Batting .500
-Tom Boggie
One of the great, never-ending debates in sports concerns constantly inflating salaries. When someone like Alex
Rodriguez signs for more than $10 million a year and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter asks for $18.5 million
a year, for God's sake, you have to wonder what Ted Williams, the last baseball player to hit over .400, would be worth
in today's market.
Well, ponder this for awhile: If a player could hit .500, how much would he be worth?
George Catanzano "batted" .500 in the 2000 season and is hoping he can bring home about $400 a week in 2001.
Catanzano, a 35 year-old driver from Ghent, NY is hardly a household name in dirt racing circles. Catanzano drives an
IMCA Modified, that hybrid creation that is still trying to find its niche in the Northeast.
After two seasons at Lebanon Valley, the only Saturday night track close to him that had the IMCAs on their weekly
program, Catanzano and many of the other Valley regulars shifted allegiance last season, jumping to Fonda
Speedway when the Track of Champions decided to get on the IMCA bandwagon.
The switch from the five-eighths-mile high banks of the Valley to the relatively flat, half-mile at Fonda was just perfect
for the IMCAs, in general, and for Catanzano, in particular.
Nine of his 14 victories came at Fonda, where he lost the championship to Steve Bidwell in the final race of the season.
Those 14 victories came in a total of 28 races, giving Catanzano a .500 winning percentage.
But it could have been better
"We blew four engines last year and two of them came on the last lap in races where we had the lead," explained
Catanzano, who had no racing experience at all until he started running a pure stock at Lebanon Valley for years ago.
"We blew a motor in the last race at Fonda and we blew a motor in the second race of the year when I had a half-track
lead. We really did a lot better than the final stats indicated.
If one of those two engines had held together, Catanzano would have reached his goal at Fonda. "I really wanted to win
the title" he said.
Catanzano is an anomaly in the racing world in that He's a thirty-something newcomer. He didn't grow up at a racetrack,
and he didn't work on someone's crew and get the bug to race.
"The first time I ever went to a dirt track was in 1995 when I started going to the Valley," he said. "I just became fascinated
with racing. I used to sit up there and watch Paul LaRochelle, and I was so amazed by what he could do with a car. So
in 1996, I started in a Pure Stock."
Now competitors are amazed by what Catanzano can do with a car. No matter where he races, he's always one of the
top competitors in the field. He downplays his own driving ability and credits his success to a number of other factors.
"It's not just one thing," he said. "I dont think I have great driving ability or that we just have a great car or that we just have
a great crew. We have a great package. If you take one of those things away, it wouldn't be the same. The car can make
me look smooth or the crew can help me out. I'm spoiled because I don't have to fight the racecar.
"I wanted the best chassis I could get, so I went to Dirt Works for the car. I wanted a motor builder who was winning
national championships and who was reliable, so I went to Buzzard Engines in Walker, Mo. Those are the engines to
have. The two I blew up last year were 4 years old, and I got everything out of them that I could.
"Every week I just race the track," he added. "My only goal every week last year was to beat the times I had the previous
week. I wasnt trying to beat anyone in particular. I just wanted to beat the track. If I was staying the same (with lap
times), everyone else could catch up. But if I kept getting quicker, that was the victory for us."
One of Catanzano's most impressive victories came in the fall when he traveled to Five Mile Point and dominated a
NASCAR sanctioned race at the track. Until he pulled into the pits that day, Catanzano had never even seen Five Mile
Point before.
"It always seems that when I go to a track for the first time, I finish second," said Catanzano. "Can-Am, Skyline,
Brewerton ... I always finished second the first time I went there and usually won the second time."
But crew chief Steve Hart, who has never been behind the wheel of a race car, found the right set up right off the bat at
File Mile Point. "I've got a lot of smart guys working on the car," said Catanzano.
Like so many IMCA drivers, Catanzano was lured to the class because of its relatively low cost (a rolling Dirt Works
Chassis, minus engine, goes for about $12,000, and there are a ton of used cars to be had), and has become a big
advocate of the division. Unlike many drivers in other classes, from street stocks right up to modifieds, who are always
finding something to gripe about, IMCA drivers rarely bitch even when it comes to the division's engine claiming rule.
An IMCA Modifed engine can be claimed for the sum of $325. Based on the going price of $2000 for a new Buzzard
Motor, the claiming price is a little more then 16 percent of the total cost of the engine. Imagine the squawking you would
hear if a big block engine could be claimed for $3250.
But Catanzano knows firsthand about the claiming rule, because he was the victim of claims twice in 2000. He was OK
with one, but the other didn't sit too well with him.
"I lost two motors that way," he said of the claiming rule. "The only problem that I have with the rule is that guys use it for
retaliation. the rule was intended for a good reason. If you're putting big money into an engine and another guy is
struggling and can't afford to keep up, he should be able to make a claim. I see nothing wrong with that.
"One claim against me was a grudge. The other claim was legitimate. The guy just couldnt keep up with the competition
and didn't have the money for a new motor so he claimed mine. I had no problem with that."
But when your hitting .500, there's usually enough money to regroup quickly, even though the class runs for $200 to win
at Fonda Speedway.
"Our car has made money for us every year," said Catanzano. "You can't bend it up or it's going to cost you, but it's like
that in any division."
The IMCA Modifieds have found a home at Fonda Speedway and will probably be more visible in 2001. Although the final
Champlain Valley Racing Association schedule hadn't been set by mid-January, both Albany-Saratoga and Devil's Bowl
Speedways will be adding IMCA Modifeds to their schedules this season with tentative plans calling for between 16 to 20
races, combined, at the two CVRA tracks.
That suits Catanzano and the rest of the IMCA drivers just fine. For one thing, they want more opportunities to race so
they can become eligible for for a very lucrative IMCA national point fund. Also, tracks like Fonda, Albany-Saratoga and
Devil's Bowl are better suited for the hybrid Modifieds.
"These cars are suited for anywhere from Fonda on down (in size)," said Catanzano. "They're not suited for Lebanon
Valley (where he raced for two years before moving to Fonda.) These cars weigh 2,300 pounds compared to 3,500 for a
pro stock, and when you crash one of these, you can get hurt at a track like Lebanon Valley."
Catanzano is looking forward to a regular stop at Albany-Saratoga. He won two races there in 2000, the only times the
IMCAs ran at the historic Malta facility.
"I spent two years at Brewerton, which is a very tough short track and there are a lot of tough drivers there," said
Catanzano. "I learned a lot about short track racing up there."
Not everyone receives the IMCA MOdifieds with open arms, however. Many of the Pro Stock drivers at Fonda took
exception to the IMCAs last season.
"Their complaint was that our cars cost less and our motors cost less and we were making twice as much as they
were," said Catanzano. "If that's the case, wouldn't it make more sense to run one of these cars.?"
One of Catanzano's victories in 2000 came in Florida during Speedweeks, and a trip to Florida was again on his agenda
in 2001.
"They run a $10,000-to-win race there every year," Catanzano explained. "It's part of a series. We didnt win that race, but
we did win one that paid $2,500."
He said one of the reasons he'll make a trip to Florida each spring is the competition, and to see how he matches up
against some of the national championship contenders from the Midwest, where IMCA racing originated. He rattled
off the names of a couple of the drivers he looked forward to racing with, but even to me, their names were about as
recognizable as the prime ministers of Third World Countries.
But you can be sure that George Catanzano will be getting more name recognition in 2001. If he can maintain a .50
winning percentage through a 40-50 race season, it's going to be very hard to ignore him.
In Full Swing
-Gail Todd
Let's move along to the IMCA division. These boys are almost starting to take on the rough and tumble roll of the street stocks. The Z1 of George Catanzano took some hit right into the front stretch wall during qualifiers, but that didn't stop this team. Not only did they repair some major damage, but it was done so well, we thought heused a back up car in the feature. Come to find out it was the same car that had hit the wall earlier and these repairs were not only cosmetic, even though the "cat man" started in the back, when it wall all said and done it was the flourescent Z1 driving into victory lane.
Since I owe it to the IMCA guys, because I so rarely mention them, I want to make another observation. It is obvious that Catanzano has an amazing machine and 2000 Fonda track champion Steve Bidwell is definetly not too shabby. These two together put on a heck of a show as we saw last season as they battled for the championship down to the wire. However, I think I see a rising star in the #27A of Keith Ackerknecht. Ackerknecht, who recently moved from street stocks to IMCA, had driven himself to be 5th in points. And, although it is very early in the season, there is something to be said about him steadily holding his own against Bidwell and Catanzano. It is my guess that he is the one to watch!
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