All About Racing

Mike Romano sits in a familiar seat on March 1st. Mike is back at Andy’s Speed Shop in Johnstown and ready to greet customers. Facebook photo

By Ed & Betty Biittig

Some big news coming to the social media pages this past week……..Mike Romano is back!!!!! Back at Andy’s Speed Shop in Johnstown and ready to greet customers. When we spoke with him on Saturday, he said the question he received most the first day, March 1 was “do you have tires?” And did he have tires, 1000 Hoosier tires were available and many sold the first day. Many people stopped in to chat and the line is still going. And for the veterans, the shop’s namesake, Andy is also in the shop on occasion for a few racing stories.

We are not going to get into how Mike ended up back at Andy’s Speed Shop but he said he’s going to do things a bit differently. He and partner, Eric Miller have hired people so that Mike does not have to do the amount of work he did before. There will be an Andy’s Speed Shop truck at Albany-Saratoga and Lebanon Valley for the upcoming racing season. The long-term plan is also for Mike to teach racer, A. J. Miller, the ropes of running a speed shop business.

While we are still waiting for the weather to welcome racing back to the area tracks, in the meantime, there are a number of upcoming events scheduled that will give racers and fans a preview of things to come for the 2024 season.

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10 the 35th Syracuse Motorsports Expo at the New York Fairgrounds Center of Progress building will welcome fans and drivers from all over the northeast and Canada.

Closer to home are two events scheduled for this weekend March 8-10. The Jill and Lance Sharpe Motorsports team will hold a Lebanon Valley Car Show at Colonie Center Mall.

March 9th Elmo’s Speed & Supply is holding a racing seminar at the Polish Community Center in Albany. Check the Elmo’s Speed Facebook page for details.

Dodge City Speedway in Howes Cave has their 2024 schedule posted on their Facebook page.

BD Motorsports Media LLC held the 2023 awards banquet on February 24 in New York Mills with over 400 in attendance.

The awards honored competitors from Fonda, Utica-Rome, Brookfield Speedways, the Thunder on the Thruway Series and the STSS for the past season.

Fonda and Utica-Rome Modified, 602 Sportsman and Pro Stock competitors were also competing for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championships and Matt Sheppard (modified) was honored as Northeast Champion and Division I National runner-up; Payton Talbot (602 Sportsman), Division II National Champion and A.J. Walters Division III (Pro Stock) Northeast Champion.

In February during Speedweeks in Daytona Beach Florida, Brett Deyo, promoter at Fonda and Utica-Rome was named Promoter of the Year of Northeast Region by Racing Promotion Monthly.

Other news that came to the social media pages this week, Danny Ballard of Grand Gorge has semi-retired; he has sold his Slingshot car and will no longer be a car owner, but he is still willing to drive for someone else.

Until next week please send all news and/or comments to biittig@yahoo.com