Maintaining my faith in the organized sport #1:

-ANRA ran a decent Palmdale August meet with sportsman cars as stars- supporting racing on a regional level. This is the kind of meet at which you can get to know outstanding performers and amusing people...and follow their season without a tellie. Southern Cal still has great, legendary racing on a Racer Brown-level. We just need to cut throught the hype and hug the guardrails.

-Danny White reports Pro Mods at Caddo Mills attracted a dozen cars who adapted to conditions and fans who responded to heroic efforts...packing the place, contrary to reported trends of doorslammer featurettes. Corporate Drag Racing STILL can't kill the homemade car and the local star...

An Idaho columnist made some poignant remarks about stick and ball economics and the growing chasm between tickets n such and the reach of even middle-income 'mericans at www.thenewstribune.com Given the biggest fuel-forced circuits' tributes at the turnstiles, similar complaints regarding Premiere League English Footie, and the reckless emphasis on bigger economics ubber alles, having good reports from Spokane and the Tice Jr. Big Show are a cool breeze. Rich Baily alludes to the show having featured the usual Dead concert good vibes we associated with Orville Moe- so it really WAS the track and not the operator......and at "'80's prices". Will Karamesines become the first octogenerian to run 300mph? Anyone betting against him?

Exchanged missives with Jon at the North American Eagle land speed record attemptin' team this weekend. www.landspeed.com Spanaway, WA.'s LeMay Car Show is next weekend; I plan to meet there with team members to plot further adventures...

I'm gonna do it. I'm going to give away the ending. www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com I threw a drum of popcorn at Ed Hui and pointed towards the best vantage for both sight lines and note takin'. The Martin Sheen-narrated hollywoodlawn (oops, that was a famous NY drag QUEEN-get it right, Rev..) production pushed open several journalistic and auto industry doors to dig for the answer to the movie's quiery. After judge and jury have decided, the SHOCKER is when the post-preppie industry wag-turned activist joins venture with a former CIA OPERATIVE to put together a new plug and play auto promo firm. AHHHHHHH! The flick ends when neo-cons are threatening to embrace former liberation theology celebs in a big brownout of love..

Just read astonishing Cole Coonce story and couldn't delay directing towards his LA CITYBEAT front pager from 7/27/06..ohjeezusohgods. CC took a deep plunge and drew upon some post-pomo inner-strength for this one: Fear and Entropy in Los Angeles. Just go to Cole's Kerosene Bomb site and link from thee upper left corner. In addition to whereishenow'ing Doug Kruse, CC....man, just read it. Made me cry over my cold steak and Deep Purple bootlegs. www.kerosenebomb.com one more time, folks. COLE, this is far and away superior to even your best NITRONIC RESEARCH material. Talk about tacklin' and tellin' it like it elfin is.....

Love Of Sport Weekend could be the punchline for a trying scheduling joke, as we still emotionally process Shelton Airport doing it's long overdue revivin' for one big meet at a time.
Walt Austin putting up the moola keeps this from being taken too seriously as a purest attempt at revisiting the culture the track gave up in '67--the last time dragsters ran amok along the tarmac. Rahn Redman, exec. of the Shelton Dragstrip Assoc. is ambitious about 4-600 entries and upwards of 8000 tators double-stacking up each ditch. We're bracing ourselves: knowing that such an assembly is under a microscope is not guarenteed to bring out the best in people.

Unless stuff happens, the meet will be docudrama'd in Natural Dogfur. A different, perhaps much more predictable soiree is happening about half an hour north on Hwy. 3. Same two days...likely many of the same faces shuttling madly up and down the west sound highway.

My naieve Idealism wants very badly to see the Shelton meet succeed-10,000 folks looking on...the whole deal. It would evident how true-roots racing can draw, self-nuture and make money..for those in the sport who need that sort of reward. It would draw, as if from Mother Earth herself, the elements needed to recreate a true, non-corporate NHRA. We could then proceed to threaten lawsuits..if that's what Glendora insists upon. I want to be proud to be a part of the largest motorsports organization in the world...for all of those 'right reasons'. I'll be waiting for news at a currently esconsed..yet legendary for being 'temporary'..NHRA track.

Full Throttle News is showcasing the increasingly adroit reporting of Darrell Conrad. The man is what Richard would call a 'racer'. A racer, these days, is apparently one who can afford to run it up and down the coast under our current energy budgets. Damn good writer; gave the Luna's a multipage turner on..a rainout! That's the sort of stuff I thought only I had the nerve to do! Glad Cali now has a glorious postcard collection of Pacific Raceways under an inch of rain. The true and tight highlight of the August issue in beautiful black and white (my preference..) is the Walt Stevens/Jack McCloud "Poachers" FETF retrospect..complete with sociological ramifications, ie he told the whole story. Really nice read. Once again, if the top end of the economic scale on our west coast indie scene is your bag..plus midwest alky/nitro AAFA action..grab a subscription. Sat. night Lions wish-you-were- there's will love it. Those of us who also crave Weds. night/Sun. afternoon style are sadder......