Revving up the L.A. Coliseum

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Ben Kennedy was on a search a few years ago to explore the possibilities of new NASCAR markets in August 2019. It was during a stop in Los Angeles when the vice president of strategy and innovation for NASCAR laid his eyes on the Coliseum. He was immediately struck with an idea: He thought, how cool would it be to have a race there.  

After all, the Coliseum has hosted football games, concerts, speeches, and Olympic Games (1932, 1984, and scheduled for 2028) so why not a NASCAR race” The BUSCH CLASH race was what came to his mind.  

Talks between NASCAR and Coliseum officials began that same year, in 2019. Getting the engines started was as easy as looking up the contact information on the Coliseum’s website, and a new idea was set in motion. It also took one thing to put the brakes on it and bring it to a screeching halt.   

Covid-19 reared its ugly head the following March and everything stopped. However, organizers on both sides decided in early 2021, to move ahead and let the planning and building process begin. 

Getting back on track  

Construction began Jan. 1, 2022, and was completed by the middle of the month. Unfortunately, that only two weeks for the asphalt to set and cure before the planned first weekend in February. 

So, what does it take to transform a football field into a racetrack? That was the challenge laid before Martin Flugger, the vice president of engineering services for NASCAR. He’s had a career of helping build diverse courses.  But this adventure was different and would turn out to be a major challenge like he’d never had before.

The quarter-mile asphalt oval track was designed with the help of the race series using IRacing computer simulations. This helped determine how to build the track, including how much banking in the turns.

The track is a quarter mile with 2.5 degrees of banking. It is a total of 130,000 square feet. It took 500 truckloads of dirt for the base. Between the field and six inches of dirt on top, there are protective layers of plastic and plywood. The asphalt was placed on top of the dirt. The dirt is covered in more than 1,500 tons of asphalt. 

The Coliseum track is the smallest the NASCAR Cup Series has raced since 1971. The last race on that small of a track was on Aug. 6, 1971, at the Bowman Gray venue in Winston-Salem, NC.

There is no pit lane, instead, the track has two tunnels to allow for drivers to exit to the pits. This should not be an issue as the Busch Clash races consists of four short heat races of 25 laps and one non-stop 150 lap main event with only 23 cars. Depending on how this even turns out, will define if NASCAR will be return to the Coliseum or look for another venue.

Even if NASCAR opts to return, once this race is completed, it will be restored to a football stadium.  The price for of this is significantly more than $1 million.

Fan reaction

Not everyone is happy with NASCAR’s decision about the venue change, and fans have been voicing their feelings on all forms of social media. They feel that NASCAR is changing and not listening to current fans or staying with traditions. 

But the times, they are a changing, like so many things in the world, and NACSAR officials, like other businesses, are finding they need to change to stay relevant. This is especially true when it comes to keeping current with technology and what other people may want.   So, what’s a long-time fan to do? Before totally giving up on NASCAR, they might want to give this race a chance.  

We’ll have an update once the event is raced, so come back for the results.

See you at the races! 

Update: Overall good racing!  The heats were fairly uneventful.  The two last chance races were good especially the second event. Ty Dillon has to watch the restarts-cost him an opportunity to run in the Clash.  The Busch Clash 150 lap was good.  Finally, seen some car issues.  Won’t know for a few days if the failures were isolated or a thing to reckon with for the season. The racing was tight, as most short tracks are.    Joey Logano took first place with Kyle Busch coming in second.  Looking forward to Daytona, on February 20 @ 2:30 pm EST on your local Fox affiliate.   

Max Price may only be 19 years old, but he’s not letting any grass grow under his feet when it comes to his involvement in racing.

For the past two years, he has been racing in the late model series and race out of Hickory Motor Speedway. The 3/8-mile track is in Newton, NC. Prior to this, he ran late models at the Corrigan Oil Speedway near Mason, MI. 

Price has been racing with Eugene Leitch, owner of Leicht Lite Motorsports, which maintains a 10-to-12-member crew. He has been working as a development driver with Leicht. Price’s teammates include Mason Ludwig and Josh Stark.

Price has been running about 21 races a year. The Big 10 races take place during the limited late model series. He was the Big 10 and Track Champion in 2021 at Hickory Motor Speedway. 

It was Price’s friend, Logan Haughton, who got him on the track to racing in the Bandolero Series. Although he enjoyed this style of racing, his heart was with the late models.

He credits his love of racing to his dad, who drove dragsters, and other family members who took him racing at a young age. He has been racing since he was 13 years old. His favorite era of racing is the 1950s, when drivers had to know so much more about racing and setups of the car, he said. 

The 2020 graduate of Holt High School doesn’t contain his interests to just racing. Off the track he enjoys cooking, video games, and karate. His favorite color is royal purple and Cookies & Cream ice cream. He enjoys football. His two favorite teams are the Michigan State Spartans and Carolina Panthers.

Named for this great-grandfather, Max, the younger Price credits his family – his parents John and Teri, as well as his older sisters, Jessica and Samm – for supporting his racing dreams. He also has a nephew, Gage, who was born when Max was 15 years old. 

So, if you get an opportunity to go to North Carolina, check out the local racer at Hickory Motor Speedway.   

See you at the races!  

         The starting position on the inside of the front row in an auto race or similar racing competition,

           considered to be best and given to the competitor with the fastest time in the previous race.

Bandolero is an entry-level style of racing in both the U.S. and Canada. It was introduced in 1977 by the US Legends cars, formerly known as 600 Racing, Inc. Intended to be an entry-level car, the Bandolero is a turnkey spec series racer designed for drivers as young as eight years old.

The Bandolero, in Spanish means bandit, outlaw, or thief. A bandit or Bandolero is designed for those eight to 11 years old, but an outlaw is designed for those 12 and older.

It is a steppingstone between ¼ midget or cart and a race car that is simple for everybody to use. “We wanted something to go between a kart and a car and wanted to make it relatively simple for everybody to use,” said US Legends Car founder H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler. “For example, like a kart, the Bandolero Car has a left-foot braking and centrifugal clutch so there’s no shifting of gears for a new driver to worry about. Simplicity and economy of design are evident everywhere, with 150 parts making up the entire package-just half of what goes into making a Legends Car.” 

The engine is a Briggs & Stratton 570cc Vanguard and mounted behind the driver. Small modifications will allow the engine to bring a 20-horsepower stock engine up to almost 30 horsepower.

The wheelbase is 70 to 70 ½ inches with an overall width of 47 inches, an overall length of 10 feet, 9 inches and the height are 34 inches. These weigh about 750 pounds and use 4 Bandolero Edition INEX tires stamped either 600 or INEX or Bandolero Edition Hoosier tires as delivered by USLCI. The suspension is coils verse shocks and the frame if full tube frame with a roll cage. The driver uses a G-Force 5-point harness. 

These cars sell for about $7,000 plus shipping and taxes.

Bandolero cars race across North America in multiple geographic regions. The Midwest division includes Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The Southeast division: North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, and Alabama. The Northeast region: Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut. 

Texas includes the Texas Motorspeedway and the Houston Motorsports Park. The Rocky Mountain division/region currently does not have a transitioning class but with the introduction of the Bandoleros, this will allow more time for youngsters to gain experience before jumping into a legend or stock car. The states in this region include Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. The rest of the West Coast include Alaska, Washington, Arizona, Oregon, California, Idaho, and Nevada.

In addition to Canada, these cars also are also raced in such international countries as Australia, South Africa, Russia Finland, England, Norfolk, Denmark, Italy, and Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand. 

Some more famous Bandolero drivers include Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, William Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr., Chris Buescher, Derek Kraus, Brennan Poole, David Ragan, Reed Sorenson and the 2013 US national champion Chandler Smith.  To find tracks and more information go to www.uslegendcars.com/uslci-near. 

See you at the races!

Mason Surgener has been in love with auto racing since the first time he saw a race.  

That happened when he went to NHRA and NASCAR races with his family.   His father sponsored Derrike Cope in the NASCAR Busch Series for two years. During that time, the young Surgener learned a lot about the behind the scenes of racing. His introduction to driving came at local Arrive and Drive events in the go-kart series. He won. That enticed his dad to buy a go kart for the youngster, and he won his first time out. The father and son raced four races in that season. They bought a Bandolero in that off season.

Surgener began his serious racing career in 2017 and had an impressive start, winning 22 straight races that first year. He also earned the track champion title in the Bandolero Jr. Bandit Series at the Spartan Speedway, now known as the Corrigan Oil Speedway. He captured more than 25 wins in his second season. Corrigan Oil Speedway in Mason, MI, is his home track. Since then, he has won more than 100 Bandolero races, 10 kart races, and has started racing in the late model series. Although he has yet to win a race, he has earned numerous second and third place finishes. Surgener considered racing the Jr. Dragster cars, but Bandolero won out, he said. 

Surgener finds racing at the Lake Erie Speedway as one of his favorites. It is a 3/8-mile NASCAR-style track. His most challenging track: The Barberton Speedway in Ohio, he said. He races more than 30 events a season. 

His dad is the car owner and crew chief. The senior Surgener sets up the car for each track. His mom, Tara; brother Wyatt (13), and grandmother also support him with his grandmother often traveling with him. 

The young racer attends Okemos High School who also enjoys video games, competition Rubik’s (yes, the cube game from the 90s), and another type of racing - running cross country. 

His favorite color is blue and enjoys watching his football favorites, the Michigan State Spartans and the Carolina Panthers.

He said he currently races for fun and someday would like to be an engineer for a NASCAR team.  

See you at the races!

                                                                 What in the shunt?  

                               To turn or cause to turn to one side; move or be moved aside ; 

                                     in other words  a love tap to get your attention to move. 

                                                                    H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler 

 It is safe to say that most racing fans are familiar with the Automobile Racing Club of America, better know as ARCA. But the big question is how many know its history?

Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC) was founded in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, by John Marcum. A former NASCAR official under Bill France Sr., Marcum began racing with France in 1964 at the Daytona International Speedway. The move came at the request of France. The two men had raced against each other in the 1940s. It was also in 1964 that MARC became the Automobile Racing Club of America, or ARCA. 

The organization has only had three presidents in its history: founder John Marcum (1953 - 81); Bob Loga (1981 - 96), and Ron Drager (1996 – present). Drager is the grandson of John Marcum. ARCA, which has headquarters in Toledo, owns two tracks, the Toledo Speedway, and the Flat Rock Speedway in Carleton, MI.

ARCA operates on a simple point system. First place receives 200 points; pole position 15 points; second fastest 10 points, and third fastest 15 points. Along with leading a lap, an extra 5 bonus points is earned. Drivers who pre-enter and compete receive an additional 25 points and any driver who enters and competes in each pre-designated five race leg of the overall schedule receive an additional 100 points. Each driver after first place receives 5 points less until the 40th driver who receives only 5 points.

ARCA and NASCAR often have races at the same tracks on the same weekends. ARCA usually runs on Friday or Saturday and NASCAR Cup is on Sunday. Many of the cars are former NASCAR race cars that have been sold to ARCA teams. NASCAR is using the Car of Tomorrow (CoT) style car.In 2015, General Tire became the new sponsor for ARCA, which ended a 30-year sponsorship with Hoosier Racing Tire. The engines used are the Ilmor 396 engine, also known as the ARCA Control Engine (ACE), and teams use the Holley electronic fuel injection and Valvoline lubricant. But those teams and outside engine builders cannot perform maintenance on the engines and very little tuning is allowed. Some teams continue to use the Ilnon engines due to cost.

NASCAR bought ARCA in 2018, and in 2019, the NASCAR K&N Series East and West moved under the ARCA banner. A new sponsor was named in 2020. The  series became known as ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West. The ARCA Menards Series runs 20 races; ARCA Menards Series East runs 8 races mostly in the eastern area of the U.S. while ARCA Menards Series West runs 9 races mostly in the western area of the country. The Sioux Chief Showdown runs 10 races at small Midwest tracks.

Through the years, ARCA drivers have moved to the Xfinity or NASCAR Cup series. Some include Benny Parsons, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Justin Allgaier, and Casey Mears to name a few. The end of the season is drawing near, and officials are working on next season’s races. So far it includes Bristol, Daytona, IRP, Kansas (2x), Michigan, Phoenix, Pocono, Talladega, and Watkins Glen. For the complete 2022 schedule, visit  www.arcaracing.com. 

See you at the races! 

 Connor Perry is not your typical six-year-old. Oh, sure, he loves basketball, soccer, and T-ball, but on Saturday nights you are more apt to find him racing GO KARTS! 

It was Connor’s grandfather who powered his interest in racing. His grandpa raced for fun, and then he took Conner racing, and the first grader from Hanover, IN has been ruling the track ever since. Conner currently is the lead in both the youth and rookie divisions at three tracks - Lawrenceburg Speedway, Jennings Speedway, and Tony Stewart Speedway. 

Connor attends Southwestern Elementary and loves math His favorite foods include Pineapple Dole Whip Ice Cream, and his favorite color is purple. 

His parents, Taylor and Justin Perry, are not ready to put him in the big leagues yet. “He has to finish high school before pursuing NASCAR Cup racing,” mom Taylor Perry said. 

Connor, who has as sister, Natalie, said “I want to do Sprints and then ARCA first.” He said he and his friend, Joey Kramer, who races with him, both dream of having NASCAR careers.
Currently, Connor races flat open kart number 5. It is green, black, and of course, his favorite color, purple. He has raced both the caged (2020) and flat open style (2021) go kart He currently is racing open. Once the season is over, he will travel to Liberty and Sturgis, KY to hone his craft by racing in the indoor open karts. Those competitions are two to three hours from Hanover. 

While the entire family is helping with his career, he also has multiple sponsors. They include Hinkle’s Sandwich Shop and Madison Auto Body Shop, both in Madison, IN, and Layman Insurance in North Vernon, IN. Robinson FaxWorks provides the Hellion chassis, and the engines are by Keller Performance Center in Connersville, IN.

Like most youngsters, he has another favorite hobby: Playing video games. One of his favorites is the Tony Stewart All American Racing. Connor met Stewart this past Oct. 2. When asked what that was like his response was “Awesome! Tony is very nice, and he even signed an autograph picture with him!” 

Connor has been on fire this season winning 35 out of 42 races. He will finish the season with a birthday on Oct. 24. So, if you see Connor, be sure to wish him a Happy Birthday on his Facebook page, Connor Perry Racing!!  

If you are lucky, you’ll be seeing Connor at the races!  

 History tells us that the first known use of the words Grand Prix appeared in 1863 in France. While it was a race, it featured a different type of horsepower – the four-legged type. 

“Throughout history, the name Grand Prix has been used for a lot of different styles of racing, but that is very fitting because the name Grand Prix is actually French for Grand Prize,” said Greg Creamer of Creamer Motor Sport Commentary in Sarasota, FL.

Creamer is a 35-plus year veteran of the racing scene, providing play-by-play, pit reporting, radio commentary and public address announcing for just about every major motor race series, as well as various snowmobile series and historic and vintage racing series. He served 15 years on the FoxSports broadcast team at the iconic 24 Hours of LeMans in France. 

“However, in the United States, it is most associated with auto racing,” Creamer said. “Almost anything in motor racing, except for the oval, can be called Grand Prix. For example, the street racing that has been going on in Long Beach (CA) for the past 40 years is known as the Long Beach Grand Prix.” 

Cranking the engines
Grand Prix Racing with motor cars began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver. Innovation and competition soon saw speeds exceeding 100 miles per hours, but because early races took places on open roads, accidents were frequent, and often resulted in deaths of both drivers and spectators.
Despite its growing popularity on both sides of the ocean, it would take more than a half century before it would be on the world stage as it is known today as Formula One Racing. 

Modern-day racing
Today’s Formula One was founded out of the European Grand Prix Championship of the 1920’s and 1930’s. World War II put the brakes on the sport. It reemerged about 1947 with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). 

The inaugural season, in 1950, was known as the World Driver’s Championship, which eventually became the FIA Formula One World Championship in 1981. The inaugural race was won by Italy’s Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa Romero. The competition took place in Silverstone, England.
The races are called Grands Prix, and tracks are located throughout the world. Races are run on road courses or closed public roads. The Detroit Grand Prix took place from 1982 through 1988 and was run on the streets of Detroit. The current Detroit Grand Prix is Indy-style racing and is run on Belle Isle. 

Talking the talk
Terminology in Formula One racing is just a tad different from other forms of auto racing. Much of the language is tied to its European roots. 

For example, the Constructor is an original term used for the company that designed the car’s chassis and/or engine. If a single company designed both, for example, Ferrari, they received sole credit as the Constructor. But, if different companies split the design, they both received credit. In that case the chassis designer is listed first, such as McLaren-Mercedes. The credit is like earning owner points in other race series. All Constructors are scored separately, even if sharing with another Constructor.
Since 1981, the teams have been required to build the chassis and the term “team” has replaced Constructor unless referencing the engine. 

Originally 18 teams sought to compete, but many have dropped out due to the increasing costs. Ferrari is the oldest F1 team and the only one still active that competed in 1950. Today, there are 10 teams and 20 drivers. Each team has two drivers. 

On the track
Formula One races span a weekend. The schedule begins Friday with two free practice sessions, except in Monaco, where Friday practices are moved to Thursday. There are additional drivers available to run on Fridays, but only two cars may be used per team, requiring a race driver to give up their seat. There is one free practice on Saturday. A qualifying session is takes place after the last free practice session, and this determines the starting order of the race on Sunday.

Effective with 2021 season, the qualifying is changing at three Grands Prix. Sprint qualifying will consist of a 100-kilometer (62-mile) sprint race will determine starting order for Sunday’s races. The locations have not been determined. The sprint qualifying format is as follows:

Friday
Sixty-minute first practice in the morning with two sets of tyres for teams to choose freely. The normal qualifying format takes place in the afternoon with five soft tyre sets available only. 

Saturday
Sixty-minute second free practice in the morning with one set of tyres for teams to choose freely. A 100km sprint qualifying in the afternoon with two sets of tyres for teams to choose freely.

Sunday
Full-distance Grand Prix with two remaining sets of tyres

Top of their sport
Some of the best drivers include Juan Manuel Fangio, Sir Jackie Stewart, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Jimmy Clark, and Ayrton Senna, a two-time winner of the Detroit Grand Prix. Both Schumacher and Hamilton have won seven of the World Driver’s Championship titles and Juan Manuel Fangio won five World Driver’s Championship titles. While Sir Jackie Stewart has won 27 of 99 events and Sir Stirling Moss has won 212 of 529 entries. 

Current teams include Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, Alpha Tauri, Aston Martin, Alpine, Alfa Romeo Racing, Williams, and Haas F1 team. The current leader is Mercedes/Hamilton with Red Bull/Verstappen in second. 

The points for the 2021 season are determined as follows: 

1 252 183 154 125 106 87 68 49 210 1There is one bonus point available to the driver who records the fastest lap of the race, however, to earn the extra point, the driver must finish in the top 10. This rule was created so that drivers outside of the top 10, who would stop for fresh tyres in last few laps and try and get fastest lap, would not be eligible to earn the point. 

The current top 10 drivers according to Planet F1 newsletter are:

10. Sebastian Vettel

9. George Russell

8. Esteban Ocon

7. Fernando Alonso

6. Charles Leclerc

5. Carlos Sainz

4. Pierre Gasly

3. Lewis Hamilton

2. Max Verstappen

1. Lando Norris

Creamer said that while the Grand Prix name is often used with other forms of racing and sporting events, it still means that fans can expect to see the cream of the crop among the competitors.
“What you’re getting at any Grand Prix event are the best of the best in their particular form of racing, whether it’s Formula 1, Indy, or motorcycle racing,” he said. 

The ’21 series ends Oct. 12 in Abu Dhabi. The teams formerly known as constructors will be named along with the World Driver’s Championship. 

So, who out of this top 10 will be named the champion, or will it be an underdog? Stay tune for more exciting Formula 1 racing, and we’ll see you at the races! 

 
The roots of the United States Grand Prix reach back to the early 20th Century.  The motor racing event, which has taken place on and off since 1908, was originally known as the American Grand Prize. 

The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. As of 2019, the Grand Prix has taken place 49 times in the U.S. in 10 different locations throughout the country. Since 2012, it has taken place every year at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The once exception was 2020, when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Inspired by the Gordon Bennett Cup and the Circuit d’es Ardennes races he had competed in, William Kissam Vanderbilt founded a series of road races in the U.S. to showcase road racing to the world. The Vanderbilt Cup soon became an institution on Long Island, N.Y., attracting both American and European competitors. However, those races were frought with problems such as crowd control and spectator deaths that led to the cancellation of the 1907 event. 

It returned in 1908 with the Automobile Club of America, a racing enthusiast’s group with strong ties to Europe, sponsoring the American Grand Prize, using Grand Prix rules. The first event took place in Savannah, Ga. Despite the success of the Savannah event, the race moved to Long Island in 1909, in conjunction with the Vanderbilt Cup. However, only the Vanderbilt Cup took place and the Grand Prize was pushed back to 1910. More issues that year, including more deaths and spectator injuries, led to another cancellation. A last-minute request from the Savannah club saved the race for the year. The race stayed in Savannah in 1911 and the Vanderbilt Cup came with it. The cup and the Grand Prize would remain together until 1916. During those years the race also began moving to other locales around the country. 

The Grand Prize was discontinued after the 1916 race. Between a lack of European participation due to World War I, and the growing American interest in oval racing, road racing fell by the wayside. The Vanderbilt Cup was revived in 1936 and 1937 and run to Grand Prix regulations.

Grand Prix racing returned to the United States in the 1950s and saw numerous changes throughout its modern-day history. The U.S. Grand Prix is the longest-running Formula One World Championship event held in America and is the only U.S. event to have appeared on the F1 calendar since 1989.