A decorated dirt modified star will make the switch to the pavement ranks in 2010, pulling a well-known car out of semi-retirement.

Feature winning dirt driver Bob Henry, Jr. has come to an agreement with J.J. Andrews to be the full time driver of the Hedger Chassis #93 small block super in ‘010. The car will be maintained and fielded by Henry, Bob Henry Sr., and their crew. Andrews will still be the owner of the car, and will be on the crew at the speedway on race nights.

Henry will still compete in several small block modified races in his car, but on Saturday nights, Oswego Speedway will be the priority.

Okay - enough third person. That Andrews guy is ME, so I’ll stop calling me “Andrews”. I’m pretty excited about this season. Although I just met Bob Sr. and Bob Jr. a few days ago, they come with some pretty high recommendations.

“Bobby Henry is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the head”, said rookie supermodified driver Dave Gruel, who is longtime friends with Henry, from their quarter midget days. “Every cell in Bob Henry’s body has it’s own beard. He once donated ten liters of his own blood. After that, he won the Tour de France on a pogo stick.” Pretty high praise, to say the least.

Speedway announcer Joe Marotta, another longtime friend of the Henrys told me that “Bob Henry’s tears could cure cancer. Too bad he’s never cried. In order to survive a nuclear attack, you must remember to stop, drop, and be Bob Henry. He’s so talented, he can speak Braille”.

I followed Bob’s career on the dirt modified circuit, but never met him until a week ago. A lunch conversation with speedway announcer Roy Sova is what started the ball rolling, when Roy and I got together to discuss ideas to add to the small block super fields. Roy suggested that Bob Henry Jr. would like to drive a car at Oswego, and the groundwork was down.

Since my plan was to not race on a regular basis in 2010, it would have been a shame to see the car sit all season, especially when it looked like car counts were going to be down. Bob is pretty enthusiastic, and I’ll enjoy working with him and seeing my car on the track.

I’ll of course still be crewing for Barry Kingsley, as well, and we’ll all park together and be teammates. Bob and Barry haven’t met yet, but I’m sure they’ll be “BFF’s” in no time.

And also importantly, a key part of the deal for me is that I retain the rights to drive the car in the 2010 Classic, which is the most important race of the season for me. I’m in the top five all time points for the limited classic, and I would still like to improve on my finish of 3rd in the 2009 Classic. (I’ve finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the Classic, but would love to add that win to my resume!)

This should be a fun season!

That’s right - not only will Snyder Racing field a second car for a rookie driver this year, but they also have a new car in the works.

First of all. A deal has been cut for a first time supermodified driver to drive (on a rent -to- own basis) the Hawk Chassis - which was modified before the 2009 season by Xtreme Chassis builder Paul Colloca. Shaun Gosselin, who has driven many different types of racecars, including Ford Focus midgets, will be behind the wheel of the #26 supermodified. Snyder Racing, with the help of Gosselin’s crew, will maintain the car at the Snyder Racing shop. It will probably be a weekly deal, if the team is able to get on the franchise plan, according to Snyder. “They’ll have the use of all of our equipment, spares, etc.”, said Snyder.

Part two - the new car. A new Xtreme Chassis will be - or has been - ordered for the 2010 season. Of course the proceeds of the sale of their current car will go toward the new 2010 Xtreme car. Although it’s a pretty short time frame for Colloca to build a new car by May 1st, since he’s already in the process of building a car for Andy Noto, Snyder is confident that the car can be done in time. But what if it’s not? I asked Tim. “I can find a car. We’ll be there. But we plan to rent the track the week before opener for the new car”.

Note -(January 15th) I just got a text message from Andy Noto, with a picture of the new COMPLETED Xtreme frame. While it’s not the whole car that’s done, the frame is complete as of today, according to Andy. Looks pretty sweet. Go Andy! And keep up the good work, Paulie - you’ve got at least one more car to finish!

#50 Tim Barbeau car - driven to the championship last year by now supermodified driver Dave Gruel:

Tim’s not driving his own car again this year. Tim’s racing this year, but not in his own car. He’s sticking in the Steve Abt #58 car that he drove to a 6th place in points last year. The former Larry Muroski FFB Chassis is a solid car, and Barbeau will be fast in it once again, you can be assured.

Then who IS driving the #50 Barbeau Racing machine? This deal is so fresh that I had to beg Tim to release the information. Which he just did to me not more than thirty minutes ago, when the deal was finalized.

Chris Proud will be the new, full-time driver of the Barbeau Racing #50 that won the championship last year. Proud will maintain and field the car, for a full-time run at the championship in 2010. “He’ll maintain the car exactly the way I would maintain it - or even better”, said Barbeau. Proud called Barbeau about the ride as soon as it was announced that Gruel was moving up to the supermodified ranks. Barbeau had several inquiries about the ride. He had previously asked Hall of Famer Mark Regan to drive the car, but Regan passed on the opportunity. “He’s definitely capable of winning”, Barbeau said of Proud.

“This is different for me. I’m not used to being just the driver - not the owner”, said Proud. “Now I’m working on some sponsorship, I’ve got to get a trailer…” Proud is definitely enthused about the opportunity, and plans to make the most of it.

#60 Ray Pike car - formerly driven by Russ Brown:

Ray Pike debuted a brand new Ray Hedger Chassis in 2009, which was driven by Russ Brown and maintained by Ray Hedger. Brown had an amazing season, finishing in the top three every week except one, and finished a solid 2nd place in points. But Brown wasn’t happy with that, because they never won a race all season, and vowed, (again), to never race at Oswego Speedway again in a car without a roof. (He acknowledges that he would compete in a modified at the speedway at some point.) After maybe the most controversial season ever, filled with drama and angry sound bites, Pike was left without a driver.

“We’re going to have some fun this year - not like last year”, said Pike. “I’m very excited”, said Pike about his new driver. Stan Gates was a first time winner in 2009, and has quietly earned the respect of everyone in the pits as a solid, controversy-free pilot. Gates will park his own Ford-powered machine in 2010, and be the full-time driver of the Pike Bros. Racing #60.

“I’m honored to park my car and drive for Ray”, Gates said. “I think it’ll be really nice having new tires, and more help at the track, and not having to run used stuff all the time“. Stan’s car will serve as a backup, and he’ll compete in some races at other tracks, if any are scheduled, with his car. The Pike Racing machine will be maintained at Pike’s shop in Norwich, N.Y. In Gates’ spare time this year, he will be able to help his friend and teammate George Knight with his own car.

All last year, in addition to fielding the car and working full time, Pike has been fighting cancer. A lot of nights you could tell that he was under the weather. But lately he’s been feeling a lot better. “I’ve been getting (chemotherapy) treatments every 28 days. Doing well. Doctors are happy. I’m feeling GREAT now”, added Pike. A hospital stay in December for pneumonia and H1N1 hasn’t dampened his spirits.

So back to the Ford subject. I asked Stan if, all things considered, would he have taken the amazing ride, if it wasn‘t powered by a Ford engine? “I wouldn’t drive it if it was a Chevy. I think my car was pretty fast toward the end of the year last year”, Stan deadpanned.

New driver for the Double Deuce Racing Super!

0n December 29th, Double Deuce Racing announced on their website that multiple feature winner Bobby Magner would not return as the driver in 2010. While his replacement wasn’t announced at that time, talks were under way for the new pilot.

They wasted no time closing the deal to start the new year, when they hired small block supermodified star DAVE GRUEL to wheel the coveted 22 for 2010. Gruel comes off an amazing 2009 season that saw him win the championship and an amazing five Oswego features in the Tim Barbeau #50.

Gruel brings a ton of talent and knowledge to his promotion, and will be a factor for wins - and maybe a championship - in 2010. “They told me they don’t want a learning curve, and I think I can do it”, said Gruel about his conversations with team owners Bill Samuels and Bob Hoefer.

It should be an exciting year!