Wrapping Up 2021

 2021 turned out to be a good rebound year for most race tracks and racing fans. While some tracks still had issues post Covid that they had to deal with, for most tracks it was back to normal and full speed ahead. Crowds seemed very good early in the season but leveled off some as Summer rolled on. Most special events did well but now it seems that tracks want to have as many special events as possible because that seems to be where they make their extra "gravy" and now weekly programs are starting to suffer because of all these specials, as fans have only so much disposable income to spend. 

While I enjoy the special events, I also go to a lot of just regular old weekly shows and I see a trend that these weekly shows are starting to hurt with low car counts and small crowds. And I still believe that the weekly shows are critical to the overall health of the sport. 

For me personally, 2021 was a record breakng year, one that I would never have guessed or expected. I never keep a running total of how many events I attend. I just wait until the final checkered flag and then add things up to see how many races I was lucky enough to attend and how many tracks I actually got to. When I did my final tally and discovered that I had been to two hundred and four races during the 2021 calendar year, I was quite stunned. I blew out of the water my old record of one hundred and eighty four, set back in 2016. It was funny because it never felt like I was that busy or going to anywhere near that many races. 

When I broke things down however, I saw that the big gains were in January and February when I was able to attend more races out in Arizona and in Florida than ever before, likely a one time only occurrence. I've pretty much hit the limit of how many races I can attend during the Summer months of June, July and August many years ago so there is never much gain or loss there from year to year. The other thing that I was able to take advantage of in 2021 was that it was quite the dry year in the Midwest  and my number of rainouts was down quite a bit from some years. Often getting rained out is just a matter of chance and sometimes rainouts can be avoided by switching venues and lots of things fell into place for me in 2021. 

2021 marked the forty first consecutive racing season where I have attended at least one hundred races during the calendar year. 

I visited sixty nine tracks(second best ever) in sixteen states and 2021 but for the second straight year, no Canadian tracks were a part of my journeys for obvious reasons. 

I got to four new tracks for the very first time in 2021 and I have now been to three hundred and twenty six tracks(most active but many no longer racing) in twenty nine states and three Canadian provinces. 

I have a lot of promoters, track managers, media folks and fans along the way to thank this season and I have benefited from the help of many people in this continuing fun journey. 

With 2021 winding down rapidly, it is now time to plan for 2022 with plans in place to see racing in Arizona, New Mexico and Florida among other states before the snow melts in the Midwest. 

As many race reports as possible will appear on this blog and for those WISSOTA races that I attend, you can find reports on them at ALL THE DIRT Racing News or ALL THE DIRT. com. They are also coming out with a all new new blog version with information that can't be found either on their website or in the paper too. 

Thanks to those of you that read this blog or say hello at the track. Good luck and happy trails on your personal 2022 racing adventures. 

Tyler Carpenter Repeats, Beason A Three Time Winner and Peterson Takes A Trophy North at the Dome Finale

 For thee days the excitement, momentum and anticipation has been building and everything and everyone cut it all loose as the Gateway Dirt Nationals at America's Center was completed on Saturday night, December 4th. On the schedule for Saturday night would be Last Chance races for both the Late Models and Modifieds while their field for their main event was already set through two nights of qualifying with their small field of cars. Following all the qualifying, the official opening ceremonies would be held and then the three feature races where the big checks and the big cash would be passed out. 

A tour of the pits before racing started would confirm that most teams had indeed stuck around to give it one last shot to make the main event. It also reinforced once again how dedicated and talented these teams are. Following the Friday night show, the pit area looked like a bone yard with trashed cars parked everywhere. Yet just twenty four hours later, the vast majority of these same cars would be ready to race once again and many bore no scars from their Friday night wars. 

Bur for most it was just jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire as if the heat races weren't rough enough, the Last Chance Qualifiers were absolutely brutal with lots of drivers wishing to run the features and not near enough openings for them all. So they proceeded to scratch and claw and run into and over each other in an effort to get into the "big show." In fact, a mind boggling twenty five yellow flags flew during the six Last Chance races for the Late Models and then the Modifieds chimed in with another eleven yellows in their four Last Chance races. Most had only a handful of cars left running at the end but for those that made it, all the trouble was more than worth it to them. 

Perhaps the most interesting development occurred during one of the Mod Last Chance races where Joe Dresch started in the back of one, let everyone else destroy themselves and then he took one of the last spots available. The interesting part was that Dresch was driving a B Mod utilizing a crate motor and three link rear suspension against a full field of open motor cars. 

The Late Model feature would be first up on this night, a nice touch to allow the premier attraction of this weekend to run in "prime time" for viewers and fans at the track also. Tyler Carpenter, who became a household name to many people that had never heard of him before the 2019 race, would be going for his second straight victory here. 

And from the beginning, it appeared that this would be Carpenter's night to shine. He won his heat and then the preliminary feature race on Thursday night. Then he drew the pole for tonight's finale as his luck and skill continued. 

He would actually go on to lead all forty laps and take home thirty thousand dollars for his efforts along with the opportunity to race a NASCAR truck at the dirt show next Summer at Knoxville. For Carpenter, he used a combination of excellent skill, a good car and a modicum of luck to score the victory. 

Carpenter has a good car and runs well at the Dome. The fact that they reworked the track entirely before the feature played into his wheelhouse also as the inside lane was very fast , making the outside groove not so successful. Carpenter was smart enough not to get off the bottom and only when drivers like Brandon Sheppard, Ricky Thornton Jr and Ryan Unzicker decided then had nothing to lose by trying the outside line and finally cleaned that lane off, did the outside work for them at all. But by them it was too late to catch Carpenter. 

A couple of times, fortuitous yellows slowed the action just when he had caught the back of the pack which is when most of the passing takes place, so he found himself racing with a clean track in front of him for most of the main event. 

And of course, the last yellow found him with a right rear tire slowly going down but Tyler was able to generate enough heat in it for it to hold air for the last three laps as he drove to victory. It was just his night. Tyler English ran second for the whole race and only got close when they caught lapped traffic but he would finish solid as the runner up while Nick Hoffman would finish third with fifteen of the twenty one starters still on the track at the finish and none lapped. 

Just when we were ready to write off the Midget division from this event going forward after their poor turnout of cars for this year's race, they go out and produce the most exciting feature race finish of the entire weekend. And it was Jonathan Beason, who had dominated the opening two nights with wins , that produced a thrilling finish that had the crowd on their feet. 

Beason started out incredibly strong as somehow he found a hole on the opening lap and moved from the fifth starting spot to take the lead before one lap was scored. After that, he accelerated away from the field and it looked like a clean sweep would be an easy one for him. That is however, until lap twelve when he came up on Terry Babb too quick as he was about to lap him and jumped up on his car, triggering a yellow as the two locked together. 

Beason caught a break when his car was unharmed but he had to go to the back of the pack and his chance of winning seemed unlikely. However, this is when things really started getting interesting . Throwing caution to the wind, Beason moved all over the track as he roared through the field and soon he was in the top five once again with the help of a couple of well timed yellows. 

Beason continued his charge to the finish, even as the rear suspension of his car was torn up following a bout with the back chute wall. As Beason charged, it looked like he would run out of time as Chris Windom, who had inherited the lead from him after his tangle. was ahead on the final lap while Beason battled for second with Zach Daum, just behind the leader. 

However, Daum went for a wild flip in turn three on the last lap, the red flew and a one lap sprint to the finish was the official call. Windom went to the top side for the final lap to protect himself against Beason. However, Jonathan dove low in turn one and crossed his over and then again crossed down the back chute. They raced side by side off the final corner with Beason nipping Windom by less than a car length in a wild finish that stirred the crowd into a frenzy. Earlier there were all kinds of reports about what class would replace the Midgets next year after their poor showing of cars and they certainly helped state a case for their return with this dandy race. Nick Hoffman would get his second, third place finish of the night as he improves continuously as a Midget racer. 

The Modifieds would wrap up the night with an excellent thirty lap main event of their own. Jordan Grabouski would draw the pole and take the early lead with Tyler Peterson and Jeff "Bone" Larson putting the pressure on him. Peterson would hang to the inside but when Grabo started to slow a bit, Peterson would move to his outside and this would trigger the best side by side racing for the lead of the night. 

For several laps, it would be Peterson pushing on the top side while Grabouski would fight back on the bottom but inch by inch, lap by lap, Peterson would be gaining ground. Finally, one lap past the halfway point, Peterson would clear Grabo and take over the lead. 

A big charge would be put on by Michael Ledford and he cut considerably into the advantage opened up by Peterson. After putting a nose inside Peterson, Tyler decided he better hang on the bottom and this strategy worked as he was able to gain a few car lengths on Ledford. Peterson continued to run smooth and smart and he would drive on for the win with Ledford a strong second while Hoffman made a late charge to get by Larson and record his third straight third place finish of the weekend. Hoffman was by far the most consistent and successful of those drivers that ran multiple divisions  and earmarked him as a "wheelman" of note. 

The win by Peterson was especially sweet for yours truly as Tyler is one of "my guys",  a WISSOTA racer that I see run at many events over the course of the year. He really wanted to run this event in the worst way and worked social media hard in an effort to be invited. I think his thrilling run to the national title for WISSOTA where he edged out Shane Sabraski by a single point got him noticed and then he did the rest. Larson and Grabo also did their fans proud too. 

So, the fifth annual Gateway Nationals is now history. Promoter Cody Sommer indicated that tonight was the biggest Saturday night crowd in event history but that didn't surprise anyone that was there and saw the huge crowd. I thought the pre race "buzz" for this show seemed down this year but boy, was I wrong and there were fans from near and far that attended and many for the first time. Including all those that watched on FLO, it's hard to say just how many folks national wide were introduced to dirt track racing on this night. 

The Gateway Dirt Nationals is really an anomaly when it comes to racing. It is one part racing, one part WWE style entertainment and one part high drama. The event is carefully scripted to be just that from the attention drawing driver introductions to the spectacular pyrotechnics and light show. And while the results of this race have little to do with how a driver did or will do at any other race track, clearly a win here is a defining moment as the tears from two of Saturday night's winners will attest to.  And that is what makes this race so unique and something that everyone should attend at least once, just to say that they have "done the dome." 

Borrowing a phrase, "What happens at the Dome, stays at the Dome." 

Thanks to everyone involved in this spectacular event for their incredibly hard work. 

Moos Not Squirrel Tops Dome; Allen and Beason Also Winners

 In what has increasingly begun to look like a cartoon adventure series, with all the strange and sometimes wonderful things happening, it seemed only appropriate that a cartoon character type named driver would win the biggest race of the evening as the second night of the Gateway Dirt Nationals at the Dome at America's Center took place on Friday night, December 3rd. 

And while only half of the cartoon combo of "Moose and Squirrel" fame was on hand for the Friday night show, Myles Moos held up his end of the bargain as he led from start to finish to win the Late Model feature race, take home five grand and set himself up for a great starting position for Saturday night's finale. 

And while "Moose and Squirrel" foes Boris Badenov and Natasha were not spotted in the Dome, there were more than enough strange things going on to put them at least partially to blame for the wild evening of racing. 

Other winners besides Moos included Texan Chase Allen in the Modifieds and Jonathan Beason in the Midgets as Beason managed to win his second feature of the weekend under the adjusted format for the Midgets based on lack of cars. 

The program would be a duplicate format from the Thursday night show with qualifying for all three classes, and heats and B features for the Mods and Late Models before the main events. Due to lack of cars, the Midgets would run just two heats and then go directly to their feature with all cars running starting their main. 

Twenty three Modifieds would respond to their invitations for this race with drivers on hand all the way from Texas to North Dakota in this division. Over sixty Late Models were on the list as entered for Friday night but only forty three would actually be on hand and take a green flag. 

You knew that it was going to be "one of those nights' when Crazy Martin Tonsfeldt, the biggest race fan in Ogden Iowa and  a character well known to many that read these essays, became the star of the pre race program. The three way interview between him, Ben Shelton and Blake Anderson was a classic but some how fit right in the parameters of this off the wall weekend of racing. 

And under the category of crazy things that happened, how can we forget the drone attack of Late Model driver Gordy Gundaker who was leading a heat race when the drome, used to capture video for the race, crashed into his race car and became lodged on it, necessitating a yellow flag! 

For reasons that perhaps even Kevin Gundaker and his staff can't explain, after preparing a track that was good for most of the show on Thursday night until it slowly started to deteriorate  near the end of the evening, one would expect that the track would be better for night two. However, that didn't prove to be the case as the bumps and humps got worse for Friday and seemed to move to different parts of the track, almost as it they were alive and just migrating around the oval. Much time was spent working the track on Friday but as much as they tried, the conditions turned pretty brutal and much damaged equipment, as well as frayed driver nerves, was the result. And as the track got rougher and rougher, the drivers' styles seemed to match that, as the racing was quite ruthless on Friday with for the first time a driver actually set down after he used his Late Model as a weapon to intentionally take out another driver, something that just should not be happening in the Late Model ranks. 

Things started right out on a strange note for the Late Models as when was the last time you saw a driver turn quick qualifying time on his first lap, then blow the motor on lap two and be sidelined for the rest of the weekend? Well, that was the sad tale that struck Garrett Alberson as caught with his spare motor not along for the weekend, he opted not to borrow a ride and will now instead prepare his team for the Wild West Shootout at Vado New Mexico as he gets to race back in his home area. 

Motor issues also struck Nick Hoffman's Late Model effort but they managed to turn the issue around as after scrambling to change a motor after qualifying after the water pump went out, he raced through the pits, just getting to the track in time to take his spot and the green for his heat. However, from then on things went much smoother as he won that heat and then with a strong effort, finished second to Moos to lock himself into the Saturday night show. 

The Midget feature race would be the first of the three as it was also on Thursday night. With track prep just concluded and these cars much lighter than the cars in the other two classes, they actually handle the rough conditions much better than the other two classes do. 

For full disclosure, all three feature races  were led by the same driver the entire distance but while there were no passes for the lead, to say that there was still plenty of action going on behind the leaders would be a giant understatement. 

For Beason, the redraw of the outside pole was perfect for him as he got up on the cushion and drove from start to finish as the leader in the Midget show and won for the second straight night. Karter Sarff would run second for a while before being passed by Zach Daum who would spent the rest of the race trying to track down the leader. 

Several yellows would keep things bunched but on every restart Beason would power away as he was very strong for the second straight night. His biggest problem was two late yellows that would require one lap races to the finish where one mistake or bad restart could mess up an entirely strong effort. However, Beason weathered the late storm and would drive home for the win with Daum and Nick Hoffman, with another strong effort, rounding out the top three. 

With Moos and Austin Simpson on the front row for the Late Model feature, these drivers were relatively unknown except for central Illinois race fans. But they both did a sterling job of racing and except for one time when Simpson got a little high in turn two and left room for Hoffman, they would have finished first and second in the main. 

It was a race of attrition as nearly half the field didn't see the checkered including Bobby Pierce, who had an off night for himself. He had to run a B Feature, then start toward the back of the main and after a rare spin, he muddled around near the tail until pulling off. 

However, Moos never wavered and he never had a severe challenge for the lead and while many in the crowd were still checking their program to find out who the driver of the #84 was, he rode right into victory lane. Hoffman finished a strong second ahead of Simpson, who has only a handful of Super Late Model starts while Jody Knowles nipped Gundaker on the last corner to get the final qualifying spot. 

The Modified feature was not a good example of indoor racing. This group of cars tried their best to totally tear each other apart and after an eight yellow flag crash fest, only nine cars were running at the finish. 

Winner Allen seemed to be wearing a lucky rabbit's foot all night as after a first lap incident in his heat race where he spun, or got spun, he got the pole spot back and then won the race. The same thing happened in the main event where again he either spun or got spun, got his spot back and then would lead the rest of the way for the win. 

On the other end of the spectrum, Ricky Thornton Jr just can't catch a break. He got involved in a deal during the Late Model feature last night , not of his accord , that knocked him out of the race and tonight the same thing happened as during the first lap melee, he got a flat tire and went from being a strong favorite to win, to having to dig himself out from the back of the pack for a Last Chance race on Saturday. 

Be he lucky or what, on every restart Allen would power away from the field and take advantage of his good fortune. Jeff "Bone" Larson would give a great account of himself in this race, running a strong second and several times looking like he might have something for Allen before he settled in for second. Tyler Peterson, the WISSOTA champion, would also run a strong race as the first driver in several years from that region to get in invite to this race. The track got so rough at the end the top three just hugged the inside and protected their spot. A good battle for the last qualifying spot saw Chad Sellers edge past Brandon Bollinger after they went back and forth several times. 

I'm starting to feel that our victory lane interviews are starting to get a bit "over the top" here as one driver after another tries to top the previous one with outlandish claims and statements. I think we are getting a bit too "WWE" here and while we are all here to have a good time and be entertained,  I think we are starting to slip a little bit into the realm of tasteless boasts and outlandish statements that will just turn people off as we tread a slippery slope. 

The program got done just a bit earlier on Friday but after a pit walk, my word was there a lot of damaged cars to be worked on! It looked like a demolition derby had taken place and there were no winners. But some how, the majority will be back for Saturday night's finale which could be a really wild night of racing. Driver introductions are always a huge part of the Saturday show and given the edgy slope we have been riding this week, I'm just not quite sure what to expect when these take place but it should be something to see.  

Carpenter, Beason and Hoffman Post Opening Night Victories at St. Louis' Dome

 The fifth annual Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts kicked off on Thursday night, December 2nd at the Dome at America's Center in downtown St. Louis Missouri under the direction of Cody Sommers with Kevin Gundaker in charge of track preparation once again. 

After being Covid cancelled in 2020, the event would come back strong this year for it annual three night showing in downtown St. Louis. This year there would be three classes in racing action with the Super Late Models, Midgets and UMP style Modifieds all racing all three nights. 

The Late Models get top billing in this event with their two preliminary night features paying five grand to win as everyone tries to qualify for Saturday night's finale that pays thirty grand to the winner. The Midgets and Modifieds race for identical purses with three thousand to win preliminary shows and the mains on Saturday paying ten grand to win each. Due to a lack of numbers in the Midget class, their portion of the program had to be altered but for those that were in attendance, it was actually a huge benefit to them. The Late Models had an open entry policy while the Midgets and Modifieds were selected by management from among those that applied to get into this event as an open entry policy would have seen too many cars to be functional. At least in terms of the Modifieds as it turned out. 

Sixty four Late Models were on the opening night entry list but when it came to roll out the cars, only thirty nine were actually in attendance and in the cavernous pits that surround the race track. Apparently there are a lot of teams that wanted to see their names on the list but when push came to shove, they failed to appear at the Dome. Time trials with of course the fast cars starting in front would be the format for the night. Six heats and a pair of B Features would select the twenty car starting field of  the main event on this night, with the first four finishers being locked into the main event on Saturday.

Twenty seven Modifieds would receive invitations for the opening night and they would set their starting fields through hot laps/group qualifying. Three heat races and a B Feature would set their eighteen car feature field. 

The Midgets had a problem this year. Due to the USAC and POWRi seasons just having recently concluded and most of the teams winding up their years on the West Coast and with the Chili Bowl upcoming soon with every Midget team in the country seemingly attending that event, it was tough to find entrants for this race this year. Once imaging as the second coming of the Chili Bowl, in 2021 this race couldn't even find enough teams to fill out a full field. The entry list kept getting delayed and delayed as officials scrambled to try and find teams to fill out the field and an entry list never would get posted, such as the other two classes had. At race time, twenty cars were on hand to race with the possibility of a couple more showing up later and the quality was not what it had been in previous years. Perhaps it is time to just let Tulsa have the Midgets and go with a two class program for this event as would produce plenty of racing, especially if the Modified portion of the program was expanded some. 

Every year one of the big discussion points is the race track itself, how it races and what kind of condition it is in. And every year, while it remains slightly under a fifth of a mile oval, the character of the track is slightly different and it races just a bit different. This year, the dirt, which sits outside all year, was much drier than normal and considerably drier that 2019 when it was so soft that you could see it shift as cars drove over it. 

For that reason, it raced different than in previous years. It was much smoother for most of the evening although it started to get pretty bumpy near the end of the program but as announcer Ben Shelton points out, it is a track hauled in and constructed in about two weeks and it is bound to be a little rough. That is the reality and Kevin Gundaker and his crew just do the best they can to keep it as smooth and racy as possible. The track had a different color this year as some different dirt was blended in with what they had and while it raced smoother, it was also extremely dusty for the drivers and in the stands on opening night. It wasn't the kind of dust that blasts you in the face and blinds you, but instead drifts down from the ceiling and coats everything and everyone. 

This weekend is not so much a dirt track race but an event. It produces a carnival atmosphere and is billed as such. The racing can be spectacular but also ruthless and the more outlandish the characters, the better that management likes it. WWF style interviews are the norm and the driver introductions for Saturday night will likely test the bounds of sportsmanship and taste. Plenty of partying here is the norm and traditionalists sometimes chafe over some of the nonsense that is not only allowed but provoked. Drivers seem to feed on this and there were more "birds" thrown from driver to driver than perhaps the rest of the year combined. It took only three laps of the opening Late Model heat to stick a car in the back stretch wheel fence and require repairs and a large number of cars left the infield looking more like they had just participated in the Dakar Rally rather than a dirt track race. 

And at center stage in all the showmanship sits West Virginia's Tyler Carpenter. The little known on a national stage Late Model driver brought huge amounts of attention to himself with a spectacular performance in the last Dome race and he is back for more in 2021, spouting off in interviews but so far backing up his word on the track. 

The Late Model feature had the usual blend of wild action, sudden dramatic changes and a whole lot of wasted equipment before the twenty laps was completed. Carpenter would redraw the pole for the Late Model feature and would lead the majority of the event but there was plenty of wild action, the kind that keeps the crowds coming and that pay per view ticking, to keep most everyone satisfied. 

Early on, the arch villain to most, Scott Bloomquist , would challenge Carpenter until he made a rare mistake, cut turn three too short, cream the inside barrier and tear off the front end of his car as he almost rolled. 

Carpenter then had to deal with Brandon Sheppard and Ricky Thornton Jr who raced side by side behind him as Carpenter tried to plug the whole track up. Things got even more intense as the leaders hit lapped traffic with Thornton Jr squeezing by for the lead for one lap before Carpenter surged back in front. 

Everything came to a head on the front stretch as Carpenter did everything he could to keep the other two behind him and the whole group got messed up in traffic with both Thornton Jr and Sheppard getting crashed out of the race. After an air quality break(a Dome specialty), Carpenter would hold on the last few laps to beat a smooth running Bob Gardner and Tanner English with Kyle Hammer also getting locked in for Saturday. Carpenter would then talk more smack in his victory lane interview and many in the crowd, who have taking a liking to the West Virginia "Hillbilly", roared in approval, their evening complete. 

After a couple of really bad heat races, the Midgets got their act together and produced a nice feature race that saw only three yellows and the last sixteen laps of the main ran off nonstop. 

Nick Hoffman, an accomplished Modified and Late Model driver, would lead the first eight laps of the feature as he road the inside line. Karter Sarff would show that there was an outside line too as the track, which had been watered just before the Midget main, would hold a high line for these light and small cars. 

However, just when Sarff was about to make the move of the night, he jumped the cushion in turn three and lost all that he had gained. However, Jonathan Beason, one that was passed by Sarff's charge, took note of the new fast lane and when Sarff bobbled, he jumped up there himself and quickly drove past the leaders and proceeded to run away with the race. 

Hoffman had dropped a few spots but he got up on the wheel and moved up the track and fought his way back up to second, edging past Jake Neuman to get that second spot and showing that yes indeed, it just might be possible for Hoffman to pull off a triple win on Saturday night as he figures to be strong in his Late Model and nearly unbeatable in his Modified. 

Speaking of that, Hoffman would then jump into his Modified and lead start to finish in that feature to wrap up the evening's entertainment. While the other two classes were good at using the whole track, the Modifieds pretty much stuck to the bottom lane, perhaps because as the last event it was just too rough to move up the track. 

Hoffman would lead through three yellow flags and never be challenged as he drove on to an easy win, if there is such a thing at this track. The best drive was put on by Peyton Taylor as the Arkansas driver would be one of the few able to move up the track and he gained several spots in the last few laps to finish second. Tyler Nicely faded but then moved back up for third and Jordan Grabouski, the Nebraska driver, also made a great late race charge to lock himself in for Saturday. 

It was a long evening of racing with the last checkered flying sometime after 11 pm. Of course, there are always a number of breaks needed for track prep, watering and air purification purposes but the announcing group of Ben Shelton, Dustin Jarrett, Blake Anderson, Trenton Berry and on this night, guest announcer Mike McKinney kept things hopping and there were seldom a quiet moment . 

The seating was different this year with the front stretch seating open on the first night unlike previous years so it was hard to gauge the crowd with them more spread out but veteran crowd watchers told me they thought the Thursday night crowd was larger than ever. And most importantly, they were consuming more of the products that have made Milwaukee and St. Louis famous than ever!