Fonda Speedway, July 27, 2010

Hi Race fans;

Wow, what a night of racing.  The Lucas Oil Late Models were there for a 50 lap race and the Mods were there for their 50 Lap Thunder on the Thruway Series.  Both the Late Models and the Mods had  "B" main and Consi, respectively.  After hot laps were finished the Mod went to the Pit Shack to draw for the heats.  There were 4 heats with 8 cars in each heat.  Bobby's draw landed him in the first heat which he just barely had time to make and they had to change up cars again.  He went out with the sm block car for hot laps but had motor problems so they went back to the Big Blk car that he ran Sunday.  The guys worked like beavers to get the car out of the trailer, change gears, change the set up and get it back to the pit area and finish gettin it ready and did make it, but it was close.  Here's the line up for the 1st heat:
91---00
10%-18V
8------4(Storms)
3-------1

Good battle for the lead in the early going, and Billy Decker gets the nod for the win, Bobby 2nd.
There were 5 that qualifyed from each heat and the fastes lap turned in got to draw the invert.  And the was Billy Decker and he drew 8 which puts Freisen and Matty D on the front end of this 50 lapper.  Here's the line up:
1F---3D
42P--00
1X---20
17---91
18V--28
20C--16
4-----22
M2---2rj
10%--73(Davis)
99L---97(D Johnson)
3J----34(Bachetti)
76----24
3----1G
21J
They took 6 from the consi but ended up with an odd number because of a dead heat between Danny Johnson and the 3 of Mark Johnson.

Once the green flag dropped Stew Freisen took off like a scared rabbit with the hounds chasing.  Matty D and Bobby Varin.  On lap 7 the top 5 were 1; 3D; 00; 20; 42P.  On lap 10 the leaders were into lapped traffic.  The top runners remained that way until lap 20 when Bobby found a little extra in turns 3 and 4 and coame out of turn 4 in the 2nd spot.  The first caution of the night came on lap 21 as the 3D spun around in turn 2 a stopped at the bottom of the track, like a sittin duck, right where Brett Hearn was running and wow, he hit that 3D a ton, and flipped up and over him and also taking the M2 out.  On the restart, the were 4 lap cars between the 1 car and Bobby and by that time Billy Decker was in 3rd, right behind the 00.  Between lap 21 and 29, Bobby dispensed with the lap cars so when the caution came on lap 29 he would be right behind the leader.  On the restart Stew would be able to hold off the challenge of Varin and go on to win with Varin 2nd followed by the 91 of Decker.  Decker made it interesting as he got on the outside of Bobby a number of times coming out of turn 2 but was unable to make the pass.  Great night of racing.  Stands were filled up pretty good and the track was in great shape.  It was smooth and had some bite in it.  Here's the finish as posted;  1F; 00; 91; 24; 1X; 73; 16; 18V; 42P; 4; 28; 97; 34; 3J; 17; 76; 1; 20C; 10%; 3D; 20; 21J; M2; 3; 22; 99L; 2rj.

Bobby's next race is Thursday night at the Utica Rome Speedway.  While it was showup points tonight it will be regular points at Utica Rome.  According to a list posted on the Pit Shack wall, the top 10 in Thunder points are as follows: 00=120; 99j(J Phelps)=116; 2, RJ=104;4*, M Storms=90; 42P,Ward=88;
20,  Hearn=87;1F, Freisen=82; 99, Ryan Phelps =76; 3D, Matty D=72; 18V, D Varin=70;   Not sure how they are doing the points, probably heat wins etc.  so I can't, at this time, figure out the points after tonight's race.  Until Thursday...............................................  



     Utica Rome Speedway, July 25, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, hopefull Bobby's slump or what ever you want to call it is over.  Tonight, everything went smooth as silk.   There were 27 Mods in the pits tonight resulting in 3 heats.  Bobby and the 00 were in the first heat and because of his not so good finishes he started 4th.  Here's the line up:
93---42
3K---00
19K--57
6----1
45M
With his 'near the front' start Bobby sliced and diced right through and once he cleared the 93 of Weaver it was clear sailing and he did gone on to win the heat.  With three heats they were handicapping the top 5 cars from each heat.  All cars were eligible to start the feature.

The ROC Sportsman had their 30 lap race first and then the Mods with the white flag, signaling the start of the race, fluttering at 8:40 it was  a little later than normal.  Here's the Mod feature line up:
93---42
3----18V
B16--00
1xw--78a
2rj--1x
57---89B
42P--1
99L--19K
18J--B2
6----41
:82--45M
41M--9S(Shepherd)
7X---3K
48Too

When the green flag dropped, they were off and running and bobby made his moves quickly in order to be in contention right away.  He "threaded the needle" going into turn one and with lap one showing he was in 2nd.  When lap 3 went on the board, Bobby was shown as the new leader.  the first caution of the race came on lap 11 and erased Bobby advantage over the tenacious running Brian Murphy in the 42 car.  The top 5 at this point were, 00; 42; 18V; 93; B16.  There was another caution on lap 13 with Bobby still leading.   when the cution flew on lap 16, Bobby had some tough company in the form of Pat Ward who had moved into 2nd from his 13th starting position.  From here on out I was on "pins & needles" until the checkers flew.  There were no more cautions (I don't think) and Bobby was able to maintain the lead through the end with a bit of a cushion.  The biggest race once it seemed clear that Pat wasn't going to catch him this night was for 3rd through 5th.  It was decided until the checkers flew.  So here, now, are the top 5 finishers.  00; 42P; 18V; 1; 93.  Following the last feature of the night Bobby took the small block car out for a test run and the jury is still out on that one.  The Finish tonight follows:00; 42P; 18V; 1; 93; 42; 19K; 2rj; 99L; 78a; 9S; 57; B16; 3K; L82; 41; 6; 45M; 48Too; 7X; 1xw; 3; 89B; 1X; B2; 41M; and the 18J did not start.

Bobby's next race is schedued to be this Tuesday at Fonda Speedway as the Mods are running with the Late Models.  Hope to see you there.  Until then........................................



           Fonda Speedway July 24, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, as I sit here trying to think what I should write I can hear the pitter patter of little ......................rain drops outside my window.  What were you thinking?  Yes, the rains came and I fee bad.  Yep, David Lape has the lead.  12 laps into the race.  And Bobby was trying but so far not able to make the pass.  But I digress.  Lets go back to the heat race first.  Bobby was in the 3rd heat and seemed odd to me that he wasn't starting in the back.  Here's the order:
22---3
M2---24L
00---18V
24---16
85
Dave Lape looked like he was in a rocket tonight.  And he sure was flying.  And try as he would, Bobby was not able to make the pass and Dave flew across the finish line ahead of Bobby with the 3 of Kislowski in tow, followed by Danny Varin and AJ Romano.

And that, with the other heats set up the feature .  The clouds looked ominous before the track crew went to work on the race track.  During the intermission, there were some presentations made in victory lane.  Dave Cruickshank was presented a plaque by the Capital District Boy & Girls clubs in appreciation of his sponsorship for the Varin Race Teams without whom the festivities of today would not have happened.  The Varin Race Teams, in conjunction with Ric Lucia and Fonda Speedway provided a fishing/racing outing for about 78 kids along with adult chaperons for a total of 108 folks.  The buses were provided by Browns Transportation. The money to pay the drivers along with passes for the races and food were compliments of Ric & Laura Lucia and Fonda Speedway.  Before coming to the races the kids were treated to an afternoon of fun and fishing at the private lake owned and donated by Mr Del Gallo and the Del Gallo Country Pools.  The fishing poles and a sum of money were contributed by Craig Hanson and Kenny Hanson Paving.  I am sure there are others that deserve mention here, and I will try to make sure I do that when the race is finished next week.  There was a lot of behind the scenes work done to make that happen and one of the standouts is Al Cuomo who didn't want to be mentioned.  But folks, you have to know somebody had to pull this all together and I can tell you he did a lot of work to make this day happen for the kids!  All this in spite of certain disabilities.  Now, back to the racing.

Here's the feature line up:
74---22
28---3
20C--8
00---41
76---18V
2rj--17
26---1G
16---3D
10C--24
11A--37H
24L--22J
21J--85
14---10%
M2---6
352

Just one anecdote first.  when the Mods came out for hot laps there were 4 geese in the infield close to the track.  They were not afraid of the cars and they wizzed by and after two passes they looked both ways and walked across the track.  But not fast enough.  Two made it but tow never knew what happened and there were feathers flyin everywhere!

The two front row starters tonight were not afraid of the throttle and 
man did they take off.  And they were fairly evenly matched but the 74 of Perry grabbed the lead and Lape a very close 2nd.  The first caution flew on lap 3 and at this point Bobby Varin had moved into 6th.  By lap 5, under green, Bobby had moved into 3rd and pulled in on the two leaders.  The caution came out again on lap 9.  Still in 3rd.  Next caution on lap 11 and still 3rd.  on this restart though, Lape got by the 74 of Perry as did Bobby Varin and Jeff Trombley was right in the mix by now.  The final caution, with a few sprinkles in the air came on lap 12 as the 41 of Davis ended over the wall on the backstretch.  And that was the last green flag lap.  By the time that car was cleared the rain had begun in earnest and after moving the cars to the hot pits the decision was made to call it a night with double features next week for the 602 sportsman, the Open Sportsman, and Mods with the rained out race picking up at lap 12 where they left off.  Sooooooooooooo we have to wait till next week now to see if David can hang on and get his 100th win. 

Bobby's next race will be tomorrow at Utica Rome Speedway.  Sure hope to see you all there.  Until then.......................................



      Utica Rome Speedway, July 18, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, things were looking up tonight.  Good run in his heat.  Started 7th & finished 3rd.  Lined up for the feature from 12th.  Here's the feature line up:
B2---3K
42---18V
19K--78a
57---1X
2rj--42P
89B--00
40---1
L82--44
3----7X
41M--B16
6-----8M
1XW

The first of very many cautions came on lap 4 and Bobby was up to 9th.  By lap 10 he was in 4th and the next caution came out on lap 11.  Then lap 12 shows another caution and Bobby is in 3rd.  Restart but didn't make a lap before caution flew yet again.  On this restart Bobby got a good run low and inside and jsut when it looked like he might grab the lead, big smoke!   Bobby moved to the top side of the speedway between turns 1 & 2 and coasted around to near the front stretch and all the while the announcer was saying flames under the car.  The problem was terminal and his good night was over.  Bobby's next race is scheduled to be at Glen Ridge on Friday.  Hope to see you all there.  Until then....................................



               Fonda Speedway, July 17, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, you know that old saying, "when it rains it pours".  That was true in more ways than one tonight.

There were 27 Mods in the pits tonight.The whole evening was under threat of rain and the track moved things along very quickly.  It seems that the biggest storm passed to the north of the speedway although we did get some of the first batch, but not enough to call it a night.

Bobby was in the 2nd heat of the night and here's how they looked coming to the line:
6H---1G
28S--14
18V--00
3D---17
73M

The heat was run at a very fast pace and from the infield we could see the 00 had a problem.  While he did qualify, the problem was not good.  The rear was broken.  This meant that instead off being able to start in the 14th spot he would have to go to the rear as he had to get the backup car and use that.  Because of the threat of rain the program was moving along and there was no time to do anything else.  Soooo, when they called the Mod feature to the line, to us, at least, the coming weather looked so bad we couldn't make up our mind whether to stay out of the infield  or go to the infield to watch.  I have never melted yet so I opted to go to the infield.  When the Mods came onto the track there were no preliminaries.  One lap and green flag flying.  Here's the way they looked.
11A--21J
28S--18V
20C--16
76---26
3D---2
24---17
22---10%
M2---3
12----14
8-----37H
41---24L
73M--352
74---00

When the green flag dropped they were off and running.  The 28S of Bob Savoie grabbed the lead and held on for some time. The next lead change came when the 11A got by for the lead. I was not paying much attention to the front runners as I was watching the 00 as he attempted to work his way forward.  From his 26th starting spot he was up to 16th by lap 8.  Looking for a caution, but none yet.  By lap 15 he was in 13th and 6 laps later he was in 11th.  On lap 27 I had him in 10th and at the finish he was 9th, although I thought he might have also gotten the early leader, 11A for 8th but No.  So here is the run down: 16; 3D; 18V; 26; 41; 76; 24; 11A; 00; 2; 17; 20C; 10%; 3; 1; M2; 8; 14; 24L; 73M; 28S; 22; 74; 37H; 21J; 352. 
Bobby's next start will be tomorrow at Utica Rome Speedway.  Hope to see you all there.  FYI, Thursday night at Brewerton he ran one lap in the heat and pulled in because of motor problems.  A number of folks have asked so that is what happened.  Until tomorrow...................................   BTW, it finally poured at Fonda and I don't think they were able to get the Sportsman race in.  Not sure 



       Grandview Speedway, July 14, 2010

Hi Race fans;

Well, unfortunately I was unable to attend today's race at Grandview.  I had a rather lengthy Dr. appointment today.  Lasted too long with the "do this, wait............do that, wait...............do this again, etc. so I had to give up any thoughts of going.

Bobby started 5th in his heat race and finished 5th.  That was good enough for a qualified spot.  There were 40 cars in the pits tonight.  Four heats with 10 cars each.    The track was really heavy for the heat races so the cars with the bigger motors were able to take advantage of that, but when feature time rolled around the track had become a bit more normal. Slicked up a bit making it easier for a small block to compete. 

From his 17th starting spot, Bobby was definitely moving forward, and by the end of the race was working on the 6th place car of Keith Hoffman.  I do not have the complete finish, but only the top 7 cars.  Stewart Freisen won, followed by Duane Howard, Dan Johnson, Ryan Godown, Frank Cozze, Keith Hoffman, and Bobby Varin.

Bobby's next race will be tomorrow night at Brewerton Speedway and he will again be driving the Commercial Roofing # 10 car owned by Ken Saya.  Hope to see you there.  Until then.......................   



         Utica Rome Speedway, July 11, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Another weekend in the books.  Today was a scorcher.  But we had a good racy surface for tonight's racing.  There were 24 Mods on hand tonight along with the regular Pro-stocks, Sportsmen, Pure Stocks and the Mod Lites!  A full card of racing! 

Bobby was in the first heat and it seemed to have plenty of the heavy hitters in it.  Here's the line up:
25R---18J
18V---89B
42P---00
57----3

It ran caution free and it sure looked to me like the car to beat tonight was the 89B, as he won this heat, followed by 18V, 42P. 00, & 57.  Five qualified from each heat.

Once the Mod lites were finished the Mighty Modifieds were on the track.  It was still quite early and they had to wait about 15 minutes for the sun to go down a bit so the drivers could see down the back stretch as they drove into the sun. Finally it's time to go racing and here's how they lined up:
B2---3K
1XW--18V
19K--78A
89B--1X
B16--42P
2rj--1
00---42
57---25r
40---41
3----8M
7X---18J
41M--93
The green flag came out and they almost had two laps complete but no, lap 1 on the board.  Bobby was up to 8th at this point.  They got the green again and then on lap 4 the caution came out for the 2nd time.  By this time Bobby had moved into 5th spot.  They got the green to restart and got one lap in the books when the 4th palce car of Bobby Varin went into turn one a bit too high and over the banking.  All that gain was lost as he then had to go to the rear and start all over.  From lap 6 on there were a lot of green flag racing laps and by lap 13 Bobby was back into 10th but the going was gettin tough.  The next caution came on lap 27 and Bobby had made it up to 8th, but couldn't seem to make any more head way.  On the restart, following Alger bobby makes a bold move to the outside  and this time it works and he gets by two cars to finish in the 6th spot.  Once again, he had to drive his heart out to make it back up there for a decent finish.  Bobby's next race will be this Wednesday at Grandview Speedway as part of the ROC Series.  He will be piloting the # 10 car owned by Ken Saya.

It was good to see Mr Puchyr in the grandstands tonight. and was able to fill him in on the last couple of nights as he didn't see it this morning.  Bobby wants to thank all his sponsors, including Dover Brake, Rite Aid, Joe Bertothy, Supply Wagon Rentals, and many others who make this racing possible.  Hope to see ya at the next race.  Until then...........................................



          Fonda Speedway July 10, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, I can finally write about something although it's not exactly what I want to write.  But first, I have thought for a long time how I grew up without a cell phone and wonder what these "kids" would do without one.  Well, right now I know.  Mine got wet last night and there is nothing but a blank screen when I open it up.  Soooooo, I'm not usre about the date because my phone won't tell me.

Anyway, back to the race report.  I couldn't write about Wednesday because I didn't make it down there.  But Bobby started toward the back in his heat and finished 3rd behind Brett Hearn and Matt Shepherd.  Hearn was dq'd for an illegal tire moving Bobby up into a draw spot and for the feature he drew 7th.  Early in the feature he got up about to 4th, but realized he had picked the wrong tire.  Too soft, I think.  On the lap 23 caution he was being shown 10th or 11th.  But he managed to hang on and finished in the 8th spot.
Could have been a lot worse.! 

Last night the Ridge got rained out but not until lap 6 of the Mod feature.  Bobby started 12th in the Mod feature and by lap 3 with one caution he was running in 6th.  That's the last I have on him.  They will pick up at lap 6, so I'm told and continue from there.

Now, on to tonight's races at Fonda.  All evening it looked like we would succumb to the rain which was all around and actually hit the track a bit twice.  But Fonda got lucky tonight and kept the track in good shape although they changed things around a bit, running the Pro Stock race 1st, then the Mods then the UMPs.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  Bobby was in the 1st heat race and it sure was a zinger!  Here's the lineup for that heat;
74---10%
20C--M2
16---18V
22---3D
00
The car looked to be off for the heat race and Bobby only got up to 7th. The top 5, not in order, were 10%; 20C; 16; 22; 3D.
They did not have a consi tonight so Bobby started in the 19th starting spot for the feature.  they did a lot of work on the car to get it ready for the feature.  Starting so far back is a definite disadvantage when the track has so much bite in it.  Here, now, is the feature line up:
28---10%
1G---20C
24---16
2----26
22---76
21J--41
3D---17
8----18V
11A--352
00---24L
6H---M2
14---41J
74---3
The 41J of Josh Flint did not start.  When the green flag dropped the guys in the front were off to a blistering start.  The 10% grabbed the lead from pole sitter Bob Savoie in the 28 car.  By lap 4 Odaz was sitting in 2nd from his 5th starting spot.  The caution came out on lap4 and this was the only caution of the night, except when they restarted the caution came back out again.  i thought a lap had been completed but apparently not so back to the same lineup with Bobby in 14th spot.  With 10 laps showing on the counter, Bobby was in the 10th spot.  Real estated was hard to come by.  On lap 17 I had him in 8th and on lap 25 he was in 7th.  He worked on the 76 of Palmer but was unable to pass and make it stick.  He finished in 7th but came up from 19th,  To my way of thinking he did an awesome job of driving the wheels off that car to get up that far with only one caution.  Here's the finish;  24; 2; 26; 10%; 16; 76; 00; 41; 3D; 28; 17; 22; 11A; 18V; 6H; 1G; 8; 14; 24L; 352; 20C; 21J; 74; M2; 3.  Bobby is looking to Utica Rome tomorrow and we sure hope to see you all there.  Until tomorrow.........................................



             UTICA ROME - July 4, 2010


Hi Race Fans;

Well, another weekend is finished.  Long hot days but the nights were not too bad.  The track tonight was in decent shape, but a bit dusty early.  There were 29 ESS Sprints in the pits tonight and three heats.  Bobby was in the first heat and they always draw for position for the heats, the dash, and the feature.  With the draw, Bobby started 6th tonight.  Here's his heat line up:
69K---20
32----12T
17J---61(Varin)
73----36
10----1J
Bobby got a good start in his heat and at the end of the 10 laps he was in 2nd and closing on the leader.  His finish not only qualified him for the "A" Main, but put him in the Dash as well.  The top two from each heat go to the dash, lining up by the draw.  The number drawn for Bobby put him on the outside pole. and he finished 3rd.  Now to the A Main.  Here's the line up:
84---45
3L---15KB
3B---17J
13---14
61---75
28---20
73--76
12---36
3P---20Z
27---69K
12T--90E
10---60H
the first caution came before any laps were in the book.  By lap 2, the next caution, Bobby was back to 11th from his 9th starting spot but he had just moved to the high side before the caution and looked good.  When the green flag flew, he went topside immediately and began his march toward the front.  By lap 4 he was up to 8th and on lap 8 he was recorded in 5th spot.  The next caution came on lap 21 and he is being shown in 6th spot.  They restarted adn the caution came right back out.  The green flag flew again and this time it was good.  AS the last 4 laps played out, Bobby moved into 3rd coming off turn 4, but was penalized 2 spots for jumping on the first of the 2 restarts for caution on lap 21.  So in the end, he finished 5th which is really good in my mind anyway.  So, the top 5 were Jessica, Barger, McDonald, Yonge, and Bobby.

Now, for the Mod race which followed the Sprints.  Bobby was in the first heat which looked like this:
25R---8M
B2----L82
89B--73(Davis)
00---3(Kotary)
Bobby worked his way through the traffic and won his heat in fine fashion.  When the feature line up on the track here's how it looked:
25R---19K
3K----B2
1XW--18V
L82---42P
78A---89B
1X----1
00----57
18J---73
8M----B16
2RJ---41
6----3
42----34(Bachetti)

They threw the yellow on lap 2 for a disabled car in turn 4.  Bobby was 11th.  The next caution came on lap5 for the 00.  Off the banking in turn 1.  Go to the rear.  On lap 11 Bobby went off the banking again, but maintained enough momentum to keep moving but lost some precious ground.  Now, he settled down and began to race the bottom in turns 1 & 2.  The next caution came on lap 22 and he had clawed his way back up to about 9th.  In the final 8 laps he managed to continue passing cars and finished in the 6th spot, but oh so close to 5th.  Just ran outta laps.   Here's the finish:  1; 42P; 57; 78A; 19K; 00; 89B; 1X; 1XW; 2rj; 3; 73; L82; 42; 41; 18J; 3K; 8M; 6; B2; 25R; B16; 18V; 34; the 93 with Brian Weaver was scheduled to start behind Bobby but did not ans the call.  Bobby's next race is scheduled for 5Mile Point in the ROC Series with the 10 car.  Hope to see you all there.  Until then............................





Fonda Speedway, July 3, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, tonight seems to have been a sort of continuation of last night.  I'm still looking for the full moon.  I don't see it anywhere.  But I did see an awesome fireworks display tonight.  Tip of the hat to Ric and the crew for a job well done.  Tonight was Kiddie Ride night and man were there a lot of kids.  They were calling for the Pro Stock heats to come out, and then sending more cars out to get the rest of the kids that still were waiting for a ride.  They finally got them all into rides with drivers, and both Bobby and Danny went out the 2nd time to help out.

There were 28 Mods in the pits tonight and Bobby was in the 2nd heat.  5 Would qualify and four would be handicapped.  Here's  the line up for the 2nd heat:
10%---1G
11A---74
26----22
21J---00
41J
When the green flew, I guess one guy had an itchy foot and left too quickly so they threw the yellow.  Restack and rewrack and now we are ready to go and this time, when the green flew so did the cars and the heat wqs under way.  Bobby seemed to be struggling during the heat race and finished 5th.  This would ultimately start him in the 14th spot, behind all the toughest runners. 

After all  the prelims were finished, and the National Anthem was sung but Mimi we were ready to race.  This is the line up:
10%---17
M2----1G
18V---11A
3-----2rj
24----26
76----3D
41----00
20C---6
74----16B
28----21J
3J----6H
22----8
14----41J
16----13

The first and only caution came as a result of two cars coming together in turn one.  Once that was cleared up they were able to restart and Elmo lead from the get go.  Bobby had to fight for every spot he got tonight, and believe me when I say that.  The track was fast as the track crew had time to work on it during intermission.  It had two groves and they were about equal.  Bobby used both as he tried to pass cars.  It almost looked like his gidiup and go had got up and went.  But though he struggled the entire race he did manage to eke out a 7th place finish.  And, to top it off, he blew a right rear shortly after the checkers and managed to tear up some of the rear quarter panel.  They found the problem with the car, but not until after the feature was finished!Elmo went on to win, but it was close!  Here's the finish: 17; 3D; 18V; 2rj; 76; 26; 00; M2; 41; 3; 10%; 20C; 21J; 1G; 6H; 16B; 74; 28; 8; 6; 14; 41J; 24; 16; 3J; 11A; 22; 13. 
Tomorrow it's off to Utica Rome.  Bobby is looking forward to doing double duty as he will be in the Pete Demitraszek owned 61 Sprinter as well as his own 00.  With the ESS visiting Utica Rome tomorrow, it looks to be a fine Sunday to be at the races.  Hope to see you all there.  until tomorrow.................................



        Utica Rome Speedway, June 27, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, they squeaked another one in just ahead of the rain.  It started to rain just after I left the track tonight, but all events were finished by about 8:30.  Now that's with 4 classes of cars tonight as they also ran a 602 crate feature and heat. 

There were 23 Mods in the pits tonight so 3 heats were run.  Bobby was in the 2nd heat and here's the line up:
18J---3K
L82---89B
1X----00
57----6H
They were qualifying 5 from each heat and when the green falg dropped Bobby was on the move quickly so as to get into a qualified spot.  One by one he picked them off till there was only the L82 of Ted Lamb between him and a heat race win.  It was with some difficulty that he was finally able to get by the L82 and then drove on to win his heat.  They were moving the program along rather quickly tonight and they did not run the rototillers on the track at intermission, just some water, packer trucks and ready.
n  When it was the Mod's turn they were lined up and ready:
25R---19K
B2----L82
18V---B16
89B---78A
42P---1X
6-----1
00----2RJ
57----41
3K----8M
1XW---6H
42----41M
18J
From the drop of the green tonight, Alan Barker showed that he was a contender as he made quick work of the guys in front.  The first caution came after lap 1 was complete.  Bobby was up to 8th.  The next caution came on lap 2 and Bobby was still 8th but Alan Barker was in the lead. When the green flag flew, that B16 was hooked and moving, leaving everybody else in his wake.  By lap 10, Varin had moved into 3rd and when lap 12 was scored he was in 2nd and off after the leader who was long gone.  By lap 18, Bobby could just see him as the B16 was going into turn one and Varin was coming out of turn 4.  He was coming, but so far away.  And then bam, a caution on lap 20.  This brought the high flying B16 back to the rest of the field.  Sooooo, B16; 00; 1(Freisen); 2RJ; 89B.  On the restart Alan showed everybody he was not a push over, but coming out of 4 Varin goes high and gets by to lead lap 21.  Barker comes right back and grabs the lead back in turns 1 and 2 and leads lap 22.  Now Varin has to dig deep and takes it up to the top again and retakes the lead, this time for good, although there was no room to make a mistake and the B16 was right there, ready to pounce if he did.  But for the last few laps Bobby just had a quicker car and got a couple car lengths on him.  At the finish he was 1.776 secs ahead of the B16.  Freisen made things interesting  by moving up to the high side to try and pass Bobby while he was still in 2nd, but his night ended with a broken drive shaft on about lap 24.  When the checkers fell, it was Bobby Varin over Alan Barker with RJ in 3rd, Burley 4th and Ted Lamb 5th.  So, here's the final run down; 00; B16; 2RJ; 89B; L82; 57; 1X; 18V; 42P; 78A; B2; 1XW; 3K; 41; 18J; 8M; 1; 25R; 42; 6H; 41M; 6; 19K. 

Bobby's next scheduled race is on Friday and Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.  Hope to see you all there.  It's July 4th weekend and racing should be just awesome every where, all weekend.  Looking forward to next weekend and I hope you are too.  Until then......................




   Glen Ridge Motorsports park, June 25, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, for me, it was an awesome night at the races.  Bobby ran a Sprint car tonight for the third time in his life.  And he did a super job, in my opinion, of course.  Man, I don't know where to start.  They had four cars taped off tonight to keep people away from the four cars, Bobby's Sprint, his Mod, Tony Stewart's car and Jessica Zemken's car.  I guess not everybody liked it, but that's the way it was.  Tony Stewart just wanted to be a regular guy with a sprint car.  He did say he had a hard enough time convincing "them" to come here in the first place.
Bobby went out with the 61 car to warm it up and when he came in it had a leak in the fuel regulator. So, Jeff and Jeff looked it over to see what needed to be done as Pete was busy as pit steward and was unable to work on the car.  The end result was that he got no hot laps and just went out and fired it up to check and make sure the leak had been fixed and immediately went back out to line up for the heat race.  the ESS drqw for heats and the pole was drawn for Bobby in the first of 3 heats races.  Starting outside him was the 45 of Chuck (Cobra) Hebing.  they took off with the 45 grabbing the lead and Bobby running 2nd.  A caution on lap 7 brought the field back together and on the restart Justin Barger dove low in turn one but was unable to make the pass and though he dogged Bobby, in the end it was to no avail as Bobby finished 2nd behind the Cobra with Barger 3rd.  Following the heats, one of the qualified drivers picks a pill giving a number to invert.  That's why Bobby started 8th and Stewart started 9th.  Here's the complete lineup:
20Z---75
14(JZ)-27
32----17J
20----61
14T(TS)-8
45----28F
28fm-24K
90E---3P
33----9
10----7(Camara)
25----90
Before the feature, there was a 4 lap dash:
20---17J
61---8
14T---45
In the dash which Bobby started in 3rd Bobby made a neat pass and grabbed 2nd and that's the way he finished.

In the ESS Sprint feature, They did driver introductions, lined them up again and pushed them off for the feature start.  Following the 4 wide parade lap the relined themselves and came around for the green.  The yelow flew for a wreck in turn 4 before the completed a lap so back to the original start.  This time the green meant go and that's what they did.  Bobby just kept battling and trying to get to the front.  I was so engrossed in watching I forgot what I was doing.  Bobby made some awesome moves and by lap 3 he was in 5th.  One lap later he was in 4th and working on Lance Younge until TS caught him and made the pass about lap 19.  There was a caution on lap 21 which brought them back together.  The restart had the 17J, 14, 14T, 61 and 45 in that order and that's the way they finished.

Now for the Mod report.  Bobby started in the back in his heat race and proceeded to win it.  The 97V looked like it was really hooked up tonight.  When the feature came out here's the line up:
53---7
23P--73
38---4
6X---19K
20C--9
21P--711
97V--7M
26---85
72---21L
73K--08
4A.
Bobby jumped out of the 61 Sprinter and into the Mod 97V.  He just made it in time for them to pull out onto the track.  One parade lap and they were off.  The first of several caution flew on lap 4 and Bobby had advance to 10th.  On the restart, Vedder grabs the lead from the 7 of Ronca.  Next caution on lap 8 saw Varin in 8th and a new leader, the 23P.  Caution on lap 9 and Varin is 7th.  On the restart, coming off turn two the car right in front of Bobby got into the car in front of him causing a spin and collecting Bobby in the process.  He had a broken shock tower on the left front.  I figured he was all done, but he came back out on the lead lap and drove the rest of the race with broken front end, and he PASSED CARS. I have him scored in the 9th spot, behind the 'Flash', Dave Camara. 

Bobby is scheduled to start tomorrow at the Fonda Speedway.  Hope to see you all there.  Until then...................




   Utica Rome, Thunder Series, June 24, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well the race is finished.  The evening had its ups and downs but it was good to be racing tonight.  I know not everybody could be there tonight so I am glad I was able to make it.  There were 27 Mods in the pits tonight along with a good number of the CRSA Sprints.  The Mods were up first with their heats and they drew for starting position.  Bobby was in the lead off heat and drew a good number, for him.  Here's the line up for heat # 1.
B16---00
6-----B2
99L---25R
L82---8M
1X

Each heat was 10 laps in length and the top three from each heat got to go to the redraw.  Bobby grabbed the lead at the drop of the green and was never seriously challenged for the lead.  Alan Barker drove an awesome race and finished 2nd with Larry Wight finishing 3rd from the last row.

Following the 3 heats and the Sprint heats it was time for the redraw.  The last couple of times Bobby was the last on the redraw and took what was left.  Tonight he was first up and I held my breath as he actually drew for himself.  Drew # 4.  Good pick.
Now, for the feature line up for the 50 Lap Thunder along the Thruway Series race.

B16---9S
73----00
2RJ---99L
99J---3D
89B---6
78A---20
1X----4*
1------25R
1XW--91
18V---42P(Ward actually drove the 99L #2 car as he blew his mtr.
99----B2
L82---18J
3-----8M
19K

Following the Sprint race, they lined up the Mods on the front stretch and then had a ceremony for sorts honoring Jerry Cook, Dick Wateman and Night of Legends.  Following the singing of our NATIONAL ANTHEM, the word was given, "gentlemen, Start Your Engines"!  So, at 9:40 the race cars begin to move around the track.  When the green flag dropped, Matt Shepherd driving the 9s was gone like a scared rabbit.  Bobby Varin was right on his tail and remained there until the caution came out on lap 2.  Top 5 at this point, 9S, 00, B16, 73, 2RJ.  On the restart it was still Matt & Bobby.  However, by lap 11 Brett Hearn had made his way into 3rd and looked to be coming fast.  On lap 15 the leaders were into lap traffic and by lap 19, it looked like Bobby would be able to pass the 9s, but then the caution flag flew on lap 20.  At this point, the top 5 looked to be 9S, 00, 20, B16, 99J.  When they restarted Bobby looked like he would be able to make the pass, but also looked like Hearn was going to make his move as well.  Those 3 raced together until a caution on lap 27.  They fired on the restart but before the lap could be completed, Hearn went up in smoke bringing the yellow right back out.  This would put the 99J (I think) of Jimmy Phelps in 3rd.  They refired again and this time all was good but another driver wanted in on the fun in the front, Stewart Freisen in the 1 car.  On lap 37, taking the high side, Stew blasted by the 99j of Phelps and now he is ready to chase down the leaders but he neede a caution to bring them back to him and he got it on lap 48.  This set up a final 2 lap dash to the checkers.  Matt and Bobby took off with Stew in tow and though he tried the outside of Bobby, Varin was up to the challenge but could not catch Shepherd.  And that's the way they finished.  9S, 00, and 1.  Here's the complete run down: 9S; 00; 1; 99J; 2RJ; 4*; 1X
 B16;
99X(Ward); 91; 3D; 18V; 1XW; 99(R.Phelps); 78a; L82; 18J; 3K; 73: 6; 20; B2; 19K; 99L; 89B; 8M.---DNS25R

Bobby will be racing tomorrow night at Glen Ridge, both an ESS Sprinter and the Modified.  Looks to be a super night of racing at the Ridge and you won't want to miss a thing so come on out and watch the first visit by the ESS to the Ridge.  There will be some surprises!  Hope y'all can make it.  Until tomorrow........................
 



    Utica Rome Speedway, June 20, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

What a day.  Looked like rain for a bit but then became a gorgeous day.  Sunny and hot, with a wind blowing.  Utica Rome seems to have a wind no matter what.  And of course this does not help the track.  Along with the regular races tonight the Mod Lites were added and unlike other night the used the whole track.

There  were 24 Mods in the pits tonight which resulted in 3 heats with 8 in each heat.  Bobby was in the 3rd and final heat and this is the lineup:
18J---19K
18V---1XW
2RJ---40
00----42

There was one caution during this heat.  Bobby finished in 2nd with 5 qualifying from each heat.  After a short intermission for track work, which was needed, they lined up the Pro Stocks and sent them off, followed by the Mod Lites.  The Modified feature was the 3rd feature on the card tonight.  Here's the line up:
17----41
78a---19K
3K----18V
25R---57
1XW---89B
2rj---42P
1-----00
25X(Davis)-L82
1X----42
B2----40
6-----41M
B16---18J
8M
From his 14th starting spot Bobby had a good look at the field as they came down for the green.  The first caution came on lap 5, and we expected many more as cars were going off the top of turn two quite regularly.  Bobby was 12th, and after the next caution on lap 6 he was setting 10th.  By the time the next caution came out he was up to 7th spot.  Another yellow on lap 17 found Bobby up to 5th and one more caution oon lap 18 and he was in fourth.  The rest of the race saw him back to 5th as Decker got by and then more dicing with the 89B of Burly but in the end he was able to make it back by the 1X of Decker and finish in the 4th spot, although he used the outside in 3&4 and almost got 3rd.  Had to settle for 4th tonight.  Here's the finish: 2rj; 1; 78a; 00; 89B; 1x; 42P; 18V; B16; 57; L82; B2; 17; 1xw; 6; 25X; 25R; 40; 42; 41; 8M; 19k; 3k; 41m.  DNS 18J.



             Fonda Speedway, June 19, 2010

Hi race Fans;

It's a wrap.  the entire program was complete before 9:30 tonight.  Kudos to the track crew and management for that.

The track is coming around, but still needs some work.  But we had some good racing all night.  There were 30 Mods in the pits tonight.  This resulted in 3 10 car heats.  Bobby was in the 2nd heat and here's the line up with 5 qualifying and 4 getting handicapped:
8----M2
1G---2RJ
11A--24
6H---00
16B--44
All the heats were run very quickly as the track was trying to head off the storms that were headed our way.  The track was fast and passing was at a premium.  Bobby started in the 8th spot and finished in the 4th spot.  Finish: 11A; 2RJ; 24; 00; and the 6H of Hoenforst.

They did not take Victory lane ceremonies following the Pro Stock feature because of the threat of rain. Here is the starting line up:
22---10%
3----41
2RJ--16
11A--76
24---26
3D---00
21J--1G
18V--352
6H---74
6----8
20C--22J
16---28
17---M2
10C--44
 One parade lap and the green flag dropped.  With everybody being fast again tonight passing was difficult at best.  Bobby and Matty D fought with each other for much of the race.  David Lape looked awesome tonight, kinda like the Lape of old.  Jimmy Davis caught him in lapped traffic or Lape had win #100.  There were no cautions until lap 27.  At this point bobby was 7th and 3D was 8th.  The next caution came one lap later but Bobby had made his move around the outside of the 5th & 6th place cars to get into 4th at the completions of lap 28.  With only 2 laps remaining, he was able to get under AJ a couple of times but could not get the pass done and finished 4th.  Here is an unofficial run down of the Mod finish:41; 22; 16; 00; 76; 3D; 3; 21J; 26; 11A; 18V; 20C; 28; 17; M2; 1G; 22J; 352; 6; 16B; 8; 10%; 74; 24; 44; 6H; 10C.
Bobby's next race is scheduled for tomorrow at Utica Rome Speedway.  Racing ahs been really good there and I hope to see y'all make it to the Action Track of the East.  Until tomorrow.................



    Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, June 18, 2010

Hi Race Fans; 

Well, Bobby does it again.  Win number 4 on the season at the Ridge.  How did this happen you might ask.  I will try my best to answer that question. There were 18 Mods in the pits tonight.  MIA though were Jimmy Davis, Paul Kinney, and Madison.  There were 3 heats and the top five from each heat would be handicapped.  Bobby's heat came out like this:
7(Ronca)-23P
6X--------38
97V-------73K(Ketchum)
Ronca jumped into the lead and would hold on for the next 8 circuits.  Bobby was 3rd by lap 2 and into 2nd past Jackie brown by lap 3 but Ronca had too much of a head start and Bobby had to settle for 2nd.

The sprinter that Bobby will be driving next week at the Glen was there for some hot laps tonight and I was told that he ran an 11.5 sec lap with the 61.  But he now knows that they don't respond quite the same as a Mod when you are sliding towards the wall.  NO, he didn't, but close!

When they lined up for the Mod feature here's the way they come out onto the track:
53----7
21L---73M
7X(billington)-76
6X----9
21P---38
85---20C
97V---711
73M---7(Mack)
23P---4

At 9:32 the call came to "start your engines".  Couple of warm up laps and the green flag drops.  Going into turn 1 one of the cars near the front looped it and collected at least half the field although they were all able to continue .  With no laps showing complete, it's time to start again.  New line up
53---7
6X---21P
85---97V
7----711
4----20C
23P---21L
73----9
38----7X
All of those behind the first 4 rows were involved in turn one.  Restart this time was good, and by the completion of lap 1 Bobby is in 3rd.  The caution comes out on lap 2 and Bobby is now in 2nd.  Top 5= 53; 97V; 6X; 85; 21P and 711.  On the restart Bobby moves in on Vedder and when lap four is complete, Bobby is in the lead.  The next caution comes on lap 7 and the top 5 has changed, (7V; 53; 6X; 85; 711.  Bobby continues to lead but things are heating up behind him.  Another caution on lap 15 then 17, then lap 21.  The 711 of Jamike Sowle had been inside the 85 of Nelson 3 or 4 times but has not been able to make it stick. On the restart he again tries to get by the 85 of nelson, and finally, on lap 23 makes the pass into 2nd.  He still had 7 laps to run down the leader, but I don't know if he had anything for Bobby or not.    He was closing but not fast enough and Bobby goes on to record his 4th win at the Ridge. Jamike is 2nd followed by Nelson, the 21P, and the 20C. 

Bobby's next scheduled race is tomorrow at Fonda Speedway where he is the current points leader.  For those who did not make it tonight, y'all missed some great racing.  Hope to see ya all tomorrow at Fonda.  Until then....................................
 



   Orange County Fair Speedway, Big Show 2,
June 16, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, it is done.  And there has been a lot of talk about it.  And there were a lot of guys that have lost complete race cars.  I saw some of them coming into the pits from the track.  Terrible!  I know the amount of work that goes into maintaining a race car and I never like to see a fellow competitor fall victim to that kind of carnage!  Not to mention the expense!

The evening started with 4 groups of time trials.  Bobby was in the last group to qualify and timed 4th fastest in his group.  The heats were lined up according to your time, fastest to slowest. Here's the heat line up for the 4th heat:
74----77X
3D---10(BV)
49----8
79----62S
93----11
The top 3 go to the redraw and the top 5 qualify.  Here's how they finished: 77X; 74; 10; 3D; 8.

Following all the qualifying, they had some motorcycle jumping which was pretty neat.  Then they lined up for the feature:
33 1/3--74
9S-------4*
99(R. Phelps)-77X
66----91
98H---20
10(BV)-10(DJ)
1H----1
16W---3D
49W---2RJ
77F---8
24----62S
33----49
5----21M
79----673
8J----87X
55----7K
11----93X
The white flag to begin the race came out at 9:20 PM.  Suffice to say that there were at least 8 cautions and one red flag.  I have the total number of green flag laps run at 33.  With 68 total laps run before calling the race because of rain, that means there were 35 caution laps.  There were only two stretches of green flag racing longer than 5 laps, one for 9 and one for 11.  The rest were of much shorter duration.  Some times it just works out that way.  The track looked good, was fast and smooth.  Bobby garnered a 9th place finish and considering the high number of wrecked cars, that was a good finish.

Bobby's next scheduled race will be tonight, June 18 at Glen Ridge.  Yeah, I was a little slow getting this written.  I got home rally late and had to get up early to drive bus so didn't get at this until today.  Sorry about that.  It just happens.  Hope to see y'all tonight.  Until then......................................




                Utica Rome, June 13, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well another night at the races.  And they got it in.  Wow.  Skies looked good when I got there today, but bit by bit they got darker and darker.  The track was wicked fast tonight, and that means that everybody was fast.  There were 22 Mods in the pits tonight.  Three heats and Bobby was in the 3rd heat.  Here's the way they came out for the heat race:
6----17
19K--18J
89B--8M
00---L82
Let me just tell ya, it was an extremely fast track tonight.  The front row guys were tough to beat tonight.  Bobby got into 5th and that was as far as he would make tonight.  The top 5 from each heat would be handicapped tonight and he made it into the handicapping.  This would find him starting 14th behind just about everybody. 

A light mist started to fall just before the end of the 602 Sportsman race and when the caution came out on lap 19 the decision was made after about 3 laps in the 'rain' to make it official.  They were only one short of a complete race and the track crews wanted to get out on the track and try and save it for the rest of the races.  They worked the track well and about 8:20 PM they called the Mods to the line and they went out onto the track at 8:24.  Here's the way they came out:
57----6
17----93
18V---25R
18J---1X
89B---1XW
42P---B16
2RJ---00
25X---78A
B2----19K
41----L82
40----8M
1(Freisen)

It was tough going tonight for the guys starting in the back because everybody was fast and when the green flag dropped they took off like rockets.  There were a lot of 'rooster tails' tonight and from my perspective it made things difficult for me.  By the time of the first caution, on lap 7 Bobby had made it up to 12th.  And he was fast, but so also were the rest!  The next caution came on lap 17 and he was up to 10th.  The final caution of the night came at 8:44 on lap 23 and Bobby was now 9th.  Like I said, tough going.  When the checkers flew, it was Pete Taylor winning followed by Willy Decker and RJ for 3rd.  Here is the final rundown for the Mods:  6; 1X; 2RJ; 57(Jenson); 89B; 42P; 00; 1; 18V; 25X(Jimmy Davis); 1XW; L82; 78a; 25R; 93; B2; 41; 40; 8M(Mayne); 17; B16; 18J; 19K. 

Bobby's next race is scheduled to be this Wed in the 10 Car at OCFS.  We'll be lookin for ya there.  Until then, as  the old sayin goes, "keep yer powder dry"!......................................




   Glen Ridge Motorsportspark, June 11, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, ok, I apologize for not getting this ready last night.  It was a loooong day for me and when I got home I was just too tired.  It didn't look like Fonda would be racing today so I decided to wait until early Sat morning to write. 

The track at the Ridge was really racy last night.  There were 3 Mod heats and 5 qualifiers from each heat.  Everybody was fast and the only heat anybody passed in was the 3rd heat.  Here's the lineup for that heat.:
21L---711
23P---38
97V---72
Jamike Sowle lead them off turn four at the drop of the  green flag.  And man, was he ever fast.  He had a straight-a-way lead by the end of lap one.  The man on the move in this heat was Bobby Varin who started in the last row.  By lap four he was into the 2nd spot and set his sights on the 711.  While he did close the gap trying to run down the leader he had to follow him across the line in 2nd as the checkers fell on this last qualifying heat for the Mods.

The Mods were the first feature to come out onto the track after the intermission, needed to to a little repair on the track.  Here's the lineup for the Mods:
53----19K
21L---6X
711---19X
7-----23P
85----21P
38----20C
73D---97V
10----8
73----72

At the drop of the green flag to start the race Paul Kinney jumped out to a good lead and he looked like he would be the car to beat tonight.  He was fast!  On lap two the 10 car of Madison spun bringing out the caution.  On the restart the was a big pileup on the front stretch involving a number of cars, the 73; 38; 6X; 10, 53, and the 97V of Bobby Varin.  The guys worked feverishly on Bobby's car as there was more than just a flat right front tire.  The next caution came on lap 5 for the 73 & 8 cars.  Bobby came back out at this point and starting from the back was in the 10th position on the track by the next caution on lap 11.  When they restarted , Jamike Swole, who had worked he way into 2nd passe Paul Kinney coming out of turn 4 to complete lap 12 and he was the new leader.  Ther was at least one more caution but in the end, nobody would be able to catch the 711.  The 85 of Nelson got by Kinney for 2nd as Kinney finished on a flat left rear, and Bobby Varin finished in the 7th spot on the track. 

Bobby's next scheduled race is tonight at Fonda Speedway, but as I write this I am listening to the falling rain and don't think they will be racing tonight.  But, hey, what do I know.  Until next time............................



              Fonda Speedway, June 10, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Wow, what a sprint car race.  Those guys really put on a show.  But so did the Mods.

It was not a points show so the drivers all went to the pit shack to draw for their heats.  There were a total of 33 Mods in the pits tonight.  As a result there were 4 heats.  Bobby drew a 31 which would put him at the back of one of the heats.  Tonight, Bobby was running the 97V car that he normally runs at Glen Ridge.  Here's the heat line up:
42p---76
8-----17
22----26
97V---24
The green flag dropped and they were off and running.  Bobby had a long way to go, but in the end, he made it up to 3rd and was closing fast on the 2nd place runner of Alton Palmer, but he just ran out of laps.  They were qualifying 4 from each heat so he was in.  There were a number of outsiders tonight, Pat Ward, Billy Decker, Larry Wight, Brett Hearn, Michael Storms, and Willy Decker in the #10 commercial roofing car.  There were 2 consis tonight and they were taking 3 from each consi.  Of the outsiders, only Brett and Willy Decker were in the consis and Brett qualified by winning his consi.  Willy Decker was scheduled to start last in his consi, but dnq.

With the feature set, here's how they were lined up:
99L---6H
18V---42P
16----2RJ
76----4(Storms)
41----20C
97V---91
3D----3J
24----21J
26----20
17----74
10%---3
44----1
22
The Sprints ran their feature first, then the Mods.  At the drop of the green, the  6H grabbed the front spot and took off.  Before they could complete a lap one of the lead cars went off the track in turn 4 bringing out the yellow with no laps complete.  The Next start was fine and they were off.  The next caution came on lap 3 and Bobby had moved into 6th.  He would be restarting on the outside of Jimmy Davis.  They would go green for a good number of laps and Bobby worked his way into 4th.  There were a number of guys dropping out because of flat tires, and Bobby also got a left rear flat, but after the halfway point.  He would retire to the pits following the flat tire.

The finish as posted, 2; 42P; 41; 4; 3D; 18V; 16(suffered a flat early); 21J; 26; 3J; 24; 20(Hearn); 3; 6H; 91; 74; 44; 99L; 97V; 76; 1; 17; 20C; 10%; 22.

Weather permitting, Bobby will be racing tomorrow night at the Glen.  Hope to see you all there.  Until tomorrow.........................




     Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, June 4, 2010

Hi Race Fans; 

Well, another night in the books.  The pits were again crowded with 107 cars, 19 Mods.  The track had plenty of water on it, BUT that delayed the racing as it took extra time to run it in.  The Mods were first up with their heats and Bobby was in the second heat, starting last.  Here's the line up:
53----19k
711---38
6X----97V

The the completion of lap 3, Bobby had used the outside to get up into 2nd.  Paul Kinney had such a head start that in the remaining 5 laps Bobby was not able to catch him, although eh definitely reduced the gap.  They were handicapping 5 which placed him in the 14th starting position for the feature.

When they came out onto the track for the feature here's the scheduled starting line up:
21P---53
73(Marsh)-19K
4-----19X
76----23P
38----7
22J---6X
85----97V
20C---73D
8-----21L
711

Paul Kinney was unable to make the call so the outside row moved up one slot before the green flag flew.  On the initial green, all cars took off and we were under way.  The first caution came on lap 5, and just prior to that Bobby took a really hard hit from one of the competitors, got is straightened out  and was able to continue without losing a spot.  He was in 8th when the caution came out.  Back under  green, Bobby moved up into 4th by lap 10 and now really in contention after getting into 3rd on lap 11.  Two laps later, on lap 13 the caution came out again.  With the Delaware restart, Bobby was 3rd, outside the 53 and when the green dropped he made short work of the 53 and set his sights on the leader, the 21P of Pep Corradi and went around the outside of him to grab the lead coming out of turn 4 and the rest is history.  There was one more caution on lap 25, but with 4 lapped cars between Bobby and Pep,
nobody was able to come up and challenge him.  And wow, did the Bobby fans cheer tonight!  They were excited!  Way to go Bobby!.  Special thanks too, to the guys on the crew and Marv Pedrick the major sponsor and Andy Romano, car owner.  Every body had a mile wide grin tonight. 

Bobby's next race is scheduled for tomorrow at Fonda Speedway.  Hope to see y'all there.  Twin 22 lap features to honor the legendary Dave Lape.  Until then.............................



        Utica Rome Victoria 200, May 31, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, Bobby def hah the car to beat today.  He started 6th in the 6th heat and finished 2nd to Michael Storms Kevin Bates finished 3rd and Brett Hearn finished 4th, one spot out.

When it came to the draw, Bobby really didn't need to draw as there was only one pill left.  Eleven other guys drew ahead of him, and it seemed like nobody wanted the pole so he ended up with it.

He grabbed the lead at the start from the 89B of Burley and was off.  He was into lap traffic by lap 10.  Very slick track.  Normally the track crew will spend a half hour grooming the track with the rototillers and the water and pack which makes for a very good track.  tonight they felt the had to fore go track  prep as the weather was threatening.  Rain to the west of the track coming our way.  The early cautions were for guys who misjudged the top of the track and wither went around or off.  The first caution for tires came on lap 52 when Gary Tompkins came in with a flat left rear.  The right rear would not go to lap 100.  It was at this point that we thought we could be in trouble, and sure enough on lap 97 it happened.  Bobby's right rear went flat.  Up to that point nobody had anything for him, but that definitely changed the race.  No track grooming between the segments because the clouds were overhead and the was lightening in the sky.  The track had taken rubber and there was no passing.  On lap 155 Bobby came in with another bald, flat right rear.  Went back out and .................nothing.  The car was fast and he tried moving out of the grove but just could do anything.  Finished 10th as there were numerous cautions for flats.  And that's the way it was.  T-Mac wins it, followed by Pat Ward, Vic Coffey, Michael Storms, Andy Bachetti, Tim Fuller, Billy Decker, Jimmy Phelps, Stew Freisen, and Bobby Varin.




                   Utica Rome, May 30, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

First, I know you won't be able to read this till after tomorrow's show, but I have to write while it is still fresh in my mind.  There were 33 Mods in the pits tonight and most had on sail panels, including Bobby.  He ran the same car he drove to victory last night at Fonda.  And he was just as good with it tonight as last night.  There were 4 heats tonight and Bobby was in the last heat.  Here's the way they went to the green:
6---17
1X---1XW
00---44(Cozze)
14---13z

Unlike last night, tonight Bobby grabbed the lead right quickly and just left them scratching their heads.Man that car is fast.

Zessica Zemken won the sprint feature and Chuck Hebing finished 2nd.  Tonight the Mods followed the ESS Sprints and when they went to the green here's how they started:
25R---93
3-----57
17----B2
1X----42P
2G----1XW
89B---2RJ
B16---00
1WGC-14R
78a---6
11----41
8M----44
18J---34
19K---18V

Both the 19K and 18V were added to the field as they did not qualify.

In the early going it was a very fast paced race.  From his 14th starting spot, Bobby went to the middle anddrove up through into 8th at the completion of lap 1.  By lap 2 he was up to 6th.  The first caution came on lap 3 and Bobby was still 6th.  When the restarted, I forgot I was supposed to keep track of things and by the completion of lap 6 Bobby had the lead which he would not relinquish.  Once the race was past the ahlfway point bobby just settled in and took it easy.  His winning margin over Stewart Friesen was just a little over 2 secs.   The bigsurprise of the night was Danny's run which you can read about on his web site.  Most everybody stayed up there tonight to save some travel time so this report wont make it up till Tuesday morning.  Bobby's is set for tomorrow's Victoria 20 at Utica and he will be driving the other car.  Hope to see many of you tomorrow at Utica Rome.  It promises to be a huge show and one you won't want to miss.  Until tomorrow...........................
The official finish follows:00; 1WGC; 42P; 25R; B2; 18V; 2RJ; 10(1X); 93; 1XW; B16; 89B. The top 12 were on the lead lap.  The rest were at least one lap down to the leader, 2G; 19K; 6; 18J; 34(Bachetti); 78a; 44; 41; 11; 8M; 57; 3; 17; 14R.



            Fonda Speedway, May 29, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Wow!  Just wow.  What racing tonight.  The whole evening, beginning to end was more than just awesome.  There were a few surprises tonight.  It has been a long time since I have seen such a display as I saw tonight.  The track did look slick tonight, but the track crew did a super job in giving the racers and track like they had tonight.  Was it to everybodies liking?  No, probably not. 

Well, ok, let's get to the races.  There were 3 Mod heats with 10 cars in each heat.  Bobby and Danny were both in the same heat tonight.  Starting 9th & 10th.  Here's how the heat race lined up:
6----114
1G---93
76---17
74---26
18V--00

Everybody was right on their toes tonight and when the green flag dropped  the pedal dropped.  Everybody looked fast tonight.  When the checkers flew, the top 5 were in and handicapped.  76; 26; 1G; 00; 18V

The next on the card were the sprint heats and Bobby, by virtue of the draw was in the 4th heat starting outside pole.  The ESS Sprint heat #4 lined up like this-
27---61
84---138
45---11J
7-----90
202

When the green flag flew for this one, that little #61 sprinter looked like it was shot out of a cannon.  MAN, was he fast.  At the checkers it was the 61 by a half track over the 45 of Chuck Hebing(Cobra).  Now that was something to see. 

Before the Mod feature there was a Sprint Dash with 4 cars.  Bobby had the pole, then Jessica Zemkin outside, then the 17J of Lance and the 75.  The dash was won by Jessica and Bobby finished 2nd.  Now that's amazing for only his 2nd time in a sprint.

The Mod feature saw all cars in, and no consi.  This is the line up:
8---M2
22--1G
24--76
21J-2RJ
26--41
16--18V
20C-00
3D--10%
352-3
17--73
114-11A
28--74
6H--85
14--6

Usually I can tell if Bobby is on the money in the first few laps and tonight he looked ok.  The first caution came on lap 2 and Bobby had come up from 14th to 11th.  By the next caution on lap 4 he was in 9th.  Now I'm thinking the car looks pretty good.One lap later another caution and the Varinator is in 7th.  That was the last caution(I think) and by lap 10 he is in 3rd.  He takes 2nd on lap 11 and then grabs the lead on lap 15.  Now I have to tell ya, I am getting excited.  The car has gone from ok to pretty good to dominator by the half way point.  From then on the ole Varinator put on a driving clinic!  For me to say that nobody could touch him tonight is an understatement!  When the checkers flew on this race Bobby was more than half a track ahead of the 2nd place car, and he had lapped up to the 7th place car of RJ.  Now that is a dominating run for a 30 lap race.  Wow.  What a display of driving talent!

We hustled him over to the hot pit are where they had the sprint car waiting.  While he is climbing into the car I was just trying to reflect on what he had just accomplished.  MAN, there just aren't words to tell you how I felt at that moment.  Here's the lineup for the ESS A main:
10B---32
3P----25
61----42W
75----28
7-----45
17J---14
20----13
33----27
10----6K
15C---11J
7C----3A
36----19

I was not able to be in the infield for this race as per their rules, and had a hard time following who was where once they got into lapped traffic.  The first caution came on lap 6 and Bobby was 3rd.  Next caution on lap 10 and he is now back to 5th.  At the lap 18 caution he was about 7th or 8th.  On the restart he found a good line and was back to 6th for the lap 19 caution, the last of the race I believe.  When the checkers flew he was back up to 5th and that's an awesome way to finish an awesome night. At the line there were 14 cars on the lead lap and here's the way they finished:
32; 28; 45; 42W; 61; 17J; 20; 10B; 75; 33; 76; 3a; 36; 3.  The rest were at least one lap down and I didn't have time to get them all.  But for me, what a night!!!  Wow.  Bobby's next race will be tomorrow at Utica Rome.  Hope to see you all there.  Until then..................................




     Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, May 28, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, the pits and the grandstands were full again tonight.  Ome of Bobby's supporters must have purchased those 'air horns during the week as I could hear them when Bobby's name was announced. 

Bobby was in the third heat driving the Andy Romano owned, Marv Pedrick sponsored Bicknell chassis 97 car.  Here's how they lined up:

53---73
76---73D
08---97V

They really took off at the green flag.  There were no cautions in the 8 lap heat race and teh finish, 73; 73D; 97V; 53.  They were qualifying 4 and handicapping 4.

After the remembering our fallen war heros, and the National Anthem was sung the order was given; "Gentlemen, start your engines".  As the engines roared to life and the drivers were once again introduced by announcer Jim King, the air horns blew for Bobby.  When the green flag dropped Bobby looked like the man on the move, but at the completion of lap 2 he pulled to the top of the track.  The motor was still running but his car would move and he was pushed into the pits.  When they were able to check it was discovered that the front universal joint had broken off right at the back of the transmission.  So, a broken drive shaft ended his night.

Jimmy Davis got the win followed by the 38, 20C, 711(I think) and 85 of Nelson.  Both the 85 and 711 were very close at the end of the race so not sure about those two.  That's racing.  Bobby's next race will be tomorrow at Fonda Speedway and he will be doing double duty tomorrow, driving the 00 in the Mod race and the 61 sprint car of Pete Demitraszek.  Should be a great night of racing.  Hope to see you all there.  Until tomorrow................................
     



         Utica Rome Speedway, May 22, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Wow was it ever a great day today.  Sun was out, the heat was turned up and I didn't have to put my jacket on tonight.  Now that is something.  But you know what the sun, heat and wind can do to a race track.

The heats started right on time.  Both Bobby and Danny were in the first heat.  Here's how they were lined up:
93---2G
25R--1XW
18V--1F
00---40.

Danny got a good start and looked really fast but got slammed up into the wall and had to go to the pits to check the car.  It looked ok, so he went back out and resumed racing from the back.  When it was over the the dist had settled, it was the 1 of Freisen, the 00, 2G, 1XW, and 18V who got the last qualifying spot.  Two more heats were run with 5 from each making up the qualified cars and those that would be handicapped.  With 23 Mods, there was no need torun a consi and all were qualified.  During the time between the heats and the feature Danny's car was checked over and due to his scrape with the wall the chassis was bent.  Consequently, his car was off all night.

The guys worked hard to get the cars ready for the feature and made some changes that they hoped would help.  Tough tack again tonight.  But everybody had the same surfce to race on.  The feature lined up this way:
3-----2G
17----19K
1XW--1X
57----18V
89B---42P
1F----B16
2RJ---oo
6-----25R
41----18J
40----8M
93----B2
78A

When the green flag was dropped on the Mod feature, Mitch Gibbs took off like a scared rabbit and really set a blistering pace.  But on Lap 2 the caution was out for a car off turn 4.  At this point, Bobby had made his way into the 10 spot.  Restart and on lap 6 another caution, and Bobby was up to 7th, but the going was already getting difficult.  I'm thinking there may have been one more caution, but I was so engrossed in the race that I didn't mark it down.  By lap 8 Varin was in 4th, but those positions just kinda slewed back a forth for a bit.  Ya know, like what happens when there's racing.  He was in 3rd on lap 14, 2nd on lap 21, and back to 3rd on about lap 24.  He had passed Stew a bit earlier but he kept 'nudging' the big tire in turn 4 and one of those times was the opportunity Stew to pass him back.  At the checkers it  was Stew, Bobby, Mitch, Todd Burley and Casey Williams.  As a little aside, that's the way the top 3 finished in the heat race.  Pretty neat.

Bobby's next race will be this Friday at Glen Ridge.  Hope to see you all there.  It has been a great racing weekend.  Until next Friday.................................

Official finish: 1F; 00; 2G; 89B; 1XW; B2; B16; 42P; 2RJ; 1X; 19K; 18V; 57; 78A; 93; 41(Busta); 3; 6; 17; 25R; 18J; 8M; 40(Ted Teal)
 



             Fonda Speedway, May 22, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Another night in the books.  And the whole program was done by about 9:30.  Good job Fonda officials.   5 sets of heat races, one consi(Mods), and 6 features and still done at a decent hour. 

Now, for the racing.  There were 3 Mod heats tonight, and Bobby was in the 2nd heat, starting 9th out of 9 cars.  There were 2 cautions in this heat, with 2 to go.  At this point Bobby was in 2nd and was able to pull right up on the back bumper of the leader, the 6H.  At the finish, bobby wins it and the 6H 2nd.  They were taking 6 from each heat and handicapping 5.  This would result in Bobby starting 14th on the grid for the feature on a very slick track. 

Here's the feature lineup:
85----20C
74----1G
10%---3
6H----21J
24----11A
16----18V
2rj---00
3D----17
76----114
1(Freisen)-26
22----M2
352---8
6-----41

When the green flag dropped tonight they were ready!  The 85 of Nelson jumped out front but would relinquish that in short order as the 20C of Hanson came on strong.  Robert Perry in the 74 raced a great race tonight too.  It looked like the race would go green whit checkers tonight.  From his 14th starting spot, Bobby worked very hard on a tough track and by lap 8 was in the 9th spot.  (Hard for me to write much here as I was too interested in the race).  By the time there were 21 laps in the record book Varin was up to the 6th spot.  The only caution of the night came on lap 24 with Bobby still 6th.  At the finish it was the 20C of Hanson, 6H, 74, 16, 00, 3D, 1(Freisen), 18V, and the 26 of Camara.  What a night!  Another top 5 finish.  and we all know ya can't win 'em all.  Bobby's next scheduled race will be tomorrow at Utica Rome.  Racing gets underway at 5:30 PM(I think).  Hope to see you all there.  Until then.......................................

The finish as posted on the pit board:
20C; 6H; 74; 16; 00; 3D; 1F; 18V; 26; 2rj; 1G; 21J' 41; 24; 11A; 3; 85; 76; M2; 10%; 114; 14; 6; 17; 352; 22.
 



    Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, May 21, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Wow, if you did not go tonight you sure did miss a 'barn burner'!    When they came out for the heats, here's the way they lined them up.  Bobby was scheduled to start in the first heat. 
21L---53
23P---21B
22J---97V
711---85(Eric Nelson)

When Bobby came out for hot laps before the heats, there was a problem with the motor.  He didn't come out on time for his heat race although he did make it out and run a few laps.  The car was still not right.  During the intervening time before the start of the feature one of the guys went back to Andy's shop to grab another mag as the problem seemed to be in the mag.  He was allowed to come out and run a few laps at the back of the last cruiser heat.  About two laps in, and the motor sounded awesome, and poof.  'she went up in smoke.  Left a trail of oil/water all the way back to the pit area.  Some few folks in the grandstand cheered as it sure looked like Bobby was done for tonight.

BUT WAIT!!!  Eric Nelson was here for the first time this year and gladly offered his car to Bobby to drive.  Those guys worked hard to give Bobby some good transportation.  One of the gals that was there said she had never been to the Glen before so therefore, Bobby was gonna win.

He would be starting scratch on the field as was Danny Varin who had a mishap in his heat.  Now, the lineup for the feature, from the pit board:
21L---38
21P---53
10----23P
73(Marsh)-9
22J---19X(Billington)
7-----711
20C---73D
76----6X
72----4
19K---21B
85(Varin)

Well,, Bobby actually lined up in 20th as Danny dropped back in the 21B.  When the race started Bobby dove up to the wall on the front stretch and passed a bunch of cars, but before they could click off a lap, the caution came out for the 6X.  Now Bobby is in 16th and nobody challenged him so he stayed there.  The next caution came after completing one lap.  But now Varin is in 14th.  Another green flag, Bobby putting the 85 right up against the front stretch wall making it 3 wide and coming out of trun 2 in 9th.  Only one lap was completed before another caution flag.  So, lap 3, Bobby has taken it up to 7th.  The next caution came on the next alp, lap 4 and Bobby is in 5th.  But the right side of the car has been hit.  Couldn't see that till he came around under yellow.  At this point, the race director called for the cars to go single file.  This worked wonders as there were a number of green flag laps now, and by lap 11 Varin was in 3rd, and on lap 17 he was in 2nd, and on lap 21 he is shown as the new leader, getting by the 21L.  The final caution of the night came on lap 23 which allowed the front front runners to start nose to tail.  Craig Hanson looked to be fast, and had worked his way up from his 13th starting spot to move into 2nd.  When the green flag dropped again to restart the race, Craig gave it everything he had, but it wasn't enough and Bobby went on to win tonight's feature in a borrowed car.  Now that is just plain awesome!  He sure can wheel a race car. 

Bobby's next scheduled show will be tomorrow night at the famed Fonda Speedway, the "Track of Champions".  Sure hope y'all can make it tomorrow night.  Until then...........................................

Final finish after tech(Bob Dini was there tonight):  85; 20C; 7; 23P; 19K; 21L; 73; 9; 711; 53; 21P; 4; 19X; 72; 6X; 76P; 38; 22J; 10; 73D; 21B.



        Utica Rome Speedway, May 16, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, the night is over.  It was a beautiful day today, but turned a bit cool tonight.  Not too bad, but cool nonetheless. There were 21 Mods in the pits tonight and Bobby was in the 3rd heat race starting 6th.  Here's how they came out for the heat:
93----B2
1X----57
89B---00
45M
At the drop of the green Bobby tried to move forward but he was sure having to chase them down on a slick dry track.  With no caution and only 8 laps, it is tough to get going, but he did and finished 2nd behind the 1X of willy Decker.  They were qualifying and handicapping 5 from each heat. 

The Mods were originally scheduled to run their feature before the CRSA Sprints, but during intermission that was changed and the sprints ran first, and that makes the track slick.  They did a great job with their cultivators (or whatever they are) and the track looked good for the features.  When the Mods came unto the track they lined up like this:
3(Kotary)-18J
93----B2
17----1XW(Casey Williams)
1X----25R
18V---2RJ
89B---1WGC
42P---00
6-----78A
2G----57
4-----19K
45M

At the drop of the green flag, Jason Rood driving the 18J took off like a shot.  He led quite a few laps.  Tonight there were no cautions and that makes it difficult, at best, to make headway on the track.  Bobby took off and seemed to be doing well, when oops, he nearly got stuffed and lost some spots and his momentum.  He just kept on working on the cars and by lap 11 he was up to 6th spot.  With 15 laps showing on the board he made a great move and went from 6th to 4th.  As lap 20 clicked off, he was in 3rd, but way back from the two front runners of RJ and the 1WGC of Stew Freisen. 
While he was closing in on them but he just ran out of time and laps.  So for tonight he finished in the 3rd spot with Jason Rood finishing 4th and Casey Williams 5th.  The official finish is as follows:
2RJ; 1wgc; 00; 18J; 1XW; 1X; 42P; 89B; 19K; 18V; 17(Recknor); 2G; 78A; 3; and finishing one lap down, 6(Pete Taylor); 57; 93(Kislowski); 41; 45M; 25R.

Bobby's next scheduled race will be this Friday at Glen Ridge driving the Andy Romano owned, Marv Pedrick sponsored Bicknell chassis 97V.  Hope to see you all there.  Until then.....................




  Fonda Speedway, Lou Lazzaro Memorial Race
                             May 15, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, another great night at the races.  Stands looked quite full on this night of the memorial race for Lou Lazzaro.  38 mods were in the pits tonight, and they started 28 cars, but didn't have enough to have a "B" Main.  There were 4 heats for the Mods and here's how they lined up
1st Heat--13; 73m; 114; 22; 93; 352; 28(Holmes); 21J; 3D; 17H(Jeffer)--Top 5 qual. & top 4 handicapped--21J, 22, 3D, 114,-17H
2nd Heat--85; 20C; 28; 711; 76; 6H; 44; 18V; 41.---85; 18V; 41; 76; & 20C
3rd Heat--37H; 1G; 3J; M2; 22J; 16; 74; 3; 00--00; 1G; 11A; 3J; --22J
4th Heat--8; 17; 10%; 85L; 6H; 16B; 24; 26; 2.--26; 17; 2; 6H.--24

From the last starting spot in his heat, Bobby had a good look at the cars he would have to pass to get to the front.  He just started to move at the drop of the green and before lap 8 was in the books he had gone from last to first.  And this would play a big role in the dash.  The next item on the schedule was the 8 lap Mod Dash inmemory of Lou "The Monk" Lazzaro.  They lined up them up like this:
22; 00; 21J; 26; 3D; 2(RJ-Voted in as the crowd favorite).  Bobby won that dash, with (I think) 3D, 26, 21J, 22, 2 at the finish.  Bobby received $444 for winning the dash.

When they lined up the 28 cars for the Lou Lazzaro 44 Lap Memorial Race, here's the way they came out:
85----1G
17----114
3J----22
6H----76
11A---21J
18V---26
3D----41
00----2
17H---20C
22J---24
16----10%
74----16B
13----711
3-----6

At the drop of the green flag, the 85 jumped out into the lead but that was short lived as the 17 of Elmo Recknor came flying by into the lead.  The first and only caution became a red flag as there were cars piled up in turn 1.  The 20C of Hanson hits the wall and collects the 74 of Perry and the 16B of Barker.  Bobby was  16th at this juncture.  When the green flag dropped again they were off and running with the 17 jumping out to a good lead and he continued to distance hiumself from the pack for quite a few laps.  By lap 16, with no cautions Bobby had moved up to 8th.  On lap 32 it was the 3D, 17, 18V, 11A, 00.  With 5 laps to go it was still DeLorenzo in the lead, then the 18V, 00, 11A, 26.  At the checkers it was the 3D, 00, 18V, 11A, 26.

Here is the complete Mod finish--3D; 00; 18V; 11A; 26; 76; 17; 16; 2; 6H; 24; 3J; 22J; 10%; 17Jeffer); 114; 3; 711; 85; 1G; 6; 13; 21J; 41; 22; 20C; 74; 16B.

Bobby's next scheduled race will be Sunday, May 16, 2010 at Utica Rome Speedway.  Hope to see you all there.  Great racing tonight.  Decent track but slick.  Until tomorrow...................................




    Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, May 14, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, sometimes I just wear too many hats.  Tonight I went to the ballet/gymnastics recital for my two youngest grandchildren before I could go to the races.  The heats were already finished by the time I got there so I have nothing to report.  Well, I guess bobby had a flat in his heat and what all, I don't know.  I just know where he started the feature.

There were 18 Mods in the pits tonight.  And one of the new cars was Floyd Billington in a very nice looking #19 car.  Here's how they lined up the feature for the Mods: 
21L---38
53----10
6X----73
20C---19K
7-----22J
711---73D
8-----21P
23P---97V
19X---72

Whe the green flag dropped there werer a couple cars that looked like they were on a mission.  One of them was the 20C of Hanson who eventually won the race.  The first caution came on lap 3 and by this point Bobby was up to 12th from his 16th starting spot.  I think that may have been the only caution of the night, but maybe not.  I was too busy trying to write, answer the phone etc.oh yeah, and watch the race.  By lap 17 Bobby was in 6th spot and before the checkered flag flew, he got by the 19K of Kinney for the 5th spot and that's where he finished.  Coming from the back, not a bad run at all.  Jeremy Wilder also put on a great show tonight finishing in the 3rd position.  All in all a good night at the races.  Y'all should have been there.  Here's the official finish for the Mods:

20C; 6X; 22J; 7; 97V; 19K; 73D; 73; 711; 8; 10; 23P; 21P; 19X; 53; 21L; 38; 72.
Tomorrow is the Lou Lazzaro Memorial Race at the Fonda Speedway.  Sure hope you all can make it out for that race.  It is bound to be a good race.  Both Bobby and Danny will be there with their Dover Brake/Dave Cruickshank owned, Bicknell chassis, JPM powered cars.
Looking forward to tomorrow.  Until then..................................




     Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, May 7, 2010

Hi Race fans;

Well, some nights are great and some nights are not.  Tonight was one of the "nots".  There were 3 Mod heats tonight with 7 cars in each heat.  Bobby started last in the first heat.  Here's how they lined up:
1st Heat--53; 8; 6X; 711; 9; 7; 97V
2nd Heat--21L; 38; 10; 73m; 76P; 20C; 73D
3rd Heat--21B; 23P; 21P; 72; 19K; 22J; 4
JMike Sowle won the first one, I think the 38 won the 2nd heat and Danny Varin won the 32rd heat.

Bobby finished 6th in his heat.  Sometimes it doesn't matter what line you chose it's gonna be the wrong one.  The top looked to be a bit slippery at the start although it came in later, but nothing there for Varin.

when they came out for the feature, they lined them up as follows:
53----21L
21B---8
38----6X
10----21P
711---72
19K---20C
7-----22J
73D---97V
73M---4
9-----76P
23P

They got a good start on the green, but on lap 2 the 21P climbed the front stretch wall and came out in front of the racers.  The carnage was everywhere, into turn one and the red flag was out.  In addition to the 21P those involved were the 73D, the 97V of Varin, the 10, 19K, and  22J.  All but Varin and Davis were done for the night, but Bobby's front end had some damage, bent radius rods etc.  He elected to continue with an ill handling race car.  On the restart he was 12, and Davis 14th.  Caution again on lap 3 for the 7 of Ronca.  Bobby now up to 10th.  Caution on lap 5.  Still 10th.  Another caution on lap 6 as the 9 car got sideways in turn 4 and Danny Varin hit him hard.  they were both done for the night.  The track then made the decision to go single file on the ensuing restarts. At this point, Bobby was up to 7th and things were looking better.  The next caution came on lap 8 and Bobby is up to 6th.  They were able to race for 3 laps until the next caution on lap 11 and Bobby was sittin in 4th position.  After they got going again, Bobby got into 2nd as lap 14 licked off the lap counter.  One final caution on lap 21 and Bobby closed in on the bumper of the 711.  On the restart, the 711 just drove off, with Bobby following in 2nd and that's the way they would finish.  Bobby just had nothing for the Sowle kid tonight.  He drove a great race and deserved the win.  Great job too for Bobby as he brought that car home in 2nd.  Much better than it looked to be at the beginning of the race.  That guy just never gives up!  Bobby's next scheduled race is tomorrow at the Fonda Speedway.  Hope to see you all there.  Until then......................................
 



       Utica Rome Speedway, May 2, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, it has been a good weekend.  First, Ben Hutchinson, a member of the armed forces of the United States of America was at the races all 3 nights this weekend.  And last night he got to have his picture taken with his favorite driver, Bobby Varin.  Our hats are off to you, my friend.  We support our troops. 

As my good friend.Fast Freddie Tauss would say, "Man, Bobby sure has an awesome Hot Rod.  And indeed he does.  Lets get on with the race report.

There were 26 Mods in the pits tonight.  This required 3 heats to set the stage for tonight's 30 lap Modified race.  Here is the line up for Bobby's heat: 3(Kotary);  17(Recknor); 1XX; 1(Freisen); 19K; 57: 00; 6H.  They were qualifying 5 from each heat and Bobby managed a 3rd place finish in his qualifying round.

When it came time for the feature here's how they lined up the 26 cars:
B16---3K
17----2G
99L---1X
1(Stew)-85L
25R---19K
89B---18V
12A(RJ)- 42P
00----6
3(Kislowski)-1XX
18J---78A
6H----41
57----B2
5X----7G
From Bobby's 15th starting spot he sure had a good view of the best drivers at Utica Rome.  No sign of rain.  When the green flag dropped on this 30 lap feature, the B16 of Alan Barker shot into the lead in his home built race car.  Bobby began his march toward the front picking them off, one by one.  The first caution of the night came out on lap 10 for the 18V who got chopped down into the infield in turn 2.  At this point Bobby was in 7th.  On the restart, Bobby dug deep and came up with 3rd as the caution came after lap 11.  That caution was for the 1X of Willy Decker with a right rear flat.  The restart saw cars piling up in turn two and five cars involved went to the rear,6H, 41; 85L; 19K; and 2G.  Still lap 11 and Danny is back to 11th.  On the restart Bobby gets by the 1 of Stewart Freisen for 2nd and sets out for the leader, the B16 of Alan Barker.  After tryiing the far outside and then trying to sneak by on the bottom, Bobby takes the middle of 3 & 4 and comes off turn four like a rocket and grabs the lead.  The next caution came on lap 21 and the top 5 were 00; 1; B16; 99L; 89B.  The green flag drops and Bobby takes off and puts about a straightaway between himself and Freisen.  At the checkers, it was Bobby, Stew, the 89B of Burley, Alan Barker, and the young gun, Larry Wight in the 99L.  Wow, what a weekend.  And Ben Hutchinson was there again tonight!  Is that awesome or what??  And got his picture taken at Utica Rome with his favorite driver, Bobby Varin.  Following the last feature of the night some of the guys, ie. Bobby, Danny and a few others took some practice times with the winged cars.  Getting ready for the Victoria 200 next week.  Special thanks to John Bakazonis, Dave Cross, Jeff and Tyler Preston for preparing the car for racing tonight.  And Thanks also to the sponsors of the 00, Dover Brake, Rite Aid, Tim Smullen and others who make this all possible. 

Bobby's next race is scheduled to be on Friday at The Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.  Hope to see you all there.  Until next time..............................



           Fonda Speedway, May 1, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

What a night of racing!  If you didn't make it, you really missed some awesome racing.  The evening festivities started off 15 minutes early tonight in order to accomadate the Kids.  Tonight was kiddie ride night and I saw a lot of very happy kids getting a ride in their favorite driver's car.  The track was in great shape for the start of racing.  When the top 5 feature finishers come from 6th on back, you know it was a good night on a good track.There were about 123 cars in the pits tonight and 40 of those were Modifieds.  Some races were won on the bottom and some on the top.  Kudos to the track for doing such a good job tonight.  Now, to the racing.

There were 4 Mod heats tonight and I will list them the wasy they were posted and the top 4 finishers.  They qualified 4 from each heat and handicapped the top 3 from each heat. 
Heat 1--8; 28(Holmes); 10%; 73M; 711; 85L; 16B; 21J; 3D; 24A;--
-16B; 3D; 28; 8.
2nd Heat--37H; 22; 1; M2; 3J; 93; 22J; 26; 14; 21P(dns)--26; 1; 22(Lape); 22J
3rd Heat--6;n20C; 28(Harris); 74; 16; 11A; 00; 41; 44; 13(dns)---
16(AJ); 00; 85; 41
4th Heat--85(N); 37; 6H; 114; 17; 18V; 76; 24; 2RJ; 352---6H; 18V; 76; 2RJ.

As we looked to the west it looked like we might get some rain so the program was moved along quickly with very little track prep, if any.  Just wasn't possible with the racin coming.  No Hot laps either.  Here is the feature line up for the Mods:
28----22
20C---6H
1-----16
18V---16B
76----00
3D----26
8-----22J
41----2RJ
11A---17
121J---24
85L---M2
44(Josh P.)--3J
10%---93
711---114

The leaders came down for the green and we were off racing.  The first caution flew on lap 6 and here's the way they lined up; 18V, 16, 28, 00.  I was just too excited to see any further back!  On the restart AJ grabbed the lead from young gun Danny Varin and was off.  By lap 8 it looked like this, 16, 00, 18V, 41.  The next caution came on lap 13 and the leaders were still 16, 00, 18V, 41. The caution came out and then red for a roll over, Alton up side down and Green on top. At the half way point it was 00, 41, 16, 3D, 18V. After the restart for the lap 13 caution the race finished under the green flag, and at the checkers it was 00, 41, 3D(Nipped AJ on the last lap), 16, and 18V.  Now I know y'all would like to know what happened in between, but I watched the races and can't remember everything.  It was an awesome night at the races.

Here's the finish as posted: 00; 41(Davis); 3D; 16; 18V; 2RJ; 26; 21J; 6H; 28(Holmes); 22; 11A; 10%; 85L; 711; M2; 93; 44; 114; 3J; 20C; 1; 22J; 8.

Bobby's next race is scheduled for Utica Rome tomorrow.  Come on out and enjoy some great racing!  Hope to see you there.  Stop by the trailer and say hi. 

Bobby would like to thank his sponsors, like Dover Brake, Rite Aid, the Log Cabin in Sharon Springs, and also thanks to all those who are helping out with stuff for the Boys and Girls clubs of the Capital Region.  Also, hats off to the crew guys who get this car prepared every week.  They work hard and it shows.  Until next time.............




   Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, April 30, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, once again the pits were packed as were the grandstands.  110 cars in the pits, total.  Pretty good showing for the 2nd night of racing.

There were 22 Mods on hand tonight to try and qualify for the feature go round.  They drew for heat line ups tonight and Bobby started on the pole of the 3rd heat.  I do not believe he drew this number because you all know how he draws.  Bod or worse!  Here's how the heats lined up:
1st Heat--8; 7(Ronca); 21B(Dan Varin); 23B; 19(Kinney); 53(Vedder); 21L;   2nd Heat--08; 6X; 38(Sheely); 21P; 73(Davis); 20C; 406; 9.  3rd Heat--97V; 10(Madison); 73(Marsh); 711; 22J; 72(Bennett); 76p.

With Bobby starting on the pole you would think he would win it.  And he did followed by the 10 and the 711 of Sowle.  Jeremy Wilder finished 4th, one spot out of the redraw.  On the redraw, Jimmy Davis drew the pole, and Bobby's draw was for an 8th place starting spot.  Only 9 numbers in the hat.  The rest lined up according to the way they finished their respective heats.  Here's how they lined up the feature:
73----8
6X----7
53----21P
10----97V
711---19
406---22J
23---20C
73(Marsh)--21B
38----76P
9-----72
08----21L

At the drop of the green flag, Bobby appeared to makle a lane on the outside all for himself and by the completion of lap 2 he was already up to 3rd.  The first caution flew on lap 6 and Bobby was closing in fast on the high flying leader, the 73 of Jimmy Davis.  That caution was for the 10 car.  Bobby almost got Davis on the restart, but as we all know, close only counts in horse shoes (and hand grenades).  On lap 16, trying to make a run on Davis on the extreme outside, Bobby had a brush with the wall and flattened the right rear.  He went into the pits to get a new sneaker and came back out, but didn't seem quite as fast as before.  So he finishes in 8th position.  Here is the final finish, as posted:
73D; 7; 19; 22J; 20C; 6X; 711; 97V; 10; 21P; 21B; 8; 9; 76P;  23B; 73; 53; 38; 21L; 08; 72; 406.

The program moved along quite well and I was home before 10:30 and the last feature was on the track when I left.  Tomorrow Both Bobby and Danny will be back at the Fonda Speedway for the 2nd points show of the 2010 racing season driving their familiar 00, and 18, respectively.  Looks like the weather should be great.  WARM.  Hope to see you all there.  Until tomorrow night then..................




     Utica Rome Speedway, April 25, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, Utica Rome was able to get their first race of the season in, despite the continual threat of rain.  there were 35 cars listed to start the heats.  Bobby was in the 2nd heat and finished 4th out of 9 starters. He was having both handling problems and the engine wasn't quite right but they were able to get things fixed during the wait for the feature.  They qualified 4 from each heat.  This put him into the race starting in the 14th starting spot. Here are the top 20 starting spots as they lined up for the feature.
21J----42P
673(Pauch)-99J(Jimmy Phelps)
91(Decker)-44(Cozze)
74(Fuller)-12A (RJ)
99L----89B
1(Freisen) 20(Hearn)
19(Kinney)-00
85L----18V

From the consi, 3D, 1X, 27J, 25R(Ramsey), 57(Jensen)73Davis)4*(Storms) 99(Ryan Phelps)

With the 24 car field set they came down for the initial green with Pat ward getting the nod for leader.  By the time the first caution flew on lap 13, Bobby Varin had worked his way up into the 6th spot.  The next caution on lap 18 saw Bobby in 5th spot.  The next caution on lap 25 after swapping with Pat Ward, he was into 4th.  One more caution on lap 28 and he was challenging for 3rd just before the caution came out.  The race went green to the end and he was unable to make a charge and finished in the 4th spot.  Danny Varin finished 11th.  The official finish:

20; 74(Fuller); 99J; 00; 99(Ryan Phelps); 27J; 4*; 12A; 57; 18V; 21J; 18J; 73; 19K;673(Pauch, one lap down); 3D; 25R; 44(did not finish); 85L; 1(Freisen); 1X; 99L; 91. 

Bobby's next scheduled race will be on Friday at the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.  Hope to see you all there,  Also, special thanks to all of Bobby's sponsors who have made it possible for him to be at the races.  Rite Aid is one of Bobby's new sponsors this year so please support the sponsors who support races.  We will appreciate it and so will they!  Also, Bobco Videos has informed me that he has two more CD's available with Bobby's wins picking up from the last set and bringing it up to date to include Fonda's Ice Jam opener.




             Fonda Speedway, April 24, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

What a difference a day makes!  One day you are on top and the next you're not.  Last night was one of those nights that took sheer determination to finish. 

There were 7 features last night making the track difficult, at best.  The guys all drew for their heat line ups followed by a heads up start.  There were 4 Mod heats last night with 36 Mods in the pits.  Here are the line ups for those heats:
1st                         2nd                 3rd                  4th
73----10%              26----21P         37----6H          114----2RJ
8-----37H               B16---3D          28----76          85L----41
18H---93                18V---00          21J---13           22J----17
711---1                   11A---16          22----3J           M2-----6H
85L---20c                74                    24----28           20C

Craig Hanson did not come out for the 1st heat so was added last in the 4th heat.  In the 3rd heat there were two 28 cars, Ed Harris and Holmes.  Only one of them was listed for the 3rd heat so when two came out they both tried for the 3rd starting spot and it was given to Holmes putting Harris to the rear.  When the qualifying was finished  they took the top 5 from each heat which made 20 qualified cars.  However, when the feature lineup was posted there were 21 cars listed and the 28 of Harris was shown as the 21st car.  My best guess is that Harris should have started in the 3rd position instead of Holmes.

When the green dropped for the 2nd heat race the track conditions had changed considerably and the outside was not a good place to be starting.  Bobby Varin found himself strapped into an unruly race car and half way through the heat spun backwards into the 1st turn wall.  He went to the back and with a crippled race car got back up for a 6th place finish which would give him a front row starting spot in the consi.  They were qualifying 4 cars from the consi, OO, 74, 16(from the back of the consi) and 85L.  Three more cars were added to the field, the M2, 20C, and 22 of Lape.  That set up the feature line up which was as follows:
10%----B16
21J-----2RJ
711----26
76-----41
93-----18V
24-----22J
1-------11A
3J------17
73-----3D
6H-----114
28(Harris)-00
74-----16
85L----M2
20C----22(Lape)

The feature was run with only two cautions, coming on lap 5 and lap 18.  From his 22nd starting spot on a tough track, Bobby methodically worked his way forward to finish in the 6th position.  That was just sheer determination on his part.  Here is the finish for last night's race---2Rj; 41; 26; 3D; 24; 00; 22J; 21J; 76; 11A; 93; B16; 18V; 16; 3J; 85L; 17; 74; M2; 711; 114; 28; 1; 73; 6H; 20C; 22; 10%.

Bobby's next race is scheduled to be at Utica Rome for the "Thunder on the Thruway Series  April 25, 2010.  With a huge storm supposedly coming this way, it is unclear at this time if they will get the race in or not.  More on that later.  Until next time....................




   Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, April 23, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, Glen Ridge kicked off the 2010 season with a full hose.  Grandstands were full as were the pits.  There were about 11 pro stocks, 30 reg sportsman, the rookie sportsman class had about 12 , the cruiser class had about 24 and the Mods 18. 

Bobby was in the 2nd heat and here's how they lined up. 
21B(Danny Varin---23
406(Ricci)--------- 711
97 9BV)------------22J
21L-----------------28
As they came off turn 4 for the initial green, Danny Varin was sent to the rear for jumping the start.  Didn't look that bad to me, but I wasn't making the calls.  On the next try they got off and Rich Ricci jumped out to a good lead with Bobby Varin following.  The 22 of Wilder grabbed 3rd and they ran away.  And that's how they finished.  That sent the top 4 to the redraw.  Bobby drew the outside pole for the feature. 

The track looked to be pretty racey to me, but then I wasn't driving.  When they lined up for the feature, here's how it looked:
6X (J. Brown)--97
22J-------------20C
19(Kinney)-----406
21L-------------22J
7(Ronca)-------711
10(Madison)----23
1X(Stone)------21P
8----------------38
53---------------21B(Dan Varin)

At the start there was a bit of confusion as it appeared that Brown wanted to be on the outside as he was pushing up on the 97.  As they were coming around for the green flag, the 97 of Varin dropped back to let the 6X have whatever lane he wanted, but that start was called back.  When they came around for the green again,  they got the green and Bobby was off like a shot.  After 2 laps were completed, with Varin a ways out front, Brown spun around and was collected by Todd Stone who went up-side-down, ending his night as well as the 6X.  With just 2 laps in, the 20C of Hanson was in 2nd now and the 22J was in 3rd.  The race restarted  and again Varin drove off and the 22J of Wilder got by the 20C and set off in pursuit of the leader.  When they got into lapped traffic, Bobby was able to move through the traffic quicker than Wilder, although Jeremy was able to maintain 2nd place and not that far off.  Caution came out on lap 25 and showed 97, 22J, 20C, 406, 19.  After the restart, nothing changed and that's the way they finished.  Congratulations to the 97 team on their first win of the 2010 season.  Both Andy Romano and Marv Pedrick looked to be very happy.

As an aside, Danny drove a great race, coming from the back and breaking into the top 10 by lap 8.  On the last restart he was threatening to break into the top five when the front end broke and he was unable to finish.  That's got to be the best finish I have seen for that car.  All in all, a great night at the Ridge.  Both Bobby and Danny will be climbing into their cars again tomorrow night at Fonda Speedway for the first points race of the 2010 season.  Hope to see you all there.  Until tomorrow night........................



      Ice Jam, Fonda Speedway, April 10, 2010

Hi Race Fans:

Well the first night of the 2010 season at Fonda Speedway, THE Track of Champions is done.  There was still daylight when the races were completed.  There were 47 Mods in the pits scheduled to start the heats.

The heats were to be 10 laps each with the top 3 going to the redraw
and the top 4 qualifying.  In order of finish: 1st heat: 41, 21J, 26; 2nd heat: 22J, 16, 00; 3rd Heat: 24(Odaz), 18, 66; 4th Heat: 76, 12A, 93;  The 4th place finisher of each heat : 11A; 85: 711: 74.

The sun came out about noon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky for the rest of the day.  It was quite windy and the track was smooth and slick.  BUT no big holes.  Kudos to the track crew for the good track.  The heats went off in fine fashion with only two major incidents which could have spelled disaster.  In the 2nd heat going hard into turn one, Lape got sideways and Varin was right on his bumper.  Bobby lost about 2 or 3 spots on the uncharacteristic slip by Dave, but both were able to keep control of their cars and continue with no caution.  I am sure that David is very glad it was Bobby behind him and not some other driver.  It was the kind of incident that could have resulted in double hooking two cars but years of experience kept both going and able to finish the heat.  In the 4th heat, it looked like the 3D developed brake problems and couldn't get through the corners.  Appeared to me that his tire was locking up.  He retired early and started the consi last and won it.

The lineup for the feature follows:
41---16
93---18
22J--00
21J--66
12A--76
24---26
11A--85
711--74
3J---3D
20C--16B
22---84
17J--17
2G---M2
85L--6

The race went green to checkers and I was really watching the race.  Bobby got by Danny and the 93 car early and from 3rd set out after the leaders.  He had 2nd by lap 8 and on lap 10 grabbed the lead and never looked back.  He put on a clinic like nobody has in a long time, and was able to put that Dover Brake, Dave Cruickshank owned Bicknell race car chassis anywhere on the race track and pass cars.  He passed them on the top, on the bottom, and yes, right through the middle in the black.  The car was fast, although the driver felt he was going too slow and expected that he would get passed any minute by a faster car.  The flagger must have really tired arms tonight as he spent nearly the whole race furiously waving the "move over" flag.  He used the other arm to try and wave them to the bottom.  I'm thinking some drivers never see the flagger from the beginning of the feature till it is over and everybody else is slowing down.  That is my very own opinion.  Anyways, Bobby's next race is scheduled to be at Glen Ridge next Friday night driving the 'Andy Romano owned 97 Bicknell race car.  Hope to see y'all at the Ridge next Friday nite.  Until then...................................



         Big Diamond Raceway,  April 2, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, it sure was an interesting evening.  Bobby was scheduled to start 18th tonight in the Big Block feature, a forty lap race that got rained out last Sunday.  Some of the guys di not show up which moved him up to a 14th place starting spot.  So, here's the top 14 cars the way they lined them up for the feature:
20-----------------------1C
357(Godown)-------------5 Laubach
3------------------------14 Horton
99L (Wight)--------------37
4(Howard)---------------91
88(Pauch)---------------00(Manmiller)
41---------------------- 10
By the time I got these all written down, the race went green and I couldn't get any more but there were 24 cars that started the race. 

Now, we often talk about a promoter "hitting a homer" when they have a good crowd, so I say tonight these guys hit a double grand slam!  I don't remember when I last saw that many people at a track like Big Diamond have that large a crowd.  All the seats were filled and people were sitting in the grass beside the bleachers.

They went green and the track looked pretty good.  By the first caution on lap 3 Bobby hand had moved up to 11th.  On the restart there was a mess in turn one which resulted in Bobby losing 3 spots.  The next caution came on lap 8 and saw him getting back to 11th. The restart was not good and this time he was in the wreck and had to go to the back.  Once they went green again, Bobby again started to move forward and the next caution came on lap 18.  On the restart there was heavy contact made in turn 3 taking out more cars.  Godown sent to the  rear, Bobby up to 5th.  The next caution came on lap 26, Bobby still 5th.
Lap 32 caution sees Bobby in 4th spot, with Hearn dropping out of the lead and setting up an exciting finish. The last 8 laps had to be exciting for the crowd as Godown had moved back into 2nd and pressured Duane Howard for the rest of the race.  The finish saw Howard hang on to win, followed by Godown, Pauch, Horton nips Varin coming out of turn 4 and Bobby finishes 5th.  The attrition tonight was very high, with, I think, only 7 cars actually finishing the race.

We had hoped that the team would get the sm block car done, but in the end were unable to do so.  Consequently, Bobby was not able to race the small block portion of the races tonight.  Tonight was a night where you needed to survive and Bobby did that.  Kudos to Bobby and the team on the 5th place finish!.  Next week Fonda Ice Jam!!  Until then.......................................

The finish for tonight's Big Block Feature:
Howard, Godown, Pauch, Horton, Varin, Manmiller, Sheetz, Jr.; Brett Hearn; Larry Wright; Strunk; Ncholas; C. Von Dohren; Cozze; Decker; Boyer; Laubach; Hartz; Ward; Norris; Huber; Merkel; Yetter; Harris; & William Lowden, Jr.



         Hagerstown Speedway, Mar 27, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

I am sure by now most of you know that Bobby was not in the race at Hagerstown.  There was a malfunction of the hauler brakes and they were very late getting to the race track.  They were able to get the car unloaded and Bobby was in the 2nd consi.  Coming from the back, Bobby did what he could, and finished in 5th, one spot out of making the race. 

Barring any further problems, they will stop off at Big Diamond today and enter that race.  Big Diamond has changed their starting time hoping to get the race in before the weather changes.  Until then........................... 



        Selinsgrove Speedway, Mar. 20, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Special greetings to "Coach" in St. Johnsville.  This report comes to you direct from the Selinsgrove Speedway in Selinsgrove, PA.  There were 63 Big Blocks trying to qualify for 24 spots in the 50 lap ROC feature.
Bobby's car owner, Ken Saya picked for Bobby today and drew the 3 pill which would give Bobby a decent starting spot for the heat.  The track started developing a hole in turn 3 during hot laps and that continued to worsen over the course of the evening.  And in the final analysis became a factor in the feature race.

Bobby started in the first heat race and the line up looked like this:
10----------------33
1X----------------4
R10---------------37x
73----------------0
51----------------12A(Ronnie)

I was standing in turn 3 and could see across the pits to where they started the race.  When the first heat fired off, Bobby was in 3rd before they crossed the pit road and passed out of my sight.  One lap later he was in 4th, but he just doesn't give up and by sticking close and waiting his chance came when the 3rd place car slipped up in turn 3 allowing Bobby to get back by him and that's where he finished.

Though now qualified for the feature he didn't make the redraw as ti was top 3 qualify and top 2 go to the redraw.  So this meant he would start in the 13th position. 

In the first consi, Frank Cozze was put to the rear although he was the leader because of false starts.  They were warned at the drivers meeting that that would happen if they caused more than one false start (basically, starting too soon).  That's a bonus just to show that they didn't play games and didn't show any favoritism.

The feature lined up top 12 redrew and the next six cars those that finished 3rd in each of the six heats:
55-Brightbill-----------------88C Pauch, Jr.
9s-Shephard-----------------2G-Gibbs
40M-Mark Forte--------------357-Ryan Godown
42P-Ward--------------------99L-Larry Wight
4-Duane Howard-------------91-Billy Decker
R10-Wade Hendrickson------14-Jimmy Horton
10-Bobby Varin---------------01
00-----------------------------20-Hearn
85-----------------------------0-Rich Pratt, Jr.
1W-Billy Pauch, Sr.-----------27J-Danny Johnson
1X-Willy Decker---------------7-Laubach
4S-Storms---------------------66Jerry Higby
51-Mike Colston---------------1 Stew Freisen
44-Cozze-----------------------22-Weaver(Qualified in heat but had to
                                                             go to a back up car)
85-Ted lamb (added, as were the 66, 51, 1, & 44)

There were numerous caution during the race, the first coming after lap 1, the next after lap 4.  I counted 11 cautions during the race, but there may have been more.  Bobby moved up to 10th by the 4th caution.  4 cautions later he was involved in one of the wrecks but was able to continue, going to the rear.  He sure can wheel a race car and got backup to 7th position.  However, this was short lived as he broke the left front shock and then blew a tire and got nailed from behind, ending his race with just 6 laps remaining.  Finished 13th.  Only 11 cars ran the whole 50 laps. 

Well, that's all for this time.  Keep watching here for any updates on
Bobby's racing schedule.  Until next time...............................



    Selinsgrove Speedway, March 19, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, what a night.  The team got there fairly late and Bobby didn't get a chance to draw for the heats.  I had some long walks tonight because they were a loooonngggg way from the pit board.  LOL.  A very nice racey track.  Nice facility.  We got there about 10 min before hot laps.  When the heat race lineups were posted, Bobby was placed in the 3rd heat starting 10th.  The lineup looked like this; 
2RJ-------------33(Swinehart
R19                  7K(kirk Horton
73(Yankowski     6B
78 (Neil Huber)   99L Larry Wight
42F                  10 V arin

There were a no cautions in this heat (the only one) and the only heat where all cars finished.  At the finish it was 33, 2RJ, 99L.  They took 3 from each heat and the top 2 went to the redraw.  Bobby finished 5th, meaning he had to go to the consi.  There were 3 consis and Bobby was in the 3rd and started 3rd with Stewart Freisen starting 4th.  That consi had at least 2 false starts before they finally got a lap in.  Bobby quickly moved into 2nd, went back to 3rd, but finished 2nd.  This would start him in the 24th position.

The feature lineup had 2RJ on the pole and 42P  outside.  Hearn broke in his heat and did not come out for his consi, and did not start the race.  By lap 5 it looked like he was going to be able to get a decent finish when the car quit going into turn one of lap 6 and the caution came out.   Bobby was done for the night.  Pat Ward won followed by 14 and the 2 RJ of Ronnie Johnson.  The racing starts tomorrow at 4 PM.  I will have a run down of that race probably on Sun as we wil hit the road as soon as the race is finished.  Until then....................................



        Volusia Speedway, Feb. 13, 2010
 
 
Hi Race Fans;
 
First, I need to add to what I wrote the other day concerning Bobby's 6th place finish.  During that race, as you will remember, there was a big wreck.  Following the red flag, when Bobby reached up to remove his tear-off, they all came off at the same time leaving none on his visor.  As soon as it got dirty, he was unable to see clearly and it was misting creating even more difficulty in seeing.  The car was still a very fast car, he just couldn't see.
 
Forn the last race of the week, he came out for the heat race and lined up in 4th.  On lap two he started showing smoke and 'some fluid' got onto the race track making it slippery enough to through the yellow flag.  The fluid was from Bobby's car as one of the freeze out plugs came out and dumped a bunch of water on the track.  He was able to continue and finished 6th which would have put him in the front row of the consi.  When he went pitside they worked on the car and got a plug back in the block but decided not to run that car as it was smoking quite a bit.  Brought out the back up car and started scratch in the consi.  Ran a couple laps in the consi and then went pitside to allow the guys enough time to make adjustments to the car.  He was 4th in points going into the night and was a guaranteed starter.
 
Starting in the 27th spot, the first caution came on lap 3 and he had moved up to 24th.  By the next caution pn lap 6 Bobby was in 19th.  The next caution came on lap 17 and he was shown in 16th, but he had to slow way down to miss the car which caused the caution to come out and lost 4 spots in the process.  At the half way point Bobby was in13th and at the caution on lap 44 he was in 12th.  Next caution on lap 48 and he was in 10th.  One more caution and he managed a fine 8th place finish.  The last few laps saw him getting by a number of good cars, including Brett Hearn.  So, not a bad week, over all, and the best he has done any of the times he has come south.
 
As for his next race, ya'll will have to watch here and we will keep you up to date.  Until next time...........................



          Volusia Speedway, Feb. 12, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, I'm sure that by now most of you already know that today's racing is canceled.  So what to write about.  WELLLLLLLLLL, there are a few things I can relate for you.  Just some stories so if you don't like stories, you won't want to read this.

We came down here a few years ago and stayed at the St. Johns Campground.  As we wer driving to the track we saw a sign advertising ice and since we needed some we stopped to get some.  The price was relatively cheap so Bobby went over to get some.  He put in the proper amount of coins and waited.  All of a sudden a loud noise and the ice began pouring out of spout.  The sign said it was 'bulk'  meaning not bagged.  There stood Bobby with both his arms out trying to catch the ice as it dumped on the ground.  We had a good laugh about that one.  Another time, in the early morn about dawn, with Bobby driving the car, he came up to a semi tractor being hauled backwards.  All of a sudden he slammed on the brakes, and hollered loudly waking everybody up.  A quick look and they thought they were going to have a head on collision.  They had to stop at the next rest areas for one of the guys...............

This year, my wife and I were coming back from the races the first night and stopped at a MacDonald's.  I ended up driving the wrong way on the wrong side of the highway but I never found an entrance into the place.  Finally gave up and went on into town and stopped at a Wendy's.  There was a car in front of us and one beside him.  They made some kind of transfer between cars, and then waited, and waited, and waited.  They finally got two little bags of food and left.  We were finally served out 'boneless' chicken wings with Bold buffalo sauce.  Waited to eat till we got back to the motel.  The sauce had leaked all over and the wings tasted like no only boneless, but chicken less too.  Couldn't eat them.

So, last night we stopped at a Mcdonald's again, a different one that had an easy in.  BUT it was not easy out.  Couldn't find the exit.  Wife said to 'follow that car, they are leaving, but no, they were not.  Took about 5 min wandering around the parking areas of 3 or 4 places before we could find  our way out and back onto the highway.  No more fast food for us.  Now we check to see if there is a way out before we enter. 

Went out to the track today and drove through deep mud along the backstretch wall.  Not on the track, and when we finally slid all the way along the guard rails on the back stretch got to the end only to find our way was blocked.  Guess they figured nobody would be dumb enough to drive all the way through all that mud, but they don't know me.  Hahahahahaha.  Ok, that's enough for this update.  Check tomorrow for updates on the last race.  until then...........................



          Volusia Speedway, Feb. 11, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well night number 2 is in the books.  The WOO late models ran their 50 lap $10,000 to win race ahead of the BB mods.  There were 4 mod heats again tonight and again, Bobby was in the 4th and final heat.  In the first heat, Pat Ward cme from the 5th starting spot using the extreme high side of the track and finished 2nd, but blew his motor as he came off turn four.  In the 2nd heat, Brett Hearn won the battle with the 9s of Matt Shepherd.  In the 3rd heat Jimmy Phelps wins it.  In the 4th heat, Bobby & Stewart lined up in the front row.  Bobby was wired for this one and took off leaving Stewart Freisen in the wake.  BUT, Billy Decker came on stong and tried everything he would to get by the high flying Varin but was unable to get it done.  At the end of a very exciting heat race, it wa Bobby over Billy D. Pauch, & Jamie Mills.  A very close race.

When they lined up for the feature, it was Bobby on the pole with Decker on the outside..  At the drop of the green it was Bobby who got the good start and he lead for the 1st 4 laps before Billy was able to get by.  The first caution of the race came on lap 7 and shows Billy , Bobby, and Matt Shepherd as the top 3.  On the restart, as the leaders were coming off turn four, there was a huge wreck in turn 3 with Jeff Brownell getting the worst of that one.  There were only 11 cars not involved in that melee one way or another.  Brownell barrel rolled about 6 times.  When the race restarted after the red flag, the 9S of Shepherd made the winning move getting by Bobby and Bily followed closely by Jamie Mills in the 30 using the extreme outside of the speedway.  Bobby went up to try the top but this allowed Hearn, Phelps and Danny Johnson to get by on the bottom.  Billy Decker dropped out a couple laps later and that is the way they finished.  9S, 30, 20, 98H, 49, and the 10 of Bobby Varin.  It was starting to rain at the end of the race but not enough to stop the race.  That's it for tonight.  Tomorrow night, Feb 12, we will have race # 3.  Check here for a race report.  BTW, last night some of the guys were feeding hot dogs to a black bear which decided to pay a visit to the pit area.  A wild black bear.  Now maybe you can understand how they drive a race car the way they do.  They are crazy!  Until tomorrow night.....................................



         Volusia Speedway, Feb. 10, 2010

Hi Race Fans;

Well, it's that time of year again.  Early this year as Bobby is in Florida this week racing the #10 Commercial Roofing car.  We met up with Bobby today when we arrived at the track.  Since they did not race last night the car was still ready for today.

There are about 48  modifieds in the pits for these 4 races.  They held four hot lap sessions for the cars and took their fastest time to line up the heat races.  Bobby was in the last group for hot laps which put hm in the 4th and final heat race.

In the first heat it looked like Brett Hearn would run away with it, but on a restart Stu Freisen snookered him and got the advantage and the lead.  Brett finished 2nd.  The 77x of Dale Planck won the 2nd heat and Jimmy Phelps won the 3rd heat, all from the front row.  In the 4th heat Bobby started 4th, and after a lap 4 caution for the 3rd place car Bobby  got 3rd, then just outraced the 2nd place car and on the last lap got be the leader for the lead and the win.  Really exciting.  First race I have watched from the grandstands in years.

There were 3 consis and when they were finished, the field was set for the first race of the 2010 season.  Freisen on the pole, Planck 2nd, Jimmy Phelps 3r, Bobby Varin 4th, the 20 of hearn 5th, the 65 6th, 49 of Danny Johnson 7th and Pat Ward 8th.  The first caution of the race came out for Billy Pauch.  On that restart Hearn broke the rt front suspension on his car coming out of turn 4 and hit the wall collecting a number of race in the carnage.  On the restart the cution came out again with another mess.  On the next restart Bobby got 3rd from Jimmy Phelps.  Another caution on lap 10 bunching them up together.  It was a single file restart from lap 10 on adn at lap 10 it was the 1 of Freisen, 77x, 10, 98H, 65, 22C of Mario Clare, & 9S.  The next caution came out on lap 20 as Rick Laubach driving the 7 car spun and hit the inside barrier at the bottom of turn 4.  He retired to the pits following that incident.  At the finish, it was Stewart Freisen, Dale Planck, and Bobby Varin.  Bobby's right rear tire was totally wasted.  I mean it was bald.  No tread left.  Wow, what a race.  Wish you all were here.  It was cold tonight.  Glad I brought my winter coat!

Hopefully there will be some pics to go with this.  Butch should have some to  put up on the site.  Tomorrow is race # 2 and I will try and give you some updates.  Until tomorrow night...................................



                           Feb. 5, 2010

Hi There Race Fans;

Well, the 2010 racing is about to begin for the big block Modifieds.  This year, Bobby's gets a jump start on the season as he heads to Volusia Motorsports Park in Volusia County, Florida.  Bobby, along with John Bakazonis and John's brother Mark are scheduled to leave on Sat. Feb, 7, 2010 for the drive to Florida.  They will be meeting Ken Saya, car owner, Eric Kingsley, head wrench, and the rest of the team in Florida. 

Racing begins in earnest on Wednesday evening with a 30 feature following the qualifying events.  Willy Decker is driving the # 10 Commercial Roofing car hauler down along with his own car.

I plan on being there this year for the racing events and hope to be able to keep you updated on happenings in Florida.

It has been a very busy winter for both the Varin's as they have picked up some sponsorship from the Rite Aid group.  There will be team shirts and jackets for both team's members this year sporting the Rite Aid logo.  There are also some other surprising events unfolding even as I write, one of which will have both Bobby Varin and Ric Lucia working together.  I would like to say more but cannot at this time.  Again, look here for any and all updates concerning Bobby and Danny Varin.  Dave Cruickshank and Dover brake will continue as the major sponsor for both teams.  Bobby's plans for 2010 include seeking his 6th championship at the famed Track of Champions' Fonda Speedway.  He will also be racing at Utica Rome on a regular basis.  His plans include running at the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park on Friday nights racing for legendary car owner, Andy Romano.

Plans also call for Bobby to team up with the # 10 Commercial Roofing mount of Ken Saya for some special Dirtcar shows.  We will advise you later in the year which shows he will be running for them.

In addition to all this, Bobby, along with son Danny, continues to manage the family owned business, SUPPLY WAGON RENTALS, located on Hwy 30A in Johnstown, Ny.  They rent everything from excavation equipment, large and small, to all size tents, tables, chairs, dance floors, dishes and silver for wedding receptions and other parties as well, all kinds of equipment large and small.  Check out their web site or call Bobby at 518-848-3231 for all your rental needs. 

Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Until next time...............