1986 CVM History

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Gary ElliottJuly 16, 2015

Hobby Club 1986…20th Year

Membership Card

Hobby Club Has Big Year….Me And The Boys Of #36?….Not So Much, But We Never Gave Up

Nonie and I started our 15th season with the Hobby Club in 1986. After our disastrous 1985 season we wanted to make a better run for the title in 1986. That meant rebuilding our car complete. We sent it to Jim ward, where Ray Hughes worked, and got a lot of repairs done. Half our 1986 budget was spent at Jim’s place. We also got a new engine built, went over our car very carefully and landed a great sponsor in Dixie Ford, my place of employment. Brian Pratt lead the Hobby club through a very successful season. It was the 20th Year for the OARC as a club. Brian was energetic and brought new ideas and events to make the year exciting, like the match race at Kalamazoo. Brian also worked on a deal for our pace car and was very good working with all the issues the club went through including dealing with John Casale. I remember Brian right in Johns face a few times over issues with the club but he always came out smiling. He was a great President and a good friend. Merile Elliott (my dad) Paul Cornwall, Steffon Zoskey, David Elliott, John “OJ” Hyduk and John Saucier also helped us when he could. Both David and Shirley were not allowed in Flamboro pits, David was 14 and Shirley 12, she would be 13 in the summer but could not get in the pits because of insurance regulations. My Dad didn’t make every race, but made it when he could. It was a very hectic year for our family. Half way through the season we moved from Toronto, where both Nonie and I lived all our lives, to Waterdown. I could believe the size of home and property we bought. Our Toronto home went up for sale and within a few days we had bids higher than what we were asking for. The move was a great one for us, both the house and the shop suited us and would hopeful make things easier in the coming 86′ season. Things were great everywhere but on the track. By the fourth night of racing we were 28th in points, and still our next two Flamboro races would produce feature DNF’s. It was extremely frustrating for us. There were times when I lost my cool, mostly because of the things that were going wrong, but aside from the bad luck, we still had some positives. We won six races, including our first feature in 2 years. John Benson, from Kalamazoo Michigan drove our car to an exciting win against one other American and six top Hobby drivers. The club booked 31 races in 86′ but lost four to rain, giving us 27 race nights. We made every show, but missed one feature, the only night we ran at Sunset. We tried everything we could to get back out for the feature and had help from Jim Collison, Paul Fisher, Dave Bentley, Ron Shaw and others, but we would watch that feature race, a moment in racing I found very difficult to accept. Some positives included having a great crew with Paul, Steffon and John being there most every week. Nonie and kids made every show as well. Getting Dixie Ford as an involved sponsor also was a great asset for us. Winning the Sauble feature was feature was an exciting night for our team, then winning the heat the next day at Varney gave us some confidence. However 1986 was not going to be a year that we would remember in positive way. Our first thoughts once the year ended was planning for 1987. Mike Witter won the Flamboro Points on the final night, getting by Charlie Beck who was leading the Flamboro points. Charlie did win the Gold Cup series. We won Best Appearing car for the second year in a row, the first time with #36. Special thanks to everyone that participated in making this year as good as it was. The photographers for providing us with awesome pictures. All the great write ups by Georgia Beck. Also to those who helped us directly, my crew, friends and competitors. I hope I didn’t leave anyone out as we pay tribute to 1986 in the following pictures, captions and articles of the characters that made it a special year.

1986 Rundown

1986

More Info From Now On

The 1986 Rundown not only shows the number of races we ran at each track, and the restults, but starting in 1986 I kept track of who won the features each night. That added stat was continued until 2004, the year we switched to Late Models. However, I kept track of all the feature winners in Late Models as well…..I want to thank all those who helped us this year. My amazing wife Nonie and my children David and Shirley, our crew and sponsors, and the many photographers who sold or donated pictures. Some of our shots in 1986 were with the throw away camera……We were blessed to have the dedication of Paul and Steffon, our main crew members for 1986, with John Saucier also making many shows. My Dad, Merile, helped where he could, and David on away shows. Both David and Shirley were not allowed in the pits at Flamboro in 1986, the first year for that rule….Ainslie Hogan was incredible, not only supporting us financially but also with encouraging words. We hope you enjoy the 1986 season, and I will try to get it up as quick as possible.

Hobby Cars Start 20th Season

20th Year

Hobby Club Season #20

Brian Pratt worked with me on the 1985 committee, an excellent group, and had some great ideas. Now he would lead a new committee in 1986 to celebrate the Hobby’s milestone of twenty years.

Hobby Roster

A Good Field

1986 Hobby Line Up

This was my 15th season with the Hpbby club, but someone didn’t know me very well, they posted me as #37. Maybe it was an omen because in 2 years that would be David’s number.

Hobby Race Schedule

1986

Ray Hughes 1985 Champ On 1986 Schedule

Our 1986 schdule had 31 races booked. We had enough to run both our Flamboro home track and Gold Cup series. The club usually booked 30 plus races knowing we’d lose a few to rain, and still give us 25 to 28 race nights. Our plan was to make every race. Of course that depended mostly on the reliability of our inline engines. We blew at least two every year, in 1985 we lost three. We did a lot of work on our car and so a run at the title was the goal and legit. It was our 15th season and time to get to the head of the class.

Proposal To Dixie Ford

Sponsorship Hopeful

Working At Dixie Prompts Proposal

I started working at Dixie Ford as a Service Advisor in 1985. At the end of our race season I put a proposal into Dixie Ford for sponsorship in 1986. This is the proposal given to Ainsley Hogan owner of Dixie Ford in November of 1985.

Dixie Ford Accepts Proposal

New Sponsor

Dixie Came On Board As Our Sole Sponsor For 1986

We were very happy to get this letter, a notice that was sent around the dealership for all employee’s to read. Once we got the go ahead we started getting our car ready. Quaker State and club sponsors were the only other companies on the car.

Car Gets Gutted At Dixie Ford

1948 Chev Ramp Truck

Dixie Ford Let’s Us Use Shop To Strip Car

We wanted to have a good car for 1986 so we decided to strip it right down. It was beat up pretty good after the 1985 season, but still needed some major work to make it look and run right. Steffon Zoskey and Paul Cornwall would help us when they could.

Dixie Ford Contest For Color And Name

Chris Shepherd Wins

Dixie Staff Get To Name Car

We had a contest to see who could come up with a name for the race car for 1986. Many ideas and color schemes were put in. The one that was chosen was the “Dixie Devil”, submitted by salesman Chris Shepher. Dixie Ford had a sales program the year before exclusive to the Dealership for Ford Bronco 2’s, calling them the Dixie Devil. They had lots of decals left over and decided they would look good on the car. There was no problem this year, but there would be in 88′.

Jim Wards Shop

Ray Hughes To Build

Jim Ward & 69 Auto Racing Would Redo Our 1986 Car, Body & Bars

We dropped our car off to Jimmy Ward in early 1986 to let Ray do some chassis and sheet metal work on our car. David stands by the car. We stripped it down as much as possible at Dixie Ford before bringing it to 69 Auto.

Ray Had Help

The Shop “Watch Cat&q

Don’t Leave Anything Unless It’s Metal

This cat walked all over every car that was brought into Jim’s shop. Ray warned us not to leave roll cage padding, seat covers or anything that could be clawed, because it would be.

Snow Day In January

Toronto

David & I Head Out In 10″ Of Snow

Not sure where we were going but we needed to move so we wouldn’t get this new Tempo, my Demo, stuck. we use to get Demo’s as part of our job as Service Advisor. That changed early in 86. Also not sure who took this picture but I’m guessing Nonie or Shirley.

Quaker State Agreement

Longest Sponsor With Us

Quaker State Back For 13th Season

John Allison gave us another sponsorship for 1986. This was our 13th season. We would send in race card reports and pictures. If everyone did that they were in the following year, if you didn’t they would drop you.

1986 Crew

Basement Shop???

Scott, Paul, Steffon & David

While our car was out getting repaired me and the boys tried to come up with some ideas to gain power. Polishing the crank, running a belt driven water pump was on the drawing board. Also, new roller rockers, headers and more. We were pumped thinking we were gaining an edge on the competition. We never gave up trying things.

This Is No Sunken Ship

Jim Ward’s

Grinding & Fitting Roof & Engine

Ray put a dummy block in the car and set the headers in place so we’d know what had to be cut out and fabricated, we being mostly Ray, or Jim. The engine was an old anchor, maybe one of Ray’s rockets that blew up, but the headers were knew, man did they look out of place in that rusty piece.

Flamboro Schedule

Flamboro

1986 Flamboro Speedway Schedule

Flamboro Promotion

Promo

Flamboro Season Promotion

Sunset Speedway Schedule

Shakells Sunset

Sunset Schedule 1986

Sauble Schedule

Sauble

1986 Sauble Speedway Schedule

Hobby Sponsor’s

Sponsor List

1986 Hobby Sponsors

Brian and the 86′ committee worked hard getting these spopnsors on board for 1986. I was able to help with Quaker State again, and many of the sponsors from the year before came back with us.

Daytona Bound

Family Trip

Family Trip With The 4 Of Us & Nonie’s Mom

Nonies Mom didn’t want to go to the 500, but Nonie and the kids and I did. We took her to Palm Springs to stay with her friend and picked her up a few days later. This was our second time to Daytona.

Coming Together

Jim Wards

Bead Rolls…Wow, They Always Make A Job Look Great

Steffon & I Like To Work Together

Fitting Side Curtains

We Fit The Side Curtains

Steffon and I went to 69′ Auto and helped fit the cardboard template for the side curtains. Anytime we could help out was okay with Ray and Jim. We weren’t going to save any money, but then we wouldn’t be standing around asking any kind of questions. It was a fun day and we got a lot done in this shot and the one below…these photos from a throw away camera, though poor quality, helped tell the story.

David Helps

Jim Wards

David Stands Beside Our Nose Cone Creation

We used cardboard again to shape the front nose cone. We fit it around the brand new 1986 T-Bird grill. We got them because they were replaced under warranty for defective chrome. Once the dealership was given the command to destroy them I would head them off at the dumpster and ask if I could have it. The parts man said “no, these have to be destroyed”. I said “don’t worry, it might take us a few races but it’s liable to happen”. Anyway we got a few and it made the car look better, giving it some character.

Drive Roster 1986

Accurate Version

Here Is One With My Name & Number Correct…Nice

Hobby Hall Of Fame 1986

HOF

Joe McQueen & Doug Bowerman Inducted

Fabricacting Almost Done

Pre Season

Body Looks Good…Next Step Is Paint

Body Work

Prep

Body Work On The Roof Gets Done Before Paint….That & Trunk, Only Original Parts To Coupe

Ready For Paint

Paint Crew

Prep Done Paint Booth Awaits

Paint It Black

Painters Happy

This Was A Great Paint Job On This Car…We Were Getting Geared Up In Every Area

Dixie Devil Lettered

Ready To Go

Lettering Complete…By Spider!!

Article Before Motion Show

Georgia Beck

Georgia Beck Writes Pre Season Hobby Article

Bill Elliott Signs Picture

Motion Car Show

Bill Elliott Signs Picture Of Our 1985 Best Appearing Car…Shirley & I Are Excited

Bill Elliott…& The Elliotts

86′ Motion Car Show

Nonie, Shirley & I Get Picture With One Of The Best NASCAR Drivers Ever

In 1985 we used the number 9, the first and only time. We loved watching and cheering for Bill Elliott. We had our car painted like his and got a thrill of a life time having him sign it for us. We didn’t do very well on the track, but we did win Best Appearing Car. It was our first time winning that award, and kind of incredible considering we’d run #36 for 16 years before that in Mini’s and Hobbys.

Dixie Ford Race Night

May 2nd

Meet The Race Team

On this night at Dixie Ford, Ainslie Hogan introduced all of us and basically got our season going with a great send off. On the right side of the picture is Ron Corbin the shop foreman who would become the service Manager, and beside him Brian McLean, the transmission specialist. All the staff were invited to meet our race team.

1986 Pit Crew

Show Room

New Uniforms, New Paint Scheme, New Sponsor….Great Crew.

This was our first time to have nice uniforms. They were all embroidered with crests attached. We looked like a professional race team. From left to right our crew consisted of David Elliott, Paul Cornwall and beside me Steffon Zoskey. Paul and Steffon were in there 7th season as our pit crew, but importantly our friends. This was David’s first official year, although he helped at home in previous years, he was now a bona-fide member of our crew.

Dixie Ford Mustang

Pace Car

Dixie Ford Sponsors Flamboro Speedway Pace Car

Hobby Pace Car

Pace Car

Brain Pratt Lands Wellington Chrysler Dodge To Sponsor Hobby Pace Car

Dixie Ford Ad

Promotion

Dixie Ford Promo Ad For 1986 Season

Season Opener May 3rd..Witter Wins

Flamboro

Mike Witter Win’s Feature……Not A Good Night For Us

Over the winter we did many things to our car to try and give us an advantage, gimics maybe, but we thought some would work. One that didn’t was the electric water pump. The idea was to save horsepower, but the problem was it didn’t turn the water pump fast enough and we blew two head gaskets this night…..just prior to the season starting I was tightening up the the motor mount bolts at Dixie Ford, a week before our season started, and was using an impact gun to tighten up the four half inch bolts. I didn’t notice that the mounts on the engine were not even with the chassis mounts. I should have tightened the bolts up a little each, but instead jack hammered the first one. That pulled the left rear mount about 3/4 of an inch off the chassis. So not noticing, I decided to tighten it up as well using all the power this impact gun would give, and the I heard this loud terrible bang/clunk. A few seconds later oil came running out of the back of the engine. It was easy to spot, it was coming from the large crack from the rear of the 250 engine broken from the head to the flare…..anyway I learned a lesson on that, and tonight I learned another, use a regular water pump so the engine dosen’t get over heated and warp everything inside. Our screw in the distributor also came loose making the timing go south adding even more the over heating of the engine. Congrats to Mike and his team, back to the drawing board for us…PS…in fairness to the trouble I’ve had with inline sixes, both of these issues were my fault. Having said that, inlines are up ’65 to 6′ (at least) since 1972.

Heat Winner #22 Ken Frost

#22 Ken Frost

New Comer Kenny Frost, Raced In 85…Still Winning in 86

Early Season DNF

May 10th

Second DNF In Two Nights…..Engine Woes Continue

On May 10th we had to use our spare engine. The overheated engine from opening night needed 3 pistons, rings, a new block and $1,000 to cure. That was totally our fault, or at least it was the enigne to blame. The overheating was caused by a defaulty set of points in the distributor combined with the new electric water pump that did not do the job of cooling. We reverted to our spare engine, we call it the Hays engine…Gabby Hays that is. There was a lot of work needed to get it ready for the 10th and by the time we left home it was after 6:30 and we missed practice and our heat race. There were 30 cars, and 21 had made it into the feature through their heats. We had to start 9th and only 3 qualified. It wasn’t long in the consi before the engine started to overheat again. I was running 7th at the time, but had to pull to the infield. This picture says a lot for our hopes at running for a title. The only thing we were running for was a tow truck, and more money to fix our engine problems. Jim Lindsay was building our engines, he built Ray Hughes, and many others as well. The problems with our engine were nothing to do with him…….Larry Westwood won the May 10th feature.

Trouble In Turn Three…May 10th

Flamboro Speedway

Ron Shaw #81 Goes Low, Wayne Stevens #99 Goes High…Ron Easton #00 Undecided

Larry Westwood Wins May 10th

#21 Larry Westwood

Feature Winner May 10th

30 Hobby cars showed up on Saturday night at Flamboro. Larry Westwood #21 won the non stop feature.

Ray On Top

Flamboro

Hobby Top 12….1985 Champ On Top After Two Nights

Hobby Tech Inspection May 17th

Tech Sheet

Hobby Inspection Sheet…1986

Rich Farraway Wins Feature

#53 Rich Farraway

1984 Points Champion #53 Rich Farraway Wins May 17th Feature

The biggest field of the early season had 31 cars come out to Flamboro Speedway. We had more bad luck this week making it 3 non feature starts in three weeks. Our hopes of winning a points title were quickly going away as overheating woes (all different reasons) would not leave us alone…..there were no woes this night for veteran racer Rich Farraway who won the main event 20 lap feature. Pictured here are Rich’s boys, Leonard, his dad Bill on the far left and the others may include one of his sons, Jason or Darrell.

Keith Barton #85

Hobby Driver

Long Time Hobby Racer, Committe Member & Club Sponsor #85 Keith Barton

Dave Bentley Wins May 24th

#29 Dave Bentley

Hard Runner Dave Bentley #29, Wins May 24th Feature

What a night this was for Dave Bentley and his team winning the feature. Dave was the fourth different driver to win in 86. We had a terrible night again. We managed a 3rd in the heat race, our first finish of the season. However there were troubles once that race ended. Steffon was sick and we needed to do a ton of work, and I was lucky to get some great help from Eddy Askin, Don Shaws crew chief, Charlie Beck and Ray Hughes. Paul Cornwall noticed a clunk from our starter. On closer inspection we found the flywheel was loose. We had to remove the driveshaft, trans, bell housing etc. We were suppose to start outside pole in the feature. It was a night mare repair as we found a broken flywheel bolt and all the bolts loose. Charlie Beck had an extra bolt. We started putting it back together and Sharon Yost came over to let us know the cars would be lining up soon. We scrambled hard and were having a terrible time lining up the bell housing to the back of the engine. It was taking way too long. Jim Collison was the bubble car and was watching us like a hawk on a field mouse. We finally got three bolts in one side but could get none in the right side. I made the call to weld the bell to the engine. The transmission went in easy, and while the welder was doing his thing, John Saucier and I tried installing the drive shaft but were getting zapped by the welder. We got it in and the starter, but we couldn’t get the clutch rod in. Sharon came over again and my crew said “we’re coming”. I’m sure Jim Collison’s crew were saying “no there not”. Anyway we finally got the car on the ground but no clutch. The cars were going on the track. We were to start outside pole, but now we’d be lucky to start period. We finally got the car moving and it wouldn’t go, but I did get it to go with the starter engaged. We made it out just a split second before Sharon was sending out Jim. It was a wild race with Ray and Mike Witter having trouble. Mike had an axle shaft come out Murphy’s Law 1…Mike O. We lasted half the race with no clutch pedal, and then the car started overheating again. If it could go wrong this year it was going to Murphy 6…Gary…0 Anyway it was the best night of the year, though we fell to 28th in points, so much for a shot at the title. Steffon had a good night off, but would earn his keep during the week when we fixed this once again.

Hobby Standings

Club Points

Dave Bentley Early Points Leader

Sponsor Night At Flamboro

Dixie Ford Staff Announcement

Dixie Ford Night At The Races….Memo From Ainslie Hogan

Dixie Ford was one of my best sponsors to this point. They were very involved and wanted the staff to come to the races and cheer on their car. I was happy but worried, because we had not qualified for the first three features, and didn’t finish the only feature we were in. Out of 8 possible races, we only had one finish, the rest were DNFs including heats. So we had to make sure we were ready for this weekend….but to be honest, if it was the Iranian Dance Festival we’d still want to be ready to go for the win. The frustrating part for us, and it could be considered by now…maddening…was the fact that the 40 changes we made to our car were suppose to help us be a championship team, but now we were 28th in points having our worst start maybe ever. It would be good to have a turn around night.

First Win Of Season

May 31st

Dixie Ford Night…..Nothing Like A Win To End Bad Luck Streak

First Win Of 86

Ken Rodd

“Dixie Ford Night” Sponsor Comes And We Win….Nice….Our First Win Of 86…Ties All Of 85

Kids Join In Celebrations

Heat Win May 31st

Heat Win A Big Relief….Feature 5th….Lead For 17 Laps

It was great to win the heat race this night. With all our friends, fans and colleagues from work here, and my boss Ainslie Hogan, it sure was a good feeling to win in front of them, especially for Dixie Ford Night. In the feature we started outside pole and lead the first 17 laps. Jim Collison, who told me prior to the race that we did amazing to get our car out in time last week, won the feature. He missed the feature on the 24th but made up for tonight. We were very tight in the feature race and pushed so bad that Jim, Ray Mike and Charlie all got by me. My co-workers were still excited and it was a great night overall…obviously we broke the jinx that was haunting us the first month of racing. Congrats to my crew Paul, Steffon and John for hanging in there.

Points Leaders

Flamboro

Mike Witter #19…Tops In The Class After May 17th…We Sit Uncomfortable In 28th Place

Rich Farraway #53

Promo

Promotion For Rich Farraway

Kyle Petty Wins

Richmond

Bill Elliott Crashes..Kyle Petty Wins

Point Standings 6 Weeks In

Hobby Points

Ray Hughes #24….Top Of The Leader Board

Triple Header Week End…June 6-7-8

Barrie June 6th

First Gold Cup Feature Goes To #12 Jim Collison…Jim Makes It Two With Heat Win

We did not have any Barrie pictures, but this will do. Jim won the feature, his second of the season, and second in a row. Ray was 2nd and Mike Witter 3rd. We finished 2nd in our heat this night and were running 5th and got tangled with Dave Bentley. We were a DNF because it was a closed pit gate race. We were naturally hoping not to start the Gold Cup Series with 4 DNF’s, but we were off to a good start if 4 DNFs was the plan….but it wasn’t. We did have a decent run this race, just some racing luck. Ray Hughes, Mike Witter, Jim Collison and Larry Westwood were all heat winners with the Consi going to Larry.

Sauble Heat Goes To #33 Wayne Martin

Sauble Speedway

Gail Shaw Present Trophy For Wayne Martins Heat Victory

Wayne Martin is usually #34 but he was driving Tims #33 this night. There were 26 cars on hand for this second race in a Triple header Gold Cup week end. We finished 2nd in the heat behind Wayne. We had a good run, but our feature would even be better….see next photo.

Sauble Feature Winner #36….

Sauble

Great Night For Us With Sauble Feature Win…2nd Of Triology Weekend

This was the second Gold Cup race of 1986. What a great night it was for us. We ran good all day in practice, in our heat and in the feature. Nonie came over to the pits before the races and pumped us up by telling us that our car looked very strong. That was encouraging. There is so much to talk about this night, we sure were on our game plan. We started up front because of our bad finish at Barrie Speedway, but got a second in the heat, and started 4th in the feature. We got the lead at the end of lap one and then it started to rain. We drove around a few laps trying to dry the track, the rain had stoppped. Then when the starter motioned me if it was good to go, I waved him off twice. They sent us to the pits and let the Challengers run their feature. After that the track was perfect. A huge dispute started in the pits when some wanted a completle restart. I argued for us because we had completed one lap and it was only a rain delay. The race restarted with us on the pole and we ran hard all race. Near the end it was getting tense with Jim Collison and Mike Witter right on my tail. Near the closing laps of the feature we were lapping cars and I knew by the sound of engines, someone was right on me. Lapped cars were battling side by side, they still were racing, but that made it possible for both Jim and Mike to catch us. On the white flag lap I was really nervous..don’t blow it…going down the back chute lapping cars on the outside was perfect because it meant no one behind could dive in low. Coming off four the car was perfect and we crossed the line with two cars right with us. Steffon and Paul were there to enjoy the feature win, our first since Barrie in 1984. We celebrated this night for sure. After the races, our crew and family, Jim and his crew, Mike and Paul Fisher as well as Dave Bentley and Mike Kostel all met at our hotel in Sauble. I bought the pizza, and it was great. I slept good knowing we could win another feature.

Ron Shaw #81

June 6 Varney

Ron Shaw Wins Heat Race At Varney Speedway June 8th

After starting outside pole in the fast car heat Ron went on to take the checker in this competitive race. Ron and Don have become tremendous supporters of the Hobby club working hard, doing what they can to make the club stronger.

Rich Farraway #53

Varney

Hard Luck At Varney For Rich Farraway Our 1984 Club Champion

Trouble In Turn 3

Varney Speedway

Mike Kostel #20 Spins…..Look Out!!!!

Charlie Beck #79, Jim Collison #12 go around the spinning #20 of Mike Kostel. Ron Shaw #81 hits a road block and I try desperately to get out of the way. We all got through this mess.

Varney Speedway

Back Chute Varney

Varney Speedway, A Fast Little Bull Ring

Jeff Bedell Wins Varney June 8th

Jeff Bedell #65

Final Race Of Triple Weekend

This was the final race of the 3 day series, Barrie Friday, Sauble Saturday and Varney on Sunday. The weekend saw 3 different drivers take the feature, Jim Collison won Friday, we won Sauble and Bedell won this one……This was our 8th feature of the season with the 7th different winner…on this day our team had fast time in hot laps, won our heat but wrecked in the feature. There was a pile up and I couldn’t avoid Ron Shaw and bent our tie rod and axle. We were pushed off the track and immediately my crew, Steffon and Paul as well as Larry Westwood and his crew Lloyd Loveridge helped change the tie rod to get us back out and we finished 11th……hard charging Jeff Bedell started pole in the feature and ran away with it, taking his first feature win of 1986.

Ken Frost Wins June 14th Flamboro

Ken Frost #22

Kenny Frost Wins Feature….8th Different Feature Winner….We Finish A Close 2nd

This was a great night for Kenny Frost picking up his first feature win of the season. It was a great night for our team as well, we won our heat, from the back and finished a very close 2nd in the feature. The best part was Ainslie Hogan owner of Dixie Ford was there to cheer us on…..it was an awesome night for all of us. My Dad was very happy with our night and I gave him the hat from the nightly sponsor, Forbes GM Truck, Dad loved in and would wear it as he headed the next day to Nova Scotia….nothing like a good night to keep the spirits high.

Hobby Points

Standings

Ray Hughes Holds Point Lead…Mike Witter Close Behind

Dave Bentley #29 June 21st

Dave Bentley

Dave Bentley 9th Wins Flamboro Feature….9th Different Win In 1986

Tonight was regular racing and the Hobby Clash, a race that featured all the feature winners from the year before. The regular racing was great, we had another full field of cars and the hard charging Dave Bentley #29, became the 9th different feature winner of the season, showing how competitive the class has become…..we finished 2nd in our heat and crashed in the feature, unable to put 2 good nights back to back…..Bruce Manson returned to win the Clash and did so in fine fashion.

Mike Kostell 20 Wins Feature June 22nd

Mike Kostell

Sunset Speedway Feature Winner #20 Mike Kostell

Mike Kostell #20, the young hard charger became the 10th different feature winner of the 86′ season. Jim Collison is the double feature winner, and he has been running excellent this season. However on this night it was Mike Kostell who took the win and the checker……We had a bad night. A severe engine miss, that developed into a no start kept us from running in the feature. There are not many things that bother me, but one that changes my personality is not starting a feature. We wait all week to race and to have some issue with the car keep us out of the race, especially when we’re having our best season, was just over the top disappointing. We were 5th in the points, but not starting the feature was a huge hit……congrats to Mike on his awesome win.

Heat Race Sauble Speedway

Sauble Speedway

Hard Battle In Heat Race At The Beach

This was our second show at Sauble Speedway for 1986. In this heat race I am leading Wayne Martin #33 (driving Tim’s car), Ron Shaw #81, Larry Westwood #21, Wayne Stevens #99 and Jim English #55. Twenty five Hobby cars made it to this race and we would hang on to take our 4th win of the season……Wayne Martin would go on to win the feature, his first of the year.

Sauble Speedway Win July 12th

4th Win

David Gets In Picture

Racing is all about family and fun and nothing better than winning a race and your children get in the picture. David was a big help for us in 86, learning a lot as he was being prepared to one day race…….this was our 4th win of the year and sure felt good.

Press Recap Early 86

Gary The Writer 🙂

Hobby News, Recapping The Early Racing

Press Update Page 2

Continued

The Rest Of The Story

Wayne Martin #33 Varney Speedway July 13th

Varney Speedway Pits

Wayne Martin #34…..Wants To Make It 2 In A Row

We ran a double header this weekend, racing Sauble Speedway on Saturday and Varney Speedway on Sunday. It rained most all night but cleared up and we had most of our cars show up. Dave Bentley missed the show, but we still had 25 to compete….Wayne Martin, shown here, usually drives #34 but was driving Tim’s car again, and after winning the feature last night at Sauble he was looking at making it 2 in a row.

Wayne Stevens #99 Varney July 13th

Varney

Wayne Stevens Hot Laps Varney Speedway July 13th

Wayne Stevens was a great addition to the Hobby club. He was always giving more than he took and would become a great supporter by being part of the club executive as well as a full time racer.

Jim English #55 Varney Speedway

Varney July 13th

Jim English #55 One Of The Toughest Ever…..He Gave Up Nothing To Win Or Keep His Spot

Mike Ball #13

Varney July 13

Mike Ball #13 Flies Down Back Chute At Varney During Practice

Brian Barton #95 Varney Speedway

Brian Barton

Brian Barton…..One Of Many Racing Barton’s

Brian Barton is a great addition to the Hobby club. Just like his Dad he cares about the club and puts in extra effort to make it better. It seems that most all the racers join the Hobby Club and then do whatever they car to make it better, or keep it going in the right direction…..it seems to be working, as the drivers have lots of races, awesome reviews from every track and incredible competition……Brian’s Dad Keith, raced in the early 70’s and I had the pleasure to race with him as well.

Bev Thring #57

Varney Winner

Bev Thring #57 Wins July 13th Feature

It didn’t take Bev Thring long to start winning in this club. He brought out this car, I called it the roof, because that’s about 90% of the body. Anyway his set up and driving skills made the Hobby club even tougher competition wise, but on this night none could touch Mr. Thring.

Driver Of The Week Dave Bentley #29

Clash Winner

Dave Bentley #29….Winner of the Clash…Driver of the Week

The Hobby Clash was sponsored by Dave Franks Photo’s left, Brian and Keith Barton from B&B Decals. Dave Bentley was the big winner of this race held on June 29th at Flamboro Speedway.

Twin 25 Flyer Flamboro Speedway

12th Annual Twin 25’s

B&B Decals Sponsor Plus Many Businesses Sponsor Twin 25’s

The Hobby club members and drivers sold laps for this event to help pay for the 2nd feature. Flamboro wouldn’t give anymore money to run the 2nd race so we raised our own money. Some years, we raised so much, the track owners didn’t want to pay us for any races because we were so successful in our efforts…..anyway special thanks to all those who did support us with $10 lap donations.

Jim Collison #12 Wins Twin 25’s

Driver of the Week

Jim Collison #12…Having An Awesome Season…Takes Twin 25 Overall With A 4th & 1st In The Features

Kalamazoo Sppedway August 8th

Kalamazoo Speedway

Hobby Club Makes 2nd Visit To Michigan’s Kalamazoo Speedway

We were very popular our firs visit to Kalamazoo in 1985. Brian Pratt, our President, easily booked us for 3 races this weekend. Our first stop was Kalamazoo, then Flat Rock and then Spartan Speedway near Lansing. We got rained out at Spartan but ran very well at the other two races prompting shows for 1987.

Track Promotes Race

Kalamazoo

Hobby Cars Prompt Old Timers Night That Includes Match Race….With John Benson Sr.

After the Hobby feature the Old Timers race took to the track. Two track Champions, Roger Gilligan and Johnny Benson Sr. (father of Johnny Benson Jr. who would soon race NASCAR), raced against 6 Hobby drivers.

More Track Promotion

Kalamazoo

Hobby’s Are Coming But The Main Excitement Is Put On Track Icons Roger Gilligan & Johnny Benson

Johnny Benson To Drive #36

Kalamazoo Speedway

We Proudly Give Our Car To Past Track Champion Johnny Benson…Winner of the 1965 Oswego Classic

Johnny Benson stands by the car he will drive in the Old Timers race against the Hobby cars. Our crew were very excited and proud to have him drive our car and he did awesome.

Kalamazoo Pits

Johnny Benson

Happy and Proud To Be Standing Next To This Kalamazoo Legend…Paul Cornwall Is At The Rear Of Our Car

Practice Kalamazoo

Johnny Benson

Johnny Benson Shakes Down #36

In the first set of hot laps Johnny drove Jim Buntings car and I could not pass him, I always pass that car, but could not get by. Later, in this set, he drove our car and almost spun out. He said there was lots wrong with the car and was prepared to help us get it right. I had been compensating for a poorly set up car and could avoid spinning out, but I was wearing myself out trying to keep the car right. Tonight was a huge help for us with Mr. Benson not only giving us tips and helping, but also driving the car to see how the improvements were doing.

Timing Johnny Benson

Hot Laps

Brian Pratt Watches As I Check Lap Times On Johnny Benson

Right after the first set of hot laps Brian Pratt, President of the Hobby Club, asked for a volunteer to loan their car for Mr. Benson, he was having trouble adjusting to Jim Buntings car. I offered our car for a Trophy Dash featuring him, Roger Gilligan and a few Hobby drivers. I said yes, but only if Jim’s car was given to Roger and it was agreed. So Johnny got out in our car for a few laps like this practice session……after these hot laps Johnny said the car was loose going into the corners and I agreed that it was for me as well, but didn’t know how to fix it. He said “you need more wedge” and so we went down one hole on the right front and it was better. A few more practice sessions and a few more changes and he was happy with the car. He said he didn’t want to change it too much for me, but my crew and I laughed saying “don’t worry, we have been driving it like this off and on all year and whatever it is it will be better than what we had”…….in our heat race we finished 5th, and because of a big wreck in their Thunder Car division, they cancelled the Consi and brought out the Trophy Dash Match Race.

Mike Kostell #20

Heat Wreck

Kalamazoo Collects Kostel

Paul Cornwall & Nonie Relaxing

Pits

Just Taking It Easy….It’s All Good

Kalamazoo Trophy Dash Winner

Johnny Benson

Johnny Benson Wins Trophy Dash To The Delight Of Everyone

The ten lap race was awesome. There were 6 cars in total. Mike Witter, Dave Bentley, Ron Goodison and Ron Shaw. Johnny started outside pole beside Roger and took the lead. For the first few laps he pulled away but slowly Mike and Dave were closing in. When the white flag came out it was a 2 car race with Witter putting tons of pressure on Johnny, Fans were screaming and cheering as the 2 cars flew down the back chute with Bentley close but not near close enough to do anything with half a lap left. Going into three side by side Mike was slightly ahead but Benson wasn’t letting up and drove hard into three, gaining the lead by half a car length. Mike was right there but knew to try and win he would be taking a chance of wrecking both cars. The little hesitation, and the momentum off turn four was all Johnny need to grab an incredibly exciting victory. His daughter filmed the race and screamed most of the final 3 laps, especially the last lap. we were just as excited. The grand stands were packed and the fans loved it.

Crew Joins The Winner

Kalamazoo

Paul, Steffon, David, Johnny & One of His Crew Take A Victory Picture

Ken Frost #22 Feature Winner

Kalamazoo

Happy Ken Frost #22 Wins 25 Lap Feature….We Finish 3rd

What a night for our team. Not only did our car run awesome in the Trophy Dash with Johnny Benson, but ran almost as good in our feature. we started 18th and managed to finish 3rd behind Ken Frost and Mike Witter. Dave Bentley was 4th and Charlie Beck 5th

News Release August 8th Kalamazoo

Kalalazoo

Nice Report Following Nights Races

Flat Rock Speedway August 9th

Track Ad

Ron Shaw Wins Inaugural Flat Rock Hobby Race

This non stop feature was a good one for our first time to this track. Unfortunately there are no pictures from 1986 of Flat Rock, but Ron Shaw won the feature. We finished 8th, started 19th and the key to this track was the constant turning that soon wore most drivers out……we won the consi

Ron Shaw #81

Flat Rock Winner

Ron Shaw One Of My Favourite Competitors

Spartan Speedway August 10th

Rained Out

Coupes & Winged Midgets….Would Have Been An Awesome Show…Rained Out

After Flat Rock was had our 3rd US race for the weekend but the rain spoiled our chance to have fun at this weird designed oval. This was to be our first visit at Spartan Speedway and we were all looking forward to it.

Spartan Speedway August 10th

Group Shot

Rained Out….Club Members Get Group Shot Near Track Sign

Point Standings

Flamboro Points

Ray Hughes On Top Flamboro Points

Cayuga August 24th

Promo

Cayuga Speedway Promotion For August 24th Race

Cayuga Souvenir Program

August 24th

Cayuga Speedway McKERlIE- MILLEN Classic

Late Model History

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Gary ElliottMarch 6, 2015

Please select a year:

2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005

The Pit Crew

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Gary ElliottMarch 6, 2015

2012 Pit Crew

Matt Smith, Paul Johnson, Bob Pereria, Kenny Wallace, Me, Justin Elliott, Jason Green

Here is our 2012 crew, except for NASCAR star Kenny Wallace, who was visiting Flamboro on this day, August 20th, for the Shoot Out, and graciously joined us for this picture…..Bob commits twice a week to help prepare the car between races and over the winter. Paul Johnson and Jason Green make it out whenever they can. I appreciate the help we get from all our crew. It is impossible for Ryan or Matt to come to Waterdown to our shop, because of where they live, over 2 hours away, however the car comes to the track every week race ready, and they help the rest of us keep it that way at the track. It was a tough year for us, maybe the toughest ever, but we climbed to the top 10 in points and competed our 44th season with our 36th of perfect attendance. Nonie and I appreciate the dedication from each and everyone of our crew members. God bless boys, next year our 45th and 40th with Quaker State.

2011 Pit Crew

Bob Pereria, Gerry Lancaster, Gary & Gehrig Halliday

2011 was a very tough year for us. In the beginning of the seaosn we could not get our car to handle properly at our home track. The set up was off at Flamboro, just not working. Bob was my head spotter and watched closely to learn what he could with our chassis. By early June we were out of the points race, sitting 11th. In early July things started to turn around. Bob, Gerry and I and worked as a team and we could see the improvements week after week. We finally got our car working towards the end of July. We climbed up to 6th in poins but our efforts at Sunset Speedway were very good. The first time there we qualifed on the pole and the second visit produced a 5th fastest in time trials. The season was a combinaion of bad set up in the first two months and bad luck overall. The night this picture was taken we had a very serious wreck coming off turn four. The front frame was bent badly but with our crew and excellent help from Junior Hanley we made it back out the next week. Nonie and I are very thankful for Bob and Gerry, for working together and making 2011 a fun season.

2010 Pit Crew

2010 pit crew. From left to right are Jim Hulzinga, Marty Hagen, Jason Chapman, Rob Twitchett, and on the far right our grand son Gehrig Halliday. Pictured with us is Amanda Li from Quaker State. Our crew worked very hard in 2010. It was a very tough year, perhaps too much to bare. We had a run of bad luck that eliminated our chances at a top three in the Flamboro points. That span crushed the spirit of our crew and was very hard on my wallet. August 7th with my worst crash in 42 seasons. The car was bent very bad, but fixed and returned the next week, only to crash again, not near as bad. However, the week following, August 21st, we had a great race going for us, just took over the lead in the feature when we were hit by the car in 2nd place and wrecked badly again. It was over the top discouraging for all of us. To see our car get wrecked week after week, was frustrating. Thanks to a dedicated crew, our car was very good most nights, always competitive. It wasn’t my driving style to rough up other drivers on the track intentionally. The same respect was not shown back. I’ve known and faced that fact for years, it’s part of racing, we could have used a little more balance in our favour…..On the good side, we did have a good season finishing 4th at our home track points standing. We picked up a heat win at Sauble, qualifying on the pole with my son David. We also won the pole position on May 29th at Flamboro and finsihed a very strong 5th on the new high banked oval at Sunset Speedway with some very good drivers in attendance. We had a 5th in both the Grisdale Triple Crown and the Octoberfest Twin 50’s. Nonie and I thank all of our crew in 2010 and their families for their dedication and support throughout 2010. (note Gordon Nicholson, one of our crew members took this photo, absent was Perry Van Haaren and Morgan Crewson ).

2009 Pit Crew

Awesome Crew To Run Two Cars

This picture was taken on the last race at Flamboro Speedway in October. Our crew did an amazing job this year keeping both our cars on the track every week end. The #9 car was driven by Trevor Monaghan for the final few weeks of the season. Trevor in the red fire suit had his brother Mike and friend Mike help him, they are on hsi immediate right. Our crew: * Allen MacLean on the far left of the photo * Jason Chapman our Car Chief on the far right * Troy Stere beside Jason * Crew Chief Jim Hulzinga is beside me * Mike Van Slingerland from Freedom Village on my right. My crew were exceptional in 2009 working hard on the two cars and making sure the #36 was set up perfect everytime I took it on the track. Nonie and I want to thank our crew for being dedicated in our 5th and toughest season in Late Models. Their hard work got us a 4th in Flamboro points and a 3rd in the Grisdale Triple Crown series.

40th Anniversary Pit Crew

The Boys and Girls of 2008

We are so fortunate to have these wonderful friends helping us with our race car. There is no possible way for one person to do this on their own. Racing is a great sport and brings excitement to those helping and watching as much as it does to the driver. Nonie and I are truly grateful to those who dedicate their time and effort in supporting us with our racing venture….Beside me is Nonie, my wife of 38 years (1970) then Jason Chapman (our Car Chief), Shirley Elliott (our daughter), Troy Stere, and my great friend and Crew Chief Jim Hulzinga. Missing in this photo is Perry Van Haaren, Charlie Howell and Marty Hagen, who is a crew member of our son David’s team, but who helps us on days when the Pennzoil car is not running.

2007 Crew

Most Of Our 2007 Crew

Nonie and I were very pleased with our crew. They helped make this season a great success. Beside Nonie is Jason Chapman and Perry Van Haaren at the Octoberfest race. Jim Hulzinga, our crew chief, was working this day and missed the team shot.

2006 Pit Crew

Some Of Our 2006 Crew Memebers

Here are some of our 2006 crew members. Jason Chapman is at the rear of the car, Roger Creighton at the drivers window, Charlie Howell stands beside Rogers son, David Creighton. Missing here is Crew Chief Jim Hulzinga, Thatcher Krupp and Dave Watson.

2005 Pit Crew

Dave Watson, One Of Our Team Members

This was our rookie season in Late Models and many crew members worked hard to get us the success we had. One was Dave Watson, pictured here. Our crew consisted of Crew Chief Jim Hulzinga, Jason Chapman, Dave Watosn, Roger and David Creichton, Chris Young and Steve Zivanic.

The Cars

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Gary ElliottMarch 6, 2015

2011 Late Model

7th Season Late Models….40th Year With Hobby Club

2011 Impala….400 HP Crate Engine…Painted by Sweers Painting….Lettered by Creative Edge This was our 7th season at Flamboro Speedway in the Late Model division. Here are some high lites from 2011: * Ran 25 nights * Ran 3 in the Hobby Club and 22 in the Late Model * 6th in Flamboro points * 3rd in Grisdale Triple Crown * Won 5 races * Qualified pole in the first Pro Late Model race at Sunset Speedway * 5th fastest in time trials in second Pro Late Model race at Sunset Speedway * Voted most hard luck team in 2011 * 10 appearances in 2011 * Finished 5th in CVM feature at Sunset Speedway * Won CVM heat at Delaware Speedway

2010 Late Model & Vintage Mod

6th Season In Late Models

2009 Impala…400 HP GM Crate…Pianted by Carlisle Customz…set up by Mike McColl…10″ American Racer Tires…In 2010 we finished 4th in Flamboro Speedway points (5th year in a row to finish 4th). We finsihed 5th in the Grisdale Triple Crown series, 5th in the Octoberfest Classic Twin 50’s and we were the fastest qualifier on May 29th at Flamboro for the first of three races that were qualified through time-trials. We won Best Appearing Car with the Late Model, and were voted Most Sportsmanlike Driver in 2010.

2009 Late Model

5th Year Late Models…Race Season #41

Stats: * 2009 Chev Impala * Quick change * 3 Speed Sagnaw Transmission * Painted by Jim Sweers * Lettered by Steve Lyons * GM Crate engine 604 350/400 HP * 10″ Amercian Racer * McColl Motorsports Chassis

2008 Late Model

4th Season Late Models…Change In Paint Design

Stats: * 2008 Monte Carlo * Quick change * 3 Speed Sagnaw Transmission * Painted by Jim Sweers * Lettered by Oakville Sign-A-Rama * GM Crate engine 604 350/400 HP * 10″ Amercian Racer * McColl Motorsports Chassis

2007 Late Model

3rd Season Of Black Paint Scheme

Stats: * 2007 Dodge Charger * Quick change * 3 Speed Sagnaw Transmission * Painted by Jim Sweers * Lettered by Steve Lyons * GM Crate engine 604 350/400 HP * 10″ Amercian Racer * McColl Motorsports Chassis

2006 Late Model

2nd Year Late Models Stats: * 2006 Ford Fusion * Quick change * 3 Speed Sagnaw Transmission * Painted by Paul Howse * Lettered by Fleet Image * GM Crate engine 604 350/400 HP * 10″ Amercian Racer * McColl Motorsports Chassis

2005 Late Model

The Driver: Gary Elliott

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Gary ElliottMarch 6, 2015

Racing has been a major part of Gary’s life from his childhood. His family attended stock car races at Pinecrest Speedway, Oakwood Stadium and the C.N.E, allowing Gary to cheer for his favorite driver #36 Glen Schurr. The desire and love to race was fulfilled in1969 and remains strong today. In 1970, Gary married his best friend Nonie. Last year they celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary. They have two children, David and Shirley and two grandchildren from Shirley, Gehrig and Lauren.

Gary’s life changed dramatically in 1988 with his desire and need to live a better life. His faith in God through Jesus Christ has given him a hope and joy that he never knew before. He teaches Sunday school to 11 – and 12-year-old boys at Flamborough Baptist Church and plays piano in the Praise Team. Gary also takes his race car to various church meetings and youth events talking to kids, small and big, sharing his passion for racing and his love for Jesus.

In 2005 Gary made the move from the open wheeled Canadian Vintage Modifieds into the ultra fast high tech world of Late Models. To say he excelled is an under statment. Gary won two Feature Events, finished 5th in the Flamboro Speedway Championship, 3rd in the provincial Weekend Warrior Series and won Rookie of the Year. Gary also won the 2005 Media Award for his continuing work in promoting stock car racing.

For 2006 Gary will focus his efforts on the Late Model Championships of Flamboro Speedway and the Weekend Warrior Series. Gary hopes to also drive some events at Kawartha, Delaware and Peterboro Speedways. Gary will also drive in several Canadian Vintage Modified events this season.

Gary’s primary sponsor for 2006 is Quaker State, extending an incredible driver-sponsor relationship that began in 1974 and is now entering its 33rd year.

Gary and Nonie would like to thank all the fans, competitors, promoters and sponsors for making this continuing 37-year journey a most enjoyable, exciting and memorable experience.

1st Corinthians 15:57 … “we have the Victory in Jesus Christ”

2014 LM History

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Gary ElliottJuly 16, 2015

Mod Taking Shape

OSCAAR Mod

Mike Westwood Doing Finishing Touches To Our New Ride

When I bought the Mod off Mike he had some work to do on it before he gave it to me. A new seat, front and rear bumpers, a few body panels and raising the fuel cell were just some of the things completed. I have the panels now and will get them painted by mid January. Once that’s done and the panels assembled the car will come back to our shop get a thorough going over before heading out to get lettered…..more on the Mod progress as it happens……..meanwhile our Late Model is set to go to Ron Easton’s as soon as he has room for it. He is working on other projects right now and will get our car in before the Mod comes home……our 2014 schedule is taking shape, but some things will determine exactly where we race this year with the Late Model. Our plan is to take the car to Sunset Speedway to give the first few nights a chance to get the car set up. If we are a non competitor like we were in 2013 we will only run a few races at Sunset and go to other local track where we can be more competitive. If we can run with the pack, we’ll stay. There is nothing worse than going to a race track knowing you have zero chance to win, and in 2013 we had zero chance to finish in the top 5. It was the most discouraging year ever for me. I’ve had some bad ones where we thought we would be good and we’re not, but the reason was luck, not ineptness. No one is cheating at Sunset, not even suggesting that, but for some reason we cannot compete with these cars at this track. I think I know why, HP, and we’re making changes to that now. If we are still not able to be a top 5 car, we need to run another track and we will, but still run a few shows at Sunset because of our commitment to one of our sponsors for Family Faith Night as well as kids camp. Not one of my crew members, family, fans, sponsors or me, wants to repeat 2013, and it won’t happen. We are making changes to improve the car, and we will go up during the week a few times to practice (like Mark Dilley suggests) and we’ll see how good we are. If not our schedule will be limited at my favourite track…….On a positive note, we are looking forward to running a full schedule with the OSCAAR Mods, that is our first commitment and we will run lots of Sunset if we can keep up.

Show Car 2014

2013 Camaro

Denny Snider Donates Camaro Late Model……Quaker State & Project Track Champion Show Car

In 2009 I sold our spare Late Model, David’s 2006 Championship car, to Jason Legge to run as a Limited Late Model at Sauble Speedway. After time Denny Snider bought the car from Jason and ran it up until 2013 in a limited number of races. Denny donated the car to Gary Elliott Motorsports to use as a show car and compete in some races if possible…..our primary use for this car will be as a show car for Quaker State at GM stores. The Camaro body will work perfect for on sight GM events……..Quaker State supports our connection with Project Track Champion and we hope to have it in some shows by late March, not sure if it will be ready for the Mega Speed…….there is not much to do for shows, but a lot to put it in competition, namely the engine. It is basically a stock motor that would not compete locally the way it is. We will decide what to do with the engine before shows begin…………our Mod is close to being ready. We will have paint and supplies to get the panels done soon. Then we can take the panels to Mike Westwood, have them installed and bring the car back home, hopefully by the 20th of January. Then it goes to Steve Lyons at Creative Edge for lettering……….Meanwhile our Late Model, the one to be raced at Sunset Speedway, will not be confirmed on it’s schedule until the 2nd week of May. Our team and family, and most sponsors agree it is pointless to race where we are a non-factor and last year we were at Sunset. I won’t put my crew through that again. I love the track, but as some of our crew have suggested, that even if we bought a brand new state of the art Late Model, it would be missing a lot to be competitive. That’s something we have not faced since our early years in the Hobby Club. I was over the top discouraged from our results in 2013, and won’t run there steady if we are as inept as we were last season. However, we will race against other LM drivers, at Barrie, Flamboro as well as Sauble Speedways’. I’m not saying we can catch them either, but we just might not perform as poorly as we do at Sunset……We will be going to Sunset for testing and give our car every chance to be competitive and if it is pre season we will try to stick it out, if not we will only run a few shows at my favorite track……….We will be taking our LM to get some welding and the body mounted at Ron Easton’s shop, Oakville Trailers late next week. …….more on our progress as things happen.

Mike Held Master Piece

Cayuga Mini Stocks

Wow….These Little Mini Stocks Are Great…Thanks Mike Held

When I first started racing Mini Stock in 1970 I met the greatest people. It was the start of a long career that was obviously about racing, but what made it so joyful was the many people we met week after week. Bill Held and his family were one of many. Mike Held, Bill’s son, has beautifully painted many cars from back in the very beginning of the Mini Stock introduction into Ontario at Cayuga Speedway. Here are a few cars he has done, and I am thankful to have raced with all of the men here, and many more. #17 Stan Pocupec, #16, Larry Benjamin, #47 Doug Sutton and #93 Bob O’Hara.

OSCAAR Modified #36

Mike Westwood Shop

Our 2014 OSCAAR Modified Getting Ready For Lettering

Our 2014 Mike Westwood prepared Modified is taking shape and will be ready for us to pick up by the weekend. Mike does awesome work and we are very excited to be running with OSCAAR and hope to be competitive in this very impressive, fast growing club…….This will be the first time, since 1986, that we will have chrome bumpers, side bars and chrome wheels on our car. The black wheels may get some ice time but I don’t think so…….Our Mod was painted by Mike Almond and has a beautiful black finish. The paint and chrome should help us competition wise. How??? Well I think the glare coming off the car should keep the competitors back….I think……The next stop will be Creative Edge in Kitchener. Steve and the boys will finish it off and make it look awesome. They are making decals now to be ready for our Mod when it arrives……Then it’s back home for final glamour touch up to be ready for the CME show in Mississauga from February 7th to 9th………Thanks to our crew, sponsors and Mike Westwood and Mike Almond for getting us this far…….Meanwhile our Late Model is out being worked on at Oakville Trailer, getting welding done and the body mounted. Ron should have the car ready for paint by mid to late February…..thanks for visiting our site and please support our sponsor and race tracks whenever possible.

Quaker State Press Release

Matt Smith Creation

Quaker State Back For 41st Season

In Good Hands At Oakville Trailers

Ron Easton Shop

Late Model Gets Chassis Face Lift…..It’s Way Out

We are very proud to have Oakville Trailers our newest sponsor. I have known Ron Easton, owner/operator of this busy place, for many years and have come to appreciate his knowledge and understanding of race cars. Ron Easton has become a great fabricator and in recent times learned a lot about Late Model chassis and set up. Of course once any car is put on a plate, like this one at Oakville Trailers, (that he made) problems are easy to spot. Ron asked me if I had an accident near the end of the year. He knew we qualified well at Autumn Colors, but found sound “out to lunch” readings and wondered if an accident happened, that would explain it all. There was an accident, but it was on opening day, not at the end of the year, and all the chassis parts that were bent were replaced. We removed them all, took them on a nice country ride to Mike McColl’s and he examined and replaced $1800 worth of parts including body panels. Mike did not have the opportunity to look at the chassis until 3 months later, in late June. He explained to me then, that our bump steer was out, mostly due to the type of rack we had in the car. Mike suggested the next rack I get should be a Sweet, then we would get the proper bump steer. Mike knew we were trying to survive the season, and could have suggested a new rack, but an $800 plus bill was out of the question at that time…….Ron on his inspection found many problems with the car, not just bump steer, but that was one of the serious issues. He will fix what he can with what we have, in other words, fabricate or redesign what we have to get it corrected so it can be set up properly…….I have been taking my race cars to Ron since the early 2000’s and he has always done excellent and reasonable work. I’m glad he is going over this car with a fine tooth comb, so that I can enjoy racing this car. Though the plan is to run a full OSCAAR Mod schedule, we do intend on running 20 Late Model races in 2014…………our Mod is at Creative Edge getting lettered and should be done early next week. A picture of that will go up soon………our 2014 schedule is also completed and will be posted next week.

Lettering Completed

OSCAAR Mod

Creative Edge Get’s A Homerun!!!!!!

We are very thankful for the awesome lettering job done by Creative Edge on our OSCAAR Mod. They have been lettering our cars for the past decade and have done awesome work. Since 2009 we have won Best Appearing car with Creative Edge and really appreciate not only their work, but the fact they try so hard to do exactly what we want. I give them liberties with some things like numbers and trim and they never me down, always doing fantastic work to make their customers happy………..we will take this car to the CME show this coming weekend and will be part of the Lincoln Welders display. Lincoln has been with us for 12 years and we are very excited to have this car a Lincoln Welders and Quaker State car primary sponsored car…….we still a have a few things to do and will post another picture of the car on here tomorrow featuring a different look but exciting……..thanks for visiting our site, hope you can make it down to the show.

Chrome Wheels

OSCAAR Modified

Chrome Wheels Accents This Modified Like Crazy

I think the black rims make the car look mean, fast and tough. But when the chrome is put on, it accents the rest of the car, the lettering comes alive, the different colors look awesome and the car still looks fast and furious. There is unison with the chrome bumpers and side bars, as the chrome allows the total paint scheme design flow nice. The chrome wheels are a “Homerun” to me, and it is the way we planned on doing the car………..We have a few hours work to prepare for the CME car show and then we will load it tomorrow night……..come down to the International Center in Mississauga and see all the exhibits, stop by and see our car up close. We will be in the Lincoln Welders display.

Canadian Motorsport Expo

CME

Canadian Motorsport Expo….This Weekend

This weekend is the annual CME show featuring NASCAR stars, Richard Petty and Ryan Newman. There will also be a presentation dedicated to the Champions of 2013, as well as a Young Guns panel with up and coming young racers…….The Lincoln Welders, Quaker State OSCAAR Modified will be there for the weekend. We hope to see our friends and fans make it to the show……thanks for visiting our site.

CME Show A Success

Mark McCullough Photo

Quaker State, Lincoln Welders OSCAAR Modified Looking Good In Lincoln Electric Display

This car show has come and gone and was a great success with our new OSCAAR Modified. We had many visitors to the booth and everyone really liked our car. Even some of the Modified drivers and crew dropped by to encourage us and give us some tips. Mike Westwood got a lot of recognition as well, many knowing he put the car together. We had the easy part of making it look good…….special thanks to Creative Edge for their awesome work, and their job was made easy after we presented the car with a very shinny and smooth paint job done by Mike Almond…….Also want to thank my crew chief Bob Pereira for making the trip for the weekend, and crew member Matt Smith and his son Andrew also dropped by……..our next show is Mega Speed and we do have a lot of work to do to get our Late Model ready for that event…..thanks for dropping by, we will keep our site up to date on the progress of our Late Models

2014 Schedule

33 Races

33 Races For 2014…..Our Modified To Support 100% OSCAAR Mod Schedule……Late Model 20 Shows

As we head into our 46th year of non stop racing, this season has a few exciting things to look forward to. We are very close to a milestone of 700 consecutive nights racing. We have a total of 1136 nights prior to the start of this season, and of those, 687 have been a consistent streak since June of 1987. Our first priority this year is to hit the 700 night mark, and it will happen on the 13th race of 2014 schedule. If there are no rain outs, that special night will fall on July 5th at Capital City Speedway. This could be a double historic night for us if the 700th night happens at Capital City because it will also be our first ever race at this track near Ottawa. We plan to have Frisbees for the fans and competitors for that night, highlighting the 700 nights……….We will be giving our full commitment to the 13 race OSCAAR Modified schedule. Our plan is to race all the Modified shows to compete for the Championship and “Rookie of the Year” honors. Our Mod will be the fastest car ever brought to the races by Gary Elliott Motorsports……….We will dedicate most of the Late Model races to Sunset Speedway, however, we will not be points contenders because of the conflict in scheduling with the Modified. There are 4 nights where both the Mod and Late Model compete, and we will be supporting the Mod series first. However, it is possible to get a replacement driver for 2 of the 4 races we will miss, that is the max a replacement driver can fill in to accumulate points. At this time we hope our grand son Gehrig can run 2 of those four, possibly more……….we also plan to continue our streak of perfect attendance seasons with the Modified. We are at 37 seasons now and the goal is to reach 40 before we do our final lap in this awesome sport 5 years from now, God willing………Our grand children will race in 2014. Lauren will compete in the full Mini Stock schedule at Sunset Speedway and Gehrig will compete in all the special events at all tracks, including the OSCAAR Mini Stock shows………Our schedule for 2014 includes all tracks in Ontario that are running and we are excited to get the season going.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wins Daytona #2

Daytona Win

Happy For Our Favorite Driver, Dale Jr. After Winning His 2nd Daytona 500

It was an exciting finish to a long day of watching 38 laps of racing and then 6 hours of rain delay. When the race resumed it was crazy, faster speeds with closer hard racing. We had always wanted Junior to win, as often as possible, and we were getting discouraged for a long time with very few wins and in some cases not even being a factor in many races. His drought came to an exciting end with his victory in this years Daytona 500. We (Shirley and I) agreed he may be in trouble leading the final few laps, thinking someone would get a run on him and get by. It didn’t happen and we were screaming with joy in the final 200 yards knowing he was going to win it. We were happy for him as well, happy for us to. We got to see our favorite driver win this most exciting race……….We were also overwhelmed with pride and admiration when he got out of his car and with the TV commentator ready to interview him, ignored her temporarily and immediately began to hug every one of his crew members in appreciation for their efforts in this awesome win. We had never seen anyone do that ever. That was a very selfless and thoughtful act by our awesome favorite NASCAR driver.

GEM Pre Season Kick Off Event

2014

Come By For A Fun Day

We will be hosting this fund raising event at our home in Waterdown. There will be a barbecue, door prizes, games for adults, horseshoes and darts and a 50/50 draw. Kids can get their pictures in our cars. The drivers and some of our crew will be glad to answer questions as well as help kids in and out of our cars…..we hope you can come out for this exciting pre season event…..if you have any questions please call me on my cell 905-928-8086. Hope to see you there.

Oakville Trailers Does Paint Work

2014 Camaro

Camaro Gets New Look……Ron Easton Paints His First Late Model

Ron Easton is a fabricator and builder of racing cars, trailers, equipment, anything at all. He was a little reluctant to paint our Late Model but we needed his help to get it ready for Mega Speed this coming week end and he did an awesome job……the car went for lettering right after this picture was taken where Steve, Bevin and the boys of Creative Edge did their magic……more pictures soon.

Mega Speed Car Show March 21st to March 23rd

Denny Snider Display

Quaker State Late Model Part Of Project Track Champion Display

We have 2 of our cars at the car show this weekend. The OSCAAR Modified is in the Lincoln Electric booth and our Quaker State Late Model is in the Project Track Champion display. We will be there all 3 days. It should be a great show with lots of race cars and race tracks represented. Hope to see you all there.

Mega Speed Car Show Firday

Camaro

Warnes Family Drops By To Wish Us Well

The Warnes family, huge race fans, dropped by, paying a visit and encouraging us as they always do. In this picture from let to right are, Ron, sister Cheryl, her husband Bill and Ron’s son Jeff. It was go day weather wise, but not as busy as it will be Saturday and Sunday…….it was good to see many of the race promoters and racers at the show. Looking forward to a great day again tomorrow.

PTCAM Team

Denny Snider

Some Of Denny’s Race Team’s Support Project Track Champion Access Motorsports

We are proud to be part of the many teams supporting PTCAM this coming year. In this photo 3 teams are represented. Front row beside me is Mrs. Jackson, beside her son Dustin, then Gloria Elliott, wife of Bob Elliott, then Denny Snider and beside him is Mr. Jackson, Dustin’s Dad……the back row from left to right are Denny’s friend Marcel, then Bob Elliott a member of the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame, Matt Smith and Bob Pereira……..the show was awesome, very busy Saturday and Sunday but then very cold on Sunday getting out. The good memories and fun with the many people we met made it an overall awesome weekend…..we will be reporting more often on here now that all our cars are in some kind of transmission for the race season…..special thanks to all our sponsors and crew for helping prepare 2014 to be one of our most exciting seasons…..thanks for visiting and stay tuned.

Progress On Late Model

Sunset Late Model

Bob Pereira Sets Hoist For Engine Placement

With time the issue right now, Bob and I got some work done on Saturday, namely the engine and transmission in, as well as the headers and some of the bolt on things like the rad and hoses and starter…..On Sunday I spent much of the late afternoon and early evening preparing the hubs, bearings and brakes for repacking and sanding…..on Monday I took advantage of a beautiful day to get many more parts installed on the car, plus all the fluids, hooking up linkages, lines etc. Now the engine was ready to start. It sounded so good, but Bob noticed the drivers side exhaust was leaking, it turned out being a defective gasket, we’ll replace that tomorrow. The drive line is all in, and the hubs are back on the car. We found a few things worth replacing, a brake line with a kink, and other small things……the car goes to Jim Sweers on Thursday for paint and then to Steve Lyons of Creative Edge for lettering. We are right on schedule with this car…….The show car will get an engine soon, and the Mod heads to Oakville Trailers next week for final set up, shocks and scaling. Gehrig and Lauren have done the finishing touches on the Mini Stock, so it to will be race ready with a few hours of work. New tires, some engine and chassis work should let the kids have some fun this year…….It was such a nice day, and really nice to hear the birds chirping. Perhaps it was the combination of the birds, warm sun and the melting snow that would encourage the neighbors to think spring was finally here, or maybe it was the sound of our race engine humming in the shop that validated winter was over…..We love hearing the race engine after being silent for six months. Another week on the cars, then the trailers then have a fun day on April 13th for our Pre Season Kick Off, some last minute checks on all the cars, a practice day or two and we’re ready for our 46th season……Thank you for visiting our site.

Late Model Ready For Paint

2014 Late Model

Jim Sweers Ready TO Paint Our Late Model

After Ron Easton finished the welding, installing the body and front end work for our 2014 Late Model, we sent it to Jim Sweers for paint. Ron painted our show car and did an awesome job, and Jim will once again paint our racing Late Model. Jim was away or would have painted both cars, although this long severe cold winter has put things behind a little for everyone and painting can’t be done in the cold………once Jim is finished the car will come back home for our Pre Season Kick Off event. It won’t be lettered but it will be ready for show that day and then head to Creative Edge for lettering. It is unlikely it will be able to be lettered this week because of the time to paint the 3 colors and the delay because of the cold to get the car to Jim’s for paint…….the Mini Stock is almost ready, a few hours and it will be race ready……Our Mod just needs shocks and a final set up, plus thorough going over on a hoist nut and bolt wise. There is an oil leak from the quick change area that will be fixed as well…..we are also preparing our home for our Pre Season Kick Off next Sunday, race season #46 getting closer.

Paint Scheme Finished

Jim Sweers

Three Color Paint Scheme Done On Late Model

Jim Sweers finished the paint on our Late Model on Friday. It was a different paint scheme this year, 3 colors, more difficult, but he did it the way I wanted and I am very happy with how it looks. Jim also painted the inside of the car as well making it look clean. More pictures to come….I have been crazy busy getting caught up and preparing for our big event this past weekend, more on that soon as well.

Just Like A Model Car

April 12th

Jim, Chris Randy and Bob Slide Body Over Chassis….I Take The Picture

While the body was off Jim and Bob got three items of welding done, easy access and then the chassis was power washed by Jim. Once that was done the boys installed the body and I got a good picture of it….I didn’t take too long so I could run back and help :)…….there are more pictures of the paint and assembly on Diary of a Season 2014…….I will start posting pictures of our event later today. It was an awesome success, thank you Lord.

Late Model Makes Our Pre Season Kick Off

April 13

Pre Season Kick Off, LM Not Lettered, But Joins The Rest Of Our Cars For Special Event

What a hectic week getting ready for our Pre Season Kick Off. The hard work paid off, it was a great day, I will post pictures on that soon……..Meanwhile, our Late Model got a fantastic paint job by Jim Sweers and will head to Creative Edge next Monday, the 21st for lettering. I have posted some pictures of the painting of our LM on “Diary of a Season 2014″…….Our Modified is at Oakville Trailers and will get a suspension set up from Ron Easton. We have new shocks coming, I didn’t get the shocks that were on the Mod from 2013, I knew they were not part of the deal, but thanks to Jeff Walt and Brian MacDonald, we will be geared up by the end of the week with shocks for the Mod. It also needs the brakes bled and some other things, but Ron wants to scale it and set it up for us, and I’m good with that, he raced these cars for 4 years in the U.S. The Modified also has a different style sway bar that we will need to learn how to adjust and Ron will show us that as well……Tonight the LM was scaled, not permanent, but for total weight and left side. Rule changes for 2014 allow us to go from 55% left side to 55.5% and our totals have been reduced 25 pounds from 2850 to 2825 after a heat race and 2800 after the feature. We are close right now, the led has to be bolted in and then final scale done by the end of the week. Then we load the LM for lettering……More pictures like this one, from Sunday, will be on our Message Board by tomorrow night

Easter Blessings

Jesus Did It All

God Loves Us This Much

Easter is one of two Christian events that millions around the world celebrate. Christmas is the first, a time when we rejoice at the birth of the King, our Savior. However, He came to bring us life and that life was only possible through His death. We all sin and fall short, but through Jesus obedience, even unto death on the cross, He has paid our transgressions against God. He was referred to as the “Lamb of God”, in John 1:29 when John the baptizer said “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”…….The Jews when to the temple at Passover to sacrifice animals to atone for their sins, but their sins were never taken away, only covered over. Jesus was the final sacrifice, who would remove the sting of sin, the spiritual death. He was perfect, unblemished and therefore the only One ever qualified to satisfy God’s desire in the cleansing of this evil world. What He did on the cross was to show His love for us, His resurrection showed His power over death, that the grave could not hold Him, and because of Him, because of what He did, and His power over death, if we follow Him, we can live forever in Heaven, that’s His promise! Happy Easter 🙂

Late Model In Make Up Room

2014 Late Model

Creative Edge To Letter Our Late Model For Wednesday.

I’m a little late on this post, it’s 2 days old, but been crazy busy with so much going on. Buttons and I dropped off our Late Model at Creative Edge on Monday for Steve and the boys to do their magic. It will be very similar to our Camaro show car………. Steve will make your race car look the way you want, and if you’re not sure what you want, he and his team will make something awesome to show case your car, sponsors and sport……..this weekend is practice day at Sunset, but our car is a long ways from being ready, still a lot of things to do and not sure they will get done by the weekend. Going to do what I can and if we get the car ready 100%, we’ll go, if not we will make it for Sunday or Opening Day and practice then. I like to make practice, it’s a great opportunity to shake the car down, but there isn’t enough hours in the day to get it all done………..We will keep our site up dated with the latest if we make practice in the Late Model………..Laruen is pumped to get some practice in the Mini Stock and I’m hoping to take her to Flamboro so she can get oriented to her new surroundings. The Honda will be much different than the Go-Cart :)……..Gehrig will be driving the Mini opening night and then Lauren takes over for all the regular races, Gehrig will drive in all the Invitationals and other specials in Ontario throughout the year…………Our Mod is getting some much needed work done to it, brakes, and suspension, things I knew had to be addressed, pictures on that will be up soon. We have a little more time before things start to move with our OSCAAR hot rod……thanks for dropping by, please support our sponsors whenever possible

OSCAAR Mod Gets Pre Season Going Over

Oakville Trailer

Ron Easton Getting Geometry Set For Modified

I knew I would need to get some things done to the Modified before it was raced. I had gone over it quite thorough prior to Mega Speed and found a few things that needed to be changed for me. The bearings were repacked, hubs cleaned, pads sanded and rotors checked. There were a few things I wanted to check and Ron Easton offered to help us because he raced them for 7 years and plus may want to build them in the future. Of the things I wanted to change or look into were important to me, some little issues and some not so little. Brake calipers, a new throttle linkage, check bump steer, and the steering geometry and new shocks and springs were a few things to look into. I love the car and these are things I want to do to be ready to have a shot at running with the pack. I don’t have a lot of time, like a few years to figure it out, so the car needs to be right from day one, even if it means investing a few more dollars, and I will…..our Late Model is done, and back home, pictures of it will be tomorrow night……Lauren will hopefully get some practice this week, she needs some quick understanding of shifting and a race car much bigger than her go-cart and I feel she will catch on quick……Gehrig is ready to race the Invitationals and Lauren will run all the regular points nights at Sunset Speedway…..more on our progress soon, thanks for visiting.

Creative Edge Complete

2014 Late Model

Late Model Lettering Complete….Creative Edge Does Another Awesome Job

Not only were they quick, but the boys at Creative Edge in Kitchener did another excellent job on our Late Model. This paint scheme is slightly different than last year, but the creation, designed after the full synthetic oil bottle that is black green and gold, and approved by Quaker State, turned out great. I am so thankful to deal with Steve, Bevin and the staff because as picky as I am, they not only listen to what I want, but add their own flare to make it look even better for our fans and sponsors…….we start practicing this weekend, I hope we can make it, the car is not ready, needs a lot of things to get it to the track and maybe not enough man hours to pull it off. Tonight and tomorrow will tell the tale for making Sunset this weekend, but right now it looks like a 50/50 deal……I am okay with not making it, though I really want to go, but I would sooner have the car completed and a new set of tires on it so we can justify the trip to Sunset……I will know more for sure by Friday night………the Modified is getting closer, a new rad and some chassis changes have been upgraded and we are waiting for a sway bar. It should be ready for scale next week……Lauren will get her first time in the Honda tomorrow in a parking lot. The purpose will be to teach her how to shift and get use to braking and down shifting for entering or exiting the track, and for restarts under yellow etc…….there is no doubt all our cars will be ready for opening night at Sunset Speedway and that is most important to all of us…..thanks for coming by, more on our progress tomorrow.

Car & Crew Chief Ready To Go

2014 Late Model

Team Ready For Season #46….Bob Proudly Poses With Our 2014 Addition

Our car has finally got to the stage that it is ready for practice. We hope to get out Wednesday depending on the weather. There is about 3 hours work left to have everything done, car, trailer, etc……Wow, imagine starting in November and all that has gone on since then , and now we have 3 hours left to be at the gate for opening day. I wonder how many hours in total, yikes!!!!! forget it…….Special thanks to Bob Pereira, (beside the car), my crew chief who has been an incredible help for me and I appreciate him so much. I appreciate my crew, and know they can’t make every race, but when they do come, they get right into it. I appreciate all they do when they can make it to the races. love them dearly………this year the focus is on fun and nothing else. Last year we thought we did all the right things to be a good runner but something was missing and it messed up our entire season on and off the track. If I hadn’t had such high expectations it wouldn’t have been so bad, but with the crew we had and all the upgrades done to our car, we figured we would be a contender. We worked very hard on our stuff all season to show up and be a non factor almost every night we ran. Our best races were Sauble and Peterborough Speedways with Autumn Colors our best night of 2013. So, I don’t have any expectations this year but these, have fun and do the best we can every week. If we are competitive, that’s all we can ask for, if not, there will be a place that we can fit in and do our best. It has to be fun in 2014 and I will need to be the one to lead that charge, and I know it. My crew, like me, will still want to be a strong runner, but the key will be having fun doing it, even if we are out of the top 10 like in 2013………the Mini Stock has a few things to do, nothing too serious, and the Mod should be ready this week and maybe some testing early next week…..the next picture here on our site, will be on Laurens two day practice session and she was awesome……….thanks for visiting and please check out our sponsors on the right side of our site, please support them when you can.

Sunset Pracitce Session Good For Granddaughter

Lauren Halliday

Lauren Has Awesome Testing At Sunset Speedway

On Friday night we headed to Flamboro Speedway for the purpose of finding room for Lauren to learn how to drive a standard transmission. The pit gate was closed so I headed to the spectator side and found room to park the truck and trailer, and plenty for Lauren to drive around on the dirt roads leading in off the 5th concession. It was raining and freezing cold. Gehrig went around with her for the first while, then he got cold and went to the warmth of the truck. I wanted to jump in with Lauren and do a little more teaching and when it was done she came away knowing how to let the clutch out, and up and down shift. She was ready to at least get on Sunset’s fast oval and get much needed practice and ice time in her car. She took it easy the first two times out and followed instructions very well. Matt Smith came out both days, Saturday and Sunday. He felt she was doing well on Saturday but when he showed up Sunday, close to the final hot lap practice, he turned and asked “is that Gehrig driving”. We laughed because we were so impressed with her improvement. Lauren has shown a very quick ability to learn her car. She naturally needs more practice and then needs to learn how to pass high and low, and that will come. I suggested she needs to know her own car and it’s characteristics, then she can start passing other cars. I stressed comfort for her as well, and to let us know when and if she has any pain while driving, but she gave a thumbs up telling us she was good to go. She will start at the back of all her races for the first few weeks and then when she’s ready she can take her starting spot. Overall I would give her an A+ for her efforts and improvements.

2014 Season On The Horizon

2014 Late Model

The Goals Of Our Team In 2014

This time last year our team was incredibly excited with the potential we felt our team had to compete in the Late Model class at Sunset Speedway. I had an awesome crew, David took the year off his own racing to be my crew chief and head spotter, plus my crew were top notch, and we spent the money on the car we needed to make us competitive……so we thought……. In 2012 our feature finishes included a 3rd, two 4th’s, 5th and two 7th’s, and we had 3 heat wins. Our goal for 2013 was to get the front end replaced on the car so we would have the same basic set up as all the top cars. We were assured the up grades would make us competitive, because our basic chassis structure was not obsolete. I made the decision to spend $14,000 for the upgrades that included the chassis clip, control arms, spindles, a-arms, new exhaust, new pulley belt system and alternator. As most of you know, those who read our weekly reports here, last year was a disaster for us. We were anything but competitive. Our best feature finish was 8th and not until the end of the year did we get a runner up in a heat race, most heats were 4th at best. Our issue was the car was pushing all the time. We worked hard on the car to get it to turn, it wouldn’t, pushed no matter what we did. We tried getting the driver to slow down in certain spots, wait longer before getting on the gas but all that showed us was how far off we were. We had nothing for the top 8 cars, maybe top 9. Our feature finishes were mostly 10th to 13th….Mike McColl offered us to come to his shop for a set up. He felt bad we were struggling and wanted to help and I appreciated that and took him up on it. We came late in the day mid week and Mike stayed with 2 of his staff and we tore the car apart. There was one error we were making, we thought ride height was with driver in, and it was driver out, that was a big deal for sure, but Mike found a few other things as well. He asked why I had such a heavy RR spring, 750. I said “to get the car to turn”. Mike laughed and agreed that would do it but also knew that wasn’t right. He did the complete set up, bringing the RR spring down to a 500 and made other changes to the front end including changing the RF shock from a 1031 pound rebound, to a 665. He said 1031 was way too high. But I reminded him that he suggested that shock in April when our car was completely rebuilt. Anyway he put that shock in because that was the shock most were going with. He did make one observation regarding “bump-steer”. He couldn’t get what he wanted. He said it was out and wished we could replace the rack but he knew I just put the existing Woodward rack in at the end of 2012, Mike wanted a Sweet rack…..anyway the car was better after this visit, we were fast at Sauble and Peterborough for Autumn Colors, but when the dust settled we had our worst year since 1979. In fact if it wasn’t for Dave Hodgkinson letting me drive his Outlaw Pro 4, I would not have won any races in 2013, and that night we won 2, including our first ever feature win at Delaware Speedway …….. Over this past winter, Ron Easton, of Oakville Trailers, made a huge discovery on our car. He asked me if I wrecked the car or replaced parts since the season ended and I said no, what he found was what Mike McColl mentioned, the “bump steer”. I told Ron to do whatever he wanted to make it right. He found a few other things as well. His workmanship is the best, and his knowledge is very good, so I am thankful he worked on our car. David came over to help with pre season scaling. The car is set up exactly like it was last year when we were running not bad at the end. But what does this all mean? It means that I don’t expect too much at this point, even Ron isn’t sure how it will be, but should be better. I was so distressed last year from running so poorly after thinking we’d be fast, high expectations, I have simply taken the attitude just to run and see how the car is. If it’s good I will be happy, if we can’t keep up with the boys at Sunset we may take out the bump stops and go to heavier springs and if we still can’t do it, we can try Barrie Speedway or even the new Full Throttle track on Friday nights…..maybe some Flamboro races as well. I don’t have to win to be happy, but we do need to have a chance and this car sitting here in this picture, is better (we think) than last year, but we won’t know until we get on the track. I love Sunset but neither me or my crew will enjoy being in the way of the Late Models. Time will tell, but I’m not worried about it, if we’re competitive good, if not we make a couple attempts to close the gap and if we can’t we need to try another track………..The Mod however is a different story, we do have high hopes for it, more on that later……thanks for dropping by, see you at Sunset Speedway this weekend if the sun comes out 🙂

Lauren Takes Checker At Sunset Speedway

First Win

Lauren Gets Her First Stock Car Win On Her First Night

Wow, what a pleasant, but unexpected surprise, for all of us to see Lauren take her first career stock car victory. She had been driving her car so smooth since first getting in it. She has caught on to racing a big car (compared to a cart) very quickly and is driving aggressive and seemingly without fear. She won her heat by half a track, quite an accomplishment in only her 2nd race out. Congratulations to Lauren and her crazy wild team, well they were after this win for sure, we all were. The full story will be on our message board under Diary of a Season 2014, hopefully before the weekend………………Special thanks to Ron Easton for getting my Late Model fixed and turning in the corners, something we couldn’t figure out in 2013. It is a totally different handling car than last season. Perhaps David said it best. “Dad, your final lap on that 100 lapper was better than any last year at Sunset”….and he was right. That story will be included of course along with Laurens on our Message Board………….Been very hectic this week, my Mom passed away on Sunday morning and have not had a chance to update our site. I am doing it now late at night because it’s the only time I have right now. I want to do a story on my Mom and I will very soon, she was a great woman and I loved her very much. She is now with our Lord in Heaven.

Cars Ready To Go

GEM

OSCAAR Modified Ready For Testing…Late Model Ready For Pro Late Show At Sunset Saturday May 10th

As many of you know, my Mom passed away last Sunday morning. We had a great memorial service for Mom today at my nephew’s home, lots of family and friends to reflect on this precious lady. I will be doing a story on my Mom in the next few days………..Thanks to the hard work of Ron Easton and the boys at Oakville Trailers we got our OSCAAR Modified ready for it’s first practice session. It will be sometime next week, possibly Flamboro on Tuesday night and then we’ll take a run up to Sunset later in the week to get this rocket ready for the OSCAAR Modified season opener. We made a lot of changes on the car. Some I wanted to make on my own, but after going over it quite thorough, we decided some wholesale changes needed to take place. They included brakes, suspension, cooling system, shocks and other smaller things, like the throttle and windshield. The battery was replaced and the thermostat housing. I am confident, as long as the engine is good, that we will have a chance to run with the faster Modifieds and we’ll know soon enough……….OSCAAR announced Mod practice for Mothers Day, but we will do a shake down at Flamboro on Tuesday then some hard lap testing at Sunset on Wednesday or Thursday, that’s the plan if weather works in our favor………our Late Model has had a serious make over from last weekend…a Pro Late make over. We’ve taken out some weight, gained left side, added 10″ rims, a 4 barrel and some other important changes that will hopefully get our car in the top 10 in qualifying. Our next move will be getting more horsepower, but that might be a little down the road, I hope I can do it for this year because we are lacking for certain. I am still driving in hard to compensate for slower straight-away speeds, nothing like last year, but still slow compared to some of the top runners. Our Late Model was very good in last weeks 100 lap season opener. It handled much better than most all of 2013. It felt great to drive a race car that wasn’t pushing all the time when I wanted to get on the gas. My crew were also very happy with our performance last week, and though we finished 17th, we could see much greater potential………..The story from the first nights racing will be posted soon on the message board “Diary of a Season 2014………Sunset is hosting the huge APC 100 lap race tomorrow night. They are expecting maybe 40 Late Models, should be crazy, and I am pumped that we could have a good car for this race. I would like to qualify in the top 10 and we are ready to do just that. Hope to see you there, thanks for visiting our site

Pro Late Qualifying

Dave Franks Photo

Qualifying Not So Good….Practice Makes Perfect….Another Decent Outing, In Spite Of Poor Finish

There is much to be said about getting to the track early and practicing. I understand that fully but it’s not always possible, and for this race, we were simply without crew. David called me and asked how the car was and I told him I had not got on the track yet, that was after 2 pm. I arrived early, 10:45, set up the pits, got fuel, tires switched and my pit tools etc ready to go, but with no spotter I was unable to get any practice. I did finally get Phil Bullen to spot for me around 2:30 for one set of hot laps on the tires from the season opener. The car was loose and David wanted to help me from his phone because he was working. To be honest, I don’t want to miss a race and would sooner be at the track alone then at home because no crew could make it, but David told me outright “Dad, you can’t race in this class with no crew”. The problem isn’t so much that I had no crew, it’s the fact that with no crew I would still want to go to the race and do all the stuff myself and find a spotter, but it was tough and I was tired for sure, but pumped just the same. A crew is very important, but being at the track is the most important to me………Matt arrived by 3:30 and then Marty, I was changing gears when they came and once I had 2 crew to help I was good to go and appreciated their help very much……Qualifying was not good (we weren’t really ready) tires still had stickers on them and even though they were set, they were not perfect size wise. We qualified 2nd last and finished last in the consi, but in the race the car was good, and no damage, making this our best start at Sunset even though the finishes were poor, the car is showing potential…..I hope to have Diary of a Season 2014 updated by tonight for both the May 4th and this show. Thanks for visiting our site……PS, anyone interested in working on our car at Sunset or anywhere else we race, send me a note on my email gelliot@cogeco.ca I know my crew would appreciate anyone to help us make it through this season.

Opening Night OSCAAR Mods Sunset Speedway

Dan Little Photo

Modified An Awesome Fun Ride……..Can’t Wait For Our Next Race

We had a busy weekend running the Late Model on Saturday and the Modified on Sunday. I knew I would like racing the Modified, and I wasn’t disappointed. I wasn’t happy with the finish, but we sure had a great car. Our crew and driver were very happy with the performance of our car. Ron Easton helped us tremendously with some things I wanted to change and others he suggested. The bottom line was an awesome debut in this fast and well handling machine. The car performed so good that I was prompted to say this was the best race car I had ever driven. I may need a few more nights to confirm that, because we had some strong runs in the Vintage Mod in the late 80’s, 90’s and 2004. However, I have never raced a car that I could put it where I wanted and it stuck so well. The handling and engine performance were A+………We had lots of trouble with the LM including a wreck in our semi. Matt and Marty worked hard to get it ready for the feature, we ran decent until a flat tire put us down a lap…..I will post stories on Dairy of a Season 2014 this week, it has been very hectic in my world the past few weeks, but I want to get the stories done……thank you for visiting our site.

Full Throttle Speedway Opening Night

Thompson Photography Pic

OSCAAR Modified Heading To Varney For $1000 To Win Modified Twin 25’s

Gord Bennett and his family have purchased the former Varney Speedway complex and tonight is there season opener. In our already busy schedule I have added 6 Modified and 1 Late Model shows to our own schedule to bring our total race nights to 38. I wanted to support Full Throttle, but I was afraid I could get throttled if I added any more races to our 2nd busiest season ever. We ran 39 nights in 1990, but I was only 20 then so it was no issue :)……..We hope the weather holds off and the new promoters get some sun and a big crowd and lots of race cars to kick off their debut as race track owners……Hope to see many of our fans there….also hope to take a checker in our OSCAAR Lincoln Welders, Quaker State Cavalier…..I started to do our race reports on Diary of a Season 2014. We are in the midst of putting our home up for sale and it’s been kind of nuts trying to get everything done, sorting, packing, throwing stuff out, working on the cars, getting race reports to sponsors and keeping this site updated. I will work extra hard next week to get more nights posted, so far one of four is complete, and we have 2 more races this weekend. I will type fast and maybe shorten the stories, and then again maybe not, but I will get them done soon…..thanks for visiting our site.

Race Car’s Get TLC

Elliott Racing

Mod & late Model Prior To Double Header Weekend

This is what our cars looked like on Tuesday night. Both needed work before competition. The Mod needed front end work from the wreck at Sunset, plus brake issued fixed, and the Late Model needed body work done, some fabrication and maintenance. We had them both ready by Thursday night, with the Mod loaded for Full Throttle Speedway and the Late Model waiting to be loaded Saturday morning. Special thanks to Bob, Marty and Ron Easton for getting our cars ready for racing.

APC 100 Lap Feature….. Flamboro Speedway

Pic by….Thompson Photography

David Wins APC 100 Lap Feature

What a night for David and his team, as they won the first of six APC features between Flamboro and Delaware Speedway’s. This was David’s first race since he ran the full season at Delaware Speedway in 2012, and he won the feature on his last night at that track, making this win 2 in a row for him. David took the lead on lap 70 but had company with Shawn Chenoweth, the Flamboro ace all over him until lap 90. Shawn did all he could to get by. David not only held on, but pulled ahead by the end of the 100 lap event……congrats to David and his team for an amazing victory in the 20 car field of top running Pro Late Model competitors…….David’s niece, Lauren also won her second race of the season, taking the Mini Stock consi at Sunset Speedway Saturday night, at about the same time David was fighting his battle at Flamboro. I will post a picture of Lauren’s win very soon…….all the stories on Diary of a Season 2014 are done now but one, the Pro Late Model race on May 10th, and that will get done this week as well……..thanks for coming by to visit our site…..I guess it’s soon time for me to hold a checker!!!!

Double Header Weekend

Image Factor Design

Late Models Sunset Speedway May 31st…….OSCAAR Modified Kawartha Speedway June 1st

Our new autograph cards are a perfect advertising creation for this coming weekend, a double header at Sunset and Kawartha Speedways. I will post more on the Summer Sizzler later in the week. Both our cars are close to ready. The Late Model had serious problems on the weekend but the fix was simple. The Modified only needed a battery repair, gears changed and maintenance. Looking forward to racing both cars………we will be on display this weekend at MacMaster Buick GMC. It’s a tailgate party from 10 until 4 and we will be there for the day, until 3. Drop by and see us.

Kawartha Speedway

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Kawartha Hot Laps Awesome…….Bad Luck Hurts A Good Night

We were pumped about racing at Kawartha Speedway in the Modified. The last time here was 6 years ago in the Late Model and the last time in an open wheel car was in 2002 with the Vintage Modified. On that night we finished 2nd in the feature right behind TJ Woolsey. Unfortunately he did not pass tech and we got the win….After hot laps we knew we had a fast car, it was very strong on the tires I got from Jesse Kennedy. Prior to the heat race we figured we’d fill it up because we were 2627 when scaled. Filling the car would be our demise for the night. On lap 4 of the heat race, while running 2nd we were black flagged for leaking fuel. Instead of finishing 2nd and getting an up front start for the feature, we would start 18th of 19 cars in the 25 lap main event. The full story will be on Diary of a Season 2014 later tonight…….As one good friend pointed out, “at least the car is in one piece”. I agree with that, but I would love to hear “awesome win Gary”….hopefully that will be soon with the OSCAAR Mods.

Full Throttle Bound

Dave Franks Photo

Modified Heading To Full Throttle Speedway

This will be our 2nd visit to Full Throttle Speedway. Hoping for a bigger car count and lots of fans. We sure have a great day for racing. Special thanks to Bob Pereira for helping again this week as well as Marty, and to Marty and Paul for helping in the pits tonight…….happy anniversary to Bob and Liz, have a great night away.

McLeans Hard At It

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Full Throttle Speedway……..Great Crowd To Enjoy Family Feud Part 15

I really like the McLean family, all of them. I find them very friendly, very competitive as well. We haven’t had the opportunity to race with any of them yet, because our car has had an issue somewhere or somehow during the qualifying of the first two OSCAAR shows. At Full Throttle Speedway the tires were an issue, and separated us a ton, especially in the early going of the race. I was able to match Brent in the first feature, staying with him for the first 14 laps until the caution. My tires cooled down and his Gloosiers stuck instantly and he was gone, same with Paul Milligan’s car, he’s also on Hoosier tires. We hope to correct our problem by the next race…………In this photo everything seems civil between the McLean’s, but not so much in the feature. There was body checking, banging and racing determination that nearly took out half the field, 4 cars, but the cars at the back checked up letting the cars dancing at high speed get collected……I thought the Hatfield and McLean’s were the feuding families, but at this track it looks like it’s the McLean and McLean’s. We wait with anticipation to see if this continues next time out at Full Throttle Speedway, or maybe even at Barrie this coming Saturday for the 3rd OSCAAR show of 2014……..the full story of Friday night is on our Message Board, under General Chat and on Diary of a Season 2014…….Congrats to Full Throttle, the crowd was decent and the Late Model show was okay as well………We ran our 696th night on Friday, four more to hit 700 in a row. It looks like the milestone will take place at Sunset Speedway on June 28th or 29th…..hope all my fans and friends can be there.

Sunset Speedway Spin

Dave Franks Photo

Lauren Body Slams Front Straight Wall…Spins & Gets T-Boned In One

Lauren had a great run Saturday night in the 25 lap, 28 field Mini Stock feature. Her qualifying races were strong with a 7th and a 4th. Her consi run was a very strong effort but trouble hit during the feature when she hit the front chute wall. Laruen was running just outside the top 10 when she hit the front chute wall coming off turn four so hard that she spun out going into turn one. The pack following her try to get by but were running side by side making it impossible for Lauren to get away unscathed. Lauren was okay but she suffered a lot of front end damage. She made a pit stop where Gehrig and Don taped up the bumper and she returned to the track. It was obvious she had severe damage to the suspension. Her to get back out was awesome but it was soon apparent she couldn’t race anymore and soon went down a lap. The car is stripped apart now and will hopefully be ready by this weekend…….the Late Model goes o display this week at John Bear in St. Catharines and our Modified will get a going over to be ready for the next OSCAAR race this Saturday…..thanks for visiting our site.

Modified On Display

West Highland Baptist Church

Fathers Day Event For OSCAAR Modified….Then Off To Barrie Speedway

We were invited to bring our race car to the West Highland Baptist church Fathers Day event on Saturday June 14th. Bob Pereira and I will be there until about 1 and then head north to Barrie Speedway for the 3rd event of the OSCAAR Modified Tour. I know we’ll have a great morning, looking to have a great night at Barrie as well. There will be lots of classic cars tomorrow morning for the Fathers Day event…….the Mini Stock is repaired thanks to a great team effort by Shirley, Don, Gehrig and Lauren. Gehrig worked hard once the parts were dropped off and the Mini is ready to battle tomorrow night at Sunset Speedway. This will be my first miss at Sunset Speedway since we went there in 2012. I made my commitment to the Modified for 2014 and will run 100% in that short schedule. The next few weekends are all Modified, so I hope we can move from 10th to the top 5 or better by our next Kawartha show……..we are at 696 nights raced, tomorrow night will be 697, and by our schedule and no rain, we should hit 700 at Sunset Speedway on June 29th….thanks for visiting our site.

Barrie Speedway Heat Win

Ashley McCubbin Photo

First Win In Our Modified…..Awesome Feeling…..Finish 2nd In Feature, Great Night For Our Team

What a night for our team at Barrie Speedway in the Modified. We were fast from practice, and made a few changes after the first heat race and then again for the feature. It was awesome to take our first win in the OSCAAR Modified. Bob and I work so well together, and though Matt Smith was there he didn’t get to the track in time but cheered from the grand stands. Our feature was almost the dream come true leading most all of the laps but a failing power steering unit hurt us on the last restart. However, the 2nd place finish was awesome. The full story will be on Diary of a Season 2014 on our Message Board later tonight……Congratulations to Gary McLean for the win…..also our prayers go out to Tommy Robb who was hurt in the feature with an arm injury. We hope it’s not too serious and he has full recovery……this was race night 697, we celebrate 700 on June 29th at Sunset if there is no rain outs between now and then.

The Podium……Gary McLean #8 Max Beyore #91

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Barrie Speedway Feature Winner #8 Gary McLean…Max Beyore #91 Finished 3rd

I was disappointed to lead the first 27 laps only to lose it on a restart with 3 to go. Our power steering was causing us trouble from lap 17 but as long as we were in the lead and able to take a different line into the corners we could not only hold onto the lead, but pull away……a late race restart, one of five from lap 17, allowed Gary to take advantage of my steering issue and get the lead. Max tried to get us as well but we were able to get in front of him and take the line we needed…….it was an awesome night for us finishing in the top 3 in all the races. This was our best finish in one of our own cars since 2010, and we sure loved it. The full story is on the Message Board, click on General Chat and go to Diary of a Season 2014…….our next race is this Friday at Full Throttle Speedway……we are at 697 consecutive starts now, looks like the big night will be June 29th at Sunset Speedway.

2014 Schedule

37 Nights

2014 Revised Schedule….Most Race Nights In One Season Since 1990

This is our official 2014 race schedule, with one error, June 21st Sunset Speedway. There will be no races that night at Sunset because it was set aside as a rain date only, and since there were no rain outs prior to the 21st, the night is cancelled…….also, I had originally included all the Full Throttle shows on our schedule, but realized just a week or so ago that July 4th was not going to happen because we are off to Capital City in Ottawa on July 5th. I am already avoiding men in white suits lugging a straight-jacket around because I want to race a lot, so when my crew seen I planned on racing the Friday night before the Ottawa journey they all fainted……but no fear, I simply forgot about the July 5th show being so far away. I can run 2 in a row or 3 in a row, but we had planned to go to Ottawa early Friday so we would all be rested after the long drive. Plus, we are very much looking forward to the challenge of Capital City Speedway, so the last thing I need is to be wore out from Friday night, or worse, get beat up and have to work on the car before making the trip to Ottawa. My crew are looking forward to that show, and the track is giving us an extra $125 per car for tow money……the only changes that I see are after our 700th consecutive night. I might run a few more specials with the Late Model at Barrie or Flamboro……The most races we have run in one year was 39, in 1990. This will be the second highest in 46 seasons, if we get all 37 race nights in. I hope so and wouldn’t mind hitting 40 if possible……our consecutive streak is currently at 697 nights, without a miss, and we will be having a special event for that night, at Sunset Speedway, for the fans and a few lucky kids.

The Black Bull Today

Burlington

Late Model On Display Today From 10:30 Until 3:PM

Drop by and see us at The Black Bull today for a barbeque, live music and bring a donation to the local Food Bank. This will be our 9th show of 2014. Hope to see you there.

John Bear St Catharines

3 Day Show

Quaker State Team At John Bear Customer Car Care Clinic….June 18 to 20

Our Quaker State Late Model was on display for 3 full days at John Bear GMC in St. Catharine’s. The dealership held a customer car care clinic, bringing back customer who had not been at the dealership for the past 18 months. The event was successful with 32 appointments on the first day. We were racing on Friday at Full Throttle Speedway and could not pick the car up, but our good friend Glenn Reulens got our car and then took it to the Black Bull for another big event at the restaurant pub on Guelph Line just north of the QEW on the west side. More on that tomorrow……we will post the race results and story from Full Throttle Speedway by tomorrow night……..there was no racing today, wow, it was weird not to race on this incredibly beautiful Saturday. Sunset Speedway had the day set aside as a rain out fill in but there have been no rain outs to date and that was a great gesture on their part to stick with that, although I was surprised we didn’t run a regular night of racing. I already have 11 race nights this year already, and today did our 8th show, so we are okay because we have over 24 more race nights to go and many more shows……..our streak is at 698 and counting. Two more to go for 700!!!!!!

BLack Bull Fundraiser

June 21st

Quaker State Late Model Supports Food Bank Drive At Our New Sponsor “The Black Bull”

One of our new sponsors for 2014, The Black Bull invited us to attend their first annual Charity Barbeque. We arrived around 10:30 in the morning and stayed until 7pm. It was a great day of music, food, door prizes all under the umbrella of awesome weather. There were many items donated to the local Food Bank, my charity of choice. Glenn Ruelens was a huge help for me. I raced on Friday at Full Throttle and had no way to get the LM from St. Catharine’s for the show early Saturday morning. Glenn offered to pick the car up for me and take it to his house Friday night and then took it to the restaurant Saturday morning. Thank you so much Glenn, and of course Patrick his son, who helped load the car and then both stayed with Marty and I at the show until noon and they left because they were racing Saturday night at Flamboro…….There was no racing at Sunset Speedway on this night. The date was set aside as a rain out for any Super Series race that was lost to rain. No rain outs happened from May 3rd until June 14th, so the track simply closed for the night. Running at Flamboro for me was out because, a) it was not one of the races we planned at Flamboro for 2014 and b) none of our crew could be there to help.

Tommy Robb #88

Thompson Photography

Sunset Speedway Double Header OSCAAR Super Late Models and Modifieds This Saturday & Sunday

This coming weekend we will be running a double header at Sunset Speedway. It’s the Don Biederman Memorial on Sunday for the Super Late’s with full shows both days for SLM and the Hanover Holiday Modifieds….If the weather co-operates we will reach our ‘700th Consecutive Night’ on Sunday. We have some things to give away that night and look forward to doing as much as possible for the fans….more later this week on the 700 streak.

700th Sunday Sunset Speedway

OSCAAR Double Header

700 Nights In A Row……This Sunday If The Weather Is Kind

This weekend is exciting for me for many reasons. I get to race 2 days, at the same track, no travelling plus I get to race the OSCAAR Modified both days.. I really enjoy racing this car, kind of like a my best Hobby car on massive steroids. The big event this weekend will be our streak of 700 consecutive nights. I didn’t even know we had so many weekends without a miss until I was checking our total races last year when we had the 2500th race contest. I happened to add the nights with the races and then realized we had 650 plus race nights without a miss. I didn’t know really what that meant until I realized that in todays racing, most classes only run 14 nights and a team would have to run 50 years and not miss a night to get to that milestone. We did it in 28 years because we ran an average of over 25 nights per season. It would not be possible if it were not for my family, crew, sponsors and friends. I am very thankful to my family for their encouragement and support. All our crew members since 1987 who helped during the week to get our car ready and make it to the races to help. My sponsors have been awesome, and Quaker State has been with us throughout this entire journey to 700 nights. My deepest heart felt appreciation goes out to all those making it possible………If it rains out Sunday, calling for rain as of now, the 700th will be at Capital City Speedway in Ottawa on July 5th…….Our team will be silent in terms of milestones for the next few years. We will race hard like always, trying to win races and support our sport. The next one could be 50 consecutive years, but that requires quite a few more laps to reach that level….four more years to go…..thanks for visiting our site…please support our sponsors whenever possible.

Bikes Make For Happy Kids

Dan Little Photo

700th Presentation A Great A Great Night

I need to write a story on our 700 milestone and how it came to be, and I will do that because there are so many people and businesses to thank. My family for their on going support and encouragement. Friends who became pit crews and worked on the cars during the week and at the track, and even at times staying up all night to get ready the next day. Other teams for lending me parts, or an engine to make the next race. Suppliers for opening up on days off to get me a part. Businesses who fix cars for getting mine ready on time so we wouldn’t miss a race. Others for letting me take the car or engine and pay the next week, just so I could get back out, all knowing even 15 years ago that I did not want to miss a night. Of course my sponsors for supporting me year and year and more than anyone, GOD for sending me these wonderful people. Without them I would never be celebrating this milestone……..Our 700th night was incredible off the track. My team were there to present bikes to kids, to hand out Frisbees and to join in on the fun for the fans, track and our milestone. Here are two of the four winners and I will post more pics on this soon……the reason for the delay was because our car was broken on two fronts. The steering took us out of the weekend but our engine was a close second although the jury is out on the exact failure in that part of our chaotic and disappointing on track performance. I will post more on that soon as well on Diary of a Season 2014…..more to come on this great night.

700th Night….Kids Get Bikes & Frisbees

Dave Franks Photo

Kids & Their Families Were Very Happy Winning Bikes

Our 700th presentation of bikes and Frisbees went over well with the fans, kids and promoters of Sunset Speedway. I want to thank the bike sponsors again. Marvin Frieburger (Late Model racer at Sauble Speedway). Gord Coates (long time race enthusiast, track owner, Chrysler Dealer Principal), Denny Snider (Project Track Champion Access Motorsports CEO) and Quaker State……also to my crew who worked so hard on our car trying to get it ready to compete. We couldn’t get the parts we needed, or fix the steering, so the night turned out disappointing for us on the track, but off the track it was a home run for the kids, fans and track owners and promoters…..our next event will be Capital City near Ottawa on Saturday July 5th, races start at 2pm.

Getting It Fixed For Capital City

Canada Day Work

701 On The Horizon…..We Want To Win

Our 700th consecutive night went well with the track, the fans and most of all the lucky kids who won bikes. It was even good for my team, family and fans. But once we walked off the stage of our on track ceremony things were not so good. Everyone of our team members knew what was going to happen. They wanted this night to be a success and see our car in the winners circle, and if not, right in the mix. Of course neither happened. We were in the winners circle as far as kids thought of us and fans. The track officials and promoters would have given us a thumbs up. Mark, Steve, George, Brian, Dallas, Ted and all the other awesome staff members. However, once our on track presentation was done, the next thing for us was to race, and go for the win. But all of us knew it wouldn’t happen and for my family and crew I felt very bad. We tried so hard, my crew tried several things to get our car right, but to no avail. We did make it out to race, and we did our best with what we had. A power steering failure that caused severe hydraulic lock when trying to turn the car was the symptom. I’m strong for my age, but I could not man handle that binding hydraulic resistance. It’s much heavier and forceful than standard steering and makes turning impossible. We lasted 11 laps and then it was over. It as a tough moment for us, sad but part of racing, and something our team has experienced through various failures in the past 45 years. Numerous engine issues, electrical problems, carb, fuel pump, throttle sticking or breaking, brakes, transmission etc have all been part of a bad night and this weekend it was a steering concern that would take the blame for us not being able to race………On Monday I called Ron Easton telling him I wanted to get the car fixed even if it meant ordering a new complere rack. I was desperate and did not want to have a night like this again. He said he would try to find a rack with a slave cylinder like ours. He was hoping we didn’t need the rack and was sure we did not. I unloaded the car and the tools from the weekend. He called to let me know he had a slave cylinder that looked like ours and felt quite sure the issue was with our slave because we replaced everything else. I got the car on jack stands, stripped it down and removed the sheet metal. Ron helped with getting the rack out. Once he did he took it apart and found no issues with the rack itself, it went side to side no problem. Ron showed me and let me know “it’s not the rack”. That was good because they are in the $800 range. However when he took the slave apart he found the culprit, a broken rubber seal. It was broken and damaged to the point that half of it was missing, likely from me trying to race it and putting extra stress on it…..well I was stressed to. The high pressure from the steering pump would have mangled the seal even more once it was broke in half. Ron left to have it fixed and I worked on other things. When he got back we assembled the steering components and put the car on the ground. I got in and started it up and I knew right away it was fixed. We had replaced the servo, PS pump, fixed the rack internally, replaced a bent shaft on the steering column and aligned the joints from the rack to the wheel, but none of that helped. What did help was a $5 seal inside the slave. On Tuesday night Bob and I went to Flamboro Speedway to test the car and by one turn on my first circuit we confirmed it was fixed………this weekend is Capital City Speedway. Race #6 of 12. We’ve dropped from 3rd to 8th in points and are hoping to run strong for the rest of the season to make our way back to the front. It starts on Saturday in Ottawa. Thanks to Ron Easton for spending the time with me to fix our car. I am happy now :)….I wonder if we could re run our 700th night!!!!!!

First Time Ever…Captial City Speedway

Race #14

OSCAAR Modifieds Heading To Capital City Speedway

Our crew, Bob, Matt, Marty and I will be heading to Ottawa to race at Capital City Speedway for the 6th OSCAAR Modified race this year and our 14th race of the season. We are looking forward to the challenge of this track we’ve never been on, but mostly the fun being with the other Mod teams and meeting some new people from the track and of course the fans……we will be giving away some of our 40th Anniversary Quaker State books and a few 700 Consecutive Night Frisbees. We hope to take the checker in the feature, or maybe a heat, or both…..now that the steering is fixed and our engine is good we are going to have fun. I hope for lots of cars and fans for the promoters of Capital City Speedway.

Capital City Racing

Thompson Photography

Our First Time To Capital City Speedway….This Was Our 38th Different Race Track In 46 Seasons

Bob, Matt, Marty and I headed to Capital City Speedway on Friday. It was a great trip, lots of fun for my team and I. We ran decent, picking up a 4th overall. The full story is on Diary Of A Season 2014 on our Message Board. Congrats to the winners of the events. Dustin Jackson was fastest qualifier in time trials. Gary McLean and Max Beyore won the 2 features, we finished 3rd and 6th. We headed home right after the race, making it to Waterdown just after midnight…….our next race is this Saturday at Flamboro Speedway and then off to Kawartha Speedway in the Modified for the 7th of the 12 race mini series on Sunday July 13th.

Schedule Change

2014 Schedule

GEM Racing Flamboro Speedway On Saturday

When I put this schedule together, it was my goal to make every race possible in 2014. Our average for the past 45 seasons has been just over 25 nights per year. This year I kind of went nuts and our schedule is 37 to 38 races, maybe more. My streak could not be intact if I missed this Saturday’s race at Sunset, but I was planning on going as shown here on our 2014 schedule. The problem hit me last week when I happened to ask Sunset promoters for some things to give away at a show we were going to be doing on Saturday in Vaughan from 9 until 1. I explained that I was supporting the Vaughan Food Bank and would be heading to Sunset Speedway once we were done. Well guess what, this weekend is the Home and Home with Sauble and there are no Late Models at Sunset on Saturday. Going to Sauble from the show in Vaughan was not a big deal, we would be there by 5 no problem maybe 4:30. But, I was planning on heading to Kawartha Speedway for the Mod show after the races Saturday night…………….The dilemma enters the picture with the long drive home from Sauble, we wouldn’t be home until 3 in the morning, and would have to unload the LM and load the Modified, then leave immediately, or grab 3 hours sleep and leave at 6 in the morning to get to Kawartha by 8:30 when the gates open, no way to that. So after some consideration the following plan came up. We are not 100% at Sunset this year because we are following the OSCAAR Modified schedule as our series to run 100%. We have already missed 2 regular nights at Sunset Speedway, June 14th and July 5th, so to keep our streak going it was decided to run Flamboro Saturday night, and be only 15 minutes from home. Head back by 10:30 or so, unload the LM, load the Mod and get on the road before midnight and stay over in Peterborough….so that is our schedule change for this weekend. No less race nights, just a change……hope to see some of our fans at Flamboro Speedway.

Return To Flamboro Speedway

July 12th

Flamboro Return Did What It Was Suppose To

We were on display on Saturday in Vaughan to support the local Food Bank and had intended to go to Sunset Speedway right after. That wasn’t going to work because Sunset Late Models, Thunder Cars and Mini Stocks were at Suable for the first in the Home and Home series. On Sunday we were scheduled to go to Kawartha with the OSCAAR Modified and it made more sense to go to Flamboro and be home early so we could leave early Sunday morning for the long trip to Peterborough. So during the week David mounted his 8″ American Racer tires, the ones he won with on May 31st, and Adam Lockwood at Grisdale’s gave me 4 discarded 8″ American Racers so we would have spares. Our intent was to not miss a night we had scheduled, although we changed the location, and being at Flamboro meant we could help support their Late Model car count that was getting very low….we found out Saturday during the Food Bank drive the races at Kawartha were cancelled due to the threat of rain, and the weather man was calling for rain all day. We could have went to Sauble after all, but I had told a few friends we would be at Flamboro, but I warned them we would be way off the mark in terms of competition. Our car was too under powered, too heavy, too high, not enough left side %, wore out tires and a smaller carb, so as tough as it was to race like that, it was kind of better than Sunset racing because up there we are almost struggle to keep up being so low HP wise. Anyway it was a good night, we finished 8th and did not get lapped and how we didn’t I don’t know. Our best lap time was a 15:8 and the leaders were 15:3. I have turned that track in 15:1’s but not with this set up. We accomplished what we wanted and many people thanked us for coming. We may return for the final Grisdale race, but with the same set up because it would cost us too much at this point to get the car competitive with the current Late Model field………my awesome crew for the night were Jim, Marty, Jason and Paul…..next race is this Friday at Full Throttle in the Modified, then Saturday at Sunset in the Late Model.

Full Throttle Speedway Friday Night

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Brent McLean #7 Fast At Full Throttle

We head back to Full Throttle Speedway Friday for Twin 20’s. Gary McLean has pretty well dominated the 3 nights we’ve been there this year, although his cousin Brent has given him a run a few times. We have struggled trying to race with American Racers, that are just not near soft enough. I think if the races were 50 laps, they would be better but in a short run they get eaten up by the sticky Hoosier tires…….we will be using Hoosier tomorrow but not sure how it will help us. Hoping to do better tomorrow night but staying out of trouble is our race program right now. We don’t want to get beat up here with the biggest race of the year next weekend for the Mods………..We will be racing our Late Model at Sunset Speedway on Saturday July 19th and Lauren will race her Mini Stock. Hope to see our friends and fans at one or both of these races.

Rick Woolner Memorial July 26th

Rick Woolner

Sauble Speedway To Host OSCAAR Modified Rick Woolner Memorial 50 Lapper

This Saturday, July 26th, at Sauble Speedway, will be the biggest race of the year for the OSCAAR Mods. Rick Woolner, a long time racer at Varney and other Ontario tracks will be remembered in this annual race designated to the OSCAAR Modifieds. I am proud and privileged to be part of this memorial event and working hard on our car so we can bring the Quaker State Lincoln Welders Mod to victory lane……The Woolner family has gone over the top to make this annual event the best yet. They have spear headed the selling of laps to sponsors and teams to make this the richest purse of the season. There are many bonuses in this race to fastest qualifier, the race winner, certain lap leaders, hard luck, slowest lap time and a hard charger for the car that starts in their qualified spot and passes more cars than anyone else………The format for this special race event is time trials to determine starting spots for heats and then cars passed in the heats to determine the starting spot for the feature. The race is 50 laps so it will give lots of time for the faster cars to get through the traffic, unless they are up front….We are looking forward to this coming weekend, as we do for all races, but this one has a special meaning and therefore the race of the year for most OSCAAR Mods and myself……hope to see many of our fans there, and if you would like to sponsor a lap, you can email me at gelliot@cogeco.ca….Thanks for visiting our site

Rick Woolner Memorial July 27th Sauble Speedway

Dan Little Jr. Photo

A Night To Remember For Our Team At Sauble Speedway……..Heat Win #2 In The Modified

What a great night we had at Sauble Speedway on July 27th. After this race was rained out on Saturday night, we decide to go to Flamboro Speedway for the APC 100. It turned out bad for us with a blown engine early into the race, but by the end of the night we had one donated to us by Jason Legge…….There were no sad faces from our team at the Rick Woolner Memorial the next day. We had an awesome night with a 2nd in the 50 lap feature, to cap off our Top Qualifier award for two strong heat finishes, winning the first and finishing 2nd in the next heat. This was our 2nd win of 2014 in the Modified, and our 2nd runner up feature finish. This night will help us in the points chase for certain, although there are still 6 shows to go…….Special thanks to my fantastic crew and sponsors, and to the Rick Woolner family for all their hard work in making this race a success as well as the OSCAAR people who also worked hard making this a fun and rewarding day……next up is our show on the beach with the Late Model Tuesday night, and then we are on display again on Wednesday prior to the Dash for Cash at Sauble on Wednesday night……special thanks to Jason Legge for making it possible for us to attend this show by loaning our team an engine, and to Marty Hagen and our grand son, Gehrig Halliday for helping me get the engine back in the Late Model. We should be heading north by 1:30 tomorrow 🙂

Heat Win Sauble Speedway

Tw Robarts Photo

First Late Model Checker In Two Years

The last heat race we won in a Late Model was at Sunset in 2012. The next year we couldn’t keep up to any of the big HP Limited Late’s. Even at Sauble most every car is running a built engine, but we were able to sneak one. It sure felt good to win. Last year we had 2 checkers, but not in our cars. This year so far we have 3 and this is the first in the Late Model. The car handled very well, we could have used more gear, and did put more in for the feature but still not enough. We also ran one new tire but overall our HP was down for sure. Our hope was to finish in the top 8. We had a crazy battle with Shawn McGlynn for most of the race, we passed each other a few times but in the end we got knocked slightly into the wall trying to squeeze through a wreck and finished 13th. He got wrecked as well but not sure if it was in the same one that we were in. Our car needed a rack and we were fortunate to get one from Derrick Tiemersma……I am trying to get a good picture of this win, but so far no luck, when I do I will post it……this weekend we have a double header. We will be running Peterborough in the Mod on Saturday with OSCAAR and the Late Model at Sunset on Sunday.

Sauble Speedway Heat Win

Dave Franks Photo

First Late Model Heat Win In 2 Years

Peterborough Heat Win August 2nd

Dan Little Photo

Third Checker In 8 Days……Two In The Modified, One In The Late Model…..Nice

Wow, win #4 this year, and three of them in the Modified, and within a week. It sure felt good to hold the checker again. We won 2 races last year, and 3 the year before. It’s been 4 seasons since we won 4 races, 2011. In 2008 we won 5. This was a great win for us, in a very competitive field of cars. We finished 5th in the next heat and had a 4th in the feature, making this an awesome night for Marty and I, and our team in general, an awesome points night. The race had everything, and I will write about it on Diary of a Season 2014 on Tuesday………On Saturday July 26th we began a short but grinding schedule of 5 races nights within 9 days. The journey began at Flamboro in the Late Model on July 26th the APC 100, where we blew the engine. Then we headed for Sauble on July 27th for the Rick Woolner Memorial in the Modified. We picked up an engine for the Late Model just outside of Sauble, thanks to Jason Legge. We installed the engine on July 28th. Then headed for Sauble on July 29th to do a show at the Beach, and then another show July 30th at a Quik Lube, both to promote the Dash for Cash at Sauble Speedway in the Late Model July 30th. During the Wednesday night race we broke the rack and pinion main body and internal parts. On Thursday July 31st we put out the need for the rack and in a short time got word of a rack for sale and picked it up in New Market thanks to Derrick Tiemersma. On Friday August 1st I installed the rack and had help from Ron Easton with the bump steer later in the evening. On August 2nd we raced at Peterborough and the saga finished on August 3rd in the Late Model at Sunset Speedway. Our team had never done a string like that ever, not 5 races and 2 shows in 9 nights. I know, that was crazy, but during that run, we got 3 wins, and that was awesome……….I want to thank Marty Hagen who was incredible, being with me for every race and show, as well as helping with the engine. He was my only crew member for all of this journey. Our regular crew made the July 27th race, and then many were on holidays after that. It was tough at times, but we got through it no problem……..thanks to Dan Little for this awesome picture…….our next race is Saturday August 9th, Family Faith Night at Sunset, then on Sunday we head to Kawartha Speedway for the OSCAAR Modified rain date race from July 13th…..We have raced 21 nights so far this year, and have lots to do still…….thanks for visiting our site.

Podium Finish 3rd In A Row

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Terry Baker Wins Feature…Declines Tech….Get’s DQ But Keeps The Win…We Finish 3rd….WHAT???

We raced hard on Sunday at Kawartha Speedway and got beat by the #26 of Terry Baker and #77 Chad Strawn. During this photo shoot, the driver of the #26 told Chad and I he was illegal and wouldn’t be going through tech. We found out later, he had an illegal transmission. I thought we would move up, and was kind of taken back when I heard the #26 keeps the win. I don’t agree with that, but it’s the rule and could only be changed next year. I think it’s one thing to be deemed illegal at tech and keep the win but lose points and money, but he knew he was illegal before the race and therefore should not qualify for the win. Anyway, as of today, we finished 3rd and Chad 2nd…….it was still a great run for our team and we hold on to 3rd place in the points, maybe padding our lead over 4th just a little…….next race is Friday at Delaware Speedway.

Delaware Tonight….Hoping for Another Win

Delaware Photo

Modified Heads To Delaware Speedway

On July 26th of 2013 we had our only checkers of the season, driving his Pro 4 Outlaw Modified. It was an awesome night for me and my crew pictured here, Matt, Cheryl and Don……We will try to repeat this night win with our OSCAAR Modified and my crew and I are pumped……A bonus tonight is the ISMA Super Modified and we’re looking forward to see them race and very proud to be on the same card with those rockets….hope to see my friends and fans at Delaware this evening….weather looks good.

Kids Camp Sunset Speedway

August 18th to 22nd

2014 Kids Camp A Great Success

Last year the Racing Camp, run by Scripture Union Sports at Sunset Speedway was considered a success, even though there were only 5 children. This year, with more promotion earlier in the summer, we were excited to have 32 kids join us. They raced go carts every day, and had a 45 minute hands on seminar with me each day. I did 3 classes in the afternoon. The kids also played other sports in the morning and had spiritual time, doing devotions and of course after every session with me there was a Bible message that related to racing…..we are doing a review of how it went, and with the expected cooperation of the local church, we will do the camp again in 2015…..7 kids gave their lives to Jesus and many parents inquired about going to church and took Bible’s and were very pleased with how things went for their child…….special thanks to Timber Green Landscaping, Uptown Sports, MacMaster Buick GMC, Ideal Supply and Kyly Batty for sponsoring kids for this event. Some could not have made it without the sponsorship.

Racing With Brent McLean

Dan Little Jr. Photo

Brent McLean #7, One Of The Young & Talented Drivers In OSCAAR Mods

We had a great run in both our heats on Saturday night at Sunset Speedway. Here I am battling with #7 Brent McLean. I would beat him by one spot in this race, but he would get even by taking 3rd from me in the feature….we finished the race with a bent spindle and our front end toed in an inch after making contact with Davey Terry late in the feature. I guess as disappointed as I was with 4th, it was a great finish really……..our next race with the Modified is Friday at Full Throttle Speedway, then Saturday at Flamboro in the Late Model.

Lauren Wins 3rd Race of 2014

Dave Franks Photo

Glen & Debbie Join Lauren For Her 3rd Win In 2014

While David and I were racing at Flamboro Speedway, Lauren was having a blast at Sunset Speedway. She won her 3rd race of the season in the Quaker State Honda. Glen, a crew member for the Zardo racing family and Debbie, Laurens great Aunt, joined Lauren for this victorious moment…..Lauren and I now have 3 wins each and David is way ahead with 8 wins including 4 features. David also won one of his heat races at Flamboro on Saturday night, and leads the 2nd half Flamboro Speedway points.

Full Throttle August 29th

Donna Tolton Photo

Racing With Modified Legend Gary McLean

We made our 5th trip to Full Throttle Speedway on Friday night. There were 10 cars including Gary McLean #8. We had the lead in this feature for about 4 laps until the yellow came out. On the restart Gary took the lead from the outside lane, but we were able to stay close to him for the rest of the feature, finishing 2nd, our best feature finish there this year…….we are currently 2nd in points, just ahead of Paul Milligan……we return to Full Throttle, formerly Varney Speedway with the Modified on September 12th, but head up there this week end with our Late Model. Hope to see some of my fans and friends there on Friday.

Full Throttle Friday Night

Eric Uprichard Photo

Late Model Returns To Varney, To Race At Full Throttle September 5th

We will be heading to Full Throttle Speedway this coming Friday to race in the Late Model class. It will be our first time back since July 2013. Looking forward to trying to run with the boys up north. The 602 should be okay because of it being such a small track, handling will be most important. Dave Hennessey and Paul Douglas will come with me, so far, I have called others but no word yet. Then Bob and Marty will head to Flamboro to help with the Late Model and maybe the Mod so I can race with OMRS as a test for Octoberfest…..we will hit 29 nights racing after this weekend, matching our last 2 seasons. Once we hit 33 nights raced, it will be the second most in one season, dating back to 1990 when we raced 39 nights. Hope we can be somewhat competitive at Full Throttle, looking forward to being able to race there.

Memorial Night At Flamboro Speedway

Clarke Mtrsprts Communications

Good Night In The Mod With OMSR and The Pro Late Models…David Wins 6th Feature in 2014

We ran our Late Model at Flamboro Speedway on Saturday night to support John Casale and the OMSR club was there as well, so we got to race our Mod with them. This was a very special night, Memorial Night to remember all the former Flamboro drivers who have passed away. Every drivers name was read out, with Amazing Grace playing softly in the background…………..It was a fun night for our team. Our Late Model was just there to help with car count. We are still running 180 lap tires with 70 heat cycles on them, but I had no expenses tire wise and we made money for a change, the car cornered great and we didn’t come close to getting lapped. Newer tires would have helped us for sure…..The Mod was much more competitive. Special thanks to Rob James for loaning me tires for this race. We had trouble getting through the ends in the first 2 sets of hot laps. A bunch of adjustments made the car faster but getting caught in traffic and taking too long to get by a few cars took away a top 4 finish, but we were damage free and no extra costs for tires……the full story is on our Message Board. Go to General Chat and then click on “Diary of a Season 2014″…..congratulations to David for another win in this awesome season he is having. He also won his heat race and leads Flamboro Late Model points……..Special thanks to Clarke Motorsports Communications for this Modified photo.

Full Throttle Feature Win

Denny Snider Photo

First Feature Win In One Of Our Own Cars Since 2008

What a night, we won our first feature in 6 years last night at Full Throttle Speedway holding off Modified legend, Gary McLean for an exciting hard fought checker. It was our 5th win of the season, our 4th in the Modified and now we have won a feature in every class that we have owned a race car. It was our career 37th feature win, and combined with our 3rd in the next race, gave us 2nd in the point standings at Full Throttle Speedway. Our team, most pictured here, Paul Dave and Marty, as well as Jason, were also over the top excited, thanks to them and the rest of crew who could not be there, for all their help throughout the season to help get us here. This win was such a confidence builder because not only was it so good to win the main event, but to beat Gary Mclean was an honor. He won the Championship at Full Throttle for 2014……our next race is tonight at Sunset Speedway, our 30th night of racing……Big thank you to all our sponsors who have been so awesome in 2014 as well………we could not compete for the full Sunset schedule because of the conflict with OSCAAR, the series we committed to in 2014, but we did make many of the shows and look forward to racing there tonight………..hope to see our friends and fans there.

Full Throttle Feature Win……..Career #37

Donna Tolton Photo

First Feature Win In 176 Nights….First In Our Modified

The feature win at Full Throttle on September 12th was our first in 6 years, accumulating 176 nights of racing. Pictured with me are Paul Douglas, Dave Hennessey and Marty Hagen. Crew member Matt Smith was racing his tractor on this night and won both his heat and feature, and Matt and his son Jonathan came to the track after their event. Bob Pereira was not present but was catalyst in helping keep are Mod in top running form………It sure was nice to win, and to beat Gary McLean, one of the best short track racers in Ontario, and the top Modified driver without a doubt………we also finished 2nd in the Full Throttle Open Wheel Modified points series and look forward to racing there again for the final Mod race of the season, October 3rd……our next race is with the Late Model, tonight at Sunset Speedway for the Limited Late Model 125 Lap Championship race. Hope to see all a full house of fans at the track.

Limited Late Model Invitational 125 Lapper

Alain Thiboutot Photo

Thursday September 18th 125 Lap Invitational for Limited Late Models Sunset Speedway

Tonight will be the final race of the season at Sunset Speedway before Velocity, with the running of the first Limited Late Model Championship Invitational. Our hope is to finish in the top 10 with our car and stay out of trouble. We plan on running at Barrie Speedway on Saturday for the Garry Reynolds Memorial so staying out of trouble and finishing in the top 10 would be awesome. This race will attract a lot of good cars, and should be an exciting race….hope to see all our fans there.

Velocity Heat Win

Eric Uprichard Photo

OSCAAR Modified Making My Year……We Reach 6th Win Of 2014…Most Since 2007

Well 2014 has been our best year in a while. The Modified has been a true blessing to me and my team and all of us are having a blast racing with OSCAAR. We ran the Velocity 250 this weekend and had an awesome showing finishing 3rd and 1st in our heat races and 2nd in the feature. Max Beyore, who is 2nd in points got into a weird wreck on Saturday night and it took him out of the feature on Sunday. He still made 20 show up points but we gained a total of 42 points on the Rookie. Max and I will be 11 points a part for Autumn Colors, but I think he is fairly safe, as long as he doesn’t run into any more bad luck. We have a fairly safe cushion of 24 points over 4th, Davey Terry, but just like Max, I can’t afford to have any trouble for the weekend…..Our team was awesome again and we got some good help from Scott Wylie, who helped us with our Late Model at Barrie last weekend. I will be writing more about this weekend on Diary of a Season 2014, located in our Message Board under General Chat……special thanks to my dedicated hard working crew for getting us the 3 podiums this weekend……Next weekend we race both cars at Flamboro Speedway, in the final Late Model APC race and the Modified with OMRS on both Friday and Saturday. Looking forward to it.

Octoberfest Weekend….Flamboro Speedway

Clarke Mtrsprts Communications

Schedule For Octoberfest Altered to Saturday and Sunday

The Octoberfest Classic weekend is upon us and like too many times in the past, weather is the main story for this hard luck promoter. Friday’s show has been cancelled and will run on Saturday, with Saturday’s show moved to Sunday……I will be driving our OSCAAR Modified with Rick Warnes OMRS Modifieds both days. They have 2 full shows scheduled for the weekend…….Trevor Monaghan will drive our Quaker State Late Model on Sunday for the final APC 100 lap feature…..hope to see all our friends and fans at Flamboro Speedway this weekend.

Youth For Christ…..Open House

Dave Hennessey Photo

No Rain At The Waterdown YFC Grand Opening

We were invited a few months ago to come to the open house of the brand new Youth For Christ facility in Waterdown. That event was today. We thought at first we would only be there until 11am because this was the weekend for Octoberfest at Flamboro Speedway, and we were to race both our Modified and Late Model. However, by early Saturday morning the races were cancelled for the entire weekend and we were able to stay until 2:30 before heading back home, which was only a quarter mile away. We had one small bit of rain but it soon cleared up with no more rain all day…….the ceremony was awesome with some politicians, many of the donators, and YFC head office staff on hand to welcome those who came to see this amazing facility. Local teens can drop in for fun and games and to inquire about church, Jesus, the Bible, and what it says about them, our lives and our future. Marcel Knot is the manager of this location and would gladly accept new members who would like to make any size monthly commitment to help cover the costs to run this good thing in the center of Waterdown……..our next race event is in Peterborough for the Autumn Colors Classic a 3 day deal. This will be our 10th year in a row to support this giant race extravaganza.

Youth For Christ…..Open House

Dave Hennessey Photo

No Rain At The Waterdown YFC Grand Opening

Modified Feature Autumn Colors

Eric Uprichard Photo

Racing Hard With Brent McLean…Check Out The Tires

Brent McLean would go on to win the last OSCAAR Modified race of 2014, his only win of the year and a big one for sure. Our car was pushing, and I could not hold him back. We would end up finishing 5th, still a strong run and take 3rd overall in the points standing, our best point finish since 1999….I will be posting more pictures of our AC race, just getting caught up on some things and not a lot of time on the computer…this awesome shot was taken by Ontario Oval’s ace photographer Eric Uprichard. he has supplied many good shots for me over the years…..I am currently working on sponsors for 2015, trying to get some back. We have lost a few, but the majority are back with us. I will know soon about Quaker State, hopefully by the end of the month and will post it on here……just a note…not sure how he did this, but there appears to be no window net on the drivers side….but there definitely was, cool shot though.

Modified Win Autumn Colors

Dan Little Jr. Photo

6th Modified Win….Our 7th of 2014 Including Late Model Win….Most Wins Since 2007

This was a great night for our team. Only Marty and I were at the track for this race, the rest of our crew made it late in the night, and were there for the races on Saturday and Sunday. This was race win #6, 5 heats and a feature for the Modified and a heat win in the Late Model at Sauble Speedway…..Our cars are resting right now until our sponsors are all on board, most are right now but we are waiting a few more thumbs up and then we’ll start working on the cars. It’s been a long season with 34 race nights and 19 shows including the one we will be doing this Friday at Markville Chev in Markham, a Halloween promo for the dealership and Quaker State. More on that later this week……special thanks to my crew Bob, Marty, Matt, Dave, and Jim for making as many races as they could. Overall it was our best season since 1999, so I am very happy with that. I will post more on 2014 soon and also update our 45 Years of Stats very soon as well. It will become 46 years of Stats.

“Spooky Great Deals”

Show #18

Quaker State Event At Markville Chevrolet Buick In Markham On Friday October 31

We will have our Quaker State 2013 Impala on display Friday October 31st for a special promotion event at Markville Chev Buick GMC in Markham Ontario. There will be ballots to fill out to win 4 snow tires as well as an opportunity to win one of 5 Quaker State Full Synthetic Oil changes. Customers must be at the Dealership for the draw at 2pm. My crew and I will be there and supplying the staff with crew shirts for this event. Hope to see some of our fans and friends at the Dealership…hey!!! maybe you will get a “Spooky Great Deal”.

2013 LM History

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Gary ElliottJuly 16, 2015

Loading Engine For Stefko

CME Prep

2013 Program Moving Along

Bob and Gehrig secure our 602 Crate in the back of the pick up truck. On Friday Nonie and I took it to Stefko where John installed the double timing chain. This engine had the oil pan and balancer already on it and only needed the timing chain replaced. We are getting our car ready for this years CME show in February, part of our effort to promote our 40th Anniversary with Quaker State. We still have a lot to do on the car, the suspension, and engine must be installed before the body goes back on. The body is getting painted and should be done by Monday, then by the end of this coming week we send the car to Creative Edge for lettering. More pictures to follow today and during this week.

Stefko Engines

John Stefko

Crate Gets Final Adjustment To Make 70 More HP….Very Nice

Well maybe not 70, or even one HP, but John did install a double timing chain to help the engine stay together. This 602 only has one night on it and should be good for a while. John was very busy building some drag race engines and took the time to help us get our enigne in and out quick so we could install it before the body goes on. We are on schedule for the CME show, we will be in the booth with Lincoln Electric. The show will run from February 8th to 10th at the International building in Mississauga, Derry Road and Airport Road. More on that and our progress to come.

Chassis Going Together

Preparing for CME

Bob Secures Fuel Lines

We are well underway with our race program. More pictures will go up soon as we had a glitch with our site that halted posting for a few days. Our plan is to have our car in the CME show, as well, have our Quaker State 40th Anniversary souvenir program ready….more soon.

Chassis Almost Complete

CME Prep

Crew Works Hard To Get Engine, Suspension In

On the weekend our crew worked all day getting the suspension on the car and the engine installed. Bob, Matt, Gehrig and Andrew worked on a number of areas helping prepare for the body that was out getting painted….more to come.

Body Panels Painted

Body Ready

Anil Gets Panels Painted

These panels were painted inside and out. A lot of work and prep to do this, and I understand many teams wouldn’t bother, but we have always wanted to present our cars in this way. It’s a big year for us with Quaker State, 40 seasons as our sponsor, and we want to do this year bigger than ever. Thanks to everyone who has and is helping us get ready for our first show of the season, the CME event on February 8-10th….more to come.

Body Going On

Preparing For Lettering

Bob Oversees Nathan and Paul Securing Panels

Bob, Paul, Nathan and I installed all the body panels on our car on Wednesday night. It is destined for Steve Lyons and Creative Edge for Friday. Hopefully the car will be ready next week, then we need to get a good picture of it for the front cover of our 40th Anniversary Quaker State souvenir program….wow!!! lots of work, but very much appreciate the good help. Nathan just joined our team for 2013, Paul (hidden below) will work more on our team this year, and Bob our crew chief will start his 3rd season with us. Matt and Ryan are back for 2013 but they both live over an hour and a half away making it tough to get down. Matt is helping me with producing some Ads for the new book, and he’s doing an amazing job creating them. We have a lot to announce soon, but need to be cramming on the car and the book. Time is flying by, the car will be done first and in plenty of time, the book will be worked on right up to the final hour.

Ready For Lettering

Heading To Creative Edge

Big Push Gets Us This Far

The boys have worked hard, and our painter Anil. We are right on schedule to have the car lettered by the 16th and then work on a good picture for the front of our souvenir program. We need a good picture for both book, the poster and our apparel. Special thanks to Bob, Paul, Nathan, Matt and Gehrig for working together and getting our car this far. Steve Lyons and his crew will do their magic and it will be awesome as usual…more to come.

Race Car At Creative Edge

Steve Lyons Shop

Buttons To Oversee Graphics & Lettering

We finished our car Thursday night, got it loaded and headed to Steve Lyons at Creative Edge. Steve is a master at lettering our car and will put his masterful touch on our 2013 car. Though this is our 45th year racing, the real story for our team in 2013 is the celebration of our 40th year with Quaker State. Steve has a long list of things to go on our car and it should be ready by next Thursday……Buttons came along and when not on the roof of the car, was running around the shop excitely wagging her tail and barking at the employees who were busy working on other projects…..our book is coming along, on pace to be completed by the 31st of January, and we are also working on apparel. This is the year to do it up right because of our long time, world record sponsorship with Quaker State…more pictures soon.

Creative Edge

Lettering Next

Cory Jones CVM….Then Us

The awesome shop at Creative Edge is well lit, and big enough to have 4 cars, or a tractor trailer and 2 cars, as well as a few go-karts. The work done here is as good as anywhere on earth. In the back ground Bevin is finishing the lettering on Cory Jones #82 CVM Coupe. Our car will be next and should be done by this Friday. Then we send the go-kart for lettering and if all goes well, our Mini Stock in 2 weeks. Hopefully the 3 race machines will be in the CME show on the weekend of February 8th to 10th…….currently Jake Collison is rebuilding the go-kart engine for Lauren’s kart, and Dave Watson is working on the Honda. The biggest project we have right now is our Quaker State souvenir program, and that is steadily coming together. This winter has been very busy for our team, and I’m glad all systems are go, and on schedule….more updates to follow.

Mini Stock Getting Sheet Metal

Help Me Honda

Dave Watson…Master Of The Mini Stock

While the Late Model gets lettered and the go-kart an engine rebuild, our Mini Stock is at Dave Watson’s getting new front fenders, hood, and bumper installed as well as some frame and suspension work. Here Dave has the fenders on, is fitting the front bumper, then the hood and the sides are next. This car should be ready hopefully for paint in 2 weeks and then the lettering by the first week of February….our go-kart engine should be done soon, the chassis was painted black and the pods have been lettered by Creative Edge. Everything is on schedule, our souvenir progam is also looking good. It needs to be completed by January 26th, we are about 75% complete on that project….its a busy year for us, but it’s also an milestone celebrating 40 years with Quaker State. Some rest will be needed after the CME until the end of February, but good luck with that. In spite of the work load we’re getting it done.

Creative Edge Magic

Steve Lyons Shop

Another Great Effort By Steve & The Boys At Creative Edge

Since 2007 Steve Lyons and his team have been lettering our race car and the work they do is amazing. They take a lot of pride in their work, making sure the customers get what they want. Of course painting, preparing and knowing what you want helps, but even if you weren’t sure, just gave a few ideas, they have enough experience to make your car look awesome for your sponsors and fans……we will add the missing pieces on the car this week end, then get it ready for a photo shoot very soon. We need a picture for both the front cover and our poster for our souvenir program. We will start on it Saturday and hope to have the window of weather to get a good shot somewhere. A nice indoor warehouse would be good, but we don’t know anyoe to offer that luxury, plus time is the issue for us now with the book more so than our car, although 10 more hours work and the car will be show ready…..I also appreciate the creativity shown for our sign, sitting by the car. Steve gave credit for that to his newest employee Bevin, who designed it knowing what the theme was and with the info that was to go on the sign. Thanks from all of us to everyone at Cretive Edge, you did an awesome job, we are a happy customer.

CME On The Horizon…..Getting Closer

Pre CME

Preparing For The CME Show

Our car will be in the Lincoln Welders display at the CME show from February 8th to 10th. In this shot we have 2 hoods, one that will be used for most of our shows and races and the other for special events, like the CME show and featuring Lincoln Welders. We still have a lot to get done before the show, but we are miles ahead of last year and that’s a good thing. Our main concern right now is getting a good picture of the car for the front of our Quaker State 40th Anniversary souvenir program…..meanwhile the go-kart frame is painted and pods getting lettered, and the Mini Stock is about ready for paint….All sytems including the book are right on schedule thanks to my crew, sponsors and those doing work for us…thank you.

Ready For CME

Urban Warner Photo

Ready To Go In Plenty Of Time

Thanks to our crew we completed our car this past week so we could get photos for our program. It’s not race ready, but show ready. Bob Periera allowed us his shop to get this picture and one of our sponsors Urban Warner took some photo’s. We’ve sent the pictures to our graphic people and they will let me know if they will work for the front cover………..We are almost done the Quaker State souvenir book and it looks awesome. Our graphic artist is amazing and all the Ads coming in are very good. Lots of color and info in this book. It will be 52 pages with a poster pull out. As for the rest of our program, the Mini Stock is just about ready for paint and the go-kart should be done by the middle of next week….we will continue working to be well prepared for the CME show on February 8th to the 10th.

2013 Schedule

2013

Our 2013 Schedule…31 Events

We have settled on 31 race nights for 2013. There is a good possibility we’ll run less because of weather, or more because of opportunity, but with the pressure I’m getting from my family, I doubt it will be more. There is no letting up now, or at least not for 2013, not for me. It’s our 45th year and 40th with Quaker State, meaning we want to be in the race arenas as often as possible. Times like this for example, the winter months, are nights we don’t race…because we can’t in this country. So when the race season is upon us, be prepared to do what you love, race!!!……..our car is set for the CME show next weekend. We will be in the Lincoln Electric booth, a sponsor that’s been with us for 10 seasons. We thank all our sponsors for giving us a great program in 2013, and our crew for comitting to make a run at the Sunset Speedway points title. It won’t be easy, but neither were the two Championships we won in the CVM in 89′ and 99′, in fact those seasons included 30 nights in 1989 and 24 nights in 1999, (nights raced, there were more scheduled). The CVM roster was filled with tough competitors, not one or two but many more. In 1989, there were 16 different feature winners. At Sunset last year only 4 drivers won features in the Late Model class, not really a competitive field for wins. A big field of fast cars is awesome from every aspect, for the promoters, fans and the drivers who like full fields and lots of talent. Besides the regular hot shoes at Sunset, this year we’ll see a few more coming, Dwayne Baker, Shawn Chenoweth, Andy Kamrath and John Mitchell!! This will be the best Late Model field in Ontario…….come a see us at the CME show, we’ll have our 40th Anniversary book available then.

CME Show This Week End

Thursday Night

Quaker State Team In Lincoln Electric Display

We are excited to be in this years CME show with many of our racing peers. We’re just as excited to be in the booth with our sponsor Lincoln Electric, our 10th year with them. Many things had to happen for our team to make it to this years CME show. Thanks to our crew for working on the car to get it ready, to all our sponsors for partnering with us this coming season and to those who did special work for us, paint, parts and lettering…….we also have our Quaker State 40th Anniversary souvenir program available. Our book is a tribute to our 40 year sponsorship with Quaker State, the longest in sports history. Though we don’t know that for sure, one thing is true, if there is someone as long or longer we’ll here about it, and then we have a challenge. Kenny Bernstein was with Budweiser for 32 years and John Force continues his sponsorship with Castrol now in it’s 28th year. Our book has both a poster pull out of every car sponsored by Quaker State and a contest to guess where and when our 2500th race will be, what track, date and what specific race…..the CME show is at the International building on Airport Road and Derry Road. I’m thinking many will come on ski-doo’s or some kind of sled, today especially with this big snow storm, and for once I agree this is a good snow storm, worst in 5 years, or best depending which way you look at it. Those with sleds are like kids at Disney Land, school kids got a “snow day”, many companies let people go home early, some with pay and those individuals with snow plows who get paid by the hour will make a fortune the next few days, working non stop, no sleep. I’m guessing the company owner that signed a contract to have his snow removal done will get his years investment back just from this storm…….We’re heading down this afternoon and we’re fairly certain our F-250 4X4 will get us there, and just as certain the traffic will be light….hope to see our fans at the show this weekend. Drop by our display, see the awesome Lincoln equipment available.

One Happy Fan

CME Show

Getting In A Race Car….Priceless

We had quite a few kids, big and small, boy and in this case young lady, get in our car for a picture. Cathy, the Event Chair for Formula North 2013 and her friend Chriselle, both got in our car and loved the moment of experiencing the inside of a real race car. There were many fans and visitors on Saturday and Sunday as the weather turned from blizzard snow conditions on Thursday and Friday to beautiful bright sunny days, though a little chilly……we will post a few more pictures the rest of this week and prepare our Mini Stock and CVM for the next show, Mega Speed, in late March…..meanwhile we wish Cathy a very successful Formula North 2013 event on May 23 to 26th.

Lincoln Electric

CME Show

Lincoln Electric Display….10 Years With Lincoln Electric As Sponsor

We were part of the Lincoln Electric display at the CME show this past weekend. Our relationship with Lincoln Welders started in 2003. We now go into our 11th season together and we may have a special announcement very soon regarding Lincoln Electric and our team….more pictures to follow.

Quaker State….40th Book Featuring Poster

Quaker State Fortieth

Celebrating 40 Years With Quaker State…..Collectors 40th Anniversary Souvenir Book

A few years ago we planned on putting together a special collectors book to celebtate our 40 year milestone with Quaker State. We are so thankful to Quaker State and their support for our team for the past four decades, as well as all our sponsors. Having this 40th Anniversary celebration means everyone will join in on the ride through 2013 enjoying all the fun and excitement it will bring……Thanks to our advertisers, and the awesome work of Inscapes, we are proud to present our 40th Anniversary book to our friends and fans. This book is 52 pages, full color and fairly thick in terms of stock. There is a contest in the book to guess our 2500th race, and a 22″ X 17″ poster showing every car sponsored by Quaker State since the beginning. The book also features stories of some great racers in our sport, Junior Hanley, Glen Schurr, Ray Hughes, Jim Collison and others. The book is available now for $5 and will sell at Sunset and other tracks throughout the summer. We will donate $1 from every book sold to the local Food Banks….if you would like to order a book, let us know by emailing me at gelliot@cogeco.ca…..thank you.

2013 Schedule

GEM Schedule

31 Races Booked For 2013

We’ve set our 2013 schedule at 31 races. We ran 28 in 2012, in Late Models and the Coupe. We will race 4 CVM shows and 27 Late Model races this coming season. Most of our Late Model races will be at Sunset, however we’ll race twice at Sauble, twice at Flamboro and once at Peterborough Speedways, the remaining 22 shows will be at our home track. The four CVM shows will see two at Sunset Speedway, one at FLamboro and one at Delaware. ………Gehrig returns to Mini Stocks for one more year running Sunset most every race, but also going with us to specials when it includes Mini’s, and isn’t running Sunset……Lauren will race her Quaker State go-cart for the full season at Flamboro with her friends in the WKRC…..Our season will be full again as we promote our sponsors at various car shows, displays and apprearances……2013 is highlighted by our celebration of 40 years with Quaker State and we intend to once again promote the Quaker State brand every chance we get on and off the track, and of course all our loyal sponsors……it will be a busy season for us, but we look forward to getting back in the game after the 7 month rest in the off season

Racing Family Loses A Beautiful Person

Jamie Ramsay

Jamie Ramsay, A hard Racing Gentleman….We Will Miss You Friend

The shocking news of the passing of Jamie Ramsay was released on Friday February 22nd. Even now it’s impossible to think we won’t see him again. I loved racing against Jamie and Luke. They were one of a few of the Delaware regulars who travelled to shows in Ontario. We raced against them at Sunset, Peterborough, Sauble and Flamboro Speedways as well as Delaware. Jamie was a gentleman on the race track, but he drove hard, not wanting to destroy his stuff or anyone elses, just a first class racer and person. His team were always willing to help anyone who needed parts, gears or whatever they brought with them. We raced many times in competition and Jamie was one driver who not only loved the sport but the drivers in it. I was so shocked when hearing about his passing. None of us knew he was sick, and maybe his family kept it that way, and I understand. But it is no secret that he was an awesome person, friend and racer and I will miss him very much……..all of us at Gary Elliott Motorsport extended our deepest sympathies and condolences to Jamies family and friends……. Jamie, I hope to see you again in a place where there is no cancer, no pain, no tears, no sorrow and most of all no death. God bless you friend.

Coupe Gets Upgrade

Sunset Speedway

33 Chev To Run All CVM Races

We recently sent out CVM to Ron Easton at Oakville Trailers for some upgrades and repairs. It will then go for paint and then lettering at Creative Edge. We will have this car in the Mega Speed show on March 22nd weekend in Mississauga at the International building…..The past two seasons Rick Schurr has graced the wheel of our car winning Rookie of the Year his first season, and almost picking up a win in 2012. Rick purchased the immaculate #95 of Steve March, removed the $12,000 inline and put in a $3500 V8 ( I just had to mention that). We wish Rick and his team all the best in the coming season……as of this writing, Tyler Brown will pilot our car for many of the races in 2013. I am confirmed to race it 4 times, Tyler will definetly do the Iron Man Triple Crown series at Flamboro Speedway (more on that soon). Although we’re sponsoring the mini series, I cannot make any of the three dates because of Late Model commitments. However Tyler will do just fine representing our team and sponsors……Chris Brading and his team will run the car at least once, maybe twice. It is possible that Tyler will run all the remianing shows, although another person, soon to be named, may want to run a few shows as well. Regardless, our plans are to compete in the entire CVM season for 2013. We will post more info on the other drivers and their schedules as soon as they are confirmed.

Coupe Gets Wide 5 Set Up

Oakville Trailer

Ron Easton Finishes Off Our Coupe

Ron Easton installed new wide 5 hubs, and rotors, 2 rebuilt calipers, and a little sheet metal work. The car will go for paint later this week and then to Creative Edge for lettering. Ron does awesome work, plus can build and safety trailers as well as service most vehicles. I will pick up the Coupe on Monday and take it for paint tomorrow afternoon…….our Mini Stock should be done within a week, then it to will go for paint and lettering…..our Coupe and Late Model will both be in the Mega Speed car show from March 22nd to March 24th. More on that and other news soon.

Preparing For Paint

33 Chev

Coupe Waits For Paint

We are preparing the Coupe for the Mega Speed show at International Building from March 22nd to 24th. Not sure how many other CVM cars will be in the show, but we’ll have CVM schedules with the car. Our CVM will be in the Lincoln Electric display. Our Late Model will be one of a few cars in the Sunset Speedway display as well……very soon we will post our press release regarding Quaker State. There’s lots going on right now with all our cars having work done, or needing work to be done. Everything should be finished before mid April for practice day as the 2013 race season gets closer each week……the Mini Stock should be ready for paint by late next week, the Go-Cart needs a seat, our Late Model needs a retro fit to update the chassis and David’s 2012 Late Model will be painted like our Quaker State car and used for shows and a few Pro Late Model races…..It was our hope to have a new Late Model, but we are likely not going to be able to get a new car, though we have another week to see if it will happen, all indication from our team is that we’ll be doing a retro fit on our 10 year old Late Modle, and it desperately needs it because we will compete against many new cars at Sunset this summmer. If we do update our car, over gettting a new one, we are confident it will be good enough to give us a shot at the title, our goal for 2013……. the Coupe will hopefully make most of the 15 CVM schedule in 2013, half the series for sure. I am racing the car four times and Tyler Brown will make his debut in a Vintage Mod for the Triple Crown series and possibly more….we will also post a press release on the Iron Man Triple Crown series as well…yikes, we need our own TV news station…keep tuning in for updates and thanks for visiting our site.

40th Anniversary

Quaker State

Press Release Announcing Our 40th Year With Quaker State

Thank you to Quaker State for being with us for this our 40th season together.

Coupe Ready For Creative Edge

33 Chev CVM

Lincoln Electric….Quaker State Coupe

Our CVM has been painted and somewhat prepared for the Mega Speed show this weekend coming. March 22nd to March 24th at the International Building in Mississauga. This car will be in the Lincoln Electric booth. Lincoln Welders is the primary sponsor for our Coupe, although Quaker State will be well represented on the black and red Coupe. All of our sponsors will be included, although smaller than they are on the much larger Late Model body……..Our Late Model will also be in the show as part of the Sunset Speedway display…….special thanks for the help we got today. Bob, Nathan, Lauren and Gehrig helped with cleaning and making the car show condition, although we will have a final touch up session once it’s lettered at Creative Edge, it heads there Monday morning and will get it’s beauty treatment from Steve, Bevin and the boys.

42nd Season With CVM

33 Chev Coupe

Lincoln Welders—-Quaker State Coupe Ready For Lettering

33 Chev At The Race Car Beauty Spa

Creative Edge

Coupe Waits For The Magic Touch

Dropped our Coupe off at Creative Edge this afternoon. I left home at 9:30, got almost to Freelton when two young women beside me started blowing their horn and waving at me. I thought they were in distress. Turns out they wanted to tell me of my pending doom….a flat tire on the left rear of the trailer. I pondered for a minute, should I try to make it to Kitchener, I remembered we did that back in 1971 once. Steve wanted the car early to get it ready by Wednesday for the Mega Speed Show. Plus, have you ever started out on a journey and just didn’t want to turn back, for any reason. I kept driving until I got to the north end of Freelton, then after the fourth person telling me about my flat tire, I decided to head to Grisdales. By the time I made it there was not much left of the carcass. I really was going to turn around…….anyway 3 hours later I was at Creative Edge, went over the list of things to go on the car and headed home. I left the trailer there, but checked my fuel gauge and it read 72k to empty. I did make it to the Millgrove cut off on highway six and filled my truck with diesel fuel at $1.25 a liter, compared to $1.30 almost everywhere else. That wasn’t really as stupid as the tire deal, because even though I didn’t try to make it to Kitchener, it was dumb even to consider it, but hey!!! I was by myself and really didn’t have a lot of people to discuss it, except the ones blowing the horn. The gas deal paid off and still had 9k to the good. It’s full now and the Coupe is in good hands. It will be ready Wednesday night for pick up.

Mega Speed Show This Wekend

International Building

Late Model In Sunset Speedway Display

We will have this car in the Sunset Speedway display with some great competitors. The show runs from Friday the 22nd to Sunday the 24th. Our Coupe will also be there, in the Lincoln Electric booth. Should be a great show, but wow, a year ago it was 70 degrees this day and now it’s just above freezing. However, when I was a kid we had snow until late March, even mid April then spring came almost over night…….we will also have our Quaker State 40th Anniversary souvenir programs there as well……Hope to see lots of friends at the show……special thanks to Joe Archer for making this promo flyer, Joe does all kinds graphics, his logo is on the bottom right corner, check him out.

Mega Speed

Friday Night

Vintage Mod With Lincoln Electric

Our Lincoln Welders Qukaer State Coupe has it’s own 20 X 20 display at the Mega Speed show. Friday night was busy, but not as busy as both Saturday and Sunday will be. There are some very incredibly beautiful hot rods, custom cars and trucks, not to mention all the awesome looking race cars….hope to see you there today.

Best Stock Car In Show

Mega Speed

Quaker State Late Model Wins Best Stock Car In Show

There were close to 25 cars representing many oval classes in this years Mega Speed show. We were pleasently surprised to win the top award, we never thought we’d win it, in fact kind of forgot about it. Then our grand son came by and told us we won and we were very happy. Our team worked hard to get the car looking as good as it did, and of course the lettering by the Creative Edge gave us an excellent car to show case our sponsors, tracks we run and our sport…..the Mega Speed show was very busy on Saturday and Sunday. There were many fans and friends pass by our display, with another 8 race cars. We were in Sunset’s display with a Mini Stock, Thunder Car, 3 Suoer Late Models, 2 OSCAAR Mods and a Super Modified. It was good to see so many people all week end……..We got out of there very quickly because the Late Model was mobile and the Coupe was light enough for our team to push. We also got some extra help from Pro 4 ace Brian Nanticoke who pushed our CVM to the trailer with his all wheel buggy. Thank you Brian, that was a blessing for sure, my guys loved it………Our Late Model is now at McColl’s where the engine, half the body and some other parts will be removed to access the chassis and get the right stuff installed. We have no chance if we go back with the car as it was, no chance to win a feature, and no chance to try and topple Tom Walters for the track championship. That’s our goal, to win the title. With an updated car, the addition to our existing awesome crew of David, Jim and Eddie, we hope to be a contender all season. The car should be completed by the first week of April and when it leaves McColl’s it will be ready for practice. We are looking forward to getting back on the track…….Our CVM needs some work done to it. We spent a lot pf money upgrading it but one of the new calipers we got is leaking. Once that is fixed it should be ready for practice as well….the Mini Stock will go for paint next week, and the Go-Cart gets a new seat and then scaled to finish it off. That leaves our Pro Late Model, (David’s) that needs a body, paint and lettering. Then we’ll be completely ready, time to rest, well not really, time to get to work and race…..yes!!!!

Next!!!!!!

Honda

Honda Heading To Body Shop

Our Honda has been repaired by Dave Watson and now needs some small prep to get it ready for paint. It goes to John Bear GMC tomorrow and should be ready in a week or so to go to Creative Edge for lettering……all our cars need a little work, except of course the Late Model. It’s at McColl’s getting a chassis face lift. That should put us a little closer to being competitive. There are another dozen cars all doing the same thing, so when the season starts, the car will be one of half a dozen things that need to be right to run with the Late Model pack at Sunset. We’re doing everything we can to give us a good chance to do just that. Our goal is to win the points, a very challenging goal, but with our crew and everything else in place I feel with some luck we have a chance. Of course I’ll know better once we get on the track with the other rockets. It will take a few weeks to sort everyone out, we want and plan to be ready for the first green flag…….the rest of our fleet are close. The CVM needs a right front caliper repair, then brakes bled and engine fired. The Go-cart needs a seat and set up. Once these four are done, our Pro Late Model will need a re-skin and then a beauty treatment. The good news is that we are on schedule and that’s what counts….More on our team as the repairs and updates get completed.

It Is Finished

Easter…Best Time Of Year

Christians Follow A Risen Savior

Approximately 2000 years ago God showed how much He loved us by becoming a man, shedding His blood on the cross to pay our debt against Him. The Bible says that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not parish but have eternal life”. Easter is a great time of year, a year when new life springs out of the ground. When new life comes from the animal kingdom through the many babies that are born. New life is for us to when we accept the forgiveness God gave us at Calvary, on the cross. In John 2:19 Jesus was standing outside the temple in Jerusalem and said “destroy this temple and I will raise it again in 3 days”. They argued that it took 46 years to build the temple, but Jesus wasn’t talking about the building, He was referring to His own body. After His death, Mary went to the tomb to see Jesus and as they approached the tomb the Angel asked them who they were looking for and they said Jesus. The Angel replied “He is not here, He is risen like He said”. This picture is titled Forgiven. It tells an awesome story of a man (representing all of us) holding a hammer and nails, exhausted by the sins of his own life and this world. Behind him is the risen Savior, holding the man up. An incredible reflection that even when we hate God He is there for us trying to show us His incredible love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. The gift of life has been given to all of us through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, who not only died, but rose again. Christians follow a living God who’s mandate is love and forgiveness. Happy Easter.

Mega Speed To……..Mega Update

McColl’s

Late Model Gets Sunset Speedway Technology

With 5 race cars on the go, it was a bit of a dillusion to think our Late Model was almost ready. There were no funds to prepare the car earlier in the year, so I made the decision to get it ready for the CME show in February and concentrate on our Quaker State Souvenir book. Once the show was over, we were still lacking the sponsorship monies for the upgrade. It was decided that right after the Mega Speed show I would head to McColl’s and strip it down myself to save some labour dollars. Arriving at 8:15 am, getting the tools I needed and knowing what needed to come off, I just went at it steady until 3:45. When finished, the car was ready to go on the jig to make sure the frame and pick up points were not bent after our Autumn Colors crash. We could see the right side rail was not quite straight, so getting it on the jig was a needed expense……….McColl’s will spend a lot of time, and many parts to reproduce as close as possible a new car. The frame design, though 10 years old, is still the basic one used today. The fact the total weight and left side weight percent is very easily attainable, the car is not close to being obsolete. However, the way it was, competition wise, could only be competitive in a Pro Late Model series…….McColl’s will install new upper and lower control arms, spindles, ball joints and a new cross member for the 5″ geometry. The reason we struggled so much in 2012 was because our car was built for a 4″ ride height not 5″. We tried our best to be competitive but with the car not turning like the top 6 cars, we were fighting an uphill battle. There were at least 8 or more fast cars at Sunset in 2012, and though we worked hard to race with them, we were severely handicapped and outdated………This year there will be 4 or 5 more new cars with the proper set up. New Port City cars are heading to Sunset, more talented drivers are coming and they will add to the very tough field of competitors that are there now. It was 100% necessary for us to upgrade our car. When it’s finished we should have a good piece. Our goal is to win the Championship. That is accomplished by being a consistent runner every week, including heats. We also want to win a feature, it will be our 36th, when we get it. Beisdes the chassis and suspension up grades, we will add a new exhaust, like the rest have. We have been running the magnaflow mufflers since 2005. None of the top runners have that system within 500 miles of their garage. Mike McColl said the exhaust and muffler we had was hurting us. After getting a quote, the green light was given to install that as well. I gladly pulled the old exhaust stuff off. We will also install an altenator and the newer waterpump pulleys and belts that will increase power slightly, as will the exhaust. New shocks and springs, will be put on our car. I told Mike when I left that our team didn’t want to leave anything on the table that would help us, not horse power items, and definetly nothing that would make the car turn better. He assured me that wouldn’t be the case. We should have our Late Model back in 2 weeks, allowing us to finish our other projects. Thanks to our crew who have dedicated time and effort to help us get this far. It’s been exhausting but our chances look much better to be competitive.

Roll Cage Painted

Pro Late Model

Show Car Gets Interior Face Lift

Spent most of today in the garage cleaning and repainting the interior bars. Bob went away for the weekend and no one else was able to help. By the end of the Leaf game I was done. Shocks are off as well and they will be sent out to be dyno’d. At this point, we’re waiting for the interior panels to be painted and the body to come in next week. Once the interior is in the car, we can assemble a new body, everything but the roof and trunk. Hope to have it painted by later April and lettered for the first week of May………..Our show car was created in hopes of making all the shows we had opportunity to be in, and not worry about using our regular car after a nights racing, or early in the week when we were doing maintenance on it. The show car has it’s first appearance on May 11th in Orangeville and so we need to hustle to make sure it will be ready for that event……….our Mini Stock is getting painted now, then should be heading out for lettering, and the Go-Cart and CVM just need to be scaled. Our main Late Model is at McColl’s and will be there for at least another week getting some steroid suspension parts…..things are on schedule so far though it’s been a busy hectic winter.

Mini Stock Heads To Creative Edge

Two-Tone for 2013

Mini Stock Paint Completed….Off To Get Beautified

After some body work and suspension repairs and an awesome paint job, our Mini Stock is heading to Creative Edge for lettering and graphic work. This car will hold the basic color scheme of all our cars in 2013, except the black Coupe that still has all of our sponors adorning the body, but takes on the Lincoln Welders colors…….All of our cars are still incomplete although the Go-Cart and CVM have minimal repairs. The Mini Stock will be done by the middle of next week, about the same time as our Late Model at McColls. That leaves our show car, David’s Pro Late Model. It has undergone a remake so we can have a second car that looks exactly the same as our Sunset Late Model. Unfortunately it cannot fill in for us if anything should happen to our Sunset car. It’s function is to attend all our shows and then race at the Gold Rush, Octoberfest and Autumn Colors. It has recently had all the interior panels painted green and a new body has arrived that we will start to fit this week. Then it goes for paint and lettering and needs to be done by the end of April, so we’re busy but on schedule……yikes!!!!

Interior Goes Back In Pro Late Model

Bob Periera

Pro Late Model Looking Good….Bob Looking Sad…Leafs Lose In Shootout

David took me to the hockey game on Monday night to watch my favourite team the New York Rangers take on the much improved Leafs. I admit it was a great game, and I was glad to see Kessel come out of his slump, but I would have sooner seen him do it against any other team than the Rangers, a team I have cheered for since I was 12, when only 6 teams were in the NHL, when a kid could name almost every player on every team. Anyhow, the Rangers lost Monday night, but the rematch was last night and we had it on the TV. Bob loves me, but is a Leaf fan, and by the look on his face he is not happy they lost in the shoot out. But Kessel got 2 more goals and New York got 2 very important points…………meanwhile we spent a lot of time last night cleaning up old stuff from our trailers, a lot of stuff was thrown out, still need to sort through some parts. We won’t throw anything out we can give to another team, although to be honest, we are now one of the teams needing stuff. Almost every we car we compete against is new, and our spare parts won’t be any good to the teams with brand new cars, or cars a year old. Kind of the same reason they are no good to us because we have had to upgrade our Sunset car……Bob and Nathan were a big help last night getting the interior back in the car. We will finish the seat, belts, roll cage padding, shifters and electrical before the body starts to go back on……..the Mini Stock was dropped off at Creative Edge, and is in good hands with the fine people there….Our Sunset Late Model is on the jig at McColls and needed some chassis repairs. That car should be ready by next week and will be scaled on the 20th and ready for practice by the 27th…..we’re busy, getting there. Oakville Trailers saftied our newest trailer, and will do the other one next week. We need to make sure all our stuff is good, especially when we are travelling much further now on the highways…..more updates soon….I know what you’re thinking!! it’s crazy, but I’m in my world, so it’s all good.

Mini Stock Waits Lettering

Creative Edge

Honda Soon To Get Beautified At Creative Edge

All of our race cars, except for the Coupe are being finalized for the coming season, which is fast approaching. Our Sunset Late Model is off the jig and ready for reassemble of all the parts removed to get it on the jig. The Pro Late Model is getting the body put on it now, should be done by Saturday. Our Go-Cart just needs led added and scaled and of course the Mini Stock is in it’s final stage of being ready waiting for the magic of Steve and the boys to finish the lettering……next weekend is practice day, but we will not be ready for then, but will make it out the next weekend, April 27th with both cars.

On The Jig……Getting Upgraded….So Nice!!!!

McColl Enterprises

Bent Frame Rails Replaced…New Cross Member Installed

On April 1st I made the trip to McColl’s to remove everything bolted onto the chassis from the windshield forward, including the body. It was originally decided just to do the upgrades on the chassis to give us the same suspension most of the cars already had at Sunset Speedway. Once the engine, body and suspension were removed it was clear the car needed to go on the jig, an extra expense, but a good idea to make sure everything was straight. As it worked out the good idea became a blessing because the frame was bent from the crash at Autumn Colors. It wasn’t that noticeable until it was put on the jig and the key pick up points checked. The frame rails are not usually replaced for the upgrade, but it was necessary for our car, and can be seen here in this picture, with a lot of new steel tubing in the front end. On Monday April 15th I will head out again (all our crew are working, plus it saves a little money) and reinstall many of the parts that were removed, only this time with help from one of Mikes employees. Our team will go out next weekend to help with final race set up. We hope to have the car back at home Saturday the 20th……..Meanwhile our crew came to our shop to work on the Pro Late Model (show car). We made some good headway and pictures of that will be up soon. We appreciate Ryan and Matt (who live 2 hours away) making the trip to help us get the car closer to completion. Bob guided our crew through the work load, Gehrig and Nathan helped out letting us get much done on this cold damp day……….Tyler, Darrell and Mike came over to work on the CVM. They got a lot done with chassis set up. It still needs breaks bled and some led added. The addition of wide 5’s on our car has made the Coupe lighter and that weight will go right on the left side of the. We are about three percentage points from the legal limit and that’s a ton of left side to be giving up. Our goal is to make our Chevy competitive in every way for Tyler, Derrick and me for the coming CVM season……The Mini Stock should be home by late next week and our Go-Cart will be completed also this week……..Practice for our Late Model is scheduled for April 27th at Sunset Speedway, it will be too much of a rush to go next weekend……thanks to all our crew for an excellent day of work on our Pro Late Model.

Going Back Together

McColl Enterprises

All The Right Stuff

Well, maybe not ALL the right stuff, but for sure a lot better than what we had in 2012. Here Mike and Denny out some early adjustments on the front end, just for mounting purpose, much more to do on this car this week………I worked on our Late Model from 10:30 until 7:30 on Monday night at McColl’s and we made some great headway. The plan is to have a few of our crew come out this Saturday and finish the chassis set up. I will go back out again Wednesday Apirl 17th to finish whatever I can to help speed up the process. There is still lots to do but the main fabrication is done……on Wednesday I will hook up all the engine components, intstall the drive shaft, a shifter, the led on the front frame rails, the rad as much more as I can do. I must admit, I am almost burnt out. This year has been incredibly busy for me and kind of stressful. Deadlines and finances are the two issues. Our team has done awesome with sponsors and tried hard to stay on budget but many many things were missed, some small, some not so small and even though they are perhaps not shocking in the dollar amount, put 15 items together and you find you under budgeted by five or six thousand. The trouble is we don’t want to leave McColl’s without having a decent competitive car. That’s a great attitude, but if not careful, a huge hit in the budget can develop and it’s not just here. Our trailers needed to be saftied. I know it’s easy to let it pass and take a chance the MTO won’t stop your team, they have never stopped us ever. So, assuming we did have another year of no fear of being checked out, the remaining issue is safety period. Our one trailer needed brake parts and four tires. The other trailer needed at least one tire but I put four on and used the other three decent tires for the Mini Stock trailer because it’s not carrying as much weight. The budget has been compromised a little, but not extreme, and the good news is that every vehicle we have, the Go-Cart, Mini Stock, CVM, Late Model and Pro Late Model have been given what they need to be competitive and all look as planned, so I am very happy, very tired, but very happy………I picked up the Mini Stock today at Creative Edge. It looks exactly like our Late Model. The boys did a great job as usual. It’s not the running around that is tiring, it’s hooking up the trailers, tying down the cars, loading and unloading, all things that wear you out. I get little rest and though that is a factor, no resting, with only 2 weeks to go…no kidding no resting!!!!! go, go, go…..The Coupe got some much needed left side weight added, and the brakes bled. It is 95% ready, will be done tomorrow. Go-Cart should be ready by the weekend, as well as the Mini Stock that needs one wheel. Our Sunset Late Model, pictured here, will be race ready Saturday morning around 11:45am. The show car is complete body wise and will go out for paint by the end of this month. As for our race cars, they will all be ready by this Saturday, then I could rest—–I think 🙂

Mini Stock Finished………Almost

Creative Edge

Honda Needs A New Wheel & Cleaned Up

Our Mini Stock was lettered this week at Creative Edge. Steve and the boys did a great job again. Gehrig will get to practice either this coming Saturday or on April 27th when we take our Late Model out. Our season starts May 4th. The Honda needs one wheel on the right rear, the electric fan fixed and a complete cleaning. Gehrig will start his second season of Stock Car racing and is looking forward to the challenge this class brings him…….we have three of five cars on the verge of being ready. The Mini Stock, G0-Cart and CVM are all within hours of completion. Our Sunset Late Model needs the rest of this week, and our show car is ready for paint but that won’t happen until the end of this month….I head out to McColl’s today to re-attach some engine and driveline parts….more on our progress by tonight.

Jim Welds Fender Support

McColl Enterprises

Deadline Saturday…..Should Be Done

My day at McColl’s found more things to fix rather than getting things off the list. I got the led bolted on the frame rails. I was going to simply drill through and then bolt the led, but the proper way to do is to put steel tubes, or runners for the bolts to go through, that way it keeps the frame stonger. It took longer but was done right, a natural thing for these guys. I tried installing the drive shaft, but for some reason the yoke would not go far in the housing so it had to come apart, be filed, reassemled and reinstalled, but it got done. The fuel cell was lowered, that also took time to relocate the mounts. The problem with that deal was when we lowered the cell the lid stopped it from going down, so the lid was removed, trimmed, reinstalled and completed. It was a day of doing things twice for me. The u-bolts on the drive shaft stripped, but not unitl I had one clamp in. I was working on the fourth nut and it was stripped. By the time I got through messing with that little thing I ate up at least an hour. On Monday I scraped my back on a car frame when I backed up to eye something up, and today I put a nice groove in my finger with the cordless grinder, no doubt a candidate for Canada’s Handiman. I just kept going because I would lose time, plus the way things were going I was bound to cut, break, burn or scrape another part of my body before I was done. My final whack came when Kenny and I were putting the transmission back in. Before I was quite in position he lifted it and on it’s way up clipped my forehead. However no damage to me or the tranny. I may go back on Friday to assemble the rad and shroud and a few other parts. Then whatever is left we will finish Saturday morning……the CVM was finished off tonight. The brakes work good, led is in, car starts and runs and all gears work. The final step was to put some decals below the dash for the driver when shifting R-1-2-3…The Mini Stock just needs a wheel, and the Go-Cart just needs to be scaled, so we are closing in on completion and have 2 weeks until opening day. As Borat would say…”So nice”!!!!

Now On The Plate

McColl Enterprises

Slowly Coming Together

We put the car on the plate, where all scaling and set up is done. In this case we are still reassembling parts. The new altenator is in, the trans and driveshaft, lead, fuel cell and some of the suspension. We still need to install the shifters, exhaust, rad, shroud, grill and other stuff but it’s coming. I will go out again tomorrow and see how I can injure myself again……the weather is quite nuts. 45 degrees, then 70 then 46, up an down. If we don’t get to practice at Sunset we’ll go to Flamboro on a Tuesday night to shake the car down and make sure all systems are working, however if we get a good day on April 28th we will go to Sunset….very busy, but still on schedule.

Final Set Up

McColl Enterprises

David, Jim, Mike Complete Final Scaling, Steering Geometry & Bump Stop…Mike Likes What We Have Now

When we left the Mega Speed car show we were picked Best Stock Car In Show, quite an honor. When we left McColl’s we were given the thumbs up by Mike for investing into our car all the good stuff needed to give us a chance to be competitive. All I ever want from my racing is a chance to win. I have no issue with many drivers winning, I think it’s a testament to the rules and class when lots of drivers win a feature. In 1989 there were 16 dsifferent feature winners in the CVM, and we were one of them. However, we won the biggest prize, the club Championship, our first ever……..our goal in 2013 is to win the Late Model Championship at Sunset Speedway. It will be a challenge, but we have the crew,the experience, the great sponsors, and now a great car. Hopefully those ingredients mixed in with some luck will give us a chance at our first Late Model feature win in five years, and our first ever Late Model Championship……In this picture David eyes up the string for the frame height measurements and Jim talks to Mike about the set up on our car. Mike is incredible in so many ways. He explains what he does so the simple minded (me) can grasp, and he makes suggestions to improve your car, letting you know which ones will make the biggest improvement for the dollar spent. We made lots of changes, and turned down a few. The ones we made will improve our horsepower and handling. Two things our race team desperately needs. We’re giving up a little on the driver because it would only seem common sense that 20 to 30 year old drivers should have a huge advantage on drivers 40 to 50. I don’t fit in either category, but have not slowed down because of my body. Putting any driver in a new or newer car would be a huge move upward. Given the fact the top cars had little room to improve, because tires and engine limitations would dictate how much faster we can go, the news for the guys at the top from 2012 is “get ready, you’re going to have company, and lots of it”. Anyone from 2012 that thought they won because of themselves will get a wake up call when 8 cars show up with all the right stuff. That’s not saying that Bentley, Walters or Morrow won’t be the cars to beat, because they will be up there. Only thing is, now they will have have a field or more of very fast competitive, ego driven young, old, drivers vying for the same space. The Championship in 2013 will be determined by prep, set up, abitility to diagnose the car and luck. Assuming there are 12 teams that fit in this category, the driver that makes the smartest timley moves could be the factor to give his team the glory of winning the title. Being smart in a race dosen’t go well with an ego to win at no cost, but we’re talking the goal to win the Championship, and ego should be left at home in the garage…..our teams are close and more pictures can be seen on our Diary Of A Season 2013…..more to come and soon…..13 days until the 2013 season opener!!!!

Three Of Five Ready

Practice This Saturday

Honey I Shrunk The Driveway

Well as the nice weather seems to be making it’s presenc, and may finally here to stay, certainly more noticeable lately, the cars came out of the garage for a picture taking session. Gehrig and Lauren pushed the cars in to position and Gehrig climbe a tree to get everything in the photo including our Sunset Late Model sitting in the garage on stands. Our show car, David’s Pro Late Model is waiting for painting and will hopefully be sent out in the next week, then off to get lettered……our plans are to practice this weekend at Sunset if our Late Model can be completed to satisfaction…..in this photo is Gehrigs Honda Mini Stock, Laurens Go-Cart and of course our 1933 Chev Coupe, a member of our race team since 1990, 23 years…..racing starts on May 4th for all cars except the Coupe. The first CVM race is May 11th….more on that soon.

We’ll Miss You Fred Poets

Kalamazoo Speedway 1985

Fred Poets Crosses The Finish Line

It is with sadness that we announce the passing today of Hobby racing legend Fred Poets. Fred had retired from racing in the late 90’s but still attended many races before moving out west. There was no racer tougher back in the 70’s than the #54 of Fred Poets. He was dominant on the track, winning the Championship in 1970. He still holds the record of 17 feature wins in one season, a feat completed back in the day when running 30 nights was common……….Fred moved to Late Models in the mid 70’s where he had some success, but returned to the Hobby class in the early 80’s, continuing his winning ways. Fred influenced many young racers, convincing them to join the Hobby club, and giving them a helping hand. Fred took #58 when he returned to race with the Hobbies, because one of his fans took the #54 when he was racing Late Models……..It ‘s an honor for our team to have known Fred. He was a great encouragement to me when I first became President of the Hobby club in 83, and again in the late 80’s. Our current car body, the black 1933 Chev 3 window Coupe, was purchased from Fred in 1990……..In 1991 Fred was inducted into the Hobby Hall of Fame. His work with other racers, and his incredible ability to win were factors in him becoming a natural to be part of this historic and nostalgic fraternity of racers………In this 1985 picture Fred is waiting to head onto the track at Kalamazoo Speedway in Michigan. Behind Fred is Ken Jorgenson #96. At the end of the night, everyone was behind Fred when he held the checker for the feature win. It was our first trip of 12 to Michigan and Fred showed he still had the skill to win………Our deepest condolences and prayers go out to his family and friends who will miss him dearly. Thanks for everything Ole Fella’, we’ll miss you.

Gehrig Has Great Test Session

Eric Yorke #51

Sunset Speedway Testing Good For Our Mini Stock Team

Gehrig made it out for three practice sesions. He felt right at home in the car. The good news is there were no problems with the car. Here he battles with Eric Yorke the Sunset Speedway 2012 Mini Stock Champion. Gherig turns 15 in July and we hope he has a fun year racing. Moving up a class in 2014 is a consideration for Gehrig, but we will make that move only if he is comfortable in doing so………Lauren starts her carting season this weekend. We will have a picture of her cart on our site soon. Her machine has been redone and hopefully with the experience she already has she can have fun competiting in the very tough field of drivers. She sure has intentions of not being pushed around like she was in 2012. Lauren intends to move up next season, so Mini Stock for her is likely going to happen in 2014……our Late Model had a tough outing on Saturday, but worth every second as we discovered a number of problems to deal with. A list of 25 items are on the board, and must be completed for our opening day on May 4th…..the CVM is in Tyler Brown’s care and he starts his season on May 11th at Flamboro Speedway. Tyler wanted to get back into stock car racing and we had the opportunity to team up with him in our car. He will race it at least 6 times including all of the Iron Man Triple Crown series. (more on that soon). We wish Tyler and his team a very successful 2013 season.

Lauren All Smiles…Racing Soon

Flamboro

Quaker State Go-Cart Team Ready For 2013 Carting Season

The new look Go-Cart is ready to go. Lauren was out on Sunday for practice and needed some changes to be happy with her cart, and totally within the rules. Weight needed to be added, as well as seat padding. That work has been done and she is set to take on the very competitive field of Carts in her class. Lauren is determined to be a contender this season. Her biggest deterent isn’t her effort, or the effort of those who pit for her, namely her Mom Shirley, brother Gehrig and when possible Jason Green. Her problem is, that we know very little about Go-Carts. Jake Collison was tremendous with setting up the cart and rebuilding the engine. Now it’s show time and hopefully we can keep her that way throuhgout the season. Shirley is amazing and does awesome work with both her children to help them enjoy the sport. Shirley also has many other racing families she can ask for help. Go get em’ Lauren, you’re ready to flex some muscle.

45th Season About To Start…….Opening Day Eve

Car Finally Ready

Car, Crew, Equipment and Driver Ready To Go

I don’t think I’ve been this excited the night before a season started in a long time. I have always been excited, all 44 years past, but this one seems different for many reasons. We knew after last year that without a good car, chances of being competitive would be doubtful. We ran as strong as we could with an outdated car, a 4″ car jacked up by load bolts to make it legal. An inferior suspension and chassis set up, an outdated horsepower sucking exhaust system and definetly not the latest in chassis technology. Well we have it this year, the chassis, added horsepower, set up and even more than all of that, about 70 years of racing experience added to our pit crew through the addition of David, Jim and Eddie joining our awesome and dedicated 2013 crew. I am pumped but I also know the following. No matter how much our team and all others improved, the cars to beat have not changed. They remain Tom Walters and Mike Bentley. It’s one thing to move closer to the bench mark, it’s another thing to actually get there. We think we have 95% of the car the rest have. This field will be full of teams with new cars, or one year old redone cars. This may be the best field of talent assembled in a long time for a regular race series. Besides the 2 mentioned, Dwayne Baker, Andy Kamwrath, Anthony Simone, Nick Goetz, Doug Hanchard, Jeff Lapcevich, Herb Walters and John Mitchell are a few new drivers who will join the Sunset Late Model field. Chris Morrow, Jason Witty, Teylor Holdaway, Scott Beatty and Sean Grossman are drivers who’s teams have improved over 2012…..YIKES….it’s going to be a great season for the fans and promotoers, and if you like running with tough racers like we do, it will be a blast for us as well. I remember in 1989 the Hobby club had 16 different feature winners in that very talent-laidened year. In 2012 there were 5 feature winners in the Sunset Late Model class, I think this season we’ll see more than 5 teams hit the winners circle, and we’re hoping our team is one of them…….in 2013 we’re looking for our first feature win since 2008, a long drought for sure, but our goal is to win the track Championship, we feel we have all the right pieces to get it done………Our next feature win will be our 36th all time, kind of cool in this milestone year. We will also hit our 2500th race in 2013, another kind of special event that we’re looking forward to, that carries with it a contest to guess when that date, track and race will be. More on that later………no matter what lies ahead, our team is ready and we are exited……..Bob, my awesome friend and crew chief is in this picture. Bob has been an incredible help all winter and likely won’t get much sleep as we head north early in the morning…….pit gates open at noon, races start at 6pm, hope to see you there.

15 Seconds Into 2013

Sunset Speedway

Say It Ain’t So……Wow, Never Seen It Coming…Neither Did Jason Witty, The Bakers Or The Fans

This was just unbelievable. The bad news is our car was just at the point of getting better and is now back to January somewhere, maybe even back to Autumn Colors. The perfect storm was brewing, and all the ingredients were there to make us pay for a small mistake, but a bad decision on my part. Our three sets of hot laps were showing signs of progressing, and we were getting a little faster, still a long way from the top cars, but gaining ground. Last week we purchased a new helmet harness, new ear plugs and had all our radio’s updated. There was no issue with the radio’s prior to the first heat race. We drew #1, and thought maybe the gods who deal out luck were on our side, but we soon found out, at least I did, that the only God to trust or count on dosen’t hand out good starting spots, eternal life, blessing, healings and things like that, but as for luck on the race track, not so much, but He could, that’s just not His promise………Starting #1 actually was a killer for us, but even with that this mess could have been avoided. We always test our radio’s before leaving the pits “ALWAYS”, but we didn’t this time. I always test my radio before gonig on the track, but because I was behind and needed to hustle to get in the line up (starting pole) I just assumed it was working. My crew, who worked hard on the car during hot laps and getting the car ready for the heat also assumed everything was okay. I got to the line up grid, but by the time I got there, 7 cars were in front of me. I tried making my way to the front but there was little room to pass cars in the staging area so I sat still knowing I could catch up on the track. We got going and finally I got out of the staging lane and on the track. My first thought was to get to my spot. We knew the car was good enough to run with these cars, the stop watch showed that. I slowly and carefully made my way through cars that were warming up their tires and after once around was up to about 4th and then realized I had not had any contact from my spotter. I got on the radio “test one, two, test”. There was no reply. I checked my ear plug to make sure it was in, because by now I should have heard something. Maybe they weren’t there yet. “Hello, test one two”, but still no reply. I checked the radio and it was on. The starter was moving me ahead, still a few cars to pass and it was me who was out of position, no one else. “Hello”!! I called a few more times, but still no response. I was a little desperate. I was almost in my position and I spotted Bob who was pointing to his head set, so I called out again. They could here me, but I couldn’t hear them. I didn’t want to take my spot, I absolutely hate driving driving these cars without a spotter because of the fact I cannot see any other cars. I do not want to wreck my car or anyone else, and not knowing where other cars are on the track is suicide. But, I decided to take the chance, maybe the boys would get their radio’s working, I hoped, but that wouldn’t happen because the problem was the rear conncection for my helmet, was not in far enough, and I could not reach it regardless. The green flew, so did the field. The bad decision came to bite me very quickly, and by this picture, a few of my good friends (well, they use to be), got wrecked, all starting just before the start finish line. Some have said it wasn’t my fault, it started behind me and I got turned because the car beside me was hit. I don’t know if any of that is the case, no driver has said that, there is no video, so I took ownership of it regardless. I made the rounds and apologized to my crew first, the #19, #40 and #48. Two of the three other teams were kinda okay, one not so much. I waited an hour before I went to them, but the heat of the moment sometimes lingers on for some. That’s all I can say now, but the whole story, including the amazing work of our crew will be on Diary Of A Season 2013, on our Message Board by tonight. Can’t do it today, I’m busy getting parts picked up, and stuff fixed…..Overall I am so blessed to have this awesome crew and the wonderful people surrounding me who are part of our team…….Thanks to Jason Witty for being forgiving, understanding and extending some grace, and he got it the worst. His car was brand new 🙁

Skid Plate Sparking

2nd Heat

Getting In Every Race Possible Is Important….Not Pretty But We Got Back Out

Our crew worked very fast to get us back out for the heat race. We had no proper spare parts, and didn’t know all the damage at this point. Two bent shocks was obvious, but we also had damage to the right side lower control arm and spindle, as well as the left upper control arm. Taylor Holdaway loaned us the upper , and our team never stopped working to get the car ready for the 2nd heat…..one issue was the shock we had for the right front, it was too short and our car bottomed out going into the turn, sending an array of sparks from the skid plate bottoming out. After the second heat the crew made more changes, to make the car better for the main, in spite of the bent and wrong parts….…..I went to McColl’s on Monday to have all our front end parts checked, many needed replacing but we now have all the right parts to put the front end back together, and doors are being painted. We should be ready to go by Thursday, Friday at the latest…..once again, I can’t express the gratitude towards my crew, who worked together to get us the most competitive car possible for the feature.

The Rebuild

Fixing It At Home

Reassembling Front End…..Crew Chief Bob Working On RF Shock

On Sunday all the parts were removed from the car. Then early Monday morning, Buttons and I headed to McColl’s to get all the suspension parts diagnosed. We did not want to take any chances of putting bent parts back on the car. The trip to Mikes was worth it, well, in terms of knowing what was good and what was no good. It didn’t take them long to see the lower control arm was done, the spindle, uppers on both sides, both shocks, . Most of what I took was damaged. Mike had all the parts, and thanks to the generosity of one of my sponsors, all these parts were covered…thank you!!!!….I returned home and at night Bob and I reassembled them in our garage. Taking the car to McColl’s would have been a huge expense, so we did save a ton by taking all the damaged parts off and putting them back on again…..the left side body brace and steel pipe from the frame to the roll cage was also bent, and we will get that fixed by Thursday. As well, the doors are painted and will be lettered today and installed tomorrow. We will put on the small decals, but the door numbers are beyond our capabilities, unless air bubbles and wrinkles are what you’re looking for, and no I’m not, so we’ll let the experts at Creative Edge put the big stuff on….we’ll set the bump stop, scale and car and go over it Thursday night and should be ready by late Thursday or at the latest Friday……thanks to everyone who has helped, both at the track and at home.

Iron Man Triple Crown Starts Tonight

Flamboro Speedway

Our Coupe Will Not Be In The First Iron Man Triple Crown Race

In late 2012 a few CVM members took the initiative to try to get more races at Flamboro Speedway. They succeeded in doing so, but committee officials did not want to fit the races into the regular schedule, and deemed them non points nights, something I find insane to have in a schedule for a few reasons, one the car count and two the perception by a promoter who is hoping and needs strong car turn outs. Though not racing full time with the CVM any longer, I was concerned about the decision to make the races non points, they only run 12 races to beging with. After some thought, our team decided to sponsor the three “non points” races and give them some meaning and life. The Iron Man Triple Crown idea was presented to the committee and accepted. Our team will put up cash and plaques to the top five in the mini series that begins tonight. I knew at the beginning I could not make any of the dates because of our commitment in the Late Model class at Sunset Speedway. We made arrangements with Tyler Brown to race our car a few times in 2013, including the Iron Man Triple Crown series. Unfortunately, Tyler did not get any seat time in our Coupe. The first time he set out to practice it rained, and last Tuesday he went to Flamboro Speedway and the rear end seized from no oil in the differential. That was totally my fault. I decided for the Mega Speed car show, not to put oil in the diff and do it before the car went out on the track. However, as most of you know, our race program with two Late Models, the Mini Stock, Go-Cart and Coupe was incredibly over the top busy and I messed up by not putting Quaker State in the rear end. The car is ready to go now, another set of gears and new driveshaft installed, but will not make the show tonight. With no hot laps, or previous CVM, or open wheel experience, Tyler and his team will not take the Coupe to Flamboro. I’m hoping it rains or freezes out at Sunset Speedway and I will race the car myself, but it looks like that won’t happen either. Kind of disappointing but humans make mistakes, at least this one does and it hurts to not be in this special race sponsored by our team. I hope there is a good turn out of cars and it’s a great show……….the Late Model was completed last night. Besides the suspension parts, wheels, tires, doors and numerous other little things, there were a dozen decals on each side of the car to be installed as well. The car is completely ready thanks to Bob, Dave, Eddie, Jim and Chris. If we do race, and it’s going to be very cold, we’re hoping for a better fate tonight…..Next weekend is a double header for us, we will run the Late Model Saturday at Sunset and the Coupe at Flamboro on Sunday….hope to see you there.

Bruce Rankin #55…2nd Heat

Photo by Debbie-Jo

Woes Continue, But Team & Driver Are Not Giving Up

This past Saturday night sure was frustrating for our team. We missed warm ups after discovering a leaking water pump fitting. We tried to fix it, but lost time trying the repair making it impossible to get any practice. The leak was from the top of the water pump and new fittings and lots of tape didn’t stop it, in fact it got worse. Fred Holdaway came to our aid not only with a new water pump but also an hour’s worth of labour to help Matt Ryan and I get ready for our heat race. We finally got the new pump on, and discovered a very slight leak still from the fitting. We were able to race with it like that and would replace the fitting for next week…….David, Jim and Ken arrived just after 6, but in time to spot for us. Ryan was going to spot in practice but unfortunately we didn’t get out. With no hot laps we decided to take scratch in our heat, meaning we’d be scratch all night. That’s okay with me. When a car is struggling the best place is away from the action to dissect the problems. If you’re in the middle of a pack you’ll more than likely get pushed off the track because you can’t keep up. That was our issue all night; we couldn’t run with the cars we ran with in 2012. We know where part of the problem is and will fix that this week. There is a vibration in the driveline, the engine is flat power wise, and until those are fixed the handling will need to wait. The good news is we got out of Sunset Speedway without any further damage to the car and can start working on the other issues this week……..oh my, big plans turn into big disappointments, and so early in the season. It’s hard to imagine we are out of the points chase already, but reality says it’s so. A 17th and 19th in the features, and 4 heats races finishing at the back have accumulated very few points. We can argue it’s a long season, I can be accused of being a defeatist, but the truth is, even if we finished in the top 5 each night, the battle would be tough, now it is it’s certainly out of reach. If it appears I’m giving up, let’s be an optimist. There is a scenario, a way where we can bounce back and close the gap. To work it needs the top 8 cars right now, to all DNF over the next 2 weeks, but not on the same night. The top runners have to have nights like we’ve had including the heat races, where 20 points is earned by winning both heats. We’ve earned 4 points in 4 heats. If the Championship is out of reach, we can still shoot for a top 5, and if we get a long run of great finishes, maybe a top three. There is still a goal, it’s just been lowered a little…..thanks to Matt, Ryan, David, Jim and Ken for doing their best all night. We are working hard in specific areas this week with hopes of having a faster car this weekend.

Gehrig Has Great Night

Photo by Debbie-Jo

Quaker State Mini Getting Better Every Race

After a top 10 feature finish in week one, Gehrig repeated that feat with an 8th on Saturday night at Sunset Speedway. Unfortunately he is out powered by the Mustangs and a few other cars, by a fair margin. However, he is learning how to race, making moves in traffic, avoiding contact with other cars and bringing his own car home in one piece. As well, Gehrig had two good heat finishes, taking a 3rd and 5th. He has improved a lot over 2012 already, and as his seat time accumulates, it will allow him to make up more ground in the corners. We encourage him to do his best and have fun. He has done awesome in the early going of 2013 recording four top five heat finishes and two strong feature runs……..His crew consisted of Mom Shirley, and sister Lauren this past week as two of his crew members were unable to make it out. Of course he has our boys to help him whenever or if ever he needs our support, we are one parking spot away…..Good show Gehrig, keep having fun.

Maybe This Weekend

Debbie-Jo Photo

Quaker State Team Anxious To Turn The Season Around

Some fans of mine were watching us race last Saturday night and heard a few around them comment why the #36 was holding back, staying back out of the action. Of course no one would know what was going on with our car, and could rightly assume that after a bad expensive wreck on opening night (ok, not as bad as last year) that maybe Gary was taking it easy and wanted to stay clear of the action so his car wouldn’t get wrecked again. I understand that thought, but it is a 180 degrees away from the truth of what was going on. It’s true for our first heat race, the decision to go scratch, to take it easy, was the plan because we missed hot laps. No crew, and an incredible streak of luck with failed parts kept us off the track for testing after our opening night, first race, first lap wreck. However, this comment was made during the feature, and in that race our plan was to race, not cruise and watch. If my racing gets to cruising, I’m selling everything, buying a 33 Chev Coupe and cruise with the other hot rodders and take it easy. But that was NOT the case. We set the car up the best we could with no testing and for the feature, since we were starting scratch would come into pit row for more chassis changes if needed. After 2 pit stops the car wasn’t pushing. I ran 3rd gear to pick up another 150 RPM and hit the chip once on the back chute. I love the “bap, bap bap” noise of the engine cutting out from hitting the rev limiter at the end of the back chute. Three times is perfect, maybe 2 is, but we hit it once, and only one time. At the end of the feature, turning times in the 15:3’s, faster than week one, though most all of our suspension parts were bent up, I was very frustrated. I was driving in as hard as I could, but had could not catch the pack. When the checker fell I radio’d to my crew “man, I can’t keep up with any of these guys, and many I could beat last year”….fast forward Monday night in the shop….timing mark is dead on, spark plugs look great, all valves are adjusted properly. We now check the throttle linkage, and I’m in the car and David leans over the engine and says “push it all the way down”. I do and then he says “what, are you kidding”. So far I like what I hear because everything else we checked was good. Then David asks me to do it again and says “Wow, I can’ believe this. Hey Bob check it out, Dad only has half throttle, no wonder he couldn’t keep up or get any power”. Now I was smiling, not upset that we missed it somewhere along the line, but glad that we found the reason for us being so far off. The last thing our team needed to do was to handicap the driver. We think it happened when I pulled the engine out at McColl’s. I honestly don’t care, I’m so glad we found it, now we need to readjust the chassis because it was pushing from me driving in too far. “Hey Dad, how did you hit the chip even once”……….Anyway, all of us are happy about this find, now we really need to find the handle on that checker flag.

CVM Season Opener May 19th Flamboro Speedway

Season Begins

We Start Our 42nd Season With CVM

From 1972 to 2004 we ran those 33 season missing only 15 nights in total. We had 25 of the 33 with 100% attendance. Thirty feature wins and quite a few checkers in heats and consi’s have made our tenure with the CVM a very memorable experience. The two Championships were awesome, very tough to get one in this club with so many talented racers. In 1989, our first Championship, there were 16 different feature winners, that was amazing. Over the years we ran 24 nights minimum and many of the seasons saw schedules with over 30 race nights. We are planning on running 4 events with the Hobby club in 2013, that will be 30% of the schedule, but it’s all we can commit to because of our Late Model schedule that is close to 25 nights………This class is nothing like Late Models, totally different in so many ways. Both classes require a different style of driving. The Late Model smooth, the CVM more agressive and kind of wild. Imagine the same engine as in our Late Model, only in a car that is 400 pounds lighter. Wow, if the Coupe had 8″ Hoosiers it would be an incredible ride, it is anyhow……….Our hope is to be competitive, but not racing with the club regularily makes running competitive very tough. I respect the boys racing now, and know even to keep pace with them will be a chore. However, I’m looking forward to racing in the season opener, our 42nd year, and hope for a clean finish and a competitive performance. Races start at 6, hope to see you there.

Billy “The Bump” Zardo Takes Feature Win

Sunset Speedway

McColl Streak Comes To An End….Hanley Car Wins Feature

What a night for the Zardo family. Billy wins the very fast and competitive Late Model feature with a determined bump and run move on Mike Bentley going into turn three. Billy came off turn four beating “Lights Out” at the line. It’s the first win for a non McColl car in some time, and the first Late Model feature win for Billy Zardo in a while. Grandpa Bill Zardo came into our trailer asking us if we had Junior Hanley’s phone number, and we did, and we have Mike McColl’s to. David gave Bill senior the number and in an excited and shaking voice the Z’ called Junior to let him know the good news they finally won a feature…..just awesome for this family, we are very proud of them. congrats Billy for an exciting victory……..also congrats to Lane Zardo who finished 2nd in the Super Stock feature. It was a night of celebration for the 46 team, making everyone, especially Grandpa very proud…….the win by the Zardo team is manifest of how much all the competitors have stepped up their programs in 2013, and this one with success………I think there will be more new faces in the winners circle this year….good job Billy!!!!!

Chris Morrow #11

Dean Muz Photo

Sunset Speedway Ace Chris Morrow Currently 3rd In The 2013 Points Chase

Racing with Chris is fun because he has no interest in wrecking his own stuff and usually runs his competitors clean. Chris had a rough outing last week but has ran consistent in his heats and feature so far this season. Chris and his crew, like many others, are always willing to help teams who need parts or tips. The Morrow team is one of many bright spots at Sunset Speedway…….I really don’t need to give him so much room

Sunset Speedway May 25th

Pamela Guppy Photo

A Win Or Rain This Weekend….Either Would Be Good Right Now

I know what those who know me would think about me even hinting that rain would be a good thing. There is a good reason that I say that of course, and it has nothing to do with our performance, but rather that we are doing a show next week in Sturgeon Falls, and don’t really need any trouble this weekend. If we raced and won, it would be awesome. Maybe I should say if I actually raced at all this season it would be awesome. The past two seasons, including this one, have been crazy trying getting out of the gate quick and trying to catch up to our competitors. For the third time in my career, I’m the worst or slowest car on the track, and it hurts huge. The first time we held that recognition was in our Mini Stock days. We were terrible. My Dad often said “the only thing behind us is the next race”. That was brutal, not what he said, that was funny, but being so slow, in the way, not being able to keep up. Back then I was so stubborn, I raced everyone usually wrecking, rolling or wrecking them. But this year is nothing like that, or at least it should not have any comparison, but in the darkest sense, there is a likeness…….We are stunned beyond belief why our car is taking so long to run with the pack. It won’t turn, sometimes maybe, but 90% of the time it’s tight, pushing, plowing, washing up, over steering….whatever!!!! I’m not frustrated, I’m in shock, literally speechless when it comes to understanding why we are running so far off where we should be. A five year old come up to me a few weeks ago and asked “where’s the guy that drove that car last year”. I said “where’s your baby sitter”….just kidding, but now I get no respect, and it’s not that we’re not trying, it’s a combination of everything going wrong that could go wrong having a field day on our team. IF a rep from Murphy’s Law came by and we asked if there was anything we could do. He would say “no, this is awesome, you guys are writing your own chapter on what could go wrong will go wrong”. He’s right, but our team isn’t listening because we know we should be better, and though we’re close, we are still a long way from running with this very fast, stout pack of Limited ($50K each) Late Models. Our team needs a boost. I think we need to go in one of those Marathon’s with street runners. I know cars aren’t allowed, but winning that would give me some confidence. It’s crazy, my fans, friends, sponsors are all looking somewhat bewildered that our awesome looking race car is so inept. I have been frustrated before, years ago with blowing up the In Line Sixes so many times, but this is the most frustrating I’ve ever been. A good friend and sponsor used the term “we’re discouraged but not defeated”. Last week I was so dejected from not being able to keep up that I was almost in tears…WHAT!!!…yes tears, how is that fun???? Well the truth is, it’s not fun, but every Sunday after Church, I unload the car and get it ready for Monday night maintenance and repairs with my crew chief Bob, and now David (the other members live too far away to make it, or are working nights) and we give our selves a pep talk, find things wrong, or things that can be better and prepare for another week, there is no quitting. There have been 4 feature winners so far in 2013. I know the very competitive field at Sunset Speedway sees at least 4 or 5 more (excluding us) that could easily take the checker. If we can get the car right, and the power issue is just because of handling, I know without a doubt that a win would allow us to forget the first four nights of 2013. So this weekend we want to hold the checker in the feature…..or let it rain so we’re ready for our show next Friday and can rest next week…..thanks to my crew for not giving up….thanks to our sponsors for believing in us….thanks to Pamela Guppy for this great shot….more on the show early next week.

Gehrig Wins First Stock Car Race

Ashley McCubbin Photo

What A Night For Gehrig….For All Of Us

Many of our friends and fans at the track, and of course us as well, could see that it wouldn’t be long before Gehrig ended up in Victory Lane. He made it twice on Saturday night picking up two heat wins, then capped off the night with a 7th in the feature. It was a great night for us to see him finally win a race. His car was equipped with 14″ tires from 15″. However the change was too much, making the car fast, but also gaining a lot of RPM. He was asked to run the middle of the track for the night until we could fix the problem by installing another transmission that would lower the RPM enough to allow him to race hard. Though still much better than all weeks prior, a transmission change is mandatory now, or the 7800 RPM will take out the engine. We’re looking for 7200 and then he can race anywhere on the track……..this was a very good points night for our Mini Stock team, securing his 5th place in the point standings…..congrats to Gehrig, Shirley, Nathan and Lauren for having a great night and making us all proud.

Arctic Ad For Friday June 7th

West Nipissing Tribune

We Headed North To Sturgeon Falls For Show #4, To Support Our Sponsor Arctica Mechanical Services

Last year, as part of our sponsorship agreement with Arctica Mechanical Services, we agreed to come to Sturgeon Falls to put our car on display for their special promotional event with Reliance, the home heating product supplier. It was a good day, considering the threat of rain was in the forecast, however we were blessed to get the day in with the sun coming out a few times and many people dropping by…..thanks to West Nipissing Tribune for supplying us this Ad…..we have two more events coming up this week to celebrate Fathers Day. One at West Highland Baptist church, and the other at Clearview Community Church in Wasaga Beach.

As Si Would Say….”Wrong Way Jack”

Pamela Guppy Photo

Troubles Continue As A Brake Caliper Pin Let Go…….Lucky No Other Damage….Good Heads Up Andrew

I’ve been in slumps before, many over the years, but this one is so puzzling. We may have turned the corner with getting the car to handle, it seems better, but overall we are still not even where we were last year. Our car is lacking power punch. We’ve made some changes in the HP department and intend to make a few more. We are flat on the straights, and have needed to put more gear and tend to over drive to make up, but it’s not the answer, nor is it working. My crew are amazing, they know we can do better and none are giving up. I’m trying not to make my disappointment an issue, but it is very frustrating to say the least, and I think if you get punched enough, soon you just get use to it, and I’m almost there. I would hate to accept the fact that not being competitive is the norm for this year, but that’s been the story so far in 5 nights at Sunset………in this awesome Pamela Guppy shot, Andrew Kamrath #35 hits the dirt and both #19 Jason Witty and #35 Scott Beatty go around and all is well…….the crew got the car ready for the feature and though we handled perhaps the best yet, we were clearly suffering in the power department, not a lot, but enough to only allow us to keep up. Maybe next week we find the cause, we’re working on it, and we’ll get it.

Out Of Sinc At Sunset Speedway

Pamela Guppy Photo

What’s Wrong With This Car?????

To look at it, maybe nothing seems amiss, it’s a great looking race car, but stats from the first five nights, and watching us on the track, has raised concerns, and prompted some to ask “what’s wrong with the car”. So far in 2013 we have not finished better than 10th in the feature, or 4th in the heats. Our car was suffering handling problems the first few weeks, but we seem to have the handle on that now….we think! What seems clear to us, to me, is the power. Our car can run with the pack, at the back, explaining why no feature better than 10th, but has no power to maneuver past other cars. We can’t beat cars we passed in 2012, and our car should be a much better piece, we invested in all the right places. Here’s what we think is wrong, or at least the cause of our ineptness. I’ve been complaining most all of this early season, that I can barely keep up with the competition. We’ve finally got the handling very close, but at times I have been over driving the turns, causing issues with getting our car to turn. I drive too hard in and the car pushes up, or I get on the gas too soon and the car washes up. So why am I overdriving? The reason is simple, to make up for not enough power. The impressions and feedback from our crew, fans and sponsors is that we are close, but lacking that jam needed to get in the hunt, to battle for an elite position, in our case anywhere in the top 10, although the magic number for me is top 5. I want so bad to be competing with the best cars, but we’re not there yet. This week we’ve made some changes to the car suggested by VDL carb expert Dan. If these don’t work, our next move is to do a leak down test of our new 602 Crate engine. If the numbers show more than 6% loss in pressure, we may be looking at either replacing or fixing our engine. If that’s the case, it would be kind of a shock to me. The motor only has 6 nights on it, one last year and the rest in 2013. I did the break in process exactly like the book said, time consuming, but exactly to the letter of the steps to properly break in that engine. Our hope for this weekend is to be competitive. It’s possible Dan may have turned us around, because we’ve done exactly everything he said to do, but we won’t know until Saturday. It’s been such an incredibly frustrating season for my awesome crew as well, and for their sake I want to see us run competitive. Talking to one of our crew members, he has suggested that I take my eyes off everything and just have fun. He sees my stress, in fact all my crew do, and all have tried to get me to take it easy because this has really got to me. My crew now are suggesting not to worry about points, finishes or what anyone thinks, just have fun and we’ll keep working at it until we get our car to where we should be. They all know very well, that having fun is not usually attained by the way we’ve ran so far this year, but their point is well taken. Once we find the main culprit, we think it’s to do with the engine now, we will be having fun because we’ll find ourselves potentially getting a chance to hold the checker flag, or certainly a podium finish. Any solid run will bring a smile, and smiles are consistent with fun. Our hope is that we get it right this weekend, and put the first five nights behind us, and to this point in the season, there hasn’t been anything we’d want to remember in those first five nights………Saturday morning we are on display in Hamilton at the West Highland Baptist church classic car show. We will be there from 9 until 12, drop by and see all the beautiful hot rods, and our awesome looking Quaker State Impala……..oh and maybe give us a hug, it should help, although a good night at Sunset Speedway will do wonders.

Was This Exactly What It Looked Like Or Different?

Alain Thiboutot Photo

Chris Morrow Get’s Caught In Front Chute Wreck…That Should Never Have Happened

This mess happened with three laps to go. Walters lapped all but 7 cars before a caution on lap 58. He was much faster than he was the night before, not even close. On about lap 62, he was spun out by Mike Bentley with 13 to go. I don’t get that either. How Mike would not be able to race hard against Tom and not spin him is puzzling. Most racers when they get a car sideways a little back out. when any of these guys hit someone it’s over, someone gets turned, mostly because they don’t really care. Both cars went to the rear (6th and 7th). Walters was clearly the fastest car on the track, by far, no one had anything for him. He moved from the 6th to 2nd in less than 10 laps passing some very fast cars like they were broke. He got into 2nd and was quickly running down Dwayne Baker with 6 to go. Baker was fast but we all could see Tom was quicker. It looked like the 47 would catch him at the end but maybe not have enough time to pass. However, with three laps to go the yellow came out, making for potentially, a very exciting finish…..On the restart they ran hard into one, side by side. Going down the back chute Walters moved slightly ahead as the cars flew into three. Tom got a good run off four and Baker was inside but just before the start finish the 48 moved up catching the rear quarter of the 47 turning him into the inside cement wall. Walters bounced off the wall and was t-boned by Chris Morrow #11 who could not stop. Baker spun out going into one…….First off, Tom didn’t cut down. He was ahead by 3/4 of a car. All he had to do was go into turn one, leave the bottom open for a hard dive by the 48 and then smoke Baker down the back chute. Dwayne had to settle for 2nd, he was the 2nd fastest at that point, Bentley was the 2nd fastest, but didn’t have enough time to get up with too many cars between him and Baker…..so why did this happen????….was it an accident, really? Who was spotting for the 48, why was he up in the high lane when there was no room? He’s a Champion, and surely would know there was no room, unless he was told it was clear and it clearly wasn’t…..Walters was furious after the wreck and tried to get at Baker, but was restrained….the worst part of this deal was the wreck of Chris Morrow #11, he got caught up in it. As much as Walters detests me, because I want fair racing, I feel he this deal was just as wrong against him. It was his race to win and he should not have been turned, mistake or not. But was it a mistake, a spotter error, or a driver not listening to the spotter? I think it had to be, because the only other conclusion was that Baker deliberately turned Walters. They’ve been buddies since the winter, or at least have shown that in public and at the track, laughing, talking. I suspect Baker will call Walters and apologize. I hope so, he should, but what’s more important is that if he doesn’t we could see retaliation and that kind of garbage hurts innocent racers who go to have fun, like Morrow. I get that it’s racing and stuff happens, but deliberate stuff should be punishable by a suspension. If it was an accident, then lets hear it, from both sides. Hopefully Tom gets his car fixed, and the apology as well, then we all can move on.

Dwayne Baker Makes It Right

Ashley McCubbin Photo

There Was An Apology, An Explanation, No Intent To Wreck, Just Trying Hard To Win

In this controversial incident, many racers, fans and those truly concerned about the sport in general wondered what happened to create this very bad wreck. There was severe damage to a few cars, and damage to others caught up in the melee’. Everyone from the Sunset Speedway area knows of the feud between Tom Walters and Dwayne Baker, from an incident 2 years ago. Maybe what some don’t know is that Dwayne and Tom had since made amends, it was over. This past winter and the since the season began they had been talking, and socializing, with no issues on the table at all. This wreck certainly caused many to think that maybe the feud wasn’t over. Even Tom got out of his car and had to be restrained by the officials to stop him from going after Dwayne Baker to at least yell at him. Adrenalin fuel does amazing things. Getting wrecked while leading a 75 lap race certainly produces even more adrenalin. Many of us were left to our own conclusions. Our assumptions from what we saw were the same opinions used by any human whether on staff, promoting or being on one of the two teams involved. There would be some who were adamant it was deliberate, there would be others who blamed Walters, some Baker, others just kind of stunned by it. The fans would have the right to call it like they seen it. After all, that’s what referees, umpires, judges and race directors do, they call it like they seen it and sometimes they get the agreement of the majority, other times they don’t, sometimes they are right, sometimes they’re not….I phoned Dwayne because I do respect him as a racer and I really believe he cares about the sport and all the aspects of it, and I wanted to know what happened. He said sincerely that it was an accident, he got into Tom. He got high, thought maybe he got loose coming off four and on correcting, his front end got into the rear bumper of the #47. He also said it was an accident, his fault perhaps, but not intentional. He said Walters door slammed him in one and two, but that was racing as they both touched a few times trying to get the win…….coming off four Dwayne had no choice but to surrender the lead, or give it all he had. He still wanted to win. Tom had the outside and preferred lane, so Dwayne jammed the gas as soon as he could to stay close. In doing so his car broke loose, and resulted in the two cars locking front and rear horns, as shown in this great shot by Ashley McCubbin…….in the picture below, I felt that if this was the case, that Dwayne should apologize if he felt it was his, and to his credit he did do that, although he felt it was a racing deal. The apology was more because it happened rather than admission of full guilt, because much of this was from hard racing. The most amazing news is that Dwayne offered his spare car to Tom for next weekend, if his does not get fixed in time. What a gesture by Baker, first class all the way, and such good news to hear……maybe a lesson to be learned by many racers, crew members and those on teams that get messed up. When someone apologizes, understand the humility expressed and accept it with grace. Maybe the person has no car to offer, no garage to fix it, but it shouldn’t be a political thing, it should be a sign that a racer made a mistake, or at least felt the need to make it right. When you don’t accept it, you leave it on the table kind of simmering, and you disrespect the one apologizing. Remember, none of us are perfect.

Quaker State Promotion

True North Chevrolet

Promoting Quaker State, And All Our Sponsors At True North Chevrolet….June 21st In North Bay

We have been invited to attend a big promotional event in North Bay at True North Chevrolet. It was only 2 weeks ago that we went to Sturgeon Falls to support one of our sponsors, Arctica Mechanical Services. It sure is beautiful up that way and I’m looking forward to the trip and spending the day at the GM Dealership….we will give away some of our Quaker State 40th Anniversary souvenir books for prizes for the True North customers, also hand out Sunset Speedway souvenir programs, and sign our autograph cards……This will be our 7th show of 2013. It is very important for us to support our sponsors every chance we get, and even though this event is aimed at selling and promoting Quaker State Full Synthetic oil, all our sponsors benefit when we hand out our autograph cards and talk about our various sponsors…..the management team of True North are excited to have us, and I can’t wait to get there and show our car, our sponsors and our sport….if you’re going through drop by, the car will be at True North from 9am until 4pm, or longer if there are people asking questions or wanting to see the car…..I return Saturday to race at Sunset Speedway on June 22nd, where I meet my crew and hopefully get a chance to hold a checker flag…..maybe see you at Sunset Speedway on Saturday, races start at 6:30.

North Bay Display Great Success

North Bay

A Little Rain On Friday….Sunset Speedway Gets Cancelled Today From Rain & Threat Of More Rain

We travelled to North Bay Ontario to be part of a community event held by True North Chevrolet. It rained a little in the morning and again around noon, but after that it was just overcast but no rain. This amazing Dealership offered a barbeque to those who attended, which was anyone who came in. True North is one of the biggest Dealers in the area, selling the most trucks, and the most Quaker State………Mat Noualy had his rock crawling vehicle on display as well. Mat competes regularly in rock climbing competition. This was the 2nd show we did together, the first at New Roads Chevrolet in New Market………I headed to Sunset Speedway on Saturday morning. My crew were going to meet there. I was the first car at the track. Soon the rain came, then it stopped. However with the threat of rain in the area suppose to be on and off all day, the Sunset staff decided to cancel the races for this week………our next display is tomorrow, a private affair, I will post on that after I get pictures, and our next race is at another one of my favorite tracks, Sauble Speedway. The first of a home and home series put on by the track owners and promoters…..an awesome idea.

Gary Baverstock Coldwell Banker Function

Gary Baverstock Photo

Show #8…Butterflies in 3D

We were invited to attend Gary and Debbie Baverstock’s special event for their clients, friends, family and neighbors. There were over 150 adults and kids who came to spend a few hours of their day. They went through the conservatory, saw insects, butterflies up close, had strawberry short cake, and got a close look at our race car, many kids big and small got in our car for a picture. We handed out autograph cards, our Quaker State 40th anniversary book as well as the Sunset Speedway schedule. It was very hot and humid, I’m not complaining, it was better than rain, and much better than being cold, it was an awesome day, well planned and attended……….I got a chance to go through the “conservatory”. what an experience!!! It was so peaceful in there. The butterflies flew right up to those walking around, it was as though they were in 3D, or that I was in a 3D movie, it was weird. They flew up in slow motion, so content and friendly. It was beautiful, peaceful and so nice to see the many varieties and colors of butterflies. There was a glass display of cock roaches, that was as Borat would say “Not so nice”………I was like a kid in there, it was a great day, and now after the rain out this weekend, we have 8 race nights and 8 shows/events….next weekend will change that with a double header, Late Model at Sauble Speedway Saturday for the Home and Home series, and then race our 33 Chev Coupe at Sunset Speedway on Sunday for the CVM special…..no rain please!!!

Sauble Sunset Home & Home Series

Sauble Speedway

Promoters Work Together To Have An Exciting Series….Home & Home Show #1 Suable Speedway

This is a great idea, and I hope it’s just as great a success. These two tracks have always been my favourite over the years for many reasons. They have done excellent work in trying to make our sport alive, interesting, fan driven, sponsor supportive and providing a great venue to race…….Sauble is a very stable track, balanced overall, but offers two lanes of racing, although things can get nuts coming off four if your side by side. Respect is needed here, but this short 30 lap feature will have all the ingredients of a 100 lapper for many reasons. The line up will be stellar because all the top shoes at Sunset will be racing against the top racers at Sauble. Every car is getting 100 points to show up, whether they make the show or not. I’m not sure the format, it doesn’t say how many qualify out of each heat, but I suspect there will be 30 cars, ten in each heat, 6 qualify through the heat races, giving us 18 cars, and the final 6 spots will be earned by the top 6 in the consi, or last chance. It will be exciting for sure……I like the idea of this home and home series, it’s brilliant and I hope it continues, but maybe make it 50 laps instead of 30, and for sure, get the purse up. The payoff is weak and should have been improved to help with travelling, but even more, because it’s going to be a good draw with a lot of strong running Ontario Late Model drivers fighting for a spot in the feature……we have done well in the past, 2nd in 2008, in the Quaker State 100 and qualifying pole in 2009 with David inside and us outside, but we both had mechanical failures…..I like the track, so my attitude will be good. The built engines at Sauble are stout, so the parity may not be so close, but some of the altered, rebuilt Crates from Sunset may have a chance….hope you can make it, if nothing else it should be a barn burner for the win, we hope to be a contender, and we’ll know by the 2nd set of hot laps.

Sunset Speedway CVM Feature

Alain Thiboutot Photo

Our Best Feature Finish In 2013…So Far…Comes In Our 33 Chev Vintage Modified

After a decent run Saturday at Sauble in the Late Model, I couldn’t wait to get in the Vintage Modified and see how it would run after Ron Easton changed the front end geometry. Tyler liked it at Flamboro 2 weeks ago and finished 9th in the feature, although he was up to 6th. The car ran well, still stiff to steer, even once it’s going, but handles much better than when I drove at Flamboro on May 19th…..there were 21 cars and we finished 5th, taking the spot on the final lap coming off turn four…..our next Coupe race will be Delaware, and the final show at Sunset Speedway’s Velocity weekend….thanks to Alain Thiboutot for this great picture.

Back To Sunset Speedway

Eric Uprichard Photo

Regular Racing Resumes At Sunset Speedway July 6th

All regular classes will return for racing tonight at Sunset Speedway. The Home and Home series with Sauble Speedway last weekend was a great success, that special continues next weekend when Sauble cars come to Sunset………Gehrig has been running very strong this season and currently holds on to 4th place in the points. Warren Paxton #33, the Sunset Speedway 2012 Mini Stock Champion is at the top of the class so far in 2013. Should be a good night of racing, very very hot in the race cars with the humidity high today….we are hoping to turn our Late Model campaign around. It’s been a tough season so far but things have improved lightly the last two outings…..races start at 6:30

Sunset Speedway Feature July 6th

Ashley McCubbin

First Time To Qualify In 2013…..Fall Back To 9th…..Slight Push Enough To Kill Us

In this Ashley McCubbin photo, we are leading the feature on lap three, but it’s short lived and over the next 27 laps we lose one position every 3 laps………There was a bright spot in qualifying. Our combined heat race finishes of a 5th and 8th finally gave us enough points to get our handicap spot for the feature, pole…..On the green and for a two laps, Frank Davey #49 and I ran side by side. I got a push and went a little high in the middle of one and two and Anthony Simone #95 got under and pulled me down the back chute, he has a built engine. We raced into three, 3-wide, 95-36-49. This picture shows us coming off turn four. I lead this lap but that’s it. Simone got by, then the #88, another built engine, then the #29 and for the next 24 laps we lost a spot every 3 laps or so to 6 more cars, it was a bad feeling……we did have a handling problem, but not that severe, at least not that I could tell inside the car. Perhaps I should have slowed down a little going into the turns. I tend to go in too hard, and that can make the car push coming off the turns……As the race progressed I was losing confidence, feeling I was in the way as my spotter kept telling me cars were inside. I trust my spotter fully and if he says inside I’m not diving down, I will stay up. Even more so when I want to go high, I will hold my spot until I am clear to go high because I do not want to wreck my car or anyone else’s…….we finished 9th, and though it was our best feature finish of 2013, I was just over the top stressed about it. I feel so bad for all our team, our sponsors, fans and most of all our crew, who work so hard and cannot get a break performance wise on the track. I don’t think the car was that bad and at the end of the race we were in a pack of cars, but starting first and finishing 9th, isn’t good enough for us this time of the season, we need to get better finishes. I will admit, the car was better in warm ups and in the second heat race. We need to concentrate on getting our car to turn, period. If our car did respond better in the turns I think we may have finished a few spots better, maybe a top five. We will work on the car this week and improve it for next weekend…….thanks to all my crew for sticking with me, it’s been tough and I sense we will get a break-through, I just hope it’s soon.

Race Camp Sunset Speedway Correction

Scripture Union Sports Camp

Exciting Race Camp Coming….Still Room Left For Kids!!!…Family Faith Night on Saturday July 20th

The first ever SU Motor Racing Camp will be held at Sunset Speedway from July 16th to July 19th, followed by Family Faith Night on July 20th. There is still room left for your children or grand children to be part of this special exciting week. Go to scriptureunion.ca/innisfil and register your son or daughter for this camp that will include Go Cart rides, a seminar about racing with our Quaker State Late Model, many fun games and gifts including a ticket to the VIP area on July 20th Family Faith Night. I will also be giving our 40th Anniversary Quaker State books to every child that is registered.

Kings & Classics Car Show

Precious Buttons

On Display All Day At Rockton Fair Kings and Classic’s 6th Anniversary

Rockin” Ray Michaels, radio personality from CKOC 1150 held his 6th Kings and Classic event at Rockton Fair. There were 10 Elvis impersonators competing in the show and 50 beautiful classic cars. Here we are setting up early. It was a hot day but the music was great and we had an awesome time….I got to meet stock car Ace, Harvey Walsh who drove a Late Model back in the early 60’s. He was #49. There were other racers there, including the only used parts peddler. Bryon had some amazing pictures of Super Modified racers from back in the day, Oswego, Flamboro, Nilestown, Delaware and many other tracks. It was a good day, and Button’s wouldn’t let me out of her site. She had a good time as well…..off to Motor Racing Camp this week coming until Friday….this little dog is such a blessing. She is a family dog, but wants to go with me everywhere I go. She goes to the Go-Cart races with Shirley and then to Sunset at night, loves the cars, and people. She watches me like a hawk, every move.

Scripture Union Supports Sunset Speedway

Famly Faith Night

Thanks To Our Sponsor Scripture Union For Being Part Of Our Awesome Sport

Next Saturday night is Family Faith Night Sunset Speedway. Many of the Sunset teams support the track by introducing to their sponsors the possibility of sponsoring a night. The track puts that revenue to good use and the sponsor gets exposure at one of the best race tracks in North America. Each of us, drivers, crew, family, other sponsors, need to help our race tracks as much as possible, we help ourselves when we help track promoters and sponsors. We should also thank Nightly Sponsors for supporting our sport, so thank you Scripture Union for being involved at Sunset Speedway………and of course with our team……sorry that I did not update Diary OF A Season 2013, Race #12. It was very hectic the past 2 days with the car show Sunday and heading to the kids camp today, there was no time….next week or by the end of this week for sure….thanks for visiting our web site.

Scripture Union Motor Racing Camp A Blast

Motor Racing Camp

Kids Get Ready To Hit The Track

We got this neat picture thanks to Sarah, the Motor Racing Camp leader. The kids loved the race camp week at Sunset Speedway, run by Scripture Union. In spite of the heat and humidity it was informative, exciting and most of all fun. I got to show them our race car up close and teach a few basics with a spiritual conclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed the week. Thanks to the staff from Scripture Union and Steve Slaughter for working so good with me and to the kids for making the week a memorable and joyful experience for me….we gave away our Quaker State 40th Anniversary book, Bibles, a CD and a football supplied by Permatex, one of our sponsors…..Here Ighor gets ready to lead Nathan, Mikey, Abby, Anthony and Cam out on the track for testing and some fast laps.

Delaware Speedway Tonight

Dave Hodgkinson Mod

5 Race Nights, 6 Features In 10 Nights

We will be busy the next week. Starting tonight until next Sunday we will compete in 5 shows at 3 different tracks. It starts tonight with the Outlaw Pro 4 and our CVM 33 Chev Coupe at Delaware Speedway. Then on Tuesday I head to Sauble Speedway, we were invited by the track to come up Tuesday night and show our car on the beach for Cruise Night to display the various race cars at Sauble, and to compete in the 50 lap Dash for Cash on Wednesday . The next weekend, the long weekend, we have a double header at Sunset Speedway, regular racing Saturday night and a 75 lap Late Model Invitational on Sunday. Special thanks to Dave, Terry and Cliff Hodgkinson for giving me the ride in the Pro 4 and suggesting to letter it like our car…we almost had it painted but the humid weather made it impossible….we are at 2472 races in our chase for 2500. We have a contest through our new Quaker State 40th Anniversary book. Books are being sold at Sunset Speedway with a $1 from every sale going to the Food Bank in Innisfil….most of my crew are off this week, although Matt and Don are coming this weekend.

Historic Win…36th Career Feature Win

Delaware Speedway

Outlaw Pro Four Brings First Ever Feature Win At Delaware Speedway July 26th

What an amazing night for us at Delaware Speedway. A night to remember and break some long draughts. This was our first feature win in 5 years, our 36th career win, but more importantly, our first ever at Delaware Speedway. We had a few 2nds at the big half in the Coupes over the years, but never a win. I was intimidated at the start to race this Outlaw Pro Four against the club veterans, and on a big fast track. I wasn’t really comfortable with the car. I didn’t know it very well. We had one lap in practice before an oil cap came off and I had to pull back into the pits. I missed the rest of the practice sessions, but we did find the oil cap……Matt, Cheryl and Don came with me and they were a big help, trying to run two race cars, the Outlaw and the CVM…….I must admit the Pro 4 was excellent in power and handling. We won our heat from the pole and the feature from 7th. It was our first ever feature win at Delaware and came in a car I was in for the first time…..I want to thank Dave Hodgkinson, his wife Terry, their son Cliff and daughter Lisa for all their help. it was a great fun night for us, and I am truly grateful. I’ve been having a terrible season with the Late Model and this helped restore some confidence….thanks Matt, Cheryl and Don for being there to help and part of this historic night.

Sauble Speedway July 31st

Dash for Cash

Dash for Cash Wednesday Night July 31st Sauble Speedway

This Wednesday night we head north to Sauble for their first Dash for Cash race. It’s a 50 lap race and we’re looking forward to race with the boys at Sauble Speedway. The mid week race will be our 17th night of the season. On Tuesday I will put my car on display at the Beach to support the show with other racers……On Monday night, Matt, Gehrig and Steve Cashmore joined me at Mike McColls to go over our car. We found a lot of things wrong with the car and hopefully we have got it to the point of being able to turn better. Sauble will be a good test because being tight or having a push is very common at the small, fast, beautiful oval……this coming weekend we are back at Sunset Speedway for a double header on Saturday and Sunday.

Chassis Tune Up At McColls

Mike McColl Enterprises

Hoping To Get This MIA Back On Track

We went to McColl Enterprises on Monday night to go over the car complete. Mike changed a few things. It started with ride height. I am so dumb, I thought they checked with me in the car, and apparently it’s with me not in the car, so our 5 3/4 ride height was a little high. We also changed the front shocks, the right front spring, the right rear spring the right rear axle and made some other changes I can mention in case Mike Bentley or Tom Walters read this and find out…..kidding…..anyway when we left the car was in Mikes eyes, much better. We did get some hot laps at Sauble and the car was much more on the loose side. Mike was there and made another change but rains spoiled our hopes of racing and we ended up going back to the Sunset set up…….special thanks to Matt Smith, Steve Cashmore, Paul Geniole Jr. and our grand son Gehrig for coming and helping me. Let’s hope we can get our car back in the action because for sure so far in 2013 we have been Missing In Action…..hey where’s that Outlaw Mod’

Sauble Speedway Promoting At The Beach

Classic Car Show

Classic Car Show Awesome Place To Promote Sauble Speedway

I headed up to Sauble Beach on Tuesday during the day, got my room in Owen Sound and then got to the beach around 6. There were 152 Classic cars and close to 800 people. The show was a great success for Sauble Speedway. Jason Thom, track owner, asked me to come up to the Cruise Night back at the Mega Speed show and I agreed. The plan was to be at this event on Tuesday, stay over, then race the Dash for Cash the next day. The show was a tremendous success. I started signing autographs around 6:40. Someone asked me if I was going to get around and see the cars and of course I thought for sure I would. But the race cars were such an attraction for those there that I never stopped signing autograph cars, or having kids in our car until 9 pm. It was an awesome and busy night…… the bad news was we got rained out on the Wednesday, but did get to practice with the car on the track and it felt very good, a little loose but otherwise awesome…….I am slowly catching up on the race reports, three more to do.

Gold Rush Coming Soon

Eric Uprichard Creation

Kenny Wallace To Drive Quaker State Car Pro Late Model

It is with great pride that we announce officially that Kenny Wallace will be driving our Quaker State Pro Late Mode on August 19th. I have re-skinned, repainted and decaled this car and will have it equipped with new wheels for the 100 lap race coming in less than 2 weeks. David still owns this car and will help in the crew with Junior Hanley, Jim Hulzinga and Bob Periera. We are also setting up a display for the rest of our cars and selling tickets to our friends, fans and sponsors. If you would like tickets, please contact me by email, on here or by phone……..our email is gelliot@cogeco.ca….the rain date is on Tuesday the 20th…….hope to see you there.

Kenny Wallace Qualifies Pole

Gold Rush

Bright Moment For Kenny Wallace, Our Team & The 100 Plus Guests

What a night to remember for us. Kenny Wallace is a great person, a fine gentleman, awesome racer and filled with grace to sign so many autographs, give pictures and answer questions all night. He was amazing to work with, just a great guy………Our entire team, sponsors and guests were ecstatic. First our car was fast enough to put Kenny Wallace on the pole position. Thanks to David, Junior Hanley, Jim, Bob, Eddie, and Jason for doing their best to get the car race ready and prepared for Kenny. There was a lot to do on race day. The seat, radio’s and steering wheel were a few things that needed to be altered, but the boys got it done. David tested the car and had it set up to be very competitive. Once Kenny arrived he got some hot laps and felt comfortable. Then he did his part by getting the fastest lap time……..I was busy with our display, wearing my promoters hat. Once I saw our car on the top of the score board I was so pumped and when it stayed there it was a joyous moment, we were all very proud…….I also had lots of help with the display, and we’ll have pictures up for that as well and soon……there are so many people to thank and I will get those who helped with the display on the next picture.

Mayhem Lap One…Turn One

Gold Rush

Wow, Spun Going Into Turn One On Lap One…….Really!!!

Man oh man, Kenny Wallace was furious after being dumped going into turn one. He was so upset and kept asking David to let him know when he was back up to the car that spun him. He was really pissed off, but the shocking part wasn’t the dump it was the fact the dumper didn’t go to the back. That made him mad as well. How surprised do you think we were with that call, or non call. Someone asked if I was coming back to Flamboro in 2014, because the cost of towing to Sunset and back must be killing me…..it only took a lap for me to know it won’t be happening. The leader gets spun out right off the bat, and the car that spun him keeps his spot….Wild….Kenny was interviewed after the race and commented very gracefully on that deal. He never did get an apology, but then again, neither did Shawn Chenoweth and his deal cost him $6000…….David was able to talk to Kenny and he calmed down after a while, doing a great job working his way back up to 4th. He didn’t have to worry about getting revenge on the car that took him out, that driver ended up taking himself out near the end, almost wrecking one of his buddies in the process.

Chaos, Mayhem Strike On Lap One

Godl Rush

No Way….Dumped On Lap One, Of The Gold Rush…..Really????

Team Photo With Kenny Wallace

Rick Start Photo

Quaker State Team Has Awesome Night

We won the pole, finished 4th in the feature. Had all our cars on display. We featured all our sponsors, had over 100 guests join us, and the night was nearly perfect, but regardless we consider this night a great success for our team, sponsors and Kenny Wallace…..in this picture we have from left to right….our Crew Chief from 2005 to 2010, Jim Hulzinga, our current Crew Chief Bob Pereira, hard working Matt Smith from Wasaga Beach, Me, NASCAR star Kenny Wallace, Jason Green who crews for both the Mini Stock and Late Model, Eddie Askin David’s Crew Chief, Paul Johnson, sponsor and CEO of Open Doors and on the far right, owner of the Late Model pictured here, multi champion, Car Chief for our Late Model at Sunset Speedway and favourite son, David Elliott. This was a great night for all of us.

Buttons Likes The Torque Sequence

Jason Green

New Mini Stock Engine Gets Reassembled…..Jason Green & Buttons Help

After blowing the engine in last weeks feature it looked grim for us to get back out this weekend. Through the generous sponsorship of Mike Van Slingerland, we got an engine and now it’s in the car and running. Shirley had to drive to Kingston to get the engine and with the help of Gehrig, Nathan, Jason and Grandpa we got it in and running……I hadn’t worked on a blown engine situation for a long time, at least not where the transferring of parts was needed. We blew up over 50 inline-six engines during our time with the Hobby Club but after a few under our belt it became easier and we could do it at the track in less than 2 hours, plus we had lots of help from other racers who knew what to do with the inline when it blew up…..the Honda was a challenge for me, but I got to give credit to Gehrig and Nathan for hustling to get the engine out and working late Friday night to finish attaching all the parts and get in running….good job boys. Gehrig is 4th in points and needed to get back out to keep his awesome season going. So thank you Mike for getting us this engine we truly appreciate it very much.

Lauren Has Good Run In Go Cart

Debbie-Jo Zardo Photo

Lauren’s Great Run Starts The Day Off Right For All Our Teams

This has been a tough year for Lauren and our Quaker State Go-Cart team. She has been pushed around a lot, but through that she has become stronger, staying quiet yet focused when she gets in her Cart. She had a great run on Saturday finishing 7th, 4th and 6th in her two heats and feature. She is much more consistent now, and has been running very well against the tougher teams. Lauren is 10th in points, with two events to go and is only 4 points out of 9th and 11 out of 8th….In this Debbie-Jo Zardo picture she is running with points leader #02 Tyler Paquette. Our hope is to move Lauren to Mini Stocks in 2014.

Markvile Chevrolet Buick GMC This Friday

Show #14

Quaker State Team On Display Friday August 30th

Come and visit us at the Markville Chevrolet-Buick-GMC dealership on highway 7, just east on the 404. We will be there from 10 until 4. This will be our 14th show of 2013 and we’re looking forward to help sell some Quaker State Full Synthetic oil. Hope to see some of our friends and fans there.

On Track Celebration

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Thank you Sunset Speedway For Recognizing Our 2500th Race & Allowing This Moment To Be A Great Memory

The owners and promoters of Sunset Speedway extended an awesome memory to my team and I by taking the time, 30 minutes, to recognize our 2500th race. It was before the start of the feature, and all drivers got out of their cars and joined in this group shot with our team. Sunset management had this beautiful sign made up as well, a keep sake to go into our museum. I can’t thank them enough…..I’m also thankful to the fans who were awesome and made us feel this night was important to them as well, and that our team is part of the family at Sunset Speedway. Spencer Lewis was great as always, knowing how to make any event exciting, but really exciting for us. He was so classy and elegant in his pre interview hype and asking questions…..I must thank my wife, my children, my pit crews over the years, all my sponsors, promoters and race fans for making these past 2500 races such an incredible journey…….God bless everyone for this sport, the excitement, but most of all the relationships with awesome people, because the bottom line is the people and we are so blessed to have so many great friends and acquaintances……PS….I’m not retiring, we reached a milestone, and we still want to win a Championship, (40 more HP will help), we still want to race with my son and grandson or grand daughter in a series together and on the horizon is a consecutive night streak that is currently at 681 nights run without missing any. We could be a member of the 700 Club next spring.

David Gets Dad Ready For Milestone Race

Photo by Alain Thiboutot

The Moment……..Getting Ready To Run Race # 2500

After a great memorable pre race ceremony, prepared by the promoters of Sunset Speedway, who also made an amazing beautiful 2500 sign, David buckled me in for the feature and our 2500th race. We were pumped to reach this plateau, and the fans were pumped with us. It was so nice to have all of the drivers out on the track with our crew to celebrate this moment……There could be other racers with 2500 races, they would have had to keep track like I did. I started keeping stats back in 72. My first 3 years for Mini Stocks was in our books but not to the detail from 72 and on. A driver would not only have needed to keep track but had to run a lot of races every season. It’s not easy in Canada because we don’t start until late April or early May and stop by September or early mid October. If a racer drove 2 races a night, heat and feature and ran 25 nights, he would have 50 races in one year and 2500 after 50 seasons. Some of us ran more than 2 a night, max of 3, heat, consi and feature, or double heats and a feature, or still a heat, semi and feature. There were times when we ran the heat and consi and did not qualify and only had 2 races. Other times we did not start the heat, ran the consi and got in, or didn’t get in, maybe only made one race that night, or if we wrecked bad in warm ups, maybe no races. Some classes now only run a 12 race schedule. That would be 24 races a year at 2 a night and would take 104 years to reach 2500. Our average is 2.18 races per night and 25.38 race nights per year. Back in the early 70’s and 80’s the Hobby’s, CVM ran 30 plus nights a year, and in 1990 we ran 39 nights. Our team has averaged 25 nights per season since 1969 and that helped us reach the 2500 plateau. Perhaps more than counting races, counting wins would be a feat, and we only have 236, less than 10%. I’m sure some racers have won more than 10% of the races they’ve been in. However that is relative to car count. If the field is always low, winning is easier. My 33 years with the Hobby/CVM almost always produced more than 24 cars making qualifying a chore………this race, this milestone speaks more of dedication than anything else. Not wanting to miss any shows, not wanting to sit out of a race. It meant doing everything we could during the week to get to every race and once there, be in every race. I owe a debt of thanks to my wife Nonie for allowing me to do this for 45 years. To my Dad and Mom who helped and encouraged me, my children David and Shirley for being there and David for all his help and in put, like in this picture. My pit crews over the years have been amazing. Our 45th Anniversary book has a dedicated story on our crews. Our sponsors made it possible supporting us faithfully, thee biggest being Quaker State for 40 seasons. Various track promoters worked with me and helped at times for us to get to the next race. Bob Slack helped me get out of a jam our first night at Cayuga when Nonie and I towed our VW around the outside of the track. I didn’t know to go to the infield and soon I found myself in a V trapped between the front chute fence the grandstands, and nowhere to go. I also jack knifed the car trying to back up. Bob helped us through that ordeal and others in the 3 seasons we ran Mini Stocks…..My competitors played a big part in us reaching our 2500th race. Over the years of competing, drivers, owners and their crews helped in so many ways with parts, engines, fixing, welding and lending themselves so we would make the next race. Tonight could not happen without the help of all them. So to my family, crews, sponsors, competitors, promoters, track staff and fans thank you very much, I could not have done it without you.

Family Race Day

Sunset Speedway

Open Doors Presents….”Family Race Day”….This Coming Saturday At Sunset Speedway

Here is a great opportunity for a family to bring their child to a four hour day seminar, based on a Christian perspective. The class will be from noon until 4 and will include some time with my crew chief Bob Pereira. There will be games, team building and the a chance to get a ride around Sunset Speedway in one of Mark Dilley’s race cars……please call 905-636-0944 to reserve a place for you and your child or children….hope to see some of our fans and friends there.

Iron Man Triple Crown Race #2

33 Chev

Second Round O”Iron Man Triple Crown”……Sunday Flamboro Speedway

The second rain out for this race happened yesterday, but lucky there was a rain date set for Sunday September 8th. Tyler Brown is scheduled to race the car, but if for any reason he can’t make it or has other plans for not being able to make the race I have let him know through text, a phone call and face-book that I will drive the car to make sure it is the second of the three scheduled races. Tyler is set to run the final three races at Flamboro Speedway in our Coupe and then will race his own car, the former Champion car of Shane Stickel he purchased earlier this summer…..I hope the car is there, and it should be with either Tyler or me driving.

Iron Man Triple Crown…Race #2

Debbie-Jo Photo

Brian Atkinson Wins #2…Corey Jones Leads Series…..Here We Play Hop Scotch Much Better

Well it was a day to forget for me as far as running with the CVM boys was concerned, at least until Sunset Speedway. It was a weird day, just getting to the track. No hot laps and one heat produced the inability to figure out the car in time for the feature. I kind of had fun, I think. Started 12th finished 10th, not very good, but the car was tight and worse we got held up so long trying to pass the 11th place car, by the time we got into tenth spot coming off two, the group of nine were at Clappison’s Corners and there was no way to catch up without a caution, they were just too far ahead. Not sure if I could have done anything with them anyway. The car was so tight in the middle I had to slow down a ton to get it to stay put in the turns. We gained on the pack but needed until Monday afternoon or a caution to catch them. The good news is the car is mint condition wise. No damage at all, going too slow to get in trouble. I brought the car home and did a 14 point check list including changing the oil and filter, charging the battery and nut and bolt check. I dropped the Coupe off to Tyler today and he will need to set the toe or check it, I didn’t hit anything but it’s worth a check. Then get enough laps in to see how the car is for him. It might be just me, the car might be perfect, right. Driving a Late Model with power steering and racing the Coupe with no power assist, street tires and heavy steering makes for a big change jumping from one to the other. Like going from a BMW to a John Deere. Just so hard to steer and tight, but I love racing this car, loved I mean, it or me has changed. Maybe Tyler being 70 years younger can get-er’ done………It was good to be in our race, Iron Man Triple Crown, but would have been better to finish with the school of fish up front…….our next time in the Coupe is on Saturday September 28th at Sunset and I hope to get some hot laps around that track and fair better than I did at Flamboro….there were only 14 cars wow, but all divisions were weak, Late Models 10, SLM 12, Thunder Cars 12, Pro 4 nine cars, terrible over all…..The best class car count wise was the OSCAAR Mods with 15. But in 30 laps they had 9 yellows and 2 reds. Too bad because they have a good growing club……..The CVM did put on a good show for the fans, I wasn’t really close enough to see it, but what I could see looked exciting……….In this Debbie-Jo Zardo picture, it appears I am playing “hop-scotch”….not sure how to play that, but I couldn’t have done any worse….but!!! looking forward to Sunset and end the season in the Coupe on a positive. The last time at Sunset we finished 5th.

Million Biker Protest In Washington

Bikers Take A Stand

Remembering 9-11….We Won’t Ever Forget This Day

Imagine coming to a country that promotes freedom, then on the anniversary of one of the most horrifying acts of terrorism, a Muslim group decides to hold a March to denounce “anti-Islamophobia”. A slap in the face to Americans, this attempted victory lap by the Muslim community is about as insensitive and tasteless as the men from the Westbro Baptist church in Kansas, that protest soldiers funerals and gay deaths. Thankfully, many Muslims won’t participate, and even better is the organized group of Bikers who are there now with full intention of crushing the Muslim March (not violently) but by their overwhelming presence. Reports state 2 million Bikers, (that seems a lot) , have descended on Washington to rebuke the Muslim Mock and and remember those lost on 9-11.

Kids Win Bikes For Best Drawings

Lisa Lott Photo

Little Boy Wins Bike For Drawing Of Our Car, Little Girl Wins For Drawing Of Shane Maginnis Car

Our racing industry is made up of some key elements, promoters, racers, sponsors, suppliers and fans. Without race tracks there would be no race teams or venues for sponsors. Without race teams there would be no entertainment for race tracks, or opportunities for sponsors. Without sponsors race tracks and race teams would need to be self sufficient. Without fans none of this would matter, because every aspect of our sport relies on a good fan base¡K¡KJohn Karley, a racer and sponsor, knows the importance of fans and sponsored 2 Bikes for kids to win, a boy and girls Bike. The contest winners were determined by the best poster voted on by the fans. Our team is very proud that the winning boy chose our car to draw and we thank him very much. Also to the young lady who won, and to all of those who participated but unfortunately did not win¡K..Involving kids in contests at race tracks is a win-win for our sport because it helps increase attendance. More tracks need to work harder in the off season getting nightly prizes to give away to the fans, as do race teams. If every team, or 30 teams of the 70 that race at most home tracks gave away one Bike each, there could be a boys and girls Bike given away every week. Maybe I’ll suggest that for 2014……Meanwhile thanks to John for sponsoring the Bikes and to these precious fans for taking the time to draw these pictures, we appreciate it very much.

Bruce Gowland #18 Crosses The Finish Line

Dave Franks Photo

Sad News Of The Passing Of Long Time Racer, Both Here & In The USA

(taken from Len Townson)…”A racing icon here in Ontario Canada has just passed away. Bruce Gowland competed at many levels of racing over the years, ASA, ACT, OSCAAR, & annually at New Symrna Speedway during Speedweeks in February and also with Lake Ontario Truck & Tractor Pullers Assoc. with his Orient Express puller. He will be greatly missed here in the racing community“……….In 2011, at Octoberfest I got to tour Bruce’s hauler with my crew chief Bob, it was very impressive, lots of pictures, kind of a mini museum in his trailer. He sure loved to tour around. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and close friends.

Fan Appreciation Night September 14th

Debiie-Jo Photo

Last Night Of Points…Will Mike Bentley Win His First Title…Fan Appreciation Night

The season is slowly coming to an end. We still have 5 more race nights left, and our team will be doing at least 3 more shows. Next Saturday is the Garry Reynolds Memorial at Barrie Speedway, the Velocity 250 at Sunset on the weekend of the 28th, Octoberfest at Flamboro October 5th and the year finishes at Peterborough Speedway for the biggest of all, “Autumn Colors”, Thanksgiving weekend…..Tonight Sunset Speedway will be buzzing for lots of reasons. The Late Model Championship is up for grabs, although a smooth and patient Mike Bentley should have enough to win it as long as he stays within a few car lengths ahead or behind Tom Walters. I’m guessing he would prefer ahead…….we will draw for the winners of our contest, the 2500th Race Contest. Someone will win 4 tickets to the Velocity 250, plus our apparel, to be given out on the Velocity weekend……it’s Fan Appreciation Night and the kids big and small will get a final chance to see their favourite drivers up close and get an autograph card……It’s a potentially important night for our team as well. we are 12th in points, but only 8 out of 10th. Anthony Simone is 11th, one point ahead, and Ernie Fumerton is 10th, just 7 points ahead. Will be important for our team to salvage this season with a top 10 in the points. It’s been a dismal year overall, although our team has worked hard to get us better the past 5 weeks, where we gained 50 points. Finishing tenth would be a good end to a painful season……. It will be cold, but should be a fun night for fans, and a good night of hard racing. Don’t miss it.

Mike Bentley Sunset Speedway Champion

Late Model Champion

Sunset Late Model Champion #51 Mike Bentley

The 2013 season ended on a high note for Mike Bentley and his team as they won the very competitive Late Model Championship for 2013. Mike had a great season, winning many heat races like this one and being very strong and consistent in every feature through the season. This team came very close in 2012 to winning the title but couldn’t get it done. There wasn’t a lot to do to the car over the winter because it was the car to beat and they proved it this year by winning the points on the final night of racing……congrats to Mike and his team they deserve the title and all that goes with being the Champion.

2500 Hoodie’s Available

Greg Calnan Design

Hoodies To celebrate Our 2500th Race

It only took 45 years, but we have our first ever apparel available to our friends and fans. The Hoodies are $49.72 including taxes. They are excellent quality. We also have T-Shirts for $22 including taxes……You can order them by emailing us at gelliot@cogeco.ca….thank you.

MacMaster Buick GMC Tailgate Event

Orangeville

Quaker State Team Supports MacMaster Buick GMC Customer Appreciation Event

Chris Brading my long time friend and Fixed Operations Manager from MacMaster Buick GMC invited our team to bring the Quaker State Impala to their Tailgate Saturday September 21st….today…this event with feature other wild hot rods, truck show and shine, prizes and food. My grandson Gehrig and I will head out before 8am to arrive in Orangeville for set up and ready to hand out our 40th Anniversary Quaker State books and autograph cards to the customers and staff of this excellent dealership by 10am……Try to make it up, have a burger and buy a GM or at least get an oil change done with Quaker State Full Synthetic oil……..It will be a fun day and is a go rain or shine’.

Wallace Chevrolet Corvette Show

Milton GM Dealer

Quaker State Impala Heads To Milton For 8AM….Then Races To Barrie For Garry Reynolds Memorial

On Sunday morning and early afternoon, we will be at Wallace Chevrolet in Milton for the WALLACE MAIN STRRET CORVETTE SHOW from 8AM until 1PM. This show will be exciting with perhaps 100 Corvette owners coming to show their awesome cars. This is an annual event and a must to see. There will be a full line up of Chev Pick Up trucks and awards for the winning Corvette’s will be handed out around noon…………. The Garry Reynolds Memorial 100 lapper was rained out Saturday and rescheduled for Sunday. Pits open at 9AM with practice around 10:30. Races and qualifying will start at 2PM. This will be tough on our team as we will be in Milton until at least 1PM. We’re hoping to get away by 1:00 so we can get to the track and make one set of heats. We will be in big trouble if there are over 24 cars. If not, and we don’t make any heat races, we will be allowed to start last, and more than likely would be last if we only make one heat as well. I hope there are 23 cars, and we make #24, that would be the perfect scenario for us. Bob and I will head to Milton at 7:15 in the morning, get there by 8:00 and set up where we can escape as soon as the Dealer Principal gives us the green light.

Dwayne & Sherry Baker

Barrie Speedway

Dwayne Baker Wins Garry Reynolds Memorial 100 Lap Special

There was lots to cheer about on Sunday. There was no rain and tons of cars, making the promoters glad. We made the feature so we were ecstatic. But no one was as happy as the team in this picture. Dwayne and Sherry hold the Garry Reynolds Memorial trophy after they won the prestigious Garry Reynolds Memorial event quite handily. Dwayne took the lead from Mike Bentley, passing him on the outside and then pulling away by as much as 10 car lengths to easily claim the victory. Mike was great in the heats, winning both, one from the back, but Dwayne found extra juice to takeover the lead around lap 75 then go on to take the checker and do so convincingly. Mike Bentley was 2nd and Gord Shepherd finished 3rd …….we ran good considering but a very loose car gave us trouble in the dying laps of the first 50, however that wouldn’t be our demise as the car overheated badly sending a water geyser well into the atmosphere. The whole story is on Dairy of a Season 13 found in our Message Board in General Chat on the left side of this site……next race is this weekend the Velocity 250 for our Late Model and the final race of the season for the Vintage Modified

Dwayne & Sherry Baker

Barrie Speedway

Dwayne Baker Wins Garry Reynolds Memorial 100 Lap Special

Sunset Speedway Velocity 250

Free Book With Donation

Gary Elliott Motorsports & Sunset Speedway Support Local Food Bank

This Saturday and Sunday at Sunset Speedway we will give away our Quaker State 40th Anniversary souvenir books for a donation of a non perishable food gift or toonie to go towards the local Innisfil Food Bank. Please support the Food Banks, they are a tremendous help to those who are suffering financially and struggle to get the basics in life, namely food. The book is 52 pages, comes with a full color poster of everyone of our cars sponsored by Quaker State. Thank you……..and see you at the Velocity 250.

Coupe & Late Model This Weekend

Sunset Speedway

Buttons Guards Coupe At Sunset Speedway….Coupe Goes Saturday, Late Model Both Days

This will be the final race of the 2013 season for Sunset Speedway. The Velocity 250 will feature all the home track series, as well as the CVM, both OSCAAR Super Late Models and Mods and Pro Challenge. We will run our heats and feature in the CVM on Saturday with qualifying for the Late Models on Saturday and the feature on Sunday……check the Sunset Speedway logo to the right of this picture to see the times and prices to go to this event…..we’re hoping to have a good run in the CVM, the club has decent parity. As far as the LIMITED Late Model is concerned, that deal might be tough for us. We hope to be in the top 7 or 8 by lap 50, just before the fast LIMITED Lates catch and pass us. They will lap most of the field by then, certainly if there is a long run. Most of the LLM Invitational events have revealed that 70% of the field (not just me) mistakenly were in the wrong class…….Buttons came with me to Sunset and we got a few hot laps on the car. She gave her stamp of approval for this weekend, other than a small issue the car felt fast. It would be so good to hold a flag at Sunset this year, maybe in the 33 Chev…….see you there and please bring a food item for the Food Bank thank you!!!!

Hall Of Famer Tom Walters Wins Velocity 250

Mr. Unbelievable

Tom Walters Wins Very Next Race After Being Inducted Into Canadian Stock Car Hall of Fame

It was the Tom Walters show, even with him away on the Saturday the talk in the pits was him being inducted into the Hall of Fame. What an honor, and so deserving as a dominant racer, one of Canada’s best ever….Tom had to qualify on Sunday by starting at the back of the last chance. He won that race on the last lap coming off four….In the feature the HOF Warrior started 20th and by lap 14 was up to 8th and by lap 40 was leading. Incredible weekend for Tom and his crew, just an amazing career and it’s not done….our run in the Velocity 250 was good. There were 18 cars with more power, but we managed to qualify 10th and after starting pole and get eaten out by the eight Pack Men behind me. We held on to 9th from lap 14 until lap 28, However even on that restart we were able to maintain 9th. We were only a few car lengths behind 95, 37 and 41, and having a decent run until chaos hit our rear suspension. We were very luck as the trailing arm bracket broke coming off two sending us to the wall but we’re lucky not to get into the cement or anyone else….It ended our day and was on lap 36. Great job by our crew all weekend. More on that on Diary of a Season 2013, very soon.

Velocity 250 Sunset Speedway

Eric Uprichard Photo

Racing Hard With 7 Time Champion Chris Morrow

There were 32 cars for the Sunset Speedway Late Model Velocity 250. Eighteen would qualify through the heats and 8 out of the last chance. We qualified 10th and made the feature. We started up front and though our car was handling very well, we were down in power but held on to 9th until lap 36. In this Ontario Oval picture, taken by Eric Uprichard, we are racing with hard charging clean running Chris Morrow. Actually all the drivers were clean this day, a very good show with lots of action…..Tom Walters won the race and Chris finished 5th. Our race ended on lap 36 with a broken RR trailing arm bracket, but we were lucky to stay off the back chute wall…more pictures to come.

Mayhem On Lap 36

Lisa Davidson Photo

Towed Off Velocity 250….Could Have Been Much Worse

On lap 36 of the 75 lapper at Sunset Speedway our car went nuts coming off two. I thought for sure someone was into the side of me and wouldn’t back out, that’s what it felt like. It lasted all the way down the back chute with smoke coming inside the car, banging, jumping and nearly being turned low as the car was out of control for the entire back straight. As it turned out, David informed me that no one got into me, “something broke Dad, you were so lucky not to go straight into the wall”. I was a little disappointed to be out but much happier knowing my fund deleted VISA card would not need to be energized to get me to Autumn Colors. Being towed off this way was better than a flat bed and the Demon’s may have been on the side lines guessing a flat bed for this one. Good news is that my prayer before the race was to protect our car and all the drivers…..Demon’s lose, Prayers answered….thank you Lord. The full story, with or without the Demon’s is on Diary of a Season 2013, the Prayer part will be there.

Broken Bracket Weld Ends Velocity

We Were Fortunate

Disaster At The Door, We Were Thankful

Coming off turn four on lap 36 the weld holding this trailing arm-shock bracket let go moving the right rear wheel ahead 6 or 7 inches towards the front of the car making the car hard to control and out of control on the back chute. The good news is we made it to turn three and got out of the way of the 17 cars behind us, the only other damage appears to be the body of the shock………We took the car to Bob’s shop on Monday night and it was re-welded in 20 minutes. That was close for sure, but a prayer before the race, not to win but to protect our car and all the drivers, was answered……this weekend is Octoberfest at Flamboro Speedway, we will be helping David who will be driving his Late Model, the one Kenny Wallace drove…..on Saturday our car will be on display at Portico Community Church from 4:30 until 7…….then we prepare for Autumn Colors.

Broken Bracket Weld On The Mend

Bob Pereira

It Was The Weld That Was Not Good Enough

The issue with our car wasn’t the bracket, as much as it was the weld holding on the bracket. In the picture below it’s easy to see the bracket is holding 75% or more weld on it, rather than it and the housing. Bob made sure there was good penetration as he reattaches the bracket with a good strong weld……..had we been at the track we would not have missed a race. The shock body has some damage but we have a spare and will replace it……Next up is David racing Octoberfest at Flamboro. We’ve heard some good news that pit prices have been lowered….on Saturday afternoon we take our Late Model to Portico Community Church in Mississauga….our next race will be Autumn Colors as we convert our Limit Late Model into a Pro Late……hmmmm, less weight, less ride height, more left side %, 10: wheels and a 4 barrel and maybe the little clutch….can’t wait…..PS….Diary OF A Season is up dated now.

Portico Community Church

Late Model Going To Church

Saturday Night Gospel & Talking About Racing

We have been invited to bring our car to Portico Community church in Mississauga on Saturday October 5th to share about racing and my faith. Gehrig and I will be there by 5 and stay until 8PM and then head back home. I had my car there once before a few years ago and it was a fun place to be, looking forward to showing these people our race car, and for most it will be a first…..once back home we will start to do the final prep for Peterborough’s Autumn Colors to run in the Pro Late 113 lap feature. More on Autumn colors and this event over the next few days.

Portico Community Church

Mississauga

Pastor Amal & His Daughters Loved Our Race Car

We had our car on display at the Portico Community church in Mississauga on Saturday evening. Pastor Amal, leads an Arab church group every Saturday night and through our mutual friend, Julie-Anne an arrangement was made for us to bring the car to the church. Gehrig came with me and was a big hit with the young kids as he explained many aspects of the car to the wide-eyed youngsters whom most, had never seen a race car before in real life……I spoke to the people inside the church about racing and shared my faith in Jesus Christ. It was a good night, we gave away many of our Quaker State 40th Anniversary souvenir books and signed autograph cards…..we loaded up about 8:30 and then it started to rain, so we were blessed in many ways…now our team prepares for the final race of the year at Peterborough Speedway’s Autumn Colors. This will be our 10th time there and 9th in a row, looking forward to it with my friends Jim, Ken, Linda, Steff, and of course my family and other close friends.

2013 Autumn Colors Classic Weekend

Peterborough Speedway

Quaker State Team Heading To Peterborough For 21st Annual Autumn Colors Classic

Our team is excited to be participating for the 9th straight season, in the biggest race event of the year, the Autumn Colors Classic at Peterborough Speedway. It’s perhaps the most Carnival like atmosphere of all the special events throughout the year. Lots of classes, fast moving show, the end of the season, many drivers pumped, giving it all they got because they have all winter to fix their machines. Cars get wrecked, tempers flare and the packed grandstands make remind of the days of the Roman Colosseum with Chariots racing hard and wild…… We have had good and bad luck in this show, mostly bad, but that hasn’t deflated us to the point of giving up. We know our car is outdated compared to most of the field, but we also know a well set up car, new or older can be very competitive. This track is small but extremely fast for it’s size and is perhaps the fastest of all when comparing the intensity and room to move when things go crazy, and guaranteed they will. We carry a lot of speed into turn 3, then need to brake hard and get off turn four smooth as possible because the front chute wall comes up quick, all part of the Gladiator atmosphere for this awesome show…….we have made several changes to our car to make it as competitive as possible. We’ll be running against some very tough competitors with very good equipment, but we feel this years version of our Pro Late Model will be competitive. We’re going for the win, hoping for a podium finish……hope to see you there, bring a sweater.

Heat Qualifying At Peterborough Autumn Colors

Eric Uprichard Photo

Two Great Heat Runs Qualified Us 5th Overall

Our car was very fast all week end. We ran our Velocity tires for both heat races, taking 3rd in each, the car was very good. New tires for the feature would have given us a shot at a podium but a leaking gas cap forced us to pit on lap one after fuel got on the track causing a yellow. I’m glad no one got wrecked because of that…….we returned at the back of the pack and worked our way up to 12th by lap 35. Our car was fast but on lap 45 trying to make a pass going into turn one we hit Shawn Chenoweth on the rear quarter. His car spun, I checked up and slowly went under him on the grass. I thought I was okay to do that, but it was a big mistake because his car rolled back into us very hard, and resulted in severe damage to our right rear frame area. Our crew worked very hard, but by the time they got the steel body brace off the right rear tire we were 17 laps down. There were still 21 cars left in the race and we returned to finish 15th…….very disappointing for us, but our best outing yet at Peterborough……special thanks to Jim, Ken, Linda and Steff for dedicating there weekend to help me, they were there from Friday on. Also thanks to our grandson Gehrig for getting the car unloaded each morning, to the boys from the #79 Limited Late team Daryl and Corey and to Don for helping us on Sunday. We had a shot at it, just needed a break that wasn’t to be.

Chris Mitchell & Jamie Cox Crash In Three

Debbie-Jo Photo

Bad Crash In Pro Late Model Feature Takes Out Two Champions

The Autumn Colors Classic came to an early and devastating end for two racers. Jamie Cox #22 and Chris Mitchell #88 got together on the back chute going into turn three. The resulting crash left Jamie’s car stuck on the wall and needed two tow trucks to get it off the wall. Both drivers were okay…..Earlier in the evening, Chris had an awesome run finishing 2nd in the Late Model feature after leading most every lap…..our results are written on the message board in General Chat under Diary of a Season 2013.

Show Cancelled

Flamboro Speedway

No Octoberfest For 2013

There were lots of cars lined up to come into the pits, but the gates never opened as the show was cancelled due to the threat of rain. Sunday was forecast to be good, but with only 3 classes scheduled to race on Sunday, Late Model, Thunder Car and Mini Stock, the revenue lost by not running the OSS, OSCAAR Mods, Hurricane Midgets, Pro 4 and Pure Stocks on Saturday night could have been the reason to cancel it all. Saturdays show may have produced 70 cars and 300 people or more, that’s a lot of money to lose. I’m guessing that was the main factor in the decision to cancel rather than weather………..I think the Sunday show was possible on it’s own, start early, complete the qualifying and run the features. The problem is the cost for those 3 shows was very high and may have been too much of a gamble to run with little pit gate revenue……….the down side is the decision to call it this late. Flamboro may have upset lots of travelling teams. A fuel saving for all those heading to the track today, certainly would have been a positive had the show been cancelled Friday. The forecast for Saturday has been bad all week with not much hope of no rain. It’s also too bad for the race teams who use high octane gas and bought new tires, especially those who made changes just for this show, and don’t normally run those tires. Maybe if the tires still have stickers on them, the teams can return them, maybe, it doesn’t hurt to call and ask……Once again the weather didn’t help Flamboro Speedway, but it’s too bad the decision to cancel both days wasn’t considered more, and maybe it was. I agree that only so much money can be thrown away or lost. Most people would understand that, it’s how it’s handled that makes it a good or bad decision, it’s not a win win for anyone……….On a side note, with all the Global Warming we are suppose to be experiencing, why is it so darn cold? Maybe Global Warning wasn’t true, or maybe it’s come and gone…..next week is Frost Fest, that should be an exciting event, hopefully the weather is good.

Show Cancelled

Flamboro Speedway

No Octoberfest For 2013

Frost Fest This Saturday October 26th

Flamboro Speedway

Frost Fest Super Show This Saturday…Flamboro Speedway….Rain Date Sunday October 27th

The final race of the 2013 season will be this coming Saturday at Flamboro Speedway. London Recreational is sponsoring this prestigious Invitational for Mini Stocks and Thunder Cars, offering a great pay day. Dirt Modifieds will make their debut on one third paved oval………the rain date is set for October 27th, lets hope the weather co-operates for this special event…..a big salute to Mike Schmidt and the people at London Recreational for making this show a spectacular event.

Queenston Chev Show With Dana

Queeston Chev

Dana Poses With Our Race Car…..Final Day For The Quaker State Car At Queenston Chevrolet

We were invited by Quaker State to take part in a special event at Queenston Chevrolet in Hamilton on the mountain. Though cold out, many people have dropped by to see the car and meet Dana, a model who is greeting customers involved in this special event. Dana wanted to driver the car, I said no, but she could get a picture with it 🙂 actually she obliged to have her picture taken to liven up our web site……our next show will be on Saturday at Old Mill Buick in Toronto, St. Clair and Jane St. 11:00 am until 3: pm. They are having a barbecue in support of breast cancer.

Rexdale……Owner A.J. & His Jiffy Lube Staff

October 25-26-27

Jiffy Lube & Blue Wave Car Wash….355 Rexdale Blvd….Grand Opening

We have our Lincoln Welders Coupe on display for the Grand Opening of this awesome Jiffy Lube and Blue Wave car wash. AJ and his staff are looking for a busy three days to celebrate this franchise location on the very busy Rexdale Blvd, just east of Woodbine race track and highway 27……drop by and see the race car, get an oil change and car wash. The weather looks good for Friday and Sunday, I will be there all day Sunday, Gehrig will be there all day Saturday.

Old Mill Buick….’Breast Cancer Fund Raiser’

Service Department

Quaker State Pro Late Model Helps With Old Mill Buick Event

We were invited to bring our Quaker State car, David’s Pro Late Model, to Old Mill Buick in Toronto, for a special barbecue and silent auction. This was a donation event to help support Breast Cancer research. Gehrig came with me to the Dealership and was a big help getting the car unloaded and talking to adults and kids about our car. We were able to show some of the long time staff a picture in our new Quaker State 40th Anniversary souvenir program a picture from 1975 with Old Mill Pontiac on the car. They were our main sponsor for our Hobby car in 1975 and 1976…..Our first brand new car was purchased from Old Mill Pontiac on Bloor just west of Jane and the salesman, Doug Brown, who sold us the 1976 Grand Prix LJ, was still there. It was good to see him again…..it was cold wet and damp, but many customers and guests came in to see the car, get an autograph and our Quaker State 40th Anniversary book. In spite of the weather it was a great event. We’ve been asked to come back in the spring for another promotional display.

33 Chev Coupe For Sale

CVM

Selling Our Chev Coupe…….$8500 Complete

I can’t believe I finally am willing to part with our CVM 33 Chev Coupe. Bought this car in 1990 from Fred Poets, who bought it from Jim Bunting, who raced it with Terry Coates. They got it from John Hasselfelt. John raced this car (body) back in the early 80’s…….we built a brand new chassis in 99 and won the title that year. Since then the car has been equipped with a Crate engine, very strong engine I must add, and the addition this year of “wide 5’s and hubs”. The sale comes with everything we have, 6 sets of gears and 2 spare transmissions, plus some springs, shocks and other odds and ends…The car needs some work, but not much to get it on the track…………for inquiries, email me at gelliot@cogeco.ca

Barrie Speedway Win 2004

Barrie Speedway

Chev Coupe Sold……Ends 42 Seasons With CVM & A Million Memories

The Coupe is gone, ending our 42 year run with the Ontario Amateur Racing Club, also known as the Hobby Club and now the Canadian Vintage Modifieds. It leaves on a good note, giving us many great memories in its 23 seasons with us. This car brought us the 1999 points Championship, 10 feature wins, including the last Hobby feature at Barrie Speedway on the old track in 2004. We lead the points twice in 2004 only to lose out by two blown engines. Our last feature win with this car was in 2007 at Flamboro. …………We bought the 33 Chev Coupe in 1989 from Fred Poets. Fred got it from Jim Bunting who had raced it with Terry Coates. Tim Young drove it in the early 80’s buying it from John Hasselfeldt……. In the winter of 1989 Ray Hughes built a new chassis for us and we won the Club Championship and the Twin 25 Championship in 1990….…..in 2005 we bought the Late Model and it was suggested for me to get rid of the Coupe. I went out in the garage, took one look at it and decided there was no way I could or would sell it. I just couldn’t. There were too many memories, too much nostalgia, family, history, fun and stories. I could not sell the car. At the time my grand kids were very young and finding room in the garage was not an issue. Soon however David came into the garage with his Late Model and then space did become an issue. The odd car out was the Coupe, and to be outside under a tarp, on stands because there was no room in our small shop with 2 Late Models……….Over the years we had other fine gentlemen race this car. The Pontello’s, Korenyi’s, Chris Brading, Dereck Mellenbacher and Rick Schurr, all had a time in the Coupe and Rick won Rookie of the Year, driving under his Dad, and my hero, Glen Schurr’s number 36……….. fast forward to present and there is just too much stuff going on now with racing, equipment and most of all room. There is no place for us to keep this little rocket. I wished we had a bigger shop but that’s next to impossible for us financially. We currently have 2 Late Models, a Mini Stock and a Go Cart. The Go Cart is for sale as Lauren moves to Mini Stock in 2014……..Grandpa has no intentions of sitting out just yet, in fact the goal of a Championship is still on the wish list and the drive to make that happen is strong with my very supportive crew and family. Sponsors are important and will be a determining factor for us to make that happen and so far we are looking great for 2014…….My plans are to race for 50 seasons, and God willing that will be for five more years………………I also want to race in a Mini Series with my Son and Grand Son and Grand Daughter if possible. Selling the Coupe and retiring from the CVM wasn’t an easy decision, there are a Million memories and as many miles both on and off the track if we traced this car’s history…..It’s going to a good family, may be parked for a while, not sure, but as for us we have the pictures and memories to help us never forget this car, and more importantly the fun we had racing with the Hobby…CVM club.

Banquet Generous For Our Teams

Sunset Speedway

Late Model and Mini Stock Win Best Appearing Car Awards

Sorry for taking so long to get an update. I was waiting for pictures of Laurens trophy from Carting but she has no idea when we will get them….so with that indefinite date, I had to post these for now…..these are the trophies from the Sunset Speedway banquet. Gehrig got the biggest trophy for finishing 4th in the standings. He also won Best Appearing Car. We got our 11th Best Appearing Car award, as well as Best Pit Crew and an award for promoting our sport and Sunset Speedway, the Media Award. That was nice, showed appreciation from the track……….I will be posting more stuff in the next few days with some news as well about 2014, sponsors who are back and other plans we have……stay tuned it won’t be as long.

Rebuild Begins For 2014

Bob Pereira

Getting An Early Start

We started stripping down our Late Model this week. Bob spent most of one night helping me. Lauren and then Gehrig chipped in making it possible to have the body, all but the roof, removed for replacing. We will need to replace some sides bars, and the front bumper as well. There will be lots to do over the next few weeks, but we’re on our way and will keep our sight updated.

Stripped Down….Much To Do

2014 Project Underway

Engine & Driveline To Come Out Next

I was away last weekend for a big family event in Nova Scotia so no time was put on this car, but over the past few weeks lots of things have been going on behind the scenes, but nothing real concrete to mention just yet. I am in the midst of getting our sponsors back on board for 2014 as well as a few new partners. We will lose a few sponsors at the end of this season for a variety of reasons, but we are thankful they were with us for 2013 and wish them the best in the coming year……..our engine and drive line will be removed soon and as we make plans to add some HP in our car. The car worked well at Peterborough, so a new car is not going to happen, but it’s not in the budget regardless. We will make some improvements to our car that might include only racing a few shows at Sunset. We know we were down on HP for certain, but according to the top 3 drivers at Sunset, my problem isn’t HP it’s handling. They all have the best equipment and so do many of the rest who can’t keep up. I can’t afford to spend mega money and still not be on an even or even close playing field. Flamboro might be off on some things but I must admit their engine rule for Late Models is the best in Ontario, although when you visit the track some racers swear other teams are rebuilding their Crates….so rather than waste another season of being totally out of it, we will try the HP and if we still can’t keep up we will have to adjust our schedule…….we will be racing an OSCAAR Mod is 2014 and those plans will be revealed soon.

Go Cart Sold

Moving Up

Go Cart Sold, Now Lauren Will Move Into Stock Car Racing

After 6 years racing go carts Lauren will race in the Mini Stock class at Sunset Speedway in 2014. She will share the driving with Gehrig who will race all the Opens and Specials. Lauren is looking forward to racing the Honda. She was to do good in school and her first term marks saw an average of 74, to we are happy with her school effort and look forward to her making rookie season at Sunset……..Gehrig will also get a few opportunities to race a Late Model, but the exact races for him will be determined later…….we have many of our sponsors back with us in 2014, although we’re still finalizing over the next few weeks…..we have a show car now to help with all the shows we will be doing after February. In 2012 we made 27 race nights and 19 shows, the most shows ever. We surpassed that this year with 22 shows and 29 race nights. A show car will help and we will be doing a post on that soon as well.

OSCAAR Bound 2014

Mike Westwood Production

Our New OSCAAR Mod For 2014, Built By Mike Westwood

It was tough selling the CVM, no doubt, 42 years in Canada’s longest running stock car club brought many great memories. During the time we raced in the Hobby class, I always thought if the NASCAR Modifieds ever came to Ontario I would want to be in one, I just loved the look of those very fast sleek chariots. Soon the All Pro Modifieds appeared but they weren’t really what I was looking for, not the style I wanted to race…… There is a debt of thanks to be given to all those dedicated All Pro Mod drivers for keeping the class going. The Burrows, Bill and sons, all contributed to keeping the class alive……. Two years ago, OSCAAR formed a class called OSCAAR Mod’s, many from the existing All Pro Modified classes in Ontario. It was a brilliant move to get these cars under one umbrella, but even more important to me was the fact they resembled the NASCAR Mods, my favorite class since the late 70’s…..well now we have one, a Mike Westwood creation, built around a Troyer chassis. We are planning to have this car ready for the CME show in February. More on the progress of this car and the rest of our team very soon.

OSCAAR Modified Press ReLease

Concept Mod 2014

15 Race Schedule For Mods

Merry Christmas

Peace On Earth

Jesus Is The Reason For All Seasons…..We Celebrate The Birth Of Our Savior

Merry Christmas to all our friends. May this Christmas bring peace joy and love to all of you. God sent His Son so we could have eternal life, the greatest gift ever given to all of us……………Hoping that 2014 is a healthy fun and prosperous year for you all, even if not monetary, but by the many blessings God will send you…..Merry Christmas!!!!

2014 A New Year

2014

Happy New Year To All Our Racing Friends

2012 LM History

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Gary ElliottJuly 16, 2015

Team Starts Reassemble

Gordon Nicholson Photo

Three Weeks Until Lettering Date

We are well on our way to getting our car put back together. In this photo by Gordon, Bob Pereria our crew chief, starts to assemble the suspension parts we got back from Mike McColl’s. Steve Bradt, you can just see his shadow, is working on other parts of the car. Our goal is to have the car assembled so we can get it to Steve Lyons at Creative Edge by the first Friday in February for lettering for the CME show February 9,10 and 11th. So far so good, but lots more to do. Our grandson Gehrig is also helping where he can, this is an exciting time for him as his Mini Stock should be showing up soon. Mike March is getting it ready to deliver to us and we’ll finish it off and then get it painted. Our grand daughter Lauren will run one more year in go-karts and then join us on the oval. More to come every day.

Green Side Up

Gord Nicholson Photo

Chassis And Interior Repainted

All the parts are slowly going back on the car. We had the interior painted 2010 Camaro green, same as our exterior last year. Gauges and other bolt on stuff are in and next will be the quick change, suspension and the rest of the interior etc, etc. Thanks to Bob, Steve and Gehrig for putting in the extra effort. We are early, but that’s good. Every year I want to go to the gym about a month before racing but find myself too busy. Maybe I can do it in 2012.

Bob & Steve Hard At It

Me Taking Pictures

Chassis Almost Done

We got a good days work in today. Bob and Steve helped out immensely getting the final parts of the chassis on and all the brakes. Steve is working on the battery charging posts and Bob the seat belts. With the body off and most of the interior panels not yet installed, we have tons of room to get easy access to everything. Our hopes are to have the car ready for the engine next week end. Once the driveline is in, we can get the rad, hoss, shroud, and all the other bolt on stuff in the car before the body goes on. We’re in good shape and sure happy we’re getting this work done now…….I also pulled the gears 567, out of our Coupe to give to Billy Rowse. He loaned them to us last year when his son Rob drove the car. Billy has offered to help us anytime we are short handed crew wise at Sunset.

CVM Gears Come Out

January 15th

Removing The 567′ Gears

There is one thing going to happen for certain before the 2012 season, me getting a little stronger. Not so I can be in shape to race, but so I can remove a set of 9″ gears out of my Coupe without half crushing my head. Billy Rowse loaned us gears for the final race in 2011 and needed them this weekend. We got the Coupe inside and I tried hard to hint and con, I mean have my crew, pull them out for me. Bob and Steve both had to leave around 1:pm, no problem, we were done on the LM, so it was okay, but I still had to get those gears out. Gears never use to be that heavy (when I was young), although I’ll admit they were never easy to mess with at anytime in the past 43 years. I thought maybe my grandson could pull them out…that thought lasted less time than it took me to write it here. In this picture Gehrig is under the car taking off the nuts holding the gears in the housing. He said it was ready, I said “I can lift the ten nuts, you get the one set of gears”, but he didn’t get the humor, nor was I serious, he couldn’t lift the gears out, no way not yet anyhow, maybe in a few years, but I only had a few hours. The problem with gears is multiple. They are awkward, slippery, 18″ off the ground, move when you grab them anywhere, did I mention “heavy” and do damage when they fall on your body. Okay, they’re not 100 pounds but they are heavy. So what’s the answer? Quick change boys, get quick changes in the Coupes. Anyway when we (I) got them out, Gehrig said “what happened to your head”. He was referring to the nice bump and lots of oil on my head. It wasn’t pretty. I’m glad someone else is driving my car at all the tracks but Sunset, I’m racing the Coupe at Sunset in 2012, and the good news for me is Mike March and his crew, or Rick Schurr and his boys will have the car ready for me when it gets to Sunset…..Gears & Transmission (another dumb piece). The tranny is just as heavy but at least it will slide back and can be rested on the cross member, then slowly angled down onto my stomach or chest then out the side. The gears are ruthless, when you do get them freed up and ready to come out, no matter how good the grip they immediately tilt and plunge the foot and half onto my Jurassic Park frame. Okay enough whining, we got it done. This week we will try and finish the interior of the Late Model. Then the drive line goes in. It’s getting done with little or no problems yet. More pictures will be posted every day.

Bob Pereira Getting New Masters In

January 16

Making Head Way

We knocked off a few more things tonight. Bob put in our new brake masters. Gehrig was given a box full of nuts and bolts and put them in the storage containers. We also install the battery charging posts and finsihed the seat belts. Steve was sick, but plans to be back with us Wednesday or Thursday when we get at it again. John Stefko thinks the engine update should be done by next week, if so, we’re right on schedule. We have an appointment with Steve Lyons to get the car lettered the week of February 4th, just in time for the CME show. Thanks to my crew Bob, Steve and Gehrig, for their consistent help, and the boys at Grisale’s for getting us all the right parts the first time. Dave Trendell has been a huge help.

Lisa Karley Drawing

CVM History 1986

1986 CVM History Going Up…Slowly

I decided to use this picture that Lisa Lott (Lisa Karley back in the day) drew of our car in 1986. She was a big fan of ours when she first came out to the races. Now she takes real pictures and videos, if I get close to Jason Shaw you will see me…lol…This was a great drawing and I apprecaited it very much, thank you Lisa. Her brother John Karley did one as well, it will be posted in 1986 somewhere, not sure where. He was no artist, but became a very good racer, a few years from 86………..Just starting to work on our 1986 CVM history. There are about 200 pictures to be uploaded, captioned and put in as close as possible “chronological order”. My notes help do that, as well as the club schedule and other news paper write ups. Example if I have pictures from Varney, I check my notes and if we only race there once, it’s good. I put the pictures in order of day to night, or heat races to feature race, based on how many cars are in the picture. My 1986 scrap book, like every book, has to be scanned on to a disc. Once the pictures are scanned they have to be put on my computer in a file that says CVM 72-2004. Once in the master file, and in their proper year, they are resized to fit the site. Then the pictures, (for the most part in order in our scrap book, because they were updated each year, week after week), are separated into specific files. There is a file for each track, “Flamboro, Sauble, Sunset, Cayuga” etc. A file for pre season, Hobby sponsors, promo stuff, banquet etc. Then each file is renamed so I don’t duplicate any photos. If I have a picture of Jim English winning a heat at Flamboro, I have to make sure I don’t just name it “English Wins” because he could have won a race at Varney or Sauble as well. So I name all the pictures in each file, let’s say in the Cayuga file there is 10 pictures. They will be “Cay-86” and then each picture in that file will be “Cay-86 (1)”, “Cay-86 (2)” and so on. That is only for me to make sure every picture has it’s own name and not duplicated. Once that’s done I still have to look close at the picture to make sure I get them in order when putting them on the site. So when uploading, “Cay-86 (4)” might be the first picture to go on because it’s an ad in a newspaper telling about the race, and to tell the story of the year properly, the earliest news should be posted first. I know what you’re thinking, this would suck the life out of a rock, but I love it and it keeps me thinking and remembering. My notes help a lot when writing comments for the pictures, although some incidents in certain years, were so profound and memorable, that a bunch of us, Ray, Kevin Cantwell, Jim Collision, Ron Shaw, Dave Bentley, Charlie Beck and many others could be sitting around talking about a special time in history and we’d remember it as if it just happened. It takes about 10 minutes to do each picture, that’s a little over 30 hours for each year. If I work on it for 4 5 hours a week, it would take a month a half to do one year. So if I was diligent enough to be able to dedicate that much time, on top of the rest of the stuff, I would be posting 1994 (Steve Lyons Rookie season) sometime in October, but the problem is, I don’t have the time in the summer to up load. I have reduced my on-line racing to three nights a week from seven, no TV, but getting our car ready, but should have time hopefully to get 1986 done by April, I hope. I mean April of 2012. By the way…just finished 1985, so don’t get too excited, I’ve been working on that year for 9 months….I’ll try to do better.

One More Day Then Bring The Engine

The Crew

Bob Gehrig and Steve

Things have been going together very smoothly. We are checking every piece that we install and making sure they don’t have to be replaced. We did the finishing touches on the interior tonight, fuel lines, switches, wiring for radios. Really easy with no body on the car. We still have the seat and a few small pieces to put in. Then we want to get me geared up for the Hans set up and test the radio’s etc. Once the engine is completed at Stefko’s we will install all of the drive line and then the body.

Steve & Bob Hard Working Crew

January 21st

Interior Almost Complete

Steve works the drill, Bob lends support and I take the shot. It was a great day for us as far as things going together without trouble. We got the seat installed, the cage padded, the radio wiring in, radios tested, the electrical wiring secured, the sway bar in and here the boys work on one of two interior panels that need to go in. I even sat in the car with my new helmet and old Hans (haven’t used it yet) and we were fairly happy with the fit and comfort. Tommy Robb from Sauble suggested slightly smaller shoulder belts to better fit the Hans. We got them and they sure did the job. We still have to adjust them a little more but we’re close with that set up and it is a good idea to use that safety device, I’ve put it off long enough. We will get back at it again on Monday night.

Interior Finished

Body On

This Weekend Will Put Us Right On Schedule

With the final interior parts completed the body was placed on tonight to do the final fit for the rear window panel. The complete body was painted inside as well as out. We will reveal a little more what the car will look like for 2012 over the next few days……the engine should be completed at Stefko’s by the weekend and this Saturday we install the complete driveline, rad, hose, all the bolt on stuff for the engine, shifters, and then the final securing of the body, front and rear windows, side windows and then a list of small items. Bob, Steve and Gehrig set the body on tonight. Bob is going to modify the bell housing for track inspection, and paint the drive shaft, a few other small parts have to be painted and then we will send perhaps our nicest looking and prepared race car ever, off to Steve Lyons at Creative Edge for his final amazing touches. The crew and I are so excited about our car for 2012, we consider not racing it, but instead buying another car and saving this one……no we didn’t 🙂

Gehrig Admires Stefko Rebuild

Count Down Begins

Engine Back From Stefko, All Parts Ready To Go Back On Car

We finally have all the parts we need to put our car back together. The body is on, needs to be secured, the engine is back, needs to have bolts on parts added on. Our plan is to secure the body then put the engine in and attach the wiring and the plumbing and we should be good. We could use help this Saturday from 10am until 3pm. Any volunteers would be appreciated. If we get a good day in we’ll be set to get the car to Steve Lyons next Thursday or Friday…..Note…I’m still in mild shock looking at that great big (HEAVY) flywheel….did I say it was big….I haven’t seen one of those since the Hobby’s last ran them in 1991. I guess if it’s okay for the Sunset track champ Kevin Cornelius, it will be just fine for the Quaker State team….wow it’s big, and looks so heavy…..SLIENCE!!!…moving on.

Thanks Boys……January 28th Big Day For Us

Secure Body

Bob & Steve Begin Securing Body

Saturday January 28th was a huge day for us. We have been making good, uninterrupted progress the past month and knew this day (the last Saturday before the car gets lettered) had to go smoothly. It started out great with Bob, Steve and me starting in the garage just after 9:30. We were soon joined by Tim Tolton, Mini Stock racer, Matt Smith and his son Andrew. Matt brought his good friend Tim, and later after lunch Kevin Nichol showed up to help us get more things done. We worked in teams throughout the morning and afternoon. Shirley made us a great lunch around 12:45 and we stopped for a break and got back at it. Here Bob drills holes for the body and Steve rivets them in place. More pictures will follow today.

Tim Tolton Installs New U-Joints

January 28th

The Shop Was Busy

More coverage of our work day in the shop. Tim got the u-joints done. Bob and Steve were securing the body. Matt, Tim, Kevin, Andrew and I worked on the engine.

Crew Chief Bob Pereria

Getting Closer

List Keeps Getting Smaller

Bob and Gehrig were out tonight and we got a few more things off the list. Bob got under the car and with Gehrig’s assistance, got the collectors together. We need to weld tabs on the new headers so we can bolt them onto the existing collectors. Gehrig installed the front scrub rail and I worked on the rad hoses, gauges and power steering reservoir, relocating it. Our list is getting smaller, although the more we work on it the more parts I find I need…like I forgot to get a grill. Tomorrow will bring us a step closer to completion.

Gehrig Learning The Ropes

Jan 31

Gehrig Installs Wear Strip….It Will Wear At Sunset….Wear Out!!

With only three days left until the car goes to Steve Lyons for lettering, we are slowing getting all the work done that needs to be completed for the CME show following the lettering. Steve will have until Thursday the 9th to complete his magic. We won’t have any time to do more work on the car once he’s finsihed because we will head to Mississauga and set up for the show. That’s why the past few months have been fairly hectic. We are still waiting word from at least five sponsors we’ve presented proposals to. Hopefully we get their okay so their name will be on the car for this first of a few pre season shows we intend to be in.The list is getting smaller and that’s good news.

Steve & Gehrig

One More Night

Steve, Gehrig and I Shorten List

We got some more things knocked off our list tonight. This picture shows the grill, wear strip and hood trim installed. Steve also finished installing the glass on the spoiler. Gehrig worked on the front wear strip, and helped Steve and I with the grill and hood trim piece. Steve and I worked under the car getting the starter installed. One more night should do it, but we’ll know for sure tomorrow evening. We still have Thursday to get a few things done, but we’re also loading it up Thursday night as well, so our plan is to finsih the list off tomorrow. Thanks to my crew for dedicating their time to get this done.

White Shroud Goes Green

Had To Do It

Steve Looks On….Happy With The Change

It bothered me all day, the white inside our rad shroud. Sure it looked clean and even looked okay, but it didn’t go with the rest of the car. We created a monster for sure, because nothing on the car can be unpainted, or not color co-ordinated. That’s okay, I wanted it that way, the first time we ever went to this much detail. The big change from yesterday was the shroud, from white to green. My daughter Shirley thought at first we should leave it white, then thought maybe it should be black, and once she saw the shroud painted green, gave us the thumbs up……..Some of our peers think were nuts. One said “the car looks good but it will be tough to keep that way”. That’s true, but in the past 7 seasons our cars have been detailed paint and lettering wise, and required extra work to keep them looking good, but we’re okay with that. We always make sure we have extra touch up paint and extra decals on hand so the car will go to the track looking great for the fans and sponsors………Steve and I got a little more done, the oil temp gauge hooked up and secured, the fuel shut off mounted and secured. We tried installing the plug wires but they were not the ones we wanted, though the box said “over the rocker cover”. These were under the engine and too short for what we wanted. We’ll switch them tomorrow and then it’s just a few simple things left. Tomorrow we’ll load it up and head to Creative Edge on Friday.

All Hands On Deck

Completed

Bob & The Girls

We got everything done we could for the CME show next week. It was most important that we loaded the car tonight so we could send it to Creative Edge for lettering. In this photo Bob is working on the breather, and that will be an issue for us, the engine is too high. The four barrell is a lower profile carb and will fit perfect, but we can use it. We decided to work on that plus some other things after the show. Also in this picture are Steve Bradts daughters Kaylie on the left and Shawnee in the middle beside our grand daughter Lauren. The girls did touch up for us and also stripped all the lettering off Laurens go-kart. We loaded the car without putting a mark on it and now it heads to Steve Lyons for his amazing work. We know exactly how we want the car to look and Steve will do what we want only with his excellent flair. The good news is weather wise, it looks good for travelling tomorrow to Kitchener, a true blessing.

Heavens Line Up Includes Charlie Beck #79

1986 Hobby Champ

Charlie Beck…Thank You For The Great Memories

We heard the sad news today that our racing friend Charlie Beck has passed away. Charlie was an amazing man, great racer and always cared his family, work, racing peers and the Hobby club. Charlie was married to Georgia, and had a son Charlie Jr. Both Georgia and Charlie Jr. supported Charlie with his racing, it was a family ordeal, and they were a team that always brought more than they took when it came to racing, helping others and the being involved with the Hobby club. Our prayers are with his family, friends and co workers. Thank you Lord for allowing us to know and compete with this gracious man. May God comfort Georgia, Charlie Jr. and all those close to him. A longer story will be written on our message board very soon.

Charlie And Friends

Spartan Speedway

Charlie Beck Funeral

In 1989 we ran Spartan Speedway in Michigan. Before the feature we a did drivers introduction and then got to racing. In this picture we see many Hall of Famers and club Champions, and some who would be Champions in years to come. Pictured 4th from the right, right in front of Steve Laking and behind John Hasselfeldt is our beloved Charlie Beck. Though I haven’t raced against Charlie for over 10 years, his smile, his easy going demeanor, his laid back life style will always be a memory I will charish. Thank you Charlie, God bless you. Here are the times for visitation and the funeral. Vistation at Marlet Funeral Home 195 King St Dundas Feb 7 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 9:00. Funeral Marlet Funeral Home Feb 8 11:00

Synchronized Wall Slam

Flamboro

Charlie Beck #79

I had the pleasure of racing with Charlie from 1982 until 1998. He was a gentleman on the race track, but a fierce competitor. In all my years racing, I don’t remember a more content or dedicated competitor. Charlie was laid back when he was out of the car, and I suspect he was the same in the car, he sure looks it here. We got close this night when an inline let go and the two of us were jammed against the turn one wall. He cooly looked over and asked if I was alright.

Steve Lyons Final Touch

Quaker State Impala

Creative Edge Brings It Home

We dropped our car off at Creative Edge on Feb 2nd, with a long list of sponsors and names and color preferences for Steve and his staff to work with. As a customer my expectations were more than exceeded by the excellent work by Steve, Chris, Josh and Brock. Steve is seen here with our car, and though this picture does the finished product no justice, everyone who has seen the car likes it very much. Jim Hulzinga and I headed down to the CME show right after this photo was taken. Bob Pereira and our grand son Gehrig met us there to help clean and set the car up in the VP Fuels booth. Looks like a much bigger show than in the past. There were lots of excellent looking race cars in all classes. Hope to see you there.

Gehrig Helps With Display

VP Fuels Booth

CME Show In Mississauga…Feb 10th, 11th and 12th

The CME show got underway tonight. Jim, Bob and Gehrig helped with our display, getting the car in the VP Fuel booth. We didn’t do much with the display but Randy, the owner of VP Fuels was happy with our car. We had lots of great comments and look forward to meeting more people tomorrow and Sunday….The Inside Track Power Ranking Awards were done tonight and we’re proud to announce that David Elliott not only made the top 10 in Ontario, but made the top five being voted at 5th. Congrats to David and Jeannie and all their team….hope to see you tomorrow, drop by, see our car and say hello.

Tommy Robb #89

CME Show

Nice Looking Varney Speedway Late Model

This beauty is at the CME show along with some other very nice looking cars. Tommy Robb is a hot shoe at Varney Speedway and will be at the show on Sunday. It was a great day with many people showing up in spite of the bad storm we had over night. I don’t remember ever having so many people drop by and say hi to us in all the shows I’ve been in since 1975….congrats CME organizers.

CME Show

Dan Little Photo

VP Fuels Display

Here is a great picture from Dan Little. Dan got some other shots of cars in the show as well. You can see some of them on facebook. The show ended tonight, and what a great show it was. We were very happy with the turn out, the attitude and atmosphere by almost every single person that came to the show. Many of the vendors were pleased and for a show dedicated to racing, I give it an A+……thanks to Bob and Gehrig for being there the past few days, and to Marty Hagan for helping us load up after the show….more pictures and stories to come over the next week.

David Elliott & Spencer Lewis

CME Show

David Get’s 5th For Inside Track “Power Rankings” In 2011

David and Spencer Lewis ham it up at the Power Rankning presentations at the CME show in Mississauga. David had an amazing season with his Grisdale Triple Crown and Octoberfest wins, 2nd in the Flamboro points standings, no feature in 2012 out of the top five and two feature wins. Here David takes the mic’ and interviews Spencer,, catching Mr. Lewis by surprise, but it was all in fun. Congratulations to David for his much deserved award……the CME show was very good with lots of racing excitement throughout the week end. The air was filled with lots of hype and positive feed back……more to come on the show this week.

Tim Russell Race Fan

Stacey Kadonoff

Drivers Door Souvenir

Tim had been calling me on facebook the past month or so trying to get any part I had for his wreck room, or sports bar area. I didn’t think I would have anything, that is until I found the door from our 2009 Late Model. It was stil in good shape. Tim came all the way from Ottawa to visit the CME show. He got Carl Edwards autograph, and then got one of our doors. His friend Stacey took this picture. This was the first time I ever remember giving a part for a fan as a souvenir. I did give a fender to one of our crew members in the past, maybe I will start saving all our spare stuff, although, to be honest, this door could have raced again, just not that color….more pictures from the show still to come.

Kevin Cornelius #17

Dan Little Photo

Sunset Speedway Booth CME Show

Got a chance to talk to Kevin and the car owner Dick, as well as Grant the crew chief over the weekend. Kevin and his team are planning on defending their 2011 Championship. It seems no matter where you go, once you get to know people for even a short time, it’s like you’ve known them forever. It should be an exciting year for us. I’m looking forward to racing with Kevin, Tommy Walters, Chris Morrow, Mike Bentley, Sean Cronan, Taylor Holdaway, Bily Zardo and the rest of the Sunset Late Model drivers. They aure do have a list of talented racers at this wide fast oval. It will be our home now and that of our grand son Gehrig who makes his debut in the Mini Stock class, we’re not 100% sure in what, but we’ll know by mid March.

2012 Race Schedule

2012

30 Nights Booked For 2012…Nice!!

We have completed our 2012 schedule. We are proud to have Sunset Speedway as our home track for 2012 and look forward to bringing our fans and sponsors to this great facility. There is a chance we could make a race at Kawartha, Delaware and maybe even Capital City Speedway, but those are unlikely because of the conflict potentially to our home track. Though we’re no longer running Flamboro as our home track, we will compete on their opening night and the last night of the season, Octoberfest. We will also make trips to Varney and Peterborugh. Our commitment is to support Sunset for all the regular shows and their Invitationals, both Limited Late and Pro Late Model. Our schedule shows 21 Limited Late Model races, 7 Pro Late Model races and 2 CVM shows, both at our home track. It is a busy but exciting season…………I want to start a petition to eliminate the name Limited Late Model. Most all Late Models in Onatario can now run against each other. The main difference between a Pro and LLM are basically the engine, straight rail, coil overs, wide 5’s and calipers. Cars with those up grades are known as Pro Late Models, and the cars without those parts are referred to as Limited Late’s. So I say drop the Limited Late Model title and call these cars Late Models, no more Limited…get rid of any negative title associated with this class and call it what it is…a Late Model. I am working on that and hope to get tracks to agree with me. It may take a while for the name change to stick, but I’m guessing more people would be for it than against it and hopefully we start calling these cars Late Models sooner than later.

Late Model 2010

Sunset Car

These Are Late Models…..No More Calling Them Limited Late Models

I often wondered why tracks like Mosport, Peterborough, Sauble, Sunset, and Varney changed the name of their primary division from Late Models to Limited Late Models. I understand there were some differences like the engine, but for the most part, up until three years ago the engine was the only difference. Years ago many Late Models had Camaro clips and steering boxes. I believe most of Joe Chisholm’s ALSTAR class were all like that, though a few may have had tube frames. The key was the engines, they were ridiculous, costing anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000. When ALSTAR closed, that’s when I believe the name Limited Late showed up, at least that’s when I remember seeing it. Prior to that, every track had Late Models, just different configurations. Lately the name Pro Late Models has immersed to describe Late Models with 604’s, rack steering, 4 piston calipers, coil over’s, wide 5’s and straight rail frames. Not all cars that became Pro Late Models had all of these options or upgrades. My car, the one I will run in 2012, was called a Pro Late Model when I ran it in 2010, and when David ran it in 2011. The only difference between it and a Sunset car was the rack, and the 604 engine. Sunset has made an amendment to allow rack n’ pinion steering, so the only difference between my car now, and the past six years, is the 604 engine, making it a Pro Late Model. Of course we have the 602 engine installed to make us legal with the Sunset cars. With most tracks in Ontario now calling the Flamboro and Delaware cars Pro Late Models, there is no reason to confuse fans by using the label “Limited” to describe their Late Model class. Some Limited’s are brand new McColl cars costing $45,000 turn key, hardly a Limited, and in most cases, a much nicer piece than most of the Pro Late Models. It makes no sense to continue using the negative descriptive “Limited” any longer. Let every track call their cars Late Model, and only when it comes to an “Open Invitational” should there be a distinction. Sunset Speedway can advertise they run Late Models, and when they host an “Open Invitational”, they can advertise that Pro Late Models will be allowed to compete with appropriate handicaps to bring parity. Pro Late Models will not be allowed in any specials that are not titled “Open Invitational”, unless the tracks want to allow them to run to increase car count. I’m hoping local Ontario tracks will consider removing the Limited from their Late Model classes. It will only take a month or so for fans to adapt, in fact, I’m guessing they will welcome the original class name back again.

Happy Anniversary Nonie

Feb 21st 42 Years

My Best Friend

God has truly blessed me. I am so proud to be celebrating another Anniversary with my childhood sweetheart, and child bride. We were married when Nonie was 17, I was 22. The years have given us thousands of memories, absolutely most of them have been awesome. We have 2 children, 2 grand children, and some very good friends, some from back in the beginning when we were teens, some from work, and many others through our racing journey. I thank God for Nonie, she is an incredible wife, mother, grand mother and my best friend. We are heading to Florida for the Daytona 500 and a few other races. Quaker State is treating us to the 500 and putting us up for three days…just awesome, we are very thankful for our 39 year relationship with Quaker State. I will post some pictures when we get back….also, have been taking some time off on the race car and will start back up Saturday March 3rd….xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo for Nonie.

Daytona Front Chute

Sunday February 26th

Overcast Turned To Rain…..Then Cancellation……But It Was A Thrill For The Kids

It wasn’t our best Florida vacation weather wise, but it was from every other aspect. We stayed in Orlando the first few days we were down, then headed to St. Augustine and were guests of Quaker State at the St. Augusta PGA resort. It was awesome. We had dinner on Saturday night with the highest people in Shell and sat close to Roger Penske and AJ Allmendinger. Here Gehrig and Lauren enjoy a tour of the infield that included standing on the front chute. It rained out this day, but we got to see a great race the next night. We left Daytona at 1:10 am Tuesday morning, and then headed to the Airport at 9:00. We were tired but not miserable as we would have been had the race been delayed again….but it didn’t get delayed and though it was late, it capped off a great week for us.

Thrown For A Loop…Three Times

Rick Schurr’s Sled

Snow Mobile 3….Gary 0….

My grandson Gehrig and I had the pleasure of spending the week end with Rick Schurr and Roger Spies at Rick and Sue’s cottage. It was located in beautifu six mile lake. At first it looked like we wouldn’t get out on the trails or the lake because of the mild weather and the call for rain on the week end. As it turned out we did get rain Friday night, but the temperature dropped producing a mushy, then solid snow fall. We headed out from Rick’s cottage at about noon. This was my first time on a snow mobile since 1986 when I had a short ride in one on our property on highway five. That ordeal ended with Shirley and I almost hitting head on but a diversion into the brush avoided that deal, but long hard thorns left me with some scratches and a bloody face, of course, since we were on our own property we didn’t have helmets. That was the last time I was on a sled. Our grand son just got his license and this was his first time. We took the road in front of the cottage for about a kilometer and then turned off heading down to the lake. My first encounter was climbing over the snow bank, made by the plows. Rick and Gehrig had no trouble, I simply followed them only tipped over on the drivers side with the sled pinning me on the snow. I wasn’t hurt, but could not get out. Rick and Gehrig were out of sight and didn’t know. Lucky for me Roger was behind me and pulled the snow mobile back enough for me to get out. Next was the long run, 3 miles, across the slushy lake. When I got on the lake Rick and Gehrig were 200 yards ahead. I thought this would be easy because it was wide open spaces. The only trouble was the ruts and the slushy conditions made the sled very unstable. I would get up to 30 mph and then it would shoot side ways and I thought for sure I was going over. As fast as I thought I was going, the two in front were pulling away. Then once 500 yards out it me that I was on top of water and I really didn’t like that…it was frozen but it was spooking me. Finally we got to shore picking up Rick’s boss Jim and his wife Rhonda. Things went great for the next 2 hours. Then feeling confident I was in second place and decided to run with Rick as he blazed through the 8′ wide paths through the woods. Things were great until we came over a hill down a steep little hill with a sharp right. Rick was through it easy. My sled started to push, I tried turning right, let off the gas, finally added some brakes, but I think the braking was too late because a second before was when I hit the tree. It was only a small tree, a foot thick, but it made the sled stop immediately. I went flying over the handle bar landing in the middle of the trail about four or five feet. Lucky for me Gehrig got stopped. The front end was much like slamming the wall at any oval, trailing arms and suspension parts bent. Rick towed me out of the woods, but that didn;t work either because he hit a huge puddle of ice, water and mud and the sled jammed in throwning me off again. I had enough, the sled to. That busted the windshield and the right mirror. We decided to leave the poor thing in woods and Rick and Roger retreived in Sunday morning. This picture dosen’t show the damage but it wasn’t good. My grand son? He did awesome. I may want to look into that license. Thanks to Rick and Roger for a great time. I hope I get another chance, although I might have to use my own sled, or a Mini Stock.

Honda Heads North To Sauble Area

Motor Replacement

Jason Legge And Glen Schnurr To Fix Honda

Shirley headed to Shallow Lake early Sunday morning, in pursuit of help. We got the Honda in hopes it would be an easy prep for Gehrig’s debut in Stock Car racing. Not having much time, and no understanding of the 4 cylinder world, we had to do something to help us get ready for opening day. None of our local racing friends could help us, they either didn’t have the time or knew how to change an engine, front axles etc. We were discouraged somewhat. I thought for sure my 4 cylinders friends could help us. This all started when we traded the use of our CVM for the use of a Mini with the hopes of little financial in put. Things were great until it was discovered the engine not legal for Sunset. We had no choice but to try another route. We could have returned the Mini and bought another car, but the cars available would have needed a lot of work to get ready. The Mini we got from Mike March is awesome, very well built, very safe for our grand son, so saving this car was the thing we really wanted to do. If it was a Coupe or a Late Model, we could have done it, but I am out of my league with Mini’s. Mike offered to build another car, but that was not the route to go because of the time, expense and the fact that he already has his hands full trying to get the Coupe prepared for the season opener…….enter Jason Legge. Jason and I did a deal in 2011 for David’s first Late Model that I traded for my #9 Late Model of 2009, (the one I raced at Delaware Friday nights, the one Jeff Lancaster, Matt Dean and Tervor Monaghan also drove). The transaction between the Jason and I was very smooth, no issues, so he has offered to help us get the car ready. He tells me “don’t worry it will be fine”. Jason will spearhead this deal through the aid of Glen Schnurr and his other friend, Brad, a Honda expert. Glen is going to get some cosmetics, mechanical things and a door done, and Brad will switch the drive line. He says it’s easy and in two weeks we should have it back and then we’ll prepare it for paint. We can do that part. If we get progress pictures from Glen or Jason we’ll post it here…..meanwhile we finally got our clutch situation figured out with the Late Model. John Van Wyngaarten, one of our sponsors, machined our heavy flywheel, now I can carry it by myself. We installed it yesterday. Steve and his father in law, Alex came over for a few hours and today Bob and I got it finished. We should have our Late Model done by next week end….we hope. My Diary of A Season will be updated soon….PS…Saginaw transmissons are much heavier now, compared to when I was 50.

Gehrig Adds Gear Oil

List Getting Smaller

Today Was A Good Day

This picture from earlier in the week shows our grand son Gehrig putting Quaker State gear oil in our quick change. Gehrig is learning slowly what to do and how to do it properly. We got a few things done during the week and then our main crew came over today to try to reduce our list even more. We got the brakes bled, the clutch, put the car on stands and worked on the left side and total weight. The left side at Sunset is 55%. We haven’t been down that low for 7 years. It meant moving a lot of led to the right side. Once we got 55% and 2851 total (it has to be 2850) we then had to secure the led we moved and paint it. Getting in place was simple enough, but drilling and bolting was where the work was. I messed us up by telling my crew we had to have 50% minimum rear. We had so much weight on the back it was crazy, then I read the rule just to make sure and it was 50% maximum rear. Some tracks print the rule different, Flamboro says, 50% minimum front. Anyway once all the led was in it’s proper place and the holes drilled through brackets and the sub frame, we painted them and put our number on them. we still have a few more pieces to install, under the seat and the two 15 pound pieces on the front rails. Then we can set the ride heights, and scale the car. We got the proper weight with no fuel in the car, so we’ll now add a few gallons to do our weight distribution……the sad news is we have a brake line leaking, no big deal, but the clutch will not disengage and we think we have to add another shim on the tranny shaft. That means removing the transmission and adding the shim, then hope it was enough, maybe we’ll add two….Monday night we’ll be back at it again…..thanks to Bob, Steve and Alex for helping our today.

Moving Closer To Completion

Set Up

Still Some Things To Do, Mounting Led Being One Of Them

Bob, Steve, Alex, Gehrig and I spent all day Saturday, until close to 6:30 trying to finish the list of things we have to do on our car to make it race ready. Show ready it is, race ready it isn’t, but getting closer. The Sunset rules only allow 55% left side weight and this car is loaded with led giving it 57%. It dosen’t seem a lot until you start moving the led to the right side. Once we got the numbers where we wanted them we had to paint, letter and mount the heavy chunks. We still have four more pieces of led to secure. We also need to remove the transmission and shim the release bearing, the clutch won’t quite engage, and bleed the brakes once more they are a little spongy. Once that’s done we’ll start the engine, let it run and then we should be ready…not for racing yet, but for testing. It’s been fun and we are very much looking forward to running at Sunset Speedway. Our grandson’s Mini Stock is getting an engine exchange and hopefully we get it back soon so we can get it painted, lettered and do a final inspection as well. We have two more shows coming up in March at Banquets in the Pickering area.

Sunset Rack Penalty Met

March 19

Led Goes In….15 Pounds Each Side

Tonight was one of the worst for me. I have this wore out drill, with a wore out chuck and most of our drill bits are from the same family as the drill and chuck…wore out!! Anyway, two trips to the hardware for nuts and bolts, and a few hours of work and this project is done……I was going to go to the gym to get in shape, but after slugging weights around the past few days I may just stay in the garage. What a work out. Drilling can be so frustrating at times, when the drill jams and twists your writs it really hurts, so you need to hold on real tight, a sharp drill bit helps eliminate that. That was the case on Saturday, but I was lucky tonight, no jamming of the drill, though other stuff happened. The boys couldn’t make it tonight, but my grandson was able to come out and help, and it was good that he did. I was struggling for 15 minutes and could not get through the steel. Suddenly Gehrig noticed I had the drill on reverse. With the drill, chuck and bits all wore, and the dummy using it having it in reverse, I was o-4!!…how ironic, by the end of the first period both me and Leafs were down 4-0. The good news for me is that I recovered, and once I got the drill going the right way my night went easier. The Leafs? Not so much, they were still in reverse….Our list is getting smaller, but has to be done this week. We need to scale the car again, to finalize the left side percent and total weight. Then add fuel, set the ride heights, scale it for racing, then start it. We have a brake line leaking, the clutch not working and the spoiler to set. Then I think we’ll be done with the car…I think. I do need a new drill, and hopefully it comes with instructions.

Pickering Christian School

Scripture Union Hockey

Gehrig Guides Kids Into The Quaker State Impala

Last night Gehrig and I went to the Pickering Christian school, for the Scripture Union hockey banquet. I had an opportunity to talk about racing and share my faith to the 140 or so kids and adults who were in attendance. After, the kids not only got an autographed picture of the car, but got to get in the car so parents could take a picture. They loved that part, though many disappeared when they got right into the seat….Gehrig helped make sure the kids got in and out safely……we will be heading out to Ajax on Saturday March 31st to attend another Scripture Union banquet. You can find out more about SU Canada by going to their web site, you can easily access it by clicking on their logo to the right of this picture……This was our 2nd show for 2012, it was an exciting and fun night for us…….it was also very cold -3 or 4. We made sure the car was put in the garage where it was warm….We’ll post another report once we complete the show this Saturday…..also, check out the Scripture Union summer camps for kids. They are taking reservations very soon.

Loading Up For Another Show Mar 31st

Grandson Dreaming

Grandson’s New Ride?….Not Yet, As Soon As Grandpa Gets A Newer Car…Maybe 2013

We are loading up tonight to take our car to Ajax Saturday for a teen hockey banquet hosted by Scripture Union Canada. We went to Pickering on Monday of this week and this time we’ll head a little south west to Ajax where a differnt group of hockey players, many in their teens, will get to see and get in the race car. I have been asked to share about racing and my faith and give out autograph cards, just what I love to do. My crew chief Bob will come with me on this event…..Gehrig gets comfortable in the Quaker State Impala, but will need to grow a little before he takes on the challenge of driving a Late Model. He will make his debut in stock car racing this year at Sunset Speedway in the Mini Stock division. Driving a Honda Civic, Gehrig hopes to get enough experience to move up to Late Models in 2013. It may be a stretch, and if we all feel he’s not ready yet (him included), we’ll wait another year. He seems to like sitting in the car and all accounts from him indicate he can’t wait to start racing the Mini Stock…..our goal is to win the Sunset Speedway Championship. Then before the next three years, run in a series with both my son David and grandson Gehrig. I already told David, and he likes the idea, and thinks a 4 or 6 race series would be good……we are waiting on two more sponsors to let us know if they will be with us in 2012. Once we have confirmation we will do a story on all our sponsors for 2012……we will report on the Ajax show by Sunday.

Ajax Community Center

Hockey Banquet

Quaker State Team Visits Scripture Union Hockey Banquet

For the second time in a week, we had our car on display at the Scripture Union hockey banquet. My crew chief, Bob Pereria and I headed, this time to the Ajax Community Center to show and tell our car and sing autograph cards. The kids loved the car. It was kind of cold, almost as cold as last Mondays event. It’s funny how we’ve had awesome weather the past month except for the two days we were on display. I guess weather wise it was actually okay, there was no rain, but it sure got cold signing autographs, to the point my sharpie was seizing up…..we will be doing more shows in 2012, some are already booked, and a few more will be confirmed in the next month or so…….the trip became a life saver of sorts for us. Bob started the car and while it was running he put the clutch to the floor and about a quarter way down it went right to the floor with no resistance. Bob got out to have a look and sure enough under the car a huge pool of fluid was growing as the clutch line leaked out fluid. We found the problem, a damaged line, so now we have to see if it hit any rotating parts. We do have the biggest clutch I’ve run since 1992, so maybe something inside the bell housing nicked the line. We will make sure when we put it back together Wednesday night…..we are planning on going to Sunset for practice, although we may shake the car down at Flamboro first before heading to Sunset to get the car in race mode. We are also planning on heading to Mike McColl’s on April 21st. That will be set up day and we will learn a lot on that visit, especially with bump stops. More on our progress later this week.

Cars Finished

Eric Uprichard Photo

First Un-Official Team Photo

Bob and I worked on the car in the early morning finishing off the brake ducts and welding tabs on the exhaust. We had a team meeting for both the Late Model and Mini Stock. Not all our crew could make it. Steve, Ryan and Justin were unable to attend but possibly we can do this again next Saturday. From right to left are Bob, Jason, JJ, Meagan, Lauren, Shirley, Gehrig and I…..Eric Uprichard, owner of Speedway Photo’s, and one of our newest sponsors for 2012, took this photo, then went with me to Jim Sweers gasoline alley. Eric got a bunch of photo’s at Jim’s as well.

Team Meeting April 14th

2012 Crew

Crew Gets Together For Pre Season Pep Rally

With just three weeks before opening day, we had a great team meeting with both the Mini Stock and Late Model crew members. Only one Mini Stock crew member was absent, J.J., and though not in this picture, our Late Model crew chief Bob, was at the early part of the meeting and had to leave…….pictured here from left to right are Alex, (Steve’s father in-law), Steve, Dylan, Ryan (Dylans dad), Justin, Gehrig, Andrew and his dad Matt and Jason. Our Late Model goes to McColls this week end for set up. We have it set and ready to race, but I’m guessing Mike will change it, and we’re good with that. We will also install and learn how to make bump stops work. I’ve been told by some race teams at Flamboro that bump stops take forever to learn, needs lots of maintenance and can be very expensive, and that I would be better without them. We agreed until they started turning Super Late Model lap times. When we asked Mike about the bump stops, he said, they are not that difficult to learn, they won’t wear out your suspension parts but they will make you go much faster, though the rest of the set up still has to be very close. Prior to us getting the Chenoweth car, we were fast and new our car. We have it back and are hoping after next weekend find ourselves competitive with the many fast teams already on bump stops at Sunset. We’re determined to take a run a the title and there is no way we can do it giving up speed for any reason. So Bob, Steve and I are heading out next Saturday morning to get that extra speed……the Mini Stock should be painted by the Thurday and off to Steve Lyons for lettering by the end of the week. Right now we’re right on schedule.

Bob Securing Clutch Line

Inch By Inch

My New Green Racing Boot Inserts????…

Bob and I worked on the car on Thursday night. We had to remove the transmission (for sure they are heavier than they were a few years ago…when I was 50). We added a new clutch line and bled the system and now it works and does not leak. It broke on us when we were in Ajax last week end…..We will install brake ducts, those pretty green ones on the rad shroud, and the duct hoses. We decided to color coordinate them to stay consistent with the most detailed car we’ve ever put together. Once that’s done we have a few minor things to do and then we will be done, all but our visit to Mike McColl’s where we’ll get the car set up and learn everything we need to about bump stops…..Gehrig’s Mini Stock heads for paint on Saturday and we’l prepare it for paint and then it goes to Steve Lyons for lettering…..A team meeting is set for tomorrow. The closer we get the more exciting it’s getting….I went over to Flamboro today and saw a new covering for the pits. It should help a lot to keep the dust down. No doubt I will miss running at Flamboro, been there for so long. We’ll see if the excitement of Sunset over shadows missing Flamboro. At this point, I do plan on running the August 20th race and Octoberfest. Perhaps it should have been “we” plan on running the race. But right now my crew would prefer not to go and for at least one good reason and that is our status at Sunset. Depending on where we are in Sunset points might determine whether or not we go for the Monday Night Madness in August. It would be an awesome race to see and be in….time will tell. Meanwhile special thanks to Bob my crew chief for being here all winter working and getting our car ready.

2012 Schedule

2012

Maybe A Few More To Be Added To This Schedule!!!….Maybe 30 Is Good.

Season #44 for and our crew gets underway on May 5th at Sunset Speedway. We’re looking forward to a fun season. We’ll spend more every week on gas, but we’ll save a little on tires, but more than anything it’s the fun of racing on a good wide track. We’ll have some tough customers to race against, but no tougher than those we just finished racing with the past 7 seasons at Flamboro Speedway, or the field of incredible talent the CVM produced the 33 seasons we ran with them. Regardless of the Sunset Speedway competitors, we just need to have our car race ready every night and be consistent and competitive. Kevin Cornelious, Tom Walters, Mike Bentley, Sean Cronan, Chris Morrow and Billy Zardo, to name a few, make up the majority of tough customers at Sunset. We’ll go in with a game plan to learn the habits of these boys and race as hard as we can without getting into or wrecking anyone…like always. This schedule is agressive, but it’s what we love, want and wait to do. It’s been a busy off season, but instead of working on 4 race cars like ealry 2011, we worked on just one. Bob, Steve and I spent many hours getting our car rebuilt and once we leave Mike McColls and he gives us a thumbs up on our car we’ll be good to go. If Mike gives us any thumbs down on any part on the car, it will be replaced. We are running for the title, and though most at Sunset would rank us a top 7 or 8, our goal is first and we would be disappointed if we’re not one of the Championship contenders. The truth is, I’m a points racer, because winning a Championship is the greatest honor a racer can attain….winning a feature would be good as well, we having done that since July 29th 2008. A pre season report will be done soon on Diary Of A Season 2012.

John Bear Display

Hamilton

Quaker State Car Shines At John Bear Chevrolet

The Impala shines under the lights in the big John Bear GM new car parking lot. Quaker State is currently in the process of having their fine product sold in GM Service and Parts departments, and as an added promo we took our car to this awesome Dealership. This location, one of three owned by John Bear, is located on Upper James in Hamilton just south of the Lincoln Alexander Expressway. On Wednesday over 120 people came to see the beautiful GM cars and trucks and to consider buying a new vehicle with 0% finance being one of the benefits. This was our 4th show of the season, our next appointment is in the showroon of Mike McColl racing. Our hope is he will change this Impala into a Corvette during the four hours we’re there. Crew members Bob, Steve and Matt will be with me and we’ll learn alot from the master car builder and set up man. Matt will be in London on Saturday, and meet us there, but we’ll leave Waterdown around 5:15 am so we can get to Mikes by 7:00 for an early start…and fall asleep when Mike talks about bump stops.

Wisconsin Dirt Late Model Racer Bret Sievert

Wisconsin USA

#5 Bret The Jet Sievert

Tony Brent, a friend from Wisconsin, and a very good on-line racer, pits for Bret Sievert in the Dirt Late Model series in Wisconsin. We wish them a very successful 2012 race season.

McColls For Final Set Up

April 20th

Bob & Matt Make Trip To London…….Mike & Art Do Magic

It was part of our 2012 budget to have Mike McColl and his staff set up our car before we head to Sunset Speedway. Bob Pereria watches as Matt Smith, our newest crew member, adds the turns back into the right front load bolt. Mike is pondering his next adjustment, but is overall happy with the numbers on the car…besides 36. Art, with the help of Bob and Matt removed the front hubs, springs, shocks, and rear axles and springs. Many things were checked and adjusted. The toe, top link and trailing arm angles were set in the rear. The toe, ackerman, bump steer, shock location, camber, caster and anti dive were set on the front, along with very nice looking bump stops. Once one piece of lead was reloacated, and a final rescale, our car was deemed to be as perfect as it could get. I asked Mike “could Kevin Cornelious win with this car”? I could have used Tom Walters, but Kevin is the reigning Champion, and Mike repsonded “of course”. Then I asked Mike “do you have Kevins phone number”?…anyway we were very excited about our car and headed home unable to shut up for at least the first 100 kilometers. It’s great knowing the car is set up and well prepared to race against the very competitive Sunset Speedway stars…..next is a test session at Flamboro to shake the car down and then head to Sunset for a competitve session of testing May 2nd, of course after our special event at MacDonalds in Bolton, more on that soon.

Steve March CVM

Awesome Cars’ Coach

This Needs To Be In My Museum With My Cars Collection

Steve March, #95 CVM racer, changed his 2011 paint scheme from the black gothic lettered car to this beautiful Lightning McQueen randition. Steve will compete in 75% of the CVM schedule in 2012 and hopes to pull off a feature win. It won’t be easy with a short race season, but he almost pulled it off last year and has made improvements over the winter season to make it happen. If good looking cars win, he’ll win a feature for sure. Good job on the Coach Steve, the race fans, kids especially, will love it….Steve’s brother Mike is finishing our CVM and it should be race ready within a week or so, we’ll get a picture of it once it gets painted and lettered.

Dreaded Bump Stops…Pretty Colors

Front Suspension

Being Competitive At Sunset Demands We Run Bump Stops

When I bought the #89 Late Model from Shawn Chenoweth, I should have bought it when the car came off the track. Had I done that my results may have been much better in 2011. Finances wouldn’t let us get the car after Autumn Color’s, and Shawn won that feature, so I had to wait almost three months to pay the asking price of the car. Bump stops were attached to the frame, but didn’t come with instructions, I get that, Shawn was building a new car and wouldn’t be giving anything away, like secrets or maybe his best equipment. Early in the season I was told not to run bump stops because they were very tricky, and if I didn’t know what I was doing it would cause me trouble, plus, we had five 2nds with our 2010 car without bump stops. As most people know, we struggled for the first half of the season, and by mid July we were on our game, but way out of the point race and still without bump stops. It was our worst season in Late Models, with no feature finish above 4th. However we did win the pole and qualified 5th fastest for both Sunset shows. When I heard that Sunset Late Models were on bump stops, and saw the results of a good bump stop set up produced by Jason Shaws team, who went from 15:3’s to 14:9’s, I knew we could not expect to compete at Sunset, and give up the two tenths, or more that bump stops provided. I asked Mike McColl if the set up was just for a coil over car and he said “no” it worked on big spring cars as well. I also asked if not running them was giving up too much and without hesitation he said “yes, you need bump stops”. How hard is it to learn, I asked, and Mike said he would give us a quick lesson when we got our car set up and told me not to worry, learning bump stops was not as complicated as far too many people were making it sound. We were one of the first teams to try the rack n’ pinion steering in 1986 in the Hobby cars, and some said it would be very hard to get use to, we had a great season. We were the firts Flamboro team to run a Crate engine and were told we wouldn’t keep up, now 90% of the cars are running Crates. As seen in this picture we have installed bump stops and will go out one day next week and do some shake down testing at Flamboro and then head to Sunset to do some more serious testing. Our car has everything it needs, luck can’t be bought, but a good crew, good maintenance and a good handling car will give us the program we need to go after the Sunset Speedway Championship, and that program will include bump stops.

Mini Stock & Go Cart Ready

Gehrig & Lauren

Gehrig & Lauren Set To Go

We just got our Mini Stock back from Creative Edge today, along with the go-cart pods and the kids are ready to race….accept for a few small things. We need to change the oil and filter on the Mini Stock, plus install a head support. The go-cart needs gas and it’s ready to go. Gehrig will make his debut in racing at Flamboro for an exhibition race for him. He won’t be running at Flamboro Speedway full time, so the purpose for him is to get as much ice time as possible. He will learn a lot in one night starting at the back of the speedy Flamboro Mini’s. Lauren starts racing next week end, and so does the Late Model, but plans are to have both at Flamboro sometime next week in hopes of getting some hot laps and shaking both race cars down.

Third Generation

Tips From Grandpa

First Time Out!!! Quite Overwhelming……Overall The Night Was A Success

Prior to Gehrig’s testing on Saturday at Famboro Speedway, he had only run 15 laps on the 1/3 mile oval. He did have knowledge of racing, getting that from his 4 years in Go-Carts. This was totally different, not even close to what he had experienced before. Running an older not so good Cart, Gehrig ran very well against the kids with new Carts, placing 4th and 5th in the points in his last two seasons. Driving a Mini Stock is much more complex, not to mention handling a 2500 pound car and going much faster. Gehirig watched track starter Dale Shunamun closely, as instructed, making sure when traffic was coming he got out of the way. The very competitive Flamboro cars run close and being lapped can be a very intense time for any driver, not to mention a youngster with barely 20 laps total under his belt. Each outing Gehrig improved, gaining confidence and learning to get acquainted with his own car, before worrying or even considering battling with his peers. He did that, and by his second and third time out he was racing his own car. All of us were very proud of Gehrig’s first outing. The full story of Gehrigs night will be posted on Diary Of A Season by the end of today.

Joins Us May 2nd

Bolton Ontario

An Event To Support Kids

The Quaker State team going to Bolton on May 2nd to help the MacDonalds location in Bolton raise money for childrens charities. There will be some local heroes there including Firemen, Police Officers as well as Edmonton Oilers great, Paul Coffey. We will be there from 11:30 until after supper….if any of our fans are in the area we’d love to see you.

McHappy Day A Great Success

Bolton

Crew Member Shannon, & Vicky At MacDonalds In Bolton

The management team at MacDonalds in Bolton held their Annual McHappy Day, with $1 on certain items being donated to Childrens Charities in Caledon as well as other venues. Eric Uprichard and his sister Shannon (shown here) both members of our crew, and Eric a sponsor through his business Speedway Photo’s, helped all day, along with their very enthusiastic staff, to make this effort a huge success. The community response was incredible allowing the store to set a record for both Lunch and Dinner donations. The weather was nice at first, then an artic breeze came in, maybe from all the Smoothies they were selling, then it got cloudy and overcast and colder again. Finally it started to rain but not until 5:15 forcing us to load quick and save the car from getting to saturated. It was a great day for us, our 5th pre season show, and we were proud to bring our car and have our sponsors represented in this awesome event.

Golden Arches….Full Synthetic

Caledon Bolton

Big Day For Big Mac

Sitting by the drive through, we got lots of on lookers checking out the Quaker State Late Model. McHappy Day was a great success with well over $5000 going to kids charities….our next event will be at Sunset Speedway on May 5th, and there will be lots of action cooking throughout the night. Hope to see you there, check out their web site for times and location….www.sunsetspeedway.ca

First Win 2012

Eric Uprichard Photo

Heat Win Sunset Speedway

When the checker flag came out we were very happy. I understand we can make too much out of a win at times, but this was a great win for us at our new home track, plus getting the victory dosen’t come easy. Winning this race made a lot of people happy, my family, crew, fans and of course me. Special thanks to Bob, Steve, Ryan, Justin and Eric, and all our sponsors. It’s a team effort and this one was well celebrated.

First Win 2012

Eric Uprichard Photo

Heat Win Sunset Speedway

Mike Bentley #51

Sue Chisholm Photo

Mike Bentley’s Beautful Late Model Crushed….He Was Not

A high speed imapct with the turn three wall crushed the front end of Mike Bentley’s #51 Late Model. Dave Bentley, Mike’s Dad surveys the incredible damage. The good news is that Mike is okay, though sore. He will be out this week end, but not likely in this car. Mike got caught in the oil from our transmission that suffered a violent explosion half way down the back chute. We’re not sure exactly what happened but the damage under our car, to our floor, and many support bars under neath sure makes you glad we have safe built race cars. Our drive shaft was twisted and smashed in two pieces, the transmission looks like a grenade when off inside of it, the starter who busted from flying debris, and one drive shaft hoop was tore off and the second ripped but still in place. We have a lot to do but no damage compared to Mike. I gave Mike a hug after the races letting him know I was glad he was okay. Our car will be ready this week, more pictures will follow as we progress.

Gehrtg Getting Laps

Eric Uprichard Photo

Gehrig Learns Patience In His Debut At Sunset Speedway….He Also Learned Disappointment

It’s been a frustrating start for Gehrig this year. His debut at Sunset ended in disappointment when a stuck throttle parked him for the feature. He was understanding about it, not getting upset, although I was feeling real bad for him because there is nothing worse than sitting in the pits when you planned all week to race. It was the right call to park him. The throttle was only part of the problem as an engine miss could not be detected etiher. This car might as well be a UFO, we are lost with every aspect of it. Even some of those with knowledge, who tried to help, really didn’t know why the car had a miss or why the throttle would not return. Back in my Hobby days we use to have problems but at least 10 teams would try to get us fixed up. We don’t the car, or any of the people that know four cylinders….I knew I should have started him in OSCAAR……our Late Model is getting closer, lots of parts ordered and now all the cosmetic and welding done. We have abuot 20 hours in the car already. The good news is we did not hurt the chassis, however everything else bolted to the chassis was either crushed, busted, broken, twisted, bent or lucky…..we still made out better than Mike Bentley. It is good no one was hurt, Mike from slamming the wall, and me from all the scattering parts trying to get at me in the car. Our wreck is on youtube through Sunset Speedway.

Feature Winner Kevin Cornelious #17

Dan Craik Photo

Kevin Cornelious & Mike Bentley Battle Close In Heat Action At Sunset Speedway

This picture taken during the first heat race shows Kevin Cornelious #17 and Mike Bentley #51 racing hard. These two would have different results as the night progressed. Mike demolished his car in the feature after getting into our transmission oil, and slamming hard into the turn three wall. Kevin would celebrate in victory lane with his crew after winning the first feature of 2012. Congratulations to Kevin and his team on a very impressive main event win….the full story of this race is on Diary Of A Season 2012.

Tony Tiemersma Wins Feature

Sunset Speedway

Controversial Feature Goes To Tony Tiemersma

It was a night that needed 300 feet of racing to make it perfect for fans and two racers, but would end in disaster when Mike Bentley #51 and Chris Morrow #11, running 1st and 2nd, side by side for much of the race, got together coming off turn four on the final lap. The tangle sent Chris hard into the wall, and Mike Bentley crossing the line with the checker flag waving. Unfortunately for Mike, he was considered an accident car and did not get the win. In an effort to get a winner for the fans, the track went back a lap, and gave the win to Kevin Cornelious #17, who was running third on the white flag lap. So much confusion followed the race as drivers protested the finish. Sunset officials decided to review the race and make a decision on Tuesday. That decision resulted in the race being left as the cars crossed the line at the checker. With Mike Bentley being sent to the back, the second car across was #7 Tony Tiemersma who would take the win and the trophy…the trophy will have to wait because Kevin still has it in his possession. Kevin limped across the line in 4th and will keep that spot, though his car was also beat up from hitting #11 Chris Morrow. The good news is that Chris is okay, and it surely was hard tough racing. More on that on our message board……..our web site had crashed and was down for a few days. I will get the race report logged on Diary Of A Season 2012 by Thursday night. Thanks for your patience.

Mike Bentley Wins May 19th

Ashley McCubbin Photo

New Car Brings Feature Victory

We are happy for the Bentley team, after all, it was our exploding transmission that covered the track with fluid and sent Mike flying into the turn three wall at Sunset Speedway on May 5th. The hard crash all but destroyed his car. He returned on the 12th with a newer McColl built car to battle up front all race with Late Model Champion Chris Morrow. A last lap wreck involving Chris and Mike severely damaged the Morrow car, and resulted in Bentley being sent to the back even though it appeared he won the feature. On May 19th things went his way when he captured the 30 lap feature with his first main event win of the young 2012 season. Late Models resume on May 26th with regular racing at Sunset, and then on Sunday, the first of four McColl Pro Late Model specials runs at 4pm………we hope to have our grandsons Mini Stock back by this weekend. Jason Legge and friends have been doing all they can to eliminate the engine miss from the Honda. This car has brought so much aggrevation and disappointment already that we are calling it “PLISTEEN’, the Japaneese version of “Christine”…..Mini Stocks will run on Sunday May 27th as well.

Iron Man Crushed Into Twisted Metal

Eric Uprichard Photo

Mayhem In May Continues As Hard Hit Caps Terrible Month

Sunset Speedway May 27th …….The car was so good just before this wreck. After finishing 3rd in the first qualifier we made an adjustment to improve the car for our 2nd heat. The car was awesome, that is until we got body checked coming off four at full speed into the hard concrete wall. The car mounted the wall driving the right front wheel into the engine area and bending many bars in the front part, also bending and busting most of the suspenion and brakes on that side of the car. When it came down off the wall, still at high speed the car turned shartp and headed for the inside cement retaining wall, that is only 18″ thick (the front wall is four feet thick not to mention the 300 feet of earth behind the wall). With no brakes our car slammed the inside wall at very high speed taking out the left side of the car. This was one of our worst, if not the worst crashes ever. This not only extends, but brings our bad luck at Sunset to an amazingly cruel new level. Special thanks to all my crew for working very hard to get our car so it could be loaded in the trailer. ALso, to the incredibly thoughtful and caring staff, and promoters of Sunset who made several visits to our pad to make sure I was okay and let me know they deeply care for the bad luck we’ve had in May. There will be more pictures this week. Our car is at Mike McColl’s right now getting fixed……congrats to Tom Walters for winning the 75 lap Pro Late Model race……the full story will be on our message board , and there is lots to tell, on Diary Of A Season 2012, hopefully by tomorrow….congrats as well to David for having a strong run in the Pennzoil car.

Extending A Hand

Dan Little Photo

Jaxson Jacobs #1…During Red Flag At Sunset Speedway

Just want to let everyone know that there is no issue with me and the youngster, Jaxson Jacobs, who lost control of his car on Sunday. After getting out of the ambulance and seeing the track was still under red, I ran over to his car to ask what happened. He was apologetic and felt sorry for what happened, I wouldn’t expect more. I know some will say other things relative to the accident, but as far as I’m concnerned it’s over, and I’m sure he has learned a few lessons with keeping his car under control, and more importantly, that when you make a mistake in racing, you don’t have to hang your head for a long time. Respect is very important, but so is forgiveness and understanding. I love this sport, and most important thing about this sport is not the race cars, it’s the people. Thank you to all those who have shown compassion to us, also to Jody, the mother of Jaxson who courageously let me know how she felt and instantly gave me peace and healing. What happens behind the scenes is sometimes the greater story.

McColl Enterprises

Courtesy Speedway Photos

Evaluating The Damage….Staff Prepares For Inspection

I called Mike Sunday night from Sunset and let him know that I would be dropping the car off to him early Monday morning. He said he would be ready, and sure enough when Eric and I arrived at about 7:45 there were five of them including Mike to help us unload the car. They immediatly got the car on these big jack stands and started taking wheels off and whatever bent parts were in the way. Mike wrote down a list of things that I had and decided to pull the engine to get a better look of the frame. Besides all the bolt on parts there was a lot of damage to sub frame parts like the front hoop area and the passenger side bars where the body was attached…..Eric Uprichard, one of sponsors and crew, came with me. Eric took this picture. We headed home shortly after this. I had to pick Nonie up at the hospital after her knee replacement surgery around 10:30. It would have been impossible for me to do much work on the car this week, I had to be with Nonie, I was her main care giver, and the last thing a Nurse can be doing is working on a race car…….It’s a bit alarming that in the past two seasons I’ve had my hardest hits ever in 44 years racing. This crash was very hard and will rank as my most expensive race repair ever, perhaps even including inline engines that were always in the four to five thousand dollar range. If all goes well our car should be ready before the end of the week…..this story is late getting up on Diary Of A Season 2012, but will be soon.

Ready To Come Home

McColl Enterprises

Officially Our Most Expensive Repair In 44 Seasons

When I started racing Late Models, it was a relief for me not to have the high costs of racing repairs like those I had with the Hobby car when our engines would explode, sometimes twice a year, and sometimes at $5000 a hit. Late Model racing has been more expensive on a nightly basis, but the winnings are much better. Overall I’ve found the availability of sponsorship for our Late Model to be more abundant than what we had with the Coupe. Perhaps in summarizing, when both financial reports are figured out, it comes out about even. The Coupe is cheaper to run (especially with the V8) but creates less financial opportunity because of the room allotted for sponsors, smaller schedule, smaller purse and lack of big fan driven shows, that provide better exposure and purses. The Late Model on the other hand can be a successful entity. There is more room to advertise on the car, more home track races, more opportunities to race around the province, greater purse payouts and invitationals that pay out decent dollars. The down side for Late Models use to be the ridiculous cost of engines, but the Crate engine took care of that deal. Next was tires, but many tracks have a one tire per night rule. The biggest cost is the unknown, damage caused by accidents. Our first serious wreck was in 2010 and by the time we got our car back from McColl’s it was $3800, plus extra parts I bought from Grisdale, as well, the extra time our crew spent putting the engine back in, fitting the body parts and going over the car to set it up. The final costs on that one was $5000 (not icluding our labour). We did most of the work to keep the cost down. In this most recent wreck at Sunset, it ranks as my hardest hit ever. This incident became the perfect storm of financial disaster for us for various reasons. Nonie was coming home from the hospital after having a knee replacement on Monday and I promised to look after her, we didn’t have the coverage to have a nurse come in. So in order to save money I wanted to be with her, espcially for the first two weeks. That eliminated me being in the garage 8 hours a day for four or five days. No time to strip the car down or pick up racing parts. The car needed lots of welding, and my equipment could not do the work required. We could have pulled the engine, replace the bent parts, installed the body etc, but that work load required lots of help, and that was my biggest area of need, enough help to pull this off. It would have been too much for our crew to dedicate, making it almost impossible to be ready for the next race. Enter McColl Enterprises. The car was completed in three and a half days with over 100 hours labour and tons of parts. The car is ready to race except for some very small maintenance by us. The cost? Double our 2010 wreck. It’s tough to have such a crash so early in the season. If this was September we would have repaired it enough to finish the season, but being May, made that impossible. We pray that we can raise the money needed to pay for this, and trust God will open those doors. We’re not discourage, but this has been our toughest start in 44 years….Mayhem in May. We’re looking for Jewels in June. Thanks to Mike McColl and his staff for getting our car ready quickly and doing an awesome job fixing it. Mike did say the car would be better than it was before, he made a few changes to it while it was on the operating table.

Sunset Speedway Racing June 2nd

Dan Little Photo

Tom Walters #47, Winner Of The First Pro Late Model May 27th

Sunset Speedway will be back in action Saturday June 2nd as long as the weather is friendly. Last week end Tom won the first of four McColl Pro Late Model Open’s. There were 27 cars for this event. Tom started on the pole through the invert and was never really challenged. He will bring his winning car, winning team and winning ways to continue his chase for the 2012 Sunset Speedway crown. We should have 18 cars on June 2nd and our team is hoping to turn our dismal season around with a trip to the winners circle. Our car was badly damaged last weekend but sits at home now ready to go this Saturday…..we welcome a group from Youth Unlimited who will be bringing some guests with them to Sunset Speedway. For many it will be there first time at a race and we will have an opportunity to show them our car up close once hot laps are finished. Hope you can make it tomorrow to watch the very fast and competitive racing in all three classes, Mini Stock, Thunder Stock and Late Model.

Rained Out June 2nd….A Good Thing

Needs Paint

Me Calling A Rain Out A Good Thing??????

The races on June 2nd were rained out and for our team we can say we were ready for this night after the awesome work done by McColl Enterprises. I never like a rain out, but we have a show this Friday at Cross Roads in Burlington and Fan Appreciation Night at Sunset on the 9th, so missing the weekend because of rain is okay. It made sure we wouldn’t be messing up these new panels before they were painted and lettered. Bob and Steve drilled out all the rivets so I could drop the panels off to be painted on Monday. Our hope is they will be ready on Wednesday and then run them out to Kitchener for Steve to letter. Once they’re back home we need to get the panels on the car for the Friday morning TV show. Hectic yes, but glad we don’t have any other work to do on the car and can rest another week because getting the stuff back on the car will be very easy since all the holes are drilled. It will be like putting a model car back together……….the reason Bob and Steve removed the new panels is because I headed over to Flamboro to test drive the Honda. Our friend Jeff Windich knows a lot about these cars and did some work for us this week, and the good news is he’s only 150 feet away. The car ran slow for 10 laps turning times 2 to 3 seconds off the pace, but wasn’t missing, just no power. At the end of my session it started losing power again and when Gehrig took it out he commented when he got back in the pits “this car has no get up and go”. I took it back out again and it was clearly slower than my first session. This car is a 16 valve engine, and not allowed at Flamboro, so being 3 seconds off the pace means something is drastically wrong. It feels to me like the timing is retarded, there is nothing on accel, the engine is flat. We’re going to give one more effort to get this right, and if a new computure fails to bring this car within a second of the fastest cars, we’re going to park it for 2012. The reason I say a second is because we still need to lower the car, put some camber in it, and get decent shocks and springs put on, and we feel those changes could make up another half a second and then Gehrig will get faster as he gets more racing time. He doesn’t need anymore driving time. The chassis changes are important, but none of those things are going to happen until the suffering of basic power is corrected. I was told when I took the car out that we needed to hit 110K on the chutes at Flamboro to be in the ball park, and we were hovering around 90, not even close, but the stop watch told us that as well, 22.2 seconds per lap constantly…. we shouldn’t even report that. If this was a V8 or Inline, I would think the timing was out. The lack of power is alarming, but it may because it’s not advancing. The hour glass is now on the Honda and we hope to get it right but we’re not spending any more money on it. We will spend the money to haul it to Sunset next week and hope a new computer will get it going better, if not our grandson has already said he doesn’t want to continue on like this. None of us do, he can’t learn, and it’s not fun. We’re hoping we can get it right.

Panels Painted…Next Lettering…Creative Edge

Thanks Jeremy & Anil

Preparing For Cross Roads Taping June 8th….Fan Appreciation June 9th

After last weeks rain out, Bob and Steve immediately removed all the new unpainted panels. I got them to Jeremy on Monday and Anil had them painted in plenty of time so we could get lettering on the car for our TV taping for Cross Roads Friday morning, and of course to have our car ready for Fan Appreciation at Sunset Speedway on Saturday. It’s been kind of an easy week. Looking after Nonie has included making her meals, getting her whatever she needs, doing our laundry and taking our 3 puppies for walks throughout the day. All of our family have contributed to making things smoother around our home with Nonie laid up. I knew she always did a lot for us, but trying to fill her shoes is impossible. She is recovering and that is the most important thing. Once her knee is strong enough, she will be able to walk more and get some much needed exercise to help her back muscles. She sure has gone through alot the past few years and I hope this new knee gives her pain free days……..as for our Late Model we will take the doors and quarter panel to Steve Lyons to have him in stall new numbers and the big Quaker State on the drivers side. The Bob, Steve and I will install the panels Thursday night and load the car for a taping session for Cross Roads early Friday morning. I’m so glad we’re going to have the car back to where it should be, we just hope that our luck changes. We need to be optomistic and not worry about that, but it sure has had it’s toll on up so far in 2012. A feature win would make us all happy, but even a few weeks of good hard running with no incidents will do the trick as well….we’ll go with the feature win.

Numbers Go On

Creative Edge

Another Step Closer

Steve Lyons, owner of Creative Edge, and staff member Chris Berwick put the numbers on our doors and the left quarter panel. We ordered many decals from Creative Edge after our crash on May 27th and Steve got them done for us this week. We had no problem putting on the smaller decals, but I had zero interest in messing up one or both of the numbers, and for sure the big Quaker State on the side. If I tried I would of had bugs, dust, air bubbles and dirt between the beautiful sticker and the panel. I’ll pass. Creative Edge has lettered my cars many times over the years and do an amazing job for this very fussy race car owner. If you need graphics, Creative Edge is the place to go, they will meet your budget and if you want, sell you the decals for you to put on, or install them at a fair price. Another item on their menu is wrapping, that includes race cars, trailers and vehicles. We are taking our trailer to Creative Edge in the near future to have it wrapped. You can access their web site by clicking on the logo on the right side of this page….or call them at 519-741-1156…..more pictures of our progress will be going up soon. Bob our crew chief and Steve helped me install the decals for both sides, nose cone and rear left quarter, This was a huge help, now our car will be ready for a photo shoot and interview with Cross Roads, 100 Huntley Street Friday morning. This taoing will be aired at a later date, we’ll post it here when we know.

Ready For Cross Roads Event

Bob & Steve

June 8th CTS Television Taping Is A Go

We were invited a month ago to be part of the 50th anniversary of 100 Huntley Street. We will go to Cross Roads in Burlington and be interviewed by Ron Maines and his wife Ann. It was very important for us to have the car at this event and in order to get it done quite a few people had to extend themselves. Once the car was completed at Mike McColl’s, and of course that was the most important aspect, because without the car finished we could not have had it painted or lettered, we had to get the graphic and appearance of our Late Model up to par. The car was ready last weekend and we were loading it to head to Sunset. Then we got the news the races were cancelled due to rain. We immediately unloaded the car so Bob and Steve could remove all the panels for painting. I headed over to Flamboro to test Gehrig’s Honda. Thanks to Jeremy and Anil, the panels got painted in time and thanks to Creative Edge we got our stickers. Then Bob, Steve and I began assembling all the decals. The hard work by our crew made it possible to have the car with me at the Cross Roads taping for the June 15th show at 9:am. It just wouldn’t have been the same if the car wasn’t there. So special thanks to everyone for helping us make our commitment………..Saturday night is Fan Appreciation night at Sunset Speedway……we wish David Elliott and the Pennzoil team the best of luck as they run at Flamboro Saturday night to defend their Grisdale Triple Crown title. David won this series in 2011 driving for Nonie and I.

Sunset Speedway Features Rained Out

Dan Craik Photo

“Fan Appreciation Night” Sunny During Autograph Session…..Most Qualifying Completed

It was a strange kind of night. We knew for a few days they were calling for rain in the Sunset area. Even on Saturday morning it looked doubtful that we’d get racing in. If it rained at Sunset Speedway we were heading to Flamboro Speedway for the Grisdale Triple Crown race. Last minutes calls to Sunset indicated the weather was very good, so we headed north. They were right, the sun was shining, it was a great night for the Fan Appreciation aspect, where drivers and crews went on the track and met fans, signed autographs and had a fun time in the hot sunny but humid background. We got all first round qualifying in, and second round for Mini’s and Thudner Cars. The rains came just as the Late Models were starting their final qualifying heats. It was after 9pm and when the rain got more intense the track had to make a decision to cancel. They told everyone in the pits they would honor rain tickets and to save wrist bands for the rain-delay show, to be announced later. It was just as good for us because though we found the problem with our brakes, we needed a little more time to get it right. Now we have a week…….the Honda episodes continued with the car still breaking down and missing, no power even to hardly keep up with the pace car on the white flag. We have tried everything, and had many very good knowledgeable people try to help us, but we are calling it a season for Gehrig. He is disappointed to not race, but not near as disappointed as he has been in his first five nights running so poorly. We don’t blame anyone, maybe myself for not getting a known, good legal car in the first place. We spent far more money than we planned on the Honda, and appreciate the many other hours spent by friends trying to get it to run competitively. Our last shot was installing a better module that would do the job, but when installed the car was no different. We may still try to get Gehrig in a car, but it means another few thousand dollars and we just don’t have the sponosrhip to get it done. We’re still trying, but the Honda is out…….on Friday we did a taping with Cross Roads, 100 Huntley Street and that show will air this coming Friday at 9:am in the morning……congratualtions to David and the Pennzoil team for finishing 2nd in the Grisdale Triple Crown race 75 lapper on Saturday night, as well to Paul Howse for taking the checker. The race was broadcast live on Sirius radio through Race Time Radio. Joe Chisholm, Josh Paxton and Robbie Thompson did the play by play and it was fantastic. Hope more Canadian tracks get RTR to do their specials.

David Wins Grisdale Heat Race

Flamboro Speedway

Pennzoil Team First In Heat….2nd In Feature

Congratulations to David and his team for winning one of the qualifying races on Saturday night and more importantly pulling off a second place finish in the 75 lap feature. The race was broadcast live on Sirius chanel 157 through Race Time Radio, and it was fantastic…what we heard. It was difficult for us to pay attention to our own show in Sunset with the excitement of the broadcast……David will try and defend his 2011 Grisdale Triple Crown title. Paul Howse won the feature and Brad Corcoran finished 3rd in the 18 car field, congrats also to both of their race teams……special thank you to RTR for the awesome job they did covering this race and making it so exciting. Joe Chisholm, Josh Paxton and Robbie Thompson did the play by play, it was fantastic to hear our local racers getting so much air time, good for everyone invloved……also a special thanks to Bill Grisdale and all the management at Grisdale Enterprises for not only supplying Scott Lyons a car for this race, but also dedicating the car to our great racing friend Bill Lyons……our team can’t make these races because of our commitment to Sunset Speedway, but we’re happy to hear it was a very successful event.

Thank You Andrew

Working On The Car

Special Family Helps Out

Please meet Andrew. He is a huge race fan, and a true dedicated fan of our race team. Andrew is shown here helping us just prior to the CME show in February. Andrew and his family have been an amazing blessing to me and our race team since we first met them. Here are a few blessings: 1) Opening day we see a huge green and gold sign in turn four welcoming our team to Sunset 2) After some bad luck early in the season, Andrew prays specifically for me 3) On May 27th we suffered our worst crash in 44 seasons. Andrew witnessed the crash and wants to help us. He asks his dad to give our team a gift from him…..every cent in his piggy bank. Andrew we want you to know how much we appreciate your thoughtfulness towards our team, and to me personally. You have been such an incredible blessing it’s hard to put in words. I want you to keep watching and cheering for us, and when we win our next race, and it will be soon, please come down and get your picture taken with me. Thank you for making our season such a joy in spite of the trouble we’ve had. God is good, and I thank Him for you and your generous heart.

Help Help Me Honda

Joe Archer Creation

Nice Work, & Creation By Joe Archer

This excellent looking art design by Joe Archer, could be the final picture we see of Gehrig for 2012. We have basically tried everything on the Mini Stock….Help Me Honda…even the Beach Boys new better and called it “Help Me Ronda”. The Honda can’t help us and neither can anyone else right now, I think there are too many changes made to get it back to normal. It would need to be totally gutted wiring wise and start over and that’s a winter project, as well a money project. We are parking this nice looking car, but are tyring to do something to get Gehrig a car within the next few weeks. We are looking for a sponsor for Gehrig to go along with Quaker State and a few other associates we have already. His season has been very frustrating for all of us, but especially Gehrig and he’s been very good about having six terrible nights resulting only in him being parked. He would soooner be parked than go another lap in the car…….special thanks to Joe Archer for this awesome creation.

MRE Pro Race Cancelled…Rescheduled August 26th

Eric Uprichard Photo

Ryan Kimball #16 One Of 26 Late Models At First MRE Race

Unfortunately the weather man has called for heavy rain for today’s race, the second of four scheduled MRE Pro series Late Model races at Sunset Speedway. The Father’s Day invitational has been rescheduled for Sunday August 26th. This is the third rain out in a row for Sunset Speedway. Last Saturday’s races were cancelled in the evening before all qualifying was completed and the June 2nd race was called at noon. The next MRE show is July 11th, a Wednesday night. Regular racing resumes next Saturday night at Susnet Speedway, races start at 6pm.

The Intensity Of A Racer…”Lauren The Charger”

Go-Carts At Flamboro

Pennzoil Team Of David & Lauren Out Performing The Quaker State Team So Far In 2012

The pre season hype and plans favoured the Quaker State Late Model and Mini Stock teams. Most know however that both cars have gone through an incredibly disappointing start for 2012. Not giving up, because that’s not what we’re about, we hope to turn around the season for both the Quaker State cars……On ther other hand, the Pennzoil Late Model and Go-Cart teams are doing very well. Daivd has been amazing in his start with a 3rd on opening night at Flamboro, a win and 6th at Delaware Speedway for their opener and he followed that up with a heat win and 2nd in the first Grisdale Triple Crown race. Lauren has done very well moving up to the next level and racing against some very tough competitors. She has had a top five already and seen a few nights of great running. Lauren has had some tough luck this season but does show promising signs of being a decent competitor in the 25 cart field. Lauren’s next race is this weekend and is looking for her first win………..Gehrig is still in limbo, we’re trying to get his race program up again, with a different car……..this coming Saturday we’ll be back at Sunset for a night of racing with the Late Model.

Pennzoil Light Show

Eric Uprichard Photo

David Back At Delaware June 22nd

Late Model stock car racing resumes this coming Friday at Delaware Speedway. David had a good run in the season opener that saw 25 Late Models put on a good show for the huge crowd. David won his first Late Model race at Delaware taking the heat win on the last lap coming off turn four……Lauren will race her Go-Cart this Saturday and she could use some good luck. Lauren has been racing hard in a very comptetive field, and holding her own very well…….though on hold, Gehrig’s Mini Stock career could get kick started in a few weeks, we’re trying to put together a program to put him on the track in a car that runs proper. He’s been very good with the disappointment and has made it clear that he knows the meaning of the move over flag ………..the weather shows signs of being dry for us at Sunset Speedway this coming Saturday night. We lost three consecutive nights of racing, two regular shows and the second leg of the MRE Pro Late Model mini series. Two of the three are rescheduled so techically we didn’t lose them. We feel our bad luck has passed us by and we’ll get to show our true racing colors this weekend. It’s been a very frustrating and expensive start for our team, by far the worst in our 44 year history. We’re not giving up, it’s not an option for us. The best remedy for this ailness would be a feature win, and that’s our goal. Thanks to my family, our crew and sponsors for their incredible support. Hope to see you there.

Racing Resumes Sunset Speedway June 23rd

Late Model Action

Three Wide…Maybe Four?…Come Tomorrow Night & See

Dario Capirchio #03 and Kyle Mombourquette #22 are book ends for this battle through the middle of turns three and four. Stuck in the middle is #29 Sean Grossman. Not sure how this worked out, but the same kind of excitement will be seen again on Saturday June 23rd. Front gates open at 5:pm, and races start at 6:30, hope to see you there…RAIN TICKET RACE…if you were in the pits at Sunset Speedway on June 9th, your rain tickets are good for tomorrow, don’t forget to bring the bracelet!!!!!

Sunset Speedway Win #2

Photo By Dan Craik

We Got Off To A Great Start June 23rd

It was a beautiful night of racing, hot, then cool, and a decent size crowd. MacMaster Pontiac was the nightly sponsor. We ran well in the warm ups and then won our first heat of the night. Our struggles continued in the next heat and the feature. The full story will be on Diary Of A Season 2012 later today or tonight……Being at Sunset without Gehrig and the Mini Stock was kind of a sad day for us. Gehrig didn’t race, although the racing he’s had so far this year could hardly be considered fun for him or any of his fans. We’re hoping to resurrect his race program. We are on the edge of deciding to let him run for Rookie in 2013. He may be too far out right now to have a shot at it, and none of it by his own doing……David had an awesome run Friday night at Delaware finishing 2nd in the feature…….Lauren was banged up again, had one Cart drive right up on her shoulder. She was okay and managed an 8th in her feature.

Crew & Fans Allowed In The Picture

Dan Craik Photo

Heat Win #2…..Still Working On Our Feature Program

Sunset has a few differnt policies than Flamboro and both I didn’t realize until I got to the track. The first is that drivers don’t pay to get in, something many racers over the years argued for. I remember asking in 1974 why we paid to get in, the Leafs didn’t pay to play hockey, the Beatles or any other musician or entertainer didn’t pay to perform, so why did we have to. Thanks to Sunset for seeing it that way. Second, crews and fans are allowed to get their picture taken on the track right after the race. Flamboro stopped doing that about 10 years ago or more. It’s great for these people to get in the action. All tracks allow pictures with crews and fans for the features only. That would eliminate most teams of ever getting a chance for a picture if they could only get their family or crew under those circumstances, so thank you Sunset Speedway…..here Matt and Andrew Smith lead Bob, Justin, Steve, Debbie our neice, Lauren our grand daughter and #1 daughter Shirley make their way to the car. It sure felt good to win. We really want to get a good finish in a feature, and hopefully it’s coming soon.

Benltey Walks Away WIth Sunset Main

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Mike Bentley #29 Wins 2nd Feature Of This Young Season

Congratulations to Bentley race team. He started 4th in the feature and didn’t take long to get the lead and pull away from the field. On every restart he pulled away by 3 or 4 car lengths. When the race went green for a few laps he was out of site. This win moves the Bentley team into 5th place in the points, though still aways back from the leader Kevin Cornelious who started 12th and picked up 2nd.

Happy Crew & Family

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Second Win Brings Smiles To Anxious Supporters

Not all of our crew could be here tonight, but those who did make it were happy and relieved that we made it back to the winners cirlce. From left to right are Matt, his son Andrew, our awesome neice and fan Debbie, grand daughter and go-cart ace Lauren, our beautiful daughter Shirely, Steve, Bob and Justin…….It’s been a tough year on me, but clearly on my family, crew and fans as well. We had hearts drop in the next race after this heat when we were hit in the left rear and cut down a tire. The car went out of control but we were lucky to miss the cement walls and competitors. We sure do need a few weeks of clean competition to let us all relax and not be too over the top concerned everytime we go on the track. Meanwhile, winning a race like this does help everyone feel good and claim under their breath “yes we can do it”. There are no Late Model races this weekend at Sunset, but Varney is holding a July 1st Limited Late Model special. Any Pro Late cars will have to add about 250 pounds to their cars making it tough on the short tight Varney oval…….we will be at Sunset Speedway this Saturday in our Vintage Mod Chev Coupe.

We Badly Need 2 Good Finishes In A Row

Dan Craik Photo

Steve & Justin To The Rescue

When a race team is struggling, whether it’s bad luck or any other reason, there are many people who suffer. The driver/owners of course, but so do the fans, crew and sponsors. Our crew have been through so much already and yet have been resilient in their effort and support. After winning the first heat from the pole, we made one change to help the car turn a little better in the corners. We were hoping to have a good run in the second to see how we would measure up starting from the rear. By lap three we were hit, sending the car in a wild spin down the front chute, after cutting the left rear tire. It was our 7th lost tire in 2012. Unable to continue the car was sitting in the in field and two of our crew came to the infield with a jack, spare and chordless impact gun. They changed the tire and we stayed in the infield watching the rest of our second heat and the Mini Stock heat before heading to our pit area. I am so thankful our team is not giving up, in fact they seem to bounce back after every event hoping for a better finish in the next race. Our feature races have been terrible with 9th being our best finish. We are totally out of the points chase for a top three, maybe top five, unless those teams head to Italy for a month. Sitting outside the top 10 by a small margin is our next goal, but in reality, even 8th to 6th seem a mile away. We badly need to put a string of good finishes back to back, our only hope to salvage this season. In spite of the poor results overall, our team has been an incredible bright light to me and my family, supportive, encouraging and inspiring and to them I am very grateful. Like me, they won’t give up, and for them, a feature win would sure make the tough times worth the wait, for me to………thanks to Dan Craik for this photo.

Our First Lettered Trailer 1998

New Home

Trailer Discovered In Alliston

I was heading along highway 89 yesterday and saw my old trailer in a driveway. The people who own it use it now for storage they don’t have a garage…..Jim Sweers built this trailer in 1989, we were the first team in the Hobby class to have an enclosed trailer, we were also criticized because our car was not exposed for people to see but hidden inside the trailer. I kind of agreed and thought about putting lexan on the side to see the car, but that never happened. The positive’s of this trailer was that we could carry many more parts and keep them dry, lots of Hobby drivers would drop by our trailer to borrow stuff, a deep contrast in the 70’s and early 80’s when we were the team borrowing parts. Oh yes and when it rained I usually had lots of friends inside the trailer……this was our first lettered (kind of a mini wrap) trailer. It was white the first few years but 10 years after it was built we had it lettered up to match our race car…..our new trailer is being wrapped at Creative Edge, wait and see what 14 years of technology in the graphic industry can do to a trailer when lettered by a professional company……picture coming very soon!!!!!

Trailer Wrap 2012

Creative Edge Design

Quaker State Team New Look

Thanks to Quaker State for sponsoring the wrap on our trailer and to Creative Edge for an amazing job, not amazing in any sense but that it looks amazing, we knew it would be fantastic, but this is more than that. Steve and the boys took almost four days to do this and Quaker State and our team love it. Our first opportunity to show it will be the July 1st race at Varney Speedway……….today we race our Coupe with the boys of the CVM at Sunset Speedway. This is the third show of 2012 for the Hobby club. We are looking forward to running both the car and of course at our favourite track. Hope to see you there.

Ron Easton Cleans House

Sunset Speedway

CVM Show In Front Of Huge Crowd…Great Night Of Racing…Especially For Ron Easton & His Crew

We headed to Sunset today to race with our Hobby friends in the CVM. Nineteen cars showed up putting on a good show for the packed house. There were three heats and a feature. Ron Easton #00 won both his heat and the 25 lap main event starting on the pole in both races. In the past few races feature winners have come from the front row. It was the same back when we ran 25 to 30 nights in a season. Fast cars with bad luck would eventually start up front and once they could put it all together, like Ron did tonight, they would move further back in the field. Congrats to Ron, his family, team and sponsors……we had a so-so night finishing in one piece, and there is a lot to be said about that. We started last in our heat race and finsihed 7th, and started 15th in the feature and finished 11th. We were running 8th and looked like a few more spots were possible. On lap 16 or 17, during a yellow, our engine started to over heat. I was reluctant to pull in the pits but decided the better choice. Our single crew, Roger Spies, really couldn’t do anything. I restarted 15th and with a few laps left was able to come across the line in 11th and no more spewing of water. We have a few things to do to the Coupe to make it right, and one is to order a new front axle right away, and that will get done Tuesday……..July 1st we head to Varney for their big race event, a 75 lap Late Model invitational. Should be fun, but could be crazy. Were all thinking turn four!!! I am thinking to take hostage of myself and let things sort out. Be on the pole or at the back, they may be the two safest places. It should be a great show for the fans as the TQ Midgets will be there as well. Races start at 2pm and lots of big name Late Model drivers will be there including Mark Dilley and Scott Steckley, two top running NASCAR drivers. See you there.

Canadian Showdown Varney Speedway

Eric Uprichard Photo

First Time At Varney Speedway In 8 Years, & First Time Ever In A Late Model

In mid February Tommy Robb, Late Model Champion at Varney Speedway helped Kent Nuhn, new owner promoter of Varney, organize an Invitational for July 1st. He went to all the drivers he could see at the CME show asking if they would be interested in coming. When asked, I said I’d be there. It was our first time at Varney in a Late Model and first return back since 2005. On that visit we blew up Dave Watson’s engine in the Hobby car. I always like running Varney, even on the old track and won a few heats over the years, a feature in 1987 and a little feature in 1989. The driver’s that promised to come, some made pre entry commitments, totalled 15 to 20 for the show. They included Mark Dilley, Scott Steckley, Jason Parker and Tom Walters. Because it looked like a big field, many decided not to come, and others who said they’d be there headed west to Peterborough. David would have brought the Pennzoil car but it looked like the weight penalties were going to be too high so he decided not to enter or even say he would come. There were two Sauble Late Models, running built engines. These two were 3 tenths faster than any other cars in the field. So much so, we really didn’t have a chance to win unless we could have added a four barrel, even then I’m not sure, but it would have helped. We knew we’d been running for 3rd, as would the rest of the cars there, and we did get 4th, right on 3rd place at the end. In spite of the small field of cars it was a good competitive race. I like the new track, never really had an issue with turn four on this visit……….The owner, staff and people at Varney are great, reminded me of back in day, in our early years in the Hobby club, everyone friendly and helping each other out. The show was a success, beautiful day, good size crowd, autograph session with the Late Models and TQ Midgets who put on another great race…… Congratulations to Dan Wright on his win, and special thanks to Tim and Donna Tolton for their help and hospitality. Also, Jason Green for making the trip and pitting for us. Jason usually helped Gehrig, but came with me and was a big help…….. Eric Uprichard made the trek as well, taking pictures for Ontario Oval. This shot is of us going into the gates with our newly wrapped trailer……the full story on the Varney race will be up soon……PS, our trailer looks like it has a peak roof, it doesn’t but if it did, would make for some nice storage, or sleeping area. Maybe not for sleeping.

Racing My New Boss

Eric Uprichard Photo

Mark Dilley #89 Racing Into Turn Three

This was my first in a Late Model at Varney ever, and the first time on the new designed track. I really like the way it’s laid out. In this shot Mark Dilley, Canadian Tire NASCAR star and promoter of Sunset Speedway and I race into three. Coming off turn four was no issue as long as the car wasn’t loose, and didn’t hit the speed bumps low in the turn. Mark would end up 3rd in the feature and we finished 4th right on his tail…..the CVM are heading to Varney on September 2nd and this will be perfect for them. Special thanks to the promoters of Varney for their friendly and welcoming ways and especially to Kent Nuhn for his appreciation gift to the drivers that participated in the 75 lap feature. I will be going back to Vareny for their next special, this was a great day for us.

Autograph Session Varney

Larissa Spencer Photo

Eric, Jason And I, Await The Fans

Eric from Speedway Photo’s and Jason Green, one of our crew members, and crew member for our grand son Gehrig, joined me on the track at Varney on Sunday afternoon. I think one of the best things tracks can do for their customers is the “Autograph Session”. It gives the fans, young and old an opportunity to meet the drivers, get a picture and a close up look at the race car. Some kids are very excited when they come down to the track and are so excited they can hardly talk when you ask them their name. Sometimes, if possible, putting the kids in the race car is a memory that will last a long time in a very positive way. We build our sport when we participate in these kinds of promotions, but the tracks gets a huge pat on the back for allowing it to happen, they call it “Fan Appreciation”, and I’m sure the fans truly appreciate it. I love it and always participate, and on this day I think every Late Model and TQ at Varney were on the track.

Kings & Classics July 8th

Sunday July 8th

Quaker State Team Will Be On Display At Rockton Fair Grounds Kings & Classic Show

Ray Michaels, disc jockey at CKOC 1150, invited us to participate in his 5th Annual Kings & Classic show at the Rockton Fair Grounds on Sunday July 8th. We had to survive the racing at Sunset Speedway July 7th, and we did, so Bob, Maggie and I will be there. Hope you can drop by.

Pre Race Sunset

July 7th

Bob Checks The Chassis & Matt Torques The Wheels Prior To Practice

Bob and Matt go over the car just before hot laps. Though our car was ready, we always double check the basics even after a thorough maintenance check during the week. We also went to tech and scaled the car, it seemed right, ride height and numbers wise, the wedge never seems the same as what our scales read, but we went with it. We had our newly wrapped trailer on Saturday night, our team looked awesome. More pictures to follow.

Checker #3 At Sunset Speedway

Candiss Everingham Photo

Our Third Win Was Nice…..A Feature Would Be A Season Nice…..We’re Working On It

Almost every intimidation has crossed our path in the past 2 months, mechanical problems, our worst crash ever in 44 years, opening night $1500 loss and being reminded everytime we come to Sunset that the other drivers there are …not afraid to race hard…the best in Ontario…and so on. Just to let everyone know, we have been racing against the best drivers in Ontario since 1972, the toughest Hobby drivers on earth, and the past 7 seasons at Flamboro with many top Champions at that track. We’re not afraid, we’re not intimidated, we feel we may be trying to get too much out of our car that we felt at the beginning of the season would be competitive. The jury is still out, but it sure looks like we need some major up grades to run with the bulls. We’ll get it, we’re not giving up……..thanks to my crew who have been very dedicated and taking this roller coaster ride of a season with smiles and encouragement. Not sure if they get that from me, but I sure appreciate it from them, and all the fans we have you have been so supportive not to mention the incredible staff encouragement, thank you crew, fans and Sunset Speedway. We love it here.

Mayhem On Lap One

Sunset Speedway

Walters Laps Field In 2nd MRE Race

A lap one crash took out a few contenders including Brandon Watson and Chris Morrow. There was only two more cautions after that and then a long run of green till the end saw Tom Walters and Mike Bentley destroy the awesome field of Pro Lates. Every car was lapped at least once expect Bentley who would have been lapped if it was a 100 lap race. It wasn’t anything like the Pro Late Invitationals in 2010 and 2011 where parity was much more evident. The full race report will be on Diary Of A Season soon.

Quaker State Team

33 Chev Coupe

Coupe Heads To Flamboro, Trailer Heads To Sunset With Late Model

Flamboro Speedway will host the Hobbies on Saturday night. Derrick Melenbacher will pilot our Coupe for this event. Some major work was done at Ron Easton’s Oakville Trailer shop last week. A new axle, other front end parts and a complete set up. Derrick will do fine in the car. Good luck to our CVM Quaker State team……….Meanwhile we head up to Sunset Speedway to run our Limited Late against the Pro Late Limited Late Super Lates. As many of you know, Tom Walters engine was sealed after Wednesday night, and will be checked after the races Saturday. To be honest, it really doesn’t matter to me. It’ more than the engine that needs to be checked. To run in the Pro Late Model series, the Limited Lates were allowed to remove 120 pounds, put in the small 5.5″ clutch, run 10″ rims and add the 4 barrel. Those changes should have made the Limited Lates with the 602 competitive, not a second faster than their regular night lap times, and certainly not to the point where both Tom and Mike Bentley lapped the field. Mike passed Tech after the race, so all was okay with his car, though not all was okay with the hot shoes from Delaware and Flamboro who were smoked, as well as the rest of the builts and 602’s who apparently all missed the set up. I really think that Tom and Mike should have used some discretion. A spotter or someone could have suggested to get the lead and slow down a little, make a race out of it. That didn’t happen, and what did happen has most of the racing community buzzing. Maybe it’s good they ran the way they did, because now something can be done to implement a Crate program that works, and stick to it, although more than just the Crate has to be reeled in. It will mean starting over, and that should be done before things are so far out of control there’s no turning back. After what we seen on Wednesday, it appears we’re already there and some major changes should be in place for 2013. There will be changes no doubt for the next MRE race, hopefully we get the cars to come back. It sure is an amazing place to race, and in spite of what’s been going on lately, I have no regrets of making the move north for 2012……..we will have our Quaker State Late Model on display at New Roads Chevrolet in New Market on Sunday from 10:am until 2:pm. If you’re in the area, drop by and say hello…..see you at Sunset Speedway, we’re hoping to inch a little closer to the front, sure is a tough haul with this core of racers and cars, but we love the track, staff, fans and competitors.

Three Wide….Kinda

Eric Uprichard Photo

Heat Action Sunset Speedway

Keith Maiato #6 leads this heat race going down the back chute with Tom Walters #47 ready to strike on the inside. Our car was much better this week end, still need to be able to get on the gas quicker in the middle. We’re working on it. Tom won this race and we finished 2nd. The complete story of July 14th is on Diary Of A Season 2012…………Gehrig was out in his new ride the 1993 Bullen Honda that we purchased last Wednesday night. Pictures of his outing will be up next.

Gehrig’s New Ride

Eric Uprichard Photo

Gehrig Is Finally In A Car That Will Go….And It Is A Honda

The first 5 weeks for Gehrig were a nightmare for him, his family and crew. We were all disappointed with not being able to get the Civic to run competitively. Those who gave us the first car, who changed the engines and who helped try to get it going again were frustrated and disappointed as well. It became a project that was better to let go then invest more money in. We decided to take some time off and wait for a car that was proven and one we could watch race and then buy. We chose the Brandon Bullen car. He is the 3rd generation driver in that family and races very well. The car was fast as Branden showed the night we made our decision. We also requested the car go through tech and then Shirley made the purchase………Gehrig is shown here battling for the first time in his racing career. He raced hard in his heat until he experienced his first crash. Going into turn three while passing cars he got too high and into the marbles making the car impossilbe to turn. He hit the turn four wall, breaking a lower control arm. He was okay physically but learned the hard way by not being able to return to the track. He is a racer and will need to be patient before racing that hard again. Once he can handle his new car, to steer, counter steer and pass clean, he is free to go. That will come with lots of laps running fast. Grampa will be his mentor for the next few weeks in hopes of teaching him a few basic lessons and what to expect in certain situations. I like the fact he was staying with the pack, it won’t be long before he feels confident in his new car allowing him to race it. Gehrigs next race is Saturday the 21st, but we are taking him to Flamboro this week for some practice laps.

Noble Customer Appreciation Barbeque

Toronto

Quaker State Team Supports Sponsor Event

Drop by and see us tomorrow from 11:am until 2:pm at 7171 Jane Street. There will be lots to see with many companys participating including Rheem and Noble two of our sponsors. We will hand out autograph cards and visitors are welcome to have their picture taken in the car. Hope to see you there.

Supporting Sponsors

Toronto

Noble Appreciation Banquet

We had our car on display Friday from 10:am until 2:30 pm for the Noble Appreciation Barbeque annual event. We were there promoting our sponsor Rheem Canada and supporting Noble. There were many vendors with displays, it was estimated that over 700 visitors including contractors dropped by for the awesome barbeque. This was our 12th show of the year………we return to Sunset Speedway tomorrow night, as well as Gehrig and the Mini Stock team. Races start at 6:30 pm.

Fan Appreciation

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Team Quaker State Ready For Fans

Sunset Speedway held their second Fan Appreciation for 2012. It was a packed house and lots of fans dropped by our car. Every car was on the track to give fans pictures, candy and sign the souvenir programs they purchased. We are developing a good size fan base at Sunset, many fans wished us well and let us know they were cheering for us. We had a decent night, the race report is on Diary Of A Season 2012, we have an easy week and are looking forward to our visit to Faith Church Summer Camp next Friday and then on Saturday night Sunset Speedway will host their first ever Family Faith Night. Many local churches and churches from Oshawa to Wasaga to Hamilton will be represented. More on that later this week.

Family Faith Night July 28th Sunset

July 28th

The Church Goes To The Races….Angels Are Already Waiting

Sunset Speedway will host the first ever Family Faith Night on July 28th. The event got it’s genesis when Paul Johnson director of Open Doors Canada, and Lawson Murray President of Scripture Union Canada and I discussed the possibility of having a special spiritual night. Once we talked to the management team at Sunset Speedway we were on our way to having a night at the races, where God would be front and center….namely Jesus. The FFN entourage of workers, members and guests, will take over the VIP lounge area. We’re hoping for 100 or more people. There will be other local churches in attendance and one of the organizers will open the night in prayer, just before the national anthem. Open Doors, SU Canada and the Canadian Bible Society have all partnered in this endeavour, and collectively will present the first 500 fans with a gift bag. We will be giving out t-shirts as door prizes, and some t-shirts may fly through the air for waiting fans. It should be an awesome night. If you would like to be part of this night, and involved in the VIP hospitality area, click on the Scripture Union logo on the right side of this picture, third from the top, and on their front page is the big checker oval that links you to ticket purchases. I’m hoping this night brings a new awareness to the love God has for everyone of us.

Gehrig’s New Look

Dan Craik Photo

All Green & All Go

Gehrig had his newly painted and lettered Honda in the fast lane Saturday night. He was racing hard and picked up a 10th in the Mini Stock feature, his best Stock Car feature finish in his very young racing career. Gehrig showed lots of potential and simply needs seat time to get faster each week. His issue before was the Civic had no get up and go. That’s not the case now, and with a good car to drive, he will learn this sport much quicker. He still needs to learn his own car, and how to pass cars properly and with confindence, that will all take time. The more times he races in a pack, the more he’ll learn his own limitations, and just as important, the characteristics of his competitors. We were all proud of him Saturday night, and he smiled a lot to……….the Late Model had another strong run, that’s three in a row. We finished 5th in the feature. Both our heat races were tough as we got boxed in and could not get out until we were near the tail end, however in both heats we came back to gain a few valuable points. We are now 8th in the standings, but have a long way to go to hope for a top five. We’ll keep digging.

Slowly Getting Better At Sunset

Debbie Jo Zardo Photo

Fifth Place Finish Keeps Our Hopes Up

We’ve had a terrible start to this season, but based on our performance the past three weeks, it would have appear that we’ve turned a corner. We’ve done it with some good luck but also a decent car in the feature races. We had a 4th two weeks ago, then 7th and now 5th. Attrition helped us this week, but our car was better for most of the race. We’ve been trying new things hoping to gain a little on the top three, but we have a ways to go to battle with those dudes. We still need to get through the corners better, come off better and go in further. Seems simple enough, and we have a game plan. We are certain there is still a lot more in both the car and me to close the huge gap between the three Amigo’s and our team. The top cars are running awesome times, getting through the corners and not one of them is listening to the track manager who says “you don’t have to win it on the first lap”. They are flying from start to finish, but so is the rest of the field, we’re just having trouble flying as quick as they are. We have more troops coming in to fight this war. Some better parts and strategies will gain us a few more feet per lap and that seems to be the only way now to improve is a little each week…….this weekend is a double header with a Limited Late Model special on Sunday. That race starts at 6:pm front gates open at 4:30 and back gate at 1:30. Hope to see you there.

Slowly Getting Better At Sunset

Debbie Jo Zardo Photo

Fifth Place Finish Keeps Our Hopes Up

Quaker State Team

Urban Warner Photo

Flags Flying For Quaker State Team

We’re always looking for the perfect shot of our team. This one has the idea of what I would like to get. The car, and flags flying, but missing of course is Gehrig, our crew, the Mini Stock, the CVM and the CVM crew and a good shot of the trailer. We will find a windy day soon and get all the components together for a great shot, but I liked this one just the same. Thank you Urban.

‘Trouble In Turn Two’

Eric Uprichard Photo

Mini Stocks Wild On The Back Chute

Gehrig goes high coming off two, following the path of #99 Rob Krystal. Unfortunately Ken Townsend #21 has no where to go, nor does #1 Dave Henderson as they jam on the brakes to avoid the spinning Mustang of #78 Wendy Adams. Mini’s have a double header this weekend racing both Saturday night and Sunday at Sunset Speedway. Races start at 6:30 on Saturday and 6:00 on Sunday. Click on the Sunset logo on the top of our front page to see the prices and other info on this weekends racing.

Walters & Bentley Battle For Points Title

Eric Uprichard Photo

Regular Racing Saturday….Invitational On Sunday For Late Models (Limited Edition)

This weekend the racing community is hoping for awesome weather for the the long weekend double header. Saturday night it’s regular points with Tom Walters on top. Mike Bentley is 28 points behind followed by Kevin Cornelious who is 51 points behind. The points are structured in favour of having flawless nights. One bad night and you could be out of the hunt. Though Mike had a disaster opening night, he has been incredible ever since. Kevin had been very consistent but dropping out of the feature on lap one two weeks ago hurt his team badly. As for the battle for the top five, its between Sean Cronan and Taylor Holdaway. Jason Witty and Dario Capirchio hold 6th and 7th, but need a good night to close the gap. We are back of those two and also need a hot August to gain on 7th and 6th………..Sunday is the first of two Limited Late Model specials. We will be in that show instead of the Sauble show, which we’ve been in every year since 2006. Hoping for good weather and a good night for our team. I will be without any crew this weekend. Bob and Matt are on holidays, Ryan is working and Steve can’t make it out. The good news is David will be helping me as spotter and with any changes we need. Races start at 6:30 on Saturday and 6:00 on Sunday.

David Wins Delaware Feature

Delaware Speedway

Pennzoil Team Gets It Done…..First Feature Win At The Big Half

What a night for David and his team as they won the 35 lap feature at Delaware Speedway Friday night. This was David’s first feature win ever at Delaware. The victory moves him into 2nd place in the points standings, with a shot at winning the title. We are all very proud of David and his team, fantastic run……..David will be with me tonight at Sunset Speedway as crew chief and spotter. Wouldn’t it be nice to make it a family weekend of winning….we sure are going to try.

Sunset Speedway Feature

Joe Archer Creation

Podium Finish With 3rd in Feature

We had our best feature finish in since 2010 with a hard fought third in the thirty lap main. Our car was very good all race. My crew were on holidays, or working. David offered to help me, and so did J.J. and the Zardo crew, namely Glen. David was crew chief and spotter, doing both jobs well. David won the feature Friday at Delaware Speedway and we were hoping to make it a family weekend of feature wins. We sure tried and did lead for the first 15 laps until a fifth caution allowed both Mike Bentley and Kevin Cornelious to catch up. Bentley was gone on the restart and a lap later Cornelious got by, but we held onto 3rd even with another caution with 2 laps to go. On that green-white-checker Sean Cronan #84 and I had a side by side battle for those final two laps. David kept coaching me to drive in harder, but he knew I would be doing what it took so I didn’t run into Sean. We got him by half a car length at the line. Even more incredibly amazing was the battle for the win. Kevin beat Mike by .001 of a second in a photo finish…….Matt and Ryan were going to come to the Sunday show at Sunset but rain cancelled that event…….Special thanks to David for all his help, and doing a great job spotting and helping get our car better………we are at a Teen Camp all week and will return to run the Grisdale Triple Crown race………..Thanks to Joe Archer for this neat shot and graphics.

Teen Camp A Great Success

Wesley Acres

Pennsylvannia Teen Caleb Sayer Loved Our Car

We took our car to Wesley Acres on Tuesday of this week to be part of the Teen Week event. A three day seminar, learning about the safety, maintenance and suspension was taught to the 44 teens who came to the pavilion in four groups starting at 8:30 in the morning. The sessions were approximately 50 minutes each. One visitor, not part of Teen Week, was Caleb Sayer from Pennsylvania. He loved the car from the moment he laid eyes on it and dropped by every day, not saying much when classes were around the car, but asking many questions about the car when there was just the two of us. I gave Caleb a hat and t-shirt courtesy of Sunset Speedway, and he immediately went back to his cabin to tell his family. It was great to be able to make so many youngsters happy these past three days including Caleb. The final day was a version of the Amazing Race. When the various classes got to the pavilion where the car was they had to rotate the 2 right side tires, and recite 1st Corinthians 15:57. It was a great day, even the rain stayed away giving the teens an enjoyable day going to each station, there were 6 including the race car stop. The fastest time rotating two tires from jacking it up to the tires hitting the ground when they were done was 80.620 seconds…………. Our car was prepared for Flamboro’s Grisdale Triple Crown race before we left, and that was a good thing because getting home late on Friday would not have given us much time to get our car some what close to running at Flamboro. The weather doesn’t look too promising, but we never worry about the weather much anymore, most tracks call it off early, but if Flamboro doesn’t, we’re only 15 minutes away……we wish David and the Pennzoil team a great finale, they are leading the series, and it would be great to see them win it two years in a row.

Final Grisdale Triple Crown Race Today!!!

Dan Craik Photo

G3 Finale Qualifying Starts At 4PM

The final race of the Grisdale Triple Crown series runs today at Flamboro Speedway. This will be our only appearance in the G3, never missing one of the shows in the past seven seasons. Our commitment to run Sunset Speedway as our home track made it impossible for us to make the other two races, but we are going to be in the finale. David leads the series and we hope he can win his second Triple Crown series in two years. Hope to see many of our fans there today.

David Gets Burned

Dan Craik Photo

David Finishes 2nd In Grisdale Triple Crown Standings

If there’s one driver that has to stop spinning David out, it’s Jason Shaw. Shaw was maybe 2 to 3 tenths faster than everyone but during the first heat race, while David was leading, Jason got into David spinning him off turn two. David went scratch but the track let Jason keep his spot. Jason was 11 points behind inteh Grisdae Triple Crown, and needed to close the gap between him and David in the heats. David was leading the series with a 10 point lead over Paul Howse and 11 over Jason. Jason went on to win that heat and David finished 8th, a gain of 7 points. In the next heat David finished 4th and Jason 3rd. Heading into the feature David had a 3 point lead. Paul finished first in his first heat and 8th in the 2nd but had trouble with his clutch and was unable to use his car in the feature. He got to drive Shane Gowan’s #39. David had trouble in the feature, finishing 8th with a power issue. Jason took 3rd and Paul was beat up near the end of the race after doing an awesome job getting back up to 2nd. Jason won the series by 3 points. Had he been sent scratch after dumping David, he would have finished 2nd in the series………we finished 11th with our very limited, Limited Late. Old tires, 54% left side, too high, too heavy and no power, were ingredients for last place, and that’s where we finished, but ahead of everyone from 12th back. Our 11th place finish was better than expected, and I can’t believe I said that…..this Wednesday is the 3rd race of the MRE series. We are 14th in that series and still trying to finish in the top 10…hope to see you there.

Mark Watson Wins Final Grisdale Race

Dan Craik Photo

Mark Watson #3 Takes Race #3

Congratulations to Mark Watson and his team for fighting a hard battle, holding off some tough customers to take the checker in the 75 lap feature at Flamboro Speedway on Sunday. Mark is currently leading the Delaware points, a few ahead of David who sits 2nd in both the Delaware regular night racing, and their triple crown series. David finished 2nd in the Grisdale Triple Crown, Jason Shaw took top honors in this years event….our next race is the Sunset Speedway MRE four race series, this will be the third race of that mini series. Races start at 7, expect to see Mark there to battle with Tom Walters and Mike Bentley, though it’s not officially certain he is going. Steve Laking and Brad Corcoran are running 3rd and 4th behind the two Sunset aces, and will be there to close the gap in the MRE standings. The question isn’t so much who will be at the race, but who will be able to catch Tom Walters. The extra added weight will slow him down, but he is my pick to win this race. I can’t see the weight being a factor. but hopefully it’s enough to make it a race for the fans…..hope to see you there.

MRE….Round Three Sunset Speedway

Eric Uprichard Photo

Sunset Speedway Hosts 75 Lap McColl Series Wednesday Night

It looks like a full field is shaping up for the MRE show tonight at Sunset Speedway, including the fast and very classy APC team of Luke Ramsay with Jamie Cox driving the #22. Cox was hard luck at the Grisdale Triple Crown race on Sunday, but has ran very well at Sunset Speedway in all the special events the past few seasons……..Sunset promoter Mark Dilley added 75 pounds to the Limited Lates in hopes to make the show more competitive. It’s not sure what will transpire at the fast banked oval with this weight penalty, but the goal was to make the racing exciting for the fans, and hopefully it works. Tom Walters won the first two rounds, lapping all competitors but the second place car of Mike Bentley. In spite of the extra tonnage, both he and Mike will be tough to beat……This year Bentley has 4 feature wins, and Walters 3, including the MRE shows. The talent and achievenments of the field that start the feature should include some of the best stock car drivers in Ontario, but they’ll have to be the best to have a shot at winning. It’s expected a full field will be attending and many trying to end Stompin’ Tom’s streak. My guess is he will win again, though Bentley will be very tough. Some of the invaders will no doubt have changed their cars as well to give themselves a better shot at taking the win. Hope to see you there, should be a good one.

MRE #3 A Great Show

Dan Craik Photo

Mike Bentley #51 Wins Round Three

Well my complaints about no parity in the last MRE race were answered with an awesome competitive 75 lapper. The July 11th show saw the winner lap every car but one. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday night, as 22 of Ontario’s finest Late Model drivers showed up to battle on the very fast third mile high banked oval. Mike Bentley won this race but was a long way from lapping everyone, in fact Mike had his hands full as a group of cars ran tight near the end, battling for the win. The crowd size could have been better, and it’s a shame it had to rain when it did. Had the rains came early in the afternoon we may have seen a much bigger crowd, but it rained around 4:00 and took an hour or so to clear out of the area. That may have scared some fans off that otherwise would have made it out. The Quaker State team had a much better race this time, running hard battles for most of the race, finishing 10th. The full story will be on Diary Of A Season 2012 tonight. We qualified better as well……….our next race is Saturday at Sunset, races start at 6:30PM.

Family Racing

Pamela Guppy Photo

David Runs Delaware Tonight….We Run Sunset Tomorrow

The next 2 weeks will be busy stock car racing wise in southern Ontario, especially for our team. David is racing at Delaware and is currently 2nd in both the regular points and the Delaware Triple Crown series. In the next 14 days our team will run seven times, Sunset the 18th, Flamboro the 20th, the 23rd at Barrie for the Garry Reynolds Memorial, then a double header at Sunset on the 25th and 26th, the Sunday race being the final MRE 75 lapper…just like the MacDonald commercial says “I’m lovin’ it”.

Kenny Wallace To Run Flamboro’s Gold Rush

Flamboro Speedway

100 Lap Shootout Should Be A Success For Promoter

Flamboro Speedway will host it’s first “Gold Rush Shoot Out”. There are 24 cars pre-entered and another six expected making the field up to 30 cars, maybe more. The deal is a $10K pay out to the top qualifer who says they will go to the back of the field. If any one of the top qualifiers says they will go to the back, the pole sitter has first choice, or last choice depending on how they do it, and they win, they get the ten thousand dollar, $5000 for the win and a $5000 bonus. The pay out is good regardless, so there is really no need for guys to drive like they’re on a day pass from the asylum, 10th is $650. This is the best payout in the past 15 years, maybe ever for Late Models….$500 to start. We will be there, only this time with our var prepared better than it was in the Grisdale Triple Crown race. We are likely not to be one of the quicker cars because of our engine, but we may improve a little with newer tires, and a better chassis set up. The MRE races have drawn top runners, this should draw all of them. Gates open at 5 races start at 7, no other classes just Late Models.

Kenny Wallace & The Quaker State Team

Eric Uprichard Photo

Gold Rush Shoot Out…Flamboro Speedway….Our Team Meets NASCAR Star Kenny Wallace

Kenny Wallace was awesome on and off the track at the Flamboro Gold Rush event. He was kind enough to come over to our team, meet all our crew and get this shot, taken by one of our sponsors Eric Uprichard. Kenny went on to qualify and finish 3rd in the race, he said we had an awesome looking team…….we were hoping to be somewhat competitive, but fell short power wise, it was like taking a dog-sled to an NHRA national event and hoping to beat the Funny Cars. We did improve alot over our last race time wise but with our HP down, a 5″ ride height, we were struggling to keep ahead of the much more powerful engines. We were happy that we ended the night clean, no serious damange, but perhaps the high light of the night was meeting this very friendly and awesome sportsman Kenny Wallace. The full race report will be up hopefully by tomorrow, we are changing our car back to where it was on Saturday as we prepare for the Gary Reynolds Memorial this coming Thursday at Barrie Speedway.

History In The Making For Our Team

Joe Archer Creation

Elliott Racing Team Sets Personal Record For Most Races In Shortest Time

The month of August has been incredibly busiest for our team. We had scheduled 8 races and 2 shows including a four day Teen Camp. Back in 1978 the Hobby club ran 17 races in 6 weeks, and in 1990 we ran the most nights in a season with 39. If we make all of them in 2012 we could hit 30 making 2012 our 4th highest number of races in 44 years. Add to that 15 appearances, and one more to go, and we will be over 45 race nights and show events for one season, making 2012 our busiest ever…..thanks to my wife for allowing me to race this much, my crew for making as many races as they can, my sponsors for their tremendous support, for the race tracks for hosting these races and thank you Lord for keeping us safe……finally to Joe Archer for making this awesome graphic.

Gary Reynolds Memorial Barrie Speedway

Dan Craik Photo

Memorial Race A Tremendous Success….Great Crowd, Lots Of Cars, Awesome Race

The Gary Reynolds Memorial 100 lap invitational was an incredible race with only two cautions in the first 50 lap feature, the second half went green to checker with lots of side by side racing. Mike Bentley won the feature continuing his domination of 2012 everywhere he goes. It was our first time on the new designed Barrie Speedway. The last time here on the old track we won the CVM feature. We didn’t win, but ran awesome finishing 7th in the feature. It was a hard fought battle with some of the top Barrie drivers, Dwayne Baker, Keith McLeod, Gord Shepherd, Al Inglis, Robin Jongen and of course some strong invaders. I really enjoyed everything about the race and track. It reminds of racing back in the 50’s and 60’s, covered stadium, short track, close hard racing, a perfect scenario. Thanks to Barrie for having the race, to all the racers for running us hard and clean and to my crew Ryan, Matt and Paul for helping put an a competitive race car on the the track…..the full story will be up on Diary Of A Season 2012 on the message board later tonight.

Sunset Speedway Double Header This Week End

Dan Craik

Sunset Regualr Points Saturday………Final MRE Race Sunday

We head to Sunset for a double header this weekend. We’re hoping to have a good run on Saturday to help us move closer to 7th in the points chase, and then on Sunday we have the fourth and final MRE race. We are currently 11th in that series, hoping to get in the top ten. Our last MRE race was the best yet and just this past Thursday we had a strong run at Barrie. Our car is working very good, in spite of the fact it;s on the verge of being outdated, not quite obsolete, but clearly outdated as far as chassis and engine go, compared to many of the cars we’re running against. We’ve worked hard getting it to where it is now, making it possible for us to be compeititve, and we are still trying to inch it better every race. Our next major step is engine and chassis updating. That won’t happen this year but will definetly be at the top of our list for 2013………Sunset should have awesome racing this weekend, the weather looks great, very hot, hotter in the cars……we’re looking to pull off a win see you there.

MRE Qualifying

Debbie-Jo Photo

Great Run For Quaker State Team…..Qualify 6th Of 24 Cars

The final round of the MRE four series was held on Sunday and our team had a good start to the race with a 6th best qualifying speed. Tom Walters won the pole with a 14:550, our time was 14:734. The invert was 8, putting us 3rd on the start of the race. Our car was very good for the first 30 laps, running awesome on the outside and not so good low, very loose off. We had one green flag run of 22 laps and ran outside of Steve Laking the entire time. Our hopes of a top five finsih came to an end when our rotor broke in the distributor cap on lap 50. This was our 8th race in 22 nights…….Next weekend we have a double header again at Sunset Speedway including a Limited Late Invitational on Sunday…..Special thanks to my crew for working hard on Saturday and Sunday.

Heading Out For Qualifying

Dan Little Jr. Photo

Grilled Taped Up And Ready To Make A Quick Lap

Taping the grille was only one thing we did to help make our car as good as it could be in the MRE time trials on Sunday. We increased tire pressure on the right rear, scaled the car a few times to make our balance was good and added a spacer plate for the carb, something we didn’t do last time. Though our times were slower than August 15th, the last MRE race where we turned a 14:634, putting us 9th, they were faster than all but five cars for this time trial session. Our 14:734 was 6th quickest. We were very happy watching the board for the final 10 cars seeing our number still on the board, and then, Dwayne Baker, the final car, turned a few hundreds better putting us to 6th, but not getting us down. The boys did a good job all weekend…….congrats to Brandon Watson #9 for winning the race and Tom Walters #47 for winning the series.

Quaker State Team Supports Food Bank

Waterdown Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Presents Food Bank & Back To School Drive…Chance To Win Sunset Speedway Tickets

Gary Elliott Motorsports will be on display Friday August 31st to help raise support for the local Flamborough Good Bank. Drop by and see my crew chielf Bob Periera and I. You may even get a chance to win tickets to Sunset Speedway. We’ll be there from 3 until 6 pm….please bring an item for the Food Bank.

Kids Give To The Food Bank

Waterdown Wal-Mart

Quaker State Team Supports Food Drive

Bob and I arrived about 2:45 to set up for our part of the Flamborough Food Bank & Back To School event at Wal-Mart in Waterdown. We were scheduled to be there from 3pm to 6pm but stayed until after 7pm. It was a great day. lots of people came by. Flamboro Speedway benefited as well, although free tickets were provided by Sunset Speedway. There are two days left to drop off a food or school item in the containers inside the Wal-Mart store……..tomorrow we head to Sunset in hopes of recovering after a tough Saturday night last weekend. Then on Sunday we have a Limited Late Model Invitational….hope to see you there.

Qualifying Round Sunset Sept 2nd

Dan Craik Photo

Heat Race…White Flag Lap

We ran a double header this weekend at Sunset Speedway. We ran okay in both, had decent runs getting a 6th and 7th in each feature. Our car has a severe push, it’s too tight, making it hard to get on the throttle without waiting, and when I do it’s very loose off. We will have that fixed this weekend. Our crew have been very good, working on the car steady, trying to get it right. We have 2 nights of points racing left and cap the season off with three double weekend Invitationals. ONe at Sunset, Flamboro and the finale at Peterborough……in this picture by Dan Craik #29 Sean Grosman was able to pass us and take the win….our next race is this coming weekend September 8th…..Monday morning we take our car to school in Milton at the Milton Christian School for a welcome to the kids and an opportunity to speak for a few minutes and encourage them for the coming year….our Saturday night race, September 1st, is posted on our “Diary Of A Season”, the Sunday race will be finished by Tuesday night….thanks for visiting our site.

Driver Intro…Sunset Late Model Invitational

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Boys Get Ready For A Wild Ride….And Awesome View!!!

During the driver introduction at Sunset Speedway’s 75 lap Limited Late Invitational, these two youngsters were placed on our roof by Mark Dilley for a photo opportunity. Matt was standing by to lend a hand and to make sure the window net was up and I was all set……Ryan called the race, did a great job. It was his third time spotting, all have been 75 lap races…..This was a good show with lots of diciing throughout. We finished 7th with only two rivets taking a beating, and that to me is a victory of sorts…..the full story is on Diary Of A Season 2012…..our next race is this Saturday at Sunset Speedway.

Battle At Sunset Speedway Invitational

Urban Warner Photo

Sean Grosman #29 Working His Way To The Front….But Not Just Yet

This picture was taken from the Sunset Limited Late Model Invitational on September 2nd. Sean Grosman #29 started behind us and after battling a few laps he finally got by to take another checker in 2012. Sean won the feature two weeks ago, and is having a strong late season surge……This weekend things tighten up in the points chase as cars battle for the top 15 spots. Tom Walters leads Mike Bentley and Kevin Cornelious by 30 points, but it’s not a comfortable cushion with the way the points are given out. Each spot is worth four points in the feature and any car that has a DNF or goes to the rear of the main event in the closing laps is in danger of losing a lot of ground on the car in front, or to the cars behind. The battle for 5th between Sean Cronan and Taylor Holdaway is close, so is the battle for 6th to 10th, and 11th to 15th, as cars fighting for those positions are very close….Stock car racing resumes this Saturday at 6:pm.

Sunset Speedway

Debbie-Jo Photo

Black Or Chrome…Which Looks Best????

We ran out of 10″ Chrome wheels for the last three MRE races so we used some black wheels and the car looked great with them on. Not sure what the fan favourite would be. We don’t have any black 8″ wheels, but these 10″ will run on the car the final races of 2012, Octoberfest and Autumn Colors. We’ll decided next season what wheels we’ll go with, I have been chrome since 1983 for most of my racing career, but the black does look nice….maybe for the specials we’d be black. A Black or Chrome topic is on the message board and your comments are welcome…….after racing 10 nights in October, waiting 14 days to race again seems a life time….this Friday we are at Rheem Canada for a barbeque event…..Saturday night is the final points race and we can mathematically finish 6th, that’s our hope and our goal.

Rheem Canada Appreciation Day

Rheem Canada

Rheem Canada Hosts Appreciation Barbeque

Our race team heads to Rheem Canada early Friday morning for a barbeque event. This promotion will run from 11:30 until 1:30. Our display will feature autograph cards signed and given away as well as answering any questions about racing…………..On Saturday we’ll be invaded by the Canadain Motorcycle Cruisers (CMC), a posting will be put up on Friday to promote their event with us at Sunset Speedway on Saturday the 15th.

Bikers To Invade Our Home & Sunset Speedway

CMC

CMC Plan Day At The Races With Our Race Team

On Saturday the Candian Mortorcycle Cruisers will come to our place in the morning, have a meet and greet, coffee and snacks, get a tour of our shop, the museum and see our daily routine for preparing to go to a race every week end. After we load up they will follow us up the 400 highway. Sunset Speedway is going to make a donation to the CMC that will go towards their charity, supporting the Durham Childrens Aid. Should be a fun night…..I wonder if my peers will be intimidated by our gang of friends……maybe not so much……but we’re glad they are coming to support our team and our sport. We hope for a strong run, and to put on a good show for our fans and the CMC members in the final points night at Sunset Speedway for 2012.

CMC 050 Bike Club Invades—GMC 602 Engine Expires

Chev Crate 602

Chev Crate 602…First Casualty In Eight Seasons

It was to be a great fun day with the Canadian Mortorcycle Cruisers, and in spite of the finish to our night, it was a fun day and night. The boys came, seven on motorcycles from the Oshawa area, they spent about an hour or so in our garage and then headed from our place to Sunset Speedway to get, for some of them, their first up close glimpse of stock car racing. Lead by my former crew chief Steffon Zoskey, the boys got to see and how we set up our pits, they even helped quite a bit, including changing tires. We finished 5th in our first heat, and then after starting 8th in the next heat, our car lost power half way through while in 4th place…….the engine let go, possibly a rod. We will take off the pan and peak, but there is no way we’ll do what we did over 70 times with our Inlines’, and that’s rebuild it. A brand new engine is $3200, an Inline is twice that for a rebuild, but comes with a warranty, an hour glass. A new engine will be included in our 2013 budget…….meanwhile Gehrig gave me a hand today pulling the engine out. We’re hoping to borrow a 602 for Sunset’s Velocity weekend special. A few people are looking for an engine for us, inlcuding Mark Dilley. We asked last night at the track, and did get an offer to run Jason Witty’s built engine. Thanks Jason, but all our bolt on stuff is for a crate. Hopefully we can get an engine for next weekend, if not, we’ll put the 604 in the car for Octoberfest and Autumn Colors……special thanks to Steffon for organizing the day at the races with the CMC members and spending it with our team and helping us out…..now we clean all the bolt on stuff and wait for someone’s generosity.

Prayers For Shane Gowan

Late Model Racer & Friend

Our Prayers Continue For A Succesful Operation And Full Recovery

Since we heard about Shane’s illness and pending operation our family have all been concerned for Shane and his family. Nonie have been doing the only thing we know, pray. We’re praying for wisdom for the Doctor’s, for a succesful operation, and for complete healing, delivering Shane from the pain he’s had for far too long. His operation is today, Wednesday September 19th and we continue to lift Shane up in prayer and blessing from our Lord. God bless you buddy, we know this is a tough deal for you. We can’t be there, but we’re there in spirit. Looking forward to talking to you soon……******UPDATE****** September 20th….operation was a success, still some concerns, please keep praying for full recovery for our friend

Shane Home & Healing

Shane & Kelly

Scary Operation Over, Shane Is Home….Our Prayers Were Answered

“Thank you Lord for giving our friend not only a successful operation but getting him back home quick with his family”…..Shane was sent much sooner than most of us would have guessed. I thought we’d be visiting him this week in the hospital once he got out of intensive care, so we were very surprised, in a good way, to hear he was home with his family so fast after this scary operation…..we wish you a speedy recovery Shane, but take it easy, racing is over for now, you have 7 months to fully heal and get strong. God bless buddy.

Vandalism At Velocity

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Season Ends The Way It Started….Fun But Beat Up

We ran our first Velocity race at Sunset Speedway. There were 27 cars on hand, a very good field of Late Models, okay, Limited Lates. Mike Bentley won the 75 lapper. Our race ended on lap 57 with this mess, though a bent spindle took us out of the show. We had a good car, the crew were awesome as we made three pit stops for various reasons……..More on Sunset as the week goes on……Our team is preparing for the Flamboro finale, Octoberfest. We have pictures to post with our repairs and other changes to our car for the big races over the next two weeks. Keep watching for up dates……Special thanks to my crew Bob, Ryan and Urban for making it out on Sunday and a big thank you to Matt and Jason, who made both days and to Matt who had his debut spotting in the two heat races…….Our Diary Of A Season, race #26, will be updated very soon, just crazy busy right now on the car.

Good Bye Sunset Speedway…For 2012

Eric Uprichard Photo

Tough & Discouraging Season On The Track……Off Track Events? Best Year Ever!!!!

So far we’ve ran 26 race nights, and been in 18 off track shows and events. The off track shows have been awesome and included many great opportunities to show case our sponsors. This has been by far the toughtest, busiest and yet most rewarding season ever……..I loved Sunset Speedway even before they rebuilt it and made it one of the best tracks on earth. Our team won quite a few races at Sunset in the CVM, including back to back features in 2001, one Saturday night and the next on Sunday. Coming here with expectations of winning a title, was an enthusiastic, if not miscalculated goal, were soon dimished after our first night wreck, an omen of things to come. Stuggling the next few weeks made May 2012 our worst month of racing in the past ten years. The high-light of May was our mega wreck in the first MRE race, all but demolishing our car, and creting my highest expense repair since blowing a few engines in one year in the CVM. It wasn’t just the bad luck, it was clear throughout the season, our car was at best a top five, yet only managed three top five feature finishes. It would take us until late June to finally show any reason why we should be in this Late Model class at all. I remember days in the CVM where we had a run of bad luck, but once we got things turned around we won. Not here, not with this field. The only way to turn things around was with 50K. There were nights I felt like I had a Thunder Car, or was running my Late Model against OSCAAR Super Late Models. I would say Limited Late Model, but that handle is so far off the truth, it’s like calling a terrorist group a peace movement. The top Sunset cars are as advanced in technology as any stock car in Ontario, in fact maybe the best of all. Getting a new car was not on our budget, had it been we would have considered it after the MRE wreck in May. Even the repair with all new suspension parts, though better, was no match for the top three. Over the summer we spent a lot more money on our car, not to fix it, but to steadily improve it, trying to make it more competititive. A new carb, increased fuel octane (racing fuel $$$), increased reving of the engine, all things that definetly made the car go faster, but additions to our race program that cost alot of unnecessary dollars, but were needed in order to have half a shot a finishing in the top five, never mind winning, or even coming close to winning. We led two features by half a track but were eaten up on restarts and not only beaten off the corner, but falling back nearly half a straight away within a few laps. As gloom as it was, we very much enjoyed every other aspect of racing at Sunset. Most all of the racers, Mike Bentley included were encouraging. A great group of guys who run hard and who all want to win. The staff were amazing, also encouraging and most of them very knowledgeable about racing and what goes on. The management team were also great people to work with, making our visit a true blessing for all of us. I didn’t see I to I with every racer, one thinks I’m a whiner because I wanted to bring parity to the shows. He admitted he cares for himself, and pretty well only himself, so fundamentally we are at opposite ends of the racing spectrum, although it would be nice at times, maybe once or twice to enjoy his on track accomplishments of which he has mastered….I wasn’t whining there was I………Bottom line for our team is that we need to take our nine year old car and make it a show car and get a newer car, or retro fit this car and hope with some luck and proper set up we could put ourselves in a position to win a race. We are looking at a new car, but that’s also a dream, not really so much a reality, doing a retro fit it a reality, we just want it to be enough to make the leap to where we want to be……..The talent and competition at Sunset was the toughest I ever competed against. That would be compared to the hot shoes at Flamboro and the many years of running against some very tough racers in the Hobby class. Our goal for 2013 will be to concentrate on our race program and do all we can to close the gap between us and Mike Bentley who is overall the quickest car at Sunset. We’ve already started on our 2013 race program and the main focus on the list is bringing a better equipped car, chassis, engine, transmission and suspension, to compete each week….in the meantime, we have Octoberfest and Autumn Colors to run and a Church event on October 20th before we finish out 2012. Still looking for a win, maybe Peterborough, we’ll be better prepared for Autumn Colors.

Flamboro Speedway Octoberfest This Weekend

2011 Champ David Elliott

2011 Octoberfest Champion David Elliott….Ceclebrating With Dad

Unfortunately for the fans David will not make the 2012 Octoberfest to defend his title, due to other commitments. We will make this event for the 8th straight season, and fortunately we will be without the 602 engine, replaced by the 604. No offense to our new 602, it’s just that Flamboro put excessive heavy penalties on us the last time out, so we went with the bigger engine and the less weight, yes less weight…..We’re hoping our performance will be much better than the other two times we visited Flamboro in 2012, the final Grisdael Triple Crown race and the Summer Shootout. Our car is set up to run with the Pro Lates, and we will be at the proper ride height, and weight distribution. It’s kind of nice running the 604 again…..races start at 3:pm Saturday and 1pm on Sunday, hope to see you there.

Octoberfest…..We Looked Great

Eric Uprichard Photo

Thanks To Our Team, They Tried Very Hard….Maybe Next Week

Pre race photo of most of our crew for 2012. First of all we congratulate Brad Corcoran and Brennan DiDero for winning the season finale at Flamboro Speedway. They were tied at the end of the 2nd feature. The track officials decided to allow them to split the winnings. I think that was the way to do it given the fact we only ran one heat race. The boys were good with it as well……… Octoberfest 2012 was disappointing for our team, but in spite of that, we were not defeated with our results. They worked very hard all weekend to give us the best car possible and we thought we could be a contender. A great car on Saturday disappeared on Sunday and a late wreck in the first 50 did too much damage for us to be in the hunt. We finished 9th and 13th in the two races, and 11th overall……there is a fair amount of work to do over the next few days, mostly cosmetic, as as set our sites on Peterborough’s final race, Autumn Colors. More pictures and updates throughout the week….thanks to Eric Uprichard of Speedway Photo’s for this picture.

Better Get Maaco

Eric Uprichard Photo

Two For Two In Season End Finales…….Not Stats We Wanted

We had high hopes of running stong at this race but the car fell off from the rain Saturday night, or the hockey stike, we’re not sure why we went from so close to so-so. Our car wasn’t the same from one day to the next and we knew it wasn’t from changes we made. Even in the Sunday hot laps we looked good, 3rd fastest in practice, but a severe push on about lap 20 cost us to fade away from the leaders………..we were running on the inside on the back chute coming off turn two when Steve Laking checked up on the outside lane, a move that had cars going everywhere. Brennan DiDero came off the wall and hammered our car, sending us in a spin and basically done for the night. It wasn’t his fault, it happened very fast. We did get back out to finish the final 13 laps. We could hear the lyrics of the body shop jimgle that said “Better get MAACO”.

Octoberfest Aftermath

Tuesday Night

Getting ready For Autumn Colors

We started work as soon as we got home Sunday night from Flamboro. Paul drilled out the beat up nose cone and front steel bumper and we sent it out to Jim Sweers to be fabricated. Jim did a great job with Bob helping out. We are ready to install the new bumper and front nose cone. The front bumper cover shown here is from our spectacular crash at Sunset during the first MRE race. This nose cone needed some tender care, offered by Paul, and now with a little paint and some decals will look okay, from a few feet. We plan on leaving Thursday for Peterborough so tonight will be important to get the car, trailer and parts finished. Our crew as well as Glen and Wayne from the Zardo team will ‘get er done’.

Autumn Colors Classic

Peterborough Speedway

Ready For The 112 Lap Classic

We ran our 8th consecutive Autumn Colors Classic this weekend and the car was very good for us. Jim, Ryan, Matt, Jsaon, Ken, Linda and Steff all contributed to making this a fun weekend for us. I wanted a top five finish, and we felt we could do it with some luck. You buy almost anything, but luck is not for sale. We’ll post more pictures this week of the race and resutls……special thanks to Drew Mac Security Systems for their support on the week end. All of our sponsors came through for us, Open Doors also contributing to this weekend being a success in every way but the official finish stat…….we have been preparing for 2013 for the past few months and will keep our fans up dated as events happen.

Crashed Out At Autumn Colors

Peterborough Speedway

2012 Goes Out With A Bang

The final three races of the season were the same for our team, fast car, moving through traffic, wrecked in the hunt. We were three for three in the wrecking category stat wise, although we did cross the finish line at Flamboro…..The race at Peterborough was a tough one, we had a good car, very quick, made a few stops to improve it but ended up getting into a wreck ahead of us on the front chute and bounced off the spinning cars slamming the cement outside wall with a hard devastating blow. As for the control arms upper and lower, the shock, rack, steel front bumper, nose cone and RF wheel….there were no survivors. My hands are still paining from the initial impact two seconds before the harder slam into the front chute wall…….the car is in the garage, will be stripped of broken parts and an effort will be made to get it together for our October 20th show in Stayner. The rack is the determining factor, we have no spare, but do have back up control arms and shocks…….more pictures of our AC crash to follow……as for the weekend itself, I had a lot of fun for times leading up to lap 39, but did not get too discouraged over the wreck. Things happen and we were in the wrong spot at the wrong time. That’s why I agree the best spot is first at the checker.

Burried In Cement

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Autumn Colors Classic 112 Lap Feature…..39 Is All We’d Make

Coming off four we came upon cars wrecking and spinning. There was no way to stop and no place to go although we did go hard into the cement where we did stop. It was another hard impact for me, my fourth in three years. The worst was this year at the first MRE race, the second was our severe crash at Flamboro in the final Grisadle Triple Crown 2010, then last year on September 3rd I hit the wall hard coming off four. This was ranks right up there. I lost a brake line and the steering, making impossible for me to turn away from the wall or slow. It was like being in some demented sick ride where you pay money to strap into a car and it goes around and then suddenly slams into the wall….it was tough for all of us, we had a good car and got bitten again at the biggest race of the year…..thanks to my crew for an amazing job all weekend, Jim, Ryan, Matt, Ken Linda, Steff, the Zardo boys and Bobby Mercer who helped us in tech during the 39 lap feature…..also congrats to Peterborough for pulling off an amazing weekend on schedule……..we are working on the car right now to get it ready (hoping to) for a Men’s breakfast on Saturday October 20th in Stayner Ontario. They have been advertising the Late Model will be there, we could and may still take the Coupe, but with some luck this car could make it, but would be far from race ready. My only concern would be the rack assembly, it busted in half and I do not have a spare. That rack has been in the car since 2008 APC 300. If anyone has one we can borrow let us know here we’d appreciate it very much.

Calamity At Colors………Talledaga Style

Eric Uprichard Photo

Chaos In Turn Three

Our car was so good just before this wreck. We were moving up quickly and had a great run down the back chute when cars started flying everywhere. I moved down and tried to go through but Ryan Kimball #16 could not hold his car up, and I nailed his left front wheel. He was able to continue, as were we, but it was a sign of things to come for the Quaker State team…..I headed to the pits right after this wreck and our crew removed the left side nose, front bumper so I could continue….it was a rough night no doubt….in this Eric Uprichard photo, Marc Jacobs #8 is in the middle, with Jamie Cox #22 on the top and maybe Mike Bentley behind him.

Calamity At Colors………Talledaga Style

Eric Uprichard Photo

Chaos In Turn Three

Crew Gets Us BacK Out

Eric Uprichard Photo

Racing With Mark Watson #3…2012 Delaware Speedway Champion

After our wreck on lap 8 when a bunch of cars got chaotic, we made several pit stops to get the car so it could race without stuff falling off the front end. Ryan. Ken, Jason, Matt and Bobby did the best they could to get the bashed front bumper secure……in this Eric Uprichard pic we are charging with super racer Mark Watson. Mark had an overall good finish, but had trouble through the race as well, including making Marc Jacobs upset. Marc was chasing Watson through pit row with his entire tail section flapping and dragging. I assume Mark undid some of the rivets making Jacobs go crazy…..we hope for a better year next year. We had many bright spots in 2012, but just as many bad nights like this one. More pictures to come of the race and our progress getting it ready for the Men’s Breakfast event on October 20th at the Clearview Baptist church.

Crew Keep Making Adjustments

Ashley McCubbin Photo

Several Stops On Pit Row Make Our Car Better

Ryan, Ken, Jason and Matt all helped as we made several atempts to get the car better. By lap 30 we were back to where we were on lap one and optomistic about our chances. We just had to get away from the cars struggling, but I would see later that even the top three or four cars were causing cautions, usually by a single car spin. After this stop and restarting 20th we got back up to 10th, by lap 40.

Autumn Colors Crash

Eric Uprichard Photo

End Of The Road….Discouraged But Not Defeated

2012 started with a terrible crash and ended the same way. This picture shows the end result for us in the 112 lap race, not what we planned for sure, but things like this do happen, apparently frequently on this team as our last three track finales ended in crashes, this being the worst by far. After a number of pit stops our crew got the car working very well. Jim was spotting and gave instructions on changes for the crew to make with the many cautions in the first 20 laps. By lap 30 Ryan, Matt, Ken and Bobby got the car turning some decent lap times. On lap 45 if ended for us. Coming off turn four, #3 and #61 got into it and were spinning as we were flying right into those spinning cars. There was bo way to stop, and worse no where to go. Trying to avoid the cars we clipped one and slammed hard into the cement wall just past the start finish line. The impact was hard enough to snap the long “rack” shaft on our rack n’ pinion, as well as destroy the front steel bumper, spindle, upper and lower control arm, shock and 2 wheels…..we are in the process of putting it back together to fulfill our committment to have the car at the Clearview Pentacostal Church in Stayner on October 20th. They have been advertising we will be there with the Late Model, the CVM is on standby, but our intent is to take the Late Model….pictures on that repair to follow.

Quick Sale Of Used Up Parts

Post AC Crash

Busted, Bent, Crushed, Tore, Mangled & Bruised

Here are most of the parts that were casualties from our crash at Autumn Colors last Sunday night. Most everything on the right side was permantently retired from future use on the car. Also, not in this picture, but in “intensive care”, is the rack part of the “rack n’ pinion”. It was snapped in half, a repair for Junior Hanley……….we have a show to do this coming Saturday at the Crestview Community Church in Stayner. They have been advertising the Late Model will be there, and so we are doing everything we can to make sure that happens….more on our progress soon

Busted Rack Repaired

Amazing Man JR

Junior Hanley Welds Broken Rack…”For Loading Only”…A Warning Because He Knows

My biggest concern for getting our car ready for the Clearview Community Church show this coming Saturday was the one part I didn’t have a spare, the rack n’ pinion. No one really would weld this broken part, but I would because it would save money in this already expensive season and get us to this show. Technically I wouldn’t weld it, but would ask someone to do it for me, that someone being Junior Hanley, and he said yes he could do it, but for not for racing……that’s not a worry in this case, because the season is over and there is no chance we’ll have this rack in another month, maybe for a souvenir….BUT!!!….lets say this is Saturday at Autumn Colors. Hotel rooms are paid until Sunday, so is our 3 day pass, and this is the only part can’t get, but it could be welded, we’d be doing that… but not to load the car, at least not yet. Then we’d be thinking, what if the rack broke and wrecked the car even worse than it already is? Well, we’d have all winter to fix it, but we would reason we came to race not watch and though start and park isn’t really racing, in this case ist would be. We’s consider ourselves lucky enough to even start the feature, and strategize that we could go to the back, take the green, the $300 to start and call it a day…..now to reality….the rack did get fixed, welded, thanks to JR. He made several passes, letting it cool and then filling in the big valley with weld. Once finished he slid it in the body and installed the pinion and it worked fine except for being a lot of free play at the end where the body was broken away. I said that would be good enough. Junior said, no, he’d make a shim to take away the play. Once finished he said it would be good, not perfect, Then he looked at me and said “for loading only”.

Rack Fixed….Works Great

Thank You Junior Hanley

Late Model Will Make The Event On Saturday

Stripped & Ready For Spare Parts

Preparing For Clearview

Beat Up But Not Defeated

A close up from our phone shows some of the chassis damage to the support bars and bracing that hold the body panels. Black tire marks can be seen on the aluminum container, as the right front tire hit the overflow can. On Saturday Matt and Bob came by to help prepare the front end. Paul came by on Thursday night and we got the damaged nose panels repainted (again) and ready to be installed….the suspension parts were installed and the steel reinforcing bumper installed to give some support for the front nose assembly, although it will only serve as a temporary repair to get the car to Clearview Community Church on Saturday.

Foggy Mountain Breakdown

Countdown Clearview

Suspension In…Cell Phone Shots Not So Good

Countdown To Clearview Community Church

Saturday Oct 13th

Bob Fits Hood, Braces In Place, Cosmetic Left

We have the car so it will look good from the drivers side, the passenger side had a lot of damage to the chassis, suspension and body. Now that the suspension is in, the chassis can wait for the 2013 rebuild, and the body can be touched up one more time to be presentable……Bob and Matt came over on Saturday to get the front end secure and a few other little repairs done. We’re done to cosmetics now. This has been our longest season since 1995 when we ran 32 nights in the CVM….from 1983 until 1995 we had 7 seasons with 29 or more nights…..if the Frost Fest ride is a go, we will have run 29 races this season…..added to that will be our event at Clearview Community Church, our 19th special show giving us 48 times in 2012 that we raced or put our car on display, that’s almost a full year of racing and promoting. Thanks to all the sponsors and crew who’ve stuck by us in this hectic and tough season….more to come on Countdown to Clearview.

Clearview Countdown Close

Wednesday

Decals, Cleaning, Touch Up

It’s been a long heard season with some severe wrecks thrown in. We’ve also had a few bright spots as well, like the many opportunities we’ve had to promote our sponsors at various events and functions. After our last crash, a hard hit at Peterborough, our car is ready for the final show of this season. We used our spare parts to get it this far and with some spare decals and spray paint we should be looking good for Saturday morning at the Clearview Community Church in Stayner.

Frost Fest Flamboro Speedway Oct 20th

Dan Little Photo

Mini Stocks & Thunder Cars Twin 30’s….Sponsored By London Recreational Pool & Spa

This Saturday we’ll head to Flamboro Speedway for the London Recreational Twin 30’s for Mini’s and Thunder Cars. Gehrig will be in the race and if all goes well, Grandpa may be racing against #1 Grandson as well, courtesy of Tim Tolton. Gates open at 3, races start at 5.

Clearview Community Church

Dan Craik Photo

Car Ready…Looks Like New?….No, Looks Like Raced

Well we finally have our car ready for our committment at the Clearview Community Church on Saturday October 20th. There should be close to 100 people there, all the tickets were sold for this Men’s Breakfast event. I will give out autograph cards and have an opportunity to talk about racing and share my faith in Jesus Christ. We have items to give away courtesy of Sunset Speedway, some door prizes, thank you Mark and Steve…….Thanks also to Matt and Cheryl Smith and family for allowing me to spend the night at their home. This way I can go up Friday and be at the Church in plenty of time, otherwise I would be heading out at 5am Saturday to get to the church by 7:30am. Matt is one of our newest crew members joining our team this year and he and his family have been a tremendous blessings to all of us, especially me……After this event I will head to Flamboro to watch my grand son Gehrig run in the Frost Fest Twin 30’s, it will be a busy but fun day.

Gehrig & Billy Pracitcing At Flamboro

Randy Spencer Photo

Gehrig Takes 14th Overall….But Had A Top Ten In His Grasp

Billy Schwartzenburg #86 leads Gehrig down the back chute at Flamboro Speedway during practice at the London Recreational sponsored Twin 30’s for both Thunder Car and Mini Stock. Billy, the 2012 Flamboro Speedway Mini Stock Champion, won the first feature but incredibly lost a water pump that took him out of the second feature, and the potential of being the overall Champ. Gehrig meanwhile finsihed 4th and 3rd in his heats, took 11th in the first feature and was running 6th in the second when he made contact with the wall coming off turn two that would bend up his rear suspension enough to put him out of the race. Had he finished 6th or 7th, he may have finished 7th or 8th overall, but the 20th place finish (DNF) gave him 14th overall……Gehrig ran very well in this competitive day at Flamboro and though disappointing he showed that he can be just as smooth at Flamboro as he is at Sunset. We are looking forward to his return in the Mini Stock next year at Sunset Speedway to battle with a good car for the entire season.

RACE #29…Courtesy Of Ken Stenhouse

Randy Spencer Photo

Ken Gives Me The Opportunity To Race Against Our Grand Son

Special thanks to Ken Stenhouse who called me late Saturday night asking if I would like to drive his Mini Stock in Frost Fest. Ken heard that the ride through Tim Tolton fell through and wanted to give me the opportunity to race with my grand son. We really appreciated the gesture and of course took him up on it. This was my 29th race night of 2012, not a record by making it one of the longest in 17 seasons. However, as most of you know by now we ended up getting wrecked during the second set of hot laps when a visiting car turned us coming off four and resulting in a severe impact with the wall. The damage to Ken’s car is massive. The entire front end, frame unit body is moved over 10 inches, as well the loss of many front end parts. It was my 4th wreck in as many special events going back to the first at the Velocity 250 at Sunset. This wreck prompted the Paramedic to not suggest I go to the hospital, but made a mandatory statement, that got to the ears of my daughter Shirely and resulted in me heading to Joseph Brant for observations. I was given the green by the Doctor to go home and continue doing what I love. She said kind of tongue in cheek….”I’m supposing you won’t be quitting this sport anytime soon”. I replied “Actually I;m done for the next seven months”………we would like to once again pass on our condolences to Ken Stenhouse and his family at the loss of his Mom Marlene on Sunday night. A beautiful service was held in Waterdown on Tuesday with Mike Van Slingerland conducting the service.

Frost Fest Fiasco

Ken Stenhouse #5

Nissan In ICU

Over the years we have been involved in some serious wrecks, but with hard work, the spare parts and lots of hustle we usually got the racer back on the track before show time, the feature event. Lately I have been beating my cars up (and in this case Ken’s) so badly there has been no way to get them back out. On Sunday during the second set of hot laps, we were turned into the turn four wall at high speed doing extensive damage to the front frame and suspension parts. In this picture, Ken has already pulled the right front wheel out of the fire wall and replaced the wheel. The frame rail on the right side needs to be replaced, as does the rad, and much of the lower suspension……we appreciate Ken giving me a chance to race with my grandson, but this surely wasn’t what either of us expected. I’m glad we have the next few months to get all our cars repaired, it’s been a tough year, capped off by my bad luck spreading to the Stenhouse Race Team………..Our 2013 race program started about 2 months ago. It should be even bigger than 2012 in terms of shows, events and our race teams. Currently we are waiting word from a few key sponsors for next year and then will start working on our cars. We have our budget and business plan done, just waiting now, resting and most of all healing……we’ll update as soon as we get any news to report.

Clearview Community Church

October 20th

Late Model Makes It To Church For Men’s Breakfast Event

Last Saturday Matt Smith and I had the Late Model at the Clearview Community church in Stayner Ontario for a Men’s Breakfast. The tickets sold out as close to 100 were in attendance. Matt spent time explaining fine points about our car, including why some of the parts were missing under the hood, like the rad shroud, half the front bumper and why many support bars were badly damaged or crushed, most hidden when the hood was on the car…….I was invited to share my testimony, my faith story, as well as share about our racing career the past 44 years. This was our 19th off track event in 2012……soon we will begin rebuilding for 2013 and post our progress as it happens.

History Stats Posted

1999 Feature Win

44 Year Stats Posted On Message Board

We have saved pictures and stats over the years and many of them have been posted on our Message Board under the Diary Of A Season section. There are many more stats to update, if anyone has any questions or categories to post, please make a comment. I was thinking of one category…list the racers I’ve competed against….no chance, at least almost impossible to get accurate, but we are sure within 99.999% that all the stats posted are right on.

2012 CVM Champion…Shane Stickel #39

Courtesy Of Shane Stickel Web

Stickel 46th CVM Champion

Congratulations to Shane Stickel, his family, crew and friends, for winning the 2012 Canadian Vintage Modified club Championship. He earned the title by competiting in all 11 race meets edging out both Steve Trendell #57 and Corey Jones #82. This was his second seasons with the CVM and worked hard piloting his new car to his first title……The night was high lited with the induction of two very derserving club members into the Hobby Hall Of Fame. Wendy Roper and Sharon Yost were honored at the banquet and these ladies were catalyst in all they did, and in Sharon’s case still does for the CVM…..the 36 car ran it’s 41st season in the club, but missed too many nights to be in the top 10. Rick Schurr was the key driver this year, I drove once, as did Derek Melenbacher, we finished 16th. Rick is possibly not racing next year, or may get a newer car so it is poosible that we may be getting someone in the car for 2013, or renting it for the season. That news to follow once it is confirmed……. More on the CVM banquet throughout the week.

CVM ‘Iron Man’ Winner

CVM Banquet

Corey Jones 16th Iron Man Award Winner

In 1996, our 25th season with the Hobby club, Nonie and I wanted to celebrate that year by donating an annual trophy to the driver who never gave up, who showed up to every race, and gave everything he had until the race ended, or in some cases, his car wasn’t able to continue. When I started in the Hobby club, my claim to fame wasn’t winning races or Championships, but it was being at every race, and in every race with a broken car if necessary. In our career we have rolled over in the warm ups and got back out for the consi, blew engines in the heat and got out for the feature, smashed the car into the wall and got out. In every instance, it wasn’t pretty, but we never gave up. We felt the award would be something along the lines of how we raced in our 25 seasons to that points, 17 of them 100%……this years winner showed a never give up attitude and was right in the thick of things until the last night. Corey had 100% and was deserving of the award. This was the 16th time we handed it out. Congratulations to the #82 team for your awesome effort……..Not that long ago a team could wreck once or twice and still be in the hunt to win the title because we ran 25 plus nights. You couldn’t stay home, but you could wreck in a heat or warm ups and as long as you could get into the feature and at least survive, maybe pick up some spots through attrition, it was better than loading up and watching. Champions don’t always win every race, or most of them, some do, but most have a “never give up” attitude and get every single point they can on their way to trying to win a title, or finish in the top three or top five. Many drivers had that spirit, Ray Hughes was from the same school as me. He would wreck in the heat and no matter how bad his car was, he was going to start the feature and pick up at least 7 points for 24th, and hopefully if others dropped out, he would gain more. Now adays, with short schedules, missing a feature would be devastating for a team, they couldn’t give up one night in a nine, ten or eleven race schedule. We usually ran 30 race schedules and would loose 4 or 5 to rain, and still end up with 25 shows. Missing one wouldn’t hurt as bad as it would today. The CVM are lucky when they book 12 races and only loose one to rain, although a few years ago the Champion won on 8 nights…..About five years ago announcers started calling me the Iron Man, and the person that started that didn’t know that Nonie and I gave out that award. We hope to add a cash bonus for the winner next year, as well as possibly sponsor a CVM event or something to celebrate our 45th year racing and our 42nd with the Club. That will be announced later, I’m too busy trying to sell ads for our souvenir progam to celebrate our 40th Anniversary with Quaker State. More on 2013 in a few weeks.

36 Team CVM Banquet

Randy Spencer Photo

Rick Schurr & I At The CVM Banquet

Rick and I teamed up two years ago, it was a dream of his to run a CVM and we were honored to have him in our car, especially since my hero was his dad Glen Schurr. Glen’s influence on me as a youth made it certain I would run #36 for my career. I also was a huge fan of Vic Parsons, and my favourite hockey player was Andy Bathgate, they were both #9. The two seasons I was #9 was because of those two. The #9 on the Coupe in1985 was for Bill Elliott, and in 2009, when we ran two late Models, one at Flamboro and one at Delaware, I ran under #9 because nine was my next favourite number. We ran it on our second car so when it would compete at Flamboro Speedway, with Jeff Lancaster, we would not have two cars #36, and #9 was a good choice……….Meanwhile back to this picture, courtesy of Randy Spencer….Rick and I didn’t run a full schedule in 2012, but Rick had fun in the races he was in and though I only made one race, I had fun racing the Coupe…….2013 is up in the air right now, it looks like Rick and his team may buy their own car for the coming season, though nothing is confirmed yet…..we’ll keep our fans posted of our plans and the future for our 33 Chev Coupe. One thing is certian, it will be running next year.

Elliott Racing Team Shines At Banquet

Matt Smith Creation

Grandson Wins Most Improved Driver & Best Appearing Car Award…Grandpa’s Awards Later

We attended the Sunset Speedway banquet last night in Woodbridge. It was a great night, lots of people, and most of them dressed up and looking great. Shirley, Gehrig and Lauren were there from our family, as well as our crew members, Bob Periera, Jason Green, Matt Smith and Ryan Elliott. Gehrig had a great night being recognized for two great awards, Most Improved Driver and Best Appearing Car. Sunset’s awards were the best I’ve ever seen at a banquet, and I’ve been at most of them in the past 44 years. The trophy’s and plaques were very tasteful and expensive, they handed out some expensive hardware. A great touch was the Best Appearing car Award. This very nice picture is not of the Award he received, the one he got, had his first car on it, and the newer car. I have suggested over the years to Flamboro and the CVM to give out nice pictures, posters of the teams winning Best Appearing car, and Sunset did it, very nice touch. The banquet was filled, close to 300 people, reminded of the CVM banquets back in the late 70’s 80’s and 90’s when we had close to 300 at times. Mark Dilley was the MC, amazing that the track promoter would MC, but also that he had such a great heart beat on each team that won awards. Another very thoughtful gesture by the track was to recognize the top few cars in the Best Appearing Car category. In some classes there were a few nice looking cars, so the track gave them all a plaque, a very nice touch in deed. Gehrig was overwhelmed with his awards and did something that took me 17 years and that was winning the Best Appearing Car award….more on the banquet this week, there is lots to talk about because it was a very nice evening.

Quaker State Team Shines

Matt Smith Creation

Team Has Big Year….Off The Track

We certainlu struggled on the track this season, having one of the worst years in the past 44. That’s hard to understand given that we tried so hard and never gave up, but then again, there is no guarantee that a season won’t be tough. We were due for a long run of good strong finishes, and if pre season prep had an impact, we should have had that in 2012, but we drew a blank when it came to being a strong consistent running team with some luck. We did have a few good runs from late June until the end of August, including a good showing at Barrie Speedway, and an even stronger performance at the final MRE race at Sunset Speedway. Our team was amazing from a “don’t give up” attitude, and “staying committed”. In August we ran 7 races in 14 nights, 10 races from August 4th to September 2nd. We ran 28 nights this year. Our crew were very good, learning lots this year, for most of our crew it was their first year on a team. Bob our Crew Chief was experienced, yet this was only his 2nd full season with us. When we look at the bigger picture, of how we did going to a new track, racing a 9 year old car, turning a 4″ car into a 5″ by just raising load bolts, running an older stock engine, we didn’t do that bad, in fact by the end of August, many were considering our car a top 5 at Sunset, quite impressive given all we’d been through……Where we did shine was through our off track performance. Our team was incredible in terms of the number of shows and events we did, as well as the types of shows. We participated in a total of 19, the most ever. We had our car at a kids camp for 3 days in August, as well as another August camp on the 19th, making August a full season for many clubs and teams running 10 races and 2 shows. We travelled a lot going to kids camps and banquets, bringing the car with us of course, and at times different crew members. Everyone made it out to at least one show this past season. Thanks to all our team for a very amazing season overall on and off the track……the banquet was proof to our team that we did shine off the track from a promotional point of view. We won Best Appearing Car, Beat Appearing Crew and the first ever Promotional Award for representing and promoting our sport, our sponsors, our team and of course Sunset Speedway. Our on track season was summoned up by the presentation of the Hard Luck Award to our team, there you go, they knew and appreciated what kind of season we had……Pictured here in this team shot from left to right is Matt Smith, Paul Johnson, Bob Periera, Kenny Wallace, Me, Ryan Elliott and Jason Green. Kenny wasn’t on our team, but he loved us. Thanks to all my team mates for sticking it out and doing the best they could each and every night. Also special thanks to all our fans, our sponsors and track staff from the Elliott Racing Team, we are preparing for 2013.

Lauren Ashley

Debbie-Jo Creation

Lauren To Join Quaker State Team In 2013

After running the Pennzoil logo for the past 4 seasons, Lauren will run the Quaker State colors in 2013 to help celebrate our 40th year with Quaker State. Lauren will continue one more year in Go-Karts then, if she is ready will move to oval stock car racing for 2014. Her goal for 2013 will be to win a feature and finish in the top 5 in points, however her goal is always to have fun and do the best she can, which makes her a winner in her sport. Lauren has shown much improvement over the past few seasons, and lately has taken on a more agressive style of racing, definetly something required in Karting. You can be smooth all you want, but if you’re not willing to hold your ground you will get pushed out of the way, usually with no penalty to the agressor, and never a yellow to get you back with the pack. Many times Lauren couldn’t understand why guys drove over her, she got frustrated and angry, then drove the same way as the rest, and at times to be warned with the black flag, something she also didn’t understand because pushing her out of the way didn’t always bring out the same warning flag to her opponents. We want to help Lauren improve for her final year. The top runners in all the classes have the best gear, so our hope and intent is to give her the best Kart we can so she can be competitive as she moves up to Junior Heavy from Junior Light. Gehrig never ran Junior Heavy, he went into Mini Stocks. We will post Lauren’s updates as we start the rebuild on her Karting program.

Thank You To All Our Sponsors & Crew

Eric Uprichard Photo

We Salute All Our Sponsors & Crew Of 2012

On behalf of Nonie, Shirley, Gehrig, Lauren and I, we want to thank all of our sponsors and crew for making 2012 a fun, exciting and successful season. We appreciate the support we’ve had from our sponsors and crew. Quaker State, Lincoln Electric, JDS, Auto Spa, Timber Green, Grind Stone, Embrodime, Flamboro Machine Shop, Uptown Sports, Rheem Canada, Millenium, Float & Flag, Creative Edge, Speedway Photo’s, Elliott Contracting, Open Doors, Scripture Union, Royal LePage, Drew Mac and VP Fuels. Our crew, Bob Pereira, Matt Smith, Ryan Elliott, Justin Elliott, Jason Green, Gehrig and Lauren Halliday. We also thank Rick Schurr and his team for taking care of our CVM as they competed in most of the Hobby schedule in 2012……….Over the next few months as we start working on our 45th season, we will continue promoting our sport, our sponorsors products and services. We have some exciting announcements regarding additions and changes to our team as we prepare for the upcoming CME show in February 2013….stay tuned!!!

David’s Awesome Car…….For Sale

David Elliott #37

Great Performing Race Car

David is selling his 2012 Pro Late Model. This car had an amazing year, finishing 2nd in both the Grisdale Triple Crown and the Delaware Speedway Triple Crown. David finished 4th in the points standing in the very competitve field of Late Models at Delaware, winning 2 features including the last race this car was in……asking price is $20,000……make an offer, this is a great ride…..David will pit for our team in 2013 and return to racing in 2014, more on that in the new year.

Keep Fighting Ron

Ron Mercer 2008

Ron Mercer Needs Your Prayers

In this photo Ron is standing beside me at the Autumn Colors race at Peterborough Speedway during our bike giveaway before the feature race. It was our 40th year, and the Mercer team sponsored the bike. Ron needs our prayers, he recently suffered a stroke and is in the hospital doing everything he can to get back to where he was before his attack. Doctors had not given much hope last week until they seen his determination to fight back. He has gained some of his strength back, but has a long ways to go. He is in wheel chair and paralyzed on his left side. We want to ask our God, the creator of all of us, the great healer to touch Ron and restore his life to where he was before. Please pray for full restoration, complete healing. He can use your moral support as well. Go on FB and look up Bryan Mercer, or check back here and I will let you know where to send cards. He needs to know we’re praying for him, and to be encouraged not to give up, but to keep battling back. “Heavenly Father, we come to you now to ask that you touch the body of our friend Ron. You are the healer of all things, you are Lord of us all. We ask you to show him mercy, grace and favour, and to comfort Ron and his family. Bless them as they stay close to him during this stressful time. Jesus, we pray for a miracle and that you will grant full recovery to Ron. We ask this in your precious name”. Amen

Quaker State 40th Anniversary Underway

Urban Warner Photo

Getting Ready For CME Show…Unveiling 40th Season With Quaker State

We hope everyone had a blessed Christmas, “Jesus is the reason for the Season”. It was almost a white Christmas, Ontario got blasted on the 26th, a day late, but it was still a great family time, in spite of the green grass in this area. The world didn’t end on the 21st either, that was good, we really want to race this year. We were sure it wasn’t anyway, the Bible says many things have to happen first, so we were already well into our rebuild for this coming season, ignoring the Mayan calendar and looking at the deadlines we have set on our own calendar…………2013 will be our 45th year racing, but perhaps the bigger story is the celebration of our fortieth year sponsored by Quaker State. We tried to find out if this was a Guiness Record, but Guniess returned our call saying there was no category for that type of historic event, or any way to find out if it indeed was the longest sports sponsorship for a race team in history. We know that some of the big teams have had 30 plus year sponsorships, Kenny Bernstein was with Budweiser for 32 years and John Force with Castrol going into their 30th. We believe it is a word record, but whether it is or not, we are going to celebrate this year like no other. We have a 40th Anniversary souvenir program almost completed, and will be out for the CME show, where we intend to have our car on display. We also plan on having hats, t-shirts and hoodies to offer. They will be on sale as well at the show, and throughout the summer. Of course this was only possible through the commitment we have with Quaker State and their dedication to our team, and we are truly thankful, so we’ve made 2013 an official appreciation year for Quaker State. Its also our 45th season racing and we have a lot of things to report. Perhaps an official press release will come forward soon. We are very thankful for all our friends who took an Ad in our book. It wouildn’t be possible to do such a big book without the advertisers. The sourvenir program, our third now, will have a center pull out with every car we’ve had under the Quaker State sponsorship……..Bob Periera has been a huge help in the off season helping get our car stripped and ready for rebuild. We had a new crew member, Nathan Start help us as well. This picture shows our car with a new body and some welding and fabrication done at Oakville Trailers through Ron Easton. Ron has always done awesome work on all his race cars and so we got him to do the things we didn’t have time to do. Our car should be going out for paint very soon, then off to Steve Lyons at Creative Edge for lettering. We need the car done by mid January because the new car will be on the front page of our program and the printer says everything must be to him before the end of January to have the book finished for the first week of February. We will keep you updated with news and progress, thanks for visiting our site we wish all of you, all of our family, friends and fans a very successful and safe new year.

Panels Getting Painted

Paint By Anil

Program Moving Along Right On Schedule

With the CME show just over a month away we are working fast and furious now to bring all the pieces together for this most busy of seasons. We are committed to the CME show on Feb 10th weekend. The car needs to be painted and lettered by the 15th of January so we can get a picture of it for our 40th Anniversary Souvenir program which also has to be ready for the show. The program is a 56 page book with lots of stories and Quaker State history. The book has been the biggest work load, but is coming along great. Getting all the Ads from the advertisers is the biggest quest, then laying it out in my book before sending it to the printer so he can get it completed for the show as well. My cut off time for the book is Jan 31st, so the new paint scheme and lettering has to be done for the 15th. On top of that is our apparel. We are having hats, t-shirts and hoodies and hopefully will have them on hand for the show. A design for the t-shirts has to be made, but can’t be until the car is lettered. Three balls in the air, juggling is the main program right now, but none are falling to the floor and that’s a good thing. Thanks to Bob for all his help, to Anil for making sure the parts will be painted by the end of next week, then we put it together so it can go to Steve Lyons at Creative Edge, who will make all of our work look awesome.