In The Groove
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
By Stacy Ervin - With a taste of spring-like weather grazing Iowa recently, visions of racing
season are beginning to creep in among the thoughts of work, family and
friends. Though the weather has been fluctuating from day to day, with
70-degree beauties followed by 20-degree beasts, racing season will indeed
be here before we know it.
My two "home tracks" in Iowa are currently gearing up for another season.
West Liberty Raceway, which is located practically in my backyard, features
some of the finest stock-car racing to be found in the Midwest. This is
where late-model standout Brian Birkhofer got his start, following in the
footsteps of his father, Dave. West Liberty Raceway is a flat, half-mile
dirt track which anchors the Muscatine County Fairgrounds in Eastern Iowa.
Having lived in West Liberty all my life, I really have to credit West
Liberty Raceway and drivers like Dave Birkhofer for getting me off to a
lifelong passion for racing. But it wasn¹t long before a new love entered my
world.
Making the trip to Knoxville Raceway in 1976 for my first Nationals kicked
off an affair with sprint-car racing which still goes strong today. I was 4
years old and the place felt comfortable enough. Little did I know at the
time, and little did my parents know, that Knoxville would become "home."
I¹ve never actually taken up permanent residence in the Southern Iowa town,
but I can¹t say it hasn¹t been an option a time or two. And certainly it¹s
been an intriguing thought many times over. During racing season, it almost
seems like it would be easier if I did live there. Those two-hour drives
over and back each week start to wear on a person in about mid-July. And
after all, even though I¹m back in my hometown and back in my chair for my
real job as editor of the West Liberty community newspaper by Monday
morning, visions of Knoxville and racing are usually still dominating my
thoughts. Save for the occasional distraction at work, those thoughts don¹t
show any signs of letting up during the week. And by Friday at 5, I¹m back
in full race mode again.
This past winter, there have been far too many distractions at work and I am
more than ready to see racing season off to another start. The comfort comes
in knowing that whatever is faced at work or at home during the week will be
put into its proper perspective on Saturday night, when those motors roar to
life and most of the people who truly make me happy have gathered around one
immense circle of dirt in the middle of Iowa. It¹s a simple, yet necessary,
ritual which keeps me from going insane most of the time.
To all the Knoxville faithful, and in particular my fellow pressbox
dwellers, I miss you and can¹t wait to see you all soon. Though time in the
off-season always seems to go slow, our season will be here before we know
it. And we all know how time during the season seems to fly by.
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