Commentary by Earl Krause
from Area Auto Racing News
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Used with permission from Area
Auto Racing News
At 2:06 p.m. on Sunday, Nov.
9, 2008, under brisk but sunny conditions at the New Jersey Shore, a wonderful
sound was heard at Wall Township Speedway. That’s when veteran driver
Tim Arre, at the wheel of the bright red & white-trimmed No. 81 “Wall
Modified” division mount fielded by Bob Nelson, drove down from the
pit area above turns three and four and onto the track. What was of great
significance was that it was the first time in a year that a race car had
been on the oval – following the closure of the facility this past March
when its ownership group made the sad statement that the 50-plus acres on
which the track was located was being put up for sale for development. But,
after no racing for all of the spring and summer, Jim Morton – who had
served as Wall’s operations manager from mid-2006 through the Turkey
Derby of 2007 – made an announcement to Area Auto Racing News that all
had been hoping for. Indeed, he had made an agreement with the owners to
lease Wall and re-open it to present the 2008 edition of the Derby –
the 35th edition of the event.
After much physical work by dedicated
volunteers in the last few weeks, including the installation of 280 new planks
in the grandstands and a general clean and spruce-up detail, Wall Township
Speedway looked better than ever. The venerable track, site of so much racing
history since its first stock car feature was won by Frankie Schneider in
May 1950, had returned.
All that remained to make it
complete was race cars taking laps.
On that Sunday, in front of a
group of spectators in the grandstand that had heard about the “hot
lap” session through the “grapevine” and wanted to be there
to see it for themselves, Arre was joined by fellow drivers Kevin Eyres and
Steve Lynch to make that a reality.
Eyres, Wall’s 2007 Pro Stock
champion while driving the No. 21 fielded by Bob Rondeau, was in an all-new
Modified Affordable Division/Crate Motor entry last weekend – the bright
red car, also No. 21, entered by brand new car owner Bob Cipriano of Colts
Neck, N.J. Steve Lynch, dad of Wall Factory Stock driver John Lynch, was
at the wheel of the bright yellow & black No. 98 in that division that
he and his wife Jane brought to the track.
Those three drivers talked and
showed the emotion they had of returning to a track they love -- no doubt
echoing the thoughts of words of so many other Wall racers and fans who thought
they “would never see the day when this track would run again.”
Steve Lynch’s son John Lynch
drove in the Wall Factory Stocks, and was enjoying every moment. But when
it looked as Wall was going to close forever, John accepted a transfer in
his day job and relocated to Indiana. Steve, a part of Wall racing for many
years, will compete during the Derby weekend in the family mount and said
that he’s looking for a ride for son John as well.
Steve “had fun” during
his hot lap sessions and echoed the words of Arre and Eyres that Wall is
a special place for him and the family. On the side of the Lynch No. 98 are
the words “We Love our Fans.” That’s the credo of Steve and
John when the race – as they routinely wave at the spectators when
they’re getting the cars lined up on the homestretch for a race or on
pace laps.
As such, Steve can’t wait
to see the fans back in the Wall grandstands for the Derby itself.
Tim Arre and Bob Nelson are combining
for the first time, and will be among the favorites in the “Wall Modified/SK
Modified-style” division on Derby weekend. Arre, age 45 and a road
construction supervisor with the Earle Paving Company that’s based in
the Jersey Shore area and does plenty of large-scale projects, won his first
“Modified division” feature at the track then known as Wall STADIUM
in 1986 and his 25th in 2007. He also has taken two Turkey Derby “Wall
Modified” championships. Bob Nelson is also no stranger to Turkey Derby
victory lane – having fielded the winning Derby Wall-style Modified
for driver Rich Mongeau in 2005 (when the car was the silver No. 91) and
ultimately Michael Bohn after the 2007 Derby weekend.
Originally, Justin Gumley had
been listed as the winner of the 2007 Derby feature, only to have it taken
away when it was determined in a post-race scoring check that he had been
a lap down in the running order when the checkered waved. The Bohn/Nelson
team was named the winner – and actually had the official victory lane
photos taken, on the homestretch, by AARN/Wall staff photographer Jim Smith
the following week.
Michael Bohn since relocated
to North Carolina with his racing brother Danny and their Wall champion driver
dad Eddie Bohn during this year. That opened up the ride in the Nelson mount,
now the No. 81, when the joyous word came out that Wall would again be racing
this November. In fact, it was Wall manager Jim Morton that suggested to
Nelson that Arre would be an excellent fit for his car when Nelson learned
that Bohn wouldn’t be available.
It was thus fitting that the
racecar that had been the last one to be on the Wall pavement just prior
to winter 2007 would be the first back there nearly a year later.
“When I drove out to the
track today (Sunday), and then started taking laps at speed, I couldn’t
stop smiling!” said Arre. “It’s so great to be back here (Wall).
This is ‘home’ for me – I can’t believe how much I missed
it this past summer. I was smiling even before I went out onto the track
– all it took was for me to buckle in and fire up the motor, then back
it up. I was ready!”
Nelson is owner/operator of a
plumbing and heating/AC business that keeps him very busy most days of the
week. As such, being a car owner at Wall is his “golf game” –
something different to get him away from the stress of work. While racing
also has plenty of headaches, it’s still a diversion. It’s the
same for Tim Arre. By their own admission, both were “bummed out”
this past summer as Saturday nights that should have been filled with racing
came and went.
Nelson was equally pleased –
long before Arre ran at 12.9 seconds on his final session of the day. That
was on a ‘green” track that had not taken any rubber all year.
Working with Tim and Bob were veteran Arre crewmen/close friends Everett
Seaman (dad of former Wall Modified driver and a fine NASCAR Busch North/Camping
World East competitor Ryan Seaman), Tim Vogel and Jerry Caggiano – who
have turned wrenches on Arre cars for many years.
“We’ve got an outstanding
opportunity to now take THREE out of four Derby wins with Tim (Arre) running
this car and Shaun Carrig (driving) in our other one,” said Bob Nelson.
“Knowing of Tim’s winning reputation, and his desire to win the
Turkey Derby I’m also very happy that he is driving FOR me, not against
me!”
Tim Arre will also compete in
the “Tour-style” Modifieds at the Derby, driving the well-known
No. 15A of Aliceann McGann. “I have to get into shape though,”
said Tim with a laugh. “I started feeling it (physically) today after
running my first racing laps in a year! But I’ll be ready for them at
the Derby.”
Kevin Eyres is also part of a
brand new driver/owner combination for the Derby. The No. 21 that he will
run in the Crate Modifieds is owned by Bob Cipriano, who became a race fan
late in life. Attending Wall after having seen televised events, he became
“hooked” on the excitement – especially after meeting Eyres
in person and getting to join him in victory lane. It led to Bob purchasing
his own car (the former No. 16 that had been driven in the Modifieds several
years ago at Wall by Del George Jr.) for Kevin to drive. But it happened
last winter when all indications pointed to Wall racing. When that didn’t
happen, Bob had a racecar but nowhere to run close to home in New Jersey.
During the week, Cipriano is
a tower crane operator in New York City; and also operates his own demolition,
excavating and equipment rental business in Old Bridge, N.J. When he became
a car owner, he was looking forward to spending Saturday nights in the Wall
pit area with his friend Kevin Eyres and the crew.
When it was confirmed, not long
after Labor Day, that Wall was going to re-open, Kevin Eyres became very
busy on two fronts. He has been one of the key spokespersons for coordinating
work details and volunteers for the various projects and repairs that needed
to be done at the speedway to ensure that it would be ready for racing. At
the same time, Kevin, Bob Cipriano and the crew prepared the No. 21.
So when Kevin Eyres drove out
onto the track (the cars only ran laps by themselves, not in tandem) at 2:12
p.m. – then “opened up” the No. 21 for the first time and
began running some quick laps, he experienced a full range of emotion. From
the standpoint of a driver and mechanic, he felt plenty of satisfaction on
behalf of Bob Cipirano and his at the track crew of Tony Jackowski, the
aforementioned Bob Rondeau, Scott Fenton and Andreas “Nacho” Vizuete
when the car ran flawlessly in its debut. There was also a special feeling
for Kevin, one reserved for a person like him who has spent so much of his
life at Wall – as not just a driver, but as a fan and one who deeply
appreciates the rich history of stock car racing at the Shore Speedway.
“I’ll tell you, I had
tears in my eyes when I began running out there today,” reflected Eyres.
“This place is so important. It hit me that we came so close to losing
it forever. What happened this year (the closure) was a ‘wake-up call’
– we’ve all just taken Wall for granted for so many years. Everyone
always thought ‘it will always be here’ and didn’t imagine
that it could close. Thanks to Jim Morton, we have the opportunity to race
here again. It’s special to all of us, and everyone realizes that.
That’s why so many people have worked so hard to bring it back. If there
is an opportunity to keep this going, let’s not lose it.”
Bob Menschner, a fixture at Wall
for three decades as a key member of the infield and general track maintenance
staff, had some wonderful news for us on Sunday – that his son-in-law,
Jimmy Wilson, was being released from the hospital after undergoing surgery
for a brain tumor. It was a frightening time for the close-knit family, but
Bob said that all looks very promising for a full recovery. Cards of cheer
for Jimmy may be sent to him in care of Bob Menschner at 59 Bay Parkway,
Waretown, NJ 08758. On Nov. 9 at Wall, Bob proudly had his grandson –
Jim’s son Tyler – with him to enjoy the activities. Bob said that
he hopes that racing at Wall continues years into the future for many reasons
– including his wish that Tyler could one day also work on the track
crew. That tradition goes back to Bob’s dad, who was in that role going
back to the 1960s.
The officials, young drivers
and family members of the Garden State Quarter-Midget Racing Club which has
held their events on the 1/20-mile asphalt “Little Wall” oval adjacent
to the big track’s pit area since the early-1990s had some very encouraging
news as their season concluded with the “Little Turkey Derby” the
first weekend in November. That was the permission they received from the
Big Wall owners that the GSQMRC racing could continue on that site next year.
Earlier this season, when the
big track had closed, the Quarter-Midget facility was also shut down. But
in late summer, the owners gave the GSQMRC board the authorization that they
could have a limited schedule of Quarter-Midget competition. What started
as a six-week run into September was extended by the Wall owners into November,
with the result that the traditional “Little Turkey Derby” was
held as usual.
GSQMRC president Wayne Wilson
told AARN that, on behalf of his fellow board members, he is extremely pleased
and appreciative of the generosity of the four owners (Tim Shinn, Fred Archer,
brothers Fletch, Glenn and Dale Creamer and Joe Sanzari); and looks forward
to an exciting season in 2009. Wayne added that despite the loss of racing
at Little Wall this year, and having many of its members go to other tracks
to compete to fill that void, many of those drivers and families came back
when action resumed in August. In fact, even more came to race – and
the numbers look very strong for next year now that there is a confirmation
that “Little Wall” is set at its familiar site. Wilson said that
the pre-season Novice School for new drivers and then early-practice for
all classes is slated for mid-March with the actual racing opener in April.
Also, showing their support to
the resumption of racing at the big track, many members of the Quarter-Midget
club will be working in various roles during the Big Wall Turkey Derby. |
