theme is eclipse Talks 41

Where have I been? It seems like all I do nowadays is work. Who agrees that is all we do?? Stinks doesn’t it? Now my goal is to find someone to work Fridays and Saturdays for me. Working 2^nd shift is going to put a drag on my racing evenings. At least I have a weekend off every now and then.

Is everyone ready for the season to start? It sure seems like Mother Nature isn’t. Its cooler now then it has been. The storms a few weeks ago worry me a lot. Its not a good sign for the summer months. Fortunately we lucked out, just minor damage. But again I wonder, what happens if and when a Tornado hits a track during races. We saw the damage Atlanta Speedway received after the storm what would have happened if the stands were full.

Sadly two months into ‘racing season’ we already have tragedy. IRL driver Paul Dana was killed at Homestead Florida during practice for their 1^st race of the season. There have been four deaths at the Florida track, which is not very old.

I know its short but when we get to racing, I will be back!

See Ya at the Track!

How I’ve Missed This

The track at Farmer City is peaceful, only the music, the wind, and the occasional rev of an engine. Granted to hear this you have to get here early. Which this beautiful Friday, I did. Parked the ole Ford in turn 2, put Old Glory up and grabbed the NEW notebook. Now the cars are coming in, I see the s10 of Jr. Shickel over by the Coca-Cola scoreboard in turn 3. Other trailers are scattered in the pits.

Right now is the last calm time of the evening. In just a few moments crews and drivers will be worried of set ups to track conditions. Then where did they qualify will be the concern, after that what heat. Finally who is the crazy driver ahead of them, what was that noise in the front end, and how did I finish? For the fans here, these few seconds will be the last silence they hear until the ringing in their ears goes away.

5:19 pm – yes that shows how early it is. There comes Matt Bachman, modified driver of the #68. The flag is hitting me on the truck, maybe I will take it down, and actually it stays up all nite. Lisa Shickel just rolled in with her 15 team. If you read my article in “The National Dirt Digest”, she is hoping to continue growing in the sport. I am excited to see her improvements. I also hear big names, Weaver and Erb are here.

The front stretch stands- the only stands now are showing more people are here now. Maybe the show will start earlier, since like most tracks the city began a curfew of 11pm. Unlike last week’s 2:30 am ending time. Finally 6pm I hear the pit guy yelling for hot laps cars on the track NOW! And here they come Race Fans!

4 hours left 8 cars qualified so far. No clock on the scoreboard, which makes keeping track of times REALLY hard, especially since I can’t hear. 7:30 lets work the track some more. Fast time was 13.080 by the Racing Farmer Roger Long. Check out Racenut’s results on the other section.

So Steve Sheppard’s car broke going into the 4^th corner on the last lap to give the win to Richie Hedrick. Matt Taylor and Kevin Weaver both were really fast, Dennis Erb also was in the top 5 at the end..

Maybe being here tonite isn’t the wisest idea. I have been up for about 24 hours, due to my work schedule. It was warm earlier, but not now. Its windy, our American flag and the new firefighter flag are blowing towards the front stretch, east to west. Tonite show includes UMP late models, modifieds, sportsmen, and hornets. With an 11:30 curfew, I was incorrect last week. 6 hours to race all these cars, possible. Last week’s show seemed rushed but finished with time to spare. Shannon Babb just line up to come in, possibly for a practice for the May 12^th World of Outlaw race. $2000 to win normally is not enough to get the UMP Summer National Champ on the track. The pits are filling- the stands are not. $12 to get in on top of $2.89 for gas may be taking its toll on the race fan. Either way its 5:30 and there is a line to get into the pits. Weaver, Schlieper, Erb, and Babb are just a few cars here. Still only a few in the stands. I hope the clock is fixed, but it isn’t. I cannot believe that with a Summer National caliber race, there ar