Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Not really sure, couldn't see much from my vantage point, either!!!!! HAHAHAHA!! Anyway, we had a GREAT time with the Physick's & their friends from Au. I've always said that the wait in the Sydney airport was worth it!! They are truly wonderful people!! if you have a chance to catch up with them while they're here, don't pass on it!! They'll be at the Grove,soon. Skippy was glad to see some fellow countryfolk!!!!! Anyway, we did walk the track after the show & it WAS wet & tacky!!!!! i know it was new clay, but still trying to justify the dust.....the new tires were mentioned,,, but would that change do that much damage to the ozone above the track? Man, we sit in T4 & we really had to concentrate on the field as they went thru T1 because we were losing site of them!! Hell, there was dust in hot laps! Not complaining; we're used to the Eldora surface & it's racing; was just wondering......The rains took control on Sat & washed out our time with our friends from Au, also. Not much going on, so they headed to Greenville & we headed home. It was SOOOOO nice to wake up to an 1" of snow on the ground on Sun!!!!!NOT!!!!!!!!!. It just seems that when you haven't seen your friends in 2yrs, you should be able to have more time together........oh well, maybe the Mrs & I will invade Roooland again in the very near future!! Remember, we've got another set of couples from Au coming to the States for the Royal!!! Well, it's on to Attica this fri. nite.........maybe i'll wear my stilts, then i'll be able to see!!!!

Oh yea, there was a guy with us for the weekend who drove up from Indy........He SAID he was from there, but i noticed he had MAINE plates on TPOS Van!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anybody know that guy? ("AQ"........or something like that......."FartHead" was mentioned as a nickname.....i'm just not sure!!!) we did have a good time with him, if you can believe that!!

Hey Stubb ! It was great to hear the "short"version of "The Eldora Dustbowl" of 2007.It is hard to figure out how this one happened when you know that better minds than ours are addressing this problem and are struggling to find the answer.

My first response to the dust was "SO----what else is new ?" Bud and I have only attended twice a number of years ago and both times our money was ill spent in that the dust prevented any real appreciation of the action.

Having been in Tony Stewart's position for such a short period back in 1980/1981 we can understand how he might be feeling right now(However I also must qualify that with the fact that we were not trying to juggle the racing teams he owns,plus his own active racing career and whatever else he is dealing with).I find that I am asking for a little TLC for a promoter that is really trying to "Give Something Back".Not a manjack of his critics can convince me that Tony made the purchase of Eldora with the intent of becoming the richest guy in town.It goes without saying that he already is !

Putting that aside,I want to add our disappointment at not being with such an austere group.Andrew alone is worth the price of admission.

Our next plan is to meet the Physicks and Pat and Sonya at Riverside in West Memphis.The weather will probably hold control of that.It will be our very first venture into the land of the SwindellsThe dynasty that was started by Sam Swindell has attracted us since the days that Bobby Ward came to Olympic Stadium and talked about his home track.Sam Swindell remarked many years later that he was limited by funds and wanted to be able to come to Olympic and see whether he could compete with the likes of Jud Larson in the super modifieds of that day.Being a weekend warrior and keeping a full workload at whatever your profession was,besides supporting a burgeoning family wasn't easy !

Good Lord willen'and the creek don't rise we will finally get to the promised land,but whatever the weatherman comes up with, it will definitely govern the decision.

Peter and Laima are the magnet over and above seeing Riverside however.It means giving up "the hottest ticket in town"to Lakeside's opener but it might be worth it ! Bud's Bride

Hey Keet I'm planning on hittting "The Ditch" that night as well so hope to run into you, Bud and these Aussie folks I've heard about! First time in 27 years I think that the WoO have raced there.

I've seen a few races there the past few years and the new promoter Clayton Allen I think has every intention of putting the place back on the map. If the track holds up ok it should be one wild race!

The Main One pulls through once again. Can't get much better of a close up view of the surface at The Big E considering his vertical standing point.^^

Hope all is well with you and the Mrs.!

Just checked the Riverside schedule and it said that the WOO are coming on May 5th.(Don't think we'll be at that one ).

Our main focus this year is racing at Lakeside Speedway and Indiana Sprintweek.Hope to see you in Indiana for sure.

Otherwise I guess we'll have to wait til Little Rock later for the STN's.Later ? Bud's Bride

Gotcha I just assumed you were going to the WoO race at Riverside. Yeah we'll see you around somewhere this year!

The only thing Stubb can be beneath is a tulip bed! HAAAA!!!!

Savage

The Ohio Stubb (Maine wannabe) would have felt right at home with us today when we went to Scooter Ellis's shop and a bunch of his cousins (midgets) were there. Scooter also arranged for us to have a look at more of Stubbs cousins at 9 racing.

Stubb didnt mention that we walked the track after the races at Eldora,and was surprised to seee the track was very tacky. So tacky in fact,that we had to pull Stubbs sneakers out of the mud,as he was sinking in like quicksand. I wanted to leave him there to sink,but Peter didnt know how we would explain it to Gail,so we decided to help him out of his predicament.

Not sure that the traveling Aussies are gonna be in West Memphis this weekend,Keet. You might wanna inquire with them before heading over that way.

We had a very busy day today touring around Indy. We stopped in at Titan Racing,then at the Modern Day Cowboys shop (Daron Clayton),then Scooter Ellis's shop,then 9 racing. Then we stopped in quickly to visit Rob Hart for a few minutes,then over to Kellys Pub Too,where,by chance,we ran into Lee Kunzman who invited us over to Hemelgarn racing for a look,after we got through touring at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. At the Speedway museum we ran into Crocky Wright,himself a visitor to Australia many years ago. Then on to Hemelgarn racing, Competition Welding where we were hoping that Kerry Madsen was in so Peter could say Hello, then finished off the day at Jesse Hocketts shop,then walked next door to Van Craft to have a look at Van hammering out Kurtis Kraft midget panels.

Now we're at Dave Argabrights house for a BBQ. Its been a very good day today................

Thanks for the tip,Andrew.Will call Peter on the cell phone and check on his itenerary before we go any further with plans.

Bud's Bride

Hi Keet,

We'll be in Memphis some time on Friday ready to find Elvis, although I must admit I saw him in Las Vegas a few times last week.

Given fine weather, which it appears it will be, we (or should that be I) will be at the Ditch on Saturday night.

Have arranged the schedule so that occurs after celebrating our wedding anniversary on Friday night in Beale Street. You're more than welcome to join us for the fun.

Anyone know any good Blues and food places????

www.globalspeedwaytours.com.au 

The normal diary that usually flows from my pen on trips to the US hasn't eventuated thus far because of a lack of a laptop, however that is now fixed. The words will come from now on but I should add to ASQ's comments above.

We rolled into Eldora secure in the knowledge that Stubb had set up camp earlier in the week, having reserved spaces for the motorhomes. He assured me that we would find them without any difficulties. He didn't say how or why, but as we came in off SR118 from the north, we spied a giant kangaroo tied to a truck. Plus a flag that resembled the Aussie one, but New Zealanders would have recognised it as their national flag.

Stubb then proceeded to herd the RV's into a corral so that privacy could be assured for the post race drinking that would, and did happen. Andrew was there of course and Dave Argabright dropped into say hi as did Jonathan Bateman who looked to have finally recovered from the after affects of consuming Stubb's 140% moonshine at Parramatta two years ago.

Down to the track we went without any sign of rain which has plagued the last three attempts to get to an Eldora race. Yes the dust was bad, and like previous comments it was impossible to see turn 1 from the fourth corner in Stubb's "corporate suite." But no one likes it that way least of all the owner, so I wasn't surprised to see the official track press release today.

In the short break between the modified B Main and the A for the WoO cars, we ventured to the bar where I was introduced to many varieties of alcoholic concoctions, most notable of which was the Washington Apple with Crown Royal and a second ingredient that escapes me at the moment.

Under the circumstances, the A was great and I must admit that from lap 10 I predicted a victory for Jason Meyers. Intending to visit the pits post race, I was disappointed that 90% of the haulers had left the track within a matter of minutes after the Modified A Main. There was no one to go see but we made the most of it by walking the track and as Andrew noted the clay was moist enough to suck the shoes off our feet.

Then it was important to convince some young guys that I really was from Australia. I figured that just opening my mouth would have been enough, but it appeared this didn't work seeing as how they wandered off just as confused as when we met them. I think they too had had way too many Washington Apples ......

Meanwhile back at the corral, the drinks were held with increasingly colder hands and with open fires not permitted in the RV area, we were forced to warm ourselves up internally. By 4.00am we had discussed every major issue in sprintcar racing and indeed in world politics.

Upon waking up to the rain on Saturday morning, my first bleary look outside the RV revealed Stubb diligently cooking his famous cajun chicken. Like the postman, Stubb always delivers irrespective of the weather. They were sensational and through his generosity, we departed Eldora after the Saturday night's races were called, with a dozen or so additional pieces in a doggie bag.

It was great to see Scott, Gail and Andrew once again and our friendships forged several years ago remain firmly in place.

Thanks guys for a wonderful experience ....

www.globalspeedwaytours.com.au 

On Beale St., the Blues City Cafe right across from BB King's is a must for good BBQ and steaks. Those boys know how to cook that stuff up. It's a pretty neat place that looks prolly like what a restaurant did in the 50's or 60's. B.B.'s place, Silky O'Sullivan's tavern and The Rum Boogie cafe are my regular stops whenever I'm on Beale. If the weather is warm you'll prolly find some bands playing outside.

We were happy to have you all come over, Peter. Just wish the weather had been better,and that we could have had Bud & Keet come over as well for the weekend. But at least you got to see a race at Eldora, after your last attempts a few years ago were washed out,or cancelled by tornado warnings.

Hope the Hunnicutts can join you and your entourage for Memphis/Riverside Speedway. When I talked to you on the phone a couple years ago to tell you how to find the Maine wannabe Stubbs,I told you to look down,and you'd find them. You found them at the airport ok,so heres how to find Petey. Look for the skinny guy about your height or a bit under,and a bit younger than myself ,that has the shiniest "Chrome Dome" and thats Petey. Self inflicted chrome,of course. If Hooker Hood is there,make sure he introduces you. I should have let you taken the Castrol Racing Jacket for your trip,then I could say look for the guy that looks like Garry Rush a bit,and thats Peter.

This past Monday was a very enjoyable day. Wish we had started the journey a bit earlier,and could have stayed out a bit later,but that would have cut into your catching 20 winks in the van on the ride to the Argabrights house at the end of the day. We could have seen a few more things surely. So much to see and do if your a race fan and visiting Indy. We had quite a bit of luck that day too. Make sure SteveV has a look at your tour photos.Then he'll be pulling the finger out and coming to the USA in a minute.

"Life often jerks onwards through a series of lucky,or unlucky chances" So said Kym Bonython in his book: Ladies Legs and Lemonade.

PS Better luck with this motorhome??

PPS dont forget the champagne for the anniversary

ASQ: I won't be at "The Ditch" this Sat. but will be there for the WoO race in two weeks. I'll give ya a shout on the way to Haubstadt on Sat.

Ahh I thought you was going this weekend,Petey.I forgot it was WoO weekend at Haubstadt. I missed you last weekend by phone,maybe better luck this weekend. I'm going to Lawrenceburg on Saturday after Bloomington on Friday.Winchester on Sunday.

It aint 3:30PM Friday afternoon yet??

AQ.....i'm leavin for Attica around 2pm......why wait until 3:30???? Peter......we had a WONDERFUL time with you guys......if there is any way we can get together again before you leave, we'll do it!! The weather was just brutal on our attempt to have a great weekend! Have fun the rest of your stay & keep us posted as to your antics!!!!!!! oh, has Pat gotten over being with a midget yet???

Pat was with plenty of midgets in Indy!!!

Nice life you blokes are living...

www.sprintcardaily.com

It is a rough life,Andre. As I type this I am in Lawrenceburg,Indiana,taking a break from some pre race bench racing. One of the guys was at Attica last night,and commented to me that he saw the Ohio Stubb there last night. I was at Bloomington last night for their season opener, then tomorrow off to watch USAC sprints at one of the scariest pavement tracks:Winchester. The weather has turned off really nice,now that the weatherman knows Peter isnt in town.

This past week was really good.Dunno but I enjoyed touring around Indy last Monday almost as much as going to the races.

How come you are not in Haubstadt tonight? You do still watch winged?

www.sprintcardaily.com

  Yeah I watch winged racing,but Winchester is on tomorrow (Later  today actually) and its much closer from Lawrenceburg to Winchester. Its at least a 4 hr drive from Haubstadt to Winchester,and probably a bit more. Haubstadt is one place where you can see a good race,either winged or non winged.

  Closest finish in USAC history tonight as I have read elsewhere. Levi Jones over Brady Bacon  in  great photo finish.

  Peter is at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis Arkansas tonight. Chatted with him on the phone earlier tonight. Arkansas must not have learned that when Peter is in town its sposed to rain or snow,as he said the weather there was beautiful.

  Its tough living in Indiana!