So you are working away, doing you what feel is best to help improve the sport that you love so much, and some beer swilling moron is throwing insults your way for no other reason than to make himself seem important. Yes, I can completely understand the desire to address said moron one on one, but Tony not after what you have been through!
Unfortunately that is what is going to get more national media coverage out of the 2016 Chili Bowl rather than the fact that Rico Abreu made it two wins in a row over an amazing field of 335 drivers. Last year's win was Rico's vaulting point into the world of pavement racing picking up a K&N Series ride while this year, and even prior to posting the win, Abreu was announced as the driver of the Curb Records truck #98 for ThorSport Racing on the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. No doubt that the 4'4" and 95 pound dynamo will be a fan favorite and here's hoping that he finds success in the world of NASCAR.
Back in November there was a press release put out about Rico running a Super Late Model at the Snowball Derby and I was disappointed that he was not among the field of drivers who attempted to qualify for the big race in early December. It will be interesting to see if he once again drives a pavement Late Model at New Smyrna during Speed Weeks as he prepares for the full truck season that kicks off at Daytona.
It was no surprise to see Bryan Clauson run second to Abreu at the Chili Bowl while Zach Daum continues to impress by running third. Open wheel vet Jerry Coons Jr. was fourth while Kyle was the Hard Charger of the main event coming to fifth from 22nd. Former Chili Bowl champion Tim McCreadie once again did the Late Model crowd proud by finishing in the sixth position. A stalwart on the World of Outlaws Late Model series for the past ten years it will now be interesting to see if McCreadie actually makes the switch to the Lucas Oil series as has been rumored.
Add Shane Clanton to the "I'm Fast, Start Me Up Front" crowd. The defending champion of the World of Outlaws Late Model series that uses the infamous method of qualifying in groups and then starting the fastest cars in front was racing at Wild West Shootout in Tucson on Saturday night and found himself running second to Don Shaw with one lap remaining in the heat race. Having started fifth and now running second Clanton was assured of qualifying for the main event under the event's passing points system, but he just couldn't resist throwing an extreme slidejob at the Minnesota native as they entered turn three for the final time. And why wouldn't he? The night before dirt late model racing's current super hero Jonathan Davenport did the same thing to another WISSOTA racing regular Scott Ward and, when Ward stabbed the brakes to keep from hitting the car that had just slid up in front him, his car veered right and smacked the wall while Davenport went on to yet another victory.
Unfortunately for Clanton, Don Shaw wasn't as forgiving and when he kept his foot in the throttle the contact created by Clanton's slider turned both cars into the turn four wall sending Clanton's #25 into a pair of barrel rolls. When trackside announcer for the DirtOnDirt pay per view broadcast Dustin Jarrett asked Clanton "what happened?" the reply was short and not so sweet. "F&$#ing passing points."
Yeah, that was it, the qualifying procedure made you make a move that you probably never would have even thought about throwing at a fellow World of Outlaw regular or another "national" driver like Davenport.
The Wild West Shootout has used a passing point system since its inception and that, in the opinion of many, is what continues to provide fans with some of the best Late Model racing that you will see all year. Yet for the "stars of the sport" who seldom have to "race" their way into a feature, it now becomes an excuse to not race someone clean for the sake of getting a win.
After Jarrett quickly pulled the microphone away from Clanton he then tracked down Shaw and asked the same question. I have no way of knowing whether or not Shaw had heard Clanton's poor analysis of what had actually transpired, but I almost think that he did when he simply stated, "obviously he's a piece of s#*t."
I am envious of my newest Positively Racing colleague Ed Reichert who was once again able to make the trip to Tucson and who is providing coverage in One Fan's Travels so I will join you in going there for the details. I was lucky enough to catch a couple of shows each from the desert in two trips a few years back and the quality of racing, along with the more consistent weather was enough to make the Shootout more of a priority than Florida's Speed Weeks once I have the opportunity to make such a trip again. However, I might have to wait a year to see if that still holds true as I was surprised to see the announcement that the six-race mini-series will move to the Arizona Speedway near Phoenix in 2017. "Instability at Tucson" was cited as the reason for the move and it will be interesting to see if the racing is as good at the new facility as it has been at Tucson.
With Jonathan Davenport winning three times and Clint Bowyer Racing taking the other three wins with Don O'Neal and Darrell Lanigan, you could say that the Shootout lost a bit of its charm this year by not having a "surprise" winner. Last year Tony Jackson Jr. and Rodney Sanders each picked up wins with Sanders pulling off the biggest surprise by winning the points title. In 2014, the last year that I was able to attend, hometown hero R.C. Whitwell won the opener while Ryan Gustin captured the $10,000-to-win finale and the year before that saw Don Shaw, Chris Simpson and Will Vaught visit victory lane. Now with big-time travelers taking all the wins, six figure bonuses on the line and full-time professional drivers whining about the lineup procedures, the Shootout appears to have moved on to that fabled "next level" that is often dreamt about amongst dirt racing fans. But not this one.
Iowa drivers had a pretty good run in the desert highlighted by Todd Shute winning the points title for the USRA Modifieds. Shute passed Rodney Sanders on the final lap to win the main event on Saturday night and then clinched the title with a third place run behind Jake Gallardo and Stormy Scott in Sunday's finale. An IMCA regular for much of his career I see where Todd Staley is using Facebook to encourage "Toddzilla" to hit the road again when the USMTS hits the road again in Texas come mid-February.
With the Hangover 40, the Ice Bowl and the Wild West Shootout in the books here is how the Back Stretch National Dirt Late Points look with a familiar name at the top of the list. Will Superman ever rank anywhere other than #1 in 2016?
| The "Back Stretch" | ||||
| Dirt Late Model Points | Total | |||
| Pos. | Driver | Hometown | Points | |
| 1 | . | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville GA | 19 |
| 2 | . | Darrell Lanigan | Union KY | 9 |
| 3 | . | Don O'Neal | Martinsville IN | 8 |
| 4 | . | Donald McIntosh | Dawsonville GA | 6 |
| 5 | . | Steve Francis | Ashland KY | 6 |
| 6 | . | Jason Papich | Santa Maria CA | 5 |
| 7 | . | Ricky Thornton Jr. | Chandler AZ | 5 |
| 8 | . | David Brannon | Elora TN | 4 |
| 9 | . | Jason Hiett | Lincoln AL | 4 |
| 10 | . | Ryan Gustin | Marshalltown IA | 4 |
| 11 | . | Jimmy Mars | Elk Mound WI | 3 |
| 12 | . | Ronny Lee Hollingsworth | Northport AL | 3 |
| 13 | . | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin IL | 2 |
| 14 | . | Chris Simpson | Marion IA | 2 |
| 15 | . | Shane Clanton | Locust Grove GA | 2 |
| 16 | . | Billy Moyer | Batesville AR | 1 |
| 17 | . | Donny Schatz | Fargo ND | 1 |
| 18 | . | Garrett Alberson | Las Cruces NM | 1 |
| 19 | . | Ray Cook | Brasstown NC | 1 |
| 20 | . | Tim Busha | Boaz AL | 1 |
No comments:
Post a Comment