In this issue you can read about barnstormer Russ Hersey and his new perspective of racing, and Randy Potter, the overnight sensation of ACT who’s been at it for two decades. Or see the the summer project Derek Ramstrom and his dad put together for school.

Vintage fans enjoy the work of Steve Pellerin. The racing historian shares his memories of the amazing Homer Drew in his first contribution to our pages. Nice to have Steve aboard.

And Pete Zanardi shares a couple of his favorite stories about Bob Garbarino and the v-4 modified over the years.

Larry Barnett is back to share more insight into racing, this time explaining that winning restarts starts in the shop.

I just heard that Ralph Nason has decided he will not operate Unity Raceway this year, reportedly due to the economy.

I won’t offer an opinion over what this might mean to the bigger picture of racing in New England, as I believe it’s not necessarily reflective over the overall scene for promoters, as dire as that might be. I also won’t speculate about how the pending lawsuit against the track by Johnny Crawford might have been a factor.

I WILL ask where teams planning to run there can go at this late date ( it would have been nice if the decision was made sooner; maybe Ralph was hanging on trying to make the season happen) without having to make wholesale changes their cars. That’s the important issue of the moment.

You might be aware of efforts down at Stafford Speedway to create a proprietory, custom-fabricated “metric chassis” in repsonse to the reported shortage of A-Body GM cars from which to salvage chassis for streeters and southern New England style limited late model sportsmen.

While this is a logical and proactive response to this issue, it further calls into question whether the days of building racecars from abandoned street-iron are coming to an end.

Is junkyard-engineering a dying art? Will all racecar components ultimately come from a catalog? Could a modified – a REAL modified – be built out of the pieces one might find in a salvage yard or on the backlot of a used-car dealer today?

That in and of itself has been an intriguing issue to ponder for some time.  Might you use a pickup frame (maybe a compact p/up), the sheet metal from a compact car (A Neon, for instance), a 9-inch Ford rear, V-8, etc., to build something that might actually go?

Here is the NEMA release regarding the crash that took the life of midget-driver Shane Hammond April 7 at Thompson Speedway. We present it here without comment or speculation beyond stating that the Connecticut DMV will assuredly investigate this accident and that in the meantime pointing fingers can only be premature at best and obstructive at worse.

Feel free, however, to share your own thoughts about Shane, his life and career.

“NEMA’s Shane Hammond Succumbs at Thompson

“Shane Hammond, one of the Northeastern Midget Association young stalwarts, died Sunday from “traumatic injuries” sustained in a crash at Thompson International Speedway’s season-opening Icebreaker. The crash occurred on the fourth lap of the scheduled 25-lapper.

“The last fatality for NEMA was Ed Clothier at Westboro Speedway on June 19, 1965.”

Hello dear readers/bloggers/whatever:

We’ve just wrapped up the May/June issue of Shorttrack which should be in your hot little hands by the end of April. I won’t spill the bag about what’s in this issue yet, but I will share with you the issue’s issue for you to consider and comment on.

With the state of the art in road cars being so far removed from the racetrack, I’m wondering what influence the former should have on the latter.

Compact cars are set to re-emerge as the typical ride in America today. I’m talking four-cylinder, fuel injection, front-wheel-drive – and small. These cars weren’t exactly ignored at shorttracks. Many mini-stock-type roadrunner divisions utilized such cars as mini-beaters. But late models still are the headliner at most racetracks. These cars are based on technology that was stagnating 20 years ago.  Should the current high-end in the state of the stockcar art be based on essientially 1950s technology?

Is there a place for front-wheel-drive in stock car racing? How about four cylinders? Or independent suspension? Fuel injection?

Or should all that be ignored in favor of preserving the purity of racing traditions and sport itiself. After all, people didn’t start parking their racehorses after cars became the transportation norm. Well, some did. I guess that’s how auto racing got started.

 Anyway, the forum is yours. Let’s hear what you think.