Big Diamond Raceway '09 Preview

Well, February is here, and that means local dirt track racing is just around the corner....Since opening day at one of the Northeast's premier modified race tracks is just around 50 days away, I'd thought I'd give a preview of what can be expected at the Big Diamond Raceway for 2009....Just a little reminder here, the info I'm providing here has come straight from different media outlets over the off season, so it's on tape, or in print, as to what these drivers have announced concerning their plans and BDR.

Three words for you, ALL STAR FIELD....That is literally what you can expect to see to start the season off if you decide to come to BDR and check a show out or two (or hopefully many more than that)....Let's start out with a couple of TRUE legends of the sport who plan on being in the pits when the green flag drops on Friday night April 3th (first regular season sbm show)....Doug "The Diamond" Dominator" Hoffman will be returning to BDR this season....After running in one race last year, the Freedom 76 at Grandview Speedway in a BPG car, and finishing secnd in the race, Hoffman will be returning to weekly racing in '09 running for famed car owner Norm Hansell and his Norm's Save Station #357 team....Hoffman sure has had success at BDR over the years, as he's a 5 time former champion, but he'll also be tackling the high banks of Grandview Speedway on Saturday nights weekly this season, this will be a first for Hoffman, as he's NEVER run Grandview weeklyin his career....The other legend, Billy Pauch Sr....Last year's BDR championship car owner, Glenn Hyneman, parted ways with his championship driver Jeff Strunk at the end of the season...ENTER, Pauch Sr, as this combo was VERY SUCCESSFUL tandem many years ago, winning many races and track titles....An end of the year show at Georgetown Speedway had this new combo run their first race together since hooking up for the second time, and all they did was go out an win the race....Plans for '09 were reported early in the off season that this new combo would only run a "specials only" schedule for '09....But reports around the holidays started to come out that Hyneman and Pauch Sr would like to run some more shows together that just a specials only schedule would allow....Enter BDR, as reports have it that Hyneman has plenty of 358 equipment in his shop, and Pauch Sr didn't have a Friday night ride, so it looks like Hyneman and Pauch Sr will start of running BDR on Friday nights and take a "let's see how it goes" approach to see if they will stick around, for maybe, the rest of the season....Stay tuned to see how this plays out.

Now let's take a look a what some steady BDR racers over the years have planned for the place this coming season....Craig Von Dohren, CVD as he's known on the Pa scene, will be back aboard the Mike Harvey owned 1c for Friday night action....BDR's All Time leading sbm feature winner looks to be stronger than ever at the place, and he'll be seeking his first BDR championship EVER....CVD and Harvey only have to concentrate their equipment for BDR, as for Sat's a Grandview, CVD has teamed back up with his former car owner Chad Sinon, and this is a Grandview ONLY DEAL....Back to back champ Jeff Strunk will be headed to a new team for '09....He'll run for the Gagliardo racing team this season after two very successful seasons in the Keystone Racing #126....Look for Strunk to pick up right where he left off this season, as reports have Gagliardo providing the equipment that it will take for Strunky to get the job done....Doug Manmiller, "The Handler" as he's known in these parts, will have a new deal for '09 at BDR....Last year Manmiller ran as a teammate to Troy Wink, this year he'll be sitting in the Alpha Mills #14 that Rick Laubach drove for a few seasons at BDR, as Laubach and Dick Biever have split for 2009....I'd look for Manmiller to stronger than EVER this season at BDR, as it seems this team might come out with maybe a "chip on their shoulder" after the 2008 season went down the way it did....Duane Howard, Howard had a EXCELLENT year last year I'd say, at just about any track he pulled into....For '09, word has it that Howard will be back at BDR in the Chad Sinon owned BPG team to start the season off on Fridays and see how it goes....But in interviews with Howard in the off season, he's made the commnet about the competition at BDR this year, and he's kind of said it would be hard for him to see them not there weekly, another STAY TUNED I guess, lol....Billy Pauch Jr, he'll be back in the seat of the PPB #8 for BDR weekly, as Jr picked a first career sbm win for the Bob Greene owned team last year, and with reports Jr won't be missing any shows this year due to asphalt racing, I'd look for this team to make a run at the BDR title....Meme Desantis, although I haven't heard anything official on Desantis's plans, talk has Meme returning again behind the wheel of the Harvey Beitler #88....Plus look for Meme's son AJ to run at BDR also this year in the sbm's....Rick Laubach, "Scooby" is no longer the driver of the Biever #14, but Laubach has picked a ride for BDR action from NJ friend Guy Germano, jury is out on how this new deal for Laubach will play out....Keith Hoffman, 'K-Dog' is a former multiple BDR track champ, and he'll be making his weekly return in '09 driving for legendary Pa sbm car owner Dennis 'Moose' Eisenhart....Both of these men know what it takes to be the champ, as both have been there before, so I'd look for this combo to make some serious noise in 2009 at BDR....Sean Merkel, changes the off season will find Merkel in the seat of the Eastern Rigging #11 owned by Ed and Karen Nowotarski for Friday nights....This new combination have both been to BDR victory lane in the past, so a strong and winning year is definitely in reach this coming season....Ryan Watt, he'll be back in the seat of the #6, but this year it will be known as HP Motorsports....Last year Franny Purcell Sr, team owner passed away, this season his grandsons, Eric and Jason Hernley will be taking over the team, henco the HP Motorsports....Last year Watt started the year off with a BIG win the opening Friday night, I'd look for Watt to make it back to VL again this season....Ray Swinehart, 'Sugar Ray' as he's known at the Diamond, could be back in 2009, but nothing has been officially announced as of yet, but if he's back, he'll be FAST, as he always is at BDR.

A few guys will be joining the field as first timers this season when it all gets started....Richie Pratt, the NJ native and winning racer has been tabbed to drive the MAD Motorsports 11D this season at BDR....This will Pratt's first time running BDR as a regular, JMO, he's going to be one to watch as the season moves along....Danny Hieber, he's been around for many years, and he's been a winner...But Hieber took a hiatus from the sport for a few years, returning last year to race Grandview weekly....This year, Hieber is adding BDR to his weekly schedule for the first time ever....He'll run for drag racer Kenny Koretsky again this year in the Nitro Fish #107....Mike Gular, although Gular has run at BDR a few times over the years, he's never been a weekly regular at the place....That will change in '09, as Gular has a new deal with Terry Fasnacht to run two nights a wekek this year, another one to keep your eyes on....Earl Paules, he's been running BDR in the spts division the last two years, and will be moving up to the sbm's this season afterhaving an AWESOME year in the spts ranks last year....Joey Grammes, he's been a top runner at Penn Can Speedway in the past, but this year he'll be calling BDR home on Friday nights this year, running a car owned by his brother Brad and a Morrison motor provided by Earl Paules....Should be VERY interesting to see how these teammates fair out this year running in the sbm division at BDR.

Here's a few to keep your eye on as the season moves along at the BDR....Dan Hineline, tough luck last year with motor problems but he'll be back and better....Troy Wink, this guy really turned heads last year, and he'll be back even better this year, look for him to get that first win this year....Shawn Fitzpatrick, he has a new Teo car for the season, and he's been oh so close to getting that first win in the past, maybe it will happen this year....Mike Nicholas, the veteran picked up a win two years ago, last year he struggled until the last month or so, he'll be tough this year....Kevin Albert, he was a rookie last year, but word has it he has a Troyer car this year and he'll be fast again....Kyle Weiss, last year Weiss ran the spts division and did very well, this year he makes the move back up the sbm division, where he's won at BDR in the past on a few occasions....Colt Harris, this kid really got going good last year, a little more luck and he gets his first win in 2009....Dale Hartz, FINALLY, last year Hartz picked off his first career sbm win driving the Huber #178, he'll be back looking for win #2....Craig Whitmoyer, the former BDR spts KING moved up to the sbm's last year, and he almost picked off a win until Desantis got him with two to go, looking for a bigger and better year from this team....Jordan Umbenhauer, last year he destroyed his spts car, got in his dad's, Tom, sbm car for a few runs, and looked very good....Jordan will be making the full move up to the sbm division in 2009.

There are a few more names out there that are floating around as to who will be racing at BDR in 2009, a few of them are newcomers, and few are rookies, and a few are vets who are still looking for a deal or sponsorship....We are just going to ave to wait a little longer to some things are announced and finalized till we found out what the final BDR sbm roster is going to look like for the 2009 season....Once again, the BDR schedule has a little bit of everything on it, BB mods, SBM, Spts, RR's, USAC Sprints, WoO Late Models, ARDC midgets, URC Sprint cars, Enduro's....And there will be special shows along the way like the newly announced Memorial Weekend show that Sunday paying a nice $5G's to the winner of the non points sbm race....You have the traditional Georgie Stevenson Memorial on tap the Friday of the 4th of July week....The fan favorite Pepsi Challenge will take place in August....The Coal Cracker weekend Labor Day weekend....And the Diamond Nationals weekend to end the season at the end of September....Plus, you can look for more special nights to be announced as the season moves along.

Race fans, I'm tellin' ya's, if you have never been to BDR, you MUST make plans now to take in a show or two....Or of you have been to BDR over the years, for some, many times, YOU ARE IN FOR A TREMENDOUS SEASON in 2009, as this season IS SHAPING up to be the most competitive EVER at the place, I'm tellin' ya's, THIS IS MUST SEE, this season, your are not going to want to miss one single race, YEAH it's gonna be that darn good.