“Pro motorcycle racers rave about large, enthusiastic crowds at ... - Atlantic City Press” plus 4 more

Pro motorcycle racers rave about large, enthusiastic crowds at ... - Atlantic City Press
Kowalski was a talented runner and a great human - New Britain Herald
Brown takes No. 1 spot in Top Fuel - Inside Bay Area
Frank Gardner: Racing driver who turned down Formula One but won ... - The Independent
Williams Co. Fair opens next weekend - Crescent-News

Pro motorcycle racers rave about large, enthusiastic crowds at ... - Atlantic City Press

Posted: 06 Sep 2009 09:02 PM PDT

Inside: Link to Ben Fogletto's gallery of 71 photos from Sunday's action at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville

MILLVILLE - The American Motorcyclist Association was a hit with fans at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

The fans were even more of a hit with the AMA.

Attendance figures weren't released, but the crowds for Saturday and Sunday's races were by far the biggest in NJMP's two-year history, according to track officials. It was even a lot by AMA standards.

"We haven't had this many fans at probably three races combined, so this was good to see," Danny Eslick said Sunday after finishing seventh in the Daytona Sportbike race to edge race winner Josh Herrin for the season championship.

Eslick's dramatic finish was just a warmup for an intensely competitive American Superbike race.

Josh Hayes outraced the legendary Mat Mladin in Mladin's final race to win the season finale. Hayes and Mladin exchanged the lead more than a dozen times before Hayes pulled away in the final few laps for a comfortable win.

"It's one of those deals where I was just trying to keep myself close to the front," Hayes said. "I worked as hard as I could the whole race."

It was an impressive show for fans who were seeing the first major motorcycle race at the track, which is nearing the end of its second season.

There were easily tens of thousands of fans in attendance, and NJMP general manager Kevin Wittman confirmed that it was "by far" the biggest crowd in the park's brief history.

Thousands of motorcycles filled the parking areas, and Wittman said RV spots were completely sold out.

"This was a real mind-bending change to come in here this morning and see the cars backed up into town," Wittman said.

The riders certainly noticed.

"It's great that the very first event had this many fans," Hayes said. "They've made us feel like rock stars, for sure."

AMA president Roger Edmondson said his expectations "were exceeded in every way."

"I'm fond of saying the first one is always the worst one," Edmondson said. "And if this is the worst one, they've got a great future at this facility."

While race organizers are often tight-lipped about announcing future dates, Edmondson said NJMP has locked up AMA's Labor Day weekend races "for the foreseeable future."

The fans weren't the only reason for Sunday's optimism. Riders were enthusiastic in their approval of the track, which made several adjustments after AMA held test days here in July.

"This track is pretty fun to ride," said Aaron Yates, who finished third in the American Superbike race. "This is a technical track, for sure, and I enjoyed it."

Yates' boss at Michael Jordan Motorsports, NBA legend Michael Jordan, was nowhere to be seen for the second straight day.

But Jordan wasn't needed to draw crowds that dwarfed previous Grand-Am and Automobile Racing Club of America races here.

Colin McFarlane of Yardley, Pa., was here for the Grand-Am races in May. McFarlane, 54, came back with his 11-year-old son Andrew on Sunday.

"The crowd was much bigger today," McFarlane said. "These are top national riders, so I expected a good crowd. But this is probably bigger than I expected."

Matthew Quinlan, 14, of Vineland, said he was impressed with the atmosphere the park provided.

"It was much better than I expected," Quinlan said.

Mark Silva, 22, was attending his first race. Silva, an Alaska native who is based in Delaware for the Air Force, didn't hesitate when asked if he'll be back for next year's race.

"Oh, hell yeah," Silva said.

AMA and track officials anticipate even bigger crowds in the future.

"I think you saw a love affair this weekend," Wittman said. "The beginning of a Labor Day tradition."

Notes: Mladin retires with 82 career wins, 50 more than anyone else, and a record 10 this season. … Herrin and Hayes each won the final four races of the season in Daytona Sportbike and American Superbike, respectively. … NJMP's next major race is less than a week away, when ARCA returns. Practices start Friday, and the main event is the ARCA race Sunday at 1 p.m.

E-mail Jason Mazda:

JMazda@pressofac.com

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Kowalski was a talented runner and a great human - New Britain Herald

Posted: 06 Sep 2009 07:00 PM PDT

By BART FISHER
Special to the Herald

It was a time so rich in running talent that it may never come again to this state.

Back in the mid-1960s central Connecticut was, for whatever reason, an absolute hotbed of distance running talent. Not good, but great. Not a few, but many.

Although his name may not be quite as familiar or as famous as some of his contemporaries and competitors, Pulaski's Ed Kowalski, who died last month at age 60, was every bit as talented and as dedicated.

Everyone even remotely familiar with long distance racing has heard of Newington's Bill Rodgers and his Wesleyan roommate and fellow Boston Marathon winner Amby Burfoot. Kowalski is probably the only runner in the state to have challenged both of them with anything approaching regularity. Then there was East Hartford High star Dave Smith, another true standout in his time. Yes, the area was alive with skilled and gifted runners and Kowalski clearly ranks among the very best of them. His friend and Pulaski classmate William Guzze, Jr., (an outstanding football player on some of Bill Eaton's best teams) provided the details, but many fans of high school sports in general and the Pulaski Generals in particular will recall Kowalski's electrifying 1966 performances without the "visual aids" provided here.

He served notice of what he was capable of doing at an indoor meet held at the University of Connecticut early in the year. There, he set a new record for the two-mile run, crossing the finish line in 9:45.8, a time which obliterated Smith's mark of 9:56.1, which had been set the previous year. Kowalski also won the Hartford Public Invitational at the State Armory that winter in 9:45 flat, bettering the previous meet record of 10.01, also held by Smith, with ease. But those efforts were warm-ups for what was to come outside, in the spring.

Running in the 17th Eastern Sectional Track and Field meet in Storrs, Kowalski once again proved he was one of the true elites. Here's what the Herald wrote when the competition was over: "Kowalski ran the greatest two mile race in the history of Connecticut schoolboy track. He ran the distance in the sizzling time of 9:26.8, almost tying the New England mark of 9:24.8 set last year by Art Dulong of Randolph, Mass."

As important as the time he ran that spring day at UConn was who he ran it against. Rodgers, who went on to become the greatest American marathoner of all-time and arguably the best the world has ever seen, also broke the old state record that day. But he finished second to the Pulaski standout. Roger Jackiewicz, another Pulaski star, Val Fadziewicz, running for Irv Black's New Britain High powerhouse and Burfoot, the previous record holder, bettered the standard as well. But they did it watching Kowalski cross the finish line in front of them.

At year's end, when the top athletic awards were presented at Pulaski it was Kowalski who walked, or perhaps that should be "ran" away with the top honors. He earned both the Frank J. DiLoreto Award, emblematic of the school's finest male athlete and the Charles T. Avedisian Trophy, named for the one-time New Britain Director of Athletics and former New York Football Giants star.

Kowalski was just as impressive in life as he was in athletics. He leaves behind his loving wife Nancy and stepson, Scott and a huge cadre of friends, including many of the most outstanding Pulaski sports stars of all time. In later years, he built a successful ceiling construction business. Always a fan of speed, he was proud of his 50th Anniversary edition Candy Apple Red Corvette and his magnificent Harley Davidson motorcycle.

New Britain sports fans should be and are equally proud of what this exceptional runner and extraordinary human being accomplished.

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Brown takes No. 1 spot in Top Fuel - Inside Bay Area

Posted: 06 Sep 2009 04:44 PM PDT

CLERMONT, Ind.—Antron Brown raced to the No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel on Sunday in the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, taking the top spot for the seventh time this season with a run of 3.835 seconds at 319.22 mph.

A two-time event winner in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Brown will try to win it for the first time in Top Fuel on Monday at O'Reilly Raceway Park when he faces rookie Spencer Massey in the opening round.

Robert Hight, Mike Edwards and Matt Smith also will lead their categories into the eliminations in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

Hight took his first top qualifying award at this race and the second of the season with his run of 4.082 at 309.20 in a Ford Mustang. Hight, who has won the event two of the last three years, will face Grant Downing in the first round.

Hight is one of three drivers, including defending series champ Cruz Pedregon and rookie Matt Hagan, who are locked in a tight battle to make the Countdown to 1, NHRA's playoffs. Following this event, the top 10 in each pro category will compete in the six-race championship playoffs, which begin Sept. 18 at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.

In Pro Stock, Edwards earned his 10th No. 1 effort of the season and first in the event with his run of 6.581 at 209.01 in a Pontiac GXP. Edwards, the 1998 will, will face Rickie Jones in the first round.

Smith claimed his second No. 1 qualifying position of the season and 16th overall in Pro Stock Motorcycle,

covering the quarter-mile distance in 6.918 at 192.38 on his Suzuki. Smith, a three-time Indy finalist and 2006 winner, will face Junior Pippin in the opening round.

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Frank Gardner: Racing driver who turned down Formula One but won ... - The Independent

Posted: 06 Sep 2009 04:08 PM PDT

Frank Gardner might not have been as well known outside his sport as his contemporaries Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt, but that was exactly how he preferred it. In a career that spanned a quarter of a century and embraced championships in Formula 5000 (1971) and British saloon cars (1967, '68) and success in international sportscar racing, he established a reputation as a redoubtable professional and car sorter par excellence (the car sorter sets up the car so it operates at maximum effectiveness). With his white flannel hat and devastatingly dry sense of humour he came across as precisely what he was: a quick racer driver who had seen enough of life to get his head around it and understand just where he fitted in.

He competed in speedway and motorcycle events before switching to race a Jaguar XK120 at Mount Druitt in 1948, close by his native city of Sydney, Australia. But an initial interest had been boxing; he won all six of his professional fights. "The walk from the dressing room to the ring is always the apprehensive thing," he said. "The last thing you're thinking is that the bloke is going to sort you out. That walk, with people cheering or heckling you, was always the big thing. The rest of it was a formality if you'd trained right. Like rowing, boxing was a discipline that got you organised for later life."

He forged a reputation as a specialist in big cars such as Ford's Falcon and Boss Mustang, Chevrolet's Camaro or Lola's brutish open-wheeled Formula 5000 machines: "You wore a single seater and you drove it to the stage where you felt your tyres go light and knew you were somewhere near the limit. The trick was to keep the tyres feeling as light as possible, because while you did that it was like being on a skid pan. Before you slide everything goes light and a bit peaceful, but go over it and then it all takes off on you."

Gardner turned down the chance to race F1 full-time with Brabham when Dan Gurney left in 1965. Denny Hulme grabbed the opportunity, and went on to become world champion. Gardner had no regrets, and chose instead to race for Ford. "It was the best deal in the world, a lot more than I would have been getting for F1. I didn't necessarily want to be the quickest driver in the business, though I certainly wanted to be the oldest..."

The car that said it all about his pragmatic blend of perseverance and courage – and his laconic manner – was the original Porsche 917. When asked to drive the wayward beast in the Nrburgring 1000kms in 1969, he asked team manager Huschke von Hanstein, "What about Jo Siffert?"

"He's in the hospital."

"Brian Redman?"

"He's in the hospital."

"Rico Steinemann?"

"He's in the hospital too."

He did the lion's share of the driving. "I decided it was a lot easier to settle for what the thing would stay on the road at, than be a little bit more heroic and throw it all into the undergrowth," he said. "It was an animal, structurally wrong. The chassis flexed. You could have jacked up the windscreen wiper and put a new car under it, but even then you'd doubt the windscreen wiper! I've always said that the Nrburgring was the circuit that Hitler designed for Jewish racing drivers, but to be there in a Porsche that didn't handle was an experience. You had 600 bhp and 10 inch wide wheels, and the track was wet. It was a mess!"

He would never be persuaded into acknowledging his own heroics that day and was equally diffident about that car-sorting tag, preferring instead to pay strong homage to the Lola founder Eric Broadley. "A lot of good people had the benefits of Eric's philosophies, such as Patrick Head and John Barnard."

Motor racing fascinated him, but he regarded it wryly. "Of course, it's all moved on now, hasn't it?" he said after he had retired. "Everybody is convinced that you can't move unless you've got five engineers, computers, a trainer, an adviser, a bloody manager, a solicitor, a Protestant Pope and an Irish king! The basics haven't altered, but the cost has just gone through the roof. In the old days you'd walk into a shop like Brabham's and there's your car, all those tubes on the wall. You want the car, go and make it."

Ten years ago Gardner drove Professor Sid Watkins' safety car at the Australian GP in Melbourne. "I don't have regrets," he said, "but I would like to have sampled some of the sophisticated equipment that's developed since I stopped racing. I was looking at that new Mercedes GT car at the Grand Prix Ball last night, and a thing like that gives you a traveller in the trousers. You would love to be 40 years younger. My only regrets are missing out on driving something like that, otherwise I'm happy the way things went. Earning big money is one thing, being around to spend it is another."

David Tremayne

Frank Gardner, racing driver and team manager; born Sydney, Australia 1 October 1930; married Gloria (one son, one daughter); died Gold Coast, Australia 28 August 2009.

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Williams Co. Fair opens next weekend - Crescent-News

Posted: 06 Sep 2009 01:09 PM PDT

By LISA NICELY

nicely@crescent-news.com

MONTPELIER -- It's time to come out and meet your friends and neighbors at the Williams County Fair.

"It's been a tough year in Williams County," said Rich Trubey, vice president of the senior fair board. "It's (the fair) a good chance to meet your neighbors and catch up with what's been going on in their lives. It's not fun having the distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the state."

Trubey said that the fair is a good place to forget about that fact and relax a while. The 147th annual fair runs Sept. 12-19 at the fairgrounds in Montpelier. Admission is $6, with children 12 and younger admitted free.

Some new attractions have been added to the agricultural exposition this year, including a pickup truck demolition derby, music and Green Day.

Veterans Day kicks off the fair, with veterans and their spouses admitted for free on Saturday. At 9 a.m., a horseshoe pitching contest gets underway. If necessary, the contest will continue at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13.

Opening ceremonies will begin at 12 p.m. at the livestock pavilion.

And lots of the county fair exhibits will be open for individuals to walk about and enjoy at that time, as well.

At 7 p.m., combine and pickup truck demolition derbies get roaring in the grandstand. Admission is $8, with a pit pass costing $10. That price includes both derbies.

"We added pickup trucks to the combine derby because there is less and less combines," said Trubey.

Another new event that Sunday will be a concert. "We will have the music of Phil Dirt & the Dozers. Their opening is by Cactus, which is a local band. Last year, we did not have music."

Sunday, Sept. 13, begins with a church service at 8 a.m. in the livestock pavilion. An additional service will be held at 2:30 p.m. in the activities shelter.

The night will come to a rocking end with Phil Dirt & the Dozers and Cactus at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5.

Kids Day will be Monday, Sept. 14, featuring a variety of activities for children such as a coin find for kids ages 3-10 in the activities shelter at 11:30 a.m. There will be children pedal tractor pulls and tractor races at 1 p.m. in the activities shelter.

At 6:30 p.m., the king and queen will be crowned in the grandstand. The nominees for queen are Sara Herman, Abby Sloan, Samantha Fitzcharles and MaKenzie Trubey. King nominees are Seth Miller, Dennis Smith and Ethan Manley.

The county band show will follow the coronation at 7:15 p.m.

The bikers will be rolling in during two-wheeled Tuesday on Sept. 15. Motorcycle drivers will be admitted free, with riders paying $6 from 5-9 p.m. The day is sponsored by R&S Lines. Harness racing will be featured at 6:30 p.m.

Women's Day is Wednesday, Sept. 16. Women will be admitted free until 5 p.m. It is also carload night from 5-9 p.m., with fair entry costing $6 per vehicle.

Activities begin with kids' day on the farm in the livestock pavilion at 9 a.m. Women's Day activities will be held at the activities shelter from 1-5 p.m. Among events are demonstration at the top of each hour on topics such as skin care, preparing for fall and winter, card making and home decor updating.

The night will end with harness racing at 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 17, is a day for many people. It is Green Day, Handicap Day, Seniors Day and youth night.

Trubey said there will be many demonstrations are part of Green Day. Oberlin Farms Demolition & Recycling in Bryan will be conducting concrete and asphalt grinding and brush clipping to demonstrate how materials are recycled. All the recycled items will be donated for use at the fairgrounds. The Williams County Solid Waste District will also be recycling at the fairgrounds.

Seniors Day activities kick off at 10 a.m. in the activities shelter. At 11 a.m., there will be a haul-in draft show for pony, mule and donkey in front of the grandstand.

From 1-2:30 p.m., the Williams County commissioners will hold a town hall meeting. At 1:30 p.m., the 50-plus anniversary club will take place at the activities shelter.

The parade will begin in front of the grandstand at 6:30 p.m., with youth night activities starting at 7 p.m. in the grandstand. The parade is comprised of 4-H clubs and the junior fair board. Youth night activities are full of adventure and include a calf catch drawing, pig scramble, horse stick races, dairy barrel race, pullet pursuit and mutton buckin'.

Friday, Sept. 18, will be a day of gathering of old friends and will end with a bang.

The Northwest State alumni gathering is slated for 4-9 p.m. at the activities center. The demolition derby will be at 6 p.m. in the grandstand. Admission is $8, with a pit pass costing $12.

The fair ends Saturday, Sept. 19, with several events. The junior fair livestock auction will be at 9:30 a.m. Then, there will be garden tractor pulls in the grandstand. Admission is free. A chain saw carving auction will be at 5 p.m.

Closing out the fair will be truck pulls in the grandstand at 6 p.m. Admission is $5 with a pit pass costing $10.