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SUNY Canton Automotive Technology program

Thursday, March 28th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Richie Pratt Jr. talks about his tough day at New Egypt and his hopes for the 60 over Special.
Alex Bruce tells me how he went from taking pictures in the grandstand to a track photographer.

I had my youngest daughter home sick from school today for the second day in a row on Wednesday but fortunately she is doping much better now and none of us caught the stomach bug she had so it’s all good. Nice!

After she got feeling better, I got in the studio and wrote up another story for the Syracuse Post Standard profiling the coming weekend. The bulk of the story was done from the quotes I got from Jimmy Horton the day before pertaining to Doug Hoffman. I hope you like it. Look for it on your newsstands today!

Then I got to work in the studio and recorded two additional interviews for you to listen to today. Both are nice and one is a little different as we look into the life of a racing photographer. We’ll be doing more of those along the way this year so look for more of those style interviews in the future. And Richie Pratt is always great to chat with! I hope you enjoy them both!

Now let’s talk in more detail about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with more on a big race this weekend in New Jersey. Richie Pratt Jr. talks about his tough day at New Egypt and his hopes for the 60 over Special. He explained how a jingle in his heat race set him back, how racy Bridgeport was last year and how important tire choice can be.

Alex Bruce tells me how he went from taking pictures in the grandstand to a track photographer. He told me how taking pictures with film differs from today’s digital cameras, how fortunate he is to be a three of the area’s most successful tracks and offers advice to others looking to be where he is someday. To contact him or get photos send your emails to habphoto@gmail.com.

Wednesday, March 27th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Jimmy Horton talks about his win last weekend at New Egypt and his hopes for Bridgeport.
Ernie Saxton previewed this Saturday’s practice at Grandview and offered his take on California.

It was a super nice day on Tuesday as the sun shined brightly and the snow that has been around for the last week or so was a lot less visible by the end of the day. That’s all good news as all that snowmelt here and in the Midwest is exactly what is needed. Hopefully the ground will be ready for crops and the water levels will rise making transport on the Mississippi that much easier. As much as we are sick of it, it’s good for everybody.

I have a couple of nice interviews for you today on the Audio Page as we check in with last week’s winner in New Jersey and jump around with my good friend Ernie Saxton. Today I’ll be back in the studio and with some of the quotes I got from Jimmy Horton, I should be able to write a nice story on Doug Hoffman for the Syracuse Post Standard.

I’m also looking for folks who are racing this weekend that I could interview for the rest of the week. If you are heading to either a race or a practice this weekend, give me a shout and we’ll get you on.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a driver who has already equaled his win total from last year. Jimmy Horton talks about his win last weekend at New Egypt and his hopes for Bridgeport. He told me how he got the lead back after losing it late, how happy he was to get the victory and why this weekend’s race honoring Doug Hoffman would be a great one to win.

Ernie Saxton previewed this Saturday’s practice at Grandview and talked about a new indoor race coming to Trenton, New Jersey in 2014. He also offered his take on what happened on the final lap of the NASCAR race from California, wondered if this aggressive style being shown on TV will have an effect on local racing and why it might have been exactly what they needed for a TV ratings boost.

Tuesday, March 26th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Donnie Lawson runs down his hopes for Black Rock and talked about the pair of cars he’ll race.
Ken Hammond talks about his ROC Sportsman win at New Egypt in his first time at the track.
Danny Serrano previews the 60 Over Special taking place this Saturday at Bridgeport Speedway.

We’re back today with a winner from the weekend and another driver who hopes to be a winner this weekend. The top two were from my chats on Sunday as Monday is always a tough day for me to get things done.

The two driver interviews are both very good and I know you will like these. And with Donnie Lawson, I really got into his head to chat about how to race and the mental side of racing which I firmly believe is totally underrated to say the least.

There is a lot going on this weekend as Black Rock hopes to be the first track in New York State to run as they have a show set for Saturday. Bridgeport will race with a heavy heart this weekend as they and a lot of other people will be remembering legendary racer and promoter Doug Hoffman who left this earth way too soon. They have race number three in the ROC Modified tour on tap.

Now let’s chat more about what we have to offer you today on the Audio Page. I begin with a driver who is hoping to bring home possibly two trophies this Saturday. Donnie Lawson runs down his hopes for Black Rock and talked about the pair of cars he’ll race. He talked about a change for the Sportsman, where he likes to run at Black Rock and lots of other cool stuff I know you’ll like. This is a real good one here as we jump all around Donnie’s head!

Ken Hammond talks about his ROC Sportsman win at New Egypt in his first time at the track. He told me how he fell back to sixth initially, how he worked his way to the front passing a teammate along the way and how he cleaned snow off his truck before they left on Friday. Nice!

Danny Serrano previews the 60 Over Special taking place this Saturday at Bridgeport Speedway. He told me how the practice session went this past weekend, explained how the five race Poker Series works and describes the devastation that still exists in parts of New Jersey. 23:10 Danny Serrano talks about the 60 over Special this Saturday at Bridgeport Mar 24.MP3

Monday, March 25th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Dan Creeden recaps his up & down day at New Egypt and told me why he pulled off the track.
Mat Williamson runs down his plans for the season that include both small block and big blocks.
Dean Hoag told me how the track looks at Black Rock as he gets ready for Saturday’s opener.

I got a lot done yesterday as it was probably the nicest day we have had in Central New York in quite some time. It was warm enough to melt some snow and get the roads nice & dry for the folks that came back from New Egypt.

As I said, I got a lot done and today will wrote up a story on the past weekend for the Syracuse Post Standard. In case you missed it Hagerstown did cancel their show for Sunday and as of the time I wrote this up, no date has been set for the conclusion of the Brawl in the Fall. What a tough break for them huh?

Tonight I bowl in our league’s hi-lo tournament and am hoping my hot finish from the regular season continues. This is a money tournament too so maybe we can take home a few extra bucks. Wish me well…I’m gonna need it.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who got in his second start in as many weeks this past weekend. Dan Creeden recaps his up & down day at New Egypt and told me why he pulled off the track. He told me how good his car was the entire day, how hard the maintenance crew worked to make the track surface better and talks about the shaker he designed for the car while wondering if he might need to alter it for the next race. Good stuff here for fans to learn from!

Mat Williamson runs down his plans for the season that include both small block and big blocks. He told me why he picked up a new home for Friday, what he learned about big block racing earlier this year in Florida and wonders which series he will follow.

Dean Hoag told me how the track looks at Black Rock as he gets ready for Saturday’s opener. He described what he saw earlier Sunday morning, talked about the other work that needs to take place this week and reminds everyone that 305 Sprints have also been added for this first show.

Sunday, March 24th 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Brett Tonkin talked about his plans for 2013 that include a new Friday home with a familiar car.
Brady Fultz is getting ready for Black Rock’s opener this Saturday and talked about his racecar.

We had a sick day of sorts at the house on Saturday as both my wife and I were a little under the weather. She and I both were having sinus issues and I spent the whole day with a wicked headache. But as we type this up at 7:30 we’re feeling a little better and should be back to normal (or as normal as I get anyway) tomorrow.

We did get some work done in the studio and recorded three new interviews. And the hope for today is that we can do the same and get a little ahead as we have an article to write for Tuesday.

If you are around today and wish to chat, please send me a message on facebook or send me an email to doug@dougsdirtdiary.com. I’d love to hear how things are going at your race shop and be able to tell your fans what you’ll be doing this year. So I hope to hear from several of you later today.

Now let’s chat more about what I do have for you today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who is busy working on a pair of racecars. Brett Tonkin talked about his plans for 2013 that include a new Friday home with a familiar car. He told me how the work is coming at the shop, how the workload during the week doubles with two to work on and described what he learned from a pit incident last year at Penn Can.

Brady Fultz is getting ready for Black Rock’s opener this Saturday and talked about his racecar. He told me how close she is to being ready, explains why he’ll run Sportsman this week instead of Modified and how grueling it can be to work on racecars both at work and at home.

Saturday, March 23rd 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Dan Hineline spoke about getting ready for Sunday at Big Diamond and an off season change.
Claude Hutchings Jr. talks about making his first ever trip to New Egypt with his ROC Sportsman.

Another weekend is upon us and unlike some others of late, we should be seeing some racing taking place this time around. I know it could be cold but do the best you can to get out there and support the local racetracks.

New Egypt is scheduled for today and both Hagerstown and Big Diamond are set to run tomorrow. Of course you can always use our Track Links Page to find out accurate radar and get to the track’s website as well.

On the site today we have a pair of drivers that will race this weekend, one in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey. And today we’ll either be in the studio or at the Fingerlakes Mall in Auburn for Fingerlakes Speedworld. Tracks and racecars will be there today and tomorrow so go out and show your support by spending some money at the mall.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a driver who will race tomorrow. Dan Hineline spoke about getting ready for Sunday at Big Diamond and an off season change they made under the hood. He talked about how he did last season at the track, ran down his plans for the season and tells teams about a DOT law in Pennsylvania that you may want to be aware of.

Claude Hutchings Jr. talks about making his first ever trip to New Egypt with his ROC Sportsman. He talked about how he was doing some research on the place, how his off season focus changed and remembers back when he ran three different cars on three straight nights.

Friday, March 22nd 2013

New on the Audio Page for today:

Neal Williams gets ready for the New Egypt ROC race and talks about driving a big block.
J.J. Courcy told me about his abbreviated season in 2012 and the big plans he has for 2013.
Tim Long previewed the opener at Big Diamond this Sunday and talked about some changes.

I got going with a few phone calls on Thursday and decided not to take a day off as I had originally planned. So now today will be that day off and tomorrow we’ll be back at it. Of course there is a lot going on this weekend as New Egypt, Big Diamond and Hagerstown are all set to run.

I may go out to the Fingerlakes Mall on Saturday to see Fingerlakes Speedworld and do some reminiscing about the days I wandered the mall as a carefree college student. The first time I took my wife anywhere was to the food court at the mall for lunch in between classes. Yeah…I know how to do it right. I offered her anything she wanted from the Taco Bell. Yep, I was pretty smooth alright.

Plus we’ll be watching some NCAA basketball as well as the tournament is truly the greatest event in sports. I feel bad for NASCAR for the next few weeks as you know their rating will certainly slide with this type of competition for viewers. And why college football doesn’t want to have something like this is beyond me. Oh well. It’s going to be a great few weeks for hoops fans like me.

Now let’s chat more about what is new on the Audio Page for today. I begin with a young driver who is ready for a big challenge tomorrow. Neal Williams gets ready for the New Egypt ROC race and talks about driving a big block. He told me about the need for a light right foot, how amazed he is watching the experienced drivers in the division and the word he has written on his dashboard.

J.J. Courcy told me about his abbreviated season in 2012 and the big plans he has for 2013. He talked about how teaming up with another driver helped him win two races, how a prediction he made came true and described the work they have to finish up before they hit their first race.

Tim Long talked about Sunday's opener at Big Diamond Raceway and described some of the changes they did during the off season. He told me about the series of big money Modified races they have on the schedule, tells me how last week's practice went and reminds teams about the Money in the Mountains show on April 5th.


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