Volusia Speedway Park wrapped up the short track portion of Speed Weeks on Saturday night, February 15th in front of a huge crowd of fans. After a scare from the weather on Friday night, sunny skies and warm temperatures returned and it was a great night to wrap up the Late Model and Big Block racing in Florida.
Forty five Late Models and thirty two Big Blocks hung around to complete the week of racing with a few of the Late Models heading home early after a week of frustration in most of their cases. But those that remained put on another sterling show. Unlike some years when there has been much parity and a variety of winners, this year would see dominating performances in both of the classes as Jimmy Owens would win his third straight Late Model feature which was quite an accomplishment in and of itself, and Matt Williamson would become a multiple winner in the Big Blocks with only two drivers winning races in that division here at VSP. Both divisions would wrap up the week with fifty lap main events on Saturday night which in some cases required just a bit of a strategy change, particularly by some of the hard chargers that still wanted to be around and competitive at the end of the two events.
The Big Blocks would lead off the show on Saturday and after four heats and a Last Chance race, twenty eight of them would take the green for their fifty lap main. Early in hot laps, Michael Maresca, who had been having some good runs this week, started smoking very badly and was pushed to the pits. Fortunately, the problem proved to be a minor one and he was able to race through the night, but not to the success that he had earlier in the week.
Quite frankly, the Big Block feature was not a race of the scintillating type as Williamson started on the outside pole and led for all fifty laps. He was never really challenged for the top spot either as Jimmy Phelps moved into second quickly and just seemed to ride in that spot, never to provide a challenge to Williamson.
There was only one yellow flag in the main when Billy Pauch rolled to a halt with seventeen laps complete and after the restart, the leaders pretty much got in line and rolled around the track. The last ten or so laps the track started to take rubber and everyone really lined up in the lower groove and stayed there.
Racers that were expected to challenge Williamson like Matt Sheppard, Larry Wight and Stewart Friesen never had anything for the 2019 DIRTcar Big Block champion. Sheppard rode around in third, Wight slipped from third to sixth and Friesen dropped even farther back out of the top ten. Billy Dunn and Billy Decker completed the top five. Wight did gather enough points that he won the Big Gator for the point title for the week though.
The Big Blocks are beautiful machines that are spotlessly maintained by their crews. They have a unique sound to them and very unique handling characteristics but quite frankly, I didn't think that they raced very well here this week. The disparity between the fast cars and slower ones seems profound and there was not much battling for the lead or other positions for most of their shows. They simply got in line and rode around the track. They are dependable with very few cars that don't finish their features and also few yellow flags, but they didn't provide much in the way of excitement either. I have seen them now both here at Volusia and at Charlotte several times and I just don't find them to be very exciting. Eastern folks rave about them and perhaps I just need to see them race at some other track other than the two I've mentioned, because other than the spotless appearance of them, so far they haven't done much for me.
One thing I give the Big Blocks credit for though is that their rules don't allow spotters to hang out over the track with their sticks and give the drivers signals on which lane to go or how to block the fast car trying to overtake their driver. Big Block drivers actually have to figure out on their own where to race the track and what decisions to make. The other divisions here and elsewhere across the country could well take a cue from the Big Blocks in that regard and then we wouldn't have to hear that the first words out of the driver's mouths in victory lane were thanks to crewman "Billy Bob" who signaled me where to race the track on the track so I could block the fast groove.
As the Big Blocks wrapped up their event, the track was starting to take rubber and go one lane and I was really worried that we would see a bad Late Model feature because of them. The track crew came out and watered a big and them "tickled" the surface but I didn't think that quick fix would work. Wrong, wrong and wrong on my part! The track was wide and fast for the Late Models and there was no hint of a rubbered up surface so they definitely knew what they were doing and the few moments they took saved the night.
Counter to the Big Blocks, the Late Models produced an entertaining fifty lap feature that saw multiple leaders, much passing and changing of positions to go along with that and although winner Owens started right on the front row, his path to victory was much tougher than that would make it sound.
In fact, Owens pushed out badly in the very first corner and gave up several positions and spent most of the race trying to fight his way back to the front. Kyle Strickler led the first lap and showed great speed early after struggling mightily most of the week. What he turned around on the last night I'm not sure, but he went from being quite slow to a stiff challenger for the lead.
Darrell Lanigan moved by Strickler to lead a few laps until he was challenged by Jonathan Davenport. Davenport edged into the lead briefly and was still running a strong second when he suddenly slowed and pulled into the infield under yellow as his night was done.
Then the driver that has probably been as spectacular as anyone all week without winning, Kyle Bronson, blew by on the outside to take over the lead with his "hell bent for election" style of driving. He led for nearly half the race but was challenged by Owens who had gradually worked his way up and Ricky Weiss who was married to the bottom but was able to gradually advance into a challenging spot.
Bronson started to slow slightly as he likely had worn out his tires and when he jumped the cushion with ten to go, Owens was right there to take over the top spot. And once in front, he pulled away as the large contingent of fans from the Volunteer state roared their approval while chugging down their 'shine. Weiss made a late charge of his own to edge out Bronson for second with Lanigan and Brandon Sheppard completing the top five. Sheppard seemed to have lost that little edge he had earlier in the week and they will now try to figure out where it escaped to before WoO action continues in March.
For Owens, it was a brilliant end of the week showing for the likable driver and he certainly found the right combination for his car as the week progressed. Handling seemed to be key for him as when others started to struggle with changing track conditions, his car stayed smooth and straight through the corners no matter if it was slick or heavy. Sheppard had the most consistent of weeks as he won the Big Gator for the point title.
We couldn't get through the night without the "droop rule" playing its part in the festivities. For the third straight night, Scott Bloomquist ran afoul of the "droop rule" as he didn't droop enough following a heat race win and he went from being in the redraw to fourth which pretty much ended his chances of a win. A weak link in his restricting chain in the rear end was deeded the culprit. Strickler also had the same sort of issue after qualifying but his infraction wasn't quite as severe and he was only docked three positions in the qualifying order due to the toothless rule and he still started in the front row for a heat and won that and then ultimately drew the pole for the main. Talking about the "droop rule" in Late Model racing is about as uncomfortable as hearing television ads for Peyronie's Disease so hopefully both will be quickly solved so I don't have to talk or hear about either.
The Volusia racing ended on a high note with an excellent final race run in front of a huge crowd and the whole show got done at a very reasonable time on top of that. The amount of work that goes into putting on this long series is astronomical. I was tired after six nights of Late Model racing and they had been going at it for a week by then with Sprint and Modified racing. The track prep crews, all the workers and the officials that put on the show all did a wonderful job and they must be extremely exhausted by now. But all their efforts made this event what it was. And with wonderful weather and not a single rain out over the long course of nearly two weeks, what a great racing vacation for many folks. Thanks to everyone involved for a great show and a great presentation.
The new bleachers were a wonderful addition to the facility and certainly welcomed by just about everyone. Now for me on my wish list for DIRTcar to explore, some lights behind the grandstand so that the stands are lit better and some decent pit bleachers for the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway that are very much needed. Thank you in advance.
Three thousand, seven hundred and forty six point nine miles later, we are home and back to reality. And dang it all, the snow hasn't melted yet!
Monday, February 17, 2020
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Owens and Wight Repeat at VCS
Friday night, February 14th, the second to the last show of the DIRT Nationals was held at the Volusia Speedway Park. With the high level of competition, seeing a repeat winner was quite unexpected and even more so to find both feature winners had also won on Thursday night. But that was exactly the case as Jimmy Owens and Larry Wight, both winners on the previous night and on quite different racing surfaces, once again repeated their main event wins. For Wight it was even more impressive as he became only the third driver in DIRT Nationals history to win three straight nights as the New York driver has won three of the four Big Block mains contested so far with only Matt Williamson keeping him from a clean sweep.
After spectacular weather all week, for the first time the track officials, racers and fans had to battle the weather. As predicted, light rain hit the area overnight and into the morning hours of Friday but it was not of the magnitude to cause any delays or problems.
What wasn't expected was the line of light but persistent showers that drifted into the area in the late afternoon. Arriving after the track prep crews has already slopped in the racing surface as they always do here, the light but steady rain was of the variety to soak into the track surface and when it persisted for well over and hour, the track started to take on that look of a surface that couldn't be saved and I thought we were very close to that point of forcing a cancellation. Fortunately, DIRTcar officials were monitoring the weather and saw the clearing was on the way and that the showers had a predictable ending. As within minutes of the stoppage of the rain, they were out on the track with their heavy equipment, of which they have considerable, and they made the track good again in a relatively short time.
Drivers cooperated and helped roll in the track and the whole process went quite smoothly but the damage was done as the rain created a two hour delay of the racing and eventually would force the final Big Block feature to be completed after Midnight. And quite frankly, the track turned out to be much better than I thought it would be. It did build up quite a heavy berm and it was top side dominant for most of the night but it stayed smooth and the racing conditions really weren't much different than they had been for several of the nights.
However, the appearances when they started to roll in the track apparently scared some of the "panty waists" in the Late Model pits. Despite the fact that it was a ten grand to win show, there were a number of drivers that opted to shutter their machines for the night and just watch. There were forty night drivers that signed in to race in the Late Model pits after Justin Ratliff, Ken Monahan and Earl Pearson Jr opted to call it a week and head home. However, fully a dozen drivers that had planned on racing instead parked their machines when they were afraid they might get mud on their cars including Donnie Schatz, Gregg Satterlee, Shane Clanton, Dale McDowell, Kyle Lear, Donnie Chappell, Tim McCreadie, Johnny and Stormy Scott, Mike Marlar, Mason Zeigler and Jonathan Davenport. On the other hand, only one Big Block Mod failed to race in the form of Dave Raucher and that was reported to be a mechanical issue. By the way, the Mods were racing for three grand, not ten.
The track was lightning fast for time trials with Scott Bloomquist quickest as he cracked the sixteen second barrier. But wait a minute! For the second straight night the "droop rule" but the fast qualifier as Bloomquist found his car be to hiked up too much and in his case the measurement was even farther off than the previous night and he was punished all the way back to the second row for his heat race through which he still qualified for the feature as he joined those snickering at the toothless penalties being passed out.
With all the cars bailing out on this night, only four heat races were held and two Last Chance events were held and even the emergency provisional entrants were cut down as twenty six drivers took the green flag for the main. Before we talk about what was quite an entertaining race, it still should be pointed out that the winner once again started on the pole for the feature although there was certainly more gaining of positions than some nights.
And despite the fact that Owens sat on the pole, it was Mark Whitener that led the opening laps as he was blazing fast on the cushion. However, as has bit him on several occasions this week, his over aggression has haunted him as he jumped the cushion, giving Owens the lead and then later he really got high, bent up his nose and despite his spectacular laps, ended up being a DNF.
Owens led the rest of the way but it was not an easy race as he received much pressure during the middle portion of the event. Ricky Weiss, who has been quite quiet all week, made a strong charge from twelfth as he was the only driver to be successful on the bottom. He moved up to second and was just inches away from taking the lead from Owens. However, Jimmy fought him off and then after that Weiss steadily faded back, finally falling all the way to seventh.
Then it was another Florida high flyer in Kyle Bronson that provided the excitement and he torched the cushion as he likes to do, getting all the way up to second and seemingly was the only one that could challenge Owens. A late yellow set a five lap dash to the finish but Bronson had nothing for Owens who pulled away from everyone. Bronson made the podium once again in second and Darrell Lanigan, who drove a very steady race, finished third. Brandon Sheppard, seemingly just not quite fast enough to stay with the leaders lately, and Brandon Overton completed the top five. There were only five drivers that didn't finish the contest and no large wrecks so those that chose to spectate instead of race missed on their predictions on Friday.
The Big Block feature got off to a tough start as Peter Brittan spun on the first lap and Michael Maresca made contact but both were able to continue. Rick Laubach had the pole but the driver that looked strong and moved into the lead was Billy Decker. Decker put some distance on the field as after a lap eleven yellow for a slowing car, the last twenty laps ran under the green.
As Decker ran alone up front, Wight was on a tear as he moved up from his seventh starting spot. He passed some very fast cars as he was able to move all over the track on this night. Matt Sheppard, who most have been expecting to do much better this week, seemed to be a challenger as he ran second but when Wight caught him, he simply drove right past as Sheppard began to fade and would fall all the way back to seventh at the finish.
Decker started to catch traffic and as he was running the low groove, he was having trouble finding room to pass some of the slower cars. Wight sensed this and seemed to drive even harder into the corners and he began to visibly close up on the leader. Decker continued to refuse to get off the bottom to try and get by the slower cars and Wight pulled right up behind him.
Larry swung up the track and drove right past Decker with four laps to go and then stretched the lead the rest of the way as he drove on to another resounding win. The only other winner this week, Matt Williamson made his own charge as he moved from ninth to third and was breathing down Decker's deck when the checkered flew. Anthony Perrego, from thirteenth and Jimmy Phelps completed the top five with the Big Blocks having the advantage of the wider track as they were the last ones to complete the show.
It was an extremely humid and heavy air night and I could actually see the vapor trails coming off the spoilers of the Late Models as they races through the corners. I have seen this on occasion from the big wings on the sprint cars but I can never remember seeing this before from the Late Models. However, with the humid air here in Florida, it that is going to happen, this would be the time and place for it to occur.
The weather is scheduled to improve and warm up again for the Saturday night finale. Both classes are scheduled to wrap up their week of racing with fifty lap main events on Saturday. It should be noted that I will be traveling directly after the races on Saturday so the final report from Florida may be slightly delayed.
After spectacular weather all week, for the first time the track officials, racers and fans had to battle the weather. As predicted, light rain hit the area overnight and into the morning hours of Friday but it was not of the magnitude to cause any delays or problems.
What wasn't expected was the line of light but persistent showers that drifted into the area in the late afternoon. Arriving after the track prep crews has already slopped in the racing surface as they always do here, the light but steady rain was of the variety to soak into the track surface and when it persisted for well over and hour, the track started to take on that look of a surface that couldn't be saved and I thought we were very close to that point of forcing a cancellation. Fortunately, DIRTcar officials were monitoring the weather and saw the clearing was on the way and that the showers had a predictable ending. As within minutes of the stoppage of the rain, they were out on the track with their heavy equipment, of which they have considerable, and they made the track good again in a relatively short time.
Drivers cooperated and helped roll in the track and the whole process went quite smoothly but the damage was done as the rain created a two hour delay of the racing and eventually would force the final Big Block feature to be completed after Midnight. And quite frankly, the track turned out to be much better than I thought it would be. It did build up quite a heavy berm and it was top side dominant for most of the night but it stayed smooth and the racing conditions really weren't much different than they had been for several of the nights.
However, the appearances when they started to roll in the track apparently scared some of the "panty waists" in the Late Model pits. Despite the fact that it was a ten grand to win show, there were a number of drivers that opted to shutter their machines for the night and just watch. There were forty night drivers that signed in to race in the Late Model pits after Justin Ratliff, Ken Monahan and Earl Pearson Jr opted to call it a week and head home. However, fully a dozen drivers that had planned on racing instead parked their machines when they were afraid they might get mud on their cars including Donnie Schatz, Gregg Satterlee, Shane Clanton, Dale McDowell, Kyle Lear, Donnie Chappell, Tim McCreadie, Johnny and Stormy Scott, Mike Marlar, Mason Zeigler and Jonathan Davenport. On the other hand, only one Big Block Mod failed to race in the form of Dave Raucher and that was reported to be a mechanical issue. By the way, the Mods were racing for three grand, not ten.
The track was lightning fast for time trials with Scott Bloomquist quickest as he cracked the sixteen second barrier. But wait a minute! For the second straight night the "droop rule" but the fast qualifier as Bloomquist found his car be to hiked up too much and in his case the measurement was even farther off than the previous night and he was punished all the way back to the second row for his heat race through which he still qualified for the feature as he joined those snickering at the toothless penalties being passed out.
With all the cars bailing out on this night, only four heat races were held and two Last Chance events were held and even the emergency provisional entrants were cut down as twenty six drivers took the green flag for the main. Before we talk about what was quite an entertaining race, it still should be pointed out that the winner once again started on the pole for the feature although there was certainly more gaining of positions than some nights.
And despite the fact that Owens sat on the pole, it was Mark Whitener that led the opening laps as he was blazing fast on the cushion. However, as has bit him on several occasions this week, his over aggression has haunted him as he jumped the cushion, giving Owens the lead and then later he really got high, bent up his nose and despite his spectacular laps, ended up being a DNF.
Owens led the rest of the way but it was not an easy race as he received much pressure during the middle portion of the event. Ricky Weiss, who has been quite quiet all week, made a strong charge from twelfth as he was the only driver to be successful on the bottom. He moved up to second and was just inches away from taking the lead from Owens. However, Jimmy fought him off and then after that Weiss steadily faded back, finally falling all the way to seventh.
Then it was another Florida high flyer in Kyle Bronson that provided the excitement and he torched the cushion as he likes to do, getting all the way up to second and seemingly was the only one that could challenge Owens. A late yellow set a five lap dash to the finish but Bronson had nothing for Owens who pulled away from everyone. Bronson made the podium once again in second and Darrell Lanigan, who drove a very steady race, finished third. Brandon Sheppard, seemingly just not quite fast enough to stay with the leaders lately, and Brandon Overton completed the top five. There were only five drivers that didn't finish the contest and no large wrecks so those that chose to spectate instead of race missed on their predictions on Friday.
The Big Block feature got off to a tough start as Peter Brittan spun on the first lap and Michael Maresca made contact but both were able to continue. Rick Laubach had the pole but the driver that looked strong and moved into the lead was Billy Decker. Decker put some distance on the field as after a lap eleven yellow for a slowing car, the last twenty laps ran under the green.
As Decker ran alone up front, Wight was on a tear as he moved up from his seventh starting spot. He passed some very fast cars as he was able to move all over the track on this night. Matt Sheppard, who most have been expecting to do much better this week, seemed to be a challenger as he ran second but when Wight caught him, he simply drove right past as Sheppard began to fade and would fall all the way back to seventh at the finish.
Decker started to catch traffic and as he was running the low groove, he was having trouble finding room to pass some of the slower cars. Wight sensed this and seemed to drive even harder into the corners and he began to visibly close up on the leader. Decker continued to refuse to get off the bottom to try and get by the slower cars and Wight pulled right up behind him.
Larry swung up the track and drove right past Decker with four laps to go and then stretched the lead the rest of the way as he drove on to another resounding win. The only other winner this week, Matt Williamson made his own charge as he moved from ninth to third and was breathing down Decker's deck when the checkered flew. Anthony Perrego, from thirteenth and Jimmy Phelps completed the top five with the Big Blocks having the advantage of the wider track as they were the last ones to complete the show.
It was an extremely humid and heavy air night and I could actually see the vapor trails coming off the spoilers of the Late Models as they races through the corners. I have seen this on occasion from the big wings on the sprint cars but I can never remember seeing this before from the Late Models. However, with the humid air here in Florida, it that is going to happen, this would be the time and place for it to occur.
The weather is scheduled to improve and warm up again for the Saturday night finale. Both classes are scheduled to wrap up their week of racing with fifty lap main events on Saturday. It should be noted that I will be traveling directly after the races on Saturday so the final report from Florida may be slightly delayed.
Friday, February 14, 2020
Owens and Wight Wire Their Fields at VCS
Racing action continued on Thursday night, February 13th at Volusia Speedway Park as the duo of World of Outlaws Late Models and DIRT Car Big Block Modifieds ran their third consecutive program in tandem. It was not the most dramatic of nights as both Jimmy Owens and Larry Wight led from wire to wire to win their respective feature races. Interestingly, both started on the outside pole, got an immediate lead and then rolled to relatively easy victories.
While much of the country continues to shiver under a cold blast including minus thirty or so wind chill temperatures recorded in my home area, here in Florida I actually had the audacity to complain about it being too hot today! High temps topped out at least 89 degrees with a good deal of humidity in the air also, in fact even enough to cause a few pop up showers to form late in the pm and sprinkle at the track for a few minutes. It was nothing to worry about and for those of you not feeling too sorry for me, the other shoe is soon to drop here too, with an over night cold front set to sweep through, squeezing out a few showers while dropping the temperatures between twenty and thirty degrees and producing a biting wind too. Oh well, back to reality.
With both racing divisions having been nestled at the track for a few days now, there are not much in the way of changes or surprises in the fields entered. The Late Model field was actually the same as last night with the exception that G.R. Smith took the night off and actually may be done for the week with motor problems while Tyler Erb arrived from Texas to drive the second car from the Blake Spencer team.
The Big Block field slipped to thirty three with Tyler Thompson leaving with terminal motor issues and Matt Stangle ending his week in the wall last night. Ralph McBride, who's car has been here since the start of the week, arrived to drive it on Thursday but by the way it was smoking at the end of the Last Chance race, he may be done almost before he got started.
Thursday night's program would be identical to the previous nights in terms of number of races and length with the only difference being that the Big Blocks would start things off and run their feature race before the Late Models would finish things up.
Much pre race discussion continued over the disqualification of Dennis Erb from his win on Wednesday due to the fact that he failed to properly report for post race inspection. They are checking the cars on the infield slab for the new "droop rule" and then the leaders must report to the WoO trailer parked outside turn two where tire samples are taken. Both sides(the officials of WoO and Erb) are telling slightly different stories and unless you would actually ask both directly, it's near impossible to get the "straight scoop." and quite frankly, many of those defending Erb are coming more from the sympathy angle of a driver who hasn't won in a long time losing a hard earned win. The bottom line is that rules are rules, and a veteran driver like Erb should have known what the procedures were, especially after he finished in a teching position just the previous night. Erb didn't pout however, and he was back on Thursday once again to race as after all, that's how he makes his living.
After qualifying, heats and Last Chance races, it was feature time. Thirty cars started the Late Model feature with the emergency provisional drivers starting to accumulate. There were four of them on Thursday after Ivedent Lloyd decided not to exercise his right to also use one. Truly, some of these guys have made a career out of starting at the back of WoO fields, forfeiting most of their pay just to take a provisional and then being the first cars to get lapped, night after night. Hmm.
Owens got the jump right from the start over Brandon Sheppard as if there is any weakness on the #1 car, it seems to be on starts and restarts where he just doesn't seem to take off as well as some of the other drivers. Owens would walk away from the field on this night and never really be challenged as the drier the track got, the better his car seemed to handle and the faster he got in the low groove.
Josh Richards had a good battle with Sheppard before passing him and getting up to second. Before that, Richards and Kyle Bronson had some close moments on the front chute as they battled. Bronson seems have that knack of getting into scraps with nearly everyone he races with.
A late restart saw Dale McDowell get past Richards for second and that's the way the top three finished. Jonathan Davenport made a nice drive from fourteenth to finish fourth with Mike Marlar completing the top five. Only four cars didn't go the distance and all were on the lead lap at the end.
Wight won for the second straight night in the Big Blocks as he pulled away right at the start and put distance on the field. Stewart Friesen and Erick Rudolph drove up into second and third but they had nothing for Wight who kept both comfortably behind him.
There was only one yellow on lap fourteen for a stalled car, that of opening night winner Matt Williamson. However, Wight pulled away on the green from Friesen and that was the last the field saw of the winner as he drove away into the night. Just like Owens, Larry was able to put his car just where he needed to as lapped traffic was not an issue and he had considerable distance and three lapped cars between himself and Friesen at the finish. Friesen will now take Friday night off to run his truck at the big track so someone else will have to step up if there is to be a challenge to "Lighting Larry." There was only one car in the twenty six car field that failed to finish as this was a very smooth event, if not very compelling.
Perhaps I have been here just a little too long and have the same cars race just a little too much but a couple of the things I have seen haven't sat too well. For instance, Darrell Lanigan, the Late Model quick qualifier on Thursday, was found to be sitting too high when he was checked following his lap under the new "droop rule." His punishment was to set him back three places in the time trial finishing order so instead of starting on the pole of his heat race, he started on the outside pole! Not much of a punishment if you ask me. Isn't illegal just that. Not now under this new rule which has various levels of punishment depending how high in the air your car sits above the required level. So why is this rule wrote this way when cars are disqualified if they weigh in too light? Shouldn't there be the same levels of punishment for that rule then too? This is all just getting to be way too complicated, just like the cars themselves are.
For the second straight night the Big Blocks all lined up on the front chute for individual feature race introductions while the Late Models just roll on to the track and race. Aren't the Big Blocks the support class here? Why should they get special treatment two nights in a row while the main class just races? Especially on a night when the racing was running quite late due to a late start with a medical emergency in the grandstands?
Speaking of emergencies, there was quite a severe crash on the highway right in front of the track entrance that tied up traffic considerably. In fact the main highway was forced to detour right through the parking lot of the track until the damaged vehicles were removed. One report stated that everyone was OK but my source indicated that while the people in one vehicle were OK, the driver of the Jeep that barrel rolled several times and was ejected from the car was not so lucky.
As the racing vacation for many starts to draw to a close, racing will continue on Friday night with the same two classes in action. I suspect that this night will see the tougher fans in attendance as it is not going to be nearly as nice as the previous few nights have been.
While much of the country continues to shiver under a cold blast including minus thirty or so wind chill temperatures recorded in my home area, here in Florida I actually had the audacity to complain about it being too hot today! High temps topped out at least 89 degrees with a good deal of humidity in the air also, in fact even enough to cause a few pop up showers to form late in the pm and sprinkle at the track for a few minutes. It was nothing to worry about and for those of you not feeling too sorry for me, the other shoe is soon to drop here too, with an over night cold front set to sweep through, squeezing out a few showers while dropping the temperatures between twenty and thirty degrees and producing a biting wind too. Oh well, back to reality.
With both racing divisions having been nestled at the track for a few days now, there are not much in the way of changes or surprises in the fields entered. The Late Model field was actually the same as last night with the exception that G.R. Smith took the night off and actually may be done for the week with motor problems while Tyler Erb arrived from Texas to drive the second car from the Blake Spencer team.
The Big Block field slipped to thirty three with Tyler Thompson leaving with terminal motor issues and Matt Stangle ending his week in the wall last night. Ralph McBride, who's car has been here since the start of the week, arrived to drive it on Thursday but by the way it was smoking at the end of the Last Chance race, he may be done almost before he got started.
Thursday night's program would be identical to the previous nights in terms of number of races and length with the only difference being that the Big Blocks would start things off and run their feature race before the Late Models would finish things up.
Much pre race discussion continued over the disqualification of Dennis Erb from his win on Wednesday due to the fact that he failed to properly report for post race inspection. They are checking the cars on the infield slab for the new "droop rule" and then the leaders must report to the WoO trailer parked outside turn two where tire samples are taken. Both sides(the officials of WoO and Erb) are telling slightly different stories and unless you would actually ask both directly, it's near impossible to get the "straight scoop." and quite frankly, many of those defending Erb are coming more from the sympathy angle of a driver who hasn't won in a long time losing a hard earned win. The bottom line is that rules are rules, and a veteran driver like Erb should have known what the procedures were, especially after he finished in a teching position just the previous night. Erb didn't pout however, and he was back on Thursday once again to race as after all, that's how he makes his living.
After qualifying, heats and Last Chance races, it was feature time. Thirty cars started the Late Model feature with the emergency provisional drivers starting to accumulate. There were four of them on Thursday after Ivedent Lloyd decided not to exercise his right to also use one. Truly, some of these guys have made a career out of starting at the back of WoO fields, forfeiting most of their pay just to take a provisional and then being the first cars to get lapped, night after night. Hmm.
Owens got the jump right from the start over Brandon Sheppard as if there is any weakness on the #1 car, it seems to be on starts and restarts where he just doesn't seem to take off as well as some of the other drivers. Owens would walk away from the field on this night and never really be challenged as the drier the track got, the better his car seemed to handle and the faster he got in the low groove.
Josh Richards had a good battle with Sheppard before passing him and getting up to second. Before that, Richards and Kyle Bronson had some close moments on the front chute as they battled. Bronson seems have that knack of getting into scraps with nearly everyone he races with.
A late restart saw Dale McDowell get past Richards for second and that's the way the top three finished. Jonathan Davenport made a nice drive from fourteenth to finish fourth with Mike Marlar completing the top five. Only four cars didn't go the distance and all were on the lead lap at the end.
Wight won for the second straight night in the Big Blocks as he pulled away right at the start and put distance on the field. Stewart Friesen and Erick Rudolph drove up into second and third but they had nothing for Wight who kept both comfortably behind him.
There was only one yellow on lap fourteen for a stalled car, that of opening night winner Matt Williamson. However, Wight pulled away on the green from Friesen and that was the last the field saw of the winner as he drove away into the night. Just like Owens, Larry was able to put his car just where he needed to as lapped traffic was not an issue and he had considerable distance and three lapped cars between himself and Friesen at the finish. Friesen will now take Friday night off to run his truck at the big track so someone else will have to step up if there is to be a challenge to "Lighting Larry." There was only one car in the twenty six car field that failed to finish as this was a very smooth event, if not very compelling.
Perhaps I have been here just a little too long and have the same cars race just a little too much but a couple of the things I have seen haven't sat too well. For instance, Darrell Lanigan, the Late Model quick qualifier on Thursday, was found to be sitting too high when he was checked following his lap under the new "droop rule." His punishment was to set him back three places in the time trial finishing order so instead of starting on the pole of his heat race, he started on the outside pole! Not much of a punishment if you ask me. Isn't illegal just that. Not now under this new rule which has various levels of punishment depending how high in the air your car sits above the required level. So why is this rule wrote this way when cars are disqualified if they weigh in too light? Shouldn't there be the same levels of punishment for that rule then too? This is all just getting to be way too complicated, just like the cars themselves are.
For the second straight night the Big Blocks all lined up on the front chute for individual feature race introductions while the Late Models just roll on to the track and race. Aren't the Big Blocks the support class here? Why should they get special treatment two nights in a row while the main class just races? Especially on a night when the racing was running quite late due to a late start with a medical emergency in the grandstands?
Speaking of emergencies, there was quite a severe crash on the highway right in front of the track entrance that tied up traffic considerably. In fact the main highway was forced to detour right through the parking lot of the track until the damaged vehicles were removed. One report stated that everyone was OK but my source indicated that while the people in one vehicle were OK, the driver of the Jeep that barrel rolled several times and was ejected from the car was not so lucky.
As the racing vacation for many starts to draw to a close, racing will continue on Friday night with the same two classes in action. I suspect that this night will see the tougher fans in attendance as it is not going to be nearly as nice as the previous few nights have been.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Stunning Developments DQ Erb; Sheppard and Wight Race Winners at VCS
On Wednesday night, February 12th, racing continued at the Volusia Speedway Park with another doubleheader of Late Models and Big Block Modifieds. The only difference on this night was that the Late Models would be sanctioned by the World of Outlaws, it would be their fourth point race of the year after three in New Mexico and more money would be on the line. Each of the last four nights will feature ten grand to win races for the Late Models and things such at provisional starting spots, points and procedures would all be operated by the Outlaw staff. For the Big Blocks, it would be their second of five nights of racing action also.
The Late Model car count hit its highest point of the week to date with fifty one drivers signing in to race. Several of the drivers that had taken nights off returned to race on Wednesday and there were two new entrants as Earl Pearson Jr. found his way down from Jacksonville and Minnesota driver Steve Hucovski also joined the action.
While there was a wind chill advisory in effect for my home area with the possibility of the wind chill dropping to a negative thirty five on this night, the only local advisory was for a sand advisory, warning that if you get too much sand between your toes while walking the beach barefoot, it could chaff! Am I rubbing it in? You bet I am as this is the first time in several years that I have had the opportunity to enjoy racing and warm weather together in Florida and I am soaking in every little part of it.
Along with the Late Models, thirty four of the Big Blocks returned for racing action on Wednesday with the likelihood that there would be any more entrants small. However, a considerable number of the participants do have back up cars so that if they have some severe issues, they have a replacement car on hand if need be.
It was announced that the official measurement of VSP is actually .425 miles around and therefore, all the stats they give about speed etc for the track are really skewed as they are basing all that information on a half mile track which it actually isn't. However, the fact remains that with its wide corners, banking and relatively short straightaways, it is a momentum track of the best kind and very fast, even when it dries out.
I do feel sorry for the pits crews here in both classes as with the absence of any support classes, on alternating nights it is either the Mods or Late Models that have to do the wheel packing and since they always start the night with a very wet, slimy and muddy track, both here and East Bay require the crew members to do more mud scrapping on the race tracks than at perhaps any other track in the country. I'm sure they don't like it but it is a part of life racing here.
Late Models were up first tonight on the rotation so they qualified first, ran their heats first etc. and the first race hit the track within mere minutes of their advertised starting time. Actually most of the night was relatively calm by Speedweeks standards with the biggest excitement being an outside pass by Kody Evans for position that put Scott Bloomquist in a provisional status.
However, the Late Model feature was very exciting and more than made up for a rather bland program to that point. Thirty cars started the main event with Ivedent Lloyd, Blake Spencer, Matt Cosner and Brent Larson all taking emergency provisional starts which meant they were racing for points but no cash. And the race turned into a wild affair with some great action and a stunning result.
Dennis Erb took the early lead but he was overtaken by Brandon Overton. The driver on the move was Florida racer Mark Whitener who used a high side move to take over the top spot. However Overton and Erb refused to go away as they put heavy pressure on for the lead and were soon joined by Brandon Sheppard as the top four cars were running in close order. Darrel Lanigan joined them before too long and suddenly there were five cars battling for the lead.
Erb made a charge and then fell back slightly and then Overton did the same. Past the halfway point and the top four were still close together with Lanigan trying hard to stay with the group. Overton got into the lead once again but then Whitener retook him with a bold high side pass in turn three. They just didn't seem able to break away from each other and that was great for those of us in the stands watching.
Less than ten laps were left and they were still going at it. Overton made a hard dive into turn one to try and get under Whitener and they made heavy contact with Overton driving into the lead. However, Whitener came charging back at him down the back chute and with a flat left rear tire he still had enough speed to run Overton up the track and into the wall in what he admitted later was pure retaliation. Both cars were damaged and slowed and the yellow waved. In the scramble to race back to the line, Erb, who was running fourth, would get past Sheppard and would restart the race from the point with only seven laps to go.
Dennis got a great start and put some distance between himself and Sheppard but then Brandon started to reel him in. Erb got very low in turn one and banged off the inside wall which didn't help his momentum at all. Sheppard made one last final dive for the lead but Erb wisely used the track to make it tough to pass and he flashed across the line the winner by .09 seconds.
Erb, who I always considered to be a short track specialist has shown great speed and consistency here all week and his win was one of those "feel good" stories that happen from time to time. While he races an outlaw tour schedule, he doesn't seem to have the sponsors and resources of some of the teams and while he has good equipment, money doesn't seem to drip from his operation like some of the others do. He doesn't win that often but is a consistent finisher and most were happy to see him take the win.
However, the shocking news that he had been disqualified from the race for not reporting to the tech area for inspection immediately after the race was stunning. In fact, we roamed the pits for a considerable time after the race and no one was even talking about it as I believe that none in the pits even knew what had happened. For Erb it must have been heart breaking as I'm sure his group certainly could have used that ten grand winner's check. Everyone was elevated up one spot with Sheppard getting the win over Lanigan and Josh Richards with the three of Erb, Whitener and Overton all left to consider what could have been. Wow, you just never know and I guess that's what keeps up coming back.
It appeared that for the first time on Wednesday that Donny Schatz was going to provide the other Late Model drivers with a challenge as he finally got himself a strong qualifying lap which half the game in these races but in doing so, he damaged a lifter in his engine and with no spare parts to make the fix, they had to be ordered and Schatz became a spectator for the night with Andy Durham expected to provide a fix for Thursday night's show.
The Big Block Modified feature was much more tame. After a side by side battle for the first couple of laps, Larry Wight edged ahead of Brett Hearn for the lead and would lead the rest of the race to take the win. Stewart Friesen, who has shown much speed so far this week, would eventually move into second and the battle was on.
However, every time Wight was challenged he seemed to be able to turn his car up a notch and put distance on the field. Key was the lap twelve restart when he would pull away once again from the field.
In the late going the leaders would hit lapped traffic and the track seemed to be starting to lock down and the inside was the fast way around the track. Wight was following a lapped car but couldn't get by and the second and third place cars started to catch him. Fortunately for Wight, the laps ran down and he maintained his position and didn't try a bold and perhaps dangerous outside pass. He rode behind the back marker the last couple of laps and Friesen didn't have enough speed to catch him or try an outside pass of his own.
Wight and Friesen were followed by opening night winner Matt Williamson, Hearn and Billy Dunn. The race had only three yellows in the thirty laps with the most serious when Michael Maresca slammed the first turn wall and became only one of three cars not to finish the distance.
There was a gigantic crowd on hand for the Wednesday night show as the throngs have continued to build as the week has progressed. Much of the same is expected for Thursday night as the weather is predicted to be sunny and hot until overnight showers on Thursday bring a little more reality back to the situation.
The Late Model car count hit its highest point of the week to date with fifty one drivers signing in to race. Several of the drivers that had taken nights off returned to race on Wednesday and there were two new entrants as Earl Pearson Jr. found his way down from Jacksonville and Minnesota driver Steve Hucovski also joined the action.
While there was a wind chill advisory in effect for my home area with the possibility of the wind chill dropping to a negative thirty five on this night, the only local advisory was for a sand advisory, warning that if you get too much sand between your toes while walking the beach barefoot, it could chaff! Am I rubbing it in? You bet I am as this is the first time in several years that I have had the opportunity to enjoy racing and warm weather together in Florida and I am soaking in every little part of it.
Along with the Late Models, thirty four of the Big Blocks returned for racing action on Wednesday with the likelihood that there would be any more entrants small. However, a considerable number of the participants do have back up cars so that if they have some severe issues, they have a replacement car on hand if need be.
It was announced that the official measurement of VSP is actually .425 miles around and therefore, all the stats they give about speed etc for the track are really skewed as they are basing all that information on a half mile track which it actually isn't. However, the fact remains that with its wide corners, banking and relatively short straightaways, it is a momentum track of the best kind and very fast, even when it dries out.
I do feel sorry for the pits crews here in both classes as with the absence of any support classes, on alternating nights it is either the Mods or Late Models that have to do the wheel packing and since they always start the night with a very wet, slimy and muddy track, both here and East Bay require the crew members to do more mud scrapping on the race tracks than at perhaps any other track in the country. I'm sure they don't like it but it is a part of life racing here.
Late Models were up first tonight on the rotation so they qualified first, ran their heats first etc. and the first race hit the track within mere minutes of their advertised starting time. Actually most of the night was relatively calm by Speedweeks standards with the biggest excitement being an outside pass by Kody Evans for position that put Scott Bloomquist in a provisional status.
However, the Late Model feature was very exciting and more than made up for a rather bland program to that point. Thirty cars started the main event with Ivedent Lloyd, Blake Spencer, Matt Cosner and Brent Larson all taking emergency provisional starts which meant they were racing for points but no cash. And the race turned into a wild affair with some great action and a stunning result.
Dennis Erb took the early lead but he was overtaken by Brandon Overton. The driver on the move was Florida racer Mark Whitener who used a high side move to take over the top spot. However Overton and Erb refused to go away as they put heavy pressure on for the lead and were soon joined by Brandon Sheppard as the top four cars were running in close order. Darrel Lanigan joined them before too long and suddenly there were five cars battling for the lead.
Erb made a charge and then fell back slightly and then Overton did the same. Past the halfway point and the top four were still close together with Lanigan trying hard to stay with the group. Overton got into the lead once again but then Whitener retook him with a bold high side pass in turn three. They just didn't seem able to break away from each other and that was great for those of us in the stands watching.
Less than ten laps were left and they were still going at it. Overton made a hard dive into turn one to try and get under Whitener and they made heavy contact with Overton driving into the lead. However, Whitener came charging back at him down the back chute and with a flat left rear tire he still had enough speed to run Overton up the track and into the wall in what he admitted later was pure retaliation. Both cars were damaged and slowed and the yellow waved. In the scramble to race back to the line, Erb, who was running fourth, would get past Sheppard and would restart the race from the point with only seven laps to go.
Dennis got a great start and put some distance between himself and Sheppard but then Brandon started to reel him in. Erb got very low in turn one and banged off the inside wall which didn't help his momentum at all. Sheppard made one last final dive for the lead but Erb wisely used the track to make it tough to pass and he flashed across the line the winner by .09 seconds.
Erb, who I always considered to be a short track specialist has shown great speed and consistency here all week and his win was one of those "feel good" stories that happen from time to time. While he races an outlaw tour schedule, he doesn't seem to have the sponsors and resources of some of the teams and while he has good equipment, money doesn't seem to drip from his operation like some of the others do. He doesn't win that often but is a consistent finisher and most were happy to see him take the win.
However, the shocking news that he had been disqualified from the race for not reporting to the tech area for inspection immediately after the race was stunning. In fact, we roamed the pits for a considerable time after the race and no one was even talking about it as I believe that none in the pits even knew what had happened. For Erb it must have been heart breaking as I'm sure his group certainly could have used that ten grand winner's check. Everyone was elevated up one spot with Sheppard getting the win over Lanigan and Josh Richards with the three of Erb, Whitener and Overton all left to consider what could have been. Wow, you just never know and I guess that's what keeps up coming back.
It appeared that for the first time on Wednesday that Donny Schatz was going to provide the other Late Model drivers with a challenge as he finally got himself a strong qualifying lap which half the game in these races but in doing so, he damaged a lifter in his engine and with no spare parts to make the fix, they had to be ordered and Schatz became a spectator for the night with Andy Durham expected to provide a fix for Thursday night's show.
The Big Block Modified feature was much more tame. After a side by side battle for the first couple of laps, Larry Wight edged ahead of Brett Hearn for the lead and would lead the rest of the race to take the win. Stewart Friesen, who has shown much speed so far this week, would eventually move into second and the battle was on.
However, every time Wight was challenged he seemed to be able to turn his car up a notch and put distance on the field. Key was the lap twelve restart when he would pull away once again from the field.
In the late going the leaders would hit lapped traffic and the track seemed to be starting to lock down and the inside was the fast way around the track. Wight was following a lapped car but couldn't get by and the second and third place cars started to catch him. Fortunately for Wight, the laps ran down and he maintained his position and didn't try a bold and perhaps dangerous outside pass. He rode behind the back marker the last couple of laps and Friesen didn't have enough speed to catch him or try an outside pass of his own.
Wight and Friesen were followed by opening night winner Matt Williamson, Hearn and Billy Dunn. The race had only three yellows in the thirty laps with the most serious when Michael Maresca slammed the first turn wall and became only one of three cars not to finish the distance.
There was a gigantic crowd on hand for the Wednesday night show as the throngs have continued to build as the week has progressed. Much of the same is expected for Thursday night as the weather is predicted to be sunny and hot until overnight showers on Thursday bring a little more reality back to the situation.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Williamson and McCreadie Volusia Winners
The 49th annual DIRTcar Nationals continued on Tuesday night, February 11th at the Volusia Speedway Park near Barberville Florida. It was the second night of UMP Late Model racing plus the final headliner division of DIRT Motorsports, the Big Block Modifieds, joined the field on Tuesday night for the first of five nights of racing for that division. The last five nights of racing will feature a two division program of the Late Models and Big Blocks.
It was another spectacular night for racing at Volusia as temperatures were again in the eighties with abundant sunshine and many people are already wondering whether or not they can really convince themselves that they really need to jump in that car or plane and travel back home to some place where the weather is really a lot worse. For me, I will just enjoy those moments that I have left down here. And while everyone is reveling in the great weather, it took a couple of racers from far up North to find victory lane in Tuesday night's main event. Specifically, drivers from Ontario Canada and snowy upstate New York took home the winning checks, thus giving just another reason to be happy they are in the sun.
Forty eight Late Models were on hand for Tuesday night's show as the field for this class has pretty much filled out now to what it will be for its maximum. Drivers making their first laps of the week at Volusia included the Scott brothers from New Mexico, Josh Richards, Kyle Strickler, Parker Martin, Mike Marlar, Jonathan Davenport and Brent Larson who just arrived on the grounds this pm while the others were on hand Monday but chose not to race.
Tyler Bruening's rig is still on the grounds but it is clear that he is done racing for the week with his transporter surrounded by a pile of discarded and mangled body parts(from the car, not him to be clear). Likewise, the rigs of Vic Hill and Mason Zeigler are still in the pits also but it isn't clear whether they plan on racing any more this week.
Six heat races and three Last Chance races would set the field with Chase Junghans and Allen Weisser getting the UMP provisionals on this night. Only the heat race winners would redraw with everyone else starting straight up from their heat race finishes. Like every time trial show, getting a quick lap and then winning a heat race is vital as with the quality of the field, big charges through the field don't happen very often and a top two row starting spot is almost mandatory to expecting a win.
Tuesday feature race, which saw Tim McCreadie lead all thirty laps was quite frankly a much better race than that story line would indicate. The race itself was quite entertaining from start to finish. McCreadie got the jump on Brandon Sheppard and Sheppard then spent thirty laps trying to figure out how to get around the talented New Yorker who had many extra fans in the stands based on his days running Big Blocks in the Northeast before he settled on a Late Model career.
Sheppard drew close on several occasions but he just couldn't quite get the speed and find a line that would allow him to catch McCreadie. Meanwhile, as these two battled, the race for third was just as good as Dennis Erb and Kyle Bronson went back and forth for that spot, swapping the position on several occasions. In fact, when McCreadie reached the back of the pack and got slowed down slightly, the third and fourth place cars nearly caught the leaders and we had a legitimate four car race for the lead. And it couldn't be overlooked either that Jonathan Davenport was closing fast too.
However, just when it looked like we were in for an epic finish with the top four getting very close to each other, the lone yellow of the race flew when Mark Whitener slowed on the back chute. And the last ten laps was quite frankly, disappointing. The track seemed to change after the yellow and while I don't think it locked down, the one groove in the middle of the track seemed to get distinctly better and everyone pretty much lined up and followed each other in what was the speedy lane. Bronson tried to go high and it very nearly cost him third but it did hold off Erb for the spot.
Sheppard had nothing for McCreadie and in fact, "T-Mac" pulled away in the final laps for what was a very popular victory with his winning margin .502 seconds. All his Big Block buddies loved the win and McCreadie is one of the most popular drivers in the pits, seemingly much more approachable and personable than many of the other so called "super stars" of the sport. For McCreadie, it is his third win of the southern swing, one with each of the tracks that he has raced at. and it put a stop to Sheppard's five race winning streak here at Volusia. There was only one yellow and two cars that didn't finish the smoothly run event.
The Big Blocks brought down thirty five cars from the Northeast to do battle on night one of their five night run. Canadian driver Matt Williamson, continuing a hot streak that saw him win the Super DIRT series title last Fall, led from start to finish to take the win. The Big Blocks didn't even bother to redraw on this night as they started the main straight up out of heat race finishes with the heats set by qualifying time with of course, the fast cars up front.
Williamson took off right at the start of the thirty lapper and there was no one that had much in the way of a challenge to him. Erick Rudolph made a nice charge forward after starting ninth and got up to second but he could never really manage a push on Williamson. All eyes were on Steward Friesen who after having a bad heat race that saw him drop several spots, came charging up from nineteenth to eventually get up to fourth. He was still on the move when the checkered flag waved as he likely could have gotten further forward but ran out of laps.
Every time it seemed like someone was ready to move in on Williamson, he stepped up the pace and again put some distance between himself and the pack. This race also ran remarkably smooth with a single yellow flag for an Andy Bachetti slowing car on lap fourteen.
Heavy lapped traffic was the concern near the end of the race but Williamson navigated it well with seven cars a lap arrears at the end and two lapped cars between himself and Rudolph. Anthony Perrego ran third with Larry Wight completing the top five. Only Bachetti failed to complete the thirty lap distance with all racing completed before 10 pm, despite the half hour late starting time due to repeated hot lap sessions for the Big Blocks while the Late Models got no hot laps at all with their first appearance on the track being for time trials so they really needed to have their act together from the moment they hit the track. It's funny that at the local track, drivers will scream bloody murder if they aren't allowed to hot lap, even if it's for a regular show, while here they hit the track with the evening's success on the line immediately.
The track was much drier than it was for Monday night's show and while it was much dirtier in the grandstands, we were rewarded with a much better racing program that saw more passing, racing and for the competitors, not nearly as much wrecked equipment which is key to keeping them running and making it through the week. Things were much quieter in the pits on Tuesday night although G.R. Smith and team were changing a motor after a repeated motor oil leak problem has forced them to go to a back up power plant.
I am not much of a technical guy but there has been much talk about the so called "droop rule" for the Late Models this week. After the show there was another meeting called for by track officials to announce that there would be a new way of measuring the cars to ensure that the rule was being enforced correctly. This set off quite a bit of discussion and the pits were still "buzzing" about this when I left.
Every flagman in the country should get a video and watch DIRT starter Dave Farney in action. This guy really knows what he's doing and he puts on a show that is entertaining for the fans and informative for the drivers. MOST starters have now long forgotten that they are part of the show and while they shouldn't be "THE SHOW", there's no reason that their part of the program shouldn't be memorable. Flagmen that just dangle the flags off the front of the flagstand and don't actually wave them, and just turn on the caution lights and don't even bother to wave the yellow flag really annoy me.
At the Big Block driver's meeting today, officials reminded the teams that are pitted surrounding the "Gator Pond" to keep an eye on their small kids and pets. The two gators currently cruising the pond are reported to be an eight footer and a twelve footer!!! Guess I won't go wading in that water!
Wednesday night the action increases in intensity as the Late Models switch over to World of Outlaws sanctioning and the point chase begins.
It was another spectacular night for racing at Volusia as temperatures were again in the eighties with abundant sunshine and many people are already wondering whether or not they can really convince themselves that they really need to jump in that car or plane and travel back home to some place where the weather is really a lot worse. For me, I will just enjoy those moments that I have left down here. And while everyone is reveling in the great weather, it took a couple of racers from far up North to find victory lane in Tuesday night's main event. Specifically, drivers from Ontario Canada and snowy upstate New York took home the winning checks, thus giving just another reason to be happy they are in the sun.
Forty eight Late Models were on hand for Tuesday night's show as the field for this class has pretty much filled out now to what it will be for its maximum. Drivers making their first laps of the week at Volusia included the Scott brothers from New Mexico, Josh Richards, Kyle Strickler, Parker Martin, Mike Marlar, Jonathan Davenport and Brent Larson who just arrived on the grounds this pm while the others were on hand Monday but chose not to race.
Tyler Bruening's rig is still on the grounds but it is clear that he is done racing for the week with his transporter surrounded by a pile of discarded and mangled body parts(from the car, not him to be clear). Likewise, the rigs of Vic Hill and Mason Zeigler are still in the pits also but it isn't clear whether they plan on racing any more this week.
Six heat races and three Last Chance races would set the field with Chase Junghans and Allen Weisser getting the UMP provisionals on this night. Only the heat race winners would redraw with everyone else starting straight up from their heat race finishes. Like every time trial show, getting a quick lap and then winning a heat race is vital as with the quality of the field, big charges through the field don't happen very often and a top two row starting spot is almost mandatory to expecting a win.
Tuesday feature race, which saw Tim McCreadie lead all thirty laps was quite frankly a much better race than that story line would indicate. The race itself was quite entertaining from start to finish. McCreadie got the jump on Brandon Sheppard and Sheppard then spent thirty laps trying to figure out how to get around the talented New Yorker who had many extra fans in the stands based on his days running Big Blocks in the Northeast before he settled on a Late Model career.
Sheppard drew close on several occasions but he just couldn't quite get the speed and find a line that would allow him to catch McCreadie. Meanwhile, as these two battled, the race for third was just as good as Dennis Erb and Kyle Bronson went back and forth for that spot, swapping the position on several occasions. In fact, when McCreadie reached the back of the pack and got slowed down slightly, the third and fourth place cars nearly caught the leaders and we had a legitimate four car race for the lead. And it couldn't be overlooked either that Jonathan Davenport was closing fast too.
However, just when it looked like we were in for an epic finish with the top four getting very close to each other, the lone yellow of the race flew when Mark Whitener slowed on the back chute. And the last ten laps was quite frankly, disappointing. The track seemed to change after the yellow and while I don't think it locked down, the one groove in the middle of the track seemed to get distinctly better and everyone pretty much lined up and followed each other in what was the speedy lane. Bronson tried to go high and it very nearly cost him third but it did hold off Erb for the spot.
Sheppard had nothing for McCreadie and in fact, "T-Mac" pulled away in the final laps for what was a very popular victory with his winning margin .502 seconds. All his Big Block buddies loved the win and McCreadie is one of the most popular drivers in the pits, seemingly much more approachable and personable than many of the other so called "super stars" of the sport. For McCreadie, it is his third win of the southern swing, one with each of the tracks that he has raced at. and it put a stop to Sheppard's five race winning streak here at Volusia. There was only one yellow and two cars that didn't finish the smoothly run event.
The Big Blocks brought down thirty five cars from the Northeast to do battle on night one of their five night run. Canadian driver Matt Williamson, continuing a hot streak that saw him win the Super DIRT series title last Fall, led from start to finish to take the win. The Big Blocks didn't even bother to redraw on this night as they started the main straight up out of heat race finishes with the heats set by qualifying time with of course, the fast cars up front.
Williamson took off right at the start of the thirty lapper and there was no one that had much in the way of a challenge to him. Erick Rudolph made a nice charge forward after starting ninth and got up to second but he could never really manage a push on Williamson. All eyes were on Steward Friesen who after having a bad heat race that saw him drop several spots, came charging up from nineteenth to eventually get up to fourth. He was still on the move when the checkered flag waved as he likely could have gotten further forward but ran out of laps.
Every time it seemed like someone was ready to move in on Williamson, he stepped up the pace and again put some distance between himself and the pack. This race also ran remarkably smooth with a single yellow flag for an Andy Bachetti slowing car on lap fourteen.
Heavy lapped traffic was the concern near the end of the race but Williamson navigated it well with seven cars a lap arrears at the end and two lapped cars between himself and Rudolph. Anthony Perrego ran third with Larry Wight completing the top five. Only Bachetti failed to complete the thirty lap distance with all racing completed before 10 pm, despite the half hour late starting time due to repeated hot lap sessions for the Big Blocks while the Late Models got no hot laps at all with their first appearance on the track being for time trials so they really needed to have their act together from the moment they hit the track. It's funny that at the local track, drivers will scream bloody murder if they aren't allowed to hot lap, even if it's for a regular show, while here they hit the track with the evening's success on the line immediately.
The track was much drier than it was for Monday night's show and while it was much dirtier in the grandstands, we were rewarded with a much better racing program that saw more passing, racing and for the competitors, not nearly as much wrecked equipment which is key to keeping them running and making it through the week. Things were much quieter in the pits on Tuesday night although G.R. Smith and team were changing a motor after a repeated motor oil leak problem has forced them to go to a back up power plant.
I am not much of a technical guy but there has been much talk about the so called "droop rule" for the Late Models this week. After the show there was another meeting called for by track officials to announce that there would be a new way of measuring the cars to ensure that the rule was being enforced correctly. This set off quite a bit of discussion and the pits were still "buzzing" about this when I left.
Every flagman in the country should get a video and watch DIRT starter Dave Farney in action. This guy really knows what he's doing and he puts on a show that is entertaining for the fans and informative for the drivers. MOST starters have now long forgotten that they are part of the show and while they shouldn't be "THE SHOW", there's no reason that their part of the program shouldn't be memorable. Flagmen that just dangle the flags off the front of the flagstand and don't actually wave them, and just turn on the caution lights and don't even bother to wave the yellow flag really annoy me.
At the Big Block driver's meeting today, officials reminded the teams that are pitted surrounding the "Gator Pond" to keep an eye on their small kids and pets. The two gators currently cruising the pond are reported to be an eight footer and a twelve footer!!! Guess I won't go wading in that water!
Wednesday night the action increases in intensity as the Late Models switch over to World of Outlaws sanctioning and the point chase begins.
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Volusia Opens, Sheppard Once Again while Spencer Hughes Wins a Modified Thriller
The 49th annual DIRTcar Nationals kicked off for the Late Models on Monday night, February 10th at the Volusia Speedway Park located near Barberton Florida. Along with the first night for the Late Models, it was also the wrap up night for the UMP Modifieds as they would be racing for their highest purse of the week with five grand going to the winner of their thirty lap main event.
It has been three or four years since I was last at VSP and the changes have been marked. Rushing to get their new high rise aluminum grandstands done, the work on them was still ongoing as fans and race teams rolled into the grounds on Monday morning. I would say the new grandstands are a huge improvement and one that has been badly needed for years. Not only are the new stands considerably bigger, they are much higher up into the Florida skies and with a nicely planned slope, provide much better viewing for the fans. I sat in the highest row of the general admission seating and my seat was right in line with the top row of the old bleachers, one section of which still remains with the old control tower behind it. A new tower has also been built up behind the newer grandstand and along with providing more fans with quality seating, it gives the place a much more impressive look. Without question, it is the biggest and best improvement in the facility for many years.
The pits also received some much larger and nicer grandstands and the overall facility has been spruced up considerably. The food offerings are wider in variety and much better than previously provided and the whole experience seems to have giving a fine upgrade.
Monday would be the first of three nights of UMP sanctioned Late Models before the World of Outlaws takes over running the show and while many of the same officials will be running things and most of the drivers will be the same, the highly important points won't be a part of the first three nights of racing which will mean that some drivers may take days off, others will be experimenting to find the perfect set up for the WoO shows and many will pull off early and not "point race" if things aren't going well.
For the UMP Modifieds however, this night would be the one that they have been working toward for over a week with everyone racing for both points to get a "gator" trophy as their reward for the week and also to make the final main where the big money of the week would be distributed. Over eighty Mods have hit the track during the last week and just over fifty would still be on hand for Monday's show to take one last shot at the big bucks.
Forty four Late Models would sign in to race on Monday night with a number of others already in the pits but opting not to race in the Monday show for various reasons including the Scott brothers, Jonathan Davenport, Josh Richards, Mike Marlar, Kerry King and perhaps others as well. In my opinion, these other teams could probably use the extra lap time to try and figure out something that will beat Brandon Sheppard for the rest of the week. He has been that dominant.
Four heats and a pair of Last Chance races would set the field for the thirty lap Late Model main and only twenty four cars would start the show on Monday night. And as it would turn out, no one had anything for Sheppard as he cruised to an easy win and seven grand to add to the bank account.
Sheppard would start on the outside pole and get the jump on Tim McCreadie and after that everyone was just chasing the blue #1 car. Chris Madden looked like the strongest challenger and he did get close on a couple of occasions. In fact once Sheppard had to cut down in turn four to keep Madden behind him but then he regained his momentum and once again pulled away. Madden had his own flub on the last restart and gave up a couple of spots and was never a factor again.
Brian Shirley and Dennis Erb both had strong races and their battle for second was exciting and entertaining while Sheppard kind of cruised away from them. Just as it was in Arizona, the top three finishers were Illinois drivers. Mark Whitener continues to impress as he raced hard to get up into the top five at the end. Only three yellows slowed the race but one was a hard hit by Tyler Bruening against the front stretch wall.
One has to feel for Bruening who's experiment in full time racing has started very badly for him. After enduring a hard hit at All Tech on Sunday night that badly ruined a car, he rolled out a brand new car for Monday night action. After being quick qualifier in his group, the night looked promising for him, but on lap thirteen of the feature in heavy traffic he was turned sideways and slammed hard into the inside wall on the front chute. The hit was very hard and the damage was significant to both the front and rear of the car. They did not even attempt to repair it afterward but just removed loose tin and rolled it into their trailer. I believe they are now out of cars and will probably be done for the rest of Speedweeks, with a trip to Capital headquarters for repairs or replacements likely. It would appear that teammate Shane Clanton is on his own for the rest of the week. He himself parked his car after a poor heat to save it for the rest of the week.
Twenty cars had already qualified for the Modified feature, based on their top ten finishes for the last two nights in the main events. The top ten would redraw and the two favorites, Nick Hoffman and Kyle Strickler, would redraw ninth and tenth, thus insuring an interesting event that could produce an upset. Four Last Chance races lined up based on the qualifying feature finishes would add eight more cars to the main and then four provisional starters would complete the huge thirty two car starting field.
The Modified drivers did a great job however, as there were only three cautions in the main and only about a half dozen drivers that didn't finish the entire event. Oklahoma's Jason Hughes led twenty nine laps of the main, only to be passed on the final lap for the win.
Jason Hughes led from the start and maintained his lead over Tyler Nicely and Spencer Hughes in the early going. Nicely would eventually break and Spencer Hughes took over second. Hoffman and Strickler would both have problems during the race, running into each other at one point and also having troubles with the wall and the rough and heavy surface that was tough on the equipment.
Jason Hughes continued to lead but his car appeared to be getting tighter in the corners and he was having to pinch it down to protect the bottom and keep from getting up in the slime. Spencer Hughes used this opportunity to gain ground and as the laps ran down, it got closer and closer. Spencer nearly pulled off the pass but Jason seemed OK to get the win when the yellow was triggered for a car in the wall in turn two. Truly, the leaders were coming out of the last corner and everyone had missed the crashed car so it would have just been easier to wave the checkered and call it a race(USMTS would have) but they chose to back it up fully two laps and restart the race. Jason Hughes would go on rue that decision.
Jason did his best to keep his speed up and still protect the low groove but Spencer got a great run off turn four, made a brilliant move to squeeze past Jason on the high side as they took the white flag and clearly pulled into the lead in turn one. Jason had nothing for him and the Mississippi driver increased his lead as he drove home for the win. Mike Altobelli made a solid run up from fourteenth and nipped Ryan Cripe for third with Hoffman holding on for fourth. His finish gave him the gator as the point champion of the Modified portion of the show. Incredibly, Hoffman kept up his remarkable streak as it was his fifth consecutive gator as the point champion of this series.
National driving stars J. Hughes and Terry Phillips were both racing this event for the first time and while they were driving cars of their own design, it should be noted that neither was driving their own equipment. Phillips was driving a GRT from an area owner while Jason was driving a Hughes chasses that belonged to Tennessee's Lucas Lee who was also racing.
The track was bad fast for Monday night's show(too fast for many of the drivers) and it made for some blinding speeds and some dicey moments. These kind of conditions are really hard on the equipment and make it tough to pass as everyone was just so fast. Many of the cars in both classes looked like they had been in a war at the race's completion and the crews will be scrapping mud off their cars for the foreseeable future. Track crews are trying to find the "sweet spot" when it comes to track prep as if they get it too dry, then the dreaded "lock down" conditions will occur which from a fan's perspective are far worse than a hammer down track. We will see what they come up with for Tuesday.
The show started right on time and was moved through at a very brisk pace with all racing done by 10 pm allowing spectators to mingle in the pits with the crews afterward. For the wildlife enthusiasts , two gators of the live and fully grown variety were spotted in the "gator pond" that is surrounded by the lower pit area. No reports of small children or pets being missing were heard of.
It has been three or four years since I was last at VSP and the changes have been marked. Rushing to get their new high rise aluminum grandstands done, the work on them was still ongoing as fans and race teams rolled into the grounds on Monday morning. I would say the new grandstands are a huge improvement and one that has been badly needed for years. Not only are the new stands considerably bigger, they are much higher up into the Florida skies and with a nicely planned slope, provide much better viewing for the fans. I sat in the highest row of the general admission seating and my seat was right in line with the top row of the old bleachers, one section of which still remains with the old control tower behind it. A new tower has also been built up behind the newer grandstand and along with providing more fans with quality seating, it gives the place a much more impressive look. Without question, it is the biggest and best improvement in the facility for many years.
The pits also received some much larger and nicer grandstands and the overall facility has been spruced up considerably. The food offerings are wider in variety and much better than previously provided and the whole experience seems to have giving a fine upgrade.
Monday would be the first of three nights of UMP sanctioned Late Models before the World of Outlaws takes over running the show and while many of the same officials will be running things and most of the drivers will be the same, the highly important points won't be a part of the first three nights of racing which will mean that some drivers may take days off, others will be experimenting to find the perfect set up for the WoO shows and many will pull off early and not "point race" if things aren't going well.
For the UMP Modifieds however, this night would be the one that they have been working toward for over a week with everyone racing for both points to get a "gator" trophy as their reward for the week and also to make the final main where the big money of the week would be distributed. Over eighty Mods have hit the track during the last week and just over fifty would still be on hand for Monday's show to take one last shot at the big bucks.
Forty four Late Models would sign in to race on Monday night with a number of others already in the pits but opting not to race in the Monday show for various reasons including the Scott brothers, Jonathan Davenport, Josh Richards, Mike Marlar, Kerry King and perhaps others as well. In my opinion, these other teams could probably use the extra lap time to try and figure out something that will beat Brandon Sheppard for the rest of the week. He has been that dominant.
Four heats and a pair of Last Chance races would set the field for the thirty lap Late Model main and only twenty four cars would start the show on Monday night. And as it would turn out, no one had anything for Sheppard as he cruised to an easy win and seven grand to add to the bank account.
Sheppard would start on the outside pole and get the jump on Tim McCreadie and after that everyone was just chasing the blue #1 car. Chris Madden looked like the strongest challenger and he did get close on a couple of occasions. In fact once Sheppard had to cut down in turn four to keep Madden behind him but then he regained his momentum and once again pulled away. Madden had his own flub on the last restart and gave up a couple of spots and was never a factor again.
Brian Shirley and Dennis Erb both had strong races and their battle for second was exciting and entertaining while Sheppard kind of cruised away from them. Just as it was in Arizona, the top three finishers were Illinois drivers. Mark Whitener continues to impress as he raced hard to get up into the top five at the end. Only three yellows slowed the race but one was a hard hit by Tyler Bruening against the front stretch wall.
One has to feel for Bruening who's experiment in full time racing has started very badly for him. After enduring a hard hit at All Tech on Sunday night that badly ruined a car, he rolled out a brand new car for Monday night action. After being quick qualifier in his group, the night looked promising for him, but on lap thirteen of the feature in heavy traffic he was turned sideways and slammed hard into the inside wall on the front chute. The hit was very hard and the damage was significant to both the front and rear of the car. They did not even attempt to repair it afterward but just removed loose tin and rolled it into their trailer. I believe they are now out of cars and will probably be done for the rest of Speedweeks, with a trip to Capital headquarters for repairs or replacements likely. It would appear that teammate Shane Clanton is on his own for the rest of the week. He himself parked his car after a poor heat to save it for the rest of the week.
Twenty cars had already qualified for the Modified feature, based on their top ten finishes for the last two nights in the main events. The top ten would redraw and the two favorites, Nick Hoffman and Kyle Strickler, would redraw ninth and tenth, thus insuring an interesting event that could produce an upset. Four Last Chance races lined up based on the qualifying feature finishes would add eight more cars to the main and then four provisional starters would complete the huge thirty two car starting field.
The Modified drivers did a great job however, as there were only three cautions in the main and only about a half dozen drivers that didn't finish the entire event. Oklahoma's Jason Hughes led twenty nine laps of the main, only to be passed on the final lap for the win.
Jason Hughes led from the start and maintained his lead over Tyler Nicely and Spencer Hughes in the early going. Nicely would eventually break and Spencer Hughes took over second. Hoffman and Strickler would both have problems during the race, running into each other at one point and also having troubles with the wall and the rough and heavy surface that was tough on the equipment.
Jason Hughes continued to lead but his car appeared to be getting tighter in the corners and he was having to pinch it down to protect the bottom and keep from getting up in the slime. Spencer Hughes used this opportunity to gain ground and as the laps ran down, it got closer and closer. Spencer nearly pulled off the pass but Jason seemed OK to get the win when the yellow was triggered for a car in the wall in turn two. Truly, the leaders were coming out of the last corner and everyone had missed the crashed car so it would have just been easier to wave the checkered and call it a race(USMTS would have) but they chose to back it up fully two laps and restart the race. Jason Hughes would go on rue that decision.
Jason did his best to keep his speed up and still protect the low groove but Spencer got a great run off turn four, made a brilliant move to squeeze past Jason on the high side as they took the white flag and clearly pulled into the lead in turn one. Jason had nothing for him and the Mississippi driver increased his lead as he drove home for the win. Mike Altobelli made a solid run up from fourteenth and nipped Ryan Cripe for third with Hoffman holding on for fourth. His finish gave him the gator as the point champion of the Modified portion of the show. Incredibly, Hoffman kept up his remarkable streak as it was his fifth consecutive gator as the point champion of this series.
National driving stars J. Hughes and Terry Phillips were both racing this event for the first time and while they were driving cars of their own design, it should be noted that neither was driving their own equipment. Phillips was driving a GRT from an area owner while Jason was driving a Hughes chasses that belonged to Tennessee's Lucas Lee who was also racing.
The track was bad fast for Monday night's show(too fast for many of the drivers) and it made for some blinding speeds and some dicey moments. These kind of conditions are really hard on the equipment and make it tough to pass as everyone was just so fast. Many of the cars in both classes looked like they had been in a war at the race's completion and the crews will be scrapping mud off their cars for the foreseeable future. Track crews are trying to find the "sweet spot" when it comes to track prep as if they get it too dry, then the dreaded "lock down" conditions will occur which from a fan's perspective are far worse than a hammer down track. We will see what they come up with for Tuesday.
The show started right on time and was moved through at a very brisk pace with all racing done by 10 pm allowing spectators to mingle in the pits with the crews afterward. For the wildlife enthusiasts , two gators of the live and fully grown variety were spotted in the "gator pond" that is surrounded by the lower pit area. No reports of small children or pets being missing were heard of.
Monday, February 10, 2020
Davenport Finally Gets That First Lucas Oil Victory
Sunday night, February 9th, the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series wrapped up their time in Florida with a visit to the All Tech Speedway South of Lake City Florida. This would be a new venue for the Lucas Oil drivers as this race replaced one that had been traditionally held at Bubba Raceway South of here in Ocala. No one seemed to know for sure but speculation was that this track got on the series because of a question of whether or not Bubba would be able to race following a series of issues at that track that made it questionable whether or not they would be racing this year.
All Tech started out life as an asphalt track that was covered with dirt, then sat vacant for several years before being resurrected a second time several years ago. I had been there once before on my last Florida visit when races at anther track close by were rained out and a kind local citizen told me about All Tech that was racing on that same day. I was stunned when I got there and found out what a nice place it was and that was before all the additional improvements since they have made since I was there three or four years ago.
Before when I was there, the seating consisted of a long cement slab that ran the entire length of the front chute, ideal for lawn chairs but not so much for just sitting on them. Now they have added ten rows of aluminum bleachers that run the full length of the main chute and greatly add to the number of people that the facility can seat. They have also added some nice bleachers for the pit areas and created a large camping space across the road from the track. Additional concession stands, food trucks and much more have been added and the place has also really been "spruced up" since the last time I was here.
They were very organized with them selling tickets even before the advertised gate opening hour and a series of parking attendants helped park the spectator units so that the parking was organized thus making it easier to leave the grounds and get maximum use out of the parking areas they had, as a huge crowd was in attendance.
On the negative side, they could use a scoreboard to help inform the fans, especially when the p.a. system was bad, which it was on Sunday night. It was almost impossible to hear the announcers all night so Bob Dillner(no great loss) and James Essex(a big loss) couldn't be heard hardly at all and time trials were just a rumor as to who did what. Ditto for the announcer for the Street Stocks, who went unnamed as did most of the Street drivers who's names were lost in the roar of the cars.
All Tech is a big half mile track with long chutes and relatively tight corners. It is a high speed track but it did slick up a lot, which in retrospect was probably a very good thing. With it slowing down, it made the racing better and for a big track, there was a considerable amount of "back and forth" jockeying for position. Most of the drivers had never raced here before and it was interesting to watch as they experimented with the best way of getting around the track. Also, the track seemed to change on nearly every lap as drivers would have one good lap and then stumble badly the next time around. Engines would "rev" as drivers broke traction and except for its difference in size, it seemed to be racing much like East Bay did the previous night. That is to say, hard to figure out.
Thirty four Late Models and nine Street Stocks were in attendance for this last Lucas Oil race. Qualifying, four heats and two B Features set the twenty six car, fifty lap main event for the Late Models. Tim McCreadie and Devin Moran had the front row and it was Moran that took the early lead. McCreadie faded back quickly and Jonathan Davenport moved up to second and began to challenge for the lead. It took him twenty laps to track down and then pass Moran for the lead with the yellow waving several times in the early going before the drivers started to build up some momentum.
Davenport then pulled away as Brandon Sheppard worked his way up into second and it looked like he might have something for Davenport. But then, on a restart, Sheppard made a mistake by choosing the inside line for a restart and he dropped back to fourth, losing everything he had gained and since it took time to catch and then pass cars, this was his undoing.
The last part of the race saw Davenport pull away to a comfortable lead with Mike Marlar trying to track him down. Sheppard got past Shane Clanton for third and then, showing much speed, nearly caught Marlar for second on the last lap. Clanton had his best run of the week for fourth and Jimmy Owens came from dead last to finish fifth.
Earlier in a heat race, Tyler Bruening had gotten too high in turn four and slammed the wall hard and then was hit by both Owens and Josh Richards. Both those drivers rolled out back up cars and besides Owens coming from the back to fifth, Richards raced from twenty third to eighth. Bruening was shaken a bit and opted not to take an emergency provisional.
It was interesting to note that even at this high level of racing, tempers flare from time to time and drivers do "Saturday night kind of stupid" things. After Tanner English rubbed Shannon Buckingham just a little too hard for Buckingham's tastes while making a pass, on the next corner Shannon flat out dumped English right in front of a pack of cars, that all managed to avoid a grinding wreck. Both restarted in the back and that was that but it seemed to serve little purpose except to make qualifying for Buckingham just a bit harder. In fact, he had to take a provisional to make the main.
The Street Stock had a paltry field of nine cars on hand and Patrick Mennenga led from start to finish to win a grand for his run. The Late Models ran their feature first which was probably a good choice for the Sunday night crowd and by the time the Streets hit the track, there were only a handful of spectators on hand to watch that event.
The program started right on time and they moved through the action quickly with all racing done well before 10 pm. It was an impressive first time showing for the track at All Tech, everyone had to be happy with the racing and the crowd on hand and I would not be surprised to see this event now become a yearly part of the Florida Speedweeks scene. Thanks to everyone at All Tech as this central Florida track shown well on its first appearance on a national Late Model stage and seems headed for even bigger and better things.
All Tech started out life as an asphalt track that was covered with dirt, then sat vacant for several years before being resurrected a second time several years ago. I had been there once before on my last Florida visit when races at anther track close by were rained out and a kind local citizen told me about All Tech that was racing on that same day. I was stunned when I got there and found out what a nice place it was and that was before all the additional improvements since they have made since I was there three or four years ago.
Before when I was there, the seating consisted of a long cement slab that ran the entire length of the front chute, ideal for lawn chairs but not so much for just sitting on them. Now they have added ten rows of aluminum bleachers that run the full length of the main chute and greatly add to the number of people that the facility can seat. They have also added some nice bleachers for the pit areas and created a large camping space across the road from the track. Additional concession stands, food trucks and much more have been added and the place has also really been "spruced up" since the last time I was here.
They were very organized with them selling tickets even before the advertised gate opening hour and a series of parking attendants helped park the spectator units so that the parking was organized thus making it easier to leave the grounds and get maximum use out of the parking areas they had, as a huge crowd was in attendance.
On the negative side, they could use a scoreboard to help inform the fans, especially when the p.a. system was bad, which it was on Sunday night. It was almost impossible to hear the announcers all night so Bob Dillner(no great loss) and James Essex(a big loss) couldn't be heard hardly at all and time trials were just a rumor as to who did what. Ditto for the announcer for the Street Stocks, who went unnamed as did most of the Street drivers who's names were lost in the roar of the cars.
All Tech is a big half mile track with long chutes and relatively tight corners. It is a high speed track but it did slick up a lot, which in retrospect was probably a very good thing. With it slowing down, it made the racing better and for a big track, there was a considerable amount of "back and forth" jockeying for position. Most of the drivers had never raced here before and it was interesting to watch as they experimented with the best way of getting around the track. Also, the track seemed to change on nearly every lap as drivers would have one good lap and then stumble badly the next time around. Engines would "rev" as drivers broke traction and except for its difference in size, it seemed to be racing much like East Bay did the previous night. That is to say, hard to figure out.
Thirty four Late Models and nine Street Stocks were in attendance for this last Lucas Oil race. Qualifying, four heats and two B Features set the twenty six car, fifty lap main event for the Late Models. Tim McCreadie and Devin Moran had the front row and it was Moran that took the early lead. McCreadie faded back quickly and Jonathan Davenport moved up to second and began to challenge for the lead. It took him twenty laps to track down and then pass Moran for the lead with the yellow waving several times in the early going before the drivers started to build up some momentum.
Davenport then pulled away as Brandon Sheppard worked his way up into second and it looked like he might have something for Davenport. But then, on a restart, Sheppard made a mistake by choosing the inside line for a restart and he dropped back to fourth, losing everything he had gained and since it took time to catch and then pass cars, this was his undoing.
The last part of the race saw Davenport pull away to a comfortable lead with Mike Marlar trying to track him down. Sheppard got past Shane Clanton for third and then, showing much speed, nearly caught Marlar for second on the last lap. Clanton had his best run of the week for fourth and Jimmy Owens came from dead last to finish fifth.
Earlier in a heat race, Tyler Bruening had gotten too high in turn four and slammed the wall hard and then was hit by both Owens and Josh Richards. Both those drivers rolled out back up cars and besides Owens coming from the back to fifth, Richards raced from twenty third to eighth. Bruening was shaken a bit and opted not to take an emergency provisional.
It was interesting to note that even at this high level of racing, tempers flare from time to time and drivers do "Saturday night kind of stupid" things. After Tanner English rubbed Shannon Buckingham just a little too hard for Buckingham's tastes while making a pass, on the next corner Shannon flat out dumped English right in front of a pack of cars, that all managed to avoid a grinding wreck. Both restarted in the back and that was that but it seemed to serve little purpose except to make qualifying for Buckingham just a bit harder. In fact, he had to take a provisional to make the main.
The Street Stock had a paltry field of nine cars on hand and Patrick Mennenga led from start to finish to win a grand for his run. The Late Models ran their feature first which was probably a good choice for the Sunday night crowd and by the time the Streets hit the track, there were only a handful of spectators on hand to watch that event.
The program started right on time and they moved through the action quickly with all racing done well before 10 pm. It was an impressive first time showing for the track at All Tech, everyone had to be happy with the racing and the crowd on hand and I would not be surprised to see this event now become a yearly part of the Florida Speedweeks scene. Thanks to everyone at All Tech as this central Florida track shown well on its first appearance on a national Late Model stage and seems headed for even bigger and better things.
The Eternal Struggle; To Watch on TV or to Actually Attend?
For the first st time ever, I actually started watching a series of dirt track races on TV. I have never been much for watching auto racing on TV and other than a few NASCAR races such as the Daytona 500, I have never spent much time watching short track racing on the tube. Usually I'm at a race myself, so it isn't even a consideration. However, with the Lucas Oil Racing Series running during the week at East Bay Raceway Park, and having much interest in how the racing was going, I caught the first race on TV on Monday night and found myself watching most of the rest of the week without much else on the tube to challenge it anyway.
The racing, for the most part, was spectacular, so we decided that we should catch at least one race in person. So Friday afternoon about 4 pm we rolled out from the house with our destination being the Gibsonton Florida home of the East Bay Raceway Park. Twenty three and a half hours later, with no stops other than for gas, and one thousand, five hundred and eighty one miles later, I was standing in the pits at East Bay Raceway Park, groggy and feeling a little a little out of sorts but happy at the sight of a full field of dirt Late Models and just as happy about the warm temperatures and bright sunshine.
But the big question was, was it really worth it? Or would it have been just as simple and perhaps cheaper in the long run just to have hung out in the house and watch it on TV? With Lucas Oil TV and Mav TV both showing races, this series is more and more being targeted as a TV series. There are breaks after each heat race so that a replay of the previous event can be shown on TV, the winner interviewed for the cameras and the off course necessary commercials to be shown on TV.
It was forty bucks to get into the races on Saturday night and probably less than that to watch on TV. There were long lines at the concession stands at the track and also for the restrooms. No such lines existed at my house. My bleacher seat was not nearly as comfortable as the "easy chair" next to my TV. Of course TV can't cover a race nearly as well as being there in person and watching with ones on eyes can, but for a lot of people they cover it plenty well enough on the tube that there is really no reason to actually be there in person. Based on what I saw, it seems like more and more racing is being tailored for the TV audience and not much being done to make it more pleasurable for the fan actually in the stands. At home when the race was completed, I simply shut off the TV and walked to the next room while at the track I fought with a bunch of rude drivers to fight my way out of the parking lot.
Now I'm not a guy that would ever consider staying home and watching a race on TV as opposed to actually going out to the track, but based on what I saw and experienced over the course of most of the week, I can see why more and more people are just staying home and watching, rather than having to deal with the issues actually surrounding attending in person. There truly are a lot of positives to just experiencing the racing from the comfort of your own house.
But is that what we want for short track racing, to turn it into a TV sport played out in front of a handful of people while everyone sits at home and watches? I don't have the answer for that, but in the rush of more and more tracks trying to get their races on TV and take their track to a "different level", this will become more and more of an issue. By the way, the race was the worst of the entire week as the track took rubber and most in the stands walked out feeling disappointed with the finale after having a week of racing that was mostly terrific. And if I was at home, I could just have gotten up and went to the "reffer" for a snack when it locked down and everyone went to the bottom. No such offer was available at the track.
By the way, the grandstands were packed on this night as they have been for most of the week at East Bay. The combination of excellent racing for the most part, nice weather and the realization that if you want to see the Late Models at East Bay you better not wait too long as the track is scheduled for demolition in 2024, all seemed to have played a part in getting the crowds to come out to the track. What happens when East Bay closes seemed to be the really big question.
The racing, for the most part, was spectacular, so we decided that we should catch at least one race in person. So Friday afternoon about 4 pm we rolled out from the house with our destination being the Gibsonton Florida home of the East Bay Raceway Park. Twenty three and a half hours later, with no stops other than for gas, and one thousand, five hundred and eighty one miles later, I was standing in the pits at East Bay Raceway Park, groggy and feeling a little a little out of sorts but happy at the sight of a full field of dirt Late Models and just as happy about the warm temperatures and bright sunshine.
But the big question was, was it really worth it? Or would it have been just as simple and perhaps cheaper in the long run just to have hung out in the house and watch it on TV? With Lucas Oil TV and Mav TV both showing races, this series is more and more being targeted as a TV series. There are breaks after each heat race so that a replay of the previous event can be shown on TV, the winner interviewed for the cameras and the off course necessary commercials to be shown on TV.
It was forty bucks to get into the races on Saturday night and probably less than that to watch on TV. There were long lines at the concession stands at the track and also for the restrooms. No such lines existed at my house. My bleacher seat was not nearly as comfortable as the "easy chair" next to my TV. Of course TV can't cover a race nearly as well as being there in person and watching with ones on eyes can, but for a lot of people they cover it plenty well enough on the tube that there is really no reason to actually be there in person. Based on what I saw, it seems like more and more racing is being tailored for the TV audience and not much being done to make it more pleasurable for the fan actually in the stands. At home when the race was completed, I simply shut off the TV and walked to the next room while at the track I fought with a bunch of rude drivers to fight my way out of the parking lot.
Now I'm not a guy that would ever consider staying home and watching a race on TV as opposed to actually going out to the track, but based on what I saw and experienced over the course of most of the week, I can see why more and more people are just staying home and watching, rather than having to deal with the issues actually surrounding attending in person. There truly are a lot of positives to just experiencing the racing from the comfort of your own house.
But is that what we want for short track racing, to turn it into a TV sport played out in front of a handful of people while everyone sits at home and watches? I don't have the answer for that, but in the rush of more and more tracks trying to get their races on TV and take their track to a "different level", this will become more and more of an issue. By the way, the race was the worst of the entire week as the track took rubber and most in the stands walked out feeling disappointed with the finale after having a week of racing that was mostly terrific. And if I was at home, I could just have gotten up and went to the "reffer" for a snack when it locked down and everyone went to the bottom. No such offer was available at the track.
By the way, the grandstands were packed on this night as they have been for most of the week at East Bay. The combination of excellent racing for the most part, nice weather and the realization that if you want to see the Late Models at East Bay you better not wait too long as the track is scheduled for demolition in 2024, all seemed to have played a part in getting the crowds to come out to the track. What happens when East Bay closes seemed to be the really big question.
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