January 10, 2010

The end of the racing season means plenty to most racers, but to Bryan Clauson it means he took everything away from the pack and stole the show in winning the 2nd annual Glenn Howard Memorial race. I think he took everything including the kitchen sink as he finished the year strong by running away with the 30 lap USAC/CRA event. As for the extra $30,000 added to the race purse, I am sure Glenn is proud of his son Steve for his outstanding efforts in this memorial to his dad.

Finally 2010 has arrived and I’ve taken some time off to clear my mind? Actually I have stayed close to home with family times and didn’t travel to LA for B-ball for the first time in years. I saw a few tourney’s here, but no traveling. Last year brought a lot of unhappiness to some in our racing world and with no Wagsdash, it just wasn’t like normal. We did have some good times on a short 22 race schedule, but the main downer was due to the races gapped too far apart so the needed seat time when we resumed after a few weeks each time was first a refresher and then catch up. With many racing business people experiencing work slowing, it made it harder for many to survive. Racing is expensive and the cost continues to rise each year. Yet, purses are less than 15 to 20 years ago?

Why do they do it, the racers that is? Good question! For some it’s inbred and they seem to have no choice in their life script. For others it’s a passion that drives them to pursue it with their entire being. And then there are those who have moved on for many reasons that include less fun money, loss of sponsors, lost interest in the routine and maybe even, heaven forbid, life changes.

How do we improve our lot in the best racing in the land for us? The racers have to continue to reach forward, finding their needs and doing positive things to continue to move up. As for the fans, who knows??? Wow, marketing is such a lost art, so how do you reach them? How do you get the word out to the masses of fans that come only occasionally? The hard core knows when and where, but with all the internet capability, how many on it are actually fans who actually take note? Take text messages for instance, the youth of today live by it, but the fan base seems to be aging with fewer youngsters coming regularly. My crystal ball doesn’t seem to work these days as evidenced by how fewer fans are coming. How can we not pack the house when the thunder and lightning sprint cars appear? What’s it going to take? Maybe if everybody takes one person to the next race, then they take one the next race and so on, might that work? Anyway, we need to get on with it and promote our fun as much as possible, wherever we go, whenever we can. Ok, so it’s boring, but you didn’t think it was going to change without you, did you!

Wagsdash XVIII is coming. Thanks to Jim Naylor for scheduling just one race so we can do it one more time! With the announcement that Richard Griffin will be our Grand Marshal, we have someone who we can celebrate with and show the world what he means to our racing. Honoring The Gasman will be a pleasure! September 25th is the date and why not start planning to get involved, add to the purse, donate something for the auction, get excited about the low buck racers race that they enjoy. Hopefully your support will tell me if we should continue this annual quest for fun and games. If not, we can park it and move on. Please think about how you can help and call me or see me along the road.

I am leaving for Chili Bowl soon and hope to have a lot of fun back there again. This event is a Mecca of drivers and midget cars that is rivaled by none. My son Kevin will meet me there again and we’ll be posting a little news from time to time. I know some of you will stay tied to other sites on the internet for the news, so I won’t concentrate too hard to post too much.

I am looking forward to the start of a great year and hopefully it will be better than ever. For anyone with extra money out there, there are a number of racing teams who can use it. This includes the Kittle Racing Team as well as many others. Every little bit helps, like buying a tire or fuel or pit passes, motel rooms, the list goes on and on. Think about it!

Ta Ta.