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 November 1, 1998                                                                   Jane Smith

            What is Better Than Racing? - A Perfect Shuttle Launch
As Floridians, we all have a lot in common. Not only do we have racing in common at this site but we have a place in Florida called Kennedy Space Center and today, history was made there. Today, the President and his wife watched the same shuttle that we did on a perfect Florida afternoon. Six people went up on that shuttle which included one woman and one very special 77 year old man. A man I can remember being on a black and white tv show with a kid named Eddie Hodges who later became a star in a few movies.

John Glenn did a very good thing for what we call "senior" citizens. He
proved you are NEVER too old. To me, Dave Marcis, Dick Trickle, and a few
drivers from my local track, constantly make this statement also. You are
never "too" old until you can't lift that leg and get into your race car. I
had an 80 year old driver prove this to me once as he raced for the first time
in 10 years. He missed it so much that he bought himself another car and he
went racing and he is still racing. He is a good driver and although he has
never won a race in the last year, he has been in the top five. He does not
endanger any of his fellow drivers and they have the greatest respect for him.
All I can really say about today is, "thank you John Glenn for showing the
world just how much we have to offer in the twilight years of our lives". We
never have to become useless in life, we only think that after a certain age
we are. You showed us differently. Go for the stars John Glenn and go for
the win all you "twilight" racers. You have a lot of life still yet to come.

                      _____________________________________

November 10, 1998                                                           Jane Smith

                                       THERE IS NOTHING BETTER

What are your favorite things at the race track? Why do you go to the races?
These are some questions that have been asked alot lately. And depending on whether you are a fan or a racer, each answer can be different.
Why do I go to the races and sometimes suffer thru blue toes, numb fingers and a cold bottom? I guess for the same reasons that those Atlanta fans stuck it out all day Sunday in rain.
 Whether it is to see your favorite driver or just to smell the sweet smells of the track and the roar of the engines, only you can say. But for me, it is to be with my weekend family and enjoy that kinship that we share at the track.
Racing may be a waste of money to some but if you have to waste money and we all do, you might as well waste it on something you love doing. And you have to love local racing to do local racing.

You really don't make money at it and more than likely at the end of the year, you are in the hole but you don't really mind. Because you need those 15, 25, 50 laps of track-time to feel alive, to spread your wings and fly.
Some say Winston Cup is the best but I don't. Winston Cup is a team that is
hired based on their talents to take care of your car. They do all the work
from the ground up unless you are Dave Marcis then you do all the work from
the ground up. In letting Winston Cup grow larger, we lost alot of qualities
that should not have been forgotten. When you win a race and you are the one
who put that car together and made it run, nothing could be sweeter. Just
winning isn't enough, knowing that you do it yourself is a special feeling.
NASCAR is okay but local track will always be better. Only there, do you know
that you are really the best you can be because you do it yourself. With your
family by your side and your friends, you take a bow before your fans for a
job well done. And nothing can be better than that feeling.

                ____________________________________________

   November 1998          The Making of a Champion              Jane Smith

 This weekend was a very special weekend for a lot of Florida Stock Car Racers. It was the weekend that decided the Points Championship for the SARA
Modifieds, a series I follow regularly. I discovered this series by accident about three years ago in Lakeland, Florida at USA International. We had gone for our very first Hooters Cup Race, this was before it became Hooters AllPro.

I was finally going to see the great Dick Anderson, Billy Bigley, Freddie Querry, a kid named Matt Kenseth, Rich Bickle, and Mike Garvey. I was overjoyed and thrilled and this was my very first super track. We got a motel room since we lived a little too far away to drive home that night and went to the race track.

The first night was qualifying for the Hooter Cup cars and a SARA Modified race. I did recognize some of the drivers in that race since a few had raced at my local track so I quickly found a "hometown" driver to cheer for. And my daughter took a shine to a kid who was 16 and just out of go-karts in a sleek black and purple modified with the number #74. When he was introduced, we found out his name was Barry Willoughby and he was from Port St. Lucie, Florida.

The race started and the kid took off, doing better and better each lap but in
about the 15 lap or so of the race, he hit the wall. My daughter breathless
and biting her nails, waited for the young driver to wave his hand at the
crowd that he was fine. And so he did and so began our long journey with the
SARA Modifieds.

Over the years, we had seen Barry race with the SARA Modifieds, the Dick
Joslin l00 Lap race and the Ed Meridith l00 Lap race. After awhile we though
maybe we brought him bad luck since we never saw him finish a race in those
years. Each time we were there, he would have engine problems, hit the wall,
something but never finish.

Then about six months ago, everything turned around for us. Barry began
finishing races even placing sometimes in the top five. We were thrilled and
we told him how very proud we were to call him friend. With his mom and dad
by him, he worked very hard to win his first race and he did but we were not
there. It was not until he won at New Smyrna Speedway about 2 months ago, did
we see him win. And just like a bunch of women, I cried, my daughter cried
and so did Barry's mom. This was that 16 year old boy years ago that hit the
wall, now a man and a very nice one.

Well, Barry worked his way up to second in points in the SARA MODIFIED
division. Just 11 points were the difference between first and second and
with his win last Friday night, Barry edged himself 34 points ahead of the
previous points leader. We proudly wore our #74 Racing team shirts and let
everyone know this was our guy.

With Grandpa Willoughby watching over Barry from heaven and guiding his sleek
car, Barry won this year's SARA MODIFIED championship. With a borrowed axle
from the winner of the race, Barry held on to win his first of hopefully many
Championships. And all I can say to this young man is how proud we are of you
and the man you have turned into. You never once disappointed us nor made us
ashamed to call you friend. Thank you for letting two fans into your family.

        ________________________________________________

November 22, 1998                                                     By Jane Smith

                       Not All Winners Are Cheaters
Jeff Gordon and his team were accused of cheating with tires this year which turned out to be completely false. It was just his year to shine and win. People wanted to think that he did cheat, that would make his winning all the time easier to take. But not all winners cheat although I know there must be some but now I know how Jeff Gordon and his team must have felt.
We also get repeat winners at our local tracks. Week after week the same driver will win and the first thing everyone thinks - HE IS CHEATING. I admit that there are some that do and they do it in a way that no one can really tell unless the whole engine is torn down. But the majority of the drivers and teams do not cheat. Cheating is not winning but cheating makes us all look bad.

Recently a very good friend who does win a lot was accused of cheating. He was told by someone at the track that no one really liked him because he cheated. But the truth was that he had a 403 Oldsmobile engine which was in the car when he got it and he has never done anything to that engine.

 But a 403 engine will outrun a 305 or 350 most of the time and when he does, he is accused of cheating. The rules state that you must have the size engine that the car originally came with and that is what this car came with - no cheating on that part.

Winners are not always cheaters. But I guess it makes a driver feel better about losing to think that he was beat by a cheater. Some drivers and teams just know how to set up their cars better and how to get the most power out of their engines. They know which rear-end works the best, what tire pressure works, etc.

 We all get tired of seeing the same old winners all the time. But if you have a car that just does everything right at the right time, don't always think that this car is illegal. Time after time I have seen cars torn down to see if they cheat and the majority of the time, they are found to be perfectly legal. They just had all their ducks in a row and won.

When my friend was told how people felt about him and his car, it really hurt. And those of us that really know him and the car, know he does not cheat. He just has a bigger engine than we do. Sure everyone wants to win and the odds are, sooner or later you will win that race but cheating is not how you want to win. Cheaters never really win and most winners are not cheaters.

                    Memories of 1998

The year is almost over and we are facing l999.  Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, opens the door for the holiday season and alot of last minute things to do.
For some of us, we are still racing.  For others, racing season is over and we are working hard on a new car for next season.  But no matter whether you are a racer, pit crew member or fan, you have good and bad things to always remember in 1998.  Since we are one big family when it comes to racing, I hope you will share with me your many blessings in 1998.  Maybe you finally won your first race, or maybe you got to meet that driver you have always admired, maybe you got to see a race that you had always wanted to see. 

For me and my family, we had many firsts in 1998.  After two years of racing, we finally won a race at both the tracks that we call our home tracks.  My
daughter who has struggled for a year to race and never finished a race, got to finish her first race and win a trophy.  A dream come true for her and my
husband.   And for me, I met some wonderful people, one being Jack Smith, the web-master of this web-site.

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