One Less Car

[RickFigure8]

As it stands right now Tom is parking the 8 car. The steering broke on the car saturday night and where the car ended up was all the cars doing. It was only a few feet outside the white line and Tom felt he deserved a caution for safety reasons. Jim Maggio was right there and when Tom motioned to him for a caution and all he did was shake his head no. Plus what broke on the car we could have fixed in 20 seconds and he could have continued racing. Tom considers letting him sit in that spot and not calling for a caution was very disrespectful on the part of Jim Maggio. It would have been a very quick caution. Nothing to clean up, the cars were basically running single file. I know it was only the second week but we were in second place in the points. There's a few other things that had already had Tom unhappy, two being the tires we are on, that are worse than the ones we already didn't like, and this has nothing to do with the new tire dealers, the tire choice was not theirs, and the fact that we are parked as far back in the pits as you can get even though we've been there every year. Tom asked me to post this and he's pretty much dead set on this decision.

Rick

[Turbo]

Are they trying to do this to save time??? I heard it happened in the truck race with the 95 truck being just below the line and in fact almost got creamed by another truck spinning and just missing her!! Do we have to get someone injured before we start throwing the yellow again! :mad::mad::mad: THROW THE YELLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!

[Tower Man]

I am sorry to see this. A man who has supported not only Riverhead, but Islip as well. Over 30 years driving. Three Championships, 4th on the all time Figure 8 win list.There is no respect here. I cannot believe this is happening. It was supposed to be better.

Yes, the 95 SPT was sitting in a dangerous spot as well. Yet no caution.

I won't even go into the scoring discrepancies I had to deal with, only to be told and I quote, "...I have told the figure 8 drivers in the past that I will not score a car that goes in and out of a race..."

The last time I read the rule book it stated you get scored for every lap completed.

TK you will be missed

[D & K]

I showed you the score sheets and you saw that your car was scored. It's not my problem that your car only went over the start finish line 5 times. You should know that I play a fair game with everyone. I have nothing against anyone on that track. I score everyone fair and equal (No matter who you are!!) (Or think you are!)

[jeffrey]

but i hear around the track .it my not be true.but they are thinken on getting rid of the figure eights.and chargers.next year.like i said may not be true.but tom.back at islip.you raced there did the flag always get thrown when a car was down in the middle of the X.no you had to drive around it.and if you go to other tracks around hear.some don't even let you back out on the track if you breakdown and can be fixed before the green comes back out.thats it your done for the night.so tom just think this could be the last year for the figure eights.really sorry to see you go .you are one of the greats.

[LongIslandJam]

Jeffrey,

To clear up any misconceptions, currently there are no plans to nix any divisions. However, Riverhead will always evaluate their divisions and see what's the best in the interest of the racetrack and the racing community.

[RACENUT]

I Like To See The Officials Not Wave The Yellow Flag When Someone Stops At The Edge Of The Track To Deliberately Bring Out The Yellow.

[rydogg97]

the yellow should be thrown at any time there are cars in harms way whether intentional or not!!and to jeffrey any time you hear a rumor KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!!!its seems that you enjoy stirring the pot to keep it nice!!

[fisherman]

same old stuff till someone gets hurt bad. same thing happened to me 10 yrs ago

[Fkraft99]

racenut just to clear one thing up, it wasnt a deliberate move to draw a caution. the steering wheel was virtually sitting in his lap, and wasnt working so he had no control of where the car was going. he was lucky to get the car stopped before it got to the concrete barriers.


the yellow flag isnt his main gripe though. its the lack of respect he recieved from some of the officials at the track. For one since the 1980's he was parked in the middle row 3 spots from the end next to Fred Harbach for most of those years. And when Fred retired i believe it was Chris Young. Now i understand they "need" to clear those spots to impound cars. but with those spots cleared the guys that used to park there seem to be just on the other side of the scales. ( ie chris young, john fortin) meanwhile dad is deep in the back by the fence. now hes been racing at riverhead for 23 years longer then probably 90% of the pit area yet hes in one of the worst spots??? i have to agree with him that its a lack of respect.

and when he voiced his displeasure with the track, and threatened to stay home, he was basically told go ahead and stay home. thats one hell of a way to keep the track alive. kind of makes me glad i only have to go there a handful of times this year.

[The Bullfather]

Also when Erin was stopped by turn 4, the truck stayed there till the tow truck came and got it! I understand the problem of drivers bringing out the yellow on purpose, it happens at every track! But both occassions this week both drivers weren't sitting in the infeild close enough the the action on purpose. I was suprised myself the yellow wasn't brought out for both occassions. Erin was close the the racing action coming off turn 4 and one truck spun right next to her! The Kraft incident, it seemed wierd how the car came off (figure-8 course) turn 4 and almost headed straight into the barriers, only to stop short of hitting them. I thought the situtation could have brought out a yellow to make sure Kraft's safety was alright. It's rough and tough being an official one persons happy the next guy is not! Sad to see T.K. leave when this division needs him most! Enjoy life Tommy, I'll miss talking with ya every week at the track.

[randomrodder]

There's that slippery slope again.

[RickFigure8]

Just to Racenut, Tom never stops on the track to bring out a caution on purpose. Both him and I are dead set against that. My feelings have always been that anyone who stops and sits till the caution comes out and then drives away should automatically be at least a lap down. If you watched the truck race last week Tom got a flat and pulled into the infield.

[Turbo]

If they bring out the yellow on purpose they gotta get docked a lap or some sort of penalty thats all!! Like if they have a flat then stop on the track, they throw the yellow and they drive away.. that should be automatically 1 lap penalty because we know they have a flat and they brought the yellow out on purpose, Obviously

[RACENUT]

Rick, I Wasn't Talking About Tom Or Any Specific Driver, I Just Hate It Also When A Driver Stops On The Track To Intentionally Bring Out The Yellow. I Guess That Is What The Officials Thought Was Going On Though.

[RACENUT]

Rick, I Wasn't Talking About Tom Or Any Specific Driver, I Just Hate It Also When A Driver Stops On The Track To Intentionally Bring Out The Yellow. I Guess That Is What The Officials Thought Was Going On Though , Why Else Would They Have Let Tom Sit There.

[Tower Man]

During the modified feature one car stopped between turn 1 & 2. The caution immediatly flew. The tow truck drove to the scene, but before nit even got close the car drove away...with a flat.

T.K's steering wheel was in his lap. An official was no less than 15 feet away shaking his head no.

And Fred you are 100% correct about the parking. I was parked there too, as well as Tommy Ryan. If I remember correctly, it was Carl Miller, Harbach, T.K., Tommy Ryan, me and Fortin. Ah those were the days....

[hollywoodmic]

Tower man are you talking about the 44 bringing out the caution?? If so there was no flat. The 23 and the 44 got together going into the corner and the 44 hit the kill switch on the steering wheel. We were standing right there and then it finally started, he had a loud popping noise right before the engine re-fired.
As far as parking goes, I sometimes find that funny, yet I agree with TK on this, he does deserve a better spot. But, if that's one of the main reasons for leaving...........you used to drive to White Lake and Florida to race, what's wrong with being in the back of the pits. At least the Figure 8's are still racing locally for you. You are one of this divisions spokespeople and one of the most respected guys in the pit area. Without out your fight, there is no Figure 8 division at Riverhead, without the work that you and everyone else do from S.A.F.E.R there is no Figure 8 division. After all the fighting you've done, you are going to let a parking spot and a caution you deserved, end your great career. As a fan and a friend of yours TK that dissapoints me. I think you owe it to your fans, your crew and everyone else to at least try to get it rectified. Heat of the moment never works you know that better than anyone. Perhaps you should take a longer look at your retirement, the division needs your mouth to survive. Good Luck in whatever you do.

Steve Halpin

[Fkraft99]

you know what the difference is between here and white lake is steve, he wants to go up and watch a feature or 2 at the head and lets face it hes not exactly in the best shape. so walking from the back fence to pit stands isnt the easiest thing in the world for him. but at those other tracks when we did park in the back it was fine cause we were the only divison he wanted to see.


i will say this though. there is a chance you may see him this week because he just got off the phone with Mike Capiello, and at least Mike will talk to you and try and work out your problems with the track. And thats all he was looking for, some respect and someone willing to discuss solutions to some problems.

[Tower Man]

Fred, I agree. I too had a meeting with Mike, Jim and Paul and I believe we resolved any issues I brought to there attention and I thank them for that.

Like Hollywood said, T.K. is the Figure 8 spokesperson. The Figure 8's may be the drink, but T.K. is the straw that stirs the drink.

[hollywoodmic]

Fred I meant he was willing to travel all that way to race, the least he can do is let cooler heads prevail, and try to work it out at his local short track. Where they still run the Figure 8's.
We all need to vent sometimes, everyones feelings get hurt in racing. He has every right to be pissed, but at the end of the day him not racing does nothing good for the division he loves and has helped to keep alive as long as it has been. That's all, you know my feelings about your father. Sometimes it just easier to view from the outside looking in. From my viewpoint this is something that can be worked out. I hope they do work it out.

Fred as for that in shape thing, he may want to work on that. LOL

[Fkraft99]

yeah i know what ya meant steve, and if i had to bet id put the money on him racing saturday. for a couple reasons 1. because he loves the divison and would never do anything to hurt it. and 2. because he has heard from some of the officials today and spoke to them to clear up and work on some problems.

and as far as the shape thing goes ... good luck with working on that. lol

btw pumpkin u coming to the track this week? i could use a spotter for one of the late models

[hollywoodmic]

Sorry Freddie I'll be in Charlotte. Last Saturday I was a little banged up so spotting was not an option. Just call me.

[RickFigure8]

Alan I agree with you completely. As Fred said the problem here was Jim standing right there and seeing what Tom had happening and where the car was sitting and still saying no to a caution. Hey, I never knew you moved south.
And touching a little on what Steve mentioned, flats are one thing, not a reason to park on the track, heck, back at Islip when it was still allowed to race on a flat I saw features won with a flat. Jimmy Hendrickson, and maybe a couple others, won with the left front turned sideways. Stalling on the track is a different thing and unless you have raced yourself you might not realize why. With all the noise out there it's actually not so easy to restart the thing at times. You can't hear if it's turning over or if it's fired yet. Plus many times after stalling while spinning the thing loads up with fuel which adds to problem. Watch how often Cup cars burn out the exhaust when trying to restart

Rick

[gripz]

i have been going to races for over 30 years, and i think everyone should have a chance to finish every race he enters, if he paid to get in, bought tires, gas, and all the things that go along with a night at the races, he should have the right to get a caution flag when something go's wrong with his car. It costs alot of money to put a car on the track so why shouldn't he be able to finish the race?????

[FERGBIZZ]

so has T.K. made a decision yet??? I won't even watch the race if he's not in it.