Gold Crown Photos Posted!

Believe it or not, it's only Tuesday and I already have photos up on the web site from this past weekend! I know, it's got to be a record, right?

Well, they are there, five pages of images from all three days of the Gold Crown Midget Nationals at Tri-City Speedway. I hope you enjoy looking them over, and if you didn't make it this year, make sure you go next year because it was a blast!

Keeping Pace

This blog has been pretty stagnant this season, as has the web site and I should probably apologize, but hey, we all get busy and I doubt that many people read it anyway!

That being said, this weekend was amazing. Three nights of breathtaking midget action at Tri-City Speedway was just what the doctor ordered when it came to wrapping up the 2008 racing season. All I can say is "Wow!" The Inaugural Gold Crown Midget Nationals sanctioned by both POWRi and USAC was outstanding.

Since words really can't describe it justly, and since I am tired from my head to my toes after traipsing throught the pits for the past three nights (not to mention bouncing around in the back of the pace truck) I will let a few of my

favorite photos do the talking. Enjoy!

Tri-City Speedway Photos Posted

With the large number of photos that Spring shoots at any one event, it became apparent to us a while back that we needed a better way to showcase those for everyone. With that in mind, we still plan to put a few up on Girls Gone Racin' but the entire gallery can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.millersevents.com/?m=36081

Please keep in mind that the photos will only be available for viewing for a limited time, so if you care to order any, you will need to do it soon. Also, you will need to sign in for viewing, but no information is stored for advertising/spam purposes.

Thanks for looking, and we hope you enjoy them. Hopefully, the ones from Pevely will be up soon too. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

(The following was added by Val after this original post)

I put the link up on here before actually looing through the gallery because I wanted to get it up fast. Once it was done, I went back, fired up the slide show, sat back and prepared to be wowwed.

And wowwed I was.

Please don't think that I am doing any bragging at all by saying this, because every single photo in that gallery is Spring's, not mine. (She makes me look like the total amateur that I am, thank you very much!) I would be remiss if I didn't give her the credit she deserves.

The slide show starts with a few shots in the pits, then some on track action, and moves through the course of the evening of racing, telling the story of a night at the track. There are no captions, no comments and no music, and quite honestly, none are necessary. Spring's work speaks for itself.

These little snapshots of time capture the emotion that is at the heart of our great sport, creating a visual scrapbook that is like nothing I have ever seen. Yes, there are action photos, and victory lane pictures, but woven throughout those more traditional shots are pieces of artwork that showcase the fans, the crews and what goes on behind the scenes of a night in the life of a race team.

I hope that you, like me, see dust in the air, feel the heat of the engines and the heartbeats of the drivers, taste the tang of spent fuel, and hear the roar of the crowd while you immerse yourself in these images. I am humbled, as always, by Spring's talent and her artistic eye that sees beyond the surface, and into the very soul of what makes auto racing the greatest sport the world has ever known.

Back on Track

After a lengthy and painful delay, the Girls finally got out for two great nights of racing in a row this week!

On Wednesday, we headed down south for the first night of the Missouri-Illinois Challenge at I-55 Raceway, where we caught up with old friends and enjoyed the high-speed action of the Mid America Sprint Series, POWRi Midgets and Late Models. It felt great to be back at one of our local tracks and I was just happy that Spring felt up to the task.

It was warm, and we had to work to stay cool, but the racing and comaradarie were worth sweating for. The racing was fast and furious and we were just happy to be out again after all of the delays we have had this season.

Thursday we got a bit of a late start, then got stuck in traffic, but at long last we arrived at Tri-City Speedway for a night of World of Outlaws Sprints and POWRi Midget racing. The temperature ramped up a bit more, as did the humidity, but we sought air conditioning in the tower for a bit, then shade wherever we could find it.

The newly reconfigured track was in great shape for racing, and from the way the drivers took to it, it looked as if everyone enjoyed the smaller track with its high banking. It's hard to take pictures of cars that are flying by that fast, but we did our best. I am anxious as always to see how Spring's pictures turned out. I put a few of mine up already just to whet a few appetites.

We enjoyed seeing a lot of familiar faces and meeting some new folks as well. It's really nice when you all who have been to the site before come up to us at the races. We love hearing from you and hope you enjoy what we are doing.

Thanks for stopping by!

Green flag drops (finally!) at Tri-City Speedway

It's offical. Tri-City Speedway has ushered in a new era of racing in the St. Louis area.

After several weather delays, the gates opened on the 2007 racing season at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach and it looked as if every driver and fan in the area turned out to see what all the fuss was about.

With the pits filled to capacity, a tightly packed parking lot, and grand stands bursting with people, it was clear that all of the hard work the Gundakers have put into this facility was well worth it. The new 3/8 mile, high banked track has everyone standing up and taking notice. The show moved along very well, and the action was lightning-fast.

My Dad and I made the trip over by ourselves, and had a really good time. We got there about a half an hour after the gates opened, and haulers were backed up all the way to the road. It was clear that parking would be at a premium, but they managed to squeeze everyone in. The new pit area outside of turns three and four helped a lot.

I walked around and took a few shots of various things, which you can see on the web site. One of the more interesting vantage points was from inside the flagstand. I've been to most areas of the track before, but this was my first time to take in the best view in the house! It was fun being up there for the opening festivites, which included a parade of beautiful classic race cars.

There was a lot of excitement in the air, and I know folks will be talking about opening night for weeks to come. After watching Late Models boogie around that track, I can't wait to see how the Sprint Cars do on it. We'll find out on May 4th when the World of Outlaws come to town.

Before then, we are headed up to Gas City, Indiana and Eldora next weekend for the USAC Sprints. Our first road trip of the year should be a whole lot of fun.

Meanwhile, check out all of this week's photos. I got to use the new zoom for racing for the first time, and I love it! It's great to be able to get up close to the cars, and I look forward to getting better at it as the weeks go by.

Thanks for dropping in!

A dash of optimism

Here in Missouri, we have a saying: "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes and it will change." Unfortunately, the saying is also true when you do like the weather, as evidenced by what has happened here in the last 24 hours!

For the past two weeks, our weather has been balmy, with a few bouts of rain thrown in. Perfect racing weather between storms. Yesterday, the temps were in the low seventies and we got a couple of rounds of thunderstorms. Overnight, the mercury began to fall and it is now 32 degrees outside. Great weather for building a snowman (if we had snow) but definitely not the best weather for racing. I'm still holding out hope that things warm up a bit before the weekend, but it's not looking good.

Right now, the meteorologists, both national and local are predicting highs in the forties for Friday and Saturday, which means dressing warm for Friday night's opener at Tri-City and Saturday night's World of Outlaws race at Pevely. It's been a number of years since I've had to dig out my gloves and warm winter coat to take in some racing action, but it looks like I don't have much choice in the matter!

My hubby and I are still planning on spending our 23rd wedding anniversary at I-55 Saturday night, but I don't know how I will shoot photos with frozen fingers! It should be very interesting, to say the least. As of right now, it is doubtful that Spring will make our kick-off weekend. She was still in a world of hurt when I took her to physcial therapy on Monday. Please keep her in your prayers!

Speaking of prayers, it is Easter weekend, and if you haven't figure out yet that it is about more than bunnies and chocolate eggs, I encourage you to check out your local church this Sunday. May God bless you on this, the greatest holiday of the year.

If you re-build it, they will come

It is the dream of race promoters everywhere to look up into the bleachers and see them filled to capacity with excited race fans. With all of the changes going on at Tri-City Speedway right now, it is not hard to imagine that dream becoming a reality on opening night.

Despite the challenge of wet weather, an extremely cold winter and other unexpected delays, progress is obvious at the 46-year-old Illinois speedplant. The newly configured three-eighths mile oval is banked and ready for racing. Concrete walls are going up all around the perimeter, many of the old lights have been taken down and new ones are delivered and ready to be lifted into place. Old bleachers by what once was turn one on the half-mile have been demolished and debris is being removed.

Clean up is also ongoing in concessions and all around the track. It is a big job, but things are coming together and this season will mark the beginning of a new era in racing at Tri-City.

Yes, the work has been tiring, and muscles have gotten a workout, but there are parts of it that have been emotionally taxing as well. Tearing down the old guardrails and cutting down the big half-mile meant taking a walk down memory lane. Ask any driver who has turned a significant number of laps at a track if there isn't some sense of nostalgia there. Most will tell you that there is.

Ripping apart the metal and earth where those memories were made is a bit like watching your childhood home being demolished. You know you will carry the images with you, but it's never quite the same when the physical structure is gone.

I snapped quite a few photos, and I will do my best to add more to the gallery tomorrow. Right now, there are eight up on the web site. Just follow this link:


http://www.girlsgoneracin.com/TCSConstruction07.htm

Once you've had a chance to look at those, check out the all new home page at www.girlsgoneracin.com. I hope you like it!


Here's a taste of the new Tri-City Speedway:

The Grassroots Gospel: The Gundaker Family

The Grassroots Gospel is a Girls Gone Racin’ series celebrating the drivers, promoters, fans and others who contribute to the preservation of the grassroots Motorsports effort and its traditions. It is intended as a tribute to the people who believe in the importance of maintaining the foundation of American auto racing.

Here in St. Louis, the Gundaker name is well known in two circles. One sees it everywhere from billboards, to yard signs to tractor trailers. If you have purchased real estate here, there’s a good chance that you have used their services.

To local race fans, the Gundaker name is less about down payments, equity and interest rates, and more about competition, excitement and the thrill of dirt track racing at its finest.

Three years ago, G&G Motorsports, which consists of Kevin Gundaker and his Dad, Gordon, purchased what some would consider an historic racing facility. Tri-City Speedway, in Pontoon Beach, Illinois is a dirt facility that opened in 1961 and consisted of a half-mile track surrounding a quarter-mile track.

At the time of purchase, the facility was in need of quite a bit of TLC. The Gundakers dove into the task and learned fast the true meaning of sweat equity. Instead of spending the winter bending sheet metal for his famous number 11 Late Model, Kevin spent hundreds of hours cleaning and painting, hauling off debris and old pieces of machinery.

The beat-up old trailers that used to be an office and a catch-all were replaced by new buildings to house the track’s hard-working staff. The pit gate was moved, making it easier for haulers to negotiate the pits. And everywhere you look, from shirts to building accents, you see patches of Kevin’s trademark color: Purple.

Kevin and his wife, Tammy attended promoters’ workshops, met with marketing people, and held drivers meetings. They hired staff members, discussed changes to the classes, nights of operation and a multitude of details that even they had not anticipated.

By opening night 2005, they were ready.

That first year was just the beginning of the learning process, and Tammy will be the first to admit that they made a lot of mistakes along the way. At times it was overwhelming and exhausting, but they survived and put what they had learned to good use.

Last year was better as they took what they had learned in their rookie season and began to apply it. Then they began to really work on the bigger improvements they wanted to make, ones that were more than paint brushes and brooms could fix.

This year the fruit of those labors is obvious to everyone, whether you walk through the gates, or fly overhead. Not only have they moved race night from Sunday to Friday, but the track has been completely re-configured. Gone are the half-mile and the quarter-mile circuits, and in their place is a wonderful 3/8 mile high-banked track that ought to challenge drivers and thrill fans. A new concrete wall is in the works, and to top it off, all new Musco lighting is going in this week and should be shining brightly by opening night, March 30.

Along with all of the changes at Tri-City comes a new addition to the G&G Motorsports family. Earlier this month, they became the proud new owners of Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo. Lake Ozark will run on Saturday nights and will certainly keep the Gundakers hopping, burning up the pavement between St. Charles and Eldon.

The Gundakers are committed to preserving the grassroots racing effort here in the Midwest, and for that we should all be thankful. Without the efforts and hard work of people like them, those of us who love racing would continue to see dirt tracks meet the fate of others, like St. Charles Speedway and 67 Raceway Park.

So now you have even more good reasons to get out and support your local racing. Do your part to keep the tradition alive. It’s great entertainment for the whole family!

One month to go!

With just one month to go until the official kick off of the 2007 GGR season, all I can say is, "Bring it on!"

Like most race fans, I have watched the oh-so-slow revolution of seasons changing from those mild October evenings, to the ice storms of November and January, all the way around to violent thunderstorms of pre-spring. It's an ongoing circle that will finally make the turn to spring in the very near future.

As we gear up for the season, Spring and I have been working on confirming dates for races, getting credentials, organizing our paperwork and brainstorming over what to do differently and better this year.

We've had some fun lunches with other race girls, mainly Tammy and Tina from Tri-City, where we have learned more about how things work when it comes to promoting a dirt track. The girls have also been great at giving us tips as to things we can do to make sure we maintain good relationships with track and sanction owners. With all of that in mind, I like to think that last year was our rookie/learning season and this, our sophomore season, means we will apply much of what we have learned. Of course, it's an ongoing process, and I would also hope that we will never stop learning.

These past few months have meant basketball season at our house, and since I can't be outside shooting race cars, I've been honing my skills inside, taking photographs at high school varsity games, as well as junior high feeder league and Upward basketball games. It's been a lot of fun, and I managed to contribute hundreds of photos to our high school coach for use at the end of the season awards dinner, which is always a lot of fun.


Besides taking pictures, I've been trying to learn more about how my camera works, and how to process and manipulate photos in Paint Shop Pro Photo. I still have a whole lot to learn about all aspects of photography, and I doubt I will ever come close to making the kind of magic that Spring creates, but I sure have a good time trying. I'm posting one of my manipulations here just to give you an idea of the kind of playing I've been doing. I like the effects, and I'm going to play around some more when I have the time. Maybe one of these days Spring will even have time to give me a few tips.

While learning about the camera, and really pushing my current lenses to their limits, it became apparent that I just couldn't get as close to my subjects as I would have liked. With that in mind, I broke down and ordered a new zoom lens that should be here by the end of the week. My current lens goes out to 200, and the new one goes to 300, so I am anxious to see how much that helps with shooting cars. I will still have the problem of not having a decent flash, so any night time photography is still going to be left up to Spring.

It's funny, as the days are crossed off the calendar, I look forward to the racing season, yet I want to hang on to each precious hour. My daughter graduates from high school this year, and will be attending school in Springfield, Missouri, in the fall. We took a fast trip down there this weekend so she could interview for a scholarship, and had a great time. Of course, it would be a whole lot better if I didn't get all weepy at the thought of packing her up and saying good-bye! She's quite a kid though, and I know she will do well.

While in Springfield last weekend, we had about 90 minutes to kill, so we did what most women would do in our situation, we went shopping! Finding our way to Battlefield Mall was easy, and as luck would have it, two local tracks, Lebanon I-44 Speedway and Monett Speedway, were holding their pre-season race car show at the mall! All lined up in one wing of the mall were beautiful shiny Late Models and Modifieds polished up and ready to roll. It's fun to see them looking all clean and new and then think about how they are all going to look in about a month's time!

Speaking of new, things are coming together over at Tri-City. My Dad and I are hoping to make a run over there on Thursday to see it firsthand. The new Musco lighting is on its way and the weather is looking good so far for the pouring of the new concrete wall. That place is sure going to look different from the track I grew up with, but I think that all of the changes will be great. The Gundakers have sure put a lot into it, and I know they are excited about unveiling it to the world.

As it stands right now, Spring and I are hoping to get over there for a couple of hours on Play Day, March 25. We'll head back over on April 6 when Kenny Wallace is supposed to be in attendance.

Saturday, April 7, we head down to Pevely, Missouri for the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars. I haven't been to a WoO show in a few years, and I'm really looking forward to it. Our plan right now is to go down early and do some tailgating before the race. We're hoping that a few of our friends will stop by and say hello. I'm planning to bring a few Girls Gone Racin' stickers to give away, so if you stop by, be sure and ask for one!

Yes, the weather is warming up, and all over the midwest engines are being tuned up in preparation for another run at a track championship, or a rookie season. I don't know about everyone else, but I can't wait to get the party started!

New Series, New Track, New Season!

Last evening I put together a web site for a friend of mine who has created a brand new racing series. The Ozark Mountain Midget Series will be coming soon to a track in the midwest. This is a Sportsman Midget Series and is a spin-off of the Illini Racing Series. Check out the site, which is bare-bones at the moment, and watch for updates and changes. This should be a very exciting and groundbreaking series.

While working on line, I saw an email come in from our buddy Rich Edwards in Arnold, Mo. He got the chance to go for a plane ride and do some practice shooting with his new Pentax K100D of the construction going on at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, IL. Nice guy that he is, Rich shared the photos with us and gave permission for us to share them with you. Enjoy!