LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway Members' Newsletter - February - March 2003

February 22, 2003;  West Salem, WI -  2002 AWARDS BANQUET - A big thank you goes out to all who attended the event. Once again the event went well, with many different award winners, and a lot of fun. Over 80 awards were presented during the prestigious event. Congratulations to all award recipients!

2003 AWARDS BANQUET - NEW DATE! At the request of many of the race teams, the banquet committee has chosen to move up the date. The 2003 Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday night, November 15th at the LaCrosse Center North Hall.

ORIENTATION MEETING- The orientation meeting is set for Saturday, March 22nd at Fox Hollow Golf Course Banquet Hall. The Hall is located 6 miles south of the speedway on Cty. Hwy. M (turn right at stop sign...it is a 1/4 mile on the left across from Syl's Place). The meeting's format will be as follows:
Hornets at 9:30am, Thunderstox at 11:00am, Sportsman will meet at 1:00pm, and the Late Models at 2:30pm.
Season pit passes, NASCAR and LaCrosse memberships, pit pad parking, and any other necessary paperwork
can be taken care of at the meeting. SPORTSMAN AND LATE MODELS TEAMS MUST BE REPRESENTED AT
THE MEETING. If your team can not make it, let us know. Teams not represented or excused will lose the privilege of one tire purchase during the season. Please remember .... this is not a rules meeting.

CAR SHOW AT VALLEY VIEW MALL - There is only one Late Model spot left! If you would like to display your car and its sponsors at the Mall, March 28th-30th, please call the speedway as soon as possible. Please take advantage of this outstanding opportunity to showcase your sponsors and local short track racing! Those who will be displaying their car will be mailed an information sheet the week prior to the show. Setup is Thursday night, March 27th at 9:15 p.m.

IMPORTANT DATES

Sat. March 22: Orientation Meetings (new date)
Mar. 28 - 30: Car Show at Valley View Mall
Weds. April 2: Sportsman / Late Model Tire Sale night
Sat. April 5: Media Day/Open Practice / Inspection
Thurs. April l0th: Open Practice (5-8 PM)
Saturday April 12th: Opening Night

INSPECTION DAY- The "Tech Men" will be around on Saturday April 5th. Any questions about your car can be satisfied before we race. You do not have to participate in the practice. Just bring your car to the pit gate. Inspection will be from Noon to 1pm.

2003 CAR NUMBERS- If you send in your 2003 LaCrosse Speedway membership by March 1st, your number is secured for 2003. Call the speedway office for availability of new numbers.

LACROSSE SPEEDWAY LICENSE- If you have sent in your membership, we will have your 2003 membership card available at the orientation meeting.

RACE TRACK STAFF OPPORTUNITIES- The speedway is hiring scoring, souvenirs, photographer, concessions, tire sales manager, and assistant tech staff for 2003. If you know of anyone interested, please have them contact the speedway office at 608-786-1525.

TIRES- The track tire for the late models will again be the Hoosier 1070. Sportsman cars will be on the same tire as last year. The pre-season tire sale for Sportsman American Racer Tires and Late Model Hoosiers will be Wednesday night, April 2nd from 5:30pm until 7:30pm at the Fairgrounds.

AUTOGRAPHS- We plan to do the autograph sessions during late model time trials again in 2003. If you have any feedback please call the speedway and let us know. In addition, each race night we will again bring four or five youngsters down to shake hands with the dice rollers and last week's feature winners.

PiT PASS PRICES- The cost of a Weekly Racing Series pit pass will be $17.00 for members and $25.00 for non members. Season Pit Passes will be $310.00, and are available at the orientation meetings. These are the same prices as last year.

DRIVER INFORMATION SHEETS- Enclosed is a 2003 driver information sheet. Please fill it out and returned to the speedwaw office by March 7th to be included in the 2003 Souvenir Yearbook. This information sheet.supplies information to the Yearbook, the Message Center, the announcer, and the media. You may mail it to PO Box 853 West Salem, 54669 or fax it to 608-786-1524. It is very important for your sponsors to have this filled out and submitted on time!

ADDENDUM "A"  We now have the "addendum A" form from NASCAR. If you are under 21, you must have one with your NASCAR license. Stop by and pick one up at the speedway or fill it out at the Orientation meeting.

NASCAR LICENSES- If you plan on participating in the any of the three weekly NASCAR Weekly Racing Series divisions and want to: (a) race, (b) receive points, and (c) receive purse money, you MUST have a NASCAR license. You WILL have to present your NASCAR license to receive the discount at the pit gate. You WILL have to present your NASCAR license at the pay out window to receive your pay. No license ........... no pay, no points, no race.

THE "LACROSSE SPEEDWAY DRIVING EXPERIENCE"- We attempted to get this going a couple of years ago, but did not have the time to pursue it.We would like to make it happen for the 2003 season. The speedway will be looking for someone to build nine race cars (a 4-cylinder with a roll-cage, fuel cell, etc.) for the LaCrosse Speedway Driving Experience. Please submit a bid to construct these cars for the speedway.

NASCAR NEWS - Dodge has committed to be the Weekly Racing Series title sponsor until 2006. They were the presenting sponsor last year. // There will be around 74 tracks in the Series for 2003, compared to the 84 last year.  // Look for Weekly Racing Series TV commercials on selected Winston Cup telecasts.  // NASCAR is also working on more "support" awards (i.e.: Lincoln Welder to crew chief). We look forward to see what can develop.

TRACK RENTAL - The track should be available for rent in late March ...... depending on the weather. Call us to set up a time ....... after the snow melts!

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE - Outback Steakhouse is looking to do an early season promotion the first weekend of May. A few Late Model and Sportsman drivers and cars will be needed for an appearance. There will be food and fun provided by Outback Steakhouse of Onalaska. The official date and time will be determined soon. Please call Dave Noelke at 608-786-1525 to sign up.

COUNTDOWN - Only 28 days, 16 hours, 33 minutes, but who's counting? Director of Competition Ray Loughan will retire from Trane Company at the end of March. Ray is looking forward to working with the weekday staff at the speedway this season. Congratulations Ray!

SPORTSMAN BODIES- The on going battle about front bumpers and header panels and rear filler and bumpers seems to be a very hot topic. Because of the after market pieces and availability of SOME stock parts, we are trying to allow as much after market parts in as possible. We highly recommend that you find STOCK or FABRICATE stock appearing parts for your car. If you choose to put parts on your car that deviate from that MAKE AND MODEL, you COULD, MIGHT, POSSIBLY be subject to a weight penalty. We will try to review each car, but we will be as uniform as possible. The rule book does say to Call the tech man Tim if you have any questions ....... or just bring it on Saturday April 5th for a pre season inspection.