The National Speedway Directory lists almost every track and series in the country under one handy title. Dirt, asphalt, oval, drag, road course and dozens of sanctioning bodies you probably never heard of. Write them at 909 Seneca Rd., Wilmette, IL 60091 or web at www.wpeedwaysonline.com or call at 847-853-0294.
Museum belongs to Will Spencer and is a neat place to visit. Not as elaborate as the NASCAR HOF but I think Will intended it to be a snapshot in time since it mainly covers the stuff from the RJR Days. Itis a daytime visit only but well worth the time.
Not just the students Robbie. Consider the wealth of knowledge claimed by those of us regularly posting on this forum. Perhaps Jimmy has it right when he suggest a combined effort from RR and the HOF.
I certainly don't have all the answers but I have and will continue to support the "official" NASCAR HOF as well as any of the other efforts made to keep the history of our sport alive.
Here we go again! Every time the CRVA releases a report on the NASCAR HOF, the same old stuff comes out. I'm sorry if I ruffle the feathers of those who don't agree with the way things have been done at the HOF. There are complaints on everything from location to management to the selection process.
Last time I checked there is not a Major League Baseball team in Cooperstown nor NFL franchise in Canton and after some down years, they have survived. And if those HOF's had the same start-up costs as the NASCAR HOF in the same type economy, they would probably be posting the same kind of numbers as the NASCAR HOF. Our POTUS and Congress can tout the recovery of our economy all they want but one look at everything involved with almost every form of racing (not just NASCAR) screams differently and if you take a close look at the stands at most other professional sports, you see the same thing.
As for management and operation of the NASCAR HOF, the folks in charge there are good people and don't deserve the sometimes harsh words pointed at them. If you can do it better, volunteer your time and efforts towards promoting the place.
As for the selection process, I too think it could be handled differently but it is what it is( can't believe I said that). But if you look back at the other motorsports Halls of Fame / Museums, they haven't voted in all the folks who deserve to be in and will never vote in everyone that we feel deserves to be in. We need to honor those who have been enshrined,campaign for those we feel deserve to be there and support an amazing place that gives us a glimpse of the history of the sport we claim to love.
I, like Tim, am amazed at the looks on the faces of Bill Rossi and Frances Flock (as well as some of the guests I have watched on my visits to the HOF) and I feel a huge sense of pride myself when I catch a glimpse of a photo of my daddy or uncle or any of the people I knew and respected when I was growing up around the tracks. I am not a big supporter of the "new" NASCAR but Ido respect the past and the chance to see it displayed in a venue like the NASCAR HOF makes me proud to have played a little part in that history.
So if you truly feel strongly about the history of our sport, stop the complaining. Volunteer! Offer Winston & Buz suggestions instead of criticism! Pump it up! Don't bash it! Be proud of the part each of you played in what we love. We can't change much of what goes on at the track but we canenjoy our heritage and the friends and famlies who gave so much. We can enjoy their efforts and we can thank one another for our efforts that may someday bring a smile to some kid wandering through the NASCAR HOF.
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THIS A LITTLE LONG BUT WORTH THE READ
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest..
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that wasChristmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on acold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's aChristmas'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.
LCDR Je ff Giles , SC ,USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq
I'm sure they will get it right but it pains me to see the mistakes and the revising of history that goes on with some of the stuff put out there for folks to see. The Delano head shot is just the latest "boo-boo". Remember the Darlington tickets that were supposed to feature HOF nominees Pearson and Bud Moore but had "Little" Bud Moores photo or the photo in the HOF Yearbook naming journalist Hank Schoolfield as Net Jarrett's car owner, Bondy Long. I know as NASCAR historians age out, there will be some mistakes made but I can't excuse some of them. BTW! I think I still have some of the lumps on my forearms from some of Dale's greetings at the shop door back in the day.
Speed had two great shows on last night. Biographies on Cale Yarborough and Dale Inman featured some great footage from back in the day as well as interviews with two of the five new inductees into the NASCAR HOF nextmonth. I thought I had seen about all the footagefrom the archives of CBS, etc, but saw some new stuff last night. I'm sure there will be re-airs and shows on the remaining three inductees are set for the nextfew daysso I am looking forward to them as well. But I couldn't let the producers get away without a little ribbing. During the commercials promoting the induction of the new members, there was a "shot" of each of the inductees as the announcer called their name. Asthe announcer said "WOOD", a shot of Delano Wood popped up. You would think there is someone at the NASCAR Media Group and Speed old enough to know the difference betwood Glenn and Delano.
While checking e-mails this morning I came across an article on the Windstream home page that while not racing related, caught my eye. It deals with the induction of Ron Santo into the Baseball HOF in Cooperstown. The quotes below are just a few of the comments made and while I failed to copy the link to the rest of the story, you can find it with a little searching on the Windstream site.
I know the NASCAR HOF and the nomination and induction process has been a source of controversy from day one and the passion of many here on RR for his or her choices not being inducted is amazing. And while Santos induction came too late for him to enjoy personally, the comments by his family and friends show dignity and grace as well as the sense of pride in his induction, even if it did come too late for him to enjoy.
I sincerely hope the NASCAR HOF takes a look somewhere down the road and considers some modification to the nomination/induction process. I guess time will tell.
DALLAS (AP) Ron Santo always kept rooting for the causes dearest to him for his Chicago Cubs to win the World Series, for doctors to find a cure for diabetes and for him to reach the Hall of Fame.
On Monday, Cooperstown finally came calling.
The barrel-chested third baseman who clicked his heels in victory was elected to the Hall, overwhelmingly chosen by the Veterans Committee nearly a year to the day after he died hoping for this very honor.
"It's really exciting because so many years that we had parties over to his house in spring training saying this is the year, I'd tell him this is the year you're going in," said Hall of Fame teammate Billy Williams, a member of the voting panel.
"The one thing, of course, is he's not here to enjoy it, but his family will. He long awaited this, and we're all happy. I know I'm happy, his family is happy, the fans of Chicago are happy," he said.
"I've got tears in my eyes writing this: congrats to the Santo family on Ron's election to MLB Hall of Fame. A good day to be a Cub fan," tweeted Chicago-area rocker Billy Corgan, frontman for the Smashing Pumpkins.
Santo died Dec. 3, 2010, from complications of bladder cancer at age 70. He had diabetes, which eventually cost him both legs below the knees, and worked tirelessly to raise millions for research into the disease.
Williams was on the line when Santo's widow, Vicki, got the congratulatory phone call.
"Ron has passed, but it was always his dream, to even have this come to him after his passing. It just shows you can't give up," she said during a conference call from Arizona.
"All he said (was) I hope I get in in my lifetime, that's certainly a reasonable request for anybody who gets an honor as special as this one. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be," she said.
Said daughter Linda Brown: "I know, even if my dad were here today, he would never reflect on any of the wrongdoings, so to speak. ... There would be no bitterness, it would just be him being happy, and I believe he is."
Brooks Robinson: "He's just a terrific guy, he's baseball through and through, he's done a lot for the game of baseball in his career, and he's been though a lot of hardships physically and he was just a terrific player," he said. "He certainly belongs in the Hall of Fame. A long time coming. No one knows the reason he didn't get in when the writers were voting, but this process we have has been the fairest, I think."
"I think the happy ending was already there, though. He got his statue and this was a little icing on the cake," son Jeff Santo said. "It definitely puts an end to the chapter there, that's for sure, with the Hall of Fame."
Thoughts and prayers to the friends and family of a true legend.
