Central Pennsylvania Speedway has become one smooth, fast race track in the tri- state area. The speedway has been very fortunate since opening night avoiding all the bad weather that has struck at other area race tracks. The big 3/8 mile or just a little under 1/2 mile on the outside track has sure brought to life the racing in the Clearfield area. The track has been in great shape except for a couple of dips here and there and the racing action has been fantastic. There have been three different feature winners in the Late Model division including Luke Hoffner, Chuck Kennedy and Shawn "Sheetz" McGarvey. These guys are really hauling the mail around the fast oval and sure do put on a show for the fans. Speaking of the fans, the numbers keep growing and the people keep getting there earlier and earlier to get a hill side parking space. There is not a bad seat in the house for the fans at Central Pennsylvania Speedway.

The Small Block Modified class is not brimming in numbers, but that is about all the bad things that can be said about it. Jimmy Holden has found the fast way around the speedway and has captured two of the three feature wins. This past weekend, Bill Krause, who suffered a broken leg this past winter and is still on the mend made his first win look easy as he won by half a track over Jimmy Holden. Rookie driver, Brad Rapp led all but the final two circuits of the race a couple of weeks ago, and he admits that excitement starting to set in and he missed his marks on the track. Brad ran go-kart in the past and definitely knows how to use the gas pedal. This youngster who turns 15 in June will be in victory lane before the season is over at the rate he is going. Kevin Dickson has had a tough go during the first few weeks at CPS. Two weeks ago he was involved in an opening lap accident that tore that back bumper loose from the car. Last week he had engine woes before the green flag dropped and was unable to compete at all.

The Street Stock class has been very competitive as well finding three different drivers in victory lane. Taking home the honors were Gary Conklin, Denny Fenton and Jason Walker. Todd Bainey looked to have the Pure Stock feature all wrapped up but with just a couple of laps to go to the checkered the motor that had been smoking for several laps prior finally let go and ended Bainey's bid for the top position. Sitting in the wings was Zoltan Laska who inherited the lead and went on to pick up the feature win. The 4-cylinder division has been growing week after week and finding his way to victory lane this past week was Levi Ardrey.

Central Pennsylvania Speedway is set and ready for the upcoming BRP Modified Tour event that will be run on June25th. Track promoter, Ken McLaughin can't wait to see the speeds that the big block racers turn on the fast oval. Modified Tour drivers are also anxious to get started and interested in competing at this newly renovated facility.

Sharon Speedway has had a tough time getting started and hopefully this is not an omen of things to come for the rest of the season. The "new" Sharon Speedway is just that. The newly built Speedway Club grandstands are something to behold and are state of the art for this area. The extra large concession stand, Sharon Speedway novelty booth, expanded handicap seating and all the new black top areas make Sharon Speedway the place to be on Saturday nights. Since the first of May, Sharon has only been able to hold one race due to the weather and on opening night the following drivers found their way to the new victory lane area that is found behind the turn one grandstand area. Ed Lynch, Jr. picked up where he left off from last season and collected the Sprint Car feature win. Jim Rasey started his season out good by picking up the Modified feature. Jeff Johnson captured the e-mod feature with Danny Exley taking the checkers in the pure stock division. With 56 Pure Stocks in the pit area at Sharon this is one of the most competitive divisions around and just making the final twenty-four starting spots is quite a feat for any driver. You don't want to forget about the upcoming World of Outlaw Late Model show that will coming to Sharon Speedway on June 26th. This race will be fast and furious with the smooth track surface and wide corners, the racing action should find fans standing on their feet right up until the final lap.

The BRP Modified Tour will be starting their 10 race season soon. The first race is coming up on Sunday, May 30th at Tri City Speedway. This race will be the Dick Rankin Memorial Race and Dick's family has added extra money to the purse for this event. The driver's will be competing for $1,500 to win for the 30-lap event. Once the BRP Modified Tour season gets started it will take off running as long as Mother Nature cooperates. On June 5th will be the Bill Emig Memorial Race which will feature triple 25 lap races for the BRP Modifieds. The following Friday, June 11th the BRP Modified Tour will be at Lernerville Speedway to compete for the new management at the speedway. Then the tour cars have a couple of weeks off before we head to Central Pennsylvania Speedway which I am predicting will be one of the best races of the season. If you would like to have copy of the Modified Tour schedule for the 2004 season, just go their web site at www.modifiedtourinc.com for more information.

That's all for now. Hopefully the weather will cooperate in the next couple of weeks and we are able to get some racing in so that there is something to report to everyone. Until then, think sunshine, sunshine, sunshine for the weekend!!! Pam Baker  ¶ 1:17 PM

  Nestled among the pines along a township dirt road is one of the best kept racing secrets around our area. Pine Hill Speedway located in Shippenville, PA is one of the nicest go-kart facilities that you might find. Nestled amongst the pine trees, Don Schimp owner of Pine Hill Speedway carved out the 1/4 mile track that is always smooth and has a beautiful blue groove to it. Run by the Schimp family, the track was closed last season due to some personal family problems. That did not stop those who had competed at the track in the past, from asking Don to reopen the track. After receiving 450 post cards and letters asking them to reopen the facility, the Schimp family will once again begin the 2004 racing season on April 24th. The track will run every other Saturday throughout the summer until September. Their awards banquet will finish the season, and folks let me tell you that I have attended this banquet and the food is all made by the Schimp family and friends and the prizes awarded to the competitors are nothing but first rate.

Some things that are unique about this track include the fact that it is a bring your own chair, blanket, cot, etc. place. There are no bleacher seats and that is okay, as there is not a bad seat in the house from your own chair. The place a wonderful concession stand with some of the best race track food around. They even have an ice cream machine that serves either cones or milkshakes. The track has their own fuel and they also make sure to tech qualified drivers in each division. Pine Hill Speedway is located off Exit 60, Interstate 80. Follow Route 66 North to Route 322. Take Route 322 west approximately 3-4 miles to Route 208 North. Once you are on Route 208 North, take the first road to the right, Allaman Road and follow that to Schimp Road. The track sits on the left side of the highway approximately 1-1/2 miles back Schimp Road. If you get a chance this summer, please check out the best kept secret in go-kart racing.

After taking part is a few mall shows and having the sun shine for more than a day, I am sure getting that racing fever. Mall shows are great and a terrific way to show off new sponsors, car colors, team members, etc., but there is nothing quite like racing. We are getting close to opening day in our local area with Lernerville Speedway possibly the first one to get open since Challenger has not been able to get their first race in the books. The new management at Lernerville Speedway have quite a full schedule on tap with two World of Outlaw Late Model shows, April 23rd and August 13th. Since they will be dropping the Modifieds from the schedule on April 23rd, they are hosting a twin 20 show for the Modifieds on July 9th. They also have two World of Outlaw Sprint Car shows on the schedule on May 25th and July 20th. There will also be two All Star Sprint specials, May 7th and September 3rd. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with the new promoters this season and they have a fantastic first year at the helm.

The BRP Modified Tour has something new happening this season. Lake Erie Speed Specialties, owned by Josh Skarzenski has come on board as the "Rookie of the Year" sponsor. Any one entering their first full season in a big block modified will be qualified for this award. The award winner will be chosen from the final point standings at the end of the Modified Tour season. S & W Auto Body will be back once again as the sponsor of the "Hard Charger Award". This award is given in memory of Eric Wolbert who lost his life in an automobile accident two years ago on December 5th. Dana Wolbert of S & W Auto Body wanted to keep his memory alive by sponsoring this award which will give the winner of the award, $500 cash. Ron Smoker was the winner for 2003. This award is calculated on the number of positions a driver passes in each point race. So if a driver starts 12th in the feature and wins, he gets 11 passing points for that race. The points are kept after each week and the winner will take home the cash prize.

The last column I talked about some drivers with different paint schemes. Well the one that has taken a lot of people by surprise is Ralph Spithaler. The familiar blue and yellow cars of Ralphie's have been changed to red and gold. Terry Bowser who has been a sponsor of Ralph's for several years will remain as a sponsor, but will also be pitting beside Ralph every weekend with his own brand new sprint car. This will be Terry's first attempt at racing and only the best equipment will be sitting under him. We wish him all the best with his racing career. Two modified drivers that have made some changes are Gary Risch, Sr., and Gary Risch, Jr. Gary Risch, Sr. purchased a new 2004X Bicknell from Josh Skarzenski over the winter and will use the familiar red and white paint scheme on his #8G. Gary Risch, Jr., has changed his paint scheme somewhat going with white and black this season on his #3G. Gary has already competed at Hagerstown Speedway, but some setup problems kept him from making the final show. Also, Gary will be having a new addition to his race team this season, as he and his wife are expecting a baby. Congratulations to the Risch's.

Did you ever wonder what happened to Brian Fink, driver of the #66F modified? Well, Brian sold his car to Richard Whitney who is competing in the Sportsman Modified division at Mercer Raceway Park. Brian purchased go-karts for both himself and his son Kyle and they have been having a lot of fun doing their racing together. Brian and Kyle plan on competing at Pine Hill Speedway this summer as well as at Blanket Hill Speedway. Anyone looking for a new Modified body should give Joe Crawford a call. Joe is now building modified bodies and will fix you up with anything that you might need throughout the summer. Give Joe a call at (814) 432-7295. Joe will also be running his #25 modified this season with the BRP Modified Tour, and at Tri City Speedway.

Before closing, I would like to invite all women involved in racing to summit their favorite race track recipe to me. I am going to compile a selection of recipes that you make to take to the track for your hungry crews and througout the summer I will be running them here and also in my column in Motorsports World. If you have something that you make to take the track that is irresistible and a big hit with the troops, please drop me a line with your recipe to Pam Baker at Baker@usachoice.net or you can mail them to me at 384 Hemlock Drive, Marble, PA 16334. The next column will feature a couple of mine that seem to top the Baker Racing charts. Until next time, be safe, be good and have fun................Pam  ¶ 6:25 PM

  Hi there! Nice to be on board with Deon and I hope that you enjoy reading my columns. I will try to give you a little bit of everything, especially what is going on with the BRP Modified Tour series and its drivers.

The 2003 awards banquet was held in December at the Rocky Grove Fire Hall with over 175 people in attendance. Ron Smoker, point’s title champion was the big winner on and off the track this season. With 4 feature wins coming at Latrobe, Sharon, Tri City and Little Valley Speedways, Ron’s consistency point him at the top of the points pile for the second year in a row. At the banquet Ron was awarded $4,000 in cash for being the champion. He also received a BRP Modified Tour jacket, a pocket watch, his wife Jackie received a bracelet with a Modified Charm all from the Modified Tour. Ron also received a 1/10 scale replica Dirt Modified RC Car from Hooter Chassis and Hobby Shop. Ron also picked up the $500 S & W Auto Body Hard Charger Award money. Even though Ron’s plans for the 2004 season do not included Ron in Western Pennsylvania on a weekly basis as he has the past two years, Ron does plan on defending his 2002 and 2003 championship titles.

Twenty drivers received point fund money for the 2003 season and the rest of the gang behind Smoker include Kevin Bolland, Del Rougeux, Dave Murdick, Joe Crawford, Mark Flick, Skip Moore, Jimmy Weller, III, Andy Priest, Jim Rasey, Rick Hall, Rodney Beltz, Chanda Reitz, J.R. McGinley, George Hobaugh, Steve Barr, Carl Murdick, Lee Miller, Rex King and Jim Weller, Jr.

The 2004 season is looking very good as Modified Tour organizers have announced that for this season they will be paying back 24 positions. At the current time there are 10 races scheduled for the BRP Modified Tour series which include the following tracks: Tri City Speedway; Mercer Raceway Park; Lernerville Speedway; Central Pennsylvania Speedway; Merrittville Speedway in Thorold, Canada; Sharon Speedway; Raceway 7 and Latrobe Speedway. For more information and a copy of the schedule contact the BRP Modified Tour web site at www.modifiedtourinc.com.

Three of our local modified racers made the trip to Florida to compete with the DIRT series at Volusia County Speedway. Jim Rasey, Rex King and Russell King all let this frigid weather and headed for warmer, sunnier skies. Jim’s best finish of the three races was 11th and Rex’s best finish was 13th. Russell was just making his debut in a modified, and despite not making any of the races was very close a couple of nights. Russell was the youngest racer in Florida. At the age of 14, Russell’s 2004 plans include a full season at Tri City Speedway and his father Rex plans on making a full assault at Sharon Speedway for 2004.

There have been quite a few Bicknell cars purchased over the winter. Some of the drivers that have taken ownership include Gary Risch, Sr., Darrell Combs, and Brian Swartzlander purchased a Bicknell that was run by Pete Bicknell just a couple of races. Phil Evans bought one of Josh Skarzenski’s cars. Some of you may have heard that Josh Skarzenski plans on running full time this season at Sharon and Tri City in both his big block modified as well as in an e-mod. Taking care of his business and running these two cars should keep Josh very busy this season. Del Rougeux has three cars ready for the 2004 season. Del plans on running at Sharon and going back to defend his championship title at Tri City as well as running the Modified Tour series.

Brad Rapp is going to make his debut in the family owned #11R this season and plans on competing in the Small Block division at Central Pennsylvania Speedway. Brad has been racing go-karts the past several years and with an approaching 16th birthday, plans to fill the seat of his dad’s race car. We wish Brad the best of luck in 2004!

J. R. McGinley is changing his looks for this season going with an all-new color scheme on his Olsen modified. J. R. is planning on running at Lernerville Speedway and with the BRP Modified Tour. This season is J.R. is going to be running in memory of his late grandfather; Dick Rankin who was killed in a work related accident in August of 2003.
Of course, I cannot talk about the big block modifieds without mentioning that Mark Flick will be back running for Lon and I in the #2 modified this season. We have changed our look for 2004 moving from the red cars to yellow. It is definitely going to be a different look for us as well, but we hope that we are able to visit victory lane a couple of times this season. The highlight of our car ownership came last season when Mark visited victory lane at Sharon on July 12th. We have helped many race teams over the years, starting with George Bischoff who just had his total win streak broke this year by Ed Lynch, Jr. at Sharon, but we have to say that having our own car win was the best! We plan on running at Lernerville Speedway, Sharon Speedway and with the BRP Modified Tour. We have some new sponsors this season which include Pizza Logs and Tri County Homes, Inc. along with last years sponsors Townsend Gas and Oil and S.L. Express.

Did you ever think that you would see 4 sheets of .040 aluminum being hauled in a Geo Metro? Well folks, it can be done. Joe Crawford was at Big Daddy’s Speed Center the other day and believe it or not hauled 4 big sheets of aluminum home with him. How did he do it? We they were rolled up and shoved into the back of the car. There were several of us there who were betting that it couldn’t happen, but of course Joe proved us wrong. Speaking of Joe, his brother-in-law Chris Schiffer plans on coming back into racing this season after sitting out a year. He would like to run at Tri City and with the Modified Tour series.

Big Daddy’s Speed Center is building a new building at Rick Hall’s Safety Equipment location and could possibly in by the end of the summer. Look for upcoming news about their new location.

Don’t forget the upcoming race car shows. Tri City Speedway will be hosting their show at the Cranberry Mall in Cranberry, PA from Thursday, February 26th through Sunday February 29th. Lon and I will be hosting the Clarion Mall Race Car from Friday, March 5th through Sunday, March 7th. This mall is located just off of Exit 62, Interstate –80, Clarion, PA. Stop by and see us!!!!

Pam  ¶ 5:46 PM