Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Racing season is winding down, but it ain’t over yet!

(Val) A cold front is headed our way, and the leaves are starting to show their fall colors, which makes me think, “dang, racing season must be almost over!”

Well, it is almost October, and for all intents and purposes, the regular racing season is winding down at tracks all over the country. The year-end wrap ups and final point standings are coming in by the dozens and we are frantically trying to get everything current on the news site, whowon.com.

But just because the regular season is coming to an end doesn’t mean the action is over. There are some great local events still on the horizon, as long as the weather cooperates.

For Spring and I, October is filling up fast. We have three events, two of which are back-to-back, not that we mind. Originally, we were headed up to Kansas Speedway this Sunday for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Banquet 400, but those plans have fallen through and it looks as if we will spend the afternoon at the mall, shopping for clothes for Jesse’s senior portrait shoot.

Next up on our list of events are the Midget Races at Belle Clair Speedway on Saturday, October 7th, but I am deeply conflicted over this because they are running this show the same night as the Queen’s Royal at Saint Francois County Raceway. Spring really wants to catch up with our friend Brent Nausley who will have his Midget, driven by Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in the event, which is fine with me. Belle Clair is a great little track, and I know we will have fun, so I’m looking forward to it. SFCR, we’ll catch you next year!

The next night, we will be at Tri-City Speedway for their Sprint and Midget event, where we hope to talk to some of the drivers we have had the chance to meet this season. It should be a great race, and since the quarter and half-mile tracks will be re-configured into one 3/8 mile track during the off-season, this will be the last time for the 410 Sprints on the half mile. I will miss seeing them there, but I know that the big track is dark in spots, and has the reputation of being an engine killer, so the new track will be a great replacement. I’m sure that Kevin and Tammy Gundaker will pull out all the stops when it comes to making this long-awaited improvement.

After Tri-City, we will take a little break from racing as Spring heads to one part of the country and I head to another for a few days. Once we return, we will be gearing up for what will probably prove to be our busiest event of the season.

The folks at the 4th Annual Got Milk? Winged Outlaw Fall Nationals have asked us to come down and cover their event. They have never had a professional photographer shoot this show, and I know that Spring considers it an honor to be asked. We will be providing on-site printing of 4x6 photographs, with the option of being able to order larger sizes and packages on line. With just the two of us covering the photography, sales and printing, I think we will be hopping.

This two-day event is in the small town of Hartville, MO, about 35 miles south of Lebanon. They tell us this is the second biggest event of its kind in the nation, and from what I’ve been reading on the message boards, I believe it. If you would like to know more about this event, check out the Outlaw Kart Racing forum on www.swmoracing.com We will also have press releases posted on WhoWon.com as they become available.

Unfortunately, Spring and I will only be able to make the first day of this event, but we hope that if things work out, they will ask us to come back next year and do it again. Right now we are trying to get all of our preparations in order for what equipment to bring, how to price the photos, etc. It’s kind of crazy, but we’re enjoying it. I am also talking to a company about creating some stickers and banners for us, so we’ll see how that goes. In addition, we are looking at trying to find someone to do some shirts for us, so if anyone out there does embroidery and would like to give us a bid, please drop us an email!

The Got Milk? Fall Nationals will be our last “official” event of the year, however, Spring is headed out to Phoenix in November for the NASCAR Nextel Cup race there. It looks like we may have a chance to actually get her into the garage area for this one, and if we do, expect some great photographs. We’ll know the week before the race, so we’ll be sure to share the news.

As for me, I am still tossing around the idea of joining my co-workers at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando in December. I went a few times when it was still in Indianapolis, and I sure wish they would move it back! My fear of flying is keeping me grounded, so even though the racing during the event is very tempting, I will probably end up staying home while I hold down the proverbial fort.

Finally, we have been invited to be interviewed on a KGKI Radio Thursday Evening Race Report radio show out of Florida and are currently working on finding a date where we are both available. It will be a Thursday evening, and the shows are broadcast on the internet, so we’ll post all the information here when things are finalized. My co-worker, Ashley, will be a guest on the show tomorrow night. Log on to www.kgkiradio.com and give it a listen!

We are working on a year in review piece that we hope to have up shortly after our last race of the season, and then it will be time to start working on next year’s schedule. You may see the two of us huddled over my laptop at an area Bread Co. trying to figure out where to go and what to do. If you do, be sure and say hello!

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