The track website says no new changes in rules for 2008. The 2008 schedule is not posted yet.

Well hows it going mellmotors if owendales not changing there rules you guys gonna be out there with the camero this year us at iou racing we only be out there a few times the boy is in carts now and i'm tryn to get my mod going little more money the mod will be done the boys cart comes first though hope to here from you guys sooon

I was happy about the rules meaning that the camaro was still allowed.....I'll never understand why the other tracks are outlawing them nobody can give me a good reason. I mean it's been a while since one won the points I think like 2001 so I don't believe they have an advantage by the rules they are using. Anyway I don't know for sure...I hope to make a few nights with baby #3 on the way it's gonna be hard. We also have a lot of graduation parties we can't skip or bail early on. But my guess is we will put the pokey motor in just to make a couple races. I don't expect it to be competitive it was slow back in 2003 when we pulled it. But slower is better then not being there at all. Hope to do some demo stuff maybe a figure 8 with the impala then owendales demo if they do one this year. But I need to have time and some $ to get that one done. Then I got my old demo car still...I'd really like to get it done for Caro but it really needs a lot of time and $ so we will see.

Good to here your gonna try to get out there your good motor to far gone for gramps to fix or what im not sure if i will have my streeter (81) out there or put one of my motors in the 97 rusty cant race this year bad back so i might see what that car has was good as the 56 rusty didnt do to bad either so maybe ill give it a good heart and see what it has

I still don't know how bad it is. We haven't even got it off the trailer. That's not good for Rusty I've been there a bad back is awful. Tell him we said hello and hope his back gets better soon. Well gotta get back to work talk to you later.

hey if you guys need some tires i have some used ones i need to get out of the shed. dave if you get that motor apart let me know what you might need i may have somthing around to help...

Hey Joe hows it going in the sprints. Fred here from Iouracing how much you need for the tires we could use some my nephew has issues with poping them i"ve poped two in two years last year he poped 3 in one race also would be looking for stuff i could use in my mod don't know how much stuff would work that you have but never know.

Ok Joe I will. Will the MTS series be back at Owendale this year?

ill get the tires out of the shed and look at them to see how much there worth some i may just give to you guys...
im thinking of selling my street stock if you know someone interested. i will sell it without motor but everything else goes. i even have a parts car for it that ill throw in... i was goin to run it up at cherry with the 2 seater (cruiser) class but dont have the money for materials and the time to weld in all the right side door bars...

mts does not have a date at owendale. mary did not book with us this year since she has 2 sod shows and a legends show. would be fun to run up there again. maybe next year...

you guys should come out to one of our shows this year if you get time. we will be at crystal for our opening night may 25th .. its a sunday the day before memorial day...

What kind of car is the steet stock, and how much?

Joe how much for the roller also price turn key what motor would come with it?

What year is the parts car? Is the body still on it? Mine is in bad need of replacement. That's too bad that Mary didn't book you guys. Dad said it was really fun to watch last year. Yeah I'd like to come see you run...if we get get a sitter for the kids maybe all of Mellendorf Motorsports will come to one. Are you planning on making the SOD shows at Owendale?

im not racing any sod this year if i run anywhere other than MTS it will be waynesfield or butler...

car for sale - 72 camaro roller everything but motor & trans , extra wheels tires. racing shocks, racing springs in front, extra parts car i think is a 75 camaro.
all for $1200

have to keep motor just in case for a spare in sprint. and trans is my dads.

give me a call if you guys are interested in anything. (810)240-3479
pics of car on this site - http://joeyirwin.homestead.com
doublezerojoe@aol.com
www.mtsprints.com

I heard a rumor that a new Owendale rule is that all cars must keep all 4 tires on the ground.

The 2008 schedule is posted on the website now. http://www.owendalespeedway.org

Has anyone received their rulebook/registration form yet?

Talked to Mary for about 10 mins. tonight and I can honestly say I agree with what she had to say. It sounds like with the way everything is that the car count is gonna be extremely low worst then the past couple years not just becuase of the economy but, thats a whole different discussion we have had here before. Anyways if the car count is too low it sounds like racing every other week which I think is a great idea helps the racers budgets and she don't lose so much money hopefully. With the sprint shows and legends I think already booked they will I believe still go on as scheduled.
Hope the track will make it through this year it will be a very trying year for the little dirt track in the thumb. Hate to see it close up but, can't lose money week after week either. The way it sound the first couple weeks will be the deciding factor on car counts which sucks becuase a lotta guys don't have their stuff together yet but, can't go through half the season hoping to get the cars and they don't come.
Any suggestions to help the track ?(other than new people in almost every position)

I agree that is a good idea. Well some good info about it may help. Owendale seems to get a bad rap some of that from us drivers some from the fans. From my experience at other tracks it owendale really isn't as bad as it is made out to be. I was treated with more respect at Owendale as a rookie then I was at another track a couple seasons back. Some good talk about it may help. We need to get people to come back both to race and to watch if nothing else just so it stays open. Look it can't get any better if the place is closed up. I've been going there since 1985 and I don't want to see it close. I'm not in a situation where I can help much right now I wish I could. I don't we just need people to go and support it. Give Mary ideas/thoughts/suggestions in a constructive professional manner and see what comes of it. I've never had trouble speaking with her and she seemed to be open to listen to ideas.

(Other than new people in almost every position)Scott you hit the nail on the head.You guys now just as well as i do that it is her own fault.I hate to see the place close to,it is so close to home.BUT the way they treated people for so long it looks like it might be coming back to haunt them,So on that point they get what they deserve.JMO,And of coarse she will still have the sprint races thats the only thing keeping the place open.She should have sold the track when she had a chance instead of falling in love.Good Luck in 08,

Well Mellmotors the so much for positive comments It was a good idea. Alright then look at it this way those of you who have so many issues with Owendale if it closes what will you have to complain about then? And if you think the other dirt tracks are perfect then your dreaming.

When I go up to Michigan to visit family, OWENDALE SPEEDWAY is the dirt track i go to. Try to go when the sprints are there, seams they put on a good show. I went for just reg. show and the racing would be good just low car count. They have piss a lot of people off for some reason am not there all the time so I dont no why. It is a nice little track but if they can't get the local guys to come and race get the traveling shows to come in more. They should know that the fans like them sprints so bring them in 4 times a years. I hear the leadgen cars came up there, so bring them in more. If what they are doing hasen't worked for them try something else. Why isnt OWENDALE SPEEDWAY in with MICHIGAN SPEEDWAY PROMOTERS ASSOCIATION and MICHIGAN AUTO RACING FAN CLUB. That right there would help them alot. Well theres my two cents and i hope they are running the week iam up there. JMO RICHARD J WILLIAMS

I don't know why they are not with the MARFC? But the MSPA would outlaw camaros so I'm glad they don't go by those rules. Again I don't know why they are not a part of these groups. It is a good idea the MARFC does some cool things. Good idea about filling the local void with traveling shows if they can draw the crowd to pay for them that is. It sure is nice to have a track ten minutes from home especially with gas heading for $4.00 a gallon with no end in sight.

I normally won't comment on a track that I don't go to on a regular basis but this time I will comment positively on Owendale.
I agree, it is unfortunate that they are having troubles with car counts and fan counts but they are not unlike most everybody else in this sport right now as most every track is having car/fan count problems along with increasing costs. I will never comment on anything that the track owners or management have done or have not done. I will however say that I was very impressed with the facility when I was there the season before last when we traveled there with the Michigan Legends Series.

With all the negatives I had heard on this board I thought I would be walking into some rundown poop hole and dealing with some equally crumby attitudes. I found it to be quite the contrary. The grounds were clean, things seemed to be freshly painted, the food in the pits was very adequate and priced within reason and the people were friendly. The lady in the pit sign in wore a smile and gave us a friendly hello. I was very impressed with Owendale Speedway and I have been to an awful lot of race tracks. That just showed me that I can't believe everything I read on here as it can be colored by the personal feelings of whoever wrote the post.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there last year when the Legends were there and won't be able to be there this year either so I will try to make it to a regular show.

I have met Mary at meetings and found her to be very pleasant and very dedicated to Her Speedway. She and I spoke about Owendale becoming a member track and I gave her the information and an application and she said that she would think about it. To be honest, I haven't followed up with her and that is my fault. I am much like a race track operator in that I run a marina and just like the track promoters, we get pretty busy this time of year and some things fall by the wayside.
I will follow up with Mary to see if She would like to become a member track. I also understand that not every track owner is able to or wants to host a fan club night as some are on the edge and just really can't let an unknown number of people in for free that night. That is fine with me and the rest of the board of MARFC, we do understand that the privelage of fan club nights is a huge committement from each and every track that supports us and we are grateful for those that do so.

Owendale Speedway is a member of the MSPA and does attend the meetings so Mary does have her stuff together in trying to network with other track owners and to be a constantly improving and successeful speedway.

Once again,

I enjoy the heck out of running at Owendale. A few local from Capac come with me when Legends run there. It is definitely different than ashphalt and different than when I ran karts on dirt. I finally got 4 tracks fairly close (within a 60 mile radius) and would hate to see one close down.

I have often thought about tracks going to every other weekend or so to see if more fans would show up. It would be interesting to see a track do it and see if the results might be positive.

I wouldn't want to step on any toes but if Mary wanted some down south local advertising, coupons etc. handed out, I would be more than willing to oblige.

And I have a few cars for sale if anyone is interested.

Something I forgot to mention, the MSPA puts out a great little pamphlet every year that lists all of the MSPA Member Tracks. This pamphlet is given to each track for distribution along with all of the associate members and is distributed to many of the rest areas along Michigan's Highways.

I think that is pretty good advertising for any track that is a member of the MSPA.

While there may not be the old Wednesday MSPA Races like some of us old timers remember, the MSPA is alive and well these days and doing everything it can to promote our great sport and all of our great tracks here in the State of Michigan.

The MSPA has a website that can be linked to from the Michigan Auto Racing Fan Club website.

I should have checked that out before I said that they were not in the MSPA. I had heard they were not and since they didn't axe camaros I just figured. But being in it doesn't mean you have to follow that rulebook. I should have reaseached it before I said they were not a member. Sorry Mary my mistake.

mellmotors,the pics in the gallery are awesome,thanks for the memories

Thanks I'm glad you like them. I have some more to add and could use help with putting a name to the car.

Mellmotors,checked out he pics,the #3 and #4 were the burton brothers can't remember their first names,the blue car #73 looks like gordy wiederholds old car and the pic with the other 2 cars,one is my dad in the red and white #8 doug roberts bought that car from my dad a couple years later when it was blue,and the camero behind him #15 was driven by a few different drivers,i think todd faupel excuse spelling and the other driver was scott howard out of owendale his nickname was toad.

So what is the correct name on the #8? Do you have any pics of it red or blue?

My dad Jim Russell drove the #8 and yes i do have pics of it when it was red and blue and i will see what i can do to get them posted.

Thanks that would be great! I love those old open mods! I wish they were still around today. I would love to be able to race one of them things.

I think the 3&4 cars were the smith brothers . darren burton and his brother(cant remember his first name) #s were 03 and 04
Darren still hangs out at Auto City last I herd he was running spectator drags. The smith brothers i dont know what happened to them.

Looking at the pic the #3 has smith written on the back so it probably is them. Do you remember their first names by chance? Were the Burton bros. also in that division? I can't picture an 03 and 04. The only 04 I remeber is witherspoons different cars over the years. Thanks for everybodys help with the names for these pics I appreciate it.

There were right around 30 cars last night. It was not a perfect night by any means....but even with the issues I think I was home at 10:30. Fast times lm= #21 sp= #88 ss= 12 rw= ?. Road Warrior heat went to #18? Feature ?. #97 Ryan Lafave swept the racing for the late model taking the 4-car, heat and the feature. Sportsman Saw Rick Conquergood take the 4-car, with #39 Chad Spencer taking the heat and feature. The street stocks it was #87 Jeremy Dow taking the 4-car, The heat wins went to #91 Bob Berlin and #51 Mark Yakes. The feature saw #27 Calvin Jacques jump out to an early lead looking strong but some sort of mechanical problem sent him to the pits. From there it was a battle between the #91 and #51 for the win. Berlin went on to take the win with Yakes spinning in the final turn and losing second to Jeremy Dow. The racing was good. I think they need to paint the tires on the inside of the track.....maybe the guys couldn't see them and that's why they were going over/under them....or else pull them up more to discourage them from using the infield as part of the racing surface. I felt I got my money's worth at least. More then I can say for a recent trip to Auto City. I was shocked that there were not more road warriors. I really expected them to be a popular class this year after they were increasing in numbers last year. Congrats to all the winners.

Hey Dave i also was just a spectator last night and thought even though the car count was low there was still some good racing. I think once billy gets the bugs out of that new limited no one will touch him and lafave. That 87 looked pretty good to huh!!!!!. next week i'll be in it so lets see how much more its got but it is fast. jemery did great for the first week out . Still can't belive he won the 4 car

Last night was fun for everyone i think.....Chad did very well this weekend with winning the fast heat/feature at Mt Pleasant and then won the heat/feature last night at Owendale.....GOOD JOB CHAD!!
Hope to repeat with a winning season....
Chad would like to thank all his fans because they support him so much!!!!

Miranda

Yeah there was some good racing even with a lower car count. But Owendale had just as many as some other tracks have had so far so. Yeah Jeremy did do a good job. I won't be there next week . I'm trying to get the demo car ready for June 14th but keep finding more trouble as I get looking at it....then I've got grad. parties the following two weekends so if I get it ready it can't rain out the 14th! Good luck next week Fred.

Hey thats great! I love it when the Owendale boys take the checkers @ Mt. Pleasant. Go get them again this week Chad!

I would also like to congrat Chad on his win at Mt.Pleasant,there were some stout cars there friday night and chad was bad fast.Can't wait for this friday,So a big congrats to chad and his team,and miranda i will see you in the same spot as last week

Well i want to thank everyone!! Chad would get on here but he never has the time with working/race cars and building his pole barn.....I will agree steveo there were some fast cars friday night! I just hope it goes as smooth as it was friday night....There were some people that really helped out friday night and i hope they know who they are! You are very much appreciated...

Yes stevey i will see you in the same spot Cant wait to hang with you crazy guys agaIN!!!!!

See everyone this weekend!!!! Stay dry.

Miranda

Anybody got the results from last night? I guess they aren't going to put the results on the webpage this year just the points. Results should be on the webpage, marc times, mich racing scene, and all local papers. Just my take on a form of promotion. Helps people to know the drivers that call that track home

Street stock 12 cars fred dow #87 heat and feature
Limited 6 cars LaFave Feature over 21 also I think lafave in heat
Sportsman Jeremey Spencer#36 Heat #88 Puvalowski for the feture after 01 started missing when he was leading
6\7 cars I think
Road warriors only one showed didn't get to race

Thanks I see they are now posting the results so now if a mstrc member misses the race we can still find out what happened. Hope they can get some more cars in all classes especially the road warriors that looks like an inexpensive class exactly what is needed now.

So how did it go tonight? I saw one road warrior heading up there hope he had some cars to race against. Man I don't know why this class isn't booming? cheap cars, can run the least expensive gas. Where are last years cars? I see nothing in the rulebook that says you can only race one year am I missing that somewhere?

Tonights results.

4 car dash
lm- 21
sp- 39
ss- 51

Heats
lm- 36
sp- 78
ss- 87
ss- 6

Feature
Lm- 97 Nice job Ryan! keep it up
sp- 39
ss- 87

Demolition Derby will be later in the season! Pretty good night well worth my $, had fun talked with somebody I haven't seen in a long time. The announcer did a great job in my opinion maybe the best since Jerry Radabaugh. They did good filling time but intermission went a little too long......the track needed that water but it's one of those things it always seems to get too much water. Besides the time it took to get it back in shape I thought the night went good. The track was much better for racing I think after that water/packing. Certain cars suddenly found more speed for the feature. I was glad to see #6 there, That made my night! The Hurley car was fun to watch also, glad to see that team back. Mark Yakes did a good job finding a fast line..I think it was in the heat race when the track was still quite wet.

Sucks for the three demo drivers that towed there at 4.15 a gallon and didn't get to smash them up. Not enough cars was the call guess they should of cancelled the llm class for the night too them sportsman car counts were not much better. The streetstock races were all ran in the mud the heats were crazy muddy. The track needed the water but it also needed the wheel packing it needed more than what they gave it. Its funny they pulled the three wheeler from packing but continued to let street stock cars pack it in. It needed more as the streetstock feature didn't get decent traction until about half-3/4 way though the race. They need to rip up the track on sundays water it all week long watching forcasts and the pack with three wheeler sat at about 5 and the track would be good all night long. Can't just put water on top and think that it will not dry out. Track prep needs work. Announcer doing a good job at getting the sponsors reconized. Thought billy might have something for lafave but ryan hits his spot everytime and billy was moving around to much he is getting the new car figured out. Sportsman 39 ran away with the show and didn't look back. In street stock 87 started on the pole and held off the 6 car that came all the way from 14th to claim the feature. Good lob billy first time in the 87 and brought home the feature. It was nice to see the #6 actually give some competition to the 87 just ran out of time. Had great weather for the races.Decent night overall

I for one was bored with the races Saturday night. The late model class consists of four cars and the sportsman class only had something like 6 and both races were complete runaways. In streetstock the feature winning car timed in at almost 22 seconds and started up front and won it while running 18 second laps is there something I am missing they don't time cars to see if they run over their qualification times? We went to watch the demo and they never even ran it. Boring night with not so good of racing. Low car count too.