Speedweeks Wrapping Up

Thank goodness that racing did not lose anyone, drivers and fans alike, in the checkered flag melee at Daytona on Saturday. The fact that the stands were not full likely saved lives as my heart sunk when I saw Kyle Larson's wheel assembly fly into the stands upon slowing down my DVR. Of course now the questions are asked by all, including the media folks who previously had no interest in what goes on in Florida each February, as to what is going to be done to keep this from happening in the future. Sadly, there is never going to be a guarantee that a fan is not going to be injured, or worse, by flying debris at Daytona, or any other racetrack for that matter unless all are completely encased by some sort of Plexiglas dome.

This accident will lead to further research that will continue to improve the safety of all, but the risk is going to always be there.

My first suggestion, and I have said it before here, is that NASCAR should do away with the green-white-checkered overtime finish at the two restrictor plate tracks. Yes, I know that this was not an "overtime" scenario as the red flag with four laps to go is what set this one up, but the bottom line is that the drivers cannot handle it. I would love to see the statistics as to how these have played out since the rule was put into place a few years back. I would guess that fewer than 20% of those actually finished under green, with more than 50% ending in multi-car crashes. They can point the finger at NASCAR all they want, but it is the drivers who try to throw an ill-advised block, or don't lift because they were trying to get to the finish line on that final lap that cause these wild wrecks.

Up until the end the racing at Daytona on Saturday was spectacular, much different than we have seen from the Cup cars in the Sprint Unlimited and the Duals. I will be traveling today during the 500, but here's hoping that the action is half is good as Saturday and that the checkered flag waves over a field of cars that can all drive back to the garage area. And with fans who can all head home in safety.

Here are the Florida Dirt Late Model points following Speedweeks.

		Florida
		Late Model
Pos.		Driver	Hometown	Points
1	.	Darrell Lanigan	Union KY	27
2	.	Josh Richards	Shinnston WV	25
3	.	Don O'Neal	Martinsville IN	23
4	.	Scott Bloomquist	Mooresburg TN	21
5	.	Tim McCreadie	Watertown NY	16
6	.	Dennis Erb Jr.	Carpentersville IL	15
7	.	Billy Moyer	Batesville AR	11
8	.	Rick Eckert	York PA	10
9	.	Steve Francis	Ashland KY	8
10	.	Earl Pearson Jr.	Jacksonville	7
11	.	Shane Clanton	Locust Grove GA	7
12	.	Eric Jacobsen	Seacliff CA	6
13	.	Eric Wells	Hazard KY	6
14	.	Jimmy Owens	Newport TN	6
15	.	Mike Marlar	Winfield KY	6
16	.	Donnie Moran	Dresden OH	5
17	.	Roger Crouse	Plant City	5
18	.	Scott James	Lawrenceburg IN	5
19	.	Bobby Pierce	Oakwood IL	4
20	.	Doug Drown	Wooster OH	4
21	.	Mark Whitener	Middleburg	4
22	.	Tyler Clem		4
23	.	Tyler Reddick	Corning CA	4
24	.	Brandon Sheppard	New Berlin IL	3
25	.	John Blankenship	Williamson WV	3
26	.	Stormy Scott	Las Cruces NM	3
27	.	Waylon Haynes		3
28	.	Dale McDowell	Rossville GA	2
29	.	David Cline		2
30	.	Dave Hess Jr.	Waterford PA	2
31	.	Ivedent Lloyd Jr.	Ocala	2
32	.	Jared Landers	Batesville AR	2
33	.	Chub Frank	Sugar Grove PA	1
34	.	Ricky Land		1
35	.	Tim Fuller	Watertown NY	1
36	.	Vic Coffey	Caledonia NY	1