John Salinkas has resigned as head coach, leaving Susquehanna to search for the sixth head coach in the history of its high school football program that began on the junior varsity level in 1969 and moved to varsity a year later.
Salinkas guided a young team through a series of injuries to a 3-7 record in his only year as head coach. The Susquehanna High School teacher spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach before taking over for Dick Bagnall, the school’s all-time winningest coach who retired after his second stint leading the program.
Family commitments, including some that may take Salinkas out of town at times, led to his decision to step down.
“I didn’t take this job planning to leave after one year,” Salinkas said. “Some things happened between the time I took the job and now.
“I came to realize that if I can’t give it my whole heart and soul, I need to step away from it.”
Salinkas did not rule out returning to coaching as an assistant in the future.
“I’ve given football 12 years of my life,” said Salinkas, a former player at Blue Ridge, which now contributes players to the program as part of a cooperative sponsorship between the neighboring schools. “It’s a year-round commitment if you want to be successful.
“Right now, I have to step back.”
Mike Hemak was the school’s first coach, turning the Sabers into winners by his fourth season and leaving with a winning overall record following the 1975 season.
Bagnall took over and returned after Ron Mulka and Joe Zabielski had served as head coaches.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Paul Thompson scored 1:19 into overtime Sunday to lift the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 2-1 victory over the Hershey Bears in the annual American Hockey League Outdoor Classic.
The game drew a crowd of 17,311 to Hersheypark Stadium.
The game was part of Hershey’s celebration of the 75h anniversary of the Bears franchise.
Thompson also assisted on Riley Holzapfel’s third-period goal to force overtime.
Jeff Zatkoff made 24 saves for the Penguins.
In girls’ basketball, Montrose shut out Forest City in the first quarter Thursday night to win the battle of Lackawanna League Division 4 unbeatens, 41-18, and clinch at least a tie for the first-half tie.
Montrose led 7-0 after one quarter, 19-4 at halftime and 31-9 after three quarters.
Earlier in the week, Montrose handled Mountain View, 55-31.
The Lady Meteors went into Monday’s game at Lackawanna Trail in need of a win to take the first-half championship.
Forest City set up the first-place showdown when Cassandra Bendyk scored 15 points to lead a 39-18 romp over Blue Ridge.
The Lady Foresters opened a 28-8 lead at halftime.
In boys’ basketball, Elk Lake posted a pair of wins to clinch at least a share of the Lackawanna League Division 4 first-half title by finishing 5-1.
Montrose also won twice to improve to 4-1 and keep its hopes of forcing a playoff alive going into Tuesday’s game against Lackawanna Trail.
Elk Lake hammered Lackawanna Trail, 65-29, and Susquehanna, 65-43.
For the second time this season – including the Susquehanna County Christmas Tournament championship game – Elk Lake overpowered Susquehanna early. The Warriors took a 17-6 lead after one quarter.
Tanner Reyan led the way with 18 points. Pete McGee added 14.
Cole Mallery scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Susquehanna.
Rob Heft had 20 points in Elk Lake’s rout of Lackawanna Trail.
Montrose followed up handing Elk Lake its only loss of the half by defeated Mountain View, 48-29, and Forest City, 62-32, to run its winning streak to four games.
COLLEGE CORNER
Sarah Kimsey, a junior from Montrose, finished third in the high jump for the host team January 11 at the Kutztown University Indoor Track and Field Invitational.
Kimsey cleared 5-0 1⁄2 in the meet.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Defending champion Western Wayne (2-0) is at Blue Ridge (3-0) Wednesday in a meeting between the only two remaining unbeatens in Lackawanna League Division 2 wrestling.
In high school basketball, Lackawanna League Division 4 moves to the second half of the season with boys’ games scheduled for Monday, January 28 and girls’ games set for Tuesday, January 29.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com or followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.
DAYTONA 500 WINNER AMONG “MOVERS”
Many Cup teams return with lineups intact from 2012.
Eleven of the 12 drivers who qualified for last year’s Cup Chase are with the same team this season. The notable exception is reigning Daytona 500 champion Matt Kenseth, who moved to the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Kenseth’s speeds during last week’s Preseason Thunder at Daytona suggest last year’s Daytona and Talladega winner will be equally competitive for JGR as he was for Roush Fenway Racing on the schedule’s biggest tracks.
RFR will have a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender at the wheel of the vacated No. 17 Ford. Two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. moves to NASCAR’s premier series in 2013.
Matt Kenseth during preseason practice
Joey Logano is now a member of the championship team of Penske Racing and will compete alongside reigning Cup champion Brad Keselowski in the No. 22 Ford. Penske Racing resumes its relationship with Ford in 2013 after a 10-season run with Dodge.
Danica Patrick begins her first full NASCAR Sprint Cup campaign at Daytona in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Patrick, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, posted her best series finish – 17th – in her final 2012 start at Phoenix.
Speedweeks begin with the non-points Sprint Unlimited for 2012 Coors Light Pole winners and past event winners at 8 p.m. EDT Saturday, Feb. 16. The 55th Daytona 500 follows at 1 p.m. ET Sunday Feb. 24.
IS THE NUMBER 3 ABOUT TO RETURN
Richard Childress told reporters last week at Daytona that his grandson, Austin Dillon plans to run several Cup races this year in preparation for a full 2014 season.
“We don't know how many Cup races he'll run because so much depends on sponsorship,” Childress said. “Since the old rule about seven races ruining your rookie status is gone, we might run him more than that. And that goes for Ty, too. [Ty Dillon, Austin's younger brother, will run his second full season in the Camping World Truck Series before going to Nationwide in 2014.]
“We're going to give them both some Cup races this year.”
With Dillon still registered as a Nationwide driver, he can run unlimited Cup races without jeopardizing his rookie status. (That's why Danica Patrick, who ran 10 races last year, remains eligible for the Cup Rookie of the Year awards this year). Dillon plans to run some Cup races for Circle Sports and will get some starts for James Finch at Phoenix Racing.
Childress hasn't said so publicly, but insiders say he's been thinking seriously about giving Austin the iconic, No. 3 for this year's Cup races. Nobody has carried that number in Cup since RCR star Dale Earnhardt died on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
I WON’T BE GOING TO EUROPE
According to a story in Autoweek, NASCAR is considering hosting exhibition races in Europe.
If they are successful, I won’t be covering them.
While a European series might help widen NASCAR’s reach through television, overseas races have only benefited the sanctioning organization.
“NASCAR would consider future exhibition race opportunities in Europe as part of a broader strategy of promoting stock-car racing in a region and supporting existing efforts like our Euro Racecar NASCAR Touring Series, which is about to embark on its second season,” NASCAR vice-president George Silbermann told Autoweek.
“NASCAR's philosophy has evolved over the years, from the NASCAR exhibition race model of the 1990s -- when we ran several races in Japan -- to the more recent model we implemented beginning with Mexico.”
Hosting international NASCAR races is not a new idea. Long before the exhibition races of the 1990s, NASCAR raced in Europe under the stewardship of its co-founder, Bill France Sr. In 1955, seven years after the first NASCAR race, France arranged for several stock cars, known as the “White Ghosts,” to be transported to Europe where they raced in existing events to help promote interest in the sport. It may not be long before history repeats itself.
The series has traveled to Australia once, Japan three times, as well as Mexico and Canada. During the three-race series held in Japan in 1996, ’97, and ’98, teams loaded their car and all racing equipment into a 40’ shipping container and paid the shipping charges to Long Beach, California. Honda Motor Company took care of the ocean crossing to Japan.
Only about a quarter of the Cup drivers attended those three exhibition races. There was no benefit to sponsors if they did not have connections or sales outlets in Japan. Most drivers came from NASCAR’s lesser series, the Busch (now Nationwide), Trucks, and even the Winston West (a regional touring series on the west coast).
The first two races were held on a road course south of Tokyo and the atmosphere and surroundings were pleasant. Rusty Wallace won the first race, which was attended by about 15,000 fans, and Mike Skinner won the second, which had about the same number of fans.
The third and last race was held at a one and one-half mile oval, 90 miles north of Tokyo, called Twin-Ring Motegi. It was a desolate place, out in the middle of nowhere. There was one building, a large hotel, where the Cup drivers and officials were housed.
Can you imagine being stuck in a remote area, four days, with no car (NASCAR told teams and drivers they should not attempt to drive in Japan, because they drive on the opposite side of the road from us). Even if teams could have rented a limousine, there was no place to go and nothing to see, it was the dead of winter.
“I do not understand why NASCAR would bring us over here,” said Bill Elliott. “This has got to be the most awful place I’ve ever raced at. I’m not having a bit of fun.”
The lesser known drivers, along with their personnel, and journalists were bussed to and from hotels by shuttle busses as far as 60 miles away. That distance might not sound like much in the U. S., but in Japan, with its narrow, two-lane winding road, the bus I rode averaged about 20 miles per hour. If you missed your bus you waited until the next day.
Mike Skinner won the third race, which was only viewed by about 10,000 fans. NASCAR had arranged for a bus to take some drivers and journalists to Narita Airport in Tokyo after the race, so they could take an early flight home.
It took five hours for the bus to make the 90-mile trip to the airport.
“Hurry, your plane is about to leave,” shouted an airport flight attendant.
Michael Waltrip and I were both booked on the same flight. We made it, but had to sprint about 200 yards. They closed the door behind Michael. Several other people didn’t make it.
Based on my experience with NASCAR in Japan and Mexico, someone is going to have to explain to me how racing in Europe will benefit American fans and drivers.
I’ve been there, done that, and I just don’t get it.
I must add: All the Japanese people I came in contact with during my three visits were cordial and as friendly as the cultural differences between us would allow. Several went to great lengths trying to overcome the language barrier, in order to communicate.
Racing Trivia Question: How long (number of laps) is the Daytona 500?
Last Week’s Question: Did Junior Johnson ever drive an Indy-car? Answer. In 1963 Johnson practiced in a Kurtis-Offenhouser, but after the second practice, he climbed out of the car and said, “I don’t feel comfortable in it.” That was his one and only attempt to drive an Indy-car.
You may contact the Racing Reporter at hodges@race500.com.
