The previously postponed Memphis Spring Nationals were held on Friday night, May 8th and Saturday night, May 9th at the Pepsi Scotland County Speedway in Memphis Missouri. And for one of the very few times in my racing history, I was overwhelmed by a huge field of cars and long lasting racing events that quite frankly just ran me out of time to do my regular race report. Between a very long trip down to Missouri on Friday from the wee hours of the morning to a very late conclusion to the Friday night show caused by the huge field of cars, the turn around time to be back at the track was simply too short for me to do a reasonable race report and also get just a bit of shut eye so I could make it through the show on Saturday.
Fortunately, Jeff Broeg was on hand also and his race report does a fine job or reporting the action from Friday night so switch over to his site to get a full report of the first night action. And unfortunately, a surprise weather front(at least to me) came sweeping into the northern Missouri area late on Saturday night, just after the first main event had received the green flag and the rest of the show was washed out, thus wrapping up the evening and weekend in a disappointing manner.
So what I will try to do is give a brief summation of the weekend and a few of my thoughts on the racing overall.
Of course the obvious thing was the huge fields of race cars that were on hand. And quite frankly, if there is such a thing as there being too much of a good thing(except for the promoter obviously), this was it. With two hundred and six cars signed in to race on Friday night and another two hundred (approximately) on hand for Saturday, it was a tremendously large field of competitors on hand. Many states were represented and some drivers drove a long way to be part of the action including drivers hauling Sport Compacts all the way from Minnesota and Kansas.
But the down side to this is that no matter how quickly the show is run off, going through a full program with that many cars just takes a long time and not wrapping up the show until 1:30 am from Friday and just getting the features started around 11 pm on Saturday makes for a long weekend of racing.
And unlike most shows put on by MVG and his crew, these two tended to stretch out quite a bit. It's not that the shows themselves weren't run off in a quick and speedy manner, it's just that they didn't start anywhere near when they were supposed to and a considerable amount of time that was required for track prep both nights dragged things out. Especially on Saturday night, with the first race not really hitting the track until nearly 6:45 pm after hot laps were advertised for 5 pm, that time could have allowed certainly at least several of the main events to be completed before the surprise rain hit. And while it was great that so many drivers were feeling the need to get out and race, I'm not sure that sixty Sport Compacts is on everyone's wish list.
I get the fact that this was the first race of the year on the track surface and this track doesn't see a whole lot of racing even under the best of circumstances so I fully understand that track prep was necessary but recognizing this circumstance, perhaps the best thing would be to plan a much earlier start time for both nights, as the fans and drivers always seem to find a way to get to the track when it is required.
There was quite a mix of cars on hand with of course the majority of them being IMCA cars in this part of the country. However, there were also several USRA cars running in both the B Mods and Mods and a couple of WISSOTA drivers that made the long pull to race in the Mods, B Mods and Hornets too.
The Stock Cars were absolutely phenomenal in the show that they put on. No wonder many people will say that the Stock Cars are their favorite class after the kind of action that we saw from them all weekend. It didn't matter whether it was heats or features, their side by side racing and swapping of positions was just spectacular. And of course the wild finish on Friday night left the fans thirsting for more, just the thing any good promoter wants to see.
Perhaps the cure for many of the ills being felt by dirt tracks across the country would be to go to just a two class program such as what was done back in the fifties and sixties. Just run one class of open wheel cars and Stock Cars and I don't see how you could go wrong. Just don't mess up the Stock Car rules and leave them just as they are as they put on a good show at every track they are running at.
The racing was much better on Friday than it was on Saturday even though the track was quite rough on Friday night. Granted, we didn't get to see the features on Saturday but much of the moisture had been scrapped off the track on Saturday in an effort to smooth it out but it didn't clean up very well and the groove was limited.
On Friday night the cars were bouncing through the holes but they were all over the track and despite the conditions, there were few yellow flags. Consider this, in the twenty two qualifying heats on Friday night, there were only a grand total of three yellow flags and there was only one race all night that had more than two yellows and that was the Sport Compact feature. That is remarkable, given the speed the track carried on Friday and the fact that the cars were airborne nearly as much as they were contacting the track.
Saturday night's abbreviated show saw several more wild wrecks and a nod show go out to Bobby Six, who flipped wildly on the front chute at the start of a heat yet still got the car back on to the track for his B Feature when he unfortunately got involved in another "dinger."
Even with the huge field of cars Friday, another twenty two new ones showed up on Saturday night including a Sport Compact that towed all the way from the Minneapolis MN area on an open trailer, only to get shoved into a ute tire on the green for a heat, effectively ending her night before it was hardly started. Hopefully they enjoyed the ride down!
It was a shame that the ticket sales had to be limited as I suspect they could have filled the joint if the tickets would have been available. The few that were offered on race day were snatched up quickly and I don't remember seeing people lined up to buy tickets like that for quite some time. I also witnessed a couple people who couldn't get tickets due to them all being sold old and their dumbfounded looks when they learned they couldn't get into the grandstand, even though there were plenty of seats to be had. Virtually no one was wearing masks and most social distancing measures went by the way side as ticket and concession lines were snugger than they were supposed to be and I'm feeling we might as well give up this whole charade and just go back to normal as the laws and regulations are so inconsistent from area and state to state and are being enforced even more inconsistently.
Everyone is so used to now being able to pull up lineups and driver's lists and results on their phone or electronic devise that it really feels wield not to have them available as was the case in Memphis. It is now three days after the fact and official results of the weekend don't seen to be available anywhere yet.
Lance Schill had never seen the Scotland County Speedway before Friday night but it didn't take the Langdon North Dakota driver long to figure it out as he came from ninth to second in his heat and then led the entire distance for the B Mod win on Friday night. Schill is one of those drivers that races a lot during the course of a year, he was chomping at the bit to get out and run, thus the long trip to Missouri. Schill, who is a top competitor in WISSOTA, has raced in both Mods and Midwest Mods and also has done very well racing in Arizona in January. He will join the ranks of the Late Model drivers soon as he has a new MB Custom ready to go for the season opener at his home track, the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks N.D.
It was a spectacular weekend of racing and you could tell that the fans on hand had been waiting for this night to take place so they could get out and see the drivers and watch the cars go in circles once again. Thanks to MVG for a fine double header at a track that while not fancy by any means, always seems to provide some great racing action.
Monday, May 11, 2020
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Giossi Sparkles as Wisconsin Opens Up
Short track racing and specifically dirt track racing returned to the state of Wisconsin for the first time in 2020 on Friday night, May 1st as Bob Timm presented "The Race To Be Essential" at his Mississippi Thunder Speedway near Fountain City Wisconsin.
A race that took a tremendous amount of work to organize and execute , it was Timm's statement to the public and governmental officials from many various agencies that short track racing could be presented in a safe manner that protected the health of the participants and observers while still giving all us "motorheads" a chance to get outdoors and witness dirt track racing up close and personal.
First announced just one week ago, the race plan still had to be submitted for approval through various governmental agencies and meetings also took place before they could officially announce that, yes indeed, the race would be held on Friday night. In four short days they signed up drivers and made all the many arrangements to ensure that a smooth and safe program would be presented to public officials for their inspection. Sadly, spectators were not allowed to attend this event and that was probably the only "downer" of the night as all those dedicated fans of the sport deserve to be on hard to watch as much as anyone but there was no way that the event would have been allowed to proceed if spectators were in attendance.
I can not stress enough how much work was put into this event by Timm and his promoter Tyrone Lingenfelter to make sure that every possible contingency was taken care off and that no loose ends would trip them up at the last minute. We have seen a few attempts to race be "shot down" at the last minute by well meaning authorities so the task for Timm and Lingenfelter was to make sure that there would be no last minute surprises and as far as I could tell, everything seems to operate smoothly from the first moment that the competitors entered the grounds until such time when the final checkered flag flew. The ironic part was that with all this work in preparation that will probably exceed any event they will present this year, without spectators in attendance there is no chance that Timm could have even broken even on the event. So he basically put his blood and sweat on the line just so other tracks could show their local officials that yes, this can be done in a safe manner and hopefully open up the door so that all tracks can begin to operate in our state soon with restrictions on fans lifted so that the tracks, all small businesses themselves, can hopefully open and make a buck and keep their facilities in "the black." The race was originally called "The Protest Race on Private Property" but they wisely toned down the rhetoric on that so as not to be antagonistic.
Even more bold was the decision of Timm to include open Late Models in the initial program when they normally run the USRA Late Models weekly along with other USRA classes which required them to pay out more money than they normally might. So the top class received two grand to win on a night when not a single spectator admission was collected. Timm really put himself "out there" for the competitors and fans on this night.
The Late Models ran under Dirt Kings rules while Modifieds and B Mods ran under a mix of USRA and WISSOTA rules along with the USRA rules for the Hobby Stocks. Interestingly, USRA Late Models were scheduled to be the fifth class on this night but were canceled when only a handful of them signed up to race and those were allowed to run with the open Late Models.
The number or racers was restricted so that they weren't overwhelmed with competitors in a show that would last all night. As it turned out, I don't think they got as much interest from racers as they might have expected with ninety six cars on hand being a fine field but except for the B Mods, there were still open places in the order for the other classes.
Safety measures were exceptional and it seemed to me that many more safeguards were put in place then for the races I attended last weekend in South Dakota. At the gate, all entering were met by security guards who verified on a list that you were allowed to be on the grounds. Individual packets were then picked up at the pit gate where the workers didn't have to interact with the arrivals. Each packet had a instructions sheet and armband(s) depending whether it was an individual or a team. Included in the packet was a Communicable Disease form, a Tracing form and a Release. All had to be filled out and signed and the put back in the sealed bag and returned to track officials that all was in order.
Also in the bag was a copy of the running order of events and MTS rules related to COVID-19. The pit meeting was done over the pa system, all teams were to remain in the pit area except when on the track, the teams were all spread out and masks were required when out of the team stall. The grandstand was open so people could spread out and social distancing was practiced all night with security on hand to remind folks to spread out and "keep those masks on." Frankly, I don't know what else they could realistically do to protect everyone and as has been the case lately, I felt much safer at the track than at the big box stores or grocery stores! But again, that is a discussion for another time.
And now, without further ado, let's talk about the racing action which was the whole point of us being in Fountain City Wisconsin on a beautiful and comfortable Friday night.
Sixteen Hobby Stocks were on hand with all but one taking the green for their main event. Six of the top fifteen in track points took advantage of the right to race on Friday with the rest of the field being primarily local entrants along with a few starters from Northeast Iowa that frequently attend special events here.
Starting on the pole and leading all eighteen laps was Sioux Fall's Dustin Gulbrandson. This was an odd race in that many of the strongest challengers to Gulbrandson had trouble early. Chris Hovden had a flat tire while B.J. Dahl, Cody Rollinger and Levi Sand all dropped out.
Kevin Hager, driving probably the oldest race car on the grounds, ran a strong second for a number of laps as he battled with Steve Holthaus for position.
While Gulbrandson remained comfortably in front, Hovden made a huge charge from the back of the pack, going high and low on the track to pass a gaggle of cars and he raced his way all the way back to second at the finish. Holthaus , Scott Kunda and Hager completed the top five. Of note was the fact that 2019 defending USRA Stinger champion Seth Scholl has moved up to Hobby Stocks and finished sixth in his first outing.
Nine of the top fifteen in track points were entered in the B Mod class on Friday which amounted to thirty four in total. About a third of the remaining field was WISSOTA drivers taking advantage of the chance to get out and race with the others being USRA racers from other points. Some of the toughest B Mod drivers around were on hand but none could handle defending MTS track champion Ryan Olson.
With national champion Kris Jackson on the pole, it would have seemed that everyone else was racing for second and that's the way it started early with Jackson leading the first eight laps. However, Olson and Shaun Walski were putting plenty of pressure on Jackson for the lead.
Following the first restart, Jackson got a little wide in turn two and both Olson and Walski split him and dropped him back to third. Olson took the lead but Walski was working the top side, one of few to do so, and he was making it work as he pulled up beside Olson.
However, Olson was strong and fought off that challenge and after that point, maintained a small but steady lead over the field. The driver on the charge was Parker Hale who had started seventh and it took him some time to fight his way to the front. But eventually he was able to work under Walski and take the third.spot but no one had anything for "Flyin' Ryan" as he drove on for the win with Jackson in second. Taylor Skauge completed the top five.
Seven of the top fifteen in track points were on hand in the Modified class along with a number of other USRA drivers and several WISSOTA drivers that were allowed to run their own rules package. Jake Timm led all twenty five laps of the main event to get the win, although he was pressured near the end following a couple of restarts. Early on he had a nice sized lead and Michael Truscott, Alex Williamson and John Doelle put the pressure on. Moving up steadily was Jacob Bleess and after a good battle he was able to pass Truscott to take over second. Also on the move were Cory Crapser and Lucas Schott who both started in the seventh row.
A couple of yellows for spins and debris bunched the field and on each green flag, Timm received plenty of pressure from Bleess. Timm was running the cushion as opposed to much of the field and his starts were a bit shaky but once he got smoothed out and his momentum going, he was able to draw away gradually.
One last yellow with five laps to go didn't hurt Timm but Crapser, forced to the outside on the lineup, found that he liked the top side too and he exploded, passing a whole row of cars and racing into second at the finish as he edged past Bleess for that spot. Williamson hung in there for the whole race to finish fourth and Schott came from fourteenth to fifth.
Twenty Late Models signed in to race but only four of the top fifteen in Dirt Kings points who were granted immediate entry. The rest of the field was an eclectic group, with a number of WISSOTA drivers, some other Dirt Kings members, a couple travelers like Ryan Gustin and Tony Jackson Jr and even a couple of USRA drivers who brought a knife to a gun fight on this night. Gustin would be the only driver not to start the main after he had some motor problems in his heat.
A spin on the opening lap drew the yellow and the race was changed when pole sitter Taylor Scheffler had problems and needed to be pushed off the track which shuffled the entire field. It was James Giassi, who was impressive in his heat driving right around Jimmy Mars, who took the early lead and quite frankly, there would be no slowing down Giassi on this night.
He was running the top side of the track and was extremely fast as he quickly pulled away from the field. Justin Ritchie moved into second and also put some distance on the pack while a big battle saw A. J. Diemel, Jeremiah Hurst, Brett Swedberg and Mars all battling for position.
Giassi was absolutely flying as he opened up nearly a full straightaway lead on Ritchie and expertly picked his way through traffic.
However, a yellow flag with ten laps to go cost him his big lead and bunched the field. While Giassi once again took off smartly, Ritchie was under the gun as Jake Timm, who had started eleventh, was exciting the crowd as he pounded the high side of the track. Continuing his rush, he was able to drive around Ritchie and take over second in the last laps but Giassi was long gone for an impressive win for the youngster from Western Wisconsin. Mars and Diemel had a battle for fourth with Jimmy taking the spot.
Run under Dirt Kings rules, which gives and advantage to the open motors, surprisingly, three of the top five finishers were running WISSOTA spec engines including Giassi, Ritchie and Diemel.
It was a fine opening night, irregardless of the circumstances, and quite frankly, all three of COVID changed races I have seen have all been good ones.
Much thanks goes out to Bob and Tyrone and everyone else that worked so hard at MTS to get this show done. They do not know when their next race will be, depending on what happens next with the authorities, but they are very good about providing information on their face book page so check there to see when they next race. And hopefully for the rest of the tracks in Wisconsin, this night opened some eyes to the fact that, yes, a crowd can gather and still be safe, and I'm all good with wearing a mask and providing social distancing for as long as is necessary, but we need to get our fans back in the stands so they can have some fun too and help our promoters and track owners keep their noses above water too.
A race that took a tremendous amount of work to organize and execute , it was Timm's statement to the public and governmental officials from many various agencies that short track racing could be presented in a safe manner that protected the health of the participants and observers while still giving all us "motorheads" a chance to get outdoors and witness dirt track racing up close and personal.
First announced just one week ago, the race plan still had to be submitted for approval through various governmental agencies and meetings also took place before they could officially announce that, yes indeed, the race would be held on Friday night. In four short days they signed up drivers and made all the many arrangements to ensure that a smooth and safe program would be presented to public officials for their inspection. Sadly, spectators were not allowed to attend this event and that was probably the only "downer" of the night as all those dedicated fans of the sport deserve to be on hard to watch as much as anyone but there was no way that the event would have been allowed to proceed if spectators were in attendance.
I can not stress enough how much work was put into this event by Timm and his promoter Tyrone Lingenfelter to make sure that every possible contingency was taken care off and that no loose ends would trip them up at the last minute. We have seen a few attempts to race be "shot down" at the last minute by well meaning authorities so the task for Timm and Lingenfelter was to make sure that there would be no last minute surprises and as far as I could tell, everything seems to operate smoothly from the first moment that the competitors entered the grounds until such time when the final checkered flag flew. The ironic part was that with all this work in preparation that will probably exceed any event they will present this year, without spectators in attendance there is no chance that Timm could have even broken even on the event. So he basically put his blood and sweat on the line just so other tracks could show their local officials that yes, this can be done in a safe manner and hopefully open up the door so that all tracks can begin to operate in our state soon with restrictions on fans lifted so that the tracks, all small businesses themselves, can hopefully open and make a buck and keep their facilities in "the black." The race was originally called "The Protest Race on Private Property" but they wisely toned down the rhetoric on that so as not to be antagonistic.
Even more bold was the decision of Timm to include open Late Models in the initial program when they normally run the USRA Late Models weekly along with other USRA classes which required them to pay out more money than they normally might. So the top class received two grand to win on a night when not a single spectator admission was collected. Timm really put himself "out there" for the competitors and fans on this night.
The Late Models ran under Dirt Kings rules while Modifieds and B Mods ran under a mix of USRA and WISSOTA rules along with the USRA rules for the Hobby Stocks. Interestingly, USRA Late Models were scheduled to be the fifth class on this night but were canceled when only a handful of them signed up to race and those were allowed to run with the open Late Models.
The number or racers was restricted so that they weren't overwhelmed with competitors in a show that would last all night. As it turned out, I don't think they got as much interest from racers as they might have expected with ninety six cars on hand being a fine field but except for the B Mods, there were still open places in the order for the other classes.
Safety measures were exceptional and it seemed to me that many more safeguards were put in place then for the races I attended last weekend in South Dakota. At the gate, all entering were met by security guards who verified on a list that you were allowed to be on the grounds. Individual packets were then picked up at the pit gate where the workers didn't have to interact with the arrivals. Each packet had a instructions sheet and armband(s) depending whether it was an individual or a team. Included in the packet was a Communicable Disease form, a Tracing form and a Release. All had to be filled out and signed and the put back in the sealed bag and returned to track officials that all was in order.
Also in the bag was a copy of the running order of events and MTS rules related to COVID-19. The pit meeting was done over the pa system, all teams were to remain in the pit area except when on the track, the teams were all spread out and masks were required when out of the team stall. The grandstand was open so people could spread out and social distancing was practiced all night with security on hand to remind folks to spread out and "keep those masks on." Frankly, I don't know what else they could realistically do to protect everyone and as has been the case lately, I felt much safer at the track than at the big box stores or grocery stores! But again, that is a discussion for another time.
And now, without further ado, let's talk about the racing action which was the whole point of us being in Fountain City Wisconsin on a beautiful and comfortable Friday night.
Sixteen Hobby Stocks were on hand with all but one taking the green for their main event. Six of the top fifteen in track points took advantage of the right to race on Friday with the rest of the field being primarily local entrants along with a few starters from Northeast Iowa that frequently attend special events here.
Starting on the pole and leading all eighteen laps was Sioux Fall's Dustin Gulbrandson. This was an odd race in that many of the strongest challengers to Gulbrandson had trouble early. Chris Hovden had a flat tire while B.J. Dahl, Cody Rollinger and Levi Sand all dropped out.
Kevin Hager, driving probably the oldest race car on the grounds, ran a strong second for a number of laps as he battled with Steve Holthaus for position.
While Gulbrandson remained comfortably in front, Hovden made a huge charge from the back of the pack, going high and low on the track to pass a gaggle of cars and he raced his way all the way back to second at the finish. Holthaus , Scott Kunda and Hager completed the top five. Of note was the fact that 2019 defending USRA Stinger champion Seth Scholl has moved up to Hobby Stocks and finished sixth in his first outing.
Nine of the top fifteen in track points were entered in the B Mod class on Friday which amounted to thirty four in total. About a third of the remaining field was WISSOTA drivers taking advantage of the chance to get out and race with the others being USRA racers from other points. Some of the toughest B Mod drivers around were on hand but none could handle defending MTS track champion Ryan Olson.
With national champion Kris Jackson on the pole, it would have seemed that everyone else was racing for second and that's the way it started early with Jackson leading the first eight laps. However, Olson and Shaun Walski were putting plenty of pressure on Jackson for the lead.
Following the first restart, Jackson got a little wide in turn two and both Olson and Walski split him and dropped him back to third. Olson took the lead but Walski was working the top side, one of few to do so, and he was making it work as he pulled up beside Olson.
However, Olson was strong and fought off that challenge and after that point, maintained a small but steady lead over the field. The driver on the charge was Parker Hale who had started seventh and it took him some time to fight his way to the front. But eventually he was able to work under Walski and take the third.spot but no one had anything for "Flyin' Ryan" as he drove on for the win with Jackson in second. Taylor Skauge completed the top five.
Seven of the top fifteen in track points were on hand in the Modified class along with a number of other USRA drivers and several WISSOTA drivers that were allowed to run their own rules package. Jake Timm led all twenty five laps of the main event to get the win, although he was pressured near the end following a couple of restarts. Early on he had a nice sized lead and Michael Truscott, Alex Williamson and John Doelle put the pressure on. Moving up steadily was Jacob Bleess and after a good battle he was able to pass Truscott to take over second. Also on the move were Cory Crapser and Lucas Schott who both started in the seventh row.
A couple of yellows for spins and debris bunched the field and on each green flag, Timm received plenty of pressure from Bleess. Timm was running the cushion as opposed to much of the field and his starts were a bit shaky but once he got smoothed out and his momentum going, he was able to draw away gradually.
One last yellow with five laps to go didn't hurt Timm but Crapser, forced to the outside on the lineup, found that he liked the top side too and he exploded, passing a whole row of cars and racing into second at the finish as he edged past Bleess for that spot. Williamson hung in there for the whole race to finish fourth and Schott came from fourteenth to fifth.
Twenty Late Models signed in to race but only four of the top fifteen in Dirt Kings points who were granted immediate entry. The rest of the field was an eclectic group, with a number of WISSOTA drivers, some other Dirt Kings members, a couple travelers like Ryan Gustin and Tony Jackson Jr and even a couple of USRA drivers who brought a knife to a gun fight on this night. Gustin would be the only driver not to start the main after he had some motor problems in his heat.
A spin on the opening lap drew the yellow and the race was changed when pole sitter Taylor Scheffler had problems and needed to be pushed off the track which shuffled the entire field. It was James Giassi, who was impressive in his heat driving right around Jimmy Mars, who took the early lead and quite frankly, there would be no slowing down Giassi on this night.
He was running the top side of the track and was extremely fast as he quickly pulled away from the field. Justin Ritchie moved into second and also put some distance on the pack while a big battle saw A. J. Diemel, Jeremiah Hurst, Brett Swedberg and Mars all battling for position.
Giassi was absolutely flying as he opened up nearly a full straightaway lead on Ritchie and expertly picked his way through traffic.
However, a yellow flag with ten laps to go cost him his big lead and bunched the field. While Giassi once again took off smartly, Ritchie was under the gun as Jake Timm, who had started eleventh, was exciting the crowd as he pounded the high side of the track. Continuing his rush, he was able to drive around Ritchie and take over second in the last laps but Giassi was long gone for an impressive win for the youngster from Western Wisconsin. Mars and Diemel had a battle for fourth with Jimmy taking the spot.
Run under Dirt Kings rules, which gives and advantage to the open motors, surprisingly, three of the top five finishers were running WISSOTA spec engines including Giassi, Ritchie and Diemel.
It was a fine opening night, irregardless of the circumstances, and quite frankly, all three of COVID changed races I have seen have all been good ones.
Much thanks goes out to Bob and Tyrone and everyone else that worked so hard at MTS to get this show done. They do not know when their next race will be, depending on what happens next with the authorities, but they are very good about providing information on their face book page so check there to see when they next race. And hopefully for the rest of the tracks in Wisconsin, this night opened some eyes to the fact that, yes, a crowd can gather and still be safe, and I'm all good with wearing a mask and providing social distancing for as long as is necessary, but we need to get our fans back in the stands so they can have some fun too and help our promoters and track owners keep their noses above water too.
Monday, April 27, 2020
Thornton Jr Stars Again at The New Raceway Park
Yes I really did see two dirt track races on the weekend of April 25-26. And yes, they were actually live and in person as opposed to watching some fake stuff on TV. For reasons having to do with the current situation in this country, I did not do a report from Saturday night's event.
However, I'm happy to report that I am able to deliver a full report of the events on Sunday night, April 16th from The New Raceway Park in Jefferson South Dakota. Known as "South Dakota's Church in the Dirt", no matter what your religion, if you were praying to see dirt track racing live and direct, those prayers were answered on Sunday and what was a beautiful night it was for racing.
A little back round on this race. Originally planned to be with limited spectators(500 tickets were sold), during the days leading up to this race, the track's promoter and owner received much pressure from a variety of both state and national agencies about canceling this race including South Dakota's Governor who told people they should not attend.
In order to keep the race from possibly being canceled at the last minute, Steve Kiraly(track owner) and Denny Moore(promoter), opted to not allow spectators in to the race(all who bought tickets received refunds), and just run the event with pit personal on hand as the only observers. On the plus side, this allowed the pit personal to spread out through the entire grandstand and cat walk in turn four so distancing was not a problem. Moore told me that he was going to lose money on the race once the spectators were no longer allowed to attend, but that he still wanted to go ahead with the race to show that it could be done and safely too.
Frankly, after observing what was going on in North Sioux City and other environs close by, I determined that I was much safer at the track than at any other place in town! I did not notice a single customer or employee at the gas station where I fueled up wearing a mask and the service people at the drive through for the fast food restaurant I went through were not wearing masks either.
At the track, no one was allowed to enter the pits until they had their temperatures taken, masks were required to be worn at all times in the pits and grandstands and folks were required to observe social distancing. Much of the spectator parking lot was turned over to pit area for this night because they wanted all the racers to be spread out and not tightly packed. Satellites were provided for the over flow area and quite frankly, it seemed like management went over and above to both ensure the safety of the racers and crews but also make it a pleasant experience. Quite frankly, I think we're all tired of talking about this whole subject which is certainly wearing on everyone, so let's now talk about the racing!
Drivers were required to pre enter for this race as they didn't want a huge number of cars for obvious reasons. In total, ninety five racers pulled through the gates in the five IMCA classes that were racing on this night. Three heats and a feature race were needed for four of the classes with the Modifieds needing four heats and a B Feature. In that class, nineteen of the racers were hold overs from the previous night across the street at Park Jefferson while the remainder of the field were getting their first night of the new year.
The track was smooth and slick for the first night of racing with a strong wind from the South helping to slick it off quickly. Drivers were running multiple grooves with some liking the high side on this heavily banked quarter mile while there were also plenty of "catfish" motoring around the tires. This made for a good mix and providing plenty of action. The show moves along quickly after they got a bit of a late start but with a minimum of yellow flags, the heat races went off quickly. The one spin rule and threatening time limits for the features kept everyone moving and there was not a race all night with more than three yellow flags and wrecking was not a problem.
For the second straight night this weekend, the star of the show in the Modifieds was Ricky Thornton Jr. He came from the seventh starting position to win the twenty lap Modified main after a hard fought charge to the front. Thornton Jr is such a pleasure to watch as he simply won't settle for following other drivers, he searches around on the track to find the best lane, even if it means racing where others fear to go. He is absolutely relentless at working the track until he finds the fast lane while so many others just prefer to follow each other.
Chris Mills was the early leader of the race and led the majority of the contest. As he held the top spot, Jeff Taylor and Thornton Jr made determined runs to the front. Taylor moved up the track and took second and he looked like the driver that might overtake Mills for the lead.
However, Thornton Jr was even faster as he worked both high and low and in the rapidly evolving event, he took second and then closed on Mills. Thornton Jr found his fast lane which involved being low in turn one and then running the high banking in turn three and gaining momentum down the front chute for a heavy dive into turn one.
With only three laps left, he was able to ease past Mills down the front chute, beat him to turn one and take over the lead. Unfortunately for Mills, he tried to retake the lead on the other end and ended up spinning which triggered the first yellow of the race. A three lap sprint to the finish saw Thornton Jr pull away from Taylor for the win with long haul winner Grey Ferrando finish a strong third. Tom Berry was up from fifteenth to fourth with Minnesota visitor Aaron Johnson completing the top five.
The Stock Car feature was a close race not settled until the final corner. Cade Richards had the pole but he slipped back at the start and it was Randy Brands that grabbed the lead. He led for several laps until he received some heavy pressure from Travis Barker who had started fifth. Barker tried several times before he was finally able to squeeze past Brands in turn one and take over the top spot.
Brands did not give up as most of the Stock Cars were running the low groove and to slip off the bottom was not a good thing. Barker several times gave Brands an opening and Randy came very close to retaking the lead but couldn't quite make the move. Meanwhile, Richards was working his way back up and closing on the lead duo and he suddenly appeared to be the fastest car on the track as he closed on the leaders.
A late yellow with four laps to go bunched the field and on the green, Richards took over second and then began to pressure Barker. On the final corner Richards gave in a shot on the inside and just came up short as Barker hung on for the win. Brands finished a strong third with Bo Lundquist and Cameron Wilkinson next in line.
Even though he didn't win a feature race, Cade Richards was clearly the second star of the night. While he came up close in the Stock Cars, he was just as close to a win in the Sport Mods. This race saw Cole Nordquist take the lead off the pole and hold the top spot for a couple laps before he was pressured by Johnathon Logue. Logue was fast and was able to make the pass following a lap three restart for a spinning car.
Once in front, Logue was able to extent his advantage as he seemed to be running free from the field. However, Richards, who had started eleventh, really started to pick up the pace as he got past Cody Thompson to take over second and began to close. Logue's lead, which had looked so comfortable suddenly began to shirk at an alarming rate. Richards caught him on the last lap and made a dive for the lead and as they raced to the flag, Logue was able to hold on by the smallest of margins to take the win. Richards and Thompson finished very close behind him with Nordquist and Rusty Montague next in line.
It was a night of close finishes and the Hobby Stock feature was no exception. The #77 cars of Craig Clift and Cody Williams started the main side by side and they battled hard for the lead until Clift took the point. A couple early yellows kept the field bunched and the top six or so drivers ran in close formation. Clift continued to lead but his advantage was a small one as Andy Hoffman was making a charge after starting ninth. He was also feeling pressure from Zach Ankrum, who was fast in his heat but redrew twelve for the main event. Ankrum was really picked up ground though, and he got under Hoffman for second and charged after Clift.
Ankrum caught the leader with two laps to go and made a hard dive to the low side but Clift was able to hold him off. The same strategy was tried again on the final lap and they came off the last corner side by side but Clift had just enough momentum to hold on for the lead. Hoffman, Williams and Cameron Wilkinson completed the top five.
The only feature not a nail biter was the Sport Compacts. This nonstop main event saw pole sitter Anthony Clark lead from start to finish. He was not challenged as he pulled away from the field with only second place finisher Nate Fontenot able to keep the winner within sight. Austin Honneycutt, Shannon Mahlberg and R.J. Esqueda were next in line.
The final checkered flag flew shortly after 10 pm and it was a good, entertaining program with several very close feature races. It's just too bad that it couldn't have been witnessed by real spectators instead of just a TV crowd. I was told that the track was debuting some new track lights which no doubt helped the TV viewing although their placement all on the outside of the track on the back chute does make for some glare for those watching from the main grandstand.
Now the question remains, was this just a "one off "event or will regular weekly racing now take place? The track schedule shows weekly events from now on but there was no mention at the track of when the next race would be held. For sure, the business model of no fans in the stands just doesn't work so unless the state gives the OK for fans to return to watch, the track will likely sit quick again this coming Sunday.
But no matter what happens going forward, Steve Kiraly and Denny Moore deserve a hearty thanks for putting on this Sunday night race. I believe they proved they could put on a race safely but we will now see if anyone was paying attention. They definitely put a lot of work in to get this show to happen and the amount of hassle they received will unfortunately not be equaled by revenue generated. My thanks to them for their efforts at this difficult time. To make my weekend complete, I also need to thank both Toby Kruse and Tom Berry Jr for allowing me to record a two race weekend when it looked like none might happen. Thanks gentlemen.
However, I'm happy to report that I am able to deliver a full report of the events on Sunday night, April 16th from The New Raceway Park in Jefferson South Dakota. Known as "South Dakota's Church in the Dirt", no matter what your religion, if you were praying to see dirt track racing live and direct, those prayers were answered on Sunday and what was a beautiful night it was for racing.
A little back round on this race. Originally planned to be with limited spectators(500 tickets were sold), during the days leading up to this race, the track's promoter and owner received much pressure from a variety of both state and national agencies about canceling this race including South Dakota's Governor who told people they should not attend.
In order to keep the race from possibly being canceled at the last minute, Steve Kiraly(track owner) and Denny Moore(promoter), opted to not allow spectators in to the race(all who bought tickets received refunds), and just run the event with pit personal on hand as the only observers. On the plus side, this allowed the pit personal to spread out through the entire grandstand and cat walk in turn four so distancing was not a problem. Moore told me that he was going to lose money on the race once the spectators were no longer allowed to attend, but that he still wanted to go ahead with the race to show that it could be done and safely too.
Frankly, after observing what was going on in North Sioux City and other environs close by, I determined that I was much safer at the track than at any other place in town! I did not notice a single customer or employee at the gas station where I fueled up wearing a mask and the service people at the drive through for the fast food restaurant I went through were not wearing masks either.
At the track, no one was allowed to enter the pits until they had their temperatures taken, masks were required to be worn at all times in the pits and grandstands and folks were required to observe social distancing. Much of the spectator parking lot was turned over to pit area for this night because they wanted all the racers to be spread out and not tightly packed. Satellites were provided for the over flow area and quite frankly, it seemed like management went over and above to both ensure the safety of the racers and crews but also make it a pleasant experience. Quite frankly, I think we're all tired of talking about this whole subject which is certainly wearing on everyone, so let's now talk about the racing!
Drivers were required to pre enter for this race as they didn't want a huge number of cars for obvious reasons. In total, ninety five racers pulled through the gates in the five IMCA classes that were racing on this night. Three heats and a feature race were needed for four of the classes with the Modifieds needing four heats and a B Feature. In that class, nineteen of the racers were hold overs from the previous night across the street at Park Jefferson while the remainder of the field were getting their first night of the new year.
The track was smooth and slick for the first night of racing with a strong wind from the South helping to slick it off quickly. Drivers were running multiple grooves with some liking the high side on this heavily banked quarter mile while there were also plenty of "catfish" motoring around the tires. This made for a good mix and providing plenty of action. The show moves along quickly after they got a bit of a late start but with a minimum of yellow flags, the heat races went off quickly. The one spin rule and threatening time limits for the features kept everyone moving and there was not a race all night with more than three yellow flags and wrecking was not a problem.
For the second straight night this weekend, the star of the show in the Modifieds was Ricky Thornton Jr. He came from the seventh starting position to win the twenty lap Modified main after a hard fought charge to the front. Thornton Jr is such a pleasure to watch as he simply won't settle for following other drivers, he searches around on the track to find the best lane, even if it means racing where others fear to go. He is absolutely relentless at working the track until he finds the fast lane while so many others just prefer to follow each other.
Chris Mills was the early leader of the race and led the majority of the contest. As he held the top spot, Jeff Taylor and Thornton Jr made determined runs to the front. Taylor moved up the track and took second and he looked like the driver that might overtake Mills for the lead.
However, Thornton Jr was even faster as he worked both high and low and in the rapidly evolving event, he took second and then closed on Mills. Thornton Jr found his fast lane which involved being low in turn one and then running the high banking in turn three and gaining momentum down the front chute for a heavy dive into turn one.
With only three laps left, he was able to ease past Mills down the front chute, beat him to turn one and take over the lead. Unfortunately for Mills, he tried to retake the lead on the other end and ended up spinning which triggered the first yellow of the race. A three lap sprint to the finish saw Thornton Jr pull away from Taylor for the win with long haul winner Grey Ferrando finish a strong third. Tom Berry was up from fifteenth to fourth with Minnesota visitor Aaron Johnson completing the top five.
The Stock Car feature was a close race not settled until the final corner. Cade Richards had the pole but he slipped back at the start and it was Randy Brands that grabbed the lead. He led for several laps until he received some heavy pressure from Travis Barker who had started fifth. Barker tried several times before he was finally able to squeeze past Brands in turn one and take over the top spot.
Brands did not give up as most of the Stock Cars were running the low groove and to slip off the bottom was not a good thing. Barker several times gave Brands an opening and Randy came very close to retaking the lead but couldn't quite make the move. Meanwhile, Richards was working his way back up and closing on the lead duo and he suddenly appeared to be the fastest car on the track as he closed on the leaders.
A late yellow with four laps to go bunched the field and on the green, Richards took over second and then began to pressure Barker. On the final corner Richards gave in a shot on the inside and just came up short as Barker hung on for the win. Brands finished a strong third with Bo Lundquist and Cameron Wilkinson next in line.
Even though he didn't win a feature race, Cade Richards was clearly the second star of the night. While he came up close in the Stock Cars, he was just as close to a win in the Sport Mods. This race saw Cole Nordquist take the lead off the pole and hold the top spot for a couple laps before he was pressured by Johnathon Logue. Logue was fast and was able to make the pass following a lap three restart for a spinning car.
Once in front, Logue was able to extent his advantage as he seemed to be running free from the field. However, Richards, who had started eleventh, really started to pick up the pace as he got past Cody Thompson to take over second and began to close. Logue's lead, which had looked so comfortable suddenly began to shirk at an alarming rate. Richards caught him on the last lap and made a dive for the lead and as they raced to the flag, Logue was able to hold on by the smallest of margins to take the win. Richards and Thompson finished very close behind him with Nordquist and Rusty Montague next in line.
It was a night of close finishes and the Hobby Stock feature was no exception. The #77 cars of Craig Clift and Cody Williams started the main side by side and they battled hard for the lead until Clift took the point. A couple early yellows kept the field bunched and the top six or so drivers ran in close formation. Clift continued to lead but his advantage was a small one as Andy Hoffman was making a charge after starting ninth. He was also feeling pressure from Zach Ankrum, who was fast in his heat but redrew twelve for the main event. Ankrum was really picked up ground though, and he got under Hoffman for second and charged after Clift.
Ankrum caught the leader with two laps to go and made a hard dive to the low side but Clift was able to hold him off. The same strategy was tried again on the final lap and they came off the last corner side by side but Clift had just enough momentum to hold on for the lead. Hoffman, Williams and Cameron Wilkinson completed the top five.
The only feature not a nail biter was the Sport Compacts. This nonstop main event saw pole sitter Anthony Clark lead from start to finish. He was not challenged as he pulled away from the field with only second place finisher Nate Fontenot able to keep the winner within sight. Austin Honneycutt, Shannon Mahlberg and R.J. Esqueda were next in line.
The final checkered flag flew shortly after 10 pm and it was a good, entertaining program with several very close feature races. It's just too bad that it couldn't have been witnessed by real spectators instead of just a TV crowd. I was told that the track was debuting some new track lights which no doubt helped the TV viewing although their placement all on the outside of the track on the back chute does make for some glare for those watching from the main grandstand.
Now the question remains, was this just a "one off "event or will regular weekly racing now take place? The track schedule shows weekly events from now on but there was no mention at the track of when the next race would be held. For sure, the business model of no fans in the stands just doesn't work so unless the state gives the OK for fans to return to watch, the track will likely sit quick again this coming Sunday.
But no matter what happens going forward, Steve Kiraly and Denny Moore deserve a hearty thanks for putting on this Sunday night race. I believe they proved they could put on a race safely but we will now see if anyone was paying attention. They definitely put a lot of work in to get this show to happen and the amount of hassle they received will unfortunately not be equaled by revenue generated. My thanks to them for their efforts at this difficult time. To make my weekend complete, I also need to thank both Toby Kruse and Tom Berry Jr for allowing me to record a two race weekend when it looked like none might happen. Thanks gentlemen.
Friday, March 13, 2020
ATTENTION : The Entire World Goes Crazy as Common Sense Exits Stage Left
The owner of this website occasionally uses his space to allow himself to "vent" on various topics, some of which involve racing issues and some not of that topic. I'm going to do that today and will attempt to tie racing in with the broader topic and I'm sure that if this blog gets too far "off the rails" that it will soon come down and never be seen again.
Caronavirus, also known at COVID-19. As it affected you? Do you feel that you life has been over affected by the threat of such a virus infecting you or anyone you know? Does it seen to you like the entire world has lost its compass and is just going crazy over the fears of this so-called pandemic.
From where I'm looking at things, the whole world seems to have lost track of what is common sense and what is hysteria and we are treading on thin ice of losing all perspective. Certainly this disease is serious, but is it really to the point that it has been taken by both politicians and the media and taken by the "sheep" in our society to the point they can't think or talk about anything else. And what about all those weak kneed business and sports executives who have caved into the "me too" attitude that has created a "snowball" effect that has virtually frozen all of society.
In my home state(Wisconsin) latest data updated this very afternoon reports that nineteen people have been diagnosed with COVID-19. NINETEEN in the whole state. In the entire United States there have been reported to be sixteen hundred and sixty two known positive cases. Now there are three hundred and twenty seven and spare change million people living the the U.S. right now. That means that the rate of infection by this disease is .0000446% or roughly about the same odds as getting hit by a meteorite on the street! Yet just the perceived threat of getting this disease has caused all major league sports to put their seasons on hold, cancel most of the college conference championships, cause the NCAA to cancel the basketball tournament along with tournaments for hockey and wrestling, cause most state high school tournaments to either be canceled or severely limit the spectators that can attend, cancel concerts, close theme parks, force the Master's Golf Tournament which isn't even scheduled until April to be postponed and even NASCAR today changed their mind and postponed their two coming races rather than run them before closed grandstands(the empty grandstands would have been the first thing that did look normal!) Colleges and universities are closing down their campuses in favor of on line courses and even St. Patrick's Day has even been postponed!
More people die every day in this country from car accidents, the common flu and colds and drug overdoses but I don't see any panicked rush to close the highways and stop producing pharmaceuticals. At what point did we lose our common sense as a people and start flying off the handle from these perceived threats and taking overboard knee-jerk reactions?
Yes it is true that there isn't a vaccine for the flu right now. But the vast majority of people heal from this flu the same way that they do from any other type of flu.And the groups most at risk of catching this flu are not any different than those most suspect for any of our Winter diseases and that won't change.
It's not real hard. Do the things you're supposed to do like washing your hands often, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, stay home if you feel sick and avoid crowds if you have any of the symptoms of this or any other Winter disease. And for goodness sake, let's not turn this entire world up side down over one type of flu. And for those of you hoarding toilet paper, I don't even want to get on that subject except to let you know that COVID-19 isn't a diarrhea type flu.
let's start thinking smart again and using a lot more common sense in what we do and what we believe and not being such an overreacting society.
Caronavirus, also known at COVID-19. As it affected you? Do you feel that you life has been over affected by the threat of such a virus infecting you or anyone you know? Does it seen to you like the entire world has lost its compass and is just going crazy over the fears of this so-called pandemic.
From where I'm looking at things, the whole world seems to have lost track of what is common sense and what is hysteria and we are treading on thin ice of losing all perspective. Certainly this disease is serious, but is it really to the point that it has been taken by both politicians and the media and taken by the "sheep" in our society to the point they can't think or talk about anything else. And what about all those weak kneed business and sports executives who have caved into the "me too" attitude that has created a "snowball" effect that has virtually frozen all of society.
In my home state(Wisconsin) latest data updated this very afternoon reports that nineteen people have been diagnosed with COVID-19. NINETEEN in the whole state. In the entire United States there have been reported to be sixteen hundred and sixty two known positive cases. Now there are three hundred and twenty seven and spare change million people living the the U.S. right now. That means that the rate of infection by this disease is .0000446% or roughly about the same odds as getting hit by a meteorite on the street! Yet just the perceived threat of getting this disease has caused all major league sports to put their seasons on hold, cancel most of the college conference championships, cause the NCAA to cancel the basketball tournament along with tournaments for hockey and wrestling, cause most state high school tournaments to either be canceled or severely limit the spectators that can attend, cancel concerts, close theme parks, force the Master's Golf Tournament which isn't even scheduled until April to be postponed and even NASCAR today changed their mind and postponed their two coming races rather than run them before closed grandstands(the empty grandstands would have been the first thing that did look normal!) Colleges and universities are closing down their campuses in favor of on line courses and even St. Patrick's Day has even been postponed!
More people die every day in this country from car accidents, the common flu and colds and drug overdoses but I don't see any panicked rush to close the highways and stop producing pharmaceuticals. At what point did we lose our common sense as a people and start flying off the handle from these perceived threats and taking overboard knee-jerk reactions?
Yes it is true that there isn't a vaccine for the flu right now. But the vast majority of people heal from this flu the same way that they do from any other type of flu.And the groups most at risk of catching this flu are not any different than those most suspect for any of our Winter diseases and that won't change.
It's not real hard. Do the things you're supposed to do like washing your hands often, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, stay home if you feel sick and avoid crowds if you have any of the symptoms of this or any other Winter disease. And for goodness sake, let's not turn this entire world up side down over one type of flu. And for those of you hoarding toilet paper, I don't even want to get on that subject except to let you know that COVID-19 isn't a diarrhea type flu.
let's start thinking smart again and using a lot more common sense in what we do and what we believe and not being such an overreacting society.
Monday, March 2, 2020
There's a Booger on the Toilet Bowl at Clarksville !
There was a Booger sitting on the Toilet Bowl following the Late Model feature race Saturday night at the Clarksville Speedway. However, that Booger had a last name of Brooks and he did a fine job holding off the challenges of Brian Shirley and Donald McIntosh to win the thirty lap Late Model main event and head back to Chattanooga with five thousand additional dollars in his racing account in the highlight event of the fourteenth annual Toilet Bowl which was completed on Saturday night.
An overflow pit area and sunny weather greeted the good crowd on hand for the second night of the Toilet Bowl. It was reported that two hundred and seven cars had signed in to race for Saturday night's show and I will take management on their word for that. In addition to the six classes that raced on Friday night, we also had the additional classes of Pure Mini Stocks, Mini Mods, Dwarf Cars and they even dug up seven Cruisers from somewhere that also raced. And interestingly, while some of the Cruisers had two seats and the set up for both a pilot and co-pilot which is the Cruisers that I am familiar with, there was only one person in each car as that class raced so I guess they were just "half Cruisers." In any event, there appeared to be a class for anyone that had a race car to bring and there was more than enough racing action to satisfy the most thirsty of fans.
A tight starting time of 2:30 pm ended up being just one hour and fifteen minutes later as they sorted out the paperwork before the first car hit the track for warm ups. Everything but the Cruisers also had to qualify which meant that we put over four hundred laps on the track on a sunny late afternoon before the first race ever took the green flag. No wonder that the track took rubber about as deep as I have ever seen. In fact, I had rubber on my face after the show was over that looked to be about as heavy as a picture of Ernie Derr's face would look like after he just got done running four hundred laps at the Iowa State Fair on a afternoon show!
The two classes that had enough cars that B Features were in order (Streets and Mods), ran heat races and B Features on Saturday before their mains while the Pure Minis also ran a B Feature. All other classes lined up for their mains directly off time trials.
Brooks led wire to wire in the Late Model feature which was slowed three times for yellow flags. Dillon Tidmore pushed Brooks hard in the first half of the race until his car started to loosen up on him and he gave up several positions. Shirley and McIntosh then moved in to challenge but after a late yellow with only five laps to go, Brooks got away well at the start and wasn't challenged at the end. He got to sit on the customized "Throne" which is surely still one of the most unique and interesting trophies around the world of racing.
Ricky Arms, who was not on hand for the Friday show, topped the qualifying, won a heat and then led wire to wire to take the Modified win. Tyler Nicely, who had terrible luck all weekend, was challenging Arms for the lead when a lapped car spun into him and wrecked his car for the second straight night.
Rick Conoyer, in his unpainted and unlettered car, drove up to second and held off Tommy Sheppard Jr for runner up honors. For the second straight night, the Modifieds had the biggest field of cars as thirty nine were on hand to try and make the main.
The other featured division was the QuickSilver Street Stocks and Tony Cruse led wire to wire to take the grand for the top spot in that race. He held off David Earl Gentry and Keaton Downing for the win with twenty nine Streets signing in to race.
Crate class winners were Christian Hanger and for the second straight night, Clayton Miller in the 357/602 class while Miller was also very competitive in the Modifieds.
The other winners were just too numerous to mention but all the results are available at the Clarksville Speedway website. Overnight work allowed them to have the track pa system working on Saturday but the information that came out of the speakers was somewhat minimal.
As I stated earlier, the crowd was a good one and they mostly stayed for the whole show, even though it got quite cool again on Saturday. The final race wrapped up just about 11 pm which meant that those of us on hand for the gate opening at Noon spent nearly twelve hours at the track. There was quite a remarkable variety of home areas represented as there were drivers on hand from at least ten different states for the Midwest opener of the 2020 racing season.
An overflow pit area and sunny weather greeted the good crowd on hand for the second night of the Toilet Bowl. It was reported that two hundred and seven cars had signed in to race for Saturday night's show and I will take management on their word for that. In addition to the six classes that raced on Friday night, we also had the additional classes of Pure Mini Stocks, Mini Mods, Dwarf Cars and they even dug up seven Cruisers from somewhere that also raced. And interestingly, while some of the Cruisers had two seats and the set up for both a pilot and co-pilot which is the Cruisers that I am familiar with, there was only one person in each car as that class raced so I guess they were just "half Cruisers." In any event, there appeared to be a class for anyone that had a race car to bring and there was more than enough racing action to satisfy the most thirsty of fans.
A tight starting time of 2:30 pm ended up being just one hour and fifteen minutes later as they sorted out the paperwork before the first car hit the track for warm ups. Everything but the Cruisers also had to qualify which meant that we put over four hundred laps on the track on a sunny late afternoon before the first race ever took the green flag. No wonder that the track took rubber about as deep as I have ever seen. In fact, I had rubber on my face after the show was over that looked to be about as heavy as a picture of Ernie Derr's face would look like after he just got done running four hundred laps at the Iowa State Fair on a afternoon show!
The two classes that had enough cars that B Features were in order (Streets and Mods), ran heat races and B Features on Saturday before their mains while the Pure Minis also ran a B Feature. All other classes lined up for their mains directly off time trials.
Brooks led wire to wire in the Late Model feature which was slowed three times for yellow flags. Dillon Tidmore pushed Brooks hard in the first half of the race until his car started to loosen up on him and he gave up several positions. Shirley and McIntosh then moved in to challenge but after a late yellow with only five laps to go, Brooks got away well at the start and wasn't challenged at the end. He got to sit on the customized "Throne" which is surely still one of the most unique and interesting trophies around the world of racing.
Ricky Arms, who was not on hand for the Friday show, topped the qualifying, won a heat and then led wire to wire to take the Modified win. Tyler Nicely, who had terrible luck all weekend, was challenging Arms for the lead when a lapped car spun into him and wrecked his car for the second straight night.
Rick Conoyer, in his unpainted and unlettered car, drove up to second and held off Tommy Sheppard Jr for runner up honors. For the second straight night, the Modifieds had the biggest field of cars as thirty nine were on hand to try and make the main.
The other featured division was the QuickSilver Street Stocks and Tony Cruse led wire to wire to take the grand for the top spot in that race. He held off David Earl Gentry and Keaton Downing for the win with twenty nine Streets signing in to race.
Crate class winners were Christian Hanger and for the second straight night, Clayton Miller in the 357/602 class while Miller was also very competitive in the Modifieds.
The other winners were just too numerous to mention but all the results are available at the Clarksville Speedway website. Overnight work allowed them to have the track pa system working on Saturday but the information that came out of the speakers was somewhat minimal.
As I stated earlier, the crowd was a good one and they mostly stayed for the whole show, even though it got quite cool again on Saturday. The final race wrapped up just about 11 pm which meant that those of us on hand for the gate opening at Noon spent nearly twelve hours at the track. There was quite a remarkable variety of home areas represented as there were drivers on hand from at least ten different states for the Midwest opener of the 2020 racing season.
English Takes the Plung(er) at Clarksville
Friday night, February 28th, the opening night of the fourteenth annual Toilet Bowl Classic took place at William Scogin's Clarksville Speedway and Fairgrounds in Clarksville Tennessee. Somewhere around one hundred and forty race cars signed in for the opening night of racing action(I didn't have an accurate count of the Mod Lites so I'm estimating on just how many actually raced).
Six classes would be in action on this cool February night including UMP Late Models and Modifieds, 604 and 357/602 Crate Late Models plus Quicksliver Street Stocks and the Mod Lites. The Late Models had for a number of years been involved in one of several different traveling series for this opening weekend of racing but this year it would just be under UMP sanctioning with Sam Driggers on hand to coordinate the activity in this class.
Nearly thirty Street Stocks and well over thirty Modifieds were on hand for the first of two straight nights of racing but the Late Model count at twenty one cars for a three grand to win top spot was somewhat disappointing.
An unexpected weather phenomena would throw Friday night's racing action into a tizzy and result in a long and arduous experience. A threat of rain, which would first appear in the forecasts not until Thursday night, managed to come through for us on Friday in two separate visits. The first time, late in the afternoon, did nothing to harm the show. However, the second round of light rain came right in the middle of Modified time trials and with the track already pounded down hard, it took a while to re pack the track and get it ready for more racing. They had to re time all the Mods over for the second time plus they still had to qualify the Streets and 604 Crates and apparently they was no contingency plan to shorten up the show and get the racing started just a little bit quicker, given the circumstances.
So, by the time they got everyone qualified, the first race did not hit the track until 10:50 pm. They did eliminate heat races but that was part of the original plan anyway so the racing action consisted of B Features for those classes that needed them and just main events for the other classes.
Of course all feature races were started straight up based on qualifying so any big charges through the field were pretty much out of the question. The top attraction of the night was the Late Model main with all twenty one cars on hand taking the green. Josh Putnam started on the pole and led for a good part of the feature. However, lapped traffic proved problematic for him as the slower cars were also hugging the low line of the track and with Tanner English nipping on his tail, Putnam was forced to make a move to try and get past the traffic.
If worked badly for him as he got too high in turn three, got into the "snot" on the high side of the track and English drove under him to take over the lead. Tanner was then able to lead the rest of the nonstop main event to take the win over Putnam, Donald McIntosh, Booger Brooks and Brian Shirley.
The largest field of the night was in the Modifieds and Lucas Lee, who qualified the fastest of all, led all twenty laps for the win. Allen Weisser pressured him for a time but eventually Lee pulled away to beat Weisser, Dillon Nusbaum, Clayton Miller and Nick Allen in what probably the most stacked of any class.
The one driver that upset the "apple cart" was legendary Tennessee racer David Earl Gentry who started tenth and still managed to get to the front and win the QuickSilver Street Stock feature. Gentry, who recently celebrated his five hundredth feature win, finished ahead of another veteran in Charles Zimmerman to get the win. The Street Stocks, which look more like the Stock Cars or the Super Stocks that I am familiar with at home, put on a nice show with some very clean looking equipment. Other winners included Clayton Miller in the 357/602 Crates and Jesse Lowe in the 604 Crates.
What made the long rain delay even worse was the fact that there was a total lack of a grandstand pa system. While the announcer was able to talk to the pits, no one in the grandstands could hear anything that was said all night so we had to guess what was racing and why while I was able to use RaceMonitor to determine the qualifying efforts of those classes that ran determined time trials rather than group qualifying which a few of the classes did. It did make for an even longer night when the spectators grew frustrated not knowing who was driving what and just what race was on the track.
A remnant of last year's tornado at the track was still evident. All the grandstand seating from the tower to the first turn is gone, blown away in that storm. New cement slabs have been laid down but to this point, just small temporary bleachers have been brought in with new ones yet to be erected but the plan is in place for that to happen.
It was a cool night and with many of the spectators damp from the rain, when they got cold they headed for the gates and by the time the final race was run, there weren't too many people left on the grounds to confirm that the final checkered flag waved at 1:20 am. As the first night of the Toilet Bowl, all the feature winners got a "special plunger" for their efforts on Friday night.
Six classes would be in action on this cool February night including UMP Late Models and Modifieds, 604 and 357/602 Crate Late Models plus Quicksliver Street Stocks and the Mod Lites. The Late Models had for a number of years been involved in one of several different traveling series for this opening weekend of racing but this year it would just be under UMP sanctioning with Sam Driggers on hand to coordinate the activity in this class.
Nearly thirty Street Stocks and well over thirty Modifieds were on hand for the first of two straight nights of racing but the Late Model count at twenty one cars for a three grand to win top spot was somewhat disappointing.
An unexpected weather phenomena would throw Friday night's racing action into a tizzy and result in a long and arduous experience. A threat of rain, which would first appear in the forecasts not until Thursday night, managed to come through for us on Friday in two separate visits. The first time, late in the afternoon, did nothing to harm the show. However, the second round of light rain came right in the middle of Modified time trials and with the track already pounded down hard, it took a while to re pack the track and get it ready for more racing. They had to re time all the Mods over for the second time plus they still had to qualify the Streets and 604 Crates and apparently they was no contingency plan to shorten up the show and get the racing started just a little bit quicker, given the circumstances.
So, by the time they got everyone qualified, the first race did not hit the track until 10:50 pm. They did eliminate heat races but that was part of the original plan anyway so the racing action consisted of B Features for those classes that needed them and just main events for the other classes.
Of course all feature races were started straight up based on qualifying so any big charges through the field were pretty much out of the question. The top attraction of the night was the Late Model main with all twenty one cars on hand taking the green. Josh Putnam started on the pole and led for a good part of the feature. However, lapped traffic proved problematic for him as the slower cars were also hugging the low line of the track and with Tanner English nipping on his tail, Putnam was forced to make a move to try and get past the traffic.
If worked badly for him as he got too high in turn three, got into the "snot" on the high side of the track and English drove under him to take over the lead. Tanner was then able to lead the rest of the nonstop main event to take the win over Putnam, Donald McIntosh, Booger Brooks and Brian Shirley.
The largest field of the night was in the Modifieds and Lucas Lee, who qualified the fastest of all, led all twenty laps for the win. Allen Weisser pressured him for a time but eventually Lee pulled away to beat Weisser, Dillon Nusbaum, Clayton Miller and Nick Allen in what probably the most stacked of any class.
The one driver that upset the "apple cart" was legendary Tennessee racer David Earl Gentry who started tenth and still managed to get to the front and win the QuickSilver Street Stock feature. Gentry, who recently celebrated his five hundredth feature win, finished ahead of another veteran in Charles Zimmerman to get the win. The Street Stocks, which look more like the Stock Cars or the Super Stocks that I am familiar with at home, put on a nice show with some very clean looking equipment. Other winners included Clayton Miller in the 357/602 Crates and Jesse Lowe in the 604 Crates.
What made the long rain delay even worse was the fact that there was a total lack of a grandstand pa system. While the announcer was able to talk to the pits, no one in the grandstands could hear anything that was said all night so we had to guess what was racing and why while I was able to use RaceMonitor to determine the qualifying efforts of those classes that ran determined time trials rather than group qualifying which a few of the classes did. It did make for an even longer night when the spectators grew frustrated not knowing who was driving what and just what race was on the track.
A remnant of last year's tornado at the track was still evident. All the grandstand seating from the tower to the first turn is gone, blown away in that storm. New cement slabs have been laid down but to this point, just small temporary bleachers have been brought in with new ones yet to be erected but the plan is in place for that to happen.
It was a cool night and with many of the spectators damp from the rain, when they got cold they headed for the gates and by the time the final race was run, there weren't too many people left on the grounds to confirm that the final checkered flag waved at 1:20 am. As the first night of the Toilet Bowl, all the feature winners got a "special plunger" for their efforts on Friday night.
Monday, February 17, 2020
"O-Show" Was "The Show" at VSP; Williamson Multiple Big Block Winner at DIRTcar Finale
Volusia Speedway Park wrapped up the short track portion of Speed Weeks on Saturday night, February 15th in front of a huge crowd of fans. After a scare from the weather on Friday night, sunny skies and warm temperatures returned and it was a great night to wrap up the Late Model and Big Block racing in Florida.
Forty five Late Models and thirty two Big Blocks hung around to complete the week of racing with a few of the Late Models heading home early after a week of frustration in most of their cases. But those that remained put on another sterling show. Unlike some years when there has been much parity and a variety of winners, this year would see dominating performances in both of the classes as Jimmy Owens would win his third straight Late Model feature which was quite an accomplishment in and of itself, and Matt Williamson would become a multiple winner in the Big Blocks with only two drivers winning races in that division here at VSP. Both divisions would wrap up the week with fifty lap main events on Saturday night which in some cases required just a bit of a strategy change, particularly by some of the hard chargers that still wanted to be around and competitive at the end of the two events.
The Big Blocks would lead off the show on Saturday and after four heats and a Last Chance race, twenty eight of them would take the green for their fifty lap main. Early in hot laps, Michael Maresca, who had been having some good runs this week, started smoking very badly and was pushed to the pits. Fortunately, the problem proved to be a minor one and he was able to race through the night, but not to the success that he had earlier in the week.
Quite frankly, the Big Block feature was not a race of the scintillating type as Williamson started on the outside pole and led for all fifty laps. He was never really challenged for the top spot either as Jimmy Phelps moved into second quickly and just seemed to ride in that spot, never to provide a challenge to Williamson.
There was only one yellow flag in the main when Billy Pauch rolled to a halt with seventeen laps complete and after the restart, the leaders pretty much got in line and rolled around the track. The last ten or so laps the track started to take rubber and everyone really lined up in the lower groove and stayed there.
Racers that were expected to challenge Williamson like Matt Sheppard, Larry Wight and Stewart Friesen never had anything for the 2019 DIRTcar Big Block champion. Sheppard rode around in third, Wight slipped from third to sixth and Friesen dropped even farther back out of the top ten. Billy Dunn and Billy Decker completed the top five. Wight did gather enough points that he won the Big Gator for the point title for the week though.
The Big Blocks are beautiful machines that are spotlessly maintained by their crews. They have a unique sound to them and very unique handling characteristics but quite frankly, I didn't think that they raced very well here this week. The disparity between the fast cars and slower ones seems profound and there was not much battling for the lead or other positions for most of their shows. They simply got in line and rode around the track. They are dependable with very few cars that don't finish their features and also few yellow flags, but they didn't provide much in the way of excitement either. I have seen them now both here at Volusia and at Charlotte several times and I just don't find them to be very exciting. Eastern folks rave about them and perhaps I just need to see them race at some other track other than the two I've mentioned, because other than the spotless appearance of them, so far they haven't done much for me.
One thing I give the Big Blocks credit for though is that their rules don't allow spotters to hang out over the track with their sticks and give the drivers signals on which lane to go or how to block the fast car trying to overtake their driver. Big Block drivers actually have to figure out on their own where to race the track and what decisions to make. The other divisions here and elsewhere across the country could well take a cue from the Big Blocks in that regard and then we wouldn't have to hear that the first words out of the driver's mouths in victory lane were thanks to crewman "Billy Bob" who signaled me where to race the track on the track so I could block the fast groove.
As the Big Blocks wrapped up their event, the track was starting to take rubber and go one lane and I was really worried that we would see a bad Late Model feature because of them. The track crew came out and watered a big and them "tickled" the surface but I didn't think that quick fix would work. Wrong, wrong and wrong on my part! The track was wide and fast for the Late Models and there was no hint of a rubbered up surface so they definitely knew what they were doing and the few moments they took saved the night.
Counter to the Big Blocks, the Late Models produced an entertaining fifty lap feature that saw multiple leaders, much passing and changing of positions to go along with that and although winner Owens started right on the front row, his path to victory was much tougher than that would make it sound.
In fact, Owens pushed out badly in the very first corner and gave up several positions and spent most of the race trying to fight his way back to the front. Kyle Strickler led the first lap and showed great speed early after struggling mightily most of the week. What he turned around on the last night I'm not sure, but he went from being quite slow to a stiff challenger for the lead.
Darrell Lanigan moved by Strickler to lead a few laps until he was challenged by Jonathan Davenport. Davenport edged into the lead briefly and was still running a strong second when he suddenly slowed and pulled into the infield under yellow as his night was done.
Then the driver that has probably been as spectacular as anyone all week without winning, Kyle Bronson, blew by on the outside to take over the lead with his "hell bent for election" style of driving. He led for nearly half the race but was challenged by Owens who had gradually worked his way up and Ricky Weiss who was married to the bottom but was able to gradually advance into a challenging spot.
Bronson started to slow slightly as he likely had worn out his tires and when he jumped the cushion with ten to go, Owens was right there to take over the top spot. And once in front, he pulled away as the large contingent of fans from the Volunteer state roared their approval while chugging down their 'shine. Weiss made a late charge of his own to edge out Bronson for second with Lanigan and Brandon Sheppard completing the top five. Sheppard seemed to have lost that little edge he had earlier in the week and they will now try to figure out where it escaped to before WoO action continues in March.
For Owens, it was a brilliant end of the week showing for the likable driver and he certainly found the right combination for his car as the week progressed. Handling seemed to be key for him as when others started to struggle with changing track conditions, his car stayed smooth and straight through the corners no matter if it was slick or heavy. Sheppard had the most consistent of weeks as he won the Big Gator for the point title.
We couldn't get through the night without the "droop rule" playing its part in the festivities. For the third straight night, Scott Bloomquist ran afoul of the "droop rule" as he didn't droop enough following a heat race win and he went from being in the redraw to fourth which pretty much ended his chances of a win. A weak link in his restricting chain in the rear end was deeded the culprit. Strickler also had the same sort of issue after qualifying but his infraction wasn't quite as severe and he was only docked three positions in the qualifying order due to the toothless rule and he still started in the front row for a heat and won that and then ultimately drew the pole for the main. Talking about the "droop rule" in Late Model racing is about as uncomfortable as hearing television ads for Peyronie's Disease so hopefully both will be quickly solved so I don't have to talk or hear about either.
The Volusia racing ended on a high note with an excellent final race run in front of a huge crowd and the whole show got done at a very reasonable time on top of that. The amount of work that goes into putting on this long series is astronomical. I was tired after six nights of Late Model racing and they had been going at it for a week by then with Sprint and Modified racing. The track prep crews, all the workers and the officials that put on the show all did a wonderful job and they must be extremely exhausted by now. But all their efforts made this event what it was. And with wonderful weather and not a single rain out over the long course of nearly two weeks, what a great racing vacation for many folks. Thanks to everyone involved for a great show and a great presentation.
The new bleachers were a wonderful addition to the facility and certainly welcomed by just about everyone. Now for me on my wish list for DIRTcar to explore, some lights behind the grandstand so that the stands are lit better and some decent pit bleachers for the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway that are very much needed. Thank you in advance.
Three thousand, seven hundred and forty six point nine miles later, we are home and back to reality. And dang it all, the snow hasn't melted yet!
Forty five Late Models and thirty two Big Blocks hung around to complete the week of racing with a few of the Late Models heading home early after a week of frustration in most of their cases. But those that remained put on another sterling show. Unlike some years when there has been much parity and a variety of winners, this year would see dominating performances in both of the classes as Jimmy Owens would win his third straight Late Model feature which was quite an accomplishment in and of itself, and Matt Williamson would become a multiple winner in the Big Blocks with only two drivers winning races in that division here at VSP. Both divisions would wrap up the week with fifty lap main events on Saturday night which in some cases required just a bit of a strategy change, particularly by some of the hard chargers that still wanted to be around and competitive at the end of the two events.
The Big Blocks would lead off the show on Saturday and after four heats and a Last Chance race, twenty eight of them would take the green for their fifty lap main. Early in hot laps, Michael Maresca, who had been having some good runs this week, started smoking very badly and was pushed to the pits. Fortunately, the problem proved to be a minor one and he was able to race through the night, but not to the success that he had earlier in the week.
Quite frankly, the Big Block feature was not a race of the scintillating type as Williamson started on the outside pole and led for all fifty laps. He was never really challenged for the top spot either as Jimmy Phelps moved into second quickly and just seemed to ride in that spot, never to provide a challenge to Williamson.
There was only one yellow flag in the main when Billy Pauch rolled to a halt with seventeen laps complete and after the restart, the leaders pretty much got in line and rolled around the track. The last ten or so laps the track started to take rubber and everyone really lined up in the lower groove and stayed there.
Racers that were expected to challenge Williamson like Matt Sheppard, Larry Wight and Stewart Friesen never had anything for the 2019 DIRTcar Big Block champion. Sheppard rode around in third, Wight slipped from third to sixth and Friesen dropped even farther back out of the top ten. Billy Dunn and Billy Decker completed the top five. Wight did gather enough points that he won the Big Gator for the point title for the week though.
The Big Blocks are beautiful machines that are spotlessly maintained by their crews. They have a unique sound to them and very unique handling characteristics but quite frankly, I didn't think that they raced very well here this week. The disparity between the fast cars and slower ones seems profound and there was not much battling for the lead or other positions for most of their shows. They simply got in line and rode around the track. They are dependable with very few cars that don't finish their features and also few yellow flags, but they didn't provide much in the way of excitement either. I have seen them now both here at Volusia and at Charlotte several times and I just don't find them to be very exciting. Eastern folks rave about them and perhaps I just need to see them race at some other track other than the two I've mentioned, because other than the spotless appearance of them, so far they haven't done much for me.
One thing I give the Big Blocks credit for though is that their rules don't allow spotters to hang out over the track with their sticks and give the drivers signals on which lane to go or how to block the fast car trying to overtake their driver. Big Block drivers actually have to figure out on their own where to race the track and what decisions to make. The other divisions here and elsewhere across the country could well take a cue from the Big Blocks in that regard and then we wouldn't have to hear that the first words out of the driver's mouths in victory lane were thanks to crewman "Billy Bob" who signaled me where to race the track on the track so I could block the fast groove.
As the Big Blocks wrapped up their event, the track was starting to take rubber and go one lane and I was really worried that we would see a bad Late Model feature because of them. The track crew came out and watered a big and them "tickled" the surface but I didn't think that quick fix would work. Wrong, wrong and wrong on my part! The track was wide and fast for the Late Models and there was no hint of a rubbered up surface so they definitely knew what they were doing and the few moments they took saved the night.
Counter to the Big Blocks, the Late Models produced an entertaining fifty lap feature that saw multiple leaders, much passing and changing of positions to go along with that and although winner Owens started right on the front row, his path to victory was much tougher than that would make it sound.
In fact, Owens pushed out badly in the very first corner and gave up several positions and spent most of the race trying to fight his way back to the front. Kyle Strickler led the first lap and showed great speed early after struggling mightily most of the week. What he turned around on the last night I'm not sure, but he went from being quite slow to a stiff challenger for the lead.
Darrell Lanigan moved by Strickler to lead a few laps until he was challenged by Jonathan Davenport. Davenport edged into the lead briefly and was still running a strong second when he suddenly slowed and pulled into the infield under yellow as his night was done.
Then the driver that has probably been as spectacular as anyone all week without winning, Kyle Bronson, blew by on the outside to take over the lead with his "hell bent for election" style of driving. He led for nearly half the race but was challenged by Owens who had gradually worked his way up and Ricky Weiss who was married to the bottom but was able to gradually advance into a challenging spot.
Bronson started to slow slightly as he likely had worn out his tires and when he jumped the cushion with ten to go, Owens was right there to take over the top spot. And once in front, he pulled away as the large contingent of fans from the Volunteer state roared their approval while chugging down their 'shine. Weiss made a late charge of his own to edge out Bronson for second with Lanigan and Brandon Sheppard completing the top five. Sheppard seemed to have lost that little edge he had earlier in the week and they will now try to figure out where it escaped to before WoO action continues in March.
For Owens, it was a brilliant end of the week showing for the likable driver and he certainly found the right combination for his car as the week progressed. Handling seemed to be key for him as when others started to struggle with changing track conditions, his car stayed smooth and straight through the corners no matter if it was slick or heavy. Sheppard had the most consistent of weeks as he won the Big Gator for the point title.
We couldn't get through the night without the "droop rule" playing its part in the festivities. For the third straight night, Scott Bloomquist ran afoul of the "droop rule" as he didn't droop enough following a heat race win and he went from being in the redraw to fourth which pretty much ended his chances of a win. A weak link in his restricting chain in the rear end was deeded the culprit. Strickler also had the same sort of issue after qualifying but his infraction wasn't quite as severe and he was only docked three positions in the qualifying order due to the toothless rule and he still started in the front row for a heat and won that and then ultimately drew the pole for the main. Talking about the "droop rule" in Late Model racing is about as uncomfortable as hearing television ads for Peyronie's Disease so hopefully both will be quickly solved so I don't have to talk or hear about either.
The Volusia racing ended on a high note with an excellent final race run in front of a huge crowd and the whole show got done at a very reasonable time on top of that. The amount of work that goes into putting on this long series is astronomical. I was tired after six nights of Late Model racing and they had been going at it for a week by then with Sprint and Modified racing. The track prep crews, all the workers and the officials that put on the show all did a wonderful job and they must be extremely exhausted by now. But all their efforts made this event what it was. And with wonderful weather and not a single rain out over the long course of nearly two weeks, what a great racing vacation for many folks. Thanks to everyone involved for a great show and a great presentation.
The new bleachers were a wonderful addition to the facility and certainly welcomed by just about everyone. Now for me on my wish list for DIRTcar to explore, some lights behind the grandstand so that the stands are lit better and some decent pit bleachers for the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway that are very much needed. Thank you in advance.
Three thousand, seven hundred and forty six point nine miles later, we are home and back to reality. And dang it all, the snow hasn't melted yet!
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