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Friday, December 5th 2014

New on the Audio Page for today:

Brian Houseknecht talked about his season at Grandview and how an accident led to an addiction.
Tony Finch II recapped his season in a Sportsman and talked about expanding his program in 2015.

I had a good day on Thursday as I continue to recover from a back issue. I’m stretching as I have been advised to do and like I said, I’m getting better every day. Thanks Hulk!

We have a pair of Season in Review interviews up for you today that I hope you’ll like including one with someone I have never spoken to before. I hope you give the Brian Houseknecht interview a listen as he is quite frank about an issue he had after a motorcycle accident.

It’s a story that is probably more common than any of us know and one that I hope will help any of you who may be dealing with a similar issue. I commend him on his candor especially when talking to someone like me for the first time. But it’s a great story and I hope you like it. Now when you see his #323 on the track at Grandview next season you’ll know what it took for him to get where he is today!

Also Tony Finch II, who has quite a story in his past as well, (search my archives) tells us about his season and what he is doing to get ready for next year. And yeah, add his name to the long list of Sportsman drivers who is very happy that Brewerton is running Sportsman next year.

Today I’ll be checking out the hot laps as the Indoor Championships begin at the New York State Fairgrounds. Tonight is practice and tomorrow the heats and features take place inside the Center if Progress Building. If you are race starved right now this is going to be exactly what you need. Go back to yesterday and listen to my interview with Rick Martell to find out more

But for now, let’s talk more about what we have on the Audio Page with a driver who has quite a story to tell. Brian Houseknecht talked about his season at Grandview, how a trip to a go-cart with dad got him started and how a motorcycle accident led to a pain pill addiction. Real nice interview here!

Tony Finch II recapped his season in a Sportsman and talked about expanding his program for 2015 as well as how much he is looking forward to racing weekly at Brewerton.

Thursday, December 4th 2014

New on the Audio Page for today:

Bobby Varin recaps his 7 win season, his final race of the year and who was his first race hero.
Rick Martell previews the NYS Indoor Championship taking place this weekend in Syracuse.

We were back in the studio on Wednesday and will be back in there today too. I did a nice Season in Review for you and helped preview the big indoor kart race this weekend at the New York State Fairgrounds.

I’ll be there on Friday with my kids to check out the practice and maybe hop behind the wheel if I can find a ride. If you are willing to let a novice take your kart out on those early laps, just email me at doug@dougsdirtdiary.com and we’ll chat about it.

If you have never seen this event before I highly encourage you to check it out as these karts are amazing at this race. Go to my Jones Cam link off my Video Page to see me attempt to run some laps at this event. It is intense and fast so we hope to see you guys here in Syracuse this weekend. Go to www.syracuseindoor.com for more.

But before we chat more about karts, let’s find out more about what is on the Audio Page for you to listen to beginning with a Season in Review chat. Bobby Varin recaps his 7 win season, his final race of the year and who was his first race hero. He tells a few nice stories here about Jack Johnson as well.

Rick Martell previews the NYS Indoor Championship taking place this weekend in Syracuse, tells us who is competing and what makes this event so unique.

Wednesday, December 3rd 2014

New on the Audio Page for today:

Pat Ward recapped his races in Charlotte and how tough it was for him away from the racetrack.
Randy Shantel talked about his season at Utica Rome and his travels with the RoC series.

It was a rough day for me on Tuesday as my back was hurting pretty good after a night of bowling on Monday. I thought I had it under control but may have done too much too soon. I did a bunch of treatments and stretches on Tuesday and hope to be doing much better today.

I have my final interviews from the banquet and today I’ll be back in the studio and back writing again as we have a story due for Thursday. I’ll power through this and get back to where I was soon and then I’ll get off medication and be able to think a little clearer. Sorry!

Now let’s chat more about what we have for you on the Audio Page to listen to today. Pat Ward recapped his races in Charlotte, how he fell behind early on and how tough it was for him away from the racetrack in 2014.

Randy Shantel talked about his season at Utica Rome, his struggles in the middle part of the season and his travels with the RoC Sportsman series.

Tuesday, December 2nd 2014

New on the Audio Page for today:

Andrew Ferguson talked about his move to a big block Modified and what he is doing right now.
Jack Miller finished his season with a crate Sportsman win and wondered if he is coming back.
Mike Mahaney talked about the Accord rain out and his two win season at Utica Rome Speedway.

More for you today from the Utica Rome Speedway banquet this past weekend and we still have chats with Pat Ward and Randy Shantel in the can and ready to put up later this week.

I’ll be back in the studio this week starting today and am still looking for requests to get those started as we have about three weeks of new content until we do our season in review. Get those requests typed up and send them to doug@dougsdirtdiary.com. I have a few I’ll be getting to this week but I am always looking to give you more of what you want.

Now let’s chat more about what we have for you to listen to on the Audio Page. I begin with a driver who made a big decision on what he is doing for next year.

Andrew Ferguson talked about his move to a big block Modified, what he is doing in his race shop right now and who he has been consulting with on what to expect in 2015.

Jack Miller finished his season with a crate Sportsman win, talked about his thoughts on the division and wondered if he is coming back for 2015.

Mike Mahaney talked about the Accord rain out earlier on Saturday, remembered his last race of the season and his two win season at Utica Rome Speedway.

Monday, December 1st 2014

New on the Audio Page for today:

Bill Shea updates meon how his first week went and what issues he is working out right now.
Danny Varin spoke about his season at Utica Rome, remembers a crash and looks ahead to 2015.
Tom Denton explained why his championship car was not at the banquet and what he’s doing.

We’re back at the start of another work week and the last month of the year with lots of good stuff from Saturday night’s Utica Rome Speedway banquet. After hurting my back somehow on Friday, I was a little stiff on Saturday night but made it through thanks to some pharmaceuticals that helped ease my pain and allow me to go to this event.

I was a little better on Sunday but am iffy coming into bowling tonight. I am hoping I am okay as I am having one of my best years on the lanes since way back in the 1990’s. Let’s hope my back loosens up and I can bowl well for my team.

We have an update from Bill Shea on how things are going at Utica Rome as well as a couple of drivers who raced there this past season. We have more from the event coming up tomorrow as well as we’ll get back in the studio.

Now let’s chat more about what we have for you to listen to on the Audio Page for today. I start with my final interview of the night. Bill Shea updates meon how his first week went as the new owner of Utica Rome Speedway and what issues he is working out right now.

Danny Varin spoke about his season at Utica Rome, remembers a crash he had that trashed a car & made it on to Smash N’ Crash and looks ahead to 2015.

Tom Denton explained why his championship car was not at the banquet, what he’s doing to it back at the shop and change he is making for the 2015 season.

Sunday, November 30th 2014

New on the Audio Page for today:

Stewart Friesen won 29 times this past year and spoke about getting a big win in Charlotte.
Kenny Tremont had an off season in 2014 and talked about some engine woes that caused DNFs.
Tim Sears Jr. recapped his up & down season and told me about his wins at the Fulton Speedway.
Gil Tegg Jr. ran down how he did at Canandaigua and talked about how his season went in a Mod.
Barry White spoke about his rough season at Five Mile Point and compared it to his expectations.

We have a nice lineup for you today as another football Sunday is upon is as well as the off season. Pretty much everything with a few exceptions has happened and we’ll officially wrap things up next weekend in Syracuse with the Indoor Championships.

As usual I will be there and am looking to turn in some hot laps on Friday night as they work the track in. If you are interested, just get ahold of me and we’ll make it happen.

I will be back in the studio today and will have some good stuff from the Utica Rome Speedway banquet up for you to listen to tomorrow. Plus we’ll be getting back to Season in Reviews. Of you ant to do one, send me a message at doug@dougsdirtdiary.com.

Now let’s talk about what you can listen to if you go to the Audio Page right now. Stewart Friesen won 29 times this past year and spoke about getting a big win in Charlotte as well as some of the other nice things that happened in 2014.

Kenny Tremont had an off season in 2014 and talked about some engine woes that caused DNFs as well as what it was like to run on the dirt at Devil’s Bowl.

Tim Sears Jr. recapped his up & down season and told me about his wins at the Fulton Speedway as well as how some equipment issues hurt.

Gil Tegg Jr. ran down how he did at Canandaigua and talked about how his season went in a Modified as well as what he is doing to help his girlfriend who runs a Sportsman.

Barry White spoke about his rough season at Five Mile Point, explained where the biggest issues were and compared it to what his expectations were.

Saturday, November 29th 2014

New on the Audio Page for today:

Darryl Ruggles talked about what he was getting at Parts Peddler and invited folks to his party.
Danny Creeden tells me what he likes best about Thanksgiving as he gets ready for Saturday.
Billy Dunn explained why he cut his season short and some of the bad luck that happened late.
Matt Billings just missed the top 12 in SDS points and told me what he was doing at Parts Peddler.
Mitch Gibbs finished 2^nd at I-88 this past season and talked about seeing all the new race stuff.

Tonight will be a fun one for my wife and I as we head over to the Utica Rome Speedway banquet. It will be both happy and sad as we say goodbye to Gene and Gloria Cole who have run the speedway for the last 13 years.

It was quite a run for the Cole family and we hope that we continue to see them around at the races. But the good news is that two of our own, Bill and Kim Shea are now the new owners and they are race people who are committed to the sport and have been for quite some time.

I hope to see a lot of you there as we celebrate the season that was and look towards for future at a track we all know and love.

Now let’s talk about what we have for you to listen to on the Audio Page as the first weekend of the holiday season kicks off. Darryl Ruggles talked about what he was getting at Parts Peddler, what he is doing in 2015 and invited folks to his racing party in December.

Danny Creeden tells me what he likes best about Thanksgiving as he gets ready for Saturday’s season ender at the Accord Speedway.

Billy Dunn explained why he cut his season short after a tough weekend at Syracuse and some of the bad luck that happened late as he looks ahead to 2015.

Matt Billings just missed the top 12 in Super DIRTCar Series points and told me what he was doing at Parts Peddler and what he was looking at.

Mitch Gibbs finished 2^nd at I-88 this past season and talked about seeing all the new racing stuff as well as what he was picking up at Parts Peddler.


	What was the best movie to watch if you want to see cars get wrecked? It's a mad, mad, mad world. 1963 Gone in 60 seconds. 1974 Smokey & The Bandit Part 3. 1983 The Blues Brothers. 1980 Vanishing Point. 1971 Click here for more results


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