As I get ready for night number one of the 59th Annual Knoxville Nationals it is time to dust off the Notebook for a look at a few subjects that have caught my attention.
First, let's take a quick look at Knoxville where I believe it will be one of the most wide open Nationals that we have seen in sometime. Yes, Donny Schatz could prove me wrong on that tonight, especially if he draws an early qualifying spot, but I believe that this year there are as many as ten drivers who have a legitimate shot at the title and I am going to predict that we will see a first time champion. Who will that be? Here are four drivers that I believe can get it done if the breaks go their way: Brian Brown, David Gravel, Aaron Reutzel and Tim Kaeding. Yep, I know what you are thinking, both Brown and Gravel are already considered to be contenders by most, but Reutzel and Kaeding? The Texan Reutzel has looked fast every time that I have seen him over the past two weeks only to have mistakes drop his finishes lower than what they should have been. If he draws an early qualifying lap and then transfers through the heat look out, he might just be the high point man from Wednesday night. And as far as Kaeding is concerned, nobody passed more cars on Sunday as he started twelfth before winning his B-Main and he then charged through the field from twentieth to sixth in the Capitani Classic aboard Jason Sides' second car. Again, the breaks have to fall his way, but if they do it could be a Cinderella story for TK.
Wow, not even a mention of defending champion Brad Sweet who just won the King's Royal as well? Yea, it could come down to the "Big Cat" and Schatz again, but I for one would like to see something different and it all gets started tonight! I have my grandstand tickets purchased for all four nights to go along with my media credentials because having to cover a race from the infield is like being a basketball writer and having to watch the game from the tunnel leading to the locker room. Yes, you have better access to the players when they come in and out, but you can only see one end of the court during the actual game.
One thing to take note of during the week is that this will be the final Nationals for Hall of Fame flagman Doug Clark. Don't do a Wikipedia search on him as I just did trying to find out how long he has worked at Knoxville (this isn't the politician or the serial killer), but I do know that he has been there for well over twenty years when I had the pleasure of working with him every race night. You won't find a bigger personality around a race track and his reputation of being straight and fair has been consistent throughout his career. If you are at Knoxville this week, take a moment after the races one night and find Doug in the push off lane on the front stretch. Shake his hand and thank him for all that he has done for the sport of dirt track racing and if you are lucky you will get a smile and that deep voiced laugh that he is famous for.
Another dirt track racing era will come to end this Sunday night when Mick Trier promotes his final race at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. I first got to know Mick some forty years I ago when I made a smart ass comment in the Back Stretch about his announcing and despite that our friendship grew over the years. First of all I must say that both Mick and his brother Tim Trier, who lost his battle with cancer a couple of years ago, were two of my favorite announcers ever although Mick will be known more for his promoting of weekly racing at Stuart, Des Moines and Vinton. In his early years he worked with Dave Van Patten and Robert Lawton and it is easy to see what an influence that they had on his style and approach to promoting. Just like most good race track promoters you will probably find more people that will complain about him than laud him, but the results speak for themselves. The weekly racing program at Vinton has been as good as you can find over the past several years with solid car counts and a grandstand full of fans who are as involved with the night of racing as you will find anywhere. The show starts on time and runs off in a quick fashion often ending before the track lights are needed during the height of summer.
Mick will tell you that he has good people that work for him and he is right about that, but no matter how many good people you assemble they won't excel without a good leader and Mick Trier has been just that. The Benton County Speedway does have another race scheduled for the IMCA Dirt Knights Tour in September, but that will be run by a new promoter so this Sunday's Season Championship will be it for Trier. Or at least he says so right now. Either way it is my hope that I can convince my wife that she needs to be at her third night of racing in a row on Sunday so that we can be there for the finale. Congratulations Mick, you've done well.
A few weeks ago about two thirds of the way down in this entry of the Back Stretch I gave an example of how social media has effected our sport and I have had several readers ask me if this was just an illustration or if it was an actual occurrence. And, if so, who was the driver? Yes, this actually happened and due to the fact that the driver has removed the post from his team's Facebook page I will not reveal that information, well not here at least. Hopefully by me telling the story and illustrating the difference in how the same situation would have been handled before it might make him and others think twice about how they use the all powerful social media in the future.
The annual argument that promoter Terry McCarl should be live streaming the racing from the Osky Challenge events is taking place on social media again with most people having the view that McCarl is "missing out" on additional revenue by not allowing a live internet broadcast, or even live audio of the event. TMAC is taking the old school approach where if you want to know what is going on with the race, then you need to buy a ticket and judging from the crowd that was packed into both the grandstands and the infield on Monday night I would say that "old school" is working just fine. I have written several times about the long term effect that I feel this live internet access will have on our sport so I am not going to rehash it now, but I do want to call out those internet jockeys who I have seen argue about the cost of Pay Per Views with some even going so far as to say that promoters should be putting their events on the internet for free. Well first of all, some already do which just boggles my mind because the economics of it just don't make sense, but as far as I am concerned if you are able to leave your car in the garage, sit in your recliner, eat your own food and drink your own beer and pay the same price that I paid for a ticket to watch that same race, well then I think you should be pretty happy about that.
Oh yes, and that track just down the road from you that was also running a show on that same night that was charging eight bucks a ticket, where young drivers are getting their start and hoping to advance to the stage where they too will be racing at a big event that is televised live on the internet, they missed out on your eight bucks, and your food money, and those three beers that you would have bought. So eventually that track closes and we no longer have that proving ground for young drivers to get their start in events that just aren't "big enough" for these internet fans to attend. Sure the big events flourish, but without the base just how long will they sustain?
And that, I fear, is the long term effect on the sport from so many events being broadcast online. Believe me, I really hope that I am wrong on this one.
Honestly I don't blame the broadcast providers, they are filling a demand that is obviously there and most are doing a very good job of it. In fact I am going to promote one right now as my friend Trenton Berry with RacinDirt.com is going to make one of his dreams come true tomorrow night when he brings the United States Modified Touring Series to the track that he grew up at, the Dallas County Speedway. The little bullring in Urbana, Missouri, has never hosted an event of this magnitude and if you are in the vicinity I hope that you will take it in and remember, take a lawn chair!
Grandpa Jimmy Carter has to be beaming today after the performance of all three of his boys at the Harris Clash on Tuesday night. The Deer Creek Speedway in southeast Minnesota proved to be a worthy host to the event for the second year in a row with Austin Arneson of Fargo, North Dakota, besting an amazing field of 92 IMCA Modifieds. Tom Berry Jr. who was originally from Medford, Oregon, but is now based out of North Dakota was second with Cayden Carter taking third. Cayden's younger brother Brayton Carter won the IMCA Northern Sport Mod main event while their first cousin Carter Vandenberg finished fifth in the field of fifty-four.
That's all for today, plenty of big events coming up around the area so get out, buy a ticket and support the one of your choice!
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