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SUNY Canton Automotive Technology program

Friday, February 1st 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Dan Vauter thinks back on his two win season as he gets his Modifieds ready for a trip to Florida.
Chip Burdick just released the 2013 schedule for Can Am and talks about some of the dates.

It was a wild weather day on Thursday as big wind and in some cases big snow created headaches for many. Schools were shut down up north in New York State and many people were without power. Luckily for us all we had to deal with was the wind and our power stayed on the whole time.

On the site today we have another pair of interviews as we check with a guy who did something he had never done before in 2012. And he did it twice!

Plus we get a look at the schedule for Can Am as they switch nights and have Sportsman as their headliner. Give it a look and listen to Chip Burdick as he tells us what they have in store this season.

We’ll be back in today and tomorrow and need to get some extra ones done with the Super Bowl on for Sunday. And racing is on at East Bay Raceway with Volusia in the mix as well. And for you in the New Jersey area, the Gambler’s Classic is tonight and tomorrow so get on over to Boardwalk Hall and check it out.

Now let’s find out more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who is almost ready for his first race of the year. Dan Vauter thinks back on his two win season as he gets his Modifieds ready for a trip to Florida. He told me how great it was notch his career first victories at Brewerton & Fulton, how a motor change helped and what he is doing at his shop this week to prepare.

Chip Burdick just released the 2013 schedule for Can Am and talks about some of the dates. He talked about how some of the changes have been received, how the purses have gone up in many cases as well as some of the special nights they have planned. Go to www.canammotorsports.com today to see it for yourself.

Thursday, January 31st 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Joey Payne talks about his hopes for this weekend as the Gambler’s Classic invades Boardwalk Hall.
Andy Bachetti explains how he picked up a Slingshot ride for this weekend and how his Mods are.

Well today is all about promoting the Gambler’s Classic taking place inside Boardwalk Hall this weekend in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is going to be a great time inside as some of the most talented drivers around take on a racetrack no bigger than a hockey rink.

Up today we have a pair of drivers who will be there this weekend. One is a former event winner who does a lot of indoor racing while the other is somewhat new at it. I hope you enjoy both of these and hope you get to go down to experience this event for yourself. For more info, go to www.aarn.com. Practice takes place tonight with racing on both Friday & Saturday.

I also have something in today’s Syracuse Post Standard about the event as Joey explains what it is that makes this indoor racing both fun and frustrating at the same time. And tomorrow we’ll be back with more folks who are getting ready for the 2013 season and we’ll see what they are doing exactly to do that.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with someone who is going into this weekend with high hopes. Joey Payne talks about his hopes for this weekend as the Gambler’s Classic invades Boardwalk Hall. He told me how his early days at Pine Brook Speedway helps him at these indoor shows, remembers some of what has happened in the past at this event and explains why we won’t see him at Oswego Speedway as much this season as in year’s past.

Andy Bachetti explains how he picked up a Slingshot ride for this weekend and how his Modifieds look right now. He told me how he researched the indoor track at Boardwalk Hall, thought back on another indoor race he did a few years back and runs down his tentative schedule for 2013.

Wednesday, January 30th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Jimmy Horton talks about being honored at Motorsports 2013 and thinks back on his 40 years.
Jimmy Phelps tells me about his upcoming Outlaw Sled race at the Boonville Snow Festival.

It was a nice day on Tuesday as the snow began to melt in preparation for a big meltdown today with the temperature near 60 here in Central New York. It will be a brief spell though was we are back at a more seasonable level by the weekend.

We’re back today with a couple of pretty big names in the sport. One was named the 8^th best driver in AARN’s top 50 countdown and picked up a nice honor a few weekends back. And the other is getting ready to try something new that I would imagine any racer out there would love to try.

And we’ll be back in the studio today hoping to get a lot done. I have one set up with a driver who will be racing indoors this weekend in Atlantic City. Boy that will be fun and you can find out more by going to www.aarn.com.

Now let’s chat more about what we have for you today on the Audio Page. I start with a real nice one with a driver who has driven a lot of different cars throughout his career. Jimmy Horton talks about being honored at Motorsports 2013 and thinks back on his 40 years as a racer. He told me about going to the races with his dad at an early age, his asphalt career and what he will be doing this season. Yes, he will be at Volusia in February.

Jimmy Phelps tells me about his upcoming Outlaw Sled race at the Boonville Snow Festival. He talked about how the opportunity came about, how cool he thinks these caged sleds look and what it is that appeals the most to him about this form of racing.

Tuesday, January 29th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

D.J. Forbes Jr. talks about his hopes for this weekend in Atlantic City and his racing background.
Hillary Ward tells me about her rookie season in a Sportsman and a nagging issue they fixed.

I had a fun day on Monday as I wrote up another column for the Syracuse Post Standard & Syracuse.com and getting a few chats done. It was a relaxed day and I also spent it doing some business work returning phone calls and emails as I get ready for another week.

Plus we’ll be back in the studio today and am looking for some people to interviews. Please email me any suggestions to doug@dougsdirtdiary.com or message me on facebook.

Don’t forget that this weekend is the big one indoors at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The biggest names in indoor racing will be on hand in what is sure to be a great show. Practice takes place Thursday night with racing both Friday and Saturday. For more information, go to www.aarn.com.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a young man who will be at the big race this weekend for his first ever laps. D.J. Forbes Jr. talks about his hopes for this weekend in Atlantic City and his racing background. He told me how they worked out a deal to get a TQ Midget, what he has been doing to research the track and what he saw as a spectator the past few seasons.

Hillary Ward tells me about her rookie season in a Sportsman and a nagging issue they fixed. She told me when they solved the problem, how much better the car ran after that and what she hopes happens this year at the Fulton Speedway.

Monday, January 28th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Trevor Kobylarz talks about his two win season with the ARDC and his run at the Chili Bowl.
Dean Reynolds shows me the new ESS Hall of Fame and talks about the upcoming 2013 season.
Bob O’Connor tells me about adding racecars to the mix at this year’s Syracuse Nationals.

I had a nice day on Sunday and as I write this up I am getting ready to watch the end of the Rolex 24 from Daytona. We watched a bunch of it on Saturday and I can’t wait to see the way this one ends. And the coverage is excellent with tons of in-car cameras. Bonus point awarded.

We’re back with three new audio clips today and we also added some new photos on Sunday as well so you may have some catching up to do. And we’ll be back tomorrow with a pair of young racers who are ready for some good things to happen this year. Plus one of those racers will be heading down to Atlantic City this weekend for his first ever attempt. I’ll have more on that tomorrow.

Well the kids are back healthy again after a rough day on Saturday. And just in time to go back to school. Bummer huh? But as Homer once said, “What are the chances of getting sick on a Saturday? 100 to 1.” Not quite the right math there but a good try anyway.

Now let’s chat about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a young man who is really got some momentum going right now. Trevor Kobylarz talks about his two win season with the ARDC and his run at the Chili Bowl. He told me how close he came to making the A-Main, how cool it was to win with his dad in the same race and looks forward to the ARDC opener at New Egypt.

Dean Reynolds shows me the new ESS Hall of Fame and talks about the upcoming 2013 season. He told me how happy he was to be located inside the DIRT Motorsports Hall of Fame & Classic Car Museum, how nice it is to have some room to grow and looks forward to the regular season start at Can Am.

Bob O’Connor tells me about adding racecars to the mix at this year’s Syracuse Nationals. He talked about where the exhibit will be, what types of racecars they are looking for and encouraged anyone with a unique racer to contact him.

Sunday, January 27th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Johnny Podolak talks about his years as a driver and his hopes to race at the Oswego Speedway.
Jeremiah Fish tells me about his role at the DIRT Motorsports Hall of Fame and how you can help.

I found out that Friday’s front page entry did not go through somehow and I did get that up. As to why that happened it is a mystery but something weird did happen as I was doing it. We’re looking into it and everything seems to be fine right now.

I spent the morning on Saturday in Weedsport at the DIRT Motorsports Hall of Fame & Classic Car Museum as a guest on Joe Marotta’s radio show. It was great to see some folks I used to see there on a weekly basis and to catch up on some other news. We’ll have more from there tomorrow as well as some studio stuff that I’ll get to today.

Also John Mloling sent us some photos from the event and those are up too. And if you missed the Joe Trenca and Bobby Hackel interviews from Friday they are up on the Audio Page for you to enjoy.

Unfortunately my oldest daughter woke up at 2 AM Saturday with a stomach bug but as I type this up at dinner time, she is almost her old self. So next time Joe does his radio show at the hall (I believe it is February 23^rd) we’ll bring them for that one.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who may be getting into a racecar this year after a twelve year absence. Johnny Podolak talks about his years as a driver and his hopes to race at the Oswego Speedway. He told me about his last race, his run of runner up finishes one season and what appeals to him about the Small Block Super Modifieds.

Jeremiah Fish tells me about his role with the DIRT Motorsports Hall of Fame and how you can help. He talked about what was happening on Saturday and what their biggest need is right now.

Jeremiah Fish told me how he first became involved in racing and what he likes best about it. He also chats about his first taking pictures at the track and badly he did initially. I didn’t think it was that bad but boy did he improve or what?

Saturday, January 26th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Chad Phelps tells me about the Modifieds he is working on and talks about his 2013 season.
Tony Finch explains how he is feeling after an off season car accident and some upgrades.

It warmed up to the teens today after a few super cold days and I’ll tell you it felt nice. Yeah, I know…14 degrees sounds nice. That’s what we are reduced to here in snow country.

I got a few messages from folks around here and they said basically that they liked all the new interviews with people we have never heard from on the site, but they said, “What about your base?” So today we decided to do a pair from right here in Central New York.

Today I’ll be with Joe Marotta at the DIRT Motorsports Hall of Fame & Classic Car Museum as I am his guest on Around the Tracks heard locally on 1390 AM. I’ll be there for the show from 9-10AM and afterwards I’ll show my daughters the place. I may even take a few pictures along the way.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who is very busy right now. Chad Phelps tells me about the Modifieds he is working on and talks about his 2013 season. He described where he is on his off season shop work, how close he came to a feature win last year and wonders if he might get a chance on the asphalt in a Super Modified.

Tony Finch explains how he is feeling after an off season car accident and some upgrades they are doing to his Sportsman. He talked about the physical therapy he is doing to get back to 100%, how the helicopter ride to the hospital was and runs down his plans that include starting the year at Canandaigua before moving to Fulton.


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