Carol Bell

Saugus Speedway ~ Striking a Blow For Short Track Racers ~ Part II… by: Carol Bell

Posted by Carol Bell º August 14, 2012 º Articles | Carol Bell | Commentary º 6 comments

Saugus Speedway ~ Striking a Blow For Short Track Racers ~ Part II

The saga continues…

“According to one owner, Coldewey agreed that none of the drivers would be singled out for his part in the protest, but that very night, Coldewey reportedly wrote letters to Bob Johnson of Palmdale and Marvin Rowley, who happened to be the two owners whose cars blocked the track, notifying them of their 90-day suspension and forfeiture of all 1968 points.”

This was the shot heard ‘round the county since Rowley owned the car of point’s leader Jimmy Insolo. This prompted Insolo to announce he would not return to Saugus unless Rowley was reinstated.

All competitors felt this action went too far and to complicate matters, Coldewey suspended the entire Sportsman division for one week thus cementing the determination of every driver who competed at Saugus to band together and form a united front.

Then the ugliness started. Accusations began flying like tumbleweeds. Some were obviously the product of someone’s imagination such as the one included in a later column insinuating that days prior to the Labor Day race, several drivers had received anonymous phone calls telling them not to come to Saugus because their cars would be destroyed. This made little sense because the threats came before the race.

At this point, it seemed that Coldewey was in a full state of denial. Surely, he had to have heard that drivers and owners were firm in their belief that a strike was their only option. However, Coldewey continued along his normal path. Read On!

Saugus Speedway ~ Striking a Blow For Short Track Racers ~ Part I… by: Carol Bell

Posted by Carol Bell º August 13, 2012 º Articles | Carol Bell | Commentary º 5 comments

Saugus Speedway ~ Striking a Blow For Short Track Racers ~ Part I

By ~ Carol Bell

Strikes among stock car drivers are rare. Those drivers and/or owners who do strike and end up even remotely successful are even rarer.

A number of years ago, NASCAR ran an ad campaign that was duplicated in many ways by Nextel when they took over naming rights to the series. It was a warm and fuzzy reflection of the underlying strength of the sport. In one ad, it praised the NASCAR series as one of pure competition, fan loyalty, and unlike other major sports, no competitors had ever gone on strike. By God, if they wanted more money, they raced for it. Well, not quite.

Teams began rolling into the shiny new racetrack having heard only sparse rumors as it was being built. Similar to Daytona, but state of the art. True, there was that “tire” thing, but let’s see what we’ve got.

What they got was a monster that was longer, wider, and generated speeds that drivers had yet to hit and, of course, there was that “tire” thing. Read On!

NASCAR’S Original Troubadour (Remembering Marty Robbins)… by: Carol Bell

Posted by Carol Bell º August 7, 2012 º Articles | Carol Bell | Commentary º 7 comments

In honor of Racers Reunion’s “Goat Rodeo”, I’m proud to submit a column I wrote in 2004 and, as far as I know, still proudly resides in Marty Robbins museum out in Arizona. Hope you enjoy it.

NASCAR’S Original Troubadour

Remembering Marty Robbins

By ~ Carol Bell

I was heading down the highway the other day and Marty Robbin’s “El Paso” came on the radio. It instantly had me singing along. At its end, I scrounged around looking for the CD folder that had, in my humble opinion, the best and most accurate racing song ever recorded. “Twentieth Century Drifter.”

After swerving down the road like a drunk, I finally found it, popped it in the CD and joined Marty in belting out the catchy tune as well as remembering the way racing used to be.

“Drivin’ a race car is my way of makin’ a livin’. My way of puttin’ the bread on the table at home” ~

Marty Robbins was a mega star for many reasons, though perhaps none so as much as he tended to do things his own way, and obviously his love of racing was just that. A love of racing. I doubt the monetary factor was ever considered, at least by Marty. I can’t speak for his car owners. Read On!

Kurt Busch – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ~ What You See Is What You Get… by: Carol Bell

Posted by Carol Bell º August 5, 2012 º Articles | Carol Bell | Commentary º 34 comments

Kurt Busch – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ~ What You See Is What You Get

by: Carol Bell

I was scrounging around some old stuff and found a column I’d written six years ago comparing two young stars in NASCAR’s cup division. It was an attempt to show the very different ways these men handled their lives especially when it came to their racing careers.

One was obviously dazed and confused with the situation in which he suddenly found himself; the other was confident that he could remain a viable part of the company his father founded.

Neither ended up the way they thought they would, but for one it’s been “déjà vu all over again”.

Of course, I’m speaking of Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Since I plan on doing some major ranting about the so called main stream media and Dale, Jr., I’ll save him for last. Besides, as we all know, Kurt can and has been the more colorful of the two. It’s been his own invention, and he has made an art out of generating most of his publicity. Read On!

The Brickyard 400 at Indy ~ No Identity Crises Here… by: Carol Bell

Posted by Carol Bell º July 30, 2012 º Articles | Carol Bell | Commentary º 6 comments

The Brickyard 400 at Indy ~ No Identity Crises Here

by: Carol Bell

I was sitting in church this morning and a friend asked me what I was going to do this afternoon? After a very long moment, I started to laugh and told her I was going to go home and write a column about a race I didn’t even want to watch. She had absolutely no response.

For a short period of time I did write about NASCAR. At the time I felt I had something to say, but after 123 columns there wasn’t much left for me to opine about. There was one race though that I didn’t write about. That race conflicted with my trip out to Reno, Nevada where I immersed myself in Hot August Nights, an amazing gathering of over 10,000 vintage cars surrounded by appropriately, nonstop rock and roll oldies. No one needed my input about the race and frankly they wouldn’t have wanted it. Besides, if you want great cars where else would you want to be but Hot August Nights?

I’m sure by now you’ve figured out the one race I’ve yet to write about is the Brickyard 400. Read On!

So What’s All The Fuss About?… by: Carol Bell

Posted by Carol Bell º July 25, 2012 º Articles | Carol Bell | Commentary º 14 comments

So What’s All The Fuss About?

By: Carol Bell

**Author’s note: This is a “companion” piece to PattyKay Lilley’s recent column “A Voice For The Fans ~ What’s On Your Schedule?”

Longtime race fans wear black for a number of reasons. Some of those reasons have been tied to the loss of one of the sport’s most beloved drivers. For a number of years though, the reason is more profound. They’re in mourning.

The loss of so many long held traditions over a short period of time is akin to losing a dear friend. Some have even taken shots from those who don’t understand what the fuss is about. So let’s take a look at some of the obvious and not so obvious reasons that fans are, well, really ticked off.

Naturally, losing a foundation track that helped form the history of the sport, and may have been one to three hours from home, is going to hurt. Losing two is catastrophic. Losing three may well feel something like watching a tornado level your house as well as your hometown. Being blamed for the disaster (low attendance, although these venues didn’t have the mega number of seats the new palaces have), is tantamount to being blamed for setting fire to Mrs. O’Leary’s barn. Read On!

You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Until You Lose It…by: Carol Bell

Posted by Carol Bell º July 19, 2012 º Articles | Carol Bell | Commentary º 15 comments

**Editor’s note** Gentle readers, please welcome a new member to our RacersReunion writing staff, Carol Bell. As later noted, Carol and I spent quite some time writing for the same site some years ago, so I know you’re going to love her… I do!

Carol originally lived in California, which is where some of her fondest racing memories were formed. When the boys on the radio found that out, they were all over her like freckles on a redhead, and before she knew what happened, she was broadcasting world-wide on Racing Through History, presented by RacersReunion Radio on the Zeus Radio Network. After the show, she was kind enough to write her own introduction, along with an article written in commemoration of the now defunct Riverside Raceway. (Did the world really need another shopping center? “Pave Paradise; Put up a Parking Lot” ~PattyKay) Read On!