Racers run wild in Texas

April 12, 2018

NASCAR headed out to the great state of Texas and descended on the Texas Motor Speedway. This track has been resurfaced and reconfigured so that the banking in turns 1 and 2 is lower than that in turns 3 and 4. If that wasn’t enough to make the crew chiefs a little crazy, Friday saw the temperature top 80 degrees with bright sunshine. Then on Saturday the temps plunged into the 30s and it was overcast at rainy with some snow flurries mixed in for good measure. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series had practice and an abbreviated qualifying session Saturday. The Xfinity series had ...

Wood is key to W.Va.’s well-being

April 7, 2018

“Wood is wonderful.” This is a statement that I hear repeatedly in this area, especially during the “Mountain State Forest Festival,” which is a tribute to wood. Now, everyone knows that wood grows, and April is the month for Arbor Day (April 27) when people are encouraged to plant a tree. At the same time, they are encouraged to properly care for the trees that are currently growing. On a percentage basis, West Virginia is the third most heavily forested state in the nation. This state is only behind Maine and New Hampshire from this standpoint. Forests cover nearly 80 ...

NASCAR takes a break from racing

April 5, 2018

This past weekend was an unusual one in that no race events were scheduled aside from Formula 1. This was Easter Sunday and the NASCAR teams had a much-deserved break from a season that rolls along almost every weekend from February until November. I thought I’d take just a moment to reflect back on the first few races and the top stories. Austin Dillon caused quite a stir when he moved the car of Aric Almorola to win the Daytona 500. Aric was driving the No. 10 car for Stewart-Haas racing, which had been vacated by Danica Patrick. Aric has shown that this car is capable of being ...

Snow day for NASCAR

March 29, 2018

It’s not often that we can talk about a NASCAR race being postponed because of snow but that’s exactly what happened this past weekend in beautiful Martinsville. Snow was in the forecast and the Weather Channel folks nailed it this time. Actually, the Weather Channel sent a crew to report from the track. The track opened Friday and inspections and some practice were run. Then on Saturday the Camping World Truck series was to run the Alpha Energy Solutions 250. NASCAR adjusted its daily schedule of events and made a valiant effort to get the truck race in. Qualifying was held ...

Deer hunts set in 10 state parks

March 24, 2018

Some West Virginia State Parks have hosted limited deer hunts in the past, but they were not one bit like the ones that are on the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources’ agenda for this year. This fall, 21 three-day managed hunts are in the planning for 10 state parks. Sam England, chief of the State Parks Section, said, “All of these parks have an over-abundance of deer.” When conditions are like this, it causes problems. White-tailed deer are browsers. They will graze on native plants and often leave the non-native plants alone. Here is when the non-native plants expand ...

Road racing takes over center stage

March 22, 2018

Endurance road racing was center stage again this past weekend as the IMSA WeatherTech series visited the historic Sebring International Raceway for the 12 Hours of Sebring, presented by Mobil 1. For 66 years the top sports car racing teams have taken to the worn bumpy asphalt and concrete at Sebring Airport in Florida for 12 grueling hours of racing. This race is very similar to the 24 hours of Daytona race in that three different classes run at the same time. The high speed Prototype cars, The GT LeMans and the exotic GT Daytona series are all racing for a seasonal point’s ...