There have even been two nights where the sirens went off during the races.
It has been a tough year and I'm sure that many of you have dealt with disappointments so I'll stop being a hypocrite and think of ways to deal with the circumstances. It's my job to show everyone a good time tomorrow whether it's at the track or here at the house.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Wednesday, half way thorugh the week...
And half way to vacation week. I've been working on the camper and getting the garage organized this past week. We're going to be getting the roof done soon as well. It's been busy with all the additional things coming up so now it's time for me to take a week of vacation and relax.
Some of the dreaded "R" word has crept into the forecast for this coming weekend. Man, I sure hope Cedar Lake is able to get their show in without any of that @#%^ getting in the way. We'll be camping and I've got the whole family coming out so I want to show them a good time. For some of them it will be their first ever race. And all three grandkids will be out there at the same time, two have never seen a race and the grandson loves playing with cars and trucks. It's just a cool deal for me to be able to see that and I'm hoping the weather don't F it up on me. Of course as a hardcore racefan I'll be out there regardless but if the fam don't come I'll be giving away a gazillion hotdogs.
Who's going to win the Cedar Lake World of Outlaws show. Man, that's a tough call. I'd like to see Schatz take one at Cedar so he's the one I'm going to pull for. Two other drivers with local roots, Dollansky and Tatnell, have both won WoO races at CLS. I'd really like to see Whitney or Richert pull of a huge upset but I think the odds of that against the Outlaw cubic $$$ aren't very good. I've always felt that some of our guys could do well against them if they had the equipment and I'll always believe that. That used to be the case, Richert Sr., Bob Hopp and John Stevenson used to give those early Outlaws a good run for their money. At that time Kinser and Swindell were still baby faced kids and our guys held their own against them at North Starr and Knoxville. I feel pretty fortunate to have those kinds of Sprint Car roots up here and the opportunity to be around for it. It's been a fun deal to be able to watch this sport for so many years and to have seen so many changes during that time.
This Saturday I'll be at CLS for the Firecracker on Saturday. Last Friday I went to Kopellah and worked my butt off but I'm happy with the results. I followed along as they did driver introductions and learned a lot about doing that. It's really a challenge because you basically get one shot and you've got to hit it right the first time. I'm going to have to post a gallery of the headshots I've been doing this season as well. They're going to use them in a Cedar Lake Nascar night program and I'm honored to be able to help out with something like that. I've been going out there since around 1962, Cedar Lake is like hallowed ground to me so I don't mind helping out.
Looks like I'll be doing some more photo work for a couple of racing teams. I'm working on a special project to honor Tom Nesbitt. I was fortunate to catch some nice shots of Tom on June 7 including a nice portrait of him. Add to that the right and left side shots I got and I just had to do something special with them. I'm working on the artwork and when I'm done I'll have it printed in an 11x14 and give it to Tom. Hopefully I can catch up to Tom somewhere and give it to him in person. 50 years of racing, he deserves some special gifts in honor of a great career.
Some of the dreaded "R" word has crept into the forecast for this coming weekend. Man, I sure hope Cedar Lake is able to get their show in without any of that @#%^ getting in the way. We'll be camping and I've got the whole family coming out so I want to show them a good time. For some of them it will be their first ever race. And all three grandkids will be out there at the same time, two have never seen a race and the grandson loves playing with cars and trucks. It's just a cool deal for me to be able to see that and I'm hoping the weather don't F it up on me. Of course as a hardcore racefan I'll be out there regardless but if the fam don't come I'll be giving away a gazillion hotdogs.
Who's going to win the Cedar Lake World of Outlaws show. Man, that's a tough call. I'd like to see Schatz take one at Cedar so he's the one I'm going to pull for. Two other drivers with local roots, Dollansky and Tatnell, have both won WoO races at CLS. I'd really like to see Whitney or Richert pull of a huge upset but I think the odds of that against the Outlaw cubic $$$ aren't very good. I've always felt that some of our guys could do well against them if they had the equipment and I'll always believe that. That used to be the case, Richert Sr., Bob Hopp and John Stevenson used to give those early Outlaws a good run for their money. At that time Kinser and Swindell were still baby faced kids and our guys held their own against them at North Starr and Knoxville. I feel pretty fortunate to have those kinds of Sprint Car roots up here and the opportunity to be around for it. It's been a fun deal to be able to watch this sport for so many years and to have seen so many changes during that time.
This Saturday I'll be at CLS for the Firecracker on Saturday. Last Friday I went to Kopellah and worked my butt off but I'm happy with the results. I followed along as they did driver introductions and learned a lot about doing that. It's really a challenge because you basically get one shot and you've got to hit it right the first time. I'm going to have to post a gallery of the headshots I've been doing this season as well. They're going to use them in a Cedar Lake Nascar night program and I'm honored to be able to help out with something like that. I've been going out there since around 1962, Cedar Lake is like hallowed ground to me so I don't mind helping out.
Looks like I'll be doing some more photo work for a couple of racing teams. I'm working on a special project to honor Tom Nesbitt. I was fortunate to catch some nice shots of Tom on June 7 including a nice portrait of him. Add to that the right and left side shots I got and I just had to do something special with them. I'm working on the artwork and when I'm done I'll have it printed in an 11x14 and give it to Tom. Hopefully I can catch up to Tom somewhere and give it to him in person. 50 years of racing, he deserves some special gifts in honor of a great career.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday, working on the camper
I haven't checked in for a while so I thought I'd post something before I go out and work on the camper. It's nice outside and I've got some cold beer to make the job go better. I've got some patching to do on a couple seams and I've got to wash all the dishes and clean it out. Now mind you, when a guy cleans out a camper that no women ever stay in that basically means I'm going to shake the rug and give it the once over with a broom.
I'll have to inventory everything and make sure I've got charcoal and lighter fluid. Maybe split a little firewood, make a list of what I need and all that. I already greased the wheels and checked the tires. The only thing besides that will be to hook it up to the truck and make sure all the lights work. No reason they shouldn't, everything worked last fall and it's been stored in the garage. Oh yeah, I put the new tabs on it too.
Busy, busy. More to come as the week progresses.
See you at the Firecracker and World of Outlaws. If you're not going to CLS for those shows have fun at the race of your choice. As they say, it's all good...
I'll have to inventory everything and make sure I've got charcoal and lighter fluid. Maybe split a little firewood, make a list of what I need and all that. I already greased the wheels and checked the tires. The only thing besides that will be to hook it up to the truck and make sure all the lights work. No reason they shouldn't, everything worked last fall and it's been stored in the garage. Oh yeah, I put the new tabs on it too.
Busy, busy. More to come as the week progresses.
See you at the Firecracker and World of Outlaws. If you're not going to CLS for those shows have fun at the race of your choice. As they say, it's all good...
Sunday, June 22, 2008
NAVY DAVY'S SHOT OF THE WEEK!!!
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............another exciting evening at Cedar Lake Saturday night. I couldn't make it to Kopellah Friday night because I had to work. By the time I weaseled my way out of there everything was over.
At Cedar Lake Saturday night they ran the double feature format once again. That format makes for some exciting side by side and three wide racing. Just what the doctor ordered for us photographers. Anywhere around the track was great. I know because I was all over the track throughout the night. This weeks shot comes from the preliminary Late Model feature-Mike Nutzmann, Jeff Keeney, and Bryan Wennen making it three wide through turns one and two. If Mother Nature permits next weekend should be a good one. Kopellah Friday night, Cedar Lake Saturday night, and The World of Outlaw Sprints Sunday night at Cedar Lake. See you at the races....................
Friday, June 20, 2008
Friday update
I came up with something to finish off the Keeney graphic. Inside note, Jeff used to have a decal on his valve cover that said "evil inside." Hence the saying on the graphic.
Now I can go out and cut the lawn...
Now I can go out and cut the lawn...
Is it Friday morning already???
I took the day off work today to try and get a few things done around the house these next two days. It's only 7:30am so I'm going to pump down a few cups of coffee and wake myself up a little before I cut the grass. My wife is watching Les' daughter, has the rest of my grandkids, a couple of my daughters coming over along with our sister-in-law and her mom. It's going to be a zoo around here but I've got things to do in the garage so I can stay busy. You know how it is sometimes, you just get to a point where you're hell bent on taking a day off and not having to be at work. Nothing like sleeping in late and sitting out on a sunny deck with a your coffee on a beautiful 80 degree day. Ahhhh!!!!
Yesterday I had a nasty experience on my walk during lunch break. I was walking along the river on the path and a pigeon shit on my head. When one considers all the pigeons downtown it's a miracle that this is the first time I've been shit on in 20 years. For a minute there it felt like I was still in the office (sarcasm alert)! LOL
Anyways, a lady gave me a couple paper towels so I could wipe the bird shit out of my hair. So I'm walking the six blocks back up to the office and my lunch starts coming up in my throat like I'm gonna' puke or something. When I got back to the office I washed the area of hair that got dive bombed and obsessively washed my hands every half hour for the rest of the afternoon. When I got home I took a shower and washed my hair good. F'in pigeons a dirty gross nasty assed birds and I hate them even more than bushy tailed tree rats (squirrels). That's one of the nasty sides of nature for sure.
Tonight I'll be going to Kopellah for the second time this season. After my first trip there I made some photo adjustments and my pics are really coming along good this season. The two biggest adjustments I made were (1) to concentrate more on color balance by studying the light temperature chart and using a white balance filter and (2) purchasing a new lens that has a reputation for sharpness. The lens is a fixed focal length as compared to the zoom lens I had been using. Anybody want to buy a Nikon mount Tamron 28-105mm f2.8? That lens cost me over $800 new and I have never been happy with the image sharpness. I think it's a good lens for people who have the big Norman flashes because that lens needs a lot of light behind it to produce a good image. For those like me who shoot with a hotshoe the Tamron just doesn't fit my style. I'm probably going to list it on 20/20 in the for sale section and will give a good deal on it.
I'm not sure what my next photo purchase will be. Each year I try to make some kind of an equipment upgrade during the off season. I'm probably not going to buy a D300 anytime soon. In my mind it's a great camera but I've got two camera bodies, a D70 and a D70s, that will last me for years to come. If I was doing this for a living it would be another story but going out and spending $1800 on a new camera isn't, in my mind, a good long term investment for me. It wouldn't dramatically increase my skills or how many photos of mine they run in the magazines. By my way of thinking the best next purchase for me would be a new more powerful flash. Everybody likes the Normans but I prefer the top of the line Metz handle mount. It's got a guide number of around 250 (double the 125 of my SB800) and they've got a rep among wedding photographers as being trouble free. Before I make any camera purchases I've got to evaluate the rest of my needs around here.
Currently I'm running two vehicles, the ol' Ranger (93) and a 98 Olds Intrigue. I ride a vanpool to work and only drive the truck a couple miles a day so theoretically with 135,000 it could last a few more years. I just got some work done on it so as far as I know it's alright in that respect. It's got new tires, a fairly new exhaust and battery. But it ain't much to look at so I guess the biggest thing is the pride and vanity of driving something that looks nice. You know what I mean, the "big weenie" syndrome, "keep up with the Jones'" my stuff is nicer than your stuff. On the other hand I'll never forget what Tom Wilke used to say about his race cars "it ain't the chrome that make's em go" and my late father-in-law (who was a car repair shop owner) "you can buy a lot of gas for what it costs for a car payment." On the other hand, now that it's over 80 during the heat of the afternoon A/C and cruise would be nice. I'll be 57 this fall and at my age creature comforts do become a factor.
Here's a photo sample of Joseph Kouba at the Masters and some graphics samples. The Keeney graphic isn't finished and it's just practice and not for an order, I'm thinking it needs a little more but I'm not sure exactly what. I've been having my graphics creations pocessed as 11x14's for people and they really like them. A lot of the other photographers do "cookie cutter" stuff, the same event background for every photo, and go for quantity. Mine are all unique creations unlike anything else out there. I only do them one at a time by request so I like to design something unique that's going to look different than the next guy's.
Yesterday I had a nasty experience on my walk during lunch break. I was walking along the river on the path and a pigeon shit on my head. When one considers all the pigeons downtown it's a miracle that this is the first time I've been shit on in 20 years. For a minute there it felt like I was still in the office (sarcasm alert)! LOL
Anyways, a lady gave me a couple paper towels so I could wipe the bird shit out of my hair. So I'm walking the six blocks back up to the office and my lunch starts coming up in my throat like I'm gonna' puke or something. When I got back to the office I washed the area of hair that got dive bombed and obsessively washed my hands every half hour for the rest of the afternoon. When I got home I took a shower and washed my hair good. F'in pigeons a dirty gross nasty assed birds and I hate them even more than bushy tailed tree rats (squirrels). That's one of the nasty sides of nature for sure.
Tonight I'll be going to Kopellah for the second time this season. After my first trip there I made some photo adjustments and my pics are really coming along good this season. The two biggest adjustments I made were (1) to concentrate more on color balance by studying the light temperature chart and using a white balance filter and (2) purchasing a new lens that has a reputation for sharpness. The lens is a fixed focal length as compared to the zoom lens I had been using. Anybody want to buy a Nikon mount Tamron 28-105mm f2.8? That lens cost me over $800 new and I have never been happy with the image sharpness. I think it's a good lens for people who have the big Norman flashes because that lens needs a lot of light behind it to produce a good image. For those like me who shoot with a hotshoe the Tamron just doesn't fit my style. I'm probably going to list it on 20/20 in the for sale section and will give a good deal on it.
I'm not sure what my next photo purchase will be. Each year I try to make some kind of an equipment upgrade during the off season. I'm probably not going to buy a D300 anytime soon. In my mind it's a great camera but I've got two camera bodies, a D70 and a D70s, that will last me for years to come. If I was doing this for a living it would be another story but going out and spending $1800 on a new camera isn't, in my mind, a good long term investment for me. It wouldn't dramatically increase my skills or how many photos of mine they run in the magazines. By my way of thinking the best next purchase for me would be a new more powerful flash. Everybody likes the Normans but I prefer the top of the line Metz handle mount. It's got a guide number of around 250 (double the 125 of my SB800) and they've got a rep among wedding photographers as being trouble free. Before I make any camera purchases I've got to evaluate the rest of my needs around here.
Currently I'm running two vehicles, the ol' Ranger (93) and a 98 Olds Intrigue. I ride a vanpool to work and only drive the truck a couple miles a day so theoretically with 135,000 it could last a few more years. I just got some work done on it so as far as I know it's alright in that respect. It's got new tires, a fairly new exhaust and battery. But it ain't much to look at so I guess the biggest thing is the pride and vanity of driving something that looks nice. You know what I mean, the "big weenie" syndrome, "keep up with the Jones'" my stuff is nicer than your stuff. On the other hand I'll never forget what Tom Wilke used to say about his race cars "it ain't the chrome that make's em go" and my late father-in-law (who was a car repair shop owner) "you can buy a lot of gas for what it costs for a car payment." On the other hand, now that it's over 80 during the heat of the afternoon A/C and cruise would be nice. I'll be 57 this fall and at my age creature comforts do become a factor.
Here's a photo sample of Joseph Kouba at the Masters and some graphics samples. The Keeney graphic isn't finished and it's just practice and not for an order, I'm thinking it needs a little more but I'm not sure exactly what. I've been having my graphics creations pocessed as 11x14's for people and they really like them. A lot of the other photographers do "cookie cutter" stuff, the same event background for every photo, and go for quantity. Mine are all unique creations unlike anything else out there. I only do them one at a time by request so I like to design something unique that's going to look different than the next guy's.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Monday honey do project and working on photos...
I haven't had much time to post to the blog lately. Tonight I had to hookup a new dryer and when that project was done I had to work on photo editing. I see that the wife has finally gotten the new baseboard and folding closet doors stained. That means that I'll be piecing in baseboard and putting in the hardware for the closet doors this weekend. We lost a month of home maintenance to weather so the projects piled up and have all come due. On top of that I've got to take care of some storm damage during the coming weeks.
The photo editing will probably take another night. I've got plenty to say so I'll be back with some longer posts soon.
The photo editing will probably take another night. I've got plenty to say so I'll be back with some longer posts soon.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Navy Davy's shot of the week...(sent by Dave Trautmiller)
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.........Old Ma Nature nailed us again at Cedar Lake Saturday night. Just as the IRA Sprint feature was coming to a close the storm sirens went off. Off to the west and south the skies were lighting up with an awesome display. The sprint feature got over and then the cold wet stuff started falling. That ended the show before the 50 lap WDRL Late Model feature was run. We can't seem to get a break this season. Up to that point it was a very good show. We had 44 Late Models and 31 410 Sprints in the pits. The Late Model feature was postponed until The USA NATIONALS at the end of July.
I was at my usual Friday night haunt known as Kopellah for their first show in three weeks. We had a decent car count and the racing was great once again. That little bullring never ceases to amaze me. In the Superstock feature it was two and three wide all race long. At one point it was three wide for the lead. Same thing in the Streetstock feature. The Modified feature was also a great battle.
This weeks shot comes from the Superstock feature as Ted Baxter, Dan Gullickson, and Cory Davis go three wide for the lead. See you at the races.......
Back from the Masters
I'm back from two days of camping at the Masters. The program was great with the only exception being that rain canceled the final WDRL Feature. Cedar Lake management made the decision to run that Feature in conjunction with the Masters. I didn't catch the details but you can find out more on the CLS website.
I've got photos to load, laundry to wash, a televised race to watch (if Michigan doesn't rain out today) and a bunch of other things to tend to. If I have time I will post again later today.
I've got photos to load, laundry to wash, a televised race to watch (if Michigan doesn't rain out today) and a bunch of other things to tend to. If I have time I will post again later today.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Impact of gas prices on racing...
Someone from one of the Minnesota Newspapers contacted me with some questions about the impact of high gas prices on racing. I decided to repost my reply here in the blog for you to check out. Specific names have been XXXX'd out to protect their identity:
"XXXX,
I seldom go to XXXX so I'm really not an authority on specifics there but I can give you a few of my personal observations.
As far as the fans go I don't think racing is any different than any other outdoor leisure activity. People are going to be more selective about their entertainment if their personal budget is tight. I think that would be true of trips to the cabin, fishing trips, shuttling around kids to sporting events or anything else that requires travel. In some cases people might not be traveling as far on vacation as they used to and are looking for something to do on a weekend so some of these sports might actually benefit from that. Overall being a fan of racing is just like any other activity and people will go to great lengths to enjoy their recreation.
In dirt racing there are different levels of competition. You've got the national touring organizations like the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars that criss cross the country and run 100 dates per season. They've got 18 wheelers, corporate sponsors and televised races on ESPN. Some of those teams have dropped off the tour or are only running when the tour comes close to their home base. Locally you've got the Modifieds, Late Models and Sprints that are pretty sophisticated race cars that teams have 10's of thousands of dollars invested in. They've got sponsors and deals on parts, chassis, motors and tires that help out so they're probably a little better off than the entry classes. For example, a guy who welds up a basic entry class like a pure stock in his garage might get a little help from the local bar or auto parts store but if he blows an engine he might be done for the year. In other words, the higher up in the pecking order you go the more likely the driver is going to have the resources to keep racing. Racing has never been cheap regardless of the gas prices.
Keep in mind too that divisions such as Sprint Cars, Late Models, Modifieds and Midgets on dirt all use methanol alcohol so they're not burning gas. Also, a typical race program on a 3/8 mile track consists of about 5 hot laps, a 10 lap Heat race, a few yellow flag laps and a 25-30 lap Feature . That's about 50-60 laps or 20 miles total on a typical night of racing. Even if a race car only got 3 mpg (not sure what their actual mileage is) they're not spending anywhere near as much to fuel their race car as their neighbor is spending to tow his fishing boat up north every weekend. XXXX doesn't have the facilities to host big national touring events so most of the drivers that race there probably live in the area. True, it costs more to tow a car than a fishing boat but they're not going that far.
Promoters are seeing their costs go up and they depend on a certain number of racers signing into the back gate and a crowd in the grandstand. Their cost of preparing the track, concessions and everything else associated with running an outdoor venue has gone up. They have probably lost more money on account of the weather this season than the increase in their operating costs. Many tracks have lost an entire month or more to rain, sleet, snow, cold and severe weather. The racing promoters aren't dealing with anything that concert promoters or any other outdoor entertainment hasn't had to deal with this season.
So far from what I have seen mostly at Cedar Lake Speedway near New Richmond, Wisconsin, the fields of cars have been good and they appear to have done pretty well at the gate. This weekend there is a three day special event with regional touring race teams from all over the Midwest racing there. It's looking like we could lose Thursday to rain but Friday and Saturday should be a go.
I'm not an authority on XXXX or XXXX. There is a guy up there...... I would suggest that you talk to him.... Also, you should attend a couple races and talk to the racers and promoters as they would be more in touch with the local situation. I live in Forest Lake and the tracks I attend are considered part of the Twin Cities market so it would be a different set of circumstances than XXX. Neither of the tracks you mentioned have big events like XXXX or XXXX do so they're dealing more with the lower budget local racers.
Hope this helps a little. I think all forms of entertainment will see their attendance down with the fuel and economy. Whether it's grandma and grandpa driving up from the farm in southern Minnesota to see the Twins, a company deciding if they can afford to renew their complimentary Vikings suite or a family from up north taking a trip to Valley Fair. Racing isn't the only leisure activity being affected by the fuel prices.
Stan Meissner"
"XXXX,
I seldom go to XXXX so I'm really not an authority on specifics there but I can give you a few of my personal observations.
As far as the fans go I don't think racing is any different than any other outdoor leisure activity. People are going to be more selective about their entertainment if their personal budget is tight. I think that would be true of trips to the cabin, fishing trips, shuttling around kids to sporting events or anything else that requires travel. In some cases people might not be traveling as far on vacation as they used to and are looking for something to do on a weekend so some of these sports might actually benefit from that. Overall being a fan of racing is just like any other activity and people will go to great lengths to enjoy their recreation.
In dirt racing there are different levels of competition. You've got the national touring organizations like the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars that criss cross the country and run 100 dates per season. They've got 18 wheelers, corporate sponsors and televised races on ESPN. Some of those teams have dropped off the tour or are only running when the tour comes close to their home base. Locally you've got the Modifieds, Late Models and Sprints that are pretty sophisticated race cars that teams have 10's of thousands of dollars invested in. They've got sponsors and deals on parts, chassis, motors and tires that help out so they're probably a little better off than the entry classes. For example, a guy who welds up a basic entry class like a pure stock in his garage might get a little help from the local bar or auto parts store but if he blows an engine he might be done for the year. In other words, the higher up in the pecking order you go the more likely the driver is going to have the resources to keep racing. Racing has never been cheap regardless of the gas prices.
Keep in mind too that divisions such as Sprint Cars, Late Models, Modifieds and Midgets on dirt all use methanol alcohol so they're not burning gas. Also, a typical race program on a 3/8 mile track consists of about 5 hot laps, a 10 lap Heat race, a few yellow flag laps and a 25-30 lap Feature . That's about 50-60 laps or 20 miles total on a typical night of racing. Even if a race car only got 3 mpg (not sure what their actual mileage is) they're not spending anywhere near as much to fuel their race car as their neighbor is spending to tow his fishing boat up north every weekend. XXXX doesn't have the facilities to host big national touring events so most of the drivers that race there probably live in the area. True, it costs more to tow a car than a fishing boat but they're not going that far.
Promoters are seeing their costs go up and they depend on a certain number of racers signing into the back gate and a crowd in the grandstand. Their cost of preparing the track, concessions and everything else associated with running an outdoor venue has gone up. They have probably lost more money on account of the weather this season than the increase in their operating costs. Many tracks have lost an entire month or more to rain, sleet, snow, cold and severe weather. The racing promoters aren't dealing with anything that concert promoters or any other outdoor entertainment hasn't had to deal with this season.
So far from what I have seen mostly at Cedar Lake Speedway near New Richmond, Wisconsin, the fields of cars have been good and they appear to have done pretty well at the gate. This weekend there is a three day special event with regional touring race teams from all over the Midwest racing there. It's looking like we could lose Thursday to rain but Friday and Saturday should be a go.
I'm not an authority on XXXX or XXXX. There is a guy up there...... I would suggest that you talk to him.... Also, you should attend a couple races and talk to the racers and promoters as they would be more in touch with the local situation. I live in Forest Lake and the tracks I attend are considered part of the Twin Cities market so it would be a different set of circumstances than XXX. Neither of the tracks you mentioned have big events like XXXX or XXXX do so they're dealing more with the lower budget local racers.
Hope this helps a little. I think all forms of entertainment will see their attendance down with the fuel and economy. Whether it's grandma and grandpa driving up from the farm in southern Minnesota to see the Twins, a company deciding if they can afford to renew their complimentary Vikings suite or a family from up north taking a trip to Valley Fair. Racing isn't the only leisure activity being affected by the fuel prices.
Stan Meissner"
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Cutting the lawn and getting the camper ready...
I don't think that I have to tell anyone what a difficult spring this has been. By this time of the the year I've usually got the yard in pretty good shape, a project or two underway and the camper ready to go. My yard is too big to cut on a week night and do a decent job. It takes about 3 hours to trim and do a good job mowing. After the hail knocked half the leafs off the trees I should be out there with the bagger but that's a good four hour job. Maybe I'm getting kind of old but I don't have the energy or desire to work on the yard all night from the time I get home until bedtime. Truth be told I'd like to live in a town house and not have to do any of this yard maintenance anymore. I spend a lot of computer time at night on the website, photo work and trying to get organized for the weekend. I'm not really a yard person or a gardener. Whatever happened to the kids nowadays? No kids are knock on the door offering to mow the grass for a few bucks. Don't they do that anymore? It's going to be a few years before the grandkids are old enough and I can hardly wait. Bottom line, I had a few cold ones in the fridge, one thing led to another and I ran out of steam shortly after supper. I'll get the yard done eventually.
I'm not prepared to Camp at Cedar Lake for the Masters. In addition to the camper not being ready the weather isn't looking very good for Thursday. Tonight on the news they predicted torrential rains of 3-5 inches in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin for Wednesday into Thursday. The forecasters were off last week and we never got any rain so I hope they're wrong. I have an appointment at the house on Friday morning so Thursday would have been out anyways and I have to be here. After that if the weather is favorable and I can get the camper ready I might pull it out there provided I can get a spot. If they manage to race on Thursday night I'll check into it. Otherwise I've got a few numbers for people at the track.
Actually, aside from not being able to enjoy the company of fellow race fans I don't mind sleeping in my own bed. Maybe I can hang around somebody's campfire after the races and shoot the breeze. We'll see how it goes.
There's a lot of uncertainty when the weather is a factor. At least everything is nice and green if there's no other advantage to living in what's beginning to feel like spoungeville.
I'm not prepared to Camp at Cedar Lake for the Masters. In addition to the camper not being ready the weather isn't looking very good for Thursday. Tonight on the news they predicted torrential rains of 3-5 inches in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin for Wednesday into Thursday. The forecasters were off last week and we never got any rain so I hope they're wrong. I have an appointment at the house on Friday morning so Thursday would have been out anyways and I have to be here. After that if the weather is favorable and I can get the camper ready I might pull it out there provided I can get a spot. If they manage to race on Thursday night I'll check into it. Otherwise I've got a few numbers for people at the track.
Actually, aside from not being able to enjoy the company of fellow race fans I don't mind sleeping in my own bed. Maybe I can hang around somebody's campfire after the races and shoot the breeze. We'll see how it goes.
There's a lot of uncertainty when the weather is a factor. At least everything is nice and green if there's no other advantage to living in what's beginning to feel like spoungeville.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Monday, Cedar Lake dodged the weather...
Amazing that they were able to get a complete show as well as make up Features in all divisions and a couple of Heats in one night. The rains that hit some area tracks spared Cedar Lake and allowed the program to take place. I for one was very happy to get a night of racing in the books.
Gas went over $4 today in a lot of places. I managed to fill the tank for $3.99 today but I'm sure that station will go up as well. I'm not going to go on a tirade about my personal values or anything like that. All you have to do if you want to see that is visit any message board and you'll find it. No, I'm not happy about it but what are ya' gonna' do. I just try to plan my travel accordingly and put the emphasis on traveling to the races on the weekends. So far so good.
I figured out a way to save $20 per month in gas money which in my vehicle comes to about 125 miles at the current price. I stopped getting haircuts. A cut was about $15 and the $5 tip came to $20 per month or about 5 gallons of gas at the current price. My Ranger gets around 25 miles per gallon so that comes to approximately 125 miles per month. Times that by an entire year and you've got $240 or about 1500 miles. 1500 miles divided by 64 miles round trip to the races at Cedar Lake comes to 23.4375 trips to the races. And all it's going to cost me is the price of a binder when my hair gets a little longer. I've got my priorities in order.
The Masters is coming up in a few days. I'm hoping for a good forecast but Thursday looks like it could be a little wet. It all depends on where, what time of the day/night, and how much precip we get. From what I'm seeing it's not a total wash but a scattered showers kind of a deal. The good luck from last Saturday night has to carry through the weekend.
Well, got a couple more hours of computer/photo work to do so I'll type to ya later.
Gas went over $4 today in a lot of places. I managed to fill the tank for $3.99 today but I'm sure that station will go up as well. I'm not going to go on a tirade about my personal values or anything like that. All you have to do if you want to see that is visit any message board and you'll find it. No, I'm not happy about it but what are ya' gonna' do. I just try to plan my travel accordingly and put the emphasis on traveling to the races on the weekends. So far so good.
I figured out a way to save $20 per month in gas money which in my vehicle comes to about 125 miles at the current price. I stopped getting haircuts. A cut was about $15 and the $5 tip came to $20 per month or about 5 gallons of gas at the current price. My Ranger gets around 25 miles per gallon so that comes to approximately 125 miles per month. Times that by an entire year and you've got $240 or about 1500 miles. 1500 miles divided by 64 miles round trip to the races at Cedar Lake comes to 23.4375 trips to the races. And all it's going to cost me is the price of a binder when my hair gets a little longer. I've got my priorities in order.
The Masters is coming up in a few days. I'm hoping for a good forecast but Thursday looks like it could be a little wet. It all depends on where, what time of the day/night, and how much precip we get. From what I'm seeing it's not a total wash but a scattered showers kind of a deal. The good luck from last Saturday night has to carry through the weekend.
Well, got a couple more hours of computer/photo work to do so I'll type to ya later.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Shot of the Week by Dave Trautmiller
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"..........despite threatening weather all weekend I had two great nights of racing this weekend. After three inches of rain Thursday night into Friday morning my usual Friday night haunt at Kopellah was cancelled. I checked the internet and looked at the weather radar and decided to head for Red Cedar Speedway in Menominee. It was a very good night of racing. The track was wicked fast. They hard packed the track in anticipation of all the rain we got and it paid off with some great races. It was my first regular show there in three years.
Saturday night after attending my nephew Justin's graduation party we headed for Cedar Lake. With 5 make up features and the regular show it turned out to be a long but enjoyable night of racing. One scary moment occured when Dave Cain flipped three times in turn one. Fortunately he was able to walk away. Can't say the same for his car though.
This weeks shot comes from the final race of the night. See you at the races......................"
Friday, June 06, 2008
Finally Friday arrives...
I've been watching the weather all day and didn't drive to work so I had to ride my vanpool back to Forest Lake. If I had drove today I could have gone to Menomonie but the grandkids are here and I've got work to do around the house to get ready for the weekend. Hopefully they'll dodge the bullet and get a show in this Saturday.
I posted to a discussion on one of the local boards about the Masters vs a race up in Hibbing. I'm a Sprint Car, open motor Late Model and USMTS fan so I'll take the Masters over anything else that's going on around here. I've never been to Hibbing but I thought that place was on it's last legs a few years ago. Somewhere I heard that it was a dust bowl and the community was trying to shut it down. I've never gone up there, no desire to, it's just too damn far to drive to see a bunch of guys who used to run weekly at Cedar Lake. They're good drivers but I've been watching them darned near every Saturday night for ten years now. Nope, no way I'd skip a big motor show on a high banked 3/8 for a limited show on a dust bowl with less banking.
I think maybe what has a lot of those hard core Late Model fans upset is that they don't have a national sanction anymore and they added Sprints. Adding the Sprints brought in a whole new group of fans and I'm seeing good crowds at the Masters. As far as the WDRL and their purse/sanction fee requirements, that's the business of the track. As long as they're meeting those requirements, and I think they're paying a standard WDRL purse, that's alright with me.
The USA Nationals is a long standing traditional event and it's very difficult to replicate it's success and add another big paying race a few weeks prior to the Nationals. I think that was the idea of the previous owners but the crowds and fields dictated these changes, not promoters trying to screw the fans. There's a lot of racing fans out there I'd swear never pickup a newspaper or have a clue what these tracks are dealing with. It's easy for armchair promoters to risk somebody else's money.
Personally I wish the weather would mellow out a little so we could get to racing in earnest. That way I think a lot of this negative chatter would subside. So far this spring I think people have spent almost as much time indoors posting on message boards as they normally do during the winter.
Give the rest of the tracks time, they'll cut the purse or make a scoring blunder and incur the wrath of the discontents.
I posted to a discussion on one of the local boards about the Masters vs a race up in Hibbing. I'm a Sprint Car, open motor Late Model and USMTS fan so I'll take the Masters over anything else that's going on around here. I've never been to Hibbing but I thought that place was on it's last legs a few years ago. Somewhere I heard that it was a dust bowl and the community was trying to shut it down. I've never gone up there, no desire to, it's just too damn far to drive to see a bunch of guys who used to run weekly at Cedar Lake. They're good drivers but I've been watching them darned near every Saturday night for ten years now. Nope, no way I'd skip a big motor show on a high banked 3/8 for a limited show on a dust bowl with less banking.
I think maybe what has a lot of those hard core Late Model fans upset is that they don't have a national sanction anymore and they added Sprints. Adding the Sprints brought in a whole new group of fans and I'm seeing good crowds at the Masters. As far as the WDRL and their purse/sanction fee requirements, that's the business of the track. As long as they're meeting those requirements, and I think they're paying a standard WDRL purse, that's alright with me.
The USA Nationals is a long standing traditional event and it's very difficult to replicate it's success and add another big paying race a few weeks prior to the Nationals. I think that was the idea of the previous owners but the crowds and fields dictated these changes, not promoters trying to screw the fans. There's a lot of racing fans out there I'd swear never pickup a newspaper or have a clue what these tracks are dealing with. It's easy for armchair promoters to risk somebody else's money.
Personally I wish the weather would mellow out a little so we could get to racing in earnest. That way I think a lot of this negative chatter would subside. So far this spring I think people have spent almost as much time indoors posting on message boards as they normally do during the winter.
Give the rest of the tracks time, they'll cut the purse or make a scoring blunder and incur the wrath of the discontents.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Thursday post #2, fooling around with graphics...
Something that I created to use as a windows wallpaper.
Thursday and it's wet again...
Thursday night and there's a storm system stretching from the Texas panhandle to northern Minnesota tonight. More of the same is predicted for Friday with a 40% chance from Saturday through Sunday over in western Wisconsin. This weather pattern has been brutal on racing not to mention the citizens living in the patch of some of the storms.
In my case we're dealing with some hail damage. Depending on what transpires I may have to pay a deductible to get some work done. In addition to that the dryer stopped working so I'm sure I'll be looking at a new one of those too. Despite meticulously budgeting for this season there's always unforeseen obstacles that come up. We'll have to sort it all out and see if I can still manage some of the racing trips I've got planned. Travel is fun but there are so many things to take into consideration before setting out on a trip somewhere. I'm sure I'll still be able to make it to some of those races I've got planned. We'll just have to wait and see what the outcome is.
This dryer was I think the third $150 used one that has gone out on us. I'm going to have to buy new next time. Three strikes and a change in the way I do things is in order. In the meantime the wife and I can do a load whenever enough piles up and hang it up in the basement to dry. No rush, there's a laundermat in town where we can dry stuff if we need to for a couple weeks. We'll get around to it eventually. We wouldn't have been so casual about it when our kids were still living at home. No rush, we're both jeans and T-shirt people anyways. Exotic equipment is not required to dry jeans and racing shirts. Even when I'm not wearing a racing shirt I've usually got some kind of T-shirt on.
Racing, oh yeah, racing. This is supposed to be a racing website, isn't it. I guess I should talk a little about racing to stay on subject. It's been brutal for me with this weather trying to get in full racing mode. For example, Cedar Lake has run two complete shows and a half show that rained out after most of the Heats were completed. I'll be writing about the absurd numbers associated with the weather related cancellations in MRC. Be sure to pickup a copy and see what I've got to say.
Did anybody watch the Prelude to the Dream on HBO PPV? I could have gone down to the Blacksmith just north of Hugo and watched it there but I had second thoughts about sitting in a bar for four hours then driving. The wife wasn't willing to come down and get me after the broadcast but the clincher was that my granddaughter would be stopping by. She hadn't been around for a while so I decided to get the PPV. Part of the proceeds go to Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Gang Camp. If I had gone to the Blacksmith my money would have gone to the bar instead of Kyle's deal so that was an added bonus of purchasing the broadcast myself. And another added bonus is that I recorded it on the DVR so I can watch it again.
Well, I'd better get going and get some computer work done. Hopefully we'll see everyone on Saturday.
In my case we're dealing with some hail damage. Depending on what transpires I may have to pay a deductible to get some work done. In addition to that the dryer stopped working so I'm sure I'll be looking at a new one of those too. Despite meticulously budgeting for this season there's always unforeseen obstacles that come up. We'll have to sort it all out and see if I can still manage some of the racing trips I've got planned. Travel is fun but there are so many things to take into consideration before setting out on a trip somewhere. I'm sure I'll still be able to make it to some of those races I've got planned. We'll just have to wait and see what the outcome is.
This dryer was I think the third $150 used one that has gone out on us. I'm going to have to buy new next time. Three strikes and a change in the way I do things is in order. In the meantime the wife and I can do a load whenever enough piles up and hang it up in the basement to dry. No rush, there's a laundermat in town where we can dry stuff if we need to for a couple weeks. We'll get around to it eventually. We wouldn't have been so casual about it when our kids were still living at home. No rush, we're both jeans and T-shirt people anyways. Exotic equipment is not required to dry jeans and racing shirts. Even when I'm not wearing a racing shirt I've usually got some kind of T-shirt on.
Racing, oh yeah, racing. This is supposed to be a racing website, isn't it. I guess I should talk a little about racing to stay on subject. It's been brutal for me with this weather trying to get in full racing mode. For example, Cedar Lake has run two complete shows and a half show that rained out after most of the Heats were completed. I'll be writing about the absurd numbers associated with the weather related cancellations in MRC. Be sure to pickup a copy and see what I've got to say.
Did anybody watch the Prelude to the Dream on HBO PPV? I could have gone down to the Blacksmith just north of Hugo and watched it there but I had second thoughts about sitting in a bar for four hours then driving. The wife wasn't willing to come down and get me after the broadcast but the clincher was that my granddaughter would be stopping by. She hadn't been around for a while so I decided to get the PPV. Part of the proceeds go to Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Gang Camp. If I had gone to the Blacksmith my money would have gone to the bar instead of Kyle's deal so that was an added bonus of purchasing the broadcast myself. And another added bonus is that I recorded it on the DVR so I can watch it again.
Well, I'd better get going and get some computer work done. Hopefully we'll see everyone on Saturday.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Wednesday, missed a day...
Sorry, busy again. I've been answering photo inquiries and having to deal with some possible hail damage on the roof. I can't see it but two contractors claim they can. One was recommended by my insurance agent. We'll see what happens. My biggest concern in having to pay the deductible right in the middle of the racing season. On second thought, this racing season has seen such hosed up weather I don't think we can really call this the "middle" of the season.
Oh, well, could have been a lot worse. All I've got to do is go a few miles down the road to Hugo to see that.
Better get going, I'm going to get the Prelude to the Dream on HBO PPV and it's already 20 minutes into the broadcast.
Oh, well, could have been a lot worse. All I've got to do is go a few miles down the road to Hugo to see that.
Better get going, I'm going to get the Prelude to the Dream on HBO PPV and it's already 20 minutes into the broadcast.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Planning out the remainder of the week and it's only Monday
Another busy night setting up photo orders, sending out some emails and checking the racing boards.
The weather appears like it could capture some of the racing headlines again this coming weekend. I know it's early but the National Weather Service shows 80% tonight, 60% Tuesday, 30% Wednesday, 70% Wednesday night, 70% thursday, 60% Thursday night, thunderstorms likely on Friday (no % given yet), with a chance of storms each day through Monday. This is shaping up to be a very, very wet week. I'm thinking the grounds could be too wet at all the area tracks this Friday. Saturday programs are probably going to depend on some sunshine to dry things out and the tracks won't take much more rain. I hope this forecast changes but we're stuck in a stationary frontal system with the jet stream parked over us and that's never a good thing.
On account of the weather I've only got 8 nights of racing in so far this year. Two of those were indoor Midget races so there have only been six nights of outdoor racing. I don't go to many weekday shows if I've got to work the next day. I'm doing accounting work rating grain shipments and it's kind of a brain bender searching through those grain tariffs. I don't care to do that on a minimum of sleep. There was a time 20 years ago I'd have enough energy to go to a race, not get home until 2am and get up for work after only a couple hours sleep. Not anymore, at 56 (almost 57) I need a good night's sleep to make my 5:15am wakeup call. The vacation roster is top heavy with seniority and I have to save some vacation for the family so I restrict most of my racing to Friday and Saturdays. Actually, I mostly like to go on Saturday nights because then I don't have to get off work early.
There are three tracks where I can work eight hours and still make it before the races start. Kopellah and Princeton are the easiest because I can ride my vanpool to work, get dropped off at the Park & Ride at 5pm. Stop home and pickup the camera and make it to the track. Red Cedar is possible from downtown St. Paul if I drive to work and leave from the office at 3:30 but I only do that for specials.
Some fans on the message board are complaining about the Masters payoff and saying they might go elsewhere. The funny thing about it is that they're saying they'd rather go to a wissota Late Model race than an open motor show. The wissota drivers are good, no denying that, but go to a limited show instead of the Masters? To top it off you've got the IRA Sprints making it the two best regional series in the Midwest, WDRL and IRA. Someone mentioned that it's not worth the ticket price to go to $5,000 to win races. Let's analyze this. First of all $5,000 I believe is the standard WDRL purse. I think back when the Master started they wanted to make it a big event like the USA Nationals. Apparently at some point it became clear that this race wouldn't attain the status of the Nats and they had to make some changes from a business standpoint. Now the WDRL and IRA seem to be turning into a popular combined event that is building a bigger following each season. Both of these series commands a $20 ticket by themselves so I think it's still a good deal with the combined entertainment value of both. But hard core Late Model or Sprint fans would probably never agree with me on this and want their favorite only. On the other hand there's obviously a majority of the not so hard core that are enjoying the Masters just the way it is.
Speaking of the Masters I'm trying to find out what Brooke Tatnell's schedule is going to be the week of the Masters. After I sent them an email I saw where someone posted that the WoO is going to be at Husets that Friday. Man, that's a tough call when you're running your own deal. On the one hand I can understand where they'd want to run with the Outlaws but there's something to be said about racing two nights within 40 minutes of home. Sleep in your own bed, work in your own shop and 120 miles of travel compared to over 600 miles. But if there's an Outlaw race that's probably where they'll be.
That's going to do it for tonight. Later.
The weather appears like it could capture some of the racing headlines again this coming weekend. I know it's early but the National Weather Service shows 80% tonight, 60% Tuesday, 30% Wednesday, 70% Wednesday night, 70% thursday, 60% Thursday night, thunderstorms likely on Friday (no % given yet), with a chance of storms each day through Monday. This is shaping up to be a very, very wet week. I'm thinking the grounds could be too wet at all the area tracks this Friday. Saturday programs are probably going to depend on some sunshine to dry things out and the tracks won't take much more rain. I hope this forecast changes but we're stuck in a stationary frontal system with the jet stream parked over us and that's never a good thing.
On account of the weather I've only got 8 nights of racing in so far this year. Two of those were indoor Midget races so there have only been six nights of outdoor racing. I don't go to many weekday shows if I've got to work the next day. I'm doing accounting work rating grain shipments and it's kind of a brain bender searching through those grain tariffs. I don't care to do that on a minimum of sleep. There was a time 20 years ago I'd have enough energy to go to a race, not get home until 2am and get up for work after only a couple hours sleep. Not anymore, at 56 (almost 57) I need a good night's sleep to make my 5:15am wakeup call. The vacation roster is top heavy with seniority and I have to save some vacation for the family so I restrict most of my racing to Friday and Saturdays. Actually, I mostly like to go on Saturday nights because then I don't have to get off work early.
There are three tracks where I can work eight hours and still make it before the races start. Kopellah and Princeton are the easiest because I can ride my vanpool to work, get dropped off at the Park & Ride at 5pm. Stop home and pickup the camera and make it to the track. Red Cedar is possible from downtown St. Paul if I drive to work and leave from the office at 3:30 but I only do that for specials.
Some fans on the message board are complaining about the Masters payoff and saying they might go elsewhere. The funny thing about it is that they're saying they'd rather go to a wissota Late Model race than an open motor show. The wissota drivers are good, no denying that, but go to a limited show instead of the Masters? To top it off you've got the IRA Sprints making it the two best regional series in the Midwest, WDRL and IRA. Someone mentioned that it's not worth the ticket price to go to $5,000 to win races. Let's analyze this. First of all $5,000 I believe is the standard WDRL purse. I think back when the Master started they wanted to make it a big event like the USA Nationals. Apparently at some point it became clear that this race wouldn't attain the status of the Nats and they had to make some changes from a business standpoint. Now the WDRL and IRA seem to be turning into a popular combined event that is building a bigger following each season. Both of these series commands a $20 ticket by themselves so I think it's still a good deal with the combined entertainment value of both. But hard core Late Model or Sprint fans would probably never agree with me on this and want their favorite only. On the other hand there's obviously a majority of the not so hard core that are enjoying the Masters just the way it is.
Speaking of the Masters I'm trying to find out what Brooke Tatnell's schedule is going to be the week of the Masters. After I sent them an email I saw where someone posted that the WoO is going to be at Husets that Friday. Man, that's a tough call when you're running your own deal. On the one hand I can understand where they'd want to run with the Outlaws but there's something to be said about racing two nights within 40 minutes of home. Sleep in your own bed, work in your own shop and 120 miles of travel compared to over 600 miles. But if there's an Outlaw race that's probably where they'll be.
That's going to do it for tonight. Later.
Navy Davy's shot of the week sent by Dave Trautmiller
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".....Old Ma Nature struck once again this weekend. Most tracks were rained out Friday night including my usual haunt, Kopellah. I was thinking of heading over to Princeton Friday, they did get their show in. With gas prices at nearly 4.00 a gallon I just stayed home.
Saturday was a very nice day until racetime rolled around. We headed for Cedar Lake knowing what was coming. They got all the heats in except the final two Late Model heats and then the sirens went off and that was it for the night. It's been a very tough start to the 08 season thus far.
This weeks shot is of the front stretch during the final modified heat. They got one Late Model heat in and the rest is history. See you at the races............I hope"
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