The Motorsports Show at Atlantic City appeared to me to be a smashing success. The combination of this event with the Indoor Races at Boardwalk Hall seemed to benefit both. I hadn’t been to the Indoor Races before but those who had attended in the past noticed the good boost in attendance.

I showed up in Monopoly town early Friday afternoon. The hotel where I stayed was located on a green property between two oranges. Just like when one plays the Parker Brothers board game, there seems no place like Atlantic City can display so much prosperity against a backdrop of dilapidation, hopelessness and despair. I’ll expand on that later.

I chose to leave my car at the hotel and take the local Jitney to the Convention Center. I waited as several of the #1 and #2 buses passed for the #3 that didn’t come. Fortunately, Mike Nuzzi, Sr. picked me up and gave me a lift. Upon arrival, I discovered I was a VIP. Thanks to Len Sammons, Ernie Saxton and Earl Krause from AARN for providing me with such access.

One of the first people I saw when I got in there was the old boss. Bill Sawyer was there at his Virginia Motor Speedway booth. Bill was his typically upbeat self and I was glad to see him.

The Atlantic City Convention Center is much bigger than the former site of this event in Fort Washington, PA. The Motorsports Show used about half of the venue to run the full show. In that given space there was more space in each booth and more room in the aisles which meant for less congestion throughout the weekend.

I checked out two of the seminars. Ernie Saxton, who is a legend in Motorsports promotion, held a seminar entitled, “The Basics of Team Sponsorship.” Matt and Tony Hirschman followed Ernie in the same room with “Asphalt Modified Setup and Overall pre-race preparation.” If anyone would like to have learned something from either of those seminars, they should have been there.

Some vendors might have been a little disappointed with the turnout on Friday. Believe it or not, Friday is the day that all of the vendors should hope that things are a little slow. That makes it a perfect time for them to mingle, generate cross promotions and cut deals for the upcoming season. For a Friday, I thought it was a great turnout.

Later, I got over to Boardwalk Hall for qualifying. Several competitors were limited to one time trial lap due to a safety violation. As the paddock area was indoors, no fuel or propane bottles were allowed and all of the trailers were inspected. One of the trailers that were nailed was the one that carried Ralph Solhem and Ted Christopher’s entry.

Ted made good of his one lap to get a starting spot in one of the three twenty lap qualifying heats. Christopher and “Liquid” Lou Cicconi put on two incredible displays in their heat race. Ted took down the win from a fourth place starting position with a car that was pulling the left rear tire off of the ground in the corners. Liquid Lou started scratch on the field and was quite impressive dashing through the field with a car that didn’t seem to put the right front tire on the ground for more than twenty feet per lap.

John Blewett, III timed well and looked good in his heat but apparently suffered some brake troubles that kept him out of a top twelve starting spot in the feature Saturday. JB would go on to win the B-Main on Saturday night. When the show was over Friday night, I took the Jitney down Pacific to get back to the hotel.

Saturday I drove to the Convention Center. I left with what I thought was plenty of time to park and walk to the show. I was directed by parking attendant after parking attendant to lots that were full. Finally, after waiting in lines only to get misdirected time and time again, I drove to Boardwalk Hall, parked in the basement for ten bucks and caught a cab to the Motorsports Show.

That was when I met Victor or Vic or Harry or well here’s the story. I noted to the cab driver that I couldn’t find “Free Parking” in Atlantic City like there is in the Monopoly game. He told me that was how the money was made around here. Victor A. Porcaro has done a lot of things to make a living.

He told me, “I never liked my full name so I had people call me Vic.” Then he was an ice cream vendor and people started calling him Harry. One could kind of make out where it had said Harry on his ice cream cart from a previous vendor. When Vic had it repainted, he put Harry back on there so he could be Harry the ice cream guy.

Then he went and did something else up north. Vic moved to Hoboken, NJ and everyone at that job called him Hoboken Harry. But now everyone calls him Burt.

When he came to AC he became known as Victor because people would read his name from the taxi license. Then Victor became Burt because if one dials the local area code down there Burt-555 they’ll get Vic’s cell phone and he’ll come to the rescue with his yellow cab from about seven in the morning to five at night. Call him Vic, Harry, Victor or Burt; this was one of the most interesting fellows I have met in a year.

Vic told me that there was no free parking in Atlantic City. Any place that looks like an open lot is a trap. “Park there and your car will be towed.” Harry said, “It’ll cost you at least sixty five bucks for the tow and then you have to pay cab fare to get to the impound lot.”

I was glad to have met Burt or Victor. I was late to attend the Racetrack/Media Workshop seminar. I thought that this was going to be about ethics in journalism. As it turned out, this was more about the ethical acquisition and use of media credentials. Usually, as in this case, when ethics are discussed, the folks who might need to hear that information aren’t there. It was a good discussion and I think that will lead into an even better seminar next year for us media vermin.

The Racing with Jesus Ministries’ booth was pretty much the home base for many of us in the Modified Tour community. I heard that a few people were looking for me there. Too bad they didn’t wait for a few minutes as there wasn’t much time during the shows on Friday and Saturday that I wasn’t there.

The meet and greet got started a little late on Saturday as Howie, Mary and I left the Media workshop shortly after this was to start. During that time, Mike Stefanik, Tony and Matt Hirschman and Mike Olsen were all signing autographs in the RWJM booth. Rev. Don Rivers noted that with Jamie Tomaino there, eighteen championships were represented in the booth.

Stefanik and the Hirschmans understand that they have a responsibility to participate in shows like this. They rarely, if ever, get financial compensation for autograph sessions. It’s just a part of growing the sport. I just hope they had a good time.

TC was over signing autographs for one of his sponsors. Ted’s fuel supplier has small replica drums fashioned as piggy banks. I could see Ted traversing the country, stuffing these banks with his winnings and piling in barrel after barrel in Happy Gilmore like fashion.

Lew Boyd of coastal181.com had Chris Economaki signing autographs in his booth. Lew introduced me to another interesting cab driver. Jalopy Jack is a NYC medallion cab driver and probably the only one who speaks English.

Jalopy Jack has a phone line to call. Dial 1-718-707-1052 and listen to his amazing interviews. There are no extra charges. It’s just a toll call. Jack is an Old School guy who just enjoys sharing his love of racing. This week’s guest is Ricky Miller from Gater Racing news. Jack and Ricky discuss the legendary Islip promoter Larry Mendelsohn.

Next week’s guest is the owner of the Himes Museum of Auto Racing Nostalgia, Marty Himes. Jack and Marty will also discuss Larry Mendelsohn. Jack will also have a weekly column on Mike Field’s, Long Island Motorsports News called “Around the Track” by Jalopy Jack.

I walked to Boardwalk Hall Saturday night. It was only about five blocks. As a matter of fact, it seemed to take more time to walk between the pit area at the hall and the basement garage than to walk between these two venues.

Bob Baker, of Mooresville, NC, won the Sr. Champ Kart race. He was fairly dominant. Of those who I was familiar, Timmy and Shawn Solomito, from Islip, NY finished fifth and thirteenth respectively.

Over the course of the weekend, I became reacquainted with “Magic” Mike Maskulyak. Magic Mike has been known for his lettering of race cars on Long Island for many years. No one can miss that Mike in his Champ Kart.

His helmet is fashioned as a jack-o-lantern complete with the stem sticking out of the top. The graveyard design on his Kart makes for a perfect headless horseman livery. I guess I can’t call Steve Halpin Pumpkinhead any more. Mike takes that honor hereto forth.

Ryan Smith of Kunkletown, PA, won the Slingshot race. The Slingshots appear to be small versions of Dirt Modifieds. They were fun to watch.

The big race of the night got underway for the TQ Midgets/ 600cc Micro Sprints. It was interesting to see the different styles of cars, hear the sounds of the different engines and debate the value of the different sizes and types of tires. It looked so cool.

TC started eleventh and started moving his way toward the front. Christopher got put to the rear for his involvement in the second caution. It really looked like the leaders got tangled in front of him and a bunch of guys piled into each other. Many of the times that drivers were put to the rear, I didn’t understand it. I don’t think I ever understood the restart lineups in any of the races.

By lap twelve of the forty-lap feature, John Blewett, III had worked his way to the fourth spot from his eighteenth place starting position. He did that by making a few passes and avoiding the wrecks. The accidents were frequent. Christopher retired at that point as his engine began to miss and overheat.

“Liquid” Lou Cicconi was the show. He passed JB on the subsequent restart. Cicconi then passed Tim Adams on the next lap. Two laps later, Lou passed Stewart Friesen for second. On lap twenty-five, Friesen got back by Cicconi.

Cicconi got by Friesen again for good on lap thirty-two. What ensued was an epic battle between Liquid Lou and the “Jersey Jet” Joey Payne. With two laps to go, Friesen had an apparent mechanical problem that led to a spin between turns one and two. JB was almost collected in the incident but was able to continue despite some contact and going through the wet mess that Friesen had left behind.

Payne edged Cicconi by less than a car length and the fans went nuts. Only ten of the twenty-six cars that took the green made it to the checkered flag. Two things I remember. Cicconi and Payne looked like brothers in Victory Lane and a guy in the stands shouted out in Wrestle Mania like fashion, “Feel the Payne!”

John Blewett, III was humble in his Victory Lane interview. He is one of the drivers on the Whelen Modified Tour that has mastered this discipline. I found it amazing how well he did in a TQ in his first event behind the wheel. Brother Jimmy was his biggest fan in the stands all weekend.

I snuck to shortcut I had discovered, got to my car, and got out of there. I actually found out what happened to Ted over the phone as I was dashing home on the Garden State Parkway. Let’s get back to Atlantic City.

I took a walk down St. James Place. That’s the less-than-perfect street that was adjacent to my room. The view from my room was of a once beautiful building that was the home of the Knights of Columbus. This building is on an orange property and if one would like to buy this property they can go to the real estate office which is on a yellow property.

Parking is available at the hotel where I stayed. The charge is $5 for non-guests for eight hours. Other hotels are on that street. Not any that most folks who have an Internet connection are likely to visit.

I walked down the Boardwalk. I know this is a place that Shopgirl would like to visit. There are shops after shops and many places of interest. There were tourists and people who perhaps were tourists at one time. I got to Park Place. At the intersection of Park Place and Boardwalk, the two blue and most valuable properties is the New Jersey Korean War Memorial. Either side of Park Place is flanked by casinos. The street is immaculate there.

I saw folks from our community who weren’t participating in the racing festivities. They were doing well at the tables. The huge casinos aren’t built on money they give away. Glitzy billboards remind folks of their favorite stars who are coming soon. These are stars who wouldn’t come but for the last dollar that several people pitched into the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

In the midst of this bastion of affluence I saw a homeless family camped out on stairs. The property just north of those two casinos on Park Place is a casino that has closed. Street walkers are propositioned minute to minute and vice versa. I walked around in an intentionally disheveled state and still heard, “Hey, big man!”

The big casinos clash against the backdrop of nationally recognized brand name hotels that appear packed with permanent residents. These are residents that may or may not be legal immigrants. The glamour of free money also clashes against dilapidated homes that look unoccupied. Let’s play Monopoly.

When one plays, it’s not that often that one considers the importance of “Free Parking” unless one of your rivals has hotels on the orange and red properties. Parking is different than the board game. One will pay to rent a parking space but the price fluctuates on weekends and holidays or around special events.

I think I’m going to invent my own version of the board game. The “Chance” cards disappear. Chance becomes the Convention Center. Anytime someone lands on the Convention Center they have to move to Baltic Ave. (Don’t pass go, don’t collect $200). Why Baltic Ave? Baltic Ave. is where many of the parking lots around the Convention Center are located.

If the property is for sale, BUY IT! If it is owned, pay the owner $100 times the amount of your roll. If it is occupied, move your token to the impound yard. The impound yard is where Free Parking used to be. Pay a cabbie one dollar taxi fare per space to get to the impound yard, that’s $17 from Baltic Ave. Pay the Community Chest $200 times the amount of your previous roll to retrieve your token out of the impound yard.

If anyone lands on a property that isn’t owned and doesn’t buy it, they get towed. Land on a property that is occupied by another token and your tokens get towed. Land on Go, Go to Jail, Don’t collect anything.

Land on Community Chest and you pay. Unless you have no property or all of your properties are mortgaged, then you collect $500 from every player. I’m looking out for the homeless.

The four Railroad properties are now Jitneys. There are two #1 Jitneys and two #2 Jitneys. There will be no #3 Jitney because it never picked me up. Nobody owns them and it only costs two bucks to ride them. The money goes in the Community Chest.

There are no houses in my game. The green buildings are now hotels. The red buildings are casinos. I thought about making new big plastic blue buildings that would be a casinos but all of the casino signs seem to be red and Atlantic City doesn’t seem to lend itself to be an appetizing place to build a new house anyway.

Build a casino and wait for folks to drop by. When they stop in, they roll. If they roll a seven, the casino owner pays them $2500. If they roll anything else they pay the owner $400 times the amount of the roll. Unless they roll snake eyes, then they forfeit everything they own.

They have to give up their Monopoly money, their token, and their properties. Then the owner makes them play the rest of the game as a casino worker to make money for them while they go to the races. If they lose the owner’s money while they’re at the races, the casino worker goes to jail and the game is over.

Oh yeah, Utilities. Land on Water Works and you have to buy everyone at the table a Dasani. Land on the Electric Company turn out the lights, the party’s over.

All I want to own is Baltic Ave. I want to put up a parking lot. If I feel like going anywhere, I’ll call Burt or I’ll buy my own cab. Taxi drivers aren’t players but they’ll be in the game. They pay no rent, no parking fees and no casino games. They’re just visiting everywhere.

I called Burt on Sunday. He had just dropped off a fare at one of the big casinos. These four big guys gave him twenty bucks for a small fare. He had answered his phone en-route and explained to these gentlemen that he was picking up an elderly couple to take them to the hospital after he dropped them off. Victor told the big guys that he usually charges folks like that a flat five dollar rate because they have such little money. One of the big guys reached back in the taxi and handed Vic or Harry a ten dollar bill. He told Burt, “Tell them the ride is on us.” There are still some good people out there.

Parking will be one of the issues that will be addressed in advance of next year’s Motorsports Show and Indoor Races. Len Sammons seemed pretty confident about that when I inquired Saturday night. The folks at the Convention Center had told him they handle much larger events with little or no trouble.

The Annual Autoparts Swap ‘N Sell Swap Meet will be on this weekend at the Eastern States Exposition Center, “Home of the Big E”, in West Springfield, MA. Swap ‘n Sell is the largest heated indoor all automotive swap meet in the northeast. Vendor space is available by calling (860) 871-6376. Admission tickets will be available at the door for only $8.00 (per day) children are admitted free with a paid adult. Show hours are 8 AM to 5 PM Saturday and Sunday.