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.
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