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By Bob Gangwer

Was it just us or did this winter seem excruciatingly long?  Is it possible, that even as seasoned veterans of the ever changing Indiana weather, that we somehow have let the Hoosier State’s relentless hold on winter doldrums affect us to the point of not writing a column since last September?

Nah, we just got lazy and didn’t have much to say.  Plus it seems to us that the winter off season was a bit quiet.  Not a lot going on really.

The SRL has put two shows in the books so far with a relative amount of success. The first one at Tucson was a bit lacking in the amount of supers sitting in the pits as opposed to the sitting at home department, but was a good show nonetheless.  Bob Bigioni was the surprise, but very deserving winner of that race.  Bob has been trying for a few years to put that notch on his victory circle belt and now he has it.  The thing that became very clear to several of us who watched from afar is that even though the SRL didn’t have many cars at Tucson, there seemed to be more parity afoot within the ranks.  With Troy Regier now out of the picture and Lonnie Adamson as well as Jim Birges having problems at Tucson, the field seems a bit more evenly matched.  Most of the SRL insiders had hoped to pull in many of the Colorado and Idaho cars as this track was more centrally located amongst the last standouts of supermods in the west, that being central California and the aforementioned states. Of course we won’t count out the Englewood Racing Association way up north in Washington either. But Cali is still where the bulk of the SRL cars come from.

When the SRL invaded Madera for the First Annual Fred Gerhardt Open Wheel Classic, everyone felt that the field would be larger and it was.  Several of the old CAM360 cars even came out to run with their carbureted small blocks.  Interesting isn’t it how progressive the SRL is in their way of allowing nearly all forms of engine to compete within the rank and file.  Oh wait this is supermodified racing, the most unique racing in the country.  We better stop before we upset some of our better known friends in the Eastern part of the country, but you get our point.

Anyway back to the show at Madera.  The highlight for many of the fans was the appearance of Tony Stewart behind the wheel of a supermodified.  Old news to us, (most of you remember the Cayuga story, and if you don’t, call me for all the gory details because that adventure alone would take up more space than Dick will allow a part time writer!), but it made for a good marketing ploy. 

Tony was driving one of the “Orange Cars”.  Just think Trigueiro and you’ll remember.  These cars are now under the “Western Speed Racing Team” and Larry T. is the man with the wrenches but also has some money invested in the team with Rick Gerhardt and Tony Stewart.  The new team plans to field racecars in several series including the Supermodified Racing League, USAC Western States and National Sprint Car Series, and USAC National and Western States Midget Series.  Stewart, Davey Hamilton, Jason Leffler, and P.J. Jones have been tagged as the hot shoes of choice. 

Stewart was a good pick because he came home the winner at Madera.  But he didn’t have an easy go. He had to battle with Jim Birges who probably would have pulled off the win had it not been for some Ferrari like team work by fellow Western Speed Racing driver, Lonnie Adamson on the last lap.  Adamson ended up crossing the line in his badly misfiring car in second followed by Darren Rusconi, Bobby Dalton, and Birges who after ending up in the wall ended up in fifth.

Davey was supposed to run the entire SRL season but to date has yet to be behind the wheel competitively although he is the man with the chauffeur’s hat when it’s time to roll out the SRL two-seat super aptly named “The Limo”.  It’s kinda like the Jack Hewitt two seat sprint car, except in our minds, way better.  The SRL is using it to give the media rides in order that they may better understand what a super is all about.  Hmm…wait a minute…this just may constitute a trip to California on fact finding mission for this paper…yeah we are going to have to let Davey take us around the track at 140mph so we can better understand what it feels like to say “HOLEY S*^T”  when strapped into pavement racing’s version of “Shock and Awe.”  Of course most anyone can take a ride if they wanna cough up the cash.  We can’t remember the exact prices, but 5 or 10 laps in a super with Davey Hamilton driving?  Can you really put a price tag on that?

We now move past our incredible fantasies of being in a super with Davey Hamilton back to the news at hand.  With 22 cars in the pits and the cool Lake Erie chilling the fans in the stands, the MSA pulled off a very successful opener at Lorain County Speedway on the 26^th.

Former ISMA Champion Brad Lichty brought his 2001 “Driver of the Year” Dave McKnight, Jr. south of the border to go head to head with the MSA regulars.  Actually it was more of an effort to give his son Mike some seat time behind the wheel of a super in a competitive environment.  Brad has stated that he wants to make a car available to Mike from time to time to nurture his racing career and felt that this race at The County would be a good start.  Also coming down from Canada was good guy Mark Sammut, who has struggled with bad luck the last couple of years on the ISMA circuit.  Ralph Wissing’s Buffalo, NY car also was found in the Lorain pits with driver Dan Dussel suited up and ready to roll.

Leading up to the race itself the internet message boards were wild with fervent banter of the likeliness of McKnight picking up a win and taking the MSA cash back across the border for a hellah exchange rate.  The sides were split evenly between the “pro-ISMA” and “pro-MSA” camps.  We tend to get a bit peeved with the attitudes of some of these people when it comes to picking sides in the “this sanctioning body is better than that one” argument.  It’s like the Oswego vs. ISMA deal.  Get a grip guys, this is supermodified racing not the WWE.  There are no villains.  There are no cage matches.  We are all supposed to be one big happy family.  The teams of the MSA put forth just as much effort as the guys at ISMA, Oswego, SRL, and ERA.  Just because the geographic anomalies of the supers breed different styles of cars or fewer races on the schedules, don’t think for a minute that each and every heart and wallet isn’t as involved as the next.  There will always be the idea of invasion whenever ISMA rolls into town.  Yes it really is the premier super sanctioning body.  The purses are higher, the car counts are larger, and generally there is a bit more experience amongst the drivers as an average than any other group.  Maybe the David and Goliath complex isn’t all bad from a marketing standpoint.  Kinda like grudge matches so to speak.  You could bill it as them vs. us and fill the stands.  We think it’d be better just to get everyone together in a central location and let the flag fall where it may. 

Anyway, many people thought that because Dave had never driven at the County and Brad hadn’t been there in ages, that there was no way they would top Timmy J. or Pat Shullick.  We sat back and waited full well knowing that it was a total toss up as to who would pull off the win because you now have some very good rookies in the mix too.  Former ARCA midget stand out, A.J. Davis, (YES AN INDIANA SUPER DRIVER!!), is now Pat Shullick’s stable mate in the Steve Stout barn, and the hot shot stand out teen driver from the 305 Sprinter ranks, Lee Boss is now in the second Jaycox car teamed with veteran Denny Fisher.  We knew that Randy Burch, who was last year’s “Rookie of the Year” with the MSA, would be tough too, plus Jon Henes, Charlie Shultz, Mo Lilje, and on and on.  There is a lot of depth to the field in the MSA also.

Because of work we couldn’t make the show, but a friend in need is a friend indeed, and our fellow Pinner’s BnG member Rollo set us up with live updates all night long.  We know what it’s like to sit dejectedly at home while your buddies are being bedazzled with the sensory overload that is supermodified racing.  So with each call from Rollo we translated the message to binary form with the posting of all that info on “Wailing With Wing Side Up” which is the message board for the internet version of this column.  Of course we would have been remiss had we not shared that info with the rest of the BnG so we posted on Pinner’s site too, as well as Super Dave’s and Curt Kern’s West Coast Board.

What a blast it was. Not really the same as being there, but still fun.  When Rollo called to say that heat race one went to Sean Sauer, we were glad to hear the #2 car was back in action. We weren’t surprised when he told us Timmy Jedrzejek took the second heat.  We loved hearing Rollo say that all 22 cars started the feature.  We were sad to hear that Mike Lichty got into the fence on lap 6 while trying to avoid a spinning Lee Boss.  Minutes later they were up to lap 11 when Rollo called to say that Denny Fisher had spun but everyone cleared him ok.  Then suddenly it was all over.  Sounding blissfully out of breath and in a satiated state of exhaustion, Rollo gave us the news that Dave McKnight had raced his way through the field from 20^th starting spot to take the lead away from Timmy J. on lap 25 and go on for the win.  Jedrzejek held on for second over an ever improving Randy Burch.  Many were surprised by the run of Don Johnson in a former Gibson car which he took to a fourth place finish followed by Sean Sauer in fifth.

The ERA opened up their season on the 26^th also and while it was a new season a familiar face to super fans sat in the Dodge City Raceway victory lane.  Veteran speedster Ricky Otts of Texas took home top honors followed by Rich Castor, H.J. Evans, 2002 ERA Champ-Johnny Pickard, Harry Stone, Bill Castor, Joe Priselac, Scott Decenik, and Jason Richards.  At this point that’s all we know.

ISMA opens their season this weekend at Star and Seekonk and we will have reviews of those shows next week as well as what happened at the Open Practice Session on May 3^rd at Oswego.  The Sandusky MSA show has been moved from May 3^rd to the 17^th to allow the supers to race on the new pavement that Don Arnold is lying down within the next week.

We’ve got some tidbits here and there but we’ve run long so we’re gonna cut it short.  You can stay up to date with most of what’s happening in the super world by typing http://wingsideup.tripod.com into your browser or by sending an email to wingsideup@earthlink.net. Of course you can always call us at 574-534-0520 or write to us at 2 Winchester Trails, Goshen, IN 46526.

We unfortunately can’t make the ISMA openers because, again, work is interfering with our racing schedule.  So we won’t be there to harass “The Jersey Jerk” when he goes hammer down behind the wheel of Bruce Budnick’s #88.  Nor will we be able to hand Jimmy his helmet as he straps into Steve and Sharon Miller’s “Sweet 16”. And we will miss talking ISMA politics with J. Scott, and laughing at “The Rowley Rocket” and his craziness.  But we will be satisfied with knowing that these and many others within ISMA as well as the MSA, SRL, Oswego, and even the ERA, are our heroes, friends, and family.  While we can’t be there to tell them good luck we can always let them know we hope they “Keep It Wing Side Up and Wheels to the Ground.”     

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SUPER NEWS

BOB GOUTERMOUT BREAKS BAD LUCK STREAK TO WIN OSWEGO SUPER FEATURE Oswego, NY - It's been a long dry spell for Fulton, NY's Bob Goutermout. The last time he stood in supermodified victory lane at Oswego Speedway was May 19, 2001. He broke that spell amidst some rain Saturday night taking the Nice n Easy Grocery Shoppes/Labatt Beer 45 over fellow Fultonian Tim Gareau and current point leader Joe Gosek. It was raining all around, but Oswego was given a reprieve of sorts that allowed the racing to continue,albeit for a few minor delays. Hoping to break an incredible bad luck string, Goutermout made quick work of getting to the front from his sixth starting spot in case the rain did come. Turning some high 16 second laps in his heat, Bob was ready to win this one after parking the car several times during the recent past for mechanical ills or crashes not of his volition. Bob was almost speechless as he stood in victory lane.   "Boy this is great," he said getting misted by some rain drops. "I'll tell you what. These guys have never given up all year. We had a fast car the last few weeks, but it wasn't to happen then. It was perfect tonight. I've thought I had a good car in the past but got caught in lap traffic and negotiated it wrong. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss it tonight. I'd like to thank the crew 100%. If it wasn't for those guys all week - especially after the week we had last week - we wouldn't be here. It all paid off. We worked until 11 o'clock at night all six days that we had. It was worth it. I'd like to thank my sponsors Darcey's Collision, Light's Auto Parts -NAPA, Amerigas and Babcock Highway Supply for being behind me also." Moving in close to Goutermout near race end when a lap car approached were Tim Gareau, no stranger to bad luck this season, and Joe Gosek. While the 77 had run out front most of the race, Goutermout could not breath easy when Gareau and Gosek closed up the gap. He could only do that at the end of 45 laps. Gareau was almost as pleased to finish second to longtime friend and adversary Goutermout as Bob was to win. "It was good to run up there with Bob in second," said Timmy. "Just for both of us to finish in the top five. I'd like to congratulate him and Darcey. They've been working their tails off and have had some bad luck like me. I've got to thank my crew and everybody that helps me on the car. I'm really happy to be in the top three. Our win will come, hopefully by the end of the year. I knew Joe was right back there. I was glad there wasn't another lap left because there might have been some slinging back and forth there." Joe Gosek, chasing a first time point championship, chased Gareau and Goutermout for more than half the race. He was content with a third place finish as his nearest challenger Dave Trytek finished in sixth. Said Gosek after the race "We have to start 12th every week so you have to work your way to the front and if you're not fast enough you don't get there. Bob's been fast for weeks, it's just had real bad luck. I knew he was pretty quick in practice and in the heat race. My hats off to those guys. They busted their butt off all week just to put it back together. They have a good car there. He'll be tough the rest of the year I'm sure. Timmy ran really well tonight too. So, we're happy with third tonight. We'll keep plugging away. That's the worst finish we've had this year except when we crashed there so we'll take it."   It was a night of rushing things along with black clouds forming to the left and right, and reports of rain all around. Keith Gilliam took up the lead from the pole in the supermodified 45, but Bob Goutermout stormed up to take over the point passing Gilliam low on lap 10. Goutermout looked over his shoulder once at the clouds and took off.   The first stop came on lap 22 when the 35 of Jeff Holbrook, third in points coming into the night, and Joey Hawksby tangled. Both were done for the night. Holbrook's team had just finished putting his car back in action after a heat incident that saw Jeff almost hit the infield backup ambulance in an attempt to get pitside after a crash.   Goutermout gave it his all on the restart as did Gareau who moved into second past Page. Joe Gosek was up to fourth while Ray Graham ran fifth. With thirty down, it was Goutermout, Gareau and Gosek while Page and Graham held up the top five. Moving in to challenge Graham was Dave Trytek, trailed by Gilliam, Jerry Curran, Todd Stowell and Brian Sweeney.   It wasn't until lap 41 that a fly moved into the ointment when Bill Peri's 14 loomed in front of Goutermout, allowing Gareau and Gosek to close in. But, Goutermout held on, determined to get win number 11 of his career. Gareau, Gosek, Page and Graham crossed just the way they had run most of the night. Trytek, Curran, Gilliam, Tim Snyder, also off a bad heat wreck, and Brian Sweeney completed the top ten.   Said Page, who this time last season, sat atop the point standings, "I'm happy. This is the best finish we've had here this year. The car's a lot better. We made a lot of changes. It's just better. Not a lot better. It wasn't as good on the restarts as I would have liked. If it was I might have had a chance of at least a second place, but we're happy with a top five."   And DesMoines, Iowa resident Graham, who makes the Oswego trek as often as possible, stated, "It's not bad for hit and miss - not being here for three weeks or so. It started out good and then got real loose at the end. But, we can work with it. We'll be back next week and try again. I knew someone - I didn't know who - was right behind me. I could hear him. I was getting loose so I just held on. We'll try to make some adjustments for next week."   Chip Wood took off from the pole in the Limited Super Midsummer championship 30 to lead the first 15 laps of the double point show. A quick stop came on lap 6 when the 06 of Dave Cliff stopped suddenly and then restarted.   Wood took off again, but had Lou LeVea and Dave Gruel bearing down on him now. Gruel, a 21-year-old first year driver who says he's been racing 17 of those years in snowmobiles, quarter midgets and pro late models, moved the 18 alongside LeVea on lap 14 and in one lap was second and then first.   Gruel was in front by a couple car lengths when yellow flew for Wood and LeVea who tangled in a racing thing. Both restarted with LeVea going back to second and Wood to the rear.   Rain had been sputtering for these first 17 laps, but now slowed the action for a bit. The limited supers ran the track in waiting for a few laps, then green fell again when it was safe.   Gruel survived the onslaught of LeVea and Steve Austin on the restart, but things slowed again on lap 19 with a spin by Michael Barnes. Current limited super point leader Mike Bond made a hasty pitstop here, returning to the rear of the field from a ninth place spot.   Gruel continued to hold off the challenges of LeVea, Austin, Kevin Knopp and now Chris Proud as the race wore down. He almost had his first-ever win in the books, but one more yellow flew on lap 27 when J.J. Andrews and Shawn Walker collided while running in the top ten.   LeVea put the 96 next to the 18 on this last restart, but to no avail as Gruel was able to power away from the 96 ever so slightly. Steve Austin stayed right there waiting while Knopp and Proud did likewise. Gruel crossed the line to a thunderous cheer for a first time win while LeVea, Austin, Knopp and Proud finished in the top five.   Said the Auburn, NY driver who is nephew to the racing Abold brothers, Dave Gruel: "We had a great run tonight. We worked all week on the car - Monday through Friday - five hours a night. It paid off this week. The car is working really good. I didn't care if it rained. I thought I could hold on for thirty laps and keep the lead. Of course, if it had stopped at lap sixteen, I would have been all right with that too. All night we had a bit of an engine problem. The first two or three laps of a restart it would bog coming out of the corner. I just tried everything I could to get it going. I know the 96 car was bouncing off the back of my bumper. I'm just glad I was able to hold it. I'd like to thank all the guys back at the shop, Tom Oswald, Nick Matthews, Bill Corey, his son Bill, Tom's son Alan, of course my father. And Doug Holmes for building an awesome engine. And, of course, all my sponsors."   The rain held back for one more race as the super stocks took to the grid. Chris Lupa, not having a victory yet in 2003, was ready. He took off from the outside of the front row and never let go of the lead.   Yellow came quickly when the 12 of Dwayne LeMay laid a patch of oil down. Dave Bock, Chris Smiedy and Joe Miller all were affected in the sliding and skidding with Miller's back end crunched due to the incident. Lupa would only lead one more lap before Miller's car let go and another cleanup ensued.   Only one more stop marred Chris' road to victory. Dave Fetterly, Bobby Newman, Joe Silinski and Doug Reaume charged hard at the number 46, which was hooked out of the feature just one week ago, but could not mount a serious challenge.   On lap 19 Newman sat against the inner hub rail, obviously not happy with the way he got there from third place. He was sent to the rear and Lupa got the green, white, checkered. Fetterly, Reaume, Skilinski and George Knight completed the top five. "This is great after the last few weeks," said the Oswego driver. "These crew guys just spend so much time on the car during the week. I knew the way the track was there was nothing on the outside. I knew if we stuck to the inside and made them go to the outside, they'd have to earn it. I was lucky to get a good starting spot and hang on up front all night. This is nice to change my luck. I'd like to thank the sponsors who help us out - Andrews Auto Sales, ColRon Excavating, JR Graphics, John McCoy Builders, Dexter's Auto Repairs, everybody. They don't know how much they do for me when they help me." Notes..Some hard crashes during warm-ups and heats took out or affected Joe Chillemi's 41, Tim Snyder, and Jeff Holbrook. Shawn Muldoon's number 1 in its maiden voyage, was caught up in blown motor oil, suffering unrepairable damage. Otto Sitterly blew a head gasket and was in the Muldoon 20 for the feature while Doug Kells, also with motor problems in his car, drove the Danzer 52. Bill Sharkey was in his own number 7 super, while Dave Halstead also had to park his number 34 prior to the night's racing...Twin 30's for supers on August 16, with the final night of point racing on August 23. Some probably Classic entrants announced include former winners or hopefuls, Pat Abold, Doug Heveron, Bentley Warren, Doug Didero, Davey Hamilton and Russ Wood....Budweiser Classic weekend is August 29-31.   FINAL RACE RESULTS 8/9/03 CAR COUNT: Supermodifieds (27) / Limiteds (36) / Super Stocks (17) SUPER STOCKS SUPER STOCK HEAT #1 1. David Fetterly (21) 2. Chris Lupa (46) 3. Dwayne LeMay (12) 4. Bruce Stanton (93) 5. Doug Reaume (99) 6. Jason Spaulding (34) 7. Don Pringle (96) 8. Chris Smiedy (71) 9. Jim Siegel (50) DNS SUPER STOCK HEAT #2 1. Bobby Newman (77) 2. Joe Miller (9) 3. Joe Skilinski (4) 4. George Knight (38) 5. David Bock (85) 6. Fred Siebert (65) 7. Randy Storms (22) 8. JJ Courcy (20) SUPER STOCK FEATURE (20) 1. Chris Lupa (46) 2. Dave Fetterly (21) 3. Doug Reaume (99) 4. Joe Skilinski (4) 5. George Knight (38) 6. Jason Spaulding (34) 7. Randy Storms (22) 8. Bobby Newman (77) 9. David Bock (85) 10. Dwayne LeMay (12) 11. Bruce Stanton (93) 12. Chris Smiedy (71) 13. Fred Siebert (65) 14. JJ Courcy (20) 15. Don Pringle (96) 16. Joe Miller (9) 17. Jim Siegel (50) DNS LIMITEDS LIMITED HEAT #1 - 1. Steve Austin (66) 2. Chip Wood (5) 3. Chris Proud (3) 4. Doug Cliff (61) 5. Dave Gruel (18) 6. Rob Pullen (2) 7. Dan Kapuscinski (00) 8.Gregg Davis (89) 9. Cameron Rowe (76) 10. Pat Mullen (32) 11. Bob Bogwicz (99) 12. Michael Barnes (43) LIMITED HEAT #2 1. Lou LeVea (96) 2. Tony White (4) 3. Andy Noto (19) 4. JJ Andrews (93) 5. Kevin Battelle (29) 6. Kris Meyn (86) 7. Mark Regan (69) 8. Jeff Jones (02) 9. Jason Cliff (60) 10. Steve Abt (85) 11. Star Matteson (82) 12. Jack Patrick (9) DNS LIMITED HEAT #3 1. Dave Cliff (06) 2. Mike Bond (90) 3. Shawn Walker (68) 4. Guard Nearbin (78) 5. Kevin Knopp (94) 6. Tim Barbeau (50) 7. Doug Reaume (95) 8. Jim Guyle (20) 9. Gordon Smallidge (52) 10. Wayne Wideman (15) 11. Bill Moore (7) 12. Mike Bozzuto (8) LIMITED CONSI 1. Gregg Davis (89) 2. Jim Guyle (20) 3. Jeff Jones (02) 4. Michael Barnes (43) 5. Jason Cliff (60) 6. Cameron Rowe (76) 7. Bill Moore (85) 8. Pat Mullen (32) 9. Gordon Smallidge (52) 10. Bob Bogwicz (99) 11. Wayne Wideman (15) 12. Jack Patrick (9) 13. Star Matteson (82) DNS LIMITED FEATURE (30) 1. Dave Gruel (18) 2. Lou LeVea (96) 3. Steve Austin (66) 4. Kevin Knopp (94) 5. Chris Proud (3) 6. Andy Noto (19) 7. Tony White (4) 8. Gregg Davis (89) 9. Doug Cliff (61) 10. Jim Guyle (20) 11. Mark Regan (69) 12. Guard Nearbin (78) 13. Tim Barbeau (50) 14. Mike Bond (90) 15. Dave Cliff (06) 16. Kris Meyn (86) 17. Shawn Walker (68) 18. Jeff Jones (02) 19. Bill Moore (85) 20. Doug Reaume (95) 21. JJ Andrews (93) 22. Chip Wood (5) 23. Rob Pullen (2) 24. Jason Cliff (60) 25. Michael Barnes (43) 26. Dan Kapuscinski (00) 27. Kevin Battelle (29) SUPERMODIFIEDS SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #1 1. Bob Goutermout (77) 2. Keith Gilliam (87) 3. Ray Graham Jr (90) 4. Todd Stowell (89) 5. Craig Rayvals (94) 6. Dave Trytek (70) 7. Jerry Curran (24) 8. Bill Sharkey (7) 9. Dan Connors (96) SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #2:-1. Tim Gareau Jr (5) 2. Joe Gosek (50) 3. Joe Hawksby Jr (22) 4. Bob Bond (25) 5. Bob Magner (40) 6. Bill Peri (14) 7. Doug Kells (52) 8. Tim Snyder (0) 9. Dave Halstead Jr (34) DNS SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #3 - 1. Brian Sweeney (3) 2. Howard Page (18) 3. Otto Sitterly (79) 4. Hal LaTulip (56) 5. Pat Lavery (99) 6. Robert Parrow (21) 7. Shawn Muldoon (1) 8. Jeff Holbrook (35) 9. Joe Chillemi (41) DNS SUPERMODIFIED FEATURE (45) - 1. Bob Goutermout (77) 2. Tim Gareau Jr (5) 3. Joe Gosek (50) 4. Howard Page (18) 5. Ray Graham Jr (90) 6. Dave Trytek (70) 7. Jerry Curran (24) 8. Keith Gilliam (87) 9. Tim Snyder (0) 10. Brian Sweeney (3) 11. Todd Stowell (89) 12. Craig Rayvals (94) 13. Pat Lavery (99) 14. Bob Magner (40) 15. Bill Peri (14) 16. Hal LaTulip (56) 17. Joe Hawksby Jr (22) 18. Jeff Holbrook (35) 19. Dan Connors (96) 20. Bob Bond (25) 21. Otto Sitterly (20) 22. Bill Sharkey (7) 23. Doug Kells (52) Back to Top

Teammates Sweep MSA Weekend By Lee A. Booze/ Jeff Lickfelt The Midwest Supermodified Association, now in its third season of competition, held its first ever two-day weekend at Lorain County and Toledo Speedways, and the ACME Racing Team made the most of two days. Veteran supermodified driver Pat Shullick captured the Saturday night event at Lorain and rookie of the year candidate A.J. Davis won the Sunday evening Toledo round. The duo’s victories make for six winners in seven races thus far in the 2003 season. In Saturday’s thirty lap feature event, New London, Ohio’s Rich Reid tried playing rabbit by starting on the pole and motoring away on the start. The young shoe paced the field for the early going while Larry Lehnert Jr. and Charlie Schultz maintained top three spots behind. Working his way up from seventh was were Jack Smith, point leader Tim Jedrzejek, June Lorain winner Denny Fisher and Shullick. Lurking further back in the field was April’s surprise victor Dave McKnight. Just past the halfway mark, Shullick got by Schultz for the show position and one lap later he found himself in the runner-up spot. The first caution of the race came out on lap eighteen when Charlie Schultz made contact with McKnight. Schultz went pitside while the Canadian veteran rejoined the field at the tail. After two green laps the yellow waved again when Lehnert slowed dramatically in turn three and was rear ended by a trapped Denny Fisher. After both cars were placed on the hook, Shullick resumed his onslaught on leader Reid. With less than ten to go the man on the move was Jedrzejek who advanced from his twelfth starting spot to catch Shullick. With only six laps left on the books, Shullick grabbed the point, denying Reid his first MSA victory. Soon after Jedrzejek moved into the runner up spot, but the leader was long-gone. Reid held on to third while Jack Smith and Lee Boss closed out the top five. Heat race wins went to Reid, Schultz and Jedrzejek. On Sunday the Midwest Supermodified Association travelling show made their first ever stop at the high-banked half-mile oval of Toledo Speedway. The 2001 ARCA Midget Champ turned supermod racer, A.J. Davis made the most of his racing experience at the Glass City oval, capturing his first victory of the season, completing the weekend sweep for the ACME racing team based in Castalia, Ohio. Hard luck racer Charlie Schultz lead from the pole but within six laps Davis had worked from his sixth starting spot to grab the lead. Hot on his heals was Canadian invader Dave McKnight, racing in MSA for only the third time this season. The race was stopped only one time for a caution when Saturday night’s winner Pat Shullick and current point leader Tim Jedrzejek came together vying for the fourth spot in lapped traffic on lap 18. Shullick went to the pits and Jedrzejek returned to the tail of the pack. On the restart, Davis and McKnight were again "off to the races" and were soon well out of sight of the rest of the field. The men on the move at this point were Sean Sauer and Eric Shirey. Sauer steadily picked off cars coming from the fourteenth starting position to grab the fourth spot with only a handful of laps remaining. Shirey, making his MSA debut in 2003, started deep in the field in 18th, and worked his way to seventh by the checkered flag. For Davis the win was his first in the supermodified division and it completed a sweep for the weekend by the Steve Stout owned ACME Racing Team based in Castalia, Ohio. Canadian McKnight salvaged his weekend with a runner-up finish. Shultz came home third with Sauer and Denny Fisher rounding out the top five. Schultz and Davis captured the two heat races. MSA returns to action next week at Sandusky Speedway and the following week on the high banks of Mansfield. For more information check MSA’s website at www.midwestsupers.com. MSA Race #6: Lorain County Speedway 8-9-03 A Main (30 Laps): Pat Shullick, Tim Jedrzejek, Rich Reid, Jack Smith, Lee Boss, Moe Lilje, Jon Henes, A.J. Davis, Dave McKnight, Randy Burch, Joe Grunda, Bob Dawson, Mike Lichty, Don Johnson, Wayne Palmer, Larry Lehnert Jr., Denny Fisher, Charlie Schultz, Dave Mumaw, Sean Sauer, Mike Haury (DNS), Gary Cambrare (DNS) MSA Race #7: Toledo Speedway 8-10-03 A Main (25 Laps): AJ Davis, Dave McKnight, Charlie Schultz, Sean Sauer, Denny Fisher, Lee Boss, Eric Shirey, Jon Henes, Joe Grunda, Mike Lichty, Jack Smith, Burdette Bennett, Tim Jedrzejek, Randy Burch, Bob Dawson, Don Johnson, Dave Mumaw, Pat Shullick, Tom Gonczi, Bill Sauer, Rich Reid, Larry Lehnert (DNS), Moe Lilje (DNS). Back to Top Newlywed Adamson Ends Honeymoon With a Win By Gerald Laurie 8/2/03...Lonnie Adamson returned from his Florida Honeymoon to garner his third Supermodified Racing League win of the 2003 season at Champion Motor Speedway. The Supermodified Racing League invaded the Carson City, Nevada oval on August second with 17 Supermodifieds ready to tackle the banks in the Nevada State Capitol. Adamson (14) topped all qualifiers with a time of 11.49 seconds. Bob Bigiogni (96) was second fast at 11.50. Dale Lamborn (48) at 11.61, Troy Regier (98) at 11.61 and Mike Ford at 11.69 rounded out the top five. The first eight lap heat race lined up the Jeff Russell (85) and A.J. Russell (7) on the front row. They were followed by Troy Regier (98), Lonnie Adamson (14), Bobby Dalton (36), and Rob Carlotto (41). The first lap ended as it started, but Regier got around A.J. on lap two. Adamson managed to take third on lap six. Heat one finish showed Jeff Russell winning over Regier, Adamson, A.J. Russell, Bobby Dalton and Carlotto. The second heat line up consisted of Jim Birges (32), Jim Tartaglia (83), Bob Bigiogni (96), Mike Ford (56), Rick Cameron (24), and Willie Northammer (29). Tartaglia led the first lap as all hell broke loose in the back of the pack. Cameron and Northammer tangled coming off turn four and Cameron vaulted over Northammer’s tire to barrel roll along the top of the front straight wall. Although uninjured in the melee, both were eliminated from the heat and Cameron was done for the night. After the clean up, Tartaglia again led over Birges, Ford and Bigiogni. The order remained static until lap seven when Bigiogni moved up to third. On the last lap Birges pulled off a low pass as Tartaglia slowed with a mechanical problem and Bigiogni moved around on the high side. Heat two winners were Jim Birges followed by Bigiogni, Tartaglia, and Ford. Jerry Allec, Jr. (72) led the third heat to the green followed by Amy Barnes (12), Darrin Rusconi (66), Ken Hamilton (1), and Dale Lamborn (48). Barnes led lap one followed by Rusconi, Allec, Hamilton, and Lamborn. Hamilton displaced Allec on lap two and Lamborn did likewise on lap three. Rusconi snagged the lead on lap four. Hamilton took second on lap seven and Lamborn grabbed third after the white flag. Finish order was Rusconi over Hamilton, Lamborn, Barnes, and Allec. The forty lap feature event lined up with the top six qualifiers inverted at the front. This put Ken Hamilton (1) on the pole followed by Mike Ford (56), Troy Regier (98), Dale Lamborn (48), Bob Bigiogni (96), and Lonnie Adamson (14). Behind the inverted starters were Jeff Russell (85), Jim Birges (32), Darrin Rusconi (66), A.J. Russell (7), and Jim Tartaglia (83). The remainder of the field consisted of Amy Barnes (36), Bobby Dalton (36), Jerry Allec, Jr. (72), Rob Carlotto(41) and Willie Northammer(29). Hamilton led the first lap over Ford, Adamson, Regier, and Birges. Lap two saw Regier pass Adamson and Bigiogni pass Birges. On lap three, Regier tagged Ford in turn two with the 56 spinning out and the yellow flying. On the restart, Regier was relegated to the back with Ford for causing the incident. Restart order was Hamilton, Adamson, Bigiogni, Birges, Jeff Russell and Rusconi. The 12, 72, and 29 cars all headed to the pits during the yellow with Allec being the only one to return to competition. Ford and Regier were relegated to the back. The order at the front remained static, but both Ford and Regier were working their ways back toward the front. On lap sixteen, Adamson grabbed the lead from his teammate with a daring outside pass. Two laps later, the yellow was displayed for a spin by Jeff Russell. The resulting restart showed Regier moving into the top five behind Adamson, Hamilton, Bigiogni, and Birges. On lap 21, Mike Ford spun and Jim Tartaglia was unable to avoid him and had a major collision with the stalled car of Ford. Both were eliminated with collision damage. At halfway, Adamson led over Hamilton, Bigiogni, Birges, Regier, Rusconi, A.J. Russell, Jeff Russell, and Bobby Dalton. After restarting, Regier was able to pass Birges for position on lap 22. Birges’s handling got worse as his right rear tire separated. There was very little passing for the remainder of the race although Hamilton, Bigiogni, and Regier were having a battle royal for second through fourth. Dalton went a lap down on the leader’s lap 32 and Jeff Russell lost a lap on the thirty-seventh. Finishing order was Adamson over Hamilton, Bigiogni, Regier, Birges, and A.J. Russell, all on the lead lap. Jeff Russell and Bobby Dalton finished one lap in arrears. More than one lap down were Ford, Tartaglia, Carlotto, Allec, Barnes, Northammer, and Lamborn. All in all, it was a pretty good show in front of a great crowd. In spite of the threatening weather all day long, the locals turned out in droves to see the SRL sidewinders. Although the 83, 56, 24, and 29 cars received collision damage, all appear repairable and should be at the next event in two weeks. Dalton and Tartaglia were still running their 360 engines as they toil to repair their recently injured 410’s. Both hope to have their big guns ready for Madera. Meanwhile, back in the Great Central Valley, I am the Racing Widow’s Husband. Back to Top H.J. Evans Wins First of Season in ERA Action at I-25 By Rex Beavans I-25 Speedway in Pueblo suffered a good blistering last Saturday night as the ERA supermodifieds returned to duel on this ultra fast quarter mile oval. The hot southern Colorado air was pungent with spent methanol as ten of these exotic winged sidewinders took time with Harry Stone in the 40 car qualifying quickest with a time of 11.895 seconds. A disappointed Ira Castor was pushed back to his pit as that darn Ford just refused to fire for the second race in a row. The first heat began as a four car race with Billy Castor on the pole flanked by Perry Naylor(!) in the 77 car subbing for a still injured Joe Gallegos. Troy Castor and Dave Klamm filled out the second row. The green dropped for this ten lap race with Klamm quickly dropping back and eventually parking the #11 in the infield. Next lap Castor in the 24 spun exiting turn two bringing out the yellow. After they got the car pushed off and fired the field of three cars once again took the green flag with Billy on the point followed by Naylor and Troy Castor. Right away the 24 car slipped beneath the 77 of veteran Perry Naylor and it looked like he'd get by him pretty easily. Then disaster struck as Castor's throttle stuck open in turn 3 and the #24 propelled itself right into the left side of the hapless Naylor's 77 car. When it was all over, the two cars had climbed wheels, the 24 car was on it's wing in turns 3-4 and the 77 was smashed against the retaining wall. Thank goodness both drivers walked away, accompanied by relieved applause from the packed grandstands. Those racecars were a real mess though, especially the #77 owned by Joe Gallegos. It was so bent up (both sides and the rear-bad) that it was enough to make you sick  to your stomach.  Castor's car sustained heavy front end damage as well as a pretty well ruined wing but it looks like he'll be able to repair the damage in time for the next race, in three weeks at Dodge City. He said later that "racing is racing but accidents happen". Perry Naylor had no comment. I'm thinking that Naylor scored the position since Castor never did pass so that's how they finished up, 6, 77, 24,and 11. On to the fast heat, which was much more betterer because there were no yellows and no more expensive equipment got wrecked.  Joe Priselac won in a relatively uneventful ten lapper followed by Richey Castor in the #2 and H.J. Evans #3, both in Rich Castor Sr. owned cars. Harry Stone  #40 and Stevie Gallegos in the 7s finished the race in fifth and sixth respectively. I-25 speedway is a classy little racetrack and they always offer the fans a full show  so of course the was a trophy dash. This evening it was a six lap contest for four cars with the trophy going to Evans, trailed by Stone and Priselac, with Richey Castor bringing up the rear. Temperatures had cooled quite a bit by the start of the twenty lap main event and Billy Castor in the 6 was on the pole with Joe Priselac on the outside. The second row had the Castor racing cars 3 and 2 on the inside and outside respectively. The 40 of Stone was on the inside of the third by virtue of the invert with Stevie Gallegos #7s on the outside. Dave Klamm had row four all to himself. Evans quickly took the lead with Castor #6 and Priselac gradually drifting back to finish fifth and sixth. Stone  was like a man on a mission picking his way through the pack passing Richey Castor for second spot and a few laps later was on Evans' rear nerf bars. Although very loose, the 40 car was able to hang with the 3 for a half dozen laps or so but when the checkers flew it was H.J. Evans winning his first feature of the season and increasing his point lead. The final order was 3  40  2  6  51  7s  11. The fans at I-25 Speedway certainly saw some thrilling supermodified racing this past weekend. In spite of that awful wreck in the heat it was still some good clean competitive racing from the Englewood Racing Association's "Wildest Show On Wheels" Catch the next ERA race at Dodge City on August 23rd. rex Back to Top CAMPING POLICY ON OSWEGO SPEEDWAY GROUNDS Oswego, NY 7/4...Oswego Speedway does not have a permit from the Oswego County Health Department to operate a campgrounds. Therefore, any camping for an extended period of time on Speedway grounds is prohibited. Beginning July 1, 2003, this will be strictly enforced. Any campers on the Speedway grounds during the work week (Monday thru Friday) will be asked by the Oswego City Police Department to leave the premises or be cited for trespassing. The Speedway has always been allowed to offer free overnight parking on race weekends, and this policy will continue. This means that people with motor homes, campers, trailers, etc. can pull in on race day, watch the races and leave the following day. For Classic week, Oswego Speedway has filed special paper work with the Oswego County Health Department which designates two areas on the Speedway premises as temporary campgrounds. In order to obtain this permit, certain requirements for restrooms, wash basins, potable water, dumping station, rubbish containment and security have to be addressed. Obviously, this would be cost prohibitive on a weekly basis as the demand is negligible in comparison to Classic week. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation on this matter. Back to Top

RANTS AND RAVES

• We can't say enough about the efforts of new Sandusky front man Dutch Hahne. Throughout the weekend of Nationals he was easy to find and always had a friendly greeting for everyone. He also seems to be working more toward bringing the "fun" element back into the track with track workers throwing free tee-shirts and gifts into the crowd, free sodas and water for the pits, and lots of racing for a decent price. Keep it up Dutch and Sandusky may return to the days of old! 
• ISMA needs an announcer now that Arty isn't around much. Someone that can enunciate, doesn't scream into the mic, can keep the neophyte fans informed without seeming redundant to the long time super fanatic, and one that can actually pronounce the drivers names correctly. This weekend at Sandusky was a perfect example of this problem. We could tell that the new announcer was a bit green, and though he never lacked enthusiasm throughout the weekend, we think he could have held back sometimes and remained a bit more restrained in his mangling of the mic. Let's hope he gets better with practice.
• Props to Shirley Letcher in her ongoing effort to help us remember the legendary Jim Shampine. Shirley has started a drive to commemorate "The Pine's" love of the supers as well as his generosity and loyalty to his fellow competitors and all of his fans. The effort will be called the "Fans of Jim Shampine" fund with the goal of receiving donations of $10.00 from 100 fans with those moneys to be awarded to the 8th place finisher in this year's Classic. All contributions of $10.00 or more will be listed on Pinner's site, with name, city, state and amount. This info will also be listed on a new web page ( by a link from Oswego Speedway) and will be given to the recipient. Checks may be made out to Shirley Letcher (with Fans of Jim Shampine on the memo line). Send to Shirley @ P.O. Box 127, Kirkville, NY 13082. I will also accept cash at Oswego and ISMA tracks. As an added thought, if you would like to mention your personal memories of Jim, I will include them in a special book to be presented to the recipient.  You can contact Shirley via email at SLetcher8@aol.com.
• If you get a chance you've got to pick up the latest issue of Flat Out magazine. Lee Booze has a good article in there that is all about the history of the supermodifieds. Lots of cool pictures from days gone by showing the evolution of the supers. We especially like the lead photo by Rich Lesiecki. Wonder if we can sell that autographed copy on E-Bay??? We think that a bit more emphasis could have been put on the key Michigan teams that helped get the real revolution started at Oswego. In addition, we are sure that space limitations kept Lee from expounding  on the impact the East coast teams had, or the amount of influence Jim Belfiore had on the west coast evolution of the supers. However Lee did a wonderful job in a short amount of space and the story should help to convince those readers of Flat Out that wouldn't ordinarily follow the supers to take in a show. Great job Lee!

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Last revised: August 13, 2003.