Track Highlites

03/02/04

Well, here it is the beginning of March once again. The weather is getting better by the day and the snow is melting by the minute. It won’t be long before the winter of 03/04 is just a memory and we are all headed to Lee USA for the BNS opener on April 25^th. With the cold and snow we’ve had this winter, there have been lots of hours in between snowmobile trips, ice fishing trips and various other cold weather activities, to do plenty of reminiscing.

I’ve been following racing for most of my life. I must have been about 14 years old when I finally convinced my Mom to let me get into a car with a group of older friends and go to Oxford Plains Speedway for the very first time and I’ve been totally hooked ever since. There were many seasons that I never missed a show at the speedway, whether it was a regular Saturday night race, a Sunday make-up race or a special Open Competition show. I even helped out with a Sportsman car there for quite a few years. Of course, as soon as I had a driver’s license, I started travelling to other tracks including going to some of the Cup and Busch races.

I had followed the Busch North Series as well as some other tours for a few years, but it was in 1998 that I really got interested. Over the past five years I’ve been following closely and trying to attend as many races as possible. Every race has some memories attached to it, some good, some bad, some ugly. I haven’t been to all of the BNS tracks past or present, but I’ve still got lots of memories and here are some of them in the order of this season’s schedule.

Lee USA: My most memorable moment at Lee came in the very first race of 1999 which also happened to be the first race I attended as part of the media rather than as a fan in the stands. I took my son Dave, who was just 13 years old at the time, with me and we were leaning on the steel guardrail between the pit road and the track during practice. A Supermodified came out of turn four and lost it. The car slid toward the fence through the grass. The driver got the car stopped before it hit the guardrail but the look on Dave’s face when he turned and saw it coming was worth a million bucks!

Thompson: I’ve never been to Thompson due to the OPS 250 always being scheduled on the same weekend. I have never missed and don’t intend to ever miss a 250. I could write a whole book about special moments I’ve had at that race! Fortunately, the schedule has changed this year and I will be able to attend my first Thompson BNS race.

Lime Rock Park: My favorite track ever! My favorite memory has to be of Brad Leighton’s 2000 championship victory party after the race. We had so much fun that I spent most of the rest of the night lost in a camper bathroom in the dark. I still hear about that from time to time.

Seekonk: On my first trip to "The Concrete Palace" I stood up above looking down at all the concrete and listening to a group of guys including Howie Hodge, Bill Quirk and others telling me that years ago they had filled it with water and raced motor boats around it. I still haven’t decided if I believe that one or not!

Stafford Motor Speedway: I’ve been to Stafford quite a few times and it is one of my favorites but the most memorable race was the one I decided to take my wife and both kids to. Stafford is about five hours from my house. We drove down just for the race then drove home right afterward. Anyone who has spent 10 hours in a car with a wife and two kids, and not arrived home until about 6:00 in the morning, knows why I would get a room next time.

I’ve never been to Holland or Erie and, until they move them about 500 miles closer to Maine, I probably never will.

Waterford Speedbowl: I’ve only been once but the racing was excellent and the hospitality was second to none! A group of us went with our buddy, Rob, who did maintenance for the track at the time and we all sat on top of a storage container with Phil Rowe, who also worked at the track then. We had quite a picnic up there with lots of food and drink. I don’t know how none of us fell off that roof and into the pit area but we managed not to. Of course, neither Rob nor Phil work for the track any longer so I guess I’d have to obey the rules like everyone else if I were to go back.

NHIS: I have been to NHIS so many times and have so many wonderful memories that I wouldn’t know where to start. We are treated better at NHIS than anywhere else. This will always be one of my favorites. I guess one of my most vivid memories involves copies of Busch North Scene, port-a-johns and large women. Thank goodness we all grow up sometime!

Adirondack: See Erie and Holland.

Watkins Glen: Another of my favorite tracks. (I’m a road course nut from way back) I went to WG a few years ago with a couple friends, a pop-up camper and a huge cooler. Not only was the racing very good but the camping/partying experience was unbelievable. When we got back to camp we found we had been visited, but rather than steal anything, the visitors had left us an open package of B-B-Q flavored Vienna Sausage. I’m pretty sure there was a hidden meaning to that and if anyone can figure it out and call me, I’d be appreciative!

Beech Ridge: Another track that I have many memories of because I’ve been there so many times. My favorite memory was just last season when I had the pleasure of riding in the pace car for a few races and learning how not to soil my shorts every time I thought the pole sitter was going to drive right into the back of the pace car.

Dover: Possibly my all time favorite BNS memory. We went a lap around Dover, wide open, at 3:00 in the morning in a brand new Firebird with a longhaired, psycho, crew chief driving and one guy standing up through the roof taking pictures. Then security caught, and questioned, us. No doubt, one of the highlights of my racing life!

Wall Township Speedway: New on the schedule this season. Sounds like a perfect opportunity to make some memories!

As always, send Questions, Comments, Hate Mail, and Indecent Proposals to, Fish c/o Busch North Scene or e-mail them to fishy@gwi.net