Gary Rowe - CPA
Dougs dirt diary
Gary Rowe of M.R. Gaebel, Inc.
Gates-Cole Associates SUNY Canton Automotive Technology program
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wednesday, May 1st 2013
   New on the Audio Page for today:
 
Neal Williams talks about getting his first ever big block win and his wreck the very next night. 
Alton Palmer remembered his second place run at Fonda and explained how he lost the lead. 
Andrew Ferguson got ready for his first open motor Sportsman start and offered up his thoughts.
Megan Allen told me about her two race win streak in the 600 Micro Sprint division at Paradise. 
 
It was another nice day on Tuesday and I got a lot done around the house. You know, stuff that needed to be done to keep your neighbors happy. It was good and it was nice to see that my old lawnmower started on the first pull. And by the way, if yours didn’t and you have a large area to mow, click on my Ferris Industries ad to find one that rides as smoothly as a cloud and is also made here in Central New York. Yeah, it’s all good. Click on their ad and learn more.
 
As I write this I am grilling in the backyard. It is the second time we’ve done that this spring and if it is hald as good as it smells it will be a great dinner tonight.
 
Today I’ll be back in the studio as I do need to get a few interviews done for tomorrow. Yes, today is a special day for me but when you’ve been through as many as I have, it is best to just stay the course and not get too excited. Although I will take the special dinner tonight. 
 
Now let’s chat more about what I have up on the Audio Page for the first day of May. Neal Williams talks about getting his first ever big block win and his wreck the very next night. He told me how it felt to beat his idol in the Friday night race at Georgetown, why this win meant a little more than his first did and how quickly he was able to fix the damage from Saturday at New Egypt. 
 
Alton Palmer remembered his second place run at Fonda and explained how he lost the lead. He walked me through what happened in turn two, told me how good he was in the slower traffic and why he is optimistic about his future this year. 
 
Andrew Ferguson got ready for his first open motor Sportsman start and offered up his thoughts. He ran down the last minute work they did to get the car ready, wonders how much different it will be compared to his crate car and how tough it will be with the ROC Tour in the pit area. 
 
Megan Allen told me about her two race win streak in the 600 Micro Sprint division at Paradise. She explained why she almost didn’t race this past Saturday, how she feels her time in Florida in February helped and gives some advice to the new racers in her class. Best of luck on your final exams Megan! 

 
Tuesday, April 30th 2013
   New on the Audio Page for today:
 
Kevin Bates talked about his Five Mile Point Speedway win and how busy he has been in 2013. 
Mike Mahaney spoke about his first ever win at I-88 Speedway and how happy he was for the team.
Brian White described how he beat his dad at Thunder Mountain and finished 2nd the next night. 
Butch Green is off to a nice start this year and talked about his win at Skyline the week before. 
Keith Shay told me about the work they did to get ready for Friday and his stock car plans. 
 
Boy it was sure a crappy day on Monday as it was wet and a little too cold for my liking. But at least this past weekend the weather waited until we were done with a good three day race weekend before it moved in. And it made for a free watering at the tracks too so it is all good.
 
I was busy on Monday as was Webmaster Andy as he continues to work with our server company to sort out some issues we are having. The whole thing is quite complicated as anyone who has written scripts can tell you but we hope to get it fixed soon and get back to uploading new photos. 
 
On the site today we have five nice interviews. Four are from the weekend while the Kevin Bates chat is from the studio. I do have calls out to a lot of people too so look for a lot coming up to join the stuff we did over the weekend.
 
Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a nice one with a guy who has been all over the place in recent months. Kevin Bates talked about his Five Mile Point Speedway win and how busy he has been in 2013. He told me about his work on the Nationwide Tour, wonders if he’ll race north of the border much and explains why he is so happy to have beaten the sail panel cars with a traditional body. 
 
Mike Mahaney spoke about his first ever win at I-88 Speedway and how happy he was for the team. He told me about the changes they made along the way, how good the car got during the feature and how he used the outside to get the win. 
 
Brian White described how he beat his dad at Thunder Mountain and finished 2nd the next night. He told me how he was looking over his shoulder a bit on Friday, how his dad got by him the next night for the win and his hopes for later that day at the Utica Rome ROC show. 
 
Butch Green is off to a nice start this year and talked about his win at Skyline the week before in the snow. He explained how his air helmet helped on that night, how he finished third in the next race and looks forward to his first ever Sportsman race at Utica Rome. 
 
Keith Shay told me about the work they did to get his Four Cylinder Super Stock ready for Friday and his stock car plans. He wondered how well he did putting together his first motor, what it would take to make him happy on this night and remembered when I drove into his driver’s door a few years ago. Yeah, the yellow paint was still there! 

 
Monday, April 29th 2013
   New on the Audio Page from the Utica Rome Speedway:
 
Pre race conversations:
 
Tom Denton remembered his emotional Pro Stock win and explained why it helped a lot of people. 
Stewart Friesen told me about his weekend so far that included a 2nd place and another win. 
Claude Hutchings Jr. thought back on last week's win and explained why he was speechless. 
Eddie White talked about his win at Five Mile Point and his second place the night before. 
Bret Belden spoke about how happy he is with his new car and the new addition to the family. 
Pete Stefanski thanked the folks who let him drive their car after he had motor issues last week. 
 
After the heat races:
 
Jeremy Vunk told me about how pass on the bottom that got him a win in the first Sportsman heat. 
Jack Miller is two for two in heat races this year and talked about his win in heat number two. 
A.J. Filbeck described the race he had to get the lead and spoke about it with the driver he beat! 
Steve Way made some changes to his Sportsman after his win and told me what his concern was. 
Rusty Smith was the only outsider to win a heat and told me how what he learned last week helped. 
Chris Hile won the second Modified heat race and talked about the inside line that he used. 
Casey Williams explained how he went low in a three wide deal in his heat race to get the win.
 
After the features:
 
Steve Way talked with Mike Mallett after winning the Race of Champions Sportsman feature.
Matt Janczuk spoke about his runner up finish and told the crowd about the 3 wide racing he was in. 
Jeremy Vunk came home in third place and talked with Mike Mallett about the search for bite. 
Ryan Phelps won his career first at Utica Rome and spoke about being three wide at the white. 
Dale Planck earned his best Utica Rome finish in years and described the last lap on the track.
Stewart Friesen had a third place finish at Utica Rome and talked about how close he feels he is. 
Alan Johnson went from 1st to 4th at the end of the feature and described what his car was doing. 
 
What a night it was at Utica Rome as the Modified feature was on that people will be chatting about for quite some time. Alan Johnson was leading as the field came out of turn four to the white flag. But three cars were catching him and had been for about the last five laps or so.
 
Two of those three cars split Johnson as they took the white flag. Ryan Phelps went to the high side and was credited with leading the lap while Dale Planck went to the bottom. Stewart Friesen watched from behind as it unfolded as Phelps took control up high with Planck digging down low for all he was worth. 
 
As they crossed the line, Phelps had won his career first at Utica Rome and he did so by passing DIRT’s alltime winning driver and holding off the top two in the win list at Utica Rome, Dale Planck and Stewart Friesen. So once again Utica Rome has a great feature race and this one was the best I’ve seen so far this year. Ask someone who was there and I’m sure they will tell you.
 
I did record the three victory lanes from that race and tracked down fourth place finisher Alan Johnson as well to find out what was going on with his racecar in the closing laps. One word says it all, “loose”. Give a listen to that as well as six pre race conversations and seven of the eight open wheel heat winners. Yep, there is a lot there.
 
The Modifieds were out in force too as thirty of them showed up with a total of forty five ROC Sportsman. It was a nice turnout on what was a real nice day. At one time it looked like some weather might hit but the rain to the west never got close to the track and my drive back to Syracuse was on dry roads. Who can predict the weather right? Not too many from what I can tell.
 
Congrats to Steve Way who lead a five car Utica Rome sweep in the ROC Sportsman feature. He took the lead just past halfway and held off some very fast cars to get the win. And last week’s winner Claude Hutchings Jr. spun on the first lap and came from 29th to finish 4th
 
All in all it was a real nice night of racing with like I said, the best Modified feature I’ve seen so far this year. I’ll be in studio today and we’re still busy working on our issues with uploading new photos for you to see. I’ll keep you posted as the week goes on. We have 12 chats in the can from the weekend and those will show up during the week. Have a good one and I’ll see you tomorrow. 

 
Sunday, April 28th 2013
   New on the Audio Page for today:
 
Jimmy Phelps talked about his hopes for the Brewerton opener as he got ready to defend his title.
Dan Vauter described some of the history of his racecar and how the car felt to him in hot laps. 
Tim Sears Jr. explained why his car smoked in the Tuesday practice and how easy it was to fix. 
Chris Hile remembered the wreck he was in last week and how much work it took to fix it.
Katelyn Kane told me what possessed her to change her mind and run in the Brewerton opener. 
Doug Williams was supposed to be retired but told me how he ended up in a car for Friday. 
 
It was a nice day on Saturday and hopefully all of you stayed warm last night at your favorite track. Today is another race day and I will be out to the Utica Rome Speedway to catch up with some of the weekend winners and see more.
 
I put up six chats from Brewerton for you guys to listen to today and I hope you enjoy them. During the week I’ll release my chats with Jim Witko, Keith Shay and Ryan Bartlett. But tomorrow you’ll get stuff from today at Utica Rome.
 
I also have compiled a nice list of folks I’ll be getting ahold of this week as we have a busy week in the studio already planned. 
 
Now let’s chat more about what I have for you today on the Audio Page. I begin with my first interview from Friday night. Jimmy Phelps talked about his hopes for the Brewerton opener as he got ready to defend his title. He told me why he feels there were so many winners last year, how the track changed at midseason and how often he will race on Sundays. 
 
Dan Vauter described some of the history of his racecar and how the car felt to him in hot laps. He explained what they would do loosen up his car, how much you can judge what the track will be like from hot laps and runs down his plans for 2013. 
 
Tim Sears Jr. explained why his car smoked in the Tuesday practice and how easy it was to fix. He talked about the new chassis they picked up, reminded me why he needed one and wonders how the spilt rack car will work. 
 
Chris Hile remembered the wreck he was in last week at Utica Rome and how much work it took to fix it.  He told me when the finished up the work, how much money it took to get it back and how tough it is to start the year that way. 
 
Katelyn Kane told me what possessed her to change her mind and run in the Brewerton opener. She talked about her game plan for the night, the need for more laps and what would make for a successful night. 
 
Doug Williams was supposed to be retired but told me how he ended up in a car for Friday. He told me why he feels it might be time to step back a little, what his goals were for the night and wonders what would happen if things go better than expected. 

 
Saturday, April 27th 2013
   New on the Audio Page from the Brewerton Speedway opener:
 
After the heat races:
 
Gary Jefferies told me why he was not in his car and how it felt to race beat the owner for a win. 
Tim Devendorf went from 6th to 1st in one lap and talked about his dominating heat victory.
Ryan Bartlett took his new Modified to a win in the first heat and talked about how his car felt.
Chuck Bower described the pass for the lead he made as he went on to win the second heat. 
Billy Decker talked about his heat win and thought back on the fun he had last week in Vernon. 
 
After the features:
 
Chuck Powelczyk won the caution free Four Cylinder Open and talked about why it was special. 
Tim Devendorf spoke with Adam Buchanan about his win in the Mod Lite feature at Brewerton. 
Billy Decker won the Modified opener with a nice move on lap 22 and told Bill Foley about it.
Chuck Bower led 21 laps in the feature and told me how the lapped cars affected the race out front.
Dale Planck earned a fourth place finish moving up one spot and evaluated how the car was. 
Ryan Phelps picked up five spots to finish fifth and told me what went wrong right before the race. 
Tim Sears Jr. finished sixth in the Modified feature and explained where could have been better. 
 
I had a real good time last night as the Brewerton Speedway got their season going. The track was in mid-season form, smooth, fast and very racy. You’ll hear from some of the winners themselves as they’ll tell you how good it really was.
 
Billy Decker, who was fresh of a second place last week at Utica Rome, took the lead from Chuck Bower on the outside (not a surprise) and held off Matt Sheppard in the closing laps to pick up the win. 
 
We recorded Billy’s victory lane interview and tracked down 5 of the top 6 afterwards. We also got the Modified and Mod Lite heat winners as well as two more feature winners.
 
 I did get some pre race chats but not nearly as many as usual with the long lines to get in initially and the extended driver’s meeting. I only got 9 but I’ll put most of those up tomorrow as I do need to stay home today before heading to Utica Rome tomorrow. 
 
For more information on the night go to www.brewertonspeeday.com. 
 
Now let’s chat more about what is new on the Audio Page for today. I begin with the first heat winner of the night. Gary Jefferies told me why he was not in his car and how it felt to race beat the owner for the win in the first Mod Lite heat at Brewerton. 
 
Tim Devendorf went from 6th to 1st in one lap and talked about his dominating heat win in the Mod Lite opener at Brewerton. 
 
Ryan Bartlett took his new Modified to a win in the first heat race of the year at the Brewerton Speedway and talked about how that new car felt. 
 
Chuck Bower described the pass for the lead he made on lap five as he went on to win the second Modified heat race at the Brewerton opener. 
 
Billy Decker talked about his Modified heat win at the Brewerton opener and thought back on the fun he had last week in Vernon. 
 
Chuck Powelczyk won the caution free Four Cylinder Open that was held over from last year’s Outlaw 200 Weekend and told Adam Buchanan why it was special. 
 
Tim Devendorf spoke with Adam Buchanan about his win in the Mod Lite feature at Brewerton that saw him lead every lap.  
 
Billy Decker won the Modified opener at the Brewerton Speedway with a nice move on lap 22 and told announcer Bill Foley about it. 
 
Chuck Bower led 21 laps in the feature and told me how the lapped cars affected the race out front as he fell back to finish in third place. 
 
Dale Planck earned a fourth place finish moving up one spot in the Brewerton Speedway opener and evaluated how both he and the car did. 
 
Ryan Phelps picked up five spots to finish fifth at the Brewerton Speedway opener and told me what went wrong right before the race. 
 
Tim Sears Jr. finished sixth in the Modified feature at the Brewerton Speedway opener and explained where he felt he could have been better. 

 
Friday, April 26th 2013
   New on the Audio Page for today:
 
Pat O’Brien talked about a gear change he was making at the Brewerton practice and his 2013 plans. 
Ryan Phelps was getting ready for hot laps at Utica Rome and summed up how he is at the track. 
Tommy Wickham showed off a new look on his Sprint Car and told me about a chassis change.
Rob Bellinger described how a recent injury is healing and a big mistake he made on Sunday. 
Mike Bowman told me how his car was in hot laps and wondered about a brake issue he had. 
Matt Billings was making his first start at Utica Rome and told me why they put it on their schedule. 
Jared Umbenhauer walked me through his win at Grandview and talked about his great start. 
 
It was a nice day on Thursday and I had a lot of fun getting outside and trying some new things. Yeah, it was a fun day.
 
And now it looks like we should be good for out first weather free/three day weekend of racing. Nice! I can’t wait. I know I will be at Brewerton on Friday and Utica Rome on Sunday but am still undecided on where to go on Saturday. 
 
I know a lot of you are excited and I can’t blame you. It will be nice to be in above freezing temperatures as it will not be nearly as cold this weekend as it has been the past few. That’s great news for all of us.
 
As you can see we have a lot for you on the Audio Page. I begin there with one from the Brewerton Speedway practice on Tuesday. Pat O’Brien talked about a gear change he was making at the Brewerton practice and his 2013 plans. He compared the 1/3 mile he was at to his Saturday home, how nice it was to get the cobwebs out and remembered one time when he forgot one very important thing he needed for his racecar. 
 
Ryan Phelps was getting ready for hot laps at Utica Rome and summed up how he is at the track. He talked about his hopes for the season in Vernon, how the car has done at the track in the past and where he feels he needs to be better. 
 
Tommy Wickham showed off a new look on his Sprint Car and told me about a chassis change. He talked about which car was for which types of tracks, what he likes so much about Can Am and how he has done at the big half mile in the past. ESS debuts there today! 
 
Rob Bellinger described how a recent injury is healing and a big mistake he made on Sunday. He told me how he made the mistake, wonders how long he will hear about this and wondered how good his car is after not learning much in the hot laps. Oh no! He is not the only one who will do this in 2013. 
 
Mike Bowman told me how his car was in hot laps and wondered about a brake issue he had. He described what it felt like, what they did to try to help it and how important brakes are at this big half mile track. 
 
Matt Billings was making his first start at Utica Rome and told me why they put it on their schedule. He told me how his first race went a few weeks ago at Canandaigua, why he needs to get as many laps in a big block as possible and told me how his car was in hot laps. 
 
Jared Umbenhauer walked me through his win at Grandview and talked about his great start. He told me about the lines he used to get to the front, a big change coming into the season and how good this change was on the very first night. 

 
Thursday, April 25th 2013
   New on the Audio Page for today:
 
Tim Fuller remembered his 7th place with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series on Saturday. 
Ryan Godown talked about his win at New Egypt and how close he has been on several occasions. 
Dale Planck told me how he almost flipped his radical Modified in the very first corner at speed. 
Brandan Warner shook down his Sprint Car on Tuesday and told me what is new with his team. 
Darwin Greene explained how he drove too deeply on the last lap at Fonda and fell back to 11th
Katelyn Kane offered her thoughts after turning her first laps in a big block Modified at Brewerton.
Stephen Denton got ready for his Utica Rome debut and talked about some issues he had in 2012.
 
As you can see we have a lot for you today as we have some racetrack interviews as well as one from the studio as well. Plus I have a short list of folks I will trying to get ahold of today so look for at least seven more tomorrow as well and maybe more.
 
We’re still working on some issues on the website. It is nothing that would affect you except at time when we get real busy. We’re working with out server company in off hours so as not to disturb your ability to see us and we’re getting closer. We’ll keep you posted. 
 
Tomorrow we’ll be at the Brewerton Speedway for their opener and after a successful practice on Tuesday, I am very psyched to see the show this Friday. Plus many more tracks are opening as we are almost at full capacity.
 
Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who traveled a lot of miles this past weekend. Tim Fuller remembered his 7th place with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series on Saturday. He also talked about how nice it is when a former Modified racer (T-Mac) wins a WoO race, when they put together a deal to run the Modified on Sunday and looks ahead to his next races on the series. 
 
Ryan Godown talked about his win at New Egypt and how close he has been to winning on four other occasions. He told me how he made his way to the front from 6th, how happy he is with the combination he is running right now and looks ahead the first Friday Modified race at Georgetown for 2013. 
 
Dale Planck told me how he almost flipped his radical Modified in the very first corner at speed. He talked about what he felt in the car as it bottomed out, what changes he was going to make and what the thoughts are behind this totally experimental car designed by Larry Wight and built by Donath Fabrication. 
 
Brandan Warner shook down his Sprint Car on Tuesday and told me what is new with his team. He talked about why he made a chassis change, where he feels that car where will work best and why this new car was not necessarily the right one for the track he was at. 
 
Darwin Greene explained how he drove too deeply on the last lap at Fonda and fell back to 11th. He told me about a handling issue he as having right beforehand, what the car was doing wrong at Utica Rome and what they were going to do to try to fix it. 
 
Katelyn Kane offered her thoughts after turning her first laps in a big block Modified at Brewerton. She told me how fast the car was compared to the 358 she ran once last year, what she learned from watching a good friend pass her and evaluated how she felt she did. 
 
Stephen Denton got ready for his Utica Rome debut and talked about some issues he had in 2012. He spoke about how he is as a driver right now, the need to get laps in and how much he enjoyed racing at Watkins Glen the weekend before. 

 
     
 
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