It's time for Thanksgiving week, and many of us have plenty to be thankful for beyond racing, whether it’s family, health, good job, roof over our heads, etc.
But, it’s also time for Racechaser to reflect on racing, too, and there is a lot we should be thankful for.
So, here’s the second annual Racechaser reasons to be thankful for 2019:
—spouses and boyfriends/girlfriends of drivers who support their husbands, wives and significant others in their racing passion.
—the volunteers who keep Sheyenne Speedway running week to week especially promoters Benji Froemke and Hunter Carter. They do a great job and have really got some good things going in Lisbon.
—thankful for the friends I’ve made through this blog. I have a couple I’d even consider close friends which for an introvert like me doesn’t happen much.
--speaking of friendships, thankful so many are built out of racing -- like the picture above of Tyler Hall and Brody Carlsrud.
—all of the track workers who show up each week to do their jobs — concessions, officials, tech inspectors, grandstand/pit gate workers, scorers, wrecker personnel, announcers — they are the ones who help keep tracks running. A lot of unsung heroes there.
—the sponsors who support tracks and drivers alike. That financial backing is huge for our sport.
—the pit crew members who help keep their drivers on the track. It’s a lot of little things and a lot of time and work we don’t see.
—the drivers who put in their own time and energy and invest their own money to race two, or sometimes three nights a week.
—thankful for safety mechanisms in race cars — helmets, belts, roll cages, the HANS device — I saw some crashes this year where those things prevented some serious injuries. Safety first.
—along those lines, thankful there were no serious injuries or fatalities at local tracks.
—thanks again to my dad for taking me to racing when I was a kid.
—thankful for the Wissota 100 being back at I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls in 2019 and despite a rotten week of weather, getting the show in.
—thankful for drivers who race hard and race clean and provide us two-wide racing. This is a majority of those out there.
—VERY thankful for the support of my wife in my racing habit and letting me go to races 2-3 nights per week and write blogs
—thankful to the area tracks for the pit access to interview drivers. A HUGE help.
—thankful to photographers, in particular Mike Spieker of Speedway Shots and Collin Nelson of Outlaw Action photography for providing photos for the RaceChaser blog,
—thankful to the 11 drivers who put Racechaser stickers on their cars in 2019. I’m hoping to add more stickers next season.
—thanks to Viking Speedway for inducting 91-year-old Vern Olson, the long-time ticket guy at the track, into the track’s Hall of Fame.
—thanks to all the drivers and track workers/promoters who talked to me for feature articles this season.
—thankful for good weather in 2020. That’s a wish I mean :)
—thankful for the parents who bring their kids to the races and show them what fun it can be.
And, thankful for all of those who support and read this blog.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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