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October 22, 1998 Jane Smith
Witches, Warlocks, Ghosts and Goblins
Instead of fireworks in the sky, like the Pepsi 400 had last weekend, soon we will have witches, warlocks, ghosts and goblins. We may even have a tiny Jeff
Gordon or two, you never know but what I do know for sure, we will have some of the "best of the best" Late Model stock car drivers in the state. Why ? Because the Governor's Cup 200 Lap Late Model race is coming up next weekend on Halloween night.
Seeing all the NASCAR drivers last weekend was great but it is near to impossible to even get close to one. They don't even introduce them close enough to the crowd for you to tell what they look like. But you can be sure when they introduce our "best" that you will be able to see their faces and possibly get one of their racing cards or shake their hand. They are most
definitely NOT untouchable.
I have heard it asked in the last few weeks, "What makes this Late Model race different from any Late Model race at New Smyrna Speedway?" Yes, some of the regular drivers will be in the race but as for myself, I have always considered them to be part of our "BEST". David Rogers, Pete Orr, David Russell, B. J. McLeod, Bruce Lawrence, Jack Cook, Jacob Warren, Bobby McClelland don't need any help with building their driving abilities. And these guys don't just race at New Smyrna Speedway but all different tracks and races. Remember, Pete Orr was in Busch Grand National, David Russell and Pete Orr drive Florida Pro now, and David Rogers drove Hooters Cup with Dick Anderson, Bobby Gill, Bill Bigley just to name a few before Hooters Cup became Hooters All Pro. They are just a sample of who will enter this race. To say it is the "same old, same old" would be rather silly.
Maybe for those of you who believe like some that this is nothing big should look at the list of previous winners of the Governor's Cup. Several NASCAR drivers have participated in this race and they did not think at the time that it was the "same old, same old". You might be surprised to see who was there. And you just may be surprised again this year to see "who is there".
Halloween has always been special to me as a child and now to my children. It was and is a time to get dressed up and go around the block with your friends getting all the candy you could get. My grandmother always had a big party at her house and that was "THE" place to go. Well, this Halloween night, New Smyrna Speedway and the Governor's Cup is "THE" place to go. There will be candy for the kids and maybe some surprises and race car drivers that are touchable. And yes kids (and adults) wear your Halloween "best".
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October 13, 1998 Jane Smith
CELEBRATE
It seems like only yesterday that some of us watched the colorful parade of NASCAR Winston Cup haulers come into Daytona. It was to be a silver lining to the dark, smokey cloud that we had over us. But the cloud grew even darker and covered the once clear, clean air that surrounded the Daytona International track with a dark, smokey non-racable air. So many homes and lives in danger, so many roads closed that the haulers left when Mr. France rightfully postponed the race to this weekend. Instead, Daytona International
became a second home to many firefighters and the food that was to feed the hungry at the race became the food for the tired, hungry and very hard working firefighters.
Now it is a little over three months since our state was in flames and once
again, we wait for those haulers. This time we have no fires, this time maybe
we will get to see those bright, colorful and sleak cars glide around Daytona
International at high speeds under the newly installed lights. Each driver
wanting to win, racing his heart out and only one coming to the Winner's
Circle. After last weekend's race at Talladega, I would not even try to call
the winner of the Pepsi 400. By what I saw, it will be a surprise hopefully.
A lot of people have complained that Winston Cup racing is boring today, too predictable. No more racing three and four wide and the same old, same old winners every time. But last weekend at Talledega changed that, you not only saw three and four wide but drivers that never seem to get up there, getting up there. So many lead changes that you really could not tell for sure who was going to win. And the last lap, was one change after another. Not predictable, not boring and thank goodness hopefully not too hurt for Ernie.
My heart will always belong to our local racing because we are the foundation for all racing. But I will say those big haulers and what they have inside them still get to me. I still feel joy for the winner and sadness and pain for anyone who is hurt. More than one tear was shed for Ernie last weekend and until I see that he is okay, more may come.
Yes, this is a special week not only because we have the Pepsi 400 to look
forward to but because we the people of Central Florida are due a celebration of life for surviving a terrible time in our state. We took our
disappointment in the postponement of the race and used our resources to help each other in a time when we needed each other the most. And the racing community of Daytona International, no matter what people said of the last minute decision to postpone, did their part too. We survived, we are still
here and soon we will have that parade of haulers once again. CELEBRATE, HAVE FUN, ENJOY THIS LIFE AND RACE ON
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October 9, 1998 Jane Smith
Racing Blues
Lately, I have done a lot of research on stock car racing and just sports in general. I can tell you that there are alot of fans for both and all the fans have one thing in common "Tickets costing too much for the average person". Not only did I hear that with Winston Cup tickets but also our local tracks. Now some tracks are cheaper than others, which those are truly lucky fans, but most cost a little more than the average person puts aside for fun each week.
Then on the other side of the coin is the racer who races with little or no
sponsors and when and if he wins, all his winnings go directly back into his
car. That is the only way he can manage to keep racing. But what happens
when you lose too much and you tear your car completely up and have no
sponsor, YOU STOP RACING.
Last Saturday at Volusia Speedway Park, I talked to a very nice lady whose
husband raced Goody's Dash. And she told me something very surprising, that their purses are really bad and that normally even when they win, they did not win enough to even pay for their trip to that track. Now Goody's Dash is part of NASCAR and you would think that NASCAR would take better care of their people, but they don't.
It really makes no difference whether you race locally or in a touring series,
you have got to love racing to do racing. You give up a lot to be a touring
racer and you must be willing to do that. And even us local racers, we
sacrifice also. Even when our whole family helps with the car, we lose some precious time somewhere. It may be with parents that don't get involved or friends that don't like racing but we do lose.
I would never give up racing or what I do right now for racing but I admit
that we need to work together and help each other. Somehow, someway there has to be a common ground for racers, fans, track owners and future racers and fans. My only hope is that maybe someday, sometime those big team owners and track owners will realize that once in their lives, before they really had money, they too were an average person with so much money. Maybe they should all take a lesson from Garth Brooks who refuses to sell his concert tickets for higher prices because he loves his fans and he wants to be fair to the people who support him. He knows who butters his bread.
-Jane
