I am proud to announce that Jim Payne, Chad Delagrange and I (Tom Paterson) have formed a partnership to field a sprint car team for the upcoming season.

Chad, Jim and I have been the best of friends for many years all of us owning and driving various cars over the years. Each of us has even driven for the others over the years. But with escalating costs all of us have scaled back our efforts.

So after some discussion, the natural thing to do was pool our resources and form a single race team. We have a Maxim non-winged car we plan on racing in select races in the Northern Indiana, Michigan area as well as possibly a few Waynesfield shows.

We also have a slightly modified Dynamite pavement car we will be fielding with the HOSS series as well as a few other races.

After a spirited double elimination, round robin, rock- paper- scissors game, it was decided that the cars would carry the traditional Delagrange family white and red paint scheme with the number 100.

After another rock paper scissors tournament, it was decided that our team would be called PDP (Payne, Delagrange, Paterson) Racing.

Our first race will hopefully be at the new dirt track at Plymouth speedway. Jim lost the coin toss, so he will be driving.

We will not have a website, as that cost money and that money can be used to maybe have a spare part or two. We will eventually have a Facebook page. I promise no updates that start with, “it was a tough night for PDP racing……..” If we have a bad night, we promise to keep it to ourselves.

Since all of us are too old to be concerned about getting to “the next level,” our main goals are to have fun and not be broke at the end of the year.

Naturally, we are looking for help, both physically and financially for the upcoming year. Anyone interested can contact me through a PM on this website.

Thank you all for your time.

Tom Paterson

This may be the best press release I have ever read...thanks for the laugh guys, and best of luck to your team....I would tell you to have lots of fun but something tells me that will be the first order of business for this new endeavor.

Yeh, don't ya like it, when a "plan comes together", like Mikey, on OCC used to say, sittin in his old mans chair, cigar in his mouth. Must be a good feeling, how many others could possibly do this? Bob!

PDP? Isn't that really just an acronym for "Past our Dang Prime"? And with you having a PAYNE in the seat, you should all benefit from a trip to the doctor. But alas, racing is a chronic illness of which you all suffer (and suffer, and suffer).

Im glad you finally felt comfortable enough to bring the team out of the closet and announce your grand intentions of turning the entire sprint car world, if not your own selves, on its ear in 2012. With your bold schedule of competing on dirt and pavement, with and without wings I have know doubt your driver will be a lock for a (shopping cart) ride at 16th & Georgetown very soon. Unless of course he gets a great offer to drive (track sweeper) in nascar.

Its not not your backup car is a Hisso or anything-but it is.

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Yes Scott, while it is true we are a little older then a lot of the teams we will be racing against, we are young at heart. At least no one can accuse us of being rich kids speanding our parents money!

We do have to be careful the nights Jim drives, he tends to get sleepy after 10:00 p.m.! And we always eat dinner around 4:15 or so!

I have sent sponsor proposals out to Depends, Metamucal, and Geritol. Not for money, just for free samples!

On the nights I drive, we will have to campain for a red flag if there's too many yellows. Not for fuel, for me to get out and pee!

For those that don't know, the Hisso that Scott speaks of is a 1929 Big Car with a Hisso motor that Chad's grandpa campained in the 30's and the 40's. The Delagrange family still has the car in perfect condition. When ever we go to Winchester, Salem or Illiana, I always think of that car because it raced there. Sometimes I feel like if I squint my eyes, I can see it out there. If you Google "Delagrange Hisso, " you can see pictures of it.

But contrary to what Scott says, that's not our back up car. We can go much more modern then that. I have a 1968 Nance sprint car that my Dad drove. There's no rules about bolt on roll cages, right?

Tom Paterson