WEDNESDAY, OLD HUMP DAY!

"DO YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN DRIVE AND WIN, YOU CAN!,
"JUST BELIEVE"

West Georgia Speedway is almost like running at Daytona Speedway, it is tough and the drivers of these cars have to have their heads screwed on tight.

Driver, in every feature, are there to win at the track I call to hard to tame. It is a historic 3/8th of a mile clay oval track, that is worn and beaten down by age.


The fans that come to the track, know who is driving and who is not, they know DIRT, and they are real racing fans. People that are not afraid of the SUN in the HOTGEORGIA weather, nor the COLD in the later months when racing is coming to a close. You can meet the best of the best at West Georgia Speedway on any given Saturday Night. These are not your fans that are spoiled, they sit on cement grandstands, some sit in the back of their pick up trucks, under umbrella's to cool them.


They do not sit in comfortable air conditioned suites with catered foods, NO this is NOT Daytona, nor Talladaga. This is one of the best historic dirt tracks in the South, West Georgia Speedway, located in Whitesburg, Georgia.
Driver's who race here are tough and ready for the nights challenges of racing on a track to hard to tame, "THE BURG" as it is known.

The track can beat a driver up in all ways, it can tear parts of cars apart, it shows no mercy, it is a challenge and only the brave survive. Winning at the Burg, is the best thing you can do, because it shows that you and your car, have passed the major test.

Drivers, build cars that are strong, cars that have endurance, cars that can take the punishment the Speedway deals them. These old guard rails, have met many cars head on, and have brushed them off, like they were twigs.

Fans, have seen cars roll over, fly high like the case of "High Flying" Michael Mills, and cars hit the guard rails like hobby car driver, Joe Hillman, and last Saturday you can see on the DVD , Jeff Carter's #3 being lifted off the ground. His car literally is seen going straight up, and then down again.

In the case of Michael Mills, his Sportsman car, was seen flying sideways through the viewfinder of the camera, I mean he was sailing. This was dramatic, but in all the action from rolls to spins to flight every driver walked away safe and unhurt. That is what I want to see, "I never want to see any driver hurt in any way", racing is a sport, that is dangerous and if you are not willing to take the chance, then you need to give up this sport.

In in the film "Days of Thunder" it shows a car builder shaping a race car, making sure it is getting every edge it can have, and that is what you need at "The Burg". You need every advantage you can get, because these other drivers you are racing have something you don't. The name on the car can be changed from "Cole Trickle", to Rucker Orr, or Lee Owensby, or Jeff Carter, to Steven Parker, maybe even Winford Minnix, how about Mark Knight, or Rusty Johnson, Blant Duke, Richard Bagby, Frank Long, names can be changed on any car, just like movie. But the driving styles will never change!!! Fast and furious, these are the real Days of Thunder drivers, and they race at West Georgia Speedway.

These are the real true to life drivers, in racing, the big names, the men fans come to see and watch every Saturday night, at the Burg. Drivers, who know their way around this historic track and are not afraid of taking a beating. They are also NOT afraid of this Historic track, winning at the Burg is one step ahead of your game plan.

Have you heard them say "It is Legal", well how legal?, and are you willing to put up hard cash to tear someones car down, to capture a easy win?, Do you feel lucky?.

On July 4th, the Sportsman cars were racing for $1000 cash money, green and spendable, and you guessed it, after their feature it was TEAR DOWN TIME, and of the 2 cars that finished up front both were disqualified, and the 3rd place car was given the WIN, so #99 Rucker Orr walked away with a trophy and some green cash, when car #73 of Jason Williams was disqualified, and also #13 of Roger Cassell, I was so amazed because I would have never believed that both those cars were illegal.

But that is what happens in racing, you never know who will win on any given Saturday night. That is why they call it RACING.

Lets go back to some of the great races at the Burg, can you remember, when #29 of Rusty Johnson, beat out #01 of Blant Duke in one thrilling hobby car championship race.
What about when Joe Hillman in his #92 just edged out #K17 of Mark Knight, and what about the night when #3 Jeff Carter won, can you remember back that far?.

Modified Mini races, have seen their share of action, with some really intense battles between, #6 Richard Bagby and his rival #07 legend Frank Long. These two drivers are intense on a race track and their style of racing shows it, they are not content with 2nd place, they are out for the win.

Same goes for the Sportsman cars, who give it all they have, and then some.
I have filmed some of the strangest races, like the "FOG BOWL" race at West Georgia Speedway, which had to be the craziest race. It was a warm night, and when the feature of the Sportsman cars started the FOG DROPPED ON THE TRACK where you could not even see the cars rounding the back straight, all I could see is cars heading into turn one and coming out of turn 4, it was amazing, and something that I don't believe I will ever see again. The young talented driver Ryan Law, from Piedmont Alabama ,would take the WIN, and I guess that was because he was out front, every other driver, either stopped and caused a yellow, or plain pulled off the track. No need in tearing a car up, that was their thinking. I was joking later when I said you know "those drivers from Alabama, can drive in the fog", because Ryan Law put on a show.

Rucker Orr has always put on a show when he is racing, more so when he is battling #G1 of Glenn McWaters and his other rival #26 Fletcher Cavender, both of these cars mean trouble to Orr, who pulls into a race track with a "Jolly Roger Flag" flying in the wind behind his race trailer. Orr is very likable and knows his car, he is not afraid of any other driver. He takes his races one at a time and most of the time he is the winner.

Then there are some nights, his car is off, or he is being beaten by a faster car, such as Glenn McWater's. McWater's is a driver who if you met him on the street you would say who is this shrimp, he is small but he has brains and a racing gift of talent that he displays almost every Saturday Night at West Georgia Speedway, the first year I was filming at the Burg, he won 6 straight races in a row, I don't believe Rucker Orr was there then, but who knows Iam getting as old as Sammy Duke the Owner of West Georgia Speedway, so forgive my memory.

The Enduro races have really been picking up, and drivers like Lee Owensby in his green #91 has been a real blessing to the sport, he is young and has a fire for winning. I know everyone like long time Champion and still the 2009 Enduro Champion Winford Minnix, who owned West Georgia Speedway for years, he is one of a kind and I call him "Charge Card" because he never buys a DVD from me, although he did by the Championship DVD of his Enduro race. Winford has been a fan favorite, and you know he is so likable , his smile and laughter is something I would never trade, I have written about him, calling his purple car a "Purple People Eater", are I have joked with him regarding when he was going to get his CD player working in his car, not to mention his air-conditioning unit working, I am always joking with him, and that's the way I like it.
Champion drivers are MADE, they are not fake, they are talented and you can spot a driver that is headed upward in a minute.
Take rookie Steven Parker, who has a team formed already with his wife Tina Parker called "Team Twisted Racing".









When a wife stands beside her husband in racing, you have a team, look at Modified Mini driver, Richard Bagby who has raced Sportsman cars, to Super Late models, and now he is racing in the roots of racing, the modified mini car features. His wife has always stood next to him and backed him in every way, that is what you call a racing team.
Steven Parker, and Tina are just some special people that I believe and when I believe something it sticks, that they are going to go far in racing.
So keep a watch out for car #55 and a new young talent, Steven Parker, now driving in the Enduro features at West Georgia Speedway on Saturday Night.

The Hobby class has it's lady queen, and she is Lisa Carter who goes to bat for her husband Jeff Carter, who needs no help at all, because Carter is a BIG MAN and takes care of his family, working hard all week and racing hard every Saturday night. Where Jeff is racing, you will find his wife Lisa, and she is always ready to serve. She has been a blessing to me, because there have been so many hot day's down at the track where I was ready to pass out and she would always have some water, or coke, to help me make it through the long night of racing, one time she stopped at Krystal's and brought a huge bag of them and let me partake of the feast. This is why she is known as the "queen of racing". Can you imagine, when Lisa Carter pulled up in her truck, at the local Krystals, and ordered 100 to go!, Did the cooks quit, who knows but all I know was that she had bags of them at the track, and everyone of the Carters were enjoying them including those she gave me, it was truely a feast.

Jeff and myself were talking a while back, and it was when my wife Edna was in bad condition and in the hospital, that we got to laughing and joking about a phrase that is well known, and is so true. "If Momma ain't Happy, NOBODY'S HAPPY"

Well all I can say is the weather will be warm this weekend and The Modified Mini cars will be racing in their Championship race, and some one is going to walk away with some serious cash and a trophy. So fan's be there and bring your friends, as many as you can, and lets fill up West Georgia Speedway, and thank Sammy Duke next time you see him, or Brian Duke in this case thank all of the officials, because this is a very stressful line of work, and some driver's can really blow up and say things later they will regret.
All I can say is THANK ALL OF YOU for being so patient with me, as I am doing my best with a BLOG and shooting the video at the race track, making sure that every driver is happy. I never want to meet a driver and not have anything good to say, if I can't say something positive, I will keep my mouth shut.

One last thing, I have been filming for years at different tracks, I have seen almost every down home driver, I can tell when a driver, knows his stuff or he is faking his way around. I know and have met the drivers that are now racing in Nascar, I have seen the way they act and conduct themselves on and off the track.

Remember I started filming at a old historic track in Douglasville, Georgia, yes it is now gone and demolished, it was Seven Flags Speedway, I started filming in the HOT and COLD weather from outside the tower, I was in every kind of weather, burning up to freezing, but I stayed and learned my craft and along the way made some great racing friends for life, like Lamar Haygood, Richard Bagby, Roscoe Collins, Joe Hillman, Mike Head, all of the Pages, also there was Derrick Rainey, and so many more. I never realized that these would go on to be my friends, and I would enjoy filming there every race. Some of the Sportsman battles were exciting, with a young and talented Shane Clanton, against Richard Bagby, that was a Saturday night show in itself, as Clanton in his signature #25 would be on the pole against his rival #19 Richard Bagby, now these were some battles and shows.
Late model cars were different animals, and #17 Lamar Haygood was a beast on the track, I would later become a close friend of him, and filmed his last 5 races at Seven Flags Speedway before it closed in May. He won every Saturday Nights race the month of May, what a thrill.

Later I moved on for ONE season at a HOT ASPHALT track in Senoia Georgia, it was my first experence filming cars on Asphalt, and like the sawing goes and I learned it fast was ,when your or going to racing make sure your headed to a Dirt track, because Asphalt is for getting you there, the real drivers are those that run on DIRT. The only major part I liked about Senoia Speedway was when the sun was setting at the heat would disappear. I did meet some great drivers that included "Hurricane" Mike Hillman, Joe Hillman's brother. I also got my first look at bandeleros and Legend cars, and what they called Late Model cars, I did film Rusty Clanton, who was driving Late Model there. Seen some great action, but it is nothing like the action you see at your local dirt track. So when you get a chance head to the nearest track and enjoy some down right exciting racing action, from Modified Mini's to Sportsman, you will never be dissappointed.

My last year of filming was at 7 Flags Speedway before the doors were closed and the track torn down, I still have some of those great races on video tape.
After that I was free as a bird, but I missed my friends, that is when someone told me of a track located in Whitesburg, Georgia. The track I heard was small and not in the best shape and was being run by Sammy Duke.
So I made a few calls and talked with Sammy and he said he could use me, and the rest is history, one thing for sure is this Old gentelman is a character and is special, since I began filming at West Georgia Speedway he has and the drivers have become very special to me, and I will always be thankful for every fan, every driver and all the officials at West Georgia Speedway, by the way Sammy has made some major improvement and you can see them when you come down to watch a real race, on a real historic race track, where racing is racing, and rubbing is racing and the fastest car's WIN.
See ya at the track SATURDAY!!!!!!.


Many Thanks again,


Tino Patti




A Freelance Photographer/Video Journalist


With a WORLD WIDE BLOG FOLLOWING !!!!!



(my photo gallery can be accessed by going to:)

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