“Behind the Checkered Curtain”
January 8, 2004
By Mike Leone


Welcome to 2004! What better way to ring in the new year than to see live racing. Traditionally New Years Day features racing at tracks across America. Past experience for me includes the famous Hangover event at Sandusky (OH) and the day following at Mansfield (OH).

With fair and relatively mild weather forecasted, I made the trek to Anderson (IN) Speedway, which is located 45 miles northeast from downtown Indianapolis on Pendleton Avenue in the city of Anderson.. Since 1949, Anderson has been home of the “Little 500” for sprint cars- 500 laps around what Anderson calls “The World’s Fastest High-Banked Quarter-Mile Oval” two days before the running of the Indianapolis 500.

Anderson is one of those tracks you can feel the history and nostalgia even with temps in the mid-40s and support-division, amateur-type racing. A good crowd and approximately 100 cars turned out for action in the stock cars, strictly stocks oval and figure eight, FWD mini stocks, and mini cups.

The figure eight racing was wild, stock cars were turning 12-second laps, there were some hellish crashes, and the mini stocks saw last lap contact between first and second place, which resulted in the apparent winner being Dqed by “race control,” as they called it, in a wild victory lane ceremony. What a way to start 2004! Anderson’s oval and figure eight accounted for my 70th and 71st racetracks.

I don’t know if it’s the time of the year and/or the types of divisions competing, but these winter events sure bring a different breed of people out of the woodwork. You sure do see some sights, but nothing will ever beat Sandusky’s Helmet Lady or the guy that played with the turbo heaters. Oh it takes all types in this world.

Onward and upward to better things and hey, live racing is better than BCS ‘bs’ any day. Can we please create ‘any’ kind of College Football playoff system and eliminate the stupid co-national champions? I digress.

The Chili Bowl has to be considered one of the biggest short-track races of the year. Not because of the payoff, but what other event can bring together 218 cars from a wide diverse and cross of racing? NASCAR’s Tony Stewart, Kenny Schrader, Jason Leffler, & Kasey Kahne, NHRA’s Ron Capps, World of Outlaw’s Danny Lasoski & Randy Hannagan, late model’s Rick Eckert & Bart Hartman, stars J.J. Yeley, Jimmy Sills, Dave Darland, Tracy Hines, Jay Drake, Wally Pankratz, Corey Kruseman, Bud Kaeding, Gary Wright, Robbie Flock, Johnny Heydenreich, Boston Reid, Rickie Gaunt, & Aaron Berryhill, and throw in the nation’s top midget racers and you have quite the assemblage of short-track racers.

While the Chili Bowl will be going on in American soil, Down Under at Parramatta City Raceway in Australia, the World of Outlaws will be competing in their first ever overseas event. A lot of eyes will be closely watching how this event goes down. While the event has been promoted all along as a WoO event, the big question is, will points be awarded? With Danny Lasoski in Tulsa and other so-called WoO point chasers not competing, the prospects of awarding points seems highly-doubtful. Even Erin Crocker, who is supposed to run the full WoO sked for Mike Woodring, will skip the WoO event for alternative Aussie sprint racing. Since I was a little kid, I have always wanted to go to Australia to see sprint cars and God-willing I will make it one day.

Chris Matthews will celebrate his first ever track championship January 17 at Mercer Raceway Park’s banquet. The former go-kart and 305 sprint car standout will then head to Florida for 360 competition at East Bay. Matthews capped off the season with a career best third against the 410s on August 23 then finished runner-up to Scott Bonnell in the 360 finale on September 28.

Speaking of Bonnell, the 2004 season will not get started as soon as planned. A snowmobile accident last month may keep the Fairview, Pa. racer sidelined until April missing Florida Speedweeks and early central Pa. competition. Definitely a disappointment for Bonnell, who couldn’t have ended 2003 any better. A $4,000 Bully Hill 360 Fall Nationals crown at Black Rock, a charge from 24th to 5th against the All Stars at Mercer, and a his second straight win in the 360 finale at Mercer capped off an unbelievable three-week stretch in September.

Will any All Stars break ranks and compete in the non-All Star events in Florida? Most have said no and so far according to the East Bay entry list it appears the answer will be no. The closest All Star member that could be called a semi-regular that has entered thus far is Danny Smith.

University of Northwestern Ohio (UNO) President, Jeff Jarvis, owns and operates Limaland (OH) Speedway and is part owner of the NRA 360 Sprint Invaders. The western Ohio series will make three appearances in 2004 at Mercer Raceway Park. UNO student, Andy Paden, had a breakout season in 2003 with four victories in the sportsman modifieds including his first career win on Flag Day- June 14 (my birthday). The Greenville, Pa. racer’s three other wins all came on the final lap and ended the season with seven straight top two finishes.

The PA 305 Sprint Series do a great job promoting themselves. An affordable spec engine and a reasonable, fair purse for all concerned has helped this series grow with baby steps each year. This year appears to be their best yet with visits to some high-profile tracks and what should be record car counts as 40 teams are already active. The series says, “A competent race car can be on the track for less than $10,000, utilizing a one-year-old rolling chassis and a new spec 305 engine.” Rod Ort does a nice job with their website at www.pa305sprints.com.

Michigan’s Chad Blonde is a true outlaw sprint car racer. Ohio’s Jason Dolick can really wheel a sprint car. He was a winner in micro sprints and was fast last year in Pete Grove’s 360. What ever happened to former WoO racer, Lance Blevins?

The third edition of the History of America’s Speedways Past and Present is now available. Allan Brown’s third edition. Brown’s latest work boasts more than 850 pages some 300 more than 1994’s second edition. You can add this book to your racing library by sending $35 by check or money order to P.O Box 448, Comstock Park, MI, 49321-0448. Brown also publishes the National Speedway Directory and the National Sprint Car Annual.

Condolences go to the families of former racers Steve Ungar and Jim Brauer, who both passed away over the Christmas holiday.

The internet has allowed anyone that wishes to express their opinion publicly through websites, columns, and message boards, and it definitely doesn’t discriminate on proficiency, written talent, intelligence, or the like. Good or bad, it’s here to stay. You think about that and thanks for reading. Still waiting for Boundless to take over the WoO at mleone@infonline.net.


December 16, 2003
By Mike Leone

I really like what Ron Smoker did at the recent BRP Modified Tour banquet. The New York driver called his entire crew to the podium and presented each one with a championship leather jacket. While the public constantly sees the driver name in the spotlight, it’s nice to see the behind-the-scene efforts get rewarded. The former midget car racer has won the lucrative Tour title and the $4,000 that goes with it the past two seasons. The Tour has already scheduled new stops at Ohio’s Raceway 7 and Bicknell’s home track- Merrittville Speedway across the border in Thorold, Canada.

Attend the PRI show and you quickly realize just how big the Motorsports industry is. Every nook and cranny of the Indianapolis Convention Center and RCA dome is filled. It takes every bit of two days to cover the show and then you’re still not sure if you’ve hit it all. The PRI show brings out a who’s who of racing to Peyton Manning’s playground. You just never know who you’ll see next when you turn the corner trying to get a “deal” for the upcoming season. It’s a wheel & deal, wine & dine, pr, rumor-filled, news-breaking, show-off, etc. week. Watch you don’t trip trying to read name tags and matching names with faces.

Marriott tips…Don’t drink the “courtesy” bottled water or you’ll get charged $4. Be prepared to pay $18/night to park in the wonderful parking garage that if you leave, you probably won’t be allowed back in because it’s full. Hungry? The breakfast buffet is only $10.95 and the lunch buffet is only $14.95 or go for the $4 slice of pizza in the Convention Center. Ahh nothing like city-life.

Did you know that while Sunoco Race Fuels replaces the orange balls of Unocal 76 at NASCAR Cup, Busch, and Truck Series events in 2004, Sunoco receives $0 on the use of the fuels? I recently learned this tidbit at PRI from Sunoco/Bazell Fuels, Russ Bradford. Bradford worked as the assistant flagmen at Mercer Raceway Park in the mid-90s.

The use of radios and transponders is becoming more and more common in the operations of short track auto racing. I suspect that in the next five years or so, the majority of race tracks and sanctioning bodies will use such a system. After the initial costs to the drivers and tracks, it will be plus for all involved including the fans. The radios make for quicker lineups, which translates into a more efficient show and less fuel used for the competitors. The transponders eliminate the human element and ends the majority of scoring complaints. Drivers are also able to review all of their laps and how they fared against their competitors. Ohio’s Raceway 7 is the first local speedway to implement such a system. After the initial grumblings from the drivers, I have heard nothing but praise.

While at the PRI show, I stopped by the West Virginia Motorsports Council (yes that’s right) booth and picked up a card on late model racer Larry Moore. On the back of the card below the WVMC mission statement blib reads, “The state of West Virginia is proud to have the legendary Larry Moore declare West Virginia as his official vacation land.” Need I say more.

Did I miss something here? According to Bev Thompson’s column in the December 2 issue of Area Auto Racing News, “The All Stars banquet went well and everyone had a good time, especially Champ Chad Kemenah.” However, according to the All Stars, December 19 is the date of the affair where Kemenah will pocket 50 grand according to Guy Webb. Maybe they had a dress rehearsal somewhere. I still wonder why the All Stars moved their banquet from PRI weekend. All kidding aside, Bev always writes a touching Christmas racing story that appears in AARN’s Christmas edition.

It looks like at this point the All Star will be shutout of the Sunshine State for Florida Speedweeks. Oops, Daytona said a few years ago that we’re not supposed to use that phrase unless we’re talking about them. Volusia calls the 33rd Winter Nationals “Raceweeks 2004,” which will include USCS 360 Sprints February 3&4 and non-sanctioned 410 sprints February 5-8 paying $4,000 to-win, $400 to-start.

After some conversations with Jack Hewitt in the fall, his departure from his whistle-blowing All Star role is not surprising. I look forward to reading Hewitt’s book. I’ll never forget my ride with Hewitt at Mercer in the real, original two-seat sprint car. It gave me a whole new appreciation of sprint car racing.

One website I find myself checking almost every morning, is Mike Lauterborn’s News & Gossip Sprint Car Racing Stuff site. The New York 360 sprint racer has one of the most unique racing sites I’ve come across. He gets info almost as fasts as it comes out of one’s mouth. From birthdays, to jokes, to roomers (as he calls them), to press releases, to funny pictures, and everything in between, you’ll find it at www.sprint41.com. Lauterborn updates his site every night and posts the time as Pacific Time. I spotted Lauterborn at the Racing Electronics booth at the PRI show as ESS, the Patriots, and SOS will all make one-way radios mandatory in 2004.

Something you don’t see everyday…Van May walking the streets of downtown Indianapolis.

With Gamblers Raceway Park dropping 358 modifieds from their weekly card and asphalt-to-dirt Friday night Central PA Speedway using a more conservative 358 rules, what will this do to some of the exotic 358 motor cars that have existed for years in the Clearfield area? It always has amazed me that the former Hidden Valley Speedway (now Gamblers), which opened in 1992, has hung on to the modifieds as long as they have. Although in recent years, the modifieds have been the track’s highest car count. HVS/GRP probably had the most liberal 358 modified rules in the nation. The track made a name for drivers like Mike Stine, George Sankey, Bobby Roos, and Bob Garvey.

I have a real problem with Lake Moc-A-Tek’s decision to allow 10-year-olds to compete in the 250 cc micro sprint division. How low can we go? Any parent that would let their 10-year-old compete needs their head checked. Ten-year-olds should be playing with Matchbox & Hot Wheels cars not competing with adults. No pre-teen or any teen under 16 for that matter has the maturity level to compete in these circumstances. Can you imagine a judge or jury’s reaction to 10-year-old that ran over a track official? Then we wonder why the insurance industry is the way it is today. Where has common sense gone to in America?

It will sure seem strange in 2004 not to have the Martin Family running Lernerville Speedway after 37 years of doing so. Those leasing the track from the Martins all have ties to past promotional teams (Bauman & Roenigk).

Three years ago, New Castle’s Hickory Speedway and Sportsman’s Speedway were both running on Sunday night and Sharon Speedway was a ½-mile running on Friday nights.

I love reading and comparing tracks and sanctioning bodies rules. You just never know what you’ll find. This comes out of the PA 305 Sprints rules, “If you race your 305 with the 410’s or 358’s on a night we have a scheduled 305 race you will start at the rear of your heat and will not start ahead of the previous winner at that track for 2 weeks,” and, “If you race your 305 at a non sanctioned 305 race at any time you will not be allowed to race with our series for 2 months on 1st offense On 2nd offense your are done with our series.”

Sister Virginia (305) Sprint Series offers the following, “No chop or slide jobs. A leading car is required to leave a racing lane for a car that is positioned alongside of the leading car. Repeated chop or slide jobs will be penalized. The overtaking car has the responsibility to show themselves to the leading car in time for the leading car to leave a lane open. The leading car has the responsibility to turn their head to look for an overtaking car before committing to a line that uses up most of the race track.”

VSS limits their shows to two heats races and a feature. The first 26 cars that pre-enter for an event comprise the field. Any new competitor that registers for VSS goes on a waiting list. Kind of interesting. Both the PA 305 Sprints and VSS require the Racesaver 305 Spec Head and all cars must be sealed to compete.

It’s hard to imagine no slide jobs in sprint car racing.

A site long gone, but not forgotten…Tim Kuhn pulling his #2Cents (can’t do the cents symbol on a computer) sprint car on an open trailer with his old station wagon filled with tires going from track to track all over God’s country. Bobby Allen, Joey Allen, Tim Kuhn, and Joey Kuhn were quite a bunch that could really wheel a sprinter with limited funds, but now are all names of the past. You can even throw in old Richard Lupo, Jr., who ran a team car (2a) for a while to Bobby Allen.

Speaking of the Allens & Kuhns, will it be the Hatfields vs. the McCoys in URC? Actually it will be the Brians vs. the Michaels. Isn’t it cool that brothers Cliff and Bill Brian along with brothers Sean and Curt Michael will all chase after the 2004 URC Championship. I can see some pretty heated battles there in the oldest and probably strongest 360 sprint group in the world. None of the four are slouches either as they all have quite a bit of 410 experience.

Praise God for the capture of Saddam Hussein no matter what the liberal media tries to tell us differently. Remember the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. You think about that. Waiting for your Christmas wishes at mleone@infonline.net.

By Mike Leone