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Remember the old saying "When at first you don't succeed, try, try again." How about " You can do anything you put your mind to." or even " If you build it they will come." Man what a good movie. Anyway Jerry Rabbers has stuck to each one of these, and despite the issues earlier in the season, Jerry is beginning to make strides in the right direction. " Expect some big changes in the coming weeks." Jerry told me as the pit gates opened. " I now have people in place who are helping move things in a positive direction." Now before I get into the nights racing, I want to start by saying that every person I spoke with tonight, be it fan, driver, employee all had a fun night. In fact there were several drivers who have never ran there before .Ron Carpenter brought out his No.72 Sportsman for his first ever run. " I have always ran at Galesburg, but wanted to try out here. I love it, it is a great facility, and fast track." Coming in from the Detroit area to join the Mod Squad for the night was No.20 Jeff Vrsek. " I am surprised how nice this place is. I have ran at quite a few others and this one blows them out of the water."

Scott Sigman brought out his Short Track Truck to the speedway, and what a nice truck it is. Oh yeah Scott's pretty nice too. He, like most any other driver that ever put their race vehicle on the high banked 3/8 asphalt, has a deep passion for racing there. " I came out tonight to help support Jerry, and brought a few friends to race and support the track also." " I appreciate everything Jerry is trying to do to make this place what it deserves to be." " He treated all of us with great respect, and kept his word, and thanked us for our efforts and being there tonight."

In qualifying, Ron Heeney turned fast time in his Sportsman at 16.35s. When the Mods came out it was Jim Davis that showed the fast line with lap of 16.19s. During qualifying for the fwd Mini Stocks it was Darren Wright in his No.23 Neon and the No.62 of "Yogi" Metz that turned identical times of 18.96s. Qualifying did not pass without incident when the No.50 of Bob Flodka spun in turn two while trying to take his second lap.

It was autograph night and as usual the fans were anxious to get on to the track to meet the drivers and see inside real racecars. Each driver seemed to have their own fan following, but it was Art Kimball who was one of the most popular. Art is 87 years young, and has been racing since he was 18. I spoke with Mr. Kimball and what a modest man he is. "I really don't deserve all of this attention." he chuckled. "If it weren't for Yogi and his son Todd, I would not be here racing. They have done a great job building this fast Neon." I will be having a friendly one on one chat with Art soon, so if your interested, keep your eyes out for the article.

There was another new driver to the track and his name is Jeff Vrsek. He drives No.20 mod at Owosso, but was in the mood for something different. " I am from the Detroit area, and have heard a little about Mid-Michigan, and man what a nice place this is. The track is really fun to run on."

The night kicked off with the Pure Stocks. It was an off sided class and was filled with the Short Track Truck of Scott Sigman, the T3 of Walt Obrinske Jr. which was being driven by his wife Melinda "Mrs. Terminator". The race really stayed pretty close, and T3 made several charges to try to get to the front. On one of those tries, she got loose coming out of turn 4 and started to fish tail eventually bouncing off the wall and rebounding to hit the wall a second time. The winner in the end was Scott Sigman former track champion. "I want to thank Beacon Sales, my girlfriend, and Jerry for keeping the track open. I hope we can get some more cars out here and keep the track open." "This is my favorite track and I am out here trying to support it. I hope we can get more fans out here too. Thank you again for coming out."

In the Mini stock feature Misty Allen in her Jelly Bean No.82 shot out to the lead. Art, Darren, and Yogi all pushed their cars to the limit, but Misty had control of the track tonight. She was able to drive fast consistent laps all race and protect her line whether it was high or low, no one was getting around Misty tonight. She crossed the line for her first feature win ever, and the emotion was very heavy. That was obvious before she even crossed the line, when on the pit side stands, there was her mom waving her daughter all the way home to victory. As Misty exited her car, you could see how hard she has worked and how much this win meant to her. "That was the longest 20 laps of my entire life. car felt really, really good." Then as the tears began to well up, " First I want to say thank you to my fiance Scott for putting up with me and making a fast car. My parents, Todd this is for you, and Yogi and all the Never Dead Racing, Beacon Sales, Bella Grande, Woo."

To take the track next was the Sportsman class. The cars pulled onto the track in their line up order for what is becoming track tradition, on track introduction, and NASCAR command from the fans to start engines.The cars rolled off for what would be some good racing through the pack. No. 70 Ron Heeney shot out to a decent lead, but the real battle was mid pack eacj and every lap.Damon Place in his No.24 had mechanical problems, but was able to limp it around and finish the race. Ron Carpenter in his No.72 self sponsored car, had brake trouble and transmission problems, and had to pull off to the pits. When the action stopped it was Ron Heeney that was able to collect the checkered flag. "This is a fun little car to drive. Lewis owns this car as our other one. Tell your friends to come out. We are trying to put on a good show for ya." " We appreciate that!" was yelled out from a fan in the stands.

Last race of the night were the mods. There was one car that did not start the feature, and it was the car of Brian Rose. Man did these three drivers put on a show. Darrel Woolsey squirted out to the lead, with Jim Davis following close and Jeff Vrsek riding both of their heels. The group was so tight in fact, that coming through turn three and four, both Davis and Vrsek tried to take the same position resulting in a spin and Vrsek tapping out and taking blame. On the restart Davis was able to get by Woolsey, and shortly after so was Vrsek, but what happened? It evident at the end of the race when all three drivers stopped and got out on the front stretch to congratulate each other and tell how much fun they had. Woolsey's rear tires were now slicks. He had worn what was left off trying to hold top spot. Jim Davis crossed the line first picking up his first Mod win at the speedway. "It was a long time coming,. I really appreciate Jerry Rabbers and what they are doing for the sport. I want to thank my wife. Jeff Vrsek thanked Skeeter the Tech barn and drivers in back for giving him a hand. "This track is awesome, I had a lot of fun out there. When I got around Darrell I pushed it too hard and wore it out. I can't wait to get 20 some cars out here racing.  I definately will be back again."

`All in all it was a fun night, and all enjoyed it. Until next time, I'll see you in the draft.