The racing has been pretty darn good at Wayne County this season but the race fans just don't come, I have to say it is very disheartening to see those grandstands so bare and with two headline divisions running for the big cash every Saturday night payout is a lot greater than the gate forcing unpopular decisions. Just what is the problem? I don't think you need me to answer that one. Since I have been on "the inside" I have dealt with nothing but negativity on the outside, much of it just downright hateful, while only trying to say something positive about the place. My only intention was to help, after all this is my home track with great competition who deserve a little media coverage. What a shame it would be if another season were cut short and the gates locked possibly forever. But lets be real here, the support to remain open is not there and the fans are not coming back. Dont try to blame this on the lousy economy.

The way I see it, it takes a long time to build a strong fan base, five years is a for real estimate, and by changing the schedule and cancelling events WCS was never given a chance to gain trust and grow. Questionable rain outs was the final blow. Transponders and Racievers kept the competition away and don't tell me different. Small car counts kept the fans away creating a vicious circle all in the name of keeping a sponsor happy. Adding divisions with little or no payout was a bad move on the tracks part. Not putting these guys down or anything, they work just as hard as anyone else and by no fault of their own, it just was not the quality program someone would pay $15 and drive fifty miles to see. I recommend any track promoter to leave that race car alone and sit your butt in the grandstands for a night and actually see what they are selling to the public, and listen to what they have to say.

The track lends itself to great racing and the prep is second to none. Any driver I have ever talked to loves racing here. Unfortunately it takes a little more to keep up any entertainment facility. The lamps in that expensive lighting system grow dim and beg for replacement. Electrical nightmares and tripping breakers add to the problem. Did anyone notice when a RED light went out just as the ambulance crossed the track? Could have been real bad. In addition there are concerns over proper concessions and the need for a septic system in that area, allegedly the county is beginning to push this issue creating more legal woes. Let's not overlook the grandstands, a coat of paint would be nice, some new lumber and rust repair is probably necessary. It's gonna take mighty deep pockets to dig out of this one.

This page has been on the back burner for two months. For some reason it keeps getting re written then put aside. I guess I'm hoping for a miracle, or something might actually go right one of these weeks. The last thing I want to see is Wayne County Speedway shut down at a time we need it most. It's a long tow to the next race track and it will be hard on a lot of the drivers who might not even make the show somewhere else. We have a great championship battle going in Lates, Sprints, Pure Stocks and even Cruisers. I'm sure, even at Wayne County, a championship still means something to a competitor and to only make it half way would just plain be (for lack of a more appropriate word,) all messed up. For once, just do the right thing.

Don't know what else to say other than I have taken a beating from both sides of the fence over this deal. I always kind of regretted walking away from Hilltop when things began to look bad and this time my decision to stick with it also maybe not the best choice. At this point my only advice is to sell the place, change the name to lets just say maybe, Speedway Estates. I'll be first in line to rent the lot number of my favorite driver and park my double wide, leave this aggravation far behind.

Infield View - don't really mean a thing.

 

Tough times for Chevrolet, having grown up around some of the baddest bowties ever built I could never imagine todays sad state for the car company. I may not be sure what the future holds for Chevrolet but what a grand history, my favorite is dads 1937 Business Coupe. This photo was taken on October 10, 1940 somewhere between here and Greenup Kentucky, quite a roadtrip back in those days but the laws were a little less strict to get hitched across the river. I'll share the other half to this photo sometime but lets talk about the coupe now. Kind of odd one bumper guard, probably handy for a push start tho. Also just one running lamp, maybe the other was broken by bump starting a friend. A little hard to see in this pic but there is a big coon tail tied to the hood ornament. Inside is a custom gear shift knob with a tiny window that held my moms picture. All of the passenger cars and trucks at that time featured a "silent second" 3 speed syncromesh tranny meaning no grind, and a hypoid 4:22 rear gear. A real stump puller. The 216 cubic inch "valve in head" 6 cylinder cranked out 85 hp at 3200 rpm, doesn't sound like much but this was the car to beat in its day, in fact the '37 was extremely popular on dirt tracks all across the country, a big "Jimmy" powerplant stuffed between the rails was unbeatable. Take me back,,,

Here is what a dirt truck is all about. Built V/8, big four barrel carb, alcohol fuel and big tires. You should see about twenty of these battle it out up at Fremont sometime, and the attitude is second place don't mean a thing! I was glad to see Dan Henning stop by and give WC a try a few weeks back, thanks to our tech guy for allowing the 32H to compete, although illegal as hell I sure enjoyed it. Dan had to lose the big spoiler off the back and was still an easy top five against the likes of Anderson, Menshing, and Craver during the feature, but kinda got stuffed into the turn four outside wall and had to settle for sixth. This is how they play at home too so Dan was a very good sport about the whole deal, just had a great time on an off week.
Thinking I might have a few Saturday nights off real soon, might just have to pay a visit to Fremont, cheer Dan on and see for myself the great racing they have to offer!

 

Drivers Doing it Right!

Jamie Lathroum of Mechanicsville Maryland beat the best at Delaware International Speedway on May 28, the 30 year old plumber by day, giant slayer by night inherited the lead on lap 44 of the 50 lap WoO sanctioned event when race leader Steve Francis suffered a flat tire during a caution filled event that took 1 hour and seven minutes to complete. Prior to capturing his WoO coup, on May 9th Lathroum scored a career first feature win at Winchester Va Speedway which just happened to be the new All Star Circuit of Champions Late Model Series second ever event. Lathroum then proved no fluke by scoring a second Winchester win over the best around in the "Three State Flyers" circuit win over Jason Covert, Booper Bare, and Jeremy Miller.

Congratulations to J. R. Gentry on the Triple Crown win down at Lakeville. I can't think of a race track that is tougher to win on or a better competitor to claim a few of those. Helping make this a first class show, Blaine Aber, Jason Flory, Coby Bartrum, Rick Bond, and Kristen Flory were all in the running. I won't miss the next round on July 10.

Far from dirt, but Kasey Kahne took part in a recent test session at Bristol Motor Speedway behind the wheel of an asphalt Whelen Modified, more specifically, the Troyer house car. A deal is in the works for Kahne to pilot the car in the August 19 one hundred and fifty lap double header that also includes the NASCAR Camping World Trucks. Don't turn your nose up because they may be pavement pounders, these cars are bad to the bone and will be incredible to watch at Bristol.

Art Ball continues to his winning ways and knows how to have fun doing it. Turning laps since 1962, Art is the all time leading feature winner at Fremont Speedway plus an overall win tally over the 300 mark. In addition he holds 22 track championships and has 3 starts in the Hillbilly 100 (My favorite event of the year), along with a World 100 start. His most recent win came at Attica on May 22 behind the wheel of his red white and blue # 01 V/8 Dirt Truck.

A big AttaBoy to Ryan Eddleblute on a career first feature win at Lakeville Speedway on Friday night, May 22, 2009.

 

Upcoming Events !

Tim Richmond Memorial - June 20 at Mansfield Raceway . Sanctioned by ARCA Re Max and promoted by the Mattioli family, of Pocono Raceway fame. Richmonds first laps ever were in a sprint car at Lakeville Speedway in 1976 before gaining NASCAR and Indy Car fame. 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of Richmonds death.

MUSKINGUM - June 20 is $5 admission for Fathers Day, July 3 which is a FRIDAY - Lucas Oil Late Models 50 lapper

TRUMBULL COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS / EXPO SPEEDWAY - June 30 to July 5, Everything from Tractor Pulls, Demo Derbies, School Bus races, Crate Late Models, BRP Modifieds and all kinds of STUFF ! EXPO website! Check it out!

Tyler County - July 3rd EVE OF DESTRUCTION - Fireworks, Monster Trucks, Jet powered Quads, plus dirt stock car racing !

OAKSHADE - July 11 is the 11th Annual Birthday Race $10,000 to WIN SummerNationals Finale'

Can we still call it the "DTWC" ? Probably better not,,,, The Dirt Track World CUP Classic will be held at KC Raceway near Chillicothe Ohio and the date is October 1,2, and 3rd. Forty bucks gets you a three day pass and an extra Jackson gets you pitside for the weekend. Presale is on NOW! This is a one hundred lapper worth $20,000! Sprints are there too.

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