The United States Modified Touring Series rolled into the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton for the first time Friday night and, even though it was the first full night of high school football, a large crowd of race fans filled the bleachers and grandstand to watch. And with a nice mix of travelers and locals the field of forty did not disappoint.
Five qualifying heats set the stage for the finale with the first three being won by drivers (Donovan Lodge, Richie Gustin & Dan Bohr) who neither follow the series regularly, or race at Tipton every Friday night. The Tour regulars dominated heat four with Zack VanderBeek, Johnny Scott and Jon Tesch going one-two-three and the fifth heat would set the crowd abuzz with a couple of incidents involving the USMTS Hunt point leader Ryan Gustin. "The Reaper" had started sixth, charged toward the front and was battling Jason Hughes for second with three laps remaining when Gustin spun in turn three to cause a caution. On the restart Gustin tried to get back to the front squeezing through a small opening and when that didn't work he tangled with local favorite Ryan Dolan with the two beating and banging with each other coming to the white flag. Gustin was able to separate himself and run the final lap while Dolan limped to the pits, but officials scored Dolan ahead of Gustin on the official finish. Dolan would later come back to transfer out of the second B-Main in fifth while Gustin rode around in the back knowing that he had a provisional start in his back pocket.
When the twenty-six car field thundered to the start of the forty-lap main event it was Ryan's older brother, Richie Gustin, who would lead them back to lap one before pole-starter Johnny Scott drove under him for the advantage on lap two. The driver from Las Cruces, New Mexico, Scott was coming off a win the night before in Winston, Missouri, and he looked strong here as well while drivers raced three and four wide behind him. Much of that action was in the back third of the field where drivers such as Ryan Dolan, Ryan Gustin and Noah Coppes were picking their way to the front after all starting 22nd or deeper.
The first caution waved on lap eleven as Dan Bohr and Kevin Pittman tangled in turn three and following the restart it was Jon Tesch who went to work on Scott. Using a little higher line than the pace-setter, Tesch was able to power by Scott for the lead on lap fourteen only to have the caution appear again two laps later as Brad Dierks slowed on the back stretch. On this restart Zack VanderBeek came to life and drove by Tesch to the lead before the caution waved again for Donovan Lodge on lap eighteen. VanderBeek maintained control following the restart while most watched to see if Ryan Gustin could continue his run to the front as he was now approaching the top five after starting 25th. The caution last waved on on lap twenty-seven when Minnesota teenage speedster Lucas Schott spun to a halt in turn one.
Once back to green VanderBeek continued to lead before Scott found his stride once again and drove around Zack for the lead with nine trips around the quick quarter mile remaining. Nobody but his own friends and family picked him to win tonight, but there was no keeping Johnny Scott from taking the big money for the second night in a row as he held off VanderBeek for the win. Jason Hughes was solid for third, Ryan Gustin's run to the front leveled out in fourth and Jon Tesch completed the top five. Kelly Shryock moved from row seven to sixth, Dereck Ramirez moved from the ninth row to seventh, Al Hejna came from an eighth row start to finish eighth, Rodney Sanders started next to Hejna and finished ninth while Dustin Boney completed the top ten. Noah Coppes made the most of his track provisional to come from 26th to 11th.
With the large crowd, the solid car count and the great racing I would say that it is a pretty good bet that The Hunt for the USMTS Championship will pass through Tipton once again in 2012.
In support class action Darrin Plett went from green to checkers to win the B-Mod main event. A weekly competitor in the track's A-Mod division, Plett made the changes necessary to be "B-Mod legal" tonight, drew the front row and then cruised to the non-stop fifteen-lap victory. Troy Hovey who was the last car to arrive at the track after making the pull down from Decorah, drove from the seventh row to pass Roy Pestka on the final lap to take second while Brian Wendel took fourth. The Legend cars had some good racing action and a couple of scary moments when cars were engulfed in flames, but fortunately both drivers escaped without serious injuries. Eric Barth would take the victory while Adam Bell recovered from an early mishap that almost put him a lap down to take second.
Bruce Yoerger and Ben Carpenter raced side-by-side early in the Hobby Stock feature with Yoerger prevailing for the win in a race that also went flag-to-flag with no cautions. Carpenter was the runner-up followed by Josh Neal, Gene Ehlers and Jamie Chappell. And in the Four Cylinders Jacob Ellithorpe and Mitch Bielenberg waged a good battle mid-race with Bielenberg taking over the point, then holding off a fast-closing Steve Miedke to take the win. Miedke took second after starting at the back, Ellithorpe picked up third followed by Bob Lake and Duayne Herb.
This made three trips to Tipton for me this year and on all three visits I have seen fantastic racing. Plus, I started off each night with a stop at Bart Montgomery's Happy Joe's location for a great pizza before the show. I will look forward to the release of the 2012 schedule for the Cedar County Raceway so that I can target my next visit to this fine facility.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Brown and Lasoski Thrill A Huge Missouri State Fair Crowd
With three premier divisions, the ASCS Warrior Region Sprints, the MLRA Late Models and Modifieds, the annual Missouri State Fair race in Sedalia is always one that I try to work into my schedule and for the first time in a few years I was able to do that Sunday night. The big half-mile is not a high-speed track like Knoxville and on this warm and sunny evening it was even "slower" than usual, but the dry-slick surface never locked down and the 98 drivers on hand were able to work one of three grooves around the speedway.
Heat race action went off pretty well with only a couple of minor incidents although the Sprint Car drivers who started on the outside of the back rows absolutely abused the flagman. With no chalk line off turn four and since not one single start was called back on the night, several drivers channeled the chorus of this 1984 hit from Van Halen. It was so bad that on the fourth and final heat the driver starting outside of row four was side-by-side with the pole-sitter as the field entered the front stretch.
The Modified feature was first on the card and it turned into a forty minute drama with several story lines across nine cautions. Jason Bodenhammer was the leader at the drop of the green with Jim Moody challenging early using the high line through the corners. The first caution waved on lap five and on the double file restart Moody was shuffled back with Richard Foster now picking up the challenge before a caution on lap ten waved for debris. From there, things got a little wild. Foster and Jason Thompson made contact off turn two following the restart and after Foster showed his displeasure on the track the extra curricular activities between the two continued in the pits. Back to the racing Terry Schultz was now Bodenhammer's challenger only to have his right front tire go flat entering turn one on lap sixteen and when Schultz slowed the caution appeared. The hometown favorite changed the tire and returned to the back of the field for the restart where he picked off about five cars on the first lap before the caution waved again on lap seventeen.
On this restart the crowd went wild as the leader Bodenhammer was tagged by Shad Badder in turn one spinning Bodee and bringing out another caution. Some cheered and some booed as Bodenhammer tried to return to the front of the realignment, but he was sent to the rear while Badder retired to the pits likely disappointed in himself for his involvement in the incident. Kyle Westerhold picked up the point from there but a lap later Bodenhammer was sliding sideways down the front stretch after being pinched into the wall and that ended his evening. On the restart Moody got a nice restart and drove under Westerhold coming to the green and while Westerhold gave it his best to take that lead back over the final six laps he could not get the job done as Moody took the win. Westerhold was second followed by Curt Potter, Mark Hoover and Schultz.
John Anderson had only one moment of concern in the 30-lap Late Model feature and that was when the lapped car of Bob Cummings spun right in front of him entering turn one on lap eighteen. Other than that Anderson made this one a bit of a yawner going flag-to-flag from the pole position, a starting spot that he earned by racing from sixth to first in his qualifying heat earlier in the night. Al Purkey prevailed in the battle for second with David Turner while Brantlee Gotschall and Alan Vaughn completed the top five.
The stage was now set for the 25-lap Sprint Car main that through the first half of the race looked as though it would be a walkaway for Danny Lasoski. The Dude started fourth and came across the start-finish line in a dead heat with Brad Loyet on lap one before establishing himself as the leader into turn one. Lasoski enjoyed nearly a straightway lead over Loyet and Brian Brown when on lap thirteen he got into the back push bar of Dakota Carroll coming off turn four turning her nearly sideways on the frontstretch and the caution waved when Carroll coasted to a halt in front of the judges stand. On the restart Brown used the high line off turn two to take the lead from Lasoski with the two touching going down the back stretch bringing back memories of their famous tussle at Knoxville several years ago. Lasoski fought back and put a slider on Brown in turn two to regain the lead on lap nineteen and as the laps wound down the two approached slower traffic. Coming off of turn four to the white flag Lasoski chose the high line and Brown took the very bottom around a lapped car and Brown's line was the better choice as he took the lead from Lasoski and then held him off over the final lap for the win. Randy Martin came home third ahead of Tony Bruce Jr. while the Warrior Region point leader Loyet settled for fifth.
It was great to be in a grandstand full of race fans and even though the track conditions were on the dry side, the racing was definitely worth the trip!
Heat race action went off pretty well with only a couple of minor incidents although the Sprint Car drivers who started on the outside of the back rows absolutely abused the flagman. With no chalk line off turn four and since not one single start was called back on the night, several drivers channeled the chorus of this 1984 hit from Van Halen. It was so bad that on the fourth and final heat the driver starting outside of row four was side-by-side with the pole-sitter as the field entered the front stretch.
The Modified feature was first on the card and it turned into a forty minute drama with several story lines across nine cautions. Jason Bodenhammer was the leader at the drop of the green with Jim Moody challenging early using the high line through the corners. The first caution waved on lap five and on the double file restart Moody was shuffled back with Richard Foster now picking up the challenge before a caution on lap ten waved for debris. From there, things got a little wild. Foster and Jason Thompson made contact off turn two following the restart and after Foster showed his displeasure on the track the extra curricular activities between the two continued in the pits. Back to the racing Terry Schultz was now Bodenhammer's challenger only to have his right front tire go flat entering turn one on lap sixteen and when Schultz slowed the caution appeared. The hometown favorite changed the tire and returned to the back of the field for the restart where he picked off about five cars on the first lap before the caution waved again on lap seventeen.
On this restart the crowd went wild as the leader Bodenhammer was tagged by Shad Badder in turn one spinning Bodee and bringing out another caution. Some cheered and some booed as Bodenhammer tried to return to the front of the realignment, but he was sent to the rear while Badder retired to the pits likely disappointed in himself for his involvement in the incident. Kyle Westerhold picked up the point from there but a lap later Bodenhammer was sliding sideways down the front stretch after being pinched into the wall and that ended his evening. On the restart Moody got a nice restart and drove under Westerhold coming to the green and while Westerhold gave it his best to take that lead back over the final six laps he could not get the job done as Moody took the win. Westerhold was second followed by Curt Potter, Mark Hoover and Schultz.
John Anderson had only one moment of concern in the 30-lap Late Model feature and that was when the lapped car of Bob Cummings spun right in front of him entering turn one on lap eighteen. Other than that Anderson made this one a bit of a yawner going flag-to-flag from the pole position, a starting spot that he earned by racing from sixth to first in his qualifying heat earlier in the night. Al Purkey prevailed in the battle for second with David Turner while Brantlee Gotschall and Alan Vaughn completed the top five.
The stage was now set for the 25-lap Sprint Car main that through the first half of the race looked as though it would be a walkaway for Danny Lasoski. The Dude started fourth and came across the start-finish line in a dead heat with Brad Loyet on lap one before establishing himself as the leader into turn one. Lasoski enjoyed nearly a straightway lead over Loyet and Brian Brown when on lap thirteen he got into the back push bar of Dakota Carroll coming off turn four turning her nearly sideways on the frontstretch and the caution waved when Carroll coasted to a halt in front of the judges stand. On the restart Brown used the high line off turn two to take the lead from Lasoski with the two touching going down the back stretch bringing back memories of their famous tussle at Knoxville several years ago. Lasoski fought back and put a slider on Brown in turn two to regain the lead on lap nineteen and as the laps wound down the two approached slower traffic. Coming off of turn four to the white flag Lasoski chose the high line and Brown took the very bottom around a lapped car and Brown's line was the better choice as he took the lead from Lasoski and then held him off over the final lap for the win. Randy Martin came home third ahead of Tony Bruce Jr. while the Warrior Region point leader Loyet settled for fifth.
It was great to be in a grandstand full of race fans and even though the track conditions were on the dry side, the racing was definitely worth the trip!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
End Of An Era In Donnellson
Terry and Jenni Hoenig announced last night that they will not return as the promoters of the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for 2012. The Hoenigs were young and excited when they took over the lease on the facility fourteen years ago and I have had the pleasure to get to know them very well during their tenure at the 3/8-mile D-shaped track nestled into the southeast corner of Iowa. To me they are still young and while the past couple of seasons have been a challenge for them, they have not lost that excitement about putting on the best show possible for the drivers and fans who support the facility.
Terry has taken a full-time position in the area as the comfort of a steady paycheck and a different type of daily challenges was just too much to pass up for this father of two lovely daughters who will now be able to see all of those dance recitals and softball games that he has had to miss fairly regularly in the past. On a much smaller scale I completely understand, as that was the reason why I stopped announcing races weekly leaving Knoxville in 1998.
I had the pleasure of getting to know these two working with them on Shiverfest each year and that partnership on one race a year grew into a full-time friendship very quickly. Terry and Jenni love racing, they love the fans and most of all they love the racers. After all, Terry was a racer himself having been a track champion in the Hobby Stock ranks while Jenni is the daughter of car owner Leonard Carlson who fielded a Pro Stock numbered 75 that several drivers drove to victory lane back in the 1980's and 90's. While many drivers feel that promoters are only in it for the money (a notion that is wrong 99% of the time), I am pretty confident that the drivers who made the effort to actually know Terry and Jenni would have never made that accusation of these two. Were they always right? Heck no, and they were humble enough to admit when they made a rare mistake and usually it was because they were asking me for advice! Thank goodness they were smart enough to not always follow it. They would always try to do what was best for all involved and unfortunately over the past few years, what was best for racing was not what was best for their family and being the truly good people that they are, they made the decision that was announced to all last night at the speedway.
So what now becomes of the Lee County Speedway? I believe that there are nine years remaining on the current lease held by the Hoenigs and while the weekly program here is not as vibrant as it was a few years ago, it is definitely not broken. There is a solid following of drivers, fans and sponsors who will no doubt be looking to support anybody who would want to step in, purchase the lease, and continue to hold weekly racing at this fine fairgrounds facility. Another possibility would be to see what we just witnessed up in Webster City this season where the fairboard steps in, hires a race director and either runs a weekly schedule or, in this case perhaps a "specials" schedule. Or this fine facility could sit idle until somebody else decides to step in. I'd hate to see that, but let's face it, the possibility is there.
Terry and Jenni, I know that I speak for many when I say "thank you" for all of the great nights of racing that you have brought to everybody in Donnellson, as racetrack promoters you will be sorely missed. Now, as a friend though, I look forward to having you hop in the car with me much more often to go enjoy the efforts of another of the many hard working promoters out there, wherever that track may be.
Terry has taken a full-time position in the area as the comfort of a steady paycheck and a different type of daily challenges was just too much to pass up for this father of two lovely daughters who will now be able to see all of those dance recitals and softball games that he has had to miss fairly regularly in the past. On a much smaller scale I completely understand, as that was the reason why I stopped announcing races weekly leaving Knoxville in 1998.
I had the pleasure of getting to know these two working with them on Shiverfest each year and that partnership on one race a year grew into a full-time friendship very quickly. Terry and Jenni love racing, they love the fans and most of all they love the racers. After all, Terry was a racer himself having been a track champion in the Hobby Stock ranks while Jenni is the daughter of car owner Leonard Carlson who fielded a Pro Stock numbered 75 that several drivers drove to victory lane back in the 1980's and 90's. While many drivers feel that promoters are only in it for the money (a notion that is wrong 99% of the time), I am pretty confident that the drivers who made the effort to actually know Terry and Jenni would have never made that accusation of these two. Were they always right? Heck no, and they were humble enough to admit when they made a rare mistake and usually it was because they were asking me for advice! Thank goodness they were smart enough to not always follow it. They would always try to do what was best for all involved and unfortunately over the past few years, what was best for racing was not what was best for their family and being the truly good people that they are, they made the decision that was announced to all last night at the speedway.
So what now becomes of the Lee County Speedway? I believe that there are nine years remaining on the current lease held by the Hoenigs and while the weekly program here is not as vibrant as it was a few years ago, it is definitely not broken. There is a solid following of drivers, fans and sponsors who will no doubt be looking to support anybody who would want to step in, purchase the lease, and continue to hold weekly racing at this fine fairgrounds facility. Another possibility would be to see what we just witnessed up in Webster City this season where the fairboard steps in, hires a race director and either runs a weekly schedule or, in this case perhaps a "specials" schedule. Or this fine facility could sit idle until somebody else decides to step in. I'd hate to see that, but let's face it, the possibility is there.
Terry and Jenni, I know that I speak for many when I say "thank you" for all of the great nights of racing that you have brought to everybody in Donnellson, as racetrack promoters you will be sorely missed. Now, as a friend though, I look forward to having you hop in the car with me much more often to go enjoy the efforts of another of the many hard working promoters out there, wherever that track may be.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
A Look Back At The 51st Annual Knoxville Nationals
On this day after the conclusion of this spectacular four-day event, following are my thoughts without the use of a notebook (left in the car all week as I said I would earlier) and without a single visit to the press room since the luncheon has now apparently been moved permanently to Thursdays when I still have to work.
After a wet spring and a scorching summer we couldn't have asked for better weather during this four-day run. Even a 60% chance of rain for Friday night never materialized and the temperatures and humidity were comfortable throughout.
If not for a an engine going south over the final two laps in 2010 this would have been the sixth straight Nationals win for Donny Schatz who was lightning fast all week, except of course when his powerplant went up in flames during Wednesday's feature. That little hurdle put him in row seven for the finale and it only took him fifteen laps to get to the front. Another driver to be discussed next will be remembered, for awhile at least, for all the cars that he passed this week, but Schatz passed all that he needed to, and fast, on his way to his fifth Knoxville Nationals crown. Love him or hate him, you still have to respect his accomplishment.
Shane Stewart once again made a ten-day visit to Knoxville look like he should be contending for a World of Outlaws title rather than racing 360's full time. But then again, I think that works just fine for Stewart and car owner Paul Silva. Last Saturday night Stewart captured his second straight 360 Nationals title starting from the pole and then holding back a late charge from Tim Shaffer on a night when drivers like Shaffer and many others also raced in the 410 division. Not Stewart though. In 2010 Shane found himself on the podium for the 410 Nationals as well charging up to a third-place finish and this week he even caught the attention of people who just attend for the social aspect (my wife) with his thrilling runs from back to front. On Wednesday night he started 24th and finished 4th in the A-Main. The fact that Stewart even made the A on Wednesday was the result of one of the gutsiest moves of the week when he pulled off a slider on Bronson Masechen in the final laps to get that last transfer out of the B-Main. During Friday's show the grudge draw placed Stewart in 17th for the start of the Race of Champions and he was closing fast in second when pole-sitter Tim Shaffer took the checkers. Then in the World Challenge race Shane started 13th and ran out of laps before he could catch front row starter Lucas Wolfe who took the win. Everybody was pumped to watch the Rockstar do it again in Saturday's headliner and he did not disappoint closing to within five car lengths of Schatz at the checkers. And to think, it was the second heat race on Wednesday night, when Stewart started fifth but had both Donny Schatz and Austin McCarl go blowing past him dropping him back to sixth, two positions out of a transfer, that put him in "catch up mode" in the first place. Look for Stewart to now go on and close out another ASCS National Tour Championship here in 2011.
At fifty-seven years old Sammy Swindell may be running out of legitimate chances to back up his 1983 Knoxville Nationals title and I think I heard that in his voice during his podium interview Saturday night. Sammy racked up the most points through the qualifying events and started from the pole position, but a bobble early off the berm in turn three allowed Brad Sweet to lead and then late, when it looked as though Sammy was closing in for the kill on Schatz, that same berm bit him again. With four laps remaining Swindell went into turn three just a smidge too low making contact with the berm and kicking him out into the middle of the track. Sammy said that it felt like he had parked there for lunch, and for his fans like me it was an agonizing split second as his momentum was now lost, and Schatz was gone. Stewart pounced as well to take over the second spot and Sammy recovered for third which is still better than how he ended his run last year upside down in turn four. As a Swindell fan I do hope that he continues to be a contender for years to come, but I have a harder time driving home each year at age 48, so I can't even imagine the effect that each passing year has on someone in a winged missile touring a half-mile oval in 15 seconds.
The only way to live up to winning last year's Knoxville Nationals for Tim Shaffer was to do it again, but the "Steel City Outlaw" has to be pretty happy with how his Southern Iowa Sprint Week went. Last Saturday he was the runner-up to Shane Stewart in the 360 Nationals and finished fourth on the same night in the All Stars sanctioned 410 show. Shaffer had a good night going on Wednesday before his motor went south in the feature, but with a grudge draw gift from Danny Holtgraver (the pole position) he won the Race of Champions on Friday night, then came from 19th to fourth in the Championship race on Saturday. It is safe to say that Shaffer has Knoxville dialed in right now.
Daryn Pittman was pretty quiet all week until he made a run at Schatz for the lead following the mid-race caution. His fifth-place finish was a nice finish to the week.
Four-time All Iowa Points champion Mark Dobmeier established himself as a contender by disposing of Danny Lasoski late in the first heat race and then prevailed through some thrilling sliders with Brian Brown and Jason Meyers to take Thursday night's feature win. Dobmeier started seventh and was never a threat to win the finale on Saturday, but posted a solid sixth-place finish for one of the upper Midwest's best drivers.
Speaking of Lasoski, after he was passed by Dobmeier for the final transfer spot in Thursday's first heat the week went downhill from there mercifully coming to an end with a fifth-place finish in Saturday's D-Main. "The Dude" has been solid here all season only finishing outside of the top-five twice all year. He now needs to regroup to see if he can hold back Dusty Zomer for the Knoxville season points championship. And speaking of Zomer, his week ended just one position ahead of Lasoski in that D-Main, an event he dropped to when his left rear tire exploded while leading the first Semi-Main on Friday night.
Brian Brown had a solid Nationals finishing in seventh-place, but you can bet that he won't want to repeat his "training method" to get to it as he was very sore following a hard crash the week before in the 360 Nationals.
Brad Sweet subbed for the injured Joey Saldana in the Kasey Kahne racing #9 and earned a front row start for the Championship race on Saturday night. I knew he was screwed though when he told Mike Roberts during pre-race introductions that "this one is for Joey" as Saldana NEVER has any luck during the Nationals. Sweet finished eighth.
If not for young Rager Phillips running out of fuel on the final lap of the B-Main, Lance Dewease would have been watching the championship race from the infield. But he made the most of his opportunity and came from 24th to 9th. It was an incredible heart breaker for Phillips who has been maligned for his involvement in accidents here the past year or so. Tonight the kid was a stud driving past big name drivers to apparently make the big show only to come up a half a lap short in the end. Brady Bacon also suffered B-Main heartbreak when his right rear tire went flat just before a late restart forcing him to pit while sitting in second.
Craig Dollansky, one of my two pre-event picks finished tenth while the other one, Jason Meyers was 22nd. That's why nobody should listen to me when I try to pick a winner.
I hated to see eighteen-year-old Austin McCarl crash hard on the first lap of his first National Championship race. Austin is exactly what this sport and this track needs to get the young crowd hooked on the sport as many of his Southeast Polk high school class mates come to Knoxville each week to cheer him on. I understand that Austin will be playing basketball for Grand View College this winter?
Morgan tells me that Cody Darrah has been taking a lot of heat on the forums for tearing up Kasey Kahne's equipment on the World of Outlaws trail this season. The youngster set quick time on Thursday night, but could not make the A that night even after starting on the pole of the B-Main. Then on Saturday night he stuffed the #91 in the turn three fence on the opening lap of the B-Main, so I'm sure that didn't help the situation.
Speaking of the forum boards, I noticed one thread where some AWP tried to make the case that the Knoxville Raceway did not care about Sprint Car fans when there was no way that he could watch Saturday's show live except for actually being at the track. Then, to top it off, he asked sarcastically how attendance had been for the week so far. Well, I'll be the first to admit that the Wednesday and Thursday night crowds were as small as I have seen them since the back stretch stands were added many years back and while the crowd picked up a bit on Friday, it still was light in comparison to recent years. Now it is my understanding that all three of these nights could be watched live online, while Saturday night you had to buy a ticket and be there to see it live. Saturday night's crowd was pretty darn good, so I wonder if there is any correlation there? I came darn close to missing the first three nights due to a work commitment, and if I had been stuck in a hotel on the east coast I would have loved to had the opportunity to watch the show live online. However, it is my opinion that the Knoxville Raceway needs to do what it has to do in order to put more butts in the stands and if that means no "live" telecast of the event on any night, then so be it. Sorry AWP, but you made yourself look like a jerk with that argument.
Better late than never. Announcer Johnny Gibson reminded fans to stay seated when the green flag waves after the initial start where Austin McCarl flipped in turn one. Johnny is fantastic at getting the crowd fired up with his "you wanted the best, you got 'em four abreast, often imitated, never duplicated, the World of Outlaws" call during the parade lap, but his next line needs to be something along the lines of "remember race fans, this is dirt track racing loved by fans young and old, short and tall, so when everybody sits, everybody sees.....after all this ain't NASCAR!" I know that the three young fans in the row behind us would appreciate that and it would be a good lesson for the folks who seem to think that their shaky and far-off looking smartphone video is important enough to block the view of everybody behind them. If you are reading this and thinking "what a stupid thing to be writing about, you stand up because it is exciting", then you are obviously somebody who has only started going to the Nationals over the past ten years. We never had this problem before then.
I did hear that an announcement was made during Thursday's press luncheon that John McCoy would move up to the booth next year to take over Ralph Capitani's race night duties, but that the Promoter/Track Manager position was still open. McCoy is the perfect choice for making the calls from the booth and I have a had a few people tell me that I should apply for the open position remaining. But my thought is that replacing a legend is almost always a losing proposition and that replacing the person who replaced the legend has a much better success rate. I have heard a few names that are supposedly in contention and all sound like they would be a good choice, although one of them would need to learn how to take a breath while giving an interview.
The 51st Knoxville Nationals was a bittersweet one for me as it may be the last time for awhile that I get to spend all four nights, plus the 360 Nationals the week before, with my son Morgan by my side. He left today to return to the University of Tulsa to begin his senior year and we of course are hoping that he will land a good job following his graduation in May. However, unless that job is back here in southeast Iowa it is likely that a newbie will not have vacation days available to him after three months to be here for the whole week, so Saturday night's finale in 2012 will probably be the best that he can do. I went to a lot of Nationals before he even came along, but this event took on a whole different level of enjoyment once he started going. It just won't be the same to go back without him next year. I hate getting old......
After a wet spring and a scorching summer we couldn't have asked for better weather during this four-day run. Even a 60% chance of rain for Friday night never materialized and the temperatures and humidity were comfortable throughout.
If not for a an engine going south over the final two laps in 2010 this would have been the sixth straight Nationals win for Donny Schatz who was lightning fast all week, except of course when his powerplant went up in flames during Wednesday's feature. That little hurdle put him in row seven for the finale and it only took him fifteen laps to get to the front. Another driver to be discussed next will be remembered, for awhile at least, for all the cars that he passed this week, but Schatz passed all that he needed to, and fast, on his way to his fifth Knoxville Nationals crown. Love him or hate him, you still have to respect his accomplishment.
Shane Stewart once again made a ten-day visit to Knoxville look like he should be contending for a World of Outlaws title rather than racing 360's full time. But then again, I think that works just fine for Stewart and car owner Paul Silva. Last Saturday night Stewart captured his second straight 360 Nationals title starting from the pole and then holding back a late charge from Tim Shaffer on a night when drivers like Shaffer and many others also raced in the 410 division. Not Stewart though. In 2010 Shane found himself on the podium for the 410 Nationals as well charging up to a third-place finish and this week he even caught the attention of people who just attend for the social aspect (my wife) with his thrilling runs from back to front. On Wednesday night he started 24th and finished 4th in the A-Main. The fact that Stewart even made the A on Wednesday was the result of one of the gutsiest moves of the week when he pulled off a slider on Bronson Masechen in the final laps to get that last transfer out of the B-Main. During Friday's show the grudge draw placed Stewart in 17th for the start of the Race of Champions and he was closing fast in second when pole-sitter Tim Shaffer took the checkers. Then in the World Challenge race Shane started 13th and ran out of laps before he could catch front row starter Lucas Wolfe who took the win. Everybody was pumped to watch the Rockstar do it again in Saturday's headliner and he did not disappoint closing to within five car lengths of Schatz at the checkers. And to think, it was the second heat race on Wednesday night, when Stewart started fifth but had both Donny Schatz and Austin McCarl go blowing past him dropping him back to sixth, two positions out of a transfer, that put him in "catch up mode" in the first place. Look for Stewart to now go on and close out another ASCS National Tour Championship here in 2011.
At fifty-seven years old Sammy Swindell may be running out of legitimate chances to back up his 1983 Knoxville Nationals title and I think I heard that in his voice during his podium interview Saturday night. Sammy racked up the most points through the qualifying events and started from the pole position, but a bobble early off the berm in turn three allowed Brad Sweet to lead and then late, when it looked as though Sammy was closing in for the kill on Schatz, that same berm bit him again. With four laps remaining Swindell went into turn three just a smidge too low making contact with the berm and kicking him out into the middle of the track. Sammy said that it felt like he had parked there for lunch, and for his fans like me it was an agonizing split second as his momentum was now lost, and Schatz was gone. Stewart pounced as well to take over the second spot and Sammy recovered for third which is still better than how he ended his run last year upside down in turn four. As a Swindell fan I do hope that he continues to be a contender for years to come, but I have a harder time driving home each year at age 48, so I can't even imagine the effect that each passing year has on someone in a winged missile touring a half-mile oval in 15 seconds.
The only way to live up to winning last year's Knoxville Nationals for Tim Shaffer was to do it again, but the "Steel City Outlaw" has to be pretty happy with how his Southern Iowa Sprint Week went. Last Saturday he was the runner-up to Shane Stewart in the 360 Nationals and finished fourth on the same night in the All Stars sanctioned 410 show. Shaffer had a good night going on Wednesday before his motor went south in the feature, but with a grudge draw gift from Danny Holtgraver (the pole position) he won the Race of Champions on Friday night, then came from 19th to fourth in the Championship race on Saturday. It is safe to say that Shaffer has Knoxville dialed in right now.
Daryn Pittman was pretty quiet all week until he made a run at Schatz for the lead following the mid-race caution. His fifth-place finish was a nice finish to the week.
Four-time All Iowa Points champion Mark Dobmeier established himself as a contender by disposing of Danny Lasoski late in the first heat race and then prevailed through some thrilling sliders with Brian Brown and Jason Meyers to take Thursday night's feature win. Dobmeier started seventh and was never a threat to win the finale on Saturday, but posted a solid sixth-place finish for one of the upper Midwest's best drivers.
Speaking of Lasoski, after he was passed by Dobmeier for the final transfer spot in Thursday's first heat the week went downhill from there mercifully coming to an end with a fifth-place finish in Saturday's D-Main. "The Dude" has been solid here all season only finishing outside of the top-five twice all year. He now needs to regroup to see if he can hold back Dusty Zomer for the Knoxville season points championship. And speaking of Zomer, his week ended just one position ahead of Lasoski in that D-Main, an event he dropped to when his left rear tire exploded while leading the first Semi-Main on Friday night.
Brian Brown had a solid Nationals finishing in seventh-place, but you can bet that he won't want to repeat his "training method" to get to it as he was very sore following a hard crash the week before in the 360 Nationals.
Brad Sweet subbed for the injured Joey Saldana in the Kasey Kahne racing #9 and earned a front row start for the Championship race on Saturday night. I knew he was screwed though when he told Mike Roberts during pre-race introductions that "this one is for Joey" as Saldana NEVER has any luck during the Nationals. Sweet finished eighth.
If not for young Rager Phillips running out of fuel on the final lap of the B-Main, Lance Dewease would have been watching the championship race from the infield. But he made the most of his opportunity and came from 24th to 9th. It was an incredible heart breaker for Phillips who has been maligned for his involvement in accidents here the past year or so. Tonight the kid was a stud driving past big name drivers to apparently make the big show only to come up a half a lap short in the end. Brady Bacon also suffered B-Main heartbreak when his right rear tire went flat just before a late restart forcing him to pit while sitting in second.
Craig Dollansky, one of my two pre-event picks finished tenth while the other one, Jason Meyers was 22nd. That's why nobody should listen to me when I try to pick a winner.
I hated to see eighteen-year-old Austin McCarl crash hard on the first lap of his first National Championship race. Austin is exactly what this sport and this track needs to get the young crowd hooked on the sport as many of his Southeast Polk high school class mates come to Knoxville each week to cheer him on. I understand that Austin will be playing basketball for Grand View College this winter?
Morgan tells me that Cody Darrah has been taking a lot of heat on the forums for tearing up Kasey Kahne's equipment on the World of Outlaws trail this season. The youngster set quick time on Thursday night, but could not make the A that night even after starting on the pole of the B-Main. Then on Saturday night he stuffed the #91 in the turn three fence on the opening lap of the B-Main, so I'm sure that didn't help the situation.
Speaking of the forum boards, I noticed one thread where some AWP tried to make the case that the Knoxville Raceway did not care about Sprint Car fans when there was no way that he could watch Saturday's show live except for actually being at the track. Then, to top it off, he asked sarcastically how attendance had been for the week so far. Well, I'll be the first to admit that the Wednesday and Thursday night crowds were as small as I have seen them since the back stretch stands were added many years back and while the crowd picked up a bit on Friday, it still was light in comparison to recent years. Now it is my understanding that all three of these nights could be watched live online, while Saturday night you had to buy a ticket and be there to see it live. Saturday night's crowd was pretty darn good, so I wonder if there is any correlation there? I came darn close to missing the first three nights due to a work commitment, and if I had been stuck in a hotel on the east coast I would have loved to had the opportunity to watch the show live online. However, it is my opinion that the Knoxville Raceway needs to do what it has to do in order to put more butts in the stands and if that means no "live" telecast of the event on any night, then so be it. Sorry AWP, but you made yourself look like a jerk with that argument.
Better late than never. Announcer Johnny Gibson reminded fans to stay seated when the green flag waves after the initial start where Austin McCarl flipped in turn one. Johnny is fantastic at getting the crowd fired up with his "you wanted the best, you got 'em four abreast, often imitated, never duplicated, the World of Outlaws" call during the parade lap, but his next line needs to be something along the lines of "remember race fans, this is dirt track racing loved by fans young and old, short and tall, so when everybody sits, everybody sees.....after all this ain't NASCAR!" I know that the three young fans in the row behind us would appreciate that and it would be a good lesson for the folks who seem to think that their shaky and far-off looking smartphone video is important enough to block the view of everybody behind them. If you are reading this and thinking "what a stupid thing to be writing about, you stand up because it is exciting", then you are obviously somebody who has only started going to the Nationals over the past ten years. We never had this problem before then.
I did hear that an announcement was made during Thursday's press luncheon that John McCoy would move up to the booth next year to take over Ralph Capitani's race night duties, but that the Promoter/Track Manager position was still open. McCoy is the perfect choice for making the calls from the booth and I have a had a few people tell me that I should apply for the open position remaining. But my thought is that replacing a legend is almost always a losing proposition and that replacing the person who replaced the legend has a much better success rate. I have heard a few names that are supposedly in contention and all sound like they would be a good choice, although one of them would need to learn how to take a breath while giving an interview.
The 51st Knoxville Nationals was a bittersweet one for me as it may be the last time for awhile that I get to spend all four nights, plus the 360 Nationals the week before, with my son Morgan by my side. He left today to return to the University of Tulsa to begin his senior year and we of course are hoping that he will land a good job following his graduation in May. However, unless that job is back here in southeast Iowa it is likely that a newbie will not have vacation days available to him after three months to be here for the whole week, so Saturday night's finale in 2012 will probably be the best that he can do. I went to a lot of Nationals before he even came along, but this event took on a whole different level of enjoyment once he started going. It just won't be the same to go back without him next year. I hate getting old......
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Osky's Ultimate Challenge
Yea, I’m a liar as I closed my last entry by saying that I would not be back until after the Nationals with a summary of the week. But comments made by two drivers during the intermission on-track entertainment at the Ultimate Challenge last night just had to be shared.
Morgan and I usually make a point of attending this event since it is one of only two nights where we can catch non-wing Sprint Car action close to home. Of course the other night is just two days earlier when the USAC Sprints run at Knoxville, but despite the fact that we see basically the same field of cars, the two events offer up two completely different types of shows. At Knoxville the format calls for two laps of qualifying, one set of heat races with the top four finishers advancing, a B-Main and a feature. At Oskaloosa drivers draw for starting positions in a first round of heat races and, following those heats, passing points are tabulated to run a second round of heats where the top six are inverted in each. Points from both rounds of heat races are then tallied with the top sixteen moving to the A-Main and the rest running the Last Chance race. I’m not sure how the drivers feel about it, but from a fan’s standpoint the Osky format of qualifying is fantastic!
The one thing that we don’t like about this event is that we know that it will always be a late night unless it is threatened by approaching weather. Now, while that may sound like a “slam”, let me clarify. The Osky Challenges have always been promoted as a party where a race breaks out and it caters to the thousands of sprint car fans who have flocked to the area for the Knoxville Nationals. We know that there are not many people sitting around us that will have an eighty-minute drive home following the final checkered flag and an alarm that will chime at 6:30 the next morning to start a normal day at work so it was no surprise when the advertised “Race time” of 7:15 p.m. came and went without a hint of even the track being packed in yet. And we were actually happy to be on the road for home after watching young Kyle Larson take the win just prior to 11:30. Yes, it gets us off to a weary start for the Nationals, especially since we do an “up and back” for the Wednesday show as well, but for a night of non-wing sprint action close to home we’ll catch up on our sleep later!
Last night when the first set of hot laps sent up a dust cloud around the half-mile it was a clear indication that the track was going to be a dry-slick tire eater even after the water truck tried to catch up a bit around the edges after hot laps. Given the less than ideal track conditions I was pleasantly surprised by the action that we saw during the first set of heats and there were at least three occasions where my heart jumped due to amazing moves by drivers during the second round of heats. No, it was definitely not the mud-slinging, cushion-pounding action you expect from the “traditional” sprints, but it was still entertaining. During intermission though, two drivers clearly expressed their opinion on the track prep although I am still unclear as to whether that task was the responsibility of the promoter, Terry McCarl, or the sanctioning body, USAC.
“The Madman” Robert Ballou actually got in three different swipes during his interview starting off by saying that whoever prepared this track needs to be fired. He then noted that the track condition the night before for the winged cars would have been much better for tonight’s show adding that wings are for birds. Then, when presented with a right rear Hoosier tire for winning one of the heats, he noted that it was nice to race on a tire brand that doesn’t blow up all the time. Morgan and I were happy to see Ballou get through a race night without getting upside down as maybe now our jinx is lifted (see the blog entry of August 8th). When announcer Blake Anderson made his way to Dave Darland his first comment was that somebody should have gotten McCarl out of bed this morning to come work on this track which drew some cheers and jeers from the good-sized crowd. Brady Bacon then won the foot race just ahead of a tumbling Bryan Clausen and the B-Main was soon on the track.
By feature time the top groove was pretty much gone as proven by defending race-winner Bud Kaeding who went backwards trying to work the cushion and by lap ten right rear tires were smoking as drivers did their best to save some rubber for the end. A red-flag for Dustin Morgan at the mid-point of the thirty-lap affair saw ten drivers, including the third running Ballou, make the decision to bolt on a new right rear tire and restart at the back, or in Ballou’s case ahead of the other nine guys who went with the same strategy. Kyle Larson who was in the Hoffman #69 for the first time, and Knoxville’s Sunday night winner Brady Bacon swapped the lead following the restart before Larson (The NorCal Ninja…..gotta love Blake) pulled away for the convincing win. Brady Bacon settled for second with “The People’s Champ” Dave Darland in third. Shane Cottle finished fourth while Jerry Coons Jr. posted the best finish of the ten drivers who took on new rubber in fifth.
More water on the track before hot laps would have made for a better show, but overall I’ve seen much worse and this event will still be on our “to do” list in 2012. Check back in later this week as Barry Johnson has promised that he will get some action shots from the USAC show at Knoxville to me for display here on the Back Stretch.
While I’d love to see Sammy Swindell in victory lane this Saturday night I am going to predict another first-time Nationals champion in either Jason Meyers or Craig Dollansky.
Morgan and I usually make a point of attending this event since it is one of only two nights where we can catch non-wing Sprint Car action close to home. Of course the other night is just two days earlier when the USAC Sprints run at Knoxville, but despite the fact that we see basically the same field of cars, the two events offer up two completely different types of shows. At Knoxville the format calls for two laps of qualifying, one set of heat races with the top four finishers advancing, a B-Main and a feature. At Oskaloosa drivers draw for starting positions in a first round of heat races and, following those heats, passing points are tabulated to run a second round of heats where the top six are inverted in each. Points from both rounds of heat races are then tallied with the top sixteen moving to the A-Main and the rest running the Last Chance race. I’m not sure how the drivers feel about it, but from a fan’s standpoint the Osky format of qualifying is fantastic!
The one thing that we don’t like about this event is that we know that it will always be a late night unless it is threatened by approaching weather. Now, while that may sound like a “slam”, let me clarify. The Osky Challenges have always been promoted as a party where a race breaks out and it caters to the thousands of sprint car fans who have flocked to the area for the Knoxville Nationals. We know that there are not many people sitting around us that will have an eighty-minute drive home following the final checkered flag and an alarm that will chime at 6:30 the next morning to start a normal day at work so it was no surprise when the advertised “Race time” of 7:15 p.m. came and went without a hint of even the track being packed in yet. And we were actually happy to be on the road for home after watching young Kyle Larson take the win just prior to 11:30. Yes, it gets us off to a weary start for the Nationals, especially since we do an “up and back” for the Wednesday show as well, but for a night of non-wing sprint action close to home we’ll catch up on our sleep later!
Last night when the first set of hot laps sent up a dust cloud around the half-mile it was a clear indication that the track was going to be a dry-slick tire eater even after the water truck tried to catch up a bit around the edges after hot laps. Given the less than ideal track conditions I was pleasantly surprised by the action that we saw during the first set of heats and there were at least three occasions where my heart jumped due to amazing moves by drivers during the second round of heats. No, it was definitely not the mud-slinging, cushion-pounding action you expect from the “traditional” sprints, but it was still entertaining. During intermission though, two drivers clearly expressed their opinion on the track prep although I am still unclear as to whether that task was the responsibility of the promoter, Terry McCarl, or the sanctioning body, USAC.
“The Madman” Robert Ballou actually got in three different swipes during his interview starting off by saying that whoever prepared this track needs to be fired. He then noted that the track condition the night before for the winged cars would have been much better for tonight’s show adding that wings are for birds. Then, when presented with a right rear Hoosier tire for winning one of the heats, he noted that it was nice to race on a tire brand that doesn’t blow up all the time. Morgan and I were happy to see Ballou get through a race night without getting upside down as maybe now our jinx is lifted (see the blog entry of August 8th). When announcer Blake Anderson made his way to Dave Darland his first comment was that somebody should have gotten McCarl out of bed this morning to come work on this track which drew some cheers and jeers from the good-sized crowd. Brady Bacon then won the foot race just ahead of a tumbling Bryan Clausen and the B-Main was soon on the track.
By feature time the top groove was pretty much gone as proven by defending race-winner Bud Kaeding who went backwards trying to work the cushion and by lap ten right rear tires were smoking as drivers did their best to save some rubber for the end. A red-flag for Dustin Morgan at the mid-point of the thirty-lap affair saw ten drivers, including the third running Ballou, make the decision to bolt on a new right rear tire and restart at the back, or in Ballou’s case ahead of the other nine guys who went with the same strategy. Kyle Larson who was in the Hoffman #69 for the first time, and Knoxville’s Sunday night winner Brady Bacon swapped the lead following the restart before Larson (The NorCal Ninja…..gotta love Blake) pulled away for the convincing win. Brady Bacon settled for second with “The People’s Champ” Dave Darland in third. Shane Cottle finished fourth while Jerry Coons Jr. posted the best finish of the ten drivers who took on new rubber in fifth.
More water on the track before hot laps would have made for a better show, but overall I’ve seen much worse and this event will still be on our “to do” list in 2012. Check back in later this week as Barry Johnson has promised that he will get some action shots from the USAC show at Knoxville to me for display here on the Back Stretch.
While I’d love to see Sammy Swindell in victory lane this Saturday night I am going to predict another first-time Nationals champion in either Jason Meyers or Craig Dollansky.
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