Open Wheel Fury - A Mission Statement

 I just got back from the final race of the year in Indiana and Ohio has packed it in as well. Iowa Sprint Car disciples have long been conditioned to believe that a season is curtains just cuz the Knoxville fair board says it is so......"the kids are back in school, it's harvest time, hi-skool football, the Hawks schedule is in full swing," blah blah and blah.

     I say big deal, let's race until the trees get naked and the snow is flying. Football fans endure lousy weather so why won't we? I figure there are easily four more weekends of Hawkeye warfare to be had. But first let's face the facts kids: the world contains far more sheep than visionaries and Iowa open wheel geeks--particularly those who can't see past their collective noses cuz they are blinded by the (not as bright as they seem lights) of Knoxville--simply stop going to races by mid-September for no other reason than "that's da way we've always dun 'er in Iowaay."

     Maybe it doesn't have to be that way and I'm willing to put my $$$ where my mouth is. Hell yeah, it may take a few years to change the culture. Ain't no doubt about it-- I will forever be a writer first-- but I've never stopped being a FAN and now, hell or high-water, I am going to stage Sprint Car EVENTS in my beloved Iowa homeland. Maybe i can put a dent in Sprint Car racing's myriad of problems. I am in love with small town Iowa, it's WHO I AM, and beginning in April of 2011, I have every intention of promoting, (and I do mean promoting), various open wheel programs where ever the hell they will have us--gaudy county fairs, ramshackle bullrings in backwoods communities, widow-maker half miles and maybe even the occasional tar-topper race just to keep everybody off balance. In the grand scheme of things, I aspire to launch Iowa Speed Week in 2012, seven races in seven nights with a 100 grand purse and a point fund, a mighty lofty mission I do declare. 

     You will notice that I used the word "US." This ain't gonna be about me and here's a shocking revelation: it oughta be all about the racers--the peeps who are willing to bust their asses putting on a show for the FANS cuz they KNOW that I am doing this for all the right reasons. Do I wanna make some dough? Of course, this is America, right? But they will KNOW going in that I love them every bit as much as I love the sport itself--which is considerably--. Nobody is gonna get hosed at my races and those who really know what I'm about will also KNOW that I'll treat 'em square. You can take that to the bank Jack.

Yeah, I wanna attract some sexy marquee names without question, but every bit as important to me is taking care of the guys who race for the sheer hell of it. Gas mashers like Mikey Moore, Brent Antill, Droud, Clint Garner and Jim Moughan are every bit as essential to our stated mission as T-Mac or the dude from Dover. I want RACERS at my races. Paul May, Bob Hampshire, Robby Wolfgang, A-Mac. Josh Higday, Ian Madsen, Jessica Zemken and Gilly Sonner. Jump a start and you go to the back no questions asked-- and we won't care who you are or where you've won races.

     In my lifetime as a devout and hardcore race chaser, countless are the times I have recoiled in horror when I see how the racers and fans get treated by your average promoter and track operator. NOT AT MY RACES! If you see the name ROCKS TAR PROMOTIONS PRESENTS-- know this before you leave your driveway: you can bet the farm you're gonna have mega FUN, it's gonna feel like an EVENT with just the right touch of show biz... EVERYONE will be treated with respect and dignity and you will get a barrel full of BANG for you buck. We won't screw you at the gate or at the chow/beer stands and I will NEVER EVER make you sit through a bunch of hobby stock heats to get at the meat of the program. Our races will be as old-skool and bad-assed as I can make them, complete with parades, live rock and roll, legendary grand marshals and infield action all day long. I ain't kidding myself, this will present a whole slew of unforeseen challenges, but I will make this happen. Just watch me work.

     Our first event, scheduled for Saturday, April 9th at the Marshalltown Speedway with a Sunday rain date (and I know the crazy Iowa weather could bite us hard) will be billed as the FROST BUSTER 35, a genuine " RUN WHATCHA BRUNGER," a NO HOLDS BARRED bar room brawl on an immaculate 3/8 mile of pure dirt poetry. A tech line? Scales? What the hell for??? If you happen to think your hired shoe is bullet-proof, then build a race car out of conduit and beer cans for all we care. Run any damn tire you want. If it's an open-wheel, open-cockpit creation, that's good enuff for us. Go down to the mad laboratory and stick together the baddest, meanest thousand pony powered MONSTER ever assembled and drag the sumbitch to Marshalltown next spring and take the $2,200 in hard, cold cash right outta my tight black levi jeans. Plant four 426 blown HEMI'S between the frame rails like those nutty farmer tractor pullers and know we won't give a rat's ass. This is free enterprise in its purest form. So  dig your ole' grand pappies raccoon coat out of mothballs and together we will defy mother nature's fickle fury. Together we will shatter winter's deafening silence with a sonic symphony of 30 (yes we will start 30 cars) screaming for mercy racing engines. Anybody in? Thanks for reading and keep the faith. Peace out.


As of 1/2/2011, the FROST BUSTER 35 scheduled for 4/9/2011 in Marshalltown, IA, is still pending. I'll update you all as I get more details.