The livestock has been loaded up, vendors have dismantled their canopies and the race competitors are looking ahead to another race somewhere down the road.

If there is one thing that 14.5 hours spent at Pahrump Valley Speedway provides, it's the many stories unrelated to the action on the track. There were actually 11 hours of actual racing punctuated by two intermissions. Here, in no particular order, are some observations that I was able to make over the rather exhaustive Fall Festival celebration.

I was impressed by the vitality for life and the flames of competitiveness that still burn in the hearts and bellies of what many refer to as "senior citizens." Sissy bars instead of rollbars, open cockpits with no arm restraints -- that's what the Western Racing Association is all about. These gentlemen deserve the admiration and applause that they received as special guests at the Fall Classic.

Walt James shared that there are vintage racing associations across the United States, and that every year the associations lose an average of two racers to racing deaths. If you choose to attend some other event over the weekend, you missed an opportunity to see a couple of 83-year-old youngsters and a driver with a prosthesis drive with as much panache as the NASCAR stars of today.

I watched a grandfather becoming concerned when his granddaughter wasn't back to her seat after being gone for more than what he considered a reasonable amount of time. He kept checking his watch and tried to scan over the crowd looking for her somewhere. He didn't want to leave his grandson alone so I volunteered to watch while he went off to retrieve the young girl.

Later that same evening, he had to deal with the boy, who developed a nosebleed. In a matter of no time, he had everything under control. My own experience is that it usually takes me about two days to get my sinus situation settled down after a night at the track; apparently the boy's system couldn't handle the dust raised from the racing action.

I couldn't help but think about my four grandkids back in Michigan and how I want to be that same grandpa at the track with them in tow. I think it's great to get youngsters involved in racing -- after all, they are the future of the sport. Great Job, Grandpa.

I hope that maybe before the next racing season, Dave Hall will implement a program where at least one night a week, for maybe a couple months, new drivers could get some badly needed seat time on the track. There have been several incidents where inexperienced drivers have had a direct effect on the ultimate outcome of a race -- usually taking out the leader.

Everyone realizes the importance of getting that valuable seat time. I would hope drivers, wanting to race, would make that decision before the race season, not late in the season or at the fall classic. It isn't their fault, and I'm not pointing fingers, but they really are in the way and a hazard, especially in the super stock and IMCA divisions.

Congratulations to Steve Slusher for taking over the flagstand. Many don't realize that Hall has a back that is held together by rods, plates, bubble gum and bailing wire. Four to five hours of leaning over the stand railing, going up and down the steps, jumping off and climbing up the wall are physically demanding.

Slusher has established himself as a no-nonsense track official who has no problem warning and "black flagging" aggressive driving. I know that many spectators feel the same as I do about drivers who spin out, and once the yellow comes out, they miraculously find their starter and accelerator. It appears that Slusher is ready to enforce the two yellow flag rule on a driver. Keep up the good work, I know Hall appreciates the rest.

I enjoy the fact that many drivers have blocs of supportive fans. If every driver had that kind of support, there would be overflow crowds at every event. The Gott family and Wulfenstein clan are not only vocal in their support but also visible. The Gott contingent cheers whether their driver is first or last. Earlier this season the Wulfenstein fans showed up wearing chartreuse or florescent lime green T-shirts and sported the wave. Those shirts, when viewed from the pit stands, stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. Little do the Wulfenstein supporters realize that once they left the track on Saturday night, that they had provided a windbreak for those of us further north in the stands.

When are the business owners here in Pahrump going to realize the potential marketing tool that Terri Little could be to help promote their business?

This young lady is successfully competing in two classes and appeared to be primed for her first Pro4 feature win until a racing incident found her on the hook to the pits. She is attractive, approachable and an asset to the Pahrump racing community. Little's fans have an opportunity to purchase a calendar that is being put together by track photographer Joe Barboza. The calendar has Little and some professional models posed on and around some of the track's favorite drivers' cars.