Sunday, April 29, 2012

Opening Day at Raceway Park

By Jason D Searcy (speedtalk on 1360)

It was cloudy and cool with a few sprinkles on opening day for Raceway Park in Shakopee (MN).

The poor weather did not hurt the Mini-Stock car count, 35 cars entered, making a "B-Feature" necessary.

B-Feature winner:
Eric Mohline

Main Event:
1-50 Jason Heitz (photo below)
2-24 Jack Purcell
3-14 Justin Schelitzche
#97 Paul Griffin hit the wall head-on in corner #2 and may need a new front clip, he seemed OK when exiting the vehicle.

Kidney Bean race:
1-50 Jason Heitz
2-24 Jack Purcell
3-71 Tom Sibila

The Figure 8 divison had two feature events as per normal, the second race lived up to the "Wild and Crazy" billing, numerous drivers used both fenders and bumpers to make a pass.
Feature 1:
1-61 Mark Bronstad (photo above)
2-89 Ricky Martin
3-87 Todd Wilson

Feature 2:
1-33 Rick Martin
2-89 Ricky Martin
3-03 Dennis Barta

The Flag-Pole race (above) was entertaining with cars merging and spinning around the flag pole mounted in a tire on the front stretch.
Feature:
1-87 Todd Wilson (photo below)
2-89 Ricky Martin
3-07 Nate Nemis

The "Thunder V-8" division is a mix of V8 powered cars racing the regular oval, it was agressive and wild on the restarts with 3-wide becoming normal, 20 cars entered this race.

Feature:
1-2 Adam Radiske
2-87 Todd Wilson
3-89 Ricky Martin

The Spectator Drag portion of the show was won by Justin Otterholt (photo below) driving a Pontiac Firebird.

Raceway Park races every Sunday evening at 6pm, get more information at www.goracewaypark.com

*results UNOFFICIAL

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Speedtalk is back!

Speedtalk on 1360 radio is back on the air after our long 6 month hiatus.  We will broadcast every Saturday morning from 10-11am on KRWC 1360am radio and www.krwc1360.com   Our 2012 year will be 24 shows from April 21st - Sep 29th.

We are also broadcasting LIVE from the KRWC Wright County Home and Garden show Saturday April 14th from 10-11am, ASA Midwest tour president Tim Olson (photo below) will also be joining us.


Jason D Searcy and Dean Reller are the long-time hosts of this Motorsports show now based out of Buffalo MN.  In 2011 we interviewed 55 different drivers from all forms of Motorsports, we will continue that tradition this year.

Also returning will be our NASCAR expert Jordan Bianchi "the racing geek," in addition to writing for his own website, he is also a contributing writer for www.sbnation.com

Dan Plan editor of the Midwest Racing Connection will once again help us cover local and regional racing all across the Upper Midwest.

We will be doing some live on-location shows this year.  Come see us at the Brainerd International Raceway road course for the NASCAR K&N series race Sat May 26th and for the SCCA Trans-Am race on Sat September 1st.  We will also be live at Iowa Speedway for the INDY CAR race Sat June 23rd and the ASA Midwest tour & NASCAR Truck series weekend on Sat Sep 15th.


Nobody covers the ASA Midwest tour as well as us, we interviewed 14 different ASA Midwest tour SLM drivers in 2011 and did race stories from the MN, Oktoberfest and Iowa Speedway races.


Again this year listen for your chance to win FREE Tickets to Raceway Park in Shakopee and Die-cast cars courtesy of Hideaway Speedway in Isanti.

A big THANK YOU to our great 2012 sponsors, please support these businesses, without them the show would not be possible.

Performance driving school at Brainerd International Raceway .. Rent a race car or bring your own car and drive the awesome road course at BIR, its a thrill you will never forget!  www.birperformance.com


Superior Masonry Products in New Prague MN.  Owner and Super Late Model racer Bret Nordine has more than 20 yrs experience treating people the right way doing Masonry.

Stockholm Motorsports Park in Cokato, the Fastest rental go-karts in MN.  www.stockholmkartingcenter.com

Lou Fegers Racing Equipment in Delano, for all your performance parts and safety products www.loufegersracing.com


Hwy 55 Trailer sales in Buffalo.  They have very affordable car trailers plus service and parts. 
 www.hwy55trailers.com

Moon Motorsports in Monticello.  All things Motorsports!  ATV's, Motorcycles, tons of clothing and helmets and much more.   www.moonmotorsports.com

Big Kidz Racing  Mark Bronstad and Todd Wilson race Figure 8 cars at Raceway Park in Shakopee MN on Sunday nights.   www.bigkidzracing.blogspot.com

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Taking the high Rhoads

By Jason D Searcy    www.speedtalkon1360.com

Race cars can be loud, mean and intimidating, but drivers do not need to be any of those things.


Molly Rhoads started racing thirteen years ago while in High School along with her brother AJ and twin sister Megan.  The summer after graduation, she realized how much she loved the sport, everything about it, and wanted to do it for as long as possible.  She raced at the I-94 Raceway tracks in Sauk Centre and Fergus Falls (MN), that is where she won her first race in the Super Stock and Thunder Car divisions.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E4KqLEnSqE (she is #97)

"Racing at I-94 opened my eyes to the real family that is involved with racing,"  said Molly  "everyone that was there, from the other drivers to the employees and even the fans, were literally the best people I had ever met in my life."

Soft spoken Molly Rhoads was a crowd favorite at I-94, as the track announcer I would help arrange driver autograph sessions during intermission.  Because of the incredibly long lines waiting for Molly's signature, we would have to put her on a separate table from the other guys just to even out the crowd.

She was also very popular in the pits with her fellow racers.  "There was many nights that I showed up there without a crew and different drivers and their crew members would help me unload my car and spot for me.  If I ever had any problems there were always hands on deck to help me get fixed back up and ready to race, that is why I always looked forward to going there" said Rhoads.

Molly eventually moved up to the premier Super Late Model division in 2004 competing with some of the best drivers in the Midwest, she became the first female driver to win a Late Model race at Raceway Park in Shakopee (MN).  She was then accepted into the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program two times where she was given instruction and tutoring from some of the top teams in NASCAR. 

"Janet Guthrie and Lyn St James are very inspirational women that I have looked up to throughout my racing career."  Molly also looks up to NASCAR hot-topic Danica Patrick, "she has spent here entire life working toward making her dream of being a professional race car driver come true.  She has paid her dues and has been successful throughout her career." said Rhoads  "She also is using every one of her assets to make the doors open for her and has helped get female racers noticed throughout the world."

Following her love for Racing has not been easy, it has been challenging in this economy to find enough funds to continue updating her cars and motors.  When she had to take some time off from driving Molly worked in the pits as crew chief for Bryan Roach who was driving local Super Late Model races and in the ASA Midwest tour.  Her popularity in the pits was rewarded with the Craftsman "Mechanic of the year" award at Raceway Park in 2009.  Molly has jumped around the last couple years racing at Raceway Park (MN) and Dells Raceway Park (WI).

This year Molly was accepted into Race4Girls.com.  Its a national program that promotes successful female racers and helps them improve their race team.  Molly says "www.race4girls.com is a great idea, Tracey Passantino is devoting her life to helping me and other female racers.  You can donate as little as $5 and ALL of the money (minus the paypal fees) goes to the driver.  It is so easy to show some support and if even a handful of people you know donate $5, it will help me and other successful female drivers a ton."

Molly Rhoads is not the typical race car driver, here in Minnesota or anywhere else, but I think everyone is OK with that.

Molly plans on racing the full 2012 season in a Super Late Model at Elko (MN) Speedway and enter both ASA Midwest tour events in Minnesota.   "Some of the best drivers have come out of Elko Speedway," said Rhoads "I am super excited to race with them every week and gain as much experience as I can."


To get more information on Molly Rhoads racing go to www.rhoadsracing.com or www.race4girls.com