Rumors

09/09/04

 

            Well, here it is almost time to go back to NHIS. I always look forward to the September race weekend. The weather is perfect for racing at this time of year, not too hot but not cold yet, you can pack a cooler full of your favorite beverages and not have to worry about buying 10 or 15 bags of ice every morning just to keep them cold and you can sleep in a camper at night and not feel as though you are in a soup can in a toaster oven. There are also other advantages to the fall race as opposed to the summer race. At the September race there are many fewer people camping than there are in July so there is no where near the congestion in the camping areas. This leaves more room for those of us who are diehard campers to stretch out and relax between races. Another thing we all look forward to in September is watching the different series’ wrap up their seasons. The Cup series will be holding their first race of the new “Chase for the Cup” at NHIS. The Truck series is in the middle of a great battle for their championship and the NHIS race is always one of the better ones for that series. The BNS also has a good battle going for the championship and the whole top 10 in points are very close so anything could happen there if they do actually hold some more races.

            Another thing that always seems to get into high gear in September is the rumor mill. Silly season has started and rumors abound in all series’, making for a tremendous amount of fun and challenges trying to decide which ones to believe and which ones not to believe. The rumors range from ‘Probable’ to ‘Possible’ to ‘Are you nuts?’ Here is just a sampling of the rumors I’ve heard so far.

            Ricky Craven has another Cup ride lined up. Probable

            There have been a million rumors about Ricky in the past few weeks, the most likely one has him joining another team for the 2005 season, although kicking back on Moosehead Lake and watching the Darlington win on tape over and over would be my choice if I were Ricky.

            There will be a Busch North Series race at NHIS on September 18^th. Possible

It’s on the schedule but so was Beech Ridge. I would guess that if there were no rain that weekend that we’ll see a great race. Of course, I also would guess that when scheduling a touring series race that some thought would go into what we old-time race fans called a “raindate” and they proved me wrong on that one.

Martin Truex Jr. to run full Cup schedule in 2005. Possible

DEI has announced that he’ll run another full BGN season and 7 Cup races in preparation for a run for ROTY in 2006 but if Martin wins the BGN championship this season and a sponsor steps up, watch those plans change!

            Ryan Moore to run for DEI or Chance2 in 2005. Probable

            Moore already has a deal to run a few races for them and if Martin gets stepped up to Cup Ryan could see some pretty good seat time in the BGN car.

            BNS back at Oxford Plains Speedway. Possible

            I hope so! OPS and Maine were originally the hub of the North series. A couple years ago we had three races at Beech Ridge, the next year that dropped to two, then this season to one, then the one got cancelled. I have no idea whether the cancellation and lack of a rain date was the fault of NASCAR or of the speedway and it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that the Maine race fans deserve better than that.

NHIS to lose one Cup race. Possible

I sure hope not but the way NASCAR is expanding into other markets and with the rumors of new tracks in New York, New Jersey or Philadelphia, it is a possibility in the future.

2004 Busch North Banquet to be held at Mohegan Sun Casino on the weekend before Christmas. Are you nuts?

I can’t imagine anyone thinking that makes sense. The annual banquet just days before the largest holiday of the year? No way! Anyone in retail can’t get time off at that time of year, no one with a family has any money left at that time of year, some of these people are committed to racing all season long, Christmas is a break, the off season, a vacation from racing. Someone please tell me it isn’t so!

If that rumor turns out to be true I bet NASCAR has a “raindate” all in place.

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