Dirt track Saturday night
Small block modifieds, pictured above, and Empire Super Sprint Cars were running at the Orange County Speedway tonight, so with one of my daughters, Violet, and my son Lucian V visiting from Tennessee for the week, we drove over from Milford to take in the races. The modifieds are like skateboards with 350 cubic inch engines on them, drivers within roll cages hidden by scant bodywork, they roar un-muffled around the half-mile oval in Middletown, New York, in clouds of dusty thunder and the sweet exhaust of racing fuel.
The sprint cars in the Empire State series are the winged version of regular sprint cars — a tubular roll cage and spidery suspension just strong enough to barely control the 700 horsepower fuel injected V-8 engines that power them around the track at 150 miles an hour on the straights, and over a hundred through the corners, their gigantic wings sticking them to the clay surface of the track like glue. Here are the Empire Sprints after the green flag has dropped, headed into the first turn during a heat race.
The state of New York presented a full moon over the Orange County Speedway to help celebrate my kids’ visit with their dirt track dad who gloried in every dusty lap and every squinting smile on their faces.
Sigh. Back to the reality of much less enjoyable political races tomorrow.
Dirt tracks are tons of fun, and you are right 700 hp, staggered tires, do they even use a transmission?, or a clutch for that matter, it’s a crazy form of racing, but it is racing which is the key, I had no idea that you were a Motörhead as well, that’s another thing we have in common. BTW did you get to watch Monaco last week?, qualifying alone was reason to watch F1, and there is no place like Monte Carlo for qualifying. I have driven a lot of race cars so I have a feel for what they are doing but I have to say, that I have no idea how they do what I saw them do in quali, being young and fearless helps, I know what 150 mph feels like, and what I saw them do at that speed took my breath away. You couldn’t put a cigarette paper between the tires and the barriers at some of the apexes. My kids like it as well, I raised them right, I have been a fan for over 65 years and can count many world champions among friends and teachers. Zoom zoom 🏎️. This week they are in Barcelona which is ok but it’s not Monaco, nor is the abomination they put on in Miami, in the football stadium parking lot with boats on trailers surrounded by sheets of plywood painted to look like water. 🤷♂️ and that takes us to John Malone whose Liberty Media owns the broadcast rights to F1 worldwide, and whose idea of a good place to race is the aforementioned stadium parking lot. Sorry I couldn’t resist.....
A very American evening, the sound of engines, the dirt track and what from afar looks like matchbox cars being raced for the pleasure of the children of the gods of speed. That your children shared this with you on a beautiful night renders it magic.