Showing posts with label Platinum Cup calgary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Platinum Cup calgary. Show all posts

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Race City Cancels Season

It was a sad reality I guess that the early suspension all activities for the rest of 2008 at Race City motorsports park was bound to happen. Th efacility was getting run down and fan support was low although I went to it many times being a race fan myself. Although I don't blame the owners of the track cause why would they spend the money to fix it up if the city was going to take it away and the end of the season anyway to make way for a garbage dump. Pretty ironic isn't it, a city known as Calgary that prides itself on recycling and cleanliness, is one of the dirtiest cities I have seen (it is windy here so trash gets blown everywhere) and is way behind the recycling programs that other major cities have and that other cities do for free (which this city wants to charge for). Anyway the fact that a "clean recyclable" city wants to make another garbage dump is just ridiculous and the fact that they are taking a safe racing environment away for racing enthusiasts and car fans is just nut! I wonder if the major Dave Bronconnier is going to wave the green flag outside city hall when all the street racers take to the streets on Mac trail infront of city hall. It is sad that the politicians in this stupid city don't realize a good thing when they have one and that making money and charging more taxes so they can retire faster is better than building new or saving older entertainment facilities. And I don't mean your standard recreation entertainment facility or theater. How many do we need? I mean a different kind of entertainment like racing! But I guess The mayor and city council like street racing. Just think, how fast can you get a car going on Deerfoot trail? Maybe the mayor has a Blown Alcohol honda he's not saying anything about.

The solution (my opinion)

Ok, so the powers that be in this backwards city keep charging more taxes and to build things that seem to take forever to get built if they get built at all and even when they are built they find that they are inadequate, too small or just not very good design..........ever drive along the new Glenmore trail and Elbow drive Intersection? Good job.........not............it's backed up there all the time from now eevn more than before it seems. But oh well..............

So can't the the city council find a way to take some of those new tax dollars and find a place for a safe racing environment. You have the chance to start something new and exciting.....ever heard of NASCAR. They have touring divisions as well. Do we really need a mega mall in Balzac? That would have been a perfect place for a race track. Out of the way, not many neighbors, and easy to get to. even if city council doesn't help fund the new track at least help someone in finding some land that can be used for a facility, how hard is that to do? Sell it to a prospective buyer, builder and then leave them alone. It would be cool if they built a race track at the new Balzac mall site anyway around there somewhere cause after all it's just flat land, acres of it. Just an idea.
I hope they can find a solution soon there is race cars,drivers and engine shops around the city that all benefit from the track and now they have an opportunity to attract some big time race series if the track was built to specifications. I see there is a dirt track down south of Calgary. I hope they will see the light and expand maybe adding a paved oval and some drag strips. ever heard of Indianapolis Motorspeedway? Or Lowes Motorspeedway. They are multi functional facilites with Lowes opening up a new Drag Strip just recently for NHRA. I guess we will have to head down there to watch racing.
This is an open suggestion for the owners of Rocky Mountain Speedway, any plans of expansion?
And one last comment for city council, the mayor Dave Bronconnier, Race city owners and management and the Rocky Mountain Speedway owners :
Remember two people, Wally Parks and Bill France Sr.!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Platinum Cup Sprints and Watkins Glen...........and Sprint 101

Hey remember a few posts ago I said I am truly home at the track? Well it is true and today the Wilrock Sprint Car series from my hometown Victoria on Vancouver Island came to Calgary to race. The only series of sprint cars that race on asphalt in North America, well besides the NSRA but they race with the Victoria boys during the Daffodil and Strawberry cups in Victoria so I guess they are all one . But anyway they are well worth seeing if you understand what they are about. So that brings me to Sprint 101 to all you wannabe Calgary farmers turned sprint car fans. I heard in the stands today some interesting comments from people who obviously were oblivious to what the Wilrock series is all about. They also questioned why they were all from Vancouver Island and parts of B.C and not from Alberta. The fact that some people were saying cause Victoria had no asphalt was enough to make me wanna drill some points into their fat Alberta heads! But I thought it's obvious they have no bloody idea so here it is for all you farmers:

Wilrock and NSRA Sprint Car 101:

  • First of all the point about Victoria having no asphalt to run on is a farce cause they way better tracks and roads than Calgary will ever have.
  • Secondly the Wilrock series ONLY runs on asphalt tracks from Victoria to the BC interior and a few in western Washington. But all are on asphalt! Including Saratoga speedway, Western Speedway, and Vernon (Sun Valley to name a few)
  • The reason Alberta racers don't race here is cause unless they have a sprint car made for asphalt it is probably made for dirt. To convert a dirt sprint car to asphalt would be an expensive deal for one race as the shocks, tires, and springs would all have to be setup differently as well as rear end gears etc. Therefore the reason why the Victoria series comes here is cause they are already setup for asphalt.
  • The NSRA is the same deal but they are the guys that should come here to race as well. The cars that race in that series have even more horsepower than the Wilrock series.
  • One last point, the reason the races are so short is cause they only hold so much fuel and it only lasts about 30-40 laps give or take some caution laps, thus calling them "Sprinters" or Sprint cars due to their short race length but on asphalt alot can happen and they can turn on a dime.
So now you know Sprint 101

Watkins Glen Nextel Cup race report.

Didi you see the fight between Jaun Montoya nd Kevin Harvick?
well wasn't really a fight but close enough as far as NASCAR is concerned, but Jaun Montoya probably deserved it anyway. He had it coming for along time the way he's been driving on the NExtel Cup series and Busch series. Even though this accident wasn't really his fault when you have a bad reputaion in racing for wrecking guys you will always get blamed if you are evn close to a wreck! Fellow Canadain drivers Ron Fellows and Patrick Carpatenier (spelling unsure) had good runs with Ron finishing 4th and Patrick actually led 7 laps for awhile. Dale Jr blew an engine and I hope it didn't squash his hopes for racing in the chase but it just got a little harder.