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The 5 W’s, Plus Speed Shift TV, KTJ, Sunshine, And Berck. I-80 Dirt Classic
Who? What? Where? When? Why? The 5 W’s of news reporting. Of course my blog is more opinion than news, but today I am going to work with the 5 W’s anyway.
What? The I-80 Dirt Classic featuring Modifieds, USAC Non-Wing Sprint Cars, and SLMR Late Models. That also answers where-I-80 Speedway, Greenwood, Nebraska-though I-80 Speedway is closer to Ashland than to Greenwood. Obviously when was Friday night.
Who? Matt, me, Race Guru Steve Basch, Scott McBride and Jameson, Randy Palmer and late arriving, very late arriving Tony Anville.
Who? Celebrity variety. I met Speed Shift Callie last night. If you ever purchase one of the Speed Shift PPV’s, Callie is their fixer. You have a problem receiving a race, she fixes your problem. She fixed a problem for me during Indiana Midget Week, though the problem had nothing to do with Speed Shift and everything to do with me being a duh. Anyway, a nice and lovely young lady.
Where? Again. Fortunately it was I-80 Speedway. It took me all of my debating skills to convince a certain family member that going to Jackson, Minnesota for the Jackson Nationals was a bad idea. I was proven right when the Thursday program at the Minnesota track was rained out, and it rained yesterday too. Jackson is a little over 200 miles from Fremont. I-80 Speedway is about 50 miles straight south of Fremont, although to get there from my house we have to go west-south-west-south-east-south-east-south-east-south-west-south.
Why? That is the real question. This race was the first Matt and I went to this season. Mainly we went for the USAC Non-Wing Sprint Cars, with the SLMR Late Models a bonus, and Modifieds something to endure. I very much enjoy Non-Wing Sprint Cars. You could not pay me to go to the Knoxville Nationals-Winged Sprint Cars, but if I could, I would certainly go to the USAC Indiana Midget Week or USAC Indiana Sprint Week. I probably can’t go, but I watched the Midget Week on Speed Shift TV and will watch the Sprint Week on Speed Shift TV in July. More about that later.
The car count for the I-80 Dirt Classic was my kind of number-77. 15 Modifieds, 25 Sprint Cars, and 37 Late Models filled the pits. The 37 Late Models ended up being a little problematic though. As if happened, I did not understand why there were 7, yup 7, Late Model hot lap sessions. Unfortunately the 7 hot lap sessions were followed by 7 time trial sessions, something the SLMR shows I had attended in the past did not have.
If you have more than a few of my blog posts, you know I hate time trials. Time trials try my patience. Time trials are minutes of my life wasted, minutes I will never get back. On a dirt track, when you time trial can be even more important than how good your car is. And time trials go a long way to influencing the kind of night a driver is going to have. Sorry, two laps should not be that important.
OK, that is time trials period. I was told the SLMR time trials had something to do with slower cars drawing spots close to the front of the starting grid of a heat. I am not sure who complained, the faster cars or the slower cars. If it was the faster cars, tough, pass them. If it was a driver of a slower car, admit you are slower and tag on the back of the grid while you gain experience. I do not think this was a good reason for having time trials. The SLMR Late Models simply should not have time trials.
Kevin Thomas Jr. was quite impressive last night. He set fast time, finished 3rd in his heat, and dominated the feature after taking the point on lap 6. The 69 car worked everywhere on the track-high, low, middle, wherever it needed to go to pass. Thomas leads the Amsoil USAC National point battle, and it would not surprise me to see him crowned champion at the end of the season.
A driver who could challenge Thomas is Tyler Courtney. Courtney did not have a good qualifying run and ended up starting the feature 12th on the grid. Getting to the front in a 30 lap feature running against quality drivers is no easy task. Courtney managed to move from 12th to 2nd in the race, despite no caution flags-surprise, the USAC sprinters had to cautions the entire evening. Maybe it has to do with NO wings.
Despite a plethora of cautions in the SLMR feature, Kyle Berck led all 25 laps, picking up his second series feature win of the season. Tad Pospisil finished 2nd, but the only way the Norfolk driver was going to win was for Berck to make a mistake, and that seldom happens. Andrew Kosiski finished a surprising 3rd, and looked good doing so.
The SLMR rules package is one all regional Late Model tours should follow-I am actually talking MLRA here. MLRA car counts are not that good at most races, and the SLMR car counts are good every race. If MLRA has the same rules as the SLMR, I believe their car count would jump from the low 20’s to 40 or more per race. The SLMR is going to be part of the Knoxville Late Model Nationals in September, so obviously promoter Joe Kosiski is doing something right.
Back to Speed Shift TV. There are some who claim sites like Speed Shift TV are detrimental to the sport. I think that is bunk. Speed Shift will show 16 races the remainder of June, 18 in July, 14 in August, 16 in September, 9 in October, 8 in November, and 1 in December. That is 82 shows I can watch, and I will watch many of them. The only track I have visited in those 82 shows is Park Jefferson. The only others I might actually visit are Marshalltown Speedway and Beatrice Speedway. Speed Shift TV allows me to “visit” dozens of tracks I would not otherwise visit. I am not watching Speed Shift TV in lieu of going to a local track, because I am doing very few weekly shows anymore (sorry, 6 classes of racing just chaps my you know what). AND, I can watch racing from warm weather states before and after the Nebraska racing season. Nothing wrong with any of that.
Over all I would give the evening a solid B. I enjoyed the company of my friends, got to meet a celebrity, very pleased with the USAC Non-Wing Sprints, but a little disappointed in the SLMR Late Model feature.
Matt may have other plans, but for now, my plans for this season are lots of races on Speed Shift TV and Lucas Oil Racing TV, and going to the Silver Dollar Nationals at I-80 Speedway and the Prairie Dirt Classic at FALS in July and the Knoxville Late Model Nationals in September.
Thanks for stopping by.
Is Speed Shift TV Turning Me Into An Open Wheel Fan??
For the past two weeks Speed Shift TV has tried to turn me into an open wheel fan. First it was the Indiana Midget week, with both Midgets and Sprint Cars being shown. Speed Shift followed that up with the Eastern Storm tour-featuring USAC Wingless Sprints, but also Midgets and the Silver Crown Series cars. That was 10 different shows from tracks in Indiana and Pennsylvania. And they followed that with 410 sprints from Jackson, Minnesota.
Oh, and give an assist on this project to Lucas Oil Racing TV. For the past three nights, LOR TV showed the ASCS National Sprint Cars in action from Skaget Speedway in Washington. In two weeks I watched more open wheel racing than I had in the last two years. Maybe the past five years. Maybe more than I ever have.
I would give my experience a solid B. I enjoy the Midgets bouncing around dirt tracks, I like the Wingless Sprints, and I very much enjoy seeing tracks I have never been to and likely will never visit in person. Then there was the three nights at Skaget Speedway. Without question this has to be the most scenic race track around. It is surrounded by forest and hills, and in the distance you can see snow-capped Mt. Baker.
I also liked the Skaget Speedway fan viewing area. I have often thought that if I built a race track it would include grassy berms for fan seating. Skaget Speedway has grandstands from the middle of turn three to the end of the front straightaway, and a grassy berm area in front of the turns 3-4 stands. The berm area was far enough away from the track to be safe, yet a great spot for families with small children to watch the races. Two thumbs up.
I did watch a Lucas Oil Late Model shown on LOR TV, and am also watching the Wild West Modified Shoot-Out on Speed Shift TV. I would have watched more Late Model action, but the Firecracker 100 preliminaries scheduled for Thursday and Friday were postponed due to rain. One of those shows was made up in the afternoon yesterday, but I am not a big fan of dirt track racing in the day. Brandon Sheppard won the Saturday afternoon preliminary, collecting $6,000 for his efforts. Brandon Overton won the 100 lap event last night, earning $30,000. And I am not a big fan of either Brandon, so enough of that. Mike Marlar had a decent weekend finishing second to Brandon in the afternoon, and then finishing second to the other Brandon that night.
For someone who is 99% retired, Billy Moyer is certainly doing a lot of racing. He is second to Bobby Pierce in the UMP Summernational points, and has claimed two feature wins in the opening week of the Hell Tour. I am hoping Moyer will show up for the Silver Dollar Nationals, but his website schedule only shows through 6/27. If you are willing to grind on this tour for a chance to win $5,000-$10,000, it would seem like spending a few days in Nebraska in July would be worth the opportunity to net $53,000. Keep your fingers crossed.
I’ll be watching Speed Shift TV this week for Modified action from the Northwest, including a night at Sunset Speedway Park in Oregon. Matt and I will be going to Columbus on Thursday for the SLMR race at US 30 Speedway, and my son is also suggesting we head south to I-80 Speedway for the SLMR event on Friday. Maybe. I certainly am not thrilled with watching five support classes that night, the trade-off being the track’s famous pork tenderloin sandwich.
Thanks for stopping by.
A Real Hodgepodge
Here is an interesting article on why some fans have stopped attending NASCAR races:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2016/07/01/nascar-fans-attendance-cost/86587042/
A variety of reasons was listed, including cost-not just of tickets, but also the cost of transportation and the price gouging of hotels. Decisions made by NASCAR was mentioned often. I have visited four NASCAR tracks, but never for a race. The closest to a race was a qualifying day at Kansas Speedway. Kansas City is not really a bad trip from Fremont, the tickets were reasonable for that day, and we didn’t have to worry about a hotel.
One person who no longer attends NASCAR races commented on how tough it was the first year, but then “things just evolved.” That is true of when Matt and I stopped heading to the race track for weekly shows all summer long. It was not easy at first, but now I don’t even think about it. Of course B-Mods influenced those feelings. And a plethora of classes-ah for the good old days of just 2-3 classes instead of 5-6 classes racing.
My entertainment yesterday: a David Baldacci novel, Nebraska baseball on the radio-not entertaining at all, the movie “Captain Underpants” with Jane and Henry-enjoyed this, and Speed Shift TV’s showing of the All-Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprint Car show from Mercer Speedway Park in Pennsylvania.
I enjoy seeing tracks I have never visited and probably won’t, but I just could not get into the ASCOC show last night. I will be watching Speed Shift TV tonight as they will be showing a WISSOTA LM Challenge race from Casino Speedway in South Dakota. And I very much will be watching Speed Shift TV on Tuesday, as they will be at Marshalltown Speedway in Iowa to cover the Deery Brothers IMCA Late Models AND the Hawkeye Dirt Tour IMCA Modifieds. Two good regionals series at a great track makes for a very good special. Check out the Speed Shift TV website for details.
Also, check out Speed Shift’s June schedule. The site will be showing 23 different events in June, including USAC Midget, Sprint Car, and Silver Crown series races. Actually, if you are an open wheel racing nut (and all open wheel racing fans are nuts), 10 open wheel events are included in the 23 June shows.
If you are on Facebook, there are a number of interesting racing sites you can check out. I Miss Sunset Speedway is one. And boy do I ever miss that place. Midwest Dirt Track Racing Legends, Central Nebraska Dirt Track Racing Memories, All Late Models from Yesteryear to Today, and Good Ol’ Racing Association are others I visit. I love the photos from the past, plus there are plenty of videos as well.
20/20 Racing Page is more current, but another page for fans. My Canadian friend Anthony Leeks posted results and a video from Emo Speedway today. I would love to visit that Canadian track, but wonder if I would not be allowed to re-enter the US if I did-I am only half kidding.
On a three night swing through Missouri and Iowa, the MLRA had car counts of 21-25-18. Interesting-only one night with a full field (I define full field as 24 cars). The SLMR series is averaging almost 34 cars per night, and most features pay $1200 to win, versus the MLRA’s $3,000 to win norm. Until this week the MLRA did have full fields, so I am not sure what happened on this swing. As a fan I don’t think 18 is a good count for a special, but this was a series low for the season.
Finally, I would like to give two thumbs up to SLMR announcer Anthony Ainslie. He is enthusiastic, he gets the details right, and most importantly he pronounces the names correctly. Good job Anthony-but when you post on www.dirtdrivers.com, please leave a blank line between paragraphs.
Thanks for stopping by.
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 1/4th 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 1st will be MLRA Late Models from Scotland County Speedway, and Tuesday June 6th 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.
All’s Well That Ends Well
If too much medical information offends you, skip the next five paragraphs.
I had a script written in my mind how my cancer surgery and recovery was going to play out. I wrote it long before the surgery and went over it so many times I had it memorized. October 25th would see me in the operating room for 45 minutes, I would spend a few hours in recovery, and then I would go home to the comfort of my own bed. I was wrong from the very beginning.
Instead of 45 minutes in the operating room I spent 3 ½ hours. Instead of going home I went from the recovery room to a 4th floor room to spend the night at the Fremont Medical Center. I had the evil catheter coming out on Friday October 28th, and I was a little ahead of schedule on that one-well, sort of. The catheter was blocked by a blood clot and so it did come out, but another replaced it.
That catheter had to be designed by an auditor because it was more than a little painful to deal with. Last weekend was miserable. Even pain pills could not get rid of the pain. I thought I was going out of my mind. The catheter finally came out on Monday-incredible relief, but not until later did I find out it probably should have just been replaced.
My script had me returning to work full-time on Tuesday, November 1st. I did return to work, but worked only 4 hours. I worked 5 hours on Wednesday, none on Thursday, and just 2 hours on Friday. Thank goodness I work for an outstanding employer and with some incredible co-workers. Wednesday night things that were supposed to be working better, stopped working at all. I spent an awful 15 hours before getting in to the urologist-where once again, I met an old friend, the catheter.
Plus, all this time I seemed to want to really do only one thing-sleep. I have been in bed so much that I am getting dizzy lying down or getting up. Crazy. How long will it be before I see things in my life as close to normal? On Friday, the 4th time I saw the urologist last week, he said it would be 2-3 weeks. I am hoping for a nice Thanksgiving. Praying for a nice Thanksgiving. As Shakespeare wrote “All’s Well That Ends Well.” And no, I have never read that play.
END OF MEDICAL, ON TO RACING
I had a plan to watch plenty of racing this weekend, with the National 100 from Alabama and the Western World from Arizona streaming on my computer. I watched some of each, just not as much as I had planned-remember I had a lot of sleeping to do.
Anyway, I remember now why they call it the National 100. The 100 isn’t just for the number of laps in the late model feature, it is for the number of support classes racing. At least it seemed that way. On Friday, I watched hot laps, ate supper, and slept for about three hours. I decided to check out the race anyway, and found my timing was perfect. They were just getting ready to start the late model preliminary A feature. That is pretty much all I was interested in and so I watched Tim McCreadie have an easy time winning his first feature of the year and collecting $5,000.
Saturday was déjà vu all over again. Eat, sleep, log on to www.DirtonDirt.CALM. Hey, that is how the Alabama announcer said it. I watched a Cruiser feature that was really decent. In this case Cruiser did not mean two-man junk cars, but more like Pro-Am or IMCA Stock Cars. Plenty of side by side racing, and that is what I like.
The late model results were déjà vu as well, with McCreadie collecting another win and $5,000 more. He had to work hard for the win though as Don O’Neal was with him for much of the last half of the race. It was a fun race to watch.
Per the East Alabama Speedway website, late model B Mains will start at 6:00 p.m. tonight, and will be followed by the 100 lap A feature. I will be there-well, in front of my computer screen at least.
I watched a little of the Western World races-less than I thought I would, and hope I can find them on the replay board at www.SpeedShiftTV.com. I really enjoy the wingless sprint cars. Bouncing through the turns, or accelerating on the straightaway, it seems like all 4 wheels are never on the ground with these cars. While the National 100 is not on my bucket list, Western World is.
And of course I will be watching The Chase, NASCAR’s Sprint Cup race from Texas today. I would prefer that Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin do bad. I am indifferent about Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch, and Jimmie Johnson has already won a race and will run for the championship at Homestead, Florida. So if Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, or Kyle Busch win, that would be OK.
No, I am not going back to bed. I am trying to stay up today. I guess I can read about the second worst loss ever by an NU football team. Or read my book on Depression Era baseball. Or play games on the computer. Just no sleeping today.
Thanks for stopping by.
Winter Challenge-No, Not My East Coast Friends Shoveling 30″ Of Snow
I am still not ready to do the “Sophie Story.” The story deserves the best words I have in me, and right now, the grief is still too real to tap into that source.
Yes, the grief is real, overwhelming, and not something I am getting through. When we lost Kahlua we knew it was coming-it had been for several months and it was still incredibly difficult to deal with our feelings. With Sophie it was totally unexpected, and unlike with Kahlua I was there for all the bad. If someone wants to say “they were just dogs,” well that is your problem. I know better. These two beings had more humanity by far than the Oompah Loompah narc who reported on my blog writings to the biggest waste of oxygen on the planet-them and their bastard in training as well. Why something happened to Kahlua and Sophie and not those scum has me confused and angry, and letting God know my displeasure with him-although I have been told plenty of times the past few days that God doesn’t work the way I have accused.
So now is not the time to write of sweet, sweet Sophie. I have too much anger over the loss. The pain of my daughter is beyond description-if I could take it on myself I would. At the vet’s on Wednesday I prayed for God to take me, not Sophie, and that didn’t happen either. The words will be the best I can write when I do. For now, I can only say I have a hole in my heart big enough to drive a truck through and she is missed and will be forever.
I did go to some basketball games this weekend, trying to get out of the house, trying to get my mind on something other than my grief. It didn’t work well, but I thank Matt for trying. I am watching the Winter Challenge from Canyon Speedway Park as I am typing. Well, I am listening. I watched the USAC Sprint Car and IMCA Modified heats, but am passing up the Mini-Sprint and Stock Car Races.
As with USA Raceway in Tucson, I do enjoy the desert scenery off the backstretch of Canyon Speedway Park. Actually, I have always loved the scenery flying into Phoenix or Las Vegas, but the sunset views at the track are awesome.
And I like watching the Wingless Sprint Cars. I was going to call them the Sprint Cars without diapers-aka wings, but that would be me just trying to irritate one person, so I won’t. This is my first night of watching the Winter Challenge, but unless you are a big Bryan Clauson fan you didn’t miss much as the Indiana driver won both features. Ricky Thornton and Hunter Marriott won the first Modified features.
Tonight the stands look a little empty, but it is just the bottom row of the stands that Speed Shift TV shows as cars pass by on the front stretch. There may be plenty of others in the stands. I know Ivan Tracy is there, and if I had my druthers, I would rather be in Phoenix than in Nebraska tonight. Of course I would rather be in Nebraska than Washington D.C. or New York City tonight with their over two feet of snow.
Only 17 USAC Sprint Cars in the $4,000 to win feature. I suppose if it were 305 Sprint Cars there would have been 57 on hand tonight. Like B-Mods and mosquitoes they seem to breed rather quickly. Most of the Sprints on hand were from the Southwest or West Coast. Oh, and like there winged brothers, they do need to be pushed off to start. A shame for sure.
Josh Hodges won the Sprint feature, followed by R.J. Johnson, and Clauson. All three led the race-Johnson most of the race, Clauson for less than the front straight, and Hodges about the last five after taking the lead in traffic.
Oh no. They have a Mod-Lite feature. I hope there is no B-Mod feature surprise. Good-there isn’t. Modified A feature time. Speed Shift TV has at least 80 race dates scheduled for 2016 so far. Check out there site for more details.
It is just 8:00 p.m. MST-9:00 p.m. here in Nebraska, and the night’s racing from Phoenix is done. I like that. Ricky Thornton started on the pole and led every lap of the feature. Thornton was followed by Tim Ward and Hunter Marriott, and Anthony Roth of Columbus, Nebraska finished 4th.
Yes, I will be watching the Winter Challenge on Speed Shift TV again next weekend. Thanks for stopping by.
“Chasing” Sleep
Another late night blog post. I gotta figure out this sleep thing. I can’t seem to stay awake earlier in the evening, but I am wide awake when I should be sound asleep. Crazy.
Not as crazy as Jimmie Johnson out of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase after just three races. I doubt many brackets-except for those of Johnson haters-had that called correctly. Some thoughts on The Chase:
-Kevin Harvick showed that if you are going to have a bad race, make it the first race in a round. That way you have two chances to win and advance.
-Johnson showed that if you are going to have a bad race, it better not be the final race in a round. However, the 48 team has been a master of Chase events, and I can see them being very disruptive of the proceedings, winning a race or two. This week is Charlotte, and Johnson owns the place.
-The way I read NASCAR points, the best Johnson can finish in 2015 is 13th. So, is he racing for wins or testing for 2016 in the final races of the season? I say wins.
-Dale Earnhardt Jr. showed how important every point in every race is. His late lap pass of Jamie McMurray at Dover left the two tied for points, with Earnhardt having the tiebreaker and advancing to the second round of The Chase. Without the pass, Earnhardt would have finished one point behind McMurray and out of the championship hunt.
-Joe Gibbs racing has sizzled, but will they continue to bring home the bacon? I would love to see them fizzle, but don’t be surprised if all four Gibbs cars advance to the third round of The Chase. My bias is showing, but I would not mind seeing three of the drivers falter in the Contender Round.
-Of course I also would not mind seeing both Penske cars racing for nothing but pride after Talladega. OK, so I want Hamlin, Kenseth, Edwards, Logano, and Keselowski out. Add Kurt Busch to the list. Since at least two of the four will advance to the Eliminator Round, I think I will apply TROTD’s jinx to Hamlin, Edwards, Logano, and Keselowski.
-Do you think any of the other Chase drivers was pleased to see Harvick win at Dover and advance to round two of the championship? I think not. With the 12 drivers all at 3,000 points to begin this round, I think it is advantage Harvick. He obviously knows how to win the Sprint Cup crown, and week after week he has been the fastest car on the track.
-Despite pit crew-make that crew chief foibles-Jeff Gordon managed to advance to round two of The Chase. Matt says the 24 will win at Kansas and advance to round three, and then win at Martinsville to be a part of the final four. I hope Matt is right.
From Sprint Cup to sprint cars. I am sure my sprint car fan friends would love to be back home in Indiana this weekend. Lawrenceburg Speedway will host the WoO winged wonders tonight, and USAC 410’s tomorrow night. Actually that sounds like a fun weekend.
More and more, the idea of going to I-80 Speedway for the Cornhusker Classic is becoming less and less appealing. With 23 B-mods and 23 Sport Compacts already entered, I can see 8 heats, 4 B-features, and 2 A-features between the two divisions, and that is 14 races I can really do without. It is too many B-mods, too many Sport Compacts, too many divisions racing vs. A-mods, late models, and Mona Kosiski’s pork tenderloin sandwich. While I would like to see late models race one more time this season, the negatives of the event outweigh the positives. Plus I have to work late tonight and go in early tomorrow.
So, I will watch Speed Shift TV and RaceFeedx.com races from Kansas, Oklahoma, and California on my computer. There won’t be any pork tenderloin sandwich at the TROTD Speedway concession stand, and the popcorn isn’t quite as good as the I-80 Speedway popcorn, but I won’t need a blanket and when I am tired, my bed is close at hand.
And maybe I’ll get this sleep thing figured out. Thanks for stopping by.
Buddy Baker, Top 25 + North Dakota, South Dakota, And Indiana
Some sad news from the NASCAR scene today regarding racing legend Buddy Baker. See the link below:
Baker was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998 and won the 1980 Daytona 500. I think it would be a nice gesture if special dispensation was made to put Baker in the NASCAR Hall of Fame immediately.
Two of the five fans injured in the spectacular Austin Dillon crash at Daytona have hired the attorney who represented 13 fans in the similar Kyle Larson XFINITY Series incident in 2013. Well, why not? I probably would too-except I am smart enough to not sit too close to the fence. Though the injuries have been reported as “minor,” I am sure any settlement will not be.
Below is my www.DirtOnDirt.com top 25 ballot for the week:
| DirtonDirt.com Top 25 Voting Ballot | |
| Name: | Ron Meyer |
| Date: | 7/6/2015 |
| Position | |
| 1 | Jonathan Davenport |
| 2 | Shane Clanton |
| 3 | Scott Bloomquist |
| 4 | Earl Pearson Jr. |
| 5 | Jimmy Owens |
| 6 | Randy Weaver |
| 7 | Don O’Neal |
| 8 | Chris Ferguson |
| 9 | Billy Moyer |
| 10 | Brandon Sheppard |
| 11 | Dale McDowell |
| 12 | Darrell Lanigan |
| 13 | Josh Richards |
| 14 | Bobby Pierce |
| 15 | Dennis Erb Jr. |
| 16 | Jason Feger |
| 17 | Shannon Babb |
| 18 | Devin Moran |
| 19 | Jesse Stovall |
| 20 | Jared Landers |
| 21 | Billy Moyer Jr. |
| 22 | Casey Roberts |
| 23 | Chub Frank |
| 24 | Tim McCreadie |
| 25 | Steve Casebolt |
For maybe the first time ever I agree with the other voters on the all of the top six drivers. All of my drivers are in the Top 28, so obviously the other voters are gaining wisdom as the season goes on. Or maybe I am, Jeff.
Congratulations to the Fair Board for cancelling the July 24th National Sprint League event at Crawford County Speedway. I say that ironically, facetiously, and with the utmost sarcasm. And the same congratulations to Lakeside Speedway for cancelling their July 14th Lucas Oil late model race. Two thumbs down to both tracks.
I watched some of the Dakota Modified Tour on RACEFEEDX.com last night. The tour is a phenomenon, with cars from 10 different states and several Canadian provinces participating. The Modified car count is averaging close to 90 cars-all are A Mods, not the cheaper imitation, and over 40 Stock Cars are also on the tour. Action at the Williston Basin Speedway saw 8 Modified heats with 10 or 11 cars and only the winner qualified for the A feature. There were four B features and the top four qualified for the A. Last night Jordan Grabouski and Hunter Mariott were forced to use provisionals to get to the A feature, so qualifying is tough.
Modfieds are racing for $2,100 to win, while first place in the Stock Car feature pays $800. There are three races remaining on the tour-Southwest Dakota Speedway in Dickinson tonight, Dacotah Speedway in Mandan on Thursday, and Jamestown Speedway on Friday. All can be viewed on RACEFEEDX.com.
Including the Dakota Mod Tour, RACEFEEDX.com has 10 races scheduled for the remainder of the month of July. Included in those dates is the Harris Clash from Knoxville. Next up for Speed Shift TV is a National Sprint League show from Park Jefferson on Friday. I tend to say a thing or two bad about PJ, but at least they didn’t do a CCS and cancel their sprint show.
And, talking about the open wheel buggies, Indiana Sprint Week begins on Friday with a stop at Gas City I-69 Speedway. The USAC wingless sprints will race seven times over ten days. Those are races I wish one of the sites doing PPV’s would show.
There are Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana Sprint Weeks, so maybe a certain representative of the Nebraska 360 Sprints could get off his butt and line up something similar in Nebraska. If there aren’t enough venues in Nebraska to host a week’s worth of races, well, there are three in western Iowa that could. Well, make it two, probably better not schedule one at Denison.
Yesterday I applied for Medicare and talked to an agent about supplemental insurance. I feel almost as old as Stan Cisar. Oh wait, I am almost as old as Stan. The insurance agent told me that 10,000 Americans are turning 65 every day. Those of you who want to make fun of my age, remember, we out number you. No, I did not sign up for Social Security benefits yet. Unfortunately it will be a few more years before I am able to retire and take my grandson to the ‘Y’ to shoot baskets or hit grounders to him.
Thanks for stopping by.
What? Only 10 On My Ballot Made The www.DirtonDirt.com Top 25. That Can’t Be Right
Below is my www.DirtonDirt.com Top 25 ballot.
| DirtonDirt.com Top 25 Voting Ballot | |
| Name: | Ron Meyer |
| Date: | 2/23/2015 |
| Position | |
| 1 | Shane Clanton |
| 2 | Billy Moyer |
| 3 | Josh Richards |
| 4 | Darrell Lanigan |
| 5 | Don O’Neal |
| 6 | Scott Bloomquist |
| 7 | Eddie Carrier Jr. |
| 8 | Jimmy Owens |
| 9 | Jonathan Davenport |
| 10 | Brandon Sheppard |
| 11 | Chris Madden |
| 12 | Steve Francis |
| 13 | Dale McDowell |
| 14 | Tim McCreadie |
| 15 | Dennis Erb Jr. |
| 16 | Devin Moran |
| 17 | Gregg Satterlee |
| 18 | Earl Pearson Jr. |
| 19 | Billy Moyer Jr. |
| 20 | Bobby Pierce |
| 21 | Rick Eckert |
| 22 | Stormy Scott |
| 23 | Brandon Overton |
| 24 | Mason Zeigler |
| 25 | Jason Papich |
Yes, Shane Clanton is at the top of the list. No, I have not become a Shane Clanton fan, but with all the wins he had in Florida, it was impossible not to rank him first. I thought I did a good job of prepping for my vote-I made a spreadsheet for all the driver finishes in the Georgia and Florida races, but only 19 on my ballot appeared in the top 25. Oh well, that means that except for Jeff Broeg the other 24 voters were wrong. And Jeff is from Iowa and a Hawkeye fan, so he can be excused for irrational decisions.
I saw that the only way to get a down front ticket to the Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Merryweather fight at the MGM Grand is to have a $250,000 line of credit at the hotel casino and be willing to play it. For nights around the fight date, a king room goes for $2,350 per night, three nights minimum. Reading this I thought “this sounds like the Bristol night race a few years back.”
The Corn Belt Clash schedule is out. Mostly made up of eastern Iowa drivers-and mostly good eastern Iowa drivers, the schedule includes stops at 11 tracks in 5 Midwestern states, with 3 dates at I-80 Speedway, 3 dates at Park Jefferson-Matt is already pestering me on this, and a single night of racing at Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa.
No doubt many of the CBC dates will be co-sanctioned with the MLRA series, and make for really good regional racing.
Tonight it will be Midland University basketball, but tomorrow night TROTD Speedway will be open with USAC Sprint Cars from East Bay Raceway Park on XSAN.TV.
Thanks for stopping by.
Late Models In El Paso, PPV’s From Florida, And Sprints At Australia and Arizona
I enjoy watching Mr. Smooth in action. NO, I am NOT talking about any of my readers, so I don’t need an email from Lincoln thanking me for mentioning someone I did not mention. I am talking of Billy Moyer.
Moyer led about half of Friday’s Battle of the Border late model feature and appeared to have the race well in hand when one of what I call the desert rats or NCRA Desert Division, actually known as the CDM series brought out a caution in the middle part of the race. This put John Blankenship on Moyer’s rear bumper for the restart. Moyer held off the 2013 World 100 winner for several laps, but Blankenship managed to get around the 21 to become the seventh winner in seven nights of NDRL/CDM racing in the southwest US.
Blankenship followed up his Friday victory with a close win over Indiana driver Kent Robinson on Saturday. Terry Phillips finally overcame a string of bad luck to win Sunday’s feature and take $5,000 back to Springfield, Missouri. Robinson again finished second.
A number of drivers have to be pleased with their results from the weekend. Blankenship will have momentum going into the start of the Georgia-Florida Speedweeks races with two wins and a 4th place finish. Robinson started poorly on Friday with a 21st, but his two second place finishes could have been wins just as easily. Moyer had a 2nd, 8th, and a 3rd, while Moyer Jr. had an 8th, a 3rd, and a 6th-their switch to a Longhorn chassis has paid early season dividends.
Terry Phillips started slowly-he had a 14th on Friday, but finished 5th on Saturday and won on Sunday. Jimmy Mars continued his early season success with a 7th place finish on Friday, a 6th on Saturday, and a 5th last night.
One driver that did not fare especially well on his January journey was 2013 MLRA and MARS champion Tony Jackson Jr. His average finish in Tucson was 16th, and in El Paso he finished 17th-14th-22nd. I suspect I won’t be lobbied to put him in my Top 25 when balloting starts in February. Jackson needs to have a long talk with chassis builder Darrell Lanigan before the NDRL point races begin.
Watching last night’s feature reminded me of one of my pet peeves. The 911 car driven by Cliff Hansen was lapped repeatedly by leaders. Late in the race he was being lapped seemingly every 3-4 laps, meaning he was way off the race pace set by Phillips and Robinson. To me, the driver should have been black flagged as going that slow presents a safety hazard to all cars on the track. You can argue the driver needs seat time, but he needs seat time racing weekly, not at specials running against national caliber drivers. How did he qualify for the feature if he was that slow? There were only 24 cars on hand on Friday, so everyone qualified. On Saturday 26 cars were on hand, but two cars scratched from the feature. Last night there were 25 late models in the pits, but one had mechanical difficulties and scratched for the night.
XSANTV is the place to get your racing fix this week. Starting tomorrow XSAN will be showing the Bubba Army Winternationals from Ocala, Florida and later in the week the site will show crate lates from Ocala and UMP modifieds from Tampa’s East Bay Raceway Park. Action will begin at 6:00 p.m. Central, Tuesday through Saturday.
I have mentioned sprint cars in far too long. Californian Tim Kaeding won the 42nd Lucas Oil Grand Annual Sprint Car Classic at Sungold Stadium in Warrenambool, Australia. The race is Australia’s version of the Knoxville Sprint Car Nationals, and paid $30,000 Australian to win (approximately $26,100 when converted to US dollars). I love the Australian city names, and this race is on my “if I ever win the lottery” bucket list. Check out the link from National Speedsport News that includes Kaeding’s victory celebration which may be the wildest anyone has ever done:
http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/category/sprints-midgets/
I have to admit I enjoyed the above video, and not just Kaeding’s Kraziness. Maybe it is that I didn’t have to give up and hour of my life watching race cars be pushed to start.
Closer to home-well, heck, pretty much any track I write about is going to be closer than one in Australia-USAC Sprint raced three nights at Canyon Speedway Park near Phoenix. Brady Bacon won on Friday, while Dave Darland, “The People’s Champ,” won A features on both Saturday and Sunday. IMCA modifieds were the support class at Canyon Speedway Park. Ricky Thornton Jr. did a Darland, winning on Saturday and Sunday, while Friday night’s victor was none other than Jason Noll, subject of a well-written Dirt Modified article several months ago.
Finally, Jimmie Johnson was named the Nationals Motorsports Press Association’s Richard Petty Driver of the Year award at the NMPA’s annual convention held in Concord, North Carolina over the weekend. This event is also on my “if I ever win the lottery” bucket list as I am an NMPA member and would like to visit with some of the famous race writers who are also members. Mainly I mentioned this because my friend Tony Anville is a big Richard Petty fan, and has told Matt and me numerous times of meeting “the King.”
Thanks for stopping by.
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