Richards, Owens, Jensen, Swindell Win-Birky Back Big

Here is a real late model surprise-Josh Richards and Jimmy Owens won national touring series races last night.  Yeah, that is me being sarcastic.  It is no surprise when the top two late model drivers in the www.DirtonDirt.com poll win races. 

Richards won $10,000 in the WoO race at West Virginia Motor Speedway.  He also increased his series point lead to 84 over Shane Clanton and 90 over Darrell Lanigan.  Lanigan finished 4^th in the race, Tim McCreadie finished 6^th, Clanton finished 8^th, and Rick Eckert finished 18^th.  Scott Bloomquist finished 5^th, and I think his WoO appearance was all about location, location, location-close to his home and lining up with where he wants to race the rest of the weekend.

Owens increased his Lucas Oil series lead to 95 points over Steve Francis with 10 races left in the season.  Owens led 47 laps of the 50 lap race and like Richards, collected $10,000.  Point challengers John Blankenship and Francis finished 4^th and 5^th.

Perhaps the big story out of Ohio was the performance of Brian Birkhofer coming back from his broken right hand.  Birky set fast time, won his heat, and finished 2^nd to Owens.  Hopefully this will be the start of a big weekend after his several week lay-off.

Young Minnesota driver Joey Jensen won the USMTS last night at Chateau Raceway.  Stormy Scott was second, followed by another Minnesota driver, Mike Sorensen.  Ryan Gustin followed his Thursday win with a 5^th place finish.  Point leader Johnny Scott had an off night, finishing 11^th, but maintained his lead as second in points Rodney Sanders finished 13^th.

The USMTS series heads to its “home” track” with a race tonight at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minnesota. The hot rod mods finish their weekend at Cresco Speedway in Iowa, and then have only one race remaining in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup, the finale of the Fall Jamboree at Deer Creek in mid-September.

Sammy Swindell won the WoO sprint car race at Skagit Speedway in Washington last night.  I do like to point out when old-timers win, but for sure when it is the first time a driver has won at a track in 34 years.  Yes, that is right, Swindell last won at Skagit Speedway in 1979.  I wonder how many drivers he races against weren’t even around in 1979.

Daryn Pitman finished 5^th and Donny Schatz finished 11^th.  Pitman remains in first place, having a 41 point lead over Schatz. 

Also, news that my sprint car fans will appreciate-Kyle Larson will be taking over the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing seat of Juan Pablo Montoya.  Well, they will appreciate one of their family getting a NASCAR Sprint Cup ride, but I would suspect he will be racing sprint cars less in 2014.  He doesn’t carry the clout of Tony Stewart.

It’s off to Nebraska football later this afternoon.  Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

 

It’s Labor Day Weekend. Let’s Head Out To The Track!!

Wow, I am really on my game.  I forgot to publish my Top 25 ballot.  I realize no one knows who the best drivers are if I don’t do this, so shame on me.  And it happened when all 25 drivers I voted for are in the overall Top 25.

 

2013 WEEKLY DRIVER POLL BALLOT
Name	Ron Meyer
	Please Enter Date   Below
Position	08/27/13
1	Josh   Richards
2	Jimmy   Owens
3	Darrell   Lanigan
4	Tim   McCreadie
5	Steve   Francis
6	Shane   Clanton
7	John   Blankenship
8	Shannon   Babb
9	Don O’Neal
10	Bobby   Pierce
11	Rick Eckert
12	Scott   Bloomquist
13	Dale   McDowell
14	Brandon   Sheppard
15	Dennis Erb   Jr.
16	Billy   Moyer
17	Jason   Feger
18	Mike   Marlar
19	Brian   Birkhofer
20	Tony   Jackson Jr.
21	Chris   Madden
22	Terry   Phillips
23	Jonathan   Davenport
24	Earl   Pearson Jr.
25	Chris   Simpson

 

You still should check out www.DirtonDirt.com for the overall 25 though.

 

One ranking I will mention though is Tony Jackson Jr. being rated above Scott Bloomquist.  Jackson is 16^th and Bloomquist is 17^th this week. Sorry, I am not sure that winning every regional race of every Missouri based series would equal winning one of the majors at Eldora.

 

The SLMR series is in action tomorrow night at Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa and on Sunday at I-80 Speedway.  Unfortunately I will miss both races.  Nebraska football takes precedence over racing in the Meyer household-the Matt Meyer household that is, and I will be going with Matt to the NU vs. Wyoming game.  Sunday is Henry’s birthday celebration and nothing is going to make me miss that celebration.

 

Brian Birkhofer will return to action this weekend, hopefully with a right hand mended enough to do his thing and make this weekend and next big money events for the fan favorite from Muscatine.

 

Don O’Neal is out this weekend, still suffering from neck injuries in a roll over at Volunteer Speedway in Tennessee.  He missed a Lucas Oil start at Lawrenceburg, Indiana last Saturday, and will miss both Lucas Oil events Labor Day Weekend races.  He is hoping to return to the MasterSbilt house car for the World 100 next week, but doctors have not yet released him.

 

For the first time in months Ryan Gustin won a USMTS race.  Gustin went home with a $4,000 check for winning the 40 lap feature last night at Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa.  Johnny Scott retook the point lead in the Hunt for the Casey’s Cup.  Rodney Sanders is 6 points behind Scott, and Jason Hughes is in third in the standings, 35 points out of first. The series heads to Chateau Raceway in Lansing, Minnesota tonight where drivers will be vying for a possible $8,600 winner’s purse.

 

I realize that my “post” yesterday was somewhat out of character for me.  However, that post caused a sum to be deposited in my PayPal account, and while I am not planning on getting rich blogging, an occasional deposit helps me answer family members who ask me why I keep blogging.  Thank you for your patience.

 

And thank you for stopping by.

 

 

 

 

 

Bejeweled

Most of you will be surprised to read this, but The Rest of the Dirt is a business. Obviously it is no Fortune 500 endeavor, it is a one person operation. It has a modest-very modest income, expenses, and I do pay taxes on a small profit. I am always looking for new income streams, and when someone contacts me with an offer I have to take a look at it.

I received an email last week from VM Media about placing an article on my blog and paying me accordingly. I advised them I would need to review the article before I would place it on my blog. They were agreeable. I reviewed it and am OK with it.

Yes, it is an online gambling ad. I have had ads like this on my website, and I neither endorse nor condemn them. They are there for your information and what you do with them is your business.

I am going to the New Media Expo at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas in January and it would be a little hypocritical for me to drop some coins into a slot machine in the hotel casino but not me willing to run this ad. Actually, I don’t know if the machines even have a slot for coins, but they like $20 bills. Anyway, below is for your information, and I hope you will read through it-I am a writer who is a terrible marketer and when someone offers a little cash for placing an article in my blog, I appreciate their support and hope my readers will too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Bingo and Bejeweled Team Up for Some Online Fun

Bejeweled is a web-based flash game that was developed by PopCap Games in 2000. The company partnered with Microsoft Zone to host Bewjeweled, and Microsoft actually suggested the name. Microsoft noted that the original name “Diamond Mine” was too similar to another game named “Diamond Mines” that was already in existence.

Since that time Bejeweled has become more than just a household name. It has been hosted on Smartphones, Palm platforms, and consoles such as Xbox. The game can be purchased from the iTunes store.

Gameplay

The game is won by accumulating points by swapping one gem with other adjacent games to form vertical or horizontal line of three or more gems. You can get bonus points by getting more than three identical gems, and/or when two chains are formed in one gem swap. The gems dissipate when the lines are formed and are replaced by new gems that come in from the top of the screen. A cascade is when a falling gem causes a complete line, resulting in bonus points for the player.

It is not uncommon to get three, four, five, or more gems in a row. It is rare, but some players can get six, seven, or eight gems lined up in a row.

Jackpotjoy’s Bejeweled Bingo

Bejeweled is a marvel of a game, with over 500 million fans spanning the globe. It is by far the most popular flash game in the word. Now you can experience all the fun of Bejeweled with Bejeweled Bingo.

Bejeweled Bing is a combination of bingo and the online flash game of the same name. You must use your prowess in combination with your bingo luck to win big bingo prizes. There are also plenty of bonuses along the way and a BIG progressive jackpot.

The game is simple, and if you have played online bingo before you won’t have any trouble with the first part of the game. Numbers are called out, just as in regular bingo, and then those numbers get crossed off your bingo cards. Prizes are allotted to the first person who gets a regular bingo, or a line of crossed out numbers. Prizes are also rewarded for those you get a two line bingo, and also a full house bingo.

Players who buy six tickets or more get entered into the Bejeweled Challenge which takes place at the end of the game. In this fun online bonanza, players complete lines of gems to accrue points, which adds up in free tickets based on the amount of points each individual has won during the bonus round.

A player cannot win more than 36 tickets per player during a regular game ticket purchase; you can exceed this number with the Bejeweled Challenge. More cards mean more numbers, which means more chances for you to win. You will gain a competitive edge over other players by doing well in the bonus round!

The biggest prize to be won is Jackpotjoy’s Bejeweled Bingo progressive jackpot. This special award grows with every player that joins in on the bingo fun. It also will roll into the next Bejeweled Bingo game if nobody wins it. The jackpot is displayed in the corner of your screen, so you can watch it grow as you enjoy your game of bingo.

So, whether you love bingo, Bejeweled, or both, this game is a fantastic way to win cash and enjoy the online gambling experience. Add to your bingo skills and become an aficionado by playing this online game of skill, luck, and jewels. Join Jackpotjoy today to start experiencing the fun!

Dick Trickle

I am just going to share a link with you today. No, it is not because I am lazy, rather because the link leads to a great article on Dick Trickle, a very long article on the short track hero and NASCAR star. Thanks to Craig Kelley for sending it to me, and kudos to Jeremy Markovich of Charlotte Magazine for an outstanding writing job.

http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/7/30/4567960/dick-trickle-suicide-nascar-profile?utm_source=sbnation&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=articlebottom

Thanks for stopping by.

Links-Not Sausage, Safety, And Trips To ????

According to Sports Business Journal, ESPN and TNT may be trying to get out of their contracts to televise NASCAR races early. See the link below for more information:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/report-espn-turner-talking-nascar-ending-tv-contracts-141103784.html

ESPN and TNT see falling ratings while FOX and NBC see new cable subscriptions. A switch in 2014 instead of 2015 seems to benefit the networks. I don’t know if FOX and NBC would simply pay the same as the ESPN/TNT contracts call for, or if they would pay the new contract rate.

A blog like The Rest of the Dirt can promote racing safety, can rant and rave about improving driver safety, and nothing will happen. Death or injury to a driver that dirt track fans may be familiar with will not speed up the process either. It takes the death or injury of a famous driver to lead to safety improvements with cars and at tracks.

I don’t want to see any driver injured, but if there is a silver lining in the Tony Stewart Oskaloosa incident, it is that he will be vocal on improving racing safety and because of his reputation people will listen.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2013-08-23/tony-stewart-injury-update-sprint-car-safety-mark-martin

I know so little about sprint cars, and I admit I don’t want to know much more, that I am not sure how to go about making them safer. They are light weight with extreme horsepower and will get airborne easily. Unlike with fendered race cars that are not many soft rolls with a sprint car.

With college football kicking off and a birthday party for a VIT-Very Important Toddler-it looks like any racing action this weekend will be on TV watching NASCAR from Atlanta. Nebraska plays a night home game on Saturday, meaning a no go for the SLMR race at Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa. On Sunday, Henry’s second birthday celebration-a Mickey Mouse event (and Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck and Daisy Duck and Goofy and Pluto)-will be over too late to head to I-80 Speedway. I don’t foresee a trip to Boone for the Deery Brothers late model race on Monday.

I am thinking of a trip to US 30 on Thursday night or maybe to the Columbus track for Friday night of the Abe Lincoln Memorial on September 13th. If I don’t go there, it might be the end of September in Knoxville before I get to another race. Matt is talking of going to a race on Sunday, September 8th, but I have no interest at all in going to a race at that track. I suppose Friday September 20th of the Foul Ball or Fall Brawl or whatever it is called is a possibility since I really love sprint car racing.

Although I was not enthused about doing so, I did add Chris Madden to my Top 25 late model drivers ballot this week. I looked to for others who might have stepped this past weekend, and simply couldn’t find someone I thought was more deserving than Madden. I’ll publish my entire ballot tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday Is Alright-Thanks Elton

“Where is Carmen Sandiego?” was a public TV program that taught children geography and history. I don’t think a new program is planned to replace it, but perhaps it could be called “Who is Dale Hollidge?” Until I read of his Saturday night exploits I would not have been able to tell you if he was a crew man on a NASCAR Sprint Cup team, a B Modified driver, or a pitcher for the New York Yankees.
He is none of the above. He is a 24 year old late model driver from Maryland. Last night was his first start ever in a WoO feature, a race that saw him start on the pole after setting fast time and winning his heat race. He did not grab the lead on the opening lap, but he had it when it mattered, taking the checkered flag first on lap 50 of the Raye Vest Memorial at Winchester Speedway in Virginia. Hollidge has been racing late models for five years, and it was his fourth win in that division.
Finishing second was Jeremy Miller. Following Miller was D.J. Meyers. This was not a Who’s Who of late model racing like most WoO finishes, more like simply “Who?” Josh Richards was the first series regular to cross the finish line and he came in fifth. Shane Clanton was 7th, Rick Eckert came in 11th, Tim McCreadie finished 13th, and Darrell Lanigan ended up in 15th place. Lanigan, McCreadie, Tim Fuller, and Eric Wells all needed provisionals to race in the feature. Chalk one up for the home team wiping out the touring pros.
Anyone who has read my blog regularly knows that Brian Birkhofer is my favorite late model driver. Perhaps my second favorite is Steve Francis, the Kentucky Colonel. The Kentuckian visited Indiana last night, winning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Lawrenceburg Speedway. This was victory number two for Francis in 2013 in the LOLMDS, and he is now just 50 points behind series leader Jimmy Owens. Owens finished 3rd in the race.
Perhaps the biggest news of the night was the Don O’Neal was unable to race after rolling his race car in Tennessee Thursday night. Owens was seen at the track wearing a neck brace and will be checking with a neurosurgeon for possible ligament damage.
In what looked more like an UMP Summernationals feature line-up than a MARS line-up, Jason Feger backed up his Paducah win the night before with a win at I-55 Speedway in Pevely, Missouri. Bobby Pierce finished second, followed by Randy Korte, Wendell Wallace, Billy Moyer, Brandon Sheppard, Shannon Babb, and finally series regular Tony Jackson in 8th place. Jackson holds a 105 point lead over Jesse Stovall in series standings.
In SLMR action this weekend, Corey Zeitner and Bill Leighton Jr. captured feature wins. Zeitner won at Raceway Park in Jefferson, South Dakota, and Leighton finished first as Junction Motor Speedway. With a third in South Dakota and a second place finish at JMS, Kyle Berck continues to lead series point standings.
At the Salina Highbanks in Oklahoma, Jason Hughes won the USMTS feature and took home $5,100. Terry Phillips continued a great late August streak with a second place finish. After Saturday action, Rodney Sanders is now one point ahead of Johnny Scott in the Hunt for the Casey’s Cup. Hughes is in third, 39 points behind Scott.
My only racing action for the weekend was watching most of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Bristol, Tennessee. On a scale of 1-10 for excitement, I would give it a 6.5. That is better than most Sprint Cup races but not the 9 or better that the Bristol night race used to rate. There was no helmet throwing this year, but after a wreck that took out a number of name drivers, Kevin Harvick parked his vehicle in the pit of Denny Hamlin. Hamlin arrived a moment later and proceeded to use his car to push Harvick out of the pit. That led to some face to face time, but no punches were thrown, just harsh words.

Madden, Lanigan, and Shryock-No, NOT A Law Firm

A top five finish in last week’s Lucas Oil crown jewel Topless 100 did not get Chris Madden a spot on my Top 25 ballot-I’ve mentioned my reasoning several times why Madden does not show up. Last night the South Carolina driver set fast time, won his heat, and led all 50 laps of the Lucas Oil Scorcher 50 at Volunteer Speedway in Tennessee. Will that be enough to overcome my negative vibes? You’ll have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to find out.

Billy Ogle Jr. finished second to Madden, and Dale McDowell continued a very good August with a third place finish. Scott Bloomquist actually ran a $10,000 to win show-location, location, location-and came home in fourth place. John Blankenship finished 7th, Jimmy Owens finished 8th, and Steve Francis finished 9th. Jared Landers finished 16th. Too bad.

In WoO action, Darrell Lanigan won the feature at Little Valley Speedway in New York. Lanigan didn’t gain much ground on series point leader Josh Richards though. Richards finished 3rd in the race, followed by Shane Clanton, Rick Eckert, and Tim McCreadie.

The last time multi-time USMTS champion Kelly Shryock won a series race my grandson Henry was 8 ½ months old. He will be 2 years old on 9/1. You could say he had had a dry spell-Shryock, Henry doesn’t have that many dry spells. Of course you could say that western Nebraska has had a dry spell too. Shryock captured last night’s Grain Valley Speedway A main to end a 15 month winless span. Series point leader Johnny Scott was second, followed by Jeremy Payne.

The USMTS will make a visit to Lakeside speedway tonight. Matt pointed out that the race is available on PPV for $19.95. For more details go to:

http://racindirt.tv/

Matt and I kicked around going to SLMR show at Raceway Park in Jefferson, South Dakota tonight, but Steph had to work late and grandma couldn’t baby sit Henry. I am considering watching the USMTS PPV or just watching the NASCAR Nationwide Series race from Bristol. If you are in to listening to races, you can listen to tonight’s IMCA Wild West Mod Tour event from Atomic Speedway in Idaho on XSANTV for FREE.

Enough of this, back to my Solitaire game. Jane wonders why I like to play it, and the only reason I can give her is that I used to watch my grandpa play it for hours. Of course he had to shuffle and deal the cards himself, cards didn’t automatically turn over when he made a move, and he had to keep score himself-actually I don’t know if he even kept score, more like he either won or lost. And yes Tony, it is also one of the few games simple enough for me to play.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Effort Is Major League

I can’t explain the ‘why’ of some of my strange early morning thoughts, just that I have them. Like Scrooge in ‘A Christmas Carol,’ perhaps it is something I ate. I woke up about 5:00 a.m. thinking of USMTS modified drivers and crews. Last week the series raced five times in Wisconsin and Minnesota. This week it is three times in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Next week it is four times again, heading to northern Iowa and Minnesota. That is not just a steady diet of racing; it is racing every waking hour.

Racing may be the frosting on the cake, but baking that cake is no easy task. In the USMTS, drivers are going up against other drivers just as experienced as they are and wanting to win just as much as they do. After the races-at most tracks well after 10:00 p.m.-they will meet and greet fans pouring into the pit area. Late at night, maybe early in the morning, the car is loaded on the trailer and the team heads to the next track, usually several hours or more away. Sleeping and eating in the hauler does not sound like fun to me, but that is what it takes to race at this level. A too short night leads to preparing the car to race that evening-in the hot sun or maybe in a chilly breeze, or maybe in mud. Hopefully it is not repairing damage from the night before. Hours of effort go into the few laps of a heat race and a feature that might be over in 20 minutes.

Day after day, night after night, racers do this. It is borderline crazy, but they continue to do it. I don’t know of anyone driving on dirt that gets rich. A few are able to make a living off racing, usually that means building chassis as well as driving. I don’t always appreciate on track antics-think Kelly Boen and Jared Landers-but I do value highly the dedication all drivers and crew give to the sport. In their own fashion drivers and crew put the same kind of effort into their sport that is seen in major league sports like the NFL, sports where players and head coaches sometimes make millions of dollars.

Mainstream media turns up a collective nose to grassroots racing. Even the elitist NASCAR media does (hey snobs, Tony Stewart says he will be back racing a sprint car next year). That won’t change. It is up to those of us who understand to be appreciative.

Thank you drivers, thank you crew members. And thank you for stopping by.

Super Fans, Tony Stewart, NASCAR Media Irritates the !@#$ Out Of Me

First, I need to apologize to Charley Heaps. Yesterday I listed him as #3 in my Super Fan Top Ten, but called him the Kentucky Kid. He is actually from Tennessee. Sorry Charley.

Also, yesterday’s blog drew the following comment from Jeff Broeg:

“Aw come on, how do I not make the TROTD fans list?? 51 nights and counting, and 0 on XSAN ;)”

Jeff-I am pleading “out of sight, out of mind.” You need to leave eastern Iowa and head out to Nebraska once in awhile, at least for the Silver Dollar Nationals. You will definitely be in my Super Fan update, though I’m not sure if you will be #1 or #2 as Ivan Tracy is able to chase sprint car racing all over the southwest in the winter.

Jeff was a long time columnist for Hawkeye Racing News, and his writing can now be found at the link below. He has been one of my favorite race writers for years because I know if it is in his column you can rely on it being accurate. Oh, and in his current column Jeff has a photo of a race track sunset and asks if there is anything better than a beautiful sunset over a race track. I have to agree that race track sunsets can be amazing, which is why my website home page photo is of a sunset at the most famous place of all for race track sunsets, Sunset Speedway in Irvington, Nebraska. How I miss that place.

http://www.positivelyracing.com/index.shtm

Jeff mentioned not counting XSANTV. I did not either in ranking myself 8th. If I counted XSANTV and the other PPV’s I have watched this year I would be close behind Ivan and Jeff. I have greatly enjoyed the PPV’s this year, because I feel like I have been to tracks I know I would never be able to visit otherwise.

Adding Jeff to the Top Ten Super Fan list drops Tony Anville to 12th.

Last week Matt suggested a topic for my blog, in this case Tony Stewart racing his sprint car and all the uproar his broken leg has caused. From Matt:

“Is Tony Stewart’s marketability enhanced due to his dirt track racing? Does he open himself up to more fans? Do they see him as a regular guy? Does he sell more merchandise because he races on dirt? What value do the billboards at Eldora and logos on his dirt cars carry?”

Being a dirt track fan, I am going to answer that of course his racing on dirt improves Stewart’s marketability. However, I have no proof, it is just a good feeling-but I do have a pretty big gut. Whether it does or not, I am afraid the sponsors of the Stewart-Haas Race Team really don’t care. They want to be linked with the glamour of a major TV product, not the grit and grime of real racing.

I am not sure either how to answer as far as Stewart opening himself up to more fans. He’ll do interviews when he is racing his sprinter, but it is my understanding that you really can’t get close to him in pits, not other competitors, and certainly not fans. If this is incorrect, someone let me know.

The only time I have been to a dirt track event where Stewart raced was a number of years ago at the Knoxville Late Model Nationals. There are so many souvenir stands at that event that I did not notice anything that was Stewart specific, though there might have been a Stewart stand there. I would think the local tracks would be a great place to sell Stewart merchandise when he is there though.

As far as the billboard value at Eldora, again I would think there is value because of the crowds for the major Eldora events. However, even with NASCAR ratings down, more people will see a 30 second ad on one Sunday than will view the billboard in an entire season-probably in several entire seasons, and I am sure that is what corporate big wigs feel is important.

I really am irritated by the snobbish media that covers NASCAR and how they have reacted to Stewart’s injury. I have lost a lot of respect for several writers because of their total lack of perspective on this subject. For some of them it seems like if it isn’t NASCAR it isn’t really racing, and therefore neither Stewart nor anyone else should be doing it. I happen to be of the opinion that NASCAR-and INDY Car racing owe a lot to grassroots tracks and need to repay that debt, and stars racing locally is one way to do so.

I wish that NASCAR drivers would try to educate sponsors (and team owners) as to the benefits of being involved in grassroots racing, but that doesn’t seem to be happening, even with someone like Tony Stewart who obviously loves that kind of racing. I know, it is wishful thinking that will ever change, just like it is wishful thinking that NASCAR Sprint Cup racing will once again we decided by drivers racing, not by pit crews, and not by gas mileage.

Thanks for stopping by.

Rocket Rodney, The Best Late Model Drivers, PLUS Superfans

The USMTS modifieds raced five nights last week at five different tracks and there were five different winners. I would say that defines compeitition. Rodney Sanders won at Sauk Rapids, Minnesota on Sunday. In his best Casey’s Cup effort, Ryan Gustin finished second, followed by point leader Johnny Scott. Scott holds an 18 point lead over Sanders, who holds an 18 point lead over third place Jason Hughes. The best of the best modified drivers will be racing in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma this weekend.

The USMTS Thursday night show is at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Missouri. In small letters on its advertising banner, the track calls racing there “Thunder In The Valley.” Given that a citizen’s group is trying to shut the track down permanently because of noise, the thunder better not be too loud.

Here is my Top 25 ballot for 8/19/13. There are plenty of changes as always. One I know my son and probably others will disagree with is dropping Tony Jackson Jr. from 20th to 24th. Jackson did not race this past weekend, and actually had a good reason not to. Apparently he hurt his open motor racing at Junction Motor Speedway a few weeks ago and did not want to hurt it anymore in what for him would have been a non-points race. That is totally understandable-racing in the Topless 100 would have been a crap shoot for Jackson. He may have done as well as he did in the Show-Me100 or he may have done poorly and hurt his engine more.

Jackson is currently first in both the MARS and MLRA series points, and to win both would mean $20,000 in point fund money. He would have had to finish second at the Topless 100 to win that kind of money, and he would have been going against fiendishly tough Lucas Oil competition, plus non-regulars like Billy Moyer, Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Mars, Dale McDowell, and of course, race winner Terry Phillips. Like I said, this would have been a crap shoot for Jackson.

So, why did I penalize him? It wasn’t so much penalizing him as rewarding other drivers who did race this weekend and did well. A winner of a late model crown jewel event deserves to be in the Top 25, and I added Phillips and moved him above Jackson. Mike Marlar started on the pole of the Arkansas event and finished 8th. I moved him up. Earl Pearson Jr. finished 5th and I moved him ahead of Jackson. I also moved Jason Feger ahead of Jackson. Some might argue this move because Feger finished just 13th and 21st in two races this weekend. I switched the two several times before I submitted my ballot, so it was close.

2013 WEEKLY DRIVER POLL BALLOT

Name Ron Meyer
Please Enter Date Below
Position 08/19/13
1 Josh Richards
2 Jimmy Owens
3 Darrell Lanigan
4 Tim McCreadie
5 Don O’Neal
6 Shane Clanton
7 Steve Francis
8 John Blankenship
9 Shannon Babb
10 Rick Eckert
11 Bobby Pierce
12 Scott Bloomquist
13 Brandon Sheppard
14 Dennis Erb Jr.
15 Billy Moyer
16 Dale McDowell
17 Jonathan Davenport
18 Brian Birkhofer
19 Mike Marlar
20 Terry Phillips
21 Earl Pearson Jr.
22 Jason Feger
23 Chris Simpson
24 Tony Jackson Jr.
25 Jeep Van Wormer

I am also presenting a Top Ten Fans list-this is just people I know for sure are readers of my blog. It is based on my guess of how many races they have attended this year.

1. Ivan Tracy
2. Steve Basch
3. Scott McBride
4. Kentucky Kid Charlie Heaps
5. Randy Palmer
6. Tom McLaughlin
7. Matt
8. Me
9. Tom Schwartz
10. Don Heaps
11. Tony Anville

Seventh and eighth place are tied, and so are ninth and tenth place. Yeah, I know, that is 11, not 10. I had to put Tony Anville in there somewhere or I would have been barraged with pro Roush racing emails and I did not want to read about how good Carny Carl, Greg Baffled, or Ricky Stunned-House are. If you think you belong on that list, let me know. And no, track officials or other track employees can’t count races except those they attend at another track.

Thanks for stopping by.