Week 16 Recap

On your mark get set………Stop? Lakeside Speedway Event Coordinator and I-35 Speedway Announcer Rick Staley made this exact statement to the 2-3 year old “Stinky Feet Racers” at Lakeside Speedway, guess how well they listened. Rick, my grandsons (4, 3, 2, 1) know it is on your mark, get set, GO! Something Rick and his son Allen Staley do a great job is planning activities for intermission at both tracks. They have taken the inversion draw to a different level getting sections of the grandstands to raise the most noise to see which balloon gets popped. They are doing a great job of creating fun activities, imagine just weeks ago, the three legged race with Gene Claxton on a team. Once a racer always a racer!

Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day! This has become the mantra for I-35 Speedway. This past month it has been a battle every week. Week 16 the forecast was a 20% chance of rain late on Saturday early Sunday morning. Well, as racing started the anvil heads of thunderstorms could be seen, but still very far away. However, with this day and age of radar on your phone we could all see them coming. They are moving east, should miss us, no they are moving towards us, forecast has been changed to 60% at 11 P.M., so what is correct, what is nonsense?

So we go into hurry up mode, all tracks do it knowing weather is coming. We move the trophy presentations to the end of the night, races are shortened if needed, sprinkles come and officials are checking the track ensuring the safety of our drivers, all this in an effort to get the races completed for the fans and the racers. Unfortunately, I-35 Speedway had two features remaining when the skies opened with a heavy deluge, which means Stock Cars have double features this weekend, and the following weekend the A Mods will have double features.

The other part of this weekend is the never ending preparation for a Big Show. Tuesday was the USMTS and Lucas Oil Late Models at Lakeside. This means those preparing the track are working overtime, from ordering food, scheduling, selling tickets, track prep, mowing, trash pick-up, stocking, etc. For two race tracks that is five shows in nine days which makes for some tired folks. Normally Sunday is an off day but Randy Reber, owners Mike and Kyle Johnson, Diana and myself were at Lakeside Speedway preparing for the Tuesday race event.

Speaking of events, the Lakeside Speedway Museum is set to open on August 1 in the area behind suites 7, 8 and 9. This museum has received a 1963 trophy won by Clyde Ellis. Soon we will be receiving donations from the Charlie Kraft family. Charlie and Betty Kraft began the “Old Timers” which their night is also August 1. The museum will cover the eras of 1955 to 1969, 1970 to 1988, 1989 through 1999 the asphalt years, and 2000 to 2012, 2013 to the present. We are accepting donations, photo albums, copies of photo albums, all former racers at Lakeside Speedway are invited to display their donations and tell their stories. We have items from the NASCAR days from the asphalt days from all the different eras. This museum will grow as we receive items, looking forward to opening on August 1.