In Case You Were Wondering......

Two of the biggest weekends in dirt track racing have come and gone and there has been nothing new on the Back Stretch. I have good reasons!

Over Labor Day weekend, when the Yankee Dirt Classic and other traditional events were being staged, Christine and I made the drive down to Dallas to meet our first grandchild Watson Jeffrey Wick! He's a big boy born on August 14th at 8 pounds 13 ounces and 23 inches long and he has already stolen our hearts. I will be missing another race weekend in early October to go back and see just how much he has grown.


Then, this past weekend with the IMCA Super Nationals and the World 100 among other big events going on, Christine and I traveled to Kalamazoo for our daughter Ashley's wedding. I believe that I have bragged about Ashley here before as she is the Biological Research Director at the Kalamazoo Nature Center and that is where we had the wedding. The ceremony was held at an outdoor amphitheater and it rained on us during the rehearsal the evening before and all the way until noon the day of. Then the skies cleared and it was an absolutely gorgeous night for the wedding with Ashley pointing out that when you are nice to nature, she will always smile upon you.

The wedding party walked nearly a quarter of a mile to emerge from the woods for the ceremony and we then had the reception in the barn where they have the Summer Camp for area students. It was a wedding that was uniquely Ashley and we had several people tell us that it was the best ever.

During my speech one of the memories that I recalled was when Ashley worked with me as the Event Volunteer Coordinator for the NKF Tour races where this little sixteen-year-old girl organized volunteers from the local dialysis units to sell 50-50 tickets and raise money for those who were battling kidney disease. She always did a great job, but the best part of it for me was the fact that I was able to spend all of that time road-tripping to more than forty races with my teenage daughter. Not something that every father gets to experience!

I am now ready to get back into the swing of things from a racing standpoint with trips this week to both Knoxville and Quincy. I had hoped to make both qualifying nights at the Late Model Nationals but an uncooperative kidney stone decided that it wasn't ready to be removed today, so I have to go back in on Thursday. If all goes well then on Friday there will be no stopping me from attending one of the best night's of racing that you will ever find with the Late Model stars qualifying and then actually racing in deeply inverted heats, something that as far as I know you will only see at Knoxville!

On Sunday night I look forward to my first visit to the now Jason & Robert Goble owned Quincy Raceways as the Shottenkirk.com Sprint Invaders take top billing for the evening. Reports are that the place has been spiffed up quite a bit and I heard that this past Sunday's show actually ended well before nine o'clock. Great job guys! Plus they have scheduled Sunday night racing all the way through October 22nd, something that I have missed since the good ol' days at Hawkeye Raceway near Blue Grass when they would run on Sundays in October. I plan to be back in Quincy often before the season closes and I hope that racers and fans alike who may have not been to Quincy this year, or ever before will give it a try.

With the World 100 in the books and the Knoxville Late Model Nationals coming up here are the top 200 in my National point standings. How many of these drivers will we see at Knoxville?
I may be a bit tender this weekend, but hopefully I will see you on the Back Stretch!

		The "Back Stretch"
		Dirt Late Model Points
Pos.		Driver	Hometown	Points
1	.	Brandon Sheppard	New Berlin IL	227
2	.	Tim McCreadie	Watertown NY	165
3	.	Brandon Overton	Appling GA	157
4	.	Scott Bloomquist	Mooresburg TN	150
5	.	Chris Madden	Gray Court SC	137
6	.	Bobby Pierce	Oakwood IL	136
7	.	Josh Richards	Shinnston WV	125
8	.	Mike Marlar	Winfield TN	120
9	.	Don O'Neal	Martinsville IN	116
10	.	Jimmy Owens	Newport TN	91
11	.	Shane Clanton	Locust Grove GA	86
12	.	Shannon Babb	Mowequa IL	85
13	.	Darrell Lanigan	Union KY	82
14	.	Dale McDowell	Chickamauga GA	79
15	.	Devin Moran	Dresden OH	75
16	.	Billy Moyer	Batesville AR	74
17	.	Rick Eckert	York PA	70
18	.	Gregg Satterlee	Rochester Mills PA	67
19	.	Chris Simpson	Marion IA	66
20	.	Dennis Erb Jr.	Carpentersville IL	64
21	.	Earl Pearson Jr.	Jacksonville FL	63
22	.	Jonathan Davenport	Blairsville GA	63
23	.	Brian Shirley	Chatham IL	55
24	.	Donald McIntosh	Dawsonville GA	51
25	.	Ryan Unzicker	El Paso IL	51
26	.	Tyler Erb	Magnolia TX	47
27	.	Don Shaw	Ham Lake MN	46
28	.	Max Blair	Centerville PA	46
29	.	Billy Moyer Jr.	Batesville AR	45
30	.	Casey Roberts	Toccoa GA	44
31	.	Dona Marcoullier	Houghton Lake MI	44
32	.	Tanner English	Benton KY	43
33	.	Tyler Carpenter	Parkersburg WV	43
34	.	Rusty Schlenk	Jackson MI	40
35	.	Ross Bailes	Clover SC	38
36	.	Jeff Rine	Danville PA	37
37	.	Chris Ferguson	Mount Holly NC	36
38	.	Jimmy Mars	Elk Mound WI	36
39	.	Jason Covert	York Haven PA	33
40	.	Hudson O'Neal	Martinsville IN	32
41	.	Jason Feger	Bloomington IL	31
42	.	Austin Hubbard	Seaford DE	30
43	.	Brandon Thirlby	Traverse City MI	30
44	.	Eric Wells	Hazard KY	30
45	.	Michael Page	Douglasville GA	30
46	.	Steve Casebolt	Richmond IN	30
47	.	Zack Dohm	Cross Lanes WV	30
48	.	Kyle Bronson	Brandon FL	29
49	.	Chub Frank	Sugar Grove PA	28
50	.	Justin Kay	Wheatland IA	28
51	.	Shanon Buckingham	Morristown TN	28
52	.	Eric Spangler	Lake City MI	27
53	.	Frank Heckenast Jr.	Orland Park IL	27
54	.	David Breazeale	Four Corners MS	26
55	.	Rodney Sanders	Happy TX	26
56	.	Jared Miley	South Park PA	25
57	.	Chad Becker	Aberdeen SD	24
58	.	Freddie Carpenter	Parkersburg WV	24
59	.	Jason Jameson	Lawrenceburg IN	24
60	.	John Kaanta	Eau Claire WI	24
61	.	Terry Phillips	Springfield MO	24
62	.	Timothy Culp	Sheridan AR	23
63	.	Chad Simpson	Marion IA	22
64	.	Jack Sullivan	Greenbriar AR	22
65	.	Kyle Hardy	Stephens City VA	22
66	.	Mason Zeigler	Chalk Hill PA	22
67	.	Tony Jackson Jr.	Lebanon MO	22
68	.	Dale Hollidge	Mechanicsville MD	21
69	.	Ricky Weiss	Winnipeg MAN	21
70	.	Trever Feathers	Winchester VA	21
71	.	Alex Ferree	Saxonburg PA	20
72	.	Corey Conley	Wellsburg WV	20
73	.	Dustin Mitchell	Pine Level NC	20
74	.	Mark Whitener	Middleburg FL	20
75	.	Cory Hedgecock	Louden TN	19
76	.	Dennis Franklin	Gaffney SC	19
77	.	Eddie Carrier Jr.	Salt Rock WV	19
78	.	Gordy Gundaker	St. Charles MO	19
79	.	Travis Pennington	Winston GA	19
80	.	Chase Junghans	Manhattan KS	18
81	.	Matt Ryan	Davenport IA	18
82	.	Vic Hill	Mosheim TN	18
83	.	Zack Mitchell	Enoree SC	18
84	.	Michael Chilton	Salvisa KY	17
85	.	Riley Hickman	Ooletwah TN	17
86	.	David Payne	Murphy NC	16
87	.	R.J. Conley	Wheelersburg OH	16
88	.	Ryan VanderVeen	Six Lakes MI	16
89	.	Tad Pospisil	Norfolk NE	16
90	.	Dakotah Knuckles	Ewing VA	15
91	.	Jesse Stovall	Galena MO	15
92	.	Logan Martin	West Plains MO	15
93	.	Dave Hess Jr.	Waterford PA	14
94	.	David McCoy	Franklin NC	14
95	.	Jackie Boggs	Grayson KY	14
96	.	Johnny Pursley	Clover SC	14
97	.	Russell Erwin	Beaverdam VA	14
98	.	Ben Watkins	Rock Hill SC	13
99	.	Billy Drake	Bloomington IL	13
100	.	Chad Holladay	Muscatine IA	13
101	.	Coleby Frye	Dover PA	13
102	.	Randy Timms	Wheatland OK	13
103	.	Scott Ward	Watertown SD	13
104	.	Todd Cooney	Des Moines IA	13
105	.	A.J. Diemel	Navarino WI	12
106	.	Brian Rickman	Columbus MS	12
107	.	Clint Smith	Senoia GA	12
108	.	Jesse Sobbing	Glenwood IA	12
109	.	Jon Henry	Ada OH	12
110	.	Kent Robinson	Bloomington IN	12
111	.	Matt Cosner	Ridgely WV	12
112	.	Russ King	Bristol OH	12
113	.	Steve Francis	Ashland KY	12
114	.	Terry English	Benton KY	12
115	.	Austin Horton	Grantsville GA	11
116	.	Cody Mahoney	Madison IN	11
117	.	Garrett Alberson	Las Cruces NM	11
118	.	Jason Welshan	Maryville TN	11
119	.	Kenny Moreland	Waldorf MD	11
120	.	Kyle Berck	Marquette NE	11
121	.	Michael Brown	Pageland SC	11
122	.	Michael Kloos	Trenton IL	11
123	.	Michael Norris	Sarver PA	11
124	.	Morgan Bagley	Longview TX	11
125	.	Anthony White	Clinton TN	10
126	.	Bill Leighton Jr.	Omaha NE	10
127	.	Billy Rushton	Hodges SC	10
128	.	Brandon Fouts	Kite KY	10
129	.	Devin Gilpin	Columbus IN	10
130	.	Devin Shiels	Britton MI	10
131	.	Doug Drown	Wooster OH	10
132	.	G.R. Smith	Huntersville NC	10
133	.	Gus Simpson		10
134	.	Jared Hawkins	Fairmount WV	10
135	.	Jeremiah Hurst	Dubuque IA	10
136	.	Joel Callahan	Dubuque IA	10
137	.	Michael Lake	Uniontown PA	10
138	.	Mike George		10
139	.	Rhett Carter	Blackshear GA	10
140	.	Rich Neiser	Fruitport MI	10
141	.	Tim Manville	Highland IL	10
142	.	Travis Stemler		10
143	.	Tripp Gerrald		10
144	.	Tyler Millwood	Kingston GA	10
145	.	Brent Larson	Lake Elmo MN	9
146	.	Bryan Bernheisel	Lebanon PA	9
147	.	Chad Zobrist	Highland IL	9
148	.	Dane Dacus	Lakeland TN	9
149	.	Darrel DeFrance	Marshalltown IA	9
150	.	Daulton Wilson	Fayetteville NC	9
151	.	David Seibers		9
152	.	Derek Doll	Greenwood WV	9
153	.	Gene Knaub	Dover PA	9
154	.	Jason Croft	Woodstock GA	9
155	.	Kent Arment	Aberdeen SD	9
156	.	Lance Hofer	Cochrane WI	9
157	.	Mike Prochnow	Menomonie WI	9
158	.	Payton Looney	Republic MO	9
159	.	Rob Toland	Hillsdale IL	9
160	.	Ronnie Johnson	Chattanooga TN	9
161	.	Willie Milliken	Leland NC	9
162	.	Billy Ogle Jr.	Knoxville TN	8
163	.	Chad Hollenbeck	Kingsley PA	8
164	.	Christian Joyner		8
165	.	Collen Winebarger		8
166	.	Curt Gelling	Aberdeen SD	8
167	.	Darrell Nelson	Hermanton MN	8
168	.	Dylan Yoder	Selinsgrove PA	8
169	.	Eddie King Jr.		8
170	.	Eric Mass	Rapid City SD	8
171	.	Jason Fitzgerald	Jacksonville FL	8
172	.	Jason Hiett	Lincoln AL	8
173	.	Keith Barbara	South Park PA	8
174	.	Ricky Frankel	Quincy IL	8
175	.	Ross Robinson		8
176	.	Shaun Sewell		8
177	.	Spencer Diercks	Davenport IA	8
178	.	Tyler Bruening	Decorah IA	8
179	.	B.J. Robinson	Blanchard LA	7
180	.	Ben Schaller	Omaha NE	7
181	.	Brad Skinner	Spring Hill TN	7
182	.	Chad Thrash	Meridian MS	7
183	.	Charles Powell Jr.	Brooskville PA	7
184	.	Chris Smyser	Lancaster MO	7
185	.	David Brannon	Elora TN	7
186	.	David McDonald	Huron SD	7
187	.	Doug Eck	Corry PA	7
188	.	Fito Gallardo	Las Cruces NM	7
189	.	Jay Brendle	Kingston IL	7
190	.	Jeff Smith	Dallas NC	7
191	.	Jimmy Johnson	Danielsville GA	7
192	.	Kanyan Methvin	Yellville AR	7
193	.	Matt Micheli	Live Oak CA	7
194	.	Mike Spatola	Manhattan IL	7
195	.	Nick Marolf	Moscow IA	7
196	.	Robert Osborne	Norfolk NE	7
197	.	Steve Laursen	Cumberland WI	7
198	.	Andy Haus	Hamburg PA	6
199	.	Barry Sorenson	Harlan IA	6
200	.	Boom Briggs	Bear Lake PA	6
201	.	Brent Robinson		6
202	.	Brian Ruhlman	Clarklake MI	6
203	.	Chad Mahder	Eau Claire WI	6
204	.	Chase King		6
205	.	Christian Hanger		6
206	.	Curtis Roberts	Coleman MI	6
207	.	Dalton Cook		6
208	.	Derek Ellis	Chatsworth GA	6
209	.	Devin Dixon	Apollo Beach FL	6
210	.	Dustin Strand	Grand Forks ND	6
211	.	Eddie Kirchoff	Gillette WY	6
212	.	Gary Stuhler	Greencastle PA	6
213	.	Hunter Bailey	Bailey NC	6
214	.	Jake Gallardo	Las Cruces NM	6
215	.	Jake Knowles	Tyrone GA	6
216	.	Jason Russell	Eugene MO	6
217	.	Jeff Provinzino	Hibbing MN	6
218	.	Jesse Glenz	Cadot WI	6
219	.	Jonathan Edwards	Lake Wylie SC	6
220	.	Kyle Lear	Severna Park MD	6
221	.	Mark Pettyjohn	Milton DE	6
222	.	McKay Wenger	Fairbury IL	6
223	.	Mike Palasini Jr.	Leland MS	6
224	.	Nick Anvelink	Navarino WI	6
225	.	Paul Kot		6
226	.	Paul Parker	Kaukauna WI	6
227	.	Randy Gifford		6
228	.	Ray Cook	Brasstown NC	6
229	.	Rick Hanestad	Boyceville WI	6
230	.	Robert Baker	Bryant AR	6
231	.	Rod Conley	Wheelersburg WV	6
232	.	Ryan Markham	Ashland OH	6
233	.	Skip Arp	Georgetown TN	6
234	.	Steve Drake	San Luis Obispo CA	6
235	.	Tyler Clem	St. Petersburg FL	6
236	.	Walker Arthur	Forest VA	6