"Wanna Have Some Fun, lets tell Sammy Duke to build a DOME over the Speedway so that we can have racing ALL year long"
It is amazing what you can think of when you know we are not having any racing due
to the weather.
You want to see some real action, have Sammy Duke and his family build a DOME over West Georgia Speedway and then he can have racing all year long. Just have some vents that would let in fresh air on the sides of the building. I mean, then Sammy would not have to worry about Air Conditioning the building. Plus with a Dome over the race track, he will also be the first to try it in the South. Can you imagine what would happen if drivers knew that there would not be a rain out do to the fact that the place was enclosed with a huge Dome.
Lets just leave the race track like it is, maybe adding the scoreboard that we all would like to see, but really just building a dome and see how many drivers you would attract because they can race all season, and when they want to take a break, sure enjoy, because every Saturday there will be be a race on this "Historic" track. Put the fun back into racing, give the kids what they want, and remember NO WEATHER will stop the racing action. The only trouble I would see is that of drivers hauling their cars to and from the race track, if there was snow or ice on the ground, and how often is the South blasted with ice and snow?
The track could be used for special events also, like Powder Puff races and throw in some Demolition Derby cars. and really have a blast. Make special races that feature 100 laps of pure Sportsman cars, racing for some big cash.
Have the same for Hobby cars, just make their races 50 lap races. and give them some money for coming and racing hard.
Racing would be taken to a higher level, and fans would be treated really special.
I guess what it takes is folks like me and those that read my blog, that love racing to understand that this is a rare sport and one that draws people of all kinds. It is racing that brings the common man down from his pedestal, and they can get with other fans, and really have some great times. No one thinks another is better, just common ground, except when the green flag is dropped and racing begins, then every fan has their favorite driver and they root no matter where that driver comes in.
Georgia has a host of many different driver's that come from all kinds of backgrounds and do all kinds of work, each different and each man takes care of his family. You have drivers like K17 of Mark Knight, he is one of the best crate car drivers that race at West Georgia Speedway, he is a family man, and a hard working honest man, and that is what makes him special. Mark works as a Grading Supervis
or and does a great job, I mean grading has to be just right anything 2 feet off and you could have a mess.
Then you can take pure mini car driver's , like C17 of Danny Smith or I know him better as the "Cameo Man" because of his car, Danny is a hard worker and does some back breaking work, but when it is time to race on Saturday Night Danny is there for the racing, he has a wife that stands by him and that is great, families need to share the excitement of racing. Also in Pure Mini is #88 and look alike to Dale Earnhardt Jr, none
other than Rocky Johnson, who will battle the best of the drivers every Saturday night at the racetrack. Rocky is also a hard working man that takes his time and puts lots of effort into getting a winning car.
New comer Robbie Carter in the Pure Mini class, is another
driver that we have to look forward to making some great strides in his racing career. If you do not know Robbie is the son of Hobby Car driver, Jeff Carter, and we all know how Jeff can handle a car, but we will talk about him later, this is about Robbie Carter in car #4. Robbie ran his first race on the March 7, 2009 at West Georgia Speedway and like his Father told him, Robbie kept his car in the middle of the track and finished 11th out of a total of 18 pure mini cars. He did something that was very impressive, he did not wreck his car, he handled it like a pro and you could see that even if he finished in LAST place Robbie was a true WINNER. You may not know this but Robbie for years was setting up Jeff's hobby car for races, so you see Robbie can and will be a outstanding driver if he does not go crazy when some one gives him a rub, and he takes it the wr
ong way. He needs to watch his temper and remember, it is only racing. In the Hobby car division, the red and yellow #3 stands out so good among those other cars, the car is brought to the Speedway and unloaded and it is PHOTO TIME that is how good the car looks, and the driver, "Big Jeff Carter" what can you say except, this is one heck of a winning race car driver. He could have won the race on March 7th, but he laid back, he went on to finish in 4th place, but to be honest if he wanted he could have moved a car ahead of him the B1 and but Jeff will not do that, he is that kind of driver, he will beat you legally and he won't try to take you out of a race on purpose. Jeff talks soft but I know he carries a BIG STICK. I have compared him to Buddy Baker, because Buddy was huge, and he drove like it to. Trouble is Buddy wore out too many cars racing with a heavy lead foot. Another driver that was not there in the Hobby class was that of Blant Duke who drives the #01 and is one of the fastest hobby cars on the track, if you beat Blant then you have really made it. Blant was not there opening night at West Georgia Speedway because he had been racing elsewhere when his car was in a huge wreck and it was not repairable for opening night at the "Burg". So I do expect to see Blant back on Saturday March 21st, then we should see some really tight racing. A driver that stands out in Modified 
Mini, is the #6 of Richard Bagby, who in all rights has won a ton of races at West Georgia Speedway, but has some real battles with car #07 of driver Frank Long, Richard is always running toward the front and has won several races, too many to count. Richard has a fire that builds inside of him when you put him behind th
e wheel. Maybe it is because Richard has been racing so long and has seen some real action. But you know Richard and his Son Richard Dale work Monday through Friday at Richards shop in Lithia Springs Ga, called "Neighborhood Auto Center". Opening Night at West Georgia Speedway, Richard found himself battling, his son Richard Dale, who was driving the #19 that was made famous by his Father, as hard as Richard tried to pass Little Richard on the top side and bottom, his son was not having him play any games with him. Frank Long ended up winning the race, but coming in 2nd was the #19 of Richard Dale and finishing 3rd was that of Richard Bagby. All in all it was a good race, and that is what makes all the difference in the world.
In the Sportsman class, driver #99 is always at the top of his game, Rucker Orr is the man that drives the fast and furious #99 and has won several races at West Georgia Speedway, he has also taken some heat because of his driving style, but to be honest Rucker is racing to Win, and 2nd place does not enter his mind. Opening night Rucker had a fast car as he showed in Hot Laps, and in Qualifing he blistered the track, only to have his motor seize up and that was it for h
im. As I was filming I had a chance of watching Rucker and his crew and I knew something was not right, he seemed as if he was in no hurry, well my expectations were right, when the Sportsman cars were called to the track for their feature, Rucker was no where to be seen. When I glanced down to see what was happening at his truck I could see they were putting the #99 back into the hauler and that was that for Opening night for Rucker, maybe he will get them on the 21st. The Sportsman went on and raced and C18 of Shane Criswell took the victory and the 1st Sportsman win of 2009.
So 2009 opening night came to a end with a huge turn out of cars, and fans which I know made Sammy Duke a happy man.
I plan on going indepth on each driver that I believe can become the next racing star, so be ready to read and take some notes because if I write something regarding a driver, I believe in, half of the time it is because he is special and half the time I know he is a driver to reckon with in the future of racing.
Many Thanks,
Tino Patti
Freelance Video/Photographer/
Journalist and MSA contributing writer
to the weather.
You want to see some real action, have Sammy Duke and his family build a DOME over West Georgia Speedway and then he can have racing all year long. Just have some vents that would let in fresh air on the sides of the building. I mean, then Sammy would not have to worry about Air Conditioning the building. Plus with a Dome over the race track, he will also be the first to try it in the South. Can you imagine what would happen if drivers knew that there would not be a rain out do to the fact that the place was enclosed with a huge Dome.
Lets just leave the race track like it is, maybe adding the scoreboard that we all would like to see, but really just building a dome and see how many drivers you would attract because they can race all season, and when they want to take a break, sure enjoy, because every Saturday there will be be a race on this "Historic" track. Put the fun back into racing, give the kids what they want, and remember NO WEATHER will stop the racing action. The only trouble I would see is that of drivers hauling their cars to and from the race track, if there was snow or ice on the ground, and how often is the South blasted with ice and snow?
The track could be used for special events also, like Powder Puff races and throw in some Demolition Derby cars. and really have a blast. Make special races that feature 100 laps of pure Sportsman cars, racing for some big cash.
Have the same for Hobby cars, just make their races 50 lap races. and give them some money for coming and racing hard.
Racing would be taken to a higher level, and fans would be treated really special.
I guess what it takes is folks like me and those that read my blog, that love racing to understand that this is a rare sport and one that draws people of all kinds. It is racing that brings the common man down from his pedestal, and they can get with other fans, and really have some great times. No one thinks another is better, just common ground, except when the green flag is dropped and racing begins, then every fan has their favorite driver and they root no matter where that driver comes in.
Georgia has a host of many different driver's that come from all kinds of backgrounds and do all kinds of work, each different and each man takes care of his family. You have drivers like K17 of Mark Knight, he is one of the best crate car drivers that race at West Georgia Speedway, he is a family man, and a hard working honest man, and that is what makes him special. Mark works as a Grading Supervis
or and does a great job, I mean grading has to be just right anything 2 feet off and you could have a mess.Then you can take pure mini car driver's , like C17 of Danny Smith or I know him better as the "Cameo Man" because of his car, Danny is a hard worker and does some back breaking work, but when it is time to race on Saturday Night Danny is there for the racing, he has a wife that stands by him and that is great, families need to share the excitement of racing. Also in Pure Mini is #88 and look alike to Dale Earnhardt Jr, none
other than Rocky Johnson, who will battle the best of the drivers every Saturday night at the racetrack. Rocky is also a hard working man that takes his time and puts lots of effort into getting a winning car.New comer Robbie Carter in the Pure Mini class, is another
driver that we have to look forward to making some great strides in his racing career. If you do not know Robbie is the son of Hobby Car driver, Jeff Carter, and we all know how Jeff can handle a car, but we will talk about him later, this is about Robbie Carter in car #4. Robbie ran his first race on the March 7, 2009 at West Georgia Speedway and like his Father told him, Robbie kept his car in the middle of the track and finished 11th out of a total of 18 pure mini cars. He did something that was very impressive, he did not wreck his car, he handled it like a pro and you could see that even if he finished in LAST place Robbie was a true WINNER. You may not know this but Robbie for years was setting up Jeff's hobby car for races, so you see Robbie can and will be a outstanding driver if he does not go crazy when some one gives him a rub, and he takes it the wr
ong way. He needs to watch his temper and remember, it is only racing. In the Hobby car division, the red and yellow #3 stands out so good among those other cars, the car is brought to the Speedway and unloaded and it is PHOTO TIME that is how good the car looks, and the driver, "Big Jeff Carter" what can you say except, this is one heck of a winning race car driver. He could have won the race on March 7th, but he laid back, he went on to finish in 4th place, but to be honest if he wanted he could have moved a car ahead of him the B1 and but Jeff will not do that, he is that kind of driver, he will beat you legally and he won't try to take you out of a race on purpose. Jeff talks soft but I know he carries a BIG STICK. I have compared him to Buddy Baker, because Buddy was huge, and he drove like it to. Trouble is Buddy wore out too many cars racing with a heavy lead foot. Another driver that was not there in the Hobby class was that of Blant Duke who drives the #01 and is one of the fastest hobby cars on the track, if you beat Blant then you have really made it. Blant was not there opening night at West Georgia Speedway because he had been racing elsewhere when his car was in a huge wreck and it was not repairable for opening night at the "Burg". So I do expect to see Blant back on Saturday March 21st, then we should see some really tight racing. A driver that stands out in Modified 
Mini, is the #6 of Richard Bagby, who in all rights has won a ton of races at West Georgia Speedway, but has some real battles with car #07 of driver Frank Long, Richard is always running toward the front and has won several races, too many to count. Richard has a fire that builds inside of him when you put him behind th
e wheel. Maybe it is because Richard has been racing so long and has seen some real action. But you know Richard and his Son Richard Dale work Monday through Friday at Richards shop in Lithia Springs Ga, called "Neighborhood Auto Center". Opening Night at West Georgia Speedway, Richard found himself battling, his son Richard Dale, who was driving the #19 that was made famous by his Father, as hard as Richard tried to pass Little Richard on the top side and bottom, his son was not having him play any games with him. Frank Long ended up winning the race, but coming in 2nd was the #19 of Richard Dale and finishing 3rd was that of Richard Bagby. All in all it was a good race, and that is what makes all the difference in the world.In the Sportsman class, driver #99 is always at the top of his game, Rucker Orr is the man that drives the fast and furious #99 and has won several races at West Georgia Speedway, he has also taken some heat because of his driving style, but to be honest Rucker is racing to Win, and 2nd place does not enter his mind. Opening night Rucker had a fast car as he showed in Hot Laps, and in Qualifing he blistered the track, only to have his motor seize up and that was it for h
im. As I was filming I had a chance of watching Rucker and his crew and I knew something was not right, he seemed as if he was in no hurry, well my expectations were right, when the Sportsman cars were called to the track for their feature, Rucker was no where to be seen. When I glanced down to see what was happening at his truck I could see they were putting the #99 back into the hauler and that was that for Opening night for Rucker, maybe he will get them on the 21st. The Sportsman went on and raced and C18 of Shane Criswell took the victory and the 1st Sportsman win of 2009.So 2009 opening night came to a end with a huge turn out of cars, and fans which I know made Sammy Duke a happy man.
I plan on going indepth on each driver that I believe can become the next racing star, so be ready to read and take some notes because if I write something regarding a driver, I believe in, half of the time it is because he is special and half the time I know he is a driver to reckon with in the future of racing.
Many Thanks,
Tino Patti
Freelance Video/Photographer/
Journalist and MSA contributing writer
2 comments:
Rocky Johnson favors Dale Jr. a little but I think he looks more like Brian Vickers
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