Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Episode 411

October 23, 2022

Swanson Brothers headline Indianapolis Raceway Park Saturday

It had all the ingredients for a great day of racing with drama in points standings in two of the three races held at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Brownsburg, Indiana as part of Howard Companies Championship Saturday.

The 500 Sprint Car Series saw Kody leading second place Dakoda Armstrong by 35 points going into the season finale. Armstrong was not giving up. Armstrong’s qualifying times brought him to within 15 points of Swanson. The fifth-place finish was not enough to overcome Swanson’s lead in this inaugural season for the 500 Sprint Car Series.

Episode 410

October 9, 2022

WAR wins internationally

For the first time, Wyatt Alexander Racing (WAR) competed for an international track/driver’s championship. It was decided sometime after coming home from a race in Hickory, North Carolina that they would concentrate on winning a championship at Speedway 660, Geary Woods, New Brunswick.

Episode 409

September 25, 2022

Feed the County 150 was worth the effort

I was thinking that some folks may want to hear about our behind-the-scenes exploits as groundskeepers in preparation of Spud Speedway. Often while riding the John Deere Z-Mower or pushing the 21-inch mower on the banks behind the front stretch grandstands, my mind tends to wander and think about things that need to get done.

The original race date was June 19th, Father’s Day. Cold and rainy conditions forced the postponement until September 11, 2022. The postponement meant we needed to keep the mowing regimen albeit the grass did slow its growth rate as the heat of summer moved into northern Maine. The new date also gave us time to complete some projects on a more leisurely pace.

Episode 408

August 28, 2022

Great job done by Big Woods Grass Drag crew

Upon arriving at the site for the 2022 Big Woods Grass Drags, I knew something big was happening. The venue parking areas were quite full with more cars and trucks arriving. I have been to many races in my career and this one rank up in the top tier as far as all that must be accomplished to simply host the race.

The track spends the rest of the year as a field which is open. Hundreds of feet of fencing, wires for sound, timing and lights had to be run. Spectator seating had to be arranged as well as make the multitude of contacts with vendors. Events like this do not just happen. It was obvious that the team of volunteers made this happen.

Episode 407

August 21, 2022

Thunder Road should be on Tony Stewart’s SRX Series

Practically from the debut of Tony Stewart’s made-for-TV race series, Superstars Racing Experience (SRX) in 2020, I have thought that Thunder Road Speedbowl, a high-banked 1/4-mile asphalt track nestled in the hills of Barre, Vermont, should be considered for a hosting opportunity.

The track has made many capital investments including some of the best lights I have seen, thousands of square feet of paving, a turn 3/4 viewing berm with unbelievable close (and loud) viewing, clean restrooms, and gallons of green and yellow paint.

Episode 406

August 7, 2022

Loring Super Motorsports Saturday

Summer is too short and being in two places at once just is not working. Race events at the former SAC Air Force base did allow me to do exactly that. Several times Saturday, I looked across the turnout at 2-mile mark and saw a wonderful site; race cars doing autocross to my left going north while land speed enthusiasts heading south on my right.

Both start line were within a hundred yards from each other allowing me to quickly walk to where I needed to get photos. Needless to say, I enjoyed that set up. MassTuning’s Armin Mejia said he had forty entries and CMC autocross chair Rick Drangmeister said they had over ninety entries both days.

Episode 405

July 31, 2022

LTA Speed Trials done for 2022

The Loring Timing Association decided several weeks ago to host only the summer land speed races, The Maine Event, for 2022 race season. The numbers of pre-registration for fall races did not justify the time and money that goes into such large-scale races.

The LTA at one time hosted or attempted to host three land speed races in one season with a spring, summer, and fall dates. I remember seeing photos of snow on the runway a few days before the scheduled spring race. I do not recall if the spring event occurred that year.

Episode 404

July 10, 2022

New England Awash in motorsports activity

Maine and New Hampshire will be the focal point of three types of racing this next week when land speed racers converge on Loring July 13-16, New Hampshire Motors Speedway hosts four major races in Loudon and the New England Forest Rally headquarters at Sunday River Resort in Bethel. One of those weekends where one has to make a choice of venue and live with it. I chose Loring since it is only minutes away.

Loring Timing Association Maine Event

Episode 403

July 3, 2022

Swanson Brothers Shine at USAC Special races in Indy

Found daily at Golden State Farm Credit in Kingsburg, California, Tanner Swanson this race season has expanded his race schedule to include several events in the Indianapolis area. He competed in the Little 500 and at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) with some success earlier this year.

June 30th, he and his brother, Kody Swanson, dominated the Thursday Night Thunder USAC Silver Crown Shootout at IRP. Tanner, despite his limited schedule, took his Aaron Pierce Racing sprint car to Victory Lane in the inaugural season of the 500 Sprint Car Tour.

Episode 402

June 12, 2022

International win for WAR

Despite the absence of Hall of Fame member/crew chief/grandfather Bob Alexander, Wyatt Alexander lead every lap of the heat race and feature on his way to Victory Circle at Speedway 660, Geary Woods, New Brunswick. Alexander’s father, Brett acted as the spotter and tire person. Madison Greenlaw once again was in the WAR pit assisting.

Madison’s brother Drew also won the Sportsman class making it an American sweep of those two classes.

Episode 401

June 5, 2022

Largest motorsports event of 2022 in the County right around the corner

Race fans from near and far will be converging on 209 Thompson Road in Caribou, Maine June 19th, Father’s Day 2022, for the Feed the County 150 at Spud Speedway. It promises to be the largest motorsports event held in the County during the 2022 race season. Yes, it is a race, but so much more.

Track owner, Troy Haney, said, ” Make sure to mark your calendar for Sunday, June 19th, to be at Aroostook County’s biggest motorsports race of the year as the Feed the County 150 Pro All Star Series (PASS) Super Late Models (SLM) take to the speedway.

Episode 400 (Can you believe it!!!)

May 29, 2022

Aroostook County veteran who lost his life in Afghanistan honored in NASCAR race

In this my 400th episode of UpNorth Motorsports written during this Memorial Day weekend, it is my honor to feature a story about an Aroostook County Gold Star family and their son.

While at University of Maine Orono, I got acquainted with one of my fraternity (Alpha Gamma Rho) brothers Tom Zimmerman. He was a year ahead of me in school graduating in 1973. Tom later married one of the ladies, Jane Kendrick, who was a Rho-mate, fellow university women who were supporters of our fraternity.

Episode 399

May 22, 2022

Racing! Racing! Racing! Busy time of year

It seems like the time between race season getting done and the next is fairly long. Then May hits and just like the turfgrass on my lawn growing rapidly needing attention frequently.

I watched pole qualifying for Indy 500 next Sunday and currently listening to the NASCAR All- Star Race in Texas. Reports from the Society of Automobile Engineering Formula SAE are pouring in and spent time on the phone with world record land sailor BB Hredorik talking about STEM possibilities and getting me into one of the Blokarts wind powered racers.

Episode 398

May 15, 2022

World record falls at Loring

When Bob Wanner called from Long Island, New York Friday, I was finishing preparing the Caribou High School baseball field for a game later that afternoon. Bob, one of the co-founders of the land speed races at Loring in 2009, said in his New York accent, “Tom what ya doing?”

I told him I was prepping a baseball field to which he replied, “You need to get over to Loring to see the Blokarts racing. And some guy is going to set a world record with one of those things.”

Episode 397

May 1, 2022

Story of long-distance racing

Living and working in Aroostook County and commuting a minimum of 4 1/2 hours to race requires dedication, desire, money, and yes, a little bit of craziness. Jesse Michaud and his girlfriend Stacy Robey of Caribou have been doing this a few years and plan to continue for the 2022 racing season.

Recently Jesse sat down and produced a record of what long distance racing looked like for this two-person team. They began racing “down south” in the vintage race series run by Wicked Good Vintage Racing Association.