21st century heathen

You mean he can't...y'know ...tell me tomorrow.

I'm starting to get quite concerned about you two. Back to the speedway...any predictions? PK, Jason, Scott as the top 3 for my money. I'd love to say Greg and Billy would be up there, but I think they'll be edged a little lower in the scoring order tomorrow. Chris Neath and Johnno to qualify for the main event. Bruce Penhall to go within a second of the track record. The bands to be...different. The refs experiment to go well, and therefore not be adopted for league meetings. And finally, Sam to leave the track in a flaming ball of fire.

Our local say that Sam has said he'll take a year out from the sport, but that he won't walk away forever. A quote from Sam also hints that he'll be the man to take over at Wolves...one day. That's something that most of us around here kinda assume anyway. Erm...no thanks. I'm sure I'll be able to find someone to give me a hug.

Now, I do hope it's that cold.

Good idea.

I want one, and I will buy one. But that's a disgraceful price to charge. Of course I could always charge SCB 30p per race to look at it. It's the wind that'll make it feel so cold, so are you sure about that?

That's a disgrace. ----------------------------------------------------- The weather shouldn't be a problem. In a notherly such as the one that sets in tomorrow it takes a while for the showers to make their way south. If the wind is in just the right the right direction (a north-westerly) we can get showers through the 'Chesire Gap'. If any showers do make it through my personal opinion is that there won't be too many, and they are likely to be of soft hail. If that's the case then the only problem may be a slight delay while hail is falling. Generally these type of showers pass quickly, and they won't produce anything like enough wet stuff to affect the track. The very worst case would be a temporary covering of hail that we'd either have to wait to melt or grade it off. Either way it's not going to take long. THAT'S MY PERSONAL VIEW There's more than enough info out there if you want to form your own opinion. Like this. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...where's my hat?!!

Yes, you can pay at the gate as usual.

I would love to see them there, but as you say he's gone with his mates. It's a shame they won't be there, but it's a great line up. I don't think Monmore is one of Matej's fave tracks, at least not yet. I can't see who he could replace a do a better job (if we look at it oon those terms). I hope you had a quiet word to set him straight Nevs?

That would have been interesting.

I honestly couldn't tell you any more than that. '76 was my first season as speedway supporter, and I was only 3 months old.

The text below is copied straight from the Cradley website. He made the most remarkable rise to fame in the space of a few years, from making his British League debut in April 1978 to winning the World Title and every personality award on offer in 1981. He rode for us from '78 until he quit in '82. I can only assume from this information that he only ever turned out for Cradley. It could be that he was rumoured to be coming over earlier, and perhaps he was linked with Hull. It certainly not something that I've ever heard before.

Scott is faster than Simon around Monmore, although Simon can be pretty quick himself. I'd back Scott to beat him 9 times out of 10. Would it be possible for you to turn up early for a seat in the bar? Alternatively, could you bring a chair so that your hubby could sit between races. He'd only need to stand for a couple of minutes (or 55 seconds ) at a time?

No chance mate. I couldn't even be bothered to check the website. Perhaps if you'd posted a link instead of just typing it.

Well done, I was too lazy to type them out.

Suzie - If you're genuinely not excited by the line up of riders that Sam has put together then I have to tell you that I find that quite sad. There's no rider Cradley fans love to hate more than Sam, but I've got to take my hat off to him. This meeting (the whole day) could prove to be the best of it's kind (farewell, or testimonial etc).

I haven't checked anything online, but our local says that Boycie will be there although he's not riding. (direct quote from Sam)

What's wrong with the line up? I think it's very, very good.

Or in my local paper.

Yes.

Olly is one of the few Brits that doesn't ride Monmore particularly well. I'd expect Cov to have all three Brits in the line up, but I can't see Olly making the top 10. Sorry this way off topic. I'm happy to continue this on the correct thread if you'd like to join me?

Wrong (imo). It'll be the most open meeting for a hell of a long time, although Scott is likely to be most peoples favourite. Any one of Scott, Chris H, Chris L, Mark, Simon, David H, David N, or Lee could win it and I expect the likes of Joe, Lewis, Ed, Danny, Leigh to do well enough to take vital points off the top riders. Sorry for the off topic post, just had to respond to that post.

I bet you would.

I can think of an even better one for this christmas. *crosses fingers and starts praying to everyones God*

And here it is. ---------------------------- Sporting Star, Saturday, February 17, 2007 Speedway Golden boy who gave it all up to act Bruce Penhall was speedway's golden boy of the early eighties. Yet the double world champion, who had taken his first crown when holding a packed Wembley agog and then retained it in front of adoring home fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum, hung up his leathers in 1982 and walked away. His decision to quit the sport for acting stunned supporters worldwide - not least in Cradley Heath where his five pulsating seasons had helped transform the Heathens from (at best) moderate mid-tablers to a domestic powerhouse. "I left Cradley Heath high and dry," admitted Penhall, who will be back in Britain next month to ride at Sam Ermolenko's farewell meeting at Monmore on Sunday, March 18. "But it was a decision I had to make, and an opportunity I couldn't pass up. It upset a lot of people when I left. "But I think they all realise now that any one of them would have made the same choice," said the softlyspoken Californian, who carved out a successful acting career in the TV series I CHiPs and also appeared in several feature films. Huge "When I was 25 I had been racing for 10 years," he added. "Back in those days speedway was huge. In my last two years I was racing 165 nights a year. "I would race sometimes 37 days in a row, have one night off and back on it for another 14. Prior to that in America I was riding five nights a week. "You don't see your friends, your family or your home," said Penhall, whose parents were killed in an aeroplane crash in 1975. "I was a family kid and brought up in a strong-knit family. I loved racing, but I really missed being at home. "I had accomplished all my goals. I just dreamed of being world champion once. Then, of course, they had it in '82 in America - it was in my home town. "But you could never win a world championship anywhere as big a place as Wembley. It was never going to be as sweet as it was at Wembley, honest to God. "That was my first visit, other than when I went to watch. It was something that I can't explain - the supporters, the atmosphere. "But then I had a new opportunity to dive into TV. I was 25, a family man. I love kids, and racing motorcycles was hard enough to do as a single man. "People like Scott Autrey, who had kids - I don't know how they did it. Your focus has to be so strong. "When I had TV to dive into it was sort of a great escape for me." Family man Penhall sated his own need for speed in powerboating, winning world titles in that discipline to add to his speedway laurels. He has motorcycling sons in Ryan, 21, and Connor, 16 as well as 17-year-old daughter Mackenzie and another son Devin, 24. Connor, particularly, showed promise on shale but sadly - at least for the sport's enthusiasts who had hoped for a dynasty - he and his brother embraced motocross. "He really took to it (speedway), but there were some difficulties," said Penhall. "There weren't many tracks to go practice on. At that time I was driving the boys to tracks to ride motocross four or five times a week and we'd try to slip some speedway in. "I had to tell him to make a decision. It was just too difficult to do both. He decided to stay with motocross. You never know! It's a sport (speedway) you can get into when a little older. "Ryan has turned professional and Connor is an intermediate rider, soon to be a professional as well." But it's back to the shale and Sudden Sam's Flaming Farewell - "I had to giggle a bit at the title!" - for Penhall senior, the first American of modern times to win the world crown. He blazed a trail followed by Ermolenko himself, Billy Hamill and Greg Hancock and all four will be at Monmore. "It didn't take much for me to agree to ride for Sam," said Penhall. "I really like Sam, even though he was just starting to race when I was retiring. "We have this bond, we were friends. He picked his family up to live in England, he became world champion - and I know what it takes to become that. And he remains a permanent resident in England. "He's always been a really good guy." The American connection it Cradley and Wolves has continued down the years through the likes of Lance King, Bobby Schwartz, Ronnie Correy and, of course, Hancock and Hamill. "Ronnie is a great guy," said Penhall. "And, of course, the Bullet! I met Billy at six years old! "He came up to me with cotton candy all over his face and said: `Hey Mr Penhall, I'm really going to be a fast speedway rider - will you sponsor me?' "I said: `You need to go clean your face off first!' "I always said Greg and Billy would become world champions. "I thought Billy would win it first because at that time he was a little bit more aggressive." But Penhall also suspected that Hancock's time would come, adding: "He would have the longevity because he was such a thinker. "These are two I have a ton of respect for, they have done so well over so many years. "But I put it in a good five!" ---------------------------------------- I had to piece it together the old fashioned way, so I hope there are no mistakes.