Prairie Dirt Classic-A BIG Thank You

I didn’t include this in yesterday’s blog post because I thought it deserved attention on its own. This is my thank you to my son Matt for all he did to make our Fairbury trip special-which was pretty much everything.

-He reserved out seats at FALS. This is not as easy to do as it sounds, with the tremendous demand for tickets for the Prairie Dirt Classic. Still, he managed to get great tickets, AND as long as we continue to reserve them each year, they are our seats.

-He reserved a rental car and drove from Midway Airport in Chicago to FALS and back to the airport. My only task was paying for half of the rental fee, BUT I got to sit back, enjoy the ride, plus I learned new ways to group certain words as Chicago drivers acted nutty per Matt.

-He reserved our hotel room, checked in before we headed to FALS, and checked out when we left Sunday morning. Again, all I had to do was pay half of the charge. Matt even got up first to shower at 7:00 a.m., even though we didn’t get back to the hotel until 1:00 a.m.

-He ordered pop, water, ice, and a Styrofoam cooler that he picked up at Dave’s Grocery in downtown Fairbury. We all know that race track concessions are outrageous. 

-He has introduced me to some interesting and well known people who make a living from dirt late model racing-no, not drivers, but others important to the sport. They know he is a serious and knowledgeable fan. Yeah, he knows drivers too, but I usually don’t go into the pits.

-More than once he got concessions for me.

-At Midway Airport Matt took one of my bags-I have a CPAP machine, plus my wife insisted I pack for a week, even though we were staying only one night. Of course it could have been that he thought I was going too slowly, but no matter what I appreciated it-that damn airport has a lot of walking to it.

-He got us to the airport in time to switch flights yesterday. The flight we had booked was going to be delayed, but we managed to switch to an earlier flight. We got home before our original flight even left Chicago.

-More than anything, I enjoy talking racing with Matt. He knows more about the sport than 99% of the people involved, and quite frankly is smarter than any promoter I know. Dirt track racing would be far better if someone found a niche for Matt to fill.

And he is well versed on college sports, another road trip topic, and of course he is always willing to talk with me about my favorite subject, my grandson Henry.

He does similar things for the Silver Dollar Nationals, the Knoxville Late Model Nationals, and every other race or University of Nebraska sports event we attend. He makes going easy for me. I do not tell him often enough how much I appreciate all he does, but I do appreciate it more than he could ever know.

Thank you Matt.

P.S. Our next big event is the Knoxville Late Model Nationals in September, but I am ready to head back to Fairbury, dust and all.

 

 

 

Young Moran Captures Biggest Win-The PDC At FALS.

Matt and I took a flying trip to Fairbury, Illinois yesterday. Flying, in every sense of the word. Yes, several airplanes were involved-Southwest 7377’s from Omaha to Chicago Midway and back, and a rental car (driven by Matt made a fast trek down I-57 and U.S. 24 to Fairbury American Legion Speedway for the 29^th annual Prairie Dirt Classic.

Normally, well, that would be the two other times we went to the PDC, we would leave on Thursday and drive the 500 miles to the Illinois town not far from Bloomington. This year though because of my new job I could not leave on Thursday. Yes, I do know I have had a number of jobs since I wised up and left the one I held for 29 years. I am just doing temporary gigs now, and my current job is my fifth such position, working anywhere from a month to a year.

Anyway, though we don’t have deep pockets like our favorite auditor, we discovered this was the way to go. From the time we left my house until I got home, I was gone just 33 2/2 hours. The drive from Midway to FALS is a piece of cake, although Matt considers Chicago drivers to be rude (that is my translation of what he actually said a number of times). The Omaha-Chicago flight is a short one and Midway is not a difficult airport to navigate. We stayed overnight at Pontiac, which is about 25 miles from FALS and on I-57.

A jumble of thoughts:

-4 drivers we thought might be there were missing in action, Scott Bloomquist, Darrell Lanigan, Josh Richards, and Tim McCredie. Lanigan is not having a Darrell Lanigan type season and since the Lucas Oil series is off for two weeks he might have headed home to regroup. Josh Richards had two cars to rebuild after the Silver Dollar Nationals last week. Tim McCreadie went home to race a big block modified. Oh, and the sport’s drama queen Bloomquist was banned from the race for the second time in three years.

-I have wondered why the track runs the PDC under a WoO sanction, but as long as the Lucas Oil Series does not schedule against this race it is a good idea. Obviously the PDC gets all the WoO regulars, a goodly number of national drivers like Billy Moyer and Shannon Babb, a fairly stout group of locals, and 6-10 Lucas Oil regulars. No way do the WoO regulars show up in those kinds of numbers if the Lucas Oil series sanctioned the event. 61 late models were on hand.

-There were also 61 modifieds on hand for the PDC. I realize you can never get rid of these cars, but here is an ID. Run modified time trials and heats on Thursday, along with practice sessions for late models drivers. You have hundreds of RV’s and campers surrounding the track from Wednesday on, so this could be a new income source for the track. You get pit passes from mods and late model teams and aren’t paying out a penny that night. I am sure MANY fans would wander over to the track to watch. On Friday run modified last chance races and the championship feature. Since promoters seems to equate number of races with how much admission they can charge, have a $2,000 to win modified invitational on Saturday night. The top 24 in Friday’s feature will race in one of two heats on Saturday and then in a 25 laps feature.

I say this because the last chance modified races are at the very least an irritation, and border on a joke. In the first two modified last chance races on Saturday, there were 11 cautions. Friday’s program as I described above would not be longer than previous Friday programs because time trials are eliminated. Saturday’s program would be shorter-no way does 2 heats of A feature type mods take as long as 3 last chance races of B feature caliber modifieds. And the mod feature that night would be 15 laps shorter than last night’s mod feature. That would darn sure get the program done before midnight, which it seems is fairly common anymore.

Or maybe I am just getting chauvinistic about mods again. I bitched about the weekly mods at the Silver Dollar Nationals too.

-Texas Tornado Tyler Erb did it again. If you haven’t figured out my nickname, how much damage does a tornado do? During the 100 lap PDC feature, Erb spun out in turn 3. Don O’Neal could not avoid Erb’s car and ran over the nose, ending what could have been a top ten finish for The Real Deal.

-We sat in the middle of the backstretch grandstands this year, instead of close to turn 3. I didn’t think anything in dirt racing could top watching late models fly into FALS turn 3, but I was wrong. Watching them roar out of turn 2, side by side or even three wide, and slide up to the backstretch wall is even cooler.

-Iowan Chris Simpson started on the pole for Saturday’s feature, but pitted early and often and finally pulled in. Superman Jonathan Davenport hoped to back up his SDN win with a PDC win. Early in the race Davenport moved from 16^th to 8^th place, but like Simpson pitted often and was never a factor in the race. Simpson ended up 21^st and Davenport finished 16^th.

-Brandon Sheppard looked like he might run away with the race, but a caution bunched the field, and young Devin Moran grabbed the lead from Sheppard. Moran held the lead despite numerous cautions, but Sheppard caught up with him and looked to regain the lead. Moran changed racing grooves and ended up distancing himself from the field. WoO point leader Mike Marlar finished 2^nd and Sheppard was 3^rd.

-One of the many things I like about FALS is there is action everywhere on the track, with 2 and 3 wide and pack racing the norm. Unlike sprint car fans who think single file, going really fast, and turning left is racing, FALS produces what I have loved about racing since 1955.

-Illinois fans are rather passionate about the sport. In three trips to FALS I have seen more “you’re #1, one finger salutes” from backstretch fans than I did in years at Sunset Speedway or I-80 Speedway. Just stating a fact.

-Yes, the American Legion Commander should speak at this race. However, how about doing it during one of the farming sessions. That would shave another 10 minutes off the length of the program. And yeah, I do think that is important. Every minute any race lasts past 11:00 p.m. is a bad thing.

-I cannot believe the number of golf carts being driven around FALS-AND on the streets of Fairbury. MORE than any golf course has for sure.

-Two local businesses, Dave’s Grocery and Casey’s General Store must be solid gold during the PDC weekend. We stopped for pop and ice at Dave’s Grocery, and the person helping Matt said this weekend was the second best of the year for the store.

-I may make certain “Ill-annoy-uns” unhappy, but for the second year in a row, I think the SDN feature was better than the PDC feature. Both tracks have set the bar high for fan expectations, so what was a good race last night was not what I would call a classic. I am very glad Devin Moran won-I am always happy when someone I wrote about in Dirt Late Model magazine wins a race, but the young man is simply a good kid. Here’s to more success for the #9.

-At least part of the PDC lived up to its name last night. Dirt. In the early 70’s, one of the first Cornhusker-Hawkeye Challenges at Sunset Speedway was rained out on Saturday, so they held it on a Sunday afternoon. I remember that well. Jane and I had not been married long. We were poor. I did have a new parka I wore to the track, and at the end of the afternoon it was coated in dirt. BUT, that was nothing to last night at FALS.

Now, I do not mind getting hit by small dirt clods during a race. That reminds me of Sunset Speedway. But the dust was unreal. I had dust in every uncovered bodily orifice-that would be eyes, ears, nose, and throat. I don’t know if fingernails are considered to be orifice like, but I had dirt under every fingernail as well. And yes, I ate dirt for those of you who have been at least thinking I should eat dirt. I was eating a sandwich and fries during the modified featured and I thought the fries seemed a little gritty. I looked at the cardboard tray the food came in, and the entire area above the food was covered in dust. This morning I opened my wallet to see how much money I had left, and the inside of my wallet was dusty. I am not lying and I have no clue how that could have happened. But it did. And the roof of our car rental held enough soil I could have planted corn-and the car was parked behind the backstretch bleachers. Perhaps this was a little too much dust?

-One thing the grounds crew at FALS did that I-80 Speedway ought to actually think about doing is water the roads in the parking area.

-Perhaps it is karma, but once again I sat by an idiot, just like last week, although the SDN idiot was simply an idiot about facts. Last night’s idiot was beyond believe. If he had one beer, he had 15-and I know he had one beer because he was holding one in his hand and had two more beers sitting on my seat. Then he smoked almost the entire time he wasn’t drinking beer, at least early in the night. I always love someone’s cigarette smoke blowing in my face. Since I look stupid-I admit it-this guy decided to enlighten me on dirt late model racing. Perhaps you did not know it, but the PDC is the second richest dirt late model race, exceeded only by the World 100. That is what he told me, among other things that had me wishing I wasn’t so polite. So, being stumbling drunk, sharing totally incorrect information and cigarette smoke wasn’t enough to irritate me. About halfway through the evening he pulled out some Beechnut chewing tobacco. I swear I am not making this up. We were sitting in the front row and this guy thought he could spit unto the grassy area in front of the stands, maybe three feet away. Mostly he couldn’t.

Matt got Jonathan Davenport’s autograph for Henry. Henry likes Davenport, aka Superman, and loves it when he beats Darth Vader, aka Scott Bloomquist. In NASCAR he likes Kyle Busch-driver of the M & M’s car, and calls Keselowski “Bad Brad,” and says Denny Hamlin is a crybaby. Two guesses where he got that from, and no it is NOT grandpa.

Yes, I still believe you should visit FALS during the PDC weekend if you are a dirt late model fan. 29 cars starting on a 1/4^th mile track means action all over. The backstretch midway is awesome-and includes popcorn, BBQ, sweetcorn, and pizza vendors as well as a ton of t-shirt trailers. You can enter the pits from the backstretch midway-you do have to upgrade your admission to a pit pass, which Matt did, talking with Shannon Babb and going to the WoO driver meeting. The small town atmosphere is awesome, and 500+ RV’s and campers is mind blowing. It is like a dirt racing state fair.

Are Matt and I going again? Very likely in 2019 we will do what we did this year, a fast flying trip to Illinois.

Thanks for stopping by.

-Darn, I almost forgot. The best race of the night was the 25 laps Prairie Dirt Shoot-Out, a race similar to the Belt Bash at the Silver Dollar Nationals. The winner can take $2,000 first place money or start at the back of the 100 lap PDC. As he did at the Silver Dollar Nationals, Bobby Pierce did not impress in PDC qualifying. He was so bad he started far back in the Prairie Dirt Shoot-Out. And then proceeded to give fans and drivers a 25 lap clinic. Running close enough to the wall to bend his spoiler and bouncing through turn 2 time after time did not stop Pierce from passing Jason Feger late in the race and claiming a PDC spot. I have not been a Pierce fan, but after his SDN run last week, and this race, I do admit he can driver the wheels off a race car.

 

Superman Leaps Tall Buildings-And Passes Pierce Late

A Silver Dollar Nationals recap:

If you have money-a lot of money-you can buy a dirt late model. That doesn’t mean you should, just that you could. And if you buy a dirt late model, you can race it anywhere it is legal to track or sanction rules. That doesn’t mean you should, just that you could.

I know all about racing being a hobby, and have heard the cliché “to get better you have to race against the best.” The Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series is the dirt track equivalent of NASCAR’s top divisions. For series regulars, racing is not a hobby it is how they make their living. AND, if a driver is getting lapped by lap 7 of a 15 lap race, he is not getting better racing against the best-he is a road block and a danger to other drivers on the track and to himself.

I don’t often agree with dirt track legend Scott Bloomquist, but in an interview with Dave Despain several years ago he talked about crown jewel events and how if a driver had not won at a certain level in racing he should not be participating in a crown jewel event. Last night at I-80 Speedway proved what Bloomquist said. A local racer who is not a winner at the local level was being lapped by four Lucas Oil drivers not quite midway through a qualifying race. Somehow he managed to put one driver into the infield wall and end his weekend, and put last year’s Lucas Oil champion Josh Richards into the outer wall, causing much damage to his car. Sorry, two thumbs down to the local.

Again, racing might be a hobby for the local driver, but it is not for Lucas Oil series drivers. They make their living racing. I am not saying there aren’t local drivers capable of running with the Lucas Oil series at an event like the Silver Dollar Nationals. There are, BUT they have been winners at the local level. They were ones who could say they were getting better racing the best, not acting as road blocks.

Random thoughts:

-If you know me, you know I don’t really wear racing t-shirts. I have purchased on shirt in the last 20 years, a Prairie Dirt Classic shirt simply because I love Fairbury American Legion Speedway. However, if I did wear racing t-shirts, Jonathan Davenport and Hudson O’Neal t-shirts are ones that I would wear.

-My grandson has never been to a race, but he has watched some of the computer offerings, and he does have a Jonathan Davenport Superman t-shirt that he wears. When Matt explained Thursday’s Lucas Oil feature to him, it was in terms Henry understands-it was not Davenport vs. Bloomquist, it was Superman vs. Darth Vader and Superman won.

-Glenn Robey was at I-80 Speedway this weekend taking in all the action. The octogenarian still looks like he could pilot a late model, though he said not. He did say he wouldn’t mind racing against Bob Kosiski again though. Here is a thought-find GOTRA cars similar to their old coupes and have Stan Cisar of Action Signs make up 53 and 8-Ball wraps for the cars and let Bob and Glenn do some parade laps at the 2019 Silver Dollar Nationals. Glenn won the first ever feature and Sunset Speedway and Bob won so many races at the famed Irvington, Nebraska track you would have thought he owned the place. Yeah, nostalgia, but both deserve such recognition.

-The weather was very unlike typical SDN weather. All three nights were comfortable, not the 110 in the shade SDN weather we are used to.

-The last 12 laps of the Go 50 with Bloomquist and Davenport racing side by side was about as good as racing gets. Superman high, Darth Vader low, almost like synchronized swimming go through turns 1 and 2. No room for mistakes, none made. And the good guy won.

-Every year I am amazed at the cars that come from the back of the starting grid and move to the front. Ryan Gustin several years ago, Brandon Sheppard last year, and this year is was Bobby Pierce from 28^th to first, running away from the field before his car broke. Pierce had not had a great on-track performance until the feature. Actually he had not had a good on-track performance until the 80 lapper. His talent showed last night, thrilling the crowd with his high side charge to the front.

-Tim McCreadie was another far to the back starter who ended the weekend on a good note. T-Mac started 31^st and moved all the way to 8^th place when the checkered flags flew. Last year’s SDN winner has not had a great 2018, but maybe he is getting better as the dirt late model season moves into its big money month.

-Ricky Weiss was the surprise of the weekend. Ricky Who? It shouldn’t have been Ricky Who after his success at the Wild West Shootout in Arizona in January-2 wins, 1 second place finish and 1 third place finish in 6 nights of racing. After finishing 4^th in a WoO late model race in Grand Forks, North Dakota last week, the driver from Manitoba, Canada raced with the Lucas Oil series all week, and finished 4^th in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and 7^th at Jackson Motorplex in Minnesota. Weiss made the Go 50 feature at I-80 Speedway on Thursday, but mechanical issues on lap 10 gave him a DNF. Weiss had a good Friday night qualifying and started Saturday’s feature on the inside of row 3. He challenged early leader Scott Bloomquist and actually passed him for several laps. Weiss remained in the top five the entire race, and his $20,000 pay-out for finishing 2^nd to Davenport at the SDN had to be the biggest of his career.

-There is no doubt Jonathan Davenport earns his Superman nickname every time he takes to the track. It takes guts to run as high as he runs. He bounced off the outer wall several times in his charge to the front, but hung on to claim his second SDN victory. Obviously amazingly talented, Davenport is also well-spoken, nice appearing, and a really good super hero role model. I would be more than pleased to see him pick up a few big dollar wins in the coming weeks, and of course finish atop the Lucas Oil point standings at the end of the season.

-For a few laps Billy Moyer and Scott Bloomquist ran side by side around the I-80 oval. Bloomquist was lapping the 60 year old from Arkansas, but Moyer did not make it easy for the 54 year old from Tennessee. I hope others watched this skirmish too as there aren’t going to be that many more times these Hall of Famers do battle. Well, maybe there will be more times. Moyer supposedly retired after last season, but has raced 38 times this year and finished first 6 times, including his 100^th UMP Hell Tour win. And much to my pleasure, Moyer will be racing in the Prairie Dirt Classic in Fairbury, Illinois next weekend.

-Like I said, random. In Friday’s 10 heat races, 9 winners came from the front row. There were 10 different winners, and only Scott Bloomquist came close to winning both of his heats, with a 1^st and 2^nd place finish.

-I like the fact that sponsors provide cash for the top three finishers in Friday night heats. With payouts of $300 for a win, $200 for a runner-up finish, and $100 to place 3^rd, that meant $6,000 more to late model drivers. I wish a sponsor could be found to increase the purse for the bottom 2/3rds of the drivers racing in the 80 lap feature.

-My sandwich of choice this weekend was not the famed Pork Tenderloin, but the BBQ sandwich instead. And I do love the track’s popcorn.

-A Russian oligarch, Anatoly Hakobanbahr, was seen leaving I-80 Speedway before Friday’s USMTS modified feature races. According to Matt, Hakobanbahr has known ties to Vladimir Putin and Scott Bloomquist-he read that on the internet. Matt tried to take a photo, but only got the back of the Russian’s head as he quickly left the track. Still, there was something about the photo that seemed familiar. The Russians fixed our elections in 2016 and now they are trying to fix races to the benefit of the leader of dirt racing’s evil empire? We are watching you Anatoly and like Superman, aka Jonathan Davenport, seek nothing but truth, justice, and the American way-meaning the driver of the Zero car does not win the Lucas Oil point championship.

-I paid big bucks for a three day SDN ticket. I paid big bucks to see the Lucas Oil late models, NOT weekly modifieds. If I wanted to watch weekly modifieds, I could go to a weekly show much cheaper. Having the mods on Thursday’s bill added at least an hour and 15 minutes to the show. Perhaps a lot of people had Friday off, but a lot of people had to work, and would rather have had the show end shortly after 10:00 p.m. rather than 11:30 p.m. I was one of them. Getting home close to 1:00 a.m. and getting up at 5:15 a.m. to get ready for work was not a lot of fun. My thinking is that if 80 something USMTS modifieds and Lucas Oil late models are a good enough car count for Friday and Saturday shows, 80 something SLMR and Lucas Oil late models should be a good enough car count for the Thursday night program.

-I do like the idea of the Go 50 being a part of the SDN weekend rather than in May. The May date never has worked out well for the track, drivers, or fans. As I said above though, make Thursday a nothing but late model night. And I will take a vacation day on Friday.

-I rarely jump out of my seat at a race, but I admit I did when Davenport passed Pierce with just two laps to go in Saturday’s feature. Davenport is certainly my favorite late model driver now, with 17 year old Hudson O’Neal a close second.

I am probably forgetting a lot about the SDN, and not bitching about some things Matt had to listen to on the way home Thursday and Friday. Not the best of the 8 SDN’s, but it darn sure had some memorable moments and these days that is about all you can hope for.

This coming week is the Prairie Dirt Classic in Fairbury, Illinois. I love the track and enjoy the back stretch fans too. Matt and I are flying into Chicago on Saturday morning and driving the few hours south to Fairbury. It is a WoO sanctioned event, but I expect many of the Lucas Oil regulars to be on hand, along with national drivers like Moyer and Babb and a slew of tough Illinois locals as well. I love walking around the back stretch midway and through the pits. We sit so close to the action we are pelted with dirt clods, just like at Sunset Speedway years ago. FALS and the PDC are a good reminder to me why I have loved dirt tracks since 1955. I do not do weekly racing anymore, but I am afraid if I lived close to FALS that I would be

 

showing up at the track every Saturday night. If you have never been there, make the pilgrimage. You will not be disappointed. Check out the link about the PDC below. Love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mJHcrC4LWY

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

 

 

 

Silver Dollar Nationals

Is it the prodigal son coming home, or me returning to the scene of the crime? Likely both. After not posting a blog for some length of time, here I am Maybe it is just spending $200 for the right to keep this site another two years-and NO, it has not been making money since the early years, or maybe it is the time of year I truly am excited about racing.

I openly admit that I have been less excited about racing in 2018, than I have in any year. I have watched only a few laps of NASCAR this season, and that was at best inadvertent. I have attended one race live, though I was at Junction Motor Speedway a few weeks ago when the rain poured down before the start of hot laps. Due to another commitment I missed Matt’s trek to Adams County Speedway in Corning, and Park Jefferson was rained out on the night we planned to head to greater Sioux City. I’ll explain more of my no tears later.

Thanks to Speed Shift TV and Lucas Oil Racing TV I still have watched plenty of racing this season. I have visited tracks in Washington, Oregon, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. I have watched late models, modifieds, midgets, winged sprint cars, and non-wing sprint cars in action. And have tried my very best to miss support class racing.

This coming week I will be watching Lucas Oil late models race in South Dakota and Minnesota prior to heading to I-80 Speedway for three super nights of the SDN. Thank you to www.DirtonDirt.com for the coverage. The site will also be covering the SDN if you can’t make it to the track, and next week will be showing both nights of the Prairie Dirt Classic from Fairbury, Illinois. Like the SDN, the PDC is simply a race dirt late model fans need to see. Because of my new job, Matt and I won’t make it to Friday’s PDC prelims, but we are flying into Chicago on Saturday and will be there for the main event. It is that good of a show.

As I mentioned, I have held little enthusiasm for racing in 2018-at least until this week. I have enjoy the computer races because I visit tracks I know I will never go to otherwise-I won’t be going to Washington or Oregon or Ohio or Pennsylvania, even though the tracks do put on great shows. But more important is the convenience these races provide. It is a constant 72 degrees where I sit, and there is no threat of getting wet if an unexpected shower takes place. In all honesty, I have watched very few features this season. I watch hot laps, time trials, and heats of the feature class, and usually turn off my computer and go on to something else.

It is after the feature class heats when tracks start to irritate me. Support class races that go on and on and on bore me. Intermissions that last forever infuriate me. But at The Rest of the Dirt Speedway, I control all of that. A couple clicks on the computer mouse and I can be on to something else, instead of sitting in the stands fuming over shows I feel are not professionally run. With my feelings running like they are, I suppose it is for the best I do not attend more shows. Right now the three nights of the Silver Dollar Nationals, the final night of the Prairie Dirt Classic, and the three nights of the Knoxville Late Model Nationals are all I have scheduled to physically attend the rest of the season, though I suspect Matt will somehow finagle me into going to Park Jefferson or Junction Motor Speedway sometime.

And I am looking forward to the next few weeks. I was hoping that Scott Bloomquist would not win his 600^th feature before the Lucas Oil late models pulled into the I-80 pits, but he took care of that last night at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri. That doesn’t mean there is a shortage of stories for the Nebraska event. Tim McCreadie has not won a Lucas Oil feature this year, and a repeat of his 2017 SDN win would be very popular.  Last year’s point champion Josh Richards has not won a Lucas Oil feature since the Georgia-Florida Speedweeks in February. Youngsters Hudson O’Neal and Bobby Pierce will put on a great show. Don O’Neal, known now as much as Hudson’s dad as being a former Lucas Oil champion has won at I-80 Speedway, and put together back to back wins in Ohio a few weeks ago. Superman, Jonathan Davenport leads Lucas Oil points, but of late has been racing more like Clark Kent. Will any regional driver other than the Simpson brothers (boo) actually compete with the national drivers? There are 14 Lucas Oil regulars and they will all be on hand, but what other well know drivers will journey to Nebraska?

I am hoping the temperature will be somewhere below 100 for the SDN, but will be there no matter how hot it is. I do hope Thursday night’s show will be run quickly. I have to work on Friday and would like to get some sleep before going in.

Thanks for stopping by and see you at I-80 Speedway this weekend.