Wrapping Up 2022 and Looking Ahead to the New Year

 

The 2022 racing season ended with a whimper when I was snowed in and couldn't get to what was planned to be my last race of the season. That being said, the 2022 racing season is now a wrap and before we move on to a new season, it is time to take a quick look back at 2022.

In retrospect, 2022 proved to be a good racing season overall. It seemed like many of the special events did very well both in crowd attendance and in participants. The “regular” season races struggled however, at a lot of tracks with only so-so attendance and car counts that were at some points pretty lame. It seemed that particularly after the 4^th of July holiday both cars and spectators started to fade from the weekly shows, probably for the logical reason that both segments felt a money crunch and were forced to make some tough decisions about when they raced or where and how often they spectated at.

This has always probably been the case but seems to be more pronounced in recent years, possibly due to the increase in “special” events that charge a higher rate to get in with many tracks feeling this is the route to take to remain solvent. The only problem is that these events only made it tougher for the weekly shows to survive as spectators had to budget their money and likely skipped some weekly shows if they wanted to attend the higher priced special events while racers chose to limit their participation in many cases to racing perhaps only one night a week along with the specials. This has been and will continue to be a difficult juggling act for promoters to deal with and racers to cope with. Everyone likes special events but the weekly shows are what the sport thrives on and without the local shows, no new drivers are developed while most fans will say that their first exposure to racing and the thing that got them to come back, was first seeing racing at the local track, not at some high powered gala special event.

For myself, it was another great season and an enjoyable one from start to finish. I was able to go to some racing in every month of the year and my trips took me from the deserts of the Southwest all the way to Florida and North Carolina on the East Coast. I saw just about every class out there race one time or another but my main diet was the dirt tracks of America with Late Models and Modifieds being my favorite classes. I got to see most of the sanctioning bodies in action and a great cross section of drivers from nearly coast to coast and as wide a variety of tracks as one can imagine. I got to see racing at some of the greatest “palaces” for dirt track racing around to the smallest and most rustic of facilities and most everything in between. From red clay to pea gravel, just about any kind of racing surface was seen and on a brief and rare occasion, even a surface of tar or asphalt(but not many!).

In 2021, I thought that I had reached the top end of what a season could look like when I attended two hundred and four nights of racing. Let's face it. I am very lucky in that I no longer have to go to work unless I feel like it and I have a very forgiving wife who allows me to humor my interest of spending a lot of time at the track. And she likes to go along to many of the biggest trips as she knows just about as many people at the track as I do as this disease called racing runs through her veins also. Being able to go to events in New Mexico, Arizona, Florida and other states before the snow melts in the Midwest surely lengthens the season and give us the chance to see many new and different tracks too.

An early start to the season plus a prolonged dry spell this Summer in the Midwest made it easier to catch a lot of races without fighting the weather as much as some years. At one point in June and July, made a stretch of attending races for nineteen straight nights and saw twenty eight races in the month of June.

In 2022 I topped my old record by a single night of racing, having attended two hundred and five nights of racing during a season that started on January 5^th and ended on December 3^rd. When I added up my season records recently I was surprised at the total as to me it didn't feel like I was that busy during the Summer. I do have a nice advantage as while some would say that I live in the “sticks in northern Wisconsin”, I actually have over a dozen race tracks within a couple hours drive or so and tracks that race on every night of the week except Monday. I'll bet there are plenty of folks that live in much more urban areas than that not able to make that claim. So, during the busiest months of the Summer, I really could stay pretty local and still see plenty of racing. But that's not necessary the way I do things as people like Jerry VanSickel tell me I should just move to Iowa because he runs into me so often in the Hawkeye state.

In fact, I attended races in sixteen different states plus one Canadian Province and saw racing at sixty eight different tracks during the year. I did also get to five new tracks this year, two in Missouri and one a piece in Iowa, Texas and the Province of Ontario Canada. July was my busiest month with twenty nine races and December was the slowest with only three.

2022 marked the forty second consecutive year that I have attended over one hundred nights of racing and overall, I have been to three hundred and thirty one different tracks in twenty nine states and three Canadian Provinces. I started with great racing at Vado Raceway Park in New Mexico and ended up with the spectacular show at the Dome at America's Center and in between had much fun and enjoyment at a host of different tracks. I saw the last race ever(sadly) at I-80 Speedway and dodged a tornado near Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore and did so much more during the course of the year.

I've been around the block enough times that no matter where I go, I generally run into someone that I know and can chat with. And there are so many interesting folks out there at the tracks, from the lady at the back gate at East Bay Raceway Park that only sees me once a year but can remember my name like she spoke to me every day of the week to the rabid race fans North of the border in Canada to all the nice promoters, announcers, p.r. people and track workers at all the tracks from West to East and everywhere in between plus all the spectators that remain loyal to the sport. And without all of them, we would have nothing.

Turn the page now to 2023. I will be ready to hit the road once again, not tiring of it as of yet. Things will be just a bit different in the coming year as Linda will now be retired too. Perhaps she will hit the road with me, along with every trip. Perhaps she will just pick and choose her visits or perhaps we will both be home knitting socks, who knows?

We will, however, be taking advantage of the fact that we can seek warmer weather instead of riding out this constant pattern of snow and then cold here in the Midwest. We plan to start out at Cocopah Speedway near Yuma AZ, then migrate to New Mexico for the Wild West Shootout before swinging back to central Arizona for Don Shaw's shows and then heading for the sun and surf in Florida. We hope to see a lot of Midwestern drivers racing, perhaps particularly in New Mexico and Arizona and hope to see a lot of Midwestern fans also following the racing action.

Our plan is to cover as much of this racing as possible and report the stories and cover the drivers that make the news early in this new season. Thanks for reading this and best wishes for a prosperous 2023.

Erb and Thornton Jr Top Gateway Nationals Finales

 The Gateway Dirt Nationals completed its three night stand at the Dome at America's Center on Saturday night, December 3rd and in front of a huge crowd of vocal race fans, Tyler Erb and Ricky Thornton Jr would top the feature races for the Late Models and Modifieds respectively. Saturday night would be the finale of what would seem to have been the most successful Gateway Nationals yet, certainly in terms of attendance as the first a and second rims all the way around the building looked to be packed on what was a nice weekend for visiting the city and traveling to St. Louis. 

On the final night, all drivers would get the chance to participate if their equipment was still able to run and while there were a few that were too junked out or blown up to race on Saturday, most of the entered drivers would give it that one last shot to make the big show. Chances would be slim except for those starting right toward the front of the final qualifiers but most everyone would give it a go. 

These Qualifiers are among the most tedious races of the entire weekend, For an example, it took nearly three hours to complete the six Late Model qualifiers with none having less than three yellows with most many more and included flips by Jaden Frame and Kylan Garner along with delays to put the wheel fence back together after it was partially torn down. With nearly twenty cars in each one and only two moving on to the feature race, you can imagine what the intensity level was for each race and the resulting mayhem. 

The Modifieds did slightly better with not quite as many yellows and with only four Last Chance races, they flew by in comparison to the Late Model events. Running behind schedule for the first time all weekend, the redraws were accomplished during the down time provided by the fence repairs. New this year was the Last Last Chance race where the top two in each of the Last Chance events got one more shot with only the winner moving on. Throw in one provisional in each class and the twenty car starting fields for each feature would be set. 

Plenty of pageantry, spectacular indoor fireworks and the driver introductions would add to the fun and get the crowd whipped into a frenzy before the Late Model feature would take to the track. For the first ten laps, it looked like and upset of gigantic proportions might take place as Friday night's surprise winner, Cody Bauer  would get the jump and lead the early laps with Tanner English, Wil Herrington and Erb challenging. Ryan Unzicker, a pick of many, was the first car out of the race with mechanical issues followed closely by Garrett Alberson. 

Neither Bobby Pierce nor Brandon Sheppard were showing much and both would eventually fall out of the race. Herrington was running very strong as he got by English for second and Erb seemed to pick up the pack as he moved into third. When Bauer slipped high in treacherous corner two, Herrington was right there to take over the lead with English and Erb continuing to fight for position. 

It looked like Herrington might fight off the challenges and hold on for the win but a yellow with less than ten laps to go would prove his undoing. On the wild restart, the leaders tried to go three wide down the front chute with Erb somehow finding room to squeeze between Herrington and English to take over the lead. Just about at the same time, Herrington broke and was done and would trigger one last yellow flag. 

Erb would drive away on the restart while English had to fight off  Ricky Thornton Jr to hold on to second in a race that would see only eight cars on the track at the conclusion. This was the perfect kind of track for Erb to shine at as the "cowboy" driving style fitting this bumpy and challenging surface was right up his alley. When he revealed in victory lane that his father had passed away on Wednesday of this week unexpectedly, it brought even more emotion to what is always a very dramatic victory lane ceremony. This revelation even choked up the announcers. Defending champion Tyler Carpenter was behind the eight ball all night, having to run a Last Chance race after his set-to with Hudson O'Neal on Thursday night but he did manage to claw his way up to fourth at the finish which will no doubt give him even more incentive to return next year with both guns blazing. Mike Spatola would complete the top five in a race that while there was a bunch of bouncing around and break downs, there would be only four yellows which might have been an event record. Erb earned thirty grand for his win. 

The Modified drivers would complete the evening with their thirty lap main event and for the first twelve laps it looked like teen ager Michael Ledford might pull off the upset. He got the jump on the field and bounced his way into the lead as the track was brutally rough by this point. He put distance on the  field as Jordan Grabouski would move into second after one of the favorites, Drake Troutman, would blow up early. Also, Tyler Peterson, who had moved into third quickly and seemed one of the few that might challenge for the win, had bad luck when it got a flat tire and was done. 

Ledford would continue to lead with Thornton Jr challenging "Grabo" on lap after lap for second. Finally Thornton Jr would get past for second and then begin to track down Ledford. We will never know for sure whether or not Ricky could have caught and passed Ledford for the lead for on lap thirteen Ledford would break in turn one and his night would be over. 

That gave Ricky the lead and he would then drive away from the field. The last sixteen laps of this race would go green and not much would change among the leaders. All were hugging the inside line and holding on for dear life with Thornton Jr pulling away from the pack. The biggest race was for second with Mike McKinney tracking down and then passing Grabouski for second late in the race. Kyle Steffens and Chase Holland would round out the top five. 

Thornton Jr was racing a Royal chassis, apparently the only one in existence right now but I would assume their phone is now ringing off the wall from calls from potential customers. Thornton Jr would earn ten grand for his win. 

As far as the racing went on Saturday night, it was typical Dome racing with lots of break downs and everyone holding on for dear life as the track conditions went down hill as the week continued. Apparently it is not possible to get this track so that it is not a dust bowl while still also not racing like a mine field. I'm wondering if a tutorial from the staff in Tulsa would help but then again, the types of cars are different, the dirt is likely different and there are probably many other factors that make the two like comparing apples and oranges. And as far as the racers go, they come into this event expecting it to be rough so when it is, they are not surprised. I'm just surprised that there are so many each year just waiting in line for their chance to race here, knowing that the odds are high they might return home with their race car in a basket. But there is only one Dome race and it is spectacularly different than any race all year and lots of people want to be a part of it at least once. For many it is a "bucket list" event to scratch off their list. 

I was really surprised by the number of teams that applied special "Dome" graphics to their race cars. Some were very attractive and inventive and they deserved some kind of special recognition for their efforts and additional expense. There should be at minimum, some sort of contest for them, especially knowing that many would not go home looking like they did when they arrived!

One thing that does need to be addressed before next year is the unsafe racing conditions in turn two. The fact that this turn narrows down to the back chute with the blunt end exposed cement for the driveway is quite frankly a safety hazard that needs to be addressed now. Most of the accidents happened all week right at that location and time after time, everyone held their breath that the driver would clamber out of his car OK after nasty wreck after nasty wreck took place in the same location. Eventually the luck will run out and someone is going to get hurt if something is not changed there. Let's not wait until something bad happens before changes are made. 

The enormity of this race is almost hand to comprehend. The size of the crowds, the number of race rigs under one roof and the huge number of workers that are needed to keep this thing going and in some kind of order is almost mind blowing. The real heroes are all the workers that put in endless hours over the course of this week, only to have to tear everything down and clean everything up, almost starting as the checkered flag flies after Saturday night's feature races. I sometimes get frustrated with some of the things that happen like the delays, down time dusty or rough conditions etc, but truly it is a race that everyone needs to experience at least once. And once you see it, you will likely want to come back again. To gain an idea of the enormity of this race, the 50/50 split the pot saw one winner take home $45,328.50!

Thanks to everyone that had a part in the production of this event. It truly is one of a kind and in today's world, that is hard to say but certainly is true in this case. 

Bauer and Thornton Jr Top A Wild Night at the America's Center Dome

 Friday night, December 2nd saw the second half of the entered field race in their preliminary event at the Gateway Nationals at America's Center in downtown St. Louis Missouri. While the Thursday night show was relatively timid by Dome standards, Friday night's action more than made up for the calm waters that had prevailed on the previous night. In a night filled with controversy, wild action and two roll overs that were uncharacteristically celebrated as some sort of victory performance, relative unknown Cody Bauer from Michigan would surprise the Late Model field while  jack of all trades Ricky Thornton Jr would dominate the Modified field. 

After a relatively staid night of racing on Thursday, largely due to a track that while smooth had no speed or second lane in it and produced some pedestrian racing, the track crew got to work early on Friday morning and "juiced" up the racing surface for Friday night. And while it did get a bit bumpy before the night was over(the fear that likely caused them to run the surface so hard on Thursday night), it also produced much more speed and offered some extra racing room which made all the difference in allowing the drivers to actually do some racing. As soon as the first heat race hit the track, the difference was obvious in what the drivers could do and they responded by producing a night that many will find memorable in several regards. 

And while the wins by Bauer and Thornton Jr were big news, those stories would likely be secondary to the other drama that took place during the course of the evening including the "dust up" between Tyler Carpenter and Hudson O'Neal and the celebratory flips by Charlie Mefford and Peyton Taylor that were celebrated almost as hard as feature wins which seemed strange to me but were highly appreciated by the "foaming at the mouth" crowd that more than once reminded of the Coliseum crowds in Rome of old that were screaming for blood which some of the "Gladiators" provided to them. 

Fifty four Late Models signed in for night two with quite a number of pre registered drivers not actually showing up for the event, which left the Thursday night and Friday night fields slightly unbalanced. However, the format would remain the same with qualifying, six heats and a pair of B Features to set the running order for the twenty five lap main event and again, the top three finishers in this race would avoid the final set of qualifying heats on Saturday night. 

The track would me much faster on Friday night with Tyler Erb being the quickest overall with a time nearly a full second quicker than Bobby Pierce had turned on Thursday night. Carpenter would be quickest among the second flight of qualifiers. The highlight, if you want to call it that, of the heats was the skirmish between Carpenter and O'Neal in heat four(more on that later), but the six heats were all won off the front row extra four the fourth heat that ended up with only three cars running after the collisions and paybacks were done. 

Carpenter would make a come back and qualify through one of the two B Features that were rough and rugged from start to finish and eighteen drivers would then take the green for the feature race. Actually, make that nineteen when Kenny Collins was added following a scoring error in one of the B Features. 

The feature race saw a great battle between the unheralded Bauer, Garrett Alberson and Tyler Erb for the win. Bauer fought off numerous challenges from the pair throughout the race including a late one resulting from a yellow with only four laps to go. Alberson went for broke on the restart and nearly stole the lead away but he got squeezed up into the back stretch wall, an area on the track where it seems that all the action takes place, and his resulting trip into the concrete broke his car and he finished deep in the field. It seems like some squeeze jobs are allowed and others not so much but the result was that Bauer would hold on for the win and a trip to victory lane for the "little guys" in the field this weekend. Wil Herrington would make a late charge to take second  with Erb also finding himself locked in for the Saturday night dance. 

Many were watching Carpenter who would start eighteenth on the grid and he had a successful run, getting all the way up to fifth at the finish and giving himself a good starting spot for the heats on Saturday as half the crowd cheered his advance through the field while the other half shot him the "bird" every time he went by. I'm telling you, this crowd was explosive tonight, fueled in part by way too much alcohol to drink with some behaviors bordering on the tasteless. It's getting to be a shame, but I certainly wouldn't be bringing and children to this race anymore if I had to make that choice. 

The Modified field was dominated by Thornton Jr . He was quick qualifier and after starting third on the grid, it took him only a few laps to get past Jordan Grabouski and then motor away to a resounding win. His main competition, it appeared, would be Minnesota's Shane Sabraski but "Sugar Shane" got squeezed into the infamous back stretch wall right at the start and a flat tire would end his evening. 

With only two yellows to slow the action and the last ten laps ran off nonstop, Thornton Jr opened up nearly a full straightaway over the rest of the field. One of the yellows was actually a red when a big pileup on the back chute saw Taylor flip and appear to wreck his car along with that of Tom Berry Jr. However, Taylor was grinning like he won the feature when he emerged from the wreck as I guess the "game plan" for this weekend is either to win or look spectacular for the cameras as this race seems to have degenerated into one part dirt track racing, one part a circus and one part WWE. 

However, Taylor's performance was pretty staid compared to that of  Charlie Mefford as the young Modified driver went for a ride in the B Feature. After the wreck, he was dancing around like he had either won the main event or he had fire ants in his fire suit as I guess it's most important to look spectacular or act goofy, as long as the cameras or focused on you. 

Thornton Jr would score an easy win over Mike McKinney who would start dead last in the field and make a steady drive to the front with "Grabo" also making the top three. 

Of course, what everyone will be talking about when this race is history is the scrum between Carpenter and O'Neal in their heat that saw O'Neal squeezed into the back stretch wall as they battled for the lead in heat number four. After wrecking, O'Neal responding by crashing into Carpenter's car and giving him a flat tire so he had to run the B Feature. Carpenter was lucky enough to not suffer extreme damage and he still recovered to make it a fairly successful night, not the kind that saw O'Neal disqualified for the remainder of the night and car damage that will end his weekend. 

Of course, everyone has their own opinion over who's fault it was or if indeed, it was just the result of "Dome" racing with the personalities involved just adding gasoline to the fire, so to speak. Carpenter has his loyal following but his "mouth running" and "poor old me" attitude plus "potty mouth" turn some off and O'Neal, while having driven in a relatively gentleman like way so far in his career, has the blood lines of his father Don, one who never be accused on turning the other cheek for sure. So there's plenty of blame, if you will, to be passed around in the whole incident. What bothers me more than anything is that we are getting on to the very edge of control here. I came to watch an auto race, not the WWE and I think we are bordering on letting things get out of hand here and as the old adage goes. "It's all fun and games until someone gets their eye poked out" and with these alcohol enflamed fans, things are getting just a bit scary for my tastes while Cody Summers and the others involved just sit back, fan the flames and put more money in their wallets. 

Hopefully I am just over reacting a bit here and things will run off smoothly on Saturday night but I wouldn't be surprised if something new happens to fan the flames further. Meanwhile, the folks at FLO are hoping that you watched on TV last night, will call all your buddies to tell them that they better buy the program and watch 'cause it going to get really crazy on Saturday night.  

Pierce and Troutman Top Opener at Gateway Dirt Nationals

 As the calendar flips over to the month of December, one of the most touted events of the year kicks off its three night run as the Gateway Dirt Nationals at the Dome at America's Center in St. Louis takes off on Thursday night, December 1st. 

One of the most unique events of the racing season, the fifth mile dirt oval has once again been placed down on the concrete floor of the America's Center and this year it would be Late Models and Modifieds that would be in racing action. For the Late Models, it is "first come, first served" for entering the event with a cutoff number of cars allowed to enter and when that figure is reached, that is all that can participate. For the Modified drivers, they are invited by the track management to race and the number of entrants is limited to around sixty between the first two qualifying nights. The promoters focus on champions from various disciplines of Modified racing, winners of big events, local drivers with "name" appeal and others and it generally is pretty tough to get an invitation unless you've done something notable, carry a "big name" or are perhaps a local favorite of St. Louis area fans. 

The program on Thursday would consist of qualifying for both classes, heats, B Features and two main events. The top three finishers in each main would automatically qualify for Saturday night's big finale where the big money is passed out  but there is still plenty of money to be passed out on the opening two qualifying nights. 

A wide variety of drivers and their back rounds enter this event and you get virtually every brand of Late Model driver running this race. Everything from the biggest names in the sport of Late Model racing to drivers making their first ever runs in the Late Model class are here and that makes for some interesting issues from time to time. The depth of the Late Model field varies quite a bit from year to year and this year it seemed like more than ever, there were quite a few drivers that virtually no one had heard of before or had seen race. Even some of the industry insiders were rolling their eyes at some of the machines on hand but eventually things would work out OK and the cluster of yellow flags that some had feared didn't turn out to be the case. 

The Modified field, on the other hand, is always a strong one with virtually everyone on hand having earned their mettle either this year or over the course of their careers and the Modified racing is usually quite good with the narrow tires of the Modifieds often making it easier for them to use the whole track better than the Late Models. 

Perhaps more so than any other race on the calendar for the whole year, the track itself is always a major source of conversation. Granted, building a dirt track indoors in a little over a week and then trying to make it racy, smooth and dust free can't be much of a problem, right? It seems that they have gotten the system down pat after trial and error over the years and actually putting down the track is not nearly as much of a concern as it used to be. Producing a racy track is much more of a crap shoot and certainly depends much on how wet the dirt brought in is plus a multitude of other factors. There's probably just a little bit of luck involved too. 

Top priority to begin is getting the track smooth because there are plenty of videos out there that have documented the "bucking bronco" type of track that has been the final result in several years. This year they got the track smooth right from the start, developing a solid base that turned black and slick early and one that they only put just a tad bit of water on and then only right on the very top of the track and right on the jersey barricades on the inside. Qualifying was like racing on beach sand and the dust was horrendous. It was probably the worst dust situation since the race has started and while I don't think it affected the drivers, every fans was literally plastered with dust and dirt when they walked out the door at the end of the night. Quite frankly, it was miserable and it was mind boggling to think just how in the world they are gong to clean this building back up when the races are done on Saturday night. 

Honestly, the racing is much better and much more exciting when the track has some "character" and when it is like that, at least there is something for the drivers to get ahold of . As it would turn out on this night, everyone would pretty much hug the inside concrete and there would be no impressive outside charges to be seen. A couple of drivers tried briefly and some like Shannon Babb would make some minor progress, but eventually all, including Brandon Sheppard, would have to migrate back to the bottom to protect their position and take what they could. 

Sixty five Late Models would sign in to race on Thursday night, with a few on the entry list not showing up and several drivers switching rides for this event. Qualifying would set the running order for the heat races and as always, this would be probably the most important part of the night as starting up front in the heats was necessary for any success on the night. The field was split into two groups with Bobby Pierce and Tanner English being the quick qualifiers. Only a couple of hot laps were allowed before qualifying so it was important to be on "your game" quickly. 

Six heats would move up a pair of drivers from each heat with the winners redrawing. If you didn't finish in the top seven in your heat, you were done for the night with only third through seventh allowed to run one of two B Features with three moving up out of each. Only eighteen cars would start the feature race on this small track. 

The biggest excitement of the heat races would be when Kyle Hammer would fight the trend by going to the top side of the track, and with a "Hail Mary" last lap effort, edge Ryan Wilson by inches to make the show to which the crowd, starving for action, would give him a standing ovation, likely the first one he ever got. 

Bobby Pierce, who has had great success at this event over the years, would again add to his totals on this night as after topping qualifying, he would win his heat, redraw the pole and then lead all twenty five laps to score an easy victory as he was not challenged at all. The feature race had only one yellow flag so he didn't have to worry about restart challenges and the only cars that he had to pass all night were the two lapped cars he had to pass late in the feature. 

There was one moment when it looked like Ryan Unzicker might catch him but Pierce made a couple of good moves and when he got past the lapped car of Tanner Collins with six laps to go, that gave him the necessary margin to pull away again. Unzicker and English had a nice side by side battle for second fro several laps until English finally had to give up and settle for third. Ricky Thornton Jr and Shannon Babb would complete the top five. 

The Modifieds were required to be on their game even more than the Late Models as they got absolutely no practice on the track. The first time they hit the track, it was for qualifying and they didn't even get one lap to warm up their cars, it was simply green and go!

There were twenty nine Modifieds on hand with Michael Altobelli setting quick time. The Mods were only about three tenths slower than the Late Models on this track and the preliminary action saw them able to move around more than the Late Models with their narrower tires. However, after some early scrambling in their feature race, they were forced to go into "catfish" mode and hug the bottom of the track too. 

Four heats and a B Feature would set the eighteen car starting field for the Modified feature, which would be for twenty laps. Mike Harrison would start on the pole with Drake Troutman on his outside. Earlier, Harrison would draw perhaps the biggest reaction from the crowd when he "dumped" Joseph Thomas while Thomas was leading a heat race and then expressed absolutely no remorse or concern when he was interviewed after he won. 

While hard to hear over the loud booing of the crowd, Harrison's sneering attitude certainly did him no favors and each position that he dropped in the main was loudly cheered by the fans. 

The Mod feature got off to a rocky start when Ben Harmon got hung up in the fence and flipped on his top on the opening lap. He was OK and this turned out to be the only yellow/red of the event. The fence was torn up a bit but as an example of what the track crew has learned over the years, they had the equipment and material to fix the fence in just a few moments, something that probably wouldn't have been possible in the old days. 

The Mods got wild right at the start with Harrison, Troutman and Michael Ledford going three wide for the lead with eventually Harrison falling back and Troutman would then get the better of Ledford to take the top spot. 

He would then drive on untouched for the win. Defending champion of this event, Tyler Peterson again would  prove to be a force as he would start fifth and with a steady drive, get up to the second spot at the conclusion of the race. Ledford would settle for third and lock himself into the main on Saturday. Only four cars didn't finish the race and there were no lapped cars. 

Challenging Harrison for the biggest anti-ovation was Pierce in victory lane and that, I guess, is a given for him as he carries about an many detractors as he does fans. 

This event is a corporate treasure as the promotions and sponsorship wing of the Gateway Dirt Nationals has not missed a way to sell some sponsorships and put up billboards. Even the pit area has a sponsor for this event! The Illinois Rifle Association pit area as it has been called for this event, may have scored themselves a first as I do not recall a pit area ever having been sponsored before. 

The media star of the evening turned out to be none other than Iowa's "Crazy Martin" who got more screen time than anyone but the two feature winners. Quite the character, Martin would stick out in a crowd of thousands and the camera quickly spotted him as announcers Blake Anderson, Jarrett and Van Sickle cackled over some "Crazy Martin" stories. 

A couple of the voices of this event, Dustin Jarrett and Jerry Van Sickle, shared with me before the race that the time schedule for this night had the final checkered flag waving before 9 pm. Of course we rolled our eyes and had a good chuckle over that, but son of a gun, they hit that mark and more in by far the most smoothly run Gateway Dirt National night to date. The first race was on the track by 6 pm and with not much time taken for track prep, the show moved along very smoothly. There was a record low for yellow flags as a half dozen races went green to checkered and only one race all night had more than two yellow flags. Certainly the very smooth track had something to do with that and perhaps we traded action for quickness on this night but it was nice indeed to complete the races at an early hour.  Hopefully, now with one night completed and the track prep crew having established a solid foundation for the track that should keep it smooth the rest of the weekend, they can perhaps focus on getting more moisture up on the top side of the track so that lane can be opened up more and we can see more side by side racing the rest of the weekend and a little less "catfishing." 

Schatz and Williamson Repeat; Davenport Tops Late Models at World Finals Finale

 The World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway wrapped up on Saturday night, November 5th. For the first time this week, all three classes that are featured at this event, the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, the World of  Outlaws Late Models and the Super DIRT Big Block Modifieds would all be running a full show with the largest purses of the weekend offered. But despite the large and powerful fields of cars in all three classes, two of the three feature winners would be repeat winners from earlier this week. 

The "old" Donny Schatz seems to have reappeared this week at Charlotte as for the second straight night he scored a dominating win in the Sprint Car feature while Ontario's Mat Williamson would top the Big Blocks for the second time. And to no one's surprise, the most dominant Late Model driver seen this year, Jonathan Davenport, would get up on the cushion and blow away the Late Model field. 

For the first time this week, the event would find weather a possible issue after having set or nearly set records for warmth all week. Even early in the day on Saturday, the temperatures were most comfortable, unlike many years here when it could be bitter cold. However, there was a threat of showers later in the day and while they did indeed hit during the Late Model feature, which was the last event of the night, they just stopped the action for a few brief minutes before the event finished off. The post race celebration for the series champions, however, was done as the rain got heavier. 

A few drivers went home early, either due to mechanical problems or a plague of bad luck, but for the most part, the drivers who had entered were all back for one last shot at success. The program would be identical to the three previous nights with heats, Last Chance events and the three feature races. Both the Late Models and Big Blocks would run ten extra laps for their mains for the extra money offered while the Sprint feature remained at thirty laps, most likely because there was a fear that the tires wouldn't last many more laps than that. 

The one big difference for this night was that there was no qualifying in any of the classes as points accumulated from the first two nights would set the running order for the heat races. And not surprisingly, I didn't hear a single complaint from a fan, feeling that they were robbed of part of their program by not having time trials. Mostly they were happy that the show could start right at the scheduled time and that the track would likely race better because it hadn't been worn out by one hundred and sixty plus race cars pounding it in the same groove during time trials. This might be a hint to the sanctioning bodies but my guess is that they are "nose blind" to it. 

The pit area over night and into Saturday was a busy place as I lost count of the number of motor changes that took place with the vast majority of them being in the Sprint Car pits.  I can't imagine how a team could have a successful week, no matter how they finished, knowing that in order to accomplish their finish they just ruined a fifty or more thousand dollar motor it get a finish. And there were also several teams that had to switch cars too due to mechanical issues or crashes. 

Big Blocks would be first on the schedule with four heats, a pair of Last Chance races and then their forty lap main event. The Big Blocks would again start the largest field of cars in their main event as thirty of them would take the green flag. And has been the pattern here this week, the Big Blocks would also see the most lead changes of any of the classes. 

The Big Blocks have an interesting rule that the other classes here don't and that is the fast qualifier for each heat has the option of taking the inside or outside pole and we consistently saw this week that for the Big Blocks, the place to be in the heats was on the outside where it was easier to keep momentum rolling. 

Erick Rudolph would be the early leader of the Big Block feature with Billy Decker, "Mad" Max McLaughlin and Williamson chasing him. The halfway point of the race would see the top five running close together as things would tighten up. It took twenty five laps of green flag racing before the first yellow flew with McLaughlin making a charge at that point to pass both Decker and Rudolph to take over the top spot. 

Tires are apparently the name of the game in this class and there was much discussion over how hard of tires the drivers would strap on their cars with the abrasive surface here eating tires alive. Super Dirt champion Matt Sheppard had apparently put on tires harder than anyone and while he was barely in the top ten when the first yellow waved, after that he took off like a rocket, passing cars at will. 

It seemed only a matter of time until he would take the lead as he was up to third and ready to pass the top two when his motor went up in smoke, ending his night. McLaughlin would continue to hold the lead but he seemed to be slowing his pace and Williamson, who started eighth, would move to the cushion and blow by for the lead following a late restart. He would pull away at the end for the win while McLaughlin staved off last corner attempts by Demetrios Drellos to pass him for second. 

For Williamson, it was a repeat of his Friday night win and for the Canadian visiting drivers, a clean sweep as they won all three nights and that must be a record too. 

In response to a question earlier in the week by a friend, I had given my opinion that Donny Schatz had wasted two or more years of his prime career racing years, waiting for Tony Stewart to stop messing around with their Ford motors and giving him something that he could win with at the track. Perhaps they heard my remark and decided to "stick it" to me as after a opening night mechanical issue that ended their night early, Schatz and his team came back with two of the most dominant runs seen all year by anyone as he swept to victory on back to back nights, topped by his win on Saturday. 

Schatz would start in row two of the thirty lap Sprint feature but would take the lead with a dynamic turn one move on the first lap. However, that move was called back when a two car collision forced a restart. Schatz couldn't pull off the move again and was forced to settle in at second behind Brad Sweet as the race would now go nonstop. 

Sweet got hung up in traffic on lap eleven however, and with his momentum broken for just a minute, Schatz blew past him for the lead and then proceeded to pull away. Donny was getting a great run off the low side of the track that no one could match and he proceeded to pull away from the field. Even the lapped cars caused him no problems as he made some outstanding moves past them that allowed him to keep his speed up. 

Sweet wasn't able to stay with him with first Geo Scelzi and then Sheldon Haudenshild passing him for position. Haudenshild got to second and seemed to be the only driver able to stay with Schatz, but not able to close on him. 

Just when it looked like the race was over, a late yellow for a slowing car set up a rare, one lap race to the finish. However, Schatz had the field covered as he accelerated away from everyone and had a comfortable margin at the finish. The last corner produced some wild action as Scelzi slid past Haudenshild for second however. 

I am happy to see Schatz back to  his winning form as I have always liked his style, going back to the first time I saw him race when he went over the outside wall at Fargo as a sixteen year old. I also like that he is into Late Model racing too and has had his nieces racing his Late Model on occasion. 

The Late Model feature would wrap up the weekend with twenty six drivers slated to go fifty laps. In the rarest odds, Shane Clanton would start on the pole for the third straight night. Clanton would get plenty of practice in operating the "missing man" formation in honor of Rick Eshelman as being the pole sitter, he was the "missing man" three nights in a row and executed that move. Not so pleasing for Clanton , however, was the fact that even though he started on the pole three straight nights, it didn't win on a single occasion. 

Hudson O'Neal would take the early lead and appear strong and for a time it looked like the new Rocket house car driver was going to get his first win in his new ride. However, he couldn't maintain the pace as Chris Madden gradually began to reel him in with the consistent Dennis Erb running in third. 

Jonathan Davenport started eighth on the grid but by lap nineten, when the first yellow waved, he had worked his way up to fourth. Soon after, he really began to pound the cushion and found success up top, where no one else seemed willing to race. It certainly worked for him as he picked off Erb, Madden and then, on lap twenty eight, he drove past O'Neal to take over the lead. 

After that, he simply pulled away from the field. Madden would move into second but he had nothing for the leader, who continued to pound the cushion while O'Neal continued to slip back in the field. A slowing car triggered the yellow with thirty two laps in the books and just then, it started to mist and then get just a bit heavier. The race was put under yellow as the cars paced the track and it was a close call whether or not to continue. However, the mist abated and the race would resume. 

Perhaps the track changed slightly, but if it did it didn't bother Davenport who just marched away from the pack and drove home uncontested for the twenty five grand win. Madden would get second and Erb, showing the style that gained him his first ever national title, never wavered off the bottom as he would finish third ahead of a charging Tim McCreadie and Dale McDowell. 

The final night of racing featured the pageantry that the opening three nights did not have the time for. They do some neat things during their pre feature ceremonies. The lineup with all feature starters on the track from all three classes is neat as is the parade of state and country flags from all those represented. However, both are borrowed ideas, the multi class parade first seen at the WISSOTA 100 while the parade of flags is of course from the Chili Bowl. However, as the late promoter Hugh Deery used to say, " Most of my best promotional ideas were borrowed from other promoters." 

It was announced that the four night format would return again for 2023 so apparently WoO officials liked how things worked out. The crowd was a very big one for the Saturday night show but lesser crowds were on hand for the previous nights. The grand stand is huge so it is always hard to gauge just how many people were on hand and not having attended this race for a couple years, it is also unknown just have many people have been attending in recent years. The "Split the Pot" for the Speedway Children's Charity, at five bucks a ticket and accumulated over the four nights, was $90,740! The race will again be the first week in November of 2023. 

Thanks to all the officials from the World Racing Group for their help along with the officials of the three racing series. Also, all the employees of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Dirt Track, of which there are many for their long hours of toil over the four nights of racing. A lot of work and effort, along with endless planning, goes into such an event. It is quite a spectacular event and the Dirt Track is certainly an impressive facility to hold such a mega event. 

 

Schatz and Desjardins Are Winners at Charlotte on Friday Night

 It was night number three of the World Racing Group's World of Outlaws World Finals at the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The combination on Friday night would see the Sprint Cars back after one night off and they would be paired with the Big Block Modifieds with the Late Models having Friday night off. Full shows including time trials, heats, Last Chance races and main events would be held for both classes with big money on the line and perhaps just as importantly, the opportunity to earn points that will set the lineups for Saturday night's finale. 

All forty two Big Blocks would be back for their second night in a row of racing although Keith Flach would have to roll out a back up car after badly wrecking his car on his trip into the third turn wall on Thursday night. 

All fifty two Sprint Cars would also return although Gray Leadbetter would move to a different ride for the Friday night show. 

The very first Sprint Car on the track to qualify produced the quick time of the night as Spencer Bayston would turn a 12,645 second lap with Anthony Macri second quick. The Sprint Cars were split into two qualifying groups and the two quickest times would sit on the pole for their respective heats. The second group found Cory Eliason quickest at 12.741 with Donny Schatz second fastest and they would also start on the pole for their heat races. The Sprints would run four heats, a C  Feature and Last Chance race before the thirty lap main event. Also, because of the size of the field, they would run a Non Qualifier race first on the program with the top cars in that event tagging the back of the heat races with the rest relegated to the back of the C Feature. 

The Big Blocks were divided into four groups with drivers qualifying against those that would run against them in their heat races. Again, all starts in heats would be straight up off qualifying with Billy Decker being the only driver under sixteen seconds at 15, 957. 

As this track produces blinding fast speeds, passing is always at a premium here  and with the concluding of the last of the qualifying heat races, we can declare that not a single driver in the three nights farther back than the first row of a heat race could take a win. That emphasizing just how important qualifying is as it takes a super human effort and a lot of luck to overcome any kind of gaff or mechanical issue during time trials. 

This night would produce one of the most interesting contrasts of all time for this event in terms of who the winners would be. One class would produce a winner who has been a ten time champion in his series while the other winner would be racing in this division for the first time in his career!

Twenty seven Sprint Cars would take the green for the thirty lap main event with an impressive front row featuring current series point champion Brad Sweet and Donny Schatz beside him. Sweet would get the jump from the outside and lead the opening lap with Schatz and Anthony Macri trailing him. Logan Schuchart would roll to a halt with four laps complete and be done for the night, putting a dent on his chances for Saturday night. 

There would be trouble on the restart as the second row cars would get together, launching Macri backwards into the first turn wall where he would get smacked several times, once when he was lying sideways on the track. He would be OK though, it a rather scary looking crash. 

Sweet would again grab the lead on the restart but Schatz, looking as racy as he has all season, went blasting by Sweet down the front stretch to take over the lead. Sweet would settle into second and try to track down Schatz with Cole Macedo and then Spencer Bayston taking over third. Schatz was very fast running the low line and getting a great launch off the turns and no matter what Sweet did, he wasn't able to cut into Schatz's lead. 

A late yellow would set up a two lap dash to the finish but there would be no stopping Schatz who got a great start and comfortably pulled away from the field to take the win. There was a scramble behind him though, as Cory Eliason, who had worked his way up to third, would get past Sweet in the two lap dash to the finish. Macedo and Tyler Courtney would complete the top five. Only six drivers would not go the distance and all were on the lead lap at the checkered. 

While a forty five year old veteran of many wars would win the Sprint feature, a first weekend driver in the Big Blocks would surprise everyone in the house by taking the feature race in that class. For the second straight night, a big field of thirty drivers would take the green for the Big Block feature and Matthew Desjardins, driving in only his second Big Block event, would take the early lead by out accelerating Billy Decker. While many in the crowd were consulting their programs to try and figure out who the leader was, Desjardins would continue to hold the top sport for the first thirteen laps of the main. 

However, Matt Sheppard was on the move, getting to second and then putting the pressure on Desjardins for the top spot. Sheppard would continue to push the issue and finally would get under Desjardins to take over the lead, one lap before the yellow flew for the first time for a slowing Ryan Godown. 

Sheppard would continue to hold the lead but Desjardins would continue to run tough as he remained in second. On the move was Tim Fuller who had started twelfth but got past Peter Britten to take third by the halfway point of the race. 

Another yellow flew with nineteen laps in the book when Marcus Dinkins slowed. Then, under yellow, the complexion of the entire race changed as Sheppard rolled to a halt on the front chute and took a push back to the pits, done for the night with some sort of mechanical issue. This gave the lead back to Desjardins with Fuller moving into second. 

The last eleven laps of the race would see a great battle between Desjardins and Fuller with Tim trying lap after lap to get under Desjardins in the turns. However, Matthew would never falter and slip out of the groove and despite Fuller pushing the issue, Desjardins refused to blink. Fuller had the opportunity several times to try a "dirty" slider but he instead chose to hold his line and Desjardins was quick enough to stay in front. 

A last lap attempt came up short and Desjardins would score a shocking win in one of the biggest races of the year over Fuller and a charging Demetrios Drellos who moved up late from ninth spot. Desjardins, a French speaking Quebec driver, gave a broken victory lane speech that included some English and a lot of French but he got his point across that he was pretty excited! A Small Block racer, this was his first weekend in a big motor under the hood but he was smooth and unflappable as he held off the veteran Fuller. 

For the second straight night, the show moved along at a much crisper pace than opening night and track officials were even able to get the poky Sprint Cars to pick up the pace. All racing was complete by around 10:30 pm and when the analysis of the two class programs is broken down, one thing that can be said is that it definitely helped eliminate some of the very long nights that have plagued this event in the past. 

Saturday night all three classes will be in action and that will put a test to this format, especially with extra distance races for two of the classes. The program, however, is scheduled to start two full hours early and in a blessing from above, there will be no time trials on Saturday with all lineups based on points earned for the first two nights. This should produce some interesting looking heat races and likely provide us with the best heats of the week as so far, they have been pretty predictable to this point. We are also likely to hear more about tires on Saturday as drivers have been talking about saving tires already this week in what have been truly pretty short feature races. Apparently the red clay surface here in Cabarrus County is extremely abrasive as well as being gritty and sure doesn't rival the Red Clay found in Douglas and Ashland Counties in Wisconsin.  

English Surprises in Late Models, Williamson Takes Big Block Opener

Night number two of the World Finals Series at the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway took place on Thursday night, November 3rd . On Thursday it would be Late Models racing for their second night while the DIRT Car Big Block Modifieds would be making their first appearance of the week. Each division would be running a full program and points racing would be key for both classes as both groups want to assure good starting positions for Saturday night's finale when the biggest bucks are doled out. 

Sixty eight Late Models would sign in for night number two for them, the first group to have run back to back nights during the series this year. Changes would see both Chuckie Lepsch and Kevin Wilson make their first starts which almost assuredly guarantees them terrible starting positions for the Saturday night heats. Trevor Gundaker would be driving the same car for Reid Millard that he drove on Wednesday night, but it would look completely different. The Ed Dixon tribute body would be delivered back to the Dixon family who had requested that they get it after it made an appearance on a race car so Millard's #14 body went back on the car for this night. The Dixon tribute car had some very special graphics including pictures of many of Ed's race cars over the years and certainly something that the family would want as a keepsake. The Cody Cubbage car continues to be listed in the entrants order as well as the running order for time trials and races but the car has yet to be seen on the speedway property. Parker Price-Miller also scratched out of Thursday night action with apparent motor problems. Both Stewart Friesen and Carson Hocever were  Truck racing in Phoenix with it possible they might fly back to race on Saturday night. 

Thursday night's program would mirror that of the night before with qualifying followed by six heats, three Last Chance races and a forty lap main event. All six heats were won off the front row and while the track was a bit drier than it had been on Wednesday night, passing in the heat races was a tough chore. 

The three Last Chance races would fill out the rest of the field with provisional starters Max Blair, Josh Richards and Gordy Gundaker added to the field which gave us twenty seven starters for the main. Having to use a provisional and start so far back in the field pretty much killed Blair's chances of gaining the Rookie of the Year title, a slim chance that was indeed extinguished with the results of the feature race. 

In a tough field of competitors, the result of the feature race would produce at least a mild upset in my mind. And while Tanner English would earn the Rookie title on this night, to expect him to lead from start to finish and truly not be seriously challenged in the forty lap feature was not something that I could have predicted. 

However, that is exactly what happened as he got the jump on Shane Clanton from the outside, a lane that seems to be good for starting and restarting but not worthy of racing on after that and he would then lead all forty laps to take the fifteen grand for the win. 

Clanton could never really get close enough to produce a challenge of any sort as English just drove away from everyone and when he did get to lapped traffic, he made smart moves and never let up on his pace. And there would be plenty of lapped traffic as this race would go nonstop, green to checkered. And even rarer, all twenty seven drivers that started the race would still be around at the finish. There would be no flat tires, no stalled cars and no dive into the infield racers as the laps ran off. I would guess that a key reason why those not doing well didn't pull off was because of the points they would forfeit to some other team that stayed on the track. But it was of so rare to not see a stream of drivers dive to the infield by the halfway point if they weren't going anywhere forward. 

English would finish comfortably in front with Clanton recorded his second straight runner up finish and guaranteeing a front row heat race start on Saturday when the Late Models next appear. Chris Madden would finish third and challenge Clanton at the end with Mike Marlar and Hudson O'Neal rounding out the top five. 

Forty two Big Blocks would sign in to race for their first of three straight nights of racing action. This was a strong field of drivers, particularly when on considers that unlike the other two classes racing here, there are absolutely not local or regional teams and all the drivers in action must travel a considerable distance from the Northeast to race here. This is also the only class that has international competitors with Modified drivers from both Quebec and Ontario and it is always interesting to hear French spoken in the Big Block pits.

The Big Block format would see qualifying followed by four heats and two Last Chance races to set their field for their thirty lap main. They had a considerable number of provisional starters on this night as thirty cars took the green flag for their finale. And unlike the Late Models, the Big Block main had a couple minor yellows and yes, twice a pass for the lead in their main. 

Their night got off to a rocky start when Keith Flach went head on into the third turn wall on the first lap of the first heat race but then things settled down after that .

Anthony Perrago would take the lead at the start of the main and lead the first seven laps of the finale. Two yellows, back to back for spins and a ute tire loose on the front chute, would slow the action at that point. 

Back under green, as often seems to happen these days, a pass would be made for the lead following the yellow flag when Erick Rudolph would drive past Perrago on the high side and take over the point. Quickly following him into second was Mat Williamson and he soon began to put the pressure on Rudolph for the lead. He tired several times and had several near misses but finally on lap twenty he was able to slip past Rudolph coming off turn two and power into the lead. 

Once in front, he pulled away from the lead group and was never challenged the rest of the way as he secured the win. Rudolph would hold off a hard challenge from Matt Sheppard to gain the second spot with Perrago and Demetrios Drellos completing the top five. Other than the quick two yellows, this race would run to the checkers for the last twenty three laps and only two of the starting field were not on the track at the finish. 

Overall, things would go a lot smoother operational wise than they had on Wednesday night. The time trials were conducted much quicker and they actually started racing about fifteen minutes ahead of the actual posted starting time. All racing was complete by 10 pm also. 

On Friday night it will be the Big Blocks and Sprint Cars running as the doubleheader with the Late Models taking the night off. Then, all three classes will get together on Saturday night for one big show with extra dollars on the line and three national champions to be officially crowned. 

Marlar and Schuchart With Late Race Passes for Victories in World Finals Opener

 The World of Outlaws Finals at the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway commenced on Wednesday night, November 2nd with two late race passes for the wins as the Late Models and the Sprint Cars took to the track on Wednesday night. 

The Late Model feature saw Mike Marlar make a concerted charge using the low line on the track and with just over two laps to go, he would complete his run to the front as he slid up in front of Shane Clanton and then pulled away on the final lap for the win. 

The Sprint Car feature would see Carson Macedo lead for twenty eight of the thirty lap main with a couple of late race yellows bunching the field and giving Logan Schuchart chances to make the pass for the win. However, each time Macedo would fight off Schuchart but when a mechanical issue saw Macedo start to lose power in the last laps, he wasn't able to fight off Schuchart who drove past him with two to go and then would take the win. 

Under the new format used for the World Finals this year, only two of the three divisions on hand would race on any one night except for the final night on Saturday. The three will rotate so that each has one night off and then all will return for the Saturday night grand finale. Each class racing qualifies and then runs a full show on their nights with points being calculated and on Saturday, instead of three classes qualifying, total points from the two nights they raced will be used to set the heat race lineups for Saturday's events. Therefore, a bad night on either qualifying night could be disastrously damaging to a final night win. 

Unlike some years when the weather was very Midwestern like with  brisk temperatures, the conditions for opening night were quite comfortable but there existed a nagging few rain drops that would fall from time to time all night, not ever threatening the racing but just enough to be annoying.  

Seventy Late Models would sign in to race, up over twenty from last year's event. The top nine in season long WoO point standings were on hand but there were actually quite a few drivers in the top twenty five that chose not to attend for various reasons. However, there were a lot of regional drivers that weren't high in points that joined the action this weekend and the field was solid from top to bottom. 

The Late Models would be split into two flights for qualifying with six heat races then to be run. Three Last Chance races would fill the rest of the field with several provisional entrants attaching themselves to the back of the pack. 

The track was very fast for the heat races so it seems, as with it is for most heads up start events, heat race passing was at a premium, further emphasizing how important qualifying is. Not surprisingly, all six heats were won from the front row and only Josh Richards and Max Blair were able to advance to the feature with a starting spot further back than the second row of a heat. Perhaps the most compelling part of all the heats was the bad luck suffered by Jonathan Davenport who was involved in two heat race scraps, neither of which was his doing, with the result being that he finished nearly a full lap in arrears in his heat and burying him to a point that he wouldn't make the main event. 

Three very large Last Chance races would only take two for the mains with lots of very fine drivers watching the feature race from the sidelines. When provisionals had been passed out, there would be twenty seven drivers that would take the green for the forty lap main. 

Despite starting on the pole, Brandon Overton would not lead a lap as Shane Clanton got the run off the top side and moved to the early lead. Trent Ivey and Tim McCreadie would be the early challengers while Marlar very proficiently moved his way to the front after starting ninth as he was making the low line work for himself. Following a mid race yellow for a slowing Ross Robinson, Ivey started to put the pressure on for the lead while McCreadie slipped back and Marlar continued his charge. Several times it looked like Ivey was going to make the pass for the lead but each time Clanton would fight him off. 

That's when Marlar picked up the pace, passing Ivey for second and then closing fast on Clanton. He was just ready to make a pass for the lead when the yellow flew for a Tyler Erb spin with just four laps to go. Clanton would hold off Marlar for two laps but Mike was just too strong as he would get a great run off the low side of the track. His winning move would come down the back chute after a strong run off turn two and he slid up in front of Clanton and then pulled away on the final lap. 

Marlar would point out in victory lane that seldom is it done when someone starts ninth and wins in just forty laps and that is a true statement, perhaps showing just how strong his efforts were on this night. Clanton would hold on for second and Ivey would dazzle with a strong third place run. Overton and McCreadie would round out the top five but neither would ever be a challenger at the end. Three yellows would slow the race, all for minor issues and for the Late Models it was a very clean night of racing overall. 

The point drama in the Late Models would involve the battle for Rookie of the Year honors and when Max Blair edged out Tanner English for the feature finish, it would tighten up the standings even further with two more shows left to be run. 

Fifty two Sprint Cars would sign in to race with the top seventeen in points and twenty two of the top twenty five on hand. Throw in a strong contingent of Pennsylvania regulars plus All Star regulars and you have a very strong field of Sprint Car drivers on hand. 

Under the Sprint format, such a large field of drivers would require a Non Qualifiers race to send drivers either to the tail of a heat race or to the C Feature. Then there were four heats, a C Feature and a B Feature to set the twenty nine car starting field of the Sprint main, once the provisional entries were added to the back. Just before the green dropped, the lineup had to be jockeyed as Lance Dewease opted for the rear with the report of no brakes. If he indeed had no brakes or they were fixed in a brief stop before the race started, he did well, advancing from twenty ninth to eighth in the thirty lapped. 

Despite sharing the front row with Brad Sweet, it would be Carson Macedo that would get the jump and lead the early laps. Schuchart was flying on the top side of the track and would pass Sweet for second and become the main challenger to Macedo. Macedo would lead through two early yellows, including a flip by James McFadden that triggered the red briefly. 

Macedo would continue to show the way with Schuchart pressuring from time to time. Sweet continued to run third with Rico Abreu moving up as Donny Schatz rolled to a halt with issues with only four laps to go. Another yellow for a slowing car set up a three lap sprint for the Sprints. 

This time there would be problems as Macedo just didn't have the power to pull away and Schuchart would quickly get up to him. Later diagnosed as a motor issue that cut power, Macedo was helpless to fight off Schuchart who drove past him with just two laps to go and would pull away then for the win. Somehow Macedo made his car just wide enough that he was able to limp home second, edging out Sweet for the spot with Abreu and Geo Scelzi completing the top five. 

The Outlaws are in a battle down to the wire for the point title and with his third place finish, Sweet opening up just a bit bigger gap over David Gravel who finished sixth. It was a smooth night for the Sprints also with not a lot of wrecks or grinding crashes on what was a fast, smooth but extremely dirty for the fans, track. I just don't know how you can expect to attract new or casual fans to come out and watch on a night like this, when for hard core fans the dust is so bad as to be almost intolerable. This red clay here is not at all like the red clay where I'm from. 

While the other two classes had their full shows, the Big Block Mods, the third class for this week, had a "meet and greet" on the front chute during the afternoon with the other two classes being rotated in on their nights off. This seems like a very good idea as otherwise it's tough for fan interaction here unless one buys a pit pass. The plan of running only two classes per night and adding one night to the program seemed like a good idea and the old format of just time trials on Thursday followed by two nights of racing was not a fan favorite at all. However, for the opening night, it didn't seem that there were nearly as many fans around as other years. However, that might be just because the extra day was added or their are a huge amount of Big Block fans that didn't bother to show on Wednesday with their class not running. Answers to these questions will come in the following nights. On Thursday the Sprint Cars have the night off with the Late Models having an important night for those that didn't do particularly well on Wednesday along with the Big Blocks hitting the track for the first time. Pre entries show thirty of them but let's hope there are a few more by Thursday night. 

In keeping with the honoring of the late Rick Eshelman, two more Hall of Fame announcers were calling the Late Model portion of the program on this night and throughout the weekend. Of course everyone knows what a great job that James Essex does, but it was a great treat to hear Bret Emrick calling the action also. For someone who hasn't actively announced for a number of years, I thought he did a great job and was the highlight of the evening. I would love to hear his announce anywhere, anytime. What a great job he did!

Tyler Davis Holds Off Sanders in USMTS Finale For 2022

 The USMTS wrapped up their 2022 racing season on Saturday night, October 29th with the running of the third annual Modified Spooktacular at the 81 Speedway in Park City Kansas. In a marathon main event that tested the mettle of both man and machine, Tyler Davis held off all challenges over the last twenty five laps of the race, including a last lap banzai move by Rodney Sanders to record his second USMTS win of the season and put a cap on a season that also will see him crowned USRA National Modified champion at the USRA banquet. In the companion B Mod feature race, Jon Sheets took over the lead just before the halfway point of the event and then pulled away for a dominant win. 

Before the event I had a chance to talk to USMTS head Todd Staley to get a preview of what the 2023 season for the USMTS will bring. Staley informs that they have approximately fifty races booked for next year which is up from the forty plus that were scheduled to be held this year before rain cost them several events. They will return to Rocket Raceway Park in Petty Texas to start the season off as they did this year and that event will be held the first week of March. 

One  big change will find that the majority of the races will be three day shows and all at the same facility for three days in a row. Only four events all year will be one day, stand alone races. And for the first time ever, there will be no racing scheduled the weekend of Labor Day. The points champion will again earn one hundred thousand dollars, just as Dustin Sorensen did this year. The complete schedule is expected to be released within a couple of weeks. 

Staley also will be celebrating the twenty fifth anniversary of racing at the Mason City Motor Speedway with a twenty five thousand to win, twenty five hundred to start event with a date yet to be determined as well as hosting special events at his other track, the home town Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City. 2023 will be another busy season for the Staley family and both USRA and USMTS. Todd did also say that as of Saturday, they had not yet replaced Bryce Hall in the announcing position that will be open next year. I also informed Todd , to his relief, that I was not applying for the position!

In a pre race ceremony, Sorensen was crowned USMTS champion along with Cayden Carter who was named Rookie of the Year and Chris Clark who got the Sportsmanship award for his dedication at not missing a race for the last two years, even though he lives in Jackson Wyoming and every trip is a long one for him. Carter will return next year for another year of open motor Modified racing. Special congratulations to Dustin who at the age of only twenty one, perhaps has just scratched the tip of his driving talent. It will be interesting to see if they try to advance their Late Model program next year after dabbling with it some this year while also being steady as a rock with their Modified endeavors

There was more local participation on Saturday from local and area Modified drivers from the Wichita area and thus the Modified car count bounced up to forty two, a number that I would have expected throughout the weekend. Thirteen drivers made their first start of the week on Saturday and for the weekend, there were fifty five different drivers that took a green flag. 

The numbers on Saturday would dictate that an extra heat be run for the Mods as they were split into five groups for qualifying and heats. The track was heavy to start with and gradually the times picked up with Dan Ebert being quickest overall at 17.678 seconds. 

From early on, it was clear that the track was going to be giving fits all night. It took some additional packing between and before races to try and roll it in as best they could but it would be a fast and bumpy ride all night. The track was pulling very heavy so it became a challenge to man and machine . It was considerably different than it had been for the big Late Model show last week and there was conversation that rains this week had affected the track. That may be true but I also think that they might just have overwatered it a bit too. 

A big hole in turn one was a problem for the heats and considerable time was spent before the features to fill that in with heavy equipment and lots of heavy vehicles to pack it. Still, it would be a bumpy and challenging ride all night for both classes. 

Twenty eight drivers would start the Modified forty lap main event and while Davis would be scored the leader for the vast majority of the race, it was anything but an easy run for him. He had constant pressure on him for the lead and the many restarts added to his worries. 

 Early on it was Jason Ingalls who challenged Davis for the lead. Then they were joined by Rodney Sanders who battled back and forth with Ingalls while both challenged also for the lead. Then they were joined by Darron Fuqua with Fuqua then swapping second back and forth with Sanders. 

Fuqua really got fast following a lap eleven restart as he passed Sanders for second and then, with a breathtaking move up against the wall in turn four, squeezed by Davis to take over the lead. Just as it looked like he might be the man to beat as he started to pull away, he suddenly halted in turn four in a cloud of rear end gear oil smoke and he was done. 

Davis inherited the lead once again but it was Sanders who would prove to be his steady challenge, restart after restart as challengers Jason Hughes and Dereck Ramirez would both break and be out of action. 

The longest stretch of green flag racing would be the last twelve laps of the race, after the yellow has slowed the field nine times. Davis would get a small advantage and then Sanders would turn a good lap and be right back behind him. They ran in tandem fashion the last few laps and on the final corner of the race, Davis got bogged up a bit and Sanders dove hard to his inside, trying to steal the win. There could have been a massive collision but Sanders gave the leader room and as they raced off the last corner, it would be Davis that would get the best run and he would nip Sanders by less than a car length for the ten grand. Add in the ten grand for the point title and it was a nice night for him. 

Behind Sanders, Tyler Wolff would come home third with Dan Ebert from fourteenth to fourth and Tanner Mullins completing the top five. Only thirteen of the starters were still running at the end and most of the cars looked like they had been in a war, and lost. 

Twenty nine B Mods signed in to race and it was definitely the strongest field of the three night swing with both Friday and Saturday night's winners on hand along with a good mix of some of the best drivers around in one of the very few races going on this weekend. 

Three heats and a B Feature would determine the twenty four starters and while this race went smoother than the Modified main did, it started out on a rocky note with the front row starters tangling on the opening lap and sending cars scattering down the back chute. Gabe Hodges, considered to be a threat to win from the front row, suffered a flat tire and was done early. 

Henry Chambers would take the early lead with such strong runners as Reece Solander, Jon Sheets, Kyle Slader and Shadren Turner chasing him. Sheets was especially strong as after starting seventh he quickly got up to third and was still charging. Following a lap three yellow, he got around Solander and pushed to catch Chambers for the lead and on lap eight he drove around Henry in turn four and took over the top spot. 

He quickly put distance on the field and despite one more yellow that bunched the field, he would pull away by a comfortable margin in dominating the race to take the win. The battle behind him was good though, with Solander fighting his way up to second and holding off Turner at the finish. Chambers slipped to fourth and Kenton Allen would complete the top five. 

81 completed the season in fine fashion, even hosting some very big races after a storm knocked out some of their lighting. Two big poles on the front chute have been inoperable for the last part of the season and have been replaced by six portable lights that do the job and while the grandstands are a bit darker than they would be if the big lights were working, the portables were a good fix for what could have been a season ending problem. It was also nice to find a working scoreboard to end the weekend. 

Thanks go out to host John Allen and the Sartain family from 81 Speedway as well as to all the working folks of the USMTS. Good luck to Bryce Hall on his new job and hopefully I will be back at 81 again next year for some great racing action or their second track at Humboldt. 

Ramirez Wins "Modster Mash" Thriller Over Phillips at Lakeside

 Night number two of the wrap up weekend for the USMTS Modified series would take place on Friday night, October 28th at the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City Kansas. Despite rain to the South of us, it remained sunny and comfortable for racing in the Kansas City area as this would be the final night of the 2022 season for Lakeside and racing in the Kansas City area. 

The program would offer the same three classes as the previous night in Pocola with the USMTS Mods backed by the USRA B Mods and Stock Cars with both still racing for national points and while there were no drivers in either class on hand battling for national titles, there were some still fighting for position on the top ten so these races would be important to them. 

While this would be the last weekend for USMTS racing this year, this weekend would also wrap up the announcing career, at least for the foreseeable future, for USMTS announcer Bryce Hall. Bryce has taken a job as the General Manager of the new Arrowhead Speedway in West Siloam Springs Oklahoma. This is an old track that has been in existence for a number of years and has gone under various names as ownership and promoter teams have changed their over the years. 

The new owner of the track is Willie Gammill, a Modified and B Modified driver from the area who in fact was racing just last night at Pocola. He also owns a very successful electrical business in the local area and has set to completely renovate the track. I have attended races there a couple of times over the years but it has been quite a few years since I was last there and Bryce assures me that except for the general shape of the race track being the same, everything else on the grounds is either completely new or redone. They are rushing to complete all the changes to the track by next Spring and Bryce tells me that they plan to open in mid April of next year with regular Friday night racing up to Labor Day with a couple of late season specials planned. As of now, at least tentatively, the USMTS season is scheduled to be completed at Arrowhead the second week of October, 2023. 

They will run a weekly schedule featuring four USRA classes, the Modifieds, B Mods, Stock Cars and Tuners as they attempt to build up the last two classes in that area. Bryce tells me that rules for other classes that race in that area are very conflicting and limiting so they are still mulling just what other classes might be featured at the track. 

Bryce has had two stints as USMTS announcer but he hopes that the Arrowhead job will be a long term thing for him and the beauty of it is that he will only be forty minutes from his home and will be able to commute daily to his new job. He is anxious and very busy as he gets set to take over a week from Monday at his new employment. No word on who his replacement with USMTS might be. 

Lakeside would be the second high speed track that USMTS would be visiting this weekend and the big half mile would be smooth and fast on this Friday night as the Fall cool air helped hold moisture into the surface. Eventually the track would start to slick off during the Modiifed feature and that made for the best racing of the inght. 

Thirty one Modifieds would sign in for the ten grand to win show on Friday night and again, that seemed like just a bit lower car count than I was expecting. Perhaps everyone is just raced out at this point as the local Modified support was minimal at best with only six of the top twenty five in local track points even bothering to show up. However, as we should have learned long ago, it doesn't take a pit area jammed with cars to put on a good show and we would eventually get to see a great Modified feature on this night. 

The field was divided into four groups for qualifying and heat races with passing points as usual determining who made the show and who had to go B Feature racing. The track was still just a bit slimy for qualifying and Dalton Kirk would be quickest at 19.522. That quick time didn't benefit him much as he would still have to run a B just to get into the feature. Last night's winner Dan Ebert also had to run a B as did Tanner Mullins, Rodney Sanders and several others as passing in the heats was tough. The lone exception was Terry Phillips who charged from fourth to win his heat but then the redraw bit him as he would have to start eighth in the forty lap main. 

Twenty five drivers would take the green for the Modified main and they would be on their "A" game for this one as this race would go nonstop for forty laps and see three different leaders and finish off with a white flag lap pass for the win. 

Dereck Ramirez would take the early but his advantage on the point would only last for few laps as Tyler Wolff would come storming up from the third row and he would pass Ramirez to take over the lead. But the man on the move was Phillips who quickly advanced from that fourth row starting spot and soon was up to third. 

He had a good battle with Ramirez before passing him for second and then he closed on Wolff and completed his charge, taking the lead. Wolff would slide back to third as Ramirez got past him too and those three would remain in that running order for a number of laps.

Phiillips' lead would lengthen and then wane from time to time as he worked through the heavy lapped traffic and it was spectacular to watch the top three slicing and dicing as they worked through the slower cars. Phillips would look unbeatable at times but Ramirez refused to give up and stayed within striking distance. Meanwhile, Darron Fuqua and Jacob Bleess were running strong and the top five were all fairly close together. 

Phillips' lead would start to shrink with about ten laps to go as he was clearly having trouble in the corners and was fighting his car. He would later claim that contact with a lapped car, which would give him a badly crinkled right rear corner panel, made his car very tight and he would have trouble making it turn. He certainly was having that issue no doubt, but isn't it a sad commentary on the state of racing when a dinged up body panel, a staple in dirt track racing, would affect the aero so bad that a Modified wouldn't turn after that!

In any event, Ramirez would dramatically close up on T.P. in the final laps as Terry was really struggling and coming to the white flag, Dereck would power inside Phillips to take over the lead. Terry went all out on the final lap and the two racing tremendously hard into the final corner, both on the edge of control but Ramirez would be able to get a run off the top side and edge out Phillips to get a very exciting win. This was half mile racing like you seldom see. Bleess made a late charge of his own, passing a fading Fuqua and Wolff to get third ahead of Tyler and Jason Hughes who completed the top five. 

Fifteen drivers would go the distance with many pulling off as they got lapped or saw their efforts not able to keep up with two drivers a lap down at the conclusion. It was a quick and entertaining forty laps for sure. 

Their were twenty four B Mods on hand which calculated to three heats with all getting the start in their twenty lap main event. After a first lap tangle slowed the action, it would be Jaylen Wettengel that would take the early lead. After winning the Stock Car feature, Jaylen was going for a double win but after leading for just a couple of laps, he was overtaken by the flying Shadren Turner, who had started fifth on the grid. And once Turner took over the lead, there would be no stopping him. 

Despite a couple more yellows during the second half of the race, no one had anything for him as he got up on the cushion and simply drove away from the field. It would be easy pickings for him the rest of the way as he won by a comfortable distance and earned his twenty ninth feature win of 2022, in dominating fashion. 

While the win was not in doubt, a great battle for second saw Gabe Hodges and Mark Schafman battle it out right down to the wire for that spot. They threw a series of entertaining slide jobs back and forth at each other over the last couple of laps that were great and clean but at the line, Hodges was able to edge out Mark to take second. Wettengel would end a successful evening by finishing fourth ahead of Reece Solander. 

Seldom do you see a Stock Car feature when the winner started right on the pole and would lead from start to finish but that is what Wettengel would do. Despite being pressured by Chad Clancy the whole race, Wettengel never made a mistake as he rode the cushion from start to finish to bring home the win. Rodney Schweizer would finish a solid third. 

There were only fifteen Stock Cars on hand this night as this class is still a work in progress in this area and there were only seven of the top fifteen that raced tonight as for many I guess their seasons are done. 

This show was Todd Staley's as he rented the track for this night and the crowd was an OK one, with the tiered parking group in turns one and two blazing away with their bonfires.  We got going in much better order on Friday with the Modifieds not hot lapping but going straight into their qualifying which is a tough thing to do. We were racing by 7:15 p.m. and the final checkered of the night waved before 10 p.m. Again my lap estimates were just that as for the second straight night, the scoring tower was lighted but the numbers never changed and if you are like me, you miss the lap board more than anything. 

Ebert Tops USMTS Modified Drivers at Tri-State

 It has come down to the last weekend of the long USMTS racing season. Event number thirty six would start off a three night swing through Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas and by Saturday night, a new USMTS champion will be crowned. 

The first night of the three night swing would be held on Thursday night, October 27th at the Tri-State Speedway just across the border from Fort Smith Arkansas in Pocola Oklahoma. Always a bit confusing, while the official address of the speedway is Fort Smith, the track itself actually is about two miles into the state of Oklahoma where it was built in the Poteau and Arkansas River valley just outside the city of Fort Smith. The track was built on a hill and offers a panoramic view of the river valley region.  

Tri-State is one of the more historic race tracks in this part of the country, having been in operation since 1969. The track was paved in 1971 and some of its biggest years under the direction of famous promoter Cecil Harlan where among the track champions of that era were some pretty famous drivers such at Larry Phillips, Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace. The asphalt era wore thin and in 1979 the track was returned to dirt. Since then, it has gone through several owners and in 2018, Mike and Jenny Hoover bought the track. 

In recent years, the track has had many upgrades including new bleachers, lights, concession stands, a new press tower, paved walkways, p.a. system and many other items too numerous to mention. A big one was when the inside wall was added all the way around the track. 

The track is a three eighth mile oval with long chutes and tight, high banked corners. The race cars pit off turns three and four and there is also infield pitting but most prefer to pit outside the track, as they should. The races are staged down the infield pit asphalt strip, a left over from the days when the long distance asphalt races were held and live pitting was done in the infield. The track is is a red clay surface, one that most of the tracks in this area feature. 

It has been a number of years since I was last at Tri-State and I believe the last time I was there might have been the infamous "all night" race when the last checkered flag of the night(day) flew at 5:12 a.m. and the only fans left in the bleachers were myself and the late Gary Story. I remember they ran the Modifieds last and Gary and I were bound and determined we would see the Mods race, even if we had to be there for breakfast!

Fortunately, those days are long gone and tonight's program would be run off must smoother, even though is was 7:45 p.m. before the first green flag waved but after that, things moved along at a very quick pace and the drivers had to be on their toes as their events were called off in quick order. 

Thirty three Modifieds were on hand for the opening night of the last round of the USMTS season, a number that I found somewhat disappointing as I perhaps in error, expected that with this being the last go round of the season and good weather in the offering, that there would be more drivers ready to go one last time. The USMTS regulars were out as expected with seventeen of the top twenty in points on hand. However, the local support was minimal with only four out of the top twenty five in local Modified points on hand, despite the fact that this is a USRA track and runs the same rules that USMTS does. 

The Modified format would be the same as normal, with the drivers split into four groups for qualifying, the top four in each group inverted and then passing points from the heats would determine the starting field for the feature with a pair of B Features to round out what would be a twenty four car starting field for the forty lap main, paying ten grand to the winner. Tyler Wolff would be the quickest overall, at 18.655 seconds. 

Tri-State is a track where they typically run things dry and slick. The red clay really polishes up and normally provides a smooth and slick surface from top to bottom and allows the drivers to run all over the track. They had just gotten over running their "Spooker" last weekend, their biggest race of the year in terms of cars and laps over four nights. The track appeared quite dry tonight and while they were able to find a fast groove early right up against the wall, by feature time things had changed. 

One of the announcers for the night, Trenton Berry from RacinDirt, indicated as much when he commented that the track looked like it was in heat race shape when the hot laps were taking place. By feature time, it went from a wide open track to a mostly one lane groove right on the inside with the drivers scraping the inside wall almost as they hugged the low groove. 

Quite frankly, it made for not such a great racing conclusion to the night. A few drivers tried the outside with little success and the only driver able to make some headway on the top side was Terry Phillips. He started seventh on the grid and had gained a couple spots when the only significant yellow flew with twenty three laps in the book. Restarting fifth, he was the only one to go to the top side and he made it work as he gained two spots and then squeezed by Dereck Ramirez to get second before he felt the need to get back to the bottom quick. After that, he rode in second but never was able to make a challenge for the top spot. 

Dan Ebert, the Minnesota driver who has supported the whole series and currently rides in eighth place in the points, would take the lead at the start and would still be there after forty laps. Ramirez would follow him for the first half of the race, sometimes closing in slightly and then sometimes falling back a few lengths. However, Ebert never wavered off the bottom and never gave an opening to anyone to make a pass. 

They hit lapped traffic at about the halfway point, a situation that could have proved difficult with everyone hugging the low groove and not wanting to budge. However, a yellow for a slowing car came out just past the halfway point and that took care of that problem. 

With the large surface at Tri-State and a few drivers dropping out, Ebert never caught the slow cars again and all he had to do was "milk" his tires, as several drivers dropped out with flats, likely caused by what seemed to be a rather abrasive surface. 

At the finish, Ebert had several car lengths on Phillips with Ramirez, Joe Duvall and Tanner Mullins completing the top five with all by Phillips also starting in that same top five. Seven drivers didn't finish and all left running were on the lead lap. 

There is an interesting connection between the Ebert and Phillips clans. Of course, Terry's father Larry was an all time great racing in this part of the country on both dirt and mostly asphalt. Dan Ebert's father Russ, who was in attendance in Dan's pit on this night, was a crewman for years for the late Dick Trickle and those two drivers engaged in a number of epic battles across the nation on short tracks in their day so the Phillips and Ebert families have a strong connection. 

It was announced after the race that based on their finishes in the main that Dustin Sorensen had clinched the USMTS title as he went into the night with a sizable lead over Mullins. Sorensen made a nice gain as after qualifying poorly, he had to run a B Feature but was able to move up from fifteenth on the grid to a seventh place finish, only two spots behind Mullins after he avoided the one big wreck on lap one that collected several cars. 

Unlike the Mods, the local B Mods well supported this race with thirteen of their top twenty in track points on hand in the field of twenty nine. USRA national points were still on the line for this event and the Thursday night race drew a few travelers as well. Four heats and a B Feature would set their field for the twenty lapper, paying $800 to the winner. The #27 seemed to be a very popular number for this class with no less than five cars bearing this number. 

Jacob Campbell would start on the pole and lead the first half of the race with Cody King and Kyle Slader close behind. As with the Mods, the B Mods would be hugging the low line around the track. Slader tried the high side but then quickly ducked back in line when that didn't work. However, he was able to edge past King with some braking into the corners and would take over second. 

The first half of the race would go nonstop until the race slowed with a car limping on a flat tire. It was hard to keep exact track of laps on this night as for some reason the scoreboard wasn't working but it was at about that halfway point of the race. The Delaware restart would see Slader get a big run on Campbell as it appeared that he jumped the gun but the race wasn't called back. It proved to be a non issue when the race was slowed again for a spin. 

Once again, on the green, it appeared to me that Slader jumped the start, perhaps even more so than the previous time. However, no one agreed with me and Campbell proved to be the loser because of it as Slader roared around Campbell, took over the lead and then extended it as he pulled away for the win with the race going green from then on to the checkers. Despite some complaints by the Campbell crew, they fell on deaf ears and Slader was awarded the win with Campbell, King, Daniel Cowett and Kevin Guinn completing the top five. The finish of this race was slightly confusing as the yellow flew for a slowing car after the white was waved. The race was scored complete and the results went back to lap nineteen. 

The Stock Cars were small in number with only eleven of them on the grounds. They ran two heats and a main event but that race did see three different leaders. Cody Jones would start on the pole and lead the first two laps but he was then overtaken by Jeff Metcalf would would then lead for a few laps himself.  

However, the driver on the move was Wesley Bourne and he would out power Metcalf into turn one and take over the lead, an advantage he would just build as this race would go green to checkered. Metcalf would hold on for second with Jones third at the finish.

One very unique aspect of this speedway involves how and where the cars are weighed and teched after races. The drivers required to weigh pull off the track in the middle of the back chute and then go around the outside wall, clockwise to the scale building which is located outside the track near turn four. They are then weighed and teched and they return to the pits by driving right in front of the main grandstand. There is a viewing area of sorts in front of the grandstands and the kids line it and when the drivers go by, they slow, pull over to the grandstand and high five or fist bump with the spectators. What a cool thing that is!

It sure makes for some fan interaction and allows all the spectators to see the drivers close up and minus their helmets. 

It was about a three hour program that was moved along nicely once the first wheels were turned on a cool but not frigid by any means night. While the show can't be classified as epic, it was still a nice way to spend a Thursday night in the last week of October and I can't think of any place else I'd rather be. Thanks to Todd,, Janet, Ryne and the whole USMTS crew as well as all the track employees of Tri-State Speedway.