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Lake
Geneva Raceway presents
Round and Around by Fay Hendricks |
Upcoming Events at Lake Geneva
Raceway:
See you for the 2006 Season opener in April |
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| Round
and Around: By Fay Hendricks |
| The following is a column
written by Fay Hendricks for The Checkered Flag Racing News. This race publication began
in 1968 and ceased operations as of July 13, 2005. The wife of 7-time sportsman and mini
stock champion Jim Hendricks, Fay has been writing since 1981. As a way to allow readers
to continue following the travels of Fay Hendricks around several venues, Lake Geneva
Raceway owner-promoter Kevin Dawson has decided to offer the columns here. We hope you
enjoy the reading. |
April 13, 2006 - Race fans
are amazing. They withstand all kinds of brutal weather to watch
others have fun, and pay for the privilege. The opening program at
Lake Geneva Raceway was a prime example of this. Saturday was the
final season opener for the track, which will end its run at 44
years. Suburban sprawl has finally reached the former rural setting.
Owner Kevin Dawson announced that next year this will be the
location of some 320 home sites. Rather than the traditional race
program, Dawson decided to be a little different this year by
beginning his final year in racing with an evening of destruction.
The fact that this would be the coldest day of the week may have
deterred some, but the place was still packed.
Saturday’s program brought out whole families of what we refer to as
“crash and burn” fans along with those who would show up just
because there‘s some kind of action. On the docket were over 120
entries, several thrilling displays of carnage, and a group of
motorcycle riders who performed wheelies and tricks all through the
night. The Miltown Wheelie Boys were brought to the oval by the
owner of Great Lakes Dragaway, who have been watching the riders
perform their stunts across the road from his shop. Despite the vast
difference in oval and “straight-line” contests, the main concept is
putting on a show. Racing is really entertainment, after all. There
were also several excursions onto the track by Bob Shea in his
big-wheel truck Nemesis 3, ending in landing atop and flattening
several cars and an old camper in the infield.
The Midwest Enduro Series staged what was for them a short event at
90 laps instead of hundreds. Thus it was the quickest contest they
have probably ever had, and quite entertaining. I counted 55 who
began three-abreast on the third-mile, which is considerably lower
than the normal 100 or so. Due to this, there was no need to stop
the action to clear a drivable path, but a few slowdowns for lost
wheels and other safety concerns. There were several lead changes,
yet the top three were nose to tail until shortly before the end,
when the then-leader suddenly pitted. Fuel was a concern as well as
tire wear over the 90-lap race, claimed winner Jeff Jaresh. This is
an interesting series that has built up quite a following. The
co-owners still race with everyone else (that’s why they bought the
business), and the cars are inspected by fellow racers. This way
both sides of any argument are covered.
The next event was quite novel for your scribe. Team Tag was the
automobile version of a relay race. Instead of passing a baton, the
cars had to bump their teammates on the frontstretch in order to
keep the race going. After a few mishaps, one could see how such a
simple idea could go wrong. Some cars stalled, others spun, and then
brake failure or misjudgment became an issue when more than one
crashed the front of their entries while bump-starting their team
cars. The 20 entries were split into two separate races, with Lake
Geneva’s Basic International Car (BIC) competitors among those in
winner’s circle. The budget racers actually flourished Saturday
night, some found in several different contests. The most successful
was Nick Henning, who backed up a win in the car tag event with the
following BIC race.
The BIC feature began with 20 entries on a course that was expanded
to a half-mile track by having the field leave the pavement off the
first turn, drive through the grassy area to the pit road area, then
return to the second corner of the banked pavement. This brought
about many alternative ways to navigate the course, and several
becoming airborne when negotiating the ridge too fast. One caution
period came when Lenny Adams barrel-rolled off the frontstretch
pavement into the grass. The audience in that area really got a
first-hand look at how dangerous the sport really is, but all were
relieved when Adams emerged unscathed.
Next up was another brainstorm of an idea. What we thought was a
ramp to be used for a roll-over contest turned out to be used for
the Long Jump. Cars were judged for distance after launching from
the ramp, with one making it 63 feet to become the winner. Landing,
of course, was more intense the longer the machine traveled, and
some cars stalled terminally after being jarred so badly. We can’t
account for teeth or fillings of the drivers, but are sure none were
lost. The audience, still packed into the seats, were then asked to
move up from the bottom rows for the next contest. The frozen fans
may have benefited from this, gaining a bit more warmth by squeezing
together in the bitter cold. At some point the bathrooms became
unusable, and portable toilets had to quickly be brought in. Later
Dawson told me this was due to a stuck valve rather than burst water
pipes, but the result was the same.
The insanity was not over yet. The popular Trailer Race was next
with only 16 entries and few imaginations gone awry. Yet the mayhem
that began at the drop of the green flag was the same, giving
everyone an eyeful of crashing, breaking, and ending in a field of
total carnage. Old wood-framed campers complete with dishes inside
were dumped and driven over along with other trailer contents. The
rule is simple: You must finish with your trailer still attached in
order to win. Finishing the obstacle course that flattens tires is
one thing, keeping your trailer attached is another. There are bonus
points for contact, for this isn’t meant to be a boring contest, and
just before the end one pickup truck had launched onto a rival’s
trailer and was dragged along with it. At the end, only a few were
still running as the path was made safe, then they ran to the ragged
finish. The entire oval was littered with crushed campers,
splintered trailers, ejected cargo, boats, car and truck body parts,
and so much debris it resembled an area flattened by a tornado. Even
though there was not one clear square foot of race space, the
program still had one more event.
Veteran drag racer Doug Rose came back one last time with his Green
Mamba jet dragster to perform a few passes and light up his
afterburners to warm up the audience. The grand finale was what we
think is the most awesome display of power. Aiming at a tandem of
cars chained together, Rose then starts up his mount, lights up the
flames, and proceeds to melt the vehicles to the ground. Chunks of
the cars shoot into the air, burning metal falls off, and the heat
can be felt hundreds of feet away. One cannot take their eyes off
this sight, whether it be from fascination or preservation. The
perfect ending to anything billed as destruction, the audience left
satisfied indeed. Shortly after 10:00 they left chattering about
what they had seen, leaving cleanup to someone else. It may have
said 34 degrees on the thermometer, but hearts were warmed. We
aren’t the only ones who will be coming back.
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