Good Times

 The same weather that caused the postponement of the Southern All Stars race at Senoia Raceway last Saturday put a damper on our Inman Antique Truck Show and Kickin’ COVID Crank-Up.

 We went ahead with our show last Saturday, hoping to get the event in before the expected rains arrived, but we were off by a few hours.

 But, Saturday night, as I reflected on the events of the day, most of my thoughts were positive ones. What our show lacked in volume was more than made up by the great fellowship enjoyed by those that were here.

  The days leading up to the show were fun, as a group of volunteers pulled together to make the necessary preparations. And the visits on Saturday with friends new and old who share a passion for things mechanical were priceless.

 It was especially nice for the racers in the group to get to visit with two fellow members of the racing community – Steve “Duze” Dzulniewski and John Denniston – who drove their vintage wreckers down from Concord, N.C., for the day.

 Both of them grew up around the short tracks of New England and enjoy the old iron as much as they do fast cars.

 In addition to his racing resume, which includes work as a crewman in NASCAR and a crew chief in the old Hooters Pro Cup Series, Duze is a talented musician and already has agreed to bring his saxophone and perform the National Anthem for Inman Farm Heritage Days in September.

 Denniston is a former driver who also likes to tow wrecked cars from the track on race nights.

 Although some who visited with Duze and Denniston at our show weren’t necessarily race fans, they enjoyed hearing their stories, from racing and other aspects of life.

 There’s a lesson there for promoters, whether they’re putting on old truck or tractor shows or stock car races.

 One of the keys to a successful event is creating an atmosphere where people can have a good time and enjoy the company of others. That’s no easy task, especially today when negative comments on social media can do great harm to race tracks and other enterprises.

 But social media can be helpful too.

 I always scroll through the multitude of photos from Senoia Raceway that people like Jennifer Couch Graham and others including Michael Clifton post on Facebook. I see lots of smiling faces.

 I see lots of them myself on Saturday nights.

The crowd that hangs around Marvin Williams’ reserved spot on the fence, a group that usually includes my cousin Ricky Harp, Jeff Landrum, Sam Jones, Michael Williams and others, always seems to have a good time no matter what transpires on the race track.

“A lot of good people enjoying low-key entertainment” is how Ricky describes it.

 I couldn’t agree more.

 See y’all at the races. 



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