The 4th Turn
~ By Tom Boggie

My daughter always wonders why I have old notebooks full of race results dating back to God knows when.

Here’s why.

It was brought to my attention recently that fans were looking for results from the USNA series in 2000. I just happen to have them, because I was there.

I covered four of the eight races in the United Speedways of North America series, which was created by David Panasci as an alternative to the Super DIRT Series. The USNA series, dubbed “Racing the way it ought to be” was designed to run 200-lap races for big block modifieds, with no support classes, for a big purse. The tour stops were day-long affairs, with meet-and-greets, a cookout for drivers (more on that in a minute) and racing.

The first race was held at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse on May 21, 2000. Dave Camara was the winner, and received $30,000. The race was broadcast live on a Syracuse radio station, and I was part of the crew. If I remember correctly, Paul Szmal was the head of the broadcast team, and we had a Motor Racing Network-style approach, with a reporter in each turn (I was in turn 3, watching cars come down the backstretch). Up until that time, I had also been working with Doug Logan, Andy Fusco and producer Terry Rumsey on “This Week on DIRT,” doing a segment called “Here’s The Deal.” Needless to say, when DIRT president Glenn Donnelly heard me doing the USNA race, the stint with “This Week on DIRT” was over.

The only drawback with the Syracuse race was the attendance – Area Auto Racing News reported the next week that the paid attendance was less than 200. Camara wasn’t complaining. He still got the $30,000. But it put Panasci in a big hole.

The race at Devil’s Bowl was memorable, with Jack Johnson, driving for Bryan Goewey, putting on a heck of a show with Billy Decker and Camara.

The highlight for me was a trip to the supermarket (I think it was a Price Chopper). Sharon Richards, who was handling the cookout for the drivers, quickly realized that she didn’t have enough salad, so she handed me a wad of cash and told me to go down the road and buy as much as I could.

I walked into the store, went to the deli counter and told the friendly-looking girl behind the counter that I wanted to buy all of the macaroni and potato salad that she had. She gave me a strange look and said, “Then I won’t have any left.”

I answered, “Isn’t that the idea, to sell what you have?” She then brought out her manager. At that time, markets didn’t make their own salads – they usually came in five-gallon buckets. I walked out of the store with what was left in one deli tray, plus two five-gallon buckets (one of potato and one of macaroni) and headed back to the track.

The USNA series lasted for eight races, with what proved to be the final event run at Syracuse on Sept. 3. Brett Hearn won the race, but was disqualified when he came up light on the scales. That gave the win to Jumpin’ Jack (his third win of the series), and he also wound up winning the series championship.

In the beginning, it had been advertised that the point fund winner would get $100,000, but Johnson received a fraction of that. The final two races – a rained out show at Mercer and what was supposed to be the season finale at Ransomville, were canceled, and the USNA was never heard of again.

Here are the top 10 finishers from each USNA race. Remember where you got it from.

May 21, Syracuse – 1, Dave Camara; 2, Trombley; 3, Horton; 4, Kell; 5, Laureno; 6, Laubach; 7, Eurich; 8, Marshall; 9, J. Hoffman; 10, Cottrell.

June 10, Bridgeport – 1, Brett Hearn; 2, Horton; 3, Laureno; 4, Mills; 5, Von Dohren; 6, Elliott; 7, J. Johnson; 8, Gibbs; 9, Camara; 10, Heotzler.

June 17, Devil’s Bowl – 1, Jack Johnson; 2, Decker; 3, Camara; 4, Hearn; 5, Cozze; 6, Heotzler; 7, Savoie; 8, Trombley; 9, Mills; 10, Von Dohren.

July 8, Albany-Saratoga – 1, Billy Decker; 2, J. Johnson; 3, Hearn; 4, Von Dohren; 5, Bottcher;. 6, Camara; 7, Horton; 8, Cozze; 9, Christman; 10 Trombley.

July 15, Mercer – Feature rained out.

July 22, Susquehanna – 1, Jack Johnson; 2, Horton; 3, Bottcher; 4, Mills; 5, Camara; 6, Von Dorhen; 7, Laureno; 8, Hearn; 9 Schultz; 10, Weaver.

July 23, Bridgeport – 1, Brett Hearn; 2, D. Hoffman; 3, Decker; 4, Camara; 5, Mills; 6, Howard; 7, Elliott; 8, Horton; 9, Tobias; 10, Von Dohren.

Aug. 12, Williams Grove – 1, Billy Decker; 2, Horton; 3 Hearn; 4 Camara; 5, J. Johnson; 6, Trombley; 7, Bottcher; 8, Heotzler; 9, Cozze; 10, D. Hoffman.

Sept. 3, Syracuse – 1, Jack Johnson; 2, Decker; 3. Von Dohren; 4, Eurich; 5, Bottcher; 6, Dave Blaney; 7, Trombley; 8, Smoker; 9, Camara; 10, Horton.

Final points – Jack Johnson 1,640; Camara 1,560; Horton 1,500; Hearn 1,465; Decker 1,400; Von Dohren 1,340; Mills 1,315; Lauren 1,215; Bottcher 1,210; Trombley 1,195.