Saturday night, December 19th, the die hards in the world of racing gathered together one last time before the calendar flips over to 2016 to share some short track racing action.
The scene was the Southern Illinois Center, across the street from the "Magic Mile" in historic Du Quoin Illinois for the "Junior Knepper 55" for USAC Midgets on the tiny indoor dirt track used a couple a times each year for some late season and early season Midget racing.
This year's event was promoted by Nick Knepper and Derek LeMaster and featured sanctioning from USAC as opposed to POWRi which previously ran all the races at the "Mini Magic Mile" as announcer Jim Childers used to label this facility. And the split must be permanent as it was announced during the evening that USAC would begin its 2016 National Championship Midget season with a return trip to Du Quoin next March. What caused the split I can not say, but to the average race fan, the difference was indiscernible. Both groups brought big fields of cars, good officiating and excellent announcers and both groups ran off prompt programs. So for the average race fan, it was just a difference in the letters at the top of the headline, but likely much more important to some people.
Speaking of the race field, it was a great one as sixty two Midgets signed in to race and there were many big names among the entry list. While the difference in equipment is minimized by the smallness of the track, and luck certainly plays an important part in how the racing shakes out at such a small and action packed event, at the end, the name drivers and powerhouse teams seemed to find their way to the front of the field to battle it out for the win.
The race format for this evening's event was one that is used for the Chili Bowl and also, I believe, by the ASCS for their racing events. No qualifying(thank goodness) and instead heat races set by the draw from which passing points were established. The top forty in points move into four qualifiers which are inverted by six, and then passing points are used again. The top twelve in total passing points make the show, the rest move into two B features with four cars from the C tagging the field. Four out of each B set the twenty car feature field, going for fifty five laps in honor of the Knepper family.
Race fans get more than their "bang" for the buck as seventeen races are on the card for the evening. and this is truly racing, very unlike much of what happens indoors at some events. The track is wide enough to pass on and race hard on and the track officials do a great job of staying with the track and making it racy from start to finish. Dust is very minimal and the surface is always heavy, allowing for a nice berm and the potential for some hair raising slide jobs, all in fun of course! And after last weekend's debacle at Indianapolis at their attempt at an indoor event, things looked just that much more impressive this weekend with the high speeds, rooster tails of clay and passing galore.
Blake Anderson was behind the microphone this weekend and he did a great job of calling the action and setting up the program for the fans. We did miss Childers though, as the long time announcer has hung up his microphone after a long and distinguished career calling races all over the Midwest. I first met Jim at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway when he was hired to announce there after that state of the art facility was built, and since Jim lived just across the Ohio River in Metropolis Illinois, it was natural for him to be there. Over the years, we have run into each other at various racing venues, and while I saw him in the crowd Saturday, I did not get the chance to say hello.
The racing itself was very eventful, with more action than could possibly be related in this blog. At the end, it was several of the biggest names on hand that battled it out. And to show how much passing there was, winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Tyler Thomas both went to the back of the pack in a first lap tangle and yet both worked their way back to the front before the end. Stenhouse got the win when he slid past Bryan Clauson with only three laps to go. Clauson had a smoking motor and he seemed to be getting just a little slower off the corners at the end and Stenhouse took advantage to dive under him for the win. Thomas looked to be the fastest of anyone in the house but after he worked his way back up to third, he again got into a tangle and was a DNF.
The biggest surprise of the night to me was the work of Katlynn Leer. The female driver from Iowa did a great job to make the main event and while her car seemed to be down on speed compared to some in the field, many people around me were remarking how smoothly she drove which allowed her to make the show. It was quite an improvement over just a couple of years ago when I saw her race in this event and she was quite slow, frankly.
There was plenty of action over the course of the night as thirteen flips were recorded. When someone asked if that was a record, the remarkable Dick Jordan, USAC statistician extraordinaire, already had the information available that it was the most ever for any USAC event in history! Not only that, but the car count was a USAC high for the year and the most Midgets at a USAC race since 2008.
Probably the only down side to the evening was that the air got pretty bad a couple of times. Whether that was the result of the warmer than normal temperatures that didn't allow the fresh air to filter in so much or just that there were so many cars racing, it did get pretty nasty for a couple of stretches until a yellow flag or the end of an event allowed for a short break.
Racing did not get done until almost Midnight, not because of any delays in the program or a lack of organization, but mostly just because they had so many races to run. If I had my "druthers", since everyone arrives to this race way early, and the sun has no effect on the track being indoors, I'd like to see then try starting at mid afternoon and shoot for an earlier conclusion.
This is not an event where you would want to take someone to see their first race. It is noisy and it can be smoky, but for a veteran race fan that knows what to expect, it is a great night of highly entertaining racing, done up close and personal. This event ranks right up there with the Chili Bowl, albeit on a smaller scale, but no one drives away from Du Quoin not feeling they got their monies worth. That is probably the reason that every event I've been to there always is played out in front of a full house. Congratulations to everyone involved in this program, it was an action packed way of wrapping up the race season.
Next up for me will be our annual trip to Tucson for the Wild West Shootout. Nearly each day, more and more drivers are announcing their intentions of attending this race, making it potentially one of the real "happenings" of the upcoming season.
I hope to soon tally up my 2015 racing season and bring you some information on that. In the meantime, happy holidays to all and best wishes for a prosperous New Year.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Turkey in December?
Although it took two additional weeks to get the race in and the calendar turned over to another month before the first green flag was finally waved, for the Springfield Raceway the third time was the charm as the twice postponed Turkey Bowl IX was completed Saturday afternoon at the red clay quarter mile track located just off Interstate 44.
On a day when except for the "bite" of the wind that kept everyone hunkered down in their Winter coats, it could just as easily been disguised as a day in late September or early October. Promoter Jerry Hoffman was determined to get this race in after two straight weekends of lousy weather, and even though racing in December might have been unsettling for some, there were plenty of drivers and spectators more than willing to give outdoor motor sports a shot in the month more reserved for Christmas shopping and snow shoveling in my part of the world.
I did a survey of veteran fans before the racing began to ask if anyone could ever remember attending an outdoor dirt track race in December in the Midwest. None of the people I spoke to could ever remember such a thing happening before and neither could I. Interestingly, nearly the exact same comments were coming out of the Northeast where a big block Modified race went to the green flag on Saturday after being rained out on previous attempts to complete the last outdoor race in New York state previously. Perhaps we are starting a trend that will become the new "norm."
In any event, it was a good way to wrap up the outdoor season, with a solid field of cars and a good sized crowd in the grandstand for the afternoon program that ended in the early evening hours, just as the temperatures really started to drop.
With the race going to the line so late in the season, I felt that there won't be block buster fields of cars on hand as many drivers have either stripped down their cars for freshening for 2016 and had tucked them away in the garages for the Winter. Nevertheless, nearly fifty Modifieds and B Mods were on hand for the show. The Late Model count was slightly below hopes with only fifteen signing in to race, but I feel that many that would have been ready to race for the first scheduled date either just felt they didn't want to wait around another two weeks for the final race before they could start tearing apart their cars in preparation for next year, or simply had too many other things going on in the rush before the 25th.
What did seem to be missing were some of the local racers as a quick look at the track point standings showed a lot of regulars not on hand while there were many racers that traveled a long distance for this race. Drivers from Iowa, Arkansas, Kansas and Illinois were on hand along with local and regional drivers from the "Show Me" state.
I had an opportunity to talk with a couple of the long distance travelers before the racing began. One was B Mod driver Doug Tye from Troy Illinois. He normally races at tracks such as I-55 and Granite City Illinois but had this race penciled on his calendar for quite some time and wasn't about to miss it. Doug's car draws a lot of interest with its wrap, which is a tribute car to the U.S. Air Force with many interesting designs and pictures on the car. Doug was a twenty year retiree from the Air Force and while he never had the chance to race while he was serving, now is his time to catch up. He told me that every one of the pictures and names had special significance to him and he reuses the wrap every year with slightly difference outlines so he can tell in pictures which year is which.
The highlight of Doug's 2015 season was traveling to Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Wisconsin for their big B Mod show in September. In fact, several of his friends traveled with him to race at that event and he said even more would be going in 2016. Doug had his car set up to WISSOTA regulations and had to get an OK from Hoffman to run that set up in the Turkey Bowl. He was even using the WISSOTA Hoosier tires. Next year Doug will have a second car, a Shaw chassis, to go with the Dirt Works he is running. One car will be for special events and one for weekly racing.
The other driver I spent some time with was Late Model driver "Chargin'" Charlie McKenna from Clear Lake Iowa. To see Charlie at this event was quite a surprise but he reasoned that the videos of this track made it look like a fun track that he might want to try. Probably the other reason was that Charlie got himself a new transporter and he was anxious to get it on the road and try it out. Originally owned by Steve Francis, the S & S unit was a beautiful riding vehicle according to McKenna and will allow him to get out and travel more in 2016.
Charlie had just been in Menomonie Wisconsin this week with his car at Mars Brothers Racing for some updating. Charlie plans to run both IMCA and open motor shows next year and he is excited to see the number of open shows already on the schedule. He had high things to say about the early work of new Mason City promoters Al Hejna and Ryne Staley and is excited to be able to run his Late Model as his "home" track. McKenna reports that Mars Racing is crazy busy as their MB Customs Modified program is extremely busy and Jimmy Mars will be debuting a totally reconfigured Late Model in Tucson in January. Other MB customers expected to race in Arizona at U.S.A. Raceway include Jason Krohn and Rodney Sanders.
Ryan Gustin was on hand with both his Late Model and Modified and he was happy that he brought both cars with him as he doubled up, winning both the Late Model and Modified feature. His Late Model win involved total domination as he quickly moved from the second row to the lead and once in front, the only question became just how many of the rest of the field could stay on the lead lap with him. At the end, only Shannon Scott and Jeremy Payne were able to keep from getting lapped as Gustin didn't back off on the torrid pace he was setting. It was a clean sweep for Henryetta Ford as that business adorns both Gustin and Scott's cars. Modified ace Eddie Martin from Oklahoma was running well in second until a mechanical issue put him in the pits. Peyton Looney and McKenna completed the top five.
Gustin's Modified win was much more hard fought as Springfield track champion Scott Crigler proved to be a tough man to pass. Crigler got the jump on Gustin at the start and led for a number of laps as Gustin tried time after time to get under him while Crigler protected the faster high side of the track. Eventually Gustin just kept working and working and was able to edge past Crigler to take over the lead. Crigler stayed close but Gustin was not to be passed once he was in front. Ken Schrader was on hand and was using his IMCA car and Schrader had a good run, holding the low side of the track and keeping up his momentum with his crate motor. He held third for all the race until the final corner when Logan Martin was able to edge him out. The combination of a slick track and the USRA cars running sans rear spoiler seemed to even out the competition and IMCA drivers Scott Drake, Josh Most, Danny Womack, Shane Demey and Peyton Taylor all made the feature with their less powerful motors; most being crates.
Passing points set the field for all three classes and while Gustin started the Modified main right up front, he earned that spot with a back to front drive in his heat race that racked up the points while the video went "viral."
The B Mod feature was a good one with J.C. Morton and Logan Martin battling for the lead. They got together coming off turn four and Martin climbed the front stretch fence and then slid on his roof all the way down the home stretch straight. He was unhurt in the wild wreck. Morton and Kris Jackson then locked into a good battle until they were joined by track champ Ryan Gillmore and after a series of wild slide jobs, Gillmore took over the lead and went on for the win.
The only "downer" of the day was the stupid incident that took place as the Martin wreck was being cleaned up. Martin made a few gestures toward Morton as the cars slowly idled around the track under the yellow, something that was not unexpected, given the situation. However, as the cars continued to circle the track, suddenly one of Martin's pit crew came bursting across the track as the field came by. He ran toward the moving car of Morton and tried to kick the front tire of J.C.'s car with Morton swerving to the left to try to avoid him. This situation immediately brought to mind the infamous Kevin Ward-Tony Stewart incident from last year, an unfortunate situation that the racing world is still trying to recover from. How this crewman was allowed to get on the track and even get near the moving cars is hard to fathom. What do we have to do to drill in people's heads that this kind of reaction is not only futile but extremely dangerous? And why do tracks even allow this to happen? This particular crewman should have been marched right off the track and off the speedway grounds, but I'm guessing that didn't happen. In any event, after this nonsense ended, the rest of the B Mod feature was a good one too.
Even though it was December , the famous hand made Turkey Bowl trophies were again handed out to the winners, and a more distinctive trophy would be hard to find, unless you consider Clarksville's Toilet Bowl trophies.
With all the rain of late in southern Missouri, I would have anticipated a choppy race track would be the result. However, Hoffman and the rest of his crew has the track in fine shape, and especially considering that the racing started in the early afternoon under sunny skies and lots of wind. The crowd seemed good although not as big as for some of the other Turkey Bowls, likely the result of the two week postponement.
Thanks go out to Hoffman and his crew for their diligence in getting this race completed. Many promoters would have thrown in the towel after the second postponement but Jerry's stubborn streak allowed us all to see one more race before the snow flies(actually it already has!), and make the long Winter a little shorter. And some day in the future, when we are sitting around the campfire telling stories, we will be reminded of the time we went to races in December in Missouri!
On a day when except for the "bite" of the wind that kept everyone hunkered down in their Winter coats, it could just as easily been disguised as a day in late September or early October. Promoter Jerry Hoffman was determined to get this race in after two straight weekends of lousy weather, and even though racing in December might have been unsettling for some, there were plenty of drivers and spectators more than willing to give outdoor motor sports a shot in the month more reserved for Christmas shopping and snow shoveling in my part of the world.
I did a survey of veteran fans before the racing began to ask if anyone could ever remember attending an outdoor dirt track race in December in the Midwest. None of the people I spoke to could ever remember such a thing happening before and neither could I. Interestingly, nearly the exact same comments were coming out of the Northeast where a big block Modified race went to the green flag on Saturday after being rained out on previous attempts to complete the last outdoor race in New York state previously. Perhaps we are starting a trend that will become the new "norm."
In any event, it was a good way to wrap up the outdoor season, with a solid field of cars and a good sized crowd in the grandstand for the afternoon program that ended in the early evening hours, just as the temperatures really started to drop.
With the race going to the line so late in the season, I felt that there won't be block buster fields of cars on hand as many drivers have either stripped down their cars for freshening for 2016 and had tucked them away in the garages for the Winter. Nevertheless, nearly fifty Modifieds and B Mods were on hand for the show. The Late Model count was slightly below hopes with only fifteen signing in to race, but I feel that many that would have been ready to race for the first scheduled date either just felt they didn't want to wait around another two weeks for the final race before they could start tearing apart their cars in preparation for next year, or simply had too many other things going on in the rush before the 25th.
What did seem to be missing were some of the local racers as a quick look at the track point standings showed a lot of regulars not on hand while there were many racers that traveled a long distance for this race. Drivers from Iowa, Arkansas, Kansas and Illinois were on hand along with local and regional drivers from the "Show Me" state.
I had an opportunity to talk with a couple of the long distance travelers before the racing began. One was B Mod driver Doug Tye from Troy Illinois. He normally races at tracks such as I-55 and Granite City Illinois but had this race penciled on his calendar for quite some time and wasn't about to miss it. Doug's car draws a lot of interest with its wrap, which is a tribute car to the U.S. Air Force with many interesting designs and pictures on the car. Doug was a twenty year retiree from the Air Force and while he never had the chance to race while he was serving, now is his time to catch up. He told me that every one of the pictures and names had special significance to him and he reuses the wrap every year with slightly difference outlines so he can tell in pictures which year is which.
The highlight of Doug's 2015 season was traveling to Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Wisconsin for their big B Mod show in September. In fact, several of his friends traveled with him to race at that event and he said even more would be going in 2016. Doug had his car set up to WISSOTA regulations and had to get an OK from Hoffman to run that set up in the Turkey Bowl. He was even using the WISSOTA Hoosier tires. Next year Doug will have a second car, a Shaw chassis, to go with the Dirt Works he is running. One car will be for special events and one for weekly racing.
The other driver I spent some time with was Late Model driver "Chargin'" Charlie McKenna from Clear Lake Iowa. To see Charlie at this event was quite a surprise but he reasoned that the videos of this track made it look like a fun track that he might want to try. Probably the other reason was that Charlie got himself a new transporter and he was anxious to get it on the road and try it out. Originally owned by Steve Francis, the S & S unit was a beautiful riding vehicle according to McKenna and will allow him to get out and travel more in 2016.
Charlie had just been in Menomonie Wisconsin this week with his car at Mars Brothers Racing for some updating. Charlie plans to run both IMCA and open motor shows next year and he is excited to see the number of open shows already on the schedule. He had high things to say about the early work of new Mason City promoters Al Hejna and Ryne Staley and is excited to be able to run his Late Model as his "home" track. McKenna reports that Mars Racing is crazy busy as their MB Customs Modified program is extremely busy and Jimmy Mars will be debuting a totally reconfigured Late Model in Tucson in January. Other MB customers expected to race in Arizona at U.S.A. Raceway include Jason Krohn and Rodney Sanders.
Ryan Gustin was on hand with both his Late Model and Modified and he was happy that he brought both cars with him as he doubled up, winning both the Late Model and Modified feature. His Late Model win involved total domination as he quickly moved from the second row to the lead and once in front, the only question became just how many of the rest of the field could stay on the lead lap with him. At the end, only Shannon Scott and Jeremy Payne were able to keep from getting lapped as Gustin didn't back off on the torrid pace he was setting. It was a clean sweep for Henryetta Ford as that business adorns both Gustin and Scott's cars. Modified ace Eddie Martin from Oklahoma was running well in second until a mechanical issue put him in the pits. Peyton Looney and McKenna completed the top five.
Gustin's Modified win was much more hard fought as Springfield track champion Scott Crigler proved to be a tough man to pass. Crigler got the jump on Gustin at the start and led for a number of laps as Gustin tried time after time to get under him while Crigler protected the faster high side of the track. Eventually Gustin just kept working and working and was able to edge past Crigler to take over the lead. Crigler stayed close but Gustin was not to be passed once he was in front. Ken Schrader was on hand and was using his IMCA car and Schrader had a good run, holding the low side of the track and keeping up his momentum with his crate motor. He held third for all the race until the final corner when Logan Martin was able to edge him out. The combination of a slick track and the USRA cars running sans rear spoiler seemed to even out the competition and IMCA drivers Scott Drake, Josh Most, Danny Womack, Shane Demey and Peyton Taylor all made the feature with their less powerful motors; most being crates.
Passing points set the field for all three classes and while Gustin started the Modified main right up front, he earned that spot with a back to front drive in his heat race that racked up the points while the video went "viral."
The B Mod feature was a good one with J.C. Morton and Logan Martin battling for the lead. They got together coming off turn four and Martin climbed the front stretch fence and then slid on his roof all the way down the home stretch straight. He was unhurt in the wild wreck. Morton and Kris Jackson then locked into a good battle until they were joined by track champ Ryan Gillmore and after a series of wild slide jobs, Gillmore took over the lead and went on for the win.
The only "downer" of the day was the stupid incident that took place as the Martin wreck was being cleaned up. Martin made a few gestures toward Morton as the cars slowly idled around the track under the yellow, something that was not unexpected, given the situation. However, as the cars continued to circle the track, suddenly one of Martin's pit crew came bursting across the track as the field came by. He ran toward the moving car of Morton and tried to kick the front tire of J.C.'s car with Morton swerving to the left to try to avoid him. This situation immediately brought to mind the infamous Kevin Ward-Tony Stewart incident from last year, an unfortunate situation that the racing world is still trying to recover from. How this crewman was allowed to get on the track and even get near the moving cars is hard to fathom. What do we have to do to drill in people's heads that this kind of reaction is not only futile but extremely dangerous? And why do tracks even allow this to happen? This particular crewman should have been marched right off the track and off the speedway grounds, but I'm guessing that didn't happen. In any event, after this nonsense ended, the rest of the B Mod feature was a good one too.
Even though it was December , the famous hand made Turkey Bowl trophies were again handed out to the winners, and a more distinctive trophy would be hard to find, unless you consider Clarksville's Toilet Bowl trophies.
With all the rain of late in southern Missouri, I would have anticipated a choppy race track would be the result. However, Hoffman and the rest of his crew has the track in fine shape, and especially considering that the racing started in the early afternoon under sunny skies and lots of wind. The crowd seemed good although not as big as for some of the other Turkey Bowls, likely the result of the two week postponement.
Thanks go out to Hoffman and his crew for their diligence in getting this race completed. Many promoters would have thrown in the towel after the second postponement but Jerry's stubborn streak allowed us all to see one more race before the snow flies(actually it already has!), and make the long Winter a little shorter. And some day in the future, when we are sitting around the campfire telling stories, we will be reminded of the time we went to races in December in Missouri!
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