Although I haven't followed religiously this year, I have been watching Brent Sass as I follow his Wild and Free Mushing page on FB (link to regular website for those not on FB). They were 3rd last year and look to be leveling up. His training style includes making sure his dogs are used to breaking trail as well as changing positions within the team.
From the Official Iditarod website, he and his team are currently leading, and has been first into many checkpoints such as Cripple, Yokon and Ruby.
But veterans Dallas Seavy and Jessie Holmes are hot on their tails. And, Jessie has taken all required breaks , while Brent and Dallas still have an 8 hour mandatory break they need to take. That may or may not be an advantage for Jessie. A break later in the race can give the dogs extra energy for the last leg of the journey.
This year's Iditarod has been some tough times for some teams. The "Elim 11" had to wait while a new route was figured out and cleared as heavy, wet snow and an overflow of water took out part of the trail. These teams were actually past the Elim checkpoint but had to turn back due to conditions.
Reports on facebook said the Elim 11 have stayed together to ensure the safety of all.
Even then, their continued trip has been in high winds and storms. They have arrived at the White Mountain checkpoint and are in their mandatory 8 hour rest period.
Here is a newspaper report on the happenings. Here are some of the FB posts
And they made the news
Oh, and congratulations to everyone who has so far finished the race - with Thomas Waerner taking the top spot.
All other teams, besides the Elim 11 have scratched for team and/or musher safety. Condolences to the Berington sisters who scratched for family reasons.
Last Sunday I had a first experience, going to the Grass Drags. Those are snowmobile races on the grass, held in a farmer's pasture. WS has always gone with Jimmy, and I didn't want to intrude on their "buddy time", so I had never been before.
I went by myself and found a lot to see. There were grass drags, water drags, and exhibition jumping:
There were vendors with all kinds of cool stuff like a machine that looks like it will go thru just about anything,
and another that is supposed to do work, but just looks like good old fashioned fun
There were helicopter rides, which I wanted to go on, but you had to have at least 2 people in your party. They weren't placing seperate parties together, so I just stood and watched the two helicopters do their thing for a while:
Then there was a sign that you don't see very often - at first I thought it was a No Guns Allowed sign, but then I saw I was mistaken and had to smile at the sentiment - so of course I had to go into the establishment:
and there was abanner on the right to bear arms:
I had a great time, just wish I could have seen the drag final. Unfortunately I had to get home to take care of Prince, who much appreciated being taken for a walk and being fed, so that was okay with me.
Last Sunday Justing (the neighbor kid) and I went to the fall NASCAR race at NHMS. This was the first NASCAR race (major) that I had attended and it was certainly exciting to be amongst the crowd and to see the race live. Here are a few of the pictures I took:
I had pit passes, so we got to go on hte track to see the pit boxes. This is a view down the entire line
Jeff Gordon is my man, so I had to take a picture of his pit stall
Se also crossed the track to get to our seats, and where all the people are is the finish line, where they were doing promotional stuff
We also wondered around the back and caught the color guard practicing
Our seats were toward the end of turn 4, about midway up, so we had an excellent view of the track; the first is toward the finish line, the second to the backstretch, and the third gives a sense of the size of the oval:
The flyover at the end of the National Anthem (couldn't hear the announcer, so don't know what it was. Maybe Cop Car can help me out:
The pace car leading the first several warm up laps before the start of the race: And, here is a short video of the cars as they are headed for the start/finish line for the beginning of the race:
I had a pretty good week, so naturally the fates decided to take me down a peg. The laptop died tonight. Used it last night to reconcile all the accounts (personaly and household), but decided not to back up. Also, it holds the majority of pictures - some backed up, some not. Went to start it up tonight, and lo and behold, it doesn't get past checking the CD drive, then it shuts itself down.
I'm so used to shit going wrong this summer that I didn't even get upset. Thought a couple of swear words, but that was it. Will have to take it to the shop next weekend and see if anything can be salvaged. Can't do it tomorrrow as I am going to NASCAR race. Even that isn't going as planned (although better than it could). I was supposed to go with Jimmy and Justin (the kid across the street that takes care of the animals when I need it). Jimmy had to cancel Thursdaynight.
Justin got his phone taken away for bad grades. the only reason his parents are letting him go to NASCAR with me is because they don't want me going alone. Nice of them, but not necessary.At least we will have lots of room; I have 4 tickets and only 2 of us going. Also, have 2 pit passes so Justin and I will still have a great time. Oh, and it is supposed to rain until about noon tomorrow, which may mean I just eat the tickets with nothing to show for it if the rain decides to stay (not supposed to, but the way things turn out for me . . .)
A well, another day in paradise with my mantra being tested (and so far not on the winning side).
New England Dragway has held drag races in Epping, NH for many years (as long as we have been here). We went to them once long ago, but these were the up and comers racing - not the big names. Nothing wrong with that, but we have always wanted to see the big names that we see on TV. You know, John Force, Robert Hight, Cruz Pedregon, Antron Brown etc.
This year, the Dragway had been upgraded to accommodate NHRA top legue racing, and of course we had to go! This track upgraded from holding a couple of thousand people, to selling 20,000 tickets to this event (plus over 10,000 for the qualifying runs on Friday and Saturday).
We were impressed once we got in the gates. All tickets got you access to the pits - which were right behind the grandstands. A lot of tracks have the pits seperate and you have to have pit passes (much like Sprint Car racing). Since we got there an hour before the final qualifying started, we took advantage to see some of our favorite drivers' rides and crews.
Naturally John Force and his whole slew of drivers were highlighted at the front. We got to see John Force, Courtney Force and Robert Height funny cars on display (I assume these are former cars, or back up cars).
The insides of a funny car are very tight for the driver
There were dragsters - which are the fastest of the cars, doing 1/4 mile in under 4 seconds and their motor is at the back of the car instead of under the hood.
There were drivers like Antron Brown signing autographs and taking pictures with their fans
Then the races started and that is when the fun begins. The started with eliminations for dragsters. The stands shake as the cars flash from the start line (we were about 2/3 of the way down the track) and the deep rumble can be felt thru your body as the cars get closer. Then as they go by, there is a rush of air as the cars puch their way down to the finish line.
The pre race burn outs creat quite the show themselves with the roil of smoke that comes up from the tires.
Motorcycle racing is quite exciting too - I can't imagine going 180-200 MPH, much less doing it in a 1/4 mile!
And the culmination of the day was that for the first time, John Force and his daughter Courtney Force, faced each other in the finals for funny cars. It was about the best outcome that anyone there could think of and they gave us quite the show as neck and neck they came barreling down the speedway in about 4 seconds. You can hear Jimmy yelling at the end of the race:
A great day of racing in New Hampshire - can't wait to go again next year!
WS and I are going to the finals on Sunday. When we lived in Kansas, we went to th eOklahoma races a couple of times. We moved to NH before the Kansas Speedway was built. Although NH has had minor races, they have never had the big names before (the ones you see on TV). The closest big races are in NJ and PA - not very close to us. So we are thrilled that John Force, his daughters and all the other competitors are coming to the state.
Remember one of the feel good stories about the Olympics, where a guy with prosthetic legs was allowed to compete with able-bodied Olympians? Seems he wants it both ways - he fought to compete as able-bodied. but he was also in the Paralympics.
He is mad because he didn't win the Paralympics 200 final and thinks the other guy cheated by having equipment that he didn't have. Huh, and he couldn't understand why there was reluctance to let him in as a competitor in the regular Olympics; he had equipment that no one else had.
I'm not saying that it was wrong for him to complete with able-bodied persons in the Olympics, just that it seems a bit ironic about his argument.
Saturday we rode to White Mountain Motor Sports to watch a friend of the Wonderful Spouse race his stock car; an expensive past time, not his regular job. Since I was on the back of WS's bike (saves gas and we would be returning at night - I don't drive at night), I had time to look at the clouds. I thought this one looked like a camel.
The sports complex is nestled at the base of the white mountains, close to Lincoln. It is a small venue with a track that is probably 1/4 mile long.
There was a great view of the mountains from the pit stands (where we were), including the car we were there to watch (#21).
Hey, I know that dude near the upraised hood!
We were there to watch Oren and his purple 21 car, but that didn't mean we couldn't enjoy the other races like the minis.
All pictures are taken during practice or qualifying as the main events were held after dark. We did get to attend the driver's meeting before the main events though. I don't imagine that NASCAR driver's meetings are quite this informal, but this is the (very) small time, so it was very loose.
WS is there - just in front of the guy in the black shirt in the center of the picture.
We had a great time, got to see some great racing, and even got to see and 11.5 year old kid get 3rd in the truck racing (a 14-15 yar old got 1st, a young lady got 2nd). The venue, although small, is very fan friendly and prices at the food stands much more reasonable than other places - which we appreciated since we were there from 3 until about 9.
We told Oren that we will definitely have to come back next year!
New Hampshire has a couple of events that not every state has, and that one would not think of belonging to a smaller (in size and population) state. We have two (count them, 2!) NASCAR races at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Not only is it the largest sports venue in the Noth East, but not every state that hosts NASCAR races have 2 races.
We are also host of the oldest motorcycle rally on earth, Laconia Bike Week (which yes, we did attend, but I haven't downloaded pics yet, so you will have to wait for the post). This draws a couple of hundred thousand visitors in itself.
And next year, and beyond, we will be hosting NHRA, Full Throttle, drag racing. We have had the minor league drag racing, but that is not the same as the Full Throttle series. We saw some of the big time drag racing in Oklahoma, when we still lived in Kansas. And naturally, shortly after we moved to NH, Kansas got its own track in Topeka. In the last couple of years we have talked about going to see a FT race, but the closest track is in New Jersey. That is a heck of a drive just to see a day of races. Well, yes, we could watch qualifying, but really, one day of all the sun, heat and noise are is enough.
To bring the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series to New England and specifically the state of New Hampshire is very exciting,” said Joe Lombardo, track general manager, New England Dragway. “We have started the process of preparing our facility to host an event of this magnitude and look forward to hosting the stars of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing next June.”
The event will be headlined by 15-time NHRA Funny Car world champion John Force, seven-time Top Fuel champ Tony Schumacher, as well as many other top stars including New England’s own Bob Tasca III, Antron Brown, Ron Capps, Greg Anderson, Cruz Pedregon, Courtney Force, Morgan Lucas, Robert Hight, Terry McMillen, and Jeg Coughlin, among others. The event expects to entertain fans from the entire New England region, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Canada. The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is broadcast on ESPN2/ESPN2HD.
So congrats to the owners of the Epping's New England Drag Way. The work that you have put into this should reap you a good pay back, and make it much easier for fans like us to witness the sport in person.
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