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July 26: Convincing Win for Margeson at Wenatchee By Dolan Lannan Saturday was a super hot day at the Wenatchee Valley Super Oval and Evan Margeson was equally hot, dominating the competition and easily winning the 35 lap feature. (more) July 17: Wenatchee Update Next Saturday, July 24, the WMRA is going to Wenatchee Valley Raceway for the first time since the 2007 season. The folks at the track have been aware of the progress of the club and have partnered with the WMRA by significantly increasing the purse and by agreeing to do some radio advertising for the upcoming race. There will be 22 ads on KKRV 104.7 on Thursday and Friday. The management at Wenatchee Valley Raceway have also agreed to arrange it so that the midget trailers will be able to stay in the pits, no need to unload the trailers! If you have any questions, please call Tom Maples at 503 519-8453. At all our races in 2010, the WMRA will pay $500 to win, $125 to start the feature and $75 for any car that does not start the feature. In addition, the WMRA always pays a minimum of $250 (against the winnings) for anyone who tows over 400 miles to race at a WMRA event. For this event and for the following race on August 14 at the half mile track in Yakima, the WMRA is increasing the guarantee for cars traveling over 400 miles to race from the normal $250 to $350. In addition, for Wenatchee and Yakima, the WMRA will pay an additional $100 to any car that is racing with the WMRA for the first time in 2010. July 14:
Fellow WMRA racers and
club members the 2010 season has provided
excellent racing and fierce competition
between the contenders. The overall car counts
are up at a average to date of 10.5. The
fans are jazzed with the quality of the
shows. Race track promoters seem very pleased
with programs to date. We have some
contractual issues to overcome at some
upcoming events. Wenatchee Valley Super Oval
7/24 Yakima 8/14 and Ephrata 9/4 . At
these events our purse is based on the back
gate entry via our race teams and supporters.
This is the first year we have tried this and
it was at the request of the track promoters.
As we all know they are feeling the money
pinch also. I encourage all teams and
supporters to consider these races a must and
please sign in at the back gate. To date WMRA
club membership is very low overall, Crew
Chief, Mechanics, Drivers, Car Owners, Team
Supporters, Owners that have cars parked or
only intend to race select events. Team
personnel that are have participated to date
an failed to join. WE NEED YOUR MEMBERSHIP
DUES. The WMRA needs the membership funds for
continued operation of the club.
Tom Maples
July 12:
Hoffses Scores First Victory By Dolan Lannan
Perfect weather for
a race, as the local Chamber of Commerce could have told you it
would have been! Thirteen cars pulled into the pits at the
small, tough and exciting Port Angeles Speedway. On WMRA's last
race here in August of 2008 it looked like Mitch Hoffses adapted
really well to this little race track, he continued in the same
manner this evening notching his first ever WMRA Main Event win.
(more)
June 28: Margeson Wins Bob Gregg Memorial By Dolan Lannan June 26 Bob Gregg would have been proud. The Washington Midget racing Association feature had thirty laps of excitement, frustration, mayhem, and wild fan reaction as Evan Margeson battled to a win, due to his perseverance, skill, and a little bit of luck, as a full moon beamed brightly from above. This race was the revival of the Bob Gregg Memorial. Gregg was a legend in racing and especially in the WMRA, with 22 WMRA wins and four championships among his credits. Another impressive accomplishment was Gregg winning at least one race in five decades, the forties through the eighties. Thank you to John Gregg and Main Street Motors for making this race possible. (more)
Atkinson Wins in Ephrata By Dolan Lannan
Nine cars signed into the pits on a warm, bright
and sunny day at the Annual Sage and Sun weekend
in Ephrata. Hot laps saw all cars on the track,
but were marred by a fire under the hood of
Keith Davidson's #52 car, and this resulted in
his being out for the evening. June 16: Two in a Row for Margeson By Dolan Lannan:
In a
hard fought battle with teammate Mark Atkinson,
Evan Margeson took the lead two laps before the
checkered flag to score his second consecutive
victory in the young 2010 racing season.
The Imagine Children's Museum in Everett is having their annual Racin' Rally race car show this Father's Day, June 20. Clint Lang there would like to have a couple of midgets there. It is from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Check it out here or call Clint Lang at 425 422-9438. May 24: Margeson Wins Opener By Dolan Lannan Saturday, at South Sound Speedway, the Washington Midget Racing Association held the opening round of the 2010 MAC Towing racing series . Although there were a couple of unusual twists, the event ended the same way as the first race of 2009, with Evan Margeson in the winner’s circle. (more) May 20: The first race of the WMRA 2010 season is this Saturday at South Sound Speedway. The back gate will open at 1:00pm. Qualifying will begin at 5:00 with racing to follow at 6:30. May 13: The services for Jim North have been arranged. There will be a memorial this Sunday, May 16 at 2:00pm, in the auditorium of Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma. The address is 4634 S. 74th St. Click here for a map. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been set up for the family. Donations can be made to Northwest Community Church (NWCC), North Benevolent Fund, 5016 46th Ave Ct. E., Tacoma WA, 98433 May 9: The We are sorry to report the sudden passing of former WMRA pit boss, Jim North yesterday. Jim leaves behind his wife, Chris, and a nine-year-old son, Jason. He was 45. We will post details on the service when they are available. May 3: The WMRA Board would like to announce that the July 10 race at Port Angeles Speedway will award double points. In addition, $250 will be awarded to the winner of an all Canadian trophy dash if at least four midgets from Canada are in attendance. April 25: There will be a WMRA general meeting on Tuesday, May 4 at 7:30. The meeting will be held at the Hawks Prairie Restaurant in Lacey. Pocket schedules and applications will be available. April 21: The WMRA Board is pleased to announce our officials for the 2010 season. Ashley Ostman, Lynne Bennett and Kim Ostman have agreed to return as our scorekeepers. We would like to welcome Jeff Johnson on board as our referee and Joey Kreiger as our pit boss. They are excited to be involved and we are glad to have them as part of the club! April 20: Lynne Bennett, another of our great scorekeeping team, is also walking in the March for Babies walk. She would appreciate any sponsorship support you can provide. Click here to see her home page and sponsor her for this great cause. April 18: One of our WMRA scorekeepers, Ashley Ostman is walking for the March of Dimes March for Babies on May 15. She is looking for sponsors for this great cause. Click here to support Ashley and the March for Babies. They accept Paypal, credit cards, cash or checks. April 17: One goal of the new board of directors is to increase the exposure our racers get. We are pleased to announce that our June 5 race at South Sound Speedway will be broadcast on television. The show will air on Salem CCTV. The details are below. A big "Thank You!" is due to Daniel Shields at Crosstown Media for making this possible. Wild West Midget Racing TV Series
Coverage will include the time trials, heat races, trophy dashes and main events. There will be interviews with the drivers and behind the scenes footage. Filming will be done with 2-3 cameras and will include replays. If you know of a track that would be interested in having their midget races televised please note the contact information below. We are attempting to get a 10-12 race series together for airing on television. Currently we have some Washington and Oregon tracks that have expressed interest in participating in this television series.
Dan Dalke, the director, has a long list of programs to his credit. Programs included in this list are: Inside Drag Racing, The last race of the indoor winter series at the Salem Fairgrounds, Pro Wrestling, Roller Derby, High School and College Sports, Music Videos, Documentaries, Concerts in the City Series, as well as many others.
Special thanks go to: Tom Maples, Dolan Lannan, WMRA, Butch Behn of Southsound Speedway, Rob Lindsey and Rich Gentes of the dirt series, and to Bob Farwell of Cottage Grove Speedway. Also, Crosstown Media LLC for being a program sponsor.
For more information on how to get your races televised please use these contacts: Daniel @ 503-585-1303.
Dates that currently are confirmed: May 1, 2010 Cottage Grove May 22, 2010 Cottage Grove June 5, 2010 South Sound Speedway June 26, 2010 Cottage Grove July 17, 2010 Cottage Grove July 31, 2010 Cottage Grove August 28, 2010 Cottage Grove
April 11: The WMRA Board had a very productive meeting last week. To help increase the car count, two changes were made to the payouts for 2010. First, the feature winner will be guaranteed $500 at every race this year. In addition, the minimum payout for starting a feature race will be raised from $100 to $125. As is always the case, the purse will be paid based on thee points earned. These extra payouts will be paid out of increased sponsorship money qnd other funds, not out of the purse money. The WMRA will also continue a tradition that it began many years ago. A guaranteed minimum of $250 will be paid against your winnings to anyone who tows over 400 miles to race a WMRA event. March 16: Congratulations to Tom Maples and Pat Bliss for winning the Salem Indoor Winter Midget Series. You can catch some of the action on TV at Salem CCTV. The show airs several times. Here is the schedule of when the shows air. March 12: There have been many great drivers in WMRA's long and prestigious history. One of the most successful drivers was "Barefoot" Bob Gregg. Among his many accomplishments, Gregg has 22 WMRA wins, and four WMRA championships. He is the only driver to win at least one WMRA race in each of five decades. the forties through the eighties. The WMRA is proud to announce the revival of the Bob Gregg Memorial on June 26 at South Sound Speedway. The race will be sponsored by John Gregg and Main Street Motors in Vancouver. There will be additional purse money as well as special trophies to be awarded. More details will be posted later. March 3: An updated 2010 WMRA membership application is now available. In addition to owner and driver memberships, associate memberships are also available. Almost all of WMRA's income comes from memberships. So even if you are not an owner or a driver, please consider becoming an associate member of the club. March 3: The BCRA will be opening their pavement season on April 3rd at Shasta Raceway Park. They are offering $100 tow money and a guarantee of $150 if you start the main event. They have made some rule changes over the winter. Go to the BCRA Rule Book to check out the changes. March 2: A big thank you to Sandy Ferris for finding some good hotel values for the 2010 season. Click here or go to the 'Hotels' link above for the information. February 25: The 2010 Rules have now been posted. Rule changes for 2010 are in bold and are underlined. Go to www.wmraracing.com/2010/2010_rule_book.htm to view the rules. February 23: The WMRA is looking for officials for the upcoming season. We are accepting applications for referee, pit boss, flagger and announcer. If you know of anyone who may be interested or if you have any questions, please contact the WMRA at wmra2010@aol.com. February 15: The 2009 Awards banquet and 2010 kickoff went very well. Click here for a short story and some pictures. Of course all this would not be possible without lots of volunteers and sponsors. Click here to see that list of WMRA supporters. February 15: The memorial service for Gus Carlson will be held this Friday, February 19 at the Mountain View Funeral Home in Tacoma. It will begin at 1:00. Email WMRA2010@aol.com with any questions. February 13: We are very sorry to report the passing of Gus Carlson. Gus was a long time push truck driver and a big fan of the WMRA. Gus was the sponsor of the Fastest Ford Award for many years. You can send any condolences to:
The Carlson Family February 8: The WMRA had their 2009 Awards Banquet and 2010 kickoff on Saturday. It was a great success, with so much great food, so many laughs, so many awards and so many people to thank. There will be more details later but a HUGE thank you go to Dick Voss, Tom Margeson and Scott Livernash for all their work on the banquet and especially to emcee Tom Glithero and speaker Ross Bentley for their professional and entertaining presentations, and to Emma Livernash for her great job as the trophy girl. February 8: Among the goals of the new WMRA Board is better communication. One of the ways to accomplish that is to make improvements to the website. A new website is in the work and will hopefully be done in a few weeks. Meanwhile, the old site experienced a spun rod bearing and a blistered tire at about the same time. So a new front page has been created to last until the new site is up. If you experience any problems with the site, please email us at WMRA2010@aol.com. Thank you for your patience in the last few weeks while we worked through the problems. February 3: Momentum in the WMRA is continuing to build. Listed here are more trophy sponsors that have come forward to support the club. Thank you for your help!
J & L
Fabrication (Louie Shefchik)
two! February 2: Oops! Apparently the front page of the website disappeared for a day or two. Your webmaster doesn't know where it went or even how it got back. But here it is and we apologize for the whoops. February 2: Remember the banquet this Saturday, February 6. After negotiating with the caterer, the deadline to buy banquet tickets has been extended to this Thursday. And as an added incentive, tomatoes to throw at the emcee will be provided at no no charge, limit three per customer. Below are the details: Ross Bentley to speak at WMRA Banquet
The WMRA is having a party!! On February 6 the WMRA will be having the 2009 Awards Banquet and 2010 Kick-off Party. Come join us in recognizing WMRA Champion, Ben Petter and all the 2009 racers for their accomplishments. This will also be a great time to join in the growing enthusiasm for the coming season. And to top it all off, Ross Bentley will be the featured speaker! The WMRA is very excited to have this world renown driver and driving coach join us for the evening. Here is a little on Ross: Since watching his first auto race at the age of five, Ross has dedicated his life to driving. He began his racing career in oval track sprint cars, then turned to road racing, and winning, in Formula Ford, Formula Atlantic, Trans-Am, Showroom Stock and sports-racers. From 1990 to 1995, Ross competed in the CART Indy Car Series, and then moved to prototype sports cars in the IMSA, USRRC, ALMS and Grand-Am series. In 1998, he won the United States Road Racing GT-3 Championship for the PTG BMW M3 team, and then won the 2003 Daytona 24-Hour race. Ross is currently one of the most sought-after and respected race and performance driver coaches in the world. He expands traditional instructional methods by focusing on what is really driving the car… the driver’s mind. Ross’s unique approach to coaching drivers was highlighted in a Discovery Channel International documentary in 2005, focusing on the similar techniques used by Ross and Dr. Kerry Spackman, a neuroscientist working with the McLaren Formula 1 team. Through Speed Secrets Driver Development Services (www.speedsecrets.com), Ross coaches drivers of all ages, types of cars, and levels of the sport. He’s worked with 8 year-olds in karting, amateur racers in their 60’s, autocrossers, Indy 500 winners, flat track motorcycle racers, and top fuel drag racers. He’s coached in the U.S., Canada, Australia, England, China and Korea. His protégé, Colin Braun, (who he has been coaching in and out of the race car since Colin was 13), has signed a long-term contract to drive for Roush-Fenway Racing in NASCAR. Ross has literally written the book on driving. He's put his experience and knowledge of racing and human performance into the Speed Secrets books. Speed Secrets 1 through 6 represent the best-selling race and performance driving technique books, and his Bob Bondurant on Race Kart Driving book is popular in the karting world. A big thanks to Tom Glithero who has agreed to emcee the event. For those who don’t know Tom, he has done just about everything in the racing industry. Tom grew up with the WMRA, often helping the legendary Ken Petersen before buying his own midget in the earlier eighties. Tom then drove for the esteemed Homer Norman and was for many years the WMRA president and business manager. Over the years Tom has done probably every task for the club, most recently being the referee through 2007. He is a long time WMRA Gold Card holder. Most of Tom‟s professional life has also been in racing. He was the promoter for many years at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, as well as Yakima Speedway and the track in Kalispell, Montana. He even promoted demo derbies in Waterville, WA. For the last few years Tom has been the Vice President of Sales for Longacre Racing. Social hour will begin at 6:00, followed by dinner at 7:00, Ross Bentley’s speech, and the awards portion of the evening. The banquet will be held in the fellowship hall of the Russian Baptist Church at 1301 A St. SE., in Auburn. The dinner will be catered by the well known Longhorn Barbeque. Everyone is welcome to attend. Every paid membership in 2009 includes a ticket to the banquet. For others the tickets are $29.50 each. Even if you are prepaid you must confirm your attendance with the WMRA so we can know how many meals will be needed. For tickets or if you have questions, email Dick Voss at vossracer45@msn.com or call him at 253 833-9645 to order tickets or with any questions.
February 1: The WMRA has five perpetual trophies. The winner of two of them are decided by a vote of the membership. They are the Sparks award for best appearing car and crew and the Dave Smelser award for Sportsmanship. Both of these awards will be voted on at the meeting this Tuesday. January 31: The annual WMRA rules meeting will be this Tuesday at the Hawks Prairie Restaurant in Lacey. There will be a board meeting at 6:00 and then the general meeting will follow at 7:00. With quite a few items to consider on the agenda, the board meeting will be open to board members and invited guests only. Thank you to all of you who have submitted rules proposals in the last few weeks. These are on the rules proposal page of the website. These proposals will be considered first. If time permits, rule proposals that are brought to the meeting in writing and with copies so everyone can consider them, will be considered next, followed by any oral proposals. The 2010 WMRA schedule will also be announced and discussed at the meeting. Thanks to Gregg Atkinson for coming up with a great schedule in some difficult times. With so many races being canceled last season, making so few racers eligible to vote, and with so many cars in the area that have not run recently, the WMRA board has decided to open up the rules discussion and vote to include every midget owner in the area. The meeting will also be the last chance to get tickets for the 2009 awards banquet and 2010 kickoff. The board has worked hard to make this a fun event for all and they want to see a large crowd. With Ross Bentley as the featured speaker and Tom Githero as emcee, it is definitely an evening not to be missed. So come out for a good time and show your support for the 2009 racers and for the upcoming season. Remember, if you are a paid 2009 member, your ticket is already paid for! Additional tickets are only $29.50 each. Even if your tickets are prepaid, you must confirm your attendance so that enough food will be ordered. We are looking for just a few more awards sponsorships. Sponsorships are $40 each. A big thank you to everyone who has come forward on short notice and sponsored a trophy which really helps out the club. Here is a list of those who have committed so far:
Frank & Angie Pribbenow
two! To reserve a spot, buy banquet tickets, or sponsor a trophy, contact Dick Voss by Tuesday. You can call him at 253 833-9645 or email him at vossracer45@msn.com. January 28: There are now a couple more rule proposals on the Rules Proposal Page. January 20: The Rules Proposal Page has been updated. Rules proposed in advance of the rules meeting will be considered and discussed first at the rules meeting on February 2. In order to give interested people enough time to consider proposals, the deadline to post your proposals on the website and get them considered first at the meeting is January 29. January 19: Gregg Atkinson has been working hard on the 2010 WMRA schedule. Although there have been a few obstacles, things are coming together with just a few loose ends to work on. The WMRA Board's goal this year was to race at all the premier oval tracks and at some of the bigger events that these tracks are hosting in the Northwest and Gregg has done a great job working toward these goals. South Sound Speedway and Ephrata raceway Park are likely to be on the schedule again this year. And the WMRA is likely to be returning to a few tracks that we didn’t run at in 2009. Look for possible races at Wenatchee Valley Raceway, Port Angeles Speedway and Yakima Speedway. Gregg has also talked with promoters of other tracks but nothing else has been worked out yet. Complete schedules will be available at the February 2 meeting and at the WMRA banquet and 2010 season kick-off on February 6. Thanks Gregg for all your hard work. January 15: The phone number for banquet tickets and information was wrong in the article below. The correct number for Dick Voss is 253 833-9645. We apologize for any inconvenience. January 14: Thanks for the interest in the rule proposals. A few more rule proposals have been submitted. Check them out on the Rule Proposal Page. If you would like to submit any rule proposals, send them to wmra2010@aol.com January 13:
January 8:
A big thank you to all who attended
the WMRA meeting Tuesday.
It was by far the best attended
meeting in recent memory with about thirty
people there.
The next meeting will be the annual
rules meeting. The
date will be February 2, and it will again
be at the
Hawks Prairie Restaurant in Lacey.
More details will be posted later.
Experience has shown that it is
better to vote for rule proposals that have
had some time to be considered.
A new
page on the WMRA website has been set up
for rule proposals to be posted and read.
Rule proposals that have been written
and posted in advance will have first
consideration at the rules meeting.
If time allows, rule proposals that
have been written, copied and distributed to
the voters at the meeting will then be
considered and finally verbal proposals will
be considered.
Rule proposals that are intended to
fairly equal the competition are especially
encouraged.
Click here to view the WMRA 2009 rules
and
click here to view the 2010 rule
proposals
If you would like to submit a
proposal, please send it to
wmra2010@aol.com.
Include your proposal
along with your name and contact
information. The
proposal will then be posted on the Rule
Proposal page. If
asked, your name and contact information
will not be posted on the site. Thanks
to Dave Hoene for his written proposal. January 1, 2010: The WMRA wants to wish each of you a very Happy New Year. Remember, there will be a meeting this Tuesday, January 5. It will be at the Hawks Prairie Restaurant in Lacey. The board meeting will begin at 6:00 with a general meeting to follow at 7:00. Among the topics to be discussed will be an update on the schedule, some of the changes that the new board is considering, and a discussion on officials. No rules will be voted on at this meeting but there will be some discussion on proposed rule changes. The rules meeting is tentatively set for February 2. A newsletter was sent out and should be received before the meeting but a mistake was made and the information about the meeting was accidentally omitted. So please be sure to spread the word on the meeting, especially to those who may not visit the website regularly. Thanks to each of you for your help. December 24: Merry Christmas from the WMRA to the racers, friends fans, supporters and family everywhere! December 21: WMRA is pleased to announce the addition of Mac Towing as a series sponsor for the 2010 season. Bill Petter, lifetime WMRA member, father of 1985 WMRA Champion, Terry Petter and grandfather of 2009 WMRA Champion, Ben Petter has agreed to sponsor each race of the 2010 season. This will be a great boost for the club, both financially and with the prestige and class that Mr. Petter and Mac Towing bring to the club. December 20: The next WMRA meeting will be on Tuesday, January 5th. It will be at the Hawks Prairie Restaurant, near I-5 at exit 111 in Lacey. The board meeting will begin at 6:00 with the general meeting to follow at 7:00. We will have a private room. If we bring enough business, there will be no cost to the WMRA. So bring your thoughts, ideas, energy and appetites on the first Tuesday of the New Year. For more information on the restaurant including a map, go to http://www.hprestaurant.com/.
December 13: Please welcome our new board member, Mr. Allen Dixon. I spoke with Allen this week and confirmed his desire to participate on the 2010 WMRA board. Allen lives in Ephrata. He has two asphalt midgets he's planning to run with the WMRA in 2010. He has been involved in many types of racing for years. Mr. Kim Barr will crew chief the two cars. Mr. Barr will also serve as a proxy for Allen in his absence at meetings and club issues. Mr. Dixon indicated he may not be able to make all meetings due to his home being in eastern Washington. Again, thanks Allen. Tom Maples December 6: The 2010 WMRA Board of Directors met today with all six members present. Thanks to Tom Maples for agreeing to be WMRA President. Rod Churchill will be the Vice President, Scott Livernash will be Secretary and Ken Ferris will be the Treasurer. Dick Voss and Tom Margeson are also 2010 Board members. There are many things that need to be done. With such a late start, scheduling the races will be a high priority. Among the first orders of business was to appoint Gregg Atkinson to the position of Business Manager. Thank you Gregg, for accepting this important position. Along with Tom Maples, Gregg attended the annual promoters meeting two weeks ago and has already made some headway on this tough task. Another priority for 2010 will be communication. A newsletter and some adjustments to thee website are two items that will be worked on. Also, the board would like to be able to periodically email information and updates to interested parties. If you would like to be included in these updates, contact us at WMRA2010@aol.com , include your name and email address and we will be happy to include you. December 5: Yesterday, Vice President Glen Seidelman announced the 2010 WMRA Board of Directors. They are: Rod Churchill, Scott Livernash, Ken Ferris, Tom Maples, Tom Margeson and Dick Voss. Although the new board is getting a late start, they are anxious to begin work on the 2010 season. All the board members have agreed to meet tomorrow, December 6. Your input is welcome. You can send emails to WMRA2010@aol.com.
*** To see the results, go to the banner on top of this page and click the button labeled “results”*** ~~~CONGRATULATIONS~~~
WMRA and Crosstown Media
would like to congratulate
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