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My racing career started about twenty five..twenty seven.. ugh…..A long time ago, I suppose. I was always a car guy, even as a kid. And I always loved fast, loud things. I had gone to Albany Saratoga speedway a few times, as I grew up in Clifton Park. I also spent time going to the Valley to watch drag racing, and started working on a local car occasionally. To this day, the quiet solitude of the Sunday morning summer air being broken by a half dozen or so open header big blocks cranking over at around the same time as the clock ticked past the end of the no-open-header time is forever etched in my memory. Eventually I met a kid who’s Dad drove dirt track cars, and I started going to the track with him.

In short.. I bet my story matches many of the others who post here. I would not be surprised to find out that many of you have more of a background in racing than I do. And I wonder if many of you sit in the bleachers rather than in a racecar for the same reasons I did for so many years. I am going to write about those reasons for a bit, and see if anyone reads my meandering thoughts.

One of the reasons it took so long for me to get into a racecar is the simple fear that I would suck. I would suck so badly, people would point and laugh. Three years in, and I can assure you that being a terrible driver really isn’t all that bad. I am, after all, not a name you have heard. I have about five fans, and that is because two of them are my parents, one is my wife, and my Son probably counts as half a fan.  That is not, IMHO, a bad thing. Not everyone can be C.D. Coville. Plus, over the years, I have found that winners get a lot of jeers and booing. I figure if everyone hates a winner, everyone must love me to death.

So not winning, or even loosing, is not a bad thing. I have discovered that once I accept the fact that no one wins every night, and very few finish in the top ten every night, I have come to enjoy racing. I have realized that I pay my $30 at the back gate.. and I have the best seat in the house. I can walk over and chat with RJ, I can stop in and say hello to Jeff Trombley. I can, and have, asked Bobby Varin to help me with a setup issue. It’s a different world than in the bleachers. I admit I sometimes miss parts of the races, but when that happens I am strapped into an honest to God racecar. And that feeling has completely overwhelmed the embarrassment I thought I would feel when I learned I am a less than stellar driver. Hell, I am well below average in the Rookie class. I am totally fine with that. So if fear of failure is keeping you in the bleachers, as it did with me… forget it. The best seat in the house is out there. Work for it, gain it, and learn. Some of the best in this game will gladly help you along. I can assure you that by about the second hot lap, you won’t even realize there is a crowd out there.


Next time I sit down, and with the Ridge opening in a week that may be a while, I will tackle expense. Between now and then.. consider this: Buying an older chassis and running a worn out crate means you probably won't be winning. But you will have an affordable seat to watch the race like you have never seen before. And I think you will be surprised at how quickly help arrives. As a teaser.. I do not own the trailer I carry the car on, nor the truck that pulls that trailer.

No, I'm not talking about the Rhianna song that makes my skin crawl worse than being dipped in honey and laid on a bed of ants...I'm talking about Brad K's statement in regards to the whole 'supplement' issue within NASCAR's drug testing program...as in, 'Drive The Damn Race Car.'

I'm twisting this to fit the purpose of this entry, quite frankly, because I can.  

Here's what I'm getting at...

Griping.  Constant, non-stop griping.  We seem to hear more of it now than ever.  If I had a penny for each gripe I heard from drivers, I'd have more pennies than Justin Bieber has prepubescent female followers.  From the classic "I didn't hit him, he hit me" scenarios to the Goldilocks-on-porridge "It's too dry-It's too wet-It's too fast-It's too slow-He beat me, so he's illegal-I beat him, but I'm not illegal" to "15th place doesn't pay enough"...if my head starts spinning any more, I'm going to attach a windmill turbine to it and power all of New York City.

It's a free country, so you have a right to gripe...but I also have a right to call you out on it, so don't mind me while I play my card.

Are most drivers an incessant bunch of whiny, moping, dissatisfied types who just don't plain like anything?  Nah, that's a gross overgeneralization.  The problem is that the quiet ones are being drowned out by the gripers like a whisperer trying to deliver the Gettysburg address standing next to a fired-up F16.  We hear you all, too loudly and too clearly.

Ever notice how there's that classic double standard with gripers?  They've got the TDIBID Syndrome, as in "they did it, but I didn't".  Somebody else needs to be torn down because they're illegal, but put them on the spot to match that teardown and they back off faster than any girl who Charlie Sheen invites to a hotel room for 'causal conversation'.  They'll recite a soliloquy on how rough driving has cost them money, wins, and brought them much personal distress, yet if they use someone to get around a turn and you so much as twitch a black flag in their direction, they react as if they're the defendant in the OJ trial.

One of the other things these gripers love to do is play armchair promoter.  I guess they learned that "new math" in school, you know, the one where you have 10 cars in the pits and 100 people in the stands, so that means the purse should be $1,000 to win and drop by 10 dollars per position.  Hey, number crunchers, unless you can all equate the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Champion's totals individually in shoving Oscar Meyers down your gullet at 10 bucks a whack at the track concession stand, I don't see where the promoter's going to find the money to pay you unless he sells the track to Donald Trump, who will probably close it and build another casino with a rooftop shaped like his hairpiece.

Now that I've jumped onto the tangential superhighway and floored it in the left lane, let me steer this into a point or two of clarity.  Brad K hit it dead nuts with the "Drive The Damn Car" comment...I often think that if a griper spent as much time working on their race car, doing their part to promote our sport, and did more for sponsors than show up cap in hand hoping for someone to pay the bills...that there might not be as much for them to gripe about.  Racing may be a sport where the individual gets primary recognition, but we're all on this boat together, and we can't get it to steer clear of that big ass iceberg ahead if we're too busy sniping at each other over where to put the fingerbowl on the head dining table in the grand ballroom.

I'm not advocating that we don't point out concerns about safety, tech procedures, track conditions, and purses...it needs to be done in responsible, intelligent fashion, not like some 2nd grader who had the ball taken away from him on the playground...and remember that whatever you propose has consequences for your fellow competitors, crew members, promoters, officials, and the fans that plunk down their ever-decreasing disposable income because they find our form of ENTERTAINMENT (yes, I said the 'E' word) to be worth it.  Just because you think your idea is good, doesn't mean it's a comfy onezie everybody can get their Snuggie on with.

And for the sake of all that's good in the world, if you're going to spray your gripe on the Internet like Lindsey Lohan laying on the breath spray after she gets busted for a DUI, do me a favor...either stop, or get a blog like this one... ...so I can, like others, choose to ignore your ranting and focus on accentuating the positive, not amplifying the negative.

Rant out.

The 44D at Albany-Saratoga..has an illegal Cam..

For those asphalt fans that think the surface of the track wasn’t the reason Albany-Saratoga Speedway was struggling to get drivers, fans, or even interest through the gate I implore you to please take note that after opening night under the Commander-Devore management team Malta is once again THE Great Race Place!

Upon arrival at Albany-Saratoga my eyes were not deceived nor was there any gimmick bringing the fans in by the flock, as they were parked from the sign in booth to route 9. It was clear the idea of a kick a$$ dirt race had finally been brought back to the great race place. As I wandered my way to put my John Hancock on the sign in sheet a sudden feeling came over my above average sized frame that I was about to be treated to a fantastic evening.

On the way in I ran into Keith “Whitey” Slavin minus his fire suit or racecar. We chatted about his positive experience racing for Matt Hyde at Accord last season, but this year he’s only racing Lebanon Valley. Hyde has sold his equipment and was happy to go out a winner. Slaving was proud to give Hyde a win as a car owner proving he had the equipment to get the job done. Slavin works full time for Coke-A-Cola on weekends and with dedicating time to his recent bride Angelica his racing schedule has slowed down a bit.  They are still a great racing family with history, so it’s nice to see Slavin still wheeling even if only once a week.

Next I chatted with R3 himself Ricky Achzet who discussed the grind of lettering race rods. He’s still slaving away to finish his workload and after week one some drivers are already bringing him replacement panels. Good thing he chose lettering racecars in part for a career or he’d sound like he wasn’t busy. (lol)

Wandering in to the pits I ran into Fast Eddie from Fox Fast Tracks and we went over the importance of making sure lists are in order to avoid any confusion. Eddie was excited to see the turnout for the “Resurrection” of Malta and the car count to support such an effort. Speaking of which, the car counts for opening night were plentiful. 34 Modifieds, 57 Sportsman, and a full field of Cruisers were on hand to open the 2012 season at Malta. There were so many Sportsman just as mentioned in an article written previously by yours truly, Lyle Devore was true to his word in having a Rookie Sportsman division if he had the cars and interest.

As always when I get to Malta it is necessary for a visit to the Scott Duell 14 and his Lazzaro Motorsports crew.  Duell is back in familiar colors and the boss man made him return the 14 to the side for the 2012 season, which Scott has no objection to whatsoever. He was as giddy as a schoolgirl on prom night to be back at Albany-Saratoga for some dirt racing. “I love this place man, its Malta,” he said quite enthusiastically.  We discussed his plans for racing crates in 2012 at the great race place and what he had learned while racing the track of champs for a couple years.


After leaving Duell laughing with a girl pile panty joke I was heading for the track to see the heat races that were lining up, but not before saying hello and getting my weekly loving pick me up from my favorite gal pal Melizzaro. On my way to catch the beginning of the Sportsman heat I couldn’t pass the Jumpin’ Jacks trailer without stopping to see my favorite big money hustler (aka parts dealer lol) Jeff Johnson. Much like the Distinguished Gentlemen Jeff Johnson is the name you know and his nephew is a pretty damn good wheelman also. Surrendered some moola to Uncle J and headed to catch some action on the track.

I must say it was so gratifying to see dirt back where it belonged on the surface of the track. The heat races went well with the exception of a few mishaps and spins, which the worst was the damage to the 62 of Mike Ostrander’s Sportsman car. Didn’t see how the accident happened myself, but it was a racing accident according to onlookers. Ostrander is in the market for a front clip judging by the picture below.


I was visited by two fine people in the form of Matt Hearn and Nikki Davies, who you may have heard of. We shared some Canadian Teo jokes, linked up on Twitter, and now Matt is part of Hazilla Nation. (lol) Nikki filled me in on her trip to Atlantic City a bit, how clean the place was, and yet again taught me something about Twitter. Matt is the son of Teo himself Bobby Hearn; nephew to Brett The Jet and Nikki is the stepdaughter to the champ RJ and my Twitter teacher. (lol)

Just before the Modified feature the fans were treated to a Melissa Lazzaro live performance of the National Anthem with a fly over at its conclusion. Boy-oh-boy Lyle and Howie sure do know how to go all out even without planning to. (lol) Modifieds roared to life for the first time in two years and at the drop of the green it looked like Todd Stone would have something for Stewart Friesen, as they went side by side early. On lap 3 the first yellow of the 30-lap feature came out when Hector Stratton came to a stop in turn 3.

On the restart something went wrong with Todd Stone’s 1x and he slowed bringing out a restart. The Glen Ridge defending track champion Kenny Tremont Jr. made a big move on the next restart and grabbed 3rd, while Matt Diesel was starting to pressure for a front running spot also. Matt Depew brought out the next yellow after spinning in turn 1 and my not so smart phone auto finished my sentence when I updated my Twitter feed with a “lol” at the end. My apologies, that won’t happen again, yes I felt like an idiot. (lol)

Brett Hearn and Ronnie Johnson were the big movers of the night coming from deep to earn top 6 spots, while Tremont hounded Friesen like a fat kid on a cupcake. Yeah that saying never gets old. (lol) Hearn did end up getting past DeLorenzo for 3rd and even closed in on the front running pair on the last lap in traffic, but was out of laps. Friesen once again took advantage of a good starting spot to fend off all challengers and win Malta’s Resurrection Modified feature. Big shout out to Dustin Delaney who was in the midst of some heavy hitters and held on for a solid 7th place finish. Play on playa.

Now prior to the event with witnesses surrounding me I picked Friesen, Tremont, DeLorenzo as the top 3. I figured Hearn and RJ had some work to do getting to the front and wasn’t sure if there would be enough yellows, so like a baby I played it safe. Well I was almost 100% correct, but Brett rained on my parade with about 3 laps left. (lol) Still picking 2 of the top 3 with another winning pick makes my top 3 pick percentage 73% and my win pick percentage 80% for races I attend. Pretty soon my pal Elmo Recker will be calling me to his trailer offering me Wendy’s in return for a pick to win. (lol)

If the heart pounding Modified action wasn’t enough to revive the ol’ Great Race Place blood pumping through the fans veins, then the Sportsman feature surely helped the dirt heart beat again. When they came out I figured Joe Budka had the field covered and no way anyone would beat him. Well thanks to Derrick McGrew for proving me wrong. (lol) Before the features I had wandered over to the TH2 Racing team’s trailer to visit with Timmy squared and pop a spud (buffalo wing sauce covered potato wedge), which made me hungry to revive my Malta tradition; Taco Bell after the show. (lol)


My mind wandered back to the action on the track and Derrick McGrew was hounding Budka for the lead, which he would end up getting past him in traffic with only a handful of laps remaining to win. It was an exciting feature with two very experienced drivers racing side by side for the win. The big mover was Tim Hartman Jr. who came from 12th to finish 4th at the line. Solid run for Big Time Little Tim and on another note I am quite impressed with the early season success of Jeff Rockafeller. He ran solid in 3rd place at a track I’m pretty sure he’s never raced on dirt at. Nice run J-Rock.

In a quick chat with my track champion pal Ronnie Johnson the track felt great to be back on. The track wasn’t as narrow as I thought, but RJ did say he would like to see the inside birm pushed back about 2-3 feet and the jersey barriers put back. It made me think he could be right, because that inside dirt birm played a deceiving role all night. Not in a bad way at all, however drivers like Hearn would ride the left front on it and catch a high spot and it would throw the car all over the place. I guess with the jersey barrier you know your limitations, so RJ could be onto something there.

Before I forget I do want to wish big block modified driver Ryan Odasz and his family the best of wishes. Ryan was chatting with me and informed me he would miss next week at the track of champions due to his 6-month-old daughter going in for open-heart surgery. I truly hope all goes well and wish them the best, as that is no question a tough situation for any parent to go through.

It was truly fulfilling to be back at Albany-Saratoga Speedway watching some race-a-licious action at my favorite facility in the Northeast. I grew up watching racing there on Friday nights and was impressed with how smooth the track was for the first dirt race in a couple of years. I’ll make the trip again Friday and then to Fonda Saturday. For my next trick I’ll get Lyle to find a vest in my size so I can shoot video and some photos off the infield. (lol) Read it, live it, love it. My logic is 99.9% undeniable.

Selinsgrove Speedway is fast becoming the March mecca of modified racing. Joe Kaminski has taken it upon himself these last four years worth of March weekends to put the modifieds right in the glowing spotlight of the sprint car crazed race fans of Central PA. There is absolutely no secret that Pennsylvania, particularly, Central PA, is an area rich in racing history, deeply steeped in sprint cars, but, for this special weekend every year, the ROC Dirt Modified Tour takes the spotlight and packs the stands at Charlie Paige's little gem of a race track. The Ice Breaker is now known as the event that marks the beginning of Northeastern Dirt Modified racing, and does it with a significant and palpable "big event" feel & flavor.

If your a car count person, they had that. 50 something small blocks on Friday and 60 or so on Saturday, Oh? Did I mention I am not a car count person? At any rate, they had a ton of them both nights of event.

Joe Kaminski, is the hard working son-of-a-gun who gets out in front of this thing each year and organizes, generates the energy and polishes up every last detail of what makes this event come off so well. This was Joe, and company's, fourth crack at this Icebreaker Weekend concept, and it was, by design, the best one yet. Great cars, big name stars, (Sheppard, Howard, VonDohren, Horton, Pauch, Varin, Decker, Phelps, Strunk, Johnson, Hearn, Friesen & "The People's Champ" Pat Ward + many more, all on the same bill), add to that the fact, it is an event people actually want to see, a parking lot full of campers and cars, crammed into the historic, beauty of a grandstand, all added up together, gave the overall feeling that you were indeed, witnessing, an "all-star" type event. This was not done at all by accident. Turns out kaminski and company are pretty smart cookies.

Early season racing is, what it is. The track was a challenge, but the track crew was tireless in working and re-working the thing over & over throughout the course of the weekend. The drivers all seemed to get that and adjust. That is one thing I have learned from listening to drivers over the years as I photograph my way through the pits. They are never really complaining as much about a track surface, as they trying to figure it out, read it, adjust to it. Each drivers understanding is pretty clear, everybody else has to race on it, I just need to be the one to figure out the right set up to make it work. Get faster.

That's why this is the best damn sport on the planet, not sanitized Nascar, manicured, styled boy bander's, but real, down and dirty short track racing. The kind of racing that people like Joe Kaminski, and you, are so passionate about.

This weeks Rocker features tunes from The Dropkick Murphy's, Blake Shelton and a couple from Dierks Bentley:

Click here, turn up the speakers to "super loud" and enjoy in HD goodness...



Best Regards,

Jay Fish
Luvracin.com - Race Pro Weekly - Doug's Dirt Diary - Dirt Track Digest
Dirt Modified Magazine - The Syracuse Post Standard
PST - Patriot Sprint Tour - Photography
(315)481-4175 Mobile

For those of you who are looking for a road trip blog, or something racing related, you're going to be disappointed because this isn't either. Well, maybe it is in a way because it is a true story, and had life taken a few different turns along the way, maybe I wouldn't even be posting this here. Go grab your favorite beverage and start reading. I promise, this will be as interesting as any Road Trippin' blog I've ever done. Ready?

To start this story, I need to back up the clock to about 1974, but we are going to bounce back and forth in order to tell it right. I would have been 11 years old then, and was starting to ask questions about the family history. My mother's maiden name was Smith, and so were her parents. My father's name was Miller, but his mother's name was Jenniejohn. One day I asked my Dad why that was, and he told me that his mom divorced her first husband and remarried. Being inquisitive, I wanted to know why they divorced. Dad told me that he'd tell me the whole story when I was a little older and could undertand. I had no choice but to wait.

In a related seguay, I need to bring something else up here. I was a big kid for my age... bigger than a lot of my classmates. When I was 12 years old, Dad taught me how to drive his pickup. It was a standard - 3 on the tree Chevy - his only new vehicle he ever bought. I loved the truck and he knew it. I think that between my size and not being able to wait to drive, he took me out on the back roads and taught me how to drive. This was the type of bond Dad and I had. And soon, I was driving all over the place. We'd stop at the convenience store, he'd grab a 6 pack of Genny beer bombs, and we go joyriding until they were gone. And along the way, we'd talk about everything from school to girls to whatever. No subject was taboo. And this was how I got the job driving packer trucks at Canandaigua Speedway. When they asked how old I was, I said 16 but was only 12. They knew I was lying, but they also were sympathetic to my story. I told them how my Dad took a cut in pay to keep his job and could no longer afford to take us all to the races. I told them that if I got a job there and got in for free, he wouldn't have to pay my way and could apply my admission to his ticket. Rather than flat out deny me, they pointed at a particular truck and told me to take it out for a test drive. Of course, it was a standard and they figured I wouldn't be able to move it. As it turned out, I not only got it started, but never jackrabbit started or ground the gears when I shifted. They called my bluff, I beat them at their own game and left them no choice but to hire me. I drove packer trucks up until I was 19 and was the only driver who never wrecked, spun out or got stuck even once.

Dad and I were out joyriding one day when I was 13, and we got on the subject of why Grandma divorced her first husband. He finally told me why, and I was just blown away. He said that Grandma's first husband went to prison for killing Dad's brother Charles. When I started asking questions, he didn't have many answers. All he knew was that his father went to prison for killing his brother.

In 1985, Grandma's health started to deteriorate and she needed more care than the family could provide. It was decided that she would benefit most from a nursing home, and that's where she went. Off and on I'd ask questions about Grandma, and asked Dad to get her to spill her guts. While cleaning out her house, Mom found some newspaper articles of the story that Grandma had kept hidden all those years, which invigorated my questioning of Dad. I told him that if he were ever to know the truth, he'd have to ask now while she could still answer. He said that if she wanted him to know, she would talk. She never did and took her story with her when she passed away in 1987. This story is why I had dreams as a teenager of being a homicide detective. Had I followed them, who knows where I'd be today? Unfortunately, I discovered marijuana first. I didn't think there were many pot smoking detectives on the force, so I never persued it. I've always regretted my decision.

It's funny how things work out at times. When Dad's health started to deteriorate back in 2009, I told myself that if he were to ever know the truth, I'd have to be the one to get the shovel out and start digging. The problem was, I didn't have enough information to start with. The newspaper articles that Mom found were stashed away someplace and nobody remembered exactly where. Along with those newspaper articles was another piece of the puzzle... Dad's original birth certificate that appeared to be doctored. Dad knew this from seeing it himself. Dad had lots of ups and downs in his recovery process, and when he started coming back strong, I decided to start pumping him for info again.

Fellow DTD'er Jay Mooney tipped me off back in the beginning of January to a website that contains over 15 million old New York newspapers that are scanned and archived for things just like this. There is a flaw with the website however. The search method in the website isn't an exact science. There was a huge learning curve in trying to retrieve information. Using exact terms and phrases were turning up nothing, while loose terminology seemed to be more productive. This took a while to figure out and Dad knew I was working on his story. On the outside, he didn't seem to care one way or the other. On the inside though, I think he really wanted to know, and that inspired me to keep searching. My first tipoff that I was headed in the right direction came back in the middle of January when I located a 1948 newspaper column that told of my great grandfather's accidental death in a brush fire. Until I read that story, I had only heard about it through Dad. http://i108.photobuc...ril20th1949.jpg

I didn't realize in January how close I was to striking gold. I told Dad about a week before he died about finding the newspaper report of his grandfather's death. Unfortunately, Dad died February 11th and never got to learn the truth. One week after his passing, the information started trickling in. 2 weeks after he died, I got pictures from a relative that ask even more questions. And a month after Dad died, I think I've finally cracked the case. After several lengthy phone calls, email exchanges and facebook conversations with my cousin Sue (who I haven't seen or talked to in almost 35 years), along with literally hundreds of hours searching that newspaper website, this is what I've discovered...

John Miller, who my Dad was always told was his father, married my grandmother in either 1923 or 1924. They lived on Eastman Avenue in Rochester in 1927 and had 2 kids... Doris born in March of 1926 and Charles in June of 1927. John Miller was arrested for Murder, 1st Degree on September 5th, 1927 for the death of his 4 month old son, Charles. This was big news back then with news articles in papers all across the state. This account of his arrest was found in a Schenectady newspaper. http://i108.photobuc...ly/09061927.jpg

Traditionally, murder trials are lengthy processes and get dragged out in court for sometimes up to a year and more. Prosecution needs time to build a case and the defense needs time to build and alibi and excuses. One of the most bizarre things I've ever seen came when I found this next article where the father asks the district attorney for permission to attend the baby's funeral. This was found in a Schenectady paper dated September 8th... http://i108.photobuc...ly/09081927.jpg

After further investigation, I find this account in the September 8th edition of the Niagara Falls newspaper explaining how brutal John Miller was, and how the state wants him to undergo psychiatric evaluation to see if he is fit to stand trial. http://i108.photobuc...iagaraFalls.jpg

And then I hit a major road block. No matter what I do, I can't find another followup. The Rochester newspaper for the week of September 5th is not archived on this website - go figure. I've been unable to find an obituary for Charles even as I write this. My search turned to 1928 where I figure I am going to find the results of this trial. Nothing turned up with John Miller's name attached to it for the entire year. So now what?

I played a hunch and was rewarded with huge dividends. Murder 1st was the original charge which carried a possible sentence of the death penalty. My thought was, I wonder if this brutal "CS" would try to plea bargain to save his own life? I figured that since nothing turned up in 1928, then it was likely that he plead guilty without a trail, and probably before the end of the year. So I searched the month of December 1927 in the Rochester newspaper and find this in the 12/6/27 edition... http://i108.photobuc...RochesterDC.jpg

Unbelievable. He offers to plead guilty to Murder 2nd to spare himself of the death penalty? What a pussy/coward! Not only did he brutally and savagely beat, burn and torture his own son, but he hit him in the back of the head with a clenched fist hard enough to create a quarter sized hole in his skull. And then begs for leniency??? But wait... there's more. MUCH more. My Aunt Doris visually appears normal, but is mentally retarded... probably the mental capacity of a 6 year old. Her left arm also isn't functional. She carried it her whole life just below her breasts, across her stomach as if she were using a sling. Mom and Dad were always told Doris' condition was because of Polio. Other family members were told that her arm got caught in a wringer washer. And there are others that say they were told she fell down the stairs in a baby carriage while in the care of her father. It's beyond coincidental that her physical ailments are almost identical to the injuries that caused the death of her brother, and the story changing from relative to relative suggests a coverup and that there was never any Polio. If I could ask Grandma just one question, it would be why she didn't spill her guts on this guy when she had the chance. This is Dad and his sister Doris somewhere around 1936... http://i108.photobuc...DadandDoris.jpg

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle prints the following account of his sentencing dated 12/9/27... http://i108.photobuc...chesterDC.jpg��

It would be hard to find anything good in all of this, especially when I found out that he served his term and was released. Family members all agree that Miller should have fried at low voltage in the electric chair. But there is good to be found after all. The conviction date of John Miller was December 8th, 1927. My father was born October 20th, 1929. This means that it is humanly impossible for John Miller to be the blood father of my Dad because there was no such thing as conjugal visits in those days. And that explains a lot when you look at Dad's birth certificate. The maternal side shows my grandmother as being Dad's mother, and on the paternal side it says John Miller - but written over the top of an erased name. When you hold it up to the light, you can barely make out the last name of the real father. We figure that Grandma met some guy at work after Miller went to prison, wound up getting pregnant with my Dad, and because she still wasn't legally divorced from Miller, gave Dad the last name of Miller to match her and sister Doris.    

While exchanging information with my cousin Sue, she went through her photo album and found a couple of pictures of my grandmother posing with some man where they are intimately embracing eachother. Both are fully dressed, but he is sitting on a rock with her on his lap, and their legs are entwined and holding hands. Both have big smiles on their faces. Sue always thought that the man in those pictures was John Miller. She emailed them to me because I had never seen the guy. I figured if anyone were to find resemblance between this guy and my father, I would. After looking at the pictures, I see NO similarity between them whatsoever.

A couple of days later, I am at my Moms house and told her of these pictures. Mom wanted to see them because she went to John Miller's funeral at the request of my grandmother. So did Dad. Mom thought that she could positively say one way or the other if this was him or not. When she looked at the pictures, she said it wasn't the guy she remembers at the funeral. Interesting...

2 days later, Mom and I are going through our family photo albums looking for pictures of Dad. Ma asked me if I would assemble a video of Dad for his rememberance party next month. In the process, she found a picture of my very young grandmother, in a wedding dress, with a groom. It is also definitely not the same man in the pictures that Sue sent me.

After studying the pictures, we believe that the wedding picture is Grandma and John Miller and the other pictures are of my Dad's real father. Dad looks like neither fellow, but my older brother resembles the man in the picture on the rock somewhat. There is no writing on the back of the pictures.

Grandma and John Miller... http://i108.photobuc...randGrandma.jpg

Grandma and ??? http://i108.photobuc...y/Nickerson.jpg

I could use some help investigating this further. If you know anyone in the Auburn Correctional Facility that can look up John Miller's file/report from December of 1927, I know of a bunch of people who would like to read it.

If you are in the Brockport area and can chase down the death of John Miller who died in 1960 or 1961, I'd like to see that too. Mom remembers going to Brockport for his funeral - against Dad's wishes. He went only because he was asked to by his mother.

I'm still trying to locate the obituary of Charles Miller, who died on September 5th, 1927 and was buried in the West Webster Cemetery. I'm extremely interested in survivor names. One newspaper account of the murder states that John Miller had 2 other children. If Doris was one of them and my father hadn't been born yet, who is and what happened to the the other?

And if you know anyone with the last name of Nickerson from Rochester, please say so. I'm especially interested in anyone with the name Robert or Harold, or who might have worked at Kodak Park in 1928 - 1929.

Response here will dictate whether or not there is a Part II.

Check out this: Wayne Robertson goes on to win the BRP Can-Am Series Championship. At the start of the year, Wayne jumped out with the lead after the second BRP Series event which took place at the Woodhull Raceway on May 31st. Robertson won four events this season including both BRP Series events at the Woodhull Raceway (May 31st and September 11th), the only event at the Humberstone Speedway (June 20th), and the only event at the McKean County Raceway (August 19th). Robertson had led BRP Series points by 16 over Larry Knowles points coming into the last event at the Black Rock Speedway on October 23rd. Robertson had started eleventh. After staying in the same position for a number of laps, Robertson had caught a break. On lap 23, Robertson restarted 9th right behind Larry Knowles. Coming down to the checkered flag, Robertson had beaten Knowles by a foot length in margin, which gained him points to win the BRP Can-Am Series Championship.

Wayne Robertson wins BRP Can-Am Series Championship

We attended Super Dirt Week. It was awesome racing.  However, Did I miss something about saluting the troops on Saturday?  I want to acknowledge and thank the drives that took the time to shake hands with the honored soldiers that were on the podium when they you were introduced. To the other drivers who totally ignored our soldiers, and you know who you are, you should be ashamed of yourselves for thinking you were the important ones being recognized.  Maybe at the next drivers meeting there should be session on manners and protocol. You maybe should have at least given a fleeting thought to why these soldiers were there, it wasn't for you!!! Hence the title "SALUTING THE TROOPS 150".

Two words, VICTORY LANE....Thats where you can find CVD's #1C Teo modified parked after every race event the Oley Pa racer enters these days....Everyone knows CVD is a SUPERSTAR modified racer, his resume consists of numerous track championships, and hundreds of feature wins at tracks all over the Northeast and even Florida....He's been a mainstay on the Pa SBM scene for over 25 yrs, being a dominate racer at Big Diamond Raceway, Grandview Speedway (he's the leading all time feature winner at both) and the now closed Penn National Speedway....He's done his share of winning at all of them.

But right now CVD is on a roll that really hasn't been seen around these parts in many MANY YEARS....The veteran racer just picked up his 12th win of the season last Friday night at BDR(4th overall there), the "BAKERS DOZEN" if you will, lol....The most impressive part of that total is, it's only the beginning of July, there is a ton of racing left to do this racing season....He's racked up 8 wins at his Saturday night home on the hill at Grandview Speedway....And NONE of them were more impressive than the one he won the night of the Super Dirt Series DIRT Traffic Jam 100....CVD ran his Grandview legal sbm motor against the "big boys" and their big block power plants....The man had to get into the feature event by qualifying through the consi, started 23rd, and raced by EVERYONE on his way to the top spot and the HUGE WIN....In the month of June he won every race at Grandview but one, and to start July off he won the special mid week sbm TOTH show that was part of the Pa 410 Sprint car Speedweek at the place....Comes right back and backs that win up with the normal Saturday night feature event three days later....The man is just downright INCREDIBLE right now.

With the Pa sbm racing scene being one of the toughest, most competitve racing circuits around (the wins get spread around pretty well at these tracks), just makes what CVD is doing right now, that MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE....It just doesn't usually happen this way around these parts....Thinking back, and off the top of my head, I can only think of racers/seasons I compare what CVD is doing to....Back a few years ago at BDR, Doug Hoffman and Moose Eisnehard teamed up and had a season for the record books....Doug won I believe 11 or 12 features that year at BDR, and went on to win the NASCAR (BDR was a sanctioned track back then) regional title that year which was worth over $40,000....And going back many many moons ago, when Billy Pauch Sr was wheeling the Hyneman #126 at Penn National Speedway back in the 80's, he was racking up win totals the one season that were in the lower teens range....Thats about it for me right off the top of my head....You just don't see season that often like the one CVD is having right now, and it's a PLEASURE to watch.

Von Dohren is a veteran, he's been around a long time....He's been a part of the racing game for what seems like forever....The man knows this won't last forever, but I'm sure he also knows you just go with it and see how long it will last....Hopefully it will last a little longer, just to see at years end what kind of numbers he can actually rack up this year....But no matter what happens the rest of the way, I'm sure it has been and still is, ONE HELL OF A RIDE.

There’s a tour making a serious bid to dethrone the Super Dirt Series as the premier level of dirt modified racing in the northeast. The RoC Tour, which began its sixth season of competition last weekend, is finally cutting into the huge gap that Dirt held over the rest of the modified racing world.

Selinsgrove Speedway has contributed to RoC’s recent surge. The race being held early in the year, when no other tracks are running, obviously helps the car counts. With nothing else to do, driver’s must go to Selinsgrove or sit at home, and with it being so early in the season, drivers are eager to get on track. It’s the first “major” race in the modified racing world. The same situation goes for fans, other than a few day-time races at Hagerstown Speedway, nothing is ever scheduled before Selinsgrove. The other major factor is RoC and Selinsgrove success for this event is that it’s the only time modifieds hit the super-fast half mile all season. It’s a track that normally doesn’t run our favorite-style cars. Fans and drivers know it’s a race that only happens once a year, if they don’t get to it, there’s no second race there for them to get to later in the year.

RoC had another extremely successful weekend at Selinsgrove, which has passed Utica Rome’s Victoria 200 as the must-see event on the RoC Tour, despite paying $6,000 less to the winner and over $600 less to the last place starter than the Victoria does. Impressive car counts of 55 small blocks on Friday and 64 big blocks on Saturday packed the pit area. Strong crowds both days added to the excitement for the weekend. The quality of the field was probably the strongest race you’ll see all-season long. David Van Horn, Jeff Strunk, Kevin Hirthler, Vic Coffey, Ronnie Johnson, and Lance Willix were just some of the cars that failed to qualify for the big block race. On Friday, it was names like Matt Sheppard and Brett Hearn that were forced to load up early.

The early-season field at Selinsgrove has added to RoC’s growth and the buzz about Selinsgrove, has hurt Hagerstown Speedway and the Super Dirt Series in the same way. The early season excitement and all-star field used to head to Hagerstown Speedway for the Super Dirt Series opener at the end of March. Car counts in the 70s were in attendance not too long ago. With the additional race at Selinsgrove the week before, don’t expect car counts much about 40. While Hagerstown Speedway continues to have some of the best racing anywhere under the lights, it’s all-modified race has been hurt by Selinsgrove.

Despite RoC’s season opener creating more buzz and excitement then the Super Dirt Series opener, RoC still has a ways to go before it overthrows the modified power house, but it’s making strides to get there. The American Racer Cup has beefed up RoC’s 2010 Series regulars. In addition to last year’s big name regulars like Pat Ward, Stewart Friesen, Brett Hearn, Danny Johnson, and Brian Weaver, drivers like Mitch Gibbs, Bobby Varin, Ronnie Johnson, Paul Kinney, and Ted Lamb have announced intentions on following the entire RoC schedule. RoC’s schedule has also made it very manageable for Pennsylvania and New Jersey teams to follow, while the Dirt Series has seemingly forgot about those teams, as 90% of Dirt’s schedule is located over 4 hours from most race teams in that area.

The Super Dirt Series continues to hold quite a lead over RoC, but RoC is closing in. Dirt continues to have stronger support, bigger races, races at nicer facilities, has a more professional look, and pays a better purse, however, if they don’t make continue to make additions to their series like they have over the past two seasons with the additions of races like Mr. Dirt Track USA, the All-Star Weekend, the World Finals, and the October weekend at Brockville, RoC will continue to cut into their lead.

One thing is certain, the sport we love is finally starting to see improvements. With the Super Dirt Series adding races to try to remain ahead of RoC, and RoC beefing up their purses, and adding some new shows to their schedules as well, the main beneficiaries in this in the fans and drivers. Drivers are racing for more money, and fans are getting more big-money and high-profile events to attend. Hopefully both series continue to improve, and thrive for years to come, and us fans continue to see all the benefits.

Dominion Auto Body returns with Adam Leslie for 2010 racing season!
02-24-2010  
February 24th, 2009 - Port Colborne, Ontario

      Adam Leslie is pleased to announce that Dominion Auto Body has returned for another great racing season in the Niagara region. After a successful year in partnership between Adam Leslie and Dominion Auto Body, they are teaming up again to conquer the racing season ahead.  



     Dominion Auto Body is housed in a 16,000 square foot building on Montrose Road in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It is the creation of Mark and Mel Marino and their father Angelo, who established the original business in 1963. This attractive new facility is their vision of what a state-of-the-art shop should be, complete with a spectacular 20 foot long floor-to-ceiling wall of glass through which customers can see much of the shop interior. There is also a large second floor office and meeting room with a similar outlook, and a production area that's clean, bright and uncluttered.
Production is organized in a "U" configuration from drive-in appraisal through to final clean-up and detailing, which minimizes the amount of vehicle switching necessary.

     The family's long standing obsession with quality, their high energy levels and their willingness to embrace new ideas would seem to ensure that Dominion Auto Body will be maintaining customer satisfaction that been the cornerstone of their past success. Adam Leslie and team would like to welcome back Dominion Auto Body and thank them for their continued support! Visit them at www.dominionautobody.ca

- 30 -

The racing season will conclude this weekend with the first annual North East Fall Nationals, and I will take this time to make some predictions in all of the classes that will be competing this weekend.  Sprint Cars, Sportsman and Modified qualifying will fill out Saturday afternoon's schedule with the Modified 100 lapper set for Sunday afternoon with Street Stocks and Pro Stocks.  The Modifieds, Sportsman and Pro Stock events will all be Mr. DIRTcar series events.

On Saturday, roughly 30 sprint cars will fill the pits, and it will be Ricky Wilson, the former 358 Modified driver from Joyceville, Ontario picking up the win.  Wilson, certainly a fan favorite any time he visits Brockville will put on a show in front of a packed grandstand at Brockville.

The Sportsman division as always will be one of the best races of the weekend.  Its hard to pick a clear cut favorite.  Chris Raabe, 2008 BOS track champion will be back, and looking to extend his current lead in the Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman series standings, while current BOS champion Matt Billings will be looking defend his home turf.  Several other teenage drivers will be looking to make their mark, with Luke Whitteker, Shane Pecore, and Dylan Evoy all looking to pick up a big win to end the season.  We certainly can't count out the Mr. DIRTcar sportsman series touring competitiors as Ryan Susice, Justin Wright and many more will be looking to spoil the party for the hometown drivers.

The Small Block Modifieds will be qualifying only on Saturday afternoon, and it will be Mr. Small Block himself, Pete Bicknell setting fast time in time trials.  Bicknell currently sits at the top of the Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified standings.

After all is said and done of Saturday, the Kirkland family will host the Fall Fest Party, with live band, barbeque and Bon Fire.

On Sunday, it will be Todd Stewart picking up the win, finally picking up that elusive big win that he has been ever so close of capturing.  Stewart led late in the 100 lap Lucas Oil Series event at Mohawk Raceway earlier this year, and again for the Mr. DIRTcar 358 series race, he was leading late when the power steering broke.  Todd will get sweet redemtion in the final weekend of the season.

The Pro Stocks havent turned a lap in several seasons at the BOS, but it will be second generation racer Joey Ladouceur picking up the win in the MR. DIRTcar Pro Stock series race.  Ladouceur is also looking to regain the points lead over friend and fellow competitor Pete Stefanski.

The last event will be the Street Stocks.  Several cars are expected for this event, as area tracks such as Edelweiss, Can Am, Cornwall and Brighton will all take on the Brockville regulars.  I predict that it will be a BOS regular in victory lane, and that driver is reigning back to back champion Steve Billings.

There you have it, my predictions for the first annual DIRTcar Norhteast Fall Nationals.

I thought it fitting that I would squeeze an entry in on summers last few hours (just heard on the tube that summer is over at 5 18 today). Well,,, like I have said in previous blogs it has been a busy summer for the Plazek clan. Over Labor day weekend (Labour for those Canadians reading) Plazek Racing went to Walton MX Park once again for a CMRC race event. It was a two day affair that spread our teams motos over the two days. I took the old Pace Arrow up there as I crossed my fingers that it would make the trip once again. It did with flying colors (man,, over 400,000k on the old beast). It was Mike Plazek and Jeff Plazek's first events ever. I told them just to ride and not try to set no records. They listened and had a great weekend. Jeff told me at the end of the day Sunday that he had the best time of his life. How can you beat that? Wow!. Marc had the day off on Saturday and helped Mike and Jeff get accustomed to things such as getting to the starting gate on time, the starts, preparation before the motos, etc. Worked out real well. Marc raced his own machine on Sunday and had his best day ever. Trophies in both classes. Our whole Plazek Racing team ended the weekend with great results. Congrats to all the boys that attended with us. If you would like to see my photo album from the event log onto Facebook book and view may daily albums. Looking forward to next season as we are talking about breaking the tractor trailer out for certain events,,,, I will keep you posted!!

Still following the DIRT racing and seems to me that going into Syracuse there are a few favorites but Matt Shepard stands out as the one everyone will be watching. He has had prior success there in the past but this year just may be it. Lets see what happens but there is my pick. Matt is on a roll!!  Of course my old friend Billy Decker can never be over looked. He knows Syracuse. Look for a great event as if weather permits it should be wild.

My plans are to do a couple blogs through the super dirt week and then one on the end results. Lets sit back and enjoy!!

Post Knoxville

It's hard to imagine that the start of the year we had to borrow a truck and trailer and 6 days to build cars and get to Ocala for the start of the season with a non-wing driver, a crew chief named who? With only a dream to get it done no matter what. That was 7 months ago and I can now add Knoxville nationals rookie to my resume.Sometimes we just have to take a step back and look at the big picture to realize how far we've come in such a short time. I have never had as much bad luck in one season in my career. We knew it would turn around eventually and I really believe things have. We have had a really good month starting with thunder through the plains.The nationals was a great experience. Seeing all the best drivers and teams and getting to compete against them.I ended up starting 18th in the B and worked my way to 13th. I could tell my lack of laps there hurt me. I learned something new about every lap it seemed. Overall it was a good showing, we made money and didn't loose any equipment, can't complain about that...

There isn’t much to report from Friday night’s racing action as it was as good as the other two nights.  Sammy Swindell and Lynton Jeffrey were to two big winners.  

Swindell won the 20-lap non-qualifiers feature while Jeffrey captured the 20-lap World Challenge.  Swindell earned $5,000 while Jeffrey won $10,000.

The A, B and C scrambles (12 laps) were won by Donny Schatz ($7,000), Skip Jackson ($5,000) and Ryan Anderson ($3,000) respectively.  Not bad money for only 12 laps of work.

All and all a lot of money was paid out last night.

We got done with racing relatively early and with that got some much needed sleep.  

Here are the photos: Photos

Went to Mr. C’s again today for lunch and now I’ve spent most of the afternoon working on my stories and this blog from the track.  

The atmosphere here right now isn’t all that good because everyone is concerned because there is rain on the way and that is never a good thing.  They are going to try to rush the show through tonight as well because of the weather.  I hope we don’t have a repeat of Wednesday night but I don’t want to be here until next Monday waiting to race.

Alright that is it for today; tomorrow we should be on our way home.  I’ll have a full rundown from tonight’s racing at some point tomorrow or early Monday morning.

So here goes it, My first Blog.....hmmm.

This weekend was ...well Interesting for sure! First off it was beautiful for racing! Thank Goodness, finally!! I was all ready to see some great racing.......The Big Boys were in town at Daddy's house! (aka The Valley) I was.....a little excited to see them race seeing as my favorite of just over 20 years(yes it is true) was there, and I was looking forward to seeing him race, as I don't get to see him too often. The track looked great( from my point of view) and it was looking like some great racing saturday night. The track was PACKED!!!!!!!!!!! I think daddy was very pleased with the turnout. Time Trials were good, I was happy to see a Valley Regular get fast time.

The heat races were pretty awesome, there was some good racing in there!!! Especially for being 10 lap heat races!!!!

Okay now I must say I absolutely Love the fact that DIRT uses little kids for the re-draw I know when I was a kid I would have LOVED to be apart of that (heck I'd still love to be haha)....a Big thumbs up for that!!!!!

Although the fast time-r drew 12th...ouch!
But I was happy to see Brett didn't draw the pole!!!

Even though Shepward started on the pole, there was some great racing going on....two and three wide battles through-out the field made it very exciting, and the Wild Child(bachetti) made a late race charge, I thought he was going to get him, esp when Matt's brakes were blowing apart on the last lap.....AMAZING!!!!!

For those of you who still think the amtrak stops at LV you are WRONG!!!! I'm telling you, this year has been by far some of the best racing I've seen in a while!!!!! If you count this weekend there has been 7 different winners!!!! Unlike some other tracks around here(remain nameless) Get your butts to lV and check it out!!!!!!!!!!

as for the rest of the night......I was kind of embarassed that DIRT was in town and out regulars were making FOOLS out of themselves( I'm talking about the prostock race) Now the prostocks have been putting on some awesome shows so far this year, but the incident in turn two that errupted into something, that was down right embarassing!! The driver whose crew went out onto the track....into another pit, and then on the track AGAIN should be gone!!!! No questions asked! Absolutely uncalled for and absolutely rediculous!!!!!!!   Lebanon supposedly has a no tolerance rule for this kind thing, I'm interested in seeing if it's followed thru with or not.

The other classes of the night ran smoothly and some good racing was put on.

All in all a great weekend at The Races for Valleybabe.......

It is hard to believe that we have just completed Memorial Day Weekend 2009, it seems like it was yesterday that we were mingling through the annual car shows. I guess it is true, time flies when you’re having fun.

My weekend was full of racing – Friday it was off to the Albany-Saratoga Speedway to see Brett Hearn continue his winning ways. Regardless of his dominance, the Malta field is still stout and can hold their own against any other Friday night field. When you have Hearn, Ronnie and Jack Johnson, Matt Delorenzo, Dave Camara, Todd Stone, Jeff Trombley, Kenny Tremont, Keith Flach and Mike Perrotte in the pit area on a weekly basis there are not many other Friday night tracks that can hold up. In my opinion only Big Diamond comes close.

Also on Friday VERSUS covered the Indy Lights race at Indy. It was a great race, exciting side by side racing was the norm. A far cry from what we would witness on Sunday. There will be more on the Indy 500 later in this article.

Saturday means one thing – Fonda! The Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints were on hand with 30 cars. It was another great show at the Track of Champions. Congratulations to Bobby Varin on the Modified win. If the feature were five laps longer Matt Delorenzo would have been in victory lane. He was clearly the fastest car on the track in the late stages of the 30 lap feature – he just ran out of time. Also, a great save by Varin earlier in the race when Elmo Reckner got into Tony Pepicelli, causing a hard wreck. Varin was involved, riding over the front end of either Reckner or Pepicelli’s car – I could not tell which drivers front end it was. Also, it was nice to see Ivan Joslin collect career win number one in the Pro Stock feature event. Joslin and Chuck Dumblewski waged a torrid battle for most of the 20 lap distance.

On Sunday it was time for a road trip. I gathered a couple of friends and we made the trek north to Vermont and the Thunder Road Speedbowl for their annual Memorial Day Classic featuring the ACT Late Model Series and the True Value Modified Series. I will have a full report on this event at some point this week, which will be posted right here in this blog. The place was packed…well, that was a severe understatement. I have never seen that many people at a short track race in my 30 years on this planet – excluding Syracuse of course. In fact, my buddy who went along on this trip had attended the Williams Grove WoO show last weekend and said the Thunder Road crowd made the Williams Grove crowd look small!

I will admit it, I am a big Indy Car fan but they need some help. The constant Danica Patrick nonsense has to stop. She is severely overrated and has yet to prove she belongs in the IRL. Let’s face it, if her name was Dan Patrick (not the ESPN talking head) she (he) would still be racing karts. I will give her credit for the third place finish however when she started her whining, I was just hoping Sarah Fisher (a real racer who earned her way there) would walk over and literally shut her up.  

Also, I am so sick of hearing how poor, media savvy Helio Castroneves is a victim, who has overcome such terrible odds…blah, blah, blah. Victims are not self inflicted, a real victim is innocent like those that lost their lives on September 11th, 2001 at the hands of cowards – no matter what the liberal, anti Americans in Washington think. Here is some helpful advice to Helio, his sister (whose coverage of was about as nauseating as Danica’s) and everyone else involved…be sure to pay your taxes on all of that money you won this weekend.

Is it just me or does Marco Andretti have that smug look you just want to wipe off his face? Growing up I was a fan of Mario Andretti and to an extent Michael, yet can’t stand Marco. He is another clear case of not earning what he has, getting everything from daddy.

On the flip side, I am a fan of Graham Rahal. Growing up I couldn’t stand his father yet am a fan of Graham. Partly because he doesn’t give off that attitude of entitlement, the fact that he doesn’t drive for his father is also a serious plus.

I will have more on the IRL and the Indy 500 in a future blog.

Also, a big high five to David Reuttiman on his World…sorry, I mean Coke 600 win. Good to see a former northeast Dirt Modified racer win a major NASCAR race.

Dad comes home from the hospital Thursday morning to continue his recovery from a massive stroke he suffered on March 17th. I'd like to start by thanking the dozens of people who sent well wishes and helped the family through a difficult time. Mom is nervously excited about his return home.

There is still a great deal of recovering to do. While dad is able to walk with help from a walker a wheelchair will likely be needed for the foreseeable future. What struck me the most through the ordeal was the power of optimism and positive thinking. From a dire prognosis to days spent in a windowless ER room dad stayed strong and enthusiastic.

While it is difficult to define enthusiasm in someone who couldn't speak it was clear by the way he'd grasp our hands that he was ready to fight. The first week or two was tough. Swallowing was difficult and speaking was almost impossible for dad, but his trademark smile gave us more than enough courage to help him fight.

Another lesson I learned over the last two months is that regardless of the circumstances life carries on. While my family was in turmoil the bills kept coming, the kids still had to go to school, and problems would arise that needed to be faced. Normally I'd lean on dad for advice or even a cash bailout on occasion. Fortunately I had 33 years of fatherly wisdom, sarcasm, and sattire to lean on, and I did learn just how much he's shaped the person I am.

Mom and dad met at Oswego Speedway in the  late 60s, and I was brought up around racing people my entire life. People were always the most important thing to our family as we've always been wonderfully close to our friends and family.

I noticed recently that many of us have lost perspective of what we're doing. If you're reading this blog you're a die hard racing enthusiast. We may not agree on every aspect of motorsports, but at the end of the day we're part of the racing family - and family members shouldn't treat each other the way we have been.

The bigger picture is simple. Those of us who care enough about our passion to be here in the first place need to find common ground and show the optimism and strength to improve the racing community. Fighting amongst ourselves seems pointless, so I have some suggestions.

When we participate in public debates let's consider the fact that nobody is in the racing business to destroy racing. The people we complain about likely have a great investment both financially and emotionally to our great sport, and they should be entitled to their opinion.

Let's remember that somebody had to take us to our first race. If you have a neighbour or a family member who hasn't been introduced to racing why not treat them to a night out at your local speedway. Not everyone is cut out to be a racing fan, but without going to their first race they'll never have a chance.

And finally let's remember that settling personal scores rarely evens the score. Keeping personal baggage out of discussions is a great way to keep discussions from getting out of hand.

As long as there is optimism and enthusiasm in racing we'll continue to have common ground. Let's band together and celebrate our sport rather than focusing on negative things out of our control.

Well its been something like 10 days now since Florida Speedweeks have opened and I still hate the fact that I can't be down there having fun. However, at least I have the Quick Results section of the forum and audio feed from DirtVision. Heck the one night I had dirtvision streaming on one computer and dirtnation streaming on another. Dirtnation was steaming the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events from East Bay.

I do have to say that this year Dirt Track Digest has been more prepared than any other year as far as Florida Speedweeks. With Adam doing live results, George, GT and Nathan doing photos and Bob and Clint doing video and myself at home behind the computer, we have ad all the info up faster than any other racing website. Believe I check when I am done doing the updates. The only one that even remotely comes close to us is dirt on dirt. But we are still faster than they are and you have to pay to view that site. If I am paying for anything they better have me te results before the race is done. hahahaha

But as far as the others are concerned we are ahead of them by far. On most nights our updates are completed within 5 minutes of the race ending and on the one night the frontpage was fully updated 2 minutes after the races. This is something I am very proud of and take great pride in.

I want to commend our whole team down in Florida for all the hard work. Great Job Fellas

Now on to the Loyal DTD Dirties - Man.......Night #1 of the Modifieds. Over 100 viewers at one time checking out the live results and that particular page had over 4700 hits by race end. That is amazing. Those are the kinda #'s we like to see. Knowing we have the viewers and the dedicated people that want to read what we have done makes the work and hard effort well worth the while. THANX GUYS

Hey All-a-Yall nothing really to report today as we....well did nothing yesterday. It was way to cold to even go outside. It is crazy how cold it got yesterday feel like i am back home balls deep in snow! Anyways just thought I would put a little something. Look for something new coming from me. Trying to work something out that if it works will be kick ass. So talk with yall later.