Mack @ the Track: Season 1, Race 2 9/16/23

by Mack Speed

Howdy Valleyans! We had the second race of the Strong River Valley Mower Racing League (SRVMRL), and it was a great night. Again, we had a great raucous crowd; I think we had around 1,700 fans. I thought we had the parking issues fixed, but we still had some issues. A couple people got boxed in, and they were not happy about it. I thought we were going to have one of them ram into another vehicle on purpose, but it didn’t happen. My parking guys are teenagers, and I’m paying them $25 per night (cash). They’re gonna have to learn that they’re in control, and they have to tell people where to park. Otherwise, we have chaos.

People were tailgating again, and I really like to see that. My Ole Miss fans were back with their chandelier. They gave me some great food. This really creates a football-like atmosphere, and I think it’s a good thing.

Smoking and vaping is not allowed at the Valley Motor Speedway, but evidently people can’t read. I got multiple complaints from fans about people about smoking and vaping. People are pretty sneaky about hiding those vaping thingamajigs. I know we had some 11-12 year old kids vaping, and I’m sure they got it from their parents. Back in my day, kids that age would be chewing tobacco or dipping snuff. Now, they want to vape. America has gone downhill. I’ll do what I can do address this, but it’s going to be hard to stop.

We had 8 porta potties setup, and that seemed to alleviate the lines to use the bathroom. I got reports of little boys peeing out in the open, but we can tolerate that. As far as I know, we didn’t have anyone betting on races, so that’s a good thing. We have to stay vigilant about that.

The races were very good again. My son, Dale Earnhardt Speed, won the junior race again. He did have a little competition this race unlike the previous race. Again, I’ll be surprised if he loses a race. The main race was a good one again. Tony Johnson beat Jimmie Stewart by a hair. Those two were bumping and grinding the whole race; they’re going to have to do a lot of work on their mowers before the next race. Their wives had words, and they had to be separated. So, this rivalry looks like it’s going to be heated. The other racers need to make some significant changes in order to compete with these two guys.

Overall, the second race night was a success. I think we’re building something pretty special that people don’t want to miss. We’ll see you again on October 7th!