Hoping to go racing anytime soon. We were ready to go to Waynesfield last week and made a last minute decision to stay home based upon the weather channel. The later in the day it got with no rain, the more I started to think I made a bad decision. Around 8 o'clock I learned that they had called the event due to rain. The news came with mixed emotions as I had hoped that they would get the first race of the year in up at Waynesfield, but a little glad I didn't miss anything. I guess will give it another shot this weekend. I understand there was 21 cars in the pits. I was anxious to see how some of the guys that were new to the FOZ cars would do in their first outing including Garry Loney and Lee Underwood.
The bigger surprise for the weekend was that the Midwest Mini Sprint Association was able to get their first race of the year in at Brownstown Speedway. My original plans were to go to Brownstown for the non-winged event. Again based upon the radar and the amount of rain over the previous week I was betting against them running - I was wrong. I haven't seen any results posted yet, but understand that they had 16 cars in attendance, considering that we counted several cars that were just not quite done yet. The winner was Colin Ambrose. Not a bad start. They had a few pretty good tumbles. I am anxious to go to Brownstown this year. We did the non-wing event last year and despite a tommy tip-over (that was my own fault) really enjoyed the track. www.midwestminisprints.com
It appears that 35 Raceway Park is considering making a move from 600cc upright mini sprints to 1000cc upright mini sprints. We were asked to send one of our Viper Pipes mufflers for testing late last week. I understand that Ryan Broughton and Ricky Taylor turned some laps. I was pleased to hear that our 14" muffler met 35 Raceway's stringent decibel requirements. www.viperpipes.com It sounds as if they are planning a race for the 1000cc mini sprints at 35 Raceway late in May on a date that doesn't conflict with any of the other series.
This weekend should be a real test with the mini sprints scheduled to appear simulaneously at 4 different area tracks including the MMSA at Kokomo, AMSA at KC Raceway, Waynesfield's weekly show and Twin Cities running their own special event.
Our new tachometers have been a strong selling item, so much so that we've had trouble keeping them in stock. If you've been trying to get one - we finally had a large shipment come in. http://www.speedpartz.com/ace_1100.htm
One of the other new products that we have been working on is the Anti-Gravity Batteries lithium racing battery. These are pretty amazing little batteries. On our car we were able to save 11 pounds by using the 6900 model of the battery. This is the model recommended for 1000cc mini sprints and weighs in at just 2.9lbs. They also offer a model the 4600 that is better suited for 600cc modified midgets and sidewinders. One of our customers CJ O'Leary registered a victory with the UMRA TQ midgets using one of the new batteries. His crew chief said they were really happy with the battery. Click here to view product on website
I was recently invited over to a practice day at the Indianapolis. One of my earliest racing memories was skipping a day of school and riding over to practice on the back of my dad's motorcycle. I remember we rode out in the rain. It continued to rain for a while once we arrived at the track, but the weather finally broke and we ended up having a great day. In the recent past I have not been as big a fan of the 500 since it seems to be missing a lot of the good local stories of sprint and midget drivers getting a shot. I think one of the last good stories at Indy for me was watching Jimmy Kite turn laps. I remember being at 35 Raceway when Jimmy made the move up from Georgia. I would have never guessed that his career would have gone as far as it did. Hopefully there will be some more good stories in the future.
That's all for now.
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