It Might Not Be All Of The Rest Of The Dirt, But It Sure Is A Lot Of Dirt

Omaha hotel managers attended the same price gouging seminar that Daytona Beach hotel managers did. Just like the Florida hotels during Speedweeks, the Omaha hotels increased room rates to obscene levels during the College World Series. At least one hotel within walking distance of TD Ameritrade Park had a room going for $500-tax included. I have paid what I consider outlandish rates in San Francisco and New York City and those rates did not approach $500. When the Omaha Chamber of Commerce tells people how friendly the city is, I am pretty sure hotel rates are not mentioned. According to one hotel manager the price is not too high if people are willing to pay it.

Thanks to Steve Basch, aka Raceguru, for donating $50 to the Silver Dollar Nationals Fans Fund. To date 12 donations totaling $1310 have been received. Obviously we have a long way to go to meet our goal, so please, if you are going to donate, do so now. No donation is too small, and I will acknowledge each donation on The Rest of the Dirt.

I watched POWRi/USAC/Badger Midget heat races last night from Angell Park Speedway in Wisconsin. The track is a 1/3rd mile oval with lots of open wheel tradition, including being home to the National Midget Hall of Fame. If you have ever been to Mineral City Raceway in Ft. Dodge, Iowa, the Angell Park Speedway seating is similar, planks on a hillside. 25 drivers from at least eight different states raced. For several laps of one of the heats you could have thrown a blanket over the top six cars. If six winged wonders were that close, a red flag would be flying and two or three of them would be upside down.

I do like the midgets enough to watch them six more times on XSANTV, just not enough to drive to Belleville, Kansas to see them up close and personal. Next up for XSANTV is another Hawkeye Dirt Tour modified race from Buena Vista Raceway in Alta, Iowa, and the next POWRi show is July 14th, again from Angell Park Speedway.

I can’t say with total certainty from any of the sites that gave results, but it appears 25 of the winged wonders, Nebraska 360 Sprint Car version, were in action at Butler County Speedway on June 22nd. Jack Dover won a make-up feature from a rained out event in May, and also won the regularly scheduled event. The Palmer Paradox Tour visits Junction Motor Speedway next Saturday.

There was almost too much late model racing last week. Nah, that isn’t true. There can never be too much late model racing. Fortunately I subscribe to http://www.DirtonDirt.com and they cover it all-Lucas Oil, WoO, UMP, and MLRA all had several stories and/or videos on the site this week. At $1.25 per week, it is cheaper than a Big Grab bag of Lay’s Potato Chips, and a lot healthier for you too. I get more value than that from the site everyday.

DOD will be providing a PPV of the Firecracker 100 from Lernerville, Pennsylvania this weekend. The three day crown jewel event is WoO sanctioned, but drivers like Brian Birkhofer and Jimmy Mars also have the race on their schedule, and with no Lucas Oil Series races this weekend, look for a few of their drivers to pop in. Separate night programs can be purchased for $18.99 on Thursday, $18.99 on Friday, and $21.99 for Saturday’s 100 lapper. DOD subscribers can purchase a three day package for $42.99, while non-subscribers can get the three day package for $45.99 (including a free month’s subscription to DOD).

I watched the last 20 laps of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Sonoma yesterday-first because I love the Bay Area, and second because Jeff Gordon was doing so well. Although the FOX NASCAR coverage irritates me to tears, to call the TNT announcing crew of Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach, and Kyle Petty The Three Stooges would be an insult to Moe, Larry, and Curly-well, not necessarily to the 2012 Three Stooges movie. Someone who is trying to talk me into going to ACS in Corning next Saturday said the best reason to go would be that I would not have any temptation to tune in The Three Amigos doing their number from Kentucky. He may be right.

Thanks for stopping by.