POSTED December 30, 2001

Our web site crossed 18,000 hits at 8:32 am Saturday morning! ON Christmas Day David T. Schaefer, our web master, sent me an email asking if I felt we would hit 18,000 by the end of the year and I told him I had no doubt! So we actually beat that with 2 plus days to spare! The tremendous success of our web site is a real tribute to David for all his hard work and to our drivers and fans for their year around interest in the Mottville Speedway! Of course, I am biased but I have never seen a better short track web site! 

Well this is final column of the year 2001! To be most frank with you I am glad to see this year end! At my age I know better than to wish my life away but this has not been one of the great years of my life! Many others would share this view I have no doubt! I should have known what type of year it would be when Dale Earnhardt was killed in the Daytona 500 in February, the traditional start to auto racing for the year! Even prior to that when we had to stay up all night plowing snow for the January Mottville Madness! (I guess it was madness last year!) September 11 was one of the most horrible days in the history our great nation! Then we have the poor economy to boot! Personally I feel in looking back that there must of been times my brain took a real leave of absence!! But on the very positive side I am more grateful than ever for my robust great health (especially when I look around me at others about my age!) and
the fact I have a good job and have achieved a lifetime goal of owning a speedway! Plus I have learned to be more grateful than I have ever been for my good friends! As I have stated before we were most fortunate at Mottville to keep our bottom line profit in 2001 almost identical to that of 2000 despite the economy! Few tracks in our area, at least, can say that! 

We lost Floyd Courtney and Raymond Beers and both will really be missed at Mottville!
Speaking of friends, sometime late this year it finally hit me that I owe a great debt to one of my friends that I probably can never repay in this lifetime but I certainly intend to spend the rest of my life trying! But, as always, I am an optimist! I am truly looking forward to 2002 and especially the banquet on February 9 and the opening of another great season of racing at Mottville on March 2! I am going to try to cherish each of the 76 nights on the schedule regardless of the weather! 

Last week I said I would make a few remarks about two more of our track officials-Rita Courtney and Shelly Lauderdale! Well one night in 1999 we had no flag person! WE had been through several that season and they had not worked out and just before race time Tom Pearson and myself looked at each other and Tom volunteered to flag. I told him to wait until I went to the front side and had one last look around! I went to the flag stand and looked to the turn 4 side and who was sitting there but Rita! I asked her if she wanted to flag and she agreed at once! She has not missed a night since! Funny thing is Rita had not been to Mottville in quite some time but she was there when we really needed her! Over the years we have enjoyed having Rita flag for us and do the 50-50 drawing and help with emt type services as well. This past season she even kept track of things in the pit rest rooms! She camps out at the track each week-end and keeps things in order while I am away! I seriously doubt there is anything Rita would not do to benefit Mottville Speedway! Rita will be graduating from nurse's training in May and she is so dedicated that she will not even consider a job in nursing that involves week-ends despite the fact nursing pays much, much more than flagging! Talk about dedication that alone says its all! Plus Rita has been a great help on our web site along the way! 

Shelly Lauderdale came as "package deal" with Rita! She had emt training and we started using her for that and when our regular security person had to leave because of lack of time Shelly stepped right in and took over that role also and has done a fine job! She also has been most reliable and dependable! This past season she has been directing things on clean-up after an accident on the track and has handled that very well also! But there is one thing totally different between Rita and Shelly. I can yell at Rita and she takes it better than anyone I have ever had work for me! In fact if I do not yell at her sometimes she thinks I am probably mad at her! But Shelly I have to try to be more careful of because even a bad tone in my voice and she gets upset! Anyway I greatly appreciate the efforts of both Rita and Shelly and hope they stay at Mottville for as long as I do!

Speaking of the February 9 banquet if you want to get tickets for $20 you had better get your check or money order in the mail fast because after this week they go to $25! It seems every year we have about 60% pay $20 and 40% pay $25 which amazes me to no end! Based on ticket sales so far it looks like we may well challenge last year's record crowd! We will be adding at least one more person to THE MOTTVILLE SPEEDWAY HALL OF
FAME! Right now there are 11 people in the HOF and Judith Grace Swihart Holden nominated someone right after last year's banquet and then reminded me of that this week and that person will be inducted February 9 and is most deserving! If you have a person you fell should be considered for the MSHOF please let me know in the next 2 weeks. Also we can still use some more plaque sponsors for $35 each. The sponsors name appears on the plaque and you do not have to own a business to sponsor a plaque! Hunley's Service and Repair out of Goshen in sponsoring 2 plaques and Goshen Collision Center will sponsor as many as 8! Randy Morley has Rebel Rebuilding and CD's Party Store for sponsors! Well, please drive carefully over New Year's Eve especially and I hope your new year gets off to a terrific start! Only 6 more weeks until the banquet and 9 until racing starts at Mottville again and I am really looking forward
to it!