Not Enough Ice To Break; Hearts Are Broken

It was a unique promotion so it is only fitting that it is cancelled under unique circumstances. The “Break Ice, Not Hearts 50”, a dirt-track race scheduled for the Lee County Speedway on February 11th is the southeast Iowa town of Donnellson was to feature the Four Cylinder division racing for a top prize of $1,000 if the event drew more than thirty-five entries. Plus, Hobby Stocks were to be on the card as well.

Yes, I know that Farley ran the Four Cylinders in January, but that was an Enduro event where you put everybody out on the track at one time and you run them for 200 laps. The BINH 50 was going to be just like any other race night with qualifying heats, a B-Main or two and a 50-lap feature to be run “regardless of the conditions”. Well at least that’s what I remember the original press release saying. Racers and any crazy fans, like me, who would have attended this race would have known going in that it could possibly be freezing cold and possibly snowing, but with a frozen race track that would have just added to the fun. But the one thing that track promoter Dewain Hulett never envisioned was the unseasonably warm temperatures that we have had over the past few weeks.

So, with that, we have to my knowledge the first ever cancellation of a dirt race because the weather has been too nice!

Without much frost in the ground, and with the track and the pit area so soft following a week where the January thermometer reached into the 60’s, Hulett has been forced to pull the plug on the event despite the fact that this weeks weather is predicted to be more seasonal. Not only is he looking out for the drivers with the early cancellation, but he is also protecting the condition of the 3/8-mile oval for when the real racing season swings into action in April. A race on this track in its current condition would have torn it up and likely damaged many of the race cars as well. The decision to cancel may break the hearts of those who wanted to attend a race in Iowa in February, but in this case being a heartbreaker is a good thing. So the question now becomes, do they try it again next year?

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The Sprint Car world was rocked late last week when two-time defending World of Outlaws champion Jason Meyers announced his retirement that will become official following a fourteen-race schedule in February and March of 2012. In an open letter making the announcement, Meyers states “events that occurred over the winter months have given me the opportunity to take a good hard look at where we are in life and where we want to be.” And with that he will now focus on being a Dad and a Husband rather than being a Sprint Car driver.

I don’t have the courage or the talent to be a sprint car driver and I am not sure how highly my wife and three kids would rate me as a Dad and a Husband, but I do know this. They are both titles that are to be cherished if given the opportunity and it is touching to see that Jason Meyers values them more than the two titles that he and his team have earned over the past two years.