We can not say enough about the Ozark Area Racers Foundation. We would like to thank President Lynn Sanders and all their members and staff for such a great day and making us feel so welcome and allowing us to be part of their event and Hall Of Fame induction ceremonies, which had over a 1000 people in attendance. We got to see and talk to so many legends and people we have not seen in many years. I had forgot how much time myself and my nephew Bob had spent at the old asphalt track racing mini stocks until several people brought it up to me. OVRA is proud that one of our members Ferris Collier is in the Missouri Racing Hall Of Fame. When we went to the luncheon which had over 400 in attendance, with Ferris And his wife Judy we got meet and have lunch with two of their good friends Allen and Harriett Chancellor owners of the MLRA Late Model series, and now we know why MLRA has been so successful, they are two of the nicest people you could hope to meet. Some of the stories them and Ferris had to tell were great. We also got to be part of that with some great Bud Purkey stories. After us and Lynn Sanders having several discussions we are proud to know that they appreciate what OVRA is about and that from here on would like us to be part of their events and for them to be part of ours. Both organizations have a common goal of preserving the history of racing in our region. There are many of the legendary drivers from Missouri and Arkansas that raced on both sides of the border that created our history of racing, that lead to us being able to have this opportunity to have a bond for the preservation of that history. Please help us support OARF www.ozarksarearacers.org. With that all said, thank you to all the many legends in our four state area from the one that placed last to the one that won, you are all part of this great history. In our book, you are the Last Great American Heros.

After talking with the Hobby Stock drivers there has been a rules change under Frame and Suspension rule 2 and 6... Please check. We felt this was the most cost effective to put power steering on these earlier cars.

Thanks to Lynn Skinner and Outlaw Speedway for letting us be part of Legends Night 2011. Also, Charlie Randolph for the great chicken. We only had about 2/3 of the drivers confirmed that were able to make it, but with High School football and work schedules and starting as early as we did, it makes it hard for some to get there. But we are already working on ideas to remedy those problems for next year to make it even bigger and better. For once, I am at a loss for words to describe how it made us feel for so many of these legendary drivers to come up to us and thank us for being a part of this... it just did not seem right. The reason being is because every racer breathing in our area needs to stop and think of where it all came from and what those drivers went through to give us the history we are able to celebrate today. They should not be thanking us, even though it is greatly appreciated, but it is all of us that should be thanking them for all the great memories and history they provided for us. With that said, any time you have the honor of meeting any of the racing legends of our region, please tell them thank you. They are the ones that make it easy for us.

If you ever wanted a history lesson in racing for our area, Friday night in Muskogee was the place to get it. It was a time for some of us just to shut up and listen. My favorite though was listening to Ferris Collier and Tommy Laster still today disagreeing over which one of them won a NCRA event in Amarillo, Texas in 1980. Ferris says it was him because he still has the broken trophy that was broke in a plane crash later that night. Those were the kind of things that made Legends Night great fun for all. We would like to congratulate 88 year old Lee Hull for being inducted into the Oklahoma Racing Hall Of Fame at Legends Night.

We would like to thank Tommy Laster for contributing several of his championship and top ten jackets to have for display at all of our events for everyone to enjoy. We appreciate it very much. These are a great part of racing history. We also want to thank Ray Rainey and Slayton Durrett and their great big Muskogee crew for all of their support and believing in us for what we are trying to do. Also Don Schoenfeld for being able to attend and always supporting us in what we do. He has always helped us ever since the beginning. We would like to thank Ken Scott one of newest members for bringing his 66 Chevelle from Springfield, MO and Ron Jones our newest member for bringing his 57 Chevy to Legends Night.

Our Life Time Achievement Award went to Cecil Harlan, the owner and promoter of Tri State Speedway for 30 years. We had all hoped he would be able to attend, but his wife Gail let us know last week he just was not going to be able to. So some of us got together last week and visited him and took him his award. Cecil will always be, in our opinion, one of the greatest promoters of Stock Car racing that there will ever be. Cecil is battling Lou Gehrigs disease, so everyone please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. A very special thank you to the families and friends of Kirk Hogrefe, Bud Purkey, Bill Dillard Sr. and Larry Phillips who we honored as drivers that are no longer with us. We thank you for allowing us to honor these great drivers. To sum it up, a good time was had by all. Now, on to 2012 and our start of the season ahead. Stay tuned.

Thanks so much to Lynn Skinner and all his staff from Outlaw Speedway in Muskogee, Ok for all the great hospitality. I know it sounds like a broken record but it does keep getting better every track we go to. That does not mean that any one track is better, they have all been great. It means that the response from all the fans just keeps growing. And the fans at Outlaw last night were great. And the response and knowledge they had to our picture boards was overwhelming. A very special Thank you to Ray Rainey for all of his help and support, he has been a big help in sending us in the right direction. We encourage every racing fan in the Muskogee area to get out and support Outlaw Speedway. Lynn is doing a great job to revive racing in Muskogee. Be watching for a special announcement coming in about a week for a very very special event OVRA will be part of with Outlaw Speedway.

OVRA, after much interest, has decided to add the 100 inch Super Modified division. These cars were run mainly in the Oklahoma and Kansas areas, but we had several drivers from the Arkansas and Missouri areas that raced this style car. They were also a big part of the history in our four state area, which we felt was one of the biggest reasons to ad this class. Also, we felt this would better provide for all the racing fans in our area, and to better teach them the history of our region. These will be the 1980 and prior cars without wings. Rules will be up soon for this division on our rules page. We would also like to welcome Keith Roller from Houston, Texas as our first member to the 100 inch division of OVRA. Thank you Keith for your help and support.

We are proud to welcome our newest member Duane Isaacs. We have a picture of a replica of the 69 Chevelle he built back in the 70s that Terry Bivins drove on our membership page. Duane will also have the original 55 Chevy Hobby Stock that he drove with us also. This a great piece of history for us to have in OVRA and we are so proud that Duane is now a member. Thank you Duane.

It is official as of today, Sunday, Aug 28th, 2011 The Lampe MO Flash is back. Steve and myself had the honor of delivering a mid to late 70s Howe Late Model to be run in our Vintage Late Model division this up coming season and to be driven by none other than Ferris Collier. We found the Car in Midland, AR. The car was in such good shape after all these years, we just could not believe it. The car was originally driven by H D Carson of Springfield, MO in the 70s. Ferris plans to build it back as one of the cars he drove in the 70s...His only problem is he can't decide which one. We don't care which one, we are just proud to have one of the biggest legends in our region to be racing with us. "We can't wait".

It just gets better at every track. We can't say Thank You enough to Kerry & Angie Gorbe and their staff at Caney Valley Speedway for their hospitality. This race track is proof that if you are willing to work at and want something bad enough you can make it happen. They have turned this facility from what it use to be into one of the best in the four state area, and it shows with a car count of almost a 100 cars. The James House Memorial race was the best Late Model race we have seen in a long long time. It was great to see one of the old Kansas legends Gary Gorbe which is Kerry's Dad still racing and running second to Brad Lunney in the feature. We might have to wait till he is 70 or 80 to think about letting him into OVRA. A big Thank you to all the fans of Caney Valley for your response and interest in vintage racing and thanking us for what we are doing. Just like other tracks we have been to this season, we can't wait to get back with a full show next season.

We would like to thank Bobby Williamson of Fort Smith for his contribution of photos and programs and memorabilia from Tri State and Crawford County Speedways for our displays in our tent to show the history of racing in our area. And also for his help in getting our forum off the ground. Thanks Bobby aka Wagonmaster.

We would like to welcome Ken Scott to OVRA with his Vintage Late Model a 1966 Chevelle, This car was originally raced by his uncle in 1969 at the fair grounds in Springfield, MO. Super nice car. See it on our membership page.

OVRA will be at Caney Valley Speedway in Caney Kansas Saturday August, 20th for the James House Memorial Late Model Show.

We would like to thank Dan Robinson and Ashley at Lucas Oil Speedway for a great night and all the hospitality, we had a great time. A wonderful facility and A class show. We also would like to thank Ferris Collier for coming out and being with us. This weekend has been packed with legends. Thank you once again to all the fans at Lucas that come by and visited with us and filled out membership applications. We did not realize just how many vintage cars there are in that area that want to race. Once again Thank you to everyone.

We would like to thank Ray Rainey and his wife and Lynn Skinner and the staff at Outlaw Speedway. We had a great time there friday night and the hospitality was above and beyond. Thanks to Ray, me and Steve got to spend the evening with what we consider dirt track royalty for Oklahoma, with Ray himself, Slayton Durrett, Bob Ballard and one of my all time heroes one of the most legendary sprint car drivers from the 50's 60's and 70's Harold Leep. We would also like to thank Harold Leep for dinner and providing us with the best barbecue bologna we ever ate. Thank you Ray for all the racing memories from the past and the new ones you created Friday night. We can never say enough, that's what this is all about - creating memories.

The first honorary life time member of OVRA from Missouri Ferris Collier will be with us at Lucas Oil Speedway this Saturday, July 30th. So all you Ferris Collier fans come by our tent and say hi to Ferris and bring any old pictures or memorabilia for Ferris to sign.

At our meeting this coming Sunday, we are honored to find out that two and maybe three of the legendary drivers of Super Modifieds & Late Models from the 60s & 70s from Muskogee Oklahoma will be joining us. Slayton Durrett, Ray Rainey and possibly Tommy Laster. There will be a lot to be learned and a lot of great stories from these three drivers about the history of racing in our region. Anyone planning on attending the OVRA meeting this Sunday, please let us know, and how many are coming with you. We need to know by this Thursday so they know how to set their room up. You can contact us at ovraracing@gmail.com or at one of the numbers on the membership page on the web site Thank You.

It's time to load up and go again. This time we are headed to Lucas Oil Speedway Saturday July 30th "The Diamond of Dirt Tracks" in Wheatland, Missouri. They will also have their inaugural National Drag Boat Races that same weekend with their last MLRA Late Model show of the season on Saturday. This is shaping up to be one heck of a great weekend. So if your looking for something to do we think you need to be in Wheatland, Missouri. So when you see our tent and cars be sure and come by and say hi. See you there.

Thank you to Kenny and Jenifer and all the staff at Mid America Speedway in Coffeyville, Kansas for making us feel so welcome. We just can't say enough... You have a great staff. We are really looking forward to going back next year with a full show, and we can't wait. Also a great thank you to all the fans at Mid America for a great response to us being there and all the compliments you kept giving all night about the cars and the t-shirts you bought - it really meant a lot to us. We were in a convenience store in Nowata, OK on the way home and were thanked by a driver from Mid America for bringing the cars and preserving the history of vintage cars. Sorry I didn't get his name, but that really meant a lot. On a funny note, we think our first Most Improved Driver Award might have to go to Tom Burns, car 6T. This was the first time Tom had his car on any track and we thought he did a great job, even after his little "Oops Did I do that?" in turn 2 on the first lap... But thanks to Tom for gathering it back up and going on without causing a caution. As the laps went on, Tom went faster and faster. We found out later that Vic Bockholt might have been more worried than Tom because of running into him and tearing Tom's car up. Thanks to Steve Bailey car 00 starting the OVRA kids picture ride, as you will see soon on the photo page, the kids loved it. Also thanks to Chris Panichella our newest volunteer for all his help and picture taking. All in All we had a great time and can't wait to get back. Once again, thanks to Kenny and Jenifer and all the staff. Great fans and drivers at Mid America, have a great rest of the racing season and OVRA will see you soon.

Come out to our first outing at Mid America Speedway July 16th. We will be there doing an exhibition and promotion for OVRA to get ready for the upcoming season. The Show Me Late Models will also be there. And don't forget the first meeting July 31st.

We would like to welcome our two newest members Tom Burns from Joplin, Missouri with his 27 Studebaker coupe, and Dan Carlsen from Fort Worth, Texas with his 37 Plymouth coupe. Steve finally got him a Mopar buddy.

We will be having our first meeting July 31st. Info is on the events page. Wives are very much welcome. You will be able to get signed up for your free memberships. We will be showing and discussing the rules for all divisions and some of the great things that are starting to happen for OVRA. Hope to see you there.

We are now making plans to attend the Springfield, Missouri swap meet in August. And also the Tontitown, Arkansas Rolling Relics Swap Meet in September. Watch for info on the events page. We will be taking a couple of the cars for display and set up to talk with people about vintage racing. Also we are planning on going to several race tracks in the four state area this season to do the same. We are trying to concentrate the remainder of this season on signing members and cars while others are getting ready. So watch the events page and if you are near any of these events please come out and visit with us and talk about vintage racing with us. We want to learn more every day about the ol days.