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And to All, A Good Night!
"The Infield" by Paul Pittman
Stevens Point, WI (Dec 30, 2004): Seasons Greetings to all of the methaholics
out there and, despite all of the joyous celebrating, I am asking that we all
take a few moments out to remember a few groups out there who maybe sometimes
wonder.
First and foremost, our American forces scattered throughout the world. Last
year at this time, when the war in Iraq was still fresh in all of our minds,
it was easy to stop and say a short prayer for them but time has a tendency of
glazing over our thoughts and making memories a bit more distant. As an Air
Force vet, I know what it’s like spending the holiday season away from your
family and even as a cop, knowing that irregardless of the occasion, the job
has to be done. To all of our troops and their families taking a moment to see
what’s going on back in the world, a special Holiday Greeting to you. To
those keeping the faith and doing what has to be done, God Bless you and your
Families. Those sacrifices may seemingly go unnoticed, but believe me, they
will forever live on with you and yours.
Now, before I go on here at all, I want to send out a personal Best Wishes to
Danny Smith and all who have already come to his aid after a fire literally
destroyed his shop, and all of its contents. The good news here is that no one
was hurt in the after hours incident, but the equipment (enough for two race
ready cars), along with all of Danny’s memorabilia from a very long and
illustrious career is now just a memory. Now I know there are a few of you
reading this, asking why I would bother mentioning this at all. After all,
don’t I work for the IRA and Danny isn’t a regular IRA competitor right?
Wrong! Danny is a racer and if anyone has been reading anything I have been
reading over the past few months here, you should know by now that I really
don’t like to draw those lines that would define a particular driver as
“One of Ours”. In my book, they are all ours. That is said as a fan of
racing. Period! Like it or not, I really don’t care. The way I see it, those
lines are more defined about who likes what food anymore then what
organization or track a driver competes at. It makes no difference. A racer is
a racer.
So what about Danny? Well, not only does he show up at an IRA flagged event
when the opportunity knocks, but he’s more importantly a racer. And he’s a
racer right now who is really facing a tough challenge. Can he beat it? Like I
said, he’s a racer so that goes without saying. Speaking with Allen Kieger,
the short term goal is to have something ready for Florida so the task at hand
is to take stock and bounce back. Several fans and businesses have already
stepped forward to offer help including FOXCO’s shop, but there’s a long
rebuilding task ahead. Some bright spots did come up in my conversation with
Allen. “We just moved the Kenny Rogers car up to the dealership for display
last week. If we would have lost that, Danny would have been just devastated.
Also, all three of our sponsor’s motors are still up at their shop at
J&D Performance.” Danny did loose his own motor in the blaze as well.
Several teams have said that they were going to set up donations during the
upcoming Chili Bowl. Other than that, fans can help by buying T-Shirts which
are available for $23 (shipping included). If you are interested in helping
out Danny, contact Allen at 317-403-7913 or Dave Conn at 317-796-0538. In
addition, a recovery fund has been established at the North Salem State Bank
in Danville, IN. Details for the recovery fund are below.
Another group that deserves a pat on the back, as well as a warm cup of hot
chocolate for their hard work and effort during this season of giving are the
member’s of “Robin’s Annual Toy Drive for Cancer Freedom”. The
Non-Profit group was started 8 years ago when young Robin Krawchuk received
the magic word “remission” after being diagnosed with Leukemia. Older
brother David started out by collecting toys and donating them to Robin’s
hospital as a way of saying thanks and now, in it’s 8th year, the drive has
turned into a near year-round project, collecting nearly 2000 toys and
distributing them to 5 local hospitals as well as families in need in the SE
WI area. Presents are personally delivered to hospitalized children and are
collected with the help of VFW #1865 in Kenosha as well as the Sommers Fire
Stations #1 and #2. In addition, the drive is expanding this year to reach out
to those stationed in Iraq and Kuwait. The efforts of the community, combined
with local businesses and charities including “Hearts of Families” in
Milwaukee, are preparing to send a community care package to those separated
this holiday season. This season, the efforts of Robin and David Krawchuk,
Scott & Theresa Uttech and everyone else involved remind us that there are
really a lot of good people still out there who do want to help! To find out
how you can help out or get involved, call them at 262-552-2868 for more
information.
Notes and News From the Infield:
In keeping somewhat with last month’s theme, here are just a few more
moments from 2004 that bear repeating! Fred Ebler is another racer who just
simply refuses to let bad luck get to him. Visit him sometime and no matter
what happened, at some point in time, I will guarantee you that before you
walk away, a smile will cross Fred’s face at some point in time. Case in
fact: Leaving Superior after a somewhat disappointing June evening, Fred’s
tow rig decided to test his constitution further by dumping the transmission
literally in the middle of nowhere. Now, here I am tooling down US 53 South
when I spot a hauler sitting along the road, so naturally I stop to see if
help has been summoned. There’s got to be something about Superior as I’ve
seen more strange things happen to transporters one way or the other to
Superior than any other track. Does anyone remember Greg Frost’s rookie year
indoctrination? So here sits Fred, bummed out and waiting for the wandering
bear or moose to come out of nowhere. I walk up to his window and the first
thing out of his mouth is “Can I get a DUI ticket if I am sitting in my
racecar?” Then the smile! Not expecting that, I simply got the details and
headed about 10 miles or so to the closest phone to summon help, at 2am! Upon
returning and relaying the news of an eventual rescue, Fred’s concern was
for the next night at Cedar Lake. Is this guy a racer or what?
Before the show at Red Cedar, I got to spend a few moments talking with Travis
and Lori Whitney about racing and married life in general. While the bulk of
this conversation is still an unpublished story, (hint), it was funny at how
much the couple varied on a few issues, not the least of which was what type
of track they liked. Lori was very adamant about the optimum track being a
racey; tacky joint that allowed the maximum for excitement. Travis on the
other hand, and in his quiet, soft spoken way, pined for a dry slick surface
that allowed him to use his abilities. I am guessing that the trip home
consisted at some point of a further debate of this issue and I would further
venture to say that Travis’ point was driven home the hardest. After all, he
did win the race over some of the best in the business! When it’s all said
and done though, a lot of Travis’ success has got to be attributed to his
father Walt. The man can read a track and forecast conditions like very few
out there and knowing that, with confidence, makes the rest of the night
elementary.
One more quick trip down memory lane: For those who were at the Wayne Daun
Memorial at the Wilmot Speedway saw Ty Bartz absolutely put on a driving
clinic during the B Main, passing 14 cars in as many laps to make the A-Main.
Now Ty is the subject of an upcoming article in Flat Out magazine and in it, I
touched on the fact that the team has not missed an IRA event since starting
with the IRA SIX Years ago. Holy Brett Farve Batman! At the IRA Awards
Banquet, Ty once again left everyone speechless and proved why he is one of
tomorrows more charismatic leaders.
Well, that will do it for this issue. I hope you made it this far and also
hope you remember to keep all those mentioned above in your thoughts and
prayers, not only in this holiday season, but everyday.
As for the Danny Smith Recovery Fund, as mentioned, you can make donations in
Danny’s name to the North Salem State Bank, 785 E. Main Steet, Danville, IN
46122 and don’t forget to watch for the donation cans and such at the Chili
Bowl, which is, wow, next week! How time flies!
Questions and comments can be sent to me at arppix@arppix.com. God Bless and a
safe New Year you you all from Amanda, Destiney, Alexia and myself.
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