BY: ISAAC DEHAANAs I write this column it seems like forever since I put my last article together. As with most people around here, life gets exponentially busier as the snow goes away. It seems as though kids’ soccer games, yard clean up, getting the race car ready, and the start of a new racing season all seem to begin at the same time. Add to that the fact that my family and I moved into a new house over the last month, and it’s like there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done that needs to be done. It’s a time of transition for me, as we exchanged our smaller, country house with a pole barn for a larger, subdivision house with a 3 stall garage. It is still roomy enough for my stuff, but just a little bit different setting. Even though we were still getting settled, I did find time to prep the Bronco for the upcoming race season and even attend a couple of events already.
The first event I attended was the 38th annual Michigan Sport Buggy Association spring hill climb. It’s a fun event that happens over Mother’s Day weekend (weather permitting) every spring. It’s unique in the aspect that there are trophies only (no payout) and it is class racing. This year was a down year in the fact that only 27 entries showed up to try the hill. King of the Hill, which is the fastest time of the day by a male entrant, was Bill Del’ve Jr. with a 2.72 pass, Mary Spitler was Queen of the Hill with a 2.74, Jeff Landers was Truck King of the Hill with another 2.74, and Josh Goodale was ATV King with a 3.79. The weather was great all weekend. I managed to place second in my truck class with a 3.04 having to pedal once. Congrats to everyone that ran, and special thanks to WMSD for the use of the grading tractor for the starting line, DAR Duneland for sponsoring the ATV classes, and Richard’s Auto Parts for sponsoring the Truck classes.
Bill Del've Jr. - King of the Hill.
Jeff Landers - Truck King of the Hill.
Josh Goodale - ATV King of the Hill.
The second event I made it out to was the season opening race at WMSD. Annually held on Memorial Day weekend, it is kind of a kick off for summer around the Silver Lake area and is usually well attended. Unfortunately with gas rising to $3.50 a gallon just days before the race the car count was a little on the low side with approximately 108 cars showing up for the weekend. However, it was encouraging to see a decent amount of new cars and drivers though, so hopefully the car count will get better as the season progresses. The highlight of the weekend was Rob Schyett setting a new track record at 2.628 with his blown alcohol, Bad Frog Beer dragster. With Rob holding the record at WMSD and his brother Scott holding the record with a 2.79 at another Michigan track, Albright Shores Sand Drags, they keep it all in the family. It will be interesting to see if Pat Goodale, the former track record holder, returns to try and retake the record or if someone else steps up to the plate and tries to claim the record for themselves.
The last event I was able to attend was the second race of the ’07 season at WMSD, June 2. Approximately 84 cars showed up for this race with a decent amount of people skipping the weekend for lack of funds or time for repairs with the short turn around between races. It was still good racing, and some people really took advantage of the small car count to score good finishes in their classes and set themselves up for the season points. That’s about all for this time around; it is a good time to be a sand drag racer. The summer is in full gear, and there are lots of places to race. Even gas seems to be coming down in price just a little bit. Get out there and enjoy the races. From the Staging Lanes, see you next time…
Isaac DeHaan