Remember, if you wish to purchase a copy of a particular show just jot down the show number mentioned at the beginning of the program and send your written request and your check or money order for $25.00 to Motorsports Unlimited, PO Box 66242, Chicago IL 60666. If you missed the show number, be sure to state in your request the subject of the program, the date and town in was aired.
2008 Summer Car Show Season Begins!
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August
| Sunday August 10, 2008.....Hobart's Dam Car
Show
One of the prettiest settings you'll ever find for a car show. It's a lovely park right next to a dam and a small lake featuring ducks & geese ... Don't miss this one. Hobart Indiana is closer than you think. Many in Chicago can get there in 20 min. .. Of course the way you get there will vary depending on where you start, but for me it's: 80/94 east to I-65 south. There's construction on I-65 but the south exit is open. Take I-65 south approx. 1 mile to the first exit Ridge Rd. go east on Ridge for 3-4 miles to North Lake Park Ave. Lake Park is the next street after Wisconsin. (both have traffic lights) Turn south on Lake Park and stay on it until it ends. Turn left and you're there. The address is: If all else fails call Bruce Granzow on his cell phone. Everyone knows
Bruce, he's the guy with the 454, Cowl Inducted, 4-speed Chevelle ...
Bruce, and his brother Jim, created this show years ago. He'll be glad
to direct you if you have trouble finding it ... |
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Bill Wildt honored at the 46th annual World of Wheels car show See Trophy Pic Bill said he was pleased and
flattered to be on the podium with these fine men who have contributed
so much to the Motorsport community. He went on to say, "Apparently
the Legends of Motorsports Guild selection committee felt I belonged
there but I must tell you sitting next to the first man to make a 200
mph pass at a drag strip (Chris "The Golden Greek" Karamesines ... Alton
IL 1960) is a little humbling ... It was quite an honor" ... He went
on to thank those who helped make Motorsports Unlimited what it is including
the Lovely Ladies of Motorsport, the crew and the underwriters ... The three inductee's were: Chris Karamesines ... Racer Bob Stange ... Builder (Strange Engineering) Bill Wildt ... Media |
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“History Behind The Rock”
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| Back Surgery/Show Updates June
21, 2007 If I made it through this past week-end I guess I must be on my way to recovery. As I already explained I had back surgery May 11, 2007. A little over two weeks later (June 2, 2007) we were scheduled to shoot the Regional Streeters Car Club ‘‘s 31st Annual Car Show in Crown Point Indiana. It was a beautiful day (a little hot but not terrible). We pulled it off with the help of Art & Jeannine Laushot along with Mae Chin, I was pleased with the result. What I didn’t know, until several days before the event, was we were scheduled to shoot the Skip’s Reunion Car Show in Grayslake Illinois the following day, June 3rd 2007 (I know, I know ... I should have known ... after all, I’m the one who does the scheduling ... Go figure!). Anyway with the help of John Platania (Motorsports Unlimited resident Chevy expert) and Mae Chin we were also able to tape this very important event. Not exactly easy, as halfway through, there were tornado warning sirens and a horrendous downpour ... Still ... once again ... we ended up with a good show in the can. “Double shoot” week-ends are tough even under ideal circumstances but recovering from back surgery and diving for cover when the rain hits doesn’t fall under the heading of “ideal circumstances” ... In any event, I was pleased to see the following week-end was the Chicago Green Ribbon Motorcycle Rally. It was a one day event and, after careful checking, it proved to be a normal “single shoot” week-end (I keep saying at 64 years of age I’m too old for “doubles” these days ... On the other hand, we’ve been covering some of these events for many years and I don’t want to leave anyone out). The only problem with the Green Ribbon Rally is I always like to include some Helmetcam footage to give people an idea of how nice a ride in the country for a great cause can be. On the other hand, this is the fourth time we’ve covered this event and I like to find a different perspective each time we cover an annual event. The back surgeon said “absolutely no motorcycle riding (or lifting) for eight weeks” after the surgery, so Helmetcam footage was out. In a way it turned out to be a good thing because it gave me a chance to cover both starting points (Illinois Harley Davidson & Wildfire Harley Davidson) and to point out one doesn’t have to be a biker to participate in the Chicago Green Ribbon Motorcycle Rally ... All in all I was pleased with the different approach I was forced into taking ... After completing the Green Ribbon Run I presumed we were going to have a well deserved week-end off ... Guess what(?) The week-end off I thought was in the schedule because of the double (Crown Point & Skip’s) wasn’t there. Not being a father I don’t pay a lot of attention to the Father’s Day Holiday ... I really thought it was later in the month (there may be a real downside to pain killers). Anyway, it only took a few bewildering moments looking at the schedule to realize the Joliet Fathers’ Day Festival Car Show was scheduled for Saturday June 16, 2007 and the Lyons Fathers’ Day Car Show was scheduled for the next day, Sunday June 17, 2007. I almost couldn’t believe it ... how could I break it to the others ... would anyone actually come after what they’ve been put through already ... I wondered how I would even bring it up ... or should I try it on my own ... Fortunately, for me, the fine people I have for friends called it to my attention ... “Bill, do you know Fathers’ Day is this week-end(?) Don’t you cover both the Joliet and Lyons Fathers’ Day events?” ... Yeah ... I do ... I think I’ll be able to handle it ... Somehow they must have pow- wowed ... because Art Laushot and Mae Chin came to the rescue ... Good thing too ... I like to think I can handle just about anything but when we arrived in Joliet Saturday morning at 10:00am the temperature was already over 90 degrees. I knew it was going to make the Crown Point / Skip’s Reunion double seem like a walk in the park.. The Joliet show is more of a huge festival covering perhaps a half mile on their river front. In addition to a car show they have Drag Boats performing on the river ... Motorcycle Sport Bike exhibitions ... A special performance of motorcycles running around inside a steel cage ... Bands .... Fireworks and ... Oh yes ... The Mud Bog ... This is one of the most entertaining things you’ll ever find at a car show ... Watching (among other things) people taking brand new shiny 4X4's and blasting them through a mud bog featuring window deep mud (If you can make that one they have a worse one parallel to it featuring roof deep mud including a special trophy for anyone who can get through it ... It’s very cool, but at the top of a hill bordering the river ... Getting the camera equipment up the hill to tape part of the mud bog activity proved to be almost comical ... We had to keep stopping and resting as we worked our way up ... I didn’t know who was going to drop first ... poor little Mae Chin who stands only 5'2" tall and barely over 100 lbs and had no idea what any of this was about or Art Laushot doing his best to show me if I could do it he could do it (we’ve both had heart attacks & quadruple by-pass surgery). I knew how he was feeling ... I didn’t want to be the one to give up either (although I had a better excuse because of the recent back surgery .... By the time we’d gotten to the top of the hill the temperature was 97 degrees and we could have kissed the Mud Turtles (the club putting on the mud bog event) for providing chairs and water ... As we looked around, realizing we were at the highest point of the event, we all looked at each other and said, collectively ... “At least it’s all down hill from here”(get it?) ... It may sound like we’re complaining but that really wasn’t the case ... We were proud ... proud of what we accomplished under extreme conditions (and not really thinking about the shoot in Lyons the next day) ... I don’t think anyone even wanted to think about it ... We arrived in Lyons at 10:00am Sunday morning ... The temperature was already in the 90's and none of us were particularly recovered ... On the other hand, this was it! If we could just get through this one we could collapse for awhile. Just as in Joliet, the day before, the place was rockin’. An outstanding car count and the first thing I spotted was a display of running“hit & miss” engines. A terrific way to start a car show ... Somehow it seemed like Art & Mae were more recovered than me ... On the other hand, I’m the oldest and the one recovering from back surgery. The good thing about the Lyons show was there were no hills. The camera equipment moved easily over level pavement ... The Lyons Show is growing too ... They even had the Creasy family there firing up their nitro funny car ... very cool ... Well, not exactly cool ... the temperature was over 97 degrees again ... Somehow we all survived it (I must be recovering) ... When I got home I quickly checked the schedule to see what the following week-end would bring ... As near as I can tell (remember those pain killers) we have a single show this coming Sunday, June 24, 2007 in Northlake Ill ... It’s a car show that is part of their big annual “Northlake Days Celebration” This ought to be a piece of cake ... Just one show ... At least I hope so (those damn pain killers) See you there ... The starting point: A note from Bill ... O.K. Everybody, the 2007 summer Motorsport season is about to open ... 1. May 5, 2007 ... It's the Bridgeview Sports Dome Car Show (It's the "tweener ... not quite winter not quite summer ... sort of indoors ... the only show we have in a "Dome") 2. May 6, 2007 ... JC Whitney (LaSalle Illinois) ... The first outdoor summer car show of the year ... But I've got a problem! As many of you know (depending on where you are in the tape distribution system) we have been airing early episodes of Motorsports Unlimited for the past couple of months. For those who have been watching us for a significant length of time you know how difficult it is for us to air older programs (We are very proud of the fact that we went 14 years without airing a re-run ... That's a new show every week, 52 weeks a year regardless of weather or circumstance we put a new show on the air every week for 14 years). A few years ago I had a heart attach & quadruple by-pass surgery ... Needless to say we ended up airing some reruns ( I don't know what was more painful, the surgery & recovery or airing re-runs). Recently I have encountered a physical problem that has spanked me even more than the heart problems ... About a year ago I carried a heavy piece of machinery down into my basement. I knew halfway down I was making a mistake ... but there was no way to stop, I was committed. Getting older is really a pain. I could have easily carried the machine in question when I was 23 ... Heck, I could have done it while dancing ... But at 64 my body didn't like it. When I got the machine where it had to be I leaned back and took stock of myself ... I felt a little weird but not terrible ... I thought maybe I'd gotten away with it. A few hours after I'd gone to bed I awakened in considerable pain .. It wasn't in my back but in my right leg. The pain seemed to travel down my right buttocks, across the top of my right thigh, under my right kneecap and down my calf into my right big toe ... The pain was deep in my body, not on the surface. Consultation with Doc Joe (Dr. Joesph Sadowski ... The official Chicagoland Toys For Tots Motorcycle Parade Doctor) indicated I probably damaged a disc and it was pressing on the sciatic nerve. Whatever it was, it was miserable. I couldn't find a position that didn't hurt making it difficult to sleep. I had a motorcycle trip to North Carolina planned (to shoot a series of shows about the trip and the event I wanted to cover). I had to cancel. My concern was ending up laying on the ground somewhere unable to get up. Part of this kind of injury is a sudden feeling of a "bolt of lightning" going through your leg if you make a wrong move. When this happens I don't care how big you are or how tough ... You're going down ... Worse than that it's impossible to know what the "wrong move" is. I actually ended up on the ground several times during the first couple of months. I tried a varity of things, in my quest for relief, including a couple of different Chiropractors ... Nothing helped .I kept going with the help of pain killers and muscle relaxers. After a couple of months I noticed I seemed to be getting better ... it was still there but it was better ... I had a second motorcycle adventure planned as part of Motorsports Unlimited programing and I was starting to think I might be able to pull it off. As an experiment (to see if my back could take it) I taped a one day motorcycle trip called Route 19 ... It was the kind of trip that kept me close to home (if I had to bail out). Route 19 is actually Irving Park Road in Chicago. As it turned out I was able to pull it off. I was particularly interested in how I would feel the next day and the day after ... I was O.K. ... The pain was there but in a manageable amount ... As a matter of fact I was feeling well enough to plan the Kansas City Trip ... After completing the summer shooting schedule including the 6 part Kansas City Motorcycle Adventure I felt like I'd dodged the bullet. I was having problems but nothing I couldn't tough-out ... Then it happened! About two months ago the extreme pain came back, actually worse than before ... Some said it was because of the snowmobile programing I did but I don't think so. I was very careful because I knew I had a problem ... Anyway, regardless of why it's happened the pain is back worse than before. It's so bad I actually sought medical attention. MRI's revealed at least 3 damaged disc's in my back (one cervical and two lower back) ... I'm one of those guys who always cautions people about back surgery. The cervical disc problem I have is at least three decades old. When it happened I was advised to not have surgery if I could live with the pain. The surgery was risky and I was told to live with it if I could because technology gets better all the time and maybe in years to come the surgery would be less risky. I've repeated that advise to many over the years but this is different ... I'm not talking about a sore back ... I can't walk (one could hardly call the hobbling around I'm doing, walking) ... After not feeling any improvement as the weeks went by I decided there was no way around the surgery. On Doc Joe's recommendation I ended up at a place called the Chicago Institute Of Neurosurgery and Neuroreasearch. After looking everything over, surgery appeared to be the only option. Surgery was scheduled for April 20, 2007 ... It seemed this would work well for me. The Bridgeview Sports Dome Car Show was May 5 and the first outdoor car show of the summer season, JC Whitney, was May 6 ... I felt I would be healed up enough to pull it off ... Unfortunately, the day before the surgery, pre-op found an infection that had to be dealt with first. Surgery is postponed 'til May 11, 2007 ... This means I have to tough out the Bridgeview and JC Whitney shows ... I don't know how this will work but I'll do my best ... I sure don't want to miss the very unique "Dome Show" or the first outdoor show of the 2007 season so I'm going to give it my best shot ... By the way, sorry about this late announcement but I've been betwixt & between trying to figure out what to do .... See you at the shows ... Back Surgery Update ... With the back surgery behind me I suppose I should update everyone who checks this website. If that sounds a little negative it's because I'd hoped, by this time, I'd be able to post a cheerful note concluding, with positive results, this malady that has been plaguing me for more than a year. No one wants to hear somebody whining. The surgery occurred as scheduled (re-scheduled) on Friday, May 11, 2007. All the research I've done indicated I'd feel great as soon as I woke up in the recover room. To a degree that was true ... As a matter of fact everything went well on the day of surgery. It was the best anesthetic experience I've had and the same goes for being brought back afterwards. They actually had to convince me they'd done anything ... It was that slick & professional. Of course I've had a number of injuries, over the years, to compare it with (I don't know of many racers who haven't). I know a number of people who have had similar operations. The information I received indicated as soon as the disc touching the nerve was cut away, the "butt pain / leg pain" would be gone. Through the course of the first night, after surgery, I had to get up to use the washroom several times and was pleased to note the butt pain / leg pain was gone ... For the first time in months I didn't have to fear getting out of bed ... I was very pleased. Unfortunately during the morning of the next day I noticed the pain returning ... It was quite alarming ...The following days the pain seemed to be getting worse. By Tuesday it was definitely worse than before the surgery ... It wasn't until Thursday that I can honestly say it felt slightly better (slightly better than Wednesday). The doctor tells me sometimes it takes time to be pain free. Apparently it has to do with how severe the pain you were dealing with was and the length of time it was bothering you ... In any event, it's been more than a week now and thus far I'm not encouraged. No ... I'm not sorry I had it done. I was in such bad shape I had to try something ... and, as I understand it, it may still work. I have an MRI scheduled for 5-30-2007 and physical therapy starting about the same time ... I'm hoping, by the time these dates roll around, I'll be feeling better... A special thank you to all who have wished me well ... You'll never know how much it means ... Bill Bill Wildt June 11, 2007 Back Surgery Update ... It's been exactly one month since my back surgery (May 11, 2007). As most of you know my friends have been propping me up at the car shows we've been shooting (thanks to John Platania, Art & Jeannine Laushot & Mae Chin). We haven't missed one yet ... Bridgeview Dome Show 2007 JC Whitney Spring 2007 Crown Point 2007 Skip’s Reunion 2007 Green Ribbon Motorcycle Rally 2007 This coming Father's Day week-end it will be the Joliet Father's Day Week-end Car Festival on Saturday (the Joliet event is both Saturday & Sunday) and the Lyon's Fathers Day Car Show on Sunday ... Once again without help from my friends it would be impossible ... I suppose a "back-update" is in order. I started physical therapy a couple of weeks ago and, to my surprise, it helps ... really helps! I find myself encouraged by the improvement. I still can't ride (motorcycle) but I'm definitely feeling better. I'm not supposed to lift anything for 8 weeks (from May 11) and I'm trying to stick to it (I don't want to go through this again). As July 11 approaches I'll have to talk to the doctors about when I can start riding again ... Until then ... See you at the car shows! Bill |
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We did it! We were able to cover the two car shows on the May 5 & 6 week-end! As I'm sure you were aware I was very concerned about this but in the words of Joe Cocker (or maybe it was the Beatles) "I got by with a little help from my friends."Special thanks to Art & Jerannine Laushot, Mae Chin & John Platania ... It couldn't have been done without their help and I know your going to enjoy the Bridgeview Sports Dome Car Show and The Spring 2007 edition of the JC Whitney events ... My back surgery is still scheduled for May 11. I'm not sure what the recovery time will be but as soon as I can get these shows edited they'll be on the air ... Bill |
