Hello sprint fans, the sprintfreak is back after being away for quite a few weeks and ready to once again talk sprint cars! There has been a lot going on in the sprintfreak camp over the past month and we will get to that in a moment, but first let's talk about the latest news and rumors.
First off, I was talking with a DB Racing crew member the other day and he told me that the Amoco team is just about ready for the 2000 World of Outlaw season. They have 3 new Maxim chassis sprinters already complete and are ready to install the new Mopar powerplants. The #93 team will also sport a slightly different paint job this season, but nothing too radical, Amoco still has the final say on what the cars can look like. I was told that the Amoco team will stop in Okla. for some testing on their way to the season opener in California, just to "shake down" the new cars and motors. This team will be ready for the new season!
Big rumor out of Central Pa. has Tyler Walker rumored to be driving the Apple #12 on a part-time basis on the Pa. Posse circuit this year. I have not heard anything concrete from any team members or other teams so for now we will just leave this one as a rumor.
How about Danny "the dude" Lasoski's start to the new year? Three for Three so far in Tony Stewart and Vern Massey's #20! It is a newly designed Eagle chassis, and from what I have heard, it will work any where on the track Danny wants to put it! Danny has Jimmy Carr turning the wrenches down in Florida, and Jimmy and "the dude" work very well together. Remember, Danny has already stated that next year he will either be driving for Tony Stewart full-time on the Outlaw trail or Tony will be joining Dennis Roth's Beef Packers team as a major sponsor, I can't wait to see that team! I have also heard rumors that if Danny drives for Stewart, Kenny Schrader will also be a part owner of the team. We'll have to wait for 2001 to see how this unfolds.
Well, it is already almost racing season in Central Pa., and I can't wait! The last weekend in Feb. opens the season at Lincoln and Williams Grove. And beleive you me, a little cold weather or snow won't stop these guys from running. Anyone who was at the openers last year will tell you, it was down right freezing! About 40 degrees at Lincoln and about 36 degrees at The Grove, and if you factored in the wind chill it was about 20-25 degrees at both tracks! Now that's cold for racing, but it didn't stop either facility, in fact the opening race at The Grove was a thriller with Brian Paulus coming from 10th starting position to win on a very tacky track! Let's hope its a little warmer this year!
As far as the All-star Circuit of Champions goes, its business as usual for the mid-west series. A lot of people thought that the WoO division II would put the venerable series out to pasture, but the All-stars are the ones who are still standing strong. With about 70 events planned and an increase in the series point fund, I think the All-stars are going to have another soild year. What will be interesting to see is when the two series go head to head on a couple of occasions this year, who will draw more fans and more cars? Only time will tell, but after talking to several fans and drivers I get the feeling that most will support the All-stars when the two series go head to head, I know I will!
Well, in my last column I let the cat out of the bag so to speak as far as my plans for the 2000 season. Our plan was to run the 410 sprints locally in Western Pa. with a couple of trips to Central Pa. and a few All-star and Outlaw races. However, as I said in my last column, it takes a excessive amount of money to run a sprint car team these days and our team was in need of a major sponsor, well, we have not come up with a major sponsor as of today. We are talking with several companies who are expressing interest, but no one willing to jump on board as of yet. What we might do is go ahead and start forming the team without a major sponsor and continue to pursue these companies while we race, the only drawback to this is that is takes time and money to search and cultivate sponsors as well as the time and money it takes to race. So within the next two weeks we will make a decision as to our plans for the 2000 season. Hopefully, a major sponsor will come on board and will run the full season, if not, we will talk to our associate sponsors and decide if running this year is feasable or not. I will let you know in my next column what we decide.
That's all the time I have for this week, I'll be back in a couple of weeks with more sprint car info and more info on my team. Until then, happy sprint car racing!
Any questions, comments, or sponsorship inquiries just e-mail me at
sprintfreak@hotmail.com
The sprintfreak
