Iowa-Pocono weekend

“US CELLULAR 250”

NEWTON, IOWA- The Nationwide Series came to the Midwest for this week’s race. The .88 mile track was the site for a 250 lap race. The Pole Sitter was Drew Herring (54), with Regan Smith (7) starting P2.

On lap 55, Drew Herring spun out by himself to bring out the first caution. During the pit stops, Brad Keselowski (22) was penalized for a tire leaving his pit box. He was forced to restart back in the thirties.

On lap 141, the second caution flew. It was near this time in the race that Keselowski began having engine overheating issues. He made a green flag stop, that dropped him back in the field a second time.

The third caution flew on lap 200, when Travis Pastrana’s (60) night got worse, as a tire failure sent him into the outside wall. His car received damage on both the front and rear end. As this caution came out, Austin Dillon (3) had a seven second lead wiped out. He had been the dominant car for the weekend, and led 116 out of the first 200 laps. During this round of pit stops, Dillon would take four tires, while a handful of cars only took two tires. Dillon would restart in fifth position. There were fifteen cars left on the lead lap.

On lap 222, the fourth and final caution came out for Richard Harriman (23) spinning out on track.

Brad Keselowski (22) was the only cup driver in this race, and he was able to out race his teammate Sam Hornish Jr. (12) for a one-two finish for Penske Racing.

The rest of the top ten were: Brian Vickers (20), Austin Dillon (3), Kyle Larson (32), Drew Herring (54), Alex Bowman (99), Elliott Sadler (11), Ryan Gifford (33) (very first nationwide race) and Trevor Bayne (6).

Dillon is the current point’s leader after extending his lead from six to fourteen points after this race.

The next race will be at Walkins Glen in NY, next Saturday on ABC at 2 PM EST.

“TRICKY TRIANGLE OF POCONO”

LONG POND, PA- The twenty-first race of the season brought the cup drivers to the “Tricky Triangle”. A 160 lap, 400 mile race was scheduled for the two and a half mile track. Jimmie Johnson (48) was able to take the pole, in his “Planes” paint scheme. Kyle Busch (18) also sported a special paint scheme for the race and started P2. This was Jeff Gordon’s 42^nd birthday and his 42^nd race at Pocono. He would start the race P22. The final practice was rained out, so many drivers had less than ten laps of practice with their cars before the race. A “Competition Caution” was scheduled for lap twenty.

In Opening Ceremonies, Monty Self provided the Invocation. Eric Lee sang the National Anthem and Dane Cook was the Grand Marshall. He is one of the voices on the upcoming movie “Planes”.

The first caution took no time to get to, as Juan Montoya (42) slid up and into the side of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17). This sent the two of them crashing into the outside wall in turn one of the first lap. Matt Kenseth (20) was also caught up in the incident.

On lap twelve, Jamie McMurray (1) had to make a green flag stop, for debris covering his grill. The debris was red tape off his teammates car, after he was involved in the wreck.

On lap 15, a second caution came out for Denny Hamlin (11) crashing into turn 3 wall. NASCAR then cancelled the “Competition Caution” for lap twenty. 

During the next run, many cars made green flag pit stops. Carl Edwards (99), Matt Kenseth (20) and Tony Stewart (14) all received drive thru penalties for speeding on pit road.

On lap 53, the third caution flew for David Gilliland (38) hitting the wall and starting on fire.

On lap 77, Jimmie Johnson (48) had a tire fail, sending him into the outside wall. He was the leader at the time of his crash, and he had led 43 of the 77 laps run.

The fifth caution came out on lap 95, when David Stremme (30) had a tire failure send him into the wall.

On lap 102, the sixth caution flew for Aric Almirola (43) blowing out a rear tire and spinning out on track. Timmy Hill (32) also spun out trying to avoid Almirola’s sliding car.

Caution number seven came out on lap 110, when Danica Patrick (10) and Travis Kvapil (93) began to slide out of control through the corner. Paul Menard (27) and Jeff Burton (31) both were caught up in the wreck also. Patrick and Burtons cars were beyond repair. Menard had serious damage as well. When the cars went into the corners side by side, very close together, the air would cause the car lower on the track to get lose. This caused a couple issues in the race.

On lap 148, a debris caution came out for a chunk of rubber on the track. Kasey Kahne (5) had a seven second lead when this caution came out. Hendrick drivers had the top three spots at this point, with Johnson sitting just outside the top ten after having a hard hit earlier in the race.

The ninth and final caution flew on lap 156, when Matt Kenseth (20) spun out alone on track.

On the restart with two laps remaining, Jeff Gordon (24) was the leader. A Birthday Victory was in his sight. Gordon got a great start, and with a big push from Kurt Busch (78), Kahne was able to pass Gordon going into the tunnel turn and run to the end for his second victory of the season.

The rest of the top ten were: Kurt Busch (78), Ryan Newman (39), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Brad Keselowski (2), Joey Lagono (22), Kyle Busch (18), Tony Stewart (14) and Greg Biffle (16).

The next race will be at Walkins Glen on Sunday at Noon EST on ESPN.

Indianapolis Weekend

“INDIANA 250” 

SPEEDWAY, INDIANA- The Nationwide Series ran their final “Dash 4 Cash” race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 2.5 Mile Superspeedway was the site for a 100 lap shootout. The $100K Bonus would be raced for by Austin Dillon (3) (last two bonus race winner), Elliott Sadler (11) (1x win), Sam Hornish Jr. (12) and Brian Vickers (20). This past week has been a dominant one for Austin Dillon after winning the $100K last weekend, he then won the Inaugural Truck Race at Eldora then he competed in a Golf Tournament and won that also. The pole winner was Kyle Busch (54), with Sam Hornish Jr. (12) starting beside him on row one.

In opening ceremonies, Michael Langston provided the Invocation, Laura Bell Bundy Group then sang the National Anthem. The Cup drivers in this race were: Kyle Busch (54), Matt Kenseth (18) (In-race reporter), Kasey Kahne (5), Kevin Harvick (21) and Joey Lagono (22).

The race ran very clean until the first caution on lap 50, when NASCAR threw the yellow for debris on track. This was never shown to viewers. Busch, Kenseth and Brian Scott (2) did not make pit stops.  On lap 62, Sam Hornish Jr. (12) lost his points lead, as his car began to overheat and he took it to pit road.

On lap 65, the second caution came out with Kyle Busch sitting on pit road. The caution was for Hornish Jr.’s car going up in smoke. At the same time, another point’s leader began having trouble with engine overheating. Regan Smith (7) who has been atop the standing for many weeks started overheating, from grass getting caught in his grill. With the two drivers ahead of him in the point, Austin Dillon (3) was in the perfect spot to take over the points lead.

On lap 83, another debris caution was thrown. The debris came off of Nelson Piquet Jr. (30) car. A piece of his race car fell off after he hit the wall. Joe Nemecheck (87) then ran over the part, and his tire began to fail. He started heading for pit road, when the tire came apart on track. During this pit stop, eight cars did not make stops.

On lap 88, Trevor Bayne (6), Kasey Kahne (5) and Parker Kligerman (77) got tangled up with one another. Bayne slid into the side of Kligerman coming through a corner. Kahne attempted to go inside the two of them and slid into Bayne. All three cars slid up and into the wall, damaging all the cars. On the restart, Busch ran high through the corner and into the side of Lagono. Brian Scott was able to run past the two slower cars and was looking at taking away the victory from Busch. Busch had dominated the race, leading all but a handful of the laps. It only took a couple laps for him to retake the lead and win the race. This was his first victory at Indy, and Joe Gibbs Racing was the reason he had the equipment to do so. 

The rest of the top ten were: Brian Scott (2), Joe Lagono (22), Brian Vickers (20) (winner of the $100K), Kevin Harvick (21), Matt Kenseth (18), Paul Menard (33), Kevin Swindell (98), Michael Annett (43), Travis Pastrana (60).

The next race will be on Saturday evening at 7:30 PM EST in Iowa on ESPN

“Brickyard 400”

SPEEDWAY, INDIANA- The Cup Series made their way to Indianapolis to run the famous speedway. There were 160 laps scheduled to be run on the 2.5 mile track. Ryan Newman (39) took his special paint schemed car and put it n the pole. This was his 50^th career pole. He was sporting a “Smurfs” paint job and he broke the track record with a pole run of 187.531 mph. (47.992) Jimmie Johnson (48) also broke the track record with a speed of 187.438 mph. (48.016) In this twentieth running of the Brickyard 400, Jimmie Johnson (48) and teammate Jeff Gordon (24) were both attempting to get their record fifth win at the second biggest race event of their season. Danica Patrick (10) had yet another first for female drivers, being the first to ever run a race at Indianapolis, in the Brickyard 400.

In Opening Ceremonies, Rev. Howard Brammer provided the Invocation. Cassadee Pope sang the National Anthem, and Mari Hulman George was the Grand Marshall. A B-25 Bomber did a fly over of the speedway. Sage Steele was the pace car driver.   

Ryan Newman was able to get off to a good start, leading the first twenty-nine laps. On lap 13, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) was forced to make a pit stop, with a loose wheel. He would fall a lap down early. During the first round of green flag stops, Jimmie Johnson was able to go from a three second deficit to a three second lead. A fact of Indy racing for Johnson was spoken about. In all the races that Johnson has run, he was won all races that he lead at least one lap. He ran well in this start of this race, and was leading after the pit stops were completed again.

A second round of pit stops had begun near lap 54, and on lap 59 the first caution of the race came out. Timmy Hill (32) had stalled on track, not being able to get back to pit road. Jeff Gordon (24), Kyle Busch (18), Matt Kenseth (20), Joey Lagono (22) and Brad Keselowski (2) had not yet made their pit stops. There were twenty-one cars left on the lead lap.

On lap 80, Jeff Burton (31) had on-track issues when a drive-train. This sent him to pit road. A rear gear was found to be the race ending situation. On lap 114, Timmy Hill again brought out the caution for stalling on track.

Near lap 135, Johnson and Newman made their final pit stops under green. Johnson made his stop first and had issues. The crew took nearly seventeen seconds to make their four-tire stop, that only took a little over twelve seconds all day. This opened the door for Newman to make a two tire stop, and get out almost seven seconds ahead of the faster car of Johnson. Newman was able to get to the checkered flag more than two seconds ahead of Johnson, taking the record fifth win away from him. Newman is an Indiana native, and claims a win at this track is all he has dreamed about since he was a child. Johnson led the most laps on the day, and the final pit stop really took that elusive number five away from him.

The rest of the top ten were: Kasey Kahne (5), Tony Stewart (14), Matt Kenseth (20), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Jeff Gordon (24), Joey Lagono (22), Juan Pablo Montoya (42) and Kyle Busch (18).

The next race is on Sunday at Noon EST at Pocono, PA on ESPN.

Walkins Glen 2013

“ZIPPO 200”

WALKINS GLEN, NY- The Nationwide series had 82 laps on the 2.45 mile track scheduled for this past weekend. Sam Hornish Jr. (12) was able to beat out Kyle Busch (54) for the Pole Position. In the Opening Ceremonies, Rev. David Fife provided the Invocation. Tim Dugger played a guitar and sang the National Anthem. Two of “Duck Dynasties” actors Martin & Godwin were the Grand Marshalls. There were a handful of Cup drivers in this race once again. Kyle Busch (54), Kasey Kahne (5), Brad Keselowski (22) and Joey Lagono (48) were all doing double duty at the Glen.

It took very little time to get the first caution in the race. Kyle Busch (54) lost control and spun out on the first lap, in turn one. Before he could get going again, Mike Wallace (01) crashed into his front end, damaging both cars heavily. Busch had also tagged the rear of the race leader Hornish Jr. (12) before spinning out.

On lap 17, Kenny Habul (75) stalled on the track, having no power to continue racing. Three cars stayed on track, as the rest of the field took advantage of the caution by making pit stops. Parker Kligerman (77), Ranger (53) and Kasey Kahne (5) all rolled the dice and stayed on track.

On lap 24, the third caution came out for another car that had no power on track. Joey Gase (52) was pushed back to pit road. Just before the caution came out for this driver, Trevor Bayne (6) spun out in turn seven.

On lap 42, the fourth caution flew for the third car of the race to have no power on track. Kyle Larson (32) also needed a push to get back to pit road.

The fifth caution came out on lap 57, for debris. A small piece of metal just outside of the running lane was seen. With twenty laps remaining, Penske Racing was in the top three spots.

On lap 80, with just two laps to go, Joey Lagono (48) ran out of fuel. He and crew chief were trying to roll the dice and make it to the checkered flag without making the final stop everyone else made.

Brad Keselowski (22) was able to win his fourth race in four attempts in the Nationwide Series. He beat his teammate Sam Hornish Jr. (12) for this win.

The rest of the top ten were: Brian Vickers (20), Regan Smith (7), Elliott Sadler (11), Parker Kligerman (77), Justin Allgaier (31), Cole Whitt (44), Nelson Piquet Jr. (30) and Trevor Bayne (6).

The next race will be Saturday at 2PM EST on ESPN, for the Inaugural race at Mid-Ohio road course.

“CHEEZ-IT 355”

WALKINS GLEN, NY- The twenty-second race of the Cup Series was also at the 2.45 mile road course track. The Sprint Cup Series was scheduled for 90 laps on this twisted race track. Marcus Ambrose (9) was able to break the track record with a lap at 128.241 mph. Clint Bowyer (15) started P2. 

In other news this week, Tony Stewart (14) was in an accident that broke two bones in his leg. He was racing in the Sprint Series on Monday night, when his car rolled a few times and he was injured. He needed two surgeries this week to set his leg. He could be out at least 6 weeks, and if there are any issues with his treatment, he could be out the rest of this season. Max Papis will drive at the Glen for Stewart.

In Opening ceremonies, Rev. David Fife provided the Invocation. Angie Johnson sang the National Anthem, as a Douglas C-47 flew over the track. Brad Davidson, Darcey Macken and Angie Johnson were the Grand Marshalls. The In-Race Reporter was Marcus Ambrose. Ambrose was attempting to repeat as the winner of this race for the third consecutive year. Starting on the Pole was a great start for that attempt.

The first caution came out on lap 5, when David Reutimann (83) had his engine fail after he missed his shifting marks. He apologized to his team.

On lap 13, David Gilliland (38) tagged the wall and went to the pits, and Brad Keselowski (2) spun out and lost several spots.

On lap 14, Jeff Gordon (24) crashed hard coming out of the S’s. This was a driver error as well, causing the crash.

The third caution flew on lap 35, when Michael McDowell (35) blew a tire on track.
On lap 40, the fourth caution came out for Travis Kvapil (93) and Ron Fellows (33) wrecked with one another. In a second incident Tommy Dressi (36) and Victor Gonzalez Jr. (87) wrecked with each other.

A “Red Flag” was then thrown on lap 41, to clean up the track. After twenty plus minutes, the yellow was brought back out. Upon the drivers getting going again, Max Papis (14) was spun out by Greg Biffle (16) on lap 43.

The fifth caution came out on lap 60, when Aric Almirola (43) crashed hard into the tire wall. Kyle Busch (18) was on pit road when this caution came out. Again NASCAR gave him the lead position after everyone made stops. In the past, if you were on pit road when a caution came out, you were automatically put one lap down. For some reason, NASCAR has given Kyle Busch the lead after he was on pit road when a caution flew, twice this season. The leader of the race was then forced to restart in fourteenth position after dominating the first 51 of 60 laps.

On lap 78, Travis Kvapil (93) brought out another caution for a tire failure.
On lap 80, a multiple car wreck happened after Matt Kenseth (20) got into Marcus Ambrose (9). Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) commented over his radio just prior to the wreck, that he felt Kenseth was attempting to take out Ambrose. Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne (5), David Ragan (34), David Blaney (7) and Jeff Burton (31) were all involved in the wreck.

The eighth caution flew on lap 84, when Max Papis (14) spun out Marcus Ambrose (9). Brian Vickers (55) was also caught up in the wreck. NASCAR did not “Red Flag” the race for either of the last two cautions, allowing all the final laps to count down. The final restart came with just two laps remaining.

Kyle Busch (18) was basically handed this victory over Brad Keselowski (2). The most dominant car left the track on a tow truck, due to NASCAR putting him back in the field after a caution that flew while he was the leader of the race. This I do not understand, because the leader had traveled much further on track when the caution came out, yet he lost several spots after he pitted, because the cars on pit road when the caution came out, were all put ahead of him. The cars that stayed on track had raced longer, so they should not have lost their positions. I feel NASCAR is really messing this up, by giving them a benefit for getting caught on pit road when the caution flag flies. For this Race Fan, this disgusts me.

The rest of the top ten were: Martin Truex Jr. (56), Carl Edwards (99), Juan Montoya (42), Clint Bowyer (15), Joey Lagono (22), Jimmie Johnson (48), Kurt Busch (78) and AJ Almandinger (47).

The next race is Sunday at Michigan on ESPN at 12 EST. The “Pure Michigan 400”

July 2013 EVB

“Elmwood Welcomes New Officer at UFO DAYS”

Submitted by Rick A. Talford                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Citizen Citizen Journalist

ELMWOOD, WI – The Elmwood village board meeting was held July 8 at the village hall this month. The main subject as usual in July was the upcoming UFO Days. Trustee Brian Buck was not in attendance for this meeting. After approving the June 10 minutes, the board advanced to public input. There was not any provided at this month’s meeting. 

The sewer plant project was then discussed as Tim Stockman, from Foth Engineering spoke to the board. He brought a contract to the meeting, to be signed for the design phase to begin. The Board stated the need for time to have the Village Attorney and the USDA-RD look over the agreement, and the DNR to give approval of the plan. Trustee Mike Sand made a motion to sign the agreement on the contingency of the approval by all involved. This signing was then approved.

The Committees needed to be reset since the resignation of Trustee Trisha Knops, and the appointment of former Trustee Neil Boltic. The Chairperson for each committee is as follows: Licensing: Delorse Radtke, Parks and Buildings: Susan Dzubay, Personnel and Finance: Brian Buck, Police: Delorse Radtke, Public Works: Mike Sand, Nursing Home: Neil Boltic, Library: Delorse Radtke, Plan Commission: Susan Dzubay and President Pro Tem: Brian Buck.

Getting everything set up for the UFO Days celebration was then covered, with lifting the open container law for Friday-Sunday within the village limits. The hours the law will be lifted: Friday, July 26 from 6PM to 2AM, Saturday, from 12PM (noon) to 2AM and Sunday from 12PM (noon) to 10PM. There were a number of Beer Picnic Licenses for the Community Club, as well as a list of Operator’s Licenses for the Community Club that received approval. There will be a beer tent in Butternut Park Friday through Sunday and a Car Show on Saturday. The closure of Hwy 72 from Main St. to Groot Ave. was then approved. This will run all traffic past downtown, as is done every year for the celebration. A Beer Garden Permit was approved for Tiffany’s Bar and Grill (Big Dick’s) for the weekend. 

Next on the Agenda was the hiring of a new police officer for the Village. Samuel A. Petrasko from Shawano has been hired to take the position. Petrasko attended the UW Whitewater College from 2005-09. He completed an internship with the Fond du Lac Police Dept. in 2008, and began his Law Enforcement Training at the Fox Valley Technical College in 2009. Right after graduating, he began working for the Menomonee Indian Tribe Reservation as a tribal officer. He told me “There is plenty of violent crime in the poor area on the reservation. The levels are higher than those of Milwaukee.” He has been a police officer for the past year, at the Menominee County Sheriff Dept. in Keshena, WI. Petrasko also stated, “I am excited to get started at a new job, meeting all new people. This is a new chapter in my life, and I believe it is the right move for me at this point.” There may have been some confusion that the village was hiring a new officer as the Chief, but that is not the case. The Village advertised for an officer and interviewed all the applicants on that basis. I have been told that the “Chief” status is only a title, so they hired a replacement as an Elmwood Police Officer. 

NOTE: I was looking to get some background information on the new officer, and was directed by the Village Clerk to speak with the head of the Police Committee for that information. I made numerous attempts, even leaving a voice message for the chairperson to contact me for this information, nearly a week later and she never made that contact with me. (Not very respectful)

The new Village Website will be soon created through 24-7 Telecom services. The old website has been closed for some time now, and the Village has approved getting a new site created and running soon.

In Committee and Board Reports: Trustee Delorse Radtke reported for the Library Committee. The Library will be having a book sale during the UFO Days; it will start on Wed. and run into the weekend. Circulation was up to 1717, and there are new programs in the works, was reported. On Friday 26, they will have a movie. The movie will be “Aliens in the Attack”. There will also be a “Snake” show starting at 5 pm, for all ages to attend. The Library would also like to have an art show, if anyone is interested in bring their artwork in for display. Trustee Susan Dzubay reported on the Personnel and Finance Committee, stating “The finances for 2014 were discussed and things look good.” Trustee Mike Sand spoke on behalf of the Public Works Committee, explaining they have been looking at project with the sidewalks, street cracks and troublesome trees in the community. Trustee Radtke then reported on the Police Committee, reporting the hiring of a new officer, and some issues with the company that is supposed to be getting the new truck preparations done. The company Sounds & Visions, LLC was to complete the transferring of equipment from the old squad to the new truck. They were paid for work that was not completed, and now fail to answer continued calls to the business and cell phone that was provided to the village. A contract was signed and a payment was made to the company, and none of the work was been fulfilled. The company has until July 17 to respond, or the village will take legal actions as needed.

The Board approved the payment of bills and adjourned at 7:30 PM.

Additional note: The contract between the Village of Elmwood and Sounds & Visions, LLC was forwarded to me to look at what was to be done by the company in regards to the Village Squad Car and Truck. All the equipment in the Crown Vic was to be pulled. The emergency lights, hardware, electronics were to all be removed so the car would be returned to original condition for resale. There was then to be plenty of work to be done to the truck, that did not include using any of this equipment. Everything for the truck is brand new. (4) New LED grill lights with custom made brackets (300), (2) New fog LED lights (280), New headlight flasher (60), (2) New side mirror LED flashers (280), New interior officer map light (50), New roof mounted light bar (1590), New prisoner light behind partition (15), New tail light/backup flashers, (2) New LED license plate lights (150), New center console (290), New printer mount/arm rest (260), New partition cage (850), New dual gun lock to house shotgun and AR-15 to partition (190), New siren speaker (180), New light control box (280), New battery timer (90), New ignition over ride system (140), (3) roof mounted antennas (?) The company was to keep the Motorola radio and siren system, Computer system, the used flashlight with charger and the radar unit with rear antenna. There would be a shop charge for supplies of $195, Travel Fuel cost of $62 and labor fees in the amount of $1,430. The Village was required to make a down payment of $5,005.00 and a second and final payment within 30 days of the work being completed as well as the officer being trained on the use of all equipment. The final payment would be $1,607. The fact that the company did not do any of the work listed in this, is the reason for the village taking legal action for non-full-completion of the contract.

As of the posting date of this article, I have never been responded to by the head of the police committee.