Whither the cow?
(Written by Will Campbell, June 26, 2006)

Since Anthony retired from driving the #35 car in Legends, that has left just the #34 car to carry the Mad Cow standard.  And this year the #34 car is getting a pretty slow start after a big year in 2005.  We had a lot of help in 2005, starting with Dave Campbell, our intrepid Crew Chief who traveled with us all over, from Sebring to VIR to Infineon and points in between, each time helping us get and stay prepared for the rigors of racing.  Another major help last year was Roger Austin: several times I brought in a broken or sick car (occasionally on a wrecker) and Roger and Dave always jumped on the car and somehow got it right for the race.  Roger helped with setups, logistics, fuel, and more-- and usually carried parts we needed but didn’t have.  It’s fair to say we wouldn’t have gotten very far last year without the help of Dave and Roger.  At the World Finals, cars that were prepped by Austin Legends were among the fastest there, and of course Roger Junior is the reigning Pro Road Course World Champion.  Kudos to Dave, Roger at Austin Legends!

For 2006 the #34 car will be running a limited schedule, making its first race of the year at Old Dominion Speedway on July 1 for the rescheduled Regional Qualifier.  Much has changed at ODS in the past few years, including improvements in food, better guardrails, a new pit entrance and exit.  Alas, some things are still the same at the track that helped start the careers of many a famous NASCAR driver and was the crucible where the concept of the Late Model Stock Car class was formed. It still has the same old and cracked pavement that probably hasn’t seen a grader or paver for what I guess is 60 years or more. And it also still has some of the same people there who have driven most of the Legends (and likely other classes) away.  This is mostly why where there once were 25-30 Legends car fields with ferocious competition, the typical Legends race at ODS now has less than 10 cars. Only 5 drivers have actually run all 5 races there so far this year, which is another indication of low overall support for the track.  Of course, if the rumor mill is correct, this may be the last year for racing at ODS anyway.  It’s a shame that ODS will likely see the same fate as so many local short tracks over the years, but when tracks that were once in the boonies start abutting new home subdivisions (whose owners are just shocked to learn there is a race track nearby), the track always loses to the extreme political pressure that the homeowners generate.

On the other hand, we are hoping the July 1 race will have a good turnout, as it should draw more cars because of its status as a regional qualifier race.  The points are the same as any race, with one exception: if you win your class, you earn an automatic spot at the Oval Nationals final race.

How will the Mad Cow racer do?  Well, we really haven’t been racing on an oval track for more than a year, so we have hopes, but we really don’t know how competitive we will actually be. We can say, however, that the Mad Cow is back!

Look for the fastest cow on the track!

Thank You!
(Written by Anthony Crisp on - March 6, 2006)

Thanks to everyone that was kind enough to call or send email once you learned of my recent decision to retire from racing.  I always knew I had some good friends and a few fans, but I never imagined the type of response I have received.  Within 48 hours of posting my retirement on this website, I received more than 50 emails and numerous phone calls from friends and fans.  Nearly everyone that contacted me I know on a personal level.  However, several of you watched me on a semi-regular basis from the grandstands and I never had the pleasure of meeting you in person.  All I can say is that I am humbled and blessed to know and have you as friends and fans.  Thank you for your continued support!

Anthony Crisp

Go-Karting Update
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
(02/07/06)

I received an email from David Gantt concerning his condition after Saturday’s go-karting event.  David gave me permission to use his name and asked that I pass along his sincerest “Thank You” to all who stopped by to check on him before the ambulance hauled him away.  David decided to play it safe, rather than sorry, and make a trip to the Emergency Room.  The diagnosis was a mild case of heat exhaustion and dehydration.  After several hours and 2 bags of fluid, the hospital cut David loose around 6:30 PM and said to drink lots of fluids for the next several days.  No David, I do not think they mean beer.  On behalf of your entire Legends fraternity, we are glad to hear you are OK and ready to race again.

I also have a correction … there were THREE black flags issued during Saturday’s event, instead of the previously reported two black flags.  It appears that James Harris, the youngest and least experienced competitor, grew tired of being bullied around on the race track and decided to trade some paint of his own.  And just who did James trade paint with?  None other than the Mad Cow himself, Will Campbell.  As beginner’s luck would have it, James was spotted by the track workers and issued a black flag for rough driving.  All I can say James is that if you keep driving like that, not only will you fit right in with the Legends crowd … but we may make you an honorary member of the Mad Cow team.  We will reserve car number #36 just in case.

See ya at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35

 

… and a Legends Race Broke Out
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
(02/04/06)

Have you ever heard the joke about someone going to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out?  Something very similar happened today when many of our regular Legends drivers gathered for a team go-karting event at AllSports Grand Prix.  Our version goes something like this:

I went to a go-karting event … an ambulance showed up, two drivers were given black flags and placed in the penalty box and a Legends race broke out.  I would like to point out that the ambulance was completely unrelated to the penalty box and black flags.

During the 120 lap team karting event, one of our fellow Legends racers was taken via ambulance and at his own request to the local emergency room.  Based on preliminary evaluation, it appears that he was suffering from heat stroke and/or dehydration.  Since I do not have permission to use his name, I am not going to post it at this time.  I will try to get permission and let everyone know how he is doing.  We wish you the best!

As is the case with all Ryan Ellis Racing karting events, this one was fun, packed with drama, great competition and good sportsmanship (at least as far as Legends drivers are concerned).  The race event was organized as follows.  Each team consists of two drivers.  We had sixteen drivers for a total of eight teams.  Each team’s starting position was determined by drawing names from an official Ellis Racing helmet.  (I should have known then and there the fix was in!)  The race began from a stand still on the starting grid.  Each driver races 15 laps before being required to make a pit stop.  During the pit stop, one driver would exit the kart as quickly as possible and the other team driver would jump in the kart and go! This 15 lap rotation kept going throughout the entire race.  The first team to click off 120 laps is declared the winner and ends the race.  All other team finishing orders are based on where they finish at that point in time.

As is the usual scenario at these events, Ryan Ellis is the man to beat.  In a team environment, Ryan’s team is always the one to beat.  From past experience, I can tell you there is a certain amount of pressure being on Ryan’s team.  Everyone knows Ryan is the best and if his team does not win … everyone will be looking at YOU as the reason why.

Will and I were teamed up for this race representing the pride and tradition of the Mad Cow team.  In a short number of years, Mad Cow Motorsports has developed a certain on-track reputation and we made sure the 2006 race season began in true Mad Cow fashion upholding our hard-earned status on the race track.

Yours truly began the race from the third position on the starting grid.  The beginning of the race is always fun as all the karts gather up in turn one with each person jockeying for the right line giving the best chance of picking off a few racers that happen to get trapped outside.  I ducked low and was able to get past the racer in second, and for the next couple of laps was making gradual progress towards the race leader, Jim Ellis.  Ryan Ellis was hot on my rear bumper and for two laps we swapped positions back and forth.  While Ryan and I were racing, Jim was gradually pulling away padding his lead over the rest of the field.  Ryan finally got a good run on me going into a hairpin and there was little I could do to hold him off.  We both knew it was a matter of time before he made the pass and his dad’s lead was getting larger.  Within five laps, Ryan caught his dad and began challenging for the lead.  I was about five to six kart lengths behind and enjoyed the best view in the house as these two skilled drivers traded paint for the lead.  Not only was I enjoying the show, I was also enjoying faster laps times.  The more they raced with one another, the quicker I was able to catch up.  After several hand gestures from Jim, which I interpreted as being threats of being grounded for the rest of the weekend if he dared to take the lead, Ryan eventually passed his old man quickly disappearing into the red mist.

At the first pit stop, team Mad Cow was running a close third and closing on the second place team.  Since Will is a much better road racer than me, I was looking forward to the driver change as I knew he would probably take over the second spot, which he did.  During our second pit stop, the “Mad Cow” himself stampeded pit road and gave Mickey Payne the ever so slightest of taps on his rear bumper.  For some reason, the track workers are “weenies” did not understand this was typical and acceptable behavior among Legends drivers.  Why else do you think we all carry three to four sets of bumpers in our race haulers each weekend?  We bump one another as a sign of respect and Will respects Mickey A LOT!  In fact, Will almost respected Mickey right off the front of his kart.  But like I said, we have the Mad Cow reputation to uphold.

So I get in the kart and begin making what feels like some pretty good laps times.  I am fast, smooth, hitting my marks and making good clean passes on other drivers.  Right about this time, I figured folks were beginning to mistake me for Michael Schumacher.  A couple of laps into it, I am being given the black flag.  Since I was driving so well and passing another kart, I assumed it was the other driver being given the black flag.  So I make another lap and see the next time around that it is ME being given the black flag.  Reluctantly and begrudgingly, I pulled into the Penalty Box and asked why I was being black flagged.  This is the moment when I found out the track workers did not appreciate our pit stop.  Like I said … they are weenies.  Now I know how a hockey player feels when he is placed in the box.

Apparently, the track workers did not like the way I count laps either.  When the sign came out to pit, I waited two laps before going in.  We are allowed three laps and I figured I would wait until there was not a line of karts in order to maximize our lap times.  The last time I crossed the start/finish line, the pit sign was being displayed and the track worker was holding up one finger.  I figured three minus two is one and since the track worker was holding up one finger his math was the same as mine.  Now I knew we are all on the same page again.  So I pitted and Will took over driving duties.

Due to the one lap penalty, we were now comfortably in third place and still had a chance to race our way back up to second.  Right about that time, I saw Will sitting in the Penalty Box.  When I asked a track worker what happened, he said that Will was being penalized for rough driving.  When Will asked why he was being penalized, they told him I pitted too late.  Will claims he was not rough driving and I am pretty sure I know how to count.  Maybe I just can’t count backwards from three?  That must be it!  Nonetheless, we were now in fourth place, two laps behind.

Team Mad Cow raced our hearts out and did make up one of the misgiven penalties.  It was too little, too late as we finished the race in fourth place about half a lap behind the third place team.  In true Legends fashion, I tried to claim a motor but the track official told me they were all INEX sealed and therefore legal.  When I pointed out there were two extra spark plugs on Ryan’s motor, they said “I am sorry, there is an INEX seal on it and our hands are tied”.  I also tried to protest Jim’s fuel because it was a different color and had the distinct smell of Nitro.  Once again, I was denied and told that fuel was a newly approved mixture that was only available from 600 Racing.  I was going to point out that the third place team was using race slicks, but then I realized we had the same tires on our kart.

Seriously, we had a great time and enjoyed some of the best competition I have seen at the karting track.  You can be sure that Mad Cow Motorsports will be back next year to avenge the injustice placed on us.  Until then …

See ya at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35

4th Annual Legends “Winter Nationals” & Bench Racing Festival

Ryan Ellis Racing is proud to once again host the biggest event of the 2006 (off) season. For the fourth year in a row - racers, friends and families from around the Northern Virginia area will gather at Allsports Grand Prix in Sterling, Virginia for the running of the 4th Annual Legends Winter Nationals and Bench Racing Festival. 

But by popular demand, this year we’ve added a new twist. Two separate events!  The first on January 14th at 1:00 pm will be held in our now-traditional Sprint Race format, (individual racers competing in a series of heat races). The second event, scheduled for February 4th at 2:00 pm, will be a Team Enduro event, with racers forming teams and running “non-stop” for over 100 laps.

Austin Legends has signed on as this year’s event sponsor, with other sponsors to be announced soon. You must be 18 years of age (or hold a valid racing license) to participate. Payment can be made the day of the event, but please pre-register so we can properly plan the events, (we expect record turnouts)! And bring your suit/helmet if you have one!!!

Door prizes will be awarded to participants in addition to the awards for the race events. Refreshments provided and are courtesy of Austin Legends! And Ryan’s new J & S Motorsports Late Model will be on display too!

Visit www.allsportsgp.com for directions and more event information.

Pre-register by Emailing Jim at Send email to Jim Ellisor call (703)729-6884. See you there!  

RER 21225 Greenspring Ct. Ashburn, VA 20147   (703)729-6884

 

Now What?
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
(12/03/05)

The 2005 race season has come to an end for Mad Cow Motorsports.  Take special note that I said “race” season, because there is still work o’plenty to be done in preparation for 2006.  Specifically, I am referring to all of the maintenance and preparation that is necessary in order to successfully campaign reliable, safe cars in 2006.  We could simply store our cars all winter and probably begin next year without much ado.  But it would not be long before things began to malfunction and break.  If you want to have fun during the 2006 race season, it takes some amount of effort in 2005.

I have come to realize that off-season maintenance is a term that defines how drivers and crews “maintain” their sanity when there is no racing to be had on the weekends.  Somewhere, there is an unwritten rule that says each week we get to have some fun with our cars.  If we cannot race them, we may as well work on them.  Working on your car is the best replacement for that sense of belonging we get while at the track.  It also gives us a chance to thoroughly test and inspect every nut and bolt on the car for integrity.  I documented last year my process in tearing down and rebuilding the #35.  It turned out to be a lot more work than I had thought, but it was well worth the effort.  I also ended up replacing many more parts than originally anticipated.  My feeling is that if it looks and feels really worn, it probably is.  That is especially true at over 100mph with another car an inch or less away!  I also ran into a couple occassions where I was at a loss for what to do next.  These cars look much simpler than they really are.  When you begin putting them back together you quickly realize there is both an art and science to building a race car – even a Legends car.  Luckily, I have some great friends that stopped by my race shop (a.k.a. two car garage) to guide me through the hard parts.  I have said it before and I will say it again – the wonderful friends I have made in Legends racing is why I love it as much as I do.

The #35 car’s number one priority is getting the motor rebuilt.  That process, in and of itself, is challenging because I firmly believe that not all sealed engines or engine builders are equal.  In a perfect world, I would send my “sealed” motor to Hank Scott and he would rebuild it for me.  Since Hank has elected not to participate in the sealed engine program, that is not an option.  However, I will do the next best thing and use an engine builder that has the HSR “seal” (pun intended) of approval.  My final decision was made after having a couple of lengthy conversations with the people I respect most in this sport.  Each was kind enough to share their experience and wisdom.  I am not yet saying who is going to rebuild my motor, I will save that for future write-ups.  I will say that the motor in the #35 will be both strong and reliable.  While I have always had good reliability from my motor, I will now have some real horsepower to go along with it.  It’s about time.

Speaking of reliability … for the entire 2005 season, I only had one mechanical breakage prevent me from starting and finishing a race.  That breakage was not due to faulty maintenance.  It was due to an error in the building of the motor.  The motor was supposed to have been delivered with a pinned cam, but was not.  Of course we all know what happens when you do not use a pinned cam – it breaks and mine did while I was leading the Semi-Pro race in South Boston with just a handful of laps to go.  After winning the Semi-Pro race the previous weekend, I was enroute to a second straight win before the cam broke.  Heartbreaking!  The truth is that cam should have broken many races before it did.  I know it lasted as long as it did due to consistent maintenance using the best lubrication products I can find.  I have yet to go to the track without someone asking me to recommend an engine and gear oil.  I have always kept that information as one of my personal race secrets.  However, I may be letting that cat out of the bag soon enough.  Stay tuned!

See ya at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35

 

We Came, We Raced, We Broke
(Written by Will Campbell)
(11/29/05)

That, and freezing temps, just about sums up the entire Mad Cow team experience this weekend, as both team cars traveled to Summit Point, WV to run the perennial Turkey Bowl, held the weekend right after Thanksgiving.

The 34 car skipped the Friday practice day and first hit the track for the Saturday warm-up at a chilly 8:30 AM. It was probably still below freezing when we fired up the cars and headed slowly out to the false grid. We still had the car in the exact trim as the World Finals held just two weeks ago in sunny California. That included the 2.93 rear gear and the brake problem that bedeviled us at the Finals.  We did manage to clean off the Infineon dirt, at least.

We ran the warmup with the 2.93 gear and decided to switch to the “normal” gear for SPR, a 2.50.   After the gear change we lined up for the qualifying race.  We ran third overall most of the race, dicing with Ryan Ellis who was slumming this weekend in a road race car.  We did OK, considering that I was still a little sore from the sprained ankle and that the car was still all over the track under hard braking (some drivers professed that they didn’t see any difference in the #34 – ha!ha!).  In any event, I had to pitch the car left as I braked in order for it not to take a right-hand set.  While this affected our speed, we still managed to run a few laps in the 1:28 range, which is as fast as we have normally run at SPR, so we weren’t too far off the pace.

For the feature, we decided to take out the front pads and sand them with 80-grit in an attempt to get the pull out of the car – a trick that had worked in the past.  We also flipped them from one side to the other. This time it didn’t do anything but move the pull from one side to the other. We ran the feature that way.  How did we do? Well, it’s a little hard to tell, since all the Legends except the one driven by the lightest driver ran out of fuel.  It turns out that the race was originally scheduled for a 40-minute enduro with a 5-minute mandatory fuel stop.  Except that all the Legends drivers thought that had been changed to a 20-minute sprint.  So, we all filled up and sprinted for 20 minutes.  And then another 5, and then another 5 more minutes, etc until we all began to stop from a lack of fuel. As Mike Diaz in the 11 car said, “That was the longest 20 minutes of my life”.  At the end of the 40-minute “race”, there was only one car circulating.  Since this was just a fun race with no points, only bragging rights were at stake so no one got over excited (for Legends drivers, anyway). 

After the race, we decided to change pads in the #34 car, thinking that we would finally fix the brakes for the Sunday race.  We swapped out the super-secret race pads for the stock 600-racing ones and found that we now had no front brakes at all.  After some head-scratching, we decided that the master cylinder must have been hurt during the pad change.   No one else had a spare- but we did, or so we thought.  When we pulled it out of the spares box, it turned out to be the wrong one – it had 4 output ports instead of the two we needed for our brake line setup.  So we packed it up on Sunday morning and headed home, towing home a broken race car for the first time all season.

But “That’s just one of them racin’ deals”, as DW used to say!

The #35 car had a slightly different story, and that’s for Anthony to tell!

 

Virginia Road Racers- how good are they, anyway?
(Written by Will Campbell)
(11/18/05)

600 Racing has posted the final road race World Championship standings, and the results are interesting. 

The local Virginia road race group is very well represented in the top 10 in every division of Legends.  In Semi Pro, Mike Diaz is second in the world point standings, followed by Rob Hall (he’s really from NC, but he races with us, so we’ll let him be an honorary Virginian).  In Masters, Danny Glenn finished a fine 5th overall, after finishing 6th in the World Finals race.  Your author finished 9th overall, in his first year.  In Pro, we have a new World Champion in Roger Austin, Jr., an amazing finish to a season that had incredible ups and downs.  But the East Coast group is very deep in Pro as Mike Bryant could have raced away with the overall championship if he hadn’t broken in the early part of the final. He still managed to finish 6th overall. Mike Mahieu finished just ahead or Bryant, claiming 5th overall.

This is really quite remarkable if you think about it, as most of these road racers have 3 years or less experience in road racing, or in Legends, including some for whom this was their first year of road racing.  Most of us benefited from the tutelage of Roger Austin of Austin Legends, at least in terms of setup and support.  But every member of the Virginia road race group that regularly runs together finished in the top 10 in the world in points this year. That shows how important it is to run with fast drivers- you just get faster when you see that it can be done.

If you drive a Legends car, are in the Mid-Atlantic area, and think you might like road racing, hook up with us at the NASA Mid Atlantic races this year.  You might be surprised how good the competition really is, and you’ll be sure to have a great time!

Infineon
(Written by Will Campbell)
(11/15/05)

10 cars from the East Coast made the trek to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Ca for this years INEX Road Course World Finals, and nearly every one of them started in the top 10 of their respective features.  Some of them finished pretty well, too…

This year Austin Legends brought along two rental cars; they were driven by Alain Goffin and Jean-Louis Meynart, both of whom race Legends in Europe. In the Semi-Pro feature, Rob Hall started from the pole position, and led the race until he picked up a bolt from a loose weight which punctured a tire, ending his run.  Jean-Louis finished second, with Alain running as high as 6th – and coming up very quickly-- after starting 33rd, until something in the rear broke.  Jean-Louis had the fastest Semi-Pro lap time in the race, and had the race been longer, he might have passed for the lead.  The race was eventually won by Martin McKeffery.  David Adcock finished a strong 6th and Michael Diaz finished 10th.  If Alain’s car and Rob Hall’s car hadn’t broken, there would have been 4 cars from Austin Legends in the top 10.  This is even more remarkable since only Diaz had ever raced at the track before.

In the Pro division, The East Coast team looked very strong as well.  Mike Bryant started in the second row, with Roger Austin, Jr close behind.  Mike Mahieu started 15th.   At the end of the first lap, Bryant was first, with Austin 5th, in a very tight pack.  But the next lap was misery for Bryant, who came around sounding broken and down on power.  He pulled off and eventually the power loss was diagnosed as a broken or slipped timing chain.  Steve Fensler, Jr  had been wicked fast all weekend and set the fast lap. But he had started in the middle of the pack after a DQ in a heat race, then apparently broke or crashed, so wasn’t a factor. He did set fast lap in the race, however.  The race for the lead was entirely between George Sheldon, Jr, Jeremy Christensen and Roger Austin Jr, and ended in that order.  Although Steve Fensler had the most points in the Pro standings, Roger Austin Jr made up the deficit and won the Pro Road Course World Championship.  Congratulations to Roger, Jr! 

The East Coast team had two drivers in the Masters final: Danny Glenn and Will Campbell, starting 9th and 10th in a field of 42 cars- the largest field by far of the event.  But there was another East Coast driver who showed up on his own, much to the surprise of everyone- Clay Hair.  Now, Clay is a 4-time national champion, but that was in oval racing; he had no real road race experience, so coming to the World Finals to race against the best of the road course group was pretty gutsy.  When I asked him where he got his setup, he laughed and said “I made it up!”.  It didn’t seem to have hurt him much, as he finished 5th, just ahead of Danny Glenn.  Bobby Christensen, the reigning Masters RR champ for the last two years had a terrible weekend, starting way back because of car troubles, but still running very quick times indeed.  He broke in the feature and finished in the back.  Robert Gayton from New Mexico also showed up, surprisingly perhaps, as he hadn’t run any road races this year.  But the layoff didn’t seem to affect him much as he ran a strong second in the feature to Mike Rard, who ran very well indeed all weekend.  Skip Brown from California and Peter Morton from England finished 3rd and 4th.  How did the Mad Cow do?  Well, after running pretty well in the heat races, we started 10th and went to 7th in the first lap or two, then inherited 6th when another car ahead of us was black-flagged.  We stayed there for a couple of laps until a spin in turn 5 lost any hope of staying near the lead pack.  The car stalled, and wouldn’t fire for another 30-40 seconds, and by then the field was by.  I chased some cars down but never really had a chance to catch back up and finished in 21st. 

All in all, the East Coast team from Austin Legends had a great showing- including the Pro World Championship—and next year the fight will be even stiffer!

Congratulations to everyone on the team, especially Mike Bryant who had such a great run going only to end in despair, and to Roger Austin, Jr, who brought back what I think is the first road racing world championship to the East Coast!

We’ll all get a chance to run against each other real soon at the Turkey Bowl at Summit Point, WV the weekend after Thanksgiving- so plan to be there to see some of the best Legends road racers in the world compete!

-Will

Roger Austin Jr. Wins 2005 Road Racing National Points Title
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
(11/13/05)

Congratulations to Roger Austin Jr. for winning the 2005 Pro Legends Road Racing National Points Title.  Although the official numbers are not yet in from 600 Racing, at least we have not seen them, our math says Roger is the winner after a strong showing at the 9^th Annual Legends World Nationals at Infineon Raceway (formerly known as Sears Point).  Roger raced much more than Legends cars this season.  For those of you that do not know Roger, he has been battling a serious illness for the better part of a year.  In spite of major treatments that took a big toll on his personal health, Roger still managed to climb behind the wheel and win the 2005 National Points title.

In addition, Austin Legends fielded cars for several of the top drivers in the Pro, Semi-Pro, and Masters divisions.  One thing is for sure … when it comes to Legends Road Racing, the Austins are King of the Hill.

On behalf of the entire Mad Cow Motorsports team, congratulations!!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35 

East Coast Gang Dominates in Qualifying
(Written by Will Campbell)
(11/12/05)

10 cars from the East Coast came to the INEX Road Race World Finals and have dominated in qualifying so far.  In Pro, Mike Bryant won a heat race and finished 3rd in the other to land a likely front row start in the feature tomorrow.  Roger Austin Jr. followed closely behind and will likely start in the top 5.  In Semi Pro, Rob Hall won BOTH heats and will likely start from the pole in Saturday's feature race.  Mike Diaz (Semi-Pro) and Mike Mahieu (Pro) also did well and will probably start in the top 10 in the feature.

What about the 34?  Well, we went to the finals on crutches because of a recent sprained ankle.  We were new to road racing (this is our first year) and we had never run at Infineon.  We had practiced OK, but the car was very slippery and we didn't seem to be able to get traction anywhere, especially on the long back straight.  We started the first heat race in 8th position, and finished 4th, after running third in the rain for most of the race.  We were just pipped by Robert Gayton, at the end.  Peter Morton from the UK won the race but was DQ'd so we inherited third.  The second heat race had us starting in 14th and we ran 6th most of the race until we were just passed to finally finish 8th.  Not a bad overall finish, and it will assure us of a top-1o start in the feature.

We met a great number of people from everywhere, including the flying Finns, who bought new cars here in the US to run the world finals.  The UK and Scotland probably have 10 cars or so as well.

We'll update more at the end of the finals, but the entire East Coast crew did really well.

-Will

The Dynamic Duo!
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
(11/06/05)

So what is a racer to do on a Saturday night when there is no short track action to be had? You find a buddy and go karting for the afternoon. Sound like something you would do? Then read on …

McLean Bible Church, has a sports car and racing enthusiast group (Powershift 20:24) that meets once a month or so to do car stuff. There is a little something for everyone as events range from car shows, to auto crosses, to group touring events and an occasional race. The group is fairly diverse representing interests from car enthusiasts, car clubs, drag racers, sport compacts and a couple of local road and oval track racers. Most notable is Bud Moeller currently racing in the Formula One Vintage series. I even found another Legends racer, Jim Leuhrs, that was part of the group.

I have been meaning to go to an event for a while now, but am usually driving my car and hauler up and down the Interstates most weekends. However, this Saturday was different. No Local Legends racing, but there was some racing to be had right down the road at AllSports Grand Prix, as this weekend’s event was a 120 lap team enduro challenge. The race format was as follows. Each team consists of two drivers, each splitting the 120 laps. Each driver takes the wheel for a 15 lap session. At the end of each 15 lap session, you make a hot pit to switch drivers. The first team to complete 120 laps, wins!

Since one of my favorite track buddies, Ryan Ellis, is moving up to Late Models in 2006, I invited him to be my team mate. Knowing how busy his racing schedule is sure to be next year, I thought I would take the opportunity to race with him one last time before he becomes a big NASCAR star and his business manager (and father, Jim Ellis) makes me stand in line to get an autograph. Besides, Ryan knows his way around a kart and could probably make up for the lack of real driving skill I bring to the table. Ryan agreed and we formed the Ellis-Crisp karting team for the weekend.

I have only been karting a couple of times, and forget just how much fun it is. It only takes one lap behind the wheel to remember it is real racing. Getting on the track with the Powershift members is great because they are all car gals and guys. Every one of them is a hard charger and wants to win. I got bumped around several times and was even hit hard enough by one Powershift member that he was placed in the penalty box. Being legends drivers, Ryan and I knew we were in our element and that this would be a lot of fun. And it was!

Before I turn this into a short novel, let me summarize by saying that Ryan and I finished first, six laps ahead of the second place team. As much as I would like to take credit for the win, we all know Ryan did most of the heavy lifting and made me look like a much better driver than I really am. Heck, Ryan could make Derrick Cope look good – and we all know that isn’t easy. But I did learn a lot from Ryan as he helped me throughout the day to improve my line and technique. Humble as ever, Ryan shied away from the attention and allowed me to steal my moment in the spotlight. As we stood side-by-side on the podium, I was reminded how blessed I am to be able to race. Mostly, I realized how fortunate I am to have great friends that add so much to my life’s experiences.

See ya at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35

Ellis signed to NASCAR program
(Press Release from Ryan Ellis Racing)
(10/21/05)

Ryan Ellis, the area’s premier up and coming professional race car driver, has been signed to a NASCAR Late Model Stock Car, (LMSC) program for the 2006 season. The Ashburn, Va resident will compete across Virginia and North Carolina in the premier division of NASCAR’s WRS with J & S Motorsports. Based in the Winston-Salem NC area, the team will prepare a pair of 2005 Pontiacs for Ellis, who was recently crowned as the 2005 Virginia State Pro Legends Car Champion, (#4 in the nation). Sponsorship will come from Farrish Pontiac/GMC, Allsports Grand Prix, RaceBidz.com and several others to be named later.

Veteran crew chief Danny Johnson will be charged with preparing Ryan’s cars.

Johnson is employed by Rusty Wallace Inc, (RWI) the NASCAR Busch series team owned and operated by the legendary Nextel Cup superstar. Ryan and Danny are already busy preparing for a full 2006 season, with races planned for Old Dominion, South Boston, Motor Mile, Southern National and Concord Speedways. Beyond 2005, the team’s multi-year agreement could put Ellis in a UARA LMSC or Hooters Pro Cup touring series as soon as 2007.

Ellis, a 2-time Red Bull Driver Search finalist, expects to be debuting the new J & S Motorsports car at the upcoming 2006 Washington International Auto Show.

In the meantime, the lead-footed Virginian is racing his Legends Car this weekend at his hometrack, Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Va, and at a special “invitation only” USAC/INEX event at Orlando Speedworld in December.  His Legends Car program is supported locally by Farrish Pontiac/GMC, Trailer Care, RaceBidz.com and Allsports Grand Prix.

For sponsorship opportunities, merchandise or more information, contact J & S Motorsports’s Business Manager Steve Scheffel at (703)583-9846 or RER (at the number below).

RER 21225 Greenspring Ct. Ashburn, VA 20147 (703)729-6884

 

We’re Baaack!
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
(10/20/05)

After what seems like an eternity, the #35 car is back at the track.  As a driver, I had the nerve to take a vacation and allow other things to get in the way of racing.  I have received no less than four ba-zillion emails from friends and fans (yes, I have fans!) asking why I have not been racing.  In summary … life happens.  Get over it, but thanks for the emails.  I appreciate every one of you more than you know!  Plans are to finish out the oval track season racing at Shenandoah this weekend and next.  Will’s next race is the Road Race World Nationals at Infineon Raceway (see below).  Our last race of the season will be the infamous “Turkey Bowl” at Summit Point Raceway on Thanksgiving weekend.  If it turns out to be anything like last year, I can honestly say the Turkey Bowl is THE most fun I will have all year long.

Speaking of being back, I cannot go a minute longer without saying CONGRATULATIONS to Kevin Yeatts for winning his first feature race in nearly two years.  This happened at Shenandoah Speedway last weekend.  Anyone that knows me also knows that I am a Kevin Yeatts fan.  Yes Kev, I feel like a piece of “you know what” for not being there.  Had I been there, you may not have won.  Yea, right!!  Congrats my friend!

See ya at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35

 

Mad Cow team goes to INEX Road Racing World Finals
(Written by Will Campbell)
(08/17/05)

Instead of its usual diet of oval tracks, this year the #34 Mad Cow car spent most of its racing time chewing up road courses, from Summit Point Raceway, to Virginia International Raceway, to Road Atlanta. While road racing in Legends was new to us, we did well in our first year, despite blowing up an engine and wrecking a car, (both at Sebring) at the beginning of the year.   We expect to enter the World Finals ranked in the top ten in the world, with 8 division wins in 13 road races (the best 11 races count for points).  And while we don’t expect to contend for an overall win in our first year, we do hope to put up a respectable fight for a place in the top 10, even as we have never turned a lap there (although we have watched a NASCAR race there on the SPEED channel).

The 2005 INEX Road Racing World Finals will be held at Infineon Raceway, in northern California in early November, and if previous years are an indicator, there should be about 150 drivers in attendance. The Masters division, for drivers 40 and over, usually has the largest field, and historically everyone starts the feature race.  In 2003 there were over 50 cars slated to start the Masters feature, so the racing should be, well, exciting, if previous races are any indication.

For the 2005 edition of the Road Race World Finals, much of the competition at the sharp end of the grid in the Masters division will likely come from Europe, with a strong contingent from the UK expected to make the trek across the pond (and then across North America to California!).  Of the current top 10, three are from the UK.  Peter Morton from the UK will likely be a threat to win (assuming he makes the event), as he has been to the World Finals before. There will also be drivers from Spain and Belgium, and likely other countries as well.  But the US has a deep pool of talent as well, including Bobby Christensen, Mike Rard and Danny Boyle from Oklahoma, and Gary Scheurell and Skip Brown from California.  There are even some former World Champs like Robert Gayton who hasn’t road raced this year, but could show up.

The format, as we understand it, is that race starting position will be a function solely of finishing position in heat races.  That’s right- no qualifying.  This is different for us, and a little disappointing, as unlike oval racing, we could often do quite well in qualifying on the road courses.  That means that race strategy and teamwork will matter a lot in the heat races, as starting in the back, or even the middle, of the pack in the feature is going to make it very difficult indeed to make it to the front

How will we do?  Well, we’ve had some rough spots this year, including some stupid mistakes, but still managed to finish well most of the time, winning every race but three since Sebring.  But this will be a different kind of event, with a much bigger field.  On the other hand, it’s a big track, so it is unlikely we will get stuck in a freight train as often happens in oval racing.  We are taking the last race at Summit Point off to rest, and refocus on the World Finals.  Now, the #34 Mad Cow racer is being cleaned up again, and is being prepped by Roger Austin.  And finally, we will have a secret weapon which we will show for the first time at Infineon!

We think we’ll do well as even the sign for Infineon has a Cow on it! 

It’s got to be an omen.

Now, let’s go racin’!

Will Campbell
Driver, #34

 

Hotlanta Challenge
(Written by Will Campbell)
(08/17/05)

Last weekend the #34 Mad Cow went out of region to race at Road Atlanta with the Southeast Region of NASA.  The weather was hot, but the racing was hotter.

Saturday morning arrived too early after getting to the track just before midnight on Friday, but all three of us who made the trek from Northern Virginia managed to get the cars out for the first practice.  The track was new to Mike Bryant who had never been there, and sort-of new to me who had been coming to RA for decades as a spectator but had yet to actually turn a lap there.  Mike Diaz had raced there last year in a Legends car.

Practice was interesting, and mostly where I thought it would be.  The high-speed turns under the old CocaCola bridge leading down to the start/finish were every bit as intimidating as I expected them to be from watching races there.  On the other hand, the end of the now-shortened long straight which leads into a chicane was easier than I imagined, though not easy to late brake.  The “esses” were able to be taken flat in third, once you got started in them.  And, as expected, turn 7, which led onto the straight was key in getting a good run on the very long straight. 

There was a long oil slick on the track for early practice, and several cars (the #34 included) got loose in the kink on the straight at full throttle in fifth gear.  It’s not pleasant to feel your car just start sliding unexpectedly at that speed, believe me!  By race time it had dried. In Saturday qualifying, the Northern Virginia group all qualified pretty close to each other. When the race started, Mike Bryant took off from the Legends pole and was never really challenged. Mike Diaz solidified his hold on second after I spun off in turn 7 when a Miata pinched me. I could never catch up after that and finished a lonely third, passing Miatas and the odd BMW but never really getting to race with another Legends car.  Bryant’s fast lap was in the 1.48 range and mine was in the 1.49s, and I just didn’t have enough to reel him in.

After the race, and just before the Saturday night party we heard a distant angry-hornet sound and realized that the Legends cars were practicing at Lanier Speedway, literally across the street from Road Atlanta. We wandered over to have a look but it started raining so we repaired to the party pavilion.

Sunday started with hopes that the evening rain from the night before would have cooled things off, but it turned out to be just as hot.  Mike Bryant had a miss, and changed carbs, then ignition.  He must have fixed it because he qualified just over a second faster than the rest of the Legends.  The race started in two waves- with the Legends cars on the front two rows of the second group, comprised mostly of Spec Miatas.  Since we didn’t have to fight past a wave of Miatas, that helped, though we started catching up the slower cars in the first pack in a few laps.  Like the first race, Mike B shot off, this time with me in pursuit, but relatively quickly left the rest of the Legends (and the Miatas) as he started carving through the “faster” group ahead.  Mike Diaz and I ran together for the first few laps, with each of us faster than the other in certain sections, so there was a fair amount of passing.  Eventually he spun in turn 2 or 3 (I heard he thought I pinched him) and I never saw him for the rest of the race.  Robert Leeds, another Legends driver ran a distant fourth.

Road Atlanta is a great race track, but a really long tow, especially in the summer when the roads are already straining to carry the normal traffic along with the vacation load on the weekends.   On the other hand, I know we left a few seconds at that track, and I want another run at taking them off my lap times.

Our next two races are relatively local, at Summit Point Motorsports Park, and no doubt the temps will have moderated by then.  But I doubt that the racing will be any less hot!

See you there in September…

Will Campbell
Driver, #34

 

Sparks Fly at VIR
(Written by Will Campbell)
(08/04/05)

July usually begins with fireworks on the 4th, but this year the month ended with sparks flying as well when the Legends cars went to Virginia International Raceway for a two-day event, the second day of which was a regional qualifier.

Saturday began with rain- and that pretty much set the tone for the entire weekend.  We practiced or qualified in wet or damp conditions each day, and while Saturday’s race was dry, just as the Sunday race started, the rain started again.  But that’s getting ahead of the story….

In practice Saturday, the Mad Cow car went agricultural and spun into the grass.  I thought we’d been tapped by the Thunder Roadster very close behind, but after thinking and talking about it, it looks like the right front suspension collapsed on its own.  In any case, we suffered the ignominy of being towed back into the pits, covered with the finest red clay and green grass in Virginia.  An hour later, our crew chief Dave Campbell and Roger Austin had the car apart, and fixed. A new shock, lower ball joint and tie rod had us on the track again.  We never got all the dirt off though, and ran the rest of the weekend looking a little like a refugee from the Dukes of Hazzard movie set.

Qualifying came and I was a little worried about how our repairs and pit-area setup but we managed a decent effort to qualify 4th overall, just behind David Latimer, another Masters driver.

In the race, it stayed dry and we got an early lead in the Masters class.  But David Latimer in the #427 car came back to battle ferociously in the middle. We passed each other several times and were ahead by no more than a couple of feet at the finish.  A really close—and clean—race.  So we felt good about Sunday, assuming it would stay dry.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny.  That’s what we hoped anyway.  Actually it was damp and cloudy, with intermittent rain, a portent of things to come.  We decided not to practice in the wet conditions as we figured the race would be dry or damp, and we didn’t want to risk the car.  Qualifying was in the damp, and we only qualified 6th this time, right behind (again) David Latimer.  Maybe we should have practiced…

Sunday’s race lined up with a little overcast but a perfectly dry track.  But as soon as we left the false grid, it began to rain.  Hard.  Now, a bunched-up group of Legends cars streaming down the straight for the start of a race in the rain is fun, until the first turn.  We all knew it would be a melee, and sure enough, Rob Hall went straight off in 1.  The rest of us, surprisingly, stayed more or less in position, until people began to fall off the track.  First Mike Bryant in a tough turn that had me bedeviled most of the weekend, then Mike Diaz who had qualified very well, went off coming out of the small esses.  By the second or third lap I was in third place overall, with the first place car of Roger Austin Jr about 200 feet ahead.  The Mad Cow car seemed to like the wet conditions as we were able to maintain the gap between first and third for a while, until the rain tapered off.  It took a while to realize it, but the track was drying in some places and not in others.  We were still very good in the wet spots, but a little tentative where it was damp, which tended to be the high-speed parts, so that allowed the rest of the field to catch up slowly.  I had also been having a nice little fight with a rapidly-improving Jordan Paschal, and that slowed us both down some. Near the end of the race, Danny Glenn and David Latimer came up behind to harry the #34.  They were turning faster times at that point, but it was hard to pass in the turns.  Finally, with a lap or two to go, I went up the sharp right-hand turn after the bridge and slipped a little wide. Danny Glenn tapped me and the Mad Cow racer went around, and onto the wet grass.  David Latimer and Danny Glenn (and some others) streamed by as I sat helplessly in the grass, waiting for an opening in traffic.  I got the car back on the track and set out to catch them, but there really wasn’t enough time.  We ended up 3rd in Masters, behind David and Danny.  Congrats to David who fought a good race, and won it.

The sparks? Well, during the race on Saturday, we went curb-surfing and managed to scrape off a little weight from the car.  The picture shows those sparks under the car.  But the real sparks happened after the Sunday race.  We were all clearly told to go to tech after both qualifying and the race.  After the race, Rob Hall went directly to his pits instead of the tech shed as required.  The rule book is quite clear that this is an automatic disqualification.  There was some discussion (by some officials, incredibly) as to whether or not it mattered, but Mike Diaz went to the tech inspectors with the rule book.  By that time, they’d already taken the valve cover off Rob Hall’s engine and were beavering about, puzzled by the cams.  Apparently, the car was impounded and more details are coming.  This is significant as the engine in this car had been protested earlier in the year and found not to be illegal. One thing that is clear is that Rob Hall’s car seems to be noticeably stronger in the engine department than any of the other Legend cars it sees.  Whatever happens, we hope 600 clarifies the situation. 

We are racing next at Road Atlanta on August 13-14- see you there!

-Will
Driver, #34

Going Back to School
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
(05/25/05)

Sunday MCM went back to school by taking the Yeatts Racing driving clinic.  The class began by riding with Kevin in his Hemi powered Dodge Magnum (what else would you expect) for some demonstration laps to find the right line into and out of the corners as well as pick up points.  Then we got into our cars for some follow the leader.  Each lapping session was followed by an analysis of lap-by-lap timing and personal feedback.  When I say personal feedback, I mean personal.  Kevin talls it like it is – but in a constructive and encouraging way.  The great things is that after getting an analysis of your laps, you get right back out onto the track and fix what you were doing wrong and reinforce what you were doing right.  Perfect!  Brad Arthur was enlisted as a second chase car and another set of experienced eyes and ears.  This is a double bonus because Brad has a ton of laps under his belt and gave me some of the best advice of the day.  I do not know how may laps I ran, but I am still a bit sore.  Yes, we ran a lot of laps.

One of the best parts of the day is that I got to meet some great folks that I have never raced with before.  Johhny Walker drove 8+ hours and won the hard luck award for the day – an award he really did not want.  Johhny broke an oil line fitting and his car was done for the day.  Johnny’s consolation prize was that Kevin allowed him to drive his prized #27 car for the remainder of the class.  (After I heard that I was tempted to cut my own oil line!)  There was also a very young man, Richard (sorry I forgot the last name), who could not have been any older than 14.  He began the day timid and a bit gun shy.  By the late morning he was pushing his car hard enough that he spun it in one of the corners and then kept getting faster as the day went on.  By the end of the class, Richard was flying around the track like a seasoned pro.  In my opinion, the most fun and progress was had by Daryl Harris.  Daryl is a friend of mine running in his rookie year and has taken another of Kevin’s classes.  Daryl picked up a tremendous amount of speed and is much racier than before the class.

Once again Kev, job well done.  However, Kevin does not do this by himself.  His wife Carolyn fulfills many of the silent but necessary roles off the track.  Regardless if it is race day, practice or a driving clinic, she is the General Manager that makes everything look easy.  We know better than that!

Perhaps my favorite person at the track is one of Kevin’s crew, Larry.  He is one of those people that you walk away thinking you are a better person just for knowing him.  Larry takes care of many of the mechanical aspects of Yeatts Racing and is a key member of that team’s success.

All in all, the driving clinic demonstrated the usual level of excellence we have all grown to expect from Yeatts Racing.  I learned a great many things that I can begin using this weekend.  Of course, I do not expect to suddenly be a top five driver.  But I do expect to pick up my pace and begin applying the things I learned to help me move up the field.  Thanks again Kevin and crew for a job well done.

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35

Let the Spankings Commence
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
(05/02/05)

When was the last time you witnessed an official changing of the guard in motor racing?  I believe this year may mark the changing of the Legends guard from the more experienced drivers (that is polite speak for old guys) to the new crop of younger drivers that seem to put on a driving clinic each and every weekend.

I have stuck my toe in the water to find out how cold it is, and now I am going to jump head first into the deep end.  I just took a deep breath and am holding my nose . . . for the second weekend in a row Duncan Molesworth has kicked Kevin Yeatts’ butt (what’s left of it anyway) at the race track.  Last weekend the official spanking took place at Southside Speedway in Midlothian, VA when Duncan took second place away from the old timer.  Oh, wait a minute.  In my old age, I almost forgot.  Kevin never was ahead of Duncan and looked at the back of Duncan’s car all night.  Sorry Kev, my Geritol and free 30-day supply of Ginkoba via Internet are around here somewhere. 

This past weekend, the Molesworth driving school took place in South Boston, VA as Duncan Molesworth won the Saturday night feature race with his brother Patrick Molesworth finishing second.  From what I hear, the brothers were nice enough to allow Kevin to stay on the lead lap and bring home third place.

That’s OK Kevin . . . just like the NASCAR veterans that migrate from driving to broadcasting, you can take comfort in providing the winning setups to the younger drivers at tracks all around the country.  Yeatts setups took the win at Lake Erie Speedway (Ryan Ellis) and the first three spots at South Boston (Duncan, Patrick and Kevin).  I also hear that out west in Bakersfield, CA Yeatts setups took the top three spots as well.

For the rest of us maturing drivers, the Yeatts setup manual is now available in 48-point type and good ole’ Kev will even throw in a magnifying glass and tube of half-used BENGAY to anyone with an AARP card.

Hey Kev, be careful what you ask for . . . J

See you at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35

 

It’s a Bird . . . It’s a plane . . .
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
(04/30/05)

. . . no . . . it’s Ryan Ellis.  I am beginning to believe that Ryan has a phone booth tucked away somewhere in his hauler.  And I swear I saw a red cape draping out of the back of his race suit.  Ryan, if your girlfirend’s name is Lois, I am bringing Kryptonite to the Legend Asphalt Nationals.  When I get younger, I want to be Ryan “S” Ellis.

I do not have all of the details just yet, but late last night (4/29) I received word that Ryan Ellis went to Lake Erie Speedway and won the feature race again!  Hey Ryan, is that really three out of four?  More details to come, so stay tuned.

See you at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35

 

Aaron Chilton Autism Fund

As a reminder, April is Autism awareness month and we are helping Aaron Chilton.  Those who wish to donate their winnings from the month of April or simply make a donation to Aaron Chilton may do so in one of two ways.  You may contact Scott Wilkerson at autism@madcowmotorsports.com.  Or, you can send your donation directly to:

Aaron Chilton Autism Fund
1228 Delmont Street
Severn, Maryland 21144

Checks should be made payable to Aaron Chilton Autism Fund.

Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity.

It Takes A Team
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
 (04/22/05)

It is early Friday morning and the Mad Cow team is preparing to race at Southside Speedway (SSS) tonight.  During the week Roger Austin replaced the broken cam and bent valves on the #35, and he also fixed the crash damage to the #34.  Both cars are ready to run, but we are only taking the #35 with us tonight as we journey to SSS.  Since my crew chief, Bill Crisp, is not able to make the trip, Will has graciously volunteered to park his car for the night and fill the important role of being my crew.  That is a switch for him as he is used to being in the big show.  However, it shows just how much of a team player “The Mad Cow” really is.  The racing action begins at 8pm and we hope to see you there.

See ya at the track.

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35

 

Here is your chance to make a difference

Because the Mad Cow Motorsports website reaches a worldwide audience of thousands of race fans, we get many requests to use our website for commercial advertising or special interest puroposes.  Although we are flattered with the offers, our response is consistently the same – “thanks, but we only do this for fun”.  Guess what?  We still only do it for fun, but we now have a chance to do something fun and help a wonderful cause close to our hearts.

Please read below for your chance to do something small that touches one of our racing families in a big way.

Autism Awareness
(Written by Scott Wilkerson)
 (04/10/05)

Little Aaron Chilton is like most two year olds, he plays and cries but he has one thing different. He has Autism. It just so happens that his Dad, Jason, is one of my best friends. When Jason and Susan Chilton first told me their youngest son had Autism, I was sad.  But then my sadness turned to motivation as I began asking how myself and we, the racing community, can help.  Just then, I learned that April is national Autism Awareness month and we happen to have a race scheduled for the 23rd of April.  To honor and help my friend, I have opened an account in the name of Aaron Chilton and am donating my winnings from the April 23^rd race to this cause.  It is a small gesture I know, but one that if repeated by many racers, can become a large gesture sure to make a difference.  I'm asking you to help by digging deep into your heart and offering to donate your winnings from just one race in the month of April to Aaron Chilton.  This money goes directly to the Chilton family to help offset the many costs incurred by having the blessing of a special child.  Jason is a Legends racer at ODS and I can think of no other way to help him and his family than to race and donate.  I hope you can help make a difference as well.

If you are interested in donating your winnings from any race in the month of April, please send me an email and I will contact you with details of how to make your donation.  If you prefer to simply make a one-time donation, that is appreciated as well.  If you are unable to donate at this time, please keep Aaron and his family in your thougths and prayers.

Please email me, Scott Wilkerson, at autism@madcowmotorsports.com for more information.

Scott Wilkerson, Driver #77 

Everything Old is New Again
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
 (03/28/05)

When I arrived at the track Saturday morning, I almost thought I was at the wrong place.  Not because Old Dominion Speedway now has shiny new guardrails (which it does), and not because the track surface has been repaved (don’t get your hopes up, it hasn’t).  I thought I was in the wrong place because I saw so many new Legends cars and almost as many new faces driving those cars.  Sure enough, of the 15 or so Legends cars at the track, I saw no less than five new drivers planning to race at ODS in 2005.

The word “new” means different things to different people.  I use the word new to mean folks that have not driven a Legends car at ODS before.  Of course, they could have driven another type of car at ODS.  Case (pun intended) in point, I saw the wily veteran Earl Case driving a Legends car.  In fact, I saw Earl drive right past me as I slowed to give a new driver some additional room coming out of turn four.  I took that to mean “notice has been served” and that Earl is back and means business.  Earl’s car has the identical paint scheme as his son-in-law Jeff Hedrick.  They even run similar numbers – 04 (Earl) and 4 (Jeff).  I thought to myself . . . isn’t that interesting being able to race against one of your in-laws.  I don’t know about you, but in my family that would spell instant on- and off-track rivalry.  Just in “case” their family rivalry has not yet started, let me see if I can help things along.  Earl had nothing for Jeff on Saturday as Jeff could pull away whenever he wanted.  Of course, that is none of my business and completely between them. J

The word new can also mean someone that has driven Legends, but not at ODS.  There appeared to be a couple of those folks there as well.  I saw one gentleman from New Jersey staying out of trouble and making steady progress around the track.  Another gentleman, Kevin, is a strong dirt track racer and was learning the many differences between dirt, asphalt, Legends, and his usual non-Legends series.  That is a lot of driving skill and technique to unlearn!  But I look for Kevin to come on strong late in the season.  I also saw and nearly had a couple of run-ins with another gentleman from New York.  Afterwards, I introduced myself and asked him to give his mirrors a glance now and again.  If you have never driven ODS before, I can understand that these guys had their hands full just keeping track of what is in front of them.  Having the time to look at what is coming up behind you seems nearly impossible.  Been there, done that.  Actually, been there and kinda still doing that.  Best of luck guys.

Then there were a couple of brand spanking new drivers.  One of them, Andrew #44 (sorry can’t remember the last name) was pitted right beside me.  I instantly felt a common bond with Andrew because he reminded me of . . . me.  This is Andrew’s first time ever in a race car and he has chosen Legends and ODS to make his racing debut.  That is a lot like chosing rugby as your first form of contact sports.  Andrew bud, you have no idea what you are in store for this first year.  However, stick with it.  After you run ODS for a season or two, you can run anywhere in the country and be competitive.  Plus, you will have more fun and make more friends than anyone has a right to.  I could tell by the look on your face Saturday you were having fun and know you have already made at least one friend.

There was also a small group of the usual Legends characters there as well.  Kevin Yeatts was testing the setups on his cars and Mike Collier was getting his hot rod ready for action.  Willie Randow had about the fastest car on the track.  The only other car that I think was faster was mine.  However, that was when Kevin was driving it, not me.  (That is a whole other humbling story.)  Nick Carlson parked beside me and had a tab break on on his rearend housing not more than a couple laps into his first practice.  I look for Nick to return to form and contend for the title this year.  Jason Chilton was also there fresh off his strong qualifying effort at SoBo the weekend before.  Anthony Fleming started the day on old tires and quickly came up to speed once he made some adjustments and put fresher rubber on his car.  In fact, he looked pretty darn fast by the end of the day.

As for my hot rod, it felt good.  I still feel like my motor is down on power, but certainly stronger than my talent level.  I was able to run some of the fastest lap times I have ever turned in a Legends car and do them consistently.  My car handles well at just about every place on the track.  It should race well and be a good piece next weekend.  Of course, I could not leave well enough alone and asked Kevin Yeatts to take my car out for a few laps.  You see this year I am running Kevin’s setup on my car and I wanted him to drive it just to make sure he was happy with the way the car felt.  Of course Kevin went out an trimmed .25 seconds per lap from the times I was able to run.  (Anthony = 17.54, Kevin = 17.29)  When Kevin drove my car back into the pits, my brother looks at me and says, “well, I guess we know the motor is plenty strong”.  In other words, it is not the “motor” that is slow.  It must be something else – besides the driver, of course. J

See ya at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35

 “Goess” What?
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
 (03/20/05)

Anyone racing Legends does not have to guess.  (Craig, pardon me if that is the wrong pronounciation of your name.)  All you need to know is that Craig Goess Jr. was at SoBo yesterday and that is enough to tell you who won the race.  This is the first time I have been on the track with Craig, and all I can say is the man is in a league of his own.  Not only did Craig win the race, but he was over half a straight ahead of the second place car – and that is after a caution was thrown with only two laps remaining.

Between practice sessions, I had a chance to meet and speak at length with Craig Goess Sr.  We talked about several things, but there are two things we discussed that, in my mind, define what kind of man he really is.  First of all he asked me how long I had been racing.  When he found out I was pretty much a newbie to the sport, he gave me both words of wisdom and encouragement.  (No, I am not telling you what he said.  That is my secret.)  Second, after learning that both Kevin Yeatts and Roger Austin Sr. were helping me with my car and setups, he spoke highly of both, said I was in very good hands, and recommended that I stick with them through thick and thin.  Craig, thank you for the kind words and encouragement.  For someone that has taken a good bit of criticism (mostly from folks that know only what they heard through the rumor mill) the past few months, Craig Goess Sr. stands as a class act in my book.

Congrats also to Ryan Ellis for sitting on the front row outside Craig Goess Jr. to start the race.

See ya at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35

ODS Practice Update
(Written by Will Campbell)
 (03/17/05)

The Mad Cow team showed up yesterday at the Old Dominion Speedway for the year’s first short-track practice. We wanted to check out our newly-rebuilt cars and be ready to tune the setups if necessary, and most importantly, shake out the cobwebs in the drivers brains, since we haven’t run an oval since last Fall.

Anthony started first and immediately started running almost as fast as he had last year, but looking very smooth indeed, including pretty late braking into 1.  So he was pretty well set.  More practice showed a gradual decrease in times as the tires came in and some of the dust was blown off the track. With the new tires he has (but didn’t run in practice), he will likely shave another tenth or two, and should be right in the mix at the first ODS race.  Look for Anthony to be a contender in Semi-Pro this year at ODS.

Since Will was using a newly-rebuilt engine for the first time (see the Sebring story in the archives for the sordid details), his first practice session was spent breaking-in the engine and getting familiar with the track and the car again.  He ran a gear higher than normal to load the new engine, and ran through a couple of heat cycles to seat the rings. In subsequent sessions, he got to running quite consistent fast times, but it ended abruptly when an oil line blew off and oiled the car and track.  Fortunately the new, improved, super-bright  “money light” (known to some as an oil-pressure light) came on and the engine was turned off immediately - so no damage is expected.  We’ll fix the problem and be ready for SoBo this the weekend.

Also at practice were two Baby Grands cars driven by Mike Bryant and Mike Mahieu. They were there to learn their new cars, and see how they responded to the track.  The Baby Grands are distant cousins to the Legends, in that they are both rough 5/8 scale models of other full-size NASCAR cars, both share the same engines (even some INEX parts were spotted on both of them!) and both have a strict formula.  The Baby Grands do run slicks, though, and so are slightly faster through the turns; they would be faster still but for the additional 200 lbs they weigh over the Legends cars.

Ryan Ellis was also present, running both of his cars, and getting fast times as well, so it is apparent that he hasn’t lost much over the off-season.

It was a treat to see some road racers come to watch—Mike Diaz and Danny Glenn happened by to check out the action, and both Anthony and Will were reminded how much they enjoyed their race at Summit Point last year.  Look for the Mad Cow team to show up at some road races this year in anticipation of a fuller schedule next year.

Last year’s ODS Rookie of the Year, Scotty Jerman, was also there itching to get back on the track.  Look for Scotty to give Anthony a run for his money in the Semi-Pro division.

All-in-all, it was a good practice, and the Mad Cow team is ready to do battle in 2005!

-Will 

It’s That Time Again!
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
 (03/16/05)

Can you smell it?  Ahhh, the sweet aroma of race fuel at 4 a.m.  In fact, if it weren’t for smelling race fuel that early in the morning, I am not this driver would be able to get out of bed.  This Saturday, MCM will load up the haulers and head to South Boston Speedway (SoBo) for our first race of the year.  If you have never been to SoBo, you are missing out on a real treat.  SoBo is without a doubt one of the finest racing facilities we have seen.  It is also the home track for Elliot Sadler, and Jeff & Ward Burton.  Why don’t you join us – on the track or off – to support your favorite drivers.

See ya at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35 

Question and Answer
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
 (03/16/05)

To test your knowledge of Legends racing, take the following MCM quiz.

 

Question:  Who was the Virginia Semi-Pro Asphalt points champion in 2004?

Answer:  Charles “C.E.” Falk

 

Question:  Which Virginia drivers finished inside the top ten in Semi-Pro National points in 2004?

Answer:  Charles “C.E.” Falk and Ryan Ellis

 

Question:  Which Virginia Semi-Pro Legends racer also drives a late model and arena car?

Answer:  Charles “C.E.” Falk

 

See a pattern forming here?  When I think about the latest young talents in NASCAR today, the one thing thay all have in common is that they can win races in any type of car.  And, that is certainly the case with C.E. Falk.  Lord knows he can drive the wheels off a Legends car.

I first met C.E. and his younger brother Wesley, last year at a Kevin Yeatts driving clinic.  When I first saw C.E., I asked myself why he was attending a driving school.  Everyone knows he can race and does not need to attend driving school to get seat time.  I then heard C.E. ask several questions and discovered that this young man was going places – he is a good driver and he is smart.  Most of us other students were asking questions out of the Racing 101 handbook.  C.E. asked questions from the advanced Racing 401 text.  By the end of the day, I found myself asking both Kevin and C.E. for input.  I also followed C.E. around the track at every opportunity.  I was not able to follow him long, because he quickly pulled away.

If you want to meet C.E. and his brother Wesley, come down to SoBo this weekend.  I promise they will both put on a good show, politely talk you in the pit area, and you just might learn a thing or two from someone half your age.  OK, a third of my age.

If you can’t make it to the track, check out their website and follow their progress throughout the year.

http://www.falkmotorsports.com

See ya at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35 

World of Wheels
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
 (03/05/05)

One of the cool things about racing is having an opportunity to show-off our hot rods to anyone willing to look and listen.  Our good friends Jim and Ryan Ellis (father and son) invited us to attend the World of Wheels car show this weekend at the Washington DC Convention Center.  As it turns out, my place on the show floor just happened to be in front of Ryan’s.  In true racer fashion, Jim reminded me that this is probably the only time this year my car wil ever be in front of Ryan’s.  Gee, thanks Jim.  Since he is probably right, I decided to get a picture.

Off-Season Update
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
 (2/13/05)

Enough already! I have received WAY too many emails giving me a hard time about not keeping our website updated with “all the latest Legends racing news” during the off-season. I have three things to say about that.

First of all, thank you for your loyal support and readership. It still amazes me how many folks (most of which we have never had the pleasure to meet) from all over the world take an interest in our racing endeavors. All of your feedback and well wishes are humbly appreciated. I have to tell you that every time I get in the car and line up on the track, I wonder just how many people in the stands are watching the Mad Cow team and following our antics via this website. If you are ever at the track, please stop by and say hello. Bring your camera as you are always welcome to sit in either of our cars and capture a Kodak moment.

Second, cut a racing brother some slack. I have been working my “you know what” off trying to get my hot rod ready for the 2005 season. (Will, too, has been busy fixing his hot rod, but that is a whole other story and I will let him tell it.)

Third, it is the off-season for MCM and we are working on our cars, not racing them. However, I did race a Toyota Corolla on the way back home from Hagerstown, Maryland this week. OK, real quick . . . this past week I had Tim Fraker Signs put brand new Mad Cow decals on my hauler and was towing it back home from his shop in Hagerstown. I am in the right lane minding my own business when I approached a slower car ahead of me – a Toyota Corolla. I politely signaled, moved into the passing lane, and began to drive past the slower moving car. Suddenly, the Toyota Corolla sped up to prevent me from passing. So there I am in my Ford F-250, going uphill, towing my hauler and found someone wanting to race. So, I mashed the throttle and the drag race was on. After about ten seconds, I looked in my rear view mirror and through the haze of diesel exhaust, I saw the headlights of the Toyota getting smaller and smaller. I hope he likes the smell of diesel. I know I do!

The Mad Cow team been very busy the past few weeks. The #34 car has recently been stripped down and is in the process of being rebuilt. The #34 will get new parts, a powdercoated chasis and a rebuilt motor from G.E. Chapman.

Because I did not race in Sebring, the #35 got a head start on the rebuild process. It has already received new parts and powdercoated chasis. But, it will race with the same motor that we ran last year. The way I see it, I still have way more motor than talent. It is currently receiving a Yeatts Racing setup and should be good to go within the next week. Of course, then I have to find a track that is open for business. But, that never really seems to be a problem.

Our tenative plans are to be at the season opener at South Boston on March 19^th. That also happens to be my birthday and I cannot think of any better way to spend it than racing with my buds!

See ya at the track!

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35 

Good Morning Scott Wilkerson!
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
 (1/31/04)

Imagine the title line above being spoken in my best Robin Williams as Adrian Cronauer voice – from the movie Good Morning Vietnam.  Scott, our good friend and fellow racer at Old Dominion Speedway, was redeployed over the Holidays.  On behalf of all your friends and fellow drivers Scott, we miss you and wish you a safe and speedy return.

Anthony Crisp, Driver #35 

Sebring – Driver’s “Official” Report
(Written by Will “Mad Cow” Campbell)
 (1/25/04)

Good News….and Bad News

As regular readers of the site now know, the #34 Mad Cow team car  went road racing at Sebring International Raceway this past weekend.  We had a lot of things happen, some of them Good, some of them Bad.  Here are a few of them:

The Good:  We did pretty well in qualifying, with the Mad Cow car #34 consistently qualifying faster than most or all of the other Masters drivers there. This was pretty heady stuff as there were two World Champion Legends Road Course drivers there, along with another driver running Pro who was the 2001 Semi Pro World Champ as well.  Yet, even with the troubles we had on Sunday (more anon) we still qualified ahead of every other Masters driver for the Sunday race.  For Friday’s race, the NoVA crew locked up 4 of the top-5 positions in race qualifying overall.  So the #34 was fast from the beginning, and this in only our second-ever road course weekend (we’ve spent our entire Legends career turning only left, remember).  And of course, our deep knowledge of the track had been gleaned solely from watching races on ESPN, so we had a lot to learn in a short time.  But while we did well (really well, actually) in qualifying…

The Bad:  The #34 car was consistently bone-headed in the races.  In the race Friday, we won the Masters race but ended up stranded on the race course for an hour.  Why?  Well, like every Legend driver but 2, we ran out of fuel because we ran 2 pace laps and didn’t have enough fuel to run another 30 minutes at Sebring.  No worries though- they decided to stop counting at the last lap before the cars started dropping out.

More Bad:  The Saturday race was also a problem.  After running as high as 3rd overall and 1st in Masters, we got passed by a determined Bobby Christiansen who used a BMW to pick a great pass down the outside.  Then we crashed the Mad Cow racer into a tire wall.  Couldn’t take the pressure, I guess.

Even More bad:  In Sunday’s race, we only had to finish one car ahead of another Master driver to take the Sebring Cup.  Despite qualifying well again, ahead of all the other Masters drivers, the #34 was sent to the back of the grid.  Well, not exactly the 34 car.  In Sunday’s qualifying effort, we only put in 2 laps, but one of them was enough to get us a good starting position, ahead of all the Masters cars.  But because the #34 car blew an engine on the third lap (it might actually be more accurate to say that “because the #34 driver didn’t know he was spewing oil over the track he kept running which caused all the oil to run out, which seized the engine”, but who’s being picky here?), we used a backup car to run the actual race.  So they sent us to the back because we raced a different car than we qualified, invalidating the heroic qualifying effort we made.

Still more bad:  We started the Sunday race in a car I had never even seen before (it had spent the weekend under a cover), hadn’t been driven since it had been built, and was setup differently than the #34 Mad Cow of infamy.  But…

The Good:  It did have a strong FJ motor. Which helped us to move up smartly in the race, while trying to avoid the usual first-turn fracas.  I used the pace lap to learn where the brakes came in.  So,

The Pretty Good: We actually made a decent start and by the hairpin on the first lap, we were coming up strong, already past a few of the other Masters drivers. We had gotten ahead of a good part of the field, and then in a few laps…

The Bad: We had “an incident” with a slower BMW that our Legends group caught up.  While coming hard down the inside of the braking zone, we came together with the BMW at the exit of the hairpin.  Apparently the BMW driver thought we were going to give him all the racetrack for his personal use.   That collision spun us into the infield, where we saw the cars we had passed streaming by.  But,

The Good:  We didn’t hit anything else and started off in pursuit.  Unfortunately, that was hampered greatly by the fact that …

The Bad: The incident with the BMW had knocked the toe setting all ka-blooey (I believe that is what the Crew Chief called it), so not only couldn’t we turn very well, it began to affect braking.  And of course, our speed down the straights was very poor as the engine now had to fight front wheels that wanted to go any way but together.  But that didn’t stop us from trying to catch up anyway, which was…

Really Bad, as ultimately the car just kept getting worse, but we were  too stubborn to call it quits- It was really important to finish this race.  Except,

More Bad: weI already had, but didn’t recognize the flagman signaling the end of the Legends race, so we just kept pushing the car in it’s crippled state, even after the Legends race was actually over, until…

Something even Mo’ Badder happened: we hit the wall at a very high-speed part of the course when the brakes finally completely failed.  The right front corner of the car was destroyed, I spin around like a sock in a dryer, and finally sat stunned in the car for a second very quietly until I realized that again, I had done something…

Very Bad, which was to wreck a backup car that had been entrusted to my care.  Of all the Bad Things in the weekend, that hurt the worst.  Roger Austin Sr knew I had no chance to run on Sunday with a blown motor in the #34 car.  So without hesitating, he said “Get the transponder out of the 34 and put it in the spare car.”   All that, and I wrecked the car.  That was pretty disappointing on a number of levels, the worst of which was that I felt I had let down my team, my crew chief, and the rest of the VA crew who were rooting for me to get back and win the Sebring Cup for Masters drivers.  Coming back in an ambulance without a car is an eerie feeling and one no to be repeated (I was fine, just a little shaken, and the only real pain was an increasing throbbing pain where my wallet usually is…)

But at the end of the weekend, we still had some good memories, including meeting some really nice drivers from Oklahoma, the Chicago area, and two drivers from Finland.  Yeah, the Finland way over there in Europe, right near Russia.  And we thought we had come a long way to race. Everybody we met was really nice, although there were some discussions as to driving style, as you might expect.

Overall, we were thrilled to have been as fast as we were, and bummed to realize just how hard it is to be an effective road racer.  Just being able to crank out fast laps isn’t enough-- you still need to be able to stay on the black part of the track most all the time.

Despite our problems, we had a wonderful time. The high speeds at Sebring were very exciting and we learned that it is possible to turn Right as well as Left.

The VA crew did very well, with Mike Bryant beating out what turned out to be the Finnish national champ and a professional driver of some international repute for the Pro Drivers Sebring Cup, Mike Mahieu winning Sunday’s race overall (Mike Bryant was second on Sunday, and won the Friday race). And if the Mad Cow had been a little more experienced, maybe we could have brought back the Sebring Cup in Masters as well.

Major thanks are in order for Dave Campbell, who, as usual, did  great job as Crew Chief for both the #34 and the backup car, and to Roger Austin who helped fix the #34 car so many times, including a broken axle, a broken spindle, and well, the list goes on, but you get the point.

This Winter we have a big job ahead of us in rebuilding the #34 car as it took quite a beating at Sebring.  And hope springs eternal that one day the #34 driver will be as good as the car!  Watch for the Fastest Cows on The Track in 2005!

-Will

Sebring Report – Saturday Results
(Written by Anthony Crisp)
 (1/23/04)

What a difference 24 hours can make.  MCM’s good fortune on Friday, turned to a day full of challenges on Saturday.  Here is the rundown.  Will (driver #34) started off the day confident from Friday’s win in the Master division.  Our first challenge came in qualifying when Will suffered a broken rear axle.  After limping back to the pit area, Roger Austin and Dave Campbell quickly replaced the broken axle and got Will back on the track.  With not much qualifying or practice time, the #34 still managed to capture a 6^th place qualifying effort.  After leading the Master’s race, Will was finally passed by the 2004 Road Course National points champion, Bobby Christensen.  Eventually a damp race track saw the #34 in the tire wall.  Even still, Will is in the hunt to bring home the Master’s division Cup.

Saturday’s pole position and race win was taken by Finland’s Jari Nurmin.  Mike Bryant, Friday’s overall winner, finished the race in second place.  As it stands, Mike and Jari are tied for first overall and will be racing o