Thunder Mountain
I've always looked forward to
our dates at Thunder
Mountain, just something
about the track that brings out
the best in the B29 and my
driving. Plenty of room,
sweeping corners, for a 1/4
miler it drives much faster,
always liked the place. As most
racers do, we watched the
weather forecast during the
week and it looked like it has
for all our events - the
possibility of rain. Friday
afternoon after work I'm
walking the dogs and see that
'Old Hickory' has come down
on my neighbors shop, bad
deal. Chris had the back
section re-roofed just a year
before and shingles don't
appreciate 160 year old trees
falling on them, similar
damage to what my home
experienced a few years back.
They were hard at it though
and the cleanup was well in
hand, nearly completed by
Saturday morn.
With a 50% chance of
scattered thunderstorms and
heaviness in the air I sweated
over the B29 prepping for the
evening. Repair a tire and
mount it, check fluids, charge
the battery, grease, get fuel,
load the tools, grab a shower
and off I go. I'll take 50% odds
anyday and the sweat did me
some good. Looks like rain - a
song popped into my mind -
'by now it's raining under the
hood and I knew that was
doing my motor good' - I'll
spare you my singing. Quick
ride up tot he mountain, Larry
and Howdy Witter greet me at
the gate and we sign in. In the
pits our group congregates
and the smiles and good talk
commence. It's a small, tight
knit group, we're all talking of
future projects and plans,
most of it surrounds hot rod
plans for next year and yes -
we're all going to put numbers
on our cars. You just can't
take the race out of a fellow.
Teh modified midgets are here
tonite, those cars are ultra
light and quick, pretty neat.
The call comes for warmups as
Sue Lowe is organizing our
event, it's gotten to where I
need to do little as everyone
works on cue like a well oiled
machine. Warmups are fun as
always, the track is a bit
choppy but the B29 follows it
like on rails, no need for the
brake pedal tonite. Back in the
pits and Dad has trouble. "Not
much oil pressure", how'd it
run? "Not worth a #@$%!" Oil
is out the breather, this thing
is building crankcase
pressure. Joe Buchek stops
by, "I think it's trying to tell
you something" he relates. It is
and it's done for the night.
That old engine ran in the 'X-
Car' that's now in the DIRT
HOF, it's paid it's dues and
needs some attention. We're
down a car. "Well, it certainly
doesn't owe us anything" Dad
relates, "Wanna drive mine?" I
ask. He begs off and decides
it'd be better to watch.
Jim Florence has his #67
behind the grandstand
greeting fans and passing out
flyers for the upcoming CNY
HOF event, Jim Chase gets
some air time on the mike to
let people know of the event.
Member Larry Witter is being
recognized this year and tells
us "I consider it an honor to
have my name up there with
those other guys" and wonders
if he deserves it. Typical Larry,
he deserves it all right and
won more than his share at
Midstate. The tinkering and
bs'ing continues until we're
called to line up for the heat,
here we go.
Gary Wood brings us to the
green but Tom Witter grabs
the early lead headed into
turn one. We're all hot on him
though and it's a close pack
through the first lap. I try the
high side which is my
preferred groove here but it's
too choppy tonight and I'm
loosing time so right to the
bottom which is smooth as
glass. JIm Chase is up to
second, Gary third, Howdy
slips by for fourth on lap 2.
Now it's a patience game, wait
for a slip and jump on it,
works well and I'm up to
second on lap three. My fellow
members are finding what I
found by trying the high side
and drop in behind. Tom's #9
leads through lap 4 but get's a
little high entering turn three,
I'm skimming the yule tires
and slip under him on the
white flag lap. The checkers
falls way to soon, I haven't
even checked the gauges yet
and it's over. Final: B29, Tom
Witter, Jim Chase, Howdy
Witter and Gary Wood.
Into the pits and I'm following
a stream of oil, who's laying it
down? It's Howdy in the #4, he
get's it shut down and we're all
over looking at it. No rods
hanging out, still has oil
pressure but not much oil left.
Larry investigates but is
worried sick, these old GMC's
are hard to come by and this is
a good one. The culprit turns
out to be a hole in the oil
filter, I'll bet Larry has a rock
guard over that for the next
race. I lost an oil drain plug
once, cost me some time and
$$ to fix it, it'll never happen
again as it's now pinned in
place. Larry adds oil as we
scour the pits for a filter
wrench. Many thanks to the
crew of #6 Sportsman Modified
driver Mike Dimorier for
lending us the wrench, we
appreciate it. It's a community
fix as everyone in the club is
fretting over Larry's engine,
(they all helped push the 43A
on the trailer too). Oil's in and
Howdy fires it, 60 lbs. - whew!
That's good and we're ready for
our feature event. Joe Buchek
has returned - "Hey, you got a
helmet? I just fired my driver
and need to make a lap." He
waved off the gloves, what a
character.
'I see a bad moon arising' -
(with apologies to CCR) but
there was no denying it. Larry
pointed to it - 'oh brother!' Full
moon, hog muggy day, fast
cars and aggressive young
men, this could be interesting.
The sportsman feature is on
the track, we're strapped in,
waiting. I see my fellow
members in their cars, tapping
their hands, fidgeting, I'm
ready to fall asleep. I should
just get in here when I can't
sleep. Even with my helmet on
I can hear the crowd roaring,
there's an inordinate amount
of yellows, one crashed car
tries to re-enter the track and
is stopped by the second turn
flagger. An angry crew
member voices his displeasure
at the call, something is really
going on here, it's either a
great race or a big breauhaha
and we can only guess from
our vantage point. Finally, it's
over and I'm ready at the
switch - then the
announcement comes - the
remainder of the nights races
are postponed and would the
Midstate representative please
come to the pitshack. Well, I'm
not happy at this development,
we all wanted to race and
we're on line. I've been rained
out in this position but never
cancelled. Fire up the B29 and
drive to the pitshack. Head
Flagger Brandon Clapperton
has his hands full with angry
people. Larry Witer and Dad
are coming from the stands
and tell me there were fights
there as well as in the pits, it
was out of control apparently
and the reason for cancelling
the rest of the evening. "Blame
it on the moon" Larry says.
Brandon relates, "We really
like you guys and your show,
we're sorry but we can't
continue tonight, we hope we
can re-schedule you." I can tell
by the pained look in his eyes
that he's sincere and that this
was the right move under the
circumstances. Load it up. As
I'm strapping it down a young
lady racer comes up and
relates how promoter Dick
Stark wants to re-schedule us,
she says 'we didn't get to race
either and I had pole position',
her disappointment is evident.
Too bad for all, I don't know
what happened but it
shouldn't have and I do believe
that the right call was made. I
asked Dad - 'Did it remind you
of Brookfiled and Morris?'
"yeah kinda". You can't take
the race out of the boy. We'd
like to thank Dick Stark and
all the staff at Thunder
Mountain, we had a good time
and as always look forward to a
return.
Slobber flies as three smiling
faces greet my return from the
races, great to see my boys.
Sunday morn and Dad calls,
we've got some bearing to
replace, could have been
worse. At least we have
something to work with and
that's how I look at this nights
event, it may not have come off
like we would have liked but
that's life, things don't always
go as planned. And you pick
up what you have left and
work with it. Still, a unfulfilled
night at the races beats any
day at work and I'm thankful
we had it.
One last note: We'd like to
wish Suicide Al Sanders all
the best in his recovery from
back surgery. Hope to see you
at the CNY HOF event in
Septemeber Al. This week is
the Otsego County Fair in
Morris NY, the site of Midstate
Speedway. On Tuesday night
the cars will take to the track
again, albeit in a parade but
it's thrilling just the same.
Hope to see you there.
I've always looked forward to
our dates at Thunder
Mountain, just something
about the track that brings out
the best in the B29 and my
driving. Plenty of room,
sweeping corners, for a 1/4
miler it drives much faster,
always liked the place. As most
racers do, we watched the
weather forecast during the
week and it looked like it has
for all our events - the
possibility of rain. Friday
afternoon after work I'm
walking the dogs and see that
'Old Hickory' has come down
on my neighbors shop, bad
deal. Chris had the back
section re-roofed just a year
before and shingles don't
appreciate 160 year old trees
falling on them, similar
damage to what my home
experienced a few years back.
They were hard at it though
and the cleanup was well in
hand, nearly completed by
Saturday morn.
With a 50% chance of
scattered thunderstorms and
heaviness in the air I sweated
over the B29 prepping for the
evening. Repair a tire and
mount it, check fluids, charge
the battery, grease, get fuel,
load the tools, grab a shower
and off I go. I'll take 50% odds
anyday and the sweat did me
some good. Looks like rain - a
song popped into my mind -
'by now it's raining under the
hood and I knew that was
doing my motor good' - I'll
spare you my singing. Quick
ride up tot he mountain, Larry
and Howdy Witter greet me at
the gate and we sign in. In the
pits our group congregates
and the smiles and good talk
commence. It's a small, tight
knit group, we're all talking of
future projects and plans,
most of it surrounds hot rod
plans for next year and yes -
we're all going to put numbers
on our cars. You just can't
take the race out of a fellow.
Teh modified midgets are here
tonite, those cars are ultra
light and quick, pretty neat.
The call comes for warmups as
Sue Lowe is organizing our
event, it's gotten to where I
need to do little as everyone
works on cue like a well oiled
machine. Warmups are fun as
always, the track is a bit
choppy but the B29 follows it
like on rails, no need for the
brake pedal tonite. Back in the
pits and Dad has trouble. "Not
much oil pressure", how'd it
run? "Not worth a #@$%!" Oil
is out the breather, this thing
is building crankcase
pressure. Joe Buchek stops
by, "I think it's trying to tell
you something" he relates. It is
and it's done for the night.
That old engine ran in the 'X-
Car' that's now in the DIRT
HOF, it's paid it's dues and
needs some attention. We're
down a car. "Well, it certainly
doesn't owe us anything" Dad
relates, "Wanna drive mine?" I
ask. He begs off and decides
it'd be better to watch.
Jim Florence has his #67
behind the grandstand
greeting fans and passing out
flyers for the upcoming CNY
HOF event, Jim Chase gets
some air time on the mike to
let people know of the event.
Member Larry Witter is being
recognized this year and tells
us "I consider it an honor to
have my name up there with
those other guys" and wonders
if he deserves it. Typical Larry,
he deserves it all right and
won more than his share at
Midstate. The tinkering and
bs'ing continues until we're
called to line up for the heat,
here we go.
Gary Wood brings us to the
green but Tom Witter grabs
the early lead headed into
turn one. We're all hot on him
though and it's a close pack
through the first lap. I try the
high side which is my
preferred groove here but it's
too choppy tonight and I'm
loosing time so right to the
bottom which is smooth as
glass. JIm Chase is up to
second, Gary third, Howdy
slips by for fourth on lap 2.
Now it's a patience game, wait
for a slip and jump on it,
works well and I'm up to
second on lap three. My fellow
members are finding what I
found by trying the high side
and drop in behind. Tom's #9
leads through lap 4 but get's a
little high entering turn three,
I'm skimming the yule tires
and slip under him on the
white flag lap. The checkers
falls way to soon, I haven't
even checked the gauges yet
and it's over. Final: B29, Tom
Witter, Jim Chase, Howdy
Witter and Gary Wood.
Into the pits and I'm following
a stream of oil, who's laying it
down? It's Howdy in the #4, he
get's it shut down and we're all
over looking at it. No rods
hanging out, still has oil
pressure but not much oil left.
Larry investigates but is
worried sick, these old GMC's
are hard to come by and this is
a good one. The culprit turns
out to be a hole in the oil
filter, I'll bet Larry has a rock
guard over that for the next
race. I lost an oil drain plug
once, cost me some time and
$$ to fix it, it'll never happen
again as it's now pinned in
place. Larry adds oil as we
scour the pits for a filter
wrench. Many thanks to the
crew of #6 Sportsman Modified
driver Mike Dimorier for
lending us the wrench, we
appreciate it. It's a community
fix as everyone in the club is
fretting over Larry's engine,
(they all helped push the 43A
on the trailer too). Oil's in and
Howdy fires it, 60 lbs. - whew!
That's good and we're ready for
our feature event. Joe Buchek
has returned - "Hey, you got a
helmet? I just fired my driver
and need to make a lap." He
waved off the gloves, what a
character.
'I see a bad moon arising' -
(with apologies to CCR) but
there was no denying it. Larry
pointed to it - 'oh brother!' Full
moon, hog muggy day, fast
cars and aggressive young
men, this could be interesting.
The sportsman feature is on
the track, we're strapped in,
waiting. I see my fellow
members in their cars, tapping
their hands, fidgeting, I'm
ready to fall asleep. I should
just get in here when I can't
sleep. Even with my helmet on
I can hear the crowd roaring,
there's an inordinate amount
of yellows, one crashed car
tries to re-enter the track and
is stopped by the second turn
flagger. An angry crew
member voices his displeasure
at the call, something is really
going on here, it's either a
great race or a big breauhaha
and we can only guess from
our vantage point. Finally, it's
over and I'm ready at the
switch - then the
announcement comes - the
remainder of the nights races
are postponed and would the
Midstate representative please
come to the pitshack. Well, I'm
not happy at this development,
we all wanted to race and
we're on line. I've been rained
out in this position but never
cancelled. Fire up the B29 and
drive to the pitshack. Head
Flagger Brandon Clapperton
has his hands full with angry
people. Larry Witer and Dad
are coming from the stands
and tell me there were fights
there as well as in the pits, it
was out of control apparently
and the reason for cancelling
the rest of the evening. "Blame
it on the moon" Larry says.
Brandon relates, "We really
like you guys and your show,
we're sorry but we can't
continue tonight, we hope we
can re-schedule you." I can tell
by the pained look in his eyes
that he's sincere and that this
was the right move under the
circumstances. Load it up. As
I'm strapping it down a young
lady racer comes up and
relates how promoter Dick
Stark wants to re-schedule us,
she says 'we didn't get to race
either and I had pole position',
her disappointment is evident.
Too bad for all, I don't know
what happened but it
shouldn't have and I do believe
that the right call was made. I
asked Dad - 'Did it remind you
of Brookfiled and Morris?'
"yeah kinda". You can't take
the race out of the boy. We'd
like to thank Dick Stark and
all the staff at Thunder
Mountain, we had a good time
and as always look forward to a
return.
Slobber flies as three smiling
faces greet my return from the
races, great to see my boys.
Sunday morn and Dad calls,
we've got some bearing to
replace, could have been
worse. At least we have
something to work with and
that's how I look at this nights
event, it may not have come off
like we would have liked but
that's life, things don't always
go as planned. And you pick
up what you have left and
work with it. Still, a unfulfilled
night at the races beats any
day at work and I'm thankful
we had it.
One last note: We'd like to
wish Suicide Al Sanders all
the best in his recovery from
back surgery. Hope to see you
at the CNY HOF event in
Septemeber Al. This week is
the Otsego County Fair in
Morris NY, the site of Midstate
Speedway. On Tuesday night
the cars will take to the track
again, albeit in a parade but
it's thrilling just the same.
Hope to see you there.
