I know it’s been quite a while since I have actually posted a new Gayle’s Desk and I do apologize for that. It seems like my time slips away from me between K-Motion, Kamp Motor Speedway and home. I also keep our  six month old granddaughter Dailyn three nights a week and sometimes four so her mother can work. That also keeps me busy. I keep thinking I will get this done today and then today slips away. I can now do this from home since our old computer finally gave out and I now have a new one, but then again I have Dailyn and sometimes our four year old grandson Hayden. Ok! OK! enough excuses I will get busy and get on with typing.

Since I post congratulations to the feature winners and other KMS winners on the websites home page every week, I will just start fresh with congratulating last weeks winners.

In the Late Model for the second time this year it was the #25 of Dan Walden who was giving the victory interview. Dan picked a good night to win with the feature pay having an extra $500 sponsored by Pepsi. Congratulations Dan on your feature win.

In the Modified it was the #89 of Mike Spatola who was collecting the feature win money plus the extra $500 sponsored by Pepsi. This is not Mike’s first win at KMS this year but I think this one was achieved by having a new mascot in his hauler (inside joke). Mike has chalked up wins at other tracks in past several weeks also. Congratulations Mike on your feature win.

The winner of the Sportsman class is no stranger to the Allstar Victory Lane. It was none other than the #27 of Rick Hufford. Rick also raked in that extra $500 sponsored by Pepsi. Congratulations Rick on your feature win.

The Street Stock race was a close race between the #99 of Jerrad Krick and the #1 of Jeff Houchens. When the checkers came out it was the #99 of Jerrad Krick who was headed to the victory lane to receive the trophy and his extra $500 sponsored by Pepsi. Congratulations Jerrad on your feature win.

In the Modlites it was the #11 of Bob Phillips who was collecting the trophy and giving the winning interview. Congratulations Bob on your feature win.

This weeks 50/50 drawing worth $367.50 was won by April Hurst of Chalmers, Indiana. April was holding winning ticket #247640. Congratulations April on your win.

The “Kid’s Trophy” drawing was won by Jordan Smith of Danville, IL. Jordan chose to receive his trophy with the Late Model feature winner #25 Dan Walden. Congratulations to both Jordan and Dan on their KMS wins.

The “Kamp Lucky 5″ was hit, but no one has yet come forward to claim it. The stub number is 001681 drawn out by Modified winner #89 Mike Spatola. It is a gray ticket stub.

It was also very nice to see Dan Hamstra back in uniform a couple of weeks ago. He was driving the #130 Chad Osterhoff back up car.

Saturday was also Fan Appreciation/Pepsi Night at Kamp Motor Speedway and we had a great crowd. There were lots of kids and the drivers were great about signing autographs and giving out goodies such as candy, t-shirts and balloons. Each child received one of the new programs to collect autographs. A special thanks also to Jason Feger who sent door prizes and hero cards to hand out to the kids. Jason was not able to be there. We even managed to get Hall of Fame driver Dick Potts out there to sign autographs.

This Saturday August 9th will be a full program of UMP Late Models, UMP Modifieds, UMP Sportsman and the UMP Street Stocks. The Saturday of August 16th will be a full program of UMP Late Models, UMP Modifieds, UMP Street Stocks plus the UMP Sportsman Special for $1000 to win (based on a full field of cars). The Crate Late Models have also been added to the program on August 16th including young Crate Model driving sensation Tyler Allen. Be sure to mark your calendars for a full slate of racing on August 16th.

We do have a few issues to mention, such as the writing on the bathroom stall walls especially in the women’s restroom. All though there are some good things written about drivers there are also things that aren’t so good. So lets just not write anything. Also I don’t believe a person needs a half of a roll of paper either. This is what causes the toilets to get stopped up and over flow. We all have jobs to do and stopping to unplug a toilet because of to much toilet paper gets to be time consuming not to mention it’s a nasty job.

We have also had some issues in the pits with drivers or crew members entering other pits uninvited. As one driver well knows this can lead to a few hours in the “Cross-Bar Hotel” and just like any hotel the stay isn’t free. The fines are also not free and probation keeps you under a watchful eye. So don’t enter another drivers pit unless you are invited to do so. I know it has been hot and this is the time of year when points are on everyone’s minds but please no matter how hot it is keep your cool.

I am looking for a driver preferably in Lafayette to come with me to a girl scout meeting on August 14th. The meeting is at Bradford Place Apt. Club House on the south side of Lafayette. The girls are trying to earn badges and they need to do something that involves racing. If you are interested give me a call for more details.

In closing I would again ask you to keep our armed forces in your thoughts and prayers as they wage the war against terrorism. With all that said until next time be happy and be safe.

Gayle

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I know it has been a while since my last Gayle’s Desk and I do apologize for that. I have been really busy trying to look busy. In other words I keep going and nothing seems to get accomplished. So here I am on July 3rd getting ready to go back in time to the UMP Late Model Summer Nationals. So here goes.

For the UMP Late Model Summer Nationals the Late Model win went to the #J1 of Wes Steidinger. Wes put on a great exhibition of racing on the National race and we want to congratulate him on that win. Congratulations Wes on your $10,000 win.

In the Modifieds it was the #7R of Kent Robinson who took the win and the $1000 prize. Kent has won several times this year at KMS and always puts on a good show. Congratulations Kent on your feature win.

In the Modlite feature it was the #1C of Stan Camden who was accepting the trophy in the Allstar Victory Lane. Congratulations Stan on your feature win.

Ok we are now up to June 21st. Maybe you noticed or maybe you didn’t but Bob and I were among the missing on the 21st. Bob had his high school reunion in Memphis, TN that weekend and we chose to attend the reunion. We had a good time but yours truly kept sneaking out to call the track and check on things.

The winners on the 21st were Late Models #25 Jason Feger,Modified winner was #89 Mike Spatola, Sportsman winner #00 Jaret Leuck, Street Stock winner #K67 Ian Keller and Modlite winner #22 Brian Menefee. Congratulations to all of the feature winners for the 21st.

I think I am just about caught up because now I am up to June 28th.

In the Late Models for what I believe is his 3rd time this season (it could be 4) it was the #1 of Mike Mataragas who was giving the Victory Speech in the Allstar Victory Lane. Mike and his Dad Dan have built their own car this year and they seem to have the bugs worked out of it and are landing quite often in the victory lane. Congratulations Mike on your feature win.

In the Modifieds I believe for the 2nd time this year it was the #130 of Chad Osterhoff who was giving the winning interview. Chad has done an awesome job of racing this year at Kamp Motor Speedway. Congratulations Chad on your feature win.

In the Sportsman it was the reigning track champion #10H Ryan Huddleston who was making his way to the Allstar Victory Lane. Ryan had some real battles out on the track on Saturday but he was triumphant in the end. Congratulations Ryan on your feature win.

In the Street Stocks for the $500 to win Avery Henry Street Stock Memorial it was the #8 of David Hurst who was making his way to the Allstar Victory Lane. David had made a statement that his motor was not up to par when he did the qualifying draw. They must have got the problem fixed before feature time because it was the whole Hurst crew that was in the winning pictures. Congratulations David on your feature win.

The 50/50 drawing worth $269 was won by Jason Chapman of Portage, Indiana. Jason was holding ticket #202933. Jason is a crew member for Late Model driver #V77 Guy Volk. Congratulations Jason on your win.

The “Kamp Lucky 5″ winner was Ryan Hankins of Lafayette, Indiana. Ryan was holding stub # 002587 drawn out by Modified winner #130 Chad Osterhoff. The “Kamp Lucky 5″ drawing was worth $100. Congratulations Ryan on your win.

The “Kids Trophy” was won by Christian Porat of West Lafayette, Indiana. Christian received his trophy with the Street Stock winner #8 David Hurst. Congratulations Christian on your win.

We have had some graffiti problems again in the women’s restroom. Besides defacing Kamp Motor Speedway property awful things are being written about our drivers. This needs to stop. We will be checking quite often from now on. So if you know someone who is making a statement in the restrooms please warn them to stop.

We have also been having problems with lap cars being hit and spinning them out. This is unfortunate as the lap car is damaged and the car who hit him is not only damaged but also unfortunately put to the back. A long time ago drivers voted on not using a move over flag. After these unfortunate incidents the flagman will now be using the move over flag. Hopefully this will help with this problem.

Don’t forget this is the 4th of July weekend and Kamp Motor Speedway will be be having our annual Giant Fireworks Display. There will be no price change on Saturday night. Also since this is the weekend of the 4th please be careful with fireworks at home it only takes one mistake to loose a limb or possibly a life. So be careful when handling fireworks. Even sparklers can cause bad burns. Also parties and cookouts are going on everywhere over the 4th so be carefull when using liquid cheer and choose a designated driver and be careful on the roadways because everyone is in a hurry and not everyone chooses a designated driver.

In closing I would again ask everyone to again keep our armed forces in your thoughts and prayers as they fight to keep our great country independent. So with all that said have a great 4th of July weekend and until next time be happy and be safe.

Gayle

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I know, I am terribly behind but at least I am behind on everything and not just one thing. That really makes me consistent on not getting things done in a timely matter. Mother Nature has also been consistent, consistently mean. Hopefully this weekend she will be just a little more co-operative when it comes to weather.

As I said I am behind so that means I am behind on my congratulations so I will do a quick re-cap on the races from May 31st.

In the Late Models for the American Late Model Series Sunoco race it was the #49 of Brian Ruhlman who was giving the victory speech and accepting the trophy. Brian hails from Michigan and it is always a pleasure to have him here at Kamp Motor Speedway. Congratulations Brian on your feature win.

In the Modifieds it was the #21L of Derek Losh who had wielded his way to the victory lane. There is some really tough competition in the Modified class at Kamp Motor Speedway, which goes to show what a tough competitor Derek is. Congratulations Derek on your feature win.

In the Sportsman for a repeat performance in victory lane it was the #00 of Jaret Leuck who was accepting the trophy and giving the speech. Congratulations Jaret on your feature win.

In the Street Stock it was the #8 of David Hurst who took the checkers first. David has been running well this year but has had some bad luck out on the track. This week the bad luck streak was lifted and it was David giving the victory speech and accepting the trophy. Congratulations David on your feature win.

No one claimed the 50/50 so we redrew on June 7th. the winner was Janet Sanderson of West Lafayette, Indiana. Congratulations Janet on your win.

There was no Kamp Lucky 5 winner on May 31st.

I have lost the name of the kids trophy win but it was a very cute young lady.

Ok am I caught up? If so we will move on to June 7th which was the Twin City Dodge-Chrysler Double Down night.

The winner in the Late Models was the #1 of Mike Mataragas. Mike and his dad Dan have built their own car this year and have been really busy working the kinks out of it. They must have gotten them worked out as Mike was the one giving the victory speech after winning the $2400 sponsored by Twin City Dodge-Chrysler of Lafayette. Congratulations Mike on your feature win.

In the Modifieds for a repeat win it was the #21L of Derek Losh who was again in victory lane accepting the trophy. Derek took home a double payday of $1200 again sponsored by Twin City Dodge-Chrysler of Lafayette. Congratulations Derek on your win.

In the Sportsman for a 3-peat it was the #00 of Jaret Leuck who was collecting the trophy and the $800 payout sponsored by Twin City Dodge-Chrysler of Lafayette. Congratulations Jaret on your win. I also want to thank Jaret for picking up the phone and calling Nate Barrett of Twin City Dodge-Chrysler to thank him for the Double Down night. He really appreciated that gesture.

In the Street Stock for another repeat performance it was the #8 of David Hurst who was collecting the double down payout of $600 sponsored by Twin City Dodge-Chrysler. Congratulations David on your feature win.

I also would like to thank these drivers for bringing their cars out for the radio remote on Friday night June 6th at Twin City Dodge-Chrysler. Those drivers were Late Model driver #4 Rob Starkey, Modified drivers #3 JR Coyner and #19K Michael Kettnich, Sportsman driver #17 David Huff, Street Stock driver #13P Jesse Peters and Modlite driver #95 Todd Padgett. Thanks guys we appreciate your coming out for the broadcast.

This weeks 50/50 drawing worth $259.50 was won by Larry Betterly from Manistique, Michigan. Larry was holding winning ticket #792420. Congratulations Larry on your win.

There was no winner in the “Kamp Lucky 5″ drawing this week. That pot will be worth $400 for this week’s drawing.

The winner of the “Kids Trophy” was Megan Sweat 3 of Lafayette, Indiana. Megan accepted her trophy in Victory Lane with #00 Jaret Leuck. Megan is the grand-daughter of Sportsman driver #81 Kenny Sweat. Congratulations Megan on your win.

I also want to send out a big thank you to Nate Barrett of Twin City Dodge-Chrysler for sponsoring the double down night.

I would also like to report that Gerry Gobel is home from the hospital after a quadruple bypass last week. Get well soon Gerry we miss you.

This week is the UMP Late Model Summer Nationals otherwise known as the “Hell Tour”. The tour starts out tonight (June 12) at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway, then travels on to Brownstown on Friday the 13th (Maybe Jason will win, OOOOOHHHHH!!)and then on to Kamp Motor Speedway June 14th. Times and prices are posted on the front of the website.

In closing I would again ask you to keep our armed forces in your thoughts and prayers as they guard us 24/7 to keep us free of terrorism. They do their job so you can sleep peaceful in your own country. I would also like you to keep the victims of the recent tornado’s and floods in your thoughts and prayers. They have and are facing a long road of recovery from the devastation.

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

Gayle

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It took until Memorial Day weekend but we finally had a night we didn’t need our winter gloves, scarves and coats to go to the races. Yours truly here needed scuba gear but that’s another story. While the weather was great the racing was even better especially with the Street Stock Special going in full circle (get it full circle! circle track! I know I have finally lost my mind, if you find it let me know). Ok before I get to far into my insanity I would like to take the time to congratulate last weeks winners.

In the Late Models for the third time this year it was the #25 of Jason “The High Side Hustler” Feger who was wielding his way into the Allstar Victory Lane. Jason was on the mat and taking no prisoners as he raced his way to a victory. What a great display of Late Model racing. Congratulations Jason on your feature win.

In the Modifieds for the 4th time this year it was the #7R of Kent Robinson who was giving the victory interview and accepting the trophy. Kent was also having his 21st birthday on Sunday, You couldn’t have ask for a greater way to celebrate than with a victory at Kamp Motor Speedway. Congratulations Kent on your feature win and Happy Birthday.

In the Sportsman class it was the #00 of Jaret “The Big Freak Nasty” Lueck who was the first one across the checkered flags. This is Jaret’s second time in the Allstar Victory Lane this season and I would think it wouldn’t be his last the way he is handling his car. Congratulations Jaret on your feature win.

In the Street Stock class for the Memorial Day Special and a $1000 payday it was the #99 of Jerrad Krick who was giving the victory interview. Jerrad didn’t win though without some wicked competition from Mike Roundtree and some great racing by Andy Hall and Brent Gregory. Although the competition was there it was Jerrad who came across the checkers first to take the $1000 win. Jerrad is also our points leader in the Street Stock class. Congratulations Jerrad on your feature win.

This weeks 50/50 drawing worth $209 was won by Dan Lade of Kentland, Indiana. Dan was holding winning ticket #791751. Congratulations Dan on your win.

The “Kids Trophy” was won by Keegan Forbes 11 of West Lafayette, Indiana. Keegan received a trophy in the Victory Lane along side Street Stock winner #99 Jerrad Krick. Congratulations Keegan on your win.

There was no winner in the “Kamp Lucky 5″ drawing. Next weeks pot will be worth $200.

This week is the American Late Model Sunoco series race for $2000 to the Late Model winner. I have several drivers ask about a Sunoco membership fee. I have checked with Sam Driggers of UMP and he says there is not a membership fee for ALMS. You do need to be a UMP member but you need to be member to race at Kamp Motor Speedway anyway. The rest of our great classes will also be there.

June 7th is our Twin City Dodge-Chrysler Double Down night and all of our feature winners will receive a double payout courtesy of Nate Barrett of Twin City Dodge-Chrysler of Lafayette, Indiana. We will have cars from each class of racing at Twin City Dodge-Chrysler on Friday June 6th for a radio remote. Stop out see the cars, win pair of tickets to the races or shop for a new car. I love my Chrysler 300 Hemi I purchased from Twin City Dodge-Chrysler. The drivers coming for the remote are Late Model driver Rob Starkey, Late Model driver Michael Kettnich, Modified driver JR Coyner, Sportsman driver Dave Huff, Street Stock driver Jesse Peters and a Modlite car will be there.

As I mentioned in the beginning I needed scuba gear. That was because of my adventures with the kids on Saturday night. As a special treat I took a group of kids down to the grassy area by the creek for a hotdog cookout, marshmallow roasting and games. I did say stay away from the creek but not everyone listened and a sneaker went flying across the creek to the other side to land on a log. As I hiked my jeans up to my knees to wade in the rather cold water to retrieve the shoe, it fell off the log and floated into some what deeper water (deeper than my knees anyway). I did finally get the shoe but not before the hiked up part of my jeans were wet. I spent the rest of the night in wet jeans. Oh well what are we going to do for entertainment this week for the kids? Please nothing close to water.

I would also like to report that Gerry Gobel who works the pit lanes at Kamp Motor Speedway is back in the hospital. Gerry had a heart attack a couple of weeks ago. We thought he was doing well but it seems he will need surgery for some valve repair. We want to send all of our thoughts and prayers out to Gerry for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery. We miss you at Kamp Motor Speedway.

In closing I would again ask you to keep our armed forces in your thoughts and prayers as they serve at home and abroad working to keep our great country safe from terrorism. With all that said until next time be happy and be safe.

gayle

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Is it just me or is there something missing this season at Kamp Motor Speedway as well as other short tracks all over the country? Are the car counts smaller as well as the fan counts? The answer is No and Yes, no it’s not just me and yes car and fan counts have been down. Why is that? Oh yeah when I looked outside a bit ago the station next door said regular unleaded $3.99 and diesel $4.59. This doesn’t include the cost of the grocery store, when I went to pick up a few things for just Bob and myself, my groceries came to $148. That was the amount after my savings from scanning my payless card. The total did give me an extra $0.10 off per gallon at the pump. I figured out that I spent $148 to save $2.00 at the pump. That’s about a 1/2 a gallon of fuel. That should get me home and back to the grocery because $148 only made two days worth of meals. In all seriousness I really don’t let the gas prices stop me from going where I want when I want but it does stop a lot of people and they could be drivers as well as fans. I am not quite sure on just how to combat the problem but I have been putting some thought into it.

My mind thought if you make a play area for the kids to play in and provide some supervision for them, parents could have a night out without having to drive to town or pay a sitter to watch them. We have the great entertainment AND the sitter plus if they were under 10 they also got in free. The big plus is that YOU didn’t have too worry about where they were and what they were up to. This would be a win win situation for people in Benton, Newton and Warren County who drive the 25 miles or so to Lafayette for dinner and a movie (that will be on DVD within three months). It would take less than a gallon of gas and the food at KMS is good and not near as much as Texas Road House. You didn’t need to find or pay a sitter because we entertained your kids for free and you got to see some fantastic racing. How can you beat that? The play area is located by the restrooms in the fenced in area. Last week I took the kids on a little field trip out into the pits. There they were able to spend some time with three of the Kamp Motor Speedway Late Model drivers. Kerry Mathew, Ted Loomis and Shawn Negangard were all very gracious about answering questions and letting each and every child sit in their cars (some sat in the cars twice). Who knows what is in store for them this week, maybe a hula hoop contest you never know with the way my mind works.

I’m not sure about what to do about the drivers yet but I would like to take this time to congratulate the drivers who were in the winners circle last week and they were;

In the Late Models it was the #0 of Richie “The Hitman” Hedrick who was holding the trophy and giving the speech in the Allstar Victory Lane for the first time this year. Richie was being followed by the #23 of Ted Loomis who could have used a caution but no caution came out and it was Richie who took home the win. Congratulations Richie on your feature win.

In the Modifieds for the 3rd time this year it was the #7R of Kent Robinson who was giving the victory interview. Kent has been a real power to reckon with this year and he has the trophies to back that up. Kent and his family are a real joy to have here at the track. Congratulations Kent on your feature win.

In the Sportsman class it was the #96 of Dave Rudisill who had raced his way into the Allstar Victory Lane. This was Dave’s first win at Kamp Motor Speedway this season but I am sure it won’t be his last. Congratulations Dave on your feature win.

In the Street Stock class for a 3-peat it was the #99 of Jerrad Krick who was walking away with the trophy and the winners check. Jerrad has been almost unstoppable this season which has put him in the lead for the K-Motion Valve Springs point chase in the Street Stock class. Congratulations Jerrad on your feature win.

If you notice we have a tie for 4th place in the Modified class. There was some controversy on who came in 4th, 5th and 6th in the Modified feature. We watched the feature video on Monday several times and slowed it down frame by frame. JR Coyner and Jim Ransom were so close coming over the finish line none of us watching the video could determine who’s nose came across first. The only thing we thought we could do was give 4th to both JR Coyner and Jim Ransom, both will receive 4th place points. Money for 4th and 5th place will be added together and split between the two drivers. We had showed on the feature finish that #18M of Matt Huddelston had come in 5th but after watching yesterday it was very clear he would have been in 6th place.

This weeks 50/50 drawing worth $284 was won Joe Buyno of Ridge Farm, IL. Joe was holding ticket #203754. Congratulations Joe on your win.

The “Kids Trophy” was won by Nathan Russell age 10 of Lafayette, IN. Congratulations Nathan on your win.

The “Kamp Lucky 5″ drawing worth $500 was won by John Metzinger of Lowell, IN. John was holding stub #002009 drawn out by Sportsman winner #96 Dave Rudisill. Congratulations John on your win. This weeks drawing will be worth $100.

June 7th is Twin City Dodge-Chrysler Double Down night at the speedway and we will have Kamp Motor Speedway drivers who will have their cars at Twin City on Friday evening June 6th. Right now the cars lined up are Late Model driver Rob Starkey, Modified driver JR Coyner, Sportsman driver David Huff, Street Stock driver Jesse Peters and a Modlite car. K105 will also be there to do a radio remote. Please stop out and say hi. Nate Barrett of Twin City Dodge-Chrysler has shown a lot of interest in Kamp Motor Speedway and is sponsoring the double down feature win payout.

There is a lot of good racing coming up in the next several weeks that you won’t want to miss. This weekend is the Street Stock Memorial Special for $1000 to the winner, May 31st is the American Late Model Series Sunoco race for $2000 to the winner. June 7th is Twin City Dodge-Chrysler Double Down night and June 14th is the UMP Late Model summer Nationals. Be sure to mark your calendars for the upcoming great racing at Kamp Motor Speedway.

We would like to send our thoughts and get well quickly wishes to Gerry Gobel who works the lanes at Kamp Motor Speedway. Gerry suffered a heart attack last week and had to have his heart shocked back into rhythm. Fortunately there was no muscle damage to the heart. His doctors have ordered him to do nothing but rest for the next 4 or 5 weeks. Hurry and get well Gerry we miss you.

In closing with the Memorial Day weekend coming up I would again ask you to keep our armed forces serving at home and abroad in your thoughts and prayers. They are spending their holiday as well as everyday fighting to keep our country free of terrorism. I would also ask you to be sure to choose a designated driver if your holiday involves any liquid cheer whether your out on a camp out or at the Indianapolis 500. Choosing a designated driver helps to keep you and those around you safe . With all that said have a safe and happy holiday weekend and be sure to be happy and be safe.

Gayle

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