(WOMR file photo)

As we enter the last weekend in May, the traditional start of summer, we will be feasting upon the greatest racing day of the year!

The morning  starts out with “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing”, the Indianapolis 500, from the hallowed grounds known as . . . → Read More: Memorial Weekend: The Greatest Racing Day Of The Year!]]>

(WOMR file photo)

As we enter the last weekend in May, the traditional start of summer, we will be feasting upon the greatest racing day of the year!

The Greatest Spectacle In Racing

The morning  starts out with “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing”, the Indianapolis 500, from the hallowed grounds known as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  This year there appears to be about 10 -12 drivers that have a legitimate shot at drinking the milk in Victory Lane.

Check out the starting line up for Sunday’s 97th running of the Indy 500.

You will notice that Team Penske has put all three of their drivers in the first two starting rows, as well as three of the four Andretti Autosport drivers!  On the pole is Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe.  The next two drivers to fill out the front row comes from the Andretti Autosport stables, that being the new Godaddy.com driver from Toronto, James Hinchcliffe.  On the outside of row one is another driver for Andretti Autosport, Ryan Hunter-Reay.

On the inside second row, again from Andretti Autosport, is the owner’s son, and Mario’s grandson, Marco Andretti.  Lining up in the middle of the row is Team Penske’s Will Power, the winingest IndyCar driver in 2012.  On the outside of row two is anther Team Penske driver, and three-time Indy 500 winner, Helio Castoneves!

The biggest surprise of Indy qualifying, and a big dark horse for the race, was where one of the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing drivers starts for the race.  The rookie, Josef Newgarden, put his car on the inside of row three.  The next two spots on the row three belong to KV Racing, the owners being Kevin Kalkovin and former IndyCar racer, Jimmy Vasser.  Those two KV Racing drivers are, the IndyCar veterans Tony Kanaan, and E.J. Viso.

Out of the starting 33 drivers, there are only 6 American drivers in the field!  The  American with the best shot of drinking the milk in Victory Lane this year most likely is Marco Andretti.  Having said that, there is the “Andretti Stigma”!  Both his father, Michael, and his grandfather, Mario, have been known to blister the rest of the field in many of their races at Indy, however, only Mario was able to drive into Victory Lane back in 1969.  That year Mario was driving for the legendary, “Mr. 500″, Andy Granatelli.

The one driver that I am keeping an eye on is rookie Bryan Clauson, driving the other Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Indy car.  I have watched Bryan wheel midgets and sprint cars at Knoxville, Oscaloosa, and Belleville, off and on for the last five years, and he is a very talented race car driver.  He even had “a cup of coffee” in the Nationwide Series a couple of years ago with Chip Ganassi.  Even though Clauson is in Indy 500 this year, it is still with a small under-funded team, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, with really no chance of wining the Indy 500.  Nevertheless, he has his foot in the door, and this year could be his audition for a better team in the future!

My pick for the 2012 Indy 500 is three-time Indy 500 winner, Helio Castroneves!

The Night Cap

Not long after the conclusion of the Indy 500, the focus moves Southeast to the center of the NASCAR world, Charlotte, NC.  The longest race of the NASCAR season, the Coca Cola 600, will take the green flag at the Charlotte Motor Speedway late in the afternoon, and race late into the night.

Qualifying for the Coca Cola 600 will get under way this Thursday at 7 pm EST.  However, if the All-Star race was any indication as to who will be strong for the race, the following drivers and teams may be “letting the big dog eat” Sunday night!

The driver that is now a whole lot richer after his All-Star victory is  “Mr. Five-Time”, Jimmie Johnson.  Looking equally as strong Saturday night was his team-mate Dale Earnhardt, Jr., wining the fourth segment and finishing 5th overall.  “Blazingly Bad” Brad Keselowski finished second to Johnson in the “money segment”, as well as wining segment three.  Matt Kenseth finished third overall, but won the second segment.  As a note, ol Kylie Busch seemed to have a very strong horse, and therefore, do not count out “The Shrub” Sunday, either.

As a member of JUNIOR NATION, and seeing that the Hendrick Motorsports Diet Mtn. Dew #88 Chevy was a strong horse in all five segments, I am thinking that Dale Jr, has a very good chance to break out of his extremely long winless drought!   Go #88!

However, if I was a betting man, I would put the farm in the back seat of the #48 Lowe’s Chevy!  In the final segment, the money race, Johnson was just too fast for the competition to deal with Saturday night.  I think that “Mr. Five-Time” is back!

I would like to leave you with just one thought

This weekend let us not forget what this holiday is really all about.  It is a time that we should all be grateful to, and remember all of, our brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, and grandparents who fought for our freedom so that we could enjoy this weekend of the greatest racing of the year!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Check out this Kieth Urban video and listen to the lyrics!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJLcClIH72o

(photo courtesy of tommytarlton.com)

Last Saturday night I took both of my sons, Jason and Jeremy, as well as my grandson, Cole, to the Tulare Thunderbowl in Tulare, CA, the place where this old redneck was born, to watch The King of the West Series sprint car races.  As you all know, . . . → Read More: King Of The West Sprint Car Racing At Tulare]]>

(photo courtesy of tommytarlton.com)

Last Saturday night I took both of my sons, Jason and Jeremy, as well as my grandson, Cole, to the Tulare Thunderbowl in Tulare, CA, the place where this old redneck was born, to watch The King of the West Series sprint car races.  As you all know, I will do what ever I can, any place, any where, any time, to “work on my redneck”!  Therefore, being in Fresno for the week lended itself to a great night at the race track.

The venue for night was three divisions of racing.  There was the 410 cubic inch wingless sprint cars, the 410 cubic inch winged sprint cars, and the IMCA modifieds slinging dirt and hauling the mail!

Many of the marquee names in the NorCal winged, and non-winged, sprint car community was on hand.  Among the premier drivers of this region that raced were the three Keadings, “King Of the West” Brent Keading, and sons Tim and Bud, who are equally as fast as the old man.  Additionally competing at this event was Jonathan Allard, Oregon favorite Roger Crockett, local favorite Tommy Tarlton, and Kyle Larson.

Notwithstanding the “royalty” that was in attendance, the class of the field, in both wingless and the winged sprint cars, was a skinny little 19-year-old kid from Elk Grove, CA  named Kyle Larson.  He really put on a racing clinic for both the fans as well as his fellow race car drivers!

Larson was able to go to Victory Lane in both the winged and wingless sprint car features Friday night!  Not only has he put all the West Coast drivers on notice that he is a factor to be reckoned with, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has put Kyle under contract as their developmental driver!  He will drive in the K&N East Series in selected races this year, as well as the full season in the K&N East Series next year for EGR.

For the young skinny kid with a heavy right foot, it was quite a driving performance.  In both sprint car divisions Larson gave the fans, and his fellow drivers, a lesson in dirt track racing!

For all the local fans of Tommy Tarlton, he, too, had a very good evening of racing.  He was very fast in his heat, and finished third in the A Main behind Kyle Larson, and Jonathon Allard.

Even though a night of racing is a night of racing at many of the country’s dirt tracks, there was one really cool feature that the promoter did that I found was very unusual, and quite interesting.  The neatest part of the whole evening was the way that Tulare Thunderbowl ran the dash.  Instead of lining up the four fastest qualifiers and the four heat winners in order, they allowed each driver to pick an envelope.  That envelope had a number, 1-8, inside of it.  Then they allowed each driver to either keep his envelope or trade it with another driver for his envelope!  It is a way for a driver to get into a fellow competitor’s head before the race!!  Then they ran the dash, and the way they finished the dash is the way that those 8 racers lined up in the first eight spots for the A main!

A really cool touch!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(WOMR file photo)

Sometime ago in the previous century, Charles Davis, Jr. made a trip to Yuma to race at the former Yuma Speedway.  He can’t remember just exactly what year it was, however, he will not forget his Saturday night visit to this race track!

In the night’s showcase event, the . . . → Read More: Wingless Sprinters Sling Some Mud At Cocopah Speedway]]>

(WOMR file photo)

Sometime ago in the previous century, Charles Davis, Jr. made a trip to Yuma to race at the former Yuma Speedway.  He can’t remember just exactly what year it was, however, he will not forget his Saturday night visit to this race track!

In the night’s showcase event, the sprint car feature, a first-lap crash forced a complete restart, and Yuma’s Mike Martin took advantage of the opportunity to blast off from his starting position outside the second row, past Davis, Roa and pole sitter Dalten Gabbard and into the lead.

Martin then held the advantage for seven laps before Davis was able to reel him back in and get around him.

“The track was getting pretty thin and I knew I had to make my move before it got too much thinner,” said Davis, “because he wasn’t giving me any room to pass.”

The Buckeye, AZ veteran sprint car racer led laps 8 through lap 24.  On lap 24, as the white flag flew,  Brody Roa drove his sprinter deep into turn #1, slid up in front of Davis to take the lead, and mashing “the loud pedal” to the floor, thought that he had pulled the move of the race on Davis.

Not so fast my friend!

Davis must have been thinking, as the duo dove into turn #3.  One good moves deserves another, and Davis was able to return that “San Jose Slide Job” to Roa!  Davis’ “bonsai” move in the last turn of the race proved successful for Davis, and allowed him to grab the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV Canyon Region A Main victory Saturday at Cocopah Speedway.

“I don’t know where Roa was running but he did a hell of job,” said Davis. “I was really surprised when he got that shot coming off of (Turn 2). I said, “Wow! I didn’t expect that.”

“This is a good, high-speed deal,” said a sweat-soaked Davis afterward from victory lane. “l love this race track! I love it!”

Brody Roa’s version of the last lap

“I either had to get it done (in Turns 1 and 2) or just sit back there,” said Roa afterward.

“I tried to block him down the back straight but I couldn’t get underneath him,” added Roa, who is not a regular in the ASCS Canyon Series.

Tommy Deffern shines

On the night’s under-card, the Street Stock Division, Brawley’s Tommy Deffern undoubtedly past more cars than probably the whole field combined on his road to victory!  While battling Yuma’s Bobby Horton for the lead near the midpoint of the race, Deffern was caught up in a wreck with some lapped traffic.  Unfortunately, Deffern was sent to the rear of the field for the restart.  Deffern steadily sliced his way through the field, like a warm knife through butter, to find Horton and Alopho Noriega fighting for the lead.

Deffern maneuvered his way around both Horton and Noriega for the win in the Street Stock Division!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(WOMR file photo)

Three former winners and seven rookies, including Indiana boy Bryan Clauson living his “surreal dream”, bracket the list of drivers named to 34 entries filed for the 2012 Indianapolis 500.

The 96th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is scheduled for Sunday, May 27, at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis . . . → Read More: The 2012 Indy 500 Entry List]]>

(WOMR file photo)

Three former winners and seven rookies, including Indiana boy Bryan Clauson living his “surreal dream”, bracket the list of drivers named to 34 entries filed for the 2012 Indianapolis 500.

The 96th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is scheduled for Sunday, May 27, at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of the Dan Wheldon’s improbable final-lap victory over rookie JR Hildebrand last May. Wheldon scored his second Indy 500 win when Hildebrand crashed in Turn 4 on the final lap. It was the highlight of a star-crossed season for Wheldon, the 33-year-old Englishman who was fatally injured in a multiple-car crash during the season-ender at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16.  Unfortunately, yours truly was present for that final race at Las Vegas!

All drivers will compete in the new Dallara DW12 chassis, named in honor of test driver Wheldon, that debuted at the start of this season. The Indianapolis 500 will be the first oval race for the new car.

In addition, engine competition returns to IMS for the first time since 2005 with 2.2-liter turbocharged V-6 engines supplied by Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus. Chevrolet and Honda each will field 14 entries, with Lotus powering six. The distinctive sound of turbocharged engines will return to the 500 for the first time since 1996, inaugural year of the Indy Racing League.

Past Indy 500 winners on the entry list

Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009) leads the list of past winners, which also includes Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dario Franchitti (2007, 2010) and Scott Dixon (2008). Castroneves will attempt to become the fourth four-time winner of the race, joining A.J. Foyt Jr., Al Unser and Rick Mears. Franchitti, meanwhile, will try to become just the 10th driver to earn at least three Indianapolis 500 victories

Past IndyCar champions

IndyCar Series champions assigned to cars include Dixon (2003, 2008), Franchitti (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011) and KV Racing Technology w/SH’s Tony Kanaan (2004). Four-time Champ Car World Series champion Sebastien Bourdais also will attempt to make his first Indianapolis 500 start since 2005.

The rookie class

The rookie class of seven drivers features the most experienced Formula One driver in history, Rubens Barrichello, and past Firestone Indy Lights champions Wade Cunningham and Josef Newgarden. Other rookies assigned to cars are reigning/two-time USAC National Driver’s Champion Bryan Clauson, James Jakes, Katherine Legge and 2010 American Le Mans Series champion Simon Pagenaud.

Clauson has been hired by Sarah Fisher and Wink Hartman to drive the #39 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing/RW Dallara/Honda. Clauson, of Noblesville, Ind., will be teammate to American Josef Newgarden of Nashville, Tenn., fulltime driver of the #67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Dallara/Honda. Clauson and Newgarden were teammates in Firestone Indy Lights in 2011.

Clauson won back-to-back USAC National Driver’s Championships in 2010-11 for his performance in all three major USAC open-wheel divisions. He also won the USAC National Midget Championship in 2010 and 2011 and has scored more than 26 USAC wins.

In addition, Clauson had four top-five finishes in Firestone Indy Lights racing in 2011, when he earned a Mazda Road to Indy Scholarship for winning the USAC National Driver’s Championship. His best finish was third at Iowa Speedway for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

The 96th Indy 500 Entry list

Entry list for the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500, with car number, driver, hometown, car name, engine and entrant:

2-Ryan Briscoe, Sydney, Australia IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet Team Penske

3-Helio Castroneves (W), Sao Paulo, Brazil Shell V-Power/Pennzoil Ultra Team Penske Chevrolet Team Penske

4-JR Hildebrand, Sausalito, Calif. National Guard Panther Racing Chevrolet Panther Racing

5-E.J. Viso, Caracas, Venezuela CITGO/ PDVSA KV Racing Technology Chevrolet KV Racing Technology

6-Katherine Legge (R), Guildford, England TrueCar-Dragon Racing Lotus Dragon Racing

7-Sebastien Bourdais, Le Mans, France Dragon Racing Lotus Dragon Racing

8-Rubens Barrichello (R), Sao Paulo, Brazil BMC/Embrase KV Racing Technology Chevrolet KV Racing Technology

9-Scott Dixon (W), Auckland, New Zealand Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Target Chip Ganassi Racing

10- Dario Franchitti (W), Edinburgh, Scotland Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Target Chip Ganassi Racing

11- Tony Kanaan, Salvador, Brazil GEICO/Mouser Electronics KVRT Chevrolet KV Racing Technology w/SH

12- Will Power, Toowoomba, Australia Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet Team Penske

14- Mike Conway, Bromley, England ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing Honda A.J. Foyt Enterprises

15- Takuma Sato, Tokyo Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan

17- Sebastian Saavedra, Bogota, Colombia Team AFS Chevrolet AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport

18-Justin Wilson, Sheffield, England Sonny’s BBQ Honda Dale Coyne Racing

19-James Jakes (R), Leeds, England Boy Scouts of America Honda Dale Coyne Racing

20-Ed Carpenter, Indianapolis Fuzzy’s Vodka /Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet Ed Carpenter Racing

21-TBA Chevrolet Ed Carpenter Racing

22-Oriol Servia, Pals, Spain Lotus-Dreyer & Reinbold Lotus Lotus-DRR

25-Ana Beatriz, Sao Paulo, Brazil Team Ipiranga Chevrolet Andretti Autosport/Conquest Racing

26-Marco Andretti, Nazareth, Pa. Team RC Cola Chevrolet Andretti Autosport

27-James Hinchcliffe, Toronto Team GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Andretti Autosport

28-Ryan Hunter-Reay, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda Chevrolet Andretti Autosport

38-Graham Rahal, New Albany, Ohio Service Central Honda Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing

39-Bryan Clauson (R), Noblesville, Ind. Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing/RW Honda Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing

41-Wade Cunningham (R), Auckland, New Zealand ECat/ABC Supply Honda A.J. Foyt Racing

45-TBA Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan

67-Josef Newgarden (R), Hendersonville, Tenn. Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing

77-Simon Pagenaud (R), Poitiers, France Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports Honda Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports

78-Simona de Silvestro, Thun, Switzerland Nuclear Clean Air Energy Lotus HVM Racing Lotus Lotus-HVM Racing

83-Charlie Kimball, Camarillo, Calif. NovoLog FlexPen Honda Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing

98-Alex Tagliani, Lachenaie, Canada Team Barracuda-BHA Lotus Bryan Herta Autosport w/Curb-Agajanian

99-TBA BraunAbility-Schmidt Pelfrey Motorsports Honda Sam Schmidt Motorsports

TBA TBA Lotus-Newman Haas Racing Lotus Newman/Haas Racing

All 34 cars are 2012 Dallara DW12 chassis with Firestone tires.

(W) _ Denotes Indianapolis 500 winner

(R) _ Denotes Chase Rookie of the Year Candidate

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(Jim Hall’s Chaparral 2J, “The Sucker”)

As a young kid watching racing in the 60′s, I remember seeing these new innovative designed sports cars, the Chaparral, driven by the duo of Jim Hall and Hap Sharp.  The first Chaparral that I remember seeing had this weird huge blade/wing above the rear end . . . → Read More: Jim Hall Honored At Long Beach]]>

(Jim Hall’s Chaparral 2J, “The Sucker”)

As a young kid watching racing in the 60′s, I remember seeing these new innovative designed sports cars, the Chaparral, driven by the duo of Jim Hall and Hap Sharp.  The first Chaparral that I remember seeing had this weird huge blade/wing above the rear end that would plane out during acceleration, and flip-up like a huge board, creating drag, and act as a speed brake when the brake pedal was depressed.  I had to “look” twice, it was the strangest thing that I had ever seen!

Jim Hall remembers the first time he saw “the look”.  The one on the faces of fellow road racing competitors and race officials when he would first roll out a race car that was so thoroughly innovative that it would obviate just about everything else in the paddocks.

“The first time I saw it,” Hall said during a telephone conversation Tuesday evening, “was when we brought the high-winged 2E car to Can Am races in 1966. People looked at it and went, ‘Wow’. And then they would start to kind of grumble.”

Hall, one of the co-founders of Chaparral Cars, was confronted by that reaction a lot during his days as a sports car designer. He produced so many innovative, now iconic, racing machines during the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, that the way it sounds now, he almost got used to “the look”.

And then the grumbles.

But apparently any hard feelings generated in the paddocks and on the tracks during those days have long-since dissipated because on Thursday night, Hall, as part of pre-race festivities at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, will be honored by his peers in the Road Racing Drivers Club by way of the RRDC Evening with Jim Hall.

No doubt the subjects of moveable wings mounted on suspensions, ground effects and the “vacuum car” will all be brought up that evening.

And from the sound of it, Hall kind of wishes he would be remembered more for a driving career which encompassed running everything from sports cars at places like Sebring to Formula 1 cars at places like The Nurburg Ring. Hall says he thinks of himself as “a pretty fair driver”.

But it was the engineering – albeit married to his experiences in the driver’s seat – that has defined Hall’s racing career.

Hall was one of the first to formally study the physics of speed and then incorporate massive amounts of engineering into the cars that he and Chaparral co-founder Hap Sharp built in the second half of the 20th Century

Hall, now 76, was formally trained as an engineer. At Cal Tech, no less. But his first interest in racing cars was the driving part. The part, he said, that was “the most fun.”

But it was the engineering – albeit married to his experiences in the driver’s seat – that has defined Hall’s racing career.

“The teams that we ran against in those days, a lot of times didn’t have development engineers,” Hall, who still lives in the Chaparral-base city of Midland, Texas, said. “They had people who designed the cars and built them, but the racing teams weren’t full of engineering talent so that, the birth of Chaparral race cars, may be about when that started.”

“People recognized the significance of having somebody with an engineering discipline to help the team solve the problems. In my case, it was really a good system because I was a designer, I was a driver and I was a development engineer. What ya call that is a tight feedback group”, Hall recalled.

The 2E slotted for the Can Am Series, with its huge wing that sloped for corners and straightened out for high speed in straightaways and which was mounted high above the rear wheels, was the first of the hugely innovative Chaparrals.

It was the car that gave birth to “The Look”, as I alluded to in the opening paragraph.

The 2J is the legendary “sucker car”. It had two engines. One to power the vehicle’s rear wheels and another, smaller two-stroke snowmobile engine to power two huge reverse fans at the rear of the car. When activated, the fans would suck air from the underside of the heavily-skirted car to create a vacuum. Sort of a hovercraft in reverse, the vacuum would suck the car downward and provide an estimated additional downforce of about 1,000 pounds.

Competitors and Can Am officials thought it just plain sucked.

“The 2J was, of course, a very, very different car,” Hall said. “It created quite a stir when it showed up. It was obvious to everybody to be quite fast because it would go through the slow turns so much faster than the other cars because it held its download through the slow corners.”

It had another characteristic, as well. One that produced the grumbles.

“It also managed to spew out some stuff out of the back of it,” Hall said. “Although I didn’t think any of it was very important – and the fans’ velocity were not such that it would pick up anything very big and throw it out the back; it would throw out dust and small particles out the back and sand and dust and small particles came off other cars, too – but I don’t think it was a huge thing.

“But that was the first thing we heard. “Oh, wow, it’s throwing all this stuff out onto the track.’ Of course all that stuff came off the track in the first place. I don’t think that was a legitimate complaint. I think that what the shock was to everybody was how fast it would actually run.”

The 2J was quickly banned because of pressure on the series from other teams and it never won a race.

That, more than 40 years down the road, still hurts Hall.

Hall made 11 starts in Formula One between 1960-63, and raced in the SCCA Trans-Am, USRRC and Can-Am Series in the 1960s and ‘70s, winning the 1964 USRRC championship. Competing in World Championship Endurance Racing against the might of Ford and Ferrari, the Chaparral 2D won the 1966 Nurburgring 1000, followed by the Chaparral 2F winning the 1967 BOAC 500.

As a team-owner in the Championship Auto Racing Teams, Hall won the 1978 Indy 500 with Al Unser. In 1979, Hall debuted the Chaparral 2K, Indy-car racing’s first ground-effects car. Fellow-Texan Johnny Rutherford drove the “Yellow Submarine” to his third Indy 500 victory and CART and U.S. Auto Club championships in 1980.

Hall left CART and open-wheel racing in 1982, then returned to the sport in 1991 with driver John Andretti. Hall was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth in 2005.

Hall, 76, retired from racing altogether in 1996. He continues to reside in Midland, remaining active in the oil and gas business, and motorsports racing legacies topped by the meticulous restoration of his race cars.

So it very fitting that The Road Racing Drivers Club honors such an innovative and leading edge creator, Jim Hall.  He made some extremely brilliant contributions to the entire racing world.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(WOMR file photo)

Tuesday night I made my first appearance at Volusia Speedway Park for the super late models, UMP modifieds and a dose of the big block modifieds.  For those who have  never made a trip to this race track, let me tell you that this half mile dirt track has . . . → Read More: A Night At Volusia Speedway]]>

(WOMR file photo)

Tuesday night I made my first appearance at Volusia Speedway Park for the super late models, UMP modifieds and a dose of the big block modifieds.  For those who have  never made a trip to this race track, let me tell you that this half mile dirt track has one of the fastest racing surfaces that I have personally witnessed.  This facility has a very long and storied history.  At this time of the year, Volusia attracts the premier racers from the World of Outlaws late models, sprint cars,  the UMP modifiers, and this year cars from the northeast ranks in the big block modifieds!

Last night was the culmination in two events, the late models and the UMP modifiers. along with the start of the four-day big block modifieds.

In the late models main event, now stop me id you have heard this before, it was “Mr. Smooth”, Billly Moyer, Sr. who showed the rest of the field the fastest, and the shortest way around this track.  Moyer continued the trend that he set just last month at Tucson’s USA Speedway.  Following Moyer to the checkered flag was Darrell Lanigan, Steve Francis, Rick Eckert, Dennis Erb,Jr., Jimmy Mars, Shannon Babb, Tim McCreadie, Janathon Davenport, and rounding out the top ten was Frankie Hickenast, Jr.

Tuesday night was also the last night of the UMP modified racing during the Dirt Nationals.  The modified ranks Tuesday night also included a few drivers from  NASCAR.  Some of those drivers include Kenny Wallace, Kenny Schrader, and Austin Dillon just to mention a few.  When the checkered flag flew Tuesday night the race winner wads the 2011 Camping World Series champion, Austin Dillon.  Chasing him was his younger brother, Ty Dillon, who will be assuming his big brother’s ride in the Camping World Trucks this season.  Close on the Dillon brother’s heels was Devin Gilpin, Kyle Bronson, Kenny Schrader, and Kenny Wallace, who was the series point leader prior to this evening.

After the checkered flag flew, and the total points were calculated the series winner was Ty Dillon with 461 points, followed by big brother Austin Dillon with 436 points, with Kenny Wallace finishing third with 434 points.

For those who are dirt track race fans, and who never have been to Volusia Speedway, if given the opportunity, it should be on your bucket list!  The race track is wide, smooth, and extremely fast!  The racing is fast and furious!

As an additional side note, after arriving at Volusia Speedway for the second night of our visit, the Florida rain cut loose and washed out my second night of dirt track racing!  Oh well………..

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(Photo courtesy of the Rolex GRAND-AM Sports Car Racing Series)

It has been a long, long time, since A.J. Almendinger visited Victory Lane. In fact, “The Dinger” has not won a race since his days in the Champ Car Series, five years ago.  However, the brand new Penske Racing driver of the . . . → Read More: The Dinger Rings In The New Year With The Rolex 24]]>

(Photo courtesy of the Rolex GRAND-AM Sports Car Racing Series)

It has been a long, long time, since A.J. Almendinger visited Victory Lane. In fact, “The Dinger” has not won a race since his days in the Champ Car Series, five years ago.  However, the brand new Penske Racing driver of the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge has inaugurated 2012 with a win in the 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway!  What a time to shine, with all the media covering the golden anniversary of this event!

Almendinger drove his #60 Michael Shank Racing Ford-powered Riley Daytona Prototype to a 5.1- second victory over the second-place #8 Starworks Motorsports Riley Ford which was driven at the end by Ryan Dalziel.

Finishing third  and on the lead lap was Allmendinger’s sister Michael Shank Ford Riley, which was driven in the final stint by Felipe Nasr.

Sharing the seat with Allmendinger were John Pew, longtime mentor and friend,Oswaldo Negri, and IndyCar driver Justin Wilson.

“This is for Shank, man,” Allmendinger said afterward, referring to his owner, who got his first 24 victory.

Winning the GT class was the #44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3. At the wheel on the final stint was Richard Lietz.

Could this be the beginning of an ascending Sprint Cup career for The Dinger?  There is no doubt that A.J. has moved up in quality of equipment in the Sprint Cup series with his move over to Penske Racing.  This could be the greatly needed shot in the arm for The Dinger.  Let’s see what the Bud Shootout holds for the driver of the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(WOMR file photo)

So guys, stop me if you have heard this one. Billy Moyer,Sr. has now won three of the first five A mains in the 2012 Wild West Shootout for Late Models!  So far in this year’s show, . . . → Read More: Billy Moyer,Sr. Wins Again At The Wild West Shootout]]>

Getting ready for a night of dirt tracking' @ USA Raceway

(WOMR file photo)

So guys, stop me if you have heard this one. Billy Moyer,Sr. has now won three of the first five A mains in the 2012 Wild West Shootout for Late Models!  So far in this year’s show, Moyer has shown why he has won 755 A main events over the duration of his fabled Late Model career.  Moyer started from the outside of the front row, and it only took two laps for “Mr. Smooth” to drive around the leader, Jeff Provinzin, never to be challenged for the remainder of the race!

Following Moyer across the finish line was Provinzin in second, John Kirby running third, Terry Phillips,and rounding out the top five was Don Shaw.

Waiting to get on the track

(WOMR file photo)

On the modified side of The Wild West Shootout, it was Stormy Scott, who once again, showed the rest of the modifiers the fastest and shortest way around USA Raceway.  Even though Scott had a very serious challenge from RC Whitwell, who started along side of Scott on the front row, Scott was able to keep a very comfortable margin separating himself from Whitwell.

Trailing Scott and Whitwell to the finish line was Jason Hughes in third, Ronny Sanders, and rounding out the top five was Johnny Scott, Stormy Scott’s twin brother!

Over the past nine days, the level of competition at USA Raceway has been outstanding.  While all the rest of the country is experiencing the throes of winter, Tucson,AZ,  has been enjoying clear skies, temperatures in the low 70′s, and some extremely hot racing!

The Wild West Shootout culminates tomorrow with a Sunday afternoon shootout!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(WOMR file photo)

While most of the rest of the USA is suffering from either extreme cold, snow, or rain, here in Tucson the sun was shining, the temperature was balmy 71 degrees, and the best late model racers were getting ready to put on a world class race clinic for the . . . → Read More: Billy Moyer, Sr. Wins Night #4 Of the Wild West Shootout]]>

(WOMR file photo)

While most of the rest of the USA is suffering from either extreme cold, snow, or rain, here in Tucson the sun was shining, the temperature was balmy 71 degrees, and the best late model racers were getting ready to put on a world class race clinic for the race fans!

The warm sunshine was only a precursor for what was to happen on the 4th night of The Wild West Shootout.  As the sun was setting in the west, the race cars rolled out on the track, and the drivers began to mash on the “loud pedal”.

The late model A main was won by extremely fast, and silky smooth Billy Moyer,Sr.  Moyer started on the outside front row, along side of T-Mac, Tim McCreadie.  For the first two laps those two were running door-handle to door-handle.  However, it was Moyer who was able to slowly drive away from McCreadie, and established a comfortable lead for the entire 30 lap race.

Following McCreadie in the late model A main, was Will Vaught in third place, Brad Looney finishing in fourth place, and rounding out the top five was Shannon Babb.

Not to be over showed was the modified A main this Friday night.  The winner of Friday night’s modified race was Stormy Scott.  Following Stormy Scott to the checkered flag was Johnny Scott.  Finishing in third place was Aaron Turnbull, followed by Dereck Ramirez, and filling out the top five was Fito Gallardo, all from Las Cruces, NM!

So with just two races left in this year’s Wild West Shootout here in Tucson, the racing is getting as hot as the Georgia asphalt in the middle of July!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Late Model in the pits @ USA Raceway

(WOMR file photo)

The first two races of the  Wild West Shootout are in the record books. This was only the first two races of the Wild West Shootout.  The annual event hosts some of the best drivers throughout the USA, as well . . . → Read More: The First Weekend Of The Wild West Shootout]]>

Late Model in the pits @ USA Raceway

(WOMR file photo)

The first two races of the  Wild West Shootout are in the record books. This was only the first two races of the Wild West Shootout.  The annual event hosts some of the best drivers throughout the USA, as well as Canada.  The Wild West Shootout races consist of six races spread out over a ten-day period.

Billy Moyer, Sr. and Tim Mc Creadie struck gold at the USA Raceway in Tucson, AZ.

Even though the beginning of the races were delayed for two hours, it didn’t dampen  the anticipation of the beginning of the winter race for all the devoted race fans.  On Saturday afternoon/evening, the Batesville, AR native, Billy Moyer, Sr. out-ran and out-drove the field of 24 late models to capture the A main in the first night of the annual Wild West Shootout in the warm southern Arizona sun.  Moyer manipulated his #21 Victory Circle chassis through the field like a warm knife going through a stick of butter!  Once again showing that he is sell not past his racing prime!

On Sunday afternoon, under threatening skies, it was the young gun of Watertown, NY native, T-Mac, better known as Tim Mc Creadie, who was able to power  through, and around ,his contemporaries to work his way to the lead in the final stages of the 30 lap A main.  By skillfully maneuvering his late-model into the lead, McCreadie was able to pocket a cool $5,000.00 for his Sunday afternoon work day!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!