Forum: SCRAFAN.COM Forum (go)
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For Further Information Contact Scott Daloisio: mailto:: [email protected] or (909) 226-7768

For Immediate Release

SURFNSPRINT PROVIDING CALISTOGA UPDATES ALL WEEKEND LONG!

(Calistoga, CA, August 31, 2013)  Fans who did not make the journey for this weekend’s 6^th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic featuring the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, USAC Western Sprint Cars and the USAC Western Midgets at Calistoga Speedway in Northern California’s magnificent “Wine Country,” will be able to keep up to date with all of the action on Instagram courtesy of Surfnsprint.

Noted sprint car photographer and journalist “Big Mike” Grosswendt will be doing live updates with photos and miscellaneous observations all weekend long.  The coverage is free and easy to get.  Fans can simply go to Instagram (http://instagram.com/) and type in “surfnsprint” and they will receive all of the great Surfnsprint racing coverage.

This weekend’s festive holiday event is expected to draw a superb field of cars in each division due to the significant purse on both sides of the program.  The Midget main will pay a whopping $10,000.00 to win each night and the Sprint Car portion of the show will pay $7,500.00 to win on Saturday and $10,000.00 on Sunday.

Point leaders Damion Gardner in the USAC/CRA Series, Ryan Bernal in the USAC Western Sprint Car Series and Ronnie Gardner (no relation to Damion) in the Western Midget Series will all be in action on the historic half-mile clay oval. 

Media, to contact any of the principals in this endeavor, please contact Scott Daloisio at [email protected] or call 909 226-7768. 

It is possible that neither Damion or Ronnie have ever done any gardening in their lives. That is dispite the fact that they both love to play in the dirt.

Instagram is strictly an application for smart phones. If anyone has one, has IG (it's free), and cares to share the updates on the forum here, I'm sure many will appreciate it. ...... Think Brent and the boys at KP will lay hands on Bud's car to go after the rest of $17,500.00 available if they can do it again tonight? (I think I would take Bud very seriously again tonight.  

The intention for me was to provide convenient updates with actual snapshots of the event as it unfolds, including a backdrop of the scenery and a smattering of details for people who have never been there. I thought a smart phone (or I-Pad) was the smart (pun intended) way to deliver material to an individual who could not make the trip, wanted to stay in touch but not be forced to keep referring to their computer (either desk or laptop). Tweeting is cool but Instagram is better. For myself, to receive updates and pictures on the phone while stuck at that family reunion would be the next best thing! A couple of notes regarding the experience: First, for official results, Lance (scrafan.com) is the man. He is the hardest working man in sprint cars! Most people have no idea how hard it is to collect and distribute facts during the course of a fast (pun intended) moving event. My amateur reporting should be considered more as fan commentary, where as Lance is getting the facts out. Second, the tools are technologically amazing (all done with a phone) but still basically primitive from where we will be in a year or two. I don’t need a better phone camera; I need a better Nikon that has a photo shop and phone built in. I must have looked pretty funny surrounded by twenty professional jostling photographers with their huge lenses and here is this idiot trying to get a podium picture with his I-phone (more than one yelled at me to get out of the way)! Third, this was huge fun. It killed me to not be on the big camera all day, but the sense of reporting in real time from the front line was exhilarating. Next up will be video clips and actual driver comments throughout the course of the race. To summarize, my whole approach in sprint cars is to help build the fan base and bring back the glory days. Fans need heroes and presenting the heroic driving and drivers up close and accessible is what will do that. You can still download Instagram on your phone and review both the glory of Calistoga and the fun we had at Bonneville! Just get on, search surfnsprint and follow. Once you are following (free) you will automatically get the updates from racing. Send me comments and requests for pictures while these events are occurring. Finally, thanks to Tommy, Chris, Kevin and all the hardworking people at the USAC booth, thanks for letting me play in your space; these hardworking and almost invisible people are who make it all possible for us to go to the track and have an awesome and safe experience. BTW, Calistoga freaking rocks!