A late afternoon thundershower caused a three and a half hour delay, but drivers and fans persisted to complete the opening night program of the World 100 at the Eldora Speedway Thursday night and well into Friday morning.
The 108 car roster included several "Big E" first timers and in fact fast qualifier Michael Norris of Sarver, Pennsylvania, was one of those event rookies. Announcer James Essex noted earlier that one of the reasons that Norris made the trip was the new tire rules that limited the number of compounds that could be used and, more importantly, would not allow any cutting or siping.
Chris Simpson started the night out in fine style driving his Iowa Hawkeye themed wrap to victory in the first of ten heat races, but the outcome was not the same for his brother. Chad was way out in front of the fifth qualifier when he slapped the wall in turns one and two after taking the white flag. Simpson's car slowed to a stop causing a yellow and he went from being a feature qualifier to the back of a B-Main in the matter of a few seconds. Chris would come back later to finish sixth in the first 25-lap feature afer starting tenth and he is being touted as a "dark horse" for Saturday's grand finale.
Darrell Lanigan's nightmare of a season continued when a head gasket issue scratched him from a row two start in the second heat race. What looked like a dream pairing of the many time World of Outlaw champion with Clint Bowyer Racing and a switch to the Lucas Oil Series has definitely not lived up to expectations in 2016.
Sixteen-year-old Hudson O'Neal, the son of Don O'Neal, was impressive running second to R.J. Conley in the third heat race, but the youngster hopped the cushion on the opening lap of the first feature and dropped from a second row start to finish eleventh.
Another teenager who is the son of a dirt track legend, Bobby Pierce had his night go south during the seventh heat race when a broken fan blade forced him to give up a transfer position.
It has been more than a decade since Rob Toland has made the trip to Eldora, but on the momentum of his 2016 IMCA Late Model National Championship the veteran driver bolted in the big motor and came east, A strong qualifying effort landed Toland on the pole of the eighth heat with some stiff competition and even though he could not fight off Doug Drown, Don O'Neal and Jonathan Davenport, Toland did hang on for the fourth and final transfer spot. Toland would then finish 21st in the second feature of the night.
Shannon Babb gave a preview of what was to come later in the morning when he came from outside of the four car invert to win the ninth heat race. Babb had started sixth on the grid and blew by this year's Dream 100 champ Dennis Erb Jr.
Heat races ended at 1:00 a.m. and the first B-Main did not take the green until 1:30 as the cushion was dragged and rolled in.
Matt Miller does not travel like he used to,but his Rick DeLong owned #3 is always strong at Eldora and he would win the first 25-lap feature holding back both Babb and Erb at the checkers. The two Illinois drivers closed in on Miller quickly during the closing laps with lapped traffic in play and, in fact, Erb had a run on the leader entering the final two turns. But with Brian Ruhlman racing in Erb's lower line, not only did it keep Erb from competing the slider on Miller, it would cost him the second spot as well. Billy Moyer in his final World 100 effort finished fourth and Shane Clanton sporting a wrap that pays tribute to the late Grant Junghans was fifth.
Even though his season has been solid, Don O'Neal has not won a race since January in Arizona, but he would end that drought in convincing fashion during the second 25-lap feature. Starting from the outside of row one O'Neal drove away from the field to post the victory although he would have been in big trouble had there been a late caution. Jonathan Davenport was by far the fastest car on the track at the checkers as he came from fourteenth to run second with Josh Richards and Chris Madden next in line. DeKalb, Illinois, driver Mike Mataragas was solid in his first Eldora appearance holding down the fifth spot after earning the pole position. Mataragas has been a consistent winner at the Sycamore Speedway near his hometown when they run the "4-Bar Late Models", but this was his first exposure to the big stage.
It was a long night here at Eldora and while the World 100 was able to overcome Mother Nature on opening night, she might just have some more punch to bring to the fight on both Friday and Saturday.
I was planning to head to the Jacksonville Speedway tonight for the MOWA Sprints and POWRi Midget doubleheader, but the rain has already created an interesting scenario on this Friday morning. Apparently POWRi has announced that they will not be racing tonight due to the inclement weather, but the track has not yet cancelled the show. They will update the status later today, but if they do race the show will not include the midgets.
Since tonight is doubtful, my hopes are now pinned to Sunday when the Big Ten UMP Late Model Series rolls into the Quincy Raceways. Perhaps I will see you there!
Friday, September 9, 2016
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Thursday Notebook: September 8, 2016
It seems like the notebook has had way too many instances this year of talking about tracks that are closing and, unfortunately that will be the main theme of today's entry. The one saving grace though is that I also have the good news of one "reopening" of a facility that was closed earlier in the year.
With several tracks closing their gates due to a lack of interest and so any others struggling to stay open with shrinking car counts and little fan support, it is so much harder to see what happened on the final night of racing at the Manitowoc Speedway in Wisconsin this past Saturday night. A huge field of 179 cars jammed the pits and a capacity crowd came out to bid farewell to a track that will likely be razed for the development of a Meier grocery store. Mitch McGrath won the Late Model feature and Jim Melis topped a healthy field of 32 Sprint Cars to headline the results and my question is, where will all of these racers disperse to in 2017? Will they keep racing somewhere else or will some of them call it a career? The same question can be asked of the fans.
It is a sad situation, but hopefully it will help bolster some of the other tracks in the region next year.
I have been in Columbus, Ohio, this week on business and while watching the local news they had a report that the Columbus Speedway will hold its last ever race this coming Saturday night. A quick Google search revealed that this closing was announced way back in April after the track owners agreed to sell the property to the city of Obetz where the track is located. Car counts have been up and weekly attendance was around 2,500, something that nearly all weekly tracks would envy and from the story it sounds like the owners were a bit surprised when the city actually accepted their sell price. A check of the results from last week shows that the car counts are still solid as the speedway prepares for it's Final Lap this weekend.
The Western Tech Speedway Park, formerly known as the El Paso Speedway in Texas also held its final event this past weekend and while I cannot find the exact reason for closing it does appear that the track's finale was similar to that of Manitowoc with 180 cars and 2,000 people in the stands.
Even though these three facilities are going out on a high note, it is still three less race tracks in operation and I struggle with how I feel about that. The exuberant youth that still hides deep inside of me hates it because as a kid it seemed like there was a race track in every community and someday I wanted to visit them all! The realist in me though understands that part of our problem right now is that we likely have too many tracks in operation vying for both the drivers and fans that are available at this time. You have heard that drivers say that on a slick track you must slow down to go fast? Well for racing to get back to a position of strength, we might have to have some tracks that now run weekly step back to a specials only schedule, or even close in hope that they can come back to life when things get better.
On the plus side it was back in June when word came out that the Vermilion County Speedway in Danville, Illinois, would shut down its weekly operations. This past Sunday night the track sprung back to life with a new name, Kickapoo Motor Speedway, and new promoters, the same folks that operate the Daugherty Speedway in Boswell, Indiana. There were 91 cars in five divisions headlined by 34 UMP Modifieds with Kenny Carmichael taking the win and Kickapoo will be back in action on Sunday September 18th.
The last time that I was at a race at this facility it was Jimmy Owens taking the NKF Tour Modified feature win in 2001.
A couple of late season events have recently been added to the schedule in Iowa and Illinois. The Darkside will bring racing back to Tipton for a Thursday, Friday, Saturday tripleheader for the Fall Bash October 6th, 7th and 8th. And, billing it as an opportunity for drivers to get tuned in on a 1/5th-mile oval prior to the Gateway Fall Nationals, the Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Illinois, will hold a race on Saturday December 3rd, weather cooperating of course.
Glad to see those nights added as with rain in the forecast for the next two nights it is going to be hard for me to get to my race total that I have achieved each of the last two years!
With the World 100 getting underway tonight here is the Back Stretch National Dirt Late Model Points to 100. Enjoy your racing weekend!
With several tracks closing their gates due to a lack of interest and so any others struggling to stay open with shrinking car counts and little fan support, it is so much harder to see what happened on the final night of racing at the Manitowoc Speedway in Wisconsin this past Saturday night. A huge field of 179 cars jammed the pits and a capacity crowd came out to bid farewell to a track that will likely be razed for the development of a Meier grocery store. Mitch McGrath won the Late Model feature and Jim Melis topped a healthy field of 32 Sprint Cars to headline the results and my question is, where will all of these racers disperse to in 2017? Will they keep racing somewhere else or will some of them call it a career? The same question can be asked of the fans.
It is a sad situation, but hopefully it will help bolster some of the other tracks in the region next year.
I have been in Columbus, Ohio, this week on business and while watching the local news they had a report that the Columbus Speedway will hold its last ever race this coming Saturday night. A quick Google search revealed that this closing was announced way back in April after the track owners agreed to sell the property to the city of Obetz where the track is located. Car counts have been up and weekly attendance was around 2,500, something that nearly all weekly tracks would envy and from the story it sounds like the owners were a bit surprised when the city actually accepted their sell price. A check of the results from last week shows that the car counts are still solid as the speedway prepares for it's Final Lap this weekend.
The Western Tech Speedway Park, formerly known as the El Paso Speedway in Texas also held its final event this past weekend and while I cannot find the exact reason for closing it does appear that the track's finale was similar to that of Manitowoc with 180 cars and 2,000 people in the stands.
Even though these three facilities are going out on a high note, it is still three less race tracks in operation and I struggle with how I feel about that. The exuberant youth that still hides deep inside of me hates it because as a kid it seemed like there was a race track in every community and someday I wanted to visit them all! The realist in me though understands that part of our problem right now is that we likely have too many tracks in operation vying for both the drivers and fans that are available at this time. You have heard that drivers say that on a slick track you must slow down to go fast? Well for racing to get back to a position of strength, we might have to have some tracks that now run weekly step back to a specials only schedule, or even close in hope that they can come back to life when things get better.
On the plus side it was back in June when word came out that the Vermilion County Speedway in Danville, Illinois, would shut down its weekly operations. This past Sunday night the track sprung back to life with a new name, Kickapoo Motor Speedway, and new promoters, the same folks that operate the Daugherty Speedway in Boswell, Indiana. There were 91 cars in five divisions headlined by 34 UMP Modifieds with Kenny Carmichael taking the win and Kickapoo will be back in action on Sunday September 18th.
The last time that I was at a race at this facility it was Jimmy Owens taking the NKF Tour Modified feature win in 2001.
A couple of late season events have recently been added to the schedule in Iowa and Illinois. The Darkside will bring racing back to Tipton for a Thursday, Friday, Saturday tripleheader for the Fall Bash October 6th, 7th and 8th. And, billing it as an opportunity for drivers to get tuned in on a 1/5th-mile oval prior to the Gateway Fall Nationals, the Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Illinois, will hold a race on Saturday December 3rd, weather cooperating of course.
Glad to see those nights added as with rain in the forecast for the next two nights it is going to be hard for me to get to my race total that I have achieved each of the last two years!
With the World 100 getting underway tonight here is the Back Stretch National Dirt Late Model Points to 100. Enjoy your racing weekend!
Monday, September 5, 2016
Quincy Thriller Goes To Chris Martin
It is not often that I go more than two weeks without attending a race during a summer month, but after fifteen days I was once again with the Shottenkirk.com Sprint Invaders as they paid their annual visit to the "Bullring on Broadway", the Quincy Raceways. A weekend at the lake with friends and a business trip to New Jersey had filled my schedule since I last saw Ryan Jamison return to victory lane back on August 20th at 34 Raceway and it was good to see that the thrill of that victory fifteen days ago still had a big smile on "Flyin' Ryan's" face as he would once again be a contender here tonight.
On a warm and breezy sunny day the track conditions were too dry to begin with, especially for a full field of twenty-six Sprint Cars along with four of the track's weekly classes, but the track crew recovered nicely by adding some much needed a water a few times during the evening and, by feature time, with the sun now setting, the moisture came back to the surface and the dry slick conditions truly made for a driver's track.
Cagey veterans Jamison and John Schulz would bring the field to green for the 25-lap main event and they would swap the lead over the first two circuits before Schulz settled in setting the pace using the high line around the speedway. The driver on the move though was current series point leader Chris Martin who was making his way to the front using whatever line that he needed to gain a position. The 19-year-old speedster, under the tutelage of crew chief Dennis Moore Jr., thrilled the crowd with bold, but clean sliders and by lap fifteen he was up to second and closing on the leader.
One more slider on Schulz in turns one and two moved Martin to the lead and completed his march from the fifth row to the front. From there he still had to make some bold moves in traffic and the youngster closed the deal, and perhaps locked down the points title with just one race remaining as he took the checkers in the non-stop event. Jamison slipped past Schulz on the final lap to finish in second. Robbie Standridge made a cameo appearance in Jimmy Davies second car and, powered by a Matt Kinney engine, won the Budweiser King of Beers Shakeup Dash and finished fourth in the main event while Randy Martin closed out the top five. For the full race story along with the complete results check out Bill Wright's write up.
Obviously I am biased, but if there is a more improved Sprint Car driver other than Chris Martin in the country this year I would like to know who that is. The young man scored the opening night win at 34 Raceway back in April and it was like an injection of confidence that has carried on throughout the season. If the kid isn't winning, he is right there knocking on the door and "The Step Child" will have his chance to close out a Championship season with the Shottenkirk.com Sprint Invaders on Saturday night September 17th where it all began, 34 Raceway in Burlington.
I was thrilled with the car count Sunday night knowing that this was a busy weekend for Sprint Car racing in the Midwest. It was great to have Randy and Evan Martin joining us, Nathan Charron teamed up with Ben Wagoner for the night, Dustin Homan out of southeast Missouri was impressive in his Sprint Invaders debut as was Chris Campbell. McKenna Haase was also in the field, but a hard crash on the second lap of her heat race ended her evening. Well, at least the racing part of it, as the personable young lady came into the stands during intermission and signed autographs until she had to move back away from the fence when the Sport Mod feature came to the track. All in all it was a fun night of racing for the Sprint Car fans who may not frequent Quincy Raceways on a regular basis.
And for those fans who do enjoy their Sunday nights here on a regular basis they were also treated to some great action from the UMP Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Stock Cars and Sport Compacts.
Does a dominant driver make a difference in a track's weekly car count? Well, with Michael Long headed for a $5,000-to-win UMP Modified show at the Spoon River Speedway, a solid field of eighteen Mods filled the pits at Quincy, about twice as many as have been chasing Long here throughout the year and local favorite David Wietholder out dueled early leader Shawn Deering to take the win. Donovan Lodge came from eighth to finish third, Spencer Havermale was fourth and infrequent visitor Derrick Carlson was fifth.
Young Austin Howes has won the last two Sport Mod features here so some fans put up some extra money as an incentive for him to start at the back to make it worth his while to win his third in a row. Howes gave up his third starting spot to lineup thirteenth in the 18-lap main event and with five laps to go he made a nifty move to move into the second spot. Brandon Lennox had a straightaway lead at that point and Howes would cut into it each lap to close within a couple of car lengths as the white flag waved, but Lennox was too good to give away the bottom on that final lap and he took the win just ahead of Howes. It was my understanding though that those fans still put an extra $300 into his pocket to help pay his travel expenses to Boone this week for making the effort. Tony Dunker finished third, hometown driver Todd Reed scored his first top-five of the season in fourth and Kevin Tomlinson was fifth.
Abe Huls was dialed in once again with his IMCA Stock Car as he came from the fourth row to score the win and the driver who started next to him, Michael Larsen was second. Brian Hoener finished in third with Jake Powers and Beau Taylor next in line. The Sport Compact feature went to Austen Becerra who was driving Barry Taft's #57 in preparation for a trip to Boone this week. Craig Bangert was the runner up, Jeffrey DeLonjay did not make any friends in third while Darin Weisinger Jr. and Kimberly Abbott in a brand new car completed the top five.
Bill W and I had a great time working in the booth with Doug Mealy, Steve Eighinger, Brian Neal, Jack Walbring and Chris Miller, five gentlemen who definitely know a lot about racing here at Quincy and who do a great job of running and reporting on the show. Next Sunday I plan to be back down in the stands though when the Big Ten Late Model Series will be the headliner here on September 11th.
Another business road trip this week may land me in the vicinity of a race or two so check back in on the Back Stretch next weekend!
On a warm and breezy sunny day the track conditions were too dry to begin with, especially for a full field of twenty-six Sprint Cars along with four of the track's weekly classes, but the track crew recovered nicely by adding some much needed a water a few times during the evening and, by feature time, with the sun now setting, the moisture came back to the surface and the dry slick conditions truly made for a driver's track.
Cagey veterans Jamison and John Schulz would bring the field to green for the 25-lap main event and they would swap the lead over the first two circuits before Schulz settled in setting the pace using the high line around the speedway. The driver on the move though was current series point leader Chris Martin who was making his way to the front using whatever line that he needed to gain a position. The 19-year-old speedster, under the tutelage of crew chief Dennis Moore Jr., thrilled the crowd with bold, but clean sliders and by lap fifteen he was up to second and closing on the leader.
One more slider on Schulz in turns one and two moved Martin to the lead and completed his march from the fifth row to the front. From there he still had to make some bold moves in traffic and the youngster closed the deal, and perhaps locked down the points title with just one race remaining as he took the checkers in the non-stop event. Jamison slipped past Schulz on the final lap to finish in second. Robbie Standridge made a cameo appearance in Jimmy Davies second car and, powered by a Matt Kinney engine, won the Budweiser King of Beers Shakeup Dash and finished fourth in the main event while Randy Martin closed out the top five. For the full race story along with the complete results check out Bill Wright's write up.
Obviously I am biased, but if there is a more improved Sprint Car driver other than Chris Martin in the country this year I would like to know who that is. The young man scored the opening night win at 34 Raceway back in April and it was like an injection of confidence that has carried on throughout the season. If the kid isn't winning, he is right there knocking on the door and "The Step Child" will have his chance to close out a Championship season with the Shottenkirk.com Sprint Invaders on Saturday night September 17th where it all began, 34 Raceway in Burlington.
I was thrilled with the car count Sunday night knowing that this was a busy weekend for Sprint Car racing in the Midwest. It was great to have Randy and Evan Martin joining us, Nathan Charron teamed up with Ben Wagoner for the night, Dustin Homan out of southeast Missouri was impressive in his Sprint Invaders debut as was Chris Campbell. McKenna Haase was also in the field, but a hard crash on the second lap of her heat race ended her evening. Well, at least the racing part of it, as the personable young lady came into the stands during intermission and signed autographs until she had to move back away from the fence when the Sport Mod feature came to the track. All in all it was a fun night of racing for the Sprint Car fans who may not frequent Quincy Raceways on a regular basis.
And for those fans who do enjoy their Sunday nights here on a regular basis they were also treated to some great action from the UMP Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Stock Cars and Sport Compacts.
Does a dominant driver make a difference in a track's weekly car count? Well, with Michael Long headed for a $5,000-to-win UMP Modified show at the Spoon River Speedway, a solid field of eighteen Mods filled the pits at Quincy, about twice as many as have been chasing Long here throughout the year and local favorite David Wietholder out dueled early leader Shawn Deering to take the win. Donovan Lodge came from eighth to finish third, Spencer Havermale was fourth and infrequent visitor Derrick Carlson was fifth.
Young Austin Howes has won the last two Sport Mod features here so some fans put up some extra money as an incentive for him to start at the back to make it worth his while to win his third in a row. Howes gave up his third starting spot to lineup thirteenth in the 18-lap main event and with five laps to go he made a nifty move to move into the second spot. Brandon Lennox had a straightaway lead at that point and Howes would cut into it each lap to close within a couple of car lengths as the white flag waved, but Lennox was too good to give away the bottom on that final lap and he took the win just ahead of Howes. It was my understanding though that those fans still put an extra $300 into his pocket to help pay his travel expenses to Boone this week for making the effort. Tony Dunker finished third, hometown driver Todd Reed scored his first top-five of the season in fourth and Kevin Tomlinson was fifth.
Abe Huls was dialed in once again with his IMCA Stock Car as he came from the fourth row to score the win and the driver who started next to him, Michael Larsen was second. Brian Hoener finished in third with Jake Powers and Beau Taylor next in line. The Sport Compact feature went to Austen Becerra who was driving Barry Taft's #57 in preparation for a trip to Boone this week. Craig Bangert was the runner up, Jeffrey DeLonjay did not make any friends in third while Darin Weisinger Jr. and Kimberly Abbott in a brand new car completed the top five.
Bill W and I had a great time working in the booth with Doug Mealy, Steve Eighinger, Brian Neal, Jack Walbring and Chris Miller, five gentlemen who definitely know a lot about racing here at Quincy and who do a great job of running and reporting on the show. Next Sunday I plan to be back down in the stands though when the Big Ten Late Model Series will be the headliner here on September 11th.
Another business road trip this week may land me in the vicinity of a race or two so check back in on the Back Stretch next weekend!
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