Hail Helio!

The racing this weekend at Indy was anything spectacular, but the result surely stirred some emotions. The loveable Helio Castroneves came back from the brink to win his third Indy 500. Castroneves, probably known more for his dancing skills than driving, faced a federal tax evasion trial earlier this year before being acquitted in April. Watching his emotions pour out in Victory Lane was amazing, and it is what makes sports so special. Kudos to pit reporter Jack Arute for allowing Castroneves to enjoy the moment and not getting in the way of the unfiltered drama. Sometimes the best interviews are the ones where journalist doesn’t ask any questions.

Wet, wild and whacky

Have we witnessed a more bizarre weekend of NASCAR racing (or lack thereof) in recent memory? The rain fell more often than the Sprint Cup cars went racing at Charlotte over the weekend and the start of the race had to be delayed until Monday. Not a big problem, it seemed, because of the holiday. But the rain kept falling and the cars kept sitting on pit road waiting to roll, which must’ve made for a ratings nightmare for FOX. I don't know if "King of the Hill" and "The Simpsons" have the same drawing power as a race.

Not at all NASCAR’s fault, but the atypical holiday weekend led to an unusual winner. David Reutimann won his first Sprint Cup race in 75 starts, although I don't understand why all the sportscasters called him a journeyman. He’s anything but and has established himself with Michael Waltrip Racing. Still, congratulations to him (and his father) in a much-deserved victory. I will not take anything away from him, but I just wonder if it’s somewhat less fulfilling for a first-time winner. Regardless, "Beak" and his No. 00 team gambled by not pitting right when the final rainstorm moved over the speedway.

The biggest question is: Why didn’t all the other teams do the same? They all have radar and probably should’ve seen the giant, green blob rolling through the Carolinas. It was a whacky weekend with a disappointing finish. But the outcome crowned a worthy winner.

Motorsports Tuesday

Periodic showers did not dampen the holiday weekend of racing at the two local tracks. Motordrome Speedway hosted the Enduro 100 with 29 cars starting the race. The speedway also was the site of normal racing events Fridady night. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway held its normal weekend events in without a hitch. Thirty-two cars started in the 30-lap Modified Mania race at PPMS.

Motordrome Speedway
Smithton, Pa. – May 24
Enduro 100
1. Patrick Parlock
2. Mark Seiler
3. Charles Hallett
4. Steve Settle
5. Eugene Zerfoss
6. Darrell Posey
7. Steve Long
8. David Barnhart
9. Troy Knight
10. Dan Zimmerman

Pennsylvania Motor Speedway
Imperial, Pa. – May 23
Modified Mania – 30-lap feature
1. Kevin Bolland*
2. Dave Murdick
3. Rex King Sr.*
4. Del Rougeux
5. Tom Winkle

Super Late Models – 25-lap feature
1. John Flinner
2. Alex Ferree
3, Lynn Geisler
4. Mike Johnson
5. Ben Miley

Late Models – 20-lap feature
1. Kyle Lukon
2. Steve Beatty*
3. Colton Flinner
4. Dave Wade*
5. Beau Glemba

UMP Modified – 20-lap feature
1. Andre Layfield*
2. Brent Rhebergen*
3. Joe Gabrielson
4. Chuck Kennedy
5. Randy Hall

UMP Sportsman – 15-lap feature
1. Jake Simmons
2. Pat Weldon
3. Bill Robertson
4. Pat Hanley
5. Robbie Haught

Stocks – 1st feature
1. Gary Koteles
2. Rich Mason
3. Adam Chytil
4. Tony White
5. Brian Reddcliff

Stocks – 2nd Feature
1. Adam Chytil
2. Rich Mason
3. Curt Bish
4. Gary Koteles
5. Brian Reddcliff

Sport Compacts – 1st Feature
1. Daniel White
2. Justin Pons
3. Nico Dabecco
4. Ricky Steigerwald
5. Hannah Ramsey

Sport Compacts – 2nd Feature
1. Justin Pons
2. Daniel White
3. Ricky Steigerwald
4. Tyler Atkinson
5. Nico Dabecco

Motordrome Speedway
Smithton, Pa. – May 22
Super Late Models – 50-lap feature
1. Mark Poole
2. Mark Cottone
3. Will Thomas*
4. Todd Price
5. Barry Awtey

Modifieds – 30-lap feature
1. Adam Kostelnik
2. Bobby Shipp*
3. Bryan Shipp
4. Marion Reno
5. Mike Lemley

Street Stocks – 25-lap feature
1. Shawn Phillips
2. Mike Bakalon*
3. Todd Knight
4. Johnathan Hileman
5. Jason Holder

Charger – 15-lap feature
1. Matthew Gardner*
2. Zane Ferrell
3. Denny Keller
4. Steve Settle
5. Ed Shelpman

Super Compacts – 15-lap feature
1. Matt Sever*
2. Larry Dunmyer
3. Gene Zerfoss*
4. Andres Suarez
5. Bill Schwartz

They Live to Drag

Kevin Romeo, left, and Bob Jones stand beside their dragster at Pittsburgh Raceway Park in New Alexandria, Pa. Romeo, a student at Cal U, and Jones, of Eighty Four, Pa., were featured May 17 in the Observer-Reporter of Washington.

THEY LIVE TO DRAG

By Michael Jones
Staff writer
mjones@observer-reporter.com

NEW ALEXANDRIA, Pa. – Kevin Romeo smashes the gas when the light flashes green and his car roars down the quarter-mile drag strip in less than eight seconds.

After the first run of the year in his dragster, Romeo turns the vehicle back to the pits and pulls up to an enclosed mobile trailer overlooking the track as cars whiz by just a few feet away.

Inside the trailer, Bob Jones hunches over a couple of laptop computers and crunches numbers ranging from engine performance to air temperature. The data streams in from wires connected directly to the dragster while a weather instrument whirls around on the roof of the trailer.

But this isn't a high-tech professional racing team looking to make big bucks on a national circuit.

Romeo and Jones are just two of the many racing enthusiasts who come to Pittsburgh Raceway Park in this Westmoreland County community for a weekend of fun, even relaxation.

Jones, of Eighty Four, has been racing for 50 years, and has been coming to the tracks for even longer than that. He marvels at the technology that professional teams gradually passed down to the local racers.

"It's unreal," Jones said of the technology. "If you have an issue, you'd know right away rather than chasing your tail."

As a car owner and mechanic, he is able to make minor adjustments and prevent costly equipment failures during a high-speed run. The improved technology has increased the cost to race nowadays, Jones said, and he needs three sponsors on the car just to break even.

"We made everything (back then)," Jones said. "We'd tear apart an engine to find the problem. I still don't know it all. That's why I got a young driver. I'm not swift with that stuff, but Kevin understands that stuff."

That's when Romeo, his 21-year-old driver, walks from the car and into the trailer to take a peek at the computers. Jones quit racing a couple years ago and handed the keys to Romeo.

"After that many years, I get more of a kick out of making it work," Jones said.

Romeo, a New Alexandria resident and student at California University of Pennsylvania, comes from a family of racers. He drove his own car for the past five years until Jones brought him over for this season.

Romeo is well aware of the technology changes.

"It's amazing to see the equipment they had in the '70s compared to now," Romeo said. "Bob's been doing this for 50 years. I've been doing it for five."

The sport isn't new to D.J. Johnson, who has watched racing since the late 1960s when he was a boy. Since then, the Cecil Township resident has labored under the hood, driven briefly and worked as the media relations coordinator at this track.

He remembers the days when a band of friends rolled their street cars onto an open trailer and hauled it to the local strip. They didn't have to worry about spare parts because they just borrowed them from other teams.

"Technology and safety is really what changed and they trickled down from the (professional) ranks," Johnson said. "It's not like you're taking your street car to the drag strip. Those days are over for us. Everything is so tied into computers, barometric pressure, track elevation, everything."

And that information is exactly what Jones is checking before putting the car back on the track for its second practice run.

In the staging area near the starting line, Romeo and his fiancée, Justine Illar, chat with other drivers and mechanics while Jones checks the tire pressure.

When it's time to race, Romeo lowers himself into the tight cockpit and buckles up. Illar hands him his helmet and he squeezes it over his head, pulls on the gloves and fist bumps another driver.

The car will reach nearly 180 mph at the end of the track, but that's not what stirs Romeo.

"I get more of a rush out of the competition than the speed," he said. "I'm more nervous because I want to win."

Romeo pulls the dragster up to the starting line and floors the gas for a burnout to warm the tires. The driver and car owner communicate through a two-way radio to properly line up the car.

When the Christmas tree – the yellow, green and red light fixture that acts like a traffic light – begins to flash, Romeo reacts and an onboard computer automatically launches the car when the light turns green.

Then it's time for the ride.

"I let go of the bottom (lever) and then the car is in control," Romeo said. "I just hold the accelerator and the wheel and guide it down the track."

The run is over in 7.46 seconds with a top speed of 179.82 mph. The time is a fraction slower than expected, but this was just a practice session before the real racing begins later in the day.

Romeo pulls his car back to the trailer and Jones begins refueling the car with Octane 116 racing gasoline before connecting the computer circuits to download information.

Romeo, Jones and Illar are back at the computers and poring over the streaming numbers. A few moments later, they're already discussing how to make the car go even faster next time.

Motorsports Monday

In a reversal from last weekend, rain washed away racing at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway near Imperial, Pa. But weather did not get in the way of the asphalt racing at Motordrome in Westmoreland County. Here are the track's weekend results and the asterisk denotes the heat winners.

Motordrome Speedway
Smithton, Pa. - May 15

Super Late Models – 50-lap feature
1. Neil Brown*
2. Mark Cottone
3. Kyle Martel
4. Will Thomas
5. Rick Miller*

Modified – 30-lap feature
1. Adam Kostelnik*
2. Bobby Shipp*
3. Lonnie Hoffman
4. Bryan Shipp
5. Chris Brink

Street Stocks – 25-lap feature
1. Dink Colarusso
2. Jason Holder
3. Johnathan Hileman*
4. Andrew Kostelnik
5. Todd Knight

Charger - 15-lap feature
1. Ed Neiderhardt
2. Denny Keller
3. Tracy Keller*
4. Vic Keller
5. Matthew Gardner*

Super Compacts – 15-lap feature
1. Ed Dineen*
2. Matt Sever*
3. Gene Zerfoss
4. Larry Dunmeyer
5. Troy Knight

NASCAR All-Star race LiveBLOG!

11:06 p.m. - Tony Stewart gets a nose on Kenseth and takes the lead. What a victory this would be for Stewart and his new race team. Stewart takes the checkered flag and wins the All-Star Challenge. I must say, I really liked that final 10-lap segment. A lot more racing, and crashing. Overall, boring race, but the last 10 laps definitely made up for it. Well, this concludes the LiveBLOG. Thanks for reading.

11:01 p.m. - Kenseth takes the lead from Busch as the No. 18 fades to the back. Kenseth has been hanging around the front all night, but finally makes a serious challenge for the win with just a few laps left.

10:44 p.m. - Green flag drops (again) and Busch goes three-wide (again) to take the lead. But Gordon is fighting back to the line. Now Ryan Newman joins the fray and bump drafts Busch into Jeff Gordon. Wow! Newman is leading and Gordon is into the wall.

10:39 p.m. - It's go time for $1 million! Kyle Busch goes three-wide on the outside and Jimmie Johnson spins in the middle of the pack! No cars hit Johnson, though, and he's able to continue. Matt Kenseth isn't very happy with Busch and bumps him coming to the yellow flag. Since cautions flags don't count, they'll restart with 10 laps to go.

10:27 p.m. - Everyone pits for four tires and has plenty of time to make adjustments on their cars during the 10-minute intermission. A quick flip to FSN Pittsburgh shows the Pirates are beating the Colorado Rockies 6-4 in the 6th inning. Let's Go Bucs!

10:19 p.m. - Gordon blows by Busch with 18 to go for the first green flag lead change of the night. Riveting... The No. 24 checks out and wins the third segment. We're moving onto the 10-lap elimination spectacular.

10:11 p.m. - Hornish loses control at the start of the third segment and wipes out Greg Biffle. The Biff is finished and the only car out of the race. On the restart, Mark Martin bobbles and nearly takes out the field, but he collects it just in time and continues. Kyle Busch leads Gordon and Kenseth. DW makes a comment that you don't want to do anything dumb until the last lap, but I argue that this IS THE TIME to go for it in order to be in position for the final segment.

10:01 p.m. - Matt Kenseth is pushing Kyle Busch for the lead as the second segment winds down, but the No. 18 is too strong. More pit stops to come, and will Busch and Kenseth do two tires again? Rut roh... they do neither and forgo pit stops while Johnson fades way back in the back after taking four tires again.

9:52 p.m. - With yellow flag pit stops complete, Kyle Busch leads after taking two tires. Johnson was punted to fifth for the second segment, but I don't expect him to hang out there long. But as the run continues, Kyle Busch is checking out. I guess clean air is more important than tires. Tony Stewart takes Joey Logano to school by dipping to the grass and passing the No. 20.

9:46 p.m. - We're halfway and reached the 50-lap intermission. Let's hope the final three segments are more competitive than the first. Johnson checked out as Gordon and Kurt Busch waged the best battle on the track. For some reason, Johnson slowed down so he wouldn't pass a struggling Ryan Newman. Nearly cost him as Busch made a run for the lead, but couldn't pass. Maybe they need to invert the field and force Johnson to weave through the entire field. He definitely has the car to do it.

9:33 p.m. - The mandatory green flag pit stops are underway, and that's about the most exciting thing we've seen all night. It's feeding time at the zoo and Johnson lights up the brakes before hitting pit road. Kurt Busch nearly rear-ends Johnson as they race out with Jeff Gordon. The top-3 are back on the track in just about the same position as before the stops. Kyle Busch blew through his pit box and it cost him serious time.

9:19p.m. - We're going racing at Lowe's Motor Speedway for the 25th All-Star race. The field is strung out single-file by Lap 5, while Kyle Busch is on the move. DW is commenting that Dale Jr. has lost the handling on his No. 88. What does that say about this struggling team when his car is junk 8 laps in? Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson is pulling away, as expected.

9:01 p.m. - Team owner Joe Gibbs says a nice grace at the dinner table before Jessie James, a proud Sprint phone customer, performs the national anthem. I'm also a proud Sprint customer, so I wonder if I can sing it next year.

8:51 p.m. - It seems that Greg Biffle's crew just pissed off everyone in the crowd by hosing them down with CokeZero. And the Blue Deuce boys follow that up by spraying beers all over the place. I'm sure the 8-year-olds will love smelling like beer for the rest of the race. Slick move, fellas. And the fan vote goes to... (drum roll, please) ...Ric Flair? Actually, rookie Joey Logano and the No. 20 team get the charity vote and will be racing in the All-Star event.

8:36 p.m. - Pre-race festivities finally begin. It's pretty cool they introduce the driver along with the team members. Not many opportunities to showcase the guys behind the scenes. Can't wait to see what crazy stunts some of these guys pull this year. Wow, that cover band is really rocking out. It looks like the drummer is about to lose his mind.

8:17 p.m. - Hornish pulls out the victory and McMurray finishes a distant second. But it's good enough for both drivers to advance to the All-Star race. Special congrats to Hornish's crew chief, Travis Geisler, who is a Western Pennsylvania native. Now we wait to see which driver the fans vote in to the big race.

8:04 p.m. - It's the NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Challenge tonight and we'll be live bloggin' here at "Jonesin' for Speed" blog. Right now, David Stremme and Sam Hornish Jr. - the Penske red-headed step children - are battling for the win in the Showdown qualifying race. Does Martin Truex or Jamie McMurray have anything for them?

Life of a dragster

The Washington (Pa.) Observer-Reporter will feature a local drag racer in this Sunday's newspaper on page B1 and the O-R's Web site. The story follows driver Kevin Romeo, a student at Cal U, and car owner Bob Jones of Eighty Four. Photographer Jim McNutt and I spent a day last month at Pittsburgh Raceway Park along Route 22 near New Alexandria, Pa., and got a taste of the sport. Here's a preview of my story...

NEW ALEXANDRIA, Pa. - When it’s time to race, Kevin Romeo lowers himself into the tight cockpit and buckles up. His fiancée, Justine Illar hands him his helmet and he squeezes it over his head, pulls on the gloves and fist bumps another driver.

The car will reach nearly 180 miles per hour at the end of the track, but that’s not what stirs Romeo.

“I get more of a rush out of the competition than the speed,” he said. “I’m more nervous because I want to win.”

Romeo pulls the dragster up to the starting line and floors the gas for a burnout to warm the tires. The driver and car owner communicate through a two-way radio to properly line up the car.

When the Christmas tree – the yellow, green and red light fixture that acts like a traffic light – begins to flash, Romeo reacts and an onboard computer automatically launches the car when the light turns green.

Then it’s time for the ride.

“I let go of the bottom (lever) and then the car is in control,” Romeo said. “I just hold the accelerator and the wheel and guide it down the track.”

The run is over in 7.46 seconds with a top speed of 179.82 mph. The time is a fraction slower than expected, but this was just a practice session before the real racing begins later in the day.
Romeo pulls his car back to the trailer and team owner Bob Jones begins refueling the car with Octane 116 racing gasoline before connecting the computer circuits to download information.

Romeo, Jones and Illar are back at the computers and poring over the streaming numbers. A few moments later, they’re already discussing how to make the car go even faster next time.

Motorsports Monday

Rain postponed the Friday night races at Motordrome Speedway in Smithton, Pa., but it didn't wash away racing at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial, Pa. The asterisk denotes the heat winners.

Pennsylvania Motor Speedway
Imperial, Pa. – May 9

Super Late Models – 25-lap feature
1. John Flinner
2. Ben Miley*
3. Steve Baker
4. Lynn Geisler
5. Jim Stephans

Pro Late Models – 20-lap feature
1. Kyle Lukon
2. Dave Wade*
3. Josh Holtgraver
4. Bryant Hank
5. Tommy Schirnhofer

Modified – 12-lap feature
1. Daryl Charlier*
2. Vince Laboon
3. Clayton Kennedy
4. J.E. Stalder*
5. Chris Basich

Sportsman – 15-lap feature
1.Jake Simmons
2. Nick Kocuba
3. Craig Koteles
4. Bob Schwartzmiller*
5. Bill Robertson

Stocks – 12-lap feature
1. Curt Bish
2. Tony White
3. Rich Mason
4. Drew Koteles
5. Jason Herniak

Young Guns – 8-lap feature
1. Nico DiBacco
2. Tyler Atkinson
3. Justin Pons
4. Alec Broniszewski
5. Tyler Carson

Driving to the midnight hour

Is the Southern 500 over yet? I love Darlington, as most fans do, but NASCAR needs to start these night races sooner. The race didn’t get over until 11:30 p.m., meaning Mark Martin’s victory lane celebration was seen only by diehard fans and insomniacs. Sure, there were countless spins and crashes, bringing out nearly 20 caution flags, but that should be expected at Darlington. If NASCAR wants to run 500-mile races, then let’s start ‘em at a reasonable time. How about noon?

---
The fallout continues from Jeremy Mayfield’s positive drug test last weekend at Richmond, Va. He’s claiming a bad mixture of prescription and over-the-counter drugs caused the bad test and he plans to appeal the results. Isn’t that always the excuse for drug cheats? Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez claimed he failed his test because of a drug he was taking to enhance sexual arousal. If a 36-year-old man needs that, then he’s got bigger issues than a 50-game suspension from baseball. We’ll see if Mayfield’s explanation holds more weight with NASCAR, but it’s more than likely his mildly successful career is finished.

---
Hendrick Motorsports had four cars in the Top-10 at Darlington, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. wasn’t one of them. If rookie Brad Keselowski can wiggle his way into a seventh place finish at such a difficult track, then so should Lil’ E. Sadly, it’s looking more like Dale Jr. should be handing the keys over to Keselowski. Both have the same number of Cup wins over the past three years.

Mayfield fails the test

The bomb dropped on NASCAR today, but the ramifications aren't quite as severe with scrub driver Jeremy Mayfield failing a drug test. The Associated Press is reporting that Mayfield failed the drug test last week at Richmond and will be suspended indefinitely. Two crewmen from separate teams failed, as well, and face similar punishment.

This could have been devastating for the sport if a superstar was implicated, but the loss of Mayfield, who has been off the radar ever since his release from Evernham Racing in 2006, will not be a serious blow. He started his own team this year and made a handful of races, including the Daytona 500. Mayfield is the first Sprint Cup driver to fail the drug test since NASCAR implemented the testing policy, so this should be an eye-opener for any other drug abusers in the sport.

The irony is that Mayfield's failed test last week came at the same track where he had arguably his greatest triumph. Mayfield won the August 2004 race at Richmond, catapulting him into the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Now, his career appears to be over. He started his own team because no major owners wanted him, but it seems doubtful Mayfield will ever find a sponsor to support his professional habit.

On the pole

It’s Pole Day at Indianapolis! But, wait a second. When did the Indy Car Series start? I thought the unification of CART and IRL was supposed to bring more publicity to the sport, but apparently those hopes were dashed once ESPN/ABC dropped the series schedule. Unfortunately for Indy Car, the series was forced to go to the network where all good sports go to die: Versus.

Fifteen years ago, this day actually meant something. But since the open-wheel split in 1996, it really hasn’t held any importance besides a little symbolic nostalgia. Remember when Al Unser Jr., the 1994 Indy 500 champion, missed out the following years race because his Penske car didn’t have the speed? Still, I love the unique qualifying process with four-lap averages and car owners standing on pit lane with green and yellow flags waiting to wave-off a slow run. Let’s hope Pole Day and the subsequent qualifying and bump days rev up the excitement on this Indy Car season.

I won’t hold my breath, but I’ll definitely be watching the Indy 500 in two weeks.

UPDATE: 4:22 p.m. - Working in the office this evening and have the qualifying broadcast running in the background. Hearing the cars roar around the track - along with the humming of the police scanner - is soothing while I punch out a few police items. As I speak, Helio Castroneves just took the pole with an average of 224.864 mph. Only 12 cars have qualified, but it's a long way from the federal tax evasion trial he faced earlier this year. Good for Helio.

Motorsports Monday

Two local race tracks escaped the rain and ran most of their weekend races as scheduled. The asterisk denotes the heat winners.

Pennsylvania Motor Speedway
Imperial, Pa. - May 2

Super Late Models – 25-lap feature
1. Jared Miley
2. Ben Miley
3. Steve Baker
4. Lynn Geisler
5. Brandon Burgoon*

Pro Late Models – 20-lap feature
1. Rocky Kugel
2. Kyle Lukon*
3. Dave Wade*
4. Jason Rider
5. Justin Lamb

Modified – 12-lap feature
1. Kevin Miller*
2. Tom Martineck
3. Bob Damron
4. Daryl Charlier
5. Jared Domhoff

Sportsman – 15-lap feature
1. Bob Schwartzmiller
2. Jake Simmons
3. Nick Kocuba
4. Bill Robertson
5. Pat Weldon

Stocks – 10-lap feature
1. Brian Huchko
2. Gary Koteles
3. Garrett O'Patchen
4. Jason Herniak
5. Tony White

Young Guns Sport Compacts - 7-lap feature
1. Ricky Steigerwald
2. Tyler Atkinson
3. Justin Pons
4. Tyler Carson
5. Alec Broniszewski

Motordrome Speedway
Smithton, Pa. – May 1

Super Late Models – 50-lap feature
1.Mark Cottone
2. Bobby Henry
3. Will Thomas*
4. Barry Awtey
5. Kyle Martel*

Modified – 30-lape feature
1. Adam Kostelnik*
2. George Nicola
3. Bobby Shipp
4. Chris Brink
5. Gary Scott

Street Stocks – 25-lap feature
1. Andrew Kostelnik
2. Shawn Phillips
3. Jason Holder
4. Ted Gibala
5. Dink Colarusso*

Chargers – 15-lap feature
1. Tracy Keller
2. Denny Keller
3. Ed Neidhardt
4. William Oldham
5. Roger Bryan

The Super Compacts division was postponed due to rain after two laps. Matt Sever and Larry Dunmyer won the division’s two heat races.