Christmas is like racing it came in with the speed of a late model and went out with the same kind of speed. We had a great Christmas with family and friends. Dinner was good , I love being able to use my Christmas dishes, I wish I could use them all year round, but poinsettias just don’t look right when it’s a hundred in the shade.

The most fun on Christmas was watching Hayden unwrap his gifts. He had a ball but he did tell me a couple of times “Grandma, I don’t like unwrapping clothes”, I guess it was good only a couple of packages were clothes. He had his new big wheel flying down the driveway as fast as he could peddle. Bob did a good job Christmas shopping, I guess when I was showing him sales fliers and saying I would like to have that, he was listening. I do believe everyone in our household had a good Christmas and I hope everyone in yours also had one.

With Christmas gone we all know that the New Year is just a few days away. I hope if you are going to celebrate with liquid cheer that you will designate a driver for the evening to keep you and others on the roadways safe. I hope we all are able to make a New Years resolution we can keep. I vow every year to loose weight and I am going to work hard on keeping that resolution. It’s either loose weight or buy new clothes, hmm! I do like to shop. No really, I am going to work on it, (there are a lot of after Christmas sales though), no I am going to work on it. I am not like Hayden, I do like to unwrap clothes even if it is just pulling them out of the Macy’s sack.

January 1st reminds me that we seriously need to put a schedule together for the 2008 season. There are some things already scheduled and we have a few things we are working on but nothing is concrete or in writing so we will just have to see on those things. The UMP banquet is on January 12th at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Springfield, Illinois I hope everyone sent their votes in. The Speed Expo will also be going on that weekend at the State Fairgrounds in Springfield so mark your calendars for a full race related weekend. Hopefully we will see a lot of you on that weekend. I believe the Chilly Bowl is also on the 12th.

I did hear yet another rumor this holiday season about Bob and I and the track as well as K-Motion. Kamp Motor Speedway is owned and operated by Bob and myself no one else. Tony Stewart does not own any part of the speedway he is also NOT a partner in the operation. The speedway is an LLC with two partners, Bob being one and me being the other. End of story, if you hear a rumor call us to check it out don’t pass it along. We have sold the machine shop part of our business to Jeff Houchens of Williamsport. Jeff worked for us for many years as a machinist and engine builder. You can still bring things to K-Motion and we will get it to Jeff for you. We still have the parts business and the valve springs part of K-Motion. We are planning some different ventures for K-Motion. K-Motion supports Kamp Motor Speedway, Kamp Motor Speedway supports you the racer. We are looking for your support in 2008.

In closing I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and I hope the New Year proves to be prosperous for all of you. I would also like to send our thoughts and prayers to our armed forces serving in Iraq as well as at home and other parts of the world. They are doing their job to keep us safe to do ours. With all that said until next time be happy and be safe.

Gayle

“Wishing you and yours a happy and prosperous New Year”.

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You know Feger and Walden and Thomas and Reynolds.

Huddleston and Sweat and Krick and Ransom.

But do you recall the most famous driver of all.

Dick Potts the Late Model driver.

Had a very shiny car,

And if you ever saw it.

You would know it took him far.

All of the other drivers,

Used to cuss and call him names

They never let Dick pass them,

Without some retaliation games.

Then one special race night eve.

The promoters came to say.

Dick Potts with your car so bright.

Won’t you guide the parade tonight.

Then how the fans and drivers loved him

As they shouted out with glee.

Dick Potts the Late Model driver

You’ll go down in Hall of Fame

H-I-S-T-O-R-Y

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Bob and I just returned yesterday December 10th from the Performance Racing Industry trade show (PRI) in Orlando, Florida. We left eighty degrees and palm trees on Sunday just to roll into thirty degrees and ice trees on Monday.  What a difference eighteen hours can bring. While the weather was great in Orlando and the food was spectacular we were ready to be home in Indiana and ready for some hamburger helper.

The PRI show was good this year, we picked up some new spring customers, sold some backstretch signs at the track got some good sponsor leads for 2008 and we got to see people we haven’t seen in a long time and some we just seen a few weeks ago.  We also have some other things in the works concerning the track that has come about from the PRI show and before you ask no we did not sell it. Hopefully we can make some of those things happen.

I hope everyone is getting ready for the holidays and that you are not as far behind as I am. I don’t have the tree up or anything else decorated for Christmas. I do have some shopping out of the way but no way near being done. Everyday I think I have Hayden’s done and something else pops up that he just has to have. I guess being an only grandchild has its perks.  Either that or he really knows how to work Grandma, Bob says its the working Grandma thing. Oh well they are only little once and we will see how well Grandpa can be worked when he’s old enough to say “Grandpa I want a racecar”.

While we were in Florida we had some bad news reported to us. Bernie Castongia of Kentland, Indiana passed away at the age of seventy-five. Bernie raced at the Rensselaer Speedway in his younger days driving the #73 race car. I personally did not know Bernie but I know a lot of you did. We want to send our thoughts and prayers out to the Castongia family at this time of loss.

In this Holiday Season as well as any other time I would again ask you to keep our armed forces in your thoughts and prayers. They are away from their families fighting the war against terrorism so you can enjoy the holidays with your families. So when you are enjoying your holiday festivities don’t forget to take a moment to give thanks to them.

Don’t forget if you are participating in some liquid cheer during your holiday festivities to choose a designated driver to keep you and everyone around you safe on the roadways.  With all that said until next time be happy and be safe.

Gayle

Merry Christmas

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The new Kamp Motor Speedway website is up and going, we still have a few things to do like more photos and links but that will be done soon. We are not done with the schedule (actually we are barely started on that) so that can not be added yet. We do hope you are finding it to be more informational and finding things much easier to locate.

Bob and I are headed to Florida tomorrow for the Performance Racing Industry Show (PRI) in Orlando. We look for forward to a little nicer weather although most of our time will be spent in the Orange County Convention Center. We are there to promote the valve spring part of our business but we will also be promoting the track. We will be trying to attract more sponsors for the 2008 season and make Kamp Motor Speedway the place to be on Saturday nights in the Midwest.

We do have an announcement to make concerning K-Motion Racing Engines as well as trying to clear up the blossoming rumors. Bob and I have decided to retire from the engine building part of our business. The machine shop has been sold to Jeff Houchens of Williamsport, Indiana. As most of you know Jeff worked at K-Motion as a machinest and engine builder for many years and is most qualified to run a machine shop business. He is also a racer and knows what the wants and needs of a racer are. The parts store of our business is still completely in tact as well as the valve springs. We will be looking into more race related options for K-Motion in the very near future.

Rumors seem to be flying about Vermilion County Speedway and Kankakee Motor Speedway concerning us. The new promoter for VCS is Phil Richardson, we are as much in the dark about Kankakee as you are but I can assure you Bob and I are not going to do it. We have enough on the plate that is already in front of us. We don’t need or want anymore tracks or promoting jobs. I hope that clears those rumors up.

I hope everyone enjoyed the awards banquet in November. I know we all did especially Hayden, he is becoming quite the lady’s man on an off of the dance floor. Oh to be four years old again.

I also hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We had a really nice one with family and friends. We had loads of great food and some sandbaggers at the euchre table. I do believe JR Coyner and I were the champions though. If they bring it up don’t listen to Debbie (Coyner) and Andrea (our daughter) because they weren’t the champions and we didn’t cheat.

If your out on a Sunday drive and you happen to go past the track be sure to take a look up in the air in the pit area. Bob has taken down the old lights and has put up twenty-one stadium lights. This really lights the pit area up for the drivers. We are going to add a few more to the track but that will have to wait until spring.

In closing I would again ask you to keep our armed forces serving at home and abroad in your thoughts and prayers especially at this holiday season. They are away from their loved ones so you can be safe at home with your loved ones not only for the holidays but year round.

With all tha said until next time be happy and be safe.

Gayle

“Have a safe and happy holiday season”.

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