Archive
A Second Monday Post-One I Should Not Have To Write In 2014
I got an email a few minutes ago with a link to the Junction Motor Speedway Facebook page that showed what I felt was a very offensive post. I am not going to provide the link-if you really want to see it go to the page. Dirt track racing has always had an image problem, basically that all people who go to races at a dirt track are rednecks, and not particularly bright. All the JMS post did was add fuel to that fire.
JMS is a NASCAR weekly track. I really do not think that anyone running NASCAR would be pleased to see the sanctioning body in any way linked to a post like that. This kind of advertising was stupid 50 years ago. It is shameful today. That a number of people clicked ‘like’ to this post has me wondering what I am even doing blogging about the sport.
I assume it was a track employee who posted to the Facebook page. If that was my track and my employee that person would be severely reprimanded and told in no uncertain terms if it ever happened again they were history. If that post stays up on the JMS Facebook page I will not only not be attending any races at the track, I will not say another word about the track on this blog. And I am really good at not mentioning tracks that irritate me.
If you don’t like my reaction, I would suggest that you read someone else’s blog. I don’t need readers that think like you.
Just Another Blogging Monday
One of my LinkedIn connections is Randy LaJoie. I received the following message from Lajoie:
“I have been around racing my whole life, from victory lane behind the wheel of a racecar and everything in between. The sport of racing has lost many friends over the years, which is where my passion for safety comes from.
Through my years of experience traveling to over 100 racetracks in America, I have noticed that racers are not educated in the latest and greatest of safety systems. They do not know how to help themselves be safer.
My goal is to travel and educate racers at every track from coast to coast to hopefully keep racers from getting hurt or much worse.
Would you please help by contributing to my Safer – Racer campaign?”
Thank you.
Randy LaJoie
Below is a link that gives more information to the project.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/safer-racer-tour
IMCA Frostbusters won’t be busting any frost this week. Because winter weather prevented proper track preparation-say that fast three times-the races at Oskaloosa, Marshalltown, Boone, and Vinton, Iowa have been postponed until April 10th-13th.
I spend the afternoon yesterday switching from NU baseball on BTN to Michigan State vs. UConn basketball on CBS to the Martinsville race on FOX. NU won, unfortunately so did UConn. If one of my readers thinks I dislike Big East basketball now, he doesn’t know how much I disliked it up until this year. Two thumbs down to Syracuse, UConn, Pittsburgh, and Georgetown, though Georgetown is the only one of the four remaining in the new Big East.
Kurt Busch managed to win the Sprint Cup race, with Jimmie Johnson right on his rear bumper. TROTD’s jinx appeared to be taking Sunday off as Jimmie Johnson led the most laps and seemed to have the race in hand. Then Clint Bowyer-who managed to keep from spinning this race-took the lead from Johnson. A caution saw Johnson emerge from the pits with the lead and Busch coming fast behind him. Busch took the lead, Johnson took it back, and finally Busch took the lead for the final time and held off the 48 car.
No, I am not a Busch fan-not Kurt, not Kyle, not Lite. Still, I would rather a Busch win than a member of Roush-Fenway Racing. I wouldn’t mind going to a baseball game at Fenway Park, but that is even less likely than me going to Wrigley Field this year. Anyway, my favorite moment of the race was seeing Carl Edwards spin out late. I realize that sounds terrible. Hey, I haven’t been sleeping well lately anyway, so one smart comment won’t cause me a lot more lost sleep.
I received an email today stating that Friday in eastern Nebraska was going to be sunny and dry with highs in the mid-50’s. Sounds like propaganda to me. I hope this person is right. I would rather go to a Husker baseball game on Saturday afternoon than freeze my whatever off at the race track on Friday and Saturday nights.
My writer friend Salley Shannon from Maryland-she was President when I was Treasurer of ASJA-commented about a Plato reference I made and about the Margaret Atwood comment I use. No, Salley is not the new reader who suggested the Atwood quote to me. Actually she and my other writer friend Russ Wild from Pennsylvania-he was also President part of the time I was ASJA treasurer-encouraged me when I first had the ridiculous idea to do a racing blog. Anyway, she stated she agreed that if Plato blogged he would do The Rest of the Dirt. Personally I think Plato would do his own blog, but write like me. In case anyone wondered, I am being self-deprecating here. She also stated that Margaret Atwood’s novels were very weird. That’s OK, like I said another time, when something is right, don’t change it. I will continue to say “in spring, at the end of the day you should smell like dirt.”
I actually gave this saying some thought from about 3:30 a.m.-5:30 a.m. today. Perhaps Atwood was suggesting we all take up gardening. Or maybe it was for anything to grow we need to get down in the dirt, embrace something new and work hard to make it happen. I doubt she was suggesting that dirt race track prep become more of a science than a hit and mostly miss art, but maybe. Hopefully I-80 will make it science and not art on Friday and Saturday.
Thanks for stopping by.
P.S. Since some of you aren’t basketball fans, here is a guide to the Final Four by comparing the teams with dirt late model drivers.
Wisconsin-Brian Birkhofer
Florida-Billy Moyer
UConn-Chris Madden
Kentucky-Jared Landers
Obviously I am not rooting for Connecticut or Kentucky.
Moyer And Erb In LM’s, Sanders In A Mod, Me Down In The Dirt
Whenever Hall of Famer Billy Moyer wins a race, I feel just a little younger. That is a good thing because the past few days I have been feeling old. Very old. Last night the 56 year old Arkansas driver bettered 38 WoO late models at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock. It was the 4th win of the 2014 season for the driver known as Mr. Smooth. Obviously his switch to a Moyer Xtreme by Longhorn Chassis is still a work in progress, but the results have to be satisfying. For fans and driver alike, every Moyer win has to mean retirement is put back a few more races.
The WoO late models are back in action next Friday and Saturday with the $20,000 to win Illini 100 on the 1/4th mile Farmer City Raceway in Illinois.
I also feel good when a driver I have written about wins a big race. Heck, when a driver I have written about wins any race I feel good. Well, Dennis Erb Jr. won the weekend’s biggest race, the Thaw Brawl at LaSalle Speedway in Illinois. Young Bobby Pierce finished 2nd and young Devin Moran-another driver with a Dirt Late Model story by me-finished 21st. In his 2014 debut, Brian Birkhofer finished 15th. Erb earned $15,000 for his effort.
After two nights of stellar qualifying, Texan Rodney Sanders earned the pole position for Saturday’s USMTS modified King of America feature. Jordan Grabouski-OK, I wrote about him for Dirt Modified magazine-started on the outside of the front row and the two battled for 93 laps of the 100 lap event at Humboldt Speedway in Kansas. As happens often enough on America’s dirt tracks, the leaders came together with just a few laps remaining in the race. Sanders was able to continue the race while Grabouski took his car to the pits, done for the night. Check out the USMTS site for very different viewpoints of the incident. Anyway, Sanders went on to take the checkered flag and win a trophy nearly as tall as him, along with a check for $10,000.
Next up for the modified traveling circus is a Friday night race at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City. It is a Major League Bow Hunter USMTS Central Region presented by Day Motor Sports race. Yeah, that is quite a sentence. I am torn between being facetious and being envious that the series has so many sponsors. Heck, one big buck sponsor would be more than The Rest of the Dirt can claim.
Once again a NASCAR event is threatened with rain. Weather forecasters say there is a 60% chance of showers today in Martinsville. The predicted high is in the mid-50’s. Tomorrow’s forecast shows a sunny day with a high of 70.
“In spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt.” Maybe some days you gotta feel like dirt to smell like dirt. If so, I got it at least half right.
Thanks for stopping by.
It’s 1:00 A.M. I Couldn’t Sleep.
From Jeff Broeg on yesterday’s post:
“Ken Stout and Verne Lundquist force me to watch TV with the Mute button on……”
In fairness to TV racing commentators, there are most definitely announcers in other sports that tend to irritate me-Brent Musberger and Marv Albert to take two. As long as it doesn’t affect ratings, TV doesn’t mind a love/hate relationship between commentators and fans. While NASCAR ratings haven’t been great for several years, it is more of the on track product driving people away than any announcers. I haven’t stopped watching races because Waltrip, Hammond, etal bug me.
I have said it before, but Jeff is one of my favorite race writers. Check out his Positively Racing site-link below. There are nine different columnists writing about Midwest racing, and it is free. Jeff is a glutton for punishment in that he compiles late model results from around the country and plugs them into a point system and presents National Dirt Late Model Points for Positively Racing. Jeff lists 106 drivers. As a voter for the http://www.dirtondirt.com Top 25, I am keeping track of 35-40 drivers at most. That includes well-known national drivers and a few regional drivers making a lot of noise in their series. It does not include any local drivers. What Jeff does includes everyone and that takes a lot of effort.
http://www.positivelyracing.com
Jeff never goes for the throat in his columns, like some bloggers do. Ahem. However, there are few dirt track writers that I give more credibility to than Jeff. Read his stuff.
Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Gordon were NASCAR lucky dogs this week. No, I am not talking about getting a lap back on the race track when a caution occurs. The five drivers got to tire test at Sonoma Raceway on Tuesday and Wednesday. The drivers logged about nine hours of track time over the two days, which will certainly help them prepare for the early summer northern California race, but they also got to spend time around my favorite place on planet Earth, the San Francisco Bay area. If I ever win the lottery, only watching a young fellow named Henry grow up would keep me from moving there. I still would buy a condo in San Francisco and visit often though.
Sprint Cup drivers will be racing at Martinsville this weekend. Hendrick Racing has dominated events at this track, and I see no reason this trend won’t continue. My pick for Victory Lane on Sunday is Jimmie Johnson. Given a certain blog’s jinx factor, Johnson just had a 900 pound gorilla loaded into his #48 race car.
This weekend is the big King of America Modified Nationals at Humboldt Speedway in Kansas. Thursday night saw 16 heats of qualifying with over 90 cars taking to the track. Wow, 16 heats of USMTS Modifieds, that is a Tony Anville dream come true. The event copies Silver Dollar National late model qualifying with two qualifying heats for each driver each night. Results from Friday heats were combined with Thursday heats to lock in 12 drivers for tonight’s $10,000 to win feature. Check the USMTS site for more information.
Occasionally I write my posts early. This was one of the early efforts. I left a space to write about the Thaw Brawl at LaSalle Speedway. Wet and cool weather forced a schedule shift. The Friday night $2,000 to win show has been postponed until Sunday afternoon. Tonight’s $12,000 to win race is still on as of now-though I couldn’t sleep and am finishing this at 1:00 a.m.
Occasionally I write my-oh, yeah, I just said that. Well, here is the space I was going to write about the WoO race at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas. Mother Nature won-a late afternoon thunderstorm cancelled the event. Hopefully the series will be able to race in Little Rock tonight.
Since I am playing weatherman, long range weather forecasts call for temperatures in the 50’s for highs and 30’s for lows next Friday and Saturday in Greenwood, Nebraska. I am hoping that weather will be better than predicted for what Matt and I intend to be our first nights of “live” racing this season with the Spring Meltdown at I-80 Speedway. Even with just three classes on hand, you have to figure both nights will be late with sprint cars on the bill, so temperatures at the end of the night could be chilly. Perhaps Matt can talk with his friend Joe and get the sprint car features scheduled last.
“In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt.” Sometimes when something is right you stay with it no matter what. If I end up smelling like dirt at the end of today it is from the Haymarket Park infield. Matt and I are going to the NU vs. UNLV baseball game in Lincoln this afternoon. Go Huskers.
Thanks for stopping by.
Two Thumbs Up, Two Thumbs Down, A Thumb In The Eye-Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk
The link below rated 16 NASCAR announcers. The link includes a slide show of the 16 with comments from fans about why they think a particular announcer is the best or the worst.
My take on the announcers-as well as some other fan comments I enjoyed:
Mike Joy-FOX lead announcer. I don’t have much positive or negative to say about him. He is able to tolerate McReynolds and Waltrip, so that ought to be worth something in rating him.
Allen Bestwick-Like with Mike Joy, I don’t have much positive or negative to say about him. Of course I have nearly 17,000 LinkedIn connections, many in the racing industry, and Mr. Bestwick did not accept my invitation to connect, so I can’t rate him too high.
Larry McReynolds-probably the most knowledgeable of the commentators, but his butchering of the English language drives me insane. Here is a comment another fan made:
“Larry seems like the nicest guy, but the way he slays the English language gives the entire sport a black eye. It reinforces negative stereotypes that NASCAR fans are ignorant rednecks. I’ve heard some people find his inarticulate nature to be quaint and genuine. It might be, but it makes me cringe and can’t do anything to help the sport’s image outside of the Deep South.”
I totally agree with that fan.
Darrell Waltrip-I used to cheer for Waltrip as a driver, and was thrilled when he finally won the Daytona 500. As an announcer he comes across as a total NASCAR homer, and then of course there are the three infamous words he just won’t quit using. As a fan who rated him worst said:
“… So tired of hearing ‘boogity, boogity, boogity.’ I loved him as a driver, can’t stand him as an announcer.”
Amen, brother.
Dale Jarrett-Not as good as his dad was, but to me as good as any other NASCAR announcer today and better than most.
Rusty Wallace-I wasn’t a huge Rusty fan, so I suppose I am somewhat biased. I don’t care for his prerace banter.
Kyle Petty-He wants to come off as controversial, but to me he just comes off as irritating.
Jeff Hammond-I can easily picture him as a spray-tanned, gold chained used car salesman, so no, I am not much of a fan. Whenever he is on TV I always reach for my wallet to make sure it is still there.
Ray Evernham-I wish he was back as crew chief for the 24 car.
Andy Petree-I liked him as crew chief for the 3 car back in the day, and I think he works well with Bestwick and Jarrett.
Wally Dallenbach-Oh my God. If I really got started I could write pages about this announcer. Instead I’ll let what fans said speak for me:
“Overreacts to non-incidents on the track. Gasping and yelling ‘whoa’ to nothing seems like fabricated drama and keeps me on edge as a viewer, in a negative way.”
“I’ve never been impressed with his credentials compared to other ex-driver commentators. Has never seemed particularly insightful to me.”
“The ‘driver’ on a broadcast team can’t be a guy who has the same amount of Cup wins as me.”
Kenny Wallace: A really loud version of Dallenbach. Others I agree with said:
“Annoying laugh, always raising his voice over others. Yuck!”
“Talks incessantly without saying anything. Means well but I can’t listen to him.”
Michael Waltrip-I have never been overwhelmed by Darrell’s younger brother, not as a driver, not as an owner, not as an announcer. When he said he was talking with Donna Summer on pit road last week, it made me want to start a petition for FOX to take him off the air.
Adam Alexander-he is the play by play version of Wally Dallenbach, so it seems appropriate they work for the same network.
Brad Daugherty-He was a good, not great basketball player. He is neither good, nor great as a race announcer. I suppose he is adequate, but his bias against Jeff Gordon angers me. Yeah, I know I am biased too. That is obvious in almost every blog post. If this blog made what all of these announcers do, I would say you had more reason to make that point.
Enough about asphalt announcers. Let’s talk about dirt track announcers. No Stroker, not you. Not Stan Cisar either. Not Trenton Berry. No one on http://www.DirtonDirt.com. Almost no one on XSANTV either, except the Renegades of Dirt announcer. He is a screamer, and sorry, an 8 car B feature of a regional Modified series just is not as exciting as the final laps of the World 100. To paint it like it is just takes away all credibility. Or, like a fan said about Wally Dallenbach:
“Overreacts to non-incidents on the track. Gasping and yelling ‘whoa’ to nothing seems like fabricated drama and keeps me on edge as a viewer, in a negative way.”
I’ll still watch the Renegade races this season, but I am hitting the mute button first.
For those of you who want to condemn NU football coach Bo Pelini when he goes apoplectic on the sidelines, here is another side of the man:
“In spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt.” Being somewhat of a poet though not a good one, I would probably come up with something like “In spring you should smell like a sea breeze blowing across the deck of a cruise ship.” No, I have never been on an ocean cruise. I did go on a cruise in San Francisco Bay once when the wind was blowing ridiculous and white caps bounced the Red Lines ferry so much I went below and prayed we didn’t sink. I think I will stick to good old American dirt, or the airplanes that fly above it.
Thanks for stopping by.
When I Say “The Rest Of The Dirt,” I Mean It
I am going outside my comfort zone with an upcoming Dirt Modified article on Santa Maria, California driver Josh Vogt. Vogt drives an IMCA Modified and won the FVP Showdown held in conjunction with the WoO Sprint Car visit to Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6th. Normally I try to do stories on Midwest drivers I know and have watched run, but I am enjoying working with this up and coming driver.
I am also working on a Dirt Late Model story on a well-known Nebraska driver. Thanks to Matt for coordinating the interview. I don’t want to say I suck as an interviewer, but in all honesty I am about as good of an interviewer as Dale Earnhardt Jr. is an interviewee.
If anyone has story ideas for either Dirt Modified or Dirt Late Model magazines, please email me at brutonnb@yahoo.com. No, I am not doing articles for Flat Out magazine. I will let those more qualified and interested in writing about open wheeled racing take care of that publication.
When I finally finish the two stories mentioned above, I hope to convince the Three Wide Media people to let me “build a race track” in DLM, talking with drivers, fans, and promoters about their ideas of what would make a perfect dirt track. I think they will be interested in the idea, but if not, I am planning to do it on the blog. While I intend to interview some national drivers for the story, I will also be interviewing local drivers, promoters, and fans. Maybe you.
For the first time tiny Macon Speedway in Illinois will host the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on May 1st. The 1/5th mile track will run a 100 lap event that will pay $12,000 to win and $1,000 to start. Add a group of hard to beat local and regional drivers to the already star studded Lucas Oil field, and you have the makings of a great race. I would try to talk a certain son of mine into heading east on I-80 if this was a Saturday race, but Thursday makes it tough logistically.
The race at Macon is part of a three day Midwest swing for the LOLMDS. On Friday the series will be at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois, and Saturday will find the cars and stars (I really don’t like that phrase) at Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky. The Granite City and Paducah races are both $10,000 to win shows.
Lucas Oil drivers have the weekend off, but WoO late model will race at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas and I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas. Both shows pay $10,000 to win.
LaSalle Speedway in Illinois will hold ALMS sanctioned events this weekend. The Friday show will pay $2,000 to win, while the Saturday night race winner will receive $15,0000. If you subscribe to http://www.DirtonDirt.com check out the video on Brian Birkhofer who will be racing for the first time in 2014 at LaSalle.
I am not sure which is bigger news-Dario Franchitti driving the pace car at the Indy 500 or Jim Nabors singing “Back Home Again In Indiana” for the final time. Probably Nabors singing during prerace activities. The 83 year old will be accompanied by the Purdue University Marching Band as he has 34 other times at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/media/videos/video-smoke-is-the-bandit-complete-series/
If you are a Tony Stewart fan check out the above link. Or maybe if you aren’t a Tony Stewart fan check out the above link. I am thinking most of the people involved need to stick with their day job.
Denny Hamlin has been cleared to race in Sunday’s Sprint Cup event at Martinsville. While Hamlin did have a sinus infection, the cause of his vision problems at Fontana was a small piece of metal lodged in one eye. Doctors at a California hospital discovered this on Sunday, and a CT scan done then found no other complications. So, why all the secrecy surrounding this incident?
David Stremme will be back in a Sprint Cup car at Martinsville. The sponsor of the car will be Mace. Yes, that Mace. The product a certain reader threatens me with every week, although the company makes many other products than what it is famous for.
“In the spring, at the end of the day you should smell like dirt.” However, if you are old and have a messed up knee due to previous indiscretions, it is OK to smell like a mixture of dirt and Deep Heat.
Thanks for stopping by.
Speedy Funeral Information Plus The Usual TROTD
From Jim Hitzemann:
Here is the information for Speedy’s visitation and funeral service.
The Hill family has requested that we post the following funeral notice for Speedy:
We are saddened to report that Carroll L “Speedy” Hill has passed away. Speedy dedicated his life to ensuring the safety and well being of racers and race fans throughout the Midwest for over 50 years. He will be greatly missed.
Viewing will be Saturday March 29th, from 5:00pm to 8:00pm at Westlawn-Hillcrest Funeral Home located at 5701 Center Street in Omaha. All are welcome.
Funeral services will be held at St. Matthew Lutheran Church on Sunday March 30th at 2:00pm with internment to follow at Westlawn Cemetery. There will be a luncheon at the church following graveside service. The church is located at 60th and Walnut Street in Omaha. Service is open to anyone who would like to pay their respects.
Special Request From the Speedy Himself
Those of you who knew Speed know that he was not a “suit and tie” type of guy. Speedy’s favorite clothing was his nomex fire suit and a pair of extrication gloves. He was in his element and at his happiest when working a racetrack, a fire scene, or similar form of public service. He made it quite clear before his passing that he did not want to peek out from his casket and see a crowd of people wearing suits and ties while shedding tears over his passing.
What Speed wanted was for everyone to wear the attire they normally would be in during a normal interaction with him. Racers should wear their driver’s suits, firefighters should wear their fire gear, track officials should wear their official’s uniform, law enforcement, tow crews, medical crews, etc. should wear their respective uniform. If you don’t have a uniform, casual dress is fine.
Speed loved machinery of all types – fire trucks (his favorite, of course), ambulances, tow trucks, race cars, police cruisers, aircraft, etc. He wanted his funeral procession to include as many of the above as possible. If you have access to anything of this nature, by all means bring it and help send Speedy to his final resting place with a show of warning lights and horsepower! The neighbors may not approve – Speedy would LOVE it.
Speed wanted the many good friends and valued acquaintances he had made over his lifetime to come together for one last story swapping session and celebration, a time of joy rather than sadness. Everyone who wishes to do so is welcome to join us in a final celebration of Speed’s life.
The Hill Family
Thanks Jim. I thought of sending just the above as today’s blog, but as with shirt and ties, I know Speedy would not want me to do it that way.
A certain friend of mine has already crowned Carl Edwards as 2014 Sprint Cup champion in “a runaway.” Checking the standings I found:
186 pts.-Carl Edwards
185 pts.-Dale Earnhardt Jr.
184 pts.-Jeff Gordon
182 pts.-Brad Keselowski
179 pts.-Matt Kenseth
Obviously my friend’s definition of “runaway’ is quite different from mine. With Martinsville next up on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule anyone of these drivers could be on top of the standings at the end of the day next Sunday.
I would also like to point out to my friend that without Clint “Spin” Bowyer’s late lap misfortune, the standings would show Jeff Gordon with 199 points and all the drivers listed except Keselowski with one less point.
I was looking at the XSANTV schedule of events and several caught my eye. On April 12th, XSANTV will show the NDRL sanctioned King of the Commonwealth race from Virginia Motor Speedway. On June 25th-26th, the Clash at the Creek will be shown. This event run at 141 Speedway in Wisconsin is a $10,000 to win Modified race. XSAN will show 11 Hawkeye Dirt Tour races over the summer months, as well as all six nights of the Dakota Classic Mod Tour. Check out the XSANTV website for subscription prices.
“In spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt.” And in the summer and fall too. And yes, I have been waiting for some reader to ask “if dirt smells, what is the scent of The Rest of the Dirt?” Well, as Juliet said to Romeo: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet.” Ron Meyer-the Shakespeare of dirt tracks. That is funny.
Thanks for stopping by.
P.S. Wow, I forgot about my http://www.DirtonDirt.com Top 25 for this week. Check out the site for the actual results, though 96% of my drivers made the Top 25, and the other one was 26th. If you do look at the website, you might be able to figure out why I think five other voters are as smart as me.
DirtonDirt.com Top 25 Voting Ballot
Voter Name: Ron Meyer
Please Enter Date Below
Position 03/24/14
1 Scott Bloomquist
2 Darrell Lanigan
3 Billy Moyer
4 Chris Madden
5 Brandon Sheppard
6 Don O’Neal
7 Steve Francis
8 John Blankenship
9 Jonathan Davenport
10 Jimmy Owens
11 Dale McDowell
12 Eddie Carrier Jr.
13 Brady Smith
14 Shane Clanton
15 Rick Eckert
16 Earl Pearson Jr.
17 Bobby Pierce
18 Gregg Satterlee
19 Billy Moyer Jr.
20 Ray Cook
21 Tim McCreadie
22 Kent Robinson
23 Dennis Erb Jr.
24 Mike Marlar
25 Casey Roberts
NASCAR, XSANTV, I-80, And Sunset
I Googled “sinus infection affecting vision” and found out that yes, a sinus infection is likely to affect vision, and can cause watery eyes, or blurry vision. Just my opinion, but I wouldn’t think the driver’s seat of a Sprint Cup car going over 200 miles per hour is a good place to have watery eyes or blurry vision. So, certain readers suggesting that Denny Hamlin must be a “wuss” or “high maintenance” for not racing in Sunday’s NASCAR event at Fontana, California may want to re-evaluate their stance.
Sunday’s tire issue nearly gave veteran Jeff Gordon his first win of 2014, then snatched it away when it was close enough for him to taste. In a post-race interview Gordon made a valid point about Goodyear not being prepared for the situation that arose. Several times FOX announcers made a point of the race being a sell-out with 68,000 seats sold as well as infield and standing room only tickets being sold. Other than fans of race winner Kyle Busch, I wouldn’t think any fans on hand were pleased with yellows flying every 20 laps because of tire trouble.
I don’t know if tire tests were run at Fontana this season, but I would hope there will be testing done before next year’s race so Goodyear can bring a tire that lasts. And though the drivers don’t seem to want the Fontana track resurfaced, I think at least the back stretch with bumps that reminded me of early season dirt tracks ruts should be smoothed. None other than NASCAR’s golden boy Dale Earnhardt Jr. suggested the Goodyear tire wasn’t the problem, the bumps were.
Gordon thinks tires, Earnhardt thinks bumps, so it was probably both. David Ragan says:
“Tire issue: sure. But some teams managed it perfectly and had no issues. That what racing is all about, manage what you have n best man wins.” Obviously Ragan must not have been the best man on Sunday-he finished 27th.
A post-race Tweet from Clint Bowyer to those who suggested he spun out on purpose to cost Jeff Gordon a victory:
“Love how “some” idiots on here think I really wanted to give up a much needed good run to screw you over. #dipshits”
Now I don’t think Bowyer did that on purpose, though Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, and Marcos Ambrose all had tire trouble at the end of the race and kept from spinning out. Maybe they are just better drivers than Bowyer. After last year at Richmond, every time Bowyer spins out someone is going to question whether it was deliberate.
I wonder who Michael Waltrip will interview on pit road at Martinsville next Sunday. Jimi Hendrix? Jim Morrison? Janis Joplin? Mama Cass? Elvis? Actually I just shook my head at his saying hello to “Donna Summer” on Sunday. What I really disliked was the ridiculous shirts he and his brother Darrell wore during the pre-race show.
No XSANTV races this weekend. The following week will see three XSANTV productions from Iowa-IMCA Frost busters at Oskaloosa, Marshalltown, and Boone. Unfortunately two of them conflict with the opening nights at I-80 Speedway, April 4th and April 5th, and I certainly don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to watch live unsanctioned Mods, MLRA/CBC Late Models, and of course my favorites, the ASCS Midwest Sprint Cars. This despite tickets costing $20 on Friday night and $25 on Saturday, and no doubt at least $5.00 for a BBQ sandwich.
VISA should do a commercial of me: $45 for tickets, $5.00 for a sandwich, the opportunity to watch push ‘em to start cars, priceless. I am being ironic Randy.
I have lost track of how many magazine articles I have had published. I remember the first and the thrill I had seeing “by Ron Meyer.” I do remember drivers I wrote about, but 200,000 words later (add in all my blog posts and it is over 1,000,000 words), I can’t always recall all I wrote. I did an article on Al Humphrey and Al mentioned an accident he had at Sunset Speedway. Former Busch All-Star Tour announcer Tom Lathen posted the following on the “I Miss Sunset Speedway” Facebook page, and Al’s words from the article say what so many drivers thought over the years.
From Tom: “There have been a lot of great tributes to “Speedy” Hill posted since his recent untimely passing. As I was just looking through some old racing stuff, I came across this portion of an article by Ron Meyer that was published in Dirt Late Model a number of years ago. The article is on Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame driver Al Humphrey. In the article, Humphrey talks about a bad accident he was involved in at Sunset Speedway a number of years ago. Al talks about what a tremendous Safety Director “Speedy” was.
I thought I would post it for everyone to read (or reread).”
From Al: “My worst wreck was at Sunset Speedway in Omaha. I got hit in the door bars. They collapsed, breaking a bone in my leg, and pinning me in the car. I couldn’t get out, and you always worry about fire. Then I heard Speedy Hill’s voice, him taking control of the situation, reassuring me, and I knew everything was going to be OK,” sighed Humphrey. Hill was the long-time fire and safety director at the Omaha track, and currently fills the same position at I-80
Speedway. “I trust Speedy with my life,” stated Humphrey. “He is simply the best.”
RIP, “Speedy.” Yes indeed, Speedway was simply the best. Thanks Matt for sending me this.
“In spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt.” The Humphrey remembrance and the dirt quote got me thinking of the good old days at Sunset Speedway-of Matt and I sitting in the grandstands right above the Godfather’s Pizza booth; of broasted chicken; of Pro-Ams and GN’s and Late Models; of Speedy and the safety crew roaring to the scene of an accident even before the red flag flew; of battles between Joe Kosiski and Kyle Berck. And yes, of hot, windy summer nights and dirt. The wind coming up from Oklahoma and Kansas, drying out the track fast, and dirt in my eyes, dirt in my ears, dirt in my nose, and dirt in my throat-not just smelling like dirt, wearing it proudly too. Do you miss it as much as I do?
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Sadness
15 year old Niokoa Johnson lost her life in a crash at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida last night. Reports state the youngster hit head on into a wall. Naturally all kinds of rumors are surfacing, including one that “safety equipment offered to the young racer was outdated.” I have no idea if this means the girl was driving an unsafe car, or if equipment at the track was not the latest available, or if it is an unfortunate and untrue statement.
It always saddens me when a driver is killed in an on track incident. Everyone reading this knows that racing is dangerous, just like every driver knows it is dangerous, but thinks they won’t get hurt, it will be the other guy who gets hurt. From a photo I saw it appears that Johnson was driving a Hornet/IMCA Sport Compact style of car.
I will wait for another day to get out my soap box and say what I have to say about youngsters racing and about the safety of Hornets. Most of you have heard it before anyway.
Some of you who read yesterday’s blog early probably noticed I had “Bob Shryock” winning a USMTS race in Texas over the weekend. I realize that is not possible as Bob died nearly 20 years ago. Call it me being old and my mind is going, or that I remember days past quite well, days when the late model driver won many races on tracks around the Midwest. Winning Saturday night was Bob’s son Kelly Shryock.
Still, I was not the dumbest one yesterday, and I am just an unpaid blogger, not a highly paid TV racing commentator. I am not sure how Michael Waltrip saw the late singer Donna Summer on pit road at the track in Fontana, California, given she died in May of 2012, but he claimed to see her and mentioned it several times before the start of the race.
The homers can scream their lungs out about a record number of lead changes and three and four wide racing during the Sprint Cup race yesterday, but to me the story was every 20 laps the caution came out because of tires going flat. So, NASCAR has new rules and that allowed for more camber on tires-believe it or not, camber is one of the few technical terms I understand. So, more camber meant more pressure on the sidewalls of the tire. SO, why did Goodyear come back with the same tires as last year? Couldn’t the sidewalls be made stronger? And the bumps on the back stretch were ridiculous. It looked like Bell Street in Fremont, Nebraska before it was repaved this year. The track was apparently the cause of the tire problem, so fix the track or fix the tires, or fix both. This issue creating cautions every 20 laps really took all of the fun out of the race for me.
Since I am complaining, I will also say that I do not like John Calipari, the Kentucky coach, I do not like one year and done college players, and I do not like NBA rules that promote one and done-and for once agree with Charles Barkley when he said the players should stay in school and get an education. I hated to see Kentucky defeat Wichita State, and I hope Louisville cleans their clock when they play Friday night.
“In the spring, at the end of the day you should smell like dirt.” Notice the quote does not say “in the spring, at the end of the day you should smell like asphalt.” Not even really old asphalt like at Fontana. I like the dirt quote. I am glad a new reader sent it to me. OK, I am glad to have new readers, period, quote or not. Still, it was nice of this reader to give me something I could use in my blog. Most readers who tell me “this is blog material,” know I am not going to use the material. I am not going to praise Roush-Fenway Racers. I am not going to praise 99% of sprint car drivers. And I certainly am not going to praise certain tracks whose promoters have irked me beyond what I care to be irked. The dirt quote really was blog material so I am using it.
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Oh No Snow. What Does Frozen Dirt Smell Like?
It was warm enough to go to the beach in Melbourne, Florida yesterday-I Googled, it was in the mid-80’s. I suppose the beach was a possibility in Melbourne, Australia, though with a temperature of 60 in would have been a hearty Aussie to want to. No one went to the beach in Nebraska though. I logged on XSANTV on my computer after watching the NU women defeat Fresno State in the NCAA Tournament and everyone in the Beatrice Speedway grandstands were dressed to ward off the late afternoon chill. As seems to be the norm in Beatrice, officials kept the race program moving along. However, during the B features it started to snow.
I have mentioned in the past a brief snow flurry during hot laps at a Crawford County Speedway NASCAR Busch All-Star event years ago, but the snow quit in just a few minutes then. It did not stop last night in Beatrice and was snowing hard during many of the B features, hard enough to cover the infield. This is why every time I say “now I have seen it all,” I know sooner or later something will happen at a track to prove me wrong. It wasn’t quite like watching snow mobiles race in Minnesota, but it wasn’t like watching late models at Volusia in February either.
After the last of the B features was run, promoters gathered all drivers who had qualified for one of the five features to vote on continuing to race or not. The top of the track was frozen, i.e. it would be like driving on an ice rink, so drivers voted to cancel the rest of the event. I do credit the promoter-even though the drivers voted to not run the features because of safety issues, they were still paid the entire feature purse for each division. The total purse for each class was divided by 24, the number of cars in the feature and each feature qualifier received the same amount.
Once the Beatrice races were cancelled, I switched to the Carolina Modified Nationals from County Line Speedway in North Carolina. Listening to the race announcers I learned some new words, or at least new pronunciations of old words. In Carolina tech and shed are multi-syllable words. During intermission I saw people at the track walking around in short sleeves, so it must have been a few degrees warmer than in Nebraska.
In USMTS action, Johnny Scott captured Thursday’s feature at Superbowl Speedway in Greenville, Texas. Friday night’s winner at Timberline Speedway in Corley, Texas was veteran Kelly Shryock. Winner of the Cajun Classic at Ark-La-Tex Speedway in Vivian, Louisiana was Chris Henigan of Marshall, Texas. Henigan led all 40 laps of the race, his first USMTS feature win.
Bobby Pierce won the Shamrock 40 at Belle Clair Speedway in Illinois on Friday. On Saturday, Don O’Neal won the Lucas Oil Indiana Icebreaker at Brownstown. Who was it who blogged that O’Neal was a favorite? In MARS action at Springfield Raceway in Missouri, Terry Phillips came home first, followed by Ryan Gustin. Instead of a draw to determine starting positions, the top eight shot baskets. I am not sure how I feel about that. I like basketball and I like auto racing, but I don’t think I want to watch basketball players race dirt late models and I would think it could take a long time for some racers to make a shot.
Yes, there is a NASCAR Sprint Cup race today. Hopefully it will be less of a bore than most of the Fontana races have been. Who do I think will win? Well, keeping in mind TROTD’s jinx, I will pick Carl Edwards.
“In the spring, at the end of the day you should smell like dirt.” So, does the dirt in North Carolina smell different than the dirt in Nebraska or the dirt in Iowa. In Nebraska the dirt is brownish-gray. Hey it is to me. In Iowa it is mostly black. In North Carolina it is red. Does frozen Nebraska mud smell different than rain soaked Carolina clay? What does the desert dirt of Las Vegas and Tucson smell like? No doubt Texas dirt smells like longhorn b.s. As an information junkie, these are valid questions.
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