One of the benefits of blogging is that it will allow me to use more photos and video clips in my articles.
I'm going to go through what I have for a schedule so far and give a brief explanation about some of the events and why I like them. We'll throw in some photos to illustrate my points and after I'm done covering the schedule I'll tell you about a few races that are still on my wish list. After that I'll post a few random thoughts so kick back, grab a cold one (or a hot one) and check it out.
Stan's Tentative 2013 Racing Schedule
Fri Apr 26 SCVR thunder #1 umss (w)
Sat May 11 SCVR bullring bast #1
Fri May 24 SCVR thunder #2 umss (w) Tabor Memorial
Fri May 31 IRA SCVR thunder #3
Sat Jun 1 CLS triple IRA
Fri-Sun Jun 21-23 Back to 50's Fgnds
Fri Jun 28 SCVR open wheel nats #1
Sat Jun 29 SCVR #2 umss (w) both nights
Sun Jun 30 CLS WoO
Fri Jul 12 SCVR traditional 40 (non-wing)
Fri Jul 26 SCVR thunder #4 umss (w)
Sat Aug 3 or 10? CLS USA Natl's finale
Fri Aug 17 SCVR thunder #5 umss (w) Kouba
Fri Aug 30 SCVR bullring blast #2 LM, A Mod, Trad, MWM
Sat Sep 7 CLS JR Mem
Sat Sep 14 SCVR crash tastic smash-o-rama spectating w/grandkids
The first race on my schedule will be Saint Croix Valley's first "Thunder in the Valley" race of five total on the season (I will be attending all five). As you can see these races feature winged Sprints, four are UMSS and one is an IRA race. Bullring racing is some of the best around and SCVR's unique configuration provides exciting action in all classes.
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Kevin Nickle (10) takes a look at the outside lane as Brad Barickman (34) and Joseph Kouba (55) battle for position at a 2010 UMSS race.
Bill Balog won the first ever IRA race at SCVR. Bill scored a 360 win at the track before the UMSS was formed.
Another event on my schedule at SCVR is the Traditional 40. In my opinion the UMSS Traditional Sprints are the best new addition to come to our area in decades. These cars are fun to watch anywhere they run but I find that I prefer them on short tracks without a lot of banking. SCVR is perfectly suited to these cars and the Traditional 40 is their night to shine.
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| Traditional Sprints at SCVR circa 2012. The Traditional 40 is their night to shine. |
Next up on the schedule will be the Cedar Lake Triple. The way it's look so far this will be one of the few opportunities I'll have to watch the Late Models this coming season. At the time of this writing I've got two nights of Late Model racing on my schedule at CLS, the Triple and the final night of the USA Nationals and the two Bullring Blast shows at SCVR. If the opportunity presents itself any shows that I add to make it up into the 18-20 range will be at CLS.
Jimmy Mars at Cedar Lake 2012.
Attending the Bullring Blasts will allow me to see some of the cars and drivers I don't normally get to watch.
One of the can't miss events I have been attending in recent years is the Back to the 50's weekend at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Street Rods and Rat Rods are fun to use in graphics like the one shown below. I like to take a day of vacation on the Friday of Back to the 50's and spend the whole day taking photos. I have found that one of the best ways to get unobstructed shots is to stand by the edge of the street and shoot them as they drive by. I usually get up early and drive down to one of the park and ride lots and take the fee shuttle bus to the Fairgrounds. It's a long day and I cover a lot of ground but it has become one of my favorite events of the entire year.
Street Rods produce some great shots for graphis. Back to the 50's has become one of my favorite events of the year.
One of four nights spent at the Cedar Lake Speedway will be for their annual World of Outlaws race. So far I've only got four nights planned at CLS quite frankly on account of the cost of going there now that I'll no longer be on anybody's media list but I have only missed a few of their WoO races dating back to the beginning. I think I missed a year or two at the very beginning and one time when they tried to get the show in until after midnight before finally getting rained out and rescheduling to Tuesday.
The CLS WoO race is always a good one.
In addition to their World of Outlaws race I plan on attending the final night of the USA Nationals and the Jerry Richert Sr. Memorial IRA/Knoxville Challenge. These four events are my personal can't miss CLS races. These four races are my best bets for getting some good photos and video clips to share with you on this blog.
The field lines up for the USA Nationals finale at the Cedar Lake Speedway
Jerry Richert Sr. at Cedar Lake during a 1980's World of Outlaws race. This was one of my early attempts at action photography and one of my most prized photos. I stuck the lens of my old film camera through a hole in the fence to get this shot.
A couple events have fallen by the wayside on account of no longer being associated with a publication that can arrange access for certain events. Elko is one of the places I love to shoot, there's always plenty of action as you can see from this photo and the Outlaws will be making an appearance there in May. Unfortunately it isn't just the cost of a pit pass but it's one of the few tracks where paying to get in will not guarantee access to the infield. I'll have to see how things are going when May rolls around. Maybe I'll go down there and sit in the stands and catch a few photos of hot laps and time trials and some video clips. I could do some neat pit shots as well so we'll see. It's a matter of principle for me to put most of my emphasis on tracks that extend hospitality in appreciation for the PR and allow full access to take photos. I have to get the most bang for my buck so that's going to affect where and how often I attend races. One night of Elko WoO racing without a break at the gate will cost upwards of $75 and I can do three nights elsewhere for that same amount of money. I have to get the most out of what I have available and spend smart this season.
Elko offers plenty of high flying action so it's on my wish list.
This might sound a bit weird to hard core racing fans but one of the events I have enjoyed shooting is the Cedar Lake School Bus night. Usually some of the grandkids will come out for this one and the place is packed full of kids. School Bus night is another one of the casualties of my schedule change. It's a fun event to shoot but I've got to opt for getting the most bang out of my buck. SCVR has one of their Bullring Blasts on the same night as the buses so that is where I'll be this time around. The grandkids and my son will most likely be at CLS while I'm up at SCVR. The Meissner family has 'em covered!
Cedar Lake's School Bus night is always a fun deal. The kids love this event but the hard core race fans tend to shy away from it. I think sometimes we have to yield to the kids and put their fun ahead of our own.
Two more shows on my wish list are the Badger Midgets and the Micro Sprints at the Cedar Lake Arena. We'll just have to see what happens and take it from there. Jackson, Knoxville, Grand Forks and Sun Prairie are places I'd like to get back to as well. Unfortunately those tracks have been a bit of a stretch the past few seasons on account of the gas and motel expense. My son Les and talked it over and we want to try and get out on the road this summer to see something besides the local tracks.
Aside from the local racing there are a few other things I have been working on. I'm playing around with a 3d background program and brushing up on how to use the software. I've got some song ideas that I have been working on as well but I'm waiting to upgrade to a better guitar before I add the leads. That's still a couple months out and I'm very excited about the direction the music is going in. Admittedly I'm an old blues rock player with 60's roots and my stuff all has a distinct sound but it's getting much better within the confines of what I like to do and what I am capable of. In other words, my music sucks a little less than it did a couple of years ago. Like I tell people, I'm not good enough to make any money at anything but manage to do well enough that I don't want to quit.
Playing around with 3d graphics.
That's going to about wrap up this post. See you all soon and we'll talk about Florida racing and the coming season.
