debwill

It breaks my heart to see the deterioration of this awesome speedway. I feel as if I spent half of my life there, first as a spectator watching my family race for many years, then as an officer with FASCAR (fan club), and finally as a track official. I'll never forget the night when the track reopened, and the grandstands were packed to capacity. Thanks for sharing the pics, Nick. Miss seeing you and all of my racing family.

I think John Heil finished 2nd. Although Race Monitor showed him finishing in 12th place, Jake Wright apparently finished in 4th place. I understand that his transponder went out during the race. And I think Anthony Monroe finished in either 9th or 10th. And, of course, these are unofficial results pending the technical inspections in the "Room of Doom."

The truck qualifying results are shown below. I think the race is scheduled to start at 8P.

I totally agree. It was my first race at I-37 (and for my two friends also), and I was not disappointed. It was a great show, and we saw lots of cars and lots of racing action. A couple of the feature races had 24-25 cars starting, after eliminating several cars in the heats and B-Main. We loved all the sounds and smells of all of the racing action, especially when about 25 cars started the SportMod feature. I hope to see a similar show at Cotton Bowl Speedway this weekend. I'm adjusting to the dirt . . . bought some clear safety goggles to wear with my contacts this upcoming weekend at CBS! I'd like to add my personal thanks and appreciation to Kris Workman for his hard work in promoting the event and helping to raise money for breast cancer, which is a cause dear to my heart. And a special thanks goes out to Kelly Earnhardt for racing in my honor during the Powder Puff event. Thanks also to Bob Caulfield for loaning her a car to drive in that race. I'm really looking forward to going back again next year.

Interesting! It looks like they had to clean up the track to hold the competition. But the grandstands still look overgrown.

As many of you may know, I've also been involved in a lot of the background processes and costs that go with a NASCAR sanctioned track at the local level. What Nick says above is all very true. It costs the track owners, officials, drivers and crews a lot of money to use the NASCAR logo. And as Nick stated above, the NASCAR name didn't carry much weight when it came to local media coverage.

Yep, you've been saying that NASCAR has been on a decline for many years. But what would an uneducated reporter like you know (or whatever we were called back then)?

I was so sorry to hear about Jason this morning. He was a really nice guy. I found this picture of Jason and his Pro Truck that was used in the 2009 Thunderhill Raceway Awards Banquet presentation. My thoughts and prayers are with Jason's family during this very difficult time.

Peggy Davidson posted the following on FB yesterday: Sending lots of prayers for Greg and Peggy as he goes through surgery today.

Kris posted the following update on FB yesterday: Continuing to send prayers his way

Amen, Nick. By shutting out God and throwing out our nation's history, we're letting evil erode our country's infrastructure. Also, if we can't feel safe in our churches, we're really in deep trouble. Sending prayers for all of those affected by today's terrible incident.

Neil, It’s so sad to see the end of asphalt short track racing in Texas and the effects on your series, drivers, officials, etc. I know it must have broken your heart to write this release. Thanks for all of the hard work you did with TPS all of these years. I know that life does go on after racing, but it will always own a piece of your heart.

WOW! I was shocked to hear the news. Although I've only gone to a couple of races this past year, CTS seemed to be doing very well with a great, efficient racing program. I hope a new lease holder can be secured soon. It breaks my heart to see yet another asphalt track bite the dust here in Texas.

The Speed51.com website now shows that the Snowball Derby has been postponed yet again to tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5:00P CST. What a mess for the folks at Five Flags Speedway, drivers, crews, fans, etc.!

Everything is going good for Smoke this week. Check out this article below on a special retirement gift courtesy of his home track. Too cool! Indianapolis Motor Speedway to build Tony Stewart a dirt track. http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2016/6/29/12063982/indianapolis-motor-speedway-tony-stewart-dirt-track-midgets-sprint-cars?yptr=yahoo&ref=yfp

Thanks, Tom. I appreciate your kind remarks. And I continue to respect your extensive knowledge about our racers, events, etc. The encyclopedia in your head is truly amazing!

Reb, Your post was very touching. I think we've all seen your true passion for racing over the years, and you've been such an asset to the racing world for a long time. I've had the pleasure and fun of working with you many times, and I've enjoyed those times together, even when we pick on each other. Thanks for all you've done! From one of the other underqualified, uneducated, illiterate PR folks (or whatever we were called years ago by that "professional" PR guy)!! Deb

I'm so sorry to share that Sharon Wilkerson passed away at 11:00 p.m. last night. For those who may not know Sharon, she worked the pit gate at both San Antonio Speedway and Thunderhill Raceway. Her husband is Wynn Wilkerson, aka Elmer Jean, who was the track clown at San Antonio Speedway for many years. She is also survived by two sons, Aaron and Adam. Sharon was diagnosed with breast cancer about three years ago and fought a tough battle against this ugly disease. She was an amazing lady and will be truly missed by all of us. RIP, my dear friend Sharon.

Here's a link to Sharon's guest book: http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/DignityMemorial/guestbook.aspx?n=sharon-wilkerson&pid=177350918&__hstc=104735519.406b3e44996eeafeedb295cba74fa26d.1453326131902.1453326131902.1453326131902.1&__hssc=104735519.4.1453326131905&__hsfp=3740106108

Neil, What a great description of Sharon. She was certainly a very special lady. Shown below are her funeral arrangements that were posted by Aaron Wilkerson: Services have been scheduled and arrangements have been made. I would like to share the details with everyone. The viewing has been scheduled for 6-8 pm on Friday, January 22, at Cook-Walden Funeral Home located at 6100 N Lamar, Austin, TX 78752 Services with be held Saturday, January 23, at 10 am at Cook-Walden Funeral Home. Graveside services will follow at the cemetery located 14501 North IH-35, Pflugerville, TX 78660. A donation page will be set up through American Cancer Society in Moms honor and details will follow soon. Flowers may be sent to the funeral home. Her favorite color flowers were pink. We welcome all that may attend and understand that all may not be able too. I would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support shown to my family the last few days. My mom would have appreciated it greatly. I know she is looking down smiling over us all with great pleasure as we prepare to celebrate her life.

Cool story! It's great to see this kind of family tradition.

Glad you're back, Papa!

I'll never forget the fire extinguisher incident either! Working for the track was not easy that night, especially when security threw out the track owner. For those who don't know about the incident, the track owner did NOT throw the fire extinguisher. But he wasn't happy about it at all. Oh, those were the days!!

Are you talking about me, Jay? I might just show up too!!

Here's a copy of the article from today's SA Express-News that was mentioned in a previous post. It was written by a local well-known racer and sports writer, Bruce Mabrito. Car Racetracks Roared.pdf