Why I Do This Blog...

I really hope this guy is a race fan!

Some people ask why I do this RaceChaser blog. Sometimes I ask that question myself.

I love racing, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes, this blog can be a lot of work and time and a grind. I’ll be honest. Since April 28 I’ve posted 85 blogs. Not to mention that Friday at West Fargo was my 30th night of racing this summer, almost every night I’ve done a race report or blog (aside from Cedar Lake a while back). It can be a grind sometimes. It was nice just watching the races at Cedar Lake (and not have to track down interviews, etc.) and being a fan which is what I am to the core.

Before I head down that path, THANK YOU to those who read this blog. As I write this with my one-year-old son Camden (pictured above) hanging out with me (and who I really hope is a race fan in a couple of years), I am so grateful. Since May 1, there have been 42,624 page views and 12,410 users to racechaser.net. Plus, I get a lot of comments and feedback which are nice. So thank you to every one of you who reads this.

But on Friday night after Red River Valley Speedway’s races I was feeling a little burned out. Sleep-deprived a bit with a 1-month old, my day job is starting to get busy, my stress level is a little high. I was ready just to go home and go to bed and not deal with racing. I wasn’t even in the mood to talk racing which is VERY unusual for me. I was a crab-ass basically.

That mood carried throughout the weekend. I planned to go to Viking Speedway on Saturday for the Fallen Linemen race, but it rained out. Honestly the 110-mile one way drive didn’t feel very appealing to me, anyway, plus I just felt like staying home to hang out with my wife and kids. So I stayed home and took a night off. Even Sunday going to Lisbon I just felt fried and cranky. I even put up two stupid Facebook posts that were snarky that I regret.

This blog is far from perfect or where I want it to be. I don’t have all the answers to racing and hope I don’t come across that way. I try my best to do things to help feature drivers and tracks in the RaceChaser coverage area because those are the stories that need to be told. I have opinions and frustrations like anyone else. I get a lot of story ideas which I appreciate but can’t get to them all.

As I drove back from Sheyenne I asked myself that question again — why do I this blog. Then I thought of some things that gave me a clear answer as to why. And it turns out there are many.

Here are some:

—Watching the families like the Lees, Langlands, Gerdes, Carters, Reinkes, Saurers, McNamees, Waltons, Pedersons, Corky and Joseph Thomas, Braseths (among many more) work on their cars together in the pit area. Great family time.

—Watching a young guy like Brody Carlsrud of Moorhead — who has autism — make so many friends in the racing community, like Tyler Hall (pictured below).

—Seeing drivers get their first career wins. 15 in the the RaceChaser alone. Some teenagers like Kelby Anderson, Alyssa White, Carlsrud, Gavin Walton and Cole Greseth (to name a few), while others who’ve been racing a little longer, like Ryan Schow, Cory Dykhoff and Zack Kort, breaking into victory lane. So cool.

—Talking to my Wissota street stock crew at I-94 Speedway — Riley, Satter, Dykhoff, and Vogel when he’s in town. Never a dull moment and some good insights.

— To see drivers in their 60s and 70s who’ve raced 40-50 years still out on the track. Guys like Jerry Lamb, Tom Corcoran, John Corell, Ron Saurer and Clarence Washburn, for example. I still wish Bob Sagen was driving a car, for the record. Some of the shows he put on at Viking Speedway 20 years ago I’ll never forget.

— meeting people like Montana driver Hank Berry, a true class act.

— watching the all-volunteer crew run the show at Sheyenne Speedway with pride — they do a terrific job.

—Seeing a driver like Torey Fischer of West Fargo put together a project that provided 55 kids with backpacks and school supplies at Buffalo River Race Park on Saturday. That is a great idea and gesture and others stepped in to help as a result of her taking that initiative.

—watching fans get on their feet for an exciting finish.

—seeing two drivers race hard side by side for 10-15 laps and never touch. For example, Casey Arneson and Dave Shipley did at Red River Valley Speedway in the IMCA Mod feature last Friday; for example Kyle Langland and Cody Lee racing each other hard and clean in the Wissota Midwest Modifieds on Sunday at Sheyenne.

— Watching crews work together when another driver/team is in need.

— Watching Dan Ebert wheel his #60 modified. Holy smokes what a talent.

— seeing so many teenagers racing locally. Encouraging.

— the many people I’ve met. I’ve made a handful of very good friends (I won’t embarrass them by naming them, lol). And meeting new people every year from the area and outside, this year like Myles Tomlinson, Reise Stenberg, the Waltons at Lisbon, Aaron Blacklance, Tyler Hall, Alyssa White, to name a few.

That’s just a snapshot. Plenty of reasons to continue writing about racing I’d say.