Fireworks At
SpeedReading
By DAVE MOODY
Sunday night's spellbinding
battle between Cooper MacRitchie and Joey Laquerre -- with MacRitchie winning
his third feature in the last
The trouble started on lap 32,
when Eric Williams got into the back on John Donahue's car while the two battled
for third place. Donahue's Chevrolet slammed into the turn-four wall and burst
into flames, prompting a quick red flag from Chief Starter Mike Wilder. Donahue
quickly scrambled from his burning mount uninjured, then sprinted across the
infield to confront Williams. A verbal confrontation ensued, and after the race,
Donahue minced no words about what had happened.
"Williams stuck me in the wall," he said. "He said I was
using too much racetrack, but he never tried to pass me on the outside, even
once. He said he was sorry, but this is getting old. I'm getting
frustrated."
For his part, Williams denied trying to wreck Donahue, saying he had
attempted to "wiggle" the Graniteville driver in an attempt to get
past. "Accidents happen," he said afterward. "People don't seem
to understand that. They think we walk on water and that we're perfect, but we
make mistakes, too."
Williams received a chorus of catcalls from the ever-opinionated
Williams'
Sunday night, the Williams
Gang cheered lustily while Donahue struggled to get free of his burning racecar.
Their single-minded devotion to Williams overpowered any semblance of good
sportsmanship and common courtesy, and earned them the ire of just about
everyone within earshot. Perhaps understandable, that animosity quickly
transferred to Williams himself, turning up the volume a little further on an
already loud chorus of boo's.
Is Eric Williams an aggressive
driver? Absolutely. Is he over-aggressive? Sometimes, as is every driver worth
his salt.
Sunday night's bump was
clearly over-aggressive, and earned him a trip to the back of the pack, as it
should have. Unfortunately, Williams' backmarker status in the
That is unfortunate.
rrr
Updating a story we first
brought you three weeks ago, the American Speed Association continues to battle
for its financial life. It's July 4 date at Pikes Peak International Raceway was
cancelled recently, just days before the series' only east coast event -- at
ASA now sanctions four
different racing divisions, three of which are new for 2004. ASA also manages
and/or sanctions 14 "member tracks," a full slate of responsibility
that some say was too much for Dale and his employees to handle. Teams competing
on ASA's National Tour say they have not received full purse checks in several
events, and ASA founder Rex Robbins recently filed suit in
ASA's fall has been swift and
surprising. As recently as 2000, both General Motors and B.F. Goodrich tires
provided heavy backing to ASA's National Series, and a number of promising young
drivers made the series a stepping stone to NASCAR competition. In 2002, ASA
signed a five-year contract with The Nashville Network (TNN) to broadcast its
races live. Pitted against NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series on Sunday afternoons,
ASA's broadcasts struggled to find an audience, and the original five-year pact
was quickly trimmed to three years, then eventually terminated when TNN elected
to revamp its programming at the end of 2002.
Despite the loss of the TV
contract, Dale announced his intent to purchase ASA late in 2002, along with two
partners; both of whom bowed out of the project just monts after the proposal
was announced. B.F. Goodrich made a verbal commitment to support the series, but
ultimately came through with a sponsorship package $1 million short of the
original figure. Instead of pocketing the $42,500 per event TNN had paid to
broadcast ASA racing the previous year, Dale found himself paying to have his
races televised; another shortfall of more than $1 million. Last year, faced
with plummeting ratings and slammer crowd and car counts, B.F. Goodrich further
reduced its support for the series.
In an attempt to reorganize
and get his company back on track, Dale has cut the schedule from 20 events to
16. He also announced a plan for the remainder of 2004 that includes a reduction
in point fund and winner’s circle money paid to competitors. While many ASA
competitors are obviously unhappy with the move, many are willing to accept
Dale's belt-tightening measures in an effort to ensure the survival of the
series.
Veteran ASA competitor, Mike
Garvey spoke for many when he said, “We have to make some concessions, and ASA
had to make concessions also. If this gets us through the end of the year, and
hopefully some sponsors come in, then we can go on. If this is what we have to
do to survive it then I’m all behind it. We’ll do everything we can, and I
think most of the racers will. We’ve got to survive to go forward.”
rrr
Short
(Track) Subjects…
…
…Michael Waltrip is the
latest NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver to enter the NASCAR Busch Series "
The "New England
200" will be part of a full day of racing which includes the Busch North
Series "New England 125," along with final NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
practice sessions for Sunday's "New England 300." NHIS has posted a
record combined total of $6,454,900 in awards for the four NASCAR races that
weekend. The NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series will compete for $151,203 in
total posted awards in Friday's "
…Two crewmembers have been
penalized by NASCAR following an altercation in the spotter's area during the
June 26 Busch North Series event at
...The Times-Argus Midseason
Championships roll to the line tonight at
Friday night on the Canaan
(NH) Fair Speedway dirt track, the Clear Channel Weekly Racing Series hosts a
full card of racing events, plus a Twin State Sportsman Coupe Series race and
the ACOT racers. The Terminator and Goldberg Monster Trucks will also be a part
of the program, with rides in the trucks available for an additional five
dollars. The green flag waves at 7:00pm.
Saturday night will be a busy
one, as
Sunday night, Airborne Raceway
debuts the first of its Dirt/Asphalt Challenge Series events for 2004, with the
dirt track modifieds competing on the Airborne half-mile oval for the first time
in more than a decade. ACT Dodge Tour star Todd Stone and former Airborne track
champion Frank Keene of Chelsea headline the modified roster for what ranks as
one of the most eagerly anticipated events in a long, long time. The
Tiger-Sportsman, Renegade, and Junkyard Warrior divisions will also be a part of
the Beverage Mart-sponsored program, beginning at 5 p.m.