2011 SLINGSHOT SIDE BITES ISSUES 50 TO 99 ARE BELOW

 

 

 

ISSUE 99

WEEKEND RACING RECAP & NEWS ...

 
Myerstown, PA., September 7th:  Just a few things to get everyone through the week. Two cars for sale... Visit www.rpmpartsonline.com and go to the "for sale" page. Also an enclosed trailer and a full containment seat.

 

I will be heading to Richmond tomorrow morning. I was asked to be part of the media press conference for all Cup Chase contenders and thought this was an honor from all the media members that cover the NASCAR events, I was one of a select few to be asked.

 

Weather issues could crop up again, please make sure that your speedway will be racing this weekend. Points have been updated on the website and I want everyone to know that you must get points at a PSC race for that to count towards your National Points. The Empire Region's previous rain outs will not be made up.5 Mile Point has their maximum allotment of races as per agreed on with their community and cannot add an event right now .Thunder Mtn. has not returned my calls regarding a make-up.
I was asked what is checked at the tech areas. I do not even know who is required to show up most times. At Penn Can Jim Strouse asked for 3 teams from the top 5 and he got them. What he techs is his choice. I do know that he has teched some items that are not normally thought of and it does it's best in keeping everyone racing as evenly as possible.

 

Roger Heckman has done wonders at Borgers with the fair treatment of all teams when it comes to tech. Caroga Creek has also taken a stronger stand on the weight and other rulebook items and are starting to see an car count increase. Lindas will have a designated tech area for the Lebanon Valley 50. Dave Cordier and some of his Shellhammers staff spent 45 minutes with Rich going over some of the engine, chassis and shock items to be aware of in post race inspections.

 

Tommy Perrego has inquired about teching the Juniors at Accord and he has been given the ok from SE. Failure to report will result in an automatic DQ. A few emails regarding yellow flag restart lineups. That is a track procedure. I personally feel if you brought out the yellow you go to the rear, if helped it's a nasty part of racing, but you still go to the rear and the person responsible for your spin will start behind you.

 

A few interested teams are asking about the New Egypt Fall Jamboree. I believe there is an overhead shot of New Egypt Speedway for anyone that wants to see the track layout. It is D-shaped with the front stretch being the straightaway and the backstretch being the rounded part of the track.

 

Still at a stand still with the proposed Sept 30th Raceway Park show. If I do not have an email or phoned in confirmation from 30 teams, it will be planned on for a week next year. A slightly higher entry fee and an increased payout was part of this proposal with an 8 PM starting time allowing everyone the time to get there. It is a stand alone Slingshot event with Juniors running their own event. I need to give Charlie Paige a yes or no around the 21st so he can ask his officials to help.

 

I will be asking Danny Sammons about what to expect for AC in 2012 regarding the same type of format as used this year, which was very successful in saving pit time and equipment. Also the addition of a National Points provisional. As many of you that follow the Facebook page, have noticed, the northern neighbors look like they are ready to take us on and we will welcome them with open arms as the Slingshot class in Canada has grown for 2 in June of 2010 to 16 currently.

 

ISSUE 98

WEEKEND RACING RECAP & NEWS ...

 
Myerstown, PA., September 6th:  A big thank you to all the teams that braved the adverse weather conditions for the Battle by the Border at Penn Can. Thanks to Penn Can for starting every entered Slingshot in the A Main and thanks to the drivers, young and old that put on a great racing program.3,4 and even a 5 wide gave promoter Reed Miller some thoughts already for the 2012 event with qualifiers being planned. Randy Smith and S&S Speedways has announced a sponsorship for the 2012 Small Car Classic and after a few moments with Mr. Miller in the infield, this show will be a national again in 2012 as well as an Empire Region and MA Tour race. He was giving us some car count incentives for the payout and we accomplished 2 of them and missed the 3rd by 2 cars.

 

Track was in good shape and the overall program was run in 2 1/2 hours for 4 classes of heats, a Slingshot B Main and the 20 lap A Mains. Jim Strouse teched the winner,2nd place and 4th place.The top 3 in each heat were scaled, top 8 in the feature & the B Main was run off with Ryan Raidline taking the checker. Simon Egan, Ben Whitaker and Shannon Smith were your podium finishers. Chris Kurtz wheeled his X5 Junior Class Slinger with All Star weight to a heat win. I want to give a big shout to all the Junior teams that made the haul to Penn Can. These young drivers are showing some true talent. Story and finish will be posted on the website as well as the points.
The Fall Jamboree at New Egypt Speedway will be on a track even bigger than Penn Can. Penn Can is listed as a 3/8th mile and New Egypt is a 7/16th.The November 5th date has an entry listed on the speedwayentertainment.com website and also available here FAX'd or mailed.

 

I still do not have a full field rundown for the August 27th Caroga Creek National. If anyone can get that to me it would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to send out an email with the Elite 11 National Points breakdown for the current top 25 teams. There are a few teams outside the top 25 that if entered in the upcoming Nationals would have a great shot at the Elite 11 after weekly track or tour points are entered. Hamlin Speedway will be looking at the season closer on September 17th after having a great return to racing last week with John Bockhorn, Chris Kurtz and Charlie Bodine taking class checkers. The All Star PSC / National and Junior National are slated for the quick 1/5th mile. An increase in weekly car counts has Hamlin as the most attended Slingshot track in the US today.

 

Caroga Creek saw an increase in car count last Friday. Borgers Speedway is seeing an average of 16 Slingshots take to the 1/7th mile oval on Friday nights. The popular CONE Lane Race is looking to be included in one of the upcoming races. Shellhammers ran a non-points show on Saturday evening with Travis Bieber getting to the finish line ahead of brother Brett for the $500 winners share. Codie Berk is getting back into the racing groove with a 3rd place run. The Facebook Group has been constantly growing and with the addition of the Canadian Slingshot teams coming onboard, it has taken an international flavor with many teams and tracks giving their results and team news. Thanks for the attention and posting of any news in the Slingshot racing world. Button Buck will be calling it a 2011 season on Saturday night with their Run Whatcha Brung Night. All engine, shock and tires rules will be in line, but some body panels might be missing. Sounds like fun.

 

ISSUE 97

UPDATES, AND ITEMS FOR SALE, RECENT NEWS ...

 
Myerstown, PA., September 2nd:  The Sept. Racers Special will be an entry filed for the Nov. 5th Fall Jamboree at New Egypt Speedway will get you a DURO tire for $20.00.

 

Penn Can promoter Reed Miller is looking forward to the Slingshot teams, heading to Susquehanna, PA on Sunday for the 2nd Annual Small Car Nationals. The Slingshot "Battle by the Border" National will be part of this event. Also it will be counted as an Empire and MA Gold Tour event.
Reed also said that the payout from last year will be increased with the same or higher car count from last year.
Gates open at 2:30,Hotlaps are at 5:30.
Reed also will be letting Jim Strouse take over all tech for the days event. Remember the 2 Bilstein Shock rule is in effect.
Special thanks to Shannon Smith and the entire S&S Speedway Racing Team.The Sports Talk presented by RCN TV devoted to auto racing was the highest rated of the week, so there are quite a few race fans in the Lehigh Valley. Shannon did a great job with her interview regarding the make-up of the Slingshot and the racing in the area.
Items for sale:
  • 14 Inch Lajoie Full containment seat- $1,500.00
  • 2007 Slingshot ready to race-New style body, fresh motor-$5,000
  • 1999 Slingshot-Needs Body and Bilstein shocks, fresh motor- $3,800
  • Also a 10x 8 enclosed trailer, black no cabinets

Call RPM New and used parts- 610.641.9269
Former Slingshot National Champion ,Ben Whitaker will currently be the guest on Strapped In Racing TV Show on BCTV and bctv.org on Weds. night Sept. 28th.from 9 to 10.Some of the Slingshot racers to appear on the show are Kyle Ebersole, Kaitie McCardle, Nate Christman, Kim Glass, Michael Glass, AJ Gerhart, Chris Achenbach, TJ Mayberry, Louden Reimert, Ricky Yetter, Gary and Kyle Hieber along with Shellhammers Speedway's Dave Cordier, Sr. & Jr.
 
Hartland National to complete Button Buck regular season events and also crown a Great Lakes Region Champion.
 
All Star Slingshots Added to the Fall Foliage 20
　
(Orangeville, PA) Brock Moore Motorsports Media is pleased to announce that the All Star Slingshots have been added to the Fall Foliage 20 scheduled for Saturday, October 22, 2011 at Greenwood Valley Action Tracks in Orangeville, PA.
　
The All Star Slingshots will compete in a 20-lap feature event that will pay $200.00 to win with a field of 13 or more cars registered. If less than 13 cars register, then the payout will be based on the car count. The winner will receive a Trophy and a Speedway Entertainment Hat. The Junior Slingshots are scheduled to compete in a 20-lap feature event that will pay a guaranteed $150.00 to the race winner sponsored Mark Gray's Automotive/NAPA Auto Care Center. The remainder of the payout will be based on car count. The Top 3 Finishers will receive Trophies (from Brock Moore Motorsports Media) and an 8x10 Photo (from Dianne's Digital Photos). Hard Charger Award, Front Runner Award and Hard Luck Award winners will receive a Speedway Entertainment Hat.

The heat and consolation races for both divisions will be 8-laps. Draw for heat-race starting position and Redraw for top heat race finishers for the feature event. A maximum starting field of 18 will take the green flag in the feature event.

The Entry Fee for the Fall Foliage 20 is $35.00 for All Star Slingshots and $30.00 for Junior Slingshots. Absolutely, No Personal Checks Accepted. The cost of a pit pass will be $14.00. Grandstand Admission for the show will be $5.00.

On Saturday, October 22nd - Greenwood Valley Actions Tracks will also be holding a Regular Show for All Divisions.

Gates Open at 3:00pm, Practice at 4:30pm and Racing Starts at 5:00pm.

Brock Moore can be contacted at 570-637-2466 or bmoore2009@live.com . Greenwood Valley Action Tracks can be contacted at 570-458-5142. For more information, visit www.bmmotorsportsmedia.com.

The Fall Foliage 20 is sponsored by Mark Gray's Automotive/NAPA Auto Care Center, Brock Moore Motorsports Media, Greenwood Valley Action Track's, Speedway Entertainment and Dianne's Digital Photos.
 

ISSUE 96

WEST END THANK YOU, PLUS QUICK TAKES FROM

VARIOUS SPEEDWAYS, FALL JAMBOREE INFO ...

 
Myerstown, PA., August 30th:  In addition to the thank you expressed last night by Steve Heckman and Rich Raidline, Rich Tobias and I would like to add our thanks to all the teams in attendance at West End last night. Car counts were down from 2010 and maybe some of it was related to teams doing Hurricane Irene cleanup or opening day for many schools, but the Slingshots did a great job in supporting the event.

 

Congrats to Simon Egan on his win and the charge of the night to Gary Hieber on his B Main run from 18th to 3rd. Caroga Creek beat Hurricane Irene and got their PSC 80 into the record books. Cody Clark was victorious and I am awaiting a full field rundown. Congrats Cody. Next up is Penn Can on Sunday. The latest weather forecast has partly sunny,10 % chance of a T-storm and a high of 77.

 

Word from Randy Smith last night is that he is heading to Hamlin earlier than normal to make sure everything is in working order for the Saturday night racing program. So right now, everything is a go at the Pocono hotspot...Hamlin Speedway.

 

Billy Maynard's sponsorship of the Battle by the Border at Penn Can is greatly appreciated. If anyone wants to try a new speedway, Wyalusing is always looking for the invaders to come in and show their locals the way around the speedway.

 

Button Buck has their Hartland Nationals this Saturday and a virtual Run Whatcha Brung event on Saturday Sept. 10th.The Rulebook is followed, but body panels can be removed or altered for this season ending event.

 

I will be updating all the points tomorrow.

 

The Fall Jamboree at New Egypt Speedway will see the Slingshots running for a $1000 to win if the Winners Challenge Bonus is accepted $500 if not.350 for 2nd,250 for 3rd with 10th paying $90.The November 5th date will see Speedway Style Small Car Racing as the 270 and 600 micros are on the day's slate along with the SpeedSTR's and the Legends Cars.

 

Entry forms are available on the front page of our website in ready to print format, or let me know and I can FAX or mail them out to you. The form has also been sent to Blake to post on the website. At least 26 cars will be taking the green with 26th paying $25.

 

Thanks for your support of the tour races and weekly tracks. Please be aware of the school children and school buses, now that many schools have started.

 

ISSUE 95

PENN CAN BATTLE BY THE BORDER, LEHIGH VALLEY RCN TV,

COMPLETE 2 SLINGSHOT / HAULER / PARTS FOR SALE,

SPEEDWEEKS & HURRICANE IRENE, GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY ...

 

Myerstown, PA., August 26th:  The Penn Can Battle by the Border will be quickly upon us with the Sept. 4th date most likely marked on many race team calendars. Here is the PDF file from the track regarding the days activities and fees. http://www.penncan.com/PCS%20NESCC%20Event%20Information%202011.pdf Since there will be a mix of teams from all regions, I want everyone to know that in addition to being a National Point Race, it is also an Empire Region and MA Gold Tour race. Juniors are allowed to run in this event, but we will be using All Star weight rules.

 

2 Bilstein Shocks must be used and this will be strictly enforced. Sponsorships for the race are posted, but I will gladly help with obtaining added monies for special awards. Race procedures will be adhered to and all track calls will be done by their track officials. The Legends have been invited as the 600 Mod replacement, along with the 600 micros and 270 micros being the other small car classes. I did not hear of anything being said about drivers running more than 1 class, so it will be interesting to see how many drivers do double or triple duty.

 

I was asked by Reed Miller to help, so I plan on being there, to not only help when needed ,but to take a few photos. With hot laps at 5:30,I'm assuming there will be a 5 PM drivers meeting. Special thanks to WVMP race promoter Billy Maynard for being a race sponsor with his Graphix by Billy operation. Let's keep the racing clean and that will give the fans something to cheer about and also prove to the racing world that the Slingshots are worthy of attracting fans that want to see racing and not crashing. Just look past your front bumper and use common sense. Hope to see more than 30 cars there.

 

For everyone that is within the RCN TV viewing area on Thursday night Sept. 1st beginning at 6 PM. the RCN Sports Talk crew will be doing an hour long show on local racing with the 2010 Slingshot National Champion ,Shannon Smith representing the Slingshots and Nazareth, PA hot shoe Matt Janisch onboard for his discussions about the SpeedSTR's. The cars will be on display at the Farmerama Section of the Allentown Fair. There is a big bleacher section for anyone that would like to watch the show live.

 

This is a great outlet to get the word about the Slingshots to the general public and possibly get some new fans to the local small car tracks. Shannon will be a great spokesperson and we all wish her the best. I will be one of the racing panel members along with AARN writer Randy Kane. Randy Kane and I were asked to contact prospective guests and I could not think of anyone more deserving than Shannon to represent our class. A former track champion, the reigning National Champion and a driver that has taken the drivers seat in other small car classes, Shannon's acceptance by RCN was immediate.

 

I will do my best to get the word out for the local tracks in the area, Hamlin, Borgers, Snydersville and Kutztown. Matt is currently in the top 5 in SpeedSTR points and he has had the pleasure racing against some Slingshot alumni members Ryan Smith, Anthony Perrego and Paul Lotier,Jr. The Allentown Fair has free parking around it's perimeter if you are thinking about attending. Thanks Shannon, Matt, RCN and all family, friends and fans for your support.

 

2 slingshots and hauler, 1999- Slingshot. Old style body. Spare car. (This is One of the Originals), 2009 Slingshot- 1 season of races on it. Never been wrecked. Caroga Creek Track champion last year. Hauler- 1999 8x20. Has counter and cabinets. 2 motors- 1 just rebuilt, only has 2 races on it. 1 needs to be rebuilt, has 1 full season on it. Spare parts. Asking: $15,000 for all. Or best Offer. Call : 1 518 265 8766 or 1 315 796 4284 Thanks. John.. (Smith Racing 75).

 

First off, I want to thank the 65 teams that participated in the 2011 Speedweeks, slotting Kutztown in a separate week seemed to have worked if Mother Nature would've cooperated. Next year, I'm looking at possibly having Borgers start the Speedweeks, pending the decision at Lindas for 2012. I will also move Shellhammers into the Hamlin slot and close with Selinsgrove and Hamlin. Since the schedule gets finalized after AC, I will try to get it done a little sooner this year so you can plan ahead.

 

Brenda Cordier has requested the Shellhammers Junior National and the Spring Spectacular be the same day in 2012 and I agreed with the decision. They will also have a rain date in place to give everyone a chance to run the next day instead of having to head home.
 
The top 10 in Speedweeks for 2011 are as follows:
1.555 Bill Weaver $325   2.508 Brett Bieber $225   3.426 Cody Kline $175   4.403 Matt Mertz $ 150   5.385 Michael Glass $ 125   6.358 Danny Buccafusca   7.357 Matt Miller   8.305 Branden Clauss   9.282 Simon Egan   10.254 Shannon Smith

 

As some of the season's big events bring the 2011 to a close, there is a chance that some teams that are being teched will have something sent back to SE for a further inspection. Whether it be a shock, a carb or even an engine, all items will be inspected for legality. Tracks also do have the authority to request engine seal numbers. If they do not match, the engine will be transported here and be completely tore down. Since records are kept for every single engine built and worked on, we can give the tracks the most up to date seal number(s). If your engine is found to be illegal, all parts will remain here, you will lose all points and be ineligible for any postseason monetary or special awards. Since all teams are asked to be within the Rule Book, if we receive a part or engine that is illegal, it will be known by all, after inspection.

 

Please make sure you check the West End Fair Super National time schedule. They are trying their hardest to eliminate some of the down time and track prep time to get everyone home at a decent hour. Be ready when called on. The drivers meeting will be a must attend item, if I have to take a roll call to check on attendance I will do so and if you or a team rep. are not there, you will start in the rear of your event. I currently have responses from 16 teams for the proposed Sept 30th race at Selinsgrove for the All Stars and 4 from the Juniors. I will send out pre-entry forms if this will help to attract the required minimum team entry count.

 

Rich is working on the November 5th Fall Jamboree at New Egypt Speedway and the minimum age for the Slingshots is 14. Seemed strange last night not hearing "The Voice of Choice" Barry Angstadt work his vocal mastery over the Kutztown faithful. Barry does a great job in promoting small car racing and his announcing skills are 2nd to none in the area. Team news can always be directed to Barry and he will use it as he sees fit.

 

Lindas announcer Mike Batz also has a way of stirring a crowd up and with the September 24th Lebanon Valley 50 on the docket, he usually asks for some pre-race team news to help with the website promotion and also gives team news during regularly scheduled events at the Jonestown, PA oval. That's it for now. Make sure you address the possible weather issues this weekend to avoid unnecessary travel issues.

 

Kamdin Maby races his 56K at Wyalusing every Saturday, but there is more on the line than making laps. Please take a look at what Kamdin is contributing to in his young racing career. http://www.newschannel34.com/news/local/story/Boy-Races-for-STAT/kTHREup4eEWg3rK2BpKrEQ.cspx It doesn't get any better than this, when you realize he is only 10 years old.. Thanks Kamdin, Chris and the 56K team.

 

 

ISSUE 94

WEEKEND PAST AND WEEKEND AHEAD...

 

Myerstown, PA., August 24th: Hello everyone, I'm sorry for not getting any info to you, but I was hospital bound on Sunday morning for some serious knee problems. It is tough coming to work when you can't walk. I'd like to thank my daughter Jen and "Whippy" for their help on Saturday night at Grandview. Special thanks to the Grandview staff for getting me a seat before I fell to the ground. The doc asked me to take the week off, but I'll be here as long as I can endure the pain.

 

I want to take this time to thank all the teams at Shellhammers on Saturday night. I was completely surprised at the number of people that stayed to watch the Slingshot race after their big day of kart racing.2 young upcoming drivers, Jim Sensenig and Branden Clauss looked very impressive and had the dual heat honors of leading the field to the green. Brett Bieber found a little opening heading out of turn 4 and as they say the rest is history. Congrats to the # 32 team. Bill Weaver was looking like he raced there for years as he took the checkered and headed to victory lane to join his crew in celebrating the 2011 Speedweeks Championship. Hard luck for the evening went to Alex Schoffstall who broke a throttle shaft clip sitting in the feature grid.

 

Borgers locked 2 drivers into the West End Super National A Main on Saturday night since all events on Friday were washed out. Entries are still being taken for the August 29th extravaganza. Drivers meeting is slated for 4 PM with racing beginning at 6. The Battle by the Border at Penn Can on Sept. 4th will again be open to Juniors, but will have to abide by the All Star weight rule of 775.I will personally be checking the scaling and also helping out as needed. Last year saw 27 cars entered and this year the interest is even higher. I still have not received any word on the recent qualifier there regarding the post race inspection.

 

Caroga Creek will have a Friday night schedule for the Slingshots in case teams want to get some racing and set-up notes down before the Saturday night PSC National. Caroga Creek is based as a 3/16th mile, just slightly smaller than Kutztown and Hamlin. They have a website that gives directions from all areas. Hamlin's season is winding to a close, for the teams using Hamlin for the home track, they currently have the highest average car count for All Stars and also have a double digit average for the Juniors along with Accord.

 

Button Buck's season will be over in 2 weeks and a few teams were thinking about teaming up for a trip east to take part in some of the tour events being offered to both the All Stars and Juniors.8 year old Jim Chisholm, from Osage, IA, is hoping to head east and take on the tough Junior circuit as he is the Button Buck Pee Wee Division defending champion. Please greet them as you would any new team to your track. A few years ago S&S Speedway's Randy Smith was quick to befriend John Schott and his young driver named Lucas. Lucas is now one of the country's top touring modified drivers, after posting a National win in the first Slingerweeks in Florida in 2009,his career took a tremendous upward spiral.

 

Looks like quite a show at WVMP on Saturday night. Car counts in both the Juniors and All Stars were on the rise and the action on the speedway was very spirited.
Remember that the OSS event at Grandview has been taken off the schedule and Pete Knappenberger is looking to bring the Slingshots back for an October Showdown.
It will seem strange for a Weds. to pass without heading to Kutztown, but they are already looking forward to the 2012 season.

 

If anyone wants to watch my Strapped In TV show tonight, you can view it on the internet in a live streamed broadcast at www.bctv.org from 9 to 10 EST. Special guests will be Grandview Track Manager Kenny Rogers and former Freedom 76 winner and father of former Slingshot hotshot TJ, Tom Mayberry.
I will have the final Speedweeks points listed very shortly.
I'll try to get through the remaining 2 3/4 days.

 

ISSUE 93

THANKS TO JUNIORS, AND MORE RACING NEWS...

 

Myerstown, PA., August 19th:  A big thanks to all Juniors that attended the Junior National at Kutztown on Weds. night. A car count of 15 doubled last year's and Janelle was very happy with the turnout. Track management also wanted me to thank you for your attendance, professionalism shown and also for helping to get the track race ready, prior to your A Main. They were hoping the added water was going to soak in but some of it didn't and that was the needed track prep laps for your race. 16 Laps of non-stop green flag racing......all I can say is that you all showed that you are very talented race car drivers and had respect for fellow driver's equipment. Starter Bobby Stull was very appreciative of your efforts on Weds. night in being ready when you were called to the grid and running the track in for the features. It is a shame that many Junior teams stayed home. With a starting field being maxxed out at 30,everyone would have qualified. It was a great night of racing. Tyler Johnston continues to amaze as the Tri State Roofing # 5 parked in victory lane as a late race challenge from Chris Kurtz and Abbey Price just fell short. Brock Moore was there distributing the Fall Foliage 20 entry forms and race info. The show is planned for October 22nd at GVAT. Next up for the Juniors will be the September 17th Hamlin Season Finale.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Here is what's on tap at Shellhammers from Brenda Cordier for tomorrow night.
All Speedweek entries from August 13th are locked in, no more entries will be accepted.
They will be having a money only, on-points race also on the schedule for Saturday night with a minimum 15 car entry paying at least $200 to win. Any new entry will be accepted for this race with an increased payout, pending # of entries.
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The 2011 Kutztown Fair Speedway racing season has come to a close and the final car average count for the National Points is 22.
Janelle, Kerry, Galen and Kevin all wanted me to thank everyone that attended 1 race or all of them and hopefully will see everyone back in 2012.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Rich is still planning on attending the Caroga Creek PSC National next Saturday. Caroga will also have racing on tap Friday night for any team that wants to get some set-ups and gear selections ready for the Saturday night National.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Only 1 person is being used as the jack user and tire changer, not 2 for the PSC events.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Plenty of racing left on the schedule, please support your local track and the tours.

 

ISSUE 92

KUTZTOWN TUESDAY RESULTS, & WEDNESDAY INFO,

PLUS A TON OF OTHER TRACK INFO FOR UPCOMING EVENTS...

 

Myerstown, PA., August 17th:  I want to thank the 24 race teams that entered at Kutztown last night. Even though it was the last race for the season there,24 cars is a good sign for track management to make plans for our 2012 season on the 1/5 mile speedway. Here is the finish with thanks to Barry Angstadt:

 

All Star Slingshot Feature, 20 laps: 1.Pete Knappenberger, 2.Shannon Smith, 3.Brett Bieber, 4.Gary Hieber, 5.Simon Egan, 6.J.R. Fulper, 7.Tayllor Schoenly, 8.Mike Glass, 9.Ryan Raidline, 10.A.J. Gerhart, 11.Matt Massone, 12.Kyle Hieber, 13.Travis Bieber, 14.Joe Nemeth, 15.Steve Heckman, 16.William Mohring, 17.Karl Fegley, 18.Jordan Moyer, 19.Matt Miller, 20.Ben Rabenold, 21.Taylor Troxell, 22.Mark Sensenig, 23.Simon Whitnell. DNS: Danny Buccafusca.

 

Congrats to race winner Pete Knappenberger and Kutztown Challenge winner Simon Egan. The 2011 Kutztown Fair Speedway Champion for 2011 is Langhorne, PA's Gary Hieber. The Langhorne Motorsports Team adds this to their 2009 and 2010 championships at Lindas Speedway. The talent pool at Kutztown is the best in recent seasons. Tayllor Schoenly, Ryan Raidline, William Mohring, Mark Sensenig, JR Fulper, Branden Clauss, Joe Nemeth, AJ Gerhart, Taylor Troxel, Matt Massone and Ben Rabenold made some new fans in 2011 with their determination and some great runs. Hopefully the 2012 season will see more drivers get into the action at the Berks County oval.
For the Junior National tonight, please make sure you are at the drivers meeting (6:15) and if you have a parent or car owner that would like to attend, please bring them along. Here are a few things to know ahead of time. Gates open at 4,drivers meeting is at 6:15.Hotlaps immediately follow meeting and they will go right into qualifying. Time trials will set the heat lineups and the heat finish will determine the Junior National starting field. They will start up to 30 cars, so please don't stay home because you don't think you will qualify. You CANNOT re-enter the speedway once you go into the pits. They are asking for Raceceiver use tonight, many teams have them and also Pete Knappenberger was renting them out. Transponders are required as they are at almost all tracks. There will be a Fast Time Award given tonight, special thanks to S&S Speedways/ Hamlin Speedway.

 

They will not wait for anyone once the grid pulls onto the track, if you aren't there, you don't race.
The 685 weight rule will be strictly enforced tonight, maybe in so much as having each car cross the scale after Time Trials. If you want to make sure you are weight legal, please cross the scale after hot laps. Tech inspector Jim Strouse will oversee tech and pick the 3 cars needed to be teched. He will most likely ask each team for a different item, so be prepared. Please make sure if you use your car for other classes at other speedways, you have the 1 bbl. carb mounted and not the 2.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Hamlin Speedway will be dark this weekend, Happy Anniversary to Randy and Denise Smith.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Borgers will be running West End Fair Qualifiers this weekend, in fact both nights will be used as a West End Super National qualifier.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Accord's Midweek season is coming to a close, but the Slingshots will continue on with the Junior National slated for the King of the Catskills weekend on Sept 24th.The growth of the class at the 1/4 mile might see some new ideas being set in place for 2012.Continued support can only make things better at Accord, or any track.
________________________________________________________________________________________
The August 28th OSS at Grandview has been put on hold due to many teams asking for the time to get prepared for the West End Super National.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
I know we are a few months away, but the AC Herr's Snack Bowl 25 will be run the first weekend of February in 2012.Last year 2 National Points provisional's were given, but for 2012,Danny is planning on just giving it to 1.The highest 2011 National Points non-qualifier will get the last starting spot. I believe they are looking at the Shellhammers Qualifying Method again with time trials locking in the top 15 and the rest through letter mains.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
The Paradise Super Dirt Week National is slated for October 8th.I want everyone to be aware of the change in temperatures and other weather issues there. Last year we were sweating during the night and 3 years ago we were wearing parkas and gloves, if planning on entering this event, please have a game plan for clothing. It is one of the biggest and smoothest tracks that you will ever race on. It is a fast track with a wide racing surface, passing is not at a minimum.

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The Speedweeks event entries at Shellhammers are locked in. They will be having another event for the Slingshots on Saturday that will be open to everyone.
________________________________________________________________________________________
The West End Super National qualifiers are at Borgers this weekend, not at West End.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
I have the remaining Junior National payout from the rained out Shellhammers Junior National. Brenda was kind enough to get them to me and I'll have them along at Kutztown as well as giving them to a friend or neighbor that is attending Kutztown if you are not coming.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
A few changes for the Pit Stop Challenge races.
1. Only 1 person per car as the jacker and the tire changer...not 2 like I had previously stated
2. The Pit Stop will be at halfway for whatever distance is selected for the A Main.
3. If you get to the checkpoint and have lug nuts loose, you will be held until all cars are through and all cars that failed at checkpoint will line up as they got there.
Current plans are for Rich to be attending the August 27th Caroga Creek event.

 

 

ISSUE 91

GVAT FALL FOLIAGE 20 LAP RULES, WVMP RACE RESULTS,

& DAILY NEWS UPDATES.....

 

Myerstown, PA., August 16th:  Green Valley Action Track, Fall Foliage 20 for Junior Slingshots (20 laps) - RULES 1. 20 green flag laps for Junior Slingshots (cautions do not count) 2. $125 to win (remainder of purse based on car count) 3. Draw for heat-race starting positions. Redraw for top heat race finishers for the feature event (will be posted on race day). 4. Heats and Consolations - 8 laps 5. A maximum starting field of 18 will take the green flag in the feature event. 6. The standard chassis, engines, tires and safety specifications will follow the Speedway Entertainment rules. 7. You must have 2 Bilstein Shocks mounted on the car. 8. Carburetor Requirement: 1 barrel carburetor 9. Body Requirement: 2008 or newer 10. Weight Requirement: 685 pounds 11. Age Requirement: 8-14 12. Currently, this event is a single heat format. If the event becomes a Junior National Tour race, it will be switched to the dual heat format. 13. ROUGH RIDING, CHOPPING AND OVER-AGGRESSIVE DRIVING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. YOU WILL BE PENALIZED.

 

Dalton Maynard took the lead from his pole start in All-star Slingshots as Jake Maynard and Nick Molyneux began a very tight battle for 2nd. As the two fought for the runner up spot, the leader began to open up a sizeable lead in the caution less event. At the checkers, it was Dalton Maynard, Jake Maynard, Molyneux, Collin Hadlock, and Nick Funk in the top 5.
Alex Shaffer duplicated Maynard’s feat, leading wire to wire in the Jr. Slingshot feature. Leo McGurrin, Abbey Price, and Kamdin Maby filled out the field.

 

Jr. Slingshots

1 21s Alex Shaffer   2 35 Leo McGurrin   3 9a Abbey Price   4 56k Kamdin Maby

 

All-star Slingshots

1 21 Dalton Maynard   2 69 Jake Maynard    3 19 Nick Molyneux    4 17 Collin Hadlock   5 88 Nick Funk   6 11 Bill Reidenbach (DNF)

 
The sun is shining in Myerstown and I just got offline with Janelle from Kutztown and she said it has been overcast much of the morning, but no rain in Kutztown so they are proceeding with the racing on tonight's schedule. Janelle would like me to let everyone know that your pit pass fees will also include admission into the Fair itself, so feel free to come and go during the course of the night or when the racing events are over. There are some very good food stands there as well as some great Grange food and drinks.
For everyone that checked out my GVAT Junior email, the date is October 22nd.Sorry,it wasn't included on the release.

 

Looking forward to next year's tour and national points schedule, this season looked to have seen huge improvements in car count in all regions as well as the Juniors. Many teams suggested dropping the Home track and Tour Award points in favor of an all race points system, rewarding the teams that follow the tours. Our thought process was that a track might lose a few teams for a special event, but will gain them plus additional entries when the tour was at their speedway. As many of you seen from this years MA tours, I had a Saturday night Tour (other than Reading) being the MA Gold with the MA Silver being all events with a non-Saturday date (except for 9/24 Lindas).

 

The Junior National Tour might fall along these same lines in only counting points earned in the tour races next season. This should do the same in getting more teams when the tour is at your track.

 

ISSUE 90

NATIONAL POINTS CLARIFICATION, RACING NEWS.

SPEEDWEEKS POINTS & OBSERVATIONS ....

 

Myerstown, PA., August 13th:  Hopefully this will help everyone in their quest for the 2011 All Star Elite 11 National Championship. 5 National races will be used for the National points this year. 3 Regular Nationals. 1 Super National. 1 Pit Stop Challenge Here is what Rich and I discussed this morning and with some added work by me, it will make it fair for all national race supporters.

 

If you run at any or all 4 Super Nationals (Shellies, Reading, West End and Button Buck) and 3 PSC (Caroga Creek, Hamlin or Lindas), your highest point total will be used as your Super National Points and PSC points, but if any of your finishes in any of other Super Nationals is better than a National finish I will deduct the 30 Super National points and it can be used as a National Points race. I will also use the PSC races as a National if higher than one of those races. You must enter and race the Super Nationals and PSC to get transferred points. If you do not enter any Super or PSC race, you will get not get any transferred points from any other National. Your National Total for PSC or Super would be zero.

 

Example:
Shellhammers Super National 14th 92 points. Reading Super National 7th 115 points. Kutztown Dutch Classic 23rd 44 points. I'd deduct the 30 points from your Shellhammers finish for 62 points and toss out your 44 Kutztown points. So the points you currently are seeing on the website are actual race points but some will be altered if upcoming finishes are better than your previous races. Any questions, I will do my best to answer. We are making sure that all National Tour supporters will be rewarded in the long run, if they have a bad night or 2 during the season.

 

The Home track and Tour points will still be used and still based on your point finish at that venue or tour with the average car count added to that. Currently I have a 31 average for the MA Gold,24 for MA Silver,9 for Empire and 7 for the Great Lakes Region. If your track has a better average and it makes your total higher I will use that. Example: 2011 Hamlin Point Champion would get 120 points for 1st and a car average of 32 cars would give you 152 bonus points.

 

West End Fair Entries Quickly Being Filled
On Friday August 19th there will be a West End Fair Nationals Guaranteed starter spot given away to the winner on the A-Main, it will also be $400 to win with a 24 car field
On Saturday August 20th there will be a 50 lap Slingshot race with another West End Fair Nationals guaranteed starting spot given to the race winner. This will also be $400 to win with a 24 car field. With registrations filling up for the West End Fair Nationals, I would recommend for teams to get them in ASAP, the August 22nd pre-entry deadline is fast approaching. We currently have over 20 for the Slingshot race, with a lot of tour regulars still not signed up.
 
Caroga Creek held an Empire Region race on Saturday night and from the reports the Slingshots set some of the fastest times ever recorded at the Ephratah, NY 3/16th mile speed plant. Their Pit Stop Challenge National is slated for Saturday August 27th.Cody Clark and Will Eastman are accepting all invader challenges.
 
Shellhammers Speedway will be hosting the Slingshots on the 20th as a rain makeup for the washed out Speedweeks show on the 13th.Word from Brenda and Dave is that to avoid spending a whole day there with no racing until later in the afternoon, please plan on arriving around 4 PM. This will be the last points race for Speedweeks. I also have some of the Junior National payout envelopes, if you are having a parts order I will ship it with that, if you can wait until Weds night at Kutztown I will bring them along.
 
Hamlin Speedway will be dark for the 20th as the annual summer shutdown week will be here. With still a month till the Hamlin National and Junior National, plenty of racing is left on their schedule and point championships are a long way in being decided.
 
We have been approached by Charlie Paige and the Selinsgrove Raceway Park management team to have a Slingshot only night of racing on the fast fifth. The date would be Friday September 30th beginning at 8 PM. Juniors would run their own separate program. There is a 30 car entry minimum, so I will be need to notify Charlie by Sept.21st.
 
Just got a call from Galen Koller and he asked me to assist Bobby Stull on the Kutztown starter's stand for all Fair events, so please make sure you see Janelle or race director Kevin Steele if you have any questions during the course of the evening. Please attend the 6:15 drivers meetings. It is very important this week. All Stars final point race is Tuesday night and the Junior National is Weds evening. Time Trials are being looked at for Weds. for the Juniors.
 
I have to thank the Reading and Kutztown racers for some good hard, clean racing. I have been getting phone calls and emails asking about future dates where the fans can watch some more of the great racing.

 

Here are the up to date Speedweeks Points heading into the final event at Shellhammers. Looking at the current standings, there could be plenty of position swapping when the night is over, depending on the entry list. Mathematically, there are 10 drivers than can claim the Speedweeks top 5 money with 1st place still within reach of 4 drivers, pending this weekends entries and results.

 

1.480 Bill Weaver
2.426 Cody Kline
3.388 Brett Bieber
4.385 Michael Glass
5.355 Danny Buccafusca
6.339 Matt Mertz
7.291 Matt Miller
8.282 Simon Egan
9.254 Shannon Smith
10.251 Clint Miller
11.224 CR Hill
12.215 Matt Carman

 

A big thanks to the teams that raced at Selinsgrove last night. Some great racing on the big 1/5th.A few aggressive moves, but everyone took the checkered. Track operator Charlie Paige has asked the Slingshots to return for a Slingshot ONLY night of racing on Friday Sept. 30 at 8 PM. We would need 30 cars entered and 1st place minimum payout would be 500.We will start up to 30 cars. Distance would be set at 25 laps. I will work on a payout for Monday. The Juniors are also invited to race in their own event, which would have a full field payout as well. They would be going 20 laps.The 8 PM starting time would allow all school kids to get your day in school and still make it in time for the race. It also will make for a full day of work for the parents and older All Star drivers. Currently the 12 at Selinsgrove were so impressed with the speedway, treatment by track officials and the outstanding concession stand that they have given me a thumbs up for that date. Everyone has asked for a big race at Raceway Park and now we are being offered one. Great side-by-side, clean racing for the top 3 spots last night with the Mascaro 32 Special driven by Brett Bieber getting the win with 2009 National Champion Cody Kline 2nd and current Speedweeks point leader Bill Weaver in 3rd.

 

 

ISSUE 89

HAMLIN'S SEPT. 17TH NATIONAL IS NOW A PSC EVENT,

KUTZTOWN, SELINSGROVE, CAROGA CREEK, GREENWOOD VALLEY,

RULES OF THE ROAD, LEARN THEM, LIVE THEM, LOVE THEM.

 
Myerstown, PA., August 11th:  Hamlin's September 17th All Star National and season finale will be a PSC event. Here are the PSC Rules: 1. Cars will be jacked up on right side only. Car cannot be hand lifted. Car cannot be touched until signal is given.  2 RR tire must be changed with different tire and wheel. Tire could be marked for identification of use.  3.Crew cannot go past right side body plane of car. Rear restarting spot will result for infraction.  4.Stock battery impacts only. No spring loaded sockets.  5.All 4 Lugnuts must be tight at final checkpoint.  6.2 crew member maximum per car.  7.No glued or attached lug nuts permitted.  8.Cars will pull out to far left after work is completed and head to checkpoint area.  9.Scoring will be done at end of pit road in conjunction with lug nut and wheel checkpoint  10.Pitting is allowed. You will start completely in rear upon entering pits.

 

Thank you to everyone that attended Kutztown last night. Thank you to NAPA and to all sponsors of laps, special awards and please remember that the All Stars will a part of the TUES. NIGHT Fair racing with the Juniors there on WEDS. NIGHT. Congrats to Gary Hieber on his NAPA Dutch Classic win. Friday night it's off to Selinsgrove Raceway Park and Saturday night Speedweeks will close out at Shellhammers. I will be listing the up to date points in all Regional's, National and Speedweeks. Caroga Creek will be getting back to me regarding the planning for their August 27th National. In previous years it was a Pit Stop Challenge event and since 1 is required for the 2011 National Championship, if they continue to present this program, it will be there or Lindas on Sept 24th to get your PSC National Points. Caroga Creek will also be presenting their Empire Region rain makeup on Saturday night for all Empire Region racers.

 

Now for my take on 3 issues. I have been seeing some track issues that can be considered as retaliation and this WILL END. It's racing... accidents will happen. If you get spun out, in most instances the victim will start in the rear as will the person that caused it. There is no place in racing for this and you better hope that I'm not officiating any event that you decide to PAYBACK someone, because it will not have a happy ending. The "I Owed You One" will stop. Just remember you could be on the other end of that thought. Next up. If you are behind a drivers that's a little out of shape let them correct, instead of mashing the gas and blasting them. Now we have 2 wrecked cars instead of none. My 3rd is the driver that brings out a yellow and thinks they can drive past everyone to get their spot back. It doesn't work that way. You bring out a yellow or are involved in an accident, you go to the back. Track procedures at a few tracks will give drivers their spot back if they are involved in an incident after the yellow was already thrown, but not if they were part of the original. The 2 spin and in rule is used by many tracks for qualifying and at some places it's raised to 3 come feature time.2 or 3 solo yellows in most instances will have you heading to the pits. Please accept the fact that the car isn't handling or you are having a bad night in general and do not argue with the officials, I realize for the younger drivers, they need seat time, but there could be a time they have already had their limit of single car yellows and do this while getting lapped and now we really have a problem. Accept the track call on this and proceed to the pit area.

 

Currently this Junior Race is not for Junior National Points. If 2 of the remaining 3 Junior National events get canceled it will be added as a Junior National. There is no conflicting dates with this race. Brock Moore Motorsports Media, in association with Gerry and Cindy Creveling of Greenwood Valley Action Tracks is pleased to announce the Fall Foliage 20 for the Junior Slingshots. This show is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 22, 2011.

This event will be a 20-lap feature event that will pay a guaranteed $125 to the race winner. The remainder of the payout will be based on car count. The top 3 finishers will receive plaques and an 8x10 photo of themselves in action from Dianne's Digital Photos.

The heat and consolation races will be 8-laps for the division. Draw for heat-race starting position and Redraw for top heat race finishers for the feature event.
"The show held at Greenwood Valley Action Tracks in April was a huge success." said Brock Moore of Brock Moore Motorsports Media. "The Junior Slingshot teams that attended showed interest in a 2nd show for this season, so after negotiations with The Creveling Family, we have been able to make it happen."  We are searching for sponsors at this time for other bonus prizes and awards.

The Entry Fee for the Fall Foliage 20 is $30.00 and must be paid in cash. Absolutely, No Personal Checks Accepted. The cost of a pit pass will be $14.00. Grandstand Admission for the show will be $5.00. Gates Open at 3:00pm, Practice at 4:30pm and Racing Starts at 5:00pm. Brock Moore can be contacted at 570-637-2466 or bmoore2009@live.com. Greenwood Valley Action Tracks can be contacted at 570-458-5142. For more information, visit www.bmmotorsportsmedia.com.
 
The August 27th National at Caroga Creek will be a PSC event.1 PSC will count towards the National Points. The 2nd scheduled PSC will be at Lindas on Sept 24th.Caroga Creek is located in Ephratah, NY and is measured as a 3/16th speedway. Hopefully teams can hook up and head to Caroga on the 27th.The Pit Stop Challenge was very entertaining at Lindas last year. Stop at 1/2 way, get the signal to change the RR tire and you restart as you cross the work line. They also have a rain makeup for the Empire Region this Saturday.

 

ISSUE 88

READING FAIR SLINGSHOT THANK YOU!..

GREAT ARTICLE, READ IT...

THE WIDOW MAKER IS SELLING HIS SLINGSHOT..

 
Myerstown, PA., August 9th:  I have no words to describe the racing at Reading this weekend since the action on the speedway said it all. Thank you to everyone that attended as a driver, owner, crew member, family member, friend or just a Slingshot fan. I don't believe you were disappointed with the racing. I also would like to echo the sentiments of the Pit Steward and let everyone know that the message board posting of the track conditions being deplorable was not needed. The Fair Board and the township supervisors only allowed a 6 day makeover of a track that lays dormant from August to August, so the Cordiers and the Grims were not left much time to create a racing surface let alone make other improvements around the speedway.3 inches of rain flooded the track on Saturday night and Sunday morning, but the RFRHS team did not throw in the towel and did give the teams a chance to get some racing in. There was no advantage to anyone, everyone had the same track to race on.

 

Juniors, you guys and gals can be proud of your racing on Sunday. Many of you were patient enough to gain a spot cleanly and with a little more seat time, you are the future of racing no matter what class you decide to further your careers in. The All Stars at Reading ,stated by some of the Nostalgia National fans, the best show in the 7 year history of this classic event. Many fans remembered the race long battle with Matt Carman and Emily VanInwegen in 2008 as the standard, but the 3 car battle for the win and the great racing for the remaining positions at the end, gave them all something to get interested in. With 18 cars taking the checkered, that is a testament in what can be done with hard, clean and respectful racing. The determination of Paul Ennes to calmly sit in his Clark's Garage 21 as track crew righted his overturned racer and he soldiered on for a 13th place finish will be etched in a few fans minds. Congrats to Tyler Johnston and Michael Glass on class wins. Congrats to Kyle Rohner on winning the Cash Dash and a big handshake to Danny Buccafusca and Ryan Raidline for their B Main qualifying efforts.

 

Next up Brenda Cordier and her scoring staff did wonders in having a finish and a lineup within the push of a printer button which kept the show moving along nicely.
The "Voice of Choice" Barry Angstadt currently is unrivaled in his work behind the microphone. I have been to over 250 race tracks and have heard countless announcers, but Barry is well prepared, gives great use of team info and speaks in an understandable manner. Thanks Barry. Thank you Alan Carter and the RFRHS volunteer staff. After discussing the addition of 4 provisional's, it was again given and 3 of the 4 drivers added finished the event. Seeing Mike Glass heading under the checker with his fist in the air, shows that there are some events that truly bring out the racing spirit in everyone and the Nostalgia Nationals is one of them. For the cars that did not qualify, your efforts did not go unnoticed as the officiating crew as a whole wanted me to let you know that you gave a good show for the fans and hope this doesn't deter you from entering next year's race.

 

Shannon and Tayllor you made all the female fans happy when you both qualified for the A Main through the Dual Heat format. Having 3 National Champions all racing together for the same spot and doing it with respect shows why Ben Whitaker, Cody Kline and Shannon Smith deserved their National Championships. Next up some big events at Kutztown, Caroga Creek and West End all being August Nationals. Please give your support to any of these events. Please note that West End is a Monday evening August 29th. Now for another group of thank you's. These people and businesses were gracious enough to add monetary awards to the Slingshots: A Friend of the Slingshots, Shellhammers Speedway, starter Galen Koller, asst. starter Bobby Stull, Racers Roundtable/RPM Used and New Slinger Parts, Strapped In Racing Magazine and Speedway Entertainment. For the race teams that stay home, you really don't know what you are missing. It is fun watching race teams work with each other in the pit area and then have to beat them on the speedway.

 

Don't ever say once you leave Slingshot racing you will never come back. In the field at Reading was Kyle Rohner, Matt Carman, Ben Whitaker and Marc Daniels and all of them finished in the top 8. Hopefully I have not offended anyone with this posting. I truly feel that after seeing the Nicholas / Glass Racing Team come so close to winning the Nostalgia National many times in season's past, it was enjoyable seeing Mike sharing the victory lane accolades with wife Kim and the Good Luck Charm of the 3N Racing Team,2 month old daughter Kayla. Again thanks everyone for a Nostalgia National that will be remembered by many for years to come.

 

2008 Hamlin and National Championship car....... Be ready for the nationals at the end of the season with this ride..2000 chassis new style body with two races on it, new rear and front bumpers. Just finished 7th at Reading, Will gladly help with any advice or set up. Car comes race ready no spares $5,000 OBO. Negotiable. Ben Whitaker pitcrew13x@aol.com.

Click to Enlarge

 

ISSUE 87

SLINGSHOT RECAP FROM THE WEEKEND,

PLUS READING, KUTZTOWN, & RACE READY

SLINGSHOT 4-SALE..

 
Myerstown, PA., August 8th:  First off congrats to the Junior Nostalgia National winner Tyler Johnston on his 20 lap win at Reading yesterday.10 of the 14 cars finished the race with various awards given out to the Junior Racers. The Warren Ruffner Memorial Awards went to the Hard Charger of the Race, Middletown, NY's Kevin Predmore, Jr who went from 12th to 6th and the Last Running Car Award went to Brody Adamsky on his 10th place run. Each driver received $25.Dylan Hoch got $10 for his 9th place finish courtesy of Strapped In Racing Magazine. The next Junior National will be at Kutztown Fair Speedway on August 17th.Sorry to see there wasn't more Juniors in attendance. They would have started up to 28 Juniors if there were that many entries.

 

The track was under 3 inches of water on Sunday morning and there were a few soft spots, but most of the young drivers did a great job in negotiating the tricky oval. I want to personally thank Tyler, Jared Zionkowski and Chris Kurtz for the on track sportsmanship by racing each other cleanly and with respect. There were quite a few good side by side runs by all competitors that was run with little or no rubbing. Heats were won by Tyler Johnston, Chris Kurtz, BJ Antonio and Louden Reimert. Reimert had hard luck strike him while running in the top 5.

 

4 provisional's will be given tonight to the highest non-qualifier from the MA Gold, MA Silver, Empire and current National points. You will forfeit the $50 starting money, if you accept the provisional spot. Shellhammers Speedway will be contributing $100 for various special awards and Racers Roundtable/ RPM New & Used Slinger Parts is adding $20 to the 1/2 way leader. Please give your support to these race sponsors. If anyone else would like to sponsor an award, I will be at Reading around 3:30 so please track me down. Special thanks to Barry Angstadt for his professional announcing duties and making sure all drivers, teams and race sponsors were all mentioned during the course of the day.

 

For many race teams, the scorers are the most despised group of track workers every week, but they have a job to do and Brenda Cordier and her scoring staff deserve much credit for having the restart lineups, race results and other needed info done in a timely manner. In fact all track scorers truly deserve a thank you for all they must endure during the course of a racing evening. The Reading scoring is not completed until all cars are scored for that lap. With the new transponder scoring that is basically how it is at all tracks, so please think about what is happening on the track before you start yelling that your car was put back a spot or 2 on a restart.
With hand scoring at Grandview for the OSS events, I count an official lap when 1/2 the field has taken a green flag lap, the remaining cars will be lined up on the last completed lap for them when the yellow comes out.

 

Kutztown Fair Speedway will try to get the NAPA Dutch Classic in the books on Weds. night. Anyone that did not enter last week is still eligible to enter on Weds. night. I believe there was 26 cars entered which would have everyone starting the A Main. The Accord Junior National is still on schedule for Sept 24th as part of the King of the Catskills weekend.

 

2011 Slingshot with .040 over engine, Mycron 4 tach temp , four Bilstiens complete race ready. Spares included are 10 wheels and tires mounted,2 front axles, spindle and hub, tie rods w/ends, radius rods, brake caliper w/pads,13 sets of gears,2 Bilstiens w/adjusters,60/80/100 springs plus other parts. Price is 5500.00 car is a proven winner as most know by now. Thanks, Charlie Shaver #33. Current contact info. Its 570 517 4688 email is charles.shaver4688@gmail.com . Just to add something on here Charlie was away from the Slingshots for a few years, he returned and has been running up front since his return and is currently 6th in the tough MA Silver Regional's. He has wins at Hamlin in this car this year.

 

ISSUE 86

AUGUST RACERS SPECIAL, PLUS TONS OF SLINGSHOT NEWS...

 
Myerstown, PA., August 4th:  Here is the August Racers Special: Buy 4 ST69 Valve Springs.....GET 2 ...FREE Maximum of 8 purchased springs with 4 Free for a total of 12.

 

These can be shipped in a USPS Small Box Mailer for $6.00 instead of UPS if you just want the springs,it will save you a few dollars in freight.
First off, Kutztown will hold the NAPA Dutch Classic next Weds, entries will still be open for anyone that did not make it last night, but still wants to run. The cancellation was made at 7 PM. There was no rain in Kutztown until around 6 PM and the cells were scattered all over the area. For race attendees, please make sure you hold on to your wrist bands for next week. They WILL NOT be good for Fair week.

 

I have had a few replies to my Nostalgia National sponsor and awards email. You can donate $1 or an oil filter or a gift certificate for your business. There is no set amount or item. I will be heading to Pocono tomorrow, but will have my laptop along in case a late donation is made. All donations will be read by Barry Angstadt with the purpose of the award. The Junior National at Reading gets quite a bit of recognition, so if approached by a member of the media, make sure you give thanks to all members of your team and sponsors. Last year the security official in charge of track attendance had our 2 day event attract about 2800 fans, so we are racing in front of a good crowd. Reading is a Junior National, a MA GOLD, Super National and Speedweeks race.

 

Make sure you have your entries for West End to Steve Heckman or Rich Raidline. The payoff is based on a minimum car entry and waiting until the last minute could alter things. West End Fair is located in Gilbert, PA with the track entrance being different than the actual Fair Parking entrance. I have a pdf. file for this race. If you need it let me know. Last years estimated attendance for the West End National was listed at 2200 paid fans, so let your sponsors know their sponsorship dollars are being seen by quite a few prospective customers. Steve and Rich have invited me to be a worker for the 2nd straight year. My job is a mystery until I get there, so be prepared for anything.
Ron has been doing engines for quite some time and wants everyone to know that cleaning your engine will not only enhance the performance, but could get some added weight off your car. Mud, clay and track dirt gets lodged into the flywheel and under the red blower cover, please check these areas out, it could make a difference. Roger Heckman at Borgers has been doing an extensive job in teching flywheels and for the time it takes, please remember this is to make sure all teams are legal. Jim Strouse had the top 3 teams completely disassemble their carbs from elbow to elbow after the Lindas race and found all teams legal.

 

Got the starting lineup from Brenda Cordier and after redoing the Junior National points, only 2 positions changed, but I did use the starting lineup, as Shellhammers will be paying per the results after 1 lap of racing. Thanks for the hard work and replying to my constant emails Brenda.
Did a quick check with Paradise Speedway and they have not changed the track design or surface for the 2011 season, so for anyone that visited the Geneva, NY oval last year for the National, expect virtually the same layout as last October.
Selinsgrove Raceway Park will be holding the Speedweeks / MA Silver Tour on August 12th.This track has become one of the favorites of many teams and the D shaped speedway will see action begin at 7 PM with sign-in usually starting at 5:30.An entry based tour payout was given to Charlie Paige for the event. We can run the show one of 2 ways. Dual heats with the feature being last on the night or a single round with the top 3 in each heat having a redraw. When we do it this way, we are usually slotted in as the 1st or 2nd class after the karts. The choice will be up to you. At Selinsgrove, ALL cars scale after all events on the track. If you feel you are close to 775,head to the scale after hot laps to get weighed.

 

Hamlin will be hosting the NASCAR Crew Challenge on Saturday night. Always a great time when NASCAR visits the 1/5 mile speed plant. The crew members are the most important part of a winning team. Without their quick pit work and on the spot repairs and decisions, many of the these teams would be in the back 10 instead of the top 10.Kevin White ,the Richard Petty Motorsports tire specialist, enlists a few crew members with driving experience, so it's wheel to wheel with these guys as much as the regular Hamlin drivers.

 

Oakland Valley Dirt Track wants all teams to keep the Novemberfest dates on their calendar as also the Slingshots will be taking to the New Egypt Speedway as part of the Fall Jamboree on November 5th. Currently the Road Course Races at NJMP have been put on hold. Big races ahead for Slingshot drivers of all ages. Please support a special show or 2.

 

ISSUE 85

UPDATE FOR THOSE RACING AT READING, READING FAIR GPS ADDRESS,

 SHELLHAMMER'S JUNIORS & KUTZTOWN INFO...

 

Myerstown, PA., August 2nd:  Got this from Brenda Cordier for all attending Reading teams. We'll be using the Westhold Scoring System. It is the same system we use at Shellhammers and the same system we used last year for the Reading race. Since our scoring system is not compatible with the AMB system, I would suggest that the drivers who have the orange transponder pouches to bring them. Those who don't, will be allowed to use a pouch for the event and return it with the transponder. Please make sure you have your scoring apparatus along.

 
For anyone using a GPS to get to Reading, the official GPS address is: 1216 Hilltop Road Leesport, PA 19533

 
Just received the results and payout from the Shellhammers Junior National. All I can say is that this is a great payout for a Junior National event. The race was scored after 1 lap completed and the rain falling.
1.Chris Kurtz $ 250  2.Jared Zionkowski $150  3.Tyler Johnston $125  4.Kyle Gruber $100  5.Robbie Flood $ 90  6.Brandon McGill $85  7.Dakota Barlet $ 75  8.Dylan Hoch $65  9.Tommy Zwart $60  10.Michelle Campbell $55  11.Zack Weisenfluh $50  12.Alex Shaffer $45  13.Collin Dubois $40  14Kevin Predmore, Jr $35  15.BJ Antonio $ 30  16.Dylan Martin $30

 

Envelopes will be at Reading for pickup from Brenda. Special thanks for a great payout. The proposed plan for next year will be to run the Junior National the same day as the Spring Spectacular, with a next day rain date. Special thanks to Barry Angstadt for emailing the sponsorship list and other awards for the NAPA Dutch Classic at Kutztown tomorrow night. All teams that have not pre-entered are invited to race. The entry fee will be taken at sign-in. Last year a field of 28 cars took the green. Please make sure the driver or a rep. from each car is at the drivers meeting. Race director Kevin Steele will discuss the track calls, but in a respectable and orderly fashion. Speeding in the pit area during ANY part of the racing program will find you on the trailer for the rest of the night. Thanks to John Niles at NAPA, Kim Glass at Kim's Kreations, Speedway Entertainment, S&S Speedways, RPM New and Used Slinger Parts, Strapped In Racing Magazine and everyone that would like to add to the special awards list tomorrow night.

 

The NAPA stores in Kutztown and Boyertown will team up to offer $25 Halfway Leader Bonuses in all four divisions' feature races on Wednesday. The All Star Slingshot race leader on lap 15 will earn the bonus money. Slingshot heat winners will receive $25 and gift certificates from RPM New & Used Slinger Parts. Kim's Kreations will reward the Hard Charger and Hard Luck Driver with $30 and a hat. The driver who turns the quickest lap in time trials gets an award from S&S Speedways. The overall fast lap time - in racing action, not time trials - will reward a driver with $25 from Strapped In Racing Magazine. Speedway Entertainment will present three gift certificates to be randomly awarded on race night.

 

The fans will be treated, too, as NAPA representatives will hand out 400 can cozies to the spectators who turn out for their Midweek Motorsports Adrenaline Rush on Wednesday, August 3rd. The NAPA Dutch Classic will feature the All Star Slingshots in time trials, two rounds of heat races, last chance qualifying races, and a 30-lap A-Main. The winner will receive $750, based on a minimum 30-car field, with many other awards to be handed out as well. If you have never raced at Kutztown, the NAPA Dutch Classic is a great time to give it a try. The track is 1/5th mile with a very slight banking. GATES OPEN at 4 PM. Drivers meeting is usually scheduled for 6:15.Hotlap time is 6:30 with qualifying beginning at 7.Please make sure you are at the grid for you time trials.

 

 

ISSUE 84

BUSY UPCOMING WEEKS OF RACING, WEEKEND RE-WIND,

& BILSTEIN SHOCK RULE IS IN EFFECT FOR KUTZTOWN, READING

AND ALL UPCOMING RACES, PLUS SHELLHAMMER'S JR. UPDATE...

 

Myerstown, PA., August 1st:  In the upcoming weeks we will have plenty of racing for everyone. The NAPA Dutch Classic will be run at Kutztown on Weds. night which is a National, Regional and Speedweeks event. Anyone who has not previously entered can do so at the pit sign-in. The Junior National date of August 17th is still on the slate. Reading Fairgrounds will be awaiting both the Juniors and All Stars on Sunday and Monday with all Junior action being run on Sunday. All Junior teams can stay over Sunday night to watch the All Star racing on Monday if you wish to do so. Scheduled hot laps for Sunday is 1 PM and 6 PM on Monday. A Junior cannot compete in both class races. Wristbands must remain on at all times for the pit area and admission to the fair. The guard did check for taped bands last year, please be prepared for it again this year. If band is found to be taped on, you will be asked to buy another pit pass.

 

Caroga Creek has rescheduled their rained out Empire Region race for August 13th. West End is still accepting entries for the West End Super National slated for August 29th. Five Mile Point has eliminated all of the small car Thursday events. There is a chance of adding the Slingshots on to start their Saturday night racing festivities after Sept 17th.If something is worked out, the Empire Region race would be this date. Thunder Mtn's date has not been rescheduled. Their previous race director is no longer there and a return call has not been received.

 

Speedweeks is progressing rather nicely with the upcoming races at Kutztown and Reading setting up the showdown for Selinsgrove and Shellhammers. Lindas Speedways new track overhaul has seen 6 more feet of racing room and no more ledge racing on the top part of the track. They now have a gradual banking, not much ,but noticeable and with some upcoming track prep plans could make for some exciting and side-by side racing. The new lighting has been reworked giving the drivers a brighter race track to circle around. Extensive teardown in tech after the feature was done for the top 3.

 

Accord is starting to become the midweek happening spot for New York Slingshot racing. Junior car counts and All Star car counts are on the rise and the racing is just as hot as the recent temperatures. WVMP continues to give the north central PA race teams a place to race as their Saturday night action continues to impress the fans in the Scranton / Wysox area. Button Buck is awaiting their Hartland National on Sept 3rd. and this will be their Super National event as a rained out national earlier in the year will be added to give the Great Lakes Region racers their required 4 Nationals and Regional Races.

 

Borgers could not find a duplicate winner this weekend, but it didn't stop the Slingshots from putting on another stunner on Friday night and backing that up with some great racing on Saturday night. For the last 4 tour races at Hamlin, Kyle Rode has basically been a back marker or an early DNF. On Saturday night luck came his way as he outdistanced another star-studded field to claim the MA Gold and Speedweeks race with Friday nights Hard Luck driver Charlie Shaver making sure a bad move by Kyle would be costly, but they raced on and put a good show on for the packed house. Give another speedway a try in the upcoming weeks. You might enjoy your experiences.

 

In an all out effort to get the remaining Junior National laps completed and give the Juniors another complete show along with an All Star event, Shellhammers cannot find a Sunday that would be conducive to all competitors without worrying about the weekly tracks on Saturday and a big event planned for either Sunday or Monday. They will be basing the June 11th Junior National finish on what was completed at the time of the cancellation. The Junior National points for that race will be based on the finish and the payout will be given to all participating teams that will be in attendance for the Reading Junior National. I will be updating the Junior National Points when the finish is given to me.

 

The Reading Junior National will start up to 24 cars, so if you were planning on heading to Bern Twp. on Sunday, this is what you can expect for the starting field number. Entries will be accepted at sign-in for both the Junior and All Stars at Reading. Kutztown is open to anyone wanting to race in the NAPA Dutch Classic, Juniors are permitted to bolt on weight ,a 2 bbl. carb and attempt to qualify. All All Star weight rules and Slingshot rules will be in place.775 minimum weight, even if you were racing as a Junior.
Bead protectors of black, blue and red are now in stock.

 

The 2 Bilstein Shock Rule will be in effect at Kutztown, Reading and all upcoming races. If you need 1 or 2 Bilsteins, Rich will have some along for rental use. The shipment is heading our way very soon. Please email me or call Rich if you need 2 to race and we will make sure you will be race ready.

 

Just talked with Brenda Cordier of Shellhammers and they currently cannot find an alternative date to run the rained out Junior National. With Sundays being basically the only time left and 3 big weekends coming up and school for some of the Juniors starting in mid-August, they are going to call the race official by use of the dual heat starting grid. The payout will be available at the Reading Nostalgia National on August 7-8 and Junior National points will be based on your starting spot for that event.

 

Our discussion for next years Junior National is to have it coinciding with the All Star Spring Spectacular, giving all teams that have both an All Star and a Junior a chance to save on travel expenses by having it on the same day. Not definite but discussed. There will be a next day rain date if the plans go through. Special thanks to Shellhammers for doing their best in working on the rain date. They will continue to run the Junior Class as a regular part of their Saturday night racing programs.

 

The Juniors have put on some exciting racing programs this year and the blend of teams from Hamlin, WVMP, Accord, OVDT and Shellhammers have really made this season's point chase going down to the final race at Accord on September 24th.

 

ISSUE 83

WEEKEND RACING RECAP...

 

Myerstown, PA., July 31st:  As the rain heads out of the area right now, Lindas Speedway will be holding the first 2011 Speedweeks event tonight with Hamlin backing it up tomorrow night. Linda's is a MA Silver and Hamlin a MA Gold. The NAPA Dutch Classic on Weds August 3rd at Kutztown will be a Speedweeks, MA Silver and a National all in 1 night. Janelle and I came up with a few ideas regarding the race procedures that will be discussed at the drivers meeting.

 

All entries for Kutztown that were not received by Weds. can be taken care of at sign-in, so if you didn't pre-register you are still welcomed to enter on Weds.
Selinsgrove Raceway Park will see Speedweeks move to the very popular 1/5 mile D-shaped track on August 12th.Rounding out the Speedweeks Mini Series will be Shellhammers on Sat. August 13th. Caroga Creek has proposed their make-up for August 13th as well. I am putting this out to everyone due to the fact that it currently is their only open date left and if a majority of the Empire Region teams can make it, they will use it.

 

Button Buck finally beat the weather and got their Great Lakes / National in on the 23rd with Dustin Sorensen getting the win. A tight 3 driver battle for the Great Lakes Region top spot is only separated by 25 points. Their next regional / national is slated for August 13th and the Hartland National is on the books for Sept.3rd.
If you think this is close the Empire Region's top 5 is only separated by 50 points and I'm looking to see if 5 Mile Point is planning a rescheduling of their tour race. The other 2 races are at Penn Can on Sept. 4th and Paradise Speedway on Oct.8th.Last year 29 teams made the stop at Paradise and some great racing on the smooth and wide racing surface at the Geneva, NY speed plant.

 

The Junior Nostalgia Nationals at Reading entries on August 7th can still be sent to the RFRHS or you can enter at sign-in. If an entry is needed ,please let me know.
The remaining Junior Nationals at Kutztown, Hamlin and Accord are all taking entries at pit sign-in.
Please make sure your inspections are done. I will be giving a list to a few of the tech officials so everyone be prepared if they ask to see your inspection decal. I just got a few this week and they are being mailed out today.

 

ISSUE 82

WEEKEND RACING RECAP, POLICE YOUR PIT AREA, LINDA'S RACE,

KUTZTOWN RACE, SLINGSHOTS FOR SALE, WVMP & CAROGA CREEK RESULTS...

 

Myerstown, PA., July 26th:  First off I want to thank everyone that raced at Jolly Roger and Wachusetts over the weekend. The track operator said it attracted quite a lot of interested onlookers as the Slingshots put on one of the best races ever seen on that speedway. To top it off the Wachusetts race was even more exciting as Pete said that quite a few people are now interested in getting the Slingshots as a regular class in 2012.The teams said it was also one of the best track surfaces ever raced on and now they are hoping for a special event before the season ends. Thanks so much for 2 great racing programs and supporting the Empire Region Tour. AT this time last season we had 11 drivers with Empire Region Points, this season we are at 23.It is making each driver have his or her game face on come feature time.

 

Borgers on Friday night showed what can be done when you have to go slower to be faster. Dale Kober took the MA Silver win with some pressure by the Big Dog, Ryan Raidline. Great run by this young talent. Rich Hissim, Matt Mertz and Brett Bieber didn't let the fans down as the last 5 laps it was anyone's guess who would take 3rd thru 5th.The Junior race had some excitement upfront as Kyle Gruber, Dylan Martin and Chris Kurtz showed that the younger drivers can race without using the chrome horn. Special thanks to Tom Hennessy for the cooler full of water, ice and Freeze pops on Friday night. It was greatly appreciated by many.

 

Now it's time for me to vent a little. The next time you visit a speedway that you do not consider your home track, please try to respect it and treat it like it was your own. For the race teams that left all their food containers, drink containers and other assorted trash laying on the ground 4 feet from a trash can at Borgers on Friday, we realize why you were the first to leave the pit area. If we find out what team is parked where this happens again no matter what speedway it is at, you will be getting an invoice for cleanup. This is NOT NECESSARY. It would be like me coming to your house and tossing MC'Ds hamburger wrappers, French Fry holders and soda cups in your living room and leaving. Please show some courtesy.
I have the West End Fair Super National Entry Form and also the Kutztown and Reading National Entries. If you need any of these please let me know.
Speedweeks starts this Friday at Lindas. Jim Strouse will be tech official at Lindas. Starting time is advertised as 7 PM. Drivers meeting is usually around 6:30.This will also be a MA Silver Tour race. Saturday night it's off to Hamlin for their 2nd MA Gold Regional of the season.

 

The NAPA Dutch Classic National at Kutztown is continuing to bring in added race award sponsors and trying to give as many different teams some added money or racing products as possible. Entries for the Junior National on August 17th can be taken care of race night at the speedway.
I have tried to keep up to date with the points for all regions, National and Junior National. I will be doing the Great Lakes Regional and National from their races on Saturday night.
 
I have a 03 for sale. New motor, Headers, muffler, 2 barrel carb, throttle cable, shocks with new coil over kits, bumpers
New body. chrome interior white outer. New ceramic rear axle bearings New auto meter ultra nite gauges, New fuel pressure regulator.
Fresh Powder coating done by Johnson powder coating. White in color. All new springs. Car hasn't seen track. ( 0 ) laps. I have only
set of tires and wheels. $5,795.00. Joe Infante 609-286-4446

Asking $21,500 for two cars and a 28 ft. trailer. Please call Barry for details at 610- 562- 5734 or email us at hondaracer21@verizon.net.
Barry Shollenberger

 

Collin Hadlock led the All-star Slingshots to the green and jumped into the lead, but he had no time to relax as he dealt with heavy pressure from Jake Maynard throughout the entire event. Hadlock held on for the win ahead of Maynard, Nick Molyneux, and Cody Fassett. Point leader Dalton Maynard suffered a major blow to his championship hopes as a mechanical issue kept him from answering the call to start the race.

 

The Jr. Slingshots saw only 4 cars entered, the race itself was one of the most exciting of the season. Kamdin Maby, who has shown steady improvement over the course of the season, led them down and grabbed the early lead over Jared Zionkowski. All four cars ran nose to tail, jockeying for position just inches apart. Alex Shaffer took over 2nd on lap 7 and began to pressure Maby for the top spot. With 2 to go, Shaffer got position under Maby off turn 2, but Leo McGurrin got a good run and drove into turn 3 on the inside of both cars. He was unable to hold his mount low, pushing up the banking and taking the Maby machine with him. Shaffer sensed that he was in a bad position and had backed out, which turned out to be the winning move as he took the checkers ahead of Zionkowski, McGurrin, and Maby. McGurrin’s machine failed post-race tech and was disqualified, moving Maby to a disappointing 3rd after a very solid run.

 

Jr. Slingshots:  1 21s Alex Shaffer    2 23z Jared Zionkowski    3 56k Kamdin Maby    DQ 35 Leo McGurrin (Finished 3rd)

 

All-star Slingshots:  1 17 Collin Hadlock   2 69 Jake Maynard    3 19 Nick Molyneux    4 91k Cody Fassett (DNF)   DNS 21 Dalton Maynard

 

Caroga Creek All-Star Slingshots:  1-Will Eastman   2-Cody Clark   3-Mike Voght

 

ISSUE 81

HOT, HOT, HOT, SLINGSHOT NEWS...

 

Myerstown, PA., July 22th:  More bad news from the Emmons Racing Team as a member of the race team and occasional driver Joe Inglin, Jr has passed away from possible heat related health issues. No final cause of death has been given. Joe last raced at Shellhammers in the Spring Spectacular and also was a veteran of the Atlantic City Gamblers Classic. Joe also had 17 career wins at the Flemington Fair Speedway. More info will be known later. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Joe, the Inglin Family and to Emmons Race Team members.

 

I just got a mixed email from Pete G. from Jolly Roger and Wachusetts. It was dated twice with the first date being in January so ,I'm assuming it was for someone else.
I called the # given and the latest phone message says to come see flat track racing at it's finest at Jolly Roger with a special appearance by the Slingshot by Tobias Empire Region Tour. It also said to visit Wachusetts Motopark on Sunday to see the second day of Slingshot action, so it looks like it will be a go at these 2 speedways on Saturday and Sunday.

 

I will be getting the full field rundown from Accord, currently I have Robert Hocker atop the Empire Region with Will Eastman and Tyler Pirone tied for 2nd with Tyler Dippel right behind. This was done with the top 8 from Accord.

 

Borgers will be ready for racing tonight. The heat issues will be worked with. It was suggested to have a refresh break if needed for the drivers if multiple cautions are slowing things down. No work will be allowed on the cars, just a time to cool the drivers down and make sure they are refreshed. If there are only 1 or 2 laps left before a caution, expect the race to finish without a break. Please have something ready when the race is over for the driver. Hot laps will begin around 6:30.Qualifying starts at 7.Raceceivers use will be used, but not mandatory since many drivers will be coming from tracks that they are not needed. If you have one, please use it anyway. They will be using it from the control tower. When called to tech, please make sure you promptly show up. No adding fuel at your pit or changing tires, it's right to the tech area.

 

Word from Janelle at Kutztown is that the entries are coming in for the NAPA Dutch Classic. I will say this again. IT IS A NATIONAL. She has been very busy getting added awards for the race and many people are coming onboard to give a product or monetary sponsorship. Special thanks to John Niles and the Regional NAPA dealers for rounding together in support of this race. Please support a race supporter. Visit a NAPA next time you need something automotive. The JUNIOR NATIONAL is now a finalized deal for August17th.Itwill be a part of Kutztown Fair Week. Please tell your family and friends to come out ,enjoy the fair and then root their favorite Junior Slingshot driver on. The Junior National entry is now posted on the Kutztown Fair Speedway website.

 

I have been emailing the Reading Nostalgia National entry forms out at a record pace. This is another race that carries quite a bit of prestige. It is covered by the Reading Eagle and saw Lenny Sammons from AARN make an appearance as well as some of the former drivers from the Reading Fairgrounds. For many of you, the Reading Fairgrounds races were way before your time, but it was some of the best modified racing, anywhere, EVER. Please put on a good show for the fans and former drivers as well as the race teams in attendance. If you need a form, please let me know.
Shellhammers will be visiting Speedway Entertainment to get a course in Slingshot tech from Rich. They now have the tech tools for the engine and also will be looking to broaden their range on what can be teched. Expect a crackdown on flywheels, shocks, inner rails, valve springs and pushrods. Looking forward to seeing many of you at Borgers tonight. Let's have some clean racing and keep the wheels pointed in the right direction. Stay cool and hydrated

 

 

ISSUE 80

JUNIOR NEWS FROM KUTZTOWN, PLUS A WIDE

VARITY OF SLINGSHOT NEWS FROM THE REGION...

 

Myerstown, PA., July 20th:  The August 17th Junior event planned for Kutztown Fair Week WILL BE the rain makeup from June 22nd. The entry fee will remain at 25 for the Junior National .Gates open at 4 PM. Transponders for Borgers will be available at sign-in. Raceceiver's will not be mandatory since a few of the non-regulars do not need them for their weekly racing. If you can locate one for use for the evening it would be greatly appreciated. The Button Buck Regional and National were rained out again last weekend. The MN / IA race teams will look to get their race in this Saturday. If anyone needs the Reading Nostalgia National Entry, please....please...please email me. I will gladly send you the entry form attachment. The current winners share for the All Stars is $1000 to win + other bonuses being worked on for other awards.

 

I will do my best to get with the Cordier's tomorrow regarding the rain makeup or use of the starting grid as the finish for the Junior National. In my discussion with the Cordier's ,they had no reservations in having the Juniors return on a Sunday for the completion of the race as well as a complete show,but would also need a support class such as the All Stars to run for a money only event.

 

I have yet to receive the full field rundown for the Empire Region race at Accord. I have called and sent emails, but have yet to get it. As soon as I do the Empire Region points will be ready. This weekend it's off to 2 of the nicest facilities for the northern tour as Jolly Roger and Wachusetts Motopark will run on Saturday and Sunday. A 2012 plan for regular Slingshot racing is in their plans. We were even suggesting that maybe a 1/2 way red should be displayed at a few tracks for a quick drink, nothing else, no car changes or work at all, just 3 minutes to get refreshed. Lindas Speedway will be starting 1 hour later on Friday night to let some of the heat pass through. They are looking at an 8 PM start time.

 

I will be attending Borgers on Friday. For everyone heading to Borgers, they will be starting hot laps at 6:30 with qualifying beginning at 7.Raceceivers and transponders are mandatory. Please have both in working order. It is a regional for the All Stars and a Junior National. The best way I can describe Borgers is that it is a smaller version of Kutztown. Long straights and tight turns. Over driving is very common, so getting your line set in hot laps will be a big help for later. Got quite a few calls and emails regarding the Kutztown tech. Jim Strouse will pick his 3 cars to tech prior to the Slingshots heading to the speedway for their A Main. His choices are based on finishing positions. His choice of what is being teched is up to him. In the past it has been carb, flywheel, shocks, push rods and a few other items. Please be prepared when called to the tech area. You wanted an even playing field and Jim has done exceptionally well in keeping it even and fair. He also does the OSS events at Kutztown and did a great job at Shellhammers. Policing the ranks also starts with the fellow race teams and making sure your speedway has someone doing the job. Borgers has a tech area that has DQ'd a few teams. Both Jim and Roger Heckman should get credit for keeping all teams running within the Slingshot Rule Book. Dave Cordier, Jr. has inquired about getting tech tools and will be having his kart inspectors also taking on the Slingshot teching. They scale all finishing cars as soon as you come off the speedway, like most of the other speedways.

 

Please keep posting on the Facebook Slingshot by Tobias Group page. It's great to see Denise Smith giving the Hamlin Speedway events and finishes. Barry Angstadt keeps everyone informed from Kutztown. Paul Lotier,Jr. does his best to get the Shellies recap posted. The Caroga Creek and Dodge City teams want to make sure that the northern racers are heard from and we thank them for taking the time to do so. Team news, team photos and even birthdays, anniversaries, graduations or any news related to the Slingshot teams can be posted.

 

Pre-entries for the Reading Nostalgia National and Kutztown's NAPA Dutch Classic are being accepted. Rich Raidline said to expect the West End Fair Super National entry form to be ready to hand out this weekend. The August 29th event draws many of the top local Slingshot teams and the race program will be streamlined to make sure all teams are headed home at a decent hour. As I have said in the past, Juniors will be allowed a chance to qualify, but must be legal by All Star weight rules. The Hamlin Speedway NASCAR Challenge will be held on Saturday night August 6th with NASCAR crew members taking their talents from fixing a car to driving a car. AJ Allmendinger crew member Kevin White has been known to put on a show during the crew races.

 

Lindas Speedway and Hamlin Speedway will usher in the 2011 Speedweeks on the 29th and 30th.The Speedweeks Mini-Series payout will be based as follows:
1.325
2.225
3.175
4.150
5.125

 

It will be paid out at the Awards Banquet with 75% Check / 25% Shop Credit. I have stretched it out a little after receiving quite a few responses that 6 races in 8 days was very hard for car maintenance. Please don't forget that Reading is Sunday / Monday this year, not Monday / Tuesday.

 

ISSUE 79

BUTTON BUCK NATIONAL AND MORE...

 

Myerstown, PA., July 18th:  Congrats to all the winners this week, Kyle Rode got his 1st win at Hamlin and Chris Kurtz keeps moving right along in the Junior Class.
Took in the racing at Shellhammers and I must say all of the Slingshots were on their way home by 8:15 PM.3 yellows for the Junior and All Star qualifying and features made for entertaining racing. Winners circle visitors at Shellies were Brett Bieber and Dakota Barlet.

 

Word from Pete Knappenberger is that the OSS at Grandview has been taken off this weekends schedule due to many calls to Pete regarding the starting of Speedweeks on the 29 & 30th at Lindas and Hamlin. The OSS will resume at Grandview on August 28th with a few surprises on the horizon.

 

I also had a few interesting emails and conversations today with a spectrum of topics. The first being the Penn Can race yesterday. I was not notified of it being a Battle by the Border National. I was left to be under the assumption that the only qualifier was for the 600 micros. If it was a qualifier, there are a few things that must be settled between SE and Penn Can on who will actually get the spot. A great showing with 25 entries. Hopefully everyone has their notes in order for the Sept 4th National.
I'm sorry to say I could not make it, but since the website said all rules governing the Slingshot race were based on the 2011 Slingshot Rule Book, I will work to get a final decision from the Penn Can staff since the winner was not legal by the rulebook.

 

A few people have expressed interest in what gets teched for one do not interfere with the track tech officials and have asked all speedways to have a tech official. Kutztown's Jim Strouse who has taken his fair share of abuse this year, will pick 3 random finishing positions and 3 different items to check. There are times when it will be the same car or times when it will be the same items teched, but it keeps everyone knowing that their car could be the next one to the tech area. Borgers Speedway has been very fair about their tech area and chooses various items as well.

 

A word of advice, please make sure your flywheels are legal, no matter what track you are racing at. Illegal parts will be confiscated and brought back or shipped to SE.
I will say this one more time. The intake elbow cannot be ground down farther 5/8" of an inch. There can be no polishing of the casting mark inside the elbow and there cannot be anything done below that casting mark. Some emails were asking about engine performance and all I can say is that since I have been here the standard bore engine still has the winning edge. The over sizing of .010,.020 and .040 is a decision made by the race teams.

 

Engine dynoing is also a team choice. Ron has had quite a few engines leave straight from the shop and headed right to victory lane. We do not Dyno engines at SE.
Reading's early entry deadline will be here on the 20th,so make sure you have it postmarked on Weds to save a few dollars. Borgers Regional and Junior National will be held on Friday July 22nd.Please check website for directions and starting time. Their Friday and Saturday racing events are starting to attract some new fans and race teams. For many of the Junior National racers this will be an even playing field since many have never raced there before. The West End Super National slated for August 29th,should be having an entry form out very shortly.

 

ONE FINAL THOUGHT. ALL SLINGSHOTS HAVE A BRAKE PEDAL. PLEASE USE IT INSTEAD OF THINKING MASHING THE GAS WILL GET YOU THROUGH THE ACCIDENT QUICKER. MOST TIMES IT ONLY MAKES YOUR IMPACT HARDER WHEN YOU DIDN'T MAKE IT THROUGH.
Plenty of racing coming up in the next few days. Please stay hydrated whether you are a crew member, driver or fan. The next few days might see temps near or in the 100's.We want you to finish what you start, so have that sip of Gatorade before you head out on the speedway or start working on the car. Think about the older family members and fans. They don't have to come out to see you race, but they want to. Give them a drink or 2 to keep them as comfy as possible. It is better to pull off the speedway with a health issue than to stay on the speedway and have something happen to not only you, but fellow competitors.

 

ISSUE 79

BUTTON BUCK NATIONAL AND MORE...

 

Myerstown, PA., July 15th:  The Button Buck racers will be grabbing some National and Great Lakes Region points this weekend as the MN / IA teams will be gunning for the top spot to get their first shot at National Points and also to add to the 2011 Great Lakes Region totals. Things are wide open in the GL Region right now and a good finish could move the standings. Jackson Koster is currently atop the Great Lakes Region followed closely by Dustin Sorensen and Derek Clement. Please make sure you get your Reading Nostalgia National entries in before the July 20th postmark deadline to save some entry fee money. 8 entries were handed in to Janelle last night and many were taken, please make sure you have those back to her soon. The August 3rd NAPA Dutch Classic will be here before you know it. Kutztown is also a part of Speedweeks. I have split the racing up a little due to many requests to have more than 1 or 2 days to keep the cars in racing shape. Here again is the Speedweeks Lineup:
July 29 Lindas
July 30 Hamlin
August 3 Kutztown
August 7-8 Reading
August 12 Selinsgrove
August 13 Shellhammers
I want to make it very clear that the OSS final points can be used for 2011 All Star National Points.Also Kutztown and Accord's abbreviated seasons will qualify.
West End Fair will be holding their Super National on Monday August 22nd instead of the usual Thursday nights as in previous seasons.Transponders and Raceceivers are mandatory
Borgers is hoping to see a pit full of Slingshots as they will be hosting the All Star MA Silver Tour and the Junior National Tour on the 1/7th mile oval on Friday night July 22nd.Transponders and Raceceiver's will be mandatory.
Penn Can is still a go for Sunday.

 

ISSUE 78

TOUR DATE CLARIFICATIONS

 

Myerstown, PA. July 12th:  For many of you that have the current 2011 Slingshot Tour schedules it is listed as the Junior National being at Accord on Sept 24th.This is the date for this race.
The All Star Empire Region race is at Accord tomorrow night, even though the Juniors will be racing it is NOT a Junior National.
Here is an upcoming list for tour races:
7 / 13 Accord All Star Empire Region
7 / 16 OVDT All Star Empire Region
7 / 16 Button Buck Great Lakes Region / National
7 / 22 Borgers All Star MA Silver & Junior National
7 / 23 Jolly Roger All Star Empire Region
7 / 24 Wachusett Motopark All Star Empire Region
7 / 29 Lindas All Star MA Silver / Speedweeks
7 / 30 Hamlin All Star MA Gold / Speedweeks
I will meet with the Cordier's to see what will be done with the rained out Junior National.

 

ISSUE 77

WEEKEND RECAP...

 

Myerstown, PA. July 11th:   WVMP: Dalton Maynard picked up All-star Slingshot win #2 of the season over younger cousin Jake Maynard, and in the process wrestled the point lead away from him by just a 1 point margin. Collin Hadlock, Dustin Fassett, and Nick Molyneux filled out the top 5.

 

Maynard's teammate Alex Shaffer captured the Jr. Slingshot win ahead of Jared Zionkowski, Leo McGurrin, Kamdin Maby, and Mitch Maynard. This marked Shaffer's 4th victory of 2011.

Jr. Slingshots

 

1 21s Alex Shaffer

2 23z Jared Zionkowski

3 35 Leo McGurrin

4 56k Kamdin Maby

5 M00 Mitch Maynard

 

All-star Slingshots

 

1 21 Dalton Maynard

2 69 Jake Maynard

3 17 Collin Hadlock

4 63 Dustin Fassett

5 19 Nick Molyneux

6 91k Cody Fassett

7 33 Alex Boughton

8 81 Bob Boughton (DNF)

 

Caroga: Cody Clark won his 3rd feature in a row at Caroga Friday, the slingshots which finish the nights program were just pulling into the pits when the skies opened up. Good job to the track crew, we worked over an hour getting things ready after getting pounded with rain for 30 mins earlier in the night.

 

ISSUE 76

SAFETY IS IMPORTANT, READ THE ARTICLE AND LEARN...

RACE DATES, USED SLINGSHOT 4 SALE, AND MORE...

 

Myerstown, PA. July 6th:  After the recent 600 mod fire at LANCO, we are hoping that the Slingshot teams learned a little from this and we are making a few suggestions to avoid this happening to any small car class as a whole. Please make sure you have plans for exiting your car in adverse conditions as part of your racing agenda. Please have a fire extinguisher nearby in all pit areas. Some organizations have spot checks to see if all car trailers have an extinguisher ready for use when needed. Racing underwear is not needed at many tracks, but will give you that extra time to possibly get out of a fire with minor or no burns instead of major burns. Please make sure you check your fuel cells for possible leaks or dry rotting of the fuel cell cap gasket. Simpson racing shoes or any racing shoe will give better protection than sneakers or as I have seen a few times....moccasins. As cool as it might look to your friends to have your hair flying out the back of your helmet, be safety conscious and keep it inside. Be aware of the extinguisher locations at the speedway's you race at. This could save you valuable time and money depending on the severity of the fire. I have only seen 1 Slingshot fire in the 6 years I'm here and it was a freaky accident, but it can happen. Safety equipment is for your safety, the person sitting in the grandstands will not need it, be sure you feel safe and are safe, not from just fire, but a hard hit, a rollover or debris flying from another car or the racing surface.

 
Tom Rotondaro has a Slingshot for sale that has not been raced at all this season. He will also include an extra swing arm with rear axle. Negotiable price is $5200. He also has a caged kart for sale at $1900. You can contact Tom at 518-858-2577

 
I have been getting website requests from some prospective buyers. If you are selling a used Slingshot or parts, please let me know, what's for sale and a ballpark selling price. Currently Rich is planning on heading to Accord next Weds for the Empire Region race. OVDT will be having their Empire Region race on the 16th. Penn Can will be looking forward to seeing the Slingshots on the 17th.This will be a good time to get a set-up for the Sept 4th,Battle by the Border National. Borgers has the Combo Tour races slated for the 22nd with a MA Silver Tour race and also the Junior Nationals.

 

The Jolly Roger and Wachusett tour events are still on for the Empire Region on the 23rd and 24th. I have a piece of Slingshot chain that is 30" long. If anyone has any use for it, I will give you a great price. Please don't wait to enter the Reading Nostalgia National. They allow overnight stays there, but must obey all fire and safety laws. Early entry deadline is a July 20th postmark. Juniors will run their complete show on the 7th,but can stay to watch the All Star action on Monday. Wrist bands cannot be removed if staying for both days. There are plenty of lodging and eating places in the vicinity. Brenda Cordier has the schedule of events for the Reading races posted on the Shellhammers website.

 

ISSUE 75

WEEKEND RECAP OF 4TH OF JULY RACING...

 

Myerstown, PA. July 5th:  It was a nice weekend to get some racing in and congrats to all the winners this week and thanks to everyone that supported any and all of the races. Kutztown will still be closed this week with racing resuming on the 13th.The Empire Region will see their event at Accord take place on the 13th also. Danny Buccafusca, the 2010 Junior Driver of the Year, moved to the All Stars in 2011 and used a great run to claim the Firecracker 100 at Hamlin on Saturday night. I refer to this race as the Hamlin Hundred and Danny adds his name to a list of winners that would be a who's-who of the Slingshot Series. Danny also claimed the Weds Accord feature giving him a weekly double. The full story will be on the website with a full field rundown for all classes. Charlie Lawrence has been a driver to watch at Hamlin as his move from OVDT has seen the 4NY team reap the rewards.

 

Borgers saw some great racing this weekend with the Youth Movement serving notice that their ability behind the wheel will make them contenders every week. Getting wins were John Dvorscak, Ricky Raisner and Joe Malson. Bobby Kibler, Jr Ryan Raidline and Louden Reimert all former Juniors were impressive this weekend.
Brett Bieber continues his domination at Shellies.

 

The OSS event at Grandview saw a 10 car field put on a crowd pleasing Twin 15 that resulted in Dale Kober and Simon Egan running nose to tail and side by side for the first 12 laps before Kober took the low line into 1 and hold his line to get the lead out of turn 2.All 10 cars finished race # 1 with Tom Arntz drifting into the turn 3 wall after his steering wheel came off. He continued on. A full field invert of all finishing cars saw Arntz bring the field to the green for the 2nd 15 and the racing was again 2 and 3 wide on the very smooth and well prepared speedway. Joe Nemeth's 1st trip to Grandview netted him the winner's share of $250 for the split purse payout. Management of Grandview is impressed with our racing, but in order for things to continue an 18 car minimum will be in place.

 

The OSS crew have done everything asked after week #1.There is no Enduro racing before the Slingshots race, the track surface has been exceptionally smooth and racy as shown on Sunday with Dale Kober coming from 10th to challenge Nemeth for the win. We have been getting the program over before 2:15,giving everyone a chance to make it home for a trip to the pool, a cookout or just time to relax. The racing has been virtually caution-free, clean with minimum contact and the payout is good. We had 1 RR flat, no chain breaks and no clutch problems. Scaling and tech insures that all are within the same specs. The OSS is also included in the National Points tabulation as a home track. If anyone has some suggestions, I will gladly read each one and pass it on to Pete. Next race is slated for July 24th with drivers meeting at noon, hot laps at 12:30 and racing at 1 PM.

 

The racers at Caroga Creek finally got some racing in this weekend and right now I'm looking at an 8/5 makeup for the rained out Empire Region event. Cody Clark, Jack Bublak and Will Eastman took the top 3 spots. If anyone has track news, team news or other announcements post them on the Slingshot By Tobias Group page on Facebook. Denise Smith and the Dodge City group are doing a great job of keeping everyone up to date on the track happenings.

 

ISSUE 74

HOT WEEKEND NEWS...HAPPY 4TH OF JULY...

 

Myerstown, PA. July 1st:  I had a few requests for t-shirt inventory. Here is what I have left. The gray 2008 Slingshot by Tobias shirts I have 2 XXL's. The 2009 red shirts with Matt Reiley and Cody Kline I have 2 Mediums and the 2010 camel color shirts with Shannon Smith and Tyler Dippel I have 3 XL's. I also have Flex-fit, adjustable and visors, all with the Slingshot logo on them.

 

There is plenty of racing this weekend with the holiday season coming up, many tracks will have added more laps, bigger payouts and maybe even more points for your finishes. The Firecracker 100 V at Hamlin will be paying $2000 to win. (pending car entry total). I also refer to this race as the Hamlin Hundred. Andy and Denise Smith have stepped up the payout and will now join Shellhammers Speedway as the 2 top paying Slingshot events on the 2011 schedule. A full slate of Juniors and Supers is also on the schedule.

 

Please make sure your weekly track is running, some speedways close for the July 4th holiday, realizing for quite a few families it is vacation time away from the area.
Borgers will be hosting the Juniors and All Stars tonight and with the Combo Tour quickly approaching at Borgers, now would be a great time to find the hot set-up for the July 22nd festivities. Shellhammers will be running a regular Saturday night Slingshot program. Talked to Dave Cordier ,Jr. yesterday and he is trying to work with everyone to keep the shows running efficiently and with minimal contact. He will still use the starts coming off of turn 4 and not the kart starts at the starter's stand.

 

Pete Knappenberger is asking for your support of the July 3rd.OSS event at Grandview. Hot laps are at 12:30,qualifying is at 1 and feature afterwards. All entered cars will start up to 26 cars. S&S Speedways will be sponsoring the race which has a current winners share of $500.Laps have been increased from 15 to 20 for the A Main.
Working with the Caroga Creek track operators to make sure the Caroga teams have someone to go to for parts during a racing evening at the Ephratah, NY oval and things look very promising. That will be great news for all competitors in the Albany, NY area. Bob Hentschel at Northeast Slingshots in Pine Bush, NY can take care of your parts needs and chassis suggestions until the arrangements are finalized. The Empire Region race at Caroga Creek is going to be rescheduled, the date right now is being worked on.

 

I get quite a few emails asking why I do not get to certain races. The answer is plain and simple, my schedule in many instances does not allow it. I do RCN-TV broadcasts from Grandview Speedway 6 Saturdays a year, I'm a NASCAR credentialed photographer and attend the races at Richmond, Pocono and Dover during the summer and fall. I try to get to as many as my schedule allows, but also for many Friday races, my work hours are 7:15 until 5:15 and by the time I'm out of here, traffic and other issues prevent me from attending. I enjoy watching the Slingshots and helping out when all possible, but I like everyone else has a life to live. I had planned on WVMP last week, but an RCN rainout at Grandview had the makeup date last week. I was asked to help with the Battle by the Border at Penn Can and currently that will be workable. I will gladly help where needed for the West End Fair Nationals in August and at Reading ,if needed.

 

Janelle and the Kutztown staff have made me feel very welcome when asked to fill-in during the season and the Slingshot racing at Kutztown has been a fan favorite. It is great to see the fans stay to watch the Slingshots when they are the last class on the evening's schedule. You should be very proud of the racing programs you have put on not only at Kutztown ,but many of the tracks in the area. Button Buck racers are finally getting back to a regular weekly schedule after Mother Nature decided to take a few weeks off of their racing weekends. The Hartland National during Labor Day weekend is one of the most attended Slingshot races by the fans anywhere during the season. Last year over 4000 fans watched the Hartland National at Button Buck as a lead-in to the Deer Creek Speedway evening racing. Cole Queensland is doing a great job in supplying his racers with parts and suggestions and the teams based in MN and IA are certainly thankful for his dedication.

 

Some new faces ventured to WVMP last Saturday, one of those being Branden Clauss in the white 211. Branden and his father Mark, have ventured up from Florida where he was very instrumental in getting the Slingshot Class growing and also was a force behind the Slinger nationals at Sumter County. Mark's return was to give Branden a chance to race with some of the best Slingshot drivers in the class today. His run at WVMP has moved Branden into the top 3 in MA Gold points. Following Mark's lead was CR Hill, who is quickly becoming an icon wherever he races, as the ZZ Top lookalike is also showing improvement with every outing. It doesn't hurt to have Randy and Ryan Smith giving pointers along the way either.

 

That is the great thing about the Slingshots, if you race them in Florida, you can race them in PA, NY, MN, NJ or anywhere a Slingshot race is being held. Dave Cordier, Jr. said it best yesterday, you will NOT find a class in racing that has a better, money take-in vs. money spent percentage than the Slingshots. Too many teams are worried about traveling to a new track and not qualifying, that is what racing is all about. You bring your A Game and if that is not good enough, you try again and again. Many teams are willing to help out the newcomer or even a team that is struggling, Ed Shaub has not raced a single thing in his life, but saw the Slingshots at the Reading Racing Reunion, purchased a used one and is enjoying the learning process ,both on the speedway and in the garage. His contact with former Slingshot driver Jason Kosch is starting to show the rewards of asking for help.

 

Please have a safe July 4th weekend, please respect other equipment on the speedway and please remember to thank those that helped you get where you are in racing whether it be mom and dad, Uncle Henry, Aunt Betty or Pop Pop and Grammom as well as your sponsors. It would make them feel that much better. The SpeedSTR series is starting to get a fan following, with the scheduling of the Big Kahuna events at New Egypt Speedway and tonight at Williams Grove Speedway. Rich has been giving Slingshot drivers a chance to take their abilities one step farther. Kyle and Gary Hieber, Billy VanInwegen, Jr., Ben Whitaker, Tyler Potts, Matt Dealaman, Anthony Perrego, Kenney Johnson, Justin Thompson and a few more have had laps in the SpeedSTR's. Here is an opportunity for everyone to get a head start on the Sept. 4th Battle by the Border at Penn Can Speedway. We have been invited to run the July 17th Small Car National Qualifier.

Here is part of the Penn Can Press Release. The slingshot will also be on the Sunday card. Thirty slingers came to Penn Can last September and put on an excellent racing display with side by side racing throughout the field. For more information about racing at Penn Can Speedway call the track office at 570-585-9928 or on the web at www.penncan.com. The speedway is located on Route 171 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania just a short drive from both the Binghamton and Scranton areas.

 

Special thanks to all teams that entered the Tour events at WVMP on Saturday. Great turnout for each class. Congrats to Simon Egan and Tyler Johnston on their wins. Billy Maynard was impressed with the driving talent of the Junior drivers. I have been getting some input from some of the tech inspectors and while I will not let anyone know what is being looked at I will tell everyone to be prepared to have some items that were never asked to be checked, checked. If you must cheat to win or for that matter to even race, we will abide by all track decisions regarding the tech inspector findings and if you are DQ'd, that is how the final finish will be tabbed. I was in contact with a small engine fuel service in Iowa that is working on a 100% result for any and all fuel additives. Please do not be caught with illegal fuel. Rich will also be checking many items at Reading that are usually considered just part of the car inspection. The Reading Nostalgia National entry form was emailed out to everyone, please do not wait until the last minute to submit your entries. If you need it resent or FAX'd ,please let me know.

 

S&S is getting a major shipment of parts, so anyone wanting to purchase them on the S&S Online Parts Service, they should be arriving at S&S tomorrow afternoon.
Pete Knappenberger is ready for the OSS event at Grandview on Sunday. We will start up to 24 cars, possibly 26,with all A Main teams getting a pay envelope. S&S Speedways will be sponsoring this race on the 3rd.Hot laps begin at 12:30 PM. Accord will be hosting the Empire Region on July 13th.Right now plans for me attending are in the works.

 

A lot of carburetor work is now being done outside of the shop, please make sure everything done is within the rulebooks. The intake manifold area can be ground and polished down 5/8" but no more and the casting marks must remain intact. The Tech Tools used at many of the tracks are measured out to our specs, exactly, anything not within those measurements will be deemed illegal. This includes push rod size, rocker arm clearance and other items.

 

ISSUE 73

WEEKEND RECAP...PLUS WYALUSING TOUR UPDATE...

 
Myerstown, Pa., June 20th, 2011:  It was a weekend of firsts for a few race teams as Ryan Raidline took his 1st All Star A Main feature at Borgers on Saturday night.The 00 held off some strong challenges by JR Fulper the last 3 laps to claim his first win. Ryan has been improving with each and every outing at Kutztown and was a strong runner in his Grandview OSS runs.
 
At Hamlin on Saturday night veteran wheelsman Charlie Shaver was 1 spot from taking all 3 Slingshot wins with his triumphs in both Supers races and finishing a strong 2nd to another Slingshot veteran Dale Kober in the All Star feature. Taylor Eccles notched his 1st ever checker at Hamlin in the Junior Class main.
 
Caroga Creek cannot beat Mother Nature after she has notched her 8th win at the Ephratah, NY speed plant. With many teams looking for a parts outlet at Caroga we will be asking the regular weekly karting parts supplier if they would be willing to take on some Slingshot inventory to keep the regulars up to speed. Northeast Slingshot dealer Bob Hentschel is also willing to ship parts to the Caroga Creek racers and has been stocking his inventory for the Accord and OVDT teams so adding the Caroga teams will not be a problem.
 
Kutztown is looking for a stellar field of Juniors on Weds night with the Junior National teams preparing for the Little Dutch Country National beginning at 7 PM. Drivers meeting is slated for all attending classes at 6:15.
 
The Caroga Creek Empire Region is slated for Friday night with the Five Mile Point Speedway event off the schedule for the time being, it will be the 1st race for the 2011 season if Mother Nature decides to cooperate.
 
Still working on the rescheduling of Selinsgrove for the MA Silver racers.
 
A 19 car field at Lindas on Friday night saw Mike Glass get his first win since Sept 2010.Shannon Smith and Simon Egan claimed the remaining podium positions. The MA Silver points has some drastic changes after the Friday night finish with Simon Egan leading the chase followed by Mike Glass and Shannon Smith. Sitting in 4th is the "Sideways One" of AJ Gerhart who is turning some heads wherever the Jim Glass Body Shop 1J enters.
 
Button Buck is getting a few events in the record books with their 1st Regional now behind them. The Pee Wee, Junior and All Star Classes have given the MN and IA fans a reason to head to the speedway early to see these drivers on the 1/5th mile prior to the big car racing on Deer Creek Speedway.
 
The Canada racers are quickly grasping the Slingshot concept and have become fan favorites at Drummondville with their 2 and 3 wide racing for a full 20 laps. The female drivers are as excited about their racing in the northern country as our talented female drivers are in the states. They have quite a Slingshot photo display on the Autodrome Drummond website if anyone would like to see their northern rivals. I personally like the tie-dyed # 31 Slingshot.
 
Plenty of racing on the schedule this week, please support a track or tour and make some new racing friends.

 

WYALUSING TOUR UPDATE

Billy Maynard is getting a head start already this week in preparation for the All Star / Junior Tour Combo on Saturday. Billy is doing some early week track prep in hopes that all competitors will have a surface that will be fast from the bottom groove to the outer wall.

 

Billy has been know to extend the Slingshots a helping hand with his sponsorship of WVMP racing through his graphics business.
He has now come out with a payout for both tour races this weekend and it's based on car counts so tell your friends to head to Wysox, PA for some spirited racing action. Here is the proposed payout for Saturday.

 

We have to thank all of our Slingshots promoters for the increased payouts in not only the weekly racing ,but also the tour races as well. The 500 to win is across the board, his 2nd through 5th payout is very stout as well. The Juniors have a guaranteed 250 to win with a generous payout throughout the field for the younger drivers. Please give Billy your support and put on a racing program that will have the fans talking about for days.

 

2011 Slingshot Tour Payouts


All-star Slingshots


                2-11 Cars        12-15 Cars        16-20 Cars        21-24 Cars        25-29 Cars        30 and Over
1.             500                          500                          500                          500                          500                          500
2.             100                          150                          175                          200                          225                          250
3.             75                            100                          125                          150                          175                          200
4.             60                            75                            100                          115                          130                          150
5.             45                            65                            75                            100                          110                          120
6.             30                            55                            65                            75                            90                            100
7.             20                            45                            55                            65                            70                            80
8.             15                            35                            45                            50                            60                            70
9.             15                            25                            40                            45                            55                            65
10.           10                            20                            35                            40                            45                            60
11.           10                            15                            25                            30                            40                            55
12.                                           15                            25                            25                            35                            50
13.                                           10                            20                            25                            30                            40
14.                                           10                            15                            20                            25                            35
15.                                           10                            15                            20                            25                            30
16.                                                                           15                            20                            25                            25
17.                                                                           10                            15                            25                            25
18.                                                                           10                            15                            20                            20
19.                                                                           10                            15                            20                            20
20.                                                                           10                            15                            20                            15
21.                                                                                                           10                            15                            15
22.                                                                                                           10                            15                            15
23.                                                                                                           10                            15                            15
24.                                                                                                           10                            10                            15
25.                                                                                                                                           10                            15
26.                                                                                                                                           10                            10
27.                                                                                                                                           10                            10
28.                                                                                                                                           10                            10
29.                                                                                                                                           10                            10
30.                                                                                                                                                                           10
TOW      10                            10                            10                            10                            10                            10
 

JR. Slingshots


                2-11 Cars        12-15 Cars        16-20 Cars        21-24 Cars        25-29 Cars        30 and Over
1.             250                          250                          250                          250                          250                          250
2.             60                            85                            100                          125                          140                          150
3.             40                            70                            75                            100                          110                          125
4.             30                            55                            60                            75                            80                            90
5.             25                            45                            50                            65                            70                            80
6.             20                            35                            40                            55                            60                            70
7.             15                            30                            35                            45                            55                            65
8.             10                            20                            30                            40                            50                            60
9.             10                            15                            25                            35                            45                            55
10.           5                              10                            20                            30                            40                            50
11.           5                              5                              15                            25                            35                            45
12.                                           5                              15                            20                            30                            35
13.                                           5                              10                            15                            25                            30
14.                                           5                              10                            15                            15                            25
15.                                           5                              10                            10                            10                            20
16.                                                                           15                            20                            25                            25
17.                                                                           5                              10                            10                            15
18.                                                                           5                              5                              5                              10
19.                                                                           5                              5                              5                              10
20.                                                                           5                              5                              5                              10
21.                                                                                                           5                              5                              5
22.                                                                                                           5                              5                              5
23.                                                                                                           5                              5                              5             
24.                                                                                                           5                              5                              5
25.                                                                                                                                           5                              5
26.                                                                                                                                           5                              5
27.                                                                                                                                           5                              5
28.                                                                                                                                           5                              5
29.                                                                                                                                           5                              5
30.                                                                                                                                           5                              5

 

TOW      5                              5                              5                              5                              5                              5

 

 

 

 

ISSUE 72

EMPIRE EVENT AT 5 MILE POINT IS CANCELED,

UPCOMING WEEKEND RACING NEWS AND MORE...

 
Myerstown, Pa., June 16th, 2011:  The June 23rd Empire Region event at 5 Mile Point Speedway has just been canceled. A future date is being planned.
Local regulations would be violated as per the scheduling of the event. There is no racing allowed there on the 23rd, not just the Slingshots. Track promoter Andrew Harpell has issued a sincere apology to all teams and hopes to have another Thursday night date in line for all Slingshot teams. I'm also hoping to get a make-up date for Selinsgrove.

 

Questions regarding Accord was the All Star Empire Region was being held on July 13th with Gary Palmer requesting the Junior National be held during their King of the Catskills weekend on Sept 24th.

 

The rained out Lindas MA Silver Tour race is slated for tonight with a 7 PM starting time. The 1/4 mile oval has seen some very quick times posted so far this year.
Reed Miller would like to get some advance notice on what to expect for the Penn Can Battle by the Border on Sept. 4th.Last year's event was well received and he will start up to 30 cars for the A Main. It is now a National event and I was asked to help with the Slingshot end of the program. Andy Smith and S&S Speedway will serve as the authorized dealer at Penn Can.

 

Some intense racing at Kutztown on Weds, the phrase "rubbing is racing" only goes so far though. Please show a little more respect for equipment, if you get passed, that is now not the time to go faster, you should've been faster before. Hitting the car that's passing you is not racing. Also please watch the car in front of you when single file, you can't drive through them. As you can tell we had plenty of fans in the stands to watch us and we were the last race, so putting on a good show with good clean racing is of the utmost importance in bringing those fans back. There could be a sponsor or potential sponsor watching you on the speedway. Juniors take to the 1/5 mile on Weds. I heard that there is a throw away week at Accord and hoping everyone takes advantage of this in return that the Kutztown area Juniors make their way to Accord for their Sept Junior National. Car count at Kutztown is of the major importance for the future of the Juniors there.

 

Accord's Weds Night Thunder looks to be snowballing as new teams are taking to the big 1/4 mile and telling their friends about it, adding car counts and fans. Great job being done by the Accord staff and Northeast Slingshot dealer Bob Hentschel. I will be making an appearance there in the very near future. Please support Bob in his quest to keep the locals racing each and every week. Get out and support your weekly track or try something different. Remember that Borgers is the only Friday night track hosting the Juniors and their Jr. National is 6 weeks away.

 

ISSUE 71

JUNE 2011 SPEEDWAY PRICE GUIDE
 
Myerstown, Pa., June 15th, 2011:  The June 2011 Price List is now completed. This is the price that we ask all authorized dealers and associate dealers to use for purchases. This is what is used for parts shipments from here. Please support your track dealers. Our shipping costs to the customers are based on the UPS cost to us + 4.00 for time and supplies to ship the item's. That is very reasonable. From my experiences here there are a few areas that have higher shipping rates than others. I can send a 2 lb. package to Florida cheaper than a 2 lb. package to Milford, NJ. Don't ask why, but it is true.

 

If you are in need of an oversize item like a rear bumper, please see your track dealer. It will save an unwanted shipping bill, since they have them on their parts truck.
Cole at Action Engineering calls his parts order in every Tuesday for the Button Buck racers, Randy Smith gets a delivery at Kutztown on Weds for his Kutztown, Grandview and Hamlin racers while Bob Hentschel has parts picked up from here on a regular basis so everyone visiting Accord and OVDT has the needed item during the evening's festivities. The Canadian racers are also now part of the Slingshot Family and Revstar is getting a parts inventory together to keep their teams racing. Slinger Warehouse services Lindas and Shellhammers. Billy Maynard is the person to see at Wyalusing with the Borgers racers having a nice parts inventory in conjunction with S&S. Please support the dealer that supports your speedway.

 

Anyone ordering parts from SE, the UPS pickup 90% of the time here is between 3:30 and 4 PM. Basically the only prices adjusted were the Carlisle Tires. The price increase passed on to us, was the exact increase to you, not a penny more.

 

We have provided you with two easy ways to download the June 2011 Speedway

Price Guide.  Either choose Word Format, or Adobe Format. If you don't have the

Adobe Reader Program on your computer, you can get it by clicking on the

"Get Adobe Reader It's Free" box below. Remember, it is 100% FREE.

 

   

 

ISSUE 70

INSPECTIONS DUE, WEEKEND WRAP UP, WEST END FAIRGROUNDS DATE,

PLUS MUCH MORE RACING NEWS...

 
Myerstown, PA. June 13th:  With the Slingshot Inspection deadline fast approaching, please make sure you see an authorized dealer or authorized track tech official to get your inspections done. Tracks are asked to check for inspection stickers during tech and pre-qualifying or feature grid lineups. The thought of being DQ'd because of an oversight is a possibility, but it has been a rule since 2003. If you purchased a used Slingshot that was registered for the 2011 season, the ownership and registration gets transferred to you, but please make sure the car is inspected.

 

The Lindas April 22nd MA Silver Tour that was rained out is slated for this Friday June 17th at 7 PM. The Junior National at Shellhammers got 1 lap completed. There are 3 alternatives that can be used: 1.Start the race from that point at another date 2.Use the 2011 Rulebook Tour Info that states: If all preliminary qualifying is completed and the track cannot reschedule the remaining events left in the tour event, points will be awarded by starting lineup from Dual Round heat point totals. 3.Use the OVDT rain date in November. This in my opinion is not fair to the teams that traveled to Shellhammers. If the race was not run at all, it would be a fair way to do it, but since a lap was actually run, it should be handled by the first 2 suggestions.

 

I realize that many Junior teams are running for weekly track points, but if the thought of having your child as the Great 8 National Champion or even in the Great 8 isn't what you headed to Shellhammers for, then I can understand your thoughts for using OVDT. Shellhammers would run the Junior National from it's rained out point and also give the Juniors another full show, so you would not be traveling there just to complete the feature.

 

Engine work is completed for the following teams: Nemeth, Raisner and Berger. To follow-up on the tire rules, the 6.50's(ribbed or slick) are the only legal tire for the front, they are also allowed on the LR. RR tires allowed are 9.50 Carlisle,8.50 Carlisle ( if you still have them), Saw tooth 9.50,DURO 9.50 or DURO 8.50 and slicks. LR tires allowed are all of the above even though the saw tooth is not suggested for the LR. The DURO 8.50 and the DURO 9.50 were measured at 20 lbs of air pressure with the same overall profile and only about an 1/8" tread width difference.

 

Hamlin Speedway has now lost more events to Mother Nature and the elements than they have run. Borgers Speedway got their Saturday events in the record books with a wild night of racing as JR Fulper took the A Main. Brett Bieber needs to transfer his Shellhammers and Lindas luck to Kutztown as 3 straight runner-up finishes have put the Oley, PA racer in as a points contender at the popular speed plant without a win. Cars counts exceeding 20 cars and the Kutztown staff starting all Slingshot entries up to 26 cars makes for some entertaining racing. With the school season coming to an end, we hope to see a few more teams giving the quick 1/5th mile a try as Nick Timar did last Weds. Mark Sensenig, Bill Mohring, Ben Rabenold and Taylor Troxel have shown vast improvement since the season opener and could be in the mix along with AJ Gerhart and Tayllor Schoenly who had great runs last week.

 

The Accord racers got race number 1 under their belts and Northeast Slingshot dealer Bob Hentschel is readying an order to keep all the area teams on the speedways in the upcoming weeks. Currently we do not have any sheet metal work on the work schedule. If you need a panel or 2,now is the time to get your orders in. Briggs & Stratton has no plans to put the .030 rings and pistons back on the manufacturing schedule, so all .030 work must be done as a .040 over with machining and honing needed.
Billy Maynard is looking to make the June 25th MA Gold and Junior National an enjoyable experience for all teams planning on participating at Wyalusing Valley Motorsports Park. Give the Wysox, PA oval a try. Hope to see everyone at Kutztown on Weds. Congrats to all our school students who graduated or made the next grade promotion and to those that were excepted into higher forms of education, good luck.

 

The OFFICIAL date for West End Nationals is August 29th. I have the 22nd listed as per what was announced earlier.

Sorry for the inconvenience. It will be held on a Monday night. Shellhammers has suggested the Speedweeks date of August 13th as the Junior National makeup.
We are trying to get a date that will coincide with everyone, but since everyone is so loyal to the weekly tracks it might be virtually impossible without their help for the race to be finished. The way it stands right now and with any other Jr. National rainouts possible, next year the Junior National Tour might be 5 races with no track points used.
Everyone complained to me about it not being fair to have a Junior National Champion just by attending races, so I change it and now I have to worry that it conflicts with other track dates. The tracks in conflict will see their Junior entries increase for their Junior National night, but I will do whatever possible to make sure you get your weekly points in and possibly all the Junior Nationals.

 

ISSUE 69

RACING NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS...

 
 
Myerstown, PA. June 10th:  Hamlin Speedway will be hosting their annual NASCAR Crew Challenge tomorrow night, it's a great time to talk racing with the crew members and an occasional driver will make an appearance. Here is a note I got from Shellhammer's Brenda Cordier. We will make every attempt to get the Junior National show in on Saturday the 11th and will not cancel until there is no hope left of reviving the track for racing. This is a Junior National and the 1st on your 2011 schedule, Anyway, the Juniors are slated to run 6th in our race order with the All Star's 7th, so my guess is all Slingshots will be out fairly early...maybe 7:30/8:00 (without any weather delays).
The plan is for the Juniors to have dual round qualifying with the starting order in the second reversed from the 1st. Thanks Brenda for allowing the Juniors to test their talents on the fast high banks. Kutztown will be hosting the Junior National on the 22nd and Hamlin will be shutdown on the 25th so everyone can take advantage of the program set in place by Wyalusing's Billy Maynard. You can always expect a great payoff at WVMP and the revamped track layout and surface should make for some great racing.

 

ISSUE 68

IMPORTANT RACING NEWS, NICE RACE READY SLINGSHOT FOR SALE...

 
Myerstown, PA. June 7th:  Thunder Mtn Empire Region Race for June 10th Canceled. The track is currently under 4 inches of water due to drainage issues. They might not even be ready for their regular modified show on Saturday.

 

Rich Sachetta is selling his Slingshot, due to his son's interest in traveling sports. Asking price is 5,700 for a '07car with a 08 body Raced 5 times with '08 body mounted. All the gears , wheels and tires I have are part of the deal. Also included are an extra front axle and the Tobias Quick Jack. Plus other extras. Contact me at 610-507-4198
Rich was a top runner at Kutztown and at many of the tour stops. The car carried the # 48. Click on thumbnail below to view full size photos.

 

   

 

ISSUE 67

SOME GREAT RACING, WEEKEND RECAP, PLUS MUCH MORE...

 
Myerstown, PA. June 6th:  Looks like Mother Nature only snuck in a few areas on Saturday but the 2 Day Race Fest at Hamlin proved to be what Randy and Denise Smith have hoped to accomplish since their takeover of Hamlin 5 years ago. Car counts in all classes was over the top with the All Stars, Juniors and Supers in non-tour race record setting numbers. The action on the speedway was highly competitive as well as entertaining for the fans. "Old Reliable" the 55 driven by Simon Egan and one of the 1st Slingshots built still continues to amaze as Simon has a hat trick at Kutztown in 2011 and wanted to keep the wheels turning at Hamlin. The 55 was seen in victory lane after the May 21st rained out feature was the first event in the books on Friday.

 

The Junior main went off with Tommy Zwart just besting Chris Kurtz in another crowd-pleaser. Marc Daniels hops into a car for the Super Class feature to notch his 50th win.
Saturday night Troy Langendoerfer put the 71 into the spotlight in All Star competition as Zack Weisenfluh continues to shine in the Juniors. Wes Hearn held off Aaron Henneworth for the Super win. Borgers was treated to R&R night as Ricky Raisner claimed All Star career win # 1 at Borgers on Friday night with Louden Reimert getting the 58 to the front for a hotly contested Junior win. Rain sidelined all racing activity at Borgers on Saturday.

 

Eddie Reiley was the head honcho at OVDT on Saturday night in the All Star class, No Junior or Rookie results were given. Caroga Creek gets a race in with Will Eastman showing the way with a nice car count for the All Stars. Shellhammers sped their program through to beat the oncoming storms on Saturday night and with the checkered being thrown at 8:10,it was 3 in a row for Oley, PA's Brett Bieber. The 1st Junior National heads to the Leesport ,PA oval as the young racers will be looking for a great way to get their Great 8 National Points Championship started as the Cordier Family run Shellhammers was highly impressed with the talent shown during the Young Guns 25 on the 29th.A nice payout is slated to be presented to the Juniors as the added Junior National Awards has also drawn quite the interest in the 7 race series.

 

The OSS teams at Grandview must be commended for the ability, sportsmanship and overall performance on Sunday. For 2 8 lap qualifiers and a 20 lap A Main, there was only 1 caution and that was for debris in the heat race. No spinouts, no broken cranks, no wasted time as the qualifying started at 1 PM and the feature checkered was thrown at 2:04.The $500 to win posted by Pete Knappenberger was paid. Added bonuses and payouts to the heat winners were also given. This was a great day of racing missed by quite a few of you. Everyone makes the show up to 24 car entered, so mark your calendars for the next event slated for July 3rd."Sassy"Shannon Smith was in a different area code as the hot pink 23 was definitely dialed in with Tom Arntz and Dave McCullough proving to everyone in the stands and pit area that when they have luck on their side they can be counted on to be strong contenders as the 99S and 7X put on quite a show for 2nd and 3rd.

 

Simon Egan took a Winners Challenge by forfeiting his starting spot and starting from the rear. A win would have netted Simon an additional $150,but his efforts fell short as a lap by lap battle with Branden Clauss and Alex Schoffstall kept him busy. Strapped In Racing Magazine was the race sponsor as S&S Speedways will be sponsoring the Indy 20 on July 3rd.Jim Strouse has been doing a great job in tech and has been taking not only the winner but 2 other selected spots to the tech area. This does wonders in keeping everyone on the same level. He does not do the same areas of tech with each car or each race, so please when called to tech, do not think you are being singled out. It is done by finishing spots. Simply put, if you refuse you will be DQ'd.It doesn't matter if you win or finish 14th,if that was the position selected, you better be ready.

 

Quite a few interested teams asking about Thunder Mtn. The Empire Region opens on Friday night at the Center Lisle, NY oval. Gates are to open at 5 PM with hot laps being set for 6:30. Speeding through the pit area at Kutztown is strictly forbidden as is at most tracks. I was notified of 2 cars on Weds, that were on the verge of being set down for the rest of the season. Please control your temper before making the right hand turn off of turn 3 there. I will not be a mediator, if caught and set down, sorry about your luck. You have been told in advance. Also if you have any mechanical issues, please pull safely off the track, not to the edge of the track, get to a safe spot in the infield and also at a safe speed.

 

One last note, Juniors DO have the opportunity to run as an All Star, but must weigh the designated 775 and cannot run a Junior event on the same night or event scheduled like the 2 day show at Reading. If you want to run as a Junior Friday at Borgers and Saturday as an All Star that is within the rules since it is 2 separate programs. You can run the OSS events at Grandview or even on Weds at Kutztown. Accord will be readying for their Weds night programs with last years car counts both over the double digit entries for All Stars and Juniors.

ISSUE 66

THIS WEEKENDS RACES, TIRE PRICE INCREASE DUE TO OIL PRICE INCREASE...

 

Myerstown, PA. June 3rd:  See if we can squeak one in this weekend, the weather looks good for tonight, but hopefully the front will be through by early morning tomorrow. Plenty of racing on the schedule. Hamlin has a 2 day event tonight and tomorrow, Borgers is also hoping to get their 2 day plans in. Sorry to see a few missing faces at Kutztown on Weds. The show was completed by 9:00.Hope to see everyone back on Weds. Accord will be getting their Weds night action on the 1/4 mile soon. The Slingshot by Tobias Facebook Group is quickly gaining new members and also some interesting news from the teams and tracks. Lenny Sammons is still planning out the AC Indoor dates with a possible change of dates coming. The 1st Empire Region date is slated for June 10th at Thunder Mtn Speedway in Center Lisle, NY.

 

Since anything oil related has seen price increases along with the transportation costs increase, all Carlisle Tires have had a 13% price increase beginning on June 1st.
SE has had to raise the prices for all Carlisle tires and is giving everyone advanced notice that all tires purchased now will have an increased price on them. They will be the same % to you as they were to us, nothing more.

 

ISSUE 65

WEEKEND RACING NEWS, NEW FAMILY ADDITION...

 

Myerstown, PA. June 1st:  Everyone at Speedway Entertainment wants to welcome a future Slingshot racer into the world as Kim and Mike Glass are now the proud parents of a little cutie named Kayla. Kayla was born over the weekend and weighed 8.3 and was 20 inches long. Mike is the 2010 Kutztown Slingshot Point Champion and Kim has been a steady Slingshot and small car campaigner for quite some time now.

 

The 2011 running of the Spring Spectacular is history and the winner of over $2000 was Oley, PA's Brett Bieber.34 cars were entered along with 11 Juniors for the Young Guns 25 which was won by "The Midget" Chris Kurtz. Complete racing program over by 3:30.Over 7400 was paid out for both classes.

 

The Big Kahuna Series at New Egypt saw part time Slingshot racer Jeff Hartman take the SpeedSTR win and $2000.

 

Hope everyone has an appetite this weekend as Randy and Denise Smith will be hosting the 2 day extravaganza at Hamlin with the Friday night picnic. Next weekend will the annual visit by NASCAR crews, which always draws outside interest.

 

I had the opportunity to check in on the action at Borgers on Friday night and the racing was superb. The track surface was redone at intermission and it made for some great racing. Greg Zellman is on a tear there so far this season.

 

Sunday will see the OSS at Grandview for another tussle on the high banked 1/3 mile. Kenny Rogers is working to improve track conditions for Sunday, he told me the last race, had a late night finish and they could not get track prep done before midnight, so he started early on Sunday morning and just didn't have enough time. Pete and Joe are planning on keeping the same schedule as the last event with the Slingshots being checkered at 1:45. Keeping my fingers crossed for Kutztown as the storm front has a 4 hour window from 1 to 5 with clearing skies after that. Accord will be gearing up for the Midweek Mania Small Car Racing. Weds. aren't the same at Accord. Please support your regular track and if it's rained out or canceled, try something new and head to another track nearby.

 

ISSUE 64

A QUICK NOTE...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 31st:  Bonnie Nibblett who heads the Red Bud 69 Racing website would like to invite all Slingshot Drivers, Owners, and fans to check out her results on a weekly basis for the Slingshot division. Bonnie has begun to add weekly stories and results from Kutztown and Shellhammer's Speedway on her website. I have put her link right under Mike Feltenbergers "Slingshot Side Bites" page header. Simply click on her link to view her racing website. I have been going on her site for years, its very informative, and she has something for every racing fan to check out.

 

ISSUE 63

KUTZTOWN, SHELLHAMMER'S, S&S SPEEDWAYS, AND MORE...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 25th:  Great night of racing at Kutztown,4 cautions,1 for debris for over 70 laps of racing and a blanket finish for the top 3 with 7 through 10th all under a blanket as well. The winning car is one of the original Slingshots that Randy Smith took receipt of way back in 2000 and is still doing the job as Simon Egan and Brett Bieber had a race that could be termed a crowd-pleaser as Gary Hieber joined the mix.Lapped traffic almost changed the outcome but the first feature yellow had the field relined by the previous lap with Bieber and Egan side by side heading to the line as the yellow was waved.

 

JR Fulper seems to be the Mark Martin of the Slingshots, you don't take notice of the green 67 until the last few laps and he's in the top 5 contending for every spot. Matt Massone had a great run last night and the 4 car battle with Michael Glass, Shannon Smith, Travis Bieber and Pete Knappenberger gave the fans just much more to watch.
Hard luck of the night had to be shared by Clint Miller who was a top 5 runner until late race problems and Joe Nemeth who was a DNS with chain problems. A tip of the hat to Tayllor Schoenly, Charlie Shaver and Ryan Raidline for some clean and spirited racing. CR Hill hopped into the S&S rental for a 20th place run, one day after arriving in PA for his run to a possible Elite 11 finish.

 

Thanks to all teams that have supported Kutztown this year and hopefully will continue to do so. They will start all entries up to 28 cars and 30 for the National. It was nice to see the green waving last night with few cautions and even got a pat on the back from the Ktown Race Director for a job well done. It looks like my Saturday trip here will have to be put on hold. My Labradoodle is scheduled for a vet appt at 10 AM on Saturday and my faithful companion gets my full attention.

 

Had a nice chat with Dave Cordier, Jr. yesterday. He is always willing to listen to suggestions regarding the events run at Shellhammers and would like everyone to know that the Slingshot group as a whole has shown that racing on a smaller track can be just as exciting as mash the gas and go on the bigger ones. He would like me to pass along that their scoring is based on the whole field getting scored, not the top 3 or front half. If some of you wonder why someone you passed is starting in front, that is why, it will revert back to the last fully completed lap. Currently the entry list for the Spring Spectacular stands at 30 with 22 cars in the A Main and Super National points on the line. I will be getting the current entry list from Brenda and will pass that on to everyone. Rich will be sponsoring the Ronnie Tobias Pole Award and I will be sponsoring the Overall Fast Lap of the Day Award. Entries will be accepted for the Spring Spectacular right up until the last car goes out for time trials. Remember the top 15 are locked in by speed. Go fast for a 1/4 mile and you make the BIG SHOW.

 

Randy Smith at S&S Speedways and S&S Speedways Online wanted me to remind everyone that you can order Slingshot parts in your jammies at 2 AM if the mood strikes you or dressed normally at 4:22 PM if you have the quick urge for a parts order. The S&S Parts Online is open 24/7.Randy who is one of the original Slingshot owners is always willing to help race teams struggling with set-ups or maintenance problems. Looks like we are starting to get things rolling on the Facebook Group Page for the Slingshot by Tobias Group. It's great seeing results, congrats and photos posted on there. Looks like Justin Garcia was all smiles in Dodge City's victory lane. Please get out and visit a track or 2 during the holiday weekend, right now I'm planning on visiting the Saylorsburg, PA oval tomorrow night with a stop at Hamlin next Friday. Good luck to everyone and I want to thank the 57 email replies in regards to the tragic loss suffered by Jimmy Bassett and the Sabo Family. Scott was an integral part of the Bassett, Sabo and Emmons Racing Teams.

ISSUE 62

VERY SAD NEWS TO REPORT...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 23rd: A crew Member of the Jimmy Bassett Slingshot Team, Scott Sabo passed away today. He will be missed by the entire Slingshot Family. Our deepest sympathies go out to the Sabo Family, and the Bassett Family.

 

ISSUE 61

COMPLETE SLINGSHOT OPERATION FOR SALE...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 23rd:  Bob Emmons, who has been involved with the Slingshots as long as I have been here is selling 1 Slingshot and also a 7 X 14 enclosed trailer along with quite a parts inventory. Here is what I currently have: Completely rebuilt and re-skinned Slingshot with a 4 lap old freshened engine for $4000. 7 X 14 Enclosed Trailer $800. Misc. parts any or all, price negotiable. This was the car that finished 2nd at the Spring Spectacular in 2010. Anyone interested I will give contact info to. Here is a photo of the car at Reading in 2010.   Get back to me or Bob if interested.

CLICK TO ENLARGE PHOTO...

 

ISSUE 60

OVER $5,500.00 SET FOR SUNDAY, PLUS TONS OF RACING NEWS...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 22nd:  The Shellhammers Spring Spectacular will see over $5500 being paid out to EVERYONE. The winners share will be $2000 and even the DNQ's will get 25 back. The pre-entry deadline has been extended to Weds. the 25th as Brenda has a business trip keeping her away from the area and she will allow the 100 pre-entry to stand until then. The Young Guns 25 will also be run and a few Juniors headed to Shellies on Saturday with a great race run won by Dakota Barlet. A complete payout is planned for that as well. A nice field of 17 All Stars and 5 Juniors were entered on Saturday night.

 

Randy and Denise Smith tried everything in the book, except hiring a helicopter to hover over the track to keep the fog away. A great field of 600 micros and Slingshots assembled at the 1/5th mile speedway, but could not get a full program in the books. All parties involved want to thank the teams of all classes for getting the track back in racing shape. Hamlin has some great racing on their upcoming schedule with the dual picnic / racing on June 3rd & 4th and the NASCAR invasion on June 11th.
Billy Maynard's Wyalusing Valley is seeing some spirited racing as well as increased car counts. The Wysox, PA oval continues to impress all competitors that enter the facility.
Caroga Creek has lost it's 6th race in the 7 scheduled and one has to wonder if a dome wouldn't help the Ephratah, NY speed plant. The All Star Twin 15's led to some real good 'ol time racing at Borgers this weekend with dicing for the lead and midpack in every lap. Rich, Steve and Glenn Borger deserve a gigantic thanks from all race teams for their efforts in getting the Friday 15's on the speedway. The Saturday night All Star event sounds like there wasn't a secure finishing position until you went under the checkered.

 

The Selinsgrove MA Tour race will be rescheduled. The 5:45 thunderstorm erased all evening plans at the Raceway Park D-shaped track. The Buy an Engine / Get a Complete Carb Free Special will be over in 8 days. The next OSS event is slated for June 5th at Grandview. An increased payout is being planned with my Strapped In Racing Magazine sponsoring the race. Last event was checkered at 1:45 PM giving teams plenty of travel time or a chance to load up and watch the Big Car Enduro. I will personally add the following ....if the winner of the OSS race on the 5th was a feature winner AT ANY WEEKLY SLINGSHOT TRACK ON THE SATURDAY NIGHT BEFORE, I will give them an extra $50.00.This includes Shellhammers, Borgers, Hamlin, OVDT, WVMP or Caroga Creek.

 

The Slingshot by Tobias Facebook Group is continuing to get new members. It is open for team, track and other racing news. Pictures, results and congrats are always welcomed. Congrats to Slingshot grads, Anthony Perrego on his top 5 finish at Accord and Nate Christman on his top 10 run at Grandview in the small block modifieds.
I am looking at possibly opening the shop on Saturday from 9 to noon, if anyone has any plans of heading this way. The Mike O'Pake Memorial is slated for Kutztown on Weds. night. This race is in memory of the Berks County State Senator who was very influential in getting the Slingshots and racing in general brought back to the New Reading Fairgrounds. He was also an occasional visitor to watch the great racing at Kutztown.
 

Here is the season ending breakdown for the point fund. There might not be another small car class....anywhere that can rival the money and awards given out at the Speedway Entertainment Awards Banquet.

 

All Star Elite 11
1.1200 + new chassis & body
2. 900
3. 700
4. 575
5. 550
6. 525
7-11 500
Junior Great 8
1. 400 + new body
2. 300 + new body
3. 200 + new body
4. 175
5. 160
6. 140
7. 125
8. 100
Regional Tours
1. 150
2. 100
3. 50
If regional average exceeds 20 cars
1. 200
2. 150
3. 100
Speedweeks (7/ 29 to 8/ 13)
1. 325
2. 225
3. 175
4. 150
5. 125
Finally I want to thank Kyle Hardner for his great column that will appearing in AARN this week. He gives Hamlin Speedway and the Slingshots in general a positive effect on local small car racing.

 

A big shout out to 2010 New Egypt Crate Sportsman champion Jim Housworth a former Slingshot champion on his win in the Crate 1 Sportsman A Main at 5 Mile Point. I can't leave out mentioning the great runs by Billy VanInwegen in big block modifieds and 305 sprint car racing, as well as Ben Whitaker getting the job done at Penn Can. Mike Mahaney who was a dominant force in the Paradise Speedway region is a Dirt Car contender wherever he enters.
 

Kyle Rohner has become a dominant force in the Accord Speedway Sportsman ranks along with Joey Funk and Kaitie McCardle showing their abilities at some local speedways, also in the Sportsman class. Nick Pecko and Kyle Ebersole have given the asphalt fans a lot to cheer about with their on track prowess. Ryan Smith continues to impress in any class car he hops into, with Billy Pauch, Jr getting a top 3 paycheck in the 358 sprint car class at Lincoln. Lucas Schott is becoming a household name in the traveling USRA modifieds after a few seasons on the Button Buck Speedway and regional Slingshot circuit. It looks like "Lead foot" Luke Schostkewitz will taking his knowledge to UNOH and hopefully his driving talent will be included.

 

The graduating classes of the Slingshots continue to produce some of the best young talent in the region today. For a $7800 race ready car to showcase talent like the above racers, there is no reason to be considered an inferior class of racing. Alan Johnson made the statement at AC a few years ago, if the Slingshots cannot teach a racer how to drive than you better stay on your bicycle. It is amazing when the roles are reversed and you put an accomplished big car driver in a Slingshot, many times they are ones following and not leading. Enjoy your time on the speedways, make new friends, some of your racing friends will be with you for life.

 

I just got an email from a race fan that enjoyed watching the Slingshots run at the Outback Track at Oswego and on the 3/8th mile asphalt track. The Gioia Family has sold the entire Oswego complex and racing continues on, but there are no current plans to return to either track in the near future. For anyone that isn't familiar with the OTO it was a 1/12th mile racy little speedway that did have plenty of passing, but used tires as the inside and outside guardrails, causing quite a few delays if hit. Steve Hicks was timed at over 90 MPH on the front stretch at the Oswego 3/8th.Some great racing and memories on our trips north. Don't be afraid to try a new speedway if there is a special race on the schedule, it will only make the team and driver, just that much better.

 

ISSUE 59

SLINGSHOT BODY UPDATE TIME, OTHER QUESTIONS ANSWERED ...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 20th:  The time has come for the race teams using 2005 and older bodies to update to the legal 2008 and 2011.If we do not have an order for a new style body or proof of purchase from another builder by the end of May and you are teched with an older body, you will be deemed illegal. This is not fair to any race team that had new bodies built to abide by the rules.

 

I realize that you could be spending this money on other parts or engine work, but there are numerous outlets that build Slingshot bodies other than us and body rules allow for 5 year use. The 2011 will be allowed until the end of the 2015 season. All bodies must fall within 3/8" of our templates.
 

There will NOT be anything allowed below the bottom of the door line, no plastic extension, no ground effect panels....NOTHING. The use of 2 AFCO shocks will be allowed until at least the end of 2014.

 

For anyone questioning the DURO 8.50 tires, the profile and tread width were the same as the 9.50's. To answer a few questions regarding trailer inventory for some of the newer racers, gears, tires and wheels, chain, clutch springs, clutch shoes, a shock, a diode wire, radius rod, tie rod, axle collars and front and rear axles should hold you off for many of the needed items during the course of the evening events.

 

ISSUE 58

HELP OUT A FELLOW SLINGSHOT RACER, SHELLHAMMER'S INFO ...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 17th:  Just got a note from Joe Howey and it's not a good one. All his driving equipment was stolen over the weekend and he is need of anything used and usable. If you have something and want to contact him regarding sizing please email him at : thisishoweydoit@aim.com  Sending this out in hopes that someone can help and Joe can race this weekend. Joe is new to the Slingshot ranks and hopefully a few members of the Slingshot Family can help out.

 

Not to be left out is the Young Guns 25 as part of the Spring Spectacular at Shellhammers. All Junior eligible racers can enter this event. All Junior rules will pertain to this race and this will also be a race where you cannot run as a Junior and All Star, since there will be Super National points awarded. You must decide which class you will be running.

 

The Junior racers will also be running for a nice payout and the date is May 29th. If interested please contact Brenda Cordier at msgokart1@aol.com  This IS NOT the Shellhammers scheduled Junior National, that date is June 11th,but this would be a great time to get dialed in for the National and still head home with a decent payout.
Shellhammers is slated to have all classes running on May 28th if anyone is looking for some early set-up notes and a chance to get familiar with the banking.

 

To avoid the late entry fee, please make sure you have your Spring Spectacular entries to Brenda Cordier postmarked on or before May 21st. If you need an entry please let me know, I will get one to you, they are also available at the track. Here is the payout for the race with 11th place returning your entry money. There is a lot of money on the line. This is not the time to feel like you are not a competitive race team, with time trials locking in the top 15,anything can happen.

 

A-MAIN 1. $2000 D, C, B MAIN (IF NEEDED) $50 to each winner   2. 1000   3. 500 TOW MONEY $25 to each non-qualifier   4. 300    5. 275    6. 250    7. 200    8. 175    9. 150 CASH DASH 1. $100   10. 125 2. 75   11. 100 3. 50   12. 75 4. 50   13. 75    14. 75    15. 50   16. 50   17. 50   18. 50 FAST TIME AWARD - Plaque   19. 50   20. 50   21. 50 All money is GUARANTEED   22. 50 by the Cordier Family

 

ISSUE 57

WEEKEND NEWS RECAP AND UPCOMING...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 16th:  With Mother Nature making a few stops this past weekend, it was great to see some results in the email box. Car counts at Hamlin are astonishing this year and the racing seems to be just as exciting and competitive as ever with a photo finish last week and a 10th place starting car winning this week as Simon Egan notches the MA Gold win with 32 car entered. Henry Anderson gets Super win # 2 and Zach Weisenfluh goes the Junior distance.

 

Borgers seems to see their entries increase and they now have repeat winners with Greg Zellman and Louden Reimert leading their respective class mates to the checkered. The Friday Junior count at Borgers was at 6 and with Borgers being the ONLY Junior track running on a Friday night, here is a great chance to get the young driver in the family some track time and get to meet some new teams.

 

Lindas saw Brett Bieber be at the right spot as a caution moved Brett into the top spot of which he was never headed. Bobby Snyder, Jr. will surely see victory lane in the red 6 as his 2 efforts at Lindas have been quite strong.

 

Caroga Creek Raceway found some clear skies to get some racing in with Jack Lehner and Will Eastman getting feature tallies. Their point season will start shortly.

 

Kutztown is hoping to see another action filled evening on Weds. night and after a wheel to wheel battle for the win with Simon Egan and Gary Hieber and a 3 car battle for 3rd,the fans are waiting to see more. Next week will be the Mike O'Pake Memorial MA Silver Tour Race.

 

Selinsgrove Raceway Park will find the MA Silver stop on Friday night May 20th.This is a favorite stop for quite a few drivers. The design of the track, the racing surface width and the speed accrued make this an exciting evening of racing. Prior to the 2010 August race, the previous 4 A Mains went non-stop. Sign-in begins at 5:30.We will most likely have 2 alternatives, if we run a single round of qualifying, we can run our A Main after the karts, if we do double rounds we are usually one of the last classes to run. If you vote for the single round, the top 2 in each qualifier will redraw and the rest will be heads up start.

 

Brenda Cordier is accepting Spring Spectacular entries right up to Top 15 Lock -in Time Trials. Shellhammers will be opening the gates bright and early. Rumor has it that Ricky Yetter will be back to defend his 2010 Spring Spectacular title. Action begins at noon on the 29th.

 

I realize many of you consider me to be the Slingshot official at certain tracks, but at Kutztown they have their own officials, Hamlin has their own officials and Shellhammers has their own officiating staff. I will not jump into any track circumstances unless asked by the officials themselves. They all do a great job and I respect their decisions the same way I hope my decisions are respected by all during the OSS events at Grandview. The same will be at Selinsgrove, I will help with lineups, getting the cars to the grid when called and oversee scaling, but an on track call is done by them. I was asked to be the asst. starter 2years ago, but the non-stop feature made it a rather easy job. I have helped at Borgers and West End and I'm very honored to be asked to help and hopefully will be invited back.

 

Please remember the West End Fair event is on a Monday (August 22nd) and will be a Super National this year. Raidline and Heckman are excited about having the speedway before any destruction derbies or big car events and have promised a racing surface worthy of 2 and 3 wide racing.

 

Also Reading is slated for a Sunday / Monday this year with the Juniors scheduled for the Sunday festivities and the All Stars having both days to present their program. The date for this event is August 7-8.

 

I am making this statement on my own and will accept full responsibility. Auto racing has been around for quite a long time. It takes 2 cars to make a race and for some the thrill of speed is the defining factor, but in my opinion it seems the faster the cars are being made to run, the racing has suffered. Watch some of the 410 sprint races, the big block modified races and even some of the bigger engine small cars, the only passing is on a restart and single file racing becomes the norm instead of an exception. The 600 wingless micros in my estimation might be the most exciting form of racing seen in the last few years...but right behind them are the Slingshots. The Slingshots have had their nights when single file racing is present, but after watching the 2 wides at Kutztown, the 3 and 4 wides at Grandview and the photo finishes at Hamlin, as well as OVDT, the Slingshots are starting to attract a regular fan base and I hope this continues.

 

The Slingshots have been known to advance quite a few racing careers, but should not be looked at as an inferior class of racing. The talent is needed to wheel these cars and the ability to make chassis changes and gearing selections are also highly important in advancing racing careers. Don't ever feel that being a Slingshot driver is second class. There are many drivers in the "Big Cars" that would have their butts handed to them by a few of the Slingshot regulars. It is great to see the Billy V's, the Ryan Smith's, the Billy Pauch, Jrs., the Anthony Perrego's and Kyle Ebersole's moving onto bigger types of racing vehicles, but the drivers we have now are unrivaled in talent and competitive spirit. Thanks for being a Slingshot driver, owner, crew member or family member. Hope to see a nice field of cars at Raceway Park on Friday night. If you have never raced at Selinsgrove, give it a try, you might like your experience there.

 

ISSUE 56

KUTZTOWN RACING, STOCK ITEMS, WEEKEND RACING...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 12th:  First off I'd like to thank all teams that supported Kutztown last night 27 cars entered and some spirited racing on the speedway. Thanks to RPM Online Parts for sponsoring the added 3 spots to give everyone a chance to run the A Main. Had a chat with the Kutztown race director and it was noted that most of the Slingshots do not have a Raceceiver or scanner to get the lineups, lapped traffic warnings and yellow or red track conditions. PLEASE, PLEASE. PLEASE get one or rent one. I could see last night from the infield who had them and who didn't. The yellow was out and cars were still racing like it's green. It is in your best interest to have one. Many tracks use them now and it only saves your equipment with an accident on the track or if you are a slower car and the field is coming. A cheap 10 channel scanner does the same thing.

 

Jim Strouse is looking to have a definitive tech area and will be discussing the area and lighting with Janelle. Congrats to Simon Egan on the win. After watching all the classes at Kutztown last night, the Slingshots have nothing to feel inferior to as there was plenty of passing and some great 2 and 3 wide racing during the 20 lap program. The post race discussion with a few fans had them talking about the great runs by JR Fulper and Joe Nemeth. Good job guys and to everyone. This weekend it's off to Borgers, Snydersville, Caroga Creek and Lindas on Friday night. Saturday night will find a MA Gold event at Hamlin along with weekly racing at Borgers, OVDT, Wyalusing, Button Buck and Caroga Creek.

 

Next Friday night it's the return to one of the favorite tracks on the tour circuit as Selinsgrove Raceway Park's tricky D-shaped 1/5 mile will find the Slingshots putting on their usual side-by side racing program. All finishing cars must scale at Raceway Park, so please check your car weight after hot laps to make sure you are legal. They do not give second chances for after race scaling. If you are light, you are DQ'd.

 

We currently have 3 new engines awaiting purchase. The May Special is a complete Blue Printed Carb set-up.. FREE with engine purchase. After doing some inventory work yesterday we have an overload of Flush Filters. I'm offering 3 for 1.00 until Monday. Currently the sheet metal dept. is caught up with the recent orders. If you want an '08 or '011 body or need some replacement body panels, now is the time to order. A few emails regarding AFCO and Bilstein use. The 2 Bilstein / 2 AFCO combo will be allowed until the end of 2014 as per Rich. Mix and match corners, sides, front and rears, but the 2 brand combo will be allowed for 3 years at least. When the major tour season arrives and we have race teams from 2 or 3 states with the same car number, the state the race is in will be used for the adding of letters or a number. If there is 3 # 4's at the Penn Can Battle by the Border, the # 4 from PA will stay as the 4,but the other state cars will need to alter their car number. As an update, we have gone to a 1 seal system for the engines, red seals are still legal, metal seals have been illegal since June of last year. Heading to Dover tomorrow for the weekend. Good luck with your racing, no matter what track you support.

 

ISSUE 54

WHAT A WEEKEND OF RACING, KUTZTOWN NEWS...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 9th:  It looks like the Slingshot teams were ready to race and out in full force over the weekend as the tried and true veterans took the All Star events at Borgers with "King of the Track" Jimmy Bassett getting the Friday win in the All Stars and Joe Malson claiming the Juniors with 2010 Borgers Saturday champion," the Whitehouse Wizard" Stan Friedman claiming the Saturday main.

 

Hamlin found their pit area packed to the fences and when it was said and done, the All Star race was one for the ages as John Bockhorn just edged 2009 National Champion Cody Kline as the checkered was waved. Dylan Martin is lying claim as the Junior to beat with Henry Anderson getting the checkered in the highly competitive Super Main.

 

Rain slowed down the racing action at Lindas, but didn't stop it as Gary Hieber picked up where he left off in 2010 with a trip to victory lane.2010 Shellhammers champ Brett Bieber took the runner-up spot. The complete rundown will be posted on the Slingshot website.

 

Here is a bit of news regarding the upcoming opener at Kutztown on Weds. night. Please take notice of the contact person for transponders and raceceivers, it is NOT Janelle anymore. Thanks to "The Voice of Choice" Barry Angstadt for getting this out to everyone on the Slingshot by Tobias Racing Group page on Facebook. Please join this and post your team or track news. The countdown is on as the 2011 season opener at the Kutztown Fair Speedway is now less than 60 hours away.

Wednesday, May 11 the best of small car racing will converge on the Fairgrounds in Kutztown, when the first green flag of the new racing season waves at 7 p.m. Kutztown race organizers Kerry Meitzler and Janelle Stump want to remind race teams that transponders and one-way radios are mandatory for all cars and drivers who compete at the Berks County oval. This year, the track itself will not be renting transponders. But never fear, for Slingshot racer and radio show host Pete Knappenberger will have some of the electronic scoring devices available for those who wish to rent them. Knappenberger will rent the transponders for $15 per night, and he will also have a supply of one-way radios available at the rental cost of $10 per night. Knappenberger, who also operates RPMpartsonline.com, will be selling ear piece/headphones for the one-way radios. The ear pieces cost between $10 and $20, depending on the style desired.

The transponders, one-way radios, and ear pieces will be rented/sold out of the trailer that houses Knappenberger's No. 02 and 102 Slingshots. There will also be a sign at the trailer designating it as the traveling site of RPMpartsonline.com. Knappenberger will also have race day supplies such as tear-offs, lubricants, etc. for sale at the speedway. Drivers who rent a transponder from Knappenberger must do so prior to signing in for the night, so that he/she will have the transponder number ready when signing in for competition. Knappenberger is also providing gift certificates from Hooters of Reading. The gift certificates will be awarded to lucky fans each week...details will be announced at the track, so listen to win! The 2011 slate of Wild Wednesdays begin on May 11. Gates open at 4 p.m. Warm-ups begin at 6:30, and the first heat race goes green at 7:00.

Wild Wednesdays at Kutztown...your Midweek Motorsports Adrenaline Rush!
The 1/5 mile located right across from Kutztown University will open the gates at 4 PM with a drivers meeting usually slated for 6:15.Please be ready when called on for track time, they keep the show moving and will not wait. The cars in staging area will filter to the speedway as soon as the checkered is thrown for the previous event.
SPEEDING IN THE KUTZTOWN PIT AREA WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. You can be set down for your pit speeds and pit actions, keep a cool head when exiting the track. Fighting will also be just cause for suspensions of 1 week to the rest of the season. The race director will be the go to guy for all drivers regarding on track incidents or calls. Show some respect and it will be returned to you during the conversation.

 

The MA Gold Tour starts on Saturday with Randy and Denise Smith's Hamlin Speedway hosting the 1 regional of the season. Words of advice, if you go to Hamlin hungry, the best race track concession stand in all of racing will definitely have what you are hungry for. The will be some "invaders" heading to Hamlin on Saturday, so a great show will be guaranteed.

 

Brenda Cordier is still accepting Shellhammers Spring Spectacular entries. The top 15 are locked in by a 2 lap time trial run. There isn't a cheaper, cleaner, less stressful way of locking yourself into a $5000 total purse race than by being fast for a 1/4 mile. If entries are needed contact me.

 

After my trip to Dover this weekend, my schedule will be opened up for some Slingshot traveling. I have on my schedule trips to Hamlin, Borgers and quite possibly OVDT. I'm not ruling out WVMP either. I was asked to help with the Penn Can "Battle by the Border", Slingshot National on Labor Day Sunday. The race will be an All Star National. I'm asking the Junior teams if you are planning on running this race or should I try to see if the Juniors can have a feature only race, thus avoiding the added weight to be All Star legal.

 

All I can say is WOW,22 replies regarding a Pocono Raceway event. I will do whatever humanly possible to get this through. Since it is close to Hamlin and Borgers, it would be a great outlet to showcase the great driving ability of Slingshot drivers of all ages.

 

ISSUE 53

MAY RACERS SPECIALS AND MORE...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 6th:  The Racers Special for May is 2 fold. Offer # 1 For each $300 spent on parts (engine work and freight costs excluded) you will get a gas card for .50 off a gallon, up to 20 gallons. This is not good with any other offer. Offer # 2. Buy a new engine (standard,.010,.020 & .040) and get a blue printed carb and elbows FREE.50% deposit is required upon receipt of order.

 

Caroga Creek will be shutdown tonight after torrential downpours left the speedway in not workable condition. The Ephratah, NY oval is in line for the Hard Luck Award with each weekend being shuttered for the last 4 weeks.

 

Rich is looking to have a test and tune for the Slingshots at a later Big Kahuna event for the Nov 5th Fall Jamboree. The May 29th will have the track prepared for the Enduro, SpeedSTR's and Sportsman Mods, so he is looking at the July 24 or Oct. 2nd dates as a possible shakedown day for the Slingers.

 

Wednesday night is Kutztown's opener. Gates open at 4 Pumped parking is all along the fence at the street side, about 3/4 up the backstretch track side and all the way from the pit sign in to the staging area lane road. There is an access lane to the street side pits when taking an immediate right off the turn 3 track exit. There is new race director at Kutztown who has quite a lot of racing experience, please treat him with respect during any track issue questions and you will be treated the same way back.
Lindas Speedway will be hosting the Slingshots tonight. The night's event schedule is booked solid, when Linda tells the Slingshots it's time to stage, please don't wait around.
Borgers is hoping to see the same great Slingshot entries for week # 2 this Friday and Saturday and Randy Smith will have Hamlin Speedway ready to go for their 2nd week of racing. John Diotte has done wonders at Oakland Valley beating the rain and preparing the fastest track surface in 3 years. Billy Maynard's Wyalusing Valley Motorsports Park received some storm damage, but his never-ending efforts in getting a race ready track should have his race teams heading to the Wysox, PA oval.
Snydersville is slated for action tonight and the previous statement finds Caroga on the sidelines again tonight. Button Buck is awaiting the clear skies and sun to put race cars on their 1/5 mile in MN.

 

Hope to see some race ready teams at Lindas tonight. Received 7 emails and a few calls regarding racing at Pocono Raceway's front stretch. I will be discussing this during the June 9th NASCAR weekend in hopes for the late July or a 2012 date.

 

ISSUE 52

MORE WEEKEND ROUND UP NEWS, KUTZTOWN NEWS, BUTTON BUCK,

NEETS ENDURO NEWS, REGISTRATION FIXES AND NEWS, POCONO RACE??...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 3rd:  Just a little side note on Erin Paulison who won the Junior race at Oakland Valley on Saturday. The young lady took a nasty flip last week and spent the whole week after school and in her spare time to help rebuild the race car so she would be in the starting field on Saturday night. It is the determination and dedication, let alone the reliving of last weeks incident every time she went past that part of the speedway, that makes these young drivers the future of auto racing and very proud that the Slingshot by Tobias racing class is as popular and safe as it is for drivers of all ages from 6 to 88.

 

For everyone that was having trouble with the Slingshot Registration the "Wizard of Of Web Building", Blake Tobias has made some adjustments on the website and they have worked for me on the work computer, home PC and my laptop. Thanks, Blake.

 

8 days until Kutztown gets the green flag. For some of you new to the Slingshots, I'll try to give a quick description of what to expect. The staging area is just that behind the pit shack. When called for hot laps or qualifying the staging area is always used. Enter the track in turn 4,exit in turn 3.Scale if needed is right in front of the pit shack straight down from the exit ramp. Lineups are posted on a dry erase board at the pit shack. Drivers meetings are usually called every week. They use a cone starting system for all starts. If you have mechanical problems, the whole infield is open, please pull safely off so you do hold the racing program, if you can make it to the pits stay high in the backstretch to pull off turn 3.They try to start at 7 PM promptly and keep the show moving. Transponders and Raceivers are used for everyone this year. A simple scanner is also useable as a one way listening device. No fan or crew to driver radio or cell phone hookup allowed, if found expect the penalty to be severe.
 

The Button Buck race teams are hoping for a weather break as rain and snow has hampered their opening, almost as much as Mother Nature's rampant run through our area this season.

 

Joe Cutri of the NEETS Enduro group is highly excited about the racing action the Slingshots have put on at the 2 Grandview shows and was quick to comment that the Slingshot race teams are some of the most friendliest and most helpful racing groups he has ever seen. Let's please keep it that way.

 

One bit of info I want everyone to get is that the Slingshot Registration is done by the car and owner, not the driver. The driver listed on the Driver Roster on the website was the name on the registration, but sometimes changes are made and a driver change happens. In the case of the S&S rental car, there might be a different driver in every week, but it is still registered to S&S Speedway.

 

Would anyone be interested in putting a race on at the Pocono International Raceway front stretch? The track is wide enough to make a 1/6 mile oval with a few tires used as track markers and racing in front of thousands of people would make many sponsors quite happy. It's just a thought.

 

ISSUE 51

WEEKEND RACING RECAP...

 

Myerstown, PA. May 2nd:  Looks like everyone was ready to race this weekend with car counts going off the charts at a few speedways. OVDT had over 20 signed in, Borgers had 2 nights with high teen counts, Shellhammers had a few new Juniors join 16 All Stars, Hamlin saw their Junior count decrease, but the All Star and Super Classes reaped the rewards. It is great to hear that the racers in the Accord, OVDT areas are heading to the tracks. Bob Hentschel at Northeast Slingshots has been doing a great job in gathering a parts inventory for the locals. For the first time winners, welcome to victory lane, I know many of you will be visiting there more than once in your careers, but make sure you have mom, dad, sis or bro print it out from the website to keep for your scrapbook. First wins only come once in a lifetime.

 

The Outlaw Slinger Series at Grandview went off with 16 entries and was completed by 1:45 PM. As promised, all Slingshot races were run off before any Enduro racing action. Congrats to Dale Kober on the win and the 4 wide racing from turn 4 to turn 1 brought the fans to their feet, great bit of driving by everyone. Hard luck award goes to 2 drivers with Dave McCullough and Travis Gruber getting RR flats while both in the top 8 and challenging. A big thanks to Randy Smith and S&S Speedways for getting the parts trailer and 3 cars to Grandview after a successful 2011 Hamlin opener. Another great day at the tech area as Jim Strouse has done a lot to keep everyone on their toes, by selecting different finishing positions and different items to be teched will be sponsoring the next OSS event, so get your cars there to get some of my money. Thanks to Kutztown Fair Speedway for their sponsorship on Sunday.
 

Kutztown will be increasing the payout with increased car counts. It's midweek and even with school still in session for the younger drivers, they have been getting their shows completed and race teams heading home by 9:15 with a few nights seeing the Slingshot checkered thrown just after 8 PM. The Juniors are still invited to race with the All Stars, but the weight limit used will be for the All Stars except for the Junior National and the August 17th Fair race.

 

Brenda Cordier has been receiving Spring Spectacular entries and will do so right up to the green flag on May 29th.There is a rain date of Monday May 30th.Right now Alex Schoffstall is 2 for 2.$2000 to win and over $5000 total payout with a 22 car starting A Main.

The April Racers Special is over. I will be looking into what will be offered for May.
 

Special thanks to everyone that took the time to get me a race recap and results. I want all participants to get proper recognition. Blake Tobias Motorsports will be quite busy if I continue to receive results and stories like I did this week.

 

My bowling season and HO Racing season is now over, it's time to start my track scheduling so I can see many of the race teams, that are calling me with tour questions or parts orders. Thank you for your support.

 

ISSUE 50

WVMP UPDATE, OAKLAND VALLEY NEWS, NEW EGYPT NEWS,

TRACK REPORTS, LINDA'S REVISED SCHEDULE, GRANDVIEW UPDATE

 

Myerstown, PA. April 27th:  A quick note that the practice day scheduled for WVMP on Saturday, 4/30, has been postponed until next weekend, 5/7 after a strong storm, possibly a tornado, ripped thru the track last night.  Details are on the website, www.wvmpracing.com.

If this alters any plans for WVMP racers, there are other alternatives (Hamlin, OVDT, Caroga Creek, Borgers and Shellhammers) until your regular track is back and running. Please give Billy Maynard your support when he has the Wysox, PA oval ready for racing.

 

Hello everyone, weatherman looks to be cooperating for a busy weekend of racing. As an FYI, I will heading to Richmond on Thursday. Planning on beating traffic to be a part of OSS II on Sunday at Grandview.

 
Had the nice opportunity to discuss the Junior National and National plans for OVDT and we have come up with an agreement. The Junior National Tour has 7 races slated for 2011 at various tracks which will name a Great 8 and award these talented drivers some point fund money and also the top 3 will receive a 2011 body. The plan for OVDT is that any Junior National that gets weathered out will be slated on a Saturday night anytime after the Sept 24th Accord Junior National. Everyone will know ahead of time what date would be used.
 
Kutztown will have their own rain makeup if the June 22nd Junior National is canceled. The date for that will be August 17th. If a rain makeup is not needed for Kutztown it will be a payout race for the younger drivers.
 
The scheduled OVDT National for Nov 4-6 will no longer be on the schedule. Their Novemberfest is a 3 day run and if we select 1 day for the actual National and the weather wins or if teams have a bad night, it's not fair to keep changing days and a 3 day point total used to name their Novemberfest Champion, could be used ,but if a family emergency arises and a team must leave, it also is not a way we want to see points given.
 
The Fall Jamboree being held at New Egypt was being tossed around for a National race, but we are looking at a minimum age limit in NJ of 14 and a few of the drivers moving into the All Star Class this year and could be Elite 11 National contenders are under 14.Lindas has a minimum age of 12,but I don't think we have anyone that young when the Sept 24th Lebanon Valley 50 arrives. I will see what I can do to eliminate any age issues.
 
We want to give everyone their proper credits with weekly track and tour wins this year, but I cannot do it without track help or your help. I currently get results from Borgers from Bob Snyder, Denise Smith has the Hamlin results to me as soon as the night is over, Rick Allen gets Caroga Creek results to me, Barry Angstadt will be overseeing the Kutztown review and Tom Chorpenning has an email waiting for me on Monday morning. I'm hoping Billy Maynard, Brenda Cordier and Bob Hentschel can slot me in for WVMP, Shellhammers and Accord results and anyone doing some racing at Snydersville, keep me in the loop. The Button Buck results get to me on Tuesday morning, so I will do my best to give the MN / IA drivers their time in the spotlight.
 
I realize it is great for little Zeke to tell his Aunt Betty that he won a race and she can actually see it online on the SE website and I will also do my best to keep on top of things on the Slingshot by Tobias Racing Group on Facebook. Please don't be afraid to post plans, special thanks and congrats on the Facebook page, that is what it is there for. Photos also are a big plus in letting other race teams check out you speedy hot rod.
 
A race is considered 2 or more, but if there is an event such as a Rookie Class or Pee Wee Class that only has 1 entry, I will give their name since they took the time, effort and money to attend and enter.
 
I mailed out the recent Registration packets that were received by Saturday. I will bring others to Grandview on Sunday.
 
If anyone is interested in having a test and tune at New Egypt during one of the Big Kahuna Events, please let me know and I will try to work something out with Rich. None of the events conflicts with the OSS mini-series at Grandview.
 
Barry Angstadt is still accepting team info for not only his weekly stint at Kutztown, but also for his AARN column. Brett Deyo, the former announcer at Kutztown is still involved with all forms of racing and teams news can be directed to him as well. Kyle Hardner and Randy Kane have also been slotting in Slingshot news in their popular racing columns. Randy will also be doing his weekly race news for the Allentown newspaper, so there is another outlet to get your team news and results out to the public.
 
Blake Tobias has done a great job in helping with my Side Bites section on the SE website. It seems that this is the most hit part of the website, but I want the race teams and winners to have top billing.
 
Good luck with your 2011 racing season. I will be trying to visit as many tracks as I can in 2011 and with quite a few of them being midweek shows, that will shorten my work day........ Thanks for your support. If your weekly track gets canceled, please think about visiting another local speedway that is still running.

 

Here is the current June schedule for Lindas. June 3rd will not be running the Slingshots so all teams can take advantage of the Hamlin Spring Sizzler. June 10th added date for Slingshots to be used as a prelim date for the June 17th MA Silver tour race.
 
Special thanks to Tom Chorpenning for his thoughtfulness in not competing against the special Hamlin event. I'm asking to please give your support to Lindas on the newly added dates.
 
I personally want to thank John Diotte for taking the time to prepare OVDT and give the race teams a chance to get on the speedway.
 
Weather conditions have been nothing but brutal and a few tracks could not even get equipment on the speedway, so hopefully things will clear up and this weekend will see everyone out in full force. I am in the midst of revising my email list, adding and subtracting. If you DO NOT want to be on the list, please send a return email and it will be done right away.

 

Here is an update for OSS II at Grandview on Sunday. Transponders will be used, rentals will be available, Raceivers will be used, sales and rentals will be available.
 
The 12:00 track time will be observed again, so please be ready to go when called upon. Tech official Jim Stouse will be making the rounds, please be ready if he asks for something to be seen or done.
 
The race program will have 2 scenarios. 1st one if a consi is needed the Slingshots will run after the Vintage race. 2nd one if no consi is needed, it will roughly be a 20 minute break after qualifying and it's feature time. There will be no Enduro racing prior to any Slingshot event as per Pete and NEETS promoter Joe Cutri.
 
The winner is guaranteed at least 350 to win. The RPM Cup and point fund money will be paid at season's end. We had 31 cars entered for the April 3rd race and started 24.This is just like any other racing event. If you are fast you race, if you are slow, you watch the fast ones. Nothing nasty intended, but putting everyone into the race, just because you entered is not the purpose of racing.
 
Kutztown Fair Speedway will be sponsoring the days event with their opening date slated for May 11th with the MA Silver tour heading into town for the Mike O'Pake Memorial on May 25th. I am truly excited about the interest shown in Kutztown this year and with the announcement of payout increases with car entry increases, things could be even more rewarding.