For those of you who check in on the Back Stretch on a
regular basis I apologize for being absent the last two weeks. Work has been
hectic and has included some travel, plus my wife and I were honored to be
involved in our son Kyle’s surprise proposal to his now fiancée Stephanie in
Dallas last weekend. The young man had an elaborate maze of friends and
acquaintances lined up with an itinerary planned down to the minute to get her
to the perfect place and, after she said “yes” both us and her parents broke into
applause from our hiding place. Even though they are both now Dallas residents,
the two have known each other since they were toddlers, but never dated
throughout their years in Mt. Pleasant. There is nothing better than knowing
that your child has found the perfect match to spend their life with and we
couldn’t be happier for both Steph and Kyle. I am already in trouble though for
stating that there will be no wedding plans made for the second weekend in
August…..
After seeing the opening night of the Knoxville Late Model
Nationals, I spent the next two evenings working the microphone for the final
two events on the 2012 Sprint Invaders schedule. On Friday night in Davenport
it looked like Kaley Gharst had mistakenly put the 410 engine in his Adrenaline
Sports Bar car #6 as he absolutely dominated the evening running away with his
heat race win, the Budweiser Shake Up dash and the 20-lap main event. It didn’t
hurt of course that Kaley had the luck of the draw on his side all night as he
did start from the front row of each event. The feature race got off to a tough
start with Dave Getchell getting upside down in turn four after the first lap
and then Bobby Mincer got into the implement tire in turn two and turned on his
side after scoring lap number two. The race went green to checker after that
and in those eighteen laps Gharst stormed through the remaining twenty cars
lapping all the way up to the fourth-place finisher. And even though there was
no doubt who the winner would be, it was still entertaining to watch some of
the moves that Kaley was making as he weaved through the lapped traffic. As
Gharst took the checkered flag the second-place car of Dustin Selvage was just
entering turn two for the final time so the margin of victory was about 3/4ths
of a lap and, despite the butt-kicking that he had just delivered, Kaley was
just as mellow and humble in victory lane as he usually is. For Selvage it was
an impressive runner-up finish as it was his first ride ever in Kenny Bragg’s
#73.
On Saturday night at 34 Raceway near Burlington, Gharst
again drew the front row of his heat and won although Mincer kept him in his
sights after he and his crew stayed up until nearly daybreak straightening the
frame on his car #15. In the eight car Shake Up Dash that would determine the
first four rows for the 34-lap main event, Carson McCarl drove a little too
deep into turn one and spun in front of the field in turn two collecting both
Jordan Goldesberry and Gharst. Goldesberry went for a tumble, but was still
able to start the feature and run a lap or two and while Gharst was still
competitive, you had a sense that the car was just not the same as he spun
mid-race and had to then come from the rear. The winner of this one had an
interesting story as Mike Hess was not feeling well on Saturday morning so he
called up Joey Moughan and asked if he would want to drive his #51 for the
night. Joey agreed, and then picked up some crew members on his trip from
Springfield to Burlington for the night of competition. He started ninth in the
main event and by the third lap Moughan took the lead and never relinquished it
despite several restarts through the 34-lap distance. Once again Mincer made
his crew proud by chasing Moughan throughout to finish second, but the biggest
party of the night was likely in the pit area of Ryan Jamison who locked up the
2012 Sprint Invaders point championship.
Promoters Jeff and Amy Laue tried something a little
different in regard to the supports classes with this show and I think that it
went over pretty well. There were 28 Mod Lites on hand for their STARS National
points race with Pennsylvania driver Mikey Hay leading the race through the
middle portion of the feature, but in the end it was Josh May who took the
checkered flag in one of the best races I have ever seen with this division. At
one point they were five-wide racing for third place, and this was not right
after a restart. I have to admit that the Mod Lites are starting to grow on me
and I may have to start tracking them in the All Iowa Points in 2013. The
“unique” support classes for the night though were the Outlaw Quads and the Pit
Bikes who raced on a track that used much of the front straightaway before
taking them into the infield, around the scoreboard and then down the apron
where a series of “whoop-dee-doos” entertained the crowd that was a mixture of
sprint car fans and the fans of the Quad and Pit Bike riders. It was a nice
combination and I think that both sets of fans came away with an appreciation
for the other as I know that I really enjoyed the “new” support classes. With
some great sponsorship, including from former Modified driver Cory Richards,
expect to see this combination on the 34 Raceway schedule again in 2013.
I want to thank Donnie Bergquist, Dave Beck, Jeff Fraise and
all of the Sprint Invader officials for a great weekend and I especially want
to thank the Invader flagman Jack Donlan for the fantastic steak and potatoes
meal that he cooked up after the races. This is a close knit organization that
just enjoyed one of their best seasons ever and I will look forward to an even
bigger and better 2013.
While in Dallas this past weekend I caught the end of the
race at Talladega and we all know what happened in that one. I have said it
before and I will say it again. Isn’t it amazing that these guys can race
throughout most of these restrictor plate races without any major incidents,
but in the final laps all hell breaks loose? This one had the usual scenario,
great racing throughout with only a couple of minor incidents until about five
laps left when something happens to bring out the caution. Then we line them
all up for a green-white-checkered finish and somebody makes a move that they
otherwise wouldn’t make earlier in the race that causes “the big one”. I have
always had a great respect for Tony Stewart and that even grew exponentially
when he took the blame for Sunday’s melee, but yet the next day we still have
drivers blaming NASCAR for putting them in that situation. If I was NASCAR I
would show them the tape of all of the laps leading up to the final ten and say
“looks like y’all are handling this situation we have put you in pretty well
AND completely entertaining all those paying fans up there in the stands. So
what happens to you at the end?” My suggestion for correcting this issue is a
simple one. No longer have the green-white-checkered “overtime” rule in place
at the restrictor plate tracks. The race ends at the designated number of laps
whether it is under the caution or not. I don’t think that most fans are “bloodthirsty”
as some drivers have accused, those same drivers who can’t seem to be able to
run two consecutive green flag laps at the finish like they do throughout the
bulk of the race.
More
business travel will keep me away from the tracks this weekend, but I hope to
close out October with events at Donnellson on the 19th and 20th
and in Memphis, Missouri, on the 26th and 27th. Hope to
see you there!
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