Thursday, March 31, 2011

Under the weather, but a good feeling

The good thing about having to stay at home because you're feeling ill is that you have the time to put up a new blog. That, coupled with getting news from a friend, turns a bad thing into a good feeling.
Yesterday a fellow writer, an actual journalist in fact (although I doubt he would agree with the label) e-mailed me requesting contact information for John Klabunde. Lee Ackerman writes for the Omaha World Herald and is wanting to do an article about John Klabunde and the upcoming Icebreaker Challenge races at Eagle Raceway.
After giving John's phone number to Lee I informed him that he would truly enjoy interviewing John. As I mentioned in my last blog, John is a really humble individual who exemplifies the racers at almost any dirt track you visit in this great country. Although they share the same roots, none of them have visions of being the next Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart. They spend their hard-earned money, spend countless hours every week getting their mounts ready for the weekend, and risk life and limb in what they know is a money-losing proposition. They don't do it for money or fame, they do it for the love of racing; the love that we all share.
I can't thank Craig Cormack enough for hiring me to work at Eagle years ago. He gave me the opportunity to see, talk to and interact with people who I previously had known only from a spectator's viewpoint. I find it strange how a person's perspective can be altered so drastically merely by being a part of a track, rather than just a fan in the stands. Enlightening comes nowhere near describing the difference.
Speaking of money-losing propositions, an area dirt track has been saved. Yesterday it was announced that Blackbird Bend Speedway near Onawa, Iowa will be running this year. A couple of gentlemen have signed a lease for 2011 with the intention of keeping the facility operating in the future. The classes that will be there weekly have not been decided yet, but for 2011 they will be running without sanction. Hopefully they will be able to get the IMCA sanction that they are seeking for future seasons.
They are looking for workers for concessions, track preparation and maintenance. Applications for employment, pit stalls and to reserve car numbers are being taken. So, if you have any interest at all you'd better be getting ahold of them quickly. Practice Night will be April 29th with the first races being run May 6th (weather permitting).
Practice Night at Eagle is just 2 weeks away on April 14th, with the 2-night season-opening Icebreaker Challenge the following 2 days. The Rev Honey IMCA Modifieds are the featured class both evenings, and will be competing for $1000 to win on Friday and $2000 to win on Saturday. Also racing both nights will be the ASCS 360 sprinters. The winner's share of the purse will be $1500 each evening. Support classes will be the NAPA IMCA Sport Modifieds and the Good Old Time Racing Association on Friday with the Valentino's IMCA Hobby Stocks and Exhaust Pros IMCA Sport Compacts on Saturday. For more information you can visit Eagle's website at http://www.eagleraceway.com/EagleRaceway/ or call the track office at 402-238-2595.
In other news, we announced this past Monday that the track surface had been reworked over the off-season. Also, changes will be made in the weekly track preparation this season in order to improve the racing on the high banks of "America's Home Track". There were no layout changes (other than the addition of the "Little E" track inside turn 1), and NO, the infamous spring-fed problem in turn 1 hasn't been remedied to my knowledge. But I have a strong feeling that the racing at Eagle will be fantastic this year. If you've never attended a race there, you are definitely missing out!
Hope to see everyone out there this year. And if you do make the trip, stop and say hi; you know where I'll be.