The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 22

if uL II 1 4iiMwwiMr i i RipAY-WLYB201jJS SPEEDWAY: Opinions vaiybnrepayin i here' Mxwpferf jft worn but tbaft itfunlt separates 1 and i iJCYUf BUSCH WINS gT Kto BUsch startad last buf 5' flnlshadfhst on Thursday nlgfit "t-Nin ths Csmplng Wbrld Thick Sartos UNOH 225 at Kmtucfcy? Busch was ordarad to tna rasr jEtof tha flaid for musing introductions but ha hadHttte teoUbtoptcWng his Way through traffic PafkarKJlgarman grawVWhita-dwdard finish' towjn by JJsaon' ttwas of makefi itliml fast op Re i Wforreq ajpreed that tome driven like they ag if we just repaved what we have novk it would really create a challenge as it to the quality of the racing it But going bade In with die vari-able bulking will really help because you have the issues we hadin the first couple of years we were open when we ready had a one-groove -Kansas Speedway is expected to start having Grand-Am races in FROM II June 44 but the 2012 date probably will be either April 28-29 or May 54 dates formerly hdd by fellow International Speedway Carp tracks at Richmond and Dar Kngfrm SjC The lifespan for a trade surface is usually about 20 years but Whnen said recent hanh winters made repaving after just 11 years a must had the worst weather in the country as it relates to asphalt Wtrren said 1A11 you have to do is look around at the highways and streets in our city to understand that Ifs even worse when got a high-performance asphalt track that doesn't have any opportunity in the winter for cars or anything to warm it up" Warren said the reconfiguration of the trade unhiding variable banking will create better side-by-side racing The current comers at Kansas are a flat 15 degrees but dew track will start at 18 degrees and increase up to 20 degrees in the turns In addition to the turns the front stretch back stretch and pit road will all be reconstructed That will allow the cars to run different lines around the track at different degrees of banking which increases better side-by-side Whrren said might have one lane thafs 18 de- grees and one lade thafs 185 So the two cars could run next to each other even though One is running higher and therefore a furthef distance around the tnefeifSalso got more bank and can carry more Iowa Speedway which is host to NASCAR Nationwide and Camping Wbrid Thicks events as well as IZOD IndyCarevent and Homestead in Miami site of the final NASCAR race of the season have rimilar hanking want to make it more of what we've seen at Homestead at what seen at die progressive-banked tracks which I agree with" Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch said of repaving Kamm Speedway after winning the pole at the June race got to keep it within reason though to make sure the track has die right amount of banking if IndyCar ever wants to come back here That way not just tailoring it to the big heavy stock 2013 as part of a promise International Speedway Corp made to die it was SUBMITTED PHOTO Paul Corawcrk catfish might havt bn handful but a burden state of Kansas when awarded die Hollywood which will open next spring ISC Design and Development Catch of the week Other driven said the track has never been better: pave trucks series champion Tbdd Bodine said after hfethud-place finish in June am they talking about paving it? When it was first built we couldn't run wide open and now even in the trucks we're out there sliding around and driving the heck out of it every lap Thafs why see you great racing will oversee the repaving and road course projects Wanen declined to reveal the coat of the other than to say i It cost about $20 millionto i Daytona International a 2-mile track last year Whsn Paul Conrad of Kansas CRy want to Hit docks at Late Jacomo rscsnti hs piannsd to ban out Mi bo from a rahstonn tha nkdit bsfbra and msybt do a ttds ikhfeig toms out nsJtod In ont of Ns moat mams- 1I gLJauM kJu uu raM nm9 npi imti Whan ha tossad a Santo plastic worn Into tha watat ha Just Might and thought ha was snogged But whan tha ha startad semaming off tharaaChagotaadtad Ha fought tha fhh tor almost a hati-hour baton ha flnaly got Ms catch-a slant IMhsad catfbh in tha naL Ha dkM haw a seals but olhan at tha dock estimated tha flsh at 40 to 45 pounds "At any rata it was th Nggastfeti awr caught and the best fbh story haw for a long timer Cormad said LAKESIDE: Season had shown promise riesdriver Jennifer Jo Cobb of Kansas City Kan In the first 24 feature races the six nights of racing there were 22 winners A Wsrid of Outlaws event packed die facility in June Metro Sports had come cm board to televise the Rriday night i trade races live giving the Looking ducky Duck hunters got some encouraging nsws this week when the US Fhh and WNdWe Servica announced its annual duck breeding population estimates Because of Improwd habitat conditions in Canada and the north-central Unltad States duck numbers am at miWon up 11 percent from last year and 55 percent above the tong-term average Estimated mallard numbers were 9J million a 9-percent increase from last year Other species showing impressive Increases from last year were blue winged teal (up 41 percent) and northern pintail (up 26 percent) DAVID EUUTT I THE KANSAS CITY STAR Early season hunting dates calling for tha rtvar to ba high ail summer wtilch maans then's nowtwra for tha watar to go" track ownar Marc Olsofi says I' more exposure "Lakeside Speedway is the best and biggest in stature of any weekly racetrack withia a 200-mile radius because of where it is the crowds they draw and the star power of the tool said Kirk Elliott of which covers area race The local driven certainly perform fbr the money The winners of feature races pocket about $600 which barely coven their fuel and tire costs really loo) forward to sum-men to nee and not getting any said Karrick 48 plan their summer around the racing Ifs like you get to see your racing family WeYe lost My wife likes the feet we can go somewhere on Friday night My youngest daughter is bumming asldng the water going down? the water going down? 13 yean old Thafs her life" A week ago Karrick raced another driver's backup ox at a track in Humboldt Kan Tbm Charles of Bonner Springs competed in an event ft Knoxville Iowa earlier this week Missouri hunters wH gat thalr tint shot at those duds Sept 10-25 whan tha teal season Is hald Other earty migratory-bird season dates are: dows and rails Sept VNovi 9 snipe Sept VDec 16 and woodcock Oct 15-Nov 28 k': Marc Olson said "but will fans travel feat 70 miles? WiU the competitors travel? Theret no place III Rolls of tickets fix races that will not be run are stacked on shelves in Olson's office Coca-Cola removed its products from the concession stands cm Wxlnesday Arc- Kansas baRflsh FROMM ifs hard to drag sponsors' who want to sponsor your car to a track two hours Olson estimate how much money the flood will end up costing him in lost revenue not to mention repairs especially if die entire season is washed out He and his wife Page are working die phones and going online trying to obtain disaster-relief loans President Barack Obama has declared Leavenworth Atchison Doniphan and Wyandotte counties to be disaster areas but the disaster relief is granted county by county and Wyandotte has yet to receive funding because not that many businesses have been affected Page Olson said next step is to get hold of Congressman (Kevin) Yoder and start putting some pressure on him so we can get disaster-relief loans through die SBA and apply loss-of-use funds because we have a said Page Olson who referred to herself not only as the co-owner but its The loss-of-use funds she said would help the bills normally be able to pay and debt you normally would service when Ill This isn't the first time lhenA nestled in a low-lying area 4 miles north of Kansas Speedway off Interstate 435 has been hit by flooding A photo of the flood of July 1993 in the Lakeside Speedway kitchen area shows water covering the track and grandstands and nearly reaching the roof of die main building 93 they called that the 100-year Marc Olson said are we are 18 years later Ifs not as bad as 93 which we're very fortunate but it rained again heavy in Iowa and Nebraska last weekend so that affects us calling fix the river to be high all summer which means there's nowhere fix the water to go-" Technically the breach of the levee closest to the track Na 1 has been termed spillover" by the Army Corps of Engineers The dam farthest downstream Gavins Punt in Yankton The Kansas WRdM rtrks and Tourism Commission is considering a mow that would proNb-it tha transportation of some types of bait from one body of water to another Under the proposal only green sunflsh bkia-gWs and biadr and yellow buHieads couM be caught in one body of watar and takan to another However even those spades would not be able to be transported from waters with kwashre spades Other species of bakfisit such as sha could be used in the waters where they were caught but could not be transported elsewhere The mow is an attempt to stop the spread of kiwsiw species such as Asian carp and sebta mussels The topic wik be discussed at a future meeting and may be voted on in October racing plans have changed'' Chari Charles said SIX is ideang IfftOOO dubic feet -of water per second because of die record rainfall -from earlier in the year coupled with melting snow said Josh Marx disaster program manager fbr the Corps in Kansas City Tbo much water too little levee" Man said "And if you get any precipitation on top of that it win continue We feel like going to have water there undTthe middle of August or well into August" TalnwAi originated in 1955 at 95th Street and Leavenworth Road and moved to its current site after the 1988 season when The Wbod-lands took Over the property The greyhound and hone track was shut in 2008 Some drivers have wondered whether Olson could move his show to the higher ground of The Woodlands property but he said the facility was not set up fbr cars During the 1993 flood when Lakeside was an asphalt track its races were moved to 1-70 Speedway in Odessa Mol which now stands empty But Lakeside converted to dirt in 2000 so there's no alternative in the metro for dirt racing The closest Friday-night trad: is LA Speedway in Lament Mo near Sedalia 1-35 Speedway a Saturday-night dirt track in Winston Mol is about an hour and a half from Kansas City and could accommodate a Friday-night show but ifs a smaller facility than Lakeside Missouri deer season dates know who's going to end up where Spine guys may take a break and retool -everything Some guys might just talm the family and go on Marc Olson said the beat-case scenario would be if the track could reopen in time fix the OcL 84 NASCAR weekend at Kansas Speedway when Sprint Cup driven like Bowyer and Tbny Stewart compete with die locals on and the Tbm Karrick erously hauled off the frozen sittfaw in lakeside's concession stand and will store it fix free This changes the flood of 1993 ass now president of die Central Auto Racing Boosters an organization that supports area racing affects the fens concessionaires the racers the pit crews the officials But the one thing I have discovered is there is a Lakeside racing community and a racing family within the Kansas City area Since die flood occurred I have had calls from drivers pit crews fire crews and fans asking What can they do? Those phone calls affect me and I realize bow this track means to our racing compninity Unfortunately there anything anybody can do until the water The racing had never been better this year at 'Lakeside die track that produced NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer of Emporia KatL and Nationwide Se- Missouri deer hunters kt time to mark your calendars The Department of Conservation has announced cjgtes far the 201K2012 season The archery season wM bo Sept 15-Nok 11 and Nov 23-Jan 15 For the firearms season the youth portions wM be Nok 5-6 and Jan 7-Bl The urban tone wH be open Oct 7-10 the statewide regular season wN be Nov 12-22 the antiartess season wM be Nov 23-Dec 4 and the muzdetoader season wi be Dec 17-27 I Brent razee bfraaaeratestarxom Race in honAr of Tim ihdkL father is 1 Karridfs will be Olson promised I don't know at this time But it will be lb reach Randy Covttz cal 816-234-4796 or sand ama to rcovk2kcstarcoin Go to KansasCkyxom for the fishing report solunar tables and other outdoor news MELLINGER: Uniform decision makes Royals look cheap values icule but somehow amazingly here we are again FROMM One though goes beyond baseball and to a franchise thk should be will be home this weekend left to hear Royak marketing director Mike Bucek say just wanted to try something different and put the focus more on Buck" The museum is going through some well-documented financM struggles and needs all die funding it can get Now it needs even more The Royals still have time to do the right thing and cut the museum a cheat to tauhe up fix the difference but a misguided tribute this weekend shows an ttsimply People The Royals aren't canceling die tribute but neutering it past die point of significance This is the birthplace of the Negro Leagues home afme museum and what the Royals are doing this weekend is less than what several other dubs do every including die Padres and San Diego never -even had a Negro Leagues team Those replica (inifixms advertised a notice uniforms so if the The Buck Legacy Seat is brilliant a fitting tribute the coolest honor fix good deeds in this town and the Royals deserve credit fix coining up with it Nothing happens in a vacuum so ifs worth pointing out that the plans fix this weekend were modem a time the museum had a void of leadership before current president Bob Kendrick took over Royals wanted to put the focus more on Buck they could've at least put a I fen base instead of showing itself to be some wicked combination of oblivious and penny-pinching This is the franchise that tried out a professional softbaU pitcher and batted the first player of the game out of order but one of the enduring indictments of the bush-league way the Royals operated fix most of die 1990s and first part of die 2000s is that they once canceled a Negro Leagues tribute because die uniforms cost too much patch on die sleeves been wearing those all Buek would've turned worthy cause that holds medal meaning in this town and geneTated do 1 to honor a beloved 1 man tnd help a struggling local non-profit Instead dwyTe showing themselves to be cheap put of touch sad least in one not all that far removed from the darkest days in franchise 100 this year By swing they want to highlight Buck and then ditching the uniform the Royals expose themselves as ignorant about die man theyYe honoring If you knew Buck you know he would up to S20UDOO that became an important part of the Negro Leagues Base-baO Museum'll budget Fluis also used to get replica Monaichs hat the ones you see around town aD die time But die museum is the little guy here the one in need ofhelp and unable to make demands The Royals "are the major local institution the ones with the means snd responsibility tq help the community and shouldYe been better about keeping that in mind want the players in uniform fix the tnedaytobeontheeroua: focus of the day to be oq die group David Glass has since changed his ways The Royals have handed out big free-aarnt contracts They've set records fix spending on amateur Instead this is one more opportunity ickfen fix especially black i history' i 4 reach Sam MsMngo sand a-mal to imcttlngMgtestirxomorlbiow1 twRtwxonvYwBingai: For previous column go to Kara artRycom if V'V I Instead this weekend the Royals wiD be giving out souvenir pennants They used to invite fixmer player who enjoyed the reunion and a few dollars fix autograph Those players If hing the Royals using this excuse drives a pre-existing and petty 1 usy that same other former Negro Leaguers carry toward Buck talent and are die bus of the industry fix a stacked £am systen earning whom the Royals particularly need to to draw conclusions about afianchiseY priorities and praise from those who used to ri 3 1 -1 --S f- ri- i A.