Fort Plain, NY , June 23, 2008
To Our Racing Friends;
The local racing scene has lost one of the nicest guys I have had the
pleasure of knowing. Dennis O'Conner died in his sleep of a massive
heart attack. He will be sorely missed.
When Bobby and I decided to get into racing he was one of our biggest
helps in getting started. Between Dennis and Bob & Karol Grimm they
were very instrumental in Getting us on the right track and a help and
encouragement when things looked bad.
They introduced us to Jack Johnson and it was from them we got the first
big block we ever owned. And it was a good one. Dennis did the motor
work for the Kar Kare Special, and the help we received from him was
priceless. When we were working on the sportsman motors, we could go to
him with a problem and he knew how to solve it. I know he was one of
Bobby's biggest fans even when everybody was saying Bobby "Who?" He
always had a good word and would stop whatever he was doing to help and
to talk racing. I never asked him a question about motors or cars that
he couldn't answer or get me the answer. We used to joke about
Smokey Yunick because Dennis got me one of his books on small
blocks and I would go into the store and say , "well, Smokey says", and
that would start the discussion.
When I called Bobby this afternoon to tell him he was totally speechless
for a long time. I thought maybe we got disconnected. Then he could
only say no. No. No. Bobby and Karol Grimm were Dennis' family. They
had worked together for about 30 years. This is just a terrible loss
and any who have been touched by him share in this loss.
WE WILL MISS HIM
Fonda Speedway, June 21, 2008
Hi Race Fans,
Well, another great night at the Track of Champions. There was good
weather,(I wore shorts) , the grandstands were fairly full and the track
was racy. There were 33 Mods in the pits tonight, including
Brett Hearn and Alan Barker driving the 22b car. Both Bobby and
Danny had decent draws for the heats and Bobby started outside Lape on
the front row, with Danny 3rd, Matty D 4th, AJ Romano 5th, Pat Ward 5th
and Alton Palmer 7th. Lape took off like he was shot out of a cannon and
Bobby followed in 2nd. And that's the way they finished with Matty D
finishing 4th. Then they inverted the top 3 from each heat so Bobby
started in the 5th position as he was in the first heat.
Pat Ward started on the pole and man was he fast. The guys racing
behind him had to look quick because he was gone. Hearn started 3rd and
Bobby 5th. It was posted tonight that the laps would be all green,
therefore not counting cautions. Didn't matter as there were no
cautions. The Mods went onto the track ahead of the Pro stocks as the
weather was looking threatening. It took Bobby quite a few laps before
he was finally able to get by Hearn and move into 2nd. By this time Pat
Ward was long gone and Bobby never saw him during the race. Initially
he had about a 3/4 track advantage on the 2nd place car of Bobby. Though
Bobby was closing the gap, there was no way he would catch him tonight.
Bobby finished 2nd followed by RJ, Dave Camara, and Matty D. But I can
tell you the racing was awesome. Talked with a friend after the races
and he watched from the grandstands and said it was a way better show
than anywhere else he has been. That was Camara's father.
Well, that's it for this time. Bobby's next scheduled race is tomorrow
at Utica Rome. Hope to see you all there. Until next
time..........................
Fonda Speedway June 14, 2008
Hi Race Fans,
Well, first the racing report then some late breaking news. Bobby
started in the last row beside the 3D in the 3rd heat race. The track
had some bite in it and made it difficult to pass as everybody was fast
tonight. Bobby finished in the 4th position and the 3D finished about
6th. Both the 3D and the 42P of Pat Ward were relegated to the consi so
you know passing was difficult.
When the feature was lined up Bobby started 11th and RJ started 12th.
but early on the outside was the place to be and it took Bobby a while
to get a rhythm going. There was a caution on about lap 13 and by this
point Bobby was 5th and RJ had moved into 2nd with the 11A as the
leader. On the restart RJ made short work of the 11A while Bobby
continued to work his way forward. There was another caution on lap 18
with Rj 1st and Bobby in 3rd. This was the last caution of the race and
while Bobby was able to get into 2nd, RJ had a big jump and was able to
get the win although Bobby was on his tail at the end. Pat Ward
finished a distant 3rd.
Following this late news report I will give the current points before
tonight's racing followed by the finish and the starting lineup. The
track decided to change the way they were doing the points during this
past week and as a result, Jake has decided that enough is enough and
has stated he will not race the 1J at Fonda anymore. Last week the
heats and feature were lined up according to normal track points which
nobody has had except the handicapper. This put the 3D of Matty D ahead
of Bobby in the starting lineup. This week they kept the 20 points for
showing up in the Go Green series plus award regular track points as
well. This drastically changed the point system moving Pat Ward back
into a tie with Bobby Varin for the lead. It was stated at the drivers
meeting that it would be done as it has ALWAYS BEEN DONE IN THE PAST,
namely show up points only for special series races. So now Bobby
would be tied with Pat Ward and the 3D moves up in points. You ask how
they can do this so late in the season? Good question! I don't know
the answer to that. Guess I will leave it at that. If you need more
information, e-mail me and I will try and answer you.. Until next
time...........................................
Fonda
Speedway, June 7, 2008
Hi Race Fans,
Well, I apologize for not getting this up sooner.
Excuse follows. My wife wanted the deck on the house replaced and she
whined and cried until it happened. Got the grandkids involved and when
they were "dismantling" the old deck they tore out one of the cables
which went to the computer. So I have no internet access until I can
get a technician done to fix it. So I am using my son's computer to
write this.
What a great night for racing. The weather was great, a little hot, but
way better than last week. In the heat race, Bobby started in the last
row, and with some effort was finally able to get by the 8 car for the
lead and the win. Using the handicap system in place, Bobby started
from the 12th position. The race went green to checkers without a
caution save at the end of the race when the caution and checkers flew
at the same time. Bobby worked steadily up through the pack but in the
final analysis finished 2nd behind the 3D of Matty D. Both cars were
equally fast post nearly identical times throughout the race so again
tonight, starting position was vitally important. Matty D started 10th
and Bobby started 12th, and that made the difference. The track was a
bit rough in places tonight, due to all the rain that fell
on Friday, and the track crew did a great job getting the track
ready for racing, spending the night on Friday pumping out the water off
the back stretch.
Bobby's next race is today at Utica Rome. Hope you all can make it
there.
There was a protest following the race concerning the 8 car and the 42P
of Pat Ward. The initial finish was changed which had Pat Ward ahead of
the 8 car of Paul C.
Until next time...................................
Fonda Speedway, May 24, 2008
Hi Race Fans,
Well, we finally got in a race tonight. The weather was a bit on the
cool side when the sun hid behind the clouds, but all in all, not bad.
The track was smooth as silk and very slick for the first of the Go
Green series. The only invader tonight was the 74 car from Middle Town
driven by Brett Hearn. In the end it was decided by management to
draw for position for the heats. Bobby got a good draw and started on
the pole in his heat and won it. Then they inverted the top 3 finishers
from each heat. Bobby won the 3rd heat and started 11th.
On this night it was all about starting position as the track was very
slick and made for difficult passing. If my memory serves me correctly,
there were 40 laps of green flag racing. No cautions. Bobby battled
his way into 4th only to lose that position back to Brett Hearn in the
waning laps of the race. Good, clean, hard racing by all drivers. The
outside seemed to be the faster lane although Bobby used the inside to
do much of his passing. The top five were Matty D, Pat Ward, Dave
Camara, Brett Hearn, and Bobby. Bobby's next race is tomorrow at Utica
Rome. Hope to see you all there. Missing tonight's action were Jake
and Nancy Spraker.
Fonda Speedway, May 10, 2008
Hi Race Fans,
This report is for the rained out feature held over from two weeks ago.
Bobby Varin started in the 12th position. From this starting point
Bobby started his run to the front. He looked like a man on a mission
in this race. By the first caution on lap 6 Bobby had advanced from
12th to 5th. Dave Lape looked very fast tonight and, in fact, he looked
the best he has in a while. Once he got the lead about lap 9 or 10, he
set a blistering pace. But not to be out done, Bobby got into 2nd about
lap 12 and set his sights on the front running Lape. Once he got by
Lape he never looked back. There were cautions on lap 11, then about
18, 19, and 23 but Bobby put the petal to the metal and drew off to a
comfortable lead . And that's how they finished.
Feature lineup=11A, 93, 85, 22, 73M, 17, 76[PALMER], 76A[JACK JOHNSON],
24, 3D, 42P, 1J, 8, 33F, 1Z, 21, 16, 22B, 39D, 20C, 4, M2, 44, 26, 2, 1.
Feat. Finish 1st Feat.= 1J, 22, 76A, 42P, 76, 26, 24, 21, 85, 1Z, 39D,
44, 73, M2, 4, 17, 2, 16, 73, 28, 33F, 20C, 11A, 16, 3D,
In the second feature, Bobby again started from the 12th position. At
the drop of the green he again made some good moves to work toward the
front, but on lap 11, he got a flat left rear. He went pitside and
returned to the race in the rear [24th]. On the restart for lap 11 he
passed 8 cars in one lap and was 16th when the caution came out on lap
12. On that restart he again went to the outside but on lap 13 disaster
struck. The was a big pile up at the exit of turn 4 and he ended up in
the middle with a heavily damaged race car. Bent axle, radius rods
broken shock and a lot of sheet metal damage. It looked so bad the
wrecker crew just hauled the car into the infield and dropped it there
to got back out and help clean up the rest of the track as there were
about 7 or 8 cars involved. Little did they realize that Bobby had run
back to the pit area to have the guys get ready to "fix" the car. When
they finally got back with it, most of the clean up was completed and
they were ready to go racing again. Bobby pit crew worked feverishly
trying to keep him from going down a lap. The green came out but he was
still not ready. Before that lap was completed, the caution came out
again giving the crew extra time which they desperately needed. Again,
the green flag flew only to have the caution come out again. This extra
time allowed the crew to get the car back together enough for Bobby to
go back out without losing a lap. He worked his way forward again, with
a ill handling race car but still managed to get into 7th by the last
lap, but coming off turn 4 he suffered another flat tire and ended up in
9th position.
Fonda Speedway 4/19/06
Hi Race Fans;
Well, I guess this could be one of the shortest stories I have written
yet. But Let me start with the draw for position in the heat race.
Bobby drew #1. WOW! That's different! So Bobby started on the pole in
the first heat race. The rest of his heat race lined up as follows:
33F, 11A, 85, 42P, 16, 99, 735, 12A, 1G. Bobby won and Pat Ward
finished a close 2nd.
The feature was a heads up start so Bobby again started on the pole.
The outside pole sitter was the 76 of Alton Palmer, then 28(Barker).
42P, M2, 2, 16, 17, 24, 33F, 3D, 8, 85, 1Z, 21, 99(Davis), 73M, 22,
12A(won the consi), 26, 20C, 57, 4, 74, 76B, 28(Harris). Starting from
the pole Bobby took off so fast that by the time he got into lap traffic
on lap 5 the 2nd place runner of Alan Barker was a full straight away
behind. It looked like most of the racers have forgotten what the move
over flag means as they didn't go to the bottom. That means Bobby had
to take a chance and go to the bottom and hope that the car he was
passing didn't come down on him. By lap 29 he had lapped up to the 8th
place car. The only caution of the race came out on lap 29 as the 8th
place running car of Jumpin Jack blew a motor. And it looked like he
really smoked it big time. When the green came out, Dave Camara tried
to get his lap back but was unable to do so. And that's the way it
ended. What an awesome race for us. Bobby wins the first points race
of the 2008 season at Fonda Speedway. Track conditions were good, about
what you would expect on a really hot afternoon. The finish was as
follows, 1J, 42P, 16, 3D, 28(BARKER), 2, 24, the last car on the lead
lap; 12A, 26, 76, M2, 21, 99, 17, 4, 8, 20C, 1Z, 33F, 73M, 74, 28, 76B,
22, 57, 85.
Guess that's it for this time. Bobby will be going to Utica Rome
tomorrow for practice. The next scheduled race will be next Saturday at
Fonda Speedway. Hope to see you all there. Until next
time.................................................
Fonda Ice Jam, April , 2008
Hi Race Fans,
Well, it's time to go racing again. The first race day at Fonda
beginning the 2008 racing season got off to a poor start as it rained
early in the morning. however, the track crew got busy and by race time
they had the track in good shape. The strong wind today made the track
hard and slick but the racing was good.
In the heat, Bobby started 6th and somehow managed to get into 3rd where
he finished. This gave him a shot at the redraw but you already know
how he draws. The top 4 in each of the four heats qualified with the
top 3 going to the redraw making the top 12 spots up for grabs. Knowing
how he redraws he had somebody else draw for him. With the pole and
10th thru 12th left, he got 11th. Hearn started 3rd and Matt D started
7th. Ryan Odaz got the pole.
From his 11th place starting position Bobby worked his way into 7th when
the caution flag flew. On the restart he got by Trombley and Corellis
only to have the caution come out again so they went back to their last
completed lap. This time he wasn't so lucky and had to again work his
way up finally getting by Trombley for 4th spot which is where he
finished. Towards the end of the race he looked to be just a bit
quicker than the leaders as he was drawing in on them but ran out of
laps. Matt D won followed by Hearn and Odaz and Trombley completed the
top 5. 6th thru 10th was R J, Pat Ward, Dave Camara, Donnie Corelllis
and Elmo Recknor.
All in all, not a bad day. Wondering how Danny Varin did his first time
out in a big block?? Go to www.dannyvarin.com and find out. Bobby's
next scheduled race will be next Sat. at Fonda Speedway. Hope to see
you all there. Until next time................................