Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Episode 426

May 22, 2023

Sting Ray 

As long time UpNorth Motorsports followers know, one of the drivers we have been following several years since 2018 through his 2020 championship in Indy Pro 2000 on the Road to Indy. Last year he was second in what is now Indy NXT.

Sting Ray Robb from Payette, Idaho caught my eye since he is from potato country as we in northern Maine are also. Of course, that name, Sting Ray, grabs your eye when seen in print or heard on the air. Yes, Sting Ray is his actual first name!

Episode 425

May 14, 2023

Styling in a Prom Car

Tradition at many high school prom nights is for dates to be transported by a bevy of methods to the venue. Presque Isle High School has such a show, a prom parade. Couples gather at the North Street Plaza about a mile from high school.

The group of prom goers admire the assortment of rides, elegant gowns and tuxedo wearing guys. At a predetermined departure time, the vehicles parade to the high school. This parade featured tractors, pickup trucks, potato trucks, Corvettes, and assortments of other cars.

Episode 424

April 30, 2023

Steve Doody at Richmond Pit stop demonstration by Wallace’s pit crew.

https://www.facebook.com/1230643765/videos/pcb.10231935210743057/1410548759702458

Episode 423

April 2, 2023

Danny

I was stunned when I heard the news about my good friend Danny Raymond dying in a traffic accident. I asked if this was the Danny Raymond I knew and unfortunately it was he.

Almost immediately my mind switched to remembrance mode of some of the shared moments I was able to have with Danny. In 1982 as a high school freshman, he became a member of the Caribou FFA, the student organization for agriculture education. If my memory serves me right, he was a four-year student of mine.

Episode 422

March 19, 2023

Taggett captures state title…again

In preparation for the Skills USA competition in Bangor, Woodland’s Jesse Taggett immersed himself for a time at the NMCC Welding shop to touch up his welding technique and procedures. By taking this contest so seriously, Taggett earned first place in Friday’s competition.

Episode 421

February 26, 2023

Maine man on the NASCAR Show circuit again in 2023

Stephen Doody and his wife Becky will once again in 2023 be the Mobile Marketing Managers (MMM) for the 23XI McDonalds Racing Team. The 2022 season was the first season with the McDonalds program for the Washburn natives. Stephen has served several seasons on the show car circuit with multiple NASCAR and IndyCar programs. He is one of the most sought-after Mobile Marketing Managers in the industry.

Recently Doody messaged me and brought me up-to-date on the 2023 plans including his schedule. Doody mentioned, “Events this season are much less than last year’s as we wanted bigger events with more than just a show car present such as live radio as well as other McDonald vendors to make more of a block party atmosphere.”

Episode 420

February 19, 2023

County racers win snowmobile races

Piscataquis Radar Runs

Episode 419

February 5, 2023

Project Jackwagon

Episode ideas come in practically every shape, size, and situation. Such was this episode. My eye was drawn to the idea that a 24-year-old young man from the County was doing something many would call “risky”. After looking at his photos, I too joined the chorus of nay-sayers, however, the backstory was intriguing and begs to be told.

Episode 418

January 22, 2023

Sting Ray Robb newest IndyCar driver!

Last week that dream got another step closer when this information from IndyCar Communications was released:

Episode 417

January 16, 2023

Can a small team based in a relatively small garage win at Chili Bowl

Former Corvette Racing crew chief, Dan Binks, since his retirement from the Pratt & Miller run team has branched out into midget car racing on dirt. Working out of his 24 foot by 36 foot garage in Brighton, Michigan, Binks took the challenge because to him the Chili Bowl was the last of the “wild frontier”.

Episode 416

January 1, 2023

Building Indy type model race cars with grandkids and Sting Ray Robb

Christmas 2021 featured wooden airplane models put together by Hale grandchildren for display at Camp HiLo, Madawaska Lake, Maine. For 2022, I designed a kit featuring a model that resembles an Indy racer. My design looks somewhat similar to a 1972 All American Racer Eagle built by Dan Gurney, one of my racing heroes.

Episode 415

December 18, 2022

At PRI were…..

Kody Swanson awarded 7th USAC Silver Crown title

Kody and wife/spotter Jordan made the trip to the Indiana Roof Ballroom, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, as the seven-time USAC Silver Crown champions. Swanson became only the third driver in USAC 51-year history to win that many championships in one division. He joins the legends, AJ Foyt and Mel Kenyon.

Episode 414

December 5, 2022

Cracking eggs and crumple zones

After building their “Crumple Zone Egg Protection Devices” for a STEM Motorsports exercise, Caribou Tech Welding students put them to the ultimate test. The results were not all that they were “cracked up” to be.

The welding students were teamed up to build a device that would protect an egg that was mounted to the nose of a crash kart that descended down a sloped track to run into a steel wall.

Episode 413

November 15, 2022

Dan Anctil Story Part 1 

It has been over one year since I sat down with Subaru Motorsports USA Director Dan Anctil in the conference room at Vermont Sports Car, Milton, Vermont. We sat overlooking the main working area at the 75,000 square foot  state-of-the-art motorsports facility which opened in 2018. Joining us was Bangor, Maine native John Cassidy V who works in the composite department at VSC.

I am intrigued about the almost parallel stories of Dan and his brother Ken “Butch” Anctil as two young men who grew up in Rochester, New Hampshire and now working for two premier world-class motorsports organizations.

Episode 412

October 31, 2022

Levi Marlatt wins

You have met Levi Marlatt in previous episodes of UpNorth Motorsports. Marlatt lives on his family farm in Rushville, Indiana. His father Paul, in addition to being a farmer, is the owner of Marlatt’s Engine and Dyno. They specialize in high performance diesel engines preparation and test the finished product on their dyno.