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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=4>It’s March and do you know what time
it is?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I know, it’s NCAA March
Madness and I’m sure that a lot of <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>fans who can run twice as fast, make
three times the baskets and out jump the tallest defender can also drive a race
car twice as fast and pass three times as many cars…on the first lap.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Here’s a hint. The 2009 Spartan Speedway
racing season is just around the corner! <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It’s time for me to sharpen my
pencils, scrounge for a fresh pad of paper, plunk myself down eight rows up from
the start/finish line, try out the new stadium seat I got for Christmas, and let
Big Ed look at the back of my head for another season.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>My name is Michelle Sprague, and I am
the track reporter.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>Being a race fan from
way back, I never dreamed that one day I’d be watching the races as the track
reporter, no less holding my breath as my youngest son cut his teeth behind the
wheel of a race car, while Big Ed took my oldest son under his wing and showed
him the ropes in the tower.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>I guess it was only
natural that I ended up involved in the racing scene.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>My dad was a crew chief back when Gordon
Johncock, Benny Parsons and the like would race at Jackson Speedway.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The story goes that I could’ve been born
at <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/><st1:City><st1:place>Owosso</st1:place></st1:City> or Capital City
Speedway.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=4>I went through a phase in my early
childhood when I absolutely hated the races, especially when I got dragged to
the Figure-8 shows.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Even at an
early age, I couldn’t understand why racers would want to drive through an
intersection to narrowly avoid a crash (maybe that’s some of the appeal?)<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I’m sorry to say, I’m still the one who
covers her eyes when the action gets too close for comfort.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>After years of attending
the races solo, I met my future husband at the end of the 1983 racing
season.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We married the following
June and I couldn’t wait to get him to the races.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Money was tight, but we managed to
scrape together the $20 for a Friday night out, each and every week.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>One racer in particular,
Mert Thompson, caught our attention.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>We met Mert and his wife Carol through church and his racing.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>A great friendship was forged and when
children came into the picture, Mert and Carol graciously accepted the honor of
being godparents.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>My oldest son
attended his first race at six months, with Mert coming up into the stands after
his heat race to hold him high in the air and explain what the green, yellow and
checkered flag meant. Along came son number two, and Sunday afternoons he’d be
parked in front of the TV watching his favorite driver, Mock Mahtin (translated
Mark Martin).<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This child, for as
much as he loved the races, could never stay awake past 9 P.M. and could be
found strapped to a bleacher at Spartan, while Carol worried that he would
surely roll off. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>A job change in 1996
reunited me with a high school classmate who happened to be a racer.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Soon, my husband and I were helping him
out in his race shop and at the age of twelve, our youngest son joined the
crew.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>My husband and I still help
him to this day.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>One day, after checking
out the point standings on the Spartan Speedway website, there was a posting
that the speedway was looking for a writer.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>On a whim, I stopped by the speedway
office and told Jim I’d give it a whirl.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Five years later, I’m still plugging away, doing my best to bring the
racing action to life through words, maybe piquing the interest of those who
don’t regularly attend the races, and giving the drivers the recognition they
deserve.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>Many fans (and drivers)
don’t know who I am.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I sit very
inconspicuously amongst the other fans, jotting notes and essentially “keeping
stats” that I translate into an article.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>One night, I had a friend ask me how in the world I made sense of the
chicken scratch on my paper.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I
responded that I had a “system.”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I
prefer to keep my position low profile because there’s nothing like getting
cornered in the restroom by someone who wants to know why so and so wasn’t
mentioned more in my article.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I try
to give equal billing and if someone is running away with the win, often times,
the race back in the pack is the one to watch.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>There was a time when I
would read articles in some of the racing publications and think to myself, “I
could write an article like that!”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Remember those folks at the beginning of this piece?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I’ll bet those same folks think they can
write articles too!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Well, guess
what?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I can, and I will for as long
as the track will have me. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
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