The Memorial Day Weekend 1100

Well we have made our way through another big Memorial Day weekend of racing, racing and more racing.

First of all, congratulations to Joey Saldana for his victory in The World of Outlaws sprint car race at Charlotte’s ½ mile dirt track on Friday night. The same to Brad Keselowski for his NASCAR Nationwide victory in Charlotte’s Saturday 300 miler, and Mark Webber scored a win the Formula One’s legendary Monaco Grand Prix.

Now to the meat of the matter.

The Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 provided 8 or nine hours of fine racing. For only the third or fourth time in my years of following both races (since 1963), I do believe that Indy was the more exciting race. More battles for the lead, more exciting restarts, and a heart stopping move on the final lap.

INDY: I will reiterate the opinion that I gave after the IRL’s opening race of the season. Aesthetically speaking, the 2012 Indy Car is the ugliest thing on four wheels. It is more of a sports car and an ugly one. When views from the side and above are shown I almost have to close my eyes. Having said that, this wide race care punches a hole in the air that allows drafting at a level I have not seen before in Indy Cars. The machine is so stable at the 200 mph+ Indianapolis Motor Speedway that it allows for great racing. Lose something and gain something I guess.

I believe Takuma Sato’s last lap move was daring but perfectly proper. It made me “swallow my throat” and it turned out well as nobody hit the spinning car. If it had caused a massive wreck I suppose we would all be critical of the move. Chip Ganassi deserves congrats as Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon finished 1^st and 2^nd. Another strong run without a victory went to Tony Kanaan in third.  There were 10 leaders and 35 lead changes in this years Indy 500.

1. Dario Franchitti
2. Scott Dixon
3. Tony Kanaan
4. Oriol Servia
5. Ryan Briscoe
6. James Hinchcliffe
7. Justin Wilson
8. Charlie Kimball
9. Townsend Bell
10. Helio Castroneves

All photos are from IRL or NASCAR websites.

CHARLOTTE: It was only a matter of time before Kasey Kahne got his first victory for car owner Rick Hendricks and Sunday’s Coke 600 was a huge stage for that occurrence. Kahne dominated the late laps of the event leaving teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch to settle for 2^nd and 3^rd. Jimmy Johnson, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and others had a variety of mishaps befall them, making it just a tad easier for the likable and talented Kahne.

1. Kasey Kahne
2.Denny Hamlin
3. Kyle Busch
4. Greg Biffle
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Jeff Gordon
8. Kevin Harvick
9. Carl Edwards
10. Matt Kenseth

On to Detroit for the IRL, and Dover for NASCAR.

ARCA

The Auto Racing Club of America (ARCA) has a fabulous history of major league stock car racing.  I have followed ARCA Racing since the mid 1960s.   A small sampling of the names born in ARCA include, Benny Parsons (NASCAR champ also), Jack Bowsher (USAC star), Ramo Stott (IMCA, USAC, NASCAR star), Ron Hutcherson, Iggy Katona, Les Snow, Nelson Stacy (NASCAR star), *Butch Hartman* (4 time USAC champ), Frank Kimmel and more.  The following history comes from a 2009 story in Stock Car Racing Magazine.

A few years ago, NASCAR celebrated its 50th anniversary. Now, its ARCA’s turn, and the organizations accomplishments over the past five decades deserve to be recognized.

It all started as a relationship between the guru of stock car racing at the time, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., and one of France’s race officials, John Marcum. The year was 1953, and big-time stock car racing was in its infancy. France and Marcum had a longstanding relationship. They had actually raced against each other in the 1940s.

My dad ran against ‘Big Bill’ in open-wheel roadsters, says Marcum’s daughter Suzie Drager, still an ARCA employee. "That’s how they first got to know each other. Then, when France formed NASCAR, he brought my dad along with him. My dad was involved with track operations, but he would do anything Bill asked of him."

But the talented Marcum had a dream gnawing in his gut. He seriously felt a need existed for a similar stock car organization to be fielded up north. Soon Marcum formed the Midwest Association for Race Cars, or MARC. Eventually, the MARC name was dropped in favor of ARCA, short for the Automobile Racing Club of America, a name that gave the group a more national image. The organization established roots in Toledo, Ohio, a location where it still resides today. In fact, Marcum’s grandson, Ron Drager, now heads the organization.

Links To NASCAR

During its early years, ARCA raced slightly modified street cars in the Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania area. Through the 60s and 70s, the organization gained great prestige and was considered by many as the "NASCAR of the North."

The France-Marcum relationship paid big dividends for the new group. France called Marcum and asked him if ARCA would like to go down to Florida and be a part of the February Speedweeks at Daytona in 1964. Marcum jumped at the chance, and ARCA has been at the track every year since then, enjoying the huge exposure.

The NASCAR-ARCA sharing of tracks on the same weekend didn’t stop at Daytona. Through the decades, the groups have shared weekends at Talladega, Charlotte, Atlanta, Michigan and other venues. All the while, ARCA has maintained its short-track roots by competing on tracks such as Kil-Kare (Ohio) Speedway, Winchester (Indiana) Speedway, Berlin (Michigan) Speedway, and Salem (Indiana) Speedway, where the group first ran in 1955.

Beyond sharing tracks, ARCA has other close ties to NASCAR. ARCA, with just minor changes, uses Winston Cup cars for its series. In fact, many of the ARCA machines, just one or two years earlier, carried the paint schemes of Winston Cup racers.

The arrangement gives ARCA drivers the highest technology possible, and provides experience for those drivers hoping to one day land a Winston Cup ride. Also, ARCA uses the cars until they are 5 years old. As such, models like the Oldsmobile and Buick hung around in ARCA after they were discontinued in Winston Cup.

Both ARCA cars and Winston Cup cars have a minimum weight of 3,400 pounds and use the same type of 358ci small-block engines. The only difference in the engines is that ARCA allows the use of a rocker cam. There are also slight differences in the body rules, including changes in air dam heights and deviations in rear spoiler heights and angles.

The differences were greater during the ’70s and into the late ’90s. With the departure of Chrysler from NASCAR in the early ’70s, NASCAR basically operated with just two companies, General Motors and Ford, although there were a number of different brands within each.

Not true with ARCA. Through those years, a number of non-factory Chrysler teams ran competitively. Bob Keselowski was best in MOPARs during the ’90s. ARCA also used the most famous of the MOPAR models, the awesome winged Superbird Dodge Daytona. Ramo Stott, in fact, won the ARCA championship in a Superbird in 1970. During the ’70s, most of the Chryslers were LeBarons fielded by the likes of Jerry Churchill, Ron Otto, and Keselowski.

During the ’90s, drivers Robbie Pyle and Roger Blackstock fielded competitive Dodge Avenger-bodied machines. The engines used were 355ci power plants similar to those used today by the Dodge teams in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. ARCA also has followed NASCAR in introducing the Dodge Intrepid.


Like NASCAR, much of ARCA’s early racing was accomplished on dirt tracks, although both series have moved away from competing on dirt. ARCA, however, never got quite over it, and even in the 21st century maintains dirt races on the schedule. The most common are races at Duquoin and the Springfield Mile, both in Illinois.

Star Power
A multitude of stars ran ARCA during the Marcum years, many having multi-year title accomplishments.

Five of those stars won three straight titles—Iggy Katona, Nelson Stacy, Jack Bowsher, Ron Hutcherson, and Dave Dayton. Katona also had two consecutive titles, a feat matched by Benny Parsons, Ramo Stott, Marvin Smith, Bobby Dotter and Lee Raymond. In fact, between 1953 and 1986 there were only 15 champions. During the ’90s, Tim Steele would accomplish the double, while Frank Kimmel did it the past two seasons.

Needless to say, the fledgling organization didn’t get much attention during its early years. In fact, one of the winners that first 1953 season was J.H. Petty, a brother of Lee Petty.

As was the case in NASCAR, the low-slung Hudson Hornets dominated early with MARC, taking its first two titles with drivers Jim Romine and Buckie Sager. But through the ’60s, Ford was the dominant brand.

During the 70s, new brands came on line, as Mercury claimed three championships and Plymouth garnered two. Buick closed out the decade with a pair of titles. An amazing event took place in 1974 when Hutcherson and Dave Dayton tied for the title. In 1979, Kyle Petty made his ARCA debut with an impressive win at Daytona.

Marcum died during the 1981 season, bringing uncertainty concerning the future of the series. But the Marcum family stepped up. Marcum’s widow, Mildred, and daughter Suzie Drager hired longtime officials Bob Loga and Rollo Juckette to continue operations. It was tough going for a while, with only eight races in 1981, but ARCA survived.

In 1985, future Winston Cup star Davey Allison won Rookie of the Year and tied for second in points. Two years later Bill Venturini set an ARCA speed record of 205.432mph during qualifying at Talladega. Venturini had one other characteristic on his team that got the attention of the fans an all-girl pit crew that became his trademark.

In 1987, ARCA introduced a new model for the first time. Driven by two-time champ Lee Raymond, a Chevy Beretta was entered in competition that season. In order to make it ARCA-legal, the car had to be stretched 10 inches. The model was a rocket, with two wins at Pocono and a second at Atlanta in 1987. But as promising as it was, the Beretta would never make it in ARCA or NASCAR.

In 1992, the son of a former champion became a champion himself. Bobby Bowsher, son of three-time champion Jack, won the first of his two ARCA titles. David Green had his first ARCA win that year, followed by Jeremy Mayfield’s first the following year.

Jeff Purvis won three superspeedway races in 1993, with TV viewership reaching 10 million for 15 televised races. Bondo Mar-Hyde would come on board as the series’ national sponsor in 1994, an association that would last through the 1999 season. The 1994 Des Moines Grand Prix was the first street race ever run by ARCA, an event won by Scott Lagasse.

With the death of ARCA President Bob Loga in 1996, John Marcum’s grandson Ron Drager was appointed to replace him, and he still holds that position today.

The 1997 season saw domination from Tim Steele. He won his third ARCA title by taking 12 of the 22 races. Kenny Irwin Jr. and Adam Petty became first-time winners in ARCA in 1998. That same year, ARCA celebrated running its 1,000th sanctioned event.

More familiar names accomplished their first wins during the 1999 season with Blaise Alexander and Ron Hornaday each getting their first checkered. The 2000 season saw Ryan Newman and Kerry Earnhardt win their first ARCA race

Through the years, ARCA has promoted a number of other types of racing. For example, in 1988, ARCA began promoting its own midget series, now called the ARCA Auto Value Midget Series. Also, that same year, it established the ARCA Figure 8 Series.

For a time during the ’90s, the group had a traveling mini-stock series called the ARCA Pro-4 Series. In 1999, the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series was formed and the series has been successful.

ARCA has also started sharing race weekends with other NASCAR divisions besides Winston Cup, such as the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series. The series also has joined forces with the Indy Racing League for a weekend show.

President Ron Drager sums up the 50 years of ARCA quite simply. "I think we have a good feel on how we fit in. We are not a full-time, superspeedway-oriented 36-race series. We look upon ourselves as having a less-financed field of regulars and giving them a chance to run on a wide variation of tracks.

Everybody assumes that all our drivers have NASCAR as their ultimate goal, but that’s not always the case. Many of them have shown well at the local or regional level and want to give us a try with a 3,400-pound car on high-speed tracks.

Others come to us just wanting to run only superspeedway or maybe short-track races. Then, there are times when a NASCAR team will send down a young driver to acquire experience with us. We know our place and plan to keep operating this way in the future.

I think my founding grandfather would be happy if he could see what his organization has become and how we’ve been able to bring many resources together. I don’t think he’d like all the paperwork we have to deal with these days, though."

Current Points
Unofficial Points



<><><><> <><><><> <><><><>

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Tom Hessert	1195
2	Chris Buescher	1180
3	Brennan Poole	1175
4	Chad Hackenbracht	1165
5	Frank Kimmel	1150
6	Ryan Reed	1110
7	Mikey Kile	1100
8	Alex Bowman	1085
9	Matt Lofton	1025
10	Josh Williams	965

ARCA Photo...Point leader Tom Hessert in the Kenny Schrader owned Chevy

The following photo is mine and is from a 1973 ARCA race at Capitol Speedway in Wisconsin.  The track is now called Madison International Speedway.  It is a paved 1/2 mile banked track. This picture is a digital copy of a faded and wrinkled b&w print. It wasn't a great shot to begin with.  Bobby Watson is driving the #7 1973 Camaro, and Ron Hutcherson is piloting the 1973 Ford Torino.  Hutcherson won the race and the title.

I am looking at blogging some more historic racing divisions.  The long gone USAC stock car division is at the top of my list but USAC's Indy Cars, as well as midgets and sprint cars are also possibilities.  The old NASCAR Winston West division is also a thought.  My last idea would be the 1960s-1970s Can Am and Trans Am road racing series.  Hopefully this coming Monday, I will write about Sunday's Indy 500 and the World 600 at Charlotte.

Getting 200 at The Lady in Black

Congratulations to Jimmy Johnson on snapping a short win less streak. A very special congrats to car owner Rick Hendrick on his 200th Cup win.  I think having it come at NASCAR's oldest super speedway, Darlington must make it "very special"

Darlington and the "off the circuit" Rockingham are my favorite tracks. I love tracks that make men out of boys, and I guess woman (Danica) out of girls. Darlington has had some of the closest finishes in NASCAR history.  Even when the racing isn't so close, like in the first 2/3rds of Saturday's race, I love watching the drivers struggle to stay perfect at a track that simply won't allow that.  It is more than fitting that one of the toughest race drivers to ever live, Cale Yarborough, was honored.  To quote Darrel Waltrip's Saturday tweet (paraphrase)  as a child Cale came into Darlington under the fence, he left it going over the fence.

I think today's NASCAR has by far the superior physical athletes to those older days.  Still in a world nowadays of teaching drivers public speaking and sponsor representation, of drivers who crash each other when NASCAR says "boys have at it", and lay off each other when NASCAR wants their races to end quicker, I miss real drivers who just raced and let the chips fall where they may.

Generational Evolution

On rare occasions the Outsider will depart from its normal auto racing theme.  This is one of those times.

My basic philosophy on life is that people (all of us) do not change. By that I mean that for the most part, we are who we are by the time we hit our mid to late teens. There is a lot of research to back that up but my thoughts come from a lifetime of personal observation of both myself and the world at large. There is no question that the circumstances of our lives can change dramatically, and that we can alter our behavior. A drug addict can definitely get off drugs, but they will remain the same basic person who was susceptible to that addiction. Most addicts that kick drugs return to their addictive ways because they own that kind of personality. Some will kick the habit for life, not because they have changed who they are, but because they are wise enough to stay away from the sort of people and circumstances that make it easy to return to drugs. In other words they changed their behavior, not who they are.

The question is if we remain the same person, as I believe, then why does our life and our world keep changing?

I believe it is because each new generation, has evolved to be different (as a whole) from the previous generation. The world around them changes the type of person they will be. Remember in my model, they have until they are mid to late teens to become who they are.

The more a new generation sees a tendency to view government as existing simply to provide things for them, or adopts an inclination to blame the world around them for their misfortunes, the more that is who they will be for the rest of their lives. It doesn’t mean that they cannot change those tendencies, but it is unlikely because those are life styles that depend on others, not themselves. If they do break the chain of dependency, they will remain (according to my observations) the same person who was formed with a dependant view, and will always remain a viable candidate to be seduced by that life style.

In the same respect if each succeeding generation grows up without the vulgarisms and narrow minded hate of racism, that positive life will have been formed and they will always remain that person. If they have been affected through those formative years, to believe that we need to be good stewards of the earth, then that philosophy will remain at their core throughout their entire life.

The issue is, if a new generation is being formed at all times, how do we accentuate the positives to that generation, and reduce the negatives? How does a population develop that is self sufficient, takes responsibility for their own actions, knows that a government cannot sustain an ever demanding population for eternity, but also knows that a society must provide the same freedom of opportunity for everyone regardless of our differences, and does not automatically dismiss ( due to mistrust of the message carriers) those who would like to leave a “good earth” for each new generation?

Of course the examples that I have given, as far as what are positives and what are negatives, are a both a result of my life observation and my own personal core beliefs.

If a generation with a small tendency to think that it is government’s purpose to ‘give them things” and to “fulfill” their lives‘, than they will breed a new group of citizens with a bigger tendency to demand those same things. In the same fashion one population of people who carry the bigotry of racism, sexism, etc., or who care nothing about the condition of the planet, will only find a new generation that is far worse on those same beliefs.

Lacking religious beliefs becomes easier with each generation. Being un-religious is easier than being religious. I know this from personal experience. Not getting up on Sunday morning or setting aside Saturday is easier than doing so. No strict code of morals to follow. No ridicule from your fellow man. Having no moral compass makes it easy to believe it matters very little what you do or who you do it to. The further we move from God, any God, the more we turn only to other flawed mortals for our saving grace. Mortals cannot give enough and soon the government becomes our God. In the past the Soviet Union, ancient pagan Rome and other such governments tried to be God (or gods) and failed, but only after a long and painful experience.

While we might each remain who we are for eternity, each new generation is almost guaranteed to be different from the last. The question is will they be better or worse?

Bending It Sideways

For those of you who love and appreciate “the art” of dirt track racing, I have tossed in a few of my Badger Midget pix from the 2003-2006 era. I have not shown any of them before.

The beauty of a four wheel drift is at its best with light-weight, wingless, open wheel cars. Midgets usually win the award for running sideways most of the way around a good dirt oval.

Below you will find a racing art show, based totally on the four wheel drift. Take note how each driver peers to his right to see where he will be heading. A classic sign of bending it sideways.

Thank you,
The Outsider

NASCAR-Talladega

My original intent was to start this weeks NASCAR/Talladega post with Friday's ARCA race.  Unfortunately I did not see the race so I will leave it to others to comment.  I am looking at possibly doing a post all about ARCA.  It may include looking back to the days of long gone ARCA memories with drivers such as Igga katona, USAC's Jack Bowsher and Butch Hartman, and NASCAR champ Benny Parsons.

I felt that Saturday's Nationwide race was excellent.  It contained a strange mix of 2x2 tandem racing, pack racing and single file racing.  Kudos to Joey Lagano for passing Kyle Busch in the last 100 feet to win by half a car length. Nice drives were seen by Danica Patrick and especially Dale Earnhardt Jr. As I write this I am not sure of the condition of Eric McClure after a wicked hit into the inside safer barrier during a late race crash.  He hopefully is okay.

Sunday's Aaron's 499 held my interest throughout.  Once again you saw 2x2 tandems, a lot of pack racing, and some nose to tail single file racing as well.  The fastest car, Matt Kenseth's #17 did not win.  I think when he and teammate Greg Biffle moved to the inside lane, it just opened up the perfect scenario for winner Brad Keslowski and runner-up Kyle Busch to pull away.  This event should satisfy many NASCAR fans as there was at least as much crashing as racing in the late stages of the event.

Next week "The Lady in Black", Darlington.

Visiting Yesterday...Today...Again

A while back I wrote a post where I displayed just a few of my images from the 1970s and 1980s.  I begged your understanding as the images I showed were made from b&w and color prints that I found in a box.  The prints were faded, scratched and bent.  I made some simple copies of them in 2006, and those files are what I shared with you. It is difficult for me to show images like that because I had been a professional photographer and it is a bit painful to show images in that poor of condition.  Well I showed the best of the lot at that time and today I have decided to show some of the worst.  I have used software to make them a little bit more viewable, but I ask you to understand that these images are very bad.

Championship dirt car (Silvercrown now).  1987 at the mile dirt in Springfield, Illinois.

Early 1990s sprint car action from Wilmot, Wisconsin Speedway

The legendary Sam Ard.  NASCAR Nationwide-Grand National-Late Model Sportsman race at the Milwaukee Mile.  1982 I believe.

Yes there once were convertible stock cars.  This is the 1972 Red, White & Blue Series from Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, WI.  Roger Regeth is driving a 1969 Camaro out of the Chicago area.

Tom Reffner in his 1968 Mustang at the same race.

Thank you very much