I just got back from Race-A-Rama and boy did I hear it! Apparently there are some people who are very disappointed that there haven’t been many stories posted on the front page over the winter. Hopefully this short piece will bring a glimmer of hope almost as the grass peeks through our melting snow.

I didn’t go to Race-A-Rama last year. The last time I ventured to ‘The Big E’ for this event it encompassed three buildings and I am pretty sure it was the only thing that was happening in the venue. One building full of racecars and racing faithful provided the backdrop for my visit to Massachusetts Saturday.

Although this show might not have been as successful as previous attempts at the same or other regional racing trade shows, it certainly was a great opportunity to wet the whistle for the season to come and a chance for some to recount winter stories with old friends. Perhaps the most stunning thing to me was seeing all those lining up for autographs from racers of days gone by juxtaposed against at least ten NASCAR touring series competitors including 2004 Modified Champion Tony Hirschman twirling pens waiting for someone to approach for a hero card. Ten drivers, no waiting.

New Hampshire International Speedway Public Relations Director, Fred Neergaard is really excited about the new race weekend schedules that he announced on Friday. This year both the Whelen Modified Tour and the Busch North Series will conduct their races on Friday. My understanding is that in July, the Modified Tour will race in the early afternoon. The Modified event will be followed by Nextel Cup and Busch Series final practice sessions. The final event of the day will be the Busch North race. In September the schedule will be the same save the Busch North and Whelen Modifieds switching starting times and the Craftsman Trucks in lieu of the Busch Series.

The Saturday schedule will be quite different as well. The Busch Series or Craftsman Trucks will qualify followed by Nextel Cup time trials. Cup qualifying will be followed by the Busch Series or Craftsman Truck race. The switch in schedule in combination with the Nextel Cup and Busch Series impound after qualifying will allow the track to push back the opening time of the garage area to ten o’clock on Saturday and also allows enough flexibility in the timetable to make up for rained out Friday shows on Saturday morning.

Ken Barry’s new #21 paint scheme looks even hotter in person. The Whelen Modified of New York native Donny Lia was sporting a Boston Red Sox insignia? AirBorn Coatings had an impressive display of a Modified Chassis with a silver powder-coat finish. The representative there informed me that the total added weight with that finish was around three pounds.

Bones Boucier and Lew Boyd from coastal181.com are pleased to announce that Bones’ book ‘RICHIE!’ has gone into its’ second printing. Bones told me he was suffering from a ‘closed head injury’. I think the injury may have been a result of a failed attempt to drink Budweiser dry.

Stafford Motor Speedway has announced that the August Whelen Modified Tour date will feature only open wheeled racecars. The event has been tabbed ‘Modified Madness’ a name that hearkens back many years to a previous Stafford promotion. The WMT will be supported by Stafford’s SK’s and Pro-4 Modifieds.

The Modified Auxiliary is having a meeting at the Hometown Buffet in Manchester, CT on Saturday, March 19. All attendees must RSVP. Those interested in attending who haven’t been reached to this point may contact me by email and I will forward the information. The Modified Auxiliary operates as a non-profit organization in support of the Whelen Modified Tour and the Tour membership. Regardless of attendance at this event, the Auxiliary comes to the aid of those in need and the annual membership fee is less than most pit passes. Those who are affiliated with any of the Whelen Modified Tour teams are invited to join each year, please do so.

The Martinsville announcement this week was the best news I had heard all winter. That announcement comes with responsibility. It is up to all of us as drivers, crewmembers, officials, media vermin and track owners to do whatever we can to promote this event to the hilt. Shall we ever want to revisit this venue that is so storied in Modified racing lore, we must pack as many people as possible into those grandstands. Don’t get me wrong, that’s something that we should be doing for every race at every track, but this event is special. I’d hate to see the Tour get this date for one year and lose it in perpetuity.

I apologize to all who have waited for something new on the MSS main page. Although there were great things that happened at New Smyrna, I felt uncomfortable with the prospect of writing something that might be based on second or third hand information. Perhaps next season one of us will take the jaunt to Florida and give everyone a little more to talk about in February.

Look for a new series of writings coming to MSS this season. We are in the planning stages of a group of stories that will be called ‘Getting to Know You 2’ which will feature interviews of drivers and either their crew chiefs, car owners, wives or relatives. I think it will give everyone a little break from regular race reports and traveling madness stories and allow all who visit this site an opportunity to get a little closer to many of the Tour regulars they love to follow.