 |
| 08.29.09 |
| SPONSORS
WANTED! |
| Dan
Fitzgerald Racing is looking for entry fee sponsors or fuel sponsors for
the upcoming open show season! The Wild West Tour at Mohave
Valley Raceway is $100, Castle Country Clash $75, Desert Classic
$175, and the Duel in the Desert, $175. If interested, email dfr87n@yahoo.com
. Thank you! |
|
| TWO
WINNERS! |
| Congrats
to the winners of the t-shirt contest guessing our number of IMCA feature
wins. Within minutes of one another both Chase Hansen (Myton,
UT) and Destin Mince (Piedmont, AL) answered the question correctly, 142
sanctioned feature wins. Congrats and thanks to everyone who
submitted a guess. |
|
| MISSED
OPPORTUNITY! |
 |
So
now that the wedding has taken place, it's ok to say
who!
I was >< close to being the one to perform the wedding
ceremony for NASCAR crew chief Ray Evernham and World of Outlaws A
feature winner Erin Crocker.
Ray & Erin were looking for a non-denominational person to
perform their wedding and I was 'it' until Nevada denied my
application! Dammit.
How cool would that have been?? That close. |
|
|
| SMOKE,
COUGH, COUGH |
 |
The
wildfires in Los Angeles have really disrupted the air quality in
the already smoggy Las Vegas valley.
In the morning you can really smell the burning in the air and it's
difficult to even see the mountain ranges off in the distance.
In fact, if you didn't know they were there, you wouldn't even be
able to pick them out.
A light layer of ash also blanketed the vehicles this
morning.
Being out in it for an extended period of time does hurt the eyes a
little bit too. Hopefully it blows through
soon. |
|
|
| CROWDED
CLASSES |
 |
Holy
lots of kids Batman!
No less than 45 students showed up in my 5th period class last
Monday! That goes along with 42, 40, and 39 in my other
three Algebra classes.
With that many kids in the room, I do more crowd control than
teaching. However, I will make do. If the
kids ever realize they outnumber me, I'm in BIG
trouble. |
|
|
| 08-23-09 |
|
| YOU
CAN WIN! |
Contest!
You could win a free Dan Fitzgerald Racing t-shirt if you can answer the
following question correctly. All the correct answers, or closest if
no correct answers, will be put into a drawing to determine the
winner. Simply email the answer to the following
question:
How
many career IMCA Sanctioned feature wins does the 87N team have?
dfr87n@yahoo.com to
enter. |
|
| CONGRATS! |
| Congrats
to Dustin Hansen (Southern SportMod) and Chase Hansen (Modified) for
sweeping their heats and features at the Diamond Mountain Speedway this
weekend. It's Dustin's first win! Congrats to the
entire team for breaking out the brooms in Vernal, Utah. Way
to go! |
|
| ALMOST
READY! |
 |
So
I've lived in Vegas my entire life (35 years) and watched as the
Stratosphere Tower was built quite a while back. I'm
quite uneasy with heights, so I knew I would "never" go up
in it. But when the Golden Valley Gang invited me up, I
went up. Oh lordy. I survived and have since
went up a few more times. Most recently with the
Delaneys from up north.
This last time it actually didn't bother me too much. I even
went to the edge to look over and down. At this point I
think I'm ready to do one of the rides. The Big Shot is
the one I'm leaning towards. Although I do get that
ticklish feeling under my feet just thinking about it.
We'll see if I do it! Stay tuned.
Would you do it??! dfr87n@yahoo.com |
|
|
| 08-11-09 |
|
| JOB
WANTED! |
 |
It's
a tough, tough world out there right now and we all know someone in
this position. However after countless job applications,
first interviews, second interviews, attending bartending school,
etc, it has become obvious it's about 'who you know' out
there.
Blake lost his job in the housing industry when the housing market
took a tumble and new home sales went to nil in the area.
If anyone 'knows anyone' who can help Blake with employment, please
let him or me know. He is a certified bartender, had
experience in customer service, construction, and vinyl
graphics.
greenwoodblake@yahoo.com or dfr87n@yahoo.com
if you can help him out! Thanks. |
|
|
| THE
DENTIST IS BAD ENOUGH....BUT.... |
 |
I
think I was about 5 years old when I took that thrilling trip to the
dentist for the first time. I survived (and so did he)
and I continued to go there for the last 30 years. Well,
he recently retired!
Today I'm heading to a new dentist and I feel like I'm going for the
first time. After 30 years I knew and trusted my
dentist. Sounds funny, but I have an uneasy feeling in
my stomach as my appointment draws near.
SCARY! LOL
Wish me luck! |
|
|
| FAMOUS
FACEs |
| While
I did not care for FACEBOOK at first, I'm beginning to like
it. It's an easier way of keeping track of friends without
lengthy emails or conversations, etc. The best part is some
'famous' racers are on there and some have been crazy enough to accept my
friend requests! YES! Drag racer Tommy Johnson Jr
was the latest to accept. Plus some very good modified racers
from around the country are on there as well. It's great to
network. Hit me up, http://www.facebook.com/danfitzgerald87n |
|
| DAMN
GOVERMENT! |
| Nevada
has denied my request to perform a wedding in the state. So
the local racer and his fiance will be looking into other
options. In Arizona I was fine, in Nevada some "law"
changed July 1 that prohibited people in my position to do it.
However they did take my fees, non-refundable. They hadn't
updated the info on their website to reflect the "new"
regulations either. Nice huh? |
|
| SO
CLOSE TO SO COOL! |
| While
awaiting word on my Nevada credentials for performing marriages, I got a
call from a friend who was looking for someone to perform a
'non-denominational' wedding and that my 'fee' couldn't be
high. LOL, I said, "does free ring a
bell." Well it was for their place of business and not a
'friend' ceremony. Turns out it was for a FAMOUS
person. Someone most of you will know! I was
floored and said YES, OF COURSE! How cool?! Not three
hours later the letter came in the mail from Nevada denying my application
and out the window went the FAMOUS person ceremony! Out of
respect for my friend, the business, and the person I will save the name
until later. But how can a town with drive-thru, Britney
Spears, quickie weddings actually be MORE stringent than Arizona where I
basically just had to be breathing? Sheeesh! |
|
| NEW
SITE! |
| While
still in the initial stages of construction, Jerry's Extreme Machine is
getting a fresh new website. It's only a few days old and with
vacations and the daily grind getting in the way, it's certainly not
polished. However you can start checking it out at http://www.jemracingengines.com
. |
|
| 7
TO GO! |
 |
Just
7 more days before teachers return to school here in
Vegas. A week from Wednesday will be my first day of
reporting, although I will be back in my room before
then. One of my 'return' days will be spent in an
all-day meeting while the other teachers spend that time at school
planning and fixing up their room. Being head of the
department has NO benefits in middle school.
But hey, I enjoyed the time off! Looking forward to
getting back into the routine. |
|
|
| KETCHUP
OR MUSTARD GIFT? |
 |
So
what do you get the friend that likes ketchup? What do
you get the friend who likes Mustard and the Iowa Hawkeyes?
While trying to solve this problem I came across a neat website, http://www.myheinz.com
. It allows you to order small quantities of
personalized ketchup and mustard bottles. Low and
behold, I found something for these two. At least it's
something they probably didn't have before! Click the
photo for a larger view.
|
|
|
| 08-05-09 |
|
| DAN
FANS ARE THE BEST! |
 |
 |
 |
| The
Martin family from Pahrump, NV has always been really nice to me and
very supportive. On Saturday at Pahrump Valley Speedway
Anthony and family gave me the above photos and letter.
How cool right?! I'm fortunate to have such great fans
and friends. Love it. |
 |
 |
Feel
free to share your
Dan Fan Photos
Email dfr87n@yahoo.com
Click here to see the other
Dan Fan Photos |
| Dakota
Reason from Sheffield, IA shows off his Dan shirt!
Thanks for the support Dakota! |
Dori
and Tyler Lovett, fans from Mohave Valley, AZ. See you
guys in a few weeks! |
|
|
|
| DECISIONS,
DECISIONS. |
|
|
With
the IMCA Supernationals coming up, it has brought up a few thoughts
about what I want to do. I know my time is running out
and want to make sure I do what I want before the time runs
out.
Part of me really wants to do Supernationals one more time. I've
never finished a heat race there and I feel like I have not shown
our true colors at the event. Another part of me wonders
if I should just take a "summer vacation" and hit four or
five different tracks in a row, Stuart, M'Town, Boone, Vinton,
something like that.
Either way I will need some $$$ to make the happen.
We'll see.
What do you think? dfr87n@yahoo.com |
|
|
| THE
DREADED "P" WORD?! |
| Someone
was nice enough to bring it to my attention that if I could win a track
championship in 2010 (next year) that I would have won a championship in
three different decades. I'm old! It would also
move me off of an unlucky number 13, as I have 13 track championships with
IMCA. But I really don't want to run for points again, I
was leading MVR points and stopped going a while back to fall from
1st. |
|
| CONGRATS! |
| A
years ago or so David Murray eclipsed the 400 IMCA feature win
mark. Amazing! Just recently Johnny 'the Jet'
Saathoff knocked off his 300th career IMCA feature win.
Both marks are incredible considering the depth of competition they run
against on a regular basis. No wonder they kick our butt when
they come west. Hats off to these guys for their outstanding
accomplishments. |
|
| SCHOOL
IS COOL? CRUEL? |
 |
It's
that time of year again. Back to school
time. I'm going to have to get a move on and start
preparing for the upcoming school year. This year I will
be teaching 4 Algebra classes in which the 8th graders will earn
high school credit and 1 class of non-proficient students who have
lost their elective and will be working to improve their math
skills. You know you want to join me! LOL.
It will be nice to have a 'schedule' or a 'routine' every day, but
then I'm just now starting to sleep past 5:30am. Shoot! |
|
|
| OUT
WITH THE OLD, OR SNUG |
 |
The
Safe Nest shelter called the other day asking if I had any gently
used household items or clothes to donate. I said ok and
went through the closets and drawers to find some things to
donate. Turns out I had a LOT of stuff that I wasn't
wearing or couldn't wear. So it's going to a good
place. Felt good to help out too. |
|
|
| FILLING
UP?! |
 |
You
can tell it's getting closer to the Duel in the Desert @ LVMS!
Emails are coming in from friends joking about crashing at my place
for the duration of the weekend. I jokingly refer to my
house as the Super 87 Inn (smooth huh?) during times like
this.
My humble abode cannot accommodate many and parking is certainly
limited here. A few people have been surprised when
asking to stop by "my race shop" to find that my
"race shop" is a regular garage at my
home.
As it stands, the Super 87 Inn is rumored to be packed during the
Duel. Hmmmm, isn't it demand that allows prices to
raise? haha!
Either way, the weekend will be a busy one catching up with lots of
friends and trying to work our way into the big money A
main! |
|
|
| KETCHUP
ANYONE? |
 |
How's
that for a tat?
Friend Zach Tull has a love for ketchup. He even
puts ketchup on his ketchup. Just sayin'.
Anyway, Zach finally solidified his love for the popular french fry
dip by branding the back of his calf with a bottle of the Heinz 57
variety tomato blend.
Now I love Sonic Cream Slushes quite a bit, but I'm not THAT big of
a fan.
Zach has already had a few people think that it's a
joke. I like it because it's different, quite
original. |
|
|
| 07-27-09 |
|
| PUCKER
UP?! CHAD SKIPS TRADITION. |
|
While watching
the Brickyard 400's victory celebration on Sunday one thing caught my
eye. Crew chief, Chad Knaus didn't follow through with the
traditional kissing of the bricks. He faked it!
The Sprint girl, Jimmie's wife, and Rick Hendrick pucked up but not
Chad. It reminded me of when Emerson Fittipaldi refused the
traditional milk for orange juice after winning the Indy 500.
Come on Chad, toughen up.
Would you pucker up
for tradition?? dfr87n@yahoo.com
|
|
| NOT
COLOR BLIND! |
 |
I'm
not sure if I'm alone with this or not, but I cannot eat food that
is the wrong color. For example, ketchup is supposed to
be red. I cannot even taste the green or purple
ketchup. I know it tastes the same (they say) but since
it's not red, I can't do it.
The other is tortilla chips that are not yellowish. The red
and purple kind just creep me out. Not sure why, but it
is what it is. I'm weird. |
 |
|
|
| THAT'S
HOW HE ROLLS! |
 |
Now
this is CRAZY!!
The guy decided to skate around a roller coaster in Germany
recently. Equipped with specially made skates, the guy
MADE it around the coaster in just about a minute.
Now I've ridden my fair share of coasters, but I don't know if I
could SKATE around one. Could you do it? dfr87n@yahoo.com
Skater Story
|
|
|
| NEW
BEGINNING! |
 |
My
silver dollar fish (left) finally headed to the big aquarium in the
sky. He lived for almost 10 years and had been on his
last leg for a while. He was the only one left in
the 50 gallon tank.
Today I hit up the pet store for 5 angelfish to take over his
vacated home. Hopefully they will lives as long as
his! |
 |
|
|
| CLAIM
TO FAME! |
|
|
Besides
the fame of being my mom (cough, cough j/k), my mom has another
claim to fame. She's undefeated as crew chief on the
IMCA Modified. Back in 2007 I headed to a race in Price,
Utah on a Friday night. No one else was available to go
and my dad didn't feel up to going, so she went along with
me.
With her in charge I struggled a little bit in the heat race,
relegating myself to the B main. We made a couple of
changes to the car prior to the B main and went out there and won
the B. Started 13th in the A main and went out and won
that too!
She reminds us every once in a while that she's an undefeated crew
chief. |
|
| 07-24-09 |
|
| 15
YEARS OF THE 87N
ON DIRT |
|
|
|
| REVEREND
DAN |
|
|
I'm
currently in the process of getting approved to perform a wedding
ceremony in Nevada. Yes another crazy couple wants me to
perform their ceremony. Again, it's an honor, but do
they know me??! haha
Oddly enough the state of Arizona is much less stringent than the
state of Nevada. So paperwork is flowing in and out in
an effort to get things figured out. Let's hope it all
works out and I can perform the ceremony. More as it
happens.
**On a funny note in correspondence with the church, they started it
off with.......Dear Reverend Daniel Fitzgerald.....LMAO!! That
killed me. But I guess it's actually true since I have been
'ordained.' Just funny anyway.
|
|
|
| NEW
NICKNAME? |
While
I don't really have a nickname, Curtis Pilgreen once tabbed me as
"The Mellow Fellow." But only he used that
one. With all the recent goings-on "Deacon Dan," was
thrown around. But with the "Reverend Daniel
Fitzgerald," correspondence, it seems like I might need a new
one. With reality TV having Rev. Run, I might become Reverend
Race. LOL! Another suggested nickname is the
"Sermonator."
Your suggestions?? dfr87n@yahoo.com |
|
| 50
YEARS! |
| Congrats
to Keith and Janice Reason who will soon be celebrating 50 years of
marriage. WOW! Kim has quite the celebration
planned back there in Iowa so they will ring in their 50th in
style. Amazing 50 years and they've never had a fight....that
landed the other in jail for the night. hehe |
|
| SILLY
STORM CHASER! |
 |
The
"monsoon" season has hit the Las Vegas valley and I'm
loving it. However it is costing me some time and money
in the process. When the weather fired up the other
night it was on the other parts of town, so I got in the truck and
went to where the radar said it was raining. Found
it! The thunder, lightning, and rain was
awesome. I love that stuff. Two nights
ago it began booming around midnight so I got up and enjoyed
it. However a blinding flash followed by an immediate
BOOM certainly got my attention.
The humidity is up again today which bodes well for some more
chances of weather tonight. Might be storm chasin'
again. |
|
|
| I
CAN MAKE IT, YOU CAN HELP! |
 |
While
I cannot make the IMCA All-Star Invitational in early
September, I will be able to attend the Wild West Northern
Series All-Star race in late September. It's
easier to take a personal day later in September.
Anyway, I haven't quite raced my way into the field so my only
option is a random draw (and I stink at drawing) or a fan
vote. That's where you come in! You
can vote once a day from now until August 6, 2009.
Vote (if you want) now, vote often, and tell a friend!
Thanks for your help and support! I appreciate it.
Click the link and look for "VOTE HERE" in the upper
left corner!
http://www.wildwestmods.com/wwmt_ns_allstar.html |
|
|
| 07-17-09 |
| CONTEST!
WILL I WIN?! |
 |
Every
year the NV. Flood Control district holds a contest for a license
plate to put on their billboards. Previous winners are on the
left. On the right are my proposed plates.
You are allowed 3 entries and they cannot already be taken. So
I checked these first and then submitted. I'll hear on July
29, 2009 if I won! Fingers crossed! Will I
win? dfr87n@yahoo.com |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
| FINISHED!! |
 |
Congrats
Blake!
When
the economy crumbled the housing market fell apart and Blake found
himself on the outside looking in working for Pardee
Homes. However Blake enrolled in bartending school and
on Friday (7/17), he aced his final earning him his bartending
certificate! Way to go Blake!
Next up finding a local saloon to practice his trade!
Good luck Blake, well Bartender Blake, that is! |
|
|
| COOL
ROCK! |
 |
A
stop alongside the road on the way to Tahoe put us right in the
middle of a field of black slate rock. Among the pieces
was this Arrow shaped rock. It was really cool since it
was such a large piece, weighing several pounds. Picked
it up and it now sits in my front yard pointing
randomly. Click for a larger view, it rocks! ;-)~ |
|
|
| 07-16-09 |
| BREAKING
IT IN?! |
| I
think I have found something almost as scary as the dreaded chassis dyno.
I will NEVER do the chassis dyno again, and I'm leaning towards not doing
this again either. Today I had to break in a new rear gear
while the car was on the jackstands. The gear needs to
be heat cycled a few times before it can be put under stress (to be safe)
so I have to run the car on the stands in gear. For some
reason it just seems unsafe and really bothers me. But I
survived so it's all good. I have a great gear sponsor
in O'Hanley's and I make sure I follow his rules and instructions to the
letter! |
|
| SOME
DATES |
| While
nothing is ever definite, I have put some dates on my schedule for fans to
see where I will be at. Really looking forward to the fall
races as the temperatures cool off and we can get back to
racing. I plan on going back to the Desert Classic in Phoenix,
an event I haven't attended for a couple of years. It should
be fun. Another event added on will require a
"personal" day from school, the Clash in Price, Utah. It
will be the first time I attend that event. I had to decide
between the "Gold Rush" in Elko or that one. Since I've
won the Gold Rush twice before, I decided to take on a new
challenge. Good times! |
|
| PMAO?! |
| While
I'm not 100% proficient with the texting language, I do know that PMAO
probably isn't one of the commonly used ones. For me it means
pedaling my a$$ off. Been taking to the bike twice a day
lately, getting about 19 miles on it per day. It's a
stationary bike, so it's indoors at least. Feels good to get
back into it again and I really can use it. Hopefully a few
lbs will drop off here soon. |
|
| MUY
CALIENTE |
| Those
of you not in the desert southwest be glad! Although I'm sure
you already are. It has been 116° at my house the last few
days. The 'official' temperature is reported as 110, but it is
hotter elsewhere in the valley. Just way too hot.
I now know what it feels like to be baked! Bring on
October! |
|
| RE-OPENING?? |
| Just
when it seems like more and more tracks are closing because of the
economy, Pahrump Valley Speedway is opening back up after a few seasons
dark. Their first race is this Saturday night. You
can check them out on the net at http://www.pahrumpvalleyspeedway.com
. |
|
| RACE
SCHEDULE |
| Unfortunately
the economy has taken its toll on the race team recently. When
everyone had a job it was easy to schedule days off around race weekends
so people could go with. Well now that's not as
easy. Since the big wreck in Lovelock last year (where I raced
alone, no one there to help) I have been hesitant to go racing
alone. So while things work themselves out I may have to stay closer
to home and go only to 'out and back' races for a while. While
I certainly want to be out there on the tour or at the big events, it's
just not possible right now. I'm thankful I have a job and
hope that things will work out for others. I know car counts
are low at tracks close to home but if I want to race that may be the only
option as MVR has taken the summer off. |
|
| SO
LOYAL! |
| I've
heard from people who are voting for me every day for the IMCA All-Star
event at the Boone Speedway in September. Also a few of you
are voting for me in some Wild West Tour All-Star event.
Thanks! However, you can save yourself a little time as I am
in no position to accept entry into those events right now.
It's not that I wouldn't be honored to be in them, I would love to be,
however I need to see how things shake out with things on the
team. Thank you so much for being so loyal!
You're the best. |
|
| DON'T
FORGET! |
| You
could win a free shirt! Answer the riddle correctly and you
are entered!! ANSWER THE RIDDLE TO WIN! |
|
| GET
YOUR MOVE ON! |
At
the request of my bathroom scale, I've decided to start my exercise
program back up in full swing. The only thing I need is
some people to join me. Misery loves company! So
if you are willing to get your MOVE on, email me. No we won't
be working out together. It just makes it easier to know
someone else is making an effort as well. Take the stairs,
park further away, walk the dogs, or ride the exercise bike (my choice)
and log your activities via email for others to see! Who knows
maybe we can avoid elastic waistbands!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO! |
|
| YES,
YES, and YES I DO! |
| Provided
nothing horrible happens between now and then, I do plan on racing the
Duel in the Desert at LVMS in November. I cannot tell you how
many people have asked me that?! haha The only
thing I can think is that I was a horrible "announcer" (I use
that term loosely) during last year's event. It seems people
would rather see me on the track than hear me! I get it, I get
it. Was I really THAT bad? haha |
|
| WANNA
RIDE? |
 |
Fellow
modified racer Wade Taylor recently shared some photos of his new
creation. He took his '05 BMS ride and turned it into
this cool looking 2-seater. I'm sure they will be trying
to make it available for rides at select tracks here and there in
the near future.
Scuttlebutt from the Battle Mountain Tour event tells me that the
car is a huge hit!
Sure looks like fun! |
|
|
| 07-07-09 |
| BIG
SCARE FROM HOME |
 |
After
landing in Cedar Rapids, there was a terrible message from back west
on the phone. My friend Zach from Golden Valley was rushed to
the hospital after the car he was working on slid forward and off
the jack stands it was sitting on.
Being the only one home, Zach had to work to get his cell phone from
his pocket and got a call out to a friend for help. They
got there to free him from the car. He escaped
without really serious injuries however time will tell if everything
works out for him.
Our thoughts and well wishes go out to Zach! I'm sure
Julie will get him back to 100% soon! |
|
|
| A
TASTE OF BOONE MODS |
 |
I
managed to take a one-lap video of the modifieds in their heat race
action at the Boone Speedway. It's not great, but you
can get an idea of how quick they were.
Click here for the video!
|
|
|
| BORN
IN THE USA? |
 |
I
was sitting in the airport when suddenly I swore I heard Lee
Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" song playing loudly
through my ears. I looked around for the music and found
there wasn't any music. However the presence of the lady (at
left) in her "American" garb.
She was dressed to the hilt in just a military type jacket, one
piece white bikini under it, blue flowing tail and that
hat!
It was quite the sight. I would hate to be the person
behind her or next to her on the plane. At times I wish
I had the nerve it takes to do things like that.
But more power to her.
Go America! |
|
|
| NEVER
HURTS TO DREAM |
 |
 |
| The
Boone Speedway recently had to replace a flagman that retired from
the stand after many years. The replacement?
His 21 year old assistant who got his start as a junior flagger
flaggin from the stands every race night. At the left
are the little ones in training waving their flags imitating those
waved by the flagman and on the right is the new Boone Speedway
flagman. It never hurts to dream, does it?! |
|
|
|
|
| COOL
PROMOTING, NICE PACKING! |
 |
Marshalltown
Speedway promoter Toby Kruse had an interesting admission scheme
this last Friday night as it was $30 car load night. As
many people as you could fit into a 2 or 4 door car would get in for
$30. The winning 'car' would also win $150 if they could
recreate the feat on the track during
intermission. The winning team was 23 people in
the car.
Here is a team that had 21 people in the car. Yes
21! I kept waiting for a VW bug to pull up with a bunch of
red-nosed, oddly dressed people to show up!
PS, there were 10 people in the trunk yet you can only 'see'
6. Wouldn't want to be the unseen ones. |
|
|
| WHAT
IN THE CORN? |
| On
the way to Des Moines on Sunday we passed by an off ramp that was corn on
all sides, except for one of the corners of the corn crop. In
the corner stood an adult XXX bookstore. I am used to seeing
those things around here, of course, but was surprised to see one
there. After a little discussion it was brought to my
attention that this particular corner is referred to as the Porn
in the Corn!
Funny! |
|
| 06-27-09 |
| BLAME
JULIE! |
|
|
I
think I might be able to blame (thank) Julie Tull for the win on
Saturday night, haha! When we were all up on top of the
Stratosphere this week she stuck a penny in one of those
'commemorative coin' machines and made me a "Lucky Penny"
coin. She gave it to me and I taped it inside the
driver's compartment of the race car. It rode along with
me to Victory Lane! Thanks Julie. |
|
|
| BIRTHDAY
WIN! |
| I've
always had pretty good luck picking up wins around Father's Day, Mother's
Day, and around my dad's birthday. In fact the win on Saturday
marks the 9th time I have won a race on the weekend before or on my
father's birthday of June 26, 2009. I'm sure he was 'cheating'
a little from above giving a push now and then when needed!
It's appreciated dad! |
|
| LOOK
OUT IOWA! |
| I'll
be taking a trip here to Iowa soon and will be taking in some racing
action with friends and sponsors Dick & Joyce Eisele.
They've promised to keep my busy chasing races, can't wait. I
cannot check the car and trailer as baggage, so I will be going sans the
modified. I'm excited to take in the action at Toby Kruse's
Marshalltown Speedway, I've had that marked on my 'bucket list' for a
while. So look for me in Iowa if you're around.
Should be fun! |
|
| THANK
YOU! |
| Thanks
to Shane and the staff at Mohave Valley Raceway for displaying my shirt in
their souvenir booth and generating some sales for me. It was
nice to move some merchandise as I need to pay back that debt to the
sponsor. Thanks MVR, I appreciate the gesture, and thanks to
the fans for picking up their Dan shirts! Don't have
one? You can get one here! BUY
ONLINE! |
|
| 06-25-09 |
|
|
|
CONQUERING THE
FEAR!
|
|
Over the last
couple of days I have been able to hang out with my friends from Golden
Valley (Walter, Nicole, Zach, and Julie) as they bowled in the USBC
Championships at Cashman Center. They stayed at the Stratosphere
and were able to take 'guests' up to the top of the 1100 foot
structure. Just thinking about being up there gave me the
shakes. But I made it! No one was even injured
during the visit, haha. Check out some photos from the top of
the structure. STRATO CAM SHOTS
|
|
|
|
ROCK THE VOTE!
|
|
Voters most wanted
to see the 87N team competing at the Duel in the Desert at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway in November. That's a long way off, we'll have to wait
and see where we end up. Thanks for the votes.
|
|
| TURNING
THE CORNER! |
| I'm
trying to turn the corner into the more current way of communcating.
The t-shirt contest involves texting, something I'm not very good
at. I have the old, old (2002?) phone and texting is a nightmare for
me. However a lot of my friends do, so I have to in order to
keep up. What's next? Tweeting? Or it is
twittering? That almost sounds obscene. We'll see how
much more technology I'll be able to incorporate into the
site. Feel free to send along suggestions. dfr87n@yahoo.com
. |
|
| FLYING
COLORS! |
| 93.3%
of my Algebra students passed the district final exam this
year. I couldn't have asked for better results! It
is also a big relief as there is quite a bit of pressure put on us
regarding these scores. |
|
| DRIVING
SCHOOL! |
| I'm
seriously considering enrolling in a driving / chassis school here in the
near future. I think it might do me some good to just go through it
and see what I can get out of it. Couldn't hurt, but with the
way things have been going lately I think I really need it,
badly. What do you think? |
|
| BULLRING! |
| A
few times during my time off I've gone out to take in the action at the
local pavement track known as "The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway." It always brings back some great memories of
my trips to Victory Lane there in 2000 and 2001 with the pavement
car. There are several highlights but two of which are friend
Darren Rollins taking his #87 car to victory with a last lap pass of
tangling leaders while the other is simply watching the Bomber
races. Those look like so much fun. Wish I could find a
ride in one of those cars! haha |
|
| 05-19-09 |
| THEY'RE
IN! |
| The
dog tags are in! I must say they are really cool.
A photo of the car on one side and "I'm a Dan Fan" with a
checkered flag background on them. I hope to get them added to
the online cart soon so you can order them there. If you are
interested in some now, send me an email and you can just mail me the
money. It will be about $5 per tag and that will cover
shipping. They come with a 30 inch chain to wear them
with. Very neat. Shirts are also still available
online or at the track! Get yours now. CLICK
HERE! |
|
| WILD
WEST MODIFIED TOUR |
| I
really regretted not running the tour race in Vernal this weekend, however
I did something cool instead. I chaperoned the 8th grade dance
at school. It's their final dance at our school (those who are
not credit deficient at least) and they get all dressed up and have a
great time. I even got in on the action during P!NK's song,
"So What?!" I got in the middle of a circle of kids
dancing and started a rocked out, jumping, dance that caught
on. Before you knew it I had the whole gym dancing around
me. It was great! Part of the lyric is "I'm still a
rock star" and I certainly felt like one, it was
funny. |
|
| WILD
WEST TOUR part 2 |
| When
the schedules came out for both the North and South tours it was obvious I
preferred the tracks on the north tour. However some of the
south tracks were close and I liked them so I thought I would hit them
up. When the Death Valley races were cancelled it was
announced that they would not be rescheduled. So I made other
plans, then they rescheduled for King's Speedway.
Unfortunately I hadn't planned on that and it was too late to change plans
and get off work to go. Bummer too as I have always wanted to
race there but have never made it. Oh well...... |
|
| MOTIVATION |
| I
wish I knew what my problem is but I cannot seem to get myself motivated
to just go racing. I keep talking myself out of going on a
regular basis. This weekend there are several shows out there
I could go to, but I find myself coming up with reasons why I should just
stay home. I actually went and watched at the pavement track
this weekend, something I almost never do. While sitting there
I remembered back to when I raced in Elko, Nevada one Friday night (on
dirt) in 2001, won the race, then drove the 420 miles home Saturday
morning, loaded up the pavement car and went out and won
again. Those were the days, the glory days. I just
cannot seem to recapture that excitement and drive that I once
had. Wish I could figure it out. |
|
| HOT
HOT HOT! |
| Summer
is here as temperatures have reached triple digits for the last few
days. I have had to abandon the green monster and start taking
my truck to work. The commute without AC even in the mornings
was enough to make me sweat. So I will be taking the truck to
work for the next couple of weeks until the school year is
over. Traveling in comfort.....lord knows I pay dearly for
that comfort. |
|
| SAVING
FACE! |
| I'm
under heavy pressure to restore my FACEBOOK account but I don't see that
happening. Some of you are downright mean trying to guilt me
into it. |
|
| 05-14-09 |
| ABOUT
FACE... |
| I
have deleted my FACEBOOK account. Just wasn't my cup of tea
and really wasn't communicating with anyone, which is the point of it
right? haha, so if you are looking me up, I'm not
there. Sorry! |
|
| CRASH
REPAIR |
| Blake
was hard at work today as I had a long day at work. When I
returned home the car was already fixed and looking good (50 foot
rule). We have a rule that if the car looks good from 50 feet
(grand stand distance), then it's good to go. It may look as
if it needs ironing, but hey, it looks good. |
|
| TWO
TRUTHS AND A FIB..... |
• I have raced with four different numbers on my IMCA Modified through
the years.
• I have raced with four different chassis makes during my IMCA Modified
career.
• I have won features at four different tracks in one
weekend. I've won 4 races in one weekend at 3 tracks.
|
|
| 05.10.09 |
| WAY
TO GO! |
| Congrats
to Paul Hurns for his win this Saturday at Mohave Valley
Raceway. All that hard work and persistence paid
off! Way to go Paul and crew. |
|
| 2
TRUTHS AND A FIB! |
Here's
a new one. Which of the following is a fib?
• I have raced with four different numbers on my IMCA Modified through
the years.
• I have raced with four different chassis makes during my IMCA Modified
career.
• I have won features at four different tracks in one
weekend.
Previous one.
Which of the following is a fib?
• I raced against Kurt Busch IS THE FIB, he moved up to pavement
from Dwarf Cars and skipped dirt modifieds.
• I raced against Kyle Busch
• I raced against Ken Schrader
|
|
| WAS
I THAT BAD??! |
| This
weekend I was asked at least 4 times whether I would be competing at the
Duel in the Desert this year "instead of
announcing." I do plan on competing there this year,
however it made me wonder why they were asking....so early?!
Was I really that bad in the announcing booth last year?
OUCH! Rest assured the pros will be at the helm this year and I will
be on the track, which I'm slightly better at doing
anyway. |
|
| COUNTING
DOWN THE DAYS! |
| Just
20 more days for teachers this school year.
YIPPEE! The kids have 18 remaining and we have 18. I
cannot wait. Each year gets more and more stressful as the
"No Child Left Behind," legislation bears down on
us. Kids are more than just a test score, but you wouldn't
know it these days. The pressure is bad. In a few
short years 100% of all students in all schools are expected to be
proficient in all subjects. Good luck with
that! |
|
| MOVE
OVER BIG $$ HAULER! |
| When
we first purchased our trailer in late 2002 it was one of the largest
trailers in the pits. However these days the times have flown
by us and we are one of the smaller ones. Toter homes and
stacker trailers are moving in and kicking us out. I was parking in
a corner of the pits and a stacker needed the room and we moved to our old
spot. Well this weekend another stacker needed the space so we
headed to another corner. Maybe it's a sign that I've wore out my
MVR welcome??! That's possible. |
|
| WELCOME
MAT WORN? |
| Besides
being shuffled around the pits with parking, I actually feel that I may
have wore out my welcome at MVR. There was an odd moment
during the tour race where during introductions a loud "BOOOOO"
was heard from the crowd. I think it took the announcer by
surprise as he even commented, "some mixed reactions
there." Of course very family like my crew said, "we
didn't hear it." But it makes sense. I have
raced at MVR since 1997 and after 13 years I can imagine some people are
tired of me. I'm sure it's nothing personal, just want some
new blood. Maybe our schedule can take us to some new places
soon to provide some relief to the MVR fans, haha. |
|
|
05.02.09 |
|
2 TRUTHS AND A
FIB! |
Here's a new
one! Which of the following is a fib?
• I raced
against Kurt Busch
• I raced against Kyle Busch
• I raced against Ken Schrader
Last one answered:
• I once came from a lap down to win a heat race.
• I once lapped the field in a main event.
• I once made
up 2 laps in a main event. IS THE FIB |
|
|
|
JUST 4 TO GO! |
|
We're fast
approaching another milestone in the IMCA Modified. Earlier this
year we celebrated our 600th racing start, but not all in a
modified. Just four races from now we will enter our 575th race
in an IMCA Modified. How crazy is that??!
Crazy but cool at the same time. |
|
|
|
FAN STUFF! |
Aside from the
ultra cool t-shirts this season I have a few more things coming as
well. I have some dog tags coming with a picture of the car on
the front and "I'm a Dan Fan" on the back. They will
sell for $4 and come with a 30" chain. I think they will be
really neat and something that is cool but cheap as well. Here's
what they will look like!
 |
|
|
|
04.19.09 |
|
|
|
THAT'S THE
TICKET! |
|
 |
Our car was
featured on the General Admission ticket for the Wild West Modified Tour
event at Mohave Valley Raceway this weekend. Very cool!
Shane from the track was nice enough to snag ticket #0187 for me and
gave it to me in the pits on Saturday. Also during
Saturday during the fan time in the pits a fan came by to have me sign
his. He got ticket #0001 and wanted it signed.
In appropriate teacher fashion I promptly signed it with my RED sharpie!
To the scrap book goes the ticket! Anyone out there with a
ticket with 36 or another 87 in it, let me know!
dfr87n@yahoo.com .
Thanks MVR! |
|
|
|
|
TO THE DARK
SIDE! |
|
After lots of
pressure and prodding I have gone to the dark side. I've signed
up for FACEBOOK. If you are on there, look me up. I
still have no idea what I'm doing or what it's about, but I'm on there.
Send a friend request if you are on there. |
|
|
|
SORRY I MISSED
YA... |
|
Mohave Valley
Raceway allowed fans into the pits for an hour prior to the races on
Saturday and I missed out. I was busy trying to track down some
names and finishes from Friday night's events so I could complete the update
of the MVR site. During that time a few loyal Dan Fan's stopped
by to say hello and I missed them. My apologies! I
hope you enjoyed your time in the pits and got to visit some of the other
drivers and teams. |
|
|
|
COMING SOON... |
|
an exciting
surprise for fans! I think you'll like it.....or at least I hope
you will. Stay tuned. |
|
|
|
BUSY WEEK.... |
|
This week I plan on
going back over the car piece by piece looking for some things that aren't
right. Broken suspension parts, bent pieces, measurements that
are not correct, etc. I think it's the only way to get back to
competing for wins and running at the front. Hopefully there
isn't too much wrong, but if there is I am hoping to find it and get it
fixed. |
|
|
|
THANK YOU! |
|
Thanks to Mohave
Valley Raceway for paying my entry into the tour races this weekend at MVR!
The top 5 in local track points had their entry fee waved to compete as the
promoter wanted us to show the tour guys how we stacked up.
|
|
|
|
SMARTER THAN AN
8th GRADER?! |
|
The Algebra I final
is coming up and students should be able to solve the following question.
Can you? dfr87n@yahoo.com
. A furniture store needs to build three and four legged
bar stools for Mr. Smith who owns 2 local taverns. The order
calls for a total of 150 stools. If 520 legs were delivered to
the furniture store, how many of each type (3 & 4 legged) of bar stool will
be delivered to Mr. Smith? |
|
|
|
04.08.09 |
|
SCALED DOWN
SCHEDULE |
|
Unfortunately I
have had to scale down my schedule. After running the expenses
through my actual available funds, it just isn't going to work out.
The trip to Aztec would cost me close to $1000 with fuel, motels, and entry
fees, not to mention missing a day of work. So I've taken down
the schedule and will basically go week to week from here on out.
My apologies, however, money talks. Good news for 'local' race
fans. |
|
|
|
04.06.09 |
|
WHAT RACES?! |
|
Click here to check
out photos from the 2008 World Submarine Racing Championships!
What will they think of next?! SUB
RACES |
|
|
|
THE WEDDING! |
|
I've placed some
shots and a copy of the ceremony on the site for those interested in reading
about it. Several of you wished you had been there to 'see it in
person,' but you'll have to settle for the few photos and the copy of the
ceremony instead. WEDDING |
|
|
|
POSITIVELY
RACING! |
|
A new website has
ties to Dan Fitzgerald Racing, so I thought I would pass it along.
Positively Racing is an Iowa-area racing site with blogs and information
from race fans in the area. Friends and sponsors, Dick & Joyce
Eisele are featured bloggers on the site. Check it out!
http://www.positivelyracing.com
|
|
|
|
CONGRATS! |
|
Hats off to Frank
Russell for his recent modified win at Mohave Valley Raceway.
Frank has been trying for a while and finally got that first win and in
great company. Mark Allison was 2nd and I was third. Both
myself and Allison are former region champions, so you know Frank worked for
it. Great job Frank, team, and family! |
|
|
|
THE BRAKES! |
|
Lately I've
struggled with getting the car into the turns and I've finally narrowed it
down to the brakes. Either I am having an issue with the bias
adjuster or my brake pads are a little too aggressive. The car
is just ready to spin out entering the turns and it makes things really
interesting. In the turn and off the turn it is great, but
getting in is scary. I'll be working that out this week in hopes
of finding something that will help out the corner entry problem.
|
|
|
|
BUSY BUSY! |
|
Deacon Dan was busy
this weekend. Up at 5:30 on Saturday morning and didn't
get to bed until 3:00am on Sunday morning. The alarm squeeled at
6:20am on Sunday for the trip to Kingman, AZ for the wedding reception
breakfast at 9:30am. Headed over for the cake cutting and gifts
and before you know it, it's 2:30pm. Headed home and was home by
about 4:30. Began the updates to the Mohave Valley website
getting the results and points updated, before settling in to watch a little
tv. Was in bed by 11:00pm. But hey, it's my M.O....sleep
is over-rated. Good times! |
|
|
|
FAVORITE
COMMERCIALS! |
Can't help but LOL
at these commercials........Shank-oppotomus!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhhEdDNWl6I
Bad girl, hey girl can I hit you back?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_yA4BAN7BY&feature=related |
|
|
|
03.22.09 |
|
A LINK TO THE
NCAA FINAL 4's! |
|
I have a little
more of a vested interest in this year's NCAA Final 4 basketball
championships for both men and women. Two of my former students
are competing in the big event and with some high powered teams to boot.
Italee Lucas starts for North Carolina's Lady Tarheels who are seeded 3rd
and have already made it into the 2nd round. On the men's side,
Juan Patillo plays for Oklahoma seeded #2 and have already made their way
into the Sweet 16! Very cool to see former students doing well
both academically and athletically. Cheer them on!
|
|
|
|
HOLY BOXES
BATMAN! |
|
I was shocked when
no less than 19 box racers hit the track this weekend at MVR. We
tied for the biggest 'car' count on the weekend! The 'little
ones' division just kills me. Two little boys were ramming their
boxes into one another in line up so I had to warn them against rough
driving. Then one of them started his engine by making engines
noises. So no less than 3 others started revving their engines.
I had to laugh. It is truly one of the most entertaining 10
minutes I can think of. The kids are great. Good
times. |
|
|
|
VERY GENEROUS |
|
Since discussing
the "wrap" trend previously I have had two very generous offers from
gentlemen offering to help cut the costs of a wrap for my car.
WOW! I can't tell you how appreciative I am for the offers!
That's great. Both very nice guys. However, I feel
it's best to just stick with what I have and be unique and old school with
the vinyl. I'm almost ready for new vinyl after this weekend as
the tire marks have basically taken all the color off the car anyway.
Thank you guys, I appreciate the offer. |
|
|
|
LONG NIGHT, LONG
DAY! |
|
We didn't arrive at
home until 2:30am and by the time I got the car unloaded and the trailer
returned I wasn't ready for bed until 3:30am. For some reason I
cannot sleep past 6:30 so I was up and at 'em very early again.
Hopefully I can catch a few ZZZ's this afternoon or it will make for another
long day. Sometimes I really wish I could actually sleep, but
then, sleep is over-rated. |
|
|
|
03-15-09 |
|
BEST WISHES!! |
|
The March 7th race
sent the team back to Victory Lane but also sent a team friend and supporter
on to a new home. Ed & Jenna Haller of J & E Photography headed
to Wyoming following the events last Saturday. They have
provided support and photos for Mohave Valley and our team for several
years. We will miss their photos almost as much as we will miss
them personally. Best wishes to Ed & Jenna. |
|
|
|
MARCH MADNESS! |
|
It was a great
weekend to have off as college basketball nears its end of the year
tournament. "March Madness" is going strong in my house.
How about that Syracuse, 6 overtimes in one game only to win their next game
in OT the next day. Some amazing finishes and some well played
games. Can't wait for the field of 64 to be announced.
Too bad our Rebels faltered down the stretch. Looks like they
will be in the NIT (not in tournament) tournament instead of the NCAAs.
|
|
|
|
WRAPPED UP? |
|
All the new looks
for racers across the country are starting to come out and I've noticed a
trend. They are all WRAPPED instead of regular vinyl graphics.
It has me thinking that I might be a little behind the times with my old
school sticker graphics. But with wraps going for $800, I doubt
I will be getting one done anytime soon. That's a few drums of
Methanol right there. |
|
|
|
MY APOLOGIES! |
|
I'm sure it has
been tough to be a "Dan Fan" these last few months with my attitude being so
sour. My apologies. Hopefully I haven't run everyone
off, but I understand if I have. Hopefully I can take things
with a grain of salt and just enjoy myself more. I'm making an
effort to get back to doing the things that made racing fun.
From little things like parking in my old spots to racing at the tracks I
enjoy going to. I pay for it all, so I might as well enjoy it my
way. But again, my apologies to those Dan Fans who have endured
the poor attitude lately. |
|
|
|
SCHEDULING |
|
I spent quite a bit
of time going over dates and have come up with a schedule for 2009.
I've planned a couple of off weekends so that I can do a few things I've
planned on doing for a while. However I have added in some
familiar stops and some other fun places too! As the song goes,
"sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're
always glad you came." I plan to hit the tracks up north at
least once and to hit up some of the North tour events that I enjoyed during
the 2007 season. I intend on going where I will feel welcomed
and where I have a good time. Should this be my final season,
this schedule will allow me to compete at most tracks one last time.
SCHEDULE |
|
|
|
BRACKET BUSTER!
PLAY ALONG! |
You are
invited to join my online
NCAA March Madness bracket
group! To accept this invitation and join the group, click
the link below (or copy and paste the link into your
browser's address bar). You'll be asked to enter the group's
password before you can join. The group password is included
below.
http://87n.mayhem.cbssports.com/e?referrer=MKTG_BM_INVITE
Our Group password is: 8714
|
|
|
|
|
|
03-08-09 |
|
SOME GOOD
NEWS! |
|
While the racing hasn't gone as
well as we had hoped, I was recently honored professionally!
Check out the good news here!
GOOD NEWS! |
|
|
|
ALWAYS HELPS |
|
While still determined that
everything stunk, I made my way out to LVMS on Saturday afternoon to
take in the Nationwide race and wait for giving rides at the Richard
Petty Driving Experience. It was a great day weather-wise
and we got on the track by 6:00pm or so. About 3 hours and
almost 400 rides later we were done giving rides and I had gained a
little more perspective. Those people were so thrilled to be
in the car it just wore off on me. We had a great time with
screams, yells, high fives and fist pumps all night long.
While I couldn't feel my rear end for a couple hours afterwards (the
seat wasn't built for my frame), it went a long way at letting me know
what was most important.
|
|
|
|
DAN FANS
UNITE....IN FLORIDA! |
 |
Friends and
sponsors Dick & Joyce Eisele sent me this fun photo from their travels
in Florida for the Daytona 500 in February. I didn't realize
my fans had a place of their own! Very cool. Click the
photo for a larger view. Fun stuff. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RECOVERING...... |
|
It's been a rough
couple of weeks for a couple of guys close to the team. First
Dick Eisele suffered from a terrible case of kidney stones while in Daytona
for the 500. His stay was extended and he was in pain for quite
a while before surgery was required to aid the process. He's now
home and doing well. Then Jerry Sr was hospitalized and
underwent serious surgery for a medical condition. After an
extended stay in the hospital he is home and doing remarkably well.
We went to see him today at his home in Vegas and he looks great.
It was nice to win on Saturday for him as well. Finally Kim
Reason has been battling a terrible cold that has had her on the mend for a
couple of weeks. After speaking with her on Saturday, it seems
she too is on the mend. Stay healthy guys, the team needs you. |
|
|
|
WHAT WAS WRONG? |
|
Following the
Sunday race at Canyon, it was obvious there were quite a few things
wrong with the car. After going over things this week it was
discovered that the battery had given up the ghost, the transmission
input shaft had split in half, the clutch discs were shot and needed
replaced. I had never seen a transmission break like that
before. However it has been in cars for about 5 seasons, and
it was a rebuild from the junk yard. So, it lasted pretty
well. |
|
|
|
|
FINAL
ADJUSTMENT! |
|
The final
adjustment to the car on Saturday before the feature was another return
spring on the carburetor. The pedal was a little soft and adding
it gave it the feel I had been missing. A $1 adjustment that
really pays off, I like those!
|
|
|
|
FUN STATS... |
|
While I wasn't
expecting a win this weekend, heck, I wasn't expecting to race.....it is
cool to share this. It broke a winless streak that dated back to
August 9, 2008 when the 87 team won at Summit Raceway in Elko, NV.
I found a site that calculated that it was 210 days, 30 weeks, 5040 hours,
302,000 minutes, or 18,144,000 seconds since our last win!
Interestingly it was 6 months and 26 days and my father's birthday was June
26! Hmmmm, maybe I had some help on Saturday.
|
|
|
|
THELMA AND
LOUISE |
|
On the way home
Saturday night mom and Kelly, "Thelma and Louise" ended up riding back
together. They earned their nickname after the last Mohave
Valley race in January as they were pulled over for speeding! I
saw them get nabbed in the mirror and soon after got a text that "the po-po
got us!" haha. The dynamic duo managed to escape the
clutches of the law this time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
