Tyler Trump talked about running a big block for the first time and what he was doing at the show.
Billy Shantel Jr. told me what he was doing at the parts show and what he ran this past season.
Bailey Groves remembered her time racing at Syracuse as a kid and talked about her 2019 season.

The weekend is here and hopefully a lot of you are enjoying a nice, long streak of days off. I know I am. I’ll be back at it again tomorrow and since I wrote this front page entry way before you read it I am already have lots of new stuff in the can ready to go.

The past few days were so much fun as family is very important to me. The Christmas season is now here and we’ll get some shopping done during the week. If you can, the best time to shop is from 2-4 p.m. as the morning rush is over and the after work crowd has not made it out yet. Plan your shopping well and avoid the crowds, the lines and the snarky attitudes.

Now let’s chat more about what is on the Audio Page today as we start with driver who did some cool things for the first time this past season. Tyler Trump talked about running a big block for the first time, what it was like adjusting to the extra power and gives advice to any Sportsman drivers who are thinking of moving up to Modifieds. 

Billy Shantel Jr. told me what he and his car owner were doing at the parts show and what type of chassis he has to buy because of his height and how fortunate he was in a flip a few years ago.

Bailey Groves remembered her time racing at Syracuse as a kid, explains how a lot of what she learned then helps her today and talked about her 2019 season driving a Sportsman. 

New on the Audio Page for today:

Brett Tonkin ran down what he has in his race shop right now and what his offseason plans entail.
Loren Lincoln ran down how his 2019 season went in a Sportsman and why his results were down.
Craig Pritchard split his time between asphalt & dirt and talked about what he bought at the show.

Black Friday is here and I will not be anywhere near any store of any kind unless I need some more beer for tonight. I have never understood the reason for this day and why shopping on this day is the biggest goal of the year for many people.

As someone who worked in retail, the best deals are usually closer to Christmas as the stores get nervous when inventory sticks around too long. Often the best sales are in the weeks before as Black Friday is often when they unload the stuff they can’t sell, like older model TV’s and other technology.

I’ll be spending time with family today as our relatives are here for an extra day. The stores, the lines and all the stuff that goes along with it will have to wait for us as there is nothing I need that badly that I feel I need to fight through crowds to get.

Enough of that so let’s give you more on what is up on the Audio Page to listen to while others shout out curse words and battle traffic in today’s crazy parking lots. Brett Tonkin ran down what he has in his race shop right now, described what he plans on doing this off season as well as his hopes to run some spec head 358 Modified races. 

Loren Lincoln ran down how his 2019 season went in a Sportsman, why the quality of his results was down and his hopes to be able to do more in the coming year. 

Craig Pritchard split his time between asphalt & dirt and talked about what he bought at the show as well as how cool the new magnetic releases on the air helmets are. I know right?

New on the Audio Page for today:

Jason Barney talks about doing business last weekend and why being ESS Champion is so hard to do.
Alysha Baye spoke about her season running a 305 at Land of Legends and a big loss for their family.
Mike Welch reviewed how he did in a pair of stock cars and how each of those racecars were on track.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all and we hope you all are truly thankful for what you have and we also hope you have a great day. We have a big party happening today as we get to catch up with relatives we have not seen in years.

It is going to be so much fun for us and we hope you guys have even half the fun that we will have. I’ve enjoyed relaxing although even after two days off I am getting a little bored. I know right? I can’t wait to get a total day off but then when I get it I’m bored within hours. And Allie is just like that too!

Now let’s chat in more detail about the new stuff on the Audio Page that you can listen to right now.

Jason Barney talks about doing business last weekend in Syracuse, why he believes the chassis & parts he sells are superior and why being ESS Champion is so hard to do. Alysha Baye spoke about her season running a 305 at Land of Legends, how they dealt with the loss of Danny Wilmes and what it was like to travel a few more times last season. 

Mike Welch reviewed how he did in a pair of stock cars and how each of those racecars were on track as well as a new car he is in the process of building right now.

New on the Audio Page for today:

Gil Tegg Jr. told me about the new chassis he picked up and how nice it will be to have two for 2020.
Randy Shantel spoke about how much he raced last season and explained why it got better later on.
Coleby Felber described what it was like moving from a Quarter Midget to a Legends Car at The Mills.
Mike Mallett talked about how Dirt Track Digest has come and shared a story about heavy equipment.

A lot of you begin a mini vacation today and we hope you enjoy your day off and that it does not get too busy less than 24 hours away from the big holiday. I began my mini vacation today too and will be off till Saturday or possibly Sunday depending on how it goes.

I hope you all have a great day tomorrow as Thanksgiving provides all of us racing people with a day to pause and truly realize how thankful we are. I know, a lot of you may have not had the season you were hoping for but you’re out there racing while the people in the grandstand would give almost anything to switch places with you. We are truly fortunate and I hope you take time to think about that tomorrow.

Now let’s chat more about what is new on the Audio Page as we begin with a driver who did have a very tough season as he chased motor issues. Gil Tegg Jr. told me about the new chassis he picked up as he toured the show last weekend, how nice it will be to have two for 2020 and looked forward to heading to Florida in February. 

Randy Shantel spoke about how much he raced last season in Modified & open Sportsman and explained why it got better later on as well as what he was doing at the trade show last weekend. 

Coleby Felber described what it was like moving from a Quarter Midget to a Legends Car at Evans Mills, how that time racing at Syracuse helps him today and where he would like to be in the future. 

New on the Audio Page for today:

Ryan Godown talked about his first season following the Super DIRTcar Series and the new Troyers.
Dorian Wahdan described how things are going at college and the things he has to fix on his racecar.
Tim McColman spoke about his season with the Dirt Modified Nostalgia Tour and his new Modified.
Tana Robinson tells me about Hangover 2.0 coming to Utica Rome Speedway on New Year’s Day.
Tony Veneziano reports on the WoO Sprint Car drivers racing Midgets in California this past week.

Monday was a nice day and a good one too as my cardiologist was very happy with my “excellent” looking EKG. I was stressed about it as you could imagine but what I have been doing for the last month has certainly helped and Monday helped give me more motivation to keep going strong.

Thanksgiving is one more day closer and we just found out that we will be having more family at our table than we thought on Sunday. We are adding four more to our table and we love that. The more the merrier. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen my wife’s cousin and his family so the holiday just got a little more special for me.

Now let’s chat more about the new stuff on the Audio Page beginning with a driver who put on a lot of road miles this past season heading north from New Jersey. Ryan Godown talked about his first season following the Super DIRTcar Series, reflected on some of the new tracks he got to race on and looked over the new Troyer Racecars in their booth this past weekend. 

Dorian Wahdan described how things are going at college, some of the things he has to fix on his Sportsman and chats about adding the fire suppression system to his car for 2020. 

Tim McColman spoke about his season with the Dirt Modified Nostalgia Tour, his move up to a Modified for 2020 and described what work they still are doing in the shop.

Tana Robinson tells me about Hangover 2.0 coming to Utica Rome Speedway on New Year’s Day, goes over the rules for the event and tells us about some of the people who have already committed. 

New on the Audio Page for today:

Gary Tomkins walked the show in Syracuse and talked about how things went for him last season.
Chris Mackey spoke about how busy he was on Saturday and some of the parts he is cycling out.
Johnny Scarborough watched a Sportsman get new vinyl and told me how he did in a 305 Sprinter.
Brad Litzenberger celebrated his DMNT championship and told me what he is building for 2020.
Lee Gill watched his employees at the show run away and talked about the season at Evans Mills.

We had a really nice day on Sunday as I recovered from two days on my feet, wished car owner Derrick Flynn all the best as he packed up to head back to the Great White North eh and finished out the day by seeing Ford versus Ferrari with Webmaster Andy. It was a great finish to the weekend. And if you have not seen this movie be sure to do so. I rate it number 2 on my racing movie list.

I’ll be in the studio today before taking some time off for Thanksgiving. We’ll be having a small gathering this year as my wife’s family will be staying home this time around. It’s a bummer for sure as I love having a big table on the holiday but everyone is doing well so we’ll just be thankful for that.

Now let’s chat more about what we have for you to listen to today on the Audio Page as we give you more from this past weekend. Gary Tomkins walked the show in Syracuse and talked about how things went for him last season as well as how much there is to learn with all the suspension combinations out there today. 

Chris Mackey spoke about how busy he was on Saturday at the NERP Trade Show, some of the parts he is cycling out as well as how much more affordable race suits are these days. 

Johnny Scarborough watched a Sportsman get a new vinyl wrap at the car show and told me how he did in a 305 Sprinter while wishing he had moved to that division sooner.   

Brad Litzenberger celebrated his DMNT championship Saturday night in Weedsport and told me what he is building for 2020 as well as why this new car will be so special to him. 

New on the Audio Page from Saturday in Syracuse and later in Weedsport:

Bill Shea tells me that Utica Rome Speedway will return with DIRTcar Sanctioning in the 2020 season.
Jeff Hachmann gave us some news from the DIRTcar Northeast Meetings as he tours the race show.
Jimmy Horton recapped his final race night of the season and talked about his history at Bridgeport.
Lance Willix described how busy he has been with his day job and the awards he was getting later on.
Bob Johnson spoke about his championship with the Dirt Modified Nostalgia Tour and his 1 big win.
Gregg Turner explained why he moved up to Modified and what he is doing with his family in 2020.

We had such a fun day as we spent the day at the New York State Fairgrounds touring the Northeast Racer’s Auction & Trade Show and then headed out to Weedsport for the Dirt Modified Nostalgia Tour banquet. We saw so many of our friends at both events that it had my head spinning. It was a busy day but a great day thanks to all of you who let me talk a little bit about your life both on and off the track.

I recorded twenty interviews on Saturday as I was very busy. Once again the show continues to impress and assures me that our corner of the racing world is doing very well compared to some others and we all should be very proud to be a part of that community. I’ll be sure to do a Doug’s Thoughts real soon and get reaction from Allie’s emotional night on Saturday.

I could not be happier than I am right now. I am truly surrounded by dedicated, hard working people of character and substance. I could not be more fortunate. Thank you all!

Now let’s chat about what is on the Audio Page for today starting with news that is not news I guess from Vernon. Bill Shea tells me that Utica Rome Speedway will return with DIRTcar Sanctioning in the 2020 season, wonders how the rumor got started that they were leaving and wonders why nobody just asked him. I should have called when I first heard it so I’m guilty of that too! 

Jeff Hachmann gave us some news from the DIRTcar Northeast Meetings as he tours the Northeast Racing Products Trade Show, analyzes how things are from a big picture standpoint and what he does when he gets to see the racers in a relaxed atmosphere.

Jimmy Horton recapped his final race night of the season just two weekends ago and talked about some of his history at Bridgeport as well as what he was doing while checking out the Northeast Racing Products Trade Show. 

Lance Willix described how busy he has been with his day job and the awards he was getting late on at the DIRTCar Northeast banquet and offered his take on the Northeast Racing Products Trade Show. 

Bob Johnson spoke about his championship with the Dirt Modified Nostalgia Tour in the Modified division, what his win in Weedsport meant so much and the one race where divine intervention seemed to step in.