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August 2001 This is The Racers Network ™ Monthly Newsletter. We hope that you enjoy the following articles. Contents: We hope that you find this issue to be informative. If you have any suggestions for Future issues, or have an article or story you would like to contribute Please send e-Mail To the following address fwallace@racer-net.com ********************************************************************** Below are a few responses from Newsletter readers concerning the NASCAR TV coverage. ===================================== Regarding NASCAR, Fox and Speedvision.... There is another petition out there (with 14K+ signatures) asking Fox NOT to carry the roundy-round NASCAR stuff to the detriment of current Speedvision programming (road racing, both current and vintage). I am in this group, the only thing less interesting to me than NASCAR is NHRA, and that isn't saying much! We need to coordinate. One group is crying "more NASCAR!" and another is crying "less NASCAR!". Perhaps a joint petition of some sort? Keep SV as-is, keep NASCAR on a more easily accessible channel? Tim Osborne ==================================== Here is a letter I sent to the Houston Texas paper, in Houston no one can watch this Saturdays race live, as mentioned in my letter because of the local station KPRC. Dear Chronicle: Below I have included a note that I have sent to NASCAR, KPRC, and NBC to let them know my opinion on there terrible idea of switching the NASCAR race to KNWS with a 2 hour tape delay. TO: Patsy Harris Program Manager KPRC Houston FROM: Graham Jackson Mrs. Harris I am outraged that I will be forced to watch a tape delay of a live nascar race because of your stations decision. This is a terrible and poorly managed decision on your and KPRC's part. NASCAR is the number one spectator sport in the USA and you are choosing to pull it for a beauty contest! Needless to say I will also be contacting NBC to let them know of my outrage as well. The race on the 8th is the first race of the season to be picked up by NBC, is this the kind of commitment I should expect to get for the rest of the races that KPRC is supposed to cover ? FOX did an excellent job covering NASCAR and I expected the same if not better from KPRC and NBC, only to find out that right off the bat your are choosing to make the wrong choice. I will also contact NASCAR and share with them my concern over the lack of commitment towards them. Additionally I will also forward my note to the Houston Chronicle sports desk. If anything the beauty contest should have been switched to KNWS, from a business standpoint I find it completely nonsensical, knowing that the nascar race will bring you far more veiwers than the beauty contest. Regards, Graham Jackson ********************************************************************** FOX Sports has started scouting Charlotte, NC area sites for its proposed NASCAR cable network headquarters. They are eyeing a February launch date coinciding with the Daytona 500. Fox reportedly wants as much as 50,000 square feet to house the network. The plan is to convert Speedvision, an existing cable network reaching 41 million households, to the NASCAR channel. Fox parent News Corp recently purchased a third of Speedvision and is negotiating for majority ownership. David Hill, Fox Sports chairman and CEO, says that the deal should be finished by August. Industry experts say that the revamped Speedvision will emphasize NASCAR while incorporating other forms of racing and automotive collectors shows. Speedvision generates $75 million per year in revenue, with annual advertising gains of 40 to 50 percent the past five years. Speedvision became profitable last year. ********************************************************************** Irwindale, Calif. - - It gives everyone associated with Irwindale Speedway great pleasure to acknowledge that our friend Tony Stewart will be inducted into the National Midget Racing Hall of Fame on Sunday, August 26, 2001. On that day, Stewart will be honored along with retired racing official Gordon Betz and fellow drivers Ed Haddad, and Les Scott. The ceremonies will be held for the first time at the Hall's brand new headquarters at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Last year four Hall of Fame members were inducted in ceremonies held on the afternoon of the Thanksgiving Night Grand Prix at Irwindale Speedway. In that ceremony racing legends Johnny Baldwin, Ken Brenneman, Jack London, and Roy Russing were so honored. Later that evening Tony Stewart added to his own legend as a midget driver by winning the 60th running of the famed "Turkey Night" race. Stewart's proven prowess behind the wheel of any kind of a race car is always exciting to witness But there's just something about him when he's making an angry midget hustle around a race track that's very, very special This extraordinary recognition is well-earned and much-deserved. CONGRATULATIONS MR. STEWART! Doug Stokes Irwindale Speedway ********************************************************************** July 23, 2001. - Amherst, OH. - Two cars jumped a guard rail and hit a section of bleachers at the Lorain County Speedway, killing one woman and injuring at least 12 spectators, authorities said Sunday. The Lorain County Speedway became part of the NASCAR circuit just this year, and cars race there every Saturday night. 17 drivers were racing in a NASCAR Racing Series Late Model event As the back of the pack rounded turn four in the third race Saturday night, two cars at the rear on the right collided. At about 75 mph, their momentum pushed the cars into a crowd of horrified spectators. "I was just watching these two guys, because they had a good battle going on," spectator Gene Weaver said. Weaver was sitting in the third row about 40 feet away, and he saw the cars hurtling through the air. "The car on the right-hand side went straight up over the wall, through the fence and straight into the stands," he said. The second car landed in the stands trunk first. Driver John Karl saw trouble coming when the cars behind him shoved him out of control. "All I remember is getting touched in the rear end and sliding around and (seeing) the one car start to get airborne and when I got out, I remembered seeing cars everywhere," he said. Fourteen injured spectators were rushed to area hospitals, but a 65-year-old wheelchair-bound woman, Virginia Wyleth, did not survive. Veteran drivers who have seen it all never expected to see this. "I've been hanging around race tracks for 30 years, and I've never seen a car go through a fence and come into the grandstands like that," race team member Greg Wilt said. "It's a very freak incident." Lorain County Speedway is one of only 100 short tracks nationwide. Kevin Bonnema bought the 49-year-old speedway four years ago and brought it up to NASCAR standards. ********************************************************************** On July 21, 2001 at a NASCAR sanctioned track, one spectator lost her life and fourteen others were injured. This occurred during a NASCAR Late Model Series race at the Lorain County Speedway in Ohio. Two cars hit a guard rail, jumped a cement retaining wall, went through the catch fence, and landed in the grandstands. When reading the paragraph above, it would seem that every safety precaution that could be put into place was taken into consideration. But........ The guard rail was one that you find at a curve on the highway. Made of metal, approx. 20" high, and held in place by wooden posts. The cement retaining wall is short (36") and is only slightly higher than the guard rail. The catch fence is not much more than what you find at a little league baseball game. The grandstand is located directly behind the fence. The track had recently been purchased, and reportedly had to be brought up to NASCAR standards before it could become a sanctioned facility. But....... The truth of the matter is that a local track has to satisfy the standards of it's insurance company. As long as this takes place, and the local track pays the fees to NASCAR, then it becomes a sanctioned track. It was reported on July 22 that the accident would be investigated by NASCAR. But........ This article is being written on July 29, and the report that NASCAR would investigate the accident, as it turns out, was false. The Lorain County Sherrif department has investigated the accident, and released a report stating that they believe the track was safe, and that the accident was unfortunate but these things will happen. I know that this was a freak accident, but more needs to be done!!! I recently watched an NHRA event, where no catch fence of any kind was in place. There was however a few short chain link fences in place to keep the spectators from entering the track. Sanctioning bodies whether they be drag, sports car or stock car racing have to step forward and take the responsibility for spectator safety. It cannot be the responsibility of the small local track operator who struggles to make ends meet, and it cannot be passed off to an insurance company who actually knows little about racing. A portion of the sanctioning fees received by the sanctioning bodies must be given back to the tracks in the form of guidelines, reviews, inspections, education, and maybe even financial assistance. If sanctioning bodies cannot aid in spectator safety at small local tracks, then they need to get out of the business of sanctioning them. This way they will at least quit hanging the people who pay money to come to the track "out to dry". ********************************************************************** In the year of 2000 The Racers Network was visited by over 1,370,000 "unique" visitors, and produced in excess of 13,401,000 hits. Not only are these statistics outstanding, but more importantly we produce results. Below is the response from a current The Racers Network user, who recently sold his car. Hello Please mark my GT-1 as SOLD .......... 1979 GT-1 Mustang for $15,000 in New York has been sold thanks to your great site. Thanks, Mike O'Connor http://www.racer-net.com/scagt110.htm (this ad was posted 06/19/2001 and marked as sold 07/17/2001 ** NOTE ** In the last 3 months (May - July), we have been responsible for selling 60 race cars and trailers for a combined total of $925,300.00. The Monthly Sales Report is a new feature for the site. Check it out http://www.racer-net.com/salesrep.htm ********************************************************************** Want to get you and your race cars to the track comfortably? How about having a good hot shower after competition? Is your event held for the entire weekend, so you will need a place to sleep? The Racers Network has the answer to all of these questions. It's classified advertisement is as follows: TRUCK: 1988 Int DT466. Kitchen Area, Living + Sleeping Quarters, Small Bathroom. Roof Air/heat - New Generator. Observation Area. Can register as an R.V. Trailer: 1990 Double Stacker - 36ft- Triple Axel. New Compressor - Tire racks and Storage Cabinets. Trailer has new tires and a winch to pull a car in on. The Advertisement can be seen at: http://www.racer-net.com/haul039.htm ********************************************************************** We are striving to make The Racers Network the best place on the internet to buy or sell race cars, trailers, transporters, parts, and tickets. We believe that we are presenting the classified advertisements the way that you want to see them. But, we also realize that there is always room for improvement. We value your input and ask that you let us know about ways in which we can improve. Send e-Mail to fwallace@racer-net.com ********************************************************************** The Racers Network is the #1 ranked InterNet site for MotorSports classified advertisements. We offer affordable advertising opportunities. With over 13,401,000 hits in 2000, we are the perfect place to have your company seen by racers worldwide. We are trying hard to be the best source on the Internet for racing related classified advertisements, and we are succeeding. We need your support. For information about advertising your company on The Racers Network go to: http://www.racer-net.com/adinfo.htm ********************************************************************** See You Next Month !!! |
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