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Aug. 03, 2007
Anyone have the answers?
Recent articles where I have attempted to either clarify or answer concerns of various race fans has spawned even more questions. Several of these fans are reluctant to ask Joe Rogers Jr., the promoter at the Pahrump Valley Speedway, for fear of retribution; others, I guess, feel more comfortable talking to me. I don't have all the answers, and if I did, they probably wouldn't endear me to the power that is. My response has been, that I will present their queries here in my column and perhaps the promoter will respond . Here are the most frequently asked questions. If the job of the promoter is to promote the track, why isn't he actively looking for more sponsors? Why aren't we on a one-week on and one-week off racing schedule? Whatever happened to Big T and his barbecue menu? Why does it take so long to get the racers back in the correct order they were running before a yellow came out? If he is the promoter, why does he find it necessary to continue to race, even after winning a track championship? And a hypothetical question, what would happen if Rogers is involved in an on-track incident that relegates him to the flagstand and the driver that may have caused the accident is involved in another incident that requires a decision by Rogers? Would the offending driver get a fair shake? Why does it take so long to get disabled vehicles off the track? Why isn't the promoter given the black flag for over-aggressive driving? The one question that may have become a mute point after Saturday night's announcement is that Rogers is retiring from the mini stock division. Everyone knows my feelings on this particular topic, including Rogers, which means absolutely nothing in his posse. No one has questioned Rogers' ability to drive a race car and while I won't end up on his Christmas card list, I have reiterated on several occasions that I might not like several of the drivers but I do respect their abilities. There have been a couple of fans who have commented on what they described as "burned hot dogs, almost to the point of being tabbed as "charcoal wieners." One thing that is very certain, you have to applaud the young lady that is not only being subjected to the heat and humidity here in the valley but is also at the mercy of the glowing embers in the barbecue, certainly another thankless position at the racetrack. As far as the black flag question, racing is rubbing. On Saturday evening, Rogers massaged the rear bumper of Robert Pearson on the front and back stretches similar to what is described as bump drafting in NASCAR. Several fans have asked who I think will become the first racer to climb the restraining fence at Pahrump Valley Speedway? I honestly thought that Todd Nunnally would have been the first to accomplish the feat. I know one thing for sure; it won't be the promoter, who has made several comments since the beginning of the season about climbing up and down out of the flagstand or up and over the frontstretch wall. What Walt Carter, promoter at Mohave Valley Raceway, once said was just a rumor, has become a reality. A Bullhead City, Arizona business owner, whose name escapes me now, has purchased the track. Carter was once rumored to be in line to serve the same capacity at the still unopened Death Valley Raceway. There have been more than a dozen questions about this track; none have been answered. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway is planning on a gala reunion for any driver who raced at the old Speedrome or Craig Road Speedway at the Bull Ring Aug. 8. We have several in the valley, most notably, the wily veteran and two-time Craig Road Speedway track champion Ray Wulfenstein and his sister, Vera Murphy. With a one-week break, many of the drivers have indicated that they will be making the trek to what is being billed as the Pot O' Gold races at Elko Speedway. The two-day event could be very lucrative to anyone of the racing community that plans on racing at what I've been told is a beautiful setting for a racetrack, situated in a valley surrounded by mountains. The smell of pine and cooler temperatures makes up for the length of travel. Just 31days until the IMCA celebrates the silver anniversary of the Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa. The dates are Sept. 3-8. The modifieds begin their run for a coveted spot in the A-main Sept. 5. In addition to the many heat races per day, there is the Efkamp Memorial Race of Champions Sept. 6 and the All-Star Invitational Sept. 7. Dan Fitzgerald fans can go out to the IMCA Web site and vote to get Fitzgerald into the invitational. Ten drivers will be selected by the fans to participate in the Fast Shafts All-Star field. The event is being billed as America's Racin' Vacation and I will be bring you the blow by blow action in future editions of the Pahrump Valley Times. The Hibdons (Misty and Leland) and the Kiefers (Casey and Levi) arrived at the Pahrump Valley Speedway Saturday, in time for Casey to assume her usual position of scoring the races. The two families were in Arkansas catching at least one night of the four-day late model event. Casey has some excellent videotape of a late model flipping and landing upside down on its roof, followed by a subsequent fire. Once the fire extinguishers were exhausted, a brave tractor driver uprighted the fully engulfed race car and pushed it into the infield where the fire burned itself out. Casey has considered putting the video on the Internet just to see how many hits she would receive. Chad and Anthony Broadhead, in an effort to stem the bashing, name-calling and inappropriate language on several local racing Web sites have established a Web site, www.broadheadtwobitracing.com, dedicated to helping racers. |
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