"Dirt from the Stands" by Greg Cybulski

A Gift Worth Sharing

Well race fans, as we approach my favorite time of year, I once again take some time to relax, reflect and share my thoughts on 2009. As I sit before my keyboard and work on this column, I have a feeling of thankfulness for the opportunities that were presented to me during this past racing season. Since I became involved in dirt track racing through Prairie Dirt, without a doubt, this year has been the most gratifying.

Blogging has been a fun and an easy way of presenting racing news and photos during the year and it is much easier to maintain than the old website and message board that I previously had. This form of media was brought to my attention by Marty Gold who is the host of The Great Canadian Talk Show on 92.9 KICK-FM in Winnipeg. References to local blogs during his radio show caught my attention. After seeing a few examples, I decided to change to blogging as well. The Great Canadian Talk Show can be heard from Monday to Friday at 4:00pm to 5:30pm online at http://www.kick.fm/ and Marty's blog can be viewed at http://tgcts.blogspot.com/

In addition to the traditional dirt track racing websites, my writings also appeared on two blogs in 2009. The blogs are Manitoba Post at http://manitobapost.blogspot.com/ and SaskBlogs at http://www.saskblogs.ca/ .

Prairie Dirt Digest host Darren Pallen graciously invited me to be a guest on a Spring podcast. During our conversation, we touched on such topics as the importance of promotion and media relations at the grass roots level of racing as well as my more recent involvement with Sprint Car racing and the American Sprint Car Series.

Speaking of promotion, kudos to the new ownership and management of Red River Co-op Speedway who took big steps toward becoming more visible in the community. Some examples included a press conference at the Red River Co-op gas station located in St. Norbert, which featured a number of cars from different classes run at the speedway. The conference was covered by both local newspapers, The Winnipeg Free Press and Winnipeg Sun as well as CTV television. Over the summer, news releases were also distributed and read over the airwaves at some of Winnipeg's favorite radio stations including 92 CITI-FM, HOT*103 and 92.9 KICK-FM.

In June, I was presented with a new and exciting opportunity as Director of Media Relations for the Northern Lightning Sprint Association. The newest car class at Red River Co-op Speedway offered fast-paced action for Manitoba's dirt track racing fans in 2009 and it was a privilege to be a part of the NLSA's inaugural season. Race reporting is different than writing a column or an article. At times, this new opportunity presented it's share of challenges, however, translating observations during a race into words was a valuable learning experience.

Another highlight of this season was Prairie Dirt Classic weekend. To have the opportunity to write about and promote the ASCS Canwest Sprint Car tour from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Swift Current, Saskatchewan was an amazing experience with many majestic memories that I will always cherish.

We each have different God-given gifts that are meant to be shared with others. Whether your talent is writing, speaking, photography or driving a race car, it is our responsibility to share these gifts with others. I have had the privilege and honor of knowing pro-active people who do. Not only do they enjoy what they do, but they love to share their passion with others and dare to make the world a better place. At the end of the day, isn't that really what we all want? May we all learn to share our special gifts with others.

On behalf of the Cybulski family, I would like to extend heartfelt wishes of joy and love during this Christmas and holiday season.

God willing, I will see all of you at a dirt track again in 2010.

Take care and good racing,
Greg Cybulski