Jamie Christian told me about his struggles in the Modified this year at the Utica Rome Speedway. Bob Henry Jr. explained how he recently lost his brakes and how important they are at Utica Rome. A.J. Kingsley talked about how he ended up in a different Sportsman car Saturday at Fulton. Gregg and Geoff Carner tell me how they work together to keep their Sportsman car on the track. Stewart Garrison evaluates how his 2009 Sportsman season has been going at Fulton Speedway. Tana Robinson previews tomorrow night’s Super DIRT Car Series event at Ransomville Speedway. Rich Vleck reports on last weekends ASCS Patriot Sprint Car show at Stateline and looks ahead. Dean Reynolds gets ready for a 3 race Empire Super Sprints weekend at Can Am and Utica Rome.
I had a somewhat busy day on Wednesday as I recorded some new interviews and did the voice tracks for the next edition of Hot Wings TV. This one is a good one too as this is the ASCS Patriot race from a few weeks back at Canandaigua. We have been fortunate on back to back shows now as we have had last corner passes for the win in each event. This latest one begins airing on Time Warner Sports in the second week of July, so check out www.hotwingstv.com to see when they are on TV in your area.
I was hoping to go golfing today but the weather may prevent that from happening. And hopefully if there is rain today, it will not be significant as the speedways of Central New York can not take much more moisture. Keep your fingers crossed for that and be sure to use our Track Links Page to see what it is doing at your favorite speedway as this never ending weather system continues to affect us.
I’m not sure what I will be doing tomorrow as everything is so iffy right now. I may just stay home and get ready to announce Saturday at Fonda. I also noticed that Weedsport is off on Sunday so I may just head back to Utica Rome as we did not get everything in last week. I’ll keep you posted on my decision.
Now let’s chat more about what is new on the Audio Page for today. First up, I offer up some of my chats from Sunday in Vernon. Jamie Christian told me about his struggles in the Modified division this year at the Utica Rome Speedway. He also talked about detuning his motor a little, explained how that hurt him eleven days ago and wondered if we would get the show in or not. Bob Henry Jr. explained how he recently lost his brakes on the track and how important they are at Utica Rome. He also talked about a recent front end collapse he had, how much better he did the next week and how stiff he competition level was this past Sunday. A.J. Kingsley talked about how he ended up in a different Sportsman car last Saturday at the Fulton Speedway. He told me how the deal came together, how much work it took to make sure the car was okay and how long it has been since he has been in a standard cage. Gregg and Geoff Carner tell me how they work together to keep their Sportsman car on the track. They also talked about how they got started in racing, how much work they have to do to fix some damage from last week and how tight they are away from the speedway. Stewart Garrison evaluates how his 2009 Sportsman season has been going at the Fulton Speedway. He also told me about the track he was just on in hot laps on Saturday, how happy he is with his new chassis and thanked the good people who make it possible for him to race. Tana Robinson previews tomorrow night’s Super DIRT Car Series event at the Ransomville Speedway. She runs down all the specifics for the event, tells me which local drivers could be strong in this one and reminds everyone about the other things you can do in town on this holiday weekend. Rich Vleck reports on last weekends ASCS Patriot Sprint Car show at Stateline and looks ahead to Friday night at Ohsweken. He also told me about the tight battle at the top of the point standings and runs down some other big shows that will be coming up within the next two months.
Dean Reynolds gets ready for a three race weekend with the Empire Super Sprints as they visit Can Am on Friday and Saturday as well as Utica Rome on Sunday. He told me who traditionally does well at these tracks, how Can Am turned into a two day event and how tight the series point standings are right now.
Tony Veneziano reports on the World of Outlaw Sprint Car races from Knoxville and US 36. Terry McCarl talked about his Outlaw win at Knoxville and looked ahead to Friday at Husets. Jeff Trombley told me why he loaded up to take his Modified to Utica Rome Speedway on Sunday. Jason Occhino remembered his Sportsman crash at Fulton and wondered how soon he’ll be back. Gregg Kimball told me how he won his first ever Sportsman race and how much he likes the car. Jeremy Vunk evaluated how his 2009 season has been going in the Sportsman class at Utica Rome.
It was another dark and story day in central New York and we are all hoping that this weather system gets out of here in time for the weekend. We had some heavy rain in the afternoon and the forecast for the next few days sounds very similar to what we had today.
In between errands and kid things, I was able to record four new chats in the home studio. Three of those are up today and the other one I will use for my article in the Syracuse Post Standard. So that story and the interview to go with it will both come out tomorrow.
Today I will be back in the studio during the afternoon hours and then later tonight we will voice the latest tracks for the Hot Wings TV show from Canandaigua. Of course the one from Utica Rome with Jessica’s last lap pass for the win is airing now on Time Warner Cable affiliates all over the state. Just go to www.hotwingsTV.com to see when they air in your area.
Getting ready for some late nigh racing tonight as I buddy of mine is stopping by after practice. We are still hooked on Need for Speed Undercover as I have already finished it twice. We are now working on our cars to get them faster so we can go online. If you are doing some on line racing with your PS3, then send me an email at doug@dougsdirtdiary.com. Of course we don’t do NASCAR online as that is all about set ups. Without good set ups, you cannot win no matter how good you are. Of course if somebody wants to send me a set up…well we’ll see.
Now let’s chat more about what is new on the Audio Page. I begin with a requested interview. Tony Veneziano reports on the World of Outlaw Sprint CarSeries races from last weekend at Knoxville and US 36 Raceway. He told me about the wonderful show the fans were treated to on Friday night, the huge car counts on Saturday and how one second generation driver is enjoying a streak of top four finishes. Terry McCarl talked about his World of Outlaw Sprint Car win Saturday at Knoxville and how he “outmechaniced” the car on Friday at US 36. He also told me about his plans to run with the series again on Friday, explained why he is enjoying his season as he jumps from track to track and looked ahead to the Front Row Challenge in August. Jeff Trombley told me why he loaded up to take his Modified to Utica Rome Speedway on Sunday after three straight rainouts at his Saturday home. He also talked about the surface he just hot lapped in Vernon, how desperate he is to do some racing and evaluated how his season is going at each of his weekly stops. Jason Occhino remembered his Sportsman crash at Fulton and wondered how much work it will take to get the car back to the speedway. He described what happened, why he is more optimistic about his return than he was initially and how his Hans Device may have saved him from getting injured. Good luck getting back Jason! Gregg Kimball told me how he won his first ever Sportsman race recently at the Fulton Speedway and how surprised he was that it happened so quickly. He also told me who helped with some valuable set up information, what he hoped would happen later on and how much he is learning both driver wise and set up wise. Jeremy Vunk evaluated how his 2009 season has been going in the Sportsman class at Utica Rome. He talked about the rain delay they had 11 days ago, how slick the surface has been so far and how well things are going with his racing equipment. When you get the chance, ask Jeremy why we had to do a take two. See what I mean about me being brain dead sometimes!
Harvey Fink evaluates how the season has gone so far at Brewerton and Fulton Speedways. Tom Sears Jr. talked about the extra pressure you can feel when it’s your sponsor’s night. Ryan Odasz told me about rainy Saturdays and why he towed to Utica Rome Speedway on Sunday. Greg Birosh explained how he picked up his first ever DIRTCar Sportsman win last Saturday. Matt Hitchcock spoke about his first ever trip to Fulton and explained why he almost didn’t come. Bret Belden ran down how his season has been going as he got ready Sunday at Utica Rome. Ryan Lund described some of the tough luck he has had so far in his Utica Rome Pro Stock.
It is nice to finally be back to normal again. After a shaky two weeks, I am now as close to 100% as I have been in some time. I’m beginning to think I didn’t fully get better last time as it has been a while since I have felt this good. Oh the wonders of the proper medicine huh?
I did do some work on Monday although most of it involved uploading photos from the weekend. I did five more bins yesterday and there are several hundred more pictures up than there were at this time on Monday. Click on the filmstrip at the right side of the page to see stuff from Thunder Alley, Stateline, Brockville, Penn Can and most recently Utica Rome. And a big thanks as always goes out to the folks who sent those in. Love you guys!
As I write this at 9:15 Monday night, another small storm cell is coming our way. It sounds like that may be the rule around here all week long. Don’t get me wrong. I love a good storm and always have. (Don’t forget that as a kid I grew up in Central Missouri, or as the locals call it, Tornado Alley) But so many of these racetracks around here are already holding a lot of water and they could really use some dry days.
As a matter of fact, that is not a bad place to start our chats on the Audio Page today. I begin with a lesson on what rain does to a racetrack with a guy who knows a lot about it firsthand. Harvey Fink evaluates how things have been going this year at the Brewerton and Fulton Speedways. He also told me how rainy Thursdays have been affecting the racing on Friday, how well the comeback is going on Saturdays and where the next few months will take us.
Tom Sears Jr. talked about the extra pressure you can feel when it’s your sponsor’s night at the racetrack. He also told me about his hopes for later on, remembered some recent struggles as well as his Friday night in Brewerton. Ryan Odasz told me about rainy Saturdays at the Fonda Speedway and why he towed to Utica Rome on Sunday. He told me how he ended up in the #24 car, how the racetrack bit him in the hot lap session and why he thinks brakes are more important here than at the Track of Champions. Greg Birosh explained how he picked up his first ever DIRTCar Sportsman win last Saturday at the Canandaigua Speedway. He told me when he realized that he might actually have a shot at winning the race, how a late race caution almost let it slip away and how special it was that it happened in one of his dad’s cars. Now this is the type of story that Readers Digest needs to do! Am I right? Matt Hitchcock told me why he decided to make his first ever trip to the Fulton Speedway on Saturday and why the decision to come was not an easy one. He also told me how his Sportsman has been doing this season at Orange County, what he thought of the hot lap session he just ran and why the experience was not was he is used to. Good luck on the new baby Matt! Bret Belden ran down how his season has been going as he got his Pro Stock ready on Sunday at Utica Rome. He told me what he thought would happen to the racing surface, what he did to the car to adjust for it and why he loves the new ride at his sponsors place. That is Enchanted Forest by the way. I need to take my girls there. Ryan Lund described some of the tough luck he has had so far in his Utica Rome Pro Stock. He told me what broke on the car last week, how he got a power plant back together and how optimistic he was about later on. Oh, he did win his heat race a few minutes later.
How about the interview with Ryan Lund? Look for a photo of him as well as everybody else I interviewed at the track this weekend. Ryan is in the 3R Pro Stock in my Utica Rome bin. And for somebody new, he did a great job in the conversation. He slipped his sponsors in there real nice and all.
In other news on the home front, my daughter starting swimming lessons yesterday and she really loved it. She is in a two week program and if she does half as well at this as she did in school this year than she will be gliding past me in no time. And yes I did finally get to swing the golf clubs yesterday. I only hit a small bucket and then did some putting. One more time of practice and maybe I’ll attempt a course next week. Have a great Tuesday guys and thanks for all your well wishes. It helps keep me going when I get a little down. See ya tomorrow.
New on the Audio Page from the Utica Rome Speedway Sunday night:
Pre race conversations:
Michael Storms thought back to the only other time he ran at Utica Rome as he got ready to race. Mike Ricci talked about rainy Friday nights at Accord and the new car he brought to the event. Todd Burley told me about his Friday at Ransomville and wondered about his tire choice. Mike Button explained why he was driving the #39 Sportsman instead of his usual ride. Jack Johnson spoke about the car he had at the show and how he got to drive the Teo House Car. David Townsmade a rare Utica Rome appearance and told me about the rainy Saturday nights.
After the heat races:
Brett Hearn evaluated his win in the first Modified heat race of the Thunder on the Thruway event. Pat Ward told me how he went from third to first in one lap to win the second Modified heat. Jack Johnson watched the races from atop his hauler and described how he won heat number three. Danny Varin walked me though his win in the final Modified qualifying heat of the night. David Towns won the second Sportsman heat race at Utica Rome and wondered about the track. Jason Rood spoke about how fast his Sportsman was as he won the last Sportsman heat race.
After the 50 lap feature:
Bobby Varin talked about winning in his son’s big block and told me what went wrong with the 00. Pat Ward finished in second place and talked about how his car changed after contact in turn 4. Ronnie Johnson came home in third place and spoke about how happy he was to get in a feature. Mitch Gibbs told me about the pack of cars he was racing with and his fourth place feature finish. Todd Burley finished in fifth place and wondered if a different right front tire might have helped.
Yesterday was a classic edition of hurry up to beat the rain at Utica Rome Speedway. Everyone knew that a big weather system was bearing down on Vernon and the drivers and speedway officials did their best to move it along and ended up almost getting the entire show in.
The Thunder on the Thruway series was the headliner and 39 Modifieds were in the pit area for his big money 50 lapper. Even series founder Ric Lucia was on hand to see the action. There were drivers from all across the landscape and it was a real nice show.
Four heat races were run for the Modifieds and all four winners are on the Audio Page as well as two of the three Sportsman drivers who were also victorious. The track had a good deal of bite in it as the qualifiers were run but then it slickened up after that.
Early on it looked like Pat Ward would run away and hide as he came from third to first on the first lap. Jeff Trombley made a run to his inside on lap three but caught a ute tire on the inside of turn four a few moments later and was never officially credited with leading a lap. His night ended on the back of a wrecker.
From there Ward was cruising until Bobby Varin began his charge to the front. Bobby had a problem with the brand new car they were hoping to use for this show and had to borrow his son’s big block. He was fast as he came from 18th to 2nd in 23 laps. He tiptoed to the outside of bottom feeding Pat Ward on lap 37. Immediately went back to the bottom after the move and went on for yet another big win.
It has been a great year for Bobby Varin and this win on Sunday has to rank right up there with others he has had in his career. Congrats to Bobby and his team as they really seem to have things rolling right now.
As I was doing my final interviews in the pit area and the Sportsman were 14 laps into their feature, the inevitable happened. Rain started to spit on the track and by the time the cars were directed off the speedway surface, the skies opened up and sent everyone else home early.
So big props go out to the drivers as many of them who ran the consi’s only had a few minutes to refuel their cars and change tires. I don’t know how they did it, but without their cooperation and desire to race, this event might not have happened. Nice job guys, way to hustle.
Of course the Utica Rome Speedway website will have the information on when the Pro Stock and Pure Stock features will be made up, so go to my Track Links Page to see for yourself. And be sure to check out my photos from the event by clicking on the images in the filmstrip at the right side of the page. Click on a smiling Jack Johnson to see what I saw yesterday in Vernon.
More were added late last night too and there could even be more coming later today. Have a great Monday and I will see you tomorrow.
New on the Audio Page from the Fulton Speedway on Saturday night:
Pre race conversations:
Ryan Phelps remembers his fourth place finish on Friday and tells me about his brand new car. Willy Decker was back behind the wheel of the 09 car and remembered a recent almost win. Jim Witko told me how banged up his car was from Friday and what he had to do to fix it. Shawn Donath explained why he pulled off at Brewerton and why we saw smoke from his ride. Jimmy Phelps talked about his second place finish on Friday and evaluates how he is doing. Chuck Bower spoke about why he came to Fulton and wondered if it would be his new home. Pat Ward spoke with me about his race on Friday night in Brewerton and how sore his body was.
After the heat races:
Pete Taylor told me how he went to the bottom of the racetrack to win Modified heat number one. Sean Beardsley described how his car was working as he won the second Modified heat of the night. Dale Planck talked about how his season has been going and how good his car was in his heat win. Brett Hearn spoke about his runner up finish and why he came up to Central New York this weekend. Claude Hutchings won the first Crate Sportsman heat race and explained what the car was doing. Alan Fink ran down his last lap pass that ended up giving him the win in heat number two. John Petrowicz explained how he got to the bottom in turn two to make a last lap pass for the win.
After the features:
Billy Decker told me how he got to the front to win his second DIRT Modified race of the weekend. Dale Planck came home with a nice second place finish and wondered if he was gaining on things. Jimmy Phelps described the racetrack he was on as he earned a nice third place in the Mod feature. Jim Witko had a fourth place finish and evaluated how his rebuilt racecar worked in the race. Tim Sears Jr. rolled across the line in 2nd and gave me his reaction on being declared the winner. Steve Crouse spoke with me after recording his third Fulton Speedway Street Stock win of the year.
It turned out to be a beautiful night at the Fulton Speedway on Saturday and the 30% chance of rain never materialized. The track had a lot of bite in the heat races despite the sun and predictably slickened up later in the features.
It was a real good night of racing as there was lots of passing and several lanes for the drivers to use. The track changed several times in the 35 lap Modified feature race as both the top and bottom were fast along the way.
Billy Decker took the lead on lap 23 as both Vinnie Vitale and Larry Wight had contact in turn two and slid up the racetrack, opening up the bottom. In the final laps he held off a charge from Dale Planck to earn his second win of the weekend and his third at the speedway this year.
It was a night when you had to make the right adjustments and stay ahead of what the racetrack was doing. And it was a real good night with passing in all the divisions. All in all the fans got their money’s worth and I think the comeback for this track is in full swing as the grandstands were real good, especially considering it is graduation weekend and all.
At one point as I was sitting on the media deck, I remembered one of my favorite things about this track. The view is the best of any speedway I have ever been to. There are no bad seats and you see the entire racetrack from no matter where you sit. God I love that place!
Of course the speedway will be rocking next weekend as the Super DIRTCar Series rolls into town this Saturday. This is always one of the best races on the series as you can come from anywhere to get the win. So don’t miss it!
Today I will be rolling east to the Utica Rome Speedway as they have the Thunder on the Thruway series headlining the show there. This was a Fonda Speedway only series last year and has expanded to include Utica Rome in 2009. It should be a real good one with drivers from all over heading to Vernon, New York.
I have been feeling better everyday since Thursday although my cough still lingers. It is a lot better than it was although there is no way I could have announced this weekend. I almost wonder if I may be doing too much of that, so I may have to start turning down some chances to sub. Being in that position made me bitter a few years back and I do not want to go down that road again. So maybe I need to re-evaluate where I am and what is important to the audience of this website. I’ll keep you posted on that. And feel free to send me your thoughts on that.
Enjoy all the Audio files I put up today and be sure to view my latest photo bin from last night. Every picture is free and available for download. You like it…it’s yours. Just hit the download button at the top of the picture while viewing it full screen.
Have a great Sunday and I’ll see you back here tomorrow. And in the can right now are chats with Gregg Kimball, Tommy Sears, AJ Kingsley, Shane Donath, Jason Occhino, Matt Fink, Stewart Garrison and Matt Hitchcock. Come back later in the week for those and much more.
Tim McCreadie chats about his comeback that included two second place finishes and a win. Jason Barney remembers his Sprint Car win from eight days ago at the Ransomville Speedway. Dave Rauscher tells me how he became involved in another big crash at Utica Rome Speedway. Mike Gurda explains why Orange County will be silent today and what is being done at the track. Ernie Saxton gets ready for tonight at Grandview and reminds everyone about Tuesday’s special.
I laid low yesterday and spent some time with my family as I did not think I was back 100% yet. My daughter finished school and as I write this at 4PM on Friday afternoon, I may have a special treat for her tonight if the weather holds out. She did very well and I am amazed at with they learn in kindergarten these days. No way did I think she would be reading at this point. No way!
Now since I did not really work on Friday as I played dad at the house, there is nothing on the site from last night…although I did get with Tim McCreadie during the afternoon. He is in Lernerville for a big $30,000 to win Late Model race. I spoke with him for a moment on Thursday, but he was in the mountains of Pennsylvania where cell phone service is not that good. So we decided to wait until yesterday for this highly requested interview.
I also have four more chats as well and they come from all over the place. The Mike Gurda interview was also requested and he was gracious enough to speak with me on Thursday as the crews did repairs at the track. They are not racing there tonight but it sounds like they should be back in action next week.
Be sure to keep checking the site today as I could be putting up some new photo bins along the way. I’m still not sure what I am doing tonight as I might just stay close to home. I had a chance to announce tonight but I know that I could not do it with this cough. Darn! I really wanted to take this gig as it was for a track I worked at many years ago. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to do it there later this summer. Sorry guys!
Now let’s chat more about the new stuff I have for you on the Audio Page. I begin by giving you a conversation that you can only get right here. Tim McCreadie talked about his comeback week in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series that included a second pace at Cornwall, a second place at Can Am and a win at Canandaigua. He told me how his back is feeling after returning to the driver’s seat, how much he values the help the racing community has shown him during his time of need and how much he is hoping to do well later tonight at Lernerville.
Jason Barney remembers his Sprint Car win from eight days ago at the Ransomville Speedway. He told me how good he feels about his 40% winning percentage, remembered how he did at the track in his Sportsman days and where he will race next. Dave Rauscher tells me how he became involved in another big crash at the Utica Rome Speedway this past Sunday. He told me what he saw from the drivers seat, how badly damaged the car was and who is putting together another ride for him right now. Mike Gurda explains why Orange County will be silent today and what work is being done at the track to get ready to reopen next week. He also evaluated how things are going at the speedway overall, how fortunate he has been weather wise and what he has learned over the last few months. Ernie Saxton gets ready for tonight at Grandview and reminds everyone about Tuesday’s Thunder on the Hill show. He also reminded me about their four feature night on July 25th, looked ahead to some special Late Model events and explained why more is not always better in the world of racing.
Have a great Saturday everyone and I hope to see you all at the racetrack real soon!
Billy Dunn talked about winning his third feature of the year last Friday at Can Am Speedway. Nick Petrilak told me about his week that included Sportsman wins at Penn Can and Five Mile Pt. Jeff Hayes described the season his Mod Lite team is enjoying and the addition of a new car. Dean Reynolds gets ready for tonight’s Empire Super Sprints race at Mohawk International. Rich Vleck tells you about the new Hot Wings TV show airing now on Time Warner Sports.
It was a stormy day across most of New York State although we stayed pretty dry here in Central New York. Everything took a turn to the south and we did not get a single drop of rain. There was thunder…but nothing else.
I had a busy day as I finally felt like a normal human being. The steroids and antibiotics have kicked in finally and I am very happy. Yep, I was wondering when those would start working. So hopefully by the time I get back to the track on Saturday I can be ready to hoof around the racetrack at my usual speed…although that is still not all that fast.
I recorded nine new interviews, had a nice lunch at Denny’s with my daughter (Yeah, I know…but I love their breakfasts) and even swung into my wife’s job to meet her co-workers as they get ready to cut back for the summer. See, I didn’t wait till the last minute now did I? Oh yeah…I did. Oops!
Today sounds like it will be a good day as the skies should clear as the day goes on. And even though there is a chance of weather on each day this weekend, I think everything will be okay. And be sure to come back tomorrow as I have chats with Orange County Promoter Mike Gurda, Columnist/ Announcer Ernie Saxton as well as drivers Jason Barney and Dave Rauscher.
As we said we have five new things on the Audio Page. I begin with a chat with a driver who is doing very well in the North Country. Billy Dunn told me about his races last weekend that included a win at Can Am Speedway and a twelfth place finish at Cayuga County. He also talked about what he was doing in the shop on Thursday night, how impressed he has been with the surface at Fulton and his busy racing schedule for this weekend.
Nick Petrilak told me about his week that included Sportsman wins at both Penn Can and Five Mile Point Speedways. He explained how good it feels to win two in a row, described the pair of cars he drove to victory lane and what he does away from the speedways for the family business. Jeff Hayes described the season his Mod Lite team is enjoying and the new driver who will coming onboard next weekend. He also talked about the tight points battle at the Brewerton Speedway, what makes his winning car a little different from the rest and why he decided to get out of the drivers seat to become a car owner. Dean Reynolds gets ready for tonight’s Empire Super Sprints race at Mohawk International Raceway. He talked about how much he is looking forward to seeing the upgrades at the facility, remembers some of the races there in the past and thinks back to last week at Ransomville. Rich Vleck tells you about the new Hot Wings TV show from the Utica Rome Speedway that is airing now on Time Warner Sports in New York State. He also ran down the schedule for the next few shows and talks about how great the last two races we have recorded have been. Check out the site for airdates in your area at www.hotwingstv.com.
Come on back tomorrow for those chats and more. See you then…
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