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Just A Kid From The Grandstands: My Time In Auto Racing
Stories of my time in auto racing from the beginning to 2003
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Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover
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Don's California Racing Recollections: Best Of The Blog And Beyond
Racing History, Stories, Statistics And Pictures
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Did I say Prather? Griffin. It's Chuck And Marylee Griffin. Derp! Wish I could edit these shows. Where's Joe Martinez when I need him ;) I need a vacation!
Garner And Wiesz Families Have Father-Son Night In Antioch Speedway Winner's Circle
Antioch, CA...June 23...It's a rare moment when you have a father and a son both scoring Main Event victories at Antioch Speedway. Saturday night, there were two occasions as Mark Garner and Billy Garner won their respective Main Events and Colby Wiesz and Ben Wiesz were winners in their Main Events. The Garner family has been competing at Antioch Speedway since the 1960s, going back to when Mark's father Jerry Garner was the NASCAR Stock Car State Champion in 1969.
Mark Garner is wheeling a Limited Late Model these days, and he had his hands full in outrunning reigning champion Kimo Oreta for the 20 lap Main Event win. After winning his heat race, Garner started back in the third row in the Main Event while Mike Walko set the early pace. Garner made his move into second on lap five and begin challenging Walko. Two laps later, Oreta was in third, and the battle was on. Garner made a low pass in Turn 3 on the ninth lap to gain the lead, and Oreta was second two laps later. Oreta made a Turn 2 pass on Garner for the lead as they worked lap 17, but his pass was negated when Chad Hammer spun for a yellow flag. The restart saw a red flag unfurl as Hammer clipped the Turn 1 wall with his rear end and rolled. He was uninjured. Garner led the restart and repelled Oreta's advances to score the victory as Walko, Hammer and Jon Haney rounded out the Top 5.
In the Hobby Stock division, Mark's son Billy Garner scored his first career 20 lap Main Event win. Newcomer Tom Cline led one lap before Garner raced by for the lead. Point leader Chris Sorensen and championship contender Michael Cooper settled into second and third a lap later. Garner had his hands full with those two drivers chasing him around the three-eighth mile clay oval. Cooper gained second on a lap nine restart, but Garner was making no mistakes ahead of him. Garner scored a well-earned victory as Cooper settled for a close second ahead of Sorensen, Matt Wacht and Anthony Wellborn.
Multi time Marysville Raceway Sprint Car champion Colby Wiesz returned and picked up the victory in the 20 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event. Incoming point leader Art McCarthy had the pole and was aiming for his first win of the season, but he was out of the event on lap three along with heat race winner Jacob Tuttle and Glenn Bryan. Wiesz had to battle recent Marysville winner Jake Haulot, but he gained the lead and brought it home to victory. Haulot settled for second ahead of Matt DeMartini, Jeffrey Strole and heat race winner William Fatu.
In the 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event, it was Colby's son Ben Wiesz scoring the Main Event victory. Wiesz chased outside front row starter Lonnie Tekaat for 12 laps before making an inside pass on the backstretch to take over the lead. A lap 16 caution flag bunched up the field and allowed point leader Mike Corsaro a shot at the victory, but Wiesz was not to be denied as he took the checkered flag in first. Corsaro had a solid night in second, followed by David Rosa, Tekaat and Tony Carmignani.
Fred Ryland closed in on his 50th career Antioch Speedway win with a rather impressive 20 lap B Modified victory. Ryland had the lead from the start as point leader and previous winner Trevor Clymens had to start last. The battle was for second between Chuck Golden and Todd Gomez for several laps, but Gomez gained the position on a lap 12 restart. Clymens made an outside pass for third on lap 18. However, there was no catching Ryland as he won by a straightaway, followed by Gomez, Clymens, Golden and Randy Brown.
Next Saturday night will be the Firecracker 50 for the All Star Series B Modified division, and it will pay $500 to win. Also on the card will be the A Modifieds, Wingless Spec Sprints, Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks. The B Modifieds will also have another Sharpshooter Tournament Race. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Unofficial Race Results
All Star Series
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Jacob Tuttle, William Fatu. Main Event (20 laps)-Colby Wiesz, Jake Haulot, Matt DeMartini, Geoffrey Strole, William Fatu, David Dias, Tim Burcher, Art McCarthy, Glenn Bryan, Jacob Tuttle.
Limited Late Models
Heat Winner (8 laps)-Mark Garner. Main Event (20 laps)-Mark Garner, Kimo Oreta, Mike Walko, Chad Hammer, Jon Haney, Ryan Cherezian, Chris Long
B Modifieds
Heat winners (8 laps)-Trevor Clymens, Fred Ryland. Main Event (20 laps)-Fred Ryland, Todd Gomez, Trevor Clymens, Chuck Golden, Randy Brown, Kenny Shrader, Tommy Fraser, Doff Cooksey, Tim Roland, Kevin Brown DQ
Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Cameron Swank, Anthony Wellborn. Main Event (20 laps)-Billy Garner, Michael Cooper, Chris Sorensen, John Wacht, Anthony Wellborn, Breanna Troen, Tom Cline, Angela Brown, Cameron Swank, Jake Fletcher.
Dwarf Cars
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Josh Wiesz, Mike Corsaro. Main Event (20 laps)-Ben Wiesz, Mike Corsaro, David Rosa, Lonnie Tekaat, Tony Carmignani, David Michael Rosa, Mario Marquez, Chris Becker, Josh Wiesz, Charlie Correia.
Schank, Machado Win
Petaluma Speedway Fairtime Races
Petaluma, CA...June 24...Terry Schank Jr made a late pass to win the 25 lap PitStopUSA.com Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event Sunday evening at Petaluma Speedway. It was a special race held during the annual Sonoma-Marin Fair. Schank is a three-time Petaluma Speedway and Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Series champion.
Reigning Winged Sprint Car champion Geoff Ensign set the early pace in the Brain Grosenheider car as Schank was second ahead of last week's Hunt Series winner, Bradley Terrell. The lead three ran closely at the front of the pack for most of the race. Schank finally made his winning pass on lap 20 and led the final five laps for a well earned victory. Ensign settled for second, followed by Matthew Haulot, Shayna Sylvia, Brent Steck, Scott Chapeta, Ryon Siverling, Eden McCormick, Jesse Love IV and Jason McIntosh.
It was Terrell turning the 3/8 mile clay oval with a time of 15.577 to set the fast time of the evening. Terrell, Ensign and Casey McClain each scored wins in their respective eight lap heat races, and Schank outran Ensign to win the six lap Trophy Dash.
Mitch Machado continues his match towards the Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stock championship as he won the 20 lap Main Event. Machado was the class of the field in leading all the way ahead of two-time champion Steve Studebaker. Another two-time champion, Shawn McCoy, made a lap 14 pass on Paul Hanley to take the third place position as Hanley settled for fourth ahead of Tim O'Hara, Austin Ohlinger, Snazzy Duckworth and Sid Hess. It was a clean sweep for Machado as he set the fast time of 17.379, won the six lap Trophy Dash and his eight lap heat race. Studebaker was the other heat winner.
The track will have another special event on Sunday, July 1st. The Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour, presented by Abreu Vineyards will be in town along with the California Hardtops. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com.
Sanders Wins 33rd Annual
Pombo/Sargent Classic At Ocean Speedway
Watsonville, CA...June 22...Justin Sanders won the 33rd running of the Pombo/Sargent Classic Friday night at Ocean Speedway. This King of the West/NARC Sprint Car Series event pays tribute to San Jose Speedway Hall of Fame racers Marshall Sargent and Al Pombo. Sanders becomes the fifth different winner in the eight Series races held so far.
Australian Jamie Cobby teamed up with car owner or Ted Finkenbinder for the first time in about 25 years and earned the pole with his victory in the six lap Trophy Dash. Cobby charged into the lead at the start of the 30 lap race. Cobby led the way throughout the first half of the race, but Sanders was giving him pressure as they caught traffic on lap 14. Contact sent Cobby spinning in Turn 2, and reigning Series champion Bud Kaeding was collected in the incident. The race was over for both drivers as Sanders led Colby Copeland and point leader Kyle Hirst on the restart. Copeland began to pressure Sanders in the waning laps, but he did a complete 360 in Turn 4 on lap 27. He kept going, but the caution flag flew anyway. Sanders led to a pair of late-race restarts to collect the win ahead of Hirst. Shane Golobic came from 12th starting to finish third, followed by Chase Johnson, DJ. Netto, Matthew Moles, Willie Croft, Jeremy Chisum, Copeland and Billy Aton.
A good field of 26 Sprinters came to compete, and Hirst set the fast time of 11.502 on the Tom Sagmiller prepared quarter-mile clay oval. Kaeding was a close second at 11.505. Cobby earned the pole for the feature with his six lap Trophy Dash win ahead of Sanders. Ten lap heat race wins were earned by Hirst, Copeland and Sanders. Chisum won the 15 lap B Main ahead of Aton and Taco Bravo Sprint Car point leader Koen Shaw.
Reigning IMCA Modified champion Nick DeCarlo returned and scored the victory in the 25 lap Main Event. DeCarlo had a pole position start for the race and led every lap. Alex Wilson ran second in the early stages before spinning to hand the position to Austin Burke. DeCarlo ran a fast pace and built a good lead over Burke. As DeCarlo went on to pick up the win, Troy Foulger moved the Bowers Racing Modified into second in the waning laps. Many time champion Bobby Hogge IV also made the pass on Burke before the checkered flag. Austin finished fourth head of brother Cody Burke, state point leader Shane DeVolder, Steven Hopf, Danny Wagner, Brian Cass and Wilson. DeCarlo and Hogge each won eight lap heat races.
Two-time IMCA Sport Modified champion Matthew Hagio won the 20 lap Main Event for his division. Hagio took the lead from pole sitter Jason Pugh on a lap three restart and led the rest of the way for the victory. KC Keller battled from ninth starting to get as high as second, but point leader Jim DiGiovanni made the move around him for the position on a lap nine restart to grab the finish. Keller settled for third, followed by Anthony Giuliani, Tanner Thomas, Pugh, Adrienne Frost, Jack Aguilar, Mark Squadrito and Dave Smart. Keller and Thomas won eight lap heat races.
Zach Price won the 20 lap South Bay Dwarf Car feature. The battle continues between Price and Gene "Punky" Pines for the championship. The two drivers started on the front row with Price coming out just ahead of Pires at the finish. Recent winner Terre Rothweiler finished a solid third, followed by Mark Biscardi, Eric Wiesler, Joe Barkett, Trafton Chandler, Kyle Jones, Alan Heeney and John Harris. Pires and Price won the eight lap heat races.
After a one-week break, the action resumes at Ocean Speedway on July 6th with the return of the Taco Bravo Sprint Cars. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, American Stocks and 4 Bangers will also be a part of the program. For further information, go to www.racepmg.com.
Ocean Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 23, 2018
Pombo/Sargent Classic
King Of The West/NARC Sprint Cars
A Main
Kyle Hirst
Shane Golobic
Chase Johnson
D.J. Netto
Mathew Moles
Willie Croft
Jeremy Chisum
Colby Copeland
Billy Aton
Dustin Golobic
Kyle Offill
Koen Shaw
Kurt Nelson
Mark Barroso
Jenna Frazier
Jarrett Soares
Tanner Carrick
Marcus Dumesny
Gary Paulson
Jamie Cobby
Bud Kaeding
B Main
Jeremy Chisum
Billy Aton
Koen Shaw
Mark Barroso
Gary Paulson
Kyle Offill
Jenna Frazier
Nathan Rolfe
Bryan Grier
Richard Fajardo
IMCA Modifieds
Nick Decarlo
Troy Foulger
Bobby Hogge IV
Austin Burke
Cody Burke
Shane DeVolder
Stephen Hopf
Danny Wagner
Brian Cass
Alex Wilson
Raymond Keldsen
Todd Hermosillo
Robert Dias
Jeff McCoun
Randy Brown
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Matthew Hagio
Jim DiGiovanni
KC Keller
Anthony Giuliani
Tanner Thomas
Jason Pugh
Adriane Frost
Jack Aguiar
Mark Squadrito
Dave Smart
Steven Allee
Austin Williams
Charlie Hunter
Tim Ragsdale
Nick Tucker
Mike Kofnovec Sr
Austin Manzella
SBDCA Dwarf Cars
Zach Price
Punky Pires
Terre Rothweiler
Mark Biscardi
Eric Weisler
Joe Barket
Trafton Chandler
Kyle Jones
Alan Heeney
John Harris
Eddy Claessen
Mack Aceves
Greg McKenna
Brady Beck
Petaluma Speedway Unofficial Race Results
PitStopUSA.com Wingless Spec Sprints
Results are not official
1 #1 Terry Schank Jr.
2 #11 Bradley Terrell
3 #11j Jake Haulot
4 #9 Shayna Sylvia
5 #84 Brent Steck
6 #92z Scott Chapeta
7 #77s Ryon Siverling
8 #32b Eden McCormick
9 #38 Jesse Love IV
10 #33 Jason McIntosh
11 #73x Keith Calvino
12 #3r Bob Davis
13 #2 Kevin Box
14 #98 Geoff Ensign
15 #38x Casey McClain
16 #5150 Chet Wilson
Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks
Results are not official
1 #22m Mitch Machado
2 #46 Steve Studebaker
3 #60 Shawn McCoy
4 #22 Paul Hanley
5 #27 Tim O'Hara
6 #85 Austin Ohlinger
7 #18 Snazzy Duckworth
8 #51D Sid Hess
Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros
Results Unavailable
Santa Maria Raceway Unofficial Race Results June 23, 2018
IMCA RaceSaver 305 Sprints
Results are not official
1 #38 Kyle Rasmussen
2 #75 Brendan Warmerdam
3 #45 Monty Ferriera
4 #35 Albert Pombo
5 #22 Mike Schott
6 #67 Vaughn Schott
7 #67G Grant Duinkerken
8 #5s Mauro Simone
9 #53 Michael Pombo
10 #9s Rick Bray
11 #99 Rob Solomon
12 #12 Jacob Pacheco
13 #14K Kevin MacIntosh
IMCA Modifieds
Results are not official
1 #20 Cody Burke
2 #22D Ryan Daves
3 #44s Shane Devolder
4 #15B Brad Pounds
5 #25 Austin Burke
6 #111 Logan Drake
7 #24 Roger Holder
8 #44 Andrew Berry
9 #75 Brad Prows
10 #4RX Chad Weber
Pro Stocks
Results are not official
1 #43K Dave King
2 #21 Devon Crockett
3 #11x Tim Randolph
4 #66 Chad Schaffer
5 #21JT Justin Crockett
6 #68S Billy Simkins
7 #5N Frank Nyback
8 #50 Chris Smith
9 #87 Chris Clinton
10 #20T Toby Randolph
11 #11m Clay Daly
12 #31T Tom Smith
American Stocks
Results are not official
1 #5 Sean Martin Sr
2 #98 Gary Rayburn Jr
3 #42 Kevin Pritchard
4 #32 Jon Waterfiled
5 #16 Ed Wyand
6 #55K Kristina McGeary
7 #37 Jimmy Satlawa
8 #77 Chris Anderson
9 #49J Justin Jackson
10 #29 Bronson Van Fleet
Dwarf Cars
Results are not official
1 #14 Tommy Velasquez
2 #41 Nick Velasquez
3 #48 Trent Morley
4 #00B Joe Barkett
5 #92N Jessica Clark
6 #18 Tom Morley
7 #91 Kody Cowan
8 #20 James Price
9 #28 Tony Pellegrino
10 #65 John Harris
11 #88 Jeff Brink
12 #45 Kory Cowan
13 #6B Brian Barnhill
14 #4 Mitch Caldwell
15 #93 Jason Horton
16 #13 Ira Henry
17 #60 Tailer Morrison
Calistoga Speedway Unofficial Race Results
King Of The West/NARC 410 Sprints
Results are not official
1 #83 Kyle Hirst
2 #21X Shane Golobic
3 #83SA Matt Dumesny
4 #29 Willie Croft
5 #0 Bud Kaeding
6 #68 Chase Johnson
7 #3C Tanner Thorson
8 #88N D.J. Netto
9 #37 Mitchell Faccinto
10 #14 Marcus Dumesny
11 #57 Dustin Golobic
12 #25 Bobby McMahan
13 #28 Nathan Rolfe
14 #16A Colby Copeland
15 #18 Jenna Frazier
16 #3F Jamie Cobb
Civil War Series 360 Sprints
Results are not official
1 #5C Colby Copeland
2 #56 Willie Croft
3 #21X Cole Macedo
4 #57 Shane Golobic
5 #3C Tanner Thorson
6 #31C Justyn Cox
7 #5K Kalib Henry
8 #69 Bud Kaeding
9 #63 Geoff Ensign
10 #57B Bobby Butler
11 #88 Koen Shaw
12 #P37 Matt Peterson
13 #9 Dustin Freitas
14 #77 Mike Benson
15 #4 Burt Foland Jr.
16 #52 David Lindt II
17 #33W Tucker Worth
18 #88B Bret Barney
19 #5 Collin Markle
20 #11K Kenny Drew
21 #12 Nathan Schank
22 #88N Sean Becker
Perris Auto Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 23, 2018
USAC/CRA Sprint
A Main
Results are not official
1 #23 Matt Stewart
2 #5m Max Adams
3 #42 RJ Johnson
4 #52v Trent Williams
5 #98v Verne Sweeney
6 #39 Jeff Dyer
7 #12b Joel Rayborne
8 #55 Tony Everhart
9 #90 Randy Waitman
10 #21 AJ Bender
11 #51x Austin Ervine
12 #4 Damion Gardner
13 #92 Jake Swanson
14 #19 Justin Grant
15 #91r Brody Roa
16 #2 Austin Williams
17 #44 Cody Williams
18 #02 Matt Rossi
19 #5 Logan Williams
20 #5x Tom Malcom
21 #4G Chris Gansen
22 #34az Matt Mitchell
B Main
Results are not official
1 #21 AJ Bender
2 #5m Max Adams
3 #44 Cody Williams
4 #90 Randy Waitman
5 #02 Matt Rossi
6 #55 Tony Everhart
7 #91r Brody Roa
8 #51x Austin Ervine
9 #39 Jeff Dyer
10 #12b Joel Rayborne
11 #72 Gary Marshall Jr
12 #5t Tye Mihocko
The Editor's Viewpoint
It's the eve of the IMCA Wildwest Speedweek Series as I write this. This is kind of a big deal for the IMCA Modified class that encompasses several Oregon tracks and Siskiyou Motor Speedway in Yreka. At various times, Washington tracks have been involved as well. This year, they're going to run eight races in nine days and there are six different tracks involved in this.
One of the frustrations that I have with this whole series is the fact that Jerry Schram, the person who is in charge, seems a bit laxidasical when it comes to really promoting this thing. There isn't a lot of word out there early on about this thing. What I've observed is there's an announcement made back in January or February, and then everybody gets silent until about a week before it's about to happen.
Jerry's people didn't send all the information out to every race track on what the lineup was for all of this. The publicity is something that should be hit pretty hard. I observed a decrease in car count last year from the year before. I would put it at roughly a 25% decrease at Southern Oregon Speedway, and there was a drop off at Siskiyou Motor Speedway as well. Perhaps putting the word out earlier would help this?
We've already observed that this isn't strictly a series for Oregonians. There are drivers coming in from Washington and several coming from California and other states as well. The earlier you put the word out, the easier it will be for people to make plans to come run. If you're trying to get people to come out of state to race, the idea that they have a full week of races and can go ahead and make a plan to be gone for the week makes it a little bit more enticing, in my opinion.
I do this early, and perhaps if I add to this, there will be news that things looked better this year? I would hope so. The Speedweek concept is a good one. Actually, I think much of this stems from what California was dealing with the Sprint Cars. When NARC was a big thing, they hosted a pretty impressive Speedweek of their own that was mimicked up in Oregon. That particular Speedweek still exists, though it's a shadow of its former self. They are even doing a Speedweek for Liked Sprints this year, though I think they were a year or so premature in launching it. There's a story involved, but not in this column.
Actually, there is no reason why California couldn't have an IMCA Modified Speedweek of their own. There's certainly enough cars to support something like this. There is no shortage of tracks that would make great host tracks. It would be very easy to do it the same way they do it up here. Launch it on Friday and go all the way into the next Saturday with various tracks getting dates. Then again, that would require promoters to get along enough to make it happen.
I have been thinking a lot about where my mistake came in wanting to dive in and be so involved in the sport. Of course, when you're in your teens, you don't want to hear anything from nay sayers. You think you know everything. I was approaching this whole thing like it would be a career, and I didn't have one dime to really invest into this endeavor. Maybe I made enough money via magazine sales to buy a new computer or printer from time to time, but that was the extent of it.
So, all of the knowledge that I have accumulated through the years means very little. I might be able to analyze things pretty well and offer my insights, but I'm just some person on the sidelines who can say these things and then when they come to pass say, "See, I was telling you about this." Big deal.
The promoters that put the money in certainly don't want to hear from somebody who thinks they know this or not. They're investing their own money and taking the risks, so they want to be at the helm of their own ship, so to speak. I might get in their ear sometimes, but that's as far as it goes.
I could never have known that back then. All I thought was I could do a magazine and write about all the racers and help promote the sport. Little did I realize that I was building up a skill set that would not necessarily serve me well in life. So, while I sit here and look over the state of racing in 2018 and do my little media effort while helping a race track to an extent I probably never really had done before, it's still not serving me much in life.
They Catch 22 and all of this is if I were working the regular 40 hour grind, there would be no time for me to really have gotten where I have in the sport. It's only by luck that I made it this far. My dad played a big part because he allowed me to do this right up until I walked away the first time. It just so happens that having worked myself into the position I have up here in Medford, I have a seat in the room next to the table. Notice I didn't say at the table. But, it's been an education.
Racing could probably benefit on our level from more serious media efforts. I'm talking multimedia, printed media and the whole nine yards, done intelligently with a network of people involved and race tracks involved. Again, I'm talking about something that would cost money to do. There are certain things you can do on a shoestring budget, but when you talk about the bigger scope of things, it's a lot to be able to do on the cheap. You can't really pull it off.
What I speak of is a network of people with video cameras filing reports from race tracks. Actual quality Internet TV. We're talking racing coverage and racing talk shows. Broadcast, writers in the whole nine yards. If people's habits have changed to the point where they aren't going out to the race track, you have to bring the race track to them. I've been saying this all along, though I haven't really verbalized it this way before. Of course, race tracks aren't just going to willingly let you step in with cameras and offer their product without their piece of the pie. Just how much money is there to go around in such an endeavor? I don't know.
I'm really surprised that nobody has sat down and really taken a good look at this. It was some 18 years ago when Joe Martinez and myself started a rather impressive website that covered racing around California and surrounding states. We offered articles that we usually updated in a timely manner. Audio shows, audio calls of certain races and lots of stuff. We thought we had something that was worth something of value. We were mistaken. In the couple of years that we really hit it hard, not much came back our way. Nobody really followed our footsteps and tried to create such a site after us.
When you think about the internet and how much it's really taking over, it's really amazing that you don't have such a site in existence in 2018. You have mega companies out there handling people's websites and statistics, but you don't have anything like I'm talking about. Maybe people have crunched the numbers and realize there's no money involved? Maybe nobody's looked at all? I don't know the answer, but I know there is not the quality coverage out there that gets people excited about going to their various race tracks or investing any kind of money into it racing as a fan. It seems like something should have been attempted by now.
Before the internet, there were all be printed magazines. Racing Wheels was king, but there were others along with mine. And the guy who was writing so many of the articles that we read was Gary Jacob. Sadly, we lost Gary Jacob back in June of 2006. Nobody ever really stepped up after him to try and do what he was doing. You have two beer in mind, he worked a full-time job and loved racing so much that he made time for it even when he probably should have been sleeping. He traveled up and down the road to the tracks.
It's my honest opinion that Gary gave his life for the sport. In corresponding with his sister Nancy recently, she echoed my sentiment. He would have had it no other way. He cared that much about the sport, and he was probably like I was when I was really into it before I walked away. If I go, who's going to cover it? So, Gary just jumped in and did everything that he could.
It is my desire to see this man inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, which had their ceremonies Thursday night. Given his body of work as a racing reporter for over 30 years, he damn well deserves it. The leadership of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame absolutely knows this. He covered tracks that they were involved with. I would like to see Gary inducted into any race track Hall of Fame that he had a hand in helping build up through his writing. Watsonville, Merced and Bakersfield come to mind.
To get back to why I was communicating with Nancy Jacob, I had this idea in my mind. I knew the vast amount of records that he kept. When I went to his house back in the mid-1990s to go to some races together, he had a wall lined with filing cabinets. Those were all of the Racing Wheels that he had going back to the 1960s, souvenir programs, other magazines and his writings. He had all of that.
I never gave it much thought when he passed away, which is kind of silly. Then again, I never thought that I was coming back to the sport at the time. I was done. I do regret that I was going to Antioch Fairgrounds to visit people outside the race track during 2006 and new Gary would be coming to the Late Model show that year. I didn't go to say hi to him as I was actually thinking of doing. And of course, he passed away not long after that, like within the week. You never get second chances.
So It goes that when he passed away, they were looking to get rid of his records to somebody who could take care of them. Don Low, who was the one taking notes for Gary at Rocky Hill Speedway, Bakersfield Speedway and other places down in that area, new nobody. So, that's where the story ends with all of the records. They were thrown out. My Hope was that they set up in his room as the family home was still there. I heard that Gary's mother had passed away last year, so I made the attempt to find out what happened with all of his stuff.
My belief is that with all of those records, you really could you make some really great history books, you could chronicle some of Gary's best writings. Unfortunately, all of those magazines are gone. Everything, thrown out. I came very close to losing everything that I had. That's what happens when you lose your home. I'm currently in possession of all of the Racing Wheels magazines and my magazines that I've accumulated through the years. I've even added more to my collection while up here. Only thing lacking right now are my old souvenir programs, which are in possession of my brother the last I heard.
So, at least I have records of Gary's writings from the mid-1980s through the end of Racing Wheels. About 20 years worth. At some point, I'd like to do something that honors him and let the stories be told in his own words as he wrote them. The main thing is, I want to see this man be honored for all that he did for the sport. He was one of the biggest Inspirations for me to get involved in the sport as a writer. The other one probably being Charlie Zeno, who wrote for the Contra Costa Times. I used to love reading Zeno's stories as a kid, but it was Gary's stories in Racing wh6eels that took me to the race track as it happened. He was that good.
I'd like to see him remembered with the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. I'm not worried about any accolades for myself, as some people have suggested. It's not that big of a deal to me. I've been there and done that and probably will move on at some point when I'm able to do so. But, Gary never thought about walking away as far as I know. From the time he picked up a pan and started writing in the late 1960s all the way to the end, he was there. He deserves to be honored still, and putting him into a prestigious Hall of Fame such as the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame is exactly the way to do it.
It's Tuesday evening as I add a little bit more to this column. I'm sitting here watching Speed Shift and the Cottage Grove Speedweek race for the IMCA Modifieds, but only halfway paying attention. Actually, the people at Speed Shift do an excellent job with their internet broadcast. They are at the top of the game as far as I'm concerned.
Doesn't seem like I can keep on schedule to save my life, but in reality I'm actually probably doing pretty well getting out as much information as I am. Sunday found me watching Speed Shift to get an article together for Coos Bay Speedway and then watching live scoring for Petaluma Speedway. I'm happy to report that newspaper coverage was gained for both tracks, but again I had a late night into the early morning.
I look at the calendar and see three more months of a busy schedule doing this. I like to follow through on my commitments. I'm going to let my original statements on my future stand. I'm not even looking towards next year when it comes to any of this, but I am looking at finishing this season up as best I can. What amazes me is that I've gotten newspaper coverage for nine different race tracks, and in some cases multiple newspapers.
Speedweek turned out to be a bigger car count than we had last year in Medford. I think we had 10 more cars. I still think that Jerry is missing the boat on the way this thing is being promoted. I think if you put out a full media blitz a couple months before Speedweek, it would do much to increase the car count. People can plan a week's vacation and use it to go racing. As it is, there's pretty much a built-in following of drivers you know are going to be there from year to year, and that means 30 to 40 cars.
We had nearly 90 race cars in the pits at Medford. Did we run too much? Perhaps. We had less than 30 Modifieds last year, so another division was added to take up the slack. Really, if you have 35 race cars and you're running two sets of heat races, support divisions can be a minimum. The IMCA Modifieds are the show during Speedweek, and if you do too much, maybe it's over kill? I don't know.
What I do know is Southern Oregon Speedway is having its best season so far in recent years, although who knows from week to week if that can hold up. More cars are showing and more fans are coming out to watch, but it seems like it's more of a struggle keeping this thing together. We're doing our best, and I know I'm working hard with the media efforts. I don't get to see if anything I send to the TV channels gets on there, but I have had conformations of at least two occasions where this has happened so far this year.
In the media game, you do what you can to get the word out. You don't just rely on one thing. Facebook and the ability to boost your posts does help, but you go after media in all forms. Sometimes you get ignored, sometimes you don't. There are some areas where media outlets really want to be a part of things and get the word out. There are other outlets out there that are indifferent to racing from what I can see.
Unfortunately, one of those places is Antioch. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but you almost have to beg the newspapers to give you the time of day. I think that more can be done to generate excitement down there, but as I am in another state, I'm doing about as much as I can at the moment. I look at the grandstands from the live broadcast shots that people do on Facebook, and it makes me sad to realize that the potential of the track is not being fully reached.
This is not meant to be an attack on anybody. I know some people would seize on that comment to start bashing the promoter, but that's not my intent here. I just feel like more can be done to generate excitement, and I see the areas that need Improvement. I know that John covers the cost, but at some point, you want to get some return on your investment too, don't you? I sit here from where I'm at and think, is there something else that I could be doing to help?
So, there's this Pacific Sport Modified Challenge up here. This is a separate series outside of IMCA, but they use IMCA races and only allow IMCA sanctioned tracks, not that there are any unsanctioned tracks doing Sport Modified races up here anyway. But I've heard people talk about how they want to see another track or two up here running Sport Modifieds. Could Coos Bay Speedway be the next track?
Of course, right now Coos Bay is using a NASCAR sanctioning, but it's not unheard of for a NASCAR track to have another division that is sanctioned by another entity. Four Sport Modified drivers came in from the Antioch area on Sunday to support the NASCAR Sportsman Late Model show. Also, there was one Oregon racer. I just found it interesting that there were people from outside actually helping the Sport Modified cause in Oregon.
From my perspective, and I might offend some people by saying this, but it seems like the leadership of the PSM is sort of throwing themselves at the feet of one particular promoter while others don't seem as important. Again, this is my perspective. That promoter seemed to get upset when Sport Modifieds didn't turn out in droves for the races at Willamette Speedway last year, but as Cottage Grove Speedway decided not to run Sport Modified races on their two Speedweek dates, what did he expect?
I again heard people talking about how they need to have Sport Modifieds as part of Speedweek. I can certainly understand that, and I don't disagree with that notion. Actually, if you had Modifieds and Sport Modifieds at all Speedweek races, there would be no need for other support divisions. You'd be looking at 60 to 70 cars between both classes and a full program. Is it time to get serious about this?
I know California is leaving a golden opportunity on the table by not looking into doing a Modified Speedweek. There are plenty of tracks that would be ideal hosts, and you can even do the Modified and Sport Modified thing for such a Speedweek. It's interesting that you now have three Speedweek Series between the Modifieds, 360 Sprint Cars and Limited Sprints in Oregon, and California's only Speedweek that I'm aware of is the deal they do in September with USAC.
At any rate, the beat goes on. Another weekend of racing is ahead of me, and actually I need to get a few things done as I'm headed to the track on Wednesday morning. So on that note, I'll end this column. Until next time...
