Too Young? Another Bowl Of Soup, A Few (Silver) Dollars More

The latest Hawkeye Racing News has a PR style article about Jake Griffin, a 12 year old who won a late model face at a track inFulton,Missouri.  When I was 12 I was playing shortstop for the Fremont Volunteer Firemen baseball team in the YMCA Cookie League, and riding my bike to the swimming pool atRonin Park to flirt with Susan Hancock. I wasn’t ready physically or emotionally to drive any car, let alone a high horsepower racing machine.  I am not sure that the kid winning a race shows that he ought to be racing a late model. When does too young just become young?

Mike Pierson made a valid point about I-80 Speedway starting too many cars in its late model features.  Unfortunately the track is locked into starting 30 plus cars in the Silver Dollar Nationals, and I don’t see the starting numbers at any of their late model specials dropping down to the 24-26 starters in days of yore.  To me it is a back gate mentality.  The more cars that enter the back gate, the more $$$ the track gets in entry fees and sales of pit passes.  Giving drivers a shot at a provisional starting spot, drivers that likely don’t have much chance to qualify, means more cars in the pits.

I was told that the MLRA has raceceivers but the track owner did not want to use them because of expense involved for drivers to rent them.  Wow, that is a bad reason.  The raceceivers do expedite lining up cars, saving a lot of time during caution periods, but they are also a safety tool-drivers don’t have to wait to see a yellow light or flag, they can get caution information instantly through the one way raceceiver communication.

Does any late model crown jewel event run without transponders and raceceivers? How can an event that claims “wanna be” crown jewel status run without them?

Can someone please explain why during every caution in an MLRA sanctioned race drivers stop on the front stretch to talk with an MLRA official? I can buy into such a conversation if it involves a safety issue, but there is no way every driver talking with the MLRA official on Sunday night was pointing out safety problems on the track.  This is one more thing that adds to far too long cautions at MLRA events.

I received an email mentioning the track being “heavy” as the reason why racing started 35 minutes late Sunday night. Does that mean if day of the race track prep had started 35 minutes earlier, the races could have started on time?  Couldn’t track prep be started 35 minutes earlier so the races could start at the advertised time?  I do have a bugaboo about late starts and “5 minutes intermissions” that become 25 minute breaks.

I had no problems at all with the racing Sunday night.  The track was fast and there were multiple grooves.  WHEN cars raced it was good.  The modifieds put on a great show, and I would give the late models a B.  I hope the track will be as racy for the Silver Dollar Nationals, though a two night show in a hot, sunny July will take more out of the track than a one night show on a mostly cloudy Memorial Day weekend night.

An Area Auto Racing News ad showed a late model speed week in early June inMaryland and Pennsylvania.  Late models will race seven nights in a row, with six of the events being $5,000 to win, and one event paying $7,000 to win.  There is also a point fund.  Rick Eckert was the big winner in this mini-series in 2010.  I wish Nebraska promoters could put together even a three night swing like this. Yes, I do realize those states have a much larger population than Nebraska-that is why I said three days instead of seven. This would be another item on my “win the lottery bucket list,” and I would let Boy Genius do the promoting.

Speaking of my son, I am looking forward to our watching the Dirt Knights of the USMTS in action this weekend at Junction Motor Speedway.  We are probably only going Friday as one of us needs to help his very pregnant wife get their swimming pool ready for the summer and will be too busy to go to JMS on Saturday. You guess which one, but the back yard of my  home doesn’t even have a blow up pool.

Thanks for stopping by.