Motor Novels: books about dirt track auto racing. SUPER STOCK ROOKIE is now available!
Follow Skyler Smith and new driver Ev Barrett in their Team Weaver stock cars. SATURDAY NIGHT DIRT kicks off the series!
Dirt track racing
Post-season clean up
The 2009 race season is officially in the books for Team Weaver. In the Midwest Mod class, Skyler finished 143rd of about 700 cars. Considering our season that was full of rain-outs and freaky mechanical failures, we are happy with that. This fall, Bill Smith and I have been on the road with the "Bookmobile" visiting schools, including Detroit Lakes Middle and Forestview Middle in Brainerd MN. There Bill got in trouble (again!) for "revving the engine". Some crabby teacher in another wing of the school called the police, and two squad cars came to investigate. Clearly, a bit of miscommunication within the school, as the library staff and English Department were the ones who organized our visit. But no real trouble from the incident, and worth a good laugh.... We really enjoyed our days working with middle schoolers, showing off our race car, as well as talking about novels for young adults--including MEMORY BOY, DEFECT, SATURDAY NIGHT DIRT and the new one, SUPER STOCK ROOKIE. (Another Motor Novel, CHECKERED FLAG CHEATER, will be out in early 2010).
An eighth grade girl, Hannah, from one of the schools got in touch me after my visit. I liked her email so much that I'm pasting it below:
> Mr. Weaver,
>
> Today you visited my school and i was literally amazed with the
> stock car racing. I've always been a little on the daredevilish side and a huge
> racing fan and i was wondering if you could give me and information on how to
> get in to stock car racing. Thank you so much.
>
> Sincerely
> Hannah P
>
Hi Hannah,
Thanks the for note, and it was fun being at your school.
Getting into racing involves getting to know car-types and motorheads. They
always welcome girls, so don't be shy. Just tell them that you "want to
learn."
Gradually you can get comfortable knowing more about cars and racing. Find a
local dirt track speedway--the nearest one is probably Princeton, MN. When
you go, get a pit pass, which allows you to wander anywhere and watch the
race teams and look at the cars. There, too, introduce yourself and make
friends. Maybe you can get on a pit crew (it's very informal), and
eventually work your way up to being a driver. I know you'd have fun.
Good luck,
Will Weaver
Willweaverbooks.
Motornovels.com
Also, check out www.wissota.org and the "fan page" for types of dirt track
race cars.
Final Race Report, 2009 Season
The Bemidji Stampede was more of a trot. And a cold, wet one. With temps at 45 degrees and a light mist falling, Team Weaver started in the pole position in the 4th heat on Saturday night. With a big car count, and everyone trying do well for the Sunday feature, the weather didn't cooperate. The moisture made the track greasy and downright dangerous.
The races were halted during the 3rd heat of Midwest Mods, which eventually brought the next heat of cars (Skyler's) onto the track to help pack in the moisture. After twenty minutes of low speed laps, the flagman threw the green for some hot laps. The cars seemed to stick all right, but the packing took its toll on the No. 16 Bookmobile.
In his heat, Skyler quickly lost two positions, and developed a serious "push" in the turns, especially turn two. He had a hard time trying not to drift upward in the corners, and had to slow considerably. We discovered later that a couple hundred pounds of sticky clay had lodged in the suspension, hence creating the "push." Because the circumstances, we weren't able to pit, where we might have taken care of issue. But the other cars had their own problems, and Skyler hung on for a respectable 4th place finish in his heat--which guranteed him a good spot in the feature.
However, Sunday's feature was not to be. Bemidji Speedway cancelled the races, a move that was puzzling to everyone. The conditions--light mist--Saturday night were worse than on Sunday. But the track officials apparently had their reasons, and they might well have been about driver safety.
In a nutshell, our season has ended. It was mixed summer in many ways, with rainouts, and then intermittent mechanical issues. The big blow was crashing in Grand Forks--when we took a hard, broadside hit after Skyler spun out. That crash reverberated for several races afterward. Bill kept finding more things amiss with our car. And that hard hit in GF was probably why we threw our drive shaft at the same speedway a week later. That proved costly, with the driveshaft taking out three tires, a rim, the driveshaft yoke--and cracking the transmission case, which we didn't discover until a week after that, and which caused us to scratch one more time.
All in all, it was learning, building year. Skyler got used the Midwest Modified, and we hope for a better year on the track next season. There were still many "victories", however, including some great promotional events for Team Weaver, including the MN State Fair.
Crew Chief Bill Smith and I will on the road soon with the "Bookmobile," visiting schools and talking about racing and dirt track novels for teens. Check our schedule under "Appearances" on my website: www.willweaverbooks.com
Race Report September 25 & 26
Grand Rapids MN Speedway "Thunder in the Pines"--
Team Weaver, without Weaver (who was in New York) went to Grand Rapids Friday night for qualifying and Saturday night for the big feature. On Friday night, after another bad draw (187 of 300 total numbers), Skyler started well back in his heat but finished fourth. Because of "passing points", he qualified for the Pole Dash, a ten lap sprint, where he finished fourth again. This qualified him for the feature, where he started second row outside.
In the 24 car big event, he ran well, fading slightly at the end to finish a strong 8th place. Good driving, no damage, we'll take it.
Next and final race will be the Bemidji Speedway "Stampede", a two day event on October 3 and 4.
Will Weaver was in New York meeting with his editor of the Motor Novels series. After SATURDAY NIGHT DIRT and SUPER STOCK ROOKIE, the third novel about dirt track racing is called CHECKERED FLAG CHEATER. It will be released nationwide in early 2010.
Race Report September 13
Bad luck and trouble, as the old Blues song goes, hangs around Team Weaver. While loading the Midwest Modified to head to Glyndon, MN, and the Corncob Nationals, Skyler exclaimed, "Where's all this transmission fluid coming from?!" It was spraying into the cockpit, he said.
After jacking up the car and looking underneath, chief Bill Smith found a hairline crack in the transmission casing. The damage was doubtless caused by our fly-away driveshaft at our last race in Grand Forks. That incident has proved more and more costly. As the shaft came lose, it took out tires, rims, some of the suspension, and now we'll need some serious transmission work--removal and re-housing. At least (we hope!!!) it didn't damage the actual transmission. No real evidence of that.
We were discouraged and crabby, but the sun was shining so we all took a step back and sat down on the grass and got out minds off racing tonight, and on track in terms of when/where we can race again. The opportunities are getting limited unless we do a long haul somewhere.
But first things first: Skyler and Bill will be working on the car this week, and we'll see happens after that.
Race Report September
The Minnesota racing season is winding down, but there still are some opportunities for dirt track action and of course the Team Weaver "Bookmobile." After getting rained out three times at Rivers City Speedway in Grand Forks, we chose not to make the haul last night. Instead, we'll be Buffalo River Race Park in Glyndon, MN, this coming Sunday night, September 13.
We had a great promo week recently, appearing at the Minnesota state fair on behalf of the Minnesota Public Libraries. Chief Bill Smith and I handed out my novels on dirt track racing. We focused on Saturday Night Dirt and Super Stock Rookie. They're great books for young adults on racing, and we had a lot of happy people taking away a Will Weaver book.
Writing books for teen boys is a tricky business, but my publisher and I think these Motornovels will be good reading for guys. But all of my books are written for everyone to read--girls too.
Minnesota racing news: we have sold our "little car", the Mod-Four. I would have liked to continue to have two drivers, but the sponsorship money has been tight this year, so Team Weaver is focusing on Skyler in the Midwest Mod.
Hope to see you at the Corncob Nationals at BRRP Sunday night!
End of Season Schedule
Team Weaver, recovering from damage (driveshaft, panhard, rears tires and rims, etc.) will not be at Bemidji Speedway on Sept 6.
Next race: Friday night, Sept 11 at Grand Forks.
After that: Sunday night, Sept 13, Buffalo River Race Park in Glyndon (pending)
Friday night, Sept 18, Grand Forks (pending)
Race Report September 4
Rivers City Speedway, Grand Forks ND:
The baseball season is winding down, and some players are already looking forward to next year. They batted .240, were intermittently injured, couldn't catch a break, and just want to put this season "in the books." Team Weaver has had a similar season with Skyler and our new Midwest Mod.
Last night at Grand Forks, we drew yet another high number (84), which had us starting from near the rear. In the first of three heats, Skyler started in 6th place and finished there. The car ran well, but seemed a bit loose in the corners.
In the feature, he started 8th row, outside (16th place) of 19 cars. The car seemed much tighter through the corners, however, and he began to pick off cars one by one. At a yellow flag on lap 7, he was in about 13th place and looking to move up.
However, shortly afterward, he lost power and coasted toward the pit entrance, causing a yellow flag. A push vehicle pushed him over the berm and into the pits, and we were done for the night.
The issue was rear suspension, a broken pan-hard bar. The resulting shift broke a U-joint, and we lost our driveshaft. The issue was not one of maintenance or impact; for whatever reasons, it just broke. Skyler and the crew said the car had never run better until that happened, ending our night.
The good news was that Skyler and I did some serious promo work earlier in the evening. During intermission, Skyler brought the car around to the flagstand area for display, and then joined me for an interview. In front of the grandstand, with several thousand people, we talked about Team Weaver racing. Afterward we gave away a box of books and t-shirts. The interview went well, and Skyler held his own with the mic in his face.
So on a full moon Friday night, we had a "win" of a different sort: a lot of publicity for our No. 16 "Bookmobile." With out car on display at the MN State Fair on Wednesday, it has a been a great week in that regard. In racing as in life, we take our victories where we can. So far this season, ours have been off the track rather than on. I still think, however, that we're due for some on-track success!
Next race: Monday night, Bemidji Speedway.
Race Report Aug 28
River Cities Speedway, Grand Forks North Dakota:
After getting chased from RCS three times by bad weather (including a summer tornado) Team Weaver finally took the high banked oval track. It was points championship night in Grand Forks, and since we race there only intermittently, we started in the rear. Lots of cars in all classes: Street Stock, Midwest Mod, Late Models and Sprints.
Four heats of Midwest Mods, and Skyler started 8th (last) in the first heat. He looked good, and quickly moved up a couple of places. Toward the end of the 8 lap race, he looked a little loose in the corners, and we found that he had a very low tire pressure. His tire was also full of dirt. A minor miracle had happened: after a hard bump, his front right tire came off the bead, then resealed again, but not before scooping up some clay. Afterward, the tire measured only 4 pounds of air pressure....
But the motor ran great, and Skyler had to come back through the B Main where he started about 5th of 9 cars--four of which would transfer to the rear of A Main feature race. Some nifty driving got him up to second place with 3 laps remaining. As he gradually reeled in the leader, I could see him wanting to make the pass and win the B Main. Unfortunately, he got a little too aggressive and spun out. The trailing cars split around him, but No. 8 Brett Schmidt from Bemidji t-boned Skyler hard in his driver's door. We ended up with bent tin, a tire rod and outer frame rails, as well as the floor of the cockpit. It could have been an injury accident, but we got lucky. Skyler remarked that he felt his HANS device "hit the end of its cords", meaning that his head-and-neck safety unit did his job. The back and neck brace is hooked by short straps to his helmet; this keeps his head from flopping upon impact (which is what killed Dale Earnhardt). The No. 08 car sustained more damage, including punching a hole in the radiator.
All in all, it was a move Skyler would like to do over. . . . Winning the B Main would have started him 17th in the A Main as opposed to 18th place, so there was not much to be gained. We can always default to "That's racing," but in this case it was a clear strategic error on the driver's part. But hey, the instinct to win is not a bad thing either, so none of us are going to nag on Skyler for "going for it."
All in all, a good night at the track, with special guest film maker Ali Selim in the pits with Team Weaver. It was his first time at a dirt track race, and he greatly enjoyed the experience.
Race Report Aug 23
Bemidji Speedway: Skyler finished 5th in his heat, and 10th in the Midwest Modified 19 car feature. Details are sketchy, as I couldn't attend the race, but crew chief Bill Smith said it was a "dogfight"--meaning good racing--and that nobody really moved up much. Track was in good shape, had good bite, and cars were fast. Skyler had a lot of back-and-forth with Brian LePier, one of the top runners, but in the end Skyler finished close to where he started. Some minor tin damage to the rear, but the car ran great.
Next race will be Friday night, August 28, at Rivers City Speedway in Grand Forks, ND.
In other news, Team Weaver is gearing up for a big promo appearance at the Minnesota State Fair on Weds, September 2. We'll be there 9am--5 p.m. The day before, Tuesday Aug 1, we'll be at the Galaxie Library in Apple Valley, MN, from 2-4 p.m.
Twitter Race Reports
Beginning August 23rd, race results will be filed directly from the track via Twitter. Look for Will__Weaver at Twitter.com.
More detailed race reports will be posted here, as usual, the following day.
