Moving On

Back at Tucson Speedway, mid-February, got to help Wade/Casey Skyberg Racing bang out the dents from a race the previous night.  Took about 4 hours to get the car back together.  Great fun, even though this modified racing stuff was still somewhat new to me. 

 

 Lorna and I watched the races, as usual, from the stands that night, but visited with Wade afterward in the pits.  They were going to Oklahoma, where they would convert the car to USMTS specs for the beginning of that group's season in the midwest.  We were headed back to Ajo.  Took the opportunity to mention that we might go down to Texas for the first of that series of races.  We learned that from "Stalking 101" in school!  

Fortunately for us, they didn't really object (having evidently missed the "Avoiding and Deterring Stalkers" class),  and the die was cast.  We met them next at the I-37 Speedway at San Antonio, then on to South Texas Speedway/Corpus Christi; Cotton Bowl @ Austin, and a 2-day show at Ennis (Dallas).

Doug helped each night in the pits, simple stuff like scraping mud, tire pressures and so on.  Lorna also did some maintenance, cleanup and a little cooking, but watched the racing from the stands.

Then the wheels came off, due to some sort of an anti-racing Virus.  We retreated.

We resumed racing in late May with a non-point race at Webster City, IA, then on to Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain City MN, then a non-points race at Jackson MN with zero spectators, and a race the next night in Stuart IA that was rained out after the first heat race.  Weather and this Virus thing caused a lot of  changes during this period.  Some tracks were not allowed spectators, while others just across the state line would pack the stands.  Almost surreal how differently various governing agencies dealt with this virus through orders, restrictions and conditional re-opening,  We have traveled thousands of miles - according to Google Maps! - and been through hundreds of towns in the past 2 months.  At times you can move around being nearly unaware that there is a health crisis in this country.  Restaurants are frequently packed, usually no masks.  Gas stations and truck stops have very clean restrooms, soap in the dispensers, hand sanitizers, touch-free paper towels, automatic doors, foot-brackets on bathroom doors, etc.  This is extraordinary.  (The notable exception is the barbecue restaurant at the truck stop west of Stillwater by the interstate, which had no soap in the bathrooms, no hand sanitizer in the dispensers at the front door, and was generally less than tidy; however the waitress did compensate by knocking over a full glass of ice-water directly in Lorna's lap!)  But I digress . . . .

We raced last week at Lucas Oil Speedway/Wheatland MO (What a facility, WOW!),on to Park City (Wichita) KS, then Humboldt Kansas and finally Pocola, OK.  Plenty of enthusiastic spectators at each track.  Fireworks and other fanfare, decent food at the tracks, great friendly folks!  It's a hoot!

Leaving Stillwater tomorrow for New Richmond, WI/Cedar Lake Speedway three day show.  This is a big one.  We will have both modified cars with us, and the Late Model is being delivered by trailer separately.  And our eldest daughter caught the bug at Pocola, went home to K.C. MO, drove the next day here, and will be joining us for the next couple weeks on the road!  (the Racing Bug, of course.)

Sorry about the length and content of this one, but I felt we needed to bring people up to date on how we arrived at this point.  We will strive to post more current info as we go forward, and as we have time.  Many times we race til after midnight, then have to move to the next track.  Think:  Barnum & Bailey!  So posting times will vary.

Thanks for tolerating!  Be Safe.  and Have Some FUN!

Doug & Lorna