It has been awhile since I actually took a moment to write about something on the Back Stretch, instead taking the easy route of posting the results of my winter project (cumulative All Iowa Points from 2000 to 2013) as well as a couple of other items. Perhaps it was just my way of dealing with the agony of this nasty winter that even on March 12th we are still experiencing and knowing how likely it will have a big effect on the early season specials schedule. Don't forget that you can find the full list of 2014 Special Events within our Calendar page at Positively Racing, but keep in mind that not even our Webmistress Sue will be able to keep up with all of the changes that have already begun. For example, as I type this it does not yet reflect the postponement of the Spring Nationals in Beatrice or the Lucky 40 at Highland, so ALWAYS confirm with the track before making the trip!
One weekly show opener that is still on for this weekend is Jim Moon's debut as promoter at the Montgomery Motorsports Park in New Florence, Missouri. The high-banked quarter-mile is set to open this Saturday March 15th with an early start time of 5 p.m. featuring UMP Late Models and Modifieds. And with sunny skies and temperatures currently predicted to be in the low to mid 60's the next three days, the chances are looking pretty good for this one. I would LOVE to be making the relatively short trip down, but my bride has placed something on my social calendar for Saturday night that it would not be wise for me to try to cancel. But if you have the night free, maybe look at making the trip!
I do hope to get a little bit of a racing fix this weekend though as the annual 34 Raceway car show will be held at the Westland Mall in West Burlington. As I have done the past couple of years I hope to have some car show pics posted both here and at the Positively Racing Facebook page following my visit.
For the second year in a row my wife and I were traveling to a warmer climate during the Daytona 500 and it took me until the Wednesday after the race before I knew that Junior had won. I could find plenty of soccer scores on ESPN Deportes in Cancun, but very little NASCAR coverage.
"The Little Giant" Rico Abreu is quickly becoming a rising star in the world of open wheel racing bolstered by a pair of Lucas Oil ASCS National Series wins in Arizona to open the season. While he is the point leader heading into the next ASCS event at Devils Bowl Speedway March 21st and 22nd, do not expect Abreu to chase the title as he appears to be focused on winning the 2014 USAC Midget Championship. His driving talent along with his unique stature definitely make Rico a marketing machine and it will be interesting to see how his racing career continues to blossom.
As I mentioned previously, I was honored to have been asked by the premier website covering dirt Late Model racing, Dirt On Dirt, to be one of the voting members for their weekly Top 25 poll and while the other 29 voters gave him enough love to put Darrell Lanigan at #1 this week, I had him ranked in the #7 spot behind Scott Bloomquist, John Blankenship, Chris Madden, Brandon Sheppard, Don O'Neal and Billy Moyer. It will be interesting to see how my votes match up with the results each week as I intend to use the full body work for 2014 rather than "what have you done for me lately", or what you did in the past. That's why drivers who have yet to race in 2014 such as Brian Birkhofer and Shannon Babb are not on my list yet, and why Speedweeks "also ran" Jimmy Owens currently sits in 22nd on my list while other voters are factoring in his great 2013 season to place him tenth in this week's poll, including one first-place vote. Really? It is all for fun though and I intend to enjoy it throughout the season!
I was stunned to learn of the passing of Merv Chandler this week. The veteran driver enjoyed two different high points in his career having won the All Iowa Points Modified Championship back in both 1984 and 1985 before coming back to dominate the Four Cylinder division the past two years. In his final two years of racing Merv captured and amazing 63 feature wins as part of 146 top five finishes. He definitely left this world as a Champion and it is has been obvious that a good deal of that talent has been passed on to his sons Nathan, Brad and Dallas.
Get excited race fans, the new season is not that far away!
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