...2006 Season...

May 5, 2006  June 2, 2006  July 1, 2006  Guest Writer Dave Nett July 29, 2006  August 11, 2006  August 26, 2006  September 1, 2006  September 2, 2006 September 8, 2006  September 29,2 006  Ode to Jeff Year End Banquet

May 5, 2006 - Lake Geneva Raceway - With great anticipation, members of the Rascal Outlaws are ready once again for a fun-filled season of racing.  Beginning our season at the Lake Geneva Raceway, with most cars ready to race, and those not yet ready showing up to support the rest of the group, it was sure to be a fun night for us all. 

We welcome new rookie driver, Kyle Lynn, age 14, to our group.  Kyle's dad, Dennis, has long been a member of RORI as pit crew for our very own Rob Pollak.  Both Rob and Dennis spent many long hours getting Kyle's car ready to race this evening and they will soon have Rob's car ready to race as well, we hope to see Rob on the track with us next week.

You'll notice a new number on the field this year, Kip Novotny has taken the option of using the official RORI number "1" this year as our season champion last year.

Jeff LeSage comes on the track with a new car this year, with a fancy green paint job and some fancy scrollwork on his side panels, it's a pretty sharp looking car to match the driver!

Fast time tonight was taken by Chris Bedore with a time of 16.567, congratulations Chris!

Our first heat started off with Mahoney out front followed by Jeff LeSage and Thiel, soon LeSage was out front with Thiel close behind and Mahoney vying to regain his position from Thiel.  The final outcome was LeSage taking first, Mahoney taking second and Thiel rounding out the top three.  Rookie, Lynn, did a great job for his first time out on the field.

The second heat began with John LeSage out front, followed by Novotny and Bedore.  During the second lap, Novotny broke a belt and was forced to leave the field leaving Bedore in second and Findley in third.  The final outcome remained the same with LeSage taking first, Bedore taking second and Findley rounding out the top three.

Unfortunately prior to the feature this roving reporter was overcome with a migraine and was unable to get the play by play of the feature.  From what I hear it was a great one.  Novotny once again had some car trouble and was unable to complete the race, Bedore took first, Mahoney took second and Jeff LeSage took third.

After the race, rookie Lynn was asked how he felt about his first night of racing, to which he replied "it's good to be ahead of Novotny in points."  I think he'll fit in quite well with the group with a sense of humor like that!  Unfortunately for him, Novotny still has him by 3 points.

June 2, 2006 - Lake Geneva Raceway - After a few weeks off from racing, I was able to attend the race last night and though there were a few delays from rain, the sun came out and we had a great night of racing. 

Fast time tonight was taken by Jeff LeSage who proudly held the flag during the opening ceremony.  John Benkert's son, Josh, will be joining RORI very soon and is having his first race night tonight driving the #15 car for his dad.  Bill Gundlach's dad showed up in support of his son tonight as well.

The first heat was won by Mahoney with Gundlach taking second and rookie Lynn rounding out the top three.

The second heat was won by veteran racer Bedore with Christophersen taking second and Jeff LeSage taking third.

With ten cars out for the feature it was a battle for first between LeSage and Bedore with LeSage holding his position and taking his first win of the season, followed by Bedore and brother John taking third.

Excited by his first win this year, Jeff credits some of his success to his lucky boxers! (see photo section).

July 1, 2006 - Dells Motor Speedway - Finally an article!  Yes, Sue is back!  I'd like to start out by Welcoming Josh Benkert (#65) to our racing team, we're glad to have you aboard. 

I'm thrilled Rob's car is finally back together and thrilled to have him back behind the wheel.  While Rob may not have been able to race he's a true member of our team and has showed up at every race to support the rest of the guys and help out where ever he could, thank you so much Rob! 

Thank you Betty Benkert for being such a great hostess to us all, for cooking up so many hotdogs and hamburgers, and just for being you, you're the greatest!

Thank you to Dave Shine for coming out on Sunday to fill in for the #88 car (we hope to see you behind the wheel of your car soon too) and thank you to Dale Olson for filling in on Sunday to drive the #7 car and thank you to Jim Veugeler (and Happy Birthday) for filling in on Saturday, you are all very appreciated.

It was definitely a full weekend of racing for the Rascal Outlaws with back-to-back races beginning at Lake Geneva Raceway and finishing up at the Dells Motor Speedway.  Jeff LeSage has been working hard to take over the lead from Chris Bedore and came within two points of doing so on Friday night at Lake Geneva, wearing his "lucky shorts"...for days on end... finally paid off for him as he was able to take the lead at the Dells Motor Speedway, is it me or does it look like his head is getting bigger?  With a a 17 point lead he'll have to race smart in order to keep his lead as Bedore isn't out of the running by any means.

As we drove to the Dells on Saturday, I had visions of a beautiful sunny day of racing.  Novotny started the day out by taking fast time with a 13.723 lap time "Hail Caesar".  As our first heat headed onto the track I could feel the hint of rain on my hair, as the green flag flew, John LeSage was out front followed by Gundlach and Mahoney, Mahoney quickly moved into second position and Veugeler driving the 88 car moved into third, all three managed to hold their positions with LeSage taking first, Mahoney taking second and Veugeler rounding out the top three.

As our second heat lined up Mother Nature threw a wrench into the mix with torrential rains, and tornado warnings.  So with time trials behind us and one heat still to go, Bedore held top position by 9 points.  Jeff LeSage would have to wait till tomorrow to drive his heat. 

Undaunted by the flooding and hail, in usual RORI style, the guys made the best of it and had a great time trying "not to stay dry".  So to the campsite we went to enjoy the camaraderie of our friends as we looked forward to finishing up our races on Sunday. (lots of pictures this time-see photo page).

As the sun rose the next day, Benkert figured perhaps he should get a few hours of shut eye and headed for the motor home, a few hours later everyone else was up and heading out for coffee, breakfast and casino's.  As usual Kip's hair looked fantastic.  Everyone was amazed at how good Sue's hair looked too, "why she's never looked better!" 

Mother Nature was on our side and finally it was time for the our second heat with Findley out front Thiel in second position and Dale Olson, driving the #7 car in third.  Findley moved ahead quickly and Thiel and Olson held their positions for most of the race but Novotny was able to overtake Olson on the last lap resulting in Findley taking first, Thiel taking second and Novotny rounding out the top three.  At this point LeSage had taken the lead by 4 points, the feature would make or break the deal.

The feature began with Gundlach in first, Mahoney in second and Lynn in third.  Pollak, who is finally back with the pack, experienced car trouble and left the field during the third lap.  Gundlach was flying and held onto first for ten laps before Jeff LeSage took it away from him and Novotny was now in third.  In lap 14 Novotny had car trouble and left the field moving Mahoney into second with Olson (#7) in third.  Soon after John LeSage left the field and a restart was in order.  With 4 laps to go LeSage held onto first with Mahoney taking second and Olson taking third. 

With the races over I was saddened to have to leave the Dells and head home, I really wanted to stay one more day. 

I look forward to Novotny's take on this weekends racing as he's promised to write an article for the site, so check back often, I'll post it as soon as I get it.

The Ride Home From Hell

By Guest Writer - Dave Nett

Ok, all aboard, let's go, where's Jim?  Still helping Mark and Jason load up and hook up the trailer.  Then after some more last minute discussion on where to drop off Jim's car we were on our way. 

We started off talking about how much fun the party was, but how it sucked to have the race the next day.  I think it was somewhere around Portage when I glanced over my shoulder to see Kip and Jim holding hands across from each other at the table.  Jim had that look in his eyes like "man I wish I wasn't married."  Oops, sorry, my bad...what happens in the motor home stay's in the motor home. 

After about 5 more miles I sucked in behind a semi, grabbed a smoke, put her in auto pilot and discussed where we were going to stop for dinner with my co-pilot, Jr.  As we rolled  thru Madison I looked in the rear view to see Mr. LeSage so I hogged up 2 lanes so he had to slow back down under 100mph.  But as I pulled back in my own lane, he blew past with no regard to the 65mph speed limit that I was doing.

Then up the road a piece, I saw it...The shaggin wagon with Jim yelling in the back room I hear "suck his  helmet off", at that moment I hoped he was talking about Bill so I decided to brake the law and sped up to 67mph.  As I passed the shaggin wagon I then heard a bunch of cheering again, I had hopes it was for Bill.

As we got into Janesville, we stopped for some food and off we went again.  After being on the interstate I thought I would relax and take highway A to route 12.  Just outside of Johnstown Center.  I heard it...the THUMP, CRAP!  Hang on guys I lost a tire!

After bringing her to a stop in the middle of the road I looked back to see Kip and Jim hugging.  Jr just looked at me and shook his head.  Looking up the road I saw an old farm house so I limped the unit in the drive.  We got out to check out the damage and got the jack out.  After a few minutes, Mike the farmer next door, stopped by to check on us.  He looked in and said "Boy's that jack is too small, I'll go over to Chuck's house to get the big jack."  Well Mike the farmer came back and said "Chuck's out with his girlfriend."  So farmer Mike went home to get us his jack and some wood.  Mike got back, jack too small, then I see it...the Shaggin Wagon. 

But like the story of the Hare and the Turtle, Bill toot's his horn, waves and keeps right on going.  I asked him the next day why he didn't stop, he said "I thought you stopped for a picnic!"  He must have saw something in back of the motor home when we passed him.

If I saw what I think he saw, I would have kept going too!  The whole time this is going on, Jr. is on the phone trying to get a limo.  Mike the farmer went home to get the phone # of the tow truck.  He came back and gave me his phone and said talk to this girl, so I did and she said we don't have a big jack either, call this guy.

Then it started, 10 phone calls later, no one could help. Jr. got so desperate he started to call a taxi because he couldn't find a limo.  Jim and I started talking about plan B.  Farmer Mike said call 911 and then he went home, he was a great guy.  Then it happened, the call came in from Miss Kelly...We had to get home even if we had to walk.  From that point on it was "do what you have to do" so we found cinder blocks for shoring, we used bent axels to dig with but we got her done.

As we were picking up tools, the police show up, farmer Mike called them well after, he made sure we were all legal and we were on our way again.  We rolled into the shop about 11:50 that night.  To end the trip from hell, we put Jim's car in the barn and we went home!

I guess the moral of this story is..."If you're rolling down the interstate, make sure your shades are closed because if you end up with a flat tire on a dark side road, no one will help you...PEOPLE TALK!"  I have yet to see Jim after that night.  I hope he can still come out to play with us.

July 29, 2006 - Lake Geneva Raceway - It was a sweltering day for racing, the kind of heat that makes it hard to breath or to even move for that matter.  Sweat beaded up on foreheads as cars were unloaded in anticipation of hot laps, boy are those racing suits going to be uncomfortable today.  Dave Shine will be driving for Team Veugeler tonight as Bedore has "Gone Fishing".  Benkert, in an attempt to stay cool, opted to hurt  his finger while loading his trailer and spent a few hours in the cool emergency room, while he missed the start of the night he did make it in time for our feature.

After some hot laps, John LeSage discovered a cracked pipe and he was done for the night, a real disappointment for us all.  Fast time tonight was taken by Dave Shine, driving the #88 car, congratulations Dave.  Now with our heat line-ups prepared we sat in front of the fan and tried not to move until it was time to race.

Our first heat began with Lynn and Gundlach out front in the line-up but Thiel moved to first in the first lap keeping Gundlach in second and Lynn in third.  Soon Pollak overtook Lynn for third and Gundlach driving well and holding second spun in turn four, due to a chain problem, as was towed off the track unable to complete the race.  The final result was Thiel taking first, Pollak taking second and Lynn rounding out the top three.

The second heat began with Mahoney and Novotny out front but Findley quickly moved into first followed by Jeff LeSage and Mahoney in third.  Shine overtook Mahoney for third and Novotny had car trouble and had to leave the track, racing for Novotny was over for the night.  The final result was Findley taking first, LeSage taking second and Shine taking third.

With three cars out with problems we were down to 9 cars for the feature.  Gundlach and Lynn were out front to start the race.  During lap two Jeff LeSage took the lead with Shine hot on his tail moving Gundlach to third position.  With points so close, LeSage needs this win to hold onto points leader.  LeSage held first position  for 9 of the 15 lap feature when Shine was finally able to overtake him putting LeSage in second and Mahoney in third.  By lap 11 Findley overtook Mahoney for third and those three managed to hold their positions to the end. 

August 11, 2006 - Lake Geneva Raceway - What an absolute beautiful day for racing, the sun was shining, the wind was refreshing and the humidity gone, it was truly a great day!

Jim Veugeler will be running the #88 car car today with Bedore as his pit crew.  Mahoney's dad joined Jason as his pit man for the night, it was good to see him again.  Jeff LeSage found he had a motor mount problem and opted to put his number on brother John's car so John will be running the #3 for the night.  With points so close between LeSage and Bedore, it's sure to be an exciting night of racing.

After some hot laps, time trials had Novotny taking fast time and taking away fast time for the year at Lake Geneva from Jeff LeSage.  Thiel found his car running exceptionally well with his first time trials in the 16's, congrats Jim.

Our first heat of the night began with Gundlach out front followed by John Benkert and then Rob Pollak.  During lap three Gundlach and Josh Benkert tapped tires but were immediately back out on the field without a caution.  By lap four Benkert was able to pass Gundlach for first and the final result was Benkert taking first, Gundlach taking second and Pollak rounding out the top three, great job guys!

The second heat began with LeSage out front with Mahoney in second and Thiel in third.  By lap two Thiel had moved into second and Novotny up from behind into third.  LeSage holding first, Thiel and Novotny battled with Novotny finally taking second away from Thiel in lap four.  All three held their positions to the end resulting in LeSage in first, Novotny in second and Thiel in third.

Our feature began with Veugeler (#88) out front, Gundlach in second and Mahoney in third.  By lap three Bedore was moving away from the pack and Novotny had moved into second with Mahoney holding on to third position. Midway through the feature Bedore broke a belt and was forced to give up first position and head to the infield, a real disappointment.  With Novotny now in first, Mahoney in second and LeSage (#3) in third, it would turn out to be a battle for second position.  In the final lap, LeSage was finally able to overtake Mahoney for second with the final result - Novotny taking first, LeSage taking second and Mahoney rounding out the top three.  It was a great race!

Saturday August 26th at the Lake Geneva Raceway - Guest Writer - Norm Nett.  It was going to be a good day.  Got up, checked the weather, went on my morning walk, made my lunch, kissed the wife and kids and went to work.  Had to do some pickup and deliveries at work.  Spent most of the day in the truck watching the sky and thinking “we’re okay, it’s not going to rain!”  I was on my way back from Crystal Lake when my cell phone rang.  It was “The King”, he was calling to tell me he called Bob and told him Dave Colletti was driving #7…he is such a trouble maker. 

So I blow out of work around 3:00, shot over to Rick Corso’s shop to help wash and load cars…2 late models, 1 rascal car, 1 truck, 1 trailer for the trailer race, tool boxes, coolers, generator, etc.  So having FUN now!  Then it’s off to the track, get in the pits, unload and get gas.  Pull on the car 20 or 30 times to start it, then turn the gas on.  Thank god Denny came by with some starting fluid.  So have some FUN now. 

Get Rick in the car, send him out on the track for practice…car loads up – that’s normal after a lap or so – then she takes off.  After a couple more laps she really takes off…right off the track between two trees and into the ditch.  There’s some FUN.  When I get to Rick I say “are you ok?”  In normal driver fashion he looked at me and said “Norm, no brakes.”  Ok now we’re into FUN up to our eyeballs. 

When the wrecker drops the car by the trailer, I say to the boy’s “Fix it or put it on the trailer?  I want to see a show of hands.”  All hands up, Ok what do we need for parts and like always, Greg and Kip have all the parts one would need to fix a rascal car.  By the way the Corso team would like to thank everyone, again, for all their help!  And the FUN keeps rolling on!

 So the repair is going okay, moving right along when the King stops by and said “Norm, you need to keep time’s tonight.”  OK now we’re having FUN, lots of FUN.  Get the times, then find Mrs. V. Thank goodness for Mrs. V, we compared times and did the line up…12 or 13 times…then having it done, bring it up to Kim, walk back to the King to give him a copy for miss Sue.  Someone had to remind me that wing nut’s son was a rookie.  So we did the line-up one more time.  Man we’re having some FUN now.

 When I get back to the trailer the boy’s were just finishing up with the car.  So we put fuel in her, put Rick in her, and racing we went.  Then the rain drops came.  The yellow came out and the cars slowed, then the checkered flag came out.  It took a minute to sink in.  Rob won!  Holy crap, ROB WON!  Now that’s FUN!!

 The rain got harder so we covered the cars and put the tools away just as Mrs. Corso rang the dinner bell.  Who shows up?  The car owner, yep, Roger himself.  “Ok which one of you clown’s called and told him we wrecked the car?”  Go figure, it was the King…man what a trouble maker.  So we all went in the hauler and ate KFC and told stories.  There’s some more of that FUN.

But when the rain didn’t stop and they called the trailer drivers to the tech shack, I knew it was over for us.  Farmer stopped by the trailer and said they told him they were running the trailer race in 15 minutes if the rain didn’t stop.  I thought “oh well, at least we’re having FUN.”   

So then the car owner’s wife, the lovely miss Lori sat me down for a little heart to heart.  “Don’t say anything to anyone you guys, I think Sports Illustrated is going to be doing a special cover story.  Roger is like Mike Jordan, he took a year off to try golf.  But next year he’ll be back.  Did you know ESPN is doing a special “Caesar the Legend and his Car” show, and the King has a new reality show on Fox called “How much crap can you start and blame on Norm?”  Now there’s some FUN!

 So I’m back by Kip’s trailer and Mr. Corso walks over and said “Norm, when's the next race?”  I say Friday, we practice Tuesday.  “I’m there” he said.  I think it’s cool that guy’s only have to race an outlaw car one time and their hooked.  Then over the loud speaker, it came…the news the race show was a wash out.  Then the real question came up….Do we get points for qualifying?  Oh no, there goes the FUN.  My mind went right to the old great’s; A. J. Foit, Mark Andrety, Rusty Wallace, Jack Schaal – so I looked at Kip and said “there’s nothing in the rule book”, without hesitation he said “no points, a wash is a wash.”  Cool, that’s over, FUN back on!

 Well who know’s if that will stick.  Remember your rule book was made for…I don’t know what our rule book was made for…oh sorry I was about to lose some of my FUN. So we packed up the cars and headed back to the big city to unload and reload trailers so Rick and his boys could race again on Sunday.

 On my drive home, the King called Kip to get him to come up to Jim’s birthday party…like that was going to happen after they had been drinking for a couple of hours already.  But Jim, I hope you had a great birthday.

 Looking back on the day I guess anytime you can spend time with the winged flying monkey’s and their car’s you’re going to have FUN!  And for me, I think if I go to the track hoping no one get’s hurt, and trying to make sure they don’t, it will be a FUN day!

September 1, 2006 - Lake Geneva Raceway - With the rain at bay, Rick Corso will get a chance to race tonight driving the #7 car.  Lenny Adams will be driving the #23 and Keith Christophersen will be driving for team LeSage in the #8 car.  With points so close, and another race on Saturday, we hope everyone makes it through the night without any major repairs needed.  It was especially nice to see retired driver, Rich Guy, show up in the pits tonight.  When Rich left RORI, Kip moved up to the "Oldest Driver" in our group.

Jeff LeSage took fast time tonight with an impressive time of 15.972, he must be wearing those lucky boxers again tonight.

With 7 cars in the first heat, Adams (#23) and Gundlach began out front but Thiel moved up to second position in the first lap and Mahoney right behind him as Gundlach left the field with car trouble.  In lap three Thiel overtook Adams for first and by lap four Mahoney was in second with Adams now in third.  The final result was Thiel taking first, Mahoney taking second and Christophersen (#8) taking third.  Great race guys.

We again have 7 cars in our second heat with Pollak and John Benkert starting out front.  As the green flag flew the drivers moved past the first turn when Novotny, Bedore and Findley tangled and a caution was thrown.  Jeff LeSage spun and managed to avoid the whole mess.  As Novotny, Bedore and Findley left the track we were now down to 4 cars in the heat.  Corso moved into first position with Pollak close behind and LeSage rounding out the top three.  Corso led for four laps when LeSage was able to over take him and Benkert had now moved into third position.  The final result was LeSage taking first, Corso (#7) taking second and John Benkert rounding out the top three.  Could LeSage be working on a "sweep" tonight?

Back in the pits, Novotny, Findley and Bedore worked to get their cars put back together, thankfully it looks like they will all make it back for the feature.  Will Corso beat Kip in points tonight?  Who will be the ultimate winner between these two competitors, hmmm.

With 20 laps before us, I crossed my fingers and hoped the race would go smoothly.  The race began with Gundlach out front followed by Lynn and Christophersen (#8). By lap 5, Novotny had moved into third position with Jeff LeSage and Bedore right behind him.  In lap 7, Lynn spun and flipped his car and a caution was thrown.  The crowed cheered as they heard our young rookie driver was just fine and his car was towed off the field.  During lap 8, Novotny spun and Bedore was unable to avoid him, two more cars were now out of the race.  At the restart, LeSage was out front, followed by Gundlach and then Christophersen (#8).  Soon Corso (#7) was in second position pushing Gundlach into third.  By lap 12 LeSage was still in first followed by Corso in second and Findley now in third and all three held their positions to the end.  Great race everyone.  Looks like LeSage did sweep tonight!

Back in the pits we surveyed the damage to both Lynn, Novotny, and Bedore's cars, with a crumpled wing and minor damage, Lynn had been christened, while a bit shaken by the whole ordeal, he now has a story to share with his buddies, he was all grins.  Novotny's car seems to be fine.  Bedore's car suffered more severe damage and will probably not make tomorrows race, but he's okay too, which is the important thing.  And Corso beating Kip in points was the other important thing.

Saturday, September 2, 2006 - Manitowoc - While I'm home with a cold, I'm glad Linda LeSage and Roberta Pollak are there to take care of the scoring and keeping the guys in line, thank you both so much.  While we may have been a few cars down, it turned out to be an exciting day of racing just the same. 

After a few hot laps to get ready, the green flag flew to start our heat race.  During lap one, Thiel realized he'd forgotten to tighten his steering wheel and was surprised to have it come off in his hands, seconds later he was into the wall and out of the race.  With the restart, after one lap, Christophersen was out front followed by Pollak and then Novotny...Novotny? How'd he get up front so fast, oh yea they were lined up by points, okay now I understand.  By lap 6 Jeff LeSage had overtaken Novotny for third and one lap later he pushed Pollak into third.  Trying to overtake Christophersen for first, LeSage was unsuccessful, the final result was Christophersen taking first, LeSage taking second and Pollak rounding out the top three.

Down to 9 cars for the feature, it was Findley out front followed by LeSage and then John Benkert.  Two laps later LeSage had overtaken Findley and Pollak had moved into third position.  Soon Chrisophersen was in second followed by Findley, all three holding their positions for the next 9 laps.  During lap 10 Mahoney overtook Findley for third and held that spot to the end.  The final result was LeSage taking first, Christophersen taking second and Mahoney rounding out the top three.  Great race guys.

Kip, having vision problems, because of his age, walked right in front of Thiel as he was pulling into the pits:

September 8, 2006 - Lake Geneva Raceway - Another beautiful day for racing.  Rick Corso will be driving the #33 car for Jim Thiel tonight. 

Fast time was taken by Kip Novotny with a time of 15.993.

With our heat line-ups ready, the first heat sets out with Corso (#33) out front with Gundlach in second followed by John LeSage in third.  Corso gained quite a lead and Gundlach kept pace leaving LeSage and John Benkert to battle for third position.  In the end Benkert won out with the result being Corso in first, Gundlach in second and Benkert rounding out the top three.  Great race guys.

The second heat began with Pollak out front followed by Christophersen and then Mahoney.  Christophersen quickly took the lead with Bedore coming from behind to move into second and Mahoney holding onto third position.  By lap 5 Bedore had moved into first pushing Christophersen into second and Novotny was now in third.  The battled raged but Bedore managed to hold onto first, Novotny taking second and Christophersen taking third. 

While Jeff LeSage may be unbeatable for the championship, second and third place will be any ones guess with points so close.  With that in mind, the guys head out for the feature with Pollak out front followed by John Benkert and Corso.  By lap two Corso was up front and pulling away from the pack.  By lap three Findley moved in behind Corso and the two held their positions to the end.  Jeff LeSage held an impressive third position until lap 12 when he experienced car trouble giving third to Bedore who right behind him.  The three held their positions up to lap 20 when Bedore spun, letting Novotny take third.  While Bedore may have hit the infield, it was brief and he managed to get right back on the track and still take 5th place!  Great race guys.

With one points race left to go and Findley and Bedore just 6 points apart the next race should be an interesting one.  But in my book, all the guys are winners!

September 29, 2006 - Lake Geneva Raceway - Mother Nature looks iffy tonight and boy is it cold, but that didn't keep Corso from driving the #7 tonight and Dave Shine driving for Team Veugeler (#28).  With 6 points between Findley and Bedore, it will be anyone's guess as to who will ultimately take second.

Due to drizzle, there will be no time trials this evening (and another bad hair day for Sue) so the group decides to set up our heats by drawing playing cards, this definitely shakes things up a bit.

Our first heat will be 7 cars and when the green flag flies, Corso moves quickly and by lap one he's out front followed by Findley and Shine.  A lap later, Pollak experiences some car trouble and is forced to leave the track.  Corso maintained his lead throughout the heat with Findley hot on his trail and Shine right behind, the final result was Corso taking first, Findley taking second and Shine rounding out the top three.

The second heat begins with the LeSage brothers out front which definitely makes things interesting, especially when brother John rounds turn three and goes right off the track, though he quickly returns.  Soon Novotny was out front with John LeSage in second and Thiel in third.  Jeff LeSage experienced car trouble and finally had to leave the track.  The final result was Novotny taking first, John LeSage taking second and Thiel rounding out the top three.  Great race guys!

While we huddled in Mahoney's trailer basking in the warmth of his great heater, mother nature was threatening rain, and just as we lined up for our feature she decided to open the flood gates, the RORI season was over. 

Congratulations to Jeff LeSage our season champion, our top five drivers this year are Findley in 2nd, Team Veugeler in 3rd, Mahoney in 4th, and John Benkert in 5th!  It was a great season and we all look forward to our year end banquet to celebrate the year.

Ballots will be sent out with this next payout, please make sure you get them back to Sue as soon as possible so trophies can be ordered. 

Thanks for another great season of great fun and great friends.  Thanks to all the guys for being so understanding of my time constraints this season with our recent move, I really appreciate it.  Thanks to Norm for all his help as well as Dee my unofficial assistant.  And to my good friend Jim Thiel....I AM NOT OLD!!!

Ode To Jeff
"Sung to the Tune of Hello Mother, Hello Father"

2006 Season Year End Banquet - It was the night of our year-end banquet and I could hardly wait to see all the guys and was definitely looking forward to a good time.  Mark and I arrived early, though not as early as Kip and his crew, I think they got there at noon.  We set up the room by placing the table decorations, arranging the trophies, and of course hiding a few gag gifts made by several of our members.  The room looked great and soon everyone started to arrive. 

After some mingling it was time to feast on a delicious meal of pasta, beef, potato’s, etc.  It was all very good and there was plenty to go around.  With our bellies and drink glasses full, it was time for the Master of Ceremonies, i.e., Kip, aka, the zipper, no-no Novotny, and Caesar, to begin handing out trophies and such.

Kips quick wit, and willingness to take center stage, made him the perfect choice for this years emcee.  While plaques and trophies were passed out in order, a few other awards were thrown in as well.  I was proud to receive the “Whiner Award”, though I was shocked at Kip’s misspelling of Wine, but it was nice of Kip to remember me. 

 Rick Corso was given the “Tree Hugger” Award, Kyle Lynn got the coveted “Flipper” Award, and John LeSage received the “My Sh*t Don’t Stink” Award.  But my favorite by far was the “Sexiest Man of the Year” award given to our own Dennis Lynn!

The jokes didn’t stop there, you see a drivers mishaps are not soon forgotten by the members of our group.  Jim Thiel received a very nice “Safety” Award, and Bob Veugeler was able to pass on a slightly modified award he had received during a  previous banquet.  Jeff LeSage even shared his “lucky shorts” with everyone in the group.  

Congratulations to Jason Mahoney as our "Rookie of the Year", to Jeff LeSage for "Best Appearing Car" and Kyle Lynn for "Most Improved Driver".

 All in all it was another great banquet and I sure hope everyone had as good a time as I did.  Thank you to everyone who contributed to the thoughtful gift for me, it is truly appreciated. 

 I want to give a special thanks to Kip Novotny and John & Betty Benkert for selecting Monaco’s as our banquet site and for doing the legwork involved in getting it set up, you guys are the greatest! 

 Thank you to Aronson Fence and Tech Weld for their generous donations to this years photo books, and to Alan Giuliani and Dan Koivisto for their year end points fund sponsorship and to everyone else a great big “THANK YOU” just for being you! 

 Here’s to another great Rascal Outlaw Racing Season!  Pictures can be found on our photo’s page.