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Wednesday, June 12th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Jimmy Davis talked about his tough night at Fonda on Saturday and how the rain affected things.
Jeff Cook had a chance to try some asphalt and told Jay Fish how he felt in the hot lap sessions.
Mike Bowman went to a track he had never been to on Saturday and talked about his Modified.
Jason Rood told me about a road course racing experience he had and the new respect he has.
Tom Fletcher spoke with Jay Fish about his first hot laps sessions at Evans Mills before the rain.
Steve Hutchinson just finished his heat race at Evans Mills and told Jay Fish about some issues.
Vern LaFave talked with Jay Fish about the racecars he has been driving and how it happened.

Mother Nature claimed the UNOH All Star Sprint Series show at Canandaigua last night although they did give it a good try waiting until the afternoon to pull the plug. I hate to say it, but maybe it was for the best as you can wreck a Sprint Car pretty good at Canandaigua and if it was tacky and fast the chances are that they could have done that…so yes, we wanted to see it, but maybe it is for the best.

Tonight I will be heading down to Penn Can Speedway for the Clash at the Can which is past of the ROC Modified tour for 2013. If you have never been this would be a great night to check it out. It is a tight 1/3 mile paper clip and it does produce some real good racing. Penn Can has always been one of my favorite tracks and I hope to see you guys there tonight.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who got to the track a little late on Sunday. Jimmy Davis talked about his tough night at Fonda on Saturday and how the rain affected things. He told me about the work they did on Sunday morning, explained why it is not all good that they did not find anything and the need for some stagger at Utica Rome.

Jeff Cook had a chance to try some asphalt and told Jay Fish how he felt in the hot lap sessions. He talked about the moisture he felt in the final laps, the changes he made to get the car to turn better and how his 2013 season has gone so far.

Mike Bowman went to a track he had never been to on Saturday and talked about his Modified. He explained why he switched his big block into a different car, how he has been so far at Utica Rome and how tough it is to get even a top ten.

Jason Rood told me about a road course racing experience he had and the new respect he has for road racers. He talked about having to do the “heal, toe” with his right foot, how fast the cars were on the straight-aways and how thankful he was to have the opportunity.

Tom Fletcher spoke with Jay Fish about his first hot laps sessions at Evans Mills before the rain. He compared this track to his usual Saturday night asphalt home, how much he enjoyed the sprint car and how to find the right set up for a car that normally runs on dirt.

Steve Hutchinson just finished his heat race at Evans Mills and told Jay Fish about some issues. He described a major driveline problem they had, the noises he heard from that part of the car and how tough it is to get the car dialed when having other things to work on.

Vern LaFave talked with Jay Fish about the racecars he has been driving and how it happened. He told him about his Legends Car, how he started that three years ago and how fans & drivers can try one out at Evans Mills.

Tuesday, June 11th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Alan Johnson shared what he did on a rainy weekend talked about the race at Rolling Wheels.
Ryan Phelps spoke about his hopes to pick up some rides for some of these big mid week shows.
Mike Stelter chatted about his asphalt experience and wonders if it might help on Saturday.
Jordan McCreadie talks with Jay Fish about his hot lap sessions as the rain delayed the show.
Mike White explained why he brought his stock car down to Utica Rome for the first time.
Dean Reynolds tells Jay Fish how happy he was with the turnout at the ESS race at Evans Mills.

What a crappy day we had on Monday. It was cold, rainy and just an overall yecchy day. But we are hoping today will be better as the UNOH All Star Sprint Series is set for a visit to Canandaigua Motorsports Park. Tony Stewart will join the other big names for what is sure to be a great show.

And look for a big field of Sportsman as the open tire rule for the race is likely to bring in drivers from all over the racing landscape. No, I won’t venture a prediction for this one but I do believe they will be running at least one consolation race.

Penn Can has pushed back the King of the Can race till tomorrow night and I will be there for that one. I hear a big field is expected at this show and it is part of the Race of Champions Series.

On the site today we have six good ones for you. Half are from me at Utica Rome and the other half are from Jeremiah Fish who was at Evans Mills for what I heard was a huge show.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who was coming off a pair of rainy nights. Alan Johnson shared what he did on a rainy weekend talked about the race at Rolling Wheels. He explained how racy the track was, how many grooves there were to race and how nice it was to see a lot of former faces return to the series.

Ryan Phelps spoke about his hopes to pick up some rides for some of these big mid week shows. He explained why it is so tough for his team to add a fourth night, why you have to pace yourself as a team and tells me what he will drive this week at Penn Can.

Mike Stelter chatted about his asphalt experience and wonders if it might help on Saturday. He told Jay Fish what he tried to change about his car after hot laps, remembers being upside down recently and described what you have to do to get a 360 Sprint Car to work at Evans Mills.

Jordan McCreadie talks with Jay Fish about his hot lap sessions as the rain delayed the show. He told him how slippery the track can get in the cold, the need for more seat time on the asphalt and a 358 race he is really looking forward to.

Mike White explained why he brought his stock car down to Utica Rome for the first time. He told me how he found some tires to run at the show, who was helping him get in the ball park set up wise and compares it to track he knows.

Dean Reynolds tells Jay Fish how happy he was with the turnout at the ESS race at Evans Mills. He talked about the first few hot laps the cars did, how big the crowd was for the event and wonders where they all came from. Nice!

Monday, June 10th 2013

   New on the Audio Page from the Utica Rome Speedway:

Pre race conversations:

Dale Planck talked about his win at Fulton and why he switched from the experimental car.
Frank Hyatt remembered his recent Pure Stock feature win and when he knew he would win.
Matt Janczuk thought back to his crate win at the track and compared it to his open motor car.
Stewart Friesen has a two race win streak and talked about his win in Elbridge and at Fonda.
A.J. Filbeck was under the weather a bit on Sunday and told me why they had to take a week off.

After the heat races:

Luke Horning talked about a crash he saw in front of him as he led every lap to win his heat.
Chris Carr had some great power on restarts and explained how a new part helped get a heat win.
Dale Planck walked me through the pass he made on his teammate to get a win in his Mod heat.
Rob Bellinger led every lap on his way to a heat win and explained why he bobbled with 1 to go.
Ronnie Johnson made a nice move on the first lap to win his heat and talked about his small block.
Matt Janczuk worked his way to the front to win his heat and told me how he picked up the lead.

After the feature races:

Tom Denton had to pass for the lead twice and talked about his record setting Pro Stock victory.
Stewart Friesen took his win streak to three and told Mike Mallett about his Modified race.
Ronnie Johnson led 16 laps on his way to a 2^nd place and told me how happy he was with the run.
Willy Decker was fast late on his way to a 4^th and wondered why he was so slow early in the race.
Matt Janczuk took his first open motor Sportsman win and talked about it in the tech area.
Heath Carney had a strong 2^nd place finish and explained how a brake issue caused a push.

It was a nice day finally on Sunday and I got to go see some racing with short sleeves on…a rarity this season to say the least. It was a good show at the Utica Rome Speedway and we saw Canadian Stewart Friesen run his win streak to three.

He won last Wednesday at Rolling Wheels, Saturday at Fonda and now on Sunday. He was able top get around Ronnie Johnson on a lap 23 restart and pull away with his big block. Ronnie finished second in his small block followed by Matt Sheppard, Willy Decker and Pat Ward. 23 Modifieds were on hand for this one.

Matt Janczuk returned to his winning ways in the Sportsman as he picked up his first open motor win at the track. Don’t forget he won the crate Sportsman race at the Victoria 200 and it sounds like that victory gave him some much needed confidence.

Congrats go out to Tom Denton as he became the all time Pro Stock win leader at the track with his victory. He struggled behind Chris Carr for 15 laps but once he got by, he was gone. And look for news this week on a big race that Tom will certainly be ready for. I’ll tell you when it comes out.

As always I had a great time at one of my favorite tracks and thanks to Claude Hutchings Sr. for letting me use the golf cart. It helps me cover a lot more ground in the expansive Utica Rome pit area and with my knees, you would not get as much if it was not for that. Thanks.

Today I have some writing to do and then tomorrow I’ll be heading down to Penn Can for some ROC Modified action. Jay Fish may hit the road with me. And for you Tony Stewart fans, don’t forget that he will be at Canandaigua to race a Sprint Car tomorrow night in what is sure to be a packed house.

Sunday, June 9th 2013

New on the Audio Page from Jeremiah Fish at the Evans Mills Speedway:

Chris Raabe had his regular track rain out and talked about making the trip south to race in more rain.
Jordan Keruskie brought a Sportsman to run with the Mods and told Jay Fish about his hot laps.
Kevin Ward Jr. just finished his 2^nd hot lap session and spoke to Jay Fish about how it handled.
Cory Sparks talked with Jay Fish during a rain delay and described some changes they made.
Matt Tanner was making his first asphalt start ever and told Jay Fish how tight his racecar was.
Doug Emery ran down how his heat race went with Jay Fish the ESS and how experience helps.
Andy Howard spoke with Jay Fish about his heat race on the asphalt and racing against Sportsman.

After the first ever ESS A-Main at the track:

Kevin Ward talked about his A-Main win, his pass on the outside and the track record he set.
Doug Emery finished in 2^nd place in the ESS A-Main and talked about how he lost the lead.
Matt Tanner had a nice 3rd place run and told Jay Fish about the racing he saw in front of him.

Last night Jeremiah took a trip with the audio recorder to the Evans Mills Speedway north of Watertown for the first ever visit by the Empire Super Sprints. The weather was a bit of an issue as it was at a lot of racetracks last night but they got the show in and it sounded it like was a real good one.

A pass on the outside by Kevin Ward Jr. got the lead away from Doug Emery and got him a win in this first time event. Thirteen Sprint Cars made the two on a questionable weather night and it sounds like the drivers that came had a great time. I’m sure it got their brains working and I’m sure it will help them down the road.

It was great of Jeremiah Fish to head up for this event and he had a great time with all the ESS folks although it was a late night for all parties involved as I got this up just after 3 AM. Kudos for the late hours guys…shows dedication to the sport.

I was also able to save a good deal of the interviews he did on Saturday as I am not sure what this week will be like yet. Monday and Tuesday look a little iffy so I don’t want to burn through too much too soon.

I’ll be in Vernon today for a show at what might be the tackiest Utica Rome Speedway surface of the year…well at least early on. Later we’ll see I guess. Don’t forget there are two shows on Tuesday as Tony Stewart visits Canandaigua to do some Sprint Car racing while the ROC Modifieds are at Penn Can. I’m going to flip a coin on that one to see where I go as I want to be at both for totally different reasons.

Let’s hope for a good finish to the weekend today and I hope to see some of you today at Utica Rome. Thanks for stopping by and look for more tomorrow.

Saturday, June 8th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Justin Haers spoke about some bad luck and his good run at Rolling Wheels at the end of 2012.
Mike Perrotte shares some funny stories about Frank Cozze at Tuesdays HOF Induction Ceremony.
Matt Billings is enjoying a pretty good rookie season in CNY and updated us on how he is doing.
David Marcuccilli told me how he got a Modified ride with Mime Payne and how night one went.
Bill “moon” Mullin is back in racing after several years off and talked about the need for laps.
Dan Weisner has one win so far at Canandaigua and told me what he feels is different this year.
Cory Sawyer spoke about his Torino bodied Vintage Car and the problem they had in hot laps.
John McArdell reacted to finding out who looked up at him as an idol and whom he idolized.

Boy it is pretty darned wet out there still. We’re hoping you all made it through the storm okay and hopefully it did not hit you too hard. Just some rain we hope.

A lot of Friday tracks fell victim to the rain and I wonder if a few today might have to pull the plug. Jay Fish will be on the road for us today as he will head up to Evans Mills to see the Empire Super Sprints on the pavement.

I’ll be at Utica Rome and then Penn Can on Tuesday as Jay Fish and I may take the road trip together. And don’t forget that Tony Stewart will be at Canandaigua that same night.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with my first conversation from Wednesday. Justin Haers spoke about some bad luck and his good run at Rolling Wheels at the end of 2012. He told me how he usually does at the big 5/8^th mile, the need to get off his regular Saturday night set up and the need to think outside of the box.

Mike Perrotte shares some funny stories about Frank Cozze at Tuesdays HOF Induction Ceremony. This was one of the funnier moments of the entire night. Classic!

Matt Billings is enjoying a pretty good rookie season in CNY and updated us on how he is doing. He talked about how excited he is to be part of the show, remembered the last time he came to Rolling Wheels and how little experience he has at the track.

David Marcuccilli told me how he got a Modified ride with Mime Payne and how night one went. He explained how quickly the deal came about, how tough it was to leave the Sportsman division at Canandaigua while leading and how much he will drive the car.

Bill “moon” Mullin is back in racing after several years off and talked about the need for laps. He told me about trying to find some bite, what is different from the past and the need to get the car tighter.

Dan Weisner has one win so far at Canandaigua and told me what he feels is different this year. He talked about how well he has done at Rolling Wheels in the past, where he feels he needs work and some shock adjustments they were working on.

Cory Sawyer spoke about his Torino bodied Vintage Car and the problem they had in hot laps. He told me how he came to own the car, why he likes to run Fords and why the car caught on fire on the track.

John McArdell reacted to finding out who looked up at him as an idol and who he idolized. He talked about meeting some of the biggest names in racing, thinks back to his first race as well as some that were run with an engine that may not have been totally legal.

Friday, June 7th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Pat Ward thought backon Saturday’s win at Fulton and told me how he felt on Wednesday.
Alan Rudalavage won last week at Penn Can and talked about the victory and Rolling Wheels.
Keith Flach tells me how he has been doing this year at Albany Saratoga and Lebanon Valley.
Billy Dunn spoke about his pair of feature wins as he got ready for the Super DIRTcar opener.
Mike Mahaney recently won a feature at Kutztown and talked about their star studded field.
Shane Pecore has won three of four races this year and how happy he is with the season start.
Joey Ladouceur is now a Sportsman rookie and talked about his transition from a stock car.
Jenna David ran down how she has done in her two starts and how busy she’ll be this summer.

What a rainy day it was on Thursday huh? And it may last into today although we are not totally done yet. They say a steady rain should get going in the afternoon but they’ve been wrong before so let’s hope for the best.

On the site today we are back with lots of new audio from Rolling Wheels and we’ll have more from there on tomorrow as well as I’ll be staying home tonight to celebrate my wife’s birthday. I have no idea what to get here though but as soon as I’m done writing this up, I’ll hit the stores and figure it out. Oh yea…and the liquor store for some wine!

I’m still thinking about how much DIRTcar is smiling today with the turnout they had at Rolling Wheels on Wednesday. There were tons of teams that made it to Rolling Wheels that had not been there in years and if they keep going, it could be a great year for the traveling series.

Now let’s chat more about what is new on the Audio Page with one of those drivers who had not raced in Elbridge in quite some time. Pat Ward thought backon Saturday’s win at Fulton and told me how he felt on Wednesday. He told me why he was hoping the rain might continue last Saturday, what the doctors told him about where he is now and how little experience he has at Rolling Wheels.

Alan Rudalavage won last week at Penn Can and talked about the victory and Rolling Wheels. He told me how he got out of the office for an afternoon, remembered what happened last time at Rolling Wheels and how he cut the field in half at Woodhull.

Keith Flach tells me how he has been doing this year at Albany Saratoga and Lebanon Valley. He talked about keeping his focus on his home tracks, how he has done at Rolling Wheels in the past and what makes it so tough to run on the Super DIRTcar Series.

Billy Dunn spoke about his pair of feature wins as he got ready for the Super DIRTcar opener. He talked about where he feels he is, comments on the super packed pit area and how going to a schedule packed with mid weeks may help the series.

Mike Mahaney recently won a feature at Kutztown and talked about their star studded field. He compared driving the SpdSTR to a Modified, how well things are going down there and how much he is enjoying it.

Shane Pecore has won three of four races this year and how happy he is with the season start. He talked about how getting a race in at Fulton before his Saturday track started helped, how his Sportsman felt in hot laps at Rolling Wheels and how good he felt about his chances.

Joey Ladouceur is now a Sportsman rookie and talked about his transition from a stock car. He told me some things that are glaringly different, how happy he is with his finishes so far and how his family is helping him with the learning curve.

Jenna David ran down how she has done in her two races so far and how busy she’ll be this summer. She told me how a jingle with a lapped car cost her a top five finish, how she has done at Rolling Wheels in the past and her hopes to get back to her Sunday track which has been rained out all three times.

Thursday, June 6th 2013

New on the Audio Page from Rolling Wheels Raceway Park:

Kenny Tremont thought back on his last time in Elbridge and comments on his season so far.
Mat Williamson is enjoying a nice rookie season in big blocks and talked about the tough field.
Rich Scagliotta has a new Friday home and told me how things have been going at Albany Saratoga.
Andy Bachetti described how he is doing at Lebanon Valley and the short track at Accord.
Jimmy Phelps spoke about how his big win a few weeks ago might help him on the series.
Dale Planck talked about being 2nd fastest in time trials and how he landed the Mike Payne ride.

After the heat races:

Nick Guererri won the first Sportsman heat race and walked me through his move for the lead.
Brad Rouse led every lap to win heat number two and told me how to pronounce Humberstone.
David Marcuccilli took the win in heat three and compared it the Modified he recently drove.
Adam Hilton told me about his Sportsman heat win and some weight they moved in the car.
Bobby Varin felt good in his racecar in his Modified heat win and described a few issues.
Rich Scagliotta looked strong in his heat win and ran down his game plan for the 60 lap feature.
Stewart Friesen made a late race pass for a Mod heat win and told me how fast he was down low.
Jimmy Phelps watched the consolation races and told me how his time trial helped him win a heat.

After the features:

Adam Hilton won his first ever Sportsman feature at Rolling Wheels and spoke with Joe Marotta.
Boyd MacTavish had a strong second place finish and told Joe Marotta about his feature race.
Stewart Friesen spoke with Shane Andrews after winning the Super DIRTCar Series opener.
Gary Tomkins tells Shane Andrews how happy he was to finish 2^nd in his unsponsored Modified.
Matt Sheppard talked with Shane Andrews after coming from 17^th to 3^rd in the SDS opener.
Brett Hearn lost third place late finishing fourth and told me how racy he felt Rolling Wheels was.

What a nice night it was at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park. The big block and Sportsman Super DIRTcar Series kicked off and both were well attended. There were 46 Modified teams and 37 crate powered Sportsman.

The show moved along very quickly with very little down time and the Modified victory lane happened at 10:40 after an “it might never end” finish in the Sportsman feature after they ran 25 green flag laps to start. The Modifieds went green to checkered for 60 laps without a yellow.

Stewart Friesen came from 9^th to 1^st in just 15 laps and kept lapped cars between himself and 2^nd place the rest of the way to win what I think may be his first ever in a Modified at Rolling Wheels. Am I wrong? And how about Gary Tomkins in an unsponsored car that he owns racing his way up to 2^ndfrom 11^th ?

As you can see it was racy but you had to pay attention to see who was moving forward and who was falling back. Matt Sheppard raced his way from 17^th to 3^rd with a late pass getting him that spot. The guy he passed, Brett Hearn, he started 14^th and finished 4^th. See what I mean? Yeah, it was a little dusty but it was racy!

Congrats also to Adam Hilton who won his career first at Rolling Wheels in a Sportsman. He led every lap and held on as they went caution after caution after caution, (I lost count) after going the first 25 laps without one. I felt bad as a bunch of folks got tangled up in the back at one time and many drivers who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time got torn up.

You have to tip your hat to DIRTcar on this one as 46 Modifieds is pretty darned good. And there were guys there who I have not seen at the track in a long, long time. Like Ronnie Johnson, Kenny Tremont, Keith Flach and race winner Stewart Friesen. This year most of the races are mid week and I think that might be the ticket to a resurgence on the series in 2013.

My daughter was with me but she had a stomach ache later and mom had to come get her. She felt horrible about it and hopefully she’ll be fine today. She gets so excited at these deals I think she does it to herself. Hopefully she’ll make some more races soon and maybe next time we’ll eat at the track instead of in the car on the way.

We have 16 interviews in the can and will release half tomorrow and the other half on Saturday as I will be home on Friday for my wife’s birthday. I’m going to do another mid week next week as well so we’ll get plenty in.

Hope you all have a great day and be sure to check back tomorrow for more!


	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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