“Moving Wall rolls into East Liverpool - Salem News Online” plus 4 more

Moving Wall rolls into East Liverpool - Salem News Online
Bike makers helped to inspire auto industry - Herald-Dispatch
Indianapolis Motor Speedway test summary - Motorsport.com
6th Gear Automotive the New Agent for SANYCO - Earthtimes
Glassboro to host 5th Cruise Nite - Bridgeton News

Moving Wall rolls into East Liverpool - Salem News Online

Posted: 03 Sep 2009 09:56 PM PDT

EAST LIVERPOOL - They came from a variety of towns by a variety of conveyances, but their reason for coming was one and the same: To honor the vets.

As early as 7:30 a.m., the roar of motorcycles could be heard traveling toward Calcutta as bikers gathered to escort the Moving Wall to its resting place in Thompson Park.

About 100 riders, many members of the Rolling Thunder veterans' group, solemnly led the trailer hauling the packed-up pieces of the memorial to the park, where it was assembled almost reverently by a group of assorted volunteers.

Dressed in their leather chaps and vests to ward off the early morning chill, the riders included city Councilmen Bink Applegate and James Tennant and city firefighter Jeff Southall.

As the first piece was carried to the apex, onlookers stood quietly, only the clicking of scores of cameras to be heard as history was recorded again in the river city.

This was the second visit to the city for the memorial, which attracted tens of thousands of visitors when it reposed in the park during the Memorial Day weekend in 1994, glistening black panels proudly bearing its stark message for all to see.

Again this time, the community stepped up to the cause, headed by local veteran Ron Simmons, donating money and their time to bring the memorial back to town, prepare a place for it and set it up.

"It's all about our veterans," Mayor Jim Swoger said, as he watched the work progress, each shining black panel carried by two volunteers to its resting place.

"It's an honorable thing, and that's what it's going to be the whole time it's here," Swoger said.

He gave credit to Simmons for getting the ball rolling, saying, "This didn't just start this week; it started last year. The time he put into this was incredible. He was the driving force, but something of this magnitude can't be done alone. He contacted the veterans' groups, and every one of them jumped on board."

Simmons, who serves as president of the Veterans City Council, stood back for a moment, surveying the culmination of months of work, saying simply, "Whew. It's coming together like we hoped it would."

Saying he is "just thankful to see it back in the community," Simmons said the community had "come through."

Helping with Thursday's assembling of the wall was Michigan resident John Devitt, one of the founders of the memorial and a Vietnam veteran.

Saying he has worked the past 25 years bringing the wall to various communities, Devitt said it gets harder every year but only because he's older.

Standing quietly under a shade tree was Vietnam veteran Bob Dunn of East Palestine, who witnessed the death of three men whose names grace the wall.

"I have three shipmates on that (first panel). Two were killed instantly and one died later. I was standing about 20 feet away from them when it happened," Dunn said.

Their ship, the USS Goldsborough, took on shore battery, or gunfire from the shoreline.

Amy Fike brought her 4-year-old daughter, Layney, to witness history but also to honor her dad.

"I wanted to see it. My dad used to ride but he passed away two years ago. He'd have been here if he could," Fike said.

Wellsville resident Jim Redmond, a one-year member of Rolling Thunder, said, "I'm just here for the vets. I'm a vet; my brother was a vet."

Thursday's was the fourth escort Redmond has ridden on for the wall, saying one of those consisted of a line of motorcycles 8.5 miles long.

But it was the young volunteers, a group of teen-agers from East Liverpool High School, that drew the interest of many veterans, happy to work alongside a generation who know of Vietnam only from history books.

The students, members of the Potters News Network, construction class and automotive class, scurried back and forth with framing for the wall and also taking video.

Teacher Jason Croxall said the PNN students were documenting the wall's assembly so it can be turned into a commemorative tape for the school and the community.

Several hours later, the memorial was in place and people had already begun to visit. It will remain in place through Tuesday when volunteers will again disassemble it for its move to New York.

jgilbert@mojonews.com

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Bike makers helped to inspire auto industry - Herald-Dispatch

Posted: 03 Sep 2009 08:58 PM PDT

It was not the horse and buggy, locomotive or the steamboat that inspired the growth of the automotive industry. It was the bicycle and men who saw the worth of fast personal transportation.

By the 1880's bicycles were everywhere. Initially they had been high wheel type with a large front wheel and small rear wheel. These early contraptions did not take stops very well. Many riders were being tossed off the seats and getting hurt. Bicycles were still in their infancy. Gearing and stopping were still advancing.

Greatest among bicycles makers was Albert Pope. In 1879, he organized the Pope Manufacturing Company and centered production initially in Hartford, Conn. He was recognized as founder of the industry.

Bicycles gave Americans freedom from the horse. A bike was a quick and nimble means of transportation. It took more time to hitch a horse to a wagon. A bike could also swerve, turn and stop much faster.

A bike had little space for cargo, however bicycles took Americans where horse or buggy could not fit. The bike was not intended as a long distance means of transport.

Henry Ford built his first automobile in 1896, called the Quadricycle. It followed the bicycle, having four bicycle tires. With a gasoline engine it was far superior to the bike concept in power and long distance capability. His car being derived from a bicycle made it sound modern in the 1890's.

Studebaker, a carriage maker paid less attention to the bicycles and transporting people. The White Company made steam engines and therefore made cars powered by steam.

Spokes were first made for the wire wheels of bicycles and motorcycles, then automobiles. When the safety bicycle of equal size wheels was developed more than 300 factories fed the demand for them.

The bike boom resulted in a development of motels, eateries and other support business. The automobile took that to a much higher plane before World War I. If the bicycle had not been successful, advances in automobile development would have taken a much slower speed.

Jay O'Dell is a senior master judge and exhibitor of antique show cars. Suggestions for column content or other inquiries can be sent to him at P.O. Box 469, Lavalette, WV 25535.

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway test summary - Motorsport.com

Posted: 03 Sep 2009 03:22 PM PDT

GRAND-AM SPORTS CARS BRING NEW SIGHTS, SOUNDS TO INDY SEPT. 3

INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009 -- Only four days after playing host to the world's top motorcycle racers in the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the site Sept. 3 of the first Grand-Am Rolex Series-sanctioned test in track history.

Five Daytona Prototype and four GT cars participated in the test on the IMS road course. The cars used the 13-turn, 2.534-mile Formula One road course for the two-hour morning session. The drivers navigated the 16-turn, 2.621-mile MotoGP layout for the first 15 minutes of the afternoon session before switching back to the Formula One layout for the remaining one hour and 45 minutes. In both sessions, the cars were traveling clockwise, the opposite direction of the oval events.

The teams that participated in the test:

*Daytona Protoype: No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley with drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas; No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley with drivers Michael Valiante, John Pew and Michael Shank; No. 10 SunTrust Racing Ford Dallara with Wayne Taylor and Ricky Taylor; No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche Coyote with Buddy Rice, Ed Carpenter and Jonathan Klein; and No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley with Jon Fogarty and Bob Stallings.

*GT class: No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports with drivers Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis; No. 66 TRG Porsche GT3 with Spencer Pumpelly and Kevin Buckler; No. 70 Speedsource Mazda RX-8 with Sylvain Tremblay and Nick Ham; and No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3 with Dirk Werner and Leh Keen.

The No. 70 Mazda is a history-making addition to the test, as it marks the first time a car with a rotary engine has tested at IMS.

Rice, Pruett and Carpenter all have extensive experience on the iconic IMS 2.5-mile oval, with Rice winning the 2004 Indianapolis 500. He also sat on the pole for the "500," that year and has a total of five starts.

"I'm not going to lie, coming through (oval) Turn 1, backwards, didn't feel normal at all," Rice said. "It's great to come back here; it's a beautiful day and it's great for Grand-Am. It's a great course, the track's really wide. To be able to come here and run on the F1 course -- obviously nobody thought anything other than F1 cars would run here -- we have five DP's and three GT's, I think it's good."

Pruett competed in the Indianapolis 500 four times, earning a 10th-place finish his rookie year in 1989 and was named co-Rookie of the Year; he also has two Brickyard 400 starts and finished 10th his rookie year in that NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, in 2000.

Pruett said the road course suits the Grand-Am Rolex Series cars well, and just appreciates the opportunity to drive a sports car at "The Racing Capital of the World."

"The speed -- we were just doing about 190 (mph), so that itself is pretty awesome," Pruett said. "The curbs need to be taller; we'll be tempted to go over the top of the curbs onto the grass. Other than that, the layout is pretty good. I'm pleased with the flow and the speed.

"Indianapolis is the epitome of motorsports. It's the center of everything that happens, and I'm proud to be back."

While the test is the first at IMS sanctioned by Grand-Am, it's not the first time a Daytona Prototype has turned laps on the IMS road course. IMS Board of Directors member Tony George, along with Carpenter and Stephan Gregoire, turned laps in a private test with Vision Racing prior to the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January 2007.

Earlier sports car tests -- on the IMS oval -- also have contributed to Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 100-year history as an automotive proving ground.

In fall 1957, several months after 10 American open-wheel drivers competed in the Monza 500 in Italy, Pat O'Connor drove a D-type Jaguar owned by Indianapolis-based team owner Jack Ensley on the IMS oval in a feasibility test.

In 1965, Jim Hall, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winning-car owner, drove his Chaparral Can-Am car at IMS in a private test. The car featured an automatic transmission and Chevrolet engine, and Hall ran the car both clockwise and counter-clockwise on the oval to get a feel for turning left and right. Hall's "500" wins came in 1978 with driver Al Unser and 1980 with Johnny Rutherford.

***

IMS tickets: Established in 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has long prevailed as an icon of motorsports excellence. Beginning in 2009, the Speedway celebrates its Centennial Era, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the facility in 2009 and the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race in 2011.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time. Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.

-credit: ims

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6th Gear Automotive the New Agent for SANYCO - Earthtimes

Posted: 03 Sep 2009 12:13 AM PDT

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Glassboro to host 5th Cruise Nite - Bridgeton News

Posted: 02 Sep 2009 11:44 PM PDT

GLASSBORO The borough is hosting its 5th Annual Cruise Nite Car Show on Friday.

Sponsored by Tag's Automotive, National Car Sales and Elite Automotive Accessories, the show will run from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Registration is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in the municipal parking lot off Main Street. Trophies will be announced around 8:30 p.m.. The cruise route will start at 9 p.m.. and will be coordinated by Glassboro's Police Department.

Last year more than 150 antique cars, hot rods and motorcycles participated in the event and 10 trophies were awarded. This year there will be 19 trophies awarded and all registrants will receive a gift courtesy of South Jersey Gas. Local food vendors will be on hand to provide refreshments. There will also be face painting, music and more.

Vehicle registration for the show is $10. Vendor registration is $20 and registration for food vendors is $75. Admission to the event is free.

For more information about Glassboro's 4th Annual Cruise Nite and Car Show, contact (856) 881-0500.