Garbage, TV Races, And USAC

What happens to the trash left behind by 300,000 people attending the Indy 500? It is cleaned up by volunteer groups who are paid by how many sections they clean up. Many groups have been doing this for years, even though it is a tough, nasty job. I am not sure why, but a number of groups said this year the mess was worse than ever.

What happens to the trash left by 1,000 people (or less) at a local dirt track? Good question. Mostly the trash is picked up, but there are plenty of times the seats themselves are dirty. Too bad the tracks don’t assign people to do a top to bottom power wash of the seats and aisles, or at least have someone wipe off the seats with a towel the evening of a race. My favorite ball park does both before every game.

One good thing about having a Speed Shift TV subscription is the events they show are archived. Since Matt and I went to Norfolk on Saturday for the SLMR race, I did not get to watch the Little 500 as I had planned. I watched some of it yesterday. The video was 4 hours longs and though I love open wheeled race cars, especially those without wings, I didn’t feel up to watching everything.

I did watch the start, jumped ahead an hour, watched some more, jumped ahead, watched more, jumped ahead, and finally watched the end. The start was interesting-33 cars in 11 rows on a 1/4^th mile track isn’t something you see every day. I figured a big wreck would take out half the field, but it didn’t happen that way.

Here are a couple of Speed Shift TV dates. Thursday June 1^st will be MLRA Late Models from Scotland County Speedway, and Tuesday June 6^th will feature Deery Brothers IMCA Late Models and the Hawkeye Dirt Tour Modifieds from Marshalltown Speedway. Both should be great shows.

I will be watching all of a wingless sprint car race on Friday at I-80 Speedway. USAC Sprints will be in the house. Below is from the USAC website:

UPCOMING USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT

DATE: Friday, June 2, 2017

SERIES: USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship

TRACK: I-80 Speedway (Greenwood, Nebraska) – 4/10-mile dirt oval

EVENT: Malvern Bank I-80 Dirt Classic featuring the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, Super Late Models and B-Mods.

STARTING TIMES: Pits open at 4pm. Grandstands open at 5:30pm. Racing: 7:15pm.

TICKETS: Adults: $23. Children Age 6-12: $5. Pit Passes: $40.

TRACK ADDRESS: 13909 238th St, Greenwood, NE 68366

TRACK PHONE: (402) 342-3453

TRACK WEBSITE: http://www.i-80speedway.com/i80/

MEDIA COVERAGE: Watch the race one day later, on-demand at http://www.Loudpedal.TV/.  Live updates on https://www.facebook.com/usacracing/ and https://twitter.com/USACNation, plus available on the Race Monitor app on your phone.

I have no idea what drivers will be at I-80 Speedway on Friday, though Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, and Dave Darland are several that come to mind. I would like a full field, but this region isn’t exactly a hot bed of 410 non-wing sprint car racing, so who knows?

 

The Malvern Bank SLMR series will be back in action, and I expect 30 late models to be on hand. Coming off a feature win at Raceway Park on Sunday, Jesse Sobbing leads the SLMR points. Sobbing is followed by Tad Pospisil, Bill Leighton Jr., and Kyle Berck.

 

Sport mods will also be part of Friday’s show. For me, the fewer the better of these misconceived, evil machines. But that is just me. There are 15 Sport mod drivers who have made all of the 2017 Sport Mod features at the track and another 7 have raced in 2 features, so look for a full field. Too bad.

 

That’s all I have today. Yes, I am surprised that I keep blocking every day. I do thank you for stopping by-AND having patience with me when I didn’t blog much.

 

 

 

 

 

I Covered The Show-Me 100 Almost Like A Real Reporter Would

I covered last night’s Show-Me 100 like a reporter. Well, like a reporter who is not at the event but is watching it on his computer. And like CNN, ABC, and the New York Times, my reporting is truthful, nothing at all is fake.

Somewhat orderly thoughts from last night’s races:

-After a day of severe weather in Missouri, the sun shone brightly on dirt track racing’s finest facility.

-I wasn’t really overwhelmed by any of the three B-features or the Last Chance Race. Yes, drivers did qualify for the big race but it seemed these races filled time more than spots on the race grid and none were terribly exciting.

-Although my friend “Big Show” was not in the house, Saturday’s race must have been a really big show because Dave and Dave were-Despain and Argabright.

-The race had just three leaders. Tim McCreadie led the first two laps, Earl Pearson Jr. led laps 3-86, and Bobby Pierce led the remaining 14 laps.

-There have been complaints about how many cars start the Silver Dollar Nationals, including from me. 30 cars started the Show Me 100, and the Lucas Oil Speedway track is neither as long nor as wide as I-80 Speedway.

-Peyton Looney’s magical weekend came to an early end. After two good preliminary nights of racing, the 19 year old Missouri native brought out the first caution at lap 12 when his engine blew.

-Right before Chris Simpson brought out the second caution flag of the evening, Jimmy Owens, Scott Bloomquist, and Mason Zeigler were running three wide battling for third place. Simpson’s brother Chad did not make the 100 lap feature and no, that did not break my heart.

-Darrell Lanigan broke on the restart from the Simpson caution.

-On lap 30 Mike Marlar was spun out by young Mason Zeigler. Marlar took offense at this outrage and ran into Zeigler during the caution, garnering a black flag for his efforts. Dave Argabright interviewed the driver of the 157 car after this incident, and guess what-he was not happy. His comments were along the line of “rich kid spun me out for no reason.”

-Jonathan Davenport had to use a past winner provisional to even get in the 100 lap race. He started in 30^th place on the grid, dead last, but after just 33 laps he had moved up 21 spots. And he was not done moving.

-Like many minor league ballparks, Lucas Oil Speedway has grassy berm areas and people were sitting in them. No foul ball souvenirs for kids to take home though.

-Cautions came out on lap 42 for Hudson O’Neal, lap 47 for Billy Moyer Jr., and lap 58 for Rodney Sanders. The lap 58 caution was a big break for Jimmy Owens as he had jumped the cushion and was passed by several cars, but got his spot back because the yellow flag flew before that lap was completed.

-Hall of Famer Billy Moyer slowed on the front stretch on lap 76, and Jimmy Owens hit the wall on lap 77. Owens was able to continue but he dropped back to 19^th at the finish of the race.

-Jonathan Davenport was not the only driver moving forward. Bobby Pierce started 14^th and passed some stout competition on his move to the front. Pearson had not been challenged after gaining the lead on lap 3, but late in the race young Pierce was right on his tail and one mistake in turn 4 was all the Illinois driver needed to get by the Florida driver.

-Jonathan Davenport had not looked good all weekend. I said in a previous post that Superman was driving more like Clark Kent. Whatever he was missing on Thursday and Friday he found on Sunday as only four drivers finished ahead of him.

-I was never a fan of Bob Pierce and let my feelings about father carry over to son. I am not ready to jump on the Bobby Pierce bandwagon yet, but this was his third crown jewel victory in less than 12 months (North/South 100 and World 100 were the other two) and he is just 20 years old. He also gave a good post-race interview. As of now Pierce does have the Silver Dollar Nationals on his schedule and I hope he does make the journey to Nebraska. He has 53,000 reason to do so.

Austin Dillon won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mike Marlar would definitely call Dillon a spoiled rich kid. One of Dillon’s trademarks is wearing a cowboy hat. Sorry, wearing a cowboy hat does not make you a cowboy. My friend Ron Lee is a cowboy, Austin Dillon is not. And driving grandpa’s #3 car and finally getting his first win does not make him Dale Earnhardt.

It is a rather strange year in the NASCAR Monster Energy Series. First Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gets a win at Talladega and now Dillon wins NASCAR’s longest race. Weird.

Very scary incidents occurred at two of auto racing’s iconic tracks this weekend. If you are on Facebook you probably have seen each one dozens of times. The first happened during a B-feature at the sprint car mecca, Knoxville. There is a wall around turns 1-2 that is at least 15’ high and sponsor billboards sit on top of the wall. Two of the winged wonders got together and both looked like pole vaulters going up, up, up. One of the cars cleared the 15’ high fence, knocked out a billboard and ended up outside the track. There is a sidewalk and then a highway running beside the track-I’ve been on both many times. Someone said the car ended up on the highway, though I can’t confirm that. The driver was OK though.

The other horrifying wreck took place during the Indy 500. Jay Howard hit a wall and came down in front of Scott Dixon. Dixon had nowhere to go and did not hit Howard so much as he used Howard’s car as a launching pad. Jets take off at slower speeds than Dixon was going, and his car seemed to fly forever before hitting a catch fence and landing on a SAFER barrier. The car literally came apart-yes, that is what it is supposed to do, but tub surrounding Dixon protected him. He walked away from what could have been a deadly crash.

Jesse Sobbing won his second Malvern Bank SLMR feature of the year at Raceway Park in Jefferson, South Dakota. Kyle Berck finished second. The SLMR drivers will be back in action on Friday at I-80 Speedway along with B-Mods and USAC wingless sprint cars. Yes, I do plan on being there.

Four days in a row of blogging and close to 4,000 words written. Wow. I’ll have to try this more often.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

A Show Me Night Off And Highway 275 Leads To Off Road

The prospect of severe weather-tornados and large hail-caused Lucas Oil Speedway promoters to postpone the Show-Me 100 to tonight at 6:00 p.m. Central time. This change also changed the Meyer family race viewing for the weekend.

Matt and I had planned on watching the Show-Me 100 last night but when it was postponed we decided to go to the SLMR race at Off Road Speedway in Norfolk and skip tonight’s SLMR show at Raceway Park in Jefferson, South Dakota. Actually for my old bones not having to climb up Raceway Park’s rickety, old grandstand was a good thing.

Random thoughts about the show:

-There were 36 late models, 18 hobby stocks, 11 stock cars, 11 sport mods, and 11 sport compacts on hand. That is a number I can live with-I like 87 far better than 150 these days.

-Last year when the SLMR series visited it was breezy in Norfolk. OK, it was downright windy that night. The track became dusty early then, and I went home with dirt in every uncovered orifice. It was calm last night, the track was well watered, and sitting in a different area of the grandstands it was not dusty at all.

-If I am correct, the area the track is located is called the Off Road Ranch, and provides a big area for motorcycles to run “off road.” Last night, lining the road leading to the track were dozens of trailers and RV’s, each with at least one motorcycle.

-If you have ever visited US 30 Speedway in Columbus, Off Road Speedway is like a new version of that facility. The track is similar in size to US 30 Speedway, and pits are located outside of the track. As at the Columbus track you climb a path to the grandstands which are located on the side of the hill-you come in at the top and walk down to your seats, and there is a large concourse area where many people stand during the races.

-Perhaps the one fault I could find with last night’s show was the intermission. I am not a big fan of lengthy intermissions, and 30 minutes is far too long, especially when no work is being done on the track.

-For me, stock cars are usually the best racing of the night, and the sport mods aka B mods are the worst. That wasn’t the case last night. Just 10 cars started the feature and it took forever to finish. The sport mod feature also started 10 cars, but went green the entire distance.

-Kyle Berck has to be the favorite in every SLMR feature, but last night he started 6^th and finished 6^th. Brian Kosiski started on the pole and led the first few laps. Corey Zeitner took over the lead, but Jesse Sobbing managed to pass him in traffic. A Sobbing win would have been OK with me, but Bill Leighton Jr. got around the 99 car when Sobbing had just a slight bobble in turn one. It was Leighton’s 12^th SLMR victory and was worth $2,500.

-The SLMR series is turning into a really good regional series. Promoter Joe Kosiski has come up with rules that allow drivers to run almost any engine, and the car count at most series events this season has been around 30. Two thumbs up to all involved.

I attended my first Prairie Dirt Classic last year, and am a BIG fan of the event. The town of Fairbury, Illinois and the Fairbury American Legion Speedway make this special event very special. The racing is simply outstanding, and reminds me of the good old days at the now gone but never to be forgotten Sunset Speedway. The track has made a format change for the 28^th Annual PDC that should make it even more exciting-not sure how that is possible, but I do like the format change. After hot laps and time trials, the late model field will be divided into four groups and each group will run a 25 lap, $2,500 to win semi feature. The top four finishers in each race will make up the first eight rows of Saturday’s 100 lap event.

If you are a dirt late model fan, FALS for the PDC should be on your bucket list. It is a long drive from Nebraska, but it is well worth the effort.

Today I will be watching the Indy 500 and the Show-Me 100 and plan on skipping the NASCAR race from Charlotte. NASCAR admits there needs to be more passing at Charlotte-hint to NASCAR big shots, there needs to be more passing at EVERY NASCAR race-and apparently has laid some kind of sticky substance in the top groove at the track to give more traction there to help with passing.

Yesterday I was only guessing at some of the drivers who have already made the Show-Me 100 field. Below is the starting grid for rows 1-8.

Row 1 – Tim McCreadie, Jimmy Owens
Row 2 – Earl Pearson Jr., Scott Bloomquist
Row 3 – Mike Marlar, Payton Looney
Row 4 – Darrell Lanigan, Mason Zeigler

Jimmy Owens starting on the front row at Lucas Oil Speedway has to make him the favorite to capture the $30,000 first place prize. However, McCreadie, Pearson, and Marlar have shown speed and you can never, never, never count out Bloomquist. I don’t want to, but I will say you’ll see Bloomquist in Victory Lane tonight in Wheatland.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Row 5 – Don O’Neal, Chris Simpson
Row 6 – Steve Francis, Rodney Sanders
Row 7 – Josh Richards, Bobby Pierce
Row 8 – Dennis Erb Jr. Greg Saterlee
Row 9 – Billy Moyer, Billy Moyer Jr.

 

 

 

Night 2 Of Show-Me Weekend, Plus Mike Duvall

Back to back blog posts. What’s wrong with me? And likely another post tomorrow. I must be sick. Or maybe it is actually having something to write about.

I watched much of night two of the three night Show-Me 100 weekend from Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri. The Lucas Oil Racing TV telecast started shortly after 7:00 p.m. but it was long after that when time trials finally happened. The delay appeared to be all about getting the racing surface in condition to actually race on. And yes, starting late, even during a crown jewel weekend is one of my bugaboos about dirt track racing.

I get that sometimes weather throws a wrench into a track’s plans, but it was sunny and warm in Wheatland. I have said many times I do not like time trials, but if a series insists on running them, the Lucas Oil format is the best-split the cars into two groups that only time against their own group, and put three cars on the track at the same time. Darrell Lanigan was fastest in group two, and Peyton Looney ended up quickest in group one and overall.

Looney won his heat, as did Dennis Erb Jr., Don O’Neal, Jimmy Owens, Darrell Lanigan, and Mike Marlar. Mason Zeigler won the first of three B-features, and this was one of the best B-mains I have ever watched. On the last lap, anyone of six cars could have finished in one of the two qualifying spots.

Austin Rettig finished first in B-feature #2, and Pennsylvanian Gregg Satterlee won B feature #3. Two drivers who are having surprisingly poor weekends are Jonathan Davenport and Terry Phillips. Davenport, aka Superman, is driving more like Clark Kent this weekend, and neither Davenport nor Phillips has come close to making one of the preliminary A-features at Wheatland. With points from both preliminaries determining starting positions in the 100 lapper or B-features tonight, both will start far back in a B tonight and will have to show much more than they have to even hope to qualify for tonight’s crown jewel.

Tim McCreadie won the Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson feature, collecting $6,000 for his efforts. Jimmy Owens finished second, with Don O’Neal, Scott Bloomquist, and Josh Richards rounding out the top five finishers.

I have tried to find which 18 drivers have already qualified for the tonight’s A feature, but have been unable to do so. I think McCreadie, Earl Pearson Jr., Bloomquist, Owens, Erb, and Mike Marlar are definitely in. I am not sure on others, whether they made the A or will start near the front of one of tonight’s B features.

The Malvern Bank SLMR series has a big weekend scheduled with stops in three states-Rock Rapids, Iowa; Norfolk, Nebraska; and Jefferson, South Dakota. Tad Pospisil won the opener, with Kyle Berck and Jesse Sobbing following. 30 cars made the trek to northwest Iowa.

My plans for this evening include both the Little 500 on Speed Shift TV and the Show-Me 100 on Lucas Oil Racing TV. I will be switching between the two, though once the Show-Me feature starts I will stick with it. Tomorrow I intend to watch the Indy 500 and Matt has been talking about going to the SLMR race at Raceway Park in Jefferson, South Dakota.

Subscribers to www.DirtonDirt.com should take a few minutes to read Kelly Carlton’s blog on legendary late model driver Mike Duvall. Duvall is suffering from complications of dementia and other medical issues and has been in and out of the hospital for several months.

Matt and I met Duvall when we attended his driving school for an article I did in Dirt Late Model magazine. He may have had a wild streak in his younger days, but later in life he became quite serious in his faith. When we met, he was a gentle, caring person and I enjoyed the few days we spent with him. I learned a lot about car set-up and very much enjoyed a day spent at Carolina Raceway in Gastonia, North Carolina.

Duvall’s medical condition has been very expensive for his family. And the bills will continue to accumulate. A Go Fund Me account has been set up for people to donate to help with the medical bills. The man provided a lot of enjoyment to race fans while driving the F-1 Flintstone Flyer. The late model Hall of Famer and his family really need your help. I encourage you to go to

https://www.gofundme.com/flintstone-flyer-mike-duvall-fans 

and make a donation. It doesn’t have to be much. Any donation will be appreciated, and so will your prayers.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cowboy Classic

For those of you who didn’t see my note on Facebook, I renewed my website domain yesterday. So, The Rest of the Dirt will be around until at least June, 2019. I am not sure if that is good or bad, just that I still own it.

I was going to watch the Hoosier 100 on Speed Shift TV last night, alternating with the Cowboy Classic on Lucas Oil Racing TV. Rainy weather in Indiana caused the Hoosier 100 to be postponed, so I spent the entire evening in Wheatland, Missouri instead.

There were 67 late models on hand for night one of the three day Show-Me 100 weekend. The track has a unique way of getting all the cars on the track on the preliminary nights. No championship points are given, but the drivers earn points that could earn a spot in Saturday’s big race.

Unlike Tuesday at I-80 Speedway, time trials took forever last night. According to Lucas Oil announcers there was a problem with track scales. Mason Zeigler set fast time for group one, while Mike Marlar came back from misfortune on Tuesday to set the pace for group two. Zeigler was overall fastest.

Heat winners were Scott Bloomquist, Darrell Lanigan, Peyton Looney, Jesse Stovall, Earl Pearson Jr., and Jimmy Owens. The top three in each heat qualified for the feature, or another way to say that was 49 cars did not qualify through the heats. That meant three B features with at least 16 cars running, and only the top two making the A main.

Normally I do not pay much attention to B features. To me they are just another race to get through before the final race of the night. However, last night was different. There were plenty of Lucas Oil regulars having to run a B feature, and with no provisionals be awarded (none tonight either), it was balls to the wall-an old railroad term, nothing nasty-from the drop of the green flag in each B.

The drivers not making last night’s A feature would be welcomed at most tracks around the country. Shannon Babb finished third in his B feature and was done for the night. Chad Simpson, Hudson O’Neal, and Boom Briggs also saw their night ended early finishing well back in B Feature #1.

Will Vaught, Jonathan Davenport, Terry Phillips, Jared Landers, Josh Richards, and Wendell Wallace were also sidelined after the B feature. Like I said, most promoters would not mind having A feature races that included these drivers.

Earl Pearson Jr. won the Cowboy Classic A feature, and collected $6,000 in doing so. If I don’t seem too excited about that, well, I am almost as big a fan of Pearson as I am of NASCAR’s Roush Fenway Racing drivers. Scott Bloomquist finished second, with Owens, Tim McCreadie, and Mike Marlar rounding out the top five. That was the 9^th time in a row that McCreadie had a top five finish.

Here is a sales pitch for Lucas Oil Racing TV. Annual subscription is $99, and I think the value of the subscription is much more than that. There are 8 more Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series races scheduled among the 30 remaining televised events in 2017. Your subscription would also include Lucas Oil races from East Bay Raceway Park in February, 2018. The production quality is excellent.

Between Lucas Oil Racing TV and Speed Shift TV there is no question I will watch more events on my computer than I watch at the track. I like that-I can watch as much or as little of an event as I want, and my bedroom is just a few steps away from the “track,” not miles and miles. If you are a race fan you ought to subscribe to both.

I am watching Husker baseball at 12:30 p.m. today-hopefully soundly defeating an Iowa Hawkeye team that deserves a loss-and tonight I will tune in to Lucas Oil Racing TV to watch late models from Wheatland again, in the Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson, promoters who first started the Show-Me 100 25 years ago.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

A Cold Night For The Go 50, I-80 Speedway’s Prelude To The Silver Dollar Nationals

I have sat through cold at races too many times too many times. Like Sgt. Hulka in the movie “Stripes” I have said “I am getting to old for this sh*t.” But there I was yet again sitting in the cold watching racing last night.

No, it wasn’t cold like snow flurries before time trials at a NASCAR Busch All-Star Tour event at Crawford County Speedway in Denison, Iowa years ago. It just rained last night, no snow. And it certainly was as cold as every Cornhusker Classic at Sunset Speedway was. But it was cold. I wore warm clothes, wrapped a blanket around my head, and wished I had a portable heater.

When Matt and I left Fremont yesterday it was raining. I told him if the race had been a weekly show I would not have left the house. Heck, if it had been an MLRA late model special I doubt I would have made the 50 mile trek to I-80 Speedway. But this was the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-I could not miss the best of the best dirt drivers in action.

Late in the afternoon it seemed like the Go 50 was going to be the No Go 50 for the second year in a row (thanks to Steve Basch for that quote). At 5:00 p.m. it rained. Hard. Fortunately not for very long. It did rain long enough though that one more shower would postpone the race. More than once it looked like that would happen, as dark clothes passed over and around the track. There were a few sprinkles, but no heavy rain. Just a cool, cold, really chilly wind instead.

I give two thumbs up to track prep crews. Yes, hot laps started late but after the 5:00 p.m. rain there was no way to start on time. That there was even a race was a testament to the job track prep did-and kept doing during several short intermissions. Good job.

32 Super Late Models and 36 A-Mods were on hand. At my advanced age those are numbers I would like to see at every race I go to-just two classes and not several hundred cars. Each class had 4 heat races, 2-B features, and the A-Main. 14 races and NO B-Mods. Perfect.

There were cars from 16 different states racing last night. There were more A-Feature wins than a person could count when the Lucas Oil Late Models pulled on the track for their feature. There were Hall of Famers, 7 different national tour champions, and crown jewel after crown jewel winners. And the Mod class was not shabby either with 4 IMCA national champions in the house.

I am not a big fan of time trials, but I do not mind the Lucas Oil format. The field is divided in half with the first section composed of cars that will run heats 1 and 2 and the second section made up of cars that will race in heats 3 and 4. Three cars are on the track at one time so it did not take forever and a day to compete the trials. I still prefer the Silver Dollar National format, but last night in the cold I did not need 4 additional heats.

Two heat races stood out. The first was one of the Modified heats. The second heat included Chris Abelson, Jordan Grabouski, and Dylan Smith, all past IMCA champions. The 3^rd Late Model heat starting grid read like a Who’s Who of dirt track racing. Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owen, Josh Richardson, Don O’Neal, Chris Simpson, Dennis Erb Jr., and Gregg Satterlee were racing for just 4 transfer spots.  When the checkered flag flew on this heat, past Lucas Oil champion Don O’Neal, multiple time World of Outlaws champion Josh Richardson, and last year’s Dream winner Dennis Erb Jr. were relegated to B-features. Wow.

Two late model drivers who impressed me were 16 year old Hudson O’Neal, son of Don O’Neal, and Mike Marlar. The young O’Neal was fast in time trials, finished 2^nd in his heat and was running in the top five when he got together with Chris Simpson. O’Neal ended up hitting the back stretch wall and Simpson went for a scary barrel roll ride, ending both driver’s night. Marlar started 12^th and was contending for the lead when his car slowed bringing out a yellow flag. He seemed woozy climbing out of the car and speculation was that a dirt clod flew into the cockpit hitting him in the helmet.

Actually clods and rocks hitting a driver during a race is not an uncommon happening. When Matt worked on Joe Kosiski’s crew years ago, he told me how Joe often mentioned his hands were sore after a weekend of racing-even with gloves on he was hit with these unguided missiles during a race. Yes, missiles. I have no idea how fast the clods or rocks travel when thrown by a race car, but the driver hit is often traveling at speeds of up to and even more than 100 miles per hour. Ouch. Even with helmets, broken noses and concussions are often the result of such a collision.

I hate to say this, but no doubt that Scott Bloomquist was the class of the field last night. While challenged early on by Darrell Lanigan and later by Marlar and Mason Zeigler, Bloomquist was pulling away from the field at the end of the race. The win was worth $11,100 to the Tennessee driver. Zeigler, Earl Pearson Jr., Satterlee, and Tim McCreadie rounded out the top five.

It is always nice to see friends that I haven’t in months. AND, it is always nice to visit the I-80 Speedway concession stand for one of their famous Pork Tenderloin sandwiches. Other tracks may claim to have the best concession item of any track around, but my vote is for I-80 Speedway’s Pork Tenderloin sandwich. It isn’t cheap, but it is as big as a dinner plate and tasty too. Maybe I should do a series on track food for my blog.

The rest of the week will be baseball and watching racing on the computer. NU is the #1 seed in the Big 10 tournament that starts today, and my favorite ball player Henry Ross Meyer has his first practice of the season tonight. Speed Shift TV-I always type that wrong my first pass through-has 4 nights of open wheeled racing from Indiana starting tonight, and Lucas Oil Racing TV is showing the 3 nights of the Show Me-100 starting tomorrow night.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

Big Week Ahead

If you are an open wheel racing fan like me-I say that with only a hint of irony-this is a big week for you. Thanks to Speed Shift TV you do not have to be “Back Home Again in Indiana” to enjoy some big time racing. On Wednesday, Speed Shift will be showing the USAC National Sprint Series from the Action Track in Terre Haute. On Thursday it will be more USAC action, this time the Silver Crown Champ Car Series Hoosier 100 being run on the Indy Mile. On Saturday it is the Pay Less Little 500 from the legendary Anderson Speedway. Included in a stellar entry list for the Little 500 are former NASCAR drivers Ken Schrader and Tony Stewart.

On Friday May 26^th Speed Shift TV will be at the Jackson Motorplex in Minnesota for the Danny Williams Memorial. 410 Sprint Cars will be the feature class of this event. Support classes will be 305 Sprints, IMCA A Mods, IMCA Sport Mods, and IMCA Hobby Stocks.

Port Royal Speedway in Pennsylvania will host the Bob Weikert Memorial on May 27^th-28^th.  410 Sprint Cars will run both nights. Late Models will race on Saturday and URC Sprint Cars will be Sunday’s support class. Yes, Speed Shift TV will be there both nights.

For those of you who prefer race cars with fenders, Lucas Oil Racing TV is the place to be May 25^th-27^th.  After racing at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Lucas Oil Late Models will head to Wheatland, Missouri and Lucas Oil Speedway for three nights of racing with MLRA Late Models also in attendance. May 25^th will be the 4^th Annual Cowboy Classic, May 26^th will be a tribute to Don & Billie Gibson, and May 27^th will be one of the season’s crown jewel events, the 25^th Annual Show-Me 100.

Weather permitting, I am actually going to a race track this week. As I mentioned above the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series will be in Nebraska on Tuesday. This is a must see event. The best of the best Late Model drivers will be on hand-Scott Bloomquist, Josh Richards, Tim McCreadie, Don O’Neal, Jimmy Owens, Earl Pearson Jr., Darrell Lanigan, and Steve Francis have all won at least one national touring championship. So has Jonathan Davenport, but as of now his schedule does not include the Go 50.

Gregg Satterlee, Dennis Erb Jr., Boom Briggs, Colton Flinner, and Hudson O’Neal (16 year old son of Don O’Neal) are also scheduled to race on Tuesday, as is Iowan Chris Simpson. Unlike the Silver Dollar Nationals, the Go 50 will follow the regular Lucas Oil format, which includes time trials.

Unsanctioned A-Mods will be the Go 50 support class. The A-Mod feature winner will collect $2,000. Hot laps are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Congratulations to the University of Nebraska Baseball team on claiming the Big 10 regular season championship yesterday. Coach Darin Erstad’s Huskers are the #1 seed in this week’s Big Ten Conference Tournament. I think NU is a lock to be one of the 64 teams playing in the NCAA championship, and if the team captures the tournament title it has an outside chance to host a regional-very few schools could match NU’s financial bid.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tired No, Retired Kind Of, NASCAR No, Dirt Yes, Sunset Speedway-What Do You Think?

I am once again retired. Sort of. If anyone knows of any part-time or temporary full-time office jobs I would certainly be interested, just no permanent full-time positions.

Hopefully not having a 35 minute commute each way will allow me to do some things I have wanted to do for some time. One is getting back in shape-at least in shape enough so that I can have knee replacement surgery on my left knee. To say my knee is a mess is putting it mildly. Five years ago my orthopedist called it “that bad boy,” and it is five years worse now. Anyway, I went to the ‘Y’ today and worked out for 45 minutes, so that is a start.

My goal is to blog more, but that is iffy right now. I seem to have lost all interest in NASCAR-go figure, me and several million others. I can state with certainty that I have not watched 100 laps total of the Monster Energy Series this season, and most of those laps were in the Daytona 500.

Matt and I listened to maybe 40-50 laps on MRN on the way home from the NU baseball game in Lincoln yesterday, but there were still 70 laps to go when I got home, and I did not bother turning the race on. Not that many years ago I would not have missed a NASCAR race on TV.

One person who did not miss the Talladega race is my friend Tony. I have always claimed Tony is one in a million-take that good or bad, but after this weekend, there is no doubt he is 1 in 326,111,903. He has to be the only person in America who attended both the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting AND the NASCAR race at Talladega this weekend. No, he did not fly from Omaha to Alabama on a private jet. At least I don’t think so.

Anyway, Tony got to his financial hero and his racing hero do their thing this weekend. I can’t think of anyone else who would claim both Warren Buffett and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as heroes, but Tony’s mind works in mysterious ways.

So, I don’t blog about NASCAR. And I have not been to a dirt track since the Knoxville Late Model Nationals last September. My first “live” show won’t be until May 23^rd when the Lucas Oil late models visit I-80 Speedway before heading to Missouri for the Show-Me 100. I rarely missed a race at Sunset Speedway, and the same with the first few years of Nebraska Raceway Park, now I-80 Speedway. Now I don’t want to go to any weekly show. That is quite a turn around.

I have been watching races on the computer though. A week ago I watched All Star Circuit of Champions 410 sprint car races from two different tracks in Pennsylvania. I enjoy seeing tracks I know I will never visit in person, and Speed Shift TV allows that. Last night I watched WISSOTA action from Casino Speedway in South Dakota. Check out their schedule. Modifeds, USAC sprints and midgets, late model, 360 and 410 winged sprint cars, action from Pennsylvania to Washington and many states in between. I think the production quality of these PPV’s is good, and like I said, these are tracks I know I will never visit. Check out Speed Shift TV.

One thing I am contemplating doing at last is the Sunset Speedway book I have kicked around for years. Craig Kelley and I talked of this a number of years ago, but the timing was not right. Perhaps it is now. Before I put too much effort into it, I have several questions I hope my readers will answer:

-would you be willing to share your Sunset Speedway story with me?

-would you buy a book, maybe 300 pages, maybe more, with at least 1/3^rd of the pages photos?

I am guessing such a book would be priced at $20-$25 dollars, with the hopes that it would pay for itself.

That is all for today. Thanks for stopping by.