2010 SCHEDULE RELEASED!
by Ben Chandler
Nothing says “springtime” like the official release of the Evergreen Speedway racing schedule. Well that, daylight saving time, and I just mowed my damn lawn already! At the membership signup meeting held at (new track sponsor) Alfy’s pizza in Monroe, we got the most recent version, which should be posted soon on this site, AND on Evergreenspeedway.com. Happy to see the Super-8 schedule was cut back a bit, to 12 races (3 BIG ones!) so the guys can save some money AND have a couple of weeks off each month! Back in “the day” we raced, like 24 + weeks in a row each and every summer! The Stingers are scheduled for 15 weeks this season, INCLUDING a new event REPLACING the spring-fair on April 17th. Called “King of the X”, it should have a big purse (sponsor needed!), plus plenty of extra laps! Another neat change announced for 2010 is the new BACK GATE season pass. Designed to save some 10% over the course of a full season, it should also save you some time getting in the back gate each Saturday you race! We still await the official tire decision for both classes, as of this writing, but Lex indicated it shouldn’t be too much different from last season! Other 2010 rule changes are now posted on THIS site, and will be in the newest FEAR Rule/History book, also coming soon! I want to thank all of the Figure 8 drivers who renewed their FEAR memberships again at the big meeting. Your support, as you should know, goes DIRECTLY to the maintenance of this website and the individual “gold” member web pages. Your memberships also help with the cost of printing the FEAR History/ rule books, as well as the FEAR stickers. Former Club President John Zaretzke even “stepped up” as the first co-sponsor of the 45th Anniversary FEAR reunion & PICNIC, which will take place this coming summer! FEAR “gold” members will be invited, of course, and club historian Tom Claibourn will again share his massive display of FEAR-stuff as we honor the people that founded this Club so long ago! Danni graciously told me that we should be able to have OUR individual FEAR (gold member) web pages listed under “driver’s web-pages” on the Evergreen site very soon, so get me updated profiles and some cool pictures of your cars asap, and get even better fan and sponsor exposure in 2010! The new season kicks off for the Stingers on April 10th - and the SUPER-8’s start their 45th season on the 17th. That’s right; it was 45 years ago THIS SUMMER, when northwest racing fans saw their first figure 8 race! The track was initially dirt, the arena mostly used for rodeos, and the fenderless cars were initially called “modifieds”! If you watch the TV show Madhouse, you would recognize these old style cars, when they do the occasional flash back to the 60’s. Now 40 years later, our Super-8 cars again look a lot like theirs – except on the show they scream and fight a LOT more - and, of course, they don’t have the balls required to race left… AND right! See you opening night, as I quietly celebrate the 35th anniversary of my own figure- 8 rookie season! Man, time flies when you’re HAVING FUN! BC
SNOWBALLS ... ARE COMING!
400 Laps Grows to 500 -- by Ben Chandler
Happy Holidays everybody! Great turnout at the Evergreen Speedway banquet with plenty of Figure-8 presence, both on the big screen and at the Awards ceremony, as FEAR member Mike "Mr. Dizzy" Buse was inducted into the prestigious Evergreen Speedway Hall of Fame! Over the years many FEAR people have been so honored, going back to their first inductee, "Crazy" Carl Zaretzke, and later 3 former FEAR Presidents Gene Brookover, Lee Daily and Mick Tomlin, with wife Randi and even the Ruddell family. I was inducted myself a couple of years ago and proudly spoke, as I often do, about how the NASCAR "Super" division had "sprung from the loins" of FEAR back in the 80's! Congrats "Mr. Dizzy", and welcome to the 'HoF'! It was also announced at the banquet that our friend Vern Foster and his Lake Stevens printing business, Foster Press, is returning as the Ministock series primary sponsor. Vern returns as our webmaster in 2010, and I look forward to continued work with him on the track program, as well!
Speaking of sponsors, my good friend, former Figure-8 driver (and boss again) Cary Falk, generously offered to add some cash to the prize pool to insure a 2010 Snowball Enduro race. Our main concern was that the Stinger bumpers (and cars) should be allowed ... then Lex came up with the great idea of also adding a 150-lap Stinger-8 race before, and a 100-lap V-8 race AFTER the January 2nd Hornet Enduro, to make up a total of 500 laps! That should be great fun to watch, and be a part of ... and yes, the Stinger bumpers ARE legal in this Enduro. I ran all of these races before the bumper issue came up a couple of years ago, and it is great fun!
The Figure-8 rules have been posted on the ES webpage, MONTHS sooner than usual - thanks to the hard work of everyone at Johnson Productions. I haven't read the specifics, as my computer at work strangely seems to block track rules (but not porn)! But Marv tells me the Stinger clarifications we asked for late last summer, including allowing some front wheel camber and dashboard trimming, were added. It sounds like the Super-8 cars are adding some weight - not the 200 or 300 pounds first discussed, but 100 pounds - in an effort to level the field a bit by slowing down the faster new-style cars. There’s been lots of web chat on this subject on Racingwest, both for and against. The bottom line will be whether it somehow adds to the Super-8 car count, or kills it. No word on the Super-8 schedule for 2010, but it needs to be trimmed and spread out so you guys can cut some costs! And speaking of saving dough, I heard there was a big turnout for the first JZ Motorsports swap meet! Keep an eye out for the Rick Hagar swap meet early in January, and the Concept event later in the month. And finally, I have had a couple of comments about the latest Stinger-8 Champ's picture NOT appearing yet at the top of our homepage. That’s only because I'm still waiting for Seth to complete his '09 membership application and get it to me along with a picture. See you at the SNOWBALL! -BC