Friday night I look forward to returning to the Davenport Speedway for the opening night of the MARS/ALMS/Corn Belt Clash three-race swing through the region. It will be a completely different look from what I had last week when the IMCA Late Models ran on the quarter-mile oval as this week the Super Late Models will attack the big half-mile at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds.
Saturday night will find me at 34 Raceway near Burlington for the third straight week, this time for the 7th running of the Brent Slocum Memorial. With $10,555 posted for the winner, and with the triple sanction, this event should once again draw a stellar field of Late Models despite the fact that the rescheduled Illini 100 for the World of Outlaws Late Models will be running just three hours to the east at Farmer City Raceway. The topic of who is racing where this weekend is already a hot one on the message boards and, while I may be considered a "homer" for saying so, I think that the car count for the Slocum will suffer less than the Illini will.
And while many of the Late Model fans may not even care, two of my favorite divisions will be running as support classes at 34 Raceway on Saturday night. The track's 305 Sprint Car division is one of the strongest in the country and there will likely be twenty or more cars in attendance, plus the IMCA Stock Cars seem to put on a great show no matter what facility that you see them at.
The Late Model tripleheader wraps up on Sunday night at the Quad City Speedway and while I would love to close out the weekend there I will have likely used up all of my "points" by then if you know what I mean.
Those of you who know me know that it is not completely out of the realm of possibility when I say something like "someday when I run a racetrack, this is what I will do" and one of those things that I have told others is that I would have a stated rule that in effect would say that if you or your fans are bashing me, or the race track on the internet then I have the right to ban you from racing at, and possibly even attending my facility. Seems like a pretty reasonable situation to me, if this place sucks so bad that you want to bitch about it on Facebook, or on a forum board, then you shouldn't have any problem with not coming back. Right?
So I am following with much interest the feedback to this that was posted on the Buena Vista Raceway Facebook page:
NOTE: Using Social Media networks/forum boards to promote any negative conduct may also be grounds for suspension and/or being banned from attending any events at Buena Vista Raceway.
I think that most people get it and understand the intention as it is nothing different than what businesses in this glorious free country of ours have maintained for years: The Right To Refuse to do business with someone whom they feel is detrimental to the successful operation of their business due to their actions. Think about it this way, if you are going to bad mouth my restaurant on Facebook or on a forum board it is likely that you are not coming back anyway and, if you do and you continue to bitch about it, why would I want you in there ever again. Makes sense doesn't it?
Some folks of course are immediately pointing out "where's my right to free speech"??? Umm, I don't see where they are taking that away, you can still say whatever you want to about the track and how it is being run. They are just saying that if they don't like what you have to say and if they deem it to be promoting "negative conduct" they have the right to ban you from attending. You have your rights, they have theirs. It is a great country isn't it?!
And someday when I am running my own race track not only will I have a rule that will be quite similar to what the Buena Vista Raceway has established, but I will also have incentives for drivers who help to promote the track on social media. After all, the more fans that we both put in the stands, the better off we all are!
Points Update
I just sent the updated All Iowa Points on to the Webmistress and when she has the chance to upload them to the Points page at Positively Racing you will see that for the first time in the forty-eight year history we have young ladies leading in two different divisions. Jenae Gustin currently paces the Limited Modified standings and, with her win at the Quincy Raceway season opener on Sunday night, Kimberly Abbott jumps to the top of the Four Cylinder standings. This is no fluke as both Jenae and Kimberly have a solid shot at becoming the first-ever female All Iowa Points champion in any division. Why not both?
Several sets of standings follow, the first of which being the All Missouri Points that uses the same 5-point scale as does the Iowa version. The National Dirt Late Model Points as well as the National 410 Winged Sprint Car points are tabulated with the point-scale for each event determined by the winner's purse. In other words, the more it pays to win, the more points that are awarded. You may have noticed that I had originally started out 2015 also tracking the 360 Sprints, the Non Wing Sprints and the Midgets, but as the schedules start to fill in here in April I came to my senses yesterday and decided that I'm too old to work that hard.
Enjoy and I hope to see you at the track soon!
| Missouri Points | ||||
| Late Model | ||||
| Pos. | Driver | Hometown | Points | |
| 1 | . | Jesse Stovall | Galena | 9 |
| 2 | . | Tim Manville | Highland IL | 9 |
| 3 | . | Billy Laycock | Marine IL | 6 |
| 4 | . | Jared Landers | Batesville AR | 6 |
| 5 | . | Jon Binning | Warrensburg | 5 |
| 6 | . | Michael Kloos | Trenton IL | 5 |
| 7 | . | Ryan Gustin | Marshalltown IA | 5 |
| 8 | . | Scott Weber | Festus | 5 |
| 9 | . | Tony Jackson Jr. | Lebanon | 5 |
| 10 | . | Dwight Niehoff | Lockwood | 4 |
| 11 | . | Will Vaught | Seneca | 4 |
| 12 | . | Billy Moyer | Batesville AR | 3 |
| 13 | . | Bryan Collins | Elsberry | 3 |
| 14 | . | Jeremy Payne | Springfield | 3 |
| 15 | . | Jason Utter | Columbus Jct. IA | 3 |
| 16 | . | Lane Ehlert | Foristell | 3 |
| 17 | . | Bob King | Independence | 2 |
| 18 | . | Brandon Hightower | Natchez LA | 2 |
| 19 | . | Chad Simpson | Marion IA | 2 |
| 20 | . | Jack Sullivan | Greenbriar AR | 2 |
| 21 | . | David Jumper | 1 | |
| 22 | . | Dustin Walker | Peculiar | 1 |
| 23 | . | Gage Wineland | Syracuse | 1 |
| 24 | . | Kolby Vandenbergh | 1 |
| Missouri Points | ||||
| Winged Sprints (410 & 360) | ||||
| Pos. | Driver | Hometown | Points | |
| 1 | . | Tommy Worley Jr. | Bismarck | 6 |
| 2 | . | Joey Boyd | Farmington | 5 |
| 3 | . | Joey Montgomery | Fredericktown | 5 |
| 4 | . | Jerrod Hull | Sikeston | 4 |
| 5 | . | Jimmy Hurley | Springfield IL | 4 |
| 6 | . | A.J. Bruns | Lincoln IL | 3 |
| 7 | . | Ryan Kempin | Catawissa | 2 |
| 8 | . | Kasey Burch | Farmington | 1 |
| The "Back Stretch" | ||||
| Dirt Late Model Points | Through 4/12 | |||
| Pos. | Driver | Hometown | Points | |
| 1 | . | Shane Clanton | Locust Grove GA | 46 |
| 2 | . | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg TN | 34 |
| 3 | . | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville GA | 33 |
| 4 | . | Josh Richards | Shinnston WV | 33 |
| 5 | . | Jimmy Owens | Newport TN | 32 |
| 6 | . | Billy Moyer | Batesville AR | 29 |
| 7 | . | Darrell Lanigan | Union KY | 29 |
| 8 | . | Randy Weaver | Crossville TN | 25 |
| 9 | . | Earl Pearson Jr. | Jacksonville FL | 22 |
| 10 | . | Casey Roberts | Toccoa GA | 21 |
| 11 | . | Jared Landers | Batesville AR | 18 |
| 12 | . | Bobby Pierce | Oakwood IL | 17 |
| 13 | . | Donald McIntosh | Dawsonville GA | 16 |
| 14 | . | Frank Heckenast Jr. | Orland Park IL | 15 |
| 15 | . | Steve Casebolt | Richmond IN | 15 |
| 16 | . | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin IL | 14 |
| 17 | . | Don O'Neal | Martinsville IN | 13 |
| 18 | . | Brandon Overton | Appling GA | 12 |
| 19 | . | Chris Simpson | Marion IA | 12 |
| 20 | . | Riley Hickman | Ooletwah TN | 12 |
| 21 | . | Dale McDowell | Chickamauga GA | 11 |
| 22 | . | Mark Whitener | Middleburg FL | 11 |
| 23 | . | Tim McCreadie | Watertown NY | 11 |
| 24 | . | Dennis Erb Jr. | Carpentersville IL | 10 |
| 25 | . | Devin Moran | Dresden OH | 10 |
| 26 | . | Eddie Carrier Jr. | Salt Rock WV | 10 |
| 27 | . | Morgan Bagley | Longview TX | 10 |
| 28 | . | Chris Madden | Gray Court SC | 9 |
| 29 | . | Dennis Franklin | Gaffney SC | 9 |
| 30 | . | Billy Ogle Jr. | Knoxville TN | 8 |
| 31 | . | Chub Frank | Sugar Grove PA | 8 |
| 32 | . | Jason Hiett | Lincoln AL | 8 |
| 33 | . | Jon Mitchell | Nash TX | 8 |
| 34 | . | Steve Francis | Ashland KY | 8 |
| 35 | . | Tony Jackson Jr. | Lebanon MO | 8 |
| 36 | . | Justin Kay | Wheatland IA | 7 |
| 37 | . | Stormy Scott | Las Cruces NM | 7 |
| The "Back Stretch" | ||||
| Winged 410 Sprint Points | Through 4/12 | |||
| Pos. | Driver | Hometown | Points | |
| 1 | . | Donny Schatz | Minot ND | 45 |
| 2 | . | Paul McMahan | Nashville TN | 36 |
| 3 | . | Shane Stewart | Bixby OK | 35 |
| 4 | . | Joey Saldana | Brownsburg IN | 29 |
| 5 | . | Danny Lasoski | Dover MO | 27 |
| 6 | . | Kerry Madsen | Knoxville IA | 26 |
| 7 | . | Brad Sweet | Grass Valley CA | 24 |
| 8 | . | Daryn Pittman | Owasso OK | 23 |
| 9 | . | Greg Hodnett | Thomasville PA | 18 |
| 10 | . | Terry McCarl | Altoona IA | 17 |
| 11 | . | Brian Brown | Grain Valley MO | 16 |
| 12 | . | Rico Abreu | Rutherford CA | 14 |
| 13 | . | Jason Sides | Bartlett TN | 13 |
| 14 | . | Steve Kinser | Bloomington IN | 12 |
| 15 | . | David Gravel | Watertown CT | 11 |
| 16 | . | Tim Kaeding | San Jose CA | 10 |
| 17 | . | Dale Blaney | Fowler OH | 9 |
| 18 | . | Danny Dietrich | Gettysburg PA | 9 |
| 19 | . | Aaron Reutzel | Clute TX | 8 |
| 20 | . | Brian Monteith | Phoenixville PA | 8 |
| 21 | . | Craig Dollansky | Elk River MN | 8 |
| 22 | . | Stevie Smith | Broken Arrow OK | 8 |
| 23 | . | Tanner Thorson | Minden NV | 7 |
| 24 | . | Kyle Hirst | Sacramento CA | 6 |
| 25 | . | Kyle Larson | Elk Grove CA | 6 |
| 26 | . | Ryan Smith | Kunkletown PA | 6 |
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