24 hours of summer, four-wheel style

Last year, Labor Day weekend was marked by four days of four-wheel fun – auto racing and car shows. This year, we’re cutting it down to two days – Friday night at Oswego Speedway in Central NY and the Olcott Beach Car Show in Niagara County on Saturday.

The trip to Oswego itself is something to talk about as a racing fan, because the route we take goes through Cato, NY – home of Xfinity Series driver Regan Smith.

The race has become a tradition – a stop by the Race of Champions Modifieds plus qualifying action for the Supermodifieds and SBS Modifieds. I’ve become a bit spoiled, having spent the season on the infield at Lancaster, and now catchfences just bother me…

Andy Jankowiak won the RoC race, followed by Matt Hirschman and Tony Hanbury.

Andy Jankowiak

Matt Hirschman

Tony Hanbury

The Supermodifieds are really cool and really quick, and have their own celebrities: No. 00, Joe Gosek – known as “Double-0 Joe” – raced in the 1996 Indy 500, and Indy Racing League veteran and IndyCar Series co-owner Davey Hamilton (No. 6 Supermodified) raced in 11 Indy 500s.

Davey Hamilton

On Saturday, we took the trek to Olcott Beach – it was a beautiful day for a car show, and there were plenty of cars to be seen: more than 800! It was about 10 degrees cooler than it was when we left Amherst, and there was a breeze – it felt soooooo nice!

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

BfloGirlSports: Race of Champions at Lancaster Speedway – August 15th, 2015

Matt Hirschman (left) and Team 49 Racing (three on right)
They're unofficial members of Dad's team when they're at Lancaster!

It was a much better showing and a much better race for the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Tour at Lancaster Speedway on Saturday, August 15^th. The annual Tommy Druar /Tony Jankowiak Memorial 110 was won by Patrick Emerling, followed by Chuck Hossfeld, Andy Jankowiak, Matt Hirschman and Tony Hanbury.

Bobby Holmes

Patrick Emerling

Matt Hirschman

The Street Stocks and 4-Cylinders were also in action, and the crowd on hand was HUGE! It was great to see, since about a year ago the future of Lancaster was up in the air – Modified racing will bring folks from all around!

The Modifieds will be back as part of the US Open in September.

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

Race of Champions at Holland Motorsports Complex – July 11th, 2015

The Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Tour came to Holland Motorsports Complex on Saturday, July 11^th for a 100-lap event, and as a long-time racing fan, I have to honestly say it wasn’t one of the better shows I had been to.

One thing that has to be taken into account for an event like this is time, and that was the biggest thing they seemed to have forgotten. Starting a 100-lap Modified event at 10 p.m. when your track curfew is 11 p.m. isn’t smart. Neither is having a “10 minute autograph session” that goes closer to 30 when you know about the curfew.

Something (someone) else that wasn’t smart – the “roving reporter,” who was constantly referring to drivers by the wrong names during face-to-face interviews – that’s unacceptable.

A smarter move would have been to start the Mods show at 8:30 p.m. and continue the other classes at the conclusion, or just have fewer classes (there were four support classes). Another smart move – give the roving reporter a cheat sheet of names and car numbers so as to avoid looking like a fool.

The racing itself was pretty good – the Mods are always fun to watch, and the Chargers race got a little dicey at the end (especially when the driver who was wronged went after the driver who wronged him!). Patrick Emerling won the Modified race, and that was also cause for some controversy that’s too much to get into here. I just hope everyone involved learned a lesson from all the criticism they received on Facebook and the RaceNY forums.

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

Discover Buffalo 2015: Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Tour

On Thursday, June 25^th, Lancaster National Speedway hosted the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Tour for the Ol’ Boy Cup 60, the first of three remaining scheduled races at the track (the first, in April, fell victim to weather). Wow, what a crowd for a week night!

Andy Jankowiak and Chuck Hossfeld

Chuck Hossfeld won the event, followed by Matt Hirschman, Patrick Emerling, Andy Jankowiak and Jimmy Zacharias. There was also Big 10 Super Stock, 4-Cylinder and Vintage Modified action on the card.

Matt Hirschmann

Patrick Emerling

This Saturday, July 11^th, the RoC visits Holland Speedway for a 100-lap feature, along with the Pro Modifieds, Chargers, Hornets and NYPA Midgets. It’ll be an exciting night for racing fans, so don’t miss it!

Other dates coming up on the RoC schedule:

• Friday, June 24^th – Spencer Speedway
• Saturday, August 8^th – Chemung Speedrome
• Saturday, August 15^th – Lancaster National Speedway
• Friday, September 4^th – Oswego Speedway
• Saturday, September 27^th – Lancaster National Speedway
• Sunday, October 4^th – Chemung Speedrome

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com