Hell Tour 2014…Two Weeks of Pure Joy
en races in 14 days…any true race fan would drool with anticipation and delight
over the prospect of attending that many events over a period of two weeks. But I can top that,
as I had the good fortune and golden opportunity to not only attend, but announce (and write
about) ten racing programs in 14 days at the beginning of August, 2014.
As my schedule developed and the time for my personal “Hell Tour” drew near, I
was really looking forward to it. I had never even come close to announcing that many races in a
two week span…would my voice hold up? Would I survive the test of endurance, as the nights
were to be filled with racing while my days were taken up by my job at St. Joseph Medical
Center? And would I still be married after spending the majority of two weeks at my job and the
race track? Fortunately, that answer is yes – in fact, the answer to all of the questions above is a
resounding “YES!”
Unfortunately, I had to delete one event off the Hell Tour, as the Tuesday, August
12 program at the Kutztown Fair was rained out. I still considered myself lucky, though…losing
just one race of this 10-in-14 stretch isn’t too bad. But it did alter the Tour to nine races in 14
days.
Here is a brief recap of those nine events; just one or two personal highlights that I
took from each night of my dirt track nirvana…
Monday, August 4: the 10th Annual Nostalgia Nationals
at the Reading Fair. It’s hard to believe that this is
already the tenth anniversary of this marquee event
for the All Star and Junior Slingshots. And I’m very
proud of the fact that I’ve announced all ten Nostalgia
Nationals…all the way back to the first one in 2005,
when Ryan Smith (what’s he done lately? Oh yeah, he
just beat the World of Outlaws at Port Royal a few
weeks ago, didn’t he?) captured the inaugural event.
This year, Mike McLaughlin, in a beautiful car painted
similarly to Kenny Weld’s “Batmobile” that
revolutionized the dirt Modified division in 1980, took
home the victory at the Reading Fair.
14 ~ The Inside Track