The Ceraland circuit race is this weekend and it has been the leaping off point for Indiana racing for as long as I’ve been here. As racers, we set our fitness clocks by this event. It’s really a beautiful course as the circuit meanders around a lake and through some rollers on a course within the confines of Ceraland. The root word CERA comes from Cummins Employee Recreation Area, or a derivative of that if I’ve got it right. The course appears that it was designed for bike racing, a 1.4 mile circuit with soft shoulders, wide open spaces and a climb that’s just long enough to matter. The event has been re-named by our friend and its promoter Dan Daly to the Ceraland Joanne W. Daly Memorial Circuit Race, in honor of his wife. If you didn’t know her, you would have liked Joanne; accommodating and cheerful. She was as lovely as she was helpful with limitless patience for all of the banal questions that we ask at registration and beyond. So if you go to the event, and I hope that you do. Say “Thanks” to Dan for keeping this on the calendar despite his (and ours) loss of a loved one.
Here are some words from Dan on his website about the event.
April 17: Ceraland Joanne W. Daly Memorial Circuit Race
Joanne was the foundation of the IRS and an integral part of its success since the beginning in 1989. The longevity of my promoting career is solely the result of Joanne’s persistence even while battling the cold (Southeastway 2005), heat (Midwest Championship Weekend 2005), snow, rain, lighting (Ceraland 2002), wind and hail. No matter the conditions, Joanne always wore a smile on her face and offered encouragement to all. In honor of her unwavering support and steadfast positive attitude, we will honor her with one of the biggest IRS races at the fabled Ceraland circuit race. My son, Colin, will lead the first lap for each category and then it’s ‘game on!’. Pay tribute to JWD and celebrate the IRS opener in fine fashion.