Racin’ with Roxy


 There are some racing things on my mind that I want to share with you.  Some you will agree with, others you may not.  Here we go.

 

          This past Saturday night, my group traveled over to the Champion Park Speedway near Minden.  It was the middle race of a 3 race SUPR weekend so there were over two dozen excellent late models in the pits.  But before we talk good racing, let’s talk good people.  Roger and Annette Walker opened up their Speedway to the Cummings’ family for an ALS fundraiser.  As some of you know, my buddy Rusty Cummings has been diagnosed with ALS and his daughter Dana wanted to do a fundraiser and awareness event about this dreaded disease.  The Walker’s provided tent space at the ticket entrance, outfitted their crew in B1 – ALS tee shirts, and allowed on track drawings for raffles.  It was a huge success and a big thanks goes to Roger and Annette and the Cummings’ family. 

 

          ON to the racing.  I have seen thousands of races but I don’t remember seeing one better than the SUPR feature Saturday.  It was side-by-side between four cars for 40 laps  and no one touched.  It was interrupted by only two yellows. The race, and the racetrack, was blazing fast.  Young Morgan Bagley took the win and added to his SUPR points champion lead AND his lead in the Rookie-of-the-Year award.  This young man has quite the future…and one proud dad. 

 

          Racing on television is good but you need to go to your local tracks.  That is where every star starts.  Without a good local base, there won’t be any stars on television or at Texas Motor Speedway.  The Shreveport/Bossier area is surrounded by local dirt tracks and you owe it to yourself to visit one this weekend.  I know it’s a little hot, but so is the competition between these weekend warriors.  You won’t regret it.

 

          And  speaking of racing on television – I DVR’ed the NASCAR race from Daytona Saturday night and watched it when I got home.  Goodness me!  That is some strange racing there.  The drivers have switches on their dash that connect them by radio to other drivers.  Not just drivers on their teams, but ANY driver.  Some have as many as two dozen other driver’s frequencies available to them for communication during the race.  This way they can hook up in the two car packs and race (?).  To me, this is not racing.  I believe a driver’s job is to beat every driver on the track.  If you end up as a “pusher”, your job is push the “pushee” across the finish line.  Matt Kenseth said as much in his post race interview.  He said that finishing second to David Ragan was akin to winning because he caused it. 

 

          I disagree with this mindset and think NASCAR has to do something to the cars to make this racing by pairs obsolete. Drivers should not be able to communicate and their skill should take them to the winner’s circle, not someone else’s front bumper. 

 

          Thanks for your time and if you agree or disagree, let me know.