Why don’t we just have Oroville’s Sean Becker and Auburn’s Andy Forsberg race one-on-one?

OK, that wouldn’t be all that exciting. Plus we want to see some of our other favorite drivers. But that’s essentially what tomorrow’s show will be all about.

Forsberg has nine points of breathing room ahead of Becker and that’s surely not enough to last him if something goes bad on the track. But if the two of them do what they’ve been doing all year, consistently finishing in the top 10, Forsberg definitely has the advantage.

Becker’s got a few things working for him, though. He posted the fast time last week in qualifying in record-setting fashion with the fastest lap EVER in the Friday night series and he’s also got four heat victories under his belt this year.

But points mean more than momentum, so Forsberg gets the nod here. I’m looking forward to watching it all, hope you’ll be out there too.

You see, us people up here have to share a small amount of space. And we have to make it work. So while track announcer Troy Hennig has his laptop, walkie talkie and cell phone going, I am sitting in the middle typing blogs and agate files. And then there’s Gary Thomas, who stays in the press box as research for his promotions gig with the Golden State Challenge-King of California series.

Us three fellas clean up our language and our act when Beth Miller comes up to sing the national anthem, of course, but other than that it’s more like three friends goofing off while at the same time working hard.

I always wonder what the people in the crowd think about of us people here in the ivory tower. I mean, press box. Are they jealous? Does my seat up here in the box make me a VIP? Do they know we have a swamp cooler here?

That last question doesn’t mean a ton on a day like today, where it was 100 degrees when I showed up at the track around 7 p.m.

We get to look down upon all the action and all the fans from up here, and while I have a general stand-offish nature with press boxes, the one at Silver Dollar is one of my favorites.

I would say come up and say hi, but we have plenty enough distractions. So just wave.

I always wonder what the people in the crowd think about of us people here in the ivory tower. I mean, press box. Are they jealous? Does my seat up here in the box make me a VIP? Do they know we have a swamp cooler here?

That last question doesn’t mean a ton on a day like today, where it was 100 degrees when I showed up at the track around 7 p.m.

We get to look down upon all the action and all the fans from up here, and while I have a general stand-offish nature with press boxes, the one at Silver Dollar is one of my favorites.

I would say come up and say hi, but we have plenty enough distractions. So just wave.

The Western All-Stars DIRTcar Late Model Series is back at the dollar on Saturday and track announcer Troy Hennig described it as “NASCAR on dirt” in his weekly press release. From what it sounds like to me, these are similar to the dirt modifieds that are part of the Feather Falls Casino Friday Night Points series, only with some more oomph to them.

Click HERE to see the Western All-Stars Web site.

Defending dirt mods champ Richard Papenhausen, a Chicoan, will get his chance to take on the series’ top drivers and defend his home turf all at the same time. Papenhausen is the defending modifieds champ at SDS and often has a hard time finding places to compete in the late model races. Most take place in Bakersfield, along with stop-bys in Las Vegas, Antioch, Quincy, Santa Maria and Hanford.

Any time we can get something new and interesting to come to Chico it’s always a good thing, and I’m intrigued to see how just how fast these folks can drive on the quarter-mile dirt oval. And it would be that much sweeter for Nor-Cal if Papenhausen emerges victorious.

Tim Kaeding, from Campbell, is one of few California drivers to get his name on some of the leader boards I found online. And Jason Meyers of Clovis is another recognizable name. Oh, and Chico’s Jonathan Allard has to be there.

There’s really not much of a local connection, though, so the Knoxville Nationals won’t likely be making it into the sports section. But the good news is that you can catch the action Saturday night at 7 p.m. on the Speed Network.

For those of you looking for a place to get up-to-the-minute results, and are without the Speed Network, I found a Knoxville Speedway site that can fill your appetite. Click here to access it.

There are a handful of tracks in northern California aside from our hometown Silver Dollar Speedway and I’ve only been to one of them. So one night while I was sitting here with not much to do (it happens a lot during the summer), I started browsing the Web for some pics of other tracks. Now you get to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Hope it tastes good.

First we have the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, a city in between Santa Cruz and Monterey. It’s surrounded by those beautiful, rolling hills that Monterey County native John Steinbeck wrote of, and it looks to have a nice scoreboard and a decent set of bleachers. It doesn’t have a whole lot of differentiation between the track and the infield, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that it looks different when the track is wetted down.

You can find more info on this track by CLICKING HERE .

The Antioch Speedway doesn’t look too nice. Of course I had a hard time finding any pics of it online. Still, I just don’t see anything to write home about. But I will write a blog about it.

I’ve always had a disdain for communities in the Delta area of northern California. Maybe that’s why I am sour on Antioch Speedway. Nonetheless, take a look.

Antioch Speedway has a Web site and you can find it by CLICKING HERE.

And now comes my “home” track, the Placerville Speedway at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds. I must admit, though, that it doesn’t rival Silver Dollar. The track is a tight one with high-banked turns and provides for jam-packed racing, which is fun. The atmosphere is OK, I suppose, though the grandstands don’t provide a stellar view. See for yourself:

John Padjen also does promotion for the track in Placerville, and you can find info on it by CLICKING HERE.

Andy Forsberg is a great person to start with because he doesn’t drive too much. It’s been mentioned here that he rides a scooter from his home to his shop, the byproduct of such a short commute. He doesn’t have to hit the roads too often, but when he does, Forsberg trusts a 2001 Chevy Silverado. And it’s a lightly used model, because he said he’s only racked up 1,800 miles on it in 16 months.

Kevin Sharrah’s is the opposite. The Chico driver does his cruising around town in a 1994 Chevy Tahoe.

“It’s a beater,” he said. “I had a Ford F-250 but had to sell it because of diesel prices.”

And then there’s Dan Simpson, of Rio Vista. Dan prefers to take his vehicle on and off road and utilizes a 1-ton Chevy ranch truck, he said.

“It’s another world, it doesn’t even compare. The race car is such an adrenaline rush.”

And a preview for tomorrow: A look at some of California’s other top dirt-track racing venues. Come on back and check it out!

The same goes for the folks out at the Silver Dollar Speedway. Factor in that their gas costs more than that of the Shell or Exxon variety, and that their high-powered machines consume a lot of gas in extraordinary short distances.

Auburn’s Andy Forsberg said last week that his team consumes about 40 gallons of fuel, somewhere around $200 worth, in one night of racing. That usually means 10 or so hot laps, two qualifying laps, a heat race, maybe a B Main, and an A Main. (I can never seem to remember how long heat races are supposed to be. We’ll say eight for now). That’s about 45 laps without a B Main.

And he said it costs around $5.50 a gallon to buy the special alcohol blend at the racetrack. He gets it by the barrel back at his shop in Auburn and that saves money, but the overall high prices have affected his team indirectly as well.

“Our sponsors, their bills are high and they’ve been changing sponsorship (amounts),” he said.

Most drivers agreed that car counts haven’t been affected that much at SDS, yet many also admitted to hesitating on the long trips to places like Washington and Canada. Dan Simpson, a Rio Vista driver, said his team can afford it this year but will reconsider certain trips next year if prices remain high.

And his way of not letting the prices get to him? Dealing with it.

“We’re committed to a certain number of races,” he said. “We just grin and bear it.”

And Simpson has one of those massive, tractor-trailer combinations that could double as a big rig cargo truck. He said teams also have to pay higher prices to get their equipment to the track in the first place, and that hurts the pocketbook as well.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday evening that the nationwide average for a gallon of regular gas is $3.96 now, which is 11 cents less than a week before then. That was according to the AAA auto club. California's average remains substantially higher, at $4.32, but it fell 12 cents in the last week.

The article went on to say that the national average for a gallon of regular remains $1.06 higher than a year ago and that California's average is $1.24 higher.

Forsberg seems to have his own little solution, though. He’s got an electric razor scooter that he rides from his home to his shop, which lies on his property. It obviously doesn’t compare to the rush of sprint car racing, though he’s saving enough money to continue driving his 410 winged sprint car.

Even if it costs $5.50 a gallon to drive it.

It made it to the newspaper, and a few people commented to voice their opinions. One guy, Glenn Drobny, dropped me an email to voice his opinion, and as you all are figuring out, I like that a lot. So take a look at Glenn's counterpoint to my point, and especially notice that last disclaimer. The first few words sort of sum up how I was feeling when I wrote the column.

I just wanted to ruffle some feathers, and I figured a not-so-popular opinion would do the trick. They aren't athletes, if you ask me. So take a look, and respond if you want:

Dear Mr. Gordon

Hoping your grandmother will be able to drive for many more years, sincerely,
Glenn Drobny
glndrobny@yahoo.com

Kids Night is the theme for the Feather Falls Casino Friday Night Points Series, so the two free bieks plus complimentary popcorn and soda are sure to put smiles on all the young’uns faces out at Silver Dollar.

And as for the animals, Brett Miller is putting it out there that his team is making a major effort to help the Butte Humane Society this season. Miller’s grandfather, Bill Bell, said the crew will donate 20 percent of all winnings to the humane society this year, and Miller has said that shirt sales will be a big part of that as well.

It’s a great connection, and it’s an honest-to-good effort to make our community a better place. So I’m going to provide you with some resources to help, if you so choose:

To see some pics of the animals and their human companions, CLICK HERE .

The humane society is always looking for community help, and it has a lengthy wish list. To take a peek and decide if you can help, CLICK HERE .

Racing is supposed to start at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

And so I like to honor some of the people who usually drive the speed limit, but still make racing what it is in the north state.

I’ve had lots of contact with John Padjen out at Silver Dollar Speedway and he’s a great promoter, between the Civil War series and King of California. He never wanted to drive the cars yet he has helped lay a great foundation for all racing fans to enjoy weekly shows.

So today I am throwing out some props to Dick Mudd. He’s a former supervisor in Glenn County, and he hasn’t driven a race car. But he was one of the most influential voices in getting Thunderhill Raceway built outside of Willows, and he was honored for his work Saturday at Thunderhill with a spot in the Sports Car Club of America Hall of Fame. He pushed for a Glenn County racetrack, and current promoter David Vodden is very thankful for Mudd’s “go get ‘em” spirit on the issue around 1992.

“He thought that it would be beneficial for Glenn County. He did something very different, too,” Vodden said. “His attitude was ‘We want you.’ Most of the deal, it’s a hurdle leaping process to get anything done with government. Mudd took the attitude that he wanted us.”

Mudd’s motivation likely came from the potential economic boost the county was to receive. Glenn County doesn’t have a whole lot of residents, or entertainment venues, and revenue can be scarce. Vodden said it sure has been a boost.

“We are a cause of about 24 percent of the retail business in the city of Willows. We get about 60 million economic impact dollars into the county. It’s hugely beneficial when you can have a business that brings in revenue and you don’t have to build roads and schools and stoplights.”

So, yeah, there was a lot of business thought involved with getting Thunderhill built, and yeah, Mudd was a huge reason why it all ended up successful. He’s got a nose for public service — his grandfather was a supervisor as well — and he genuinely cares too, Vodden said.

“He’s a genuine, old-school kind of guy. He’s got some solid values and has a genuine, open heart and concern for the people of Glenn County. He’s a guy who helped his county like his grandfather did and he takes pride in it. Thunderhill is a unique way of helping a community.”

I learned of this story in our Sidelines section from the Tuesday paper. Here is the article, to give you a little more background:

Longtime Willows resident and former Glenn County Supervisor Dick Mudd was inducted into the Sports Car Club of America Hall of Fame on Saturday night in ceremonies held at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows. Mudd was the District 3 supervisor in Glenn County when the SCCA came to Glenn County in 1992 hoping to build a 3-mile recreational road course. Mudd was influential in the success of the project, researching many issues that were raised by the idea and responding to concerns of neighbors and governmental agencies as the project unfolded.
Mudd was one of four honorees Saturday night. Other inductees included Tom McCarthy, longtime SCCA member and the man who inspired the development of Thunderhill Park; Marty Kaufmann, a veteran SCCA race official; and Judy Ganley, one of the earliest successful female racers in the SCCA club racing program.
The SCCA's Hall of Fame was established in 2006 and currently has 14 members.
The Sports Car Club of America was incorporated in 1953 and has conducted amateur road race events for 55 years. The club is run by volunteers selected from its membership of close to 5,000 in Northern California.
Thunderhill Park opened in October of 1993 and will celebrate 15 years of operation in the north valley on Oct. 25 with the running of the Willows Grand Prix.

I admittedly distanced myself from Internet, television and all other forms of mass communication on my two days off (I do this often) and totally had no idea what went down on Sunday in Indianapolis. Turns out NASCAR blew it. Bad.

Or did Goodyear blow it? Read the attached Associated Press story at the bottom of this post to get the information and then make your opinion. My gut reaction is that NASCAR is completely at fault for a race that had cautions every 10 or 12 laps.

They’re supposed to cover their basis for a worst-case scenario if they’re putting on a race and this whole situation seems to show a lack of attention to detail.

It hurts NASCAR to make a public apology because the organization’s reputation will surely take a hit. And Goodyear obviously got a black eye in this too.

So read the story, and if you need new tires for your car or truck, maybe Goodyear isn’t the best option.

Then again, people like you and me don’t drive in ovals at 100-something miles per hour, do we?

NASCAR apologizes for Indianapolis tire fiasco
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR apologized Tuesday for the tire fiasco that ruined its prestigious race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and vowed to avoid a repeat.
A durability issue with the tires Goodyear brought to Indy forced NASCAR to call cautions every 10 to 12 laps on Sunday to slow the action and force teams to change their tires before they failed. The longest run under the green flag was 13 laps, and Jimmie Johnson claimed the victory at the end of a seven-lap sprint to the finish in the second-slowest race in the 15 years NASCAR has competed at the Brickyard.
The drivers were disgusted, fans were frustrated and NASCAR is still trying to figure out why things went so wrong.
“I can’t say enough how sorry we are and it’s our responsibility being NASCAR that we don’t go through this situation again,” said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition.
“The race didn’t come off like we had hoped, the fans didn’t get what they exactly wanted and we’ll do everything in our power — it won’t happen again, I can tell you that much.”
But NASCAR must first figure out why Goodyear’s tires struggled so mightily at Indianapolis. The only thing that is certain is that the tire compound Goodyear selected was not strong enough when combined with NASCAR’s current car.
The new car is a heavier model that puts significantly more stress on right-side tires, and Goodyear’s inventory last weekend couldn’t hold up to the pressure.
“It’s obvious that we didn’t go there with the right car-slash-tire combination,” Pemberton conceded.
The problem was exposed in a Saturday afternoon practice session, when some cars couldn’t make it three laps without the tire wearing down to the cords. A second practice session was only slightly better, when the runs stretched to about 10 laps before tires began to falter.
Goodyear shipped in an emergency batch of 800 tires it had earmarked for this weekend’s race at Pocono, and NASCAR pulled all the crew chiefs together hours before Sunday’s start to discuss a strategy for staging a safe race.
Officials decided to throw a “competition caution” 10 laps into the race to examine the tire wear, and promised to continuously monitor throughout the race. With Pemberton patrolling pit road, it became clear the tires wouldn’t last much past the 10-lap window unless the abrasive Indy surface began to pick up rubber that would help the tires’ traction and extend their wear.
It never happened, as the surface became the equivalent of a cheese grater and the rubber turned into a black dust that made the track even slicker — forcing NASCAR to take control of the race.
“We have to run the race and we have to run the safest race possible, and when we’re in situations where we have to take control under adverse circumstances, that’s what we do,” Pemberton said. “To get ahead of it and have the safest race possible, we had to take control and that’s what we did — run 10 to 11 laps at a time and let the cautions fly.”

Look in the Saturday editions of the Enterprise-Record and Oroville Mercury-Register, plus www.ChicoER.com, for a story on the King of California series.

Oh, and by the way, I love the swamp cooler in the press box here. Heavenly.

Swindell has won the World of Outlaws title twice and lives in Tennessee, and to me he sounded like he’s enjoying not living the daily grind of a sprint car racer at that level. He also has a son who he seems to enjoy working with.

And so that’s why this weekend is likely to be so special, because Swindell may not come back ever again, and from rumblings I’ve heard, Rolfe might be looking to sell the team and his No. 10 car that Tim Kaeding bailed on in the past two weeks.

That is just rumor, so as far as we all should be concerned, Rolfe owns the team and will continue to do so.
Track announcer Troy Hennig has been supremely geeked over Swindell all week long, telling me that he’s the second-most legendary sprint car racer behind Steve Kinser.

I guess I’ll have to see it for myself Friday night.

One of my favorites is definitely Internet freedom. I don’t mean freedom as in I can treat my company’s dinosaur of a computer like my own, or look at any nudie site I want to. No, I mean that I have much more leniency than most people at work, and I can use sites like MySpace, Linkedin and YouTube for work purposes. Yeah, I know. Pretty neat.

Technically I am “networking,” though sometimes I watch a little snippet of Chopper Reid on YouTube or laugh at some bulletin on MySpace.

Today, I watched some sprint car racing on YouTube — and the HR department can’t hassle me about it because I was doing (cough, cough) research. Now I am going to share that research with you.

You can find lots of sprint car racing on YouTube and Silver Dollar has some solid recognition. Special thanks to people who posted under the screennames markfromNorcal and Coolpix12, you have some great footage online.

Take a look at these links on some free time at work. That is, if your boss counts it as research.

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE AGAIN

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE

CLICK HERE ONCE AGAIN

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETION'S SAKE