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I had the opportunity to speak with Tim Van Horn and just asked: “Tell me about your dad and let’s tell the racers who are racing in his memory a little of what he was about and why an Xcel race would carry his name.

We talked for the better part of an hour telling stories and relating not just who he was, but what he was like and why this is a fitting tribute to remember him.

The shortest reason is, Sr. is a person through happenstance stumbled upon the Xcel series, drove a race car for the first time and it left a lasting impression – which is something this author can relate to.

Tim Sr. was surrounded by racing his entire life. Working in a trucking business he worked hard, and driving a race car was a late love in his life.

He lost his father at the early age of 50 and when he turned 41 he also suffered a cardiac emergency. Coupled with a diagnosis of diabetes, he was pragmatic about his time on this planet.

A fellow racer named Kyle Gardner introduced the Xcel class to Tim Sr. and he purchased his Xcel in 2008.

For a few years, he raced when time permitted and while never a winning car, he was competitive and loved the series. He was lucky enough to have help from the Mady’s and Geezer. They talked setups and tweaks like many of us do mutually benefitting by collaboration.

He didn’t just love Xcel racing, it was remarked, that if you did not know where he was, you might find him at the food stand enjoying a hot dog and holding a coke. He was that type of guy.

Inevitably, his health concerns stopped him from participating and he turned the franchise over to his son Timmy in 2012.
Though not actively driving, he remained part of the series well after his helmet was on the shelf. He often was just behind the scenes helping without the fanfare. Along with supporting the team and the relief driver, he was active in the Xcel community and a frequent communicator with Doug during his time as a non-driver.

Fora time, one of the teams had a side-by-side and it was trailered to tour events as sort of an unofficial Xcel tow/push truck. When there was an appeal to help fund flashing safety lights, Van Horn Sr. was instrumental in the purchase of that equipment.

He was known to care about safety and some of the improvements in our series can directly be accredited to his insight.

There was a team in the chase for the championship who like many were down on their luck nearing the end of the season. Tim Sr. agreed that if the need was there, they could use his equipment to chase the title. Turned out they didn’t end up calling on him, but his selfless manner and willingness to help would have been offered and that is the reason so many people looked up to him.

He was only 58 years old when he passed has left behind three children including Tim Van Horn whom you have met at the track.

The man had a big heart, drove a truck and loved racing.

A great story that most of us can directly relate to.

Another driver who was a part of our Xcel family both as a driver and supporter.

We are sure you can appreciate the tremendous fundraising that has taken place to make this a marquee event, now you have some understand of the why it was done and the actual person behind the name.

God Speed to Tim Van Horn Sr. and thanks to all of the people who have made this memorial possible.

See you at the track!

September 24th, 2022 | Grandview Speedway

Editors Note: Please stop back on this article for any changes. If there are updates to the format, they will be posted here along with a social media message asking you to preview this page again for updates.

There is a rain date of either October 15th or October 16th. Decided if there is a need, we will update.

First off, let’s recognize just what the ‘memorial’ part of this race stands for.

Tim Van Horn has gotten together a group of people who have been associated with dirt racing going back as far as anyone can remember. He has pulled at the strings of the some of the strongest supporters of our sport and put together a race that will be quite honestly bigger in many ways than anything that has been contested to date.

We would like you to talk a moment and realize that names listed below are family when it comes to dirt racing.

Tim and Doug have met multiple times and discussed the format and as of right now, here is the formula.

Tim Van Horn Sr. Memorial Format:

• Pill Draw and a Heads Up Start
• Top 30 qualifiers will answer the green flag
• Cars who leave the track will not be able to return to competition for any reason.
• Tour race norms will be followed. For example; If there are multiple cautions, the officials may elect to start the race single file.
• Note: This will NOT be an Xcel Tour Points Race. Only races announced on the originally set schedule are tour points races.

The purse* will look like something that has never been done in our division:

• $2,000 dollars prize money to the feature winner & Tim is working on a jacket for the winner.
• $An additional 2,000 dollars purse money for the rest of the field
• All drivers who time trail will be renumerated – even if not qualified for the feature
• There will be an additional $500 in lap leader money
• There will be even more money for lap leaders based on lap sponsors and other factors.
• The redraw challenge is in effect should someone decide this is the race adding potentially another huge payout if the challenger could do it from the 30th spot.

To be clear, all competitors will have to abide by Xcel Chassis rules and are subject to inspection by Xcel official(s). Any competitor found to be illegal will be DQ’d forfeiting any right to points or money.

The Tim Van Horn Sr. Memorial would like to recognize the following contributors:

*if the turnout is substandard, the memorial amounts may be lessened. Please make the effort to get the word out.

This week we are offering a shorter video talking about Xcel Chassis parts.

The Xcel Slogan: You can spend more money in a different series, but you won’t have more fun for it.

Doug and Keith have a frank discussion on parts and the benefits for having the right fit for the car.
Parts for Xcel cars are created through partnerships that keep costs down and allow for a better experience that considers what is unique to this chassis. Keeping it in the family (Xcel Family) is helping the series to thrive and all of us to have a viable option that is cost conscience and manageable compared to having an all-out custom motor program and chassis competing for the same (or less!) amount of winnings.

The video gives a glimpse into the thinking behind decisions. If you research parts, you will find that Xcel is competitive or better on most of what people use.

Prices have increased, but that isn’t specific to Xcel, it is all competitive racing products.

It is fun to hear the logic and get the sense of what is going on, especially if you do not have the opportunity to have these types of discussions one on one with Doug himself.

Racing is important to all of us and that is what this article is going to focus on.

This week the Xcel Touring Series is heading to Big Diamond Speedway in Pottsville PA.

Even if you are new to the series, you have to recognize that every track we race at presents an opportunity to take it all in. Each track has a spot that is unique.

The entry to the pit area in Big Diamond has that iconic hill with a view from the end of the race track after a drive up the hill that opens up.

Here is the thing, we need to be a part of this and all tracks that we attend.
Our participation is not guaranteed at any venue, but some behind the scenes negotiations have made our return to Big Diamond possible and we want to ask that you do everything you can to get ALL of our cars to return.

Here is a communication from Ray Gradwell (driver #28)

To all Xcel drivers. We return to Big Diamond this Friday and it is very important to see great car count there. There was a lot of phone calls and messages among myself, Doug, and Jake (promotor Big Diamond). It was a lot of work to just get us back. I would love to see counts up and some great racing . I know we can all do it. Was proven time and time again if we use our heads. Doug has even said he start more cars for feature if we at certain number. So come on guys come out this Friday. Let’s show the number of cars and how great racing we can do. In reality our returning does depend on it. Thank you all. Ray

So there is it in a nutshell. If you were on the fence about this track here is your appeal to attend.

PLEASE do your best to get to this track this Friday night.
If you grew up going to Flemington, Nazareth, East Windsor, Reading, Harmony or any of these other tracks within distance of this track you can appreciate that racing is so important to life, but not fully appreciated until it is missed. Let’s not miss out on this opportunity to show the fans at Big Diamond that the Xcel Modified Tour is worthy of being on the docket.

Short Version

To lessen the caution flag, Xcel features will be counting caution flag laps starting immediately.

The feature this week at Hamlin will be extended to 30 laps (from the originally set length of 20 laps) and the caution flag laps will count toward the 30 lap event.

There will be an Xcel Drivers meeting for all race teams and you will have the opportunity to comment on the policy change.

The Long Version

The Issue:

There is one problem that has been a consistent damper on the series – a lack of green flag racing.

The series promotors are aware, the race teams are aware and, in the stands, if you sit next to the fans of racing who are not families of Xcel teams you will notice that they are aware as well.

This has led to tracks being a little sour on the series and Xcel Chassis owner Doug Borger has been taking corrective actions incrementally in an attempt to remedy the problem.

Some of those steps to date include working with people who are spinning frequently by communicating, single file restarts when there are multiple cautions, changing the area where the start zone is and having a three-spin rule when needed.

Without specifically saying, one of the tracks made it clear that it is a problem and will be going forward if not solved. It has been a factor in tracks adding us to the schedule and generally not a favorable look for what is otherwise a terrific series with talented drivers and some great racing.

Case in point:
Last tour race at Hamlin was cut short after a series of yellows elongated our feature over 20 minutes and it was just half way.

Spin rules, single flag restarts are helping, but still there are nights when the class is just not on par and caution after caution fly.

The Next Step:

After some careful consideration, here is where this is leading..

The races at the AMA sanctioned events on our calendar this year will see our division racing alongside motorcycles. It is a fit that is beneficial to both classes. We get to be a part of the venue and they gain the advantage of our division running in the track in places giving them an opportunity to have more racing lines. Racing at the Bloomsburg Fair and BAPS are alongside the AMA.

When Xcel attends those events – caution flag laps will count. This is already part of the program and was/is a condition of our involvement.

Starting this week at Hamlin, caution laps are going to count.

To soften the down side of this, Xcel is going to elongate the feature from 20 laps to 30 laps. If the race is green all the way you will have 10 extra laps, but if it goes the direction it did last week, caution laps will count and a total of 30 ‘competition’ laps is all that will determine the contest.

At the descretion of the race directors, if there is an incident that requires time to clean up, cars may come to a stop on the front and the lap counting will stop.

There is going to be an Xcel Drivers meeting at the trailer this week and YOU will have the opportunity to comment on this at that time.

Goals for Implementation:

Be clear that no one wants this. Xcel included, but it is going to be tried on the idea that it will help the series become a healthy thiving class that race tracks want to see drive into the pits.

Some of the stated goals include:

• Preventing drivers who could have continued from bringing out the caution to help their individual cause
• Prompting teams that are seasoned in the class to help those struggling in a mentorship way with setup and driving tips
• Implementing a two-spin rule on occasion if someone is having a bad night and needs some help retiring from the show
• Putting more focus on clean passes and less on winning from the first turn type of driving

Understandable, this is often a learner’s class in some respects no matter how you implement rules there are still going to be incidents. There have been times in the past when there were ‘rookie’ class races, AND that has been discussed with it being too much of a time factor so it was shot down.

Again, it isn’t a first-choice solution, but the time has come and this is not intended to be a permanent change.

After multiple reminders, it is time to switch gears into a new registration phase.

Registration is required for ALL Xcel Teams.

Here is the new information about registration effective immediately:

Teams must register and pay for registration by the weekend of May 27/28th

• Registration cost nothing online and there is extensive information on the website about why/how
  • To register online, visit: https://registration.xcelchassis.net
  • Create an account
  • Add your race team information
  • Fill out your serials and seals
  • Optional: Add a car and driver image
• Teams can pay for registration by mail or pay Doug Borger at his trailer on any night he is in attendance.
• Cars not registered by the date above will be penalized*
• Registration is key to keeping people informed. If Xcel doesn’t know who bought/sold which cars, how can updates and information possibly be handed out. Evidence by the recent article about fire dangers from improper fuel line assemblies.
• You have asked and asked for accountability as far as making spec information public and showing any changes. We have put hours and hours of time doing just that as well as many other things.
• Registration is part of putting out standings. Not having proper information creates huge amounts of work for managing the points funds. Database entry is no friend of ad hoc entries. Your lack of registration means that your name and information have to be manually entered each week. Coming from the guy who is writing this and does that entry – that f’n sucks big time.

*Penalties for not registering

If you are not registered by the required date:

• If you enter a tour race, your registration fee will automatically be deducted from your winnings.
  • This may also translate to the weekly points fund and payout. We are discussing that with the tracks to make it consistent if applied.
• If you are entitled to ANY winnings from a points fund and have not paid your registration, you may forfeit ALL of those winning and any points you have.
• Your registration fee for the following year may increase as a penalty. This depends on the severity of how teams respond to this year’s registration.

As always, if you have questions, you can get answers to them by just reaching out. Xcel has been more then responsive in responding to website and other inquires.

If you have questions about registering online, reach out to Keith Inglin

• Message Keith Inglin on Facebook
• Email keith@xcelchassis.net or admin@xcelchassis.net

Questions outside of online registration should be directed to Doug Borger 484-131-5319