Knock On Wood
Volume 16 - #1.
By Matt Prieur
Ovid, Michigan (Monday, July 7, 2008): First and foremost, thanks to those who have e-mailed and inquired about when "Knock On Wood" will return to the pages of the Michigan Racing Scene.
It's all Terry Fitzwater's fault! He called about something entirely different the other day and then suddenly asked; "Hey Wood, bring back your column already or else!"
So here it is, enjoy a random thought or two and some insight from someone who now travels every single weekend around the country with America's Premiere Short Track Series, the ASA Late Model Series, but still keeps up with the goings on within the weekly racing scene in the home state of Michigan.
It's been a sad week in the world of short track racing in the Great Lakes Region. The famed Marc Times Racing News is no more. Most of us here in the state of Michigan grew up on the newspaper to get our fix of what happened, why, and where in short track racing in Michigan and all over the country for that matter.
When I was growing up, Thursdays were the most important day of the racing season for myself and my Father. I'd rush out to the mailbox and religiously every Thursday. My Marc Times Racing News would be waiting for me! We'd go through it and decide where we were going that weekend, we had those options because of the Marc Times Racing News.
I owe my entire career to some important people who helped me get started and they're the primary reason why I'm where I'm at today. They are Dave and Ellen Scrivo, Jack Doering, and Dick and Pat Beebe.
If Dick and and the late Pat Beebe hadn't agreed to begin publishing a column called "Hollywood Track Facts" on July 23, 1992, there would be no "Hollywood" and there would be no racing career for yours truly.
For some they probably curse that day and feel that day was indeed a sure sign of the apocalypse. Nevertheless, I owe my career to the Beebe's and thank them for taking a chance on me.
I'll never forget the day I got a call from Mr. Beebe in August 2001, I was working at Owosso Speedway back in the days of 110-120 average car counts for a weekly show! Beebe called and said; "Plan on going to Butler for my Dealers Choice, you're going to be announcing with the Bear in the Air and Billy Cunningham!" and hung up!
It was truly an honor to be able to call races for the Dealers Choice and the rotation that weekend worked out to where I was the P.A. Announcer for the last feature of the weekend, the Dirt Late Models! Rich Neiser won that night in one of the best Dirt Late Model Features I've ever seen in my life, let alone had the honor of announcing!
You either liked him or you didn't, there was no any middle ground whatsoever with Dick Beebe. His passion was Open Wheeled Sprint Cars and Dirt Track Racing, of course so was his newspaper.
His "5th Turn" Columns were the first ones I'd read when I got my Marc Times in the mail. Some of the best columns I ever read were some of his "5th Turns." If nothing else, they made you think a little bit about the racing world around you.
The Dealers Choice is a distant memory and now so is the Marc Times Racing News. Anyone reading this will surely agree, that without those two things, none of us would be doing what we're doing today and it's all because of Dick Beebe!
Thank You Dick Beebe for allowing us to "Keep Up With The Times" all these years....