March 11, 2002

Well, guess what ?!  Not too hard to figure, huh ?!  What . . . Dave, Troy and crew racing another year - imagine that !  We really planned on last year being our final, but one of Dave's arms was twisted by a crew members wife and the other was twisted by our crew chief, Louie - not to mention the SRL organization and a lot of the other teams expressing that they wanted us back this year.  It really feels good to know that everyone "luvs" us - yeah, right.  Anyway, Connie Stewart (John's wife) has offered to take over Dave's much disliked job of travel arrangements and Louie (our crew chief) told Dave that IF we were to race again in 2001, he promised to have Dave's go-kart "race ready" at all times - that was all that it took - we're racing again.  The SRL also added some incentive by putting together a season of "12-14" races - that makes a lot more sense to us - thank you.

So, we are racing the full season (as we know today) and the schedule is included with this newsletter.

Please, watch our website (www.biswellmotorsports.com) for any last minute changes or for really quick race results if you are unable to attend the race.  David Anthony (Ethylene Control's President of Sales) is our computer "wizard" who designed the whole website and keeps it updated - pretty nice, huh ?!  You are always welcome to call our shop if you have any questions at 559)896-2076 during normal business hours or the guys are usually here working on the car on Monday and Wednesday evenings (6-10 or so) and they will usually answer that line.

We are heading to Phoenix for the CopperWorld Classic this week - the race is Saturday.  I will get a letter out as soon as I can when we return and let you know how the race went.  Check our website for quicker information.

Oh, yeah . . . this  IS  our last year of racing !

Fig Garden Golf Club      Fresno Roofing Co.

Prickett's Distributing, Inc.                  Performance Painting

Wes Pak Sales, Inc.           Ethylene Control, Inc.

November 9, 2001

This will be the last newsletter of the year, so before we get started with the racing "stuff" all of us here at BiswellMotorsports would like to wish each and everyone of you the best holiday season ever and the happiest of New Years !  Thank you for being so loyal to us over the years - we really appreciate all you've done !

Now for the racing "stuff" -

Madera, October 27^th

Neither Dave nor I were able to be there for the race - Dave was in Philadelphia for one of our largest tradeshows of the season and I was involved in a golf tournament for an organization I volunteer with - but we hear it was a great race between Darren Rusconi and Troy.  In reading an article by Gerald Laurie, these are the days events.  Troy qualified with fast time, Eric Silsby second and Rick Veenstra was third.  In the first heat race, Eric started third and won the event with Jim Birges finishing second.  In the second heat race, Harry Stone spun in turn two on lap six and Regier "somehow found his way around while Veenstra slid into the hapless Stone" according to Laurie.  (Seems like Troy always finds a "hole" to go thru, doesn't it ?  I guess that's why he's the successful driver that he is.)  Anyway, Mike Baisch (in the "infamous black Sprint car") won the heat race even though "Regier hounded Baisch's heels for the last five laps".  "Baisch held the middle line and Regier could not find traction to get by on the low side."

The main event started without Rick Veenstra due to damage from the crash in the heat race.  The "8" pill was drawn for the main event lineup, but without Veenstra it put the 9^th fastest qualifier (Jim Tartaglia) on the pole.  Troy started on the outside of the 4^th row, by the 8^th lap, Troy had moved up to 4^th with several passes made on the low side of the track.  Lap 11 shows Troy in  second place behind Rusconi.  "Rusconi and Regier were going at it tooth and nail when they encountered the lapped car of Larry Dietz in turn three on the 25^th lap.  When Dietz dropped low, he effectively blocked Rusconi and Regier had already committed to the high line and roared past."  (I really like how Gerald Laurie has a way with words - how about you?)  Anyway, Troy and his crew won their 13^th race of the season followed by Rusconi, Silsby, and Kenny Hamilton.

As Gerald Laurie put it "The real tale of the kind of year that Troy had is told by his stats at yearend.  He competed in all 18 races, had 17 top 10 finishes, 16 of those in the top 5 and 13 wins.  His only DNF was the season opener at Phoenix when he blew an engine while holding nearly a straightaway lead over the eventual winner, Davey Hamilton" (while attempting to make it 4 consecutive CopperWorld Classic wins !).

Our banquet followed the race that night and was held there at the Madera Speedway.  It was a nice evening (I made it there for the "party") and everyone really seems to want us to run another season.  We pretty much have decided on running next year, but it will depend on the schedule.  At this point, we have been "promised" approximately 12 races, if the final schedule is much more - we won't run.  We have a strong stand on that issue, feeling that more races hurts our group more than helps it.  Too much travel - crews can't make races, too much money spent, not everyone can go to every race and that hurts our car count. Low car count hurts our ability to get the tracks that these cars can put on a show at and also hurts as far as getting television coverage which would promote our group.  So, we will see - we would like to race next year, but to be honest the schedule we had this year made racing seem like a job instead of the "hobby" that it is.

Everyone have a fun, safe and healthy winter and we'll be writing again after the holidays and let you know what the next year holds for us.

Thank you all again for all of your support over the years - we love and appreciate all of you !

Fig Garden Golf Club       Fresno Roofing Co.              Kroeker, Inc.

          Performance Painting                  Prickett's Distributing, Inc.

                    Wes Pak             Ethylene Control, Inc.

October 22, 2001

Madera, September 24^th

This was the week of our 5^th Annual Alyssa Biswell Golf Classic.  Thank you to everyone who attended, played and/or helped out - it was a huge success!  We would like to thank Rebel Jackson, Jr. and Jeff Helton for coming down just for the tournament.  Rebel even ended up crawling in his old car and racing - thanks Rebel !  Also, a huge thank you to Rodney Rothgarn, Eric Silsby, Jim Birges, Ron Berger and Troy for showing up in their drivers suits and helmets in hand to visit the patients at Valley Children's Hospital !  We know it's a tough assignment, but it's a great day for the kids !  Thanks, guys !  The tournament raised $15,662 for Camp Sunshine and will send about 56 cancer patients to camp next year - thank you !  Also, a huge thank you to Tim Martin for his very generous bids on the autographed football & Sports Illustrated by David Carr, basketball and Tark's towel autographed by Jerry Tarkanian - you were a big part of the success - thanks Tim !  Check out our website (www.biswellmotorsports.com) for some great pictures of the day.

"Thru holes in traffic before they open up" - that's how Gerald Laurie described Troy in Madera that night.  Troy qualified fast and drew a "6" for the main event start.  The heat race was a great show in itself.  Troy wiggled thru about 4 cars (that included Rebel) in one move and had moved from 6^th to 3^rd in the first lap and ended up winning his heat race.  The 30-lap main event had 21 cars starting with Troy outside of the 3^rd row.  Troy moved thru the field including Eric Silsby, Rebel Jackson Jr. and Rick Veenstra.  By the 9^th lap Troy was leading the race and won it with Eric finishing second.  It was a great night with a great car count.

Altamont, October 6^th

Altamont was a day of hurry up and wait . . . and wait . . . and wait.  The crew arrived at 8AM when the gates opened.  Dave and I got to the track about 3:30 and the Supers had qualified with Troy being the fast time, Eric second, Kenny Hamilton third, Tony Pierce fourth and Rick Veenstra fifth.  There were 17 cars that qualified - great car count considering our schedule this last month (too many races and all in California - not easy for everyone to make).  Troy started 7^th in his heat race, was in 2^nd on lap two and chasing Jim Birges.  He caught up and passed Birges on lap 5 and won his heat race.  Let me remind you, they qualified at 3 in the afternoon - the main event started at 12:45 the next morning.  Try setting up a car for that difference in temperature !  If anyone can - it's our crew - they are fantastic !  Troy drew an "8" for the start of the main event.  Troy had moved up to 3^rd position by the 10^th lap of the 30-lap main - with Darren Rusconi and Bobby Bigioni in front of him.  "Troy blew by Rusconi in lapped traffic on lap 20 for the lead" to use Gerald Laurie's words again.  Troy won the race with Rusconi second, Bigioni third, Kenny Hamilton fourth and Rick Veenstra was fifth.  Eric Silsby had spun to the infield and wasn't seen by officials in order to throw a yellow and get him back out.  The main event was ran in 9 minutes compared to the 2 (!) stock car mains of 100 laps each that took over 1 1/2 hours each.  Oh well, the outcome is what we wanted, right ?!

El Cajon, October 13^th

Rick Veenstra and his team were not able to make this race - sorry, we really missed them.  Eric Silsby qualified fast and he was determined to win the main event - he hadn't had his first win yet.  Troy qualified second fast, Eric drew a "6" which put Troy inside of the 3^rd  row for the main event.  Eric and Troy each started their heat race in the back and both won their heat race.  Eric was hooked up and driving to win !  Troy started the main on the inside and Eric on the outside of the 3^rd row.  After the 3^rd lap, Eric was in 3^rd and Troy in 5^th.  On the 5^th lap, a yellow flag was thrown for "debris" on the track - it was one of Eric's front wings.  He had bumped Kenny Hamilton trying to get into second and lost his wing.  Eric's car definitely wasn't handling the same after that.  By the 11^th lap, Troy was leading and won the 40-lap main event with only two other cars on the lead lap - Eric and Jim Birges for second and third.

Troy has won 12 races this season out of 17 events - pretty awesome !  He does have the Championship locked up for the 4^th Championship in a row !  What a team we have - what an experience we have had over the last 6 years !  But this is our last . . . well maybe.  It's hard for us to understand but we are getting told that we shouldn't quit and that we would be missed by a lot of people (some are even other teams) - we may just sell off some of the extra equipment and scale down our racing operation some and maybe hang around awhile.  There is one thing that will really help us make that decision - the number of races next season.  We have a strong opinion that there needs to be a lot less races in order for most teams to make all of the events and get our car count up.  We need the car count up in order to keep the SRL on the road to success !  So we will see !  Sorry, this is not an intentional string along - just a possible changing of our minds in order to support an easier schedule for all to make.  

Madera, October 27^th Races start at 5:00 P.M.

The last race of the season and the Year End Awards Banquet immediately following the race there at the fairgrounds - nothing dressy or formal - so please attend if you can - should be a lot of fun.  Dave is out of town (Philadelphia) for one of our largest trade shows of the year and I am involved with a golf tournament for Trauma Intervention Program of which I am a volunteer and had committed myself to way back when.  Since this race was scheduled late in the season, we already had made commitments so we probably won't be there.  I know Dave won't be, but depending on how many volunteers we have show up and how my golf tournament is doing, I may pop in (at least for the race hopefully).

Thank you to EVERYONE for all of your support over the years - you all are the best!

August 20, 2001

Stan, Bob ("Ol' Guy"), Louie and Troy were the only ones that could make the trip this last week - leaving late Wednesday night and getting back at 5AM Monday morning, showering and heading off to work.  It's really hard with our schedule this year and all of the time needed out "on the road" for alot of us to make them all - Dave and I included.  We all know (and greatly appreciate) all of the prep work done here in the shop the weeks prior to the race - that definitely helps determine the final outcome of the race.  All of our guys show up as their personal schedule allows here at the shop on Monday and Wednesday nights (and sometimes Saturdays) to work on the car - thanks guys !  We appreciate all of you and your families who put up with this "darned" race car !

Well, anyway, here are the results:

TriCities, Washington     Friday night, August 17^th

Troy had 2^nd quick time with Eric Silsby having fast time - yeah! Go Eric !  (Oh, sorry - he's my second favorite driver.)  Troy won his heat race.  Eric drew a "6" so Troy started inside the 3^rd row.  He finished 3^rd with Mike Baisch winning the race and Rick Veenstra finishing 2^nd.  (Eric was 5^th)

Wenatchee, Washington "Super Oval"     Saturday, August 18^th

Troy had quick time and finished 3^rd in his heat race.  He drew a "6" for the main invert so he started on the outside of the 3^rd row.  He won the main event ! - Kirk Wartman finished 2^nd, Eric Silsby was 3^rd and Rick Veenstra was 4^th.  The team has now won 9 out of the 14 events so far this season - we are so proud  of our team ! 

We are a little behind in our newsletter - kept thinking I'd have some info to pass on about Troy and an IRL ride . . . not much news yet . . still a possibility from what we're told - so keep your fingers crossed for him. (Sharon!)

Salt Lake City, Utah - 4^th of July 2001

The guys had a fantastic night !  Troy beat his own track record there, they won their heat race and the main event.  Couldn't have asked for much more !

Carson City, Nevada - July 7^th, 2001

This is another one of those single groove, follow-the-leader kind of tracks.  Troy did set fast time, but he drew a "6" for starting position.  The crew said they just "missed the setup" and the car was really loose.  Troy finished fifth, but he and the car were both in one piece and healthy.

Madera, CA "Triguiero Classic" - August 3^rd, 2001

The first annual Triguiero Classic - in memory of Larry, Sr. who passed away last December - was a huge success !  There were alot of "old-timers" present who told a little history and some fun stories involving the Triguieros and we had a 20-car field - it was really nice !  Troy set fast time and won his heat race.  He drew an "8" which had him starting outside the 4^th row.  A lot of cars and a lot of really good racing action.  Troy did win the main with Eric Silsby second and Rick Veenstra third.  The fans that came into the pits after the race were fantastic.  Troy enjoys signing autographs and talking with the fans.

Altamont Raceway, Tracy, CA  - August 4^th, 2001

Another "hard to pass on" track.  Troy did have fast time, but had mechanical problems in the heat race, so he wasn't able to finish the heat.  The engine seemed to have some serious problems, but turned out to be just a mag wire - so everything was good to go !  Troy drew a "4," so he started outside, second row.  About half way thru the 30 lap main event, Troy got by Kenny Hamilton to move into 2^nd place and shortly after that, passed Rick Veenstra for the lead.  He finished the race over a straightaway ahead of the rest of the field.  Veenstra finished second, Hamilton third and Eric Silsby was fourth.  The starting positions were:  Veenstra, Hamilton, Silsby and Regier - in other words, Troy was the only one doing any passing that night.  It is a tough track !

Troy and the crew have WON  8  out of the 12 races so far this season !  Pretty good stats, I'd say !

Looks like we're leading in points by about 70 (one perfect night of racing) going into this weekend where they're racing in Washington - TriCities on Friday, the 17^th and Wenatchee on Saturday, the 18^th.

For quick info and racing results, don't forget to check out our website - www.biswellmotorsports.com.

Thank you to our sponsors and fans for all of your support - we honestly could not/would not do it without you !  Thank you !   

Fig Garden Golf Club
Fresno Roofing Co.
Kroeker, Inc.
Performance Painting
Prickett's Distributing, Inc.
Wes Pak
Ethylene Control, Inc.

Meridian, Idaho – June 1^st and 2^nd

June 8, 2001

This weekend was full of extremes !  The weather was one of them with Friday the 1^st being a record high of 99 ( it was hot ! ) and then on Saturday it cooled off 30 degrees and was cold and very windy Saturday night, but then on Sunday – it was a record low for the high temperature of the day – crazy !  Then of course the racing was from one extreme to another.  Since it was a 2 day race, Friday night the drivers were a little more cautious making sure that they had a car to race on Saturday.  You’ll see the difference below in the highlights of our racing.

Friday, Troy qualified 2^nd fast – behind Davey Hamilton.  In Troy’s heat race, he started in the back of the 8 car field and finished 2^nd, behind Jeff Russell.  In the main event, Davey drew the 6 pill, so Troy started inside 3^rd row.  The race was a very clean race with not much action on the track.  This track is a very hard track to pass on – only one groove and a lot of dirt on the track due to some fun racing event the weekend prior.  Basically, the front cars finished as they started, with Troy finishing 5^th – but in good shape for Saturday night.  Mike Baisch ( a new name to our group ) had a great Friday, winning his heat race and the main event.  The main event win was due to a little luck since Mike qualified 6^th fast and Davey drew a 6, that put him on the pole and that’s where he stayed.  Mike did a good job, though – congratulations to him.

Saturday night, Troy qualified 3^rd fast (the car was a little heavier tonight and the thought was that it might slow Troy down, qualify a little farther back and start a little further towards the front – but there is no slowing Troy down).  Troy actually wanted to go for the track record, but we opted for a little slower car to have a better main event.  Davey Hamilton did qualify fast again, setting a track record (sorry Troy) and Rick Veenstra qualified 2^nd fast.  In Troy’s heat race, he started 7^th and finished 5^th.  Davey drew a 6 pill again and that put Mike Baisch on the pole – again.  Troy started outside of the 2^nd row and started moving up in the field right away.  He had worked his way up to 3^rd when there was a pileup in the first and second turns.  Apparently one car got a little loose, but because this track is so small, it collected several others in the after math.  I just closed my eyes because it happened right in front of Troy and there is no way to avoid missing that on that track . . . or so I thought.  Troy just needled his way thru the various cars scattered thru-out the turn and went on about his way.  Wow ! – no one could believe how he did that – we really do have a driver !  There were 5 or 6 cars involved in that mix-up and some were not able to continue the race.  Troy moved into the lead in a great move going under the leader (Kirk Wartman, a local favorite) when Kirk got a little high in turns 1 and 2 and Troy maintained the lead to WIN THE RACE !  There was another mix-up that involved several cars again, but Troy finished the race with a nice clean car and no mechanical problems either. 

Troy also won the Diamond Cup by accumulating the most points over the weekend.  They presented him with the Diamond Cup Ring (a gold ring with a diamond chip in the corner) Saturday night.  We’ve raced at Meridian 12 times – only winning twice.  It’s a tough track for the Supers – takes a lot of patience and “following the leader” waiting for an opportunity.  Troy did a fantastic job of driving.  And our crew . . . we were very short handed and the guys that were there worked very hard – I don’t know how they do it – thank you all !

Speaking of short handed - Dave, Louie and Troy have had their hands full these last couple of days trying to put together a ride to get to this next swing of races.  Mike Raypholtz (the owner of the tractor that normally pulls the hauler) had told us way back when that he may not be able to make the out-of-state races because he needs his tractor for his business, so we knew that we were working around that.  Jim Birges put together a rig to pull one of our cars over to Meridian for us last weekend – thank you Jim !

Late last night, Dave finally put together the final details for June 16^th thru the 23^rd races.  Hoosier Tire West – Rick Gerhardt – has offered their tractor to us to pull our hauler for the swing – we can not thank Rick enough, we really appreciate this offer !  We are going to take Rick up on his offer and we have Stan Turner (one of our crew members) who can drive the rig to Pikes Peak, Colorado and then to Dodge City, Kansas but then has to fly home to take care of his ag spraying business.  We spoke with “Slick” last night – a fan of ours from Boise who drives truck for a living – and he said he’d love to come out and help us out the whole swing.  Slick worked in the pits a couple of races last year, so he’ll be a great help in the pits and behind the wheel (of the truck, that is) – thank you Slick !

So, that makes our next races look like this:  June 16^th at Pikes Peak in Fountain Colorado, June 20^th in Dodge City Kansas and June 23^rd at Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls Idaho.  Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 18^th has been cancelled – they were talking about maybe making Dodge City a two day race or something, but as of now I know nothing.  Check our website, we will keep it updated with notes of how Troy’s doing and if they schedule anything else.

Thank you all so much for all of your support !  We have fantastic sponsors that we can not thank enough – thank you !

Fig Garden Golf Club          
Fresno Roofing Co.           
Kroeker, Inc.    
Performance Painting          
Prickett's Distributing, Inc.
Wes Pak
Ethylene Control, Inc.

Spring 2001 Newsletter, BMS-Racing

April 25, 2001

Hello – we hope everyone is doing great and is as excited about Troy as we are.  This newsletter will catch you up on the races that we have raced so far this season.  If you ever want a quicker update, please go to our website www.biswellmotorsports.com as it is kept current.

Copper World Classic
Phoenix International Raceway

March 17, 2001

Troy qualified 2^nd quick, behind Davey Hamilton.  He started the main event on the outside of the front row, took the lead right away and even with several restarts, always was leading and gaining distance.  With 12 laps to go, the motor blew on the front straight at 180 MPH and spun in his oil, hitting the wall in turn 1.  Troy was okay – had a headache, but was okay.  The car did sustain some damage – the tail section and the wing.  A win here would have made it 4 consecutive wins for the team – we still hold the record with 3 consecutive wins though.  We would like to congratulate the Triguiero team on their win – Davey Hamilton (driving the orange #1) won the race after Troy’s blown motor.  We feel happy for the Triguiero team since Larry Triguiero, Sr. passed away this past December and we know that win meant everything to their family !  Congratulations Marie, Larry and families! 

Las Vegas Motor Speedway “Bullring”, Las Vegas

March 28, 2001

This 3/8 mile track has been completely rebuilt – the track, the stands, everything – and it’s beautiful!  Troy qualified 2^nd, behind Eric Silsby.  The 8 pill was drawn by Eric, so Troy started inside the 4^th row.  He quickly worked his way up to the 2^nd position, behind Joe Gosek.  On about lap 12, Troy took the lead and retained the lead to win the event.  Great track, great facilities, great weather and we won – what more could you ask for ?!

Vukovich Memorial, Madera

April 21, 2001

Troy is leading in the points standings by 1 point ahead of Rick Veenstra going into this race.  Troy qualified fast, with Davey Hamilton qualifying second fast.  In the heat race, Troy started 8^th.  He was hung up in traffic for awhile, but with just a couple of laps to go in the 10 lap event, he moved into second place behind Rick Veenstra.  Gaining on Rick, things looked good.  On the back straight of the last lap, Troy got into some oil that was on the track from Lonnie Adamson’s blown engine and it caused him to slide into the wall with the rear of the car.  At this point, there was nothing Troy could do – he was along for the ride.  The car crashed into the wall in turn 3.  Troy was okay, really disappointed though – it was important to Troy to make a good showing tonight because Dick Simon and Ken Norton, Sr. were there to watch Troy for a possible Indy car ride.  (Still don’t know anything, but they have been in touch with Troy since the race – so keep your fingers crossed.)  The car was taken off the track on the hook – looked pretty tore up !  The guys went to work – they had a bent axle, bent and broken shock tower, damage to the oil cooler, broken radius rods, broken shocks and front and rear wing damage.  We want to thank all of the other teams and their crews – they were all there offering anything they could to help us try to make the main event – thank all of you!

As the supers were being pushed on the track for the main event, the crew had the car on the scales hoping to make the main.  From the stands, it looked as if Troy was not going to make it, they had already closed the entrance gate.  Our rooting section was pretty down and feeling bad for Troy.  And then . . . they opened the gate and here comes Troy  – we were so excited!  Everyone (I think) was cheering for Troy – it was great!  Here’s Troy in a car that has practically been rebuilt and no time on the track to check the car out – kind of scary.  Troy got just a few laps of warm up before the starter slowed them back down for the start.  Troy started outside the 4^th row, with Davey Hamilton beside him.  The motor sputtered some for the first 5 or 6 laps – not enough warm up time.  Still Troy was moving up in the field very nicely – taking his time and driving smart.  Troy didn’t get to take on Davey one-on-one because Davey pulled in with some mechanical problems.  With 12 laps to go, Troy was leading and pulling away from the field.  About half way through the race, Troy said the car started shaking really badly and he wasn’t sure it was going to make it for the whole race, but they made it.  Great show! – A lot of work on the part of the crew – but probably the best showing we could have hoped for to show Troy (and our crews) talent!  We can not say “Thank you” enough to our crew – they did a job that all thought couldn’t be done!  And Troy . . . he’s the best! – We are very proud of Troy and all he has done – on the track and off!

We’ve included a copy of the article that was in The Fresno Bee – a nice article, but a couple of mistakes:  Davey did not qualify fast and Troy did not start at the back in the main.  Oh well, good article otherwise.

Our next race is June 1^st and 2^nd in Meridian, Idaho – we’ll be there!

Thanks everyone for all of your support – you are the reason we are able to pursue this dream of Troy’s (and Dave’s) – thank you!

2001 Racing Season, Biswell Motorsports, Selma, CA

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

January 15, 2001

We hope everyone had a good holiday season and that you’re all in good health.  We wish all of you a great new year – we feel a fantastic one coming on for Troy and our team!

This newsletter is to accomplish several things –

·        Get the 2001 SRL schedule to you,

·        Get a picture of Troy and his family (and his new tractor) to you,

·        To let you know that this is our last season – so let’s make it our best!

Included, you will find the SRL 2001 schedule.  As you can see, there are a lot of races and some new locations.  We are not sure if we’ll make all the races - for a couple of reasons.  One reason is that our guys do not get paid – they are all volunteers – and they have full time jobs that are not always easy to take time off of.  Another reason is that Troy is again hopeful of obtaining an Indy ride with some serious discussions – nothing final, yet – we will let you know when he lets us know.  Keep your fingers crossed for him – we are!  Back to the schedule – the June 18^th and June 20^th races are “probably not's” at this point.  Other than that, we will try to let you know of those that we won’t make.  Phoenix (CopperWorld) is a definite!  We will be trying for our 4^th consecutive win (3  in a row was a record) – so if there is any possibility of making that race – you have gotta do it!

Also, we are including Troy’s Christmas family picture.  This picture has their new baby, Alyssa, in it.  Troy and Sherrilyn had always liked the name Alyssa and wanted to name their first baby (Ashley) Alyssa, but some close friends had just had a baby and they named her Alyssa, so they didn’t use the name.  Then we came along to sponsor Troy and we have our Guardian Angel, Alyssa, always with us.  Our Alyssa is Dave’s youngest daughter who passed away in 1994 – at the age of 14 – after a hard fought battle with Leukemia.  Well, Troy and Sherrilyn still liked the name Alyssa and this baby looked like an Alyssa to them, so Troy called Dave to see if he would mind – of course not!  So now Troy has an Alyssa – and she has dark hair, just like our Alyssa.  Congratulations and best wishes to Troy and his beautiful family!

And finally, this is our last season of Super racing.  Mid-season, we will put FOR SALE signs on everything and phase out.  It’s sad in a way – we’ll miss it – but it does take a lot of time (and money) to do it the way we like to do it.  Our crew guys, I’m sure, will be glad “to get a real life”.  Most have been with us the whole 6 years that we’ve been with Troy, but they have all been with us the last three years.  They work every Monday and Wednesday nights (late) and if we are not racing – which takes them out of town at least Friday (sometimes Thursday) thru Sunday late (or sometimes Monday) – they may be at the shop on Saturday, too.  Some have gotten married while on the crews (thank goodness there’s been no separations or divorces, though I’m sure there’ve been thoughts!), some have become Dad’s, others families have expanded and/or gotten older and some have jobs that are really hard to get away from to travel to races.  Anyway, I’m sure they will enjoy the extra time next year with their families!  Our crew is very loyal and dedicated and we couldn’t have done this as well as we have without them!  Thank you guys!!!  Hopefully, Troy has an Indy ride – we’ll buy a motorhome and just be “groupies” and follow him around.  So, please, if there is any way you can make a race or two, please do it – you won’t be disappointed!  Come in the pits afterwards and give Troy and the crew a bad time – we’d love to see you there.

Okay – let’s make this last year the best!!!!  Thank you all for all of your support over the years – you’ve made it possible for our success!

Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale CA, October 21^st

October 26, 2000

This was to be a race "just for the fun of it".  Since Troy already had the Driver Championship locked up and Dave pretty much had the Car Owner Championship locked up, we were looking forward to a fun day.  We also had the backup car (the "T car") running.  Eric Silsby had crashed his car last week in El Cajon and was not able to put it back together in time for Irwindale.  Eric was running 5^th in the point standings and could drop to 6^th if he did not run, so we loaned the car to Eric.  It was really fun with two cars racing.  We only have one short track top wing, so Eric used his yellow #98 wing - so it was easy to tell them apart on the track.

Well, the fun started with qualifying - Troy qualified with fast time and Eric was second fast.  That meant that they would start side by side in the main event!

More fun - Eric won his heat race and Troy finished second in his.  Eric's car was really set up, but Troy and the crew were really hustling trying to get Troy's to handle.  They decided to put a different tire on the right rear wheel to see if that would be the solution.  That meant starting the main event from the back, but they felt that was their only hope.

Troy drew an 8 for the invert, so Eric started inside the 4^th row and Troy would have been on the outside, but Troy started 13^th due to the tire change.  The race was fun, fun, fun!  Eric's car seemed to loose the setup from earlier in the day  (he said the car was really tight)  and Troy - well, he was moving thru the field very quickly.  Troy was leading the race by a good distance and just pulling up on the pack to start lapping them when there was a yellow flag thrown.  The only thing the yellow flag did was keep Troy from lapping the field - he won the race by a great distance!  It was great!  Troy and the crew needed a win.  They've all been a little down with the events of this season.

We were all over at the scales celebrating when the officials told us our car was 1/2 of an inch too wide.  Well, to make a very long story short, the top 3 finishers were disqualified for very minor infractions of the rules.  Infractions that by no means were intentional nor an advantage on the track.  There were a lot of unhappy people!  (Seems as if there should be different degrees of penalties to infractions due to the seriousness of the infraction - we'll work on that this off-season.)  So that means that 4^th place "won" the race - but, they are not sure who's 4^th - there is some discrepancy  in the scoring.  Eric, our other car, either "won" the race or placed 2^nd.  It was a lot of fun having the two cars on the track and Eric and his "crew" - his Dad and his wife - are great people.  It was extra work for our crew to get the two cars ready, but they jumped right in and went above and beyond expectations - thanks guys!

The year-end banquet was held the next day there in Irwindale.  Too bad there was such a fiasco the night before - was hard for some people to "celebrate" the season, including our guys, and I understand that completely!  I felt we needed to support the organization - and I know it was hard - but, Troy, Dave, some of the crewmembers, some of our great fans and I attended.

The 2000 season is over - thank goodness!  I only hope that some of these last years' events haven't tarnished Troy or our teams' reputation - we pride ourselves in our above-board operation!   

Looks like Phoenix (CopperWorld) will be in mid-March next year where we will be running the same weekend as the IRL.  At this point, this will be our first race of the season, but as soon as we get the new schedule we will pass it along to you . . . along with a picture of Troy and his family.  As of now, Sherrilyn is on bed rest just waiting for the baby to decide it's time.

Thank you everyone for everything this past season - we couldn't have done it without you!

El Cajon Speedway, El Cajon CA 

Oct.14, 2000  

Beautiful weather- Clear, warm and blue skies! (Sorry, Slick) Slick is one of our newest fans and he was going to fly in for the El Cajon race, but he waited a little long to get his airline tickets and the price was crazy- he called and said he couldn’t make it and I told him it would probably rain anyway- sorry, Slick- the weather was the best!

Troy’s wife, Sherrilyn, is due any time now and on the Friday before El Cajon, she started having contractions fairly close together. Troy’s father-in-law, Eugene, flew him down so they could fly home anytime if they needed.  As of now, things are quiet and she’s trying to hold off until after Irwindale so they can all relax and enjoy the new little one.  Looks like a third little girl for them.  I will be sure to send the new family pictures to you all.

Okay-racing!  Troy qualified fast, didn’t necessarily want to, but we have a hard time getting Troy to slow down.  He started seventh and finished second in his heat race and drew an 8 for the main event.  That put Troy on the outside of row 4 but since the car that was to start on the outside of row 1 wouldn’t fire- all the outside cars moved up one row.  This put Troy in the 3^rd row, outside.  Troy was in second by lap 10 when a red flag was thrown for an accident involving several cars.  The cars were all stopped on the straightaway in front of the main grandstands.  Someone noticed our car was leaking fluid from the rear end, so the car was pushed to the pits where our crew went to work.  Apparently the fluid leaking could even be smelled in the grandstands because I heard the announcer say “Now you know when we can smell  your rear end clear up here- it’s time for you to go to the pits”, so the crowd had a lot of fun with that!  Troy was able to bring the car back on the track before the cars were even restarted- the fans cheered- they wanted him back out there! Due to crashes and mechanical problems, there were only 8 cars left in the race.  Troy had to start in the back since he needed to leave the track to work on the car.  Troy was up to 4^th place and on the last lap he went high to get around the 3^rd place car, but just couldn’t get it done.  In his attempt, the 5^th place car got under him, so he finished the race in 5^th place.

Troy has the Championship locked up.  Even if the second place car won everything at Irwindale and Troy didn’t even start- Troy would win the Championship.  We talked with Troy last night  and told him if didn’t want to go to Irwindale ( because of the baby situation),  not to worry, it would be okay.  He said he wants to go- he wants to win the race.  Going back to the hotel Saturday night, our crew chief ( Louie Gennuso) asked Troy “ Did you ever think you would have a Championship locked up and still feel so down about a season?”  Troy said “ Good question because I am disappointed with my season.  There were several races that were my races to be had and it just didn’t happen”.

When you look at our stats for the season they don’t look that impressive, but that shows that even with all of the set backs- whether they be mechanical or officiating- Troy and our crew can still get it done!  We appreciate them and all of their hard work tremendously!  And I know that they – as well as Dave and I – appreciate our sponsors even more because without you, we wouldn’t be here.

Thank you everyone for a great season!

I will get a newsletter out after next weeks race and banquet in Irwindale – maybe a family picture by then also.

Alyssa Biswell 4^th Annual Golf Tournament

September 15^th, 2000

The tournament was held at Fig Garden Golf Course (one of our sponsors) and, as usual, was terrific!  The weather was great, the course is beautiful and the food was fantastic!  Thank you Dave Knott and everyone at Fig Garden Golf Club for a fantastic day !  We had a great day of golf, raffle prizes galore and a 50/50 raffle.  We raised $6,000 for Valley Children's Hospital ! !  Each year our donation has increased - we want to thank all of our raffle donors and tee sponsors - you are the best!  Jerry Ishii donated wine, raisins, a basketball autographed by Jerry Tarkanian - thank you Jerry !  Merv Barcellos from Fresno Framing each year has donated a beautiful, framed golf course print - always one of the most wanted prizes.  This year, not only did Merv donate the print, but when he won the 50/50 drawing, he gave back some of his winnings to make our Valley Children's donation be an even $6,000. - thank you Merv !  We want to thank everyone who had anything to do with our golf tournament - thank you for everyone who helped put it together, thank you to every one of the raffle prize donors, thank you to all of the golfers and especially thank you to all of you who purchased raffle prize tickets - you all made it possible !  Please check out our website for pictures of the golf tournament as well as pictures taken at Valley Children's Hospital that morning when the drivers visited patients there.  If you weren't involved this year and would like to be next year - please let us know !  Thank you again, everyone - we just can't say thank you enough !

Thank you to all of our sponsors that make our racing team - and Troy's quest for Indy - possible.  We appreciate all of you !

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Altamont Raceway Park - Tracy ,CA

September 17, 2000

This was a hard trip for the guys - got to their motel rooms in Merced about 1:30/2:00 AM  after loading up and driving from the Madera race the night before.  The crew (and driver) were on the road from Merced to Tracy at 6 AM.  Got to Tracy and started getting set up for the days race.  Very hot - as always - in Tracy, but not as windy as usual - thank goodness !  Troy qualified with second fast time, Davey Hamilton had fast time.  Davey drew a "10" for the invert of the main event.  During the heat race, Troy bumped into the wall on the back straight away breaking a part on the front axle.  The crew worked really hard between the heat race and the main event, replacing the whole front axle - which was not identical to the one it was replacing, so there was a lot of work involved.  Troy started on the inside of the 5^th row and moved up to 2^nd, behind Dale Lamborn.  Troy's car was really loose and he knew he didn't have the car to pass Dale, but hung close to Dale waiting for a possible opening.  With one lap to go, a yellow flag was thrown.  The race was restarted reverting back to the last completed lap - two laps to go.  The drivers were not notified via the radios as to the laps left and Troy had thought there was one to go.  He let up a little (thinking the race was finished) and Lonnie Adamson got by him - Troy finished third.  Troy is not one to make excuses, but we as a team feel that these two race weekends are exhausting on the driver and crews.  We are very proud of our driver and all of our crew members !

Troy is still leading in the Driver point standings by 70 points and we are still leading in Car Owner points, also - so we are very happy and thank Troy and our crew for all of the hard work so far this season.  We have two more races left this season - El Cajon on October 14^th and Irwindale on October 21^st.  If you haven't been out to see a race, or even if you have, we'd love to see you at one of these!

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Madera Speedway - Madera, CA

September 16, 2000

The weather was perfect for racing!  Troy qualified with fast time and drew a "10" for the invert.  He started 8^th in his heat race and won the heat race in a great pass going into turn 3.  The main event was a great race with a lot of good racing and the fans loved the race.  Troy started outside 5^th row and was in third by the time a yellow flag was thrown on lap 10.  Jim Birges had a great car that night and was in the lead.  At one point, Troy passed Jim only to have Jim regain the lead later in the lap.  On lap 25, there was another yellow thrown - Jim was leading with Troy in second and Davey Hamilton in third. On the restart, Troy was down low coming out of turn 4 and under Jim when he got into the infield grass enough to spin a complete 360 and take off again.  He fell back to finish 8^th due to the spin - but the fans loved the racing !  Davey was able to pass Jim Birges and he won the event.  Davey had also won his Heat race so he collected the money that had been building up for the next heat race and main event winner.

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Silver State Raceway - Carson City, NV

August 12, 2000

The weather was warm but very windy in Carson City.  Troy qualified 3^rd and won his heat race.  An "8" was drawn for the invert which put Troy outside 3^rd row for the start.  At the start in turn 1, George Greenway and Davey Hamilton crashed - they were out of the race due to damage to the cars.  Since these two were the 7^th and 8^th fast qualifiers and on the front row, the SRL Officials thought the proper thing to do was to bring in the 9^th and 10^th fast qualifiers (Rick Veenstra and Jeff Russell) and put them on the front row.  Many of the car owners and teams (ours included) were running around trying to find an official - to no avail.  The race was started as stated above.  Troy finished second - behind Rick Veenstra (one of the cars put on the front row erroneously).  We filed a protest - that five other car owners signed - immediately following the race.  The SRL Officials checked with several other racing organizations (the IRL, USAC, NASCAR etc) the next day and did find that what they did was the wrong thing to do.  We did receive an explanation and an apology from the officials, but the results remained as was.  

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Rocky Mountain Speedway - Salt Lake City, Utah

7/04/2000

The crew was shorthanded during the afternoon practices and set up– some crew members couldn’t make the trip due to their jobs and we had one that Dave spent most of the day with one of our crew members at the hospital (he had choked the day before and was still having some problems), but he’s fine now. We gained a new fan in Boise at the Meridian races and he’s been to every race since. He happened to be in the pits Tuesday, so they put him to work– thanks Slick for all of your help and support! – see you in Wenatchee?! Troy qualified fast (again), started seventh and placed second in his heat race and drew eight for the start (again). The officials did increase the race to 35 laps. Troy moved thru the pack and passed the leader, Rick Veenstra, on about lap 20, but - you guessed it! The yellow came out before a full lap was completed after the pass and Troy had to go back behind Rick Veenstra– and that’s how the race finished, Rick then Troy. Lonnie Adamson was in second in the point standings before these races and Rick was in third. These races have maybe put Rick in second and Lonnie in third– I’m not sure, but it has really got them running close. Troy will still be leading and has probably increased his lead by a few points.

We will be racing Wenatchee Valley Raceway in Wenatchee, Washington on July 22nd and Silver State raceway in Carson City, Nevada on August 12th.

On September 16th we will be racing Madera Speedway in Madera, California. Since this is our “home” track, we do a golf tournament on the Friday before (September 15th) that benefits Valley Children’s Hospital. We will be sending out entry forms soon– we’d love to see you there! It’s just a fun “scrambles” tournament– so come on out and have fun!

We are still looking at a good possibility of Troy racing the IRL race in Kentucky– we do have an excellent car waiting for him and the car owner is only asking for actual operating expenses in order to put Troy in it– refreshening of the motor, tires, crew, etc, but that is $35,000 +/-. We have a couple of contacts we’re trying to work with, but if you can point us in a direction of good possibility– we’d follow up on it!

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Magic Valley Speedway - Twoin Falls, Idaho

7/01/2000

The day started out good– great weather and the car seemed to be good. Troy qualified fast time (again!) and won his heat race from the very back. There were 16 cars that started the main event with Troy starting on the outside of the fourth row. He was moving up really well and pretty quickly. He got behind Jeff Russell and was not having much luck in getting around him, but he finally did and was pulling away to hunt down the leaders when a yellow flag was thrown– putting Troy back behind Jeff again (since he hadn’t completed a full lap since the pass). The green flag came out and racing was on– Troy passed Jeff (again) and was looking to pass the leaders when the yellow came out again– Troy was put back behind Jeff (again) since there wasn’t a full lap since the pass. After a few laps of yellow, the officials decided we may be running low on fuel, so there was a red flag allowing everyone to add fuel. The race started again with four laps remaining. Not much time to get anything going, so the race ended with the same lineup as the last restart– Lonnie Adamson, Rick Veenstra, Jeff Russell and Troy. Troy is still leading in points by about 25 points.

There was some discussion among officials and drivers about making our races 40 laps instead of 30 laps. We always have a six, eight, or ten car invert and 30 laps doesn’t always allow the time needed for the faster cars to come up from the back – safely. There’s to be a meeting at Salt Lake City regarding this issue. (Troy says “Sure I can win, but do you want me to play bumper cars or drive clean?!”)

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Portland Speedway - Portland, Oregon

6/23/2000

Troy and his family thought this trip could be a nice little family holiday so they drove Troy’s parent’s motorhome. Due to a miscalculation on driving time (Troy wasn’t the only one), Troy arrived just in time for the last practice session, but that seemed to be enough, since he had the quickest time we had clocked all day during practice. Troy did qualify fast and won his heat race. We don’t normally have a Trophy dash for our class, but the Portland promoters wanted one, so we ran in the Trophy dash– good thing! Troy went out for the Trophy dash and the motor started making these terrible popping sounds. Louie, our crew chief, said they just changed everything they thought it might be and crossed their fingers. Well, it worked! Troy started the main from outside of the fourth row and was moving up quickly. By lap 11, he was in second place behind Lonnie Adamson (driving for Vernon and Carolyn Reitz). Coming out of turn four there is a dip where the smaller inside track joins the larger track and Troy hit that dip just right to break the drive line– so he wasn’t able to finish the race. The Portland track has always been known to be really rough, so nobody’s really too sad to see it being torn out after July 4TH and made into a clay track. That same corner Troy hit was the same one that Rebel Jackson Sr. crashed and was killed in 1994. The crew already had the driveline replaced that night before loading the car for home. Thanks guys!– you’re a terrific crew!

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Regier Wins the Vuky for a Friend

5/20/2000

We would like to thank Dave Oneal for offering (at our begging) to write our newsletters. He does press releases for newspapers, etc. - so he's able to fill our need of getting them out to you in a timely manner. - Thanks, Dave!

WINNING FOR A FRIEND - Winning the Vukovich Classic is always an honor, but this one was extra special. Troy and the Biswell Motorsports team raced this Vukovich with a heavy racing heart as just a few days before the event we lost one of our racing fathers, Fred Gerhardt. Fred was the Einstein of auto racing, in his lifetime he created everything from great cars to performance racing parts. Troy said That I can't put into words what Fred Gerhardt meant to me, I can tell you I am a better person and racer because of knowing him, I will never forget him.@

DOUBLE TIME - Troy drove two divisions at the Vuky, the SRL Supermodified and the USAC Midget series. Troy drove the Midget for car owner Fred James to a hard fought eight place finish, after starting in the eighteenth spot. He then climbed out of the Midget and into STORMY, the Dave and Sharon Biswell Motorsports short track Supermodified. Troy qualified fast time (but drew a 6 for starting position) and he won his heat race from the very back. After starting in the sixth spot behind top drivers like East Coast super star Howard Page, IRL veteran Davey Hamilton, Eric Silsby and Lonnie Adamson the battle was on. Troy was quick to show Adamson, Greenway and Silsby the back view of STORMY. On lap nineteen Troy made an outside pass on Hamilton and Page down the back stretch to take the lead and the win.

FOUR TIME VUKOVICH WINNER - Troy Regier has won the Madera Speedway Vukovich Classic four times. Troy won the Vukovich Classic in 1999 then went on to win the WSMRA overall Championship for the second time in a row. Troy and the Biswell Motorsports team started the 2000 season with a three-peat win at PIR. Troy became the first Open Wheel driver to win the Copper World Classic three in a row. The late Billy Vukovich III, Davey Hamilton and Troy were tied with two.

Next races: 6/2 & 6/3 in Meridian, Idaho, 6/16 in Portland. 

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BRINGING OUR FANS UP TO SPEED....SEASON 1999

05/02/2000

1999 season started with the big win at the Indy 500 of Supermodified racing, the Copper World Classic.

Next stop Madera Speedway he set FAST TIME and drove a NASCAR Grand Am open wheel stock car to a very impressive 27th to 3rd place finish, oh yes did we mention Troy never saw the race car until he climbed in for hot lap’s moment before the race.

The 1999 season success continued with a feature win at the Vukovich Classic at Madera Speedway, Fast time at Wenatchee Speedway , Trophy dash win at Meridian Speedway and Fast time and Trophy Dash win at Rocky Mountain Speedway.

At the 1999 Madera Speed Harvest Classic, Troy set an all time record of three feature wins in a row. Troy finished the 1999 season at IRWINDALE Speedway with another feature event win and rapped up the WSMRA season Championship.

SEASON 2000...

WINS, WINS, WINS, PIR 2-6-00 Troy and the Dave and Sharon Biswell Motorsports team, under the direction of Master Crew Chief Louie Gennuso make history, three Copper World Classic Championships in a row. Troy said "this year was special, under the new SRL rules the team had to make a lot of changes, the car looked the same, but was very different." Troy went on to say " Dave and Sharon supply the team with the best equipment available and my crew, the best in the business know just what to do with it." Troy then said "we win because we are a team, we are all winners, so we win."

Race two Madera Speedway all-star Classic 3-25-00, Troy set fast time, won the heat race, back to front and win the feature event. Race three Stockton 99 speedway 3-26-99, feature event win, however the win was later taken away. Troy won the feature event a lap a head of most of the field, with only a few closing laps being challenge by Rick Venstra. The win was taken away because of a rule infraction, the very tired crew pushed the car into the pit area after the trophy presentation, forgetting that at this track on this day the tech. scales were in the infield. When you are THE FORCE, you can expect that kind of attention to rule detail to happen.

Race three Irwindale Speedway 4-1-00, Troy set a new track record of 15.154, won the heat race and finished a very close second place in the feature event. Troy said "the car was really loose at the end of the race I just could not get him tonight, but I will next time."

Next event the Vukovich Classic Madera Speedway 5-6-00, Troy the winner of this event last year will do his best to do it again. Then on Sunday, 5-7-00, we’ll be at Altamont Raceway - hope to see you there!

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