You CAN Go Home Again…

The old saying goes, “You can’t go home again.” Well, you can, but you just can’t stay.

Such was the case when we traveled back to my old stomping grounds, the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., for a ‘Wild West Tour’ event on July 15. I was the track announcer there for the 1983, ‘84 and ‘85 seasons under the guidance of NRC president and Grand Forks Hall of Famer Jim Corcoran. The facility, although aging as it will, is still how I remember it from the ‘80s, with the occasional facelift having been done and a coat of paint or two having been applied over the years.

Of all of the great racers who passed through the River Cities gates during my years as a regular there, one dirt Late Model driver remains racing at the speedway to this day. That driver is my good friend Tom Corcoran of East Grand Forks, Minn. – and it was great to see him during our visit there. It was also great to see RCS promoters and longtime friends Linus and Don Mack, who in their time were really great 410 Sprint Car drivers, and I enjoyed seeing all the great fans that turned out on a hot evening in the Red River Valley.

My old Sgt. from the Grand Forks Air Force Base (where I was stationed in the ‘80s), Maurice Stansbury, couldn’t attend as he and his wife Ellen were in the process of moving into their new house that they purchased outside of Grand Forks. It was, however, good to see them both as they were really busy with tearing old rooms apart and mowing grass in their giant farm-sized yard property, which we were able to visit following the racing program because we had a couple off-days before our next show.

Old memories can stay with you forever and always be there for you. But you can revisit some of those days gone by if you can live your Life As An Outlaw….

The Event Where Everybody Calls Me Uncle Sam...

An event is something you go to. An event is something that sticks in your mind. An event is something really big.

In that vein, the fifth annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com on June 23-25 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., was truly an event!

I was Uncle Sam at Lernerville. (Lenhart photo)

Where else but Lernerville in western Pennsylvania could you have a 60% chance of rain for two out of three days – and have it actually rain enough during both preliminary programs to wash out most racing events – and still not have one fan leave disappointed?

With each day’s car count over 60, there was superb competition and plenty of star drivers to root for or against, as the case may be. The food vendors were on hand in mass proportions. T-shirt and collectible vendors were aplenty as well. There were driver/fan tournaments held for the horseshoe throwers and cornhole players. There was a Miss Firecracker contest. Live music kept the fans and teams entertained after the Thursday and Friday racing programs. And of course there were plenty of libations being enjoyed as well…

There was even the annual appearance during Saturday night’s Firecracker 100 finale of a popular red, white and blue-clad man who goes by the name ‘Uncle Sam.’ (That would be me, in case anyone didn’t know that I once again donned the Uncle Sam outfit to announce Saturday’s action.)

The racing, fireworks, food, giveaways, music, tournaments, t-shirts and great fans that turned out in droves from far and wide made for a great weekend. I heard that one man was given tickets to the entire weekend for his Father’s Day gift and a family from Nevada came to Lernerville for what has grown into a monstrous event.

It’s fun to be part of such an event while living Life As An Outlaw…