Off-Road Racing Lifestyles and then there's Crandon

It looks like the short course off-road season is almost upon us. The final preparations for the first event of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series in Primm, NV are well underway.Their website shows us some footage of the track, which has been idle for almost six months, in the initial stages of preparation. In the meantime, practice schedules are out for booth the LOORS and TORC series. Various sponsorships are being filled in both series. The PDG is offering a travel voucher/scholarship for select race teams to attending TORC events. Tire companies, Oil companies, Radio Control Vehicle companies, and of course, racers are positioning themselves with their preferred racing series. Things are looking very positive for both LOORS and TORC. Just imagine if all this energy and money was at one series. This could be one incredible travelling road show.

For short course off-road racing to succeed, it just can't be about the product on the track. It has to become a lifestyle event, offering the race spectator a good race, they must be entertained. It the event must become a destination for people to spend time and money. Sort of a motorsports vacation. The folks at Crandon and Bark River have the lifestyle thing down pretty good. The camping, the evening concerts, the daytime races, the evening races, the nearby casinos, the local taverns (The Duck Inn or the Pack'em Inn)and the 30-40 years of friends getting together to watch short-course off road racing. The Northwoods Off-Road Race Style is definitely different than watch we saw at the CORR events the last year and a half.

The West Coast Off-Road Off-Road Style is more about the bling. The trucks in the parking lots are Pre-Runners, the Alternative Rock Music is loud and usually coming from several different pit areas ( heck I remember the Speed Technology guys had their own band at Pomona), the attire from some of the female spectators made you look twice (or maybe three or four times), and video cameras everywhere covering everything on and off the track (almost all posted on You Tube by Monday morning).

No matter what series you follow, let's hope the lifestyle continues no matter what part of the country you get your short course off-road racing fix from.

On that note, the 40th celebration at Crandon this Labor Day Weekend should be a huge party. You will get the best of all worlds, Midwest and West Coast. Don't miss it, the week long celebration will be the WOODSTOCK of Off-Road Racing!!

The experience of walking through the campground in the evening will be worth the price of admission. Everything from million dollar motor coaches to guys sleeping in the back of their pickup trucks, with everything in between. The worlds greatest off-road fan fan club be there, the SUPERTEAM SUPER FANS, following all their favorite AMSOIL KUMHO TIRE racers.

I could go on forever about this event, you just get there and experience it for yourself. My first time was in 1973, and a lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same. And that's a good thing.

Its About Sharks, Not about Off-Road Racing

The Problem With Shark Killing in China - By Carrie Reusche

Many people in China don't care about sharks, but they do care about their fins. A delicious meal in China is Shark fin Soup. Many problems with this is that they chop off the shark's fins and drop the body down to the bottom of the ocean.

Main problems

(1) Sharks have to move to breathe so when they hit bottom they will die slowly and painfuly unless another shark decides to have a meal.

(2) They kill too many. Approximately 100 million sharks are killed each each. Mostly due to the desire for Shark Fin Soup and the fear of shark attacks. ( There are only 100 shark attacks per year, on average.)

Why we shouldn't do this

(1) If we kill too many of any kind of shark it will effect us. Hawaii has tried to kill one kind of shark, but because they had killed more than they should've it effected them. They killed tiger sharks, when too many are killed there are too many smaller sharks. When there are too many smaller sharks there are too many fish eaten. Then Hawaii doesn't get enough fish to eat, and that is one of their main meals.

(2) Sharks are graceful creatures, but the movie, Jaws ruins that thought and makes you think of some fake monster in each and every shark.

I hope you understand why you should protest on Shark fin Soup.

Be good to your friends that live in the oceans, not just dolphins.

- Carrie Reusche, 5th grader at Glen Grove School.