Utica-Rome
Speedway; New
Yorker 200
With iffy weather in the
forecast I said so long to my
faithful companions and hit
the road headed north to the
Utica-Rome Speedway in
Vernon, NY for the New
Yorker 200. Hooked up with
Dad in New Berlin, added
some oil to my recently
hammering truck, (don't let a
little blue smoke bug ya) and
off we go. This is a very
prestigious event and the
modifieds really showed up,
62 in all and some big names
to fight over a $10,000.00
payday. We dodged raindrops
all the way up and upon
entering the track got
drenched. Then the sun
came out and even with the
cool air, it looked like a go.
Several members of the
MVSCC have accepted our
invite and are pulling in, we
have a decent count, enough
for what looks like a good
race. Dad and I head over
behind the grandstands to
check out our show car
contingent, John Clark has
brought two cars, Richard
Parry and John Button have
also brought theire mounts
and despite the weather, all
are in good spirits.
The crowd is starting to mill
in now and I go out check the
track. That fellow driving the
water truck is really laying
into it trying to dry the track,
he's got it sideways more
than straight and is fun to
watch. Otto Graham stops by
later and relates, "That's
Bert, he damn near spun it
last week." Now it makes
sense, good 'ol cousin Bert
has always been
entertaining..
I get together with Barb Clark
who gets on tehhorn with
Dick Sweet and gets our
show set up, we get warmups
and a feature, good enough.
Get the lineup set, do some
bench racing with the
MVSCC guys and we're out
for warmups. I'll try the high
side going into one, what's
that water doin' hittin' me in
the face? Radiator can't be
hot - yet. Sling her sideways
and uhhh whoa!! Hang on
baby, come on, nope. Around
she goes, too slick for these
tires still although I note
later several modified drivers
find it tricky too. Scott Gates
spins his to avoid me and I
start waving as they file by
us, dang! That's impressive
eh? I haven't spun out this
much since I was in asphalt
mod and led the league in
that catagory..
Oh, well, gather it up and get
on with it, car's running good
but the bite is on the bottom,
finish up and get it back to
the pits. Take my good
natured ribbing and prepare
for the feature. Dad changes
jets and tinkers, everyone is
fussing over their cars. We
ehad over and get a darn
good burger and fries, this
facility is really nice,
probably the nicest I've been
to this year (Penn-Can is
really a nice facility too),
clean and well kept. The
racing is good too, Jack
Johnson wins his heat, Mitch
Gibbs qualifies with a great
move to the outside, as does
Mike Ricci, Bobby Varin
dominates his heat, Todd
Burley and AJ Romano
master the high groove, great
racing. On the way back to
the pits I see Rene Charland
and ask for his picture. "You
gotta pay me" he says with a
grin through his cigar. 'How
much?', I'll play. "A quarter."
OK, and I start reaching, "ah
forget it" he says and I click
away, good to see he hasn't
lost his sense of humor.
Pro-Stocks are out and then
the consi's and we get the
call. They've moved us up a
bit which is just fine with us.
this sis the first time I've run
against the OHV V8's and I'm
curious as to how we'll fare.
Scott gates leads us to green
and there it is, open 'er up.
The bite is on the bottom and
I playing spec-tater as I watch
the cars bouncing around
and touching. Nobody's outta
shape and nobody's giving an
inch. Off the corners and it's
slick on both ends, you need
room and to start on the
bottom as it slides up to the
top of the track. I give
thought to trying the top
again, I have the gear but not
the fortitude. Up front Don
Hyatt, Brad Litzenberger,
Ally Amell and Richard
Appleby are locked in a
dogfight. Right behind them
are Scott Gates, Norm
Richardson, Ed Rohr, the
flatheads, Matt Scott, and
Richard Taggert, it might
have taken two blankets, bit
we're pretty close. Good bite
getting onto the corner, aim
for the inside tires, try to
miss them of course, and
ease it on coming off until it
catches again. Driving a race
car is fun, challenging but
fun. Norm and Scott are
battling, shall I try them?
Norm gains advantage and I
move in on Scott. Up front
Don Hyatt's Gremlin is
superior, Brad and Ally fight
for second, there's the white
flag and I've gotten Scott but
Norm is runing good and I
won't catch him. My
unofficial final reads: Don
Hyatt 98H, Ally Amell 2x,
Brad Litzenberger 36,
Richard Appleby 1, Norm
Richardson 47, B29, Scott
Gates 28, Ed Rohr 21NY,
Matt Scott 25, 43A, and
Richard Taggert 91. A good
show and all cars on the
trailer in one piece, smiles
and congrats in the pits,
nearly perfect day.
Many thanks to all at
Utica-Rome speedway for
having us on this day, Dick
Sweet got us what he
promised and we appreciate
it. Thanks also to Barb Clark
for helping set up the show,
and to all of the MVSCC
members who helped make it
possible, we'll have to do
more joint shows in the
future. Check the oil and
head out, none to soon either
as I hear later the rest of the
show fell to showers and had
to be re-scheduled for this
Am. We certainly appreciate
the fact that they got our
event in and hope that the
fans enjoyed it. My old truck
has a new name - 'Blue
Smoke Spl.' it's one way to
make sure it's still got oil
right? Made it home with no
problems and greeted by
three smiling faces, ready to
go out again. While the end
of the racing season brings
some relief it also comes with
some sadness. I'll miss going
to the tracks and seeing the
people I grown accustomed to
seeing regularly, this was
another good day in which
the two clubs got together
and we all got along great. No
complaining, no rules
disputes, just come and run
and have a good time - that's
what it's all about in the end
and I'll miss it. the club still
has a few car shows left on
the dockett, I begged off on
Littel Valley today but figured
Jim chase and Jim Florence
would represent us. Dad is
heading to Brookfiled next
weekend and the Utica
contigent will take care of
Craig's Motorsports Show in
two weeks. Come out and
check out our cars if you
have the time, it's a good look
back. And now, it's building
season and I'm looking
forward to the next project,
might be a rebuild job on a
302...
Speedway; New
Yorker 200
With iffy weather in the
forecast I said so long to my
faithful companions and hit
the road headed north to the
Utica-Rome Speedway in
Vernon, NY for the New
Yorker 200. Hooked up with
Dad in New Berlin, added
some oil to my recently
hammering truck, (don't let a
little blue smoke bug ya) and
off we go. This is a very
prestigious event and the
modifieds really showed up,
62 in all and some big names
to fight over a $10,000.00
payday. We dodged raindrops
all the way up and upon
entering the track got
drenched. Then the sun
came out and even with the
cool air, it looked like a go.
Several members of the
MVSCC have accepted our
invite and are pulling in, we
have a decent count, enough
for what looks like a good
race. Dad and I head over
behind the grandstands to
check out our show car
contingent, John Clark has
brought two cars, Richard
Parry and John Button have
also brought theire mounts
and despite the weather, all
are in good spirits.
The crowd is starting to mill
in now and I go out check the
track. That fellow driving the
water truck is really laying
into it trying to dry the track,
he's got it sideways more
than straight and is fun to
watch. Otto Graham stops by
later and relates, "That's
Bert, he damn near spun it
last week." Now it makes
sense, good 'ol cousin Bert
has always been
entertaining..
I get together with Barb Clark
who gets on tehhorn with
Dick Sweet and gets our
show set up, we get warmups
and a feature, good enough.
Get the lineup set, do some
bench racing with the
MVSCC guys and we're out
for warmups. I'll try the high
side going into one, what's
that water doin' hittin' me in
the face? Radiator can't be
hot - yet. Sling her sideways
and uhhh whoa!! Hang on
baby, come on, nope. Around
she goes, too slick for these
tires still although I note
later several modified drivers
find it tricky too. Scott Gates
spins his to avoid me and I
start waving as they file by
us, dang! That's impressive
eh? I haven't spun out this
much since I was in asphalt
mod and led the league in
that catagory..
Oh, well, gather it up and get
on with it, car's running good
but the bite is on the bottom,
finish up and get it back to
the pits. Take my good
natured ribbing and prepare
for the feature. Dad changes
jets and tinkers, everyone is
fussing over their cars. We
ehad over and get a darn
good burger and fries, this
facility is really nice,
probably the nicest I've been
to this year (Penn-Can is
really a nice facility too),
clean and well kept. The
racing is good too, Jack
Johnson wins his heat, Mitch
Gibbs qualifies with a great
move to the outside, as does
Mike Ricci, Bobby Varin
dominates his heat, Todd
Burley and AJ Romano
master the high groove, great
racing. On the way back to
the pits I see Rene Charland
and ask for his picture. "You
gotta pay me" he says with a
grin through his cigar. 'How
much?', I'll play. "A quarter."
OK, and I start reaching, "ah
forget it" he says and I click
away, good to see he hasn't
lost his sense of humor.
Pro-Stocks are out and then
the consi's and we get the
call. They've moved us up a
bit which is just fine with us.
this sis the first time I've run
against the OHV V8's and I'm
curious as to how we'll fare.
Scott gates leads us to green
and there it is, open 'er up.
The bite is on the bottom and
I playing spec-tater as I watch
the cars bouncing around
and touching. Nobody's outta
shape and nobody's giving an
inch. Off the corners and it's
slick on both ends, you need
room and to start on the
bottom as it slides up to the
top of the track. I give
thought to trying the top
again, I have the gear but not
the fortitude. Up front Don
Hyatt, Brad Litzenberger,
Ally Amell and Richard
Appleby are locked in a
dogfight. Right behind them
are Scott Gates, Norm
Richardson, Ed Rohr, the
flatheads, Matt Scott, and
Richard Taggert, it might
have taken two blankets, bit
we're pretty close. Good bite
getting onto the corner, aim
for the inside tires, try to
miss them of course, and
ease it on coming off until it
catches again. Driving a race
car is fun, challenging but
fun. Norm and Scott are
battling, shall I try them?
Norm gains advantage and I
move in on Scott. Up front
Don Hyatt's Gremlin is
superior, Brad and Ally fight
for second, there's the white
flag and I've gotten Scott but
Norm is runing good and I
won't catch him. My
unofficial final reads: Don
Hyatt 98H, Ally Amell 2x,
Brad Litzenberger 36,
Richard Appleby 1, Norm
Richardson 47, B29, Scott
Gates 28, Ed Rohr 21NY,
Matt Scott 25, 43A, and
Richard Taggert 91. A good
show and all cars on the
trailer in one piece, smiles
and congrats in the pits,
nearly perfect day.
Many thanks to all at
Utica-Rome speedway for
having us on this day, Dick
Sweet got us what he
promised and we appreciate
it. Thanks also to Barb Clark
for helping set up the show,
and to all of the MVSCC
members who helped make it
possible, we'll have to do
more joint shows in the
future. Check the oil and
head out, none to soon either
as I hear later the rest of the
show fell to showers and had
to be re-scheduled for this
Am. We certainly appreciate
the fact that they got our
event in and hope that the
fans enjoyed it. My old truck
has a new name - 'Blue
Smoke Spl.' it's one way to
make sure it's still got oil
right? Made it home with no
problems and greeted by
three smiling faces, ready to
go out again. While the end
of the racing season brings
some relief it also comes with
some sadness. I'll miss going
to the tracks and seeing the
people I grown accustomed to
seeing regularly, this was
another good day in which
the two clubs got together
and we all got along great. No
complaining, no rules
disputes, just come and run
and have a good time - that's
what it's all about in the end
and I'll miss it. the club still
has a few car shows left on
the dockett, I begged off on
Littel Valley today but figured
Jim chase and Jim Florence
would represent us. Dad is
heading to Brookfiled next
weekend and the Utica
contigent will take care of
Craig's Motorsports Show in
two weeks. Come out and
check out our cars if you
have the time, it's a good look
back. And now, it's building
season and I'm looking
forward to the next project,
might be a rebuild job on a
302...
