Thanks to Jeff Roberts for all of his hard work....great job!  Josh...well done!  Thanks to the rest of the crew...Kent, Don, and especially Dad.....

LATEST NEWS

 

 

 

 

0

 

 

08.15.07

Thoughts and Prayers go out to Dan Bezanson and Sparky MacGyver

 Last weeks super late model feature quickly found Danny and Sparky literally hooked together on lap two that nearly ended in tragedy.  Danny and Sparky were racing hard down the back stretch when they found each other apparently locked together into and through turn 3.  Both cars careened into the frontstretch wall obliterating not only the cars but the wall itself.  Both were  able to get out of their respective cars and both went to the hospital.  Danny was found to have a broken neck and I understand he was med-flighted to Beth Israel hospital from Exeter Hospital.  Sparky was released around 330am and was apparently okay but pretty beat up. 

 Danny was very lucky and had it broke a half inch one way or the other he might not have ever walked again.  I am told he was wearing his HANS a testament to their worth.  The entire Geno Motorsports Team as well as Green Mountain Racin’ wish the best to both drivers and hope for a prompt and healthy recovery.

 Checkers to the Wreckers 

I made a mistake.  I want to first start out talking a little about our side trip to Canaan Speedway on August 4^th.  The team has been pretty beat up this year and I was starting to get frustrated with the fact that we always seem to run well but hadn’t had any luck at All-Star.  We were literally just getting the crap beat out of us physically and whereas we were not in any points chase I felt it was time for the team to take a much needed  break.

 We decided to skip All-Star and head to Canaan.  Our arrival at the track was greeted with open arms and it was good to see many familiar faces, a homecoming of sorts.   I would like to thank the Staff at CFS and all my fellow competitors for giving us exactly what we wanted.  A night of fun.  We unloaded.  I had a great deal of confidence going into the night.  Everything just seemed to be clicking.  We were quick in practice and in the heat race the car was really quick.  I was working Bob Rugg and he was just as hard as ever to get around.  With a couple laps to go I tried low and Bob took the line away and rather then wreck us both I spun it out. 

We started the feature next to last, 12^th.  It was evident immediately that the car was going to be fast but there were really good cars ahead of me that would be tough to get around.  Fortunately for us, FINALLY, luck was on our side.  The two lead cars got together and spun which moved us up a couple more spots.  We were all running in a pretty tight pack and the 97 of Walt Hammond lost an oil line, cars went everywhere but we managed to keep it straight and made it through the melee.  That put us in 4^th on the next start.  Pete Fraser took the lead followed by Brian Henry and then me.  I told the guys we’d ride in 3^rd for a bit because although we were more than quick enough to get around Brian I was certain there would be another yellow and there was no reason to use up the tires passing Brian on the outside when we could get him pretty easy on another restart.  Pete had set sail but I was confident we had plenty to get around him.  Unfortunately, Pete wrecked my strategy when he got a flat and his racer slowed in turn two.  That put us on the outside for the restart and I felt it was put up or shut up time.  We ran side by side with Brian for a couple of laps before getting around him on the outside and then we pulled away to about two car lengths most of the time.   

There were several cautions and ensuing restarts…each time we managed to hold off the challenging car and as the laps counted down it seemed the car was developing a push.  The second place car had closed in but I was confident I could hold of Brian.  The last few laps had him on my bumper but I wasn’t giving up.  On the last lap the car pushed real bad in turn one so I slowed it up a little more in turn 3 hoping to keep it tight to the bottom but it pushed up in the center and the car I thought was Brian Henry slipped under me.  It was a drag race to the finish line with us on top by about a half car.  As I crossed the line I looked in my mirror and saw that menacing red car all crossed up.  He had his foot in it so bad he almost lost it.

 After I came around he pulled up next to me and gave me a thumbs up….but it wasn’t Brian….it was none other than Donnie Lashua….reigning god of Canaan Fair Speedway.

 It was a great night…I climbed the fence like I did the first time  (Which by the way was before Tony ever did it….but after Juan Pablo did it in IRL).  It was an important win and greatly needed.  Important because it was my first win as a car owner driving my own equipment.  Les Smith has been an incredible sponsor and I wouldn’t be racing without him, but my last win was in his equipment so this was sweet in its own way.  Jeff Roberts is to once again be commended for helping me get to the track each week.  As I was racing out there I was expecting the spotter, my 15 year old nephew Josh, to show his excitement, but he maintained a calm demeanor the whole time…until the last turn of the last lap anyway…lol.  I asked him after the race though if he knew it was Donnie behind me because I thought it was Brian.  He said “yup….but you didn’t need to know it…I knew you knew you could beat Brian, but I didn’t want to psyche you out with the car pushing like it was by telling you Donnie was behind you….now you know you can beat him too”  Smart thinking on his part and a great job he did.

 We loaded up that night with every intention of coming back to Canaan for the rest of the year but I still felt that I had a point to prove at A.S.S. and felt that the 100 lapper on the 11^th would be the best opportunity for that as the longer races tend to play into our hand.  Well…let me tell you folks…

 I MADE A MISTAKE….A BIG ONE….. 

 That race was absolutely the worst event I have witnessed or ever been a part of.  It was worse than last years Outlaw race at Groveton.  Besides the horrible wreck of Danny and Sparky, there were two other red flags in the first twenty laps, of which we were one I believe.  I started near the tail and felt that I would just ride things out for 50 or 60 laps and that is what I was doing when Jimmy Chambers spun in turn 3 managing to get partially on top of the 3^rd turn wall.  I pretty much had it cleared and figured I’d come out virtually unscathed but he came down from the wall and thought it’d be a good idea to mount his car on mine as a hood, roof, trunk ornament….lol… Thankfully, both of us were okay and although it didn’t look pretty we managed to get back out on the track and actually ran as high as 6^th for a short time before the rear end let go.  Caution after Caution after Caution…the race was utter and total chaos and I am not at all proud to say I was a participant…it just wasn’t racing….and the track didn’t seem to want to do anything about it.  There was absolutely no give…it was all take.  No one was happy.  I was quite surprised to see next to nothing about how crappy of a race it was.  I certainly would have jumped into the discussion but whereas its been off the boards and knowing how negatively they can effect a track…I chose to mention it here instead.  It was just a horrible race and that’s all that needs to be said. 

So now our season is done….for the most part anyway…just too many panels and stuff to fix on my car, but alas, we are not completely out of the game.  With Les’ blessing we will finish up the Dragon and bring that out for a show or two in September and October.  For now though we will concentrate on finally getting the hauler up and running…then worry about racing some more.

That’s it for now folks….and again…Best of luck to Danny Bezanson on a speedy recovery….may it be as fast as you were in that bullet you were driving…..

 

Zig

 

 

07.23.07
Okay okay....Im still horrible at updating this thing but at least its every now and then right...

A big thanks to Les Smith and Green Mountain Racin' helping out with the purchase of tires for this past weekends triple 50s.  We really needed the tires and as always Les being the great sponsor he is stepped up to the plate and helped out.  We haven't had the pleasure of his company a whole lot but his face is always a pleasant site in the pits.  We are looking forward to seeing him at the track next week too.....

I have to once again give a tip of the hat to Jeff Roberts.  If it were not for him in the shop virtually every night we wouldn't be racing.  For a guy that thought racing was just dumb not so many years ago he has definitely not only seen the light but continues to go above and beyond.

Now to back up a little bit.  We did have a great run a couple of weeks ago finishing third behind Aric Blanchette and Bobby Gahan.  Let me tell you...this was my race and as good as third was....I was incredibly dissappointed.  Aric and I had checked out on the field and I was biding my time keeping the constant pressure on him ...he was making mistakes and it was just a matter of time.  I should have pushed the issue because on an ensuing restart Mr. Gahan got under me and took second.  I was definitely quicker but Bobby is one smart racer and made his car extremely wide.  I figured it was okay because I thought for certain there would be another caution. Unfortunately there wasn't and 3rd is where we wound up.  Yes it was dissappointing but it was still a podium finish and we really needed it, so I guess I can't bitch too much. 

Then there was this past weekend....Triple features.  Each feature counting separately as points wise but the best overall finish purse-wise.  We struggled in the first segment.  Something was just off the mark and we plain missed it.  We were far better in the second segment which saw us leading at one point.  Unfortunately on a restart, I believe, a Mr. Eric Hudson felt he was a lot quicker than us and turned us on the restart.  I managed to complete the spin, pull a gear and not lose too many spots.  We were on the march back to the front and the motor started sputtering out of the corners.  It cost us as we found ourselves barely hanging on to 9th to finish the second feature.  In the third feature we started 5th and had worked our way up to 3rd then second but on a restart we got hung outside as it seemed just about every car that was out there couldn't make the outside groove work.  We had dropped back quite a ways and then once in line worked our way back up again.  The night just wasn't for us though as those pesky carb demons came back and over the last 20 laps all I could do was stay out of the way and hang on to what we could.  I don't even know where we finished the last segment.  Speaking to track officials after the race they thought they saw we finished 6th overall, hard to believe as  I thought we'd be lucky to be in the top ten hower, there were a lot of dnf's in that last segment that may have saved us. 

Lastly....

I have to give a tip of the hat to my nephew Josh Geno.  The kid is 15 and like most kids that age can be a bit of a pain in the ass, but over the last two weeks he really has done well stepping up to the plate and its been really nice...thanks Josh, Fluff and I really appreciate it.  The other thing I have to mention is that several weeks ago I put him on the radio as my spotter.  He was a bit apprehensive at first but that first night I didn't have anyone else and I just wanted a voice.  I told him to play it really conservative and he did a real good job...but boy oh boy let me tell you what....these last couple of weeks the kid has come into his own.  He's got an eye on stuff ahead, he's right on top of what the track officials are doing and he is doing a great job.  We had three features this week and he was on top of it the whole night....kept me out of a few wrecks and really just did well...even overcoming a low battery issue without panicking.  Great Job Buddy.....yours is a good voice in my ear!

Thats it folks.....until the next time

Zig

07.05.07
Well I guess its been a bit since my last update....a few things have happened....lets see....We made the trek back to All-Star on the 16th.  I tell you what....all the stuff we found in the two weeks we had off really made a difference.  Bolted on new skins and done ourselves proud.  We started the heat in 8th and managed to finish 4th.  Same in the feature....the car was real close...not quite right but a whole lot better than our first outing.  A strong showing by the Green Mountain Gang, finishing 4th in the feature.

The next week, the 23rd, was a double feature night and as is too often....waaaaayyyyyy too often the case it was a war zone.  We got caught on the outside and went backwards in a hurry...got caught in a couple of wrecks there sure was a lot of beating and banging.  I do have to apologize to Wayne Helliwell as the car stepped out from under me on the back stretch and in making my correction it got me into Wayne putting him over the lip on the back stretch.  I didn't get a chance to apologize as a few laps later the same thing happened to the guy running inside of me which put me off the backstretch....thought I saved it but to no avail and ended with us backing in the wall in turn 3.  By this point the car was beat up pretty bad but considering all of it it seemed to be handling okay.  After the smoke cleared we finished the first feature in 8th.  After some close inspection between features we found a bent tie rod and a really bent lower control arm.  We did what we could and started tail in the second feature.  It didn't seem to be a whole lot better in the second with only 12 of the original 18 starting the event.  We had worked our way back up to fifth and there was yet another wreck.  I would have  been able to drive around it but at some point I lost the clutch pedal and thus stalled the car.  We lost a whole lot of track position because of it but again managed to pull out an eighth place finish in the second feature which put us sixth overall in the monza style event.

With the car as torn up as it was and the team having a previous commitment to attend Race Fever 07 the following Thursday we decided that we would forego attempting to run the PASS 200 at All-Star this past weekend.  You see when you try to run with those guys you have to be 100% on top of your game and we just didn't have the time to get the car in that condition.  However, we have since put things together in proper order and will be running this weekend the 7th at All-Star.  We've made some changes once again and I really think it will be beneficial for us.  See ya all there

Zig

06.09.07

As we attempted to make our second start the skies opened up and the races were called due to rain....the pic above is this years car. It's really a pretty decent shot considering this is after the race night mayhem of May 30th.  All in all I think Fluff, Josh and I did a fine job getting it back together.

05.30.07

Race night mayhem

I apologize to all the fans out there for not updating the website but my computer is in the hospital for a serious illness but as soon as its cured I'll do an update with some pictures even....lol

Our debut at All-Star was certainly less than stellar.  They had two touring divisions in for the night and that put the whole program behind.  We went out in the first practice just to bed in the brakes and log a couple of laps as it was the first time the car was on the track so I probably only got in 3 or 4 laps before I came off figuring we'd have at least one more practice.....That was not to be.  The track was so far behind schedule they didn't run any more.  Well needless to even with the heat race we didn't have enough time to make the proper determinations about the car.  I just plain screwed up ......made the wrong call on both gear and stagger so the car was just ungodly loose.  We got tangled up in one wreck not of our making and took a shot in the drivers door....Then we got tore up real good when we spun going into turn 3.  Now mind you....it was totally my fault that I spun there was no doubt about that and I willingly own up to that....but for the life of me I cant understand why, as the video shows, the guy in last place running almost a straight-a-way behind could not find it in his power to miss us.  EVERYONE else did....just no excuse for that...somebody was sleeping and it cost us a very nice race car....fortunately its primarily cosmetic and although we won't be back this week....we will be back next week and I will tell you right now....We will be on our game and we will be fast.  I have thorough confidence in this car and in this Team.

Speaking of the team...we were going to be short handed so I enlisted the help of some old friends and some new friends.  Ken and Mike Soucy were there and it was kind of like old times...thank you to both of them.  Don Symonds came along and his help was appreciated as well.  Someone new to the team was Danny Hayward (sorry if I spelled it wrong Danny)  Danny has worked with Alan Williams in the past and we happened across each other here on Myspace.  Thank you Danny for your help and I welcome you anytime you want to help out in the pits for you to come in and lend a hand to someone you barely know says a lot....Also in the pits was my nephew Josh and my Dad....thanks Josh...oh and Dad....he got to pace the field with his Race Fever pace car....he did a fine job however....given the outcome of the race I have forbid him from ever pacing a race that I am in again...lol...

Of course I would be a total jerk if I didn't acknowledge my good friend and car chief Jeff "Fluff" Roberts.  Fluff probably has the right to be the most discouraged from the damages as I do, as he has been right there by my side all winter long preparing this rig....He had a lot of hard work into it as well. Thank you forever and always my friend.

Look for us to take to the track on June 9th and trust that we will be verrrry strong....we might not be as nice looking as we were....but show don't make you go.....

 

05.11.07

 

04.23.07

 Fluff and I went to observe practice day at All-Star  yesterday.  Tremendous progress has been made there and I see great potential for the once downtrodden facility.  Bobby and Rich and that entire group has been working feverishly to get the place prepared for this season.  They still have a lot to do and the weather certainly has pushed back their time line.  I just hope everyone fans and racers alike are patient knowing the end result will be a premier facility.

As I stood there watching the prostocks return to a track that had once abandoned them I was reminded of Mike Brousseau and his passion to give the vanquished prostocks a place to run by creating CARR and bringing that division to Canaan.  It's hard to believe that we lost Mike Brousseau on this day three years ago. He was a great racer and a tremendous guy, and he is truly missed by many of us racers and the sport as a whole.  I truly believe that Rich and Bobby can bring that same sense of passion All-Star.

There is work to be done, and things may seem a bit overwhelming but rest assured they are on top of it, making progress and All-Star will live up to its hype.

04.15.07

Last month we picked up the motors from Butler and MacMaster Automotive in Gardiner Maine.  We freshened our current crate motor and had purchased another that we had freshened.  I am a big advocate of the crate engine as all of my successes have come in crate powered equipment.  Currently the two we have are utilizing the cam change option and I couldn't be happier with the end results...Great job.

Yup...we are definitely behind and will likely not make the first practice but believe me, its further along than it looks. The powder coating really came out well and it doesn't show in the picture but it is neon yellow and works really well with the deep red interior that we chose for this year.  Mechanically its very close to complete and the body should go together fairly quickly as its already been on and off a number of times this year.  I have to thank Les for once again providing moral support along with the financial support that goes along with being an owner/sponsor without it we wouldn't be racing this year and because of it we should have both the Dragon and Draco ready to go.  Another reason that we are able to go racing again is because of the tremendous help and efforts of Jeff "Fluff" Roberts.  He's been invaluable to me and without him I'd really be screwed. 

Jeff and I have been actively looking for extra help for both in the shop and at the race track, and once again he pulled through. Jeff has recruited the help of Kent Symonds.  Kent is a fellow employee of Jeff's and was in the shop for the first time Sunday.  He jumped right in and had no problems getting down to business.  Kent comes to the team with racing experience having enjoyed in the mini sprints at Sugar Hill before venturing to the asphalt in a street stock at WMMP.  In just the short time he was here I am looking forward to working with him this year.  I think he will be able to offer and add strength to some components of the race team.  He's a great addition.  Welcome Aboard Kent!

3.29.01

Race season is fast approaching and I though I would do  a quick blurb about how things are coming along.  All I have to say is thank God for the late snow.  Jeff and I have been working feverishly getting the cars ready, but we are still behind.  Not bad behind mind you....just behind.  The dragon is sitting in the shop and we should have that pretty much buttoned up this weekend minus the paint and graphics.  Draco should be back from the powder coaters tomorrow.  Nice thing about that one is that it should go together pretty quick as its already been together a couple of times, plus the fact that we are really familiar with it.  The Dragon has been challenging because it hasn't been run since 2005 and the gang in Vermont had pretty much stripped it down totally and refurbished.  I'm hoping to have a couple of pics up soon but this darn dial up I have is killer....takes FOOORRRRREEEEEVVVVVVVVVEEEEERR to update.

Also  a reminder that we are looking for crew members for this year....its gonna be a blast

 

02.16.01

We are BACK!!!  It's a very familiar layout and I hope everyone will bear with me as I work towards modifying this deal some .

In the coming months I hope to change the look of the site a little to more reflect how the team is now with color schemes and pictures and of course the updates.

Things have changed a little since the last time we were on.  In '06 the team changed locales and now operates out of my shop in Canterbury, NH.  Our plans didn't change for '06, only a few of the faces did.

I continue to have Les Smith and Green Mountain Racin' in my corner.  I wouldn't be racing if it wasn't for the unwavering support Les gives this team both morally and financially, and if it wasn't for my Carchief Jeff Roberts this team wouldn't have seen the track in '06 along with the help of Will Chalfont, Doug and Al Finnemore.  In the coming weeks I will tell you more about all of these folks.

2007 is going to be a banner year for us.  We will be racing at All-Star Speedway in Epping, NH.  This is going to be a big undertaking for us as the level of competition there should be unlike we have seen in a long long time with the best of the best running in our rear view mirror week in and week out. 

So bear with us folks as I try to update you on what happened last year as well as the goings on for 2007. 

Zig