Driver_Brain

The Psychology Side of Racing

by Fun and LightheartedNews & Information

Ray Evernham just purchased the rights to the IROC series.

If you aren’t familiar with that series it was based on the premise that one entity prepares all the cars and drivers compete in an unprecedented level playing field.

If you took that concept and applied it to our series, where would it lead?
We all have opinions about the cars on the track. In the 2023 season one driver dominated with an unbelievable number of wins when there were some 70 competitors who strapped in during the season.

Speculation runs rampant about that. At the end of the season an unannounced motor check was performed, and all three cars were determined to be in spec.

All political statements aside congratulations to those drivers on their achievements. Not just the aforementioned driver, but all three who were inspected are at the top of their game and deserve admirations and our respect.

Now that we got that premise out of the way..
If you look at that objectively you must ask yourself: “What is it they are doing that we are not?”

On the face of things, they have the same equipment as you. So, what other factors could make the difference?

Setup, experience and luck have a hand in it for sure. Being able to keep the car from mechanical failure is a factor week in and week out.
Maybe they just get more sleep and when that split second decision needs to be made, they simply do it better.


Exploration of the phycology of a race driver

Hey, no expert here. Just putting that out before we start. Most observations I am about to discuss make sense to me. Feel free to join the conversation of all of it – that is the point of doing these articles. They are supposed to be entertaining and informative.

Life factors into racing. Your stress level, your mental preparation and your environment at the racetrack can all make a difference in how you perform on the track.

If you failed before you may have that little hesitation holding you back.
Previous on track incidents may make you biased or reluctant to take chances.
 Lack of experience can work in your favor (too new to know not to try running a different lane that works for example). Lack of experience can also end your night.

All of that aside, let’s explore the psychology of your mindset and see if we can help improve your mental state when you are on track.



What are the goals?

  • How about staying focused and motivated during a race.
  • Suppose we discuss building confidence. Confidence comes from every member of the teams and makes you believe you can do better each time you buckle in.
  • Mental toughness and the ability to handle pressure and stress when things do not go just the way you imagined it.
  • A winning attitude that isn’t temporary.
  • Setting goals for yourself to accomplish.
  • Satisfying your need to be accepted in your series and by your peers.

If you can accomplish any of these even to a lesser degree, I guarantee your on-track performance will not suffer for it. To achieve that goal, I hope to break each down a bit and discuss what you can put in your racing drives toolbox as a tool to help you achieve that goal.

Focus and motivation.

Imagine yourself accomplishing that goal. You need to manage your surroundings some and to some extent shut out all of the distractions so you can concentrate on driving. Having a car that is solidly prepared and reliable will do much for your worry about not making the distance. Races are won in the shop and preparation minimizes the stress of mechanical failure.
Visualize yourself on the track to prepare for a race. Drive the track, see the turns and straights.

That few moments when you are lined up to race waiting. Instead of asking why they keep having repeated cautions, I recommend you start by asking yourself:
“Where are you going to start the turn if you have your way?”
“What if they are inside or outside of you?” “On that starting line, what do you want by the entry of the turn?”
There is nothing you can do about that division and the fact that they cannot complete a lap so you might as well use the time to your advantage.
By mentally racing in your head, you prepare yourself better for the different types of obstacles and your performance will be more automatic and less ‘on the fly’. Practice your race, ask the what if’s and prepare yourself with a plan.

Confidence

All drivers start somewhere. No one is a champion immediately. Just like school, some students have to study much harder to achieve over others who it just comes easy. None of that matters if you think you are a lesser driver.
Take what you are good at and use it to be better at what you need work on. If something seems impossible ask yourself if you are going to do it. If the answer is yes.. do it. Knowing you are going to do it is the hardest part.

Doubt is holding you back. Okay you wrecked. Do you think the winner of last week’s race has never hit something? Move on and let the improvement show in this race. Be confident that with more laps, more experience, more understanding, and lessons from past mistakes will move the needle forward. Confidence from your team is important too. Discuss with them your current state. Ask them what you are improving and what needs more attention.

We all race but most do not really break down and discuss lap for lap what was happening and what could be done better in the future as a result. Your team will let you know that you got this. That is a big help.

Mental Toughness

Imagine for a moment you are in the car and were winning with four laps to go. It is your first chance to win. You lose the lead as the caution comes out. Are you going to be so devastated that the win was just so close that you could touch it? If you are, you aren’t focusing on the chance to take back that lead. The race isn’t over and yes you may not win, but getting excited by the pass isn’t helping you so why expend energy instead of racing for the win.
Mentally you can cost yourself on the track more positions than any ill handling car or other factors.

Mentally tough drivers have the ability to check emotions. That they started in the top five, got spun in the first corner but still race back up through the field is a fine example of that. It happens all the time.
 Racing isn’t fair – be mentally tough, shake off the emotions and use your skill to better your position on the track.
When a team checks in at the pit stand to go in there isn’t any promise of a top five start so why not deal with the hand you are dealt like it was supposed to happen. Focus on the task at hand and not the injustice of the moment. Being mentally tough is likely the hardest task. Race drivers are emotional and often see what happens on the track as a personal attack in the moment. A thick skin goes a long way for getting back into the game. Shake it off!


Long-term Winning Attitude

Jeff Gordon was on a team that was so incredibly successful all drivers would do well to look at the way they went about winning. The ‘Rainbow Warriors’ literally had a moto that was: REFUSE TO LOSE.

What if you could adopt that attitude. Look at the glass half full and if you have a wreck realize that it may have been worse instead of seeing it as devastation. Many teams would see finishing second three weeks in a row as a great thing if you can relate. Okay you did not win, but what is there to complain about when you are consistently finishing in the top five and 98% of the other teams are not. All in the perspective.
Learning from both good and bad put you ahead as long as you look at it with a winning attitude. No Debby Downers allowed.



Settin’ Goals

Drivers who set specific, measurable goals for themselves are more likely to see success on the track. Goals can be related to lap times, finishing position or plain old finishing the race. Set a goal and work toward it. Goals lead to determination and allow you to strive for them. Without goals, you are just bobbing along hoping.
Make those goals public to those around you. Work as a team to achieve and celebrate when you achieve then set higher goals.

Here is an example of a worthy goal: Look at lap times. Are you faster in the beginning? Do you fall off? How much? If you could maintain a few tenths consistently to the end of the race how much difference would you see in finishing positions. Why is your car falling off? What can you do? Maybe drive a little more conservative and save tires? That is a goal you can set and work toward.

Meeting Peer Expectations

Most of us are worried that our reputation will take a hit if we don’t perform to lofty expectations. There is a fine balance between driving respectfully and winning. You should consider where you stand in the scheme of things.
Everyone knows that no one person is universally loved by everyone. The goal here is to fit in enough to not be hated, but respected.

What if you went out and had a discussion about with those who race against you. Find out what they think you need to work on and do that. New drivers need to exercise restraint and earn a place in the pecking order. Unless you want to be outside the social circles (in the infield and on the track) you better give a wide birth to those who are top runners in the series. Don’t roll over, but stay in your lane.

Spend some time and ascertain where you are on the ladder. What can you do to climb a rung? If you are faced with controversy, how will you react? Being prepared to answer these questions with some foresight is not a bad thing. Drivers in the moment often do not consider what things look like on Tuesday looking back. Don’t be embarrassed and have regrets that you cannot take back. The test is if it wasn’t related to YOU, how would you see it. We have all been there when some maniac is overreacting, and we are silently mouthing get a life in our head as nothing that has transpired met that level of emotion in our estimation. Walking away is almost certainly the right course of action. Being a bigger person takes mental toughness. See above.

The Final Take

We hope that all of this had you wondering what it is you can do to be better prepared for the things not related to the car but the driver.

If you are not the driver perhaps you could approach what and how you say things differently going forward and bolster your drivers mental state to improve your race team’s chances. The racing movie Days of Thunder has many quote-worthy parts, but Harry motivating Cole is a reoccurring theme.

Spend some time with your thoughts and decide what is important and how you will react to situations that could matter and require a decision in the moment. Ask yourself how prepared are you to deal with adversity? If you remember back to the reasons, you started racing you will find the motivation to calm down and use your potential to create good memories as well as improve your standing in the sport.
What are your goals? How important are they to you and your team. Remember that you are not alone in this. Winners have people who support them. This is not a one-person sport.
Best of luck.

driver-71

Everything in its place

by Fun and Lighthearted

Hey Ace – Did you check the spacer on the left rear yet? No, I’ll get it. The driver exits the trailer, sets their right knee in the grass, and rolls under the car. Something like this happens in every pit, on every weekend, as tuning the race car is in the natural order of things.

Making Plans

As the new year approaches, it is only normal to go through your mental checklist of things that need attention and replay past race weekends in your mind. You conjure up some of the small things that you tried to make a mental note about for improving – updates in the trailer, tools to replace, a new air gauge because the one you had is a low buck unit that never works.

Taking it in

Coming back to the opening where the driver is making a change to the car, there are some suggestions to consider for the new year. Picture a walk around the track on race day, bouncing in and out of your buddy’s pits. You notice…. Subtly you notice…

Their trailer has a cool tool chest, they mounted the broom on the wall, and they have a neat tray for the chains.

You also notice that sometimes the team’s workspaces look like a tornado blew through… As you scan the area….these guys have stuff laying all over the place.

When watching a team fixing a car, you subtly take it in. You notice the manner in which they conduct their operations. Sometimes it is with envy and other times you simply just shake your head.

So where do you stand if you were getting graded on that report card? Are you neat, tidy, and organized or is your space an ad-hoc sloppy mess?

A New Season, A New Opportunity To Improve

The truth is there is room for improvement in every team pit and a little time is worthwhile to consider improvement for the upcoming season.

Reminisce back to last season and consider the space in which you operate. This includes everything that encompasses where you call home on race night.

The space where the truck is parked, the space around the trailer, the space you claim as your domain behind the trailer – where the car is sitting, and anything else where you have staked your ground.

The things you do in that space likely fall into several categories:
The first thing you do in this space is chill. In fact, most of the weekend is spent idle, hanging out in the pit doing non-race activity things – talking, eating, looking at your phone, and so on.

Then you have the support network of capabilities to consider. The trailer and all of its amenities, your generator, your electric cords, lighting, air compressor, fueling solution, and so on.

Each week you do routine care for the car in the space behind or alongside the trailer. Checking the tire pressures, refilling it with fuel, and making adjustments.

Then unfortunately you have those moments where you are fixing things. Sometimes it is simple work- replacing a bent radius rod before the consi in that same space.

Did you make the Grid?

Other times you are required to thrash in that space…. swapping out the front axle assembly, figuring out why the wiring cut out which caused the crash in the first place, and three other unavoidable tasks including tire pressures, refueling, and getting the driver in the car during a 30-minute window (who hasn’t been there!).

The Report Card

Whatever the case, in this time while you are dreaming of the season to come, you can think back to where you fall on the scale of how your team pit looks operating in the spaces available to you –

Perhaps it is somewhat organized but there is room for improvement, or perhaps it is an all-out train wreck every week and the team needs to do some soul-searching to get something sorted out.

Just Hanging Out

Taking it by scenario, let’s start with the hang-out dynamic.

The way you handle this can change from weekend to weekend. If you are in for a long day and you are bringing a crockpot of chili with fixings, then perhaps you want to consider how to set up the space when you pull the back gate down on the trailer.

If it is a Jersey Mike’s weekend and you can munch down on subs in the wrapper, then you can skip the crockpot and fixings table and veg out in the folding chairs. Whatever the weekend has in store, consider your preparation, and communicate the plan.

Ideally throughout the night, you follow the initial setup with a periodic walk-through to put stuff away, organize things laying around, sweep the dirt out of the trailer, and so on.

There is something cathartic about a clean trailer and things being neat and tidy in the space you are occupying. What kind of sucks is when things are laying all over the place and you are tripping over crap and cussing under your breath about the dystopia that occurs by the end of the race night.

Yes, this seems so obvious but it is amazing what some team’s pits look like mid-way through the night.

There is another intangible asset to planning your space, and that is when you have to concentrate on what you are there for – racing.

Think back to how many times you had to zig-zag back through the folding chairs to get something out of the toolbox during one of the thrash events. We have all done it and if you know that, then perhaps in the future you can plan to correct where chairs are placed so this doesn’t happen.

At a minimum, make it a practice to push chairs to the side when not occupied and reap the benefit of always having a lane maintained through the center of the trailer.

C.A.Y.G.

Learn the premise of something called ‘KaHHhh-Gee’. The acronym is C.A.G.Y. and the premise is to CLEAN AS YOU GO. This simply means building in the practice of straightening things up as the night goes on.

A tidy trailer, done all through the day, sure makes for good times at the end of the night when you are worn out from a long day and want to pack your stuff and head out of dodge. It also makes for less work on the day after when prepping for next weekend.

They say it is best to have a place for everything and then everything has its place. Consider the times when you are doing a once-around on the car. Whether it is the routine thing or one of the moments where you have to fix the car under duress, where are your tools?

Most times, they are on the ground, they are on the roof, they are laying on the hood, they are sitting strewn on the back ramp of the trailer. They’re in someone’s pocket – they are lost somewhere in the abyss of your toolbox in the back of the trailer.

Housekeeping

What if tools were tidied up during the downtime each week? Spend 30 minutes every weekend putting things back – labeling drawers, discovering some things missing, and making a list to add them for the next race weekend.

What of a tool caddy? A simple tray that comes out with you every time while working on the car and is placed on the back deck behind the roll cage where everyone knows where it is. Perhaps there is a stubby screwdriver kept in the tray at all times for the Dzus buttons.

A New Game Plan

Bring the tray out every time you work the car and let it serve to place tools in and capture spare parts. Why waste your time rolling around in the dirt looking for a cotter pin, or dropped socket?

If everyone gets in the habit of putting things in this centralized spot, then there is no question where pit guy Joe put the locker for the front spring while he runs off to check where you are in the consi lineup.

Begin with the catch-all tray and then introduce some other practices. Start with small habits and build on them. After the catch-all tray for the back of the car, how about a catch-all tray for the worker mat to lay on the ground?

Worker mats are such a simple utility, yet you hardly see them used. Why lay in the dirt? An old entrance rug, or some other item, does not take up too much space and is so easy to employ so why set your tools down on the bare ground? Keep another catch-all tray near your worker mat, then you have things organized while you are horizontal on the ground.

Wouldn’t you like to have the time back you spent last season searching for something on the ground – admit it you were there at some point?

Taking Care of a Key Asset – The Driver

Incidentally, it is time to call up the opening scene. Time and time again we see drivers laying in the dirt in their fire suit. This is a terrible practice.

Fire suits are precious, and grinding them in the dirt, spilling fuel on them while refueling, wiping grease and oil into them is not only dumb, it hampers their fireproof abilities.

Drivers run warmups, then sit around. They run the heat and sometimes they sit around for hours waiting for the feature. All during that time, they are traipsing around in what is likely the most expensive garment they own, ruining its functional purpose.


Yes, it is a hassle to take off your shoes, to change in and out of a suit, but the truth is, it is really the responsible thing to do. You know what – no one does it. No one.

Bring a jumpsuit or something to change in. I have seen drivers change out of their suits in 45 seconds when it is time to go home at the end of the night.

Also, not for nothing, some nights it is 90°F and for the life of me, I do not know why one would want to walk around in a triple-layer suit.

All of this is to point out that if you think through the operation, there are likely a few places that could be improved.

Learn from the Pros

Top-notch teams have figured out so many of these things. If you have ever watched some of the top DIRT modified teams, say Stewart Friesen’s group, they look like a NASCAR crew with the operation.

They looked at stuff like this and made it an expectation to follow some ground rules for being a part of the road crew.

This is a great time of the season to consider your craft. To think about ways to improve not only your race craft, but the operation at the race track. Discuss it with your crew.

Each week reinforce the plan and build good habits. Why not start with a habit to review the game plan each week while on the commute to the track? You can get things straight with whoever is in the hauler for that race weekend and work on one aspect of having a smooth go of it at the racetrack.

Plan the Work – Work the Plan!

It is something akin to planning the work, and working the plan. And who doesn’t love it when a plan comes together?





all photos by Kevin Inglin

Xcel_2023_SeasonLogo

2023 Registration Information

by From Xcel ChassisFun and LightheartedNews & Information

Introduction: Teams asked for everyone to participate in registration.

It allows the series to promote and thrive. Registration is free.

Click on the titles below to expand information.

First thing is look on this list below (updated 2/23)
If your name is here, you were registered in 2022. GREAT NEWS, your re-up for 2023 is super simple.

To Register for 2023

There is a short video below to help with the steps listed here if needed.

  • Login using the link on the top right of the homepage
  • Choose: Dashboard
  • Choose: Update Registration
  • In the field for YEAR: Change from 2022 to 2023

We also recommend you check the rest of your dashboard and update information as needed. There is a video below that shows step-by-step how to go about this.

If you are having trouble with your login:

PLEASE DO NOT create another login. Either use the lost password function or reach out using the HELP form.

Once your team is listed on the Xcel Race Teams page, your registration is active again.
To see that XCEL MODIFIED SERIES HOME PAGE | XCEL RACE TEAMS

Bomgardener, Rob
Bressler, Gerry
Donati, Christian
Donati, Kyle
Frable, Christopher
Furman, Larry
Gastley, Jason
Gradwell, Ray
Heisey, Scott
Hitzler, Richie
Hitzler-Mays, Tiffany
Hoke, Ty
Johnson, Bill
Kreiser, Chad

Lewis, Roger
McGinty, Kevin
Mroz, Mollie
Myers, Jarrod
Nettleship, Tommy
Newbigging, Douglas
Schmeltzer, Olivia
Schraden, Justin
Sieben, Devan
Smith, Bryce
Smith, Christian
Sutton, Geo
Whitby, Eric
Wilver, Jack

New Teams Registration
First off, welcome to the division. Registration takes a few minutes and requires you to gather some information prior to doing so. The log in link on the top right of the page is where teams manage registration accounts and information.

To make your registration easier, we highly recommend you take a bit and watch the video below.


2022Stats

2022 Tour Stats

by Fun and LightheartedNews & Information

The 2022 Xcel Chassis Tour gave us a host of interesting stats.
Below is a summary of the season and some of the interesting aspects.

We hope that you enjoy and perhaps glean something valuable from the stats.

2022 Xcel Tour Champion | Tyler Bartik (85)

Quick Stats

  • 81 different drivers suited up for a tour race.
  • There were 22 tour races on the schedule
    • 5 drivers competed in every tour race that was run
      • All of those drivers finished in the top 10 in points
        • Bartik, Tyler
        • Hitzler, Richie
        • Sutton, Geoffrey
        • Inglin, Korey
        • Smith Bryce
    • 13 drivers competed in more than 10 of the races
    • 50 different drivers competed in two or more events
    • 31 ran only one tour race
  • There were 18 tour races that took place (one with no feature)
  • 4 events were rained out
  • 21 cars on average answered the green flag
    • 28 was the biggest field, 10 was the smallest
  • Over the course of the 18 races, 388 cars were scored
  • There were 406 laps completed in the tour races this year.
  • Bryce Smith (7$) was the only driver to complete all of those laps.
  • Korey Inglin (2B) and Doug Newbigging both had the most DNF’s (5 each) and still finished in the top 10 in points
    • Korey Inglin – 4th
    • Doug Newbigging – 10th
  • The average race temperature this season was around 76 degrees
  • There were 5 races where the red flag was flown
    • Lance Garrison (7S) – Lindas Speedway | hit pit entrance wall at speed, ambulance – no transport
    • Motorcycle driver was injured at Bloomsburg – no Xcel feature
    • 6 cars were flipped in tour features. There were a few during qualifying, but that stat was not kept this year
      • 2 cars Big Diamond on the same night (5S, 61S)
      • 2 cars Action Track
      • 1 Lindas (20K)
  • There were 6 different winners
    • 5 wins | Tyler Bartik (85)
    • 4 wins | Richie Hitzler (9RGR)
    • 4 wins | Korey Inglin (2B)
    • 1 win | Geoffrey Sutton (5S)
    • 1 win | Justin Schraden (88)
    • 1 win | Brenton Miller (29M)
  • Tyler Bartik won from furthest back in the field after starting 16th
  • Three drivers won from the pole (2B Inglin & 9RGR Hitzler & 29M Brenton Miller)
  • All other features were won from inside the top ten starting spots

Most Position Gained | Season & Single Race

Most positions gained from starting spot. This stat only included where you started vs. where you finished. If you spun, went to the back and came back through, those passes were not part of this stat.

  • Most gained over the course of the season – top 5
    1. Bryce Smith (7$) | 82 spots
    2. Tyler Bartik (85) | 79 spots
    3. Richie Hitzler (9RGR) | 55 spots
    4. Christian Smith (69) | 53 spots
    5. Ray Gradwell (28) | 51 spots

  • Most positions gained in a single race
    1. Ray Gradwell | Lindas Speedway, 7/2/22 – Started 25th, finished 6th
    2. Tyler Bartik | Penn Can, 9/17/2 – Started 21st, finished 3rd
    3. Josh Towner | Penn Can, 9/17/22 – Started 26th, finished 10th
    4. Zach Mills | Penn Can, 9/17/22 – Started 29th, finished 13th
    5. Tyler Bartik | Lindas Speedway, 6/17/22 – Started 16, WON the feature

Average Starting Spot | Average Finish – Top 10 in Points

Driver | Average Starting Spot | Average Finishing Spot | Gain/Loss

  1. Bartik | 7 | 3 | +4
  2. Hitzler R. | 6 | 3 | +3
  3. Sutton | 6 | 7 | +1
  4. Inglin | 7 | 9 | -2
  5. Schraden | 6 | 7 | +1
  6. Smith B. | 13 | 9 | +3
  7. Hitzler-Mays | 11 | 10 | +1
  8. Gradwell | 12 | 10 | +2
  9. Smith C. | 16 |14 | +2
  10. Newbiggin | 16 | 14 | +2

Tech Stats

There was only one car that did not pass tech. The 12 of Tommy Nettleship was called for a rear tire being out to far according to the rules. He was not aware of the rule.

  • (10) Tyler Bartik
  • (8) Richie Hitzler
  • (5) Korey Inglin & Geoffrey Sutton
  • (3) Tommy Nettleship
  • (1) Justin Schraden [88]
  • (1) Eric Whitby [12E]
  • (1) Kenny Harris [Crown 7]
  • (1) Sam Sciccitano [28S]
  • (1) Austin Daniels [71D]
  • (1) Tiffany Mays [8]
  • (1) Bryce Smith [7$]
  • (1) Ray Gradwell [28]
  • (1) Brenton Miller [29M]
  • (1) Josh Bewley [78]

Races Held vs. Rain Outs

TrackScheduledRaced
Hamlin66
Lindas54
Big Diamond33
Penn Can31
Bloomsburg11
Lincoln11
Action Track (Kutztown11
Bridgeport11
BAPS Speedway10

Poker Series Winners

Hamlin – John Martinsky Sr. | Winning Hand – THREE 5’s

Big Diamond – Korey Inglin | Winning Hand – PAIR Aces

Lindas Speedway – Tyler Bartik | Winning Hand – TWO PAIR, Aces and Kings

This completes the stats compiled for the 2022 season.
We would like to say thanks and recognize all of the drivers who competed with the Xcel Tour series in 2022. Your participation and being part of the community of Xcel drivers make us all better and we hope that you enjoyed your season and we will see you back in 2023!

Dad T Bucket

Racing: Winning Without A Race

by Fun and Lighthearted

You wonder why sometimes you do all that you do. The short answer is because you (and I mean all of you including those who don’t have a wheel in hand) race.

There is excitement in going fast.

The feeling you get when you throttle up and drive down past that flag stand and into that first turn is one that never gets old.

Part of the thrill is speed, but the endless possibility of outcomes is the other element. You have to wait until it plays out. No matter what level of experience – you simply must let it all unfold to find out what is going to be.


 Somedays you are the hero, somedays you are disappointed, somedays you are angry.. somedays you win!
Yes, you can tilt the wheel a little in your favor with skill, preparation and experience, but no one escapes a bad day sooner or later simply because life is a gamble.

Recently, everyone lost. Let me explain..

The entire Xcel tour series towed (at great expense for many) to a track only to miss out on the opportunity to race the feature. It was bad luck of the worst kind. A driver in the other series had a nasty accident and was injured. He was transported to the medical center in the ambulance and the night was called due to the emergency so at the most basic level of explanation – no race for our division.

Frustration was palpable. Out of respect for the injured racer,  many wished a speedy recovery, but you could feel the disappointment in the air made even more prominent by the fact that every car was lined up in the staging area and had to turn around and return to the haulers without a green flag lap.



Realize it or not, I am willing to bet some good came out of disappointment.

The last couple of weeks we have been asking teams to chime in on the website with surveys and polls. I want to share some of the responses to set the stage for my argument.

Q: What is your favorite track and why?

No surprise, Lindas Speedway was in position one in our survey. With 58% of the vote.
Penn Can, Lincoln, Grandview, Bridgeport (big track), BAPS and Action Track (Kutztown) were all in the mix.
Reasons given  for the variations were nostalgic, location, size and passing and of course a driver’s winning ways.

Here is a sample of the answers:

Lindas: “It is a perfect mix of what makes great racing. It is small enough to be consider a small track but with the speeds of bigger tracks. It’s a drivers track. And it’s tricky! Multiple lanes to get around the speedway. Is almost always guaranteed to make for a good race.”

Lindas: “2 races 2 wins (bet we can guess who this one is from 😊)”

Action Track: “Multiple grooves. Optimal size track for our cars.”

BAPS: “Because it’s close to home, very fast track and close racing. Just overall a fun track.”

Lincoln: “This track reminds me of my hometown track growing up. Flemington Speedway has a lot of elements that were similar to Lincoln. Love the feel of the place.”

One thing they all have in common.

No matter which tracks you chose they all have one thing in common. They are likely far away. Sure one might be close, but no matter which, the others aren’t right around the corner.


When we were younger a friend told us he was going on the Weichel Tour! (not actually sure how to spell it, but it is pronounced: Y-cull)

His son piloted a slingshot, and this was a tour race for the division. He was as excited as a high school kid fixing up a his first car.
He and his son ran the season and travelled hundreds of miles to do so. We latched on the fact that he was given a jacket for his efforts at the season ending banquet and to this day poke fun at all the money spent to ‘get a jacket’.

Thing is that in reality, it was much more than a jacket.

Getting to my point, the time spent IS the thing that actually makes it all worthwhile.

We also asked teams to tell us about how many folks come with them to the races.

As you can guess, answers varied from the guy who goes it alone to some who bring the entire hometown with them. The sweet spot in our survey was somewhere around 7 crew with many over the mark. The real surprise is that some came in at 30 plus adding in spectators! Most were over 20!

Thanks to Kevin Inglin for the images

When we asked about bringing sponsors (actual, not family) a full 2/3rds of you said yes.  We also asked if this was some type of special occasion, most said no. A few do have an annual get out to the races day, but most were big numbers at their home track.

Seems you all were up on the wheel when you have a cheering section as almost all responded that they did well when they had large spectator counts.

Quick aside: I myself had one of the biggest cheering sections that we have ever had and crashed backwards into a Yuke tire busting my fuel cell (thankfully no ignition) and ruining my run. Korey won that day. We had people from NJ, NY, MD and NH representing and three generations of Inglin’s in the stands. I believe I won my one and only heat race that day so at least I have that going for me 😊

If you look at the responses to which tracks you have spectators, it appears to be regional. Guessing again, that distance is the primary factor.

Some responded Hamlin, Lindas, Big Diamond while others said Penn Can, Thunder Mountain and 5-Mile.

Here are some of the comments:

“We have a big crew and spectators. We have at least 4 guys per car not including driver 90% of the time.
Crew job per person includes mud removal, tires, gear changes, check car over, fuel, and my daughter does the helmet.”

“Sometimes challenging to get folks out when we are so far away from many tracks. It takes planning for us and logistics for travelling. Also, hard when the nights end so far away at the wee hours of the morning.
Still people are supportive and impressed with the speed of it all when they come. Many come back more than once We post our week coming up on our Facebook page and let our people know the what’s and where’s”.

One big victory lane celebration!

Often we are the last class to take the track. It is impressive to say the least that fans are still in the stands at the late hour of the night. Sure, many of them are ours, but race fans love our class and the action so they stay.

Going back to title of this article, WINNING WITHOUT A RACE let’s offer a summary.
If you are lucky enough to have people supporting your racing endeavors and.. you get to go fast you are winning – even if you had a right front flat 3 laps into the feature or a race is cancelled before it is started.

The sum total in life experiences when you get older and are looking back more than forward will bring to life the realization that these are the times that you will fondly recall.

Brother Dave Tweaking Idle Screws

Some of you know that recently I lost my dad at the age of 86. He lived every day right up to the end in a way that we would all be jealous of. The week he passed, he was quite literally replacing a leaf spring suspension with coil-overs on his t-bucket project. He was able to get a guy down the road to fabricate new mounts, chopped the length on the front and when us siblings went down to settle his affairs he had completed the welding and mounting of the front axle. It needed to be painted, but he was happy with how it turned out. A little sad he wasn’t able to ‘tear down the road’ with the thing, but tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone so we live for today.

I want to close out with a personal summary of winning off the track. We were on our way to Lincoln and had this little video. My dad happened to be in the tow vehicle that day and was a part of the conversation about the impending weather. It is a typical exchange of all of us in the truck. Priceless, funny and part of the reason why even though we didn’t race (151 miles towing each way from home) that day it was still a win.

The video is only 1 minute long, but it is a great summary of why racing is not just what happens on the track. We were indeed rained out, but often found our way to Mission BBQ (not sure about this trip if we did) and that alone makes the travelling worth it.

Hope that you are enjoying the articles and appreciate you being part of our Xcel community.

Betting you have your own stories, I hope reading this brings them into a conversation.. don’t be afraid to share them with your racing friends and thank your crew chief for all the effort, even if it is your dad.

Bloomsburg Speedway –  ‘The Has Potential Track’

by Fun and LightheartedNews & Information



Towed out to Bloomsburg speedway and unfortunately as the Xcel Modified feature was lining up a terrific crash occurred in the motorcycles division, and it pushed the event past the curfew.

The day was speckled with goods and bads. Mother nature had a big say in the first laps of qualifying. Hot daytime temps led to a dry dusty track and sun glare was a big factor coming off turn two leaving teams to point the car in the right direction and like Days of Thunder ‘hope you were going to come out of the smoke on the other side’.

For all intents and purposes, the track appears symmetrical, but tire placement and laps will tell you it doesn’t race like that. Big sweeping turns and a sharp entry to the front make it feel as if the track has two different sweeps. Big and fast it has a lot of room for movement. Most teams worked up a sweat after warmups tweaking gears and setups.

Our division did have a good look on the track. Doug commented that the fair staff in the booth said we put on some of the more competitive racing they have seen. Despite the severe lack of vision, the qualifying was done without any major incidents and there was passing and a couple of side-by-side races before the (considerable amount of) dust settled. Want to give a nod to the 20K team who was running a strong heat race right out front when the motor expired all the way down the front straight. You know they say that a motor runs best right before it goes, and that car was flying. It was a strong run and hope they can get back on track and recover quickly from that big setback. Going from excitement of leading to disappointment in a blink of an eye is something we all have to deal with in racing, but watching the family (sitting in front of us) made us all feel for them when things went south.

Back to the feature curfew. Like a school room exercise where you pass the story and it changes, we heard multiple versions. Summary is that there was an unusual motorcycle crash, multiple bikes, possibly a catch fence involved, and one driver suffered some broken bones and was unconscious at first. The safety crew was on the track for a considerable period at the end of the night and the driver was transported. Our race team camped for the night and walked the track in the morning. The accident scene played out like a crime scene with indentations in the tracks, marks on the wall and you could almost reconstruct the carnage.

Takes guts to get in one of our cars with a 5-point harness and roll cage, but these motorcycle racers have some serious crazy to do what they do. It was fun to watch them on the track and a profound respect for the talent it takes to go like that.

A speedy recovery to the driver. As much as it sucked to not race, best wishes to him.

The night ended in a kind of haze as to what happened. Most had no idea there was a curfew. The final takeaway was a sense of let down that the feature was cancelled and the feeling that ‘the track has potential’. Most feel it would have been a barn burner of a race.

Despite and outcome of money spent and nothing to show we still want to thank all the people who worked hard to negotiate and put this deal together. There was a sense of that on the sleeve of the person doing the drivers meeting at the Xcel trailer and we appreciate that even though there were some reservations about our class, they took the chance. Thanks for that.

It resulted in our first laps on this new surface and hopefully an appetite for returning to see what it could be. With wetter track prep, cooler nighttime temps and maybe seeing if the tires could be moved in a bit, comments were that this would be some racing venue for us.

The place has copious amounts of room on the grounds and if you have a three year old – A TANK!!!

Talk of future races includes a possible fair date THIS YEAR.

The fair runs from Sept 23rd to Oct 1st. It was mentioned that it would be a mid-week race. Right now, that is only an idea. If it becomes more, it will be communicated. There was also speculation that it would be a monthly deal for our division possibly in the future on perhaps on Saturday nights.
So you don’t have to go look it up, Xcel schedule says Grandview Sept. 24th (non-tour, exhibition race) and Lincoln on Oct. 1st.
Doug mentioned Tuesday during the fair, but again all speculative at the moment, just a pencil and no pen for this one.

On a personal note, thanks to our crew chief for letting us share in his trial run of the ‘new to him’ motor home. Oh that air conditioner was nice!

“The Holiday Inn Express” Bounty Hunter

Racing Add-On – Bloomsburg Fair Speedway Style

We took a 3 year old to Knoebles right down the road both Saturday and Sunday. He got a taste of his first ever amusement park rides. The helicopter ride was his favorite followed by the ferris wheel, then the log flume.

Ran into the entire Pauch family enjoying the same experience. We know them, as they live in our neck of the woods. It was great to see them enjoying some family time in the shade trees of kiddie land. A little race track talk and we were both on our separate ways to explore. Racing, family and friends, nice way to spend a weekend.