Scott Owen, Leader Columnist
A large part of what makes racing great are the memories made at the track. The moments might be on or off the track. People remember them for many reasons.
For me, the ones that stand out involve friends and family.
I remember the night that Craig Bartz won his first IMCA Modified feature at the track. Bartz had to qualify for the feature through the “consy” race, or last chance qualifier, and start in one of the last rows of the feature race.
Another memory that stands out is the night that Tom Naeyeart and Pete Parker had a little extracurricular activity on pit lane. The duo of Late Model racers had taken turns bumping each other on pit lane right in front of the crowd in the grandstands while waiting to go to the scale after the race.
After the incident, Tom’s wife, Laura, could be seen heading toward Parker’s trailer to give him a piece of her mind.
I remember the night that Cody Grosskreutz and David Fieber collided on the front stretch and Fieber’s car came to rest on top of Grosskreutz’s car.
Fuel began to leak from Fieber’s car and caught fire. Fellow racer Jeff Curtin helped pull Fieber from his car. The flames continued to build until the fire crew was able to get the fire under control. It was an eerie scene as the stands were evacuated during the clean-up process.
Being that Grosskreutz is my brother-in-law, it was a nerve-racking moment.
I remember the night that Bud Lynn was involved in a wreck in front of the tower. Everyone seemed fine that night, but Lynn passed away a few days later. This happened in 2004, my first year announcing at the track, and I really had no idea what to say to the crowd during the opening ceremony the following week.
Thankfully, my mentor Joe Verdegan came to speak to the crowd of fans and racers who had gathered to remember Lynn. I recall the large number of racers passing helmets through the grandstands to raise money to help Lynn’s family.
Off the track, I remember my children participating in the build-a-race car contest and the gold rush, and my son winning the ride-along in the Sundrop water truck at intermission.
I remember all the people turning up to support the Racing for a Reason night at the track.
The racetrack can be a great place to make memories, whether it is gold rush night, build-a-race car night, the Bud Lynn memorial night or Racing for a Reason night.