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SUNY Canton Automotive Technology program

Wednesday, July 25th 2012

New on the Audio Page for today:

Michael Parent talks about winning his first ever ESS A-Main as he gets ready for Utica Rome.
Steve Poirier explains why we have not seen much of his of late and when he may race again.
Shannon Whaley spoke about changing his weekly racing home and a nagging carburetor issue.
Chris Fleming will be in a 360 Sprint Car tonight at Utica Rome and told me how it came together.
Robert Barker is a rookie in the Sportsman class and explained why he drove to Utica Rome.
Chuck Akulis will be at Penn Can for Legends Night and talked a little about his 40 year career.

I had a nice day on Tuesday as I was a little under the weather early but bounced back as the day went on. I did some work in the studio and put those three chats up with three I had this past weekend to give you six to listen to today.

Be sure and give the Chuck Akulis interview a listen as he will be at Penn Can Speedway this Friday as they honor some of the legendary drivers that have raced there and in the Southern Tier. I’ll be there this week too as it has been a while since I’ve made it down there.

Today I will be at the Utica Rome Speedway as the Lucas Oil Late Models will be joined by the Empire Super Sprints. It is an interesting combination and one that should be a lot of fun. I’ll be bringing my daughter Allie with me as well as she has always liked Sprints. She has never seen Late Models and I know she’ll like them too. I told her that they look like they are going to spin out by somehow they power out of it.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who just did something he had never done before. Michael Parent talks about winning his first ever ESS A-Main as he gets ready for Utica Rome tonight. He also told me about his career best 410 finish Thursday at Fonda, how two nights in a 410 helped him get the win and looks forward to racing with the World of Outlaws this weekend.

Steve Poirier explains why we have not seen much of his of late and when he may race again. He told me when he reinjured his knee, when he had the surgery to fix it and how he is doing right now. Get well my friend!

Shannon Whaley spoke about changing his weekly racing home and a nagging carburetor issue. He explained how much of a factor tires were in the decision, why he knew he could not make every Saturday and how much of a struggle it has been to learn new tires and a new racetrack.

Chris Fleming will be in a 360 Sprint Car tonight at Utica Rome and told me how it came together. He talked about his hopes to do well, how tough it is to run mid pack after being sued to winning and wondered if he could ever say goodbye to his IMCA Modified.

Robert Barker is a rookie in the Sportsman class and explained why he drove to Utica Rome. He compared the track to his weekly home, described his goals for this season and how the rookie driver has been doing behind the wheel.

Chuck Akulis will be at Penn Can for Legends Night this Friday and talked a little about his 40 year career. He remembered his first time in a “green horn race”, when he first had the color pink on his car and how much different the sport is today than when he first came up. Nice one here!

Tuesday, July 24th 2012

New on the Audio Page for today:

Ronnie Johnson talks about his last three races this past weekend and why 9th place is the norm.
Pat Ward spoke about the logging business and how tough it was to lose racer Wade Decker.
Todd Burley remembered his “terrible tenth” on Friday and the motor problem at Utica Rome.
Larry Wight thought back on his 410 Sprint Car race as the All Stars visited Brewerton Speedway.
Alan Barker told me about today’s Wade Decker Memorial at I-88 and how he has done this year.

It was a hot one on Monday and several of you had some pretty strong storms to deal with. Hope you all made it through it okay. I got my work done early just in case as I see a lot popping up out there as I write this at 2:30 PM on Monday.

Remember there are two big shows back to back starting tonight at I-88 Speedway as they honor the memory of Wade Decker who was lost in a logging accident last summer. This will be a huge show and it will be a great opportunity for those of you who have yet to check this place out. Trust me, it’s worth it, head down!

Then tomorrow the Lucas Oil Late Models join the Empire Super Sprints for a mid week show at the Utica Rome Speedway. These two classes together should make for a super fun show and they did announce that Tim McCreadie is a yes for this one.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with some from my weekend and a few to promote tonight’s show at I-88. Ronnie Johnson talks about his three shows this past weekend and why ninth place seemed to be the new norm. He told me what he told his wife about the streak, how he got a flat on Friday and why a ninth place can take more work than a win.

Pat Ward spoke about the logging business and how tough it was to lose racer/logger Wade Decker last summer. He talked about the hard working people he knows, what he did when he worked in the business and looked forward to honoring Wade today with a race at I-88 Speedway.

Todd Burley remembered his “terrible tenth” on Friday and the motor problem at Utica Rome. He told me when he hurt his engine, how badly damaged it was and the small block he had in the car for Sunday. Darn it! He was pushed in after hot laps with engine trouble.

Larry Wight thought back on his 410 Sprint Car race as the All Stars visited Brewerton Speedway. He talked about his 11^th place finish, how happy he was to be a part of the biggest show ever at Brewerton and what it was like to get used to a 410 compared to his 360.

Alan Barker talked about today’s Wade Decker Memorial at I-88 and how he has done so far as a Friday night regular. He told me how close he has come to a win, why he towed to Utica Rome on Sunday and how tough it is to lose a good man in a work accident. Rest in peace Wade!

Monday, July 23rd 2012

New on the Audio Page from the Utica Rome Speedway:

Pre race conversations:

Corie Locke talked about adapting to a rear wheel drive car after driving a front wheel 4 Cylinder.
Dwight Johnson described a problem he had with his Pro Stock and wondered if it was fixed.
Stewart Friesen ran down how his weekend went as he had a win on Friday and 4^th on Saturday.
Jeremy Vunk explained how he lost a lap in the last race and how it cost him the point lead.
Jimmy Davis remembered his Modified win at Fonda last Thursday and how a good draw helped.

After the heat races:

Larry Wight signed some autographs for the crowd and talked about his win in the first heat.
Chris Busta won the second heat and told me why the rain that fell after hot laps didn’t matter.
Casey Williams talked about his Modified heat win and when his car stumbled in the corners.
Alan Johnson spoke about his two win weekend and the wreck the hauler was in on the way home.
Chris Mackey enjoyed signing some autographs and remembered who his favorite driver was.

After the features:

Pete Stefanski won his first Pro Stock feature of the year at Utica and talked about the victory.
Stewart Friesen made it four Modified feature wins in a row and told Mike Mallett about this one.
Alan Johnson almost swept the weekend and talked about finishing in second place with Mike.
Matt Sheppard came from 17^th to 3^rd and told Mike Mallett how he was compared to the top two.
Steve Way took over the lead as the white flag waved and talked about winning his 2^nd in a row.

Last night I traveled east to the Utica Rome Speedway for some fun at the big half mile. Everything was going according to plan until Mother Nature started to rain on us just after hot laps. It started as a little drizzle that made you unsure if it was actually raining or not but then escalated.

Fortunately it did not rain for very long and the packers were able to pretty much have the track ready to go only a few minutes past the advertised starting time. And the ground in the pit area was so dry you could not even tell it rained there. They brought out both heats of Pro Stocks to help run it in the rest of the way in and in no time we were ready for the first green flag.

One driver that was not there when the rain fell and just made it in time for his qualifying heat race was Alan Johnson. Car owner Kenny Saya’s hauler was struck by a car that ran a stop sign as they traveled north on route 21 last night on the way back from their Canandaigua win. Luckily the women drove a big car and had air bags or, from what the guys told me, she would have been in trouble.

Consequently the team had to get the racecars from Farmington, bring them back, deal with the wrecked rig and somehow make it to Utica Rome in time with the standard pick up truck and basic enclosed trailer. Somehow they did but from what I heard, many were on no sleep. That’s a motivated team that has really come together right there!

Alan Johnson was trying to sweep the weekend as he won at Brewerton on Friday and Canandaigua on Saturday. He chatted with me after his heat about his weekend and what he heard about the crash. He was not in the hauler as he was on his way back to his home in Middlesex. That chat is on the Audio Page.

No story book ending or possible Disney movie here, although Johnson did made his way from ninth to the lead briefly on lap thirteen but then Stewart Friesen went to the outside on turn four to get to the front and to victory lane for the second time this weekend. He also made a nice split of a pair of lapped cars after waiting on the frontstretch to see what they did. It was sick!

Friesen now has four in a row, eighteen altogether and has been nothing short of amazing these past four weeks in Vernon. Matt Sheppard was fast as well and was all over Alan Johnson when the checkered flag waved settling for third. Listen to his interview and he’ll tell you how good his car was and from what I saw you have to believe him. He looked good!

I did not get as many heat winners as I normally do although I did get four. They did the autograph session behind the grandstand so it was tougher to get to the guys. Plus when they are right in the middle of signing a bunch of autographs, I tend to sit back and let the fans get to them. If I can sneak in, I do. But this is the time for fans to get to know these guys and see who the man or woman is behind the helmet…although tonight it was all guys, a rarity in today’s racing world.

Two drivers did not make it to the feature unfortunately as Todd Burley was pushed back to the pits after a few hot laps and Ronnie Johnson was out with reported steering issues. Ricky Breed was fighting for a win with his good buddy Ronnie Hawker in the Pure Stock feature when he got tangled up with a slower car and hit the wall hard right before the finish line and just short of the checkered flag. Hawker won that dash and the race.

They did do a one lap dash after the crash but you have to feel for these three drivers and many more that had something break that shouldn’t have, hit something they shouldn’t have or just plain have a lot of work to do this week.

Congrats to Pete Stefanski as he won his first of the season n the Pro Stock ranks. If you do a search for him on the Audio Page you’ll hear how he has struggled to get the car to work this year. You know this one had to feel good.

And Steve Way did something he had never done before as he won for the second week in a row in the Sportsman. He did it in style too with an outside move coming out of turn four that saw him right under flagger Matt Burdick’s toes. He did that right as Matt was waving the white flag too. A late race pass for the win will always make any driver very, very happy. Win from the pole, still pretty happy. But the late race pass for the win…much more happiness indeed! Those are the ones you remember as a driver I’m sure.

Now I need to figure out what to do this week. The big question is I-88 on Tuesday. Boy I would sure like to get some help from a fan, a team or a local sponsor on that one. We'll give you some mentions in the interviews! I did have one fan of the site slap me a twenty last night and I put half that in my tank. Thanks buddy! If you want to help, get ahold of me at doug@dougsdirtdiary.com as I would love to go but really don’t have the money needed to get there. A c-note should do it. Of course you can message me on facebook too although I am not on there as much as I once was. It can truly be a tremendous waste of time. Right?

I have more pictures to put up today and I’ll get to those this afternoon. Have a great Monday and come back tomorrow for Todd Burley, Ronnie Johnson and more.

Sunday, July 22nd 2012

New on the Audio Page for today:

Mike Bowman talked about his new Modified and why they changed their chassis manufacturer.
Joe August Jr. told me what broke last week at Fulton and how expensive the race night was.
Mike Smith had a somewhat new chassis at Brewerton and talked about the need for an upgrade.
Brandon Carvey showed off a new look for his IMCA Modified and told me why they did it.
Bryan Van Tassell ran down how his rookie season has been going in his IMCA Modified.

We had a fun day on my somewhat day off for the Syracuse Nationals. My dad and I took my daughters over to the show in the early afternoon while my wife stayed with mom back at the house. We saw lots of great cars and I am slowly but surely turning my daughters into car girls.

Of course I think we enjoyed sitting out front watching the cars leave to get dinner more than the show itself. It is great to see these cars up close but better to see and hear them go down the road.

Then after dinner, dad took my girls in his 1968 Dodge Polara convertible while I followed in my 1988 Camaro convertible with a 602 crate engine under the hood. We only made a quick trip to where the people had their lawn chairs set up on Seventh North Street by the headquarters and after watching cars go by earlier in the day it was nice to be watched instead of watching.

Now today I will be back at racing as I will be back at the Utica Rome Speedway. We put up some photos earlier on Saturday and then again at about 10 o’clock. I’ll check the emails before I head out today and if I get any new ones, I’ll be sure to put them up.

Now let’s talk more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who debuted something new on Friday night. Mike Bowman talked about his new Modified and why they changed their chassis manufacturer. He told me when they started to work on the car, what parts did not transfer over and which track he hopes the new car works better at.

Joe August Jr. told me what broke last week at Fulton and how expensive the race night was. He explained what it felt like when it broke, why it was good they had a rev chip and why that was not a concern as it is for some in a similar situation.

Mike Smith had a somewhat new chassis at Brewerton and talked about the need for an upgrade. He explained why he could not run at his usual Friday night home, remembered what happened when he tried to come up last year and how he knew it was time for a new car.

Brandon Carvey showed off a new look for his IMCA Modified and told me why they did it. He told me when they got out the spray cans, who did the work and described a problem they had last time out that turned out not to be as serious as they thought.

Bryan Van Tassell ran down how his rookie season has been going in his IMCA Modified. He told me how the racetrack was at Brewerton in hot laps, wonders if he will make any changes and why he is happy to be running their feature first.

Saturday, July 21st 2012

New on the Audio Page from the Brewerton Speedway:

Pre race conversations:

Chuck Bower remembered his runs last weekend and talked about the improvement at Fulton.
Dan Vauter said goodbye to an engine and told me how soon it blew after his feature win.
Jim Witko talked about ripping the left front off at Fulton and the help he had to repair it.
Tim Devendorf came into the night with an 8 race win streak and talked about his successes.
Mike Mullen had a streak of his own in the Mod Lites and spoke about winning two in a row.
Jason Amidon has yet to win an IMCA Modified feature at Brewerton and talked about coming close.

After the heat races:

Rob Keller talked about beating his brother for a win and what he was going to change on his IMCA.
Kevan Cook told me about his IMCA heat win and what he did to help a fellow racer afterwards.
Chad Phelps made a nice pass for a Modified heat win and told me how smooth the racetrack was.
Willy Decker led every lap on his way to a heat win and talked about seeing someone down low.
Chuck Bower explained how he changed his lane to run down the leader and get a heat win.

After the four features:

Ryan Scott made a pass for the lead with two to go and told Bill Foley about it in victory lane.
Alan Johnson spoke with Adam Buchanan after winning his 61^st career feature race at Brewerton.
Jimmy Phelps picked up 16 spots to finish 2^nd and talked about the fun he had on a racy surface.
Chris Hile led nine laps in the feature finishing 4^th and explained how slow he had to go to run low.
Chad Phelps came from 10^th to 5^th and told me about the need for patience on the 1/3 mile track.
Jeff Isabell Jr. made a move in the final corner to win the Mod Lite feature and spoke with Bill.
Chuck Powelczyk won the Four Cylinder race with a heavy heart and remembered a friend.

It was another real good night last night at Brewerton Speedway as the track was smooth, fast and racy. It led to lots of late race drama in the heats and features. Now my streak of excellent race surfaces goes to three as Brewerton was about as good as it was on Wednesday for the All Stars. Nice 48 hour turnaround here to say the least by the track crew. Way to go guys!!!

It was a fast show too as the Modifieds were the second feature and took the green flag at 9:04 PM. Everything was done in well under three hours and there were 28 Modifieds to boot. A couple of Skyline Sportsman drivers came in and put four barrels on their open motors as they’ll be running at the Wade Decker Memorial at I-88 this week.

Like I said the racing was real good across the board and with the surface as good as it was, it made for an excellent show for the fans. The crowd was not what it was on Wednesday of course as I am sure many fans had to choose one show or the other. But the ones that were there were treated to some great racing.

Alan Johnson moved around Chris Hile to win the Modified feature. He got around Hile with nine laps to go as Hile stayed committed to the only brown part of the track way down low. He made it work for a while as he tried for his first feature win but it was so tough to hold and you had to whoa it up so much to get there.

Eventually the experience of Johnson made the difference here as he somehow kept his big block under control and went where no one else was at the time to get the lead and eventually the win. It was career win number sixty-one for Alan at Brewerton and we have his victory lane interview up on the Audio Page as well as six pre race chats, the Modified & IMCA Modified heat winners and all four feature winners.

Of course we took pictures too and those are up and free to download. Call up the photo, hit download right above it, tell it where you want to save it and it is yours.

It was also a special night for Chuck Powelczyk who remembered former racer Russ Cusson who lost his life almost ten years ago to the day. Chuck flew Russ’s yellow 007 on a banner behind his car and had his picture taped to the dash of his car as he went on to an emotional win.

The division went green to checkered in the feature after a meeting before the heat races. I was at one of those types of meetings last year after things started to get out of control and I was a small part of it unfortunately as I reacted poorly after some on track contact. After seeing the actions of one of the drivers online as he tried to stir things up, it reminded me of my own decisions and how I reacted poorly.

But this is racing and it is serious business. Since I was first in the sport as an announcer in 1990, I saw a lot of new drivers come into the sport in all kinds of divisions who only wanted to go fast, drive with reckless abandon, take out other cars and drive with a total vendetta mindset.

And as someone who has watched these types of drivers come and go for over 23 years as an announcer and website guy, I can tell you this, they are not the ones who make it or stick around very long unless they change their style. If they don’t, they spend a lot more time and money to do it. You need to run a line, let your fellow racers know they can race you and then race cleanly…especially for $125 for a win and $35 to take the green.

I harken back to a racetrack I worked at many years ago. A new driver in an expensive headline division was not making friends. He had won some races (not a lot) in the support class and was determined as all get out to win in this new class as a rookie. But when you are the new guy in any division, you can’t come into a class and start slamming drivers, driving through them and in rare cases, bragging about it publically afterwards.

Well, you can do what you want of course, but it usually doesn’t end well and a short racing career is almost always assured.

But back to my story…after about three or four wrecks into this and after taking out a feature winner on back to back weeks, the experienced driver remarked to the rookie while being towed to his pit, “Come back next week, we’ll do it again. You’ll run out of cars before I will.” I laughed to myself and said, “He’s right ya know!”

Bottom line, this is dangerous stuff and any division that races anywhere, anytime can see someone get killed. It happens a lot. I’ve personally seen four people die on a racetrack. There are no words to describe it and how you feel afterwards. And we all need to respect our fellow racers out there, run cleanly, let them recover if possible when things go wrong and remember that anything can happen out there.

Sorry, but I needed to say it because it happens more than it should at times especially at about this time of the season.

A big thanks goes out to the folks that helped last night by putting a 20 dollar bill in my hand. I went shopping on the way home with some of it. Thanks guys. I’ll be at the Syracuse Nationals today (and will buy dinner there for me and my daughter thanks to you guys.) as I always take this one Saturday off by design every year as my first car love is hot rods and classic cars. And they will be everywhere today. Take a drive and you’ll see.

We’ll be at Utica on Sunday, I-88 (I’m almost sure) and Utica again on Wednesday. Could use some help with the I-88 trip and if some of you down there could help it would make it easier. Of course you can always reach me at doug@dougsdirtdiary.com or at PO Box 2276, Liverpool, NY 13089.

Have a great Saturday and remember what I have always said, “Be safe, be fast and have fun!” If you go into the day thinking that way you’re already ahead of the game. Take care guys and send me emails, I wanna make sure you guys read down the page this far. I’ll draw a t-shirt winner from the emails I get. Want a shot at a free one? Send me an email about anything.

Friday, July 20th 2012

New on the Audio Page for today:

Shawn Donath tells Mike Mallett about racing with the All Stars and the last time he did it.
Dick Spadaro explained why he has not raced much this year as he gets ready for a busy streak.
April Wilson described an issue they had with her car and how much RACE 101 has helped.
Derrick McGrew talked about his season at Albany Saratoga and his son’s racing successes.
Rick LaMonte ran down some of the problems he has had trying to qualify at Albany Saraotga.
Johnny Scarborough won last week at Fonda and talked about getting engaged in victory lane.
Justin Thompson just got married this past Saturday and told me about his understanding wife.
Bob Henry Jr. celebrated his birthday at the track and thought back to a birthday in his past.
Earl Rudy was in a different car on Wednesday and told me why they made the car switch.

It was a nice day on Thursday and I got some more work done as I wrote up a Q&A for the Syracuse Post Standard with Tony Stewart and did some website work as well. As you can see we are showing some love to the Sportsman today with lots of interviews from the show at Brewerton on Wednesday

Now let’s talk about what I do have on the Audio Page for today. Shawn Donath tells Mike Mallett about racing with the All Stars and the last time he did it. He talked about learning the Goodyear tires, remarked on what he did wrong and what happened once the tire got hot.

Dick Spadaro explained why he has not raced much this year as he gets ready for a busy streak behind the wheel. He told me why he enjoys it more than maybe than ever before, why he enjoys working on the cars so much and what he learns from racing against the best in the business.

April Wilson described an issue they had with her car and how much RACE 101 has helped. She also told Rich Vleck how much she enjoys running her 410, her hopes to race it more and some recent issues they have had with the car.

Derrick McGrew talked about his season at Albany Saratoga and his son’s racing successes. He wondered how similar the Brewerton Speedway would be compared to his weekly home and wonders how many ore years he will have as a driver. Nine maybe?

Rick LaMonte ran down some of the problems he has had trying to qualify at Albany Saraotga. He listed the areas of the car he has had to work on, described how much better he was last time out and what his goals were for the Brewerton show on Wednesday.

Johnny Scarborough won last week at Fonda and talked about getting engaged in victory lane. He told me how long he had been planning this, what his girlfriend said in response and how nice the photo turned out with the Pizza Logger giving his approval as well.

Justin Thompson just got married this past Saturday and told me about his understanding wife. He remembered the day, told me what they did afterwards to celebrate and where they will go later on their official honeymoon. You’re a fortunate man Justin!

Bob Henry Jr. celebrated his birthday at the track and thought back to a birthday in his past when he raced to a Modified victory. He talked about why we have not seen him race much this year, wondered how he would feel the next day and how the deal came together to drive Earl Rudy’s Sportsman.

Earl Rudy was in a different car on Wednesday and told me why they made the car switch. He told me when he told Bob Henry Jr. that he was going to drive his car, ran down some of the history of the car he would drive and his struggles with American Racer tires.

Thursday, July 19th 2012

   New on the Audio Page from a packed Brewerton Speedway:

Pre race conversations:

Cap Henry spoke with Mike Mallett about his initial impressions of the d-shaped dirt demon.
Daryn Pittman told Mike Mallett how much he likes small tracks and why the shows are better.
Marty Perovich talked about his night at Lernerville with the WoO and how out of shape he is.
Justin Barger explained why he was going to run his 360 Sprinter and leave the 410 in the trailer.
Colby Womer doesn’t make a lot of long tows and told Rich Vleck about his New York history.
Jessica Zemken described the atmosphere at this show and how nice it was to race 410’s close by.
Bob Howard tells Rich Vleck about the big week of racing he has with both 410’s and 360’s.
Michael Parent is still learning the 410 Sprint Car game and talked about racing tonight at Fonda.
Danny Smith and I watched the Sportsman hot laps and told me what he was trying to learn.

After the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions heat races:

Danny Smith led ever lap in his heat win and told me if the surface turned out like he thought.
Logan Schuchart talked about his heat win and how stories spread quickly after a recent injury.
Justin Barger won his heat with a 360 under the hood and told about the line he was running.

After the 30 lap A-Main:

Tim Shaffer spoke with Mike Mallet in victory lane about the breaks he got on the racetrack.
David Gravel almost ran down the leader and talked with Mike Mallett about his 2^nd place.
Daryn Pittman finished in third place and told Mike Mallett about the need for a victory.
Tony Stewart talked about his fourth place finish, why he likes New York and Sprint Car racing.
Cap Henry told me about his fifth place run, how much he liked the track and the way it changed.
Kevin Ridley was the best of a 54 car Sportsman field and told Bill Foley how big the win was.

What a night it turned out to be at the Brewerton Speedway. The biggest crowd ever was on hand as the place was packed from turn four all the way to turn one. And unlike what the fans saw Friday, it was close to a perfect racetrack. Fast, tacky, smooth and changeable in the A-Main.

The UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions was on hand and so was Tony Stewart who thanks to a sponsor was publicized for a long time leading up to the event. I’d like to think the extra money spent was well worth it. Traffic was backed up for miles leading to the track. I’m glad I know the back roads and was able to scoot around it.

We also had Mike Mallett and Rich Vleck do some interviews for me as they both know the Sprint Car world a lot better than I do. Plus if you include Bill Foley’s victory lane interview, we had a total of four people on the site today asking questions. I love giving other voices a place to be heard and if you want to do it, send me an email at doug@dougsdirtdiary.com and we’ll see if we can’t make that happen. Track announcers and wanna be fans, I’m talking to you!

The racing was darned good and it was fun to watch some of these guys just drive into turn one a little hard. But they are professionals in a lot of cases so they figured it out and it was fun to watch them learn. I did ten races and won a feature last year at Brewerton and I don’t think I ever hit turn one properly. It’s a tough corner and it was a blast to watch the pros do it.

Of course a lot of people in the crowd were there to see Tony Stewart and he did not disappoint. He had a shot at the win in his heat after his second career World of Outlaw win the night before and came from 7^th to 4^th in the A-Main. Afterwards three of us media types caught up with him and he took a break from signing autographs to chat with us. It’s six minutes long and it is real good. I know you’ll like it.

The Sportsman were also on hand for this one and a whopping 54 of them showed up. I knew this race was going to be big but I figured 40, maybe 45, but not 54. I did a bunch of interviews with them and those will be up tomorrow. But with the 410’s racing again tonight at Fonda, I wanted to get all those out today as once they race again, those interviews are now old in my warped mind.

And like I said, the All Stars will be at Fonda today and yes, Tony Stewart will be there. He has never raced there but has seen it from afar, probably from the Thruway. So if you have never been, this would be the time go. But get there early and buy a pit pass. Trust me, it will be worth the extra money.

I also wanted to thank everyone who made time for me last night. There were a lot of true professionals in that pit area and I had a great time. I have now been to two awesome shows back to back if we remember Fulton from Saturday. And thanks to one of the Commercial Roofing boys for helping me last night. We are still looking for that $20 show of support from fans and drivers, so when you see me, slap me a twenty to keep me rolling in this tough in between time for us.

Have a great day today and I’ll be back tomorrow with lots more. And who knows, maybe we’ll get some new pics in too! So keep checking back.


	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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