Donny Schatz Receives Second Dakota Award
Donny Schatz has been racing since he was only a kid. His dream of becoming an auto racing champion started when he was just fifteen years old and he has never looked back. During the past ten years of his life he has been racing almost 100 nights a year on two different continents – a clear indication of just how dedicated he is.
So it comes as little surprise then that Donny Schatz was chosen to receive the prestigious Dakota Award for 2008. The award, which is handed out by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, gives due recognition to any person from North Dakota who is excelling in other states. Schatz has long been proving himself in the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Series and it seems he is driven to succeed. Schatz remarked that receiving the award was a “great honor” and said he was happy that he could represent his home state on a national level. He added: “Like a lot of things that happened as a result of our efforts last year, this award is truly a family award…We worked together as a family to build a race team that could compete with the best in the world and ultimately came away with consecutive World of Outlaws championships.”
The last time that Schatz received the Dakota Award was in 1998. He was chosen for the honor after a successful WoO Sprint Series Rookie of the Year campaign. It’s been ten challenging years since then and a lot has changed. He is certainly no longer a rookie and these days he’s winning back-to-back championships. Just last year he made history when he became the first driver to win the Knoxville Nationals, Williams Grove National Open, Kings Royal, Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup and the Williams Grove Summer Nationals all in the same year. That was the second time in a row that he took the checkered flag at the Outlaw championship, the Knoxville Nationals and the Silver Cup. Schatz was invited to drive for Tony Stewart in the WoO Sprint Series this year and he has been hard at work wracking up points in his new car already, with 10 victories in place after driving 27 races so far this year. Clearly this 30-year-old still has a long and successful driving career ahead of him and we may yet see another Dakota Award go to Donny Schatz in the future.
Autoracing Goes Green
The words “auto racing” and “environmentally friendly” do not usually coincide too much, but it seems that is about to change with the launch of the new American Le Mans Green ChallengeTM series. The race will be both environmentally conscious and high performance – thus blending these two spheres in one enjoyable event.
The American Le Mans Series has just launched the first ever Green ChallengeTM. The race, which is set to take place at Road Atlanta on October 4th, has the complete backing of three major organizations, namely: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and SAE International. Representatives from these different entities have already spent ample time and energy in conjunction with members of the Argonne National Laboratory to develop the formula that will be required for race car competitors to win the new environmentally-friendly race. Cars that race in the Green ChallengeTM will have to meet the standard car performance, environmental impact and fuel efficiency criteria that have been set for the event. The energy expenditure, greenhouse gas emissions and petroleum displacement of the vehicles will also be assessed.
So just where do you find cars to compete with when you’re facing this sort of strict criteria? The American Le Mans Series already has four classes of technologically advanced race cars that are surprisingly green. Each of the cars runs on a ‘street legal’ version of sulfur-free diesel fuel known as E10 (aka cellulosic E85). These fuels are almost identical to those found at the average fuel station, which just goes to show that you can go green and enjoy high performance. The fuel is essentially made from organic refuse such as wood waste or citrus remains and is clearly highly effective in powering automobiles. The Green ChallengeTM is not only proving that green is possible, hopefully it will show that it can be better too. The race is also the perfect platform for automobile manufacturers to test new ideas and bring about greener solutions to the global threat posed by automobile emissions. The media attention received by the race will also serve to boost green technological developments and hopefully stimulate even more interest in taking road transport to the next level.
ARCA RE/MAX 250 Travels To Canada
For the first time in fifteen years the Cayuga ARCA RE/MAX 250 has come back to Cayuga Motor Speedway, where stock cars are expected to tear up the track as driver’s show what they are made of. Fans are excited to finally see the ARCA RE/MAX 250 series back in this corner of the world.
The tenth race of the 21 race ARCA RE/MAX series is set to take place at the Cayuga Motor Speedway in Nelles Corner, Ontario. While the race has been absent from this particular speedway for quite a long time, it has been touring other parts of the country. In fact the touring stock car series has had a friendly relationship with Canadian tracks since about 1967. During that year, Bill Clemens took the trophy for a 100 lap race that took place at Capital City Speedway in Ottawa. Since then the race has been touring the county, with a number of races taking place at the Delaware Speedway London in Ontario. The race, which is set to take place this Sunday on June 29th, is expected to be quite a tight one with all eight U.S. drivers that are participating in the event, having already won at least one race each. Two Canadian drivers – Terry Jones and Ryan Fischer – will also be participating in the event.
While no one can guess exactly how the race will turn out, fans of the ARCA RE/MAX series will be glad to know that this is not the last stop for the year. There will still be another eleven races after the cars compete in Canada, with the race soon taking a trip to the Kentucky Speedway for a practice race on July 1st in preparation for the ARCA RE/MAX 150 at the same raceway on July 18th. The racing at Kentucky will then round up and head out to Toledo, where ARCA members will enjoy a great night out with live country music, great food and plenty of fun at the Toledo Speedway Jam. More about this great racing series will be posted up as the racing progresses so keep an eye on our website for more updates.
Busch Takes Fifth Victory of the Year
Many think of Kyle Busch as the driver they love to hate. He is often moody and seems to wreck an obscene number of cars, yet somehow his driving still packs a punch and every so often he bursts ahead of the pack and surprises everyone with some superb driving. True to form, Busch took the checkered flag at Infineon Raceway this Sunday to grab his fifth victory of the year.
Kyle Busch had been suffering from a terrible two-week slump that had him in bad spirits before the race started. The Toyota he was racing ran so poorly during practice that he thought he’d wreck, not win. His poor qualifying run left him at 30th on the grid and it seemed that he was set to suffer through yet another bad day of racing. Yet he set his mind to doing his best despite his mood and circumstances, and it seems that his steady determination paid off. Busch steadily moved through the field until at last he was able to snatch the lead from defending race winner Juan Pablo Montoya. He managed to sneak his way into first place shortly after an early restart and he held the position for the rest of the race – despite having to fend off a pair of challengers later on after some of the other restarts. By the end of the race he cruised into Victory Land for the fifth time this season – his previously grumpy and depressive mood suddenly replaced by sheer joy. After celebrating his win with his traditional burnout, he climbed from his car to bow to the crowd who was cheering fanatically.
Former team mate Jeff Gordon, who finished in third place, said that he was really impressed with Kyle. Previously he hadn’t thought him a good road racer, but now it seems clear that he admires the talent he showed by getting his car to the front of the pack and maintaining the position for the duration of the race. It seems it must have taken quite a bit of effort to take first place. The Joe Gibbs Racing crew that worked with Busch’s car have been wrestling with the car since it was unloaded on Friday. The team made some massive changes to the car after the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday to try and get it ready in time for the big day, but everyone was still dubious as to whether or not it would perform at a satisfactory level. But as Kyle Busch tore through the field and claimed his victory, it was clear that they had managed to get some things right. The win marks Busch’s 11th overall victory of the season as well as his second road course victory this year.
French Grand Prix made for an Exciting Weekend
Formula One racing fans no doubt already know the results of this weekend’s racing at Magny-Cours: Felipe Massa took the checkered flag followed closely by Kimi Raikkonen, with Jarno Trulli coming it at third place. Let us recap on this weekend’s magnificent racing.
The French Grand Prix started with Lewis Hamilton at 13th on the grid. After his recent atrocious accident in the pit lane in Canada, many would argue that it’s only fair that he starts further back than he is used to. The position is, in fact, the lowest grid placing he has ever had in his career. During the race he managed to wrack up another penalty by charging through the field a bit too early – he made up three places by the end of the first lap! Unfortunately for Hamilton, race stewards felt that his pass on Sebastian Vettel was not within the rules and so they penalized him and this crushed any hope of him finishing in the top eight. The Briton seemed to be so eager to make up ground that he even bumped tires with Fernando Alonso at one point. In the end he managed to finish tenth and he now trails winner Felipe Massa by just ten points.
As usual, the red Ferraris led the pack for most of the race. Felipe Massa and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen spent much of the race vying for first place and it was clear that they were in a league of their own. For much of the race it seemed that Raikkonen had the upper hand. He was able to pull away from his team mate after the first round of pit stops and it appeared as if Massa would not be able to catch him. However, with each passing lap Massa slowly closed the gap – mainly due to the fact that Raikkonen had managed to damage his rear tailpipe. Just past the halfway point, Massa was able to make his move and overtake Raikkonen, putting himself in first place. He stayed in first place for the rest of the race with Raikkonen only just managed to drift over the finish line in second after his tailpipe worked loose ten laps from the end of the race.
Massa’s victory at the Circuit de Nevers was no small feat. For the first time in his six-season career he is now leading the Formula One world championship; he is the first Brazilian to top the driver’s standings in 15 years. Massa’s hero Ayrton Senna was the last person from his country to do this. This was also the first time in ten years that a Toyota has been able to join the Ferraris on the podium. Jarno Trulli had to work really hard to keep McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen behind him in the closing laps, but he managed to do so despite some light rain. All in all it was a great and unpredictable race.
Speedweek Starts at Wayne County Speedway
The 2008 Federated Auto Parts Wayne County Speedway will commence in Orrville, Ohio on Monday night, June 23. Auto racing fans in that part of the country are no doubt getting geared up to enjoy some fantastic racing. The first event on this year’s calendar is the Pete Jacobs Memorial race. This will be the 13th annual Pete Jacobs Memorial race and the race, which will be hosted on the 3/8 mile dirt oval at Wayne County Speedway, will form part of the 26th Annual UNOH Ohio Sprint Speedweek.
The Ohio Speedweek tradition began in 1983 and has always been one of the top events on the All Star schedule. It is seen by many as being one of the most prestigious sprint car racing weeks in the US and spectators will see the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars taking to the circuit for a some grueling and fantastic racing. Fans are expecting this year’s Speedweek to be even better than before and the week’s events will no doubt be made even better by an appearance from the Super Late Models. When the race track’s doors are opened on Monday night, thousands of fans will stream in to watch almost a hundred drivers compete over a period of seven nights on this legendary dirt track. The resulting mayhem, bravery and perhaps even stupidity will make for a fantastic show that lasts a full week and ends with just one driver emerging as the “Ohio Speedweek Champion.” The week isn’t just tough on the drivers – its hell for their crews who are constantly working and seldom find time to sleep during this time period. However, most fans would argue that it’s all worth it and not only does the winner on Monday collect $5 000 in prize money, but the race is already known for providing some of the best race-car action available.
Fans looking forward to the Speedweek can expect to see the likes of Dale Blaney, Dean Jacobs, Lee Jacobs, Lance Dewease, Randy Hannagan, Cody Jacobs, Paul McMahon, Greg Wilson, Danny Smith, Mark Keegan, Byron Reed and many other popular drivers. There will also be a bit of an Aussie invasion of the week-long event, with many of the drivers regularly making the pilgrimage to the U.S. to take part in the All Starts Circuit of Champions. The prize money is also worth writing home about – a $10 000 point fund will be distributed at the end of the week, while a $50 000 bonus is waiting to be claimed by any driver who is able to win at least four of the seven events. The gates will open at 15:00 with racing getting underway at 19:00. You can contact Wayne County Speedway for more information.
USAC/CRA Sprint Car Debut Race at Calistoga
The Calistoga Speedway at the Napa County Fairgrounds in California will be buzzing with the excitement of auto racing fans and the reverberation of high-powered engines when the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars take to the track on 30-31 August 2008. This will be the first time that USAC/CRA (United States Auto Club/Champion Racing Association) Sprint Cars will be competing on the historic half-mile Calistoga Speedway in a race that is sure to uphold the track’s seventy-one year record for hosting spectacular racing.
The two highly competitive thirty-lap races will pay tribute to the late Louie Vermeil, who died in 1987. This well respected Californian racing legend served as a driving force for the establishment of motor sport in the Napa Valley, being instrumental in the founding of the Northern Auto Racing Club. Vermeil was an expert auto mechanic whose local Owl Garage was an institution in the area for around fifty years. Vermeil built and owned a number of racing cars, as well as playing a significant role in organizing races at the Napa County Fairgrounds. Calistoga’s first race in 1937 had one of Louie Vermeil’s cars in the line-up and he was the American Racing Association’s car owner champion in 1950.
In addition to the USAC/CRA Sprint Car races, the two nights of racing will include the USAC Western Midgets. Although this is the first USAC/CRA Sprint Car race to be held at Calistoga, USAC racing first made its appearance on the track in 1993, with Billy Boat winning a Midget race and going on to notch up four Calistoga triumphs in the following years. Other Midget race winners at Calistoga include Wally Pankratz, Johnny Cofer, Jim Keene and Tony Stewart.
Steve Howard of So-Cal Performance in Downey, California, put forward the idea for the upcoming racing event to serve as a tribute to Louie Vermeil whose sons Stan and Dick Vermeil are contributing tow money for traveling teams, as well as lap prize money.
Calistoga is referred to as “The Hot Springs of the West” and sights to see include an impressive erupting geothermal well, affectionately known as “Old Faithful”, a petrified forest, the superb architecture of the Calistoga City Hall and the fascinating Calistoga Water Truck Sculpture. Auto racing enthusiasts traveling to Napa County for this exciting USAC/CRA Sprint Car event, will have much to see and do when they are not enjoying the excitement at the Calistoga Speedway.
Toyota/Save Mart 350 Thrills this Weekend
The ever-popular NASCAR Sprint Cup series will be a highlight on the schedule of events for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 to be held at the Infineon Raceway in Southern California from 20 to 22 June 2008. The action packed weekend will also feature rising racing stars in the NASCAR Camping World Series West, as well as plenty of entertainment at The Pulse of Infineon Raceway.
The gates at the Infineon Raceway will open at 6:00 am on Friday 20 June, with practice sessions and qualifiers taking place in rapid succession throughout the day. Starting off at 8:30 am the NASCAR Camping World Series West Practice will set the tone for the day. This event is followed by Legends Practice, NASCAR Camping World Series West Final Practice, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice, NASCAR Camping World Series West Qualifier and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifier. Saturday will include practice sessions for Legends and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, with the exciting 64 lap NASCAR Camping World Series West Race beginning at 12:30 pm. The one-hour Legends Race is scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm and is the last race for the day.
By Sunday excitement will be at a fever pitch as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race commences at 2:00 pm. Spectators are promised nail-biting action during the 110 lap race. When the action is all over and the winners have taken their positions on the victor’s podium, spectators are invited to join in the Track Walk, which will include a treasure hunt for great prizes.
Although attending a race such as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 is chiefly about the cars, it is also an opportunity to socialize with like-minded people. To boost the weekend’s party atmosphere, Infineon Raceway will be introducing The Pulse, hosted by popular Bay Area personality and KUFX 98.5 FM DJ Tim Jeffreys, for the first time at the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Spectators can look forward to enjoying live music by the Unauthorized Rolling Stones throughout the weekend. Saturday and Sunday will feature Grape Stomping Competitions and the Race-n-Rock Charity Auction, taking place on Sunday, promises to be a whole lot of fun, while at the same time benefiting Speedway Children’s Charities who sponsor the Sonoma County youth groups. The highest bidder at the auction gets to ride alongside one of NASCAR’s top drivers during pre-event ceremonies. A number of Track Talk sessions with renowned NASCAR drivers will reveal interesting facts about the world of auto racing.
There are certainly many good reasons for motor sport enthusiasts to get to the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway on 20-22 June – so make sure you don’t miss it!
New ‘Start Your Engines’ Exhibit in Hayward
Hayward and San Leandro are certainly no strangers to the auto racing scene. This small corner of East Bay has been burning rubber on the racetrack for more than fifty years. While people continue to cram themselves into speedways around the country few people give much thought to the history of this legendary sport.
If you want to change this trend and learn more about the history of auto racing in the East Bay area, the Hayward Area Historical Society Museum is the perfect place to get yourself acquainted with the past. This museum, which is located in downtown Hayward, has just launched a ‘Start Your Engines‘ exhibit, which explores the auto racing history of the surrounding area. Few people today realize that auto racing was once king on the San Leandro flatlands and the Hayward Museum’s new exhibit recreates all the excitement of stock car, roadster, hardtop and midget racing in those early years of auto racing. While today this area is jam-packed with homes and businesses, between 1931 and 1955 it was the home of the Oakland Speedway (later the Oakland Stadium). Despite difficulties, the Speedway remained open during the Great Depression and it continued to carve a name for itself even after the AAA pulled out of the West Coast. In its day it was known as the “fastest dirt mile in the Nation”. This was the place where locals came to watch the biggest names in auto racing compete with locals for top titles and prizes. One of those big names was Tom Motter. Motter is now an auto racing historian who’s first hand experiences no doubt give his books an exciting edge. His books about Oakland Speedway and Oakland Stadium are currently on sale at the museum’s gift shop for those who would like some additional reading. The Oakland Speedway was finally replaced with the Oakland Stadium in 1946 after a grandstand fire and the fuel and rubber rations of WWII brought the old speedway to a close. The new track had a 5/8-mile paved oval combined with a quarter-mile oval and was every bit as popular as its predecessor.
Visitors to the museum are usually surprised to learn that the Bayfair Center shopping mall was once the location of the top auto racing stadium in the area. After the Oakland Stadium was torn down to make way for the shopping mall, youths between five and sixteen years of age continued to compete on quarter-midget tracks in Hayward for almost 30 years. Among them was the Rice family who are now famous for their quarter-midget racing cars. Many enthusiasts may feel saddened that very little of this once great legacy remains in Hayward, but a visit to the museum can certainly help to ease that feeling. A life-sized side-view cardboard cut-out of a 1915 Ford race car provides visitors with a great photographic opportunity and the museum’s shop has all the additional information and keepsakes you could want.
Outlaws Series Visits Ontario for First Time
Ontario is about to get it’s first taste of the awesome World of Outlaws Late Model Series. The move comes after a brilliant inaugural Canadian event that was held in Quebec last year. This year the chosen province is Ontario and the “Six Nation’s 50″ will be making its way to Ohsweken Speedway on June 19 later this week. The race will be presented by Arrow Express.
Fans are no doubt delighted that the $10 000-to-win event has made its way to Ontario. The Outlaws Series is the biggest dirt Late Model race to have ever come to Ontario and makes the perfect addition to Ohsweken Speedway’s schedule. This track is fast emerging as one of the premier tracks in the country and it currently headlines 360 Sprint Cars every week. Created in 1996, the three-eighths-mile oval has always hosted several dirt Late Model shows but nothing has quite measured up to the level of talent that will be arriving with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Track manager Ken Pelkie has admitted that organizers are “entering into uncharted territory” and they have “never attempted a dirt Late Model race of this magnitude.” However, he also said that they were “excited about the possibilities” and noted that people in the area were already fans of the World of Outlaws Sprints so he felt confident that it wouldn’t take much for locals to show their enthusiasm for the World of Outlaws Late Models too.
Though you would never think it to see it, the track was literally built in the backyard of owner Glenn Styres over a number of years. Styre’s home can be found just off the second turn of the oval and he continues to upgrade it with each passing year. His ultimate goal is to make Ohsweken Speedway one of the best tracks in both the U.S. and Canada. He has just recently installed Musco lighting to that end and is currently adding more bleachers to increase the track’s seating capacity to approximately 8 000. Hot laps are scheduled to start at 17:30 and racing will commence at 19:45. General admission will cost $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 years old and under. So make sure that you get in on the action at this year’s Canadian leg of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. It is bound to be a memorable one!
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