Episode #190
December 3, 2017
Theriault family to attend 2017 ARCA Racing Series Awards Banquet
Indianapolis will be buzzing this week with the arrival of the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show at the Indiana Convention Center downtown from December 7-9. For Fort Kent’s Austin Theriault it will mark the one-year anniversary of the conversation he had with Ken Schrader at the 2016 PRI Show which lead to him launching an all-out attack on the 2017 ARCA Championship.
That meeting at the PRI Show was followed by discussions with Ken and Ann Schrader which resulted in a full-time ride with Ken Schrader Racing (KSR). This became the first time Theriault was able to put together a serious quest for a points championship in a long time.
Theriualt and his KSR team mates will be honored as the 2017 ARCA Series Champions. This will be the first time that any Maine native has won a major national stock car racing title. Cherryfield’s, Andy Santerre won four consecutive Busch North titles, 2002-2005, which was more of a regional series.
The 65th Annual ARCA Series awards ceremony will be held at the Sagamore Ballroom at the Indiana Convention Center Saturday evening at 6:30 pm. Over 300 are expected to be in attendance at the black-tie affair.
The championship trophy will be extra special since it is designed and built by Cold Hard Art owner Tom Patsis. Patsis calls Ellsworth, Maine home. He works out of his shop/studio in Brownsburg, Indiana on Nitro Alley.
Theriault’s team owner, Ken Schrader recently re-signed with Federated Auto Parts for 2018 the 19th consecutive season together. Schrader will be at the PRI Show and of course the ARCA Racing Series banquet.
Schrader had this to say about the event,”I’ve been to a lot of banquets but the ARCA banquet is definitely, probably my favorite banquet. I like seeing everyone dressed up like that…trying to figure out who they are when they walk in.”
“There are always some really touching moments, funny moments…you just get a better appreciation at the ARCA banquet how hard everybody works to be there. It’s not so scripted…there’s more grass-root racers there, more for the love of the sport.”
Photos and a full report will be in Episode 191 next Sunday. Do you think Austin will be making any major announcements at the PRI Show this week. Great opportunity with most of racing industry in attendance.
Swanson will be crowned USAC Silver Crown Champion at PRI
The night before Austin Theriault is feted as the 2017 ARCA Racing Series champion, Kody Swanson will be recognized as the United States Auto Club (USAC) Silver Crown Champion. The USAC Night of Champions ceremony will be held December 8 at the Indiana Roof Ballroom at 6:30 pm.
In addition to the Silver Crown Champion, winners in the Sprint and Midget Divisions will be recognized. For Swanson, the Silver Crown champ, this will be his third championship in the last four years. He currently is number two in Silver Crown wins.
Swanson to race at the Chili Bowl Nationals in January
January’s cold winds and snow tend to make one’s mind wander either backward toward the 2017 season or look forward to 2018. Racers from all over the world will shatter that lull as they converge on the Tulsa State Fairgrounds River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma for six days of indoor clay track racing.
Activities at the 1/4 clay circle track begin January 8 with practice and culminate Saturday January 13 with the feature races. January 9th begins the elimination races leading up to the finale. As of press time there are 148 entries. Organizers are expecting over 200 entries before cutoff.
Since it is Christmas season, I have a list
It seems like everywhere I turn there is a list of wants and desires for Christmas gifts. I thought it would be cool to come up with a list of my own. I will call this list, HTF Motorsports recommended reading.
I will not list every source where you might find these books, nor will I get into great details. Simply recognize that some of these books have been in my library for several years, while some have made my bookshelves recently. Some may be out of print and unavailable.
This list is not going to contain every book that I have read, nor will it contain every book that I want to read. All books listed have been read by me , some multiple times thus their dog-eared look.
The list in no particular order:
My list of books as I have stated is by no means complete nor comprehensive. Imagine if I owned none of the books, my wish list would include all of them. If you have a motorsports book that you could not put down email me at thale@reagan.com.
Epic engine failure at Marlatt Engine & Dyno
You may remember in an earlier episode, I had a chance to visit Marlatt Engine & Dyno in Rushville, Indiana. While there with my friend Gene Robbins, the dyno was under repair by owner Paul Marlatt. Since that time a couple of engine component failures have made the rounds on social media including a turbo failure which sent the turbo impeller through the roof of the dyno room.
Though impressive, nothing compares to this destructive engine blow-up. Marlatt’s son Levi stated that the engine suffered severe metal fatigue at the bell-housing area probably caused by a tough season of pulling competition.
Take note that the crank continued to spin after the block had departed. Shrapnel filled the air with parts ricocheting off the walls.
Let’s go racing
Tom Hale
Soli Deo Gloria