Episode 234
October 14, 2018
Janet “Sprockett” Bosse wins her first feature at Richmond Karting Speedway
After watching her son, Damian Theriault, win multiple races throughout the season, Janet Bosse decided to finish the season in the driver’s seat. To get back in the swing of things she raced in the Northern Maine Karting Association (NMKA) season finale triple-header September 22. She quickly found the groove finishing second in all three feature races.
This past weekend she entered the Senior Animal Division with kart named “Rage” at Richmond Karting Speedway Halloween Howler with two other strong competitors, Jason Theriault and Brandon Williams.
Bosse said, “Rage and I had a tough 30 lap race fighting for the checker against Jason and Carbon. I was able to get the jump at the green and keep Jason behind me, aside from a couple of close calls, securing my first Richmond checker! Yes, I have also verified that Jason did not ‘let’ me win.”
IMSA racing season ends, seems like a long time since I was at season opener
International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) WeatherTech Sports Car Championship season ended Saturday at Road Atlanta with the Petit Le Mans 10-Hour Endurance race. It seems like a long time ago when Phil Miller, my brother Bill, and I were at Daytona International Speedway for the season opener, Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
I never followed IMSA closely until three years ago I decided to get away in the winter and cover the iconic 24 Hour of Daytona. Last January marks my third Daytona race.
Once I was at the track, it became immediately apparent in year one, 2016, that the 24 hour race would be fun to cover since the crowds are much smaller, only 25-30,000 versus over 150,000 for the Daytona 500. The cars were interesting as were the people.
This year the crowd of racers got larger with four new Daytona Prototypes International (DPi), two Penske Acura and two Mazda Team Joest cars. Multiple LMP2 race cars were lumped into the same class winning two races during the season.
Photos of the first race and the season finale follow:
Kody Swanson to new Silver Crown team in 2019
Four time USAC Silver Crown champion, Kody Swanson, was announced as Nolen Racing only driver for 2019 after Swanson’s five time champion team, DePalma Motorsports based in Lima, Ohio, decided to call it quits after the 2018 season.
Team owner,Tony DePalma, in his press release said, ““I’ve met a lot of good people in this sport and built a lot of great relationships. It’s been a pleasure to know a lot of people in this sport and it’s really one of the most rewarding things besides, obviously, winning races.”
” It’s been really neat to get to know Kody’s family and friends over the last several years. It’s also fun to get to know our competitors. Yeah, they’re the people we competed against, but most of them I view as friends. That’s the most rewarding thing.”
Swanson commented about the DePalma Motorsports team with which he won 21 of his 24 victories, “What an absolutely incredible opportunity this has been. I am so grateful for all of the effort put in by every member and supporter of this team, and the sacrifices made by their families these past five years.”
“I am thankful for the relationships that we have made, and all of the time that we’ve spent together to grow from beyond a race team to a racing family. The entire DePalma family, Bob, Clark, Jesse, Ryan, BK, Shane, and everyone who has pitched in at one point or another over the years, and all of their families, I am so thankful for each of you, and what a special legacy that you’ve allowed my family and I to be a part of.”
“It has truly been one incredible ride, accomplishing things that I never imagined could be possible, and things that I know would not have been possible without each and every one of you. Thank you all!”
Nolen racing press release:
Nolen Racing announced today that it will downsize from a two-car to a one-car USAC Silver Crown team in 2019, and that car will be driven by the winningest driver in series history, four-time and reigning champion Kody Swanson.
Team owner Gene Nolen also said he will field two asphalt sprint cars next year, not three as he has done in recent seasons. That program’s primary focus is the Pay Less Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway, and Swanson and Shane Hollingsworth will drive those cars. Swanson gave Nolen his first Little 500 victory in May, while Hollingsworth finished third.
“We want to publicly thank Jerry Coons Jr. and Chris Windom for driving for us,” Nolen said. “We really appreciate Jerry driving for us for all these years. They are both champion drivers, they’ve both been winners with us, and they are both very talented. Any team would be lucky to have either one. But we need to cut back the number of cars we’re fielding for a variety of reasons, and we hope that by making this difficult decision early, they will have time to find other good opportunities for 2019.”
Nolen has 11 USAC Silver Crown wins, two this year. Chris Windom stopped Kody Swanson’s five race win streak at the one mile dirt track at Springfield Illinois and followed that up winning his second race in a row at the DuQuoin dirt track race.
What does a four-time USAC champion do?
Sometimes we put champions up on pedestals and assume they are a cut above normal. That sometimes gets inside a person’s head and they start to believe all the accolades and may forget how they got to that point.
Not so with Swanson. Yes his schedule with work and racing was busy, however, he still makes time for family. His family is very tightly knit and have been with him through thick and thin.
Swanson and wife Jordan are not perfect and will never claim to be. They are expecting their second child this month which will certainly change their perspective on life with the attendant demands of a newborn. I suspect they will work together to do the best they can with the Lord’s help.
Tom Hale
Soli Deo Gloria
Matthew 5:16