Cancel Your Plans: May 2015

Hi. You’re here. You made it. Welcome :)

I’m trying something new this summer. You people know I love racing, you know it’s in my blood—you know how pumped I get. Well, I’ve never driven a racecar (not for any length of time without stalling it in the pits or in someone’s yard or driveway, that is..) but my role models and champions every week are the drivers and their support systems. This summer, it’s my goal to interview as many feature winners as I can for the races I attend, and post the answers to my questions here on my blog.

This isn’t formal, we can’t all be famous, but I wanted to get to the heart and soul of who these guys (or girls!) are and what they are all about. So without further ado, I present to you: Winning Wednesdays (okay I’m going to try to make this on Wednesdays. If it doesn’t work out, what are you gonna do, take my birthday??)

Last week at Bedford, Joe Padula crammed 6 classes of cars across the finish line… and here is what I got from 3 feature winners.

Class: All-American Outlaws-- #40 Rick Hulson

How old are you?

How long have you been racing?

35 years

Who are your sponsors?

Coolweld, AMZ Material Handling, Tex’s Ladder Racks, A&A Bolt and Screw, Orems Garage, Bite Rite Racing Shocks, and Profab.

What is your favorite color?

Black

Who is your favorite fictional character?

Mighty Mouse lol

Who is your hero?

As for my hero, it would have to be anyone that would have my back no matter what

What else do you want the public at large to know?

I would like to add a special thanks to my car owner, Don Shipley, and my sponsors—without them, nothing would be possible.

Class: E-Mods-- #38 Steve Dixon

How old are you?

How long have you been racing?

14 years.

Who are your sponsors?

The car I was driving at Bedford is owned by Chuck LaSalle. I think LaSalle Engine’s is their main sponsor. I also typically drive for Tim Engles out of Franklin PA. Guess you could say the main sponsor for that ride is Close Racing Supply where I work, along with BMS racecars, Bob Harris shocks, and BSB manufacturing.

**at this point in the interview, I accidentally sent him a picture of a cartoon cat eating a piece of cake via facebook messenger. Technical difficulty ensued because we were both way too flustered to continue and had to take a hiatus. like i said.. this ain't fancy...After the break..**

What is your favorite color?

Red

Who is your favorite fictional character?

Batman

Who is your hero?

Hero is my mom. She loved racing more than me. Passed away about 10 years ago, but never missed a race and is a reason for a lot of my motivation to race still to this day.

Is there anything else you’d like the public at large to know?

It’s definitely a small world, especially when it comes to racing.

Class: Super Late Models – 66c Matt Cosner

How old are you?

How long have you been racing?

Since I was 7 (started in quarter midgets)

Who are your sponsors?

Nelson Auto Sales of Ridgeley, WV, Mighty Auto Parts, Royal Purple Oil, TC Race Cars of Frostburg, MD, Broadwater Auto Body of Cumberland, MD

What is your favorite color?

Orange

Who is your favorite fictional character?

I’m not really into anything to have a favorite character, so I can’t give an answer to for that one…

Who is your hero?

Dale Earnhardt would be my hero for sure!

How many feature wins do you have?

Friday was my first feature win in a late model.. it was exciting! I have over 40 feature wins in a QM and 2 in an E-mod.

Is there anything else you’d like the public at large to know?

As our spoiler reads this year, we are “more than a conqueror”—if God is for us, who can stand against us? Romans 8:31—Our team is striving to share with others that through the good and the bad, God is always on our side.

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So there you have it, folks. Winner Wednesday. What do you think? If you liked it: awesome. If you don’t: keep your opinions to yourself, homeslice! (actually kidding-- feedback is always welcome).

Major "thank you" to the drivers who put up with my incessant facebook messaging :)

K, that's it. :) I love you!! I’m so glad you’re here on this adventure with me. And cancel your plans—(if the weather holds out) we’re going racing at Bridgeport this weekend.

<3/

Miss YRS

Hey race peeps. Favorite trophy queen, Lainey here. And guess what? I’ve kicked off my race season, FINALLY!! For the beginning of this season at least, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to promote Youth Racing Solutions as a victory lane representative (i.e. TROPHY GIRL!) and this past weekend I visited PA’s oldest dirt racetrack, Bedford Speedway located in Bedford, PA.

I’ll start out by saying that I felt SO welcomed by the staff and fans there, it was a dream come true. Joe Padula and his team put on an outstanding show on a well-prepped track, and they did it with class. Actually, they did it with SIX classes—and still finished before curfew!

In the spirit of mother’s day weekend, and since my mom lives a mere 2 miles from the racetrack (how have I never been there before???), I dragged her along for the ride. Well let me just tell you: the team welcomed her as warmly as they did me. On the bright, sunny, warm Friday evening, my duties started with handing out carnations to all of the moms in attendance. A couple of drivers (Troy Swindell and Brian Lowery to name a couple) and some of the regular track staff gathered in the announcers booth with baskets of flowers and then we set out into the grandstands, handing them out! Cool moment of the night: handing a flower to my own mom. :)

Before the heat races got underway, I spent some time in the announcer’s booth with the track announcer Mike Sotosky. I got a chance to relay to the fans how I got involved in the sport and as a trophy queen, and to tell them about Youth Racing Solutions and the opportunities for children in racing to receive discounts on racing products from companies across North America. What’s fun about Bedford Speedway is that their race program is also broadcast on a local radio station, so I was on the airwaves too!

We watched the heats from the grandstands, which was great. THEN we watched the features from the FLAGSTAND. WHICH WAS AWESOME! And of course, victory lane duties after each race—this included handing a potted plant to the feature winner (for gifting to a mom in his life—keeping with the mother’s day theme) and smiling pretty for pictures. Got to meet some other influential Bedfordians (Bedford-ites?) and just generally enjoyed the warm, dusty night. I couldn’t have asked for a more awesome way to spend my Friday with momma bear. I really hope I have a chance to go back again soon, because it was one of the best track experiences I’ve ever had.

I stole a few thumbnails from Jason Walls, the track photographer, to stick in here. Jason is with WRT Speedwerx and he was phenomenal in capturing the action from the night. You can buy his photos on Zenfolio if you’re interested.