Well, here ya go folks. Here's a real life picture of the new clay being installed into turns 1 & 2 at Lakeville. Mother Nature has sure as hell tried to hold up the planned improvements and even moved opening night back a week, but Randy might just be more stubborn that that old hag. He's worked hard between the rain and snow trying to get the new clay in place and even though she put him on hold again on Saturday, he just isn't gonna give up until it's done. He promised that he'd do his best to improve the racing surface and I have no doubt he'll get it done. Short of paving the place I doubt some people will ever be happy on every race night but they damn sure can't say he isn't trying to make it the best it can be. With the addition of the new clay on the widened racing surface from last year, I look forward to more great action than this place has seen in years. With the new price of just $10 to get into the grandstands you no longer have an excuse for not getting to Lakeville every Friday night this summer. While we're talking about changes at Lakeville, I have to mention that my plan for limited time on the flagstand may be even more limited this year but I'll be there whenever possible to help if needed. I plan to be at Lakeville every week at some time but can't say for sure how often you'll get to see my smiling face on the flagstand. You also won't get to see the smiling face of Ed Frederick up there either as the old fart has cut his flagging action to just one night a week for now. I give alot of credit to Ed for helping turn things around at Lakeville the past couple of years and he will be missed. Let's hope the improvements he brought the place stick around and things keep getting better from here. You'll find Ed at Hilltop on Saturday nights and ya just might find me up there with him on the stand from time to time if he asks me real nice. ;-)
Onto Hilltop now. That ol' bitch Mother Nature hasn't been playing any nicer to those folks on "The Hill" either. She's limited their time to work on the track and also moved their opening night back a week too. Imagine my surprise when I had just finished a nice write-up about how determined Jesse and the gang were to get the season kicked off and then hours later they pulled the plug. Damn all that fancy writing for nothing. ;-) They certainly made the right call though as the place was a mess from all the extra moisture we've had lately. Top that off with more in the forecast and cold temps and the decision was a no brainer. They did manage to get in an open practice today though and I'm glad I made the trip. Not only did I get my first good nose full of racing fumes of the season, but we were treated to a nearly full pit area of cars of all types. Hell there were even 2 Legends cars and a quad there for testing! With ugly skies and unfriendly temps all day I was shocked to see cars continue to roll in all afternoon. Damn what a pile of cars! There were also a few racers there that didn't have their cars ready so I guess this ugly weather wasn't all bad for them at least. One of the more interesting sights of the day had to be the new truck versions of Street Stocks. Hey Ken Cunningham, this is your dream come true! ;-) I have to say that I love the idea of adding V8 trucks to the field. Hell this class has gone so far from what it was years ago that the trucks are a pretty mild change at this point anyway. This should be another great season on "The Hill" for sure, and I hope to see quite a bit of it this time. Huge thanks goes out to the entire Wardell gang for such a warm welcome back!
