3/20/2010 12:01:00 AM RACING RAMBLINGS: Racing Ramblings has a new addition
By ROB LEE / For The Paper
Guess what?
Take the new pit stop as you peruse the weekly Ramblings. This week we add Ramblings Race Week, a race event schedule for the next few days. You will find it right ahead of the Power Rambling Rankings below.
There is no better time like the present to bring my annual, well maybe semi-annual beef up about race promoters taking care of their fans.
As a race fan, let the track promoters know you are the reason there are races, not the racers. So many promoters cater to racers instead of the fans. The result is ultimately a boring show, a late night and certainly not a lot of fun.
The Ramblings crew certainly has crossed many tracks off the travel list because of the promoter's inability to run an efficient show conducive to giving a darn about the fans. I will let a promoter know if the show is inefficient. Other fans make their feelings known by just not showing up on a regular basis, if ever.
That is why I am excited about the Advance Racing Association at O'Reilly Raceway Park and new promoters at Vermilion County Speedway.
The latest I left O'Reilly last year was about 11 p.m. and that was after my post-race duties as announcer and media stuff.
Efficiency is why I will drive two hours to Brownstown tonight and next Saturday and take my family.
Our great Lord is already playing the weather card for the Ramblings season opener tonight. Rain is possible for the initial event at Brownstown Speedway. However, the Ramblings crew will persevere and we already know it will be a great show. I have never been disappointed at Brownstown.
Hold your promoters accountable!
Seven laps of Ramblings:
1. Zac Wathen and Chris Staton are taking this weekend off from the GNCC trails. The series moves to Round 3 in Morganton, N.C. Wathen is fourth in the Junior B 22+ class after two rounds. Staton runs 18th in the Vet B 30+ class.
2. Sondi Eden will join Jacob Wilson in the new Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series. She will run a part-time schedule for Michigan owner George Gustafson.
"I'm trying to run the Must See Racing for them and the Auto Value Super Sprints for Marv Carman, the team I did last year," Eden said.
3. Vermillion County Speedway has set its season opener for April 11 following an open practice Apr. 4. UMP Late Models will run the inaugural "Illiana 40" for $3,000 to win. That will be the first of 16 VCS dates under new promoters Bob and Angie Pierce.
4. Lincoln Park Speedway (Putnamville) opens its season with new promoter Joe Spiker Apr. 10. The Indianaopenwheel.com Racin' Fest, rained out the end of 2009, will open the new tenure. LPS, I believe for the first time ever, will play host to a UMP Late Model Summernationals event June 28, one week after the June 21 date at VCS. USAC Sprint Cars make two visits to LPS and USAC Midgets one.
5. Did anyone realize the IZOD IndyCar Series started? To tell you the truth I did not until I heard about the Brazil race on the radio.
6. Damion Gardner has started the USAC Amsoil Sprint Car season with four wins in the first five races. Eldora is next Apr. 2-3. Brad Sweet has two of three checkered flags in USAC Mopar Midgets. Hickory, N.C., is up next week.
7. Happy Birthday to my son Aaron. He is 17 today and gets a Brownstown trip for a gift. Boy, do I feel old.
Winner Circle's quote:
"I feel good this year. I've been training hard all winter, looking to win the national championship." - Zac Wathen on the 2010 GNCC Trail to the Ironman.
This week's Ramblings Race Week:
Today - GNCC Round 3, Morganton, N.C.; season -pener, Brownstown Speedway. Sunday - GNCC Round 3 continues; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Bristol; practice, Farmer City Raceway (Ill.); Spring Fling Series, Indianapolis Speedrome. Wednesday - USAC Midgets, Hickory, N.C. Thursday - USAC Midgets, Hickory, N.C. Mar. 27 - Lucas Oil Late Models, Brownstown Speedway. Mar. 28 - NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Martinsville; practice, Farmer City Raceway (Ill.); Spring Fling Series, Indianapolis Speedrome; IZOD IndyCar Series, St. Petersburg.
This week's Driver Power Ramblings Rankings:
1. Zac Wathen - looks to climb from his fourth place in the standings.
2. Jacob Wilson - spending Spring Break from Ivy Tech down south learning about the pavement Winged Sprints.
3. Clint Wilson - as crew chief has Wilson Brothers Racing a XSS pre-season favorite.
4. Alex Grino - Southmont Junior High conference high finishing wrestler waiting to get behind the wheel of a Ben Hur Speedway kart.
5. Staton - riding the GNCC ATV well and looking to improve.
This week's Track Power Ramblings Rankings:
1. Vermillion County Speedway - has schedule set and new Web site at piercesvermilioncountyspeedway.com.
2. Brownstown Speedway - always worth the drive as we will find out tonight.
3. Ben Hur Speedway - practice is two weeks away.
4. Bi-State Raceway - kart racing begins April 24.
5. Advance Racing Association at O'Reilly Raceway Park - 13 events on the 2010 schedule with the first green flag May 1 after two practices.
God bless, let's go racing and always remember the real Victory Lane.
Rob Lee is a racing columnist for The Paper. He writes a weekly racing column called "Racing Ramblings," which can be read every Saturday. He can be e-mailed at montcoracing@jesusanswers.com.
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