Calumet County Racing Association (Chilton) 06.29.2007
It's good to be home. I went to the track where it all began. I fondly remember my first local stockcar races in 1989. I was absolutely amazed at what I was watching. Seeing all the cool cars with horrible paint jobs going around in circles. And to think that I was amazed with the cars packing the track before the races! It was even better when they were actually racing! They were doing it all just for me and all the other fans in the stands. No television cameras, just some people going in circles because they love to show-off and RACE! That season there was a car that started on fire almost every night. My parents took me because they thought that I should get out more. Now they complain that I go to races too much! I'm nowhere near the guy who was voted "Shyest Guy" in high school - I was nominated for student of the year this year at my local community college.
It's good to sit with friends at the races - I met my friends Sharon and Roger. I updated them on my racing tour and what's going on in my life.
I see that the street stock racecar that I used to pit for in 2003 and 2004 is still being raced. The driver sold the car to his cousin who was also on the pit crew. The car still has problems. The motor was occasionally skipping. The car still doesn't handle well. That's a bad combination. The car was by far the worst car in the division. He left the paint job alone for the most part. I see my uncle's sticker is still on the car. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that he's sponsoring a racecar but not being charged!
The street stock division has changed a lot over the past two years. Many of the top drivers from 2005 aren't around, and some of the new drivers from 2005 are the top drivers now. It still is a highly competitive division. The points leader passed most of the field for the win.
The Grand National division is the highest division at the track. These cars have evolved from the cars that I saw in 1989. They are now used at 5 tracks in the area. The Grand National cars also evolved into the Mid American Stock Cars, a series that tours the upper Midwest.
Chilton still has a series of essentially untouched 8 cylinder cars called Chilton Challenger cars. It's getting hard to find cars for the series.
Chilton has a relatively small class of 4 cylinder cars. I think having two series of entry-level cars has stunted its growth.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Slinger Super Speedway 06.24.07
My 12th track and my 13th event in 2007 was held at Slinger Super Speedway - the World's fastest 1/4 mile. Some things in life are a marketing ploy. This is NOT just marketing - this is reality! I went to the track for the first time last year after EVERYONE said the track is awesome. I had been to dozens of race tracks before Slinger. The first race a year ago was a 6 lap dash for cash for the top 6 Super Late Model drivers. I said "WOW" out loud every time they raced by - all 6 laps! The acceleration of the super late models is absolutely incredible! The track is a highly banked 1/4 mile - so they go very fast around the corners of the bowl. This time I was only laughing at their unbelievable acceleration.
The races are more laps than most other tracks. I think the Super Late Model semi-feature (B-main, last chance qualifier, ...) was 30 laps long. The cars get around the track so fast. Divisions at the track were Super Late Models, Limited Late Models, Mid American Sportsman, 4 cylinders, guest cars, spectator eliminators, and Figure 8 cars. The Midwest Sportsman division races every other week, and it was their week off.
The Wisconsin Sport Trucks were the guest series at the track. They are basically go-karts with a small truck body. They came from Wisconsin International Raceway - about a 100 mile haul each way. Most of the drivers came anyhow. They race on the 1/4 mile low banked track at WIR. They didn't appear to be doing much braking on the high banks at Slinger. They were interesting. The cousin of my friend from college was the fast qualifier.
The Super Late Models points leader is Dave Prunty. He is a 4-time track champion in the division. He was the fast qualifier, and passed the leader in the feature at around lap 50 of 75. He passed #10 Mike Strupp - who was having an awesome race. #10 quickly pulled out to a large lead, and held it after several cautions. His motor started to sound rough, like it was only on 7 cylinders. Like they always say - the cars runs best right before the motor blows. He kept going anyhow, and finished a well-earned second. Kevin Harvick Inc development driver Cale Gale made his first career Slinger Speedway start at the wheel of Shawn Roethle’s #53 Chevy, but he was unable to qualify from the semi-feature to the feature. He had contact with a car late in the race and was unable to recover.
The Limited Late Model division had many drivers that I saw at the final stockcar races at Lake Geneva Raceway on October 1, 2006. I was wondering where some of those drivers had come from. The feature was won by defending series champion and points leader Chris Ratajczyk.
The spectator eliminator series was won by a guy with a muscle car who claimed it was down a cylinder. Yea, hardly. Reminds me of the guys who raced in the 4 cylinders who almost won the feature by consistenly posting laps 0.8 seconds faster than his qualifying time.
The event ended with the figure 8 cars. They really excite me - they are totally crazy! A car (#55 Donald VanCamp Jr.) and a truck (#4G Scott Goetzke) were battling hard for the win with 2 laps left. They pushed it hard through the X at the center of the 8, and they both kept their foot in it as the got off of the asphalt into the dirt. The car got severely out of shape, and drove full speed head-on in the wall. He rolled the car onto its roof. He got out a few minutes later so he must have been okay. They called the races done. The sent the car and the truck to the back of the pack, and awarded the win to the third place car.
The races are more laps than most other tracks. I think the Super Late Model semi-feature (B-main, last chance qualifier, ...) was 30 laps long. The cars get around the track so fast. Divisions at the track were Super Late Models, Limited Late Models, Mid American Sportsman, 4 cylinders, guest cars, spectator eliminators, and Figure 8 cars. The Midwest Sportsman division races every other week, and it was their week off.
The Wisconsin Sport Trucks were the guest series at the track. They are basically go-karts with a small truck body. They came from Wisconsin International Raceway - about a 100 mile haul each way. Most of the drivers came anyhow. They race on the 1/4 mile low banked track at WIR. They didn't appear to be doing much braking on the high banks at Slinger. They were interesting. The cousin of my friend from college was the fast qualifier.
The Super Late Models points leader is Dave Prunty. He is a 4-time track champion in the division. He was the fast qualifier, and passed the leader in the feature at around lap 50 of 75. He passed #10 Mike Strupp - who was having an awesome race. #10 quickly pulled out to a large lead, and held it after several cautions. His motor started to sound rough, like it was only on 7 cylinders. Like they always say - the cars runs best right before the motor blows. He kept going anyhow, and finished a well-earned second. Kevin Harvick Inc development driver Cale Gale made his first career Slinger Speedway start at the wheel of Shawn Roethle’s #53 Chevy, but he was unable to qualify from the semi-feature to the feature. He had contact with a car late in the race and was unable to recover.
The Limited Late Model division had many drivers that I saw at the final stockcar races at Lake Geneva Raceway on October 1, 2006. I was wondering where some of those drivers had come from. The feature was won by defending series champion and points leader Chris Ratajczyk.
The spectator eliminator series was won by a guy with a muscle car who claimed it was down a cylinder. Yea, hardly. Reminds me of the guys who raced in the 4 cylinders who almost won the feature by consistenly posting laps 0.8 seconds faster than his qualifying time.
The event ended with the figure 8 cars. They really excite me - they are totally crazy! A car (#55 Donald VanCamp Jr.) and a truck (#4G Scott Goetzke) were battling hard for the win with 2 laps left. They pushed it hard through the X at the center of the 8, and they both kept their foot in it as the got off of the asphalt into the dirt. The car got severely out of shape, and drove full speed head-on in the wall. He rolled the car onto its roof. He got out a few minutes later so he must have been okay. They called the races done. The sent the car and the truck to the back of the pack, and awarded the win to the third place car.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Wisconsin International Raceway 06.16.07 - Drag Strip
This event will likely be the highlight of my 2007 season. I got to hold the flag for the national anthem! My brother-in-law is a DJ at the radio station that sponsored the event. I rode in the radio station's truck holding the flag out the window. We got on the drag strip at the last second, so I wasn't able to get pics. It was very cool.
I got to stay in the air conditioned tower after the national anthem. I stayed there for the first round. I got several nice pictures of different classes of cars http://www.flickr.com/photos/56091178@N00/ . I got a nice picture of a jet semi and a V8 powered by an alcohol with a blower. It smoked the tire all the way down the track. I accidentally took another pic when the driver was purging the nitrous. My 12th event at my 11th track this year.
I got to stay in the air conditioned tower after the national anthem. I stayed there for the first round. I got several nice pictures of different classes of cars http://www.flickr.com/photos/56091178@N00/ . I got a nice picture of a jet semi and a V8 powered by an alcohol with a blower. It smoked the tire all the way down the track. I accidentally took another pic when the driver was purging the nitrous. My 12th event at my 11th track this year.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Columbus 151 Speedway 06.15.07
Columbus 151 Speedway was the biggest surprise in my tour last year. I was very impressed by the 1/4 mile moderately banked asphalt track. I liked it enough to go back a second and third time. This was my first time at the track this year. I was not nearly as impressed.
Heat races mainly consisted of the top 2 drivers holding up the entire field for most of the race. They put the fastest cars in the back, so there were many first time winners.
The features were better. The pack spread out after a few laps. The best race was the limited late models. Last year's track champion picked the outside lane on a restart, and he moved up from around 7th to 3rd. He jumped to second on the outside of the leader on the restart on lap 11 (of 35). They battled side-by-side back and forth for the rest of the race, and the leader (other driver) won the race by around a car length.
They had a touring series called the Indy Pro cars. They were decent. It was the second time that I saw them at the track.
There is something odd about the car counts. The lowest division (4 cylinder cars called Bandits) of course have the greatest number of cars. The 2 mid divisions (hobby stock and street stock) have low car counts - maybe 10 cars. What's odd is that the limited late models have the second highest number of cars. A full field of around 20 cars. Normally the highest division doesn't have way more cars than the mid divisions.
Heat races mainly consisted of the top 2 drivers holding up the entire field for most of the race. They put the fastest cars in the back, so there were many first time winners.
The features were better. The pack spread out after a few laps. The best race was the limited late models. Last year's track champion picked the outside lane on a restart, and he moved up from around 7th to 3rd. He jumped to second on the outside of the leader on the restart on lap 11 (of 35). They battled side-by-side back and forth for the rest of the race, and the leader (other driver) won the race by around a car length.
They had a touring series called the Indy Pro cars. They were decent. It was the second time that I saw them at the track.
There is something odd about the car counts. The lowest division (4 cylinder cars called Bandits) of course have the greatest number of cars. The 2 mid divisions (hobby stock and street stock) have low car counts - maybe 10 cars. What's odd is that the limited late models have the second highest number of cars. A full field of around 20 cars. Normally the highest division doesn't have way more cars than the mid divisions.
Angell Park Speedway/National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame 06.10.07
The first thing that I did was tour the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. I wrote most of the article on Wikipedia - where I learned it was located in Wisconsin. It was smaller than I expected. It was a series of plaques - one for each inductee. The HoF is only open on the days of the races.
Then I watched qualifying. There were 31 cars. The program normally only has midget cars. Drivers came from many states, including Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, and California. One was the 2006 Australian Speedcar national champion, although he might be an American. I got a nice picture of almost all of the drivers. I left with a full memory card in my camera.
It was my first races at the historic 1/3 mile clay oval - my 30th track. I was talking with a man in the pits after the race, and he said it was the track with the longest continuous history of midget car racing.
Then I watched qualifying. There were 31 cars. The program normally only has midget cars. Drivers came from many states, including Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, and California. One was the 2006 Australian Speedcar national champion, although he might be an American. I got a nice picture of almost all of the drivers. I left with a full memory card in my camera.
It was my first races at the historic 1/3 mile clay oval - my 30th track. I was talking with a man in the pits after the race, and he said it was the track with the longest continuous history of midget car racing.
Charter Raceway Park 06.09.07
My first regular races at the track. I went to a midget car racing special there last year. There was a long line to get in. They have Grand National cars, Modified (non-sanctioned IMCA and UMP modifieds), Street Stock, Legends, and 4 cylinders. I rarely see Legends cars even though I know they are prevalent nationwide. I finally got some nice pics of Legends cars for Wikipedia.
These were the first regular races after a major building at the track was burned down by an arsonist. They were shut down for a few weeks.
These were the first regular races after a major building at the track was burned down by an arsonist. They were shut down for a few weeks.
Summary of first 8 events
I went to my first ice races on Feb. 11 at Cecil on Shawano Lake. I was surprised that the cars park around the outside of the track. There is no rail between the racing and the spectators. I made sure that I parked on the middle of the frontstretch. Hopefully no racer will lose it and wipe out some good cars! It was wierd to watch races inside my car with the heater on. It was my 28th track, 26th in Wisconsin.
My first races of the regular season were on April 28th at 141 Speedway near Francis Creek. Too bad that the grandstands face north and you get blinded by the setting sun. They have a fantastic giveaway promotion - envelope, box, or cash.
Next races were at my hometown of Chilton on May 4th. I used to pit crew for a guy there for 5 seasons. It was good to sit with friends - I usually sit alone.
The following day I went to Wisconsin Dells with my parents. I went alone to the races at the 1/3 mile asphalt track Dells Raceway Park. The track has new owners, which include part-time NASCAR driver Frank Kreyer. There was an excellent car count, but the stands weren't very full. Hopefully the stands will fill up later in the season. Nice track - my 29th.
I went to Luxemburg Speedway on May 11. My second time at the track. I have never eaten so much dust at races before. The dirt rolled down jacket. There was a strong wind that dried out the track all day, so it was unavoidable. It's an IMCA track - IMCA Modified, IMCA Street Stock, IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Hobby Stocks, plus 4 cylinders.
The following night I went to Meadowview go-kart track near Chilton to find it closed. It must be too early in the season. I drove to Manitowoc, and got there a half hour late. The track has greatly improved. I used to attend races there most weeks during the season it raced on Wednesday nights. I also had pitted there several times when my driver raced there weekly. There was always a bump entering Turn 1. There had been a pipe buried there below the track. EWSCA had the pipe buried deeper when the sanctioning body moved to Manitowoc from Plymouth. That solved the bump problem. There was a low number of racecars. The grandstands weren't very full either, which has always a problem at the track.
On May 18th I drove 2 hours to Madison International Speedway. The long drive home is the worst part of it. The track is a 1/2 mile asphalt. It was my second time to the track. The track has a decent history with some good alumni, including Matt Kenseth. They have a driver from New Zealand who is a great dirt driver. I added a picture of his car to his Wikipedia article. I noticed on Wikipedia that he was scouted by Roush Racing, and that he is getting training on asphalt at Madison. There are no paved racetracks in New Zealand! Former Roush Racing truck driver Nathan Haseleu races there regularly too.
On May 25th I went to Green Bay to tour the Packers facilities with a group from the technical college that I just graduated from. I was there at 3:30pm, so I decided to attend races a second time at Luxemburg since it was close. The track was well-maintained this time, and there was no dirt problem. I got to see the 2006 IMCA National Modified champ Benji LaCrosse again. I was surprised to see that he wasn't leading the track points. I took decent pics of him for Wikipedia.
My first races of the regular season were on April 28th at 141 Speedway near Francis Creek. Too bad that the grandstands face north and you get blinded by the setting sun. They have a fantastic giveaway promotion - envelope, box, or cash.
Next races were at my hometown of Chilton on May 4th. I used to pit crew for a guy there for 5 seasons. It was good to sit with friends - I usually sit alone.
The following day I went to Wisconsin Dells with my parents. I went alone to the races at the 1/3 mile asphalt track Dells Raceway Park. The track has new owners, which include part-time NASCAR driver Frank Kreyer. There was an excellent car count, but the stands weren't very full. Hopefully the stands will fill up later in the season. Nice track - my 29th.
I went to Luxemburg Speedway on May 11. My second time at the track. I have never eaten so much dust at races before. The dirt rolled down jacket. There was a strong wind that dried out the track all day, so it was unavoidable. It's an IMCA track - IMCA Modified, IMCA Street Stock, IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Hobby Stocks, plus 4 cylinders.
The following night I went to Meadowview go-kart track near Chilton to find it closed. It must be too early in the season. I drove to Manitowoc, and got there a half hour late. The track has greatly improved. I used to attend races there most weeks during the season it raced on Wednesday nights. I also had pitted there several times when my driver raced there weekly. There was always a bump entering Turn 1. There had been a pipe buried there below the track. EWSCA had the pipe buried deeper when the sanctioning body moved to Manitowoc from Plymouth. That solved the bump problem. There was a low number of racecars. The grandstands weren't very full either, which has always a problem at the track.
On May 18th I drove 2 hours to Madison International Speedway. The long drive home is the worst part of it. The track is a 1/2 mile asphalt. It was my second time to the track. The track has a decent history with some good alumni, including Matt Kenseth. They have a driver from New Zealand who is a great dirt driver. I added a picture of his car to his Wikipedia article. I noticed on Wikipedia that he was scouted by Roush Racing, and that he is getting training on asphalt at Madison. There are no paved racetracks in New Zealand! Former Roush Racing truck driver Nathan Haseleu races there regularly too.
On May 25th I went to Green Bay to tour the Packers facilities with a group from the technical college that I just graduated from. I was there at 3:30pm, so I decided to attend races a second time at Luxemburg since it was close. The track was well-maintained this time, and there was no dirt problem. I got to see the 2006 IMCA National Modified champ Benji LaCrosse again. I was surprised to see that he wasn't leading the track points. I took decent pics of him for Wikipedia.
Introduction
This blog documents my racing tours. I am a 30-something male who is attempting to attend races at most tracks within two hours of my home in East Central Wisconsin. I have been documenting the tours on a flickr photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/56091178@N00/ . I am a major contributor on the English Wikipedia, and I use my knowledge and some of these images to enhance Wikipedia.
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