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The Hoosier Race Report

by Danny Burton



-

Chapter 78: Thad Fights the Wall



“There’s nothing like a Labor Day weekend ending here,” said Farrell. “If you pointed a gun at me and made me pick a favorite Indiana race track, I’d have to say right here.”



“You could do worse, but I’ve come to like ‘em all, man.” Thad sipped a beer while they waited on the pits to open. Ten thousand dollars was on the line tonight and Thad’s guess was about 35 cars were there. He was close. It was 38.



It turned out to be a great night for Thad and company. He qualified seventh fastest and finished third in his heat race. Brad had qualified near the front, but bobbled in his heat. This put him in the B and Thad on the pole for the feature.



While looking at the lineup with Brad, he asked Thad, “Aren’t you going to thank me?” Thad laughed and said he would wait until after the race.



It was just as well. Thad fought with Cosmo for the lead for the first half of the 40-lapper. He ran high while Cosmo made the low groove work. Just after the halfway mark, Thad sailed into turn one just a couple of inches too high. He tapped the wall just hard enough to cause him to almost lose control. Thad nearly tipped over, but somehow managed to regain control. By that time, Cosmo was long gone and Thad was now busy fighting for second with Preston. The excursion with the wall had bent something and Thad had his hands full keeping from smacking the wall again.



With five laps to go, Preston, who was having his own issues with his car and lapped traffic, got around Thad and tried to catch Cosmo. At this point with only three laps to go, Preston caught a mighty break when Cosmo slowed on the backstretch with a flat tire. Preston happily accepted the gift, the lead, the win and the $10K. Thad hung on for second over a fast closing Lane Rasmussan.

After the race, Thad and Farrell took their time watching Charles and Tyrus load up for the night. Other drivers, pit crews, fans and general hangers-on stopped to chat. When they could, Thad and Farrell talked about the next season. Thad knew it was time that he made a decision. He knew that Farrell was interested in buying the team, but might be inclined to play a bigger role with the team next year with Thad continuing as owner with a new driver. They talked about Tyrus and expanding his role with the team next year. It was looking more and more like Charles would stay with the team as well when time and his schedule permitted. When Thad commented that it sounded like running the team would be more expensive next year, Farrell laughed and said, “Sounded?”



They finally agreed that Thad and Arley, assuming Arley would go along with the idea, would sell the team to Farrell, but stay on as sponsors. Eventually, the numbers were worked out, papers were signed and there were handshakes all around. Arley was contacted and agreed to the plan.



Thad had mixed emotions about turning over the reins to anyone. He had enjoyed the time spent in Indiana, but he knew that it would be foolish to keep doing this much longer. Of course there was the injury factor, but the more immediate challenge was the relentless (to Thad) travel. He concluded that this was more fun than NASCAR, but more stressful too. In his role as owner-driver, Thad delegated what he could to Farrell, Rhonda, Tyrus and now even Charles, but it still left him with decisions to make.



One of those decisions was to take a weekend off and prepare for Eldora’s Four Crown. Farrell had a talk with Thad about the perils of racing at Eldora, which may have been the most difficult and treacherous of all the tracks on USAC’s schedule, but was also the most rewarding to even finish a race, never mind winning.



The more Farrell talked about the challenge that was Eldora, the more Thad was anxious to race. So off they went to western Ohio, Thad’s only visit to a track not in Indiana.



 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Jerry Gappens

My grandson and I were headed north to meet up with his dad for a long weekend. When we were almost there, I had one of those out in left field thoughts. Why isn’t there a Hall of Fame for promoters? Two nominees came to mind quickly. The O’Conner family at Kokomo would surely belong in my fictitious Indiana Race Promoters’ Hall of Fame. The next name that came to me was Jerry Gappens. We arrived at our destination and Karston’s dad and I chatted for a while and then everyone headed to their destination, but I had to eat first. I was surfing the internet in a parking lot when I saw the terrible news. Jerry Gappens had died.

I didn’t know Jerry that well, but during his time promoting at Gas City, he was always friendly and accommodating. During his relatively short stay at Gas City, he had revived the track and actually promoted the track and the racers. Attendance was good, both in the bleachers and the pits. Jerry was quick to involve fans in some sort of activity during the (gasp) intermission. Like all good promoters, and Indiana has been blessed with several, Jerry worked harder than most of us would care to work. He was always looking to improve an already good short track experience. He found time to talk to me when I wrote a story about one of his team, Tyler Kelly. Jerry seemed to get along with everyone, not an easy task when dealing with such a variety of personalities. When I wrote a book a few years back, Jerry allowed me to set up shop and try and sell a few books, even setting them on the counter in the gift shop.

My last communication with Jerry was via email about two and a half years ago. Like the other promoters I’ve dealt with over the past twenty years, I sent Jerry a message telling him that I would not be going to many races in the foreseeable future due to my wife’s diagnosis of dementia. He promptly answered and said that he would be praying for my wife. I couldn’t have asked for more.

Of course we all will die, but knowing that doesn’t lessen the shock and hurt when it happens to anyone we may know. Jerry Gappens, I am sure, was in the middle of doing what he loved when he took the proverbial checkered flag. It isn’t fair, we cry, and it’s a shame. It’s true that any death isn’t fair, but it’s a fact of life such as it is.

Those of us left behind are left with memories and let us be thankful for that. Whether you loved or hated Jerry Gappens for whatever reason, at least know that the racing world is somewhat diminished with Jerry’s passing. God be with you, buddy.

Still basking in the glow of eight decades’ worth of memories at race tracks, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

Chapter 77: September Song



As Thad drove to the garage, Willie Nelson’s version of “September Song” made its entrance on the radio. It seemed somewhat appropriate as he and Farrell were going to talk about their September schedule.



Labor Day weekend would be their last three-race weekend, they decided. The lineup would be Bloomington, Lincoln Park and Haubstadt/Tri-State. They agreed that they would visit Gas City, Kokomo and Lawrenceburg at least one more time. On the spot, they called Charles’ parents and introduced themselves. They praised Charles, but expressed their concern that he would quit school and go racing full-time. Mrs. Pickens laughed at that one. Charles had told his parents how much fun he was having, but when he mentioned the possibility of quitting school, both mom and dad let him have it. Thad told her the Labor Day schedule and said that they could let her know the team’s weekend schedule if she liked. She said, no thanks, Charles could handle that. After multiple thank yous, Thad and Farrell hung up.



Before Thad went back home, he and Farrell talked about going to the Four Crown. It would be Thad’s first visit to Eldora and he was curious, despite Farrell’s warning of how hard Eldora could be. “I’ll tell you, Thad, it’s fast and even the bravest guys can be scared of it.” Thad looked at Farrell and shook his head, then laughed a nervous laugh. “I don’t doubt you for a second, old buddy. But I might give it a try.”



Eldora could wait. First up was one final visit to Bloomington. Charles had brought a friend with him, a local who had not been to Bloomington, he said, since he was in ninth grade. Farrell said to himself that the kid looked young enough to still be in the ninth grade, but he was the same age as Charles. It was fortunate for all concerned that the young man, Perry Finnegan, was happy to stay out of the way and mostly enjoy the racing from a seat in the bleachers.



It was a decent night for the team. Thad stayed out of trouble despite an ill-handling car. He was happy to finish fifth and discovered a right rear tire that was going flat as he exited the car. Another lap and it would not have been fifth.



From Bloomington, the team went to Lincoln Park on Saturday. Trouble began early as a middle aged man spouted off to Charles while the Tarheel Race Team was signing in. One use of the n-word and Charles grabbed the heavy set gentleman by the throat, shocking Thad, Farrell and Tyrus. The local constable quickly broke up the encounter before it got worse. To the jeers and catcalls of some bystanders, the guy was persuaded to leave. For good measure, the cop warned Charles to try not to get physical if it happened again. Charles smiled and shrugged.



While going through their pre-hot laps routine, Tyrus asked Charles, “Do you get that often?” Charles grunted and nodded, then said, “Not that often.” Charles didn’t seem to be in a good mood to talk, so Tyrus let it be.



It would be one of those nights where the car seemed to get faster as the feature went on. Thad found himself in a battle as the laps dwindled down with Jerald Jarvis working the low groove while Thad had the cushion all to himself. The race wasn’t decided until turn four of the last lap as Jerald couldn’t counter Thad’s momentum coming out of four to Brian Hodde’s checkered flag.



Post-race, Thad and the happy team posed for pictures before Brad Dickison interviewed Thad. When asked to comment on the race, Thad went slightly off-script. “Brad, this one is for our crew guy Charles Pickens, an IU student who started helping us out and now he won’t go away.” Lots of laughter followed, then Thad spoke again. “If you’re not blind, you can see that Charles doesn’t look like most of us and somehow he has the courage to come here and contribute. There’s been times he’s had to deal with people who don’t like other people who look like Charles. It’s a sad fact of life. Charles had an incident this evening that was settled quickly by the law. Justice was served, and I want to add one more thing: If anyone comes near the Tarheel Race Team and says anything that could be interpreted as being bigoted toward Charles, they will have all of us to deal with. So what if he doesn’t look like us? In the few weeks we’ve had him on our team, he’s made us a better team and we love him for it.”

The applause was generous and the interview was pretty much complete after Brad said he couldn’t add anything more.



The quartet of Thad, Farrell, Tyrus and Charles went back to the pits, loaded up and headed for their favorite motel in Cloverdale. There was another race coming up at Haubstadt.

 

 

Chapter 76: Wild and Crazy



Thad went out to the track earlier than usual to try and find a closer parking spot to the track. He decided to sit in his car and send a message to Kate.



Hi Kate: Sitting in the hauler at Kokomo, getting ready for another night of racing.

I’ve thought a bit about your preference to break up and, really, it’s probably the smartest thing you could do. Your world and mine are very different. I hope you got a good education while you were with me up here, but I understand that you felt it best to do what you’re doing. I’ll admit there’s an emptiness inside me but I’ve been dealing with that since Dina died. You did a very good job of moving that emptiness aside.



Take care,

Thad



Thad read the text over twice before sending it. He had learned that, a lot of times, the best thing you can do with any setback you can’t control is shrug your shoulders and walk away.



Racing would help with that. It was going to be a wild night.



To be more accurate, until the feature, it was relatively calm on the surface. Thad had been fighting a push in his car from the start of the forty lapper. He settled into fourth place and had a good view of the three-way fight for the lead ahead of him. Try as he might, Thad could not gain on the trio of Cosmo Novak, Preston Janssen and Rod Rasmussen, Lane’s brother, who were engaged in a series of slide jobs even as they darted around and dodged lapped traffic.



A yellow flag with six laps to go allowed all concerned to catch their breath. Lapped traffic wouldn’t be a factor, at least for much of the remainder of the race. The top five were Rasmussen, Novak, Janssen, Larrabee and Jankowski. Jerald Jarvis was sixth after starting nineteenth. Thad tried to figure out what Tyrus was signaling as he coasted through turn one. The running joke with Thad, Tyrus and Farrell all year had been about Thad’s inability to decipher what was being told to him. He shrugged inwardly and decided on his own what to do, which would be trying to stay as close to the leading trio as he could.



Tom waved the green flag and Thad got a good jump–or so he thought. A banzai slider from Jerald all the way from sixth put Thad and Caleb back a spot. Thad was suddenly perturbed with himself. He promptly passed Jarvis as the three frontrunners put more space between the others. Then it happened. Going into turn three, R. Rasmussen, who wasn’t shy about mixing it up with anyone, tried a slider much like Jerald’s a few laps before. He tried to force himself in front of leader Cosmo. It didn’t work; Cosmo gave no ground. He and Rod collided and flipped into the fence, taking Preston, who had no chance to react, with them. Thad and Caleb ducked low and coasted to a stop as Tom had replaced the white flag with the red as quickly as he could.



Racing was halted but the drama was just starting. Rod sat somewhat dazed in his car and was soon joined by Cosmo and Preston, both of whom were not pleased with the outcome. Heated words were exchanged and at one point Cosmo had to hold onto Preston to keep him from, as Jerald laughingly said much later, “jerk a knot in Rod’s poor tail.” As they often do, cooler heads prevailed and Cosmo and Preston hitched a ride on a golf cart to the pits, accompanied by thunderous cheers from the packed house. Rod opted for the safety of the ambulance.



Rod’s decision to ride in the ambulance was a wise one. Multiple discussions over the incident broke out as Cosmo and Preston watched from the golf cart. The security people were busy endeavoring to keep a semblance of peace. Farrell, Tyrus and Charles also watched the festivities from a safe distance. At one point, Tyrus turned to Charles and asked, “Nothin’ like watching rednecks get crazy on a Saturday night, right Charles?” Charles could only laugh. Rod went directly from the ambulance to the USAC trailer for a brief chat. The word was that Rod “had a severe talking to.”



The rest of the remaining field had been waiting for the race to restart. Farrell had been chatting with Thad about race strategy. It was a short conversation. Mostly they talked about the September schedule.



Thad led Caleb and Jerald to the green/white/checkered restart. Going into turn one, Thad stuck with the low line. Surprisingly it worked. Caleb and Jerald took the high groove and found themselves holding off Brad Caplinger, who got major traction coming out of turn two. Thad had it comparatively easy, winning $30,000 at the checkered with a ten car length margin of victory over Caleb and Jerald, who had a dustup with Brad in turn four. This “discussion” lasted all the way to the pits, where more shouting and pointing fingers ensued as Thad was being interviewed.



The Tarheel Racing Team celebrated at an all-night restaurant before heading south. As Thad followed the hauler down I-65, trying to stay awake, he finally thought of Kate. He smiled to himself.

 

 

Chapter 75: Adios, Kate



Thad groaned inwardly. Friday was going to be a bear.



The trio of Thad, Farrell and Tyrus headed for the motel. When Farrell and Tyrus invited Thad to join them for supper, he respectfully declined. They had no way of knowing that he had received a text.



From Kate.



Hi, Thad: Hope you are well, wherever you are. I’m texting you partly because I’ve not been able to reach you on your phone. I’m sorry, but I don’t think it would be a good idea to see you anymore. You have no idea how much it pains me to write that and I’m sure it won’t be pleasant for you either. But the lives we’ve chosen aren’t terribly compatible. I’ve enjoyed the time we spent all summer traveling all over Indiana, but my biggest problem was fear. I couldn’t get used to even the possibility that you would be injured in an accident. That, along with this continued absence, pushed me to make this most difficult decision. I’m so sorry, Thad.



You will always, no matter what, have a special place in my heart.



With all my love and affection,

Kate



Thad stared at his phone and read the text another time or two. He was tempted to answer right away, but decided to wait until when he felt a little more–what–objective? That would have to do.



In the meantime, Thad went to the Burger King, brought it to the motel room and ate his gourmet dinner while watching an old movie.



Friday was a typical Indiana day, hot and humid. Thad met Tyrus, Farrell and…Charles in the pits.



“Hi, Charles. What’s this I hear about you quitting school?” Thad was smiling as he spoke.



“I’m thinking seriously about it, Mr.--I mean, Thad.” Charles smiled back.



Thad had another question. “Have you discussed this with your parents?”



“Not yet, but I plan to when I talk to them on Sunday.”



Thad scratched his head and just looked at the young man who would be a great addition to the team. But he knew that this kid needed to be in school. Racing wouldn’t be the career for him. He had more potential than that if he wanted to be around racing. His talents would be wasted driving up and down the road, chasing races.



Charles was getting uncomfortable at Thad’s silence. Finally, Thad spoke. “Tell you what, Charles. Farrell, Tyrus and I have talked. Here’s my proposition. I’m going to hire you to work on the Tarheel Race Team. I’ll have Rhonda, Farrell’s wife, handle all the paperwork and you start right now.”



The young man’s eyes widened and he had a grin as wide as an Indiana cornfield. ‘Really? That’s great. I’m so ready for this.” He looked around at Tyrus. “I hope your job just got easier.”



Everyone laughed, then Thad spoke. “Charles, there’s only one condition to your employment.”



“What’s that?” Charles should have guessed what was coming.



“You stay in school, young man. I’ve done some checking and you have great potential to teach, write, you name it. You need to pursue that.” Thad paused for a second. “Does that mean no racing for you? Of course not. It does mean that you might have to work even harder than now, but Farrell and I think you can do that.” Another pause. “What do you think?”



Charles looked around at the others. His gaze settled on Tyrus. He asked, “How much pressure did you say the right rear needed?”



Everyone laughed and Farrell got out his phone. “Thad, I’m going to tell Rhonda she has a new employee to deal with.” Thad grinned and nodded.



The issue with Kate was on the backburner for now. Racing was the order of business. Thad and Charles went to the fence and watched the Kokomo Speedway crew massage the track. Thad remarked that the track would inevitably turn dusty despite the best efforts of these guys, who were as good as anyone at track prep.

The nearly sold out show got underway as Thad tried to guess what the track would do. He enlisted Charles to wander around the pits and observe certain people to see what they might be doing in terms of setups. He didn’t think Charles would know all the technical details of preparing a race car but his knack of observing might pay off.



Thad had a good if not great result in the Friday afternoon show. From his ninth starting position, Thad ran as high as fifth before dropping back to ninth, where he finished. He told Farrell that, sure enough, the track changed on him. Farrell just smiled as if to say “I told you so.”



The track crew worked like crazy to get the oval ready for the Friday night action. Thad was pleased that the track was the usual Kokomo surface. He came from sixth to give Cosmo fits in the feature before falling short.



There remained the Saturday night main event, paying a cool $30K to win. No doubt several drivers and/or team members did their share of tossing and turning, but Thad wasn’t one of them. He slept like a baby, waking up in time for the Saturday morning breakfast at the motel. He considered answering Kate’s text, but watched the Weather Channel while he ate instead.

 

 

Chapter 74: Smackdown



Lincoln Park Speedway was good to Thad the following night. It didn’t hurt to be good either. Thad started on the pole of the feature and benefited from a long green flag interval to finish a full straightaway ahead of Caleb. Thad got a laugh from the crowd when he apologized to them for “stinking up the show.”



Charles had been waiting on the little caravan that afternoon. Farrell was delighted. Charles didn’t know a lot about the mechanics, but he was eager to pitch in and do what needed to be done. Tyrus was especially pleased, partly because Charles was a lot of help and partly because they were roughly the same age. Thad was impressed that Charles had just shown up. Throughout the season, young people and old would hang around their pit and make promises about showing up to help. Charles followed through.



Thad and company took the following weekend off, preparing for the Kokomo Smackdown, three nights of hard core racing, easily as competitive as any other form of four-wheeled racing. Thad spent part of the break hanging around the apartment or trying to reach Kate. He tried three times before reaching her and even then, she couldn’t talk long because she was busy with the new school year. After the fairly brief conversation, Thad wondered if he and Kate were finished. Inwardly, he shrugged his shoulders despite the sting.



Whenever he was racing at Kokomo, Thad always made it a point to thank the O’Connor family for all they did. After the Kokomo’s Sprint Week night, Thad changed his thank you a little and thanked Reece for coming up with Smackdown. It was three nights of hardcore, cut-and-slash racing where emotions ran high and people could walk away with a nice chunk of change or another broken race car.



The Tarheel Race Team arrived early at the track, staking out a place in the line of haulers waiting to enter the pits. Thad parked nearby and wandered over to the line of people waiting for the pit shack to open. He found a smiling Tyrus in line for the team. Farrell was still in the tractor, not wishing to deal with the Indiana heat and humidity just yet.



“Why the big smile, Tyrus? You like this weather?”



The young man chuckled. “I just got a text from guess who?”



“I give up. Tell me, man.”



“Would you believe it was Charles? He said he can come up Friday and Saturday.”



Thad’s eyes widened. “Really? I think he’s got the bug.” He was serious. “That’s a good thing. No matter how long he lasts, we can use the help.”



Tyrus was serious, too. “He’s mentioned quitting school, Thad. Even I’m smart enough to know that might not be a good idea.”



“I may have to have a heart-to-heart with him. I don’t know his parents, but I’d guess they wouldn’t be crazy about that.”



“We’ll know more when he gets here.”



The pits opened and the 43 sprint car teams, along with the 17 Thunder Cars, eased into the pits. Clouds had gathered, giving everyone some relief from the sun. But people were checking their phones and looking at the sky. Reece had watered the track as if it wasn’t going to rain. If it didn’t rain too much, the racing would still happen. Farrell said that if it rained out, be ready to race tomorrow afternoon and evening. “They’ve done that before. Racers weren’t too crazy about it, but the fans liked it.” He looked to the west. “Ah, we’ll be alright, rain or shine.” Thad had to agree.



Just before the driver’s meeting, the sprinkles began and the wind picked up. Everyone scrambled for cover and the Hoosier sky became very dark. As Thad reached the hauler, Tyrus and Farrell had pushed the car inside. The rain began and USAC quickly announced that racing would begin tomorrow at two o’clock.

 

 

Chapter 73: The Dog Days

August in Indiana meant only slightly lower temperatures, but extra humidity with an occasional shower thrown in. There was the usual post-Sprint Week let down with car counts down somewhat. The Tarheel Race Team kept to a two races per weekend schedule.



The first Friday night in August saw the team unload at Bloomington with some missing members. Of course, Kate had gone. Arley and Louise had gone to a couple of NASCAR races, more to visit with old friends than watch the races. Rhonda had a nasty cold which kept her home for the weekend. Daryl had gone back to North Carolina to resume his place at the local watering hole. Most of Thad’s greetings were accompanied by asking where “his girlfriend” was. Thad made a mental note to tell Kate that she was missed.



It seemed as if he met a new person each time the team showed up to race. On this warm and humid Friday night, Thad was approached by a slim young man who was with a few other fellows, all of whom appeared to be college students. He wore a faded Thad Larrabee t-shirt. But first Thad noticed that the young man was Black.



“Hello, Mr. Larrabee. I’m Charles Pickens.” He stuck out his hand.



“Hi, Charles. Glad to meet you.” Thad pointed at the shirt. “Nice shirt, Charles.”



The young man looked down at the shirt and said, “Thanks. I bought it about two years ago. I’m about to outgrow it.”



“Where did you buy it?” Thad had been among the NASCAR stars who did a brisk business in souvenir sales while he was still racing stock cars.”



“At Pocono. I bought it two years ago. You had won the race the previous week.”



“That’s right, Charles.” Thad started to the drivers’ meeting. “C’mon, you ever been to a drivers’ meeting?”



“No, sir.”



“Well, it’s not a big deal, but you still have to pay attention so I’m inclined to attend.”



“I understand, sir,”



“Charles, you can drop that ‘sir’ stuff, man. But I appreciate your politeness.”



Thad was correct. There was one small change in the program. The modifieds would not be running a B main. Everyone would make the feature.



Charles tried not to look too self-conscious. He was getting used to being one of the few black folks at a race anywhere. For that matter, he was outnumbered at most places he went, even school. Charles knew that black people had to work harder to get what they could get, and he was determined to make his mark. He couldn’t help it if he discovered and loved racing while in grade school. A classmate smuggled in a copy of the National Speed Sport News and let Charles look it over. Instead, he read the whole thing, cover to cover and he was hooked. Charles had seen the occasional race on TV, but seeing stories and pictures put him over the edge.



English literature was Charles’ major and he wanted to be a writer. He figured that might end up writing about racing, maybe in PR or writing a feature story. No matter what, Charles Pickens loved racing and writing, and if he could make a living in either or both, he would be nearly as pleased as his parents.



As Thad prepared for hot laps, Charles talked with Farrell. By the time Thad finished his hot lap session, Farrell had a volunteer to take Kate’s place, plus do some heavy lifting. Charles was willing to work for free, but Farrell said no to that.



Thad finished second in his heat race and secured a third row starting spot for the feature. Tyrus let Charles push Thad to the staging area off turn two.



Charles felt like a kid in a candy store. Here was where he belonged. He felt at home here. Since his freshman year at IU he had been coming to Bloomington when he had the funds. He didn’t care about the stares from other people in the pits. He was black; so what? He was hooked on racing, mostly open wheel racing. There was no desire to go to Daytona or even Indianapolis. Charles’ goal was to go to as many different Indiana race tracks as he could, much as Thad had done.



The feature left Thad feeling happy, if not satisfied. He steadily moved up to second with five laps to go. A yellow waved and Preston Janssen was leading. Somehow Thad knew that his friend was aware of who was behind him. It seemed like both cars were equal. Thad would have to go where Preston didn’t. It almost worked. As Preston protected the bottom, Thad rode the cushion around the outside and fell a car length short as the checkered flag waved.



Sitting on the left rear tire after the race, and holding a cold drink, Thad was tired. He had remembered to text Kate, who had answered. Preston came over and gave his buddy a tug on the ear. Both laughed and replayed the last five laps like kids do after any game. Thad introduced Preston to Charles, who said hello and resumed helping Tyrus load up for the night.



Soon everyone was loaded up and heading home to prepare for another Saturday night race. Over his protests, Farrell slipped Charles $25 for his work. The Tarheel Race Team were heading to Lincoln Park tomorrow night and Charles was welcome to join them.



He said, are you kidding? I’ll be there.

 

 

 

Chapter 72: Goodbye Kate


 

Sprint Week traditionally ended at Haubstadt. But as the Tar Heel Race Team left Bloomington on Saturday morning, the weather forecast wasn’t very promising for racing. To no one’s surprise, light rain began falling somewhere near Shoals, Indiana. A wreck just east of Loogootee slowed the mini-caravan some more. Tyrus, who was driving the hauler as usual, grumbled to himself about the glacier-like pace of I-69’s construction. Farrell was philosophical about the whole thing, having endured many delays over the years. Rhonda was asleep in the back of the cab. Behind them, Thad looked at the surrounding hills of southern Indiana while Kate tried and failed to stay awake. 


 

A potential rainout may have been the farthest thing from Kate’s mind. She was due back in North Carolina on Wednesday. Not only did she have to consider the challenges of a new school year, she had been pondering where her relationship with Thad would be going, even though they had talked about it a few times. 


 

Thad had been prepared to take Kate back to North Carolina the first thing on Monday morning, but she wanted to fly to Asheville and hitch a ride to Brevard with a friend. He reluctantly agreed to take her to the Louisville airport on Tuesday. 


 

Meanwhile, Thad and company sat under the awning of Arley’s RV waiting for the rain to stop. Louise bet Thad twenty dollars that the rain would continue until seven o’clock local time and Tommy and USAC would agree to cancel the program. If the race rained out, everyone would go a few miles south to Evansville and invade the casino. Daryl texted Thad from Illinois where he was visiting in-laws. The rain was easing up in Centralia, almost due west of Haubstadt. Thad smiled to himself, thinking about the twenty he would collect from Louise. 


 

Two hours later, Thad was having a friendly chat with the Gunslinger about race promotion. Brad seemed to think that the promoters were prone to making more than their share. Thad tried for a while to convince the Gunslinger that may have been true–up to a point. But it seemed like complaints about promoters only came when the weather was agreeable, the bleachers and pits were full, and an abundance of sponsors were on hand. 


 

As he spoke, Thad pointed to the western sky over Illinois. It was clearing off and the rain had stopped. People were filling the bleachers. The car count was 41 sprints and 23 modifieds. Sponsors were everywhere, offering goodies to fans and drivers alike. Thad said to the ‘slinger, “Remember that show in Pennsylvania a few weeks ago? What’d we have, nineteen cars? And if my memory is working, the crowd wasn’t that great either. How did the promoter do that night?”


 

Brad said, “Well, that was just one show.”


 

“You’re right, but he lost money that night. At least that’s what a lot of people said. People smarter than me.”


 

“You’re right about that.”


 

They both laughed and went to the driver’s meeting. 

Thad and the Gunslinger would meet again later that humid evening. During hot laps a car spun in front of Thad, who could do nothing but hit the car. The damage was mostly to the front end and as the car went to the pits on the wrecker, Tyrus and Farrell swung into action, grabbing the tools and parts they would need. 


 

Kate was amazed to find a group of mechanics and drivers heading to where Thad’s car was parked, led by the Gunslinger himself. The group would have made a Broadway choreographer proud as they thrashed away, trying to fix the car of a competitor–and a well funded competitor at that. She said to herself, “They are helping a guy who might beat them later tonight and take some of their money.” But she kept quiet as she watched the group get the car fixed so Thad could qualify. 


 

Thad was the last qualifier and was happy with being 21st quickest of the 41 cars. He started on the front row of his heat and after the race he was interviewed. Thad tried to be brief, emphasizing the amount of help from his competitors and anyone else who helped repair his car. “The Tarheel Race Team tripled in size there for a few minutes.” The Tarheel team made the show, and would start ninth in the feature. 


 

The heat race win would be the highlight of Thad’s night. Halfway through the feature, the track changed and Thad’s car developed a major push, the situation in which the car didn't want to turn. He wrestled the car as best he could and finished twelfth after running as high as fifth. 


 

Cosmo won both the race and the Indiana Sprint Week championship, including the cool rocking chair. Thad had a slight mathematical chance at winning the title but his hot lap misfortune ended that. 


 

After the race, the team slowly loaded up and prepared for the long drive across southern Indiana, with most of the trip on interstates 64 and 65. It would be a long drive even without losing the hour due to the time zone. They would arrive home in the wee hours of Sunday morning. 


 

Sunday was the day of recovery. Thad and Kate had said little to each other as if they were avoiding the subject of her leaving. In his mind, there wasn’t much to say. Besides all that, they were all tired from the grind that is Indiana Sprint Week. 


 

On Tuesday morning, Thad loaded the car with Kate’s luggage. They decided that he could bring her non-essential items to North Carolina on his next trip south. On the drive to Louisville, they talked some. Both expressed sadness that her Hoosier experience was over. They agreed that it was an education for both. 


 

Thad walked with Kate as far as he could before security rules took over. He gave her a hug and kiss, wished her a safe flight, promised to stay connected between races, and walked back to his car. 


 

Both fought back the tears as they went their separate ways, wondering what would be next. 

 

 

Chapter 71: Three’s a Crowd



The storied red clay oval was a driver’s track even more than the others. Its turns were high banked and the track was narrow all the way around. Three-wide racing was possible, but not recommended. Thad ran well at Bloomington, but could never finish up front.



Qualifying was hold-your-breath-and-hang-on for about ten seconds. Thad loved the challenge, even though he seldom qualified very well. On this cloudy Friday night, he managed to go out fairly early and qualified tenth fastest.



After his heat race in which he finished fourth, Thad sat in his trailer with Caleb, who had beaten Thad out for third place in the same race. Both could see lightning off to the west, faint for now. Kate came over and showed them the radar on her phone. She said, “They better hurry.” Both nodded as they stared into the distance.



Caleb said, “Thad, can I ask you a kind of personal question?”



Thad looked at him and shrugged. “Why not?”



“Well, have you thought about your future? I mean, are you going to do this next year?”



“Good question. But I don’t have an exact answer yet. I’ve thought about it for sure.” Thad looked again. “Did you have something in mind?”



“Not necessarily.” Caleb leaned over closer to Thad. “I’m hearing talk that Tyrus is talking to some other owners. He’s a good kid, Thad. Talented too.”



Thad sighed a bit. “Yeah, I’ve heard the same thing. He’s talked to two owners I know of. I need to talk to Farrell and Tyrus too.”



“I just wanted to make sure you knew. What those two do may depend on what you do.”



Thad looked at his friend. “One rumor I’ve heard is me selling the team to Farrell.”



“I've heard that one, plus I’ve heard one about Tyrus driving for Farrell in your car next year.”



Thad had to laugh at that one. “That’s a new one for me.” He looked around the busy pit area. “I’m definitely going to talk to those guys soon.”



Caleb grunted. “Silly season is alive and well.”



Any serious talk with Farrell or Tyrus would have to wait. Racing was on the agenda at the beautiful (Thad’s opinion, among others) red clay oval. As it turned out, Thad and Caleb started side by side in the fourth row for the feature. Both steadily moved forward until the yellow flag waved for a backmarker’s spin.



On the restart, Caleb was third with Thad fourth. There were only eight laps to go. The green flag came out and the good friends resumed their battle. With three laps to go, they had advanced to second and third and were closing in on the leade,r Cosmo. A lapped car was between the trio. It would be no big deal, but the car was occupying the middle lane. The narrow track was even more so. Things were coming to a head.



Thad decided that if Caleb passed the lapper on the high side, he would go low. Or he might ride the cushion if Caleb went low. This would have worked had the lapped car held his position. But as they went into the third turn three abreast, the lapped car noticed Caleb on his right before seeing Thad. The lapper turned down into Thad’s side, bouncing off him and then contacting Caleb’s car, sending him into a spin that should have been a lot worse. All three cars ended up pointing the wrong way as the yellow flag waved instead of the white.



Sitting in his car, waiting for a push, Thad was quite frustrated, but he knew it was another one of those racing accidents that wasn’t really anyone’s fault, especially not Caleb’s. The driver of the third car couldn’t know that Thad was going to go three-wide. Poor Caleb got the short end of the stick, but he was thankful it was only a spin and not anything worse.



The race ended with Thad finishing sixteenth and Caleb seventeenth. Afterwards in the pits, they sat in the same chairs talking about the race, signing autographs and getting their pictures taken by fans and photographers, both the real ones and the fans with their cell phones. Things died down somewhat as the two were joined by Farrell and Rhonda. There was no real hurry, despite the lightning that was now accompanied by thunder rolling through the southern Indiana hills. They would all get up in the morning and head for Haubstadt.



Of course, they were chatting about the late race incident and all agreed it was one of them racin’ deals. Finally, Caleb said to Thad, “Silly season? Man, it’s always silly season around here.” Everyone laughed, but only Thad and Caleb knew the true intention of his remark. It was left to Farrell to say, “Quite true, Rev. You should make that the title of your next sermon.”



More laughter ensued, because sometimes the best way to deal with a problem or setback is to laugh at it.

 

 

Chapter 70: Good Samaritan



Terre Haute was good to Thad, but not quite as good as Lawrenceburg. After setting fast time, Thad made a desperate last lap pass of Cosmo to finish fourth in his heat and transfer to the feature. Cosmo had to run the B Main, which he won.



The green flag dropped for the feature and Thad knew something wasn’t quite right with the car. The thing didn’t want to turn. Thad hated tight race cars, especially when he had to wrestle the NASCAR behemoths. This was nearly as bad. He was doing well to maintain his starting position, sixth. When Preston had a tire go flat on him with a lap to go, Thad was the first beneficiary, grabbing a top five.



After the race, Thad and Daryl sat by the hauler talking while Farrell, Tyrus, Kate and Rhonda busied themselves loading the car and equipment up for the next night at Lincoln Park. Arley and Louise had retreated to their RV. Other teams were doing similar work, the post-race ritual that would end the day for them–except for the few hardy fans or team members who were of a mind to whoop it up a bit before retiring for the night.



The following morning, Thad and Kate awakened to a series of noises outside their motel window. Thad looked at his phone which told him it was 8:23 a.m. Too late to go back to sleep, so Thad got dressed and went outside to see what was going on.

Brad Caplinger, his two-man crew, Farrell and Tyrus were working on Brad’s car. Farrell noticed Thad standing there and walked over to him.



“They are changing the engine. Lucky for them Tyrus is an ace when it comes to emergency engine changes,” Farrell said.



Thad yawned and said, “Do they need any help?”



“I imagine they’re hungry. Brad said they haven’t eaten yet.”



Thad said, “Well, I can take care of that. Are they about done?”



“Shouldn’t be much more than fifteen minutes.”



Thad squinted at Farrell. “Well, let ‘em get cleaned up and we’ll all go to that truck stop there across the road.”



“Sounds like a winner,” Farrell said.



“I’m going back to the room and wake Kate up–if she’s not already up. What do you say we all meet at the truck stop in 45 minutes?”



“Works for me. I’ll tell ‘em.”



Farrell sauntered back to the impromptu work area. Caplinger looked at him and pointed to Thad, who was going back to his room. “What did he want?”



Farrell shrugged. “Nothin’. He avoids work like this every chance he gets.”



Caplinger snorted and started to speak, but Farrell cut him off. “You guys get cleaned up and meet us at the truck stop in 45 minutes. Thad thought you all looked a little hungry so he’s buying.”



Brad looked at Farrell with some surprise. “He’s gonna feed the team that’s gonna whip him tonight?”



Farrell chuckled. “Something like that.”



An hour later, orders had been placed by the large group. Brad had maneuvered his way into a seat next to Thad, who was amused.



Naturally, Brad had to ask. “Why did you do this? What good does it do you?”



Thad was genuinely surprised, but recovered by asking, “Have you ever helped a fellow racer out? I know you have because I saw you do it for Zen the week before his wreck. And I saw you just give Lane Rasmussen a tire last week..” Slight pause. “A right rear, no less.”



Brad was taken aback. He tried to recover. “But you are a bigger name. I can beat Lane or Zen–if he was still out there. But you’re a threat to win whenever you show up. I can beat you on a given night.”



“Yeah, but a racer’s a racer.” Thad paused, wanting to choose his words correctly. Kate sat on the other side of him, marveling at his ability to have an answer for everything. “He should have been a teacher,’ she thought.



“You see, Brad, we’re all competitors here. That isn’t the same as enemies. Even in my NASCAR days, it wasn’t life or death. The same type of things happen there too, guys helping each other out. Not necessarily helping a guy out so he can beat you, but the day-to-day stuff. My late wife was the favorite babysitter of a lot of my competitors' kids until she got sick. If something like that is helping a guy outrun me, well, it will just have to be.”



The others at the table had gotten quiet, noticing this conversation was more interesting than whatever they had been talking about.



Brad sat still, obviously thinking about what he had just heard. Then he had a thought. “What if this great meal gives me the strength to beat you tonight?” He smiled and leaned back.



Thad didn’t miss a beat. “What if it makes you sicker than a dog?” Laughter rang through the truck stop. When it died down, Thad spoke again, seriously. “Brad, I hope you know I would never do that to my worst enemy and you are far from that. The point is that it doesn’t hurt to go out of your way every now and then to help somebody. That can cover a lot of ground, whether it’s here at breakfast or giving a guy a tire.”



“So do you get a rise out of my comments during interviews.” Brad was straining to get back on top of the conversation.



“Do you think that maybe I’ve heard the same stuff from NASCAR guys in times past? I learned years ago to let that stuff roll off my back. I get it that some guys use that to psyche themselves up. That’s fine, but don’t expect a guy to react one way or another. If he or she does, so be it. But otherwise?” Thad shrugged his shoulders, indicating how he would react.



The rest of the breakfast was relatively quiet. A few of the others wanted to extend the conversation but Thad was hungry.



That night at Lincoln Park, Thad was still hungry after he bobbled on the white flag lap while leading Jerald, who scooted by for the win. Thad wasn’t pleased with himself but did say that there was no shame in losing to Jerald, who everybody liked. The way he said it generated a good bit of laughter in the crowd. Even Jerald thought it was funny, true (it was) or not.



On to Bloomington.



 

 

Chapter 69: Time Out



“Only four more races?” Kate chuckled. “At least you get to enjoy your success a little longer.”


“Yeah, that’s true, kid.” Thad leaned back in his chair. He and Kate were at his apartment on a cloudy Monday afternoon enjoying the day off.


“Hey, did Rhonda get all the reservations?”


“I don’t know for sure, but I’m betting on her.” Thad looked at her. “Why do you ask?”


“Just wondering. I hope she reserves rooms at the Comfort Inn. It's a bit more of a drive but it’s worth it.”


Thad laughed. “She’s said that herself. I’ll bet that’s where we end up.”


They talked a while longer about whatever came up, as couples do when the pressure’s off. Then Thad noticed he had a phone call. It was Daryl.


“Hey Daryl. How are things down at the lake?”


“Raining now, Thad ol’ buddy.” Slight pause. “Guess what?”


“I give up, Oh wait. Rollie’s getting married.”


They both laughed. Daryl said, “Better than that. I’m coming up to Terre Haute on Wednesday.”


“Say what?” Thad was shocked.


“Yeah, turns out Sandy has a cousin over in Illinois she wants to meet.” Sandy was Daryl’s long suffering wife. Behind his back Rollie and Thad called her “The Boss.”


“We’re coming up Tuesday and I’ll meet you at the track on Wednesday.”


“Sounds good. We’ll be ready.”


“Hey, I saw where you won at Lawrenceburg. Way to go, man. Guys were talking about it at the RiverWatch.”


“It’s the best race I’ve had in a long time, man. Almost as good as Daytona.”


“Which time?” They both laughed.


Thad said, “I can’t wait to introduce you to Arley and the guys. You’ll like all of ‘em.”

Daryl said in a serious voice, “We aren’t going to drink any beer, are we?”


Thad laughed so hard that Kate gave him a look. He took the hint and retreated inside. He and Daryl worked out the details. He couldn’t promise, but he hoped to stay for all four races. Thad doubted that but it didn’t matter. There would be another Tarheel in the house.


Wednesday, noon, found Thad and company sitting under the canopy of Arley’s RV at the Terre Haute Action Track. With help from Rhonda, Arley was grilling hamburgers and some hot dogs for Tyrus. Kate, Thad, Louise and Daryl sat in lawn chairs engaged in idle chatter, the weather, North Carolina, racing NASCAR and USAC. Thad mostly listened, pleased that his friends were friends with each other. Every so often Daryl would give Thad a look, which Thad knew that it said, “Man, this is great. Glad I made the trip.” That was good enough for Thad.


Kate spoke up. “I have a question for everybody, not just Thad and me.”


Thad gave her a quizzical look. “What is it?”


“Well, do any of you give much thought about the future? Like five or ten years from now?”


The others exchanged looks that said, where did THAT come from?


Kate waited. She was a bit surprised when Tyrus spoke up first.


“I hope to own my own sprint car team in five years. If I can make it happen I hope to race with the World of Outlaws.”


Kate loved it. “That’s the way to chase your dream, Tyrus.”


Rhonda was next. “I think that I’ll be thinking a lot harder about retiring in five years, certainly before ten years.”


“Nothing wrong with that. Mind if I join you?” Kate’s comment brought laughter.


Arley took a break from the grill and said, “I hope Louise and I are doing what we’re doing right now, but I expect it will be at a slower pace.”


“Will you sell your half of the car to someone else, Arley?”


Arley was briefly taken aback at Kate’s question, but replied, “I’m not sure. That might depend on Thaddeus here.”


Thad noticed everyone looking at him. “Okay, I’ll play. I can’t see myself doing this in five years. Like Arley I’ll cut back on the constant travel. I imagine I’ll stay home more, having you guys over to sit on the dock, drink beer and make sure nobody steals the mountain.” He paused. “I’ll probably go to a race now and then, but I can see myself stepping back at some point, but not yet.


Thad looked at Kate. “What was your point in asking such a question, dear?”


Kate said, “I wanted to know how your thoughts matched up with mine.”


Louise had been quiet, but now she spoke. “So did they? Arley and I are on the same page. This traveling around eventually takes its toll.” She looked at Tyrus. “You, on the other hand, have most of it in front of you.” She smiled. “If I envy anyone here, it’s you, Tyrus.”


Tyrus almost blushed. The others smiled in agreement. “I’m going to get in line. The pits ought to be open soon.” He got up before anyone could tell him it was still early.


The group fell silent with the only sounds coming from the other campers. The others had their own thoughts, but Thad was starting to think racing. He had won on Sunday night at the ‘burg, but that seemed so long ago. He found himself wanting to make it two straight.


That was, for Thad, what it was all about. You reach one goal; you set another. A few minutes later, he and Arley got in the golf cart and headed for the pits with Arley serving as taxi driver.


The Action Track waited patiently.

 

 

Chapter 68: From Zero to Hero


 

Brad Caplinger gave himself the nickname “The Gunslinger.” He fancied himself as an “outlaw” racer and seemed to seek out controversy. If he wasn’t feuding with at least one of his competitors, he felt compelled to invent a feud. The funny thing was that Brad was a pretty good racer. In his six years of running with USAC he had racked up twenty four wins and a near miss at a championship. He reveled in the divisiveness he created. Most of his competitors were not fond of him. 


 

Thad didn't pay Brad much mind; he more or less ignored the Arizona native. This irked Brad to no end. He had tried over the past few months to antagonize the older racer, calling him a rich NASCAR star who couldn’t outrun poor boys like himself. Thad had heard it all before. There were a few NASCAR guys he had raced with who were prime to shooting off their mouths. Thad figured they were all PR hungry and he didn’t pay attention to them either. When asked his opinion, he would say something like “they have a First Amendment right. Let ‘em use it.” 


 

Rolling into Lawrenceburg for night Three of Sprint Week, things started going wrong right away. Thad’s Camaro had a flat tire. Farrell stubbed his toe getting out of the truck. Arley was pulled over for speeding–in his RV. And Kate’s laptop was the victim of a virus. 


 

After unloading, the bad luck continued. Tyrus had accidentally mounted the front tires backwards, left to right, etc. That was fixed and Rhonda drew a 76 for Thad’s qualifying run; he was 34th of 37 cars to take time on a dried up track. Thad qualified 25th, barely missing the cutoff for starting in the first three rows of his heat. 


 

Their luck began to change after his heat race. Thad just missed transferring to the feature, but the car felt pretty good. But then came the B Main. Thad was in a transfer spot when he spun on the third lap. He restarted on the tail and came back to finish sixth, good enough to start 19th in the feature. 


 

By now the sun had gone down and the track had received some extra water before the feature. Tim Montgomery waved the green flag and Thad immediately knew that, once again, Farrell and Tyrus had given him a great handling car. He steadily worked his way to the front. With five laps to go, he was third after a caution knocked out the two leaders. Thad had been gaining on the cars in front of him and believed he had a good chance at winning an ISW feature. The green flag waved and Thad went to work, quickly getting around Cosmo and…Brad Caplinger. By the time the checkered flag waved, Thad was leading by a half straightaway.  


 

He was happily surprised to see that Preston had finished second. Mr. Caplinger was third. After the winner’s interview Thad was getting his picture taken. Preston was next, followed by Brad. Both the winner and runnerup were talking to each other and accepting congratulations when they heard some boos mixed with laughter. Someone said, “There’s Brad doing Brad things.”As it turned out, Brad was complaining about the first two finishers “teaming up” on him. 


 

Back in the pits, there was the usual crowd hanging around the winner. A certain few were hanging close in case there was an altercation of some sort. But that wasn’t going to happen. Thad didn’t even know what Brad had said and neither did Preston until Sparky told him. 


 

None of it–the flat tire, Farrell’s stubbed toe, Arley’s speeding ticket, Kate’s balky laptop, Tyrus’s mounting the wrong tires, and Rhonda’s drawing a high qualifying number–mattered at the moment. The Tarheel Racing Team had won their first Indiana Sprint Week feature. 


 

Thad was mightily pleased. This had been one of his goals when he made up his mind to go sprint car racing. He would enjoy it for a while, but he knew that there were still four more races. He wanted to win some of them too. 


 

 

 

Chapter 67: Kokomo Does Disappoint (Thad)



Night Two of Indiana Sprint Week turned out to be a disappointment for Thad, especially after it had begun so well.



The tiny band of gypsies plus Arley and Louise with their RV arrived early at the Kokomo Speedway. The atmosphere was relaxed for the time being as Arley and Louise brought more food than the Tarheel Race Team could ever eat. But very little food was wasted as word got around that the rich former NASCAR car owner had brought a bunch of food to share.



This was gratifying as it was a chance for Thad to meet more people that he raced with or against, backmarkers, race winners alike. By now he knew some by sight if not their names. There were a couple of guys Thad had encountered on the track with less than happy results. But after a pleasant conversation with them, Thad reflected that these guys weren’t necessarily out to wreck the rich NASCAR star; they were trying to prove to him and themselves they could race a bit as well. Thad appreciated that. With one, he jokingly said, “ Take it easy on me tonight.” The guy laughed and said the same thing as he walked away, holding a ham and cheese sandwich.



Thad sat back in his lawn chair and watched the scene. How different it was from what he had been doing for nearly twenty years. Right now it was casual. Drivers, for the most part, didn’t hide in the back of the haulers or in the truck cabs. They were accessible. Most were friendly. Practically all were polite at least and even those who weren’t always polite had their good side. Thad decided, no matter what, this was a great experience for him. It was July and he still didn’t need to think about next year. It was all about enjoying the moment.



Rhonda and Kate drew a 23 for Thad’s turn to qualify. The car felt perfect to him as he nearly set a new track record for non-wing sprints, a blistering 12.589 on his second lap.



The good times continued as Thad easily won his heat race. Very little was changed on the car for the 30 lap feature. Thad started fourth with Preston Janssen beside him. Tom Hansing waved the green flag and Thad barreled into the first turn with 22 of his best friends. Soon enough he found out that he could run high or low. By lap thirteen Thad was second behind Jerald Jarvis with Preston in third. Both passed Jarvis on lap sixteen and Thad began to pull away from Preston. With six laps to go, his lead was a half straightaway. Thad was far from counting his money; all he knew was that the car had been running as well as it had ever been. It almost seemed too good to be true.



In the recent past Kokomo had not been kind to Thad, despite his love for the track and the people there. Improbably, it happened again. Thad approached a pair of lapped cars who were having their own battle for position. He had no way of knowing that Preston was gaining on him, even though Thad had a safe lead. Tom held up five fingers for Thad and he was tempted to start counting the money. It was a good thing he didn’t because the two cars ahead of him tangled in turn one. Along came Thad with nowhere to go and he spun to miss the wreck. That was bad enough but Preston, too, had nowhere to go and slammed into Thad. It was a four-car wreck with three of the four getting upside down. Thad was the “lucky” one. At least he would be able to restart the race, despite his misfortune.



Jerald inherited the lead and he hung on for the win. Lane Rasmussen was second and USAC rookie Fred Osterman was third. Thad came from the tail on the restart to finish thirteenth.



A night that had been perfect turned sour in an instant. All Thad could do was shrug his shoulder and accept a cold beer from Arley. He sat in the lawn chair and offered up a rueful smile as he sipped his beer listening to Kate, Louise and Rhonda chat. Preston and Sparky stopped by and joined Thad with a couple of cold ones. Thad decided he was having fun and he began to prepare for Lawrenceburg in his mind as Tyrus assisted Farrell in loading up the car.

 

 

 

Chapter 66: The Grind Begins



The Tarheel Race Team was as ready as they would ever be for Indiana Sprint Week. Kate had been schooled about how the competition would be enhanced even more than it was during the rest of the season. People raced each other harder, with more intensity. There was more on the line, both money and the acclaim. Thad was about to find out that Sprint Week was different when one was in the race as opposed to watching the race.



The Gas City/I-69 Speedway was the scene of the first night of Indiana Sprint Week. The team left North Vernon at eleven a.m. Tyrus drove the hauler as usual with Farrell and Rhonda on board. Thad and Kate trailed in the Camaro. Lunch was at one of the truck stops at Whiteland.

Despite the usual Indiana interstate road construction, the gang of five rolled into the track’s parking lot just past 2:30. There was a line of haulers in front of them, so they waited—except for Thad, who parked the Camaro as close to the pits as he could. A half hour later, everyone, even Thad, began unloading the car and everything else from the hauler, except for things they hoped they wouldn’t need later.



Rhonda and Kate went to the pit shack to draw Thad’s qualifying number. The draw was pretty much a matter of luck, and it could make or break someone’s night depending on track conditions during time trials. Kate said that could put a lot of pressure on the person doing the drawing, Rhonda laughed and said, you think?



The two ladies drew the number 18 for Thad. This meant he would qualify early, 12th of the 51 cars entered. The track was very fast with Jerald Jarvis setting a new track record of 11.509. Thad’s best time wasn’t too shabby. His 11.644 was the fourth fastest, putting him in the fourth heat, outside the third row. Preston Janssen would be starting next to Thad. Their friendship was about to be tested.



There were four decent cars in front of Thad and Preston; both knew they had their work cut out for them. Preston discovered that his car had a bad push. Running the bottom wasn’t working out so he tried to get to the top groove, hoping for better handling. Not a bad idea, but in doing so, Preston barely touched Thad’s left rear tire, sending him for a half-spin. The yellow didn’t come out as Thad kept going, but he had lost positions and his chance of moving directly to the feature was shot.



Neither made the feature and both were upset as they came back to the pits, but for different reasons. Preston was angry with himself mostly. He had been the one who had adjusted the car to make it handle like a pig. He thought he may have touched Thad’s car, but that wasn’t registering right now. For his part, Thad was perturbed at his friend. He knew it wasn’t a deliberate move, but Preston was a better driver than that. Tyrus approached Thad with a suggestion.



“Thad, do you want me to have a word with Janssen?”



Thad looked at Tyrus for a moment until Tyrus began to feel a bit uncomfortable. Finally he spoke. “I don’t think so, Ty. I would think he’d know I’m not thrilled with that move.” Thad looked around the pit. “I see a lot of good cars that will be in the B. And I don’t have a provisional to fall back on.”



“I get it, Thad. Maybe we can talk to Preston later.”



“Good idea, bud.” Thad grinned. “You keep thinking, boy. That’s what you’re good at.”



Tyrus laughed. He ambled over to Farrell and spoke to him for a minute. Farrell grunted and nodded at the younger man. He was stopped by Darla, who wondered what was up. Quietly and quickly, he explained what happened.



Kate had seen the incident. She was starting to see that this could be an activity that produced strong emotions. If she was upset, she could imagine how Thad felt. When Thad seemed to be a bit more approachable, she went over to him.



“Thad, just based on what I saw, that was classy on your part.”



Thad grunted. “Well, it’s irritating but I’ve learned that the best way to handle things sometimes is to keep cool and wait.”



“To retaliate?”



Thad looked at her. “No.”



“Well, I didn’t think so, but I have the tiniest bit of doubt. I’m sorry.”



Thad looked at and grinned this time. “It’s okay, Kate. Given the look I must have given you, it was a fair question.” He paused. “You must be a pretty good judge of character?”



Kate laughed. “I’m not too sure of that but for me it’s part of the job of observing students as well as teaching them.”



The silence between them was marked by a lack of tension. Sitting in the lawn chairs while Farrell and Tyrus busied themselves was as close to relaxing Thad would do all night.



Naturally, it wasn’t going to last. Soon enough, Thad climbed into the car as Kate wiped off the drying mud on the nerf bars. It was time to race his way into the A.



Anyone expecting a renewal of wheel banging between Thad and Preston would be disappointed. But they fought hard for second place behind second year sprinter Sam Delaney who ran off to a huge lead. Thad prevailed and would start tenth in the feature.



Thad, Farrell and Tyrus were pleasantly surprised when Kate sprang into action as Thad rolled into his pit spot. She took Thad’s helmet from him, then gave it back when he got out of the car. Next, she began wiping mud off the car before the others could even get started. Farrell had a big grin as she asked him if the tires needed changing.



“Here, Kate. Let’s have a look at the right rear.” They walked to the car and Farrell had a close look at the tire, explaining things to Kate. While Thad signed a little boy’s t-shirt, Tyrus came back from the concession stand with two drinks for him and Thad. He gave one to Thad and saw the signal from Farrell. Tyrus rolled a shiny new right rear out to Farrell and Kate. As they watched, Tyrus changed the right rear in a couple of minutes. Thad’s car was race-ready. After he finished his bottle of water, Thad eased into the cockpit, getting ready for his first Indiana Sprint Week feature. As driver and car were pushed into position, Tyrus eased the four-wheeler behind the Larrabee car’s back nerf bar. Preston and Sparky rolled by and Thad waved at them. Then he felt the now-familiar bump and Tyrus pushed him to the staging area just off turn four. Tyrus kept going as the field of 23 spread out around the track, ready for a push truck.



It was almost time. The cars were started one by one and formed into rows of two. At the signal from the radio, they shifted into the four-wide formation. Thad hugged the very outside of the track, giving room for the three cars to his left. With the crowd cheering, Thad and his competitors waved at the crowd before reverting back to the two-wide lineup. Flagman Tom Hansing gave them the one-to-go signal. One couldn’t see the tension, but certainly one could feel it, from the youngest fan to each of the 23 starters.



The front row came around turn four and Tom frantically waved the green flag as an explosion of sound filled the northeastern Indiana night.

Cosmo Novak jumped out to the early lead and was looking like a winner until the yellow flag waved with 12 laps completed. On the restart, second place Caleb Jankowski found some speed in the middle of the turns and pressured Cosmo relentlessly, hoping to force the veteran into a rare mistake.



Caleb didn’t cause Cosmo to slip up, but one trip on the cushion resulted in Cosmo nearly spinning with nine laps to go. Caleb took the lead and now Cosmo had to deal with Preston Janssen, who had started ninth and had advanced steadily through the field. Preston also passed Mr. Novak and set sail for the leader, falling short by a mere two car lengths at the end. Cosmo had to settle for a disappointing third while Royal Pennington edged Thad for fourth.



Thad coasted into his pit with a smile on his face. He looked at Kate and Rhonda and said, “Believe it or not, that was fun!” He had reason to be happy. He had recovered from a near disaster early on to take fifth in his first Sprint Week feature.



Later, Thad and company left Gas City for their favorite motel in Marion for a short night’s rest before heading to Kokomo on Saturday night. He was a happy camper but knew how quickly that could change. It was, after all, the nature of Indiana Sprint Week.

 

 

 

Chapter 65: Danger Lurks


 

Thad, Farrell and Tyrus all knew about the dangers of racing at any level. Short track racing may have been more dangerous than racing at the highest level, especially if there was an accident. It wasn’t true at the tracks in Indiana where Thad and company raced, but Thad had heard and seen his share of horror stories.  


 

The Gas City crew was one of the best. And midway through the sprint car feature, they had the chance to show why they were a good and dedicated crew. 

Zen Woodward was, on the surface, the unlikeliest of racers. A child of parents who embraced a restless, drifting, unstable lifestyle, Zen was raised by his parents, a grandmother, an uncle and aunt, and, for about a month, a foster home. Despite this, he grew up to be a determined young man. Like racers before and after him, he was a California boy who moved to Indiana with a dream to race. 


 

Settled in the Hoosier state, his fellow racers soon discovered that this kid was the real deal. With a lot of hard work, desire, ability and a friendly demeanor, Zen was able to put together a car, largely with used parts. Soon he began turning heads and before long he landed in a good ride with a sharp-eyed owner who could spot talent and quality. The duo enjoyed success, winning races and gaining respect. Race announcers dubbed him the “Flying Hippie” after news spread of Zen’s upbringing. It was an unfair nickname in a way, but Zen didn’t mind. He was, in no particular order, racing, winning and having fun. 


 

Then came the accident. It was another case of one driver crashing and the next one in line having no place to go. Zen hit the stalled car of Jeremy Greider and took a nasty ride on lap 17 of the sprint car feature. The emergency crew was on the job and eased Zen out of the seat onto the stretcher and into the ambulance, which made a beeline for Marion General Hospital. 


 

A few minutes later, the yellow flag was waved and the remaining racers put the accident in the backs of their minds. Thad came from 12th to win. In the post-race interview, he spoke of his competitor Zen. 


 

“The young man is a racer and a fighter. If there is a chance for him to recover from whatever his injuries are, I’d not bet against him. Tonight let’s all say a prayer for Zen and the medical team that is working with him. Thanks.”


 

Later, Thad and Kate helped the crew load the car on the trailer. No one spoke. Kate noticed this and was surprised by her own reaction to the evening’s events. A few weeks ago she would have been horrified and not quite hysterical. But she had been around the danger enough to learn how to deal with most any kind of adversity. 


 

The team went to Kokomo, where they would spend a lazy Saturday and part of Sunday before racing at Kokomo. This would be the last race before Indiana Sprint Week. It wasn’t on Kate’s mind so much. But one could be sure that Thad, Farrell and Tyrus were very aware of what lay ahead. Thad was as close to nervous as he had been all season. He knew it would be quite the grind. The intensity would be turned up a few notches. People would race each other harder than usual, if that was possible (it was). 


 

Saturday came and brought an afternoon thunderstorm with it. Thankfully, it was over fairly quickly and by the afternoon the sun came out. Kate persuaded Thad to take her to a used book store and then persuaded him to buy a book about General/President Grant. After a walk in the park they met Farrell, Rhonda and Tyrus at the Kokomo hangout for local and visiting racers. 


 

While waiting to place their order, Cosmo visited the table and shared the news that Zen was “pretty beat up” but his prognosis for recovery was good. Farrell asked about insurance. Cosmo didn’t know. All agreed that they would see about drivers collecting money at Kokomo on Sunday night between races. 


 

Kate marveled at this. She was learning that racers can be the best people. 


 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 64: The Conversation on the way to Kokomo


 

It was a comparatively long drive up to Kokomo, which meant Thad and/or Kate had plenty of time to think and/or talk. Little could they know this conversation would have far reaching effects. 


 

Like many conversations, it started with an innocent, but curious, question, seemingly out of the blue part of left field. 


 

“Thad, what drew you toward Dina?”


 

He looked at her for a brief moment, wondering where that came from. Rather than ask her, he tried to answer the question. 


 

“Of course she was pretty but she was easily as kind to me. She was the first girl who paid attention to me.”


 

Kate considered this. “How did she feel about your racing? Supportive? Opposed?”


 

“Doubtful at first, but she had a way of drawing the truth–or at least my inner thoughts–out of me. I told her how much racing meant to me and how I was able to put aside the dangerous part of it.” Thad was itching to ask her what was bringing this on but decided it could wait.


 

“So she was okay with that? Or did it take a while for her to come around?”


 

“It took a while, maybe a few races she went to, and she got used to it. At some point I had to tell her the reality of racing. I wanted to advance to the highest level of stock car racing and that meant NASCAR. This meant that there would be times I’d be gone for a while from home. Unless it was an emergency, there would be times she would be second to racing, but I’d always return home, at least for a while.”


 

Kate asked, “How did she handle that?”


 

“It was very difficult for her at first. She wasn’t sure if she wanted a life with me, though we loved each other. But I think once she saw how important it was to me, she began to accept it. We got married in January of my rookie year at NASCAR’s highest level and she never looked back.”


 

Silence for a minute that seemed longer to Thad. Finally, he decided to ask her why all the questions. 


 

Kate said, “I’m trying to find out how Dina handled your passion. There are times I’m not sure of how I feel about your racing–and you, too.”


 

“Ah, I get it–I think.” They were almost to Greensburg heading north. 


 

“Maybe. I’m struggling more than I should with how I feel about you.” Kate took a deep breath. “I almost wish Dina was here to tell me.”


 

Thad had to laugh. “I’m not sure how much help she would be.” He turned serious. “Is it okay if I try to tell you how I feel?”


 

“Sure. go ahead.” Kate wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear what was next. 


 

“I don’t know what love is anymore. I mean, I’m not sure of the definition, but I can try to describe how I feel about you.” It was Thad’s turn to take a deep breath as they crossed over I-74. 


 

“I like being around you. I like how you seem to be coping with an activity that is totally foreign to you. With each weekend, you seem to be more at ease when we’re at the track. You are likable and the guys and Rhonda think you’re the greatest. You have learned when to leave me alone and when to speak up. All that means a lot to me.


 

“But does it mean I want to get married again? I’m not so sure. I’ve given some thought about what we do in October. I’m not sure if I’ll do this again next year. The original plan was to try it this summer and then decide and I haven’t decided yet. Where you fit in with that, well, I’m not sure of that either. But I guess some of that’s up to you.”


 

More silence as Thad figured on stopping at Rushville to have lunch. He wondered what she was thinking. He cared a lot for Kate but was it enough for her? Inwardly he shrugged. He figured that he would find out at some point between now–mid-June–and early October. 


 

Kate was having her own thoughts. She was somewhat surprised that they seemed to be on the same page in a lot of their thoughts. She enjoyed being around him, especially away from the track. But when he was racing she had learned to be quiet for the most part and marvel at all that went on as the evening progressed. It was foreign to her but, being an educator at heart, she found that this was quite the learning experience. The people, with the unfortunate exception of Willie the Wanker, had been great. “Hoosier Hospitality” was no myth in her mind. 


 

Did she want to marry Thad? Like him, she wasn’t so sure. Would she want to do this again next summer? She had her doubts but she wasn’t going to close the door just yet. Kate looked out the window of the Camaro at the Indiana countryside and wryly thought to herself that the answers to her questions weren’t buried in the many cornfields. 


 

They stopped to eat at a Mom-and-Pop restaurant in downtown Rushville. To their surprise the waitress remembered them from the last time they had eaten there. Thad left a $10 tip. It was the waitress’s turn to be surprised. 


 

Neither of them said any more about their conversation that day. Kate knew that Thad was mentally getting ready for the challenge that Gas City presented. It was a good decision to leave him alone, because he had a frustrating time of it until the feature. Thad won the feature after starting 12th. 


 


 


 

 

 

 

Chapter 63: Ride Hopping


 

By the time Thad and Kate reached Indiana, Farrell had called and invited them to his house for supper on Thursday evening. Tyrus was there too and both had lots of news for Thad. First off, Cosmo Novak and Jerald Jarvis had switched rides. Neither had been getting the results they were accustomed to getting and, after a late night meeting among the car owners, drivers and crews, decided to trade. Tyrus drew a chuckle when he told Thad, in all seriousness, that alcohol may have been involved. 

Farrell shared that alcohol may have been involved with Rodney Reynolds’ decision to dive back into sprint car ownership. The Rev, Caleb Jankowski, discovered that his car owner, Harry Reeves, was hurting financially and needed help. Rodney found out and stepped up. He and Caleb quickly became known as the Odd Couple. Somebody, no one was sure who, had started a rumor that Sparky and his wife Darla were on the outs after she missed a couple of races. It turned out that her sister was ill and Darla had gone to Lexington KY to care for her. 


 

“Other than that, it was a normal week, right?” Thad tried to keep a straight face.


 

Farrell chuckled and said, “Pretty much. Preston was ready to fIght whoever started that rumor. He looks at Darla like a second mom. Sparky told him to calm down and win the damn race. This was at Bloomington and sure enough, Preston won.” 


 

On Friday, the Tarheel Race Team pulled into the Bloomington Speedway. Thad decided to pay The Rev a visit. 


 

“Hey, bud. Congratulations on your new owner.”


 

Caleb had been sitting in a lawn chair eating a sandwich. He waved for Thad to sit in an empty chair. “Have a seat, Thad. The new owner bought it for him and Harry. They’re over there watching the water truck.” 


 

“And counting their money?”


 

Caleb laughed. “They’ve known each other for years. Harry had a setback in his trucking business and Rodney knew about that. He called Harry and they came to an agreement pretty quick.”


 

Thad asked, “How soon did you know?”


 

Caleb laughed again. “Funny you should ask. Harry called me right after he and Rodney settled the deal. As soon as I hung up, Rodney called.” 


 

“Did Rodney offer you a beer?”


 

This time Caleb guffawed, attracting attention to passersby. “He knows I have the occasional glass of wine other than Communion, so he sent me and my wife a bottle.” 


 

Thad shook his head and chuckled. “Funny how things work out sometimes. I guess you knew about Cosmo and Jerald.”


 

“Yeah, like this deal, that one could have ended up a lot worse.”


 

The two talked some more until it was time for the drivers’ meeting. 

Thad and Caleb started nose-to-tail in the feature. On the ninth lap, a lapped car did a half spin right in front of Thad. He slowed and Caleb nailed him, sending Thad’s car spinning. After re-starting on the tail, Thad charged back to finish eighth. Caleb finished fourth and sought Thad out after the race to apologize. 


 

“Aw, Caleb, it’s okay. I just figured you’d been drinking Rodney’s wine.” Everybody had a good laugh at that. 


 

On Saturday night it was off to Lawrenceburg for a larger winner’s purse than normal. The car count was a somewhat slim 21 cars, but at least six or seven others had a decent shot at winning. 


 

Thad wasn’t laughing after his heat race. A lapped car nearly spun in front of him. Thad slowed to miss the car and tried to pass a lap later. This time the car nearly slid into the side of Thad’s car. Somehow he avoided the errant vehicle and went on to finish second in the heat. He wasn’t thrilled to realize that this car would be in the feature. 


 

Between races, Caleb, who was at Lincoln Park, texted Thad. “Cosmo just had a bad one. Flipped all the way down the backstretch. Out of the car. Was a little shaky.”


 

Thad answered, “Keep me posted.” He considered the situation. Bad wrecks were what happened to other people until they happened to you. Thad was still sore from his Kokomo crash weeks ago. And he was headed to Kokomo tomorrow night. 


 

Race drivers most always are able to put such matters away as soon as they are pushed off. Thad did this. He didn’t have time to think about Cosmo until well after the feature. 


 

It was just as well. Thad used up his right rear chasing leader Jerald and faded to fifth. 


 


 

 

 

 

Chapter 62: Vacation



Thad turned right on U.S. 64, which now joined U.S. 74-A and North Carolina State Road 9. He was about ten minutes from home. It was nearly midnight as he drove past the shops, the restaurants, the park entrance and more of the same before he turned onto the country road that would take him home. Past the church, the houses that dotted the countryside before he began to climb. A left turn and he was truly alone on the narrow country road. Meeting traffic on this road was never much fun. Thankfully there was no one else out and about on this warm and humid night. A few more twists and turns and the road ended–or one could say it turned right onto another road which had still more gyrations until Thad could see the lake and his driveway.



He breathed a sigh of relief. Thad had come to love Indiana with its race tracks and endless fields of grain, mostly corn. Even more so, he had learned to love the short tracks he had visited and raced on. And the people. Thad thought of his team, a small group of quality people he could call friends. But, try as he might, Thad was home. Indiana was his home away from home, but here, in western North Carolina, this was his base, the place that defined him. There was no escaping it, not that he wanted to.



Leaving the apartment on a rainy Monday, Thad and Kate had headed south for a week or so. He texted his hometown buddies Darrell and Rollie, telling them that he would be meeting them for lunch on Tuesday at noon and don’t be late. That was an inside joke. Thad was usually the late one when they got together.



Thad sat on his sofa, looking out at the lake with the outline of the mountains in the background. Night lights dotted the side of the lake. Thankfully, there weren’t too many of them. Thad figured that would change someday as the developers would smell a big payday.



Tuesday at 12:15 p.m. Thad strolled into his favorite hangout, greeted by Rollie and Darrell, who tapped their empty beer glasses on the bar. This signaled to Thad that they needed another beer and he was buying, which he did before checking the menu.

“So, old buddy. Tell me about sprint car racing in Indiana. Is it tougher than NASCAR?” Darrell took a sip of his beer and waited for an answer.



“Oh, wow, man. Where do I begin?” Thad took a sip of his own and thought. “In some ways it’s tougher. You have to remember those cars have no fenders so that rubbin’ is racin’ thing won’t go far. Learning new tracks is tough but I kind of enjoy it. Makes for quite a challenge. Lots of that is due to the weather.”



Thad took another sip and waited for the next question. He was surprised that it came from Rollie.



“Which track has the coldest beer?” After Thad and Darrell quit laughing, Thad said, “Depends on how much I pay. You guys have heard me talk about my NASCAR car owner Arley. He has a huge cooler and when he was with us during Midget Week he kept us all supplied.”



“Ah,” said Rollie. “Free beer is the coldest.” He tapped his empty bottle on the bar. The bartender, a cute young lady named Joanie, looked at Rollie. She assumed that the group wanted another round. Thad said one more for him.



A few minutes later Darrell asked about some of the people Thad had met. “Most of them have been great,” Thad said. He told Darrell about Rodney Reynolds, who chased sprint car races from Indiana to Florida. There were endless rows of RVs at every Midget Week race.



“And it will be the same way for Sprint Week,” Thad said.



Darrell rapped the table. “Man, I gotta get up there. Racin’, cold beer, sittin’ around BSin’ with people. Sounds good.”



Thad chuckled. He had heard Darrell talk like this before, usually after a few cold ones. He decided to challenge his buddy, who was mainly a NASCAR fan.



“Tell you what, ol’ buddy. You tell me how you want to travel to Indiana. You wanna fly? I’ll buy you a ticket.”



Rollie cut in. “One way or round trip?”



Thad offered, “Or halfway and one trip?” He continued. “I’ll fly you up and pick you up at either Indy, Louisville or Cincinnati. Or you can ride up with Arley in his RV.”



Rollie was on a roll. “Or you can ride the bus.”



Thad chuckled. “Or hitchhike.”



Darrell finished his beer and tapped the empty on the table. The bartender held up three fingers and Darrell nodded. He looked at Thad and said, “I’ll have to think about that road trip. I always wanted to meet Arley.”



“You’ll love the guy. He never met a stranger.” Thad looked at Rollie. “And he’s always ready to buy a round.”



Rollie said, “I like him already.”



“You would. Plus, he’s a golfer like you, Rollie.”



Darrell piped up as he took a drink of a freshly delivered Coors Light. “Rollie, let’s both go.”



“Ah, I don’t know.”



Thad said, “It won’t cost you guys much money. Arley is loaded, you know.”



Darrell nodded. “I read about him selling the team to those guys for a bundle.”



“And he’s as generous as the day is long.”



At this point a lady walked into the bar and sat down near Rollie. Thad and Darrell snickered at Rollie, who was obviously interested in the lady, who pointedly ignored him. The three left about fifteen minutes later.



A week later, on a Tuesday, Thad drove west to pick up Kate. They had decided to make it a two day journey, stopping somewhere in Kentucky. From there they would arrive at the apartment on Wednesday and check on Farrell and Tyrus. Thad had not been in contact with either and was curious about whatever he had missed.



On Wednesday afternoon, Thad and Kate arrived at the apartment. Thad called Farrell, hoping that there was no major drama going on.



He didn’t hope enough.



 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Death of a Racer

Try as I might, I can't stop asking myself why Justin Owen died? Being more than twice his age, I can't help asking why wasn't it me, the guy who survived multiple heart attacks. There's no definitive answer to either of those questions. We each have to figure out what works for us and move on. Because how we react to tragedies helps to define us as much as anything else does.

I didn't know Justin well; I know his teammate/friend/competitor Michael Fischesser somewhat better. But he struck me as the best of what a young racer should be. Surely he knew the risks and rewards of racing. Friendly, affable, well liked and, more important, most likely well respected--that would be a good description of Mr. Owen. For me, young people like Justin Owen gave and will give me hope for this crazy passion that you readers and I share.

Now he is gone and the pain felt by those closest to him must be unimaginable to the rest of us. All we are left with is the memory of a dedicated young man. Memories are a big part of what sustains us in the grieving process. Let us hang onto them tenaciously.

We like to imagine things like Justin engaging in some bench racing with those who preceded him in a place where one doesn't hurt and can't grow old. If that floats one's boat, I'm all for it. Either way, we can believe and cling to the notion that he's in a better place, whether it's at rest or reuniting with those who have gone before.

Our reactions to anything of note speak volumes about us. Rude and uninformed comments are nothing new; putting them on social media so people can see how annoying, rude and uninformed one can be is comparatively new. I've learned to handle such "insight" or "sharing" by laughing at it and/or ignoring it and moving on. In the midst of the thoughts and prayers comments will always be someone anxious to show off their quick wit, cynicism, desire to put someone down or blame anyone for the tragedy.

Invariably one of the Internet experts will wax nostalgic about the good old days, how much tougher people were back then or why did they cancel the races. Have these people no understanding of progress and safety? I guess not. The goals of increased speed and safety have been a constant in racing since before I was born. The car that Justin Owen was driving was safer than the cars that, say, Kevin Briscoe drove, which were safer than cars driven by Butch Wilkerson. Cars and tracks in Kevin or Butch’s time were as safe as knowledge and technology yielded. The same is true in 2023. The cars and tracks are safer, but not flawless. I assume none of the experts lost a close family member or friend in a racing accident.

My faith system is one of hope and love. I believe that in body Justin Owen is no longer with us but in spirit he lives in some form unknown to us until we get there ourselves. It isn't much comfort to the immediate family and friends but sometimes hanging on to the hope of seeing Justin again is the best alternative. I’m afraid the loss of someone so dear is supposed to hurt, but I hope the hurt eases over time. It won’t, however, disappear. We all carry some hurt with us. It’s part of our human existence.

Either way it's a huge loss. Perhaps somewhere down the road, changes of some sort, to the cars, the track or anything else will save a racer's life. Ponder that for a second on my faith's holiest of days. Perhaps it may come to pass that Justin Owen's death will enable another racer to live.

Finding an empty tomb, I'm...

Danny Burton



 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: American Short Track Racing Is…

Anyone who tells you that they know a lot about anything without conducting an exhaustive study of it is pulling your leg. My study of short track racing this week consists of a visit to a rural bullring in the foothills of western North Carolina. I can say that, in a tangible sense, there are many differences between short tracks in the Carolinas and in my home state of Indiana. One can also say that, given the size of the crowd on a warm, late March Saturday night at the Harris Speedway, short track racing is doing well enough down here–even if the product is largely different from what I’ve seen in the Hoosier state over the years.

If anyone tells you that, speaking of anything or anyone, “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” they are just being a lazy ass. Obviously, there are similarities in everything from racing t-shirts to cheeseburgers, but the challenge is to find something unique. At any short track, I’m sure it can be done. (Think of wine being sold at the Perris Auto Speedway.)

Harris is like that, but I had to look for things that stood out.

The drivers’ meeting was a good place to start, at least the sprint car drivers’ meeting, which was conducted by Race Director Andy Stapp. How often do you attend a drivers’ meeting conducted by a third generation racer? Andy’s grandfather Elbert “Babe” Stapp raced in the Indianapolis 500 from 1927-1940, ringing up two top five finishes. His father Steve “The Bopper” raced, owned and built sprint cats, enjoying considerable success. When Andy talked at the drivers’ meeting, I listened.

It’s well known that tracks down here promote the fact that they have lots and lots of classes of race cars, many of which look a lot alike. It’s part of the culture down here–the way things are done. And it works. If you come to the Carolinas and want to go to a short track, don’t expect to see a B Main. With the seven classes of cars, expect a total car count in the 80s. Two heats (maybe) and a feature for each class.

Public address announcers here have their own method of hyping the races. Fellow Hoosiers, just imagine the recently retired Brad Dickison with a southern accent.

Bleachers at race tracks vary. At Harris, I can say that the pit bleachers reminded me a lot of the front stretch bleachers at Gas City, which are not the most comfortable. Never mind that. It made me homesick for Gas City.

Hot laps–given the car count in each division, sometimes there would be just one group to hot lap. One class had four cars. But hey, at least they didn’t mess around much.

Race fans wear racing related t-shirts; it’s common sense and so-called normal. I was quite likely the only person in attendance wearing a Dave Darland t-shirt–until I bought a t-shirt from sprinter Sean Vardell and put it on over the top of my DD shirt. I told Sean that I couldn’t get away with that in Indiana. He laughed and agreed. Even sprint car racers down here have heard of Dave and a couple, Steve Surniak and Johnny Petrozelle, have raced against him, as has Robert Tyler’s dad Brian.

As hot laps ended, I retreated to my trusty, gracefully aging white Chevy for dinner. I knew it was the time when most tracks either play or have someone sing our National Anthem. Not Harris. While enjoying my roast beef sandwich, I heard a guy singing the children’s hymn “Jesus Loves Me.” Well, that’s a first, at least for me. This was followed by what sounded like a brief hellfire and brimstone sermonette. Another first.

The sprinters in question were the Carolina Sprint Tour, a hardy band of racers who like to go as fast as they can afford to go and have at least as much fun doing it. They run pretty much the same 305 engines that the RaceSavers run in Indiana.

These racers, all guys and one young lady tonight, have all taken their own trip to get to where they are today. The one I know the best, Johnny Petrozelle, has raced a bit of everything. He was happy to be reminded about his excellent run at the Hoosier 100 a few years ago. George Blaney is a friendly young man who doesn’t trade on his more famous family members. Dave and Dale are his uncles while NASCAR racer Ryan is his cousin. Brian Paulus has raced all over the land and here he was at Harris. Steve Surniak is a former letter carrier. Unlike me, he chose to go racing while I hung on to retire from carrying mail. I remember him racing in Indiana several years ago and rediscovered him racing down here a few years back. Brian Tyler’s son Robert was present and getting some on the job training.

And then there’s Brandon McLain, like me, a former writer for Dirt Digest. A few evenings ago my wife and I were enjoying a meal and a cold beverage at the RiverWalk Bar and Grill in beautiful downtown Chimney Rock, North Carolina. I was wearing my Kokomo Speedway Smackdown t-shirt, nothing out of character there. A guy came over and said he had to ask if I was a sprint car fan. Pretty soon we found out we knew of each other and of course had lots to talk about. Brandon told me about the CST racing at Harris on March 25. That’s how I ended up about 30 miles from my temporary home having a good time.

If you hang around long enough, you’ll get to see a lot, meet a lot of people, many of whom are good people to know. I certainly didn’t expect to see Mr. McLain but if I wear a sprint car t-shirt out in public, I shouldn’t be surprised if someone asks me about it.

In terms of results, Richard Wisdo and Brandon McLain won the heat races. Steve Surniak started on the pole and led all the way to win the 25-lap feature. It was slowed by one caution when Robert Tyler smacked the turn two wall. Trailing Surniak was Johnny Petrozelle in second. B. McLain was third with Wisdo fourth. Jacob McLain came from 12th to finish fifth and win the Kevin McIlvane Hard Charger award, a cold slice of pizza.

The Carolina Sprint Tour next races at Halifax County Motor Speedway on April 8, the same day we begin our journey north. And Harris? They will race a lot of cars next Saturday night. Perhaps they will again have lots of cars and a good crowd, sprints or no sprints. Let’s hope so. And let’s not bury short track racing yet.

Bringing in the sheaves, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

Chapter 61: da ‘Burg



Arley and Thad sat in lawn chairs next to Arley’s RV. They were waiting for the hamburgers on the grill to finish. As they talked, Arley checked the progress of the early dinner while the rest of the group busied themselves with whatever needed to be done. As usual, Tyrus and Farrell were in the pits unloading equipment. The ladies were walking around the Dearborn County Fairgrounds soaking in the atmosphere of southeastern Indiana, Arley and Thad discussed immediate plans.



“Thad, ol’ buddy,” said Arley. “I think Louise and I are heading back home tomorrow morning. But it’s been fun.”



“Hey, I appreciate you guys coming up here. I’m sure it’s been an education.”



“That it has,” Arley chuckled. “We’ve learned a lot about a few things.”



“Such as…?” Thad was genuinely curious.



“Well, I think race fans all over have more in common than they think they do. Trouble is, sometimes a few of them would rather spend too much time fussin’ about the differences in racin’ and the race cars themselves.”



“I think people in general are that way, no matter what the subject,” said Thad.



“I couldn’t agree more, ol’ buddy. Hey, want another beer?”



Thad laughed. “I’d better not. Farrell and Tyrus would have a cow. And you know the ladies wouldn’t be too thrilled either.”



“Aw, I reckon.” Arley took a final drink of his beer, belched and asked, “Hey, Thad, you mind if I have another?”



Thad laughed harder this time. “It’s okay with me.” He looked toward the fairground buildings. “But here comes Louise and the girls. You’re on your own.”



Sure enough, here came Louise, Kate and Rhonda, with Louise driving a golf cart.



They stopped at the RV. Louise got off the cart and said to Thad, “Take it away. Arley can walk back to the pits.” A slight pause. “If he can.”



After the laughter subsided, Thad headed for the pits with two hamburgers wrapped up for Farrell and Tyrus.



During the USAC heat races, clouds began appearing in the west, growing larger and darkening. Promoter Dave Rudisell and USAC officials scrambled to do what they could to keep the program moving.



Thad finished second in his heat race, which was the third of three. Starting sixth in the feature, he stuck with the high groove, where he was more comfortable. Thad had worked his way up to second, behind local star Will Mueller. But that would be as far as he could get because the rain began with eight laps to go.



The cars ran under caution for a few laps before Tim Montgomery brought out the red, ending the festivities. Thad had to settle for second and that was how his Indiana Midget Week ended.



On the way back, Thad and Kate discussed the plans for the upcoming weeks. It was a unanimous decision by all, including Farrell, Rhonda and Tyrus, to take the next week off. Thad and Kate decided to head back to North Carolina for a few days. He had been talking with either Darrell or Rollie every few days but there was still a lot of catching up to do.



Little did he know.

 

 

Chapter 60: A Rival Arrives



Thad was patiently waiting for Kate to finish her task of attaching tear-offs to his helmet when he looked up and did a double take. Standing before him was his former rival and occasional nemesis Jim Bob (no, really) Russell. Off the track, Thad and Jim Bob got along fine. On the track was often another matter. But they never quarreled after their on-track encounters. They just wrote it off to hard racing.



Thad spoke first. “Jim Bob, good to see you!” A slight pause, then, “But man, what are you doing here?”



“Hi, Thad. I came here to see you race, of course.”



“Of course.” Thad squinted at him. “But don’t you have a race yourself this weekend?”



“Nope. I retired.”



“Retired? Why? Last I heard you were doin’ all right. Didn’t you win at Vegas?”



Jim Bob shrugged. “Yeah, but I was gettin’ tired of it. Mary Lou and I checked the finances and I called Mr. Stanley up and told him that was it.”



“I bet he took that well.” John Wayne Stanley was notorious for changing drivers at the drop of a hat. With Jim Bob, he had a winning driver. But Mr. Stanley could be a bit overbearing. Apparently Jim Bob had enough. Thad said as much and Jim Bob confirmed it. He was being honest; he was tired of it. But Jim Bob was only forty-one. He had some good years left.



Jim Bob said, “He blew a gasket. I told him what I thought of how he ran a race team and how he treated people. Went in one ear and out another.”



“What are you gonna do tomorrow? I’m planning on going to Lawrenceburg tomorrow night. I’m sure they will be glad to have you.” Thad grinned.



Jim Bob shifted his feet and said, “I’m not sure. I might have some good racin’ left in me but I’m sure Mr. Stanley won’t take kindly for me to hop into another car right now.” He paused and grinned. “But my contract ends on December 31.”



“So you don’t have to make up your mind tonight.”



Jim Bob checkled. “Nope.”



Thad introduced Jim Bob to the others, plus Cosmo Novak, whose team was parked next to Thad and company on a warm Indiana night at the Lincoln Park Speedway. Farrell, Tyrus and Cosmo had heard of Jim Bob, but Kate had not. She was embarrassed, but Thad chided her for her embarrassment, reminding her that the world she was a part of didn’t include knowledge of NASCAR racers. “Especially those who retire in the middle of the season,” he added dryly, followed by a smile.



Kate smiled back, though she didn’t feel like smiling. She hated to admit it to herself but the grind was getting to her. She enjoyed Thad’s company for sure, but they had very little down time–or at least it seemed that way. Thad had warned her about this. There would be long stretches where she would be number two with racing being number one. Though she really liked and admired Rhonda, she couldn’t express her doubts about deciding to follow Thad from one race track to another. Worst of all, she was questioning her decision to even go to these tracks. Even though she had become familiar with some of the tracks, it was still foreign to her. Before she met Thad, her life had been somewhat sheltered in small town academia, not that there was anything wrong with that as Thad often had reminded her.



Thad. She had to ask herself about her relationship with Thad. When it was just him and her, she felt relaxed, comfortable and safe. On the increasingly rare times they had lengthy conversations, she always came away wondering if, in fact, she was in love with Thad Larrabee. Kate certainly enjoyed and appreciated his company, but sometimes she wondered how he felt. She was very aware that Thad wasn’t comfortable talking about himself. He had never told her he loved her, but Kate comforted herself in knowing that he treated her like he did. She had no background in racing or any other sport; as a result, Kate had no experience dealing with Thad when he was in his “game face” mode.



One day, when they had a rare moment at his apartment, Kate had asked him about his standoffish demeanor at the track. He was already in a reflexive mood and had no problem answering.



“It was worse when I was racing in NASCAR. Dina could have told you from painful experience. It wasn’t or isn’t me being grouchy or irritable, unless something interrupted my concentration.



“I’m very aware that I’m not approachable before the feature. It’s because I’m thinking, maybe overthinking, about the track, the car, the competitors, and the guys I have to beat, the guys starting in my area, even the guys who are prone to wrecking themselves or others–especially me.



“So if someone says something to me, I usually give them a look. I might say ‘what?’ but not always. If anyone on the team, including you or Rhonda, says something to me, I’ll stop and listen. Farrell or Tyrus usually have some useful information. That could be anything from track conditions to tire choices to which driver is fighting with his team and/or wife.”



Neither had spoken for a few moments. Then Thad said, “Compared to NASCAR, this is a snap. I’m the car owner so I don’t worry about job security. I’m here to have fun, yes, but at some point–well–dammit, Kate. I still want to win. I still love the challenge, the track, the competitors.”



As Thad got ready for the feature, Kate remembered that conversation. She was learning to understand. He had not mentioned the obvious: there were times when any and everything else was number two. Dina had it worse, since there was so much more at stake in his NASCAR days.



Thad came from seventh to finish a distant second to Gerald in the feature. Among his circle, Arley decided that Kate was right. The popcorn was great.



Lawrenceburg was next.

 

 

 

Chapter 59: Arley and the Preacher



The rain washed out racing at Gas City, so the Tarheel Racing Team headed west to Kokomo for the third night of Indiana Midget Week. They arrived under threatening skies and a weather forecast that was iffy at best.



Other than the weather, the big news was that Lane Rasmussen was coming out of retirement to race some more. He had hung up his helmet the previous October, saying that it wasn’t fun any more. The “word” was that retirement was less fun and he decided to come back with his previous team adding a second car for Lane.



The other driver for the Perry/McMann team was a second year racer named Wayne Ray Morton, a local boy. The “word” on Wayne was that he wasn’t happy with the turn of events, but he would have to deal with it.



Cosmo Novak was quickest in time trials. But Thad won his heat by a straightaway over Cosmo. The two veterans headed to their parking spots in the pits and walked to the pit bleachers to watch the racing until the sprint feature. Soon they were joined by Caleb Jankowski and his new friend, of all people, Arley Sebastian. Thad was surprised to see his friend and former car owner. Arley had been keeping a low profile the past few nights since he had arrived from his Michigan trip.



While Arley and Caleb talked, Thad and Cosmo were pretty quiet, watching the track and the midget C and B mains with the sprint B sandwiched in between. They speculated whether or not Reese O’Conner and crew would massage the track before the features. They decided that all the crew might do before the midget feature would be flatten the cushion, no water, no digging up the surface.



Sure enough, after the midget B main, there was a brief intermission before the midget feature and the heavy water truck made its appearance. As the cars pushed off for the feature, the drivers went back to their cars. Arley stayed behind, telling Thad good luck and there was no way he was going to miss this. Thad couldn’t blame him.



Thad couldn’t remember ever starting on the pole since he had taken up sprint car racing, but there he was. Kokomo had been good to him but he had gotten himself hurt here–as he won just a few weeks ago. He wasn’t about to start spending the winner’s share of the purse. Thad figured there must be a half dozen guys behind him who had a legitimate shot at the win.



Tom Hansing waved the green flag and Thad got off to a great start. He was cruising along until lap 21 when the race’s first yellow light slowed the frantic action. Thad’s straightaway lead disappeared. Until the yellow, he had no idea what was going on behind him. Had he known, he would not have been pleased. Cosmo had started fifth but had made it look easy as he raced his way to second. Under the yellow, he pulled alongside Thad and impishly waved. Thad waved back, knowing his goose might be cooked.



Sure enough the race restarted and Cosmo rode the cushion while Thad worked the inside of the baddest bullring while the crowd roared. With only four laps to go, lapped traffic wouldn’t be a factor. It was two of the best, one on one.



Try as he might, Thad could not hold off his buddy. Cosmo edged closer with each completed lap. Tom waved the white flag as both racers crossed the line side by side, with Thad leading by a few inches. An observer could hear the crowd’s shouts over the noise of the cars. Coming out of turn two, Thad didn’t get the traction he needed and Cosmo took the lead by a wheel as they raced down the backstretch. But Thad came back, scooting on the low side in turns three and four. Cosmo was ready though, as he barely tapped the turn four wall coming to the checkered. His last push was enough to take the win by .044 seconds–inches.



Neither driver was sure who won until they heard Tyler’s radio transmission up in the announcer’s booth. In a plaintive tone that hid his excitement and appreciation, Tyler read off the top five by car numbers. That’s how Thad learned that he had finished second. He had learned not to get overly emotional about race results over the years, but he was a bit sad and a little philosophical as he coasted to his hauler. Cosmo deserved to win and that was that.



Later, after the car had been loaded into the hauler and Thad stood by watching, Arley came over to talk.



“Tough one to lose, bud,” Arley said.



“True, but you know? I gave it my all. Can’t ask for more than that. The owner is not too upset with the driver.”



Arley chuckled. “Helps to have an understanding owner, I always say.”



He looked at Thad with a rare serious demeanor. “I had a good conversation with your buddy Caleb tonight. He’s not your average Bible-thumping hellfire and brimstone preacher.”



That looked back. “I kinda figured that. He’s a good guy and a pretty good racer too.”

“More than that, Thad. He’s pretty smart. He is a bit of a philosopher but he said when he gets in the race car, he turns that stuff off.”



“Yeah, man. It’s called compartmentalizing. I can see where Caleb does that well. Hey, we all do when you think about it.”



Arley nodded. “It’s how we humans get things done…when you think about it.”



Thad had to chuckle at that. He looked around to see Kate coming his way with a sick look on her face.



“What’s up, Kate? You okay?”



She managed a wan smile. “I think I ate too much. But those pork chop sandwiches are good.”



Arley and Thad chuckled. Thad said, “If you can make it to the motel, I’ll see about getting you some antacid. Maybe that will help.”



Arley said, “She’s right about the sandwiches though. I had two myself.”



Despite her discomfort, Kate laughed. “Let’s head to the motel, Thad. I’m ready.” After a brief pause, she said, “Lincoln Park tomorrow night?”



“Sure thing.”



Kate looked at Arley and said, “You’ll love their popcorn.”

 

 

 

Chapter 58: The Grind Begins



Some race fans claimed that Indiana Midget Week was better than Indiana Sprint Week because the support class for IMW was sprint cars. Fans, especially fans of the open wheel variety, could feast on their favorite type of racing for several nights in a row. Promoters loved it too, of course, with their biggest worry, as always, was the weather.



But the weather for the opening night at the Montpelier Speedway was close to perfect until there would be a good chance of showers beginning around 11:00. By evening’s end, this would be a concern.



Thad Larrabee and company arrived at the track and Thad decided to take a solo walk around the pits and check things out in general. Montpelier was an ancient race track, going back to the early 20th Century. The quarter mile oval had a reputation of going dry fairly quickly. By now Thad knew how to handle dirt tracks that changed in the space of an hour or so.



His real education was when he ambled by the space occupied by the midget teams. Several were high dollar/multi-car teams with NASCAR-worthy haulers. Most of the drivers were kids, at least to Thad, and most had an eventual NASCAR ride on their radar, though some would stick with dirt track racing and hook up with a World of Outlaws team. Thad would have been shocked if any of the drivers, let alone crew members or owners, had recognized him and he was fine with that.



As it turned out, the drivers’ meeting concluded just as the chaplain’s prayer ended. Thad watched the train go by at a somewhat reduced speed. Tyrus joined him and admired the artwork on many of the cars trailing the locomotive. He surprised Thad by mentioning that his dad was a railroad worker. The two walked back to the car as most of the 23 sprints on hand were being pushed to the track entrance just off turn two for the brief engine heat session.



There would be no qualifying and all 23 sprints would make the feature based on their finishing spot in the heats. Kate drew a decent spot for Thad; he would start fourth in the first heat. They found a seat near the pits. Thad warned her of possible rocks and/or dirt clods. Sure enough, during USAC midget qualifying, a softball sized clod flew over her head, barely missing Kate and giving her pause. Again, she wondered to herself what she was doing here. But that question was answered quickly as the same car that launched the dirt clod her way set fast time among the 43 midgets.



Thad got off to a great start in his heat and took second on the first lap. But he couldn’t catch the leader, his new buddy Caleb. The preacher ran away and beat Thad by a straightaway. They would start first and fourth, respectively, in the feature.



By the time the curtain closing sprint feature was lining up, lightning was spotted in the western skies. An epidemic of spins and flips had slowed the program down as the night wore on and all concerned hoped that the sprint feature would be an all-green affair. No way was that going to happen. There would be a short delay because four or five of the midget racers were doing double duty and they needed time to jump out of one car and into another.



As Kate pushed Thad and his car to the staging area he saw the reflection of lightning off one of the trucks. Oh boy, he thought. They would be lucky to get this one done.



A few minutes later the green flag waved and nearly everyone went for the bottom groove. After three or four laps of this, Thad decided to try the middle. He had been running fourth and it took him a couple of laps to for him to work his way by the third place car, driven by a kid Thad had never seen race. Thad decided to try the high groove, but the yellow flag came out for a backmarker’s spin.



On the re-start, Thad saw a huge lightning flash off turn one. The race wasn’t halfway done yet, the track was already slick and rain was coming, but when? Most of the field had that sense of urgency that people get when they feel pressure. Thad was no exception. He was having success using the top groove, taking second as the crossed flags were shown to the field. Caleb had led from the start from his pole position and Thad was slowly reeling him in. With five laps to go, they were side-by-side with Caleb ahead by a wheel.



Behind the leaders the action was just as intense. It was a recipe for calamity and sure enough, calamity appeared. Two cars racing for tenth place got together and both flipped, bringing out the red. Caleb had crossed the line ahead of Thad when the red flag waved. The wreck was in turn two as Thad and Caleb stopped next to each other. Caleb pointed to the west, where the lightning was ever closer. Thad put his hands together in the praying position and could hear Caleb laughing over the surrounding noise.



As both cars were towed away and both drivers were checked for serious injuries, the yellow lights came on. But seconds after that, before a single car could be pushed away, the rain came and the night’s festivities were over. The push trucks pushed the cars to the pits, lots of people got soaked and Caleb was declared the winner. Thad collected second place money.



Two hours later, Thad and company were at their favorite motel in nearby Marion. Thad fell asleep before he could tell Kate goodnight. She didn’t mind. It had been a long day, with a few moments of excitement followed by hours of waiting around to race. Kate read a World War II novel about a blind girl for a half hour, then turned out the light.



Next stop, Kokomo.

 

 

Chapter 57: Chicken Dinner



“Farrell told me about a nice place to eat on the way to Putnamville.”



Kate had been looking out her window as they drove through Bloomington. She looked at Thad and said, “Fine by me. Not that I’d know, but where is it?”



“It’s between Spencer and Cloverdale. You have to watch carefully or you’ll miss the turnoff, according to Farrell.”



“It’s worth a try. I could stand to have lunch.”



Thad looked at her. “You are so agreeable. Are you always like this?”



Kate had to laugh at that. “No way. Ask my colleagues or the department head. Or some of my students, not to mention my family.”



Lunch was quite tolerable. The atmosphere was laid back. Thad was almost reluctant to leave. But they left and arrived at Lincoln Park a few minutes after the pits had opened. Farrell and Tyrus–minus Rhonda–arrived about five minutes later. Tyrus complained about the fast food place where he and Farrell stopped at in Spencer. Thad decided to keep quiet about where he stopped.



Tyrus was elected to draw for Thad’s group qualifying position. There were 35 sprints in the pits and Thad was in group two. Given the quality of the other eight cars in the group, Thad stood a good chance of qualifying fastest of the nine cars, putting him outside second row.



That’s what happened. Thad started fourth, took the lead on the third lap and won by a straightaway. For the feature he would start on the outside of the front row.



Between races, the driver of the car parked next to him in the pits came over and introduced himself. Thad had no clue who the guy was; he did better with numbers as opposed to names. The guy’s car number was 80 and his name was Caleb Jankowski. He turned out to be a pleasant sort, the kind of guy it was next to impossible to dislike. He wasn’t nosy or prying; his questions and comments were thoughtful.



Caleb was quite aware of Thad’s past. He knew that Thad had lost his wife to cancer and he went sprint car racing. He had known Farrell for years and Thad had noticed Caleb and Farrell talking at other times. Just before Caleb excused himself, Thad said wait a minute, man. What do you do to pay the bills? Caleb didn’t miss a beat. “Why, I’m a minister.”



Thad was truly surprised. “Really?” He chuckled. “Glad I didn’t cuss.” Caleb laughed, as did Farrell. “Me too,” he said.



Thad thought he had a good chance to either win or finish second in the feature. He took the lead as Brian Hodde waved the green and immediately started to check out. As Brian displayed the crossed flags, Thad’s lead was a full straightaway over Silas Barnes, a student at Indiana State when he wasn’t racing.



It was too good to last. With four laps to go, a backmarker spun, bringing out the yellow and erasing Thad’s big lead. It took awhile for the field to line up properly, mostly because Thad had lapped so many cars. But finally, Brian waved the green and Thad promptly tried to give the lead away. The culprit was his Lincoln Park nemesis, turn three. He went into three a little bit above the groove and nearly went over the cushion. Jerald Jarvis was second and dove low to take the lead as the crowd roared, some for Jerald and a few less for Thad. Jerald held onto the lead and he was looking like the winner as the white flag waved. But Jerald went low going into turn one as Thad parked his right rear on the cushion and drew even with the leader as they raced down the backstretch. Going into turn three, Jerald slid up to Thad, almost close enough for them to exchange a high five. But Thad never lifted and used the momentum from the top side to pass Jerald for the lead and the win.



Needless to say, the crowd went wild as the cars slowed after the checkered. Jerald flashed the thumbs up to Thad as he exited the track. Thad calmed himself as best he could as he approached the start/finish line. First to greet him was one of the track workers. Then it seemed like quite the crowd descended on the winning sprint car as the fans in the bleachers cheered. Thad thought to himself, yeah, this is also why i do this. Those cheers are nice.

 

 

Chapter 57: Chicken Dinner



“Farrell told me about a nice place to eat on the way to Putnamville.”



Kate had been looking out her window as they drove through Bloomington. She looked at Thad and said, “Fine by me. Not that I’d know, but where is it?”



“It’s between Spencer and Cloverdale. You have to watch carefully or you’ll miss the turnoff, according to Farrell.”



“It’s worth a try. I could stand to have lunch.”



Thad looked at her. “You are so agreeable. Are you always like this?”



Kate had to laugh at that. “No way. Ask my colleagues or the department head. Or some of my students, not to mention my family.”



Lunch was quite tolerable. The atmosphere was laid back. Thad was almost reluctant to leave. But they left and arrived at Lincoln Park a few minutes after the pits had opened. Farrell and Tyrus–minus Rhonda–arrived about five minutes later. Tyrus complained about the fast food place where he and Farrell stopped at in Spencer. Thad decided to keep quiet about where he stopped.



Tyrus was elected to draw for Thad’s group qualifying position. There were 35 sprints in the pits and Thad was in group two. Given the quality of the other eight cars in the group, Thad stood a good chance of qualifying fastest of the nine cars, putting him outside second row.



That’s what happened. Thad started fourth, took the lead on the third lap and won by a straightaway. For the feature he would start on the outside of the front row.



Between races, the driver of the car parked next to him in the pits came over and introduced himself. Thad had no clue who the guy was; he did better with numbers as opposed to names. The guy’s car number was 80 and his name was Caleb Jankowski. He turned out to be a pleasant sort, the kind of guy it was next to impossible to dislike. He wasn’t nosy or prying; his questions and comments were thoughtful.



Caleb was quite aware of Thad’s past. He knew that Thad had lost his wife to cancer and he went sprint car racing. He had known Farrell for years and Thad had noticed Caleb and Farrell talking at other times. Just before Caleb excused himself, Thad said wait a minute, man. What do you do to pay the bills? Caleb didn’t miss a beat. “Why, I’m a minister.”



Thad was truly surprised. “Really?” He chuckled. “Glad I didn’t cuss.” Caleb laughed, as did Farrell. “Me too,” he said.



Thad thought he had a good chance to either win or finish second in the feature. He took the lead as Brian Hodde waved the green and immediately started to check out. As Brian displayed the crossed flags, Thad’s lead was a full straightaway over Silas Barnes, a student at Indiana State when he wasn’t racing.



It was too good to last. With four laps to go, a backmarker spun, bringing out the yellow and erasing Thad’s big lead. It took awhile for the field to line up properly, mostly because Thad had lapped so many cars. But finally, Brian waved the green and Thad promptly tried to give the lead away. The culprit was his Lincoln Park nemesis, turn three. He went into three a little bit above the groove and nearly went over the cushion. Jerald Jarvis was second and dove low to take the lead as the crowd roared, some for Jerald and a few less for Thad. Jerald held onto the lead and he was looking like the winner as the white flag waved. But Jerald went low going into turn one as Thad parked his right rear on the cushion and drew even with the leader as they raced down the backstretch. Going into turn three, Jerald slid up to Thad, almost close enough for them to exchange a high five. But Thad never lifted and used the momentum from the top side to pass Jerald for the lead and the win.



Needless to say, the crowd went wild as the cars slowed after the checkered. Jerald flashed the thumbs up to Thad as he exited the track. Thad calmed himself as best he could as he approached the start/finish line. First to greet him was one of the track workers. Then it seemed like quite the crowd descended on the winning sprint car as the fans in the bleachers cheered. Thad thought to himself, yeah, this is also why i do this. Those cheers are nice.

 

 

Chapter 56: Indiana Midget Week (Prelude)

Thad and Farrell were talking to Arley on the phone. The car owner was in his RV on a solo trip to Indiana. Arley had never seen a midget race and he was getting educated by the other two as he cruised north on I-75 just south of Lexington KY. Thad and Farrell sat on the balcony of Thad’s apartment encouraging Arley to extend his vacation and stick around for Indiana Midget Week.

“Here’s our schedule, Arley,” Thad said. “This coming weekend, we’re going to Bloomington and Putnamville on Friday and Saturday. Midget Week starts next week, five races in five nights. If it doesn’t rain, of course. Each night sprints run as the support class. That’s pretty rare in Indiana.”

“I’m thinking,” Arley said. I’m on my way to Michigan for a week. I might be able to catch up with you guys.”

“Which part of Michigan?” Farrell wanted to know.

“A place called Coldwater Lake State Park. Thad, you remember Jasper Bennis?” When Thad said uh-huh, Arley went on. “Farrell, Jasper was a car owner for much of the time Thad and I were together. A big ol’ Dutchman, grumpy but he would do anything he could when anyone needed help. He invited Louise and me up there to fish and maybe drink a little beer.”

Thad laughed. “Maybe.”

“Yeah.” Arley was unfazed. “After about a week up there, I’ll be ready to leave. Where’s the first race of this Midget Week?”

Farrell answered, “Montpelier, a little town in northeastern Indiana.”

“Not that far from where I’ll be?”

“Maybe a couple of hours, tops, Arley.” Farrell added, “It’s a neat little track. Kind of rustic, right at the edge of town. Also it’s right by a railroad track. The train should come through at some point.”

“Do they stop the race?”

Arley’s question was greeted by loud laughter. “No way. You never know. The engineer might be a race fan,” said Farrell.

The trio talked awhile longer before Kate and Rhonda arrived with two large pizzas. They discussed travel plans for the following week. The backup car didn’t usually make the trips but it would be ready in case it would be needed. The ladies would drive separately in case they wanted to bail out or go shopping or even make a side trip to an Indiana tourist attraction. They would take a cooler for drinks and some food. Taking the grill was discussed. It was decided to take it if there would be room.

The caravan arrived in Bloomington with dark clouds southwest of the track. Farrell looked at the clouds and said, “Uh-oh. We’ll be lucky to get this one in tonight. I’ve been watching the radar all day and hoping it would turn elsewhere.

Sad to say, it didn’t happen. The rain began during the invocation, ignoring the track chaplain’s entreaty to keep the rain away. As he and Kate set a brisk pace heading to the Camaro, Thad said, “Somehow I don’t think God is going to reach down and stop the rain.” He was silent for a few seconds and said, “Sometimes I wonder about these preachers.”

Kate looked at him, wondering herself where he was going with this. “What do you mean?”

“Seemed like the person doing the praying was a bit over-the-top. Remember the song ‘Who’ll Stop the Rain?’ Who indeed.”

“Let me guess what you’re getting at, Thad.” By now both were in the car and were relatively dry. Kate continued. “Are you saying there’s no need to make a big deal about the weather one way or another?”

“Yeah, at least something like that. I mean, it’s something we can’t control. Of course everyone hopes for good weather. But no matter where you are, you can’t control the weather.” Thad turned right onto Walnut Street Road and continued, “I was talking to a promoter once and I asked him what was his biggest headache. I figured he’d say either the fans or drivers, but he surprised me. He said it was the weather. The other he had a degree of control over. But the weather? No way.”

Kate looked at Thad and thought to herself, “He can be quite observant at times. He doesn’t live his life in a bubble. It’s just that–he keeps things to himself.” She sighed to herself and realized that’s how it was and who he was.

The rain was gone the next morning but the sky was still cloudy and it was quite humid. Everyone was at the motel in Cloverdale, IN, not far from the Lincoln Park Speedway. As the two-vehicle caravan left Cloverdale for Putnamville, Thad said to Kate, “Remember what I was saying about the rain last night?” Without waiting for an answer, he said, “Just because I can’t control it doesn’t mean I’m wishing for rain. In fact, I’d love to see it take the night off.”

Kate just laughed as she got into the car.

 

 

 

Chapter 55: Spin and Win (Almost)

Thad and company were glad to see Tri-State Speedway again. He would always remember it as the place where he took his first laps in a sprint car. On this warm Sunday night, while the World 600 NASCAR marathon was going on, Thad was oblivious to what was happening in the racing world at large. He learned who the Indy 500 winner was as he stood in line to get pit passes. He had no clue what was going on at Charlotte.

This was a MSCS race, a baby step down from USAC, and a group that had its share of hard-core racers. Thad qualified second fastest of the twenty-nine cars in the pits. He spun to avoid a stalled car in his heat race, relegating him to the semi-feature. Thad won the semi and would start seventeenth in the feature. While waiting for the feature, Thad was careful not to complain.

He was watching Kate closely to see how she was coping with the attack. When he had the chance, he asked Rhonda if she was noticing anything from Kate since her unwanted encounter with Willie.

“Not really. She’s referred to it a couple of times, but she seems to be doing as well as one can do.” She looked at Thad. “What are you guys doing for the Memorial Day holiday?”

“We’ve talked about going to a military cemetery we found in Madison.”

“I’m impressed, Thad. A great idea.” Rhonda paused. “Try to keep her busy—yeah, I know. She keeps busy at the track, but keep an eye on her.” Another pause. “I’ve come to really think a lot of her.”

Thad smiled as he walked away. “So have I.”

Rhonda chuckled.

The feature came around and Thad gave his all. The MSCS field might not have been as strong as a USAC lineup but they had some pretty good racers, most of whom were based in the southwest quarter of Indiana. Nevertheless, Thad worked his way to the front, taking second with six laps to go. The leader, Royal Pennington from Evansville, was ahead by a straightaway. But Royal’s tires were used up while Thad’s were still strong. He closed on the leader with every lap as the crowd’s roar matched the roar of the cars. As flagman Keith Dewig held up the white and checkered flags to signal two laps to go, there was a spin-and-crash in turn three. The yellow waved and the stage was set for a great finish. Thad would have two laps to pass Royal to complete an extraordinary comeback. He would have to guess which of the grooves Royal would fill going into turn one. Thad would take the leftover path.

The green flag came out and Thad guessed wrong. He followed Royal in the low groove through turns one and two. Going down the backstretch, Thad decided he would go high no matter which way Mr. Pennington went. It was a good choice. The two were wheel-to-wheel as they took Keith’s white flag with Thad ahead by inches. They stayed this way, giving each other lots of room, through turns one and two, and speeding down the backstretch. But Thad made the tiniest of bobbles in turn three, just enough for Royal to come away with a victory margin of one car length.

The race director reminded the top three finishers to stop at the finish line for post-race interviews. Thad didn’t want to but obeyed. He was upset with himself for his late race error.

When asked about his race, Thad praised the track and the treatment he had always received when coming to Haubstadt, the owners and fans most especially. Then he was asked about the last lap. Thad smiled and said, “You know, I wish you hadn’t asked me that.” The crowd laughed. Then Thad said, “I made an error to be blunt. I’m still learning. I’m learning the tracks and how they can change. I’m learning how to race on these tracks. And I’m learning from the people I race with. If Royal made a mistake out there tonight, I didn’t see it. And I was watching.”

This got another laugh and then the attention was shifted to the winner, who had the last word. Mr. Pennington spent a good part of his interview praising Thad and how he raced. He hoped Thad would come back often “even though I know one of these days he’s going to beat us all.”

Heading back to the pits, Thad felt a little better. Kate hugged him and said that he was a very good interviewee. Thad laughed and thanked her. As Tyrus and the ladies pushed the car into the hauler, Thad and Farrell talked about the upcoming week’s schedule. There was a steady stream of fans stopping by to congratulate Thad, say hello, or get an autograph and/or a picture. Thad signed every autograph and smiled for every picture. A few fans asked where they would be racing next. Thad told him that he and Farrell were working on that. Several hoped he would come back to Haubstadt again. Most wished him well.

The atmosphere was quite unlike post-race NASCAR races. Fans weren’t nearly as pushy or demanding. These people were quiet and respectable, polite and reserved. Thad mentioned this to Rhonda, who said, “Yes. They are Hoosiers.” She said it with a touch of pride. The Tarheels, Thad and Kate, would speak of that periodically in the future.

 

 

 

Chapter 54: Reputations

The Tarheel Racing Team pulled into the Lincoln Park Speedway on a hot and humid afternoon, the night before the Indianapolis 500. Thad had almost forgotten about the 500 and the NASCAR race at Charlotte. He had won the 600-mile marathon five years ago. Ten years before that he had expressed an interest in running at Indy but nothing ever came of it. Arley pretended to have a heart attack when someone in the know told him how much it would cost. There would be no more talk of racing in the Indianapolis 500.

Tyrus was learning from Farrell each day. Other teams were noticing that this young man was a talent. Tyrus spurned all offers to jump to another team, even the ones who could afford him. His reasoning was that Thad (and Arley) paid him well and they all treated him good. Tyrus was stocking with the Tarheel Racing Team.

At the moment Tyrus had his pre-race chores on his mind. While the others busied themselves with everything from unfolding lawn chairs to drawing for the hot lap/heat race group, Tyrus made sure that he did everything he could so Thad would have a fast race car for the night.

Thad thought it might have been his imagination that people were looking at him a little differently as he ambled to the drivers’ meeting. Then he remembered. They must have heard about Willie. Sure enough, Cosmo sidled up to him and said, “thanks for putting that cretin away last night, Thad.”

“You’re welcome, bud. He had it coming.”

“That’s for sure. My daughter talked me out of doing what you did after he made some nasty comments to her.”

Thad looked at his friend/rival. “He did? Well, that makes me feel a bit better. But I’m still a little concerned about Kate.”

“Can’t blame you there. But Farrell’s wife is a super lady and if Kate keeps hangin’ around Rhonda that will help mightily.”

“I can’t agree more.”

There were 39 cars in the Lincoln Park pits, five heats, top three advancing. Tyrus and Farrell had done their part. In the hot lap/time trial session, Thad was the quickest of the eight cars. He would start fourth in his heat. Thad won the heat after avoiding a spinning lapped car. With a pit area full of support class race cars, it would be a long wait between heat races and the feature.

Rhonda and Kate stayed close to the hauler, not wishing for any more Willie the Wanker episodes; when they traveled it was together. Thad sat and watched Farrell and Tyrus get the car ready for the feature, which would eventually start a little before eleven. Tyrus did most of the actual work and Farrell sat with Thad for a while, both watching this special young man doing something he loved.

Farrell said, “You know Thad, I’m not sure of your plans for next year, But I think you might have trouble keeping this young man for another year.”

“You noticed that too? Yeah, no matter what I do, I see him moving up,” Thad said.

Farrell looked at his friend. “Just what are you going to do next year?”

Thad laughed. “Wish I knew. But soon as I know, you will know.”

“Well, whatever you do is fine by me. This has worked out better than I thought it would.”

“When did you start thinking that?”

Farrell thought for a few seconds. “I’d say early on. By the middle of last month for sure. Then I was telling guys you were the real deal.”

“Well, thanks. I figured there’d be people who thought I’d be one of those publicity hounds, coming here to get attention. With no one at home at the time, I thought that the best thing for me to do would be race. Then Arley and I took that trip to Florida and...well, you know the rest.”

Farrell laughed. “That I do, son. That I do.”

Tyrus and Kate pushed the car away from the hauler. Kate asked to drive the four-wheeler that would push the car to the staging area. It mattered to her. She needed to overcome this fear that would overtake her if she let it. She was determined. When she pulled away from the car, she drove by the cockpit and waved at Thad, who was pleasantly surprised to see her on the vehicle.

The 25-lap feature was one of the best ever at LPS and Thad was in the middle of it. For the last half of the race, Thad and Jerald battled with young veteran Ken Kramer for the lead. On a late re-start, Kramer came from third to win, using a perfectly executed slider on both Thad and Jerald.

After the race, Thad told Farrell and Tyrus that they did their best. He was beaten by two superior talents.

Next stop, after a night in a motel, was Haubstadt.

 

 

Chapter 53: Willie the Wanker

Thad flipped a coin and Farrell called heads. It was tails and off they went to a new track in southwestern Ohio, Graham’s Creek Raceway. Rhonda had come along to keep Kate company. She had brought enough sandwiches to feed six people. After the car was unloaded and ready for the night, Thad and Farrell sat in the shade of the hauler eating roast beef sandwiches.

A thirty-ish young man walked by with a scowl on his face. Thad had seen him every time he had been to Lawrenceburg and finally asked Farrell who he was.

“I think his name is Willie Brankovic, but he’s also known as Willie the Wanker.”

Thad looked at Farrell and said, “I don’t want to know, but I think you’re going to tell me anyway.”

“I am. Because he has this habit of ogling the ladies in the pits, no matter how old they are—or young.”

Thad looked again. “Has he ever been caught doing or saying anything he shouldn’t?”

“Not yet,” said Farrell. “But he’s been warned. He will back off for a while but pretty soon he starts in again.” Farrell lowered his voice. “I had heard he was stalking Cosmo’s daughter, but that hasn’t been confirmed. Cosmo watched him pretty close.”

“That’s the last guy you would want after you.” Thad looked out at the track. The crew was still working on the track. Still a young man, he had been doing this for years. The track was consistent each week. Lightning fast early but by feature time it was a tick slower; invariably two grooves would form.

He looked back at Farrell. “I’ll watch this guy too. I would hope he doesn’t give Kate or Rhonda any trouble.”

“Rhonda could take care of herself. She grew up at race tracks. But, Thad, you have to think that this guy could sneak up on some unsuspecting lady.”

Thad stared straight ahead. He was single minded enough to put everything aside when he got into a race car. But for now, he thought of Kate and her safety. All he could do was tell her to beware.

But that wasn’t enough. Thad had finished second in his heat and was making his way back to the pits. Kate had been watching from the pit bleachers with Rhonda. As both headed back to the hauler, Rhonda excused herself to go to the “little girls’ room” as she called it. Kate was setting a pretty good pace and decided to take a short cut between two haulers so she could be waiting on Thad when he parked the car.

Willie the Wanker noticed this and made a snap decision that would change his life. He stepped up his pace, following Kate. When she walked between the haulers, Willie decided to have some “fun” with this lady. She was older but she still looked pretty good. Willie never gave a thought about the consequences. He didn’t know or care what Kate would think. Willie had one idea and it was to grab this lady and do what he could. The idea of slapping her around and having his way with her only aroused him.

As Thad was exiting the car, he, along with several others, heard the screams from about 50 feet away. Thad, Tyrus and Farrell were joined by about a dozen other crew members, drivers and pit regulars. Thad reached Willie first and what he saw enraged him even more than the time he was spun out of a race that he was about to win on the last lap. He pulled Willie away from Kate, who had her shirt partially torn and her shorts partially unzipped. Her nose was bleeding and she had a terrified look on her face.

Willie’s smirk left him when he saw Thad and the others appear between the haulers. Thad pulled him away and began slamming Willie’s head against the side of the hauler for a solid thirty seconds before letting the now-limp body fall. Rhonda was tending to Kate, who was calming down somewhat. Thad stood over Willie, who was lying semi-conscious on the ground, bleeding from his head like the proverbial stuck pig.

The particulars were determined quickly and efficiently—once people saw who the “victim” was. A deputy listened to Kate’s version of the story, looked at her rare state of dishevelment and turned to Thad, who filled in the gaps. Willie was installed in a police car that would stop at the local ER on its way to the county jail. The promoter arrived in time to assure all present that Willie was to be barred from entering this race track.

When things settled down somewhat, the team decided to load up for the night. For Kate’s part, she said that she would just as soon never come back to this place. Rhonda answered by gathering up the lawn chairs, food and drink, then loading them in the back of the truck’s cab. Neither Thad, Farrell or Tyrus objected and off they went. None of them looked back.

Thad and Kate trailed the hauler in his Camaro. She was quiet until they reached the east side of North Vernon.

“Thad, I forgot to thank you. I’m glad you showed up when you did.”

“You’re very welcome. How are you?”

“Okay, I think.”

“Good.”

Both were untypically quiet for the rest of the evening. By the time the last light was turned off, Thad was thinking about Lincoln Park.

 

 

 

Chapter 52: Hard Charger

Farrell and Tyrus were both ready by Saturday afternoon. They met Kate and the little caravan left North Vernon for Lawrenceburg. Kate decided to not say much; instead, she looked at the Indiana countryside, gentle rolling hills and a few cornfields. It was all green in color, making a nice contrast with the blue sky.

She noticed that Thad had become quiet as well. Her guess was that he had the night ahead of him on his mind. Later, she found that she was correct.

Lawrenceburg promoter Dave Rudisell stopped by on his scooter to say hello to Thad and company. As they exchanged pleasantries, Kate stayed in the other end of the hauler. She wondered what she had gotten herself into. But she was curious enough to find out a little at a time.

As Farrell and Tyrus got the car ready for hot laps, Kate was persuaded to ride on the back of the four-wheeler as Tyrus pushed Thad and the car to the staging area. Tyrus hollered for her to hold on and she soon found out why. Tyrus pushed the car onto the track from the ramp in turn four. There was a slight bump and Kate nearly fell off. Tyrus put the car in position for the push truck to start the car as Kate had a good view of all that went on behind the four-wheeler.

Tyrus and Kate exited the track and went to the pit bleachers in turn three. From there Farrell joined them. He and Tyrus talked about the car while Kate tried to listen and watch. Three minutes later she had watched Thad nearly hit the wall, was nearly hit by a rock and discovered that ear plugs might be a good idea. Farrell and Tyrus gave her a big grin as they went back to the hauler.

The blind draw dictated that Thad would start seventh in his heat, the second. There were 23 cars and three heats, no B. Thad had moved up to third when he slowed in turn two midway through his heat. It was another flat tire. He would be starting back in the pack for the feature. Thad was not pleased. Kate made a smart decision in avoiding all three gentlemen--who were not acting like gentlemen at the moment.

For the feature Thad found himself starting 20th of the 22 cars taking the green flag. He moved steadily through the field, and was eighth as the crossed flags were displayed by starter Tim Montgomery. Thad needed a caution as the leaders had pulled away and he was nearly a half lap behind. Sure enough, the yellow lights blinked with six laps to go. Thad was sixth. He knew the guys in front of him and had an idea what they would do on the restart. Tim waved the green and three of the cars in front of Thad went low into turn one. Thad went high, loving every second of it, right against the wall and entering the backstretch in fourth place, right behind the car in third.

Try as he might, Thad couldn't do much more passing. He caught a break when the third-place car slowed on the last lap and went to the infield. After starting 20th Thad had moved to third, a great night overall.

Kate watched it all and discovered that, despite the noise, rocks, dust and danger she kind of liked it. She would have lots of questions for Thad.

Later, as she and Thad followed Tyrus and Farrell back to North Vernon, Kate asked Thad if he would mind answering some more racing questions. Thad smiled and said, of course.

Kate: By the time the night was over, I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help.

Thad: That’s great to know, Kate. Of course, there’s lots of things you could do. Tonight you could have helped wash the car. Eventually, you can drive the four-wheeler and push me to where I’m supposed to be to enter the track. Sometimes, we plan ahead and Farrell’s wife Rhonda will make sandwiches.

Thad looked at Kate and smiled. “But beware. That Tyrus eats enough for two or three people.”

Kate laughed and asked, “So far, so good. Anything else?”

Thad said, “As you go along, Farrell might ask for a certain tool or wrench. Tyrus might show you how to check the air pressure in the tires. And soon you can learn how to load and unload the hauler.” He looked over again. She seemed to be serious about this stuff. That was good—for now.

Kate: I’ll keep all this in mind. But I have another question.

Thad: Let’s hear it.

Kate: I can guess the answer, but I’ll ask anyway. Why, Thad? I mean, why do you guys do this?

Thad: Race, you mean?

Kate: Why risk so much for what, $1500 to win?

Thad: Fair question. One thing I learned from Dina’s Bible study group. Jesus often answered questions by asking another one. So, with that in mind, Kate, why do you teach?

Kate: Great answer.

She laughed. “I expected a good answer, but never would I have thought you would have used Jesus to answer.”

She grew quiet for a minute. “Let me see if this makes any sense. I truly enjoy teaching. Over ninety percent of my students seem to get a lot out of what I’m trying to teach. It’s also a pain and there’s all sorts of rules, regulations and mandates we have to follow but I’ve learned to deal with that. And at the end of the year, that’s when I see the results of my work. I don’t mean the grades. I’m more interested in how much they have learned or progressed. Are they better people; are they better equipped to go out and live in this world, not just make a living.” She paused. “But that’s important, too.”

“Kate, that was a pretty good answer. I’m not out there to teach, but I can say I’m learning a lot here myself.” Thad was quiet as he slowed down some as they approached Butlerville.

“Of course, I enjoy this. I’ve already learned more about sprint cars than I’d learned in my last ten years of NASCAR. I love the challenge. It’s difficult to turn right to go left in those things. I had to unlearn a lot of things and learn others. That’s been it. I mean, as much as I love going home, this has been good for me, I think.” He looked at her as they left the tiny town of Butlerville. “People who don’t know anything about racing either say or think we have a so-called ‘death wish.’ They are full of it. We have, if anything, a life wish. This is our way of living life to the fullest in these times. Some of us are just wired different. Not better or worse, just different.”

Both were silent until they reached the outskirts of North Vernon.

It was three a.m. on Sunday morning. The car had been washed, everyone went their separate ways and Thad lay on his back staring at the ceiling. Kate lay in his arms, blissfully asleep. Thad's mind was still going as fast as his car had been just a few hours before. He was truly enjoying himself, but was wondering what lay ahead. He had questions that could only be answered in time.

What was he going to be doing next year? And where? With whom? Kate's lying there, half on top of him and the other half on the bed, generated more questions. Where did she fit in with all this? Thad was very sure that he didn't want to get married again, but one can never know the future. Circumstances change all the time. He was too young to "retire," whatever that meant. So what was the alternative? Keep on racing sprint cars? He loved doing that, he knew. But for how long could he be competitive? At what point would he start losing that competitive spirit?

Thad sighed. He needed to move, but having this lady with him in this position felt good, no, more like comforting. He wanted to hug her a little tighter but didn't want her to wake up. He wanted this tiny piece of time to last a lot longer.

 

 

 

Chapter 51: No Time to Recover

Tyrus and Farrell dropped Thad off at his apartment just before four A.M. They made sure that he was safely inside the apartment before they left. Tyrus thoughtfully made sure that the night’s earnings, $1500, lay on the kitchen table where Thad would not fail to see it. Just before Thad turned out the lights, he saw the money. He shook his head, saying to himself, “Busted my poor, dumb ass for $1500.” Then he laughed, and said “but who’s complaining?” It was the nature of racing at every level. As in life, the intangibles crowded the tangibles off the table. The thrill of the speed and competition dwarfed the money, no matter what the result of the race and no matter how much or little that it paid.

Before she had the chance, Thad texted Kate before he went to bed. “Hi, Kate. Here’s some news. I won the feature tonight at Kokomo! So excited. But I crashed the car right after I saw the checkered flag. Went to the local hospital. Mostly a headache. It was quite a ride, but no worse than others over the years. I still aim to be home Tuesday—I mean tomorrow—around suppertime.

Thad slept until ten, waking up with a mild headache. Sure enough, Kate had answered. “Oh Thad. I hope you are okay to drive home. Please call me any time after 5:00. Gotta go. First class is in five minutes.” Thad left the apartment at noon, looking for a quiet place to have lunch. He spent the afternoon washing the Camaro, packing and taking a short nap, thanks to a rerun of the old TV show Death Valley Days.

Tuesday morning found Thad leaving town by nine. He arrived at his house at 4:30. He called Kate at five, while he was unpacking. He assured her that he was fine, neglecting to mention that he still had a bit of a headache and a few bruises. He admitted to himself that he didn’t recover from his wrecks as quickly as he used to.

Thad had thoroughly enjoyed his time in Indiana, but it was great to be back home. Nothing much had changed in the past few weeks. He figured that Arley and Louise would fill him in when he came over to their place for supper. What they missed would be covered by Darrell and Rollie on Wednesday for lunch. And Kate would probably want to talk about her work on Thursday when he picked her up.

By Wednesday evening, Thad was up to date on the local news. Arley talked about a murder in the next county. The killer got as far as Spartanburg before he was caught. Louise said that a local businessman, allegedly happily married, had run off with his secretary. They were last seen heading west to Asheville with the intention of going to the casino at Cherokee. But the would-be Romeo got cold feet and brought his soon to be ex-secretary back to the lake. Louise shook her head when she said the man’s wife forgave him and took him back. Oh, and this was at least the third time he had pulled a stunt like this.

Thursday’s lunch came and Thad asked Darrell and Rollie if they had heard about the murder and the wandering businessman. Rollie said the guy who was murdered had been sneaking around with another guy’s wife. The jilted husband found the guy and shot him with his wife as a terrified witness. They agreed that the guy would do some time but would probably get out in a few years. Darrell had heard about the businessman, a local realtor. They all agreed that he had better change his ways before his wife decided to do something rash.

After those stories were told and re-told, they talked racing, or Darrell and Thad talked racing while Rollie began a conversation with the attractive lady who was tending bar. Yet again, Darrell said that he needed to come up there for a race sometime. Thad chuckled. Darrell had been telling him that since Thad had decided to take the plunge and go racing in Indiana.

On Friday morning Thad was up bright and early to pick up Kate at 7:30. Once they reached I-40 west, the traffic was no trouble. Thad and the Camaro were as one, Kate noticed. He weaved around traffic smoothly, yet cautiously, always alert to any ill-considered moves by the few other vehicles on the road. Lunch was at a Cracker Barrel in Richmond, Kentucky. They arrived at Thad’s apartment a little past four.

Later that evening, Thad and Kate sat on the balcony of his apartment. It had been a long day and now both were relaxing as they watched the sun disappear behind the gentle hills to the west of the apartment complex. What little talking they had done was idle chatter—until Kate began asking questions about Thad’s racing.

They were talking about a silly public service ad that had made the rounds in the Charlotte TV market in which a NASCAR driver was run off the road by an elderly female. It was supposed to be about safe driving, but Thad had his doubts about how effective such a silly premise would be in fighting unsafe driving on the roads.

Kate looked at him. "Did you ever do anything like that?"

Thad chuckled, then became serious. "Only a few times. I did some TV spots for Arley and his restaurants. And no, I didn't ever wear a chicken outfit. Thankfully, Arley never asked me." He chuckled again.

Then Kate asked, "Did you ever try and wreck someone?"

Thad was surprised but appreciative that she was asking questions. So he answered, "Wreck? I wouldn't say that but I did bump a few guys. That was only on the shorter tracks like Martinsville or Bristol." As he finished, an SUV flew by the balcony with an unmarked Indiana State Police car in hot pursuit.

Kate shook her head. "Wow," she said. "Talk about racing and see what happens."

Thad laughed and looked at Kate, "Welcome to Indiana. And remember, in many ways here, you are still in the South."

"Yes, I've done some reading about that. Fact is, the state was settled from the south up so it makes some sense."

"It's known for its corn production and racing of most all types. There's still some manufacturing here, but nothing like it used to be, according to Sparky."

"Sparky? The guy from your childhood?"

"Sure, Gideon Elijah Sparks from Scottsburg. We passed the exit not long before we got to Seymour.”

"Any other characters I'll get to meet?"

Thad laughed. "There's the rest of the team, Farrell and Tyrus. They do everything with the car except drive it. They can be funny but when it's go time, they are ready. And I’m sure they will be perfect gentlemen...until something bad goes wrong. "

Thad was quiet for a moment, then said, “Seriously, you will like them. They both seem to be laid back and easy going, but believe me, both are quite competitive. They have been very patient with me when I’ve screwed up. They are honest. If I messed up they gently let me know. But on those very rare occasions when they messed up, they are quick to own it.”

Kate had one more question. “How do you get along with the fans?”

“Pretty good. Many know of me through NASCAR, and that’s all. But there’s quite a few hard-core sprint car fans who had the “show me” attitude. They might have thought I’d be doing this as a lark. I like to think I’ve changed a few minds. I haven’t heard any boos yet, but I’m sure they will come if they haven’t already.

“One more question and I have to turn in for the night. What’s the plan tomorrow?”

Thad chuckled. “I hope you didn’t plan on taking it easy. We’re leaving for Lawrenceburg early tomorrow afternoon. It’s a good place for your education to begin.”

 

 

 

Chapter 50: Winning the Hard Way
Thad woke up on Sunday morning and at first he wasn’t sure where he was. But then he
remembered. He was in a motel in Marion, Indiana, not far from Kokomo. And he heard a
vibrating sound on the counter. The clock said it was 9:30 and the sound was the phone. Thad
reached for it too late. Kate had just called and he had missed the call. Thad got up and called
her back.
K: I saw where you were rained out last night.
T: Yes, it’s a fact of life here, I’m told.
K: So are you home or are you going to Kokomo tonight?
T: Kate, I am truly impressed. You’ve been doing some homework, I see. We’re in Marion and
yes, we are going to Kokomo tonight.
K: I’ve even been keeping track of your results. Let me see. Third at Gas City and...at Kokomo
last month you won a heat race and had a flat tire after running well.
T: Wow. I think I have a keeper.
Both laughed as both pondered that thought.
K: Well, thank you Thad. I’m fairly sure that’s a compliment.
T: It sure is. One of these nights I would love to get my first win. I’ve come close a few times,
but...
K: Oh, I’m sure you will, my dear. That bad luck can’t last forever.
T: I do believe that. (He turned serious for a moment.) I remember hearing or reading that, at
least on this earth, nothing lasts forever.
K: If you are speaking of things tangible, I agree. But like I read and heard in the play Our Town,
there’s something eternal about human beings. I’m inclined to agree with that.
T: Me too. (Brief pause) This is pretty heavy stuff for me so soon after I woke up.
K: Same here. Well, I gambled that you would be getting up soon. So I called.
T: You are the prettiest alarm clock I’ve ever had.
Kate laughed. “Thank you very much. Tell the guys I said hello and I look forward to meeting
them soon.”
T: I’ll do that Kate. Thanks for calling. I’ll try and get that win for you tonight.
K: That would be great. Well. Bye for now.
T: Bye, Kate.
Later that afternoon Thad and company sat behind the hauler engaging in idle chatter. Thad
was having encounters with everyone from fans to competitors more often and the trio talked
about that. Tyrus said that he was hearing that people liked him, Thad, but he seemed
standoffish. This made Thad and Farrell laugh. You say that like it’s a bad thing, Thad said.
Tyrus protested, saying that the fans and others didn’t know him like he and Farrell did. Farrell
said not to worry. When Kate arrived, the women especially would leave him alone. That
reminded Thad he had to get up in the morning and go to Brevard and pick up Kate. He
dreaded getting up rather early on Monday morning, but looked forward to seeing Kate. It had
been too long.
It turned out to be quite the night for Thad. The car felt good and Thad was the quickest qualifier
in his group. He started fourth in his heat and won going away. Then he hitched a ride with
Jerald on his four-wheeler to the start/finish line. Waiting to do a brief interview with Thad was
announcer Rob Goodman. When Rob introduced That to the crowd, the cheers were loud. To
his credit, Rob didn’t mention that Thad was a former NASCAR driver. Instead he asked how
Thad was liking sprint car racing in the Hoosier state. Thad said that he loved it. The tracks, the
fans and the pork chop sandwiches. That got a roar of laughter from the crowd. Rob, after the
laughter died down, had a young fan pick a number out of a bowl to be determined Thad’s
starting spot in the feature. The six-year-old girl drew a six, the highest number available. Thad
put his hands on his hips and pretended to be upset with the girl, getting another laugh.
The girl made him think of his own daughter Nora. A moment of sadness overtook him but only
for a moment. Thad was able to compartmentalize with the best and turned his thoughts to the
upcoming 25-lap feature. He felt as comfortable as he had ever felt in a sprint car up to this
point. Jerald Jarvis took the early lead but Thad was coming on from his sixth starting spot. He
caught Jerald in just ten laps. From there they engaged in a spirited battle for the lead. Both
threw slide jobs at each other for at least five laps. Thad gave as good as he got. Finally, Thad
began to extend his lead. He crossed the finish line a full ten car lengths ahead of Jerald,
scoring his first sprint car feature win. That was the good news.
The bad news was that Thad’s right rear tire ran over a sharp object left at the finish line by
another car. As flagman Brian Hodde waved the checkered at Thad, the car veered sharply to
the right, smacking the wall almost head-on. Then it began a series of frightful flips,
end-over-end, finally stopping near the pit entrance, a heaping pile of mostly scrap metal.
Thankfully, there was no fire, just a ruined race car and a driver who would escape with some
sore muscles and bones along with an aching head.
Emergency personnel, rival team members and Farrell all converged on the remains of the car.
Thad was pretty sure he lost consciousness for a minute or so, though he would never know for
sure. When Farrell was sure that his driver was okay, more or less, a track worker steered him
to victory lane, where Rob Goodman awaited. Normally Rob would interview the driver but since
that wasn’t happening, Farrell filled in and had the pleasure of telling the fans that Thad was
awake, but a bit groggy. At this the crowd roared.
Thad was “encouraged” to take the ride to Howard County Hospital. Farrell rode with him while
Tyrus, with help from some competitors, loaded the car into the hauler as best they could. This
took a while; as a result, Tyrus arrived at the hospital in time to help Thad get in the hauler after
his obligatory wheelchair ride.

 

 

Chapter 49: All Things Are Possible in May
Thad, Farrell and Tyrus sat down on Monday evening surrounded by pizzas and an assortment
of drinks. All had their phones with calendars on their screens, planning May’s schedule. Thad
would be going to North Carolina to check on his house and pick up Kate in the midpoint of the
month.
Thad and company found themselves at Bloomington on the first Friday in May. Threatening
weather held the crowd down. The car count was a meager (for Indiana) 19 cars. Thad started
sixth on a lightning-fast track and finished fourth despite an ill-handling car. The feature was
over at half past nine. Farrell joked at the car wash that it took longer to wash the car than it
took to run the feature and he was correct as the 25-lap race was caution-free.
The car count was somewhat better at Lawrenceburg on Saturday. If the track reminded Thad of
any NASCAR track, it would be Bristol, where Thad had always run well. Again he started the
feature sixth, but he worked his way to the front quickly. Pole sitter Lloyd Case had things going
his way until his car quit on him under a late race caution. This put his rival Sam Wolcott in the
lead with Thad second. Try as he might, Thad could not pass Wolcott, already a veteran at age
23.
Thad and Farrell decided to take Sunday off, even though Kokomo was racing. Tyrus went to
Kokomo, either to help a team or check out the 50/50 girl. Tyrus helped Cosmo and team to
victory, but struck out with the 50/50 girl, who had neglected to tell him that she was married.
Thad either talked or texted with Kate every day except Tuesday. Her last class would be ten
days before Memorial Day. Thad’s plan was to go back home on Tuesday. While there he would
check on his house and the Corvette. He promised Arley and Louise that he would visit one day.
Naturally there would be lunch with Rollie and Darrell. The visit would conclude by picking up
Kate and heading back to Indiana on Thursday.
With that settled there was still plenty of racing until then. The second Friday of that May found
Thad, Farrell and Tyrus at Gas City. Rhonda made the trip north. Thad told Farrell that he was
tired of paying the bills, making reservations and dealing with the suppliers. Would Rhonda be
interested in taking the job? She would if she could take in one trip per weekend. Thad took a
vote and Farrell was outnumbered amidst lots of teasing by Thad and Tyrus.
After pulling into the Gas City pits, Thad found Wilbur Calloway and they spent a few minutes
telling stories. The usual routine ensued and Thad joined his group to qualify. He had just taken
the green flag when the engine began to sputter as he came out of turn two. It sounded sick so
Thad cut the power. Coasting to a stop, one of the push trucks escorted Thad and car to the
pits. It was the first mechanical problem he had experienced all year.
Farrell and Tyrus looked over the engine and quickly found a spark plug wire that had come off.
Problem solved, but Thad would start last in a nine-car heat race. To transfer to the feature, he
would need to finish fifth. After the lineup sheet was posted, he looked at his heat race lineup
and groaned. This would be tough. Sure enough, Thad finished sixth in his heat. At least he
started on the front row of the B and went on to win it by nearly a half lap.
Thad started 16th in the feature. He moved forward under the radar because there was a terrific
three-way battle for the lead. While everyone’s attention was (deservedly) focused on the top
three, Thad entered the top ten by the time the yellow lights blinked for a spin on the 12th lap.
The announcer didn’t mention Thad, but a few fans noticed. The green flag waved and Thad
resumed his march toward the front. Things settled down as Jerald Jarvis took command up
front. But Thad was getting noticed now and he entered the top five with five laps to go.
He wasn’t going to win but Thad finished third after starting so far back. He rolled into the pit
area with a big smile on his face. Farrell and Tyrus were beside themselves. In his two visits to
Gas City, Thad had finished second and third.
Staying all night at Marion, Indiana, the little caravan made their way to Lincoln Park on
Saturday night. More than once Thad was teased about the billboards. “Don’t hit them tonight,
Thad.” They arrived early and debated unloading the car. Bad weather was in western
Indiana/eastern Illinois. They decided to wait a while before pulling the car out of the hauler.
The drivers’ meeting had just started when raindrops began to fall. At first the sprinkles weren’t
so bad. But the western sky was populated by some ominous looking clouds. When Thad got
back to the hauler, he saw that the car had been pushed back inside. He didn’t say anything to
Farrell or Tyrus. Instead he got out his phone and booked three rooms at the same motel in
Marion, then texted Rhonda to let her know. Just as he finished the sky opened up and rain
began falling at a terrific clip. This lasted for at least twenty minutes before easing up. Still the
rain continued, but at a slower rate. Then came the inevitable announcement that racing people
hate to hear: tonight’s races had been canceled.
Thad and company headed back to Marion to spend the night. Tomorrow afternoon they would
go back to Kokomo. Thad was getting frustrated in wanting his first sprint car victory.

 

Chapter 48: The Action Track

Rain had fallen in Terre Haute overnight. It stopped by ten o’clock, which was when Thad finished breakfast at the motel with Farrell and Cosmo. Thad asked his mates about the Terre Haute Action Track. Then he sat back and listened.

Cosmo said, “I love it and hate it at the same time. It’s fast, usually smooth, wide and that means there’s more than one groove.”

“So why do you hate it?”

Cosmo laughed and said, “The track is mostly flat but you might be surprised at the speed you can get. It can bite you—hard.”

Farrell added, “I’ve seen careers ended there and more than one guy injured for life.” He squinted at Thad, “What do you think?”

Thad shrugged. “I think I’ll be careful but not let the track get the best of me.”

Farrell said, “Okay. I know you aren’t fazed by sheer speed. Just respect the place. I’ve been a part of victory lane celebrations five times. I’d love to make it six.”

Cosmo spoke as he got up from his chair. “Remember, Farrell, two of those was with me.”

Farrell laughed and said, “How could I forget?”

Thad drew a high number, which meant he would qualify on a track surface that had slowed down somewhat since time trials began. He was 24th of the 36 cars that qualified and his time put him on the front row of his heat. Thanks to a few adjustments by Farrell, Thad grabbed the lead at the start and held on to win his first heat race in a sprinter—with USACl. This also gave Thad the chance to be interviewed by the infield reporter, Suzanne Timmons.

S: Congratulations, Thad. Your first USAC heat race and it’s at the Action Track. Was it as easy as it looked?

T: Far from it. I kept waiting on somebody to catch me, but it didn’t happen.

S: How was the track?

T: It was okay. It hadn’t changed much since qualifying, plus Farrell Hutchinson made a few changes. I like this place so far.

S: There you have it, race fans. Thad Larrabee, NASCAR racer turned sprint car racer. Give him some applause!

And so they did.

Between his heat race and the feature, Thad had time to text Kate.

K: Way to go, Thad!! I’m so happy for you. Another milestone.

T: Thanks, Kate. Now we get to prepare for the feature. Another animal completely.

To show that she was learning, Kate asked, “Do you think the track will change much by feature time?”

Thad answered, “Only if they work on it before the feature. Farrell said that’s not the case as a rule. It’s held up fairly well.”

K: Where are you starting in the feature?

T: I’m not sure, but I think winning the heat helps me a lot. My guess is eighth or so.

As it turned out, Thad started seventh. He was holding his own and advanced to fifth when disaster struck. Two lapped cars tangled right in front of the leaders, who were in a tight pack. Three cars flipped with one of them clearing the wall. Thad was hit by one of the flipping cars, hard enough to end his race. There were no immediate injuries.

Thad rode with the wrecker driver back to the pits, a dejected look on his face. Farrell took a look at the car and shook his head. It would take a day or two to fix this thing, assuming everything went smoothly.

Tyrus and Farrell decided to take the long trip to North Vernon after the race. Thad stayed another night in the motel and took his time heading to the apartment on Monday.

He considered his schedule. Soon it would be May. Thad was about to find out that, when Hoosiers talked about The Race, they didn’t mean any race in Florida or anywhere else.





 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Backmarker

The backmarker was somewhat apprehensive as another Saturday night approached. But he had high hopes of having some fun and maybe even recoup a part of his investment. Such is the lot of the backmarker.

His pit crew would be the usual–his buddy that he worked with at the factory and his girlfriend who was a hair stylist when she wasn't waiting tables at the local lodge. His buddy knew enough about 410 engines, especially the backmarker's well used Foxco that was reliable and as strong as a good used engine could be.

Looking around the pits, the Backmarker guessed that there were about 25 sprints in the pits. The number alone told him that he had a good chance to make the feature, even if he had to race in the B main.

Presently, his mechanic and girlfriend pushed the car to the staging area for hot laps. The Backmarker waited patiently as his turn at hot laps/qualifying approached. Finally, it was his turn to check out the car, then take three fast laps and hope he wasn't the slowest of the eight other cars on the track.

Back to the pits went the Backmarker to make sure everything on the car was race ready while the Girlfriend scraped the mud off the nerf bars and other places that had collected mud. She didn't have to worry about anything covering a sponsor's name because they didn't have a sponsor. The team scraped by as best they could, buying used parts and sometimes accepting used tires from better funded teams.

The Backmarker had noticed with some amusement a hierarchy of sorts within the sprint car teams. It may have been his imagination but it seemed like the teams that were the beneficiaries of more money tended to associate with each other more than they did with the low buck guys like him. When he mentioned that to his Girlfriend she laughed and said that he wasn't the friendliest guy in the world, so what did he expect? He had to laugh at that. There was probably a lot of truth in her observation.

She went to the bulletin board to see where he was starting in his heat race. It was a pleasant surprise for them to see that he was starting fifth, inside third row of the third heat. The Backmarker permitted himself a small smile. He looked at the picture of the lineup on his Girlfriend's phone. If things went well, he should finish fifth at the worst. He had outrun those behind him in the past and he should be able to do it again.

After what always seemed like an interminable wait, it was time for the Backmarker to go to the staging area. One of the other teams waved away the Mechanic and Girlfriend so he could push the car with his four-wheeler. Occasionally other teams would do this for the little team with few resources. The Backmarker thought about buying one of those things but it seemed to him that his meager finances needed to be directed toward the car.

The field took the green flag and the Backmarker decided to stick with the bottom groove for the first half of the race until the field would spread out. His plan worked like a charm and he was able to pass the pole sitter who had steadily dropped back through the pack.

Running fourth and locked in for the feature, disaster struck the Backmarker when another backmarker spun as he was being lapped. The Backmarker had nowhere to go and plowed into the car parked the middle of turn two. He said a few nasty words to his competitor, who couldn't hear him. It was just as well.

The Backmarker caught a break in that it didn't appear the car was badly damaged and he would be able to restart. The trouble was that he was in seventh place and there were only two laps to go. In other words, he would be going to the dreaded B main.

Back in the pits the team looked over the car to see if everything was in its place and nothing was bent or broken. The Mechanic speculated that they would be starting in the middle of the B main, which would have about nine or ten cars. While the final support class was running its heats, the Girlfriend went to check the B main lineup. They were on the outside of row three.

The Backmarker said to himself, no way do I lose this race. He was right; he took the lead on the fourth lap and checked out, winning by a half straightaway. He would start 16th in the feature.

Other than adding fuel to the tank, there wasn't much for the tiny team to do before the feature. It was just as well; there was only one other B main and it was an all-green event.

Once again, another team pushed the Backmarker to the staging area. Once again the Backmarker thought about buying a four-wheeler. One of these days…he thought.

As he circled the track before the field began to line up the Backmarker told himself that he wanted a top ten finish. Anything better than that would be the icing. He looked around at the cars in his vicinity. There were a few guys he had outrun in the past. He could do it again.

The green flag waved and the field of twenty barrelled into the first turn. Someone near the front spun (quite possibly with a little help) and confusion reigned for a moment. The Backmarker eased over the banking and missed the mayhem. He knew that he was lucky there.

The field lined up for a complete restart. The Backmarker was pleased to now beginning the race in the seventh row. When the race began again he held his position, watching the cars ahead of him.

As the flagman showed the field the crossed flags the Backmarker passed an ill-handling beast and entered the top ten. He had no idea but he knew that the track was a good fit for the car's setup –or was it the other way around?

Whatever it was, the Backmarker matched his best finish with a seventh. His smile was wide as the Mechanic told him where he had finished. No matter that the money might buy two tires (as long as only one of them was a right rear). The little team that could would be able to load the car on the open trailer and maybe grab a pizza on the way home.


 

 

Chapter 47: Reading Billboards
 

It wasn’t even May yet and the weather was hot and humid, Indiana style. Thad and company
were headed to the Lincoln Park Speedway, midway between Indianapolis and Terre Haute,
where they would be the next day, a Sunday late afternoon show.
Sometimes Thad felt a little guilty because it seemed like Farrell and Tyrus had it tougher than
he did. He mentioned this to them one day and Farrell explained that first, Thad was paying
them well to do what they did. Second, he and Tyrus both enjoyed their work and Thad was a
great boss to work for. At that point Tyrus spoke up and said that besides, if Thad helped, he
and Farrell would just have to do it all over again. Thad laughed so loud the people in the next
pit wondered what was so funny.
With this in mind, while Farrell and Tyrus unloaded the car and equipment, Thad tried to call
Kate. With Lincoln Park not near any towers or satellites, he was having trouble making the
connection. Instead, Thad texted her, “Greetings from Lincoln Park Speedway, somewhere
between Indy and Terre Haute. Phone service isn’t the best. I’ll try later. We’re staying near here
tonight and going to Terre Haute tomorrow night. Hugs.”
After the drivers’ meeting, Thad and Farrell walked to the turn three entrance to look the track
over. Farrell said, Remember one thing. If you get close enough to read any of these billboards,
you’re in trouble.”
Thad laughed. “I’ll try and keep that in mind.”
“The track’s a lot smoother than it used to be, for the most part. By feature time it should be
fairly slick. Sometimes the only way to pass is with a slide job. Sometimes two good grooves
form. When that happens, there’s lots of passing.” Farrell paused. “Oh, a lot of times, you can
even pass in the heats. The track’s pretty wide most all the way around.” Farrell pointed toward
turn one. “Be careful over there. That drop-off is about as bad as Bloomington.”
Thad listened to every word. He considered that he was lucky that Farrell was available for hire.
It was true of Tyris, too. Tyrus, he had noticed, hung on Farrell’s every word. Someone was
going to be lucky someday if they hired Tyrus.
The three-man team got ready for some wheel-packing. First, Thad checked his text messages.
Sure enough, Kate had answered. “Hi, Thad. Lovely weather down here. Not much going on,
unless you count sitting on the balcony drinking a Long Island tea.”
Thad read that and shook his head. Here he was sweating like a pig when he could be on that
balcony. He mumbled to himself. “Who are you kidding, buddy boy? You love this just a little bit
more.” He smiled as he climbed into the cockpit and put on his headgear.
There was little drama through time trials and heat races. Thad started eleventh in the feature.
He was working his way to the front until lap 16 when he was crowded enough going into turn
three. Later, Farrell said that he couldn’t figure out how Thad kept the car from flipping. Thad
slid over the banking and for a moment looked like he was headed for the billboards. The car
stopped next to one, close enough for Thad to read “You Crash. We Flash. Billingsley’s Wrecker
Service, Reelsville, Indiana.”
Thad looked at the large wooden posts holding up the signs and breathed a sigh of relief. He
guessed that many a racer had encountered those posts over the years with the posts winning
every time. He restarted and was able to salvage tenth place at the end.
The team loaded their stuff after the race; none of them had much to say. Thad spoke to Farrell
just before they got in the hauler to head west. “Well, Farrell, you were right again.” Tyrus
chuckled.
“What do you mean?”
“The billboards. I read the one with the wrecker service. Those posts...”
Farrell grinned. “Just be glad that’s as close as you came.”
Thad had driven the Camaro on this trip, partly for the solitude and partly so he could call
Kate—unless she called first, which she did.
After exchanging hellos, Kate asked the inevitable. “How did you do tonight?”
T: Started eleventh in the feature, worked my way to about fifth with ten laps to go. I’m pretty
sure it was a lapped car that forced me over the banking in turn three. I nearly flipped, but I slid
up to one of the billboards at that end of the track. I didn’t hit anything and restarted. Ended up
tenth, I think.
K: One of these nights...
T: Yeah. The Eagles’ song from long ago.
K: Unofficially, I have 20 calendar days until I’m done for the summer.
T: I had 22 days. I like your count better.
K: I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to get up there.
T: Oh. Dummy here had not thought of that yet. There are two options for sure. Either I’ll buy
you a ticket and you can fly to Indy or I can come and get you in the Camaro.
K: Flying would be quicker, but more expensive. Oh Thad, I don’t know. I keep hearing about
people behaving like jackasses on planes these days. But that’s a long drive for you.
T: From North Vernon, it would be seven hours, assuming there are no hiccups. Pick you up one
day and go back the next. I’d want to make it early in the week if possible.
K: That would be no problem here. Well, either way is fine with me.
T: Okay, I’ll go with the driving part. Besides, I haven’t been down there in a month. Seems like
longer.
K: No big changes. I heard that the road construction on I-26 is done.
T: That’s a big plus. How about 64? That stretch between Bat Cave and Edneyville?
K: I’ll have to check on that. I haven’t been any farther than Hendersonville.
T: Okay. No big deal. (Looked at the Terre Haute exit on I-70.) Well, Kate. Here’s the exit and I
can see our motel. Going to sleep tonight and race tomorrow evening.
K: Good luck and be careful.
T: Will do. Goes for you, too, babe.
K: Okay. Good night.
T: Night

 

 

Chapter 46: Surprise in Gas City

 

After a lazy Monday, Thad read a text message from Farrell saying, “What do you think about us going to Gas City this coming Friday? A long drive and a tough track to figure out, but it’s a nice place to race.”

 Thad answered immediately. “I’m all for it but I have no idea where it is.”

 Farrell came back with “No problem, bud. I’ve been there a few times. East of Kokomo, just off I-69.”

 On Tuesday evening, Thad called Kate. “How many more days?”

 Kate laughed and said, “A little over 30, I think.”

 T: Looking forward to it.

 K: I’ve been reading up on Indiana. 

 T: Oh? Some good and some not so good? Kind of like North Carolina.

 K: Exactly. Well, I hope to see the good.

 T: You will. I don’t expect you to become an instant race fan but I hope you enjoy the time up here.

 K: Hopefully it can be all summer.

 Thad laughed. “By Labor Day you may be begging to go back.”

 “Maybe.”

 Left unsaid was their status as a couple. Thad was content with it as it was. He wasn’t too sure about Kate’s thinking. Racing two or three times a week was agreeing with him. He hadn’t thought too far ahead. A long summer lay ahead and Thad was determined to make the most of it. 

 The three gypsies pulled into Gas City a little after four. Farrell and Tyrus drove into the pits and parked near the pit concession stand. Thad parked the Camaro in the parking lot and joined the others as Tyrus deftly drove the hauler into a spot closest to turn three. USAC was racing in Illinois this weekend, but this actually seemed to help the car count. Guys came out to race hoping to get some laps and maybe even make it to the feature. 

 While waiting for the driver’s meeting to start, Thad spotted a familiar face. It was Wilbur Calloway and what a story he had to tell. 

 Wilbur had held about any job that existed in racing over the 40-odd years he had been involved in racing, from NASCAR to the most unrefined bullring in America. He had risen to the lofty position of PR director at one of NASCAR’s most storied speedways. But Wilbur fell on hard times and had let the bottle get the best of him. He fell all the way to a homeless shelter in Richmond, Virginia until he finally accepted the fact that he was an alcoholic. After bottoming out, Wilbur had found a great place to work, namely the Gas City/I-69 Speedway. Here was where he found himself to be at peace, doing whatever needed to be done in helping run a small race track. He was the flag man and Wilbur also conducted the drivers’ meetings. He handled the PR part of the track, and helped the promoter with the scheduling. Through the week, Wilbur could be found at the track, watering the quarter mile oval, handling the concession stand items that were delivered, hosing down the bleachers and looking for sponsors, preferably local sponsors. 

 Wilbur, Thad learned, was making a fraction of the money he made when working at one of NASCAR’s Crown Jewels, but was loving it more. 

 Farrell filled in some gaps after the meeting. “Wilbur is a great guy and I love coming up here, and this is a great track. But beware. Once in a while, if you go into turn three just right, that left rear wheel can come up and over you go. This place ain’t banked like Bloomington, but it’s far from flat, closer to Kokomo when it comes to banking.”

 Thad walked with Farrell and Wilbur to the edge of turn four, near the staging area for the cars to enter the track. He saw the blackest, or darkest, dirt he could remember seeing. The surface looked smooth and inviting, but Thad knew how that could change. He took a picture of the front stretch and sent it to Kate with the caption: “Greetings from Gas City, IN. Wish you were here.” Just as he was preparing to get in the car, Thad’s text was answered. “Me too!

 Tyrus pushed Thad to the staging area for wheel packing. Thad joined the 28 other sprints in slowly circling the track, making it race -ready. Next was the group qualifying format. Thad was used to this by now and he made sure that he was behind a car that was at least as fast as his. This time he fell in behind Cosmo Novak, who was not running the full USAC schedule this year. Chasing Cosmo was a good plan as the duo were the two quickest in their group of seven. 

 Thad had few troubles with the track or the traffic in his heat as he finished second behind, who else, Cosmo. During the intermission he stood near the track as the surface was given some massaging while there was a dance contest at the start/finish line. The winners, thanks to Wilbur’s hard PR work, would get a free pizza from a local restaurant. 

 The redraw put Thad on the front row for the feature, his first start from there. Based on what he had seen in his heat race, Thad was happy to start up front. He jumped out to the lead with Cosmo and Jerald Jarvis not letting him get away. The race was caution plagued in its early stages. Each restart was a challenge for Thad, knowing who was behind him. But he handled each waving of the green with aplomb and built a small lead of about five car lengths. It was looking like Thad was finally going to win his first feature until he hit a bump in turn one, nearly flipping. He was able to land on all fours, but Cosmo had passed him while Jerald appeared next to Thad. As Cosmo went on to win, Thad held off Mr. Jarvis, a fan favorite, to take second place. 

 After the race, Farrell was about as excited as he ever got. Tyrus was beside himself. Thad coasted into their pit space and the two waited until he exited the car. Both began alternately hugging Thad and pounding him on the back. A few minutes later, Jerald came over and congratulated the runner-up. 

 Thad’s feelings were mixed. He was excited to finish well and, more importantly, show that he could race with the best. Cosmo and Jerald were both double digit USAC feature winners and both were as good as ever. But he was disappointed about finishing second. He wanted that first win bad and he didn’t get it tonight. 

 Ben, the promoter, came over and shook Thad’s hand. He was another guy who had knocked around racing at every level, but decided to tackle the promoting part of the sport. He reminded Thad that, if he kept running this strong, the wins would come. Thad thanked him and said he’d be happy if his first sprint car feature win would be at Gas City. Ben said that his secretary told him hello. Thad looked confused until Ben told him her name. She and Thad had been classmates in high school over thirty years ago. Her name then was Hayley Douglas. Thad laughed and said, yes, he remembered her well. They had two dates and Hayley had dumped him. Both men laughed, partly at the situation and the absurdities of life’s circles. 

 Thad and his two crew members loaded up for the ride back to North Vernon. He checked his phone and saw several text messages from various people he had made friends with, congratulating him on his good race. Among them was Kate, who had discovered indianaopenwheel.com. Thad answered her, saying, “Thanks, Kate. This was a pretty neat night. Wish I hadn’t hit that hump at the wrong angle. But I’ll take second behind Cosmo any day. Talk to you soon. Thad.”

 As Tyrus steered the hauler south on I-69, Thad had already put the disappointment of not winning behind him and was considering his next race. He hadn’t been to Lincoln Park yet and he would have to ask Farrell to once again describe a new track to him. He dozed off near Anderson and didn’t wake up until they were on I-74 to Greensburg. 

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Maybe Thomas Wolfe Was Wrong

 

Given that much about people and places do change, unlike Mr. Wolfe's observation, maybe one can go home again. None of this really mattered. What did matter was the fact that I was making a rare 2022 appearance at one of my other homes away from home. It was the edition of USAC's wildly successful Indiana Sprint Week at the jewel of southeast Indiana, the Lawrenceburg Speedway. It took me about two minutes to feel at home. Lots of familiar faces and cars plus a few new ones. I hope that Mr. Wolfe would understand.

 I would have mentioned the feature winner by now but the rain won, much to the chagrin of 'Burg promoter Dave Rudisell and the USAC brain trust. Again, promoters are among the few who are the true gamblers.

 Notable: Watching Mitchel Moles in person and on Floracing this year has caused to believe that this kid is a force to be reckoned with, no matter if he stays in the non-wing world or moves elsewhere.

 Max Adams and company were the group who did more with less. No visible sponsorship, plain trailer, nothing fancy with that small team, but he was tenth quickest qualifier and they had made the feature.

 Robert Ballou received the biggest crowd reaction as drivers were introduced for the third heat race. Most of the noise was a scattering of boos. Good racers often react to that by winning. This Ballou did, going from fourth to first as the field barrelled into turn one and checking out.

 Based on what I've seen so far (granted I've not watched every lap of every race this year), it appears that Alex Banales is the most improved racer so far in 2022.

 The C main pole sitter showed us how competitive Indiana Sprint Week is. Gas City winner Shane Cottle qualified deep in the 42-car field, starting eighth in his heat. He didn't transfer to the big show and found himself in the C, in which he finished second. Tagging the B, the seasoned veteran couldn't quite get to the top six.

 With rain approaching, it must be some kind of law that decrees there will be at least one red flag to slow the program. Xavier Doney, who had outrun Cottle to win the C, flipped near the end of the B. The Missouri rookie walked away.

 The cars were on the track for the feature at 8:15 after the night's festivities had started early. As this was going on, occasional raindrops began to fall. The sprinkles became drizzle. I could have endured that but a bolt of lightning persuaded me to retreat to the space under the grandstands. Meanwhile, the cars exited the track and the waiting began. The hope was that the rain would stop and the feature, with Jake Swanson on the pole, could be run.

 But after an hour of waiting it out, the plug was pulled and the exodus began with most of the race teams headed northwest on I-74 to Indianapolis, hoping for better weather at the Circle City Raceway on Monday night.

 Taking the southern route home (U.S. 50 most of the way), it rained most of the way home with the occasional light show.

 I'm not sure when my next race is but I hope the rain doesn't follow me there. I'd rather read a Thomas Wolfe novel on vacation instead of a rain delay.

 Watching TV for 187 minutes straight, I'm…

 Danny Burton

 

 

 

Chapter 45: GYATK

 Doyle Shoemaker looked like an aging cowboy. In fact, in his younger days, he was a cowboy in Texas. But he settled down and met a Hoosier native named Sally. He followed Sally all the way to Indiana. By then his cowboy days were behind him and he found himself at the Kokomo Speedway, meeting his future in-laws and catching the sprint car racing bug something bad. 

 The years passed and Doyle had driven sprints for a while, until he figured out he was a better mechanic than driver. Along the way, Doyle found Jesus and our Lord settled him down some more to the point where Doyle earned a degree in Theology at a nearby college. He couldn’t see himself as a pastor, but he still had the calling to serve. 

 A chance encounter one night at Kokomo resulted in Doyle becoming the track chaplain. Here was his happy place. Doyle put his mechanical and pastoral skills to work at Kokomo, becoming an important part of the team of track workers. Soon he found himself serving as chaplain at three different tracks, filling up his weekend list of things to do. In the meantime, he and Sally became parents to three children with one of them following in Doyle’s footsteps and the other two taking up teaching as had their mother. 

 Doyle was a big, friendly guy. He had brought to Indiana his cowboy hat, which made him stand out even more than the cowboy boots he still wore. His was a perpetually smiling face that could turn stern and forbidding when needed. One of his “jobs” was to say hello to all the race teams as they arrived in the pits. 

 One afternoon he noticed a new team pulling into the pits and parking in the back row. Doyle watched carefully to see if he recognized any of the three men who exited the tractor-trailer. There was Farrell Hutchinson and that made Doyle smile. He knew the younger fellow with Farrell but couldn’t remember his name. Then Doyle saw the third guy. Average build, fiftyish, and thinning, mostly gray hair. Doyle’s eyes narrowed. That had to be the NASCAR driver he had heard about. That had to be Thad Larrabee. 

 Doyle made his way to where the Larrabee team was parked--and made himself a new friend. He had heard about Thad’s quixotic adventure of racing sprint cars in Indiana this year and he had also heard that Thad was a quiet, but friendly, man. The two men chatted for a few minutes until it was time to do some wheel packing. 

 After the first couple of green flag laps, Thad knew he loved this track. It had wide and sweeping turns, not banked as much as Bloomington or Lawrenceburg, but one could get around this place pretty good. As had the other Hoosier bullrings, Kokomo had adopted group qualifying. Thad was in the fourth group and was second fastest, very impressive according to the announcer and everyone else. He had adapted to dirt track racing quickly and was learning to pitch the back end of the car out and sail through the turns. Thad loved the feeling of being on the edge of disaster, turning the front wheels right as he went into the turns. 

 Doyle sat with Farrell during hot laps/qualifying and when Thad’s group was done, the two men looked at each other. 

 “Farrell, are you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”

 “What’s that?”

 “If this guy had been born a Hoosier, he would have dominated here and probably everywhere else as well.”

 "You’re right, Doyle. I had my doubts at first, but he took to Lawrenceburg like it was no big deal. He’s not very mechanical at all. He just gets in the car and finds a way to make it go fast if it’s off a little.”

 “Should be fun to watch this year.”

 Farrell grunted. “Yeah, and the worst of it is…he’s a really nice guy. Quiet. Hardly ever talks about NASCAR stuff unless you ask. I don’t think he’s mentioned his late wife more than once. But sometimes I’ll catch him just staring off into space with a sad look. So I’m sure he misses her.”

 “I’m sure you’re right.” Doyle started to walk from the pits to the press box. But first he said, “Farrell, good luck tonight.”

 “Thanks, Doyle. Good to see you.”

 Thad started third in his heat and simply checked out from the rest of the field. He won by a straightaway and could hear the crowd’s cheers as he exited the track. After accepting the congratulations from Farrell, Tyrus and other teams and individuals, Thad remembered that he should tell Kate. 

 T: Kate! I did it. Finally won a race. True, it was just a ten-lap heat race but I won. Finally. 

 Kokomo, like the others, had a redraw in which the top two finishers of each heat would draw for their starting spot in the feature. This involved the drivers coming to the start/finish line in front of the flagstand. Fans had the chance to see the drivers up close. Some didn’t recognize the older driver who looked more like a bum in a driver’s suit. His hair was gray and shaggy and he had the beginnings of a scruffy beard. But when he was introduced as a former NASCAR driver, the bleachers gave out a healthy cheer. 

 The P.A. guy, Rob, had very brief interviews with each of the eight drivers. 

 Rob: Thad, you were a NASCAR stud, but now here you are at Indiana’s baddest bullring, getting ready to go at it with these guys. How does a many-time winner in NASCAR walk away from that and go sprint car racing, starting all over?

 T: It was time. I’d done all I was gonna do with the stock cars. My wife was sick and eventually passed away. Back in February my NASCAR car owner and friend Arley and I went to Florida to just watch some races. Well, a couple of those were USAC sprints and I was hooked. 

 Rob: We’re glad of it, Thad. Now, this young fellow is going to draw your starting position for you. 

 The seven-year-old boy reached in the bucket for a card. 

 Rob: And…. he draws a…five! Thad, you will start inside third row for the feature. How’s that?

 T: We’ll take it. I’m just glad to be in the redraw. 

 With that, Thad walked with one of his competitors back to the four-wheeler they had ridden and the young man gave Thad a ride back to where Farrell was talking with Sparky and Doyle. 

Thad thanked the kid, who was starting third, and joined the group. Sparky spoke first. 

 “How are you likin’ this deal now, buddy?”

 Thad smiled a grim smile. “I am starting to feel like I could win a feature, Sparky. It’s coming together, bit by bit.”

 “For sure it is.” Sparky looked toward his pit where Preston was applying tearoffs to his helmet. “Well, good luck, Thad. At the least, I hope you guys can load this thing on the trailer when the night’s over.”

 “Thanks, Sparky. Goes for you and Preston, too.”

 Sparky walked away and Thad looked at Doyle. “Known him long?”

 “Yes, about ten years. He comes up here when his schedule permits. It’s a bit of a haul for him, seeing that we race on Sundays.”

 “He sure does love it. Good thing, too.”

 At that, Farrell chuckled. “You could say he was ate up.”

 Doyle said, “That’s the scientific term.”

 They all laughed and all three turned to their next task, as if an unseen signal had been given. Doyle went to the press box. Farrell added fuel. Thad cleaned off his helmet and then climbed in after handing his helmet to Tyrus. 

 Ten minutes later, Thad and 19 other racers took the green flag for 25 laps of cut-and-slash racing. Thad had moved up to second by lap ten. The car felt good and he was happy to ride around the top, coming within a foot of the concrete. Just past the halfway point, the red flag waved when one of the cars spun in turn two and was hit by another car, which then flipped twice. All concerned were okay. But Thad was about to get sick. 

 While he sat in his car waiting for the yellow flag to wave and then get a push, one of the track workers came to him, waving his arms. Thad had a right rear tire going flat. He had run over some debris just before the red flag. Thad was more dejected than upset. He thought he had a chance to beat these guys. Maybe so, but it wouldn’t be on this night. 

 Rather than try to change the tire in a hurry, Thad parked it for the night. As he and Tyrus loaded up the car, a few people came over to commiserate with Thad. They told him it would be a matter of time before he won a feature either at Kokomo or somewhere else. They could not have been nicer. 

 Thad appreciated all that. It helped ease the sting somewhat. As Tyrus and Farrell left, Thad walked to the Camaro, texting Kate while he walked. Then she called and kept him awake with her plans to come to Indiana and join him. 

 

 

Chapter 44: The Rain Wins

 

The caravan left the southeastern town of North Vernon at 2:30. The forecast was warm and humid, not uncommon for this part of Indiana in April. But that included a 40% chance of showers. Farrell said that the rain, if it came, would arrive at Lawrenceburg around seven or so.

 

As Thad got into his car, his phone buzzed. It was Rodney Reynolds wanting to know if Thad and team were going to Lawrenceburg. Thad said yes, we are leaving now. Rodney mentioned the possible rain. Thad laughed and said, yeah, we know but we’re going to chance it, man. Rodney laughed and said he was going to chance it as well. He had past Lawrenceburg sprint champ Al Parker with him. Thad said, you guys aren’t going to drink any beer, are you? Rodney and Al were both laughing when Thad hung up. 

 

Thad was following Farrell and Tyrus and they were near the tiny town of Butlerville when Kate called with good news. 

 

T: Okay, Kate. What’s the good news?

 

K: To make a long story short, I’ll be done with my classes for the summer just as the Memorial Day weekend starts. In other words, no summer school. 

 

T: That’s great. 

 

Thad thought for a second and asked, “Does that mean you can come up here?”

 

K: It does. 

 

T: That’s really great. But I gotta warn you, Kate.

 

K: Of what?  (Said warily)

 

T: We may put you to work while you’re up here. Nothing serious. No heavy lifting. 

 

K: I think I’ll like that, Thad. (Pause) Where are you guys going tonight?

 

T: We’re going back to Lawrenceburg. There’s a 40% chance of rain but we’re betting that they will race. I hear from the guys that the promoter will make every effort to race if the weather lets him. 

 

K: Have you left yet?

 

T: Oh yes. We’re not quite halfway. This part of the state has lots of hills. Everything is so green. All kinds of vegetation. Roads that are as crooked as they are straight. Farm houses. Country churches. 

 

K: Sounds kind of familiar.

 

T: It does. And some of the people sound like they are from Carolina.

 

Kate laughed. “Well, I’ve heard that Indiana is a southern state in the north.”

 

T: There’s a lot of truth in that, both good and bad. 

 

Kate hesitated, then said, “Listen, I have to go now. One of my colleagues wants me to go to dinner with her. She wants to talk about her love life.”

 

T: Oh boy. Good luck. I assume you’ll be expected to give some wise advice?

 

K: Something like that.

 

T: Tell her if she’s going to get involved with a man, make sure he’s in Indiana. (For a moment, Thad thought that he should not have said that. But Kate laughed.)

 

K: Believe it or not, Thad, the involvement is with another woman. 

 

For a moment Thad was taken aback, but recovered quickly. 

 

T: So what? Still applies. 

 

Kate laughed as hard as Thad had ever heard her laugh. “Good one.”

 

T: Well, good luck. I’m sure you will be of some help to the lady.”

 

K: Thanks. You be careful, Thad. 

 

T: Will do. Bye.

 

K: Goodbye. 

 

Thad had no way of knowing that the conversation with Kate would be the highlight of his day. Skies around Lawrenceburg were cloudy. Rain was expected, so it was forecast, around nine o’clock. The drivers’ meeting was conducted and next on the schedule was last minute preparations before hot laps. 

 

But just as the first group of sprinters was to push off, sprinkles began. The cars stayed where they were—on the ramp that led to turn four. The sprinkles became a drizzle. All over the pits, the race cars that had haulers and not open trailers retreated to the relatively dry haulers. It didn’t rain hard, but it was enough to park everyone. Now the radar showed rain covering most of southeastern Indiana, stretching from North Vernon to Lawrenceburg into the greater Cincinnati area. 

 

By six forty-five P.M. it was clear that there would be no racing tonight at the ‘burg. Thad and company loaded up everything they had gotten out and headed to the local pizza place. To Thad, it wasn’t a total loss. The beer was cold and the pizza was decent. Farrell and Tyrus took some comfort in the free meal, plus the boss always paid them, rain or shine. 

 

As they sat back, enjoying another beer, they decided to give Kokomo a try tomorrow night.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 43: Thad Changes His Mind

Thad wasn't sure about his Hoosier friends, but he stayed inside his apartment on a chilly and rainy day April day. The TV offered baseball, basketball and old movies. At one time or another, Thad watched a bit of all three. The Cincinnati Reds won. So did the Indiana Pacers. Thad followed, more or less, the Atlanta Braves and the Charlotte Hornets in the two sports. He was a fan of Humphrey Bogart when it came to old movies. His plan to watch The Big Sleep was interupted by a phone call.

It was Kate. After the hellos, she asked what he was doing.

T: I was getting ready to watch a Bogart movie. But I found a better plan.

K: What was that?

T; Silly girl. It was you.

K: Oh, thank you.

They talked another half hour. Maybe it was Thad's imagination, but he detected a slight change in Kate's tone. Perhaps she was not thrilled with their lack of time in each other's company. Later that evening, the rain faded away to the east and Thad considered asking Kate if she wanted to come to Indiana and spend at least part of the summer with him. Then he wondered if that would work. It might work between races but how would she handle each racing weekend? Kate had no real interest in racing, unless one counted her interest in Thad. It gave Thad something to think about, but not for long.

Monday morning dawned clear and chilly. Thad was seldom bored but today it was his dominant mood. He called Farrell and confessed his boredom.

"Farrell, what do you think about going to Bloomington on Friday?"

"You're the boss. But I'm all for it."

Thad chuckled. "I thought you might be." There was a brief pause and then Thad said, "I was at Bloomington last year with Sparky, but I'm sure there's a lot I don't know about the place."

Farrell considered his response. "Well, it's a quarter mile oval and I do mean oval. The front and backstretch each have a slight curve so you are never going straight. It's high banked, even more than Lawrenceburg. The Non-wing sprint car record is somewhere in the ten second range (10.685 to be exact). You might remember it being narrow and tight, nothing like Lawrenceburg or any of the other ovals in Indiana. You can run two wide but I don't recommend three."

Farrell paused for a few seconds. Thad was about to speak, but Farrell spoke. "One more thing, Thad. That surface –you might feel like you're back in Carolina."

Thad had to laugh at that. "I'm not sure if I'll have time to enjoy it."

"Maybe not, but it's a pretty sight, the red clay and the green grass in the infield. The bleachers are built into the hillside. The track's been there nearly a hundred years but it's one fine facility." Another pause.

"What am I saying?" Farrell asked himself. "They are all nice facilities. Lawrenceburg may be the nicest –or not, but they are all great places to race or watch a race."

"Farrell, you talked me into it even after I had talked myself into it. Sounds like a challenge and that's what I'm after."

"I should mention those high banks and going over them. If you go over the banking at either end, you have a good chance of getting upside down and then some. At the south end, I've seen cars flip into the parking lot. One guy parked a brand new car by the fence after being told not to. A sprint car landed on the car's hood. At the other end, there's a ditch north of the track. If you flip out to the ditch, they say it's another zip code." Farrell paused and added dryly, "I wouldn't know but I wouldn't bet against it."

Thad grunted. "I'm concerned but I still have to try it. I remember a couple of guys going over the banking last year during Sprint Week. I hadn't heard the story about the car."

"Absolutely. If you're a racer at all, you gotta try it."

"You take care, Farrell. I'll see you Friday."

"Yeah. Hey Thad. I have a question."

"Go for it."

"Would it be okay if my wife Rhonda tags along? She will take care of the food issue. You might gain a pound."

Thad laughed. "Sure thing. Truth be told, I'm not much of a cook and I could stand to have something good for me."

"Thanks, Thad. As a rule, she doesn't care for going but once in a while she will ask. Besides, she loves Bloomington."

"I might love Bloomington too–I hope."

 

 

Chapter 42: A Long Ride Home

 

Farrell and Tyrus assisted with the equipment loading. Farrell joked with Thad, telling him to call his girlfriend. Thad was a little embarrassed and said he would text her.

 

T: Motoring down U. S. 50, letting my man Tyrus drive. We were able to load the car on the trailer, which is good. I finished tenth in the feature. Started tenth but was spun out on the first turn of the first lap. Restarted on the tail and made my way back to tenth. I learned a lot.

 

K: Congratulations! Sounds like a great debut. You've adapted to dirt pretty quick. (Slight pause) What's your plans for the coming week?

 

Kate hit "send" and regretted it. She thought it sounded nosy. But Thad either didn't notice or didn't mind.

 

T: I'm not sure but I think we'll go to Bloomington next Friday and either back to Lawrenceburg or go to Putnamville on Saturday.

 

K: I don't remember you mentioning Putnamville.

 

T: Not that I doubted it but you do pay attention. I haven't mentioned Putnamville. It's west of Indianapolis, I'm told, about 40 miles or so.

 

K: What are you going to do all week?

 

T: Good question. I recall you saying that I need to read more, so I will probably do some of that starting tomorrow. The county library isn't too far from the apartment I rented.

 

K: That's great, Thad. How about some Faulkner?

 

T: I read As I Lay Dying a long time ago, but I think I can find another of his. I knew some families like the Bundrens.

 

K: Sorry for all the questions. I seem like I'm nosy.

 

T: Ha, I doubt it. It's no problem.

 

K: I don't know about you, but it's getting close to me bedtime.

 

T: Already? Lol.

 

K: Well, I'm not the night owl that you are.

 

T: Okay but I was going to mention that I could call you when I get back and we're almost there.

 

K: Oh Thad. I'd like to but it is late. How about tomorrow?

 

T: That would be fine. Any special time?

 

K: Any time after 10 a.m. until midnight?

 

T: That will work lol. Sleep well my dear. Goodnight.

 

K: Good night.

 

The sprint car was washed and reloaded into the hauler. The trio of racers, Thad, Farrell and Tyrus exited the hauler after Tyrus maneuvered it into the garage. They talked a little while and agreed to wait until midweek before deciding whether or not to try Bloomington on the following Friday.

 

Thad was coming down from his post-race high. He was used to it after a successful race. The adrenaline would dissipate and exhaustion would soon follow. He said his thanks and goodbyes to Farrell and Tyrus and got into his Camaro. Being that it was April and Thad was in Indiana, it started to rain as soon as he drove away.

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: They Tried

 

Expectations that we'd see some pretty decent competition at the Gas City I-69 Speedway were high and were met. But soon after the B main commenced the drizzle that had been keeping the track wet and very racy forced officials to call a halt to the proceedings.

 

As my growing-like-a-weed traveling companion and I fought traffic, mostly on Indiana State Road 9, I was able to think about the quality of expectations. One expects Friday afternoon traffic to be a challenge and it was. One can count on gas being higher than has been seen and it was. My attitude was that I could either complain about it all or suck it up and head north. I tried not to faint when the $50 mark approached at the pump.

 

This was my second race of the year and that meant there were more friends to greet. They were an example of social media at its best. Several asked how my wife was doing (holding her own) and commented on how much my youngest grandson has grown (several inches).

 

My expectation that the competition would be exceptional was easily met. But I didn't think that Washington state's Chance Crum would be the quickest qualifier. His 12.087 lap was a flea's hair slower than Rico Abreu's 12.048 track record, set six years ago.

 

Heat race and other observations (brought to you by the Gas City/I-69 Speedway's concession crew):

 

The Keith Kunz Motorsports teammates don't race each other like teammates. No team orders here–unless it's to race hard and win.

 

Lincoln Park winner Jacob Denney made a last lap pass to win his heat. I think this kid is for real.

 

Denney was the only heat race winner to win from the second row on back.

 

Sometime between the end of midget heats and the beginning of sprint heats, we noticed a sprinkle or two. Awhile later I looked at the radar. It wasn't pretty.

 

All concerned hurried to get the show in. If you don't count two B mains and two features, they got it done.

 

Matt Westfall, Cole Bodine and Thomas Meseraull, doing double duty, won the sprint heats. Charles Davis Jr. took a nasty ride after the third heat began. He was able to walk away.

 

The sprinkles became a drizzle during the sprint heats. With all the traffic on the track, the guys could still race. But it was apparent that things weren't looking good as the midget B main lined up. Sure enough, while running under a caution the field exited the track. Soon after, the plug was pulled.

 

Despite the less than satisfactory ending, my expectations were met and my hopes were fulfilled, except for the rain. I saw and talked with a lot of special people who I've missed. I saw some typical Gas City cut-and-slash action. I had to cheer just a little to myself as veterans outran some fast kids–namely Jerry Coons Jr. and Matt Westfall. And most importantly, I had as a companion one of my most appreciated gifts–a kid who is no longer a kid anymore. He surprised quite a few people with his growth spurt. Had they been able to spend time with him they would have noticed a mature young man who is fairly knowledgeable about the cars and drivers, plus is delightful company. Why, he even kept me updated on the Warriors/Celtic game as I drove home in the rain.

 

I've no idea when I'll be able to make the hundred mile trip to this special place but hopefully it will be fairly soon.

 

Expecting to gather enough signatures to run for governor of Michigan, I'm…

 

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Why I Go (to Races)

 

There are a few reasons why I still go to races after all these years. One that doesn't get as much attention is the simple fact that I'm curious about what will happen. Racing at this level can't be anything but unpredictable. Tonight at the Tri-State Speedway, both the MSCS sprint feature and the curtain closing USAC midget affair reminded me why I go. Jason McDougal won a sprint feature after front row starters Kyle Cummins and Critter Malone had their issues. After that, Thomas Meseraull won the midget finale that had more than its share of controversy.

 

This was my first race in person this year and, as good as the whole show was on Sunday night, the time spent with my granddaughter had to be the highlight of the day. There's no shame in being beaten by a six-year-old at charades.

 

When I first entered the pits it seemed somewhat strange. It had been eight months since I had been to a race and it was here last October where I closed out my 2021 season. Little did I know that things were going to change rapidly. My wife's illness will keep me watching Floracing for much of this year as I cannot leave her alone for very long periods.

 

Arrangements were made and off we went to Vincennes before I motored down U.S. 41 to catch the third edition of Indiana Midget Week. The strangeness lasted maybe fifteen minutes and then I felt at home. There were lots of familiar faces and some new ones. People asked me how my wife is doing, which is well.

 

Before long it was time for time trials. No records were set; neither were there any surprises. Kyle Cummins set quick time for the sprints and Buddy Kofoid did the same for the midgets.

 

Each race has a turning point which can be right as the green flag is waved or at the checkered flag–or at any point in between. With the sprints, the turning point in the first heat was when Stan Beadle spun and collected Chase Stockon and Donnie Brackett. Stockon came back to transfer to the feature while Brackett had to run the B, where he found more adversity. Jason McDougal avoided all obstacles to win.

 

Leader Sam Scott flipped in the second heat and nearly involved Critter Malone and Carson Garrett. Disaster was somehow averted when Scott's fuel tank was completely torn off. Sam returned for the B. Critter won. His night would be dramatic much later.

 

Nothing dramatic about the third heat–until the end. As expected, Kyle Cummins won but coasted to a stop after the checkered with the car's rear end needing repair. For the local favorite this would be the harbinger of more bad news.

 

The fourth sprint heat proved that the Davis Brothers' team doesn't deal with team orders. As Emerson Axsom won, Brady Bacon passed teammate Kent Schmidt to take second. Kent runs most of the MSCS schedule while Brady secured a ride in a fourth car for the night after his Lawrenceburg misfortune.

 

The midget heats didn't have that much drama or any extraordinary turning points. The KKM cars took three of the four transfers in the first heat. Zach Daum recovered from having another car perched on top of his to transfer out of the second heat. He would have more excitement later.

In the third heat Kaylee Bryson came from eighth to have a transfer before she slipped back to sixth, one spot behind Ethan Mitchell, who had his own come from behind effort after spinning early.

 

The sprint B contained more craziness. A yellow flag for one incident caused another. The result was Charles Davis Jr. sitting on the car belonging to the luckless Donnie Brackett. Both had been in a position to make the feature; both were finished for the night.

 

The midget semi feature could be called–kindly–caution plagued. Ms. Jade Avedisian persevered to win.

 

Given that two of the strongest runners at Haubstadt were on the front row, one might think either of them would waltz to victory. Turned out that neither did. Before the first lap was completed Malone went high in turn four and fell back several positions. Fellow front row starter Cummins was nearly collected and he, too, slipped back, enabling McDougal to grab the lead and do a masterful job of darting through lapped traffic while winning. Cummins dropped out with the same problem that bedeviled him earlier. Malone recovered to take second ahead of Axsom and Stockon.

 

And finally, the midget feature was as wild as its predecessors. Meseraull grabbed and kept the lead but Buddy Kofoid hounded the locquacious fellow Californian most every lap. Earlier TMez had praised the track after his heat race win. The track was given its normal massaging before the feature, leaving it nothing like it had been before. Didn't matter to the guy up front. His rocket ship was up to the challenge and didn't care what shape the track was in.

 

The controversy reared its head late in the race. As Meseraull and Kofoid engaged in a slidefest, third place Justin Grant joined the party. After a restart, Kofoid and Grant banged wheels going into turn three. Kofoid car did a passable imitation of a basketball as he bounced into Grant, who flipped. As the field was lining up for another restart, Grant expressed his displeasure with the young man who has become his fiercest rival.

 

At the end, it was Meseraull prevailing with Kofoid second. Mitchell Moles was a quiet third. The best run that few saw was by Bryson, who came from last/22nd to take fourth. Cummins and Daum both recovered from early mishaps to take fifth and sixth.

 

As expected there were a few social media mavens who felt the need to weigh in. The wisest of the wise bemoaned the style adopted by racers these days. One interesting opinion is that today's cars are so much safer than ever before and, predictably, racers take more chances than the heroes of my youth (Bob Kinser, Dick Gaines, etc.). Also predictable, no one had a realistic solution to the situation. Smacking a teenager by a veteran is probably not a great plan.

 

All I know is that it was a good decision to make my first race be at Haubstadt.

 

It was an even better choice to play charades with my granddaughter–despite her whipping me.

 

Futilely reminding all about the law of supply and demand, I'm…

 

Danny Burton

 

 

Chapter 41: Uneven Debut
With the garage located in North Vernon, Thad found a house to rent. The team met at the
garage, on the outskirts of town, and left at two o’clock. Sparky and his team stopped by on their
way to Lawrenceburg. Pleasantries were exchanged and the mini-caravan occupied U.S. 50 all
the way to “da ‘burg.” Darla Sparks had brought enough sandwiches to feed ten people. Just as
they were getting ready to leave, Rodney appeared. He had brought plenty of drinks, including
beer for after the races. Sparky reminded Rodney to save a few brews for everyone and please
don’t drink it all. With a laugh, the group headed east.
Thad was a bit nervous, but in his mind, it was the “good” kind of nervousness. This was a
totally new experience for him in so many ways. Instead of driving his car, he rode in the hauler
with Tyrus driving and Farrell taking a nap in the back. The hauler held all the tools and both
cars, plus a four-wheeler to push the car to the staging area. It had very little advertising on the
trailer, just a small decal on the side saying “Tarheel Race Team.”
As they rolled into the Dearborn County Fairgrounds, Thad texted Kate, saying, “Hello from
Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Here we go.” Almost immediately the answer came, “Good luck. Hope
you stay safe, do well and have fun.” Kate added a heart emoji. Thad stared at his phone for a
few seconds, then turned toward Tyrus as they pulled up to the pit “shack.” Thad figured that
Tyrus or Farrell could be his guide for the evening. As they exited the tractor, Farrell woke up
and joined them as they bought pit passes. He had already taken care of whatever hoops that
USAC needed them to jump through. One of the USAC people stared at Thad, thinking that the
guy looked vaguely familiar. The long hair and beard caused him to doubt himself and he said
nothing. A colleague had noticed Thad’s name on a paper and knew who he was, but thankfully
kept quiet.
Trailed by Sparky and his team, Tyrus guided the hauler to the pits, parking close to the tiny
concession stand. Thad looked to his left and could only see the wall in turns three and four. He
had heard the track’s banking was steep, and now he really believed. Everyone exited the
hauler and began unloading the main car and some of the equipment. At Farrell’s suggestion,
Thad walked to the track entrance to get a look at a three-eighths high-banked dirt oval. If
anything, it reminded him of a smaller version of Bristol. Since his visit to Lawrenceburg last
summer, Thad could have sworn the track had gotten bigger somehow. He took one last look
and walked to his car. It was time to heat up the engine and Thad climbed into the seat, waited
to be pushed away from the trailer. Tyrus and the four-wheeler pushed Thad into a line of cars
waiting for a push truck. Thad’s turn came and he felt the bump that would soon become second
nature. The switch was flipped and the engine came to life. Thad idled down a designated lane,
then went back to his pit space.
Thad’s “secret” was out. At the USAC trailer on a big screen Thad’s name was among the list of
entrants, 37 in all. Try as he might to blend in among the others during the drivers’ meeting,
Thad with his mop of gray hair stood out from a group that was mostly under the age of 30. He

wasn’t bothered by the lack of attention. Later, when fans would invade the pits, he would not be
as fortunate.
The meeting concluded with a short prayer by one of the USAC workers and Thad ambled back
to his team, accompanied by Preston. Both friends would be in the second hot lap group. Thad
was scheduled to be the tenth qualifier.
He found himself on the road leading up the hill to the track. The group would get three green
flag laps. Thad’s car was pushed onto the track and now he could feel the banking coming out
of turn four. All cars, including his, were slowly circling the track. The flagman made sure that
they were evenly spaced before waving the green.
While the cars were spreading out, the USAC announcer introduced each driver. She said with
as much excitement she could muster, “Driving the mostly white number 95, sponsored by
Rory’s Pizza Place and by Arley Sebastian, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, it’s none other
than Thad Larrabee!” The crowd roared. Thad could hear most of the roar, but paid little
attention. He was more concerned with not screwing up.
Thad eased the throttle, gradually gaining speed. He planned to follow the car ahead of him as
best he could. That car, number 55, hugged the bottom groove in the turns and Thad was
content to do that for the first two laps. The white flag waved and he went into turn one just a
few feet from the wall. Coming out of turn two, Thad gunned it and was surprised to pull
alongside 55. He passed the car in turn three on the outside. As near as he could tell, there was
no other car behind him as the checkered and yellow flags waved.
The turn three exit at Lawrenceburg is tricky. Drivers who have figured it out head for the bottom
groove coming out of turn two in order to exit with little difficulty. Thad either didn’t know this or
forgot. He saw his mistake in time and quickly decided to make another lap and try again.
In the pits, Farrell was smiling. Thad noticed this and was instantly happy. Farrell said, “Nice job,
rookie. Fifth quick in a good group. Great beginning.”
“Thanks, Farrell. You guys had a little bit to do with it, too.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Farrell laughed at Thad. “Now, a couple of minor adjustments and you’ll be ready
to qualify. Did you have to fight the car? Too loose or tight?”
“I’ve no idea, Farrell. You know that.”
Farrell laughed a little louder and motioned to Tyrus. “Hey, kid. Check the air pressure for all four
here for the old man.”
Tyrus didn’t miss a beat. “Which one?”

Both Farrell and Thad laughed.
Twenty minutes later, Thad was in line to qualify. Just before he went out, Tyrus signaled him
that the earlier qualifiers had used the high groove. Thad nodded. He felt the bump and he
squeezed the throttle. By the time he reached turn one, he was close to full speed. Thad tried to
keep the car as straight as possible as he negotiated turn two. He came close to the wall
coming out of the turn, but didn’t let up on the throttle and screamed down the backstretch. With
a flick of the steering wheel, Thad set the car up to slide and glide through turn three, about
three feet from the wall. He used the banking to launch off turn four to the start/finish line. He
barely saw the white flag as he tried mightily to duplicate his first lap. Thad was on his way to
doing just that until he got a little sideways coming out of turn four. He didn’t spin; he recovered
enough to straighten the car as it approached the checkered flag. His second lap was slower
and wouldn’t count. But his first lap was tenth quickest.
With some free time before his heat, Thad found a lawn chair in the hauler and sat down. Farrell
came over and asked a question about the handling. He knew that he was speaking a different
kind of racing language than what Thad could understand. He also knew that Thad was the type
of racer who wasn’t fussy about setups and such. This had been shared with Farrell by Arley a
few days ago. Farrell told Thad what they had done to the car. Thad just smiled and said thanks.
He was starting outside second row of the second heat. He had brought out a thermos full of
decaf coffee. Thad was content to do some people watching. This made for a humorous
situation as several people walked by Team Tarheel’s outfit, trying not to stare at Thad. A brave
few said hello. Thad was unfailingly polite.
The second heat took a couple of laps to line up. Thad was in the middle of a nine-car field; this
would be his first laps at speed with other cars on the track. The eight other cars were complete
strangers. Thad knew about the invert, which meant the quickest cars in the lineup were
immediately behind him. The green flag waved and Thad immediately committed to the high
side. This was his first mistake. The track had changed enough to move the fast groove to the
bottom. Thad was passed by both third row cars and now he was two spots away from
transferring to the feature. And that was where he finished, sixth. His next race would be the
semi-feature. Twelve laps and he would be starting fourth.
It was an angry driver who pulled into Team Tarheel’s space after the second heat. Tyrus and
Farrell gave him plenty of room for a few minutes. Five minutes later, Farrell approached Thad,
who was sitting in the lawn chair.
“This ain’t all bad, man. You get twelve more laps of seat time. And that’s exactly what you
need. Those last few laps, it looked like you were faster than that car ahead of you.”
Thad’s voice was a monotone. “Farrell, I was afraid to try and pass that guy. I know I was faster.
But I didn’t want to take a chance on wrecking him and maybe me too.”
“I get it, bud. Seat time. Get enough of that and you’ll feel like passing King Kong. No worries.” Farrell walked toward the concession stand. Tyrus was checking tire pressure. At least fewer
people were staring now. The night was getting cooler. Thad drank another cup of coffee before
going into the trailer for a few tear-offs. Farrell went back to the concession stand.
Thad had a better showing in the B Main. Another lap and he might have won. As it was, he
finished second. For the feature he would be starting in the fifth row.
Back to the lawn chair went Thad. Back to the concession stand went Farrell. Tyrus was talking
to a couple of young ladies. Farrell came back from the concession stand and was finishing off a
hot dog, unofficially his third. Tyrus said good-by to the ladies and began taking the right rear tire
off the car. With a little help from Farrell, Tyrus finished that job as Farrell turned his attention to
the shocks at each corner of the car. Thad debated having another cup of coffee and decided
against it.
For whatever reason Thad felt out of sorts. Then it hit him. Kate. He checked his phone to see if
he had a message from her. She had answered him five minutes after he had sent her a
greeting. “Hi, Thad. A slow Saturday night in Brevard. Please keep me posted if you can.
Thanks. Kate.” She had added two hearts at the end. Thad smiled to himself.
He looked around. Sparky’s team was parked next to the Tarheel team. Preston was settling into
the seat. He looked at Thad and gave him a thumbs up. Thad waved back and put his phone
away. He climbed into the seat, thankful that people seemed to be ignoring him. Tyrus handed
him his helmet after Thad was strapped in. Farrell waited patiently on the four-wheeler for Tyrus
and one of his girl friends to roll the car backwards so Farrell could take over. He pushed the car
to the ramp and kept going. USAC had directed the cars be pushed out to the track and be
spread out for the push trucks to do their jobs more efficiently. Before that happened, the
starting lineup was introduced. Farrell had been told to take Thad to turn two. He waited in the
car as Farrell and the other four-wheel drivers went back to the pits. Farrell and Tyrus
assembled the equipment they might need if Thad was involved in an incident. When Thad was
introduced, he could hear the announcer and crowd. He was surprised that the fans had made
that much noise.
All Thad knew was he was starting in the fifth row. He was on the outside of the row and number
18 was next to him. Thad found the 18 car, having no idea who it was. The car was covered with
big and small decals. The green flag was about to wave; all of the preliminaries were over, the
introductions, the lining up, the four wide salute to the fans. It was time.
The green lights came on, the green flag waved and the thundering of 22 finely tuned engines
roared in the Lawrenceburg night. Thad stayed even with the 18 as they entered the first turn.
But then he felt a hard bump and he was spinning toward the wall. Somehow, everyone missed
him and he barely touched the wall. Thad was livid. He would want to know who tapped him, but
that would have to wait. The safety crew appeared immediately and checked for damage. They
righted the car and a push truck appeared. Thad restarted on the tail spot. He was still angry but it was an icy controlled anger. It had served him well in NASCAR. More than once he had been
spun only to come back and either win a race or at least finish ahead of the car who spun him.
The race director came on the radio to remind Thad that he was on the tail. Thad started to
reply but remembered it was a one-way radio. It was just as well. The flag man waved the green
and Thad took off. There were 30 laps to go, plenty of time in one sense. Most of the cars in
front of Thad were hugging the bottom. The top looked good to him and he used it to good
advantage. Thad was getting better with each lap at wrestling these beasts. He was one of the
few trying the top groove early on and Thad passed four cars in the first five laps.
This pattern continued throughout the race, which was slowed every few laps by either a caution
or a red flag. During the red, crew members were allowed to come out and make minor
adjustments. Farrell came out with the air compressor in case a tire was going down. Thad
asked what position he was in. Farrell hollered, “Fifteenth, I think. You’ve passed a few cars,
man.” Thad asked who spun him. Farrell hesitated before answering, “Number twenty-nine. The
defending champ. He’s been known to do that.” Farrell could see Thad’s eyes and it wasn’t a
pleasant sight. “Don’t do anything dumb, bud.” Thad nodded and waved.
The race restarted and Thad was moving up. Some fans noticed and were cheering him on.
Thad preferred the high groove but he had no problem going to the low side. With five laps to
go, he saw the number 29 ahead of him. Now Thad Larrabee was on a mission. He reeled in
the 29, which seemed to be struggling. Thad had been told that tire wear could be a factor at
Lawrenceburg. Coming out of turn four to the white flag, Thad swept around 29 at the finish line.
He made sure he was almost completely past and then chopped down on the 29 going into the
first turn. The 29 overreacted and spun out, bringing out a yellow. As the cars circled the track
under yellow, the driver of 29 flipped Thad the bird. Thad saw it coming and gave it back. He
had dealt with much worse.
The race would end with a green/white/checkered. Thad restarted eleventh and passed one guy
he remembered from last year, Cosmo Novak. This gave him tenth place after restarting 23rd
after his early spin. Ironically, it was where he had started the race. Casual fans probably
missed his recovery but several other people, be they fans or crew members, did notice.
Thad pulled into the space and was met with a fired-up Farrell. It was the most emotion he had
seen out of his chief mechanic. If that wasn’t enough, Tyrus jumped high enough to click his
heels. Thad was impressed—and jealous. It had been quite a night. He had learned much. Thad
thought, for the first time, that he might have some fun and do well, maybe even win a race.
Thad wasn’t the only one who had learned a lot. The top guys in USAC had learned as well.
This NASCAR guy might be a problem.

 

Chapter 40: The Month of March

For about three weeks, Thad didn’t have much to do in Indiana. He had hired the people he needed to go racing, He had two major sponsors lined up, counting Arley. The other sponsor was Rory McManus, who owned a string of pizza places all over Indiana. It was no accident that one of Rory’s best customers was Rodney Reynolds. Farrell was taking care of everything on the racing side. Thad encouraged him to make one of the part-time employees full-time. Tyrus Hughes was going to IUPUI part-time and was running short of money. He had much to learn about sprint cars but Farrell had found him to be an eager student of sprint car racing.

Thad spent much of his time on the mountain, alone with his thoughts. He stayed in touch with Kate when she wasn’t too busy. They got together about once a week, usually for dinner either in Brevard or Hendersonville. Thad was grateful that he was rarely recognized. It helped that he had grown his thinning gray hair long. Patrons at the Brevard restaurants that he and Kate frequented assumed that he was a professor, which they found funny.

“Well? Weren’t you a professor of sorts when you raced with NASCAR?” Kate was hoping to persuade Thad to talk more about his previous life.


“I suppose, but if that was the case, it was by accident,” he said. “I was too busy trying to pass people and win races—or at least get a good finish.”

“What did you consider a good finish?”


“Normally, I was happy with a top five, but top tens weren’t too bad.” Thad stopped and thought. “But there were times, I’d have some sort of trouble early in the race, but finish with one of the fastest cars. I could be a couple of laps behind and finish 25th or something, but we would be encouraged by the fact that we finished strong. Then we’d have a fast car and catch a bad break at the end and finish tenth or something.”


“What kind of bad break?”


“Oh, usually someone in front of me would wreck, usually a slower car. If I didn’t crash, I’d spin out, maybe lose a lap. With the way NASCAR works, there’s always a lot of cars, 25 or so, on the same lap as the leaders. Losing a lap made it a challenge.” Thad decided not to try and explain the infamous “lucky dog” rule, in which the first car a lap down would get its lap back and restart after a caution flag period on the tail of the lead lap cars. Besides, Thad didn’t like the rule, never had.


Kate was perceptive enough not to ask too many questions at once. Thad’s NASCAR days were behind him now and he was glad of it. Kate would try to get Thad to talk about Dina and sometimes he would open up, remembering the good times and the occasional bad times.


The college’s spring break fell on Thad’s last week at home before heading north. He was leaving on Wednesday and aimed to arrive in Scottsburg on Thursday. Thad reasoned that there was no hurry to get anywhere—yet. He asked Kate if she would like to stay with him from Saturday after spring break began until Wednesday. Surprisingly, she said yes.


On Saturday evening, as the sun set over the mountains off in the western distance, Kate and Thad sat on the front porch of his house, admiring the sunset. As a sort of trial run, they had gone to the local grocery store earlier, picking up enough food to last until Wednesday. To their surprise and relief, they weren’t bothered. As a rule, Thad’s housekeeper, Sue Ellen, took care of groceries as needed.


They sat in silence, with the breeze rustling through the trees, birds chattering at each other, the sun offering its slow goodnight. The temperature dropped and Thad went inside the house to get a blanket. With Kate, he settled under the blanket. Neither spoke for the longest time. Both enjoyed the setting; both were busy with their own thoughts.


Thad was thinking of Dina, gone for nearly a year and a half now. What would she think of his life now? Getting ready to go racing, but in a totally different car, with different people, tracks and shuttling between Indiana and North Carolina. Thad liked to think she would smile and shake her head.


Kate was thinking of her children and grandchildren, all of them scattered in surrounding states, Tennessee, South Carolina and a commune deep in the mountains of Virginia. She had to assume that no news was good news. Her thoughts turned to her and Thad. She wondered if both would remain happy with the present arrangement. She looked ahead to the coming summer and Thad’s soon-to-be hectic life. As long as he continued chasing this dream, or whatever it was, there would be no talk of marriage. She wondered if she could handle that. The extended absences might be a problem.


Thad’s thoughts shifted toward the coming weeks. He was somewhat surprised that he had not been stressing out over the vast unknown that faced him at the Hoosier bullrings. How would he handle getting to know the tracks, the competitors and the fans? He had kept a low profile since February. Only now was there talk on social media from some anonymous posters on IOW (www.indianaopenwheel.com). Sparky, Arley and Preston had sworn that they were keeping quiet and Thad believed them. But in the end, Thad thought, what did it matter?


Thad managed to avoid the media as much as he could in his NASCAR days. Arley only reminded him that, like it or not, he and the media needed each other. Thad resolved to treat the media, from the mightiest network to the brand new website, with respect. With few exceptions, he was able to establish decent relationships with most of the media. As much as he hated to admit it, Jerry Fitzgerald had been a pro in shielding Thad from the press and, when best for Thad and the team, allowing access to Thad or any team member, including Arley (who, from the beginning, was a hit with the media people).
Thad and Kate said their good-byes on Wednesday morning. Thad was headed north and Kate went west back to Brevard.


 

 

Chapter 39: Getting Serious

It wasn't just the fact that Thad and Kate were getting serious; it was also the fact that the racing season wasn't far away. It was high time that Thad continued assembling the parts and people necessary to do this right.

Thad had attended the off-season gatherings of racers, regardless of how many were gathered or where. This meant spending a significant amount of time in Indiana's capital city. He began contacting people in hopes of hiring a competent mechanic. This wasn't easy. Some had guessed that Thad was a NASCAR billionaire who was a sprint car wannabe, a dilletante. They assumed that he was trying to buy his way to success. None of those people took the time to talk to Thad. Luckily, some did. His new buddy Rodney had paved the way for Thad to introduce himself to some people in the tiny Hoosier sprint car universe.

Right after the first of the year, Thad had secured a top notch mechanic. Both Gideon Sparks and Rodney Reynolds recommended that Thad talk to Farrell Hutchinson, who was looking for some steady employment. After both had urged Farrell to get in touch with Thad, a meeting was arranged the day after Arley's Christmas party.

Thad left his mountain home and drove straight to Indianapolis two days before Christmas. He invited Kate to go and she agreed, somewhat apprehensively, to ride along. On Christmas Eve, Thad met Farrell while Kate shopped some, but mostly she drove around town, eyeing the sights.

Farrell wanted some time to think about this intriguing job offer. Thad had the resources, money and, in Farrell's opinion, the desire. Farrell had no way of knowing if Thad had the ability to drive a sprint car, even though he had been present the night at Haubstadt when Thad turned his first laps in a sprinter.

Thad and Kate spent Christmas Day in a hotel suite, watching TV, reading and using the gym room to run the treadmill and/or lift weights. The hotel restaurant was open and they had dinner, enjoying the quiet atmosphere and, in Thad's case, the anonymity. Back in the room, they found a TV channel showing the classic movie Casablanca. The setting was the perfect opportunity for the couple to get to know each other even better. Both survived the experience and woke up on December 26 to a post-Christmas snowfall. Farrell began working for the Tarheel Racing Team on January 2, trusted to finish the assembly of the team, including hiring two part-time workers. When Thad expressed curiosity about going to Florida in January, Farrell expressed his reservations.

"Look at it this way, Thad," Farrell looked at his driver and boss. Thad was getting itchy to race. Farrell said, "Man, don't think too hard. You're liable to get a headache."

That broke the tension and Thad laughed. "I guess you're right, Farrell." He thought some more and asked, "Once we get going, do you think we'll need to hire someone to take calls, stuff like that?"

"Not at first, but I see us maybe needing someone to do that. Maybe help with whatever sponsors we can scare up."

Thad said, "I have at least a couple of irons in the fire. You ever hear of something called the Hoosier Pizza Place?"

Farrell's eyes widened. "Of course I have. Are you saying–?"

"Not yet. But they are interested. I've also talked to my buddy who was my car owner, Arley Sebastian, and I'm fairly sure he's going to kick in a few bucks."

Farrell chuckled. "He's the chicken man, right?"

Thad laughed. "The one and same. You'll like Arley. He's one of a kind. He and I went down to Florida last February and that's when I caught the disease."

"I've heard that story from Rodney. He's something else."

"Who? Arley or Rodney?"

Both men laughed. After they stopped, Thad said, "So it's settled. We can hold off until Lawrenceburg?"

Farrell said, "Unless you want to go to Twin Cities. They have a big paying 50 lapper on the last Saturday in March."

"I'll let you know about that one, Farrell. What do you know about the track?"

"It's a three-eighths mile, give or take a few feet. Turns are kind of a paperclip, fairly high banked. Pretty fast. Bad things have happened there."

Thad looked at him. "Such as?"

"That's where Frank Hinds nearly bought the farm some years back. It even scared me. I thought he was a goner."

Thad said, "Did you know I met Frank in Florida last February? Great guy."

"Is that right? He's doing well, I hope."

"He's doing great. Doesn't go to very many races, but he's a good guy to talk to. Lots of stories. I guess some of them are true."

After he was finished laughing, Farrell went to the garage while Thad had another cup of coffee and perused racing schedules.

 

 

Chapter 38: Complications
Thad’s call to Kate became more complicated than an invitation to go to a Christmas party at the
Sebastian residence. It began when Thad was talking about his plans for the following year.
T: If things work out, I’ll be going to Indiana in late March. There’s a USAC race at
Lawrenceburg on the first Saturday in April and from there I’ll pick and choose where I want to
go. I’m not planning on running all of the USAC schedule; I’ll be happy to stay in Indiana, for the
most part. There’s a sprint car race somewhere in the state every Friday and Saturday night,
once in a while on Sunday.
K: When would you be coming back down here?
T: I’m not sure, Kate. I’ll try to when I can.
K: Oh.
T: Huh? What does that mean, Kate?
K: I thought you would be here more often, I guess.
T: I’m very sorry if I gave you that impression. I didn’t mean to. It’s just that I’m trying to be
flexible.
K: You mean you don’t want to commit.
T: If I’m going to do this, I can’t commit.
Silence, the icy kind.
T: Kate, let me try to explain some things that have been on my mind lately.
K: Go ahead.
T: I’ve missed you more than I thought I would. Between races there was a lot of downtime. You
suggested that I try to read more and I surely have. I missed talking with you about things I’ve
read and for other reasons too. Kate, I don’t have any idea what love is. I would guess that, by
some definitions, I love you, Kate. But given that, I can’t give up what I’m doing. I’m not even 50;
I’m too young to retire. I don’t want to take up a hobby or game. I’d be terrible at golf. And I can’t
take walks all day or read all day. So here I am chasing this crazy dream. Somewhere in there I
want to be with you as much as I can.
More silence, but Thad could not tell if it was icy.
K: Thank you for sharing, Thad. I’m not sure what to say. It seems like we are on the same page
more than I realized. I try not to overthink the definition of love. If two people had affection for
each other, enjoy each others’ company and think of each other when they’re apart, well, that
sounds like love to me.
Then, after a pause, she added, “At least to me.” Kate took a deep breath and said, “So, Thad, it
looks like we might love each other, despite our dancing around the word and the definition.
Would that be correct?”
T (slowly): Yes. For lack of a better term.
Kate had to laugh, then said, “Since words are a big part of my work, I challenge you to come
up with a better one.”
T: Affection?
K: Not bad, but you can have affection for a house pet. You’d get an ‘incomplete’ grade from me
on that one.
T: Romantic affection?
K: That’s a little closer. (Silence) Do you have any more?
T: I’m afraid not. Now I’m cheating. I’m looking at some synonyms and they are worthy but
incomplete, as you say.
K: Maybe we have to face it, Thad. Maybe, mind you, we are in love or at least we love each
other.
T: Despite our differences. You know, plans, lifestyles, agendas.
K: We can try to work through all that. We can accept absences from each other.
T: But maybe we can postpone the M word, at least for a while.
K: Marriage?
T: Yes.
K: I’ll agree. For a while.
T: Good night, Kate Danner. I’m glad you are you.
K: Good night, Thad. I’m glad that we can say we love each other—differences and all.

 

 

Chapter 37: Sparky to the Rescue
Sparky knew a guy who lived near Pittsboro, Indiana, just northwest of Indianapolis. Tom Minter
was a real estate agent who loved racing. Tom sponsored sprint cars and knew a little about
commercial property, especially on Indy’s northwest side. Before long it was October when Thad
and Arley found themselves looking around an ideal place for their purposes. There was room
for at least three cars, plus a space for another vehicle. Arley and Tom bargained for a while as
Thad listened.
Just as Thad started thinking that a deal had been made, Arley stood up and said, “Sorry, Mr.
Minter. I don’t think the property is worth that amount.” Before Mr. Minter could react, Arley
shook his hand and said, “You take care, sir.”
Later as they drove back to the motel, Arley was quiet for most of the trip, but as they pulled into
the parking lot, he finally spoke. “Thad, I reckon you’re wondering why I didn’t want to make the
deal.”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, I trust your—”
“Oh, I know that. The trouble I had with Mr. Minter was that he was overly condescending to us.
Not totally sure why, but my guess is that he thought we were a pair of country bumpkins from
the South who don’t know a thing.”
“Guess I didn’t pay much attention, Arley. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
Arley laughed. “It’s probably a good thing for Mr. Minter you didn’t pay attention. We’ll never
know for sure and besides, it doesn’t matter now. What matters is that I call Louise. Then we get
something to eat.”
“Works for me. I’m going to call Sparky and ask if he has any more names.”
Sparky kept apologizing until Arley finally said, “Give it up, Sparky. Do you have anyone else in
mind?”
“Well, you might call Rodney Reynolds. Good guy but he’s not in Indy. He dabbles in real estate
when he isn’t at a sprint car race or drinking beer. I’ll get his number and be sure and tell him I
sent you.”
This time, Sparky’s advice was good. By the time Arley and Thad signed the papers for a
spacious garage in nearby North Vernon, they had a new friend, one that would help them in the
months to come. Rodney seemed to know everyone in Indiana who was connected with sprint
car racing. The gentlemen from North Carolina would learn that Mr. Reynolds would be a
reliable source of information over the next several months.

(As a token of appreciation, Arley and Louise surprised Sparky and Darla with a visit one cold
day in January. They had brought a half dozen rhubarb pies after they had learned that Mr. and
Mrs. Sparks loved rhubarb pies. The oft-mentioned cliché, “racing has the best people” was
employed as Sparky and Darla told the Sebastian’s good-by and safe travels.)
The garage rental deal was wrapped up a few days before Christmas. Both Arley and Thad
wanted to be home before the holiday so they left Indiana on a cold December morning and
headed south—where the weather was merely chilly. As Thad locked the door to the garage, he
considered this a productive trip. They had a place to store their racing equipment, enough
room for a race hauler that had room for two cars and all the race day accessories they would
need. Thanks to Rodney, they had some useful leads for everything else, including two cars,
both of which were PoorBoy chassis.
Arley had invited Thad to spend Christmas Day with him and some friends, much as he did the
year before. He joked, “This time you can bring Kate as your date.” Thad had to laugh. He said,
“I’ll ask her if she’s busy that day.” She wasn’t.

 

 

Chapter 36: The Art of Assembling

Thad had intended to go home after Sprint Week but his mind had changed. If he was going sprint car racing next year, he figured that it wasn’t too early to start this year. He paid his landlord another month’s rent and began building a team from scratch. From time to time, Thad talked with his buddy Sparky, who was busy enough as it was. Thad took notes when they spoke face to face, prompting Darla to start calling her husband “Professor.” Thad thought that to be an accurate description.

Ever since he had been up in Indiana, Thad had been in occasional contact with Arley. When he first told his buddy, who spent a good part of his time on Lake Norman, about his newest adventure, Arley wanted to jump in as much as time and his other commitments would allow. To that end, Arley made a trip to Indiana, renting a nearby motel room and sitting in when Thad went to see the Professor. Both Arley and Thad would be able to self-fund a sprint car team, but Sparky advised them to look for sponsors anyway. Arley, especially, didn’t have to be told twice about spending other peoples’ money.

Arley and Thad were fortunate in that they had a few contacts up in Indy thanks to the NASCAR race at the Speedway (Thad learned that many Hoosiers called the Indianapolis Motor Speedway “The Speedway” with no explanation necessary which speedway.) With a little help from a mutual friend, Thad took a trip to Brownsburg, Indiana to look at garage space for the cars and equipment the team would need. Arley and Thad shared the same accountant, who blanched when they told him what they were doing. But he embraced the idea as well. Free admission to a suite for the Indianapolis 500 didn’t hurt.

Sparky told the new owners that hiring people would be their most crucial step in assembling the yet unnamed team. They used technology, mostly social media, to see who was who. Both descended on Indianapolis and rented a suite, then hung out in places where sprint car people in the Hoosier capital hung out. They introduced themselves and talked to a lot of people. Arley especially was the main talker. His personality was one that made people like him and they had no problem talking to the big Tarheel about sprint cars. Thad was friendly, but not as talkative at first. He was slower to warm to people, not being the trusting type. Arley was the better judge of character and he had a way of letting Thad know if someone was genuine or a phony. There were too many of the latter.

August turned into September and the duo decided to head home for a couple of months and then contact some of the potential team members. Both had been in contact with Sparky, running names by him. A couple of promoters called Thad and discussed possible mechanics and gave some tips about equipment for sale.

Thad had in mind a trip back to Indiana to take a closer look at a place to keep the still-unnamed team’s equipment. It was the first weekend in October and he called Kate one day. He apologized for not keeping in touch more often. Kate didn’t seem to mind, but she was somewhat frustrated. Out of the blue, he asked her if she wanted to take a trip to Indianapolis. Her teaching schedule didn’t permit her to go in October, she said, but she would have her winter break coming up in December. Thad thought that he might be going back to Indy around the same time. She asked how his racing plans were going and after he told her what he and Arley had been doing, she understood why she had not heard so much from him.

Kate had no way of knowing, but along with Thad and Arley, she was about to get a different kind of education.

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: My 2022

 

By this time of year, I've usually had five or six races on my list. That's not happening this year and maybe longer.

 Most people in racing at my favored grass roots level do not work full time in racing, from fans to promoters and even some sanctioning body owners. Obviously, it's not my bread and butter. Just as obviously, for those of us who love open wheel racing but don't make a living from it, our lines of commitment are not the same.

 With that in mind, I've had to draw that line. With my wife's health being where it is, I cannot in good conscience leave her home alone for more than a couple of hours. The importance of her safety easily surpasses racing and just about everything else. In that respect, choosing to stay home instead of trotting off to the usual Hoosier bullrings was an easy choice.

 In their wisdom, my wife, daughter and son-in-law gifted me with Floracing for Christmas. It has already paid off and then some. I've seen most recently Brady Bacon win at Atomic Speedway. I saw the Florida USAC and All Stars shows.in February. I've seen street stocks in Iowa, winged sprints in Pennsylvania, winged and non-wing sprints in California, DIRT modifieds at Cherokee Speedway (been there), and late models at Hickory (NC, been there too but not this year). Shucks, I even saw a guy st Hickory get a police escort from the track after some extreme rowdiness. I look forward to seeing lots of racing this season, just not in person.

 There may well be occasions when I'll be able to find someone to sit with my wife while I head to a race somewhere. But that will be the exception.

 Allan Holland, a prince of a man, has allowed me to share a fictional story here for the past several weeks and that will continue. The idea for the story of Thad Larrabee came to me long before Jimmie Johnson even dreamed of going to indyCar. It's an extension of a short story that was in the book I wrote about five years ago. Thad's adventure is not over.

 This has been a very good run and I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to roam the pits, meet some quality people and see more than my share of great racing from California to Virginia, but mostly right here in Indiana. There are no complaints. It's time to ease off a bit.

 Sending Vladimir Putin a generous gift card courtesy of Tucker Carlson for Tucker's favorite tanning facility, I'm…

 Danny Burton

 

 

Chapter 35: Post-Sprint Week Conversation

 

Thad was near the Lynnville, Indiana exit on I-64 when he was startled by the phone. The caller ID told him it was Kate. At this hour, he thought. It was two in the morning and Thad had been wondering if he could stay awake on the nearly deserted interstate. Lucky for him, Kate had considered that and guessed that he might need someone to talk to and keep him awake.

 

She knew that he likely wanted to talk about his surprise practice session. He would be more talkative than he ever had been with her. Thad was self-aware enough to realize that the last person he had conversed with this long was Dina. He didn't really mind; indeed, he was glad that Kate had called and not just to keep him awake.

 

She asked, after their greetings, "So, Thad. Tell me. First time you had driven since, what, last November?"

 

T: Yes, seemed like longer, but it was November.

 

K: How was it?

 

T: Oh, Kate. I hesitate to use the word heavenly, but, uh, let's say it was close to heavenly.

 

K: Were you nervous?

 

Thad laughed and said, "Of course. But by the time the flagman waved the checkered flag I was more like, 'Aw, over so soon?'"

 

K: Where do you go from here? Wait, let me rephrase that. With respect to to the sprint car, where do you go from here?

 

T: I'll be honest, Kate. I'm about three quarters sure that I'm going to buy one of these things, assemble a team and drive it next year. Hey, I'll even hire you to scrape the mud off the car when needed.

 

K: Hmmm…. there's times I'd strongly consider that. Then reality gets in the way.

 

T: I get it, I think. It would be a major commitment, no matter who I hire to do anything. Besides, I need more time in the car if I'm going to be serious about this.

 

K: How long would you do this? One year? Two, or more?

 

T: Right now, I'd say one year and hopefully I'd have it out of my system. I'd give up driving but I might still own a car and hire a driver.

 

K: That might make some sense.

 

T: Well, I know none of this makes sense. But it's something I'm able to do, I've enjoyed my time up here and I should do it while I'm able.

 

K: Yes, on one level it makes sense.

 

T: Kate?

 

K: Yes?

 

T: Kate, what if you DID have a vote? I mean, if we were, uh, together, what would you say to this?

 

K: What a question! Well. (Nervous chuckle) I wouldn't be crazy about the idea, but I'd not stand in your way. If my position at the college permitted, I'd even travel part of the time with you. "If" I'm saying.

 

T: You're a tolerant lady, Kate.

 

K: Thank you. I try to be.

 

T: I don't mean of me. I mean, well, in general. You seem to be one of those people whose emotions are not the extreme roller coaster type. If you disagree, you tell people, but you seem to be nice about it.

 

K: What are you referring to?

 

T: Me, mostly. But I saw how you have treated people when we've been out together and you were always kind and patient.

 

Thad laughed and said, "Don't take this wrong, but you remind me a little of my late mother-in-law."

 

K: I do? Aunt Naomi? What a nice compliment! But why do you say that?

 

T: Well, Naomi was cool and calm. I remember when Dina and I thought she was pregnant about two months before we got married. We–

 

K: What?? I never heard about that.

 

T: You haven't? I'm surprised Dina never told you. Anyway, she was scared to tell her mom. I went with her and just sat there most of the time. It turned out that Naomi said exactly the right things. We both fell a little better and it was a false alarm as far as the pregnancy was concerned.

 

K: Now that you mention it, I had a similar deal with my youngest a few years ago. I remember telling myself, 'Don't yell or scream' over and over. We got through it.

 

T: Sounds like she rubbed off on you.

 

They talked for a few more minutes and Thad told her to go to bed; it was 3:30 and he was almost back to the apartment.

 

Thad got to bed after four A. M., thinking about what was next.

 

 

Chapter 34: The End and a Beginning

 

The cat may not have been out of the bag, but it was surely peeking out of it. Some of the USAC caravan had noticed the shaggy haired guy hanging around Sparky and Preston. To some he looked familiar, while others ignored him. When one of the pit lizards finally concluded that this guy was Thad, he simply walked up, introduced himself and asked, "Are you Thad Larrabee?"

 

Thad had been expecting this to happen. He was surprised that it had taken so long; he knew it would happen sooner or later and he had planned to be honest.

 

He admitted to the serious sprint car fan that, yes, he was Thad Larrabee. The fan, whose name was Wally Cardwell from Sullivan, Indiana, didn't ask for an autograph. Instead, he and Thad talked sprint car racing. Wally said that Haubstadt was his favorite track, seeing that it was only a few miles from Sullivan. Thad walked away smiling with some of his faith in humanity restored. Wally turned out to be a decent fellow who had lots of stories to tell.

 

Unbeknownst to Thad, Sparky had made sure that his backup car was ready for Preston, of course. But Sparky had other ideas that were unknown to Thad. First things first, however.

 

Preston had a mathematical chance at the Sprint Week title and the cool rocking chair that went with it. But his chances were slim. He gave it his all, time trialing fourth of 39 cars. This put him on the outside of the third row of the fourth heat. Had the heat been 11 laps instead of ten, Preston might have won. As it was, he was second. The champion had clinched the title by the time of the feature. Preston might not win the that rocking chair and whatever else went with it, but he was motivated to win his first USAC feature. Later, folks would say it was a matter of time. Preston only knew that he was overdue in his mind. After starting fourth, he worked his way to the lead with ten laps to go. He survived multiple yellow flags and the restarts afterwards to win going away.

 

As could be expected, he was one happy young man in Victory Lane, thanking Sparky, the team, his wife and family, and finally God. Sparky stood apart from Preston, letting him have the limelight. Surely the young man deserved the accolades. He knew that a better funded team would most likely snatch his young driver away. That was rather sad to know, but Sparky knew it was part of the business as well. For now, it was the time to enjoy and Sparky was certainly doing that.

 

Sparky, Preston, Matt and the track owner were about to enjoy something else. Sparky had not told anyone but Darla of his plan. He had acquired a driving suit, gloves, shoes, fire retardant underwear, the works–everything that would be needed as part of Sparky's surprise. As the other teams loaded up, Sparky and his team took their time. One reason was to let Preston bask in the light of victory, signing autographs, getting his picture taken, or just talking to people. Standing nearby, Sparky spoke to Matt in a low voice, letting the kid in on the surprise. Matt's eyes widened in appreciation.

 

With a signal from Sparky, Matt maneuvered the upper section of the hauler that contained the the backup car before lowering it to ground level. Preston and Thad stood back with puzzled looks. As the car was placed side-by-side with the night's winner, Sparky went to the truck, pulled a box from the back and walked toward Preston and Thad.

 

"Thad," he said, "here is your surprise. For being such good company for us and helping as you have, we are rewarding you with a test drive in this baby right here." Sparky tapped the tail tank of the backup car.

 

Thad was speechless, his eyes wide. "You're kidding." Sparky laughed and shook his head. Thad fumbled for words. "Thanks, Sparky. You didn't have to do this. I've been thinking about driving one of these things since we were at Gas City."

 

"I know, bud. Tommy and I made a deal for you to get some laps in tonight. Sparky nodded at the white-haired track promoter, a former racer himself.

 

Tommy finally spoke, "Mr. Larrabee, based on what my friend here has been telling me, you still have the itch to race."

 

"Yes sir, Sparky is correct." Thad laughed. "You can call me Thad."

 

"Deal. You can call me Tom, not sure." Thad chuckled and nodded.

 

Sparky had quickly informed Preston what was going on and asked him to step in and get Thad started on the basics. Preston told Thad to take it easy the first few laps and then increase his speed a little at a time–if he wished. For Thad, there was no if.

 

Thad was both bewildered and excited. Sparky had planned this and now Thad was about to take his first ride in one of these monsters. Most of the fans had gone. At least half the teams had also left the premises. A few curious souls hung around and soon the word spread that a former NASCAR race winner was going to take a few laps in a sprint car.

 

The four-wheeler driven by Matt pushed Thad to the staging area where one of the famous Haubstadt push trucks was waiting. Thad was pushed through the opening onto the beginning of the backstretch. Soon he felt the bump of the push vehicle and the car began moving. Preston had told him that all he needed to know for the time being was to flip that switch when the oil pressure gauge flickered and the engine should start. Thad knew that the cockpit was a lot more compressed than a stock car; he had hardly any wiggle room. But as soon as the engine started and he was moving down the backstretch, that didn't matter.

 

Thad idled around the track for two full laps and then began to speed up some on the straights, gently sliding through the turns. After he had completed about ten laps he noticed the flagman waving the green flag. He saw the lights in turn one go from yellow to green. He carefully accelerated through turns one and two, then gently floored it briefly down the backstretch. For a split second the car started to fishtail but Thad brought it under control. Tapping the brakes going into three, he tried the same maneuver going through three and four. It worked. With each lap, he felt more and more at ease, if not comfortable.

 

From the pit bleachers in turn two, Sparky, Preston and Matt watched with a few dozen racers, mechanics and interested fans. Sparky held a stopwatch in front of him, checking Thad's progress. He showed the times to Preston, who nodded in approval. Tom stopped by and told Sparky that they could keep Thad on the track for ten more minutes. Sparky showed Tom the stopwatch. Tom smiled. At about the same time, Thad had his first spin right in front of Sparky and Tom. The track crew got him righted and he was pushed off again. A few minutes later, Thad was shown the checkered flag and slowed down. No one had told him that exiting the track could be tricky to a newbie, but Thad figured it out without hitting the wall.

 

He stopped and watched Sparky amble toward the car. Sparky was smiling and he could see Thad's smile even with it partially obscured by the helmet. Matt shut the engine off and helped Thad get out of the car. Preston joined the small crowd around the NASCAR driver and the sprinter. He gave Thad a big hug. Sparky took out his stopwatch and showed Thad his lap times. He explained that the important point was the improvement Thad had shown as he had completed more laps. A few of the onlookers congratulated Thad for even trying to drive a sprint car. A few of them mentioned that maybe Thad was "one of us" now. Had he heard those comments, he wouldn't have minded.

 

With Thad's debut finished, the team, including Thad, put the backup car on the trailer. Before they left, it was decided that they would eat at one of the truck stops just a mile south on 41. Thad announced that he was buying the meal. Before he left the racetrack parking lot, he texted Kate.

 

"I did it! As a total surprise, Sparky let me take some laps in his backup car tonight after the races. I didn't set any records, but I got faster and had plenty of fun. If you are asleep at this hour–I don't blame you. Thad"

 

 

 

Chapter 33: Plotting

 

Gideon and his little team gathered at his home late in the morning with Terre Haute their destination of choice. Sparky had made the trip to the Vigo County Fairgrounds several times suggested that they stop at the rest area on I-70 just west of Indianapolis for lunch that had been prepared by Darla. Thad mentioned that he had reserved rooms at motels in Cloverdale and Bloomington. He offered to reserve rooms near Haubstadt after the last Sprint Week race. Sparky said that he would decide later if that was okay with Darla.

 

The group arrived at the west entrance of the fairgrounds and waited with other teams for the pit gate to open. Sparky paid for pit passes, not wanting Thad to help any more than he had already. But Thad was acting different, at least from Sparky's observation. He was asking more questions and even went down the checklist, adding air pressure to the tires and fuel to the tank.

 

A few people in the pits had figured out who Thad was but had kept their distance. Thad knew that wouldn't last. He, Sparky and the team decided to be honest but not forthcoming. If someone asked if that was the NASCAR driver, they would say yes. Otherwise, none of them would volunteer anything.

 

It was another good night for the Sparks Racing Team as Preston qualified fifth fastest and won his heat. In the feature he ran near the front for all 30 laps before settling for second place behind veteran Cosmo Novak. Again, Preston was interviewed after the race and fans were warming to the easy going southern Indiana racer.

 

After the race as teams loaded up cars and equipment, Thad noticed Sparky in earnest conversation with a white-haired man. Usually Sparky led the way in loading things up after a race, but Thad didn't give it much thought until a few days later.

 

The Sparks mini-caravan headed east on I-70 to Cloverdale for the night. Thad talked to Kate for most of the forty-mile trip. He debated telling her that he wanted to try driving a sprint car. For the time being he would not. But she could tell just by the way he talked about everything he had been seeing and doing that Thad felt like he had a few more laps in him yet. She tried to fight the desire to tell him that he was crazy to want to race again but knew that would be counterproductive at best and maybe the end of the relationship, such as it was, at the worst. Kate decided to bide her time.

 

Thursday night found the gang at the Lincoln Park Speedway. As Terre Haute was a half mile dirt oval, Lincoln Park was listed as five sixteenths of a mile and high banks that weren't quite as steep as Lawrenceburg or Bloomington but were high enough. Thad noticed the wide turns which encouraged multiple grooves on occasion. An overnight shower had made track preparations a bit of a challenge but the field of 44 cars were eager to meet the challenge.

 

Preston endured an evening of bad breaks. During hot laps he ran over a sharp object and had to exit early. Matt had drawn one of the last qualifying numbers and Preston was the 39th of the 44 cars to qualify. In his heat race, Preston spun out to miss a competitor and had to run the B main. Finally, he caught a break. From deep in the pack, Mr. Janssen passed a few cars. With two laps to go, he was in eighth place with only the top six transferring to the feature. The two cars in front of him crashed while fighting for the last spot. Preston inherited sixth and he was in the show. From deep in the pack, Preston finished eighth and was the night's hard charger, picking up $100 in cash, with which he promptly offered to buy the team's late night snack. Sparky smilingly vetoed that idea.

 

The little team that could left Cloverdale on a cloudy Friday morning, not stopping until they reached Bloomington and having a pizza or two. They pulled into the track as a light rain began falling. While the others sat where they could to keep dry, Thad ambled out to the parking lot and dozed off in the Camaro. At five minutes past six the rain stopped, but the track was too slick for any vehicles to attempt drying the high banks. Two hours later hot laps began. The neighbors dwelling near the track would have to endure the sounds of finely tuned V-8 engines until midnight.

 

The surface would be lightning fast throughout the heat races with passing at a premium. Preston was fifth quick in qualifying as the track record somehow survived. His time of 10.933 put him on the inside of the third row of the first heat. Both Preston and the fast qualifier, Mr. Novak, could not pass anyone and both went to the B. There they would run one-two and then occupy the fourth row the feature. The track had widened in that there were two racing grooves by the time cars lined up for the main event. Preston stormed to the front in the first five laps and was running second when his right rear tire went flat. The bad news was Preston's having to restart the race from the tail–for the second consecutive night. The good news was there were still 25 laps to go. Preston was able to race back to twelfth as the checkered flag waved.

 

The team loaded up and headed to a motel on Bloomington's north side. There was one more night to go at the Tri-State Speedway, usually known as Haubstadt. Thad had seemed to be in a daze all night. Sparky didn't ask if his friend was alright; he believed that Thad was itching to drive one of these beasts. He, Sparky, had a plan. The man who Sparky had been in conversation with was the Tri-State owner/promoter. After explaining the situation, they had struck a deal to rent the track after racing was over on Saturday night. Thad, of course, had not been told.

 

With Haubstadt on Central time, the team's could set a leisurely pace on Saturday. Thad used the occasion to talk with Kate, who admitted to him that she had been eager to talk. She made him tell her about the last few days of his travels. He told her how the team was doing and how close Preston was to his first USAC win. He described the landscape of Indiana with most of the northern part flat with lots of cornfields. He told her that the hills of southern Indiana reminded him a little of the middle of North Carolina.

 

Finally, Thad got around to telling her about his desire to race one of these funny looking cars. There was a brief silence on the other end before Kate spoke.

 

"I assume you know these things are dangerous, and you are almost fifty years old."

 

T: I do, Kate. Please don't misunderstand, but I'm very aware of all that. Besides–

 

K: And your wife is gone so you have no one who cares about you.

 

There was a stony silence until Kate said, "I'm so sorry, Thad. I shouldn't have said that."

 

T: Kate, consider this. When Dina was alive, she lived with that fear for several years. She knew when she met me what I did and she learned to live with it and accept it. She had to deal with the fact that, when I was 'on the clock,' racing was first. It was very difficult for her, but she dealt with it as well as she could. We made it work and when she got sick she discovered even more how much I cared about her.

 

There was more silence this time, but this was different. Kate was thinking before she said, "Thad, I care about you. A lot. I see it a little more completely now. If anyone is going to care about Thad Larrabee, she had better realize that Thad has another girlfriend. Her name is racing and sometimes she will be first. Is that close?"

 

Thad laughed and said, "I'm afraid so, Kate." He didn't say anything for a few seconds and then…

 

T: I think I care about you, too, Kate. I'm not sure how to define it but I'm not going to worry about that just yet.

 

Thad looked ahead and saw bleachers not far from U.S. Highway 41. This was the place, he thought. As Sparky activated his turn signal, Thad said, "Dear Kate. We're here. This is the last race in this series within a series. I'll try to at least text you later. But remember that I'm an hour behind you here."

 

K: That's okay. You can text or call. If I can't sleep, I won't worry about you calling. In fact, I may call you. Don't worry, I won't be expecting you to answer right away.

 

T: Sounds good, Kate. Bye.

 

K: Bye, Thad.

 

As Sparky parked the hauler, the promoter stood by to greet the car owner. They had a very brief discussion that left them both smiling.

 

 

Chapter 32: Interregnum

 

Thad woke up at noon on Sunday after a long Saturday. He had stopped with Sparky and company to wash the car, then headed to his apartment to crash. There was not much for Thad to do for the time between the Lawrenceburg race and the USAC race at Terre Haute on Wednesday.

 So far Thad had been impressed with everything he had encountered–the tracks, promoters, racers and the racing itself. He discovered that sprint car racing in Indiana was loved by fans all over the state, plus the travelers who came from all over the world.

 That Sunday evening Kate called.

 T: Hello Kate.

 K: Good evening, Thad. How are you?

 T: After a day of doing very little, I'm fine. The last three days were fun, but last night I was as tired as I've been in quite a while.

 K: Do you have anything planned for the next few days?

 T: Not until Wednesday when we go to Terre Haute.

 K: Thad, will you forgive me if I say something?

 Thad looked at his phone in somewhat disbelief and said, "Huh?"

 Kate laughed and repeated herself.

 T: Well, I'm sure I could. But what are you getting at?

 K: All I was going to say was that I wish you could have come down here for the two or three days between races.

 Thad was truly taken aback. He said, "Wow, Kate. That's not a half bad idea. If I had planned for it, I think I could have done that.

 K: Well, that's nice to know. I wish I had thought of it earlier.

 Kate sighed. "Thad, I've been thinking while you've been gone.

 T: Oh? About…?

 K: About us. I enjoy your company even though we've not been in each other's presence all that much. I just really appreciate and love it when we seem to communicate so well. It just seems like we're usually on the same page.

 She felt quite vulnerable suddenly. She had just told someone some of her innermost thoughts. Kate couldn't remember the last time she did that with anyone–unless it was her ex-husband.

 Thad exhaled. This had seemingly come out of the blue. But he had to admit that his feelings were similar.

 K: Hello? Thad? Are you still there?

 She checked her phone to see if he had cut the connection.

 T: I'm sorry, Kate. I had to catch my breath there.

 Kate had to laugh. Then she asked, "Did I shock you?"

 T: I wouldn't say shock. But it was a nice curve ball when I was thinking fastball.

 Thad paused a second and said, "You know Kate, now that I think about it, I've missed you when I've not been too busy. And I enjoy your company, whether it's in person or otherwise. But there's one thing…"

 K: And that would be…?

 T: We live in two very different worlds. You're not familiar with racing and I'm certainly not the academic type.

 K: Thad, that doesn't have to be a problem, especially if we're not going to be any more serious than what we are–at least for the time being.

 Silence again. This time Kate waited.

 T: Yeah, I think that makes sense, Kate. If we recognize that, we can get along.

 K: But I wish you had been able to come down here for a couple of days.

 Thad laughed. "I'll make it unanimous. I have to say I wished the same."

 They talked a while longer and agreed to at least text each other until Wednesday, when Thad would follow Sparky and crew to Terre Haute.

 Monday and Tuesday were devoted to the most mundane of tasks for Thad, things he had little experience in doing since he was single many years ago. Washing clothes, dishes and the Camaro, walking, a trip to the library–to Thad, it felt like the retired life. He liked it but knew that it would get boring after some time.

 That prompted him to start thinking about a sprint car driving school, of all things. Thad knew that this was one of the craziest things he would think of since losing Dina. He pondered the path he would take. Go to a school or just buy a car, rent a track and get laps there, or simply show up at a track some night and give it a try.

 When Thad went to bed on Tuesday night, he was still thinking. Briefly, he debated telling Kate, but figured that she would not understand. The risk would turn her against anything like that.

 After tossing and turning, Thad finally went to sleep. He woke up on Wednesday morning in a peaceful mood. Though he wasn't sure how it would come about, he knew what he was going to do.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 31: Gas City/Kokomo/Lawrenceburg

Sure enough, Kate called again on Thursday morning. Her young admirer had received a stern lecture from everyone from the county sheriff to his school counselor, explaining that sometimes bad people did what he did before doing something much worse. Happily, the young man learned his lesson.

The caravan on Friday leaving for Gas City consisted of Sparky, Preston and Matt riding in Sparky's truck while Thad followed them in his Camaro. Thad parked in the parking lot and joined the others at the pit shack. Before Sparky could reach for his wallet, Thad nudged him aside and gave the lady a pair of hundred dollar bills. Before Sparky could protest, Thad ushered his friend to his truck and said, "Lead on." He followed the truck to the pits, which were at the turns three and four on the west side of the property.

After helping unload the car, Thad walked. to the track's entrance off turn four. The quarter mile oval was not banked as high as Bloomington, but it seemed to be a little wider. The dirt was almost black, a nice contrast to the green grass in the infield. He walked back to the hauler and sat in one of the lawn chairs Sparky had brought. Thad watched the other teams come in and set up. Some had more equipment and usually it was more expensive looking than the others.

Though he spent most of his time with Sparky and crew, Thad took a walk around the pits and the space behind the bleachers, partly as a test to see if anyone would recognize him. His hair was much longer than last year, plus he had grown a beard of sorts. The extra hair kept him anonymous and that pleased him.

While the support class ran its heats, Thad sat at a picnic table and texted Kate. "Greetings from the Gas City/I-69 Speedway, up in northeastern Indiana. Enjoying my anonymity. Hope you are well and stalking free." He almost deleted the last sentence but Kate had joked about it, so he figured he could do the same.

Preston had a decent night. He edged the local favorite in his heat race, finishing fourth and advancing to the feature. The local hotshot ran the B and spun on his own while running second. No matter what the level was, that was racing. Meanwhile Preston started fourteenth in the feature and finished fourth. Thad noticed that, while Preston was in a chipper mood, Sparky went about his business after the race, not showing any more emotion than normal. Sparky had been at this too long to realize that Indiana Sprint Week would bring headaches before the grind was done.

Kokomo, not Aruba

It was a hot and humid Saturday as the Sparks Racing Team headed west to Kokomo. It was advertised as Indiana's baddest bullring and later that evening Thad would see why. He witnessed some great racing, no less intense than what he had experienced at Daytona or Talladega. More and more, he was missing the driving part of racing. Not in NASCAR but right here in Indiana.

Preston Janssen might have informed Thad to put such thoughts out of his mind. After a good night of racing at Gas City, Preston "stank" in his words. It began in time trials when he qualified 25th of the 53 cars. This relegated Preston to the dreaded fourth row of his heat. He made it to fifth, one place shy of making the 30-lap feature. This put him in the B main where he was running fourth late in the race, easily good enough to put him in the show. But a lapped car in front of Preston, who could do nothing except hit the car and end his night.

After the race, Sparky showed no more emotion than he did the night before as he, Matt and Preston loaded up the car and equipment for the trip to the car wash. Thad said little as he helped where he could. Despite the bad ending to the team's night, Thad's enthusiasm was still alive and well.

da 'burg

The high banked three eighths mile oval in southeast Indiana waited patiently for 40-plus sprinters to arrive. Several drivers were not fond of the Lawrenceburg Speedway, but Preston wasn't one of them. For whatever reason, he liked the track, facility, the whole town. Last night was history and Preston exuded an air of confidence as the team unloaded.

Preston drew a high number for qualifying. He would be 27th out of 42 cars to qualify. It would be a minor setback as the track got slower as time trials proceeded. His time was 16th quick, which put him inside second row for the fourth heat. Preston took the lead halfway through the race and took off, winning easily and getting interviewed by an attractive young lady with a microphone.

While Preston and Sparky discussed the pros and cons of changing the right rear tire, Thad listened in, hoping to learn something. Earlier, he had been imagining himself wrestling one of these beasts around this track, inches from that imposing wall. Thad was of the mind that said this was nothing like racing a stock car at any NASCAR track. As the discussion broke up, Preston gave Thad a wink, his way of saying, "I got this, buddy."

He almost had it. After a terrific three-car battle, Preston finished second to a teenager who was projected to go NASCAR racing in the next year or two. Again, he was interviewed after the race. The fans roared when Preston quickly called his wife just as the interview began. Even Sparky laughed.

On the 75-mile trip back to Scottsburg, Thad called Kate. They had been texting periodically the past three days, keeping each other informed. Kate's young admirer was back in class and there had been no more incidents, though Kate suspected that he still had his crush on her. Thad wondered aloud if Kate could let him know that the young man could impress her by doing his best to learn what was being taught. Kate laughed and said that she had mentioned it to him. Time would tell if that incentive was working.

She asked Thad how the racing was going. Thad said the travel wasn't getting old yet, but he thought it might soon. But nights like tonight made it worth it. He told her about Preston's success and his calling Mrs. Janssen as he was being interviewed. Then he mentioned the schedule. No racing on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. The fun began again on Wednesday at Terre Haute. Then it would be Thursday at a tiny town called Putnamville. Friday, Thad hoped to be at Bloomington. The series called Indiana Sprint Week ended next Saturday at Haubstadt.

She asked him when he was coming back to North Carolina. He said two weeks tops. After Haubstadt, Thad figured that he'd be homesick enough to come home.

There was another question Kate thought about asking. She was afraid to ask, so she didn't.

 

 

Chapter 30: Indiana (Pre-)Sprint Week

Monday morning found Thad sitting on the patio at his apartment, sipping a cup of coffee and reading a racing magazine devoted to open wheel racing, mostly sprint cars. One of the ads featured a perfect looking Camaro and Thad was reminded that his Camaro needed washing. That was the highlight of his Monday and he went back home.

He decided to send a text message to Kate. “Hello, Kate. I’m being about as lazy as I can be. Washed the car and I’ve retreated to the inside of the apartment where it’s nice and cool. Hope your day is going well and the students are behaving. Thad

Later that afternoon Kate replied. “Hi, Thad. So nice to hear from you. Summer school can be a challenge. Half of the kids don’t want to be there, but are there because of their grades. It’s a struggle getting them to see the error of their ways. But I enjoy it, especially when they get it. Take care. If it’s okay with you, I’ll call either tonight or tomorrow. Kate

Thad had just finished his first cup of coffee on Tuesday morning when Darla Sparks called and invited him to supper that evening. He would finally meet Sparky’s regular driver Preston, his wife and her younger brother, who would be going to Gas City, Kokomo and Lawrenceburg. Thad took the opportunity to let Darla know that he had made motel reservations with rooms for her and Sparky, as well as Preston and his brother-in-law Matt. At his insistence, he had paid for the rooms, assuring Darla that he could afford it. They would be staying in Marion, IN for both nights and then would make the drive back to Scottsburg after the Lawrenceburg race.

The rest of the afternoon was spent being lazy, something that Thad was getting good at doing. He had promised Dina that he would take better care of himself and to that end, Thad tried to make time for a walk most days. He found a park on the town’s south side and strolled around for the better part of an hour before going out to the Sparks home for a substantial supper prepared by Darla, who turned out to be an excellent cook.

Thad met Preston and his family. Preston had only been married for a year. His wife Sheila talked about her mother a lot, it seemed. Thad finally figured out that Mrs. Janssen was trying to arrange a meeting between her mother and Thad, who was polite and non-committal.

Plans were made for Friday. Everyone would meet at Sparky’s. Thad would follow everyone else. They would meet at one o’clock and hopefully would not have to make a stop between there and Gas City. Everyone said their good-byes and thank yous. Thad left first, stopping at the grocery store on his way to the apartment. Preston and family stayed awhile and Sparky told them Thad’s story. Preston’s younger brother Matt was wide-eyed and awestruck. The youngster was race-crazy, including NASCAR. His friends would never believe him if he said he had supper with Thad Larrabee.

Wednesday and Thursday were more of the same, except Thad had to fix his own supper instead of going to Sparky’s house. The most exciting thing he did was pack for the short trip to northern Indiana.

On Wednesday afternoon, he remembered that Kate had not called like she said she would. Thad shrugged and turned on his laptop, looking to see what he could see about Indiana Sprint Week. There was much to learn about the tracks, the racers, the promoters and everything else.

A half hour later his phone buzzed. “Hello? Thad?”

He laughed. “Who else would it be?”

K: I guess you’re right. It’s a habit of mine. I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier.

T: Oh, that’s okay. I was going to give you a little while longer.

K: I appreciate that, Thad. I had a little trouble with one of my summer school students.

T: What kind of trouble, may I ask?”

K: Well, at first it became apparent that this kid—he’s 19—was a little sweet on me. But it took a scary turn.

T: The first part was okay, but what happened?

K: Yeah, I’m flattered when any man thinks I’m attractive, but in this case, it was almost out of hand. He started following me around. On campus, I wasn’t crazy about it but all he did was just watch me. I’d be walking to class, eating at the cafeteria, that kind of stuff.

T: But he crossed a line.

K: Yes. He followed me home one day.

T: Oh, Kate. I hope you called the cops or somebody.

K: I did. I called both campus security and the Brevard City Police. And the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office.

T: What did they do?

K: Not much, except they did pay a visit to the kid’s dorm and had a chat with him. He wasn’t in class today, so I don’t know what’s next. Oh, Thad, I’d not mind talking to the kid if I thought for sure he was harmless.

T: Sounds like maybe he was caught before he did something rash or stupid.

K: I hope so. With a third party present, I wouldn’t mind talking to him myself, but I’ll leave it to a school counselor.

T: Just to be sure, you might want to keep your curtains closed.

Kate laughed at that. “I already do, but I have started to lock the doors and windows. I mean, Brevard is a small university town. I’ve never thought of security. The biggest issue in Brevard is the traffic.”

T: That was a big part of my former job.

Kate laughed even harder. “I guess it would.” She became serious. “Thad, you need to tell me about racing sometime. What was it like, how famous you were—or are.”

Thad mused, not sure what to say. He gave it a try. “During the best years, I enjoyed it all. That was when I was much younger. As time went on, it became a nuisance. By that I mean the lack of privacy. We had to go to great lengths to keep the public from invading our space. Five years ago we sold the giant house on Lake Norman and bought a much smaller place near Lake Lure. These neighbors don’t bug us. They treat us like, well, neighbors.

K: I’m getting the impression that you don’t like all that attention.

T: True, but the attention I got at the track, or even doing something for one of the sponsors, wasn’t so bad. It was when I just wanted to take my wife to dinner that I couldn’t handle. And neither could Dina. Especially the women who actually threw themselves at me—with Dina sitting right there.

K: I’ve talked to other celebrities and have heard similar stories. What about this trip? And how was it at Bloomington?

T: It wasn’t bad at all. I look a little different these days so maybe few people even knew who I was. Or they didn’t care. That was okay too. I’m happy to blend in.

K: That’s great, Thad. It really is. Listen, I need to make a couple of calls and then, God help me, grade some papers. What’s your game plan for the next few days?

T: I’m looking forward to it. Finish packing tomorrow and we head north to Gas City on Friday. Stay all night up there and then off to Kokomo on Saturday. We’ll come back down here Saturday night and go to Lawrenceburg on Sunday night. The pressure will be on the others. I’ll do what little I can and enjoy myself.

K: It sounds exciting for you. I’m almost curious enough to want to see it myself.

T: Well, never say never, Kate. Crazy things come along in our lives, with the vast majority of them unexpected.

K: How true. Listen if I don’t talk to you tomorrow, please be safe and have fun. Okay?

T: Will do. And after you grade those papers, treat yourself to something special. Okay?

Kate laughed. “I’ll do that. Take care, Thad. I enjoy talking with you. Bye.”

She hung up just as Thad began to say good-bye.

 

 

Chapter 29: Hello, Kate

Chuck didn't win but it wasn't for a lack of trying. Instead it was the proverbial racing luck that did him in. From his second row starting spot, Chuck was leading when a lapped car spun in front of him. Chuck barely nicked the car as he spun to avoid it. Restarting on the tail with only seven laps to go, Chuck came back to finish eighth.

When Chuck idled back to the pits, he was still perturbed that he had been robbed of a win. Sparky cooled him off, telling his driver to calm down and that he had done a great job and they would be able to load the car on the trailer in one piece. Chuck was mollified somewhat when Sparky gave him an extra $50 for his payoff. The Illinois racer was a little sad to be leaving Sparky because Preston would be ready to race next week when Indiana Sprint Week began at Gas City. Chuck had another chance to get a win for Sparky the following night at Lawrenceburg.

Thad helped load the car and everything else on the hauler. He walked to his car and checked his phone to see what time it was. And there was another text message from Kate.

Kate: Hi Thad. Please tell me if I'm bothering you; it's okay. But would it be okay if I called? Or you called me?

Thad considered. She was interested. No big deal, but she was, to him at least, interesting herself. Before he knew it, he had called her and waited for her to answer.

Over 400 miles away, Kate looked at her beeping phone. She shook her head. What was she doing? She took a deep breath and reminded herself to keep things under control.

K: Hello? Thad?

T: Hello Kate. I just went ahead and called.

K: That's fine. I just took a chance that you would even answer the text. I'm glad you called.

T: (After a few seconds) Well, your timing was great. I am just leaving the race track and heading back to my temporary home in Scottsburg.

K: Scottsburg. Is that near Bloomington?

T: It's about 80 miles southeast of Bloomington.

K: That's where the university is, correct?

T: Indiana University. We didn't go by there. The track is on the south end of town. Right now I'm following Sparky and the car in the hauler out of Bloomington.

K: I guess you–The connection went dead as Thad rounded a curve while he was going downhill, into a valley.

Thad sneaked a glance at the phone and smiled. These things happened in the North Carolina mountains, but here? Indiana wasn't quite as flat as he thought. He drove on, keeping Sparky in sight as they negotiated the curves and hills of southern Indiana. Kate could try again to call. He kind of hoped she would and she did about ten minutes later.

K: Hi Thad. What happened?

T: I was going down a hill into a valley–or dead zone. Guess they have them up here too.

K: Guess so. For a second I thought you had hung up on me.

T: Huh? Why would I do that, Kate? I was enjoying our conversation.

K: You were? Good.

T: I was going to ask you to tell me about your job.

K: Well, there wasn't much to tell.

T: Yeah, but maybe I'd like to know about your teaching. What subject? What are the students like? Lots of things.

K: During school just concluded I taught a creative writing class and I had a journalism class. There's two English classes and I'm involved with the school paper. This summer I have a couple of English classes.

Kate sighed loud enough for Thad to hear. "I'm trying to keep alive the tradition of reading and writing as opposed to viewing. I hope that makes sense."

T: It does. Dina and I had conversations about that before she passed away.

K: Really? Tell me about it if you don't mind.

T: Not at all. Not much to tell.

Kate laughed. "Where have I heard that before?"

T: Right. We talked about what I would do with all the time on my hands. She wanted to be sure that I'd find something constructive to do.

K: Such as reading?

T: That was one thing. We talked about me traveling.

Thad paused. "But not to sprint car racing in Indiana." He laughed.

K: Somehow I don't think she would mind.

T: Probably not.

A couple of minutes later, Thad missed the entrance to I-65 south.

T: Dammit. Sorry Kate. I missed a turn. I'll have to turn around. No problem, except I'm sure Sparky will wonder where I went.

K: I'm the one who should be sorry. I distracted you.

T: Nah. It was driver error all the way.

K: Well I probably need to hang up anyway. Believe it or not it's past my bedtime.

T: Okay. I'll talk to you later, Kate. Thanks for making the time fly.

Kate laughed and said, "Same to you." After a slight pause, it was "Goodnight Thad."

"Goodnight Kate."

Thad turned around and went back to the turn onto I--65 south. Scottsburg was another 40 miles but it should go quickly. Sparky had told Thad to go home and get some sleep. He and Darla would clean the car in the morning at a local car wash. Thad was welcome to join them for lunch, which he did, at a local mom-and-pop restaurant.

They left for Lawrenceburg at three P.M. after Chuck stopped by to ride with Sparky. Thad followed them all the way to Lawrenceburg, where he watched Chuck come from seventh to finish a close second to the winner, muti-time track champ, "Bear" Noland.

After the race, Thad followed Sparky and Chuck back to Scottsburg, where they washed the car before taking it to Spark's barn. Thad begged off joining them for a beer from Sparky's refrigerator in the barn and went to his apartment instead.

He sent Kate a text message before he went to bed. She called him on Sunday evening from Brevard and they talked for nearly an hour.

● Thad was now counting the hours before Indiana Sprint Week would begin.

 

 

Chapter 28: Kate Reaches Out

Since their dinner date in April, Kate had been hoping that Thad would call, text, anything. Fortunately for her, she had been busy. In addition to her classroom duties, she had auditioned for a part in a play with a group of actors and singers in Asheville. At first she enjoyed it, but the rehearsals, along with the petty games by the cast and director, became a drag. Kate was determined to stick with it and was glad she had by the time of the show in June.

Thad had faded in her mind somewhat, but one warm July evening, she impulsively texted him, not knowing where he was or what he was doing. She chided herself. Kate rarely did anything impulsively.

Kate: Hi, Thad. Hope you are well. Just wanted to say hello and see what you were up to. Take care. Kate

Thad read the text as Chuck and the others lined up for their heat race, which would be ten laps. He shook his head. The text could wait until after this race. If he remembered.

The green flag waved and Thad loved every minute—even though the race lasted just a bit over two minutes. Chuck had called his shot and won. But what impressed Thad was the way Chuck had won. From fourth he had settled in third place at the start, content to watch the two cars in front. Midway through the race, the second place car entered turn one just high enough for Chuck to sneak under him. Second place was his. Chuck stalked the leader until the white flag waved. The leader, a local boy who was quite popular with the crowd, hugged the bottom groove, the “huggypole.” As the leader motored around the bottom, Chuck figured he may as well try the top. Sure enough, he swept around the leader and outdragged him down the backstretch. From there, the race was his.

Outwardly, Thad never changed his expression. But inward, he felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He wondered if he was done racing. He wondered, for the first time, if he could drive one of those beasts himself.

As he and Sparky walked back to the car, Thad remembered the text. What would he tell Kate? He shrugged inwardly. That could wait. Thad wanted to watch Sparky and Chuck now to see what they would do for the feature. As it turned out, there was nothing major that needed fixing. When Thad reached the car, it was sitting still—like a bucking bronco waiting for its next outburst. Sparky was talking with a couple of guys and Chuck was carefully adding tearoffs to his helmet. He looked up as Thad approached.

“How’d you like that, old timer?”

Thad didn’t know whether to laugh or be offended. He chose neither. “Like it? I thought it was great. Crazy maybe, but great.”

Chuck laughed appreciatively. “You got the crazy part right.”

Thad didn’t say anything at first, letting Chuck finish his task. When he did, Thad asked, “Are you guys going to do anything to the car for the feature?”

“Not tonight. We might mess with the air pressure. Usually, not always, I leave that stuff to Sparky.” Chuck looked at him kind of funny. Sparky hadn’t introduced him to Thad and the former NASCAR driver hadn’t offered to do so.

“Let me ask you a question, okay?”

“Sure.” Thad guessed what the question would be.

“You look familiar. Like I’ve seen you, or a guy who looks like you on TV. Racing.”

Thad grinned. “I do?”

“Yeah. Can I ask it? Who are you?”

“I may as well tell you, seeing that you’ll find out anyhow.” Thad stuck out his hand. “I’m Thad Larrabee, retired NASCAR driver.”

Chuck managed not to make a scene. Instead, he shook Thad’s hand. “I’m not sure what to say. I mean—”

“Yeah, not too often do you get a NASCAR guy asking about what you’re gonna do to the car before the feature.”

Chuck finally calmed down and chuckled. “Never for me. I’ve seen Tony Stewart here a time or two, but other than him, nah.”

There was an awkward silence. “Thad, is it okay if I ask what you’re doing here? I know you’re retired and all, but…” He looked around the pits. “Why here? Do you and Spark go back a ways?”

“As a matter of fact we do. My car owner and I went down to Florida back in February and I hooked up with Sparky. We do go back a ways, a matter of fact.” Thad didn’t mention Dina. He might—if someone asked.

“I’ll just say, welcome to Indiana. How long you gonna stay here?”

“As of now, I’m staying up here until Sprint Week’s over.” Thad considered. “Hey, is it okay to ask if you’ll be in Sparky’s car for Sprint Week?”

“I doubt it. I think Preston should be ready by then. These kids heal fast.” Chuck shook his head. “He’s as crazy as the rest of us. I’d be surprised if he isn’t. Either way, I got a ride lined up.”

“Either way, good luck.” Thad looked toward the pit bleachers. “I think I’ll go back and watch the other guys. You never know. There may be another Chuck Sholes out there.”

Chuck laughed. “I doubt it, but you never know.” He pointed to another car. “See that guy over there? He drove those modifieds for a year or two, took over his brother’s car and a few years later he was unbeatable here. He’s still plenty tough.”

Thad nodded. “That’s really a good story, Chuck.” He looked at the bleachers again. “If I don’t talk to you before the feature, good luck. I’d appreciate it if you could win.”

This time it was more like a guffaw. “I’ll do my best, Thad.”

“There you go.” Thad walked away.

He got his phone out and considered answering the text from Kate. He began tapping.

Thad: Hi, Kate. I’m at the Bloomington, Indiana Speedway with a friend. He moved up here when we were in high school. Having a great time. Talk to you soon. Thad.

He put his phone away and tried not to think of Kate while the modifieds took the green flag.

 

 

Chapter 27: The Red Clay Oval

The car and the accessories were all loaded on Sparky’s heavy duty Chevy Silverado, which was strong enough to pull the hauler. Thad climbed in on the passenger side and off they went, heading north on I-65.

No one spoke until they passed the Austin exit.

“Hey, Spark, what do you do if Chuck doesn’t show up?”

Sparky grinned and said, “Why, are you wanting a ride?”

“Oh, no. Besides I didn’t bring a helmet or uniform.”

“I’d hope that Chuck will let me know. I texted him just before we left. He was already at Terre Haute, so we should get to the track about the same time.”

About a minute later, Sparky said, “If for some reason Chuck couldn’t make it, there’s usually a spare driver around. If it’s somebody I can trust, I’ll put him in for the night. Otherwise, I’d just be a spectator.”

“Pretty informal, huh?” It was more a statement than a question.

“Yes, and that’s fine by me. It gets more formal and expensive very year. If it gets too crazy, I reckon I’ll put everything up for sale. Always seems to be a buyer.”

Both of them lapsed into silence as the miles rolled by. Thad was struck by the flatness of the land compared to his home. The countryside was a mixture of houses, barns, crop fields and trees. They exited the interstate at Columbus and headed west on Indiana Road 46. It was more of the same until they reached Nashville. Here were the southern Indiana hills that attracted tourists every October. The road was crooked, reminding Thad of U.S. 64 from Lake Lure to Hendersonville down home.

Sparky turned the truck and hauler into the speedway parking lot and slowly idled down the path to the pit shack. He chuckled as he noticed Thad rubbernecking. The retired racer was gawking at the high banked turns.

As they patiently waited for the line of haulers to move toward the shack, Thad asked, “How high is that banking?”

“Oh, I don’t know, man. Thirty degrees? It’s pretty steep.” Sparky shot Thad an impish grin. “I’ve seen some cars launch off those banks a few times. Not pretty.”

“I guess it wouldn’t be.” Thad looked around the parking lot and the property in general. “Call me crazy, Sparky, but this is beautiful. I like it.”

“Glad you do. You’re going to have a good time.”

Twenty minutes later, Thad had been introduced to Sparky’s temporary driver, Chuck Sholes, before helping unload the car. Mostly he stood by as Sparky and Chuck double checked the list of preparation steps before the car would go through the engine check. The driver’s meeting was as informal as the NASCAR version was formal, especially in Thad’s later years.

Up next were hot laps. Thad joined Sparky and an assortment of other characters in the pit bleachers. Most were associated with the sprint car teams, but there were a good number of fans who enjoyed walking through the pits and chatting up drivers, owners and mechanics. None of that mattered to Thad.

He was transfixed. The ritual began with the first group of sprints pushed off from the staging area in turn two. The group of eight cars slowly circled the oval. The red clay surface reminded Thad of every Carolina dirt bullring that he had visited and/or raced in his much younger years. He said as much to Sparky before the green flag waved.

“You homesick?”

Thad laughed. “No way. This is great.”

Sparky thought to himself. “He’s getting the itch, if I’m not mistaken.”

The flagman waved the green flag and the cars fairly flew around the oval. After the four-lap session, Thad looked at Sparky and gave him the biggest smile, which said, “I love this.” After hot laps, Sparky went back to his pit and asked Chuck how the car was doing. Thad stayed in his seat and watched the support classes, all race cars with fenders and sheet metal, cars he was more used to seeing. The support class cars looked as if they were idling around the oval after watching the sprints. A few minutes of this and Thad went back to the pits and watched Sparky and Chuck make minor adjustments to the car.

Chuck was the fast qualifier in his group and would start fourth in his heat. He had to finish fifth or better to make the feature. Thad wrote down the car numbers of Chuck’s heat and took the lineup to Chuck without a word. Chuck thanked him and looked at the lineup. All he said was, “I ought to win this one.”

Thad went back to the bleachers to watch the sprint heat races. While he was waiting on Chuck’s heat to come out, Thad looked at his phone, intending to check the weather. What he saw instead was a text message.

 

 

Chapter 26: Thad the (Temporary) Hoosier

July approached. Thad left the mountain on July 1. He had settled into a routine of walking around the mountain, hanging out at his favorite bar and grill, Mojo’s, heading east to visit with Arley every three weeks or so and going to Asheville to watch the minor league baseball team. There were the occasional dates with Kate. Thad enjoyed and appreciated her company, but sometimes it was a struggle to get up in the morning; those were the days he missed Dina the most. But he would make himself get up and make it through another day.

Thad loaded up the Camaro with enough supplies to last him for a month. Sparky wanted him to stay at his place but Thad was adamant about renting an apartment. He figured that having an apartment would allow him come and go as he pleased.

He left his house, a modest structure considering that the owner was a multi-millionaire. It was at the end of a narrow country road near Lake Lure, surrounded by lots of trees. He drove slowly through the twin villages of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. From there most of the road to Asheville was one switchback after another. Traffic was seldom a problem, unless one caught a car with both driver and passengers rubber-necking at the always beautiful views. Thad entered I-40 on Asheville’s east side. He blended with the traffic and headed west to Tennessee.

His first stop was at the Tennessee Welcome Center. After a short comfort stop, off he went with Knoxville the next big city. Road construction and heavy traffic just north of Knoxville slowed Thad’s pace. He decided that he would stop overnight somewhere in Kentucky. He found a motel in Corbin and stopped for the night. It was almost noon on Thursday before he found himself on I-75 going north to Lexington. From there, it was I-64 and more road construction.

With a clear road, Thad headed west to Louisville. He crossed the Ohio and he was in Indiana. Other than Indianapolis, he had not been to very many places in the Hoosier State. That was about to change.

Setting a very leisurely pace, Thad arrived at Sparky’s house on Thursday afternoon—after stopping at the furnished apartment he had rented for the month. He unloaded his car and called Sparky. It went straight to voicemail.

“Hey, Sparky. This is Thad. I made it just fine. I’m at the apartment for the next few days. Looking forward to this. Catch you later.”

Fifteen minutes later, Sparky called back. He gave Thad directions to the farmhouse. Then he relayed Darla’s order to come out for supper.

Thad had to drive through downtown Scottsburg to get to Sparky’s farm. It was a small town but bigger than Chimney Rock and Lake Lure combined. Five minutes after he crossed the U.S. 31/Indiana 56 intersection, he was out in the country, surrounded by tall corn with the occasional house and barn between the fields. Sparky had said if he saw Goshen Road, he had gone too far.

Sure enough, he found the house with Sparky outside. He had pushed his sprint car outside the barn/garage and was polishing the tail tank. Thad learned later that his buddy insisted that his car show up at the track clean as a whistle.

Thad exited his car and was greeted by Sparky and a friendly black Lab dog, who insisted that Thad rub his ears. “Great to see you, Thad.” Sparky enthusiastically shook Thad’s hand, then pointed to the car. “Well, there it is, bud. What do you think?”

He wasn’t sure what to say. This was a close-up view of what he had seen in Florida only five months ago. One the one hand, the car was beautiful. The body was painted a light shade of blue, almost the same as the famous Petty family cars in the NASCAR series he had just left. The number was coal-black on the tail tank—number 82. Assorted sponsors dotted the hood and the side panels.

On the other hand, it was the fiercest race car of any kind he had seen. The horsepower to weight ratio was insane. Compared to the stock cars Thad had driven, there was very little protection from whatever the car came into contact with. It exuded an aura of what could only be described as intimidation. Thad wasn’t quite repelled by the car; instead, his curiosity was in high gear. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to race one of these cars.

Sparky stood by as Thad circled the car, examining different parts, silently whistling to himself. He stopped and stood next to Sparky, but still looking at the car.

“Well?”

“Sparky, if that car was an animal, it would be a leopard with the sharpest teeth God could give him.”

Sparky chuckled. “That’s as good as any description of a sprint car I’ve heard.”

Thad finally looked at his friend. “So, what’s the plan this weekend?”

“Heading up to Bloomington tomorrow. Leaving here around three. After the race, we’ll take the car to a car wash, then come home. Saturday, I’ll look the car over, fix what needs to be fixed, then we’ll probably go over to Lawrenceburg. We’ll leave a little later since the ‘burg is a little closer. Same deal—wash the car before we come home and so on.”

Thad grinned. “Sounds like fun. I’d better get some rest tonight.”

“Okay, but Mrs. Sparks insists that you join us for supper. She thinks you look like you could put on a little weight.”

Thad and Sparky went to the house, where Darla was taking a ham out of the oven. The smell was, to Thad, heavenly. Darla greeted both of them, giving Gideon (she always called him by his given name) a quick kiss and Thad a quick hug. He felt thoroughly at home with these people. He had heard of Hoosier hospitality; perhaps this was it.

 

 

Chapter 25: Dinner and Kate

Thad drove into the parking lot of the restaurant with his passenger already grading the date. In Kate’s mind, it was an A so far. Thad had not said much when he picked her up at her small house. He drove smoothly, anticipating the stoplights and the antics of the traffic. She felt safe in more ways than one. Ideally, Thad would be good company for the evening. All Kate wanted was something to eat and someone to talk to.

She would not be disappointed. They picked up their phone conversation from a few days ago until the food arrived. After they ate, they had another drink before leaving. While they sipped their food, Kate took a chance.

“Thad, I know this might sound a little personal, but you haven’t talked about how you’ve coped since Dina passed.” She smiled. “You seem to be doing so well and I wonder how you did it.”

Thad grinned and said, “My guess is that I handled my loss about as good as you handled yours.”

Kate chuckled. “I see the similarities. But the partings were under far different circumstances.” She paused. “I did a lot of my enduring the situation before the divorce.”

“I guess that I did the same, Kate. Most of the suffering that I had was done before she died.”

She looked at him with a little more respect. “That reminds me of the Bible story about King David’s baby that passed away. While the child was sick, David did his mourning, tearing his clothes, covering himself with ashes and such. But when the baby died, he cleaned himself up and said something like ‘my baby can’t come back to me. I can only go to him.’” Kate paused and smiled at Thad. “I think we both can relate to that.”

“You are correct, dear lady.” Thad was enjoying himself more than he thought he would. He told Kate the same.

“You thought that I might be boring?”

“Not at all, Kate. I wasn’t sure that we’d have much in common and we’d not talk so much.” He smiled at her. “I was very wrong, at least that’s how it seems to me.”

Later, as they went back to Kate’s house, she asked him what his plans were for the coming weeks. He told her about his plan to go to Indiana. Then he talked about Sparky and their friendship. He talked about sprint car racing and how different it was from what he did.

“One isn’t any better than the other. They’re just different in so many ways.”

“Sounds like it. That’s another world I never knew existed, I guess.”

“Partly, that’s because sprint car racing is a tiny part of racing in general. And racing is not as well-known to lots of people.” He paused and determined that this would be the last he’d talk of racing tonight. “It’s okay if it doesn’t interest you, Kate.”

 He smiled in the growing darkness of the evening. He had put the top up on the convertible, as the evening was a bit cooler. It was a Wednesday and chances were that Kate had classes tomorrow.

“Kate, if we do this again, you can tell me about the academic world.”

She laughed. “Not much to tell, I’m afraid.”

“Well, I’ll try to ask good questions.”

“You do that.” She looked at him. “Thad, I enjoyed myself. So, yes, it would be nice if we do this again.”

“Works for me.” He looked at her. “Would you like me to accompany you to the front door?”

“No, thanks. I think we’ve given the neighbors enough to talk about already.” She sighed. “I don’t go out that much. Especially with a guy driving a Corvette.”

Thad smiled. “In that case, I’d better let you go. I assume you have classes to teach tomorrow.”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Good night, Kate.” He leaned over and gave her a quick hug.

She was surprised but not so much that she didn’t hug him, too. “Good night, Thad.”

Thad went home, arriving at half past ten. The lights around the mountains were a friendly presence; without them darkness would rule. Thad didn’t pay it much mind. Light or no lights, it was home. He would be leaving it soon, but only for a little while.

 

 

Chapter 24: Kate Calling

Two hours after talking to his buddy Sparky, Thad was taking a pizza out of the oven. He was looking forward to supper, then watching an old movie. But then the phone buzzed.

Thad didn’t recognize the number but answered the phone anyway.

Lately, Kate Danner had been at loose ends. While she could say she was happily divorced, she thought that it would be nice to have someone to at least have dinner with her once in a while. The available men in her circle were available for a reason, she decided. Boring, egotistical, clueless, or all of the above. She preferred solitude to company like that. They all had something about them that reminded her of her ex-husband.

The college, well, the sociology department, was considering a course in 21st Century social behavior at sporting contests, including racing. Kate had been sought out for her thoughts. She was non-committal but agreed to at least give it some thought. Then Thad came to mind. There was a slim chance that he might have something to add regarding race fans’ behavior.

Kate had her doubts. Would Thad be ready to talk about his interaction with fans? Or anything racing related? How would he feel about talking to total strangers, most of whom no doubt had much knowledge of racing and fame? She shrugged. All she could do was call him. Seeing Thad at Christmas had startled her. Kate had always been fond of her cousin Dina, and had not paid much attention to Thad’s accomplishments. A conversation with Louise Sebastian that evening had educated Kate. She now had an idea of how successful Thad’s racing career had been.

After her all-too-brief conversation with Thad at the Sebastians’, Kate was able to determine that Thad was nothing like the stereotyped version of athletes in general and race drivers in particular she and most non-racing fans might have thought. He was quiet, soft spoken and not comfortable in large groups. She had to wonder if he would be good company, someone to take to dinner or travel with.

She shook her head and picked up her phone. Kate knew that she’d have to call Louise first and get Thad’s number. She decided to be up front and mention the seminar. Louise could not have been more gracious. She gave Kate the number and told her that Thad was a fine young man—with a giggle—who would be a good date. Kate thanked Louise multiple times and couldn’t wait to end the conversation. But she did so, knowing that Louise would want to know all the details later.

Silently berating herself as she dialed Thad’s number, Kate hoped she didn’t sound like a schoolgirl, stumbling over her words as she desperately tried to explain the reason for her call. Since her divorce she had been on three dates in the last ten months of the newly single life. None of them were worth thinking about. Men in their fifties, she discovered, weren’t all that different from teenage boys.

“I may as well get on with it,” she said to herself as she dialed the number Louise had given her. She dialed and waited for Thad to answer. Instead she got a recording, saying “Hi, I can’t come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number, I’ll call you back sooner or later.”

Kate waited for the beep and said, “Hi, Thad. This is Kate, uh, Dina’s cousin Kate. Could you call me back when you can? Thanks.”

She felt rather sheepish. She didn’t think to leave her number, but surely he would see the number on his screen. Wouldn’t he? Kate shook her head and went to her office in the back of the house to grade papers.

Her phone buzzed about a half hour later. She recognized the number.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Kate?”

“Yes, is that you, Thad?” She mentally smacked herself. Of course it was.

“Yes, it is. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine. Hope you’re doing well.”

After a short pause, Thad said, “I’ll say I’m doing better.”

“That’s good to hear. Hey, Thad, I tried to call you about a new class at the college. It’s focused on spectators’ behavior at any or all sporting events.” (Slight pause.)  “Including racing. I was thinking that if it might be something you would be interested in.” She took a quick breath. “Now, it’s okay if you aren’t interested, Thad. I understand. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through or what you’re still going through. But I had to ask. You’re the only really famous person I know.”

Thad chuckled, but almost shouted No to her, but decided against that. Instead, he was much more diplomatic. “I don’t know, Kate. I’m not too sure how I’d do in a setting like that.” He thought briefly. Impulsively, he felt a bit sorry for her and said, “Instead of that, how would you like to go to dinner some evening?”

Kate was blindsided by that question. But before she could consider the offer, she said, “That would be great, Thad.” She paused. “Do you have any place in mind?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. There’s a steakhouse in Hendersonville and I’ve always enjoyed going there.” Thad almost added “with Dina,” but thought better of it.

Dina guessed as much, but didn’t mention it. Instead she said, “That would be fine with me. It’s about halfway between us. So…where is it?” She silently guessed that Thad had Binion’s Roadhouse in mind.

“Binion’s. I can pick you up whenever you say.”

“Oh, Thad. That’s a long drive for you.”

“I don’t mind. I don’t race any more but I still enjoy driving.” He laughed. “I’ll even drive the Corvette. If it’s nice weather, maybe I could let the top down at least in town.”

“That would be great, Thad.” Kate chuckled to herself. Her ex had been so uptight about things like driving around with the top down, afraid of catching a cold or whatever. 

From there, Thad and Kate conversed for the better part of an hour, talking mostly about their extended family. Had she not noticed that she was to be at a meeting, they might have talked more.

 

 

Chapter 23: Calling Sparky

Thad got around to calling Sparky in the middle of April. He had decided that he would be going up to Indiana and see these funny looking sprint cars race in their own habitat. But first he wanted to know how Sparky’s season was going.

“It could have been a better opening night, Thad. That was two weeks ago this coming Saturday. Preston got caught up in another guy’s mistake and flipped down the backstretch. Trashed the car and Preston will be out for a few weeks.”

“Man, I hate to hear that, Spark. Did Preston break any bones?”

“Yeah, his right arm. The poor kid’s right-handed too. Lucky for him, he has a good boss who’s going to try and keep him busy. If he can’t weld, maybe he can answer the phone. Ha. Plus, he does have good insurance for a deal like this. Preston’ll be fine.”

Thad asked, “What about the car? What do you do when something like this happens?”

“I have insurance on the car so that helps some. There were a few things I could salvage, but the frame was bent all to hell. I can’t complain too much. I have a backup car. Now it’ll be the main car.”

“You got a driver yet?”

Sparky laughed. “Why, you wanting a ride?”

It was Thad’s turn to laugh. “Well…not yet. I was just curious.”

Sparky detected something about his old friend. He wasn’t positive, but it seemed like Thad still had the itch to race. He said, “Yeah, there’s a kid over in Illinois who raced for me last week. Not bad. On Friday, he ran fifth at Bloomington. It was the first time he’d even seen the track, let alone race on it. We went to Lawrenceburg on Saturday for a USAC race. Again, he was a rookie there, too. Started in the back and came on at the end to finish 12th and he took the hard charger award too.”

“Sounds like you may have two drivers somewhere down the road, Spark.”

Sparky laughed. “Yeah, that happens. My new guy, Chuck, agreed that this was just until Preston gets better. We’ll see.”

Thad cleared his throat. “Well, the reason I called was because I was wondering about coming up there for a visit.”

“Really? That would be great, Thad. Just say when.”

“What do you recommend?” Thad had no clue. Sparky was about to educate the boy.

“How about July, bud? Catch a few regular nights, but the big deal is Indiana Sprint Week. Seven races, seven different tracks in nine or ten nights. All the USAC guys, the locals and maybe a few guys from out West. They will all be there.”

Thad was genuinely excited. “Spark, that sounds like a deal. I’ll let you know ahead of time when I leave from here. And listen. I’m not necessarily wanting to tag along. I’ll help any way I can. Drive the truck. Change tires. Anything I can do.”

“I’m looking forward to it, buddy boy.”

The two friends talked a while longer before hanging up. Afterward, Thad sat on his front porch that gave him a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains. In a couple of months he would be in Indiana, much of which was as flat as this place was mountainous. Thad had been to Indiana before. His parents were native Hoosiers, in fact. And he had won the Brickyard 400—twice. He had been so tempted to try and get a ride in the Indianapolis 500, but it never worked out. But now he was going to Indiana to see some sprint car racing and check it out.

Thad had the bug. Now the question was what he was going to do about it.

But things could get complicated as he would find out a day or two later when he got another phone call.

 

 

Chapter 22: Lazy Days

For the next six weeks, Thad was content to do very little. Most days he spent watching TV, reading the news, with special attention to the trials and tribulations of NASCAR. On occasion he went down the mountain to one of the local pubs. He would drink a couple of beers and sometimes had lunch or dinner there.

In the middle of March, Thad made acquaintance with a couple of gentlemen who seemed to be friendly to him—and not race fans looking to say they knew the famous race car driver. One of them was a race fan, mostly NASCAR, but he had come to look at Thad as just another racing buddy. The other wasn’t much of a fan, but he was good company. Having lost his wife a couple of years ago, Thad found himself listening to a man describe what his life had been like the last few years.

Both guys were golfers and tried to get Thad to take up the game. Thad considered it but decided against it—at least for the time being. He honestly thought that learning the game would occupy more time than he was willing to commit. His new friends, Darrell and Rollie, understood. They enjoyed Thad’s company and were glad to know a celebrity of sorts. Darrell in particular, never grew tired of Thad’s stories.

Thad tried not to get overly personal when telling stories. He shared some that had been in the news, feuds between drivers and such, but sometimes he would tell some of the behind-the-scene-like stories. The story about one of his competitors who had wet his uniform during a race that he won always got a laugh out of Darrell, no matter how many times Thad told the story.

April came and Thad thought about traveling. After some “internet research” he decided that he would like to take a tour of Civil War battle sites, starting with Antietam. From there he would go to Appomattox and then head home, leaving for himself the option of stopping at any place that piqued his interest. But he vacillated too long and before he knew it, schools were turning the children loose for the summer. That meant lots of tourists, so Thad decided to put off any battlefield visits. Besides, he would have looked somewhat out of place, gazing out over a field that was the scene of a long ago battle for a worthy cause and no one to share it with.

This made him think of Dina and that made him sad. For the first time, he thought about seeing other women. The pickings were slim in his community. Of all the females he had seen or met, there weren’t any that interested him. Most were friendly enough, but there were a few who were just a little too eager to get to know Thad better. His married female acquaintances made occasional references to a single lady they knew. Thad was quick to shoot those hints down.

He reminded Janie, who was married to Thad’s best mountain friend Lew, that he would make it known if or when he was looking. “Hell, Jane. I don’t even have a list, let alone a little black book,” he told her one day as he, Lew and Janie sat at the bar of their favorite pubs in town.

Lew chuckled and said, “There you go, honey. His birthday is about the same time as yours. Get him a little black book. By the time his birthday rolls around, he should have plenty of names and numbers to fill up that book.”

Thad laughed too. It occurred to him that he was laughing and enjoying himself. Better yet, he wasn’t feeling guilty about it. He had come to accept things as they were. Dina had told him as much. She had encouraged him to build a new life and move on. Life was too short to spend the rest of his days moping around, as she put it.

The pitcher of beer was empty and Thad signaled Roxie, the server, for another pitcher. She brought to the booth and Thad grabbed Lew’s arm. “My treat, boss. Remember, you bought last time.”

“I did? When?”

Thad gave him a mock-baleful look. “Would you believe that Mexican restaurant in Asheville? Two weeks ago?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Janie shook her head. “Does this mean that I’m driving home, Lewis?”

Lew shrugged. Thad said, “It does.”

“What about you, Thaddeus?” Thad and Lew both divined that Janie wasn’t happy about the pitcher of beer that sat before them.

He smiled at Janie. “I’ll be fine, Janie.”

She grumbled to herself but said nothing more.

Thad took a sip of his beer and saw something on the TV by the bar that caught his eye. There was one of those off-road truck races on, the kind where trucks race on a road course, jumping over strategically placed mounds of dirt. He wasn’t much interested in this kind of racing but it reminded him of something. And someone.

Sparky.

 

 

Chapter 21: RIP, Link

The Daytona 500 was the last race on Thad and Arley’s road trip. They secured hard cards that gave them access to the pits on race day. Both enjoyed seeing their former competitors. Thad received a lot of attention, not only sympathy for his loss of Dina, but for his retirement—and his longer hair with the beard.

Before driver introductions, always a snazzy and somewhat hokey interlude, Thad was approached from behind by an unseen “assailant” who turned out to be his old friend and rival Link Meminger.

“I almost didn’t recognize you, boy.” Link playfully tousled Thad’s hair. “How you doin’, buddy?”

Thad smiled, “Doin’ better, Link. Arley and I have been on a fun road trip this month.”

“I heard about that.” Link became serious for a moment. “I’ll admit it. I was a little jealous of you two.”

“How so?”

“There’s a part of me that would have loved to join you guys. You must have enjoyed it.”

“For sure, Link. I’ll bet there’s a few guys here who wish you would join Arley and me.”

Link laughed. “You know it. But I still enjoy it You get in that car and all the outside stuff takes a back seat.”

“I’ll tell you what. You have a standing invitation to join us after you give this up. Between that and your going fishing all the time, plus your other businesses, you can see some of the bullrings. Not just here in Florida, but all over the place.”

“How about Australia? I’ve been there once and loved it.”

Thad said, “I’d be up for going down there. Never been there.”

The two racers walked over to Link’s car. Thad looked inside and paled.

He turned to Link. “Link, what did you do to those belts, man? They look as loose as a goose.”

Link laughed. “They give me a little flexibility.” He squinted at his friend. “Thad, you’re the first person to point that out.”

Thad thought for a second. “Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but that’s the first time I’ve seen them.” He shook his head and said, “You’re taking quite a chance there, buddy boy.”

Link shrugged. “So far, so good.”

“Promise me you’ll get those things fixed, man. I’ve got plenty of short tracks to see and I’d like you to see them with me.”

“I’ll promise, Thad. It’ll be alright.”

They stood there in an awkward silence until Link spoke. “Hey, have you seen ol’ Bruiser?”

Thad laughed and said, “No! Is he here?”

“He’ll be out here in a bit.” Link grinned. “Try not to hurt ‘em”

They both laughed.

“Bruiser” Crandall never went by his given name, Arthur. He was a big guy, usually a jolly sort, but he wasn’t shy about expressing his opinion and getting physical about it if he had to.

Thad Larrabee was a 37-year-old rookie who had won two races before the end of May. It would have been three, but Link Menninger, at that time a two-time champ himself, spun Thad out with the checkered flag in sight. As some would say, it was just “Link being Link.” Thad didn’t see it that way. He and Dina could have used the money.

After the race, Thad had not cooled off. He went to Link’s garage and confronted the race winner, who was ready to talk about it. Thad was ready for more and pushed Link into a stack of tires, sending Goodyear rubber all over the garage and Link to the floor. Bruiser advanced toward Thad, who promptly unloaded a left/right/left combination of punches that sent the big man reeling. If that wasn’t enough, Thad was restrained from grabbing Bruiser’s throat by some other team members who had gathered to watch the festivities. 

NASCAR nearly suspended Thad for his post-race antics, but his car owner at the time was a lawyer who persuaded the sanctioning body to put Thad on probation instead.

Thad bided his time. Three months later, Link was leading the race at Martinsville with five laps to go. Thad was gaining rapidly. He caught Link as they took the white flag. The crowd’s roar could be heard over the engines when Thad “tapped” Link’s car as he entered turn one. Link ended up in the wall and Thad won.

The fans and NASCAR (secretly) hoped that a classic feud would develop, but Link sought out Thad after the race and they agreed to a truce. As it happened, they grew close over the years. Link was with Thad quite often in the months before Dina’s passing. And Bruiser? Five years after their fight, Bruiser was diagnosed with cancer. Thad made multiple visits to Bruiser at home and the hospital. When Bruiser passed away, Thad was a pallbearer.

Link ran near the front of the pack for most of the race. He was fighting for the lead with twelve laps to go when his car broke loose, spun and was hit on the driver’s side. Link Menninger, aged 48, was killed instantly.

Thad and Arley had been in one of the suites overlooking the track. Thad found a private place and cried bitterly, as hard as he had shed tears for Dina just a few months earlier. Mostly, they were tears of loss, much like his feeling when Dina died. But some of the tears were shed in anger at his dead friend, who had skimped on safety and paid the ultimate price.

They decided not to go to Link’s funeral. It was just as well. Later, Arley was told that the auditorium that the family rented was jam packed. Thad, Arley and Louise met one chilly February afternoon at the Sebastian residence to talk about Link and drink a few beers. Louise hadn’t heard some of the stories Thad and her husband told. Before Thad left to go back to the mountain, Louise was howling with laughter. Arley and Thad agreed that Link would have appreciated the way in which they chose to mourn his passing.

On the way west on U.S. 74, Thad started thinking about sprint cars. He resolved to give Sparky a call.

 

 

Chapter 20: USAC, Baby

Florida’s Speed Weeks had been around for at least 40 years, maybe longer. The first Daytona 500, on the 2.5 mile oval, began in 1959 when Lee Petty won in a photo finish. Over time, the surrounding bullrings got into the act. Now, there was something for every type of race fan, stock cars, open wheel, big block modifieds, all on dirt and pavement.

Arley and Thad had planned on going to as many races as they could without getting burned out before the big race—the one that Thad had won three times in his career. Going to the Daytona 500 was Arley’s idea. Thad didn’t want to go, but relented when Arley reminded him that he still had friends racing there. Arley promised that he would try to keep the media away. With Thad doing his best to disappear since last year’s final race, the media resorted to speculation. It wasn’t pretty, but it subsided when Arley had, after several drinks with certain media people, reminded them about the skeletons in their closets.

But the 500 was still a couple of weeks away. In the meantime, there were plenty of bullrings to visit. Madisonville was near the center of Florida, one of the few places that had avoided the rampant urban development that covered much of the Sunshine State. About the only thing the town had going for it was the race, which was about five miles from the town’s lone stoplight.

Howell’s Speedway was a gracefully aging facility that was known for the track itself. The three-eighths mile oval was the crown jewel of the property. Parking, concessions and restrooms weren’t the greatest, but hard core race fans didn’t care. Invariably, the track brought forth excellent racing, with two and even three-wide racing not uncommon. USAC had been coming here in February for over twenty years. A few days after USAC’s non-wing sprints had left, the World of Outlaws winged sprints would occupy the track for a rare two night/midweek program. The following week would feature the DIRT Modifieds from the Northeast and the All-Star sprints, based largely in Ohio. On the Friday and Saturday before the big race in Daytona, the World of Outlaws late models would show their stuff.

After learning this from Arley, Thad commented that a body could just go to Howell’s and nowhere else for Speed Weeks. Arley agreed, but reminded Thad that they had other tracks to see as well. Thad concurred and had to admit that he was anxious to see some open wheel racing for a change. Western North Carolina was great, but didn’t have anything like sprints at its few tracks.

The duo parked the rental car and got in line to buy pit passes, $40 each. They went inside and immediately began to gawk at the cars parked behind their haulers. Thad winced at the discovery of how little the drivers were protected from anything from a dirt clod to an errant tire entering the cockpit. But he looked at the motors and tires with respect and admiration.

Thad and Arley found Sparky and company a few minutes before the drivers’ meeting. Sparky told them that anyone could go to the meeting, so off they went, Thad, Arley, Sparky and his driver, young Preston Janssen. 

Florida in February can be cold, all non-Floridians even agree. With late afternoon temperatures in the 50s, most of the people assembled for the drivers’ meeting wore jackets. A few die-hards wore shorts. Thad wore an old jacket given him by a sponsor several years ago. His hair had not been cut since Dina’s funeral. He hadn’t shaved either. He looked like an average fan/team member/or even a car owner. Thad was fine with that. Arley, Sparky and Darla were the only people he knew on the property.

Thad and Arley spent some time in the pits until the sprint cars took to the track for wheel packing. Then they joined Darla in the bleachers as most of the 37 cars entered slowly circled the track, making it race-ready. Darla warned them about mud clods as hot laps began. She wasn’t kidding. Arley and Thad giggled like school children as they were all pelted by mud clods, some as large as a tennis ball.

Three hours later, Thad and Arley were hooked. Sprint cars were the coolest. They were mystified and impressed how these guys raced wheel-to-wheel and didn’t crash.

Arley said, “Hoss, we may have to change our schedule a bit. After USAC leaves, let’s add a few more winged sprints than what we planned.”

Thad laughed. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Darla chimed in. “I thought that you guys would come around. I can’t wait to tell Sparky.” She looked toward the pits and said, “Let’s go see him and Preston.”

Sparky’s young racer had been told that a NASCAR guy was at the track tonight and he might want to have a chat. Mr. Janssen was all for it. He was feeling good. After having to run the B main, Preston had started 11th and charged to second place. Meeting Thad Larrabee was like the icing on the cake.

Thad and Arley said their good-byes and headed back to the motel. Thad was quiet for much of the trip, speaking only when Arley spoke to him. He was thinking about sprint cars.

 

 

Chapter 21: RIP, Link

The Daytona 500 was the last race on Thad and Arley’s road trip. They secured hard cards that gave them access to the pits on race day. Both enjoyed seeing their former competitors. Thad received a lot of attention, not only sympathy for his loss of Dina, but for his retirement—and his longer hair with the beard.

Before driver introductions, always a snazzy and somewhat hokey interlude, Thad was approached from behind by an unseen “assailant” who turned out to be his old friend and rival Link Meminger.

“I almost didn’t recognize you, boy.” Link playfully tousled Thad’s hair. “How you doin’, buddy?”

Thad smiled, “Doin’ better, Link. Arley and I have been on a fun road trip this month.”

“I heard about that.” Link became serious for a moment. “I’ll admit it. I was a little jealous of you two.”

“How so?”

“There’s a part of me that would have loved to join you guys. You must have enjoyed it.”

“For sure, Link. I’ll bet there’s a few guys here who wish you would join Arley and me.”

Link laughed. “You know it. But I still enjoy it You get in that car and all the outside stuff takes a back seat.”

“I’ll tell you what. You have a standing invitation to join us after you give this up. Between that and your going fishing all the time, plus your other businesses, you can see some of the bullrings. Not just here in Florida, but all over the place.”

“How about Australia? I’ve been there once and loved it.”

Thad said, “I’d be up for going down there. Never been there.”

The two racers walked over to Link’s car. Thad looked inside and paled.

He turned to Link. “Link, what did you do to those belts, man? They look as loose as a goose.”

Link laughed. “They give me a little flexibility.” He squinted at his friend. “Thad, you’re the first person to point that out.”

Thad thought for a second. “Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but that’s the first time I’ve seen them.” He shook his head and said, “You’re taking quite a chance there, buddy boy.”

Link shrugged. “So far, so good.”

“Promise me you’ll get those things fixed, man. I’ve got plenty of short tracks to see and I’d like you to see them with me.”

“I’ll promise, Thad. It’ll be alright.”

They stood there in an awkward silence until Link spoke. “Hey, have you seen ol’ Bruiser?”

Thad laughed and said, “No! Is he here?”

“He’ll be out here in a bit.” Link grinned. “Try not to hurt ‘em”

They both laughed.

“Bruiser” Crandall never went by his given name, Arthur. He was a big guy, usually a jolly sort, but he wasn’t shy about expressing his opinion and getting physical about it if he had to.

Thad Larrabee was a 37-year-old rookie who had won two races before the end of May. It would have been three, but Link Menninger, at that time a two-time champ himself, spun Thad out with the checkered flag in sight. As some would say, it was just “Link being Link.” Thad didn’t see it that way. He and Dina could have used the money.

After the race, Thad had not cooled off. He went to Link’s garage and confronted the race winner, who was ready to talk about it. Thad was ready for more and pushed Link into a stack of tires, sending Goodyear rubber all over the garage and Link to the floor. Bruiser advanced toward Thad, who promptly unloaded a left/right/left combination of punches that sent the big man reeling. If that wasn’t enough, Thad was restrained from grabbing Bruiser’s throat by some other team members who had gathered to watch the festivities. 

NASCAR nearly suspended Thad for his post-race antics, but his car owner at the time was a lawyer who persuaded the sanctioning body to put Thad on probation instead.

Thad bided his time. Three months later, Link was leading the race at Martinsville with five laps to go. Thad was gaining rapidly. He caught Link as they took the white flag. The crowd’s roar could be heard over the engines when Thad “tapped” Link’s car as he entered turn one. Link ended up in the wall and Thad won.

The fans and NASCAR (secretly) hoped that a classic feud would develop, but Link sought out Thad after the race and they agreed to a truce. As it happened, they grew close over the years. Link was with Thad quite often in the months before Dina’s passing. And Bruiser? Five years after their fight, Bruiser was diagnosed with cancer. Thad made multiple visits to Bruiser at home and the hospital. When Bruiser passed away, Thad was a pallbearer.

Link ran near the front of the pack for most of the race. He was fighting for the lead with twelve laps to go when his car broke loose, spun and was hit on the driver’s side. Link Menninger, aged 48, was killed instantly.

Thad and Arley had been in one of the suites overlooking the track. Thad found a private place and cried bitterly, as hard as he had shed tears for Dina just a few months earlier. Mostly, they were tears of loss, much like his feeling when Dina died. But some of the tears were shed in anger at his dead friend, who had skimped on safety and paid the ultimate price.

They decided not to go to Link’s funeral. It was just as well. Later, Arley was told that the auditorium that the family rented was jam packed. Thad, Arley and Louise met one chilly February afternoon at the Sebastian residence to talk about Link and drink a few beers. Louise hadn’t heard some of the stories Thad and her husband told. Before Thad left to go back to the mountain, Louise was howling with laughter. Arley and Thad agreed that Link would have appreciated the way in which they chose to mourn his passing.

On the way west on U.S. 74, Thad started thinking about sprint cars. He resolved to give Sparky a call.

 

 

Chapter 19: Old Friends

As Thad and Arley finished their meal, they went to the cashier to pay. At about the same time Sparky and Darla did the same. Fate surely has a sense of humor as the two old friends nearly collided. Sparky had declined to bother Thad while he was eating and had temporarily forgotten about the retired NASCAR star.

“Thad, is that you?”

Thad looked at the man who had spoken. After a second, it dawned upon him who it was. “Sparky! What a surprise.” Thad shook his buddy’s hand. “Great to see you.”

Arley had been standing off to the side, smiling mostly because Thad was genuinely happy. Arley had not seen his buddy this animated for a long time. Finally, Thad introduced the two.

“Sparky, meet Arley Sebastian, my former car owner and always friend.”

Later in the parking lot, Arley began asking Sparky questions about sprint car racing. “You know we don’t see much of that down in the Carolinas.” Sparky saw quickly that here was a sincere guy who wasn’t above asking questions rather than try to bluff his way through. While Thad and Darla stood somewhat awkwardly to the side, Mr. Sparks gave Mr. Sebastian a crash course on sprinters, especially in Indiana. By the time they were through, Arley knew a lot more and was mightily intrigued.

Thad had to laugh that his old friend spent more time talking to his car owner. He had listened in on the conversation enough to be curious himself.

The two groups drove back to their destinations. Sparky and Darla talked about the rich NASCAR car owner who seemed so down-to-earth and real, not a phony like so many other slick talkers both had encountered in racing and business.

Arley and Thad talked about sprint cars, their differences from stock cars mostly. Both had been around southern bullrings to know that, in the Midwest, things were done differently than they were in the South. When they got back to Arley’s house, they consulted the racing schedule they had. Arley did some “internet research” and discovered that there were a few winged sprint races they could catch in addition to the USAC races they had planned.

Thad looked at the schedule. “Man, that’s a lot of races we’d be going to. I’m not sure if I could handle them all.”

“Don’t worry. We’re liable to get rained out of some. Besides, if you’re too tired, we can opt out.”

Thad shook his head. “We’ll wait and see. This is all new to me.”

“Me too. But we gotta do something now that we’re not in that rat race anymore.”

“Yeah, I know, Arley. I don’t know if I could be happy just sitting and watching.”

Arley didn’t say anything, but he wondered if Thad was second guessing his decision to retire. Arley confessed to himself that he was guilty of second guessing his buddy. Retiring at about the same time his wife passed away did seem to say that anyone who did that would have lots of free time. And Thad wasn’t the type to sit around for very long. More than once, he had called Arley a month after the season to ask his opinion about going short track racing in Florida, Arizona and even Australia. Arley always made an excuse of some sort. Then Dina would remind him about the vacation he promised her. Off they would go, sometimes with Arley and Louise, to do some serious sight-seeing—sometimes in Europe, but usually somewhere in North America.

But now? All Arley knew for sure was that he and his long-time friend were going to some races together.

 

 

Chapter 18: Sparky

Gideon David Sparks was from a small southern Indiana town. He had lived there all his life, except for his Army obligations. Everyone called him Sparky and he didn’t mind. Not much could upset Sparky, unless it was people who either lied to him or didn’t do what they said they would do. Most of Sparky’s business was conducted down by the River—or Ohio River as non-natives called it. He enjoyed buying older homes that needed some work, then fixing them up to sell at a tidy profit. Usually he worked alone, but on occasion he would hire someone, usually a guy who was down on his luck. Most would work a few days and quit, but a few stuck it out, moving on to a better job. Sparky loved guys like that, but they often seemed to be too few and far between.

Sparky started going to races with his dad when he was four years old. He loved all the different kinds of race cars, but came to love the sprints the best because they were “the fastest.” He found out pretty quick that he wanted to drive one, but both parents were adamant that no child of theirs would drive such a dangerous beast. In time, Sparky decided the next best thing was to own a sprint car. He bought his first one when he turned 25. His business was doing well and Sparky had a lot of on-the-job training with his new toy.

He married a Louisville girl who had promised to go with him to the races and help out where needed. That lasted about a year before she decided that this wasn’t so glamorous after all. Too loud and too dirty in her opinion. Sparky shrugged it off, thankful that there were no children involved and the divorce wasn’t outrageously expensive.

Two years down the road and Sparky was doing well. His business was keeping him busy, he was now known as a respected sprint car owner, and one night he was introduced to a driver’s sister. Darla May Finnegan, like Sparky, had married a guy who didn’t enjoy going to races as much as he thought he would. He bailed on the marriage after a baby boy was born. She still went to races when time, money, and a babysitter all became available simultaneously. One night she was helping scrape mud off her brother’s car when he introduced her to this rather average looking guy who owned one of the fastest cars in the area. The rest was history. Sparky now had a family, Darla May Sparks and her son Trevor, who Sparky would adopt a few years after they had been married.

When both time and budget permitted, Sparky began going to Florida each February to race with USAC. Darla and Trevor went with him until Trevor started school. It made for a nice vacation and if the team did well, that made it even nicer. When Trevor started school, Darla would stay in Indiana while Sparky went racing. Trevor grew up to be a fine young man who loved the same things as his dad. He loved fixing up houses and flipping them. Plus, he turned out to be a decent mechanic as well.

Sparky seldom fired a driver; usually they would leave for a better ride and there were no hard feelings. His little team of himself, Darla, Trevor and whoever was the mechanic had earned a lot of respect among their competitors. Whenever he made a driver change, there was no shortage of racers who would give Sparky a call or stop by the shop if he was there.

It was a good life and Sparky was considered to be a good man, the type USAC or anyone else needed more of.

None of this was on Sparky’s mind as he and Darla watched the rain come down. There would be no racing tonight. They discussed their supper plans and settled on the restaurant that was not too far from their RV.

They had just sat down, pondering what they would eat when Sparky did a double-take.

Darla looked at him and asked, “What’s wrong, honey?”

Sparky stammered a bit and said, “I think I just saw one of my friends from childhood walk in the door.”

“What’s his name?”

“Thad Larrabee. He was a NASCAR racer who just retired. We were buddies until he and his parents moved to North Carolina.”

Darla stared at her husband. “That Thad Larrabee? You never told me that you guys were friends.”

Sparky shrugged. “We kind of drifted apart. When he got married, his wife sent me a Christmas card for a couple of years but that stopped. When the internet became a thing, we reconnected but not in person. But now?”

“Spark, you need to go over and say hello.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Darla shook her head. She’d learned that it wasn’t a good idea to try and make Sparky do something he didn’t want to do.

 

 

Chapter 17: Road Trip

Thad had to admit that he was getting cabin fever. Snow had covered the mountain where he lived for nearly a week. Thad had to wait for it to melt before venturing down the mountain to the tiny town in the valley. He was pleasantly surprised when one of the coffee shop regulars said they had missed him. Thad made them chuckle when he said that he was out of practice racing on a slick surface. He had become a semi-regular at the little diner, enjoying the easy going atmosphere and the fact that the customers, employees and the owner didn’t make a fuss about Thad’s being a famous race car driver.

February arrived and Thad could tell he was moving on. He still missed Dina but at least he wasn’t moping around the house. When the weather allowed, he enjoyed taking either the Camaro or the Corvette out of the garage and driving up and down the mountains with no particular destination in mind. He still took his daily walks and he still visited the coffee shop. But he was ready to do some traveling.

As February’s second week began, Thad drove the Camaro to Arley’s Florida house. He rang the doorbell and Arley appeared with a piece of paper for him. It was a tentative schedule for the races they might attend.

Thad perused the schedule, which ended with the Daytona 500. It would be an ambitious effort, but the both men looked forward to it all. Thad smiled as he noted a few sprint car races on the list at three different tracks.

“Arley, this is a lot of races, but I look forward to it. Thanks.” Arley had an embarrassed grin, “You’re welcome, hoss.” He pointed at the schedule. “Did you see the little gap in there? We’ll take a few days off and come back here.” He chuckled. “I’ll need to see if Louise has gone shopping.”

Thad grinned. “I see a few sprint car races on there, Arley. I had a friend who owns a sprint car and runs some with USAC. If he’s down here, I’ll introduce you to him. I imagine you guys would have a lot to talk about.”

“Yeah? We can exchange horror stories.”

Both men laughed. Thad said, “I doubt if he spends as much as you have over the years. But I’m sure it can get expensive.”

Two days later, Thad and Arley found themselves sitting on a motel balcony staring at the Gulf of Mexico near Tampa. They were both wearing an extra layer of clothing because it was raining. They had planned on going to East Bay for the first three nights of their tour. Louise was scheduled to join them but her flight was delayed. As a result, the two friends sat on the balcony, bundled up, watching the rain, and engaged in idle chatter when they spoke.

Arley said, “Did you contact your sprint car owner friend?”

“Yes, we were supposed to hook up tonight.” Thad grunted. “So much for that plan.”

“Tell me about him.”

Thad looked at Arley and grinned. “He’s a bit like you. We grew up in the same town until he and his parents moved to Indiana. He got involved in racing with some new friends and it grew from there.”

“What’s he do?” Asked Arley. “I mean, does he own a business or something?”

“Yes, kind of like you. He found out that he enjoyed working on houses and selling them. He began his own real estate business, built it up and sold it to a larger company. That was five years ago. Now he works on houses, fixes them up and sells them—when he’s not going to a race.”

“You’re right. It does sound like me. So, do you think I’d like him?”

Thad chuckled. “Oh, yeah. He’s got this dry sense of humor you would quickly learn to appreciate.”

“Tell me a little about sprint cars and that whole deal.” Thad looked at Arley, who seemed serious.

“Up in Indiana,” Thad said, “open wheel racing is far from the only type of racing, but it is dominant. There’s five or six tracks that run sprints every weekend. They are the headliner.”

“All dirt tracks?”

“Yes, but sometimes they will run on pavement too.” Thad looked at Arley. “Hey, you’re not thinking about jumping into that deal, are you?”

Arley looked startled. “No, it just sounds, well, different.”

He got up and opened the balcony door to go inside. “Hey, you want a beer?”

For some reason, Thad looked at his phone for the time. Satisfied, he said, “Sure. Thanks.”

Arley came back with two cold beers. “You know, Thad? I might want to check out this sprint car deal.”

Thad laughed. “You will surely want to talk to Sparky.”

“Who?

“Gideon David Sparks. He was named after two guys in the Bible.”

Arley laughed. “I’m halfway familiar with those guys. Weren’t they promoters or something?”

Thad laughed as hard as he had laughed in months. “I’ll check on that and get back with you.”

Arley pointed to the room. “Go in there. I think that Gideon fellow left a Bible in there for you.”

“I’ll do some homework and see what Gideon and David did.”

Arley said, “I know David a little better.” He took a sip. “He whupped Goliath’s ass as I recall.”

“He did. And some other stuff too. I may as well read about him too, seeing that we ain’t going to any races tonight.”

 

Chapter 16: Arley Sells Out

The day after Arley’s Christmas party, he called Thad, who wondered what was up.

“Hey, Thad. I didn’t get the chance to tell you last night. In fact, only Louise knows.”

“Knows what?”

“I’m selling the team.”

“Say what?”

“Yep. That fool Hoot Owl Bannister and a few of his alumni buddies made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Clement “Hoot Owl” Bannister was the former football coach of the University of North Carolina State. He had put the Wolfpack on the map with his recruiting skills, leaving actual strategy to his assistants. After 12 bowl games in 14 years, and one national championship, Hoot Owl resigned for “health reasons” and had been out of sight for the past year. Rumor had it that Hoot Owl had gotten a bit too friendly with the athletic director’s wife and was given a choice. Ol’ Hoot Owl was no fool. He took a buyout and “retired” to his mansion overlooking a golf course near Raleigh.

Coach Bannister wasn’t going to spend the rest of his days taking mulligans at the golf course. A mutual friend introduced him to Arley and the rest was history. Hoot Owl had a top-notch race team and Arley had more than enough money to occupy him for several decades. Arley hung on to the fried chicken franchises—for the time being.

A week after the New Year, Arley called Thad from his Florida “cottage” not far from the Daytona International Speedway.

“Hey, bud. How’ve you been?”

Having no desire to tell Arley the truth, Thad instead told a partial truth.

“I’ve been getting a little exercise, believe it or not.”

“You? Exercise? What with, a knife and fork?”

Thad laughed and said, “No, more like walking a lot of laps around this mountain. Keeps me from gaining weight.”

“Well, do you think you could take a break for about a week and come down here next month?”

Thad didn’t answer right away. Knowing Arley, there was surely a hidden motive. He said, “What’s happening?”

“Boy, you’ve forgotten pretty quick. I’m thinking about you coming down to the race.”

“The race” being the Daytona 500. Thad wasn’t crazy about the idea. But Lana had been gently steering him to get away from that mountain a little more often. If nothing else, he could head to town and have breakfast at the local diner. Thad cringed but he knew Lana was right. And so was Arley.

He said, “What all would you have planned, old buddy?”

Arley smiled. This sounded a little like the Thad he had known for nearly 20 years. “Mainly going to some races. You choose your own schedule. If we don’t go to the same races, no problem. We’ll both have wheels so we can go somewhere together or split up. Louise might even join us for a couple of shows. For sure we’ll go to the 500.. I got a suite reserved for eight people.”

There was silence at the other end of the phone. Arley took a breath.

“Thad, I don’t pretend to know how you feel, but, for what it’s worth, I lost my parents in a car crash when I was 25 years old. It was by far the worst thing I have ever experienced. But I found out that, at some point, it was time to move on. I know that Daddy would have been all over me to get going with my life. After a few weeks, that’s what I did. Was it easy? Of course not, but what is easy? Anything that’s come easy to me ain’t been worth shit.”

Thad said, “I get your point, Arley. You’re probably right. If Dina could tell me anything, it might be something similar to what you just said.”

“She probably would.” Arley was silent for an extra beat. ”So, what do you think?”

“How much will this cost me?”

“Not a damned thing, you cheapskate.”

Both men laughed. “Okay, wise guy.” Thad retorted. “I only have one request.”

“What’s that?”

“Let’s go to some short track races. You know, incognito?”

“Absolutely, buddy. I’ll like that, too.”

 

 

Chapter 15: Kate

Katherine Estelle Rafferty Danner was Dina’s cousin. Her mother and Dina’s father had been siblings. Kate was the only woman who caused Dina to feel jealousy. She and Thad had always gotten along well as he was moving up the racing ladder and Kate was doing the same in the literary/poetry world of Asheville. In the last ten years Thad and Dina didn’t see as much of Kate. She divorced her husband of nearly 30 years and bought a cabin on a lonely mountain southwest of Asheville. Kate paid her bills by teaching at Brevard College. Her kids called it “Middle Age Crazy,” after the movie and song.

Louise Sebastian had met Kate at a bookstore in Charlotte ten years ago. They had been looking for the same book. The store only had one copy of the book and the ladies agreed to share the cost of the book and whoever read the book first would take it to the other. From there, the friendship grew, with Kate having no idea that her in-law Thad drove a race car owned by her friend’s husband.

That was about to change.

Thad was trying not to stare at the attractive 50-ish lady with stylish gray hair, not unlike singer Emmylou Harris. She stood almost like a model as she chatted with a younger couple. He decided that it was Kate but first planned to ask Arley if he knew who this woman was.

It just so happened that Arley was finishing up a conversation with a large man with a flushed face who was given to belly laughs and slapping his conversation mate on the back, sometimes even women when he had a bit too much to drink—which was now. Arley deftly pacified the man before telling him a mildly racy joke, which elicited a chuckle from the gentleman, who was married to one of Louise’s cousins.

Arley looked toward the bar and found Thad still there, nursing his water. “What’s the deal here? You haven’t been mixing?” Arley grinned at his friend, knowing that Thad had never been a “mixer.”

“Nah. People walk by, look me over, and decide that I must be your friend. Then they ignore me.”

Arley laughed so loud that several folks stopped their conversations and looked at the pair of men by the bar. Louise smiled and rolled her eyes. “All right, Arley. What’s so funny,” she said as she walked toward the two.

The big man grinned at his wife of 34 years. “Let Thad tell you. He’s the one who made me laugh.”

Louise, who was all of five foot one, looked up at Thad and said, “Okay, buster. What’s so funny?” Thad repeated his answer to her and now it was Louise’s turn to laugh a bit louder than she planned to. A few people noticed Thad standing there for the first time. A couple might have recognized him but couldn’t be sure. Rare for the Carolinas, this was a group that wasn’t into NASCAR and Thad had appreciated his anonymity. But it was about to end.

Kate walked toward the bar where Louise, Arley and Thad still stood. “Thaddeus, I do believe it’s you.”

Thad looked at her and said, “I believe you are correct,…Kate?”

“I was about to think that you didn’t know or remember me, Thad.” She smiled sweetly.

“Oh, I remember. You weren’t at Dina’s funeral, but that was a very nice card. What you wrote was very comforting.”

“Thank you, Thad.” She looked across the room, then back at him. “You know, mostly before you came along, Dina and I were very close. More like sisters.” She looked away and continued, “But we just drifted apart. I always was so fond of her. I’d never admit it to her, but I was a bit envious of her.”

“Envious? Why?”

“She seemed happier than me. At first I thought it was just the money and all. But I came to realize that she was fortunate to have you, plus she always seemed to be content.” Kate looked at the floor. “I’ll always regret not coming to see her. She was a good lady.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, Kate. It isn’t worth that.”

She shrugged. “I guess that’s true.” She turned around, acting like she had talked long enough. “Well, Thad, maybe I should ask how you are doing.”

“It’s been difficult. I’ve been a hermit these past few weeks. But Arley talked me into coming here. Other than him and Louise, and now you, I don’t know a soul here.”

Kate chuckled. “Oh, Thad. You make such a good wallflower.” She got serious. “Do you have any plans? Arley said something about you retiring from racing?”

“Yes, I’m retired now. As for plans, I’m not sure what I’ll do. There’s a road that circles the mountain I live on. Guess I can keep in shape walking around the road.”

“Well, it would be good for you. But remember, Thad. You’re only, what, 50? You might have a long life ahead of you. I hope you find something constructive to do. Maybe in racing.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve not thought of that. I don’t wish to be a car owner. Talk about headaches.” He smiled. “Maybe I could be a driver’s coach.”

“There you go. I’ll bet you would be a good one.” She looked around again, perhaps scouting the room for an available man, single, of course. “You take care, Thad. Good to see you again.”

“You too, Kate.”

Thad said his good-byes to Arley and Louise after that. It was late enough and he got into his Camaro and headed west, more or less. He tried not to think about Kate. But she did look good.

It started just east of Shelby. Thad slowed down a bit. The traffic wasn’t too bad, but he was not in a hurry so it didn’t matter. Even though it was an empty house, Thad wanted to go home. The house had lots of good memories.

He had no way of knowing but Kate would be a part of his life later.

 

 

Chapter 14: Thad Grieves…and Grieves

As Dina moved on, those she left behind were sad, almost beyond comprehension. Somehow Thad made the rest of the funeral arrangements. He was ever thankful that Dina had taken care of most of the funeral planning about six weeks before her passing. Without his having much say in the matter, this was going to be a large funeral. Neither Thad nor Dina had many close relatives, but they had accumulated hundreds of friends, good friends over the years.

The viewing hours might have seemed interminable to some, but for Thad it went quickly because he stood by the casket for more than eight hours meeting with fellow mourners. There were people he had not seen for decades, mostly fellow racers, but also folks from his and Dina’s home towns, distant relatives of his and Dina’s, and the inevitable appearance of fans, one of whom was escorted from the premises after attempting to take a picture of Thad standing by the remains of his deceased wife.

Some of the comments, though well meaning, were off the mark. When it was all over, Thad swore that he would scream the next time someone said, “She’s in a better place now.” Thad wanted to say, “That’s not the point! She’s not here—with me, as she has been for nearly 30 years, you dumbass!”

The evening of the burial service, Thad sat in the living room with Lana at home. They began coming up with some of the comments either or both had overheard during the viewing or the service.

“’She’s not suffering anymore,’” said Lana. “Uh, we know that. But we’re suffering.”

Thad said, “Here’s one I heard a few times: ‘Heaven needed another angel.’ Now how would anyone know that? Since when did heaven have an angel shortage?”

In spite of herself, Lana giggled and immediately apologized. Thad said, “No, no need to apologize. I think it’s a valid opinion.” He took a sip of the wine she had brought to the house. “I know that people mean well. Maybe they have no idea how to handle death. I mean, most jobs are safe and it’s easy to put death in the corner and hope it stays there. So when people get sick and die, we’re all unequipped to handle it, me included.”

Lana agreed. “You remember when our mother died?” Thad nodded. “Dina and I were basket cases. It seemed like we couldn’t stop crying. Mom hadn’t been sick very long so it was a bit of a shock.” She took a sip of wine and said, “People tried to get us to stop crying and I remember that making me mad.”

“I remember Dina telling me to let you and her cry. She explained it to me and I understood.”

Lana got up from the recliner and went to get her coat. She said, “I need to go. I’ve had enough death for one day. Besides, maybe we ought to watch ourselves…if you know what I mean.”

“I think so and you’re right…as usual.”

Lana laughed and gave him a sisterly hug. “You take care. I’ll talk to you later.” And she was out the door.

Arley and Thad had been close for a long time; as far as Thad was concerned, they were brothers. With the possible exception of Dina’s sister Lana, no one had been more supportive than Arley, who had dropped everything he was doing to be by the side of his friend and unofficial brother.

It was five weeks since Dina’s death. Christmas was coming and Arley insisted that Thad join him and his family on Christmas Day. The morning of the 25th arrived and Thad felt as much despair as he had felt most other mornings. He and Dina had their own routine on Christmas. They had invited her siblings, nieces and nephews to their house for Christmas dinner. As the younger generation grew up. married and started their own families, the numbers slowly decreased until a year ago it was just Thad, Dina and Lana. Now it was just Thad. Lana had told him that she had been invited to have Christmas with her daughter, who was recently divorced and lived in Rock Hill, South Carolina, just across the state line.

Thad got up and went to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. It was nine A.M., which meant he had plenty of time before going to Arley’s house on the shores of Lake Norman. Arley had all but twisted Thad’s arm to show up. He wanted Thad to come over for lunch and dinner but settled for dinner. Thad reluctantly agreed to be there at five.

He arrived at Arley’s spacious home a few minutes after five and was aghast to find at least a dozen vehicles parked in front of the house. Briefly Thad considered turning around, but he remembered how he and Arley had always followed through on their commitments to each other. Instead he found a space in the driveway close to the road. Thad angled the car for a quick getaway, turned the rumbling V-8 engine of his Camaro off and walked to the house.

Thankfully, Arley himself answered the doorbell and greeted Thad with a big hug.

“Oh, buddy. I’m so glad you came. I’ll have somebody to talk to.” Arley looked at the Camaro. “What, you didn’t drive that ‘Vette?”

“I gave it the night off.” Thad looked past Arley and could see at least a dozen people standing around talking, some with a drink in their hands. He said, “Looks like you have plenty of people to talk to.”

Arley chuckled sarcastically. “In-laws, most of them. Louise talked me into inviting half of them. A couple of them I barely know.” He shrugged. “As long as they behave.”

Thad looked at Arley. “Hey, do me a favor Arley?”

“Sure.” He looked back. “What is it?”

Thad permitted himself a small smile. “Don’t introduce me to anyone. I mean, if they ask, you can tell them or I can. But I’m not quite in a mixing mood.”

“No problem.” He indicated the bar that divided the kitchen from the family room. “Want something to drink?”

“Yeah. Water will be fine.”

A half hour later, Thad and Arley stood by the bar, both sipping on water. So far, so good, Thad thought to himself. Only a couple of people had introduced themselves to him and neither had heard of him. Thad was about to mention that to Arley when he looked across the room and did a true double-take. Standing on the far side of the room was a very familiar face, one that he had not seen since Dina and him had hosted her family at a holiday gathering. It was still an attractive face to be sure.

He said to himself, “That has to be Kate,” making sure that no one heard him.

 

 

Chapter 13: Dina Larrabee, RIP

The pain had subsided but Dina was still fighting to stay awake and aware. It was a losing battle. Thoughts, memories, good and bad inhabited her mind for what were probably seconds but seemed longer to Dina. Chronology was ignored as a faint childhood memory would dissolve into something that happened a few weeks ago. Then she had a fleeting thought about her daughter Nora. Thankfully it was a good one, before Nora went down her own dark path.

Most of her final meanderings had been brief, but good—until Jerry Fitzgerald intruded into her fading thoughts. Dina’s face, which had assumed a tranquility of one at peace, twisted into a pained expression. Lana had been sitting by the bedside and looked upon her sister with alarm. But the pained look gradually faded away as internally Dina was able to put the shameful memory behind her, replacing it with scenes from the day she and Thad had moved into what was then their new house. There was the happy realization that they were finally moving into their dream house. Thad’s race winnings had permitted them to buy a house near the top of one of North Carolina’s thousands of peaks, far enough from the big city of Asheville, but close enough for periodic trips there.

At some point that could not be measured by anyone, Dina’s memories began to fade. She felt herself being transported through a passage, almost like a tunnel. The more she traveled through this space, the lighter it seemed to be. Dina could hear something unlike she had ever heard before. She was becoming less and less aware of the fact that she had left one reality behind. Thad, Lana and everyone else in her life had faded into a void of some sort, but Dina wasn’t concerned. Instead, she was now cognizant of the sound and the light. It was music she was feeling as much as she was hearing.

She came to realize that she wasn’t hearing in the same manner as before. Before what, she asked herself. She was now aware that she was having an out-of-body experience. She now could tell that she was entering the next phase of her life. Despite it being totally unknown, Dina wasn’t afraid. She was at peace and the light transformed into a figure that somewhat resembled a human of indeterminate age or gender. In fact, the figure seemed to float toward her slowly but steadily. Was it Jesus, she wondered? But the form appeared not to have any predominant male or female characteristics—as if gender had been ordained to be irrelevant.

This was it, she thought. It was the next chapter in her existence. She was at peace, now seeing that her belief in a Higher Power had been borne out by what she was experiencing. The former Dina had been left behind. Her physical pain and ailments had disappeared from her memory bank, replaced by—what—tranquility? Joy? Contentment? Or all of the above and even more. Whatever it was, Dina was ready for it.

 

 

Chapter 12: Nora Larrabee, RIP

As the lady cop shined her flashlight in the car, Nora slumped forward. Death came quickly; she had injected enough of the stuff to kill a large animal. The officer spoke to a colleague, “I think we need an ambulance, or a hearse. She’s out.”

Nora’s last thought was one of regret. For a brief moment, she was finally honest with herself before the drug put her out for good. 

Thirty days later, after no one had claimed the body, she was buried in the pauper’s section of a local Asheville cemetery. There was no service.

A reporter for the local newspaper, whose main duty was handling the obituary page, noticed a note from the cemetery. It read “Nora Larrabee, age 29, no address, no survivors.” Most of deaths like this were listed in the paper once a week without comment. The reporter stared at the last name. Larrabee. It sounded familiar. She asked a colleague if he knew of any Larrabees. He thought for a couple of seconds and said, “Yes, a famous race car driver. Don’t remember his first name but I’m sure his last name is Larrabee. I’ll ask Wally in sports.”

The reporter found his colleague Wally and asked him if he knew of anyone named Larrabee. Of course, Wally not only knew, but had interviewed Thad Larrabee more than once. But he never knew of Thad having any children. “Hell,” he said. “I’m not even sure if Larrabee is married.”

Without Thad ever knowing it, he caught a very lucky break. Neither Wally in sports, nor his reporter friend, nor the obituary writer pursued what would have been a significant story about a race driver’s estranged daughter dying of a drug overdose as his wife was dying from cancer.

Nora’s final resting place was on the southeast side of the cemetery, near a little creek that flowed from the French Broad River, on a gentle sloping hill dotted with a variety of shade trees. A local charity picked up whatever expenses had occurred. She was within walking distance of the graves of writers Thomas Wolfe and William Sydney Porter (O. Henry).

 

 

Chapter 11: The Days Dwindle Down

For most of the season Thad had been able to block out his off-track struggles. In addition to Daytona, he had managed to win two other races. The next-to-last race would be at a new track in south Florida. Thad, finally allowing his wife’s poor health distract him, ran 24th, two laps behind the winner. After the race, the crew had been told the bad news that Dina Larrabee was in the final stages of her illness. The gang had known she was not well, but this was a new blow. Thad was well-liked and respected by the whole team and they had been respectful of his year-long trial.

The season’s final race was at Atlanta, a track where Thad had won five races over the past 18 years he had been a regular on the tour. He knew that this would be his final race and he knew that soon Dina would not be with him anymore. In a sense, she had not been with him for the past few weeks, but at least she was usually coherent enough to recognize Thad when he stayed with her in her hospice suite.

For those two reasons, Thad wanted to win this last race. The team had somehow kept the lid on Thad’s plan to retire, though the inevitable rumors flew to and fro across the garage. The same had been true about Dina’s illness until Jerry got drunk with a racing writer at a bar in Charlotte. After a contentious meeting with Arley, a statement acknowledging Dina’s health was issued to the press, with the request to honor the Larrabee’s privacy. Seeing that Thad was well-liked by all of the media, the request was honored in that no questions about Dina would be asked.

Finally, on a cool, breezy winter’s afternoon at a track that was about 28 miles from downtown Atlanta, Georgia, Thad Larrabee’s NASCAR career ended in storybook fashion. After running near the front without leading for the first 400 miles of the 500 mile race, Thad knew he had the car to beat. He began asserting himself, passing cars that had outrun him up to this point. A yellow flag with 35 laps to go meant pit stops for the leaders. The team changed four tires and filled up the gas tank fast enough to send Thad back to the lineup in second place.

The leader would be Thad’s former antagonist-turned-friend Link Menninger, five-time NASCAR champion and a fan favorite. The green flag would wave with 27 laps left in the race, season and Thad’s career. Thad and Menninger had discussed retirement in general terms all year. Link was also aware of Dina’s situation. Without coming out and saying so, he had subtly hinted to Thad that, if he did retire and if Dina wasn’t going to make it, he, Thad, had better have a plan to occupy himself, especially this coming winter.

Neither racer was thinking about anything but winning this race. Behind Thad was another threat to steal the victory from both he and Link. Damon Fielder was a little more than half Thad’s age, and he already was a two-time champ himself. He was regarded as the “future” of NASCAR, a new breed of racer, more polished, media aware, and having the appearance of being fan friendly. Unlike the older stars such as Menninger and Larrabee, Fielder was not from the Carolinas; he was a native of Arizona who moved to Illinois when he was a youngster. It was his parents’ idea. They, his father in particular, saw that their kid had some ability in driving any kind of race car. They saw that the level of competition in the Midwest would be tougher than the racers in Phoenix or Tucson at the time. It turned out to be a long-shot gamble that worked. In just a few years, Fielder had attracted the attention of a series of car owners and landed with one of the best teams. And now, he was all but certain that a third championship was in the bag. All he had to do was follow the two old guys, finish third, and win the title.

But Damon Fielder was, like him or not, a racer. Racers like him only raced to win. He admired and respected his older rivals, which made his desire to beat them burn hotter. Over the last 20 laps of this race, the three would wage a battle that fans would talk about for years to come. Officially there were nine lead changes in the final 20 laps but the lead changed hands routinely multiple times on most of the closing laps of the race. Fielder led as the white flag waved; only one more lap and he would be able to say that he had whipped two of his heroes. For his part, Menninger was going for his 80th career victory and he thought he would get it as he took the lead coming out of turn two on the last lap. But both had forgotten about Mr. Larrabee, who knew this would be his last NASCAR race. Thad dove low in turn three and edged Link up the track just a few inches. This was enough for Thad to hug the bottom groove and go ahead by a fender. As Menninger fought for control of his car, Fielder re-appeared and tried to follow Larrabee through the turn. He did, but Thad was ahead of the duo by a full car length as they came out of turn four. As Menninger and Fielder rubbed fenders, Thad motored on to the checkered flag waving and took his 54th and last NASCAR win. Not that it mattered as much, but Menninger edged Fielder for second.

On the cooldown lap, Thad slowed as his competitors, led by the second and third place finishers, all waved to him as they drove by. A few had their suspicions that Thad was going to hang it up with the conclusion of this race. Perhaps a few were already scheming to take his place next year.

In his car, the gravity of the situation smacked Thad upside the head as he thought about Dina and his retiring all at once. He spoke to his team on the radio as he circled the track an extra time. The TV announcers had been given the go-ahead to share that this was to be Thad Larrabee’s last laps in his NASCAR career. They said he was surely “savoring the moment.” Perhaps he was but Thad was fighting to compose himself before he faced the mob in Victory Lane, the TV, radio, PR people, his team members, and the trophy queen. It was about as emotional as Thad would let himself be and he preferred to get himself together before facing the public.

The pictures, the forced smiles and the accolades were behind him as Thad drove northeast on I-85 to I-26 as fast as he dared. Lana was at the hospice room with Dina and Thad called her.

“Hi, Lana. How is she?”

“Congratulations, Thad. A great way to end a career.” She paused. Thad waited impatiently. Finally Lana said, “Thad, she’s resting as well as she can. But it can’t be long now.”

Thad pondered this as she asked, “Where are you?”

“I just passed through Atlanta so I should make decent time now.” He looked for a road sign and found one. He did some quick calculating and said, “I’m about 70 miles from the South Carolina line.”

“A couple of hours till you’re here then?”

“Something like that. If she somehow wakes up and asks for me, tell her I’m on my way.”

“I already did. I told her you won the race. She seemed pleased to hear that. But it’s hard, you know? I can’t tell when she’s coherent or when she’s out of it.”

“Yeah, as long as she’s not suffering too much.”

“Not as bad as it could be.”

Thad knew he should be better at praying. All too often he only prayed when bad things were happening. His chaplain buddy would remind him that it didn’t hurt to offer prayers of thanksgiving, but Thad wasn’t always the best at remembering to do that. So there he was, closing in on the Georgia/South Carolina line, in another race. The trouble was, this was a race that Thad had no way of knowing if he was winning or not. He wanted to get back to the hospice facility before Dina breathed her last. He knew it was for his benefit, not hers. He wanted to be there just in case she would be at least somewhat awake so he could tell her that he loved her and say good-by.

 

 

Chapter Ten: Nora Takes a Trip

Goose Braughton sat at his regular table at a well-known restaurant that catered to a different clientele at different times of the day. It was that period between lunch and dinner when business was slow and shady characters were known to frequent the restaurant. The manager’s policy was to leave their customers alone as long as they ordered something to eat and didn’t bother anyone. Goose looked at Nora through bloodshot eyes. He was another dealer who sampled his wares too often. Way too much of his profit disappeared up his nose or in his veins. He was coming back to reality. Goose looked up at Nora, knowing what she was there to get. He tried to figure out how to tell her that he had ingested half her order.

Looking toward the door, Goose spotted an obviously rich kid out spending daddy’s money. He hoped there wouldn’t be a scene. Goose routinely carried an old but rarely used pistol in his pocket. He had never shot it at someone but had practiced—just in case. He needn’t have worried. This rich kid was somewhat older than Colt, Nora’s previous squeeze, but was among the dimmest of bulbs.

Robert Charles Bennington III was Nora’s age. He was in the process of burning through his inheritance and all he wanted was a wild woman and money to buy things. He rationalized that doing a little dealing on the side showed that he was an enterprising sort.

Thinking on the fly, Goose gambled that Nora would be too wasted to figure out that half the product was missing. His gamble paid off. Not only did she not notice, Goose collected enough cash to buy some more coke to sell—and ingest. He was a happy boy for the time being.

Goose remained at his table and got out his cell phone. He rang his supplier and made what he thought was a good deal for some meth and hashish. Nora waved good-bye to him as she left. The rich kid held the door open for Nora and a little old lady as they all left.

Out in the street, Benny, as he was called, drove southeast on I-26 while Nora carefully inspected their purchase. He was hungry for some seafood and there was a place in Hendersonville that served the best, in Benny’s opinion. It didn’t hurt that some of the restaurant’s customers were willing to pay big bucks for some of Benny and Nora’s supply of illicit goodies. 

Little did Benny and Nora would know that they would encounter a new “friend,” a dealer in mostly meth, up from Spartanburg, South Carolina. This guy had a big haul and was impressed by Benny’s line of bull. The dealer, Ace was the only name he gave the duo, wanted to branch out. In his not-too-bright mind, he wanted to grab some of the Asheville market share in addition to his customers in the Spartanburg/Greenville area.

An hour later, Benny and Nora, now in possession of some $500k in drugs, left the restaurant in a very good mood. It was almost a pity what would happen to them next. Before they left Hendersonville, Benny ran a red light. The rest was predictable. A dozen or more cops chased them into the North Carolina mountains, finally catching them at Lake Junaluska. Before the police could surround the car, Nora quickly jabbed herself with a needle containing enough heroin to put her out almost immediately.

As the lady cop approached the passenger side of the car, Nora’s mother had reached the point of needing 24/7 care at a local hospice facility. It was late October and Thad’s last two races were all that was left of the season.

 

 

Chapter Nine: Hospice—The Conversation

Dina and Thad sat in yet another room in the hospital. They had been told that Dr. Chalmers wanted to talk to them there. Neither gave it much thought. As was their custom, they didn’t have much to say. Earlier that summer, Dina observed that times like this were when they could be together, rather than alone with their thoughts. That made sense to Thad, who offered that they were probably thinking very similar thoughts anyway.

Dr. Chalmers came in, looking as beautiful as ever. By now, Thad had somehow gotten used to the fact that this lady’s looks didn’t mean much one way or the other. What mattered was her work, skill, and desire to cure his wife of this disease. But she wasn’t feeling attractive today. She had less than great news for the Larrabees. This part of her job was what she hated the most. She acknowledged that part of it was a doctor’s ego, but she was human, too. After all, Gwen Chalmers had lost both her father and father-in-law to this disease. True, her dad had worked around asbestos for too many years, long before it was determined to be a silent killer. But watching Alfred “Big Al” suffer was somehow worse. Perhaps it was because Al took good care of himself. Try as she might, Dr. Chalmers always struggled with the situations where there was no apparent cause of whatever cancer people contracted. It didn’t help that Al was universally loved by family and friends. And now, she had to tell these two nice people that things were going to change.

Dr. Chalmers said, “Dina, Thad, I need to tell you up front that we’re running out of options for fighting your cancer. The only drug I could use is almost guaranteed to cause some severe side effects, even worse that what you’ve had so far. We can try it if you wish, but I can’t promise good results like I can promise the side effects.”

Thad exhaled. This was it. He could guess what was next. He looked at Dina and could tell that she was thinking the same thing. Her appearance was alarming. She had long since lost her hair and usually wore a stocking cap or a wig. The weight loss had been expected; Dina was not much more than skin and bones. Less than a year ago, she had been a true beauty, looking much like a woman 20 years her junior. Now she was a shell of what she had been, not able to do much more than sit up for an hour at a time.

Dina spoke, “So, doctor. What is the alternative?”

Dr. Chalmers said, “From this point forward we could treat your pain. We would want to make you as comfortable as we can for the time being. One advantage is that we would be able to do all of your treatment and care at your home.”

Dina asked, “What about the treatment and care which I can’t have at home?”

“Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here, but when that time comes Hospice facilities are available here in town.”

Thad looked up at the doctor. She asked him, “Thad, do you have a question?”

Thad resumed staring at the floor but said nothing for a couple of moments. He looked up again, first at Dina and then the doctor. Thad seemed to be searching for words then he said, “I'm sorry Dina, Doctor. I'm still reeling from this new development.” He paused so he could inhale. “I've known this day has been coming, but now that is where I'm not dealing with it very well. I'm very sorry for that.” Thad dared not speak anymore. He was afraid he would break down if he tried to continue.

Both doctor and patient understood for somewhat different reasons. Dina knew that Thad was not one to cry easily. Dr. Chalmers knew that men in this situation were apt to burst into tears, albeit briefly.

Dina had already begun to consider her future. It was difficult for her to imagine what lay ahead for her and Thad. 

While pondering her future Dina thought of her daughter and where she might be. This pain may well have been the worst of all. Now, thinking of Nora, Dina truly hoped and desired to at least reconcile with her only child.

Thad was thinking about the approaching end of the season. There were two more races and he really wanted to win at least one of them. Somehow, he thought it would matter to Dina.

 

 

Chapter Eight: Weekly Routine

For the next few weeks, as spring brought forth the blooming flowers, trees turning green, warmer temperatures and frequent showers, Thad and Dina established a routine of sorts. Every other Tuesday, Thad would take her to the hospital for her chemotherapy, which usually lasted four hours or more. On Thursday afternoon, he would leave for the next race, wherever it would be. After the Sunday race, he would hurry home, trying to arrive on Sunday night or, in the case of the races out West, early Monday morning. Every other Tuesday, they would go to the hospital for a visit with Dr. Chalmers. Tuesdays, normally reserved for sponsors, were even more hectic and trying now.

Some weeks were more difficult than others for various reasons. Other weeks were good. Thad won a race in Texas on a very warm Saturday night in June. As she usually did, Dina watched the race and was quite happy for him. Her sister had come over to watch the race with her and both ladies guffawed as Thad was given a large ten-gallon hat to have his picture taken for the media. Later, Dina would tease Thad about having to wear the hat.

A few weeks later, Thad won the mid-season race at Daytona, giving him a sweep at the most storied track on the circuit. It was his first victory in the July race. As Thad stood by his car, showered with confetti and a sugary soft drink, he had a brief, wistful moment. He wondered if he would be able to walk away at year’s end. When his thoughts turned to Dina, he nearly lost it right there in Victory Lane. Thad recovered enough to accept the congratulations and adulation. Only Arley noticed what was going through Thad’s mind.

As August approached, things weren’t going well for Dina. The chemotherapy treatments weren’t going well. Twice she had asked to stop the infusions because she was becoming dizzy, weak and nauseous. Her white blood cell count was lagging despite the best efforts to keep it at a proper level. Dina began to think about stopping the attempts to cure her and just treat her pain and discomfort. But she dared not mention it to Thad or Dr. Chalmers.

Meanwhile, after his Daytona win, Thad hit a stretch of bad racing luck. Twice he was taken out of a race when others crashed in front of him. An accident on pit road as Thad was leaving didn’t knock him out of the race, but he lost several laps before simply parking the car with no chance to win.

In August it got even worse for Thad and downright scary for Dina. He was racing at Talladega. Thanks to NASCAR’s rules concerning aerodynamics, most of the field routinely were stuck in a huge pack of cars at speeds flirting with 200mph. More often than not, there would be the inevitable wreck, involving upwards of twenty cars, close to half the field.

The one that involved Thad was somehow worse than the others. A brisk breeze made the cars even tougher to handle, but at first they were able to keep from wrecking while maintaining the fast pace. But disaster struck on lap 23 when one of the cars near the front of the pack almost lost control, but saved the car. Behind him all hell broke loose when the driver directly behind the original car hit his brakes. This caused a lot of spinning, crashing and at least two cars flipping, including Thad’s. He ended up in a burning heap of steel and rubber. For the first time in his racing career, Thad was upside down and on fire. To make matters worse, he had been knocked out when the last of the cars that crashed into him.

Watching at home with her sister, Dina was almost hysterical. Nothing her sister Lana could say would calm her down. Dina was transfixed as she tried to determine if Thad was okay. When the director switched to a different camera, she cursed the director. As the emergency workers labored to turn the car onto its wheels, or what was left of them, Dina held her breath. Then they tried to extricate Thad from the car, but quickly determined that they would have to cut the roof off of the car to get him out.

Before anything else happened, the broadcast went to a commercial. It was very unlike Dina to curse at anything, but now she let loose with a string of profanities that shocked her sister. Dina cursed the network, the sponsors, the commentators, the fans and, most of all, the sanctioning body that wrote the rules that ensured that “pack racing” which was common at Daytona and Talladega was going to get someone killed.

When the commercials were over, the chief announcer spoke with a stern voice that scared Dina more. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have…good news!” The last two words were spoken with excitement in stark contrast to the first five. He went on. “Thad Larrabee, with very little assistance, has exited his car and walked to the ambulance. He has been taken to the infield care center.” The announcer’s tone became serious again and Dina could guess that whatever came next would not be as good. She was correct.

The announcer, Cameron Slater, spoke again. Dina, despite her pain and relief that Thad was okay, leaned toward the TV with her sister Lana. Slater said, “Also involved in this melee was young Angus Porter. He is being airlifted to a Birmingham hospital. That is all we know at this time and we will keep you updated to the extent we can.”

Dina went to bed when the next string of ads ran on the TV. Lana stayed glued to the TV. After all, her ex-husband was a crew chief on a rival team. In addition, she had known Angus Porter since he was a toddler. Lana was exceedingly relieved that Thad was apparently not injured. She would root for every team to first avoid any other wrecks. But mostly she added Angus to her prayer list, along with her sister.

Thad arrived at his mountaintop home just before midnight with direct instructions from Dina to wake her if she was asleep. Lana answered the door and was the first to give Thad a hug, grateful that he was okay. Dina was asleep, but was on the sofa. Lana was happy to let Thad wake his wife, which he did. After a decent interval, Lana graciously accepted the thanks from Dina and Thad and went back to her Lake Norman home.

The embattled couple sat up until two in the morning talking about the race, the wreck, the wretched pack racing that both deplored, and finally, Dina’s immediate condition. Her numbers had been going in the wrong direction for the past two visits and she was depressed and worried about that. Thad felt the same way and wondered aloud what was next. Neither knew.

Just before Dina turned out the light by their bed, she asked Thad, “Honey, you are still planning on retiring at the end of the year?”

Thad looked at her in surprise. “Of course.” He looked at her with some surprise. “Why would you ask?”

She shrugged. “It means a lot to me. Let’s leave it at that.”

Thad considered those words and thought to himself, “She’s thinking that she won’t be around then, but she wants me to be able to retire.” He said as much to her and she smiled, but said nothing. Dina turned out the light and fell asleep within ten minutes while Thad tossed and turned. It was early Monday and they had a scheduled chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday morning. He had a feeling that it might not go well at all.

 

 

Chapter Seven: Nora

Nora Larrabee was the only child of Thad and Dina Larrabee. At age twenty-three, she had never held a full-time job. She had flunked out of the University of North Carolina and Gardner-Webb University. Nora had been fired from at least three jobs that her parents knew of, the most spectacular of the firings came when she threw a Big Mac at a disgruntled customer and walked out of the restaurant.

Somehow Nora had managed to avoid matrimony, but she had given birth to a baby who was promptly adopted by a young couple from South Carolina. Thad and Dina found out about that six months later. Nora had also drifted in and out of several “relationships” with several “men,” most of whom had filled her ears with seductive words (coupled with the ability to buy things for her), but who later left her high and dry, tired of her constant need for attention and new clothes.

For a few years after high school, Nora had persistently hounded her parents for money, or told tales of woe, from a roommate who stole her blind before moving out to a story about losing her favorite possession, a television or an electronic device of some sort. But when she turned twenty-one, she was informed by her parents that the money flow would stop. Dina and Thad made sure that Nora had food, shelter and transportation at this time. They also secured the services of a counselor and offered to attend group meetings if she wished. Nora made it to three sessions before she started missing them. With that, her parents calmly told her that if she changed her attitude and her ways, she would always be welcome to come back to their lives. Otherwise, she was on her own. This certainly grieved her parents, but they agreed that this was the proper course to take.

As it happened, on the day Dina Larrabee entered the hospital, her daughter was less than five miles away. The homeless shelter was temporary; Nora had a way of finding a guy who would allow her to move in for a while until she wore out her welcome. She was only passing through until the next sucker came along.

On the day her mother was in surgery, Nora was chatting up a young man just out of high school, trying to find out if he had a source of money flow. She was in luck, at least in her mind it was. The young man had indulging parents with money to spare. Nora was tempted to tell him about her parents, but decided to hold off with that. Soon after the two met, they left the shelter and went cruising Asheville in the young man’s car, a one-year old Corvette, bright yellow in color.

The kid was at the shelter looking for a classmate, but forgot about her when this nice-looking older lady took an interest in him. She looked at least thirty, but wasn’t that bad, thought the kid. She had been quite the beauty until the years of drugs, drink and high living began to catch up with her. Nora was twenty-five years old and she knew that this kid would serve as a worthy sugar baby for the time being. The kid would be glad to serve as her virile young man, making all of his female contemporaries jealous of the older hag who would be his companion for the time being.

Neither thought any farther ahead than the next week. For the moment, they were a couple and that, along with a steady flow of mind-altering, soul-numbing substances, was all that mattered.

Nora got into the car with the youngster and they drove around town, looking for a thrill, if not a familiar face. Both had people that they wanted the other to meet. In the course of their travels through several Asheville neighborhoods, they drove by the hospital where Nora’s parents were for the time being. Had she known that her mother was a patient at the hospital, she might have offered a kind word or two, but then moved on to the next thing around the corner. The kid, whose name was Colt, drove by a downtown law office, where his dad was a senior partner. He was tempted to honk the Corvette’s customized horn which made the sound of a buffalo herd as they passed by the office. But Colt knew better; he knew where his money came from and didn’t want the cash flow to stop.

The two unappealing characters ended up at a well-known restaurant where Nora guessed some of her drug dealing “friends” might be. They went inside. Colt hung around the front door while Nora looked around the restaurant and immediately saw a guy who was a good source of whatever anyone wanted. She got his attention and waved at him. The guy stared at her for a moment, not sure who she was. Her face looked familiar but the name was somewhere in the recesses of the dealer’s brain. Nora only knew him as Goose. Where that name came from, she didn’t know or care. All she knew was that Goose might not have been too bright, but he usually had some product on him or nearby.

Nora said to Colt, “That guy over there...” she nodded her head toward Goose, “is a good source of some good shit.” She looked at Colt for a second, hoping he would bite. “Want me to go over there and see what he’s got?”

Colt said, “Sure, babe. You want anything to eat?”

“Just a hamburger and a drink.”

Colt found a booth near the restrooms, then placed his order for himself and Nora. She tried to look casual and uncaring as she walked to the booth where Goose sat.

 

 

Chapter Six: Hospital

It was a chilly February morning in Asheville as Thad and Dina Larrabee entered the hospital. Thad was thankful that the mountain roads were clear of ice or snow. Asheville traffic wasn’t overly heavy yet and the couple entered the parking lot with plenty of time.

The paperwork was completed and fifteen minutes later, Dina lay uncomfortably in a hospital bed as Thad sat next to her. Both were quiet; they had done most of their talking the night before. Now, they seemed to be in a dream, or maybe a trance as they both stared at the walls of the room, ignoring the friendly staff who were preparing Dina for surgery, only her second in her forty-eight years.

There was a knock on the door and Dr. Chalmers entered the room. “Good morning, Dina, Thad. Are you ready for this?”

Dina said, “Do I have a choice?” Her faint smile indicated that she knew better. Thad just mumbled to himself.

The doctor said, “Congratulations, Thad. For the first time, I watched the race yesterday. That was quite dramatic the way you won.”

Thad looked up at her and said, “Thank you, doctor. It already seems like a week ago.”

“I’m sure. Do you have another race this weekend?”

Dina and Thad both chuckled. Dina said, “Oh, yes. And about thirty-four weekends after that.”

Dr. Chalmers shook her pretty head. “Sounds like a brutal schedule.”

Thad said, “It is, but when you’re running well and getting good results, that helps.”

The doctor returned to the business at hand. “Dina, someone will be by to take you back to surgery in fifteen minutes at the most. Thad, you can stay with her right up to the point where we get to the door to the surgery room.” She looked at the couple and felt bad for them. All of their fame and riches would do them no good if this surgery wasn’t successful. There was a decent chance that it wouldn’t be successful.

“Dina, I promise that we’ll do our best. But God be with all of us.”

“Thank you, Dr. Chalmers. We can’t ask for any more,” said Dina.

Thad sat in the surgery waiting room, looking for a magazine to read, or at least look at the pictures. He tried to ignore everything else, the other people in the room, one of whom kept staring as if he thought that Thad looked familiar, and the TV with the chattering heads on a morning talk show. He decided to walk.

In the gift shop, Thad found a couple of magazines along with the Asheville morning paper. The clerk in the shop didn’t recognize him and that was fine with the guy who had now won the Daytona 500 three times. He ambled to the cafeteria and found a snack and a cup of coffee. He found a seat in the corner of the dining area and began reading while sipping the coffee. This lasted at least an hour, which meant that Thad had about four more hours to kill.

He decided to go back to the waiting room and ask the receptionist there if there was anything changed in Mrs. Larrabee’s status. The kindly older lady said no, then looked at Thad as if she was seeing him for the first time.

She spoke softly, so no one else could hear her. “You’re Thad Larrabee, the racer, aren’t you?”

Thad decided to be truthful and merely nodded yes. The lady smiled and said, “Not to worry, young man. I’m not about to blab. For one thing, it would be my job if I did. For another,” she hesitated a little, “It wouldn’t be right to make a fuss. Right now, you’re another person here waiting for good news about your loved one and I’ll keep that to myself as I would for anyone else in here.”

“I do appreciate that, ma’am. I’ll walk around some more and drink some of that cafeteria coffee.”

The lady handed him a contraption he had never seen before. It was circular like a saucer with lights ringing the perimeter. “Take this, and if I hear anything, I’ll press a button and this little gadget will light up. Then you’ll know to come back here and see what news there is.” She paused. “Right now, sir, no news is good news.”

Larrabee looked at the lady with new respect. “Thank you, ma’am. You are a great help.” He walked back down to the cafeteria, hoping not to be recognized.

Two hours later, the lights on the saucer-like contraption blinked and Thad headed back to the waiting room. The lady at the desk greeted him and pointed to a door. “That door is to the conference room, Mr. Larrabee. The doctor will be in shortly.”

Thad sat in the nondescript room and waited, trying to stay calm. He wanted the doctor to hurry up, but he was nervous and anxious. He sat in the chair, staring at the floor, thoughts racing each other through his head.

The door opened and the doctor came in. She was dressed like a surgeon. Thad noted that she looked good in such unglamorous clothes. But he also noted a stern expression on her face which he had not seen before.

Dr. Chalmers sat down and got right to it. “Thad, she did fine during the surgery. There were no surprises. You can see her after we talk.”

Both took a breath. Thad had hopes that more good news was coming.

“I found what I expected to find. But I couldn’t remove all the cancer.” She inhaled and said, “Well, I could have, but it was dicey. I do hope to start her chemotherapy treatments fairly soon.  As far as chemo is concerned, I can’t promise recovery there. But it’s worth a try.” She paused. “That’s assuming what you two wish to proceed.”

Thad shrugged. “I’ll speak for myself, but if that’s what you recommend, I’d be in favor.” He paused. “I hope that you can tell her what you just told me.”

“I will as soon as she’s recovered. Speaking of that, you can go see her now. She might not be awake or coherent, but it’s okay to sit with her.”

The nurse led Thad to a smallish room where Dina lay in a bed, surrounded by machines, her arms at her side with needles attached. She appeared to be asleep and Thad fought the urge to speak to her. 

For the next ten minutes, Thad stood by the bed, watching Dina and the machines with flashing numbers on the panel. He wondered what life would be like without Dina as a part of it and his mind recoiled from the thought. Thad felt more scared as he stood there than he had ever been while in a race car.

After standing by the bed, Thad noticed a chair in the corner of the room. As quietly as he could, he moved the chair as close to the bed as he dared without disturbing Dina’s rest. He looked at the machines that were pumping liquids into her body, numbers flashing. The numbers took him back to yesterday.

Now that he had the chance to think about it, Thad was astonished that he had won the biggest race in NASCAR only yesterday. It seemed like it had been a week ago. Normally, the Daytona 500 winner made the media rounds, answering questions from people who knew about racing as much as they knew about jai alai. But Arley had instructed Jerry to tell the media types that Thad had taken sick and would not be available until Wednesday. Arley, Jerry and crew chief Darnell Parker had filled in as substitutes on television, radio and the new kids on the mass media block, online programs.

Thad sat by the bed patiently, reading at times and almost dozing off. An hour later, Dina stirred, causing Thad to jump. He looked at her as she opened her eyes and shut them again. Thad chose not to speak just yet. Instead he gazed at her intently and waited for her to regain consciousness. Finally, she opened her eyes and they stayed open this time. She looked around, not seeing Thad at first. He stayed put and wondered what he would say.

Dina spoke for the first time since waking up. “Hi, Thad. Where are we?”

He smiled and said, “Hi, honey. We’re in the recovery room. It’s Monday afternoon. You’ve been out of surgery for an hour and a half, more or less.”

Sighing, Dina asked the question he didn’t want to answer, but knew he had to answer. “Have you talked to the doctor?”

He answered slowly, “Yes.”

“What did she say?”

“She removed all the cancer that she could but didn’t get it all. She said that you can start chemotherapy fairly soon. There’s a chance it will get the rest of the cancer, but she can’t guarantee it.”

Dina sighed again, this time as if she had picked up a heavy load that she could barely carry. She didn’t feel able to deal with this, but she knew she must. Chemo!! It was almost as scary as the disease itself. She had heard too many people say that the cure was worse than the disease. Dina tried to imagine what the next few weeks or months would bring. Could she handle the side effects? Would chemotherapy work? Dina had no problem admitting that she was scared.

She knew that it would be better if she could encounter someone who could relate or at least have empathy for her. Thad, as good as he was to her, was not that person and he would have admitted it himself. But the fact remained that Dina was going to have a difficult time of it, especially with Thad gone so much on his long racing weekends. No one came to mind and Dina lay in her hospital bed that evening wondering what the future would bring.

Hiring someone to take care of the house would be on the Larrabee’s agenda soon. And probably someone, a visiting nurse, would need to be found. Then it hit Dina. What about her daughter? Did Thad let their daughter know that her mother had undergone cancer surgery? She sighed, knowing the answer. Thad had not contacted Nora Larrabee because he had no idea where she was. Dina stared at the ceiling of the room and willed the thought of her daughter away. Soon her eyes grew heavy and she drifted off to a fitful slumber.

 

 

Chapter Five: Daytona

Thad had won this race, the biggest on the NASCAR schedule, twice and to him, that was ancient history. He wanted badly to win the Daytona 500 one more time, his last chance to do so.

On Thursday before the race on Sunday, two qualifying races were held to determine starting positions for the 500. Thad’s time trial result wasn’t quite what he wanted; he would start fourth in the second race. His strategy, which had worked for him before, was to lay back and avoid the large pack of cars that aerodynamics and rule makers decreed, using the excuse that the fans liked to watch the cars slicing and dicing, changing positions multiple times per lap and often running three-wide before someone would make a tiny mistake and suddenly hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of sheet metal and rubber became instant junk.

Thad wanted no part of that. The green flag waved and he steadily dropped back to twenty-first place, near the tail of the field. His desire to avoid a wreck was rewarded when two cars sideswiped each other and spun, with the cars in their vicinity caught up in a nine-car crash. Thad avoided the mess and eventually found himself in fifth place on a late race re-start. He was happy to finish fifth and would start near the front on Sunday.

Thirty minutes after the Twin 150s, as the Thursday races were called, Thad found himself on Arley’s personal plane to Asheville, where he rented a car. It wasn’t the most rational thing to do, but Thad felt it was important to be with his wife as much as he could. Despite Dina’s protests, he stayed with her from Thursday night until Saturday afternoon with Arley’s blessing. Immediately after the race on Sunday, Thad would return home to be with Dina for her surgery on Monday morning.

Somehow, it all came together. Thad spent time with Dina, talking about the surgery and their options. He took the rental car to the Asheville airport on Saturday afternoon while his teammate, Willie Bowdrie, would drive the car in Saturday’s final practice. Thad aimed to arrive at his motel in Daytona Beach on Saturday evening and try and settle down for what he hoped would be a good night’s rest.

This was Thad Larrabee’s twenty first Daytona 500 and he had yet to get a good night’s sleep or rest the night before. He was wide awake at half past eight and tried to force down some cereal. One of the pit crew stopped by his motel and picked him up and took him to the track. On the way, he tried to call Dina and there was no answer. This didn’t help his nerves.

Early developments in the race didn’t help his nerves either. With only fourteen (of two hundred) laps complete, a hotshot rookie tried to make it four-wide down the backstretch. He failed and sixteen cars of the forty-three that started were involved. Larrabee narrowly missed hitting his friend Goober Floyd in the driver’s side door.

Things settled down somewhat after that and Thad happily discovered that his car was smooth and fast, especially in the bottom groove. As a rule, he preferred riding around the top where he felt that he had more control of the car, but not today.

Pit stop strategy often determines who wins a longer race. A yellow flag waved for a spin in turn two with twenty-four laps to go. Thad was among the lead lap cars who pitted. Most teams changed four tires and topped off the fuel tank. Thad’s team changed all four tires, but gambled that he had enough fuel to finish the race. He would start fourth in line among the front runners with nineteen laps to go. The talking heads on the TV questioned Thad’s strategy of not adding fuel. But Thad and his crew chief had determined that they would not need any fuel.

Nineteen laps later, Thad and his team showed them all that they had made the right choice as he took the lead coming out of turn two on the last lap to win going away. It was Thad’s third Daytona 500 victory and he and Arley knew it was his last one.

On the cooldown lap after the checkered flag waved, it started to hit Thad. This was his finest moment in his racing career and Dina wasn’t there; this clouded his mind with a strong dose of bittersweet. He took his time driving to Victory Lane, where he knew what awaited him. Thad composed himself as he entered pit lane, waving to his competitors’ pit crews.

He exited his racecar, greeted by a shower of confetti and an ice cold drink of water. Those present included his pit crew, some media people, the obligatory trophy girl (about half of Thad’s age), and a huge trophy that was taller and heavier than a Great Dane. Thad knew the drill and could act happy even as he knew that he had to get back to that home on the mountain and be with his wife, who had an important appointment in the morning.

The celebration slowed as soon as the TV cameras left the scene. Thad found Arley, who was aware of Thad’s schedule and ready.

“Congratulations, buddy. Not bad for an old washed up racer.” Both men laughed at their own running joke. “Now, Thaddeus. I’ve got a little old jet waiting on you at the airport. I talked a couple of cops into escorting you out of here in a car with tinted windows. You should be in the air in less than an hour. You can change clothes and clean up on the plane.” Arley pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. “Here. Tell your wife what I just told you.”

Thad could hear a familiar laugh on the phone. It was Dina.

“Way to go, Thad. I watched it all. Your game plan was perfect.”

“Thank you, dear. I’m guessing that you know I’m on the way home, thanks to Arley. I’ll be there as soon as I can get there.”

“Good. Your favorite sister-in-law has been here most of the day and she actually fell asleep during the race.”

Larrabee laughed as hard as he had laughed in a long time. “Tell her she’s forgiven. And I’ll see you in a few hours, honey.”

“Love you.” Dina shed a tear as she spoke.

“Love you, too.” Thad broke the connection and settled back for the ride. He knew it would be a night with little sleep.

 

 

Chapter Four: The Car Owner

Arley Sebastian had done things the hard way. At age twenty-two, just out of the Army, Arley (whose real name was Robert Lee Sebastian, but as a child was called R. Lee) decided that he should learn about the restaurant business because people liked to go out and eat, plus Arley could flat cook.

He started as a cook for a mom and pop restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina, near his boyhood home of Chesney, near the North Carolina border. From there, he moved up, buying a restaurant, a small joint on the outskirts of Spartanburg.

Arley was doing something right as business was booming. When the mom and pop in Greenville wanted to retire, they called Arley and a deal was struck. Arley was on his way to building an empire based on good chicken, great service, all reasonably priced.

As it turned out, Arley became a race fan when he married into a racing family. His brother-in-law raced at Greenville-Pickens Speedway and prevailed upon Arley to sponsor his car. The red car with the drawing of a chicken on each side ran well enough and Arley got a lesson in advertising. He was happy to help pay the expenses that went with racing in exchange for the publicity generated by the speedy billboard that served as his brother-in-law’s car.

The restaurant business continued to grow and soon there were nearly twenty Carolina Chicken Restaurants spread through the Carolinas. Arley was just getting started. By this time, Thad Larrabee had just been unceremoniously fired from his previous ride by an impetuous owner who couldn’t understand why Thad didn’t win when the owner had invited all his family to a race. (A car in front of Larrabee had cut a tire, hit the wall, and collected Thad and others in a huge wreck. The owner came to the infield care center to tell Thad he was fired.) Carolina Chicken franchises were now in eight states, mostly in the southeast and NASCAR racing would be a good fit for the growing business owned by a man who was determined to present the best product to the people who would be likely to consume it. What better way to present the product than to race fans? With NASCAR’s extensive popularity in the southeastern United States, Arley started a race team, hiring the best people he could find. The final piece in the puzzle was the recently available Thad Larrabee, a long-time Carolina resident.

This had been ten years ago and Arley had come to look at Thad as an extra brother. But Thad had told his friend back in November that the coming season would be his last. The aching back from too many crashes, along with the desire to take Dina and go see America were Thad’s reasons. Arley understood and both agreed to keep that information to themselves for the time being. 

Now, as Thad drove to Daytona, he pondered how to tell Arley the news. Thad wanted to keep Dina’s illness quiet, but he knew that wasn’t practical. He also knew that Jerry Fitzgerald would find out. This meant that Jerry might wish to publicize the fact that Dina was ill, an idea that Thad aimed to shoot down at first mention.

Arley didn’t know Dina that well, but when they had been around each other, they had gotten along well. Thad dreaded the whole thing. He imagined that he would be forced to tell a lot of people soon. Thankfully, she had already told their only child, for what that had been worth.

Thad crossed into South Carolina and noticed that his Corvette needed gas. Perfect timing. Thad grinned to himself. Typically, this state’s gas prices were cheaper than the Tarheel State’s. He stopped at a gas station west of Spartanburg and filled up. While watching the numbers fly by on the pump, he checked his phone for messages. None, so he texted Dina. “Gas in Spartanburg. How are you feeling?” He was back in the car and leaving when she answered. “Okay. Had some toast and a couple of eggs. So far so good. Love you.” Back to her: “Sounds good. I’ll let you know when I get to the track. Love you, too.”

Now came the meat of the trip, I-26 to I-95 and then the traffic might get both heavy and hairy. Larrabee figured that he would arrive in Daytona at rush hour, but there was no way around it. He would get his suite and then call his crew chief, Toby Prince, and let him know his driver was in town, safe and sound.

The next few days were a jumble of practice, conferring with the crew, chatting with Arley, a couple of sponsor obligations, some media interviews and lots of sitting around. Thad had not told Arley yet, but time was growing short. He and Dina agreed to have a local friend take her to Asheville for her first round of chemotherapy. Thankfully, Thad had an extraordinary ability to compartmentalize. When he arrived at the track, it was time for business. Daytona was certainly no exception.

Thad finally saw Arley after he had finished his first practice session. He called the big man and beckoned him to a corner.

“Arley, I have to tell you something and for now, I hope you can keep it to yourself.”

Arley looked at his friend, puzzled. “What’s up?”

Thad looked down to the ground. “It’s Dina. She has cancer. Stage III cervical. Surgery Monday morning after the race at ten, but she has to be there at eight.”

Arley stepped back, as if he had been punched, which, in a way, he had been. Finally, he spoke in a choked voice. “Thad, buddy. I’m so sorry.” He exhaled. “That’s awful, man. Monday, you say? No problem.” Arley squinted at his driver/friend. “Look, boy. Don’t you worry about things here. We’ll work it out. Just keep me posted Monday. Okay?”

Thad continued to stare at the ground. He was afraid to say anything because he knew he might start blubbering. He looked at Arley and nodded. Then Thad walked to his car and asked his crew chief a question.

That afternoon, while practicing for time trials, Thad set fast time of all the forty-six cars that practiced.

 

 

Chapter Three: Sponsors

It was a fact of life that sponsors were a necessary evil in the world of auto racing from the grass roots to the top level. The funds that corporate sponsors provided race teams and sanctioning bodies were necessary if the teams were going to compete for wins and championships. In return, sponsors wanted time and exposure for their money. This meant public appearances by the driver, sometimes with a show car, or a replica of the race car on hand for fans or potential fans to have the illusion of getting up close to the sport.

Drivers were expected to be exemplary in their off-track behavior, always affable and eager to answer questions, sign autographs or have their pictures taken with fans, sometimes including family pets. A few lucky drivers were featured in TV commercials, depending on the sponsor. Thad had agreed to this, but balked at dressing up like a matador and serving food to “customers.” His suggestion of dressing up like a cook was, fortunately for him, accepted and even praised. He was unmercifully teased by everyone from Dina to the young man who was the custodian of the race team’s headquarters, but Thad took it all in stride. The checks that he cashed aided in whatever embarrassment he had endured.

Arriving about fifteen minutes early, Thad looked around for a familiar face, hoping that Jerry had sent an assistant to organize the grand opening of the newest Carolina Chicken restaurant. He was out of luck. Exiting his car, Jerry waved at him to come over to where he stood talking to an age forty something man dressed for success. At the edge of the group stood an individual dressed in a chicken suit and wearing a baseball cap adorned with the Carolina Chicken logo in the front.

Most reluctantly, Thad ambled over to the group and waited on instructions. Jerry reached out and shook Thad’s hand. Thad returned the handshake with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

Jerry said, “Hi, Thad,” and then turned to the flashily dressed gentleman. “Thad, this is the franchise owner of the new restaurant, Mr. Earl Estelline. Earl, meet Thad Larrabee, NASCAR racer for twenty plus years and winner of sixty-two races, including two Daytona 500s, in his career.”

Earl seemed somewhat unimpressed as he shook Thad’s hand and mumbled a quick hello. Thad had the impression that Earl didn’t think having some illiterate race car driver showing up at his newest restaurant would help sell much chicken. What Thad couldn’t know was that Earl was from Colorado, not exactly a hotbed of racing. Earl was about to find out how much Carolinians loved their racing, most especially the NASCAR variety.

Two hours later, Thad had shaken his last hand, and had his last picture taken with everything from grinning race fans to shy preschoolers. He was ready to go and asked Jerry if there was anything else required of him, which there wasn’t. Despite his discomfort and his frequently thinking about Dina’s well-being back at home, Thad had a good time of it. But he was ready to go back home. It was Tuesday and he would have to make another trip from his mountaintop home near Asheville to the team’s headquarters in tiny Reid’s Corner, North Carolina on Wednesday. Then on Thursday the team would head for a long stretch at Daytona for preparations for the biggest race on the schedule, the Daytona 500.

Thad crossed into Shelby County before he remembered that the grilled chicken sandwich he was promised never made it to the table where he had sat much of the afternoon. He stopped at a little restaurant in Shelby and ordered a cheeseburger, not chicken. He called Dina and gave her a summary of the day’s events and, mostly, checked on how she was doing. Dina had not heard from the doctor on the telephone, but she had received an email saying that her surgery would be the Monday morning after the race at ten o’clock. She needed to be at the hospital by eight a.m. The procedure would last about five hours.

Monday, she had said. Thad tried to think about his upcoming schedule. All he could do was promise Dina that he would try to be there. He told her that he would talk to his car owner as soon as he could.

Thad finally had his grilled chicken that night for supper, but it had been grilled by Dina. He decided that her grilled chicken was superior than that of his sponsor.

 

 

Chapter Two: Dealing With…

Thad helped Dina into their car and went around to the driver’s side, opened the door and slid into the seat.

“Do you want to get something to eat?” He looked at her, waiting on an answer before starting the car.

She sighed. Finally, she said, “I’d love to, but nothing sounds good.” She looked at him and said, “You know?”

“Well, not really. But I might be able to manage.”

She said, “Remember when you were hurt that last time? And food smelled so good, but you couldn’t eat it? That’s kind of what’s going on here.”

He sighed. “I guess so. It was no fun.” He paused, then asked, “Do you want to get something or wait until we get home?”

“Oh, let’s stop at that place we stopped the last time we were here.”

“You mean ‘Johnny’s Steak-Out?”

She nodded.

He chuckled. “That’s where you had one drink too many and started flirting with the waiter.”

“Yes, after you winked at the hostess who sat us.”

“You weren’t supposed to see that.”

In spite of her pain and despair, she laughed. “I saw.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were placing their orders. He decided to have the same thing as she did, a grilled chicken with a baked potato on the side.

While they waited on their food, she sighed, this time more forcefully.

“Thaddeus, what are we going to do?”

He looked at her for a moment before deciding on an answer. Finally, he said, “I guess all we can do is what the doctor said.”

“What was that?”

“Our best.” He shrugged.

She rubbed her hands, then covered her face. Her muffled voice said, “Don’t make it sound so easy.”

“I apologize if I did. I didn’t mean to do that. It’s going to be very difficult, especially on you. I aim to do my best for you.” He shrugged again.

Both fell silent until their food arrived. He ate heartily while she picked at her plate, finally eating about two thirds of her meal. No one recognized Thad in his street clothes. For that he was thankful. He left the server a sizable tip. She had figured out that this couple had something serious going on, perhaps an illness of some sort.

They drove to their house, a modest ranch style design, and about 2000 square feet. It was located between Asheville and Charlotte. When Dina began feeling ill, they decided that they would try to find a competent doctor in Asheville rather than Charlotte in an attempt to keep her illness out of the news. So far it had worked. They had made the day’s trip without being discovered. Their home sat on a mountain, hidden by a variety of trees from the road. Only a few neighbors knew who Thad was and they had respected his desire for privacy.

Pulling into the driveway, Thad made sure that Dina was able to negotiate the steps into the house. As he did this, he noticed that the answering machine light was blinking. Thad hoped it wasn’t anyone from the media. Instead, it was his race team’s PR guy, Jerry Fitzgerald.

Jerry’s message was short. “Hi, Thad. Jerry here. It’s 2:45 p.m. on Monday. I just wanted to remind you that you have a sponsor’s function tomorrow afternoon at one. They are opening that new restaurant over in Monroe. I know that will be a drive for you so you might want to leave fairly early. It’s about a two-hour drive from your house. Say hi to Dina for me.”

Thad hung up the phone a little harder than necessary. That last seemingly innocent request to “say hi to Dina” caused Thad to do a slow burn. Several years ago, Jerry and Dina had a somewhat brief affair. It had ended with that race season, but the memories were still fresh for Thad. He and Dina seldom discussed that period; at least now their discussions didn’t get as heated as they did a few years back.

But that was past. Dina had been sorry and now avoided Jerry when she could. All had been forgiven if not forgotten. Thad always remembered that he had not always been faithful himself and had given up rationalizing his actions due to his chosen profession. Dina seldom traveled with him and this meant both had opportunities for all sorts of misbehavior. At some point she realized that whatever Thad did while he was away at a race was out of her control. And now all of that was pushed aside. He was here with her and wasn’t going anywhere—unless it was a race.

Thad wasn’t going to relay Jerry’s message. Dina limited her contact with him and Thad saw no reason to bring his name up, especially at such a challenging time. But he did tell her that he had a sponsor event the next day.

“Where?”

“Monroe.”

“Goodness, what’s that, a two-hour drive?”

“Probably, if traffic doesn’t stack up.”

Dina said, “Well, don’t worry. I’ll be fine here.”

Thad said nothing. There would be more moments like this where he would have to leave her behind. At some point, they might have to think of hiring a nurse. It was one of several things they would have to deal with.

 

 

Shifting Gears

Chapter One: Confrontation

Thad and Dina Larrabee prepared themselves for the doctor’s arrival with what both feared would be bad news. Thad looked around the examination room, trying not to look at his wife. He was afraid that he would break down if he looked at her. Instead, he looked around the room. Posters about fighting cancer, uplifting quotes and a depiction of the insides of an imaginary man or woman. Thad wasn’t sure.

Dina sat still, as if she was frozen to the chair. The pain in her abdomen wasn’t all that bad. The problem was that it was consistent and unrelenting. She knew, or at least believed, it was cancer. She had resigned herself to the reality that she was a cancer patient. The issue would be whether or not she would be a cancer survivor. She tried not to think about her future. Her nature, somewhat unusual in a female, was not given to expressing her feelings. That nature was being severely tested. She dared not look at her husband for fear that either or both would collapse.

One new reality that both would have to deal with was the waiting, as they were presently doing. This doctor would be theirs for the time being. They had already met the young lady, whose reputation as an oncologist was stellar. Her manner was somewhat cool, but very professional. She had been willing to answer all their questions at the first meeting. But neither knew what exactly was going to be next. They were about to find out.

The door opened and a young man entered, then introduced himself. He was on the tall side, a little more than six feet. Sandy hair, looking as if he might be a jogger or an exercising type. He looked to be no more than 21, but he was at least ten years older. He was bright and friendly, if somewhat forced in his friendly manner. Thad could not help being a little jealous. Despite her discomfort, Dina could not keep from admiring the young man’s good looks.

“Good morning, Mrs. Larrabee. I’m your nurse, at least for today. My name is Brett.” He reached out to shake her hand. Then he looked at Thad before asking, “Are you Mr. Larrabee?”

Thad said, “Yes, I am. Good morning.” He had trouble adding the last comment. It was not a good morning as far as he was concerned.

Dina kept quiet for the time being, alone with her thoughts, with no desire to talk unless she had to. She tried to fight the panic and fear that consumed her. Though she had some hope of a full recovery, there was a fear that this disease would eventually claim her. The thought that she might not have the chance to grow old with Thad was too much to bear for right now.

The nurse interrupted her bleak meandering. “Mrs. Larrabee, could you please sit over here and we’ll take your vitals.”

She moved to the chair beside the desk and placed her left arm on the desk so Brett could take her blood pressure. He accidentally brushed his hand against her breast as he applied the cuff to her arm. Dina grinned inwardly as the handsome young man gave no indication that he was embarrassed.

“138/91, just a little too high,” he said. Brett gave her a smile as he removed the cuff and again touched the side of her breast. It may have been her imagination, but Dina felt that this touch lasted longer and that didn’t bother her a bit. Lord knows, she thought, that her husband had not been interested in anything like that lately. His claims that she was too sick for romance had been occurring more frequently lately.

Thad looked up with a combination of surprise and anxiety as Dr. Gwen Chalmers entered with a flourish and the sense that she was in a hurry. As it turned out nothing could have been further from the truth. Dr. Chalmers had been treating patients for nearly 14 years. She loved her job, but admittedly it was harder to love her job when she encountered people that she could not cure. It appeared that Mrs. Larrabee’s chances weren’t the best, but the doctor was determined to do what she could. 

It didn’t do Thad’s limited listening abilities any good that Dr. Chalmers was a stunning blonde, age 46, who looked barely 30. Tall, blonde, with curves in all the right places, the good doctor was involuntarily going to severely test Thad’s concentration on what she was saying. Fortunately, Dina was a good listener, as she had always been.

For the next five minutes, Dr. Chalmers spoke to the couple. Brett stood off to the side with a stern expression on his face. The doctor finished and said, “Are there any questions?”

Dina said, “You say that the surgery has at least a 50/50 chance of being successful. But what if it isn’t? You didn’t say anything about that.”

The doctor smiled and said, “I was going to address that next, Dina. So we’re on the same page. People hate to hear it, but chemotherapy is the next option. That’s not uncommon for Stage III cervical cancer.”

“And what are the odds that chemo will work?”

Dr. Chalmers wanted to guarantee that Mrs. Larrabee would sail through whatever trial she would endure and then recover, but she couldn’t do that. Her slight hesitation to speak was noticed by Dina.

The doctor said, “To be as honest as I can be, that would be a 50/50 chance as well. You are at Stage III here. Dina, as much as I want to be able to tell you that whatever treatment we use here will cure you, I can’t do that. I can say that you have a fighting chance to whip this thing.”

Finally, Thad Larrabee spoke. “When should the surgery be done? Immediately as in later this week? Next week?” He shrugged his shoulders to mean that he had no clue.

The doctor said, “We will try for next week if that works for you.”

The couple looked at each other, each trying to think of their respective schedules.

Dr. Chalmers picked up on this and asked, “Will that be a problem?”

Thad answered too quickly, “Not necessarily.”

Brett came to life after standing off to the side listening. “Mr. Larrabee, are you a NASCAR driver?”

Thad looked at the young man in some surprise. “Why yes, I am.”

This didn’t seem to register with the doctor, so Brett tried to educate her. “Dr. Chalmers, Mr. Larrabee drives race cars for a living. This is late January and the NASCAR season starts very soon. My guess is that he will have to do some juggling with his schedule.”

Before the doctor could speak, Thad did. “Doctor, Brett, let’s not worry about my schedule. It’s true that I have a lot to do at the race tracks this year, but let’s remember that none of that should have any effect on Dina’s treatment. We’ve already talked about this and I may not be able to be present for every single stage of her treatment, but I aim to try. I have the support of my car owner, the sponsors and the team on this.”

The doctor looked confused. “Mr. Larrabee, I’m totally ignorant about your occupation. You drive race cars for a living? And you race every week?  On TV?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Thad looked at her and asked, “Is that a problem? We have insurance—”

“No, that wasn’t what I meant. I mean, sorry if this sounds impolite, but—”

Dina chimed in, “He doesn’t look like a race car driver?”

The doctor was somewhat embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Mr. Larrabee. It’s my fault for assuming. Forgive me.”

Thad shrugged. “I get that on occasion. I’m losing my hair, most of what’s left is gray and I don’t drink beer or chew tobacco. It’s okay, Doctor. The main thing is that I’ll do my best to be here for and with Dina when I can.”

“Good,” The doc turned to Brett. “Check my schedule and let’s see if we can see Dina early next week.” She turned to Thad. “I promise you that we will try and work around your schedule when we can, Thad.”

Thad spoke of something that had just occurred to him. “Doctor, I’m not sure of how things are done here concerning publicity, but I’d prefer that the media not know of what’s going on here. We treasure our privacy in the good times and we certainly would like that our current trial be kept away from the media.”

Dr. Chalmers said, “I must say that I don’t encounter many famous people. It’s nice to meet you both, though I wish it could be under better circumstances. This is going to be a very tough fight for the two of you. I promise you that I will do my very best, and that includes respecting your privacy. It’s important to me that both of you realize that. That is the only thing I can guarantee.” She stepped toward the couple and shook first Dina’s, then Thad’s hand.

The doctor said, “See you next week.”

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Lunch Pail Boys

Thomas Meseraull and Justin Grant won their respective features on a mild southern Indiana night. Grant won the MSCS feature, with Meseraull winning the USAC Nos Energy Drink Midget National Series 30 lapper at the Tri-State Speedway. When these two win, they enjoy the cheers and the accolades. Each time they win, one can't miss the fact that they act like it's their first win. They love to win, of course, but after the cheers, interviews and congratulations are done, they start thinking about other matters. They have mouths to feed, so they can take some satisfaction in knowing that the kids can get that new pair of shoes. The refrigerator at their favorite appliance store is on sale; tonight's winnings will take care of that and then some. I won’t pretend to know what financial arrangements either Meseraull or Grant have, but they shouldn’t have to worry about such things as groceries or rent for a few days.

A few years ago, I can imagine that USAC's Levi Jones and the owners of Tri-State Speedway, Tom and Loris Helfrich, met to talk about scheduling a midget race at the Class Track. It was a mutually beneficial decision. The Harvest Cup was now an enhanced program, one that would surely draw more fans. The crowd left with smiles and good promoters always strive for that. Hopefully these three classes (including the minisprints) are what make up the Harvest Cup for a long time.

Another treat that came from adding USAC Midgets to the dance card was the extraordinary number of double dippers. They included Chris Windom, Kevin Thomas Jr., Justin Grant, Daison Pursley, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Stephen Schnapf, Emerson Axsom and Jeff Schindler, who was doubling up with a midget and a minisprint.

With a reported 106 cars overflowing the pits, 38 were sprints and 29 were midgets. The sprints did the MSCS group qualifying thing with Garrett the quickest at 13.025. Tanner Thorson set a new track record for midgets with a 13.266 lap, toppling Chris Windom’s four-month-old mark. Sprints had four heats, a C and B main. All transferred four. Midgets had three heats, taking five; the B, as always, took seven to the show.

Sprints

First: Daison Pursley, Kendall Ruble, Critter Malone and Emerson Axsom.

Second: Kevin Thomas Jr., Jason McDougal, Aric Gentry and Carson Garrett.

Third: Chase Stockon, Kyle Cummins, Robert Ballou and Tayte Williamson.

Fourth: Justin Grant, Kent Schmidt, Stan Beadles and Jake Swanson.

C Main: Jaden Rogers, Stephen Schnapf, Harley Burns and Jeff Pritchett.

B Main: Sam Scott, Cole Bodine, Zach Daum and Jadon Rogers.

The first heat had its share of minor bobbles, which cost some. Brady Short paid more than most. His slight miss of turn two put him in the B, where he was leading—for a while. In the third heat, Tayte Williamson crowded Robert Ballou, who flipped. Ballou returned to the race and passed Williamson on the last lap. In the fourth heat, Donnie Brackett got sideways and collected Stephen Schnapf, who flipped. Stephen was out of the car quickly. After making the tiniest boo-boo, Sam Scott headed for the B, where he passed Cole Bodine on the last lap to win. Harley Burns spun in the B, collecting Short, costing him the win.

Midgets

First: Buddy Kofoid, Chris Windom, Daison Pursley, Tanner Thorson and Emerson Axsom.

Second: Thomas Meseraull, Kevin Thomas Jr., Justin Grant, Chance Crum and Bryant Wiedeman.

Third: Ethan Mitchell, Kaylee Bryson, Cannon McIntosh, Chase Randall and Logan Seavey.

B Main: 1. Jace Park, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Brenham Crouch, 4. Carson Garrett, 5. Jake Neuman, 6. Sam Johnson, 7. Tyler Rust,

In the sprint feature, Grant and Stockon led the way to Keith Dewig’s green flag. Right away, Keith had to bring out the yellow for a traffic jam in turn one featuring Kyle Cummins, Sam Scott and Tayte Williamson, who was done for the night. They tried again and Grant and Stockon led the rest for the first three laps. But Stockon was under pressure right away from his teammate, Daison Pursley, who took over second on the third lap.

Grant put some distance between himself and Pursley. Lapped traffic appeared on lap eight. So did the red flag two laps later as Jake Swanson got upside down in turn four after contact from Ballou. Grant led Pursley, Jason McDougald, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Stockon. KO Motorsports cars occupied three of the top five and four of the top seven.

The green came out and Grant tried to check out but Pursley had other ideas. While Grant couldn’t pull away, Pursley couldn’t get close enough to make an attempt to pass. Again, Grant came upon lapped traffic and again a yellow flag waved, this time for seventh-place Kent Schmidt and Emerson Axsom. The top five was unchanged with eight laps to go.

A lap after the restart saw Cummins get squeezed against the wall at the start/finish line, mangling his front end and bringing out a yellow. This restart saw Pursley get along side of Grant, but again he couldn’t pass the California native-turned Hoosier.

As the white flag waved, contact between Ballou and Critter Malone resulted in Critter flipping just past the start/finish line. He exited the car in a timely fashion. There would be a one-lap dash, meaning that Grant had to keep Pursley in mind one more time.

Sure enough, Keith waved the green and the last lap was devoid of drama, except for Ballou passing Stockon. Behind Grant was Pursley, McDougald, Thomas and Ballou. Stockon settled for sixth and Rogers came from the C, B and 20^th to finish seventh and take the Takeuchi Hard Charger award. Aric Gentry, Kendall Ruble and Emerson Axsom rounded out the top ten.

The USAC midgets were up next with Pursley and Thomas leading the way. Thomas jumped out to the lead and was still out front when Thorson spun in turn four, bringing out the overworked yellow flag with two laps complete.

The green flew and Thomas maintained the top spot as Pursley was busy thanks to McIntosh, who took second on the fifth lap. Meseraull had cracked the top five a lap earlier from the fourth row. Thomas had his lead wiped out on the ninth lap as Carson Garrett spun. A lap later, Chase Randall and rookie Jace Park stopped on the track with another yellow flag ordered. Thomas led Kofoid, McIntosh, Meseraull and Pursley.

On the restart, McIntosh passed Kofoid for second. There were 17 laps to go. But the red came out when Kofoid found himself on the high side of a three wide formation. Then Kofoid found the turn four wall and tipped over. It was Thomas, McIntosh, Pursley, Meseraull and Cummins. Grant had come from 17^th to seventh by now.

The green waved and McIntosh had dropped out. Thomas had Pursley (again) to worry about. And Pursley had Meseraull, who was in a pestering mood. TMez got around the kid from Oklahoma on the 19^th lap. The red lights blinked again as Ethan Mitchell pounded the turn four wall. He exited the car and walked to the pits. The order was Thomas, Meseraull, Pursley, Grant and Cummins.

KT had real trouble now. Meseraull would not be denied. After pressuring for the lead, he made the pass, going low in turn two in making the pass for the lead. There were six laps to go. A lap later, a parking lot formed in turn four with Emerson Axsom, Sam Johnson and Brenham Crouch facing every way but the right way.

From there, TMez hung on to win this race the second year in a row. Thomas was second with Grant passing Pursley for third and winning the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger money. Pursley continued to run with the big boys, finishing fourth. Windom came from 14^th to pass Cummins late and take fifth. Seavey was a quiet seventh and Wiedeman rambled from 20^th to eighth. Kofoid was able to come back and finish ninth. Thorson was tenth after his early spin.

The boys head west next month and Windom’s point lead over Kofoid is only 13. There are some lunch pails that need to be restocked.

Partying with Urban Meyer, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Knowing How to Win

Race winner Kevin Thomas Jr. acknowledged that he knew who was behind him on the last lap of the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car 30-lap feature at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on what turned out to be a beautiful Saturday night. He had a pretty good idea what second place Chris Windom would do, most likely in turn three. But KT knew what he would do in turn four. After Windom slid to the lead in turn three, Thomas returned the favor in turn four and saw the checkered flag first at the Hoosier Fall Nationals. It was KT’s eighth USAC sprint car feature win this year. For his effort, Thomas walked away $10,000 richer.

There were 30 sprinters signed in; many of them had made the two and a half hour drive from Terre Haute the night before. We’ll assume they took the interstate highways instead of scenic Indiana 46, often my leisurely choice to go to Terre Haute, Lawrenceburg, Bloomington, and for part of the way, Haubstadt. More importantly, none of the 30 brought rain with them. The expected rain missed the ‘burg, leaving mild and cloudy skies—and a pretty good track surface.

Tanner Thorson set quick time for the second consecutive night, turning a 13.441 lap.

Again, there would be three heats, but tonight would have a semi-feature. Top five from the heats and the top seven from the semi would advance.

First: Chase Stockon, Thomas Meseraull, Jadon Rogers, Tanner Thorson and Logan Seavey.

Second:  Chris Windom, Robert Ballou, Emerson Axsom, J.J. Hughes and C.J. Leary,

Third: Max Adams, Justin Grant, Justin Owen, Saban Bibent and Kevin Thomas Jr.

B Main: Jake Swanson, Brandon Mattox, Brady Bacon, Jason McDougal, Ryan Thomas, Dallas Hewitt and Shane Cottle.

Stockon set up fellow veteran Meseraull in taking the lead on the last lap, faking high and going low. In the second heat, Brady Bacon took a mean ride after contact with CJ Leary. Bacon and company have seen this movie before, notably at Terre Haute this summer. When the B main lined, there he was, starting last/15^th In a backup car, and finishing third.

I’ll have to check with USAC’s ace statistician Richie Murray to see if tonight’s front row was the youngest ever. Teenagers Saban Bibent and Emerson Axsom led 20 older guys to Tim Montgomery’s green flag. While Bibent faded, Axsom took off like the proverbial scared rabbit. Logan Seavey, who likes this place, settled into second with Thomas, Thorson and Windom serving as the early top five.

Axsom caught the tail end of the field on the eighth lap and the duo of Seavey and Thomas closed the gap quickly. At the time, few if any realized that perhaps the turning point of the race came on lap ten when Thomas passed Seavey for second. The Alabama native-turned-Hoosier made his most serious attempt to take the lead from Axsom on the 12^th lap in turn two. But it was more of a “Hey, Emerson. How about that Crimson Tide?” introductory move.

It may or may not have mattered because the yellow waved on lap 12 when Windom ran over JJ Hughes’ right rear. JJ stopped in turn one. Robert Ballou tried to avoid the stalled car, but clipped it just enough to send Robert, who was running eighth, into the wall. Two tow trucks were needed. During the caution, Leary pitted with a flat tire while running sixth. He rejoined the field, holding down the caboose—for a while. The lineup was Axsom, Thomas, Seavey, Windom and Thorson.

The green waved and Axsom took off, fleeing Thomas and the others. Thomas said later that he didn’t think he had anything for the kid from Franklin, IN. A bit further back, Windom was making noise. With no apparent damage to his car from the Hughes incident, Windom passed Seavey for third at the halfway mark. The top three ran nose-to-tail for the next several laps before disaster struck the leader.

On the 26^th lap, Axsom’s right rear tire went south and he stopped coming out of turn four, bringing out the yellow and ending a most impressive run. This gave Thomas the lead, but this deal was far from over. Windom was next in line and dearly wished to make it two in a row after his Terre Haute win.

The green waved one last time and Windom seemed to be sizing up the leader and trying to determine the best place to make the pass. But after the white flag waved, he got serious. With a great run coming off turn two, Windom sailed under Thomas going into turn three and taking the lead for a second, maybe two. Thomas had figured (guessed?) correctly. Anticipating Windom’s intentions, Thomas made his own run off turn four, diving under Windom and re-taking the lead and receiving the checkered a couple of car lengths ahead of Windom.

Thorson had hung around the top five throughout the race and finished third. Bacon once again overcame adversity, flipping in his heat, going to a backup car, starting on the tail of the B and transferring to the feature, then starting 11^th and salvaging a well-earned fourth place finish. Jake Swanson was fifth and Justin Grant earned the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger award after coming from 14^th and finishing sixth. Seavey faded a bit to seventh and Max Adams was eighth. Chase Stockon finished ninth and Leary hustled from the tail spot to take tenth.

Bacon lost a little of his point lead to Thomas; now the margin is 64 as the gang makes plans to head west in a little less then a month.

Somewhere in there, September turned into October. And the days dwindle down.

Buying the MyPillow guy an abacus for Christmas, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Windom's Happy Place

One could understand if Chris Windom campaigned for more USAC Sprint races at the Terre Haute Action Track. Once again, Windom smoked the field and romped to the victory in the 22^nd running of the Jim Hurtubise Classic, leading second place Jake Swanson by the better part of the straightaway.

Here are a few reasons why Windom is so fond of the Action Track:

1.       He is now a five-time of the Hurtubise Classic.

2.       With the win, Windom tied Jack Hewitt and Gary Bettenhausen as the winningest USAC racer at Terre Haute.

3.       This race was an all-green flag contest. Windom took 10 minutes and 31.97seconds in winning, smashing Cary Faas’ 1998 time by nearly 25 seconds.

4.       This was Windom’s 15^th win on a half mile track. This ties him with Pancho Carter.

Brady Bacon’s seven-year-old time trial record remained on the books, but Tanner Thorson came close. His lap of 19.377 came up a mere .152 seconds off the record, and was a half second quicker than every one of the 24 cars attempting to qualify.

USAC made a great call in erasing the semi-feature from the program. All 24 cars made the feature.

FIRST HEAT: 1. Max Adams, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Jadon Rogers, 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Mitch Wissmiller, 8. Sterling Cling.

SECOND HEAT: 1. Chris Windom, 2. Tye Mihocko, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Mario Clouser, 5. Harley Burns, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Davey Ray, 8. Brandon Morin.

 THIRD HEAT: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Jason McDougal, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Patrick Budde.

In the first heat, quick timer Thorson didn’t finish in the top five. He started three spots lower than he would have had he finished one position higher. Windom gave us a preview of things to come in the second heat as he passed Tye Mihocko on the last lap to win. Kevin Thomas Jr. simply ran away and hid in the third heat.

For what I think was the first time, the 305 Racesavers were on the schedule. Hot Rod Henning won the first heat. Jeff Wimmenauer was the third leader of the second heat as he won.

Alex Nalon took the lead midway through the 15-lap Racesavers’ feature after Henning broke to add his name to the list of Action Track feature winners.

Robert Ballou and Jake Swanson led 22 of their cohorts to the green. They fought for the lead with Swanson taking over coming to the line, leading the first lap. Jake pulled away a little bit on each lap as Ballou gave up second place to Windom on the second lap. Swanson’s lead, several car lengths at one point, began to shrink.

Windom reeled in the leader and got close enough to take a look on the low side in turn two of lap 11. It may have been a “Hi, Jake; I’m here” kind of move. Windom must have been thinking it would be a matter of time before he would make the pass. A lap after Windom’s pass attempt, he and Swanson found slower cars ahead. Swanson was able to keep his lead as he and Windom smoothly negotiated their way around the lapped cars as the race’s halfway mark came and went. But Windom had enough when he saw an opportunity and took it.

On lap 18, Windom tried a slider on Swanson in turn two. It wasn’t the prettiest slide job but it worked as Windom just cleared Swanson. From there he edged away, gradually building a lead while Swanson also put some real estate between himself and Ballou. I kept waiting for one of those late-race cautions that occasionally pop up and bedevil whoever is leading the feature at the time. But it didn’t happen as everyone stayed out of trouble on the impeccably prepared half mile oval.

At the end, Windom’s lead was the better part of a straightaway over Swanson, who is due to win one of these things soon. Ballou ran third for all 30 laps if my notes were correct. Bacon was not far behind in fourth, extending his points lead over Thomas, who finished fifth, to 74. Thorson ran in the top five for much of the race, but finished sixth. Logan Seavey was seventh and CJ Leary took eighth. Shane Cottle came from 14^th to finish ninth and earn the KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger award. Chase Stockon concluded his night with a tenth place finish, extending his string of top ten results in this race.

In a more perfect world, everyone would have a happy place, a location where they can thrive and enjoy life. This could be anyplace from home to the barber shop to a saloon to church. Racers’ happy places can be at a given track or can be a good finish. If the racer is Chris Windom, the preferred happy place seems to be the Terre Haute Action Track.

On to da ‘burg.

Writing a musical comedy titled "Man of La Manchimina, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Way of Improvement

One of my favorite podcasts is called The Way of Improvement Leads Home. Seeing Mario Clouser close out the 2021 season at the Lincoln Park Speedway on a chilly Hoosier night triggered the phrase. Because Mario, up until the past few years, was more of a pavement guy. However, he’s worked hard at improving his dirt racing skills and it’s been paying off. Not only was he a (first time at LPS) winner, he also claimed the 2021 championship of the Wingless Auto Series/WAR, based in Mario’s home state of Illinois.

The Lincoln Park sprint car championship was on the line as Brayden Fox came in with a nine point lead over AJ Hopkins. AJ’s normal ride in the Burton family’s car was damaged at the last Bloomington race, but Jamie and Michelle Paul had an open seat with their regular ace Shane Cockrum hanging out at Eldora with his Silver Crown ride. Presto, Hopkins had a ride for the night, and a good one to be sure.

With 39 sprints helping jam the pits, there were five heats, top three advance. Two B mains would take three.

First: Harley Burns, AJ Hopkins and Alec Sipes.

Second: Zach Pretorious, Braydon Cromwell and Ben Knight.

Third: Mario Clouser, Gabriel Gilbert and Carson Garrett.

Fourth: Jesse Vermillion, Andy Bradley and Brayden Fox.

Fifth: Kyle Shipley, Travis Berryhill and Pat Giddens.

The second heat was, to be kind, caution plagued. Mr. Knight started in the last row, was collected as part of a yellow, but still made the feature. Mr. Cromwell had the driveline break as he crossed the finish line, a painful experience for any racer. Mr. Shipley ignored the smoke coming from his motor long enough to win the fifth heat. The front row of Messrs. Giddens and McMillen pushed wide in turn two, allowing the second row of Messrs. Berryhill and Shipley to scoot by.

First B: Brandon Spencer, Nate McMillin and Kent Christian (yes, that Kent Christian).

Second B: Mitchell Davis, Blake Vermillion and Cody Williams.

The second B had a pileup in turn three with Eddie Vancil flipping. Eddie was out of the car as quick as the LPS backstretch concession line moves.

A couple of young fellows with some good experience at these bullrings, Harley Burns and Zach Pretorius, led the field of 21 to Mr. B. Hodde’s green flag. That’s how they ran for several laps. Hopkins started sixth and was fifth by the time the fifth lap arrived. Fox was way back in 14^th and had a task ahead of him.

The yellow waved with seven laps completed. It was Burns, Pretorius, Shipley, Clouser and Hopkins. Fox was up to eighth. Brian brought out the green and Mario got busy. He passed Shipley in turn two, then got Pretorius in turn four. He was not done. After swapping the lead with Burns four times in two laps, Clouser took the lead on the tenth lap (of 30). He took off, leaving Burns to fight it out with first Shipley and then Hopkins.

The blue 24p car took over third on the 14^th lap and Hopkins’ championship prospects were looking better. Then the yellow waved two laps later for Fox, who had stopped in turn three. The championship was now settled. Fox restarted on the tail, but Hopkins was strong and running up front. The order when the race got going again was Clouser, Burns, Hopkins, Shipley and Cromwell.

If anyone expected Hopkins to make short work of Burns, they were surely disappointed. AJ made the pass for second but it took him seven laps to pass and make it stick. Clouser had built up a healthy lead and was handling lapped traffic with ease. Hopkins had a long way to go if he was going to catch the leader.

Meanwhile, a pair of surprises had invaded the top five in the latter stages of the race. Ben Knight showed up fifth in my notes on lap 18. Seven laps later, he wrested third place from Burns. Mitchell Davis had come from B Main-land and entered the top five with nine to go. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be and I wasn’t sure that was Mitch. Thinking swiftly for someone beginning their eighth decade on earth, I figured out that there was only one car numbered four.

As the end came closer, Hopkins had closed the gap on Clouser. Maybe he ran out of laps, maybe not. I’d let the partisan fans argue that one. Clouser’s lead was about a half straightaway with a good amount of lapped traffic between them. Maybe Hopkins figured he would settle for second and take his second Lincoln Park points title in two years.

Behind Clouser and Hopkins was Knight, who started 12^th, having his best run in some time. Burns hung on for fourth after leading early. Mitchell Davis claimed fifth and earned the Brad Dickison hard charger award (the world famous LPS bag of popcorn) after starting 17^th. Shipley was sixth as Cromwell started and finished seventh. Nate McMillin came from 18^th to end up eighth. Pretorius was ninth and birthday boy Alec Sipes took tenth.

Final note: How interesting that the top two finishers are named Mario and AJ. Coincidence? Not when you think about it.

The competition wasn’t at the level as the assembled throng at Eldora, but so what? There’s no need to worry about who is or is not at a given race. The main point was that the competition was as spirited and intense as it was at Eldora or anywhere else. Racers were trying to win—or improve.

And, to me, that’s what it’s all about.

Keeping busy by trying to figure out what "Imeach Biden" means, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Four Time Winner

Kevin Thomas Jr. tried his best to stink up the show but couldn't quite pull it off. However, he was plenty quick enough to win the Haubstadt Hustler 40-lap feature for the fourth time, carting home $12,000 from the piggy bank at the Tri-State Speedway/Haubstadt.

The USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series and the Midwest Sprint Car Series appear not to be fools. Together they cooked up a concoction of a signature event that fans and racers alike have looked forward to being a part of since 2008, when Jeff Bland Jr. won the initial Hustler.

The pits were overflowing with open wheel machines, 37 of which were sprints and 31 were the minisprints of the MMSA. The usual suspects were on board with no surprises as the season enters the fourth turn.

Jason McDougal was quickest in MSCS style group qualifying with a 13.399 lap.

Four heats/top four—C Main/top four to the—B Main/top six to the main.

First: Chase Stockon, Kyle Cummins, Stephen Schnapf and Jadon Rogers.

Second: Brady Short, Kendall Ruble, Chris Windom and Jake Swanson.

Third: Justin Grant, Tanner Thorson, Jason McDougal and Robert Ballou.

Fourth: Kevin Thomas Jr., Brady Bacon, Daison Pursley and Kent Schmidt.

C Main: Aric Gentry, James Lyerla, Brayden Cromwell and Ted Kirkpatrick.

B Main: Emerson Axsom, Carson Garrett, CJ Leary, Koby Barksdale, Max Adams and Aric Gentry.

The first heat had more passing than I’ve seen in any heat race all year. Kyle Cummins had trouble in qualifying and started tenth in the first heat, nearly winning. Aric Gentry was black flagged in the first heat for protesting a little too vigorously to Critter Malone. Aric went to the pits, then to the C, B and found himself starting 22^nd in the Show. The fourth heat had three leaders in the first two turns.

Fourteen-year-old Kayla Roell won the MMSA 20-lap feature after starting sixth.

The sprints would be the curtain closer with a front row of Brady Short and Chase Stockon leading the likes of Grant, Thomas, Cummins, Ruble, Thorson and Bacon. Keith Dewig waved the green and away they went with Short leading the first lap. Stockon was not pleased with this outcome and grabbed the lead on lap two with Short now second ahead of Grant, Thomas and Cummins.

This lasted until the seventh lap when Short reclaimed the top spot in turn three on lap seven. A lap later Brady began to confront the reality of soon to be lapped traffic. Behind him, Stockon, Grant and Thomas fought for position, and soon found themselves also fighting lapped traffic. Grant and Stockon traded positions for the next few laps before KT took second. Stockon began sliding backwards with Thomas, Cummins and Bacon occupying part of the top five as the race neared the halfway point—which would also be the turning point.

On lap 18, Short and Grant found themselves in heavy lapped traffic. They tangled in turn four and both lost positions. Thomas found himself in the lead now with Cummins, Short and Grant still in the hunt. Bacon was fifth. Thomas tried and succeeded in putting just a sliver of daylight between him and Cummins before entering heavy lapped traffic on the 25^th lap. But passing was a challenge for a time until Grant took second from Short on lap 29. Bacon also made the pass on the Blaster a lap later.

The next contender to have trouble was Cummins, whose race unraveled after an unplanned meeting with the lapped car of Cindy Chambers on the 34^th lap. Kyle ended up facing the wrong way in turn four. He restarted on the tail. Thomas led Grant, Bacon, Thorson and Stockon for the six-lap conclusion.

And that was how the top five finished with Robert Ballou coming from 15^th to finish sixth and winning yet another KSE Racing Products Hard Charger award. Short faded a bit to seventh, but it was a spirited effort. Daison Pursley’s first sprint car race was every bit of outstanding. The Kunz-Willoughby midget ace advanced from 12^th to finish eighth. Jason McDougal and Jake Swanson completed the top ten. (I should add that Koby Barksdale came from 20^th to take 12^th behind Mr. Cummins, who charged through the crowd after his misfortune.)

All races are special in their own way and for anyone present. For the first time in quite a while, grandson 2.0 joined me like it was “old times.” At the age of 12, he is gaining height on several friends and acquaintances. More importantly, he’s gaining knowledge about this crazy sport and its participants. Having both him, his big brother and little cousin (age 5) together this weekend is the highlight, even topping a visit to this truly Class Track. Treasure moments like those, folks. They don’t last long and then poof! they are gone.

Giving Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick boxing gloves to use as they wish, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: A Smashing Debut

Forward looking people aren't always rewarded. But that wasn't the case on a warm Friday night at the Circle City Raceway as Tanner Thorson took his fifth USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series win this year.

Promoters and certain others don't think like most of us and, most of the time, we should be grateful. These people have the ability to look, for example, at a piece of land and see something much different than an area of undeveloped land, which is what most of us would envision. With a few movers and shakers in the Indianapolis area, Kevin Garrigus looked at the Marion County fairgrounds and thought, "This would be a nice place for a quarter mile race track. If we build it they will come." For this race, Mr. Garrigus teamed up with Bob Sargent, another visionary, and his crack team. Their efforts resulted in a large crowd and quality competition at a first-rate facility which included a track that was a good bit smoother than the last time I was up there.

Time trials produced something that seldom happens. Brady Bacon was the last of 26 cars taking time and he set fast time with a 12.163 lap.

Three heats/top five:

B main/top seven for a 22 car mob scene:

First: Thomas Meseraull, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson, Brent Beauchamp and Brady Bacon.

Second: Max Adams, CJ Leary, JJ Hughes, Chris Windom and Robert Ballou.

Third: Emerson Axsom, Shane Cottle, Chase Stockon, Matt Westfall and Koby Barksdale.

B Main: Jake Swanson, Jason McDougal, Justin Grant, Jadon Rogers, Ricky Lewis, Travis Berryhill and Brandon Mattox.

Ricky Lewis did a half spin right after the start of heat two and nearly collected half the field. Jake Swanson was caught up in a mess on the first lap and found his way to the B—giving Thorson a front row starting spot. Andrew Prather had a huge flip at the start of the semi-feature. He was out of the car a lot quicker than I would have been.

The USAC Midwest Regional Midgets had invaded Circle City Raceway, 20 strong. Bryce Massingill, Bryce Dues and Taylor Nibert won the heats. Massingill won the feature after trading the lead multiple times with Michael Magic. This would be a tough act to follow.

A pair of number nineteens, driven by Windom and Thorson, led the way to begin the 30-lapper. True, Thorson took the lead early but for the first five laps Thomas stayed close after starting behind the Nevada native. But Thorson began to pull away and he first encountered slower traffic on the ninth lap.

Brady Bacon's race went south on the 11th lap in turn two. Jadon Rogers and Travis Berryhill collided with Berryhill coming to a stop. Bacon, with nowhere else to go, smacked Berryhill. Bacon's car went to the work area while Berryhill was done for the night.

If Bacon had bad luck, Ricky Lewis clipped an infield tire in turn three and flipped, making the yellow flag a red. Bacon restarted on the tail while Lewis was done for the night. Up front it was Thorson, Thomas, Windom, Cottle and Leary.

The green came out and it was time for Thorson and Thomas to show everyone how it’s done. Statistics don’t lie but they don’t always tell the whole truth. The record showed Thorson leading all 30 laps, but for several laps he and Thomas exchanged the lead several times. But Thorson led at the s/f line every time.

Behind them was a great scrap for third on back to eighth. Seemingly out of nowhere, Emerson Axsom had come from ninth to take third with 11 laps to go. A lap later the leaders found lapped traffic. Two laps later TMez spun in turn two. It was still Thorson leading Thomas, Axsom, Windom and Leary. Bacon had come from the work area to now reside in eighth place—briefly.

On the restart, Axsom did a half spin that jumbled up those behind Thorson, especially Thomas. Windom inherited second and Jake Swanson seemingly materialized from nowhere to take third. As the laps wound down, Thorson went on his merry way while Swanson and Windom fought for second. At the very end, Bacon arrived, uninvited to the Windom/Swanson party. As Thorson took the checkered, Bacon was second for a partial lap, but Windom and Swanson finished second and third.

Again, the numbers didn’t show that Bacon had passed well over a dozen cars after his early misfortune. To be fair, that isn’t the numbers’ job. Bacon officially finished fourth, ahead of Leary and Cottle. Axsom salvaged seventh after his half spin. Thomas finished eighth but ran better than an eighth place car, a victim of Axsom’s woes. Justin Grant and Chase Stockon were ninth and tenth.

Bacon may have passed more cars but Robert Ballou earned the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger award for advancing from 20^th to 12^th.

Bacon also showed everyone how to win a points championship. With all his trouble, he gained ground on second place KT. Bacon now is 68 points ahead of Thomas as the band of gypsies heads to Haubstadt.

Thorson is on a roll. How many of us prognosticators saw that coming?

Surprised to learn that Nicki Minaj is a doctor, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Fitting and Appropriate

Right around the time that Shane Cockrum took the checkered flag at the Lincoln Park Speedway on September 11, superfan Toby Thompson observed that somehow it was appropriate that the racer who won is a fire chief when he's not wheeling a sprint or Silver Crown car. This was the fifth consecutive victory for the Jamie and Michelle Paul blue beast, with either Cockrum or Tye Mihocko getting interviewed after a feature win.

One of life’s patience-trying challenges for racing people in particular is that the Hoosier racing season coincides with Indiana road construction. This year road construction has affected every track that I frequent, from Haubstadt to Gas City. On this fine day, someone on I-65 decided to do some racing with law enforcement, with the interstate temporarily closed. This resulted in speed up/slow down traffic even before I entered I-65 all the way up to Franklin.

I needn’t have fretted. Festivities were delayed for a while when someone nearby needed an ambulance. All on-track activity halted for a few minutes.

Of the 109 cars in the pits, 38 were sprints. Car counts. Never guess how many cars will show up at a given race. With the modifieds running the Patriot 100 for extra $$$, one might have thought they would have attracted more than 26 mods, but no-o-o.

Lots of cars and five heats. This ain't USAC. Top three advance.

First: Lee Underwood, Dickie Gaines and Jake Scott.

Second: Jesse Vermillion, Jaden Rogers and Aaron Mosely.

Third: Shane Cockrum, Brayden Cromwell and Matt Thompson.

Fourth: Alec Sipes, Nate McMillen and Lee Dakus.

Fifth: AJ Hopkins, Travis Berryhill and Gabriel Gilbert.

In the second heat, Vermillion and Rogers exchanged the lead multiple times before the Greencastle resident won. Davey Ray and Brandon Spencer tangled in turn two, opening the door for Mosely. In the fourth heat, Max Adams spun after something broke. Dakus used a last lap pass of Zach Pretorious to grab a feature spot. In the fifth heat, Pat Giddens spun while running third. Something appeared to break.

Lots of cars and two B mains. Top three go.

First: Brandon Spencer, Brayden Fox and Jesse Vermillion.

Second: Zach Pretorious, Davey Ray and Harley Burns.

Spencer came from ninth to win, using the high side to catch and pass Fox on the last lap. Max Adams came up a few feet short after starting tenth. In the second B, Davey Ray came from 11th/last to take second.

Alec Sipes and Mr. Cockrum led the field of 21 to Brian Hodde's green flag. Perhaps Cockrum figured that the top side would be the way to go and he sailed into the first turn ahead of the others.

After nearly skipping over the turn two cushion, Cockrum recovered and led the first lap by a car length over Sipes on the first lap. From his third row starting position AJ Hopkins maneuvered his way to second on lap two.

Jadon Rogers was also on the move. He started seventh and was third by the fifth lap. By lap eight the youthful veteran (sounds like an oxymoron) was pressuring Hopkins for second. But then came what some might say was the turning point of the race.

With 11 laps complete, Harley Burns stopped in turn three—right in the high groove that most everyone was using, including the leaders. Cockrum nicked the Burns car and second place Hopkins missed it entirely, though barely. But Rogers clouted the Burns machine hard enough to knock him out of the race. The order was Cockrum, Hopkins, Gaines, Lee Underwood and J. Vermillion.

It's easy to speculate whether Rogers would have been a threat to Cockrum, but the reality was something else. The green lights activated and for the next few laps Cockrum steadily pulled away from Hopkins. AJ had other problems for those few laps, namely Dickie Gaines, who looked low in trying to take over second. That didn’t happen.

As the laps wound down, the Chief pretty much his own way, not encountering any slower traffic until there were four laps to go. When Brian waved the checkered flag, the margin of victory was close to a half straightaway.

Behind Hopkins and Gaines was Underwood. I’ve not seen much of Lee this year, but his was a quality effort and result—starting and finishing in fourth place. Travis Berryhill advanced steadily from tenth to end up fifth in his comeback from an early season injury. Coming on strong at the end was Braydon Cromwell, settling for sixth in the Scooby Doo car. Pole sitter Sipes was seventh and Nate McMillin took eighth. J. Vermillion was ninth and Davey Ray was one of the relatively few who could pass, coming from the B main to take tenth and the B. Hodde hard charger award, Brian’s oldest coffee cup.

Many of us remember that horrible day twenty years ago. America was knocked down but did what we all need to do when we are knocked down or fall down. We get up, maybe a little wobbly and we come back. We may stumble from time to time but persevere, much as the first responders did on that otherwise beautiful day in New York City, Washington D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

So maybe it was fitting that a guy who has rushed into burning buildings would have won this race on this particular day. This one is for all of his colleagues, especially the ones who gave their all to save others. Check out John 15:13.

Loading my truck with crying towels to take to Columbus…Ohio, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: First Time Winner

For each of us, milestones are important points in our lives. They can be anything from a wedding to a graduation ceremony toa race win. They are enjoyable to relive. If more of us were like racers, we would immediately turn our attention to win number two. I would imagine that Connersville, Indiana’s Tyler Kendall will be thinking about winning his next race, but he has the right to enjoy his first 410 sprint car feature victory, which a good crowd witnessed on another beautiful Friday night at the Gas City/I-69 Speedway. This concluded Gas City’s regular season as Scotty Weir finished second and won the 2021 track championship driving Paul Hazen’s familiar hot rod.

The car count may have been a little light at 18, but every time I see a lower number than normal, I come to the conclusion that one cannot worry about where everyone went (many were in South Dakota for the USAC sprint/midget doubleheader). You only have to beat the guys who showed up and Mr. Kendall did just that. 

Speaking of doubleheaders, both grandsons were on hand with their dad. Both kids spent their share of time in the Jiggs Thomasson playground, which remains to entertain a new crop of young people. They helped remind Grandpa that he’s getting older, but I don’t mind that, especially when various alternatives are contemplated.

Speaking of entertainment, promoter Jerry Gappens rounded up a few school buses along with some area ministers to drive them, the latest version of “faster pastors.” It went well with no yellow or black flags waved. The crowd loved it, which helps warm a promoter’s heart.

Three heats and all ran the feature.

First: Tyler Kendall, Anthony D'Alessio, Kyle Simon, Paul Dues, Jack James and Dave Gross.

Second: Tyler Hewitt, Korbyn Hazlett, Aaron Davis, Dustin Ingle, Matt McDonald and Zach Pretorious.

Third: Max Guilford, Scotty Weir, Parker Fredrickson, Ryan Barr, Tim Creech II and Jack Hoyer.

Guilford was the only pole sitter to win. All three heats were all-green gems.

It wasn’t quite nine o’clock when Mr. Weir and Mr. Hewitt quickly responded to Mark Orr’s green flag. Scotty quickly occupied the bottom side of the track in taking the lead. Third starting Ty Kendall was quick to seize second place and was there when Anthony D’Alessio stopped in turn four on lap three, bringing out the race’s only yellow flag. The order was Weir, Kendall, Hewitt, Max Guilford and Korbyn Hazlett.

The green came out and the boys finished a lap when the red came out for a double flip in turn two by Matt McDonald and Parker Fredrickson. Both walked away and probably were making plans to repair the wounded beasts. The top five had not changed.

The green light came on and right away, Kendall saw the opening on the outside and made it work. He took the lead on the backstretch to take the lead. This time it wasn’t a case of monkey see/monkey do as Weir stuck to the bottom lane. Two laps after Kendall had taken the lead, Hewitt, who had dropped to fourth, decided that he was homesick for third place and got around Guilford.

It seemed like Weir might mount a serious charge to regain the lead, but that never happened as Kendall, using the middle and upper grooves of the quarter mile oval, put some Grant County ground between himself and Weir. As Kendall was the Lone Ranger, Weir had enough company with Hewitt content to settle in third. Hazlett took over fourth a few laps after the restart and made it a three-car conga line.

The field was somewhat evenly matched, given that the leader didn’t encounter major traffic until Mark unfurled the white flag. But Kendall negotiated the gaggle like a pro and sailed on to the win and took second place in Gas City points for the year. Weir had it reversed, second in the 25-lap feature and first in points. Hewitt was third and Hazlett fourth. Guilford was fifth, just ahead of Kyle Simon. Dustin Ingle ended up seventh and Aaron Davis took eighth. Ryan Barr finished ninth and Tim Creech II came from 15^th to tenth, winning the Tyler Kelly hard charger award, an order of French fries minus ketchup.

I both hope and believe that young Mr. Kendall will remember September 10, 2021 for a long time. It’s reasonable to expect more wins for this young man, but this one will leave its mark. There may be wins that pay more. There may a photo finish victory in his future. Who knows, there quite possibly might be a USAC sprint car win in the years to come. But there’s only one first triumph. Enjoy it, bud.

Somehow ending up with Aaron Reutzel’s leftover inspection stickers, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: A Case for Immigration

For nearly a century, California drivers have migrated to Indiana in order to race against the toughest competition around. Often they have excelled. One of the most recent Hoosier imports is Jake Swanson, who is having a dream season this year. He added a major pelt to his belt on a cool Friday night at the Bloomington Speedway as he passed another native Californian, Justin Grant, and won the Josh Burton Memorial.

With Bloomington promoter Joe Spiker and MSCS kingpin Tommy Helfrich playing nicely, it was, well, nice that this was an MSCS sanction. With the usual promotion that the JBM gets, a good representation of USAC racers was among the 33 sprints (out of 98 cars) in Joe’s outdoor penthouse. In fact, eight of the top ten in USAC Sprint points were among the 33. Heat race results reflected that.

Four and four:

First: Nick Bilbee, Brayden Fox, Dickie Gaines and Brady Short.

Second: Justin Grant, Kevin Thomas Jr., AJ Hopkins and Andy Bradley.

Third: Jake Swanson, Jason McDougal, CJ Leary and Jadon Rogers.

Fourth: Chase Stockon, Brady Bacon, Matt Thompson and Davey Ray.

Midway through the first heat, Short did a half spin and bounced off Gaines in turn one. Along came Kyle Cummins to bounce off Short. Cummins left with a flat right front tire and the B main in his future. The first lap of the fourth heat was a near disaster with several cars getting sideways in turn one. They all got straightened out and went on their merry way. Brady Bacon made a last lap pass of Matt Thompson to take second in the fourth heat.

B Main: Emerson Axsom, Robert Ballou, Carson Garrett and Jordan Kinser.

Axsom slid over the turn two banking early on but came to pass Ballou with a lap to go and win.

Come feature time, Grant and Bilbee led the way and they traded positions a couple of times in the first lap with Nick leading the first of 30 laps. Grant must have been offended as he took the lead with a low groove pass on the second lap. From there, Justin began building a lead, foot by foot. From his third starting position, Swanson held third, waiting for an opportunity to pass Bilbee. His chance came on the sixth lap and Swanson had some work to do in catching the leader.

Lapped traffic helped Swanson get closer to Grant, or at least not let him get away. There was still plenty of time with 20 laps to go. The festivities were interrupted on the 13^th lap when Jordan Kinser stopped on the backstretch. The order was Grant, Swanson, Bilbee, Thomas and Bacon.

The crowd got a lap in before the yellow waved for AJ Hopkins, the sentimental favorite in the Burton family car. AJ had been running sixth when he got a little bit over the cushion and slid over the banking. The top five were the same.

The restart was the turning point of the race. Swanson got under Grant coming out of turn two and took the lead. Meanwhile, Thomas had passed Bilbee for third, before Nick returned the favor. If that wasn’t enough, Chase Stockon was harassing Bacon for fifth. Swanson started pulling away, with close to a straightaway lead by the time he reached lapped traffic on the 22^nd lap. Grant, for his part, had put an equal amount of distance between himself and third place Bilbee. Nick had kept KT from taking third until the 25^th lap. And Grant seemed to close the gap between himself and the leader.

But at the end, Jake had close to a half straightaway lead as he took the checkered flag just before 10:00 p.m. Grant was second ahead of Thomas. Bacon took fourth, edging Bilbee at the finish line. Stockon was sixth and Robert Ballou came from 18^th to finish seventh and win the Takeuchi Hard Charger award. Not to be outdone by much, Emerson Axsom continued to impress, coming from 17^th to take eighth. Jason McDougal started and finished ninth while Kyle Cummins salvaged a difficult night by using a provisional to come from 21^st/last to end up tenth.

Without getting overly political, our U.S. history shows us that, on balance, we have benefited from immigration. To zero in on Hoosier open wheel racing, most certainly we’ve been fortunate that our cousins from the West Coast have been moving here since the 1930s.

To use the JBM results alone, recent Hoosier immigrants occupied the podium with Californians Swanson and Grant first and second. Alabama’s loss is our gain with Kevin Thomas Jr. in third. Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon was fourth. Another Californian, Robert Ballou and Oklahoman Jason McDougal were in the top ten.

In my limited observations, I don’t notice a pro-Indiana bias among fans or car owners. The guys I mentioned all have their fans who don’t necessarily care where they came from. The “furriners” help raise the bar of competition; this makes the natives race a little harder, and vice versa. Tonight alone, I saw Bilbee, Stockon, Axsom and Cummins enjoy a degree of success. Add some other Hoosiers like Leary, Hopkins, Fox and Rogers, among others, and you have a mix of both homegrown and out-of-state talent that makes this state a destination point for open wheel racing at its finest.

If you ever find yourself in any discussion about the pros and cons of immigration, you might consider what a difference “our” immigrants have made in terms of competition. For that matter, you might consider your own history. For the most part, my family has been a part of America since the 1600s (not counting my full-blooded Cherokee great-grandmother). But my family is a relative newcomer to Indiana.

Waiting on the immigration police to send me back to Kentucky (never mind that I was born here—barely), I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Experience + Determination = Success

For the second time in his stellar career, Justin Grant put it all together as he fought off repeated challenges from Tanner Thorson to win another 40 lap SmackDown feature at the Kokomo Speedway.

This year was possibly the hottest SmackDown ever. Daytime temperatures routinely climbed into the 90s. The rain that moved the Thursday night races to Saturday afternoon didn’t exactly cool things off.

The SmackDown format was a winner. The top eight in points for the first two nights faced off in the King of the Hill, which had a one on one/three lap contest with the winner starting on the pole. Four heats were for everyone else, with the top two from each heat adding eight more to the feature. Finally, the B would add six more.

First Heat: Shane Cottle and Brent Beauchamp.

Second: Jake Swanson and Max Adams.

Third: Jadon Rogers and Emerson Axsom.

Fourth: Thomas Meseraull and Chase Stockon.

Beauchamp edged Scotty Weir by a nose after trying to take second for half the race. Cole Bodine went for a nasty ride in the third heat as he ran out of land between Max Adams and the wall. Cole went to the hospital as a precaution.

King of the Hill

First Round:

Justin Grant beat Kyle Cummins

Tanner Thorson beat Brady Bacon

Logan Seavey beat Chris Windom

Kevin Thomas Jr. beat CJ Leary

Second Round:

Thorson beat Grant

Thomas beat Seavey

Championship:

Thorson beat Thomas

C Main (top 4)

Brandon Mattox, Brayden Clark, Steven Drevicki and Brandon Long.

B Main (top 6)

Scotty Weir, Mario Clouser, Stevie Sussex, Chase Johnson, Jason McDougal and Matt Westfall.

After a lengthy session of driver's introductions, what we came to see was about to start.

Thorson and Thomas were greeted by Mark Orr's green flag. But action was interrupted by a yellow flag when Stevie Sussex stopped in turn two.

Tanner and KT would have to repeat. This time it was good as Thorson took the early lead. By the third lap things had settled down somewhat. Thorson and Thomas led Grant, Seavey and Bacon, some of the usual suspects.

It wasn't too long before Grant began to let Thomas know that the pace needed to pick up a bit. The result of that was Grant taking second on the ninth lap. Bacon and Leary were in their own little war for fourth.

A few laps later and Grant was closing in on the leader. On the 13th lap he gave Thorson a practice slider, just letting him know that, hey, how are you? I'm here. A lap later, they caught the slower cars, giving Thorson something else to think about. Grant executed a few more slide jobs, getting a little more serious. Finally he slid under Thorson on lap 16 in turn two and this one stuck.

Meanwhile, as the race reached the halfway point, Thomas, Bacon and Chris Windom were fighting for third, which Thomas held. Things calmed down on the 22nd lap, when Chase Johnson spun. It was Grant, Thorson, Thomas, Bacon and Windom up front.

With this extended green flag segment, Grant stretched his lead over Thorson. Seavey made a return visit to the top five and briefly looked like he might crash the party of Thomas and Bacon. With nine laps to go, Scotty Weir got sideways in turn two in front of the leader. He saved it but gave Grant a scare. This cost him some of his advantage over Thorson but Tanner couldn’t make any hay of this.

Laps wound down and I remembered that late yellow flags seem to appear with some regularity in feature events. Sure enough, on lap 38 the yellow waved for Shane Cottle, who had an engine issue with a brief fire thrown in for good measure. The same players were up front. It was Thorson’s last chance to try and make something happen.

He tried as Mark waved the green and Thorson threw a slider at Grant in turn one. He led from turn two down the backstretch until Grant said, no thanks, and that turned out to be the last gasp for Thorson. Grant and several others took the checkered as a nasty crash developed in turn four involving Cummins, Leary and Jake Swanson. Leary and Swanson flipped. Both were out of their respective cars as the post-race fireworks were set off.

Behind Grant and Thorson was Saturday afternoon winner Thomas. Bacon was fourth with Seavey holding off Windom for fifth. Axsom was seventh after starting 15^th and earning the KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger award. Chase Stockon again passed some cars, coming from 16^th to finish eighth. Jadon Rogers was ninth and Mario Clouser came from 18^th to tenth.

SmackDown only happens once a year for good reason. It's a special occasion and how special would it be if there was a monthly SmackDown? After all, Easter, Christmas, the Indy 500, Indiana Sprint Week--well, you get the idea. It’s human nature that people can’t sustain the anticipation and interest for lots of events and such for more than once a year. It’s quickly caught on and has become one of the most anticipated series of USAC Amsoil National Sprints on the calendar.

Chance Crum took the lead after a mid-race restart and won the 20-lap USAC D2 Midget feature.

$51,000 was raised by the racing community for the Riley Children’s Foundation. For Melinda Stanbrough and team, it was a new track record.

Before the feature I was sitting at the picnic table by the concessions, making notes and talking to John Hoover. A driver sat next to me and began talking. I told him that he should have won on Wednesday when he had a shock go bad. We had a chuckle about social media and people who think he’s a dirty driver. Then he said something that everyone in racing should remember. He understood that the show has to be a part of the package. But he felt that if the competition is not good, no amount of show can really make up for that.

Then he went out and proved his point. He raced hard and might be counting his money now. It takes a while to count to 15,000.

Waiting to see Kyle Busch dribble and Michael Jordan pounding the cushion, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Neither Rain Nor Dust…..

None of the elements were going to keep Kevin Thomas Jr. from a place he knows quite well. On a dusty but fast enough quarter mile oval, Thomas won the second round of SmackDown X at the Kokomo Speedway, passing Logan Seavey late in the 30 lapper.

With the usual additions and subtractions, there were 41 cars in the pits, enough for the two flight format. Seavey was quickest in qualifying with a blistering 12.863 lap.

At least the heat had slightly smaller counts and, for the most part, everyone played nice. (Can't guarantee that tonight.) Top four advance and there were enough cars to warrant a C main.

First: CJ Leary, Shane Cottle, Logan Seavey and Kevin Thomas Jr.


Second: Cole Bodine, Chase Stockon, Matt Westfall and Tanner Thorson.

Third: Chris Windom, Max Adams, Mario Clouser and Jadon Rogers.

Fourth: Brady Bacon, Kyle Cummins, Emerson Axsom and Justin Grant.

C Main (top four): Ryan Thomas, Anthony D'Alessio, Tye Mihocko and Steven Drevicki.

B Main (top six): Jake Swanson, Thomas Meseraull, Scotty Weir, Alex Bright, Stevie Sussex and Chase Johnson.

Bright was turned around by Tanner Thorson but Alex may have been slowed by a flat right rear. At any rate he was hit by Eddie Tofoya Jr., who tipped over. Chris Windom dusted off (apologies) the old diamond move, going high through turn three then diving low coming out of four. Others imitated him later. Beats sliders. Grant may or may not have tagged the wall in his heat coming to the checkered. Jason McDougal nearly passed him for a transfer spot.

Given the current race betting mania, a great long shot bet would have been wagering that Matt Westfall and Jadon Rogers would be the front row. And had someone bet on Justin Grant leading the first lap after starting third, well perhaps their winnings could have bought a race ready sprinter.

Grant led more than the first lap; he was still leading when Mark Orr waved the yellow for Chase Johnson, who rode the wall, stopping at the pit entrance. Kevin Thomas Jr. had been trailing the leader after passing Rogers for second. Seavey was third and Bacon had advanced to fourth, ahead of Rogers. There were 20 laps to go.

The green came out and Seavey made a spectacular high side move on both Thomas and Grant to take the lead. Seavey slowly but surely was putting distance between himself and first Grant, then Thomas. KT had relegated Grant to third a lap after Seavey's pass. Bacon began making noise. On lap 13 he overtook Grant for third and two laps later grabbed second from Thomas.

During this Seavey went on his merry way, encountering slower traffic on the 17th lap. Bacon was able to catch the leader with ten laps to go, but couldn't muster enough speed to attempt a slider.

A time out in the form of a yellow flag waved on lap 23 as Rogers spun in turn two. Seavey led Bacon, Thomas, Grant and Leary. Seavey biked it in the first turn on the 24th lap. As Bacon tried not to clout the leader, Thomas slipped by to take second. A lap later Axsom brought out the yellow with a spin in turn two.

Now Seavey had a hungry Thomas behind him on this last restart. Seavey got a bit into the turn one wall and, sure enough, KT dove low in turn one and came out of turn two as the leader.

From there it was Thomas all the way. Behind Seavey and Bacon was Grant in fourth. After getting passed by Thorson, Leary returned the favor and reclaimed fifth. Swanson had a decent run, finishing seventh behind Thorson. Shane Cottle was eighth and Chris Windom was ninth. Chase Stockon was the KSE Racing Products/Irvin King Hard Charger, coming from 18th to tenth.

As this is written between races I've not had time to peruse social media, one of my worst habits. But if I was a betting man, I'd bet that somewhere, someone is griping about the dust that was the inevitable result of the sun producing temperatures in the 90s. My attitude is that if the O'Connors can't keep the dust away, how many others can?

Enjoying the temper tantrums by legal adults on Twitter, I'm…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Steady as He Goes

You probably won't catch Justin Grant carrying a lunch pail but he is blue collar all the way. He's not given for outlandish displays. He shows up and does his job. Remember, this is his full time job. On a Friday night that highlighted the usual Kokomo Speedway action, Grant took the lead late in the 30-lap feature and held off Chris Windom and Kyle Cummins to win Night One of SmackDown X in USAC Amsoil National Sprints action.

Lots of cars showed up to play, 46 to be exact. After hot laps, it was one less after Alex Banales smacked the turn two wall. Danny Faria Jr. also contacted the wall in Mike Dutcher’s car but returned for time trials.

It was a two-flight night for qualifying. Grant led everyone with a 12.579 lap, not far from Dave Darland’s seven year old record. It was a quick surface with 13 of the 46 qualifying under 13 seconds.

With this many cars, USAC’s four heat format contained enough cars for a B main. The top four were the lucky ones.

First: Thomas Meseraull, Brent Beauchamp, Brady Bacon and Justin Grant.

Second: Chris Windom, Kevin Thomas Jr., Jake Swanson and Kyle Cummins.

Third: Robert Ballou, Tanner Thorson, Jason McDougal and Logan Seavey.

Fourth: Matt Westfall, CJ Leary, Jadon Rogers and Emerson Axsom.

The C Main took four to the B. The B sent the usual top six to the main event.

C Main: Cole Bodine, Tye Mihocko, Max Guilford and Steven Drevicki.

B Main: Shane Cottle, Stevie Sussex, Chase Stockon, Mario Clouser, Alex Bright and Cole Bodine.

In the first heat, Alex Bright smacked the turn four wall and didn’t finish. But he made the show anyway. Beauchamp and Bacon ran side-by-side for the last lap. It was odd in that both have the same initials. Fodder for trivia buffs. Faria flipped in the second heat. Mike Dutcher rose from his seat to go to the pits before the flip ended. Danny exited the car on his own. A three-car crash involving Anthony D’Alessio, Brandon Long and Sterling Cling slowed the fourth heat. In the C Tyler Hewitt found the turn four wall and collected Parker Fredrickson. Bodine came from sixth to win.

Brandon Mattox clouted the turn two wall and flipped. Chase Johnson came onto the scene with nowhere to go. He, too, flipped. Both scampered from their cars. Bodine came from 15^th to transfer, earning him the GSP Driving Performance of the Night award and the ProSource Hard Work Winner.

Leary and Beauchamp, two home grown “kids,” mashed the pedal first after seeing Mark Orr’s green flag. Leary took the lead, but was passed by Kyle Cummins on the third lap. On the following lap, a mess formed in turn four, leaving Brady Bacon parked. Cummins led Leary, Thorson, Axsom and Beauchamp.

Cummins maintained his lead on the restart, but Thorson was one on the move. He passed Leary for second on the fifth lap, and closed in on the leader. Grant was sixth at the restart and fifth a lap later. Another lap passed and Grant was fourth.  On the 11^th circuit, Thorson took the lead as Cummins stayed close and lapped traffic appeared. A couple of laps later, I permitted myself a brief glance at the middle of the pack. Bacon was among them. As the heavy traffic seemed to bedevil all concerned, Robert Ballou, Wednesday’s winner, entered the top five at the halfway mark. Grant passed Leary for third.

Stevie Sussex smacked the wall in turn one, bringing out the yellow. There were ten laps to go and Thorson led Cummins, Grant, Windom and Leary. Bacon was tenth.

The green waved and Cummins used the high groove to take the lead again. Ballou pounded the turn one wall on lap 23, bringing out the red. Ballou was out of the car quickly assessing the damage. It was Cummins, Thorson, Grant, Windom and Leary. With five laps to go, the high-flying Grant took second and closed in on Cummins.

But wait. T. Meseraull stopped on the track with four laps to go. Cummins was going to sweat a restart. The race had few slide jobs to this point, but now Grant and Cummins would sharpen their skills. Both traded sliders at each end of the track for the last four laps. Grant took the lead coming to the white flag. His margin was almost comfortable as Mark waved the checkered.

Adding insult, as it were, to injury, Windom also passed Cummins, taking both second place and the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger after starting tenth. Leary passed Thorson late to take fourth. Brady Bacon had the run that showed why he’s a formidable points racer. After his early troubles, he roared back to sixth. Logan Seavey came from 12^th to seventh, Shane Cottle from 14^th to eighth. Jadon Rogers moved from 16^th to finish ninth. Matt Westfall was tenth.

Bacon leads KT by 52 points and Grant by 57.

Immediately after the race, the track crew began working the track for Round Two of Smackdown later today (now Saturday). It will be a double program with afternoon and nighttime sessions.

The scene has played out thousands, if not millions, of times. The crew goes about their business, getting the car race (or qualifying) ready. But they finish and it's out of their hands now. The driver takes over. He's at the mercy of the crew and their preparation, as well as the track conditions, the other cars, the time clock (time trials), and the weather. Racing is a team sport, but surely individual effort counts for something. The best drivers and crews know this and when it's necessary, the ego is put on the shelf and the good of the team matters. Justin Grant lived this scene tonight.

It's a pity that the rest of the world seems to have forgotten this simple, yet vital, way of achieving success.

Buying an extra mask for the Lone Ranger, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Madman Is Happy

It was prolific writer Alexandre Dumas (pronounced Doo-mah) who said, “Nothing succeeds like success.” (Mr. Dumas also wrote The Three Musketeers, among other large books.) Given the ups and downs that Robert Ballou has been dealing with for the past couple of years, he might be inclined to agree. For sure, his Wednesday evening ended with success in the form of Ballou standing in Bryan Clauson Victory Lane at the Kokomo Speedway after winning the Bob Darland Memorial. This event was the lead-in to Smackdown, USAC and Kokomo’s annual three day festival of cutthroat, hard charging sprinters culminating with the $15,000-to-win, $1,500-to-start feature this coming Saturday.

The rain that fell on the track earlier on Wednesday was only an annoyance as the track was ready when the bell rang. Of the 39 sprinters in the pits, there were some noteworthy combinations. California’s Danny Faria Jr. hooked up with Michael Dutcher. Cole Bodine, out of the Clauson-Marshall car, landed in the seat of a new team assembled by the Bodine family. Steven Drevicki, who has excelled in USAC’s Pennsylvania sprint series, had made the trip west to try his luck with the Hoosier racing scene. Alex Bright, driving sprints more than midgets lately, had also made the trek from the Keystone State. Max Adams, recovered from his burns, was back in Paul Hazen’s venerable number 57.

It seems like we are having several memorial races in a short period of time. But no complaints here.

Tonight’s playbook had the four/four format with two B mains, both of which took the top two.

First Heat: Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson, Brady Bacon and Brandon Mattox.

Second: Emerson Axsom, Jake Swanson, Jason McDougal and Matt Westfall.

Third: Robert Ballou, Kevin Thomas Jr., Thomas Meseraull and CJ Leary.

Fourth: Justin Grant, Max Adams, Mario Clouser and Max Guilford.

First B: Anthony D’Alessio and Cole Bodine.

Second: Stevie Sussex and Alex Bright.

In the second heat, Faria stopped on the track while running fourth. Scotty Weir was the unwilling meat of a four-wide sandwich in the third heat. He ended up in the infield, returned for the second B, and couldn’t transfer after starting last. Ballou beat Thomas by a few inches in the third heat. This heat was by far the strongest, sending some good cars to the B.

The first B had a one lap dash with the top four finishing under the proverbial blanket. Tye Mihocko and Matt Goodnight just missed. Alex Bright made a last lap pass on Andrew Prather to sneak into the 36-lap feature. The odd length was in memory of B. Darland; 36 was his car’s usual number.

Seavey and Axsom led the group to Brian Hodde’s green flag. Axsom, the sprint car rookie from Franklin IN, took the lead on the first lap before Brandon Mattox was forced into the infield, re-entered the track and stopped on the backstretch. With a lap completed, the restart was single file. Axsom took off with Seavey leading those giving chase, namely Ballou, Adams and Grant.

With five laps in, Grant took over fourth and looked like a threat to win. He was still fourth when D’Alessio spun on the sixth lap. The field restarted and Bright spun a lap later. Thomas was now fifth. The gang tried again and the green light stayed on. Grant passed Ballou on lap eight and Seavey a lap later. But his charge to the front ended as he coasted to a stop on the 13^th lap. The top five were now Axsom, Seavey, Ballou, Thomas and Thorson.

Brian waved the green again. Ballou immediately passed Seavey for second as Axsom stretched his lead. He caught lapped traffic on the 20^th circuit. Ballou and Seavey couldn’t close in because they were in quite the fight for second. But Axsom struggled a little with traffic five laps later. Robert had arrived and was ready to take advantage of any slipup by the rookie.

Ballou used a slider to take the lead in turn two on lap 27. When Axsom bobbled a lap later, Seavey took second. For the next eight laps Seavey tried every trick in his book to get around his fellow California native. But it wasn’t happening. Ballou met every challenge—even when he did a half spin in turn one with five laps to go. Seavey couldn’t capitalize on Ballou’s error. The Madman would not be denied.

Behind Ballou and Seavey, Axsom hung on for a still impressive third place finish. Thorson was fourth and CJ Leary moved up toward the end, finishing fifth after starting 15^th. He won the Brett Bowman hard charger award, winning a pork chop sandwich that Brett couldn’t handle. Brady Bacon was sixth with Jake Swanson seventh. Thomas Meseraull ended up eighth with Max Guilford coming from 16^th to finish ninth. Stevie Sussex came from the B main—starting 18^th and coming home tenth.

Now the fun begins. The Wednesday night results produced even more speculation for those who wondered who was going to be the Smackdown king. That’s the way it should be; after each race, people begin thinking about the next one.

I wonder who Alexandre Dumas would pick.

Speaking of great writers, this one was for Robin Miller, perhaps now joining Bob Jenkins for some out-of-this-world bench racing.

Imagining that Andy Warhol, wherever he may be, is smiling and nodding…at social media, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Record Breakers and Covenants

With an all-green flag feature, winner Kevin Thomas Jr. had to improvise on each lap as he dealt with the usual changing track surface, the lapped traffic and most certainly second place Logan Seavey. He handled all of the challenges, racking up his 28th USAC Amsoil Sprint Car win at USAC’s first visit to the Paragon Speedway since 1998.

It was a gathering of the dirty 30. Notable among them were Midget standouts Chase Randall (winner of the MSCS event at the Lincoln Park Speedway on Saturday night) and Emerson Axsom, both making their USAC sprint car debuts. Jason McDougal has landed on the KO team with Chase Stockon as a teammate. Shane Cockrum was in the On the Gass car. Koby Barksdale occupied the Knight family’s mount. Tye Mihocko hooked up with one of the nicer guys in racing, Tony Epperson.

Kyle Cummins was the only contestant to qualify under fifteen seconds. His 14.905 lap on the three eighths mile paperclip shaped oval fell short of the USAC/Paragon Speedway record, 14,886, set by Mark Cassella in 1996.

There would be three heats, top five moving to the show.

First: Emerson Axsom, Jason McDougal, Shane Cockrum, Chase Stockon and Kyle Cummins.

Second: Logan Seavey, Chase Randall, Jadon Rogers, Justin Grant and Robert Ballou.

Third: Kevin Thomas Jr., Jake Swanson, Ricky Lewis, CJ Leary and Brady Bacon.

(Braxton Cummings flipped in the first heat. He returned for the B. Axsom won the heat by passing McDougal coming to the white flag, his first USAC sprint race of any kind. Seavey came from fifth to win his heat. Grant and Ballou survived a bit of wheel banging, not usually a recommended tactic. Chris Windom and Kyle Shipley had a disagreement after the third heat, complete with gestures, harsh words and no doubt cancellation of social events. Windom nearly made it to the feature but came up short.)

Semi-Feature/B Main Top seven advance:

Koby Barksdale, Chris Windom, Jake Scott, Brayden Fox, Brandon Morin, Brandon Mattox and Tye Mihocko. Tanner Thorson just missed; he was forced to use a provisional.

Leary and Seavey, a Hoosier and a Californian, led the field to my buddy Brian Hodde’s green flag. Seavey had the honor of leading the first lap. But fourth starting Thomas moved to second immediately, shuffling Leary to third. Thomas stalked the leader through the first seven laps before grabbing the lead coming out of turn two.

Kyle Cummins had passed Leary for third on the fifth lap and seemed to close the gap between him and Seavey. Behind Leary, fifth place would be traded among various contenders. For the moment it was Grant.

Thomas approached the back of the pack on the 11^th lap. Often this gives the second place runner an advantage, but, at least for the time being, that wasn’t happening with Thomas and Seavey. Jake Swanson took over fifth place on lap 13. At the crossed flags, the top five was unchanged. While the top four stayed the same, Brady Bacon was on the move. From his ninth starting spot, he had advanced to fifth with 12 laps to go. Two laps later, he broke up the quartet up front, pushing Leary back a spot.

The laps wound down and Seavey decided that it was high time he would press the leader. With a little help from lapped traffic, the gap between KT and Seavey closed to a car length. But try as he might, Seavey couldn’t pull alongside of the Dr. Pepper missile.

Thomas and Seavey were joined on the podium by Cummins, who had managed to keep fourth place Bacon at bay. Windom ended an eventful night by coming from 18^th to finish fifth and claiming the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger award. Leary was sixth, ahead of Ballou, who rambled from 19^th to seventh. Grant claimed eighth and McDougal finished ninth. Emerson Axsom completed his initial USAC sprint effort in tenth place. Watch this kid from Franklin IN.

It’s getting to that time of year where I pay more attention to points as the USAC caravan heads up to Kokomo. Bacon now leads Thomas by 39 and Grant by 77.

Covenants are often formal in nature, in which two people or groups agree on an issue or procedure. Some are in writing while others are unwritten or even unspoken. But even the unspoken covenant carries influence.

A race track is another place that is crawling with covenants, you might say. The most significant, at least to fans, is that between the drivers and the fans. While the drivers have their own agreements with their owners, they realize that the fans are the ones who pay their way in to be entertained and occasionally educated. With help from a large and important number of support staff, the drivers are aware of the fans’ involvement and expectations. Given their immense collection of talent, very seldom do the drivers fail—even if the race itself is not a proverbial barnburner.

It’s safe to say that the drivers held up their end of the bargain. The race was not interrupted by a yellow flag. It was completed in only 8:28.95, smashing the old record which went back to 1982.

Amazed that I’m actually looking forward to my next vaccine, I’m…

Danny Burton (The guy who pushed the nurse down when she tried to give him a shot at age five.)

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: It’s His Time

There are times when a driver and a track seem to be best friends. Of course this never lasts, but racers know that they should enjoy it while it lasts. Nick Bilbee is experiencing that at the Lawrenceburg Speedway the past two or three years. On a toasty Saturday night, Nick found himself in a familiar location, namely the Bryan Clauson Victory Lane after winning the 18^th Annual Dick Gaines Memorial. This would be Bilbee’s second trophy from winning this race; he won the 2019 edition of the DGM.

Twenty cars showed up with ideas of raiding Dave Rudisell’s piggy bank with the winner carting off $3,000. A nice surprise was Max Adams, mostly recovered from his burns suffered earlier this year and in the family car.

Three heats and everyone gets to play an extra 25 laps.

First: Nick Bilbee, Max Adams and Garrett Abrams.

Second: Sterling Cling, Thomas Meseraull and Joss Moffatt.

Third: Ricky Lewis, Tyler Kendall and JJ Hughes. 

With a little time on my hands, I found myself thinking about memorials in general and tonight's in particular.

Memorial-noun

Definition of memorial (Entry 2 of 2)

1: something that keeps remembrance alive: such as

a: MONUMENT

b: something (such as a speech or ceremony) that commemorates

I get it that younger people have no personal memories of those who raced in those so called ancient times. I appreciate the promoters who honor those heroes of yesteryear. I wish there was a way for all of us to at least have an idea of what those long ago legends endured.

Whether they raced full time or not, the conditions that Dick Gaines and company dealt with weren't anything that younger folks could imagine. It certainly isn't their fault that they are young. In X number of years they may sing a similar song to the young people of the future.

How can they relate to the endless miles of narrow two-lane roads, less than ideal sleeping quarters, tracks that would flunk 2021 safety features, tracks with a surface that all too often could not be called smooth, racing equipment that could kindly be described as primitive in terms of comfort and safety, the occasional promoter who might be inspired to abscond with the prize money, and owners who would hire and fire a driver at any time for any reason?

None of us can relate to this and few of us can imagine it. But despite the obstacles, Dick Gaines and his competitors (knowing that he had very few peers) persevered, chasing the next race down the road for reasons they would have had a difficult time explaining.

Among the 20 scheduled starters were three involuntary no-shows, Justin Owen, Saban Bibent and…Dickie Gaines. Ricky Lewis and Nick Bilbee led the remainder to look for Tim Montgomery’s green flag. Pole sitter Lewis jumped out to the lead and led the first lap. Bilbee made his move in turn two, diving low to take the lead on the second lap. Lewis led Kendall and Cling with Meseraull lying back in fifth. Thomas was in a hurry as he took fourth on the fifth lap while Bilbee was increasing his margin. Two laps later Nick entered lapped traffic, but it didn’t seem to bother him all that much. Most of the time he seemed to keep a couple of lappers between him and Lewis. As if Lewis didn’t have enough to keep him occupied, Meseraull had taken over third place after ten laps.

Then the race entered the Twilight Zone with a series of yellow and red flags keeping the lap counter at 11. First Kyle May spun in turn two. Meseraull had passed Lewis for second but had to give it back. Next was Jacob Beck spinning in turn two. Again Meseraull made the pass only to give it back. The gang tried again, but Travis Gratzer stopped in, of course, turn two. They tried again and made it to turn three, where Tyler Kendall almost hit the wall. Behind him, Max Adams checked up in front of Joss Moffatt, who found himself collected. Joss flipped with his car cage to cage with Sterling Cling briefly. Moffat and Cling were done for the night.

This time, the field got two laps in before Adams nearly spun in turn four. JJ Hughes had nowhere to go and he contacted Adams before flipping. Travis Hery was caught up in it as well. Hughes and Adams were done. Hughes wasn’t quite done, however, as he walked the length of the straightaway to discuss with Max whether “tastes great” was superior to “less filling.” They agreed to disagree.

Thirteen laps were complete when the green waved for the nine cars left to race. By now, TMez was second and it had come down to Bilbee and Meseraull. The two veterans quickly separated themselves from the others. Meseraull, in Kyle Simon’s car the past two nights, couldn’t get any closer to the lead. As both flirted with the outside wall, it was a matter of waiting for Meseraull to close in. It didn’t happen; Bilbee pulled away at the end.

Meseraull was second and Garrett Abrams came on late to take third. Kendall was fourth after passing Lewis on the last lap. Hery came from 14^th to finish sixth, winning an 8” X 10” glossy of Rick Lane. Tayte Williamson Dustin Webber, and Drew Abel were the rest of those who finished the marathon.

Dickie Gaines was among those congratulating the winner and surely the 2020 winner of this race wished he could have raced in this one.

Final thoughts:

Never am I sure about anyone else, but I can imagine escorting Dick Gaines and company through the pits. There would be a good deal of oohing and ahhing at the appearance of the cars and especially the haulers. They wouldn't be surprised to be informed that the safety of the cars is such that fatalities are rare. The promoter (tonight it was Dave Rudisell) would actually come over and introduce himself and welcome Gaines and company to the Lawrenceburg Speedway.

Ah, the track. I'm not sure that I can imagine Mr. Gaines' reaction to this "new" configuration of the 'burg. My best guess is that he would be astounded and deservedly so. Then he would smile to himself and do his own imagining--of him challenging those high banks with a modern sprinter.

In the course of the tour, I'd steer Dick to one of the cars lined up in the pits. I can imagine him looking closely at the car, not noticing the driver at first. I'm about ready to ask if the driver of the orange 44 car looks familiar. But Dick has a flash of recognition. His face sports a smile from ear to ear as they say.

It goes to show that, like any true love, a daddy's love is for all time.

Telling some people that mixing ivermectin with Dr. Pepper doesn’t work quite as well as the vaccine, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Rewards of Patience

On the surface, the idea of patience being useful in a sprint car race seems preposterous, but a certain amount of patience can come in handy at the right time. Ask Jake Swanson, recent transfer from California to Indiana and winner at the Lincoln Park Speedway on a beautiful Saturday night. He spent a good part of the 25-lap feature reeling in leader Shane Cockrum, then riding in Shane’s tire tracks for several laps before making his move. It was Swanson’s sixth sprint car win this year.

Of the 96 cars taking over Joe Spiker’s playpen, 30 were sprints. Decidedly the most interesting of the 30 was Glen Saville, from Razorback, New South Wales, Australia—just down the road from Sydney in other words. Glen has bounced back and forth from Australia to America over the years, but tonight was, as far as I know, his first attempt at non-wing sprint car racing in Indiana and/or Lincoln Park.

30 cars, four heats, four transfer

First: Jake Swanson, Brayden Fox, Zach Pretorius and Matt Thompson.

Second: Shane Cockrum, Kyle Shipley, Harley Burns and Matt McDonald.

Third: AJ Hopkins, Aaron Mosley, Brandon Spencer and Tony Helton.

Fourth: Jake Scott, Braydon Cromwell, Max Guilford and Aaron Davis.

Swanson was the third of three leaders in the first heat. Nick Montani slid over the turn two banking and touched the wall with his right rear tire in the second heat. He kept going and might have wished he hadn’t. Nick flipped coming out of turn four, landing at the start/finish line. He was out of the car quickly. Jake Scott was celebrating his wedding anniversary by winning his heat by more than a straightaway.

B Main—top four move on:

Brayden Clark, Glen Saville, Gabriel Gilbert and Anthony Leohr.

Robert Carrington was third when he exited the track with an apparent mechanical issue.

Fox and Scott led the way as the green waved. LPS point leader Fox led the first lap over second row occupants Hopkins and Cockrum. But Cockrum took over on the next lap with Swanson moving from fifth to fourth behind Cockrum, Fox and Hopkins. Two laps later, Swanson had taken over second. But Cockrum had already opened up a big lead by then. The Chief kept his considerable distant margin as he caught the slower cars on the tenth lap. For me, this was the turning point of the race.

As Cockrum negotiated the lapped traffic, Swanson steadily reduced the amount of Putnam County clay between the two. On lap 14 one could say that they were nose-to-tail. Shane had established his preference for the high groove early and several had imitated that maneuver as the race went on. But Swanson stalked the leader for nearly ten laps, leading one to guess when he would make his move. Given the situation, one could guess that a slide job was in the near future.

But wait. With six laps remaining, the race’s only yellow flag waved for a turn three meeting between Harley Burns and Aaron Mosley. Cockrum led Swanson, Fox, Hopkins and Scott. Brian Hodde waved his green flag and Swanson went to work. For all of the closing laps, Swanson threw everything including the kitchen sink at Cockrum. Slide jobs were successful, but only temporarily as the Fire Chief fought back over and over again, with the two running inches apart a good part of the time. On the last lap, Swanson threw another slider in turn three. This one stuck as Jake slid high in turn four. Shane ducked underneath and it was a brief, but furious, drag race to the line. The margin of victory was only a couple or three feet, if that.

Further back, Brayden Fox had another good race, finishing third and maintaining his point lead. Hopkins was fourth, no doubt wishing he could have been in the fight for the lead. Scott was fifth, a nice ending to an anniversary. Braydon Cromwell was sixth, followed by Kyle Shipley, Brandon Spencer and Mr. Saville, who came from 18^th to finish ninth. For his efforts, Saville would win the Brian Hodde Hard Charger Award, a free barbeque sandwich. Matt McDonald came from 14^th to take home tenth place dough.

The next time you’re in line at your favorite fast food place, resist the temptation to get in what seems to be the line with fewer people. Instead be like Jake Swanson. Wait until the time is right—then make your move. Enjoy the Big Mac.

Bummed out because I forgot about Reinstatement Day, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: I Love This Place, But…

Did you ever do something that’s considered to be dangerous, then look back and think to yourself, “Why did I do that?” To watch other people do the same thing is scary. Had I been located in the Bryan Clauson Victory Lane at the Lawrenceburg Speedway tonight, I would have posed a similar question or comment to feature winner Nick Bilbee. Except I might have said something like, “Congratulations, Nick. You scared the sh#t out of me, but it was something to see.” Nick might have replied, “I was a little scared myself a time or two.”

A string of rainouts at Lawrenceburg has curtailed weekly action since June. But 21 sprinters showed up to enjoy a rain-free night at the ‘burg. Mr. Bilbee was the quickest qualifier of the 21 as he ripped off a 14.466 lap.

Three heats and all would run a feature---if they could.

First: JJ Hughes, Joss Moffatt and Callie Wolsiffer.

Second: Tyler Kendall, Nick Bilbee and Dallas Hewitt.

Third: Garrett Abrams, Sterling Cling and Travis Hery

(Things can get ugly fast here. On lap two of the first heat, Justin Lewis flipped into the turn three fence. The fence did its job, serving as a pillow of sorts and the car bounced off the fence and landed, where it was struck by Tony McVey, who arrived with no place to go. The McVey car also flipped. Both drivers walked away; in fact, Tony returned for the feature. Ricky Lewis was pushed to the pits, leaving only four cars left.)

Hughes, Cling, Moffatt, Kendall, Abrams and Bilbee were the first to see Tim Montgomery’s green flag. Immediately the fun and games began. Cling fired off from his outside front row position to take the lead with Hughes, Kendall and Bilbee giving chase. Kendall passed Hughes for second but had to give it back on lap six when Jacob Beck spun in turn one. It remained Cling, Hughes, Kendall, Bilbee and Moffatt. Let the record show that Saban Bibent had started 19^th and was already 12^th.

On the restart, Kendall and Bilbee passed Hughes on the seventh lap, using the patented slide job in turn three. Before they could attack the leader, Travis Gratzer stopped in turn one, bringing out the second yellow with ten laps complete. The green waved and Kendall took the lead with a, what else, perfectly executed slider in turn four. It was lap 12, almost halfway, and two laps later, Bilbee took over second from Cling.

Tony McVey brought out the yellow flag with a turn four spin after Bilbee had made his move. Kendall led Bilbee, Cling, Hughes and Moffatt. Let the record show that Bibent was now in the top ten, eighth to be exact.

Tim showed the green again and the gang only got a lap in before Ryan Barr spun. There were ten laps to go and you had to know that Bilbee was getting antsy. But he didn’t try to pass Kendall in turns one or two. Instead, he waited until turn three and made the slider stick, taking the lead on lap 16. A lap later Kendall returned the favor in turn four. But he had to give the lead back when the fifth yellow period commenced as Callie Wolsiffer spun in turn four. Bibent had cracked the top five.

Seven laps to go and it was Bilbee, Kendall, Cling, Hughes and Bibent. Green again and Kendall passed for the lead in turn three with Bilbee coming back in four to reassume the top spot. Six laps to go and Bibent was fourth. Laps clicked off and Bilbee added to his lead by…inches. But Kendall closed in the last two laps, not allowing Bilbee any breathing room.

At the checkered, Bilbee led by a car length or two ahead of Kendall. Cling was third, one of his better runs. An outstanding effort by Saban Bibent might have been missed by some, but after fighting mechanical issues all night, he was ready to race by feature time. He came from 19^th to fourth and earned an extra $163 as the hard charger. Moffatt was fifth and Hughes sixth. Dallas Hewitt finished seventh and Garrett Abrams took eighth. Justin Owen and Travis Hery completed the top ten.

Before the feature I overheard Ricky Lewis with the quote that inspired most of these few hundred words. He said, “I love this place, but it scares the sh!t out of me.” I introduced myself and asked if I could use his observation. He was fine with that and commented that he could only watch a couple of laps at Lawrenceburg at a time. But he overcame whatever fear he had. Ricky was the second fastest qualifier and, like his competitors, no one with any sense would question the bravery of any race car drivers.

You see, it depends on where your seat is. Television, movies, TikTok videos, none of these can do justice to sprint car racing or anything else, for that matter. Even watching a race in person or racing online can’t duplicate sitting behind the wheel. It’s somehow even scarier for many racers to watch a race as opposed to actually racing. It depends on where your seat is.

This one was for Bryan Clauson, who left this realm five years ago.

Waking up from a weird dream in which Dave Rudisell found me racing a school bus on the track, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Remembering Bob Kinser

One can only speculate how those who have gone on before us would react to current events. How would Abraham Lincoln view the developments of the past quarter century? What would Ty Cobb think of today’s baseball? Most relevant, in the nearly four years since he has been gone, what would Bob Kinser think of the state of non-wing sprint car racing today? We can guess but it’s quite possible that he would have sat in a lawn chair on the hill with a cigar and a cold beverage while watching young Jadon Rogers take the early lead and go on to win the 30 lap feature named for him at his home track, the Bloomington Speedway.

My own racing memories go back to the late 1950s. The local supermodifieds had yet to give way to the sprints. It was a time when you would see a variety of car designs, from homemade cars like Orval Yeadon's #90 to the cageless sprinter like Cecil Beavers' #57. My earliest memories of the drivers include Orval, Cecil, Dick Gaines, childhood neighbor Bobby Black, Ted Pfeiffer and.... Bob Kinser. How was I to know that I was witnessing something special? As it turned out, Bob was destined to race on and on, competitive to the end. His son Steve is regarded by most as the best to strap into a sprint car and Bob's grandson Kraig has had his share of success. But on this night, the one who began the tradition would be celebrated at least one more time.

Maybe it was the post-Sprint Week blues. Whatever it was, 18 seemed to be a bit light on the car count. However, once the festivities begin, not a lot of thought is given to who is present and who is absent.

Three Heats/All transfer to the feature:

First—Sterling Cling, Chris Babcock and Jake Swanson

Second—Andy Bradley, Jadon Rogers and AJ Hopkins

Third—Jordan Kinser, Braxton Cummings and Dickie Gaines

(Gaines, whose dad has his own memorial race at Lawrenceburg, had his hands full holding off seven-time Bloomington champ Brady Short for third.)

There was no redraw, which meant heat race winners Cling and Bradley were the front row. Bradley took the early lead with Cling and Kinser close behind. Rogers had started fifth and moved to fourth on the second lap. A lap later he passed Kinser for third. Two more laps and the Worthington, Indiana resident got around Cling for second. Only Bradley was between Rogers and the lead.

Closing the gap quickly, Rogers caught Bradley and made the pass in the low groove of turn two on the ninth lap. A lap later, he would encounter lapped traffic. Meanwhile, Bradley had a new problem named Jordan Kinser, who was reeling in the second place runner. Behind them was a three-way fight for position among Cling, AJ Hopkins and Jake Swanson.

The yellow waved for a Gabriel Gilbert spin on the 14^th lap in turn four, giving everyone a breather. Rogers led Kinser, Bradley, Swanson and Hopkins. The green waved and Rogers got a good restart. Quickly he began opening a gap between him and Kinser. But it was erased on the 17^th lap when the race’s second yellow waved for Hopkins, over the turn four banking. AJ briefly rejoined the field but dropped out with a right rear tire problem. It was Rogers, Kinser, Swanson, Brayden Fox and Sterling Cling up front.

Again, the green waved and again Rogers pulled away. Swanson relegated Kinser to third on lap 21 and set his sights on the leader. Jake wasn’t gaining much until there were six laps to go when Rogers found two cars ahead of him waging their own battle. Swanson closed to a car length behind Rogers. It appeared that Rogers nearly gave it away with a bobble on the turn four cushion on the 28^th lap, but he maintained his lead. However, Rogers’ work wasn’t complete yet.

The yellow waved again with a lap to go when Sterling Cling slid over the banking—where else—turn four. I didn’t see what happened but it was possible that Sterling wasn’t happy with Brady Short. Ah, racin’. It was Rogers, Swanson, Kinser, Fox and Short.

The race would resume with the combined white and green flags waving. You didn’t have to be Nostradamus to know that a slide job was on Swanson’s mind. But Rogers took off yet again and the slider by Swanson was not going to work. Rogers made sure there would be no last lap histrionics.

Behind Rogers and Swanson, Kinser held off Fox for third place by three feet or so. Braxton Cummings finished fifth. Dickie Gaines was sixth ahead of Short. After leading early, Bradley faded to eighth. Harley Burns came from 14^th to take ninth and Cling came back from his misfortune to finish tenth.

My final guess of the night would be that Mr. Kinser would have appreciated Mr. Rogers’ excellent restarts and his ability to not let the challenges of the race (restarts, lapped traffic, Jake Swanson’s charge, etc.) rattle him.

Either way, it was a good race to be bear the name Bob Kinser.

Nervously eyeing Valtteri Bottas in my rearview mirror, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Battle and the War

While Justin Grant won the battle by winning USAC’s Amsoil National Sprint Series 30 lap feature at the Tri-State Speedway, it was Kevin Thomas Jr. who took advantage of Logan Seavey and Brady Bacon's misfortune to claim the 2021Nos Energy Indiana Sprint Week title, along with the neatest rocking chair anyone ever had. Thomas had begun the night third in ISW points behind Seavey and Bacon, but his second place finish was good enough to edge his rivals.

Coming into the final night, Seavey was the point leader with Bacon trailing by 12 and Thomas another three points behind Bacon. On a personal level I keep up with point races during Indiana Midget Week, Indiana Sprint Week and at the end of the USAC Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget seasons. The tension mounts as the schedule approaches the end. Each pass changes someone's margin. There is the possibility of disaster in every turn. Mechanical woes can emerge at the worst time.

Fans love it. Each night had decent crowds. Weather has been, as usual, a factor. It would continue to be a player as Haubstadt had significant rainfall into the afternoon, delaying the start of Saturday night's program. Fans didn't mind. They knew it would be worth the wait. USAC is doing something right.

Jadon Rogers led the first flight of qualifiers with a 13.59 circuit. Kendall Ruble was the last of the 37 cars to qualify and he was quickest in flight two with a 13.969.

Here a heat, there a heat--

First: Kyle Cummins, Chris Windom, Robert Ballou and CJ Leary.

Second: Jason McDougal, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson and Eddie Tafoya Jr.

Third: Tanner Thorson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Kendall Ruble and Brady Bacon.

Fourth: Brady Short, Justin Grant, Chris Gansen and Stephen Schnapf.

(Brady Bacon had to go to a backup car and started last in his heat. Even though he transferred into the feature with a pass at the finish line, he still started 22^nd in the finale. Earlier Seavey had trouble when Eddie Tafoya Jr. and Jake Swanson tangled in turn two on the first lap. Shane Cottle got crossed up and Seavey’s car hit Cottle’s and flipped once. He restarted on the tail and was never a factor. Tafoya came back to grab a feature slot at the finish line.)

B main: Jadon Rogers, Aric Gentry, Kent Schmidt, Logan Seavey, Cole Bodine and Shane Cottle.

Going into the feature, Seavey had 429 points, Bacon 420 and Thomas 419.

McDougal and Thomas led ‘em all to the green. Thomas led the first lap, but Grant had other ideas. Firing off from fourth, the Kokomo winner commandeered the lead on the second lap with Thomas holding McDougal at bay.

An early yellow flag waved on the third lap when a quorum consisting of Bodine, Tafoya and Cottle met in turn two. Grant led Thomas, McDougal, Leary and Rogers. Seavey was 14^th and Bacon was 18^th. The green came out and Grant began pulling away from KT. Leary took over third as the leader encountered lapped traffic on the 11^th lap. It didn’t seem to slow Grant that much as Thomas couldn’t close in.

Kyle Cummins was on the move during all this. He started ninth and entered the top five on lap 13. As Keith Dewig showed the field his crossed flags, Grant led Thomas, Leary, Cummins and McDougal. Cummins was on the verge of taking third when Cole Bodine spun in turn four on the 17^th lap. Seavey was 13^th and Bacon was 14^th.

The squad only turned two laps before the accordion effect bit McDougal, who spun after contact with Leary. Chris Windom was collected as the noses of both cars received a thump. In that short burst of green, Cummins had taken third. Bacon had passed Seavey and was 11^th.

Green lights illuminated the track and perhaps people thought that Cummins was ready to march to the lead. But it didn’t happen. The handle seemed to go away on him. Even Superman struggles. Indeed, Chase Stockon, enduring a trying Sprint Week and 2021, was on the move. With six to go, Stockon passed his neighbor for third. Chase’s recent chassis change seemed to agree with him.

Grant wasn’t seriously threatened as he won the race while Thomas survived and thrived, winning another ISW title while finishing second. Stockon was third and Cummins took fourth. Tanner Thorson came on at the end to grab fifth. Leary was sixth and Rogers took seventh. Bacon finished eighth and edged Seavey for second place in the final ISW standings. He also was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, coming from 22^nd. Brady Short was ninth and Kendall Ruble ended up tenth.

The final Nos Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week top five was Thomas 486, Bacon 469, Seavey 464, Thorson 461 and Grant 452.

Another successful ISW was over. It had something for everyone. The lesson was pounded into heads again. You have to be good, lucky and consistent. Kevin Thomas Jr. was all of these and it paid off for a deserving champion who has matured into a constant threat to win wherever he shows up.

Thinking that Carson Wentz got off on the wrong foot with the Colts, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: From the Outhouse to the Penthouse (Almost)

 

No one should have counted Brady Bacon out of Indiana Sprint Week points chase after his mechanical woes at the Lincoln Park Speedway on Thursday night.  This became evident when Bacon took the lead midway through the 30 lap feature and hung on to win the fifth round of the Nos Energy Indiana Sprint Week competition, courtesy of the Bloomington Speedway and the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series on Friday night. In a significant footnote, this race was named the Sheldon Kinser Memorial. This victory by Bacon put him ahead of, who else, Sheldon Kinser in the number of USAC feature wins.

 

It's easier than ever to bet on USAC racing, but who would have bet that accomplished journeyman Brent Beauchamp would have been the fastest qualifier of the 36 on hand? And who would have bet on Brent being the 27th of the 36 to go faster? It seemed as if the track did get faster as time trials went on--unless your name was Charles Davis Jr., who was the first to qualify and was seventh fastest.

 

Nine cars each for the heats--just about right for Bloomington. Top four move on.

 

First: Chase Stockon, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins and Chase Johnson.

 

Second: Thomas Meseraull, CJ Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Stevie Sussex.

 

Third: Robert Ballou, Tanner Thorson, AJ Hopkins and Tye Mihocko.

 

Fourth: Jake Swanson, Chris Windom, Brady Bacon and Justin Grant.

 

(The first heat needed three tries to get going. Beauchamp's luck went south quickly when his right rear tire was packed with mud. He was B main bound. Ballou was the only heat race winner who didn't start on the front row.)

 

B main--the usual six

 

Logan Seavey, Jadon Rogers, Brent Beauchamp, Brayden Cromwell, Brady Short and Cole Bodine.

 

(Max Guilford flipped in turn one and Anthony D'Alessio missed a good chance to get upside down for the third time since Kokomo.

 

After some rare massaging of the track, it was time for 30 laps of 22 cars attacking the red clay oval and each other. Leary and Windom led the way to Rusty Nunn's green flag.

 

Rusty waved the yellow right away as Chris Windom was left with little room by, ironically, CJ Leary and spun in turn two. The previous night at LPS Leary had jumped the cushion as Tanner Thorson slid on by to the win.

 

This put Kyle Cummins on the front row as Windom went to the rear. The green came out again and Leary again took control with Cummins cruising in second. But Bacon was on a mission.

 

From his fifth starting spot, Bacon was already third after four laps. Not content there, and knowing his point situation, Bacon passed Cummins for second place on the tenth lap, utilizing the lower part of the track while most of the others stayed up by the cushion.

 

For the next four laps, Bacon hounded the leader, making sure that Leary knew he was there. If that wasn't enough stress, the leaders found lapped traffic on the 13th lap. When Leary got a little bit too much of the turn two cushion, Bacon was quick to pounce. He grabbed the lead on lap 15, halfway, and began to pull away from Leary.

 

The Greenfield, Indiana resident soon had more trouble in the form of Cummins, used the big cushion to take second on the 18th lap. Poor CJ. He was fighting to get second place back when Thorson came calling. Not only did Thorson get by Leary, he passed Cummins too and set sail for Bacon, whose lead was a half straightaway.

 

But Thorson would not get the chance to battle with Bacon. With six laps to go, Tanner's right rear tire was shredded and he stopped on the backstretch. It was only the second yellow for the race. Bacon led Cummins, Leary, Thomas and Ballou.

 

Rusty waved his green flag one more time and immediately switched to yellow as Chase Johnson slid off the track and Braydon Cromwell stopped at the end of the frontstretch. But the green came out and this time Bacon made sure that there would be no drama.

 

In fact, at least the top five didn't change. Cummins, Leary, Thomas and Ballou all kept their spots. Shane Cottle came from 15th to finish sixth. Logan Seavey hung on for seventh and saw some of his ISW point lead shrink a little. Jake Swanson was eighth and Jadon Rogers finished ninth. AJ Hopkins rambled all the way from 21st to take tenth and the KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger along with the ProSource Hard Work Award.

 

We have all had obstacles that seem like their sole purpose is to discourage us, and keep us from what our goal or destination may be. We can either give up and go home or we can refuse to allow the obstacles to prevail. This is true for all of us, and it's especially true to racers as they chase success, however they choose to define it. For Bacon and company, throwing in the towel was never discussed. The obstacles were significant but they would not give up. They won and now, with the championship to be decided at Haubstadt in a few hours, Bacon would have a chance to reclaim the points lead and sit in the coolest rocking chair in the world (in my opinion).

 

Seavey leads Bacon by 12 points with one ISW race to go. Shucks, don't count Kevin Thomas Jr. out. He's only three behind Bacon. And Thorson is another 17 points behind Thomas.

 

It should be a good one. After taking off a night for health reasons, I was eager to get back to my historically home track, only 40 miles away. And now, I've high hopes of seeing these people race their hardest, showing how skilled and talented they are one more time. Oh, and I hope to visit for a while with a little girl, age five, who is quite the charmer.

 

Trying not to yawn too much while motoring down I-69, I'm…

 

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: This Is Getting Old (Not Really)

 

The competitors and maybe some fans might think that the repeated visits that Logan Seavey and company are making to Victory Lane are getting tiresome, but you should know that the California native and his Baldwin Brothers team are living the dream--at least for the time being. On a muggy Hoosier night, Seavey led all 30 laps of the Don Smith Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track on Round Four of Nos Energy Indiana Sprint Week competition by Amsoil and USAC.

 

To have 36 cars show up at the Action Track was impressive. Time trials yielded no big surprises--as a rule the surface usually slows midway through the qualifying order. It did except for Chase Stockon, who went out 32nd but still had the fifth fastest time. Kevin Thomas Jr. was quickest with a 20.039, quite a ways off from Brady Bacon's track record of 19.225 set in 2014.

 

The four heats would be eight laps with the usual top four movin' on up.

 

First: Tanner Thorson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Chase Stockon and Brady Bacon.

 

Second: Chris Windom, CJ Leary, Eddie Tafoya  Jr. and Nick Bilbee.

 

Third: Tye Mihocko, Justin Grant, Charles Davis Jr. and Shane Cottle.

 

Fourth: Logan Seavey, Matt Westfall, Shane Cockrum and Robert Ballou. 

 

(Thomas Meseraull deserved a hard luck award of some sort. His engine emitted a puff of smoke while leading the second heat. His night was done. This put Nick Bilbee in a transfer position; he ended up starting second in the feature. In the third heat, Tye Mihocko won his first USAC race of any kind.)

 

B main:  Jake Swanson, Brandon Mattox, Max Guilford, Mario Clouser, Jason McDougal and Kyle Cummins.

 

(The semi feature was plagued by red flags. Cannon McIntosh flipped in turn three before the first lap was completed. Sterling Cling and Chase Jones tangled in turn one with Cling flipping. All involved walked away, but Jones looked like he had gone a round with Sugar Ray Leonard in his prime. Max Guilford came from 12th to fifth.)

 

Seavey and Bilbee led 20 of their closest friends to Tom Hansing's green flag. Seavey jumped out to the lead but Grant, starting fourth, got around Bilbee and settled into second after the first lap. Immediately Seavey began putting distance between himself and Grant, but it went away on the fourth lap. That's when Mario Clouser slowed with a flat tire. Seavey and Grant led Stockon, Thomas and Thorson.

 

The race resumed and this time Seavey was unable to pull away as he did before. But this was interrupted by a red flag on lap nine when Eddie Tofoya Jr. and Robert Ballou flipped on the backstretch. Both climbed out of their cars. As the field began lining up, Kevin Thomas Jr. had a flat right front tire. He gave up fourth place and went to the pits for a new shoe. With KT on the tail spot, the leaders were Seavey, Grant, Stockon, Thorson and Windom.

 

The chase was on as Seavey and Grant left the others behind. By now the cushion in turns three and four was a few feet from the wall as both leaders were committed to the top. Seavey began stretching his lead  and quickly had a half of a straightaway lead over Grant, who had left first Stockon then Windom behind. Bacon entered the top five on lap 17.

 

Seavey was sailing away until lapped traffic appeared on the 22nd lap. Sure enough, Grant reeled in the leader, closing to a car length in arrears. But Grant could not seal the deal, try as he might.

 

As Seavey took the checkered, Grant was at least about 15 feet behind. Windom was third, ahead of a fast closing Bacon. Near the end, McDougal passed Stockon for fifth (after starting 15th), earning the KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger award. Thomas came back from his early race misfortune to salvage seventh. Thorson was eighth and Shane Cottle finished ninth. CJ Leary was tenth.

 

Should Seavey win at Lincoln Park Speedway on Thursday night he will have tied Hall of Famer Jon Stanbrough, racking up four consecutive Indiana Sprint Week victories (accomplished over the 2006-07 seasons.)

 

Despite his three straight feature wins, Seavey still trails Mr. Consistency (Bacon) by four points after four of the seven ISW rounds. Grant is a distant third. A tenth place finish at Kokomo is Seavey's only non-winnning finish. Bacon has strung together a pair of second place finishes along with two fourths.

 

 Grant won at Kokomo as the rain began to fall. He followed that up with an eighth at Lawrenceburg, fifth at Gas City and his second place finish at THAT.

 

Bacon leads Grant in national points by 81 points.

 

Next race for the talented gang of gypsies is Lincoln Park Speedway. Joe Spiker will be doing his version of the anti-raindance. Tomorrow evening. What a sight that will be. A better sight to some would be Logan Seavey absconding with the trophy and the moolah (money to you kids).

 

Recovering from the trauma of seeing that Brian Hodde and I both wore our brand new Hoosier Auto Race Fans' t-shirts,

I'm…

 

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: On a Roll

 

Logan Seavey removed what little doubt there may have been that his recent success has been some kind of fluke or luck on night three of Nos Energy Indiana Sprint Week at the Gas City I-69 Speedway, presented by the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series. All he did was hold off Brady Bacon for the last half of the race, handling the track, the traffic and one of the best in the business. After the Friday night rainout, this was worth the wait, especially if you were Logan Seavey and the Baldwin Brothers/Fox Paving team.

 

Conversation with my truck:

 

Me: We're heading to Gas City tonight.

Truck: What's this "we" business? Why aren't you taking the car?

Me: It's your turn.

Truck: Oh sure. The car hardly broke a sweat going to Lawrenceburg and here I'm looking at over 200 miles tonight. Plus, you always drag me through Greenfield and that traffic, never mind the road construction.

In the end, the truck agreed to take me northeast but only if we stopped once. Got some gas in Shelbyville and it was a happy truck, parked with a partial view of the track.

 

The car count was slightly lower than Friday's 50, but 46 was plenty with Shane Cockrum the only new kid, driving Mike Gass's nice looking blue car. Tanner Thorson was the quickest qualifier with an 11.809.

 

Heats--top four advance to the feature

 

First: Jason McDougal, Cannon McIntosh, Justin Grant and Chase Jones.

 

Second: Robert Ballou, CJ Leary, Logan Seavey and Tye Mihocko.

 

Third: Jake Swanson, Stevie Sussex, Thomas Meseraull and Jadon Rogers.

 

Fourth: Brady Bacon, Kyle Cummins, Chris Windom and Cole Bodine.

 

(In the first heat Chase Johnson climbed over Brandon Mattox's left rear tire and flipped, collecting Zack Pretorious. In the third heat, contact between Jadon Rogers and Kevin Thomas Jr. left KT with a mangled front end. Thomas was not thrilled and informed Rogers with tried and true hand gestures. The discussion continued in the pits among people associated with both teams; it was broken up when things got a little heated. Rogers and Thomas ducked into the Rogers' trailer and talked it over. Finally, in the fourth heat, Max Guilford spun and collected Brayden Clark and Gabriel Gilbert. All three would race again.)

 

C main--top four tag the B

 

Brent Beauchamp, Braydon Cromwell, Shane Cottle and Charles Davis Jr.

 

B main--top six advance to the feature

 

Tanner Thorson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Zack Pretorious, Chase Johnson, Brandon Mattox and Chase Stockon.

 

(Paul Nienhiser flipped in turn four, exiting on his own. The Shanes, Cockrum and Cottle, tangled in turn two with Anthony D'Alessio left with nowhere to go. He flipped for the second time in three nights. He walked away, perhaps muttering to himself.)

 

Darin Naida won the micro sprint feature, his 15th micro feature win this year. And yes, he said that he wants to go sprint car racing as soon as he can. 

 

Jason McDougal and Jake Swanson made up the front row for the 30 laps of madness with Seavey starting fourth.  Swanson led the first lap by a hot dog wrapper over Seavey but the distinctly orange car grabbed the lead in turn two and began to check out. By the fifth lap he had built up a good ten car length margin over Swanson, McDougal and Tye Mihocko. As is his habit, Bacon was on the move. He started eighth and cracked the top five by lap five. He passed Mihocko on the seventh lap and McDougal a lap later.

 

Seavey held his good-sized lead as he entered lapped traffic on the 11th circuit. Bacon had passed Swanson for second. But Chase Jones spun on the same lap and the yellow waved. Seavey led Bacon, Swanson, McDougal and Mihocko. He had lost his big lead but he wouldn't have to deal with the lappers for a while.

 

Mark Orr showed the boys the green flag and Seavey was going to have Bacon to worry about. But he steadily pulled away at the halfway point and had a nice lead as he approached you-know-what on the 21st lap.

 

Bacon had new life and did his best to close the gap.  With seven laps to go, Bacon was job shadowing Seavey, looking for a way to the front. But there was a stretch where there weren't any slower cars in the area and Seavey opened up a bit of a lead. He might have been a little concerned when a group of cars came onto his radar with two laps left. But that proved to be no huge problem and Seavey saw the checkered flag first for the second consecutive night.

 

Bacon was trailed by Kyle Cummins, who moved from 12th to third and claimed the   KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger award. Swanson settled for fourth and McDougal finished fifth. Thorson moved up three places, ninth to sixth. Windom was seventh and Justin Grant came from 14th to take eighth. Thomas was a hard working ninth with Mihocko fading somewhat to tenth. 

 

Despite Seavey's domination the past two nights he trails Bacon by 16 points in ISW results.  Thorson is another 11 points behind Seavey.

 

(Late night conversation with my truck.

Truck: So am I going to Terre Haute?

Me: I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead. Why?

Truck: Well, if we take 46 there I might be ready to go.

Me: I'll think about it.)

 

Going to Houston to look for ten women who have NOT been assaulted by Deshaun Watson, I'm…

 

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Best of the West

 

For longer than I've been alive, race car drivers have migrated from wherever they live to Indiana. Probably the majority of those racers came from California; among the first was Bill Vukovich. One of the more recent transplants has been Logan Seavey. Like most, he has gone from one team to another. For now he has landed with the familiar orange colored number five with the Baldwin Brothers team. They've done well as a team. To offer more proof, on Sunday night at the Lawrenceburg Speedway, Seavey made a late race pass of another "new" Hoosier, Jake Swanson, winning the second Indiana Sprint Week #21 feature in USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series.

 

Some people find one car qualifying a bore. Not me. There's too many things that get my attention. One of those involves how the track changes as each car qualifies. Often qualifying times at the 'burg slow as the surface dries. But there are times where someone comes along and shoots my theory in the foot. Tonight it was Stevie Sussex, a hero the night before at Kokomo. It was true that in general the second flight times were slower but Sussex was 36th in line yet his time was seventh fastest of the 41 cars that made attempts to qualify.

 

The impressive car count meant that USAC still had enough cars to have a C main in addition to the usual program. The four heats had a more manageable size tonight, especially on the bigger track.

 

Heats---

 

First: Chase Johnson, Justin Grant, Kyle Cummins and Brady Bacon.

 

Second: CJ Leary, Tye Mihocko, Jake Swanson and Logan Seavey.

 

Third: Robert Ballou, Kevin Thomas Jr., Jason McDougal and Scotty Weir.

 

Fourth: Cole Bodine, Chase Stockon, Tanner Thorson and Cannon McIntosh. 

 

(Chris Windom's night went to the outhouse when his left rear tire exploded while he was leading the second heat. He went to a backup car and tagged the semi feature. Tenth there, he burned a provisional for the 30 lapper and only managed a 15th place finish. Windom's misfortune moved Seavey to fourth in the heat. What's that about one man's ceiling is another man's floor?)

 

(Saben Bibent had it maybe worse than Windom. Not in his family car, Bibent found the turn four wall and flipped. He climbed out and walked away.)

 

C main (top four advance to the B):

Eddie Tofoya Jr., Max Guilford, Chris Gansen and Charles Davis Jr.

 

B main (top six to the feature): Nick Bilbee, Thomas Meseraull, Stevie Sussex, Shane Cottle, Jadon Rogers and Tyler Kendall.

 

It was Thorson and Swanson seeing Tom Hansing's green flag first and Swanson got the earliest jump, leading in turn one. Thorson led through turn two before Swanson took it back.

 

Justin Grant brought out a yellow on the second lap with a flat tire. Not that he needed reminding, but it was a super example of how quickly one's fortunes can change. Grant rejoined the field after quick work by his crew.

 

Action resumed and Swanson went to work, leading Thorson by 8-10 car lengths but not able to break away any more than that. Thorson had his hands full keeping Seavey back in third. The top three slowly increased the distance between them and fourth place. Brady Bacon had started sixth and methodically worked toward the front. On lap 11 he took over fourth, but he was among those who needed a yellow.

 

Swanson encountered lapped traffic just before the crossed flags and Thorson and Seavey closed in. The Nevada native pulled a nicely done slider on Jake in turn one and made it stick. Thorson led the 18th lap but Swanson came back to return the favor a lap later.

 

Paul Nienhiser brought out a yellow when he stopped in turn four on the twentieth lap. It was still Swanson, Thorson, Seavey, Bacon and Kevin Thomas Jr. up front. But soon things were about to get really serious.

 

Seavey chose this final segment of the race to shine. On the restart he passed Thorson for second in turn one. Swanson was next and it took Seavey a couple of laps to finish the job, which he did on lap 24. He dove low in turn three and cleared Swanson for the lead.

 

The swift young man from northern California might have started to count his money but a red flag on the last lap delayed that particular count. Grant and Rogers had one of those right rear/left front tire meetings with Jadon flipping hard in turn two. He was out of the car soon after landing.

 

It was to be a green-white-checkered, USAC style finish. If Seavey was a little nervous that would have been understandable. After all, behind him was a guy looking for his first USAC sprint car win and he probably wasn't in a good mood with Seavey passing him for the lead and all.

 

Tom waved the green and Seavey made sure that there would be no more drama tonight. He hung on to win at the 'burg just as he did during Indiana Midget Week (a night where he swept the midget and sprint features). Swanson settled for second but don't be surprised if he gets that first USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car win later this year. Thorson held on to third with Bacon fourth. Thomas was fifth and CJ Leary came from tenth to finish sixth. Ballou was seventh while Grant charged from 19th to claim eighth and the KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger spending money. Kyle Cummins was a quiet ninth and fellow grandpa Shane Cottle came from 16th to finish tenth.

 

They come here from far and wide. It's true that California seems to send most of them but don't forget Oklahoma and a few other states that don't have whatever it is that we have here. (Think of Tanner Thorson from Nevada or Kevin Thomas Jr. from Alabama, to use just two examples.) If and when they stay long enough we adopt them and are happy to claim them as our own, especially when several come here and stay rather than move on to other racing endeavors. There's not always a lot to celebrate about Indiana but we can be more than happy to know that here is where racers come to race.

 

Waxing but not waning, I'm…

 

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Racing the Rain... and Winning

 

First, let the record show that Justin Grant won the rain-shortened feature at the Kokomo Speedway. The precipitation picked up the pace right after the halfway point and Tom Hansing threw the yellow, then the red flag with 18 laps complete, three laps past the mid-race mark.

 

But let's give the Kokomo Speedway and USAC management some credit as well. When it became apparent that a line of thunderstorms was rapidly advancing south toward Howard County, and it was only a matter of time before the nasty weather would reach the track. I would imagine that fans and participants' safety entered into their thinking ar some point. Nasty weather in northern Indiana is not uncommon at this time of year.

 

But before the weather tried to be the story for the second consecutive night, the biggest development was the 54 cars that signed in. This was, according to USAC statistics guru Richie Murray, the most cars Kokomo has hosted since 2008, three whole years before I retired from serving the public. There would the usual four heats with D, C and B mains. Yes, D.

 

There were two flights for qualifying. Brady Bacon led everyone and came close to Dave Darland's 12.405 record, ringing up a 12.594. Five others dipped below thirteen seconds. Jadon Rogers led the second flight with a 13.061 lap.

 

Heat race results:

 

FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Justin Grant

 

SECOND HEAT: Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Brady Short, 3. Jason McDougal, 4. Brandon Mattox

 

THIRD HEAT: 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. C.J. Leary

 

FOURTH HEAT: 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Braydon Cromwell, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Cannon McIntosh

 

(Scotty Weir was slid by Bacon in the first heat, smacking the wall and ending his night. Garrett Aitken flipped in the third heat. He walked away with no assistance.)

 

D-MAIN: (6 laps, shortened to 0 laps due to accident, top-6 transfer to the C-main) 1. Jack James, 2. Mitchell Davis, 3. Tayte Williamson, 4. Brayden Clark, 5. Kyle Edwards, 6. Chase Jones.

 

(Ryan Bond and Cooper Welch flipped in turn one, damaging the fence. With the rain approaching, the crew got it repaired quickly. Both drivers walked away.)

 

C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Stevie Sussex, 2. Evan Mosley, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Cole Bodine, 5. Harley Burns, 6. Ryan Barr, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Charles Davis Jr., 9. Sterling Cling, 10. Brayden Clark, 11. Chase Jones, 12. Korbyn Hayslett, 13. David Hair, 14. Kyle Edwards, 15. Jack James, 16. Tayte Williamson, 17. Alex Banales, 18. Critter Malone, 19. Anthony D’Alessio, 20. Mitchell Davis.

 

(Anthony D'Alessio and Mitchell Davis flipped in turn three. Both exited their torn up cars. Stevie Sussex came from tenth to win.)

 

SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Chase Johnson, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Brent Beauchamp, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Max Guilford.

 

(Sussex was again the show, coming from 15th to fifth, advancing to the feature from the C main.)

 

By the time feature lined up, the lightning north of the track was almost continuous. As the officials did their best to hurry the program, the racers were in a hurry as well. But a series of yellow and red flags pushed the program's conclusion ever closer to the oncoming rain.

 

Thomas and Leary were the front row and the Alabama native-turned-Hoosier took the early lead. Grant grabbed second as Thomas was stretching out his lead until Brandon Mattox flipped hard on the frontstretch with six laps complete. There was a brief oil fire that was quickly extinguished. Brandon walked away dejectedly.

 

As the field readied for the restart I checked my phone. Mr. AccuWeather told me that the rain was ten minutes away. My request that it stay in Logansport a little longer was ignored.

 

Thomas was immediately challenged by Grant, who briefly held the lead. But Thomas regained the top spot going down the backstretch. Grant was not to be denied as he captured the lead in the fourth turn on the ninth lap.

 

That was it as far as the race leader was concerned. It became a contest among the race, the weather and the lap count. As Grant had taken the lead I was pretty sure that I felt a raindrop. The question became a matter of the leader completing at least half of the scheduled distance. Grant made it with three laps to spare.

 

With 18 laps scored the drizzle was too much for the track's surface. Tom waved the yellow and folks headed for shelter or their mode of transportation.

 

Lost in the dash for dryness was the fact that the last two USAC feature events have been won by Grant, who won a thriller on Wednesday night in Silver Crown action at Winchester Speedway, holding off Kody Swanson at the line.

 

Behind Grant was Bacon, who was running fourth as late as lap 15. Thomas finished third and Leary was fourth ahead of Tanner Thorson, who had started ninth. Cummins faded a bit to sixth while Chris Windom was seventh. Jadon Rogers ended up eighth. Robert Ballou and Logan Seavey finished up the top ten.

 

Shane Cottle was the KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger as he advanced from 18th to 11th (in only 18 laps).

 

It was another wild night. But, really now. What can one expect? Combine USAC sprints with the Kokomo Speedway and usually it's wild. Throw in a wild card like the weather and it's wild, crazy, dramatic, thrilling and unpredictable. Plus, remember that it is Sprint Week.

 

Maybe we should close by noting that the drivers weren't the only ones making split second decisions tonight. Some race officials had to do the same. I think it was five years ago when a tornado ripped through Kokomo and that was surely on some peoples' minds. And despite the multiple interruptions, fans still saw the racing that Kokomo usually produces.

 

Next stop, Lawrenceburg. Comparatively speaking, a hop, skip and jump from here.

 

After all these years, still stressed out because of the uneven numbers of hot dogs and hot dog buns in their packages, I'm...

 

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: An Indiana Sprint Week Rainout

The bad news on opening night of ISW21 was that most of the rain that fell in Indiana on Friday fell in Grant County, home of the Gas City/I-69 Speedway. Hot laps were completed, followed by time trials. Then came some light sprinkles, followed by drizzle, followed by rain and lots of it.

The good news was that USAC and track promoter Jerry Gappens decided that rescheduling this wingding on Monday would be the best alternative. And so it shall be.

Tonight was the opener for34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL.

To show how serious this Sprint Week deal is, each year various and sundry car/driver combinations seem to pop up. This year is no exception.

With Max Adams sidelined for a while due to his injuries from a recent crash here at Gas City, car owner Paul Hazen hooked up with capable veteran Tyler Hewitt. Brady Short will be in Randy Edwards' USAC winning sprinter, the same car that has seen success with Stephen Schnapf and Jadon Rogers behind the wheel. The KO team will be a three car effort with Jason McDougal joining 2020 ISW champ Chase Stockon and Paul Nienhiser. The only significant change on the Kevin Thomas Jr. car is the main sponsor, that being the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The new look is a winner. Thomas Meseraull and Jack Yeley should make an interesting pairing. Chris Gansen, Eddie Tofoya Jr. and Kyle Edwards are the California imports this year with Jake Swanson preparing for his first ISW as a Hoosier. Watch for Stevie Sussex in the Scooby Doo/Tyler Sturgeon car with a different paint scheme.

It was almost a surprise that Thomas Meseraull’s eight-year-old track record of 11.441 wasn’t broken. The track was lightning fast. Seven of the 50 qualifiers were under 12 seconds. They were led by Brayden Fox with an 11.916 lap. This was his first quick time in his brief USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car career.

Time trials had not been completed for very long before the sprinkles began approximately 7:40. For several minutes the precipitation wasn't too bad, but was enough to park both race cars and push trucks. At 8:20 p.m. it could be said that the rain was pouring down. There was a relatively tiny rain cell hovering over Grant County and staying there. More and more people were leaving while I divided my time between checking the radar and social media and reading a giant biography of Sir Winston Churchill.

At 8:45 I assumed that USAC officials were in communication with Gas City promoter Jerry Gappens, quite possibly trying to come up with a rain date that they could all live with. The rain, meanwhile, came down even harder.

My guess was correct. This program is now scheduled to resume on Monday. To quote USAC: “The event has been rescheduled for Monday night, July 26, with a completely new program, beginning with hot laps, qualifying and followed by racing.

“Spectators and pit pass holders from Friday night may use their wristbands to gain re-entry for Monday’s rescheduled event.”

Mr. Fox will keep his quick time recognition and the points earned. This means that he is the current ISW point leader.

It was good timing for me that the rain had let up as I left the track. It was not so good timing as I drove through another brief, but intense, shower on my way to the motel—still in Grant County.

Up next is Kokomo. I plan to spend a good part of the day doing my Bartholomew County-famous anti-rain dance, probably at Foster Park.

Gleefully joining in the bidding of the latest Hunter Biden painting of ex-president Trump missing a two foot putt, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Trying a New Line

 

Toward the end of the 25 lap feature at the Lincoln Park Speedway on a beautiful Saturday night, AJ Hopkins appeared to make a decision that resulted in his picking up his sixth feature win at LPS this year. Track conditions were such that the racing lane was comparatively narrow. Few if any were inclined to try something significantly different. But Mr. Hopkins decided to see if he could find some speed in what normally is the high groove but without the big cushion. Did he ever. We could learn some things ourselves if we did as tonight's winner did.

 

If our experiences in life are confined to our little corner of both the racing world and/or the world at large, we're not going anywhere, at least not very far away. Think of NASCAR fans whose only exposure to racing of any kind is what they see on TV each week. They know names like Ty Dillon but not, say, Tye Mihocko.

 

This is relevant to our everyday lives as well. For many of us, most of our waking time is spent in the company of people who look and act a lot like us. Our only exposure to those others is, for the most part, on TV or online and often it's not in a positive light. So maybe as we encourage friends who might be inclined to think that all racing is like what they see on TV to catch sprint car racin', perhaps we should keep that in mind as we see people on the other side of the world whose ways are not like ours. Perhaps we should realize that there's another groove out there and, like AJ Hopkins, we might consider learning a little more about things or people that seem to be so different.

 

It seemed like the pits were a little more crowded and that was only because they were. The total car count was 116, with 39 of those being sprints.

 

There would be five heat races with the top three advancing to the Show.

 

First: Jake Swanson, Harley Burns and Gregg Ensign.

 

Second: Shane Cockrum, AJ Hopkins and Kyle Shipley.

 

Third: Brayden Fox, Blake Vermillion and Zach Pretorious.

 

Fourth: Jaden Rogers, Tye Mihocko and Braydon Cromwell.

 

Fifth: Jesse Vermillion, Gabe Gilbert and Alec Sipes.

 

The second heat was the heat from hell with two yellow and two red flags. Carl Rhuebottom flipped in turn two, then took the long walk back to the pits, for that moment, the loneliest man on the premises. On the restart, leader Jake Scott did the same thing as Rhuebottom, except he rode to the pits on a four-wheeler. Still in the second heat, Brent Beauchamp, trying to race into third place, hit a rut wrong and bounced to a stop with front end damage. Things would get better for him later.

 

There were plenty enough cars to run two B mains with the top three from each tagging the field.

 

First: Brent Beauchamp, Cole Bodine and Tim Creech II.

 

Second: Dickie Gaines, Robert Carrington and Jeff Wimmenhauer.

 

Jake Scott came up a little short as he and crew made repairs and roared from last. Not to be outdone, Robert Carrington came from last to transfer to the feature.

 

Hopkins and Burns saw the green flag first, but it was quickly replaced by the yellow when poor Beauchamp, Kyle Shipley and Braydon Cromwell were squeezed in turn two.

 

They tried again and Hopkins took the early advantage with Rogers taking second on the third lap. Swanson came on to take second just before the yellow waved for Jeff Wimmenhauer on lap eight. Behind the front two were Rogers, Fox and Burns.

 

After this restart, Swanson began doing his best to harass Hopkins and take the lead if he could. The yellow immediately replaced Brian Hodde's crossed flags when Harley Burns slowed dramatically then exited. Now we saw Hopkins, Swanson, Fox, Rogers and Mihocko.

 

Again Swanson did his best to give Hopkins a few gray hairs and he finally outdrug AJ going down the backstretch, leading lap 15. A lap later, Fox took second. Two laps after that Rogers passed Hopkins, who might have been feeling like Rodney Dangerfield (no respect!) by this time.

 

But things started turning around for the 04 car. He was helped somewhat when Fox spun in, where else, turn two on the 20th lap. AJ had passed Rogers and Fox's spin put him in second again.

 

With five laps to go, it was Swanson, Hopkins, Rogers, Bodine (!?) and…. Cockrum? Sure was. Brian turned the boys loose and here was where Hopkins seemed to decide to go for it. He powered around Swanson for the lead after a brief side-by-side battle on lap 21.

 

The white flag waved and no doubt a few people may have headed for the exit. The leader was fine but Swanson tagged the wall going into turn one right after taking the white flag. Somehow Jake didn't flip but the yellow waved one last time. Beauchamp narrowly avoided contact with Swanson as he scooted by.

 

This set up a one lap dash and now Cockrum had maneuvered his way to second. Hopkins might have thought, oh great, or something like that.

 

But the green and white flags waved together and Hopkins crossed the line a couple of car lengths ahead of the Chief. Rogers was third and Bodine came from 18th to finish fourth, winning the Brian Hodde hard charger award, a barbeque sandwich that Brian couldn't eat. Mihocko was a steady fifth. Beauchamp's trying night ended well with a sixth place finish after all of his earlier setbacks. Gaines also came from the B main, moving from 17th to seventh. Cromwell came from 14th to finish eighth after his early misfortune. B. Vermillion was ninth while Gilbert started and finished tenth. 

 

It was to be a late night and that became apparent early on. But it would appear that AJ Hopkins and most of the fans considered it time well spent. After all, you have to appreciate a guy who's not afraid to step out and try something a little different.

 

Reminding various NASCAR fans that it's Knoxville, Iowa, I'm...

 

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Making One’s Self Feel at Home

Leaps of faith are taken thousands of times a day, probably more. In the world at large, my guess is that not too many involve moving to Indiana—unless you are a sprint car racer who wishes to test himself against some of the toughest competition anywhere. Sometimes those leaps of faith pay off. Ask Jake Swanson, winner of the Chuck Amati 68 at the Paragon Speedway and under the auspices of the Midwest Sprint Car Series. He and his wife have settled in the Hoosier state after their move from California. Jake has had some success already, but on a beautiful central Indiana evening, he rang up his biggest win so far as he ran off and hid from the rest of the field, winning by over a half lap over Chase Stockon.

Chuck Amati, rest his soul, would have appreciated Mr. Swanson’s accomplishment. After all, during his own superb career, Chuck had his own leaps of faith as he traveled across America from race to race, car owner to car owner—it’s been said Chuck was one of the original outlaws. It’s universally agreed that he was always a fan favorite.

Answering the call at Paragon were 27 cars. Two of those, Swanson and Stockon, had plans for heading west to Knoxville to race with USAC on Saturday, leaving soon after the checkered flag waved.

Heat race results, top five to the feature:

First—Andrew Prather, Jake Swanson, Aric Gentry, Josh Cunningham and Adam Wilfong.

Second—Colton Cottle, Brady Short, Ben Knight, Brandon Morin and Collin Ambrose.

Third—Landon Simon, AJ Hopkins, Carson Garrett, Harley Burns and Andy Bradley

B Main, top five to the feature:

Jake Scott, Chase Stockon, Colin Parker, Dylan Moan and Billy Winsemann.

(William Johnson flipped in heat one. Ted Kirkpatrick flipped in heat two. Both accidents were in turn two. Both drivers walked away. Stockon nearly flipped while leading the second heat. He recovered but couldn’t crack the top five.)

It stood to reason that any 68 lap race would have its own rules. For laps 1-50, only the first three laps of a caution period would count toward the 68. After that the lap count would freeze until the green flag waved. After 50 laps, only green flag laps would count.

Hopkins and Short were the front row and AJ led going into the first turn. But a slight bobble enabled Short to take the lead in turn two and Swanson to take second. Morin brought out the first caution on lap four.

Keith Dewig waved the green for the second time and Short was immediately under pressure from Swanson. On the tenth lap, Jake dove low coming out of turn two and took the lead. He swiftly began to put some serious distance between himself and Short. Brady had his own problems keeping Hopkins behind him. Meanwhile, Swanson entered lapped traffic on lap 14, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

The top trio remained the same until Hopkins passed Short for second the 24^th orbit. Alas, that would prove to be AJ’s all-too-brief high point as he had something on the car break as he entered turn three. His spin would bring out a yellow flag. Swanson led Short, Gentry, Prather and Garrett, who had entered the top five for the first time. There were 26 laps down, only 42 to go.

Again on the restart, Swanson checked out, with Short also increasing his margin over Gentry. The field slowed on the 33^rd lap when Josh Cunningham stopped on the track. The law firm of Swanson, Short and Gentry now led Garrett and Prather.

Once more the green lights came on and Swanson took off. No positions changed hands up front, but the yellow waved when Prather spun in turn two, collecting Jake Scott, who had been steadily working his way forward after beginning festivities in 16^th. It was lap 40. There was now approximately a “normal” feature yet to run. It was Swanson, Short, Garrett, Gentry and…Chase Stockon, up to fifth place after starting back in B main territory.

The same routine prevailed with Swanson when the green waved but now Short had his fair share of distress as Garrett wanted second place badly. He took it on the backstretch with 50 laps run. Swanson by now had a straightaway lead. Could Garrett possibly catch the fleet Californian?

No way. Swanson was sailing through turns three and four, seeming to flirt with disaster, but it was working. He was in the zone and no one left running had anything for him as the laps wound down. If anything his lead increased to a half lap.

Behind the leader, things were unsettled. With seven laps to go, Short took second back. Stockon passed Gentry for fourth, then Garrett for third. Short spun off turn three on the last lap and, just like that, Stockon was second.

That’s how it ended, Swanson finishing a half lap ahead of Stockon, over 11 seconds. Stockon, the MSCS point leader, didn’t feel too bad seeing that he started 17^th and won the Steve Rone Hard Charger award, a can of warm beer. Garrett was third after starting ninth. Gentry was fourth and Ben Knight flew under the radar to grab fifth. Scott came back from his misfortune to finish sixth after starting 16^th. Cunningham overcame his own adversity to take seventh. Prather was eighth and Andy Bradley came from 15^th to finish ninth. Short was credited with tenth, and couldn’t be blamed much for being somewhat frustrated after running such an exceptional race only to have it go away at the end.

For the time being, Jake Swanson’s decision to move to Indiana from California has looked like a good one. He’s not the first West Coaster to take the leap of faith and I’m sure he won’t be the last—unless one state declares war on the other.

If he was in a position to do so, I’d guess that Chuck Amato would nod in approval.

Reminding various NASCAR fans that it's Knoxville, Iowa (not Tennessee), I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Patience?

One would not think about patience having anything to do with a sprint car feature, even one that is longer than the normal 30. But patience was one of the qualities that Kevin Thomas Jr. exercised in winning Night Two of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular at the Lincoln Park Speedway. It was KT’s 28^th USAC Sprint Car win, tying him with J.J. Yeley and Levi Jones.

Like most all changes, patience is one that is often forced on us. This doesn’t mean that having patience is bad, far from it. In his earlier years of wrestling the four wheeled beasts, Thomas tore up a lot of equipment. Learning patience was an expensive lesson, but he learned his lesson well. On the closing night of the Sprintacular, Thomas had the patience to keep running the same line that had taken him to the front, knowing it was a 40 lap feature, not the usual 30. It paid off to the tune of $7,000.

In time trials, Shane Cottle set quick time with a 12.721 lap. Brady Bacon’s three-year-old track record of 12.276 was safe. The cushion tonight was not nearly as treacherous as the night before. The car count was down somewhat, with 36 sprints signing in.

Tonight the USAC format was used, as opposed to the Friday night employment of MSCS rules and methods.

Heat races—top four transfer

First: Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Justin Grant and Shane Cottle.

Second: CJ Leary, Cannon McIntosh, Riley Kreisel and Harley Burns.

Third: Tanner Thorson, Carson Short, Chris Windom and Chase Stockon.

Fourth: Brady Bacon, Kyle Cummins, Mario Clouser and Paul Nienhiser.

(In the first heat, Cottle passed Carson Garrett on the last lap to snag a spot. Tanner Thorson came to life in his heat, passing Bodine, Stockon, Windom and C. Short on the outside to win. Brady Bacon did some of the same in his heat, passing Kyle Cummins on the last lap to win.)

B main: Cole Bodine, Carson Garrett, Brayden Fox, Robert Ballou, Stephen Schnapf and Collin Ambrose.

Midget heat winners: Shane Cottle and Hayden Reinbold

Midget feature: Cottle won but Reinbold stayed close the whole race.

MMSA results:

Heat winners were Cody Trammell, Cody Knieriem and Kayla Roell.

B-Main Winner:Jeremy Huebner

Feature Winner: Brandon Coffey

In the B, Levi Whitehouse was airlifted to an Indy hospital after a turn four accident. No word on his condition as of 2:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Kreisel and Grant led the way to Keith Dewig’s green flag and Kreisel led his first USAC feature—until Grant dove under #91 in turn two and took over to lead the first lap. The tandem of Grant, Kreisel and Bacon stayed the same for the first five laps. But Bacon took second from the Missouri resident and Leary soon snatched third on the tenth circuit. Bacon decided that Grant was having too much fun and closed the gap. Lapped traffic added to the fun as both weaved their way through the (slightly) slower cars. On lap 15, Bacon used the bottom to take the lead from Grant in turn three. Leary was not far away in third and Kreisel was fourth.

Grant returned the favor as Keith displayed the crossed flags, powering off turn four. By now Thomas was knocking on the door of the top five after starting back in the seventh row. A yellow waved for Windom, who stopped on track on lap 18. Bacon led Grant, Leary, Kreisel and Swanson. Lap 21 came and Thomas disposed of Kreisel, Swanson, and then Leary, taking third. A lap later and Bacon was relegated to third while Thomas worked the bottom while Grant blasted his way around the top,

For the rest of the race, Thomas and Grant gave each other no room for letting up. Lap after lap Grant led Thomas by less than a car length on several occasions as both crossed the start/finish line. Finally, on lap 35, Thomas eased ahead of Grant and led the rest of the way. But don’t be fooled into thinking that ol’ KT ran off and hid. Over the last six laps, Grant powered off turn four to come close to grabbing the lead again. He came up a very few feet short.

Bacon was third and he had stayed close to the top two most all of the later stages. Leary was fourth and at times seemed ready to make it a four car battle. Cottle, who won this race last year, was fifth. Swanson and Thorson were sixth and seventh. Cummins came from 18^th to finish eighth. Kreisel may have faded to ninth, but he ran an impressive race all the same. McIntosh was tenth after finishing eighth the night before.

Thomas was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger as he came from 14^th to win.

In terms of points Bacon and Grant was still one/two, but Thomas crept a little closer, now trailing Grant by 19 points.

Next weekend the caravan heads west to the Knoxville Raceway for the Corn Belt Clash. Paragon will try again to host the Chuck Amati Memorial, all 68 laps of it.

I will keep working on my patience and hope that those around me do the same.

I should add that my eldest grandson was my running mate tonight and he had an outstanding time on his first race in a couple of years. It was his initial visit to beautiful downtown Putnamville.

This one is for guys like Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, Ben Franklin, George Mason, Benjamin Rush, Gouverneur Morris and Richard Henry Lee, the less well-known of the Founding Fathers and those more inclined to rabble rousing.

Deciding that I’ll hitchhike somewhere before I fly again, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Persistence Pays Off

For the second night in a row CJ Leary saw the checkered flag before the others, this time on opening night at the Lincoln Park Speedway's seventh annual Bill Gardner Sprintacular. Leary took the lead on a late restart and slid by leader Jake Swanson, who came close to his first USAC National Sprint car win.

This year the two-day affair would be co-sanctioned by USAC and MSCS. For Friday, the MSCS format of group qualifying and a fifth heat (for 45 cars) would be used. Saturday’s show will be USAC’s turn with one-car qualifying and four heats, come hell or high water.

No matter what format or sanctioning body was running things, the purpose of both nights of racing was to celebrate and remember Bill Gardner. It isn’t very often that memorial races are named after a “mere” fan. Bill was a lot more than a fan. One of his accomplishments was creating www.indianaopenwheel.com after he had noticed how little race fans seemed to interact at the track. With the Web’s entrance into our culture, Bill began what has become the go-to website for any news concerning open wheel racing here in Indiana (along with other states as well on occasion).

Through IOW, I’ve met a significant number of fellow race fans who became friends over the last 15 plus years, including Marv, Mike, Kelly, Jim, Ron, Dan, Jim. the Coach, Jerry, Tim (Mehner and Watson), and many more—even Bill and Shondra Gardner.

I’ve noticed a special few people who seemed to have the knack for drawing others to them without wishing to draw attention to themselves. Bill was one and those who knew him benefitted greatly from it. Bill always carried himself with dignity and grace—with a healthy dose of sarcasm just to keep us honest. He gave me plenty of chuckles over the years, in addition to giving me lots to ponder.

As his own struggle with his health went on, without us realizing it, he was showing us how to deal with a terminal illness. The illness might defeat the body, but the spirit stayed strong and triumphant to the end.

Several years ago (2015) I was fortunate enough to be voted the HARF media person of the year. That in itself was rewarding enough but what really made it special was the fact that the award’s official name is the Bill Gardner Media Award. I look at the plaque most every day and it’s hard not to think of Bill when I do.

With all that, I hear that voice that resides in my head this moment saying, “Enough of this s#@t, you jackwagon. Write something about the race.” Yes, Bill. I think I will.

Of the 108 cars in Joe Spiker’s R ‘n’ R Wonderland, 45 of them were sprints. Under the MSCS group qualifying system, Kevin Thomas Jr. was quickest of all with a 12.638 lap. For what it was worth, KT was in the third of five groups.

Heats—Top four advance

First: Chris Windom, Shane Cottle, CJ Leary and Ryan Thomas.

Second: Jake Swanson, Tanner Thorson, Chase Stockon and Alec Sipes.

(There had been some serious cushion bouncing. Nate McMillen got the worst of it, flipping in the second heat. The car was righted and Nate raced some more.)

Third: Brady Bacon, Kevin Thomas Jr., Robert Ballou and Cole Bodine.

(More of the same in the third heat as Robert Carrington flipped in the same spot after Brady Bacon had come close to doing the same. Robert walked away. Robert Ballou came from seventh to transfer.)

Fourth: Zach Daum, Carson Short, Harley Burns and Mario Clouser.

Fifth: Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant, Riley Kreisel and Cannon McIntosh.

C Main—Top two advance to the B

Tim Creech II and Chris Babcock

B Main==Top two advance to the A

Paul Nienhiser and Thomas Meseraull

Daum and Bacon led the way to the green, which turned red seconds later when Ryan Thomas flipped in turn one. Kyle Cummins started fifth and found himself pointing the wrong way after trying to miss Shane Cottle’s back bumper.

The gang tried again and this time Bacon took the lead and tried to check out. That nice margin he had built up began to shrink as Swanson labored to close the gap after taking second place on the fifth lap. By lap 13 Swanson had cut the distance in half. Lapped traffic came into play three laps later. On the 21^st lap, Swanson dipped low in turn one and grabbed the lead from Bacon, who was soon under attack from CJ Leary.

Mr. Leary had started back in the fifth row and had steadily moved forward. He entered the top five at the halfway mark and joined the party up front soon after Swanson took the lead. Leary took second from Bacon on lap 24 and then immediately attacked Swanson with a series of slide jobs at both ends of the track. Jake was able to fend them off, but then a red flag on lap 27 would be the race’s turning point.

Cole Bodine flipped in turn two, emerging from the car unassisted. The order was Swanson, Leary, Bacon, Cottle and Thomas. Swanson knew that Leary was there for sure and had to be concerned. He had good reason to be because Leary began throwing some more sliders at the leader after the restart. On the 28^th lap, he made it stick and that was that. Leary had his second consecutive USAC sprint win, giving him 10 for his career.

Swanson was a disappointed, but philosophical, second. Cottle sneaked in there to get third and was only a couple of car lengths from second. Thomas was fourth and Bacon faded to fifth. Windom and Grant were sixth and seventh. Cannon McIntosh was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, coming from 20^th to finish eighth. Daum and Stockon completed the top ten.

Bacon kept his healthy point lead over Grant.

The boys do it again tonight/Saturday, but this time it will be for 40 laps and a $7,000 pot of gold waiting for the top dog.

Bill Gardner should be there, either in spirit or memory. So will a lot of his friends.

Bouncing off one cushion too many, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Motivation

Jake Swanson can be called a Hoosier now. He's moved here from California and has shown steady improvement. If he has a home track it might be the Bloomington Speedway, the same as mine. After his spirited duel with AJ Hopkins on a beautiful Indiana evening, Swanson stood by his car as Brad Dickison conducted the interview; he looked to be at home. He had withstood the challenge of Hopkins for all 25 laps and emerged victorious. Now that's hard to beat.

For any number of reasons—threat of rain, lack of finances, etc.—both car counts and the crowd were down. The scheduled fireworks didn’t exactly pack the bleachers. But never mind all that. The rain seemed to disappear somewhere over Owen County to the west and Bloomington was spared any more rain, which wasn’t needed in the first place. Henry Bryant, with an assist from Ma Nature, presented the 18 sprinters and others with a lightning fast race track.

This became apparent during hot laps when AJ Hopkins and Harley Burns slid off turn three, with Hopkins avoiding a rare backflip. Then Matt Beckwith nearly flipped into the pits off turn two after wheel to wheel contact with another car. He was taken to the hospital, and was alert. He grimaced when he was lifted into the ambulance. Best wishes to Matt, who had put in many hours preparing to race, only to have an encounter with the fence and wind up in the hospital with a reported broken arm.

With 18 sprints, there would be two heats and the feature. Only nine midgets showed up; they would run one heat and their feature.

Sprints:

First--Jake Swanson, AJ Hopkins, Jordan Kinser, Harley Burns and Andy Bradley.

Second--Anthony D'Alessio, Cole Bodine, Jaden Rogers, Brayden Fox and Jake Bland.

Midget heat: Tyler Nelson, Chett Gehrke, Jeff Schindler, Bryan Stanfill and Billy Lawless.

For the feature, D’Alessio and Swanson were the front row, a Floridian and a Californian, both of whom moved here to race. Swanson, the West Coaster, took the early lead and completed a lap before the first yellow waved for Gabe Gilbert’s turn two spin.

The green waved and Swanson took off, closely followed by third-starting AJ Hopkins. Rogers was a close third and passed Hopkins for second just before the yellow came out again for Gilbert. AJ got his spot back.

The lap three restart got ugly. Hopkins nudged Swanson just enough to send the Californian spinning. He collected Rogers and Kinser. A little further back, Sterling Cling wasn’t as lucky. He flipped over the turn two banking. Brian Hodde brought out the yellow before quickly replacing it with the red. Cling was able to exit his car.

Admittedly not knowing the rules, I was surprised a little when Swanson got his spot back. He led Hopkins, Bodine, D’Alessio and Burns to the green. Rogers was done for the night and Kinser restarted on the tail.

The next eight laps were a high-speed, tense drama as Swanson and Hopkins attempted a two-car breakaway, both scooting around the top with the usual Bloomington cushion. Lapped traffic came into play on the 12^th lap as Swanson seemed to have better luck negotiating the lappers. He increased his lead over Hopkins to a whole 20 feet, maybe 25. In other words, AJ wasn’t exactly disappearing.

Andy Bradley spun in turn one on the 17^th lap; Mr. Hodde waved the yellow. Up front it was Swanson, Hopkins, Bodine, Burns and Fox. Kinser had charged through the field and was sixth. He wasn’t done.

The green lights activated and again Swanson got a good restart. He had built a lead of about three or four car lengths when the yellow waved for the last time, this one for Dickie Gaines and Matt Thompson. The only change at the head of the lineup was Kinser, now in fourth.

Hopkins was ready this time. He didn’t grab the lead on the restart, but he pulled a slider on Swanson in turn two of lap 22. But at the other end of the track, Swanson executed an inside pass coming out of turn four a lap later. From there, Jake pulled away for the win by about 20 feet. One could say that his getting passed late in the race motivated him to sit up a little straighter and take back the lead—and the win.

Hopkins was trailed by Bodine and Kinser. Fox completed the top five. Burns was sixth and Bradley recovered from his spin to take seventh. D’Alessio was eighth and Gaines came back to finish ninth after starting 14^th. Austin Nigh came from 17^th to end up tenth, making him the Mike O’Leary Hard Charger, winning an order of nachos and cheese as soon as Mike gets paid.

My portion of the racing ended with veteran Bryan Stanfill winning the midget feature over Chett Gehrke, Max Adams, Brayton Lynch and Jeff Schindler.

Just another night at the red clay oval.

Campaigning to take the ride now held by Valtteri Bottas, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Inevitability of A.J. Hopkins

If you are Stevie Sussex and you're leading the feature at the Lincoln Park Speedway, you are correct to be feeling pretty good. Whoever is second must be quite a bit behind you. But wait. A yellow comes out and you might find out that's A.J. Hopkins behind you. The green waves and you give it all you’ve got. But Hopkins is in your tire tracks. Whether you know it or not, you're going to be collecting second place money. Hopkins makes the pass with five laps to go and Sussex need not be ashamed, though it would be understandable if he was a little down. There's no shame in running second to the likes of A.J. Hopkins.

Rod Henning was the fourth and last leader of the Racesaver feature.

I had high hopes of seeing some Hoosier style sprint car racing on this warm and humid night, as opposed to my Friday night experience at Paragon. The much anticipated Chuck Amati Memorial was on my radar and I headed northwest despite the weather forecast. This was to be an MSCS deal and, though the car count was a little light at 22, there were enough contenders to promise another fun evening.

But the sky darkened and the picture of the radar on my phone was not promising. I retreated to the little white truck and waited--for what I wasn't sure yet. At 7:25, right after the invocation and the anthem, the rain started before cars could take a green flag.

Thirty minutes later Dr. Pat didn't mince any words. "This race is cancelled." I shut the door, fired up the Chevy, and headed out, accompanied by a few hundred kindred spirits and rain that followed me to the Johnson County line. As I turned south onto U.S. 31 the sun made a brief appearance, reminding me that it's always there, clouds or no clouds.

The Chuck Amati Memorial will be run on July 9.

It rained off and on for the next several hours and Saturday morning dawned with much of Indiana having flood issues. Lawrenceburg threw in the towel early and Lincoln Park made the call just before 2:30 to give it a try.

Away I went, again in a northwesterly direction under partly cloudy skies and a lot of Indiana humidity.

Car counts in all five classes were a little slim but there were enough to race on a track that had a good share of “character.” There were 15 sprints and 14 Racesaver winged 305s out of 73 cars in the pits.

Sprint heats--

First: AJ Hopkins, Brayden Fox and Shane Cockrum.

Second: Harley Burns, Stevie Sussex and Brandon Spencer.

Cockrum, the previous night's winner in USAC Silver Crown action at Williams Grove, was one of those who played cowboy and had quite a jolt. He nearly spun and allowed Fox to sneak by.

Spencer had his hands full keeping Matt McDonald behind him in the second heat.

Racesavers' heats--

First: Jordan Welch, Ryan Tusing and Ethan Barrow.

Second: Hot Rod Henning, John Paynter Jr. and Nate Franklin.

Welch appeared to be the first to find a path that was the smoothest all the way around the track. He won by a straightaway.

None of the five classes had enough cars to stage a B main, so, after some reworking of the track, it was time for the 25-lap feature. A pair of multi-generation racers, Fox and Burns, led the way to the green. Fox took the early lead before Sussex, who started fourth, grabbed the lead and tried to check out. The Arizona native seemed to have things his own way, despite finding lapped traffic seven laps in. But Sussex surely knew that Hopkins was back there and wouldn’t be happy with second.

A.J. was fourth on the third lap, third a lap later and second on lap five. The chase was on as Hopkins labored to close the gap. It wasn’t really happening. Hopkins needed a yellow flag and Sussex didn’t. The race’s turning point would be a yellow flag.

The yellow waved on lap 16 for a spin in turn two. Sussex led Hopkins, Fox, Cockrum and Burns. Two lapped cars separated the top two. The green waved and Hopkins passed the lappers quickly. Then there was another turning point. The same car, driven by Allen Howard, spun a lap later. Now Hopkins would restart on Sussex’s rear bumper.

Both had a good restart with Hopkins stalking the leader, waiting to make the move. He took over with a nifty outside pass in turn two with five laps to go. From there, Hopkins checked out, winning by the greater part of a straightaway.

In the post-race interview, the leader admitted that he was tired. The track had been a handful, but Hopkins and his team were up to the job. Sussex was second, ahead of Fox, Cockrum and Burns.

Up next were the Racesavers. Pole sitter Ryan Tusing took the early lead and hung on until Jordan Welch passed for the lead on the seventh lap.. From his fifth starting spot, Ethan Barrow assumed the point on lap nine. But he pulled into the infield with a mechanical problem with seven laps remaining in the 20 lapper. At this point, it was Henning’s turn to take the lead and the checkered flag. Early leader Tusing was second and Welch took third. Josh Cunningham finished fourth and John Paynter Jr. was fifth.

In the post-race interview, again the race winner said he was tired.

Unlike Paragon, the rain missed Putnam County, at least on Saturday. It was after 2 p.m. when the track made the call to race. But the rain stayed away. Naturally, it rained briefly on my way home, a five minute shower in Greenwood.

This one is for my dad, who took me to a lot of races.

Searching the sky for Italian satellites, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Sunday Morning Going Up

After a rain delay at the Kokomo Speedway, the USAC Nos Energy Midget series didn't disappoint. It was worth the wait, most especially if your name was Buddy Kofoid, who is the 2021 edition of Indiana Midget Week. It wasn't too shabby for Chris Windom either as he passed fellow veteran Justin Grant midway through the 30 lap feature to win on the final night of IMW21, which was actually Sunday morning.

Almost an afterthought that Windom was the seventh different winner in the eight IMW21 contests. In addition, seven different teams won. Parity, anyone?

Given the scorching temperatures in the Kokomo area on Saturday, popup showers could almost be expected. Sure enough, one arrived. But most folks knew that there would be a good chance of racing.

The rain began in earnest about 8:10 and eased up 15 minutes later. The crew immediately started reworking the track and had it hot lap ready at 9:30. All cars were given another hot lap session and the first sprint heat shoved off at 10:35. It was a Herculean effort for most but routine for Reece O'Connor and his team.

With iffy weather and both Lawrenceburg and Lincoln Park running sprints as usual, 21 Kokomo sprints wasn’t a bad count. There were 33 USAC midgets, consistent with counts all week.

Sprint heats

First: Brayden Clark, Parker Fredrickson, Cole Bodine, Rob Caho and Cooper Welch.

Second: Andrew Prather, Thomas Meseraull, Scotty Weir, Matt Westfall and Chet Williams.

Third: Charles Davis, Brandon Long, Matt Goodnight, Brayden Cromwell and Tye Mihocko.

(After flipping in post-rain hot laps, Clark came back and won his heat. The second heat was about as good as it gets with Prather, TMez and Weir engaging in a spirited battle for the win. And Westfall wasn’t too far behind.)

Midget heats

First: Tanner Thorson, Jerry Coons Jr., Logan Seavey and Chase Randall.

Second: Bryant Wiedeman, Buddy Kofoid, Brenham Crouch and Emerson Axsom.

Third: Jason McDougal, Cannon McIntosh, Hayden Williams and Justin Grant.

Fourth: Corey Day, Chris Windom, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Cole Bodine.

B main: Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Kyle Cummins, Kaylee Bryson, Brian Carber and Jonathan Shafer.

(The first five starters in the second heat were KKM cars. Keith isn’t much for team orders and this race proved it.)

The sprint feature pushed off at 11:40 p.m. and Meseraull acted like it was past his bedtime. From fourth he stormed to the lead on the first lap and checked out—until the 19^th lap when Matt Westfall spun with a little nudge. TMez’s straightaway lead was gone and second place Scotty Weir had a fighting chance to steal this one. On the first two laps after the restart, Weir peeked low in the turns but Meseraull wouldn’t be denied.

Behind the two up front was Brandon Long. Tye Mihocko came from 15^th to finish fourth and win the Reece O’Connor Hard Charger award, a piece of Kokomo dirt molded in the shape of a sprint car. Prather was fifth. Davis was sixth and Cromwell came from 12^th to take seventh. Fredrickson took eighth and Bodine ended ninth. Rob Caho finished tenth, right where he started.

The midnight hour had arrived and IMW21 was almost over. Grant and Seavey were the front row. Tom Hansing waved the green and Grant took the lead for the first two laps with Seavey in tow. But the Lawrenceburg winner got around Grant on the third lap. This lasted until lap eight before Grant regained the point. Meanwhile, Windom had found traction on the bottom as he has so many times before and began making it work. Windom had passed a fading Seavey and was pressuring Seavey for the lead by lap ten.

Windom took over the lead for good on lap 14 as Meseraull invaded the top five after starting 11^th.  And Emerson Axsom came upon the fighting up front. But first…

On lap 21 McIntosh slowed in turn two. Immediately, Crouch flipped hard in turn three, transforming the yellow flag into a red. Crouch was out of the car quickly. It was his second flip in three nights. Windom led Grant, Axsom, Corey Day and Meseraull.

For the last time in IMW21, the green came out and…Windom very gradually pulled away for the last nine laps. Grant remained second, but positions traded hands continuously. McDougal came on strong at the end, unlike his crushing mechanical problem the night before. He occupied the final spot on the podium, edging Axsom. Meseraull was fifth. Day was shuffled back a bit late, claiming sixth. Kofoid lost the battle but won the war by finishing seventh and adding IMW champ to his resume. Chase Randall was a steady eighth. Kevin Thomas Jr. had to bring out a backup car, transferred out of his heat despite starting last, and finally came from 18^th to finish ninth. Seavey faded to tenth but edged Daison Pursley for second in IMW points behind Kofoid.

USAC has a great mixture of kids and veterans that makes the competition topnotch. There are veterans like Grant, Meseraull, Windom, Cummins and Thomas who see this as their bread and butter. They have their hands full racing these kids and they have to be on their game every night if they want to contend. (And contend they did at Kokomo.) Throw in younger vets like Thorson, Seavey and McDougal and it gets even more difficult.

Then there are the kids—Axsom, Kofoid, Pursley, McIntosh and now Day. They look like any high school kid, seeming to be more comfortable with today’s technology; they could be called geeks in the best sense of the word. It’s hard to imagine them racing with yesterday’s champions. Can one’s mind visualize any of these kids mixing it up with the likes of Bob Wente or Rich Vogler? The mind boggles. But put these gawky young people behind the wheel and they turn into King Kong. They don’t need to be told to speed up. They are contenders and they have been giving the veterans fits.

We, the rest of us, are the beneficiaries.

Buying Will Power a fan for his car, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Neither Slidejobs nor Lapped Traffic nor....

It was going to take a lot more than slidejobs and lapped traffic to deny Buddy Kofoid on a hot June night at the Gas City I-69 Speedway. He put the hurt on the rest of a strong field of racers while winning his second feature of Indiana Midget Week.

Kevin Thomas Jr. closed out the night with a dominating victory in the sprint car feature.

Humans and maybe lower forms of life as well need a sanctuary and/or a shelter. They take many forms but the idea is to have a place where one has a brief respite from anything from “real life” to a continuing danger. Or simply put, a place to get away for whatever reasons. This could be anything from a church to a homeless shelter to a…race track. For a few hours from a fan’s point of view, outside troubles are pushed to the side before returning again. But sometimes, after a few hours at the track (tonight’s being the Gas City/I-69 Speedway), one can return to “reality” refreshed, refilled and ready to deal with the things that need attention—anything from a leaky faucet to scheduling a surgery. On this Friday night, Gas City was a worthy sanctuary for me and a lot of other people, I’m fairly sure.

Probably too much is made of things such as car counts. Let the record show that 34 USAC Nos Energy Drink National Midgets showed up. It was a little late in the game for newbies. The pits also contained 32 Gas City sprints, including KT and Tyler Hewitt, in a new car owned by himself with wife Abby. AJ Hopkins, along with a few Bloomington/Paragon visitors, also made the trip northeast. (As it turned out, AJ and the Jerry Burton Masonry team, didn’t fare so well.) Those doing double duty tonight would be Kevin Thomas Jr., Jason McDougal, Cannon McIntosh and Thomas Meseraull.

Ethan Mitchell, who has had his ups and downs the past nine days, had an up with his quick time of 12.191, not quite a second off Rico Abreu’s five year old record.

Sprints--

Heat One: Charles Davis, Brayden Fox, Tyler Kendall and Jake Scott.

Heat Two: Kevin Thomas Jr., Thomas Meseraull, Cannon McIntosh and Chet Williams.

Heat Three: Scotty Weir, Max Adams, Adam Byrkett and Tyler Hewitt.

Heat Four: Jadon Rogers, Kyle Simon, Brady Bacon and Brayden Clark.

B Main: Braydon Cromwell, Matt Westfall, Tye Mihocko and Matt Goodnight.       

In the fourth heat, Tye Mihocko’s slider on Clark didn’t slide enough. Hopkins and Bacon were caught up in the melee with AJ getting upside down. Despite an attempt to start in the B, his night was over.

-----

Midget Heats--

First: Justin Grant, Kyle Cummins, Daison Pursley and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Second: Kaylee Bryson, Corey Day, Jason McDougal and Hayden Reinbold.

Third: Trey Gropp, Brenham Crouch, Thomas Meseraull and Emerson Axsom.

Fourth: Cannon McIntosh, Kevin Thomas Jr., Bryant Wiedeman and Buddy Kofoid.

B Main: Logan Seavey, Jerry Coons Jr., Tanner Thorson, Chris Windom, Hayden Williams and Cole Bodine.

The second heat was the strange one. First, there was a three car shindig in turn two involving Corey Day, Jason McDougal and Jonathan Shafer. Later, there was contact between Day and McDougal again. This brought out another yellow flag and Chris Windom didn’t slow down in time, hitting Kaylee Bryson’s car. Windom got things fixed up in time for the B. Finally, Hayden Reinbold, who was 30^th fastest in qualifying, came from eighth to fourth and made the show.

Tanner Thorson was 24^th quickest and had to run the B. He finished third, using the cushion, after starting 11^th.

McDougal and Kofoid led all others taking the green. Immediately Kofoid pulled away from the pack. He had a half straightaway lead when Justin Grant slowed on lap nine. It was Kofoid, McDougal, Axsom, Pursley and McIntosh.

The green lights came on and away went Kofoid again. Axsom passed McDougal for second, but the leader’s tail tank seemed to get smaller for the Franklin IN resident. Until…

On the 13^th lap, there was a four car assembly in turn four for all the wrong reasons. Those parked included Windom, Jerry Coons Jr., Hayden Williams and Bryant Wiedeman. Windom was the only participant to restart.

The green waved again and Kofoid began putting a full straightaway between himself and Axsom. And that was how it ended, with Kofoid the first repeat winner (unlike last year when a certain NASCAR guy dominated IMW20.) After a major fight with McDougal and others, Seavey came from 11^th to take the final spot on the podium. Pursley had his ups and downs, yet finished where he started, fourth. McIntosh ran in the top five for most of the race and ended up fifth. Kevin Thomas Jr. had another good effort, starting 15^th and finishing sixth. CCR winner Corey Day was seventh and Thorson came from 20^th to grab eighth and win the KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger award after winning the night before at Lincoln Park. Kaylee Bryson was an impressive ninth and Thomas Meseraull had to settle for tenth.

Jadon Rogers and Scotty Weir were the front row for the sprint feature with Weir jumping out to the early lead. Kevin Thomas Jr. moved into second from his second row starting spot. He stalked the leader for the first 12 laps before taking the lead on the backstretch.

Max Adams brought out the caution when he slammed into the turn four wall just before the lead change. Thomas led Weir, Rogers, Meseraull and Charles Davis. On the restart, Thomas tried to check out with no lapped traffic to deal with, at least for a while.

Except for a Brayden Clark half spin in turn four right in front of him with three laps to go, Thomas sailed to the win as Weir hung onto second. Meseraull made it close but ended third. McIntosh, still learning sprint cars, was fourth after starting tenth. Brady Bacon came from 12^th to fifth. Rogers faded a bit to sixth. Davis was seventh and Mihocko started out in B Main territory, 19^th, and finished eighth, winning the Rob Goodman Hard Charger prize, a gift certificate from Hobby Lobby. Matt Westfall wasn’t far behind, coming from 18^th to ninth. Brayden Fox was tenth.

Not your average night for several reasons. We’ll see what happens at Kokomo now. Kofoid leads Pursley by three points. Pursley leads Seavey by nine. Axsom and Windom are next and they will need some major miracles to collect the IMW21 honors.

Wondering why Joe Spiker didn’t have swamp buggy races at Paragon tonight, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: I Think That He Likes LPS

Last year Tanner Thorson scored an upset victory at the Lincoln Park Speedway during Indiana Midget Week. Fast forward to this year and that fact was on several minds as the feature began. Sure enough, he did it again. True, he started on the pole, but there were several restarts that gave the others up front multiple chances to challenge. It didn’t happen. Thorson led all 30 laps to win, becoming the sixth winner in six races so far. Yeah, I think he likes this place.

For the second consecutive night, rain was a threat. I left home as it began to fall. I reminded myself that they weren't racing at my house. By the time I reached the airport north of town it had pretty much stopped. By the time I reached the KKM shop it had quit and the sun was trying to come out. There was another shower in Johnson County but after that it was mostly cloudy--until even the clouds gave way to the sun. Life is like that--sometimes.

There were 36 USAC Midgets and 20 Lincoln Park sprinters in the pits. For the first time, there were no new teams among the 36. Time trials revealed a track that didn’t go away; it stayed fast even though Logan Seavey’s fast time of 12.940 came early on.

Sprints--

First heat: Brayden Fox, Jake Swanson, Brayden Cromwell, Zack Daum and Jake Scott.

Second heat: Brady Bacon, Shane Cockrum, Sterling Cling, Geoff Ensign and Charles Davis.

Third heat: Tye Mihocko, Kyle Shipley, Ricky Lewis, Harley Burns and Chet Williams.

Midgets--

First heat: Chase Randall, Cannon McIntosh, Kaylee Bryson and Kyle Cummins.

Second heat: Jason McDougal, Trey Gropp, Buddy Kofoid and Tanner Thorson.

Third heat: Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Chris Windom and Kevin Thomas Jr.

Fourth heat: Ryan Timms, Brady Bacon, Bryant Wiedeman and Emerson Axsom.

B main: Justin Grant, Corey Day, Brenham Crouch, Jerry Coons Jr., Logan Seavey and Chance Crum.

(The B had two IMW21 winners in the lineup. Both Logan Seavey and Corey Day advanced.)

Thorson and Randall led the gang to Brian Hodde’s green flag and Thorson took the lead with his teammate Randall assuming second place. The red lights engaged on the fourth lap when Justin Grant stopped on the track rather than hit someone. But Kaylee Bryson hit him and tipped over. Both restarted. Thorson led Randall, Axsom, Thomas and Kofoid.

The next green flag segment lasted five laps. It seemed like no one would have anything for Thorson. But trouble loomed for Kevin Thomas Jr. as his brakes locked up, The yellow waved and Daison Pursley made his first appearance in the top five.

A lap later it was Chris Windom turn for misfortune. He slowed with a flat right rear, bringing out the yellow. Windom made a beeline for the work area for a new shoe. Trey Gropp also exited but he was done. Now it was Thorson, Randall, Axsom, Kofoid and Pursley.

The green re-appeared and Pursley was on the move. He and Axsom spent the better part of ten laps exchanging too many slide jobs to count, fighting for third place. Thorson sailed alone, oblivious to the action behind him. Proceedings were halted on lap 21 when Brenham Crouch flipped in turn four. He exited the car quickly. Thorson had perhaps his biggest threat behind him now with Pursley second. Axsom and Kofoid had passed Randall, who was now fifth.

The final nine laps were all-green as Thorson had his way while Pursley and Axsom continued their battle.  A Cannon McIntosh spin in turn four as the checkered waved came too late to help the contenders get another shot at the leader. Behind Thorson was Pursley and Axsom. Kofoid was fourth and Circle City Raceway winner Corey Day came on strong late to take fifth, winning the KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger award after starting 12^th.  Somewhat under the radar was KT, who came back from his brake issue to take sixth, a quality effort. McDougal was seventh while Randall descended to eighth. Ryan Timms was ninth and Seavey started and finished tenth.

The sprint feature closed out the night and gave it every indication was that it would be Brady Bacon’s to lose. He started second and was in control until the seventh lap, when he slowed and exited the track. This added insult to injury for Bacon as he had car trouble in the midget feature as well.

Jake Swanson inherited the lead and made sure that no one threatened. Tye Mihocko was second, ahead of Brayden Fox and Shane Cockrum. Zack Daum came from tenth to finish fifth. Braydon Cromwell began the feature with a spin before crossing the start/finish line. From there he came back to finish sixth. Sterling Cling was seventh as Charles Davis came from 14^th to grab eighth, winning the Kenny Clark Hard Charger Award, a bag of Lincoln Park popcorn (The popcorn from LPS comes in very large bags.) Jake Scott was ninth. Chet Williams came from 15^th to finish tenth.

In terms of points, Kofoid leads Windom in the national standings while Windom leads Kofoid in IMW21 points.

So much of this life is fleeting, her today, etc. Only the intangibles seem to endure. The time will come when Tanner Thorson will have a string of bad finishes at Lincoln Park. So maybe that’s why these guys are so exuberant when they win. It makes sense and you can’t blame them whether you like them or not. Like life, you have to enjoy it while it lasts.

Embarrassed that I forgot my keys are stuck to my forehead, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: First Time Winner

He may have bounced quite a bit in turn four coming to the checkered flag, but Corey Day persevered and beat Kevin Thomas Jr. to the finish line, closing out Round Five of USAC's Indiana Midget Week at the still new Circle City Raceway. It was Day's first USAC midget win, driving the Clauson-Marshall automobile.

Brady Bacon won the MSCS sanctioned sprint car feature, taking the lead midway through the race and winning by a full straightaway.

Driving on a humid Indiana afternoon, I thought about the act of reading. After all these years, I still love to read. I finished a book yesterday and I'm almost done reading two others. But there are several kinds of reading. Card players read each other's faces to determine if they are bluffing. Meteorologists, in a sense, read the sky. And you know that racers read the track conditions as the night goes on. Often it pays to be a veteran, using experience collected over the years. But these kids have their own way of reading and they will apply their lessons learned. It's not unusual for them to end the night standing in Victory Lane.

Doing the double tonight would be Logan Seavey, Brady Bacon, Thomas Meseraull and Jason McDougal.

Time trials often display the futility of prognostication. Racers have a way of making would-be seers look foolish. For several contestants, it seemed as if the track became slower. But a few people didn’t get the memo. Quick timer Brady Bacon was 20^th of 37 to take his two laps, but he still tore off a 12.869 quick time. I thought that Thomas Meseraull’s time was impressive. He was among the last to qualify, yet managed a 13.171 lap. Hayden Reinbold flipped on his second lap. He came back to run in his heat and the B Main.

MSCS Sprint Heats:

First heat--Brent Beauchamp, Chase Stockon, Sterling Cling, Carson Garrett and Aric Gentry.

Second heat--Brady Bacon, Thomas Meseraull, Logan Seavey, Ricky Lewis and Jake Scott.

Third heat--Charles Davis, Paul Nienhiser, Jason McDougal, Tye Mihocko and Harley Burns

USAC Midget Heats:

First heat--Chris Windom, Tanner Thorson, Jason McDougal and Brady Bacon.

Second heat--Buddy Kofoid, Thomas Meseraull, Kaylee Bryson and Kyle Cummins.

Third heat--Taylor Reimer, Jerry Coons Jr., Cannon McIntosh and Corey Day.

Fourth heat--Emerson Axsom, Daison Pursley, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Logan Seavey.

Hayden Williams flipped in the second heat.

The third heat was simply insane. Cannon McIntosh came from fifth to lead on lap three, then brought out a yellow when he biked in turn two. He came back again to finish third. Bryant Wiedeman tipped over.

The fourth heat was insane in different ways. Trey Gropp’s slide attempt on Justin Grant left Grant stopped and collected Chance Crum, who flipped. Later, Gropp flipped, ruining his night. NASCAR guy Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun in turn four on the last lap while running fourth.

USAC Midget B Main:

Brenham Crouch, Justin Grant, Hayden Williams, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brian Carber and Sam Johnson.

On a late restart, eight cars were part of a mob scene in turn four. Travis Buckley got upside down. He walked.

------

The MSCS sprints’ feature was next. Chase Stockon and Charles Davis led 21 others to Keith Dewig’s green flag. A yellow waved in turn four of the first lap when Davis had a bounce/stop moment. Paul Nienhiser and Parker Fredrickson spun while avoiding Davis.

This put local boy Brent Beauchamp on the front row and he took the lead on the restart. Through a series of caution periods, Beauchamp held onto the lead. But Brady Bacon had been biding his time. He finally passed Beauchamp for the lead on the 12^th lap.

From there, Bacon ran off and hid, not letting lapped traffic hinder his progress. At the checkered his lead was a full straightaway. Meseraull was second with Seavey taking third. Beauchamp faded only slightly to fourth. Pole sitter Stockon was fifth. Sterling Cling finished sixth and Tye Mihocko was seventh. Aric Gentry came from 13^th to end up eighth. Nienhiser came back from his early misfortune to salvage ninth. Carson Garrett started and finished tenth.

------

For the curtain closer Kevin Thomas Jr. and Corey Day saw Tom Hansing’s green flag first with Day jumping out to the lead. Action was briefly interrupted when Buddy Kofoid spun on lap four.

The track was as Day went up top early while KT worked the bottom, briefly taking the lead on lap six. Brenham Crouch was the early mover, coming from 12^th to third by the tenth lap. He passed Thomas two laps later, but that was quite temporary.

The race’s second yellow waved when Grant, Stenhouse and Carber had a meeting in turn two. Day led Thomas, Axsom, who had come from tenth, Crouch and Windom. On the restart, Axsom took second and then Meseraull brought out a yellow as he stopped in turn two.

Having Axsom behind him didn’t faze Day. On this restart, he maintained his lead as Axsom briefly made the pass more than once. But Day wasn’t to be denied. Racing crashed to a halt on the 19^th lap when Kofoid flipped in turn four. Buddy went to the work area before returning to the chase. At the front it was Day, Axsom, Thomas, Bacon and Crouch.

The green waved and the only constant was Day up front. Behind him, Axsom, Bacon and Crouch took turns at running third behind Day and Thomas (again). One last yellow waved for McIntosh who stopped in turn four on lap 28. It was an honest Green/white/checkered finish. The order was Day, Thomas, Crouch, Bacon and Axsom.

Day was cruising until turn four of the last lap. He hit the turn and it nearly hit back, causing the car to bounce and hop several times. But the young second generation racer quickly recovered and stayed ahead of Thomas, who was about two car lengths back. Bacon was third and Axsom managed a fourth. Crouch slipped to fifth at the end. Tri-State winner Cummins was sixth and Lawrenceburg winner Seavey charged from barely transferring from his heat to starting 22^nd in the show to a seventh place finish, earning the KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger award. Tanner Thorson moved from 16^th to eighth, followed by Daison Pursley—17^th to ninth. Jerry Coons Jr. showed that he can still run with the kids; he finished tenth.

Day’s win was a surprise but not a shock. He’s qualified well; in fact he was quickest at Bloomington and Lawrenceburg. His best finishes were sixth at the ‘burg and 11^th at Tri-State. But consider that this is the young man’s first USAC/IMW competition and, surprise or not, he’s been impressive in just making each feature so far.

Now it can be said that Corey Day is a pretty good reader himself.

Goodbye for now, Circle City Raceway. Hope to see you again soon. Now. Lincoln Park, anyone?

Silencing the cicadas by singing with them, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Here a Sweep, There a Sweep

It's very safe to say that, in the time that sprints have been the undercard for Indiana Midget Week, there has never been back to back sweeps. After Logan Seavey had won both the USAC Midget and the sprint features on Saturday night at Lawrenceburg, Kyle Cummins must have thought that was pretty cool. So he did the same thing on Sunday night at the Tri-State Speedway, winning the sprint feature and then holding off a group of snarling competitors to win his first USAC Midget series feature.

This was the first IMW event that was affected by either rain or the threat of it. I drove through two brief showers on the way to the track, which had two showers, the second of which delayed the festivities for about a half hour.

Tonight was a USAC/MSCS event. USAC Midgets totaled 27 and there were 25 MSCS sprinters populating Tommy and Loris Helfrich's pit.

MSCS Sprint Heats:

First heat--Chase Stockon, Carson Garrett, Kendall Ruble, Jadon Rogers and Garrett Aitken.

Second heat--Critter Malone, Donnie Brackett, CJ Leary, Aric Gentry and Charles Davis.

Third heat--Kyle Cummins, Chet Williams, Ricky Lewis, Collin Ambrose and Brady Short.

B main--Kent Schmidt, Tye Mihocko, Stan Beadle, James Lyerla and Ryan Bond.

USAC Midget Heats:

First heat: Thomas Meseraull, Chris Windom, Daison Pursley, Kyle Cummins and Emerson Axsom.

Second heat: Kevin Thomas Jr., Logan Seavey, Trey Gropp, Ethan Mitchell and Buddy Kofoid.

Third heat: Tanner Thorson, Jason McDougal, Corey Day, Justin Grant and Cannon McIntosh.

B main: Hayden Williams, Stephan Schnapf, Brenham Crouch, Bryant Wiedeman, Cole Bodine, Kaylee Bryson and Brian Carber.

For the sprint 25-lap feature, Garrett and Cummins led the field of 21 to Keith Dewig’s green flag. Immediately Keith had to bring out the yellow for a three car scrum in turn one. The boys tried again and this time Garrett took the lead. But Cummins made a power move and annexed the top spot for the second lap.

He held onto the lead until a lap six caution flag slowed matters. Cummins led Malone and Stockon. The green waved and again Cummins took off. Stockon took over second on lap nine, passing Malone in turn four. Two laps later, lapped traffic came into play. Stockon was closing the gap in traffic bit by bit.

A lap 15 yellow brought the crowd together. The order was Cummins, Stockon, Malone, Ruble and Schmidt. On the restart, Jadon Rogers joined the top five. But not much changed in the last ten laps, except for Malone reclaiming second place.

At the end it was Cummins, Malone, Stockon, Ruble and Rogers in the top five. Schmidt came from 16^th to finish sixth, winning the Jim Goerge Hard Charger Award, a used seat cushion. Garrett was seventh and Gentry finished eighth. Leary struggled to a ninth place finish. Aitken was tenth.

The USAC Nos Energy Midgets were next with teammates Pursley and Kofoid on the front row. None of the KKM team race like F1 or NASCAR teammates. They raced each other so hard that Kyle Cummins slipped by both on turn two of the first lap to take the lead. Pursley took the lead on the second lap, but Cummins wasn’t going to be denied. The local hero re-assumed the point a lap later.

Cummins pulled away somewhat but a red flag ended that. Ethan Mitchell had an unproductive meeting with an infield tire and flipped in turn four on the seventh lap. Ethan walked away from the car and tire. Cummins led Pursley, Windom, Kofoid and Thomas.

The green came out and Windom passed Pursley for second and now Cummins had the defending champ to deal with. Pursley was also passed by Kofoid a lap later. Two more laps and Thorson came to play, taking third from Kofoid. At the halfway mark, lap 15, Windom was all over Cummins like the proverbial cheap suit. Thorson and Thomas stayed close.

Another yellow waved on the 17^th lap. Windom had passed for the lead, but had to go back to second. Meseraull entered the top five for the first time.

This was the status quo until the 20^th lap, when Hayden Williams flipped on the frontstretch. Brenham Crouch had to stop and may have made some contact, but restarted. Williams took a ride back to the pits. Up front it was Cummins, Windom, Thorson, Pursley and Meseraull.

The last ten laps were a six-car party with the same old blanket that would fit over the first six. After having Pursley pester him, Windom had to deal with Meseraull on lap 27. Had Cummins been able to see behind him, he would have loved it. The scrapping from second back to sixth helped Cummins race with a (very) little room to spare.

At the end, Cummins had won his first USAC Midget race as Windom was second over Meseraull by a TV remote. Pursley was fourth and Jason McDougal ran as high as fourth before settling for sixth after starting 15^th. Cannon McIntosh was seventh and Justin Grant came from 19^th to take eighth, winning the KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger award. Thorson did a half spin back on lap 19 while running in the top five and never recovered, finishing ninth. Kofoid faded to tenth.

Kyle Cummins hasn’t been wheeling a USAC midget all that long and confessed to still not knowing all the intricacies of these small but blinding fast beasts. But the opportunity came calling in the form of Glenn Styres and off they went with Cummins showing steady improvement over the past couple of years.  He is a great example of someone taking a stab at something different. Sometimes it pays off.

As a result, Mr. Cummins is on a fairly short list of drivers who have won both a USAC sprint car and midget race.

Halfway through IMW 21 and Windom has the point lead going into a two day break.

Calling Pirelli Tire to see if they have any recaps, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Enjoy It While It Lasts

If we are fortunate, there will be times that will be special, even memorable. Those times will furnish memories for a lifetime, the kind you can look in the rearview mirror and smile to yourself. Very rarely do we have such times; maybe that's why they are so special. Perhaps it's rarer that we witness someone else's special moment. If you were at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on Saturday night, you would have seen Logan Seavey have one of those nights. All he did was win the USAC Midget Week feature, followed by winning the Lawrenceburg sprint car feature. Perhaps someone out there can recall or have a record of a racer sweeping a midget and sprint feature. I'm fairly sure that if it's happened before, it's surely not been a regular occurrence.

The USAC Midget car count was down, but there was plenty of quality cars and racers among the 27. It was a pleasant surprise to see 32 sprinters signed in.

Time trials yielded more surprises. As a rule, the ‘burg often sees qualifying times drop off as more attempts are made. While Corey Day rang up another fine qualifying effort with his 14.750 lap, Buddy Kofoid and Chase Randall, second and third quickest, both were among the last five to make the two lap run.

Midget heats/ top five advance:

Heat one: Daison Pursley, Ethan Mitchell, Chris Windom, Corey Day and Bryant Wiedeman.

Heat two; Emerson Axsom, Thomas Meseraull, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorsonand Justin Grant. (This one had three different leaders on the first lap.)

Heat three: Kevin Thomas Jr., Brenham Crouch, Cole Bodine, Buddy Kofoid and Trey Gropp.

Midget B Main/top seven advance:

Chase Randall, Cannon McIntosh, Chance Crum, Kyle Cummins, Hayden Williams, Kaylee Bryson and Brian Carber. (Hayden Reinbold flipped at the start/finish line. He made a quick exit from the car.)

Sprint heats/top four advance:

Heat one: CJ Leary, Brady Bacon, Saban Bibent and Travis Hery.

Heat two: Tye Mihocko, Justin Owen, Logan Seavey and Joss Moffatt.

Heat three: Scotty Weir, Tyler Kendall, Thomas Meseraull and Nick Bilbee.

Heat four: Justin Grant, JJ Hughes, Scott Evans and Dallas Hewitt.

Sprint B Main/top four advance:

Sterling Cling, Garrett Abrams, Ryan Barr and Tony McVey.

Two guys who can only be described as hard nosed racers occupied the front row, namely Thomas Meseraull and Chris Windom. It would be a treat to watch these two battle each other. But once again, things didn’t go as expected when Seavey blasted by both of them to take the lead. Meseraull got above the turn one cushion and flipped on the fifth lap. Kevin Thomas Jr. made contact and went to the work area before returning. TMez exited the car with mostly his pride hurt. The order was Seavey, Windom, Grant, Kofoid and Pursley.

On the restart, Windom and Grant engaged in a series of typical L’burg slide jobs. After a few laps of this, Kofoid joined them. And Seavey put some distance between himself and the next three. As the halfway mark of the race approached, Kofoid passed Grant for third and lapped traffic became a factor. The top three, Seavey, Windom and Kofoid had put distance between themselves and fourth place.

On lap 19, Wiedeman flipped in turn four, climbing out quickly. The top three were the same with Pursley and Crouch running fourth and fifth. Tim Montgomery waved the flag and Kofoid launched a relentless attack on Windom. Running behind Windom, the California native worked as hard as anyone to make the pass, which he did on the 22^nd lap.

Kofoid had made the pass just in time as Pursley made contact with Chase Randall, who spun, then tipped over. He would restart on the tail. It was still the same top three with Pursley and Grant now in the top five.

The third red flag in five laps waved when Randall wildly flipped into the turn three fence. He vacated the car, perhaps wondering what was causing all of the upside down time. Grant had passed Pursley for fourth.

The final restart began a quiet segment as Seavey again tried to check out. Kofoid wasn’t having any of that, but couldn’t mount a charge for the lead. At the end, it was Seavey, Kofoid and Windom. After fading just a bit early in the race, Grant came back to take fourth. Crouch was fifth. Day was sixth, which was where he started. Pursley dropped a little but finished seventh. Bryson salvaged a good finish after an uphill battle. She came from 19^th to end up eighth. McIntosh started 16^th and finished ninth. Brian Carber hustled from 22^nd to tenth, winning the KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger award.

As it turned out, Seavey was just getting started.

Sprint feature/25 laps:

Leary and Mihocko led the field to Tim’s flag. Things got ugly right away. Mihocko and Grant tangled in turn two immediately after the green was waved. More serious was Hughes flipping in turn two. Moffatt came upon the scene, but he was able to restart. Grant found himself pointed the wrong way, as Tyler Kendall left with damage. Mihocko was disqualified for not working on his var in the designated work area. Hughes, Mihocko and Kendall were done for the night.

This jumbled up the lineup. It put Justin Owen in the lead. The green lights blinked with Leary and Owen leading the pack. Owen’s race ended right away as he lost an argument with the turn one wall. He didn’t flip, but there was enough damage to put him out. The lineup was now Leary and Seavey up front.

Again, the green flag came out and Leary took the lead. In what was becoming a common occurrence, Texas visitor Scott Evans flipped in turn four. Ryan Barr was sitting nearby, but it appeared that Barr came upon the crash and stopped rather than hit Evans, who exited his car.

By now I was wondering why I do this. But I quit that as the green waved. Leary led Seavey, Bacon, Weir and Bibent. Leary and Seavey. Getting as close to the wall as he could, Seavey took the lead right around the halfway mark.

From there, no one had anything for Seavey. He cruised to the win, leading Bacon, Leary, Grant (who came from the tail spot after his opening lap drama) and Meseraull. Weir was sixth with Moffatt coming back from his near miss to finish eighth after starting 14^th. Hery was ninth and Cling came from 17^th to take tenth.

As I thought about the long day, I was reminded to enjoy the triumph and why we need to hang onto such things to our dying day. Logan Seavey will certainly remember the night of June 5, 2021. At the same time, let’s do our best to work through the bad times, put them back in the corner of our minds and leave them there, seldom, if ever, revisiting previous slights, losses and illnesses. They will only drag you down.

Turning down Sydney Powell’s offer to handle my finances, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Importance of Opportunity

Victories, both in real life and in racing, don't simply fall into one's lap, though it may seem that way at times. Part of winning is putting yourself in a position to win or at least grab a good finish. On another beautiful Indiana Friday night at the Bloomington Speedway, another big crowd saw Buddy Kofoid wait for the opportunity to get around Chris Windom and cruise to the checkered flag. It was the second night of the 21st edition of Indiana Midget Week. It was Kofoid’s first IMW victory.

Following Kofoid's triumph, Cannon McIntosh benefitted from others' misfortune as he held off a charging Brady Short to win the companion Bloomington sprint car feature. It was McIntosh’s fifth time in a sprint car and first time at Bloomington.

Friday afternoon offered the best of Indiana weather. Warm, not quite hot, a mild breeze, some humidity, but not the usual sticky conditions we often endure. Oh, and no rain either.

The car count was 32 USAC midgets and 22 sprints in the pits. Missing were Michael Clark, Ryan Timms, Bryan Stanfill and Stephen Schnapf. Add Oliver Akard and there was your 32. Jason McDougal, Cannon McIntosh and Brady Bacon doubled their pleasure (or maybe pain).

In a surprise, rookie Corey Day rang up the fast time with an 11.489. Emerson Axsom’s time of 11.620 was tossed out when he didn’t stop at the weight scales. This put him behind the eight-ball all night.

Sprint Heats:

First heat: Brady Bacon, Tye Mihocko and Cannon McIntosh

Second heat: Brady Short, Jadon Rogers and Jake Bland.

Third heat: Jordan Kinser, Andrew Prather and Jason McDougal.

USAC Midget Heats:

First Heat: Hayden Williams, Daison Pursley, Chase Randall and Jason McDougal.

Second Heat: Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Thomas Meseraull and Brenham Crouch.

Third Heat: Chris Windom, Kyle Cummins, Logan Seavey and Sam Johnson. (Cummins led much of this race, but bobbled on the last lap, giving Windom the win. Windom came from fifth to win; every other heat race winner came from the front row.)

Fourth Heat: Cole Bodine, Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon and Bryant Wiedeman. (Axsom came from eight to finish second.)

B Main: Kevin Thomas Jr., Corey Day, Tanner Thorson, Cannon McIntosh, Brian Carber and Trey Gropp.

Wiedeman and Windom saw the green flag first and the veteran took the lead. That’s how it was when Day slowed and stopped, bringing out the first yellow on the fifth lap. Windom led Kofoid, Wiedeman, Bacon and McDougal.

The green lights came on and Kofoid began doing his best to make Windom’s life more complicated. For the next few laps, he hounded the leader until lap nine, when Bodine spun in turn four.

Again the green waved and now Kofoid was determined. But so was Windom as they traded slide jobs for the next several laps. Kofoid took the lead at the halfway mark, but Windom wasn’t going away. Try as he might, Kofoid couldn’t check out. The yellow flags didn’t help. Cummins brought out another on the 19^th lap when he stopped in turn two. Kofoid and Windom both had a new problem in the form of Thomas, who had slipped by several others after starting 11^th. He was now third ahead of Wiedeman and Bacon.

Windom made a perfect move after the restart, diving under Kofoid’s car in turn one. Windom led lap 20 before Kofoid returned the favor a lap later. He was starting to pull away when Jones flipped in turn three on lap 24. Chase exited the car with no problem. The top three remained the same but now Bacon was fourth and Thorson fifth after starting the race 14^th.

Brian Hodde waved the green one last time and Kofoid resumed his march to victory, not to be denied. By the time the checkered flag waved, Kofoid was nearly a second and a half ahead of Windom. Thomas was a strong third with Bacon finishing fourth. Wiedeman showed that he could run with the big kids with a fifth place. Thorson was sixth and Seavey seventh. Pursley made it three KKM cars in the top ten with his eighth place. Grant was ninth and McDougal was tenth.

Emerson Axsom passed a lot of cars all night. He was the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger after progressing from last/22^nd to take 11^th at the end. All as a result of not stopping at the weight scale. I’ve done the same but wasn’t punished.

The night closed out with the Bloomington sprint car feature. Jadon Rogers took the lead with Jordan Kinser in tow. With four laps in, Kinser slipped over the bank and dropped out. Tye Mihocko took second as Rogers tried to check out. Brady Bacon took second just before the yellow waved on lap eight. Up front it was Rogers, Bacon, Mihocko, Brady Short and Cannon McIntosh.

Again, Rogers opened up a gap between himself and Bacon. Meanwhile, McIntosh had passed Short and Mihocko to take third. This would be crucial very soon. A lap 20 yellow bunched up the field. On the restart, Bacon dove low and led going into turn one. Sliding in front of Rogers, both made enough contact to leave Rogers parked in turn two and Bacon ducking into the pits with a flat tire. Both were out of the race and now…who was leading? Yep, McIntosh now led.

McIntosh was not home free with five laps to go. Brian waved the green and Short gave the kid fits, working the bottom line like the pro he is. But McIntosh hung on to win, leading Short, Mihocko and McDougal to the checkered. Ricky Lewis came from 11^th to finish fifth. A.J. Hopkins, who had won the night before at Paragon, started back in 19^th after heat race troubles and finished sixth; for his efforts, A.J. won the Henry Bryant Hard Charger Award, a free trip around the track in the water truck. Andy Bradley (from 17^th) was seventh. Sterling Cling took eighth and local boy Matt Thompson was ninth. Kyle Shipley came from 16^th to end up tenth, the last car running.

Both Paragon winners had exhibited their gift of discernment. Tonight both winners put themselves in a position to win and win they did. Opportunity knocked and they both answered. Offer love for the owners as well. Keith Kunz, along with Steve and Carla Phillips, have worked hard to enjoy the success they have had and will continue to have.

This one was for my daughter, who I met on a breezy and warm (very) early morning in a Phoenix, Arizona hospital.  Yes, it’s true. Neither she nor her brothers are native Hoosiers. 

Giving Thomas Meseraull free lessons on how to dismount from a roll cage, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Discernment at High Speed

dis·cern·ment

/dəˈsərnmənt/

noun

1.       The ability to judge well.

I fell into thinking about the gift of discernment as I meandered through the pits at the Paragon Speedway on another beautiful Indiana evening. I looked at the Herculean effort by Joe Spiker's crew in preparing a track after too much rain and I thought some more about discernment. Throughout the evening the concept kept invading my thoughts. Finally, after both the sprint car and USAC Midget features had been completed, it all fell into place. After an excellent Paragon sprint finale that saw AJ Hopkins come from midpack to win, Thomas Meseraull exercised his own gift of discernment and capitalized on the tiniest of errors by leader Cannon McIntosh, making the race winning pass coming out of turn four. It was a rousing opening act of the 21st edition of Indiana Midget Week.

Rain threatened to ruin the best laid plans of the track personnel, USAC, the teams and the fans, but dogged determination led to a full program under sunny skies until the sunset over rural Morgan County.

There were 35 USAC Midgets and 26 Paragon sprints signed in. Drivers’ home states totaled 14 with New Zealand sending three of its own as well. California and Oklahoma each had seven racers who were born and/or grew up there. Others ranged from North Carolina to Washington State. Three were doing double duty—Jason McDougal, Logan Seavey and Brady Bacon.

Chris Windom was 34^th in line to qualify and that didn’t cramp his style as he set fast time with a 15.809 lap, well off Kyle Larson’s year old 14.813. In fairness, Larson undoubtedly had a smoother surface to work with.

USAC Midget Heats

Heat one: Bryant Wiedeman, Bryan Stanfill, Chris Windom and Justin Grant.

Heat two: Chance Crum, Kyle Cummins, Hayden Williams and Ryan Timms.

Heat three: Jason McDougal, Ethan Mitchell, Buddy Kofoid and Logan Seavey.

Heat four: Daison Pursley, Trey Gropp, Chase Randall and Cannon McIntosh. (Brenham Crouch flipped in the fourth heat, but came back for more.)

Midget B main: Brenham Crouch, Thomas Meseraull, Corey Day, Emerson Axsom, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Sam Johnson.

Paragon Sprint Car Heats

Heat one: Charles Davis, Andrew Prather, Zach Pretorious, Colin Parker and Brady Bacon.

Heat two: Logan Seavey, Jake Scott, Chase Jones, AJ Hopkins and Harley Burns.

Heat three: Jason McDougal, Nick Bilbee, Brandon Spencer, Kyle Shipley and Josh Cunningham.

The sprint feature preceded the midgets and it would prove to be a tough act to follow. Pole sitter Logan Seavey led early. Action ceased on lap four when Carl Rhuebottom got upside down in turn three. The red came out and stayed out for a spell so a fuel spill could be cleaned up.

Racing resumed and Seavey led until Jason McDougal took over the lead in lapped traffic on lap 12. After a yellow flag on the 14^th lap, McDougal nearly flipped in turn one after the restart. Seavey took over again, but A.J. Hopkins was coming on strong after starting 11^th. He was running fifth on lap 14. Five laps later he was second and gaining on the leader. On lap 23, a lapped car came into play as Hopkins was on Seavey’s back bumper. The pass for the lead was made coming to Brian Hodde’s white flag.

Behind Hopkins and Seavey was Davis. Jadon Rogers, who started tenth, finished fourth. McDougal was fifth. Brady Bacon came from 16^th to take sixth Jake Scott, Nick Bilbee and Colin Parker ran seventh/eighth and ninth. And Tye Mihocko rambled from 22^nd to finish tenth, winning the Brian Hodde Hard Charger Award, a small platter of chicken strips.

The midgets would close out the show and who could know that this feature would be even closer than the sprints’? Grant and McIntosh led the way to the green and Grant grabbed the early lead. That lasted two laps before McIntosh took over with a low side pass in turn two. With five laps in, McIntosh seemed to have them covered with Grant, Seavey, Kofoid and…Meseraull? After starting 12^th, ol’ TMez was on the move.

One eye had to watch McIntosh as he was turning in a flawless effort. But Meseraull was faster. On lap seven, he passed Kofoid for fourth. Four laps later, he passed Seavey to take third. Up next was Grant, his teammate.

The yellow waved on the 18^th lap for a spin by Crouch and a stop by Johnson. Meseraull didn’t need the yellow as he was close to catching Grant. Certainly McIntosh didn’t need it. The order was McIntosh, Grant, Meseraull, Seavey and Kofoid. There was plenty of time for…what. We’d find out.

Meseraull’s teammate was a little tougher to pass, but he did so with seven laps to go. McIntosh was in sight as TMez closed in. Mac’s left rear was throwing out a few sparks but the kid was still fast.

But not fast enough. Meseraull was in McIntosh’s tire tracks going into turn three of the last lap. The Oklahoma kid pushed the front end just a little coming out of turn four and Meseraull pounced like a flying leopard. He got underneath Mac and that was all she wrote. The margin of victory was maybe a car length.

Behind the lead duo was Grant in third. Kofoid was fourth and Seavey took fifth. McDougal finished sixth. Pursley started and finished seventh. Axsom came from 13^th to eighth. Windom was ninth and New Zealander Hayden Williams came from Auckland to 14^th to tenth in his first Paragon visit.

Meseraull was also the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger, coming from 12^th to win.

Back to discernment: At the start of the evening by his admission Meseraull was not a fan of track conditions. One could say that this showed a lack of discernment (or maybe some frustration coupled with communicating without prior thought—hey, we all do it). But by the time the gang lined up for the feature, Meseraull’s powers of discernment was on display. Was it ever. These people make thousands of snap judgements each time they take the green flag for a feature event. Those who have the “ability to judge well” on a fairly regular basis also possess the tangible results of their powers of discernment. On this night TMez was better. But don’t be fooled. That McIntosh kid is good and he, too, will present his ability to judge well. Maybe even at Bloomington.

Pouting because nobody would read my blog, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The New King?

As time marches (and often stumbles) on, the well-known names in any kind of news inevitably change. For a long time, the Kokomo Speedway has seen its share of racers who dominated the action and piled up innumerable victories. Not only did they dominate, they will always be among the most popular drivers who took the green and checkered flags at Kokomo. I'm referring, of course, to Dave Darland and the late Bryan Clauson. But it may be high time that Justin Grant be considered the new king bee of Kokomo. At the end of a day which featured perhaps the best Indianapolis 500 ever, Grant outran a strong field to win the BC Double, the event that remembers Clauson, who made his mark at the Speedway and at Kokomo.

The temperature was a little cool, but Sunday was a fine day, weather-wise. The cool air combined with the right amount of water kept the track from drying up. Choppy in small doses, occasionally the bottom groove worked, but most people did their work close to the wall.

The pits were stacked with four classes of cars, with nearly 125, of which 31 were sprints.

Car counts were healthy elsewhere with 27 BOSS sprints at Waynesfield and 34 MSCS sprints at Haubstadt.

Heat one: Scotty Weir, Jason McDougal, Stevie Sussex and Matt Goodnight. (Max Adams and company loaded up early after his Paul Hazen-mobile broke in hot laps.)

Heat two: Jake Swanson, Braydon Cromwell, Sterling Cling and David Hair. (Andrew Cockman was scheduled to be in this heat but flipped in hot laps. Zach Pretorious tried to climb the turn four wall, then drifted into the path of Alex Banales, who T-boned the Pretorious car.)

Heat three: Justin Grant, Cannon McIntosh, Cole Ketchum and Aaron Davis.

Heat four: Thomas Meseraull, Cole Bodine, Logan Seavey and Chase Johnson.

B main: Tim Creech II, Brayden Clark, Ryan Thomas and Scott Evans. (Thomas was the show, riding up by the wall to advance from seventh to third.)

Swanson and Weir were the first to see Brian Hodde’s green flag. Scotty got the jump and took the lead. Grant and Meseraull followed as Swanson had a first lap that he would have done well to forget. With most everyone using the line up by the wall, Weir hung onto the lead with Grant sitting in second and never farther back than five car lengths.

Swanson recovered from his mediocre start and took third from Meseraull on the eighth lap. A lap later, Grant moved in on Weir and hounded the Muncie, IN resident for the lead. Grant dove low in turn one on the 11^th lap and took over the lead. From there he gradually pulled away.

Behind the leader, Swanson was slowly gaining on Weir. And behind Swanson, McDougal was on the move. Midway through the race, he passed Meseraull for fourth. The Oklahoma native was gaining on Swanson as the laps wound down. Grant was pulling away from Weir at the same time. But then came an opportunity for the order to be scrambled when the race’s only yellow flag waved with two laps to go.

Grant led Weir, Swanson, McDougal and Bodine. This would be a green/white/checkered situation and the last chance for anyone to challenge for the lead. But Grant wasn’t in the mood to do anything except leave the others behind. He was increasing the real estate between him and Weir at the end. Scotty had his hands full keeping Swanson behind him, but he managed. Swanson, who won at Lincoln Park in MSCS action on Saturday, was third. Seavey started 12^th and came on strong at the end to finish fourth, dropping McDougal to fifth. Bodine was sixth with Chase Johnson winning the Tyler Kelly hard charger award (a Kokomo Speedway pork chop sandwich) as he motored from 16^th to seventh. TMez faded to eighth. Cannon McIntosh and Braydon Cromwell occupied ninth and tenth.

After the race Grant said he had a “lot of fun running hard.” Then he said something you don’t hear very often. He thanked the crew and sponsors, but mentioned that good friend Scotty Weir had also helped out with the car. How often does a race winner thank the second place finisher for help?

Sounds like the kind of thing Mr. Darland or Mr. Clauson might have said.

I’d like to mention a couple of racing buddies who have had some medical adventures recently. Butch Wilkerson had some trouble with his ticker, but is on the road to recovery. While I was at Vincennes on Saturday, I called Butch and he sounded good. And Brent Goodnight has had his own problems. From www.indianaopenwheel.com: “Thank you everyone!!! Yes I am home, very sore, and am far from 100%. With all that said, I really don't feel too bad. I need to rehab for 4 to 6 weeks before doing the next surgery in Indy. This all started On February 9. Since that time, I have had 4 surgeries, countless Dr Appointments, and endless trips to the bathroom. Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and prayers. It truly means a lot.”

This one was written in appreciation for the boys and girls who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, from Bunker Hill to Baghdad.

Liking fence climbers better than social climbers, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Anatomy of a Rainout

Most anyone in Indiana who was paying attention would know that there was a good chance of rain for the next couple of days. But racers and race fans were planning on some quality time spent at the Terre Haute Action Track, hoping to witness or compete in the Sumar Classic, featuring the USAC Silver Crown division on the half mile oval.

But as the starting time grew closer, the breeze from the southwest brought clouds to the Wabash Valley.

I was determined to stick around until either USAC or Track Enterprise's Bob Sargent pulled the plug. But that didn't keep me from checking the radar with greater frequency as the afternoon wore on.

Most all of the afternoon was spent on the banks of the Wabash River, reading and/or walking.

Around four o'clock Mr. AccuWeather proclaimed that rain was coming in about a half hour. I was ambling through Fairbanks Park and decided to see what might be on the Paul Dresser Trail. 

At 4:12 p.m. I heard thunder for the first time. About 20 minutes later I felt a raindrop or two.

For the next two hours, rain sped up and slowed down, but never did quit entirely. As six p.m. approached, I set a deadline of 6:15 before deciding to do something/anything.

At six, USAC’s Twitter feed made it official. No racing tonight. No makeup date was set but I have hope that the sanctioning body and the promoter will find an agreeable date for both.

After taking the interstate to get to Terre Haute, I decided to take State Road 46 home. Rain followed me all the way to just eat of Spencer, home of Josh Cunningham, one of my favorite racers/people.

As this is written, rain is falling in much of southern Indiana and more is expected on Friday. My plans A and B, Bloomington and Gas City, are in potential jeopardy. And after this rain passes through Indiana, it will be time to get the jackets back out. Great.

Mulling over my job offer from the Cyber Ninjas, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: When Slide Jobs Fail

The slide job failed in a sense, but it helped Chris Windom win his third Tony Hulman Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track. His slider on race-long leader Justin Grant with two laps to go has already been discussed both online and in real life by people on both sides of the issue. Very seldom is someone parked by USAC for “rough,” “dirty,” or “unsportsmanlike” driving. While USAC’s no call was, in my opinion, the correct call, for a lot of us it isn’t the ideal way to pass someone to win a race. Again with my opinion, I would not wish to acquire a reputation (according to both live and online comments) that Mr. Windom is gaining. When one is tarred with a broad brush, fairly or unfairly, the stain is difficult to remove. One would not wish, I would think, to have their name to be used as a verb, i.e. “Grant got Windomed.”

Despite the drama at the end, it was a beautiful night for a race at the Action Track. From Ohio to California, 11 states were represented among the 33 drivers and teams assembled. Riley Kreisel, from Missouri, showed the way early in time trials until Brady Bacon turned the quick time with a 19.495 lap, coming tantalizingly close to his seven-year-old track record of 19.225 seconds around the half mile oval. Chris Windom and Logan Seavey went out to qualify much later and found themselves second and third quickest.

First (of four) Heats:

Chase Stockon, Robert Ballou, C.J. Leary and Cole Bodine. Bacon provided enough drama for the night when Anthony D’Alessio made contact with Bacon, who flipped and pole vaulted over the turn one wall. D’Alessio also flipped and Nate McMillin smacked the wall.

Second Heat:

Kyle Cummins, Chris Windom, Nick Bilbee and Jake Swanson.

Third Heat:

Kevin Thomas Jr., Max Adams, Mario Clouser and Davey Ray.

Fourth Heat:

Justin Grant, Riley Kreisel, Mitch Wissmiller and Tanner Thorson, who had a mechanical issue in hot laps, then had a sub-par one lap of a late qualifying attempt before edging Matt Westfall at the line.

B Main:

Logan Seavey, Charles Davis Jr., Brady Bacon (in a backup car and starting 14^th), Matt Westfall, Chase Johnson and Tye Mihocko.

Paul Nienhiser and Brandon Mattox took provisionals.

Grant and Ray led the field of 24 to Tom Hansing’s green flag with the California native immediately jumping out to the lead. Cummins eased by Ray for second. By the fourth lap, sixth-starting Windom entered the top five and pressured Ray for third. As Grant stretched his lead, Windom took third on lap nine. Two laps later, Windom passed Cummins for second. Things were about to get interesting,

Lapped traffic came into play as Windom began cutting into Grant’s big lead. Bacon had entered the top five after starting ninth in his backup. A lap after Tom gave the boys the crossed flags, Grant and Windom were an item, but not in the way long ago gossip columnist Walter Winchell used the term. The game was on. Grant had little trouble passing Davis to put him a lap down but Windom struggled, causing the gap to lengthen momentarily. Two laps later, on lap 19, Windom endured a near spin in turn four. Again he lost ground, but again he made it up.

The race’s defining moment, the one that created all this chatter, came with two laps to go when the Windom slider didn’t quite clear Grant, who made significant contact with the turn four wall, but kept going. It looked like Windom was home free, but Chase Johnson flipped right in front of the leader in turn four as Tom prepared to wave the checkered flag. Chase climbed out of the car; he had set up a green-white-checkered finish.

Tom waved the green and the rest of it was anti-climatic as Windom opened up a large margin in the last two laps. Cummins was second, nearly two seconds behind. Bacon capped a remarkable night in finishing third. Thomas was a quiet fourth and Grant limped to fifth. Leary was sixth and Ballou came from 15^th to finish seventh. Swanson was eighth after starting 13^th. Kreisel showed he could run with the big boys before fading a bit to ninth. Seavey started and finished tenth.

Tanner Thorson was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, coming from hot lap misfortune to starting 22^nd in the feature to finishing 11^th.

At the end, Windom was apologetic and Grant was classy. One is not the Anti-Christ and the other isn’t perfect. Both always race hard and that’s what we want to see. Though I recognize that they are an unpleasant part of short track racing, I still strongly dislike slide jobs—especially when they fail, no matter who is involved.

Apparently the two main players in tonight’s drama have already put it behind them to the extent that it can be done. Maybe that’s what matters, the fact that these two, Windom and Grant, handled the incident like adults while the rest of us who saw the sketchy slider in real time or on video fulminate.

Maybe the fact that this, like so much of life, was and will be a teaching moment. The potential for everyone who is a part of this to learn something is there and maybe the next time something like this happens (and it will), we can resist the urge to rush to judgement and instead consider what possible good can come from both being a part of and/or witnessing a slide job gone wrong or any other move that could be called controversial.

It should be no secret that often I go to the Bible for guidance or a life lesson. Soon after the race, it came to me. All I had to do was look it up. I knew it had been spoken, but wasn’t sure where it was in the Good Book. Thanks to the Rev. Google I found it. Jesus had been captured at the Garden of Gethsemane. One of his disciples drew out his sword and cut off the ear of a servant of a high priest. Jesus rebuked the would-be Zorro, saying, “Put your sword back in its place,for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”

In other words, Chris Windom knows better than most all of us that he will be on the other side of a slider gone wrong someday. How he handles it is up to him.

With all of this said, I recognize that sliders have become an effective tactic at times. Usually, when they are successful, they are dramatic and despite my dislike, I have to marvel at the skill of those who excel at this form of racing choreography. The grumpy old man in me almost wishes that Bob Kinser or Jack Hewitt were still around to “educate” these young whippersnappers, but that’s not going to happen. Slide jobs or not, the idea is to win. Let’s move on.

Falling asleep while counting the number of passes made in the Monaco Grand Prix, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Marathon

Saturday night at the Lincoln Park Speedway turned out to be a strange one. Before the sprint car feature there were the usual routines, good side by side racing interrupted by occasional yellow flag periods. After the 25 lap feature was done, Logan Seavey stood by his Baldwin brothers car, getting his picture taken. But making it to the finish line was quite the ordeal.

Getting to the track can be half the "fun." Whether it's Indiana or California, to name just two, one can count on either road construction or traffic, if not both. My plan to arrive in time for the drivers' meeting was shunted aside and left me swearing off State Road 144 forever. I-70 was somewhat better and I survived missing the meeting, instead settling for a nice chat with the good doctor, namely Pat Sullivan, who would be a solo act on the P.A. tonight as partner Brad Dickison was taking a well-deserved break.

Such things as too many cars in too small of a space or roads undergoing improvements that cause instant changes of routes can influence one to give up, turn around and go back home. Or one can choose to look at them as obstacles to be overcome, trials to test one's resolve or challenges to be met. From all this, one can gain a sense of perspective, remembering that the race track (serving as a Holy Grail, or something) will be there and arriving later than you plan is not a disaster that will ruin your evening.

Of the 105 race cars shoehorned in Joe Spiker's spacious pit area, 29 were sprints. The Baldwin Brothers race team brought two cars, with young Alex Banales spending the evening getting the feel of these beasts. Otherwise, it was the usual suspects on hand.

It would be the four heat/transfer four format.

First heat:

AJ Hopkins, Davey Ray, Nate McMillen and Alex Sipes, who edged Alex Banales at the line.

Second heat:

Jake Swanson, Logan Seavey, Tim Creech II and Brayden Cromwell.

Third heat:

Brady Short, Brayden Fox, Matt McDonald and Jake Scott.

Fourth heat:

Jason McDougal, Shane Cockrum, Kory Schudy and Nick Montani.

B main:

Blake Vermillion, Harley Burns, Alex Banales and Aaron Davis.

The redraw yielded a front row of Cockrum and Fox. The Chief jumped out to the lead and was busy keeping Fox behind him when the race's first red flag came out for a Nate McMillen flip in turn four. Nate walked away.

The restart saw Cockrum duplicate his earlier effort until the first yellow flag waved when Kory Schudy slowed with a flat tire.

The next segment lasted two laps before AJ Hopkins slowed in turn four after an ominous puff of smoke from the engine. Cockrum still led Fox, Ray, Swanson and Seavey.

Green again and we had a treat to see as the top five fought for position. Ray used the high groove with the big cushion to take second. McDougal replaced Seavey in the top five.

Another yellow waved on the ninth lap. The green took over and Fox recaptured second place. Swanson passed Ray for third, but Davey returned the favor. Cockrum and Fox still led until Swanson charged from fourth to second, passing Fox as he rode the cushion. Brayden had been working the bottom groove like a pro, but switched to the top after losing the spot to Swanson. This didn't work out very well as Fox banged the cushion and ended up on his top, an otherwise great race over.

This second red flag came with eight laps to go. Cockrum now led Swanson, Ray, Seavey and McDougal.

The green was displayed and Swanson passed Cockrum for the lead, then promptly bicycled in turn one, missing a great chance of flipping. Instead he gave the lead back to Cockrum, who promptly bounced off the turn four shelf and collected Ray, bringing out another yellow. The Chief went to the work area to replace a flat tire. He and Davey tagged the field. This reshuffled the deck with Swanson leading Seavey, McDougal, Brady Short and Jake Scott.

Seavey smelled blood and took the lead on the 20th lap with an outside pass of Swanson with five laps to go. A lap later Nick Mantino spun to bring out the race's fifth slowdown.

The gang tried again and Seavey was keeping Swanson at bay when Matt McDonald flipped, bringing out the race's third red flag. Like the others, Matt walked away. The top five was unchanged.

On the restart, Harley Burns flipped in turn one, collecting no less than four cars, some of which restarted. Harley walked away instead of restarting.

There were still two laps to go, which meant there was a chance for another yellow and Mantino spun again. Yellow flag number six would be the last one.

Up front, nothing changed. Seavey hung on for a win that took nearly an hour to accomplish. Swanson was second and McDougal remained third to the end. Short was fourth and Scott was fifth after starting 15th, winning the Brian Hodde hard charger award. Cockrum roared back from his misfortune to claim sixth place. Vermillion came from the B main to take seventh. Brayden Cromwell traveled under the radar after starting 14th and finishing eighth. Mr. Ray came back from his trouble to take ninth. Aaron Davis was tenth.

There was not a full moon, though there should have been…maybe.

I could relate just a little to the misadventures of many of the 20 people who battled for 25 laps, hoping for a good result. Some were able to overcome the obstacles while others were sidelined. But all will deal with their adversity and will prepare to race again.

Turning down an invitation to go to Monaco instead of any Hoosier bullring, I'm…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Homecoming

One of my favorite authors is North Carolina's Thomas Wolfe, who wrote a book called "You Can't Go Home Again." In his particular situation, that was true. He found that home (Asheville) had changed and wasn’t home anymore. But Tyler Courtney showed that, in another circumstance, you can go home again. For the second consecutive night at the brand new Circle City Raceway, Courtney gave Rico Abreu and the rest of a strong field a great view of his tail tank as he won his third feature in his last four starts.

I don’t etch my racing schedule in stone. Sometimes decisions are made only a few days before an event for a variety of reasons. At any rate, I found myself dealing with Friday afternoon traffic and road construction, two Indiana institutions, while I figured out the best way to get to the track coming from Pendleton, about 25 miles northeast of Indy.

The program was running late, which didn’t bug me because I was late myself. But this turned out to be a quite decent facility, a part of the Marion County Fairgrounds. It’s a moderately banked “small” quarter mile oval. The surface was a bit choppy, which is common for new dirt, but people quickly figured out how to navigate their way around, none quicker than Gio Scelzi, who promptly set a new track record with an 11.450 lap during time trials.

Both the tenderloin sandwich and aluminum bleachers were agreeable. The sightlines are fine, with a view of I-74 as it connects with I-465. I’m a huge fan of infield scoring pylons and Circle City has one, with a lap count plus the top five.

Potential problems are a lack of protection for the flagger as well as the opening on the backstretch exit that needs some support for a car that would impact the wall. Turn one could use a little more lighting. These are things that are quite fixable. This joint is on the right track.

The All-Star format would be three heats taking six to the 40-lap feature. The B main took six more.

First heat:Kerry Madsen, Cory Eliason, TJ Michael, Sam Hafertepe and Brady Bacon, who made it on the last lap.

Second heat:Tyler Courtney, Hunter Schuerenberg, Cap Henry, Scott Thiel, Zeb Wise and Tanner Thorson.

Third heat:Paul McMahon, Justin Peck, Ian Madsen, Billy Balog, Rico Abreu and Brinton Marvel.

305 winged sprints were the support class. The last time I was at a track with nothing but winged sprints was in the Carolinas four years ago. There were 30 sprints and 23 305s signed in.

-----

The RaceSaverheats were three in number with everyone going to the feature.

First heat:Bradley Galedrige, Rod Henning and Jeff Wimmenhauer.

Second heat:Dustin Stroup, Alex Nalon and Danny Clark.

Third heat:Justin Clark, Gary Gipson and Kevin Studley.

-----

Rico Abreu won the Dash, earning the pole for the feature. 

B Main: Carson Short, Thomas Meseraull, Noah Gass, Greg Wilson, Cale Thomas and Clinton Boyles.

Kyle Reinhardt used a provisional to tag the field for the feature. Fast qualifier Gio Scelzi exited the track as the cars lined up before the green waved.

The early laps were caution plagued as Courtney took the lead with Abreu never far away. With seven laps complete, the leaders were approaching lapped traffic. The yellow lights blinked as Noah Gass spun right in front of Courtney, who missed him. Sunshine led Abreu, Thiel, Balog and K. Madsen.

The green came out and the crew got a lap in before Brinton Marvel flipped in turn one, requiring a red flag. Brinton was able to exit the mangled car. The top five was unchanged.

Wash, rinse, repeat and another lap under green was run before K. Madsen spun after contact with Balog. Schuerenberg replaced Madsen in the top five. Brady Bacon had come from 18^th to ninth.

The green appeared again and Courtney controlled matters, but couldn’t afford any goofs as Rico stayed close. Schuerenberg had taken over fourth and was giving Thiel fits. Then Cale Thomas spun on the 13^th lap.

This restart provided some drama. Abreu found some traction on the high side and passed for the lead on lap 14. Try as he might, Rico couldn’t shake the local kid. Behind the two frontrunners was a battle involving Schuerenberg, McMahon, Balog, Wise, Peck, Henry and Bacon. It took the boys awhile to sort things out.

The race’s final yellow waved on lap 21 for debris. It was Abreu, Courtney, Thiel, Schuerenberg and McMahon as the green came out. Rico chose to ride the rim (no surprise there) while Tyler took the high road in turns one and two and went low in three and four. It was effective as Courtney reclaimed the top spot on lap 24 coming out of turn four.

Rico’s best chance to get the top spot back came on lap 28 when lapped traffic became a factor for the first time. But Courtney was not to be denied. While he maintained his lead, Abreu was never far away. For that matter, neither were Thiel and Schuerenberg.

At the end it was Sunshine and Rico with Schuerenberg passing Thiel for third as he exited turn four. Hunter had started 11^th. Wise, now a high school graduate was fifth, made a late pass of McMahon, who finished sixth. Bacon was the hardest of chargers, coming from 18^th to take seventh. Balog, Peck and Henry filed out the top ten.

The RaceSavers’ 25-lap feature was the curtain closer. Pole sitter Dustin Clark led nearly all the way but Rod Henning had other ideas. Finding some traction on the low groove at the end, Hot Rod took the lead on the last lap, edging Dustin Stroup for second. Clark was third with Jeff Wimmenaurer coming from tenth to finish fourth. Bradley Galedrige was fifth.

The plan is to return to Circle City next month for Indiana Midget Week. It should be good.

Perhaps Mr. Wolfe will make an exception for Mr. Courtney,

Lining up my three grandchildren three wide on the cul-de-sac for a photo opp, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: In Praise of the Workingman Racer

The workingman racer, most of all, lives on the edge. If racing does not provide food for his table, he still deals with the pressure of those who depend on him to produce good results. If he owns his own business, he is one nasty crash from disaster. Should he crash or have an expensive parts failure, he gets to decide if he wants to borrow whatever he needs to keep racing or just park the car until he can scrape up the necessary funds or parts. But the workingman racer who depends primarily on the prize money may labor under the most pressure of all, even more so if he has a family. No doubt the likes of Justin Grant feels that pressure. But on a beautiful southeastern Indiana night, Grant responded to the pressure and challenge by charging from his 15^th starting position to win the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series sanctioned 25-lap feature at the Lawrenceburg Speedway. It was Grant’s 13^th feature win at the ‘burg in its current configuration of three-eighth mile, more than anyone else.

People who have known my youngest grandson since his toddler days are pleasantly surprised at his growth, both physically and emotionally. The little boy who received attention for scraping mud off nerf bars is nearly as tall as some of the racers, as Thomas Meseraull, Donnie Gentry and JJ Hughes can tell you. He has worked hard to become a basketball player as well, able to dribble with either hand, go toe to toe with bigger players and excel at free throw shooting. It makes our road trips fun, talking b-ball and racin’.

Aaron Fry, my friend and the high priest of BOSS, has brought this group a long way in the past several years. Workingmen racers flock to his races. On Friday, he attracted 44 racers to Gas City where Brady Bacon won. On Saturday, 39 sprints were among the 94 cars residing in Dave Rudisell’s big tent. This meant the four heats/four transfer format with two B’s advancing three to make a field of 22 for the feature.

Heats—

First heat: Thomas Meseraull, Joss Moffatt, JJ Hughes and Justin Owen. (TMez put a last lap slider on Moffatt to win.)

Second heat: Nick Bilbee, Isaac Chapple, Ty Kendall and Justin Grant.

Third heat: Brady Bacon, Paul Dues, Mike Miller and Parker Fredrickson. (Bacon by a straightaway.)

Fourth heat: Matt Westfall, Dallas Hewitt, Max Guilford and Rob Caho.

B Mains—

First B: Scotty Weir, Sterling Cling and Jamie Fredrickson. (Fair to say that this one was “caution plagued.”)

Second B: Cody White, Tony McVey and Saban Bibent. (Fighting for position, Bibent tried a slide job on Tye Mihocko that didn’t work. Mihocko flipped hard in turn four, ending his night. Tye exited the car after a couple of minutes.)

Hughes and Kendall led the way to Tim Montgomery’s green flag. JJ led the first lap, but Meseraull was on the move, taking the lead from his second row start on the second lap. The race’s first yellow waved on the fourth lap when J. Fredrickson stopped on the frontstretch. TMez led Hughes, Kendall, Bilbee and Bacon.

The boys got a lap in before a Rob Caho spin in turn four. Tim waved the green again and Meseraull simply checked out, leaving Hughes, Kendall and Bacon to fight it out for second. The fast way was around the top, with a good-sized cushion inviting all to try their luck.

Nine laps were complete when Tony McVey bounced off the wall in turn three, bringing out the race’s third caution period. Meseraull’s big lead was gone, Poof! Bacon was second, ahead of Kendall, Bilbee and Hughes. Justin Grant was seventh after starting 15^th.

On the restart, Meseraull was able to pull away somewhat from Bacon, but Brady would not go away. Again, Meseraull’s lead disappeared as P. Fredrickson flipped in turn one. Parker crawled out of the car and walked back to the pits, a somewhat long walk. Up front it was Meseraull, Bacon, Kendall, Bilbee and…Grant. There were 11 laps to go.

Meseraull’s time at the front was over, though he had no way of knowing. On this restart, Bacon took the lead with an inside pass in turn three. TMez returned the favor in turn one. But the California native was shuffled back to fifth on the following lap as Grant now became a player for the first time.

With eight laps to go, Bacon had a decent lead over Grant. But Justin was steadily eating away at the space. Seemingly like a man possessed, but more like a man who knew how to win, Grant caught the leader and made the pass on lap 22. From there, he pulled away to a half straightaway lead as Tim waved the checkered. Seeing that Grant advanced from 15^th to first, he also won the Rick Lane Hard Charger award, an autographed picture of Dave Rudisell.

Bacon was second with Meseraull recovering to take third. Bilbee was fourth and Kendall hung tough with the big dogs, finishing fifth. Max Guilford led the second five with Justin Owen motoring from 14^th to seventh, a fine underground effort. Westfall started and finished eighth. Moffatt did the same in ninth. Hughes made Bartholomew County proud with a tenth.

These ten were a fair representation of Aaron Fry’s vision of a series that would be constructed to allow racers of limited means to compete. High paying purses were very few and far between, keeping most big money teams away. But he would make room for full-time racers to come and play when their schedules permitted. After all, Aaron understood that guys who made their living by racing would help his series. Isn’t that what he’s doing himself?

No competition yellows, no push-to-pass, no lucky dogs, no yellow flag laps that count, no “fuel strategy,” no extended yellow flag periods for commercials, and I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Youngest Veteran

Jadon Rogers climbed into a sprint car approximately five years ago and he struggled for much of that time. Why, there was one race where he brought out four yellow flags in one feature, taking out the race’s leader on the last caution. But he picked himself up and carried on. In the last year or two, Mr. Rogers has been posting some impressive results. He’s earned some victories at various Hoosier bullrings. And on a beautiful, but chilly, Hoosier Friday night, Jadon Rogers took his first feature win at the tricky and difficult Bloomington Speedway, conquering the slick red clay oval with a skinny curb on top that he employed flawlessly for 25 laps.

Twenty sprints, 15 RaceSaver sprints and 13 Super Stocks were joined by 38 mods, all of whom were after the $3,000 to win (plus lots of extra goodies) feature.

Sprint heats-

First heat: Jaden Rogers, Sterling Cling and Jordan Kinser. (Rogers took the lead from Davey Ray on the last lap. Davey spun but recovered to take fourth. Jeremy Hines flipped in turn two. Exited the car on his own.)

Second heat: Andy Bradley, Andrew Prather and Cindy Chambers. (Chambers took third after a duel with Harley Burns.)

Third heat: AJ Hopkins, Brayden Fox and Ricky Lewis. (Lewis provided the excitement by sliding off the track a couple of times.)

Nick Hoffman got tired of following the leaders around the bottom and used the high side to take the lead just past the halfway point in the modified feature. From there he coasted to the victory in the inaugural Roddy Strong Memorial.

Hopkins and Bradley led the crew to the green with the pole sitter taking the early lead and Rogers grabbing second quickly from his third starting position.

Two laps were run before Harley Burns stopped with a flat tire in turn one, bringing out the yellow. The early front runners were Hopkins, Rogers, Bradley, Cling and Prather. On the restart, Rogers used the bottom line to take the lead.

On the fourth lap another yellow waved for the stopped car of Brandon Spencer. Bradley promised to give Hopkins fits during the battle for second. It only took Andy one lap to make the pass for second.

But once again, the action was interrupted when Ricky Lewis slid off turn four and pounded the wall, bouncing high in the air before landing on all fours. The red flag came out and Ricky took his time in climbing out. Rogers led Bradley, Hopkins, Cling and Kinser with 20 laps to go.

Once again the green waved and Rogers proceeded to put on a clinic. He steadily pulled away while Bradley, Hopkins and Kinser fought it out for second. Hopkins reassumed second on the tenth lap while Kinser rook third a lap later. Seven laps after that, Kinser executed a slider to take second. And then Bradley attacked AJ and made the pass for third with five laps to go. Meanwhile, Rogers had built a straightaway lead.

At the end, it was Rogers romping to a comparatively easy win with Kinser second; Jordan also won the Doug Vandeventer Hard Charger Award, a dinner with Doug at White Castle. Bradley, Hopkins and Cling were the rest of the top five. Davey Ray was sixth with Jake Bland finishing seventh. Brayden Fox took eighth and Andrew Prather ninth. Brady Short ended up tenth, the last car on the lead lap.

Jeff Wimmenauer led all the way in winning the 305 winged sprint feature, but Justin Clark made it close at the end. Ethan Barrow started and finished third. Ryan Tussing and Jordan Welch were fourth and fifth.

It’s both silly and futile to try and predict anyone’s future. But if he continues to progress as he has in the past couple of years, Jadon Rogers could well be destined for bigger things in sprint car racing as time goes by. Whether that happens or not, he will surely remember the chilly night at Bloomington where he attacked the razor-thin cushion for 25 laps and rode it to a well-deserved win.

Watching out for those Jewish space lasers, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Rain and Shane

I watched Shane Cockrum ring up yet another feature win at the Lincoln Park Speedway, albeit a shower shortened 20 lapper. This made me think about that so-called thing called racing luck. More on that later.

The sprint car count at LPS was a slim 21 (out of 87 cars in Joe Spiker's playpen), but at least a half dozen of those guys would be capable of winning.

Sprint heats: Jake Scott, Brady Short, and Harley Burns.

Second heat: Shane Cockrum, Davey Ray, and Nate McMillen.

Third heat: Brandon Spencer, Aric Gentry, and Jason McDougal.

The redraw put Cockrum and Scott in the front row. The party had been threatened with periodic sprinkles, but the precipitation had subsided as Brian Hodde waved the green flag.

Scott grabbed the lead over Cockrum at the start, but the Chief stuck around and kept close. The leaders caught lapped traffic on the seventh lap.

Cockrum was hounding the leader at every turn. Finally, on the 11th lap, he took the lead from Scott coming out of turn two. From there, Cockrum didn't exactly check out. Lapped traffic helped Scott if anything.

Whatever distance was between Cockrum and Scott disappeared on the 17th lap when the yellow lights blinked. The two veterans led Burns, Ray and Short.

On the restart, Gentry was caught up in one of those accordion-like deals and spun in turn four as Brian waved the green. Aric had been running seventh; now he would tag the field.

The gang tried again and Cockrum took off, putting several car lengths between himself and Scott, who had his hands full with the pesky Burns.

The red flag came out for Travis Berryhill, who flipped coming out of turn two on lap 20. He decamped from the car on his own.

As the field restarted, a light rain began to fall. The cars circled the track under the yellow, trying to keep it dry enough to race on. But finally the plug was reluctantly pulled and Cockrum was declared the winner.

Behind the Illinois resident was Scott, Burns, Ray and Short. A J. Hopkins, who had spent much of the race bottled up in traffic, came from 11th to finish sixth. McDougal was seventh and McMillen took eighth. Brayden Fox overcame a broken rocker arm in hot laps/qualifying to come from 14th to finish ninth and earn the Brian Hodde hard charger award, a half eaten tenderloin sandwich, courtesy of Mr. Hodde himself. And Gentry came back from his misfortune to finish tenth.

As I ambled to the little truck, I thought about luck and how random it seems to be. The brief definition of luck is "success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions," according to the good folks at the Oxford Dictionary.

I could go on all night trying to figure out where one's own work stops and luck takes over, but I won't, thankfully. I do believe that it's our purpose to do our best with the gifts we've been blessed with and, beyond that, all we can do is leave it to luck, God's will, or whatever you wish to call it.

At any rate, on a rainy night, Shane Cockrum did what he needed to do, namely make the pass for the lead. After that, he had the lead when the track was too wet to continue. (That spawns a multitude of questions, such as "what if it hadn't rained?" No way am I going there.) So Mr. Cockrum showed us that one's chances of winning sprint car feature are decent if they are good, fast and….. lucky.

Compiling a list of members of the False Prophet's Club, I'm…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Domination

 

Clean sweeps in open wheel racing are quite rare and, when it happens, attention must be paid. With that in mind, Thomas Meseraull showed again that the Gas City/I-69 Speedway is surely one of his favorite ovals as he won both the sprint car and D2 midget features on a night with March-like temperatures.

 

Neither rain, winds, cold temperatures, traffic, detours or a long delayed race program will deter certain race people from going to watch cars with or without fenders race around a quarter mile oval. Such was the situation at Gas City's opening night on Friday.

 

TMez and Shane Cottle were the only double dippers. Both kept busy and both had productive nights.

 

Of the 106 cars in the pits, 24 were sprints and 30 were midgets. With Paragon's rainout, a few guys made the trip up I-69 to get some racing done.

 

The rain delay meant that festivities began about 80 minutes late when the first sprint heat lined up.

 

Sprints:

 

First heat: Scotty Weir, Thomas Meseraull, Shane Cottle, Tyler Kendall and Brayden Fox.

 

Second heat: Ricky Lewis, Jason McDougal, Aaron Leffel, Sterling Cling and Adam Byrkett.

 

Third heat: Clinton Boyles, Zach Pretorious, Colton Cottle, Nick Bilbee and Harley Burns.

 

D2 Midgets:

 

First heat: Shane Cottle, Tyler Nelson, Ronnie Gardner, Bryan Stanfill and Adam Taylor.

 

Second heat: Chett Gehrke, Jacob Denney, Gray Leadbetter, Jeff Beasley and Stratton Briggs.

 

Third heat: Emerson Axsom, Jarett Andretti, Chance Crum, Billy Lawless and Greg Mitchell. Carl Peterson flipped in turn four.

 

B Main: Thomas Meseraull, Abby Holhbein,  Bryce Massingill, Glenn Wateland and  Ian Creager.

 

The sprints' feature began with Boyles and Weir on the front row, but that lasted less than a lap when Boyles bounced in turn four and flipped.  They tried again with Lewis moving up a row to claim the pole.

 

Weir took the early lead and hung on to it for the first seven laps. Lewis and Pretorious both occupied second place briefly, but Meseraull was on the move from his sixth starting spot. After a lap he was third. Soon he was knocking on the door and made an outside pass of Weir on the eighth lap.

 

The red flag waved on the tenth lap when Harley Burns flipped in turn four. Meseraull led Weir, Lewis, McDougal and Pretorious. On the restart Nick Bilbee spun coming to the line, bringing out the yellow.

 

Again they tried and Meseraull resumed his domination as McDougal took over second place. TMez wasn't too worried about who was second. After all, he had a half lap lead by the 17th lap.

 

Meseraull cruised the rest of the way with McDougal second. Weir was third and S. Cottle was fourth. Garrett Aitken earned the Tyler Kelly Hard Charger award (a Gas City tenderloin sandwich) for starting 22nd and finishing fifth. C. Cottle took sixth with Jackson Slone came from 18th to finish seventh. Lewis was eighth and Tyler Kendall finished ninth. Aaron Davis came from 20th to grab tenth.

 

After the race, the winner praised his team and the hardy group of fans. He said that he used his experience to try running the top while the others struggled with the bottom groove.

 

The midget feature was my last race of the night. It, too, got off to a rough start as Greg Mitchell flipped in turn four. As the gang tried again, I noticed that it was the midnight hour (thank you, Wilson Pickett).

 

Pole sitter Axsom jumped out to the lead on the restart. An early yellow waved, temporarily slowing Axsom. But he had a threat in his immediate future.

 

To be sure, the kid from Franklin, Indiana enjoyed a sizable lead for several laps. In the meantime, Meseraull was on the move. After starting 16th, he wasted no time in advancing to fifth. Later, on lap 12, TMez passed two cars in one lap.

 

A red flag came out with six laps to go  for Adam Taylor, who had a Tommy Tipover in turn two. Axsom led Meseraull, Cottle, Andretti and Gehrke. Mark Orr waved the green and Meseraull got busy. A lap after the restart, he passed Axsom on the outside coming out of turn four for the lead, which he rapidly expanded.

 

At the end it was Meseraull, Axsom, Cottle, Andretti, and Gehrke in the top five. Nelson was sixth with Crum seventh. Briggs was ninth and Leadbetter finished tenth.

 

While thawing out in my car, I thought about Mr. Meseraull, a likeable character who is not afraid to admit that sometimes he can be his own worst enemy. While he can be frustrating, he can also be admired. At this point, Thomas assisted me as I began to think about heroes (while topping off the tank after leaving the track).

 

We are the ones who determine who our heroes will be. Race drivers get that label though many would scoff at the notion, pointing to those who are our public servants, the people who willingly risk their lives for strangers.

 

No matter who you call a hero, please know that they are far from perfect. Their flaws can be as numerous as ours. They fall; they stumble. The hero can be his or her own worst enemy. After all, no matter how we view our heroes, they're as human as we are. With their admirable qualities, they have their flaws, whether we acknowledge them or not.

 

With all that, let's appreciate these extraordinary people who we admire, regardless of what label we give them.

 

Kind of glad I didn't go to Eldora, I'm…

 

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Windom Breezes

Night Two of the Kokomo Grand Prix was as breezy as the opening night but the breeze wasn't nearly as cold as Friday's. Chris Windom created a breeze of his own as he switched grooves mid-race and cemented his first feature win this year in USAC's Nos Energy Drink Midget Division action.

Kyle Cummins won the sprint feature.

Saturday’s wind was a mite more tolerable than the Arctic blast on Friday. This one was mostly from the south and it was warm enough to make my walk through Foster Park another part of a good day.

Among the USAC brigade, it was the same cast of characters as Friday’s. Doing double duty tonight would be Cummins, Windom, Justin Grant, Cannon McIntosh and Clinton Boyles.

Emerson Axsom, Friday’s winner, was the quickest qualifier with a 13.371 lap.

Sprint Heats

First Heat: Cummins, Windom, Max Guilford, Ben Knight, McIntosh, Brandon Long and Jack James.

Second Heat: Shane Cottle, Cole Bodine, Matt Goodnight, Boyles, Mitchell Davis, Matt Westfall and Jaden Rogers, who flipped in turn two, ending his night.

Third Heat: Brady Bacon, Grant, Chase Johnson, Anthony D’Alessio, Zane Devault and Andrew Cockman.

Midget Heats

First Heat: Buddy Kofoid, Kevin Thomas Jr., Brenham Crouch, Axsom, Chase Randall, Bryan Stanfill and Thomas Meseraull. Mr. Meseraull was a victim of an incident on the backstretch which caused the right front of his car to collapse, sending him into a spin in turn four.

Second Heat: Tanner Thorson, Jason McDougal, Windom, Cummins, Hayden Reinbold, Ethan Mitchell and Brandon Waelti.

Third Heat: Logan Seavey, Bryant Wiedeman, Grant, McIntosh, Daison Pursley and Boyles. Pursley had the gentlest of tipovers in turn two. The car was placed upright and he resumed his chase. 

Bacon and Cummins led the others to the green and Cummins set out right off to make this race a stinker. Multiple yellows slowed the action in the first half of the race as Cummins repeatedly pulled away from the pack after each restart. Grant had occupied second throughout the race and had not been able to keep up with Cummins. But as the laps wound down, the margin between the top two shrank. In the last five laps, the question was whether Grant could catch the leader. It didn’t happen; Justin cut the margin to .4 seconds at the end, settling for second.

Cole Bodine drove the best race I’ve seen him drive, taking third. Bacon and Windom were fourth and fifth. Johnson was sixth and Cottle ran as high as third before fading to seventh. Long rambled from 16^th to eighth, earning the Tyler Kelly Hard Charger Award. Boyles was ninth and Westfall came from 17^th to finish tenth.

Windom and Randall were the front row and Windom promptly took the lead, trading slide jobs with Pursley, who took the lead on the third lap. But Windom regained the lead two circuits later and was leading when a yellow waved for a slowing Mitchell.

On the restart, Thorson and Thomas got around Pursley for second and third. The duo was reeling in the leader using the low groove, but Windom made the decision that turned out to be the winning move. He scooted to the bottom, taking away Thorson’s preferred line. This was working well for the leader until his growing lead vanished on lap 17 when Pursley flipped in turn two, near where his teammate Crouch had done the same on Friday.

Windom led Thorson, Thomas, Kofoid and Cummins on the restart. Kofoid made the smooth move of the race as he took the high road to sweep around Thorson and Thomas to take over second with ten laps to go. It appeared for a moment that Kofoid was gaining on the leader, but if he was, it wasn’t much.

Windom breezed to the win, his first USAC Midget series win this year. Kofoid was second and Thomas nipped Thorson at the line for third. Axsom was fifth. The second five was led by Grant, ahead of Seavey, Meseraull, Crouch (from 16^th) and Cummins.

KT was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, racing from 13^th to third.

Kofoid remains the point leader, 20 ahead of Windom.

I had a brief chat with Dave Darland. It seemed as if he’s come a long way since his medical issue a week ago Friday. We wish for him continued improvement.

Full disclosure—I misplaced my truck keys; it’s been several years since I did that (at Lawrenceburg). Many thanks to the staff and the person who found the keys.

Welcoming my new bodyguard, Wayne Johnson, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: (Another) First Time Winner

It was, in retrospect, inevitable that another of the Kiddie Korps that populate USAC's Nos Energy Drink National Midget Division would step up and claim his first feature win. On a very cold night at the Kokomo Speedway, Emerson Axsom was the young man who held off another fleet youngster, Cannon McIntosh, to win his first USAC midget feature.

One could talk about the weather, but the only thing worth mentioning is that it can get cold in Indiana in late April. I wasn’t surprised when I left south central Indiana wearing shorts and a t-shirt only to discover that the temperature was at least ten degrees colder in Kokomo with a mean north wind. I’d brought extra layers and managed.

One could talk about the car count. Theories abound, as always. But 20 midgets, including several quality rides, were enough to stock a 30-lap feature. As this is written in the midnight hour, I’d not be surprised no matter how many cars show up on Saturday. The same was true for the sprints. I thought that there would be 25 sprinters there, tops. But 29 showed up. We may as well try and predict the weather.

So maybe we can not fret over weather, car counts and teenagers that are very fast in a race car. Instead we can appreciate what we have and that was a night of pretty decent racing with its share of surprises, uplifting moments and some bitter disappointments. And while we were at it, we could celebrate the appearance of Dave Darland, starting to get out and about after his mild stroke a week ago.

There was no shortage of busy people with five contestants racing both a midget and a sprint. Cannon McIntosh, Chris Windom, Clinton Boyles, Justin Grant and Jason McDougal did their share of ride hopping all night.

As is its pattern, the track stayed the same for everyone qualifying. Kevin Thomas Jr. was first out and stopped the clock at 13.298 seconds while Daison Pursley was last and went 13.190.

The Sprints:

The first of the three heats was from Bizarro-World. First there was a false start that left Shane Cottle stationary in turn four. Chase Johnson went to the pits and got ready for the B Main. On the second try, Matt Guilford flipped on the first lap, bringing out a red. He was able to restart the race. The third start was the ugliest. Jason McDougal slid into Landon Simon, sending both of them flipping near where Guilford had tumbled. Simon was not pleased. Finally the gang got it right.

Brad Greenup flipped hard into the turn one wall during the B. He exited the car on his own.

First Heat—Clinton Boyles, Brady Bacon, Shane Cottle, Tye Mihocko and Cole Bodine all transferred.

Second Heat—Ben Knight, Cannon McIntosh (first time in a traditional 410 sprint car), Chris Windom, Jaden Rogers and Brandon Long.

Third Heat—Anthony D’Alessio, Max Adams, Justin Grant, Scotty Weir and Aaron Farney.

B Main—Chase Johnson (from seventh), Brian VanMeveren, Matt Goodnight, Matt Westfall and Zach Pretorius. 

Feature—Boyles took the early lead and hung onto it until the tenth lap when Bacon took over. Meanwhile Windom had been working his way to the front after starting eighth. By the midway point of the 25-lapper, he was fourth. By lap 16 he was second and gaining on Bacon. But using lapped traffic and his own experience, Bacon was able to hang on for the win. Windom, Cottle, Boyles and Johnson were the top five with Johnson winning the Brett Bowman Hard Charger Award after starting 16^th.

Grant, Adams, McIntosh, Bodine and Rogers were the second five.

USAC Midgets:

The trivia note of the night was in the second heat when the seven starters listed seven different home states. Kyle Cummins was the only native Hoosier.

First Heat--Buddy Kofoid, Thomas Meseraull, Emerson Axsom, Chase Randall, Kevin Thomas Jr., Logan Seavey, Bryan Stanfill.

Second Heat—Bryant Wiedeman, Daison Pursley, Chris Windom, Kyle Cummins, Brenham Crouch, Brandon Waelti.

Third Heat--Justin Grant, Tanner Thorson, Cannon McIntosh, Ethan Mitchell, Clinton Boyles, Jason McDougal.

Windom and Axsom led the herd to Mark Orr’s green flag with the lead duo trading sliders on the first lap. Axsom prevailed and that turned out to be as close as Windom would get to the lead all night. Crouch was flying in the top groove after starting sixth. But he flew a bit too close to the wall and rode it briefly before flipping on lap four. The young Texan was shaken perhaps, but climbed out of the would-be rocket ship.

A lap after the restart, Kofoid spun in turn two, maybe with a little help. Cummins was collected and Pursley had a flat tire. All three restarted. Axsom led Windom, McIntosh, Randall and Mitchell.

The boys tried again and some could sense that the guys who had to tag the field might be in a hurry. They weren’t the only ones. McIntosh passed Windom and tried mightily to close the gap on the leader.

At the halfway mark, it was still Axsom leading McIntosh, Windom and Randall, who was surprisingly hanging tough. He got around Windom for third on lap 18. But his fine effort ended a few laps later as he pulled into the infield with a smoking buggy.

From there, things were almost anti-climatic as Axsom hit his marks every lap, racking up his first USAC Midget win in dominating fashion as he led all 30 laps. Back in the pack was where the action was. Kofoid and Pursley were carving their way through the field. At the end, the top four were not in doubt as Axsom led McIntosh, Windom and Grant. Kofoid beat Pursley for fifth at the line. Tanner Thorson showed how important a good time trial is as he rambled from 17^th to seventh, earning the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger money. Mitchell, Thomas and Meseraull were eighth, ninth and tenth.

And the boys get to do it again in about 18 hours. The weather is supposed to be nice; there will be enough cars for some racin’ and there might be another first time winner.

Sharing a cheeseburger with Joe Biden, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: First Time Winner

 

Full disclosure: While Davey Ray has won his share of midget races and couple of sprint car wins with a 360 engine, but on Saturday night at the Lincoln Park Speedway Davey won his first feature driving a 410, leading Shane Cockrum to the line.

 

All promoters wrestle with the weather. Their luck seems like it goes to both extremes. Last week at Paragon the only rain falling in Morgan County was at the track. On this Saturday just concluded, somehow Lincoln Park avoided most all of the rain that fell seemingly everywhere else in Indiana. I drove in rain for most of the 85 mile trip. I know Joe Spiker's strategy when it looks like rain: Plan on racing until enough rain falls to flood the track, pits and the parking lot. Then postpone and try to reschedule if it's a big race.

 

Of the 97 cars in the pits, 25 were sprinters and 14 were USAC regional midgets.

 

The sprints had group qualifying and Mr. Ray was quickest with a 13.293 lap.

 

The format was the usual three heats and a B for the sprints.

 

Sprint heats--

 

First heat: Davey Ray, Brent Beauchamp, Brayden Fox, Evan Mosley and Cole Bodine.

 

Second heat: Travis Berryhill, Nate McMillen, Jake Scott, Brian VanMeveran and Aaron Davis.

 

Third heat: Shane Cockrum, AJ Hopkins, Harley Burns, Blake Vermillion and Brayden Cromwell.

 

Robert Carrington flipped in the third heat. He climbed out of the car on his own.

 

Midgets--

 

First heat: Tyler Nelson, Brian Stanfill and Ronnie Gardner.

 

Second heat: Shane Cottle, Chett Gehrke and Chance Crum.

 

Shane Cottle won the midget feature ahead of Billy Lawless and Bryan Stanfill.

 

Sprint B main: Jesse Vermillion, Matt McDonald (from seventh), Saban Bibent, Zach Pretorious and Ryan Thomas.

 

Berryhill and Ray occupied the front row. The California native outgunned the Iowa native to the first turn. Berryhill was leading on the third lap when he spun in turn two, the victim of a steering issue.

 

This gave Ray the lead with Cockrum, Hopkins, Beauchamp and McMillen in the top five. The green waved and Ray pulled away as Cockrum and Hopkins fought for second. But the yellow came out on the fifth lap for a Blake Vermillion/Saban Bibent meeting in turn one.

 

Green again and the fight for second resumed as Ray planted his car firmly on the top shelf and sped away. The others did the same but no one could keep up with the Indianapolis resident. Hopkins was passed by Beauchamp on the ninth lap. This segment saw Ray extend his lead to a full straightaway ahead of Cockrum. Shane needed a caution badly.

 

Yellow lights blinked on the 15th lap when Harley Burns spun in turn four. Ray's big lead was gone. Behind him and Cockrum were Beauchamp, Hopkins and Fox. Two laps after the green waved Hopkins got around Beauchamp for third.

 

Next was another slowdown for an unplanned meeting between Mosley and McDonald in the first turn. Beauchamp had faded with mechanical problems. Now Fox was fourth and McMillen fifth. There were eight laps to go.

 

Mr. Brian Hodde waved the green and Ray endured another restart. Cockrum threw a half-hearted slider in turn one as Ray shook it off. No positions were changed up front but no one could break away. With six laps left, Hopkins had a minor bobble in turn three. Fox checked up but kept going. But McMillen was caught up in the accordion and spun, collecting Bodine and McDonald. The yellow came out one last time. All three continued.

 

Cockrum had one more shot at the leader. Green lights engaged and Ray made it look easy. Davey took the checkered with about a ten car length margin over the Chief. Hopkins was third, completing a weekend with two top fives for Jerry Burton and company. Fox had another good race with a fourth. Burns stormed back from misfortune to grab fifth. Brayden Cromwell had a mostly anonymous run, coming from 15th to finish seventh and winning the Joe Chambers hard charger award (even though Joe was in Bristol). Jake Scott was eighth and McMillen took ninth. Bodine finished tenth.

 

More racing is scheduled for next weekend. My guess is that Davey Ray will do his share of celebrating as he should. My next guess is that Davey will then begin preparing for next weekend and plotting his next win. Yeah, him and a lot of other people.

 

Wondering how well Jimmie Johnson would do if he went sprint car racing in Indiana, I'm…

 

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Why I Still Go

 

Often it's foolish to guess or predict. It's fun for a lot of people to pick a winner, even more so if money is involved. But there are a few of us who go to races out of curiosity. We want to see not only who wins, but there's plenty more to see. Max Adams did win an extraordinary race at the Bloomington Speedway on a cool Hoosier night, but how he won was as much of the story as was the fact that he won.

 

Twenty six sprint cars were among the seventy race cars signed in on a cloudy and somewhat cool evening. My buddy Henry Bryant's track prep was, as usual, such that it would be blindingly fast early on and racy later, which was to say that people could pass other people because the high and low grooves were both working quite well by the time the feature lined up.

 

Among the twenty six, there were a couple of one night deals. With A.J. Hopkins at a family event, car owner Jerry Burton gave Jordan Kinser a call. And with Dave Darland reportedly under the weather, the Baldwin brothers put Jaden Rogers in the seat.

 

It was three heats and a B tonight setting the feature lineup.

 

First heat: Brady Short, Nick Bilbee, Gabe Gilbert, Jake Bland and Cole Bodine from the tail.

 

Second heat: Davey Ray, Jordan Kinser, Ryan Thomas, Harley Burns and Max Adams.

 

Third heat: Travis Berryhill, Tye Mihocko, Brayden Fox, Saban Bibent and Brian VanMeveran. Fox made the pass of the night to take the lead midrace, but slid over the banking and gave it back.

 

B main: Jaden Rogers, Brayden Cromwell, Chris Babcock, Braxton Cummings and Hunter O'Neal.

 

Immediately after taking the green flag for the B, Kent Weed slid over the turn one bank and flipped through the fence, apparently striking someone's Mitsubishi. At least one other vehicle was damaged. Kent was able to climb out of the car.

 

The heat race results set the first fifteen starters of the twenty five lap feature. Short and Ray led the field to Brian Hodde's green flag. Ray jumped out to the lead before the first of several yellow flags waved. Mihocko stopped on the backstretch with Ray already deciding that his car was working the best on the cushion.

 

While Davey was enjoying his time at the front, behind him was some vintage Bloomington racing. Bilbee had started fourth but was on the move. By lap four he was second and had set up shop down low, much as the original Kevin Thomas did a few years ago.

 

Festivities were interrupted on the sixth lap when Ryan Thomas spun in turn four. Ray and Bilbee led Kinser, Short and ninth starting Brayden Fox.

 

The green waved and the high/low battle resumed. Bilbee led the eighth lap by a nose but Ray came back to lead the next three.

 

Travis Berryhill brought out the next yellow on the tenth lap. Up front it was still Ray, Bilbee, Kinser, Short and Fox. But behind them, Max Adams had barged into the top ten.

 

Brian waved the green again and two laps were scored by the time that Braxton Cummings stopped on the backstretch. But in those two laps, Adams had advanced to fourth.

 

This would be the last work slowdown of the race. It was have-at-it time and Ray, Bilbee and Adams didn't disappoint.

 

Usually I try to take glances toward the middle of the pack during these things. But the determined trio up front kept my eyes glued.

 

Here's my attempt to show how competitive this whole deal was:

 

Lap 15--Ray, Bilbee, Adams

Lap 16 and 17--Same as above.

Lap 18, 19 and 20--Ray, Adams, Bilbee

Lap 21--Adams, Ray, Bilbee

Lap 22-Bilbee, Adams (Ray slid off turn four bank)

Lap 23, 24 and 25--Adams and Bilbee

 

Adams came from fourteenth to take the win, his first Hoosier feature win this year. Bilbee fell just a little short after a mighty effort. Fox was the first of those who deserved more attention as he finished third after starting ninth. Kinser was fourth and Mihocko's was another unnoticed extra effort as he finished fifth after his early race misfortune.

 

Bodine led the second five, coming from thirteenth to take sixth. After an outstanding job of leading most of the race, Davey Ray claimed seventh at the end. Jake Bland was eighth and Rogers started sixteenth, moved forward, slipped over the turn two bank and came back to finish ninth. The fast running lawyer, Mr. VanMeveran, came from fifteenth to conclude his presentation to the jury in tenth place.

 

Somehow I don't think that very many people picked the correct winner. And somehow I don't think that it mattered. What did matter was the fact that Max, Nick and the rest of the gang raced like they needed the money, regardless of the payout.

 

Declining Sidney Powell's offer to handle my estate, such as it is, I'm…

 

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Not This Time, Sir

Kevin Thomas Jr. put it all together on a chilly night at the Bloomington Speedway. He endured a pesky Brady Bacon for most of the 30-lap feature and rolled to the checkered flag, winning his second USAC sprint feature of 2021.

Signing in for Bloomington’s first outing of the year were 43 of USAC’s finest teams.

Justin Grant went out to qualify mid-pack and set quick time with an 11.232 lap. C.J. Leary’s record of 10.685 was safe for a while longer.

As the track changed, the heat races got better and better.

First heat: Rookie Carson Garrett won from the pole. Shane Cottle, Carson Short and Justin Grant advanced.

Second Heat: Kyle Cummins, Cole Bodine, Chris Windom and Dave Darland. The red flag waved when Logan Seavey had a Tommy Tipover at the start/finish line. He climbed out on his own.

Third Heat: Paul Nienhiser, Tye Mihocko (from ninth to second!), Brady Bacon and Brayden Fox. C.J. Leary found things a bit crowded in turn one and flipped with pole sitter Matt Goodnight also involved. Leary and crew made repairs and he would return for the B.

Fourth Heat: Kevin Thomas Jr., Robert Ballou, A.J. Hopkins and Scotty Weir. Tanner Thorson missed transferring by inches. Braxton Cummings tipped over on the backstretch after a false start.

C Main: Brent Beauchamp, Braxton Cummings, Brady Short (from ninth) and Sterling Cling all moved on to the B.

B Main: C. J. Leary, Tanner Thorson, Max Adams, Mario Clouser, Jake Swanson and Ricky Lewis all progressed to the feature.

Cottle and Thomas led 22 others to Tom Hansing’s green flag. None of them was Chase Stockon, whose streak of 324 consecutive starts ended when he was unable to qualify for the feature.  On turn two of the first lap, Paul Nienhiser spun, bringing out the yellow.

The gang tried again and Cottle led the first lap with Thomas having none of that, taking the lead. He had control when the second yellow came out when Adams spun in turn fourwith seven laps complete. KT led Cottle, Bacon, Cummins and Windom.

Tom waved the green and Bacon made a strong move immediately on Cottle in turn two. Soon he was working on Thomas for the lead, both employing the high and low grooves liberally.

Ricky Lewis spun in turn four at the halfway mark of the race, bringing out yellow number three. Thomas led Bacon, Cottle, Cummins and Windom. Lights turned green again and Cummins found some real traction on the outside of turn two. He passed Cottle for second and nearly got around Bacon, too.

But, you can guess. For the fourth time, the yellow slowed the festivities with a Tye Mihocko spin on lap 16. There was no change up front when the green waved but Cottle found new life somewhere in the low groove. He edged ahead of Cummins, who was committed to the top. Meanwhile, Thomas couldn’t shake off the tenacious Bacon.

Instead of a yellow flag, Mr. H. reached for the red when Sterling Cling flipped in turn four of lap 24. He crawled out with not much help. It was still Thomas, Bacon, Cottle, Cummins and Windom.

It was now that Bacon made his most serious bid for victory on the re-start. For a moment the Oklahoma native took the lead in turn two and kept it for two laps. But Thomas would not be denied. He countered with his own strong move and took the lead for good on the 28^th lap. Thomas pulled away to a ten car length lead at the checkered.

The red flag waved with the checkered when Carson Garrett and Mario Clouser came together while fighting for 13^th place. Garrett flipped just past the start/finish line. He was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.

Behind Thomas and Bacon was Cummins, who got around Cottle on the last lap. Windom was fifth. Thorson was sixth with Leary coming back from his heat race flip to finish seventh. Grant took eighth with Weir finishing ninth after starting 16^th. And Ballou was the KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger, rambling from 20^th to end up tenth.

The caravan is heading southwest to Haubstadt, then back toward Indy with a Sunday night date at Paragon—a mini-Sprint Week of sorts.

Working on my Andy Williams imitation, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Anatomy of a Rainout

If I was so inclined, I’d be kicking myself instead of sitting here and writing about a rainout. I went to Bloomington, an hour from here, instead of Kokomo, two hours from here. It was fun while it lasted—until the rains came.

I knew there was a chance of rain in the area. I also knew that, like his fellow promoters, Joe Spiker would make every effort to let racers race and fans cheer (and buy some food and t-shirts). I went anyway with reasonable hope of seeing something more than rain.

One needed not have a degree in meteorology to note clouds in the southwestern sky. Just as the drivers'meeting began, we were treated to, in no particular order, sunshine, thunder, and sprinkles. The forecast was not looking very promising but no one dared leave.I stood around, waiting for cars to occupy the track, debating whether or not to have a cheeseburger.

The sprinkling started with some hesitancy, but with a touch of persistence. I ambled out to the truck and watch the sky. On the way out, Kenny Clark was good enough to let me know that there were 21 sprints and 12 Racesaver 305 sprints on hand.

The earlier rain had moved on but it made an unwanted comeback about 45 minutes later as Henry circled the track with the humongous water truck. This one acted like it wanted to stick around.It stopped after about five minutes but some damage was done. Now, Joe Spiker had a tough call. The track was even wetter and Henry, as good at track prep as he is, couldn’t do anything about it.

Again the rain began. This time it could be described as pouring down. It lasted five minutes tops. It didn't quit but settled down to a lazy kind of rain that could last another five minutes....or five hours. The call was made and there would be no racing tonight. When I saw ace push truck driver Joe Chambers join the line of traffic exiting I became suspicious that maybe there would be no racing tonight. It was 8:13 as the rain picked up again.

With lightning mostly in the west, I stopped for a Whopper and headed home. I missed Matt Westfall’s feature win at Kokomo and James McFadden’s Outlaw feature triumph.

Making a note not to pay for anything using the Venmo app, I’m…

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Man of Many Hats

Brady Bacon is a lot more than some guy who moved to Indiana from Oklahoma. He's a husband and a dad. Recently, he's tried his hand at race promotion. He writes a monthly column for Sprint Car and Midget. He has a generous amount of marketing skills and understands the importance of not only securing sponsors, but also keeping them happy. He’s fortunate to be married to a lady who is on the same page. But he's best known for driving open wheel cars, especially sprint cars, very fast. That's exactly what he did on a somewhat chilly Thursday night at the Lawrenceburg Speedway, coming from sixth to take the lead on the sixth lap and motoring off to the victory.

He wasn't sure if he was a bona fide old man but he figured that he was old enough to be close, not that it mattered. Since it was too cold for him to see a race while at his second home, he headed north to his primary home, Indiana, checked the weather and packed an extra jacket. He arrived at the Lawrenceburg Speedway and promptly had the impression that it seemed as if it was yesterday when he had been here last. (Actually, it was six months to the day.)

Each year brings new drivers, teams, and paint jobs. (I'm not a fan of the term "livery.) Paul Nienhiser decided to put the wing away and try his luck without the extra sheet metal. Young Carson Garrett is one of the latest to migrate to Indiana and test himself against the USAC regulars. Tanner Thorson (Reinbold/Underwood) and Dave Darland (Baldwin Brothers) were matched up with new teams for them. So were Max Adams (Mike Gass) and CJ Leary (Michael Brothers). Jake Swanson has moved here and will be getting quite an education this year. The Wingo family stepped up their program, bringing two cars driven by Stevie Sussex and Ryan Thomas.

Jadon Rogers, maybe the youngest racer who can be called a veteran, went out to qualify early and his lap of 14.297 seconds held up. Some frontrunners drew higher numbers and they found themselves in the feature later, but starting a bit deeper in the field. It made for more interesting competition.

The first heat was won by Sterling Cling with Scotty Weir, CJ Leary and Cole Bodine all transferring to the show.

Second heat: Dave Darland, Brady Bacon, Justin Grant and Max Adams.

Third heat: Thomas Meseraull, Garrett Abrams, Paul Nienhiser and Robert Ballou.

Fourth heat: Chris Windom, Kevin Thomas Jr., Kyle Cummins and Stevie Sussex.

B Main: Jadon Rogers, Nick Bilbee, Matt Westfall, Jake Swanson, Tanner Thorson and JJ Hughes.

With Grant and Leary landing on the front row of the 30-lap feature, it would be a tempting bet to take those two against the field. Indeed, Leary took the lead as Tim Montgomery waved the green. The race slowed for its only yellow flag on the third lap when Chase Stockon nearly flipped, bouncing to a stop instead.

Leary controlled the restart, but Bacon was on the move. From sixth, he had moved to third when the yellow waved. The green waved again and Bacon took second on lap four. Two laps later, he passed Leary in turns three/four and began to check out. By the halfway mark, Bacon’s lead was a full straightaway as he deftly made his way through lapped traffic.

With Bacon running away from the field, all one had to do in finding some drama was watch Windom, who had started tenth and charged to the front quickly. Fourth by lap ten, two laps later, Windom passed Grant for third. From there, he steadily reeled Leary in, catching him with five laps to go. Both weaved in and out of traffic with Windom never very far from Leary’s back bumper.

Bacon’s margin of victory was just under three seconds over Leary, with Windom a close third. Grant was fourth and Meseraull came from ninth to finish fifth. Rogers had a steady under-the-radar run, moving from 11^th to sixth. Nienhiser, who’s going to be an impressive rookie, was seventh. Bodine was eighth, ahead of KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Robert Ballou. All he did was come from 22md to take ninth.  Newlywed Sussex was tenth, the last car on the lead lap.

For those who appreciate numbers, this was Bacon’s 36^th USAC Sprint Car win. He’s now tenth in USAC sprint wins, passing Jon Stanbrough and Rich Vogler. Bacon has been associated with Hoffman Auto Racing for several years, long enough to score his 28^th win with Rob Hoffman and company. This was Bacon’s third victory at the ‘burg.

Speaking of the Hoffmans, Rob happily received the USAC Sprint Championship trophy in pre-race ceremonies, a trophy named after his father Richard.

And Bacon? Next weekend he puts the helmet aside and tries on his promoter’s hat. If he applies his abilities to promoting as he has while wearing his other hats, he’ll be fine.

The old man looked around the pits and, later, the grandstands. Two things occurred to him. He was one of the oldest people there. How could this be? But he could think back to trips to Lawrenceburg with his dad and watching guys like Roy Robbins, Ross Smith, Frankie Mack, Dick Gaines and Tommy Mattlin. Maybe he WAS old. He looked around for familiar faces. There weren’t any unless he looked at his friend Tim in the flagstand or his friend Rick snapping pictures in turn three. The others had gone. Perhaps a few were at Lincoln Park (where AJ Hopkins won). Others might have looked at the weather forecast and decided that it would be a bit too chilly. Still others were ailing; climbing those stairs can be hard on various body parts. At least one had taken this life’s checkered flag. The old man hung around to let part of the Sprint Week-like crowd exit the fairgrounds. He was in no hurry. He watched part of the modified feature, then left for home.

Perturbed because my yacht was found double-parked in the Suez Canal, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: A Rich Harvest for Meseraull and Cummins

Thomas Meseraull and Kyle Cummins survived late race drama and earned every bit of the money, trophies and whatever satisfaction they took home from the Tri-State Speedway’s Harvest Cup. This was Meseraull's first USAC Nos Energy DrinkMidget National series victory after two decades of trying.While Cummins won the MSCS windup, Chase Stockon was crowned the 2020 MSCS points champion.

One hundred and one cars overflowed the pits. Five chauffeurs, Stephen Schnapf, Brady Bacon, Kyle Cummins, Kevin Thomas Jr., Thomas Meseraull and Colorado visitor Carson Garrett would be extremely busy tonight. All had a USAC midget and an MSCS sprint car ride.

Midget qualifying had few surprises. Chris Windom went out early and set fast time with a 13.705 lap, not far from the late Bryon Clauson’s 13.629. Justin Grant went out late and was second quickest. Chase Stockon was the quickest of MSCS group qualifying with a 13.484.

Sprint Heats:

First--Kevin Thomas Jr., Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Donnie Brackett and Kent Schmidt

Second--Critter Malone, Dakota Jackson, Stephen Schnapf, Scotty Weir and Braydon Fox

Third--Robert Ballou, Chase Stockon, Brady Short, Brady Bacon and Aric Gentry

Midget Heats:

First--Chris Windom, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins and Buddy Kofoid

Second--Thomas Meseraull, Justin Grant, Logan Seavey and Cole Bodine.

Third--Tanner Thorson, Clinton Boyles, Kevin Thomas Jr., and Bacon

Fourth--Jason McDougal, Andrew Layser, Cannon McIntosh and Chase Johnson

Midget C Main: Aiden Purdue, Kaylee Bryson, Gage Rucker and Hayden Reinhold (Tyler Nelson flipped over the turn two wall. He was able to exit the car on his own.)

Sprint B: Thomas Meseraull, Brandon Morin, Chayse Hayhurst, Jonathan Vennard and Jarret Andretti (Meseraull came from 13^th to win.)

Midget B:Daison Pursley, Stephen Schnapf, Chase Randall, Sam Johnson, Jerry Coons Jr., and Kaylee Bryson.

The sprint feature was up first with a powerhouse front row of Ballou and Cummins. Ballou got the jump and found himself leading, an all too rare situation for him in his year of disappointment. The green flag period lasted until turn one when Dakota Jackson spun, possibly with help. Robert was still leading when the yellow waved on the fifth lap for Garrett and Fox, who had locked bumpers. Ballou led Cummins, Malone, Stockon and Thomas.

 

The green waved and Cummins sized up the leader, looking for room on the bottom of the turns. On lap nine, Cummins made the pass on the low side of turn four to take the lead. Two laps later, Jackson’s forgettable race continued as he stopped on the track with ten laps completed. The top five was unchanged. That wouldn’t last.

Keith Dewig waved the green and Malone found himself getting attention he didn’t want from Stockon. After several laps of pressure, Stockon made the pass for third place on lap 20 as Cummins tried to put some distance between himself and Ballou. The distance between the two stayed at about five car lengths.

Though the leader was in control, things were quite interesting elsewhere in the top five. Malone was under attack from Thomas, who took over fourth on the 22^nd lap. KT then passed Stockon a lap later. Meanwhile, Cummins started to add some more Gibson County dirt between him and Ballou.

Then came a potential game changer, most especially up front. Brandon Morin stopped in turn four with a smoking engine, a terrible way to end the race and year from Brandon and his dad Steve. Never mind that Cummins was pulling away; now he would have to hold off one of the best for a lap. Mr. Dewig waved the green one last time and Cummins got a good enough jump, keeping the native Californian at bay while winning yet again at his home track.

Behind the front pair was Thomas in third and Stockon fourth. Bacon came from 12^th to fifth, earning the Certified Rental Hard Charger award. The second five was led by Brackett leading Short, Malone, Meseraull (after starting 16^th) and Schnapf, coming off one of the shortest “retirements” ever.

Up next were the USAC midgets and it would be fair to say this one had an uneven start before settling down somewhat. Up first was a Cannon McIntosh flip in turn two on the first lap. He walked away, done for the night. A complete restart was next.

Bacon spun on the restart and the gang would try again. This time they made it to lap four before early leader Bodine spun in turn two, collecting point leader Windom, who surely was steaming. He was done for the night and left the track second in points to Courtney.

McDougald was the new leader ahead of Layser, Grant, Meseraull and Cummins. A lap later Bacon spun again. In that brief time, Layser faded and now Grant would re-start on McDougald’s bumper. Meseraull was third and on this restart became a player. First he gifted Grant with a well-timed slide job in turn one to take second. Next up was McDougald, who received the same treatment. But the yellow waved again, this time for Randall, who had stopped on the track. Thomas had to give the lead back, but not for long.

Now the order was McDougald, Meseraull, Grant, Courtney and Cummins up front. You didn’t have to be Nostradamus to guess what was next after Keith waved the green. TMez grabbed the lead on the eighth lap with a turn one pass and was not to be denied—kind of like the case of yellow fever.

On lap ten it was Seavey brought out the yellow when he stopped coming out of turn four. Pursley had entered the top five after starting 11^th. Out came the green and Courtney found himself pressured by Cummins, trading sliders at each end of the track. Meseraull still led, but this segment would be interrupted by Pursley, who flipped in turn four, perhaps giving Keith Kunz a headache with two race cars that would need attention.

Racing began again and Cummins was the next to hassle Meseraull for the lead. McDougald and Courtney were still around, but another new player invaded the top five, namely Tanner Thorson, who had started fourth, but drifted back early on. Courtney, McDougald and Cummins all got a view of Thorson’s back bumper as he sailed around all three, passing Cummins for second with four laps to go. But could he catch the leader?

This became a real question as Meseraull’s engine began emitting a small amount of smoke with less than ten to go. His lead appeared to be safe, but as the laps wound down, the leader was fighting both a balky motor and lapped traffic, and the second place guy was gaining rapidly. The white flag was waved and Meseraull’s lead was about five car lengths. Throw in some lapped traffic and it was a tense final lap for all involved. But TMez hung on to win by a car length (0.119 seconds) as Thorson mounted one last charge coming out of turn four.

Cummins filled out the podium, adding a third to his earlier sprint car victory. Courtney was fourth. An outstanding under-the-radar run was made by Emerson Axsom, who took a provisional and started 23^rd, finishing fifth. Thomas was sixth with Meseraull’s teammate Boyles giving the RMS guys a seventh after starting 18^th. Grant was eighth and Bryson was another who made lemonade from lemons as she came from the C main to start 22^nd, finish ninth and claim the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger award. Johnson came from 15^th to finish tenth.

I would have loved to have seen the smiles on the faces of ace mechanics Bill Guess and Donnie Gentry. Their hard work and expertise brought them two cars in the top ten. In addition, it was the RMS team’s first USAC midget victory.

As usual, TMez had the quote of the night, one that could or should sum up life itself. “I’m not going to lift if I can see the checkered flags.”

There's something within the very best of racers that we can call the pursuit of excellence. A certain percentage of these guys I've watched all these years engage in that pursuit every time they strap in. They will take a good finish but in their minds they are thinking about how they lost a race they were good enough to win.

There are a few racers that are there to compete and hopefully have fun, preferring wrestling a sprint or midget around these bullrings to golf or tennis. They are happy to be able to load the car on the trailer at the end of the night.

I’ll close by saying I respect and admire every one of them. For better or worse, they reap (harvest) what they sow.

Buying Mike Pence a flyswatter for Christmas, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Battle and the War

Tonight's last race of the season at the Lawrenceburg Speedway brought out the great differences in defeat and victory. Tyler Courtney appeared to have won the battle, trading the lead with Brady Bacon a few times before taking the checkered flag first in the USAC Amsoil Sprint Car Fall Nationals. Bacon, for his part, won the war and, after Courtney was disqualified for being 15 pounds underweight at the scales after the race, won the war, too. It was the second time in two weeks that an apparent winner was DQ’d as Kendall Ruble endured the same fate at Tri-State Speedway on September 19.

The number of races left in Indiana are dwindling to just a few. This would be the last Lawrenceburg trip for my bodyguard and me. We’ve piled up the miles since the late start to 2020 and it’s been a treat to watch him grow and learn.

In addition to the 20 modifieds in the pits, 37 USAC sprinters were in town. Of note was Illini midget racer Andy Baugh trying his luck with a sprint car.

Jake Swanson’s 13.658 lap led all qualifiers while CJ Leary was one of the last to go out yet still ripped off a 13.914, leading the second flight of contestants.

JJ Hughes, after a disappointing night at Gas City on Friday, won the first heat over Shane Cottle, Jake Swanson and Brady Bacon.

In the second heat, Scotty Weir inherited the lead after early leader Robert Ballou tapped the wall. Scotty hung on for the win with Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland and Chris Windom giving chase.

Cole Bodine ran away with the third heat win, leaving the likes of Carson Short, Mario Clouser and CJ Leary, who needed a last lap pass of Jadon Rogers to avoid the dreaded B main.

Kevin Thomas Jr., whose luck this year has been gnarly at best, won the fourth heat over Justin Grant, Kyle Cummins and early leader Joss Moffatt.

Lots of good cars found themselves in the B as Logan Seavey led all the way to win. Joining him in progressing to the feature were Robert Ballou, pole sitter Max Adams, Chase Stockon, Tye Mihocko and 2020 Lawrenceburg track champ Nick Bilbee. Steve Thomas flipped end over end on the first lap. The veteran was awake and alert as he exited the car. No doubt he would have a sore Sunday.

An unexpected threat of rain had materialized and a few stray raindrops fell as the feature was lining up, but it stayed dry at the track and a disappointment was avoided.

The two main title contenders, Windom and Bacon, sat on the front row. If I heard correctly, all Bacon had to do to win his third USAC sprint car championship was finish 13^th. Maybe it was tempting for him to cruise for 30 laps and claim the title. No way. Besides he proved that he wanted to win races last weekend when he could have eased up a little.

Instead, Bacon jumped out to the early lead, leaving Windom to deal with Courtney, who started strong from fourth. Bacon steadily built a lead while Windom’s brakes were glowing as he tried to hold off Courtney. It was lap 12 before lapped traffic became an issue. This showed how evenly matched the field of 22 was. No, really. Usually the lappers appear earlier in a given feature.

The yellow waved with 12 laps completed when Seavey stopped on the track. Bacon led Windom. Courtney, Leary and Grant. The green waved and the boys got another lap in before Clouser stopped in turn three. Courtney was busy during that lap, passing Windom and now running second to Bacon. Leary was still fourth and Thomas had passed Grant for fifth.

On this re-start, Courtney made another move, passing Bacon for the lead on lap 14. But Bacon wouldn’t go away. He may have been winning the war, but he was hungry and wanting to win the battle too.

By lap 20, Courtney’s engine was smoking. It seemed like his night was about to be over as Bacon took back the lead on the 22^nd lap with a pass on the low side of turn one. Three laps later Courtney returned the favor and it seemed as if the smoke was gone. Sunshine hung on the rest of the race, taking the checkered flag first with Bacon finishing a supposed second place.

But wait. This wasn’t over. We were near Greensburg by my calculations when Courtney was disqualified for being underweight. What a surprise it was when I arrived home and discovered that Bacon, not Courtney, had won. It seems that a rock penetrated Sunshine’s radiator, which caused the smoke coming from his car. When the liquid reached a certain level, the smoking ceased and Courtney motored on, passing for the lead and pulling away. The rock issue will need to be addressed as TC wasn’t the only racer to fall victim.

Back to the race for a moment. K. Thomas finished second with Windom finishing the race third and second in points, 39 behind Bacon. Leary was fourth and Ballou came from 19^th to finish fifth and take yet another KSE Racing Products Hard Charger award. Cummins was sixth and Grant seventh. Almost unnoticed, Dave Darland rambled from 18^th to end up eighth. Swanson was ninth and Bodine tenth.

This is Brady Bacon’s third USAC championship. If the sanctioning body wanted to have a positive and accomplished public face, I’m thinking that few, if any, could be better at it than Bacon. It’s a championship both well-earned and well-deserved.

A few words about rules, disqualifications and conspiracy theories. As can be expected in these times, social media, or at least USAC’s corner of it, was quick to weigh in. It seems apparent that the disqualification wasn’t because of anything malicious on the Courtney team. But the rule book only states that the penalty occurs if the rule is broken. It doesn’t matter how it happened. It doesn’t matter if the Clauson/Marshall/Newman team cheated or not (I’m pretty sure they didn’t.). The rule book is about as objective as it can be. Fans aren’t so objective. That’s okay. It might be boring if all fans were objective.

There have been a few comments about a conspiracy of some sort. Good luck with that. Conspiracy is defined by secrecy and how long do secrets remain, well, secrets? Let’s put away the tinfoil hats already.

Though USAC sprints are done for the year, the USAC Nos Energy National Midget Division will be going west soon. But first, they will be at the Tri-State Speedway this coming Saturday. Why yes, I do plan on going.

Teaching a class on how to cover up your incompetence, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Ups and Downs

The weather may have been chilly at the Kokomo Speedway, but the action on the track certainly wasn't. On the second night of USAC's double dose of some of the best racing on the planet, both Tyler Courtney and Chris Windom overcame both the setbacks and the pressure to produce. Courtney won the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Series feature. Windom came from deep in the pack to triumph in the night's final race.

It was a night that reminded me how quickly fortunes can change—in our own lives as well as USAC racing. In 24 hours or less, guys went from hero to zero…and back again. As it is in our lives, no one was immune from misfortune.

The car count was down a bit on the midgets’ side, dropping from 35 at Gas City to 31 at Kokomo. The sprints held steady at 42. New kids on the block included Ray Seach, hauling his midget from Wisconsin. Among the sprints, Chase Jones, Davey Ray, Critter Malone, Tye Mihocko and Jake Swanson joined the party.

In qualifications, Dave Darland showed the kids how to get around the oval, ripping off a 13.068 lap, leading all sprinters. Tanner Thorson led all midget contestants with an impressive 13.175.

Sprint heats: 

First heat--Thomas Meseraull, Jadon Rogers, Tyler Courtney and Chase Johnson (transferees)—Gas City winner CJ Leary went to the B.

Second heat—Robert Ballou, Logan Seavey, Critter Malone and Shane Cottle—Tri-State winner Kendall Ruble and Justin Grant to the B.

Third heat—Scotty Weir, Chris Windom, Chase Stockon and Dave Darland—fine race

Fourth heat—Kyle Cummins, Mario Clouser, Brady Bacon and Brandon Mattox—Ricky Lewis climbed the wall in turn two, tipping over.

Midget heats:

First heat—Buddy Kofoid, Logan Seavey, Chase Johnson and Tanner Thorson—Ethan Mitchell was running third when his engine started smoking and he was done.

Second heat: Thomas Meseraull, Chris Windom, Tyler Courtney and Cannon McIntosh—Meseraull won his second heat of the night.

Third heat: Kaylee Bryson, Bryant Wiedeman, Andrew Layser and Brady Bacon—A side-by-side finish

Fourth heat: Daison Pursley, Justin Grant, Karter Sarff and Emerson Axsom—Clinton Boyles was leading when his engine expired.

Sprint C and B:

C: Matt McCarthy, Cole Bodine, Eddie Tafoya Jr. and Zach Pretorius

B: CJ Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr., Carson Short, Kendall Ruble, Clinton Boyles and Max Adams—Tim Creech II flipped in turn four. He was “transported for further observation” according to USAC. Keep Tim and his family in your prayers.

Midget B: Brenham Crouch, Kyle Cummins, Tanner Carrick, Cole Bodine, Chase Randall and Hayden Reinbold

The sprint feature would precede the midgets tonight and seconds after Mark Orr waved the green, things got unsightly right away. A major jamup in turn one left last week’s winner at Haubstadt Kendall Ruble and Kevin Thomas Jr. sitting sideways.

The re-start was a case of déjà vu if you were Kendall Ruble. He spun again and contacted an infield tire. If the young man from Knox County was muttering to himself at this point, it would have been understandable.

The third time was the charm as Mattox fired off from his outside pole starting point to take the early lead. Bacon had started behind Mattox and continued to shadow the Terre Haute resident. The pass for the lead was in turn one as Bacon dove low. The Oklahoma native would have his way for much of the race, beginning on the seventh lap. Bacon began putting a bit of Kokomo real estate between him and Mattpx by lap nine. Mattox had other issues, namely Stockon and Courtney, especially Courtney. Sunshine passed Stockon for third and began giving Mattox fits, and sweeping

 by Brandon on the 11^th lap in the third turn.

A lap later, Bacon found lapped traffic. This was a temporary situation as the yellow waved on lap 18 for a Chase Johnson spin. It was a mixed blessing for Bacon. The lapped traffic was gone, but his lead over Courtney was also gone. Behind the two frontrunners were Grant, Mattox, and Cummins.

The green waved and the hammer and tongs came out. Bacon went high, Courtney went low, then high, etc. Back and forth they went, even after Courtney took the lead with a well-executed slider in turn three on lap 24. Sure enough, here came Bacon, not knowing anything about yielding. Courtney officially led two laps before Bacon came back to lead lap 27. But Sunshine turned the lights out on the next lap, leading the rest of the way.

Stockon was third and Mattox had a USAC career best fourth place. Cottle started on the pole, drifted back to the wrong end of the top ten, and recovered to take fifth. Ballou was sixth and Cummins seventh. Darland claimed eighth as Windom motored from 18^th to finish ninth and earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger. Grant salvaged a tenth after taking a provisional and starting 21^st.

This was Courtney’s sixth USAC sprint car triumph at Kokomo

Bacon’s point lead is 30 over Windom with one race to go. Stockon is third, only ten points behind Windom.

A late note from USAC regarding Tim Creech II: As of 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, he was “awake, alert and responding to all questions appropriately.” I’ll take it.

Grant and Bacon hustled to their midget rides so they could start this 30-lapper on the front row of the grand finale of the Indiana Donor Network Driven2SaveLives Double Double.

Brenham Crouch brought out the first yellow flag when he spun seconds after the green waved. They tried again and Grant took the lead as Bacon kept busy holding Layser back in third place until the Pennsylvania native grabbed second. Layser’s great start was undone as he bounced to a stop in turn one and collected Pursley, running fifth, and Meseraull. Five laps were in and the top five was shuffled with Grant now leading Courtney, who had passed Bacon just before the yellow. Axsom was fourth and Kofoid fifth.

The green came out and Grant found himself under attack by Courtney. The fast groove was at the bottom and Grant was barely able to hang on. But he couldn’t keep the car at the very bottom and Courtney exploited the opening, taking the lead on the tenth lap. Bacon had not been far behind the duo up front and he got around Grant a couple of laps before Axsom stopped on the backstretch while running fourth.

The re-start order was Courtney, Bacon, and Grant. Two new names had joined the top five after beginning the race back in the pack. Windom was fourth and McIntosh was fifth. Mark waved the green and Windom went to work on Grant, making the pass at the halfway mark of the race. Up next was Bacon; Windom passed him with 12 laps to go and he was far from done. The battle for the lead was on and Windom owned the bottom as Courtney gave him just enough room to make the pass on lap 23.

Windom had put some distance between him and Courtney when Axsom stopped again on the 27^th lap. Thorson, who had been quietly hanging around the top five for most of the race, now was third behind Windom and Courtney. This would be the last, best chance for Sunshine to reassume the lead, maybe on the re-start. Thorson might have offered his own opinion on the matter at hand.

The final segment of the race proved to be anti-climatic as Windom withstood a mild charge from Courtney, who kept Thorson behind him. No positions were changed. McIntosh, the Gas City winner, came from 16^th to finish fourth. Kofoid took fifth and Bacon faded somewhat to sixth. Seavey was seventh and Cummins, getting used to this kind of racing, was eighth. Chase Johnson finished ninth and pole sitter Grant slipped to tenth at the end.

The icing for Windom was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger. He came from 14^th to the BC Victory Lane. It was also his first USAC Nos Energy National Midget Series win at Kokomo. Windom leads Courtney by eight points in the championship quest.

So it ended. Once again, one could be struck by how quickly fortunes could change. Someone who would run well or even dominate on one night might be out to lunch the following night. It made things that much more interesting.

Wondering if I could get away with paying $750 in income tax, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Different Paths, Same Result

USAC's idea of substituting two nights of racing at the Gas City I-69 Speedway and the Kokomo Speedway for Eldora Speedway's Four Crown got to a fine start on a chilly Friday night at Gas City as Cannon McIntosh and CJ Leary outran the best of their peers. McIntosh won the USAC Nos Energy National Midget main event while Leary triumphed in the curtain closing USAC Amsoil National Sprint car feature.

This would be a rare teaming up with both grandsons and their dad. After strolling through the pits to see who was who, we played the classic Gas City I-69 Speedway game of catch the tiny dirt pellets as hot laps began. Alas, by the time qualifications commenced, the miniature missiles were no more.

Thomas Meseraull, Clinton Boyles, Brady Bacon, Chris Windom, Justin Grant, Logan Seavey, Chase Johnson and Kyle Cummins made up the crew that would be extra busy for the night. Each had rides in both a sprinter and a midget.

The track seemed to gain speed as time trials progressed. Jadon Rogers led the first flight of sprints with a 12.346 lap. Brady Bacon’s 12.195 led overall. Thomas Meseraull’s 11.441 will stand at least into 2021.

Midget time trials were next. Try as he might, Tyler Courtney came close to the four-year-old track record belonging to Rico Abreu. Sunshine’s 12.149 lap was only .101 seconds slower.

Sprint heats--

First heat: Clinton Boyles, Jadon Rogers, Anton Hernandez and Chase Johnson

Second heat: Kyle Cummins, Kendall Ruble, Chase Stockon and Robert Ballou  Notice that southwestern Hoosiers ran 1-2-3.

Third heat: Logan Seavey, Brady Bacon, Dave Darland and Scotty Weir

Fourth heat: Brandon Mattox, CJ Leary, Chris Windom and Justin Grant   This heat was marred by two yellows and a red flag for Kyle Shipley, who flipped hard coming out of turn two. Kyle was out of the car quite rapidly all things considered.

Midget heats--

First heat: Thomas Meseraull, Chase Johnson, Kaylee Bryson and Tyler Courtney

Second heat: Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Daison Pursley and Robert Dalby

Third heat: Andrew Layser, Chris Windom, Cannon McIntosh and Emerson Axsom

Fourth heat: Cole Bodine, Clinton Boyles, Ethan Mitchell and Chase Randall

-------

Sprint C main: Dustin Ingle, Thomas Meseraull (from last), Matt McDonald and Ryan Barr

Sprint B: Kevin Thomas Jr., Shane Cottle, Carson Short, Ricky Lewis, Brandon Long and Evan Mosley

Midget B: Logan Seavey, Kyle Cummins, Tanner Thorson, Brady Bacon, Tanner Carrick and Tyler Nelson

The Midget feature was the next to last race and its first half was plagued by four caution periods in the first ten laps. Pole sitter Pursley got the jump and led the first two laps. But McIntosh was not to be denied. He took the lead on lap three just before the yellow waved.

On the re-start, McIntosh was a rocket as he jumped to a straightaway lead by the fifth lap. Bacon brought out a yellow on the ninth lap, erasing that big lead. The green waved but only for a moment as yellow lights blinked when Hayden Reinbold stopped in turn two. McIntosh led Pursley, Courtney, Meseraull and Layser.

The gang only made it two laps before Pursley did a half spin and collected Meseraull, sending TMez to the rear and we were up to four yellows in ten laps. Hey, it happens.

The race was an all-green affair for the rest of the way as McIntosh was never seriously threated. But behind him, there was quite the scrap. Courtney had blitzed his way to third after starting sixth. It took him 14 laps before he could get around Pursley for second. But could he catch the leader?

McIntosh still had a healthy lead when he entered lapped traffic on lap 22. This would be Courtney’s best chance to make this race closer if not take the lead. But McIntosh was unfazed as he handled the lapped cars like a pro, finishing 1.791 seconds ahead of Courtney. Cummins continued to show people that he’s not only a winning sprinter, but also a maestro of the midgets as he came from 11^th to take third. Thorson claimed the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger after he stormed from 17th to finish fourth. Young Emerson Axsom started and finished fifth. Grant led the second five while Kofoid came from 18^th to take seventh. Pursley was eighth. Windom started 15^th and finished ninth. Carrick was tenth.

This was the 113^th feature by a Keith Kunz/Pete Willoughby team.

Windom continues as the USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINT leader, but Courtney cut the margin to a mere nine points.

--------

Given the fact that the program started about 45 minutes late, the sprint finale’s lining up right around 11 p.m. wasn’t too bad. Anton Hernandez’s race ended before it started as he cancelled his engagement to participate, bedeviled by an ailing engine. Justin Grant was docked two rows for tardiness; instead of starting fourth, he would start eighth. The green waved and Leary and Darland were the front row with the People’s Champ taking the early lead.

The first yellow waved on the third lap as Thomas and Lewis met in the fourth turn. Darland led Leary, Rogers, Grant (already on the move) and Seavey.

Two laps later another mandated slowdown occurred when Seavey spun. Darland still led but now it was Grant in second, trailed by Leary, Rogers and Bacon. Grant was on the prowl as he charged into turn three under Darland, taking the lead on lap eight. As the race approached the halfway mark, Darland was finally passed by a rejuvenated Leary. At the official halfway point, Grant and the other leaders encountered lapped traffic.

Things were looking good for Grant, who has had his struggles on occasion this year. But I noticed that Leary wasn’t exactly dropping back. In fact, it seemed as if he was gaining slightly on the leader.

A caution flag on lap 27 for a Kyle Cummins spin made the leader’s advantage a moot point. The order up front was Grant, Leary, Bacon, Darland and Stockon. The green waved and it seemed to me that Grant took a very conservative approach to turn one. I thought, “Justin, you might need to get after it.” Leary was looking good on the re-start, taking a higher line than the low-riding Grant, the same space that was good to Courtney a few minutes later. Plenty of time left for a challenge.

Sure enough, Leary came out of turn four and made the pass for the lead on the high side as he passed under the flagstand on lap 28. From there, the Greenfield, IN native was gone, taking the win with a margin of 0.539 seconds. Bacon was third behind Grant. Stockon was fourth and Windom earned the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger after beginning the race 22^nd and ending it fifth. Cottle was sixth after starting 15^th. Darland was shuffled back to seventh at the end. Rogers was eighth and Ballou came from 18^th to come home ninth. And Mario Clouser took a provisional, starting 23^rd and finishing tenth.

Bacon leads the USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS by only five points over Windom.

This was Leary’s third USAC sprint 2020 win. It was his 12^th career win.

In a few hours, we aim to gather together for another night of…speed, thrills, craziness and…another pork chop sandwich. Chances are good that we’ll see two different paths to victory with a winning result.

Interviewing for the opening in the Kremlin for V. Putin’s PR rep, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Hail to the Chief

In the past few years, second generation racer Shane Cockrum has established himself as a threat to win at Lincoln Park Speedway. He and car owners Jamie and Michelle Paul have been a team longer than most owner/driver teams. Their consistency has been as impressive as their dedication as they have traveled thousands of miles to team up at LPS. Shane surely knows sections of I-57 and I-70 better than anyone. Come to think of it, he knows Lincoln Park pretty well, too. On a chilly Saturday night in beautiful downtown Putnamville, IN, Cockrum withstood the best efforts of his competitors to grab the victory. It was his second win at LPS this year.

Picking out a track to visit on Indiana weekends is more often than not a difficult choice. No matter what, I’ll miss something of note. For example, I missed seeing a first time winner at Haubstadt, Kendall Ruble. I missed seeing a promising young man, Max Adams, win at da ‘burg. Kind of glad I missed the Stan Beadles accident at Tri-State; best wishes to him and his family.

My fellow traveler takes cell phone pictures with more skill than Grandpa will ever have. We looked over the list of 34 sprinters (out of the 105 cars in the pits) and tried to determine if we had seen some of those guys before. Right away, he picked out four cars that would be the ones to beat. He was straight on. All four finished in the top ten.

But first, it was time for the four heats. The top four in the first heat were Dustin Smith, Ben Knight, Travis Berryhill and Ricky Lewis.

Two yellows slowed the second heat, won by Brady Short. Recent Bloomington winner Tye Mihocko was second. Harley Burns overcame early race trouble and hustled to third place. Chris Babcock, in the Randy Johnson car, came from last to take fourth.

Brent Beauchamp and Shane Cockrum were a very strong front row and finished one/two in the third heat ahead of Ryan Thomas and Mike Clark.

Scott Hampton won the fourth heat, holding off A.J. Hopkins. Braden Fox was third with Nate McMillin holding off Even Mosely to grab the 16^th starting position in the feature.

Coming from Illinois, Nic Harris moved from eighth to win the B main over Pat Giddens, Mr. Mosely and Bradon Cromwell, a Missouri visitor.

It was show time.

Hopkins and Cockrum were the front row as the field of 20 were greeted by Brian Hodde’s green flag. But the green was quickly replaced by the yellow as Brayden Fox spun in the midst of a crowd in turn one.

The gang tried again and Cockrum took the lead over Hopkins. Beauchamp fired off from sixth to quickly take third and soon gave Hopkins fits as he used the huggy pole road while the two leaders rode the cushion around the top.

With six laps complete, Smith flipped in turn four, bringing out the red. Dustin was able to walk away from his car. Cockrum led Hopkins, Beauchamp, Hampton and Mihocko.

The green waved again and Berryhill invaded the top five at the halfway mark. Berryhill was fourth and Mihocko fifth. On lap 17, lapped traffic came into play as Cockrum successfully navigated his way through the crowd. A lap later Beauchamp took second from Hopkins in traffic. Two laps after that the yellow waved for Ryan Thomas in turn one. It was still Cockrum, Beauchamp, Hopkins, Mihocko and Berryhill up front, but a lot can happen in five laps.

The re-start was a good example of I-465 on a Friday afternoon. On the backstretch, Beauchamp, Hopkins and Berryhill went three-wide with the California native prevailing. Beauchamp hammered the cushion at least twice in the closing laps but hung in there. And lo and behold, here came another yellow as Giddens and Burns tangled in turn four on the last lap, no less. Cockrum led the pack—Berryhill, Beauchamp, Short and McMillin, both of whom had flown under the radar for most of the race and had now presented themselves as serious players.

A one lap dash was next on the schedule. Cockrum knew that Berryhill was there and Travis tried his best. But the Chief was not to be denied at the end. Berryhill was second after starting ninth. Beauchamp recovered from his teeth-jarring bouts with the cushion to finish third. Short maintained his fourth place position and McMillin was fifth, coming from 16^th and winning the Kenny Clark Hard Charger award (a bag of Lincoln Park’s famous popcorn). Mihocko survived a last lap half spin to take sixth. Hopkins was shuffled back to seventh. Knight finished eighth and Hampton was ninth. Lewis ended up tenth.

Despite the usual delays that are a part of short track racing, we were on the road at ten o’clock for the 90 minute/80 miles drive home. To a certain extent, we were about as rational as Shane Cockrum and car owners Jamie and Michell Paul, who think nothing of making the long haul from Eaton, OH. Like Cockrum, they know I-70, at least from east of Richmond, IN to Putnamville., very well. But there are a few reasons why we chase this passion each weekend. Perhaps the most essential is mere curiosity. Who’s going to win? Who will be there?

Watching out for exploding trees, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Windom Does His Best (To Make It Look Easy)

Chris Windom appeared to have an easy time of it on a chilly Friday night as he cruised to the victory in the 21st running of the Jim Hurtubise Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track. But it was anything but easy as second place Dave Darland kept the Illinois native in sight for most all of the 30 lapper, waiting for any mistake or boo-boo. It didn't happen as Windom won his 28th USAC Amsoil Sprint Car National feature win, tying him with Levi Jones, Dave Steele, Tyler Courtney.

The racing pipeline that runs from California to Indiana is alive and well and it has been for close to ninety (90) years. In addition to the guys who have taken up residence in the Hoosier state, some of the West Coast racers have felt a real need to pay us multiple visits, seeing that racing in the Golden State has been limited this year. On this evening, the pits contained the likes of Matt McCarthy, Eddie Tofoya Jr. and Jake Swanson among the 32 cars, getting their feet wet as they’ve picked up a ton of experience while racing here.

C.J. Leary drew a high number for his qualifying effort and it didn’t hinder him as he set fast time with a 20.061 lap. Unfortunately for CJ, that would be his high point for the night.

Chase Stockon owned the first heat, leading second place Justin Grant by a healthy margin. Leary was third and Carson Short, now teamed up with Michael Dutcher, took the last ticket with little room to spare over Sterling Cling.

Dave Darland won the second heat as Brady Bacon took second with a last lap pass of Eddie Tofoya Jr. Brandon Mattox secured fourth.

In the third heat, it was Robert Ballou sweeping around Jake Swanson to get the post-race interview. Logan Seavey was third after starting last with a backup car. And after bringing out a yellow flag on the first lap, Max Adams came back to finish fourth.

Chris Windom bided his time as he took the lead coming to the white flag and won the fourth heat. Clinton Boyles, in his debut with the Phillips/Daigh outfit, led most of the race but settled for second. Kevin Thomas Jr. and Shane Cottle wouldn't have to run the B.

Anton Hernandez, occupying the Dave Darland-owned car in tandem with DD’s regular ride, checked out in winning the semi feature. Following him to the feature were Jonathan Vennard, JJ Hughes, Austin Williams, Tye Mihocko and Jadon Rogers.

Before the sprint car curtain closer, the ageless Kenny Schrader took the modified feature.

Darland and Grant was a formidable front row and Dave took the lead when the green flag waved. But the lights blinked red quickly as Leary flipped in turn two. CJ walked away from the wreckage, taking a hit in the points race.

The gang tried again and this time it was Windom taking the lead with Darland in tow. By the fourth lap, the Illinois native was putting himself several car lengths ahead of Darland, who was busy holding back Grant and Bacon.

Kevin Thomas Jr. brought out a yellow on the eighth lap when he stopped in turn three with a flat right rear. Windom led Darland, Grant, Bacon and Ballou. The green flag waved and immediately was replaced with the yellow as Short and Swanson found themselves hooked up via their bumpers.

As things evolved the high groove of the turns was the overwhelming choice of the large majority of the field. The green flag came out and Windom went on his merry way, not building up a margin as he did earlier, but still keeping Darland the rest at bay. Dave’s best chance at contending for the lead came as Windom encountered lapped traffic on lap 16. A near collision with Vennard on lap 22 didn’t help Windom’s cause, but it didn’t matter for much longer.

Jake Swanson’s difficult race continued as he stopped in turn two, bringing out the race’s final yellow on lap 24. Up front it was Windom, Darland, Grant, Ballou and Bacon.

For the last time, the green flag waved and it wasn’t hard to imagine some late-race craziness as occurred during THAT’s Indiana Sprint Week, which left Chase Stockon muttering to himself. But it was nothing like that as Windom would be impervious to everything except hitting his marks and staying close to the wall, but not too close. Behind him, Grant was doing his best to take second from Darland. With a couple of laps to go, he dove under Darland in turn two with an optimistic slider. But Dave   fended off that maneuver with ease and was never threatened again.

Windom, Darland and Grant were followed by Ballou and Bacon. Cottle was sixth. Thomas had a most eventful race. He started 13^th, suffered a flat tire, re-started in the back, and charged to the front, leaving the track with seventh place money. Stockon finished eighth. After a terrible hot lap and qualifying experience in which he had to use the Reinbold-Underwood team’s backup car, Seavey recovered and did more passing than Phillip Rivers, coming from 22^nd/last to finish ninth. Plus, he wasn’t intercepted either; indeed, the California native earned the KSE Racing Products / The Frolic Bar & Grill Hard Charger award. Hernandez brought his new ride home in tenth.

This was Windom’s fourth Hurtubise Classic win. Gee, you’d think he would start using the number 56.

I guess that it’s late enough in the season to mention the points chase. After the dust settled (even though there wasn’t much dust tonight), Windom leads Bacon by two points with Stockon hanging on, 46 points behind Bacon. Leary and Grant are very long shots to contend for the title now.

The end of the USAC season is in sight. Wish I could say that about a lot of things, especially those that look easy to do, but aren’t really.

Ignoring the president and voting not once, not twice, but three times, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Momentum (In the Groove)

Whether it’s in sports or playing solitaire, sometimes a hot streak appears seemingly out of nowhere. Its beginning can’t be predicted, nor can its end. On a national level in racing, Kyle Larson has had momentum going for him during much of this season. On a local level, Nick Bilbee at Lawrenceburg seems to have this momentum deal going for him. All he did was lead every lap of the 25 lap feature at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on a beautiful Saturday night, rolling to the victory by half a straightaway.

There was zero threat of rain heading east and that was a bit different. I’ve come to hope for rain—usually no later than Wednesday. That’s what has been the case for the most part these past few weeks.

Another plus has been the rare racing trips with little or no road construction. The past two weeks have been devoid of any major delays from Kokomo to Bloomington to Lawrenceburg.

Of the 108 cars jamming Dave Rudisell’s living room, 18 were sprinters. Among the 18 were track champions Joss Moffatt and Garrett Abrams. Most were Hoosiers and Buckeyes.

Moffatt won the first heat with Sterling Cling staying close enough to keep it interesting. Justin Owen was third and Abrams fourth. Tony McVey held off Kyle Simon to claim fifth.

The second heat was a little more competitive. Ryan Barr led most of the eight lap heat until a late race yellow waved. Nick Bilbee, who started sixth, had patiently worked his way to the front. The green and white flags waved and Bilbee passed for the lead in turn three. Barr was second, ahead of Anton Hernandez, who had started seventh. Dustin Ingle finished fourth with Korbyn Hazlett edging JJ Hughes, in his backup car, for fifth.

While waiting for the feature to line up, I watched the early laps of the Little 500. Kody Swanson was leading but apparently his momentum was broken as he had motor trouble and dropped out. I managed to sit through two modified B mains and two more with the hornets fighting for the last four positions in their features. Obviously, they’re not my favorite class of racing, but those guys race as hard as they can with what equipment and talent they have.

The sprint car kids lined up with Moffatt and Bilbee on the front row. Hernandez was scheduled to start in the third row, but had a problem with the brakes and couldn’t come out to play. Ace flagman Tim Montgomery waved the green flag and Bilbee got the jump, taking the lead.

By the fourth lap, he was several car lengths ahead of Moffatt, who in turn owned second place with a gap between him and Barr. On the sixth lap, Cling passed Barr for third and now chased Moffatt.

Bilbee’s lead disappeared on lap 12 when Hughes stopped on the backstretch. Nick led Moffatt, Cling, Owen and Abrams. The re-start had barely begun when Hazlett tapped Saban Bibent, who had advanced from 14^th to sixth, just enough to cause a spin, with McVey narrowly missing the stationary car in turn two. While the cars slowly circled the track, Hughes rejoined the field on the tail spot, not losing a lap, having fixed a suspected ignition issue.

The green re-appeared and Cling worried Moffatt for a lap or two with Joss maintaining his position.  But the yellow waved on the 16^th lap. Hazlett had replaced Abrams in the top five. Once again, the signal to go fast was displayed and Cling tried to slide Moffatt to no avail. At the same time, Hazlett harried Owen for fourth place. Both Hazlett and Owen gained ground on Cling, threatening to make it a three-way fight for third. Meanwhile, Bilbee was on his merry way and Moffatt was relatively speaking unperturbed. Both were oblivious to the scratching and clawing that was taking place behind them.

Bilbee took the checkered about a half straightaway ahead of Moffatt. Cling held onto third and Hazlett taking fourth after starting tenth. Owen started and finished fifth. Abrams was sixth and Hughes came back from his early misfortune to finish seventh. Braxton Cummings, after having trouble in his heat race, was the Chad Cunningham hard charger, scooting from 15^th to eighth. Ingle was ninth and Damon Cooley came from 16^th to finish tenth.

It was Bilbee’s third feature win at the ‘burg this year. He leads in the point standings and quite likely add the Lawrenceburg championship to his permanent record.

A combination of being slightly under the weather and the need to start preparing for a trip to North Carolina kept me home on Sunday night. While down there, I may actually catch a sprint car race just across the state line—at the Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC. But mostly I’ll be lazy. I’ve got that down like a boss.

You might say that when it comes to laziness, I’m in the groove.

Gently refusing the My Pillow guy's belated birthday gift of oleandrin, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: When Good Things Come from Bad Things

I would imagine that we all have lost someone near and dear to us at least once in the course of our lives. We were in the depths of despair and believed at the time that we would never be happy again. There would be a gaping hole in our lives that could never be repaired. Such feelings are understandable, but we also know that we’re better off if we move on and let the grieving process run its course. The best thing we can do is honor and cherish the memory of a departed loved one. There will always be a scar but the gaping wound can and will heal.

The above describes my feelings when my dad died. But less than a year later, I began to move on from the feelings of anguish that stalked me for several weeks. I did something that brought back memories of good times with my dad. I started going to races again, not aiming to recapture or recreate those times, but wanting to remember all those races we went to. Thirty years later that’s still the case, but I wanted more. So I started writing about races I saw. And on a chilly September evening at the Bloomington Speedway, what a race I saw. Chase Stockon, a young man who has also known his share of heartache, losing his mother at a relatively early age, won the Josh Burton Memorial 30-lap feature, with A.J. Hopkins, driving the Burton family car, making Mr. Stockon earn every penny that he won.

The Josh Burton Memorial has become more of a celebration of a young life well-lived, but all too short. His family has shown how good things come from bad things. The race has become one that sprint car drivers want to win. It’s the result of the Burton family and lots of other people working extra hard at promoting and attracting its share of sponsors and fans, dangling money before every class of cars on hand. The overall message is to appreciate this life, no matter how long you are in this realm of our existence.

This would be an MSCS sanctioned race and 34 of the 87 cars in the pits were MSCS sprints with 17 more RaceSaver 305 sprints making for predominantly open wheel racing. Much of the field was based in southwestern Indiana with a few USAC guys who didn’t have USAC midget rides.

Group qualifying saw the track get faster with each of the four groups that took turns. Brandon Morin, in the last group, was quickest with an 11.711 lap leading the pack.

Chase Stockon ran away with the first heat, leaving Isaac Chapple, Garrett Aitken and Sterling Cling to the feature. Kyle Cummins, Jadon Rogers and Brandon Spencer had an unscheduled meeting in turn three on the first lap. All scheduled a semi feature appearance.

In the second heat A. J. Hopkins passed both Brady Short and Jordan Kinser on the outside to triumph. Kevin Thomas Jr. slipped into fourth behind Short and Kinser.

Jonathan Vennard made a late pass of Aric Gentry to win the third heat. Two gentlemen from famous racing families, Brayden Fox and Dickie Gaines, trailed.

The fourth heat was won by the birthday boy, Dave Darland. Donnie Brackett, Tye Mihocko and Brandon Morin also advanced to the show.

Dakota Jackson won the B with a mob behind him. Andrew Prather led the mob, just ahead of Brandon Mattox and Kyle Cummins, who started 13^th and nipped Travis Berryhill at the line to grab the 20^th starting spot for the feature. Robert Brown flipped off the third turn. After a lengthy period of taking care that he could be safely put in the ambulance, Robert took a trip to the hospital. At this hour (3 a.m.), the only information I have is P.A. guy Brad Dickison’s report that Robert was talking to the emergency technicians. Say a prayer specifically for Robert Brown.

The 305’s first heat was won by sprint rookie Tyler Miller, leading Andy Bradley, Ryan Tusing, Rod Henning, and Jordan Welch, who came from ninth/last.

Scotty Bradley finished first in the second heat with Nathan Franklin, Cody Trammell, Austin Powell and Patrick Krenin the chase.

Darland and Vennard led the party to the green and the ageless one took the lead immediately with Stockon close behind. As Darland worked the cushion, Stockon was working best around the bottom and slowly making headway. Chase edged Dave at the line with nine laps complete. Right after that, Aric Gentry stopped on the track, bringing out a yellow. The lineup was Stockon, Darland, Hopkins, J. Kinser and Vennard.

On the re-start, Darland bobbled slightly going into turn one and Hopkins pounced, taking second as Dave fell to fourth, briefly, behind Vennard. Lapped traffic came into play on the 17^th lap. Stockon had a decent ten car length lead but Hopkins was closing the gap. For the last ten laps of the race, Hopkins stayed glued to Stockon’s rear bumper, a constant threat. Most of the time Chase used the high groove but he seemed to be stronger on the bottom. With five laps to go, Hopkins took the lead momentarily but Stockon recovered and grabbed it back, never to give it up.

The Ft. Branch, Indiana resident hung on desperately to join a special group of racers who have won this race since 2013. Hopkins was only a couple of car lengths behind at the end. Darland was third with Kinser fourth. Vennard, driving like he never took all those years off, finished fifth. Tye Mihocko, who seems to run well here, came from 12^th to finish sixth. KT motored from 14^th to claim seventh. Chapple was eighth and Jackson rumbled from 17^th to take ninth. Like Jackson, Mattox came from the B, started 19^th and finished tenth, taking the Certified Rental Hard Charger award.

For my traveling companion/courier, the 305 sprints would cap our evening. Outside front row starter Ryan Tusing took the lead early, leading the first lap, but RaceSaver rookie Cody Trammell was having none of it. He passed Tusing on the second lap and led all the way to take the win. Tusing was never far behind and laid claim to second. Jeff Wimmenauer came from tenth to finish third. Kerry Kinser came on strong to end up fourth after starting 13^th. Andy Bradley held off his brother Scotty to take sixth.

Who could ask for anything more…unless you didn’t have rhythm? The racers raced, the promoter promoted (with help from motivated people) and it was overall a successful night. Something good had, again, come from something bad. I’ve no way of knowing, but I like to think that souls such as Josh Burton and James Burton could at least have a glance at the proceedings. Maybe Josh was rooting a bit harder for A.J. driving his car. Maybe James Lee was getting a kick out of watching his great-grandson enjoying the whole scene—including the trips to the announcer’s booth to pick up lineups and/or results from Kenny Clark or Brad. Hopes like that can keep us going.

Offering to cut Nancy Pelosi's hair for free, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Redemption

Tyler Courtney has endured some less than stellar results this year at the Kokomo Speedway. But that was pushed off to the corner as Courtney led Kyle Cumminsto win the final night of the sprint car SmackDown IX 40 lap feature. This was Courtney’s third SmackDown title in four years. His greeting to fellow three time SmackDown winner Dave Darland might be, “Move over, Dave. You’ve got company.”

Matt Westfall won the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series 25-lap feature that preceded the USAC curtain closer.

Calm before the storm?... I've gotten into the habit of spending afternoons in a Kokomo city park and the final day of SmackDown was no exception. After lunch with a dear friend and classmate, I made a beeline for the park so I could walk and/or read. At one end of the park was the skateboard area and it was hard to miss the young males doing their thing. There was the rare accident but each kid got up and tried again. They were taking one chance after another.

This made me think that much progress has occurred because people took a chance that something might work better. Or someone tried something different, like a TV or a horseless carriage.

Too much chance taking is either wrong-headed or simply frivolous (Think of the Corvair.). But either way, if one learns from their mistakes, the mistake becomes a lesson. That thought brought me back to the truck and it was time to head for the Kokomo Speedway for the last hurrah of SmackDown. Hopefully there would be a few of us who would learn from those mistakes.

As an extra treat, like adding tasty options to your pizza, the BOSS would be a welcome addition to SmackDown. A total of 39 cars signed in at the BOSS headquarters, supervised by BOSS Boss Aaron Fry’s granddaughter Nora Gardner.

The SD format on the final night is different. The top eight in points are locked into the feature. Positions one through eight are determined by the King of the Hill competition, tournament style. The balance of the field would be determined by the three heat race finishes. The top three in each heat would transfer to the 40 lap feature. The B main would advance the top five. There would be no USAC qualifications.

The BOSS format was closer to “normal.” Group qualifying would decide the four heat race lineups with the top four advancing to the feature. Two B mains would take the top three to the 25 lapper.

The first USAC heat saw Robert Ballou, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Justin Grant secure spots in the finale.

The second heat: Logan Seavey, Clinton Boyles and Jake Swanson.

The third heat: Dave Darland, Charles Davis Jr. and Shane Cottle.

It was time for the Buckeye based series’ four heats.

The first BOSS heat’s top four were Matt Goodnight, Cody White, Max Guilford and Luke Hall.

The second heat: Cole Bodine, JJ Hughes, Matt Westfall and Sterling Cling.

The third heat: Dallas Hewitt, Brandon Long, Kyle Simon and Noah Gass.

The fourth heat: Dustin Ingle, Tyler Gunn, Lee Underwood and Matt Cooley.

The USAC semi was taken by Tyler Thomas, with Carson Short, Brandon Mattox, Dakota Jackson and Eddie Tofoya Jr. all moving on.

The King of the Hill began with CJ Leary eliminating Kyle Cummins, Thomas Meseraull beating Tyler Courtney, Buddy Kofoid outrunning Chase Stockon and Brady Bacon defeating Chris Windom.

Leary then beat TMez to advance to the final three lap session. Bacon terminated Kofoid’s effort. Leary claimed the crown after he quashed Bacon’s hopes of winning.

Dustin Clark won the first of the two BOSS B’s, leading Steve Irwin and Corey Smith to the feature. Isaac Chapple took the second with Korbyn Hazlett and Cody Gardner (Nora’s dad) tagging the tail for the show.

Ingle and Underwood led the way to the green for the BOSS feature. Westfall started sixth and was on the charge right away. He passed Ingle on the fifth lap and never looked back. The only chance anyone would have was for the Ohio veteran to break or a monster re-start.

Caution lights blinked for an early Tyler Gunn spin. Two yellows later, Irwin and C. Smith tangled and Smith was not thrilled with the outcome. The caution flag that affected the race more than the others came on lap 15 when second place Noah Gass spun in turn one, tried to correct the spin, but collected Brandon Long, who started tenth and had advanced to the top five, instead.

The green waved and Westfall again pulled away until a late yellow for Cling and Chapple slowed things one last time. Westfall took off as Mark Orr waved the green flag and “easily” won. But he missed a good race behind him as Bodine held onto second ahead of 13^th starting Simon. Hewitt was fourth and Underwood fifth. Hall moved from 14^th to sixth. Hazlett advanced from 20^th to seventh to win the Aaron Fry hard charger award (“’atta boy, Korbyn’”). Ingle was eighth and Clark came from 17^th to finish ninth. White was tenth.

All things considered, many of the BOSS regulars had either very few or no laps at all on the baddest bullring. They acquitted themselves well and were a welcome “support class.”

It was time for the Show. Driver introductions were made and kids had their chance to give high fives to the drivers who strolled in front of the frontstretch bleachers before strapping in.

Mark turned the mob loose and Bacon was the man in a hurry. Leary trailed as the groove right at the wall was the groove of choice. Passing would be possible, if somewhat difficult. Bacon was leading with Leary hounded by Cummins for second when the red flag came out for Short, who went flipping down the frontstretch with eight laps completed. Carson walked away from the Phillipsmobile. Bacon led Leary, Cummins, Kofoid and Courtney. As the cars were pushed off, Grant’s car wouldn’t fire. He went to the pits and probably pondered what a difficult weekend it had been.

Off they went again and Cummins was on the move. How could one not consider that this guy might well make it a clean sweep? He passed Leary and was knocking on Bacon’s door. The battle was halted on lap 19 when Boyles flipped hard in turn four and Swanson was collected. Boyles exited the car on his own and owner Paul Hazen had work to do. It was still Bacon out front, ahead of Cummins, Kofoid, Windom and Courtney.

On the re-start Cummins made his move, diving under Bacon in turns one and two, but Bacon took the lead right away. In addition, both had a new problem, namely Courtney, who had bolted from fifth to become a player. Just past halfway, Sunshine passed Cummins for second in turns three and four and was interested in taking the lead. Bacon was being stalked and had sparks coming out of the right rear. Courtney at this point seemed inevitable.

The deed was done on lap 28 as Courtney took the lead when Bacon had a minor bobble in turn two. From there it was a matter of time as Sunshine rode off to the sunset, eventually winning by a healthy 3.699 second margin, even after he bounced hard off the cushion on lap 38. Behind him was some as Bacon faded somewhat and Cummins annexed second place. Leary had a late race resurgence, taking third ahead of Bacon. Kofoid was the rookie of SmackDown IX as he had another strong finish, this time fifth. Windom, Seavey, Meseraull, Stockon and Cottle were the second five. Cottle was the KSE Racing Products/Circus City Speedway/Irvin King Hard Charger, coming from officially 17^th to tenth. This was even more impressive because he had to make a quick pitside visit as the cars lined up, dropping him to last.

The word of the night was, for Courtney at least, redemption. Twice this year, he has either flipped or spun out of the lead at Kokomo, during Midget Week and Sprint week. Thursday, he suffered a flat tire after contact while running second. He had to feel like he was due.

It was over, at least for a few moments, hours, or days. After the celebrations, the commiserating, the trophies, the big check, not to mention the mud on everyone’s shoes, Mr. Courtney will be able to kick back, and remember how he was able to get a measure of redemption.

Looking forward to my new job of placing myself between Jerry Falwell Jr. and any camera, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Importance of Momentum

Despite the best efforts by at least two of the best, Kyle Cummins again prevailed on the second night of the Kokomo Speedway's SmackDown. First Thomas Meseraull, then Chris Windom gave Mr. Cummins a few anxious moments before the pride of Princeton, Indiana crossed the start/finish line. It was Cummins’ ninth USAC Amsoil Sprint Car feature win. This was his second Kokomo victory.  But there was doubt if it would happen.

Driving north I could see a few clouds to the north and remembered that a little bit of rain wasn't going to stop anyone associated with USAC or the track from doing their best to prepare the surface for racin'. Periodically checking the radar I could see it was wet up here but I still wasn't turning around. Uh-uh.

Sure enough I arrived at the track after spending more time in the motel room than I planned. And sure enough, mud was everywhere, in the parking lot, the pits and of course the track. But the skies had cleared and everyone involved did their best to get Indiana's baddest bullring race ready.

The program had been pushed back an hour or two. No problem. The pits and the infield were a quagmire. Still no problem. One had to park at one’s own risk. No problem. I parked halfway to Logansport but didn’t mind. The slight slope would serve me well come midnight.

Tonight there were 50 cars in the pits. Dakota Jackson and Texan Brandon Long were the new kids. Missing was David Hair.

In time trials, just when it seemed like the track was slowing, along came Thomas Meseraull to set fast time with a 13.086 lap. He was only the 36^th to give it a try.

In the first heat, pole sitter Chris Windom won by a straightaway over Matt Westfall, Brady Bacon and Kevin Thomas Jr.

Chase Stockon won the second heat from the pole, with Damion Gardner, Carson Short and Justin Grant also heading to the feature.

The third heat saw Tyler Courtney pass early leader Bill Balog and win with the Badger State veteran second. TMez and Tyler Thomas were third and fourth.

Dave Darland’s night would be better than Thursday’s as he won the fourth heat over Cummins, Shane Cottle and Stevie Sussex.

Californian Eddie Tofoya Jr. triumphed in the C main with Minnesotan Brian VanMeveren, Jadon Rogers and Clinton Boyles, who made a last lap pass, all tagging the semi-feature.

Like the C, the B main was caution plagued. C.J. Leary won with teammates Buddy Kofoid and Logan Seavey trailing. Jake Swanson, Anthony D’Alessio and Robert Ballou made the show. Brandon Mattox and Dustin Smith took a provisional to get in. VanMeveren flipped down the frontstretch. He crawled out unassisted.

Short and Cummins led the field of 24 to Mark Orr’s green flag. Right away there was trouble when Cottle biked and nearly flipped. Instead, he stayed on all fours but collected Leary, Darland and Grant, who re-started. Darland went to the work area and returned. Cottle’s car was on the hook but returned later. Cummins led with one lap in. Ironically, all four who were gathered together are Kokomo Speedway champs.

The first mishap was in turn three and a second occurred a lap later in turn two. Mattox, Ballou, Westfall and Gardner were the participants. Mattox and Gardner re-started. Ballou visited the work area and returned. Westfall was done for the night. Cummins led Short, K. Thomas, Meseraull and Windom.

Cummins controlled the re-start and had started to build a nice lead when the red flag waved on lap seven. Coming out of turn four, Ballou, selected by Jeff and I as the hard luck driver for the night, and Grant collided with Grant flipping while Ballou’s car was beat up. They had what appeared to be a cordial chat and went their separate ways. While the yellow lights still blinked, K. Thomas stopped at the start/finish line with what was an apparent loose belt. But when he was pushed off, the car wouldn’t start and KT was done. Cummins still led but now Meseraull was second with Short, Windom and Courtney next in line.

Again, there was a short green flag segment interrupted by a slowdown. D’Alessio stopped just before the pit entrance with 13 laps complete. Short had been shuffled back and T. Thomas appeared in the top five. One had to wonder—if there would be a lengthier green flag period, would anyone else up front have anything for Cummins?

Meseraull stepped up his game on the re-start when he slid under Cummins in turn two, only give it back when they reached the other end of the track. A few laps later Windom passed for second place and set sail for Cummins.

While this went on, a large group was fighting each other for third on back. For a few laps, it was hard not to notice Meseraull, Courtney, T. Thomas, Stockon, Kofoid and Bacon fighting for position. And during all this, Windom closed the gap on the leader. With five laps to go, it was anyone’s race. Windom’s diamonding maneuvers in turns three and four were working. But near the end, Cummins used a lapped car to hold up the challenger. That was it. Windom’s charge fell short.

Courtney occupied the last podium position. Kofoid was fourth and Bacon came from 13^th to finish fifth and earn the KSE Racing Products/Circus City Speedway/Irvin King Hard Charger. Thomas faded a bit at the end but was sixth after starting 14^th. Leary started 12^th and came back from his early misfortune to finish seventh. Stockon was eighth and Meseraull fell to ninth. Darland also recovered nicely from his early mishap and grabbed tenth.

A final word courtesy of Richie Murray: Kyle Cummins is the first racer to sweep the two initial nights of SmackDown. Tonight, he will try and be another first.

How would the boys top this? We’d have to wait a few more hours to find out.

Peering out from my cocoon before ducking back inside, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Here Some Drama, There Some Drama

It seems like the Kokomo Speedway/USAC monster we call SmackDown always offers up some drama without seeming to try. On opening night it was Kyle Cummins who was the last man standing after holding off Brady Bacon through two different green/white/checkered attempts. This was Cummins; eighth feature win in USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car competition. It was his second USAC win at Kokomo and his first SmackDown victory.

My fellow traveler had done his chores and whatever schoolwork he had. His mom gave the thumbs up for him and Grandpa to head north to Kokomo. Our expectations were high and Kokomo didn’t disappoint.

There were the usual familiar faces and teams among the assembled throng along with a few visitors and new combinations in the never ending search for speed and victory. Damion Gardner would be the latest to turn some laps in the Baldwin Brothers’ Orange Crush. Other visitors included Noah Gass, Eddie Tofoya, Charles Davis Jr., Wisconsin's Bill Balog, Cody Gardner, California's Austin Williams, Jake Swanson and Cole Bodine.

Without benefit of the lineup sheet, my grandson identified the majority of the 49 cars and drivers. He struggled with the newer ones. Then again, so do I at times. I’ve seen Austin Williams’ dad, Rip, race way out west. Bill Balog has taken the wing off a few times and ventured south. Tofoya, Davis and Swanson must like Indiana as they paid our state a return visit.

With 49 cars, time trials would take a while, but it was a treat. Only Kyle Cummins and Brady Bacon dipped below the 13 second standard with Cummins’ 12.957 the quickest.

The first heat was the proverbial harbinger of things to come. Davis held off a snarling mob consisting of Chase Stockon, Tyler Courtney and Kyle Cummins, all of whom could have been covered by the proverbial blanket.

Things settled down somewhat in the second heat as Robert Ballou led Matt Westfall, Bill Balog and Brady Bacon to the line and the feature.

The first lap of the third heat was worth, if not the price of admission, at least the price of a pork chop sandwich as Thomas Meseraull led a four wide procession at the line. TMez hung on to win with Clinton Boyles, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Buddy Kofoid all moving on.

Jake Swanson continued to impress as he won the third heat, leading Shane Cottle, Tyler Thomas (from seventh) and Logan Seavey to the checkered with Seavey edging C.J. Leary at the line.

The C main had a strong enough lineup to pass for an A main at any of the area tracks. I heard that the winner was racing for a case of beer. I’m not sure if winner Max Adams is 21 yet. Hmmm…. Austin Williams, Dave Darland (in a backup car) and Tye Mihocko would tag the B main.

Predictably, the B lineup was also crazy with talent. C.J. Leary held off Chris Windom and Brandon Mattox to win. Also moving on to the show were Stevie Sussex, Damion Gardner and Justin Grant, who switched to a backup after a poor performance in his heat and passed a bunch of cars. Carson Short and Dave Darland were close behind and used provisionals to tag the feature.

Two California boys driving Arizona cars led the field to Brian Hodde’s green. On the first lap, a mob gathered together in turn two, ignoring social distancing rules. Shane Cottle ended up facing the wrong way. Sussex and Short were also involved and were sidelined while Cottle re-started.The gang tried again and Courtney stormed from his fourth starting position to take the lead from the California/Arizona duo.

Almost immediately Cummins was on the charge from his sixth place starting spot. His car was working both high and low. By the third lap he was in third place and was second a lap later. By the fifth lap Kyle was hounding Courtney something awful, my grandmothers would have said. It was only a matter of time before Sunshine would get the same treatment as the others. On the 13^th lap Cummins got a great jump off the low side of turn four and take the lead.

Try as he might, Cummins could not shake Courtney, who likewise could not put any distance between himself and third place Bacon. Lapped traffic came into play as Brian gave the group the crossed flags. Cummins was an absolute boss handling the lappers but still Courtney and Bacon wouldn’t go away as the laps wound down.

There’s no set pattern, but it seems like several of these feature races I watch stay green for much of the race before a yellow flag is displayed. Invariably another will wave and the leader would be well-advised to count to 20 or more. The yellow came out on lap 27 when a wheel banging turned into some bumping and bouncing. Courtney was in the middle of this and had a flat tire. His miserable luck at Kokomo would continue. Bacon did some serious bouncing, getting airborne briefly before moving on. T. Thomas had much worse luck; he ended up facing the wrong way in turn two.

Cummins led Bacon, K. Thomas, Ballou and Kofoid. The green came out and the boys got a lap in with no change until K. Thomas slowed on the frontstretch before stopping. Somehow everyone missed him and the yellow re-appeared. Seavey replaced KT in the top five.

On the re-start, Bacon was hungry. He forced his way under Cummins and pulled a little closer at each end of the track. Coming to the checkered, it was a photo finish. I had no clue who led, but it didn’t matter. Balog had spun in turn one, bringing out the yellow and negating a very close finish. It would be another green/white/checkered finish (which I’m not a fan of). Would Cummins suffer the same fate that bedeviled Chase Stockon at Terre Haute? Uh….no.

Bacon would try again on this final re-start, but this time Cummins had a much better start and was able to hold off Brady, winning by a margin of barely a quarter of a second. Ballou took home the bronze medal after starting eighth. Kofoid was fourth and Meseraull was fifth.

The second five had pole sitter Seavey sixth and Stockon coming from 12^th to finish seventh. Windom claimed the KSE Racing Products/Circus City Speedway/Irvin King Hard Charger award after starting 21^st and ending eighth. Swanson and Leary ran ninth and tenth.

My buddy and high powered HARF officer Jeff VanWinkle are again collecting money for the hard luck driver for each night of SmackDown. The “winner” of the hard luck money was Robert Bell, who flipped hard in his heat race. As game as ever and the hero of low buck racers, Robert intended to return for both nights if he could pick up a part or two. A racer all the way.

As the rain falls here and reminding myself that they are not racing here, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: There He Goes Again

It isn't very often that one gets to witness a resurrection and top of the line excellence on the same night. But that was the case on Sunday night at the Indiana State Fairgrounds as the Hoosier 100 emerged from the ashes it had been reduced to last year. In addition, fans got to see a young man at the top of his game as he beat a talented group of racers, the best that the USAC Silver Crown division can offer. No matter what your age is folks, you will be able to say, I saw Kyle Larson beat the best. That’s what he did on a typically humid August evening in our fair state.

If we could take a trip back to the 1950s and visit the Indiana State Fairgrounds, we might be surprised at how little has changed in terms of the buildings and, of course, the mile oval that has hosted the Hoosier 100 since I was a few years from enrolling at State Street Elementary School. This is always hard for me to ignore each time I turn into the parking lot off 38^th Street in midtown Indianapolis. The buildings may be aged, but seem to be well-kept.

This is the track where racing royalty has competed. For those of a certain age, the names resonate and beckon us to what seems now like a simpler time (it wasn’t really). The winners of this race read like a Hall of Fame somewhere. Bryan, Foyt, Ward, Andretti, Unser were all-time greats who won the Hoosier 100 on multiple occasions. Later names such as Gurney, Hewitt, J. Swindell, Darland, Elliott, Coons, Swanson would join the club.

This year, on short notice, 36 cars were entered, a positive development. Time trials began and Larson went out and nearly beat Johnny Parsons Jr.’s 25 year old track record. His lap of 31.426 seconds was only .047 seconds off JP’s difficult-to-top standard. Logan Seavey’s second quick time was 31.850, not quite a half second behind.

The 24 fastest qualifiers were locked in and everyone else ran a 12-lap last chance race. Aaron Pierce and Justin Grant, both of whom had qualifying troubles, ran one/two.

The starting lineup was scrambled when Larson, Shane Cockrum, Chris Windom, Matt Westfall,Kyle Cummins, Aaron Pierce and Austin Mundie all opted to change right rear tires before the race. This dropped them back in the pack. It also ensured that they would make the race even more interesting as they made their way through the crowd.

The green flag waved and all was “normal” for the first few laps. The revamped lineup had Seavey and Leary on the front row. Leary took the early lead and did his best imitation of the hare, breaking away from the pack. Behind him, Tyler Courtney and Kyle Larson quickly moved forward and were in the top five by the time Kyle Robbins slowed on the ninth lap, bringing out the yellow.

At this point, the race entered the Twilight Zone. The caution period immediately went red as a major accident took place coming out of turn two. Kody Swanson and David Byrne flipped with Byrne ending up on top of the guardrail. Also involved were Jimmy Light, Terry Babb and Austin Nemire. All involved walked away from their cars.

Everyone tried again. Tom Hansing shook the green at the field and away they went. Incredibly, it happened again. First Courtney passed Leary for the lead and Larson passed Seavey for third. Seconds later, Carmen Perigo flipped in turn two, then Brady Bacon, who had changed a tire after the first accident, couldn’t check up in time and flipped. John Heydenreich was also associated with the proceedings and took a trip to the hospital for some observation. Hot Rod was said to be awake and alert.

On this re-start, Courtney and Larson repeated their earlier moves forward. A few seconds later, Larson also passed Leary and took up the chase for the lead. Courtney’s lead vanished on lap 16 when Chris Urish brought out the yellow after smacking the wall. Sunshine led Larson, Leary, Seavey and Shane Cottle.

The green flag prevailed again and Larson began making his presence known, harassing Courtney every chance he had. On the 25^th lap, the NASCAR star-in-exile made a nifty outside pass on Courtney and took the lead. Leary had a burr in the saddle and also passed the Indianapolis native for second. CJ wasn’t done; he went ahead and took the lead on lap 29. I doubt if very many thought that this demotion of Larson’s would last. But it would take awhile.

First, there was yet another flip; this time it was rookie Bryan Gossel who hit the turn four wall after contact with Matt Westfall on the 34^th lap. Gossel exited his car on his own. The top five was unchanged—Larson, Leary, Courtney, Seavey and Cottle.

A couple of laps after this re-start saw rookie Jake Swanson enter the top five, passing Cottle. Swanson took fourth from Seavey on lap 48. Caution lights flashed on the 55^th lap when veteran Chad Kemenah had an encounter with the wall. Mike Haggenbottom had his own moment with the wall nine laps later. It was getting close to show and tell time.

Each race has its own version of show and tell; it depends on the circumstances. Silver Crown races that last 100 laps usually find show and tell sessions beginning around laps 70-75. Larson couldn’t quite wait that long. On the re-start after the yellow, he made yet another outside pass of Leary for the lead going into turn one on the 69^th lap. As Leary slid up the track, Courtney was quick to pounce and take second.

Larson had made his move, but so had Courtney. He was inching closer to the leader when his racing good luck disappeared on lap 79 when he pulled off the track with an engine problem.

Leary was back in second place. Larson was pulling away when, for the first time in the race, lapped traffic became a factor on lap 92—or not. Larson wasn’t fazed by the lappers, nor was he bothered by the turn one lights going out. The race went on anyway.

By race’s end, Larson finished 2.052 seconds ahead of Leary. It was the Californian’s first Silver Crown win since 2011 at Eldora’s Four Crown. (He was a teenager and I was newly retired.)Larson also earned the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard ChargerAward, coming from 22^nd to first.

Seavey ran near the front for 100 laps, settling for third in his second SC race. Like several others, Cockrum did some serious passing, 23^rd to fourth. Windom drove to fifth after starting 24^th. J. Swanson ran in the top five for much of the race before fading slightly to sixth. Cottle was a steady seventh. Grant took eighth place with an ill-behaving car, coming from 20^th. Cummins rambled from 26^th to ninth. And Matt Goodnight came from 21^st and finish tenth.

The dueling themes of the Hoosier 100 were the sheer excellence and domination of Kyle Larson along with the resurrection of the race itself. In May 2020, I was resigned to the then-fact that the Hoosier 100 would be no more. But like the phoenix of Greek mythology, the bird that arises from its own ashes, or if you prefer, we Christians’ Savior Jesus Christ who also arose from the tomb, the Hoosier 100 did the same. It rose from the Hoosier soil from whence it came.

Given the way things turned out, we have all been the better for it.

Suggesting to Steve Bannon that he apply for a job with the USPS, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: A Whuppin'

The Lawrenceburg Speedway hosted its annual Dick Gaines Memorial on a warm Saturday night and Joss Moffatt showed how a racer deals with adversity as he avoided near disaster in his heat race, then led all 25 laps to outrun young Max Adams. The main event ran non-stop with no yellow flags waved.

With a little time on my hands, I tried what I call the Keith Wendel route to the ‘burg. That would include I-74 and I-275. I ventured into Ohio briefly. One missed turn and I’d have been in Kentucky. But Kentucky would have to wait about three more weeks to greet me; instead I ended up at the track.

This was a memorial race that’s lasted a long time at Lawrenceburg, beginning in 2004 when the late Bryan Clauson was the winner at age 15. Robert Ballou is the only multi-time winner, 2017-18.

One of the reasons that I find racing interesting and appealing is its unpredictability. Though there were only 16 sprinters on the grounds, the two heats gave me more drama and mayhem than I prefer.

In the first heat, Max Adams was racing his heart out to keep Nick Bilbee behind him. But on lap six (of eight), California visitor Austin Williams slid into fellow second generation racer Drew Abel, sending the North Vernon resident flipping. Drew crawled out from his car on his own. A lap later, the red flag was waved again, this time after Bilbee made enough contact with Adams' left rear to send him over, but not nearly as violent as the previous mishap. Finally the checkered flag was displayed and Adams led Shawn Westerfeld (the only Hoosier native left), Sterling Cling, Williams and Ricky Lewis at the end.

One would think that the guys in the second heat would have been determined to avoid the hijinks of the first. Uh-uh. Saban Bibent spun, with or without help, in turn two of the first lap and collected three cars. Two of the four cars dropped out and one of those involved, Joss Moffatt, came back to win over pole sitter Garrett Abrams, Korbyn Hazlett, Ryan Barr and Dickie Gaines, who was also caught up in the early race drama.

Everyone except Abel started the feature with Adams and Moffat on the front row. But Adams jumped the start and Lawrenceburg’s policy is one strike and you move back a row. This put two Lawrenceburg champs, Westerfeld and Moffatt, on the front row. Tim Montgomery waved his green flag and Moffat grabbed the lead with Westerfeld holding down second and Adams third.

Early on, the top three put some space among them, but as lapped traffic came into play not long before halfway, things tightened up with Westerfeld closing. Moffat wasn’t really in danger of losing his lead, because Westerfeld had Adams to deal with. The youngster from California passed the local kid on the 21^st lap. That was the race among Moffat, Adams and Westerfeld in a nutshell. It was a matter of the two running behind the leader racing each other and not able to challenge for the lead.

Moffat was in his own little world and deservedly loved it. Tim had to reach for his checkered flag a lot quicker than expected. Behind Moffat, Adams and Westerfeld was Bilbee, who had started 11^th and finished fourth, winning the Chad Cunningham hard charger award (knowing Chad, that might have been a half-eaten bag of chips). Cling was fifth, which meant two top five results for the Arizona native in two nights. Hazlett started and finished sixth. Abrams was seventh with Lewis ending up eighth. Williams was ninth and Barr took tenth.

In Victory Lane, Moffat was joined by Dickie Gaines, whose race wasn’t a good one for himself. Joss told P.A. man Chad the same thing that lots of other competitors may have thought: if he couldn’t win, he hoped that Dickie could win the race in memory of his dad.

After the carnage in the heats, the all-green feature was another of those occurrences that no one can predict. Racers—there’s no telling what they will do.

Another tough prediction has to do with car counts. I’d guess that several people would have expected more than 16 cars for a race paying $3K to win. Folks could offer ideas and opinions why the low count; that would be the extent of it and that’s all it would be—opinions.

It’s the eve of the greatest race in the known world. Absent a first time winner, I’ll hope that Mr. Kanaan can grab another 500 win. Maybe he could give the 32 others a Joss Moffat-like whuppin’.

Turning down Vladimir Putin's offer of a glass of tea, I'm.....

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Some Things You Don’t Forget

Though it would be more of a challenge, I’ve not forgotten how to deliver mail. It was and is a job that’s not as easy as many like to think. I’ve no desire to go back and carry mail for many reasons. But the analogy with Brady Short ends there. On a humid Friday night at the Bloomington Speedway, Mr. Short showed the field that he hasn’t forgotten how to win as he won the 25-lap feature, holding off a charging A.J. Hopkins in the meantime. He is the latest of the racers to beat at Bloomington, like Jon Stanbrough, Kevin Briscoe and Derek Scheffel, among others, before him.

This was my first trip in 2020 to what comes closest to being my home track. It’s been that kind of year. The distinguished lady had a few cosmetic changes for the better, most notably the new bleachers that resemble those at Lincoln Park, ideal for lawn chairs.

The track is the same red clay oval. Narrow, lightning fast early and still pretty quick by the time sprints line up for the feature. It can be unforgiving as a few guys found out the hard way. After seeing its ups and downs, it seems to me that cautious optimism is justified as the facility’s star seems to be ascending.

Among the 108 cars in the pits, 27 were sprints. There were no surprises. Of the 27, two were ladies; both made the feature. The format would be the three heat/top five to the feature, plus a B.

The good news was that Ethan Barrow won the first heat. The bad news was his engine erupting in smoke as he crossed the finish line, just ahead of Jadon Rogers. Braydon Fox, Travis Berryhill and Shelby VanGilder also transferred to the feature. Billy Winseman flipped in turn two, bringing out the red flag. He climbed from the car on his own. Later in the evening, Barrow and company left, a good night gone bad.

The second heat was one that saw its share of cushion building as Josh Cunningham won by a half lap. Sterling Cling, Robert Brown, Brandon Spencer and Jake Bland trailed.

Jordan Kinser won a loaded third heat, holding off Brady Short, who started seventh. A. J. Hopkins was third after starting ninth, guaranteeing him a mid-pack start in the feature. Chayse Hayhurst came back from a flip in hot laps to race his way into the show. Lee Underwood was fifth.

Mason Day, usually a one man band (with zero helpers), won the semi, leading Joey Parker, Cindy Chambers, Andy Bradley, Matt Thompson and Travis Thompson to the main event.

After some fireworks and the mini-sprint feature won by Keith Langley, it was time for the 410 sprints. Short and Cling were the front row. Brian Hodde waved the green and Short had a good start. But it was for naught as Parker flipped while trying to avoid a sideways car in turn three. Joey walked away from his bent machine.

With a complete re-start, Short again commanded the lead until lap three when Day stopped on the backstretch. Behind the leader were Rogers, Kinser, Cling and Berryhill, who brought out another yellow when he slid over the bank in turn two after nearly doing the same in turn three. Hopkins, who had started ninth, was now in the top five. Six laps were complete.

On this re-start, Kinser got around Rogers for second and held his own for several laps before lapped traffic entered the thickening plot with ten laps to go. By lap 17 Kinser was closing on Short with more lapped traffic looming in the distance. But Jordan bounced off the cushion a lap later and gave up second to…Hopkins, who had worked his way forward.

Kinser got a break, though, when Rogers slid off turn four, bringing out another yellow with 19 complete. It was now Short, two lapped cars, Kinser, Hopkins, Cling and Underwood up front. The green lights came on and Hopkins immediately got around Kinser for second. He dispatched the lapped cars and was reeling in the leader as the race neared its end.

Hopkins had been flirting with disaster on the cushion and, sure enough, he slipped high in turn four with three laps to go, losing precious ground to Short. But wait. Braydon Fox had brought out a caution with 22 laps in. A.J., like Kinser earlier, would get his position back. He would have another chance to try and beat the guy who has dominated Bloomington over the past few years.

Again, Short nailed the re-start and Hopkins responded. He executed a perfect slide job and took the lead briefly in turn two after the start, but Short answered with a gutsy move in three that put him back in front. From there, Brady was in control, crossing the line with the Jerry Burton car a couple of car lengths behind.

Earlier I had asked A.J. to give me something to write about as he had done at Paragon last Friday. That he did. In addition, Hopkins was the Brad Dickison hard charger, coming from ninth to take the runner-up spot. 

Behind the two heavyweights up front, Sterling Cling drove the best race I’ve seen him drive in his time here. Kinser survived his bout with the cushion to finish fourth. That wily veteran Cunningham started and finished fifth. Berryhill was sixth after coming back from his early slide-off. Underwood was seventh and Hayhurst finished eighth after starting the evening so badly. Bland was ninth after starting 14^th. Rogers came back from his misfortune to salvage tenth.

All that was left for me was to go home. The hour was late enough to ensure that minimal traffic occupied State Road 46 east. With my new best friend Malcolm Gladwell and old friend Lyle Lovett providing inspiration, I thought about what to say here. I must have been doing that when I hit a skunk near the Brown County line. Thankfully the aroma was gone by the time I arrived home, but not the rather lame comparison between carrying mail and sprint car racing.

Looking forward to receiving a new history book about the 1917 flu, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Inevitability of Kody Swanson

After watching Kody Swanson run a near flawless 75 laps in the USAC Silver Crown race on Saturday night at the Salem Speedway, my grandson asked me who was the best I’ve seen race at Salem. Talk about a loaded question. Over the years I’ve seen Parnelli, A.J. and Mario race sprint cars at Salem. I’ve seen Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison and Iggy Katona (no, really) wrestle those behemoths called stock cars at Salem. I’ve also seen Dave Steele, Bryan Clauson and Ryan Newman race those little bullets they call midgets at Salem. I’ve seen Kody Swanson and Bobby Santos race Silver Crown cars at Salem, most recently a few hours ago. It would appear to me that Mr. Swanson owns, in a sense, the storied .555 mile paved oval. Since the SC cars returned to Salem in 2016, Swanson has yet to lose.

Boys Night Out

This road trip included my grandson and his step-dad, who was duly impressed with the proceedings. We arrived in time for qualifying. The order seemed to be backloaded with the faster cars going out later. Kyle Robbins was the first to post a sub-17 second lap. He was followed by Brian Gerster, Kyle Hamilton, Derek Bischak, Justin Grant, Bobby Santos and, finally, Kody Swanson in setting fast time. Swanson’s time was 16.107 in the Nolen Racing special. Eleven of the 20 cars turned in laps under 17 seconds.

While there were no cars on the track, we visited the display of vintage cars. My grandson was particularly animated and, after looking at a collection of pictures featuring Parnelli Jones, so was I.

The front row of Swanson and Santos might have persuaded the rest of the field of 20 to ponder how much money third place paid. It would have been understandable to think that third place on back was up for grabs.

It might have been a surprise as Santos took the lead at the start, but as it turned out that was delaying the inevitable. Bobby put a few car lengths between himself and Swanson as David Byrne occupied third. But alas, as Byrne slowed on the ninth lap, yellow lights blinked. Santos and Swanson led Grant, Chris Windom and Gerster.

The next green flag segment was all too brief as Windom and Gerster made enough contact to put Windom out of the race. Aaron Pierce replaced Windom in the top five. Racing resumed with Swanson almost on the rear bumper of Santos’ car for the first two laps before the New Englander pulled away slightly.

Lapped traffic greeted the leaders on the 29^th lap. Eventually, that would play a role in Swanson’s taking the lead. During this portion of the race, Santos would pull away for a few laps until Swanson would close the gap. Was Kody saving his tires? Biding his time? Or checking text messages? Just call it racing.

With lapped traffic making things problematic for Santos, Swanson chose to pounce, making a tense high side/three wide pass in turn one on the 50^th lap. For the next few laps, it was Santos’ turn to pester Swanson. But the California native began to put some distance between himself and Santos. By the 57^th lap, that gap was easily six car lengths.

The yellow flag waved on lap 66 when Kyle Hamilton stopped on the frontstretch. Swanson’s lead of a full straightaway was gone. As he drove by Hamilton while under the yellow, Swanson shook his fist at Hamilton. (Not really.) Behind the Dynamic Duo was Pierce, Grant and Bischak.

The green came out on the 70^th lap and Swanson steadily put some space between him and Santos. But as he expected to see the white flag, he saw the yellow instead. Joe Ligouri had spun in turn two and made mild contact with the wall. Hello, Green/White/Checkered. Swanson still had work to do.

One last time Barry Smedley waved the green and again Swanson held on to his lead. Not a lot changed behind him as Santos gave his all only to fall short by little more than a second. Pierce was a solid third after starting ninth. Grant, who admittedly says pavement racing is not his biggest strength, came through with an impressive fourth. Bischak started and finished fifth.

Austin Nemire was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger as he advanced from 15^th to sixth. Kyle O’Gara had one of those under the radar runs, moving from 14^th to seventh. Kyle Robbins was eighth. Mike Haggenbottom moseyed from 18^th to ninth. And Joe Ligouri took tenth despite his late race spin.

My hope is the younger fans at Salem came away with an appreciation of how dominant Kody Swanson has been, not only because of the five straight O’Connor/James Memorial triumphs, but his excellence in the Silver Crown series overall. Add the fact that he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll find in the pits—before he turns into Conan the Barbarian on the track. And he’s still only 32 years old.

The local street stock feature was won by Brandon Deckard, who avoided a lap 22 melee when the top three attempted to enter turn three side by side. The top five were eliminated (first time I’ve ever seen that) leaving Tony Conway in the lead and Deckard second. The young man from Shepherdsville KY took the lead on lap 28 and led the rest of the way.

Side note: I’m so happy that the Hoosier 100 has been resurrected to its rightful place in USAC Silver Crown/Hoosier racing.

Another side note: There are at least two ways one can determine an all-time great. First, one must consider the competition. Who did the champ beat? Second, how many all-time greats accomplished what they did with two different teams?

I rest my case.

Wishing that I had the megabucks needed to field a two car team for the Indianapolis 500 with Kody Swanson and Bobby Santos as my drivers, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The New and Not So New

While A. J. Hopkins has run his share of laps at the Paragon Speedway, winning never gets old as he dominated the 25-lap sprint car feature on a typical Hoosier Friday night. Emerson Axsom, it’s probably safe to say, has not run very many laps on the three eighths mile paperclip oval. However many laps the youngster has run at Paragon or anywhere else, it didn’t matter as he hung on to win a rare regional midget feature over a charging Kyle Cummins. And finally, my youngest grandson became the fourth (or is it fifth) generation of my family to pay a visit to Paragon. As the midget feature ended at midnight, he was just as animated as he was when we arrived.

Give or take one or two, there were 116 race cars in Paragon’s pits. Of note, there were no surprise entries among the 32 sprints in the pits. But there were a few to be noticed in the midst of the gathering of 37 midgets. Hot Rod John Heydenreich was on the premises, as was Russ Gamester and my grandson’s good friend Donnie Gentry.  These three might have as many years of racing than any dozen of their competitors. The KKM team checked in with four drivers, all youngsters (at least from my aging eyes).

For the sprints, it was the usual four heats/top four/one semi-feature/top four format. As for the midgets, it was five heats/top four/two B’s/top two from each, making a 24-car lineup.

Dustin Clark led the first heat on two different occasions, including the last lap. A. J. Hopkins was second and Parker Fredrickson survived a major biking to finish third with Joey Parker taking fourth.

In the second heat, Jake Scott won by a straightaway over Pat Giddens, Travis Thompson and Andrew Prather.

Braydon Cromwell won his first heat within the Hoosier state, the third heat. Trailing were Josh Cunningham, Harley Burns and Brandon Spencer.

Braxton Cummings led a high speed parade in the fourth heat, leading Brandon Morin, Travis Berryhill and Jesse Vermillion to the feature. Matt McDonald flipped in turn three after tangling with Berryhill. He exited the car, less than pleased.

Midget heat race winners were Brenhan Crouch, Kyle Cummins, Tyler Nelson, Hayden Reinbold and Emerson Axsom.

The caution plagued sprint B was won by Blake Vermillion with Colin Parker, Hunter O'Neal and Michael Clark all tagging the feature field.

For the midgets, Chet Gehrke and Billy Lawless marched to the feature as they ran one/two in the first B while Chase McDermond and Alex Watson did the same in the second.

The sprint feature was first so Morin and Cunningham led the way to the green with Giddens and Hopkins in row two. Josh got the jump at first, but a yellow flag negated that effort. The boys tried again and Cunningham vaulted to the lead. This would be short lived as Hopkins dove low in turn one on the second lap and edged ahead on the drag race down the backstretch.

Hopkins was busy building a lead when the race’s second yellow waved on the seventh lap for a spin. On the re-start, he led Cunningham, Giddens, Scott and Cummings. Again, Hopkins’ plan to increase his lead was foiled when Fredrickson flipped at the start/finish line a couple of laps later. The Kokomo resident gingerly made his way to the ambulance for the usual checkup.

Another re-start and this time, Hopkins began to check out. Just before the crossed flags, Cunningham parked in the infield, his race done. Cummings inherited second, but he had his hands full with Scott hounding him with an assortment of slide jobs that didn’t quite get the pass completed.

Once again, Hopkins saw his straightaway lead disappear with a lap 19 yellow flag. There was, however, plenty of drama behind him as Cummings and Scott resumed their duel on the re-start. Coming to the white flag, Scott finally made his pass attempt work. Hopkins, Scott, Cummings, Berryhill (from 12^th) and T. Thompson were the top five. Jesse Vermillion came from 16^th to finish sixth, winning the Brian Hodde hard charger award. Harley Burns took seventh while Brandon Spencer started 15^th and finished eighth. Blake Vermillion motored from the B main to begin the feature 17^th and take the checkered while running ninth. Dustin Clark was tenth.

Up next was the 20-lap midget feature. Gamester and Axsom led the horde to the green and it was promptly interrupted by a yellow. On the re-start, Axsom took control and Nelson grabbed second. By lap 15, another yellow bunched the field with Axsom leading Daison Pursley, Kyle Cummins, Tyler Nelson and Kaylee Bryson. This would be a stern test to see what Axsom could do. All he did was keep his lead and win over Cummins, who worked extra hard to get around Pursley. Bryson was fourth and Jayden Reinbold finished fifth.

The second five contained Jonathan Shafer, Aaron Leffel, Chet Gehrke, Donnie Gentry (to my grandson’s delight) and Chris Baue, who started 17^th and earned the Joe Spiker hard charger award.

It was midnight and I was not quite out of gas, but the energy level wasn’t too great. The drive home was a typical August trip in Indiana with patchy fog and lots of Hoosier humidity.

The little guy promptly conked out but the little white truck was as dependable as ever. There were no complaints on what was a full night.

Thinking that maybe I should cast my ballot right after Labor Day this year, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Inches

Not only is life a game of inches, so is racing. We all know this, but we still weep and wail when we clip a curb, wishing that we had not made the turn so tight. One can’t blame Jason McDougal for moaning about coming up short to Jadon Rogers on Saturday night at the Lincoln Park Speedway. Rogers held off a late charge by McDougal to win the 25 lap feature, leading every lap.

The pits were jammed with 127 race cars, 40 of which were sprints. There were a few cars and drivers I’d not seen before. There was one car I had seen the night before at Gas City. The Jamie Paul car ended Friday night with a victory with Shane Cottle behind the wheel. On this night, another Shane, namely Mr. Cockrum, would be the chauffeur. His path would be challenging.

The dance card would be five heat races with the top three advancing. Two B mains would add three players from each, making a 21 car feature.

Jadon Rogers led all the way to win the first of five heats with the top three moving on to the feature. Travis Berryhill was second and Blake Vermillion scooted to the show after A. J. Hopkins was determined to jump a restart midway through the race and docked two spots.

Shane Cockrum came from the last row to win the second heat over Mitch Wissmiller and Nic Harris. All three are from across the Indiana/Illinois border.

Jake Scott, Dave Darland and Brayden Fox, who came from the back row, all made it to the feature after the third heat.

The fourth heat was wild with the number five. Bloomington winner Tye Mihocko, number five, led Matt McDonald, another five, and Brady Short, from last, advanced. The third car with the popular number, Colton Cottle, headed for the B.

Recent Paragon winner Koby Barksdale won the fifth heat, taking Jason McDougal and Terry Babb to the A main with him.

It was quite a gap between the sprint heats and the semi features. I knew that dinner would occupy my time for a while and I debated on whether to watch the support classes or amble out to the truck and read a book.

Retired racer Steve Rone and part time racer Kurt Gross made my decision for me. First Steve and his friends stopped by to eat with me (and maybe see if I had any leftovers). He's always a hoot.

Right after they left, Kurt stopped by to do some catching up. He ran much of Sprint Week and said that his head took a beating. Kurt has had issues (concussion like symptoms) for several years and he's pondering his next move.

My next move was to check the lineups and have a look at the heat races and wait for a pair of last chance races.

The first last chance race was won by A.J. Hopkins with Evan Mosely second. Michael Clark kept Josh Cunningham at bay to grab the last spot. The second saw Colton Cottle triumph over Hunter O’Neal and Jesse Vermillion. Keivan Clotfelter, one of those guys I’ve not seen race, flipped in turn one. He exited his car under his own power.

The feature was at hand. Rogers and Cockrum were the front row, but not for long.  In turn one, Mihocko tapped Cockrum just enough to send him spinning in front of the rest of the mob. Somehow everyone missed the Chief, but he would now re-start on the tail with Mihocko, who was sent to the back.

B. Hodde waved the green and Rogers began a great imitation of a flying rabbit, with everyone else chasing. Berryhill had maneuvered his way to second from sixth and tried in vain to keep up with the leader. Darland was third and McDougal was on the move. Having started tenth, the Oklahoma native was fighting for a place in the top five in the first five laps.

Rogers’ lead was close to a full straightaway lead as lapped traffic came into play on the seventh lap. McDougal had passed Berryhill for second by then and began to chase Rogers down. But it wasn’t going to be easy for two reasons.

First, Rogers is a racer. Like McDougal, he’s still a young man and already has some experience at this game. Catching him, let alone passing him, would not be easy for JMac. For quite a while, Rogers was maintaining his large lead in lapped traffic. But McDougal wasn’t about to give up. He, too, is a racer and racers, from the backmarkers to the leaders, don’t give up—at least not voluntarily.

As the final laps played out, Rogers encountered heavy lapped traffic, not unlike I-465 on a Friday afternoon. McDougal closed in, not able to choose the quickest line around the 5/16 mile dirt oval due to the lappers. But he was on Rogers’ bumper in turns three and four on the last lap. Brian Hodde had been busy with the so called “courtesy” blue flag with the yellow strip for the lapped traffic. He had to get the checkered flag quickly for the leaders and he did, of course. McDougal came out of four and found an opening next to Rogers. Coming to the line, McDougal gave his all and was side by side as they crossed under the checkered. He came up a couple of feet short as Rogers held onto—and earned--a hard fought victory.

Weekly shows typically interview the winner while a USAC race interviews the top three finishers and the hard charger. I mention that because McDougal’s comments might have been interesting. He should have been pleased that he had tried his best, but my guess is that his overriding emotion was frustration. Again, racers race to do well, sure, but most race to win. Losing is never pleasant but losing by such a small margin can be crushing. But, you can bet that someday soon McDougal will be back and might well be interviewed post-race after winning.

Rogers and McDougal were followed by Darland with Berryhill taking fourth. Hopkins made lemonade out of lemons as he came from his heat race demotion to win his B main, start 16^th and finish fifth, earning the Kenny Clark Hard Charger award. Jake Scott was sixth and Wissmiller took seventh. McDonald annexed eighth place with Nic Harris taking home ninth place money. Brady Short was tenth.

The top ten were the only ones on the lead lap. Shane Cockrum, whose race went south early, battled back to 11^th, the first lapped car.

But for a few inches, McDougal might have been the one interviewed.

The sprint feature was over before 11:30. Despite the inevitable delays, the show moved right along. This tired puppy enjoyed the view on the way home. The moon hovered over the eastern sky as I headed southeast. It shown benevolently over Indiana cornfields, strip malls, small towns –and a race track here and there.

Eagerly waiting for my Kanye West for President t-shirt, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Somehow It's Fitting

About a quarter of a century ago, Jack Himelick and Jiggs Thomasson got together and revived the Gas City/I-69 Speedway. Over the years, the guy to beat at Jack and Jiggs' speed palace has been Shane Cottle. No one has won more features here than Mr. Cottle. So it's quite appropriate that Cottle would win on the night that current Gas City promoter Jerry Gappens staged an event devoted to the two people who rebuilt the facility into what it remains today. Cottle's margin of victory was only a car length or two as he fought off the repeated challenges of young Max Adams. Come to think of it, with Adams wheeling the venerable Paul Hazen owned machine, one could easily argue that this was also fitting, seeing that the winner has driven a Hazen car to many triumphs over the years.

Tonight’s version of musical seats had Cottle in the Jamie Paul chariot, Jason McDougal landing in Mike Dutcher’s carriage, Max Adams subbing for Clinton Boyle in Paul Hazen’s familiar #57, and C.J. Leary in Scott Pedersen’s decal-less version of a sports car. Of the 110 cars jamming Jerry’s pits, 29 were sprints and another 27 D2 Midgets.

I sat at a picnic table and watched the cars in the staging area waiting to enter the track for hot laps. I thought about the goals we have in life. My immediate goal was supper and whether I’d have a cheeseburger or tenderloin. (The tenderloin won out.) I wondered about those guys, trying to read their minds. I was curious why they were here and what did they want to accomplish in racing or elsewhere. Was winning tonight all they were thinking of? Or did they just want to have fun playing in the dirt? Were some of them still learning and hoping to move on from weekly racing? Or were they just hoping to finish the feature and load the car on the trailer that night? Except for the tenderloin, I would have to keep waiting on the answers.

Aaron Leffel scored his first sprint car victory in the first heat, leading Brayden Clark, JJ Hughes and Cody White to the feature. An early incident involving Hughes, McDougal and Ryan Barr sent the Oklahoma native to the pits and spot in the B.

The second heat winner was Cole Ketchum with Travis Hery, Tyler Kendall and Korbyn Hazlett all heading to the show.

CJ Leary patiently worked his way to the front after starting fifth and won the third heat. Evan Mosley, pole sitter Brian Vaughn and Jamie Fredrickson would start the main event.

In the fourth heat, the front row dominated with Max Adams leading Shane Cottle to checkered. Max Guilford and Billy Cribbs transferred too.

D2 Midget heat race winners were Adam Taylor, Alex Watson and Chett Gehrke.

Adam Byrkett won the semi feature with Anthony D’Alessio second. Also tagging the feature would be Dustin Ingle and Jason McDougal, who came from the tail and had to work extremely hard to take fourth.

The caution plagued D2 Midget B main was won by Tommy Kouns with Zane Briggs, Kyle Dager, Eddie Mehl and Nathan Foster all advancing.

Ketchum and Adams were the front row coming to Mark Orr’s green flag. The pole sitter and Muncie resident took the early lead over the California kid and Greenfield native Leary. But Mark had to bring the red flag out when Max Guilford flipped end over end in turn four headed for the fence, which did its job quite well, catching and stopping the car. No work was needed on the fence and Max exited the upside down car after a few tense moments. The leaders were Ketchum, Adams, Leary, Leffel and Clark.

On the re-start, Adams went under the leader coming out of turn two and took the lead. Another yellow waved two laps later for Evan Mosley. Now it was Adams leading Ketchum, Leary, Leffel and Cottle, who had started seventh.

Now was soon to be Cottle Time as he charged to the front. On this re-start, the Illinois resident moved to third and now had Leary on his radar. Another lap completed and Ketchum was passed. Adams had a half straightaway lead on Cottle, who was steadily closing the gap.

A few words about assumptions: With Shane closing in on the leader, one might think that this one was essentially over. Cottle would make the pass and check out. He made the pass, but couldn’t run away. Adams simply wouldn’t give up.

Ty Kendall spun on lap 15 and the yellow waved. The front runners were Adams, Cottle, Leary, Ketchum and Leffel. The green light came on and Cottle immediately went to work. Adams gave him enough room on the inside of turn two and they were side by side down the backstretch before Cottle edged ahead in turn four. For the next ten laps, Cottle owned the bottom and Adams was riding the cushion. As the laps wound down, Shane led the whole circuit, except in turn two, where Max was getting a great launch coming out. But each time the blue Jamie and Michell Paul-owned bullet re-assumed the point. Had the start/finish line been at the end of turn two…

While Cottle kept the lead, he couldn’t increase the margin. Adams’ last effort landed him less than a second behind the winner; it was a race and finish that would bring a smile to Paul Hazen’s face. Leary, driving the car that goes to each race on Scott Pedersen’s open trailer, was third. Travis Hery, mostly under the radar, finished fourth. Another good race was run by Brayden Clark in fifth.

The Rob Goodman/Tyler Kelly Hard Charger award went to McDougal, who came from last/20^th to end up sixth. D’Alessio was yet another who passed lots of cars, moving from 18^th to seventh. Hughes and Ketchum were eighth and ninth. Byrkett made it three of the four transfers from the B to advance significantly, motoring from 17^th to tenth.

The all-green D2 USAC Midget feature went to Jacob Denney, who passed Chet Gehrke on lap 18 of 20 to take the lead. Gehrke was followed by early leader Adam Taylor. Stratton Briggs and Alex Watson rounded out the top five.

When I had the chance, I enjoyed the moon’s appearance in the eastern sky, shining benevolently over the seemingly endless corn fields. Somehow it was comforting—and fitting--as I headed south.

Watching one of my favorite cartoons, featuring one of my favorite characters, Yo Semite Sam, I'm…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Sprint Week Aftermath

What follows is an informal listing of random thoughts I’ve had since the opening night of Indiana Sprint Week. They jumped out at odd times and I tried to make notes as soon as a thought popped into my head before it popped out. A lot of it is opinion. May we all be discerning enough to know the difference between my own opinion and whatever facts are slipped in here.

Beginning…

The cap that was put on the race entries, 48, was in general a good idea. But my guess is that Gas City, Kokomo and Lincoln Park could have attracted quite a few more cars. (Not a complaint.)

I was not exactly a whiz kid at sociology or economics. It's interesting to me at least how a team can be considered a well-funded team for a regular show, but come Sprint Week time the definition of well-funded changes. This impression can be applied in many other ways as well.

Over the years I've spent a lot of time standing away from the crowd, whether it's the pits or the bleachers. It is somewhat like school in that the people who run the entire USAC schedule, be they competitors, officials or fans, tend to congregate together. It's not necessarily a clique or some secret society. It's just a group of mostly young people who are taking similar paths. It’s a form of fraternization within the tiny community; regulars or at least semi-regulars tend to associate with each other more often than with a backmarker. A sociologist could explain it a lot better than I could. Like most things, it isn’t necessarily good or bad; it’s what people make of it.

Running just one class has been a popular decision by USAC and the promoters. I wonder if fans would mind paying an extra five bucks. My buddy Railroad Joe, a fellow retiree, says that he would dig a little deeper in those deep pockets of his to see that repeated.

I first noticed it at Kokomo, but it could apply to any of the ISW tracks. As I walked around the pits and parking lots, I had a very faint memory of early 60s NASCAR races I went to with my dad. The atmosphere is laid back—until the drivers’ meeting or when fans exit the parking lot and head to their seats.

This was long before the corporations decided to remake what was an obscure regional sport into, well, a made for TV event, complete with subtle manipulation of rules and competition. If USAC ever gets to that point, and I’m still alive, I’m not sure that I’d be a USAC fan anymore.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen the advent of new rules such as a mandated green/white/checkered finish (probably not Chase Stockon’s favorite rule change), lapped cars tagging the field on late yellow flag periods, provisionals and fourteen-car heats. Those changes haven’t always been popular with fans, but we’ve learned to live with them, if not to embrace them as they would embrace a cold adult beverage.

Lots of newer fans this year, but several who have taken life’s checkered flag or who were unable to make an appearance this year. First names only: Marv, Bob, Monica, Tim, Leroy, Ted, Gregg, Todd, Leann, Carolyn, Freddy, Susan and several more.

I’ve learned to love the rituals, seen and unseen. Drivers’ meetings are usually routine, mundane and sometimes downright boring. But, like everything else, you never know what will come up. One question seemingly out of the blue will ignite a lengthy—and occasionally spirited—discussion.

There’s the wheel packing/engine heat session. I enjoy it as it’s another step to things starting to get real. Smiles and joking don’t quite disappear, but one sees less of it. Hot laps are right around the corner.

Some fans wait until wheel packing/engine heating begins before they come to claim their seats. Others hold off until the flagger waves the green for hot laps to begin. Still others wait for time trials and there are holdouts who wait until the National Anthem is performed.

Speaking of the Star Spangled Banner, that, along with a pre-race prayer, is another ritual. Most everyone stops what they are doing to stand at attention for a couple of minutes. Occasionally someone will be oblivious and not notice at first. The Anthem’s renditions range from inspiring to painful. Some are recorded while others are local singers. Prayers are offered at the end of each driver’s meeting and again just before the race. Typically, whoever gives the invocation asks for safety, not just for those assembled but for our troops and safety personnel—from the local track to the other side of the planet.

A lot of what’s described above is ramped up for Sprint Week. And a lot of what’s described above wasn’t quite the same this year. Things have been a bit different this year. Let us do what we must to ensure that 2021 will bring yet another “new normal,” but let us make it an even better one.

As this essay is being edited and wrapped up, I’m headed to my first post-ISW race. I still feel the anticipation of going, even though it will be another long night. As long as I’m able to go, off I go.

Reminding Louis Gohmert that the mask is meant to cover the mouth and nose, not the eyes, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Battle and the War

The 2020 version of USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week concluded on a beautiful Hoosier Sunday night with no rain as two southwestern Indiana boys won the battle and the war. Kyle Cummins won a hard fought contest in the thirty lap feature and his neighbor Chase Stockon raced like he wanted to win as he captured the Indiana Sprint Week points title and the coolest rocking chair in the world as a big part of his prizes.

The trip from home to Haubstadt Indiana is a comparatively long one as Hoosier road trips go. The I-69 stretch can be a challenge in terms of staying awake/alert. I listened to a podcast and this morning's church service. My buddy Dan gave me plenty to think about what things we pray about.

Race track prayers usually ask for a safe night and that is paramount. But I'm inclined to take it to another level. As a rule, my prayer is most always for everyone present to MAKE SMART DECISIONS. If we all can do that, I'd guess that it would be a safe night. Either way, with only one flip that was more like a Tommy Tipover, the prayers offered were answered in the affirmative.

The field of 42 offered up eight new faces, most of whom were locals. Stan Beadles, Brady Short, Garrett Aitken, Eric Perrott, Sam Scott, Ryan Bond, Michael Clark and Aric Gentry added their names to the Class of ’20.

Time trials offered a surprise or two. Tony DiMattia was the quickest of Flight One with a 13.933 as he was next to last of the first group to go out. Logan Seavey, in Flight Two, was quickest overall with a time of 13.854.

Kyle Cummins made an emphatic opening statement as he won the first heat after going from fifth to first on the opening lap. He was followed by Brady Bacon, Tony DiMattia and Brady Short.

Robert Ballou took the second heat with Aric Gentry, Dakota Jackson and Garrett Aitken all moving on.

Pole sitter CJ Leary won the third heat with Logan Seavey, Justin Grant and Chris Windom making the feature.

In the fourth heat Chase Stockon came from fifth to win over Critter Malone, Shane Cottle and Jadon Rogers.

Yet another of the local racers, sprint rookie Stan Beadle, won the C, taking Max Guilford, Dustin Smith and Ryan Bond with him to the B.

Chase Johnson was the semi feature winner with Kevin Thomas Jr., Carson Short, Kent Schmidt (from 11th), Stevie Sussex and Brandon Mattox all taking advantage of their last, best chance. Beadle’s luck ran out when he executed a bounce-and-flip in turn two. He walked away.

It must have been Kokomo provisional night as Dave Darland and Dustin Smith used theirs to make it a twenty four car field.

Cummins and Windom were the front row and, given his success here, it would be hard to bet against the young man from just up the road (Princeton). But Windom fired off from the outside front row and led the first lap after two yellow flags prevented a lap from being completed. This didn’t last long as Cummins threw a well done slider in turn four to take the lead.

Windom’s enjoyment of the race took a major hit as first Cottle then Aitken, the second row starters, dispatched Windom to fourth in consecutive laps. By lap six, Cummins had extended his lead and one could be forgiven for thinking this might be a rout. A lap nine yellow flag bunched up the field with Cottle, Aitken, Windom and Stockon trailing Cummins.

On the re-start, Aitken seized second place just before another yellow waved. Another re-start and Aitken got Cummins’ attention as he slid under the leader in turn one, leading for a second before Cummins re-asserted his dominance by taking the lead back. With all that, the local kid couldn’t increase his lead by much as the laps wound down.

The race’s sixth yellow waved with nine laps to go and both Aitken and Cottle had one last chance to bedevil the leader. But it wasn’t going to happen as Cummins built his lead lap by lap. Instead, Cottle had quite the battle with Aitken before making the pass on lap 27. Neither one had anything for Cummins, who began a new winning streak at Tri-State after an unbeaten season last year.

The margin of victory was 1.423 seconds over Cottle. Stockon made a late pass on Aitken to take third place and the championship, which included the rocking chair. Windom, whose team had made an engine change after his heat race, was fifth.

Ballou led the second five, with the next three finishers all advancing nine spots. Jackson moved from 16^th to seventh and won the KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger dough. C. Short went from 17^th to eighth. Critter Malone had an up and down kind of race. He was involved in one of the early incidents, passed a bunch of people to run as high as sixth, but then fell back to ninth after originally starting 18^th. Rogers ended up tenth.

We can allow Chase Stockon the last word in a sense. “It’s all big picture for us.” And in the same breath, “it just shows how strong we are as a team.  Nobody got down and everybody kept their chin up.  We just powered forward.”

Stockon didn’t win any of the ISW’s five features, but he did rack up five top five finishes. With USAC points and lots of other things, consistency matters.

And now, back to “normal,” whatever that is, until Kokomo’s Smackdown is not that far away.

Reminding Jerry Falwell Jr. that it’s a bad idea to have your picture taken with your pants unzipped, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Racing, Interrupted

You can't say that USAC officials and Joe Spiker Productions didn't try. But the one thing that promoters can't control is the weather. At approximately 9:20 on an otherwise beautiful Indiana evening at the Lincoln Park Speedway, the sprinkling of precipitation turned into a drizzle, then a full-fledged shower. Racing was over for the night and USAC will discuss with Joe Spiker whatever options they have. (Only thing for sure at this time is ISW now headed to Haubstadt on Sunday night.) The B main had just begun when the festivities were halted.

Among the new kids in house were Shelby VanGilder, an LPS champ Brent Beauchamp, Harley Burns, Matt McDonald, Jake Bland, Evan Mosley, Stevie Sussex and Tony DiMattia.

The rain and the cloud cover saw some fast laps. If anything, the track became faster as qualifying went on. Logan Seavey went out 45^th in line and ripped off a 12.392. Beauchamp led Flight One with a 12.688 lap. Justin Grant and Nate McMillin flipped; both were unhappy but walked away.

Shane Cottle went from fourth to first in two laps and won the caution plagued first heat with Chase Stockon, Brent Beauchamp and Thomas Meseraull following.

In the second heat Robert Ballou used his front row starting spot to cruise for ten laps. Chris Windom, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Carson Short trailed. Travis Berryhill flipped in turn four and exited the car on his own.

Logan Seavey used the fluffy high groove to sail away to the third heat victory over Jake Swanson, Dakota Jackson and Dave Darland.

The fourth heat saw Brady Bacon take the win over CJ Leary, Kyle Cummins and Chris Phillips.A.J. Hopkins smacked the turn four wall before tipping over, bringing out the red.

In the C main, Matt McDonald inherited the lead when early leader Charles Davis Jr. broke and went on to win, taking Brandon Morin, Logan Hupp and Max Guilford with him to the B.

The semi was under a hex of some kind. The yellow waved immediately after the green flag came out for an issue in turn four. Right after that the red lights blinked for Jake Bland, who flipped over the turn two banking and down the hill. He walked away from the car. Then Anton Hernandez hammered the turn four wall, bringing out the yellow. While the field was circling the oval, the moisture made its appearance. A few minutes later, my bodyguard and I retreated to the restroom entrance and watched it come down. A few minutes later I could hear Brad's announcement that we were done for the night.

It wasn't raining that hard so we headed for the little white truck and waited on the traffic to clear out. I made some notes while he played a sprint car video game on his phone. (Think about that for a second. When I was his age, I’d use empty popcorn boxes to race in the car on the way home.)  Disappointed but not despondent, we could hope that the next time it will be a little drier.

It rained all the way home. The bodyguard was conked out for much of the trip.

As this is written, plans are being made to head to Haubstadt and watch racers try to race. Let’s hope so.

Chasing the rainbow and wondering what I'll do should I catch it, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Victory Denied or The One That Got Away

Some folks might be fans of the rule that each USAC feature end with at least the last two laps of green flag action. After the finish at the Terre Haute Action Track on a warm Wednesday night, Justin Grant might understandably be a fan and maybe Chris Windom too. As for Chase Stockon, he might not be a fan. This was how it was when Grant made a last lap pass on Stockon to win Round Four of Indiana Sprint Week.

It was going to take more than any road construction to keep me from getting to the Action Track. It meant that I’d arrive a little later than I’m used to. Besides, such trivial obstacles disappear as soon as I park the truck.

This was the lowest car count so far of any ISW meeting. But 42 cars at Terre Haute was impressive for sure. Making their ISW debuts were Kendall Ruble from just down the road at Vincennes, Californian Jake Swanson, back for some more Hoosier racin’, Mitch Wissmiller, from across the state line, Nate McMillin, with a short tow, and Bill Rose, another Hoosier (Plainfield). Anton Hernandez was back in the 5 after a brief absence and Jadon Rogers, in the family car now numbered 61.

CJ Leary had quick time overall with an impressive 19.933 lap, compared to Brady Bacon's record of 19.225. Don't tell Kevin Thomas Jr. that the track went away much at all. Perhaps helped by a mild cloud cover, his 19.974 led Flight 2 and was second overall.

Chase Stockon got things off to a good start in winning the first heat. Brandon Mattox, Tyler Thomas and Dave Darland trailed.

The second heat was won by Chris Windom, followed by Justin Grant, early leader Charles Davis Jr. and Kyle Cummins.

Shane Cottle won the third heat as Carson Short grabbed second at the line when Kevin Thomas Jr. lost a tire as the checkered flag waved. Jake Swanson was fourth.

In the final heat race Brady Bacon cruised to the victory by a country mile with pole sitter Max Adams, Dennis Gile and Dustin Smith all moving on.

Dustin Clark made a late pass on Brandon Morin in winning the semi-semi feature with Tye Mihocko and Mitch Wissmiller also tagging the B.

Logan Seavey took the consolation with Clinton Boyles, Robert Ballou, Chase Johnson, Matt Westfall and Nate McMillin all headed to the show. McMillin started 14^thand hijacked the last spot for the feature at the line. Tyler Thomas ran as high as second before breaking.

For the 30-lap feature, Swanson and Stockon were the front row. Chase took the lead in turn two as Bacon had a strong start from third, taking over second coming out of turn two. Stockon’s time in the lead was short lived as Bacon came out of turn four and roared past a lap later. Meanwhile Stockon found himself under attack from Justin Grant, who also made the pass coming out of turn four. They would meet again later. Grant made the pass for second on lap four, but couldn’t reel in Bacon.

By the halfway mark, Bacon’s lead was a half straightaway. He was closing in on lapped traffic when the yellow waved for Max Adams, victim of a flat right rear on lap 19. Brady wouldn’t have to worry about lapped traffic, but he would have to worry about Grant, Stockon, K. Thomas and Leary.

 

On the re-start, Grant pounced, diving to the bottom of turn one and taking the lead with possible slight contact with Bacon. But that didn’t last long as a rejuvenated Stockon took the top spot a lap later with a power move in turn two. He didn’t exactly run away but at this point, with the laps winding down, things were looking good for the kid from just down the road at Ft. Branch, IN. With a couple of laps left, Grant and third-place Windom were closing. Butit looked like Stockon would end a long drought of feature wins.

But wait. What was this? Dustin Smith reportedly slowed in turn four and Nate McMillin spun to avoid a real mess. With Nate slowly moving but facing oncoming traffic (never a good idea), Tom “Darth” Hansing waved the yellow, delaying the race’s conclusion. The rule book is loud and clear. All finishes would be ended with a green/white/checkered. Stockon would have to hold off Grant and company again.

Again, Darth waved the green and again Stockon did the right thing. He held onto the lead and again took the white flag. He made it to the third turn and was headed for vict---But wait. What was this? Another yellow. Instant déjà vu, that’s what it was—though Stockon might have called it something else. Dennis Gile spun in turn two. At any rate, Chase would have to do it again.

But this time Stockon took the white flag with both Grant and Windom all over him going into turn one. Stockon pushed up enough to slow his momentum and Grant swooped by as did Windom coming out of turn two. That was all she wrote and that was how they finished: Grant, Windom and Stockon.

There are surprise finishes in every sport. Those who observe and participate can find them thrilling and painful at the same time. Any sudden change brings opposite reactions from those involved. Grant reaped the rewards of the “thrill of victory” as Stockon suffered the “agony of defeat,” to revive a long ago cliché. From my seat, which is most always an objective one, the sudden change brought conflicting feelings. I don’t pretend to know either Grant or Stockon that well, but they are good guys, the best USAC can offer in terms of popularity and class. I’d have been fine with either winning. But, man, did I hate to see Chase lose that way. True to form, Grant touched on that after the race.

Leary’s two race win streak was over; he settled for fourth, followed by Cottle. Bacon fell back to sixth with Gas City winner Seavey seventh. K. Thomas also slipped back a little, finishing eighth. Darland moved up a few spots at the end, coming from 13^th to ninth. And Ballou did it again, passing cars right and left, coming from 19^th to take tenth and again earn the KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger award.

Not generally noted, but for the third time in four races, there was a late race surprise.

Quote of the night went to Grant: “This is how I feed my kids.  This is how I pay my bills.  This is my life.”

Grant leads Stockon by six points in ISW points. He has a big lead over Bacon in National points.

Off to Lincoln Park the dedicated band of gypsies will head now. If I wasn’t too tired, I’d do my anti-rain dance now. As I send this to Allan, I’m waiting on the weather mostly. The one thing that neither the promoter nor USAC can control.

Cancelling my appointment with the demon sperm doc, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Two in a Row

CJ Leary withstood the best efforts of Chris Windom and won for the second time in three nights in Indiana Sprint Week/USAC festivities at the Lawrenceburg Speedway. With the merry band of pranksters taking a couple of days off, Leary will take a moment to celebrate his 12^th win at Lawrenceburg since 2008, the year that the current configuration commenced.

As I've walked through the pits the past few nights, I needn't be an expert to notice that most of the 48 have a slightly better chance of winning the feature than I do. So why do they bother to even show up? Maybe their expectations are different from others. In addition, unlike me, they can say that they competed. I haven't and it's unlikely that I will. My guess is that many reading this can say they haven't either.

With all that, I'll say that I root for every one of them. I know a few USAC racers (and a few former racers) and I like all of them. While I don't root for any of them to win, I do hope that they can all load the car on the trailer after the race. At the end of the day, maybe that’s all which matters.

New players included Chase Jones, Dallas Hewitt, Steve Thomas and Ty Mihocko, along with Lawrenceburg regulars JJ Hughes, Shawn Westerfeld and Saban Bibent.

Justin Grant went out early to set his quick time of 14.070, though several others tried mightily to top it.

Justin Grant made a late pass work as he won the first heat. Thomas Meseraull, Tyler Courtney and pole sitter Jerry Coons Jr. also made the show.

The second heat saw Jarett Andretti lead Chase Stockon, CJ Leary and Robert Ballou home.

Shane Cottle won the third heat over Chase Johnson, Chris Windom and Eddie Tofoya Jr., who made his very first ISW feature.

Carson Short was the fourth heat winner, pacing Max Adams, Brady Bacon and Gas City winner Logan Seavey.

Unlike the night before, the C main was fairly tame. Dakota Jackson led Shawn Westerfeld, Anthony D’Alessio and Max Guilford to the semi-main.

The caution plagued B main was won by JJ Hughes with Kevin Thomas Jr. and Kyle Cummins trailing. Behind them, mayhem combined with the thrill of victory, etc., prevailed.

Matt Westfall tapped Chase Jones, who spun, tipped over and collected Dustin Smith. Both Smith and Jones (has a ring to it) saw feature starting spots go poof! Those who had been seventh on back were racing their hearts out and a few of them benefitted. But Sterling Cling had a left front tire going down and on the restart was passed by Dave Darland and Jadon Rogers. So...the final three were Westfall, Darland and Rogers.

Gas City winner Logan Seavey and Kokomo winner CJ Leary landed in the front row and Leary got the drop on Seavey and everyone else. Right away, things slowed down as K. Thomas and Courtney found themselves parked next to the wall, about 100 feet apart. Sunshine especially may have felt like banging his head against that wall after his disappointment the night before and now this. While the field circled under the yellow, Andretti ducked into the pits with a flat tire. KT and Jarett rejoined the crowd.

The green waved and two more laps were completed when Jadon Rogers flipped for the second night in a row. Westfall and Coons were also involved; they returned to the fun. Leary led Seavey, Bacon, Grant and Windom.

Again, Tom Hansing brought out the green flag and again Leary tried dearly to check out. But on the seventh lap Max Adams stopped on the track and again Tom reached for his yellow flag. There was no change up front within the top five.

On this re-start, Grant passed Bacon for third. A lap later Windom passed Bacon for fourth. But he had to give it back as a stray tire rolled down the straightaway. It was Grant’s and he was parked in turn four as the yellow waved one more time. Leary still led, but things were a little different behind him. Seavey was second, ahead of Bacon, Windom and now Stockon. Johnson, the inexperienced kid, had moved from 12^th to sixth, by the way.

Again, the green came out and again Windom passed Bacon, now for second place. Leary had stretched out his lead somewhat during the middle stages of the thirty lapper. But Windom began inching his way to the front, closer and closer. Finally on lap 23 he threw a slider at the leader, falling short and dropping back. From there, Leary was never threatened in any way. Those of us who kept expecting the unexpected are still waiting, thankfully.

Behind Leary and Windom was Bacon. Stockon was fourth and Short completed the race in fifth place as Seavey faded some to finish sixth. Cummins came from 15^th to capture seventh. Grant did a fine job of hustling back to take eighth after his misfortune. After running as high as sixth, Johnson settled for ninth. Ballou was tenth after starting 22^nd and earning the KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger award.

Leary’s margin of victory was 1.057 seconds.  After the race he spoke of how being on the family team seems to be a good fit. Windom lamented the lapped traffic. Bacon thanked his sponsors. Ballou said he needed to qualify better and expressed concern over the rocks he found on the track.

In national championship points Grant retains a healthy lead over Bacon. However, Bacon leads Grant by five points in Sprint Week points. Despite Leary’s winning two of the three events so far, his 13^th place finish at Gas City has hurt.

Next stop, the Terre Haute Action on Wednesday.

Trying to drink while wearing a mask, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: One Man’s Ceiling….

….is another man’s floor. So goes an old Paul Simon song, long before either C.J. Leary or Tyler Courtney took life’s green flag. With that in mind, once again the old lyric came through as Leary won the USAC/Indiana Sprint Week thirty lap feature at the Kokomo Speedway on another warm Hoosier night. The result was another conclusion that no one would have predicted, seeing that leader Tyler Courtney made contact with an infield tire with three circuits to go and spun. This wasn't any more surprising than the end of the previous night's finish when Logan Seavey and Kevin Thomas Jr. tangled. Leary, who lost by a hair to Shane Cottle in last year’s ISW event at Gas City, picked up his fourth Sprint Week victory.

With this being Saturday my favorite Kokomo city park was a little more crowded than usual. While I preferred to have the park to myself, there was relative quiet and calm, punctuated by the typical sights and sounds of a mid-sized city and by people meandering through the park, phones in hand, looking for something (a Pokemon exercise, I assumed). I figured that the contrast between the quiet and the loud sounds that were in my near future was good for me. I saw myself enjoying the time in the park, reading, writing and walking--in other words, the same things I did at the track.

The new kids on the block featured Tyler Courtney, running a partial USAC schedule. Critter Malone, Colton Cottle and Travis Berryhill were also making their first ISW appearance.

Brady Bacon was the quick timer with a 13.031 lap. The surface stayed consistent throughout time trials, even more of a trick given the potential obstacles.

C. J. Leary won the first heat as Jadon Rogers flipped in turn one. He was able to walk away and would re=appear later in a backup car. Kyle Cummins, Critter Malone and Max Adams all made the show.

In the second heat it was Tyler Courtney moving from sixth to win. Clinton Boyles, Brandon Mattox and Colton Cottle trailed.

The slam bang third heat was won by Brady Bacon, also from sixth. Chris Windom was second with Thomas Meseraull and Kevin Thomas Jr. transferring. After the checkered KT and Logan Seavey exchanged greetings and salutations, especially the latter.

Robert Ballou took the fourth heat with little trouble, leading Shane Cottle, Justin Grant and Carson Short to the line.

It's true that sometimes a preliminary race is more entertaining than the feature. That wasn't necessarily the case tonight but the C and B mains weren't too shabby. The law firm of Coons, Hopkins, Johnson and Weir advanced from the C to the B. The caution plagued semi feature saw Stockon lead Seavey and Darland to the line. The last trio to transfer were, yep, Hopkins, Coons and Johnson. As Kyle Robbins did the night before, these three moved from the C to the show. In the C, Logan Hupp and Sterling Cling flipped. Travis Berryhill flipped in the B. All three walked away, none too pleased.

In some ways the night’s feature resembled Gas City’s in some ways, as shall be seen. Short and Leary were the front row and Short drifted wide in turn two on the first lap, enabling fourth starting Grant to take the lead. But Courtney, from his inside second row start, grabbed the lead on the second lap and the chase was on.

Early on, it seemed like Courtney and Grant would leave the others behind but Cummins, who started fifth, and Leary had other ideas. Kyle was strong early but slowly faded as the race went on. After spotting Courtney a decent lead, Leary began cutting the distance and reeling in the leader. He took the lead on the 13^th lap with a strong outside pass. But Courtney refused to go away as the two battled side by side, much as K. Thomas and Seavey had battled the night before. Midway through the race, lapped traffic came into play as Leary led at the line for eight straight laps. Leary generally stuck with the high side while Sunshine used the low groove, getting as close to the infield tires as he could. But often both used whatever groove was available or seemed to be the best. Ah, that rare ability to make split second choices—a pity that more of us don’t have it.

Then began a segment of the two trading the lead back and forth, officially and unofficially. Courtney led the 27^th lap and his chances were looking good. But then, incredibly, Courtney nicked the infield tire enough to spin in turn two, bringing out the race’s only caution. Leary now assumed the lead and Grant was second. Questions abounded. Could Leary hang on? Could Grant find a sweet spot down low in turn one and make the pass? What about third place Brady Bacon? He was certainly capable of stealing this race.

But the drama had already played out when Sunshine spun. Leary hung on to beat Bacon, who passed Grant after the green waved. Ballou was fourth, edging Stockon, who had started tenth. Cummins was sixth and Short finished seventh. Cottle came from 14^th to grab eighth. Windom and Seavey were ninth and tenth.

Not only did Chase Johnson endure a push truck running over his left rear, he came from the C main to start 19^th and finish 11^th in the feature, winning the KSE Racing Products / Everything Dirt Racing / The Frolic & Bar Grill Hard Charger award.

The trip home took a little longer than my journey from Gas City to Kokomo. Off to my right the friendly quarter moon served as a navigator—had I needed one. One man’s navigator is another man’s friendly and comforting presence.

Cancelling the cancel culture, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Yet Another Way to Win

Night One of the 2020 edition of Indiana Sprint Week gave the fans all they wanted--namely another wild and woolly finish which the Gas City I-69 Speedway has become known for providing. This one was no exception as Logan Seavey fended off the challenges of several contenders before emerging from the drama with a well-earned victory.

The initial ISW pit stroll had the usual suspects plus a few new or different combinations. Wyatt Burks, from Kansas, had headed east to try his luck with the USAC boys. Jadon Rogers was in the seat normally occupied by Stephen Schnapf. Thomas Meseraull had landed in the Tony Epperson car. Tyler Thomas and Mike Dutcher teamed up, hoping for some more good runs. And Shane Cockrum was in the Wingo brothers’ wagon most recently wheeled by Critter Malone.

In the Long-Time-No-See Department tonight it was Dr. Tom, who has finally joined me in retirement, bless his heart. Between his face shield and my checkered flag design mask, we must have looked like a pair of over-the-hill bank robbers. Brent Goodnight was among the celebrities in Jerry Gappens’ playground, but many others were missing, if not hiding from me.

Justin Grant led all qualifiers, the only contestant to turn a sub-12 second lap—11.859.

Kyle Cummins made a late charge to win the first heat. Pole sitter Brandon Mattox, A. J. Hopkins and Kevin Thomas Jr. all moved on. Grant spun while fighting for a transfer spot and headed to the B.

Brady Bacon was the second heat winner with Logan Seavey, Dave Darland and Thomas Meseraull all transferring.

For the time being, the bottom of turns one and two looked to be the quickest while the top of three and four were popular.

In the third heat, Robert Ballou held off Chris Windom to take the win. C. J. Leary was third ahead of Shane Cottle, who came from eighth to land in the feature.

For the final heat, Chase Stockon had the up and down experience as he came from sixth to take the lead early only to slip in turn four. Jarett Andretti was there to capitalize and grab the win. Stockon led Tyler Thomas and Dustin Smith to the checkered.

Kyle Robbins led Jadon Rogers, Shane Cockrum and Max Guilford to the checkered in the C main. All would come from the tail in the B.

It was no shock that Justin Grant won the B. Carson Short, Matt Westfall, Wyatt Burks, KRob and Clinton Boyles followed with Robbins advancing from the C to the big show on his birthday, no less.

Seavey and Windom led the gang to the line with the Californian taking the lead. When Windom slipped a bit over the turn four banking, K. Thomas was quick to pounce and give Seavey fits working the bottom as Windom fell back. It would get worse from there for him.

The yellow waved on lap 12 for a turn four caucus involving Leary, Bacon and T. Thomas. Bacon re-started and the other two returned to the fray after a work area visit. The re-start was a brief one as Windom, Ballou and Hopkins had their own conference with A.J. sustaining too much damage to continue. The other two went to the work area and rejoined the pack, though Robert went back to the pits not long after re-entering the track.

Seavey led K. Thomas, Grant, Stockon and Cummins as the yellow waved again, this time for a stopped Dave Darland. In the brief interval, Cummins didn’t waste time. He used the high side to pass Grant and Stockon. The fourth yellow flag in six laps waved on lap 17 when both the infield cone and the NOS Energy can were hit and landed on the track.

What followed was the race’s longest and best segment. K. Thomas went low and traded the lead with Seavey, who stuck with the top side, lap after lap. On laps 19 and 21, KT was credited with the lead. Then came the moment that changed the race’s outcome.

With the top two running side by side for several laps, they approached lapped traffic as the laps wound down. The soon to be lapped car of Jadon Rogers was holding his line at the bottom. The white flag waved and the two leaders made it three wide going into turn three. Contact was made—I don’t know who initiated it and it doesn’t really matter—and KT’s car got some air but didn’t quite flip. Seavey kept going as the red flag came out.

Seavey got his top spot back but he wasn’t out of the woods yet. Before the red, Stockon had been on the move. He had passed Grant and now would re-start second for a green/white/checkered finish. It was possibly shaping up for a second straight close finish at Gas City like last year’s which saw Shane Cottle edge C.J. Leary for the win. Would it happen again?

As it turned out, no, it wouldn’t happen again, even though Stockon tried his best, coming up about a half second short. At the end it was Seavey, Stockon, Grant, Cummins and Meseraull, who had come from 13^th to finish fifth. Short started 12^th and ended up sixth while Cottle rumbled from 21^st to take seventh and earn the KSE Racing Products / The Frolic Bar & Grill Hard Charger dinero. Andretti was ninth and Westfall. Last week’s Gas City winner, came from 16^th to take tenth.

This added up to three of the last five Gas City/ISW features that were top notch with Tyler Courtney’s last to first drive of 2016 still the gold standard.

There wasn’t much to do now except organize my notes and watch the traffic leave the pits. About a half hour after Logan Seavey had been interviewed, I ambled out to the little white truck. It was time to head east to Kokomo, following Justin Grant’s TOPP team. I listened to a Malcolm Gladwell podcast as I followed the TOPP crew and admired the half-moon that adorned the western sky. Again I was reminded how flat the land is up here. I could do without the hills of southern Indiana for another night—especially since it would be spent at the Kokomo Speedway for Round Two.

Passing my own cognitive test by reciting correctly Gas City, Kokomo, Lawrenceburg, Terre Haute, Lincoln Park, Bloomington and Haubstadt, I'm..

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: First Time Winner (Not to Be Denied)

There are times you can feel like something is going to happen sooner or later, but you can’t know when it will come to pass. But on a warm Saturday night at the Lawrenceburg Speedway, the expected win by Anton Hernandez in a 410 non-wing sprint car finally materialized. To add some icing to the cake, the young Texan made a hair-raising late race pass on a guy who is tough to beat at the ‘burg, Nick Bilbee. While Hernandez has won in just about every type car he’s driven, this was his first win in the type of car he’s wanted to race since he was a kid in the Lone Star State.

After last week’s rainout at Lawrenceburg the youngest grandson and I felt like we were owed one. Did we ever get one. Fortified with plenty of water, we had no heat troubles. As it did at Paragon, I felt like the heat kept some people home. At any rate, they missed two nights of racin’, Hoosier style.

Of the 98 cars inhabiting the pit area, 22 were sprints. The long haul award might have gone to Steve Thomas, all the way from Ludlow, Illinois. Honorable mention went to Garrett Aitken from Paris, Illinois, not far from Terre Haute. The short haul award probably would go to Shawn Westerfeld, from just up the road in Guilford, Indiana.

Speaking of Aitken, he worked his way from the last row to win the first heat. Early leader Sterling Cling was second. Garrett Abrams, like Aitken using the number 32 (with the same first name and initials) finished third.

The second heat was one of reasons my grandson and I keep coming back. Two of his buddies, Nick Bilbee and JJ Hughes, battled for the lead throughout much of the race before Bilbee prevailed. Anton Hernandez worked like a cat chasing a flying mouse in taking third from Drew Abel.

Homeboy Joss Moffatt built a considerable margin between him and second place Shawn Westerfeld in the third heat. Korbyn Hazlett came from the last row to end up in third.

Granted, Lawrenceburg starts racing at seven o’clock, but all heats and semi-mains were done at nine thirty. Aitken and Bilbee led 20 of their cohorts to Tim Montgomery’s green flag. Things went south quickly for Hughes when he was collected by a spinning car (Sterling Cling?) and stopped on the track in turn four.

JJ went to the tail and it was a complete re-start. Karston decided that he’d spend the race watching his buddy work his way through the field.

On this start, Aitken jumped and was set back one row. The green waved and they were off in a huge cloud of dust. Bilbee emerged with the lead with Abrams and Westerfeld, two track champs, in tow. They reached traffic on lap seven as Bilbee put a bit of distance between himself and the other two. They were all about to have an uninvited visitor in the form of Anton Hernandez.

He had started eighth but had moved forward steadily. On lap nine, Hernandez passed Westerfeld for third. He began putting pressure on Abrams, who had started seventh. With a less than aesthetically pleasing slider, Hernandez got around Abrams for second on lap 14, but it was negated by a yellow flag. He would have to try again. 

On the re-start, Hernandez executed a textbook slider in turn three and set sail for the leader. Again, lapped traffic appeared, this time on lap 20. He caught Bilbee on lap 21 and passed for the lead. But Nick responded with the crossover move and led again. The yellow waved on the same lap and Hernandez would try again. As the cars circled the track under yellow, he had to be the most keyed up person maybe in Lawrenceburg—unless Bilbee was even more so.

On the re-start, Nick stayed up top in turn one and kept the lead. But Hernandez threw a slide job in turn three. Bilbee again reassumed the lead. However, with two to go, in turn two, Anton pulled off another slider, just like the textbook says to do it. This time Bilbee couldn’t respond and Hernandez was home free.

Abrams wasn’t that far behind the top two. Aitken was fourth. Hazlett had an impressive run, taking fifth. Hughes, under the watchful eye of Karston, came back from the tail spot and finished sixth. Moffatt was seventh and Braxton Cummings took eighth. Drew Abel was ninth and SabanBibent was tenth.

For the second night in a row, the winner was also the hard charger as Hernandez started eighth.

I was somewhat surprised to learn that Jerry Coons Jr. would be driving the Baldwin Brothers’ orange crush during Indiana Sprint Week. Anton Hernandez will still be involved with the team, helping out with setups, etc. and perhaps learning from Mr. Coons, who has a lot to teach.

Indiana Sprint Week approaches. I’m a little nervous, only because last year my wife had a serious medical issue and I missed both the Gas City opener and the Kokomo race. She seems to be fine for now so we shall see.

Taking flying lessons from Colton Herta, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Run Away!

A.J. Hopkins' 2020 season got even better on a toasty Friday night at the Paragon Speedway as he took the lead midway through the feature and opened up a straightaway margin over Jake Scott and the rest of the pack when the checkered flag waved.

Of all the tracks I’ve visited over the years that are still in operation, no track has changed less than Paragon, with possible exception of Bloomington. Obviously, there have been changes over the last 60 years, but they are relatively rare. The track’s shape is the same, but in other ways modern technology has managed to sneak its way through the gate. Many of those changes have been safety related, always a plus. But everything from the pits (which are larger due to current car counts and more classes) to the pond remain (temporarily drained at USAC’s request, I would assume).

Have all of these changes been good or bad? My answer to that question is a resounding “yes.”

Jaden Rogers won the first of four heats by a healthy margin over Joey Parker, Jesse Vermillion and Cindy Chambers.

Dave Darland, in Buddy Cunningham's car tonight, won the second heat, leading Jake Scott, an ill handling A. J. Hopkins (after a collision under the yellow) and Brandon Morin, in the well-aged Johnny Johnson machine.

Despite riding the bike on the first lap, Travis Berryhill won the third heat over Critter Malone, Brady Short and Josh Cunningham.

Brandon Spencer won the caution plagued fourth heat, leading Colin Parker, Andrew Prather and Blake Vermillion to the checkered.

After four yellow flags and a red, the gang settled down and completed the B main with Jake Bland winning and taking Harley Burns, Jake Henderson and Colin Parker to the show with him.

C. Parker and Critter led the troupe of twenty to the flag and right away things went bad for J. Parker, who flipped in turn one. Joey was out of the car quickly, done for the night.

The boys (and young lady C. Chambers) had a complete re-start C. Parker jumped out to the lead. Mr. Hopkins started tenth but it was evident that he was going places. By lap six, he was fifth and wasn’t done by a long shot. Hopkins then was part of a four car breakaway with Parker leading J. Scott, Malone and Hopkins.

Nine laps were complete when Hopkins took over third. A lap later he was second behind Parker. Here began a cat and mouse game with A.J. taking peeks in turns one and three, letting Colin know he was there. On the eleventh lap he dove low in turn one and pulled alongside Parker, but fell in behind the leader. He tried again on the twelfth lap with the same result. It seemed like it was only a matter of time.

Sure enough, with ten laps to go, Hopkins made sure he could clear the leader with a well-executed, clean pass that began as both were going into turn one and coming out of turn two. From there, he took off, building a good sized lead in a caution free event. As the checkered waved, Hopkins’ lead was the better part of a straightaway over Scott. Rogers came from eighth to take third at the end. Parker finished fourth, but drove a fine race all the same. Berryhill was fifth, Darland sixth. Cunningham made his way to seventh after starting 15^th. Short advanced from 11^th to eighth. J. Vermillion started and finished ninth. Malone faded from his front row position to settle for tenth.

I hung around for a while longer until fatigue reared its ugly head. I thought about how racing provides a brief respite from the daily grind. And then…

A final, brief note…

Despite our attempts to push the problems, the world’s and ours, into the background for a few hours, those problems and issues always are there when we leave our sanctuary, patiently waiting on our return. One of the few things I know about life is that it goes on, whether it’s forward or backward. The daily grind is relentless as we negotiate our way through our lives. Our attempts to make sense of life are futile all too often. Even worse, our refusal to learn, be it through books or life experiences, will surely keep us in a rut that can’t be wished away. Should this continue, even our sanctuaries will not protect us from that part of the daily grind that affects and threatens us all. Let us remember that, while we have legitimate rights, we need to face up to our responsibilities and obligations to ourselves, our neighbors, our nation and our Creator. (Adapted from the words of Morris Fiorina of Stanford University).

Elbowing fellow shoppers out of the way as I scoop up half a dozen cans of Goya beans, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Anatomy of a Rainout

I had looked forward to this night, but it wasn’t going to happen. Plans were to head east to the Lawrenceburg Speedway with not one, but both grandsons. The younger one is more like me; he likes all the tracks we’ve visited since he was two years old. The older one seldom goes with me, but he has a liking for Lawrenceburg. Ignoring the weather forecast, off we went.

As we left town, the radar revealed a small cell of showers west in Brown County. I figured that we’d outrun the dark clouds all the way to Lawrenceburg and the whole thing would fizzle out as summer storms often do. The boys were quiet as the towns were dispatched, North Vernon, Butlerville, Nebraska, Holton, Versailles, Dillsboro, Aurora and finally, Lawrenceburg.

Wandering the pits, proudly showing off the still new Rick Lane Restrooms near the bulletin board and the inspection station. My very unofficial car count was 26; elsewhere I read that it was 31. I briefly wondered why some guys were putting their cars back into the haulers. Then I looked to the west. The dark clouds had followed us. The radar confirmed it and the forecast was rain in less than an hour.

There were a few guys I’d seen the night before. Gas City winner Thomas Meseraull was in town with his own car, as well as one for Ricky Lewis. So was Kyle Cummins, second at Gas City. The final member of the Gas City podium, Scotty Weir, was there as well. I reminded Joss Moffatt not to sit with me tonight because two weeks ago he did and later was caught up in a crash. He had no problem with that.

We all had bigger problems in the form of approaching rain and wind. Grandpa decided to lead the herd to the dryness under the Dave Rudisell Grandstand. The wind picked up, the temperature dropped and the rain arrived with a bang. Looking south and southwest I could barely see the levee and the distillery. The boys were troopers, keeping themselves occupied.

About 20 minutes later the rain eased up. We came up with a plan, which was get something to eat and then check in to see if Dave was going to try and get the show in. After we finished eating, the word appeared on social media that Dave had reluctantly bowed to the inevitable. No racing tonight. Lincoln Park had rained out an hour earlier.

We went home via the “northern” route. North on Indiana State Road 1, then I-74 west. The sun tried its best to break through the clouds but it was outnumbered. The sky was darker than normal this time of year. The roads were dry at least. West of Greensburg, the oldest and I simultaneously saw considerable lightning west of us. We were sure that we’d see more rain by the time we made it home. But it never happened and I dropped the crew off at their house, all of us promising to try again soon.

Certainly I enjoyed the evening with the boys, despite the disappointment of the rainout. We’ll try again soon—if the rain stays away or holds off until midnight of the race.

As this is wrapped up and ready to be sent to Allan, more rain is crossing Indiana. It’s invading Spencer and the weather gurus say it’s due to his here in 19 minutes. I may as well wait up for it while I monitor USAC’s attempts to race at Knoxville.

Applying for another job, campaign manager for Kanye West, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Still My House

I would understand if Gas City/I-69 Speedway promoter Jerry Gappens established an account designated for Thomas Meseraull only. Late on Friday night Jerry could tap his phone a couple of times and first place money would be transferred to an account belonging to TMez. On a beautiful northeastern Indiana night, Meseraull withstood a challenge by southwestern Indiana’s Kyle Cummins to win the 25 lap feature at Gas City. It was Meseraull’s first victory of the year.

The weather was a welcome change of pace as mostly clear skies and the thermometer stuck at 80 made for a comfortable evening. The winds from the west were quite brisk but that diminished as the sun set over Greentown and Kokomo.

Sprint cars accounted for 30 of the 108 race cars jamming the pits. It was a bit of a surprise to see Mr. Cummins making the long haul. With both Clinton Boyles and Shane Cottle out west in Iowa, Paul Hazen turned to Plan C, Max Adams, to get some seat time in his car.

It would be four heats for the dirty 30 and Kyle Cummins waited until he was coming to the white flag to take the lead and the win in the first heat. Sprint rookie Chase Jones, along with Sterling Cling and Aaron Leffel, began preparation for the feature.

In the second heat, Thomas Meseraull passed Shane Cockrum midway through to motor on to the win. Billy Cribbs and Tyler Kendall also advanced with Matt Goodnight almost taking fourth.

JJ Hughes won by a comfortable margin over Max Adams, who led Max Guilford and Adam Byrkett to the line. Braydon Clark just missed.

Five kids (my definition) along with Dallas Hewitt and Scotty Weir made up the fourth heat (I can easily remember when Hewitt and Weir were kids). Wouldn't you know it, the two older guys showed the way. Hewitt led Weir, Korbyn Hazlett and Brayden Fox to the main event.

Scott Hampton won the consolation with Matt Goodnight, Zack Pretorius and Evan Mosley getting one more dance. Travis Hery came close.

Despite starting a half hour late, all heats and B mains were done at 9:18 p.m. Impressive.

The redraw put Meseraull and Hewitt in the front row TMez grabbed the lead right away. From the outside second row, Cummins jumped to second and wasn’t happy with that. As Meseraull worked the top, Cummins used the bottom groove to take the lead on lap six coming out of turn four.

For a while Meseraull tried the bottom to no avail; he was able to keep pace until a yellow waved on lap ten for Tyler Kendall. Cummins led Meseraull, Weir, Hughes and Adams.

Meseraull regained the lead on the re-start, using his preferred high side. The California native stretched the lead to several car lengths before Mark Orr waved the yellow on the 15^th lap for a Max Guilford spin. Still behind the lead duo were Weir, Hughes and Adams. Cummins was rooted in second place but behind him Cockrum was on the move, despite a balky shock. After spending much of the race in sixth, the Chief scooted by Adams and Hughes, then began an effort to get around Weir.

Five laps later, the race’s final yellow waved when Jones spun in turn four. Meseraull led Cummins, Weir, Cockrum and Adams as the green waved for the last five laps. Again, Cummins had nothing for the leader and the top five didn’t change. Hewitt had started the race second, fell back to ninth and came back late to take sixth from Hughes, who was seventh. Cribbs was eighth and B main refugee Goodnight won the Rob Goodman Hard Charger award by coming from 18^th to ninth. (To be truthful, A.J. and Matt Brookmyer contributed a piece of paper with Ben Franklin’s picture on it for Mr. Cockrum.) Fox advanced from 16^th to finish tenth.

It’s not out of the ordinary for a given racer dominate at a given track. Last year saw Meseraull do so at Gas City while Cummins did the same at Tri-State Speedway down south. The best thing either could do is enjoy it while it lasts. As sure as anything, their domination will end and both will go from the favorite to being a threat to win. It’s the nature of the beast that is the strong competition at Hoosier bullrings.

In D2 Midget action, Adam Taylor and Gary Loney won their heats. Taylor won the feature with Loney taking second. Jacob Denney, Stratton Briggs and Alex Watson were the top five.

Dominating my cheeseburger, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 The Hoosier Race Report: The Cream Also Rises

It wasn't just the close racing and closer finish, though that was a treat as well as one to remember. At the end, one could only take a deep breath and say, among other things, "Bill would have enjoyed that." By a split second, Brady Bacon beat C.J. Leary, Justin Grant and Chase Stockon on the second night of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular at the Lincoln Park Speedway on a night with a lot of almost everything.   

Another hot and humid Hoosier afternoon and again, my traveling partner and I headed northwest for Night II of the BGS. Tonight would be an all-open wheel festival with USAC’s sprint and D2 Midget Divisions and the Racesaver 305 Sprints.

There was some turnover from Friday among the sprints. Missing was Friday winner Shane Cottle, who had a graduation to celebrate (stepson). New were Bobby Griffitts, Justin Standridge, Aaron Leffel, Thomas Meseraull, Josh Cunningham, Anthony D’Alessio, Travis Berryhill, Matt McDonald, Mitch Wissmiller and Brian VanMeveren. There was a net gain of six cars, bringing the total to 57 out of the 105 total cars on hand.

With two flights of time trials, Brent Beauchamp went out early and rang up a 12.611 lap. C.J. Leary didn’t mess around in the second group of cars. His 12.913 led his group and was third of the 57.

USAC might want to reconsider its decision to cram 57 cars into four heats. Lots of carnage would be the story of the heats.

After a marriage proposal by Ethan Barrow at the start/finish line to his special lady (who said yes) and a reworking of the track it was time for a 15 car heat. Many of you reading this have perhaps witnessed feature races with fewer cars (Hint: For a lot of 12 car fields for a feature, go to the Carolinas.).

The mayhem began early as contact between Chase Stockon and Dustin Smith put the Kokomo resident in a bad way, namely facing the entire field. Along came Chris Windom, who had no place to go except into the side of Smith. Also involved were Aaron Leffel and Mr. Beauchamp, who re-started on the tail. On the re-start, Donny Brackett got sideways and collected Beauchamp and Robert Carrington. Again, Beauchamp went to the tail. There was one more yellow before this one ended with Stockon leading a charging Beauchamp to the checkered. TMez and Kevin Thomas Jr. both survived to race much later.

It continued in the second heat when Dickie Gaines flipped into the fence in front of the pit bleachers, tearing down part of the fence. Dickie exited the car on his own. After a 20 minute delay to fix the fence, some great competition began. Carson Short went high when the others went low and won after starting tenth. Kyle Cummins, Garrett Aitken and Jake Swanson trailed. Had Dave Darland not suffered a flat tire, he undoubtedly would have transferred.

There was more in the third heat as pole sitter Josh Cunninghamspun in front of the field in the uncommonly slick turn one. McDonald, D’Alessioand Dakota Jackson were affected with Jackson getting upside down. Things calmed down after that with Brady Bacon winning over C.J. Leary, Tanner Thorson and Jordan Kinser.

The fourth heat was tame by comparison with Justin Grant taking the win over Mario Clouser, Max Adams and Stephen Schnapf. Jadon Rogers just missed the convert.

The first D Main I’ve seen in a very long time rolled off with Jesse Vermillion leading brother Blake, Chayse Hayhurst and Robert Bell to the C.

The C Main began with Donny Brackett executing a half spin with predictable results for those who followed. Casualties included Harley Burns, Chris Phillips and Tim Creech II. Rogers led Brayden Fox, Tye Mihocko and Mitch Wissmiller to the B.

The semi-main was one to appreciate. Brandon Mattox and Dave Darland showed the rest of us how it’s done as they raced side by side for much of the race with Mattox prevailing. Darland, Jonathan Vennard and Chris Windom moved on to the feature.

D2 Midgets?

The heat races were won by Emerson Axsom, Hayden Reinbold and Stratton Briggs.

The caution plagued feature was won by Axson, followed by Jason McDougal, who had started deep in the pack. ChettGehrke, Chris Baue and Reinbold were the rest of the top five.

Racesavers!

Pole sitter Andy Bradley won the first of three heats with Bradley Galedrige and Dustin Stroup in tow.

Nathan Franklin, Bradley Sterrett and Jordan Welch made up the podium in the second heat.

In the third heat, Jackson Slone outran John Paynter Jr. and Ethan Barrow.

Speaking of Barrow, his special night ended well like any good fairytale when he closed out the night by winning the feature. Bradley was a close second with Paynter leading Stroup and Sterrett to the line.

Cut, Meet Slash

Grant and Thorson led the way and the Californian got the jump on the Nevadan until a lap two caution left Adams stationary and solitary in turn two. Max, who had started fourth, went to the tail as Grant led Thorson, Leary, Thomas and Beauchamp.

The boys only completed one lap when Schnapf flipped in turn one. He decamped from the car, shaken no doubt.

Not long after the re-start, Leary passed Thorson and began doing his best to make Grant’s life miserable. For the time being, Justin stuck to the top as C.J. worked the bottom, Shane Cottle style. As the halfway mark approached, Bacon moved up to join the party, leading by a hair after 15 laps. At this point Bacon seemed inevitable.

Just because Bacon led didn’t mean that this thing was over. Grant and Leary made sure of that. Lap after lap, these guys found a way to either pass or pull alongside each other. High, low, middle, it didn’t matter. Also, for me it was a treat that contact between them was kept at a minimum as they jockeyed for position.

As the top three fought it out through the middle of the race, Thorson began edging his way to the front, threatening to make it a four car battle. Stockon was also on the move as the long green flag period seemed to agree with his car.

As Bacon had led since halfway, Leary made a power move to lead lap 27. But Bacon was too much; Leary only led the one lap. Bacon reclaimed the front and held off the horde to win his 32^nd USAC feature triumph, tying him with Rollie Beale.

Behind Bacon was Leary and Grant. USAC’s Richie Murray says the margin between first and third was a whopping .0172 seconds. Stockon and Thorson weren’t that far behind either. Beauchamp ended a trying night with a sixth. Darland, Thomas, Mattox and Short completed the top ten.

Bacon was also the KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger, coming from eighth to first. More icing for him as his luck—and results—lately have not been up to his standards. As the USAC  caravan heads west to Knoxville, IA Grant’s point lead is 70 over Windom.

We all need to be aware when we do or witness extraordinary events and/or efforts. Somewhere down the road these events make for good memories. Rather than complain about the dust, 15 car heat races, the multitude of interruptions, allow the appreciation of seeing talented and motivated people do what they love and excel at it.

I like to believe that Bill Gardner had a good view of all the proceedings and perhaps he would have nodded in approval. Jackwagon.

Unsuccessfully dodging water balloons thrown by an out of control Brian Hodde and Shondra Gardner, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Shane Shines Under the Full Moon

On the surface it would seem to be an upset victory. But while Shane Cottle's convincing win over a stout field of glittering résumés might have been a surprise, don't call it an upset. Call it a great effort by a crafty veteran. Cottle won the first night of the Lincoln Park Speedway's Bill Gardner Sprintacular, co-sanctioned by USAC and MSCS.

Again my not-so-little helper made the trip. I decided to hand over a few responsibilities after we arrived. We wandered through the pits and he took attendance. It helped him that he knew most of the 51 candidates on hand. He handled the camera work for the lineups and did some proofreading for some of what’s written below. I couldn’t talk him into having the Bar-B-Que sandwich, which I enjoyed.

If that wasn’t enough, he asked Steve Fox for permission to ride on the four-wheeler as Brayden Fox and the others went through the engine heat ritual. After Brayden came in, the not-so-little guy proved that he hadn’t forgotten how to scrape mud off a sprint car.

Tonight, the MSCS format would be used with USAC’s routine employed on Saturday. Six heats would take the top three to the 30-lap feature with C and B mains taking the top four, who would start at the back of the pack in the succeeding race. Group qualifying would begin festivities with the top four in each group inverted for the heats.

Lots of interesting characters populated the jammed pits with 51 sprinters among 140 race cars. Dickie Gaines’ team made the long haul across much of Indiana. Chase Stockon was making his USAC debut with the KO Motorsports team.

The first heat began with a near pileup at the front of the field that could have been much worse, Dave Darland won with Chris Windom and Mario Clouser following DD to the finale.

There was a mini-pileup in the second heat that saw Tanner Thorson and Max Adams pointing the wrong way in turn two. Carson Short came from sixth to win with a late pass of second place Brent Beauchamp. Nate McMillen held off a charging Mr. Thorson to finish third.

Aric Gentry scratched from the third heat and this put Justin Grant in position to scoot away for the victory. Kevin Thomas Jr. and pole sitter Dakota Jackson would join Grant for the feature.

It's true that it took A. J. Hopkins eight laps to take the lead in the fourth heat, but take it he did and led Jake Bland home. Brayden Fox, carrying no mud, was third.

When Kyle Cummins bounced hard off the turn two cushion, C. J. Leary was quick to pounce and the fifth heat was his. Chase Stockon, now part of the Kent Schmidt stable, was second. Cummins recovered to take third.

In the sixth and final heat, Brady Short took an ugly ride after contact with Anton Hernandez. After a few minutes Brady shook the cobwebs away and exited the car. Racing resumed with Shane Cottle holding back Brady Bacon and Brandon Mattox for the win.

The C main resembled the Twilight Zone if anything. Cars bumping into each other, somehow managing to continue... except for Mike Clark who got upside down before reaching the starting line. Tim Creech II, Aric Gentry, Max Adams (from the tail) and Tye Mihocko would tag the B.

After trading the lead a couple of times, Garrett Aitken led Tanner Thorson, Anton Hernandez and Dickie Gaines to tag the A main. Jadon Rogers and Aric Gentry used MSCS provisionals.

One could be forgiven for picking either front row occupant. A.J. Hopkins runs well at LPS. Justin Grant is having a successful season so far. Cottle would start sixth. Brady Bacon, scheduled to start 12^th, didn’t start at all. Dickie Gaines pulled into the infield before the start, leaving 22 starters. Bacon and Gaines might have gazed at the full moon and cursed their luck.

Grant led the first lap, but C. Short, starting third, quickly shot to first on the next circuit. Short was leading when the race’s first yellow waved on lap four as Mattox stopped on the track. Up front it was Short, Grant, Cottle, Hopkins and Leary.

Short’s time leading the pack was not for much longer. Grant came back to lead on the seventh lap. His time up front lasted only a lap as Cottle came on to lead lap eight, owning the bottom lane. It wasn’t like Grant went away; he never did let Cottle get away.

Lapped traffic almost became a factor by the 12^th lap, but Jake Bland brought out the race’s second yellow. Cottle led Grant, Leary, Short, Windom, Stockon, Hopkins, Beauchamp, Thomas and Jackson.

Nothing had changed among the top three when Mattox spun with 16 laps complete after contact with Rogers; yellow lights blinked. Windom was now fourth and a fading Short was fifth. On the re-start, Grant and Leary had a brief and private war for second. C.J. held the position for lap 20 but Grant came back and re-took it. To add to Leary’s troubles, Windom advanced to third on the same lap.

Over the last few laps, the order stayed the same. Cottle, Grant, Windom, Leary, and Stockon, who started 11^th, were the top five. Hopkins was sixth with Beauchamp seventh and Thomas eighth. Jackson came from 15^th to finish ninth. Cummins was the KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger after starting 17^th and ending up tenth.

Cottle is surely one of those interesting characters. He’s not a kid anymore; age thirty is a distant memory. But if Mr. Cottle has lost little, if any, off his game. He’s a joker, good natured and easy going. But God help the racer or anyone else who crosses him. Fortunately, that seldom happens. Face it, kids. Shane Cottle is cool. Maybe he’s Lawrence Talbot in disguise.

To be sure, it looks like he and the Hodges team are on the same page.

Texting Sebastian Vettel and giving him a list of USAC car owners to contact if he gets fired, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Tale of the Scared Rabbit

It was a warm and muggy Indiana night as Chris Windom played the role of the scared rabbit as he held off first Brady Bacon and at the end Justin Grant to win the Tony Hulman Classic.

A clear majority of the field tonight was either a native Hoosier or Illini. It seems like there's always a surprise or two with each pit walk. I was mildly surprised and happy to see Nick Bilbee, fresh off his Lawrenceburg Speedway win from Saturday night. Robert Bell is a welcome sight and here he was, with the long haul from Iowa behind him. Jake Swanson was in the Hoosier state with an Arizona car. As announced, Tanner Thorson was in the Reinbold/Underwood car for the injured Logan Seavey.

This would be the 50th running of a race named after the gentleman who arguably was the best thing to ever happen to Terre Haute, Vigo County and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tony Hulman. It would seem that any successful and forward looking community needs people who are of the same bent, those who aren't shy about earning or making a fortune, but who realize that the same folks who contributed to their amassed wealth should reap their share of the benefits as well.

My town's version of Tony Hulman was J. Irwin Miller, who, with a dreamer named Clessie Cummins, made this town into the Athens of the Prairie, among other nicknames. We all have benefitted from Mr. Miller and Mr. Hulman (and let us not forget Don Smith). 

The track surface at the time of qualifying was not its fastest and one would have been tempted to say that it was losing speed as time trials proceeded. But Brady Bacon was having none of it as he was 24th in line, yet turned in the quickest lap with an impressive 22.025. After qualifications, the track received a major makeover and this resulted in some pretty decent racing; certainly the track was faster.

In the first of three heats, Chase Stockon used a late race restart to get around Carson Short to win. Brady Bacon was third behind Short with Chris Windom fourth. Mitch Wissmiller punched the last ticket.

Jake Swanson passed Brandon Mattox in turn two of the first lap and led the rest of the way to win the second heat. Tanner Thorson was second and Justin Grant passed Mattox at the line to finish third. Kendall Ruble held off Brandon Morin to clinch a spot in the show.

Anton Hernandez led all the way to win his first USAC heat race as second place Nick Bilbee made sure that the Texas native earned it. Kevin Thomas Jr. took third and Dustin Smith ignored a smoking engine to finish fourth. Max Adams was fifth.

Two notable stories were at the front of the B main results. After a night of calamity for C.J. Leary and company in which an engine was changed and there was more trouble with the next one, he roared from last to win the semi feature. This one ended with a single green flag lap after a late yellow. Nate McMillen made the most of it, using the high side to advance two places on the last lap to annex second place. Mitchell Davis was third with Matt Westfall, Chris Phillips, Brandon Morin and Steve Thomas all making it to the night's final event.

Adams and Windom led 20 of their colleagues to the line and Tom Hansing sent them on their way. Right away Windom jumped to the lead and Bacon immediately fired off from sixth to take second. It didn’t take these guys long to break away from the rest of the field. But Dustin Smith brought out a lap nine yellow when he spun in turn two. Windom led Bacon, K. Thomas, Grant and Thorson.

Things stayed pretty much the same with the top two in the middle of the race with Thomas slowly falling through the order. With five laps to go, the long green flag segment ended with Davis stopping just past the start/finish line. Windom led Bacon, Grant, Thorson and Stockon in the top five. An impressive Swanson was sixth, ahead of Short, Thomas, Leary and Adams. It wouldn’t stay this way for long.

Only a lap was completed when Thorson slowed and Bilbee was unable to avoid the near-stationary sprinter. Nick fljpped, changing the yellow flag to a red. This moved Swanson into the top five. Thorson rejoined the field with a new right rear tire.

There was more. Leary had a good run spoiled on lap 27 when he stopped, bringing out another yellow. He had come from last to ninth when his misfortune ended a trying night. During the yellow, Bacon stopped on the track as well, ending a fine run in its own right. Despite his best efforts, a balky engine terminated Bacon’s race. Now Windom led Grant, Stockon, Swanson and Short.

As he did with Bacon, Windom pulled away from Grant over the last three laps, winning by several car lengths. Stockon joined Windom and Grant on the podium with Swanson finishing fourth. Short was the KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger, coming from 14^th to finish fifth.

Thorson scrambled back from his ill luck to finish sixth. Thomas settled for seventh and Adams was eighth. Morin came from 18^th to take ninth with Hernandez tenth.

With the two-night Bill Gardner Sprintacular coming up Friday and Saturday, Grant has a 40 point lead over Windom.

Now possessing two of those cool rifles for winning this race (he also won in 2011), Windom can go rabbit hinting.

With the words “End Construction” rapidly becoming my two favorites, I’m…

Danny Burton 

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Sneaky Fast

Sometimes a hot dog shows up and people will point and say, "there's your winner tonight." Often they will be correct and for 18 laps at the Lawrenceburg Speedway, the "prophets" were looking prescient. But Nick Bilbee either didn't get the memo or did and ignored it. All Nick did was reel in Brady Bacon and make the pass for the lead, then hang on for a well-earned win.

Rain fell across much of Indiana on Saturday, hurting the “garage salers” in our neighborhood and knocking out the scheduled Lincoln Park Speedway program which included fireworks. Lawrenceburg was not spared, receiving just enough rain to keep Dave Rudisell from watering the track very much.Some sprinkles delayed the start of festivities for less than a half hour.

The rain and/or the threat of rain may have held the sprint car count down to 18 (with a total of 90 cars in the pits). But there were enough quality cars and drivers to make this an interesting evening. Two of the three sprint car races were a real treat.

Another treat was provided by my grandson, who has been clamoring to see some of his buddies since his participation in football has been cancelled this year. He gave me a laugh when he stood next to JJ Hughes and discovered that he’s grown to the point where he’s catching the full-grown Mr. Hughes. It’s probably a good thing we didn’t run into the promoter—unless he was wearing his elevator shoes.

Garrett Abrams led the first half of the first heat, then it was Brady Bacon's turn. The Oklahoma native led the rest of the way to take the win. Abrams was second, trailed by Anthony D'Alessio, JJ Hughes and Shane Cockrum.

In the second heat, Matt Westfall led all eight laps, but a last lap near bobble made it close at the end. Dickie Gaines finished second by a very few feet. Nick Bilbee was a close third after starting eighth. Justin Lewis and Ryan Barr ran fourth and fifth.

We occupied our time until the sprint feature lined up by eating, watching the support classes race, strolling through the pits, and checking my phone to catch the Outlaws’ hot laps up in Minnesota.

The redraw saw Westfall and Bacon on the front row. Tim Montgomery waved the green at 10:00 p.m. and away they went. While Westfall got the jump at the start, Bacon grabbed the lead in turn two and did his best to put some distance between himself and everyone else.

Five laps were complete when Nathan Carle spun in turn two just before Bacon would have lapped him. It was Bacon, Westfall, Gaines and Bilbee, who had started fifth. During the caution, I commented to my grandson that Nick had a strong car, but Dickie and Matt would be tough to pass.

On the re-start, Bacon pulled away from Westfall and Gaines found himself under attack from Bilbee. Nick completed the pass on the eighth lap and he set his sights on Westfall. At about this time I noticed that Bacon’s lead had seemed to shrink somewhat. But Bilbee was also gaining ground on the Buckeye, making the pass for second on the 17^th lap.

Bacon was next on Bilbee’s list of accomplishments. He reeled in the leader and made it look almost easy. The pass for the lead was exiting turn two on the 19^th lap. If one didn’t know any better, they might be tempted to think that Nick had sneaked up on Brady. But I had heard the engine on the Hoffmans’ 69 car with a sound that wasn’t quite right. Bacon confirmed it on social media, citing a balky magneto.

If one expected Bilbee to check out, they would have been disappointed. Bacon, despite his mechanical woes, hung tough with the lead car, almost getting under Bilbee in turn one, only to see him run above the cushion and get a major launch into turn two and down the backstretch. Brady’s motor couldn’t respond.

Behind Bilbee and Bacon was Westfall, Gaines and Hughes. Cockrum was sixth until he was penalized two spots; my guess is that it had something to do with a re-start, but I’ve been wrong a few times. This put Abrams in sixth and Sterling Cling seventh. The Chief settled for eighth and non-wing sprint car rookie Saban Bibent came from 14^th to finish ninth. Slater Helt, all the way from Harrisonville, Missouri and one who has run with the WAR series, finished tenth.

Since Bilbee finished ahead of Bibent, Nick was the Karston McIntosh hard charger. After hot laps, Karston had presented Nick with a dirt clod that had smacked him in the face. For the superstition minded, this might mean something for the future.

But the real lesson was to never assume; never attempt to prophesy. We can’t and, I believe, aren’t supposed to know how things are going to turn out. That’s why we go to races—to find out.

Exceedingly happy that none of my three nieces are writing a book, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Way of Improvement (Leads Home)

The title comes from a website owned and operated by John Fea, author, historian and professor at Messiah College, which is in a familiar sounding town called Mechanicsburg, PA. The college is a short drive from, yep, Williams Grove Speedway. But I digress. The Way of Improvement came to mind as I watched still-young Jaden Rogers hold off the best efforts of both Jake Scott and A.J. Hopkins and win the 25-lap feature at the Paragon Speedway on a warm, but breezy Friday night.

The early bird pit walk didn't yield any shocks but Thomas Meseraull was here instead of Gas City, serving as a coach for Californian Ricky Lewis. It was no surprise that Josh Cunningham was here, but in the family car this evening.

Young Lewis appears to be spending the summer in Indiana as so many have done before him, chasing a dream. Other long haulers included Tom Davies from Elkhart, Indiana and recovered for the most part from his unfortunate encounter with Gas City's turn one a couple of years back. Matt Cooley and company made the long haul from Greenville, Ohio, a hop, skip and jump from Eldora. Newcomer Nathan Carle came over from West Harrison, Indiana, not far from Lawrenceburg. And Kent Weed had a long haul of his own, making the journey from Sheperdsville, Kentucky. (The things we remember from childhood can be pretty much anything. I remember my dad getting pulled over by a Kentucky State Trooper near Sheperdsville for, what else, speeding. I was maybe 12.)

I could not help but reflect on the changes in the pits compared to the USAC/Indiana Midget Week races from last week. Some of the differences in the pits as opposed to early last were more obvious than others. Among the most obvious would be all the sheet metal. One of my favorite differences was a goodly number of open trailers, in all five classes. Perhaps the most significant contrast from the Midget Week race and tonight's was the overall mood. The USAC boys and girls are somewhat more serious. It makes plenty of sense; more is at stake. More people, not just drivers, do this either for a living or for a considerable second income. The atmosphere on this breezy Friday tended to be a bit more laid back. Don't be fooled; once these guys took the green, the intensity, while impossible to measure, was, I'd wager, pretty much the same as the sanctioning body's racers. I meandered through the pits, observing people working on their cars and noticed something else. You are much more likely to see the locals working on their own car... with or without help.

Racing began with the caution plagued first heat, which belonged to Matt McDonald, who held off the charging rookie Ricky Lewis and Brandon Spencer.

After a dose of water for the track, the second heat saw Jaden Rogers romp to the win with Hunter O'Neal second. Mike Clark, another low buck racer, was third.

A.J. Hopkins was the fourth leader of the third heat, holding off Jake Scott, who had led part of the race, with inches to spare. Jordan Kinser was the third of this trio to lead and finished third. Initial leader Harley Burns spun in turn two.

There was still a good amount of daylight and I came over to the bleachers to sit with Keith Ford and catch a few stories. The field lined up with McDonald and Rogers leading the mob to Brian Hodde’s green flag. Rogers jumped out to the lead and was beginning to catch lapped traffic when the yellow waved on the sixth lap. McDonald and Hopkins trailed. The boys could only get a lap in when another yellow waved for an impromptu pinball game breaking out in turn four. Hopkins had passed McDonald and now was on Rogers’ rear bumper.

By the time the third yellow waved on lap eight for action at both ends, Scott had passed McDonald and was in third place. Try as they might, neither Scott nor Hopkins had anything for the leader. Scott had taken second from Hopkins before the race’s last yellow waved just past halfway. He threw a major slide job at Rogers going into turn one, but the kid from Worthington, Indiana just dove low in turn two and re-assumed the lead.

In the latter stages, Hopkins tried mightily to get around Scott for second, but couldn’t make any attempted passes stick. For a few laps after the yellow, the top three ran close until Rogers began pulling away. They all decided to run above the tall cushion in turn one, but no one used it any better than Rogers, who won here at Paragon three times last year.

At the end, Rogers’ lead was several car lengths over Scott with Hopkins third. Kinser worked his way to fourth after starting ninth. Travis Berryhill advanced from 22^nd to finish fifth. He wasn’t quite the race’s hard charger. That honor went to Josh Cunningham, who started way back in 24^th and negotiated his way through the field to finish sixth. Matt McDonald finished seventh and Pat Giddens was eighth. Hunter O’Neal ended up ninth and Ricky Lewis recovered from one of the early race yellow periods to come back to tenth. TMez might have smiled at that.

One of the reasons I love this wild and crazy sport is to watch people improve at their craft. It wasn’t that long ago that Jaden Rogers had plenty of desire but the results aren’t just based on desire. Things had to happen for him and his team to start having more success. It was a trying time for sure. I’ll not forget one race where Jaden brought out four yellow flags by himself. Since then, the improvement has been there and better results have appeared. Last year was a breakout year of sorts. This year looks promising. Good for Jaden Rogers and his team.

If he knew anything about racing, maybe even John Fea would be pleased.

Kind of glad I wasn’t one of those dead people getting a stimulus check, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: David 1, Goliath 0

All week long lots of good racers have watched the Tucker/Boat team dominate USAC's Indiana Midget Week, winning all five features up until Sunday night at the Kokomo Speedway. But total domination wasn't to be for the multi-car team. That's because a one car team, with Tanner Thorson behind the wheel, pulled it off as Thorson edged former teammate Kyle Larson and his teammate Chris Windom at the checkered flag. With a borrowed engine no less.

I left home and drove through steady rain all the way through Marion County. It became periodic sprinkles through Hamilton County and quit entirely as I motored through Tipton County. Kokomo had cloudy skies but my faith had been rewarded. The weather forecast was close enough and I had as close to total faith in the O'Connor family's desire to have a race (and sell a few pork chop sandwiches).

Among the 37 USAC midgets and 38 Kokomo sprints was the usual ride switching. Spencer Bayston had stepped in to replace Logan Seavey, who’s feeling a little better but not ready to get back into the seat. Kevin Thomas Jr., citing the need to pay more attention to his sprint car team, exited the Petry team car and Jerry Coons Jr. was on hand to fill in. Jason McDougal's tryout with the Kunz team was Lawrenceburg only and he was back in his regular ride tonight. After a brief absence, Rico Abreu and Tyler Nelson were back. On the sprint side, Isaac Chapple was taking his turn in the Pedersen Open Trailer Special. Thomas Meseraull, Brady Bacon, Justin Grant and Chris Windom were the double dippers.

For a brief period I thought to myself, uh-oh. Bits of moisture began falling from the sky at 7:15. By 7:30 it was almost a drizzle as the first heat participants circled the track.But it let up quickly and the green flag waved. 

Tanner Thorson won with Kyle Larson, Jerry Coons Jr. and Ethan Mitchell all moving on.

Another Tanner, this one Carrick, took the second heat and Kaylee Bryson was second, trailed by sprint aces Clinton Boyles and Kyle Cummins.

Chris Windom came from fifth to win the third heat. Tyler Courtney, Justin Grant and Jason McDougal made ready for the feature.

Thomas Meseraull was the man to beat in the fourth heat. As it would turn out, this would be his highlight of the evening. Rico Abreu was second. Cannon McIntosh and Buddy Kofoid made it a KKM sweep... not counting the winner.

Cole Bodine won the last chance race. Pole sitter Daison Pursley was second. Shane Golobic, Andrew Layser, Spencer Bayston and Jake Neuman (who started 11^th) would race again.

Kokomo Sprints

The usual five heats/top three advance/two Bs/ top three advance format was in place and C.L. Leary won the first heat. Shane Cottle and Thomas Meseraull moved to the feature.

Brady Bacon was the second heat winner, taking Matt Westfall and Max Adams with him to the finale.

For the third heat it was Justin Grant, Dave Darland and Travis Hery doing the honors.

Chris Windom, Anton Hernandez and Mitchell Davis did Illinois and Texas proud in the fourth heat.

Charles Davis Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. and Jarett Andretti made the feature with Dustin Smith narrowly missing.

For the first last chance race (had to do it), Critter Malone led Matt Goodnight and Aaron Farney into the 25 lap feature.

Brian VanMeveren, Isaac Chapple and Dustin Smith met their goal of running one more race.

Two features

An interesting duo, Abreu and Windom, were the front row occupants and one would reasonably expect that one of them would lead the first lap, but Tyler Courtney, starting fourth, had another plan. Windom held onto second as Meseraull and Larson fought for third. Courtney was lengthening his lead and it was tempting to picture him as the winner.

Thorson had started seventh and had dropped back in the early going. At the halfway mark he was still seventh.

Festivities were interrupted on lap 18, when McDougal stopped in turn four with a flat tire, his second in two nights. McIntosh stopped on the frontstretch. Courtney was looking strong, leading Windom, Meseraull, Larson and Boyles. Thorson was sixth and things were about change big time.

On the re-start, Courtney caromed through turn one and flipped, bringing out the red—the race’s defining moment. Meseraull spun to a stop to miss Courtney and he’d re-start on the tail. Windom would be the new leader, with Larson, Boyles and Thorson in fourth.

The green waved and Windom maintained a lead over Larson, his teammate. One had to wonder if Larson was letting up, being a team player. I wondered it and refused to believe it. Thorson dispatched Boyles at the start and edged his way closer to the front, now with a car that could do what he wanted. Sure enough, Thorson caught Larson and made the pass. Two laps later the yellow came out for a wandering infield tire that Ethan Mitchell contacted. Windom’s lead over Thorson was gone; this was a break for the Nevadan.

On the re-start, Thorson dove under Windom, making the pass in turn two. But wait; this thing wasn’t over. Larson used the high line to get around his teammate and set sail for the new leader. There wasn’t much time, but if anyone could do it, Larson could. Windom wanted to play some more and the three nearly went three wide on the last lap with Thorson in the middle. Thorson took the low line in the final turn as Larson rode the fence. Thorson’s margin of victory was a half car length, or .065 seconds.

Fourth behind Thorson, Larson and Windom was Boyles, which concluded a productive week for the RMS team. Cummins came from 15^th to finish fifth. Abreu led the second five with Golobic ending up seventh. Coons wound up as the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger as he moved from 20^th to eighth at the end. Meseraull charged back to ninth after his misfortune. Kofoid showed how important qualifying is as he started 22^nd and finished tenth.

By .065 seconds, Thorson kept the Tucker-Boat team from sweeping Indiana Midget Week.

After the feature Kofoid and TMez appeared to be having a discussion about the best place to have a late night snack in Kokomo.

Chris Windom eased the pain of just missing the victory in the midget feature by getting around Brady Bacon on a late race restart and holding on to close out the night-and the week-of racing with a sprint car feature win. Bacon was a close second. Shane Cottle edged C. J. Leary to take third. Kevin Thomas Jr. came from tenth to finish fifth.

Dave Darland led the second five with Charles Davis Jr. winding up seventh. Jarett Andretti hustled from 15th to grab eighth. Matt Westfall and Max Adams completed the top ten.

If one was inclined to think so, I suppose that every race is like a Christian Bible story. Tonight it was the story of David and Goliath, where a young man with a slingshot brought down a much stronger man. Thorson played the role of David on Sunday and played it very well while the multi-car teams played Goliath(s). The slingshot role was played by number 19, which had given David headaches the past few nights, especially the engines.

Thorson is ideal for the role, preferring to call his own shots rather than be a part of a large team. Let’s allow him to have the final word. “I think there’s a lot to say about being able to do your own car. “Nothing against Keith Kunz and his whole team, but there’s something about that, for my satisfaction, to be able to do my car.”

I’d think that even Mr. Kunz would be proud, standing off to the side, a somewhat painful smile on his face because one of his former racers had learned his lessons well.

Meanwhile, wondering if Wendell Scott is sadly looking down, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Best Ever?

One could call it inevitable and maybe it is. Kyle Larson is now four out of five USAC's Indiana Midget Week victories, the latest coming at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on a warm Saturday night. Larson passed Thomas Meseraull late in the 30 lap feature and hung on for the win--and starting a new winning streak in the process.

Rightly or wrongly, Lawrenceburg has this reputation as an engine eater. Most all can agree that big horsepower is needed for the high banks. As a result, the car count was down somewhat. Nevertheless, the 35 car field contained plenty of hot dogs.

One of those flying frankfurters was Jason McDougal, who left his ride and landed in a KKM car, recently driven by Zeb Wise, dealing with an injury from a Paragon flip. Several cars were AWOL but two new ones inhabited the pits, Landon Simon and West Virginian Greg Mitchell.

Quite often the 'burg is going to have a dry/slick surface. That's another way of saying that Bobby East's track record for a midget, set in 2008, of 13.66 was plenty safe. Thomas Meseraull's lap of 15.095 held up. Nothing against any of the others, but McDougal's 15.559 was impressive in his own right, given the lack of familiarity with the car and the fact that he was next to last to qualify.

Andrew Layser was the first heat winner. Justin Grant, Noah Gass and Thomas Meseraull all advanced. Kevin Thomas Jr. would run the B.

Clinton Boyles won his second heat in two nights in winning the second heat. DaisonPursley, Kaylee Bryson and Buddy Kofoid, all KKM drivers, all moved on. Lincoln Park winner Chris Windom would run an extra 12 laps.

The third heat was taken by McDougal with Jake Neuman, Maria Cofer and Tyler Courtney transferring.

For the third time in four heats, an eight lap heat was all green. Brady Bacon won with Kyle Larson, Tanner Carrick and Shane Golobic going to the show.

No C main but there was a B. Windom won with Cannon McIntosh coming from tenth to second, a harbinger of things to come. Cole Bodine, Ronnie Gardner, Brody Roa, and Landon Simon, floppy side panel and all, inserted themselves into the feature lineup.

Presenting….the Lawrenceburg Sprints

Nick Bilbee prevailed in the first heat with Max Adams making a late pass of Jarett Andretti. On the last lap Shawn Westerfeld also got around Andretti for the last transfer marker.

Moe Howard would have appreciated the second heat. By race's end, everyone had a good bit of distance between themselves (Spread out!). Chris Windom, C. J. Leary and Thomas Meseraull were the top three.

The third heat had some carnage. Anton Hernandez had a flat tire and slowed coming out of turn four. J. J. Hughes tried to avoid Hernandez but barely clipped him. Joss Moffatt had no place to go and sideswiped Hughes, with J.J. tipping over and Joss flipping. Racing resumed with Shane Cottle, Dallas Hewitt and Max Guilford heading to the show.

Kevin Thomas Jr. and Brady Bacon ran away from the to finish first and second in the fourth heat. Scotty Weir was third and defending track champ Dickie Gaines went to the semi.

The fifth and final heat went to Rickie Lewis. KorbynHayslett and Braxton Cummings followed him to the feature.

Jarett Andretti used a late race re-start to grab the lead and win the first semi-feature. Anton Hernandez did the same but was second. Dickie Gaines finished third.

The second B was clean and green. Charles Davis Jr., the crafty Matt Westfall and Nate McMillin all had 25 laps to go.

One for the money, etc….

Courtney and Kofoid led a group with pent up energy that exploded when Tim Montgomery waved his green flag. Sunshine encountered trouble right away as he bounced up a grove in turn one. He kept going and no one hit him as Kofoid took advantage to take the early lead.

Kofoid had built a decent gap between him and TMez when red lights blinked on lap six for Layser who flipped in turn four. The young Pennsylvanian walked away.

On the re-start, Meseraull got busy, diving under Kofoid to take the lead. Larson did the same and many would agree that this lap would be Kofoid’s worst. From there, it was like we’ve come to expect at Lawrenceburg, heart stopping slide jobs and high speeds despite a dry slickie surface.

The frolicking took a break when Golobic stopped in turn two on lap twelve, bringing out a yellow. But it began again among the top three as Meseraull hung onto his lead until McDougal, who had been in the top five for much of the race, stopped in turn two with a flat tire on lap 22.

The green waved and business picked up as both Larson and Kofoid did their part to make Meseraull’s life even more stressful, throwing one haymaker after another at the veteran. And that was only for a lap as Justin Grant stopped in turn four and brought out another yellow flag.

Tim let fly with the green again and it must have been Kofoid’s turn to harass Meseraull. That didn’t work and Larson came at Kofoid with a slider to take second.

Then came the race’s turning point. Clinton Boyles did a 360 after contact and, per USAC rules (which drivers seem to know better than some fans) the yellow waved one last time with four laps to go. Larson, as well as anyone, knew that he’d have to reach deep into his bag of tricks to challenge for and take the lead. Or not.

Barreling into turn one TMez went high and Larson, predictably, threw a major slider and took the lead. From there it was determined that Larson would win again. Meseraull was also passed by Kofoid with a lap to go and ended up third on an all-California podium.

Yes, Virginia, there was racing behind the top trio. Windom came from 12^th to finish fourth. Courtney hung on for fifth. McIntosh cut through the field to take fifth after starting 22^nd and earning the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart/Irvin King Hard Charger award. Rounding out the top ten were Bryson, Bodine (from 15^th), McDougal (overcoming his earlier misfortune) and Carrick (from 16^th).

Going to Kokomo tonight, Larson’s IMW point lead is 57 over Kofoid. About the only way he will lose the championship will be if he tries to eat too many pork chop sandwiches. (Somebody save me one.)

By the way, the Tucker-Boat team is undefeated in IMW wins so far.

-----

I've heard some talk these past few days that there are those who think that Mr. Larson is the greatest open wheel racer ever. I am inclined to think that what they really mean is that Larson is the greatest racer they have ever seen in person.

I beg to disagree, having seen the likes of Donny Schatz, Steve Kinser, Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones and, in my opinion, the best of the best, Mr. Anthony Joseph Foyt.

But I will cheerfully add Kyle Larson to that list. He is that good.

Just enjoy seeing him work for now. You know that a NASCAR car owner will give Kyle a call sometime in the future and it's understandable if he goes back.

The previous four paragraphs were written in Section A, two rows behind where my friend Marv Fish held court for years. I'd not mind if Marv had sneaked up behind me and looked over my shoulder while I've been writing here. And if he nodded his approval, well, I cannot describe how good that would feel.

Taken aback to learn that Venezuela is not a part of the United States, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Nothing Lasts Forever (When You Get Right Down to It)

It had to happen sooner or later and Chris Windom made sure of that as he held off his teammate Kyle Larson to win the USAC Indiana Midget Week feature at the Lincoln Park Speedway. Larson's win streak was halted at eight in open wheel action.

If Friday wasn’t the hottest day of the year so far, it had to be close. My car’s thermometer claimed that it was 91. That was more than enough to remind me of my working days in weather like this.

Drivers have been coming and going as some have other obligations. Rico Abreu and Gio Scelzi had excused absences while Matt Sherrill was in town. Kendall Ruble was making a rare midget appearance.

Kyle Larson’s track record in time trials was safe but it didn’t matter as he still set fast time with a 13.039 lap. Again, the surface held up as the fastest qualifiers were all over the order in which they took times. Chase Johnson was fifth quick on his first lap, but he flipped on the second. Repairs were made and Johnson came back to have a good night.

Larson won the first heat and the feeling might have been “here we go again.” Zach Daum, always hanging tough, was second. Pole sitter Maria Cofer was third and Jason McDougal edged Ethan Mitchell at the line to take a seat in the feature.

The second heat was an all-green affair. Chris Windom came from fifth to win. Cannon McIntosh was second and a pair of number 17s, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Shane Golobic, were third and fourth.

Justin Grant was the man in the third heat, leading all ten laps. Buddy Kofoid was second, followed by Tyler Courtney and Cole Bodine.

A pair of Tanners, Thorson and Carrick ran one/two in the fourth heat. Third place belonged to Jake Neuman with Kevin Thomas Jr. grabbing fourth at the end, leaving Kaylee Bryson in the cold.

The C main ended with Brody Roa winning, followed by Thomas Meseraull, Andrew Layser and Jake Swanson.

Recovering nicely from his early misfortune, Chase Johnson was the B winner, leading DaisonPursley, Kyle Cummins, Meseraull (from 15^th), Bryson and Clinton Boyles.

How about some sprints?

Brady Bacon was the winner of the first heat, with Matt Westfall and Scotty Weir following the Oklahoma racer to the feature.

In the second heat Dave Darland came from fifth to win. Thomas Meseraull was second and Shane Cockrum came from seventh to annex the final feature position available.

The third heat was all green with A. J. Hopkins leading Charles Davis Jr. and Kevin Thomas Jr. to the checkered.

Brady Bacon took the fourth heat as Anthony D'Alessio fell back and came back to finish second. Travis Berryhill was third. Mike Clark flipped in turn four. He was able to exit the car on his own.

The final heat saw Max Adams triumph with Brandon Mattox take second. Shane Cottle legally stole third from Lee Underwood at the line.

Texas visitor Keith Martin won the first of two B mains. Jordan Kinser and Jake Bland, another Texan, made the feature.

Lee Underwood took the second B as Sterling Cling and Harley Burns would tag the field. Ben Knight was leading when he smacked the frontstretch wall, injuring his knee bad enough to stop on the track.

 

More Midget Madness

Kofoid and Windom led 21 co-workers to Tom Hansing’s green flag. (Tom was nice enough to give my friend Brian Hodde a well-deserved break for the night.) These two immediately began playing a high speed version of “tag, you’re it” as they traded slide jobs at each end for the first dozen or so laps. Again, the box score showed what it could but couldn’t show the whole story. Officially, Windom led the first two laps, followed by Kofoid leading laps 3-12. Actually the lead traded hands more times than I could keep up with, sometimes more than once on a given lap.

While this was going on, I’m sure that people were wondering where Kyle Larson was. In the first few laps, he had advanced from sixth to fifth. He avoided disaster on the seventh lap when Courtney spun in turn one right in front of the Californian. Somehow Larson kept the wheels turning and was able to keep moving.

The re-start had Kofoid leading Windom, Stenhouse, Larson and Carrick. Not far behind was Thorson and when Tom waved the green, the Nevada Nightmare (yeah, I just made that up for myself) was immediately on the move. He picked off Carrick and began harassing Larson for fourth place. The three graduates of Keith Kunz University may have been causing their professor to have mixed feelings as they fought for position behind current pupil Kofoid.

Thorson and Larson had their own battle but up front, Windom would not let Kofoid get away. After the caution, they resumed their slidefest at each end of the track before Windom made the pass stick on the 13^th lap. As Windom pulled away, Kofoid was joined by Thorson, who played another round of Tag. If that wasn’t enough of a headache for Buddy, Larson joined the party. He simply wouldn’t go away but he wasn’t able to have his way as he had done at Paragon, Gas City and LPS.

Eventually Thorson got around Kofoid and took off to find Windom. It was too late by then; Windom was cruising to the victory by 1.825 seconds (thanks, Richie). In addition, Thorson’s almost likely second place finish went away just a few feet from the finish line, more proof that racing can be the cruelest sport. Tanner could only watch as Larson took second and Kofoid finished third. Stenhouse and Carrick were fourth and fifth.

McIntosh came from 13^th to take sixth and Thorson had to settle for seventh, edging Boyles, who came out of the B to rumble from 17^th to eighth. Grant and Meseraull were ninth and tenth with TMez hustling there from 21^st.

Thomas Meseraull had one of those nights that reminded me about how much racing is a metaphor for life. From the C main, TMez earned his way into the feature, where he ended up as the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart/Irvin King Hard Charger.

Taking my first real look at the points, predictably Larson still leads in IMW points over Thorson by 28 points. Windom is third, 22 points behind Thorson.

Of note after the first four meetings is the ascension of the Tucker-Boat team. They have swept every race so far. The other mega-teams aren’t necessarily struggling but they must dearly wish that they could find those extra tenths of mph. In a few hours, the Lawrenceburg Speedway will be the scene of the search for speed and victory for all.

What better way to close out the night with a 25 lap sprint feature. Brady Bacon led all the way but second place Dave Darland made him earn it. Matt Westfall, playing the low line to perfection, was third, edging the previous night’s winner A.J. Hopkins. Kevin Thomas Jr. was fifth.

The second five were Max Adams, Scotty Weir (from 13^th), Shane Cottle (from 15^th), Travis Berryhill and the hard charger of the race, Sterling Cling, who was tenth after starting 19^th.

Shooting at my foot and missing, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Same Old Song

It's probably getting old for his competition, but I don't see Kyle Larson rosining up his bow and fiddling a sympathetic tune. He did it again, this time at the Lincoln Park Speedway. Larson romped to his third consecutive win this week during Indiana Midget Week. It's also his eighth straight open wheel win in less than two weeks.

Roaming the pits and each day is getting a little warmer. But I was only roaming and not working. Another reason not to complain.

Newcomers included Terry Babb from Illinois, Carson Garrett all the way from Colorado, another Illini, Karter Sarff and Missouri's Sam Johnson.

It would be the usual suspects doing double duty, Brady Bacon, Thomas Meseraull, Dave Darland and Kevin Thomas Jr.

During time trials, if the track got slower as the gang qualified, someone forgot to tell people like Buddy Kofoid and Chris Windom.

Kofoid was fifth from last and Windom was fourth, the only candidate to get below a thirteen second lap.

Jason McDougal was the first heat winner as Windom came from sixth to take second. Justin Grant and Kevin Thomas Jr. both proceeded to the A main. Kyle Larson would have to run the B. It wasn’t a problem at Gas City. We’d soon find out if it was a problem at LPS.

Clinton Boyles led all the way to win the second heat; Kofoid was second. Jake Newman and Tanner Thorson paved the way for second row starting spots in the feature. Logan Seavey flipped hard in turn four and was taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for observation.

Thomas Meseraull made it two heat wins in a row for the RMS team as he won the fourth heat. Zeb Wise and Brady Bacon scooted to the big show and Zach Daum finished fourth and sent Tyler Courtney to the B. Zach would start the feature in second.

In the fourth heat, Cannon McIntosh battled his teammate Kaylee Bryson for most of the race until finally making the pass and winning. Tanner Carrick took third and Maria Cofer ensured that Rico Abreu went to the B.

The C main saw Ethan Mitchell lead Jake Swanson, Dave Darland and pole sitter Karter Sarff to tag the B.

Again, the B had its share of heavy hitters. Making the feature were Tyler Courtney, Carson Macedo, Kyle Larson, Chase Johnson, Shane Golobic and Rico Abreu.

Bring on the Sprints!

There were 48 sprinters available to run five heats and two B mains. Charles Davis Jr. was the first heat victor, leading Kevin Thomas Jr. and Tim Creech II to the line.

Critter Malone won the second heat with Jordan Kinser second. Anton Hernandez came from last to finish third.

In the third heat Colton Cottle led Max Guilford and Hunter O'Neal to Brian Hodde's checkered flag.

 Paragon winner A.J. Hopkins grabbed the fourth heat and Matt Goodnight was second. Scotty Weir emerged from a four car battle to take third.

The final sprint heat was won by Brady Short. Dave Darland held off Brady Bacon for second. For one shining moment in this race, cars were four abreast coming out of turn four. I would love to have seen that from the flagstand with my friend Brian Hodde.

The first B went to Max Adams with Brandon Mattox and Matt Westfall joining Max in the feature.

The second hooligan (don’t see that used much anymore) belonged to C.J. Leary. Matt McDonald and Shane Cockrum would also move on. (A bit ironic that Matt’s sponsor is a cigar shop while Shane is a firefighter.)

The Show

McIntosh and Daum were the first to see Mr. Hodde wave the green. Larson was “stuck” back in the eighth row, but not for long.

Up front, McIntosh jumped to the early lead. However, Tanner Thorson was in a determined mode and hounded the leader until he took over on lap ten. As can be guessed at this point, Larson was on the move.

From 15^th, Larson zigged and zagged, passing cars at will. Sixth at lap 14, he had advanced to third two laps later when Jason McDougal’s flip in turn three brought the red. Thorson led McIntosh, Larson, Daum and Windom. Kofoid went to the work area and returned.

On the re-start Larson immediately went to work on McIntosh. The pass for second place was made in turn two but had been set up in turn four. The (temporary) exile from NASCAR came roaring out of four above the cushion. He dove low in turn one and took second—only to have it called back when Thomas spun. A great effort undone.

The green flag waved and Larson got busy again. He dove low in turn three and picked off both McIntosh and Thorson to take the lead for a moment before Thorson regained the top spot. Larson regrouped and stalked the leader. He made his move again in turn three on lap 21, only to have Thorson fight back to re-take the lead.

Larson tried again a lap later and this time it worked. All Thorson could do was try to keep the new leader in sight and hope for a bobble or something.

In the meantime, McIntosh and Meseraull were engaged in their own private war for third place as first and second separated themselves somewhat. It was interrupted on the 27^th lap when Macedo stopped on the backstretch for an impromptu wienie roast and brought out the yellow flag. Meseraull went to the pits, a great run ended by a flat tire. He was running fourth.

The re-start was anticlimactic as Larson made it look easy to pull away and win by a little over a second. Thorson had to settle for second place; he’s a talented young racer who was simply outrun tonight. McIntosh, even younger than Thorson, hung onto third. His day will come. Windom was under the radar, finishing fourth. The same could be said for Golobic, who came from 13^th to earn fifth.

The second five was led by Daum, an underrated racer. Grant motored from 18^th to seventh. C. Johnson was eighth and Kofoid hustled to ninth after his early misfortune. Boyles was tenth.

Larson took theKSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart/Irvin King Hard Charger dough, coming from 15^th to first as he did at Gas City.

A.J. Hopkins passed Charles Davis Jr. at the halfway mark of the sprint feature and cruised to his second win this week after his Paragon success. Davis held off Thomas for second. Colton Cottle was fourth and Dave Darland edged Matt Westfall for fifth after starting tenth. Max Adams came from the B to take seventh. Brady Short was eighth and Brady Bacon came from 15^th to ninth. Jordan Kinser was tenth.

High speed audition, that is what Kyle Larson is in the midst of these days. It seems to be a matter of time before a NASCAR owner will decide that he’s done his penance, paid for his mistake and he can go back to the ultimate fendered style of racing—assuming that he wants to. A relative few will argue that there should have been no punishment at all for uttering a racial slur. But it’s 2020 and one would like to think we are past name calling. If Larson hasn’t paid his “debt” for his “crime” he’s well on his way to doing so. I like to think that there’s a NASCAR owner and a sponsor who will decide that this young man isn’t a racist and does not hide horns growing out of his head. At that point, Larson will eventually become a sought after free agent.

Surprised to find out that Finland is not part of Russia, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Groundhog Day

Kyle Larson did it again on a beautiful Wednesday night at the Gas City I-69 Speedway. He roared from 14^thto take the lead from Tyler Courtney on the 16^thlap and held Buddy Kofoid at bay for the last part of the 30 lap feature. It was Larson's second straight USAC Indiana Midget Week triumph and his seventh straight open wheel feature win.

Justin Grant won the Gas City sprint feature.

My unofficial car count was 88 midgets and sprints in Jerry Gappens’ playpen. Fourteen states were represented in some way. New on the USAC Midget side were Florida’s Oliver Akard, Tyler Nelson from Kansas, World of Outlaws standout Daryn Pittman, another Outlaw, Carson Macedo and Kameron Gladish from Indianapolis.

Logan Seavey went to qualify fairly early and set quick time with a 12.360 lap. In a telling moment, Larson went out 35^th and was the seventh fastest qualifier as the track faded somewhat for those later in line.

Gio Scelzi won the first heat. Behind him, a decent sized blanket would have covered Daryn Pittman, Shane Golobic and Logan Seavey. Thomas Meseraull, who had flipped on his second qualifying lap, came out with a backup car and trailed Seavey by a few feet.

Tanner Thorson held off Buddy Kofoid to grab the second heat. Justin Grant and Tanner Carrick also transferred. Noah Gass flipped in turn one. He exited the car under his own power.

The third heat belonged to Kevin Thomas Jr. Zach Daum ran second with a pair of Hoosiers, Cole Bodine and Tyler Courtney, moving on to the show. This sent Larson to the B, not a problem.

Carson Macedo led all the way to win the fourth heat. He was chased by Chris Windom, Kaylee Bryson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Sprints?

For the ground pounders, Dave Darland won the first of five heats. Matt Westfall and Cole Ketcham joined DD in the feature.

C.J. Leary led the way in the second heat. Moving with him were Brady Bacon and Kyle Robbins.

The third heat was claimed by Justin Grant with Charles Davis Jr. and Tyler Kendall also advancing. Adam Byrkett flipped in turn four, where I had a great view. He walked away under his own power.

Kevin Thomas Jr. outran Dustin Smith and Sterling Cling to win the fourth heat.

Scotty Weir, still in one of the Goodnight clan’s cars, won the fifth heat as TMez and Clinton Boyle made it a 1-2-3 finish for Gas City sprint champs.

Back to Midgets:

The C main was a normal crazy if there was such a thing. Jake Swanson and Ryan Hall flipped in separate incidents. Both climbed out on their own. Jason McDougald, newly returned to Indiana, emerged as the winner, leading Andrew Layser, Robert Dalby and the ageless Russ Gamester to tag the B.

Rico Abreu won the star studded B main, mullet and all. Pole sitter Jake Neuman was second and was trailed by Kyle Larson, TMez, Cannon McIntosh and Brady Bacon.

Courtney and Kofoid led the field to Mark Orr’s green flag, but several eyes were on the seventh row, Larson’s very temporary home. The question was not whether he would make his way to the front, but how long before he did so. It seemed inevitable, if not pre-ordained. It also seemed as if there were two races going on, the first among the 23 other starters and Larson racing himself and the clock. He made a very difficult job look a lot easier than what it is.

Larson wasn’t the only racer on the charge, at least in the beginning. Cannon McIntosh had started 12^th, a row ahead of Larson and he, too, immediately began carving his way to the front with Larson right behind him. Kyle passed Cannon on the 12^th lap and the KKM machine slowed to a stop soon after, bringing out a yellow flag. The yellow became a red as Meseraull flipped (for the second time tonight). Thomas climbed out, perhaps wondering if someone was sticking needles in a voodoo doll somewhere.

Not quite halfway and the order was Courtney, who had been leading through all this, Kofoid, Larson, Scelzi and Carrick. At this point Larson was passing one car per lap on average. He was far from done. At the crossed flags he passed Kofoid, who returned the favor before Larson got around him and sized up Courtney. A few perfectly executed sliders and laps later, the inevitable had come to pass. Larson took the lead on lap 18 and dearly wanted to check out.

That wasn’t going to happen. Kofoid also passed Courtney and did his best to keep up. Aided somewhat by lapped traffic, this young Californian kept pace with the other Californian. Officially the margin of victory was 0.263 seconds, but that was not much comfort to Kofoid and everyone else.

The top ten were Larson, Kofoid, Courtney, Thorson with Scelzi fifth. Six through ten were Neuman, Seavey, Macedo, Carrick and Bryson.

It was a foregone conclusion that the winner was also the recipient of the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart/Irvin King Hard Charger cash, coming from 14^th to first.

Larson has won five straight USAC Midget contests going back to late last year. He collected the $1400 bounty after a fashion with the money donated in his name to the Indiana Donor Network.

More Sprints

Anthony D’Alessio came on strong to win the first sprint B ahead of Max Adams and Brian VanMevern.

Brandon Mattox made it look easy in winning the second B. Aaron Farney and Lee Underwood punched main event tickets.

Justin Grant took the lead from Kevin Thomas Jr. and never looked back as he won the 25 lap sprint feature.

Brady Bacon was second and Thomas took third on a track that had been worked over pretty good. C. J. Leary finished fourth. Dave Darland edged Matt Westfall for fifth. Clinton Boyles came from 15th to wind up seventh. Brandon Mattox went Boyles one better, coming from 17th to finish eighth. Scotty Weir and Charles Davis Jr. were ninth and tenth.

As this is written, now comes two straight nights at the Lincoln Park Speedway. The 40 plus racers will be wanting to knock off the top dog. Let’s remember that the guys Larson are beating aren’t exactly wannabe types. The have their own sterling resumes and they want to race with and beat the best. They are not anxious to be living in this Groundhog Day existence.

Appreciating greatness when I see it, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Zone

Kyle Larson has been making the most of his exile from the world of NASCAR, going back to his roots, namely the bullrings of America, more specifically the Midwest. He's now won six features in a row, most recently on a beautiful Tuesday night at the Paragon Speedway. Larson passed his fellow Keith Kunz graduate Tanner Thorson late in the 30 lap finale of a long, wild and woolly program as the 2020 edition of Indiana Midget Week debuted at Paragon. I'd imagine that USAC officials, along with promoter Joe Spiker, considered the night a success. Certainly the fans did.

A.J. Hopkins won the companion sprint feature.

Roaming the crowded pits looking for something different. No major driver changes, but C. J. Leary was in the Scott Pedersen sprinter. No surprise there; it's usually Leary or Scotty Weir, who was in a Matt Goodnight car. All in all, there were about 90 cars with the usual suspects.

This was USAC Midgets’ first visit here since 1985. You didn’t have to be Dr. Oz to figure out that a new track time trial record would be set. Neither did you have to be Dr. Phil to guess that it would be Kyle Larson setting fast time with a 14.813 second lap. That was impressive but Tanner Thorson, Chris Windom and Gio Scelzi all went out later and turned respectable laps, showing that the surface didn’t slow that much.

Justin Grant won the first heat from fourth, taking Larson, Noah Gass and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with him to the show. Nine different states were represented among the 11 starters.

Cannon McIntosh, who flipped in hot laps, came back to win the second heat over Tanner Thorson, Shane Golobic and Zach Daum, who sent Rico Abreu to the B.

The caution plagued third heat was won by Tyler Courtney with pole sitter Steve Buckwalter second. Thomas Meseraull came from ninth to nip Buddy Kofoid at the line for third, leaving Chris Windom studying the B main lineup.

Kevin Thomas Jr. came from fourth to first on the initial lap and motored to the win in the fourth heat. Tanner Carrick, Gio Scelzi and Daison Pursley, who hung on despite a good bit of harassment from Zeb Wise, Jadon Rogers and Ryan Hall.

-----

The sprints fought it out with five heats and the top three moving on. Ethan Barrow came from eighth to win the first heat over Sterling Cling and Nick Bilbee, who survived two encounters yet roared back.

Not to be outdone, A.J. Hopkins came from ninth/last to triumph in the second heat with Scotty Weir and Charles Davis Jr. doing the chasing.

New Zealander Max Guilford was the third heat victor as Jarett Andretti and Jesse Vermillion ran second and third.

In the fourth heat, C.J. Leary prevailed and Brandon Mattox and Matt Westfall trailed.

Kevin Thomas Jr. came from fifth to win the fifth heat. Thomas Meseraull came from sixth to take second. California’s Ricky Lewis was third.

-----

The midgets returned and provided a wild and crazy C main as Logan Seavey came from 15^th to win. Jake Swanson, Ace McCarthy and Zeb Wise, who suffered misfortune in qualifying and started 14^th, all tagged the B.

Windom won the B, taking Brady Bacon, Chase Johnson, Seavey (again from 15^th), Rico Abreu and Jake Neuman to the main with him. Andrew Laser and Cole Bodine used provisionals.

The program was changed somewhat and the USAC Midgets’ 30 lapper was next. Scelzi and Thorson made up the front row with a cadre of heavy hitters, led by Stenhouse and Carrick, close behind. Scelzi took the early lead with Thorson in tow. For the first few laps, these two slightly pulled away from the field—until sixth starting Larson began to close the gap.

Thorson executed a textbook slider in turn two of the 11^th lap to take the lead. A lap later, Chase Johnson had a more unfortunate encounter with turn two, flipping over the banking. The gap between the top two and Larson was no more. Thorson led Scelzi, Larson, Carrick, Stenhouse, Kofoid, Windom, Grant, Thomas and Courtney, the lone Hoosier in the mix. Logan Seavey had moved from 22^nd to 14^th.

Bacon spun in, where else, turn two on lap 14. Larson had been giving Scelzi fits, throwing thundering slide jobs at his fellow Californian while Thorson added a little bit to his lead. On the re-start, Larson finally made a pass stick and it was time for him to chase down the leader. Folks were possibly thinking that this one was over, but Thorson didn’t get the memo. Larson was closing, inch by inch, until the 21^st lap, when Scelzi’s race ended in good old turn two. Gio flipped, ending an otherwise great effort.

The order for this re-start was Thorson, Larson, Stenhouse, Carrick, Kofoid, Windom, Grant, Courtney and…Seavey, the pass master. I came close to rubbing my hands in anticipation because this had a great chance of being something, well, great. So it was. Larson threw everything including the kitchen sink at Thorson lap after lap, one slide job after another and still couldn’t quite seal the deal—for several laps. But Larson had been tinkering with the common strategy of entering turn one above the cushion and using the moisture there to morph into a rocket ship in turn two. It worked. Larson took the lead on the 27^th lap and cruised (in a manner of speaking) to Brian Hodde’s checkered. The pro-Larson crowd was ecstatic. This was what they came to see, an all-time great one racing to his sixth straight win for this shortened season.

Stenhouse grabbed the final spot on the podium with Windom and Grant fourth and fifth. The law firm of Carrick and Courtney were sixth and seventh. Seavey came from deep in the C main to pass everyone except Howdy Doody to take eighth and claim the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger award. Kofoid and Thomas finished ninth and tenth.

----

The long night closed with two sprint B’s and the feature. Josh Cunningham won the first, with Levi Underwood and Keith Martin, an occasional ASCS competitor, taking third.

Travis Berryhill won the second B and was joined in the feature by Jordan Kinser and Ben Knight.

Ethan Barrow and A.J. Hopkins were the front row for the sprint feature and Barrow had things well in hand until disaster struck in the form of Kevin Thomas Jr., who tried a slider on Hopkins and Barrow in turn one. Hopkins avoided the carnage, but Barrow went flipping toward the adjoining woods.

Following Hopkins across the finish line were C.J. Leary, TMez, Scotty Weir, and hard charger Keith Martin, 20^th to fifth. Nick Bilbee, Sterling Cling, Travis Berryhill, Max Guilford and Charles Davis Jr. were six through ten.

The hour was late, almost my bedtime, but driving home gave me the chance to consider a few things. I wondered if the crowd realized they were seeing something special. I’m sure that most did. I wondered about the rest of both Midget Week and the season. What would it look like? I wondered and hoped that I’d be around to see both.

Alarmed that my hair looks like British Prime Minster Boris Johnson’s, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: First Time Winner

Once again, the USAC/MSCS sprinters showed us that a racer can start on the pole, lead all 30 laps, and still give the fans a thrilling show. Throw in the fact that Stephen Schnapf was the pole sitter and a first time winner to add more drama. Finally, consider that Schnapf was one of the local favorites and the partisan crowd went home smiling all the way.

The first thing I noticed was long lines, haulers backed up to the county road E1025 South. My usual parking area had plenty of room and I was set to see what had changed and what hadn't. Given these times, a degree of social distancing was the norm—our new reality for now.

Pit walk time. As usual Donnie Brackett's team had claimed their pit spot which featured one of the friendliest dogs you'll ever want to pet. Florida transplant Anthony D'Alessio had secured the services of Mike Dutcher. It's common knowledge that C. J. Leary is back in the family car. Critter Malone was driving a Kent Schmidt car. Also common knowledge is the return of Jonathan Vennard, one of several Tri-State racers in the house. Shane Cottle hooked up with the Josh Hodges team this spring. And Kurt Gross, who has been AWOL from driving one of these beasts for several years, was back with his familiar 1X.

The track didn't go away as the 45 cars worked it over. Donny Brackett led the first flight of contestants and his sub-14 second lap was looking like the overall quick time until Dave Darland, 32nd in line, topped them all with an impressive 13.647.

Donny Brackett took the first heat by a half straightaway over Robert Ballou, Jaden Rogers and Jonathan Vennard. Shane Cottle led some colleagues to the B.

C. J. Leary took the lead halfway through the second heat and won, leading Brady Bacon, Dustin Clark (who led the first five laps) and Carson Short to the line. Kevin Thomas Jr. prepared for the B.

Kyle Cummins blasted his way to the lead on the first lap and never looked back in the third heat. Aric Gentry and Chase Stockon made it a regional sweep with Dakota Jackson, who lives near me, taking fourth and sending Dave Darland to the B.

On their fourth try, the boys finally got going after three tries with another area racer, Stephen Schnapf, winning the fourth heat by a goodly margin. Chris Windom, Brandon Mattox and Justin Grant locked in feature starting spots.

The C Main lineup contained some strong entries and one of them, Mario Clouser, took Kent Schmidt, Brandon Morin and Logan Seavey with him to tag the B.

The B Main's lineup resembled a typical feature field with Kevin Thomas Jr. prevailing over Kendall Ruble, Charles Davis Jr., Max Adams and Anton Hernandez, who hustled from 12th to grab the last chair from pole sitter Dave Darland. The People's Champ used a provisional.

Schnapf and Ballou led 24 of their best friends to the green. Maybe we shouldn't have been surprised when the local kid beat the seasoned veteran to the corner; at any rate, that's what he did. Third starting Kyle Cummins crashed the party immediately, taking second from Ballou and pressuring the leader for all he was worth.

 

As the front running duo battled, Donny Brackett quickly caught and passed Ballou for third. Brackett made the pass and it was understandable if the crowd was delirious. The top three can call the track their home and this was both rare and impressive.

Lapped traffic had been an issue since lap five but the more experienced Cummins couldn't get much closer than a few car lengths to Schnapf. However, as the halfway mark approached, Cummins closed the gap and labored mightily to get underneath the 61 car in the turns, but it wasn’t happening. Meanwhile, Brackett, Ballou and Brady Bacon were engaged in a dogfight of their own for third through fifth.

The yellow flag waved on lap 20 as Anton Hernandez slowed on the frontstretch. The top ten were Schnapf, Cummins, Brackett, Ballou, Bacon, C. Short, Windom, Leary, Rogers and Grant. The green waved and one had to give both Schnapf and Cummins credit. Schnapf deserved kudos for holding off a guy who is very difficult to beat at Tri-State and the guy himself, Cummins, for his persistence.

But that ended for Kyle as his engine became an issue. Brackett passed him for second on lap 24. A lap later Ballou did the same, then Cummins, always a crowd favorite here, coasted to a stop in the infield. It might have been tempting to say that Schnapf was home free. Heh, heh.

On the white flag lap, Kendall Ruble spun in turn two, bringing out the yellow and presenting Schnapf with a green/white/checkered situation, not a leader’s favorite scenario. But the local boy was more than up to the task, motoring to the checkered flag and his first USAC feature victory. Behind him, Brackett was having trouble with what seemed to be a loose condition. His half spin in turn four of the last lap gave Ballou the silver medal. Third place Kevin Thomas Jr. was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, coming from 15^th. Carson Short started and finished fourth in the Daigh/Phillips machine (though I call them Carla, Steve and Frank). Justin Grant was fifth and maintained his point lead over sixth place Chris Windom. Chase Stockon was a quiet seventh with Brady Bacon eighth. Much improved Jadon Rogers was ninth and Brady Short came from the B to start 21^st and finish tenth. Brackett’s last lap boo-boo put him in 11^th after an otherwise fine effort.

The trip home was, well, different. From U.S. 50 to I-69 to Indiana S.R. 46 to home, we might have encountered two dozen vehicles. In addition we lost the hour we’d gained in going to Haubstadt. That added up to a three a.m. arrival home. If that wasn’t enough, we have this virus hanging over our heads, especially us geezers. It’s all a part of life. Even in not dealing with it, you can be assured that it won’t go away.

I’d not have it any other way because sometimes the surprises, like first time winners, are good ones.

Remembering not to wear my mask over my eyes, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: O, Ye of Little Faith?

Faith--noun

1.       complete trust or confidence in someone or something."this restores one's faith in politicians"

Similar:trust, belief, confidence, conviction, credence, reliance, dependence, optimism, hopefulness, hope, expectation

 

2.       strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

 

I’m going to limit myself to the first definition of faith, but certainly the second definition matters as well.

 

The other day I took my daily walk around the neighborhood. The cloudy sky and the forecast of rain persuaded me to take an umbrella with me. It didn’t rain—at least while I was walking. The following evening I took another walk, leaving the umbrella behind. Naturally, three brief showers found me. I retreated to a nearby tree and thought about faith in the context of weather forecasters and, of course, racing.

 

Without us giving it much thought, faith dominates our lives each day, from the time you wake up until bedtime. Start your vehicle of choice, check the weather forecast and head to whichever racetrack you’re going to tonight. If you live in or near Indiana and you like to go to sprint car races, then you can have faith that the promoter will often ignore the rain in a given forecast and intend to race on that given evening—even if he ends up with less money than when he started the day.

 

Buy your ticket—sign in—whatever, you’re now committed and it’s time to race. It’s also time to think about faith from the driver’s seat. Starting with wheel-packing and hot laps, the driver puts a lot of faith in what his or her mechanic has done up to now. A racer doesn’t want to be thinking about the right rear tire, uh, improperly installed. No, he/she has more urgent matters to deal with at that moment.

 

It would be nice if both the writer and the reader has given some thought to faith’s sibling, hope. The driver hopes that the right rear tire, along with every other part on the car, is in working order. The mechanic and/or owner hopes the driver doesn’t get squirrely and wind up on his top with multiple parts of the car in need of replacement. The fans hope the driver is okay. Meanwhile, the promoter is looking at the radar on his phone and hoping the rain holds off a while longer. While he or she’s at it, a brief prayer that there will be no more red flags would be understandable.

 

Some nights it rains while on other nights the rain goes in a different direction, ideally to a corn field that really needs it. Faith and hope don’t take a break when the final checkered flag waves. Let’s have faith that fans drive home safely, racers made a little money, mechanics won’t be working long hours repairing or fixing parts and, after accounting for all his expenses, the gambler—I mean promoter—is happily surprised to see that he made more money than he thought he would. As the late John Denver sang many years ago, “Some days are diamonds; some days are coal.”

 

Here is where we are reminded that our shared passion is barely a blip on the radar screen. To be sure, a significant number of people are very dependent on open wheel racing for their livelihood. But in the big picture of 330 million Americans, we don’t add up to much. A little perspective never hurt anyone and, with that in mind, it’s hard to ignore current events under most circumstances. These days we are battered by disease, economics and racial strife, among other things. We like to think that, for us, the race track is our temporary escape from the challenges of daily life. I remember thinking that on a warm September 2001 evening at the Bloomington Speedway, where I discovered our escape is barely temporary. At times outside events will invade our sanctuary as they did after the airplanes flew into two tall buildings—and maybe it should. But faith and hope endure even in the face of despair.

 

As this is written and sent to Mr. Holland, I have faith and hope that next Sunday night will find me at the Tri-State Speedway for my first live race of the season. In addition to the current crises we are experiencing, I’d be best advised to be very aware.

 

The reader may or may not know that in February I landed in the local hospital for a ten day vacation. It wasn’t voluntary; triple bypass/open heart surgery never is. But, because I was in decent shape for an older gentleman and with the help, prayers, good thoughts and deeds of a lot of people, I was completely recovered a month later and have been shooting baskets with my grandsons and walking the neighborhood daily ever since. A few days after I was pronounced fit as a fiddle, our vocabulary was increased with words like “pandemic,” “coronavirus” and “Covid-19” becoming common. Whenever I have contemplated whining about my sorry situation of being recovered and now having few places to go, I’ve quickly reminded myself how much worse things could be. And I’ve considered my own faith and hope that helped carry me through my personal trial now and in the future.

 

As heart surgery gets smaller and smaller in my personal rear view mirror, I find that it’s time to begin my own journey to Hoosier bullrings and do what I do. I have a lot of faith and hope that it will be a year to remember—for good reasons as well as the obvious.

 

Watch for me; I’m easy to spot.

 

“Inspecting” my bunker, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: My Personal Top Ten

To close out another year, with a lack of anything better to do, I came up with my personal top ten racing stories of the year. Most certainly your top ten won’t resemble mine in any way. Like fellow Hoosier Mr. Letterman, I begin with number ten.

10. The sale of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Roger Penske. (See, I told you that your top ten would not match mine.) The 500 is safe and may well regain its rightful place as the pinnacle of races. And let us hope that the BC39 remains an important part of the IMS/USAC Midgets’ schedule.

9. The ongoing saga of the Bloomington Speedway, as close to a home track that I can claim. It is the closest track to my house that almost always features open wheel racing. USAC saved it from oblivion in 2019, but backed away for 2020. Enter Joe Spiker, who will split racing dates with Paragon in 2020.

8. Thomas Meseraull had his best season ever, winning 12 features and the Gas City championship. I saw most of them.

7. Kyle Cummins gets mentioned twice and not because he traded me a t-shirt for a book I wrote. No traditional sprint car driver won more features than the Princeton, IN native. He saw the checkered flag first no less than 19 times in 2019. I saw most of them, too.

6. The “new” Paragon Speedway. Joe Spiker took over from Keith Ford, who spent some of his Friday nights wandering around the pits and smiling a lot. Joe’s MSCS shows brought out lots of cars with what was essentially two divisions of sprinters racing when the MSCS boys showed up. From one Friday night option not that many years ago, Hoosier fans and racers had, at times, three Friday options when Bloomington, Paragon and Gas City all raced.

5. The new pit restroom at Lawrenceburg. No, really. I suggest that the facility be named after ace photographer Rick Lane. I’ll settle for the urinal to bear my name.

4. That Cummins guy again. In 2019 he was unbeaten at Tri-State Speedway. He won all eight features that he entered at the Class Track. USAC, MSCS, it didn’t matter. He beat them all.

3. I like all these guys and gals. Some I know a little better than others, so it’s natural I may think more of them. One of those is Tyler Hewitt. He and his wife Abby are two of the special people in the pit area. They combine a pleasant disposition with an integrity that one must respect and appreciate. Tyler scored two feature wins in 2019. That alone is great news, but another reason it’s ranked so high on my list is because I missed both of them.

2. Many fans that were present will assert that the Gas City/Indiana Sprint Week feature was the best race of the year. Most certainly it was the closest finish as Shane Cottle came from 18^th to win by a few inches over eventual USAC sprint car champ C.J. Leary. I missed this one as well.

1. For the first time in maybe 20 years I missed the first three Indiana Sprint Week races this year. A few weeks later I missed the second night of the BC39. My wife had two separate health episodes which landed her in the hospital—twice. While Mr. Cottle was performing his heroics I was at the hospital learning that my wife was getting a very early Christmas present in the form of a pacemaker for her heart. The installation at St. Francis Hospital went as smoothly as could be.

She recovered quite well, but on the morning after the opening night of the BC39 she suffered a nasty attack of vertigo. Off to the hospital we went again. At first we thought her episode had been a stroke. The vertigo was bad enough; a stroke might well have been much worse.

Often we are reminded of things whether we need to be or not. These two adventures were great examples. Family outranks racing both in the beginning and the end. Of course it pained me to miss racing at Gas City, Plymouth and Kokomo, but I was where I was supposed to be. And a few weeks later, I was reminded again what was important as I missed the second night of the BC39.

At year’s end, I realize that I still made it to several races, from Hickory (NC) Motor Speedway in March to Tri-State Speedway in October. I dare not complain. I do dare to look forward to 2020, no matter what it brings.

Hiding out in my wine cave, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: McDougal and Cummins Make It Worthwhile

There's plenty of racing left this year, but not for me. The Harvest Cup at the Tri-State Speedway on a beautiful Saturday night turned out to be a great way to end the 2019 season for quite a few fans and myself. As Jason McDougal showed once again that he is a force to be reckoned with, Kyle Cummins completed a perfect season at the Class Track, winning his eighthconsecutive feature. McDougal's win came in the USAC National Series feature while Cummins' triumph came in MSCS action.

Car counts were quite satisfactory from my seat with 32 MSCS sprints, 27 USAC midgets and 22 MMSA mini-sprints present. A few people made some long hauls to sign in. Katelyn Leer journeyed from Iowa, Anthony Nicholson from Arkansas. Among the USAC clan was Carson Garrett from Colorado. California sent a talented trio, with Gio Scelzi, Jake Swansonand Robert Dalby making the trip.

A few USAC regulars and semi-regulars were among the sprinters, namely Kevin Thomas Jr., Josh Hodges, Shane Cottle, Chris Windom, Justin Grant and C. J. Leary. There was the usual lineup of MSCS regulars as well. But standing in the way of the 31 was the one, Kyle Cummins, whose presence reminded the others it would be an uphill battle.

There were quite a few racers doing double duty, people such as Cummins, Critter Malone, Chris Windom, Justin Grant, Kevin Thomas Jr., C. J. Leary, Dakota Jackson and Kendall Ruble.

USAC Midgets qualified and Gio Scelzi was one of the last to qualify, but that didn’t matter as he ripped off a 13.951 lap, 0.3 seconds slower than the late Bryan Clauson’s record set in 2010.

The sprints were the first to run their four heats and Mr. Cummins dashed between two cars to take the lead on the first lap of the first heat after starting fourth. His margin of victory was an amazing three-quarters of a lap over second place Josh Hodges. Kevin Thomas Jr. and Collin Ambrose both moved to the feature.

Kent Schmidt moved from fourth to win the second heat, leaving Kendall Ruble, early leader Donnie Brackett and Critter Malone in his wake.

Stephen Schnapf also came from fourth to win his heat, the third. He was also the third local/regional racer to win a heat race, with initial leader Chris Windom, Max Adams and 2019 MSCS Rookie of the Year Chayse Hayhurst all racing again later.

C. J. Leary kept the streak alive, taking his family car from fourth to win the fourth heat with Shane Cottle, Jadon Rogers and Chase Stockon all having a view of Leary’s tail tank.

Up next were the midgets. Veteran Jerry Coons Jr. missed some action behind him as he won the first of three heats. Justin Grant came away second, leading Gio Scelzi, Kyle Cummins and Robert Dalby to the feature.

The second heat was annexed by Chris Windom with Jason McDougal edging Tyler Thomas at the line to take second. Tanner Carrick and Tyler Courtney were also moving on.

Like Windom, Thomas Meseraull came from third to win the third heat, waving bye-bye to Tucker Klaasmeyer, Kevin Thomas Jr., Critter Malone and Logan Seavey.

It was the sprinters’ turn with their B main. Dakota Jackson won with Brady Short second. Justin Grant came from tenth to grab third. Recovering nicely from a spin, Brian Karraker came back to nail down the 20^th starting spot in the feature.

Tanner Thorson was all business in winning the consolation, taking Karsyn Elledge, Jake Swanson (from 10^th), C. J. Leary, Zeb Wise, Kendall Ruble and Andrew Layser to the USAC Midget feature.

The first of three features were the sprints. Mr. Cummins was on the pole. I’m not a betting man, but it seemed safe to say that the Princeton, Indiana resident would run away with this one. Rather than doze off, I stayed awake to see how it would be won, no matter who won.

Of course, Cummins took off and started building a lead with Schnapf in hot pursuit, to coin a phrase. Cottle and Windom made sure that they would be in the mix as well. Lapped traffic was Cummins’ first potential trouble, beginning on lap seven. But that would be a temporary situation.

Max Adams spun on the ninth lap, bringing out the race’s only yellow flag. The leader had no lapped traffic to deal with, but his leads was gone. The top ten was Cummins, Schnapf, Leary, Cottle, and Windom with Ruble, Schmidt, Malone (from 14^th), Rogers and Stockon.

Again, Cummins followed the “script” and separated himself from the crowd, chasing down lapped traffic and Tri-State Speedway history. At the halfway mark, he reached the lappers. Not a problem, Cummins weaved his way through the traffic and tempted me to think that it was easy. I knew better, but the main thing was that domination like this was rare and should be appreciated.

The racing behind the eventual winner was equally intense. Schnapf was second and Cottle passed Leary late in the race to finish third. Windom was fifth. Malone was the Certified Rental Hard Charger, showing that one could pass others and coming from 14^th to sixth. Regional favorites Ruble, Stockon, Schmidt and Brackett completed the top ten.

Seavey and Courtney led twenty friends to the green and the California resident took the early lead. But it was for naught as the red waved for Tucker Klaasmeyer, whose car was lying on its side in turn four. The young Kansan insisted on re-starting.

Seavey repeated the process when the green waved, with Kevin Thomas Jr. taking over second place. On the third lap, McDougal had moved to third and passed Thomas for second a lap later. They would pass each other several more times before the 30 laps were done.

Another yellow waved, this one was for Karsyn Elledge. The top three stayed the same with Courtney and Cummins immediately behind. The green came out and a slidefest began with Seavey, McDougal and Thomas exchanging sliders like kids used to exchange baseball cards. Officially, Seavey led the first seven laps before Thomas took over for the next two. McDougal led a lap before KT took over for the next six. And another player had arrived, wanting to play.

The yellow came out on the 17^th lap after McDougal had taken the lead. Thomas was second and Meseraull, the new player who had started 12^th, was third and hungry for more. This re-start was greatly anticipated. The boys didn’t disappoint. A mad scramble ensued—again—with Meseraull grabbing the lead on lap 18. But McDougal wasn’t exactly fading away. He hounded TMez every foot of every lap. The two had very light contact in turn four, leaving Meseraull pointing the wrong way and bringing out the yellow with 20 laps completed.

With ten to go, McDougal led Thomas, Cummins (looking for a very rare sweep), Courtney and Seavey. He put some real estate between him and his former landlord, but Jerry Coons Jr. made a very rare error, spinning in turn two. Advantage gone; McDougal was unruffled. A lap after this re-start, Elledge spun again.

The race’s final green flag segment was almost sedate compared to the intensity that marked the first two thirds of the race. McDougal stretched his lead to almost a straightaway at the end; the margin was 2.752 seconds. The talented trio of Thomas, Cummins and Courtney trailed. Justin Grant came from 16^th to finish fifth and claim the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger award. Seavey faded to sixth. Klaasmeyer recovered quite well from his early misadventure to take seventh after starting 18^th. Meseraull hustled back from his own calamity to finish eighth. Thorson rambled from 17^th to ninth. Zeb Wise came from 19^th to tenth. A whole lotta passin’ was goin’ on, to be sure.

Brad Strunk was the MMSA feature, a well run race.

It was a long (150 miles) trip home with plenty of time to contemplate the year. Like most others, it has been with its share of ups and downs. I saw enough racing for three or four people. I sold a few more books (and still have some more in stock). I missed a few races, but for very good reasons, namely my wife’s health problems. I was reminded what was important, though I already knew it.

That’s as good as any for an ending. Except…

Heading south to start my new job as tax accountant for the Doral, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Dominators Are Gonna Dominate

It was a typical Indiana night in October at the Kokomo Speedway. The Kokomo Klash was presented to a hardy crowd of fans anxious for one more weekend of bullring racing at Indiana's baddest bullring. One can say that both Justin Grant and Thomas Meseraull made sure that the people had reason to cheer, or at least appreciate what they saw on this chilly evening. Grant did a good imitation of a yo-yo, coming from as low as fifth place before he took the lead late in the 410 sprint car feature and held on to win. Soon after that, Meseraull took the lead early in the 305 Racesavers' main event and found himself parked in the BC victory lane one last time for 2019.

Of the 114 cars jamming the pits, 31 were of the 410 sprint variety while 21 were the 305 c.i. Racesavers. Some USAC runners added some spice to an already respectable field. Josh Hodges, Justin Grant, USAC sprint point leader C.J. Leary and Isaac Chapple wanted to get a few laps in before heading west. A.J. Hopkins was the most recent to sit in the Burton family seat. Max Adams may have found a home in the Paul Hazenmobile. Kokomo Speedway and sprint car legend Dave Darland was present with quality help in the form of Brian Cripe and Rodney Reynolds among others.

The social butterfly in me encountered the likes of Mr. Reynolds, Railroad Joe, ace flagman Brian Hodde, chaplain Dave Cochran, Shane Cottle and some of the O’Connor family all of whom listened with rapt attention to everything I said. (Somehow I doubt it.)

The heats were all hammer down and close to flat out. Isaac Chapple led all the way in winning the first heat. Tyler Hewitt, Matt Goodnight and Jadon Rogers all advanced to the feature.

Not to be outdone, Dave Darland led all eight laps to win the second heat. Fellow local boy Dustin Smith was second with Tim Creech II and Shane Cottle trailing.

Justin Grant prevailed in the third heat by a healthy margin over A. J. Hopkins, sprint rookie Cole Bodine and double dipper Anton Hernandez, whose car ended the race with a small fire and lots of smoke.

Josh Hodges and Scotty Weir fought tooth and nail for eight laps with the New Mexico resident coming out in front in the fourth heat. C. J. Leary and Max Adams would tag along to the show.

Anthony D'Alessio took the lead early and held on to win the B. Following the Florida native to the feature would be Brayden Clark, Travis Berryhill, Harley Burns, Zack Pretorious and Braydon Fox.

RaceSavers

The Racesavers took over and Danny Clark grabbed the lead coming out of turn four to win the first heat over Saban Bibent. Anton Hernandez came from the last row to take third, ahead of Ethan Barrow and Scotty Bradley.

Thomas Meseraull, driving for Danny Roberts and company, came from the back to win the second heat with Bradley Galedrige taking second after leading earlier. Hot Rod Henning, Keith Champoux and Jeff Wimmenauer completed the top five.

Andy Bradley led all the way to take the third heat over Justin Clark, John Paynter, Jordan Welch and Alex Nalon.

----

Chapple and Darland led them all to Mr. Hodde’s green flag and the People’s champ was in a hurry. As Chapple tried to keep Grant at bay, Darland quickly stretched his lead to a half straightaway. But it ended on the sixth lap as smoke belched from the engine and Dave slowed, bringing out the yellow. This left Grant in the lead, with Chapple, Weir, Hodges and Hopkins up front.

On the re-start, Weir and Hopkins resumed their joust from the heat race. But Scotty spun in turn four, collecting Chapple and Hopkins. A.J. was done for the night while Isaac re-started on the tail. The top guns added new top guns as all three combatants were in the top five. Now it would be Grant, followed by Hodges, Cottle, Creech and Leary.

Brian waved the green again and Grant had trouble pulling away. Weir’s miserable race ended on lap 11 when he spun unassisted and retreated to the pits, a rare off night for one of the best. This re-start was typical Kokomo, which is to say crazy. Hodges and Cottle led the charge to the front with positions changing at each end of the track as Grant tried desperately to hang onto his lead. Near the halfway point, Grant, Cottle and Hodges crossed the line three wide. Action remained intense as Grant was shuffled back to fifth. But he wouldn’t stay there.

On lap 17, Grant passed Adams for fourth. A lap later, the yellow waved again when Zack Pretorius spun in turn two. Cottle led Hodges, Leary, Grant and Adams. The boys couldn’t get another lap done before another caution period prevailed when Anthony D’Alessio spun after contact with Tyler Hewitt.

This re-start saw Cottle and Hodges swap the lead multiple times as one would lead in turns one and two, the other in three and four and the first lead at the line. Hodges was leading when the yellow waved again on lap 20 when Hewitt and Berryhill met in turn two. Hodges, the race’s fourth leader, led Cottle, Grant, Leary and Adams.

The first couple of laps after this final re-start of the race were hard core. Cutting and slashing were on the agenda with Grant emerging as the leader coming out of turn two on the 23^rd lap. He held on from there to win by a few car lengths over Cottle, who had started 13^thand was the Reece O’Connor hard charger of the race. Hodges was a close third with Leary a quiet fourth. Adams came from 15^th to finish fifth. Creech was a steady sixth and Rogers came from 12^th to finish seventh. Goodnight started and finished eighth. Bodine was ninth and Chapple came back from his misfortune to take tenth.

My final feature of the night would be the Racesavers’ 25 lapper. Hernandez and Bradley Galdrige led the field of 21 to Brian Hodde’s trusty green flag. The fast young man from Texas jumped out to the lead before a yellow interrupted his nice beginning. On the re-start, Meseraull was second and a spicy duel was shaping up. TMez made a move on the third lap to take the lead with Andy Bradley wishing mightily to join this party. Hernandez said nothing doing, big guy, as he recaptured the top spot.

The party was slowed by a lap six yellow for Justin Clark, who stopped on the track. Hernandez led Meseraull, followed byBradley, Galedrige and Barrow, who would soon add his two cents to the equation.

Two laps after the re-start, Meseraull dove low coming out of turn two and grabbed the lead. From there, Hernandez tried in vain to keep up. But soon he would have bigger troubles in the form of Bradley and Barrow.

Galedrige spun on the 11^th lap to activate the caution lights. The top two remained unchanged with Barrow and Scott Bradley now third and fourth. This re-start might have given Hernandez some gray hair as Bradley passed him for second and so did Barrow, the “temporary” point leader. Lap 16 saw the leaders encounter lapped traffic. The very next lap saw something rare. Ethan Barrow spun, bringing out another yellow flag and ending his championship hopes.

Up front, Meseraull and A. Bradley led Hernandez and a new player who had steadily carved his way through the field in the name of Bradley Sterrett. S. Bradley was fifth. The top two missed seeing a scrap behind them as Sterrett and S. Bradley jostled for position. But more drama was on tap.

The final yellow waved on lap 21 and Meseraull had to nail another re-start. A. Bradley, Hernandez, S. Bradley and Sterrett were all hungry to move up. But the California native, who has enjoyed extraordinary success this year in 410 sprints, stayed close to the wall for the final four laps as he had done for much of the race and sailed to the win.

Andy Bradley was second, 1.178 seconds behind with Scott Bradley, Bob Shutt hard charger Bradley Sterrett (from 21^st)fourth and 2019 XCALIBER Graphics Indiana Racesaver Sprint champion Anton Hernandez fifth. The second five was led by Rod Henning with John Paynter seventh. Jordan Welch took eighth and Bradley Galedrige recovered from his spin to finish ninth. Jeff Wimmenauer settled for tenth.

Yeah, it was cold. And road construction is alive and well in the Hoosier State. Plus, it was a two hour drive home. None of the proceeding is complaining. Instead, it shows what race teams and fans will endure to get to a race at a favored track. As this is written, I have only one more opportunity to see a group of people I respect and admire do what they do best, enjoying themselves as they go forth.

Next and final 2019 stop, the Tri-State Speedway in beautiful suburban Haubstadt, Indiana.

Reminding the entitled rich kid Mark Zuckerberg that free speech doesn’t necessarily include lying, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Sliders and Speed

Again, it was a white knuckle kind of feature at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on a beautiful October night in southeastern Indiana. At the end, it was Kevin Thomas Jr. enjoying the post-race interview after powering his way to the win in the 2019 edition of the Fall Nationals. It was KT's second USAC feature win of the year.

Some Lawrenceburg regulars were signed up to try their luck against the USAC mob. Tyler Kendall, who lost a left front tire during his first qualifying lap, was joined by the likes of Joss Moffatt, JJ Hughes, Garrett Abrams, Jarett Andretti, Justin Owen and Nick Bilbee.

Lawrenceburg Speedway champs dotted the field of 26, including Moffatt, Abrams, Andretti and Leary, also the current USAC point leader.

Tyler Courtney went out to qualify first and had the only sub-14 second lap. The surface slowed slightly but not so much to slow down late runners CJ Leary and Brady Bacon, who were fifth and sixth quick respectively.

Kyle Cummins won the first of three heats, a hammer down exercise after a little track massaging. Tyler Courtney stole second place from Mario Clouser at the line. C. J. Leary was fourth and Max Adams inherited fifth when Joss Moffatt's engine went up in smoke while running fourth, ending his night.

Taking the lead midway through the second heat, Kevin Thomas Jr. won from sixth place with Jarett Andretti second. Nick Bilbee, Brady Bacon and Justin Owen trailed. Both Dave Darland and Chris Windom stopped on track before getting pushed to the pits. DD was done for the night.

After trading the lead a few times, Dustin Clark edged Scotty Weir by the length of a tire in winning the third heat. Justin Grant, Chase Stockon and JJ Hughes began preparing for the 30 lap feature.

Windom pretty much had his own way as he cruised to the B main win. Joining him in transferring to the show were Josh Hodges, Garrett Abrams, Dustin Smith, Tyler Kendall, Isaac Chapple and Aric Gentry.

On the social circuit, I was joined by the good natured car ownerTony Epperson while we waited out driver introductions for the feature. After wishing Tony well, one of Lawrenceburg’s most dedicated fans, Duane Price, beckoned me to join him for the feature. The recent birthday boy (to guess his age, here’s a hint—Dustin Smith) was in good spirits as usual. Like our mutual buddy, the ailing Marv Fish, Duane disappeared immediately after Tim Montgomery waved the checkered.

Grant and Bacon were the front row occupants and there was a near disaster when the two veterans banged wheels as they saw Tim's green flag. Both recovered, but while these two engaged in their shenanigans, third-starting C.J. Leary sneaked into the lead for the first two laps.

Bacon recovered to chase Leary down and took the lead as they negotiated turn four. Three laps later, Bacon stretched his lead, leaving Leary, Grant and Thomas to fight for second place. Fight they did with slide jobs about as routine as the Yankees or Dodgers winning. Leary was passed by Grant (lap seven) and Thomas (lap eight) after a spirited battle.

Bacon’s lead of nearly three seconds went away when the race’s first yellow waved on the 12^th lap when Aric Gentry stopped on the track. Bacon led Grant, Thomas, Leary and Courtney. Grant’s job was not made any easier as two lappers re-started between him and Bacon. The halfway mark came and went with no changes up front. But this couldn’t last; this is USAC sprints we’re talking about.

Bacon had put some daylight between himself and Grant, who had done the same with Thomas when Kyle Cummins stopped at the end of the frontstretch with a flat right rear on lap 18. While under caution, Bacon ducked into the pits with a flat tire of his own. Now it was Grant leading Thomas, Leary, Courtney and Windom.

Grant would not lead a green flag lap as Thomas dove low in turn three to relegate the California native to second. KT led the 19^th lap and stayed there as Max Adams rolled to a stop in turn one, bringing out another yellow. On this re-start, the leader maintained his position but things were heating up behind them. Grant and Leary had their hands full with Courtney and Windom doing their share of scratching and clawing, with sliders at each end of the oval.

Just as the frontrunners had begun to put spread out, the red came out on the 26^th lap when Justin Owen got a bit out of shape and collected Garrett Abrams, who flipped coming out of turn four. Garrett walked away on his own. The top five remained Thomas, Grant, Courtney, Leary and Windom.

The final re-start came and so did more slide jobs. Up front, Courtney passed Grant for second on lap 27. Otherwise, the top five was unchanged as the checkered flag waved. The craziness was behind the guys up front with Nick Bilbee emerging in sixth. Bacon charged through the melee after his mid-race misfortune, taking seventh on a night when his car owner Richard Hoffman was remembered and honored. Jarett Andretti was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, moving from 13^th to eighth. Scotty Weir motored from 14^th to ninth. Chase Stockon faded to tenth.

Thus ended another season at this hallowed ground. The sprint feature ended before 9:30, so I stuck around to see if Matt Hamilton could win another modified feature. But he dropped out early and a bad case of yellow fever broke out. The sprint car fans had left and it was smooth sailing from the parking lot to Eads Parkway. It was time to go. I wasn’t up to either giving or receiving any slid jobs from a pumped up fan in a hurry.

This one is for the Gentry family as their patriarch, Leon, took this life's checkered flag a few days ago. RIP, racer.

Confusing my quids with my quos, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Anatomy of a Rainout/Kokomo/BOSS/FAST

At least they tried. Track officials and BOSS/FAST headman Aaron Fry did all the right things leading up to what would have been a great night of competition at the Kokomo Speedway. But, as is often the case, rain had other ideas.

I had been checking everything from the radar to the various social media sites to make sure that heading north to Kokomo was worth the gamble.

I can say that the temperature was right around 90° in southern Indiana as I left home. After fighting the usual road construction in that big city in the middle of the state, I noticed damp spots on the road. My sharp eyes also noticed that the outside temperature had dropped to 76.

At times I was still checking the radar and it was telling me to keep going. And so I did, arriving at the track just past five o'clock. Sure enough, it had rained but the crew was busy working the track.

Navigating the pits was another story. One's choices were to either walk in the mud or through a mud puddle. Eight year old kids would have opted for the latter.

While waiting on the track to be race ready, I looked at the radar one time too many. It looked like more rain was coming. There was some drizzle but it never rained all that hard. But it was enough for the decision makers to reluctantly pull the plug.

Except for a few cars attempting to wheel pack the surface, no one saw Tom Hansing wave any of his flags, let alone the green flag.

The night was not a total loss. I spent time talking with a few good friends and introducing a few people to each other. One can't assume that everyone involved in racing knows each other.

To shamelessly name drop, I enjoyed time well spent with the likes of Dave Cochran, Steve Fox, Tyler Kelly, Tom Hansing, Fred Zirzow and Aaron Fry. Hanging around gentlemen like those makes me a better man, I am sure.

A few minutes after seven, the word came down. There would be no racing tonight and there would be no makeup date either. I watched fans and haulers leave the parking lot. After a while, I figured that I may as well join them.

Give them credit; they tried. But no one has figured out how to control the weather.

Frantically trying to locate my missing covfefe, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: NOS Party

People who live for conspiracies might have salivated at the Gas City I-69 Speedway on a cool Friday night as Chris Windom led a trio of sprinters all sponsored by the NOS Energy Drink folks in winning the James Dean Classic presented by USAC with Eldora’s Four Crown coming up. They would be, of course, wasting their time, but we all have to have something to do. The “fix” wasn’t in because there was no fix to start with.

The game of musical chairs among Hoosier sprint car owners and drivers is one that never seems to stop. Some are one night stands. Others are temporary or occasional. A few combinations are an audition of sorts. For the night, Shane Cottle found himself in the Cooley family car. Tyler Hewitt’s own car is still on the sick list and he was in the rarely seen Ron Lamberson machine. With Fred and Chuck, Chad Boespflug was back in their 98 car. Scotty Weir was back as a teammate to Matt Goodnight. Max Adams was in his third ride of the year (unless I missed one), that being owned by the venerable Paul Hazen. Also of note was Dustin Clark, until now known as Dustin Christie, who changed his name after learning that his biological father’s name is Scott Clark.

Time trials were conducted on a track that stayed the same, helped along by cooler temperatures on the black northeastern Indiana sod. Quick timer C. J. Leary blistered the clock with a 12.121 lap after going out 24^th of 28 cars taking time. Second quick (and track record holder) Thomas Meseraull was fifth in line. Third was Brady Bacon, who was next to last out. Justin Grant was the fourth to qualify and he was fourth fastest (driving number four). And so on.

With all three cars numbered nineteen in the first heat, less experienced fans could have been excused if they were a bit confused. Two of the nineteens ran first and second. Kevin Thomas Jr. took the lead coming to the white flag and went on to win with C. J. Leary, Isaac Chapple and Cody White all making the show.

Cole Ketcham came from third to win the second heat. Thomas Meseraull coasted across the line in second after his engine began smoking on the last lap. Jason McDougal saith to Chris Windom, "Thou shall not pass" as he took third despite Windom's best efforts.

Scotty Weir won the third heat from third place. Brady Bacon took second. Tye Mihocko raced hard to keep fourth place Tyler Courtney behind him.

In the fourth heat it was Justin Grant taking advantage of a slight bobble by Dustin Ingle to win. Behind Ingle was Chase Stockon and Dave Darland.

Chad Boespflug led all the way to win the B. Max Adams, driving a car that Boespflug used to drive, was second. Harley Burns, Matt Westfall, Matt Goodnight and Shane Cottle all made the show.

After the B, a glimpse into the future saw Corbin Gurley come from eighth to win the 600 cc non-wing micro-sprint feature.

All of the six fastest qualifiers transferred to the feature. Sixth quick Windom earned the pole as a result with Thomas on the outside. It’s true that Windom jumped into the lead at the outset and led all the way, but there was a lot more to the race than the bland reading of the box score. Windom led Grant by no more than a couple of car lengths with Meseraull and Thomas in the mix at the end of the first lap. Meseraull has dominated weekly action this year at Gas City and had passed Grant for second when he quickly pulled into the infield with the engine belching flames for a moment on the sixth circuit. Darland stopped at the start/finish line a second or two after TMez parked his car. The yellow waved with Windom leading Grant, Thomas, Bacon and Stockon.

On the re-start, Stockon powered his way around Bacon to take fourth. The bottom lane ruled as Courtney began making noise as little had changed up front. Just past the halfway mark he passed Bacon to take fifth.

In the race’s middle division, Courtney was the only player on the move as these guys were evenly matched and the track was still lightning fast. Just before the yellow waved for a Scotty Weir spin in turn four, Courtney passed Stockon for fourth. Windom, Grant and Thomas were still the top three. There were six laps to go.

On this re-start, Courtney swept around Thomas and set sail for the top two. His charge was slowed on lap 27 when Jason McDougal clipped the turn four cone, launching it onto the middle groove. Next on Courtney’s to-do list was make Grant a bit uncomfortable.

The race’s final re-start went as the others had gone for Windom—hit your marks, be aware of whatever is going on behind you as much as possible, etc. In other words, it was relatively smooth for the Illinois native. But Grant had his hands full with Courtney using the outside lane to challenge for second place. At the line, Windom had a huge smile as he won his first USAC feature at Gas City and fourth feature of the year.

Courtney never gave up and it paid off as he beat Grant for second by .056 seconds. Thomas and Stockon completed the top five. Leary started and finished sixth and his point lead over Courtney is 111. Bacon was seventh and McDougal was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, coming from 17^th to end up eighth. Chapple started and finished ninth and Adams brought the Hazen-mobile back in tenth after starting 15^th.

I like to think that James Dean, frozen in time at 24 years old, would have had a good time. Shucks, given his love of fast cars, he might have enjoyed a bit of man a mano action against Windom and the rest.

The good folks at NOS weren’t the only ones who enjoyed themselves. Even the most critical of us should have appreciated the efforts of Windom and the rest, conspiracy theories and tin foil caps be damned.

Rushing to my first class at the Rudy Giuliani Charm School, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Teenage Veteran and Other Oxymorons

Some of us have our favorite oxymorons. Mine happens to be “postal management” and if you either work for the U.S. Postal Service or know someone who does, you would understand the humor in the term. Unknowingly, Jaden Rogers has earned the title Teenage Veteran. He’s been around for a while, wheeling a sprinter with limited success—until this year. He has added the term Feature Winner to his resume this year with four wins at Paragon. And on a beautiful Saturday night in beautiful downtown Putnamville, Indiana, Rogers won his first feature at the Lincoln Park Speedway, outrunning no less than Shane Cockrum.

For me it seemed like I’d been gone from the Hoosier open wheel racing scene for a month since my last appearance was on the opening night of the BC39. But it was 16 days since I’d witnessed the bad boys do their thing. For the second time in less than two months, my wife had a serious health issue which kept us both parked for an extended period. This time it was a mild stroke that has briefly slowed her. But her progress was such that she waved the green flag at me and told me to have fun—and be careful.

With this being the last racing at LPS for 2019, 30 sprints were among the approximately 130 race cars in the pits. This brought out several who have made occasional appearances this year, including Rick Baker, Nick Montani and midget ace Cole Bodine. Harley Burns was racing the car most recently wheeled by Andrew Prather. Nate McMillin was in the Robinson 57, also driven recently by Mr. Prather.

Shane Cockrum waited until midway through the first heat before taking the lead and winning. Max Adams, Braydon Fox and Kent Christian followed.

Tim Creech II won the second heat by the proverbial country mile, leading Harley Burns, Alec Sipes and Shey Owens.

Matt McDonald (driving a car formerly driven by A.J. Hopkins) and Travis Berryhill ran away with the win and place positions in the third heat ahead of Matt Thompson and Colin Parker.

In the fourth heat, winner Jaden Rogers took the sage advice of my favorite philosopher, Moe Howard, whose command to “spread out” was followed by Rogers, Nate McMillin, Jesse Vermillion and Steve Hair.

Sprint rookie Cole Bodine made a late pass of the ageless Troy Link to win the B main. Joining them in the feature would be Nick Montani and Shane O’Bannion.

The re-draw put Rogers and McDonald on the front row, two guys whose ages added together is not quite 40. Creech and Cockrum, older but not exactly senior citizens, made up the second row.

Rogers took the lead at the waving of the green with McDonald and Cockrum in tow. The kid from Worthington, IN stretched out his lead as McDonald had his hands full in staying ahead of Cockrum. The leader approached lapped traffic on lap seven, missing quite a fight behind him. The Chief finally made the pass for second place on the tenth lap and the crowd could be forgiven for thinking that the Jamie Paul sprinter was going to reel in the leader and cruise to the win. But Rogers had other ideas.

It’s true that Cockrum didn’t help himself with a bobble a lap after passing the Cigar Man for second. But he was on the move, gaining on the frontrunner in the middle stages of the race. Cockrum’s only real shot at the lead came on lap 18 as he threw a slider at Rogers, who fended it off and accelerated off turn two, never to be threatened again even though the Illinois resident closed the gap briefly on the 22^nd lap.

The winner’s margin of victory was either several car lengths or not quite a half straightaway, however one wishes to characterize it. Behind Rogers and Cockrum was McDonald, with a strong podium finish. McMillin came from eighth to fourth. Adams started and finished fifth. New daddy Creech was sixth. Burns was a steady seventh. Berryhill finished eighth with Fox ending up where he started, ninth. Bodine came from the B, starting 17^th and took tenth, earning the Kenny Clark hard charger award.

Since May, Rogers has won a feature race every month. Until Saturday night, each of those races were won at Paragon—if I did my homework. He has been a good example of a work in progress. He’s torn up equipment and made questionable choices on track in the past, but this year has seen real improvement. The errors are occurring less frequently. The results reflect that. The future holds promise. And Mr. Rogers is seventeen years old. That is one sparsely populated neighborhood and not an oxymoron.

Confronting my inner pugilist, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: And Then There Was One (Last Lap Craziness)

I try my best to avoid the phrase “now I’ve seen everything.” It turns out that there’s more to see. The opening night of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 contained plenty of good and close racing, near photo finishes and a multitude of passes for position. And that was only the heat races. The 25 lap Stoops Pursuit produced its share of close and tense racing, but the last lap was one that will be talked about for some time to come. When the dust cleared, only one car was running, that of Kyle Larson, who survived the improbable last lap craziness to win at the Dirt Track at IMS.

This was Larson’s first win on this surface at IMS.

The traffic on I-65 didn't keep me from daydreaming. Mostly I thought about what it took to make this event happen. In order for anything to progress, someone--or a small group of someones--has to picture an event, a building, any kind of achievement in their mind. That's the easy part. The BC 39 is the result of people with, not only the vision to see ahead, but the ability to bring the vision to life, to make the intangible into something tangible. Invite racers to show up, publicize the event and see what happens. A tip of the baseball cap to Doug Boles and company.

As it turned out, quite a lot happened.

The format for the night was not the usual. Passing points, a main event that sent any cars passed to the infield—these were gimmicks designed to grab the fans’ attention. It was an exhibition that catered to the dramatic. Most of all, it worked in large part because the racers did what they do best, race, which is what they do no matter what the format was.

All kinds of interesting people showed up to be among the 88 entries. Low buck, mucho bucks, they were all here. The decision to move the pits from the crowded area last year to the north side of the fifth mile oval was a winner. The schedule was followed; Larson’s interview was completed just before ten o’clock.

The first of the ten heats was a harbinger of things to come. Brady Bacon led just a few feet but they were just before the finish line.

Kevin Thomas Jr. took the lead on the last lap to win the second heat over Karsyn Elledge, who led the first nine.

Zeb Wise outran NASCAR racer Ricky Stenhouse in winning the third heat.

As Tom Hansing waved the white flag of the fourth heat, the top three runners were three wide. Dillon Welch led the last lap, edging Justin Grant and C.J. Leary.

Gio Scelzi led all the way in winning the fifth heat.

Zach Daum survived a late re-start in winning the sixth heat. Andrew Layser flipped in turn four with a brief fire that was out quickly.

Jake Neuman won the seventh heat race that contained several yellows, a red and a profusion of slide jobs. Michael Pickens and Christopher Bell trailed. Chris Baue flipped coming out of turn two. He walked away.

In the eighth heat, Chad Boat engaged in a slidefest with Logan Seavey in winning. Alex Bright was third.

Thomas Meseraull came from ninth to win the ninth heat over Kyle Larson and Ethan Mitchell.

The last of the ten heats was won by Spencer Bayston, who came from seventh to lead Matt Westfall and Jesse Colwell to the line.

Colwell and Boat led 23 hungry racers to the green. Yellow flags would wave every five laps with anyone who had been passed. Anyone involved in a caution flag situation would also be parked. NASCAR’s Chase Briscoe was the first to exit when he spun on lap three.

After five laps, Boat still led over Colwell, Pickens, Bayston and Seavey. The infield began taking on cars, including Meseraull and Jerry Coons Jr. They would be joined by several others. Only eight cars were left after ten laps. Boat would leave courtesy of Pickens and was scored ninth ahead of Bayston.

The law firm of Carrick, Windom and Stenhouse retreated to the infield and then there were five. They were Pickens, Larson, Grant, Jason McDougal and Tyler Courtney. McDougal gave a tremendous effort as he fought for the lead before sliding to a stop on lap 18. He would finish fifth.

The final segment began with three cars, Pickens, Grant and Larson, with Courtney out. Larson grabbed the lead with four to go, only to see Pickens come back to take it away for lap 23. Larson slid his way back to the front on the white flag lap. Pickens refused to go away. Going into turn three there was contact between the two, with Pickens flipping hard. Larson slowed, but was able to keep going.

Grant had passed both, but he flipped in turn four. Larson guided his wounded car to the red flag, winning under the most unlikely circumstances.

Both Grant and Pickens exited their stricken mounts, more dejected than hurt.

And to think that essentially the same cast of characters would return for another night of this.

Update: The cast of characters returned but without me to observe their heroics. Again, as it was about seven weeks ago, my wife had a medical issue that landed her in the local hospital. Again, racing took a back seat and will until her health returns.

Betting against Beto, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Outhouse to Penthouse

Racers know better than most about the old cliché “the thrill of victory, etc.” They have all visited, in varying degrees, the penthouse and the outhouse. This last weekend of August saw Nick Bilbee make the trip from a major disappointment on Friday night at Bloomington to a convincing victory at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on Saturday night. On Friday, Nick was in the pits when the checkered flag waved at the red clay oval, but he was the first to see Tim Montgomery’s checkered flag on yet another beautiful night in southeastern Indiana.

There were no real surprises among the 19 sprints that signed in. Lawrenceburg dominators such as Mr. Bilbee, point leader Dickie Gaines, past Lawrenceburg champs Joss Moffatt and Garrett Abrams, along with the likes of Landon Simon and J.J. Hughes meant that there was no shortage of potential winners.

Throughout the three heats, the bottom groove ruled. Dickie Gaines won the first heat by a few feet over Nick Bilbee. Joss Moffatt was third, only a few feet behind Mr. Bilbee.

Ty Kendall was the man in the second heat. He beat second place Tony McVey by a healthy margin. Garrett Abrams, experimenting with the middle line, took third.

JJ Hughes also tried the middle and it worked on the white flag lap as he passed Michael Fischesser to take the win. Landon Simon was third.

The tag team of Bilbee and Fischesser led them all to Tim’s green flag and Nick immediately went to work. As Fischesser fell back, Gaines moved forward. David Applegate stopped on the track on lap four, bringing out the yellow.

The early surprise was Kendall. Using the high line, barreling into the turns, sometimes with all four wheels in the air, he was second to Bilbee on the re-start with Gaines, Hughes and Moffatt trailing. The green lights came on and Hughes got busy, blasting his way to second in one lap, using the high side. But J.J. either found a rough spot or something broke in turn four and flipped hard, bringing out the red. He walked unassisted to the ambulance.

The order was Bilbee, Gaines, Kendall, Moffatt and Sterling Cling, who had started 12^th. The green came out and Bilbee took off, trying to leave Gaines behind. Dickie refused to go away and chased the leader high and low. With all the rubber on the well-used bottom groove, guys favored the middle. The track had a narrower groove than normal (as did Bloomington the night before) and when the leaders approached lapped traffic on lap 17, one should have known that anything could happen.

Something happened but it was nothing out of the ordinary. There were no spins, crashes, etc. as the laps wound down. Bilbee’s margin pf victory over Gaines was a second, give or take a tenth or two. Moffatt was third with Kendall hanging on to fourth. Cling was fifth with Abrams a disappointing sixth. Parker Fredrickson impressed in racing from 18^th to seventh, winning the Bryan Clauson Hard Charger award. Fischesser fought handling woes as he fell to eighth. Tony McVey, one of my favorite firefighters, took ninth. Justin Lewis was tenth after starting 16^th.

Another cliché is that life has its ups and downs. Racers know this as well as anyone. Nick Bilbee lived it this weekend. After his Friday misfortune, he could have pouted, blamed others, or taken to the wasteland that can be social media. Instead, he gathered himself together and headed to Lawrenceburg to race as good as he could, win or lose.

We all could learn from this. Time and time again, we’ve seen racers, among other people, bounce back from any setback to triumph. It can be anyone from celebrities to athletes to politicians, or it could be everyday people; the common lesson is that, when we fall, we get up as soon as we can. At its most basic, it means we put one foot in front of another.

We’ve all had to do it, each in our own set of circumstances. Think about it the next time you are sick or feeling blue. Then remember what racers like Nick Bilbee do.

Helping Graham Rahal and Ryan Hunter-Reay to understand how important it is to hit your marks when approaching a turn, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Fitting and Proper

You can have your Pettys and Earnhardts. You can even have your Unsers and Andrettis. But in my limited Hoosier-centric mind, racing’s first family is the far-flung clan of Kinsers. Steve, Karl, and Mark might be better known to sprint car fans at large, but Steve’s dad rules Indiana in general and Bloomington in particular. Had he been there, Bob Kinser might have enjoyed watching distant relative Jordan Kinser fend off multiple challenges to win the inaugural Bob Kinser Memorial at the Bloomington Speedway on a beautiful southern Indiana evening.

The Granite City/USAC rainout inspired Kevin Thomas Jr. and Isaac Chapple to hustle east to Bloomington. Dave Darland and Mike Dutcher were re-united in Mike’s car. There were a few cars that raced at Paragon this year on hand as the Morgan County oval had the night off. Of the 89 cars in the pits, 30 were sprints.

For one last time at Bloomington in 2019, I partook of the pre-race rituals, saying hello to people, trying to hear what was said at the drivers'meeting, looking at the heat race lineups, appreciating the sprints' routine of adding engine heat, and of course the beautiful noise made by the rumbling 410 cu. in. engines capable of producing 700 horsepower give or take a few. There's a big part of me that doesn't want this to end but end it must.

Later in the evening while waiting for racing to resume, I had time to ponder a few things. It must be part of the human condition to have heroes, or at least someone we can look up to, admire, or, if we are little boys, wish we were that given hero.

One of mine was Bob Kinser when I was a boy tagging along with my dad to races in southern Indiana. The first racer that really stood out for me was Bob. Burned into my mind is the F-800, driven by Bob, backing into turn one at Paragon. Oh sure, there was Cecil Beavers, Calvin Gilstrap, Dick Gaines and local boys like Bobby Black and Orval Yeadon, but Mr. Kinser made the biggest impression on me. And it was fitting that the Bloomington Speedway be the track which hosted a Bob Kinser Memorial.

It was fitting in a sense that a Kinser family member would win the first heat. That would be Jordan Kinser, who led Brady Short, Josh Cunningham and Hunter O'Neal to feature starting spots. This was surely one of the fastest heats I've seen all year. Kinser was just getting started.

The second heat had a lot more passing than the first to be sure. Isaac Chapple won with Chris Phillips, Collin Parker and Jake Bland trailing.

Nick Bilbee kept a closing Kevin Thomas Jr. at bay while winning the third heat. Tye Mihocko and Andrew Prather also moved on.

Max Adams came from third to lead all the way in winning the fourth heat. Dave Darland, Brian VanMeveren and Jadon Rodgers punched their tickets. Brandon Mattox, the most recent Bloomington winner, exited on the hook when something broke. Talk about penthouse to outhouse. But he would return.

There was a lengthy delay as all assembled waited for the ambulance to return. This came about after a mini-sprint entered the track after one of their heats began. Disaster ensued as the field exited turn two and found an unexpected participant. During the scramble to miss the latecomer one of the cars took a wild ride down the backstretch into turn three. The hospital visit was a given.

As of this writing I know nothing more than what is mentioned above. At any rate, racing was stopped and there was no talking from Brad or Pat. From my solitary position in my truck, the silence was a gloomy intruder, most especially on what should have been a night of remembrance and celebration. I read on the internet (for what it’s worth) that the young man suffered a broken collarbone.

Nearly an hour later, racing resumed with the B main.

The youngster chased the veteran in the B main. It hasn't been that many years since Chris Babcock was the kid, but tonight he was the veteran leading Brayden Fox to the line. A slowing Brandon Mattox was third and Alex Sipes made a late pass on Jake Scott to grab the 20th starting position in the show.

Tonight would also feature a four car/four lap dash with a Hoosier right rear tire serving as the trophy. Max Adams picked up the win and the tire.

Kinser and Chapple led the field to Rusty Nunn’s green flag. Kinser jumped into the lead as Bilbee gave chase from his third starting spot. The lead increased during the early laps but Bilbee closed the gap after lapped traffic became a player starting with the sixth lap.

Behind these guys, Thomas was starting his own move forward. From fifth, he advanced to fourth on the sixth lap. With ten laps gone, Thomas passed Chapple for third. KT was mired in lapped traffic as the leaders moved on, but he cleared the (slightly) slower cars on the 17^th lap and the chase was on.

Just as Thomas cleared the traffic, the yellow waved on lap 17 for an Andrew Prather spin. Up front the order was Kinser, Bilbee, Thomas, Chapple and Short. While both dealt with the lapped car of Jaden Rogers, Thomas got around Bilbee a lap after the re-start and the feeling that the Alabama native’s chance at winning this thing was inevitable. But it would have to wait. Bilbee fell back to the point that Chapple could challenge for third. Both racers banged wheels crossing the line with Bilbee getting the worst of it. Nick finally stopped on the backstretch and the yellow waved, setting up a green/white/checkered finish.

Now Thomas was not the 800 pound gorilla in the corner; instead, he was the 800 pound gorilla in the middle of the room, Kinser’s room to be accurate. But he had to close the deal. It didn’t happen. Coming to the white flag, Kinser—who later would say that his brakes were gone—slid in front of Thomas in turn three, causing KT to check up, get above the cushion, and flip down the hill. Red flag. It was reminiscent of a similar move Thomas had during Sprint Week when he checked up in front of Kyle Cummins, who was removed from contention. Both incidents were racing accidents; no one was at fault. But right now Thomas was done for the night.

Trying again at a G/W/C, this time Kinser would not be denied or challenged. He crossed the line, and who knows, maybe Bob Kinser permitted himself a smile wherever he was. Chapple was second, ahead of Short. Adams started and finished fourth. Tye Mihocko came from 11^th to take fifth. Hunter O’Neal came from 13^th to sixth. Chris Babcock was the Mike O’Leary hard charger, rambling from 17^th to seventh. Chris Phillips was eighth and Brandon Mattox overcame mechanical woes to race from 19^th to ninth. One of my favorite ministers, Josh Cunningham, was tenth.

And so it went. On this night to remember one of the clan, one of them carried on the tradition of excellence. No doubt the family tree stood a little straighter on this night.

Heading to my new job of removing Joe Biden’s foot from his mouth, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Sunshine Smacks 'em Down

To the untrained eye, Tyler Courtney may have made it look easy, as if he was on a chilly Saturday night ride, cruising in Kokomo. But there was a lot more to it. Kyle Cummins, among others, chased Courtney for 40 laps to no avail. "Sunshine" had the field covered as he won his second Smackdown title in the eight years it has been contested at the Kokomo Speedway by the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car series.

Courtney joined Dave Darland was the only multi-time winner of Smackdown. DD has won three. This was Courtney’s sixth USAC sprint feature win of 2019.

Matt Westfall passed a lot of cars as he won the companion Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series 25 lap feature.

I was fairly sure that I would be among a large group of people later, many of whom were friends. Butfirst I enjoyed a peaceful interlude at a Logansport city park. It had the qualities like most parks that I've visited over the years before going to a race. The sounds of playing children, singing birds and the people walking in the park are as pleasing to my ears as two dozen 410 cubic inch engines stretched to their limit, driven by young people motivated to challenge and/or conquer both each other and the track. There was time to read a tiny bit of my latest book purchase, an extensive biography of President Grant (Ulysses, not Justin). And there was time to ponder this life and all the years that seem so long ago and yet so recent. The mind and the memory can take one in a lot of directions.

It was time to put aside my rather brief interlude and head south to the northern reaches of Howard County. I was sure that the pits would be even more crowded than Wednesday, when 50 teams signed in. No surprise to find 31 USAC sprints and 42 BOSS teams. The assortment of racers ranged from veterans like Mike Miller, Bill Rose and Al Thomas (one day shy of age 85!) to kids such as Joey Parker (Bill Rose’s nephew), Parker Fredrickson and Ryan Barr. Switching from USAC to BOSS were Matt Westfall, Travis Hery, Carmen Perigo and Ty Tilton.

King of the Hill—

Here was another one of those events within the Event that fans love. Two cars, three laps, tournament style. The top eight in Smackdown points were pushed to the infield.

The first round began with Kyle Cummins and Justin Grant trading slide jobs, crossovers and the lead for three laps. Never in the three laps did they touch. Cummins prevailed.

By contrast C.J. Leary’s win over Chase Stockon was sedate.

Thomas Meseraull dispatched of Logan Seavey from green to checkered.

Tyler Courtney took a step toward grabbing pole position for the feature in beating Kevin Thomas Jr.

Round Two began with Leary defeating Cummins. It ended badly for Meseraull, who flipped in turn three while chasing Courtney. It was, I think, the first time anyone had flipped in the King of the Hill competition. TMez made a deal with the Brad Wyatt team and started the feature on the tail spot.

In the final joust, the fans got their money’s worth as Courtney beat Leary by a hair, a fitting ending in terms of drama.

Five BOSS heats were up next. The first four in each heat transferred to the 25 lap feature with two B mains taking the top two.

Matt Cooley, Dallas Hewitt, Brian Karraker and Cody White moved on after the first heat.

J.J. Hughes led Lee Underwood, Logan Hupp and Mr. Rose to the show after the second heat.

The third heat saw Michael Fischesser win with Ty Tilton, Parker Fredrickson and Cody Gardner taking it easy (maybe) until the feature.

Carmen Perigo used a last lap pass to win the fourth heat. Dustin Webber held off Matt Westfall and Chris Phillips to advance.

The final heat was won by Andrew Prather with Ohio’s Travis Hery second. Dustin Ingle and Korbyn Hazlett would make up the tenth row of the feature.

Mike Miller and Corey Crabtree waltzed from the first semi-main to the main. Justin Owen edged Steve Little in the second B to fill out the feature lineup.

USAC heats were next, all three of them. Only the top three would advance. Brady Bacon won the first heat over Carson Short and Dave Darland.

The second heat saw Jason McDougal win and Scotty Weir finish second. Timmy Buckwalter had to work like a dog to keep Isaac Chapplebehind him to take the feature spot.

It was time for some Smackdown controversy and it came in the third heat. Shane Cottle and Clinton Boyles were racing for third place when Boyles drifted high in turn two, pinching Cottle into the wall. Both flipped with Cottle getting the worst of it in the form of a trip to the hospital. He wasn’t pleased at the proceedings and let Boyles know it. Ah, racin’.

But wait; there’s more. Hunter Schuerenberg, Chris Windom and Dustin Smith were the top three on the re-start. Windom brought out a yellow when he hit the infamous turn two wall and punched his ticket to the B. This put Landon Simon in third place, but Corey Smith was determined to join his brother in the feature via a heat race. And he might have done it had the crafty Mr. Simon moved to Smith’s preferred low line and held on to his spot after starting last.

Windom came back to win the B and set himself up for a Hard Charger award. His margin of victory over Cole Ketcham was a few feet. Isaac Chapple, Corey Smith and Josh Hodges all moved on for 40 more laps. Max Adams took a provisional.

The BOSS feature was up first. Pole sitter Travis Hery jumped out to the lead and kept it until Dallas Hewitt, who had started tenth, took the lead on the sixth lap with Hery, Tilton and Westfall trailing.

The red flag waved when Tilton flipped coming out of turn four while running third. He popped out of the car right away. Now it was Hewitt, Hery, Perigo, Westfall and Hughes. Soon after the green Westfall passed Perigo and pressured Hery for second.

As the laps wound down, the cushion in turns one and two was skimpy at best. The leader found out the hard way when he flipped, causing the red flag to come out again. Dallas climbed out of the car quickly. It was Westfall and Hery, with Lee Underwood, who had used that same cushion to move forward, running third ahead of Webber and Perigo.

Underwood gave it all he had in trying to catch Hery. But right after he saw Tom Hansing’s white flag, he saw the wall coming at him. One last time the red flew. Lee walked away from the wreckage. The final lap re-start was uneventful. Westfall, who had started 14^th, won with Hery second and Ingle third. My homeboy Logan Hupp came from 12^th to fifth.

Lots of people passed other people. Chris Phillips was the Brett Bowman Hard Charger, coming from 19^th to sixth. Prather was seventh, ahead of Rose who started 17^th. Miller came from the B, 21^st, to ninth. Owen did the same, moving from 22^nd to tenth.

Finally it was time for the main event. But first was the driver introductions, a fan favorite, especially for the kids. I’ll cheerfully admit that I was unfamiliar with most every piece of music chosen by the field of 23.

Tom waved the green one more time and Courtney immediately went to work, taking the lead and seizing the high ground from Leary. Cummins had started fourth and moved to second by lap two and seemed to have something for Courtney.

But a yellow came out for a slowing Isaac Chapple. Courtney led Cummins, Leary, Grant and Stockon. On the re-start, Stockon was strong, advancing to third by the sixth lap. Lapped traffic loomed on the ninth lap. Courtney couldn’t break away but Cummins couldn’t get any closer either. This was true throughout the top five as the middle part of the race progressed.

Carson Short spun in, where else, turn two on lap 24 to bring out the yellow flag. The top five was Courtney, Cummins, Stockon, Leary and Grant. The first two began to distance themselves from the others. Cummins wouldn’t go away. He could get alongside the leader, but passing Sunshine was still elusive. Behind them, Stockon was fading. With nine to go, Leary took over third. A lap later, Grant took fourth and Stockon was fifth.

Debris was the cause of a caution flag on lap 33. On the re-start Short spun again, a rare occurrence. For this last green flag portion, Courtney and Cummins led Leary, Grant and Thomas. With a flourish, the green flag was displayed one last time and it was more of the same. Courtney hung on despite Cummins’ relentless pressure. Leary was third and Grant was fourth. Seavey made some noise late, getting by Thomas late in the race for fifth. Behind KT was Bacon in seventh. Windom claimed the Crume Evans KSE Racing Products Hard Charger prize by coming from 18^th to eighth. McDougal and Stockon finished up the top ten.

Courtney and crew took home over $11k.

My unofficial notes say that 15 drivers made the feature in all four nights, counting Wednesday’s GYATK night.

Most of the awards were from company sponsors. But one was fan driven. With a LOT of help from my friend Jeff VanWinkle, we were able to collect $500 from fans to gift the hard luck racer of the week. That money went to Shane Cottle via his car owner Tony Epperson. Shane said he had a case of red eye and a concussion. The money won’t cure any of that but it will help, I’m sure.

It was fun and I hope to do this again next year, but it’s time to rest a bit before moving on. Resting—That’s something I can make look easy.

Barreling into turn three in the midst of a Sato/RHR/Rossi sandwich, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Nineteens Rule

If one was the betting type, and if they had wagered all of their nest egg that cars numbered nineteen would finish one-two-three at Night Two of Smackdown VIII at the Kokomo Speedway, they could probably buy the Kokomo Speedway (if it was for sale). Leading the trio of cars numbered identically was Logan Seavey, who won the caution free 30 lap feature. It was Seavey's first Kokomo win and it was his first USAC sprint feature win. If that wasn't special enough, the young Californian shattered the previous 30 lap record held by the late Bryan Clauson. Seavey completed the race in 6:48.92, an astounding 33 seconds quicker than BC's time set in 2013.(My calculator tells me that translates into 13.631 seconds per lap.)

The car count increased slightly on this beautiful Friday with 38 sprints signed in. After a one night absence Clinton Boyles returned with a fresh motor. New to the party were Brad Wyatt and Lee Underwood, one from Missouri and the other from Ohio.

The track was fast again as Dave Darland's track record was threatened. Wednesday's winner Justin Grant qualified early and ripped off a 12.549 lap. Thursday’s winner Thomas Meseraull was with the second group of qualifiers and matched Grant's quick time. Tyler Courtney had a strong first lap, but bicycled in turn on and smacked the wall hard before flipping wildly. He was out of the car quickly and the Nos Energy crew immediately began scrambling to put the car back together. It was a major accomplishment, but they did it. Brady Bacon completed one lap in qualifying, then headed straight to the pits with reported magneto trouble. If he transferred to the feature, he became the immediate favorite for the hard charger award and money.

Jason McDougal won the first heat with Justin Grant second. Timmy Buckwalter was a hard working third place with Isaac Chapple grabbing fourth.

Shane Cottle led all the way to win the second heat with Chris Windom inches behind in second. Dave Darland was third and Logan Seavey seized fourth.

After a night of putting the car back together, Josh Hodges won the third heat. Thomas Meseraull was second and Scotty Weir along with Brady Bacon made it to the feature.

The fourth heat saw Chase Stockon lead two of the nineteen cars, Kevin Thomas Jr. and C.J. Leary, to the checkered. Dustin Smith was fourth.

There was only one no show for the C and Corey Smith, Carmen Perigo, TyeMihocko and Matt Goodnight all would tag the B.

Tyler Courtney was the second leader and the B main winner. Kyle Cummins, Carson Short, Hunter Schuerenberg, Cole Ketcham and Matt Westfall moved on. Ketcham barely beat Westfall, who edged Jarett Andretti by a whopping .019 seconds. Sterling Cling flipped in turn two, bringing out the red. He walked away on his own. Brandon Mattox took a provisional.

Seavey and Thomas were the front row and Seavey promptly took the lead, seeming to glue himself to the cushion, where he remained for all 30 laps. Leary, who started fourth, gamely chased his teammate using the bottom to no avail. Lapped traffic, always a concern, didn’t seem to bother Seavey all that much. If anything, at one point he extended his lead over Leary, if only a little.

As the laps wound down, I (among others, I’m sure) was waiting for a yellow flag, a real one, not a TV yellow. But it wasn’t going to happen and no one had anything for the leader, who finally came down from the cushion straight to BC Victory Lane.

Typically, all-green races can mean that several good running cars get lapped. But it seemed like it could have been more, a testament to the close competition among these guys. “Only” 12 cars finished on the lead lap.

Behind Seavey and Leary was the so-called forgotten nineteen of Thomas. Courtney, in a singularly impressive performance, man-handled his car to take fourth. Grant was fifth with McDougal passing Meseraull in the second half of the race to finish sixth. Windom was eighth and Cummins settled for ninth. Bacon came back from a major setback to end up tenth after starting 22^nd. He easily claimed the Crume Evans Insurance/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger dough.

With one night to go, we can look forward to some changes in the regular order. For the first time all week, there will be a support class—but what a support class. The Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series will have their own program, which means a more crowded pit as well as more sprint car racing on the track. The popular King of the Hill will feature the top eight in Smackdown points facing off tournament style for three laps. The winner gets some loot as well as pole position in the 40 lap feature.

The Excitable Eight are: 1-Justin Grant-324, 2-Tyler Courtney-323, 3-Thomas Meseraull-320, 4-C.J. Leary-301, 5-Chase Stockon-295, 6-Logan Seavey-294, 7-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-293, 8-Kyle Cummins-290.

I think and hope we can all do this one more time. Seeing that it’s a milestone day for me, I’ll wish that every race is a safe one and all of those guys can load their cars on the trailer when Saturday night’s action is done. That would be an ideal present.

Giving one of Keith Kunz’ favorite numbers back to him as I’ve had it for a year, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: He's on Fire and So Am I

The title is a quote from Thomas Meseraull, the opening night winner of Smackdown VIII at the Kokomo Speedway. It was Meseraull's first USAC/Smackdown in several years of trying.

The car count was down but 36 cars was plenty. New arrivals included Josh Hodges, Tye Mihocko and Kyle Cummins. Mr. Meseraull was in his second car this week.

I favor single car qualifying, but only when the track stays pretty much the same for everyone. At Kokomo that is often the case. And it would be true tonight as Tyler Courtney went out 30th of 36 and set the fast time with an impressive 12.635 lap around the quarter mile oval, not much slower than Dave Darland’s record of 12.405 set five years ago.

Tyler Courtney made a strong opening statement as he won the first heat over C. J. Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Scotty Weir. Thomas had to start on the tail after making a quick trip to the work area for a faulty shock. Corey Smith tipped over in turn two, bringing out the red. He rejoined the field.

In the second heat, Isaac Chapple met every slide job thrown at him by Justin Grant and won by a car length. Behind Grant was Thomas Meseraull and Hunter Schuerenberg.

Carson Short dominated the third heat, winning by several car lengths over Dave Darland, Brady Bacon and Jason McDougal. Brad Greenup flipped in turn two, bringing out the red again. He walked away under his own power.

Slicing and dicing were the norm in the fourth heat. Kyle Cummins emerged as the winner with Logan Seavey making a late charge to finish second. Carmen Perigo was a reluctant third after leading most of the race. Shane Cottle was fourth.

Chase Stockon missed a great scrap behind him as he ran away with the semi-feature win. Chris Windom was second and Dustin Smith took third.  The excitement started with Max Adams, who was fourth. He edged Josh Hodges, who raced from 14th to fifth. Cole Ketcham, starting 11^th and using the low line like a pro, squeaked into the show just ahead of Brandon Mattox.Rookies Brian VanMeveren and Dustin Christie used USAC provisionals to make up the 12^th row.

The tag team of Bacon and Meseraull led 22 of their “partners in crime” to Tom Hansing’s green flag. Bacon jumped into the lead with Meseraull and Leary, who started third, hot on the trail. Courtney passed Leary for third on the sixth circuit.

This all stopped on the seventh lap when Hodges up-and-down night ended down when he flipped in turn four. Josh exited the car, no doubt feeling a bit morose. Bacon led TMez, Courtney, Leary and Grant. The top three had a brief, but vicious dogfight for the lead when the green waved. Meseraull surfaced with the lead. Two laps after the re-start, Leary bicycled in turn two, missing a great chance to flip. Right after that, Bacon hopped a Courtney wheel as they battled for second place.  Then Leary stopped with a flat left rear tire.

The front runners were Meseraull, Bacon, Courtney, Cummins and Stockon, the southwestern Indiana standouts. Right away, Meseraull began building a healthy lead over Courtney and the rest. Stockon took over fourth and began to worry Bacon, who had been passed by Courtney. Just past the halfway mark of the 30 lapper, TMez could see lapped traffic and then he caught a break. Leary stopped again, this time on lap 17. Meseraull would not have to deal with lapped traffic—until he did.

When Tom’s green flag waved this time, Grant had crashed the top five party. He was fourth behind Meseraull, Courtney and Bacon. Stockon was fifth after Cummins had been shuffled back. This would be Courtney’s last, best chance to see if he had anything for the leader. It wasn’t going to happen. Once again, Meseraull stretched out his lead to nearly a straightaway. In this last green flag segment, he did reach lapped traffic. But the California native turned Hoosier deftly negotiated the lappers and those chasing him could get no closer.

Behind him, Grant was mounting a charge that was too late to catch the leader, but he was able to pass Bacon for third on the 19^th lap. Otherwise, up front nothing changed when the checkered waved. Meseraull led Courtney, Grant, Bacon and Stockon for the top five. Scheurenberg flew somewhat under the radar as he came from tenth to sixth. Windom was the Crume Evans Insurance/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger as he made his way from 16^th to seventh. Weir improved one position to finish eighth. Cummins dropped to ninth, a disappointment given his recent run of success. And Short rambled from 18^th to finish in the top ten.

Racing was done by 10:30, a development no doubt appreciated by those who had to work the next day.

After the race, the winner mentioned that his worthy competitor Justin Grant was tough to beat at Kokomo. And his observation that “Justin is on fire here (slight pause) and so am I” was good for several laughs for those who were listening. You never know what some of these guys are going to say, but most always it’s the truth. With both winning the past two nights, no one would argue.

Avoiding every work area I can, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: A Nice Beginning

The eighth edition of the Kokomo Speedway's immensely popular Smackdown opened with the usual program fans have come to expect over the years. When the final checkered flag waved for the 27 lap race, it was Justin Grant standing in the Bryan Clauson victory lane telling us how difficult but satisfying it was.

With the promise of free admission, the bleachers on both the front stretch and backstretch were nearly full as serious and casual fans alike knew a good deal when they saw one. It was, for some, their best chance all year to GYATK on GYATK Night.

Of the 50 sprinters occupying a tiny spot in Howard County, no less than five cars were numbered 19. As has been the case all year, Kevin Thomas Jr. and C.J. Leary were both one less than twenty. For Smackdown, Leary and his Reinbold/Underwood team added two teammates,  Hunter Schuerenberg with USAC midget standout Logan Seavey.Carmen Perigo from Pennsylvania, BOSS racer, was parked near where the Spencer family parked for so many years. Anton Hernandez, a Kokomo rookie, number 19 owned by the Cooley family, was ready for his Kokomo debut. Paul Nienhiser took the wing off and headed east to be a Kokomo rookie. Timmy Buckwalter made the long haul from PA. Scott Hampton was making a rare 2019 appearance. Aaron Leffel was making his second non-wing sprint start. Zack Pretorius and Jack James, both Hoosiers, were Kokomo rookies.

First off, maybe some folks might have thought this to be a USAC show. Not exactly. It was not a points paying program, even though USAC personnel officiated. The group qualifying format should have given it away as USAC typically does single car time trials.

Quick time was set by C. J. Leary with a 13.057 lap.

The first of the six heats was loaded with people used to winning but only one would. Justin Grant came from fourth to take the lead on the first lap and win. Pole sitter Logan Seavey and Tyler Courtney ran second and third. Kevin Thomas Jr. led the others to the B.

Thomas Meseraull, in the Simon family car tonight, ran away with the second heat. Cole Ketcham and Timmy Buckwalter trailed.

For the third heat, Jason McDougal, Scotty Weir and Brandon Mattox all transferred to the feature. Dave Darland was running second when he stopped on the track, done for the race and the night. McDougal was the lone non-Hoosier in this race.

C. J. Leary won the fourth heat over Isaac Chapple. Anthony D'Alessio sent Chris Windom to the B after Windom had to go to the work area. The reason for that was Jarett Andretti flipping in turn two and nicking Windom's car as he went by. Jarett exited the car soon after it came to rest.

In the fifth heat, it was Brady Bacon passing Shane Cottle late to take the win. Max Adams was third.

The final heat saw the nastiest flip of the night as Brian VanMeveren took a tumble down the front stretch. He was quickly out of the car, inspecting the damage. Carson Short won with Chase Stockon and Matt Goodnight securing spots in the big show.

Carmen Perigo, Evan Mosley, Paul Nienhiser and Aaron Leffel all marched from the C main to the B.

The B Main had a bad case of yellow fever. Chris Windom passed Kevin Thomas Jr. midway through the 12 lapper to win. Behind Thomas was Clinton Boyles, who came from 13^th to finish third (and then dropped out of the feature as the cars were lining up). Hunter Schuerenberg and Anton Hernandez traded the final spot back and forth before Schuerenberg took fourth for good coming out of turn four.

The redraw for the heat race winners left a front row of Meseraull and Bacon, who took the lead as Tom Hansing waved the green. The Oklahoma native still led on the second lap when Leary collided with Short, who flipped coming out of turn four. He was able to re-start and finished 12^th. The top five was Bacon, Meseraull, Leary, Grant and McDougal.

In turn four after the re-start, Meseraull took the lead with a spectacular pass coming out of turn four with inches to spare between TMez and the wall. Seconds later, Max Adams flipped on lap five. It was Meseraull, Bacon, Leary, Grant and McDougal.

Four laps after the re-start, Grant passed Leary for third after a few laps of knocking at the door. McDougal, running sixth, spun on the 11^th lap to bring out the yellow. Thomas spun on the re-start before the boys could get serious. They tried again and Meseraull bobbled a bit in turn two, giving Bacon all the opening he needed to take the lead on lap 17 with Meseraull dropping back to fourth. Then three laps later, Bacon had a moment in turn two. This gave the lead to Grant and this one was in the bag, though we didn’t know it yet.

Grant approached lapped traffic with three to go, giving Bacon a little hope. But it wasn’t happening. Grant has adopted this track as his own hometown place of business and he sailed to the win. Bacon and Leary completed the podium. Meseraull was fourth and Seavey took fifth.

The second five was led by Scotty Weir, who was as high as fifth at one point. Chase Stockon came from 12^th to seventh. Tyler Courtney moved from 13^th to eighth. Shane Cottle was ninth and Chris Windom was the Crume Evans Insurance Hard Charger, motoring from 19^th to take tenth.

The quote of the night was uttered by the winner, who said, “We’ve been sketching out stuff on paper trying to figure out how to come up with the best mousetrap we can, and it makes you feel good when you hit it.”  Nary a mention of a computer; go figure.

This was a very satisfactory opening night for Smackdown VIII. With each succeeding night, the tension will increase. Some people will get mad. Others will rejoice. And that’s only describing the off-track action. It’s gonna be fun.

Advising the President that buying Fantasy Island is a better investment than Greenland, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Bill Would Have Loved It

The second night of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular was delayed six weeks and it was worth the wait. Brent Beauchamp skillfully negotiated heavy lapped traffic and kept everyone else behind him as he won his first LPS and MSCS feature of the year. Given the frantic pace set by the leaders and the dexterity they showed throughout the 30 lap feature, I like to think that Bill Gardner would have appreciated it all.

Several years ago, Bill and I were discussing food and he heartily recommended that I try the Lincoln Park Speedway Bar-B-Que sandwich. I’m glad I did; his advice was appreciated and I’ve enjoyed several since then. On this night, a BBQ sandwich was an easy choice.

Of the 94 cars signed in, 34 were sprints. None were driven by Jordan Kinser, who wore his crew chief hat tonight for both Brady Short and Alec Sipes. Jamie Paul has his pick of top notch racers to drive his hot rod on a given night. They include Dave Darland, Shane Cockrum, Shane Cottle and Carson Short. Darland was present with his own car. The Shanes were at the USAC Silver Crown race at Springfield getting rained out. That left C. Short who had the ride tonight.

I learned that Anton Hernandez and crew showed up with their Racesaver 305 after they were rained outat Twin City Raceway Park. Immediately they had a problem in the form of the wrong brand of tires. Two tires with the distinctive purple logo were what they needed to race with the 410s. Up stepped Dave Gross, the classic underfunded budget racer, with two used Hoosier tires. Anton would be racing tonight.

The episode above is not uncommon in racing--or in life for that matter. One can never tell when or which people will step up and lend a hand or a tire. Given some of the outrageous behavior, thoughts and words that too many people in and out of racing exhibit, selfless acts are to be appreciated and celebrated.

Nate McMillen ran one of the best races in his career as he held off a stalking Kyle Cummins to win the first heat. Andrew Prather and Jesse Vermillion also made it to the feature.

A. J. Hopkins won the second heat with Kent Schmidt second. Harley Burns started and finished third. Tim Creech II overcame engine issues earlier and grabbed the last feature spot.

The third heat was one that Dave Darland would love to forget. On the first lap his car's rear end broke and a part of it punctured the fuel tank, spilling a goodly amount on the ground just off turn two. DD was done for the night. Later, Brandon Mattox was locked into the feature when he bounced and flipped in turn four. Then Chase Stockon broke on the last lap and lost a sure spot in the show. Left to race was winner Brent Beauchamp, with Garrett Aitken, Stephen Schnapf and Anton Hernandez, with used tires and 305 engine, all moving on.

The fourth heat was fairly sedate with Carson Short leading Max Adams, Colton Cottle and Brady Short to the feature.

It was an all Kentucky front row for the B main as southwestern Indiana's Chase Stockon ran away with the triumph. Collin Ambrose, Brandon Mattox and Alec Sipes all became candidates for the Certified Products Hard Charger award.

This race was one that Jadon Rogers would love to forget. Mechanical woes kept him in the pits until the B. He tagged the field and passed three cars on the first lap. But a lap later Rogers tried to squeeze between two cars, flipping in turn one before climbing out. Dakota Jackson, second in MSCS points, used a provisional.

C. Short and Beauchamp occupied the front row as green waved just past 9:20. Short got the jump but Beauchamp came on strong to lead the first lap. Third starting A.J. Hopkins came on strong as well. He passed C. Short for third. The pace was slowed for a turn four spin by Brady Short

on the second lap. Beauchamp led Hopkins, C. Short, McMillen and Cummins.

Hopkins blasted to the lead on the re-start in turn three. But Beauchamp returned the favor two laps later in turn two. The track had been massaged before the feature with the big boys’ cushion flattened, but by lap seven it was returning. A lap later, the leaders had a lot more than the emerging cushion to worry about as Jesse Vermillion flipped right in front of them in the first turn. Jesse was talking to the emergency personnel as soon as they arrived.

The order was Beauchamp, Hopkins, C. Short, Cummins and Adams. It stayed like this until the 11^th lap when Hopkins went too high in turn four and both Short and Cummins slipped by. The halfway mark came and went with Beauchamp’s lead a full straightaway length. That was too good to last. Beauchamp was about to deal with potential disaster.

Just past the crossed flags, on the 17^th lap, Beauchamp was the first to encounter lapped traffic. In turn one, he nearly spun, but recovered quickly. Both Short and Cummins were gaining. Hopkins wasn’t that far back, running above the cushion above the horde. All four leaders were on the straightaway with Beauchamp leading his pursuers. But none of them could get close enough to trouble the leader.

Beauchamp’s margin of victory was only .771 seconds over C. Short. Cummins raced at least as hard as he did on Friday night at Paragon. Tonight, that was only good enough for third. Hopkins was a close fourth. Adams finishedfifth. McMillen led the second five, ahead of Aitken, Schnapf, Schmidt and Sipes, who was the Certified Rental Hard Charger after rambling from 20^th to tenth. (Dakota Jackson used his provisional to advance from 21^st to 11^th.)

The top three finishers found themselves at the start/finish line being interviewed by PA maestro Brad Dickison and getting their picture taken with Bill Gardner’s widow Shondra and family. I’d hazard a guess that Bill would have liked that too.

Occasionally plussed, but usually nonplussed, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Can't Anyone Beat This Guy?

This happens from time to time. Race teams, on rare occasions, find magic in the form of more horsepower, better shocks, or possibly anything else. They avoid trouble on and off the track; egos are put on the back burner and the victories pile up. This could describe Kyle Cummins and the Rock Steady team this summer. For on another beautiful Hoosier night at the Paragon Speedway, Mr. Cummins rang up his 11th feature win as the Brandeis MSCS paid another visit to the paperclip shaped oval in Morgan County. Chris Phillips won the Paragon sprint cars’ feature.

For me, the trip to Paragon is half the fun. For most of the drive, the roads and land are Indiana flat. But about five miles east of Martinsville, some hills that survived the glaciers remain, making Indiana Road 252 transform from a straight and flat surface to one curve after another. Road 67 to Paragon is mostly straight and flat. It’s about 54 miles of heaven as far as I’m concerned.

The other half of the fun is arriving and seeing the facility much as it was when Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House and Bob Kinser was driving the Fleetwood F-800. My dad would recognize that it’s still Paragon.

Among the 21 MSCS sprints and 18 Paragon sprints, Brandon Morin was the lone racer doing double duty. Unfortunately, he and his dad’s sprinter suffered yet another engine malady, leaving Brandon driving the Johnson family’s museum piece that does pretty well as a race car. Dave Darland was on the premises with his own car. Dave’s semi-regular ride had Jake Scott racing for owner Buddy Cunningham. Charlie Belden, involved in the well-being of my buddy Mr. Foist at Bloomington, had his race car driver’s suit on tonight.

Kyle Cummins won the first of the three MSCS heats. Chris Babcock and Dakota Jackson trailed.

Jadon Rogers passed Bill Rose on the last lap to win the second heat. Recent Paragon/MSCS winner Justin Owen had a good view from third place.

In a race that featured three of the seven cars with the number five, Chase Stockon won. Brady Short was second and Kent Schmidt sneaked by Colton Cottle for third. Shane Cottle had a race to forget. He brought out a yellow when he stopped on the track. Later, Chayse Hayhurst did a half spin and collected Cottle, who tipped it over. Ol' Shane was not thrilled.

The Paragon sprints had three heats of their own with Brandon Morin easing the pain of his MSCS sprint's misfortune by winning the first. Colin Parker and Gary Hayden traded second and third a few times before Colin prevailed.

Jesse Vermillion won the caution plagued second heat over the ageless Troy Link and David Truax.

Josh Cunningham waited a couple of laps before taking the lead and winning the comparatively tame third heat. Chris Phillips and Matt Thompson followed.

Cummins and Rogers led the field to the green and the young man from Worthington, IN promptly cut a tire and stopped on the cushion in turn three. He rejoined the fray in time for the re-start.

The double file re-start would have Cummins and Babcock leading the mob. The pole sitter annexed the bottom groove, took the lead when the green waved and began to steadily build the lead. Behind him, Babcock did much the same, opening up a lead ahead of Short, Rose and Jackson. All three would occupy the second runner-up spot over the 30 laps.

The crossed flags appeared as Cummins could see potential trouble in the form of lapped traffic ahead. Cummins and Babcock were cruising, relatively speaking, while Short and Darland were engaged in a scrap for third. As the laps accumulated, they seemed to be inching closer to Babcock, who was doing the same to the leader.

Cummins had abandoned the bottom for the top by now and was still in control, even though his lead shrank somewhat. Babcock and company needed a yellow to have a decent shot at the leader. They got not one, but two.

The first yellow waved on lap 26. On the re-start, Cummins left the bottom open for those chasing him with no takers. The top was the place to be. Another yellow a lap later yielded the same result. No one had anything for this guy.

At the end, Cummins led Babcock, who ran strong all night. Short was third and Darland came from tenth to fourth. Jackson was fifth. Aric Gentry came from 17^th to take sixth and claim the Certified Products Hard Charger Award for the second time this year. Rose was seventh and Brandon Mattox finished eighth after starting 13^th. Rogers recovered from his early calamity to take ninth. Jordan Kinser advanced one spot to tenth.

Pole sitter Chris Phillips took the lead at the green and led all the way to win the Paragon sprints’ feature, a race slowed by one minor yellow. Troy Link was second, with Josh Cunningham not far behind. Colin Parker and Jesse Vermillion completed the top five.

Along with Thomas Meseraull up at Gas City, Kyle Cummins is on a roll, a favorite to win at the very least. Not eager to throw cold water on Mr. Cummins and company, this won’t last. At some point, things will change and they will find winning a bit more elusive. They should enjoy it while they can. They should take a bow for being champions, on and off the track. They have earned—and deserved—all the good things that have come to them.

But there’s a few other racers who want to be the next to outrun the Rock Steady team. They will get another chance at Lincoln Park in a few hours as this is written.

Trying to keep all the conspiracy theories straight, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Personal Playground/Hospital

One could be excused for betting a substantial amount of their nest egg on Kyle Cummins at the Tri-State Speedway. Because on a beautiful August night at the paperclip shaped oval he roared to the lead for good on the fifth lap and beat a strong field in the MSCS sanctioned contest.

It makes sense that an MSCS race at Haubstadt would be top heavy with southwestern Indiana racers among the 26 who signed in. Tonight was no exception with Chayse Hayhurst, Aric Gentry, Collin Ambrose, Dustin Christy, Ryan Bond, Chase Stockon, Stephen Schnapf, newcomer Sam Scott, Kent Schmidt, Kendall Ruble and of course, Donnie Brackett all living nearby. Throw in Critter Malone and Dakota Jackson as Tri-State regulars who are unafraid to make the long haul to the Class Track.

Stockon was the only double dipper tonight, driving an MSCS sprint for Schmidt and a RaceSaver for Danny Roberts.

Group qualifying was the order of the day with Brian Karraker, Stephen Schnapf and Kendall Ruble the quickest of their respective group. Ruble's 13.509 was by far the fast time of the night.

Collin Ambrose led from the green to the checkered in winning the first heat. Aric Gentry was second with Brian Karraker third. Brady Short edged Dakota Jackson for fourth. Dustin Christy brought out a red flag when he hit the turn three wall, bouncing, then tipping over.

In the second heat Chase Stockon won and missed a close finish behind him as Josh Hodges beat Stephen Schnapf by inches. Isaac Chapple was fourth and Critter Malone would join him in the feature.

Kyle Cummins streaked to first on the first lap of the third heat and won. Kendall Ruble, Donnie Brackett, Kent Schmidt and Brandon Morin all moved on to the feature. Jarett Andretti touched wheels with Brackett early in the race and spun to the infield. He came back strong only to finish one spot short of transferring to the headliner.

Chayse Hayhurst ran away with the B main, leading Andretti to the line. JJ Hughes, Bloomington winner Brandon Mattox and Max Adams would tag the field. Adams recovered from a mid-race spin to hustle to the show.

Pole sitter Jordan Welch won the first RaceSaver heat with Andy Bradley coming from seventh to grab second. Ethan Barrow was third and Patrick Kren fourth. Alfred Galedrige overcame an early spin and the loss of a front wing to finish fifth.

Damon Fortune also won from the pole in the second heat. Justin Clark was second and Chase Stockon came from seventh to take third. Scotty Bradley started and finished fourth. Anton Hernandez did the same, finishing where he started, fifth.

Messrs. Ambrose and Stockon led 18 like-minded individuals to the green with Cummins lying in wait behind the pole sitter. But the Princeton, Indiana resident wasted no time in passing both front row occupants.

Stockon may have been impressed by Cummins taking the lead, but Chase was determined to give the leader the proverbial run for the money. Kyle might have been both impressed and surprised but not for long when Stockon took the lead on the third lap.

Cummins must have decided that Stockon had enjoyed himself long enough and made a strong move coming out of turn four to take the lead on the fifth lap. With eight laps in, lapped traffic came into play, albeit briefly. By lap nine Cummins was just starting to pull away when a red flag came out for Donnie Brackett, who flipped. He exited the car and walked down the front stretch to the pits.

The re-start saw Cummins still leading Stockon, Ruble, Schnapf and Ambrose. Again, Cummins tried to increase the margin between him and Stockon and again action was slowed, this time by a yellow flag at the halfway mark. This was an unplanned meeting among Gentry, Hughes and Morin. Up front, Schmidt had passed Ambrose for fifth.

Again, the race resumed and Cummins took off only to get a good view of the next yellow period. He narrowly missed the slowing duo of Chapple and Jackson. Nineteen laps were in and Kyle had to be wondering how long before he would have to wait before 30 laps were in.

The next green flag segment lasted ten laps as the leader stretched his lead to a half straightaway. Collin Ambrose stopped in turn one as the white flag waved, setting up a one lap dash to the checkered. This was Stockon’s last chance to try and steal this one, but it wasn’t happening. Cummins cruised to the victory, his fifth at Haubstadt this year.

Behind him, near disaster resulted when Schmidt slid into fifth place Hodges in turn four coming to the checkered. Josh lost two spots at the end while Kent found himself facing the wall. Up front, Cummins and Stockon were trailed by Ruble and Schnapf. Brian Karraker inherited fifth after the turn four commotion. Andretti recovered nicely from his early misfortune (spinning to a stop to miss Brackett) to finish sixth after starting the race 17^th. Hodges was relegated to seventh while Malone came from 14^th to finish eighth. Chapple recovered to take ninth and Jackson was tenth.

This was Cummins’ tenth win of the year, finding success in both series that have an Indiana accent, MSCS and USAC.

The RaceSavers closed out the night imitating the modified feature with a last lap pass. The green waved with Damon Fortune taking the lead from pole position and led every lap, avoiding the numerous yellows, until six circuits were left. Andy Bradley, who had started sixth and who had moved quickly to second, made the pass coming out of four to lead lap 19. Fortune found more trouble in turn four, losing second to Chase Stockon, who had been hanging around the front for most of the race.

A lap 20 caution period saw Bradley leading Stockon, Fortune, Justin Clark and Anton Hernandez. On the re-start, it appeared that Stockon had nothing for the leader and would have to settle for another second place finish. He was still second when the yellow lights blinked one last time on lap 24 when Fortune spun in turn two, giving up third place.

Again, there would be a one lap dash to settle things. But this time, Stockon was close enough to throw a well-aimed slider at the leader. It worked. Coming out of four, Stockon cleared Bradley and took the win. Behind the first two was Clark, who had an impressive run under the radar, more or less. Hernandez had threatened to give the leaders grief, but plateaued at the end, taking fourth after starting 12^th. Scotty Bradley roared from deep in the pack after being involved in an early yellow to take fifth. Another excellent effort was that of Danny Clark, who came from 20^th to grab sixth. Hot Rod Henning recovered from his early misfortune to take eighth. Jordan Welch was ninth and Alfred Galedrige Jr. completed the top ten.

With that, another long night of racing was over. The local boys had done well, winning all three features. And one of them remained the one to beat here at the Class Track. For now, Mr. Cummins is the one. As always, we’ll see how long that lasts. There’s a lot to be said for curiosity.

Taking two tires when I should have taken four, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down

It was a night for thanking and honoring Mike and Judy Miles. It was also a time for appreciating Dick Jordan, for so many years a mainstay of USAC who passed away earlier on Friday. It was a night for Brandon Mattox, a young man who seems to take some tough punches delivered by the hard to overcome “racing luck” and comes back for more. Finally, it was a night in which race fan/friend-to-all Dave Foist, who suffered injuries after a fall, went to the IU Health Bloomington Hospital for treatment, and then returned in time to watch the final two features of the night before agreeing to go home.

This was to be a long day in some ways, even longer than planned. A lengthy lunch hour or three with the likes of Dave Foist, Dave Nearpass, Doug Vandeventor, Dan Hetserand Mike O'Leary made the time go quickly. Countless stories were told and several of them were true.

All five, four Ds and an M, headed for the track to find 19 sprints, 18 RaceSavers, 23 USAC D2 midgets and 18 modifieds going after $2500 to win. Of note was Max Adams in the Jerry Burton 04. Then there was Michael Fischesser, all the way from Cincinnati, was making his first appearance at Bloomington.

Now for a few words about Dick Jordan. Though his passing came as no surprise, the sadness and sense of loss is both understandable and inevitable. He was a friendly and accommodating gentleman who enjoyed what he was doing and was very good at it as well. He will be missed.

Brady Short held off Jarett Andretti to win the first sprint heat. Josh Hodges did the same to A.J. Hopkins to win the second heat. Little did I know that it would be two hours later before I’d see another race.

I was getting ready to devour a cheeseburger when John Hoover texted me with the news that Dave Foist had fallen and suffered a nasty cut on his head. I was in the pits and for the first time I ate a cheeseburger while walking to the hillside. Sure enough, Dave was sitting halfway up the hill surrounded by medical people, friends and strangers. His head had been bandaged and it looked like he was wearing a white turban, which told me that this was a nasty one.

Off we went to the hospital where Dave was stitched up as I alternately read and exchanged texts with a variety of people. Dave had hopes of getting back to the track to see the sprint feature. John, Jerry Shaw and Mike O’Leary kept me updated on racing at the track. While Dave was getting fixed and I was in the waiting room, we missed quite a lot.

Brandon Mattox has been running well lately, coming up with some good finishes. Tonight at Bloomington, he won with Isaac Chapple and Josh Hodges completing the top three.

Tyler Nicely won the mod feature. We missed that and the fireworks too. But we arrived just as the RaceSavers took the green flag. Bradley Sterrett kept a charging Anton Hernandez at bay to win. The night closed out with Chase Jones cruising to the D2 midget triumph.

Dave kept apologizing for keeping me away from my usual routine. But sometimes racing has to take a back seat to things more important. I went through this recently with my wife. That might be sacrilegious to some, but we don’t all feel that way. Tonight was one of those nights. There was more important business to conduct away from the track before we returned.

I was disappointed of course, but not despondent. It would have neat to see B. Mattox win. (For that matter, it would have been neat to see Tyler Hewitt win up at Gas City. You can’t be at more than one race at a time.) 

Old Dave is home no doubt feeling some pain. But I have the feeling that some of us will see him at a race track soon. Brandon is home and perhaps feeling no pain. I have the feeling that we might see him being interviewed at a start/finish line soon after another feature win.

Putting my rainy day money on Andrew Yang to win, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: On a Roll

After winning yet another feature on Saturday night, I heard Thomas Meseraull mention that this was his tenth feature win of the year. When one notes all the rainouts we’ve had this season, this is an extraordinary number. When it’s pointed out that this achievement has been accomplished driving three different cars, one is even more impressed. So there he stood, enjoying the moment as well he should. The location was the Lawrenceburg Speedway and the car belonged to Kyle Simon. But the spotlight belonged to the loquacious Californian, as well it should.

After lamenting the wet weather earlier this year, it seems as if we’re being rewarded for enduring the disappointments of a few weeks ago. To celebrate this good fortune, 24 sprints checked in at ChezRudisell. Scotty Weir showed up with one of his favorite rides (of the four different cars he’s driven this year), the Scott Pedersen limousine. Scott offered the news that job obligations would keep him fromracing on Fridays for the time being, but not Saturdays. Kyle Simon, looking for a driver, called Meseraull. That seemed to work out rather well.

In heat race action, Jarett Andretti took the lead early and held off Nick Bilbee late to win the first heat. Thomas Meseraull, the Gas City winner, was third, ahead of Kyle May and Garrett Abrams.

Scotty Weir waited until the second lap to pass Dickie Gaines and motor on to the second heat win. Gaines, Justin Owen (Paragon winner on Friday), Braxton Cummings and Michael Fischesser trailed.

Cole Ketcham led all the way to win the third heat with Joss Moffatt finishing second. Shawn Westerfeld came from the back to take third. Rookie Ryan Barr edged JJ Hughes for fourth.

At the reasonable hour of 9:30, the cars began lining up, 23 of them anyway. Andretti’s car was stuck in gear for a few frustrating moments before finally engaging. It was good for him; Jarett shared the front row with Ketcham.

Tim Montgomery waved the green and Ketcham jumped into the lead. The up-against-the-wall line was going to be popular, unlike in the heats. Weir took to the high side right away and chased the leader.

Action stopped on the third lap when Sterling Cling clipped the tire of Parker Fredrickson and executed a series of quick and nasty flips in turn three. At any rate, Sterling vacated the driver’s seat a few minutes later to the relief of all present.

Ketcham and Weir led Andretti, Meseraull and Bilbee on the re-start. Weir cut loose a huge slide job in turn one that came up short. It was too bad because Meseraull first passed Andretti and then Weir a lap later. Up next was Ketcham, the leader who was surely fired up to be leading such a group. But TMez would not be denied, taking the lead coming out of turn four on the sixth lap.

This didn’t mean the race was over. After taking the top spot, Meseraull began dealing with lapped traffic while Ketcham had his hands full with Weir and the traffic. With nine laps in, Weir took second place and tried mightily to keep Meseraull in sight. Ketcham’s trials continued as Andretti and Abrams, from mid-pack, were gaining as the halfway mark came and went. Andretti might have been reeling Ketcham in, but he knew that Abrams was on the move and was desperately attempting to keep the young man from Rushville IN behind him.

The yellow waved when Andretti’s endeavor to maintain third place ended with him pointing the wrong way in turn one. His slider went awry when he tried to split two cars and banged wheels with Callie Wolsiffer on lap 21. Thankfully, this was a yellow flag period rather than a red, which it could easily have been.

Tim waved the green flag one last time with four laps to go and this was Weir’s last, best chance to swipe the lead from Meseraull. That wasn’t to be, but an intense battle for third commenced between Ketcham and Abrams, with Bilbee serving as an interested observer. The white flag waved with Ketcham ahead, but Abrams pulled off a successful slider in turn one. Ketcham chased Abrams down the backstretch and returned the favor in turn three as Garrett slid high, almost contacting the wall. Coming into turn four, Ketcham led for a second until Abrams launched off the banking to rocket past the Muncie, IN resident to the line.

Behind Meseraull, Weir, Abrams (from 13^th, taking the Dave Rudisell hard charger award) and Ketcham was Bilbee. Sixth was Hughes after starting 15^th. A pair of Lawrenceburg champs, Gaines and Moffatt, were seventh and eighth. Dallas Hewitt advanced from 19^th to ninth and Shawn Westerfeld, another champ, was tenth.

The predictably chatty Meseraull had plenty to say, thanking all involved in helping him chase his dream. It reminded me of the Sprint Week meeting at the ‘burg two weeks earlier. Thomas had won his heat and engaged in a bit of philosophy and self-awareness. He was happy to win his heat, of course, But he noted that he needed to qualify better, knowing that winning a heat was nice, but qualifying better meant a greater shot at the big prize. His words then, “I’m where I’m supposed to be” struck me as an enlightened observation, advice that we might all attempt to follow.

Whatever, wherever and whoever, there’s no getting around to the fact that T. Meseraull is winning big and often and doing it in whichever car he’s driving on a given night.

Forgetting whether I’m on a two stop or three stop pit strategy, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Number Six

This year renaming the Gas City I-69 Speedway the Thomas Meseraull Speedway isn’t too far-fetched, given the fact that Mr. Meseraull has won six features this year at the tricky quarter mile oval in northeastern Indiana. On a beautiful Friday night, Meseraull passed leader Carson Short about two thirds of the way home and held on to win.

This trip was the little truck's first long drive since its visit to the shop. Now sporting a new heater core, it was ready for the test. I figured that maybe a pep talk was needed.

Me: This weekend it's going to be either Paragon or Gas City on Friday. Then it's either Lawrenceburg or Lincoln Park on Saturday. Are you up to it?

The truck: Of course. How many miles to Gas City? 100?

Me: Close. And Paragon is about half that.

Truck: It doesn't matter to me. I am feeling good and I think I can get to any of those places.

Me: Well, I'm going to write a feature story about Tyler Kelly, who works at Gas City (and Montpelier and Kokomo). Let's see how you do on State Road 9 and I-69.

Truck: Saddle up, little fella and let's go.

And that we did.

What we could call the post-Sprint Week blues might have been a reason that the car count was a slim 17. Of interest was occasional Gas City visitor J. J. Hughes, making the trip from Indianapolis. Carson Short was the lucky one in the Jamie Paul car tonight. And Scotty Weir showed up in a team car to Matt Goodnight. Quality usually takes precedence over quantity and that was true tonight.

There were 21 D2 midgets in Jerry Gappens' romper room. It would be a B main-less night, relatively rare in Indiana.

Carson Short took the lead on the second lap and went on to win the first heat. Clinton Boyles and Corey Smith both grabbed podium and/or redraw spots. Tyler Hewitt exited the track with a problem while running second. If he could return, he became a favorite for the Rob Goodman Hard Charger award.

The second heat saw Thomas Meseraull stalk Scotty Weir for seven and three quarter laps before sneaking inside coming out of four to steal the win. Cole Ketcham had a good view of the finish, taking third.

All heats except for the lone super street stock contest were completed when aero-acrobat Gary Ott took center stage—well, a few hundred feet in the air—and performed some stunts that an otherwise sane person like myself would avoid. Something about flying upside down doesn’t appeal to me, but it was something to see and another example of a promoter at work.

With a front row of Meseraull and Short, it seemed to be a safe bet that the winner would come from the front row. But one dared not leave because we can never know ahead of time what will happen. And so it went. (Thank you, Kurt Vonnegut.)

At 9:15 p.m., Mark Orr waved the green flag and Short took the lead, then the lower groove with Meseraull seemingly content to follow the leader for a spell. Clinton Boyles assumed third with Scotty Weir trailing him.

This was status quo when Anthony D’Alessio missed a great opportunity to flip in turn four. Instead the Florida native spun, bringing out a yellow. The front four remained the same, with Corey Smith holding down fifth. Sterling Cling had moved from 12^th to seventh at this point.

This green flag segment lasted until just before the halfway mark of the 25 lapper when Travis Hery hopped a wheel and flipped hard in turn three. After a few minutes, Travis vacated the seat on his own. Up front, things were still the same except Cole Ketcham had taken over fifth.

Up to this point, Meseraull had been either content or forced to follow Short’s line, about a half groove from the bottom. But TMez decided to go a different way, moving to the top. With a good launch off turn two he dove low under Short going down the backstretch and took the lead on lap 16. From there he didn’t quite check out, but maintained a five to ten car length lead as the California native zigzagged his way through lapped traffic.

Behind him, Scotty Weir had been busy and productive. As Meseraull was getting around Short for the lead, Weir passed Boyles for third. He wasn’t quite done. With five laps to go, the tall Hoosier made the pass on Short for second. This situation brought forth another question that folks like to ponder. Could Weir have caught Meseraull? If he had caught the leader, could he have passed? Of course, we’ll never know, but it doesn’t hurt to visit the “what might have been.” That’s all well and good—as long as we don’t live there.

Behind the top three of Meseraull, Weir and Short, Boyles was fourth. Ketcham was a steady and impressive fifth. J.J. Hughes survived a near flip early in the race to recover and take sixth. Cling finished seventh while Tyler Hewitt won the Rob Goodman Hard Charger award (cheeseburger and a soft drink) for coming from 15^th to finish eighth. Braydon Clark and Matt Goodnight were ninth and tenth.

I hung around for two more open wheel features and to watch Tyler Kelly, among others, make the difficult look easy. Chad Freeman won the vintage sprint feature with Roy Carruthers finishing second.

For me, the night closed out with a wild and crazy D2 Midget feature. Chett Gehrke won after trading the lead with Stratton Briggs twice, with a continuous diet of slicing, dicing and wheel banging. Briggs was second with Andy Baugh, Aaron Leffel and Corey Guingrich completing the top five.

All that remained was the two hour drive, with much of I-69 under road construction. The little white truck didn’t mind. It was on the road again, heading home after another evening of sitting patiently in the parking lot until it was time to go again. We can all relate.

A cloud hangs over sprint car racing today after an accident at Williams Grove Speedway resulted in a two truck driver incurring fatal injuries from a car flipping into the infield. And Grady Chandler was critically injured in a sprint car crash last week in Oklahoma. The sport we love has gotten safer over the years, but we’re still reminded that it isn’t necessarily safe.

Wondering what my truck could say if it could talk, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Pressing Toward the Goal

It was another popular triumph on a beautiful Saturday night at the Tri-State Speedway/Haubstadt as a determined Kyle Cummins passed Stephen Schnapf with four laps to go and won the 2019 USAC Indiana Sprint Week curtain closer. This was the second ISW victory lane interview for Cummins, the Lincoln Park winner on Thursday. Meanwhile, C. J. Leary won the war, winning the Sprint Week points championship by 12 markers over Brady Bacon.

A pleasant surprise of sorts was the 40 cars in the overflowing pit. Local and area racers were out and in force, led by three of the familiar racing families of the area, Kendall Ruble, Collin Ambrose and Aric Gentry. Others from the Tri-State area included USAC regular Chase Stockon, semi-regular Kyle Cummins, plus Stephen Schnapf, Donnie Brackett, Kyle Hathaway, Chayse Hayhurst, Kent Schmidt, Kyle Hathaway and Ryan Bond.

Justin Grant won the first heat from sixth. Brody Roa, Brandon Mattox and Justin Christie, one night after flying into the Bloomington Speedway parking lot, trailed.

Stephen Schnapf was unfazed by the high quality of competition as he won the second heat. Chase Stockon, Chris Windom and pole sitter Critter Malone would join Schnapf in the feature.

From his outside front row position, Tyler Courtney won the third heat and established himself as the front runner for the hard charger award. Kyle Cummins, Tony DiMattia and Jarett Andretti went along for the ride.

The fourth heat winner juiced the crowd, partly because it was local racer Chayse Hayhurst. In addition, it was Hayhurst's first USAC win of any kind. He outran Brady Bacon, C. J. Leary and Jason McDougal all of whom combined to send Bloomington winner Kevin Thomas Jr. to the B.

Donnie Brackett led all the way in the C main, with Mario Clouser, Trey Gropp and Dave Darland all tagging the B.

Josh Hodges led all the way to win the B main. Pole sitter Kendall Ruble, Isaac Chapple, Kent Schmidt, Max Adams and Donnie Brackett followed. Brackett was the third racer during ISW to advance from the C to the main event. Shane Cottle and Max Adams were the other two. Kevin Thomas Jr., only 24 hours after an impressive win, and Carson Short used provisionals.

In a sense, the occupants of the front row could be termed as opposites. Californian Brody Roa was on the pole with Stephen Schnapf, from just down the road, Newburgh,on the outside.The final ISW feature began with the green lights quickly replaced by yellow as a four car scrum among the backmarkers. Thomas, Short, Brackett and Schmidt were those who were parked askew. All four re-started.

A case of instant déjà vu occurred on the second try to race when four cars assembled in turn one much as they had a few minutes earlier. Bringing out this yellow were Short and Schmidt again, joined by DiMattia and Malone.

The third time was the charm as Schnapf got the jump on Roa and sailed around the high groove to take the lead coming out of two. Roa stumbled enough to allow Stockon ease into second, delighting the enthusiastic crowd cheering on their homeboys. By the sixth lap, Schnapf opened up a bit of a gap over Stockon. To add to the fans’ delight, Cummins was third after starting fifth.

Lapped traffic came into play as the race was one third done. Schnapf initially weaved his way through the lappers and people could be forgiven if they were wondering whether they were going to see another first time winner. But Cummins passed Stockon for second at the halfway mark and that may have been the turning point of the race. It didn’t take long to see that the hound was gaining on the fox. As lap 20 approached, I commented that Cummins was close enough to be in Schnapf’s draft.

He may have been in the draft, but Cummins wasn’t going to take the lead right away, even as he gained a little on Schnapf each lap. With 25 laps in, Kyle was on the leader’s bumper. A lap later, they were side by side. And the lap after that saw Cummins get a great jump coming out of turn four under Schnapf. From there it was over except for the cheering and the waving of the checkered flag.

Schnapf needn’t be ashamed. To the contrary, he had led 26 laps and showed everyone that here was a young man who could race. It isn’t much of a stretch to say that we might see more efforts like this from Schnapf down the road.

The hometown crowd was deservedly ecstatic with the results all through the top ten. Behind Schnapf was Grant, who had passed Stockon in the latter stages. Bacon was fifth after starting 15^th, earning the KSE Racing Prpducts/B&W Auto Mart Hard Charger Award. Andretti was an under the radar operator, finishing sixth. Roa may have faded to seventh, but it was his best effort over the past eight races. Vincennes is just up the road from Haubstadt, close enough for the crowd to celebrate Kendall Ruble’s eighth place result. McDougal was ninth, the last car on the lead lap. Leary fell a lap behind late in the race, but probably didn’t worry much about it. His tenth place was enough to win the Indiana Sprint Week championship by 12 points over Bacon.

A few thoughts

For the first time in nearly 20 years, I missed not one, but three ISW programs. But never did I despair because my wife continues her recovery from a heart related scare that got our attention (and her a pacemaker). Whatever twinge I felt at missing three great nights at three great tracks, Gas City, Plymouth and Kokomo was overwhelmed by the good feeling that my bride of over 44 years was home and improving every day.

Given Kyle Cummins’ penchant for mentioning his faith after every victory, I thought of an appropriate Bible verse that summed up his and everyone else’s journey, be it a 30 lap feature or a life well lived. Cummins is out front with his profession of faith without being outspoken nor arrogant. The words of faith that he speaks are heartfelt, but I’d gather that the actions of Mr. Cummins and many of his competitors speak as loud or louder than their words. Kyle and the rest serve us well as they chase their dream and “press toward the goal.”

The always controversial apostle Paul wrote many years ago words that might look a lot like these in our language: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize (for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.)”

Whatever the goal, perhaps that is what we’re doing each day, or each time Tom Hansing waves that green flag.

That’s about all the perspicacity I have—for now.

Forgetting which stage of racing I’m in, I’m…

Danny Burton `

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Down to the Wire

Night number seven of Indiana Sprint Week saw parity continue to reign. The level and depth of quality competition has meant six winners in the seven races. Kevin Thomas Jr. became the sixth winner when he passed Jason McDougal with a lap to go and hung on to win his first USAC feature of 2019 at the Bloomington Speedway.

There were the usual suspects among the 41 assembled throng. There were also the usual new kids from far and wide. Arizona's Sterling Cling, spending some of the summer in Indiana, was joined by Trey Gropp from Lincoln, Nebraska, Ohio's Lee Underwood, Pennsylvania's Anthony DiMattia, Brad Greenup from Illinois, Anthony D'Alessio a Floridian moved here, and Bobby Griffitts, all the way from… Bloomington, Indiana. Landon Simon was in the Jerry Burton's 04.

Justin Grant won the first heat from fifth with Chase Stockon, Brady Bacon and Shane Cottle holding off Brody Roa to get another chance to pass a lot of cars come feature time.

The second heat got to a flying start--if your name was Dustin Christy. He banged wheels with pole sitter Sterling Cling and launched over turn one before sailing through the fence separating the track from the driveway and landing on a truck. After a delay to fix the fence, action resumed with C. J. Leary leading Max Adams, Dave Darland and Jarett Andretti to the promised land. The truck was, uh, trashed.

Brady Short and Chris Windom waged a spirited battle for the third heat win with Short prevailing. Kevin Thomas Jr. and Jason McDougal mopped up with Josh Hodges narrowly missing the transfer.

Carson Short took the lead from Jordan Kinser midway through the fourth heat and won. Kinser, Kyle Cummins and Isaac Chapple all moved on.

The Racesavers took over with Bradley Sterrett cruising to the first heat win. Kerry Kinser had a Tommy Tipover and returned for the feature.

Ryan Tusing was the man in the second heat. Mason Day, a true low buck racer, flipped in turn four. He climbed out, done for the night...at the least.

Ethan Barrow made it three pole sitters in a row while winning the third heat. Collette Mann flipped in turn four, and exited the car on her own. Anton Hernandez slid off the turn two banking, turned left onto the pit access lane and rejoined the chase. I don't think I've ever seen a car do that one.

Back to USAC action, two storied Indiana racing families were represented on the front row with Brayden Fox and Dickie Gaines leading the field. Young Trey Gropp led Landon Simon, Fox and Gaines into the B.

A. J. Hopkins held off Brandon Mattox to win the B. Thomas Meseraull, Josh Hodges, Tyler Courtney and Brody Roa scooped up the last non-provisional spots with Brian VanMeveren and Scotty Weir using Monopoly Get Out of Jail Free cards to fill out the 12th row. Sterling Cling flipped in turn one at the start of the race. He climbed out, his night over.

Andretti and McDougal saw Tom Hansing’s green flag first. It was replaced by the red on the second lap when Windom flipped. C. Short and Kinser were also involved. Andretti led McDougal, Grant, Thomas and Leary. Windom vacated his car, not pleased at developments.

The re-start saw Andretti keep the lead as McDougal and Grant fought for second. Thomas joined the crowd soon and passed Grant on lap five. Two laps later, McDougal took the lead from Andretti, who faded. Bacon had moved to third, but spun, bringing out a yellow on lap 11. He went to the work area and rejoined the crowd. The top five was McDougal, Thomas, Grant, Andretti and Cummins.

Om the re-start, Thomas went low coming out of turn two and took the lead. A lap later, Andretti found himself in the middle of a mess and veered toward the frontstretch guardrail. He only tapped the rail, but a yellow was waved. Thomas, McDougal (KT’s former renter), Grant, Cummins and Stockon were the order now.

It was now Kyle Cummins’ time to shine. The Lincoln Park winner discovered a nice amount of grip up top and started passing some hot dogs. Lap 14 saw him get around Grant for third. A lap later, it was McDougal for second and Cummins had the leader just ahead, circling the bottom. Like a bull chasing a red towel, the Princeton, Indiana resident muscled his way around Thomas to lead the 16^th lap by an inch, only to lose it in a flash with a perfect KT slider in turn one.

Kevin Thomas Jr.’s driving has matured and improved over the past few years. This came in handy as he immediately returned the favor to Cummins and promptly took away the high groove. Kyle’s dirty little secret was no more. However, Thomas didn’t run away. As Cummins made a slight bobble in turn four, McDougal said, “I’m back.” He had never been away exactly, but now he was itching to catch Thomas and resume the earlier party. Both McDougal and Cummins reeled in the leader with McDougal getting the advantage coming out of two.

Thomas, too, wasn’t going away. After falling back a bit, here he came again. But the Alabama native hopped the turn three cushion a just a bit. Cummins (remember him?) was a few feet behind and reacted to KT’s glitch and spun to a stop, bringing out a yellow on lap 27. For drama, entertainment and tension, who could ask for more than a three lap dash to the checkered?

For the final re-start, leader McDougal went low and Thomas went high. The Oklahoma native held on for two laps, but Thomas made the pass in turn two, then taking away McDougal’s low line in three. From that point on, all that remained was the welcome sight of the checkered flag for Thomas, his 26^th in USAC sprint competition. McDougal was less than a second behind. Grant was third.

Taking fourth was Leary, marching his way to an Indiana Sprint Week championship. Brandon Mattox, overcoming challenges all year, achieved a new best USAC finish with a fifth, after starting 11^th. Stockon was a quiet sixth with Bacon coming back from misfortune to take seventh, leaving him an outside shot at overtaking Leary. From 13^th, Darland took eighth, a good night for him and car owner Buddy Cunningham. Tyler Courtney was the KSE Racing Products/B&W Auto Mart Hard Charger, motoring from 22^nd to ninth. And Thomas Meseraull impressed, coming from 20^th to tenth.

The racing portion of the night closed with Andy Bradley winning the Racesavers’ 25-lap feature, taking the lead from early leader Dustin Stroup in lapped traffic near the halfway mark. The margin of victory was, like the USAC feature, less than a second. Behind Stroup was Ryan Tusing with Scott Bradley taking fourth. Ethan Barrow was fifth.

Perhaps the most impressive journey was taken by Anton Hernandez, who started 18^th and made his way to sixth. Jeff Wimmenauer came from 13^th to finish seventh. Bradley Stewart, Justin Clark and Jordan Welch rounded out the top ten.

After the fans and teams exited and the concert rolled on, it was time to go. It had been a remarkable night in some ways, typical in others. Not that I needed reminding, it was affirmed in my mind why I show up at these shindigs. I need to hang around a while and see things out down to the wire.

Idly wondering how Lewis Hamilton would do in a sprint car, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Down to the Wire

Night number seven of Indiana Sprint Week saw parity continue to reign. The level and depth of quality competition has meant six winners in the seven races. Kevin Thomas Jr. became the sixth winner when he passed Jason McDougal with a lap to go and hung on to win his first USAC feature of 2019 at the Bloomington Speedway.

There were the usual suspects among the 41 assembled throng. There were also the usual new kids from far and wide. Arizona's Sterling Cling, spending some of the summer in Indiana, was joined by Trey Gropp from Lincoln, Nebraska, Ohio's Lee Underwood, Pennsylvania's Anthony DiMattia, Brad Greenup from Illinois, Anthony D'Alessio a Floridian moved here, and Bobby Griffitts, all the way from… Bloomington, Indiana. Landon Simon was in the Jerry Burton's 04.

Justin Grant won the first heat from fifth with Chase Stockon, Brady Bacon and Shane Cottle holding off Brody Roa to get another chance to pass a lot of cars come feature time.

The second heat got to a flying start--if your name was Dustin Christy. He banged wheels with pole sitter Sterling Cling and launched over turn one before sailing through the fence separating the track from the driveway and landing on a truck. After a delay to fix the fence, action resumed with C. J. Leary leading Max Adams, Dave Darland and Jarett Andretti to the promised land. The truck was, uh, trashed.

Brady Short and Chris Windom waged a spirited battle for the third heat win with Short prevailing. Kevin Thomas Jr. and Jason McDougal mopped up with Josh Hodges narrowly missing the transfer.

Carson Short took the lead from Jordan Kinser midway through the fourth heat and won. Kinser, Kyle Cummins and Isaac Chapple all moved on.

The Racesavers took over with Bradley Sterrett cruising to the first heat win. Kerry Kinser had a Tommy Tipover and returned for the feature.

Ryan Tusing was the man in the second heat. Mason Day, a true low buck racer, flipped in turn four. He climbed out, done for the night...at the least.

Ethan Barrow made it three pole sitters in a row while winning the third heat. Collette Mann flipped in turn four, and exited the car on her own. Anton Hernandez slid off the turn two banking, turned left onto the pit access lane and rejoined the chase. I don't think I've ever seen a car do that one.

Back to USAC action, two storied Indiana racing families were represented on the front row with Brayden Fox and Dickie Gaines leading the field. Young Trey Gropp led Landon Simon, Fox and Gaines into the B.

A. J. Hopkins held off Brandon Mattox to win the B. Thomas Meseraull, Josh Hodges, Tyler Courtney and Brody Roa scooped up the last non-provisional spots with Brian VanMeveren and Scotty Weir using Monopoly Get Out of Jail Free cards to fill out the 12th row. Sterling Cling flipped in turn one at the start of the race. He climbed out, his night over.

Andretti and McDougal saw Tom Hansing’s green flag first. It was replaced by the red on the second lap when Windom flipped. C. Short and Kinser were also involved. Andretti led McDougal, Grant, Thomas and Leary. Windom vacated his car, not pleased at developments.

The re-start saw Andretti keep the lead as McDougal and Grant fought for second. Thomas joined the crowd soon and passed Grant on lap five. Two laps later, McDougal took the lead from Andretti, who faded. Bacon had moved to third, but spun, bringing out a yellow on lap 11. He went to the work area and rejoined the crowd. The top five was McDougal, Thomas, Grant, Andretti and Cummins.

Om the re-start, Thomas went low coming out of turn two and took the lead. A lap later, Andretti found himself in the middle of a mess and veered toward the frontstretch guardrail. He only tapped the rail, but a yellow was waved. Thomas, McDougal (KT’s former renter), Grant, Cummins and Stockon were the order now.

It was now Kyle Cummins’ time to shine. The Lincoln Park winner discovered a nice amount of grip up top and started passing some hot dogs. Lap 14 saw him get around Grant for third. A lap later, it was McDougal for second and Cummins had the leader just ahead, circling the bottom. Like a bull chasing a red towel, the Princeton, Indiana resident muscled his way around Thomas to lead the 16^th lap by an inch, only to lose it in a flash with a perfect KT slider in turn one.

Kevin Thomas Jr.’s driving has matured and improved over the past few years. This came in handy as he immediately returned the favor to Cummins and promptly took away the high groove. Kyle’s dirty little secret was no more. However, Thomas didn’t run away. As Cummins made a slight bobble in turn four, McDougal said, “I’m back.” He had never been away exactly, but now he was itching to catch Thomas and resume the earlier party. Both McDougal and Cummins reeled in the leader with McDougal getting the advantage coming out of two.

Thomas, too, wasn’t going away. After falling back a bit, here he came again. But the Alabama native hopped the turn three cushion a just a bit. Cummins (remember him?) was a few feet behind and reacted to KT’s glitch and spun to a stop, bringing out a yellow on lap 27. For drama, entertainment and tension, who could ask for more than a three lap dash to the checkered?

For the final re-start, leader McDougal went low and Thomas went high. The Oklahoma native held on for two laps, but Thomas made the pass in turn two, then taking away McDougal’s low line in three. From that point on, all that remained was the welcome sight of the checkered flag for Thomas, his 26^th in USAC sprint competition. McDougal was less than a second behind. Grant was third.

Taking fourth was Leary, marching his way to an Indiana Sprint Week championship. Brandon Mattox, overcoming challenges all year, achieved a new best USAC finish with a fifth, after starting 11^th. Stockon was a quiet sixth with Bacon coming back from misfortune to take seventh, leaving him an outside shot at overtaking Leary. From 13^th, Darland took eighth, a good night for him and car owner Buddy Cunningham. Tyler Courtney was the KSE Racing Products/B&W Auto Mart Hard Charger, motoring from 22^nd to ninth. And Thomas Meseraull impressed, coming from 20^th to tenth.

The racing portion of the night closed with Andy Bradley winning the Racesavers’ 25-lap feature, taking the lead from early leader Dustin Stroup in lapped traffic near the halfway mark. The margin of victory was, like the USAC feature, less than a second. Behind Stroup was Ryan Tusing with Scott Bradley taking fourth. Ethan Barrow was fifth.

Perhaps the most impressive journey was taken by Anton Hernandez, who started 18^th and made his way to sixth. Jeff Wimmenauer came from 13^th to finish seventh. Bradley Stewart, Justin Clark and Jordan Welch rounded out the top ten.

After the fans and teams exited and the concert rolled on, it was time to go. It had been a remarkable night in some ways, typical in others. Not that I needed reminding, it was affirmed in my mind why I show up at these shindigs. I need to hang around a while and see things out down to the wire.

Idly wondering how Lewis Hamilton would do in a sprint car, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Sticking with the Plan

It was a most popular victory on Thursday night going by the cheers of the near sellout crowd for the winner Kyle Cummins, who started on the pole and hit every single mark for every single lap. With the triumph, Cummins became the fifth winner in six races so far in the 2019 edition of Indiana Sprint Week, this one at the crowded house also known as the Lincoln Park Speedway.

Given what issues I was dealing with just a week ago, rush hour traffic in Mooresville was nothing. I could say the same about merely entering the parking lot at LPS. I ended up in the gravel pit, about halfway to Greencastle. For me, a small price to pay. It was a good way to get my step count up there as well.

With 40 sprints in the pits, there were several who were noteworthy. Lincoln Park regulars boosted the car count. Jordan Kinser, Nate McMillen, AJ Hopkins, Jadon Rodgers, Mario Clouser, Brent Beauchamp, Jesse Vermillion, Alec Sipes, Harley Burns, Brady Short, Joe Stornetta and Travis Berryhill promised to be a part of the drama for the night.

It was cut and slash time as Max Adams grabbed the first heat and missed the fun behind him. Brady Bacon, Justin Grant and Josh Hodges came away with transfer spots.

A. J. Hopkins ran away with the second heat win. Pole sitter Jaden Rogers, Jordan Kinser and the lone USAC regular in the race, Chase Stockon, all were moving on (Obscure Hank Snow reference).

C. J. Leary did a spin and win in the third heat after evading a spinning Brian VanMeveren on the initial lap. Carson Short, Dave Darland and Brady Short, who started eighth, advanced. Brandon Mattox was second on the last lap when he jumped the cushion in turn four and went from a spot in the feature to a third starting spot in the B.

Tyler Courtney prevailed in a duel with Chris Windom in winning the fourth heat. Kyle Cummins was third. Thomas Meseraull had his encounter in turn four on the first lap, restarted on the tail and raced his way to fourth, sending Travis Berryhill to the B.

Pole sitter and Gas City winner Shane Cottle won the C main, taking Alec Sipes, Terry Richards and Scotty Weir with him to tag the B.

Kevin Thomas Jr. won the B with Brandon Mattox gaining a good bit of redemption by finishing second. Mario Clouser led much of the race before his meeting with turn four, settling for third. Jason McDougal came from tenth to fourth. Mr. Cottle was fifth, coming from the C to start 15^th in the B. Next stop for this bad boy was back in the pack for the main. Brian VanMeveren made another USAC feature, taking sixth.  Berryhill probably wished that he had finished fourth in his heat when he took a nasty ride going into turn three. Brent Beauchamp swerved to miss and ended parked by the billboards. Travis climbed out, shaken but upright.

A transformer went kablooey before the sprint feature and folks had more time to visit, eat and/or drink. Teams had time to check on the setups, either improving things...or not. Not all of the lights went out and with a bit of help from safety vehicles parked in the infield the show went on.

Kyle Cummins may have enjoyed the advantage of starting on the pole but it wasn't like he was surrounded by a bunch of rookies. The green waved and Cummins immediately went for the bottom, beating Leary to the first turn.

A lap two yellow temporarily slowed things down briefly. Cummins and Leary led Bacon, Kinser and Thomas. Soon after the re-start, Bacon stayed close to Leary as Grant passed Kinser. A lap later, Courtney got around Kinser. The halfway mark neared and Bacon was giving Leary fits, getting around him for second just before the race's lone red flag.

Isaac Chapple flipped in the infamous turn four on lap 14. He climbed out of the car, knowing that a late night/early morning thrash was in his future. The order was still Cummins and Bacon leading Leary, Grant, Courtney, Thomas, C. Short, Mattox, Kinser and Clouser.

Again, on this re-start, Cummins stuck to the plan and headed to the low line. It was a few laps later that both Courtney and Thomas got around Grant. Up front, Bacon's last best chance to have any kind of shot at the lead appeared in the form of lapped traffic with five laps to go. But Cummins patiently worked his way under the two lapped cars and cleared both on the 27th lap. From there he was home free.

Coming in third behind Cummins and Bacon was Leary, still leading both ISW and season points. Courtney and Thomas were fourth and fifth. C. Short started and finished sixth. Mattox achieved even more well deserved redemption as he ran seventh after his heat race disaster. Grant faded slightly to eighth. And Cottle, who has a black belt in passing cars, came from 22^nd to grab ninth and another KSE Racing Products/B&W Auto Parts Hard Charger award. Windom came from 16^th to finish tenth.

Post-race

Given the massive traffic that is a part of most every ISW affair, I was in no hurry to go anywhere. Instead, I alternated between writing these words and talking with fellow Hoseheads correspondent KO. Kev needed to get home and I wished him luck in handling the traffic. Sitting at the tables by the concession stand, much of this was written. I looked up and saw that most of the vehicles that planned to leave had left. All that seemed to remain was a sea of RVs.

As the crew began cleaning up for the night, I said hi to Joe Spiker, grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary. I asked him if this would help make up for one of those many rainouts he’s suffered through this year (at two different tracks, no less). He chuckled. I said my good nights and took off for the gravel pit, where I hoped the car still resided. Joe had said something about a car burning up back there. I asked if it was a white Chevy. Apparently not.

It’s a long walk from the entrance back to the pit. Loud music, people laughing, a few campfires kept me company until I reached the end of RV-land. Darkness was all that lay ahead. I rarely use the flashlight on my cell phone, but use it I did and it worked like a charm. I was on my way, already thinking about the closest thing to my home track, Bloomington, and hoping they would do as well as all the others for this year’s Sprint Week.

I needn’t have worried. Like Kyle Cummins, USAC, Lincoln Park, and me, Bloomington surely had a plan and they would stick to it.

Avoiding. One. Word. Sentences, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: NOS Party

The good people at NOS Energy Drink were surely smiling as the checkered flag waved on Wednesday night at the Terre Haute Action Track. That's because Tyler Courtney passed fellow NOS sponsored Justin Grant two thirds of the way into the feature to win Round Five of USAC's Indiana Sprint Week. Courtney became the first ISW multi-winner this year.

Somewhat surprising but not shocking was Scotty Weir moving to the Dwight Cheney car with Dave Darland bringing his own project with the familiar 36D to town. It was Scotty’s third different ride in this year’s Sprint Week.

Half of the 32 drivers were native Hoosiers. All but Britisher Tom Harris were Yanks. Brady Bacon was the track record holder and his 19.225 lap from 2013 looked safe, as the sun, still a welcome sight, made sure that Bacon's record remained intact. The times slowed down slightly as each car qualified. Tyler Courtney went out ninth and rang up a 20.329 lap. Equally impressive was Chris Windom's 21.312, which was set near the end of the line.

Courtney also won the first heat, passing Grant midway through. Brandon Mattox and Tom Harris also advanced to the main.

C. J. Leary ran down Carson Short to grab the second heat. Chris Windom was third and Max Adams edged Jason McDougal to sew up a feature slot.

Kevin Thomas Jr. never gave up and passed Brody Roa on turn four of the last lap to win the third heat. Josh Hodges and Brian VanMeveren locked themselves into a Sprint Week feature.

Brady Bacon's unsatisfactory qualifying result put him in a good spot to run away with the fourth heat win. With McDougal, he became a favorite for the hard charger award as Bacon drove away to the victory with Kyle Cummins, Chase Stockon and Isaac Chapple all heading to the show.

Jason McDougal took the lead midway through the B main and won going away. He took with him  Scotty Weir, Nate McMillen, Dustin Christy (making his second consecutive ISW feature), Dustin Smith and Nebraskan Terry Richards to the feature.

Once again, Windom and Grant occupied the front row, as they did at Lawrenceburg. At the ‘Burg, Grant dove low at the start to lead in turn one. At the ‘Haute, Windom didn’t allow that to happen. However, Grant took the lead on the second lap and tried to run off. Tom Harris called a postponement to the festivities when he stopped on lap three.

The re-start would be one of the race’s turning points when Courtney passed Windom. Catching Grant was far from a done deal. But as the leaders approached lapped traffic, it appeared as if the deal was in doubt either way, especially for the leader.

At the midway point of the race, Courtney was done with the reeling in and now threatened to take the lead, at times running what seemed to be inches apart. On the 17^th lap, Isaac Chapple slowed and Courtney had a close call, somehow avoiding a disaster but losing ground to Grant. But the yellow waved for a slow/stop by USAC rookie Brian VanMevern. The order was Grant, Courtney, Windom, Thomas and Leary.

Tom Hansing waved the green and near mayhem ensued as the two frontrunners exchanged the lead more than once before reaching turn four. The near mayhem came when Grant and Courtney collided with each other, sending Sunshine briefly airborne. No harm, no foul for the time being—until Courtney resumed the chase only to nearly give it away when he narrowly missed a good chance to flip in turn one.

Right after Courtney’s up close look at the turn one wall, Stockon stopped on the track while running sixth. Before anyone could start any trouble, McDougal stopped on the backstretch, bringing out another yellow. Now, with nine laps to go, it was Grant, Courtney and Thomas, who had passed Windom for third. Leary was fifth, but had a headache named Brady Bacon to deal with.

For Courtney, it a prime—and maybe only—opportunity to make a winning pass. Sure enough, after Tom waved the green, the pass was made in turn one, this time with no slipup on lap 23. It was all over but the shouting as the margin of victory was just above four seconds, not quite a straightaway in length.

Behind Courtney and Grant was Thomas with a solid third. My guess that Bacon would be the KSE Racing Products/B&W Auto Mart Hard Charger was correct as he came from 14^th to finish fourth ahead of Windom. Sprint Week rewards consistency and Leary has proved that with five decent finishes in five nights. Tonight he was sixth, leading Short, Adams (from 16^th), Stockon (after re-starting from the tail) and Cummins filling out the top ten.

Leary maintained his lead in both ISW and seasonal points heading to Lincoln Park.

Rarely do I need to hurry from a race track these days. Tonight was no exception. As nearly everyone left, I strung a few dozen words together while sitting on the top row of the bleachers. I had said my goodbyes and considered the night a personal success. My wife was doing perfectly fine without me and, as far as I know, all 32 teams were able to load their cars onto their haulers. Mel Kenyon, to name drop, once told me that was what he considered a good night at the track. Now, all these years later, more and more I see what he meant.

Walking toward the formerly clean white Chevy, the metamorphosis in my surroundings seemed quicker than it really was. From a loud, vibrant, period of no holds barred, occasional contact racing, now the facility looked almost desolate, as if the only thing that could make it come alive was a few dozen race cars and a few thousand screaming fans.I love the Action Track and wish that the movers and shakers of Vigo County loved as much as many of you and I do.

 But that would have to wait, at least the Action Track would wait. Now it was Lincoln Park's turn.

Unsuccessfully trying to persuade my wife that I need at least eight hours of “executive time,” I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Just(in) Time

Round Four of USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week at the Lawrenceburg Speedway saw a race within a race. Justin Grant not only beat Chris Windom to Tom Hanson's checkered flag, he barely edged out the rain that had been approaching for the past hour from the west. That the rain turned out to be a brief drizzle only reinforced the futility and absurdity of trying to guess what the weather will be. It was Grant’s second ISW victory; his first had been at the ‘burg as well.

For me, this year will be remembered for my wife's illness that kept me with her until it was determined I needed to give her a break and go to a race. I was delighted that she has recovered nicely from what could have been a serious health issue. But with a brand new pacemaker installed, she was breathing much easier and feeling somewhat better. Off I went, not worrying a whole lot about the weather forecast. Instead, I was happy to be going to a race featuring my favorite type of race cars at one of my favorite bullrings.

My wife's crisis began Wednesday night. While we were at the local hospital, Tyler Courtney was winning at Eldora. Thursday night, as she was recovering from surgery, Shane Cottle was edging C. J. Leary at the finish line, winning his first Indiana Sprint Week feature at Gas City. On Friday night, my wife was happy to be back home and the internet told me that Mr. Courtney had won again, this time at Plymouth on night two of ISW. I dearly wanted to go to Kokomo on Saturday but discretion and common sense took a rare victory in my life and I stayed home, missing Chris Windom's first Sprint Week feature win since the year I retired, 2011. I also missed Scotty Weir's outstanding effort in leading most of the race, a true accomplishment for a low buck/no frills team.

But it was obviously for the most important reasons I didn't feel terrible for missing all that. I was where I needed to be, no questions asked.

Lawrenceburg promoter Dave Rudisell welcomed 30 USAC sprints to the pit area. There were a few excused absences such as Matt Westfall, after his unfortunate Kokomo experience. With the On the Gass sprinter torn up after more Kokomo misfortune, Dakota Jackson appeared with his own car. Scotty Weir, fresh off Kokomo success, was in the Kyle Simon ride. For me, it was my first time seeing Tom Harris this year. It was my first time ever to see Denton, Nebraska’s Terry Richards, another racer who was perhaps fulfilling a dream to at least visit Indiana and race with the best. And Joe Ligouri, always good for a smile, was in on hand as a teammate to rookie Callie Wolsiffer.

In time trials, Chase Stockon went out first and his time stood for quite a while. But C. J. Leary, who was 23^rd in line, grabbed quick time with a 14.112 lap. Levi Jones’ 12.926 record from 2008 was safe.

Thomas Meseraull won the first heat, but was not thrilled with his qualifying effort, knowing that he would start back in the pack come feature time. The bottom groove was popular as Carson Short, Isaac Chapple and C. J. Leary all moved on.

The second heat was pretty special for a young man named Dustin Christy, one of seven Sprint Week rookies. He led all the way to win the ten lapper. Chris Windom, Scotty Weir and Max Adams trailed the Washington, Indiana resident.

Brody Roa took the lead early in the third heat to win over Justin Grant, Dakota Jackson and Brian VanMeveren.

Tyler Courtney passed Dave Darland late in the fourth heat to win, with DD, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Josh Hodges all making ready for the show as the radar said to all concerned, "keep moving."

There were no real surprises in the B. Brady Bacon won and Chase Stockon, Kyle Cummins, Jason McDougal, Jarett Andretti and Dickie Gaines all earned places to play in the feature. Tom Harris was the top non-transfer.

I’d spent too much of the evening checking the progress of the green and yellow blob on the radar. My wife texted that the electricity shut off briefly and it had rained pretty hard. Seventy miles east, I hoped that the show would go on—and it did.

At 9:15, cars were lining up and AccuWeather said that rain was coming in 52 minutes.

Windom and Grant led the way to the green with the latter grabbing the lead, diving into turn one in front of Windom. But the race stopped on the second lap when Adams got a little sideways with the predictable imitation of a high speed accordion ensuing behind. USAC’s version of the Big One saw Hodges swerve to miss Adams with Andretti and VanMeveren flipping in turn four. Courtney was also involved and went to the work area as quickly as possible. I couldn’t help myself; I checked the radar. Rain, 20 minutes away.

On the re-start, it was still Grant and Windom, who tried high and low, but could not get close enough to mount a serious charge. However, Windom stayed close enough to keep Grant from cruising. This continued to the end. Multiple times Windom slid under Grant in the turns, only to see the Californian launch off the top to pull away down the straightaway. Grant led at the line each time they crossed the start/finish line.

Behind him was where slicing and dicing was about as common as rain in Indiana, with Leary, Short, and Thomas providing the show as they moved through lapped traffic, trading positions frequently.

As the laps wound down, faint drops of precipitation could be felt. The wet stuff was arriving quicker than forecast, but there wasn’t enough to deter any racing. In fact, very little rain fell at the track before the program’s end.

Behind Grant and Windom were Leary, Thomas and Short. Sixth was Bacon, ahead of McDougal, Stockon, Cummins and…Courtney, who had rejoined the field and raced back to tenth. Darland was the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger, moving from 22^nd/last to 11^th.

In both ISW and USAC season points, Leary continues to lead Windom.

The events of the night and the past few days reminded me, whether I needed it or not, just how much control we have over things. Maybe it’s for the best; maybe progress and improvement come from setbacks, trials and tribulation. Maybe thinking about such matters can give one a headache.

Sending a copy of Dante’s Inferno to Jeffrey Epstein, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: My Kingdom for a Yellow Flag

This thought is quite possibly what went through the minds of Jordan Kinser and Thomas Meseraull in the closing laps of the Putnamville Clash at the Lincoln Park Speedway. This was because Shane Cottle dominated the race, leading all 30 laps and winning by a straightaway over Kinser and Meseraull, who waged a terrific battle over the last seven laps. The only way either Kinser or Meseraull would have a chance to challenge for the lead was a yellow flag. As we shall see, the “quota” for yellows were met during the heats. The Clash concluded a successful weekend for all three. Cottle had finished second to Meseraull at Gas City on Friday while Kinser won the Mike Johnson Memorial at Paragon on Friday.

Of the 107 cars who came to race, 33 were sprinters. John Nicosen made a rare appearance. Mitchell Davis, a WAR regular, made the long trip east from Illinois. Dave Darland was back in Buddy Cunningham’s car. Thomas Meseraull, who drove the Stensland ride to victory at Gas City, had his own effort tonight. Shane Cottle moved to the Epperson car and later on, Tony Epperson was glad he did. Shane Cockrum took over the Jamie Paul car that Mr. Cottle ran second in at Gas City. Brent Beauchamp made a rare showing. Joe Stornetta was back in the Jerry Burton sprinter. Oklahoma’s Matt Moore was in the Krockmobile. Eric Shelton, who has run with the All-Stars, made the trip from Illinois.

The first three of the four heats were, to be kind, caution plagued. Travis Berryhill won the first heat, taking fellow survivors Matt Moore, Sterling Cling and Alex Sipes to the feature with him. The first yellow waved when Harley Burns and Sipes made contact on the front straight. Both re-started, but before they did, Sipes sidled up to Burns and greeted him an encouraging gesture. The second yellow came on the re-start when Mario Clouser had to check up or spin another car. He spun and collected Jaden Rogers and... Harley Burns. All three were done. With A. J. Hopkins unable to start with a still balky engine, there were five of the original nine starters left and the race was green the rest of the way.

It was more of the same in the second heat. Koby Barksdale avoided the party by staying out in front all the way. Joe Stornetta, Brent Beauchamp and Dave Darland all transferred. Joey Parker spun on the first lap, bringing out a yellow. On the re-start Brad Greenup spun off turn two and needed a wrecker. Beauchamp and Kent Christian touched wheels going into turn three and Christian spun. Four cars were left at the end of this one.

The third heat wasn't a lot of fun either. Brady Ottinger and Matthew McDonald got crossed up coming out of turn two and collected Hunter O'Neal. McDonald and O'Neal were done. Then Ottinger flipped in turn four bringing out the red. He walked away. Four cars were left with Jordan Kinser leading Brian VanMeveren, Jesse Vermillion and David Hair to the feature.

Finally, the fourth heat made sitting through all the rest worth it, at least the first half. Shane Cottle came out on top with Shane Cockrum, Thomas Meseraull and Mitchell Davis avoiding the pitfalls.

Many of the wounded cars from the heats were ready to go in the semi-feature. Hopkins and crew fixed whatever was wrong with the engine, but he started in the back. No problem, A.J. passed Nate McMillin late in the race to win. Jaden Rogers and Mario Clouser, both of whom had rotten heat race luck, also advanced.

Stornetta and Moore led the gang of 20 to the green with Cottle starting third. But ol’ Shane had no intention of staying third. Coming out of turn two on the opening lap, he went low and annexed the lead going into three. Behind him, Stornetta, Moore and Barksdale excelled. Those three turned out to be difficult to deal with for those coming from the rest of the pack. Kinser was the first who moved forward. After starting fourth, he fell back to fifth on lap five, but steadily worked his way forward, passing Barksdale and Moore to take third on the eighth lap. It took Kinser another lap to take second from Stornetta.

Two laps later, Beauchamp joined the top five as Cottle increased his lead to a straightaway. On the 14^th lap, Beauchamp took over fourth. He caught Kinser in two laps and they had a super fight for second with Kinser favoring the low groove and Beauchamp a bit higher. They were about to get some unwanted company.

With ten laps to go, Meseraull had clawed his way to the top ten after starting 12^th. On lap 22, eight to go, TMez passed Moore for fourth. Beauchamp was next. Meseraull was owning the top as he chased down his next victim. After a brief struggle, Meseraull took third and wasn’t quite done. Through all this Cottle went on his merry way. He had entered lapped traffic just before the halfway mark and it had been no problem for him. His straightaway lead didn’t shrink.

Over the last five laps, the battle between Kinser and Meseraull was about as good as it gets. With Jordan giving a clinic on huggy pole racing and Thomas working the cushion, second place changed hands multiple times both officially and unofficially. When the white flag waved, Meseraull led. But Kinser was not one to give up. He made the final pass on the last lap and grabbed second with TMez having to settle for third after starting 12^th. Beauchamp came from tenth to fourth. Barksdale started and finished fifth, a quality run for the Oklahoma native. Cockrum was sixth with Moore seventh. Hopkins came from the B, starting 17^th, to take eighth. Darland was ninth and Clouser was the Kenny Clark hard charger, coming from last/20^th to finish tenth.

Shane and the boys reminded me why I chase races. In a life that is largely ordered and bound somewhat by schedules and obligations, the race track is a place where one would be foolish to try and predict what will happen. The carnage of some of the heats gave way to some well above average racing in the feature.

Sprint Week beckons.

Building a ring so Sebastian Bourdais and Takuma Sato can duke it out, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Thanks, Nick (and Others)

Against my better, or more rational, judgement, I ignored the weather and the calendar, then headed northwest to the Terre Haute Action Track for Rumble at the Fair. This was the first time that the MSCS had scheduled a race during the Vigo County Fair. Nick Bilbee, more than most, would come to think that this was a great idea. He was the third of three leaders in the 25 lap feature, taking the lead near the halfway mark and winning by several car lengths over Max Adams.

It might have been nice to have more than 17 cars on hand, but, as always, there were enough quality cars and drivers who came to play in the dirt. While point leader Kyle Cummins and second place Brady Short sat out the night, contenders for a trophy were Dakota Jackson, Nick Bilbee, Landon Simon, Max Adams, Isaac Chapple and Chase Stockon. Close to half of the 17 were sprint car feature winners.

There was no getting around the fact that it was hot, even for Indiana. 94 was the temperature as I arrived just after 4:30. It helped very little to realize that 94 was probably the high temp for the day.

After a round of giving and receiving my fair share of heckling, I retired to the truck and read while watching race haulers arrive. There was a bit of a breeze that teased me with a half hearted promise to cool me off. More of concern for me were the dark clouds over my left shoulder. I knew there was a chance of rain, but I tried to file it away as a negative thought (not that what I thought about the rain mattered in even the big or small picture).

The rain visited Terre Haute, but it missed the fairgrounds. Clouds rolled above the oval and a breeze temporarily cooled things off as time trials went off without a hitch. Adams led the first group but Bilbee was the quickest of the second gang and everyone else with a 20.533 lap around the half mile, slightly banked oval with the Vigo County dirt surface.

Dakota Jackson won the first heat by a healthy margin over Max Adams. Isaac Chapple was third and James Lyerla finished fourth after running second for seven of the eight laps. A late caution brought out by a slowing Kent Schmidt set up a one lap dash and Lyerla was passed by Adams and Chapple. Chase Stockon was fifth.

In the second heat, the guys up front dove for the bottom, a tactic often used by many. Nick Bilbee decided that the high line would work best for him and besides, it's more fun. Bilbee swept from fourth to first and won by a half straightaway over Mitch Wissmiller, Landon Simon, Stephen Schnapf and Brandon Mattox.

With clouds still surrounding the fairgrounds and the thermometer dipping below 90, Simon and Chapple led the crew to the green. Isaac spun his wheels a bit too much and Landon took the early lead. His time up front lasted just two laps as Wissmiller sailed into turn three, diving low and taking the lead.

Not far behind, Bilbee was briefly biding his time. Starting fifth, Bilbee advanced to fourth quickly and remained there until the sixth lap until he passed Simon for third. Two laps later he got around Adams for third, using the turn one cushion as the others stayed on the bottom groove. A lap later, the ninth, saw Bilbee use that high path to take the lead from Wissmiller. There had been three different leaders in the first ten laps of the race.

Bilbee and company seriously entered lapped traffic with ten laps done. He handled the lappers efficiently and quickly built up a substantial lead. Adams began pressuring Wissmiller for second. The young Californian caught the Illinois veteran and was poised to make the pass when Wissmiller slowed, bringing out a yellow flag with 15 laps complete. The race’s only re-start saw Bilbee leading Adams, Simon, Stockon and Jackson.

By now most all of the front runners were using up the turn one cushion and getting close to the infamous Action Track wall. Try as he might, Bilbee couldn’t shake Adams, though he was never seriously threatened for the lead over the last ten laps. On the one hand, except for lapped cars, there wasn’t a lot of passing. On the other hand, all involved raced well and stayed out of trouble. There were a few drivers who had either zero or very little experience at Terre Haute. It was easy to conclude that they heeded Mo Wills’ admonition during the drivers’ meeting, in which Mo made sure they knew this track was not Haubstadt in several ways.

Behind Bilbee and Adams was Simon and Jackson. Stockon took the Schmidt team car to fifth place. The second five was Chapple, Aric Gentry, Lyrela, Mattox and Schnapf.

I should have thanked the winner personally. He and his cohorts combined to give the crowd and me a very decent race. Bilbee dominated the second half of the race, but had he faltered, Adams was there ready to swoop into the lead. Nick was an MSCS first time winner and, also important, is one of several fan friendly racers who had signed in.

My trip home was spent missing out on the rain. Lightning, especially to the south, seemed to follow me to Spencer. The rain’s only appearance was just after I left Brown County. Joan Baez was singing to me about diamonds and rust when the shower hit. The rain was finished before Joan finished the song, a not so subtle smack upside the head of Bob Dylan. Arriving home, I found streets nearly flooded with the lightning giving my Decatur County neighbors a late night light show.

Not your normal Wednesday.

Demanding that every baseball game have at least one successful bunt and a successful stolen base, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Anatomy of a Rainout 7/6/19

This is getting old. Against my wishes, I’m becoming a reluctant authority of racing related rainouts. I’m afraid to check my records to list the times I’ve either arrived at a track and got rained out or was rained out before I left home (or in some cases right after I woke up).

The most recent victim of the elements was the Bill Gardner Sprintacular, Night Two, at the Lincoln Park Speedway, sanctioned by MSCS. We were teased with time trials, followed by modified hot laps. But that was it.

For the second day in a row, the little truck and I encountered rain about five miles east of Mooresville. Both times it was over in five minutes or less. In other words, Mooresville itself was dry. So was the race track, though an afternoon shower had moved the schedule back an hour or so.

Most of Friday’s players were present, with Dave Darland, Chase Stockon and Josh Hodges gone west. There were 33 in all, including Thursday’s Paragon winner A.J. Hopkins (who had suffered with engine trouble on Friday at LPS) and Friday’s winner Kyle Cummins. There was no shortage of contenders, which would have included Shane Cottle, Jordan Kinser and the new kid from California, Max Adams.

Adams, Cummins, Dakota Jackson and Kinser were the quickest of their respective qualifying groups, with Kinser’s 13.118 the quickest on a track that got faster with each group.

When the 33 were done setting heat race lineups, I moseyed back to the MSCS hauler. Looking northwest, I noticed the clouds that had been hanging around and were significantly closer. The magic radar on the magic phone told me that rain was imminent. The sun was taking its government mandated break.

I did the same thing I did when I was working and rain was coming—I found a dry place, namely my truck in the parking lot off turn two. The clouds were ominous now, layered with shades of blue and gray. What had turned out to be a decent crowd in the bleachers began leaving.

It was 7:50 and the sky was dark for the time of day. The wind picked up a few minutes later and I could see the red light in turn three, presiding over a vacant track. At 7:56 the wind began changing direction, with a few rain drops on the windshield. The radar was ugly, no other word for it.

In my book, that was rain on my windshield at 8:02. Thankfully, the bleachers were almost empty. The wind died down somewhat and the rain shifted into a higher gear. At 8:07 I opened a book I brought along for such an occasion. I could see the outline of the sun through the rain and clouds. The first race team left the pits, a bomber with an open trailer.

The good folks at AccuWeather said that the rain would end in five minutes as of 8:16. The western sky was somewhat brighter and the sun was trying to break through. But the rain continued. Five minutes later, more haulers were leaving. The rain was easing up some, and the sky was getting brighter yet.

A line of haulers was backing up from the highway to the pit gate. The rain had slowed to a drizzle but the damage was done. The sun’s break was over and it peaked through the clouds. It was 8:24 and it was a full blown exodus of fans and race teams (95 teams in all). A minute later, a poster on indianaopenwheel.com, Bill Gardner’s creation, said the obvious: we were rained out. The traffic jam grew longer. My great-nephew posted on Facebook the same information. I’m still not sure of the source, but it didn’t matter. I’ve neither read nor heard about re-scheduling. I’m not holding my breath.

Traffic was almost cleared out at 8:41 and I was thinking about doing the same. I took a last look at the facility. There are few things more forlorn looking than a rained out race track. I texted my wife and headed for the Arby’s at Cloverdale. Then the truck headed southeast; we arrived at 11:00, an ungodly early hour for Lincoln Park. I encountered very little rain on the way home, of course.

Eagerly awaiting K.C. and the Sunshine Band coming back as a country music band, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: How Low Can You Go?

It was another drama filled night, this time at the Lincoln Park Speedway, where Kyle Cummins played the huggy pole lane like the maestro he is, winning the opening night of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular, and extended his lead in the Brandeis MSCS point standings.

Joe Spiker’s happy place was nearly filled with 37 sprints among a total of 95 cars. A few of the boys headed west but a few more who weren’t at Paragon signed in. Noteworthy among these were Missouri native Clinton Boyles and Californian Max Adams. They would meet later.

On the way to the track, it was a given that there was a threat of rain. This didn’t help the crowd, but the hard core group was not deterred. I encountered a typical Indiana summer shower just east of Mooresville that ended about as quickly as it started. The track had a shower at 4 p.m., about the time I left home; this saved Mr. Spiker and company from having to add a last dose of water to the surface.

I’ve developed this habit of standing nearby as cars are pushed off for wheel packing or hot laps. It’s become a ritual as well as a chance to do some observing of people. It has caused me to think a bit about rituals and what is good or bad about them. In one sense, rituals are good and necessary for many. They offer something that we can depend upon happening, giving us some badly needed security in some cases. They can be a part of our race track routine and something we can look forward to. Of course, the same could be said of anything from watching Ed Sullivan on Sunday night (kids, google it) to Lincoln Park’s giant bags of popcorn to, well, watching sprint cars get pushed away in a staging area. Rituals. They can be your friend.

It was a five heat/top three advance kind of night. Travis Berryhill led A. J. Hopkins and Bill Rose to the line in the first heat.

In the second heat it was Shane Cottle, Sterling Cling and Blake Vermillion moving on. Brandon Mattox was in a three car scrap with Cottle and Cling when he got upside down on the front stretch. Brandon walked back to the pits, where several team members came together in a major thrash in getting the car ready for the B.

Kyle Cummins was the first to use the bottom line in winning the third heat over Brady Short and Hunter O'Neal. Later we would see how doing his “homework” paid off for Cummins.

Jordan Kinser passed Thomas Meseraull midway through the fourth heat to win. Garrett Aitken was third.

Dakota Jackson, perhaps still pumped up from the night before, stormed from fifth to win the fifth heat. Shane Cockrum was second and Max Adams came back from a spin to seize third from Clinton Boyles on the last lap.

Harley Burns drove what was maybe the best race of his still young career and won the B main. Donnie Brackett, Garrett Aitken, Clinton Boyles and Koby Barksdale would tag the feature lineup. Matt McDonald deserved an 'atta' boy award for coming from 18 to fall just a bit short in sixth. Red lights came on when a multi-car tangle ensued in turn two. Among those involved were Ryan Bond, Chris Phillips and…Brandon Mattox, who once again walked dejectedly back to the pits, his friends’ and rivals’ hard work undone in a flash. Unfortunately, that, too, is racing.

Two of the principals from the night before, Jackson and Kinser, sat on the front row for the 30 lap feature. Jackson got off to a bad start and Cummins sneaked into the lead from his third starting spot. The Princeton, Indiana resident extended his lead to a half straightaway quickly until Blake Vermillion stopped on the track with six laps complete.

The order was Cummins, Kinser, Cottle, Jackson and Short. Two laps after the re-start, Cummins quickly built a good sized lead, missing a great battle for second behind him. With Cottle working the bottom and Kinser on a rail around the top, the runner-up spot was traded between the two several times. Brady Short was there, too, and dearly wanted to join the fight, but he had his own problem, namely Thomas Meseraull for the time being.

Short had shaken TMez and put the clamps on Kinser, passing him for third when a yellow for Berryhill waved on the 22^nd lap. Now the order was Cummins, Cottle, Short, Kinser and Meseraull. This turned out to be Cottle’s last, best chance at contesting the lead. And for a couple of laps, it seemed like we might have a fight for the lead as both Cummins and Cottle got down low as much as allowed. But Kyle had too much horsepower and forward bite for the big guy. He pulled away as lap 30 approached. Meanwhile, Cottle had all he cared to handle with Kinser as both seemed to take turns leading the other at the line.

At the checkered, it was Cummins, Cottle, Kinser, Short and Meseraull. Sixth was Jackson, a much better result than the night before. Remember Max Adams’ late pass in his heat race? His 15^th starting spot wasn’t much better than it would have been running in the B, but he came from back in the pack to take seventh. Rose was eighth and Cockrum finished ninth. Koby Barksdale came from 20^th to grab tenth, a hard charging performance for sure.

There is, as of this writing, one more night for the Sprintacular. I don’t pretend to know if Bill Gardner had a good view of the racing on Friday night. But if he did, I’m sure he would have enjoyed it. And maybe he would have appreciated my taking his advice and having a barbeque sandwich. I might have another one tonight, unless the tenderloin catches my eye. #winwin

Begging in vain for NASCAR to do away with spotters, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Slipping and Sliding
I'll cheerfully admit that I'm not a fan of slide jobs, but I understand that racers get desperate, greedy and optimistic, sometimes simultaneously. At the Paragon Speedway on a warm and humid Friday night, A. J. Hopkins won the Brandeis MSCS 30 lap feature, passing Jordan Kinser late in the race. Two thirds of the way through the race, Hopkins made contact with Dakota Jackson while battling for second place. Jackson was left on his top, his race done. Let the “discussions” begin.
Josh Cunningham won the yellow plagued timed out Paragon sprint car feature.
Combining both the MSCS and the track regulars has resulted in hefty car counts this year. Tonight’s was no exception as 33 of the MSCS runners signed in along with 26 Paragon sprinters. There were no major surprises, but Josh Hodges, Dave Darland and Chase Stockon may have hoped for an early night as all were headed west to Knoxville to join their USAC compatriots for the weekend festivities out there.
Josh Hodges took the lead late in the first MSCS heat and won with Travis Berryhill second. Shane Cottle came from the back to finish third, ahead of Chase Stockon.
Chris Babcock won the second heat, leading Garrett Aitken, Dave Darland and Shane Cockrum across the line.
Jordan Kinser was the third heat winner, and Stephen Schnapf ran second. A. J. Hopkins and Andrew Prather made it to the show as well.
The fourth heat saw Dakota Jackson win over Kyle Cummins, who started last/eighth. Donnie Brackett and the ageless Kent Christian scooted to third and fourth.
Josh Cunningham came from last to win the first heat for the Paragon sprints. Jesse Vermillion, Adam Wilfong, David Truax and Brandon Spencer were the rest of the top five.
Brandon Morin, driving a car that may or may not be older than him, won the second heat with Steve Hair, Collin Parker, Parker Fredrickson and Gary Hayden trailing.
A pair of Jakes led the way in the third heat with Mr. Scott leading Mr. Henderson, Anthony Leohr, Joey Parker and Pete Johnson to the checkered.
The MSCS ran a B to fill the last four spots in their feature. Thomas Meseraull, Brady Short, Tye Mihocko and Bill Rose completed the field of 20. Oops, Aric Gentry used a provisional to make it 21.
Jackson and Kinser led the field to the green and Jordan Kinser did his best to check out. But a slowdown on lap four took away the real estate that Kinser had accumulated. Tye Mihocko spun in turn one and Kyle Cummins had a flat left rear. Both rejoined the field on the tail.
On the re-start, Kinser stuck with the same plan and built a margin between himself and second place Josh Hodges and third place Dakota Jackson. Garrett Aitken was fourth when he had an unsatisfactory meeting with the turn four cushion, and flipped, but not terribly hard, on lap 12. He was pushed back to the pits and re-started the race with the rest of the mob.
Off they went again and Jackson used a slider that barely cleared Hodges to take second. At this point Dave Darland was fourth with A.J. Hopkins fifth. A lap after Hodges lost second to Jackson, Darland passed the New Mexico native for third. Hopkins gave Hodges the same treatment and also passed Darland on lap 16. Shane Cockrum was running behind Darland on the 18th lap when he had to check up in turn four. Rather than clout the People’s Champ, Cockrum jumped the cushion and spun. Kinser led Jackson, Hopkins, Darland, Hodges, Rose (from 20th!), Babcock, Cottle, Cummins (from the tail) and Berryhill.
Hopkins was hungry and dogged Jackson for second. On lap 22, he tried a slide job that didn’t clear the second place runner and there was side-to-side contact. Jackson hit the cushion and tipped over, bringing out the red. While the car was towed away, Jackson strode across the track to have some tea and cookies with Hopkins, who was stopped on the other end of the track. Cooler heads prevailed for the moment as Jackson was steered to the pits instead. Later, things heated up in the pits, but my guess is that harsh words were all that were exchanged.
The yellow, then the green, waved and, all of a sudden, Kinser had a challenger who would not go away. Hopkins closed on the leader and tried a slider that didn’t work on lap 26. But a lap later, he tried again in turn one. This one stuck and Hopkins was gone. His margin of victory was several car lengths.
As can be imagined, the winner was greeted with a mixture of cheers and boos when he exited his car at the start/finish line. Hey, it was a racing accident. Could the maneuver have been performed with a bit more skill and patience? Of course, but this was not a vicious attack; it was a slide job gone wrong. Ideally, time and perspective will push this into the background.
Behind Hopkins (who had started 11th) and Kinser was Darland, with another top five run in Buddy Cunningham’s car. Kyle Cummins made his way to fourth after his early misfortune. Shane Cottle was a quiet fifth. Bill Rose was the hard charger as he came from 20th to sixth, using the low line like a maestro. Thomas Meseraull, like Rose, came from B Main-land, starting 17th and finishing seventh. Hodges, Babcock and Stockon completed the top ten.
Up next were the Paragon sprints and this race was a combination of Purgatory and Groundhog Day. Eight yellows ensured that the 30 minute time limit would play a role. Josh Cunningham led all 13 laps before flagman Brian Hodde waved the checkered and yellow flags simultaneously. Jake Scott, Brandon Morin, David Truax and Steve Hair were the top five.
This one is for the gang who got this racing deal to where it is now, specifically George, Thomas, Ben, John (both of them), Samuel, Paul, Betsy, James, Alexander, Henry and the rest. Thanks for your vision, determination and bravery.
Surprised to learn that Alexander Hamilton drove a street stock at the time of Bunker Hill, I’m…
Danny Burton









This one is for the gang who got this racing deal to where it is now, specifically George, Thomas, Ben, John (both of them), Samuel, Paul, Betsy, Alexander, Henry and the rest. Thanks for your vision, determination and bravery.

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: First Time/Feel Good Winner

Sometimes, if a racer puts himself in a position to do well, good things happen. Oftentimes, even though a racer does find himself in that favored position, he will find out that there is little he can control. This can be bad, but on occasion it can be good. Very good, in fact. Just ask J.J. Hughes after inheriting, and keeping the lead after two of his competitors crashed out of the lead late in the 25-lap feature at the Lawrenceburg Speedway. It was his first Lawrenceburg feature win after close to a decade of trying.

With tracks all over Indiana featuring sprints as the headliner, folks were concerned about car counts. They needn’t have bothered worrying. Lawrenceburg had 22 sprinters (while Brownstown drew 30 and Lincoln Park 32) with the usual individuals and teams of note. Homeboy Logan Hupp made a rare appearance in the Gindling family vehicle. Of the 22, including Hupp, six were track champions. And a fourteen year old kid named Conner Leoffler was making his debut at the ‘burg. Of special note was his hometown, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, never known as a hotbed of sprint car racing. The youngster would turn a head or two, for good reason, before the night was over.

For the first time this year, I had an expert navigator—as long as he stayed awake. The youngest grandson slept for awhile as we putt putted our way east on U.S. 50, trapped by road construction and a driver who didn’t have the sense of urgency that we had. But the navigator and I arrived just in time for hot laps. Our minor concerns about car counts disappeared soon after we did our own pit walk. We weren’t fazed by the huge counts of modifieds (33) or Hornets (40). It seemed like the 105 cars in the pits stretched halfway up to my friend Marv Fish’s house.

The crowd was disappointing, knowing that the ninety degree plus temperatures kept lots of folks at home. The rest of us misplaced what common sense we have and showed up at the ‘burg, hoping for the best—and we got it.

Despite two early yellows, Shawn Westerfeld won the first heat with Michael Fischesser finishing second. Nick Bilbee came from last to finish third ahead of Dickie Gaines and Dallas Hewitt.

The second heat was extraordinary in its own way as Sterling Cling won, his first sprint car win. Just as extraordinary was Conner Leoffler, who put some distance between himself and third place Mike Miller. Travis Hery and Joss Moffatt trailed.

Garrett Abrams came from sixth to win the third heat over J.J. Hughes and Logan Hupp. Brian VanMeveren and Adam Wilfong weren't far behind.

Cling and Westerfeld led the crowd to Tim Montgomery’s green flag and the local kid jumped out to the early lead. Westerfeld had built a nice lead, but a lap six yellow took care of that when Tony McVey spun in turn four. Westerfeld led Abrams Cling, Hughes and Bilbee.

On the re-start Hughes got around Cling to take third. A lap later, Bilbee passed the Oklahoma native for fourth. But the red flag came out with nine laps completed when Fischesser and Cling tangled in turn four with Fischesser flipping hard. Michael walked away, a promising feature over for both racers.

This re-start saw Westerfeld leading Abrams, Hughes, Bilbee and Hewitt, who had started 13^th. Soon after the green waved, Hewitt passed Bilbee for fourth. Meanwhile, Abrams was pressing Westerfeld hard. A well-executed slider by Abrams diving into turn one on lap 16 resulted in a new leader. At this point, both were dealing with lapped traffic and Abrams struggled even as he held onto his lead. Westerfeld stayed close as both wove their way around the lappers. But disaster awaited.

With 18 laps in, Abrams and Westerfeld made contact as they exited turn two with Abrams briefly riding on Westerfeld’s hood before executing a “soft” flip, landing on his top. Abrams vacated his car and went for a brief discussion with Westerfeld. Both were out of the race. Hughes now led, but he had anything but an easy road to victory.

For this final re-start, Hughes led Hewitt, Bilbee, Gaines and Moffatt. So far, Hewitt had been impressive marching through the field, taking Todd Keen’s car on and above the cushion. The constant question arose for situations such as this. Could Hewitt, or even Bilbee, have anything for the leader? The final seven laps would tell.

Hughes didn’t exactly check out, but he held off Hewitt, winning by four or fine car lengths. Bilbee wasn’t far behind and Gaines finished fourth after starting tenth. Moffatt came from 14^th to take fifth, nearly as good as Hewitt’s 13^th to second run. The next best story was young Leoffler, who hung in there and had a smooth drive, belying his youth and experience, ending up sixth. Hupp was seventh and Travis Hery eighth. Brian VanMeverenfinished ninth while David Applegate had a good under-the-radar run, taking tenth after starting 17^th.

For most all reading this, it’s easy to point out how much and how often racing serves as a great metaphor for life itself. While chatting with JJ Hughes and his father after the race, less than 20 feet away, the Garrett Abrams team was quietly working on a wrecked race car that might have been the winning car. Like the Hughes team and the others assembled, Abrams and company had given their all, only to come up short. “The thrill of victory” and “the agony of defeat” personified was right there in front of Mr. Hughes and me, a reminder of how fleeting success can be. That told us how important it was to put yourself in a position to win and, if you win, enjoy it all you can because the giddy feeling won’t last.

Then again, maybe it isn’t supposed to last.

Trying to hum the Beatles’ “Revolution #9” in vain, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Win/Crash/Hospital

What was a decent, though not spectacular, race turned into a nasty finish at the Kokomo Speedway on a mild Sunday night when winner Robert Ballou plowed into the stopped car of Koby Barksdale as the checkered flag waved. Ballou’s car flipped on its top after the contact. Several minutes later, Ballou was taken to the hospital while Dave Darland was interviewed post-race by Rob Goodman. Dave and family were there as is their custom for the race honoring the Darland family patriarch, Bob Darland.

Until the finish of the sprint feature, the weather was on folks’ minds—a lot. A system headed for Kokomo on Sunday afternoon fizzled out. But we weren’t home free, not by a long shot. More rain was west of the track and it would take an extra effort to get the program done before the rain arrived.

A few years ago the wise photographer/philosopher John Mahoney and I arrived at the Terre Haute Action Track at about the same time. There had been a threat of rain, but we, along with several others, took a gamble and made the trip to the Action Track. As he was unloading his gear, John said, "I knew there was a good chance of rain, but I didn't want to stay home and maybe miss a race at Terre Haute."

I understood him completely. I feel the same way about the storied half mile oval in western Indiana. I feel the same about Kokomo. Despite leaving a little later than normal, I hustled north, detouring for road construction on I-465 through the big city, motoring through a series of old money neighborhoods until I reached familiar territory, namely the intersection of North Meridian Street and 465.

 The car and crowd count were down as a by-product of the rain threat. But eight or ten of the 21 sprinters were capable of winning. In other words, the quality was there. Of note was Darland in a car owned by Californian Dwight Cheney; the team’s original debut was supposed to be at the USAC race on Saturday at Lincoln Park. It was Dave’s first time in this car, though he has driven for Mr. Cheney out West. (Thanks to Mr. Wags himself, Ken Wagner.) Cheney is the fifth different car owner DD has driven for this year, not counting his own car.

The three heats were hammer down all the way. Passing was rare on a lightning fast track. Ballou passed Tyler Hewitt coming to the white flag to win the first heat. Thomas Meseraull, Jarett Andretti and Cole Ketcham trailed. Anthony D’Alessio flipped in turn two, climbing the fence and landing upside down with a brief fire. He exited the car and walked back to the pits. The fence was repaired in the time it took me to eat a pork chop sandwich.

Josh Hodges outran Dave Darland, Kevin Thomas Jr., Corey Smith and Brayden Fox in winning the second heat.

Scotty Weir powered his way to the third heat win with Justin Grant keeping Chris Windom from joining the re-draw. Jaden Rogers and Max Adams trailed.

As the rain inched its way across the map, Grant and Ballou took the green and they took off, with Ballou leading the way and gradually extending his lead. The action was behind the frontrunners. Darland took third at the start, but found Weir pressuring him after moving into fourth on lap seven (of 30). Then Weir found himself fighting off Windom’s charge.

Windom passed Weir for fourth on lap 17. Two laps later, he got around Darland for third. Now, Windom needed a yellow because Ballou and Grant were close to a straightaway ahead. It wasn’t going to happen.

Darland fell into the clutches of Weir, then Thomas as the laps wound down. By this time, Ballou’s lead over Grant was a full straightaway. It was a matter of Robert cruising to another victory—until it wasn’t.

Koby Barksdale was on the verge of losing a lap to the leader as flag man Brian Hodde held the checkered flag, ready to wave at Ballou before the others. Barksdale hit the wall coming out of turn four hard enough to flatten at least one tire and nearly flipped. Right up against the wall, he slowed as he approached the start/finish line, then stopped. Ballou came barreling out of four seeing the checkered flag in and. If he saw Barksdale’s stricken car stopped in his path, he saw it too late to avoid sliding into the black #22. Smack it he did, bouncing once and flipping onto his top with that all too familiar and dreaded crunch we’ve heard too many times over the years.

Removing Ballou from the car took an exceedingly long time as the medical team took their time, wanting to do this right. A backboard appeared and Ballou was placed on it and then wheeled to the ambulance. Reports from his PR person indicated that Robert had suffered a fractured arm in two places. On Monday morning there was this statement. “Robert is out of surgery and in recovery after a compound fracture in his radius and ulna.”

I wish Robert the best as he begins his recovery. He’s been in this rodeo before and will know what lies ahead. Let’s hope he gets back in the car as soon as he’s able.

With no winner to interview, Rob Goodman interviewed Dave Darland, who said all the right things, and said that he and Robert have had their “discussions” over the years, but their relationship has gotten better, especially since Ballou hired Darland to drive the #12 car late last year when Robert was suspended.

Behind Ballou and Grant was Windom, who had started ninth and was the Brett Bowman Hard Charger. Weir held off Thomas for fourth. Darland took sixth and Hodges seventh. Andretti, Hewitt and Rogers completed the top ten.

It was the earliest end of a sprint feature I’ve witnessed at Kokomo, 8:30.

Catching my grandchildren using our satellite dish as a giant pizza pan, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Dominating 101

When Thomas Meseraull and company decided to spend several Friday nights at the Gas City/I-69 Speedway this year, they surely hoped that they would do well whenever they unloaded the car. But it’s understandable if they didn’t dream of dominating the action as they have done so far this year. Despite the threat(s) of rain, complete with a few stray raindrops as the feature lined up, Meseraull rode roughshod over a strong field, winning the Jerry Gappens Sr. Memorial by nearly 2.4 seconds over Robert Ballou.

Seeing that the weather was somewhat unsettled at Paragon, I decided that my best hope would be Gas City. I left fairly late for the trip to the northeast, 4:50 p.m. As I exited the city limits, sure enough, a sneak peek of my phone told me that Paragon wasn't racing tonight.Feeling somewhat proud of myself for dodging traffic from south of Greenfield to Anderson, using some obscure county roads, I was ambushed by a pack of wannabe racers on I-69, with a guy who tailgated every vehicle he could find until he exited at Muncie. With all that I arrived in time to catch the last three groups of sprinters hot lap.

When I wasn’t watching tailgaters and other fools, I noticed that normally one would see corn nearing its full height. This year Indiana growing fields look more like rice paddies. In the racing world, track prep is even more of a challenge. Racers and promoters get tired of rainouts. And those people who have yards to mow spend their time either watching the rain or working extra long hours when the sun does shine.

Tyler Hewitt won the first of five heats with Brady Bacon a distant second. Cody White edged Brian Karraker for third.

Kevin Thomas Jr. was the second heat winner with A. J. Hopkins and Matt Goodnight trailing.

In the third heat, Robert Ballou ran away with the victory over Dustin Ingle and Scotty Weir.

The fourth heat saw Matt McDonald cruise to the win as Matt Westfall and Paul Dues make the show.

Thomas Meseraull led all the way to win the fifth heat. Jarett Andretti had a redraw spot locked up until he biked it in turn three on the sixth lap, allowing Josh Hodges to take second place. Jarett settled for third, which meant he would be starting in the back half of the pack come feature time.

Luke Hall edged a charging Max Adams to win the first of two B mains. Isaac Chapple won the second B and took Shane Cockrum and Mike Miller to the feature with him.

For the second time this evening, rain and/or the threat of it, was a concern. Walking from the pits to the bleachers just before the feature, I felt some raindropsfallin’ on my head. But they subsided and the racing went on.

McDonald and Meseraull led 19 of their buddies to Mark Orr’s green flag. TMez took the early lead as Thomas slid into second. With two laps complete, the red flag waved for a hard flip by Isaac Chapple in turn one. He climbed out a couple of minutes after catching his breath. The young man from Willow Branch had a racer’s kind of day. Originally heading for Paragon for his first time, Isaac and company reversed course and hustled up to Gas City in time for his heat race. After winning his B, he had reason to believe that he could move through the field when the feature began. Instead his car left the track, hanging helplessly from the wrecker.

A lap after the re-start, a rare sight was witnessed by all watching when second place Kevin Thomas Jr. spun in turn two, collecting third place A.J. Hopkins with Paul Dues spinning to miss the duo. Only Dues re-started. This re-start saw a different cast of characters behind Meseraull. McDonald was still second, but now Ballou, Westfall and T. Hewitt trailed. A lap after this green flag saw Bacon pass Hewitt for fifth. Ballou took over second on the sixth lap and set sail for the leader. Westfall and Bacon chased Ballou.

On the eleventh lap, another yellow waved for another rare event. This time it was Scotty Weir who spun in turn three. The hoard was turned loose again and Hewitt passed McDonald for fifth as Bacon took over third. This final green flag segment was both Ballou and Bacon’s last, best chance to catch Meseraull. But it didn’t happen. If anything, the gap between the leader and second place widened.

As the laps wound down, Meseraull could see a huge mess of cars ahead. He may have thought, “Uh-oh,” or something less printable. Even if the potential lapped cars did a great job of moving over, it would still be a challenge. But time, the quickness of the lappers, and the number of laps left to run worked to his advantage. Meseraull caught the end of the pack just before the white flag waved. No problemo, said the leader.

TMez crossed the finish line just before the ten o’clock hour with Ballou a whole 2.353 seconds behind. Bacon and Westfall were third and fourth. Jarett Andretti came from 15^th to edge T. Hewitt (0.018 seconds) to take fifth and the Rob Goodman Hard Charger ‘Atta Boy. Weir recovered from his mid-race spin to finish seventh. Hodges took eighth and Goodnight was ninth. And Paul Dues came back from his early setback to annex tenth.

The ride home was much more peaceful than the fun-filled encounters with a group of unskilled motorists. Why, I almost felt like I was dominating both I-69 and Indiana State Road 9.

I should do this much more often, but hat tips to both Barb Nichols and Tyler Kelly, who are quick to indulge me and my questions and requests.

Pouting in the living room after learning that the Lincoln Park/USAC show tonight is cancelled, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Don't Even Think of Giving Up

On a night partly spent by watching the radar more than preferred, Travis Berryhill became the latest racer to take Winston Churchill's advice and not give up. With a late yellow flag necessitating a one lap dash, Berryhill edged Colton Cottle as they crossed the finish line, ending another wild and crazy race.

Berryhill wasn’t the only one who refused to give up. Promoter Joe Spiker and most of those who were in attendance didn’t think of giving up the program as rain approached and invaded the track, shutting things down for about an hour. (When I left during the Super Stock feature, there was a persistent drizzle.)

Gary Rooke won the second feature.

For my three trips to Paragon this year, car counts have averaged 50. Tonight’s 47 sprints were a huge part of the 111 race cars that were shoehorned into the pit area.

As has been the case, Keith Ford was among those present, still smiling and not having to worry about the things that promoters worry about.

Six heats were scheduled with the top three moving to the first feature and the top two re-drawing for feature starting spots. Two B’s would take the top two, making a 22 car first feature.

The first of the six heats was relatively tame as pole sitter Alec Sipes led all the way to finish first ahead of Travis Thompson and Cole Ketcham.

Brandon Morin gave Johnny Johnson's buggy quite a ride as he won the second heat over Tim Creech II and Brandon Mattox.

The third heat saw Koby Barksdale win, with Brandon Spencer and Parker Fredrickson also transferring to the feature.

Caution flags slowed the fourth heat four times, but Travis Berryhill, Hunter O'Neal and Josh Cunningham didn't let that bother them as they crossed the finish one-two-three.

The fifth heat was by far the most competitive as young Brayden Fox used patience and speed, making a late pass for the lead and the win over Colton Cottle and TyeMihocko.

Finally, the sixth heat was plagued by three yellows as A. J. Hopkins took the win with Jaden Rogers and Chris Babcock trailing.

Folks, including me, began looking at their phones even more than usual. It appeared that rain was on the way. Sure enough, it arrived pretty much on time. Sure enough, Mr. Spiker and most of us were determined to ride it out. And sure enough, the rain stopped, the track was worked over, and racing resumed.

Joey Parker and Colin Parker ran first and second in the first B. Brady Ottinger and Chayse Hayhurst did the same in the second B. All four tagged the feature lineup.

Hopkins and Fox took the green and A.J. took off. From fourth, Barksdale powered his way into second on what was a very fast track. But with two complete, he spun in turn four, with most all of the field approaching quickly. Among those caught up in this melee were O’Neal, Rogers, Ketcham and Ottinger.

The order was shuffled on the re-start with Hopkins leading Berryhill, Fox, Morin and Cottle, who had started 11^th. Another yellow waved a lap after the re-start for Joey Parker and Cottle was third. The green waved and Cottle passed Berryhill for second. He wasn’t quite done. A lap later he had a look under Hopkins coming out of turn two, leading for a split second. But Hopkins saw this and sat up a bit in the seat, pulling away from Cottle and everyone else.

Hopkins’ impressive lead went away when Barksdale spun again in turn four with 17 laps complete. Behind Hopkins were Cottle, Berryhill and Josh Cunningham, who had started 16^th. Fox was fifth. The next four laps would be Hopkins’ personal highlight of the race as he was leading when the next yellow waved on lap 21. Travis Thompson spun and Ottinger had to spin in order to miss a stricken car.

One of the turning points of the race came when Hopkins exited the track while running under the lap 21 caution period, victim of a contrary shock. Cottle was the new leader, trailed by Berryhill, Cunningham, Fox, and Tim Creech II. With this re-start, Cottle kept control of the lead, but another turning point of the race was right around the corner.

With 24 of 25 laps complete, C. Parker, Rogers, Ketcham and, yet again, poor Brady Ottinger came together in, where else, turn four. There would be a one lap sprint to the checkered. Again, Cottle got a good jump and held onto the lead. But wait, coming out of turn four, there was Berryhill diving low and making a banzai charge where Cottle had left enough room on the bottom. My perch in the press box gave me a very good view aligned behind the flagstand. He did it! That was the reaction as Berryhill crossed the line ahead of Cottle with several inches to spare.

“Gutted” is a term that’s rapidly becoming overused, but it might have applied to Cottle, who had to settle for the silver medal. Cunningham, who had struggled in his heat race and had to start 16^th, was third and Fox was a steady fourth, avoiding trouble all night. The same could be said for Creech, who was fifth. Brandon Mattox came from 14^th to finish sixth. Arizonian TyeMihocko had a noteworthy run, coming from 17^th to take seventh. Then there was Chris Babcock, coming from 18^th to eighth. Brandon Spencer started and finished ninth. After running in the top five, Brandon Morin brought Johnny Johnson’s vehicle back to the pits with a tenth place result.

Rain? What rain? Of the 25 scheduled starters for the second feature, 17 answered the call. Gary Rooke took the lead on the first lap and led all the way to win. Adam Wilfong, polesitter A.J. Nigh, Matt Thompson and Jesse Vermillion were the rest of the top five. Shelby VanGilder, Blake Vermillion, Gary Hayden, David Truax and Harley Burns were the second five.

The second feature was over at…12:45 a.m., not bad at all when the large car count and the rain delay are considered.

Whether they knew it or not, both Travis Berryhill and Joe Spiker taught us a lesson on Friday night, even though most of us probably are aware of the lesson. When it rains, wait it out as long as you can and maybe you’ll be rewarded. When there’s an opening as you’re coming to the checkered, go for it. You may lead for a split second or a foot, but you’ll be leading when it counts. And, as always, when you fall down, get up, dust yourself off, and proceed.

Listening to the tornado warning siren all evening and humming “I Am the Walrus,” I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: First Time Winner

It may seem odd to call Chris Windom a first time winner, but after a typically wild and woolly USAC Nos Energy Drink Midget Division feature, Windom was the one interviewed in Victory Lane at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on Saturday night. It was his first career midget win. Windom was the fifth winner in five nights of Indiana Midget Week. With the Kokomo rainout, Logan Seavey became the 2019 IMW champion.

Thomas Meseraull and ran down Brady Bacon and won going away in the sprint car feature.

There were no new faces for this fifth round of IMW, but several were missing, which was normal by the time the band of gypsies arrived at Lawrenceburg. With the 18 sprints that appeared, there were 27 midgets. After Noah Gass flipped in turn three during hot laps, there were 26. He was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for further observation, according to USAC.

The weather was cloudy and the temperature was in the mid-70s with a persistent breeze from the east. In terms of track conditions, that mattered. The cloud cover kept the track fairly equal for those taking time trials. Justin Grant qualified early and set fast time with a 14.412 lap. Andrew Layser was last and rang up the fourth fastest time.

The double duty crew was Brady Bacon, Thomas Meseraull and Sterling Cling. Kevin Thomas Jr. had more free time since he didn’t bring his sprinter after winning the first four sprint features during IMW.

With 27 entries the three heat format was in effect. Front row starter Logan Seavey won the first heat, heading to the feature with Justin Grant, Thomas Meseraull, Jerry Coons Jr. and Michael Pickens.

Pole sitter Chad Boat won the second heat with Zach Daum, Shane Golobic, Chris Windom and Zeb Wise all moving on. Wisehad an engine issue in qualifying and came from last to make the feature.

Karsyn Elledge also had a first; the third heat was her first USAC win of any kind. The rookie was followed by Brady Bacon, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tyler Courtney and Tanner Carrick, who nipped Jason McDougal at the line. For all three heats, the bottom was the most popular place to race.

Sprint heats were next with Joss Moffatt taking the lead early and winning the first heat over Michael Fischesser and Shawn Westerfeld. Dickie Gaines came from fifth to take the lead and the win on the last lap of the second heat. Justin Owen and Sterling Cling trailed. J.J. Hughes led the first half of the third heat while Brady Bacon led the last half. Hughes edged Thomas Meseraull to take second.

The midget B took the top seven with Tanner Thorson coming from sixth to win. Also making the feature were Tucker Klaasmeyer, Andrew Layser, Cannon McIntosh, Dave Darland, Jesse Colwell and Holly Hollan. By now, the high side was working as well as the bottom with a cushion most of the way up the hill.

Cole Bodine and Jason McDougal took provisionals.

Golobic and Coons were supposed to see Tim Montgomery’s green flag first, but Coons had a flat tire just before the feature’s start. He was sent to the rear of the lineup.

Courtney took the early lead as cars spread out, using most all of the track. Sunshine was already putting distance between him and Golobic when a yellow waved for Andrew Layser on lap four. Behind Courtney and Golobic were McIntosh, already up from his eighth starting position, and Chris Windom, who was just getting started.

Three laps after the re-start, Windom went to work and took the lead from Courtney on the seventh lap. At the same time, Boat had already come from 15^th to take over fourth place. A lap later he was third. As Windom and Courtney battled, the next to move forward was Seavey, who had started 12^th to run third on lap 14 as he and Courtney rode high and Windom hugged the bottom. Seavey passed Courtney for second two laps later. A little further back, McIntosh, Boat and Thorson engaged in their private battle.

It was time to exhale on the 22^nd lap when Courtney stopped with a flat tire. He rejoined the field at the tail. Windom still led and even though Courtney had been removed as a threat, there was still this kid from California who was fast and a known winner who was not shy about challenging anyone. McIntosh, in his best showing since his excellent run at Gas City, was third. Thorson, trying to duplicate his success at Lincoln Park, was fourth. Like Thorson, Boat had come from deep in the pack and now ran fifth.

For the next six laps, Windom stayed ahead of the mob while they fought tooth and nail with sliders, great launches and plenty of lane changing. Pickens had joined this group and was running as high as fifth when he slowed, bringing out a yellow on lap 28.

On this re-start, Windom dove low in turn one to stay ahead of Seavey, who jumped the cushion in turn three. Not only did this hurt his chances at catching Windom, now Seavey had to deal with attacks from Boat and Thorson.Seavey lost second to Boat when he got a wee bit above the turn two cushion on the last lap. Meanwhile, Windom held the advantage, staying with the bottom groove and crossing the line ahead of Boat by a mere 0.607 seconds.

Windom had spent much of IMW starting way back in the lineup and then passing cars—lots of them. Coming from fifth to win had to be a pleasant experience in comparison. Boat came from 15^th to second. Seavey started 12^th and had to settle for third. Again, Thorson passed lots of cars and had a well-earned fourth place after starting 17^th. McIntosh continued to impress as he hung with the big boys to finish fifth, handling the low groove like a pro. Under the radar, Zach Daum motored from 13^th to sixth. Golobic was seventh and Bacon picked up a second top ten for the FMR group with an eighth. Thomas was ninth and Coons came from having to start last to grabbing tenth. Jerry actually passed more cars than KSE Racing Products/Prosource Hard Charger Chad Boat, but was ineligible for the award.

With this triumph, Windom now has 32 USAC National victories, 23 in a sprinter and eight Silver Crown wins. The initial midget win has been a long time coming. He also received some more walking around money by winning the Prosource Passing Master Award. Windom passed officially passing 32 cars. The actual total was 46 as he used a provisional at Gas City to pass 14 competitors.

The companion sprint car feature saw Brady Bacon take the early lead from Joss Moffatt and check out, leaving the scraps for Moffatt and the rest. But Thomas Meseraull was on the move. From his ninth starting spot, TMez was fifth on lap five, fourth a lap later and second on the eighth lap. By this time Bacon’s lead was most of a straightaway.

As the halfway mark rolled around, Meseraull was visibly closing the gap. Bacon caught a gaggle of lapped cars on the 18^th lap and the margin shrank to a few car lengths. A lap later he took the lead and never looked back. Bacon was second with Moffatt occupying third. Matt Westfall came from 12^th to fourth. Westerfeld was fifth and Dickie Gaines took sixth. Michael Fischesser survived a near spin on the first lap to take seventh. Cody Gardner came from 15^th to finish ninth. Luke Hall was tenth.

As this is written on a wet Sunday afternoon, the word has already been handed down that tonight’s Kokomo finale has been cancelled, but a separate USAC Midget program might be in the future for Kokomo. That’s a nice consolation prize.

Struggling to find grip on Indiana State Road 48, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Mano a Mano

In our lives over time, there will be occasions when we have a major challenge, issue, problem, you name it. This can take the form of anything or anyone. It can be a physical, emotional or mental issue. Or it could be the wolf at the door, demanding payment. Maybe it could be a fast race car with a very good racer at the wheel who is determined to pass you and take what is yours away from you. This was what was surely on Tyler Courtney's mind as he fended off Logan Seavey's every attempt to make the pass and won the fourth session of the 2019 version of Indiana Midget Week at the Bloomington Speedway as USAC's Nos Energy Drink Midget Division again gave people a reason to enjoy themselves. All this was done with a rebuilt engine, no less. Here a challenge, there a challenge…

Kevin Thomas Jr. made it four in a row as he won the sprint car feature. Cody Trammell won the MMSA mini-sprint feature.

Attrition was taking its toll as the car count dropped to 32. The new kids in class were Justin Dickerson and Kendall Ruble. C. J. Leary was out of the FMR 76 and Brady Bacon was back in the car he has driven before with some success.

I played my usual game of who set fast times and when they qualified. My discovery was that eight of the top ten qualifiers went out in the first half of the order with the top four all qualifying early and consecutively. Props went to Justin Grant and Karsyn Elledge, who were fourth and sixth fastest and went out 20^th and 21^st. Ethan Mitchell was one of the early birds and set fast time with an 11.652.

Grant won the first of four heats with Tyler Courtney not far behind. Holly Hollans was thlird and Chris Windom edged Jason McDougal for fourth.

Dave Darland won his second consecutive heat race, tonight's second heat. Lincoln Park winner Tanner Thorson was second and Karsyn Elledge took third. Noah Gass was fourth and prepared for the feature.

Kevin Thomas Jr. and Jesse Colwell traded the lead back and forth multiple times before KT took the win. Michael Pickens was third. Tanner Carrick and Brady Bacon traded fourth place multiple times before Carrick prevailed.

In the fourth heat, Chad Boat slipped by Shane Golobic coming to the white flag and won. Behind Golobic was Thomas Meseraull with Jerry Coons Jr. making another IMW feature.

The sprint count was down as well with 14 signing in. There wasn't a lot of drama in the two sprint heats. With the track receiving some moisture, the top side was the best place to be. Josh Hodges won the first heat with Thomas Meseraull and Dave Darland trailing. Kevin Thomas Jr. patiently waited for the chance to pass Gary Rooke and he did midway through the race. Rooke finished ahead of the closing TyeMihocko.

Logan Seavey led all the way to win the B main. Brady Bacon, Jason McDougal, pole sitter Ethan Mitchell, Andrew Layser and Tucker Klaasmeyer would all move on.

Grant and Meseraull led 22 fellow hungry racers to the green. Grant led early with Meseraull quickly engrossed in fighting off Boat, who had started fifth and was working the low groove with excellence. The first yellow came out on the fourth lap for LPS winner Tanner Thorson, spinning while running fourth. He rejoined the field, but things got much worse for him when he flipped in turn one three laps later, bringing out the red. Also involved were Colwell andGass. For Thorson, it was a painful lesson on the ups and downs of racing, not that he needed to be reminded.

On the re-start, Grant’s headache was Boat, who had dispatched Meseraull and was threatening to take the lead. But that battle was halted on lap nine when Elledge slid off turn three to the ditch, then tipping over, bringing out a second red flag. On the re-start the California native was able to keep the lead, but another problem appeared for the Gas City winner. That would be Tyler Courtney, shut out of victory lane so far this week. These three waged a terrific, but brief, battle for the lead. They crossed the line three wide on lap 17 with Courtney in the middle and with Grant prevailing a short while longer.

But Justin slowed, victim of a flat right rear and bringing out a yellow with 19 laps complete. The order was now Courtney, Boat, Mitchell, Seavey and Bacon. From there, Courtney might have had it made but for Seavey, who passed Boat for second on lap 21 and closed in on Courtney. For the rest of the race, it appeared that Seavey was glued to Courtney’s back bumper as both rode the cushion at the very top. It was going to take a perfectly executed monster slide job for Seavey to have any chance of winning his second IMW feature of the week. A tentative attempt at a slider on the last lap fell short as Courtney conquered the red clay oval for the second time in USAC Midget action.

Behind Courtney and Seavey was Boat. Unnoticed by many was Windom’s steady charge to the front after starting 22^nd and finishing fourth. He was also the KSE Racing Products/Prosource/Andy Peterson Re/Max Acclaimed Properties Hard Charger. Added to this accomplishment was the fact that, like his teammate Courtney, Windom was dealing with engine issues as well. Mitchell’s fifth place result was an impressive end to his evening. Bacon, reunited with his old team, was sixth. Pickens was a quiet seventh and Meseraull was eighth. Layser was ninth and Golobic came from 18^th to finish tenth.

Kevin Thomas Jr. didn’t run away and lap the field, but he had relatively little trouble in winning his fourth straight sprint feature this week. Dave Darland rang up his second runner-up finish for owner Buddy Cunningham. Thomas Meseraull recovered from an early slide-off to take the bronze medal. Josh Hodges, back in the Midwest, hopefully for the summer, was fourth. Sterling Cling made at least part of his double duty work as he came home in fifth.

One could say that Courtney may not have had a good look at his challenge, but he knew it was there in the form of Seavey. Both gave it all they had. Who could ask of them for anything more?

Points watchers noted that Seavey and Courtney passed Thorson to reside at the top of IMW standings going into Lawrenceburg.

The quote of the night belonged to Courtney, who said, “…if this was easy, everybody would do it.”

Accepting the self-imposed daily challenge of a thousand plus words per day here, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Comeback

As long as I've been thinking critically and objectively, I've tried to find a story in every single race that I have observed, from the Indianapolis 500 to the local Bomber B main. There are at least as many stories as there are participants. But most always one story will be more compelling than all the others. On a warm June night at the Lincoln Park Speedway, Tanner Thorson survived the racing equivalent of a 30 lap knife fight and won the USAC Nos Energy Drink Midget Division feature on night number three of Indiana Midget Week. He's a young man whose life was hanging in the balance only three months ago after he suffered multiple injuries in a highway accident.

 After Thorson’s triumph, Kevin Thomas Jr. won his third consecutive companion sprint car feature. Jac Nickles won the MMSA feature to close out a night of wild child racing.

The car count was 36 midgets, 26 sprints and 25 mini-sprints with Sam Johnson the only new kid on the block among the 36. Double dippers for the night were Kevin Thomas Jr., Dave Darland, Sterling Cling and Thomas Meseraull.

In one of the stranger occurrences, Jerry Coons Jr. was the last car to qualify. At Gas City he was the first. He was tenth fastest.

The big news in time trials was Kyle Larson, new owner of the track record. His 12.383 lap eclipsed Kevin Thomas Jr.’s year old record. The track didn’t exactly go away as the 36 qualified. Logan Seavey went out just before Coons and also was faster than the old record.

The first midget heat would have been the highlight of the night had the feature not been run. Slide jobs and position changes were the norm. At the end, pole sitter Jason McDougal won, leading Tanner Thorson, Tyler Courtney and Gas City winner Justin Grant to the line. The likes of Kyle Larson and Shane Golobic were relegated to the B.

Dave Darland won the second heat over his front row mate C.J. Leary, Montpelier winner Logan Seavey and Jerry Coons Jr. Gas City runner-up Cannon Mcintosh was contending when he bounced to a stop, needed a wrecker and went to the B.

Thomas Meseraull won the third heat, matching his teammate Darland. Tucker Klaasmeyer was second with Michael Pickens and Zeb Wise joining the A main party.

Jesse Colwell won the fourth heat. KT, Zach Daum and Chris Windom transferred. Zane Hendricks flipped in turn two and was out of the car rather quickly.

The sprint heats were up next and Dave Darland took the first of three heats. Lee Underwood, Thomas Meseraull, Brayden Fox and Nate McMillen all punched feature tickets.

Brady Short finally took control and won the second heat. Joining him in the feature would be Brandon Mattox, Travis Berryhill, Shelby VanGilder and Korbyn Hazlett.

Kevin Thomas Jr. led them all to the third heat checkered. Shane Cockrum started last and finished second. Sterling Cling, Gary Rooke and Harley Burns avoided the B.

It was no surprise that Kyle Larson won the midget B. Chad Boat came from 11^th to finish second. Shane Golobic, Dillon Welch, Tanner Carrick and Andrew Layser sneaked into the show. Cannon McIntosh and Karsyn Elledge tangled in turn two with Elledge getting upside down. With no damage, she re-started.

Jaden Rogers won the sprint B with Wisconsin’s Ray Seach second. Kyle Hathaway, Jesse Vermillion and brother Blake tagged the A main.

The midget feature began right at ten p.m. with Coons and Courtney in the front row. Courtney and Meseraull, who had started third, both broke out to run up front until TMez tapped Sunshine enough to cause him to spin. Meseraull slid to a stop and third place Logan Seavey had a sort of birthday present, the lead. During the rare boo-boo somehow Darland ended up facing the wrong way coming out of turn four before being towed to the pits.

The order up front was Seavey, Thomas, Coons, Golobic and Colwell. Teammates Thomas and Coons traded places a time or two before the red light blinked when Layser flipped in turn four on lap 12. On this re-start, Pickens spun in turn two. Yellow, then green again and this time Thomas wanted the lead. He took it away on the 13^th lap.

Try as he might, KT couldn’t get away from those guys. Unnoticed at first, Thorson had entered the top ten and wasn’t done. By the time the yellow waved for Welch on lap 23, Thorson was up to third behind Thomas and Seavey and ahead of Larson and Coons. The next six laps were nothing short of amazing, tense, gripping and wild. It was a crazy slider party with positions changing multiple times each lap, Somehow Seavey kept the lead until lap 27, when Thorson took over.

Larson was in the mix with the others, Thorson, Thomas, Coons and Seavey. He was running a strong third when he bounced off the turn two cushion and flipped. The NASCAR star got some serious air, but was out of the car. This was on lap 29, and the procedure is that the finish will be a green-white-checkered format. This gave the contenders an extra lap to take a shot at leader Thorson.

The final two laps were what could now be considered the normal sliding, cutting and slashing. But Thorson prevailed with Seavey a close second. Coons edged his teammate Thomas by inches to take third, running the bottom like the master he is. Thomas was fourth and Windom had his best IMW finish so far, fifth after starting 14^th. Golobic was sixth and Courtney came back from his early spin to grab seventh. Colwell was eighth and Daum came from 17^th to finish ninth. After running as high as fifth, McDougal came from 18^th to take tenth.

It was somehow fitting that the winner of the race also won the KSE Racing Products/Prosource Hard Charger Award as Thorson started 15^th.

The sprint feature was again Kevin Thomas Jr.’s personal playground was as he took the lead from Thomas Meseraull on the 14^th lap and cruised to the win. Meseraull held onto second, trailed by Shane Cockrum, Dave Darland and Brady Short in the top five. Six through ten were Lee Underwood, Brandon Mattox, Sterling Cling, Nate McMillin and Jaden Rogers, who re-started after flipping on lap 11.

The race endured three red flags for flips. All involved exited their cars with no visible injuries.

Comebacks within a race are newsworthy and should be noted. But to come back from severe injuries is rare and special. Add to that the fact that having a former employer hire you back is like the icing—well, almost. Don’t forget the “other” comeback, starting 15^th and winning. Don’t forget the fighting spirit of Tanner Thorson and others like him.

This one is for the boys who gave all at Utah, Omaha, Sword, Gold and June Beaches some 75 years ago.

Starting to think I’m living out the movie “Groundhog Day,” I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Balance of Power

The rain never arrived, despite dire predictions of thunderstorms (which struck elsewhere in Indiana), and when a late yellow flag waved, Justin Grant might have had the same thoughts about the checkered flag. One could understand why he would think that, but Grant survived that late race caution and beat young Oklahoman Cannon McIntosh by a few feet in Round Two of Indiana Midget Week at the Gas City/I-69 Speedway, presented by the USAC Nos Energy Drink Midget National Series.

Kevin Thomas Jr. won the sprint car feature. Kole Kirkman won the Micro-Sprint feature.

The time between the checkered flag at Montpelier and the gates opening at Gas City are typically my downtime, a time of blessed solitude spent reading and maybe writing. My Gas City hideaway is at the edge of the city park down by the lazy river. The rustle of the leaves is occasionally punctuated by a passing car or motorcycle or even a golf cart. Birds talk to each other. The tree leaves and the grass are a part of a peaceful picture. The brown waters of the river move about as slow as I do most of the time.

In many ways the track is near, but in other ways it’s as far away as the Atlantic Ocean. That might make sense to some but not others. Either way, it’s peaceful and comforting to sit on an unpadded picnic table’s bench and think—or contemplate.

The Gas City car count was 40 with new players Brent Watson, Davey Ray, Justin Peck, Critter Malone and Kyle Larson, who was making the first of two scheduled appearances during IMW. Double dippers were Kevin Thomas Jr., Brady Bacon and Thomas Meseraull, all running sprints and midgets. Cole Ketcham and Brandon Rose participated in both sprints and micro-sprints.

The track got faster as qualifications went on. The top five qualifiers were in the second half of those attempting to qualify. Justin Grant went out last and was fifth quick.

The midget heats were up first and Tyler Courtney led from start to finish in winning the first heat, setting a new track record for a heat. Tucker Klaasmeyer, C. J. Leary and Kyle Larson trailed.

Holly Hollan did the same in the second heat, leading all the way. Cole Bodine was second with Jesse Colwell third. Cannon McIntosh withstood pressure from Michael Pickens to make the feature.

In a twist of fate, the previous night's winner and second place finisher started in the front row. Again, Logan Seavey prevailed with Zeb Wise second. Shane Golobic took third over a closing Justin Grant. Oliver Akard had a mean turn two flip. He climbed out of the car a couple of minutes later

Kevin Thomas Jr. held off Chad Boat to win the fourth heat. Karsyn Elledge was third and Jason McDougal completed a late pass on Tanner Carrick to sneak into the show.

It was time for the sprints’ heats and Brady Bacon charged to the front on the first lap to win the first of three heats. Max Adams, Cole Ketcham, Sterling Cling and Parker Fredrickson all advanced to the feature. 

Kevin Thomas Jr. took the lead on the second lap of the second heat and motored home to the win. Kyle Robbins, in his first sprint car race in several months, was second. Clinton Boyles was third, ahead of Brandon Rose. Thomas Meseraull came from the back to take fifth.

Tim Creech II won the third heat with Corey Smith, Dustin Ingles, Lee Underwood and second generation racer Brayden Clark trailing.

Bacon moved easily from his sprinter to his midget and won the C Main, taking Ethan Mitchell, Justin Peck and Michael Koontz with him to the B.

The midget B was next and Tanner Thorson won. Michael Pickens finished second despite nearly stalling and stacking up a group behind him. Jerry Coons Jr., Tanner Carrick, Andrew Laser and Zach Daum all earned positions in the feature. Mitchell came up one position short, nearly coming from the C main to making the A Main.

Korbyn Hazlett edged Tyler Hewitt to take the sprint B. Scotty Weir, repairs made by Scott Pedersen, charged from ninth to finish a close third. Newcomer Brad Greenup was fourth, ahead of Billy Cribbs.

It was showtime and leading the pack to the green was Leary and Grant, who took the lead as Leary slowly faded. McDougal quickly took second as the race’s first yellow waved on the second lap. Leary was third, ahead of McIntosh and Thorson. On the re-start, McDougal’s assignment was to make Leary’s life miserable.

He did until lap ten, when he passed Leary. A yellow came outin turn four with the race half over as Golobic and Coons banged wheels a bit too hard with Golobic, who ended up in turn four facing the wrong way. Grant led McDougal, McIntosh, Thorson and Leary.

A lap after this re-start saw McIntosh pass McDougal, one promising Okie dueling with another. Jesse Colwell spun in turn four another lap later. The green waved again and this would be a longer all-out segment in which Grant built a good-sized lead to the point where he might have been tempted to count his eggs.

Behind him, Pickens was on the move, with lap 28 approaching, he was third and had his sites on McIntosh. That was delayed as Klaasmeyer slid off turn four. Grant’s big lead was gone, and he had two hungry lions at his door, McIntosh and Pickens. The battling was delayed again when Coons and Elledge tangled right after the green light came on. Grant kept his cool, though it was surely difficult.

On this last re-start, Pickens, who experienced accelerating problems earlier, couldn’t get up to speed as Grant and McIntosh ran away. In the scramble behind them, Kyle Larson (remember him?) annexed third place. Coming to the green, McIntosh dove low coming out of four and was nearly side by side with Grant at the line.

Behind those two, Larson, who had stuck with the high groove for much of the race, finally saw that pay off with a third. McDougal could not have been pleased with fourth, but there it was. Thorson was fifth and Courtney was the KSE Racing Products/Prosource Hard Charger, coming from 15^th to sixth. Daum, like McIntosh, was a single car team and took seventh. Carrick was eighth and Chris Windom came from provisional-land to take ninth, passing more cars than Courtney, but ineligible for being the official hard charger. Wise was tenth after starting 18^th.

The sprint feature was next and Nostradamus predicted that Thomas and Bacon would dominate, which they did. Bacon led the first lap, but Thomas took over from there, winning by a straightaway over Bacon. Behind those two was a dogfight with Californian Max Adams emerging from the pack to finish third. Corey Smith was fourth and Thomas Meseraull came from 14^th to finish fifth. Tim Creech II was sixth and Scotty Weir was the hard charger, coming from the tail of the B to start 18^th in the feature and finish seventh. Lee Underwood, Cole Ketcham and rookie Brandon Rose completed the top ten.

After a forgettable night at Montpelier, Grant and crew didn’t hang their heads. Instead, they decided to move on and ignore the rear view mirror. Maybe we all should do that from time to time.

Firing AccuWeather, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Don't Count These Guys Out

Some of the speculation around the cheap seats concerning the competition within the USAC National Midget Division is that, without Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Rico Abreu signing in, one of the other teams will step up. But Logan Seavey might say, "Hold on, you pundits. Those guys aren't here, but I am.” On opening night of the 2019 edition of Indiana Midget Week at the Montpelier Motor Speedway, Seavey emphatically made his point. He took the lead early in the 30 lap feature from Zeb Wise and hung on to win with quasi-teammate Tanner Thorson less than a second behind.

Kevin Thomas Jr. won the sprint car feature.

The rain has hit Montpelier so hard, this was their first race of 2019, probably a record of some kind. Farmers in the area might say, “Tell us about it.”

Perhaps a few of those pundits also decry the state of both USAC and POWRi’s midget series, saying that these multi-car teams are killing the sport they love. They aren’t killing it, at least from where I sit. For opening night of IMW, 38 cars showed up. Granted, a hefty percentage of the car count was made up of multi-car teams. But folks might not realize that, just because these guys are teammates doesn’t mean they don’t race each other hard. They surely do. I’m sure that their only team orders are not to crash each other—unless you are racing each other clean and hard. This isn’t Formula One, Indy Car or NASCAR. Thank God for that.

Several states (12) and one foreign country (New Zealand) were represented with Indiana leading the way with ten drivers who list a hometown here. Oklahoma beat all others with seven. California had six of their own. Other states with racers included Arizona, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Kansas, Alabama, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

Tyler Courtney’s 14.029 laps was quickest of the 38. Kyle Larson’s year old record was safe.

Tanner Carrick came from fifth to win the first heat with Kevin Thomas Jr. starting and finishing second. Justin Grant and Shane Golobic slipped into the show as Jesse Colwell smacked the turn four wall coming to the checkered.

The second heat was a full moon type heat with all kinds of strange activity. On the first lap Logan Seavey attempted a turn three slide job which ended with Dave Darland flipping and Seavey stopped on the track. Dave re-started the race. Residual damage was incurred by Billy Wease and Dillon Welch. On the re-start, Seavey drove as if he was late for an important meeting, coming from the back to win on the last lap, negotiating the treacherous high side like a pro. Jason McDougal, Chad Boat (from last) and Tucker Klaasmeyer trailed.

Zach Daum held off Tyler Courtney to win the third heat as Sunshine's attempt to use the high groove came up a bit short. Jerry Coons Jr. was third and Michael Pickens (arguably, the world’s fastest Kiwi) passed C. J. Leary on the last lap to scoot into the show.

Cannon McIntosh must have been shot out of a cannon as he came from the back on the first lap and held on to win the fourth heat. Not far behind was Zeb Wise. Tanner Thorson took third with Chris Windom getting fourth after a struggle with Noah Gass.

Thomas Meseraull, one of three racers (also, Thomas and Bacon) doing double duty, won the B over C.J. Leary, Dillon Welch, Dave Darland, Kyle Cummins and Zane Hendricks.

The flying twins, Seavey and Wise, led the mob to the green with Wise taking control at the start. The only thing slowing either down was the race’s lone yellow flag on the fourth lapwhen Meseraull stopped on the backstretch. Seavey had made the pass for the lead but had to give it back. On the re-start, Wise led Seavey, Thorson, Courtney and Golobic.

On the seventh lap, Seavey passed Wise for the lead, using a perfectly timed slide job, but couldn’t shake the youngster from Angola, IN (even farther north than Montpelier). Midway through the race, lapped traffic came into play, but the top three weaved their way through the crowd with seemingly little effort.

If the lapped traffic wasn’t enough of a challenge, the cushion at both ends of the track was not much more than a sliver. Time and time again the frontrunners sailed around the top, inches from disaster. Most, but not all, lapped cars dove to the bottom as the leaders approached, but one had to remember that the lappers were racing for position as well.

With only five laps to go, Thorson got around Wise for second. While he could stay close to his teammate/rival, Thorson could get no closer than 0.9 seconds at the end. Wise was third with Courtney fourth. Welch was an impressive fifth, considering that the front end of his car was beat up in his heat race. Golobic was sixth and McDougal was seventh. Thomas came from 15^th to finish eighth. Carrick was ninth and Windom took tenth.

This was Seavey’s first midget win this season. It was also his first IMW victory.

The KSE Racing Products/Prosource Hard Charger was Coons, who came from 20^th to 11^th. Of note was McIntosh who started 21^st and finished 12^th.

The sprint feature was won by Thomas, who followed race-long leader Meseraull for much of the 25 lap race before making the pass on a hard, dry and slick surface after a lap 23 re-start. The pass was a classic slide job, the only successful one that KT had attempted for the duration of the race. TMez was second with Lee Underwood passing Brady Bacon for third on the last lap. Korbyn Hazlett came from back in the pack to finish fifth.

Contact between Clinton Boyles and Isaac Chapple sent Chapple flipping hard off turn two. Isaac was not thrilled and sought to discuss matters right away but was not successful—at least while on the track.

The rain stayed away, as one and all hope it does for Gas City.

Seavey had the quote of the night when he said, “Do you stay in line and follow them or try to get another car in between you and second place?  These are the decisions you have to make.” Why, we could all write another thousand words or so about how that works in our lives. Such wisdom from a “kid.”

Thinking that I’m still a kid until I sit in one place too long, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes

Who knows what motivates race drivers? It could be the need to make money to feed or clothe growing children. It might be the desire of beating one’s peers and rivals. Or maybe it’s the obsession of winning at a new race track, or an older, but familiar track. Perhaps it’s the sheer joy, or rush, if you will, of ripping the top groove at a favored track, inches from the wall, chased by a pack of snarling V-8 engines driven by friends, contemporaries and rivals who would love nothing more than taking away the leader’s position and grabbing the gold and glory for themselves. On a cool Sunday night, Justin Grant withstood the parrying and thrusting from first Clinton Boyles, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Thomas Meseraull to win the Kokomo Klassic. Minutes after Grant’s triumph, Anton Hernandez won the 305 Racesavers feature, an all-green affair.

Just because it was warm and pleasant in southern Indiana didn’t mean that northern Indiana’s Sunday evening weather would be warm and pleasant. A cool breeze from either Peru or maybe Sault St. Marie, Michigan visited the track. But one dared not complain. There wasn’t a cloud to be found. Besides, the breeze shut down as the sun sank in the west.

The Kokomo sprint count was 23, including Australia’s Gary Rooke, back for another summer of Hoosier racin’. Matt Cooley made the trek from Ohio, as did Lee Underwood. The 305s numbered 24, including guys like Ethan Barrow and John Paynter who have some non-wing experience.

Group qualifying went pretty much as expected. Dave Darland, in Jamie Paul's entry, led the first group with a 13.207 lap. Thomas Meseraull was fastest in the second group, ringing up a 13.125. Scotty Weir was the quickest of all as he led the third group with a blistering 12.989.

The first heat was a high flying freight train around the top with engineer Clinton Boyles leading Isaac Chapple, Darland, Mario Clouser and TyeMihocko to the feature.

Justin Grant beat Thomas Meseraull to the checkered in the second heat by a very few feet. Tyler Hewitt, Koby Barksdale and Corey Smith trailed.

Scotty Weir was back in fifth place temporarily in the third heat before darting between two cars and taking the lead on the second lap. From there he ran away with the win with Kevin Thomas Jr. second. Cole Ketchum, Lee Underwood and Anthony D'Alessio avoided the B.

The Racesavers had three heats of their own and Jeff Wimmenauer won the first with Anton Hernandez a distant second. Pole sitter SabanBibent was third, ahead of Ryan Tusing and Alfred Galedrige.

Ethan Barrow was the second heat winner, trailed by a trio of cars numbered 23. Pilots were John Paynter, Jordan Welch and Bradley Sterret. Andy Bradley took the last position to transfer.

Pole sitter Jackson Slone won the third heat over Justin Clark, Damon Fortune, Eli Lakin and A. J. Carlson.

The 410 B winner was Ben Knight, with Travis Hery, Matt Cooley, Gary Rooke and Parker Fredrickson all tagging the field for the finale.

Scott Bradley passed Rod Henning late in the race to win the Racesavers' last chance. Patrick Kren, Alex Nalon and Keith Champoux punched A main tickets.

Grant and Boyles led the gang to Tom Hansing’s green flag. The first ten laps of this race were vintage Kokomo as first Grant, then Boyles would take the lead only to lose it. My very unofficial count was four lead changes at the line. That doesn’t count the changes in the turns and on the backstretch. By the time the tenth lap rolled around, Thomas joined the two frontrunners. With ten complete, he passed Boyles for second. And, three laps later, he passed Grant.

Matt Cooley brought out the yellow on lap 14 (of 30). Thomas and Grant led Meseraull, who had crashed the party as well, relegating Boyles to fourth. Weir was fifth. After the re-start, three laps were completed when Ketchum flipped in turn two. Cole exited the car, which didn’t appear to be heavily damaged. Weir had passed Boyles for fourth.

Soon after the re-start, Grant took the lead back, flying around the top of turn two on lap 19. The following lap saw Clouser spin in turn four, bringing out the yellow flag and lights. The top five were Grant, Thomas, Meseraull, Weir and Boyles.

The last segment saw Thomas fade only slightly, but not without a fight. TMez made the pass on the 22^nd lap. Try as he might, Meseraull could not close the gap much on Grant, though both put some distance between themselves and the field. Lap 25 saw Weir pass Thomas for third. As the leaders approached lapped traffic as Tom double checked to see if his white flag was ready, Meseraull had his best chance to steal this race. But Grant handled the traffic like the pro he is.

The top five were Grant, Meseraull, Weir, Thomas and Boyles. Darland was sixth and Chapple was seventh. Hewitt started and finished eighth. Hery deserved a nod for coming from 17^th to take ninth. Plus, Clouser recovered from his spin to grab tenth.

Up next were the Racesavers and Jordan Welch took the early lead. That lasted one lap as John Paynter took over. He was looking like a possible winner, but Anton Hernandez was on the move. From fifth, the Texan was second with eight laps complete. The chase was on with both Paynter and Hernandez skillfully working their way through lapped traffic as Anton steadily closed the gap. Finally, on the 15^th lap, the pass for the lead was made with Hernandez sealing the deal coming off turn two. From there, it was all Hernandez as the feature was all-green.

Damon Fortune was third behind Hernandez and Paynter. Bradley Sterett came from 11^th to take fourth. Ethan Barrow was fifth. Andy Bradley started 13^th and finished sixth. Scott Bradley advanced from 16^th to eighth. Jordan Welch, Ryan Tusing and Justin Clark completed the top ten.

Presumably the baby got a new pair of shoes and maybe a new toy.

Another series of big events in the Indiana open wheel scene awaits. As this is written, I hope to be furiously taking notes at the Montpelier Speedway in about 24 hours. It’s time for Indiana Midget Week awaits.

Waltzing while the band plays disco, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Chief Rides High

Shane Cockrum was leading this race and there weren’t too many laps to go. He wasn’t one to count his chickens too early and it was a good thing he didn’t. Out of the corner of his left eye, he saw a white car. Who in the wide world of slide jobs was that? So much for that big lead. So much for thinking that this race at the Lincoln Park Speedway would be his personal playground, especially after Brent Beauchamp had left the race with mechanical miseries. That was Jarett Andretti down there at the bottom and he was working it pretty good. But the top groove that Cockrum had been using and abusing for most all the race didn’t let him down. He gradually pulled away and won the mid-season championship after a race long struggle to ride the high side to the checkered.

Of note among the 31 were some surprises. Kent Christian appeared with a mount containing an interesting number, 316. Not only does that refer to an often quoted Bible verse, it represents Kent's number, one, combined with his dad's number many years ago, 36. Third generation racer Brayden Fox was taking a break from winged sprints to further his racing education. With dad Brad and uncle Steve on hand, the youngster was sure to learn a lot. Pavement ace Jacob Wilson made an unexpected visit to the dirt. Brandon Morin was on hand, hoping that the team's engine woes were history. Finally, there was fifteen year old Connor Robertson, a third generation racer from Shelbyville...Illinois.

Greencastle, Indiana's Jesse Vermillion won the first heat. Matt Moore was second. Jarett Andretti came from the back to take third. Arizona's TyeMihocko held on for fourth.

Midway through the second heat Brent Beauchamp took the lead and disappeared. Zach Hampton was an impressive second. Blake Vermillion and Jaden Rogers both made the show.

Shane Cockrum took the third heat, leading Brandon Mattox, Matt McDonald and front row starter Joey Parker transferred.

Starting on the front row for a change, Joe Stornetta won the fourth heat. Colton Cottle was second. Travis Berryhill finished third and Jacob Wilson held on to grab fourth.

Mario Clouser won the B main, earning the right to start 17^th in the A. Alec Sipes was second and Harley Burns stuck with the high groove to take third. Brayden Fox was fourth and had made the feature in his first non-wing sprint outing. Koby Barksdale had trouble negotiating turn two on the last lap while running second. As a result, he missed the show and Fox was in.

J. Vermillion and Beauchamp were the first to see the green and the kid from just up the road led the first lap. He might have been thinking to himself, “Man, I just took the lead from Brent Beauchamp!” Can’t blame him for thinking that. Alas, it wasn’t going to stay that way as Beauchamp took the lead on the third lap. Two laps later, Cockrum passed Vermillion for second. Not much later, that would be a crucial pass.

It was crucial because Beauchamp slowed and pulled into the infield with six complete. Just like that, Cockrum was in the lead, and playing up high on the cushion with no one in front of him on the track. A lap later, Matt Moore spun in turn four, bringing out a yellow. Cockrum had Stornetta behind him now, the Californian who had passed many cars the night before at Paragon. J. Vermillion was third with C. Cottle and Mattox behind him.

Worth noting was Andretti in sixth and Clouser tenth.

Stornetta wasn’t going to let Cockrum get away and was a true threat. But it ended on the 12^th lap when Joe came off turn four a bit out of shape. He hit the wall and flipped on the frontstretch. My man Brian Hodde might have had a better look at the flip than anyone else. But the flagger could be forgiven for ducking. After a few minutes of clearing his head, Joe exited the car.

During the previous green flag segment, Andretti had been busy. On the re-start, he was third behind Cockrum and Cottle. Three laps later, on the 14^th lap, Andretti passed Cottle for second. And he was gaining on the leader. But another yellow waved on lap 16 when Cottle spun in turn four. Everyone missed him, but a fine performance by the Illinois native was done.

The front runners were Cockrum, Andretti, Mattox, J. Vermillion and Rogers. As had been their habit, Cockrum went high and Andretti worked the bottom. They broke away from the pack somewhat as a battle for third on back erupted. Berryhill was on the move. Sixth on the re-start, he was in the mix for third now.

One final yellow waved on lap 21. It was show-and-tell time. Cockrum and Andretti ran mostly side by side for the first two laps of this re-start. But the bottom was not proving to be as effective for Andretti now as the Chief opened up a sizable gap, one that he would not allow to shrink.

Behind Cockrum was Andretti, who had started ninth. Berryhill was a strong third after starting 12^th. Clouser rambled from 17^th to grab fourth; he was the race’s hard charger. Matt McDonald came from 11^th to fifth. Pole sitter J. Vermillion may have faded to sixth, but it was still an impressive run. Rogers was seventh and Mihocko took eighth. Alec Sipes navigated his way to ninth after starting 18^th. Finally, Brayden Fox, in his first non-wing sprint feature, came from last/20^th to take tenth. Not a bad debut at all.

The winner’s strategy is one we might be able to use at times. Stick with your plan even when things look like they might not be working out. Exercise a little patience and good things might come to pass.

Mulling over my decision to switch to rain tires, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Three of a Kind

The Midwest Sprint Car Series came calling to the Paragon Speedway for the first time in nearly a decade on a beautiful Friday night. The 27 teams that made the trip to the venerable three eighths mile paperclip oval combined to provide the crowd with some quality competition which ended with Kyle Cummins edging Dakota Jackson and Brady Short for the feature win. This was followed by the Paragon Speedway sprints’ feature, won by Josh Cunningham.

The rain has delayed the planting season, but this particular part of Indiana enjoyed nice weather as the weekend approached. So I kept my cool when I was slowed by a, what else, farmer on his way to do what he did best, plow a field somewhere in Morgan County and hold up traffic. It was Friday, which meant traffic will always be a factor.

I arrived just in time for the drivers’ meeting and to look around and see who had shown up. There were the 27 MSCS sprints joined by 23 Paragon sprints running a completely different program. The cast of characters featured no real surprises.

A.J. Hopkins won the first MSCS heat with Jaden Rogers, Kyle Cummins, Colton Cottle and Chase Stockon (again, teaming with Kent Schmidt) all moving on to the feature.

Dakota Jackson moved from fourth to first on the first lap and led all the way to win the second heat. Trailing were Brady Short, Brandon Mattox, Chet Williams and Brian Karraker.

Pole sitter Jordan Kinser won the third heat with his front row mate Travis Berryhill second. As nearly everyone worked the bottom, Dave Darland (again in the Buddy Cunningham car), was third ahead of Aric Gentry and Hunter O’Neal.

The Paragon sprints ran three heats with David Truax winning the first heat over Brian Cahill and Tres Mehler.

Josh Cunningham won the second heat. Jesse Vermillion was second. These two would meet again later. Rookie Austin Nigh was third.

Jake Henderson took the third heat with Cody Leohr second. Ben Knight was third.

There would be no B Main for the Paragon sprinters, but the MSCS had their B and it, too, was a good one. Shane Cottle triumphed with Matt McDonald second. Chayse Hayhurst came from seventh to finish third. Donny Brackett came from ninth to fourth. Joe Stornetta had mechanical issues which caused him to miss his heat. From 12^th he patiently made his way to the front, stealing fifth from Kyle Hathaway coming to the checkered flag. Mr. Stornetta wasn’t done with excellence for the night.

Berryhill and Short led 19 of their classmates to the green. Right off the start, one could see that Jackson had a strong horse in this race. From fifth he advanced to second behind Berryhill as the first lap was completed. This lasted until the fourth lap when a yellow waved for Matt McDonald, who spun in turn four. Four laps later, nothing had changed between Berryhill and Jackson when Brandon Mattox spun while Chet Williams stopped on track. The two leaders were trailed by Short, Kinser and Cummins.

On the re-start, Jackson dove low in turn two and won the drag race down the backstretch to take the lead. The third yellow flag of the race waved on lap 14 when Colton Cottle went over the turn four banking. The running order up front stayed the same, except Jackson now led Berryhill, Short, Kinser and Cummins.

But things were about to get interesting. Lap 17 saw Cummins pass Kinser for fourth. Cummins’ next victim was Berryhill, who Kyle passed on the 19^th lap. On the 20^thlap, the top three were inches apart. As they exited turn two, Cummins found a tremendous amount of traction and passed both Berryhill and Jackson on the outside. From there he tried to pull from the other two, but not too far because Short and Jackson wouldn’t go away.

Coming to the checkered, Cummins led by a few feet as Jackson and Short dueled side by side, giving it all they had to give. By inches, Jackson prevailed. Hopkins got around Berryhill late in the race to take fourth. Jaden Rogers, a Paragon winner this year, finished sixth. Kinser faded only slightly to seventh. Dave Darland rang up his second top ten finish for Buddy Cunningham with an eighth-place result. Joe Stornetta came from starting last in the B main to starting last in the feature, then ending up ninth and earning the Certified Rentals Hard Charger award. Shane Cottle came from the B to start 16th and finish tenth.

Up next were the Paragon sprints and the story there was one of patience. Coming to the initial green flag waved by Brian Hodde, a scrum ensued that ended with the truly ageless Dave Peperak sitting in the infield with a messed up front end before crossing the start/finish line.

The second attempt went better as Jesse Vermillion took the lead over Cody Leohr. A slowdown came on lap four when David Hair and Blake Vermillion tangled. J. Vermillion still led Leohr, Jake Henderson, David Truax and Josh Cunningham. Three laps after the re-start, Cunningham passed Truax for fourth. A lap later, Henderson was Josh’s next victim. Right around the halfway point, Cunningham passed Leohr for second.

It was almost a given that the personable veteran would close the gap on leader J. Vermillion. But for the time being, Cunningham would stalk Vermillion, both using the high groove with a nice cushion on a track that had already seen a lot of traffic.

On the 16^th lap, the yellow waved when Brian Cahill stopped in the middle groove of the backstretch. Somehow everyone missed him. This re-start had Vermillion leading Cunningham, with Brandon Spencer now occupying third place. Would he have something for Cunningham?

That answer would have to wait a short while as David Truax spun while running fourth before a lap was completed. The race’s final re-start saw Cunningham dive low coming out of the fourth turn and make the pass for the lead and eventually the win.

By the time the 25 laps were completed, Josh had checked out, leaving J. Vermillion to hold off B. Spencer and take second. Cody Leohr was a steady fourth. Ben Knight came from ninth to finish fifth. Henderson was sixth and Travis Spencer motored from 15^th to seventh. Colin Parker was the hard charger, coming from last/20^th to end up eighth. Austin Nigh was ninth and B. Vermillion came back from his early spin to finish tenth.

All that and it was over at 10:45 p.m. Not bad at all.

I would think that most fans went home happy, no matter how their favorite did. Among the sprints, there were no red flags and I think all 50 sprints that showed were able to load their cars onto the trailer in one piece. Me, I was happy to go home in one piece.

Incurring a drive-through penalty at McDonald’s, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Commitment

Commitment takes many forms, but on Saturday night at the Lincoln Park Speedway, it paid off for Kevin Thomas Jr. as he chose the high groove to conduct his race when most others hugged the bottom. By the time they followed Thomas to the cushion, he was gone, taking the win in the MSCS sanctioned feature.

Joe Spiker’s playpen was nearly filled as 98 cars or so signed in, with 40 of them sprint cars. As is usually the case, there were a few intriguing combinations. Dave Darland, who can drive for anyone with a sprint car, hooked up with Buddy Cunningham for the night. Western racers TyeMihocko (Peoria AZ, a Phoenix suburb) and Max Adams (Loomis CA, a small town next door to R. Ballou’s hometown of Rocklin).

Group qualifying was the method for heat race lineups and Colton Cottle was quickest of all, turning a 12.435 lap. He ran with the fifth of five groups that qualified for position in their respective heats.

The first heat was the proverbial wild and crazy. Jordan Kinser won with Bill Rose second. Early in the race Travis Berryhill and Andrew Prather tangled with Berryhill suffering a flat tire. On the last lap, Matt McDonald tangled with Prather and ended his race facing the wrong way on the backstretch. Matt was so excited about the proceedings he threw his steering wheel at Mr. Prather, who finished third after the excitement.

The rest of the heats were relatively tame by Lincoln Park standards. Carson Short won the second heat with Brandon Mattox and Shane Cockrum moving to the main.

Dave Darland cruised to the third heat win over Brady Short and Mario Clouser.

Experimenting with the high and low grooves, Kevin Thomas Jr. won the fourth heat with Kyle Cummins second and Max Adams third.

The fifth heat did have some drama as Robert Ballou won. Joe Stornettatraded positions with Stephen Schnapfuntil making the pass late in the race to take second.

Collin Ambrose won the C Main and led four others to tag the B. Clinton Boyles led four more to tag the 25-lap feature.

As is often the case, it must have been tempting to conclude that pole sitter Ballou had this one locked up. Sure enough, he jumped out to the early lead and was leading when the first yellow waved when Stephen Schnapf, Clinton Boyles, Aric Gentry and Nate McMillen all met in turn two.

On the re-start, Ballou took off and tried to leave the rest behind, using the low groove that was popular with most of the field. But with each lap, it became apparent that the high side was looking good, especially if one of those testing that groove was named Kevin Thomas Jr. In the earliest laps, KT struggled to keep up with his friends down low, but gradually, either the low groove became slower or the land by the cushion became faster or…both?

At any rate, Thomas began challenging the leader after the yellow and made the pass on the 11^th lap. Soon after this, the red flag came out when Andrew Prather’s eventful night came to an end as he flipped off turn two. Andrew was able to climb out of the car by himself.

McMillen spun on lap 13, slowing action again. Thomas still led Ballou and Kinser. It was now tempting to think that KT would check out and things would play out that way. Once again, trying to predict how things would end and what would happen would be a futile exercise. If anyone hoped that Thomas would check out, they were to be surprised and/or disappointed.

Ballou decided that the high side wasn’t so bad after all. Thomas may or may not have known it, but Ballou was reeling him in as the laps wound down. And then the unexpected happened.

The wounded car of Stephen Schnapf was stopped in turn one as the yellow waved. But it waved too late for Ballou, who bounced off Schnapf’s car to a stop. Kinser, who had been running third, slid to a stop to miss Ballou. And just like that, things changed just they can do in real life. I didn’t see Schnapf’s Kinser’s reactions, but Ballou was, to understate, livid.

The finish would be an authentic green/white/checkered affair. But the drama was pretty much over, at least up front. Thomas wasn’t seriously threatened to win. Behind him were the guys who benefitted from Ballou’s and Kinser’s misfortune. Darland had been looking at a very decent third place finish, but was pleased to take second instead. The most entertaining aspect of the latter portions of the race was Bill Rose, who started ninth and put-putted around the huggy pole and nearly took second, but fell just a bit short. Speaking of Short, Carson had a decent race, ending up fourth. Shane Cockrum, under the radar all evening, came from 12^th to take fifth.

Mario Clouser came from 13^th to finish sixth. Joe Stornetta finished where he started, seventh. Brady Short was eighth and Kyle Cummins was ninth. Chase Stockon came all the way from the B Main, 18^th to take tenth.

Thomas proved that sometimes one can benefit by recognizing the quickest way around the track and sticking with it. Of course, it doesn’t hurt when one’s main competitor is taken out by a freak accident. But that’s part of racing, too. Like life, sometimes it’s fair and other times it isn’t.

Making my new goal in life to consume the complete bag of Lincoln Park Speedway’s famous popcorn, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Love/Hate

Robert Ballou stood at the start/finish line at the Bloomington Speedway last night and told PA maestro Brad Dickison that Bloomington was his worst track. Yet he admitted that he loves the place. After last night's feature, he loves it more.

Ballou’s comments are somewhat typical. Racers like some tracks better than others, nothing wrong with that. But it’s one of life’s humorous ironies that a given racer will triumph at a track that has bedeviled him over time.

For racers, the red clay oval is a challenge. Tight, narrow and very high banked, with straightaways that aren’t straight (ask my youngest grandson who has taken several laps there), Bloomington is an acquired taste. To win or even run well there is quite an accomplishment for any racer.

This was the annual Josh Burton Memorial, remembering a young man who lost his life at Bloomington six years ago. Josh would be 28 years old now and might well be one of the best, not only at Bloomington, but perhaps lots of other places as well.

My unofficial car count was a healthy 110 cars in the pits. MSCS Sprints accounted for 29 of those cars with 25 RaceSavers, 31 Midgets and 25 mods. This was the biggest gathering for a non-Sprint Week show at Bloomington in a long time.

With USAC rained out, Ballou was joined by a few of his competitors, including Chase Stockon in a team car to Kent Schmidt. Isaac Chapple made the trip from Henry County. Dave Darland was in his Kokomo neighbor Dustin Smith’s car. Shane Cottle was reunited with Tony Epperson. Even Levi Jones stopped by with the USAC pace truck. (Remember that USAC is heavily involved with running this track with local racer A.J. Bowlen).

Stephen Schnapf led all the way to win the first heat. Robert Ballou won the second. Isaac Chapple took the third heat after Kent Schmidt bobbled in turn four, nearly taking others out as well. A.J. Hopkins won the fourth heat.

John Paynter Jr. won the first RaceSaver heat. Ethan Barrow took the second heat as Andy Bradley spun and collected Alfred Galeridge. Bradley Sterrett and Hot Rod Henning won heats three and four.

Kendall Ruble, Sterling Cling and Jon Watson won the midget heats.

Devin Gilpin, Will Krup and Jacoby Hines won the modified heats.

The sprint B was a perfect illustration of the highs and lows of racing and life. Dave Darland started on the tail after exiting his heat with car trouble. He stormed through the field and took the lead with three laps to go. But it wasn’t going to happen. Again, he left the track with mechanical woes as Donnie Brackett won.

The front row of Kyle Cummins and Jordan Kinser led the mob to the green with Cummins taking the early advantage. The first try to get things going was interrupted when Carson Short stopped on the first lap. A complete re-start was ordered and again Cummins jumped out to the early lead. But Robert Ballou was on the move. From his fifth starting position, Ballou steadily marched to the front. Riding high, he was second on lap four and had Cummins in his sights.

Immediately after the crossed flags were displayed, Ballou took the lead from Cummins with Kinser and Hopkins in the neighborhood. Just moments later, Hopkins had a boo-boo but didn’t lose a position.

As the laps wound down, Ballou pretty much had his way while Cummins, Kinser and Hopkins had a three-way war for second. At the end the front runners stayed the same with Dakota Jackson finishing fifth in his best Bloomington effort in some time. Dickie Gaines was sixth, followed by Joe Stornetta who charged from 16th to seventh. Isaac Chapple was eighth and Carson Short recovered nicely from his early troubles to take ninth. Shane Cottle was tenth.

The RaceSavers took over and Kerry Kinser took the early lead, but Ryan Tusing was on a mission. With three laps in, Tussing passed Kinser for the lead, which he kept to the checkered flag. Andy Bradley was second. Ethan Barrow came on strong in the latter part of the race to finish third. Kinser was fourth and Damon Fortune took fifth. Scott Bradley, John Paynter, Bradley Sterrett, Jordan Welch and Alex Nalon were the second five.

Up next were the Midgets with 27 cars starting the feature (no B main). Kendall Ruble was the early leader until lap ten when Sterling Cling took over. Cling led the rest of the way and stopped at the start/finish line to get his picture taken. Ruble was second with ChettGehrke third. Aaron Leffel was fourth and Patrick Ryan fifth. Jacob Denney, Cody Trammell, Cory Guingrich, Ian Creager and Jack Routson finished sixth through tenth.

Ryan Thomas won the modified feature after Devin Gilpin broke.

I would nominate the Bloomington Speedway as the early leader of anyone’s Comeback of the Year award. With its future up in the air not too long ago, the red clay oval is back, albeit with a reduced schedule. Navigating crowded pits for me is often a chore. It can be somewhat risky. But on a beautiful Friday night in southern Indiana, making my way through the pits might have been my biggest challenge all evening. I didn’t mind at all.

Neither did I mind my homeboy Doug Southern sharing his buffalo quesadilla with me. (To be truthful, I ate most of it with no help from anyone, not even Mike O’Leary.) Unintentionally, Doug added another choice for me when my next suppertime at the Bloomington Speedway rolls around.

Unlike Mr. Ballou, I love this old track, no matter what. Also, unlike Mr. Ballou, I have never won a feature at Bloomington.

Inviting Simon Pagenaud to join me at Indiana Sprint Week, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Funeral for a Friend

With apologies to Reginald Dwight, a/k/a Elton John. The overriding issue of the final night of the Hoosier Hundred was the sad fact that this was most likely the last time we would see USAC Silver Crown racing on the Indiana State Fairgrounds mile oval. But the melancholia was put aside for a few hours and the racers did what they did best, race. At the end of the wild and woolly racin', Tyler Courtney used a high side pass on a lap 92 restart on Kevin Thomas Jr. to pull away for a convincing win in the 64th running of this race.

Folks, don't kid yourselves. Think of just about any race track you want and consider how close that track is to extinction. There are several ways for a track to go belly up; in fact, politicians need not be involved. Rather than weep and wail and gnash our teeth, let us support these tracks as much as we can.

The Hoosier Hundred has been hijacked by the unholy alliance of politicians and the horse/casino crowd. Politicians have seen a potential revenue source in converting the oval into a year-round horse track. Add a few poker tables and slot machines and open the doors to the wannabe gamblers (racers, promoters and the like, are the real gamblers). Then start counting the money for the State Fair, the city and county, and maybe the state. Tradition be damned; there is money to be made—and distributed to the “right” people.

Enough of that. I wandered around all evening, taking in as much as I could. Thirty-nine of the forty-two entries appeared. It was an interesting cast of characters, led by 1997 Hoosier Hundred winner Chuck Leary, wishing to tackle the old track one last time. There were a host of, well, graybeards, semi-retired types who wanted to turn some laps before the end. The likes of Eric Gordon, Jeff Swindell, Bill Rose, Johnny Heydenreich, Russ Gamester and Brian Tyler couldn’t resist one more shot at what….laps, good memories? At any rate, we were all fortunate to have them come out.

Qualifying was interesting. A cloud cover appeared as time trials were winding down and some guys who went out late benefitted, or at least that what seemed to be. Quick timer Kevin Thomas Jr. went out twenty-ninth. Second quick Chris Windom was thirty-fifth in line. Kody Swanson was last to take two laps and was fourth quick, despite uncooperative brakes.

The twenty-four fastest were locked into the show and fifteen others were to scratch and claw for the last six spots in the thirty-car field. Jason McDougal took the lead halfway through the twelve lap semi-feature from Eric Gordon and ran away from the field to win the privilege of starting twenty-fifth. McDougal wasn’t done impressing the crowd. Sadly, the senior Leary’s attempt to make the show fell one place short.

The pre-race festivities were over and the cars eased away from the frontstretch, a beautiful sight to see. At 9:18 p.m. the green flag was waved and Windom took off from his outside front row spot to lead. But disaster quickly struck the Illinois native when he somehow shredded a right rear tire, lost control and flipped wildly just past the starter’s stand on the sixth lap. Windom got out of the car under his own power, not knowing that less than twenty-four hours later he would be involved in another vicious crash at the Speedway when another competitor spun in front of him, with both cars grinding along the turn three wall.

The race re-started and Thomas inherited the lead with Courtney second. The extended middle part of the hundred lapper saw these two up front as others advanced or faded. Shane Cottle was strong early on before he had clutch trouble after moving from nineteenth to fifth, exiting the race on lap sixty-three. The other car drawing attention was that of McDougal, who discovered a rare cushion in the turns and wasn’t shy about using it. From twenty-fifth he steadily moved through the field, displaying uncommon ability and adaptability. Like Cottle, he ran as high as fifth before losing a spot near the end.

Silver Crown races are like enduro racing compared to sprint and midget features. This one’s middle portion lasted a long time as Thomas maintained a healthy lead and drove away on each re-start after a yellow. But later in each SC race, it will be showandtell time. For this one, it came very late.

Chris Dyson flipped coming out of turn two on lap ninety-three. The red waved again and this one was an open red. Teams would be allowed certain adjustments to their cars during the red flag period. Courtney and company made a few changes which surely helped. They were aware that McDougal had enjoyed success using the cushion to pass people. Sunshine considered this and waited on thegreen flag. It was show and tell time, courtesy of Chris Dyson’s misfortune.

As the leaders approached turn one, the crowd’s roar was louder than all of the powerplants when Courtney sailed into the turn, on the cushion as planned, and swept around KT on the outside. From there, the only battles on track were elsewhere in the top ten as Courtney stretched his lead to at least ten car lengths.

Behind Courtney and Thomas was Swanson. Justin Grant came from thirteenth to fourth. Brady Bacon had the best run that few people noticed as he started eighth, made an early race pit stop and rejoined the field in twenty-eighth place. From there he raced to fifth, passing McDougal late. The young Oklahoman, in only his second Silver Crowns start, was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, coming from twenty-fifth to finish sixth. David Byrne was a steady seventh. From the Keystone State, Steve Buckwalter rambled from seventeenth to an impressive eighth. Brian Tyler and Jacob Wilson rounded out the top ten.

After the race, I stood alone in the grandstand watching the post-race festivities. Half of me wanted to leave and the other half wanted to just cut the cord and walk out without a look back. It was easy to rationalize. I detest sitting in traffic so I walked around for a while in the pits, talking with a few friends. Except for the memories, it was over for me. For every day of your life except one, there’s another race tomorrow.

Watching Formula One cars navigate Monaco and imagining them on the dirt miles, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Way It Should Be

Once upon a time, race fans in much of the nation could go to a bullring and see racers battle for a victory and then, a few days or weeks later, see the same racers battling for a win in the Indianapolis 500 or another Indy Champ Car event.

Those days, sad to say, are gone forever and they are not coming back, as much as we graybeards might wish they would. But let us not despair. The young men who showed up to compete in the Hulman Classic on a warm Wednesday night were the closest thing we have to those days gone by. I like to think that the ghosts of racers like Sweikert, Sachs, Larson (Jud for you youngsters) and countless others would smile at the sight of these modern day racers doing what they love, namely barreling into a turn at the Terre Haute Action Track and coming out of the next turn to mash the gas. They would have nodded in approval at Chase Stockon, who endured several restarts and cruised to victory in this edition of one of wingless sprint car racing's biggest prizes.

Given that the weather is most always an issue, I was a bit concerned on Wednesday morning. Rain had passed through Terre Haute but my concern was what time did it go through, how long did it rain and how much rain fell.

My concerns were for naught. Certainly it was muddy, especially in the pits, but the track had less mud than the pits at 3:30. The infamous turn four moat was downright tiny compared to what it's been in the past. In short, there would be racing at the Action Track tonight.

Came back to look at the track an hour later and sure enough it was taking shape. Digging and watering was the task at hand. The watering was not from the sky either.

Part of the time I spent lounging in luxury, namely a 16-year-old pickup truck. I entered the fairgrounds at the west end of the property. One of the first things I saw was the sign that stands over the pit entrance. It says, "Welcome" and in bold print it says, "Terre Haute Action Track." I stared at the sign and remembered that it wasn't too many years ago this track was in danger of becoming another badly needed shopping center here on the Haute's south side. Thankfully that effort fizzled and hopefully it is somewhere out there with all the other hare-brained schemes that have been doomed to the oblivion they deserve.

Sitting in the truck and staring at the sign made it easy for me to project my attention about 80 miles east to my state capital, where politics, greed, and undue influence have combined to end a cherished edition for the tiny world of USAC Silver Crown racing, especially on the dirt mile tracks and more especially on the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

But I digress. Time trials had my attention. C.J. Leary set fast time. Chris Windom went out much later and had second fast time. Brady Bacon’s five-year-old track record was safe.

Robert Ballou took the lead as Tom Hansing showed the crossed flags in the first heat and went on to win. C. J. Leary, Brandon Mattox, Brady Bacon, Isaac Chapple, Justin Grant and Steve Thomas trailed.

 

Kevin Thomas Jr. won the second heat with Chad Boespflug starting and finishing second. Chris Windom was a close third. Chase Stockon, Jason McDougal, TyeMihocko and Eric Perrott finished up. Mihocko, in his first Terre Haute visit, led the first two laps before reality intruded.

The third heat saw Carson Short hold off Tyler Courtney to win. Paul May took third. Badger Bill Balog, Nate McMillen and Brian VanMeveren followed.

With only twenty cars signed in, there would be no hooligan/last chance race, etc. Promoter Bob Sargent was smiling anyway. Hang the back gate; the front gate was more important and a good crowd filled most of the available seats.

Short and Stockon led ‘em all to the green with the Haubstadt resident jumping out to the lead. Windom immediately moved from his fifth starting spot to challenge Short for second. The pass was made on the fourth lap and one could be forgiven for thinking that Stockon was in trouble.

With seven laps completed, K. Thomas Jr. stopped in turn three to bring out a yellow. Mike Dutcher and crew did their best to get KT back on the track but it didn't happen. Stockon led Windom, Short, Courtney and Bacon. On the restart Stockon took off and Windom did well to stay as close as he could.

Yellow number two waved when Short came to a stop on the eleventh lap. The top three remained the same as the green came out. Once again Stockon refused to allow anyone to get near him, though Windom surely tried.

This green flag segment lasted eight laps as Stockon seemed to be cruising when Nate McMillen coasted to a stop in turn three. Leary and Bacon joined the top three as the green waved on lap nineteen.

For the next three laps it was another case of deja Vu as yet again Stockon waved good bye to the field. Leary was fourth when he unhappily discovered that he had a flat right rear tire. By now Ballou and Grant had moved into the top five.

With eight laps to go, there remained the real possibility that Stockon would lose the lead somehow. This last portion of the thirty lapper would be all green. And Stockon was unyielding. All poor Windom could do was watch the tail tank of the 32 car get a bit smaller with each lap. Besides, Chris had a bigger problem, which was named Tyler Courtney.

At the end Stockon was followed by Windom, who held off Courtney to grab the silver medal. Sunshine was trailed by Ballou and Grant. Bacon took sixth with McDougal finishing seventh. Short came back from his early misfortune to take eighth. Leary did the same, recovering from his flat tire to finish ninth. Hard Charger Isaac Chapple came from sixteenth to grab tenth.

After the race, Stockon gladly took possession of the unique trophy and there are now several shots of him pretending to take a shot at some poor, lost pigeon.

It was time to go. Fans headed home and some racers did too. Several years ago, some of those racers would be thinking about to the big track on Sixteenth Street. This year, only Chris Windom would be doing that, hoping to move to the next level. All concerned here should wish him well. Who knows? Since the loss of Bryan Clauson, we need a short track (or several) guy in the show on Sunday.

Unsuccessfully trying to talk the Indy Car Series into adding Springfield, Du Quoin and a certain half mile oval in western Indiana to the schedule, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Riding High

On Friday at Gas City, I was struck by people’s ability to overcome obstacles. It’s a part of our lives and we all have to deal with it. Then came Saturday night in beautiful downtown Putnamville, Indiana. While watching A.J. Hopkins use the cushion to ride to the win, I thought about the constant “battle” between the tangible and intangible. When it comes to choosing a favorite to win at the Lincoln Park Speedway, Mr. Hopkins’ name will come to mind right away. You might say that he is riding high at LPS these days—just as he did on a blessedly warm night in western Indiana.

For the first time this year, the thermometer flirted with the ninety-degree mark for much of the day. It was a weekend to visit with family in this part of the state and with Lincoln Park just down the road, that part of the weekend was settled as well.

Each year lots of people step up and go sprint car racing. Some don’t last very long. Others hang in for a while, but eventually have to step away, often due to financial issues. A few stick around. Over there was Shey Owens from Indianapolis. There was Jimmy Sivia from Illinois, but close enough to Wisconsin to love the cheese. Justin Lewis had traded in his mini-sprint for a 410 sprinter. Another member of the Hayden family, Gary, was on hand. And near as I can tell, Bobby Logan is from west of here. These guys joined the others to total twenty-six cars among the ninety-four in Joe Spiker’s favorite playground.

To be sure, the usual LPS mob had signed in. Joining Mr. Hopkins were names like Barksdale, Cottle, McDonald, Cockrum, Darland and…Beauchamp? Since relocating, Mr. Beauchamp has had a long commute from the “other” Columbus, the one in Ohio.

As the first of the three heats began, I saw something that I haven't seen all spring: dust. The breeze and the very warm temperatures turned the surface dry and slick. The action was harder to see, but it was good all the same. I saw more dust in the first heat than I’ve seen all year so far. I loved it.

Koby Barksdale got things started with an impressive victory in the first heat. Scott Hampton and Travis Berryhill had an extended duel for second with Hampton prevailing. Evan Mosely and Brady Ottinger followed those guys into the feature.

The second heat started badly for Jake Bland, who was squeezed into the front stretch wall and stopped in turn one with the rear tires askew. The race resumed and pole sitter Chris Babcock had what looked to be one of the easier wins he's ever had. Shane Cockrum came from the back to take second. Jesse Vermillion, Brent Beauchamp and Nate McMillen all transferred to the feature.

Dave Darland could not answer the bell for the third heat and Colton Cottle held off a charging A.J. Hopkins to win. Joe Stornetta, Matt McDonald and Tim Creech (who had Racesaver head honcho Bob Shutts helping) all made ready for the show as the People’s Champ loaded up.

Jimmy Sivia won the B and he, Chad Davenport, Gary Hayden, Harley Burns and Shey Owens would tag the A.

For much of the first half of the feature, Hampton and Cottle fought for the lead with Hamp prevailing. Using the low line early, Hampton was strong until…the bottom groove’s advantage went poof! It was gone and only a few guys back in the pack tried the low line.

The high side at LPS can be and is often treacherous. It has bitten many over the years as guys have either slid over the top or bounced off the cushion. One of those guys has been A.J. Hopkins. But racers keep coming back to test the top, miscues be damned. Hopkins started sixth and gradually worked his way forward, taking the lead from Hampton not long before the halfway mark.

Meanwhile, from his mid-pack starting spot, Beauchamp was on the move. While most were watching the leader, Beauchamp appeared in second place, seemingly out of nowhere. When Hopkins’ teammate Ottinger spun, the yellow waved and Beauchamp lined up behind the leader. The ten lap duel to the finish was delayed a bit more when McDonald and Hayden tangled in turn two, bringing out a red as Hayden flipped. Gary climbed out of the car on his own.

So now the stage was set. Two of the best cars and drivers were primed to duke it out to the checkered. How would it play out? As it turned out, Hopkins was up to the challenge. After Brian Hodde waved the green, A.J. gradually pulled away and won by a half straightaway.

Beauchamp was second (started eleventh) with Cockrum not far behind. Hampton may have been disappointed with his fourth, but it was a good run anyway. Travis Berryhill was fifth after starting ninth. Stornetta brought the Burton Masonry machine home sixth. Cottle was seventh with Babcock taking eighth. McMillen came from fourteenth to ninth. Barksdale was tenth. Another good weekend of racing was over for me.

Jaden Rogers won at Paragon, a first-time winner. Kyle Cummins dominated at Haubstadt. And Tricky Nick Bilbee won at the ‘burg. I’ve yet to figure out how to clone myself. A.J. Hopkins wasn’t the only Hoosier racer who was riding high.

Mulling over the fact that Fernando Alonso and I have one thing in common (neither of us are starting in the Indianapolis 500), I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Hurry Up and Wait

It was a long night at the Gas City I-69 Speedway thanks to an untimely shower. For the racers in the pits, it was one of those hurry up and wait evenings. But when it was time to hurry, no one did it better than Thomas Meseraull, who came from fifth to take the lead from Matt Westfall to take the win in the sprint feature. Anton Hernandez, Tyler Nelson and Joey Paxson won their respective division’s features.

A large part of our lives consists of dealing with one obstacle after another. They are meant, I believe, to be overcome when possible. Anyone who has encountered Hoosier road construction can identify with obstacles. So what if I arrived a little later than I planned; I was upright and at a race track. But obstacles still remained for all who were gathered together at the track, mostly in the form of rain, of course. It began at seven o'clock and stopped for good at 7:50. Cars were on the track by eight as the sun tried to peek through and the first heat began at 9:10.

Neither was I alone. Thirty 410 sprints, twenty-four 305 Racesavers, thirty midgets and seventeen TQ midgets filled up most of the pits, with a few guys doing some extra duty.

Tim Creech won the first of four heats, taking Tyler Hewitt, Cody White and Dallas Hewitt with him to the A Main.

Michael Koontz held off Matt Westfall, Dave Darland and Koby Barksdale in winning heat number two.

Shane Cottle won the third heat over Thomas Meseraull, Clinton Boyles and Kyle Robbins, making a rare sprint car appearance.

JJ Hughes took the lead midway through the fourth heat and won with Brandon Rose, Anthony Dalessio and Paul Dues all moving to the show.

Shawn Westerfeld beat a strong field in the B, as his fellow Lawrenceburg runner Garrett Abrams took second. Adam Byrkett was third and Landon Simon came from tenth to grab the last dance card.

The 305/RaceSavers took over and Hot Rod Henning won the first heat over Ethan Barrow, Bradley Sterrett and Patrick Kren.

Jackson Slone, from that hotbed of racing known as Nashville, Indiana, won the second heat with Scott Bradley, Mason Day and Ryan Tusing trailing.

The third heat was taken by John Paynter as Alex Nalon, Anton Hernandez and Andy Bradley all moved to the feature.

For the midgets, Emerson Axsom, Tyler Nelson and the aforementioned Michael Koontz won the heats. Gunnar Lucious won the B.

TQ heat winners were Matt Lux and Ron Combs.

The sprint car feature lined up with a front row of Westfall and T. Hewitt, Ohio and Indiana. Westfall was strong early as he took the early lead and did his best to run away—and for a while he did. Hewitt was left to fend with the others.

Not too often do I notice such things so soon, but I recall thinking that Meseraull was strong and not content with fifth, which was where he started. By lap four, he had passed Cottle for third and set sail on T. Hewitt. Dodging lapped traffic as best he could, TMez closed on the second-place runner.

With ten laps complete, starter Mark Ott waved the red when Koontz took a mean flip in turn four. Michael climbed out of the car after determining where he was. Westfall led T. Hewitt, Meseraull, Cottle, Boyles, Darland, Hughes, Creech, D. Hewitt and Dalessio.

Action resumed and Meseraull grabbed second place, then began to reel in the leader. Behind him, Boyles was a potential threat to both Westfall and Meseraull as he passed T. Hewitt for third with ten to go. Meseraull caught the Buckeye and dove low in turn one to make the pass with seven to go. Boyles wasn’t done as he, too, passed Westfall for second with five to go.

Could Boyles catch Meseraull? Not as it turned out. He may have gained a little ground, but TMez took the checkered with Boyles about ten car lengths behind. Westfall was third and Cottle fourth. T. Hewitt faded only slightly to fifth. Darland came from tenth to sixth. Hughes started and finished seventh. D. Hewitt came from thirteenth to eighth. Landon Simon won the Tyler Kelly Hard Charger Award by motoring from twentieth to finish ninth. Dalessio, a Floridian turned Hoosier, was tenth.

The 410 feature was over at 11:40, not bad at all considering the rain delay.

Up next were the Racesaver 305s’ feature. For the first part of this one, young Alex Nalon set the pace. But like Meseraull, Anton Hernandez was not to be denied. From eighth, he worked his way to the front and passed Nalon on lap nine. From there, Hernandez had ‘em all covered, with slicing and dicing going on behind him.

Action stopped on lap eighteen when Jordan Welch flipped in turn four as Andy Bradley flipped in turn two. Hernandez led Nalon, Slone, Barrow and Sterrett. While no one was going to challenge Hernandez, Sterrett found a sweet spot/groove as he charged up to second at the end, a half a straightaway behind the winner. Nalon was third with Slone fourth. Barrow was fifth. The second five was led by Paynter, with A.J. Carlson coming from thirteenth to take seventh. Eli Lakin was eighth and Justin Clark rambled from twenty-second to ninth. Scott Bradley recovered from a spin to take tenth.

Tyler Nelson won the midget A main, leading double dipper Michael Koontz, Nick Speidel, Aaron Leffel and RaceSaver winner Anton Hernandez to the checkered.

Joey Paxson held off Tate Martz to win the UMRA TQ feature. Cory Clay, Matt Hedrick and Johnny Goff rounded out the top five.

It was another fulfilling night. The full moon shining over the northern Indiana countryside added to the thrills and spills of the night. No wonder promoter Jerry Gappens named the program “Open Wheel Madness.”

 Almost forgetting what dust looks like, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: That Which We Cannot Control

Promoters and farmers, the true gamblers, have a common lament. Both say that their biggest headache is the weather. These days in Indiana and elsewhere, rain is scuttling the best laid plans of the gamblers. But the mere threat of rain won’t keep the gamblers from at least attempting to ply their trade; if it’s possible, they will farm—or race. Such was the dilemma of Lawrenceburg Speedway promoter Dave Rudisell, a group of racers and a hardy group of fans who had ignored or braved the cloudy skies and the mostly green radar. The program was moving right along until lap sixteen of the sprint feature. Dickie Gaines was leading when J.J. Hughes brought out a yellow. Soon after that the rains came and Tim Montgomery reluctantly waved his red flag. It was discouraging but not catastrophic. Such is racing.

Of the seventy-one cars in the pits, a dirty dozen were sprinters. Among them, close to half were potential winners. The competition promised to be spirited. It ranged from the grizzled veterans to fresh-faced rookies.

A rookie, high school sophomore Austin Nigh, wisely chose to move from his pole position draw to the tail. He had made his debut the night before at Paragon and now faced a track that can intimidate grizzled veterans. The young man is a long-distance runner for Greenfield Central High School, and this type of competition was a long way from running 3200 meters.

Joss Moffatt, semi-grizzled veteran, won the first heat with young Garrett Abrams a close second. Dustin Webber was third. Tony McVey edged Michael Roehling for fourth. The very young Mr. Nigh trailed the field and stayed out of trouble.

Dickie Gaines, a mostly-grizzled veteran, came from fifth to take the lead from Nick Bilbee on the second lap of the second heat. Nick was passed by J.J. Hughes for second late in the race. Chris Phillips, who was coming off a late night at Paragon, was fourth. Braxton Cummings faded from the front row to fifth. Sprint rookie and TQ racer Callie Wolfsiffer, who has tentative plans to race at the ‘burg this year, was sixth.

Give all involved some credit; they knew that rain was coming and hustled to get as much of the program completed as possible. The sprints rolled out with Abrams and Moffatt leading the pack to the green. Moffatt took the early lead, but third starting Gaines was on the move. He passed Moffatt to take the lead on the fourth lap as Hughes and Abrams stayed close to the top two.

Gaines tried to check out, but that wasn’t going to happen. Moffatt had his hands full with Hughes, who made the pass on the twelfth lap and began reeling in the leader. Hughes was making a race of it until the fifteenth lap. J.J.’s lap times were as much as a half second quicker than Dickie’s as he roared into the first turn. But Hughes’ left front tire hopped over Gaines’ right rear. His right front radius rod was bent upon contact. It got worse. Hughes’ right rear tire was going flat and he spun a lap later, bringing out a yellow that became a red flag when the rain began falling.

The cars only circled the track a lap or two before it was decided to throw the red. Sixteen laps were complete and even a quick glance at the sky told the amateur meteorologists on hand that this shower would last a while.

Gaines was declared the winner and Moffat took second. Abrams was third and Bilbee was fourth after falling back to eighth early in the race. Webber started and finished fifth.

Dave Rudisell could have pulled the plug at three o’clock and only a few would have complained. Those who know better would have shrugged and started planning for the next race. But he hasn’t been one to sit around and wait for rain to come. Instead, he and many of his fellow promoters are like the unnamed motorist approaching a stoplight. Some street drivers think the light will stay green and will stop at the last second if the light turns yellow. Race promoters are the same way. They won’t cancel a program until they’re convinced that they won’t be able to race on a given date.

The rest of us benefit each time the green flag waves.

Mistaking my microwave for a TV, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Marathon

Indiana weather in 2019 has prevented the simultaneous running of all three of our preferred Hoosier bullrings that race on Fridays. Sitting two hours or less from all three has meant delayed decisions in which oval would have to tolerate my presence. Last week, the Paragon and Bloomington Speedways were too wet and Gas City raced. On this past Friday the 10^th, Gas City received two plus inches of unwanted rain and Paragon raced. Oh, how they raced. The usual hurry up and wait routine didn’t bother A.J. Hopkins one bit. He started on the pole and raced like a guy who had woke up from a nap, drank a cup of strong coffee (or more likely an energy drink) and had to go to the bathroom. A.J. led every lap to win the first of three features.

Arriving a little after six, I wasn’t surprised to see a long line of folks waiting to sign in. Nor was I surprised that the line was moving quickly with some familiar Lincoln Park Speedway faces taking care of business. Soon enough, I overheard talk of more than fifty sprinters jammed into Joe Spiker’s newest playpen. The unofficial count was 53 sprints with a very unofficial count of 141 cars. Smart husband that I am, I immediately texted my wife that it would be a late night.

I fell into conversation with Kenny Carmichael while watching the lengthy track prep with hopes of writing about the Terre Haute veteran racer for Dirt Monthly. That conversation lasted a bit over an hour and Kenny had plenty of stories left over. Keith Ford was wandering the pits with a huge smile on his face, not having to worry anymore about corralling a pit full of racers. He shared a couple of stories; that would have been another hour well spent.

The parking lot was saturated with water and I, for once, was mindful of where I’d park. Superfan Jerry Shaw was in a hurry to park and paid the price, getting stuck in the mud up to his axle. Track workers extricated the Vigo County hot rod as soon as they were able.

Seven heats would determine the first fourteen starters for the feature. The track was about as fast as I've seen it, no surprise there.

A. J. Hopkins and Stephen Schnapf ran one/two in the first heat.

Chris Phillips won the second heat as Casey Shuman took the Krockmobile from last to second.

Paragon regular Jake Scott and Travis Spencer (?) punched tickets in the third heat.

Shane Cottle, still in the Jamie Paul car, won the fourth heat, taking still young Jaden Rogers with him to the show.

Shane's nephew Colton won the fifth heat by a straightaway over pole sitter Jesse Vermillion.

Ethan Barrow won the sixth heat with Matt McDonald holding off the not-so-much-retired Brady Short, who had started in the back, for second.

Brady Ottinger won the seventh heat. Michael Koontz had second place wrapped up until he tried to pass Ottinger coming to the checkered. Michael spun to the edge of Lake Ford as Kyle Hathaway took second.

The first of three B mains began at midnight with Chris Babcock and Ben Knight moving on to the first feature.

Josh Cunningham, who has as many laps around this place as anyone, won the second B and Aric Gentry also grabbed a spot in the feature.

Brady Short won the third B with Thomas Meseraull picking up the twentieth starting position in the first feature.

Mr. Hopkins sat on the pole and immediately took off like the proverbial scared rabbit as soon as Brian Hodde waved the green, leaving front row mate Chris Phillips to fight it out with the others.

As Hopkins sailed away, Phillips had his hands full with Jake Scott, Shane and Colton Cottle, and Ethan Barrow all scrambling on what was still a racy surface.

By the halfway point of the twenty-five lapper, Hopkins' had a half lap lead as he weaved his way through lapped traffic as if he was being guided by a video game pro.

As A. J. took the white flag, Stephen Schnapf spun off turn two and flipped into the pit fence. After several minutes, he exited his car. Schnapf had been running fifth.

The re-start would be a green/white/checker. With a few lapped cars between Hopkins and second place Scott, the real drama would be among those behind the top two. Sure enough, Colton Cottle passed his favorite uncle at the end to take third. Shane settled for fourth with Phillips fifth.

Jaden Rogers was a steady sixth. Ben Knight started sixteenth and finished seventh, the last car on the lead lap. Brady Short started seventeenth and advanced to eighth. Not to be outdone, Thomas Meseraull came from last to finish ninth. Casey Shuman was tenth.

Brandon Spencer won the caution plagued second feature, which fell victim to the track time limit. Michael Koontz was second.

Pat Giddens closed out the sprint car feature number three by winning. He took Iron Man Brian Hodde’s checkered flag at 2:18 a.m.

None of the time references are mentioned in complaint. Only a total airhead would see the pits jammed with dozens of cars and think all the night’s races would be done by midnight. This is real life racing, not the edited, commercial filled TV racing many folks are used to.

It was a good night of racing in that most racers were able to load their cars in one piece onto their trailers. The crowd could have been a bit larger, but overall it was a pretty decent opening night. After three straight Fridays too wet to race, this was a good feeling all round.

Pricing boats that will carry my wife, me, her jewelry and my books, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Hail to the King

Let us crown Chris Windom as the King of Kokomo. On a cool, but pleasant Sunday night, Windom bided his time before passing Justin Grant late in the thirty-lap feature to walk away with the trophy and his share of the money. Windom surely earned his crown and no doubt will get a discount at a certain fast food restaurant (or not).

This was a quasi-USAC show, seeing that Kevin Thomas Jr., Justin Grant, Tyler Courtney, Chris Windom, Isaac Chapple and Dave Darland were in the pits. Throw in semi-regulars Thomas Meseraull, Clinton Boyles, Jarret Andretti, Chad Boespflug, Shane Cottle (tonight in Jamie Paul’s limo) and Scotty Weir as genuine threats to spoil the party and you had a quality group of teams. There were thirty-three sprints sprinkled among the 60 cars in the pits.

Clinton Boyles, Chris Windom, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Justin Grant led their respective groups in qualifying.

The first heat saw a major three-way fight at the finish with Dave Darland holding off Clinton Boyles by less than a car length. Boyles had made a late charge to take the runner-up spot from Thomas Meseraull, who had shadowed Darland for most of the race. Zane Hendricks was fourth.

Chris Windom passed Jarret Andretti midway through the second heat to win. Scotty Weir was a strong third, ahead of Tyler Courtney.

Chad Boespflug won the third heat with Kevin Thomas Jr. second. Travis Hery was third. Nate McMillen edged Brian Karraker to make the show.

Justin Grant was the fourth heat winner and Shane Cottle was second. Joe Stornetta passed Koby Barksdale late to take third.

Rookie Dustin Christie won the B, holding off Dustin Smith. Isaac Chapple and Brian Karraker punched tickets to the feature. Anthony Dalessio came on strong at the end but his effort fell a few feet short.

Boyles was scheduled to start eighth, but bent a pushrod after the heat and the guys couldn’t find another, a mighty fall after winning at Gas City on Friday night.

The re-draw put Grant and Boespflug in the front row. Tom Hansing waved the green and the horde of twenty took off. But the yellow came out before everyone completed a lap when Meseraull spun in turn four, collecting Stornetta, Hendricks and Christie. TMez and Stornetta’s cars exited the track on the hook. The boys had to do a complete re-start.

On the re-start, Grant took off and began to stretch his lead until Barksdale spun in turn four. The green came out again and Grant led a high-speed parade with most of the frontrunners up by the wall. But Weir and Cottle tested the bottom and found it agreeable. From sixth, Weir moved as high as third at one point. Cottle hung around the top five before.

The race’s third yellow waved for rookie Zane Hendricks’ spun in turn four on lap seven. Grant still led with Darland, Cottle, Weir and Windom in the top five.

The next segment was twenty laps of green flag/no holds barred/classic Kokomo racing. Grant led most of this part of the race, but he could not check out as he surely wanted to. On the move and joining the group at the front was Courtney, who had started fourteenth. Near the halfway mark, Sunshine had long since cracked the top five and he wasn’t done. During this time Windom was on the move as well. He and Courtney finally escaped the clutches of Darland and Weir and closed in on the leader. It was a three-way fight with Weir hovering not far behind. It was going to be good, no, even better. In lapped traffic, Windom passed Courtney. And just before the race’s final yellow waved, he passed Grant.

Twenty-seven laps were completed when Jarett Andretti lost a right rear wheel in, where else, turn four. Windom led Grant, Courtney, Weir and Darland. This was shaping up to be another wild and wooly finish, given Kokomo’s history. But Windom refused to play. He kept his distance between him and Grant. Behind them, Courtney and Weir played “you slide by me and I’ll slide by you.”  Like the last team to score before a game’s end, Sunshine executed the last slider before he and Scotty took the checkered.

Behind Windom, Grant, Courtney (who had started fourteenth) and Weir (who won the Do More with Less award), Darland was fifth. Cottle was sixth with Boespflug fading somewhat to seventh. Hery was an impressive eighth and Thomas finished ninth with another uncharacteristically mediocre result. Courtney’s charge to the front was certainly impressive, but maybe the best race that few saw was Isaac Chapple’s drive from nineteenth to tenth, gaining him the hard charger ‘atta’ boy.

It might not have been the King of NASCAR or IndyCar, but there’s very few racers in the world of racing who were and are capable and talented enough to be the King of Kokomo. I’d wager that there were few kings of any kind who were as happy, deserving and content as this year’s king after the race as he was interviewed by Kokomo/Gas City track rat Rob Goodman.

Here it is May and I have at least three Hoosier tracks that I’ve not seen yet. I’m hoping that changes this coming weekend.

Consuming a Whopper wearing my own cardboard crown, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Cowboy Time

On a damp and chilly night where one could see their breath, Clinton Boyles rode his bucking bronco, better known as the pride and joy of car owner Paul Hazen, to a dominating victory at the Gas City I-69 Speedway. The rain that has plagued the area left the surface of the quarter mile bullring more suitable for a motocross event, but the feature (along with all other races) was caution free.

Any race track that races on Friday nights is a challenge to get there. Gas City is no exception. The traffic on Indiana State Road 9 was the usual. Getting to through Greenfield is always an ordeal. Dealing with the road construction on 69 is a given. But the grandsons and I arrived right at 5:00 and joined the line to get to the parking lot.

As we arrived, I discovered that the temperature was a bit cooler up here, 100 hundred miles from my house. From 73° and partly sunny, we were greeted by 60° and cloudy. A t-shirt and shorts probably weren't the best choice of attire. But, seeing that this was the only track racing tonight with Bloomington and Paragon falling victim to the weather, I had other things to occupy my mind.

 

Notable among the 35 sprints (out of about 115 cars) were Dave Darland, in Mike Dutcher's chariot, Kevin Thomas Jr., Brady Bacon in his own car, Thomas Meseraull with help from Dave Stensland, Justin Grant, Chad Boespflug, Jarret Andretti, Scotty Weir and a midget racer jumping into a 410 beast, Zane Hendricks. Also trying his luck was second generation race Shane O’Bannion. Unfortunately, he was the only sprinter to get upside down all night and that was during hot laps.

Isaac Chapple led all the way to win the first heat. Thomas Meseraull couldn't overcome his eighth starting spot and headed to the B.

Justin Grant came from fourth to take the lead and win the second heat.

Clinton Boyles took the lead from Ben Knight midway through the third heat and won. Scotty Weir and Jarret Andretti went to the B.

Anthony Dalessio started on the pole and won the fourth heat over Dave Darland by a couple of feet.

Thomas Meseraull passed Scotty Weir midway through the first B and won, taking Weir with him to the show. Garrett Abrams easily won the second B with Travis Hery holding off Zane Hendricks to grab the 20th starting position in the feature.

After a brief intermission where a few folks tried to toss a Frisbee into a barrel in back of a moving truck on the frontstretch, the sprint feature lined up. Promoter Jerry Gappens missed his target of finishing by eleven, but one shouldn’t complain given the number of cars jamming the pits. And given the weather conditions, Jerry was most likely pleased to see a very decent crowd hungry to see some racin’ after a long off-season.

The front row of Darland and Chapple eyed starter Mark Orr’s green flag and took off at 10:45. Neither of the front row guys would lead a lap. From third, Boespflug got around both to leads the first three laps. But Boyles was coming on strong from his eighth starting spot. Owning the top groove, which was relatively free of ruts, Boyles sailed toward the front. He dove under first Darland, showing him a huge right rear tire, then Boespflug, taking the lead on fourth lap.

Boyles extended his lead as the field spread out, and began dealing with the lapped traffic on the tenth circuit. Often we see leaders have issues with lappers, but that wasn’t the case on this chilly evening. Quickly, Boyles put distance and cars between himself and new second place runner Grant, who passed Boespflug at about the same time Boyles caught the tail end of the field.

Given Grant’s track record, one might expect him to reel in the leader as the race went on, but it wasn’t happening tonight. Try as he might, the California native could not get any closer than a half straightaway behind the leader.

Trailing Grant in third was Kevin Thomas Jr., who couldn’t seem to get untracked. Bacon was fourth while Tyler Hewitt had the best race that few saw, coming from fourteenth to finish fifth. Dave Darland was sixth, the last car on the lead lap. Andretti came from thirteenth to take seventh. Matt Westfall was eighth and Scotty Weir motored from nineteenth to ninth, making me a prophet in the process (Before the feature I had told Weir’s car owner Scott Pedersen that Scotty would be the hard charger—and he was). Paul Dues started and finished tenth.

Announcer Rob Goodman said that the weather, cool, damp and a bit of fog, reminded him of London, England. Guess I should have told him it reminded me of London, Kentucky, where I’ve spent a few nights.

We need to remember at least two things. One is that extended periods of rain are not a dirt oval’s best friend. These surfaces can be hard enough to prepare in ideal conditions, and complainers need to show up really early to observe these people doing their best to make the track as smooth as possible. The second thing is that, regardless of the results of their efforts, they do their best. We should not ask any more than that.

Kudos to friend/superfan Keith Wendel, who loaned me one of his many sweatshirts and made sure that my top (heavy) half would be warm. Thankfully, he didn’t want it back on Saturday, when both Lawrenceburg and Lincoln Park rained out. Again.

As this is written, I’m aiming for Kokomo on Sunday night and it looks like weather will be permitting.

Cheering for all my favorite drivers like I’m at a strip club, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Budget Racing

One might think that racing on a tight budget is nerve wracking and/or stressful. They would be right; it has to be a real challenge to make some tough decisions before heading to the local bullring. Lots of people would flee from the idea of risking life, limb and dinner for the feeling one gets while standing at the start/finish line holding a trophy and getting interviewed by Brad Dickison. Meet Thomas Meseraull, who has this budget racing deal down to a science, or an art. On a lovely Saturday night with rain on the way, Meseraull was by far the happiest individual in Putnam County as he inherited the lead-and the win-when leader A.J. Hopkins crashed out of the race at the Lincoln Park Speedway in beautiful downtown Putnamville, Indiana.

My inferior math skills helped me figure out that sprint cars made up 3/8 of the eighty-eight cars in the pits. Several of these guys were strangers, but they were racers all the same.

The USAC race at Tri-State Speedway fell victim to both wet grounds and impending rain. LPS and Lawrenceburg served as Plan B for several of the guys who simply wanted to race. Promoters at both tracks made what was for them an easy decision to race until or if it rained.

To race or not to race…

A lot of fans went to Lincoln Park knowing that there was a good chance of late rain. They have learned that good promoters will race if there is any chance at all that rain won’t fall. This is true even when there’s a good chance that the promoter will lose money for the night. They are willing to suffer a short-term loss due to the threat of rain because their dedication to racing pays off in the long run. Hoosier sprint fans from Haubstadt to Gas City (and all points in between) know that if there’s a chance of rain and the promoter has plans to race, they are liable to show up, not wishing to miss any race at (Your track’s name here) Speedway.

Remember Lee Dakus, the Canadian who raced in Indiana a few summers ago? He’s back here and listed as being from Mooresville, Indiana. He won the first heat over Kent Schmidt, Dave Darland and Jaden Rogers, who started back in eighth.

Shane Cockrum won the second heat over A.J. Hopkins, Colton Cottle and Travis Berryhill, who also came from eighth to transfer into the feature.

Hunter O’Neal was impressive as he passed both Kevin Thomas Jr. and Shane Cottle in winning the third heat. Cottle, Thomas and Jordan Kinser trailed. For the third heat in a row, the fourth-place finisher started eighth.

Koby Barksdale won the fourth heat with TMez second. Joe Stornetta and Brandon Mattox punched A Main tickets.

Nate McMillin, Brady Ottinger, Garrett Aitken and Dustin Christie all made the feature via the two B Mains.

The redraw put Dakus and Cockrum on the front row. The Chief took the early lead and held it through the early laps, slowed by a case of yellow fever. Hopkins was on the move from his sixth starting position, using the high side to take the lead on lap nine.

For much of the race, the bottom groove was ignored by most all the front runners. Hopkins rode on the cushion and extended his lead over first Cockrum, then Meseraull, who had started eighth. Then the unthinkable happened, something that was the race’s turning point. With seventeen complete, Hopkins got into turn three a bit high and found himself above the cushion, in the rough. He did a lot worse than make a bogey; the leader flipped hard, landing in turn four and bringing out a red flag.

Now it was Meseraull, Cockrum, Thomas, Rogers and Darland up front as Brian Hodde waved the green. Thomas got around Cockrum for second and set sail for the leader, finding some traction down low. But as the race neared its end, one could see that all Meseraull had to do was avoid any mistakes. KT could not make up any ground and TMez took a well-earned win.

After the race, Meseraull was his usual loquacious self, taking close to a minute thanking people, none of whom were big money sponsors. He marveled at Hopkins’ “rippin’ the cushion” before A. J.’s disaster struck. And he noted that he had showed up with three dollars in his pocket and that will make one race harder.

Behind Meseraull and Thomas (who started eleventh) was Jadon Rogers, who flew under the radar for much of the race, steadily making his car work in the low groove after starting thirteenth. Cockrum faded a bit to take fourth. Joe Stornetta Jr., now in the Burton Masonry car, recovered nicely from an early race spin to come back and finish fifth. The second five was Darland, Berryhill (from fourteenth), Brandon Mattox (from sixteenth), O’Neal and Aitken (from eighteenth). The proverbial blanket could have been thrown over finishers three through seven at the end.

A large percentage of racers typically sign in on a given race night knowing that they are one mechanical failure or one crash away from parking the car for however long it takes to get it fixed. They are, as they will tell you, nuts. But as addictions go, there may be worse ones. The point is to celebrate and appreciate the efforts of the budget racers to do what they love.

As pure as the driven snow until I drifted, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Maestro

Some trips we take go more smoothly than others. Often it boils down to traffic. Often negotiating traffic is an exercise in futility, but there are those few times one catches both the traffic and the green lights in such a way that we can permit ourselves a small victory celebration at the end of the journey. Consider Brady Bacon on a beautiful, if a bit cool, southern Indiana Friday night at the Bloomington Speedway. Brady didn’t have to worry about stoplights and minivans full of rambunctious children and inattentive drivers. But he did have to deal with continuous lapped traffic that he handled like, well, a maestro. It took Bacon exactly 407.18 seconds (6:47.18, breaking A.J. Anderson’s 18 year old record) to win the Larry Rice Classic, a USAC Amsoil Sprint Car production.

The story behind the story…

It wasn’t too many months ago that the Bloomington Speedway’s future was cloudy at best. People (well, I) were thinking the unthinkable. Would the red clay oval have any racing in 2019 or would it cease to exist? Rumors flew across social media at the usual blinding speed. They turned out to be another episode of fake news.

Finally, the truth emerged as local race fan/former racer/realtor A.J. Bowlen and USAC stepped up and offered a plan. The track wouldn’t be open every Friday night, but seven (and maybe more) races were scheduled.

I considered all this as I walked down pit lane, surrounded by tens of thousands of horsepower rumbling like wild animals barely under control, impatiently waiting to be unleased. Another dream had become a reality.

The car count was lower than expected, with twenty-six cars signing in. The Racesavers had twenty-two cars. But, as usual, the quality was there. The track was immaculately prepared by Henry Bryant and crew. The new bleachers were in place. It was time.

Chad Boespflug’s qualifying record was in jeopardy and, sure enough, C.J. Leary, first qualifier, beat the old record of 10.737 with a blistering 10.685. A few minutes later, Boespflug beat his old record, but not Leary’s with a 10.713. Brian VanMeveren had a good lap going when he flipped wildly off turn three. He was able to exit the car himself.

Heat winners were Robert Ballou, Brady Bacon and Tyler Courtney. Chase Stockon won the B.

RaceSaver heat winners were Jackson Slone, Andy Bradley and Ryan Tusing.

Moving right along, the feature lined up a bit past nine. Bacon and Kevin Thomas Jr. were the front row Bacon got the jump and did his best to check out. Until he reached lapped traffic on lap seven, Bacon was stretching his lead with every lap. The lappers would be a major challenge, as the move over flag had itself quite a workout. Often race leaders struggle with lapped traffic with the second-place runner taking advantage. But it wasn’t happening tonight.

It seemed as if most of the field of twenty-two were in a huge scrum as Bacon approached. Thomas did close the gap somewhat until he, too, had to deal with some cars that weren’t that slow themselves. Bacon kept at least two cars between him and Thomas before he emerged from the pack on the nineteenth lap, leaving KT make his way through the lappers. The Alabama native broke away from the pack on lap twenty-four and set sail for the leader. But Bacon was too far ahead to catch.

By now Thomas had his own problem, which was named Jason McDougal. As the race wound down, McDougal got close enough to Thomas to apply some pressure. He couldn’t make the pass, but was maybe two car lengths behind KT at the end.

Bacon’s margin of victory was 2.158 seconds. Behind Thomas and McDougal was Courtney (the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger) and Leary. Sixth was Grant with Boespflug seventh. Stockon was eighth with Chris Windom, in a backup car, ninth. Ballou completed the top ten.

From where I sat and/or stood, the night was a success. It was a decent sized crowd and the new bleachers are a plus for some, while some who liked sitting in their lawn chairs at the top of the hill weren’t as crazy about the new arrangements.

The track stayed fast and passing was difficult; Bacon had trouble passing some pretty good lapped cars. The Bloomington oval is narrow and many racers who excel elsewhere struggle at Bloomington. Conversely, those who excel at Bloomington do the same elsewhere.

It was Bacon’s twenty-fourth USAC feature win (hat tip to R. Murray). In addition, this was Bacon’s first Bloomington Speedway feature victory.

Following the USAC sprint’s feature, Ethan Barrow passed John Paynter Jr. midway through the twenty-five lap RaceSaver main event to hang on for the win. Anton Hernandez passed Paynter on the last lap to take second. Bradley Sterrett was fourth and Ryan Tusing recovered from a spin to race to a fifth-place finish.

With the modified feature the last event, the RaceSavers’ feature was over at or around the ten o’clock hour. It was a pleasant surprise ending to a well-run program. The huge gamble taken by Bowlen and company was, in my opinion, off to a very good start.

As this is written, rain and wet grounds have won both the Tri-State and Terre Haute races for tonight and tomorrow. Both Lawrenceburg and Lincoln Park/Putnamville are still aiming to race. But it may as well be me that says there’s a chance of rain at both tracks tonight. Another Indiana weekend in racing season. For every day in my life except the last one, I just shrug off the disappointment that rainouts bring and begin thinking about the next race…and the traffic.

Liking WikiLeaks before I never heard of it, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Outhouse, Penthouse and... Vindication

Oh, the ups and downs of racing, it's a part of what we see each week. Often it isn't very dramatic, except to a few. But sometimes it's there for all to see and react to. That’s how it went on the final night of the Kokomo Grand Prix as Kevin Thomas Jr. won the USAC Nos Energy Drink National Midget feature by .015 seconds over Justin Grant. This came after Grant had won the sprint feature, surviving an unwanted meeting with KT in turn three of the last lap. It was understandable if Thomas felt like he was on an emotional roller coaster.

The weather couldn’t have been much nicer as twenty-nine USAC midgets and twenty-one Kokomo sprints gathered for another typical Kokomo brawl on the dirt. Among the sprints, C.J. Leary’s new sprint car ride was present while Brady Bacon and Jarett Andretti went racing at the ‘burg. Scotty Weir turned up with Scott Pedersen and their no frills/plenty of speed operation.

Double dippers tonight were Dave Darland, Thomas Meseraull, Kevin Thomas Jr., Justin Grant, C.J. Leary and Jason McDougal, who had rung up two second place finishes on Friday night.

It was a new day and a different track than Friday’s surface. Speeds were slower but the track was wider, which meant more opportunities to pass. If the track slowed down as the later qualifiers went out, it didn’t slow much. Young Zeb Wise was quickest at 13.542and he went out midway through the session.

Local sprinters led off the fun with three heats. Weir won the first heat as challenger Clinton Boyles exited the track. Grant was second, ahead of Aaron Farney, Dustin Smith and Matt Goodnight.

Dave Darland used the outside front row starting spot to win the second heat over his midget teammate Thomas Meseraull. Leary, Matt Westfall and Andrew Prather trailed.

Jason McDougal won the third heat with K. Thomas second. Pole sitter Travis Hery was third with Minnsesotan Brian VanMeveren fourth. Fellow gopher Rob Caho Jr. took fifth.

Jason McDougal won the first midget heat over Tanner Carrick, Zeb Wise and Logan Seavey, a race that had three of the Keith Kunz organization’s cars in the lineup.

Tyler Courtney moved from sixth to take the lead and the win in the second heat. Chris Windom nipped Dave Darland at the line to take second. Meseraull was fourth. 

In the third heat, Kevin Thomas Jr. overhauled early leader Jesse Colwell to take the win. Colwell and teammates Chad Boat and Dillon Welch all moved on to the show.

Tucker Klaasmyer beat Justin Grant to the checkered and won the fourth heat. C.J. Leary sneaked past Jerry Coons Jr. at the line to grab third.

Jake Newman won the B. Zane Hendricks, Holley Hollan, Ace McCarthy, Andrew Layser and Cole Bodine all punched tickets to the feature. Stirling Cling and Ethan Mitchell took provisionals.

A different look…

The story behind the story was the track. The speedway team that worked on the track labored as hard, if not harder, on the dirt on Friday as they did on Saturday. There may have been some complaining on Friday, but it was muted as people who should know were aware that this group of track workers is pros and they do their best each time a race is run.

They do most of their work long before anyone else shows up, in fact, days before. Most of that work is done in obscurity and solitude, with patience also playing a key role. The weather is the one thing they cannot control and often it gives people such as Reese O’Connor heartburn as he and the crew try to guess what the weather conditions will be on race day.

Friday’s track was a little rough around the edges. Saturday’s track was smoother and wider. The racing was, if possible, more spirited on Saturday. And the fans, at least, had a good time.

---

The sprint feature had some high-speed drama. Pole sitter Scotty Weir led the first lap but Justin Grant emerged from mob up front to take the lead. Kevin Thomas Jr. took over second as Weir faded.

Action slowed for a mid-race yellow. The green waved and Thomas pressured Grant for the lead. Then after the white flag waved, it appeared that KT had a good run off turn two going down the backstretch. He began an outside pass of Grant as turn three rapidly approached. Justin didn’t see him and moved up enough to put Thomas into the wall and fence, stopping suddenly and flipping onto the car’s side. The red flag waved.

Needless to say, Thomas was not amused. Out of his car in no time, he took a tiny scooter and sped toward turn one where Grant was parked. A brief argument about the best banana bread recipe ensued, but only angry words were exchanged.

On the re-start, Tom Hansing waved the green and white flags simultaneously. Grant cruised to a controversial win with Thomas Meseraull, Jason McDougal, C.J. Leary and Dave Darland in the top five.

A tough act to follow.

Up next was the midget A Main. Windom and McDougal were the front row, but Fate had placed Grant and K. Thomas in the second row. McDougal blasted his way to the lead at the start and pulled away for a spell, using a tried and true method of taking turn three up by the wall, then diving low in four to launch down the front stretch. This worked like a charm until the race’s first yellow waved on lap eight.

On the re-start, Grant got the jump on the leader and took over. The California native began using McDougal’s line. Again, this tactic worked well. Friday winner Tyler Courtney removed himself from contenting for the lead when he flipped on lap fifteen.

Thomas had been the forgotten man as he had spent much of the race in fourth or fifth. He had faithfully stuck with the groove by the wall, perhaps waiting for this lane to change into a winning tactic. Wouldn’t you know; this paid off. The yellow waved on lap twenty-nine and it was green-white-checkered. It was down to the combatants of the previous race. Both stuck to their lines and Thomas slid in front of the leader coming out of turn four. Both he and Grant were flat out. Who would win? It was KT, with the margin of victory .015 seconds or half of a tire.

Behind Thomas and Grant, Zeb Wise was third and was gaining on both. McDougal and Leary rounded out the top five.

Post-race, Thomas, speaking of Grant, said, “He’s been my friend for a long time.  He didn’t crash me on purpose, but I’d get mad at my grandma if she crashed me.”

That sums it up pretty well.

Misplacing my push to pass button, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Ride ‘em Cowboy

The Kokomo Grand Prix is one of many must attend events in my home state. Combine the baddest bullring with the USAC Nos Energy Drink National Midget Series and it’s a winner. So what if it was a little chilly? And so what if the track wasn't as wide as it usually is? Mother Nature plays rough here. Even though there was no rain, there's still plenty of water in the ground and even the best track massagers aren't able to guarantee a smooth surface. None of that mattered to Tyler Courtney as he took the lead over Kevin Thomas Jr. midway through the thirty-lap feature and survived several restarts to a KGP feature win for the second year in a row. Earlier, Chad Boespflug reunited with his former car owners and won his first Kokomo sprint car feature as sprints shared the card with USAC Midgets.

Among the twenty-three sprints and thirty-two midgets assembled were the usual new teams and combinations. C.J. Leary was in the FMR team’s midget, replacing Brady Bacon. Holley Hollan has joined the KKM crowd. Chris Windom and Andrew Layserhooked up with the Clauson-Marshall group. Thomas Meseraull and Dave Darland were teammates for probably the first time in their careers. Kevin Thomas Jr., Cole Bodine and off roader Sterling Cling joined veteran Jerry Coons Jr. on the Petry team.

As mentioned, Chad Boespflug was back with his former teammates Chuck Eberhardt and Fred Zirzow. Brady Bacon was also having a reunion with the Hoffman/Dynamic team. Kevin Thomas Jr. was part of a new team with Brodie Hayward. And Dave Darland, with the help of a lot of friends, bought a race car as his Briscoe Racing deal hit a snag.

Darland, Merseraull, K. Thomas and Jason McDougal all had busy nights with rides in both series.

The track may have been narrow as the land above the cushion was potentially treacherous, but it was lightning fast. The midget track record didn’t have a chance of surviving. No less than thirteen cars shattered Rico Abreu’s six-year-old track record for a midget with Dillon Welch setting fast time, turning a 12.665 lap, compared to Rico’s 13.009 effort from 2013. Among the sprinters, Boespflug’s 12.559 best time barely beat Welch.

The sprinters began the festivities with three heats. Darland, Jared Andretti and Boespflug won their heats with Dave and Chad coming from fourth to take the win.

Before the midgets came out for their four heats, it’s worth mentioning again that the way to win is to assemble the resources necessary for a multi-car "super team." If the sponsors and other money people are ready, willing and able, the team will come together. The final piece to the puzzle remains the same. That would be the one sitting in the seat. Without that particular part of the team, even the super teams will struggle.

The days of a one car team on a tight budget showing up as the favorite to win are gone if they ever were here in the first place. Old and (young) timers may lament the passing of those "good old days" but this is today's reality, at least in midget racing, a reality that includes, I might add, healthy car counts and pretty decent action on the track.

Tanner Carrick, Tyler Courtney (with a late race pass of Tyler Thomas), North Carolina’s Ethan Mitchell (with a Honda engine rebuilt by his dad) and Zeb Wise won the four heats. Justin Grant got a little above the cushion in heat three and flipped, ending his night in the midget division.

Logan Seavey led quick timer and racing announcer Dillon Welch to win the B Main. Tyler Nelson flipped in turn one, exiting the car under his own power. Cole Bodine and Karsyn Elledge took provisionals.

The sprint feature was next and Chad Boespflug did his part in “stinking” up the show. He dominated, leading all twenty-five laps and crossing the finish line as second place Jason McDougal was coming out of turn four. Justin Grant, Dave Darland and Jarett Andretti rounded out the top five. Clinton Boyles’ night ended better than it started as he came from eleventh to finish sixth. Kevin Thomas Jr. was seventh and Brady Bacon (who had a mechanical issue in his heat) came from twenty-first to take eighth, leading TMez and Cole Ketchum to the line. The race was all-green with flagger Tom Hansing keeping busy with the move over flag.

K. Thomas and Meseraull led twenty-two others to Tom’s green flag. KT jumped out to the lead, but Courtney was on the move from his sixth starting spot. By the time Tony Dimattia flipped on lap four, Sunshine (on a cloudy day) had moved up to second. Thomas maintained the lead for a spell, but soon after a yellow for Justin Peck, Courtney began using the lowest groove like the pro he is. He took the lead on the fifteenth lap and did his best to check out. It’s true that Jason McDougal offered a mild threat later in the race with his best chance coming after a re-start with three laps to go. But it wasn’t gonna happen. Courtney had ‘em all covered.

Behind Courtney and McDougal were Chris Windom, Zeb Wise (from twelfth and closing on Windom) and KT for the top five. Six through ten were Seavey, Meseraull, Welch, Leary and Carrick, who started sixteenth and was involved in one of the race’s several caution periods. Dave Darland motored from twenty-first to eleventh to take the KSE Racing Products/Sundollar Restoration Hard Charger money.

The checkered flag waved at 10:45.

It struck me that this kid Courtney hasn’t been mentioned as one of those who seek to “move up” to a racing series with higher visibility (read that as the Outlaws or NASCAR). There’s nothing wrong with this plan. Driving for Tim Clauson is probably more of a joyful reward than hooking up with another series and group of people anyway.

We as fans and observers benefit from the decision that those such as Courtney, Grant, Windom and maybe McDougal have made to stay right where they are with the dynamic mix of kids younger than them and veterans who still have it.

Super teams or not, enjoy this as long as it lasts.

Trying to convince Harvard that my grandchildren are all world class badminton players, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: When in Carolina…

If someone says something like “racin’ is racin’,” don’t argue. After all, they are partially correct. It’s just that things are done differently wherever you go. Obviously, it’s still race cars of some sort on a race track, but there are numerous differences in everything from the cars to the announcers to the menu at the concession stand. With this in mind, my abbreviated March stay in North Carolina allowed me one visit to the living history exhibit called the Hickory Motor Speedway, in the heart of NASCAR country.

It was going to be cold on the Saturday as I left the little house on top of the little mountain 90 miles west of Charlotte and 70 miles southwest of Hickory. Thinking about the temperature topping out in the mid-50s didn’t slow me down, because I had three layers of clothing to help “brave” the elements. Thinking that the temperature was ten degrees warmer than Indiana at the moment didn’t help much in dealing with the cold evening, but sometimes it takes more than a chilly March evening to keep some people (especially race fans) inside.

I was determined to find some common ground in comparing the racing at Hickory with the racing I see in Indiana from April through October. I found it sure enough, but there were times the common ground was obscured by the different way folks do things down here. Too often we all emphasize our differences in racing and in society and we’re all too happy to point out the differences as we claim whatever we deem to be “ours” is superior to “theirs.” For me this is a waste of everyone’s time because we spend too much time and energy tearing down the “other” when we’re all better off just noting that things are different elsewhere.

Right away I found one positive. Each time I’ve been at Hickory, racing is delayed by an autograph session on the frontstretch. Race tracks everywhere might consider doing this more often. It doesn’t have to be every week, but while watching families shyly approach drivers who stood ready to offer hero cards or just shake hands, I was sold. The track was cleared and racing began maybe 15 minutes later than scheduled.

My own highlight of the autograph session was a conversation with a younger gentleman whose last name I recognized. I asked him if he was related to the late Jimmy Pardue, who drove in NASCAR in the early sixties until his death in a tire test in 1964. Kenneth Pardue was proud to say that Jimmy was his cousin, but he was a baby when Jimmy was killed. I was reminded that I was a bit older than this guy, seeing that I remembered reading about it in my dad’s NSSN a few days after it happened.

Considering the chilly weather, I thought it was a decent sized crowd that was hungry for some live racin’, not the TV stuff. As I thought of the TV racing, I wondered if NASCAR would consider bringing its AAA series back to Hickory as it did not too many years ago. Surely I was dreaming. Why and when would NASCAR want to go back to its’ roots?

I missed Pat, Brad and the other Hoosier announcers. The group announcing at Hickory couldn’t mention enough times about how a given driver would bump another driver out of the way to win. I guess it’s accepted practice down here, but that doesn’t mean I like it. And to resort to such speculation to hype the next race is downright juvenile to me. But that’s the way it is in today’s fendered racing. It’s why I’m more of an open wheel fan myself. To each, etc…

Car counts are of another culture here. There were six(!) classes of race cars, including the pickup trucks. Numbers ranged from eight to eighteen in counts. Some of the cars looked very similar, leading me to wonder why some classes couldn’t combine. But everybody races a feature; there is that.

Speaking of features, that’s all I saw at Hickory. The format is practice, qualify and race a feature, ranging from twenty-five laps to forty. I should have asked a fan if they had ever heard of a heat race, or a consolation/B Main as well. They don’t exist here.

By the night’s end, I figured out that, despite all of the things foreign that I experienced, I needed to get over myself and accept that the whole event is fine with fans and drivers. Six or more classes of cars? No problem. Light (by my standards) car counts? So what? Announcers boosting anticipation of wrecks and maybe fights? Why not? Lots of torn up race cars and hurt feelings? Big deal, it’s just another Saturday night of beatin’ and bangin’ at Hickory and that’s they way it’s done here, you ignorant Hoosier-tuckian.

I had better add that I enjoyed a cheeseburger and French fries that were comparable to those found at any Hoosier bullring. (But hell will freeze over before I try fried bologna or livermush sandwich.) Best of all, without fail, every single person I encountered, from the ticket booth to the autograph session were as friendly as could be and all made me feel as if I were among friends. Will I go back? Probably, the next time I’m in North Carolina, which could be as early as September this year.

With all the action, the last race was over at 10:45. I was back “home” just after midnight, thawed out and tired, but quite happy. The first race I’ve seen this year was done, with many more to come, I hoped.

I keep coming back to the tangible and intangible. Many things are done differently in the Tarheel State as opposed to Indiana; that’s plenty obvious. But consider the intangibles, the race cars on a race track with fans cheering them on, the joy that each winner expressed after each race, the look of wonder that is on kids’ faces as they get up close to a race car, and, of course, the displeasure shown by someone who exited the race earlier than he had planned. Speed and competition still make this deal worthwhile, no matter what form it takes.

Wondering why I didn’t tell certain colleges that my daughter was a Grade A student who played football, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

Requiem for a Racer

King Chesterfield opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. Apparently, he was still alive, he ruefully thought to himself. He turned his head to look at the bags that contained his pain killing medicine. They looked to be about half full. That meant the nurses wouldn't be bothering him. It also meant that if he was going to finish his last lap on Earth, he would have no one here to witness his passing, not that he cared.

In his seventy-four years, King had burned countless bridges, exchanging harsh words and feelings with dozens of fellow racers, car owners, mechanics, sponsors, promoters and race officials. That didn't count three ex-wives, two siblings and four children, all adults now. The King was, on the surface, the epitome of an unlovable human being.

As he saw it, the goal in racing was to do whatever it took to win. So what if winning involved some wheel banging at high speed? If the other guy came away from such high-speed contact with a torn-up race car and an intense desire to smack King upside the head, well, good luck to him, King always said. He had always been pretty good at verbal intimidation and had a reputation for settling matters with his fists or any heavy object that might be handy, such as a tire iron.

But all that was in the past now. Decades of a wild off-track lifestyle had caught up with him. Rather than ponder his fate or think about his few victories, King ached to break out of this room and hit the road. Since retiring from racing, he had made a good living selling race parts. It wasn't as much fun as driving but it paid the bills and then some. His customers tolerated doing business with him only because of the quality of the products. King was careful not to cheat the customers too much lest he would be found out. It was a good gig, but it was over. King just didn't want to admit it. Then again, King had never been one to be honest with himself, let alone anyone else.

King closed his eyes, reluctantly because he was not sure if he would ever open them again. So what, he thought to himself. If this is it, then he would have to ride it out. King had never given religion or an afterlife much thought. The way he figured it, a guy got what he could get while he lived and he didn't have time to consider other people's thoughts or feelings. King never was much for pondering the future in this life or the next.

Opening his eyes with a start, King realized that he had nearly drifted off to, what, sleep? To keep his eyes open, he looked around the room, set up to look like a motel room, no matter what the intent of the hospice facility may have been. The TV in the corner, silent. It was just as well, King thought. The drivel on TV would put him to sleep. There it was again, the idea of closing his eyes and going to sleep.

Truth be told, the King was a bit apprehensive about taking this checkered flag, though he would never admit it. It wasn’t quite the same as barreling into turn three at Terre Haute or any other track, not knowing what the car would do, glue itself to the cushion or jump the cush and smack the wall, or in some places, go over the banking. This was the last turn he’d encounter and he wasn’t exactly barreling into it.

King exhaled and closed his eyes, promising himself that he would open them right away. But he didn’t. They stayed shut but he could see something in the distance. What was it? King guessed it was either clouds of some kind of fog. Through the fog, or whatever it was, figures seemed to be forming. Gradually they seemed to come closer. King wasn’t scared; instead he was curious. Inching their way along, he thought he could identify the figures.

Slowly the figures became distinguishable and now King was somewhat anxious. The first form was that of his first ex-wife. She edged closer to him and King inwardly flinched. Their parting had not been pleasant. He had left with a convertible full of his belongings and all of their savings, leaving her and their eight-month-old baby destitute. A year after King had left, the mother had jumped off a bridge, clutching her and King’s baby, into an ice-cold river.

With a start, King tried to open his eyes. He couldn’t. If that wasn’t distressing enough, another figure emerged from the fog. It was a racer King had known quite well. He had feuded with several competitors over the years, but this guy had been one of the first. He, too, came to a bad end, crashing to his death after King had banged wheels with the poor fellow. That sent him into a terrifying series of flips before he cleared the wall, flipping a couple of more times before hitting a tree and catching fire. His face and body form were disfigured and this grabbed at King’s heart. King had heard that the unfortunate racer had suffered horrible injuries and burns, but he had no way of how horrible it was. Officially, the encounter was judged to be a racing accident, but most folks in the pits and a few in the grandstands knew better. The racer left behind a wife and two small children while King motored to a third-place finish after the accident.

More and more spirit creatures began to take form. One by one King recognized them, family members, teachers from his school years, old classmates, people with whom he had done business and fellow racers. Their ages didn’t matter; King still could tell who they were. Now he was downright scared and confused. Why were these figures from the past here? Where was he? And, how could he get out?

One at a time, the apparitions drew closer, but each held out their “hands,” as if telling King to stop where he was. King had not been the brightest bulb in the room, but he guessed that the dozens of specters were either telling him to not even attempt to come closer or perhaps they were saying that it would be a bad idea for King to continue this encounter.

The shadowy figures slowly faded back into the fog and King felt relief, though he was still confused where he was. Try as he might, King could not open his eyes and this was a great cause of concern. He had to admit to himself that he was genuinely scared, even terrified. And it wasn’t going to get better. Another, larger shape was slowly emerging from the fog. King’s fear was still within him, along with something he had never felt, namely the feeling of being intimidated. He had always been quick to tell anyone he encountered that he couldn’t be intimidated by any driver, official, business associate, or anyone else. But now, King Chesterfield was feeling intimidated and fear.

The shadowy figure seemed to increase in size as it grew closer. King could see an outline of a face. It was no one he could recognize and this was a cause for more of the feeling he already had. As it drew ever closer, the shadowy figure began to bring forth a glow, a dim glow that became clearer and brighter as it came toward King. Strangely enough, King’s apprehension ebbed as the form advanced to him. It was a comforting presence, a foreign feeling to King.

The large apparition held out what King assumed to be his hands, or something close to it. King correctly assumed that the being was inviting him to go to a better place. King must have indicated that he was refusing the invitation and the friendly being receded into the background. King wondered what was next.

Soon he would find out. As the shadowy figure faded away, the other figures re-appeared and King’s discomfort returned. The same cast of characters returned, led by King’s ex-wife who now re-appeared carrying what appeared to be a baby. It was surely his baby who the ex-wife had held when she had jumped to her death.

King was stung by this. Seeing these other specters was bad enough, but seeing that baby now held by her mother, gave King a new level of fear, along with a sense that he could feel a growing warmth that covered his own being. He found himself in a state of spiritual sweating. No matter how hard he tried to turn away, King could still see the mother and baby. He was in agony.

Now the dying racer still could not open his eyes, but somehow he was able to communicate his wish for the spirits that tortured him to leave and for the lone figure of light and comfort appear. His desire to encounter the comforter was received and, to King’s surprise, the soothing peace that had radiated a portion of tranquility began to take its place as the unhappy reminders faded away one more time.

The lone figure, which dominated King’s space now, held out what appeared to be his hands just as he had done moments ago. King, very unsteady and frightened, did the same. He was transported to what appeared to be a gigantic room, totally lit by a bright light, origins unknown. King’s apprehension, fear, anger, arrogance and ego all seemed to melt away, replaced by peace, contentment and even love, a new emotion for him. The room, or whatever it was, contained an infinite number of spirits, many of them, familiar to King. The eminent Spirit held his hand out, as if presenting the scene to King, and transmitted a soundless message to King, “Welcome.”

King permitted himself a genuine and contented cosmic smile.

Back in the hospice room where King’s earthly realm resided, a visitor arrived, too late to talk with King. Marcus Kerwin was the earthly opposite of King Chesterfield. Quiet, humble, devout without flouting his faith, Marcus enjoyed a successful career. He had raced against King several times, with Marcus usually finishing ahead of the guy whose results didn’t live up to his braggadocio. He had been friendly to King as he was to everyone, but King always had a putdown or insult in return. All the rude words rolled off Marcus, who would continue as if nothing was said. Other racers marveled at the two for vastly different reasons.

Marcus looked at the body lying in the bed and was struck by the expression on King’s face. It was one he had never seen King have in his racing days or afterward. It was beatific, an almost smile, a look of total contentment. It was the look of serenity, a man at peace with himself and everything else.

Marcus scratched his head and wondered about what had led to that look on King’s face. He guessed that, whatever it was, King must have made a last-minute decision to right the wrongs. Marcus chuckled and surmised that it could have taken a long time to make his peace. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

After King had closed his eyes, the events that followed took less than ten seconds in earthly time. Eternity beckoned as King took his earthly checkered flag and his spiritual green flag.

Wondering how TV preachers sleep at night, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Finishing Strong

Justin Grant spent the first part of this year in a state of frustration, most likely. There were occasional decent results, but no victory lane interviews. Then in August, things changed. Who can know how or why things change? At any rate, Grant and company began to win. Since then, they haven’t stopped. And on a chilly northern Indiana night, Grant did it again, winning the last Indiana sprint car feature of 2018 at the Kokomo Klash XII.

So much for Haubstadt being my last race of the year. I was reminded that Kokomo had a little race meeting the following weekend, and off I went, ignoring the threat of rain, the wind and the cold temperatures.

One way to keep warm was to Meander and Loaf my way through the pits, gawking at both new and familiar faces and cars, occasionally stopping to talk with friends and acquaintances.

There was a lot to see. Among the 115 odd cars jamming the pits, 27 were sprinters and 21 more were midgets. Chad Boespflug, plagued by a lack of funds most all year, had shown up to play one more time. The last time I saw Tom Davies, he was taking a trip to a Ft. Wayne hospital after a nasty flip at Gas City. But here he was, perhaps the epitome of a racer in its best form. Team Goodnight had three cars, one for Matt, one for Dave Darland and a third for Anthony Daleissio, a Florida racer. Modified/late model ace Brian Ruhlman was making his sprint car debut. Scotty Weir took his turn in the Pedersen open trailer special.

There was the usual group qualifying, but with a Klash wrinkle, no inverts. The fast qualifier would start on the pole. One result of this was the treat of seeing two races in one as the faster group would break away.

Dave Darland edged Jarret Andretti to win the first heat, as the field settled into two races in one. Tyler Hewitt edged Chad Boespflug for third. Cole Ketchum led the second group and took fifth, locking him into the feature.

Justin Grant won the second heat, which became a three-car breakaway at first before Grant pulled away. C.J Leary took second just ahead of Scotty Weir. Stratton Briggs led the second group and finished fourth ahead of Brian Ruhlman.

Chris Windom made it three pole sitters in a row in winning the third heat. Clinton Boyles led the first half of the race, but settled for second with Shane Cottle a close third. Matt Goodnight took fourth and Ted Hines passed Dustin Webber on the last lap to finish fifth.

Dustin Webber won a competitive B main. Brian Van Meveren came from ninth to finish second. John Gurley edged Parker Fredrickson for third. Mike Roehling came from last/12^th to grab the last spot in the last feature of the year (for most of us). Chris Miller flipped after running over a right rear tire on the second lap. He exited the car fairly quick. Anthony Daleissio spun in turn two after the re-start—while leading. Somehow everyone missed him.

Darland and Grant were the front row for the feature. It turned out that they would be the show, too. The first five laps would be about as intense as it gets for Kokomo; that is saying something. Darland, Grant, Leary, Windom and Andretti engaged in a carnival of slide jobs at both ends of the track, with no one gaining a clear advantage. This was interrupted by a Dustin Webber spin on the fifth lap.

On the re-start, Tyler Hewitt and Matt Goodnight found themselves parked in turn one, adding a bit more to Tom Hansing’s workload. The boys tried again and went green all the way, reaching lapped traffic about five laps after the green waved.

Grant officially led every lap of the first half of the race, but Darland was never far away. Both opted to hang out up against the wall, where the cushion must have been microscopic and disaster was inches away. Grant and Darland showed why they remain two of the best at Kokomo (and pretty much anyplace else they race).

Darland dove low in turn one just past the halfway mark and grabbed the lead. But Grant wasn’t done. He stalked the Hall of Famer, searching for a way around as the laps wound down. Sure enough, Grant returned the favor with two laps to go and made the pass stick. He pulled away at the end, winning by 1.077 seconds.

Behind Grant and Darland was Leary, with Windom ending up fourth. On a night when passing was tough, Cottle came from ninth to finish fifth. Andretti was sixth and Weir took seventh. Ketchum came from 13^th to grab eighth. Boespflug was ninth and Boyles tenth for Paul Hazen, who should be in the Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

As expected Clauson—Marshall teammates ran one/two in the midget feature, with Zeb Wise winning and Cole Bodine second. Bodine spun on the second lap while leading, giving Wise the lead. The youngster from Angola, Indiana was never threatened for the lead. Bodine atoned for his error by charging through the field and taking second. Shane Cottle, the night’s only double dipper, came from last/21^st to conclude his race in third. The ageless Russ Gamester was fourth. Alex Watson was fifth. The second five was Justin Dickerson, Jon Steed (from 17^th), Chett Gehrke, Chase Jones, and Aaron Leffel.

Blane Culp won the 600cc Micro feature. Jesse Simmons, an Illinois resident, won the last race I saw this year, besting 19 other Thunder Cars.

Finally, all the racing was over. The teams loaded up and went home or maybe a nearby motel. The track workers picked up their tools of the trade and immediately began thinking of the Saturday portion of the Kokomo Klash. Track prep began soon after a late model took a few hot laps around the oval.

I hung around hoping to tie up loose ends for a story. I wanted to leave, but didn’t want to leave. You know that feeling? I’m sure that it’s not confined to racing people. But reality asserted itself (Or did it rear its ugly head?). I ambled out to the little white truck with the racing decals. For me, another year was complete. Thoughts would turn to the upcoming holidays and grandchildren. After that, plans would be made for North Carolina, my beloved self-imposed exile. And after that? I would be ready for yet another six or seven months of chasing races and stories. A goal of being a published author finally came true in 2018. Who could know what 2019 would bring?

I’m glad to say I am closing 2018 strong, if I do say so myself. (<<sarcasm lives!)

Thanking Allan, Justin, Jim, Dave, Jill, Tommy, Mike, Adam, Rick, Reece, Marv, Joe, Loris, Jerry, Mallorie and many others, especially Anita, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Curtain Closer

Somehow C. J. Leary outran a strong field and impending rain to win the season's final race at the Tri-State Speedway, with his wallet bulging courtesy of an extra five grand. The program, an aptly named Harvest Cup, was a joint effort of the MSCS and POWRi/WAR sprints.

Going into the evening, there was a good bit of chatter about Kyle Cummins and the BELL Racing USA Triple Crown Challenge finale, a late addition to the festivities as a part of WAR’s co-sanction. As shall be shown, the Princeton, Indiana ace's effort to collect the $20K for winning all three legs of the miniseries came up just a little short.

As a hardy group of fans assembled, ignoring the chilly weather, my meandering the pits resulted in my finding a strong group of racers. There were a few USACers hoping to run off with the five thousand. Among them were Dave Darland, C.J. Leary, Justin Grant, Tyler Courtney and local favorite Chase Stockon. There were the MSCS regulars such as Carson Short, the 2018 MSCS champ, Donnie Brackett, Chet Williams, Kent Schmidt and Brandon Mattox. And there, parked in the midst of them all, was Robert Ballou, on the outs with USAC and a few tracks, but not here. That story is not over. What the winter will bring is anyone’s guess. One thing for sure is that it will bring more heat than light.

Kyle Cummins led a depleted field to the checkered flag in winning the first heat by a large margin over Dave Darland. Carson Short was third and the Big B, Brian Van Meveren, took fourth. Tri-State visitor Trey Gropp and Josh Hodges got upside down in turn two of the first lap after an unwanted meeting. Donnie Brackett was also involved and had to retire from the race.

Robert Ballou took the lead midway through the second heat and went on to win. Justin Grant was second. Jason McDougal finished third and Landon Simon, who led the first half of the race, ended up fourth.

C. J. Leary grabbed the lead early in the third heat and romped to the win. Kent Schmidt made a late pass of Brandon Mattox stick and took the silver medal. Pole sitter Aric Gentry finished fourth behind Mattox.

Chase Stockon was the third of three leaders and won the fourth heat. Tyler Courtney was the second leader and finished second. Jarret Andretti made a late pass of Chet Williams to finish third.

Donnie Brackett came from fifth to win the B, a race that would be hard to top. James Lyerla was second. Brandon Morin was a lonely third. He missed a great scrap behind him. Two newcomers to Haubstadt, Trey Gropp from Nebraska and Riley Kreisel from Missouri, both wanted fourth place badly. For most of the race they fought for the chance to start 20^th in the feature. At the end, Gropp took the last card and would tag the field for the 30-lapper.

The evening had started early as Cummins and Ballou led 18 of their classmates to Tom Hansing’s green flag. Rain was on the way, according to the radar. The green waved at 8:05 after a brief intermission. Cummins took the early lead, with visions of about twenty $1K bills inviting him to race even harder. But Leary was in the mood to be the spoiler. After starting third, he passed Ballou on the second lap. Not happy with that, he motored by Cummins a lap later.

Nine laps were complete when Brandon Mattox flipped high and hard in turn one, knocking some Gibson County soil off the wall. Tom Hansing brought out the red flag and Mattox gingerly exited the car. The front row occupants had been displaced as Leary and Schmidt had annexed first and second. Ballou and Cummins trailed with Grant residing in fifth place.

During the red I stole a look at the radar. Rain appeared to be imminent. Green shades covered all around Haubstadt, but wasn’t quite ready to fall. I was somewhat agitated, especially after Friday’s Terre Haute USAC race fell victim to the rain, my third consecutive rainout.

The green lights blinked and Grant passed Cummins for fourth. Kyle did a half spin a lap later and righted himself. But Darland, Brackett and Lyerla were all collected as Cummins drove away. On this re-start, Leary and Schmidt led Ballou and Grant for a lap before the two California natives swapped positions. A lap later Andretti passed Ballou as well.

Landon Simon brought a halt to the proceedings when he flipped in turn four with 14 laps completed. Again, I checked the radar and again the green on the image covered most all of southwestern Indiana. The lineup now was Leary, Schmidt, Grant, Andretti, Ballou, Cummins, Short, Williams, Stockon and Gentry.

The rest of the race was a frantic and determined performance by those left running. Cummins gained new life and began to move forward. Five laps after the re-start, he passed Ballou. On the next lap, he passed Andretti for fourth, an impressive feat considering that the third- generation race had advanced through the field after starting 12^th.

But the story—and the show—was, even more than Leary, Schmidt, who got under the Greenfield, Indiana native several times in trying to take the lead as the laps wound down. Kent came up short, but had reason to celebrate, which he surely did. Grant was third and Cummins came up short in his bid for the pot full of money. Andretti was fifth, a fine finish. Ballou faded slightly to sixth and Stockon was seventh. Williams roared from 16^th to take eighth. Brackett started 17^th, was involved in a yellow flag, and still finished ninth. Gentry came from 15^th to end up tenth.

The time was 8:34 p.m. Central time and the rain still had not arrived. Reluctantly I left midway through the modified feature, heading to the truck stop just south of the track to fill up the tank. On the way up U.S. 41, moisture appeared on the windshield of the white Chevy Cruze. As I went by the track, it was apparent that racing was done for the night and the year. All three classes squeezed in their main events before any precipitation arrived. It was a gift well-deserved for the racers and the track.

That, in essence, closed out my own 2018 racing season. It began with stock car racing in North Carolina and, if the weather isn’t too cold, could end on this coming Sunday at Salem with a, you guessed it, a stock car race. Otherwise, Haubstadt was the curtain closer and a good one it was, too.

Voluntarily releasing my tax returns, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Rain Magnet

Fans, race teams and the personnel of the Kokomo Speedway endured another rainout on what became a very wet Saturday evening. As this is written late on Saturday night 100 miles south of Kokomo, the rain date is for Sunday, October 7, even though the Sunday forecast doesn’t look the greatest.

Even as I motored north, I was very aware that rain might make an appearance at the track, but no way was I going to take the chance that somehow the race would happen. This was to be an open wheel banquet, offering up the All-Star Circuit of Champions and the POWRi Wingless Auto Racing league. Over 80 cars jammed the pits, with plenty of unfamiliar faces mixed with the familiar.

I’ve concluded that if there is any rain north of Indianapolis, it will surely visit Kokomo, especially the northwest side of town. Arriving early, there were several mini-ponds of standing water in the parking lot, the pits and the edge of the track’s infield. With a nice snazzy pair of new tennis/racing shoes, I had to dodge countless mud puddles in order to keep the shoes clean.

As I ambled around the pits, it became unnecessary to look at the radar. This was because the sky northwest of the track grew more and more ominous. Dark and menacing clouds moved ever closer. It was only a matter of time. Rather than gawk any more at the cars, I decided to retreat after a quick trip to the concession stand. I made it to the truck just in time before the first drops fell.

At approximately 5:15 the rain started. Five minutes later, it was a mini-deluge. It was difficult to see across Davis Road and the little truck wasn’t parked that far away. I stayed where I was, reading and enjoying some popcorn. I didn’t want to drive in that mess and I wanted to get the word from somebody about the inevitable postponement and possible re-scheduling.

A half hour after the rain began, the word came down that we would try again on Sunday. I started the truck, hoping I wouldn’t get stuck pulling out of the parking lot from my spot near the sign out front. The wheels spun a little, but I made my escape, hoping to get home around 8:00.

The rain became a drizzle and persisted until I reached the Howard-Tipton county line. By the time I reached Hamilton County, U.S. 31 was dry. Other than a brief shower while I traversed the northernmost point of I-465, the trip home was uneventful.

Baseball on TV was an unsatisfactory Plan B. After that I found the recording of F1 qualifications. That would have to do, thanks be to the DVR. Instead of watching sprinters fly around the badass oval that is Kokomo, I settled for watching F1 racers take it to the limit, rain be damned.

Sunday would be another day and, I hoped, another race.

Trying not to throw the remote at the TV when Gene Kelly dances and sings his way through “Singin’ in the Rain,” I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Big Mo

The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science defines psychological momentum as, "the positive or negative change in cognition, affect, physiology, and behavior caused by an event or series of events that affects either the perceptions of the competitors or, perhaps, the quality of performance and the outcome of the competition.”

One of the more puzzling and fascinating conditions of the human spirit is that of momentum. It seems to appear mysteriously, then it will sooner or later disappear in the same way. Justin Grant and company have been searching for success all year in USAC action. This past Thursday night at Kokomo, they won and who could know what would happen next. Their finish at Gas City could be considered ordinary. Then came the Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg. And then came another big money paying victory as Grant chased down Brady Bacon and took the lead and eventually the win, which made it $20,000 in prize money in three nights.

With 27 modifieds and approximately 15 vintage cars parked in the pits (now home of the Dave Rudisell Media Center, which, to my delight, is in truth a public restroom), 26 USAC sprints made for a mostly full house. Iowan Frank Rodgers and his 305 sprinter returned. Pennsylvania racer Brandon Spithaler was in the ride usually occupied by veteran Dustin Smith. Justin Peck was again in the Jerry Burton car. The locals were well represented by Dickie Gaines, Nick Bilbee, Jarett Andretti and 2018 ‘burg champ Garrett Abrams. It may not have been the last USAC race this year in Indiana (Terre Haute on October 14), but it was the last Lawrenceburg race this year.

The track was its usual unpredictable self. Rather than slow down as time trials went on, it didn’t exactly follow that pattern. C.J. Leary drew a mid-pack number and set fast time with a 13.977 lap, nearly a second slower than the track record, held by Levi Jones in 2008. Kevin Thomas Jr., the James Dean Classic winner on Friday night, was second quick and went out 19^th. Third fastest was Brady Bacon, who qualified, naturally, first. Chris Windom flipped on his first qualifying lap and had to scramble, bringing out the backup car.

Leary made an opening statement of note, coming from sixth to win the first of three heats with a last lap pass. Dakota Jackson led every lap but the last, taking second. Justin Grant was third. Shane Cottle was fourth and fourth fastest qualifier Chase Stockon finished fifth, the last spot available for the feature.

The second heat began with a four-wide jam in turn two, but the boys handled it flawlessly. Carson Short led all the way to win. Pole sitter Matt Westfall was second. Second row mates Jarett Andretti and Dave Darland were next. But K. Thomas beat out Tyler Courtney for the last dance card.

Brady Bacon took the lead midway through the third heat and won with Dickie Gaines second. Josh Hodges took third ahead of Justin Peck. Jason McDougal was fifth after a fierce battle with Isaac Chapple.

Courtney won the B, leading Windom, Chapple, Dallas Hewitt, Tyler Thomas, Spithaler and Nick Bilbee, making a last lap pass on Minnesota visitor Brian VanMeveren.                                                                                                                                                                            

Darland and Grant occupied the front row for the 30 lapper. They had Courtney and Chapple to thank. Grant took off as Tim Montgomery waved the green and led the first lap before Bacon snatched it away. Leary, who had started sixth, barreled into turn one a bit too hard and caught the wall, flipping hard. After a few minutes, he climbed out of the car and was on his way to the crash house for some X-rays.

The re-start saw Grant and Bacon trade classic ‘burg sliders, zigging and zagging as if they were in a team competition for synchronized slide jobs. Bacon tired of this and broke away from Grant, but wasn’t able to check out.

Grant caught a break that might have been the turning point of the race when Brandon Spithaler spun in turn four with 11 laps complete. After sizing up the leader on the re-start, Grant reclaimed the top spot. But Bacon wasn’t going away; he stayed within ten car lengths the rest of the way.

Those who knew what to watch had their eyes on Windom, who had started 19^th. When Leary had his unfortunate encounter on the second lap, Windom had already blasted his way to 14^th. By the time Spithaler had his moment on the 12^th lap, Windom was seventh. He was far from done.

At the race’s halfway mark, the group up front consisted of USAC’s dominators in 2018: Grant, Bacon, Courtney, K. Thomas and Windom. After carving his way through the field, Windom’s charge stalled as he fought with Thomas for fourth. He finally made the pass on KT after battling for several laps. Thomas, for his part, found Darland unwilling to give up and go away. He briefly lost fifth place to DD before regaining the spot.

At the end, Grant finished first and could think about counting some serious coin. Bacon was second and perhaps was talking to himself after coming so close. Courtney was third, perhaps disappointed with a position some would sell their favorite beanbag chair to take. Windom was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, coming from 19^th to fourth. K. Thomas beat out Darland for fifth. Andretti was a quiet and efficient seventh. Stockon faded slightly from third to finish eighth. A night after his second USAC podium, Chapple found himself mired in ninth, but still no shame considering the eight ahead of him. Hodges loaded his car into the hauler after finishing tenth.

Somewhat reluctantly, I left. As of now, my schedule shows two visits to Kokomo, one to Terre Haute and one to Haubstadt. I’ve already waved bye-bye to the others, again reluctantly. It happens every year. Sprint car racing goes on the back burner and soon thoughts will turn to the return to the mountains of North Carolina and lots of reading, writing and leaving the arithmetic to my wife.

The momentum is building; I can feel it.

Persuading my stomach that, no, we did not go to Taco Bell, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Biding One's Time

The title of this report came close to the tried and true First Time Winner, but Kevin Thomas Jr. had other ideas. Let us give KT his due. He motored around race long leader Isaac Chapple on the 26^th lap of the feature at the Gas City I-69 Speedway and went on to win the inaugural James Dean Classic. But now emerged yet another young racer who could well be a threat to grab his first USAC sprint car victory. With two third place finishes in his last three races, Isaac Chapple had reason to believe that he can break into the win column soon.

Of the 95 cars in the Gas City pits, 33 were tried and true USAC sprinters. Among them was Thomas Meseraull in his own creation with a good bit of assistance. Tony Diamattia and Josh Hodges, the college educated duo, were back. Frank Rodgers, an Iowan used to racing winged 305s and 360s, headed east to see what the fuss is about Indiana racing. There was an assortment of BOSS racers, including the World’s Fastest Beekeeper, Bob McMillin, who made the long haul from Pennsylvania.

The track was a speed magnet and it stayed that way throughout time trials. To prove it, Chris Windom went out late and set fast time, an 11.988. The top 20 qualifiers were within a half second of each other.

Tyler Courtney emerged from a mean three-car fight for the lead with the win in the first heat. Clinton Boyles, 2018 Gas City track champ, held onto second, keeping Windom third. Shane Cottle was fourth; that sent Justin Grant to the B main.

Isaac Chapple gave evidence of things to come as he passed Dallas Hewitt and Brady Bacon on the same lap to win the second heat. C.J. Leary was fourth behind Hewitt and Bacon in a race that saw only five of eight finish.

The third heat was won by front row starter Kyle Cummins. Kevin Thomas Jr. came from sixth to second. Jason McDougal took third and Tony Dimattia used a last lap pass to sneak into the show ahead of Matt Goodnight and Josh Hodges.

In a bit of a surprise, Michigander Dustin Irwin held off the likes of Dave Darland to win the fourth heat. Carson Short, in the Chase Briscoe Racing bullet as opposed to his own, was third with Chase Stockon advancing far enough to make the feature without running the B.

Justin Grant salvaged a seventh starting spot in the feature when he won the B. Hodges, Tyler Thomas, Matt Westfall and Thomas Meseraull were second through fifth. Tyler Hewitt came on strong at the end to take sixth and find himself sharing the back row in the show with Dallas Hewitt, no relation.

Two young racers led 20 of their partners in standing on the gas to Brian Hodde’s green flag, namely McDougal and Chapple. Chapple, from east central Indiana, took the lead and dug his claws into the top spot. K. Thomas annexed second quickly, leaving McDougal to fend off a host of others who wanted to pass somebody, anybody. Chapple couldn’t shake Thomas, never leading by more than ten car lengths, but KT couldn’t make any kind of charge either.

Behind them, things were the usual, interesting at worst and compelling at best. Windom, running fifth, began pressuring Stockon for fourth. It took him every bit of ten laps to make that pass before he did. Leary also was moving forward after dropping a few spots at the start of the race. Before long, he, too, would be doing his best to make Stockon’s life even more stressful.

The race’s first yellow waved for a Dallas Hewitt spin in front of the leaders on the 18^th lap. The pressure would be on Chapple on the re-start. Lined up behind him was K. Thomas, who may well have been plotting his first green flag move. But KT had pressure of his own, courtesy of McDougal. Windom was fourth and Stockon was ahead of Leary, but not for long.

Two laps later the second yellow waved for a Tony Dimattia spin near where D. Hewitt had spun. Leary had made the pass and was now fifth. He was far from done, as a few people were to find out. This final re-start found Chapple still holding off Thomas, guarding the lower line. But the Alabama native kept looking for the chance to make a pass—on the outside if he couldn’t pass on the bottom. Finally, in turn two, on the 26^th lap, Thomas got around Chapple for the lead.

Isaac’s troubles were not over. McDougal was coming on, still determined to move up. On the last lap, going into turn three, McDougal got into the side of Chapple, getting both out of shape. Along came Hodges, who hit Chapple’s car, straightening it out, but Hodges and McDougal ended their race parked in the infield of turn three as the checkered waved.

The checkered flag was quickly replaced by the red flag when D. Hewitt flipped in turn two. Dallas was out of the car quickly as everyone else stopped on the track. At the end, K. Thomas was the winner with Leary second. Chapple was third because he established the lower groove and invited all to pass him on the outside. Only K. Thomas and Leary could do that.

Missing the podium was Windom in fourth. Stockon came away with a fifth. Darland came from 12^th to finish sixth. Cummins was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, moving from 18^th to seventh. Grant was eighth and T. Thomas took ninth. Boyles did the track regulars fine by coming from 20^th to take tenth.

Thus concluded the 2018 season for the Gas City/I-69 Speedway. After lying dormant for the past few years, along came Jerry Gappens, a local boy who showed that, on occasion, one can go home again (with all due admiration and respect for one of my favorite authors, Thomas Wolfe). Not only did he come home, Mr. Gappens must have read about the mythical bird, the phoenix, that rose from its own ashes to fly again, because this track has done the same.

Rather than ponder that accomplishment for very long, Grandson #2 and I left as soon as we could. After all, he had a football game at 9 A.M. on Saturday morning (which he won and threw a pass for a two point conversion).

Biding my time, I’m…

Danny Burton  

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: It's About Time

It could be said that Justin Grant and the TOPPS crew have not had the year they were capable of having, but all that was washed away as Grant won his first USAC victory of 2018. What a win it was as the California native kept no less than Tyler Courtney at bay in the grand finale of the Smackdown at the badass bullring also known as the Kokomo Speedway.

Mike Miller won the BOSS feature with a last lap pass.

A portion of my day was spent in Bloomington, having lunch with two wise advisors, namely Mike O’Leary and Doug Vandeventer. We ate too much. Doug bought my lunch. I tipped the server big time, leaving my company a better man who headed north to Kokomo.

The survivors of a twice rained out Smackdown were a hardy 23 cars in the Kokomo pits, sharing space with 31 BOSS teams, most of them Buckeyes with a few Hoosiers sprinkled within. The USAC portion of the pits included no surprises, unless one included Robert Ballou, MIA for the rest of the season for written and/or verbal communication that ran afoul of USAC rules. Making rare appearances with BOSS were the likes of Josh Cunningham, Andrew Prather, J.J. Hughes and Tyler (Son of a) Gunn, a young man from northwestern Ohio with wing and non-wing experience. Justin Peck was in Jerry Burton’s car, a first-time pairing (far as I know).

Action began with four BOSS heats. The first was case of two veterans who know how to race. Josh Cunningham and Bill Rose ran side by side for most of the eight-lap heat before Cunningham prevailed. Andrew Prather was third and Travis Hery took fourth.

The first two heats saw people sticking with the lower half of the groove, especially in turns one and two. This worked well for pole sitter Mike Miller, who won the second heat. Dustin Smith was second. Ty Tilton finished third and Dustin Ingle was fourth. Justin Peck hit a rough spot in turn one and ended up against the wall, done for the night.

Before the third heat, some agriculture work was done in the turns one and two vicinity and the groove moved a little closer to the top. Jake Scott came from fourth to win. Michael Fischesser was second and Steve Irwin was third, which was where he started. Steve Little made a last lap pass of Korbyn Hayslett to sneak into the A.

When Brandon Spencer jumped the start, Dallas Hewitt found himself on the pole. He used the promotion to win the fourth heat. J. J. Hughes was second. Tyler Gunn was third and Paul Dues came from last to take fourth. The groove was inching higher.

USAC Comes to Play

The USAC boys had two heats to run, in addition to the King of the Hill tournament. Logan Seavey, in one of two Briscoe Racing cars, won the first heat. Pole sitter Kyle Cummins, owner of a new book, was second. Scotty Weir was third and Dakota Jackson fourth. Seavey’s teammate, Carson Short, took fifth.

C.J. Leary used his outside pole position to win the second heat, Pole sitter Chase Stockon was second. Jarett Andretti finished third. Clinton Boyles and Isaac Chapple ended up fourth and fifth. Everyone made the feature.

The King of the Hill was next as the top eight in Smackdown points would square off in three lap slidefests. The winners advanced; the losers slunk away to the pits, doomed to starting in the second, third and fourth rows. First up was Tyler Courtney against Jason McDougal, who edged Sunshine, sending the point leader to the third row of the feature. Dave Darland beat Brady Bacon by a decent margin. Tyler Thomas romped to the win over Kevin Thomas Jr. Justin Grant topped Chris Windom.

It seemed like whoever could get to the top of turn two would lead all the way. In the second round, Darland did just that to get the better of McDougal. Grant eliminated T. Thomas.

This left Grant and Darland. Most of the first lap saw some tight wheel-to-wheel action before DD bobbled at the end of lap one. The pole belonged to Grant.

Back to BOSS

Aaron Fry’s merry band of racers took over, running a B main before their feature. The 12-lap dogfight would move the top six to the A. Cole Ketchum led all the way to win. Brandon Spencer was second and Chad Wilson third. Korbyn Hayslett finished fourth. Mike Roehling was fifth and Buddy Lowther sneaked into the feature by making a last lap pass on local boy Parker Fredrickson.

The front row of the feature was the Mike and Mike show with Fischesser and Miller leading 20 more to Brian Hodde’s green flag. Dustin Smith would come from third to lead the first lap. Fischesser had enough of that and took the lead on the next lap.

Travis Hery had moved from 13^th to the top five before encountering a lapped car and spinning and bringing out a yellow. After the re-start, Miller took over second from Smith and stalked the leader until Hughes brought out a yellow with a flat tire incurred while running in the top five on the 22^nd lap.

With two laps of the 25-lapper remaining, Paul Dues flipped on the front stretch with the red flag waving. He exited the car quickly.

Fischesser had handled the previous re-start with no trouble. But after the red, Miller made the pass on the race-long leader and saw the checkered first. It was a bitter pill for Fischesser, who had run a flawless race up front for most of the time. Smith was third and Gunn came on strong from 12^th to finish fourth. Scott was fifth with Irwin taking sixth after starting 11^th. Prather was seventh while Hewitt concluded his night in eighth. Ketchum advanced from 17^th to finish ninth and Rose rounded out the top ten.

40 Laps of…

Grant and Darland led the thundering herd to the green and when they came back around, Grant led by a nose. That, as it turned out, would be the closest anyone would get to him for the next 40 laps. Grant began stretching his lead in the opening laps. Behind him, Darland, T. Thomas and Bacon found themselves under attack from Courtney, who passed Bacon for fifth place on the tenth lap. Sunshine wasn’t done; his next challenge was T. Thomas, who had a good view of the Clauson/Marshall/Newman rocket a lap later. He wasn’t done, but not before lapped traffic became a factor.

At approximately the same time, Grant caught up with lapped traffic. Darland still owned second place and Courtney was now becoming McDougal’s biggest headache. The Daigh/Phillips sprinter was passed by Courtney close to the halfway mark. Next up in his march to the front was Darland, still in second. Sunshine made this pass and soon after that, Darland had a minor bobble in turn four and lost a few spots. Courtney now had only Grant ahead of him—along with a few lappers who were engaged in their own battle.

 A bit further back in the pack, Leary was on a charge forward as well. Right around the halfway mark, he was knocking on the door of the top five. Rather than wait for the door to open, he did it himself, passing the same hot dogs that Courtney had dealt with.

After 29 laps, the race’s first yellow waved for Chris Windom, who slowed for a flat right rear while running fifth. Courtney had been gaining on Grant bit by bit, but this yellow erased whatever lead there was. The rest of the order was McDougal, Leary, Darland, Bacon, T. Thomas, Stockon, K. Thomas and Andretti.

Fans might have been rubbing their hands with glee as the stage was set for a real dogfight, or maybe their hands were cold as the temperature nosedived into the low 50s. Either way, the temperature didn’t matter; the last 11 laps would provide enough heat for all.

But, surprisingly, the tooth and nail battle didn’t happen. It was true that Grant didn’t run away from everyone else, but Courtney could not get close enough to threaten. Grant took away Tyler’s favored low line in turns three and four while riding up by the wall in turns one and two. Try as he might, Courtney couldn’t make it happen and a very happy Grant invaded the Bryan Clauson Victory Lane with an extra $10k headed to himself and the team.

Leary overtook McDougal late to take both third place and the KSE RACING PRODUCTS/ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS HARD CHARGER after starting tenth. McDougal was an unhappy fourth with Bacon fifth. Positions six through ten were taken by Windom (an impressive comeback after his tire issue), Darland, T. Thomas, Stockon and K. Thomas.

Courtney now leads the season’s points over K. Thomas by seven. It was Grant’s first USAC win in 59 races. Grant is the first driver to win in all three of USAC’s premier divisions.

As this is written, the Gas City/I-69 Speedway eagerly awaits the invasion of race teams, fans and, of course track officials. For another makeup date after an earlier rainout. Smackdown now occupies our rear-view mirror, and another memory as yet another racer overcomes year long challenges. Indeed, it was about time.

To put things in perspective, USAC flag man and one of the nicest guys in or out of racing, Tom Hansing, has a very significant challenge of his own these days. Just know that we are thinking of you and yours during this trying time, bud.

Dillying when I should be dallying, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Saving the Best for Last

The 37^th Annual Four Crown Nationals at the Eldora Speedway Saturday night was typically wild and wooly with its share of wrecks, highs, lows and fierce action on the storied half mile high banks. It was somehow fitting that the night ended with a superb side-by-side effort, with C.J. Leary and Kevin Thomas Jr. the primary players, that lasted throughout the second half of the 50-lap USAC Silver Crown affair. This curtain closer of the Four Crown eclipsed three very decent features that preceded it with Tyler Courtney sweeping the USAC Midget and Sprint features and Aaron Reutzel taking the All-Star Circuit of Champions finale, set at 27 laps in remembrance of Greg Hodnett, who died in a racing accident in Pennsylvania on Thursday.

Rain was falling as I left home, but through the miracles of electronics I wasn’t concerned. My trusty phone teamed up with the trusty radar told me that western Ohio was dry and likely to stay that way. What’s more, the persistent cloudy sky served a noble purpose: the dust was, to my aging eyes, negligible. The track in the early stages was wet and fast before the pounding of 127 cars (and the usual small army of push trucks) turned it into a high-speed skating rink later.

My Eldora high point is invariably assuming my position between turns one and two for hot laps. There have been occasions when this is the highlight of the night, but that would be far from true tonight. I caught a few observations of guys (and Holly Shelton) negotiating the turns, sometimes hands were sawing back and forth on the steering wheel; other times hands seemed to hardly move.

Wandering the pits, I noticed sprint ace Dickie Gaines idle by after his hot lap session. I noticed this even more so because I was standing less than ten feet from Jack Hewitt. It was hard for me to not think of the last time Dickie and Jack met. It was a racing accident at the Twin Cities Raceway Park and Jack’s racing career was over. Neither noticed that the other was nearby. Maybe the main thing was that Jack and Dickie, like most of us, have moved on. But what stories both could tell.

I also noticed that extraordinary people were willingly, even eagerly, climbing into these extremely fast contraptions. I always notice this, but given the tragic accident a few days ago, it was something to be noted. The fastest of these cars were circling Eldora in 13 seconds, an insane concept perhaps, but none of these guys flinched at the situation. They were and are masters of compartmentalization, the ability to put aside whatever thoughts they have had about the accidents that have taken away Jason Johnson and Greg Hodnett. How many of us could do that?

USAC Sprints

Justin Grant, fast qualifier, began what would become a recurring theme for the night by coming from sixth to win the first heat over pole sitter Matt Westfall, Brady Bacon and Tim Buckwalter.

In the second heat, Kevin Thomas Jr. did the same as Grant, taking the lead midway through the eight- lapper. Dave Darland was second with Chris Windom making a last lap pass on pole sitter Nick Bilbee to grab third.

The night’s most fantastic (outrageous?) move of the night came on the opening lap of the third heat when C. J. Leary swept around the top from sixth to take the lead coming out of turn two. Of those left behind, Robert Ballou was second with Dakota Jackson third. Aric Gentry made a late pass on Corey Smith to claim a spot in the feature.

One might think that Chase Stockon would roar to victory from sixth place in the fourth heat, but the Ft. Branch, Indiana resident struggled. Instead, Tyler Courtney came from fifth to win. Dustin Ingle held off Jason McDougal to take second. Ty Tilton was fourth.

The sprint B was an outstanding prelude to the main event. Dickie Gaines came from seventh to take the lead in turn four and the win on the last lap. Shane Cottle started ninth and nearly won, but settled for second. Pole sitter Stockon was third and Carmen Perigo took fourth. Isaac Chapple was fifth, not knowing that better things were ahead. Jacob Wilson was sixth, which meant his impressive fifth fastest qualifying lap wasn’t wasted.

Courtney and Ballou benefitted from Stockon and Wilson’s not transferring out of their heats; they would lead 20 of their playmates to Tom Hansing’s green. Right away things got crazy on the second lap when Leary spun coming out of turn two. Seeing that he was running third, one would have thought this would have been a multi-car scrimmage, but everyone missed Leary, who re-started on the tail and would liven things up shortly.

On the re-start, Ballou took the lead, but Courtney wanted it and took over on the third lap. Sunshine was on a rail, stretching his lead to a full straightaway until Brady Bacon slowed on the 13^th lap. Suddenly, Courtney’s lead went poof! Ballou was still second ahead of Grant, Thomas and Chapple, who had started tenth. Gaines and Bilbee had cracked the top ten. Worth noting was Leary, tenth after re-starting on the tail.

A lap after the re-start, Ballou had his issue with the wall on the backstretch, ending up facing the wrong way with heavy traffic coming his way. Again, it was a one car accident.

The stage was forming up for a battle. Grant was now second and ready to harass the leader. Right behind those guys Thomas, Chapple, Windom and Leary commenced a four-way fight for third. Gaines and Bilbee continued to excel. It occurred to me that these guys raced at Lawrenceburg on most Saturday nights. Eldora is a larger version of the ‘burg’s three eighths mile high banked oval. 

By lap 20, Leary was in the top five and not done. Grant was cutting into Courtney’s lead. We had a great finish coming up. Leary was gaining on Courtney and Grant. Thomas was giving Chapple fits as they fought for fourth and Isaac stubbornly held to the low groove that was working for him. Windom tried to hang with that group.

But the deck was reshuffled when Grant became the next to find the turn two wall. A great run was ruined. Now we would find out if Leary’s charge through the field would stop at second place. We would also find out if Thomas could get around Chapple.

Tom waved his green flag and Courtney took off. C.J.’s great effort would stop at second. The best scrap was that of Chapple and Thomas. It wasn’t from a lack of trying but KT came up short, with Chapple earning his first USAC podium. Thomas was fourth and Windom completed the top five. Stockon managed a sixth with Darland coming from 14^th to take seventh, passing both Gaines and Bilbee at the end. The Nickster had a good run anyway. While Leary passed more cars after his early race miscue, Bilbee was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, coming from 19^th to finish eighth. Gaines faded a little at the end but came from 16^th to ninth. Bacon came back from his tire issue to take tenth.

It was Courtney’s tenth USAC sprint win of the year. He joined some pretty exclusive company in winning a Four Crown feature in sprints, midgets and Silver Crown. Add Tyler Courtney to a list that has Jack Hewitt, Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland and Kyle Larson.

USAC Midgets

The mighty Midgets were the first of four features and Tyler Courtney was not to be denied as he ran away with the feature win. Among other things, this added credence to the subtle power shift going on in the USAC Midget division. As the Clauson-Marshal team gathers strength, one might be tempted to think that the Keith Kunz Motorsports dynasty is fading. That’s a discussion that others can have while the rest enjoy the racing.

Rico Abreu may be forgiven if he has hard feelings toward Eldora. After last year’s devasting crash, Rico was back and set to rumble. But when Chris Baue spun in turn three, Abreu arrived soon after with no place to go but into the other car. He made a trip to the hospital, but returned in time to watch the Four Crown features.

It was Tyler Courtney’s night so far and he set fast time in qualifying. Then he accomplished a rare feat. After winning the fourth sprint car heat, Courtney hopped into his midget ride and promptly won the first midget heat—from sixth, of course. Logan Seavey, Sam Johnson, Spencer Bayston and Chad Boat trailed.

Continuing the trend, Zeb Wise won the second heat from sixth, trading the lead twice between turn four and the start/finish line. Jason McDougal was second. Kevin Thomas Jr., Ryan Robinson and Justin Grant were the rest of the top five.

Front row occupant Tucker Klaasmyer won the third heat with teammate Tanner Carrick second. Alex Bright, Holly Shelton and sixth starting Brady Bacon all kept their qualifying times.

Shelton and Grant led the crew to the green. Grant took the early lead and was leading when Chase Jones spun on the third lap. On the re-start, one lap was run until Wise stopped on the track, done for the night. Grant and Bacon led Courtney for this reloading. A lap later, Courtney passed Bacon for second. Two laps after that, Bayston passed Bacon for third.

The red flag waved for the scariest wreck of the night on lap ten. Bayston contacted Courtney’s left rear tire and flipped wildly through turn one, first helicopter style, then end over end. Just recovered from an injury, Bayston got out of the car. Eight laps were complete and Grant had to know that Courtney was behind him, plotting.

Sure enough, a lap after the green Courtney made his move, passing Grant and simply checking out. The rest of the 25-lapper was yellow free and Courtney built his advantage to a full straightaway. Grant kept his hold on second. Seavey made a late charge, earning the Hard Charger award for moving from 13^th to third. K. Thomas Jr. was fourth. Carrick was fifth. Shelton took sixth ahead of Klaasmyer, who came from 15^th to seventh. Robinson was eighth and McDougal took ninth. Bacon, the only racer to run in all four divisions, faded to tenth.

All-Star Sprints

I discovered that trying to watch the All-Stars’ heats while eating a cheeseburger is a tall order. Paul McMahon won the first heat from the pole. Pennsylvania’s Brock Zearfoss, Ryan Smith, Carson Macedo and Brady Bacon were all heat winners.

Zearfoss and Indana’s Parker Price-Miller won the dashes. Second Generation racer Lee Jacobs led three more into the feature as he won the B.

Price-Miller took the early lead as Aaron Reutzel patiently (as much as one can be patient running laps in traffic in the 13 second neighborhood) worked his way forward from his eighth starting spot.

Reutzel took the lead on a re-start and led from the 12^th lap to the end. Price-Miller withstood a sustained attack from Gio Scelzi, who started 11^th and finished third. Travis Philo came from 15^th to take fourth. Cole Duncan was fifth. The race’s hard charger was Outlaw/NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney, who hustled from 18^th to sixth. Brady Bacon took seventh with Ryan Smith, Max Stambaugh and Shawn Dancer rounding out the top ten.

USAC Silver Crown

The hour was close to midnight and fans had witnessed three very competitive features. The track was like a skating rink by now. One could say that it was a driver’s track with the smarter ones placing the proverbial egg between their right foot and the accelerator. Those same smart guys would do well to try and race the track as if it was a paved surface. Sure enough, during the 50-lap affair, I saw some of those guys riding up by the forbidding wall and it looked like they were at the Salem Speedway, the badass of high banked paved tracks.

Pole sitter Shane Cottle grabbed the early lead over front row mate and fellow veteran Jerry Coons Jr. Action stopped quickly as David Byrne flipped in turn four, tearing up some of the fence as well. Byrne exited the car and the track crew acted like they had seen this before. The fence was repaired in a matter of a few minutes.

Action resumed and Chris Windom passed Coons for second. But he slowed a couple of laps later with the car suffering from a broken rear end. Coons was back in second.

The second red flag came out when Tyler Courtney’s magical night ended with him flipping in turn one while running in the top ten. Sunshine exited his car, his otherwise spectacular night done. Dave Darland, competing in his 200^th Silver Crown race, pitted for a flat tire under the red. Cottle and Coons now led Leary, K. Thomas and 2018 Silver Crown champ Kody Swanson.

The Throttle had a decent lead and it didn’t seem like a huge deal when Leary passed Coons for second on the 16^th lap. A couple of laps later Thomas took over third and shadowed Leary. Then, almost suddenly, Leary caught the leader and Thomas wanted to play, too. What resulted was a three-way battle for the lead for several laps. On the 30^th lap, the three combatants crossed the finish line three-wide. A lap or two later, Cottle slightly faded to third while Leary and Thomas fought tooth and nail for the lead. KT stuck to the middle groove, which served him well. C.J. chose the high road, the Jack Hewitt groove, up against the wall, flirting with disaster on every lap. There were eight lead changes officially, but countless more on the track.

Leary took the lead for good on the 47^th lap. Thomas tried in vain to make another charge but ran out of laps. At the end, Cottle’s last twenty laps of the race was comparatively tame as he finished third. Jason McDougal brought Chris Dyson’s car home in fourth. Swanson was a somewhat calm fifth. Coons, Justin Grant, Brady Bacon, Kyle Robbins and Jacob Wilson completed the top ten.

Thomas was the KSE RACING PRODUCTS/LARRY RICE HIGH PERFORMANCE HARD CHARGER after moving up to second after starting tenth.

It was Leary’s second Silver Crown victory.

My phone told me that the temperature was 54 degrees and it was one a.m. It was time to head home. I chuckled as I remembered how the Silver Crown feature ended at 2:45 a couple of years ago. This time, I was somewhere between New Castle and Rushville at 2:45. It was a small price to pay for a full night of Eldora crazy magic—which ended with the best race of the night.

Drama continued on Sunday and Monday as Robert Ballou and track owner Tony Stewart had a brief dust-up on Twitter. It defused rather quickly, but at least the keyboard jockeys had some red meat to chew on  for a while.

Upset because I misplaced my tin foil hat, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Hey, Landlord; Let’s Hustle

How often does a landlord outrun a tenant? Quite often, as I read the local news in the newspaper.  But on a race track? Probably not as often. That’s what happened on a warm Saturday night at the Tri-State Speedway as Kevin Thomas Jr., landlord, outran everyone else, including new tenant Jason McDougal and won his second straight Haubstadt Hustler, a 40 lap feature and a co-sanction by the MSCS and USAC.

The Saturday drive southwest to Haubstadt was somewhat smoother than the Friday drive to Terre Haute. Traffic in Bloomington was heavy as Indiana University beat up on perennial powerhouse Ball State 38-10.

The car count was a respectable 34 with a few guys returning after excused absences. Tony Dimattia was back, at least for the night. The usual southwestern Indiana/tri-state gang was present, led by Kyle Cummins, along with Donnie Brackett, Chase Stockon (with a foot in both the USAC and SW Indiana camps), Collin Ambrose, Aric Gentry, second generation racer Chayse Hayhurst, Kent Schmidt, Brian Wallace, Stephen Schnapf, Eric Perrott, Chet Williams and Kendall Ruble. The Pottorff/Short cars would be wheeled by Chad Boespflug and Josh Hodges, whose car was present, but minus an engine.

With this event being a USAC/MSCS co-sanction, MSCS rules were in effect for time trials, four groups simultaneously racing the clock. Robert Ballou’s 13.810 was quickest.

The first heat was superb. Brady Bacon edged C.J. Leary by .035 seconds to win the first heat. Kyle Cummins was third and Donnie Brackett was fourth.

The second heat featured a last lap pass for the win. Stephen Schnapf got around Kent Schmidt coming out of turn two and held on to win. Ballou was third and Isaac Chapple was the second consecutive to start on the pole and finish fourth.

Chris Windom patiently worked his way forward to win the third heat over Dave Darland. Chase Stockon started and finished third. Carson Short was fourth.

The fourth heat was a portent of things to come. The landlord, Kevin Thomas Jr., started and finished first. The tenant, Jason NcDougal, was second, beating out Justin Grant, who had started third, by a bumper. Tyler Courtney also started and finished in the same position; Sunshine was fourth.

With 18 cars fighting for six spots, certainly some good cars would be sitting down early. Front row mates Daron Clayton and Aric Gentry finished one/two. Chet Williams was third. Kendall Ruble, Critter Malone and Tony Dimattia all made the show. It was a surprise that both Pottorff/Short cars missed the cut. Other decent rides closed down early, including Dakota Jackson and Stevie Sussex. If not for a provisional, Brandon Mattox would have been done early, too.

It was time for the tractor show, loved by some, hated by others, and talked about by all. Just like any other race track that one frequents, one should have a good idea of what to expect before arriving. Each track has its own method of preparing itself for an evening of work. It’s up to all present, especially fans, to make the most of the down time. At Tri-State, after the tractors have re-worked the track, there’s a real good chance that the race following will be quality. For some, the delay, aggravation, whatever you want to call it, is worth it when the race turns out to be, at worst, above average. The feature on this warm Saturday night would be no exception.

The method for determining the starting lineup was a mystery to me, not that I worried about it. But Kent Schmidt and C.J. Leary would lead 21 fellow racers to Tom Hansing’s green flag. Without consulting USAC stats/trivia guru Richie Murray, my guess was that this was Schmidt’s first pole position in a USAC feature. Seconds after the green, again there was a likely first for Schmidt as he led the first lap, even though he led it by inches over Leary. On the next lap, Leary took the lead.

Chris Windom stumbled on the fifth lap and things behind him were bottled up. Daron Clayton spun, bringing out the yellow. By this time Thomas had passed Schmidt for second. Schnapf was fourth and McDougal was fifth. Windom pitted and went a lap down. Schnapf spun a lap after the re-start. Windom returned, but would not be a factor. Brady Bacon took Schnapf’s place in the top five.

At this point, Bacon was looking strong. He passed McDougal for fourth and Schmidt was next. But Kent slowed and Brady ran over his left rear tire, flipping in turn three on lap 13. Bacon got out of the car and, after a quick thrash in the pits, returned to the race. The rest of the race was uninterrupted, unless one counts the yellow that waved with the checkered.

Leary took off after the red flag period and tried to get away from Thomas. But he couldn’t shake the Mean Green machine. A few laps later, lapped traffic came into play. At about the same time, the fact that this race was 40, not 30, laps also came into play. Leary maintained his lead, but KT simply wouldn’t go away or fade. Finally, Thomas made his move and passed Leary on the 37^th lap coming out of turn four. The Greenfield resident stayed close, though he had McDougal to worry about as well.

But the top three stayed the same. After the checkered, Thomas and McDougal, along with tow other cars, had an unscheduled post-race meeting in turn two. Thomas celebrated by standing atop his roll cage at first, but was escorted via four-wheeler to the start/finish line to celebrate and be interviewed. McDougal had his own escort as he and Thomas joined Leary, who had missed out on the post-race carnage and was the only racer on the podium who could drive his car around to the front stretch.

Behind Thomas, Leary and McDougal, Darland was an unnoticed fourth. Short came from 15^th to take fifth, winning the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger dough. Courtney came from 16^th to grab sixth. Ballou was seventh and Stockon eighth. Cummins and Brackett, local favorites like Stockon, were ninth and tenth.

This was the third Haubstadt Hustler won by Thomas.  

It had been quite the weekend. I had to wonder why it isn’t called the “Hurtubise/Hustler” weekend. But that idea floated through my mind briefly as I remembered that I had a two and a half hour drive ahead of me. Thanks to the miracle of electronics (namely a long-distance phone call), I-69 didn’t cause me to doze off. The hills and curves of State Road 46 alone made sure that I’d stay awake all the way home and begin thinking about the next weekend. (Eldora?)

Watching Sergio Perez pretend that he’s driving a Bomber/Thunder Car/Pure Stock, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Killer B's

It certainly wasn't inevitable but it seemed like the main event was going to boil down to a mano a mano clash between Brady Bacon and Robert Ballou. Sure enough, that was the case as Bacon held off the California native and won the Jim Hurtubise Classic as USAC sprints invaded the Terre Haute Action Track.

On a very warm September afternoon, getting to the Action Track was half the fun. My first stop on the way was planned and went smoothly, thanks to a former coworker. She took the package (containing a book, Racing with Faith, shameless plug) and I was on my way, or so I thought. From there, it was one challenge after another. But neither road construction nor Friday afternoon traffic nor more road construction would deter me. I wasn't all that late as it turned out.

The pits weren't exactly jammed, but a significant number of the 24 cars on hand had resumes that most racers would love to have. Josh Hodges was back in the Hoosier state for a spell. Bill Rose made a rare appearance, as he is known to do. And a young man named Shawn Arriaga, who has done some 360 winged racing at Antioch Speedway (2015 champ), made the long haul from Antioch, California to try his luck.

Four drivers qualified under 20 seconds on a fast track. From fourth to first they were Tyler Courtney, Chase Stockon, Brady Bacon and fast timer Robert Ballou, who achieved a 19.621 lap.

Robert Ballou was the third of three leaders in the first heat, taking the lead from Carson Short with two laps to go. Kevin Thomas Jr. passed Short on the last lap and took second after an earlier thrash, with major assistance from some of his competitors in getting back to the track. Short was third ahead of Tyler Courtney and Justin Grant.

Josh Hodges kept Brady Bacon at bay for eight laps and won the second heat. Chris Windom finished third and C. J. Leary was fourth. Isaac Chapple was fifth of the five cars still running. Jarett Andretti slid into Nate McMillen in turn two. Nate tipped over lightly but he was done for the night.

Dave Darland used a last lap pass to win the third heat with his "victim" Nick Bilbee finishing second. Jason McDougal was third and Shane Cottle took fourth. Chase Stockon was fifth.

Cottle and Leary led 21 colleagues to the green with the kid from Greenfield, Indiana jumping out to the lead. Right away, Bacon was on the move from his third row starting spot. When the race’s first yellow waved for contact between Hodges and Bilbee, Leary was the only immediate obstacle between Bacon and first place. And when Leary had a moment in turn four on the sixth lap, Bacon was there to capitalize on Leary’s catching a rough spot.

Ballou got busy on the re-start, coming from fifth to third two laps later. He was hungry for more, but Leary wasn’t about to give up another spot, at least for the time being. However, three laps later, as the race approached its midpoint, Ballou made the pass and set sail for the leader.

Robert caught a break when Dave Darland stopped in turn two on the 13^th lap. Behind Bacon and Ballou were Leary, Windom and Cottle. During the yellow, Courtney pitted and rejoined the chase on the tail spot. The green waved and Windom got around Leary and briefly it looked like he would catch Ballou and try to make Robert’s life miserable for a few moments. Certainly the effort was there, but on this night the horsepower might not have been.

One last yellow waved for Justin Grant, or more specifically, his smoking engine on the 25^th lap. So one last time the two who entertained the possibility of at least harassing the leader would do what they could. But Bacon wasn’t allowing any such pretensions. As he had done for most all of the race, Bacon maintained his lead, At the end, he was a good ten car lengths ahead of Ballou.

Behind Bacon (a father for the third time as of Monday) and Ballou was Windom. In the post-race interview, Ballou allowed that he had a second-place car and, perhaps picking up on that, Windom said that his was a third-place car. Logic lives!

Leary was fourth with Thomas recovering nicely from his qualifying misfortune to take fifth after starting 12^th. KT was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger. Cottle was sixth and Courtney hurried back to seventh after his unscheduled pit stop. Stockon, Stevie Sussex and Jason McDougal completed the top ten with McDougal coming from 17^th.

It was Bacon’s second Jim Hurtubise Classic victory and his 22^nd USAC sprint car win.

After walking away with $15,000 in winning the inaugural BC 39 at the Brickyard, Bacon finished up a rewarding week’s work. The extra funds will buy a lot of diapers.

The B’s ruled.

Nervously ignoring a phone call from Robert Mueller, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: And Now, For Something Completely Different...

I'm inclined to think that the opening night of the initial Driven 2 Save Lives BC39 was a success. The racing was typical of USAC’s Midget Series, which is to say that there was no shortage of close wheel to wheel action on a track that had a goodly amount of character early on. But the smallish quarter mile oval, built from scratch by a guy who knows a little about such a project, yielded some of the best racing all night long with minor tweaks.

Early on, I wanted to note as many firsts as I could. As the cars came out for the first of 12 hot lap sessions at 5:30, I knew there would be many more.

The first red flag didn't wave until the ninth group when Michael Koontz flipped in turn four. He climbed out, but was done for the night.

With 108 cars running 12 heats, there was no shortage of interesting characters who had made their way to the event.

Guys with experience at NASCAR'S top three rungs included Ricky Stenhouse Jr., J. J. Yeley, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Landon Cassill, Tracy Hines and Chad Boat. Nick Drake, who has some NASCAR experience, made the haul from North Carolina. Indy Car's Conor Daly secured a ride with Landon Simon; this would be his first ever ride in a midget.

Racers came from all over our nation and beyond. My very unofficial survey showed 25 Hoosier natives and 17 racers from Illinois. There were 21 states represented along with one Australian racer, Braydon Willmington. The fair states of Minnesota, Connecticut, Wyoming and Mississippi all had one racer each among all the Hoosiers, Illini, Californians, Oklahomans, and Pennsylvanians, all of whom had five drivers or more jammed into the pits.

Lance and Olivia Bennett, from Colorado, wee the quite rare husband/wife combination.

Hot laps were completed at 6:55.

The first heat went green at 7:21 and the first yellow was a minute later. Tyler Courtney must have felt like a human yo-yo during the first heat. He flew from fifth to lead the first lap. But he spun during the first yellow and was sent to the tail. The caution plagued race also had the first red, which waved when Tyler Nelson tipped over with David Prickett also getting upside down. In between these interruptions, Courtney was moving forward and he won the first heat.

During the second heat a double rainbow appeared as rain was on the other side of town. California’s Maria Cofer, subbing for the injured Spencer Bayston, became the first female racer to lead a lap. A few minutes later, Ms. Cofer became the first lady to win a heat race.

Kevin Thomas Jr. came from fifth to win the third heat.

As the fourth heat, the double rainbow remained. Dave Darland, who had finished second in the first heat, joined the crowd. Dave saw his former Kokomo mate, Shane Cottle, win. Cottle was the first winner who had started on the pole.

Tucker Klassmyer won the fifth heat after starting seventh (out of nine).

J.J. Yeley showed people that he had not forgotten how to drive an open wheel car on a choppy bullring as he won the sixth heat after a race long duel with Shane Golobic.

The seventh heat was one of the best. Jason McDougal and Steve Buckwalter engaged in a slidefest for several laps until McDougal did a half spin, enabling Buckwalter to win. Zach Daum flipped coming out of turn two, but was able to walk away.

Pole sitter Christopher Bell ran away from the field in the eighth heat so seasoned fans watched the battle for second, eventually taken by Korey Weyant, who had started eighth.

Tyler Thomas and Chad Boat had a race long scrap for the lead in the ninth heat. Every two or three laps there would be a yellow (and one red when Texan Jeb Sessums flipped). At the end, Thomas used a turn four/last lap pass to edge Boat for the win.

Ryan Robinson came from fifth to lead every lap of the tenth heat.

Alex Bright was the first to win his heat, the 11^th, after starting last.

The final heat race saw Brady Bacon edge Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the win.

The night ended with the pursuit race. A few of us could recall seeing Australian pursuit races back in the 60s. This was similar, but the 20-lap race would be divided into five segments of four laps each. Whoever had been passed when the segments were over exited the race. There were 24 starters and after a tough start (which caused me to think that maybe this wasn’t a good idea—boy, was I wrong) things settled down as the field was whittled down to seven cars after the third segment.

Young Zeb Wise had been on the move from the back. After three segments, Brayton Lynch led Alex Bright, with Wise up to third after starting 18^th. Bright eliminated Lynch in the fourth go-round. Starting the last part of the race Bright led Wise, Yeley, Stenhouse, Jerry Coons Jr. and Klaasmyer.

The Pennsylvania veteran did his level best to hold off the kid from the northeaster part of Indiana, but Mr. Wise would not be denied, taking the lead on the last lap and sailing away to the win.

It may or may not have been a coincidence that Wise’s number is 39BC. Interpret as you wish, but at least believe that it was a pretty neat deal.

This left those in attendance anxious to see what night number two would be like.

It’s interesting that we have the capability of learning what’s important. Dealing with traffic, food prices higher than we’re used to paying and assorted rules and regulations that don’t apply at your typical bullring are all issues we have to deal with not only in going to a race but in our everyday lives at well. But here’s the thing. From the time that the first car entered the track until the last checkered flag, I’ll suggest that several of those in attendance put all of those minor annoyances (in most cases) aside and concentrated on the “business at hand,” namely race cars driven by several skilled race car drivers on a challenging but rewarding race track. Personally, watching and writing about race cars serves as my own Mecca/therapy. And doing this at the Mecca of auto racing made for a nice cherry on top.

If Wednesday nights’ festivities (even with the comedy team of Butch Wilkerson and Rodney Reynolds keeping a smile on my face all night) weren’t something completely different, my name is Monty Python.

Pining away for the job of navigator on the Reece O’Connor water truck, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Quite the Weekend

Not only did Jason McDougal win his first USAC sprint car race on Saturday night at I-55 Speedway, he made the trip back to Indiana pay off as the Oklahoma native won his first Kokomo Speedway feature on Sunday night. It would seem that Steve and Carla Phillips, along with Frank Daigh, are back as major players on the Hoosier sprint scene with their newly hired racer, a kid that Steve compared in demeanor to Rich Vogler.

“When he loses, he’s mad,” Steve said.

“At who?” I cleverly asked.

“Everyone,” Steve answered.

Case closed, I said to myself. That spoke volumes.

Two dozen sprinters were among a bit over 100 cars jamming the pits for the Vince Osman Memorial. There were a few guys (Thomas Meseraull, Steve Thomas, Cole Ketchum, Braxton Cummings and Parker Fredrickson) who had been at Lawrenceburg the night before. A couple made the long haul from the USAC race at Pevely MO. Colten Cottle was in the Burton 04.

Isaac Chapple made a turn four/last lap pass on Stevie Sussex to win the first heat. Matt Westfall started and finished third. Pole sitter Steve Irwin was fourth. Parker Fredrickson took fifth.

The low groove was like the new girl at her first dance when all the boys want to dance with her. Brian Karraker used it well to win the second heat over Minnesota’s Rob Caho. After trading spots with Dave Darland a time or two, Cole Ketchum prevailed to grab third. DD was fourth and Braxton Cummings was fifth.

Jason McDougal used a lapped car as a pick to pass Tyler Hewitt on the last lap in winning the third heat. Thomas Meseraull was third with Scotty Weir fourth. Colten Cottle was fifth, earning him a 15^th starting position in the feature and sending Clinton Boyles to the B.

I looked in on one of the Hornet heat races. The winner drove much of the race with his hood up, blocking most of his view. I’ve seen people everywhere from here to Kokomo with a complete view of the road who could not negotiate a straight road with little traffic.

Boyles went from third to first within a half lap and went on to win the B. Travis Hery, Mitch Wissmiller, Billy Cribbs and Adam Byrkett all would tag the tail in the feature. Cribbs collided with local racer Dustin Smith, who promptly spun in turn two. Second generation racer Brandon Clark had nowhere to go and smacked Smith's car. Smith's reaction to Cribbs as he drove by under the yellow indicated that he was not thrilled. Steve Thomas got a bit sideways coming out of turn two and flipped. The veteran exited the car under his own power.

The re-draw found Sussex and Karraker on the front row of the feature. The Arizona native took the early lead and McDougal came calling quickly after starting sixth. He was second when Wissmiller stopped in turn four on the third lap, bringing out the yellow. McDougal wasn’t the only one on the move; Dave Darland had already grabbed sixth place after starting 11^th.

On the re-start, Sussex held off McDougal for a few laps, a battle between Arizona and Oklahoma natives. McDougal took the lead on the tenth lap and checked out. Oh wait. No, he didn’t. Sussex didn’t exactly disappear. He stayed within ten car lengths for the rest of the race, needing the leader to make an unforced error or maybe having a yellow wave, after which he might get the jump on McDougal during the re-start.

Meanwhile, Meseraull had hustled to third place after starting ninth. He assumed third on the sixth lap and seemed to be closing on the top two. Had he been able to maintain that pace, what a race it would have been. But TMez could get no closer.

Darland was in a similar situation. He was able to pass Hewitt and Karraker, but stalled as the race went on. Perhaps, he, too, could have used a re-start.

McDougal led Sussex, Meseraull, Darland and…Clinton Boyles to the line. Boyles was the hardest of chargers as he came from the B, starting 16^th, to fifth. Hewitt was sixth and Westfall finished where he started, seventh. (Matt also finished where he started in his heat race. A rare occurrence, one might say.)  Chapple was eighth and C. Cottle came from 15^th to ninth. Weir was tenth.

Post-race, McDougal seemed overwhelmed at what he had accomplished. He has raced well enough to win, especially since moving to the Daigh-Phillips team. It seemed like it would be a matter of time before the kid broke through. And he did in a big way.

Who can know how long this success will last. In the crazy mini-society of Hoosier sprint car racing, personnel changes are made all the time. One learns that all things are temporary and that whatever success one has will be only a short time. Racers learn to enjoy it while it lasts. Perhaps without realizing it, they are being educated while chasing their dreams.

If he’s in a position to notice, surely Rich Vogler offers a knowing smile.

Reminding Sebastian Vettel that he can’t win a race, even a Formula One race, on the first lap, but he can surely lose one, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Catch Me If You Can

With apologies to the Dave Clark Five…Garrett Abrams won his second feature of the year at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on a warm and humid Indiana night. When he was hung up in lapped traffic, second place Dickie Gaines closed in and made it interesting at the end, coming up a few car lengths short.

After a disappointing night at Bloomington, where a persistent drizzle sidelined the Bob Kinser Memorial for the second time, I was a bit apprehensive as I eyed the radar on Saturday afternoon. Most certainly rain was on my mind as I headed east on State Road 46. I had a lovely view of dark clouds in the eastern sky for much of the 75-minute drive. Arriving early at the track, I parked as close to the front row as I could, lazily not wishing to carry books any farther than necessary. I considered making the long walk to the pit shack, but I wisely stayed put. Because the next ten minutes or so saw a hard rain fall, creating lots of mud puddles. The rain stopped almost as quickly as a snap of the fingers. The sky cleared and the heat returned. It was time to walk.

Among the 23 sprinters braving the brief downpour were many of the usual ‘burg suspects and few surprises. With the BOSS race at Route 44 Speedway up the road cancelled, it was a bit of a surprise that some of the guys didn’t head south.

The rain had been a blessing for the track. No water truck was needed and track prep must have been comparatively easy for a change.

In a heat that was interrupted twice for a red flag, Landon Simon went from third to first in one lap to win the first preliminary. Braxton Cummings was second with Tony Main finishing third despite being involved in both red flag incidents. Chris Phillips took fourth and David Applegate rounded out the top five. On the fourth of eight laps, Chad Wilson flipped in turn two. On the re-start, Joss Moffatt flipped coming out of turn two. Ted Hines was also involved. All concerned were a bit shaken but exited their cars with little help.

Garrett Abrams showed that he, too, could go from the bronze medal to the gold in one lap. He won the second heat after a fierce battle with second place J. J. Hughes and third place Michael Fischesser. Thomas Meseraull was fourth and Drew Abel, the pride of North Vernon, Indiana, was fifth.

Dickie Gaines ran away from the others and breezed to the third heat triumph. Cole Ketchum grabbed second. Tony McVey was third with Pat Giddens coming from the back to finish fourth. Parker Fredrickson was fifth.

The last of the preliminary races was the school bus feature, a ten-lap affair with about a dozen buses negotiating the high banks of Lawrenceburg. After the race there was a significant loss of the crowd. If given enough time, I think I could guess why. But perhaps the point was that promoter Dave Rudisell could explain the allure—as he smiled and counted the box office receipts.

The feature got underway at 10:10 as Abrams and Simon led the crew to Tim Montgomery’s green flag. Simon was a rocket ship as he grabbed the lead. He had to be as Abrams was flying as well, flirting with the imposing wall at each end of the track. Cummings was a strong third but the front two pulled away.

Disaster struck for the leader on the ninth lap as he began to deal with lapped traffic. David Applegate spun (with help) in turn one. Simon came flying into the turn and found instant trouble as Applegate’s car directly in his path. With other cars involved, the red flag came out as the wreckage was removed.

This gave Abrams the lead, followed by Gaines, Cummings, Fischesser, Hughes, Meseraull, Phillips, Abel, Giddens and McVey. On the re-start, the top two waved goodbye and Cummins came under attack from Fischesser. After a brief battle staying ahead of Meseraull, Fisschesser extricated himself from that situation and passed Cummings for third just before the halfway mark.

With about ten laps to go, Abrams had problems with two lapped cars, involved in their own race within a race. As Garrett struggled to pass both cars, Gaines closed the once hefty gap, closing to less than ten car lengths. This baby wasn’t over yet. Dickie aimed to make the kid earn it.

Try as he might, Gaines couldn’t quite close the deal. Perhaps a late race yellow would have helped. But that didn’t happen and it would be tempting to ask “what if…”. For that matter, Landon Simon could be asking the same question. It’s the sort of speculation we all engage in from time to time. Nothing is resolved from that. It’s why we race—or live.

Abrams’ advantage at the end was maybe ten car lengths. Both of his sprint car wins have been at Lawrenceburg. He’s also the point leader. Apparently he likes this place; he certainly does well there.

Behind the team of Abrams and Gaines was third place Michael Fischesser. He had a strong motor and ran a flawless race. TMez was the Grasshopper Hard Charger as he came from 11^th to claim fourth. J.J. Hughes, hopefully with engine woes behind him, was fifth. Braxton Cummings may have dropped from fourth at the start to sixth, but there was no shame in that. Chris Phillips was seventh and Pat Giddens finished eighth. Drew Abel came from 14^th to end up ninth. Tony Main, armed with a new book (mine), settled for tenth.

Try as they might, no one could catch Mr. Abrams.

Imagining Aretha Franklin and John McClain whooping it up in the next realm, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Rainouts and Flooded Parking Lots

I woke up late on Saturday morning hoping against hope. I shuffled to the window of the motel room and looked outside, knowing what I would see before I saw it. Sure enough, there it was. Rain was falling at a steady clip. Not surprised, but disappointed, I checked my prime social media outlets. There was no word yet on the status of the final night of Smackdown 2018. That wasn’t a surprise either, not sitting at the track, my guess was that the deciders were either pondering the chance of racing on Saturday night or postponing the grand finale and finding another date to re-schedule.

As of noon, there was no word and I was hungry. I tried out the Pizza Hut in Logansport, 25 miles northwest of Kokomo. I checked the usual sources and there was no word yet. I stopped in Walton, Indiana, a tiny place in Cass County, to send off a few text messages and check yet again. Finally! There it was. I relaxed, if, in fact, I had been tense. There was word and it made sense.

The makeup for Smackdown was re-scheduled for Sunday, September 9. This will cap quite a special weekend. It starts very early with the historic two-day show at the Speedway, the BC 39 on the new oval built from scratch by Kokomo’s track guru Reece O’Connor. That will be on September 5-6. USAC sprints will be at the Gas City/I-69 Speedway on Friday the seventh. Modifieds headline Lincoln Park on Saturday, but sprints will also run. Lawrenceburg will be dark on Saturday. That leaves Sunday for the 39.

Sounds easy, but such things seldom are. No matter. Hopefully, this series of races will be smooth and trouble free.

I stopped at the track and saw a good portion of the parking lot was flooded. I asked Dave Darland, heading to his car, if he had seen his sister. No. I said thanks and headed south. My meeting with the sister, Susan, would wait. She wanted to buy the book I’ve written, but that can happen later.

My major job was fighting Saturday afternoon traffic, especially on I-465. Thankfully, most all drivers behaved. At Exit 80, I had enough. I took county roads home. The sky was cloudy but the sun was trying to shine. It was considerably warmer and more humid, but that’s not unusual. Indiana does have multiple climate zones.

I watched part of the Indy Car race on TV. Will Power won.

Indiana also has great racin’. It continues this coming weekend. I need to rest up.

Receiving immunity from the prosecutor, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: First Time Winner (Redemption)

On a night when people did their best to knock down the Kokomo Speedway’s unyielding turn two wall, Tyler Thomas, driving Tony Epperson’s pride and joy, spent most of the 30-lap feature as close to the walls as he could without contact while he won the Friday version of the Kokomo/USAC/Smackdown. It was redemption of sorts from last year when he led much of the race before seeing it go away at the end.

The weather for this festival has been somewhat cool, but pleasant. But on Friday, the wind was somewhat brisk and very persistent. This made track prep even more of a challenge for the Kokomo crew. Try as they might, dust was a constant, but minor annoyance. The surface demanded that racers race with precision as the fast way around for most was up against the wall. As we shall see, it bit a few good racers.

The car count was 36 with some leaving and others arriving. Gabe Griffith was in town from Illinois. Muncie’s Cole Ketchum made his 2018 Smackdown debut. Local racer Dustin Smith made a rare appearance. Joe Ligouri was back in his own car after having Korey Weyant in the seat earlier. Teammates Logan Seavey and Carson Short traded Briscoe Racing mounts, a rare occurrence.

The track was very wet before the cars came out. This wouldn’t last. Kevin Thomas Jr. qualified early and his 12.740 lap held up. The track changed and the quick time was .2 seconds quicker than second. Justin Grant went out last and still had the fifth fastest time, so there’s that.

Kevin Thomas Jr. used a last lap pass to edge Shane Cottle in winning the first heat. Grant was third and Chris Windom was fourth in a race that had three of the strongest sprinkled through the lineup. Dakota Jackson was the first of several to encounter the turn two wall. His car climbed the wall, perched on two wheels, then slowly tipped over. Kyle Cummins led much of the race until he climbed the same wall and fell back.

The second heat saw Brady Bacon come from fourth to take the lead and win with Robert Ballou second. Pole sitter Isaac Chapple was third and Carson Short finished fourth.

Tyler Courtney, Thursday’s winner, came from sixth to third on the first lap. Halfway through the race he took the lead and went on to win. Dave Darland was second ahead of Jarett Andretti. Brandon Mattox had his hands full in holding off Tim Buckwalter for the last dance card.

Jason McDougal won his first USAC heat race, the fourth. Pole sitter Stevie Sussex was second. Behind them, there was a three-way battle for the last two spots. Tyler Thomas took one of the spaces, finishing third. Chase Stockon edged Brian Karraker to grab the last one. C.J. Leary rolled to a stop while leading and rolled out the backup car.

Clinton Boyles ran a flawless race to win the B. Logan Seavey, a disappointment this week, was second. Kyle Cummins settled for third. Scotty Weir came from eighth to take fourth. Matt Westfall started and finished fifth. Dakota Jackson edged C.J. Leary for the final spot. Leary had started last. His charge through the field fell a few feet short. Tim Buckwalter and Leary used provisionals. Stevie Sussex switched to a backup car and started the feature last.

Andretti and Ballou were the front row and the California native jumped out to the lead. For the first eight laps, no one had anything for Ballou, nor T. Thomas, who was second. Action stopped when Boyles flipped in, where else, turn two, bringing out one of several red flags. Clinton exited the car. Ballou led T. Thomas, Andretti, Grant, K. Thomas, Cummins, Darland, Courtney, Windom and Bacon.

On the re-start, Windom made a rare unforced error, sliding to a stop in, yep, turn two. K. Thomas was trying the middle groove while most stayed up top. KT never got a chance to experiment even further because Andretti caught the turn two wall and flipped on lap 12, collecting Thomas, who went for his own ride. After a Herculean effort, he rejoined the chase.

Three laps later, it was Ballou’s turn to fight the wall and flip while leading. This put T. Thomas in the lead with Courtney in second. Try as he might, Sunshine never could rattle the leader enough to cause an error. TT hit his marks at every corner. But he wasn’t home free yet.

Sussex was the last to say hello to the turn two wall, flipping and bringing out flagman Tom Hansing’s tired red flag one more time on lap 27. Courtney had only a few more chances to make it two in a row. He surely tried hard enough, but Thomas wasn’t interested in giving this race away again after doing that last year. He crossed the line several car lengths ahead of Courtney.

Completing the post-race interviewees was Grant. Bacon was fourth after starting ninth and Darland was fifth after starting tenth. Leary’s up and down night ended with a sixth-place finish after starting the race 22^nd. His provisional ticket kept him from getting the hard charger award. McDougal was an impressive seventh. Windom recovered from his early spin to take eighth. Stockon received the KSE RACING PRODUCTS/ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS HARD CHARGER recognition by coming home ninth after starting 17th. Short was tenth after starting 16^th.

Ballou and T. Thomas led an equal number of laps, 15 each.

Windom leads Courtney by 15 points in the national standings. Courtney leads Grant by 11 points in Smackdown’s rundown.

It all ends on Saturday. In past Smackdowns there have been a series of crazy and dramatic incidents. For those who pay attention to such things, the moon is full on Saturday. That could make things even crazier. The inscrutable turn two wall, with its colleagues, patiently awaits the onslaught sure to come on Saturday.

Hiring the best people, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Courtney Conquers Kokomo

In this life all victories are temporary and defeats surely outnumber victories. But when the victories are accomplished, it’s time to enjoy it while you can. The acclaim and feelings of having done something special don’t last, so when one triumphs, it’s worth a celebration or at least a nod. So it went for Tyler Courtney as he won the feature at the Kokomo Speedway on night two of Kokomo’s and USAC’s Smackdown series. This was the first night that USAC points were in play and Mr. Courtney helped himself in the points. But the victory mattered. To say you have won at Kokomo on most any night, now that was something to admire.

For the second night of four, the car count was a more normal 35. Most, if not all, of the first timers had left with only Braxton Cummings getting any satisfaction. Making his 2018 Smackdown debut was Kyle Cummins. Minnesota’s Brian Van Meveran was paying another visit to the Hoosier state, as was New Mexico’s Josh Hodges. Chad Wilson was in his own car after giving the keys to Cap Henry the night before. Finally, Matt Westfall and company were back after his nasty flip on Wednesday night, albeit with a backup car.

Justin Grant set fast time in qualifying with a 12.643 lap. It was mildly interesting that three of the fastest five qualifiers were in the bottom half of the qualifying order. This track seldom goes away after the early contestants take their laps; Grant went out 21^st of 35.

Shane Cottle survived ten laps of relentless pressure by Brady Bacon to win the first heat. Tyler Thomas was third and seemed to be closing on Bacon at the end. Mr. Grant was content, after a fashion, with a fourth.

Kevin Thomas Jr. used a mid-race re-start to charge from third to first in the second heat after starting sixth. Scotty Weir was second. Pole sitter Isaac Chapple was third.  Chase Stockon had a brief tussle with Kyle Cummins for fourth, sending the Princeton, Indiana native to the B. Jarett Andretti looked to be in good shape to transfer until he bobbled coming out of turn four late in the heat.

Chris Windom was content to follow Carson Short for most of the third heat until he came on strong to make the pass and take the win. C.J. Leary and Tyler Courtney also passed the Illinois native to take second and third. For a few laps early in the race there were up to six of the nine cars fighting for positions, covered by the proverbial blanket. Robert Ballou dropped out of the race while leading. His night would not get any better.

Coming from sixth, Dave Darland won the fourth heat by a large margin, 5.8 seconds, over Tim Buckwalter. Mr. Buckwalter celebrated his fine run by flipping on lap 11 (after the checkered flag, in other words). Tim returned for the feature. Jason McDougal was third and pole sitter Carmen Perigo held on for fourth. Chad Boespflug flipped in turn two in an incident similar to the one on Wednesday. After a couple of minutes, he climbed out of the car, done for the night.

The B main lineup was jumbled when Boespflug scratched and Andretti was tardy in lining up. Pole sitter Cummins won with Ballou second. Logan Seavey, unexpectedly quiet these first two nights, was third. Dakota Jackson took fourth and Andretti wasn’t bothered by his demotion as he finished fifth. Josh Hodges came from 13^th to take the last card in the deck and race one more time. Matt Westfall and Tony Dimattia used provisionals.

With Cummins not transferring out of the feature, Leary started on the pole with T. Thomas next to him. The Greenfield, Indiana resident shot out to the lead as Brian Hodde waved the green. Early on, T. Thomas stayed with him, but soon came under attack by Darland and Courtney. Leary did his best to run away and hide, but lapped traffic became a player on lap nine. Courtney stayed close and left Darland to deal with the likes of Bacon and Grant. Grant passed the Kokomo favorite and so did Bacon a lap before the yellow flag waved lap 19 for K. Thomas, who stopped on the track with a flat right rear tire.

KT returned and tagged the field led by Leary, Courtney, no less than seven lapped cars, Grant, Bacon, Darland, T. Thomas, Wednesday’s winner Windom, McDougal, Stockon and Cummins. The green waved briefly before the yellow made a return visit when Chapple got low in turn two and bounced to a stop and collided with Jackson while doing so.

This re-start stuck and Courtney got busy. He dove low under Leary in turn one to take the lead on the 20^th lap. One might have been tempted to begin celebrating, but this is Kokomo. As it turned out, no one had anything for Sunshine. Leary remained in second until he climbed the wall coming out of turn four and nearly got upside down, but kept going, losing two positions.

The next yellow waved on lap 24 when Buckwalter and Ballou tangled in turn two. Robert was upset and took a stroll to the Buckwalter machine, but was persuaded to postpone any sharing of information. Now it was Courtney, Grant, Bacon, Leary, Darland, Windom, T. Thomas, McDougal, K. Thomas and Stockon.

Courtney had smooth sailing but Leary wasn’t done. Grant was running second when he tried to climb the wall—twice—on consecutive laps, thanks in part to the buildup of dirt by the wall making a mini-ramp. Leary passed both Grant and Bacon but ran out of time to catch Courtney. On the last lap in turn four, a mad scramble left T. Thomas stuffed in the wall, losing multiple positions.

AS the checkered waved, it was Courtney leading Leary across the line. Bacon was third and also earned the KSE RACING PRODUCTS/ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS HARD CHARGER award for advancing from eighth to third. (Tony Dimattia moved from 24^th to 16^th, but was ineligible for the award because he took a provisional). Grant managed to salvage fourth. Windom came from tenth to take fifth. Darland was sixth and McDougal was seventh. Cummins was eighth as T. Thomas fell back to ninth at the end. K. Thomas came back from his misfortune to finish tenth.

The track became quite slick and dusty as the race wore on, but it didn’t hurt the racing. One should be prepared for it. As post-race interviews were conducted, the track crew had the big blade out and it headed for turn two, getting a nice jump on the Friday festivities. But here’s the thing. These guys, for the most part, don’t care what shape the track is in. They simply race, both the track and each other. And they race well.

Courtney now has 14 USAC feature wins. Already. And the conquering is not finished, but then it never is.

Friday was to a be a special day in many ways. But mainly, it would be the third round of Smackdown.

Not being able to remember if I’m winding down or winding up, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Catch Him If You Can

The track was fast and Chris Windom was going to be a tough one to catch. It was going to take an incident with a lapped car or a rare unforced error to foil the Canton, Illinois native’s plan to win. This was #GYATK Night at the Kokomo Speedway and opening night of Kokomo’s seventh annual Smackdown, featuring USAC sprints at their best, as well as the track management, who decreed this to be a salute to fans and offering free admission.

My car count guessing abilities are very suspect. The crazy guess of 40 sprinters in the pits was a bit low. A very surprising 54 cars jammed the O’Connor family’s hangout and therapy facility. An astounding 14 of these were first time visitors to Indiana’s baddest bullring.

The format was going to be different, more of a Kokomo plan than USAC. Group qualifying was conducted with Dave Darland, Kokomo’s favorite son, quickest of all with a 12.843 lap. Six heats would move the top three to the show. The fast four of group qualifying would be inverted. With the large number of cars, a C main would be on the agenda with the top four tagging the B. The pressure to advance to the feature out of a heat race would be intense.

Brady Bacon took the lead midway through the first heat and simply checked out. Scotty Weir settled for second while Isaac Chapple grabbed the last place to transfer.

Justin Grant won the second heat with Tyler Thomas taking the runner-up spot. The Oklahoma native's luck went away coming to the checkered as a mechanical gremlin struck, parking him for the night. Thomas Meseraull had to work harder than I would care to as he fought his way to third place.

Chris Windom took the lead midway through the third heat and went on to win. Robert Ballou had problems during his time trial and had to start last. In the first two laps he roared from ninth to fourth. By race's end, Ballou was second. Tim Buckwalter took third. Carson Short tagged the wall, bringing out a yellow. This misfortune would put him in the C main. As we shall see, this turned out to be a treat for the assembled throng to witness.

Tyler Courtney won the fourth heat with quick qualifier Dave Darland second. Chase Stockon was happy with leftovers in the form of third place.

Shane Cottle was the fifth heat winner. He missed a nice argument over who would be second. Jarett Andretti prevailed over Clinton Boyles.

For the first time in quite a while I saw a sixth heat. Kevin Thomas Jr. looked strong on winning. C. J. Leary was second with Chad Boespflug third. Matt Westfall was battling with Boespflug and a lapped car when he was squeezed in the middle. There wasn't enough real estate and Westfall flipped down the backstretch. He climbed out the car, done for the night.

Carson Short was worth the price of admission, had there been one, in both the C and B main. He came from 15th to win the C over Travis Hery, Cap Henry and Josh Cunningham.

If that wasn't enough, Short came from back of the pack to add even more excitement to the B. This was easily the tensest, and most spectacular, race of the night. The top five would advance and for much of the race six cars scrapped for positions. At the end, Stevie Sussex pulled away to a four-car length lead, the largest margin of the race. Short came from 19th to finish second. Dakota Jackson, in the Hank Byram entry, was in the dogfight and came away with a third. Chet Williams refused to go away when it seemed like he was passed. He finished fourth. Of course, the battle for the last spot, fifth, was a nailbiter with Tony Dimattia edging Jason McDougal, enjoying his new ride in the Daigh-Phillips machine. McDougal was spectacular and gave the car a ride. Twice he split two cars while fighting for position. But he came up just a bit short. Co-owner Carla Phillip was spotted after the race in the pits, smiling and shaking her head after watching her car perform some racing acrobatics.

The B main was going to be a tough act to follow. Windom and Courtney led 20 other snarling beasts to the green. Windom jumped out to the lead and Grant slid in front of Courtney to annex second place. This lasted only two laps before Courtney took second and did his best to keep up with the leader.

A bit further back Dave Darland was trying to move forward. From ninth, Dave was sixth by lap six (of 27). Two laps later he passed Shane Cottle for fourth. But that was it for him. Darland was able to pressure third place Grant, but couldn’t seal the deal.

Lapped traffic came into play nearly halfway through the race. It was Courtney’s best chance to bother Windom. But that wasn’t happening as Windom was unfazed by the lapped cars. No one was going to catch the “Big Daddy” tonight unless they walked through the pits faster than he did.

Behind Windom and Courtney was Grant, joining the duo at the start/finish line after the race. Darland was fourth and Bacon took fifth. Ballou was sixth and Leary took away seventh place money. Cottle ran in the top five early, but faded just a bit to eighth. K. Thomas had an ordinary (for him) ninth place finish. Jarett Andretti was tenth.

Had there been a hard charger award, it would have gone to Short, who maneuvered his way to 12^th after starting 19^th. Officially, he passed 24 cars in the C, B and A.

Braxton Cummings was the #GYATK rookie winner for the night. After finishing 13^th in the B, he collected a cool $1500 for the night.

This first night was a “special event” with no points awarded. But Thursday would see things getting a little more serious. It would be worth the wait.

Incited, but not indicted, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Here a Challenge, There a Challenge

Through much of the feature contest at the Lincoln Park Speedway on a warm and humid night, eventual winner Brent Beauchamp prevailed. Challengers A. J. Hopkins, Carson Short and Colten Cottle did their best to make the leader’s life miserable. But in the end Beauchamp was too much, feathers unruffled by the repeated attempts and multiple lead changes that dominated the 30-lap, MSCS sanctioned, main event.

One of the first things I noticed as I arrived was that this part of Indiana had considerably more than the south central part of the state. But rain doesn’t slow down race promoters. At Lawrenceburg, Dave Rudisell had a late afternoon shower, the worst time for any water from the sky on a race night. Apparently, he and his crew got to work and the ‘burg started a little late. It was the same at Lincoln Park as Joe Spiker and crew shrugged off the possible roadblock and ended up with a track that was tricky early in the program, but a gem at feature time.

The MSCS drew 35 cars with the noticeable observation being MSCS point leader Carson Short in the Briscoe team car that has been a consistent threat no matter who has been behind the wheel. Garrett Aitken was in the Pottorff car occupied recently by Chad Boespflug; the Aitken car was last seen clearing the turn one wall at Terre Haute. Thomas Meseraull, last week’s LPS winner, was in his own car. Shane Cockrum was a late arrival from Springfield. He would tag his heat and pass people all night long. Colten Cottle was in the Burton 04 instead of his own car.

One didn’t need to be reminded that the rain made for lots of mud when Harley Burns slipped over the turn two bank and became stuck, needing more than a push truck. The facility’s tractor was summoned to extract Burns and car from the mud. Brandon Mattox, second in MSCS points, had a major problem with the back end of the car during time trials. Somehow, it was fixed in time for his heat race.

A.J. Hopkins passed Tim Creech III for the lead and went on to win the first heat. Creech was second ahead of Jordan Kinser. Collin Ambrose came on to finish fourth, the last spot available for the show.

The second heat was the Heat from Nightmare Lane. Things began early with Brandon Mattox taking a wild ride after contact from Thomas Meseraull. Thus ended a bad night for Mr. Mattox. The re-start was no better. Colten Cottle made slight contact with Meseraull and the California native flipped, not wildly, but enough to send him to the B. The third re-start lasted a lap before newcomer Ayrton Olsen spun/bounced to a stop just past the finish line with a flat tire. With attrition, we were down to four cars, meaning all would make the feature. The boys settled down and Cottle won with Brandon Morin, Jaden Rogers and Travis Spencer moving on.

The third heat wasn’t much better. Eric Perrott slowed and was clipped by Justin Meneely, bringing out a yellow. Then Travis Berryhill had a spin/stop bringing out the overworked yellow again. Again, the guys settled down and raced. Carson Short won with Matt McDonald finishing second. Berryhill came back to take third. Pole sitter Ben Knight was fourth.

Beauchamp won the relatively tame fourth heat. Nate McMillin was second. Koby Barksdale took third. There was an outstanding battle for fourth with Garrett Aitken grabbing the spot, sending Shane Cockrum and Aric Gentry to the B.

Mr. Cockrum won the B leading Gentry to the line. Olsen came from tenth to finish third. MSCS regular Donnie Brackett was fourth. There were no provisionals.

The re-draw put Morin and Creech in the front row. Morin took the early lead with third starting Beauchamp giving chase. A yellow flag waved on the fourth lap for a Travis Berryhill/Ben Knight tangle with Berryhill pitting for a flat tire. Morin still led, but Beauchamp was greedy. Coming out of turn four, Brent took the lead on the fifth lap. A lap later, Short took over second. After a lap nine yellow, the order was Beauchamp, Short, Morin, Hopkins, Cottle, McMillin, Barksdale, Creech, Aitken and Kinser.

This segment saw Morin slowly fade for the moment as Hopkins and Cottle passed. Barksdale was on the move until he carried too much speed into turn four and flipped, bringing out the red on lap 15. Shane Cockrum had entered the top ten. He wasn’t done.

After meeting the challenge of Morin, Beauchamp had two more problems, namely Short and Hopkins. Two laps after the re-start, Short took the lead coming out of turn two, but not for long as Beauchamp reclaimed the lead a lap later. Back and forth it went with several instances of changing positions. Hopkins was in third, feeling a little left out. He joined the group, making it a terrific three-way fight for the lead that lasted until a lap 23 yellow for Tim Creech III.

This final re-start saw Beauchamp leading Hopkins, Short, Cottle, Morin, McMillin, Berryhill, Aitken, Cockrum and Kinser. It was now Hopkins’ turn to fight with Beauchamp for the lead. A.J. led a couple of those laps with the unofficial lead changes far outnumbering the official. Cottle entered the leaders’ battle, fighting with Hopkins for second and threatening Beauchamp for the lead. A rejuvenated Morin made a brief comeback, fourth at one point ahead of Short.

Beauchamp finally began to get some breathing room, leaving the others to fight for the crumbs, as it were. He won by several car lengths over Cottle, a successful first outing for Jerry and Darlene Burton. Hopkins settled for third. Berryhill came back strong from his early misfortune to finish fourth after starting 11^th, going to the tail spot and roaring to the front. Cockrum did some roaring of his own, coming from B Main land, 17^th, to grab fifth and the Keizer Aluminum Wheels Hard Charger of the Race. Short faded to sixth and McMillin was seventh after running in the top five for a while. Ambrose was a quiet eighth after starting 13^th. Morin’s ninth place didn’t reflect his good race. He was up to fourth before Short sailed into his side, hurting the result if not the effort. Aitken made a decent debut in the Pottorff car, motoring from 16^th to tenth.

Given all the delays, a 10:45 checkered flag was a reasonable time. Early on, the track turned very slick. But when the sprint feature took the green, the moisture made a welcome appearance to the surface and cars ran high and low in the eternal quest for speed and…meeting challenges.

Smackdown approaches. Need I say more?

Hoping that the Russians don’t hack C-SPAN, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Shared Spotlight

It wasn’t a case of stolen thunder. Instead it was an occasion to celebrate—twice. As Robert Ballou correctly enjoyed another feature win at the Terre Haute Action Track, Jon Stanbrough quietly (as always) celebrated his last race, ending a remarkable career of hundreds of victories and universal respect from his competitors, fans and everyone else in racing.

As usual, getting there was half the fun. A minute after I eased into the little white truck, rain began to fall. It poured down until I reached the middle of town, where the sun began to shine seconds after the rain stopped. By the time I reached the State Road 46/I-65 intersection the road was dry. Thus ended my rain experience for Sunday.

The Midwest Sprint Car Series brought together 30 sprint teams to the Action Track. Along with Mr. Stanbrough and his teammate Travis Berryhill, Englishman Tom Harris dropped in, along with the MSCS regulars and a few USAC runners too. Stevie Sussex was back and would occupy the Michael Dutcher ride.

Group qualifying was the preferred method of lining up the heats. Three groups tackled the Action Track and Donnie Brackett found himself tackled by the Action Track when he flipped in turn four during his group’s qualifying laps. Donnie was able to walk on his own back to the pits. Chris Windom’s 20.071 lap was quickest of all.

The first heat was halted when Dave Darland took a nasty ride like Mr. Brackett’s, except Dave’s mishap was in turn two. He exited the car with no big problem. Later, we had an attempt at a conversation; Dave was still a bit fuzzy. Action resumed and Brandon Mattox won with Carson Short second. Robert Ballou had a motor issue in qualifying and had to start last in his heat. He roared to the front and finished third. Stevie Sussex was fourth. Isaac Chapple took the last spot for the feature.

Justin Grant won the second heat with Mr. Stanbrough second. Shane Cottle was third and pole sitter Mr. Harris took fourth. Garrett Aitken hung on to fifth place after starting on the pole.

Chris Windom made it look easy in the third heat, winning over Daron Clayton. Chase Stockon started and finished third. Travis Berryhill annexed fourth. Koby Barksdale got around Brandon Morin to pass go in the feature.

As the sun slowly disappeared over the Illinois state line, the B Main was contested with Aitken winning from the front row. Pole sitter Nate McMillan was second with Kent Schmidt taking third, James Lyerla and Tony Main would occupy the tenth row in the feature. Brandon Morin was running third when his engine began smoking, his night done. Collin Ambrose used a provisional to tag the field.

While the sprinters prepared for 25 laps of rain’ the modified feature was won by Kenny Wallace, who made a late race pass stick. The exploits of Brian Shaw were a treat. He arrived very late, started last of 20 cars, and made his way to sixth, all under the green flag.

At 9 p.m., Carson Short and Chris Windom led 19 of their closest friends to the green. Short led the first three laps, but green turned to red when Travis Berryhill suffered the night’s third flip. Travis would return to the chase. On the re-start Short led Windom, Grant Stanbrough and Ballou. The Madman was on the move, getting a tremendous jump coming out of turn two. Meanwhile, Windom had taken the lead and was out in front when the red waved for a Garrett Aitken trip and flip over the turn one wall. After a few tense moments, Garrett appeared by the wall.

Windom led Ballou, Short, Stockon and Grant on this re-start. But the promising battle was interrupted again when Cottle stopped with a flat left rear tire. Windom had been holding off Ballou, but that ended on lap nine when Ballou took the lead. It was mid-race and the top four all opened significant gaps between them with Ballou, Windom, Stockon and Short leading the way. Lapped traffic came into play but was not a factor as all four deftly weaved their way through the crowd, with nary a yellow flag in sight.

Ballou’s margin was the better part of a straightaway. Windom was runner-up for the second night in a row. Stockon occupied the third spot on the podium. Short was fourth and Stevie Sussex had the best race that comparatively few saw, coming from tenth to finish fifth and closing on Short at the end. Grant was sixth and Jon Stanbrough closed out his phenomenal career with a seventh-place finish. Daron Clayton, back in the saddle, was eighth. Isaac Chapple came from 13^th to finish ninth. I’m pretty sure this was Koby Barksdale’s first visit to the Action Track and he was surely pleased to go home with a tenth after starting 15^th. Collin Ambrose made good use of his provisional start by taking 12^th place after starting 21^st.

It was rather odd to watch the activity at the start/finish line after the race. Two distinct groups milled around the winner of the race and the racer who was saying good-bye to something he has done for such a long time. One could almost get the feeling that there were two winners. In a way, there were two. One had excelled on this warm summer night at a track where he’s had success. The other had excelled over decades at multiple tracks and was leaving on his own terms. There was much to celebrate.

 Colliding when I should be colluding, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Say Hello to the Dominator

For the past few years, Kody Swanson and company have outrun, beat, dominated, you name it, USAC's Silver Crown division. Why should it have been any different at the Salem Speedway on a hot August Saturday night? All Mr. Swanson did was lap everyone except runner up Chris Windom in the 75-lap Joe James/Pat O’Connor feature. There is also the fact that Swanson passed another legend, Mr. Jack Hewitt, in the number of Silver Crown victories.

Maybe the first thing I think of when I either ponder or arrive at the Salem Speedway is history, either mine or the track’s. It’s a shared history. This is perhaps the most meaningful. My own history of going to races along with the long and colorful history of this storied track hits home. When I arrive at this track, it’s impossible for me not to think about my boyhood trips to the .555 mile, high banked, and paved oval. This shared history gives me a clear perspective, watching it go through its ups and downs over the years. These are memories that can be timeless and hard to suppress, whether one wishes to or not.

Along with that shared history is the changing look of the facility over the past 50 plus years. In the past few years, the infield has undergone a major makeover. Gone is most of the grass, replaced by a oval, paved of course, complete with a figure eight track as well. Walls have replaced the guard rails. If racers leave the track, they have to hurtle over the walls and not smash through the guard rail. The track now has lights and many summer races are conducted after dark. Long gone is the bridge that used to allow fans to reach the infield at any time. (I recall looking down on the cars as they whizzed by below me.) The front stretch seats have not had a cover for several years. New bleachers have been added to the existing seats. There is a better view of the golf course now.

With all those changes, don’t be fooled. It’s the same old, intimidating high banks. The surface has not been repaved for a very long time. One wonders if the owners are afraid that repaving the old girl would ruin the racing. Many may recall the disastrous Winchester Speedway repaving over 20 years ago. Racers still face the challenge and might be inclined to puff their chest out and say that they raced at Salem.

My own Salem education, with my dad as instructor, consisted of more stock car than open wheel racing. From Nelson Stacy to Iggy Katona to Don White to Mike Eddy, I was fortunate enough to see these guys and many more from the 1950s to now. I also saw the occasional sprint car races at Salem, with Parnelli Jones’ famous #51/Fike Plumbing Special making a huge impression on me.

Ordinarily, one wouldn’t get too excited about a car count of twenty. But when the 2017 edition of the Joe James/Pat O’Conner Memorial drew only 14 cars, twenty looked pretty good. The noteworthy crowd included Eric Gordon, semi- or three quarters retired, in a car owned by Brad Armstrong, former pavement racing ace. Cody Gallogly was in the Williams car, normally piloted by Shane Cottle. And Hot Rod John Heydenrich was in the Nix family car at least for the night.

Time trials saw several set fast time as the line to qualify shrank until there was only one car left to take the two laps. That car was Kody Swanson’s and he claimed the pole with a 16.001 lap, a tick slower than his track record, set last year.

After a very decent Salem stock car race, which had some rubbin’ and racin’, it was time for the Silver Crown cars to line up on the front stretch for fans to collect autographs and driver introductions. At 9:15, after a couple of parade laps with Pat O’Connor’s son Jeff driving a vintage Champ Car, the green flag waved and Swanson outdragged Jerry Coons Jr. to the lead in the first turn. No surprise there, but David Byrne came out of the gate and would be the first to try his hand at catching the leader. On the fourth lap he passed Coons for second and, for a few laps, was breathing down Swanson’s neck. They were part of an early six car breakaway, which included Swanson, Byrne, Coons, Bobby Santos III, Chris Windom and Eric Gordon.

Coons was slowly fading and Santos took over third place on lap eight. The six-car jailbreak was five as Gordon lost the connection and found himself dealing with Justin Grant and Kyle Hamilton.

The yellow flag made an appearance on lap 15 when Matt Goodnight slowed while on track. Swanson led Byrne, Santos, Coons, Windom, Gordon, Grant, Hamilton, Dave Darland and Jacob Wilson. While the field circled under the yellow, Gordon pitted, and eventually dropped out. 

On the re-start, Swanson resumed his disappearing act. Six laps later, Windom passed Coons for fourth and found Santos harassing Byrne for second. On lap 38 Santos made the pass in lapped traffic and tried to reel in the leader. A lap later, Windom got around Byrne as well. By then, Swanson was gone.

Kody may have been doing his best to stink up the show, but the others made things quite interesting. Windom ran down Santos and took over second place on lap 53. Swanson enjoyed close to a half lap lead at this point and Windom’s chances at cutting into that margin were close to nil.

The only drama was watching Swanson lap everyone except Windom. Lap 58 saw him lapping Byrne, who had been so strong early. Seven laps later it was sixth place Grant’s turn. The lap after that saw Hamilton get a nice view of Swanson’s tail tank. There were more. On the 70^th lap Coons, who was fourth, was lapped. Three laps later, third place Santos was the next victim. This left Windom unlapped but still over eight seconds behind.

Behind Swanson, Windom, Santos, Coons, Hamilton and Grant was Jacob Wilson in seventh. David Byrne faded to eighth. Dave Darland was ninth, two laps behind. Travis Welpott finished tenth.

This was Swanson’s fifth Silver Crown victory in a row, a record. It was his 24^th career Silver Crown win, putting him one up on Jack Hewitt. The James/O’Connor Memorial was his third consecutive. It is no coincidence that Bob Hampshire has been the wrench for both champions.

It was a quality night. There was a decent crowd, an interesting race and a timely return to my personal racing roots. And a truly talented and affable young man took some more steps to racing immortality.

Leo Durocher was wrong in this case and many others on the Hoosier open wheel scene. Nice guys finish first, too.

Mulling over whether to wear my new ostrich coat to the zoo, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Spiritual Racin’

Races done in memory of racers gone too soon have always had a place in bullring history. Perhaps some race a little harder knowing who the race is honoring and remembering. Perhaps racers know that this departed comrade was a lot more than merely one who left us too soon, no matter how long ago that may have been. Maybe they wish that they could have known or even raced with a competitor who is, we always believe, in a better place. At any rate, C.J. Leary won his second Jason Soudrette Memorial on a muggy Saturday night at the Lawrenceburg Speedway. C.J. had a right rear tire going flat at the end of the 25-lap feature. Another lap and…well, let’s say that second place Dickie Gaines was closing in on Leary at the end. Dickie was driving the Soudrette family sprinter and how neat would that have been? But it wasn’t meant to be and Mr. Leary no doubt will appreciate both unique trophies he has carried off, two snazzy looking guitars that he can place side by side—and admire from time to time.

Jason Soudrette’s number was 44 and Dave Rudisell had the idea of scraping up $2044 for the feature winner. To their credit, the Soudrette family has continued to race since Jason’s passing and Dickie Gaines has been the wheelman for most of the time. Dickie would be a threat to win, but there would be several others who would race for the money, trophy and the honor as well. These included Lawrenceburg point champs such as Joss Moffatt, Jarett Andretti and Shawn Westerfeld. USAC campaigner Isaac Chapple stopped by, as did Brandon Morin, who made the long tow from the other side of the state, Jasonville to be exact. Throw in usual suspects such as Nick Bilbee and Michael Fischesser and you had a decent collection of hungry sprinters.

Group qualifying was the format with the four fastest inverted in their heats. Nick Bilbee was quickest of all qualifiers with a 14.189 lap in the third group.

The first heat included two of the Lawrenceburg champs and one of them, Joss Moffatt, with a brand new car, was the winner. Isaac Chapple, promoted to the pole after Chris Phillips jumped the start, was second and gained a redraw membership. Another 'burg champ, Shawn Westerfeld, was third. Phillips was all over Westerfeld like paint on a wall but settled for fourth. Brett Hankins was fifth.

The second heat saw a three- way fight for the first two spots. Travis Hery won with J. J. Hughes and Garrett Abrams all over the leader and each other in a tense looking battle for second, which Hughes came away with. Michael Fischesser was fourth and Brandon Morin finished fifth.

The third heat was no snoozer. C. J. Leary led every lap except the first as he held off an eager Nick Bilbee. Dickie Gaines was fourth after multiple position changes with Jarett Andretti. Pat Giddens had a good view of the action from fifth.

Track massaging went on while the redraw was conducted. Chapple and Moffatt picked up a couple of new friends, the kids who drew for them. The field of 21 was reduced when Westerfeld couldn’t start the race.

Tim Montgomery waved the green and Moffatt took the lead as Leary found room behind him after starting fourth. The Greenfield resident reeled in my homeboy and made the pass on the outside coming out of turn two on the fourth lap. A couple of laps later, Leary had built his lead and was already catching lapped traffic. Conceivably, this could have been a chance for someone to catch the leader. But nothing could slow him—unless it was a yellow flag.

Moffatt spun but kept going on the 11^th lap. The yellow waved for debris and Joss kept his position behind Leary. The suspects were Leary, Moffatt, Bilbee, Gaines, Hughes, Abrams, Andretti, Chapple, Phillips and Hery.

If Bilbee was going to threaten the leader he needed to dispatch Moffatt first. He did that on the re-start and set sail after Leary. But C.J. was on a rail and Nick had other problems at this point in the form of Dickie Gaines. Just past the halfway mark Gaines got around Moffatt for third. Then on lap 16, he dove under Bilbee’s car coming out of turn four and took second. Now the question was if Gaines had anything for Leary.

Tony McVey gave Gaines the chance to answer the question when he spun on the 23^rd lap in turn two. Leary’s full straightaway lead went poof! and now would be Dickie’s only and last chance to win the race for the Soudrette family. Certainly a sentimental favorite, he did his best, but Leary wanted to win this race, too. Perhaps his trophy/guitar from his initial Soudrette Memorial was lonely. Whatever the circumstance, Leary had ‘em covered on the re-start. Despite a tire going flat, he won with Gaines not far behind. Bilbee was third. Andretti had the best run that many didn’t see, moving from 12^th to take fourth at the end, picking up some extra lunch money. Abrams was fifth as Moffatt faltered at the end with a problematic right front end, finishing sixth. Hughes was seventh and Chapple took eighth. Phillips and Hery completed the top ten.

Maybe C. J. Leary should start taking guitar lessons.

Not taking that man behind the curtain seriously, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Things That Never Get Old

Sometimes I notice the reactions of feature winners. All are exuberant; very seldom will a feature winner fail to at least smile and that could be a situation where one has a loved one in mind who is ill, for example. But when Thomas Meseraull wins a feature, he fails miserably at hiding his elation. And why not? With his Frankenstein car, TMez took the lead early and sailed to victory at the Gas City I-69 Speedway on Friday night. True to form, he was one happy winner after the race.

I may not have been a winner but I was happy to arrive at Gas City at a decent hour, exchanging pleasantries with the likes of chaplain Dave Cochran and PA wizard Rob Goodman. To the south I saw some ominous looking skies but they avoided the track like the plague and no one complained.

On my way north, frequently I was surrounded by a wall of corn on both sides of the road. Meandering through the pits I enjoyed the wall of engine sounds. It’s all subjective as most might call it noise while to me it’s a comforting sound. It endures and abides.

The pits were quite crowded with 103 race cars plus four race busses. Sprinters led the way with 26. Among those, Dave Darland was re-united with Mike Dutcher for the night. Having raced midgets in recent years, Chase Jones and Zane Hendricks waded into the thicket of the sprint car world. Jones was wheeling and dealing with major help from Davey Ray. Hendricks was in a Goodnight family car.

A pair of eighteens led the way in the first heat. Jarett Andretti passed Dallas Hewitt midway through and held on to win. Clinton Boyles was third and second-generation racer Evan Mosley finished fourth. Adam Byrkett had his hands full, denying Matt McDonald the last spot and requiring him to run the B.

Shane Cockrum used his pole position to run away with the second heat. Chase Jones attracted a crowd behind him as he managed a second place. Third was Shane Cottle with Isaac Chapple owning fourth. Matt Goodnight held off Garrett Abrams to take fifth and send the Rushville resident to the B.

Thomas Meseraull had an easy time of it in the third heat. Travis Hery was several yards behind but had no pressure in finishing second. Dave Darland made a late pass of Tyler Hewitt and took third. With Hewitt taking fourth, Billy Cribbs was fifth and Ted Hines would try his luck in the B.

Before the B, I had a brief conversation with Matt McDonald and told him that he would be starting 16th in the feature. When Brian Hodde waved the green Garrett Abrams jumped out to the lead with McDonald seemingly content with second. But he must have remembered my prediction as he passed Abrams on the last lap to take the win and start the feature sixteenth. Behind Abrams were Goodnight, Hines and Ohio's Gage Etgen.

The rookie and the veteran, Chase Jones and Thomas Meseraull, led 18 like-minded racers to the green. Surprisingly, Jones grabbed the early lead with Meseraull in tow. The rookie hung tough until a tire issue forced him to the pits as the race stayed green.

With Jones exiting the race, D. Hewitt assumed second place. Behind this duo, Travis Hery was holding his own with a hungry pack of blood thirsty monsters nipping at his tail tank. The list of racers stacking up behind Hery grew as Cockrum, Cottle and Darland were joined by Boyles and Andretti. The proverbial blanket could have covered this crowd.

With five laps to go, Meseraull and D. Hewitt rolled on, swiftly dealing with lapped traffic as the track’s groove had widened and people could pass—and did. At this time, Cottle made the pass on Hery for third place and tried to pull away. But Shane would have unwanted company as Cockrum and Darland also passed the Ohio resident.

Meseraull and D. Hewitt kept their positions as Brian Hodde waved the checkered. Cottle completed the podium, had there been one. Darland passed Cockrum to annex fourth at the end after starting ninth, with the fire chief settling for fifth. Boyles was sixth, just ahead of Andretti. Chapple was eighth with Hery fading to ninth after an impressive race early on. Abrams came from 17^th to come away with a tenth.

Standing by his car after the race, TMez was his usual talkative self, quite happy and very thankful to the fans. He seems to be one of those who feed off the crowd’s energy and with a good-sized crowd there was plenty of that.

One of his many comments was that the right rear tire on his car had served him well, but it was time to get a new one. What did he do after the interview was over? He was found at the new Hoosier tire shed buying, of course, a brand-new right rear. Kids, that’s what racers do.

Chet Gehrke won the D2 Midget feature. Gehrke, Stratton Briggs and Aaron Leffel won their heats.

Matt Hedrick’s dream year continued in UMRA TQ action as he won their feature. With Hedrick, Tate Martz and Robbie Roland were heat race winners.

It may have been the same old deal, another night at another Hoosier bullring but it never gets old.

Throwing shade and accidentally hitting my wife's favorite lamp, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Sprint Week Aftermath

Car counts that contained both quantity and quality. Huge crowds at most every track. On-track racing at its best with five winners in seven races. After a near rainout and an actual rainout, perfect weather prevailed. A long-time favorite picked the best time to break out of a slump. That all sums up the 31^st edition of Indiana Sprint Week.

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to attend each race of ISW for the past 15 years or so. The racing matters, but I’ve learned to appreciate the people that I’ve encountered over the years. If the racing is the chocolate, then the relationships are the peanut butter. Combined, it becomes the best nine days of the racing year.

From Lincoln Park Speedway Bar-B-Q sandwiches to the wall of noise at Lawrenceburg, from dodging rain at Plymouth to smiling all the way up I-69 after the concluding night at Tri-State, it was my personal Magical Mystery Tour.

What follows is a list of mostly people who made their mark on me over the nine special days of ISW. I consider each of them a gift of sorts, or blessing if you prefer. They all combined to make it a short time of everlasting memories.

Plymouth Speedway, Dave Cochran, James Carter, Railroad Joe, Chad Boespflug, Monica Clauson, Robert Bell, Lawrenceburg Speedway, Frank Hoban, Shane Cockrum, Donnie Gentry, Indiana State Road 46, Fred Zirzow, Dave Foist, Brenda Cochran, Rich Hollmayer, Susan St. Catherine, Nick Bilbee, Mike Padfield, Isaac Chapple, Kody Swanson, Kokomo Speedway, Bob Clauson, Reece O’Connor, Chris Windom, Mike Heimel, Steve Fox, Dave Darland, Jill O’Connor Demonbreun, Bob Gatten, Tyler Hewitt, John Hoover, U.S. Road 31, Rich Winings, Kathy Hooper Fernung, Richie Murray, Dawn Moss, Shane Cottle, Bob Sargent, Chris Pedersen, Terre Haute Action Track, Dave Argabright, Brent Goodnight, Jerry Shaw, John Mahoney, Chris O’Connor Naranjo, Todd Clemons, Steve Ulrich, Robert Ballou, Wayne Trill, Joe Spiker, Steve Lafond, Lincoln Park Speedway, Tyler Kelly, Shondra Gardner, Pat Sullivan, Dan Hetser, Duane Price, Kevin Oldham, Doug Vandeventer, Tom Hansing, Rob Goodman, Diana Clauson, Bloomington Speedway, Brandon Morin, Kimb Stewart, Josh Cunningham, Brad Dickison, Tim Montgomery, Jim Goerges, Joe Chambers, Jim Wever, Larry Nordman, Denise Weltzin, Kirk Spridgeon, Deb Taylor, Rick Lane, Gale Baertschi, Mike O’Leary, Kelly Perkins, Staci Girard, Brandon Murray, Loris Helfrich, Curt Gross, Jen Kelly Morgan, Jason Adams, Devon Hanrahan, Tri-State Speedway, Andy Randall, Kenneth Redfern, Lesley Prince, Brian Hodde, Eric AERO Lehman, Dave Roach, Ron Miller, Jeff VanWinkle, Keith Wendel, Ryan Kent, Matt McDonald, Rich Ulrich, Brad Marvel, Ryne Meece, Steve Morin, Leann Gray Clemons, Greg Littleton, Tim Clauson, Eldora Mark Friitz, Henry Bryant, Phyllis Gatten, Danny Roberts, David Mitchell and many more.

I apologize for anyone I have forgotten.

Indiana Sprint Week 2019. Let us look forward to it.

Treating my buddy Vlad's soccer ball like it was an exhaust pipe right after hot laps, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Man Who Came to…Race (And Mr. Consistency)

Many years ago, a play (and later a movie) called “The Man Who Came to Dinner” featured a man who came to visit a family for a few days. The gentleman broke his leg at the residence and extended his stay, making the family’s collective lives rather miserable. To a certain extent, this applies to Dave Darland, the man who defies convention and refuses to go gentle into that good night, to borrow a title of a noted poem (written by a guy who died at a young age). Here is a fellow who hangs around and, just when you wonder if maybe he’s lost his edge or that the years are catching up to him, here he comes again, outrunning the pack again. He did it one more time on Saturday night at the Class Track, or Tri-State Speedway, winning the swan song of another memorable Indiana Sprint Week. In addition, it was Darland’s first feature win at Tri-State/Haubstadt in over 30 years of racing there.

As the Darland entourage celebrated the victory after the race, less than 50 feet away another group had their low-keyed celebration as Mr. Consistency a/k/a Big Daddy a/k/a Chris Windom won the ISW title, despite not winning a race. But consider Windom’s results. Second at Plymouth, fourth at Lawrenceburg and Kokomo, sixth at Terre Haute, second at Lincoln Park, third at Bloomington and second to Darland (again) at Tri-State. There’s no shame in either term, “champion” or “race winner.”

I have this love/hate relationship with Indiana State Road 46. To be sure, most of the time it’s love because 46 is part of the route to several of my race track destinations, such as Lawrenceburg, Bloomington, Terre Haute, and now with I-69 operating in southern Indiana, Haubstadt. As had been the case on Friday, I spent too many minutes and burned too much fuel sitting in the car, pondering the landscape. Ah, well.

For the third time in seven races, the car count was 42. Richie Murray, the Ayatollah of USAC/Indy 500 statistics, informed me that this was Tri-State’s highest car count since 2007, when 45 sprinters stopped by to romp at Tom and Loris’s playhouse. A few locals/MSCS runners joined the party for their only ISW appearance. Collin Ambrose, Kendall Ruble, Aric Gentry, Mario Clouser, Brian Wallace, Chet Williams, Kent Schmidt, Stephen Schnapf, Critter Malone and Donnie Brackett were all making their first ISW appearance. Daron Clayton was out for the second time. Clinton Boyles was in a team car with RJ Johnson’s group.

Time trials saw Kevin Thomas Jr. go out 41^st and set fast time (and second fast time) with a 13.378 lap. The track record of 12.644, set by Levi Jones in 2000, would stay unchanged.

The caution plagued first heat was won by front row starter Thomas Meseraull. Dave Darland made TMez earn it, finishing second. Daron Clayton started and finished third. Kevin Thomas Jr., looking for every point he could get, ran as high as third before ending up fourth. Robert Ballou led the rest to either the C or B.

Pole sitter Chet Williams withstood pressure from second place Tyler Courtney and won the second heat. Carson Short came from the last row to finish third. Timmy Buckwalter edged Kyle Cummins by a double cheeseburger to grab the last space for the feature.

Rookie Steven Schnapf ignored the action behind him and sailed to the third heat win. C. J. Leary kept him honest, taking second. Justin Grant, Brady Bacon and Josh Hodges had a terrific battle for third and fourth. Only two would make it to the feature in the heat and Hodges wasn't either of them.

The fourth heat had its own drama, a caution plagued affair that saw only six of ten starters finish. Four of them were Chris Windom, Shane Cottle, Chase Stockon and Tony Dimattia.

With car counts being so above normal, C mains have been the norm. Critter Malone, Brandon Mattox, Collin Ambrose and Kent Schmidt tagged the B.

The B? Yes, it was a wild one. Josh Hodges took the lead from Chad Boespflug early. Midway through the race, festivities were halted when Robert Ballou and Dakota Jackson went for the same real estate at roughly the same time. Jackson flipped a couple of times and exited the car under his own power. Action continued with total anarchy breaking out by six cars fighting for two positions. It couldn’t last. A four- car scrum in turn four ended that craziness, but the boys excelled with their efforts to make the show. Transferees were Hodges, Boespflug, Cummins, Andretti, Clouser and Ruble. Ballou and Chapple used provisionals.

It might have been tempting to bet that a front row occupant would win, given that Courtney and Windom were there. They had Hodges and Cummins to thank as both narrowly missed making the show via their heats. Windom took the early lead as Courtney fell back almost immediately. K. Thomas second place in ISW points, had to be pained as Windom grabbed the lead. All Chris had to do was finish fifth or better. KT’s slim chances were nearly anorexic now. As Windom took the lead, Stockon was doing his best to make the leader’s condition miserable. Again and again, he tried but couldn’t make his car stick Windom stayed put.

Right after the leaders caught lapped traffic, on the 14^th lap, Clayton stopped in turn four, bringing out the yellow. Behind Windom and Stockon were Darland, Thomas, Leary, Grant, Cummins, Courtney, Hodges and Schnapf, who had rambled from 18^th. The green waved again, but only for a few seconds when Cottle, Short, Andretti and Williams met in turn four. The boys would try again.

This next segment saw a remarkable circumstance. Mario Clouser, one lap down, found magic on top and unlapped himself—under green flag conditions. Indirectly, this was a crucial development because Darland witnessed this and filed it away for later. Dave couldn’t try out this maneuver right away. Thomas Meseraull found the turn four wall and flipped lap 18 and collected Robert Ballou, causing Tom Hansing to grab the red flag.

On this re-start, Darland got around Stockon in turn two and now Windom had a new headache in the world’s fastest grandfather who wasn’t done passing people. Sure enough, the Peoples’ Champ made the pass on lap 24. Clouser brought out a yellow with a spin just as Stockon had passed Windom for second. It didn’t count and the local kid would have to try again. Another yellow waved on this re-start which only served to ramp up the tension and the stakes.

But the last few laps were about as anti-climatic as Tri-State gets. Darland took the checkered, the trophy and the dollars. Windom collected one of the coolest rocking chairs one can have. He earned it. Stockon occupied the third spot on the podium with Thomas, the 2017 Indiana Sprint Week champ, taking fourth. Leary, the Bloomington winner, was fifth. The second five was Grant, Cummins, Hodges, Courtney and Schnapf, who was in the running for the Hard Charger award until Brady Bacon, who began ISW with a victory at the other end of the state, scooting from 21^st to 11^th took it away.

The man who came to race wasn’t the only one, of course. But he’s been at it so long and shows no sign of letting up. Don’t count him out yet. He might have wanted to win the rocking chair, but he’s not acting like he’s ready to try it out.

Another Sprint Week is over. Most are taking a breather while others head to the next race immediately as the merry-go-round continues. The sofa looks inviting and reminds me to take it easy.

Getting Alex Jones to autograph my tin foil hat, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: High Speed Insanity

Put 24 fast cars with 24 drivers who love to go really fast on a wicked fast oval. Arrange it so they race as fast as they can around the oval for 30 green flag laps. Add a few thousand screaming fans and you can have a recipe for disaster. But it doesn't mean that you will witness a disaster. More likely you will enjoy a few minutes of high speed insanity, but only if Hoosier style sprint car racing is a totally foreign concept. It's okay, we understand. To many of us, it's just another night of Indiana Sprint Week. So Friday night at the Bloomington Speedway, the fastest of the fast was C. J. Leary, who grew up immersed in this sort of thing. For sure, people had the opportunity to race with Mr. Leary, but they simply could not keep up. It was Leary's first USAC victory this year.

This year has seen, not counting the rain that plagued Plymouth and Kokomo, excellent weather and Bloomington was no exception. The temperature struggled to hit the 80-degree mark as the 40 teams assembled in the fastest Romper Room in town. Of note, were first timers and, in some cases, Bloomington regulars, Daylan Chambers, Josh Cunningham, Alec Sipes, Jeff Bland, Lee Underwood and Brandon Morin. Then there were the relatively few racers, officials and fans who have been present for every race, laboring to become Indiana Sprint Week’s versions of Lou Gehrig (or Cal Ripken for you young people).

If the track slowed much during qualifications, it wasn’t very much. After all, Brent Beauchamp and Thomas Meseraull qualified in the top six despite going out 29^th and 30^th. Kevin Thomas set fast time, a lap of 11.244, even though his draw was somewhere in the middle.

Isaac Chapple led all the way to the flag and won the first heat. Chris Windom kept his distance and finished second. Chase Stockon wasn't too far behind, taking third. Fast qualifier Kevin Thomas Jr. bided his time and did all he needed to do, namely grab a top four finish.

The track was in great condition at this point and the lads put on a clinic in the second heat with plenty of passing, slicing and dicing. C. J. Leary won this one, taking the lead from Dakota Jackson with three laps to go. Thomas Meseraull was third, catching and nearly passing Jackson. Jarett Andretti had an up and down race. He started third and was shuffled as far back as sixth. During a caution period for a Josh Hodges slide-off, Andretti sidled up to Brady Bacon and gave him a "how ya doing" gesture. When the green waved, Jarett sat up straight and stormed back to fourth, sending Bacon to the B.

I wouldn't call the third heat boring but Carson Short ran away from the pack to win. Arizona's RJ Johnson was second. Shane Cockrum was third with Jeff Bland emerging from an attention getting battle to grab fourth. The likes of Brent Beauchamp and Kyle Cummins headed to the B.

The fourth heat ended with a near photo finish as Scotty Weir beat Justin Grant by the length of the ink pen that I use. Dave Darland, fresh from his Lincoln Park win the night before, was a calm third, if there is such a thing. Jordan Kinser, who runs at this place as well as anyone, moseyed from seventh to take fourth and mail Tyler Courtney and Robert Ballou to the B, first class of course.

The C main was comparatively tame and/or predictable. Brody Roa was the third of three leaders and outran Brandon Mattox, who was second. Pole sitter Kody Swanson was third and Matt Westfall was the last to prepare for the B.

Brady Bacon started on the pole and led all the way to win the B. Kyle Cummins, Lawrenceburg and Terre Haute winner Tyler Courtney, Tyler Thomas, Brent Beauchamp and Robert Ballou all moved on.

Timmy Buckwalter and Tony Dimattia burned provisionals.

Leary and Windom saw the green flag first and, as you should know, Leary took the lead. But Meseraull got around Windom to fall in behind the leader as the first lap was completed. But Kevin Thomas Jr. was in gear, too. From sixth, he moved to second in only three laps. It was tempting to think that this could get good up front.

It didn’t, but there was some dog eat dog racing going on behind the leaders. Meseraull, Windom, Bland and Bacon were running nose to tail but not able to separate themselves from each other. Up front, Leary caught lapped traffic and this might be a chance for KT to close the gap. But other things changed that.

Courtney and Ballou made some contact in turn four on the eleventh lap. It was said that Ballou had a flat tire when he spun and collected Grant. That contact spun Grant around and he tipped over the TOPPS machine. The red flag waved. As the emergency personnel helped Grant out of his car, a brief fire broke out. It was put out about as quickly as my buddy Steve Lafond can take a selfie with whoever is present. Grant was okay and Ballou went to the work area, rejoining the field before the green waved.

Leary and K. Thomas led Meseraull, Windom, Bland, Bacon, Stockon, Beauchamp, Courtney and Cummins. As Tom Hansing waved the flag, the full moon rose over the trees to the east of the track, a benevolent presence that didn’t bring any of the bizarre incidents it gets blamed for doing. Completely unrelated, Windom passed Meseraull for third on the re-start. Bland was also under siege as first Bacon then Courtney shuffled the Bloomington regular back two spots. If that wasn’t enough, Stockon came along and passed both Bland and Courtney and took sixth.

Stockon was pressuring Bacon for fifth place when Short lost an argument with the turn two cushion and flipped on the eighteenth lap. This final re-start saw no changes up front. But a bit further back Courtney was busy. All he did was pass both Stockon and Bacon, not an easy assignment.

Leary took the checkered at 9:45, not threatened by K. Thomas and perhaps fortunate in not having to deal with lapped traffic. It’s quite possible that it wouldn’t have mattered. Windom, Meseraull and Courtney completed the top five. Bacon was sixth, followed by Stockon, Ballou (who came from the tail after the early incident involving Grant), Bland and Beauchamp.

Ballou passed more cars, but Thomas was the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger, advancing from sixth to second and showing how tough it was to pass all night on the lightning fast surface.

Windom maintained a nice 18-point lead over Thomas as the caravan moved southwest to Haubstadt for the ISW finale on Saturday night.

It had been a trying day until I set foot in the pits. In its collective wisdom, the state of Indiana saw fit to make improvements to State Road 46 in two different locations, both east of Gnaw Bone (yes, we know the jokes). I reached the Bartholomew/Brown County line in an hour, a segment that usually takes about 20-25 minutes. The usual hour plus trip to the track was two hours. If that wasn’t enough, my dear daughter had a fender bender on the interstate. (Daughter doing fine, car not so much)

The above is not noted to solicit sympathy; instead, it is shared so we can be aware that there are multiple bumps in life’s road. We fall, pick ourselves up and move on. Having a sense of perspective helps. In racing terms, it happens all the time. One night’s feature winner is the following night’s also-ran.

Advising Motel 6 to contact John Kelly to be their spokesperson, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Not Ready (For the Rocking Chair)

The extraordinary, if repeated often enough, becomes something closer to normal. This isn't always fair to the individual whose achievements remain, in my opinion, extraordinary no matter how often they happen. In other words, Dave Darland, aged older than all of his competitors, won the feature at the Lincoln Park Speedway on a beautiful Thursday night. It was his first 2018 Indiana Sprint Week victory and his 61st USAC feature win.

There were plenty of clouds in the sky, but all they did was keep the sun away and helped keep things cool and the track wet. Lincoln Park has been fortunate this year in terms of rain on Saturday night. Tonight wasn’t Saturday, but it was dry anyway.

The car count was an ISW high so far, with 48 sprints crowding into the pits. Several were LPS regulars, including Colten Cottle, A.J. Hopkins, Matt McDonald, Tim Creech II, Shelby Van Gilder (the first lady to compete this year during ISW), Brady Ottinger, Shane Cockrum, Clinton Boyles and Nate McMillin. Shane Cockrum was in a different car, one that been raced by Chuck Amati, I was told. Several of the regulars were making their initial Sprint Week appearance. Jadon Rogers and Kevin Studley were making their ISW debuts.

Brady Bacon was the 39^th car to qualify, but his late draw was no bother as he set fast time with a 12.276 lap. The late Bryan Clauson’s record of 12.034, set in 2010, was safe for another year.

The first heat was red flagged on the fourth lap when Jason McDougal tried to pass Jake Swanson on the outside on the front stretch. The car hit the wall and stopped on a thin dime. Jason exited the car with minimal assistance. Chad Boespflug won the heat, leading every lap. Pole sitter Josh Hodges was second and Kevin Thomas Jr. was third. Chase Stockon held off Brady Bacon to take fourth. Bacon and Jerry Coons Jr. were among those who would have to race again if they wanted to make the big show.

Like Boespflug, Justin Grant started on the outside pole and won his heat. Carson Short led briefly but settled for second. Dave Darland started and finished third. Dakota Jackson made fewer errors than those who chased him and was rewarded with a starting spot in the feature.

The third heat got off to a less than desirable start when Shane Cottle, Nate McMillen and Matt McDonald all were caught up in one of those checking up deals. All restarted except McDonald. Tyler Courtney showed that he was very interested in winning even after taking two Sprint Week features so far as he executed a gutsy three wide pass to take the lead after a second yellow late in the race. Shane Cockrum, Kody Swanson and Nate McMillin (again) had an unscheduled meeting between turns three and four with Swanson and McMillin's cars getting stuck together. C. J. Leary was second behind Courtney with Brent Beauchamp and Kyle Cummins, who worked the cushion like an expert, trailing.

Jordan Kinser won the fourth heat for the local guys, leading Brody Roa to the line. Roa had his hands full keeping Chris Windom at bay. Isaac Chapple was fourth, benefitting from Thomas Meseraull's misfortune. TMez had fourth place locked up when he jumped the turn two cushion and flipped. He was out of the car quickly.

The very rare C main was won by Matt Westfall. Robert Ballou, Tony Dimattia and Clinton Boyles also graduated to the B. These were four names that are used very often in sharing C main results.

The B main, power packed as usual, saw Tyler Thomas beat his front row neighbor Brady Bacon to the checkered first. A. J. Hopkins was third and Timmy Buckwalter had an impressive run to fourth. Shane Cockrum took fifth and Brandon Mattox used his favorite groove, the middle, to take sixth and force Ballou to take a provisional.

For the 30-lap feature, the front row would be occupied by a young man who moved here from California approximately a decade ago and went sprint car racing. He has enjoyed a significant amount of success, along with his share of ups and downs. To his right, he saw a veteran who has been a major part of the USAC/Hoosier bullring sage over the past 30 years. There you had them, Chad Boespflug, a Hoosier by choice and Dave Darland, a Hoosier by birth.

Tom Hansing waved the green and off they went. The “seasoned veteran” didn’t even wave good-by to the kid and the rest of the pack. Darland jumped out to the lead and the scratching and clawing behind him drew several pairs of eyes. Alas, Boespflug and his car weren’t up to the challenge as Carson Short and Kevin Thomas Jr. tried in vain to reel in the leader. A lap six yellow flag for a Brandon Mattox spin gave the contenders a chance at sneaking past Darland on the re-start. Behind Darland, K. Thomas, Short, Chris Windom and Justin Grant lay in wait.

The track had been through quite a night and was black from top to bottom. The top shelf on the wall (figuratively speaking) was fought over by most all as the bottom line was treated as if it had contacted a social disease. Slide jobs were common as people tried to pass other people. Lots of people bounced off or jumped over the cushion, but they kept digging, as it were.

On the re-start, as Darland pulled away, Tyler Thomas caught fire. From eighth, he had a rocket ship, advancing to third before an unfortunate encounter with the turn two cushion.

The red flag made an appearance on lap 13 when Timmy Buckwalter flipped in turn two. He exited the damaged car without assistance. Darland now led K. Thomas, Hopkins, Short, T. Thomas, Windom, Boespflug, Bacon, Grant and Beauchamp.  

Darland was unruffled by all this. For him each time, it was just another re-start and neither KT nor anyone else could run with the big dog. Yet another yellow waved a bit later when Bacon spun but kept going. It’s a pity that fans don’t have access to drivers’ meetings because USAC reminds all listeners that if you spin, the yellow will wave even if you do a 360 and keep going. The spinner moves to the tail of the field and Bacon did.

It was Hopkins’ turn to make a run at the boss after contact with K. Thomas put the Alabama native third. But Beauchamp spun, a rare occurrence, on lap 21. Windom had annexed third place and immediately attacked Hopkins. A.J., a five-time winner at Lincoln Park this year, found the turn two cushion after contact with Windom and was shuffled back. Did Windom have anything for Darland tonight? No way.

The huge crowd roared approval as DD took the checkered at 11 p.m. Windom trailed with Hopkins, who had been bumped back to fifth before racing back to third, joining the first two on the front stretch after the race. K. Thomas was fourth and Grant was a somewhat quiet fifth. Short finished sixth after running much of the race in the top five. Leary was one of several who showed how important qualifying is as he moved from 17^th to seventh. Boespflug faded some to take eighth. Stockon was ninth and Californian Brody Roa continued to race well, ending up tenth.

Kyle Cummins salvaged the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger award, going from 22^nd to 11^th.

It was Darland’s 19^th ISW win, first since 2014. (Thank you, Richie.) The rocking chair will have to wait.

Despite going winless so far (in ISW action), Windom stretched both his Indiana Sprint Week lead and his lead in regular season standings with two more races for ISW/NOS 2018. Should Chris prevail, he, too, will be rewarded with a rocking chair, albeit for a completely different reason.

Next stop, Bloomington.

Reminding my skeptical wife that I have the greatest words, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Flying Low

When he is on his game, Thomas Meseraull is tough to beat. He loves the Kokomo Speedway and his victory on a beautiful Tuesday night in northern Indiana compounded that love for sure. It was Meseraull's second USAC sprint win this year.

The trip north didn't start very well. Twice in the first 20 minutes I was slowed by road construction, Indiana's summer tradition. But the rest of the trip was as smooth as it gets.

Rolling onto the property, I wasn't surprised to see that much of the parking lot was already filling up. Considering that for many it was a work night, that made the crowd even more impressive. I parked the little white truck and set off to find…a fortune, but not in the tangible terms that we think of when we think of fortunes.

In the space of 20 minutes, I had two interesting conversations. I had a nice chat with a young man from The Netherlands. His English-speaking skills were much better than my Dutch so we conversed in English and I found him to be a fascinating and dedicated young man, here at the Kokomo Speedway, of all places.

A few minutes later I found myself talking to a no less interesting man and his wife. Larry Nordman is a retired teacher who happens to be a serious sprint car racing fan. He and I have a shared history. Many years ago, the Nordmans lived next door to my parents, about four blocks from the high school (the older one). We also have memories of the racing and racers from those long-ago days that, sadly, recede into obscurity each day. No matter what, it was time well spent. As I walked away, we said, see you at Bloomington, the track closest to our homes.

A meet-and-greet was scheduled for the drivers before racing began. The gang assembled at the picnic tables. Feeling like sitting down, I sat at the table closest to the back wall, thinking that this table would not be occupied by any drivers. How wrong did that turn out to be? Soon I was surrounded by Dave Darland on one side and Chris Windom on the other. Across from me sat Kyle Cummins. Kody Swanson was nearby, as was Tyler Courtney. Notice that none of those guys won. A fan had a picture of the drivers on a card with lots of room for autographs, as did many others. After Windom signed his card, the gentleman gave us a laugh when he said to me, “Could you sign this, Mr. Bell?” Now I was fairly sure he didn’t mean the inventor of the telephone, which meant he thought I was Robert Bell. We had a good chuckle at that one. And later, the real Robert Bell got a kick out of the case of the missing race driver. (Robert was there, standing at the end of the table.

The autograph session caused the program to start late, but the sprint feature was over long before 11. Complainers would have to find something else to criticize.

On another happy note, Dave Argabright, John Mahoney and Dr. Pat Sullivan have released a work of art. The three have collaborated to come up with a remarkable book called Modern Thunder, a history of USAC sprint car racing from 1981-2017. It is an early birthday present; the usual birthday present is a little deal called Smackdown. 

There were a few interesting attendees that invaded the O'Connor family's pit area. Delayed by a few days, England's Tom Harris had made another trip across the Atlantic to race in our state. Kody Swanson was in the car normally piloted by Brian Karrakher. Tyler Hewitt was making his 2018 Sprint Week debut.

The Kokomo Speedway surface is noted for its ability to offer qualifiers some consistency, no matter what number is drawn. It happened again as Dave Darland set fast time and he was the 29th car to qualify.

Jason McDougal continues to impress. After Jarett Andretti swept into the lead on the first lap of the first heat, McDougal didn't go away. He passed Andretti on the third lap and sped to the win. Andretti was second and Clinton Boyles came from seventh to take third. Isaac Chapple was equally impressive as he hustled from ninth to snatch away the last transfer and send the likes of Brady Bacon, Dave Darland, Tyler Thomas and Josh Hodges to the B.

Like McDougal, C. J. Leary won his heat from the outside pole. Chris Windom came from fifth to finish second. Pole sitter Jake Swanson was third and Kyle Cummins was fourth. Later he would benefit from others' misfortune and start the feature on the front row.

The third heat saw winner Carson Short and second place Kody Swanson leave the others behind to fight for the next two positions. At the end, third row starter Chase Stockon fought his way to third. His third row mate Thomas Meseraull would take fourth. They would race together a little later.

Robert Ballou took the lead midway through the fourth heat to win. Lawrenceburg winner Tyler Courtney was second with Brody Roa third. Justin Grant used a last lap pass to steal the fourth spot, sending Timmy Buckwalter to the B.

After watching the sprint heats with author/TV reporter Dave Argabright, we went in different directions. So did the track. The surface wasn't up to the usual standards and the crew went to work before the B main. When they were done, I was reminded of the book and movie, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The track could only be described as nasty fast for the B and the feature with cars able to race high and/or low.

Kevin Thomas Jr. was the fastest of a fast group in winning the B. Tyler Thomas, still in the Epperson car, finished second. Brady Bacon took third and pole sitter Dave Darland was fourth. Behind these guys was maybe the best racing of the night. At the end Josh Hodges found himself in fifth after starting 14th. Timmy Buckwalter was passed by Hodges but still made it into the show. Chad Boespflug had a spirited duel with Hodges for sixth over most of the 12 laps but came up short. He and Matt Westfall would take provisionals.

Tom Hansing waved the green and the thundering herd, with Cummins and Andretti in the front row, took off. With these guys, frantic is normal. Cummins led early, but the chase was stopped for the moment as Ballou flipped in turn four. It was one of those “check-up” deals, which left Robert muttering to himself. Also involved were Bacon, Boespflug and McDougal; all three re-started.

When the green waved again, Meseraull, who had started fourth, passed Cummins and dearly wanted to check out. Such things seldom happen at Kokomo. Windom was on the move and passed Cummins a lap after TMez had gotten around Kyle. But they were about to have company in the form of…Chase Stockon.

The year has not gone as well as Stockon and company have wished. But on this night, he was hooked up. He started in the third row next to Windom and was late getting to the front. By the sixth lap, Stockon took fourth by passing Cummins. Grant was next and a couple of laps later, Stockon relegated the California native-turned-Hoosier to fourth place.

Carson Short spun in turn two on lap 13, bringing out a yellow. Meseraull’s lead over Windom disappeared and now we would find out who was or wasn’t going to prevail, Tmez, Windom or Stockon. It was shaping up as typical Kokomo drama as the possibilities were considered. Meseraull had it comparatively easy, as Windom had to deal with Stockon. A lap after the re-start, Chase got a good grip on the bottom coming out of turn two and took over second place.

We had no way of knowing that it was all over but the shouting. The leaders approached lapped traffic with seven laps to go. This would have been Stockon’s best chance to make a move. But Meseraull was not to be denied. He negotiated the lappers skillfully and used the high side when he could. The margin was only a few car lengths. It was Meseraull’s second consecutive ISW/Kokomo win.

Grant grabbed third from Windom late in the game to get his post-race interview. K. Thomas was fifth with Darland sixth. Courtney was a quiet seventh while T. Thomas was an impressive eighth. Leary came from 14^th to finish ninth. Hodges passed more cars in both the B and A mains then a crazed I-465 commuter, coming from 21^st to tenth and taking the KSE RACING PRODUCTS/B & W AUTO MART HARD CHARGER award.

It’s onward to the Terre Haute Action Track, where the cliché about expecting the unexpected is, like most clichés, true.

Confiscating the tear gas carried by French gendarmes at the Tour de France, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Unflinching

Sunday night’s edition of the NOS Energy/USAC/Indiana Sprint Week feature at the Lawrenceburg Speedway brought forth a choice of titles for this space. I settled on “Unflinching” because to me that described Tyler Courtney’s race as he fought off challenges from Dave Darland and C. J. Leary as he won the 30-lap feature on one of the coolest ISW races (temperature wise) at the ‘burg over the past few decades.

Never try to guess car counts for any Sprint Week meeting. I would never have guessed 42 sprints easing into the pits, with quite a few wet spots back there thanks to the rain that has fallen in the Lawrenceburg area the past few days. There were no major surprises. Jerry Coons Jr. was in the Mike Dutcher car, perhaps a one-off deal. Lawrenceburg regulars included Shawn Westerfeld, Riley Van Hise, Tony McVey, Jordan Kinser and Nick Bilbee signed in.  Oklahoma’s Koby Barksdale was making his ISW debut for the year. Throw in as assortment of USAC regulars, semi-regulars and out of state visitors. Soon you would have 42.

After the drivers’ meeting, it was time to heat the engines. I walked down the pit lane where cars were parked on both sides of the lane. Most were idling; that menacing rumble caused me to think that I was walking between walls of sound, meager apologies to Phil Spector, who invented the musical wall of sound.

Now, before racing started, was the time to consider all the things we cannot control, especially rain. I suppose that, in the big picture, we may need reminders that we can’t control everything. It doesn’t matter if we are control freaks. Good promoters (the ones I deal with in my travels) may be control freaks but they realize that rain and other bumps in the road are going to happen, no matter what. We would do well to remember this ourselves. Living in an area where the average rainfall is at least 45 inches a year means that we Hoosiers not get overly whiny about the weather. Having shared that, let us hope that rain won’t be a factor for the rest of ISW.

Time trials got off to a spectacular (and disquieting) start as Joe Stornetta took the green flag and promptly stuffed it into the fence, which won. Joe climbed out of the car and was done for the night—just like that. Generally speaking, the early qualifiers were quicker unless your name was, surprise, Tyler Courtney who timed in seventh quick and was 24^th in line.

Carson Short passed Scotty Weir midway through the first heat and went on to win. Weir held on for second with a real dogfight for the last two spots. Pole sitter Robert Ballou escaped with third and Nick Bilbee was the show as he recovered from an early spin to come back and take fourth, sending no less than Kevin Thomas Jr. and Justin Grant to the B main.

Brady Bacon checked out to take the second heat. Like Short, he missed a great race behind him. Chase Stockon barely edged Jason McDougal for second; McDougal had started seventh. Dave Darland had to workextra hard to grab fourth ahead of Isaac Chapple.

Pole sitter Landon Simon left 'em all behind in winning the third heat. Chris Windom was second with third row starters C. J. Leary and Tyler Courtney finished third and fourth.

The fourth heat followed the pattern of the others with the winner running away from the pack and the rest of the players fighting for positions. Josh Hodges won from the outside pole and Jerry Coons Jr. edged Shane Cottle for second. Chad Boespflug had his work cut out for him as he took fourth from Tony Dimattia.

For the first time in quite a while, I witnessed a C main, ten laps, top four move on. Matt Westfall, Jarett Andretti, Tim Buckwalter and Kody Swanson had the honor of tagging the field for the B.

Kevin Thomas Jr. won the B. The impressive Brady Roa came from the third row to finish second. His fellow Californian, Jake Swanson, was third. The persistent Isaac Chapple was fourth. Brent Beauchamp and Thomas Meseraull took the last two openings. Justin Grant’s star crossed night included a bouncing exhibition in turn four, knocking him out of a transfer spot to the show and causing him to burn a provisional (along with Buckwalter).

With K. Thomas and Beauchamp not transferring to the feature via their heats, the front row would be Boespflug and Courtney. As it turned out, this was significant. Tom Hansing waved the green and Courtney took off, leaving Boespflug to deal with the hungry wolves behind him. This party was interrupted when someone (Nick Bilbee?) checked up enough in turn four to cause Carson Short to do a half spin. Short was clouted by Beauchamp, who did more of a Tommy Tipover then a flip. Thomas Meseraull barely clipped Beauchamp as he went by. Nevertheless, the red flag waved on the second lap. Beauchamp rejoined the fray, Short also re-started and Bilbee would drop out a lap or so after the resumption of green flag racing. Poor TMez was done.

From fifth place, Dave Darland was the first to harass Courtney, getting underneath on the low side more than once, letting Sunshine know that the Deputy was not fooling around. This lasted through green flag segments punctuated by two yellow flags. After the second of the two, Shane Cottle got around Darland and tried to at least keep up with the leader.

Tension was on center stage when Short, who had been passing some serious competition, tangled with K. Thomas in turn two. Surviving that, Short then engaged in a series of trading sliders with Leary, who was running fourth. That ended when Short spun in turn two, bringing out the yellow on lap 19.

Courtney could not have been thrilled to see that because he knew that some wild animals masquerading as racers were behind him. Cottle, Darland, Leary, K. Thomas, Windom, Weir, Bacon, Grant and Roa were bent on passing somebody, anybody in front of them.

After Jerry Coons Jr. stopped on track, bringing out another quick yellow, it was Leary’s turn to pressure the leader. He got around the two veterans easily and set sail for Courtney. Using the high groove mostly, the top two engaged in another slidefest with Leary inching ahead at times. But each time Courtney would be the official leader of the lap.

Short, who had re-started at the tail after his spin, brought out another yellow when he slowed for a flat tire on lap 28. Again, Courtney surely wasn’t too pleased. After the re-start, there would be another yellow which transformed into a red flag period. Grant and Cottle tangled going into turn one, seemingly locked together at the wall. Down in the lower groove, Isaac Chapple flipped hard immediately after the yellow waved. Chapple was able to exit the car on his own, Grant re-started at the tail, but Cottle was done after a very decent run.

The timing of this made it a green-white-checkered re-start. With two top ten cars now out of contention, the next man up to try and make Courtney’s life miserable was Thomas. Surprisingly KT could only keep second and not mount any kind of a charge on the leader. Behind Courtney and Thomas, was Bacon, who came from 14^th to take the bronze. Windom also started back in the back but came from 15^th to fourth. Leary made a slight bobble at the end and fell to fifth. Darland faded only slightly and took sixth. Ballou picked up the KSE RACING PRODUCTS/B & W AUTO MART HARD CHARGER award as he rambled from 21^st to seventh. Weir was a steady and quiet eighth. Roa led the California racers with a ninth. And Hodges advanced six place to make it to tenth.

In post-race interviews, Thomas was typically hard on himself while Courtney was downright philosophical. “We’re professionals.  We’re hired to do what we do.  But you got to keep those things out of your head.  You got to do your job.” So what if his grammar might make English teachers cringe. The kid knew that flinching was not an option. Sometimes that matters even more than good grammar (says the guy who normally insists on good grammar practices—ask my daughter).

And here I read that Shane Cottle has parted ways with the Steve and Carla Phillips/Frank Daigh team and taken up with long time sprint car owner Jason Goacher. No word on who will jump into the 71p, but I have my suspicions.

On to Kokomo. #GYATK

Wondering which celebrity my photographer buddy Steve Lafond is going to find to have my picture taken with (all there on Facebook), I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report:  Patience and Perseverance

Success in all its forms often includes patience and perseverance. Opening night of the 31st annual Indiana Sprint Week at the Plymouth Speedway saw USAC exercise both qualities in completing the program despite the elements, namely the persistent sprinkles and/or mist. The same could be said for the feature winner, who bided his and struck at the right time, taking the lead from Chase Stockon midway through the feature and firing the first shot in what promises to be the best racin' on the planet for my meager amount of money.

The phrase "half the fun is getting there" certainly didn't apply to my trip from southern to northern Indiana. One wreck, at the I-65/465 interchange, plus multiple occasions of slowing or stopping for road construction added an hour to the journey. But I kept thinking that the temporary inconveniences were just that, temporary. Despite the less than promising weather forecast, I had hopes that if there was a way to have any racin', USAC would do it.

This was to be my first visit to the Plymouth Speedway and I confess to having my doubts at times I would even get that far north to even see the facility. But whatever concerns I may have had melted away when I arrived. Sprint Week is like Easter or Christmas at church. Fellow travelers gather together and there are welcome faces not seen but once a year, if that. Seeing these friends made the earlier trials trivial.

Other than the usual caravan that is part of a USAC show, Sprint Week would bring forth some different players. It isn’t unusual for ISW to have an international flavor and this year was no exception as Braydon Willmington, a 20-year-old Australian, made the long haul to Indiana with lots of help from Davey Ray. Shane Cockrum had an apparent one-off deal with Michael Dutcher. A pair of Californians, Jake (the Moose) Swanson and Brady Roa, went against Horace Greeley’s advice and went east. The same was true for Arizonan RJ Johnson. Brandon Mattox hooked up with Fitzpatrick Autosports, a group from Australia while Travis Thompson came out of semi-retirement to wheel the Mattox machine. Tyler Thomas was in the Tony Epperson familiar white 2E. Another Tyler, Mr. Clem, came up from Florida to try his hand in the Hoosier state.

Plymouth Speedway is a quarter mile bullring with dirt piled upon the pavement a few years back. It is in a very rural area and it’s way north of where I live, 161 miles. That’s about the same distance from my house to my ancestors’ home, Adair County, Kentucky. But the main thing was that I felt at home.

During time trials Chris Windom set a new track record which he enjoyed for about 45 seconds before C.J. Leary broke it with a 12.996 lap, a full .010 seconds faster. After a brief shower, the track was quite fast and smooth except for a bump going into turn one.

Dave Darland came from the second row to win the first heat. Leary came from sixth to grab second over Shane Cottle, who came from the fourth row. Justin Grant was fourth as Mattox led a group to the B.

The low groove was the most popular for the second heat, won by Chase Stockon by nearly a full straightaway. Pennsylvanian Tim Buckwalter was second with Windom third. Tyler Courtney was fourth as Carson Short missed out.

Pole sitter Chad Boespflug was the first front row starter to win a heat. Thomas Meseraull, riding in Eldora/NASCAR Truck winner Chase Briscoe’s sprinter, was second. Robert Ballou came from the fourth row to take third. Jarett Andretti started and finished fourth. Kevin Thomas Jr. had a meeting with Ballou midway through the heat and found himself facing the turn two wall.

Brady Bacon came from sixth to win the fourth heat over Isaac Chapple, who would find himself on the pole for the feature. Matt Westfall ended up third and pole sitter Kody Swanson hung on for fourth. Tyler Thomas ran well early but dropped out with a front-end issue.

It’s Sprint Week (courtesy of the folks at NOS Energy Drink) and that means each B Main has plenty of A Main talent. Both of KT and TT’s crews were doing some serious thrashing work in the short time between the heats and the B. As it turned out. Kevin won with Tyler second. Carson Short was third. Taking the last three invitations to the dance were Joe Stornetta, Josh Hodges and Brady Roa. Clinton Boyles missed a great chance to flip when he encountered the turn one bump.

More precipitation arrived just past ten but it took a break after a few minutes. The feature was lining up at 10:30, an amazing development given the conditions all evening. Chapple and Stockon led 21 of their cohorts to Tom Hansing’s green flag and Stockon grabbed the lead.

He tried to check out as Chapple held onto second as long as he could. Bacon began pressing the Willow Branch, Indiana resident and finally made the pass on the 13^th lap. Bacon’s next assignment was to reel in the leader and that he did just past the halfway mark, getting under Stockon coming out of turn two.

It wasn’t like Bacon ran away with the race at this point; his lead was never more than a few car lengths over second place, no matter who was running second. Windom passed Stockon for second on the 19^th lap as Chase was slowly fading. The race’s only yellow waved on lap 25 when Ballou spun. Windom had been gaining slowly on Bacon, but now Bacon had a potential problem on his hands, with Windom re-starting right behind.

But it didn’t happen. Bacon kept his lead but never really pulled away at the end. Windom kept second with Darland not too far behind as well. Grant might have been happy with fourth as he battled with Stockon and Courtney at the end. Sunshine settled for fifth after starting 12^th, which earned him the KSE RACING PRODUCTS/B & W AUTO MART HARD CHARGER award. Short was sixth. Stockon faded to seventh as Leary took away the eighth spot. K. Thomas may well have lost any chance to contend for the lead after his heat race shunt and ended ninth. Meseraull was tenth.

It was an exceptional night. Somehow the boys and girls of USAC managed to keep the serious rain away and they were rewarded with a very decent crowd and some very decent racing.  It was a good start to ISW XXXI (with a passing nod to the Super Bowl). All concerned showed plenty of patience and perseverance.

Up next would be Kokomo…the Good Lord’s willing and the creeks not rising. I’m fine with the former but not so sure about the latter.

Reminding my skeptical wife that I have the greatest words, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Racing for Your Supper

Racers are motivated by many things, such as the love of speed, the love of beating the next guy, the cheers of the crowd and the thrill of racing on the ragged edge. Sometimes, racers are motivated by a payday, any day. Not knowing or wanting to know any racer’s financial situation, it appeared to me that Thomas Meseraull was motivated by all of the factors mentioned above. Whatever the reason, there he stood at the start/finish line of the Lincoln Park Speedway on a very Hoosier/humid night, smiling and happy to have won, dollars or no dollars. There are few things like winning and going fast—at the same time.

I was heading northwest toward Putnamville when I noticed dark skies ahead. Giving it little thought, I proceeded. When sprinkles became frequent enough I turned on the windshield wipers... intermittent. Not a problem.

Arriving at the track, it was business as usual. I checked the radar and, sure enough, the Lincoln Park Speedway had dodged another round of rain.

Of note among the 31 sprints was Shane Hollingsworth, subbing for Brent Beauchamp. Thomas Meseraull was present, wheeling the familiar 00 but minus the advertisements.

Shelby Van Gilder outran them all to win the first heat. Lee Underwood started and finished immediately behind the winner. Colten Cottle and Tim Creech II both came from the back row and annexed the last two transfer tickets. Korbyn Hazlett spun in turn three and ended up with a closer look at the billboards than he probably wanted.

Pole sitter Matt McDonald didn't mind missing all that went on behind him as he won the second heat. On turn four of lap one Justin Meneely spun and collected Jeff Nanney, Thomas Meseraull and A. J. Hopkins. They were all able to continue. In fact, TMez raced back to finish second. Shane Hollingsworth was third and Hopkins passed Nate McMillen on the white flag lap to take fourth.

The third heat was clean and green with Andrew Prather cruising to the win. Jeff Bland made an important pass on the last lap to grab second, plus secure a redraw spot for the feature. Shane Cockrum also passed Travis Berryhill late to take third. Berryhill did transfer at least.

The fourth and final heat, which contained three cars with the number four, had its issues. The leaders, Daylan Chambers and Scotty Weir, tangled on the second lap in turn one. A lap later, Brady Ottinger did a half spin in front of the field. Collected were Koby Barksdale, Jaden Rogers and Aaron Davis. Only Davis would continue. Weir recovered to win. Ottinger was second as Chambers was unable to make the pass--and the redraw. Davis was fourth and would start 16th in the feature.

After the heat races were done, I moseyed back to the pits to see if the damaged cars were getting a makeover. Happily, progress was being made on both the Barksdale and Rogers cars. I left before getting too tired. Besides, my back was doing its best to put me in an ill humor. Thankfully, it failed.

The B Main had its share of drama. Front row mates Nate McMillin and Josh Cunningham simply took off and ran away from the others as if they had a contagious disease. Koby Barksdale had third wrapped up until he spun in turn four coming to the checkered. Chris Phillips had the last starting spot for the feature wrapped up until he had to stop rather than crash into Barksdale. For every one or two who have something bad happen, there are one or two who benefit. Two youngsters were able to avoid the partially blocked turn four and assume the last two positions available in the feature. Jaden Rogers came from a wrecked car in his heat to starting the B 12^th. From there he took third and would race one more time. Korbyn Hazlett came from ninth to finish fourth in the B.

The redraw put Weir and Prather on the front row. Yet again came the familiar and, for me, beloved sound of 410 engines rumbling as they made their way down the backstretch into turn three. A silent countdown and they were off as soon as Brian Hodde did what he does so well, waving the green with authority. Weir took the early lead in the Gass family car with Prather in tow. McDonald passed Andrew for second as the first lap was completed.

Behind these guys, one has to wonder if Meseraull knew that he had a really good chance of winning this thing. He started sixth and was in the top five by lap two. The fourth lap saw TMez in third, behind Weir and McDonald. Green flag conditions prevailed, which helped some and hurt others. Meseraull was helped as he took over second place with only Weir left to pass a couple of laps before the crossed flags.

Back in the pack, Hopkins was making waves. Firing off from the seventh row, he was mowing them down as he marched to the front. By the time Meseraull took the lead with ten to go, A.J. was sixth, with Colten Cottle the next guy to pass. Hopkins made the move to pass coming out of two when they bounced off each other with Cottle avoiding disaster as he slid to the top of the banking, desperate to maintain control.

Meseraull, among others, couldn’t have been cheered to see the race’s lone yellow flag wave with a lap to go. I spoke of discipline on Friday night when Kyle Cummins had to maintain his pace to keep his lead at Bloomington. Now Meseraull had to do the same for a lap and hope that Weir, or somebody, didn’t sneak by using a different line. While cars were lining up as they idled around the track, Cottle drove up to Hopkins and expressed his opinion. One could be sure that Cottle wasn’t sharing his opinion about whether Lincoln Park’s best sandwich is the Bar-B-Q as opposed to the cheeseburger.

Whatever tension TMez felt was gone as Mr. Hodde waved the checkered flag at him first. Weir was second with Hopkins ripping off one more good lap to take third after starting 14^th. Bland was fourth, his second top five of the weekend. Cockrum came from 11^th to take fifth. Cottle took sixth. Hollingsworth showed that he wasn’t all that rusty as he didn’t stop until he had taken seventh. McDonald was impressive early on before fading a bit at the end to eighth. Berryhill advanced from 15^th to ninth. Prather wrapped up the race in tenth.

Post-race Meseraull spoke of his “Frankenstein” car and thanked the guys who helped him put it together. And he thanked the fans too, telling them “we love ya.” One doesn’t hear that too often, even from winners.

Presumably, Thomas won enough to buy some groceries.

Sprint Week awaits. I’m as ready as ever and hope all that participate in any way are ready too.

Preparing for Indiana Sprint Week by playing 18 at Turnberry, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Nerve Wracking Discipline

Race fans might have watched Kyle Cummins start on the pole at the Bloomington Speedway on Friday night and concluded that he coasted to the win. After all, he never was threatened seriously for the lead and he puttered around the bottom line for all 25 laps. But after the race, KC told Kimb Stewart that it was “nerve wracking” to stay on the low lane, not knowing if anyone was closing the gap. What he didn’t say that it took all the discipline a good racer needs to hold his line and not overdrive the race. On a night when the track played mean tricks on people, Cummins’ effort stood out.

In other feature action Jeff Wimmenauer won the RaceSavers feature. Bradley Sterrett won the celebrity Hornet feature.

It was a pleasant surprise to find 26 sprints in the pits along with 17 RaceSavers. Jon Stanbrough, now a part-timer before retiring to tend to his business and new baby, was on hand to race but engine troubles sidelined the all-time great during hot laps. Bradley Sterrett took a turn on the Burton 04 car. Chad Boespflug, impressed with my t-shirt, was settled in the Pottorff car.  

Kyle Cummins took the lead with an inside pass of Jordan Kinser to win the first heat. Jeff Bland passed Kinser late to take second and was gaining on the winner. Kinser held on for third with Andrew Prather fourth. Kevin Chambers made the feature with his fifth-place finish.

The caution plagued second heat was won by pole sitter Brandon Morin, who missed the action behind him. Robert Ballou came from the back to grab second. Chad Boespflug was third. Isaac Chapple started and finished fourth. Travis Berryhill sent Kody Swanson to the B.

Scotty Weir grumbled about the long drive to southern Indiana. He felt better when I told him that’s how I feel when I go to Gas City. He felt better yet when he won the third heat. Tony DiMattia was second. Daylon Chambers took third ahead of Sterrett and Jaden Rogers. Dakota Jackson and Josh Cunningham found themselves getting ready for the B.

The RaceSavers took over and Anton Hernandez won the first heat over John Paynter Jr., who made a last lap pass of Patrick Kren. Hot Rod Henning won the second heat with Jeff Wimmenauer finishing second. Collin Parker triumphed in the third heat. Luke Bland and Andy Bradley trailed.

Jackson won the 410 sprints’ B Main over Michael Koontz. Jake Scott came from the back to take third. Kody Swanson struggled to a fourth-place finish. Cunningham hung on for a fifth-place result. Lee Underwood was left out in the cold.

But wait a minute. Dakota Jackson had a mechanical issue and Underwood was added to the field of 20.

By now the track had turned quite slick. The green flag waved for the feature and DiMattia and Sterrett both slid off turn one, bringing out the yellow before a lap was completed. Sterrett never stopped but DiMattia did. The gang tried again and Weir tried mightily to use the cushion to get around Cummins. But that wasn’t working as Morin took second while sticking to the bottom.

Kinser slid into D. Chambers just before halfway; both kept going for a lap or so in the lower reaches of the top ten. But Chambers slowed to a stop going into turn one. The yellow waved and Kinser also stopped with a flat tire. He would return but Chambers was done. The top ten Hit Parade was Cummins (who saw his huge lead evaporate), Morin, Weir, Bland, Ballou, Boespflug, Prather, Chapple (who spun immediately after the yellow waved but kept going), Berryhill and…Cunningham.

With this re-start, Weir and Boespflug tried to make something happen up on the cushion. Cummins was missing a great five-car dogfight for second. Morin, Ballou, Bland, Weir and Boespflug slipped and slid all over the track battling for position. Bland slipped under Weir and took second. This turned out to be an unfortunate outcome for Morin. On lap 19 Bland slid into Morin with the 98 car getting upside down and flipping multiple times. Brandon was out of the car quickly.

The seven-lap dash saw Cummins still leading and Weir having a precarious hold on second. Ballou, Bland and Chapple rounded out the top five. Prather was sixth ahead of Cunningham, who excelled on the race track disguised as an ice rink. Rogers, Koontz and Underwood trailed.

 The most notable outcome of the final segment was the sight of Scotty Weir dropping back. No one had anything for Cummins but that was no surprise. It’s possible that Ballou may have run out of laps, but he settled for second. Bland took the bronze medal and Chapple recovered from his spin to finish fourth. Prather came from ninth to end up a steady fifth. Cunningham may have been the most impressive. He barely transferred out of the B, yet picked his way through traffic to take sixth, the hard charger by a long shot. Rogers also had a quality run from 15^th to seventh. Kinser came back from his flat tire to grab eighth. Weir faded to ninth after a good run for most of the race, perhaps with tired tires. Michael Koontz came from 17^th to finish off the top ten.

Bradley Sterret won a wild and woolly celebrity Hornet special show, paying $500 to win. An unofficial total of &7,836 was raised for St. Jude’s Hospital. No doubt that number increased as Sterrett pledged his winnings to the total.

Patrick Kren led the first part of the RaceSavers’ feature. A yellow flag waved when Anton Hernandez was turned around after contact from Collin Parker. Anton was not pleased. Both retained their positions but Hernandez was on the move after the re-start. He was up to third before jumping the turn four cushion and flipping on lap ten.

Kren was still leading but his time as leader was not for long. Terry Arthur took the lead but he, too, would be a temporary occupant. Jeff Wimmenauer was on the move and he would be the final leader and winner after starting 11^th. Luke Bland ran up front all race and took second after starting seventh. John Paynter Jr. came from tenth to conclude his night with a third place. Arthur hung on for fourth and Kren faded to fifth.

The drive home wasn’t nerve wracking (no deer sighting), but discipline was required in passing people on Indiana State Road 46 between Bloomington and Nashville. It helped that 46 didn’t have a red clay surface.

Pranked by Sacha Baron Cohan, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Cushion—Friend and/or Foe

The cushion at the Lincoln Park Speedway. Over the years it has bitten some of the best. The unforgiving curb does its best to foil the best laid plans of the best racers around. But sometimes the racers win. On a cool Saturday night in beautiful downtown Putnamville, Indiana, Justin Grant scored a well-earned MSCS victory on Night Two of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular. He did it by conquering the imposing shelf of clay that is the most challenging this side of the Bloomington Speedway, passing Carson Short midway through the feature.

In short track racing, a common occurrence is multiple cars with the same number. When the car count is 42, as it was on Saturday, you can bank on several cars sharing the same numbers. Within the sprint car population, no less than six number fours were among the 121 race cars sneaking into Joe Spiker’s man cave. There were “only” three cars numbered five. Several USAC holdovers were joined by some MSCS regulars. There would be group qualifying with five heats taking the top three. Sure enough, there was a C Main that would take the top five into the loaded B, which would advance five to the show.

It would be desperation time for every heat with more than three good cars in each heat. Carson Short won the first heat with Isaac Chapple not far behind. Pole sitter Steven Schnapf grabbed the last spot, with Colten Cottle, Garrett Aitken and Donnie Brackett making ready for the B.

Robert Ballou won the second heat from the pole. Tony Dimattia became the first of several to bounce off the turn two cushion, bringing out a yellow. A. J. Hopkins took second after Jason McDougal had his own cushion banging incident but hung on for third. Jeff Bland, Thomas Meseraull and Mario Clouser would head for the B.

Justin Grant took the third heat from the pole. Shane Cottle was second and Kody Swanson recovered nicely from a less than satisfactory time trial to advance from seventh to third. Kent Schmidt, Nate McMillen and Jordan Kinser had to settle for the last chance race.

The fourth heat seemed as if it was contested under a full moon. Shane Cockrum was one lonely guy as he won from the pole. The first yellow came when Dave Darland was tapped just enough to spin and collect C. J. Leary and Jaden Rogers. Only Rogers continued. A little later Brent Beauchamp executed a half spin in turn four. Chris Phillips, with nowhere to go, completed the spin for Beauchamp and spun himself. After Cockrum and second place Joe Stornetta crossed the finish line, Rogers and Phillips tangled in turn for coming to the checkered flag. Beauchamp ended up third while Phillips, Eric Perrott and Rogers staggered to the B.

The fifth heat was somewhat tamer. Kevin Thomas Jr. had it fairly easy in winning. Aric Gentry was fighting for a transfer spot when he was gently eased into a spin. Well, maybe not that gently. A few laps later Chad Boespflug inexplicably spun to a stop in turn two. While leading, no less. KT was home free after that with Brandon Mattox second and Kyle Cummins third. Boespflug, Gentry and Tim Creech II would race in the B.

The C main was for the guys who had not been having a good time so far. Josh Hodges, Dave Darland, Jay Waugh, Koby Barksdale and Collin Ambrose all would tag the B.

The night had been plagued by yellow fever, so imagine the happy surprise when the B was all green. Colten Cottle had his own way in winning the 12 lapper. Chad Boespflug was second. Thomas Meseraull made it to the feature by coming from seventh to take third. Jeff Bland hung onto fourth. MSCS regular Kent Schmidt was fifth. Mario Clouse used a provisional to tag the field.

When things shook out, Short and Ballou were the front row, leading Grant, Cockrum, Thomas, Chapple, Hopkins, S. Cottle, Stornetta and Maddox to the green. Right away Short took the lead, mastering the low line as Ballou kept him honest in working the cushion. Behind them, most all opted for either the very top or the very bottom except for Mattox, who has discovered the race track equivalent of a gold mine in the middle groove.

Eleven laps were complete when the first yellow waved when Joe Stornetta spun in turn two. The law firm of Short and Ballou led Grant, Thomas, Cockrum, Maddox, Chapple, C. Cottle, Meseraull and Beauchamp. The green lights came alive and so did Grant. He got around Ballou, who soon after the re-start suffered a broken left front wheel. As Grant applied serious pressure on Short, using Ballou’s line up top, Robert faded steadily. Short led after the halfway mark, but Grant’s efforts up high were paying off as he took the lead as the second half of the 30 lapper began.

On lap 18, Ballou’s wounded front end finally gave up as he flipped it in turn four. Robert quickly exited the car. Now, with 13 laps to go, the ten most wanted were Grant, Short, Cockrum, Mattox, Chapple, Thomas, C. Cottle, Beauchamp, Cummins and Meseraull. With ten laps to go, Swanson spun in turn four, bringing the race’s final interruption.

The final segment of the race was about what we’ve come to expect. Thomas put on a charge to the front. Short’s treasured bottom line was fading a bit and so did he. Beauchamp was coming on strong at the end. But Grant was probably oblivious to all this as he sailed to the win. Thomas ended up second. Short hung onto third. Beauchamp came from 14^th with his late race charge earning a fourth. Meseraull’s effort may have been even more impressive as he moved from B Main land, 18^th, to fifth. TMez earned the Keizer Aluminum Wheels Hard Charger of the Race.

The second five was led by Chad Boespflug, who passed a few cars himself, coming from 17^th to sixth. Chapple hung around close to the top five for most of the race and finished seventh. Mattox used his middle groove for much of the race and faded a bit at the end to eighth after running as high as fourth. Cockrum faded late in the race to ninth. Hopkins had his ups and downs as he held on for tenth.

I could imagine Bill Gardner nodding his head in appreciation, muttering to himself that the jackwagons had done pretty good. The best of them, Mr. Grant, had found the infamous Lincoln Park cushion to be a friend during this Sprintacular.

There are few things that would cause me to miss a race at Kokomo. One of them is two years old and is simply too much fun. It’s getting tougher for Grandpa to keep up with her, but it’s worth it.

Nervously eyeing Ricky Stenhouse in my rearview mirror, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Nice Job, You Jackwagons

It was one of those nights in which the unexpected became routine. With one surprising occurrence after another, a full house of race fans was treated to quite a night of racin', Hoosier style at the Lincoln Park Speedway. When the feature ended at 11:30, Tyler Courtney found himself standing on top of his roll cage waving the checkered flag, enjoying his victory in the first night of the Bill Gardner Sprintaculer, an event that lived up to its name. If Bill had been watching from his celestial seat, he might have smiled and said, "Nice job, you jackwagons."

Certain events have been established either by USAC or one of the Hoosier bullrings over the past few years and the Bill Gardner Sprintaculer has quickly become one that has gained popularity since Bill's passing in 2014. Seeing that it was an Indiana Sprint Week size crowd made it plain, at least in my opinion.

Thirty-Seven sprints were among about 121 cars shoehorned into Joe Spiker's rumpus room. LPS regulars A. J. Hopkins, Brent Beauchamp and Shane Cockrum were present and aimed to give the USAC boys a run for their money. Mr. Cockrum's usual Jamie Paul ride wasn't there, so he hooked up with Jerry Burton and company for the evening.

For hot laps and qualifications, I was privileged to sit with who I consider racing royalty, namely Richard Briscoe and Brad Marvel, with Brandon Mattox joining us for a while. We saw Carson Short go out early and set fast time, cowboy style. But finding a pattern where the track slowed down was elusive. After all, Tyler Courtney was 29^th to qualify and he was the fourth quickest. Brady Bacon was next and he turned in the third fastest lap.

Thomas Meseraull, in the Kevin Briscoe lookalike car, won the first heat over Jordan Kinser. Pole sitter Robert Ballou was third. A.J. Hopkins helped send Chad Boespflug and Carson Short, who had a terrific battle for fifth, to the B.

Tim Creech II won the second heat. His front row mate Colten Cottle was second and C.J. Leary was third. Tony DiMattia hung one for fourth as Jarett Andretti flipped while racing DiMattia for the last cookie in the cookie jar. Tony and Jarett had been doing their share of chopping and hammering. You didn’t have to be Nostradamus to see this result coming. Andretti emerged from the car, done for the night at least.

The third heat had its moments. Pole sitter Mario Clouser did a half spin and collected Isaac Chapple. Kevin Thomas Jr. arrived on the scene and somehow managed to keep going. Chapple left on the hook and Kyle Cummins dropped out, done for the night. Justin Grant won, leading what began as a strong group. Chase Stockon was second. Thomas came back to take third. Brady Bacon was fourth. Chris Windom was B Main bound.

Tyler Courtney made a case for considering him to be the one to beat as he won the fourth heat, roaring from sixth to the lead in three laps. Pole sitter Dave Darland was second and Brent Beauchamp was third. Brandon Mattox started and finished fourth.

The B had 19 cars fighting for six spots. No wonder it was plagued by yellow flags early in the 12-lap affair. Carson Short emerged as the winner. Jason McDougal came from 12^th to finish second in the Krockenberger family hot rod. Clouser came from eighth to take third. Josh Hodges was fourth. Windom rambled from 11^th to fifth. Kody Swanson hung on to take sixth, the last spot in the parade. Isaac Chapple burned a provisional.

With Short and Swanson making it into the show via the last chance event, Kinser and Thomas landed on the front row. Tom Hansing waved the green and Thomas took off. But he had to slow down as a yellow came out for a Brady Bacon flat tire on the third lap. After the re-start, a couple more laps were run until Brent Beauchamp and Colten Cottle tangled with Beauchamp flipping on the frontstretch. Brent walked away but the front end of the car was mangled somewhat.

The prime suspects on this re-start were Thomas, Hopkins, Kinser, DiMattia, Courtney, Swanson, Leary, Short, Mattox and Creech. The green flag prevailed as Thomas immediately began to stretch his lead, entering lapped traffic about seven laps after the resumption of racing. It was an extraordinary effort that saw KT coming upon some pretty good racers such as Grant and Ballou, both of whom went a lap down.

Behind the leader, action was the usual fast and furious. For the time being, Courtney was the only one who was seriously on the move. Just past halfway, he made what turned out to be an important pass as he got around Hopkins to take second place. A few laps later that pass loomed large.

It all ended for Thomas on lap 23 when he bounced off the infamous turn two cushion a bit too hard and flipped to the fence on the backstretch. Thomas was out of the car and the Hoffman team conducted a virtuoso thrash to get the car fixed and back on the track, tagging the field. Leary suffered a flat tire during the red, giving up third and joining Thomas at the back.

With eight to go, it was Courtney’s turn to shine. His partners in speed included Hopkins, Kinser, McDougal, Swanson, Mattox, Meseraull, Darland and Windom. Several of these had come from back in the pack, seemingly unnoticed. For this final stint, Windom drove as if he was chased by an army of bill collectors. It paid off at the end. But Courtney emerged as the winner.

During the post-race interview, Courtney spoke volumes with one little sentence. “It’s about putting yourself in the right position.” Simple maybe, but quite true in racing and in life overall.

Joining Sunshine on the frontstretch after the race were Hopkins, who one would think could be the next to win his first USAC feature, and McDougal, who was here for Midget Week and decided to stick around for a while. He was also the KSE Racing Hard Charger, coming from 22^nd to finish third, a remarkable performance in its own right. Windom’s late race charge was equally impressive as he motored from 21^st to fourth. Kinser was fifth and Meseraull did well as he came from 13^th to sixth. Darland was yet another racer who hustled his way to seventh after starting 20^th. Brandon Mattox was a steady eighth and Ballou came from 17^th to take ninth. Josh Hodges settled for tenth.

Chett Gehrke edged Hot Rod Johnny Heydenriech by a bag of Lincoln Park popcorn to win the USAC Engler IMRA/Midwest Thunder Speed2 Midget 20-lap feature.

And just think. As this is written these jackwagons, or at least several of them, will get to do this again tonight as USAC exits and the MSCS arrives for Night Two of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular.

Looking for my birth certificate so I can get my driver’s license renewed, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Seize the Moment

Race car drivers, at least when they are on the clock, make decisions an infinite number of times faster than we do, whether we are on the clock or not. Some of their decisions are guesswork, while others are based on previous experience. Sometimes racers make decisions with disastrous results, which can mean anything from a harmless spinout to a serious accident. Once in a while, racers have to deal with lapped traffic. On somewhat infrequent occasions, a racer who may be leading a race has to deal with lapped traffic. Guesswork, experience and reaction all come into play. The leader can get hung up by lapped traffic and find out that he’s not the leader anymore. A competitor takes the lead and is gone, seeing the checkered flag first. That is more or less what happened at the Kokomo Speedway on the eve of the Fourth of July. Leader Chris Windom was stymied briefly by lapped traffic and Kevin Thomas Jr. was there to capitalize on the leader’s misfortune. KT saw Tom Hansing’s checkered flag waving at him first after he had taken the lead midway through the race and then pulled away from the field on a late re-start.

Dark clouds surrounded me as I left home. The didn’t follow me to Kokomo. I had a great view of the clouds—in my rearview mirror. After reaching the big city, I was reminded of the adventure that is rush hour traffic in a large American city. It had been awhile since I have had this experience. My nerves were calmed by the thought most of my fellow travelers on I-465 have to deal with this every work day while I’m usually being lazy at home. What really mattered was that I arrived at my destination/shrine in plenty of time.

Twenty-five sprinters had signed in with a few USAC runners such as Dave Darland, Kevin Thomas Jr., Justin Grant, Chris Windom and C.J. Leary (in the family car but minus mechanical guru Donnie Gentry). Occasional USAC/Kokomo players included Scotty Weir in the Gass family 17G, Shane Cottle, Thomas Meseraull, Jarett Andretti, Isaac Chapple, Tony DiMattia and Tyler Hewitt.

Dave Darland led all the way to the first heat win. Justin Grant passed Tyler Hewitt midway through to keep and take second. Hewitt held onto third ahead of Tony Dimattia. Shane Cottle scampered from ninth after having bounced off the wall in hot laps/time trials to fifth on the first lap and stayed there.

Like Darland, Jarett Andretti shot out of the outside front row to lead all eight laps and win the second heat. Thomas Meseraull was second with Isaac Chapple taking third. Aaron Farney kept control of fourth and Jake Scott squeezed into fifth.

The third heat featured four Kokomo Speedway champions. The first, C. J. Leary, got a good jump on another champ,Chris Windom, and took the third heat win. Windom kept trying out the huggy pole line to no avail and came up a little short to take second. Kevin Thomas Jr., also a champ, got around Clinton Boyles early and tried in vain to get to second place and a redraw opportunity. KT was third and Boyles was a lonely fourth. Scotty Weir was the fourth of the four Kokomo champs to make the show.

After some cutting and slashing with Cole Ketchum for the first few laps, Ben Knight pulled away to win the B main. Travis Hery came from the last row to grab second. Mario Clouser recovered from his pre-heat mechanical woes to finish third and move on to the feature. Ketchum slipped a bit at the end but managed a fourth. And Aussie Jay Waugh took the last ticket to the main event. The heat races had been the high speed/freight train affairs. The B Main had feature a lot of changing positions. The feature looked promising.

Some younger race fans conducted the redraw and determined that the front row would be Meseraull and Darland. Absent was from this ceremony was Grant, who had an injured motor after his heat race and exited the premises. His misfortune was Bryan VanMeveren’s good fortune as he would start 20^th in the show.

TMez led the first lap of the feature and right away things got crazy and nearly disastrous as a few of the boys went three-wide coming out of turn two on the second lap. To quote various TV announcers, it was a wreck that didn’t happen. In the early laps Meseraull and Andretti led the way, but Windom was about to break up that little party. On lap five he passed Andretti for second. Then the Illinois native passed for the lead on the tenth lap, diving under Meseraull in turn four, using a unique line that worked well for much of the race, going into turn three above the cushion and then diving low into four with a full head of steam.

At this point Windom had no way of knowing that Thomas was quietly but steadily moving forward from his eighth starting spot. He charged into fifth on the fifth lap. Three laps later he passed Leary for fourth and would do it again a few laps later. Lapped traffic entered the equation.

Windom barreled into turn three with about ten laps to go and encountered lapped traffic. For just a second, maybe two, he was bottled up and stuck behind one of the lappers. That was all KT needed. He guessed correctly and made the pass, as did Leary. A yellow flag waved on lap 19, with Thomas leading Leary, Windom, Darland and Cottle. Here was a chance for those behind Thomas to get a jump.

But it wasn’t happening. Mr. Hansing waved the green and KT took off and Leary saw a decent amount of Kokomo soil. Another yellow, this one for a T. Meserraull spin on lap 24, merely delayed the inevitable. The one lap dash didn’t change anything up front. It was still Thomas, Leary and Windom for the top three. Darland held off a persistent Cottle for fourth. Like the race winner, Cottle advanced seven positions, from 12^th to fifth. Andretti was sixth and Weir came from 16^th to seventh. The youthful trio of Boyles, Chapple and Farney completed the top ten.

It was time for fireworks, but I’d seen my share of fireworks in a manner of speaking. I headed south. It was a decision made nearly as quick as a racer coming up on lapped traffic.

Channeling my inner George M. Cohan, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Not a Done Deal

How many times has this happened? A fan looks over the entry list and easily picks out a favorite or two that should win or run up front. But then the feature race begins and the said fan begins to question his earlier assertion. While it was true that Brady Bacon, reunited for a race with his former team, won the feature on Saturday night at the Lawrenceburg Speedway, it was also true that Nick Bilbee made Mr. Bacon earn the victory. Bilbee was a strong second and showed again that he has this place figured out.

Let’s say that it was hot and be done with it. The temperature according to my trusty phone was 93 degrees when I arrived at the ‘burg. The heat would be a challenge for everyone. Who had it the toughest? Perhaps the drivers in their suits had it worst. Maybe the mechanics toiling away on the cars. Possibly the track workers or photographers in the infield or around the track suffered the most. My vote was for flagman Tim Montgomery, who was covered with sweat when I met up with him during the intermission. Lawrenceburg promoter Dave Rudisell made a good decision in pushing the program back an hour. I was more fortunate than most. I prefer hot weather over cold and for many years I did most of my work outside.

Of the twenty cars who paid a visit, Mr. Bacon and the Hoffman Auto Racing team were a bit of a surprise. On occasion these guys have been known to pay a visit to their home track when USAC doesn’t have a sprint car race elsewhere. C.J. Leary and company also showed up, maybe for a test session with Indiana Sprint Week a few weeks away.

Possibly the two best cars were in the first heat. Sure enough, Brady Bacon and C. J. Leary finished one/two as Bacon dove low in turn two of the first lap to take the lead. Working a lot harder than I do, Nick Bilbee fought his way to third. Michael Fischesser, Bret Hankins, Garrett Abrams and Kyle May trailed.

Avoiding near disaster when the cars of Scott Hampton and Tony McVey touched on the backstretch, Jarett Andretti won the second heat, taking the lead from Hampton on the sixth lap. Dakota Jackson took second away from Scott at the line. This mattered, at least in terms of the redraw. Behind Hampton was Tony Main and the other Tony, Mr. McVey.

The third heat had three Lawrenceburg champs. One of them was Shawn Westerfeld, who led Dickie Gaines, another champ, to the line. Kody Swanson, fresh off another Silver Crown win (which tied him with Jack Hewitt), was third and the third 'burg champ, Joss Moffatt, was fourth, ahead of Braxton Cummings.

I don't believe in coincidences, but after the sprint heats I fell into conversation with Braxton's grandfather, Mr. Terry Cummings, an interesting, literate and humorous gentleman with a large number of racing stories. No doubt most all of them were true. Naturally, we knew a lot of the same people.  Time well spent.

Dickie Gaines benefitted from the redraw, claiming the pole position for the feature. That, sad to say, would be his highlight of the race. In turn three of the first lap, Dickie slid in front of C.J. Leary, who couldn’t avoid tapping Gaines. He spun in front of the field. Somehow the gang missed Dickie, who had a good view of oncoming traffic.

On the re-start Leary took the lead for a lap before Bacon took over. It was tempting to think that Bacon would waltz all the way to the end. But Leary wouldn’t go away. Not only that but Nick Bilbee had made his way to third on the seventh lap after starting seventh. After clearing traffic, Bilbee was closing on the leaders, who run most of the USAC schedule.

Lapped traffic began to play a role midway through the 25-lapper. The proverbial blanket was unrolled to cover the top three of Bacon, Leary and Bilbee. The high-speed dance was slowed by a lap 21 yellow, brought out when Gaines did a half spin and collected fourth place Jarett Andretti, who kept going. Dickie’s race ended because this was his second spin.

The stage was set for a four-lap trophy dash. My memory of the trophy dash was four cars running four laps and the winner got a trophy. No more. But this re-start would be tense. Bilbee, the fly in the ointment, was quite capable of winning this race. He didn’t but Bacon knew he was there. The Oklahoma native ran four textbook Lawrenceburg laps and he had to because Bilbee was right there at the end.

Behind the Brady and Nick Show was Andretti. Leary was slowed at the end with what may have been a wounded engine and barely edged Kody Swanson for fourth. The second five was Jackson, Garrett Abrams, Moffatt, Westerfeld and Main. Abrams advanced from 16^th to seventh and was the Grasshopper &63 Hard Charger.

One could have predicted that Bacon would have won this race, but maybe just as important was how he won. If anyone thought Bacon should have coasted to victory, the race certainly didn’t play out that way. It reminded me of the saying, “It’s not just what you say; it’s how you say it.” The race proved to me why I battle the obstacles to visit the tracks here in Indiana most every weekend from April to October.

Trying to eradicate hate speech with love speech, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Kevin Briscoe Line

It wasn’t that many years ago (was it?) that the familiar white number five roamed the high banks of the Bloomington Speedway. It was driven by a young man with uncommon talent, a guy who could have taken a different path that might have made him more famous than what he was. But he chose to stay close to home for the most part. He left a legacy of excellence on the track along with dignity and respect off the track. But he simply owned the cushion that has been a trademark at Bloomington for decades. And on a very warm, humid Indiana evening, Jordan Kinser spent most of the feature riding the same cushion that Mr. Briscoe, among others, occupied for so many years. It paid off as Kinser rebuffed all challenges to win the 25-lap feature on the red clay oval.

Cushion or no cushion, it was quite warm. Track prep guru Henry Bryant surely added a large amount of water to the oval and, once again, he came up with a racing surface that yielded a multi-groove track. Eighteen 410 sprints and twenty-one 305 Racesavers took up much of the space in the pits. Anton Hernandez was the only driver racing in both classes.

Jordan Kinser got his night off to a good start as he won his heat. Brandon Morin passed Dakota Jackson early and hung on to second. Jackson was third, leading Levi Underwood and Braxton Cummings to the checkered. Flagman Rusty Nunn was smacked with a flying object during this heat. It was about the 150^th object to hit Rusty in all the years he’s been flagging.

Chad Boespflug was in the Pottorff car again and won the second heat from the pole. Jeff Bland was second. Jarett Andretti took third. Josh Cunningham was fourth, ahead of Jason McDougal, from Broken Arrow, Olkahoma, again in the Krockenberger car.

Daylan Chambers won the third heat. Jaden Rogers was second. Anton Hernandez started and finished third. Kevin Nanney and Harley Burns were fourth and fifth.

Here came the Racesavers, often exceeding the non-wings’ car count. Twenty-one cars would run three heats.

Things got dicey quickly in the first heat when Coleman Chasteen spun in front of the field in turn four on the first lap. Somehow everyone missed him. Despite stumbling on a re-start, Chris Babcock recovered to take the lead and back and win with Jeff Wimmenauer second. Ryan Tusing took the bronze medal.

John Paynter Jr. came from fifth to win the second heat. Andy Bradley came from sixth to finish second. Terry Arthur was third.

Anton Hernandez hasn’t been in Indiana long enough to be called a Hoosier, but he took a step in the right direction as he won the third heat. Ethan Barrow came from sixth to grab second. Kerry Kinser crossed the line third.

The scheduled fireworks would have to hold off as there was plenty of daylight left at 8:53 p.m. Plan B was to run the sprint feature first. It would begin with the familiar low rumble of a collection of V-8 engines, the kind that one seldom hears when driving down the road these days.

Kinser and Boespflug, along with sixteen of their partners in “crime,” saw Rusty’s green flag and took off. Kinser took the early lead as Chambers took second away from Boespflug for the first lap. But Chad took it back the next lap. On the move was Jeff Bland. From fifth he advanced to second by the eighth lap. But Kinser missed all this as he extended his lead to a straightaway and began encountering lapped traffic.

Kinser’s lead went away on the 16^th lap when Chambers coasted to a stop and brought out a yellow. Kinser and Bland led Boespflug, Andretti, Jackson, Rogers, Underwood, Cunningham, McDougal and Morin. Two laps later, Jackson made an unscheduled trip over the turn one bank, bringing out another yellow. The biggest gain in that short interval was made by McDougal, the latest in a long line of young people who have pulled up stakes elsewhere and come to Indiana. He hustled from ninth to sixth.

For this segment, Kinser had trouble escaping Bland’s claws. Jeff saw that the cushion was working well for the leader and was able to stay with him using the same groove. But passing would be a challenge. It wasn’t happening, at least not until a lap 24 yellow for Braxton Cummings brought out a late yellow. This created a one lap dash (I cringe at using the word shootout, being a retired postal worker).

Bland’s best option would be to hang with the leader at the green and in turns one and two, then try a slider in turn three. He had a real chance at this until turn two, when he slipped over the bank and several cars passed him up. Kinser won fairly easily and Jaden Rogers sneaked his way to an impressive second place finish, the best race I’ve seen him run. Boespflug was third with Andretti advancing from eighth at the start to fourth. Lee Underwood came from tenth to take fifth. Morin fell back to as low as tenth but came back to finish sixth. Buddy Cunningham’s son Josh came from 11^th to take seventh. Chambers recovered from his misfortune to annex eighth while Jackson recovered from his own miscue to take ninth. Hernandez was the tenth to see the checkered.

Before my chauffeur Mr. Foist was ready to escape, we hung around for the Racesavers’ feature. Terry Arthur started on the pole and took the lead. Chris Babcock took it away on lap six. He had only a lap to enjoy the front before Ryan Tusing came calling after starting seventh.

From there, Tusing had the field covered until lapped traffic came into play near the end. As laps wound down, Anton Hernandez (remember him?) had charged to second and was closing on the leader when the checkered waved. John Paynter Jr. quietly moved from eighth to third. Ethan Barrow came from 12^th to finish fourth after looking like he would finish even higher before faltering. Jeff Wimmenauer was fifth after beginning the race tenth. Chris Babcock faded a bit to sixth. Scott and Andy Bradley were next. Arthur struggled as the race went on and ended up ninth. And Hot Rod Henning rounded out the top ten.

It was 9:44 and getting dark. Two aging gentlemen agreed that it was time to go home. They had both seen plenty of fireworks displays over the years at various Hoosier bullrings. They were sure that this one would be nice, but they had been out in the heat long enough.

Off they went, 40 miles east on one of Indiana’s curviest roads. But each curve was negotiated easily. All the chauffeur had to do was keep riding the cushion. After all, it worked for Jordan Kinser and Ryan Tusing pretty well. No doubt Kevin Briscoe would smile in approval.

Explaining to my non-racing friends what a cushion is, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Living History

History nerd that I am, it’s always a treat when people realize its importance. This isn’t confined to American history, my area of prime interest. Thankfully, there are plenty of people involved in racing who are quite aware of the significance of history. With that in mind, the Kokomo Speedway began remembering Bob Darland several years ago with a program contested in his honor and memory. Given the man’s reputation and accomplishments, racers regard a victory in this race more special than most. The winner’s share, $3 thousand, is an incentive of course, but the prestige means as much and maybe more. On a cool Sunday evening at the Kokomo Speedway, Chris Windom stood in the Bryan Clauson Victory Lane, surrounded by the Darland family including his rival Dave Darland, with Windom holding the trophy and accepting the congratulations for his first Bob Darland Memorial victory.

The trip north was uneventful, slowed only by the obligatory road construction, a Hoosier tradition. This was on Keystone Avenue, just north of I-465. Fortunately, the delay was relatively brief.

I was pleasantly surprised to find thirty sprints on the O’Connor family’s turf with a talented group of USAC regulars part of the crowd. My unofficial count of feature winners, USAC and otherwise, was at least half of the group.

I sat on the backstretch for the heats and the B. The boisterous and good-natured group was mighty happy after the hometown favorite, Mr. Darland, won the first heat. His margin over second place Clinton Boyles would have been quite a long walk for some folks. Isaac Chapple was third and Jarett Andretti took fourth. Kody Swanson hung on to take the last chair for the show with Critter Malone leading a group to the B.

Pole sitter Shane Cottle led all the way to win the second heat. Robert Ballou took second and C. J. Leary, in Mr. S. Pedersen's pride and joy, was third. Mario Clouser held on for fourth and Colten Cottle sneaked into the last transfer slot. Ted Hines led the others to the B.

Kevin Thomas Jr. won the third heat over Chris Windom. Brent Beauchamp, in a relatively rare Kokomo appearance, started and finished third. Pole sitter Thomas Meseraull was fourth. Dakota Jackson was fifth over a closing Josh Hodges, who headed to the B Main.

The B main lineup would produce five more players for the feature. Malone led the first half of the race before Hodges took over. The young New Mexican won with Critter taking second, ahead of the ageless Mr. Hines. Tyler Hewitt was fourth, edging Tony Dimattia. There were more than five good cars in this race. Sure enough, a few of them were done, including Chet Williams, Dallas Hewitt and recent Lawrenceburg winner Garrett Abrams.

Sunshine was still part of the setting as the green flag waved at 8:37 p.m. S. Cottle and K. Thomas led eighteen other racers to the line and Cottle took the early lead with the Phillips-Daigh Special and Mr. Thomas close behind. Ballou and Windom made sure the front runners didn’t get too far away. Thomas temporarily lost second to Ballou but recovered a lap later. And a lap after that, as C.J. Leary headed to the infield, KT got around Mr. C. for the lead on the fifth lap.

Thomas was looking quite strong and it may have appeared that no one would have anything for the Alabama native. Behind him, somewhere around the ten-lap mark, a classic Kokomo battle broke out among Cottle, Ballou and Windom, with Windom emerging with second place. At this point, Thomas had an impressive lead by Kokomo standards. But a new challenge was pending for the leaders, that being lapped traffic.

Windom closed the gap and was knocking on the door. Just past Brian Hodde’s crossed flags, on lap 16, Windom caught and passed Thomas for the lead. One might think that he would have driven away, but it didn’t happen. Indeed, Thomas stayed close and made it interesting. And if a two-way battle wasn’t good enough for those with demanding expectations, Ballou was also part of the mix. Thomas might have been busy pressuring Windom, but KT couldn’t afford to let up with the Madman on his tail.

As the checkered flag waved, the top three finishers were on the main straightaway. Dave Darland has won this race honoring his father twice; this evening he would be fourth. S. Cottle faded a little and ended up with a fifth. Beauchamp surely enjoyed his rare Kokomo visit as he took sixth. Andretti, racing with a burden that no one should wish on anyone else, was seventh. Chapple was eighth and Boyles brought a ninth-place finish back to Paul Hazen. Swanson was tenth.

Tyler Hewitt’s heat race didn’t proceed according to plan as he made the feature through the B. He salvaged hard charger honors as he motored from 19^th to 11^th.

Windom was outnumbered by Darlands, but for the moment he was an unofficial member of the Darland family. Maybe Bob Darland would have liked that, at least appreciating that true racers had done their best in his memory.

The race was all-green and was over in about seven minutes. The sun was still shining as I left the home away from home and headed south, arriving home at 11:00.

Looking in vain for the Tallahassee Trail, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Catch ‘em if You Can

Carson Short missed a decent race Saturday night. It wasn’t his fault, nor did he do anything wrong. On the contrary, he did everything right as he started on the pole and led all 25 laps of the feature on a cool night at the Lincoln Park Speedway. Short has been on a roll lately. This was his third consecutive feature win. It came on a night when the stars and the weather converged on the Putnam County bullring.

Upon signing in, who did I see but a smiling Joe Spiker? I distinctly heard him say that there were 49 sprints and 130 cars total in the crowded pits. This may have been the most since the Patriot 100 several years ago. Of note was Chad Boespflug in the Pottorff machine that has taken Brady Short to many a victory lane the past few years. A new combination of the Krockenberger family and Oklahoma's Jason McDougal was on the scene. After his impressive showing during Midget Week, expectations would ideally be reasonable. With every other track in the area rained out or taking the night off, one could have guessed that there would be a large number of cars. But 49? Yowsa.

Koby Barksdale led all the way to win the first heat, but Landon Simon made him earn it. Dakota Jackson came from the back to worry Simon, even though he was headed to one of the Bs.

Pole sitter Colten Cottle held off Brandon Mattox to win the second heat. Evan Mosley led the others to the B.  Brady Ottinger spun early and collected Chad Boespflug and just like that, Boespflug’s night became a lot more challenging.

A. J. Hopkins patiently waited for an opportunity to make a pass for the lead in the third heat, which he did on the last lap. The "victim" was Jaden Rogers, who made the feature anyway. Brandon Morin led the rest to the B. This was the race interrupted by the rain. It began around 7:30 and quit ten minutes later. The track was race ready at 8:05. The rain was the proverbial blip on the radar.

Patience may have paid off as well for Mario Clouser, who followed Shelby VanGilder for six laps before taking the lead on the white flag lap of the fourth heat. Tim Creech II was a close third.

Carson Short led all the way to win the fifth heat. Josh Hodges was a strong second.  J. J. Hughes came from last/eighth to finish third and secure a decent starting spot for his B main.

The sixth heat (rare for me to write "sixth heat") had a pair of twenty-fours on the front row. One of them, Shane Cockrum, won with Jeff Bland working his way around Nate McMillen, the other twenty-four, to take second.

I can't remember the last time I was at a race that had three Bs. Doesn't happen much for sure. Dakota Jackson had his hands full with Tim Creech II harassing him for all twelve laps of the first last chance race. Those two transferred, as did Tony Dimattia, who grabbed the third and last spot after starting eighth.

The caution plagued second B was won by J. J. Hughes with Pat Giddens second. Chad Boespflug raced hard after starting ninth and received some well-timed yellows to finish third.

The third B also had a case of yellow fever. Pole sitter Brandon Morin missed a lot of good racin' behind him as Garrett Aitken took over second place late in the race. Thomas Meseraull held off a charging Chris Phillips to take the 21st starting position in the feature.

Four of the top six starters in the feature were from neighboring Illinois, with two of them, Short and Cockrum, in the front row. Short took the lead as Brian Hodde waved the green flag for about the one hundredth time of the night. Another Illini, Colten Cottle, got around Cockrum to occupy second, It was somewhat interesting to note that the top two were Short and Cottle and it wasn’t Brady Short or Shane Cottle, but Carson and Colten.

In the early laps, Hopkins advanced to third behind Cottle. After his encounter with Cottle two weeks ago, Hopkins seemed to make sure that there wouldn’t be a repeat of that. He gave plenty of room to the second-place runner, but the top line didn’t seem to be working too well.

The race’s only yellow waved on the 12^th lap. Coming out of turn four, it appeared that Landon Simon was tapped by Garrett Aitken. Simon spun and kept going. Somehow everyone missed him. But Landon tangled with Dakota Jackson in turn one, ending his race. Jackson continued. The order was Short, Cottle, Hopkins, Cockrum, Mattox, Barksdale, Bland, Clouser, Hodges and Aitken.

Mattox began to assert himself, using the same middle groove he used a couple of weeks ago to great effect. After starting eighth, he had quietly made his way into the top five. Under attack by Bland, Mattox pulled away and passed Cockrum on the 18^th lap. He wasn’t done. Hopkins finally made the top groove work and passed Cottle, who was passed by Mattox a lap later. Mattox challenged Hopkins for second in the waning laps but couldn’t quite close the deal. It didn’t help that A.J. dropped to the middle of the turns, taking away Brandon’s preferred line.

Short missed all this but it’s doubtful that he minded. He cruised to victory by a half straightaway over Hopkins. Mattox was third and Cockrum was a steady fourth. Cottle faded just a bit to fifth. Bland came from 12^th to sixth. Hodges was seventh after starting 11^th. Aitken was eighth. Boespflug was by far the hard charger, moving from 20^th to ninth. Barksdale completed the top ten.

To everyone’s credit, the sprint feature checkered at 10:55. Despite the 130 cars jamming Joe Spiker’s palatial estate, all the extra races due to the car count, and the half hour delay for the briefest of showers, the program kept moving.

This one is for two people who have recently taken life’s checkered flag. One is Nancy Hetser, who passed away two weeks ago. Nancy and her husband Dan were frequent visitors at various Hoosier bullrings. May God comfort Dan and his children, including son Trent. The other is World of Outlaws competitor Jason Johnson, who died after a racing accident on Saturday night.

Unlocking the ethics watchdogs’ doghouse, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Contrition and Forgiveness

By all accounts, A.J. Hopkins should have been joyful as he stood at the start/finish line accepting the trophy. But he was apologetic and remorseful, not pleased with himself. Hopkins won the feature at the Lincoln Park Speedway, but it was clouded as A.J. slid into race leader Colten Cottle late in the event, knocking Cottle out of the lead and the race.

Despite, rain, the threat of rain, detours, more than usual traffic and a gas stop, I entered beautiful downtown Putnamville, Indiana in plenty of time to see what was going on. The rain had already visited Lincoln Park but the track was ready when hot laps began at 6:45. I had retreated to the little Chevy truck to learn something from my friend William Faulkner. But when I heard that sound of 410 c. I. engines on the track, I told Mr. Faulkner that I'd be back.

Twenty-two sprint cars were among eighty-nine cars in the pits. Of note was Eric Burns, a past champ at LPS and counting his son Harley as one of his competitors.

The rain may have hurt the car count as well as the bleacher count, but the show would go on. The Anthem was played while the water truck added some Putnam County liquid to the track at 7:25.

With A. J. Hopkins on the pole of the first heat, betting on him was easy. He won the caution plagued event over Colten Cottle. Tim Creech II was third, leading Joe Ligouri to the line. Harley Burns was fifth on what had become a very slick surface.

The second heat had two number twenty-fours and two number seventy-sevens, a potential headache for a new fan. It just so happened that the twenty-four cars ran first and second. Nate McMillen held off Shane Cockrum to take the win. Hunter O'Neal, driving one of the seventy-sevens, was third. Matt McDonald came from last to finish fourth. Eric Burns, the other track champ in this heat along with Cockrum, was fifth.

After Dakota Jackson was rained out at an Illinois race, he was a late arrival. With no practice, Jackson won a close one over Brent Beauchamp. Pole sitter Kent Christian was third. School teacher Shelby Van Gilder took fourth. Brady Ottinger was fifth.

All twenty-two cars advanced to the feature.

After the Super Stock heats and before the four Bomber heats, the track was reworked on the very top side in all four turns. For the sprint feature, most of the gang opted for the very high side, above the cushion. There wasn’t a lot of passing and slide jobs were the only semi-reliable weapon that people had to pass someone. But it wasn’t a bad race. There were some notable errors made, but it was a slicker than normal surface.

Cottle and Jackson were the front row and Cottle took the lead when Brian Hodde waved the green flag at 9:40 p.m. Hopkins passed Jackson on the second lap to settle in behind Cottle. Two laps later Beauchamp also passed the young man from the same county that has produced racers such as Bobby Black, Derek Scheffel and T. Stewart.

Travis Berryhill spun on the eighth lap to bring out the first yellow. McMillen had passed Jackson for fourth. Not much changed up front by the time the second slowdown period came on lap fourteen when Patrick Lee, from Greentown (east of Kokomo), spun in turn two. The prime suspects were Cottle, Hopkins, Beauchamp, McMillen, Jackson, Cockrum, O’Neal, Christian, Creech and Ligouri.

On the re-start, Beauchamp passed Hopkins, but A.J. made sure it didn’t last, returning the favor a lap later. Jackson and Cockrum got around McMillen, but that, too, didn’t last. After Hopkins passed Beauchamp to regain second, he set his sights on the leader. Then came the defining moment of the race.

On the twenty-first lap, Hopkins tried a banzai slider on Cottle going into turn three. It didn’t work. Cottle was sent skidding over the cushion and for an instant looked like he was going to hit one of the billboards and/or flip. After leading every lap, Cottle’s night was done.

The rest of the race was almost anti-climatic as Hopkins took the green and was never threatened for the last four laps. To be fair, there was some intense racing a bit further back. McMillen came on strong at the end, coming from fifth at the last re-start to pass Jackson for second at the finish line. Cockrum was fourth. Behind the Chief was the veteran, Kent Christian, who was fifth after starting ninth. Creech was sixth, trailed by Ligouri. Beauchamp faded to eighth with O’Neal and McDonald completing the top ten.

After the race, Hopkins was remorseful, subdued and sorry for the incident which he admitted was his fault. It happens. Even the best racers make errors, mistakes, boo-boos, etc. Hey, it happens. Hopkins’ words and body language indicated a young man who was contrite. Hopefully, he can be forgiven and all concerned move on.

After pulling weeds in the sun for an hour on Friday, I sat out both Bloomington (305 Racesaver feature won by Luke Bland) and Gas City (feature won by Clinton Boyles after a lengthy rain delay). Haubstadt was rained out and so was Kokomo on Sunday. We needed the rain but not on the weekend.

Thankful that there is no tariff on open wheel racing, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: KT Wins the Battle; SB Wins the War

The Kokomo Speedway was the scene of the last act of the extravaganza known as Indiana Midget Week. Kevin Thomas won the feature and Spencer Bayston won the IMW points and, for good measure, took the points lead in the USAC P1 Insurance National Midget Championship points. Both gentlemen were no doubt exhausted but also elated that it had been a memorable and successful week.

There was no rain, no heat and no support classes at Kokomo on Sunday. My fellow traveler and I ambled through the pits and eventually discovered twenty-nine USAC P1 Midgets and twenty-one sprints. Add to that several comments directed at my navigator such as, “Wow, have you grown!”

The temperatures were ideal, but the relentless northern Indiana wind made track prep a real challenge for Reece O’Connor and crew. It didn’t slow much after the sun went down and this was one of the colder June races I’ve attended.

Rico Abreu has the track record at Kokomo for a Midget car and he was the fastest qualifier, even though his 13.503 was a bit slower than his record of 13.009. Sixteen of the twenty-nine qualifiers were under fourteen seconds.

Tucker Klaasmeyer came from third to win the first heat. Pole sitter Alex Bright was second. Holly Shelton was third and Jason McDougal took the last spot for the feature. Sam Johnson brought out the red flag after a series of violent flips in turn two. He climbed out of the car and returned later to run the B and the A. Abreu headed to the B.

Justin Grant won the second heat, missing the mini-war behind him. Tyler Carrick took second and Kevin Thomas Jr. was third. Ryan Robinson engaged in a wheel banging, slide jobbing battle with former teammate Tanner Thorson through most of the heat. Robinson scooted to fourth and Thorson nearly spun, which left him looking at the B.

Brady Bacon won the third heat over Lincoln Park winner Chad Boat. Spencer Bayston was third and Logan Seavey passed Chase Jones midway through the race to take fourth and send Jones to the last chance dance.

Tyler Courtney made a strong statement as he swept from fifth place to the lead on the first lap of the fourth heat. Second by a wide margin was Tyler Thomas. Zeb Wise took third and Brayton Lynch hung onto fourth after starting on the pole. Jerry Coons Jr. added the B Main to his list of things to do.

Rico Abreu started on the pole for the B and led one lap before pulling into the infield with a sick sounding engine. Thorson took the lead and won by the length of a couple of battleships. Justin Dickerson finished second. Coons, Jones, Tyler Nelson and Johnson all added their names to the starting lineup.

Sprints

Justin Grant won the first of three heats, outrunning Chris Windom. Kody Swanson was third. Jarett Andretti started and finished fourth. Thomas Meseraull overcame a spin to come back to finish fifth.

Brian Karrakher led all the way to win the second heat with Tyler Hewitt edging Shane Cottle for second place. Kevin Studley and Bryar Schroeder trailed.

Pole sitter Isaac Chapple easily took the third heat with C. J. Leary second. RJ Johnson finished third and Tony Dimattia grabbed fourth. Charles Davis Jr. brought it home fifth.

After the re-draw Cottle and Grant found themselves on the front row for the twenty-five lap feature. The California import took the lead at the outset, but Chris Windom was on the move. From sixth he hustled to third after the first lap before passing Grant for the lead two laps later. The pass had been made but Grant refused to go away, hanging close. In addition, Leary and Cottle were engaged in a battle for third as they both chased the leaders. As the later laps clicked off Cottle made the pass for third.

Windom and Grant led Cottle, Leary (in the Pederson’s Open Trailer Special-a name I just made up), K. Thomas, Andretti, Johnson, Clinton Boyles (from sixteenth), Brent Beauchamp (from eighteenth) and Meseraull.

KT’s run may have been the most impressive of all. After dropping out of his heat, he was relegated to the back of the pack, twentieth. Thomas made his way to fifth at the end. His night would get even better several minutes later.

Midget Feature

Speaking of Mr. Thomas, he and Mr. Courtney were the front row. The track surface was simply worn out from the dry air, the wind and the pounding of several dozen race cars over dozens of laps. But somehow, these guys (and one gal) made it work. Few opted to race in the middle; most worked the bottom of the track while a brave few rode the Jack Hewitt/Dave Darland line around the wall. Courtney jumped into the lead at the start as Thomas had a slight bobble with first Bayston hounding him.

The first yellow waved on the seventh lap and it could be hoped that Courtney was enjoying the lead. K. Thomas, McDougal, Wise, Bayston, Seavey, Grant, Klaasmeyer, Thorson and Bacon were the top ten.

Chad Boat had been forced to bring out a backup car and started last/twenty-second. On this first re-start, he was already fourteenth.

Another yellow waved a lap later for Wise and Bayston, who collided and found themselves in the work area with one flat tire each. Both returned to race some more. Boat was busy during the short green  flag period. With two ahead of him pitting, now the Arizona native was tenth.

The race resumed and Courtney went to the bottom which had served him well. But K. Thomas was flying high up by the wall and it was working. He took the lead at the line on the eleventh lap. But this baby was far from over. KT may have kept his lead, but the action wasn’t far behind him.

Robinson flipped on the thirteenth lap in turn four. He re-started the race after a quick trip to the work area. This re-start saw K. Thomas leading McDougal, Courtney, Grant, Seavey, Klaasmeyer, Thorson, Boat, Bacon and T. Thomas. Grant passed Courtney after the green. Seavey tried some wild and crazy sliders. And Brian Hodde had to reach for his least favorite flag, the red, again on lap twenty-five.

The lineup and the IMW point standings experienced a major shuffling when Grant flipped in turn two. He collected Courtney and Thorson in the process. Sunshine’s chances at taking the IMW points title were cloudy at best. Grant and Thorson re-started.

There were still five laps to run. K. Thomas had been strong, but this was Kokomo and the guys behind him weren’t inclined to let him coast to the checkered. This was especially true of Bayston, who had roared back into the top five after his shunt that sent him to the tail spot early on. In the last segment he went from fourth to second, inspiring the usual question of could he have caught the leader.

K. Thomas and Bayston were joined by Seavey on the podium. McDougal was fourth at the end and made sure that more people knew of him now than before. T. Thomas came on strong in the last half of the race to finish fifth after starting tenth. Bacon came from thirteenth to take sixth. Wise came from the tail spot early to grab seventh. Klaasmeyer was eighth and Boat’s charge to the front from the rear stalled at ninth, still not too shabby. He was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger. Shelton ended her otherwise frustrating IMW with a tenth. All of them had an eventful race and week.

Bayston ended up the IMW champ by twelve points over Courtney with Boat eight more points behind.

One can hope that Gas City and Bloomington can get their IMW dates re-scheduled. Rainouts are always disappointing and when bigger events get rained out, the disappointment compounds.

My navigator, having collected autographs from Grant and KT, conked out on me before we reached the midpoint of Tipton County. He was up on Monday playing with his collection of sprint cars, most purchased the past few years at Lincoln Park.

Excited to learn that flossing is also a dance, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Not To Be Denied

It seemed to be inevitable that Spencer Bayston would eventually step up and obtain a result that reflected his ability. Sure enough, he did just that at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on Saturday night, marching from his sixth starting spot to the lead on the twenty-second lap and surviving a late threat from Tanner Thorson to win the USAC Midget feature on the next to last night of Indiana Midget Week. It was Bayston’s first USAC feature win this year.

Kevin Thomas Jr. made it three for three as he won the sprint car feature.

It was no shock to see twenty-four USAC Midgets signed in at the ‘burg. It was a surprise that thirty sprints had invaded Dave Rudisell’s playpen. Logan Seavey joined Brady Bacon and Kevin Thomas Jr. in racing both a sprint and midget for the night. Seavey was in the Chase Briscoe family car. Bacon was in a Hoffman Racing car number 69OT in memory of the Old Timer, Mr. Gus Hoffman.

Bayston was also the quickest qualifier, going out first to hustle around the three-eights mile high banked oval in 14.511 seconds. For some, the track may have slowed, but Tanner Thorson went out twenty-third to rip off a 14.667, seventh quick.

Rico Abreu, who has not enjoyed the IMW success he’s had in the past, won the first heat. Zeb Wise was second. Thorson was third and Tyler Carrick finished fourth. It took him six laps, but Bayston passed KKM teammate Holly Shelton to take fifth.

Ryan Robinson led all the way to win the second heat. Tucker Klaasmeyer, pole sitter, was second. K. Thomas Jr. was third. Lincoln Park winner Chad Boat took fourth. Logan Seavey ended up fifth.

The third and final midget heat was won by Tyler Thomas. Another Tyler, Courtney, was second. Bacon took third ahead of Matt Moore. Courtney’s teammate Justin Grant was fifth.

There would be no B Main.

Sprints

There were four sprint heats with the top four not having to run the B Main. K. Thomas Jr., winner of the last two sprint features that have accompanied IMW, won the first heat. Nick Bilbee came from the back row to take second. The most recent Lawrenceburg winner, Garrett Abrams, was third. A past L’burg points champ, Jarett Andretti, was fourth. Logan Seavey and another Lawrenceburg Champion, Dickie Gaines, went to the B.

Brady Bacon came from the last row to take the lead in three laps and coasted to the second heat win. Arizona’s RJ Johnson was second. The ageless Mike Miller finished third. Another racer from the Cactus State, Charles Davis Jr., was fourth. Michael Fischesser, Clinton Boyles and Justin Owen all prepared for the B.

Pole sitter Dallas Hewitt won the third heat. His front row mate Jordan Kinser was second. Joss Moffatt took third and Isaac Chapple grabbed the last available spot. Another track champ, Shawn Westerfeld, J.J. Hughes and Stevie Sussex all would have to race their way into the show via the B.

C.J. Leary made his way from fifth to win the fourth heat over Thomas Meseraull. Pole sitter Kody Swanson was third. Matt Westfall came from last to finish fourth. Tony Dimattia was among some more people going to the B.

The last chance affair had its share of drama, along with more than four cars with a good shot at finishing in the top four. Seavey took the lead and led until his engine began emitting smoke with eight laps completed. The yellow waved for both Seavey and Tony McVey, who stopped in turn three. Hughes assumed the lead, but Boyles had other ideas. He got around J.J. a lap after the re-start and won the B main. Hughes was second and Fischesser took third. Gaines was flagged fourth but was penalized for running over the cone placed in turn four on the re-start. Dickie’s place in the feature was taken by Dimattia.

Kinser and K. Thomas led eighteen fellow escapees to look for Tim Montgomery’s green flag. Thomas grabbed the lead with Kinser in tow, but Nick Bilbee was on his way. He passed Kinser for second on the third lap. But soon Nick had bigger problems than Mr. Kinser. Brady Bacon was on the way to the front. But by the time Bacon had taken over second, Thomas had built a straightaway lead.

Bacon needed a yellow if he was going to have a chance at the lead. He got it when Fischesser spun in turn three on lap fourteen. The prime suspects were Thomas, Bacon, Leary, Bilbee, Kinser, Meseraull, Andretti, Hewitt, Abrams and Chappell. Here was Bacon’s opportunity.

It wasn’t happening. KT pulled away on the re-start and was never challenged. Behind him there were some real racin’, ‘burg style. After twenty-five laps, Thomas led Bacon, Leary, Meseraull, Andretti, Bilbee, Abrams, Kinser, Hewitt and Moffatt. Andretti was the Grasshopper $63 Hard Charger award in memory of Bryan Clauson recipient after advancing from thirteenth to fifth.

Midget Feature

Courtney and Seavey were the front row at the start and Seavey promptly dropped back when he bobbled on the first lap. Thorson bounced to a stop in turn two of the initial lap. He re-started on the tail and would return…to the front, that is.  Courtney had the lead and was still leading when Mitchell spun on the eleventh lap. On the re-start third place Carrick had a brush or two with the wall but kept going.

The re-start order was Courtney, Grant, Carrick, Bayston, Boat, K. Thomas, Bacon, Seavey, Wise and McDougal. Sunshine couldn’t pull away from these guys and in the middle part of the race a four-way battle royal was on with Courtney, Grant, Boat and Bayston the players. Boat religiously stuck to the bottom line while the others favored the top for the most part. Thorson entered the top ten midway through the race. He was far from done.

Bayston caught and passed Courtney for the lead on the twenty-second lap. Lapped traffic was beginning to come into play but the red waved on the same lap. Grant flipped in turn two up by the wall. He was out of his car and out of the race.

Bayston had a clear track ahead of him and it looked to be comparatively easy for him to roll to victory. Lap twenty-five saw another red flag wave for Zane Hendricks, who flipped on the backstretch. He walked away from the wrecked car. Bayston wasn’t home free. He led Courtney, Boat and now Thorson, who was racing like a man possessed.

Sure enough, on the re-start Thorson got around Boat and Courtney on the first lap and was knocking on Bayston’s door. He was all over Bayston but a slight bobble coming out of turn two on the last lap hurt his chances. The margin of victory was 0.664 seconds. Thorson had re-started the race early from twenty-third and roared through the field to come up just short.

Taking the final spot on the podium was Boat, followed by Carrick and Bacon. Abreu was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, moving from sixteenth to seventh. T. Thomas, Seavey and K. Thomas made up the rest of the top ten.

Bayston had been knocking on the door of victory all year. This time it opened as if it was inevitable.

The gang does it one more time to put on another great race at the Kokomo Speedway.

Still waiting to see Du Quoin appear on the Indy Car schedule, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Goliath, Say Hello to…

A favorite Bible story is the one concerning some punk kid who was a mere shepherd but was willing to step up and take on a giant of a man, armed with a slingshot and a deadly aim. If one looks at the situation from a certain angle, there are parallels in the Bible story and the unlikely triumph of Chad Boat over the multi-car teams that dominate USAC’s Midget Division in these times. It isn’t that the second-generation racer and his team are chronically underfunded; the correct observation might be that Chad and his dad Billy have the resources but are simply outnumbered by the teams with three or more cars. Nevertheless, their victory at the Lincoln Park Speedway on Thursday was, if not an upset, a significant surprise.

After Boat’s win, Kevin Thomas Jr. won the sprint feature.

Thirty-two USAC Midgets were among the eighty-four cars on Joe Spiker’s playground on a cloudy evening where the threat of rain was constant. Thirty-three sprints signed in, the first time I can remember the sprints outnumbering the headliners in the existence of Indiana Midget Week.

In the house as a spectator was Hall of Famer (in mine for sure) Jon Stanbrough, accompanied by his wife and infant girl. The guy who is alleged to hardly ever smile was smiling to be sure as he is racing occasionally this year before hanging it up.

Again, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Brady Bacon were the only racers doing double duty.

KT set a new track record with a 12.535 lap. He was the third to qualify and it was easy to assume that the track went away for later qualifiers. But Chad Boat, who was last to qualify, didn’t get the memo, or else wasn’t buying it as his 12.779 lap was sixth quick. That should have been a sign that the kid from Phoenix was going to be tough.

Holly Shelton started on the outside front row, led all the way, and held off a charging Kevin Thomas Jr. to win the first heat. Spencer Bayston was third and Jerry Coons Jr. took fourth place, sending Brady Bacon, among others, to the B.

Logan Seavey ran away with the second heat, beating one of his teammates, Tucker Klaasmeyer. Ryan Robinson overcame a post qualifying penalty and came from last to third. Chad Boat took the last ticket, leaving Tyler Carrick to race his way in via the B.

For the time being, people were using the middle and bottom of the 5/16-mile oval. Brayton Lynch used it to perfection in winning the third heat. Behind him was a terrific scrap between Alex Bright and Justin Grant, with Bright prevailing to take second. Zeb Wise finished fourth.

The fourth heat was halted when Hudson O’Neal, a true dirt late model ace, bounced off the cushion and flipped in turn three. Hudson walked away from the wreck, done for the night. Tanner Thorson won the race, which ended with a green/white/checkered flag sequence after the lap eight red flag. Tyler Courtney, like the winner, came from the third row and finished second. Rico Abreu was third and Zane Hendricks was fourth, ensuring that Tyler Thomas joined the crowd that would be in the last chance fandango.

Bacon started on the pole and won the B Main. Behind him was the Gunfight at the Spiker Corral. Teammates Matt Moore and Jason McDougal emerged ahead of Ethan Mitchell, Tyler Carrick and Sam Johnson. Tyler Thomas and Jake Neuman burned provisionals.

Sprints

Announcer Brad Dickison was correct as usual. When the sprints came out to play, the cars seemed outsized compared to the top class on this evening. But they could race and race hard. It started with Kevin Thomas Jr. winning the first heat with Brandon Mattox second. These two would meet again later. Shane Cockrum was third and Arizona racer Charles Davis Jr. was fourth, making sure that Isaac Chapple and A.J. Hopkins went to the B.

Dave Darland started on the pole in Michael Dutcher’s machine and traded the lead with Jarett Andretti a couple of times before taking the second heat win over Andretti. Third was Chad Boespflug, in a one off in the Tony Epperson-owned sprinter. Tim Creech II was fourth. Thomas Meseraull spun, which put him in the B along with Dakota Jackson.

C.J. Leary, driving the Pedersen car, won the third heat after starting sixth. Pole sitter Colton Cottle was second. Tony Diamattia was third and Stevie Sussex was fourth. Justin Meneely fought the turn two cushion and lost, bouncing high in the air, landing hard, but not flipping. A red was waved for good measure. For this race, the top groove was popular.

RJ Johnson, getting used to Hoosier bullrings, won the fourth heat. Brady Bacon was second. Minnesota’s Rob Caho was third. Nate McMillen started and finished fourth. Shelby VanGilder hung onto a transfer position for most of the race, but found herself in the B. The same was true of homeboy J.J. Hughes.

Two sprint B’s were run. A.J. Hopkins nipped Isaac Chapple at the line to take the first consolation race; only the top two would move on. Thomas Meseraull traded the lead with J.J. Hughes a time or two before taking the second.

The track had avoided the rain that stayed north of Putnam County. Lightning flashed northeast of the track as the sprint feature lined up, immediately following the midget feature.

RJ Johnson and C.J. Leary led eighteen of their good friends to the green. The dreaded accordion affect came into play as the back of the field exited turn two. Dimattia and Sussex found themselves parked on the low side of the track while Chapple’s car was perched on Hopkins’ left front. All continued except Chapple.

The green waved again and Johnson charged into the lead, trailed by Darland. As soon as the third lap Mattox decided to play. He had found the proverbial sweet spot in the middle of each turn and was already third. Four laps were complete when Dimattia and Hughes had an unscheduled meeting on the backstretch, bringing out another yellow. JJ was done for the night.

This early rundown had Darland leading Mattox, Johnson, Leary, K. Thomas, Bacon, Andretti, Cockrum, C. Cottle and Hopkins, who had started seventeenth. Three laps after the green waved, the yellow waved again for Tim Creech II who stopped on the backstretch. Mattox had passed Darland but had to give it back.

On the re-start, Mattox took the lead from Darland and dearly wished to exploit that middle groove while others went either high or low. The red flag came out when the turn two cushion bit Johnson, who flipped. RJ climbed out of his car and walked away. Darland was no longer Mattox’s biggest threat. K. Thomas had taken second from Dave

 Yet another interruption came when Sussex flipped in turn two. He walked away, not happy with himself.  Behind Mattox, Thomas and Darland were Bacon, Leary, Andretti, Cockrum, Cottle, Meseraull and Davis.

K. Thomas had found his own sweet spot up on the cushion and it helped propel him to get around Mattox just past the halfway mark. The lightest of sprinkles began to fall, but that was about it for precipitation. As Thomas passed Mattox, Bacon passed Darland, who had an engine with a sick sound. A bit further back, Cockrum had his hands full with Andretti trying to find a line even lower than that which the Chief was running.

The last half of the race was caution-free as Thomas took the win over Mattox, who didn’t exactly fade away. Bacon was third and Darland, sick engine and all, held onto fourth. Leary was fifth. Cockrum was sixth and Andretti a close seventh. C. Cottle was eighth and TMez came from eighteenth to finish ninth. Arizona visitor Davis was tenth.

KT must be a strong perfectionist. After the race, he was pleased to have won, but not happy with his effort in the midget. I’m not totally convinced that was a bad thing. I’d guess that beating oneself up continually can work or not.

Midget Feature

Thorson and Boat started on the front row and what a battle they had from the beginning, interrupted by yellow flags. Ethan Mitchell spun on the third lap. K. Thomas was in the top five and spun in the third turn on the ninth lap. As noted, he was still upset with himself several minutes later. Thorson and Boat were trailed by Wise, Bacon, Courtney, Klaasmeyer, Bayston, Grant, Abreu and Sam Johnson.

Light sprinkles fell on the re-start, but not nearly enough to stop this show. However, an accordion effect back in the pack brought out the red. Hendricks got upside down with McDougal, K. Thomas, T. Thomas and Mitchell also involved. Boat was still chasing Thorson between these interruptions. Bacon created another when he spun on lap fourteen in turn three while running fifth.

Thorson had no way of knowing and would have scoffed at the idea, but his time as the leader was about to end. Soon after the re-start, he and Boat exchanged a series of slide jobs, dips and dives, you name it to offer fans a great interlude of prime cut and slash USAC Midget racing at its best. Boat finally took the lead on lap seventeen and would lead the rest of the way as Thorson faded.

As the laps wound down, Grant came calling on the leader. He made it close and Boat knew that Justin-or someone-was there. After Boat and Grant, Courtney was third. Wise was an impressive fourth. Thorson faded at the end, taking fifth place money. Bayston was sixth. Seavey came from seventeenth to finish seventh. Abreu was a quiet, for him, eighth. Robinson overcame his share of roadblocks to start twenty-second and come home ninth, earning the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger award. Coons was tenth.

Next stop, Bloomington. Maybe the Goliaths will prevail tonight (Friday).

Introducing my personal psychic to my favorite televangelist, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Witnessing Excellence

Over parts of seven decades spent going to races, I’ve been fortunate enough to see some racers who were considered to be the best. Names like Foyt, Andretti, Petty, Pearson, Earnhardt, Gordon, Stewart and Kinser come to mind. If things keep going the way they are, I may have to add another name to this list, namely Kyle Larson. Because on Tuesday night at the Montpelier Motor Speedway, all Larson did was qualify the quickest, win his heat and then win the thirty-lap feature in an impressive manner. After the race, he confessed to his love for driving different kinds of race cars. One likes to think that race cars of the open wheel variety are his favorites. For Larson and company, it was a great start to the 2018 version of USAC’s ever popular Indiana Midget Week.

Montpelier’s pits were occupied by thirty-six USAC Midgets, twenty-one sprint cars and twenty mods.  IMW seems to bring out some interesting participants. While the popular New Zealander Michael Pickens was MIA, his countryman Max Guilford was present. Argentinian Damian Lopez didn’t have a short trip either. (Folks, if needed, get out your maps and see how far these people came and appreciate their determination.) On the sprint car side, it was a comparatively short haul for RJ Johnson, Dustin Ingle and Charles Davis Jr. to travel here from Phoenix. (Davis was listed as being from Buckeye, AZ, which is a Phoenix suburb.) Kevin Thomas Jr. and Brady Bacon had rides in a midget and a sprint.

In qualifying, Larson set the pace with a 13.712 lap. Eleven of the thirty-six cars that took a time trial were under fourteen seconds.

Larson won the first heat, methodically working his way to the front from sixth. Pole sitter Alex Bright was second with Justin Grant taking third. One of Larson’s teammates, Spencer Bayston, took the last starting spot available for the show. Tyler Thomas led a strong group to the B.

A red flag stopped the second heat when Ryan Robinson slid into Zane Hendricks. Both flipped with Tanner Carrick sliding off the track to avoid the mess. Both would return for the B. Tyler Courtney won the heat with Tucker Klaasmeyer second. Rico Abreu was third. Chase Jones sneaked into the feature by coming from last to take fourth. Take a bow, Davey Ray.

Tanner Thorson won the third heat. Kevin Thomas Jr. was second. Brayton Lynch, the pole sitter, hung on for third. Kyle Craker, a teammate to Brady Bacon, was third. Holly Shelton had a race that she would just as soon forget, spinning twice and heading to the B.

Jason McDougal, like Bacon from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, won the fourth heat. Chad Boat was a close second. McDougal’s neighbor was third. Sixteen year old Zeb Wise was fourth and would be racing against some people who were more than twice as old as he.

An underappreciated treat of both Midget and Sprint Week is that fans get to see two features instead of one. True, the B Main is shorter, but the talent level is most always worthy of a regular feature. With that in mind, the B was won by Logan Seavey with Tyler Thomas second. Ryan Robinson came back from his heat race encounter to finish third. Jerry Coons Jr. started and finished fourth. Tanner Carrick was fifth. Jake Neuman grabbed sixth, the last feature space left. Zane Hendricks just missed. C.J. Leary flipped in turn four to bring out a red flag. He was not pleased with Matt Moore for some reason.

Sprints

The night was quickly over for Dave Darland, who had been scheduled to drive Mark Hery’s car. Engine woes sidelined the People’s Champ. He was supposed to start on the outside front row of the first sprint heat. Instead, Thomas did and rambled to the win. Tyler Hewitt held off Thomas Meseraull for second.

Matt Westfall won the second heat, driving a Ray Marshall owned hot rod. Joe Stornetta got around Clinton Boyles late in the race to take second.

Isaac Chapple won the third heat with Brady Bacon harassing him at the end, but not quite getting around. Charles Davis Jr. was third in his Montpelier debut. Stornetta and Bacon were on the front row. The kid from California led the first eight laps.

The Sprints’ A Main was run after the Midget’s finale. Stornetta and Bacon led ‘em all to the green and the kid from California got the jump and the lead for the first eight laps. The yellow waved on the ninth lap as Bacon slowed. A lap after the re-start K. Thomas took the lead and would beat Johnson, who had started ninth, by a few feet after twenty-five laps. Westfall was third and Stornetta was fourth. Meseraull came home fifth with Chapple finishing where he started, sixth. After stopping on the track earlier in the race, Lee Underwood hustled to a seventh-place finish after starting fifteenth. Boyles started and finished eighth. Caho was ninth and Davis took tenth.

Midgets, Part Two

Klaasmeyer and Grant led twenty-one of their best friends to the green with Klaasmeyer, a Kansas resident, taking the lead for the first nine laps. That would be his high point. A yellow flag came out for Grant, who spun. On the re-start, Larson sailed around Klaasmeyer and lengthened his lead between caution periods.

After a lap thirteen yellow for Bacon, Courtney found himself in second behind Larson on the re-start. One had to think that maybe Sunshine, who won this race a year ago, would have something for Larson. But it wasn’t happening. Larson pulled away every time the green waved for a re-start. Officially at the end, Courtney was 2.178 seconds behind the winner. He also picked up the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger award, coming from fourteenth to second.

Seavey was third and Coons came from thirteenth to finish fourth. K. Thomas was fifth. Thorson moved up from fifteenth to sixth. Bayston took seventh and Wise was eighth. Abreu was an uncharacteristic ninth. And Robinson came from twentieth to finish tenth.

The rains finally came as expected to Gas City on Wednesday afternoon and the second round of IMW was not run. I read that they will try to reschedule. That would be great, but I’m not betting the little white truck on it.

Up next is Lincoln Park Speedway.

Nominating the Flat Earth Society to take the next trip in space, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Wild and Woolly

The Kokomo Speedway doesn’t disappoint fans and this past Sunday night proved it yet again. The program was called the BC Indiana Double. For the uninitiated, this would be a show that honored and remembered the late Bryan Clauson, who hustled north after competing in the Indianapolis 500 to race that evening at his favorite track. There were quite a few fans who did their own double, doing what they could to pull into the Kokomo parking lot in time to see some of the best bullring racin’ this side of heaven.

There were only sixteen sprints in the pits with at least a half dozen of those with a good chance of getting interviewed from the BC victory lane after the race. Quality trumps quantity.

The first heat got off to a terrible start if your name was Kevin Thomas Jr. Pole sitter Tyler Courtney slid into KT's left rear tire and just like that, the night became an unexpected challenge for Thomas, who was seen carrying a shock toward his car in the pits. When the green was waved again, Courtney took the lead, but led just the first lap as Dave Darland grabbed the lead and took the win. Courtney was second with Joe Stornetta third. Tyler Hewitt was fourth and Matt Goodnight finished fifth.

The second heat was one of the best I've seen this year, a fine three car battle for the lead with multiple changes for position. Eventually Josh Hodges prevailed over Chris Windom and Shane Cottle. Isaac Chapple was about ten car lengths behind, a lonely fourth. Jamie Fredrickson was fifth.

As an aside, I will say that all heats in all three classes ran their heats in forty-five minutes.

The redraw put two of the local boys on the front row, Cottle and Darland. I made sure to keep an eye on Thomas, who would be on the charge as soon as Brian Hodde waved the green.

Neither local boy led the first lap. Instead, it was the third starting Courtney who swept by the two veterans to lead the first lap. It was not a shock when Darland took the lead on the second lap. He maintained the top spot for the next three laps before Courtney came back and returned the favor.

Meanwhile, Thomas had been busy. From sixteenth at the start, he motored to eleventh on the first lap and ninth on the second. He was far from done.

The middle part of the race settled down about as much as Kokomo racin' can settle down. Up front Courtney, Darland and Windom set the pace with Hodges trying to keep Cottle behind him. And Thomas was sixth after seventeen laps.

But things changed big time when the twentieth lap rolled around. Courtney tangled with a lapped car and ended up on his lid, losing the lead and the race. Perhaps Thomas permitted himself a small smile as he looked at Sunshine’s car with all four wheels in the air. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was Dave Darland was leading.

During the red a skirmish of sorts broke out in front of the bleachers near turn one. Order was quickly restored before anyone official got involved.

Darland led Windom, Cottle, Hodges, Thomas, Stornetta, Hewitt, Chapple, Goodnight and Adam Byrkett. On the re-start, Dave made the tiniest of boo-boos in turn two and Windom pounced. If that wasn’t bad enough, Cottle had discovered some extra traction on the bottom and used it to pass Darland for second.

And that was that. Windom had hung around the front until others’ misfortune became his fortune. He earned it; that can be the breaks. Cottle was second after starting on the pole and dropping as low as fifth. Darland had to settle for third and may not have been overly happy with himself. Thomas had a measure of redemption after his night started so unhappily. From last he didn’t stop passing cars until he got to fourth. Hodges was fifth and should not have felt any shame for finishing behind the four that were ahead of him. Hewitt was sixth and Stornetta was seventh. Chapple started and finished eighth. Goodnight started and finished ninth, recovering from his encounter with Courtney. Byrkett was tenth.

Just another typical evening of racing at Indiana’s baddest bullring.

Sending my Dale Carnegie books to any celebrity who can read, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: What's Your Hurry?

Carson Short took the lead midway through the feature last night and hurried to the checkered at the Lincoln Park Speedway with the MSCS sanctioning the show.

Isolated showers fell all around the track but missed beautiful downtown Putnamville. Of the 105 cars shoehorned into Lincoln Park’s pit area, thirty were sprinters. There were no major surprises, unless one counted Dave Darland occupying the seat normally filled by A.J. Hopkins for the night. New Mexico’s Josh Hodges was back.

Pole sitter Stevie Sussex ran away with the first heat win. Dave Darland passed Shelby Van Gilder on the last lap to take second. Shelby could say that she kept Dave Darland behind her for nine laps before he used the top groove to move on. Kellen Conover was fourth. Nate McMillen led a group to the B.

Kyle Cummins won the second heat from the pole. Josh Hodges was a close second. Koby Barksdale was third and Matt McDonald occupied fourth, sending Colton Cottle, among others, to the B.

The third heat was different in that the players made it an exciting race despite the fact that no positions changed places after the first lap. A decent sized blanket could have covered winner Shane Cockrum, second place Carson Short and third place Robert Ballou. Tim Creech II was a lonely fourth. Clinton Boyles had a very short race and evening after he smacked the turn one cushion right after the green flag waved and flipped hard. He was able to exit the car on his own.

Brandon Mattox was leading the fourth heat when he was forced into the infield by a lapped car. Jeff Bland won with Jon Stanbrough second. Mattox recovered to take third but losing a chance to start closer to the front. Minnesota’s Brian Van Meveran was fourth.

Colton Cottle led all the way to win the B Main. Garrett Aitken took second. Pole sitter Nate McMillen was third. After a battle with Jaden Rogers for most of the race, Daylen Chambers took the last ticket. Donnie Brackett took an MSCS provisional.

Stanbrough and Short led the crew to the green. The now ageless veteran/new daddy led the first four laps before Bland got underneath Stanbrough coming out of turn two on the fifth lap, taking the lead.

A lap later Short passed Stanbrough for second and gave chase to the leader. Cummins came on strong and was gaining on the leaders.

Midway through the twenty-five lapper, Short took the lead much like Bland did earlier, getting a good bite out of two and taking Bland's low line. But try as he might, Short had trouble pulling away.

A bit further back in the pack, Cummins, Stanbrough, Ballou and Darland were having their own battle for positions three through six. In fact, Cummins waved good-bye to the others as he caught and passed Bland for second. But as the race ended Kyle coasted into the infield, dropping him down in the order.

Short and Bland were followed by Stanbrough. Ballou was fourth after starting eleventh. Darland, subbing for A.J. Hopkins who was racing a mini-sprint up at Peru, took fifth. Hodges was an impressive sixth. Mattox avoided calamity to take seventh, advancing from twelfth. Despite dropping out, Cummins salvaged an eighth-place finish. Sussex was ninth and Cockrum, last week’s feature winner, was tenth.

This race was an all-green affair. Traffic was not as bunched up as it had been the night before, but these people showcased their talent, racing hard and not over-driving, staying within their ability and what the car could or could not do. Sometimes these guys make it look easy, when it’s anything but easy. I’m happy just to watch.

Searching in vain on YouTube for a video featuring a cow head butting a goat, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Rush Hour

The feature race at the Bloomington Speedway on Friday night reminded me of I-465 at most any time of day—except rush hour when traffic is often start/stop. For much of the race the leaders weaved their way through lapped traffic; all involved, both leaders and lappers, gave fans an exciting race and showed off their considerable talent. Of all nights, this had to be the night when the life of Josh Burton was celebrated. Oh yeah, the winner was Tyler Courtney, who edged Robert Ballou by a whole car length.

Since Josh Burton’s untimely passing five years ago, his parents have played major roles in keeping their son’s memory alive through their shared passion. This takes a lot of fortitude, desire and marketing skills. Sponsors have seemingly fallen over themselves to be a part of the Josh Burton Memorial. It has become one of the track’s most anticipated dates.

I cannot imagine a worse scenario than burying one of my kids or grandchildren. Those of us who have not experienced this terrible misfortune can’t know what we would do or say in such a situation. We all grieve in our own way. It seems to me that Mr. and Mrs. Burton (no relation as far as I know—they don’t have family in south central Kentucky) have chosen a healthy way to grieve. They have chosen to celebrate as they continue to deal with this tragedy. It seems as if they have refused to allow grief to take over their lives. They seem to have chosen to celebrate the brief time they had their son here and this keeps his memory alive through racing.

This is all pure conjecture on my part just from observing the annual Memorials I have attending—along with some serious thinking about life.

There was no conjecture concerning the strong field of twenty-six sprinters gathered in the pits. With USAC’s Silver Crown division pavement pounding at IRP, there was a sprinkling of USAC level talent at this MSCS show. Guys like Kevin Thomas Jr., Tyler Courtney and Robert Ballou were present and all too happy to take away some of the prize money and prizes, too. Jon Stanbrough, now running part-time, was present as well.

This event featured single car qualifying and the boys didn’t disappoint. The track was wicked fast and nearly all of the twenty-six were below twelve seconds, led by Jeff Bland’s 11.467. The surface stayed fast as Bland was twenty-second in line to take the two laps.

Brandon Morin ignored the hot dogs behind him as he ran away with the first heat win. Stanbrough was second with Thomas third. Stevie Sussex, in the Burton family 04, was fourth. Daylen Chambers was the last to secure a starting spot in the feature.

Robert Ballou won the second heat. Kellen Conover was an impressive second. Kyle Cummins won the bronze medal with Shelby VanGilder taking fourth. Donnie Brackett came from last to transfer.

Tyler Courtney checked out to win the third heat, a harbinger of things to come. Bland was a distant second with Thomas Meseraull third. Carson Short, the MSCS point leader, was fourth. Clinton Boyles, with his first win for Paul Hazen under his belt, was fifth. Braxton Cummings slipped over the turn four cushion and flipped, but not violently. Braxton exited his car, disgusted with himself.

Hunter O’Neal started on the pole and led all the way to win the B. Garrett Aitken started and finished second. Strangely enough, Brandon Mattox started and finished third. Lee Underwood took fourth. Matt McDonald came from last to grab the last spot for the show.

At this point I must mention that I spent much of the evening mostly listening to the wit and wisdom of Daryl Tate, a gentleman who may not have seen it all, but who has seen enough. I love it when I say so long to people knowing more than I did before talking with them.

At 9:56 p.m., pole sitter Jon Stanbrough and front row mate Tyler Courtney took the green and the chase was on with a track surface that was still lightning fast. Courtney took the initial lead as Ballou muscled his way into second as the first lap ended. With five laps completed, the race’s first yellow waved for a Braxton Cummings spin. The top ten was Courtney, Ballou, Bland (who would exit shortly), Morin, Thomas, Stanbrough, Meseraull, Conover, Sussex and Cummins. Two more laps were recorded before the second yellow waved for a Brandon Mattox spin in turn three. The rest of the race was all-green and what a race it was.

Fourth on the re-start after the Mattox spin, Thomas sailed around the top of turns one and two, taking the lead from Courtney, a maneuver that left many agog with its audacity and skill. This only lasted a couple of laps before Courtney came back, in part due to admitted errors by Thomas.

Near the halfway mark, there was a large group of lapped cars, close to half the field, for the leaders to deal with. Ballou also passed Thomas and set sail for Courtney, fighting through the lapped traffic, weaving past one car in the high groove, then the next in the low groove.

Try as he might, Ballou never got around the leader, though he did take the lead for a very brief moment. At the end, Courtney won by a car length over Ballou with Thomas not far behind. Meseraull came from ninth to finish fourth. MSCS point leader Short was the hard charger, coming from twelfth to take fifth. Sussex brought the Burton family car back with a sixth. New daddy Stanbrough was seventh. Cummins was eighth and Morin faded to ninth but had a decent night all the same. VanGilder was tenth, the last car on the lead lap. She, too, had a very decent night.

People who were there will argue that it was the best Bloomington race they have ever seen. I won’t go there, but I will say that the latter half of the race showcased some excellent racing by all on the track, especially those stuck in the big pack of cars, both leaders and lappers. Multiple battles for position were going on simultaneously and each racer was surely at the top of his (and her/Shelby VG) game. They combined to show us that these guys are skilled at this and they showed folks who may have been at Bloomington that, when it comes to sprint car racing, week in and week out, Indiana is still the place to be.

Like announcer Brad Dickison, I like to think that Josh Burton, wherever his spirit may be, was able to enjoy this race and the fact that he is still remembered and loved.

Post-race interviews lasted as long as the race, ten minutes. Ballou praised the track prep, saying that it was fast all night. (Take a bow, Henry Bryant.) Thomas verbally beat himself up, agitated because of a couple of driving miscues. Courtney paid tribute to Josh Burton and his family, the heavy lapped traffic and the need to know when to zig and when to zag.

Zagging when I need to be zigging, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Inevitable

My friend, Mr. Merriam-Webster told me that the word “inevitable” means and I quote, “incapable of being avoided or evaded.” This word came to mind on another beautiful Thursday night as the laps of the Hoosier 100 wound down. Because, yet again, Kody Swanson, displaying uncommon discipline and purpose, won his fourth Hoosier 100 in a row at the Indiana State Fairgrounds as veteran Brian Tyler crashed out of the race while leading.

Thirty-nine entries were nothing to sneeze at. Noteworthy was Dave Darland getting a one-off start courtesy of Bill Rose, who had given up his ride to Chris Windom at Terre Haute. For this race, the two veterans would be teammates. Then there was the ageless Ken Schrader, the only double dipper of the evening. He showed up with his own modified, winning the feature, and had a ride in Dennis McQuinn’s car. Sprint car racer Kyle Robbins was set to make his mile oval debut. Kevin Thomas Jr. joined Brad and Steve Fox for his Silver Crown debut.

During time trials the surface seemed to hold up well. Jerry Coons Jr. held the quickest time after going out early. But Kody Swanson was sixteenth in line and set fast time with a 33.522 lap. Try as they might, both Shane Cockrum and Shane Cottle drew high qualifying numbers and ripped off the only other sub-thirty-four second laps.

After the drivers’ meeting, l decided to take a walk around the inside of the mile oval before practice began. I suppose that I wanted to soak up some of the history of this facility. I also knew that the day would come when I would not be able to walk this far.

Off I went. I was quickly reminded that this track is not totally flat. Even from the grandstand, the turns look flat. The eyes, like other essential body parts, play their tricks on us.

Looking to the horse barns outside turns one and two reminded me of the wild ride that A.J. Sheperd took in 1961, landing next to one of the barns. Amazingly, he survived.

As exiting turn two, I could see nothing but buildings. Somewhere out there was the Mini-Indy track where my grandson had an excellent time with a quarter midget on the tiny oval.

Years ago, a politician (later having to resign in disgrace) said in effect all ghettos were the same. It’s easy to say the same about American cities, especially those in the Midwest. I don’t buy this. While Indianapolis has all the common ingredients other metropolis’s have, good and bad. There is a vibrant downtown, sprawling suburbs, interstates crisscrossing and surrounding the city. But no other city anywhere has the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or the Indiana State Fairgrounds. I could elaborate but won’t.

Making my way down the backstretch I heard a beautiful sound. V-8 engines were rumbling in anticipation of practice beginning. If I hustled, I could make it back to the pits in time to see the cars push off for the first practice session.

That wasn’t going to happen, the hustling part, that is. In turn three I discovered a small pond populated with an assortment of feathered creatures who had obviously not bought tickets. I wondered how they would react when cars sped by their vantage point. Speaking of surprises, it was a treat to see racing buddy Ben Andres, who was parked by the fence in turns three and four. It’s always a treat to talk with Ben, who had a wild hair a few years ago and did some sprint car racing.

As I entered turn four I needed a second wind that wasn’t there. Though the weather was beautiful, it was still warm. To my temporary chagrin I looked toward the start/finish line and my only access to re-enter the pits was via the track itself. I hoofed it and completed the walk just before cars began practice. It was enjoyable, educational and good for me.

The pre-race ceremonies caused me to think that I wouldn’t mind if our state song was sung before every race. Hoosier bias lives.

First up was the fifteen-lap last chance dance, with the top six joining the locked in twenty-four to make up a thirty-car field. Neil Sheperd won, taking Casey Shuman, Brady Bacon, Dave Darland, Steve Buckwalter and Korey Weyant with him to the show. Austin Nemire and Travis Welpott used provisionals to get in.

Ironically, the two combatants at Terre Haute, Swanson and Cottle, would start side by side in the front row. Given the class exhibited by both after the Action Track incident that took Cottle out of the race and cost Swanson a likely win, it was unlikely either would be up for a repeat. As the cars rolled off, Kyle Robbins could not get going and needed a push, which dropped him to the tail spot.

The green waved and I noticed Bacon passing a lot of cars. He would pass even more later. Swanson led the pack going into turn one and Cottle fell into line. On lap ten Cockrum passed Cottle for second and began pressuring the leader, even leading for a very few seconds at one point on the twelfth lap.

A stopped car on the backstretch brought out the first yellow on the twenty-first lap. The prime suspects were Swanson, Tyler (who passed Cockrum a lap before the yellow), Cockrum, Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Windom, C.J. Leary, Jerry Coons Jr., Justin Grant and David Byrne.

Right after the re-start Tyler was not content with second. He passed Swanson on the front stretch and took the lead on lap twenty-nine. He promptly began to put more distance between him and Swanson. But a lap forty yellow waved for Robbins, who tagged the turn three wall, ending an otherwise good beginning. Not a lot changed in the top ten except Windom, with brake issues, was dropping and Bacon was ascending.

With this segment of green flag racing, Tyler didn’t pull away as much, but Swanson seemed to be content to let the veteran have his way for the time being. However, Tyler’s excellent run ended on the fifty-sixth lap when some debris became lodged in his brakes. As a result, he smacked the turn one wall and brought out the race’s third caution period. The pits got busy as Leary, Windom, Byrne and Shuman all pitted, most with tire issues.

The deck was reshuffled with Swanson back in the lead with Cockrum, Cottle, Courtney, Coons, Grant, Bacon, Joe Ligouri, Johnny Petrozelle and Jacob Wilson. Six laps after this re-start, Grant slowed on the front stretch and dropped out of the race, moving the others ahead one spot. A few laps later, Bacon had a good run from the back to the top ten go away and he exited with mechanical problems.

The race’s last yellow waved on lap eighty-eight when fifth running Jerry Coons Jr. contacted the turn three wall. Petrozelle made his entrance into the top five with the misfortunes of Coons, Grant and Bacon. It would be Cockrum’s last chance to harass Swanson and perhaps getting a shot at the lead. But Kody wanted no part of it. All he had to do was keep up the same consistent pace he had been keeping for most of the race. His margin of victory was an impressive 2.7 seconds over the Chief.

Behind Swanson and Cockrum, Courtney passed Cottle for third with less than five laps to go. Petrozelle had his best Silver Crown effort in his short time with these cars as he rambled from eighteenth to fifth. Others gained ground as the race wore on. Wilson came from twenty-first to sixth. Ligouri was seventh and Byrne overcame a pit stop to finish eighth. With the one off in Bill Rose’s car, Dave Darland came from the last chance race to start twenty-eighth and finish ninth, earning the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award. And rookie Austin Mundie managed to take tenth after starting twenty-fourth.

Swanson’s victory was his fourth straight in this race, putting him in good company. Al Unser Sr. has been the only driver to win the Hoosier 100 four times.

Thus ended another Hoosier 100, an event that was on life support not that long ago. It has regained much, if bot all, of its luster from the glory days. The renaissance of the Silver Crown division has mirrored that of this race. They are both back in a big way.

And Kody Swanson has been there to make his mark on this series. His mere presence means that he will certainly be in the hunt for the trophy after any race. You could say it’s inevitable.

Confused as I keep thinking that Indiana’s Marengo Cave is the ‘deep state,’ I’m…

Danny Burton  

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: One Man's Ceiling, Etc.

It was difficult not to think of an old Paul Simon song from days gone by after Wednesday night's Hulman Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track. Because after a lap twenty-one red flag for a flipping car, Tyler Courtney passed race long leader Chase Stockon and hustled to the win on a perfect Hoosier evening while Stockon faded in the last nine laps.

After an exciting two and a half hour drive (think road construction and traffic) northwest to Terre Haute, an extended break was in order. Seeing familiar faces wouldn’t hurt. The first one I saw was Mr. James Carter, a true traveling man and a friend of sprint car racing, especially the non-wing version. There would be several more.

Twenty-three sprinters occupied the pits with no surprises. It was no shock when Kevin Thomas Jr. was the eighth to take time trials and set fast time with a 20.574. The track may have went away some, but not critically. Bob Sargent and team did some gentle massaging of the track after qualifications.

Thomas made an emphatic opening statement to the judge and jury as he methodically worked his way from sixth to the lead right after the white flag lap. KT got around race long leader Nick Bilbee going into turn one and won easily. Kyle Cummins was third behind Bilbee with Chris Windom settling for fourth. Chase Stockon started and finished fifth.

Chad Boespflug was kind enough to let Bill Rose lead the first lap of the second heat. CB took the lead on the second lap and moseyed on to the victory. C. J. Leary was second and Tyler Courtney took third. Rose hung on for fourth. Jerry Coons Jr. took fifth.

Justin Grant led all the way to the checkered in the third heat. Robert Ballou reeled him in and made what looked like a half-hearted attempt at a slider on Grant in turn three of the last lap, a sort of a "Hi, Justin. I'm here." Ballou settled for second with Dave Darland third. Brady Bacon was fourth and Shane Cottle, in the car that Mr. Darland used to drive, was fifth.

The track received another minor makeover before the feature. The sun disappeared over the Illinois state line. It was time to play hardball.

Cottle and Courtney led the other twenty-one to the green and immediately the cutting and slashing began. Courtney led the first lap, but third starting Stockon hijacked the lead in turn two of the second lap and did his best to extend the lead. But Courtney couldn’t bring himself to allow that and stayed within striking distance.

A bit further back, Cottle was fading a bit and Thomas, who started sixth, began his march to the front. The trouble was that KT wasn’t closing on the leaders. Stockon may not have been counting his prize money, but he may have been counting the laps down. Everyone except Chase wanted a caution.

Instead, they got a red flag when Jaden Rogers caught the turn four wall and flipped crazily along the wall as he was being lapped with twenty-one laps completed. Stockon got through okay, and Courtney came this close to getting caught up in the accident. As it was, his right rear tire made what looked like slight contact with the flying car. Sunshine did some serious steering to avoid disaster. Rogers exited the car, probably to race again, but not on this night.

The running order was Stockon, Courtney, Thomas, Windom, Grant, Cottle, Ballou, Leary, Bacon, and Darland. The green waved and the usual craziness of a re-start began. Courtney dove low in turn one to take the lead. Stockon did the same in turn three. But Chase had no way of knowing that this was as good as it would be for the rest of the race. A lap later, Thomas made the pass for second and did his best to close the gap on the leader.

But it wasn’t going to happen. KT could not close and Courtney took the checkered flag with a lead of several car lengths. Behind Thomas was Cottle, who had found some traction on the bottom and charged from sixth to third in the last nine laps. Windom was fourth and Stockon, who led most of the race, faded to fifth, thanks in large part to a worn out right rear tire. Leary was sixth and Ballou advanced from twelfth to seventh. Grant started fifteenth and ran as high as fifth but finished eighth. Bacon was ninth and Boespflug took tenth.

At day’s end, for Courtney it was a ceiling, riding high. For Stockon, it was the floor, thinking about what might have been had there been no red flag.

Courtney was presented with one of the more creative trophies, a rifle. This is an Action Track tradition that goes back several decades. It was somewhat ironic that Courtney is not a hunter. Nevertheless, it’s a good bet that this trophy will be cherished by Mr. Courtney and his loved ones for a very long time.

The sprint feature was over at 9:30. Will Krup won the modified feature at 9:50. The impressive crowd, at least those who had to go to work the next morning, no doubt appreciated the program running so smoothly.

Fretting because I can’t decide between Yanny and Laurel, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Chief in a Hurry

At the end of a wild night at the Lincoln Park Speedway, Shane Cockrum stood at the start/finish line, enjoying a victory that was well earned. Sure, he had a break or two, but the fact was that this racer started in the middle of the twenty-one car field, avoided the incidents that could have involved him and sped to the win by a healthy margin over Joe Stornetta.

On a weekend that saw several tracks have to cancel races, Lincoln Park stood out. Mostly clear skies greeted the assembled throng of racers and fans.  

Thirty-four sprints shoehorned their way into a pit that contained 113 race cars in all. The guys to watch included Jarett Andretti, A. J. Hopkins, Shane Cockrum, Scotty Weir (in the Mike Dutcher beast), Stevie Sussex and one Thomas Meseraull, with his own creation, a guy who will race any way he can.

The format for the night would be five heats with the top three moving to the show. Two B's would send the top three on with the feature starting twenty-one.

Shelby VanGilder started the first heat on the pole and led all the way. Josh Cunningham used every one of his considerable skills to gift Shane Cockrum with the final transfer spot.

A. J. Hopkins had his way with the second heat. Thomas Meseraull came from the back to take second. Tim Creech II came from last to take third from Joe Ligouri on the last lap.

Stevie Sussex ran away with the third heat. West coast visitor Joe Stornetta was sent to the tail spot for a pre-race infraction. But he came on to participate in a slide fest with Jarett Andretti midway through the race before moving on. Stornetta caught J. J. Hughes on the last lap to grab second. Andretti was not far behind, but he was one of the good cars preparing for the B.

The fourth heat was stopped when Scotty Weir went for a mean ride down the frontstretch after contact with Andrew Prather. Scotty emerged from the car wondering for a moment what happened. As for the race, Brandon Mattox took the lead on the second lap and led all the way. Hunter O'Neal came from the third row to finish second. And for the third race in a row, a last lap pass was made for position when Harley Burns passed Brady Ottinger to steal the last chair before the music stopped.

Pole sitter Kent Christian meant business as he hustled to the fifth heat win. Ethan Barrow was second, missing a good scrap behind him. Chris Phillips earned third place and last week's Lawrenceburg winner Garrett Abrams made sure he did. But the latest Rushville Rocket headed to one of the B's instead.

Jarett Andretti easily won the first of two Bs. Behind him was a fair amount of mayhem. Koby Barksdale was second and Garrett Abrams picked up a bronze medal. Jamie Fredrickson slid into another car and tipped over. Parker Fredrickson spun and collected Eric Perrott, who flipped. All were okay.

Jake Scott was victorious in the second last chance race. Pole sitter Joe Ligouri was second. Nate McMillen came from the back to finish third, barely beating Andrew Prather, who also started way back there.

Hopkins and Mattox made up the front row and both were determined to get the jump going into turn one after seeing Brian Hodde’s green flag. Disaster was barely averted when they tangled in front of nineteen of their best friends. Hopkins slid over the turn two banking, but was able to continue, as was Mattox. But third starting Kent Christian was happy to take advantage of the “kids’” misfortune and grab the lead. Red lights blinked with two laps complete when Mattox tipped over in turn four. Christian led Sussex, Hopkins, Meseraull and Stornetta. About two seconds after the re-start, the yellow came out when a turn one collision among Hopkins, Meseraull and Sussex changed the running order up front. All three went to the tail spot and Stornetta was second.

Not a lot of notice was given to Cockrum, who had started eleventh and was now sixth. A lap after the re-start, he was fifth. Two laps after that Stornetta dove low in turn one to take the lead over the pesky veteran Christian, who promptly took it back. But Cockrum was quite busy himself. A couple of laps after Christian had supplanted Stornetta in the top spot, Cockrum took the lead in turn one.

From there, the fire chief checked out, weaving his way through lapped traffic. Stornetta had a comfortable margin himself over Andretti, who had come from the B to start sixteenth and make his way to third. Further behind the top three, there was action aplenty. Meseraull came from his early reassignment- to the tail spot to take fourth. Christian hung in there for fifth. Hopkins had quite an up and down race. From his first lap excitement to his turn one adventure to a mid-race hiccup when his car may have jumped out of gear, Hopkins ended up sixth. Barrow ran in the top five throughout most of the race before finishing seventh. Hughes, Creech and Barksdale finished out the top ten.

My days of running to my vehicle of choice immediately after the sprint feature are long gone. In fact, I hung around long enough (making notes) to see Jordan Wever hold off Derek Groomer and won the modified finale. I ambled out to the car, quite the opposite of the guy who drove for twenty-five laps as if he were chasing a fire.

Not minding if my grandchildren grow up to be as classy as James Hinchliffe, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: First Time Winner

The title of this story is one I’ve used several times over the past fifteen plus years. It’s my favorite title for what should be obvious reasons. No matter what it is, the first time is special and memorable for all time. Just ask Garrett Abrams from Rushville, Indiana, hometown of one Wendell Willkie. On a warm Saturday night, with a gentle breeze from the south, Abrams stalked leader Joss Moffatt for several laps, took the lead, then swapped the lead with Mr. Moffatt twice on the final lap before diving low coming out of turn four to see Tim Montgomery’s checkered flag first. It was Abram’s first sprint car feature win and it came at the challenging Lawrenceburg Speedway.

There were only thirteen sprints in Dave Rudisell’s peanut gallery, not great, but enough to run a couple of heats and a feature. Among the lucky thirteen were four track champs, Moffatt, Shawn Westerfeld, Dickie Gaines, and Mike Miller.

Their number may have been small but all were racing to win. Pole sitter Matt Cooley jumped the start and traded places with sprint car rookie Brett Hankins, who led a mini-freight train to the checkers. It was his first heat race win in a sprinter. Hankins was pressured by Cooley, Garrett Abrams, Shawn Westerfeld, Dickie Gaines, Tony McVey and another rook, Kyle May.

Pole sitter Braxton Cummins led the second heat until stopping in turn four. Joss Moffatt took over from there and won. The ageless Mike Miller was second. Michael Fischesser was driving Buddy Lowther's car since his own had an ailing engine. He was third, ahead of Travis Hery. David Applegate had a time of it getting his engine to fire before it did. But midway through the heat he sailed into turn one at an unfortunate angle and bounced to a stop, fortunate in that he was lucky not to go over.

At different points throughout the evening, I pondered sprint car counts for the weekend. Were the low counts an aberration or here to stay for a spell? Was it a matter of too many tracks on a given night running traditional sprint cars? Are the days of running sprints each week at s given track over? Is the B Main on the endangered species list?

But what about Lincoln Park, you may ask? They consistently get twenty plus sprints each weekend, plus they host sprints pretty much every Saturday night. What is Joe Spiker and crew doing differently than the others?

If promoters have a good car count for other classes if not sprints, and if they have decent crowds show up, how long will they not only keep sprints as the headliner class, but switch to another class?

Like many others, I have these questions and more rattling around upstairs. Unlike some, I have no easy answers except to promise that time will tell.

But, but, but…the feature lined up, my good buddy Tim Montgomery waved the green flag and all of the worries about car counts and oversaturation disappeared with the flag waving at the assembled throng of thirteen.

Nothing else mattered as Mike Miller took the early lead with Joss Moffatt in hot pursuit. My unofficial record showed Moffatt taking the lead on lap six. It would be easy to think that this race was over. Moffatt increased his lead as I noticed that this Abrams kid was on the move. It was the tenth lap, or close to it, when Abrams made the pass on Miller to take second.

The top three remained the same as the race’s halfway mark arrived. Pole sitter Matt Cooley was fourth and under attack by…Brett Hankins. The rookie struggled a few weeks ago when I saw him at the ‘burg. But he has learned, big time. Just past the halfway mark, Hankins made the pass for fourth.

Meanwhile, Moffatt had unwanted company. Abrams took the lead, diving low in turn one. Now it looked like we would see a first-time winner for sure. But wait. Hankins spun in turn four, bringing out a yellow with twenty-two laps complete. Abrams and Moffatt led the pack. And there was a new player in third place. Shawn Westerfeld had started seventh and had made his way to the front. With Miller in fourth, this meant that Abrams had no less than three track champions immediately behind him, ready to pounce.

As it turned out, only Moffatt would be a threat. But what a threat the homeboy was. He would not let Abrams get away. Then came the white flag. Moffatt dove low in turns one and two but couldn’t get around the leader. But Joss made a perfect banzai move going into turn three, and it paid off—for about fifty feet. Abrams had one last trick and he used it, returning the favor coming out of turn four, diving below the temporary leader to cross the line first.

Moffatt was a surely disappointed second, but it was a great effort all the same. Westerfeld was third and Braxton Cummings came from tenth to take fourth at the end. Miller was fifth. Travis Hery was sixth with Cooley seventh. Dickie Gaines was, surprisingly, not a factor. He finished eighth. Michael Fischesser brought home the Lowther hot rod in ninth. Despite his spin, Hankins came back to take tenth and was impressive the whole race except for the spin.

The issue of car counts probably won’t go away anytime soon. But I was struck by how much it didn’t matter for twenty-five laps. I like to think that much of the issue will correct itself and a certain amount of order will prevail.

Eagerly awaiting my invitation to Prince Harry’s bachelor party, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Smart and Fast=Chicken and Egg

Smart/fast, chicken/egg, and heredity/environment are all what various people call correlations. My good friend Mr. Merriam-Webster (one of those stuffy British types) told me that correlation is defined as “a relation existing between phenomena or things or between mathematical or statistical variables which tend to vary, be associated, or occur together in a way not expected on the basis of chance alone.”  In other words, all three of the examples listed above have a relationship and are linked together. In general, when it comes to racing, one must possess that link between smart and fast in order to have a decent chance to win any race, or at least put oneself into a position to win. Often we fans miss this, but a racer’s mind is working much faster than the car—at least a winning racer’s mind. This may not seem to have much to do with the sprint car feature at the Bloomington Speedway on a lovely Friday night, but certainly does. Because Jeff Bland noticed at a crucial point in the feature that he needed to try a different groove to be faster. One can say that Mr. Bland was smart and fast; he could not have cared less which came first, the smart or the fast. All that mattered was that he was the happy guy interviewed after the race by Kimb Stewart.

With a much younger navigator, we once again set off to Bloomington and took the scenic route. The navigator was used to straighter and wider roads, which meant that he had some attention getting moments in the hills of Brown and Bartholomew counties. I need to take that kid and his big brother to North Carolina someday, specifically to the road from Asheville to Chimney Rock.

Three heats and no B main was the order of the day. Homeboy Jamie Williams had his hands full keeping Brady Short at bay in the first heat. Lee Underwood, who travels from Ohio to race at Bloomington, was third. Dirt late model/second generation ace Hudson O’Neal took fourth with Kevin Chambers and the ageless Dave Peperak trailing.

Jeff Bland won the second heat over Kody Swanson. Brandon Morin eked out a third-place finish with Garett Aitken fourth. Jaden Rogers and Eric Perrott trailed.

I was grumbling to myself about having three heats instead of two for just seventeen cars until the third heat. Four of the five starters in this one put together maybe the best heat race of the year. Josh Cunningham led nine of the ten laps before an ever so slight bobble on the last lap. Not only did winner Stevie Sussex make the pass on the last lap, so did Jordan Kinser who capitalized on Mr. Cunningham’s misfortune. Josh settled for third, just a few feet ahead of fourth place Hunter O’Neal. Bobby Griffiths dropped out early.

The redraw hatched a front row of Bland and Sussex, with Williams and Short in the second row. Bland jumped out to the early lead with Sussex and fifth starting Swanson falling in behind. About one third of the way through the race, first Swanson, then Short passed Sussex. Bland was cruising and it was looking like an easy looking win.

But a yellow flag with seventeen laps completed changed things for Bland. After all, his nice lead was gone. Jaden Rogers found the front stretch wall, which brought out Rusty Nunn’s yellow hankie. Bland still led Swanson, Short, Sussex and Kinser. On the re-start, the leader stayed low for the first couple of laps, but he felt like the bottom groove was too slow. As he moved up top, Swanson and Short had their own battle for the runner-up spot. As Bland romped to the victory, Swanson edged Short by a nine iron and a putter. Sussex was able to hold off Kinser for fourth. Underwood, who runs well here, was sixth. Morin had a decent night, taking seventh. Aitken, in his second year in a sprinter, was eighth. Hunter O’Neal was ninth despite spinning off turn four at the end. Rogers came back from his spin to take tenth.

The weather was as close to perfect as it could be. The car count may not have been the greatest, but there were enough cars to have a very decent and well-run program. (Twenty cars showed up at Gas City, where Clinton Boyles scored his first victory for the venerable Paul Hazen. Twenty-four cars signed in at Eldora’s USAC show.) Folks who weren’t at Bloomington, Gas City, or Eldora missed some good racing.

Inviting my good friend Mr. Merriam-Webster to a Hoosier bullring, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Trifecta

Not too often does a bullring racer sweep the weekend’s features. Given the level of competition on the Hoosier bullring/sprint car scene, winning three races in a row is exceedingly difficult. But Kevin Thomas Jr. is on a roll and is a force to be reckoned with whenever he strolls through the pit gate. He added an exclamation point on his weekend on Sunday night as he held no less than Dave Darland at bay for thirty laps and won the King of Kokomo title at the Kokomo Speedway on a breezy northern Indiana evening. The kid who came up here from Alabama a few years ago quickly showed people that he wasn’t afraid to mash the gas pedal. But all too often he ended his night with a torn-up race car on the hook. Those days are emphatically gone. The ex-crasher has become a threat to win and he is at the top of his game. Feature wins at Gas City/I-69 Speedway, Plymouth Speedway (a USAC win), and finally at Kokomo were the icing and the cake.

 It was going to take more than some rain in southern Indiana to keep me at home. After resting on Friday, my carefully laid plans were shattered by a mean old bug that knocked me down all day Saturday. No ‘burg or LPS for me. Kokomo was my last hope to get to a race on this first weekend in May. I left the warmer southern Indiana temperatures for a brisk northern breeze and it felt good to be out and about. So what if it turned a bit chilly later on.

Thirty sprinters were signed in and now retired racer Josh Spencer served as tour guide for fans who paid an extra three dollars to check out the sprints along with the D2 Midgets and the few Hornets populating the pits.

There would be three, not four, heats for the assembled throng of thirty. But heats would be ten laps, not the usual eight.

Dave Darland started on the pole and led all ten laps of the first heat. Logan Seavey was second, holding off Chris Windom. Darland's front row mate and fellow local boy, Shane Cottle, was fourth. Tony Dimattia possessed the last available feature spot.

Kevin Thomas Jr. passed C. J. Leary coming to the halfway mark of the second heat and took the win. Leary maintained second with pole sitter Kyle Cummins third. Jarett Andretti was fourth and Nate McMillen finished fifth ahead of a fast closing Matt Goodnight.

The third and final heat got off to a bad start when Justin Grant and Stevie Sussex touched coming out of turn two. Sussex had the worst of it, hitting the wall and tipping over. Stevie and fellow front row starter Joe Stornetta, who exited the track before the heat began begat front row to Carson Short and Grant; Grant won with Short second. Thomas Meseraull was third and Isaac Chapple took fourth. Travis Hery finished fifth in a race that had more than usual lapped traffic.

There were quite a few decent cars in the B. Before this last chance dance, the track was re-worked and it must have been like racing two ovals in one night, especially for the guys who hadn’t raced at Kokomo much. Clinton Boyle started from the pole and simply checked out. But the twelve-lap race wasn’t a snoozer. Stevie Sussex came from twelfth to take second at the checkered flag.  Joe Stornetta, knocked out of his heat with a reported throttle linkage issue, came from fifteenth/last to finish third, edging Matt Goodnight on the last lap. Tyler Hewitt, who had his troubles in the preliminary race, started eleventh and took the last transfer card.

The kids handled the redraw and the front row was Thomas and Grant. Seavey and Short were the second row with Leary and Darland’s kids drawing the five and six cards. This didn’t matter to DD as he stormed from sixth to second behind Thomas in the first three laps. It looked like KT might have his hands full.

Action stopped when Dimattia flipped hard in turn four with seven laps completed. Tony crawled out of the wrecked mount. He fared better than the car and a part of the fence. The running order was Thomas, Darland, Grant, Seavey, Windom, Short, Cottle, Leary, Cummins and Meseraull.

On the re-start nothing changed with the top three but Windom was on the move. He got around Seavey to grab fourth and gradually closed on Grant. Soon after, midway through the race, Short passed Seavey as well. Up front, it seemed as if Darland closed the gap in lapped traffic, but Thomas made sure that the People’s Champ never got really close enough to threaten.

At the end the top five was Thomas, Darland, Grant, Windom, and Kyle Cummins, who had the best race that few people saw, finishing strong. Short was sixth, followed by Leary, Meseraull, Seavey and Andretti.  

Chett Gehrke and Andy Vaughn won the D2 midget heats. Chase McDermand won the D2 main.

A good race is, like many things, in the eye of the beholder. Looking at the box score of this race would lead one to believe that it was a boring parade. I hear the same criticism of the Outlaws’ races quite often, especially the heats. But watching the race from my perch, I saw lots of fast and faster cars, circling a bullring at frightening speeds, dodging lapped traffic and often putting their cars as close to the unforgiving wall as they could. The group in the front half of the twenty-car field was evenly matched on a fast track. But was it a bad race, at least from a mostly objective view? I can’t and won’t say that. There are quite a few of us who don’t feel the need to see photo finishes every time. This isn’t NASCAR, thank God. We don’t care to sit through micro-managed affairs, made for TV. We abide by the proverb that says, “You had to be there.”

Believing that women are like races, loving all, just loving some more than others, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Right Place, Right Time

We, most of us, could not handle decision making at high speeds for very long. Bad things would happen all too often. Instead we watch people who do that almost routinely multiple times in a very short time. These people, at their best, have a very good success rate. Even the most ordinary racer makes more successful choices than the unsuccessful. Justin Grant, who is one of the best at what he does, made untold successful decisions on a cool Sunday evening at the Terre Haute Action Track as USAC’s Silver Crown series presented the Sumar Classic. Grant avoided a late race collision between Shane Cottle and leader Kody Swanson to take the win.

Twenty-nine teams signed in on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Two prominent points contenders, Chris Windom and Kory Swanson, found trouble quickly in the form of engine failures. Swanson and company changed the engine of the DePalma team car in a little over an hour. This was the start of a roller coaster of a day for those guys. Windom and company got together with Bill Rose after his Nolen team’s engine emitted a sizable puff of smoke during practice and made a deal which landed Windom in the Rose car, complete with a new number for points purposes.

Tyler Courtney was second in line to qualify and his 22.990 lap held up as fast time. Justin Grant, on the other hand, was one of the last to take the two laps and his 23.068 was good enough for third quick, a tick slower than Jerry Coons Jr.

The top sixteen qualifiers were locked into the Classic. All others lined up for a fifteen-lap last chance qualifying race with the top eight tagging the field. David Byrne qualified seventeenth fastest and started on the pole. He led all fifteen laps to take the win. Kody Swanson, new engine and all, came from twelfth to finish second. Kyle Robbins, Steve Buckwalter, Matt Goodnight, Neil Shepherd and Mike Haggenbottom all raced their way into the main event. Korey Weyant spun while running eighth.

Courtney and Coons led twenty-three others to the green. Coons led the first lap as the yellow waved for Brady Bacon, who spun and retired from the race. Coons and company tried to go racing again and the yellow waved for the second time when Courtney spun with Austin Mundie and Coleman Gulick getting the worst of it. Sunshine re-started on the tail.

Two yellows in five laps? One wondered if this was going to be a pattern. Not quite, but there would breaks in the action later. On the re-start, Coons committed to the low side, next to the infield fence, while C. J. Leary and several others used what was left of the cushion, right against the wall. Coons would only lead until lap eleven, when Leary made the pass to take the point. But Justin Grant was on the move. By the twenty-second lap, he had passed Coons for second and immediately informed Leary that he had more company. Coons didn’t exactly fade away; he had a great view of Grant’s tail tank.

On lap thirty-six, Grant caught Leary in turn three with lapped traffic all around and took the lead. By now Shane Cottle had taken over third place and begun a series of slide jobs, taking the position for a few dozen feet before relinquishing it when Leary dove low coming out of the turn. But Joss Moffatt put a stop to all that when he smacked the wall coming out of turn four and flipped hard with forty-six laps completed. Joss crawled out of the car, which will need major repairs.

With this re-start, Grant led Leary, Cottle and Coons. Oh, by the way, Kody Swanson had started eighteenth and had steadily worked his way forward and was now fifth. Cockrum, Windom, Courtney (from the tail), Jacob Wilson and Casey Shuman were six through ten. Two laps later, Cottle passed Leary. A lap later, Coons passed Leary in turn two. And a lap after that, it was Swanson making the pass in turn four.

Meanwhile, Cottle was gaining on Grant as first Coons, then several others began using the middle of the all black surface, slick as Yul Brynner’s head (Google it, kids). Fifty-six laps were done when a yellow waved for an unscheduled meeting among David Byrne, Travis Welpott and Steve Buckwalter in turn four. Coons had passed Cottle for second.

The next segment was all too brief as Wilson flipped in turn one on the sixty-fifth lap. Cockrum and Shuman were also involved, but both re-started. Jacob walked away from his wrecked car. The prime suspects were Grant, Coons, Cottle, Swanson, Leary and Courtney. It was show-and-tell time.

Cottle resumed his slide job show and it finally paid off on lap seventy. But Grant returned the favor a lap later. And the 800-pound gorilla had appeared on the scene in the form of Kody Swanson, the guy to beat in Silver Crown racing. On lap seventy-seven, Swanson was more like Superman as he swept from third to first. Cottle passed Grant for second before Neil Shepherd spun and brought out a yellow with twenty laps to go.

After lap seventy-five, caution laps didn’t count. Eighty-three laps were complete when the turning point of the race smacked all of us in the face, but no one more than Kody Swanson. Cottle tried a banzai move from third place going into turn three, but his momentum carried him into Swanson, causing both to spin. Somehow Grant missed both of them and was leading again. Cottle was done and Swanson suffered a flat left rear tire. He pitted and rejoined the race, his chances of winning greatly diminished if not shot.

The leaders were now Grant, Coons, Leary, Courtney and Cockrum. The green waved and Leary passed Coons on lap eighty-four. The gorilla was on the prowl again. Would he have enough laps left to challenge for the lead? As Leary had claimed second, Swanson was fifth and far from done. But Grant had checked out. With six laps to go, Swanson was second and began a desperate chase with Grant a straightaway ahead. Kody cut that lead to a mere 1.33 seconds at the end. Justin was surely glad that this wasn’t a 105-lap race.

Every one of the top ten had a story to tell. It was Grant’s first Sumar Classic win and it put him in the points lead as the series heads to Toledo. Swanson had the most compelling story. After an engine change, he came from the tail spot to run second in the non-qualifiers’ race. From eighteenth, he charged to the lead only to be taken out. After getting a tire replaced, he charged again to the front, falling a few feet short. Courtney was third after his own comeback from the tail spot early in the race. Then there was Windom. His engine gave up during practice and he borrowed Bill Rose’s car with zero practice. He brought it home fourth, avoiding all the potential detours. Leary was up and down all evening, always near the front; he was fifth. Cockrum was sixth, recovering from his involvement in an accident. Coons ran strong most of the race and faded a bit to seventh. Joe Ligouri had the best run that few people saw, rambling from twenty-first to eighth. My North Carolina buddy Johnny Petrozelle is still learning about Silver Crown racing. He stayed out of trouble all night and picked up a lot of laps and experience. He was rewarded with a ninth place. Finally, Shepherd came back from his spin to grab tenth.

Then there was Shane Cottle. He apologized to Kody Swanson in person and on the often-maligned social media. Kody accepted and wiped the slate clean. There’s a message there for the rest of us.

Racing, drama, dust, a huge tenderloin sandwich that lasted about as long as the modified feature, and a long drive home. Just another night at the Action Track. Can’t wait to come back.

Nervously eyeing Daniel Ricciardo in my rear-view mirror, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Precision Racing 101

Never mind the cold. Those few who showed up at any outside activity on Saturday night knew it would be cold, at least in Indiana. But the real story in my mind was watching some very good-and underrated-racers do what they do best. They fought the elements and a tricky surface and most of them prevailed. Of course, none prevailed as Brent Beauchamp did. He negotiated the tricky five sixteenths oval we call the Lincoln Park Speedway better than anyone else and won the twenty-five lap feature on said chilly Saturday night, holding at bay a racer of equal ability, A.J. Hopkins.

My nine-year-old navigator was not quite seventy years younger than Friday’s eagle eye. We arrived in time to conduct our usual pit inspection. We found twenty-six cars on hand, with ample quality teams and drivers, despite the USAC event at Haubstadt. Karston got out the trusty mud scraper and went to work on Paul Hazen’s car as he has done several times before. Along with PA man Brad Dickison, Paul noticed right away how much this kid has grown since last fall.

The format was three heats, with the top five advancing to the show. The three heats were a good opening act for the main event.

It took A. J. Hopkins one lap to motor from his second row starting spot to take the lead and the win in the first heat. Jeff Bland was second and Clinton Boyles hung on to third. In the battle of the number twenty twos, Coby Barksdale took fourth ahead of Shelby VanGilder.

Shane Cockrum began the second heat with a spectacular series of moves to go from seventh to second on the first lap of the second heat. Two laps later he passed leader Brandon Morin and coasted to the win. Unfortunately, this would be the highlight of the night for the chief. Colton Cottle was second with Tim Creech II finishing third. Morin hung on for fourth and Chris Phillips came from the back to take fifth.  Rookie Bryar Schroeder flipped in turn four and walked away.

Scott Hampton got jump on front row mate Brent Beauchamp and led the first two laps of the third heat. But the cagey veteran bided his time and took control, winning the heat. Hampton had his hands full holding off an impressive effort by Jaden Rogers to maintain second. After bringing out an early yellow, Kent Christian came back to take fourth. Brady Ottinger came from the back to take the final feature spot available.

Josh Cunningham dominated the B, leading every lap. Nate McMillin took second. Parker Fredrickson avoided various pitfalls to finish third. New Zealand’s Nevil Algeio, back in the States for another summer of racing, was fourth. Second generation racer Harley Burns was fifth. Matt McDonald, in the Don Smith car normally driven by Lukas Smith, had a feature spot locked up when he lost power near the race’s end.

We retreated to the little truck after the sprint B. I listened to the sounds of race cars while Karston borrowed my phone to watch racing videos. The USAC Silver Crown race at Phoenix really got his attention. I guess the little guy isn’t used to seeing many races on the pavement.

The feature was lining up as we returned with Hopkins and Cockrum in the front row. A.J., who had circulated on the front stretch bleachers giving out freebies, took the lead as Brian Hodde waved the green. Fredrickson stopped with one lap complete, bringing out a yellow. The second yellow flag came with three completed laps as Kent Christian found himself pointing the wrong way after a turn two scrum.

The order on this re-start was Hopkins, Cockrum, Beauchamp, Bland and Cottle. As the green waved, Cockrum spun in turn one and somehow everyone missed him. He kept going but dropped out of the top ten. No yellow waved as Shane recovered quickly. This put Beauchamp in second and Hopkins was the recipient of a headache, namely car number thirty-four. Boyles found a gap and hustled through it, getting around Bland and Cottle.

Beauchamp took the lead on the ninth lap and the red flag came out as Koby Barksdale found himself upside down in turn two. Jaden Rogers was facing the wrong way and re-started the race. For the next eight laps, Beauchamp led, but wasn’t able to pull away from the pesky Hopkins. Eighteen laps were complete when the red lights went to work after Scott Hampton flipped coming out of turn four after contact with Cockrum. Hampton wasn’t happy. Given how his race was going, I’d doubt if the fire chief was thrilled himself. He had worked his way up to seventh.

The order up front had not changed. It was still Beauchamp leading Hopkins, Boyles, Bland and Cottle. Bland got around Boyles on the twenty-first lap, as the race’s final yellow waved for Shelby VanGilder, who stopped on the track, ensuring that it was a bad night for the number twenty-two.

The three lap dash didn’t see any crazy stuff and the top five remained the same. Creech was a steady sixth place. Morin had a good race, moving from eleventh to seventh. Algieo was the hard charger of the race, coming from nineteenth to finish eighth. Phillips advanced from fourteenth to ninth. And Nate McMillin also grabbed a top ten spot after racing his way into the feature from the B, seventeenth to tenth.

Thankfully, the little white truck has a heater that warms up quickly. We thawed out long before we stopped for gas north of Cloverdale. The little guy slept most of the way-no shock there, perhaps dreaming of race cars needing a mud scraper. Or maybe racers who know how to race with precision.

On the day of his birth, singing Willie Nelson songs (especially On the Road Again) all the way to Terre Haute, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Fountain of Youth-Business as Usual

It may be true that youth must be served, but it’s also true that sometimes respect is due the elders of any given activity, even sprint car racing. On a mild, albeit a little chilly, southern Indiana night at the Bloomington Speedway, Dave Darland kicked off the first USAC sprint car race of 2018 with a convincing win over a typical USAC-quality field. It was Darland’s 60^th USAC victory. Ryan Tusing came from twelfth to win the RaceSaver feature.

Last week I wrote of challenges. The trip to the red clay oval saw my ace navigator, Dave Foist, and I checking out the back roads of Bartholomew and Brown Counties on our way west. Both of us were traveling on roads for the first time in our long lives. The reason for all this was a deep desire to avoid waiting in traffic thanks to road construction, even if it meant an extra ten miles. For me, it was worth it.

The icing on the cake was arriving at the track that is pretty much my home track. Again, familiar faces abounded. People I hadn’t seen for months were a welcome sight. I stood in the pits as cars rumbled their collective tune while getting heat in the engines. It occurred to me that here was an example of one man’s noise being another man’s sound. It was beautiful music to me just loafing behind the pit bleachers. I was home.

Tyler Thomas was second in line to qualify and his 10.954 lap was the only sub-eleven second time. Jeff Bland did the local guys proud as his 11.240 time was fifth quick. Kyle Cummins’ car didn’t sound too great as he qualified due to a broken spark plug, but the results didn’t show that. The same was true for Jerry Coons Jr. in the Krockenberger family car. Like Cummins, he made the feature.

Robert Ballou won the first heat over Brady Bacon by a couple of car lengths. Dakota Jackson started on the pole and guarded the bottom like I guard my cheeseburger. It worked; Dakota was third, with Chase Stockon settling for the last promotion to the show. T. Thomas and Jeff Bland headed to the B.

Kyle Cummins, sick sounding engine repaired, won the second heat from the outside pole. Chad Boespflug was second and Kevin Thomas Jr., in Boespflug’s 2017 ride, took third. Jerry Coons Jr., with the Krockmobile's engine still popping, hung on to fourth, sending Kody Swanson and California visitor Joe Stornetta to the B.

Nick Bilbee tried his best to be the third consecutive winner from the outside front row, and he nearly did it. But a brief bobble with two laps to go, gave Dave Darland an opening and, Dave being the racer he is, took the lead and the win. Nick was second with C. J. Leary cruising to third. Jordan Kinser put the Hurst brother's pride and joy in the feature, taking fourth. Justin Grant suffered a flat tire and didn't re-enter the race, heading to the B.

The fourth heat was, in my opinion, ten laps of some talented people doing their job and giving a clinic on how to negotiate a challenging surface. Tyler Courtney won from the second row. Lee Underwood was a calm second. Isaac Chapple was a comfortable third. Behind him was the show. Chris Windom came out in front of the pack, taking the last spot. Steve Sussex and Logan Seavey finished up a bit short but had no reason to be ashamed.

One could say the same for the B. T. Thomas led all the way with Stornetta grabbing second. Bland was third and Seavey came on strong at the end to take fourth. Grant was fifth after a fierce battle. Sussex hung on to annex the last spot available. Swanson just missed putting the Rock Steady Racing mount in the field, but used a provisional to get in.

RaceSaver Heats

Twenty of the winged sprints signed in. Past RaceSaver champ Luke Bland won the first heat over former 410 sprinter John Paynter Jr. Andy Bradley was third.

Kerry Kinser won the second heat from the second row. Kendall Ruble came from the third row to finish second. Anton Hernandez, who has quite a bit of open wheel experience elsewhere, recovered from a pre-race spin while lining up to take third.

Ethan Barrow was the third heat winner. Ryan Tusing came from the third row to get the silver medal. Pole sitter Terry Arthur was third.

-------

When Tyler Thomas and Stevie Sussex failed to transfer from their respective heats, Chase Stockon and Dave Darland were the beneficiaries. The green flag waved and fans were quickly the beneficiaries as these two put on a clinic of their own, giving us vintage Bloomington competition. Darland occupied the  top shelf, playing the cushion like a maestro while Stockon showed a different kind of discipline as he worked the bottom groove. No way could unofficial lead changes be counted.

This exhibition was interrupted on lap three when Dakota Jackson flipped in turn three. Dakota walked away from the wreckage. Robert Ballou spun rather than hit the wrecked car. On the re-start, Darland and Stockon resumed their high-low dance. Kevin Thomas Jr. slipped over the turn three banking and ruined his chances at a good finish. When Stockon led laps seven through twelve, I began to think that maybe the top was going away. Boy, was I wrong. Darland took the lead on the thirteenth lap and led the rest of the way.

A few laps after losing the lead, Stockon began to fade. C.J. Leary and Chris Windom made their way to the front, or close to the front. Neither threatened the leader; Dave had things pretty much his own way, riding the Kevin Briscoe groove all the way. Windom hung on for second. Seavey had the best race that relatively few people saw, earning the KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE HARD CHARGER award by coming from fifteenth to third. Boespflug hung around the front all race, using the Briscoe-Darland line to take fourth place money. Leary was a well earned fifth.

Bland represented the local guys well by finishing sixth. Stockon faded to seventh. Bacon came from thirteenth to eighth. Stornetta was a steady ninth, impressive for a first timer. Courtney was tenth.

In addition to Darland’s record setting number of feature wins, it was also his 700^th start, also adding to his record. This win was Dave’s first since November, 2016.

USAC sprint fans were cheered by the 9:15 p.m. ending of the race. Those who had fought road construction seemingly in every direction from the track were rewarded with a well-run program.

Certainly, friend and mentor Mike O’Leary, Bloomington’s new general manager, worked like a wild man to get this done. During our brief conversation Mike exclaimed, “These are the first cars I’ve seen on the track tonight.” This was after hot laps and time trials.

The RaceSaver feature was next and pole sitter Luke Bland jumped out to the early lead. Through multiple yellow flag periods, including one red for a Tommy Tipover, Bland maintained the lead with John Paynter not far behind. But behind them, Ryan Tusing was on the move. From his twelfth starting spot, Tusing made his way to the front and passed Bland with four laps to go. At the end, Tusing and Bland were trailed by Paynter, Andy Bradley, and young Kendall Ruble.

In a few hours, I plan to be heading northwest to the Lincoln Park Speedway with a much younger navigator. He will be armed with his own mud scraper and will be ready to remove a lot of mud after hot laps.

Finding out that my own Fountain of Youth is a sink full of dirty dishes, I’m…

Danny Burton  

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Gold (and Cold) Dust

On a chilly, no, make it cold, Indiana night amidst the swirling dust, Justin Grant showed why he is a threat each time he climbs into a race car. Over the years, he has driven for several owners and it’s funny how he has found success with each of them. His current ride with the TOPPS team may be his best, but time can only tell. But on this night with a steady breeze coming from the north, Grant outran a strong group to win the feature at the Lawrenceburg Speedway’s 2018 opener.

You can go several months without seeing people and places, and when you do see them, you think to yourself, "Man, it looks like I never left." I get this feeling quite often in the month of April and as I walked to the pits at Lawrenceburg, there it was again.

There was the sight of people scurrying to get things ready combined with the sweet sounds of rumbling 410 engines. As cars made their way through the pits, I reminded myself to be careful. It's dangerous there no matter how many times one meanders through the pits. And smiling benevolently over the whole scene was the distillery, just as it did when I was just a skinny little kid coming here with my dad.

Among the twenty one cars signed in were some USAC guys who were weathered out at Montpelier and who wanted to race. Chris Windom, Shane Cottle and Justin Grant had hopes of raiding Dave Rudisell's piggy bank while they were in town. 'Burg regulars Shawn Westerfeld, Joss Moffatt and Jarett Andretti, track champs all, might have said, "Not so fast, guys."

It was no big surprise to see Chris Windom win the first heat. It was a bit of a surprise that second place C. J. Leary, driving the Pedersen sponsorless machine, with the cool open trailer, stayed as close as he did. New poppa Cody Gardner was third and Michael Fischesser recovered from an early mishap to take fourth.

Despite a contrary engine during hot laps, Shane Cottle ran away with the second heat win from the pole. Dickie Gaines was second with Aric Gentry third. Trevor Kobylarz edged Joss Moffatt for fourth.

The third heat saw Landon Simon hold off Justin Grant for the win. Jarett Andretti was third with Shawn Westerfeld bringing it in fourth.

For the first time at Lawrenceburg, I bought a huge tenderloin sandwich. It took me most of the support classes heats to finish. That is no complaint. I won’t give up cheeseburgers, but may try the tenderloin again.

The unsponsored 4P, driven by C.J. Leary, was on the pole with Shane Cottle, Friday night’s winner at Gas City, on the outside. ‘Burg flagger Tim Montgomery, who was probably colder than the rest of us, waved the green and Grant, who started fourth, shot to the front immediately and had a spirited duel with Leary for the first few laps. Grant was leading with four laps completed when the race’s only yellow waved for Drew Abel, who was spotted facing the wrong way in turn four.

The order was Grant, Leary, Windom, Cottle, Simon, Gaines, Gentry, Andretti, Westerfeld and Gardner. On the re-start, the top three stayed the same, but Simon slipped by Cottle to take fourth. Gaines did the same, relegating the Throttle to sixth. Grant slowly but surely pulled away as Leary had his hands full with Windom. For many laps, the sprint car with no decals held off the car with several stickers on it, along with a larger amount of cubic dollars behind it. But on lap 17, Windom got around Leary and did his best to try and catch the leader. That didn’t happen; instead Chris found himself fighting off the pesky Leary lap after lap.

Up front, Grant cruised to the win, finishing about ten car lengths ahead of Windom. Leary earned an impressive third place. Simon, bedeviled by handling issues at Gas City, was strong all race and took fourth. Gaines, who makes me feel even older with his gray hair among the brown, started and finished fifth. Gas City winner Cottle was sixth. Andretti, second at Gas City, was seventh. Abrams was the hard charger of the race, coming from nineteenth to take eighth place and winning a free Dave Rudisell hero card. Westerfeld and Kobylarz completed the top ten.

It was cold and it was dusty, at least for the feature. I didn’t mind the dust. It’s a dirt track for the love of Brian France. But the wind from the north made sure that I was halfway to Batesville before I thawed out. In the end, none of that stuff mattered much. I was privileged to see old friends that I haven’t seen for months. I saw a decent race and a well-run racing program. I saw a few guys who are all time greats and will be in various Halls of Fame someday. I didn’t get the chance to heckle Dave Rudisell, but maybe next time. And Rick Lane found a pole positioned behind me and snapped yet another picture. All of that was more important to me than cold weather and a bit of dust.

Auditioning for the manager’s vacancy for the Cincinnati Reds, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Obstacle? What Obstacle?

It’s not uncommon for any racer who drives for other people to be between rides. I would think that this could be stressful at times, but I would also think that many racers don’t let it get to them. They just wanna race and have no qualms about putting the word out they are ready to race for…you, or maybe Steve and Carla Phillips. However it all happened, Shane Cottle joined forces with Steve and Carla a few weeks ago. Frank Daigh wanted to be a part of this small group and he was welcomed. One had to figure that this would be a team of winners, on and off the track. After an ordinary debut at Kokomo last week, Mr. Cottle and company decided to conduct a test session at the Gas City/I-69 Speedway on a chilly Friday night. It worked out quite well for them with Cottle finding himself parked at the start/finish line, collecting the trophy, congratulations, and some of new promoter Jerry Gappens’ moolah.

Without exception we are all presented with obstacles multiple times each day in varying degrees. Personally, my biggest obstacle for Friday was dealing with road construction. I stopped counting the big orange diamond shaped signs on Indiana State Road Nine before I reached Greenfield. But all of these would be obstacles didn't stop me on my chosen path. However, they did make me think.

All too often, we determine that encountering an obstacle means that we should turn around and give up. But it would seem that a better plan is in order, along with a change in attitude. I'm inclined to think that looking at that road construction sign could be interpreted as being a challenge to be dealt with, or to overcome. I guess what mattered was that the grandsons and I arrived at Gas City safe and sound. The would-be obstacles were forgotten, as they should be. Perhaps the Phillips/Cottle/Daigh team felt the same way.

The sprint feature winner wasn’t the only one facing obstacles. New promoter Jerry Gappens has been working outrageously long hours getting ready for Opening Night. A lazy person like myself could get tired of thinking about all the things Gappens and company had to do before unlocking the gate on Friday. Somehow it all was done and came together. No doubt there were opening night glitches, but overall it seemed like a success.

Twenty-two sprint teams were among the sixty-six cars in the pits. There were no huge surprises, but it was interesting to see Missouri’s Clint Boyles in the venerable Paul Hazen’s car that has had its own Hall of Fame group of racers who have sat in the seat. I asked Clint if this was a one-night deal. He laughed and said, “I hope not.” Among those who chose not to go to Brownstown for the Jesse Hockett/No Way Out 40 were Brandon Mattox, Jarett Andretti, and Brandon Morin, all of whom opted to take the longer trip to Gas City.

At 8:02 p.m. Kyle Robbins took Brian "Twinkletoes" Hodde's green flag and grabbed the early lead in the first heat. Landon Simon brought out the first yellow of the year on the first lap. After exchanging the lead with Brandon Morin a few times, KRob went on to win. Morin was second and Tyler Hewitt took third. Dallas Hewitt (no relation for those who didn't know) was fourth, ahead of Brandon Mattox.

Clinton Boyle jumped out to the lead as the second heat began, but did a little bicycling act in turn one. Shane Cottle pounced and was gone. Behind Cottle was Boyle. The ageless Ted Hines finished third and Matt McDonald took fourth. Ohio's Matt Cooley was fifth.

Things got ugly in the third heat right away. Parker Fredrickson flipped as he negotiated turn three, ending up in turn four near the fence. He climbed out and walked away. Racing resumed with new pole sitter Isaac Chapple taking the lead and the win. Jarett Andretti was second, with Travis Hery third. Garrett Abrams was fourth and Lee Underwood completed the top five.

During the drivers’ meeting, it was mentioned that a B Main would be contested, but that plan was changed.

Robbins and Morin, a pair of somewhat recent new daddies, made up the front row. KRob led the first lap but Cottle was on the move from his fourth starting spot and swept around both front row occupants to take the lead a lap later.  

He was extending his lead when the yellow waved for Landon Simon, who spun his ill handling scooter in turn two. On the re-start, sprint rookie Luke Harbison had himself a Tommy Tipover, brining out the red. The top ten was Cottle, Robbins, Andretti, Chapple, Morin, Boyles, Hines, T. Hewitt, D. Hewitt, and Mattox.

Not much changed up front after this re-start as Cottle steadily built his lead. Clinton Boyles was on the move, using the outside groove to good use. He put the pressure on Andretti for third, while Jarett did the same to Robbins.

Action slowed again as Jamie Fredrickson spun in turn one on lap twelve. It was still Cottle, Robbins and Andretti up front. Boyles was now fourth ahead of Chapple. On this re-start, Boyles stuck with success and passed Andretti on the outside for third. A lap later the positions switched again. And another lap later, Boyles found a rough spot on the track and lost fourth to Chapple.

Meanwhile up front, while Cottle was having his way, Robbins had his hands full holding off Andretti for second. With five laps to go, on lap twenty, Andretti got a very good bite coming out of four to make the pass for the place position.

Shane’s margin of victory was the better part of a straightaway as Andretti could not get close enough to threaten. Robbins held on for an impressive third place finish. Chapple was fourth. Morin, after dropping back early in the race, rallied to take fifth. After running as high as second (very briefly), Boyles still had a positive beginning in Paul Hazen’s masterpiece and finished sixth. On a night when passing was frequent, T. Hewitt started and finished seventh. Mattox came from thirteenth to take eighth after running as high as sixth. Mr. Hines was ninth and Rushville, Indiana’s Garrett Abrams took tenth.

As for the new promoter and his team, their opening night, if not a home run, was a bases loaded triple. The facility was looking as good as ever. The track workers were friendly and efficient. About the only glitch was that the track had a wee bit of extra water, making it quite slick. Had it been July, it would have been the right amount of water. But it didn’t matter in the end. Guys adapted to it. The people who usually ran well did so, no matter what the surface was like. The mood was positive and upbeat among everyone I talked to. We all owe a big thank you to Jerry Gappens and crew.

Ignoring obstacles such as no cheese for my cheeseburger, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Sunshine Lights Up the Kokomo Grand Prix

Not that anyone needed reminding, but Tyler Courtney has proven to be a threat to win wherever he shows up at a bullring. Like most racers, he loves the Kokomo Speedway. It's fast, wide and well prepared. On opening night of the Kokomo Grand Prix, all Courtney did was post his first USAC Midget Series victory, keeping a talented group of racers at bay. Chris Windom won the sprint feature, helping to make up for a frustrating night with the Baldwin Brother's midget.

There was a decent chance of rain for the otherwise beautiful Friday in north central Indiana. This may have hurt the size of the crowd and the car count, but 23 sprints and 34 USAC midgets weren't too shabby. There were six double dippers, K. Thomas, T. Thomas, Darland, Bacon, Windom, and Leary.

Courtney was among the first to time trial and he ripped off an impressive 13.168 lap. This held up until Justin Grant went out late (28^th) and put together a 13.154. This is not uncommon for Kokomo; quite often the quick timer is among the latter group.

The sprints ran their heats first and Kevin Thomas Jr came from fourth to first on the first lap of the first heat to hold off Jarett Andretti for the win. Isaac Chapple was third with Colton Cottle fourth. Missouri's Clinton Boyle started and finished fifth.

Chad Boespflug won the second heat with local boy Dave Darland second in the Goodnight team car. Pole sitter Tony Dimattia was third and Shane Cottle brought the Phillips/Daigh steed home fourth. After an early close call with Dimattia, C. J. Leary recovered to take fifth.

As did Boespflug in the second heat, Chris Windom used his outside front row starting spot to win the third heat. Brady Bacon made it close, but had to settle for second. Matt Westfall finished third in his new Marshall Racing ride. Tyler Thomas was fourth and Pennsylvania's Trevor Kobylarz took fifth.

All 23 sprinters would start in their feature.

It was time for the four midget heats, with the top four moving on. Tucker Klaasmyer overhauled early leader Andrew Felker, then held off Logan Seavey to win the first heat. Justin Grant overcame early adversity to take third. Felker beat out Holly Shelton to grab the last ticket to the show.

As best he could, Jerry Coons Jr. ignored the battle behind him and won the second heat. Kevin Thomas Jr. edged Tyler Courtney for second. Tyler Carrick started and finished fourth.

Yet another Tyler, Thomas, swept from fourth to first on the first lap, then held on to win the third heat over a charging Brady Bacon. Ryan Robinson was third and Alex Schuett grabbed fourth, earning him a place in the feature.

Thomas Meseraull hustled from third to first on the initial lap of the fourth heat, then kept the lead and the win. Youngster Zeb Wise was second with Chad Boat third. Spencer Bayston flat stole fourth from Dave Darland at the line, sending the People's Champ to the B.

After a brief intermission, the Midget B Main rolled off. Pole sitter Holly Shelton won with fourth starting Dave Darland second. New Jersey’s Alex Bright was third, with Kyle Craker fourth. Chase Jones came from 11^th to take fifth. Brayton Lynch hung on to take the last dance card.

Gage Walker and Matt Moore used provisionals to get in.

Next up was the sprint feature. Pole sitter Kevin Thomas Jr. took the lead at the start as Chris Windom settled into second early. Things heated up as Windom reeled in the leader by lap 10 and the slidefest was on, with Thomas and Windom trading sliders and the lead at each end of the track. But Windom finally took the lead near the midway point and gradually pulled away.

Thomas maintained second with Brady Bacon nipping Dave Darland at the end to take third. Jarett Andretti was fifth. Chad Boespflug finished sixth and Tony DiMattia took seventh. Tyler Thomas was eighth with the Cottle clan, Uncle Shane and nephew Colton, rounding out the top ten.

Adam Byrkett took a wild ride after snagging an infield tire and flipping high as he exited turn four. He was able to walk away.

It was time for the main event. Kevin Thomas Jr. found himself in familiar territory for the start, namely the pole position. Seavey, Bayston, Robinson, Courtney, Grant, Bacon, Boat, Shelton and Carrick filled out the first five rows. Seavey took the lead at the green, but just as the first lap was completed, the red waved as Matt Moore found himself on his lid in turn four. Gage Walker and Chase Jones were nearby, facing the wrong way.

Trying again, Seavey took the lead again on the green with Bayston giving chase. Another red flag waved with eight complete as Darland was parked in turn four upside down with Coons sitting nearby. Dave was made upright and both rejoined the gang. It was too bad for Seavey as he had built a near straightaway lead over Bayston, Courtney, Boat and Grant.

On the re-start, Courtney dispatched Bayston and commenced another vintage Kokomo battle with Seavey, trading the lead too many times to recount. Officially, Courtney led laps ten and eleven and Seavey regained the lead on lap 12. But Sunshine was not to be denied, taking the lead for good on lap 13. Boat took over second place near the halfway mark and briefly challenged the leader in lapped traffic. But it wasn’t happening. Two late race yellows didn’t mean beans to Courtney either. He kept control of the race and saw the checkered first.

Boat came from eighth to grab second. Bacon came on late to take third. Bayston and Grant were fourth and fifth. Young Zeb Wise was sixth after starting 12^th. Despite an impressive run, Seavey faded to seventh. The noted law firm of Meseraull, Robinson, and K. Thomas Jr. rounded out the top ten.

Thomas Meseraull was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, moving from 16^th to eighth.

Courtney had the quote of the night when he said, “If you get yourself too confident, you kind of get yourself in trouble.” Ain’t that the truth?

We humans seem to have a need to take sides. We choose sides for different reasons. Like most things in life, this is neither inherently good or bad. Instead, it’s what we make of it. With that said, it seems as if a certain number of fans are warming to Tyler Courtney. It may be that some of them were (and are) fans of the late Bryan Clauson. (I’ll admit it. Writing those last three words still hurts.)

Is there anything wrong with this? Of course not. The fact of the matter is that most all these guys and gals are quality people and they are worthy of our respect as well as our cheers. I’m like my grandson, who missed out with the rest of us on Saturday night when Night Two of the KGP was rained out. I like ‘em all.

Just now figuring out that Cambridge Analytica is not a nasal spray, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The following is a brief figment of my imagination. I don’t pretend to know what heaven is like other than believing that it’s a better place than earth. I recognize that we all have our own ideas of heaven. I even recognize that there are those who don’t believe in an afterlife at all. I’m fine with all that. The following is not meant to be a discussion of what that next realm is like, or even that it exists. I’m not trying to convert anyone; if anything, I’m hoping that what I put on this screen might make people think a bit. It’s just my imagination running close, but not too close, to the guardrail of what we believe and love. DB

The Ultimate in Bench Racing

The old man rubbed his eyes, as if he was just waking up. But it was strange. He didn’t feel like he had been asleep. However, here he was in a strange place, hard to tell where. There seemed to be a haze hanging over the whole scene. He couldn’t tell if he was in or outside; the haze obscured his long-distance vision. The old man decided to wander around and see what he could see.

With his first step, the old man felt like he was floating more than walking. The haze was such that he couldn’t see his feet, but it felt as if they were not touching the ground, or floor, or whatever he was walking on. He set his course for what appeared to be a door, or an opening of some sort.

Walking through the door—literally, without opening it, he saw a multitude of beings like himself. It seemed to be a massive party of people talking and laughing for the most part. Unsure of how it happened, he gravitated toward a group of people who looked vaguely familiar. After a couple of hellos, he figured out that these were relatives, all long gone from their earthly existence. He also figured out that his time in that realm was over; he had passed over into this new life and his troubles, aches and pains from before were all gone. He spent an undetermined amount of time visiting with his family. Soon he learned that in this place there was no concept of time. All was eternity and each encounter would be a new experience.

He determined from a friendly spirit who turned out to be his dad that there were an uncountable number of racers here. Finding them would be no problem. He was anxious to see some of the racers that he had watched race back in their time on earth. Not needing directions, it was if all he had to do was aim himself in a given direction and he would find the racers he hoped to meet.

They set out to find some of their long-gone heroes. They arrived in a vast area which contained several of what appeared to be benches, most all of which were occupied by a number of spirits, most of whom were laughing and telling stories.

He recognized several of them, but there were several more who were strangers. They were the not-so-famous who had taken their previous life’s checkered flag, but here it didn’t matter. Nor did it matter if one had never driven. The area was filled with a variety of mechanics, car owners, track workers, and fans, lots of fans.

The new arrival and his dad split up. The son wandered about, looking around and finding that all he had to do was look at someone and that someone would smile and nod. He sat down with one group, mostly, he thought, because there appeared to be an empty space for him to occupy.

The racer next to him said hello, and began to tell his story. He had raced throughout the American Midwest after WWII in the late 40s into the 50s. He never did make it to the Indianapolis 500, as many young men aimed to do in those days, but he came close. Without the newbie asking, the racer, in his matter of fact demeanor, told of his earthly demise in 1953, just before he was to have met with a car owner about a ride in that year’s 500. The racer didn’t seem to be saddened by the experience at all. When asked why, he only related that there was no use spending the rest of eternity whining or feeling sorry for himself. As a result, he was spending eternity like this, engaging in heavenly bench racing and welcoming new arrivals, including the wife he had left behind. He was quite content.

Sitting next to him was another spiritual being who had also passed on about the time rear engine cars were taking over in Indy car racing. His earthly checkered flag waved when he crashed one of those cars and was badly burned. His accident, among others, resulted in safety advances for those who came later. He and others like him were both loved and respected by all the heavenly occupants that had raced. This was a familiar theme, as the old man would find out soon.

The new arrival next encountered another racer who he had met at some point in his earthly past. Unlike his previous behavior, now he appeared to be relaxed and happy. The two were happy to exchange memories. The racer had been an excellent pavement racer and stuck with that surface. Ironically, he had passed to this life after an accident at a pavement track. He also shared that, when he first arrived here, some of the older residents took him aside and reminded him that his passing away from his previous dwelling would not be in vain. Changes would be made to these race cars to make them safer, meaning that drivers would have similar accidents and survive to race again. That made the racer feel quite at peace with himself. The new arrival marveled at that.

He meandered about, recognizing a lot of familiar faces, or at least the earthly version of faces. He saw dozens of Indy 500 winners, stock car racers, sprinters who had passed, and many promoters, including one who had been famous for wearing a big cowboy hat and chewing on a huge cigar.

After a certain, unmeasurable, amount of time, he stepped away. He found his own Savior/Teacher/Example sitting with a group of people, patiently taking time to answer all questions. He patiently waited until the Rabbi/Prince of Peace/Emmanuel noticed him and bade him welcome.

He stood before the holy figure and asked, “Lord, I have questions.”

His answer was, “I know you do. And I have answers. Go ahead and ask, my son.”

“Why do so many die so young? I’m aware that so many die so young and that they do not die in vain. I’m referring to the drivers I’ve met here, but I’m aware that several of them left behind small children. I’m aware that life in the realm I just left is not fair and it isn’t supposed to be fair. But parents leave when their children are young and, not only that, children pass on at such young ages. I’m not bitter, Lord, but I have to ask why the little, innocent ones suffer so?”

The Messiah/Son of God/Light of the World smiled. His countenance fairly glowed. The student was surprised when the King of the Jews/Bread of Life/Alpha and Omega warmly greeted Gandhi and the group that had been seeking knowledge from all spiritual teachers. More surprises were in store when the old man became aware of such famous historical figures, here instead of some history book. There was recent arrival Billy Graham. Not far away was King Constantine, from the fourth century. Mind boggling it was “seeing” Ray Harroun visiting with President U.S. Grant—an odd couple for the ages.

The new kid on the heavenly block returned his attention to the Son of Man/High Priest/Lamb of God, who prepared his answer to this great mystery by saying…

“Danny, wake up.”

“Huh?”

“Wake up. You were mumbling some stuff in your sleep that I couldn’t make any sense of.”

It was my wife and I looked around the room in total confusion.

“Were you having a dream? If you were, what were you dreaming about?”

I sat up and said, “I’m not sure you would believe me.”

Wondering why there were no televangelists in my dream, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: My Favorite Bloomington Speedway Memory

A few weeks ago, my good friend Mike O’Leary asked people to share their memories of the beautiful red clay oval that lies 45 miles west of me. Here are a few memories of Bloomington.

I would love to say that my favorite memory of what I lovingly call the red clay oval was my first visit. My dad always said that I was one month old when my parents and I went to Bloomington. Dad told stories of a car ending up in a lake in the infield and said that it was a cold day.

My favorite memory came along about 49 years and 11 months later. My birthday fell on a Friday and for me it was business as usual. I recall standing near the concession stand, watching hot laps. At some point, my good friend Dave Foist and I began talking. There was nothing unusual about that; Dave and I have had hundreds of such meetings before and since. But Dave mumbled something about going up the hill to meet some people. That seemed a bit odd, but I told Dave to have fun. When he asked me to tag along, I was more confused than suspicious. But I dutifully followed Dave up the hill to the picnic area.

As I neared the top of the hill, I knew that I’d been fooled—and surprised. It was a surprise birthday party for me at age 50. Assorted family and friends had assembled for the occasion, organized by my wife with crucial assistance from Dave Foist and Bloomington’s marketing guru, Chuck Welsh.

The turnout astounded me, a collection of family and friends all having a chuckle at my expense, as well as some birthday cake. There was a lot of laughing, storytelling and the cake steadily became smaller. It was tough to try and keep up with what was happening on the track with so many people making a fuss over a 50 year old geezer.  

I don’t recall all the details, but I do remember that Dickie Gaines won the feature that night and I found myself at the start/finish line after the race. It may have been a HARF Night, which meant the feature winner received a neat t-shirt, as well as a year’s free membership. It was my first time to talk with Dickie, but, thankfully, far from the last.

To make the spotlight even brighter, public address announcer Kimb Stewart read a letter from John Levan, the editor of www.openwheelracing.com, the website that I wrote for in those days. The brighter the light shone on me, the more I squirmed. But it was a special night all the same.

In the past 15 years since that special night, a lot has happened. We lost Chuck Welsh a little over a year ago. Chuck’s smile alone made everyone at Bloomington feel at home. It’s been almost nine years since John Levan passed away. John was instrumental in encouraging me to write about racing beginning just before 2000. One of those who celebrated with me, Ron Harris, lost his life about five years later in a motorcycle accident. Ron was only days from taking an anticipated early retirement.

Good things have happened as well. Dickie Gaines still races on occasion and lets folks know that he’s still around. I’ve made dozens if not hundreds of new friends since then, one of them another writing mentor, Mike O’Leary. The red clay oval carries on, now with who else but Mike O’Leary as general manager. Dave Foist remains a friend and serious race fan, overcoming illness to spend most of his Friday nights at Bloomington, eating some ice cream and enjoying himself.

Over the years, I have a few memories of the early 1960s. Bob Kinser, Cecil Beavers and a guy I knew personally, Mac Vails all are etched in my memory bank. There was a night when a stock car went over the turn one banks and the driver sailed out of the car, landing near where the fence that separates the track from the parking lot. He survived. I remember one night when my dad tried a different route home. Whatever happened, we were lost somewhere in eastern Monroe County, long before the area was taken over by urban sprawl. This would have been in 1963.

After a few years away, I returned to see the red clay again on a regular basis in the mid-90s. These were the years of Derek Scheffel and his four Bloomington Speedway championships. There were the frequent battles between two of the best, Kevin Briscoe and Kevin Thomas (the original). It wasn’t too many years ago when Dickie Gaines was involved in an accident that left him and his car stuck against the front straight fence like a fly stuck in a spider’s web. There were battles between the Briscoe and a young Bryan Clauson that stand out, including the night BC flipped across the finish line.

More recently, many of my memories have involved my youngest grandson at the track. With little or no persuasion, he has served as pace truck driver Doug Vandeventer. He’s not above helping scrape mud off the sprints after hot laps. He loves the playground at the top of the hill. And he enjoys the show car behind the announcers’ booth.

It’s a waste of time to speculate much on how many more years I’ll be haunting what comes closest to serving as my home track. What matters is that the gracefully aging red clay oval will still be there when I’m gone, entertaining a whole new generation of race fans. Let us hope that is the case.

Pandering to my base, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: First In Class

It was quite encouraging to see a rare all-green feature to close out the year. The race may not have been the barnburner that Kokomo had the night before, but it was no less exciting, hectic, and tense. C. J. Leary did a great job of working his way through lapped traffic and earned his first victory at the Tri-State Speedway's Harvest Cup on a breezy Saturday night that wrapped up racing for both the track and the Midwest Sprint Car Series.

After enduring a Brown County traffic jam (peak season for the changing colors of the trees), I made up some of the lost time thanks to setting the cruise control at 80 when I drifted on to I-69. I still arrived in time for most of the drivers’ meeting. The biggest surprise among the 27 cars was the appearance of Chase Briscoe, now a NASCAR driver, in his own car for the night.

The luck of the draw created a very strong first heat lineup. At least one front runner would end up in the B. Pole sitter Chase Stockon won as second place Kevin Thomas Jr. had his hands full holding off C. J. Leary to take second. The boys appreciated Chase Briscoe showing up, but that didn't stop them from moving him back to fourth after he began the race on the front row. Nate McMillen was fifth and made sure that Brady Short and Tyler Thomas went to the B.

The second heat was a challenge, one could say. It featured two red flags and two yellows. Kyle Cummins won with Chet Williams finishing second. Steven Schnapf, Ben Knight and Parker Fredrickson all transferred to the A. Brandon Mattox spun and was tackled by Kent Schmidt, who then turned over.  Knight and Collin Ambrose collided coming out of turn two with Ambrose clouting the wall and flipping. After a few minutes, he climbed out of the car.

The third heat was not quite as challenging. After two early yellows, things settled down somewhat with Carson Short taking the win. Donnie Brackett recovered from an early spin to roar back and finish second, ahead of a perplexed Robert Ballou. Aric Gentry and Jadon Rogers grabbed the last two transfer spots.

Tyler Thomas ran away from everyone to win the B. Brady Short was a comfortable second. Doc Wallace took third. Illini Mitch Davis could say that his Tri-State debut was successful as he finished fourth. Brandon Mattox provided some undesirable excitement as he made a late pass on Kendall Ruble stick, smoking engine and all.

It was somehow fitting that the front row of the feature would be occupied by local boys Stockon and Cummins. The green flag waved and Stockon promptly tried to leave the others behind. Had it not been for Leary, he would have been successful.

From seventh, the Greenfield resident got busy right away. After one lap, he was fifth. Another lap was scored and Leary was now second. It was a matter of time at that point. With the decent sized lead Stockon had built, it took C.J. a little longer to catch up. But he quickly reeled in the hometown favorite and made the pass on the seventh lap.

It was somewhat surprising that Leary didn’t exactly check out. It would be more accurate to say that both Leary and Stockon ran away from the field, both skillfully negotiating the lapped traffic, which came early and stayed on as a factor.

The all-green contest was over in less than seven minutes, about as long as it took me to devour on the Tri-State’s double cheeseburgers. It was a testament to all 21 starters.

Behind Leary and Stockon, Cummins held on for third. Kevin Thomas Jr., the Kokomo Klash winner the night before, was fourth. Briscoe, who had not been expected to appear, came from tenth to finish fifth. Williams was sixth and sprint rookie Schnapf closed out his first year with an impressive seventh. Ballou spent the race mired in traffic and managed an eighth. Brackett was ninth, a lap down. B. Short settled for tenth, but won the war, as it were, crowned as the MSCS 2017 champ before racing began. Brady advanced more than anyone, 17^th to seventh.

Post-race, Leary was quick to note that this was his first win at Tri-State. After congratulating Leary’s ace mechanic Donnie Gentry, who has raced at the Class Track for more years than one can remember. Donnie said that this was the first time he had stood at the start/finish line in any capacity. It was both surprising and neat to hear that this.

It was time to make the long trip northeast. I took time to wish MSCS Race Director Eldon Butcher well before leaving. Brandon Mattox, relaxing after a long, trying night, waved good-by. I had been fortunate enough to visit with many all evening. But it was time to say good-by to all, as well as a treasured Hoosier bullring.

It also meant adios to my 2017 race chasing. It began back in April at Lawrenceburg (with Chris Windom winning the USAC feature, his first at the ‘burg), then off to North Carolina a couple of weeks later. Back home again in May and I was off and running, not stopping until I walked through the pit gate at Tri-State one last time.

Supposedly, now I shall have more time for other projects, most of which are non-racing activities. My jewelry making wife has an open house scheduled, which means I spend time lifting heavy objects like tables and then hiding when customers show up (not a good idea to scare them off).

One writing project is looming large and the hope is to see that come to fruition. It involves fiction, which is another animal entirely. Stay tuned.

Inadvertently jumping over the wall to help Matt Kenseth’s crew, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Never Give Up

One of the many lessons that Hoosier bullring racin' teaches us is that we must never give up. Even when the odds and common sense tell us to pack it in, if we keep our eyes on the prize, there is a chance that good things might happen, win, lose, or draw. A young man named Tyler Courtney learned to never give up at some point in his racing education. On a mild Friday night at the Kokomo Speedway, Courtney stayed close enough to race long leader Dave Darland before making the pass for the lead as both came to the checkered flag. This, the Kokomo Klash, was the curtain closer for 2017 and fans could not have asked for a more dramatic ending.

Arriving in time for the drivers’ meeting, I soon learned that 127 cars had jammed the O’Connor family’s pit are, spilling over to the parking lot. There were no major changes in the sprint car roster, 35 cars. Ted Hines made a rare appearance. Drivers’ ages ranged from teenager Jadon Rogers to long time Social Security eligible Al Thomas.

The big news was the announcement that this would be Josh Spencer’s last race. Josh and company will be missed. It will be strange and bittersweet to walk into the Kokomo pits and see either an empty spot next to the Paul Hazen trailer or someone new occupying it.

The program was somewhat different. Group qualifying as usual, but the fast qualifier would start on the pole of his heat. Four heats and two B mains would determine the 20 lucky ones.

The first heat was about as good as it gets. Positions changed multiple times most every lap. Almost lost in the shuffle was winner Dave Darland, who took the lead on the second lap and never looked back. The same was true for second place Scotty Weir. The action was from third through fifth with Tyler Courtney, Chad Boespflug, and Shane Cottle engaged in a series of vicious cuts and slashes at each end of the track. The checkered flag waved with Cottle going to the B. Courtney appeared to be unhappy with Boespflug post-race. It happens.

The second heat was not quite as tense as Chris Windom benefited from C. J. Leary's misfortune. Leary smoked and stopped after a lap had been completed, victim of a fried engine. Tony Dimattia was second with Ted Hines coming from ninth to take third. Jaden Rogers held off BOSS champ Dustin Smith to grab fourth.

Kevin Thomas Jr. led all the way in the third heat to see Tom Hansing's checkered flag first. Jaret Andretti won the silver medal and Tyler Hewitt was third. Colton Cottle also made it to the feature.

More craziness came with the fourth heat when David Hair entered turn three too high, caught the wall, and flipped hard after a lap had been completed. David walked away, no doubt not liking the loud bells ringing in his head. Kyle Cummins checked out and had nearly a half lap lead when Gabe Griffith smacked the tire in turn four. The tire resembled a salmon swimming upstream as it rolled up the track. Cummins won, trailed by Josh Spencer, Michael Koontz, and Steve Thomas.

There were 23 midgets throughout the pits. They wouldn’t bother with a B. Heat winners were Shane Cottle Justin Peck and Zeb Wise.

It was impressive that all 14 heats for all cars were completed at 9:05 p.m.

Only the top two of each sprint B would transfer to the show. Shane Cottle won the first with Matt Goodnight coming from seventh to commandeer second. Travis Hery romped in the second last chance affair with Lee Underwood finishing second.

After the two B mains each for sprints and the Thunder Cars, along with a break for some minor track massaging, it was a little after 10 when the cars lined up, led by the front row of Darland and Windom. Looking over the lineup, I wisely concluded that a good bet was the winner coming from the front two rows. I picked Tyler Courtney, who was starting ninth, to be the one who would advance the most. Wrong on both counts.

At the start, Darland used his familiar turn two launch to leap ahead of Windom and Thomas. Right from the beginning, two cars stood out. First, Courtney had already begun his passing. He marched to the top five by lap three. That was no surprise and neither should anyone have been surprised at Shane Cottle’s storming from B Main territory. By the fourth lap, he found himself in sixth after starting 17^th.

Darland built up a several car lengths lead by the ninth lap, when the yellow waved for a Ted Hines spin. The “whoosh” sound was the crowd exhaling from nine typical green flag laps at Kokomo. Darland led Thomas, Windom, Courtney, Andretti, S. Cottle, Cummins, Weir, C. Cottle, and Boespflug.

Courtney went to work on the re-start. He passed Windom a lap later. A lap after that it was KT’s turn to watch helplessly as Courtney went by. Sunshine still had over half the race to catch Darland. I cheerfully confess that I didn’t think Courtney would catch Dave Darland, let alone pass him, on “his” track. But lap after lap, without the benefit of a yellow flag, the kid did just that. Slowly but surely, he inched a bit closer. Once or twice, Dave cleared lapped traffic easier, but the Indianapolis resident never gave up.

Almost suddenly, the white flag came out. For Courtney, it was time. Even at a still young age, he knew what he had to do to pass the leader. Perhaps even Tyler couldn’t say when he decided to make his move, but one thing he knew: Giving up was not an option. Win or lose, he felt compelled to make the effort.

Sure enough, Tom Hansing was waiting with the checkered flag. Neither Tom nor the flag could know who would arrive there first. Diving low under Darland coming out of turn four, Courtney gave it all he had. Just about 20 feet from the line, the pass was made, and Courtney had done what could seem impossible, beat Dave Darland not on the last lap, but within a tiny space of several…inches.

Almost forgotten was Shane Cottle. He was easily the hardest of chargers, getting every bit of horsepower of Paul Hazen’s cannon, going from 17^th to third. Windom hung around the top five for the whole race, ending up fourth while Thomas did the same in taking fifth.

Andretti was sixth, followed by Weir, Cummins, Hewitt, and Boespflug. My pre-race predictions were wrong as usual. Someone outside the first two rows won and Cottle, not Courtney, was the hard charger.

Rather than mosey to the pits, I saw Cottle, one of three double dippers, win the midget feature over Gage Walker, who made a late pass of another with two rides, Windom, to take second. Landon Simon made his own late pass of Jerry Coons Jr. to seize fourth at the end. The second five was Justin Peck, Chett Gerkhe, Zeb Wise (who recovered from a mid-race spin), Kyle Simon, and Nick Speidel.

That was it for me. With the usual feeling of relief and bittersweet, I ambled to the little white truck and headed south, saying good-by to one of my personal treasures. There was only one more race on my 2017 schedule and, as this is written, I’ll be heading further south to Tri-State/Haubstadt in a few minutes to watch these guys go in circles one more time.

Politely denying the Weinstein brothers’ invitation to party, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Gamechangers

It may not happen every day, but we’ve all had days when one incident either made or ruined your day. We have all seen races like that as well. An incident benefits some and hurts others. It’s not, in my opinion, productive to just call it bad luck. Just because an opportunity falls into your hands doesn’t mean that you’re automatically going to take advantage of it. You still must act upon that opportunity, er—gamechanger. That’s exactly what Kevin Thomas Jr. did on a warm Saturday night at the Terre Haute Action Track as USAC sprints made their final appearance in the Midwest this year one to remember and appreciate. He took the lead from Chase Stockon on the 28^th lap of the 30 lap feature and won the Tony Hulman/Don Smith Classic. It was KT’s fifth USAC feature win of 2017, not counting a non-point special event at Kokomo.

Trackside Enterprises and USAC made a great decision to have a pit party before the evening’s races. Fans were allowed to roam the pits, get autographs, chat up drivers and generally get a closer look at the behind the scene activities. My grandson was all over this, securing 31 autographs, which happened to be the number of sprint cars in the pits, with several signing twice.

Qualifying produced few surprises. Dave Darland went out early and his 19.895 lap held up despite some good efforts. Unfortunately, Jon Stanbrough’s last USAC/TH appearance as a full time racer went bad quickly when he broke in hot laps. Shane Cottle was in a one off appearance in Mike Dutcher’s car while Arizona’s Stevie Sussex was in a car owned by Rick Pollock.

Darland made a second statement in the first heat as he moved from sixth to the lead on the third lap and stayed there. C.J. Leary was second and Chase Stockon grabbed third from Shane Cottle on the last lap.

Brady Bacon won the second heat, leading Kevin Thomas Jr. to the line. Jarett Andretti was third and Shane Cottle made a late pass of Aric Gentry to take fourth.

While the others fought for every other position, pole sitter Kyle Robbins won the third heat. Robert Ballou broke free of the pack to close on the leader, but settling for second. Kyle Cummins was third and USAC sprint points leader Justin Grant took fourth.

Tyler Courtney went from third to first on the opening lap and won the fourth heat. Chris Windom was second. Josh Hodges was third and Chad Boespflug annexed fourth.

Things got a little crazy in the B Main. Pole man Tyler Hewitt spun in turn two and Chet Williams, with no place to go, flipped and landed on all fours. The Michigan lawman, Joe Bares, led all the way to take the first of six remaining spots in the feature. My fellow native of the Athens of the Prairie, Joss Moffatt, was second. Jerry Coons Jr. was third after his involvement in the first lap fracas sent him to the back. Stevie Sussex finished fourth. Local boy Brandon Mattox took fifth and Dylan Shaw had a remarkable end of the race, coming from his 14^th/last starting spot to edge Isaac Chapple and take sixth.

With everyone up front retaining their qualifying times, the front row was Andretti and Stockon. These two ran one/two for the first six laps before a yellow flag waved for Robert Ballou’s slowing car. It appeared to be a front end problem and the Madman was done.

Stockon and Andretti led Thomas, Grant, Windom, Cottle, Darland, Bacon, Courtney, and Leary. Jarett bobbled on the start and was shuffled back as Thomas took the second spot. Stockon had built a good sized lead for the laps leading up to his catching lapped traffic near the halfway mark. But Thomas was cutting away at the lead, seemingly inch by inch. A bit further back in the pack, both Darland and Bacon were on the move. DD had dropped as low as seventh at the start, but began steadily moving forward, running fourth at the crossed flags. He passed Windom for third on lap 20 and this was shaping up to be a three way fight for the lead, with Windom and Bacon not too far back.

It was slide job time and Thomas began with an unsuccessful slider for the lead. Darland added insult to injury as he passed KT for second. The Peoples’ Champ had been strong much of the night and now looked to have a great chance to ring up his first USAC win of the year. It seemed like Stockon, while hanging tough, could be had.

We’ll never know because the race’s turning point/gamechanger arrived on the 25^th lap with Dylan Shaw catching the turn four wall and flipped. Thus ended an up and down night for the young man. After a mechanical issue had kept him from turning a qualifying lap, he tagged the B and eked his way into the feature. Shaw spent a good part of the race getting laps and trying to stay out of the leaders’ way, which was what he was doing when he got too high in turn four and smacked the wall.

The unintended consequence of all this was a late mad dash up front. Stockon led Darland, Thomas, and Windom when the final green waved. An abundance of slide jobs left Thomas taking over a lap before the white flag. Windom was also a player in this, sliding his way to second. Stockon salvaged third and had to be wondering what might have been. Bacon came on strong at the end to edge Darland for fourth, taking the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger prize after starting 13^th. Courtney, Grant, Leary, Cummins, and Coons were six through ten.

The winner surely felt some redemption for his last THAT race, where he ran out of fuel while leading.

With such a large crowd and the fairly early hour, we made our way to the start/finish line to observe the post-race routines. The grandson patiently waited to get some time with the winner and had his picture taken, complete with a Hoosier Tire headband to wear. From there we walked to the pits to see what was there. Again, after waiting patiently, he helped Joe Bares and crew push their car into the hauler. If that wasn’t enough, he had yet another encounter with the winner (his third of the night), guiding the race winning car into their hauler.

Spending my post-race time watching this boy entrusted to my care, I couldn’t help but enjoy the fact that this kid, along with too few others, gets to interact with his heroes on a personal level. He has seen plenty of other athletes on TV, but has chatted with everyone from Dave Darland to Dave Gross. He’s far from the only kid to visit the pits routinely, and ideally it compensates for the things he doesn’t have.

It reminded me of TV preachers, strangely enough. Too many of them have the fame, money, and attention while the local preacher struggles to reach people with something closer to the real deal. When an avid TV watcher experiences one of life’s bad breaks, his TV preacher isn’t going to interrupt his busy schedule to pay a visit.

It is not unlike the kid who writes a note to his favorite athlete for an autograph as opposed to the kid who can walk right up to his favorite athlete and get an autograph, a high five, or sit behind the wheel and dream.

Who knows, a little attention to a kid or anyone else might be a gamechanger.

Trying not to hit the ladder that someone left on the track, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Insanity Revisited

Saturday, October 7, was a mild and windy day. One didn’t have to be Jim Cantore to see that the wind might bring some precipitation to the area. The forecast for much of Indiana was at least a 50% chance of rain over the state, including Putnam County, in the western part of Indiana, midway between Terre Haute and Indianapolis. Nevertheless, a few dozen race teams, two race tracks and staff, as well as several hundred fans ignored all predictions of rain and tried mightily to have some racin’ for all concerned. As far as Saturday night was concerned, it wasn’t going to happen.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I was one of these people who abandoned common sense and drove the 75 miles northwest to the Lincoln Park Speedway, in beautiful downtown Putnamville, Indiana. At least I wasn’t alone as 23 sprints were among the 75 cars in the pits.

Sure, it was cloudy and the radar showed rain over in Illinois. But there were two promoters also gripped by the desire to have races at their tracks. Tommy Helfrich at Tri-State and Joe Spiker at LPS were determined and gave it their best shot. I was along for the ride.

Of note among the 23 were Jon Stanbrough, Jeff Bland, J.J. Hughes, Shane Cockrum and USAC regular Isaac Chapple. Brian VanMeveren, from St. Paul, Minnesota, was set to make his first appearance at Lincoln Park. Matt Cooley, a BOSS campaigner, was parked in the southeast corner of the pits.

The first heat had a ragged beginning before the rains came. Two yellows waved before Brian Hodde had to wave a wet red flag. The first yellow came out when there was a near pileup coming to the green with Chapple and Cooley caught up in it. Then Tony DiMattia spun and Shane Cockrum found himself with a close up view of the billboards nearest turn four. The Jamie Paul car was hauled off on a wrecker and Mr. Paul found himself with a car in need of repairs.

As the wrecker exited the scene, car on hook, those remaining circled the track under the yellow before the red waved. Thus ended the night’s on track action. The wind suddenly shifted and it was a matter of seconds before the drizzle arrived, followed by a hard rain. Those few in the bleachers found dry places. I joined a small group under the open air pole barn in the pits, all of us huddled on the east end of the building with the rain and win coming from the west.

The rain eased up a little within 15 minutes, but the damage was done. The track was lost and a small river of water ran through the westernmost driveway of the pits.

I headed for the little truck and, naturally, got my shoes, socks and feet wet. I texted my wife and could imagine her thinking things like, “You knew there was a good chance of rain, so…” At the same time, she knew why I went. It was pretty much the same reason everyone else, from the most insignificant observer (with a wet notebook, shoes, socks, and feet) to Joe Spiker himself had traveled to the oval about halfway between Terre Haute and Indianapolis. Put simply and bluntly, we were all insane.

Before anyone becomes overly critical about people who go to races that have a good chance of being rained out, allow me to suggest that maybe we all should have some things that we love, cherish, and appreciate that will cause others to shake their heads. There are plenty worse activities that the assembled “throng” could have been pursuing—anything from bank robbing to watching endless reruns on the boob tube (even I’ve been known to do that).

 I’m suggesting that we have a need for something that can entertain and, ideally, educate at the same time. For me, this need is usually fulfilled at a race track, with race cars and the people who drive them, work one them, watch them, push them to get them started, and wave flags at them. For you, it may be the opera, ballet, or even watching Andy Griffith Show reruns, and all of those are great. All the above are or can be interesting in their own way.

The opera buff may scoff at we unkempt rednecks going to a race that has little chance of happening due to the weather, but the same opera buff may, in fact, do the same, braving the elements to travel to see a new production of “The Marriage of Figaro” or “Carmen.” Now, who’s crazy?

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say we all are.

Gently suggesting to Tom Cruise that he might find a better source of entertainment and education than Scientology, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: An Atonement of Sorts

After the USAC sprint feature at Montpelier on Friday night, Kevin Thomas Jr. was not happy. Both he and Chris Windom had been snookered by C.J. Leary on the last lap, which saw Leary taking his second straight USAC feature and his fifth of the year. Thomas was quoted as saying, “I’ll go faster tomorrow.” It can be said that, come Saturday night at the Lawrenceburg Speedway, KT did exactly that, leading all 30 laps to take his fifth USAC win of the year and two of the last four.

I had mixed emotions about this, the last Lawrenceburg race of 2017. My navigator was more concerned about having some fun. Who was I to rain on his parade? Fatigue is a factor, but late season melancholy is a reality each year. Thankfully, I don’t dwell on it. 

24 was the car count, a bit low, but plenty of good cars were on hand. The only thing close to a surprise was Lawrenceburg/BOSS standout Shawn Westerfeld sitting in Mike Dutcher’s Tin Lizzie. There wasn’t much mud to scrape, so Karston settled for a cheeseburger instead.

Aric Gentry might have preferred an overcooked cheeseburger more than flipping in hot laps. Aric and the crew did some serious thrashing and he would re-appear for the feature.

Dave Darland went out first and set fast time with a 14.016 lap. The track may have faded a bit, but Robert Ballou might have demurred. Going out 20^th of the 22 that took time, Ballou was sixth fastest and would find himself on the pole come feature time.

There were three heats tonight, with five keeping their times. Pole sitter Tyler Courtney led all the way to win the first heat. Joss Moffatt was second with Dave Darland third. New Mexico’s Josh Hodges started and finished fourth. C.J. Leary passed Shawn Westerfeld on the white flag lap to take fifth.

Chase Stockon held off Nick Bilbee to win the second heat. Justin Grant was third and Chris Windom passed pole sitter J.J. Hughes midway through the race to finish fourth. Stockon hit the hump un turn one at an awkward angle and bounced a time or two on the first lap. Kyle Robbins tried to avoid what looked like a sure spin and spun himself. Later, Jerry Coons Jr. stopped in turn four to bring out a second caution.

Isaac Chapple used his front row starting spot to win the third heat with Chad Boespflug not far behind in second. Robert Ballou was third and Brady Bacon started and finished fourth. Kevin Thomas Jr. didn’t give any hints that he would be so fast later as he finished fifth.

Ballou and Grant, a pair of California natives, occupied the front row with Leary and Thomas in the second row. The green flag waved and Thomas charged to the front immediately, taking the lead by sweeping around the top of turn two on the first lap. The race’s first yellow came out a lap later when Chad Boespflug was squeezed into the front straight wall with a sick looking front end, minus both tires.

Thomas led Grant, Ballou, Leary, and Darland to the second waving of the green. Leary tried to put a slider on Ballou for third and caromed off Robert’s car instead. Leary went on to battle with Grant and Darland for second. Ballou fell to sixth for the time being.

Eight laps were done when Darland passed Grant for second. Leary pressed the California native for third. Thomas hadn’t checked out, but had a comparatively comfortable lead at this point. Darland’s quality run ended on the 13^th lap when he stopped in turn three after closing the gap on the leader. The reported problem was a broken U-joint. Thomas now led Grant, Leary, Ballou, Windom, Hodges, Courtney, Bacon, Bilbee, and Moffatt.

Thomas maintained control of the race as Leary did his best to make things interesting when he passed Grant for second on lap 19. A bit further back, Tyler Courtney was on the move. After the lap 13 re-start, he was seventh. As the leaders approached lapped traffic with five laps to go, Courtney had entered the top five. The lapped traffic favored Leary as the Hoosier native closed the gap on Thomas with the laps winding down.

But it wasn’t happening. Thomas took the win, his 16^th USAC victory. Leary was second, a half second behind. Grant was third and Ballou salvaged fourth. Courtney was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, coming from 16^th to fifth. Bacon passed Windom for sixth late in the race. Hodges, who won this race a year ago, was eighth. Coons came from 20^th to finish ninth in the Krockenberger carriage. Stanbrough also made his way forward, taking tenth after starting 19^th.

Grant had dealt with adversity on Friday at Montpelier and Windom had made a significant gain in the points race. Justin made up some of the ground at the ‘burg, now leading by 45 points as the gypsy train heads west.

The feature was over at a reasonable time, 9:12.

KT added $10K to his piggy bank. It beat the stress he added to his plate the night before.

So pleased that USAC isn’t re-setting the points as they head West, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Knowing and Going Anyway

Suppose you and I, race fans, decide to go to a race track, one that we’ve visited many times before. Having been there before, we should know what to expect, correct? Suppose we show up and, sure enough, things are they have usually been in the past. Then, as we go home in the wee hours of the morning, we bitch, gripe and moan about what we’ve seen. Worse than that even, instead of praising the likes of Spencer Bayston, C.J. Leary, Brady Bacon, and Tyler Courtney, we talked more about the very things that often have been part of our Eldora Speedway experience. Let us pause for a moment and appreciate the efforts of the four mentioned, winners of the USAC Midget, USAC Sprint, All-Stars Sprint, and USAS Silver Crown main events at the 36^th Annual running of the Four Crown Nationals at Eldora.

Yes, it gets a little dusty. Yes, what cushion there is resides for most of the night right by the imposing walls in all four turns. Yes, often it runs late. And yes, for many of us, it’s a long drive; in my case, it’s close to 140 miles, usually my longest trip of the year. After all this, there is no guarantee that we’ll enjoy a great night of racing, yet we go anyway We all endure some form of discomfort to enjoy something that matters to us. None of the above deter me from dealing with various and sundry discomforts. Despite the above, on Saturday night, we found one of the biggest crowds for a Four Crown in some time.

The pits were jammed and then some. 120 cars for the four divisions signed the guest book. The All-Stars, as expected, rang up 43 cars. 36 USAC sprints, 24 Silver Crowns, and 18 Midgets were good to go. Most of the Silver Crown teams were parked past the gate at the turn three entrance.

All too often, people complain, with occasional justification, that the track goes away after so many cars qualify. Not tonight. Fast qualifier Brady Bacon was the 23^rd to go out. C.J. Leary went out 27^th and that didn’t hinder him from turning the fourth quickest time. Then there was Robert Ballou, who was last to take a couple of laps and was sixth quick.

An unplanned addition to the opening ceremonies was an errant rabbit. Elmer Fudd’s services weren’t needed as the unruly beast flirted with the cushion hear the turn three gate before darting to the gate—and freedom.

The USAC sprints ran their heat races first and Brady Bacon executed a perfect last lap pass to win the first with Isaac Chapple finishing second. Aric Gentry was third and Chase Stockon took the last chair.

Tyler Courtney swept around the top to take and keep the lead in the second heat. Kevin Thomas Jr. placed and Robert Ballou took the show spot as he passed Dave Darland on the last lap. Dave might not have minded too much; he was in the feature.

Thomas Meseraull was the second straight heat winner to start second and win. Shane Cottle was runner-up and Dallas Hewitt started and finished third. Justin Grant was fourth.

Chris Windom edged C.J. Leary to win the fourth heat. Chad Boespflug waited until the last lap to pass the ageless Bill Rose for third.

The midgets’ first of two heats saw pole sitter Dave Darland lead all eight laps with Tyler Courtney second. Justin Grant inadvertently pushed Brady Bacon to the front stretch wall, with disaster averted. They still finished third and fourth. Tanner Thorson was fifth.

The second heat began with a wicked series of flips courtesy of Rico Abreu. He smacked the wall in turn one and flipped all the way to the apex of turns one and two. Rico climbed out of the car. When action resumed, Shane Golobic won from the pole with Spencer Bayston coming from seventh to take second. Chad Boat came from last to grab third after a last lap pass of Tyler Thomas. Jerry Coons Jr. started and finished fifth.

Joey Saldana won the first of four All-Stars heats with T.J. Foos second. Cole Duncan was third and Ian Madsen came in fourth. Gary Taylor used a last lap pass to take fifth, the last available position, from Todd Kane.

Chad Kemenah dominated the second heat with Brian Nuckles finishing second. Caleb Helms, John Garvin, and Shawn Dancer all made big plans for the feature.

Brady Bacon, the only racer who was racing in all four divisions, won the third heat from the pole. Brandon Wimmer was second. Lee Jacobs took the bronze medal. Hunter Schuerenberg annexed fourth and Steve Buckwalter was fifth.

Travis Philo led all the way to win the fourth heat over Max Stambaugh, Dan McCarron, Brandon Matus, and Rob Chaney, who knows Eldora fairly well.

After all ten heats were run, it was time for Silver Crown time trials. 2017 USAC Silver Crown Champion Kody Swanson set fast time, a 19.570 lap. Joss Moffatt and Austin Nemire fared less well. Moffatt found the turn four wall with unhappy results. Nemire did the same in turn one, almost the same spot where he had parked his sprinter during qualifications. Patrick Bruns could have said, “Yeah? That’s nuthin’. I hit the first turn wall and flipped. Hard.” Patrick suffered a broken foot.

Brady Bacon won the All-Stars’ dash and surely knew that Joey Saldana was not far behind. Bryan Nuckles was third. Immediately following, Cap Henry won the strong B, as Caleb Armstrong, Stuart Brubaker, and the ageless (over 50) Todd Kane all made ready for the feature. All four would advance significantly in the feature.

Up next was the USAC semi, a relatively tame affair by Eldora standards. Scotty Weir took the lead midway through and won, leading Kody Swanson, Nick Bilbee, Matt Westfall, pole sitter Kyle Cummins, and Tyler Thomas, who traded positions with Josh Hodges for the last spot multiple times. Hodges took a provisional.

The law firm of Bayston and Boat were the front row for the Midget feature. Bayston jumped out to the lead, but the yellow came out quickly for Tyler Courtney, who stopped while on track. Tyler was singing the blues, but would change his tune much later.

Bayston controlled the re-start and proceeded to check out—until a yellow waved for Justin Grant, who had an unfortunate encounter with the wall on the 12^th lap while running second. Like his teammate, Sunshine, Grant was done.

On this re-start, Bayston maintained his grip on the lead, but second place Dave Darland was soon under attack as first Shane Golobic and then Brady Bacon worked their way around the People’s Champ. Using the low line, Bacon closed on Golobic, but to no avail. Behind the podium boys, Darland held onto fourth and Tanner Thorson was fifth.

Holly Shelton moved from 14^th to sixth.

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USAC Sprints were next on the card; it was 11:40. I was pleasantly surprised.

Grant, one of several doing triple duty, roared from fourth to the lead on the first lap, to the dismay of front row occupants Ballou and Stockon. That was a very brief shining moment for the still new papa as Leary took over on the second lap and never looked back.

Much of the race featured Bacon, again passing cars and doing his best to hound the leader in the later stages after getting around Grant in the first half of the 30 lapper. As he did in the Midget feature, the Oklahoma native closed the gap, but couldn’t quite grab the prize. He’d have to wait until the next race for that.

Behind Leary and Bacon was Ballou, who had been the pole sitter and drifted back to sixth at one point. The Mad Man was quite vocal in his opinion of the track. Kevin Thomas Jr. came on late to take fourth with Grant taking fifth. Weir, Windom, Meseraull (who also voiced his concerns about the track), Stockon, and Westfall were the rest of the top ten.

Westfall, who can claim Eldora as his home track (about 30 miles away) and runs well there, was the KSE Racing Products/Larry Rice Performance Hard Charger, coming from 21^st to tenth.

 

Third in line would be the All-Stars. Brady Bacon was slowed by a couple of yellows and a red flag when T.J. Foos flipped on lap 19. Bacon led all 30 laps and missed out on a lot of fighting for position behind him. After trading places a time or two with Max Stambaugh, Bryan Nuckles was second with Mad Max settling for third. Third generation racer Lee Jacobs was fourth after starting 11^th. Hunter Schuerenberg came from 13^th to fifth. Dan McCarren was sixth and started 12^th. Ian Madsen also advanced, from 14^th to seventh. Joey Saldana faded late in the race to eighth. No one moved forward more than Caleb Armstrong, who went from the B to 22^nd starter to finish ninth. John Garvin also got into the cat, 16^th to tenth.

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The curtain closing Silver Crown series made their appearance, ending the festivities with the traditional 50 lap feature. The clock spoke 12:40 a.m. Not bad.

Tyler Courtney got the jump on pole sitter Kody Swanson and tried mightily to check out. Dave Darland, reunited with Steve and Carla Phillips, was second and did his best to keep Courtney in sight. Lapped traffic, which appeared on lap 11, did little to bother Courtney. Leary was a stubborn third, holding off Shane Cottle.

The first yellow waved on the 22^nd lap, when Aaron Pierce was sideswiped by Leary inadvertently and ended up by the wall. C.J. remained third behind Courtney and Darland. Windom had assumed fourth and Cottle was fifth.

Not much changed up front until lap 31 when sixth running Kody Swanson flipped hard in turn one. The Silver Crown champ walked away from a trashed race car. It was still Courtney, Darland, Leary, Windom, and Cottle. On the re-start, Leary stumbled and found himself in sixth with a tire going flat and a DNF on the record a few laps later.

As laps wound down, Windom replaced Darland as Courtney’s biggest headache. Windom was never farther away than a few car lengths. Cottle also got around Darland to take the third spot on the podium. Dave was fourth with Brady Bacon making one last charge, coming from 18^th to fifth to earn the Hard Charger award. The second five was Grant, Schuerenberg, David Byrne, Ballou, and Jerry Coons Jr.

The clock read a bit after one o’clock. Not bad. After some post-race visiting, I left a little after 1:30, arriving home at 4:15 a.m. It was a lot earlier than last year. 

It was dusty, the track was dry with the cushion up against the wall. The program ran well past midnight. People, drivers, fans, others, were complaining and for good reason, when you get down to it, despite the fact that many of us knew ahead of time how it would be. And here’s one last thing. Many who complained will come back. Again and again.

We all are, of course, nuts.

Taking a picture of Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernik both kneeling, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Ideas and Implementation

On a wild night which saw too many torn up race cars and a plethora of bad driving decisions, Brady Short and Jeff Wimmenauer prevailed at the Bloomington Speedway’s Fall Sprint Car Double. Short was the sprint victor while Wimmenauer garnered the highest point total for the RaceSavers by two consistent runs. It was the last sprint car program of 2017 for the red clay oval. To add weirdness to melancholy at another season’s end, it was a night where red flags outnumbered the yellow variety. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries.

Dealing with one of my favorite people, Lesley Prince, one last time, I began my pit wandering by thinking about families. I didn’t walk too far before I found four generations of the Marvel family. Arriving a little later than most others was three generations of the Chambers family. Parked near them was three generations of Babcocks. Up and down pit lane were several two generation teams. I must add that my grandsons are fifth generation Bloomington race attendees; as a child, I remember well heading to the little track in the hills with my father and grandfather (and getting lost somewhere in Monroe County one night on the way home in the early 1960s when the track was out in the boondocks).

Tonight’s format was different and, in theory, it had potential. But a series of problems made the night a challenge. The car count was a bit light, but things dragged anyway, making for a later than normal evening. But I’ll maintain that a bad night at the races beats a good night most other places.

In group qualifying, the quickest in each group was exempt from running a qualifying heat. The quick sprint boys were Braxton Cummings, Jeff Bland, Brady Short, and Michael Koontz. Hunter O’Neal won the 15 lapper on a lightning quick surface, with Lee Underwood, Bub Cummings, Billy Cribbs, and Ethan Barrow, the night’s only racer to do double duty, in the top five.

RaceSaver quick timers were Jeff Wimmenauer, former Super Stocker Terry Arthur, Dakota Jackson and E. Barrow. Andy Bradley won the RaceSavers’ qualifying race. Not far behind was 2017’s Bloomington RaceSaver champion, Ryan Tusing. Trailing were Chris Babcock, John Paynter, and Jared Fox. Tom Busch launched over the turn two bank and landed hard before flipping to the fence bordering the road to the pit entrance. He was taken to the hospital for observation. Alex Nalon flipped in turn two later. Then Rod Hennings and Bob Shutts conducted a double flip in turn three. At this point, it was red flags three, yellow flags zero.

The sprints showed that they, too, could encounter trouble. In their first of two features, pole sitter Braxton Cummings slowed as the green waved. The yellow lights blinked and were quickly replaced by red as Billy Cribbs flipped coming out of turn two. Jeff Bland held off Brady Short to take the victory. O’Neal was third and Barrow fourth. Rookie Stephen Schnapf was fifth.

Up next was the RaceSavers’ first feature. Dakota Jackson took the lead at the start and setting a furious pace with Mr. Barrow not far behind. John Paynter brought out the caution with a turn two spin. Jackson controlled the re-start and was looking good until lapped traffic came into play. With two laps to go, he hopped the right rear of Eric Perrott and went over the turn three banks, somehow keeping all four wheels on land. Barrow took the lead and the win from there with Wimmenauer second. Tusing was third, ahead of Bradley and Jared Fox.

The finale for the 410 sprints was the Brady and Jeff Show, with Mr. Short winning by a car length over his cohort. Both started in the fourth row and both had early leader Travis Welpott in their sights by lap five of 30. Three laps later, Short took the lead just before a Stephen Schnapf spin that brought out a yellow. That was all she wrote as Bland took second immediately after the re-start and tried his hardest to stay close to the leader, both attacking the high banks with a mixture of apprehension and appreciation on my part. Michael Koontz had flipped early off turn four, bringing out the race’s lone red flag.

Near the end, lapped traffic, a concern in most every race, enabled Bland to close on Short at the end. But Indiana’s fastest auto salesperson came up a bit short and Mr. Short hung on to claim the $4,000 winner’s share. Barrow, O’Neal, and Welpott rounded out the top five.

The long evening closed out with the RaceSavers’ feature. Here was a problem. With two of the slowest cars on the front row, trouble could well be waiting. Somehow, everyone raced with no problems until lap eight, when A.J. Carlson suffered a bent front end from contact on the backstretch. He slowed going into turn three, then drifted up the track into the path of a group of cars at full speed. A.J. tipped over, bringing out the red.

Alfred Galedrige had led from the beginning after starting fourth. After the red flag, Galedrige led Brinton Marvel, Jared Fox, Ryan Tusing, and Dakota Jackson. Two laps after the re-start were completed when Marvel and Tusing tangled with Tusing getting upside down in turn two. This brought Wimmenauer to third ahead of Jackson and John Paynter. For the rest of the race, Fox gave Galedrige fits as he hounded the leader’s every move, getting underneath to briefly take the lead at one point.

There would be one last attempt for Fox to take the lead as Andy Bradley spun on the white flag lap, necessitating a one lap dash. Try as he might, Jared couldn’t quite get it done. Galedrige earned a well deserved win with Fox, Wimmenauer, Jackson, and Paynter, who had started 14^th, trailing. By virtue of his consistency, with second and third place finishes, Wimmenauer took home the winner’s portion.

The time was almost midnight, late for Bloomington. It had been a frustrating night for all concerned. But there is hope that other race nights will be better. We need that pie in the sky to keep going. And the Bloomington Speedway has been doing just that since the Roaring 20s. Once again, good ideas and good implementation will prevail—and a treasured bullring will flourish.

Not caring much who does or doesn’t take a knee as long as the Colts win, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: He Hustles Hard For His Money

After the previous night’s headaches that probably had him mumbling to himself, Kevin Thomas Jr. fought off a late race challenge from Kyle Cummins and won the 40 lap Haubstadt Hustler by the miniscule margin of .053 seconds at the Tri-State Speedway. Thomas walked away with $12,500, by far one of the biggest paydays he has earned.

My personal ideal car count is 32. I can live with less or more, but 32 is about right and that’s how many cars and teams invaded suburban Haubstadt, Indiana. Many of USAC’s regulars and semi-regulars, along with several MSCS teams, had that lean and hungry look.

Group qualifying was the order of the day. Brandon Mattox, Chad Boespflug, Chase Stockon, and Kyle Cummins were the fastest in their groups with Cummins picking up extra cash for being the fastest.

Without exception, all four heats were lightning fast. Passing was an effort and a major accomplishment when done. Pole sitter Thomas Meseraull won the first heat. Donnie Brackett had his hands full in keeping Josh Hodges behind him. Jon Stanbrough made a late pass on Brandon Mattox to take fourth and lock up a spot in the show.

Chet Williams was impressive as he ran away with the second heat win, a harbinger of things to come. C. J. Leary grabbed second with Isaac Chapple third. After a mechanical problem kept him from qualifying, Tyler Courtney beat out Chad Boespflug for the last spot after starting on the tail. Brian Karraker flipped into the billboards in turn two, with the car lodged between the wall and the billboard. He walked away.

Second row starters Kevin Thomas Jr. and Chase Stockon finished one/two in the third heat. Aric Gentry held on to earn third. Dakota Jackson had a most impressive heat race run as he came from eighth to fourth, sending no less than Dave Darland to the B.

Kyle Cummins’ first lap of his heat, the fourth, was the most impressive lap. All he did was pass Shane Cottle, Justin Grant, and Robert Ballou to take the lead and disappear. Grant was second and Cottle traded positions with Chris Windom a time or two before taking third.

The B main lineup looked a lot like a Sprint Week lineup. Chad Boespflug had Robert Ballou hounding him all the way before taking the win. Behind Ballou was Carson Short in third. Dave Darland was fourth and Brady Short came from 11th to finish fifth. Brandon Mattox fended off threats from first Brady Bacon and then Scotty Weir to make the feature. Bacon used a provisional, as did Kendall Ruble

At 9:20 the field of 24 circled the track with Leary and Brackett on the front row. Several hot dogs were starting from the seventh row on back; this promised to be a feast of fast cars racing for the Hard Charger award. The green waved and things go crazy right away. Go figure. Brackett did a half spin, collected Hodges, and both motored away. Leary had led at the green, but that lasted a few seconds as he stopped in turn two after his car jumped out of gear. Somehow, everyone missed him and the boys would try again.

For the second attempt at a start, Cummins inherited the pole and, given his heat race performance, one could be forgiven for thinking that this might be a runaway. No way. Cummins jumped out to the lead before the race’s second yellow waved for a Brady Short/Kendall Ruble meeting in turn four on the second lap. Both re-started. The top five was Cummins, Thomas, Williams, Meseraull, and Brackett.

Cummins led at the re-start, but Thomas was determined and coming out of turn two made the pass to lead lap four. It was like some guy tugging on Superman’s cape. Somewhat surprisingly, he began to open some distance between him and Cummins. By lap eight lapped traffic became a factor. Cummins tried to close the gap, but couldn’t just yet. The third caution light blinked for Shane Cottle, who stopped in turn one. Behind the Dynamic Duo were Meseraull, Williams, Hodges, Courtney, Windom, Brackett, Stockon, and Grant.

The top five settled in as the race moved to the last half of the 40 laps. While most were working around the top, Windom opted to try the bottom with modest results. Again, a yellow came out as the leaders approached lapped traffic. Jon Stanbrough spun in turn four on the 24^th lap. Courtney had taken fifth and Windom was sixth. Those two were the first of the guys who started back in the pack to move forward.

The order up front hadn’t changed when yellow number five waved as Dakota Jackson spun in turn four on lap 27. But the second half of the top ten was dominated by guys who had passed quite a few cars. Now behind Windom was Boespflug, Ballou, Brackett, and B. Short, who was not done passing people.

Nine laps were completed when the yellow waved for the sixth time. Dave Darland had a flat right rear. The top five, Thomas, Cummins, Meseraull, Williams, and Courtney, had not changed. With four more laps to go, I refused to believe that this order would stay the same. I figured that the late race craziness at Terre Haute would re-appear at Tri-State.

I was wrong about the finishing order, but right about the craziness. On the 38^th lap, the yellow lights, weary from overwork, blinked again. A four car scrimmage in turn four left Hodges, Brackett, Chapple, and Stockon all pointed in various directions. One could understand if KT’s stomach was churning. He had survived several re-starts, swatting away all challenges by Cummins. Could he do it again?

The green waved and Cummins immediately attacked, diving low in turn one and taking the lead for a second or two before Thomas grabbed it back by diving under coming out of two. He took the white flag and Cummins wasn’t close enough to try a slider in turn one. But he slid KT cleanly going into turn three of the last lap. It worked, but again, Thomas was ready. He dove low coming out of four and the two were side by side as the checkered waved. By a teeny margin Thomas had prevailed.

In post-race comments, Thomas said that he nearly ran out of fuel for the second consecutive night. Sure enough, buying a larger fuel tank is at the top of the Kevin Thomas Jr. To-Do List this week before Eldora.

The top five stayed the same. Thomas and Cummins were followed by TMez, almost forgotten in the late race excitement. But the best run that few noticed was that of Chet Williams, who occupied fourth spot much of the race, unfazed by fifth place Tyler Courtney’s repeated attempts to pass. For his part, Sunshine came from 14^th to fifth, outstanding when one considered his difficult beginning. Windom did his fair share of passing, 16^th to sixth. But the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger dollars went to Brady Short, 21^st to seventh. Robert Ballou’s run from 18^th ended with the Madman eighth. C.J. Leary came back from early misfortune to finish ninth, the unofficial hard charger. Justin Grant was tenth and stands 70 points ahead of Windom in the points race.

It was the second consecutive race at Haubstadt that featured a last lap encounter between Thomas and Cummins. Kyle had passed KT in July to close out Sprint Week.

Thomas and Courtney have combined to win five of the last seven USAC sprint car features.

Among the very first to greet the winner with a handshake and a hug was…the guy he beat. Classy? Sho’ thing.

In my opinion, the group qualifying format seemed to favor the last of the four groups. But one couldn’t deny that it made things interesting in the feature.

The Four Crown is right around the corner. Time is flying, or if you prefer, hustling.

Unnerved by a stopped ambulance in the middle of I-465, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: First Man Standing

Chris Windom played the starring role on a warm Hoosier night at the Terre Haute Action Track as he avoided trouble all around and prevailed at the end of the Jim Hurtubise Classic. It was his third straight victory at the Action Track.

There was the opportunity to arrive early and watch the proceedings come to life. Things would build to a crescendo, but it happened slowly. Haulers full of race cars and the accessories pulled easily into parking spaces. Those gathered had and took the time to chat. The subject wasn’t always about racing; people would find that they more in common than racing. It was and is a time to meet new people or get to know others better. Things began to get serious when the drivers’ meeting commenced a bit past six p.m.

The half mile dirt oval held up well as Robert Ballou went out 18^th of 27 and set fast time with a 20.477. Brady Bacon had a sick sounding motor as he qualified an uncharacteristic 22^nd quick.

Windom won the first heat by a healthy margin over Jon Stanbrough, who had his hands full dealing with third place Robert Ballou. Carson Short and Scotty Weir both moved on to the feature.

Kevin Thomas Jr. was equally impressive in winning the second heat with pole sitter Tyler Courtney finishing second. Shane Cottle was third. C. J. Leary and Aaron Farney made sure that USAC Sprints point leader Justin Grant went to the B.

Chase Stockon came from his second row starting position to grab the lead on the first lap and never give it up. Brady Bacon, mechanical miseries no more, advanced from ninth to second. Chad Boespflug, Dave Darland, and pole sitter Aric Gentry all secured their feature appearance.

After some adjustments made between races, Grant ran away with the B main win, with the top seven transferring. Josh Hodges, Jarett Andretti, Mario Clouser, Isaac Chapple (from ninth), J. J. Hughes, and Kyle Robbins all prepared to race one more time.

Thomas and Weir led the gang of 22 to Tom Hansing’s green flag just before 9:30. KT jumped out to an early lead and sailed off to the high groove, up by the wall. He led Weir and Farney as the first lap was completed. Robert Ballou was on the move early on. From sixth, he was already fourth by the second lap. Two circuits later, he was third. A lap after that found the California native in second, as Thomas had checked out to a near straightaway lead.

The race’s first yellow waved when Gentry stopped on the track on the 11^th lap. Thomas lost his big lead, and led Ballou, Farney, Windom, Weir, Boespflug, Grant, Darland, Stockon, and Andretti. Everyone took to the high road and Windom passed Farney on lap 12. The top five was the same for several laps with Thomas, Ballou, Windom, Farney, and Boespflug setting the pace as lapped traffic came into play around the 19^th lap. Thomas had some trouble getting away from Ballou until the lappers gave KT very little resistance. On the 24^th round, Farney returned the favor and passed Windom for third.

Thomas had a decent lead on Ballou when Robert’s right rear tire shredded on lap 26. Thomas now led Farney, Windom, Boespflug, Grant, Tyler Courtney, Stockon, Bacon, Weir, and Cottle. A lap wasn’t completed as Isaac Chapple brought out the race’s third yellow when he stopped in turn two. On this re-start, Windom got around both Farney and Thomas to take the lead a lap later when he made a dive bomb stick on KT in turn three. Near disaster was the call when Thomas and Farney tangled coming out of turn two. They kept going, but Shane Cottle stopped, bringing out the fourth yellow, the third in two laps.

Windom now controlled the start. KT was second, but things began going south right away for him as he slowed as the green waved and coasted into the pits, apparently out of fuel. Boespflug was second as no yellow waved for KT. Courtney raced under the radar much of the race, coming on at the end to take the final podium spot after starting 16^th. Grant was fourth and Farney was credited with fifth after getting tangled up with Justin at the line, then skidding toward turn one before beginning a series of vicious flips that saw him land on the pit wall near turn one. Aaron walked to the ambulance and took a ride to the crash house for observation.

Stockon came from 12^th to sixth. Bacon was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, coming from 22^nd to seventh. Weir was eighth and Leary dodged all the drama to take ninth after starting 18^th. Darland was tenth.

Grant led Windom by 82 points as the band of modern day gypsies headed south down U.S. 41 to Haubstadt to race for some extra money on what would surely be a wild Saturday night in southwestern Indiana.

Thankful that Mr. Holland has not encumbered any of my stories yet, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Racin’ For Your Supper

Try to imagine that you’re a race car driver who gets the vast majority of his income from racing. Place yourself in the Midwest, Indiana to be exact. You have a family and bills to pay. Good rides are out there, and every so often you get one. But too often you find yourself scrambling for rides. Usually they are good rides, but they are temporary, as in one night only. Imagine the pressure and say hello to Dave Darland. It may be second nature to him, but it can’t be easy. He can’t help if sometimes he makes it look easy. On a near perfect Saturday night at the Lincoln Park Speedway, Darland capitalized on Shane Cockrum’s misfortune and won the 25 lap feature over Jeff Bland.

Summer is on the verge of leaving us behind. You might say that summer here has taken the white flag. The afternoon sun was greatly appreciated on this Saturday, but when the sun disappeared in the west, the air had a bit of a chill to it. Autumn beckons, no matter what we wish.

25 sprints were on hand. Scott Hampton was again in the pits after a long absence. Shane Cockrum had no other obligations and was again in the Jamie Paul effort. Tony Dimattia made an appearance, as did Dakota Jackson.

Sharp eyed PA man Brad Dickisin noted that some standouts occupied every inside row in the first heat. He was correct as usual. Pole sitter A. J. Hopkins was pressured at the end by third starting Jeff Bland. Brandon Mattox came from fifth to finish third. Shane Cockrum was fourth after starting seventh. Naturally, Koby Barksdale moved from last, ninth, to grab the last available feature transfer spot.

Tony Dimattia passed Nate McMillen midway through the second heat to win. Bub Cummings started and finished third. The ageless Kent Christian was fourth. Dakota Jackson came from the last row to take fifth from Cole Ketchum on the last lap. Cole was not pleased.

Pole sitter Dave Darland may have been lonely, but he was certainly not sad as he ran away from the pack to win the third heat. He missed a great battle for second as Jaden Rogers held off Scott Hampton and Brent Beauchamp. Tim Creech II took his brand new car to fifth, passing Josh Cunningham on the last lap.

Chris Phillips got tired of the huggy pole midway through the B main and scooted up top to take the lead and the win. Josh Cunningham was second with Bub Cummings third. Kyle Robbins was a quiet fourth and Cole Ketchum had an up and down race, finishing fifth. Ketchum brought out the race's second yellow when he spun while trying to pass Cunningham.

The third yellow of the race waved after a three wide formation didn’t work out. Alex Sipes ended up stopped and in need of a wrecker. But he exited the car and assumed a “what were you thinking?” pose as Eric Burns idled by.

This is twice in the last three weeks I’ve seen a driver exit his car while cars were circling the track. I like to think that promoters will take note and administer some discipline to the offending party. I understand that emotions run high on the track. We all get emotional at times. That’s part of being human. The problem is what we do with that emotion, in this case anger. I’d like to think that people have learned from the unspeakable tragedy in New York a few years ago. Am I wrong to think that?

I double checked the time as the A Main lined up. It was 8:43 when Brian Hodde waved the green. Pole sitter Rogers jumped out to the early lead, but Tim Creech II stopped, bringing forth a yellow and a complete re-start. This time outside front row starter McMillen took the lead, but Bland was on the move. On the second lap, he passed Rogers for second. A lap later, the lead was his.

This lasted until lap six, when Jeff spent unwanted time way above the turn four cushion and lost two positions. One wondered if he was trying to read some of the billboards that border the north end of the track. McMillen regained the lead and would keep it for the next five laps. The “other” 24, namely Shane Cockrum, had been busy passing some good cars after starting the race tenth. By the seventh lap, Cockrum was fifth. He took the lead only three laps later, a lap before the yellow flag waved.

Cockrum led McMillen, Darland, Beauchamp, Bland, Hampton, Hopkins, Christian, Mattox, and Jackson. On the re-start, Darland passed McMillen for second. Poor Nate found himself fifth a lap later as Beauchamp and Bland passed him. 

The race’s lone red flag came out when Jaden Rogers flipped in turn four with 15 complete. He walked away from the car under his own power. On this re-start came the race’s turning point. Cockrum’s front end broke and he spun into the turn four infield tire. His race was over and Darland was the new leader. Dave wasn’t home free as Beauchamp, Bland, Hopkins, and McMillen trailed.

After Cockrum’s misfortune, Darland and most of the frontrunners stayed low—all except Hopkins, who wished to test the cushion. He passed Beauchamp and was challenging Bland for second. But a tire issue led to a spin on the 20^th lap and A.J.’s night was over.

On this final re-start, Darland now led Bland, Beauchamp, McMillen, and Koby Barksdale to the green. The last five laps were relatively tame as DD stuck to the bottom groove through all turns and no one could mount a charge, but Bland did make it close at the end. Beauchamp advanced the most positions, coming from 12^th to third. Mattox was up and down, starting seventh, dropping back to ninth at one point, but coming on late to finish fourth. Hampton came from ninth to grab fifth place. McMillen faded to sixth, but it was an impressive run all the same. Barksdale moved from 13^th to seventh after running as high as fifth. Jackson also did his share of passing, coming from 14^th to eighth. Kent Christian was ninth and Bub Cummings rambled from 18^th to tenth.

The sprint feature concluded at 9:10.

This was Darland’s seventh feature win of the season. Two of those wins have been in Michael Dutcher’s car. In his post-race interview, Dave said that he and Mike would be teaming up for the two USAC shows this coming weekend at Terre Haute and Tri-State/Haubstadt.

If he does well at both tracks, it could mean the difference between supper at Rally’s or at the Texas Roadhouse.

Driving by the Subway to stop at Dunkin’ Donuts, I’m…Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Cat, Meet Mouse

It seemed like Kody Swanson, like any good feline, never lost sight of his goal of taking the lead and winning the Ted Horn Memorial at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds’ Magic Mile after passing Jeff Swindell with nine laps to go. It was Swanson’s second USAC Silver Crown victory at Du Quoin, seven years after his first.  

After a brief respite, warm and humid weather returned to the southern part of the Midwest. There were no complaints here as I navigated those limited areas of southern Indiana and Illinois that are flat. My timing was impeccable for change.

It remained impeccable as I showed up in time to sample some of ace chef Suzy Winings’ cooking. Her race chasing husband Rich was too busy to talk. It didn’t matter as I stuffed myself with enough calories to get me through the next few hours.

One of the first things I noticed in the pits were the nameplates on several of the 38 entries. They read “Bateman” as in Randy Bateman, who lost his battle with ALS early this year.

Practice and qualifying were smooth, except for Chris Windom finding a water barrel at the pit entrance in turn four. (No, Tyler Thomas was nowhere near the barrel and no steering wheels were thrown.) The track held up very well during time trials as pole sitter Jerry Coons Jr. went out 21^st of the 35 that were scheduled to qualify.

With some free time before the cars were pushed onto the front straight, I confirmed a long held suspicion. USAC Silver Crown racing is, arguably, more popular in Illinois than any other state. That’s true if you checked out drivers’ home towns. 11 of the 34 racers introduced before the race were Illinois natives, including Shane Cottle, who has lived in Indiana for many moons. Seven were Hoosiers, five were from Missouri, and three were from California. Pennsylvania and Arizona both had two native sons starting. North Carolina, Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio all had a single representative.

The green flag waved at 8:29 after the start was delayed for Patrick Lawson’s stalled vehicle. I speculated to myself and good friend Kenny that this might turn into a fuel mileage race as it did a few years ago when Chris Urish was the upset winner. The boys had been running the cushion in both practice and qualifying, the long way around the mile oval probably made it a bit more than a mile. But, far as I know, nary a car ran dry.

Outside from row starter C.J. Leary beat pole sitter Jerry Coons Jr. to the first turn and took the early lead. In the early laps, there was frequent changes of position throughout the field. Leary led Coons, Jeff Swindell, and Kody Swanson after the first lap. Swindell had started sixth and Swanson eighth. Kody wasn’t satisfied with fourth; he kept passing people and took the lead on lap eight. But Leary chose to return the favor the next lap.

Swindell liked what he was seeing up front and invited himself to the party. The epitome of the wily “old” veteran did some passing of his own and took second from Swanson on the 12^th lap. The race’s first yellow flag waved a lap later when Steve Buckwalter slowed on the track. Leary led Swindell, Swanson, Justin Grant, Chris Windom, Coons, Shane Cockrum (two time winner of this race), David Byrne (from 16^th), Joey Moughan, and Dave Darland.

On the re-start, Coons was the picture of rejuvenation as he took to the cushion to pass the bottom feeders, moving from sixth to fourth.  21 laps were complete when Swindell passed Leary coming out of turn two and out-gunning the Greenfield native down the backstretch. For the time being, Swanson was an interested observer. By lap 30 the leader had stretched it out to a half straightaway as Swanson faced a challenge from Windom for third.

The second yellow came out lap 32 when Keith Burch stopped in turn three. It was still Swindell leading Leary, Swanson, Windom and Coons. Cockrum and Cottle were starting to make noise. On this re-start, Leary found himself under attack by Swanson. But Johnny Petrozelle spun in turn two to bring out the third caution on lap 46. Cockrum had replaced Coons in fifth. Cottle was ninth and another veteran, Brian Tyler, had made the top ten.

The next green flag segment saw Windom and Cockrum trading positions a time or two. Swanson passed Leary to take second. But Windom regained fourth and began harassing Leary for third. On the 56^th lap, Windom dispatched Leary to fourth and established himself as a contender. Lapped traffic was a factor as Windom pressured Swanson, nearly making the pass on lap 62. But the California native was having none of that. Even before the fourth yellow light blinked, Swanson was gaining on Swindell.

That yellow was brought out on lap 73 by Robert Ballou, who stopped on turn three. Swindell would never be a lonely frontrunner again in this race. He now led Swanson, Windom, Cockrum, Leary, Coons, Grant, Cottle, Tyler, and Casey Shuman. Show and tell time had arrived.

Sure enough, Windom dove under Swanson in turn one after the re-start to take second. He appeared to be primed to give Swindell some major headaches. Jeff would have headaches later, but not because of Windom, who must have had a migraine as he coasted into the pits on the 81^st lap, done for the night.

Swindell was not home free. The laps were counting down, but Swanson seemed to have new life. He was steadily reeling in the leader and made the pass coming out of turn four on lap 91. The final few laps were not without drama for the new leader, who had to split two lapped cars to keep Swindell behind. If that wasn’t bad enough for the Tennessean, Swindell’s tires appeared to be toasted as Cockrum passed him for second after a brief struggle with four laps to go.

At the end, it was Swanson, Cockrum (easily the crowd favorite), Swindell, Leary, Coons, Grant, Cottle, Tyler, Mark Smith (a late arrival to the top ten), and Shuman, who was the KSE Products Hard after moving from 24^th to tenth.

It was Swanson’s fourth win of the season.

One could say that Mr. Swanson is one cool cat.

Glad that my daughter doesn’t ask, “Daddy, can I go with you?”, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Go When It’s Time to Go

If you were traveling down a highway and a foreign object was crossing the road, you might have some choices in how to react. Do nothing and hope you don’t hit it. Slow down and let the object pass in front of you. Or you could mash the gas pedal and beat the object to that spot in the road where you’d be home free. That’s kind of what Kyle Cummins did on a beautiful, if slightly chilly, Saturday night in beautiful downtown Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway. He was the third of three leaders in a feature that had its fair share of drama. Cummins can now add King of the Non-wings to his list of victories, along with the $3000 to his bank account. All present would run in a feature and the second of these was won by Joe Ligouri, who methodically worked his way forward to take the lead late in the race.

My frequent companion slept much of the 75 mile trip to LPS, which meant he was raring to go when we arrived and he woke up. The track didn’t have a lot of mud during wheel packing and hot laps, so he kept busy writing down the numbers of the sprinters. The count was a hefty 44, with the usual interesting temporary arrangements. Arizona’s Stevie Sussex was in the Baldwin Brothers’ car for the night. Rob Caho had made another trip from Minnesota. Scott Hampton made a rare appearance. Dave Darland was in the Jamie Paul scooter. The father/son combination of Eric and Harley Burns were on the list. Casey Shuman and Jerry Coons Jr. were in Team Krockenberger cars. Shuman, Coons, Darland, Shane Cottle, and C.J. Leary were all stopping by on their way to Du Quoin on Sunday night.

Brent Beauchamp won the first heat with Brady Short coming home second. Billy Cribbs took the last musical chair.

Isaac Chapple held off Jeff Bland to win the second heat. Tim Creech II was third, sending Stevie Sussex to the B.

Kyle Cummins checked out to take the third heat. Brandon Mattox edged A. J. Hopkins to get the silver medal. This would push Hopkins back to the 15^th starting spot for the feature—and make things interesting.

Pole sitter Shane Cottle led fellow Kokomo resident Dave Darland to the checkered in the fourth heat. Travis Berryhill beat Nate McMillen to the line to nab a feature spot.

Jerry Coons Jr. took the victory in the fifth heat. Scotty Weir, still in the Gassmobile, was a close second.  Koby Barksdale was a lonely third. Eric Burns flipped in turn three. He exited the car, went back to the pits and led a thrash to get the car ready for the B.

Another pole sitter, C. J. Leary, won the sixth heat. Casey Shuman was second. J. J. Hughes locked up the 18th starting position in the feature by taking third.

Scott Hampton won the first of two B's. Kent Christian made a late pass on Mitchell Davis to take the only other spot available.

Proving to be a master of the high groove, Nate McMillen won the second B over Stevie Sussex, with Jamie Williams set to run the second feature.

Leary and Coons led 20 more to the green and Coons got the early jump. Leary led Cummins, Cottle, and Beauchamp after the first lap. Cottle went too high in turn four and the order was jumbled as Shane banged wheels with Darland, who bumped into Short while trying to avoid the Paul Hazen owned sprinter. This reshuffling found Beauchamp in third ahead of Cummins and Jeff Bland.

The yellow waved when Leary spun in turn two with nine laps complete. C.J. must have had some help, seeing that he rejoined the field after pulling alongside of Beauchamp to exchange pleasantries. Jeff Bland suffered more than anyone else as he tried in vain to avoid Leary’s car; his car left the track on the wrecker. The order was Coons, Beauchamp, Cummins, Cottle, Shuman, Darland, Short, Hopkins, Mattox, and Weir. Beauchamp passed Coons to take the lead just before the halfway mark in the 30 lapper. A few laps later, Cummins passed the Arizona native for second. A bit further back, Cottle and Shuman waged a terrific battle for fourth, trading position way too many times to count. Neither could have been pleased to find Hopkins joining in the fight after a few laps.

Beauchamp led for seven laps before Cummins made the pass on lap 20 in turn two. Two laps later, McMillen brought out a yellow when he spun in turn four. The lineup now was Cummins, Beauchamp, Cottle, Shuman, Hopkins, Coons, Darland, Weir, Short, and Mattox. Cummins would not be seriously threatened for the last eight laps. He was the third of three leaders in a fine effort.

Beauchamp retained second as Hopkins bounced off Shuman in turn four of the 28^th lap to grab third after starting 15^th. (This prompted a brief social media dustup, but sanity prevailed quickly.) The Shu had started 12^th and settled for fourth. Cottle had his best run in quite some time, taking fifth. Darland was sixth ahead of Weir, Short, Mattox, and Leary, who came back after his spin to pass a few cars.

Mitchell Davis, a sprint car rookie from Illinois, and Jamie Williams, who doesn’t advertise that he and I are from the same town, led the others to Brian Hodde’s green flag. Davis led the first lap, but Williams grabbed the lead after three circuits (of 20) were completed.

Sticking to the cushion, Williams could have been forgiven for thinking of seeing the checkered flag first. But Danny Harris stopped on the track with 15 laps complete. In addition, Joe Ligouri had been advancing from his seventh starting position. By the sixth lap, he was second and seemed to be stronger than Williams.

The re-start told the tale. Joltin’ Joe made the pass on lap 17 and was ready to check out. But Davis spun in turn two on the 18^th lap, bringing out a yellow. It didn’t matter, at least not to Ligouri. He was as smooth and fast as necessary in taking the checkered first just past 10:30.

Matt McDonald hung around the top five for the whole race and came on strong at the end to take second. Rob Caho came from 12^th to finish third. Williams faded at the end to fourth, still a good run. Adam Wilfong was fifth. Jeff Wimmenauer motored from 14^th to sixth. Brandon Spencer was seventh. Jake Gordon, with help from Brad Fox, finished eighth. Lee Underwood solved his mechanical woes in time to tag the field, then charge to a ninth place finish (from 22^nd). Eric Burns, with a little help after flipping in his heat, came from 16^th to finish tenth.

My fellow traveler didn’t scrape much mud, but it was still a full night. It was too bad a photographer didn’t get a picture of Jerry Coons Jr.’s son, Donnie Gentry’s grandson, and my youngest grandson all building race tracks in the pits using some of Joe Spiker’s gravel.

It was no surprise that he fell asleep before we reached the interstate.

Watching Joel Osteen’s bicycle float away along with his credibility, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Wild and Woolly

One of the few things I’ve learned over 66 years is that I’ve not seen it all—and never will. But it’s tempting to say that after the final night of Smackdown VI. After multiple re-starts, Tyler Courtney emerged as the winner Saturday night at the Kokomo Speedway. The events leading up to the checkered flag were as compelling as the win itself. The post-race antics added a bit more spice to the evening and the fallout from that remains to be seen.

With time to kill/spend/waste, I opted for the relative peace and quiet of Foster Park in midtown Kokomo. Fellow walkers, kids playing on playgrounds, and a sizable flock of ducks made for idyllic scene here in my home state. To drown out the noise, I summoned my friend Pandora, who provided music from Ludwig van Beethoven to John Prine. It couldn’t quite drown out the occasional siren, but that was fine.

After a two mile walk, phone conversation with my wife, and some reading, it was time to head to the track one more time. The calm was about to give way to the storm—and what a storm it was.

The final edition of Frank’s Feast was a great way to relax and visit while wandering the pits. Milling around the pits were folks associated with the 36 cars, ready to confront the Smackdown Saturday format.

No qualifying, just heats and the top two advancing to the 40 lap feature. The B Main would take the top six. The eight highest in points would engage in the King of the Hill, three lap dashes where two would deal mano a mano. The winner would advance, tournament style, to the finals. Fans love it.

Before the first heat, Friday winner Tyler Courtney circled the track once, doing an engine check. It didn’t sound so good. Hmmm….

Chad Boespflug and Scotty Weir, who has done well in the Gass family’s car all week, transferred out of the first heat.

Jarett Andretti won the second heat by two car lengths over Chase Stockon. The yellow waved for Colton Cottle, who stopped with smoke coming from the engine.

Chris Windom won the third heat with Dave Darland second. Dave did some experimenting by running above the turn three cushion and diving low coming out of four.

Justin Grant took the fourth heat with Shane Cottle finishing second and relegating front row starter Kody Swanson, who had flipped hard the night before, to the B.

Next was the King of the Hill. C.J. Leary, Thursday’s winner, eliminated Brady Bacon. Tyler Thomas, he of the high groove, shut down Kyle Cummins. Hunter Schuerenberg put away Robert Ballou, who said he doesn’t like the KotH anyway. Kevin Thomas Jr. ended the first round by sending Tyler Courtney packing.

The semi-finals saw T. Thomas beat Leary by about 15 feet. K. Thomas romped over Schuerenberg and then there were two.

Both of the two were named Thomas, meaning that anyone clever enough to bet on “Thomas” to win could start counting money. K. Thomas won and the $400 that went with it.

The B Main was wild and woolly enough on its own. It was three extra laps and that made a huge difference for some. Aaron Farney made it through unscathed to win. Pole sitter Isaac Chapple was second. Josh Hodges was third. Kody Swanson was fourth and things behind him were intense. Tyler Hewitt came from 12^th to claw his way to fifth after a hotly contested battle. Mario Clouser hung on tight and secured the 22^nd starting spot for the feature. Brady Short had moved from ninth to challenge for fourth, but faded at the end, missing the show.

Each year for Smackdown, the drivers gather just south of the bleachers by the Turn Five Bar for introductions. Each of the 22 pick out an introductory clip of a song and then parades before the fans, sauntering down the wide walkway in front of the crowd. They carry a t-shirt, which gets tossed into the crowd. Thankfully, none of them chose “Y.M.C.A.”

Finally! It was time for 40 laps of cutting and slashing, Kokomo style. The Thomas boys occupied the front row, with King of the Hill K. Thomas on the pole. But T. Thomas took off as if his hair was on fire. He quickly began putting distance between himself and the others. Even with that pace, it was 11 laps before T. Thomas encountered lapped traffic.

The leader had been doing a fine job of negotiating lappers until lap 15, when he had side to side contact with Chapple, who hit the fence bottom side first and flipped. Tom Hansing brought out the red flag. T. Thomas led K. Thomas, Ballou, Leary, Courtney, Cummins, Schuerenberg, Boespflug, and Windom.

Thomas remained the leader until lap 19, when Boespflug spun in turn four. He and Andretti, who had no place to go, were stopped, facing the wrong way. Ballou had passed KT; Courtney had passed Leary and K. Thomas. On the re-start, he lined up behind T.  Thomas and Ballou.

Watching the leader, Ballou could have thought he was following his younger self, flat out, right up against the wall. Not too far back, Bacon and Hodges were having their own party. They missed a good chance to flip right in front of Tom Hansing, who was ready to flip the switch and bring out the red. Instead, Tom waved the yellow as both banged wheels and slowed, bringing out the yellow on lap 26. Both were in the top ten and moving up. Now they pitted and returned. The order was T. Thomas, Ballou, Courtney, K. Thomas, Cummins, Windom, Schuerenberg, Grant, Darland, and Leary.

Two laps later, Bacon spun in turn four. Windom had passed Cummins and wasn’t done. On the re-start, T. Thomas launched off turn two and was looking ever stronger. But this race was 40 laps, not the usual 30. The turn two cushion was shrinking by the minute. Courtney and K. Thomas bounced off the wall. Ballou had a major bobble and fell back temporarily. Windom was using the Dave Darland line in turn three, above the cushion. T. Thomas continued on his merry way.

With a couple of laps to go, T. Thomas led Windom, Ballou and Courtney. But Sunshine chopped in front of Ballou on the front straightaway and Ballou’s car climbed on Courtney’s rear nerf bar. Somehow they disengaged and went on. Ballou probably wasn’t pleased.

The yellow waved on lap 38 for another Bacon spin. It was still T. Thomas up front with K. Thomas, Windom, Courtney and a seething Ballou trailing. This would be the first of multiple attempts to finish. KT tried mightily to get around TT on the re-start, but couldn’t get it done. Ballou clouted Courtney’s rear nerf bar; somehow, Sunshine maintained control. KT’s next encounter with turn two was a disaster as he flipped, bringing out the red.

Under red, Cummins exited to the pits with a flat tire, ruining a quiet, but good run. Once again, T. Thomas, Windom, Courtney, and Ballou led. All eyes were on those five. Windom was on fire for the re-start. He launched a major slider on Thomas, who came back strong out of two. But they collided and Windom’s race ended on the last lap, facing the wrong way on the backstretch. Like Ballou with Courtney, Windom was not pleased with T. Thomas. He exited the car and decided that Thomas needed an extra steering wheel, two no-nos at once.

Yet again, another green/white/checkered. This time, Courtney slid under Thomas in turn one. The Oklahoma Kid’s good friend, turn two, let him down and Courtney was home free. The crowd was decidedly pro-Sunshine as he crossed the finish line.

As fireworks exploded in the Kokomo sky, other kinds of fireworks exploded after the race. Ballou went over to have a brief chat with Courtney. Windom emerged from the pits, still irate at Thomas. He made a beeline to the car where Thomas still sat. There was a brief flurry of pushing, shoving, naughty words, and maybe a few punches. Windom was “encouraged” to return to the pits and he did.

During post-race interviews Courtney was quite happy, Thomas was classy as he apologized to Windom for running over his left rear tire. Ballou was subdued and even philosophical.

Behind the top two, Ballou was third. A fine race that few saw was that of Scotty Weir, who motored from 13^th to fourth. The same was true for Dave Darland, 15^th to fifth, and earning the KSE Products Hard Charger Award. Grant came from 12^th to sixth. Leary was seventh. Andretti came back from his incident to take eighth, as did Boespflug, who was ninth. Chase Stockon was one of the few smiling after the race and he finished tenth.

 Yet another year, Kokomo, USAC, and Smackdown delivered. Great racing, crazy on-track moves and post-race theatre prevailed again. No wonder people are already planning on Smackdown 2018.

I still haven’t seen it all, but I can say I’ve seen a little.

Enjoying my new job of counting Floyd Mayweather’s money, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Flippin’ and Winnin’

It’s probably a safe bet that Tyler Courtney and crew would have preferred a less difficult path to victory on Friday night at the Kokomo Speedway. But it’s doubtful they are complaining. They all should feel good about overcoming the odds to do what Sunshine and the team did, namely take a tumble during qualifying, fix the car quickly, and end up in Victory Lane on the second points race of Smackdown VI.

When I arrived at the track on Friday afternoon, 37 sprinters were in the pits. There was a late arrival, Thursday night’s hard luck driver Logan Jarrett, who had assured me that they would be back on Friday. And they were. Tony Dimattia was the only new kid on the block tonight. Thomas Meseraull sat himself down for the rest of the weekend after his nasty flip on Thursday night left him with what may have been a concussion.

Courtney’s 12.891 lap set the standard early until Tyler Thomas came along and ripped off a 12.754 to set fast time. In a strange development, 15 of the 38 cars were limited to one lap of qualifying because they did not participate in wheel packing the track—or they didn’t participate soon enough.

Shane Cottle had his best moment of Smackdown so far, taking the first heat. Tyler Thomas showed that he meant business in moving from sixth to second. C.J. Leary came on strong late in the race to grab third. Tyler Hewitt hung on for fourth.

Englishman Tom Harris won the second heat with Kyle Cummins second. Brady Short took third ahead of Justin Grant. Courtney didn’t quite make the cut and would race in the B.

Dave Darland took off and left the crowd behind in the third heat. Chris Windom was second and Hunter Schuerenberg finished third. Pole sitter Isaac Chapple took fourth, sending Josh Hodges, Kody Swanson, and Wednesday winner Kevin Thomas Jr. to the B.

The fourth heat showed a bit of the drama and emotion that Smackdown seems to bring out each year. Chase Stockon was the third leader of this heat and the winner. Early leader Robert Ballou engaged in some wheel banging as he and Brady Bacon both dove low in turn three late in the race. Ballou was shoved out of the way and Bacon was slowed up enough for Stockon to win. Ballou and Bacon worked feverishly on their hand signals after the race, but that was about it—for the time being. I was reminded that this ain’t Bowman-Gray Stadium where beating, banging and all sorts of theatrics are expected. Bacon and Ballou were followed by Jarett Andretti. Chad Boespflug would run the B.

Tonight, a C Main was contested and Matt Goodnight led three others to the B. Travis Hery steadily worked his way up to second. Logan Jarrett overcame his obstacles and moved up from seventh to third. Brandon Mattox made a late pass on Jamie Fredrickson to grab the last spot available. Robert Bell tipped over after hitting Mattox, who had spun on the first lap. Later, Robert gladly accepted $50 in hard luck money.

Kevin Thomas Jr. took the lead early from Tyler Courtney to win the B. Also moving on to the feature were Kody Swanson, Aaron Farney, Scotty Weir, and Josh Hodges, who started 11^th. Chad Boespflug burned a provisional.

Courtney, Swanson, and Dimattia’s B Main appearances meant that K. Thomas and Hewitt were the front row. These guys, and nearly everyone else up front, dove for the bottom of turn one as Tom Hansing waved the green. Leary had a different idea. He stayed up top and sailed around the others, taking the lead after starting fourth. But this great plan turned to disaster as he roared into turn one way too hot after a lap was completed. He flipped hard and in an instant went from winner to last place in 24 hours. The red waved.

It was a good thing Tom didn’t put the red flag away because he needed it again just one lap later. Coming out of turn four, Kody Swanson was squeezed a bit and caught the infield tire. He flipped hard and, like Leary, Kody climbed out unaided. Both would get some hard luck money later, $45 each.

Through all this Schuerenberg had inherited the lead from Leary. The guys tried again, but a yellow flag came out for Hewitt, who coasted to a stop, ending his night. In four laps, we had lost three cars. Hunter led Grant, T. Thomas, Andretti, and Courtney to the green.

Courtney was on the move. In only a few laps, he moved forward to challenge Scheurenberg for the lead and took it fairly easily going low in turn four on the tenth lap. Poor Tyler. He was missing a great race behind him. Schuerenberg found himself in a fight with both Thomases, and then, a few laps later, Bacon for second. Though Courtney was leading through all this, his lead wasn’t that large. As late as lap 22 Schuerenberg was still nipping at the leader’s heels after he had regrouped.

The final slowdown on the night was on lap 24, when Cottle stopped in turn four. The order was Courtney, Schuerenberg, K. Thomas, T. Thomas, Bacon, Cummins, Weir, Grant, Ballou, and Windom. These final laps would be something.

Certainly they were. No one could do anything with Courtney, but he still wasn’t home free. Bacon and K. Thomas cleared the pack and were only a very few car lengths behind Courtney as the checkered flag waved. All three were on the front straight at the end. T. Thomas was fourth, completing a quality night in the Dutcher-mobile. Schuerenberg’s fifth didn’t reflect on how well he ran. Ballou charged to sixth in the final few laps. Cummins, the model of consistency, was seventh. Grant was eighth. Weir and Windom finished up the top ten.

Bacon’s run from 18^th to second earned him the KSE Hard Charger award. Ballou’s 21^st to sixth wasn’t too shabby either.

The top eight drivers in terms of points will be in the King of the Hill showdown tonight, Saturday. They are Brady Bacon, Kevin Thomas Jr., Hunter Schuerenberg, Kyle Cummins, Robert Ballou, Tyler Courtney, C.J. Leary, and Scotty Weir. They are locked into the grand finale tonight, with a cool $10K to win.

The quote of the night was from the winner, who said, “My guys never give up on me and I never give up on them.” (Many thanks for Richie Murray.)

It was Courtney’s fourth USAC feature win of the year.

Robert Bell, C.J. Leary, and Kody Swanson shared the $140 that was collected for the hard luck racers for the night.

Letting long time country singer Stonewall Jackson know that he can’t perform in the North anymore, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Catch Me If You Can

In spite of the chilly conditions, the crowd at the Kokomo Speedway saw C. J. Leary do an outstanding imitation of a scared rabbit, running away with the 30 lap feature on the first points awarding program of Smackdown. Granted, he started on the pole and led every lap, but three re-starts after yellow flags meant that there were three chances for second place Brady Bacon, among others, to make a move. But it wasn’t happening. The second night of Smackdown 2017 belonged to the young man from Greenfield, Indiana.

Many times I get to the track as early as I can, just to observe the pre-race rituals. Each track has its own routine and most all tracks’ preparations start long before I arrive. As for Kokomo, Reece O’Connor and his crew began preparing the track for Thursday’s race right after Kevin Thomas Jr. and company exited the Bryan Clauson Victory Lane on Wednesday. If I had to pick a favorite part of the ritual, it would be wheel packing.

Preparing a track for a night’s racing is, of course, crucial. Many don’t see the laps taken by the track vehicles, or later, when the sprints come out to slowly circle the quarter mile oval at slow speed, slipping and sliding, working their way to the bottom groove of the track, the last part to receive attention. It’s a preliminary that I never get tired of watching.

Each night of Smackdown features a different cast of characters. Ten of the 44 cars the night before were no shows. Four new players appeared, Travis Hery, Josh Hodges, Cole Ketchum and England’s Tom Harris.

After a night with a different format, tonight’s program returned to USAC’s regular routine, beginning with single car qualifying. Justin Grant went out 23^rd of the 38 on hand and set fast time, 12.685, not far off Dave Darland’s track record of 12.405 seconds. Thomas Meseraull’s night crashed and metaphorically burned when he tested the turn one fence after taking the green. He walked away, but the Briscoe Racing Team was done for the night.

Chances were that pole sitter Aaron Farney could win the first heat and so he did, leaving Scotty Weir, Robert Ballou, and Justin Grant in his wake.

Hammer down was the mode for the second heat as Jarett Andretti outpaced Chase Stockon, Hunter Schuerenberg, and Chad Boespflug. Tyler Thomas, who had turned the second quick time, exited before the green waved and would appear later for the B.

“Intense” could describe the third heat as Dave Darland took advantage of his front row starting position to win it. Chris Windom was second and Kyle Cummins was third. C.J. Leary was fourth. It was a less than great race for the Cottle family. Shane brought out a yellow after he spun in turn four. Nephew Colton tried to climb the turn two wall with his rear wheels first to bring out another yellow. Both would return for the B. Shane’s spin turned out to be crucial for Leary, who not only made the feature, but would take pole position.

Making a strong run from his fourth starting spot, Josh Hodges won the fourth heat. His second row mate, Tyler Courtney, was second. Brady Bacon was third and Kevin Thomas Jr. made a last lap pass of Brady Short to transfer into the show.

Perhaps the most dramatic moment played out in the B Main. T. Thomas led S. Cottle, Mario Clouser, Brady Short, Kody Swanson and Brian Karraker to make the feature. Isaac Chapple was making a late charge for the last spot when he collided with sixth place Logan Jarrett. Both cars flipped wildly in turn four, giving the position to Karraker. Jarrett ended up winning the $75 hard luck money for the night.

Each of the first three rows had a USAC feature winner. Unofficially, only five of the 22 starters had yet to score a USAC Sprint win. Of that small group, one, Kody Swanson, could claim success in the form of Silver Crown championships.

A pair of gassers, Leary and Schuerenberg, were the first to see Brian Hodde’s green flag. Leary had already built up a decent lead when the first yellow waved on lap three when some beating, banging, and bouncing resulted in Grant stopped in turn two on the third lap. Just like that, the point leader was out of the race.

Coming on like gangbusters, Bacon took second even as smoke and the occasional flame threatened to consume his motor. But after a few laps it went away and Bacon never broke stride. Midway through the race, as the first three settled down, Ballou was on a tear. Ninth on the early re-start, he made his way forward and cracked the top five after a third of the race was run.

Helplessness could have described Shane Cottle’s demeanor when he lost a tire and spun in turn three on lap 17 after contact with Chris Windom, ending his race. For this next segment, Leary led Bacon, Schuerenberg, K. Thomas, Ballou, T. Thomas, Boespflug, Swanson, Cummins, and Windom.

This was Ballou’s turn to shine. He scooted his way to third and dearly wanted more. But a yellow waved for Tyler Thomas and his flat tire on lap 23. Leary, Bacon, and Ballou led the rest and one had to have some anticipation of a real scrap here. For the contenders to do anything with Leary, now was their last, best chance.

C.J. was having none of that. Yet again, he pulled away from Bacon and Ballou, stretching his lead to nearly a half straightaway by the time Mr. Hoddy waved that welcome checkered flag. Wednesday winner K. Thomas Jr. was fourth. Schuerenberg was fifth. Boespflug, who had his own battle for position with Hunter, was sixth. Cummins was seventh and Swanson ran well even though his eighth place might not show it. Windom advanced from 15^th to ninth and Hodges finished tenth.

Leary benefitted from caution flags in the feature as he did in his heat race. Each time he approached the lappers, the yellow waved. Ironically, one of those was brought out by S. Cottle. C.J. might want to thank Shane…in a few days.

Rest assured, he thanks Donnie Gentry, ace mechanic and still not quite retired from driving. This combination as clicked all year and they aren’t done yet.

Brady Short was the KSE Racing Products hard charger, coming from 20^th to 12^th.

Leary’s first USAC win came last year during Smackdown. History repeats, more or less.

Certainly thrilled to sport Josh Spencer and Corey Smith’s number for another 364 days, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Opening Statement

There is something about the Kokomo Speedway that gets Kevin Thomas Jr.'s attention. It beckons to him, saying, "Come on, big boy. Let's see what you got." Invariably, the lightning fast quarter mile oval finds out what the Alabama native has. That would be the ability to tame the track and the 21 other contenders, including the best USAC'S Sprint car series has to offer. On a beautiful late August evening, Kokomo's immensely popular Smackdown began with Thomas taking the lead on the seventh lap and never looking back.

Six years ago, the folks at the Kokomo Speedway stayed up late at night, trying to determine what would be a good retirement/birthday present for me. Bless their hearts, they came up with the Kokomo Smackdown, four nights of hard core, no holds barred sprint car racing at its best. I should add that the only part of the preceding that’s true is the clause that starts with “they came up.” In six years this mini-series has become a must attend event.

Among the 44 cars signed in were some new combinations. Scotty Weir emerged to wheel the Gass family’s blue bullet. Brady Short and Hunter Schuerenberg were in identical Arizona cars. Brady Bacon made a semi-rare sprint car appearance.

With this being more like a local show, group qualifying was the order of the day with C. J. Leary’s 12.727 fastest of all. C.J. was in the fourth of six groups to qualify. The top three advanced to the 27 lap feature…27 laps in memory of Bryan Clauson.

Scotty Weir liked his new ride enough to win the first heat. Mario Clouser was second with Tyler Courtney not far behind.

A bit of near mayhem was the story of the second heat. It appeared that Justin Grant's motor stumbled as the field began to gas it. He may have been tapped by Jarett Andretti, which sent Grant around. Andretti ended up winning the heat and Thomas Meseraull was second. Hunter Schuerenberg grabbed the last spot available. The McGhee team loaded up early and set out to find the problem.

When Brady Short exited the track on the pace lap, Dave Darland slid into Brady's spot on the outside of the front row. The People's Champ checked out to win the third heat. Robert Ballou was second and Brandon Mattox took third.

Chris Windom won the fourth heat, a race that was interrupted by a nasty ride taken by Clint Boyles. He climbed out of the car under his own power. Later, his pain was eased a little as he was presented with $205 that was collected by a few fans for the hard luck racer of the night. (This will continue for each night of Smackdown.) C. J. Leary was second and Kyle Cummins took third.

The fifth heat was dominated by guys named Thomas. Kevin Thomas Jr. made an early statement before the Statement by winning the fifth heat. Tyler Thomas, who started the race next to KT in the second row, was second. Josh Cunningham was third.

Travis Welpott closed out the heats with a win with a fast closing Aaron Farney second. Brian Karraker was third.

Attrition determined that there would be no C Main. Instead, 22 answered the bell for the B with Chad Boespflug coming from fourth to take the lead on the first lap and lead all the way to earn the 19^th starting spot in the A. Brady Bacon was second and Colton Cottle third. Chase Stockon took the only cookie left.

Cars were lined up on the front straight doe driver introductions for the 27 lap feature. The first car was pushed off at 10:00. All 22 fired and seven minutes later Tom Hansing waved the green flag with Windom and Welpott on the front row after the re-draw. Windom took the early lead and was looking good, but the yellow waved for Welpott. The Pendleton, Indiana educator slowed on the backstretch. Behind him, and perhaps due to the accordion affect, several cars met in turn two, pointed in every direction but the preferred one.

Windom led Andretti, K. Thomas, Darland and Farney. Thomas didn’t mess around. Before a lap was completed, he passed Andretti for second. On the seventh lap, he dispatched Windom with an outside pass coming out of turn two and the lead was his. Nothing was going to stop Thomas, not lapped traffic, or any mechanical issue, and certainly not any competitors. He maintained a half straightaway lead for most of his time up front.

Two laps after Thomas took the lead, Darland acted like he might have something for the younger racer as he passed Windom for second. But Windom recovered and returned the favor on lap 19. DD was fading just a bit. With Ballou coming on strong at the end, he took third from Darland on the white flag lap after starting tenth.

Courtney was fifth after starting 13^th. Had this been a USAC points race, the Sunshine could have picked up the hard charger award. Leary was sixth, followed by Andretti, who ran well early. Unnoticed by many was Kyle Cummins’ rambling from 16^th to eighth, matching Courtney’s advance. Farney and Meseraull, who started side by side in the fourth row, ended ninth and tenth.

Thomas had the quote of the night when he said, ““There’s always little things you can change to make these things just a tick better…” Without realizing it, he gave us all some good advice, no matter who we are. As I celebrate yet another lap around the sun, that attitude is good here as well.

We get to test that theory again tonight. Plus, we’ll find out if the track gets KT’s attention again.

Trying to steer my driver-less car, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Doesn’t Matter Where You Start

How many times have you looked at the results of a race, read that the pole sitter won the race, and thought to yourself that this must have been a boring race? I’ve done the same—at races I didn’t attend. This weekend just concluded contained two features that saw the winners start and finish first. Having seen both races, I was not about to say either was boring.

Robert Ballou started on the pole with a new chassis, and he led all 25 laps to win the Dick Gaines Memorial at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on another Indiana night where the temperature and humidity were surely about the same. Though Kevin Thomas Jr. did his best to worry Ballou, all he could do was take second place, which gave him two good finishes for the weekend.

With USAC’s Silver Crown division running at Springfield, Illinois, a race won by Justin Grant, the car count was a bit lower. But 19 was plenty enough for a good program. Among those gathered were Dickie Gaines, still looking to win the race dedicated to his father. The boss of BOSS, Aaron Fry, stopped by to make a rare appearance behind the wheel. Adam Strausser also paid the ‘burg a rare visit.

KT won the first heat with Jordan Kinser not far behind. Trailing were Tony Main, J.J. Hughes, Braxton Cummings, Aaron Fry, and Nick Bilbee, who stopped on the track with mechanical woes that would be fixed in time for the feature.

Tyler Thomas, flirting with the imposing Lawrenceburg wall, was the third of three leaders in the second, winning over Shawn Westerfeld, Dickie Gaines, Garrett Abrams, Cody Gardner, and Chris Olding.

Jarett Andretti won the third heat after early leader Josh Hodges bounced off the turn four wall. Robert Ballou was second and Hodges third, ahead of Michael Fischessor, Adam Strausser and Eric Semple.

The re-draw put Ballou and K. Thomas on the front row. Tim Montgomery waved the green flag and Ballou grabbed the lead and slowly built it up over the first few laps. Lapped traffic didn’t bother the leader; he was able to maintain a lead of a near straightaway.

Behind Ballou and K. Thomas, third place Andretti had his hands full holding off T. Thomas, who put his Mike Dutcher-mobile nice and close to the wall. Further back, Bilbee was making noise after starting last. By mid-race he had cracked the top ten and wasn’t done

Both the drama and test for Ballou first came on lap 18, when someone tapped an infield tire, which wandered onto the track. The front runners were Ballou, K. Thomas, Andretti, T. Thomas, and Hodges.

On the re-start, KT threw a couple of sliders at Ballou, coming up short, but close enough to get the leader’s attention. Two laps later, another yellow for another errant tire, gathered the field back together. The order up front was the same and K. Thomas again traded slide jobs with Ballou for the first two or three laps after the green waved. The Alabama native took the lead a time or two, but for only a couple of seconds before Ballou re-assumed control. By lap 23, he had pulled away somewhat and took the win (and $3,000) by about ten car lengths.

Behind Ballou and K. Thomas were Andretti and Westerfeld. Gaines came on strong at the end to take fifth. Hodges, who won this race a year ago, was sixth. Bilbee was the advancing man, coming from last to finish seventh, making lemonade out of a few lemons while winning the Grasshopper Award of $63 in memory of Bryan Clauson. T. Thomas struggled at the end and was eighth. Jordan Kinser and Tony Main filled out the top ten.

One, not I, could argue that had Ballou started further back, he would not have won. Such hypotheticals often are laughable because speculation does not equal certainty, though some seem to think so. The 12 car was strong and Robert was pleased with his new chassis, a Boss. KT had some good chances to grab the lead and simply could not close the deal. It was a decent race, with the outcome in doubt until near the end.

The Dick Gaines Memorial has been run 14 times at Lawrenceburg and there have been 14 different winners, beginning with Bryan Clauson in 2004 (thanks to Sandy Lowe).

Closing out with one of the late Dick Gregory’s one liners, “A Klaner (KKK) is a cat who gets out of bed in the middle of the night and takes his sheet with him.”…I’m

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Satisfaction of Living Well

It’s been an interesting few weeks for A.J. Hopkins, a friendly young man who has seemed to mature substantially in the last few years. With this maturing, he often finds himself finishing well, even winning. But the real test of anyone comes from how they handle setbacks. These recent weeks have seen Mr. Hopkins holding a checkered flag and/or trophy after a given race (such as Friday night at the Bloomington Speedway). He has also been seen flipping into the parking lot at Bloomington, as well as enduring unwelcome situations caused by others. But on a Hoosier hot August night at the red clay oval, a night where Leon Gentry was paid homage for a life and career well done, A.J. Hopkins took the lead when the early leader spun and held off challenges from one of the best to prevail and hold the trophy and the flag.

An hour or so later, Andy Bradley won the RaceSavers’ 305 feature after taking the lead midway through the race.

Fans were in for a treat as this was a quasi-USAC show, given all the regulars in the pits. Chase Stockon, with a Gentry family connection, led the USAC attendees. Full time and occasional USAC racers included Robert Ballou, Kevin Thomas Jr., Kyle Cummins, Aaron Farney, Tyler Thomas, and Jarett Andretti. Aric Gentry also made the trip northeast to race in honor of his Uncle Leon.

The first heat lineup reminded me of a USAC/Sprint Week lineup. It would be guaranteed that at least one good car would go to the B Main. The top five finishers were Cummins, Hopkins, Ballou, K. Thomas Jr., and Farney. Bloomington wizard Brady Short left out and ran the B.

Chase Stockon won the second heat over two famous names, Jeff Bland and Jon Stanbrough. Matt Westfall made the long haul from Ludlow Falls (Ohio) to finish fourth. Tim Creech II was fifth.

T. Thomas won the caution plagued third heat, coming from fourth to take the lead on the first lap. Nick Bilbee started and finished second. Jarett Andretti did the same, taking third. Logan Seavey, new kid on the block from California, finished fourth in his first time driving a traditional sprint car, one of the two cars entered by Chase Briscoe and family. (Thomas Meseraull was an early scratch.) Ethan Barrow hung on for fifth.

The B lineup was no slouch. Lee Underwood made a late pass on Brady Short to win. Jordan Kinser traded third with Braxton Cummings for much of the race, finally prevailing. Matt McDonald came from ninth to earn a 20^th starting position in the feature.

RaceSavers…

There were nearly as many of the winged 305 prints as the headliners. Alfred Galeridge hustled from the last row/seventh to win the first heat over Ryan Tusing.

Ethan Barrow came from fifth to win the second heat. Brinton Marvel came from seventh to take the runner-up spot.

Terry Arthur was having none of that. He started on the pole and no one could catch him as he won the third RaceSaver heat over Kerry Kinser.

It may have been a first for Brady Short, running two B’s in one night. After finishing second in the 410 B, he won the RaceSaver’s B. Chris Babcock, new to running with the wing, started and finished second.

Hopkins and T. Thomas led 19 cohorts to the green as Aric Gentry started 21^st with a promoter’s option. Thomas took the lead and promptly checked out, loving his new Mike Dutcher ride. Lapped traffic appeared fairly early, but the leader negotiated the lapped cars with ease.

But it all went away on lap ten when Thomas spun in turn four, bringing out a yellow. Jeff Bland inherited the lead, with Stockon, Hopkins, Cummins, and Andretti making up the top five. Bland held onto the lead for all of one lap before the rejuvenated pole sitter took the top spot. Hopkins could not shake Bland, who soon began having his own troubles with Cummins, who made the pass for second on lap 18 while Hopkins was trying to check out.

A yellow waved a lap later and Cummins dove low into turn one on the re-start, taking the lead for maybe four seconds before Hopkins returned the favor quickly.

As the laps were winding down, one of the biggest traffic jams ever seen at Bloomington assembled in turn one on lap 24. Five cars were involved and finished for the night; the yellow flag immediately became a red due to the track being blocked and having the field circle the track, even under yellow, wasn’t a good plan. Eliminated were McDonald, Ballou, Stockon, Farney and Gentry.

It would be an authentic green/white/checkered finish. Try as he might, Cummins had nothing for Hopkins, who drove the high banks about as smooth as one could. K. Thomas Jr. came from tenth to get the bronze medal. Bland was fourth. Logan Seavey’s second traditional sprint car start was even more impressive than his first. He came from 12^th to complete the top five.

Andretti led the second five with B. Short earning a seventh place finish after starting 17^th, the hardest of chargers. Westfall’s long haul paid off with an eighth. T. Thomas came back his spin to take ninth. Cummings rambled from 19^th to tenth.

It was so typical of racing and racers that Hopkins went from the outhouse (the parking lot excursion, etc.) to the penthouse (getting interviewed by Kimb Stewart after a win). This was made even sweeter as Leon Gentry, patriarch of a respected racing family, joined the crowd by the winning car for some pictures.

To top it off, this was Hopkins’ first Bloomington feature win.

After a modified feature won by Jacoby Hines, the RaceSavers hit the high banks with Andy Bradley taking the lead from Terry Arthur on lap five and motoring on for his first Bloomington win. Ryan Tusing came from 12^th to take second. Arthur took third after a late pass by Tusing. Ethan Barrow was fourth and John Paynter made a strong charge at the end to grab after beginning 13^th. Alfred Galedrige ran as high as third before falling back to sixth. Jared Fox came home seventh. Jeff Wimmenauer finished eighth, with Jeff Bland and Matt Lux filling out the top ten.

Jason Setser closed out the night by winning the TQ Midget feature.

Urging that colleges include weekly tours of the local Wal-Mart as a requirement for Anthropology 101, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Sometimes the Rabbit Wins

It might not be a bad idea to bet on the tortoise over the hare as a rule, but there are always exceptions. On another beautiful Indiana evening, Kody Swanson was a hare that didn’t let up as he won a convincing victory in the 58^th edition of the Joe James-Pat O’Connor Memorial at, where else, the Salem Speedway as USAC’s Silver Crown division once again invaded the high banks.

This was Swanson’s second straight James-O’Connor triumph. Chris Windom was second, just as he was in 2016.

On a personal level, this old track has a hold on me. This is because here is where a lot of my childhood memories were made. Whether it was running in circles in the infield or sitting in the old, long gone, covered grandstands, I can easily picture my younger self at Salem. If I wasn’t watching MARC (the predecessor of today’s ARCA), USAC or ASA stock cars, I saw the familiar open wheel legends wrestle sprint cars around the imposing—and occasionally deadly—high banks. Those memories are still alive and well. Along with the promise of some pretty hard core racing, those memories brought me back to Salem.

My home town was well represented in the crowd and the pits. Three of the 14 cars had a local connection. Joss Moffatt is a maestro of the Lawrenceburg Speedway high banks, but this is his rookie year in USAC’s Silver Crown Series. Gene Nolan had two cars locked and loaded, to coin a phrase, with the Columbus Container company serving as a sponsor. In addition, long time Nolan mechanic Kevin Noblitt was another home boy hard at work.

In both the pits and the bleachers were several local fans, led by the shy and retiring Butch Wilkerson, who entertained local open wheel notable Greg Littleton and his son. Father and son racing standouts Dave and Kerry Norris were also sitting nearby. Roaming the pits were two other local Daves, Foist and Bozell, long time fans of open wheel racing. Finally, a surprise visitor appeared, namely my wife, who spent a good bit of time with her (our) friend, local track rat Terri.

K. Norris was observant enough to note that, while Kody Swanson’s new track record was quite impressive, he may well have benefitted from the rubber that had been laid down by the earlier qualifiers, which would have included everyone else. At any rate, 15.923 seconds around the intimidating high banks deserved much respect.

The stock cars had run their feature, the vintage cars had taken a few laps, and the Silver Crown cars made a beautiful sight lined up on the front stretch. Swanson and Aaron Pierce were the front row. Chris Windom and David Byrne were next. Bobby Santos and Justin Grant, in the Nemire family car, occupied the third row. A pair of Juniors were the fourth row, Jerry Coons and Davey Hamilton. Jacob Wilson, the 2008 James-O’Connor winner in a sprint car, and Indy 500 veteran Davey Hamilton (Senior) were in the fifth row.

As a fire (apparently under control) burned just off turn one at the airport, the green flag waved. Try as he might, Swanson could not get the jump going into turn one. Pierce grabbed the lead and made an admirable attempt to put some space between himself and Swanson. Windom, Byrne and Santos trailed until Grant got around Santos early to take fifth. It would be the highlight of Grant’s race.

Windom was strong early, diving low on nearly every lap to let Swanson know that he was there. Pierce still led as the top six tried to break away from the rest. Wilson dropped out on lap 18, the first to do so. A lap later, Grant spun in turn four while trying to pass Byrne for fourth. As the field prepared to re-start, Byrne pitted for a flat tire, but soon exited the car as a more serious issue emerged. The top five was Pierce, Swanson, Windom, Santos and Hamilton Jr.

After stalking Pierce’s every move, Swanson took the lead by diving low going into turn one on lap 30. Two laps later, Grant did it again, spinning again in turn four. On the re-start, Swanson built up a comparatively sizable lead as Pierce had his hands full rebuffing Windom’s repeated challenges to take second. Along with Santos, the top four opened up a gap from the others.

Windom made the pass and by lap 50, he and Swanson had driven away from Pierce, who now had Santos to deal with. On the 52^nd lap, both approached lapped traffic with Santos getting the better of the deal, using Joss Moffatt as a pick and taking over the final podium spot. Meanwhile, for the time being, the issue up front was still in doubt as Swanson could not shake the pesky Windom. But as the laps wound down, Swanson gradually pulled away, solidifying his lead.

At the end, Swanson’s lead was a half straightaway lead over Windom. In third place, a full straightaway behind, was Santos with Pierce not far behind in fourth. Hamilton Jr was fifth. Coons, Grant, Hamilton, Florida’s Shane Butler, and Hoosier born and bred Joss Moffatt were the second five.

Swanson won the Understatement of the Night Award when he said after the race, “This place is incredibly difficult.” One does not go to Salem to see passing on every lap. Some get impatient when racing there, while trying to pass. That often leads to disaster, or at least a yellow flag for a spin. The patient ones bide their time, looking for even the smallest advantage. An attempted pass at Salem is about as wondrous to see as a well executed slide job at most any bullring.

Whatever the strategy, Kody Swanson is taking his place with an excellent group of racers who have raced with the Silver Crown Series. On this lovely evening, he played the role of the rabbit quite well.

Bugs Bunny must have been smiling in approval somewhere.

Making the not so startling discovery that there are terrorists that look somewhat like me, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Scratching the Itch

Thankfully, the itch that will be described is not the kind caused by the pesky little beasts that congregate most every summer’s evening. This itch is scratched by victims of something that isn’t necessarily pesky, little or a literal beast. It is, of course, auto racing, most particularly sprint car racing. One victim has the itch so bad, he commutes about 220 miles one way to race at the Lincoln Park Speedway every chance he gets. On a seasonably cool evening, the travelin’ man, Brent Beauchamp, found himself being interviewed after putting a hurt on the field after taking the lead on the second lap and skillfully maneuvering his way through lapped traffic to win the 25 lap feature.

While strolling through the pits, it was easy to fall into conversation with Bill and Chris Babcock. This evening, both found themselves in a new role, helping out the Alex Sipes team. This is their first year in a long time not completely involved with this activity, addiction, whatever you want to call it. This made me think.

Bill, Chris, and countless others, including you and me, have what we could call The Itch.

This Itch takes several forms, but the form that exists at bullrings like Lincoln Park is what we can address here. Over the years I've seen several folks come and go. Many of those moved on and found another passion. Others have left and found out how much they missed this business. While the Itch went away for some, it has remained for others and they have discovered that it still needs scratching. Bill Babcock is just one example.

When one walks away and finds that the Itch is still there, tough choices must be made. Then again, maybe they aren't so tough. At any rate, don't be surprised if Bill and others with the same affliction hang around in some way. As a result, racing is better off.

Before the usual leadoff of sprint car heats, three makeup features were ran, one super stock and two bombers. There was no need to fret about a late night; all three races were relatively free of slowdowns of any type. The regular program began at 8:30.

Tim Creech II took advantage of a minor bobble by Travis Berryhill and won the first heat. Jon Stanbrough came from last to make Creech earn it. Berryhill was third, leading Nate McMillen and Harley Burns to the line.

Riding high through the turns, Billy Cribbs won the second heat. Mitch Wissmiller was second, just ahead of A. J. Hopkins. Matt McDonald took fourth and Josh Cunningham wrestled the proverbial ill handling beast to a fifth place finish.

Brent Beauchamp checked out to take the third heat. The ageless Kent Christian was second. Chad Davenport started and finished third. Brady Ottinger and Eddie Lake trailed.

A pair of veterans, both sporting the number one on their tail tanks, led all to Brian Hodde’s green flag. Pole sitter Kent Christian took the early lead over second row starters Jon Stanbrough and Brent Beauchamp as Mitch Wissmiller fell back his fromt row perch. On the second lap, Beauchamp sailed around Christian to take the lead as Stanbrough fell to fourth. Cribbs passed the Hall of Famer to temporarily grab third, but only for a couple of laps.

The first of two yellow lights blinked as Cribbs spun in turn two on the sixth lap while running fourth. A lap later Ottinger spun in nearly the same spot as Brent Stapp chose to stop instead of clouting Ottinger. Beauchamp led Christian, Stanbrough, Hopkins, Berryhill, McDonald, McMillen, Davenport, and Cunningham.

Beauchamp promptly checked out when the green waved, but behind him was a hotly contested struggle with Stanbrough and Hopkins getting around Christian. The fight for second place went on for much of the middle part of the race.  Lapped traffic played a big part in settling things. As Beauchamp sailed into the figurative sunset, Stanbrough found himself blocked behind two slower cars. Jon went low as A.J. went high and cleared the gathering. Stanbrough untangled himself, but Hopkins had made the pass and began a (futile) chase after the leader.

Perhaps Hopkins did cut into Beauchamp’s lead, but the Columbus, Ohio resident still won by a comfortable margin. Stanbrough was third. McMillen had an impressive race as he came from tenth to grab fourth. McDonald did essentially the same, coming from 11^th to fifth. Christian faded to sixth. Berryhill started and finished seventh. Koby Barksdale was the advancing positions king, as he came from last to finish eighth. Davenport was ninth and Cribbs came back from his spin to finish tenth.

Later this month, another round of the much anticipated Kokomo Smackdown will commence. At this time of year, many teams are hurting for funds to replace broken or worn out parts and other important items. The following is aimed at fans who are ready, willing, and able to help a buddy (or a complete stranger) out with a donation of any size. On any given night, there are several teams who are one broken part from parking. As individuals, we may not be able to replace that part, but together maybe we can pool our resources and give a team a break.

Last year at the Smackdown, an unofficial total of $830 was handed out to deserving racers who suffered some bad luck over the three nights. Each was very appreciative and they all still race nearly a year later.

Earlier we wrote about the Itch. One thing that should be mentioned is that this Itch costs money, no matter who you are, from promoter to sponsor to racer to fan. We’re not suggesting that people take money away from other deserving causes, far from it. Folks should make up their own minds where to spend their money, for whatever reason. But if you have a few dollars left over, this is something to consider. I assure you that racers appreciate not only the money, but the gesture.

Leaking, but not peeking, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Can You Go Home Again?

According to one of my favorite American authors, you cannot. But I can safely say that Thomas Wolfe never met Dave Darland. Maybe the talented man of letters would have come to realize that a few folks can go home again. Mr. Wolfe was from Asheville, North Carolina and seldom came back after he left for the big city. Mr. Darland has raced far and wide, but comes back home to Kokomo to race and live. On another beautiful Sunday evening, Darland refused to wilt under pressure by Max McGhee early on to win the Kokomo Klassic, delayed by rain one week.

Strange as it may have seemed, this was my grandson’s first Kokomo outing this year. During baseball season, weekly practices were on Sunday evenings. Tonight he would make up for lost time. We bought a mud scraper and soon after he put it to good use at the Kokomo Speedway. Adding to his mud scraping duties for Shane Cottle and Tyler Hewitt, was an impromptu stint as playmate/role model for two year old Leland Spencer, son of Josh.

22 sprints and 15 midgets populated the pits. Dave Darland was back in the Hery 40, which had let him down on Friday night at Rte. 44. Thomas Meseraull was in a Mike Dutcher car. Max McGhee was in the family car.

Meseraull won the first heat from the front row, but McGhee made sure that he earned it. Logan Jarrett started and finished third. Tyler Hewitt was fourth pole sitter Lee Underwood drifted back to fifth.

Shane Cottle owned the second heat. Billy Cribbs, Josh Spencer, Jamie Fredrickson, and Dusty Shriver gave chase to no avail.

Dave Darland waited until turn one of the last lap to take the third heat win. Colton Cottle was second. Travis Hery, Brian Karraker, and Corey Smith trailed.

The mud had been scraped, two cheeseburgers, a hot dog and a bag of popcorn had disappeared, and it was time for the 30 lap feature.

The law firm of S. Cottle and Cribbs led the prime suspects to Brian Hodde’s green flag. From the second row, McGhee shot to the front. Darland, who started fourth, was no doubt impressed, but determined that he could do better. DD scooted to the front, passing Max and taking the lead on the third lap.

Darland could not pull away. Then came a red flag when the other Mark Hery car, driven by Travis Hery, flipped in turn two. Travis got out of the car and walked away.

The re-start was Darland, McGhee, Meseraull, S. Cottle, C. Cottle, Jarrett, Spencer, Cribbs, Underwood, Hewitt, and Karraker. The green waved again and Darland tried to put some of the Kokomo soil between him and McGhee. Soon lapped traffic was in play. Darland had pulled away while in a more solitary condition, but McGhee came roaring back as DD struggled with some lappers. Max took the lead briefly in lapped traffic, but was passed by the time they reached the s/f line.

A few laps later Darland was still holding on when the race’s lone yellow waved for his most prominent challenger. McGhee coasted to a stop coming out of turn two with less than ten laps to go. What can be considered reliable information was that he ran out of gas after the short handed crew forgot to fill the thank pre-race.

This re-start saw Darland leading the pack, with Meseraull right behind. Dave wasn’t home free. This is pure Indiana bullring racing and one dare not leave early even if the guy who practically owns this join was re-starting up front. But TMez, despite his best efforts, had nothing for Darland and had to settle for second.

Shane Cottle was third overall, but first in the Cottle family, leading his nephew Colton to the line. Logan Jarrett wrapped up a good weekend. After finishing second on Saturday night at Lawrenceburg, he was fifth. Tyler Hewitt came from tenth to take sixth. Brian Karraker moved from 12^th to seventh. The unofficial hard charger was yet another local, Josh Spencer, who improved his position by seven, 15^th to eighth. Billy Cribbs was ninth and Lee Underwood took tenth.

It had been a feast or famine for Darland this past weekend. After a disappointing beginning, he closed out the weekend by winning in two different cars. He sipped a cold one courtesy of Jerry Spencer and took time to have his picture taken with one of his fans, an eight year old boy who would conk out just past the Howard County line on his way home.

Right after the sprint feature was the USAC Speed2 Midwest Thunder midget feature, won by Stratton Briggs. Aaron Leffel finished second ahead of Kent Christian, Cory Guingrich and Korbyn Hayslett.

One can debate whether the boy ever left his Kokomo home. One can say that Thomas Wolfe, whoever he was, is full of it. But I prefer to think that both can be possible. Some can go home again and others can’t.

Having lunch with the Mooch and his pooch, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Right Place, Right Time

Often in life, one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor. What’s good for me might be bad for you. Ask Shawn Westerfeld and Jordan Kinser how that works out. At the Lawrenceburg Speedway on another fine Hoosier Saturday night, Westerfeld made a very uncharacteristic error when he dove a little low in turn four, catching the berm, spinning and tipping over—while leading, no less. Second place Jordan Kinser became first place Jordan Kinser and ran away with the victory in the Buckeye Outlaw Super Sprints sanctioned program.

Around the Hoosier state on Saturday were no less than three choices for sprint fans and teams. Any concerns about any of the three tracks, Lincoln Park Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, and Paragon Speedway were put to sleep as each track had 23 or more cars, with the ‘burg welcoming 36 cars to the playground.

Passing in the four heats was routine. Scotty Weir came from sixth to win the first heat. Runner-up Logan Jarrett started eighth and motored to second. Tony Dimattia, pole sitter, was third. Steve Little also avoided the B main.

Shawn Westerfeld won the second heat, making an early pass on pole sitter J. J. Hughes, who stayed close. Kokomo's Dustin Smith was third and Cody Gardner came from sixth to fourth on the last lap to squeak into the feature.

Carmen Perigo won the third heat from the front row. Jordan Kinser passed Andy Heil midway through the race to take second. Behind Heil was Dickie Gaines.

 The bump developing in turn three bothered Drew Abel not a whit as he won the fourth heat over seventh starting Landon Simon. Garrett Abrams was third and Michael Fischesser came from ninth to grab a feature spot.

Cole Ketchum came from ninth to win the first B, taking Chad Wilson and Matt Cooley to the feature with him. This was after race leader Justin Owen smacked the turn three wall. Owen was also the BOSS point leader.

Past Lawrenceburg champ Joss Moffatt won the next one, with Tony Main and pole sitter Braxton Cummings preparing to start 20^th and 22^nd in the feature.

Seeing that this was billed as the Jason Soudrette Memorial, Dickie Gaines, in the Soudrette family car with the number 44, led the others in a four wide salute. After this, Dickie joined his eighth row mate, Michael Fischesser. Neither would stay there long.

Westerfeld and Kinser led 20 others to Tim Montgomery’s favorite green flag. The local kid (Guilford) grabbed the early lead and was looking good until his misfortune. The red flag waved and Shawn exited the car on his own.

On the re-start, Kinser took control of the lead with Pennsylvania’s Perigo second and Jarrett third. Gaines had already advanced to tenth after starting 15^th. Kinser steadily increased his lead as Jarrett began to annoy Perigo for second. Lap 21 was good to the kid from Kokomo, whose lone USAC victory came at Lawrenceburg. He got around Perigo and tried in vain to catch the leader.

But that wasn’t going to happen. Kinser found friendly territory on the bottom and would not be denied. His gap over Jarrett at the checkered was the better part of a straightaway. Jarrett and Perigo settled for silver and bronze medals. Lawrenceburg regular Drew Abel was fourth for most all of the race. Landon Simon was a steady fifth after passing Scotty Weir early. Speaking of Weir, he kept sixth, driving a Jamie Miller owned car. Michael Fischesser was the passing king as he roared from 16^th to finish seventh. Gaines’ effort wasn’t too shabby either as he started 15^th and brought the Soudrette family machine home eighth. Kokomo’s Dustin Smith was ninth. Rushville’s Garrett Abrams took home tenth place money.

It was a good day and night. Big Dave and I were a little later than normal because I spent some time holding my grand-niece, age one. Later, I spent more quality time with Dave Rudisell, age, uh, a bit older than my grand-niece—and her mother. We talked a lot about weather and how it affects racing. How it is all promoters don’t have gray hair is beyond me. The temperature was perfect, but the same north breeze that Bloomington had on Friday was at the ‘burg on Saturday, as the humidity and dew point combined to provide another challenge for any track preparation. Though the weather was discussed quite a bit, nothing was done about it—again.

At Hoosier bullrings, two Hall of Famers and a talented young man with a Hall of Fame name prevailed. Along with Jordan Kinser, Shane Cottle (the BOSS show at Rte. 44 Speedway and Paragon) and Dave Darland (Lincoln Park) won features.

Sometimes one finds oneself in the right place, but the wrong time (thanks to Dr. John). But every now and then, it all clicks and one finds oneself being interviewed after the race while holding a trophy—in Kinser’s case, a guitar in honor of Jason Soudrette, who also played a little guitar.

Pitching my great idea to TV network suits, a show called Dancing With the Cars, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Making It Look Easy

It’s common knowledge, or should be, that when people make their job look easy, they are doing it well. Granted, some jobs are more difficult by any standard than others. One of the most difficult is wrestling a sprint car around a bullring as fast as possible. Not too many people excel at this. A few of them were at the Bloomington Speedway on a beautiful Friday evening at the Bloomington Speedway. They all tackled the red clay oval, but only one could win. That was Brady Short, who can drive a sprint car around this track as well or better than any active racer currently. Short took the win over another guy who gets around Bloomington pretty well, Jeff Bland.

There was a breeze coming from the north and it gave Henry Bryant, the young man who preps the track, a mild headache. But he managed to make it look easy and poured the water to the track. The time had arrived for hot laps and soon we’d see the oval take shape.

The track didn’t agree with young Kendall Ruble, who flipped hard off turn one during the first hot lap session. The Vincennes native didn’t make it into the parking lot, as A.J. Hopkins had two weeks earlier during Sprint Week, but he came close. I was watching closely, because my chauffeur, Mr. Dave Foist (Esq.), had parked not far from the track. Kendall popped out of the car, done for the night.

There was a bit of ride hopping among the 17 sprints signed in. Jon Stanbrough hopped into the Jamie Paul car. Casey Shuman, rained out west of here, hustled back to sit in the Krockmobile. Tony DiMattia occupied the Rick Pollock hot rod.

Short drew the pole for the first heat and predictably checked out. Shuman was a distant second, followed by Jordan Kinser. Stanbrough was fourth and DiMattia edged Josh Cunningham to take fifth.

Bland followed Ethan Barrow for every lap except the last, making the pass to take the win. Thomas Meseraull overcame a slide-off midway through the race to come back and finish third. Pole sitter Lee Underwood was fourth, ahead of Billy Cribbs.

Despite a red flag during a mini-sprint heat, the feature rolled off at 8:50 with Barrow and Short on the front row.

After Ethan jumped the first start, the boys tried again and Short took the lead coming out of turn two and led all the way. Bland and Meseraull immediately attacked Barrow’s position and assumed second and third place.

Underwood brought out the race’s only yellow light with three laps complete when he slipped over the turn two bank and did the obligatory stop to bring out the yellow flag and lights. The re-start order was Short, Bland, TMez, Barrow, Shuman, Kinser, Stanbrough, DiMattia, Cunningham and Cribbs.

For the rest of the race, there would be little change in positions six through ten, with no changes among the top five. Early on, most everyone abandoned the bottom groove, opting to glide around the top, using the considerable cushion.

By the 20^th lap, Short’s lead was most of a straightaway and he had lapped up to seventh place. The top five had taken to heart philosopher Moe Howard’s advice to “spread out!” Bland was comfortably ahead of Meseruall, who had put some real estate between him and Barrow. Shuman was about as comfortable as a fifth place runner could be. Stanbrough got around Kinser mid-race to grab sixth. DiMattia was seventh with Cunningham eighth, one lap down. Lee Underwood passed more cars for position than anyone as he came back from his early issue to take tenth.

It was nine o’clock as Brady answered Brad Dickison’s questions at the start/finish line.

I wandered over to Mr. Foist’s seat and reminded him that I could stay or leave at any time. He drove us home, negotiating the curves of Monroe and Brown counties.

He made it look easy.

Making retirement look easy, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night…

…but that didn’t keep Lawrenceburg Speedway promoter Dave Rudisell and crew from trying to get their program done on a Saturday night complete with temperatures in the 90s, typical Hoosier humidity, a rainy period that parked everyone for three hours, and finally, approaching lightning which was enough for the track to consider public safety. Reluctantly, after two sprint heats had been run, Rudy pulled the plug and sent everyone home.

Before leaving I had checked the weather map several times. According to my trusty weather service, Dart Boards Ltd., rain was due to begin at Lincoln Park before it was to begin at Lawrenceburg. By this reasoning, it made more sense to head east rather than northwest. Naturally, LPS had no rain and A.J. Hopkins showed the way, roaring back from his scary Bloomington Sprint Week shunt to take the win.

I cast my lot with the ‘burg, finding 25 cars in the pits. Dave Darland was in the Mark Hery 40 again, with his USAC ride with the Phillips family done as Steve and Carla has made the tough call to park the 71 for financial reasons. Past Lawrenceburg champ Logan Hupp was in the Gindling seven, making a mini-comeback, but that effort ended early against the turn two wall during hot laps when the crankshaft reportedly broke. C.J. Leary was one of a quality group of cars, including ‘burg hot dogs Joss Moffatt, Shawn Westerfeld, Dickie Gaines, Jarett Andretti, Jordan Kinser, J.J. Hughes, and the handsome and dashing Nick Bilbee.

Chris Olding voluntarily gave up his pole position of the first heat and scooted to the back. This put Darland on the pole and he took off like a dog chasing a rabbit. His margin was a full straightaway over Westerfeld, who passed Garrett Abrams at the checkered flag. Gaines was fourth after starting ninth. Braxton Cummings secured a spot in the feature had there been one.

Nick Bilbee came from fifth to win the second heat over Joss Moffatt. Jordan Kinser started and finished third. Drew Abel came from eighth to take fourth. Pole sitter Paul Dues held off J.J. Hughes to grab fifth. J.J. would have prepared for the B had there been one.

As the third heat lined up with Cody Gardner on the pole, thunder was easily audible over the rumble of the engines. About a lap from the start, I felt the breeze shift, a very similar situation at Terre Haute during Sprint Week. My reaction was the same; I headed for the little white truck.

I was too slow. The rain began falling and I had a long way to get to the truck.  But I was very lucky. There was an abandoned pit shack on the road to the pits, not used anymore, except by old men who are too slow to get to their vehicle before it rains. That would be my temporary office.

The rain had begun at 7:10 p.m. At 7:25, the sun was trying to break through the clouds with middling success. But, even though the rain was brief, it was a hard rain and there would be some down time while the track crew could try to circle the high banks to make it race-able.  

After hundreds of laps run by track vehicles to make the oval ready, the call went out for the third heat sprinters to come out and run some practice laps. They did, but left a few minutes later, replaced by a group of modifieds, who did the same.

While this was going on, there was more rain coming. There was an impressive light show to the southwest over the distillery. If the radar could have talked, it would have said, there’s rain on the way. Before that happened, the call was made to terminate activities at 10:10.

Some were not happy, thinking that the track was ready much earlier. I scratched my head at that and ambled to the truck, foiled again. Mr. Rudisell might have been better off to pull the plug after the rain delay, but that’s called hindsight.

I refused to call it time wasted. After all, I spent some time with the likes of Ryan Kent, Keith Wendell, J.J. Hughes. I missed my man Marv Fish, but hopefully there will be another time.

The lightning seemed to surround me as I headed home, mostly on Indiana 48 (not 46). Rain caught me while I was on the outskirts of Napoleon. It lasted all the way to Greensburg.

The last time I’d looked, the weather for Kokomo on Sunday night looked promising. This story is being written on a calm Sunday evening, 100 miles south of Kokomo. So much for that; Kokomo was hammered by mean weather, an all too frequent occurrence. A bad race at Kokomo would have been better than the “race” I saw on TV, the travesty that the Brickyard 400 has become.

Having my fill of lucky dogs, two wide re-starts, “overtime periods,” and being told by TV announcers what great racing I’m seeing, I’m…

Danny Burton  

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Ballou Wins the Battle While Thomas Wins the War

Both Robert Ballou and Kevin Thomas Jr. can now point to nice additions to their racing resumes. A rain plagued Indiana Sprint Week ended under mostly clear skies on a beautiful Sunday evening at the Lincoln Park Speedway with Ballou holding the trophy for winning the 30 lap feature and Thomas looking forward to a bit of relaxation in the John Youngs built rocking chair that traditionally goes to USAC's Sprint Week champion.

At first, it seemed like the mood was somewhat deflated. “Only” 24 cars had signed in. The exciting finish at Tri-State the night before seemed like a better sendoff to Indiana Sprint Week. Lots of travelers had left for home.

But that was at first. The bleachers began to fill up. It would not be wall-to-wall fans, but it was another impressive crowd. And I thought to myself, “there are quite likely a few fans here who might have only one ISW race this year. And this is it.” Though the pits looked like a deserted car lot, when the green flag dropped, there was no more thoughts about deflating.

I pay attention to Hoosier sprint car points races once a year and it is during Sprint Week. K. Thomas Jr. came to Putnamville with a not so safe 21 point lead over Ballou. I thought that it wasn’t a given, but the title was KT’s to lose.

Thomas helped his cause by setting fast time with a smooth 12.594 and his lead was now 23. The track stayed fast as Thomas was the 15^th of 24 to take time. C.J. Leary went out just before KT and was second quick. To make things stranger, Chad Boespflug was third fastest and he went out, ready?, just before Leary.

Pole sitter Chris Windom won the first heat over Brady Short, Jerry Coons Jr., Boespflug and K. Thomas.

Josh Hodges was the second heat winner by a large margin over Ryan Bernal. Dave Darland’s Phillips ride broke during time trials and he jumped into Mike Dutcher’s backup car. With zero practice, DD qualified 17^th and finished third behind his temporary teammate. Tyler Courtney was fourth, ahead of Jarett Andretti.

Ballou won the third heat; it was clear he was on a mission. Leary was second and Thomas Meseraull third. Brent Beauchamp overcame a poor qualifying time to take fourth with Farney coming in fifth.

There may have been “only” nine cars in the B, but most had impressive records. Chase Stockon, Tri-State winner Kyle Cummins, Kody Swanson, Justin Grant, Tyler Thomas, Jon Stanbrough, and Nate McMillin filled out the starting 22.

Ballou and Farney started the feature on the front row. K. Thomas started sixth. If Ballou won, Thomas had to finish eighth to win the championship. But Boespflug upset Ballou’s plan temporarily as he used the high line to lead the first lap after starting fourth. This got Robert’s attention as he worked the bottom to perfection and grabbed the lead on the second lap.

Thomas didn’t get off to the greatest start. He bobbled early on and dropped from sixth to eighth. If that wasn’t enough, he did it again a couple of laps later. This was getting good, because Ballou was leading all this time.

But Ballou was soon to have his own thrill. It was named Brady Short and the Bedford Blaster was on the move from his tenth starting spot. He steadily passed a lot of good cars and was reeling in the leader. Short was set to make the attempted pass when the yellow waved on lap 20 for Josh Hodges, who spun and was hit by Brent Beauchamp. This may well have been the defining moment as Short was quite possibly going to take the lead.

The order at the re-start was Ballou, Short, Courtney, Boespflug, Farney, Leary, K. Thomas, Stockon, Grant, and Windom. Ballou jumped out to a five car length lead. Two laps later, Leary took a nasty ride in turn three, exiting the car quickly. The top five remained the same. Thomas had moved to sixth.

It appeared that Short’s car had excelled on the race’s initial long green flag session. Now, Brady was struggling. On the re-start after the red, Courtney passed Short and Boespflug did the same a couple of laps later. Thomas passed Farney to take fifth, a bit of insurance.

Tyler Thomas brought out the race’s last caution flag on the 27^th lap. On the re-start, Ballou was in control. No one had anything for him. A half straightaway behind was Courtney, who led Boespflug to complete the podium. Short was fourth, just ahead of the 2017 Indiana Sprint Week champion, Kevin Thomas Jr. Grant was sixth and Hodges came roaring back from his spin to finish seventh and was the KSE RACING PRODUCTS/B & W AUTO MART HARD CHARGER after starting 14^th. Farney faded a bit to eighth. Windom was ninth and Darland, who may or may not have a regular sprint ride for a spell, was an impressive tenth.

At the end, pictures said a lot. Side by side on usacracing.com, there was Ballou, standing on his roll cage, enjoying the moment, another battle won. And there was Thomas, looking out of place in a rocking chair that’s more my style, but savoring the war that was both over and won. He was tired, but quite happy. True, there are more races to run, but until the end of time, the record book will show who are the Indiana Sprint Week champions.

If possible, I was sad and glad. Sad that it was over. I’d seen some great racing, with the usual drama, triumph and defeat. I’d seen old friends, locals and those who make the pilgrimage here every year, and made a few new ones.

Glad it was over. Two trips that yielded two rainouts, the usual lack of sleep, the usual computer/internet adventures and those aching body parts that ache a bit more each year made me glad that it was over for another year. But the preceding was not a complaint. Like racers and fans, I/we all choose to do this, whatever it is.

Hiring Floyd Mayweather’s accountant to do my taxes, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Fine Lines and Home Cookin’

So much of our lives is determined by inches or fine lines. Sometimes the result of something doesn’t become apparent until much later, either hours or years. Little things that may not attract much interest matter at a later time. If we’re not watching, they can sneak up on us. This may or may not be good. During his heat race at the Tri-State Speedway on a beautiful Saturday night, Kyle Cummins was in trouble. Only four cars would make the feature and he wasn’t one of them. He didn’t wish to have to race into the feature via the B main; he wanted and needed to take fourth place. And on the last lap of the second heat, Cummins got around Critter Malone to stake his claim to a starting spot in the 30 lap feature. Not just any starting spot, this would be on the outside of the front row. This didn’t hurt Kyle’s chances. After trailing race long leader Kevin Thomas Jr. for 29 and three quarters of the 30 lap feature, Cummins gave the high groove a shot and used it to pass Thomas to win round five of USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week. It was his second USAC/ISW victory and this one came before a hometown crowd, who offered up a cheer nearly as loud as the engines.

It's a somewhat longer trip for me to Haubstadt, Indiana than to Kokomo. But once past the bustling metropolis that is Bloomington, it’s all rural. As one enters Daviess County, it might be a surprise to see that much of southwestern Indiana is as flat as most of the northern section of the state. It’s not a surprise but it’s always a treat to head south on U.S. 41 and see the Helfrich farm through the windshield.

Justin Grant set fast time with a lightning quick 13.362. You can’t say that the surface went away; it held up well through time trials. Chad Boespflug qualified third quick and going out 30^th of 35 didn’t hurt him. It was the same for Bloomington winner Kevin Thomas Jr., 34^th out and fourth fastest.

Grant methodically worked his way through the pack to win the first heat. Pole sitter Carson Short was second and Brody Roa was third. Tyler Courtney started and finished fourth. Dave Darland and Tyler Thomas added the B main to their list of things to do.

Pole sitter Josh Hodges was the second heat’s winner. His front row mate Brady Short was second. The fastest qualifier of this group, Thomas Meseraull, was third. And on the last lap Kyle Cummins got around Critter Malone to take fourth. This was impressive to be sure, but later it became extremely important for at least two reasons. Malone and Jon Stanbrough would add a lot of talent and character to the consolation 12 lapper.

Jarett Andretti took the lead from Brian Karrakher on the second lap and held on to win the third heat. Robert Ballou, Chad Boespflug and Ryan Bernal trailed. Karrakher and Aaron Farney would run in the B.

Kevin Thomas Jr. won the fourth of four heats over Chase Stockon and Chris Windom. Dakota Jackson had his hands full staying ahead of C.J. Leary, who would start sixth in the B.

Speaking of which, it was wild and woolly. Critter Malone sped his way to the lead on the first lap after starting fifth. But four laps later he brought out the yellow when he stopped in turn one, ending an outstanding collection of laps led. One had to wonder…had he held off Cummins in his heat race what might have happened. The lead went to Dave Darland, who won.

A yellow flag turned red after no less than five cars made an instant used sprint car parking lot in turn two. The red was for Brandon Mattox, whose car caught fire, but was extinguished early. No one was hurt. Action resumed with Darland holding off Stanbrough, Donnie Brackett (started 12^th), Leary, Karrakher, and rookie Stephen Schnapf, who started 11^th. Farney used a provisional.

K. Thomas blasted his way to the lead from third on the first lap of the feature. Cummins, who started on the outside third row, settled into second. But an interesting thing happened. KT was not pulling away as he did at Bloomington. He wasn’t the only car that was handling this quarter mile, high banked, paperclip shaped bullring. Cummins was never more than six to eight car lengths behind and often was closer than that. This remained true as lapped traffic became a factor right around lap 12. Thomas deftly maneuvered his way through the lappers, who weren’t that much slower than he was.

This temporary Dynamic Duo had separated themselves from the group behind them as laps wore down. It was beginning to look as if Cummins would have to settle for second. But then came the turning point of this race. A lap 28 caution flag waved for Brackett, who spun in turn four. Thomas surely was not pleased.

But he held onto the lead on the re-start. But another yellow came out on the 29^th lap for Dave Darland, whose smoking car caused him to stop. I’m told that now each last lap caution will necessitate a green/white/checkered finish.

And so it was. Cummins had no luck getting around KT while both hugged the low groove coming to the white flag. But the local kid decided that he may as well try to the top. And so he did. After the white flag waved, Cummins got along side of Thomas as both sped down the backstretch. Sailing into turns three and four, Cummins dove low and Thomas slid high. Coming out of four, they traded places on the track, with a bit of wheel banging. Cummins made the pass as KT nearly lost control of the car—and the race.  

With the cheers adding to the sounds, Cummins crossed the start/finish line about two car lengths ahead of KT. Post-race, Thomas was classy, disappointed to lose like that, but admitting it was on him. Cummins thanked everyone except Brian France. He was a happy dude, as he should have been.

Almost forgotten, Courtney passed Grant at the end to get his own post-race interview. Meseraull was fifth. The second five was Ballou, Andretti, Boespflug, Bernal and C. Short, who won the hard charger money for coming from 16^th to tenth.

K. Thomas bumped his ISW points lead to 21 over Ballou, 348 to 327 with the rained out Lincoln Park show left to go.

We all may as well face it. Those fine lines, wherever they may show up, aren’t going away.

Persuading Kevin Olson to take on the challenge of being Sebastian Vettel’s driving coach, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Old Fashioned Whuppin’

There was little doubt about it; Kevin Thomas Jr. did his best to stink up the show at the Bloomington Speedway on a beautiful Friday night. But all one needed to do was check out the action going on behind him as USAC's finest wrestled with each other and a track that was a bit slick. This didn't mean that people couldn't race each other. On the contrary, they could and did. It turned out to be another good evening as USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week, round four (originally round six before rain captured Terre Haute and Lincoln Park) could be called a win with another huge crowd and enough action to tide us over until Saturday night at Haubstadt.

One of the first things I noticed at Bloomington was that the place had a huge crowd. I heard one guy opine that people were hungry to see some racin’ after the rain scuttled plans for Terre Haute and Putnamville. Each of the Sprint Week tracks have had their weather issues this year and Bloomington was no exception, suffering through four consecutive rainouts in a row. But the weather tonight was outstanding.  

40 sprints and 25 Racesavers populated the pits.  Casey Shuman and Jerry Coons Jr. were both scheduled to be in Krockenberger family cars for Terre Haute and Lincoln Park. Rain took care of that, but Coons was in a Krock-car while the Shu had duties west of here with the WAR series.

Then there was Mike Dutcher, whose luck has been abysmal at best. He was caught up in a chain reaction deal in Indy on Thursday with major damage done to his truck. His driver Ryan Bernal was in the Gass family car, same number, different car.

Carson Short went out early and was the only driver to turn in a sub eleven second lap. His 10.842 held up as the track slowed for most, but not all as Thomas Meseraull and Chad Boespflug turned in top eight times after drawling a high qualifying number.

This was followed by a four part harmony of the National Anthem. In addition, USAC’s Richie Murray was honored with another award. One should think that this young man is liable to earn a few more before he’s done. Given his background in sprint car racing from his childhood, one should not be surprised, but should be quite pleased for Richie.

C. J. Leary, ISW point leader when the night began, won the first heat from the pole. K. Thomas Jr., Jeff Bland, and Brady Short trailed. Fifth fastest qualifier Lee Underwood, Coons, Justin Grant, Jarett Andretti, and Aaron Farney would insure a quality B main.

Robert Ballou led a California 1-2-3 sweep in the second heat. Kody Swanson and Ryan Bernal were the other two West Coast finishers. Fourth place Josh Hodges calls New Mexico home. Chris Windom’s car would not start, putting him in the B.

Pole sitter Brody Roa won the third heat. Dakota Jackson, Tyler Courtney, and Thomas Meseraull all could relax for a spell. Max McGhee, Hunter Schuerenberg and 2016 ISW/Bloomington winner Brent Beauchamp made ready for the B.

In the fourth heat, it was Chad Boespflug (from fifth), Dave Darland, Shane Cottle, and Tyler Thomas transferring. An All-Star lineup of Jon Stanbrough, Jerry Coons Jr., Chase Stockon and Kyle Cummins went to the B.

Coons led a parade containing Beauchamp, Farney, and Jamie Williams to tag the B Main.

McGhee made up for a bad heat by winning the B. Schuerenberg, Grant, Underwood, Stockon, and Windom all moved on to race one more time. A.J. Hopkins was involved in a scary incident when he flipped in turn one, landing in the parking lot after plowing through the fence, damaging a couple of vehicles. A.J. was taken to the crash house for observation, but his Facebook page indicated that he was out and about as of Saturday morning.

Andretti and C. Short, who was edged out of the B at the finish line, used provisionals.

Boespflug and Meseraull, a pair of kids (well, to me they are), led 22 more to the green as Chad took the lead and TMez found trouble right away. K. Thomas made contact with Meseraull’s left front tire, messing up the front end. Later, KT shouldered 100% of the blame. It would be the race’s only yellow.

On the re-start, K. Thomas was second, but not for long. He made quick work of Boespflug, grabbing the lead on lap three and immediately checking out. Meanwhile, Boespflug had his hands full with Lee Underwood hounding his every move and trading second place with the California native.

If that wasn’t enough, Tyler Thomas, who was overdue for a quality performance, was making noise. He spent much of the race in the top five, giving the likes of Ballou, Bland and Schuerenberg as good as he received.

The famous (or infamous) Bloomington Speedway curb began forming with the first hot lap group. By feature time, it was tall enough for a child to jump off it and make its mother a bit apprehensive. KT worked it to perfection, and lapped traffic (which became a factor about midway through the feature) was no problem for the leader. He handled it like a pro.

Behind K. Thomas at the checkered was Boespflug, who held off T. Thomas to claim second. Simply put, Lee Underwood had the race of his young life. He spent a large majority of the race in a podium position before T. Thomas made a late pass. Underwood was closely followed by Robert Ballou and Jeff Bland, who came from 12^th to take sixth. Chris Windom also had a strong finish, moving from 13^th to seventh. And continuing the pattern of advancing six spots, Tyler Courtney came from 14^th to finish eighth. Chase Stockon was ninth and hard charger Brady Short motored from 22^nd to tenth.

John Paynter, Jeff Bland (from seventh), and Matt Lux won the Racesaver heats. Ryan Tussing won the first Racesaver B’s that I’ve ever seen.

In the 25 lap Racesaver feature, Terry Arthur took the early lead when both Lux and Andy Bradley flipped at opposite ends of the track, bringing out a red flag. A couple of laps later, Arthur exited the track while a yellow flag was out. The new leader was Luke Bland. But Paynter, after starting sixth, reeled in the leader and took the lead just before the halfway mark. He would simply check out, leaving Bland to hold off Tussing (who rambled to the front from 16^th), Jared Fox (12^th), and Danny Clark.

For me, personally, the red clay oval, home of my first race (in the Harry S. Truman administration) came through again. All the ISW promoters, as well as USAC, have deserved great crowds, and Bloomington certainly had a large contingent on hand.

C.J. Leary’s 21^st finish dumped him back in the pack for the points race. After Bloomington, K. Thomas is the leader in the chase for the cool rocking chair that traditionally goes to the ISW point champ. His lead over Ballou, however, is only five. Leary is now third, seven behind Ballou.

Explaining to my wife why I had to meet with a nice looking Russian lady in her hotel room, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Rain Magnets

The stage was set. The cars and stars were there. The Vigo County Fair was in high gear on the midway just east of the Terre Haute Action Track. Richie Murray, Pat Sullivan and Donald Davidson treated fans to some THAT/Indy 500/Tony Hulman history. Indiana Sprint Week’s race number four was soon to commence and racers were ready to put on a performance of what we’ve come to expect from USAC’s National Sprint Car series. The dark clouds from the north got darker as the afternoon went on, but hey. There was only a miniscule chance of rain. The only irritant was the brutal heat. When I worked (yes, I did—some), I did so in similar weather. As I dealt with the heat (unofficially 98 degrees), I remembered that I walked up to 15 miles in one day when I was much younger. As if that bit of realization made it any cooler, but at least it gave me some perspective.

After extensive track prep, wheel packing began. The clouds drew closer. Lightning to the northwest made its presence known. Forgotten, at least temporarily, was the forecast for a 20% chance of rain. Hot laps began with the clouds and lightning. The track looked good. But then came a scary incident after hot laps began. Isaac Chapple took a nasty ride in turn four. It took awhile for the guys to get Isaac out of the car. A few hours later, I read this from Isaac Chapple Racing on their Twitter page. “Isaac was involved in a wreck during hot laps. He was transferred to Terre Haute Regional Hospital where he is being well taken care of. He is awake and doing okay, but will be held overnight for observation. We appreciate your prayers and concerns.”

While the medical team was tending to Chapple, sprinkles started. The wind direction changed almost immediately. It was time to either get wet or head for the little white truck, which was parked near the pit gate. I walked at a brisk pace to the truck. About 20 minutes after the rain began, it kicked into high gear. It didn’t take long for USAC and Track Enterprises to call it a night.

USAC Racing’s Facebook said, “We are rained out for the night. Hold on to your wristbands for any Terre Haute event yet in 2017! The USAC National Sprint cars will return to Terre Haute on September 15th and October 14th.”

A disappointment to some, heartbreak for others (think promoters and staff), this race simply wasn’t going to happen. With rain coming down steadily and with a significant dose of wind, I headed home. The back roads to State Road 46 were pretty much deserted, but there were several tree limbs and branches down, along with one tree. Going through the town of Riley, the rain was pounding on the little white truck. It eased up somewhat in Clay County, but a second round of hard rain near Bowling Green (IN) slowed my pace a bit. From there, the rain downshifted and the rest of the drive was uneventful with sprinkles and/or light rain.

Earlier, on the way to the track, I had time to think about some things while behind the wheel. What triggered this was the lack of traffic on 46 east of Nashville. Those moments when one has such a road to themselves are special to me; it helps that I enjoy driving in general.

You see, from Nashville to the eastern part of Clay County, 46 is a challenge, especially driving through Bloomington at certain hours. On rare occasions, usually late at night, it is one my life’s little pleasures. With little or no traffic and good driving weather, this trip is both exhilarating and peaceful, if that makes sense. It brings to me a measure of contentment.

But of course those moments are fleeting and temporary (especially approaching larger towns). The rest of life gets in the way in the form of a guy who was riding a scooter through Brown County, steering with one hand while holding on to a bag full of something with the other at 30 miles per hour. Or the moment a mother deer and child decided to cross the road in broad daylight; this, too, got my attention. Maybe those special times, good, bad, indifferent, are meant to be special, maybe not. Or maybe we are to decide if they are special or not on our own. Maybe trying times, not matter how severe or how long they last, are what defines us. If or when we are given challenges of any kind, how we respond says more about us than we’d rather know. But one can make the case that the truest picture of an individual is how they face adversity (or are given a significant amount of power and influence).

This has plenty to do with racing and race teams. Stroll through the pits and one can see teams where everything is clicking (very few) or teams that are struggling and scrambling. If I could, I’d remind them that, whatever you are going through now, just remember that it won’t necessarily always be this bad (or good). Enjoy the good times and try to remember them when things aren’t going well. Appreciate what you have here; have some perspective. Set goals, knowing that you may or may not reach them. If you reach them, set new ones.

This one is for Isaac Chapple, a young man chasing a dream or a goal. I’d not be surprised to see him back at a track soon.

Let us set the stage again and see what happens.

Offering to turn a certain section of I-69 into a series of dirt ovals, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Leary and Company Go Two for Three

With nasty weather on the horizon, a group of dedicated and motivated racers did some serious battling as the storm approached. When it was over, while the sky grew even darker, C. J. Leary, his family and crew, stood in Victory Lane with smiles all around. It was his third USAC National Sprint feature win.

Given the weather forecast for northeastern Indiana, this race should never have happened. Against all odds and common sense, the promoters, teams and fans converged on the tight and racy quarter mile, in a state of limbo these past few years. Knowing that the attendance might be a good bit less than Saturday's sellout at Kokomo, the O'Connor family were still determined to have this event happen.

If the weather had Reece and crew talking to themselves before the first car entered the track, it would have been understandable. Many folks had the same information that those at the track had, but made the tough call to stay away. And that, too, is understandable. But the threat of rain surely affected the size of the crowd. And the postponement from last Friday surely hurt the car count, which was still a respectable 32.

A lot of water was dumped on the track in the assumption that it would not rain. It turned out to be a good call. In hot laps, Justin Grant ripped off an 11.921 lap. Unfortunately, that would be his highlight of the night.

Thomas Meseraull's four year old track record was threatened but the best Chase Stockon could do was 11.837, not too shabby.

New Mexico's Josh Hodges won the first heat with Hunter Schuerenberg, C. J. Leary and Chase Stockon all locking up a feature spot. Ryan Bernal, Kyle Cummins and Matt Westfall began loading up the B.

While everyone else hugged the bottom, Aaron Farney chose the road less traveled and won the second heat using the cushion. Justin Grant, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Chad Boespflug all went to the show. Dave Darland would race in the B.

From sixth, Robert Ballou was strong in winning the third heat, using the same groove that had worked for Farney. Second was Jarett Andretti with Shane Cottle and Brody Roa trailing. Brady Bacon and Tyler Courtney added their ticket to the B.

Kody Swanson owned the fourth heat; Kokomo winner Thomas Meseraull was second ahead of A. J. Hopkins and Tyler Thomas. This one sent two certain Hall of Famers to the B, Jon Stanbrough and Brady Short.

Brady Bacon took the lead on the second lap of the B from Dave Darland and led all the way. For the second consecutive night, the last dance card, sixth place, changed hands more than once. Behind Bacon and Darland, it was Windom, Courtney, Short and Cummins. Bernal burned a provisional.

Cottle and Leary saw the green flag first and the Kokomo resident led the first lap. Starting third, Meseraull came calling and took the lead on the third lap. TMez ended up leading a majority of the 30 laps.

Leary dropped back from his front row starting position to fifth briefly, as Meseraull and Cottle led the way. About one third of the way in, Ballou took second and was looking stronger than he had the first two nights. Meseraull stretched his lead to about eight car lengths over Ballou at the halfway point. Cottle was third and Leary fourth. A couple of laps later, Leary took over third.

Ballou had discovered some magic dirt on the bottom and reeled in Meseraull. He passed for the lead, but the yellow came out on lap 20 for Ryan Bernal, who had a meeting with the turn four guard rail. On the restart it was Meseraull, Ballou, Leary, Windom, Cottle, Stockon, Boespflug, Darland, Grant and Cummins.

The green waved and Ballou quickly took the lead when Meseraull drifted high off turn two. Things didn't improve for TMez as Leary dispatched him to third.

It seems like the Gas City soil dries up quicker than most other tracks, despite water being added frequently all evening. And it was getting slick out there. The top six cars separated themselves from the others, with Leary sticking to the high side. He kept at it, showing considerable amount of patience, discipline and skill. On lap 26, it paid off as C.J. grabbed the lead from Ballou. With a mighty effort, Windom got around Ballou and Windom, but a yellow for a T. Thomas 360 spin negated both passes. Ballou was not pleased with Windom. Despite Robert’s best efforts, Leary did not budge from the lead and the cushion, where he had been camped most all the race.  

Ballou had his problems with Windom, but held him off to take the silver medal. Behind Windom in fourth was Boespflug, who had quietly worked his way up from tenth. Bacon did the same, coming from 11th to finish fifth. Cottle faded slightly to sixth. So did Meseraull, as the early leader was seventh. Grant was a quiet eighth. Quick qualifier Stockon was ninth. Hodges came on strong at the end to finish tenth after starting 16th. Courtney was the hard charger, moving from 18th to 11th.

Lest we forget, Donnie Gentry had a hand in this win, too.

The last time anyone won two straight Sprint Week races was 2013, when Bryan Clauson put the hurt on the best around.

The sprints’ feature was over at 8:50 p.m. The modified feature was done at 9:05. A light rain began to fall at 9:10 as I sat in my truck working on the first draft of this article. Somehow the complete show avoided any precipitation.

The trip home was not nearly as exciting as I thought it might be. There was some rain in Grant County, but it went away quickly. Lightning was west of me for the first part of the trip home. And when arriving home, it was warm and humid—as usual.

Next stop, the Terre Haute Action Track, beginning Part Two of ISW.

Tearfully parting with my Frankie Avalon records, I'm... Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Joy of Work Well Done

If you follow any kind of competition fairly close, you might see how certain team members move from team to team. Then you might see how a team improves when certain personnel are added. Don't be fooled; the driver is paramount as he or she should be in the world of sprint car racing. But attention should be paid to the guys who turn the wrenches. First and foremost, C. J. Leary ran like a scared rabbit to win the second round of Indiana Sprint Week at the Lawrenceburg Speedway. And, at the same time, let's give a nod to Donnie Gentry, one of the best mechanics roaming the pits these days. Donnie seems to attract checkered flags like your potato salad attracts flies at the family picnic. Just as it was at Kokomo, chemistry counted.


I opted for a view of the track that I don't normally take. The top row of the pit bleachers at the 'burg is superb, to put it mildly. One of the many pleasures was seeing the guys come out of turn two, mashing the pedal and hustle toward me. A quick flick of the wheel to the right, then back left, then to the right again going into three. And that moment is special. Because there is that imposing concrete wall, inviting, beckoning, tempting and daring the driver to see how close he can get without disaster striking.

In time trials, Dave Darland set quick time after drawing an eight, an early qualifying attempt. Thomas Meseraull, the Kokomo winner, showed that the track didn't go away that much as the 41 cars tried their luck. TMez was 25th in line and was the second fastest. If that wasn't enough, Josh Hodges went out 39th and was a respectable 16th.

Dave Darland used a last lap pass of Tyler Courtney to win the first heat. Hunter Schuerenberg and Brady Bacon also made it to the feature. Chad Boespflug and Aaron Farney headed for the B.

Pole sitter Kody Swanson won the second heat with Thomas Meseraull second. Kevin Thomas Jr. and Brady Short followed. The B main suddenly got a lot more competitive as Kyle Cummins, Californian Brody Roa, Nick Bilbee and Chase Stockon found themselves on the outside for the time being.

C. J. Leary was giving us a sample of what was to come as he came from sixth to win the third heat. Jon Stanbrough made a late pass on Jarett Andretti to finish second. Mario Clouser held off Shawn Westerfeld to move on.

By the time the fourth heat took the green, there was not much cushion up top. Pole sitter Carson Short didn't seem to mind as he won the heat over Josh Hodges, Justin Grant and Chris Windom. Ryan Bernal and Robert Ballou insured that two more Californian would be in the B.

Brandon Mattox, Landon Simon, J. J. Hughes and Tom Harris went from the C main to the B.

From the B to the show went Bernal, Cummins, Ballou, Roa, Farney and Chapple. The sixth and final transfer changed hands at least three times with Chapple passing Nick Bilbee at the line after starting the race 13th.

Schuerenberg and Bacon made up the front row with Bacon jumping out to an early lead. But Leary was on a mission. After letting Brady lead the first two laps, it was time to take over and check out, which he did.

At the same time, Bacon had his hands full dealing with Darland, who engaged in a terrific battle for second, a fight that would last most of the 30 laps.

An errant infield tire found its way onto the track, bringing out the race's lone yellow with 12 laps complete. Leary led Bacon, Darland, Ballou, Thomas, Schuerenberg, B. Short, Meseraull, Windom and Andretti.

This would be the best chance of the contenders to catch Leary. The green waved and still no one could keep up with the Greenfield, Indiana native. Not even lapped traffic was a major problem for Leary. The only tense moment came when Cummins bounced off the wall right in front the leader. There was very little cushion left, but that was no problem either.

Behind Leary and Bacon at the end was Thomas, who made a late charge and earned the Hard Charger award after starting ninth. Darland and Ballou were the rest of the top five. Windom, Kokomo winner Meseraull, Roa, B. Short and Andretti occupied positions six through ten.

Next stop, Gas City.

Figuring out how to mail a cheeseburger to Mr. Allan Holland, I'm...

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report : Chemistry 101

To be obvious, auto racin' is a little more than a bunch of parts put together with a driver behind the wheel. No matter how good or new the parts are, if the people involved with a car don't mesh, get along with each other, or don't approach problems the same way, that
rare. But when people and machine come together, good things happen. If you don't believe me, please get in touch with Thomas Meseraull, the opening night winner of the 30th annual Indiana Sprint Week at the Kokomo Speedway. From seventh, Meseraull worked his way to the front and won an all green flag 30 lap feature.

If you are going to Kokomo for a Sprint Week program, you may want to go early, but only if you want a decent parking place. I arrived just before four o'clock and found a satisfactory spot not far from the Howard County line. No problem. I needed to walk anyway.

This was surely the biggest crowd ever at this gracefully aging jewel of a race track. 45 sprints and 25 TQ midgets jammed the pits, along with the usual Sprint Week visitors. It was a nice problem to have, not unlike Easter Sunday at church.

The best of the pre-race activities had to be a Q and A session with open wheel historian Donald Davidson and USAC's Richie Murray, who is a valuable resource of information in his own right. I could have listened to those two tell stories, rattle off statistics or just share their observations a lot longer than the 45 minutes that they took.

Kevin Thomas Jr. was the fastest qualifier, but that would be his highlight of the night. Jarett Andretti won the first heat with Kody Swanson, Thomas and Isaac Chapple all heading to the show and Chase Stockon heading to the B.

Passing in the heats was a tough job unless you were Kyle Cummins in the second heat. He came from fifth to win over pole sitter Josh Hodges, Brent Beauchamp and Brady Short. Brady Bacon and Justin Grant were added to the B main lineup.

Two veterans started up front in the third heat, Ted Hines and Shane Cottle, who was leading when his engine quit. C. J. Leary took the win from fifth and California visitor Ryan Bernal was second. Robert Ballou came from ninth to third, making him the instant favorite to win the Hard Charger award. Another West Coast racer, Brody Roa, was fourth. Thomas Meseraull went to the B, which turned out to be no problem.

Chris Windom was the fourth heat winner with Carson Short trailing. Chad Boespflug and Tyler Courtney punched their tickets for the A main. Dave Darland and Aaron Farney prepared for the B.

Oklahoma's Koby Barksdale won the C, with Brandon Mattox, Cole Ketchum, Tyler Hewitt and Great Britain's Tom Harris all tagging the B. But Ketchum didn't answer the bell for the B after being tagged by Hewitt accidentally after the checkered.

Meseraull was also the B main winner, taking Bacon, Darland, Farney, Hopkins, and Stockon with him to the feature. Of note was Tom Harris, who rambled from 17th to seventh, just missing out. Grant and Hunter Schuerenberg used provisionals to join the party.

C. Short and Bernal led the snarling pack of beasts to the green. The race's only yellow flag waved when Chad Boespflug did a half spin and Hunter Schuerenberg, Josh Hodges and Aaron Farney held an unscheduled and unwanted meeting in turn two.

The boys tried again and this time they keep it all green. Meseraull exploded from his fourth row starting spot to begin harassing Short for the lead two laps after the green waved. TMez took the lead on the ninth lap and did his best to stink up the show.

Behind him, multiple battles for position were the rule. The major mover up front was Brady Bacon, who started eleventh and methodically worked his way forward. By lap 20, he was third and doing his best to deal with Short, who hung tough.

This was far from a romp, as Short kept the leader in sight, but could never get any closer than about five car lengths. As could be expected, the victor was his usual exuberant self in Victory Lane. He could not praise his new car owners enough.

It was Meseraull's first Sprint Week win.

Behind Short in second was Bacon, who is not running the full Sprint Week series. Tyler Courtney was fourth, with Kyle Cummins hanging on for fifth. Dave Darland took sixth and his fellow Kokomo maestro Kevin Thomas Jr. was seventh. C. J. Leary faded slightly to finish eighth. Chris Windom brought it home ninth and Robert Ballou picked up some Hard Charger money by coming from 22nd to take tenth.

Meseraull is the early leader in Sprint Week points.

Not embarrassed when I have no clue where NASCAR is racing on a given weekend, I'm...Danny Burton



 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Sprint Week, Delayed
I’ve been thinking a lot about racing rainouts lately. Given that we’ve had quite a few this year, one can’t be blamed for thinking about racing interrupted or delayed.
With all this in mind, I set off for the Gas City/I-69 Speedway on a warm and humid Friday afternoon, knowing that there was a good chance of rain, but deciding that the gamble was well worth it. After all, it was to be opening night for the 30th Annual Indiana Sprint Week, for me, pretty close to sprint car heaven. What if the rain decided to go north or even south of the track? So off I went. For all I knew, Tyler Courtney might come from last to first and win again.
By two o’clock I was in Shelby County heading north. The sun was shining, even though there were numerous clouds in the area. Looking north, the clouds seemed to be closer together—and a bit darker.
This continued all the way through Hancock and Madison counties, but now the dark clouds dominated the view to the north. Occasionally I checked the radar. It didn’t look good. There was no word on the races being rained out. I kept going.
Now on I-69, I entered Delaware County and the dark clouds were straight ahead of me. If I kept going, the little white truck would get a nice washing. I stopped at Exit 241 and a late lunch at Subway sounded good. My timing was flawless. Midway through my sub, the rain began.
Rain was coming down in buckets soon enough. I decided to stay put in the restaurant for a few minutes until the rain slowed. It did just that eventually and I retreated to the truck. My timing was impeccable as the rain kicked into high gear soon after getting behind the wheel. It was close to 3:30 when the word came down—no racing tonight and, best of all, the Gas City edition of Sprint Week would be Monday.
Heavy rain or not, I headed south. The rain accompanied me all the way to just south of Greenfield. Everywhere I looked, an abundance of standing water was in most fields, reminding me that racing promoters aren’t the only ones who don’t need this much water. It’s true; the drought is over.
There was nothing left to do except surf the internet and halfway watch a NASCAR Modified race (a recording), the only NASCAR watching I do as a rule (even though I broke the rule on Thursday to watch Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe and J.J. Yeley race pickup trucks).
Saturday shall roll around and we’ll all try again. I have faith in the O’Connor team that I’ll see a race track ready for racing when the evening comes.
I would normally be on my way home as this is written. Enough said.
Kicking back on a deserted beach with Chris Christie, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Musical Chairs

There’s nothing new about racers switching cars multiple times in a year’s time. Some jump from one ride to another seemingly about as often as Hollywood types get married and divorced. Others score solo appearances in other cars and sometimes do quite well, thank you. Kevin Thomas Jr. is a prime “suspect” in all this. What’s more, he has shown that he can win, no matter what ride he’s in at a given race. He did just that at the Lincoln Park Speedway on a warm Saturday night, winning the MSCS portion of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular after USAC’s opening night to honor Mr. Gardner was washed out on Friday.

Friday’s rainout was disappointing to all, and it occurred to me that the folks who can’t get out to their local or favorite track very often might be even more disappointed than the rest of us sprint car freaks. But the rain passed through, cancelling races in its path, Lincoln Park, Bloomington and, for good measure, the late model show at Terre Haute.

Anyone who has tried to keep score or write down car numbers could appreciate the challenge of multiple numbers. With a hefty car count of 40, duplicate numbers are a given. At least one third of the field had duplicate digits, most with letters also included. There were two fours and two 66’s. Then there were three fives, 24’s, 17’s and 32’s. The most notable of these were the numbers 32 of Garrett Abrams and Garrett Aitken. Having the same numbers wasn’t enough for these guys; they also had the same initials.

40 cars meant five heats, a C and B main, and potentially a late night. Major dust during sprint cars’ hot laps meant major surgery performed on the track with a late start. As it turned out, it wasn’t all that late. Thomas took the checkered flag a bit after 11:00 p.m. More importantly, the surgery cured the track of its ailment and racing was top notch.

Only the top three transferred out of their heat and, given the car count, the B main had its share of hot dogs. A.J. Hopkins, in the Ottinger machine, won the first heat over Kody Swanson and Matt Westfall.

Pole sitter Kent Schmidt won the second heat with Shane Cottle and Brady Short trailing.

Garrett Aitken has steadily improved each night out in a sprinter and he won the third heat. Jon Stanbrough in the Wingo Brothers car and C.J. Leary in the Scott Pedersen mount both transferred. LPS track champ Shane Cockrum and MSCS point leader Carson Short headed to the B, along with Bloomington track champ Jeff Bland.

Thomas Meseraull got together with the Briscoe family and took this new ride to the fourth heat’s checkered flag first by a straightaway. Pole sitter Isaac Chapple was second and Tyler Hewitt took third. Robert Ballou, Chase Stockon and Hunter Schuerenberg, in the Pace Electronics car, all prepared for the B.

Kevin Thomas Jr. gave a sneak preview of things to come as he won the fifth heat by a healthy margin over Jarett Andretti and Brent Beauchamp.

The ten lap C main saw Kyle Robbins, Zach Hampton, Lee Underwood, Garrett Abrams and Shelby Van Gilder get the chance to race again, tagging the B main lineup.

The 15 lap B lineup looked like a decent feature with a fair amount of race winning entries. Ballou took the lead early and held on to win. He would be joined by Meseraull, Ryan Bernal (from tenth), Stockon and Schuerenberg (from 14^th) in making the show.

 For one more tribute to Mr. Gardner, Jon Stanbrough paced the field for a couple of parade laps. Hopkins and Schmidt paced 19 of their buddies to the green and A. J. jumped out to the lead. But Tyler Hewitt brought out the red when he flipped in turn one. He walked away.

The boys got another lap completed before Jarett Andretti did a half spin, which clogged things up behind him. C.J. Leary stopped on track with a flat tire for a yellow flag. In two laps, Robert Ballou had already advanced to tenth. Hopkins led Aitken, who would continue to impress.

It was a struggle, this early part of the race. Andretti was involved with another yellow when he stopped to dodge a situation in front of him a couple of laps later. The top ten now was Hopkins, Aitken, Meseraull, Thomas, Stanbrough, Ballou, Cottle, Swanson, Bernal and Schmidt.

Now came the “meat” of the race, several laps of typical Hoosier competition as Hopkins fought Aitken and Meseraull for the lead. TMez took the lead from Aitken on the sixth lap; he was the third leader already. K. Thomas was hanging around as well and had moved up to second behind TMez when they found lapped traffic around the tenth lap. The first two put some distance between then and a huge pack several car lengths behind them. This group included Aitken, Hopkins, Swanson, Stanbrough, Ballou, Cottle, B. Short, Bernal, Schuerenberg and Beauchamp. Positions seemed to change every lap and this aided the top two as they put a little real estate between themselves and the scrum.

Coming out of turn four, Ballou collided with Aitken and slowed. The yellow came out officially for Andretti, who had stopped. Robert had a flat tire and stopped by the work area long enough for a tire change. There were seven laps to go and Meseraull led Thomas, Hopkins, Bernal, Stanbrough, Swanson, Cottle, C. Short, Aitken and B. Short.

The double file re-start would tell the tale. Meseraull had been dominating, but Thomas had been strong. The crowd braced for a seven lap pseudo war among the top two.

Thomas put that talk to rest as he grabbed the lead when the green waved and left all others behind. Ryan Bernal no doubt put a huge grin on Mike Dutcher’s face as he battled for a podium spot at the end. He made a late pass of Meseraull stick and took second after starting 18^th. Swanson flew under the radar for much of the night and ended fourth behind fellow California native Meseraull. Stanbrough was fifth. Hopkins faded only a bit to take sixth. Carson Short came from 21^st to finish seventh. Cottle was eighth and Brady Short settled for ninth. Chase Stockon started 19^th and grabbed tenth.

Ballou and Aitken, who ran eleventh and twelfth, deserved better results. Aitken’s race was a pleasant surprise. 

By my unofficial count, three of the top ten have been in the same car or with the same team for every race this year. Kody Swanson, Carson Short, and Chase Stockon.

No doubt there was some grumbling earlier when hot laps were conducted in a dust bowl before the reworking of the track. And there was surely no doubt that many who grumbled early were happy later after having seen an excellent race. The makeover and the setting sun combined for a racy surface that yielded some of the best doing their best.

Who could ask for anything more? (I’ve Got Rhythm)

Sprint Week beckons. Yet again, the plan is to catch ‘em all, from the opener at Gas City to the closer at Tri-State, one quadrant of my home state to another. I don’t dare add up the miles driven, the food bill, the lack of sleep and the number or words tapped here by this disheveled retiree. But that is more than negated by the wheel to wheel action, greeting old friends, making new ones and appreciating it all as new memories join old ones. Hope to see some of you there.

Having a picture made of me walking through the pits put on Time magazine, then posting it at the entrances of such tracks as Gas City, Kokomo, Lawrenceburg, Terre Haute, Lincoln Park, Bloomington and Tri-State, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Rush Hour

If we’ve driven vehicles on public roads, streets and highways, we’ve encountered the dreaded rush hour, either in the morning or afternoon as much of working America commutes from home to employment and back home in the afternoon. We’ve all probably encountered (and maybe have been) the crazed motorist who switches lanes in a semi-controlled frenzy, sometimes two lanes at once. This same escapee from the local zoo thinks nothing of tailgating, cutting in front of other vehicles, and disdaining the use of their turn signals. All this time they may be gesturing, screaming, or frequently testing the volume of the vehicle’s horn. None of these guys (and they are most always guys) is Brent Beauchamp, a racer who knows how to negotiate traffic. He proved it on a cool Saturday night at the Lincoln Park Speedway as he spent the first part of the 25 lap feature chasing Jarett Andretti, then made the pass, becoming the chasee, as it were, as the third generation racer chased Beauchamp through some of the heaviest traffic seen on the five sixteenths mile oval. Too bad that a comparative few were there to see how it’s done properly, so they could drive with some degree of control on I-465 come Monday.

No two nights at any race is the same. My resident navigator/mud scraper was on his way to a Mississippi beach, passing through the land of his ancestors on the way. Tyler Hewitt was sporting a buzz haircut in an effort to find more speed. As we shall see, it worked. Hot laps found the track in need of some work. All four turns were dug up after hot laps. More work would be done later on the oval with excellent results.

I admire and respect these guys, from the youngest kid (14 year old Jadon Rogers) to the oldest. Tonight that was probably Dave Peperak, a surprise entry and a fine addition to any field. 25 cars were among the 90 plus in Joe Spiker’s golf course. One of these was the Jamie Paul effort normally driven by Shane Cockrum, but with the Chief occupied elsewhere, Nick Bilbee was in the seat, his first ride in anything but a family owned car.

Clouds of dust made visibility a challenge but I could see Jarett Andretti race dust free in winning the first heat. Garrett Abrams, making his first appearance in a few years at LPS, was second. Ohio’s Paul Dues, N. Bilbee and Billy Cribbs all punched A main tickets.

T. Hewitt used his new haircut to run away with the second heat win. Kyle Simon came on late to take second. Kent Christian was third. J. Rogers and eighth starting Matt McDonald could take a break until the feature.

Brent Beauchamp was the third heat victor, leaving Kody Swanson second after a battle with late arrival Robert Ballou. Tim Creech II and Oklahoma’s Koby Barksdale made the cut.

Shelby Van Gilder came up short in her heat, but hustled to the B main win. Her fellow front row starter, Tilton Trucking owner Ty Tilton, was second. Lee Underwood was third. Relative newcomers Harley Burns and Adam Wilfong would find themselves making an LPS feature.

The feature began at 9:40 p.m., with plenty of light left in the sky. It would precede the fireworks and would provide its own fireworks. There was even time for another track makeover.

Pole sitter Andretti grabbed the lead when the green waved. Right away Beauchamp took second, sending Hewitt to third. If the pace wasn’t frantic enough, the lapped traffic added to the merriment beginning on lap seven. A couple of laps later, Beauchamp guessed correctly and passed Andretti in lapped traffic, taking a lead he would not give up.

But it wouldn’t be that easy. The leader never could put much of a gap between himself and the second place runner. Lapped traffic was relentless and plentiful. I had no trouble thinking of my own misadventures on 465 over the years. How long could these guys keep this up? Not only was there a fight for the lead, but a bit further back, Swanson, Simon, Abrams and Ballou were fighting for fourth place behind the comparatively lonely third place Hewitt.

A yellow flag waved, but it didn’t involve the combatants up front. Adam Wilfong coasted into the infield, but didn’t dare run into the area where the fireworks were to be set off. This left him too close to the track and the yellow came out on lap 20.

On the re-start, with five laps to go, Beauchamp led Andretti, Hewitt, Swanson, Ballou, Simon, Abrams and Bilbee. The five laps to the end were almost, but not quite, anti-climactic, at least up front. Positions changed further back. But overall, it was a well driven race by the 20 starters, given the fact that so many lapped cars were running at similar speeds.

Beauchamp built up a lead of several car lengths at the end over Andretti. Hewitt may decide to keep the Marine cut as he ran well and finished third. Ballou came on at the end to take fourth after starting ninth. Swanson was fifth. Simon was sixth and Bilbee’s initial ride in a strange car resulted in a steady seventh place effort. Abrams, on a rare night away from Lawrenceburg, was eighth. Dues in ninth and McDonald were ninth and tenth; it was Matt’s second straight top ten finish at LPS.

The boys didn’t mess around. The feature was only about nine minutes in length. The mods had their feature before the fireworks began.

I hit the road and meandered back home. Even though it wasn’t rush hour, I avoided I-465 like the plague.

Getting tossed out of a local golf course for driving my golf cart onto the putting green, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: What Does and Does Not Matter

Ask any promoter which would be his or her preference, a high car count or a good crowd. My uneducated guess is any competent promoter would choose the latter, a good crowd. No car count can guarantee a great program, topped by a great feature. Very few races here in Indiana, with the possible exception of Indiana Sprint Week, feature a majority of the best in the Hoosier sprint car scene. Maybe the car count was down a bit, but the competition was as fierce as ever at the Lincoln Park Speedway on another beautiful Indiana Saturday night as A.J. Hopkins battled with Brent Beauchamp before pulling away for the sprint feature triumph.

My trusty wingman took his usual nap on the way northwest, but it was somewhat abbreviated. No matter, we arrived just before wheel packing and hot laps. He commandeered a pen, the notebook and began writing numbers down. Here is a kid who learned his numbers at the race track. He’s on the verge of learning the invert system used in time trials.

Before the cars were pushed to the staging area, Karston had agreed to do some mud scraping for young Harley Burns (Eric’s son) and Luke Smith. I was more than happy to watch the work being done while chatting with Eric Burns and Don Smith. For good measure, the little guy accepted a couple of decals from Jamie Williams, along with an invitation to come out and visit his shop in southern Bartholomew County. One of the decals was immediately added to the Chevy truck and a Luke Smith t-shirt given him by Don replaced his original shirt. If that wasn’t enough, one of the guys helping the Burns effort slipped Karston a dollar, which went toward a drink.

With the numbers written down and at least two cars with mud removed, we made the long walk to the front stretch bleachers. Once again, I gave up the pen and notebook.

With Karston taking over the tough job of scoring, A. J. Hopkins ran away with the first heat win. Tyler Thomas came on strong at the end to take second. Oklahoman Cody Barksdale made a late pass to finish third ahead of Shelby Van Gilder. Minnesota's Rob Caho was fifth.

Matt McDonald did as Mr. Hopkins, winning the second heat by a healthy margin. Brent Beauchamp took second near the end, passing Garret Aitken. Shane Cockrum moved up from last to take fourth. Pole sitter Nate McMillen was fifth.

With 15 cars, there was no B Main, and heat winners Hopkins and McDonald led the rest to the green. The young sidekick handled the scoring for the first ten laps. Hopkins took the early lead with Tyler Thomas showing early strength, grabbing second for the first few laps ahead of Beauchamp before the Indianapolis based veteran took it away. A lap later, Beauchamp became the new leader, passing Hopkins on the backstretch on lap five.

The order up front remained unchanged with Beauchamp leading Hopkins, Garrett Aitken, Matt McDonald and Tyler Thomas at the halfway mark. A lap 16 caution flag for Aitken, who spun in turn three, changed things. Thomas was sent to the tail for avoidable contact, joining Aitken. After the green waved again, Beauchamp found himself in trouble as a rejuvenated Hopkins made the pass coming out of turn two, pulling away.

The order remained the same as the checkered waved and Beauchamp had to settle for the runner-up spot. McDonald was third, ahead of Caho, who started ninth and McMillen, who began the race in tenth. Our homeboy Jamie Williams moved up from 12^th to sixth. Lee Underwood had a good race for the second consecutive night, starting last/15^th and finishing seventh. Aitken, Thomas and Shelby Van Gilder rounded out the top ten.

The time was 8:52 p.m. and there was still a healthy dose of sunlight. We were in no hurry to go home. Grandson and I made a deal. When the first yellow of the mod feature waved, we’d head for the pits and see who was around.

It turned out to be a bit more than that. Karston said hi to new friends and waved at others. At the end of the pit lane usually occupied by the sprinters was Matt McDonald. We visited with Matt for awhile and Karston let me know that he would like to steer the car into the hauler. My policy when he wants to do something like that is for him to ask the driver or owner himself. He did just that and Matt grinned and said, of course. I’m not sure who enjoyed the experience the most, kid, young racer or+ the old guy who mostly watched and smiled to himself.

And he wasn’t done. He wanted to get a look at A.J. Hopkins’ car, one that he’s removed mud from in the past. Before we left the Hopkins team and said good-bye, the little guy had his second t-shirt of the night, courtesy of A.J Hopkins.

I don’t share all this to bring attention to myself or my grandson. The real story here is a group of people who love racing and, just as importantly, realize that they need to do all they can to see that this form of racing that we love and enjoy is carried on by the next generation.

It’s a form of paying it forward, similar maybe to the guy in front of you at the drive-through buying your supper. I repeat Darren Hagen’s words to me when Karston was about three years old. He had just won a Midget Week feature at Gas City and was being interviewed. The little guy wanted to go down the steps to the fence, the better to see the car and driver. After the interview, the driver spotted the little guy being held high by his grandfather (I was much younger and Karston was much lighter then.). He came through the gate underneath the flagstand and gave a cap to the little boy, cementing a love for open wheel racing that is alive and well. Hagen pointed to the boy and said, “That’s the future of racing right there.” It was true then and it’s true now.

Drivers and car owners get this. At least in Indiana, many promoters do, too. Joe Spiker’s policy of admitting children to the pits for free is one of many examples. We old goats grumble, but involving kids in procedures like the re-draw for the feature is another way to create new fans for the future, and the present as well (think concession stand, souvenir shop, and so on).

Behind the outer appearance of the racing itself, is a business conducted by people who play for keeps. For some, it’s their bread and butter. Few, if any, expect to get rich quick. Those who do seldom last more than a couple of years. The smarter ones are in it for the long haul. They would like to see multiple generations of fans and racers coming to race with them. They, along with racers such as Matt McDonald, A. J. Hopkins, Jamie Williams, Harley Burns, Luke Smith and many, many more, can see ahead sometimes and realize that this little kid who gets an autograph, a t-shirt or a decal might grow up to be a fan someday, or a mechanic, driver, owner or, God help him or her, a promoter.

Waiting breathlessly to see that weird guy running North Korea show up at Indy next May, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: High Speed Poetry

Seldom will you see racing mentioned in the same breath as poetry, but perhaps we should take a look at that. My buddy Kenny way up in northern Illinois maintains (correctly) that Jack Hewitt was a poet by definition. I’ll maintain that Jack was and is not alone. After a caution filled feature, the last four laps of the 25 lap feature at the Bloomington Speedway on a hot and humid night, those noted poets Jeff Bland and Brady Short engaged in an all out duel to the finish with Bland prevailing as the checkered flag waved. The RaceSaver feature was won by Alex Nalon, great-grandson of noted IndyCar driver Duke. It was young Nalon’s first RaceSaver feature win.

My partner in crime and I arrived a bit later than normal. Our pit walk was quite lengthy as the little guy wrote down lots of numbers. We learned that Brady Short was subbing for Dakota Jackson in his Flynn Racing RaceSaver ride. Jeff Bland was in the seat of Jackson’s usual sprinter. Dakota was in Pennsylvania for the USAC Silver Crown race at Williams Grove. Short was also back in his regular Pottorff sprint car ride. It was odd and ironic that both were driving for Waltz Contracting and would be fighting for a win. And both were the only doublers for the night.

The RaceSavers were 18 strong and Kerry Kinser won the first heat by nearly a straightaway over Brinton Marvel and John Paynter.

Alex Nalon won the second heat, beating Jeff Wimmenauer and Jeff Bland to the line.

The third heat was, uh, a bit ragged. Shayne McElhiney spun in turn four and was clipped by Brady Short, whose left front wheel sheared off in the process. Jared Fox was also involved. Both Fox and Short were done for the race. The yellow flag became a red as too many cars were in harm’s way. Eric Perott had a flat tire that was changed with help from Ethan Barrow and some of the Kendall Ruble team, including Kendall himself. Andy Bradley ended up the winner as poor McElhiney spun twice more. Late arrival Tom Busch was second.

Max McGhee won the first 410 sprint car heat from the pole as Brady Short trailed. New Mexico’s Josh Hodges won the bronze.

The second heat was slowed by a couple of yellows. Jordan Kinser won with Lee Underwood second and Billy Cribbs third. Tyler Thomas was involved in both yellows, but came on to take fourth.

Pole sitter Jeff Bland won the third heat, which was slowed by four yellow flags. Shelby VanGilder came from seventh to second. Brandon Morin was third and Jake Gordon, Eric’s son, was fourth.

Car count was such that there was nary a B Main. For the A’s, first up were the RaceSavers. On the pole was Nalon with A.J. Carlson outside. On the first lap, Ryan Tusing spun in turn three. Nalon controlled the re-start and tried to check out as Brinton Marvel and Kerry Kinser gave chase. Just past halfway, Carlson brought out a yellow. Nalon led Marvel, John Paynter, Kinser and Ethan Barrow.

If anyone was waiting for the likes of Jared Fox, Jeff Bland, Andy Bradley or Tusing to carve their way to the front, they would have been surprised to see these guys mired in the pack. Up front, Nalon was in control, and not turning a single wheel wrong, and pulling away from Marvel and the rest.

There were plenty of contested positions from third on back, where people were scratching and clawing for any advantage they could get. Barrow made his way to third at the checkers, after starting ninth. Paynter was fourth and Fox motored through the crowd to fifth from his 18^th starting position.

Speaking of ultimate turnarounds, Nalon had finished last in the previous feature, only to go to the head of the class one week later.

The sprints’ feature was next and this one was plagued by yellow flags, but provided a healthy dose of excitement, tension and yes, poetry. Underwood and Bland led all to the green and Underwood was leading when the first of many yellows waved. This one was for sprint rookie Stephen Schnapf. Underwood was leading Bland, Kinser, VanGilder, and McGhee.

The re-start saw Bland doing his best to make Underwood’s life miserable, riding the cushion as Underwood worked the bottom. But yellow number two came out when VanGilder and Cribbs collided with Shelby left in a stationary position on the track.

With this re-start, Bland finally made the pass and took the lead. Lee Underwood’s time at the front was sweet, but way too short. The boys (and girl) got a lap in before Parker Fredrickson went spinning. We were close to the halfway point and Bland led Underwood, McGhee, Kinser, Hodges, Creech, Short, Thomas, Morin and Cummings. For those counting, that was three cautions.

Brady Short had started tenth and anyone with a pulse could determine that he’d not stay back there. Now he began checking out the middle, looking for the edge or a weakness. When Max McGhee was bitten by the infamous Bloomington cushion, the overworked yellow flag waved for the fourth time. With this re-start, Hodges and Creech would feel the pressure from the multi-time track champ.

But first, there was a yellow for an unknown car slipping over the bank in turn two. The yellow became a red when Landon Simon flipped in turn three. Bland still led, but Short was now fifth. And this high speed skating rink was a Brady Short kind of track.

Now came a few green flag laps and Bland was sitting pretty out front. Tim Creech was running quite strong, up to third. Short dispatched Hodges and Jordan Kinser and was fourth.

The weary caution lights blinked for the sixth time for Tyler Thomas, who spun and ended a fine segment of Bloomington style racing. Up front it was still, Bland, Underwood, Creech, Short and Kinser. Then came another lengthy yellow for Ethan Fleetwood. That re-start was semi-crazy as Underwood showed that he wasn’t going away. He briefly took the lead before Bland returned the favor. Short was lurking.

Garrett Aitken, known primarily as a midget ace, brought out number seven on lap 21. Short and Creech both passed Underwood and were second and third, hungry for more. On this final re-start, it was four laps of racing at its best, no matter what level. Nearly every lap Brady dove low going into turn one, seemingly trying a half-hearted slider, knowing it wouldn’t work, but hoping it could rattle the leader. Given who the leader was, that wasn’t happening. Short threw everything he could at Bland, used all his tricks to no avail.

After all the interruptions, the last four laps were what I’d chose to remember. I could appreciate the effort of two still young veterans who know each other and their home track so well, using all their abilities in the eternal chase for excellence.

Underwood came back to take third with Creech having an impressive fourth. Hodges finished fifth. Max McGhee came back strong after his misfortune to finish sixth. Jordan Kinser was seventh and Josh Cunningham, the Flying Preacher, rambled from 17^th to take eighth. Brandon Morin was ninth and finishing tenth was Thomas, who also recovered from a calamity.

It was time to go home. The little guy conked out fairly quickly on the way home. After all, riding in the pace truck with his buddy and handing out trophies count as hard work when you’re eight.

Ignoring the voices in my raceiver, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Where Most Dare Not Tread

Spencer Bayston added a prestigious jewel to his figurative crown on Sunday night at the Kokomo Speedway as the 2017 version of USAC’s quite popular Indiana Midget Week wrapped up at the crown jewel of the track in north central Indiana. Unlike most of his competitors, Bayston spent a majority of the 30 laps up by the unforgiving wall, flirtin’ with disaster (thank you, Molly Hatchett). Kevin Thomas Jr. won the sprint feature using similar strategy. And Shane Golobic was Mr. Consistency as he walked away with the IMW Championship.

Driving south after the racing was over gave me time to consider how much all of us flirt with disaster. We all do, but certainly not like young Mr. Bayston and his competitors. Driving home right around the midnight hour is not nearly as hazardous or stressful as fighting rush hour traffic, but any time you drive anywhere, you are taking a considerable chance. In our travels we’ve all seen (or been) one of those diving from one lane to another for whatever reason possesses the driver.

It’s a much more mundane activity to many, but the simple act of eating can easily be hazardous. It is not usually an immediate hazard, but if I gorge myself on junk food, then have a huge slice of cake, I’m risking quite a lot as well, somewhere down the road.

The differences between our own dancing with the devil and the exploits of Mr. Bayston and about 21 of his friends are that people do pay money to watch other people drive like a high speed version of the Keystone Cops or eat till they get sick and die too soon. We watch racers race each other because of the speed and competition as well as seeing them deal with danger, and conquering it so they can race again the next time. Sometimes, sadly, that line is crossed, and we mourn instead of cheer. But we do cheer when our favorite racer wins. We also cheer when any racer walks away from any nasty wreck.

With that in mind, I felt the strange combination of sadness and relief as I headed north to Kokomo. I knew what to expect and wasn’t disappointed. 28 of USAC’s finest of its Midget division and 23 sprinters were in the pits. Reece O’Connor and company were working on the track; all was well on this little corner of the planet.

Golobic was the first qualifier and his time of 13.373 held up, despite some who came close, including Bayston, who went out 24^th and managed a 13.601.

The first heat was, as it turned out, a preview of what was to come as Bayston ran away with the win, leading Lawrenceburg podium occupant Holly Shelton, Golobic and Tanner Carrick to the line.

Tanner Thorson took the second heat, beating Jerry Coons Jr., Davey Ray and Justin Grant.

Tyler Thomas was the first to win a heat race from a front row starting position. All he did was lead Rico Abreu, Michael Pickens and Alex Bright to the checkered in the third heat.

Tyler Courtney was the fourth heat winner as Chad Boat started and finished second. Pole sitter Jimi Quin was third and Dave Darland also would race in the feature.

Brady Bacon’s engine sounded sick in his heat and he jumped into a backup car and started last in the B Main. Pole sitter Gage Walker won and Ronnie Gardner, Ryan Robinson and Bacon all would go feature racing.

Tyler Courtney was doing double duty tonight (along with Dave Darland an Tyler Thomas) and had nearly a half lap lead when Aaron Pierce flipped hard coming out of turn four. He walked away. Courtney kept the lead in the one lap re-start with Travis Hery, Josh Spencer, Billy Cribbs and Gary Rooke trailing. Later, after the heats, the TOPPS racing team left. The word was that they were testing the car, making sure it was ready for the Eastern Storm swing this week.

Brady Short took the second heat while Colton Cottle, the only non-resident of Kokomo in the third heat, won it, beating out his uncle Shane.

After the heats, the track received a lot of TLC and was ready for the two features. The Midgets were up first with Keith Kunz Motorsports teammates Thorson and Bayston starting up front. Bayston took the lead at the beginning as Thorson and Courtney traded back and forth for second. In a few more laps, Grant joined the fray, moving Thorson back to third. Courtney was strong; he took the lead on lap 11, but Bayston would not be denied. The Lebanon, Indiana native returned the favor two laps later.

The race’s first yellow waved on lap 13 when Davey Ray was left sitting in the infield by turn four. The trio of Bayston, Courtney and Grant still were at the front. Bayston was still working up top, where there was little cushion left against the wall.

Three laps later, the red flag waved when Ryan Robinson took a nasty ride in turn four. He walked away from a mangled car. Bayston and Courtney were still one/two, but Bacon had moved from eighth to take third. Grant was fourth and Thorson fifth. Six through ten were Golobic, Pickens, Abreu, Coons and T. Thomas, who would spin two laps later, bringing out another yellow.

The final 12 laps were green as Courtney did all he could to keep up with the high flying Bayston. Sunshine led laps 20 and 21, but it wasn’t happening as Bayston regained the lead and stretched his margin to a half straightaway at the end. Behind him, things were tense, somewhat typical for Kokomo. Courtney was passed at the end by Golobic, which put the Californian into first in IMW points. Courtney was third and Grant was fourth. Bacon was fifth, ahead of Lawrenceburg winner Abreu and two time winner Pickens in seventh. Boat was the hard charger for the night and the week, moving from 18^th to eighth. Thorson and Coons were ninth and tenth.

The attendance surely brought a smile to the O’Connor family. As the traffic jam filled up Davis Road, announcer/do-it-all guy Rob Goodman and I stood by the press box on the top row of the bleachers and talked. We pretty much agreed that the six race deal had been a success all way around, given the large number of ticket buyers at every stop and the on-track competition. Midget racing has been dismissed from intensive care and has either been dismissed from the racing/medical facility or is about to be. Even though I’m considerably older than Rob (and most of his friends), I had to agree that these are good times.

With that said, six races in six nights take their toll on an older person such as I. One can easily make the case that IMW is a bit more of a grind than Indiana Sprint Week, which gives all a three day break. Though the day is coming that I won’t be able to spend that much time on the road, it isn’t here yet.

Living on the edge by eating Cheerios instead of Wheaties, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Changing of the Guard? Not So Fast, Buddy Boy

A day after writing that there was a chance of the superteam known as Keith Kunz Motorsports having passed their peak, now it’s time to clarify that it’s not a great idea to assume that the team that has gone winless in 2017 was in decline. This was confirmed on another lovely night in southeastern Indiana as Rico Abreu, Tanner Thorson, and Holly Shelton found themselves on the Lawrenceburg Speedway podium after Abreu passed Shelton to lead laps 28-30. That was how close history was nearly made. Ms. Shelton came within three laps of becoming the first woman to win a USAC national feature event. Maybe just as compelling, this was another barnburner of a race with many of the 30 laps being a slide job clinic as several throughout the field used the crossover move to perfection. None used the tactic better than Abreu, won from the tenth starting spot. And now KKM has won a USAC feature this year. What a feature it was, this round five of Indiana Midget Week.

The car count usually goes down at Lawrenceburg when IMW comes to town, but of the 25 there were several contenders. The current situation in USAC Midget Series racing is the fact that two teams field up to ten cars per race, nine with the forced departure of Kyle Larson to do his NASCAR duties. It would be reasonable to assume that the two teams would dominate IMW, but Michael Pickens might beg to differ. The point is that competition is alive and well in this division.

There were the usual racers tackling the high banks in two different divisions. Dave Darland, Justin Grant and Alex Bright had sprint and midget rides. But let’s not forget Mike Weber and Brian Gray were competing in both a sprint car and a modified.

The weather was somewhere between warm and hot, the breeze was coming from the distillery (southwest) and the decent sized crowd was about to get their money’s worth.

Tanner Carrick, the new kid in the Kunz stable, set quick time with a 14.588. The track faded somewhat, but by feature time, none of the above mattered.

Rico Abreu won the first heat with Justin Grant second. Trailing those two were Ryan Robinson, Shane Golobic, and Chad Boat, whose time trial was wiped off the books when he tested too light at the scales (We all should have this problem.)

Tyler Courtney wrestled the lead from Dave Darland to win the second heat over DD, Spencer Bayston, Ronnie Gardner and Tanner Thorson.

The third of three heats went to Jerry Coons Jr., who held off Michael Pickens. Third was Brady Bacon, with Tyler Thomas and Holly Shelton avoiding the B Main.

Fast qualifier Tanner Carrick won the B and would start seventh in the feature, a development that gave his teammate Robinson the pole. Steve Buckwalter had a new ride and used it to finish second. Alex Bright, Trey Marcum, Ryan Greth, Brayton Lynch and Vermont resident Adam Pierson all made it to the show.

20 sprints were in the Dave Rudisell Surf Shop/pit area. Three heats and no B Main. Heat winners were Tony Dimattia, Shawn Westerfeld and Dave Darland. Justin Grant got upside down in turn three, bringing out a red flag. He walked away, but the car was done for the night.

KKM cars had the first three starting positions, with Robinson on the pole, Shelton outside and Thorson sharing the second row with Grant. Things got off to an ugly start when four cars met in turn two. Bright, Pierson, Coons and Pickens were involved. Pickens re-started but didn’t last long. The others were done.

Shelton controlled the re-start as Grant was second, but having a tough time of keeping Bayston behind him. The kid from Lebanon, Indiana made the pass before Bacon stopped in turn two. Ten laps were complete and Shelton led Bayston, Grant, Courtney, Abreu, Robinson, Thorson, Golobic, Thomas, and Boat, who had started last.

Tim Montgomery waved the green and Abreu went to work. The slide-meister picked off Courtney and Grant before he set his sights on his teammate Bayston. Both the second and third place runners were closing on the leader—until they began racing each other, throwing vicious sliders to take and re-take a position. This had the effect of Shelton leaving those two fighting each other while Grant, closed the gap from third to fourth.

When Dave Darland stopped to bring out a yellow, Shelton could be forgiven for being a little nervous, what with Bayston and Abreu behind her. There were no team orders here. If anyone still needed to be convinced, watching Shelton and Bayston bang wheels a few laps after the re-start should have become a believer. Bayston slid sideways into turn one as somehow everyone missed him. He limped around the track before stopping with a flat tire on lap 23. Tim waved his yellow flag.  

Shelton was still in no position to breathe easier because Abreu and Thorson were behind her on this final re-start of the race. For the next three of four laps Abreu put on a sliding clinic, repeatedly diving low into a turn, only to slide past the leader, but see her re-assume the lead by dipping lower than he did. Finally Abreu cleared Shelton’s car after a turn two slider and led from lap 28 to the end.

Thorson also passed Shelton to grab second at the end. The California native settled for third, but should know that the wins will come if she keeps racing as she did. Golobic flew under the radar for much of the race, coming from 15^th to fourth. Courtney was fifth. Pole sitter Robinson was sixth. Grant faded a little to seventh. Bayston came back to take eighth. Ronnie Gardner held on for ninth. Boat came from last to tenth.

Here are the IMW points heading to Kokomo for the sixth and final round:

NEW USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Pickens-322, 2-Golobic-321, 3-Courtney-319, 4-Bacon-313, 5-Abreu-310, 6-Grant-301, 7-Bayston-293, 8-Thorson-266, 9-Boat-265, 10-Shelton-224.

I see six who have a shot at the IMW points title.

I suppose some funny people could tell the 19 guys who finished behind Holly Shelton that “you got outrun by a girl.” The response to that should be, “So? No shame in that. You think that you could outrun her?” Of course not.

Kokomo should be fun.

Kevin Thomas Jr. started on the pole and led all the way to win the sprint feature. Dave Darland, C.J. Leary, Nick Bilbee and Jordan Kinser were the rest of the top five. It was a nice way for KT to begin the trip East for USAC’s sprint car invasion of Pennsylvania this coming week.

Laughing at the notion that Keith Kunz Motorsports (and other multi-car teams) have so-called team orders, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Changing of the Guard?

Any changing of any kind of guard would seem to be inevitable. Times, circumstances and personnel change and eventually are replaced by things and people that are new and shiny. A lot of times, it’s awkward at best. Or it can be either gradual or sudden. And maybe it’s all in the imagination. With all that, on a beautiful Friday night at the Bloomington Speedway, the still new Clauson-Marshall team put an exclamation point on what many racing people already know. This team is to be reckoned with and the proof was found in victory lane at the red clay oval. There stood the top three finishers in round four of Indiana Midget Week, namely winner Tyler Courtney, second place finisher Justin Grant and third place Shane Golobic. And, a few hundred feet away in the pits, several other contenders were wondering if this new group of racers was going to be the team to beat now. Perhaps some of those racers were part of the Keith Kunz Motorsports team, a group of people who have set the standard of excellence in this little corner of the world for well over a decade. As always, time will tell, but the competition level of USAC’s Midget Division has been raised substantially. Time will also tell if, in fact, this is a changing of the guard.

The car count was down a bit at Bloomington as my young traveling buddy was replaced by an older gentleman who refuses to act his age. For me it’s win/win. Dave Foist has been around racing since our home town had its own race track just outside of town and featured the likes of Freddy Wilbur, Bobby Baker and Ted Pfeiffer. None of it mattered; 35 midgets would be plenty in terms of quality and quantity. Chad Boat was the third to attempt qualifying and his time of 11.764 held up. Michael Pickens, the flying Kiwi who had won two IMW features in a row went out last and nearly beat Boat’s time with an 11.920.

Tonight’s drivers doing double duty were Jeff Bland (410 sprints and 305 RaceSavers), Dakota Jackson (the same), Tyler Thomas (USAC Midget and a 410), and Alex Bright (same and his first try in a 410 sprint car.

Lincoln Park’s near winner Spencer Bayston won the first USAC Midget heat. Boat was second, ahead of Pickens and Gage Walker.

Jerry Coons Jr. jumped to an early lead after starting third and won the second heat over Brady Bacon, Alex Bright, and Tanner Thorson.

The third heat was one of the most competitive I’ve seen in a long time. Tanner Carrick and teammate Holly Shelton ran away and missed a good race behind them. In no particular order, Dave Darland, Justin Grant, Zach Daum and Brayton Lynch fought for third place for much of the race. Positions changed every few seconds. Grant eventually prevailed with Darland joining him in the feature.

Shane Golobic won the fourth heat over Tyler Thomas. Ryan Robinson (who had a nasty flip here last year in time trials) and Davey Ray would move on.

Tyler Courtney won the B with Rico Abreu, Zach Daum, Ronnie Gardner, Tyler Nelson and Trey Marcum all getting to race one more time tonight.

Coons and Pickens led 20 more to the green flag and Coons took the early lead. Abreu was the lone high side racer at the beginning. The track was like a skating rink by now and the low side was very popular for a little while. Behind Coons and Boat a tremendous battle for positions three through seven broke out with the main contestants being, Pickens, Golobic, Abreu, Courtney and Grant.

Courtney weaved his way through this crowd and set sail for leaders Coons and Boat. By lap 17 he had caught them and a lap later, Courtney swept by both to take the lead and keep it. He had gone from third to first in one lap.

From there, it was all over but the shouting. Courtney’s lead was stretching with each lap. Grant had also broken free of the mob behind the leaders and taken second. Golobic was third and Coons was a strong fourth. Boat was fifth. Bacon led the second five, with Gage Walker coming from 13^th to seventh. Abreu was eighth and Pickens faded to ninth. Zach Daum was tenth.

Pickens still leads Indiana Midget Week points, 18 ahead of Bacon.

For the first time this week, Alex Bright did not start on the pole.

Courtney’s 24^th place finish at Gas City hurt his chances at an IMW title. In contrast, Pickens has two wins, a second and a ninth.

Bacon, Pickens, and Golobic have all finished in the top ten in each feature.

Courtney’s wins thus far have been his first two in the USAC Midget Division.

Ryan Tusing won the RaceSaver 305 feature after starting 11^th. Andy Bradley, Jared Fox, Jeff Bland and Dakota Jackson were the rest of the top five.

Coming to the white flag, Brady Short passed Jeff Bland to win the sprint feature. Jordan Kinser edged Bland to take second. Ethan Fleetwood and Max McGhee were fourth/fifth.

Next stop is the Lawrenceburg Speedway.

The times may change, but some things remain the same.

Trying to convince the kids and grandkids that I do not want a romper suit for Father’s Day, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Challenges Met

Whether you’re going to a race track or to the store, at times that can be a challenge with obstacles placed in a way seemingly designed to make you throw your hands and give up. Or perhaps one would be tempted to say that it wasn’t meant to be. Perhaps. But on a day that presented a set of personal challenges to me and my fellow traveler, they were nothing compared to those facing Michael Pickens and team. After not being able to participate in hot laps, the New Zealander and his group overcame whatever was standing in their way to get the car onto the track. And later, during the feature, Pickens overcame the repeated challenges of Spencer Bayston to win the third meeting of Indiana Midget Week at the Lincoln Park Speedway. Chris Windom, who has had his share of challenges over the years, won the sprint feature.

It is and will be safe to say that the Midget feature was one to remember, open wheel bullring racing at its best. Many of us will say in the future, “I was there when…”.

Waking up later than I should didn’t get the day off to a timely start. Watching Google Chrome stage a sitdown strike didn’t help either. I was to pick up the ace mud scraper in Nashville, then head to Lincoln Park. The party meeting me was told I was running late and that turned out fine. But then there was the detour near Bean Blossom. This took us out of the way and now I had to wonder if we’d get there in time for hot laps. Seeing that the detour was in Brown County, Indiana’s contribution to the tourism business, that meant lots of curves and hills. Kind of like western North Carolina, but not as steep or curvy. But we made it just before wheel packing started.

When the sprints came back to the pits, covered with mud as always, I noticed that Dave Gross had parked near where we were headed. I’ve admired this gentleman for some time and mentioning him here has been long overdue. Dave is a one man band, arriving with the open trailer hooked to the back of an aging van. The sprinter he drives is relatively ancient, going back to the pre-down tube days. But it had its share of mud and Karston shyly asked Dave is he could scrape some mud off the number 37. Dave was both amused and happily surprised. Of course, he said. While the little guy slaved over the nerf bars, Dave and I talked and later I concluded that, in his own way, Dave Gross and guys like him are also heroes in their own way. With very little, if any, help, here’s a gentleman who knows his limitations and accepts them. All he desires is to run a few laps at a safe speed before he gets lapped. When he’s lapped, Dave pulls off the track and sits patiently in the infield until the race is over. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a feature, Dave adheres to the same routine. The fans I talk with have much respect for Dave. We all wish just a little that we could do something similar. But we don’t and Dave is out there while we watch and appreciate.

37 USAC Midgets and 24 sprints had signed in. There were two double dippers tonight, Tyler Thomas in a sprint and a midget and Rico Abreu in a midget and winged mini-sprint.

Michael Pickens went out early (third) and set fast time. But that didn’t mean the track lost speed. Brady Bacon had the second quick time and he went out last.

Midget heats were first and Ronnie Gardner led Rico Abreu, Tanner Thorson and Michael Pickens to the checkered. Gardner’s teammate Courtney Crone collided with Tyler Courtney with the young lady from California flipping. She walked away.

The new kid on the Keith Kunz block, Tanner Carrick, won the second heat over second row mate Brent Beauchamp. Brady Bacon and Ryan Greth also transferred.

Alex Bright held off Spencer Bayston to take the third heat. Gage Walker and Tyler Thomas ran third and fourth.

Pole sitter Zach Daum won the fourth heat with Justin Grant taking the silver medal. Dave Darland and another Hall of Famer, Jerry Coons Jr., would make the feature.

So would Shane Golobic, who won the B Main. Tyler Courtney, Chad Boat, Holly Shelton, Ryan Robinson and Brayton Lynch all got to race one more time. For Lynch, it was the first IMW feature he had made.

The sprints took over and Brady Short won. Matt McDonald spun after a lap was completed and collected Isaac Chapple and Shane Cottle as the perpetrator got away. Kevin Thomas Jr. was second, followed by Carmen Macedo, McDonald and Cottle.

Chris Windom passed Shane Cockrum with a lap to go and won the second heat. Chad Boespflug also passed the chief and took second. Behind Cockrum were Brandon Mattox and Jaden Rogers.

Tyler Thomas took the Jerry Burton owned machine to the third heat win. Tim Creech II, Kent Christian, Kyle Simon and Lee Underwood moved on the show.

C.J. Leary, in the Pedersen mount, won the sprint B over Aussie Gary Rooke, Chase Stocken, Brandon Morin and Shelby VanGilder.

Up next was the Main Event, the one that most all had come to see. For the third consecutive night, Alex Bright would start on the pole with Brent Beauchamp, the young man who accomplishes more with fewer resources than many people realize, on the outside front row. Bright took the lead and was soon joined by second row starters Abreu and Bayston. Not too many were up over the cushion, but Bayston gave it a try with positive results. After passing Abreu, he needed only a couple of laps more to get around Beauchamp. From there, he took the lead on lap 13 just before a yellow waved for a Brayton Lynch/Tyler Thomas meeting in turn two.

The re-start order was Bayston, Bright, Beauchamp, Boat (fourth of the impromptu Killer B’s), Abreu, Grant, Pickens, Courtney, Coons and Golobic. The green hankie waved and Boat passed Beauchamp and tried in vain to catch the leader. Behind him, Pickens was on the move, using the high groove above the cushion. As retired racer Brian Hayden pointed out, there was plenty of real estate up there and these guys had been too busy making the track much narrower than it needed to be. Pickens was on the way and passed Boat for second.

He caught a break, needed or not, with 25 laps complete when caution lights blinked as Beauchamp stopped. One could understand if Bayston was nervous. He had Pickens behind him with five to go. What to do, what to do?

The green came out and Pickens began pressuring the talented young racer. Finally, going down the backstretch, the pass was made and Pickens was the first to see the white flag. But wait, there’s more. Bayston wasn’t done. On the last lap Pickens nearly spun in turn one. Bayston closed quickly and temporarily took the lead in turn three with a perfect slide job. Neither was Pickens done. He dove low coming out of the fourth turn and took the lead to the line, winning by a few feet.

Folks, that was about as good as it gets. And even behind those two leaders, it was good. Tyler Courtney came from 20^th to finish third. He was trailed by Abreu, Grant, Golobic, Boat, Bacon (who couldn’t get his engine fired in time to join the lineup and started on the tail), Bright and Coons.

It was truly a night of challenges. Pickens had not been able to do any hot laps. Bayston’s crew had an engine change. And Courtney passed everyone this side of my grandson to grab a podium finish. USAC’s Twitter feed said there were five lead changes in the last two laps. And people who think NASCAR is the epitome of racing competition wonder why we love open wheel/bullring racing.

After Rico Abreu won the mini-sprint feature, the sprint closer was next. Pole sitter Brady Short took a brief lead before Chris Windom took over. The race was interrupted twice for yellows. The second caution flag came out after some wheel banging between Kevin Thomas Jr. and Chad Boespflug, who have not been known for playing together. Windom withstood threats for his lead throughout the race. Boespflug was second when he clouted Windom as both negotiated turn three. It appeared that Chad’s closing speed combined with Chris’s slower speed at that point was what happened, in other words, a racing deal. Boespflug nearly tipped over, but was done with 22 laps complete. After cars had circled the track under caution, Boespflug’s car was hit by Tim Creech II—as he was just getting out of the car. A near miss. Windom controlled the re-start and Thomas was not going to let him cruise to victory. Coming to the checkered, KT dove low and nearly stole the win. Windom was the winner by a wheel plus inches.

It was, as one could guess, quite a night. The only challenge left for the caravan of racing people was to get home or to the Bloomington Speedway, which was on the list of things to do on Friday.

Fantasizing about doing jumping jacks with Jennifer Lopez, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Can You Top This?

After watching a tremendously competitive USAC Midget Week feature at the Gas City I-69 Speedway on a chilly Wednesday night, perhaps a few of those who stuck around for the sprint might have wondered how the 410 sprints could be any better than what they had just seen. In other words, both features were top notch, with racers doing what they do best, and in most cases, loving it. But few, if any, enjoyed the night more than Michael Pickens, who won a grueling, hard fought Midget feature, and Kevin Thomas Jr., who led only one lap of the sprint car feature, the last one, of course.

Staying in a motel in Marion was one of my few intelligent choices lately. I spent a good bit of the day doing what I do best, being lazy (“working” on the Montpelier article and talking with Rich Winings).

Lunch was at the place that features curly fries and a decent place to sit, eat and read. After a good bit of the latter, I moseyed out to the far east side of Gas City and watched a race track come to life.

The gates opened at three o'clock and by then parking lot already contained several vehicles, including RV's, cars and trucks. The major sounds were from the water truck circling the track, the occasional blat sound that a midget engine makes, and the traffic on State Road 22.

From a sleepy, seemingly deserted patch of land, the track came to life as more people entered the grounds, which was turning into a Mecca of speed, competition, and open wheel racing for the night. People spent time walking and talking, or working on cars. Track prep was non-stop.

Around six o'clock, the track was truly waking up. The driver's meetings had been held, and they strapped themselves into their cars, with the ritual of wheel packing in mind. ATV's pushed cars to the pit exit, right off turn four. USAC's Staci Girard, the best looking traffic cop I've ever seen, was directing ATV's and push trucks as each did their immediate task with great efficiency.

We were off and running, with hot laps and time trials soon to follow. Tonight’s track presented a special set of problems, oops, make that challenges for the 41 midgets and 31 sprints in the pits. Preparing the track that’s been idle except for two races the last couple of years, is a true challenge. But, like the situation at Montpelier, the very best effort to bring forth a track that people could race on was made with often spectacular results.

The track didn’t give up during time trials. Justin Grant was out second and ripped off a 12.642 lap. Genius here thought that might be the time to beat and it was…by five others, topped by Kyle Larson, who set fast time for the second consecutive night with a 12.386. Let the heats begin.

Front row starter Chad Boat won the first heat with pole sitter Brendan Bright holding off Larson for second. Tanner Carrick slipped by Tyler Thomas midway through the race to transfer to the show.

Shane Golobic was the man in the second heat, beating out Rico Abreu. Zach Daum ran second early on until he had a minor bobble, dropping him to third. Justin Grant was fourth, sending Ryan Robinson to the B.

Alex Bright won the third heat with Spencer Bayston making a late pass of Jerry Coons Jr. to take second. Brady Bacon settled for the last dance card.

Pole sitter Holly Shelton cruised to the fourth heat win with a fellow Californian, Ronnie Gardner second. Montpelier winner Tyler Courtney was third. 2016 USAC Midget champ Tanner Thorson trailed. Michael Pickens, who had qualified fourth quick, would run in the B in what turned out to be a minor bump in the road.

Again, a C main was needed and Chance Morton carved his way through the field to move on to the B, taking Steve Buckwalter, Gage Walker and Chris Baue with him.

Things were looking up for Michael Pickens as he withstood a fierce challenge from Tyler Thomas to win the B main. Brent Beauchamp was third and Chance Morton passed a few more cars to come from the C to the A main by finishing fourth. Ryan Robinson and Justin Peck also made the feature with Steve Buckwalter just missing out.

It was the sprints’ turn to take center stage. Terre Haute’s Brandon Mattox won the first heat. Pole sitter Shane Cottle took the second heat, which saw Brady Short flip in turn four while wheeling Arizona’s Andy Reinbold’s sprinter. Short walked away dejectedly. Brady Bacon and Kyle Simon won the other two heats. Missouri’s Clinton Boyles won the B Main.

Another massaging of the track and it was showtime. Pole sitter (for the second straight night) Alex Bright led briefly, but his next door neighbor Tanner Thorson took the lead before the first lap was over. Justin Grant was coming on strong, but caught some uneven surface and bounced like a basketball before stopping and brining out a yellow.

Bright got his spot back behind Thorson, but now he had unwanted company in the form of Rico Abreu, Kyle Larson and Brady Bacon. A lap later, Ryan Robinson brought out another yellow doing what Grant had done, but collecting Zach Daum in the process.

This re-start saw Abreu get busy. He made short work of Bright and caught Thorson quickly, taking the lead on the seventh lap. The New Jersey hot shoe fell victim to some bad boys chasing him. A tremendous battle of quality racing, car control, cut and slashing among Larson, Bacon, Montpelier winner Tyler Courtney and…Michael Pickens. Those last two guys bore watching, especially Pickens, who was scheduled to start seventh, but was demoted to 11^th for being late to the grid.

This party was interrupted with 18 laps complete when Chance Morton’s exceptional night came to an end when he flipped in turn one. The Oklahoma native walked away from the car after having an impressive run from the bottom of the heap to the top. Now it was Thorson still leading Abreu, Pickens, Bacon, Courtney, Beauchamp, Bright, Bayston and Golobic.

When the green waved Pickens dispatched Abreu to third and had Thorson in his sights. But Courtney’s great effort ended when he stopped on track, necessitating another yellow. The car was taken to the work are and Sunshine aimed to return to the chase. But that plan ended with a huge puff of smoke as the push truck began pushing; the kid from Indy’s night was over.

He had no way of knowing it, but Thorson’s time in the lead would be short lived. Pickens was not to be denied as he sneaked under the leader’s left side coming out of two and grabbed the top spot. From there, the New Zealander pulled away, leaving Thorson to fight off Bacon, who made the pass for second with a couple of laps to go.

Behind the trio of Pickens, Bacon and Thorson was Abreu. Bayston was fifth, which put three KKR cars in the top five, but extending the powerhouse outfit’s dry spell. Kunz racing is zero for 2017 so far in midget wins.

T. Thomas was sixth, followed by Beauchamp (maybe the most impressive run of them all), Golobic, Ronnie Gardner and Tanner Carrick.

Gardner’s effort was mostly under the radar, but the fact was that he came from 22^nd to get his top ten finish.

The sprint feature had a hard act to follow, but the 20 warriors were up to the job. Brady Bacon jumped out to the early lead before Shane Cottle worked the low line to perfection and took the lead on the eighth lap. After a lap 12 yellow, the bottom must have went away as Bacon came roaring back to send Shane to second place on the 15^th lap.

Kevin Thomas Jr. had been quiet all through the race—until now. He also got around Cottle and looked ready to give Bacon fits. A lap 24 spin/yellow gave him his chance and fans were treated to one of the most exciting and tense brief moments in time as Thomas and Bacon passed each other multiple times on the last lap before Thomas prevailed. Cottle was third and Justin Grant took fourth. Robert Ballou came from 14^th to finish fifth. Not to be outdone, Jarett Andretti motored from 15^th to sixth. Isaac Chapple, Tyler Hewitt, Colton Cottle and Brandon Mattox were the best of the rest.

A two hour drive lay ahead, about 100 miles of interstate. A Sprite and old goat rock and roll kept me awake. That was so I could get a little sleep and do it again at the Lincoln Park Speedway for the third round of a racing feast.

Shopping for a pole vault to give to Jimmy Dawson, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Turnaround

It was only two days ago that Tyler Courtney was spotted by air traffic controllers in Des Moines, Iowa, trying to fly out of Knoxville Speedway. Somehow he escaped major injuries and would race again. In fact, he showed up at the Montpelier Speedway on a chilly Tuesday night none the worse for wear. A few hours later, he stood in victory lane, smiling because he had just won the opening night of the 2017 version of USAC’s Indiana Midget Week, outrunning the proverbial best in the business. Brady Bacon, who finished fourth in the midget feature, won the non-sanctioned sprint car feature.

41 midgets, 20 sprints and 27 modifieds sneaked into the pit area that borders a railroad track (shades of Martinsville VA Speedway). Strolling the pits, I could find just two double dippers, Brady Bacon and Chris Windom. Ten states and three countries were represented. Keith Kunz and company were seven strong, led by NASCAR’s newest youthful hope, Kyle Larson.

Larson made an impressive opening statement by setting a new track record of 13.965. People should have paid more attention to Courtney’s 14.102 lap, but didn’t.

The first midget heat featured Kyle Larson and a few guys who wanted badly to outrun him. One of these was Larson's fellow Californian Shane Golobic. But a lap nine yellow changed things. Golobic won with Larson second, but Alex Bright and seventh starting Justin Peck came on at the end to send Davey Ray and Tyler Thomas to the B.

Tanner Thorson took the second heat win, with Tyler Courtney overcoming a midrace bobble to end up second. Pole sitter Ronnie Gardner was third. Chris Windom held on for fourth. Steve Buckwalter and sixth fastest qualifier Ryan Greth went to the B.

In the third heat, Tanner Carrick led all the way to take the victory. Behind him was some major slicing and dicing. At the end Michael Pickens possessed second, Justin Grant third and Chad Boat elbowed Rico Abreu out of the way to grab that last position. Rico’s teammate, Ryan Robinson, would join him in the B.

Spencer Bayston showed plenty of skill and patience as he won the fourth heat. Zach Daum came from the third row to get second. Jerry Coons Jr. fought hard to take third. Brady Bacon got around Dave Darland, who ran most of the race in the top four, to make his way into the feature. Dave and Holly Shelton would prepare for the B.

Sprint cars play second fiddle to no other class in Indiana…until IMW rolls around. Chris Windom won the first of three heats. Jarett Andretti and Shane Cottle won the other two heats on a track that was dry and slick by then.

Before the C, the track was re-worked as it was getting a bit slick. Internet track prep experts may have been hyperventilating, but perhaps they forget that factors such as weather and car counts can mightily affect track conditions. Any dirt track worker can tell you the same. With all that, only six of 11 answered the bell (or Staci’s siren) for the C Main. Oklahoma’s Chance Morton, Jake Neuman, Courtney Crone and Justin Dickerson transferred to the B.

Pole sitter Tyler Thomas won the locked and loaded B Main. Ryan Robinson was second and his teammate Rico Abreu was a subdued (for him) third. Davey Ray came from eighth to finish fourth. Dave Darland made it into the feature with a fifth and Holly Shelton, another of the Kunz clan, was sixth. Steve Buckwalter was done too soon. Jake Neuman used a provisional to make the starting field 23.

The surprise front row was Alex Bright and Zach Daum, with Bright taking the early lead over Daum and Courtney, who moved up quickly from fifth. Courtney made quick work of Daum before overhauling Bright on the fifth lap. Not too far away were Bacon and Larson. Fourth starting Michael Pickens insisted on a seat at the table and he installed himself in the top three for the last two thirds of the race. But nothing or no one would seriously challenge Courtney, who has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in USAC racing.

They certainly had their chance to challenge when Tyler Thomas brought out a yellow when he stopped in turn four after 26 laps were complete. Bacon, Pickens, Bright and Larson all had their best chance to see what this kid could do. Tom Hansing waved the green and they found out what the kid called Sunshine could do, that being a Hi-yo Silver and riding off into the dust (the sun had already set).

Behind Courtney, there was a mad scramble for the leftovers. Pickens, who won Illinois’s version of Speed Week last week, was second. Larson came on at the end and stole third from Bacon. Bright was slightly demoted to fifth. Golobic came from 14^th to finish sixth and win the Hard Charger award. Grant was seventh after starting 12^th. Three Keith Kunz troopers filled out the top ten: Thorsen, Robinson and Bayston. Rico Abreu was an ordinary 14^th.

Of course, I’d hang around for the sprint feature. So what if it was getting a bit chilly? Brady Bacon started on the pole and led all the way to see the checkered flag first. This wasn’t a done deal as Chris Windom did his best to keep up on a track that was again, a slick, black surface. Behind Bacon and Windom were Kokomo winner Kevin Thomas Jr., Shane Cottle and Isaac Chapple, who deserved a good run after his Kokomo misadventures.

Here’s a good idea. Let’s head for Gas City for Round Two of Indiana Sprint Week.

Venting to Dr. Phil about dry and slick race tracks, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Bizarro Racing

For the second consecutive night at a Hoosier bullring, strange things happened on track. After a multi-car crash combined with a separate incident elsewhere on the track at Lincoln Park on Saturday night had heads being scratched, the guys did it again on Sunday night at Kokomo. A favorite to win, Justin Grant, spun while running second, but kept on going. Isaac Chapple was involved in most of the seven yellow flags waved, as well as the race’s lone red flag. Lost in all this craziness was the quality performance of Kevin Thomas Jr., who passed Grant on his way to the win.

It is next to impossible to oversleep while taking a nap, but I managed. I left for Kokomo nearly an hour later than I’d planned. There was no need to hurry, since I usually leave quite early. Sure enough, wheel packing had just begun when I showed up, wide awake. Still no hurry, no worries.

The car count was down a bit. Grant, Thomas, Chapple, Leary and Shane Cottle made the long haul from Iowa to race at Kokomo; they were part of the 17 who made the effort.

Justin Grant won the first heat with Isaac Chapple an impressive second. Pole sitter Max McGhee, in the Pedersen #4p instead of the Ottinger 4, was third. Shane Cottle was fourth and C.J. Leary finished fifth after starting in the front row.

Kevin Thomas Jr. won the second heat after passing early leader Lee Underwood. Tony Dimattia got around Underwood to take second. Billy Cribbs was fourth and Tyler Hewitt, who battled engine troubles all weekend, was fifth.

Instead of re-drawing for feature starting positions, someone had the great idea of the top three finishers in each heat having a bike race to see who would start where. Since the program already had a kids’ bike race, why not? Justin Grant bulldozed his way to victory and is now considering the Tour de Kokomo.

Grant and Thomas led the others to the green. All was well until Isaac Chapple did a half spin from his sixth starting position. Somehow everyone missed him, with Josh Spencer doing a nifty job of missing Chapple, who was far from done. This didn’t bring out the yellow as Grant took the lead with Thomas in tow.

With a lap completed, there was an unscheduled meeting in turn two with Tyler Hewitt, Parker Fredrickson and Isaac Chapple the attendees. On this re-start, Shane Cottle, using the low line to perfection, got around KT, who was up against the wall, for second. Then Aussie Sean Zemunik did a half spin which brought out yellow number two. While everyone was lining up, Tyler Hewitt exited, ending a weekend he’d just as soon forget. The top ten were Grant, Cottle, Thomas, Underwood, Leary, McGhee, Jarrett, Cribbs, and Hery. Four laps were in when Travis Hery spun and collected Josh Spencer and, yes, Isaac Chapple.

Let’s try again. On this re-start, ugliness prevailed. As the green flag waved, Cottle’s car simply quit running. Shane tried to get out of the way, but with all of the field except Grant behind him, that was quite an assignment. Collected in this melee were Dimattia, McGhee, Jarrett, Cribbs, Underwood and Leary, who was able to escape. In a related, but separate incident, there was a three car tangle among Dave Gross, Travis Hery, and, again, Isaac Chapple, whose red hair must have been turning gray by now. There were three tow trucks available; normally that’s plenty, but it wasn’t tonight. 12 of the 17 cars were left. The top ten now was Grant, Thomas, Leary, Cribbs, Hery, Jamie Fredrickson, Zemunik, Spencer, Chapple and P. Fredrickson.

A lap was completed when the fourth yellow flag came out due to a, who else, Isaac Chapple spin. Parker Fredrickson brought out number five with a spin. Poor Isaac Chapple spun and caused the weary caution lights to blink again. After this slowdown, Thomas got busy. Midway through the race, he sailed around Grant and took off. A couple of laps later, even Grant spun, but he corrected matters and resumed the chase with no yellow waving. He did lose two spots, which he regained.

Thomas had matters well in hand when the seventh yellow flag waved for a Travis Hery spin with 19 complete. KT led Leary, Grant, Spencer and Cribbs. The yellows were done, at least for the sprint feature. Thomas cruised home and won a very strange race. Leary (second after starting 11^th), Grant, Spencer (from 13^th) and Cribbs were the top five. Lee Underwood was sixth and T. Hery somehow finished seventh. Max McGhee, also saddled with an ill handling beast, managed eighth, last car on the lead lap. J. Fredrickson was ninth, a lap down and the Aussie, Mr. Zemanik, left Kokomo with a top ten finish.

Perhaps the track was a bit slicker than normal; who knows for sure? It was all quite bizarre. But there seems to be one constant about my Kokomo trips. Sure enough, as I crossed into Tipton County, I was hit with a, thankfully, brief shower. Rain and anything related to Kokomo seem to go together like chocolate and peanut butter.

This epic is wrapping up on the eve of Indiana Midget Week. It begins at Montpelier, then heads a few miles west to Gas City. Following that, the caravan heads southwest to Lincoln Park, then to Bloomington on Friday. The circus closes with Lawrenceburg and back to Kokomo on June 11, Sunday. I’m ready to do this one more time.

Busy starting a novel about a guy who is actually writing a novel, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Ninety Eight, Ninety Nine, …

Life has been described as lots of things, good, bad and indifferent. One can include the fact that most all lives of any length consist of one milestone after another. In my town on the first Saturday in June, both high schools held graduation ceremonies. We watched about 300 young people symbolically end one chapter of their lives and begin another, not knowing what highs and lows lie ahead in their journey. Later on Saturday, at the Lincoln Park Speedway, another young man took a step toward a personal milestone. Brady Short won a hard fought 25 lap feature over A.J. Hopkins, and mentioned during the victory interview that this was his 99^th sprint car feature victory.  

My 12^th race of the year, eighth Hoosier race, would be on another warm, but ideal evening. The rain clouds that have bedeviled and confounded promoters like Joe Spiker were a dim memory. Enough water was on the track and it was just as well because the water system in beautiful downtown Putnamville was broken, and not just at the race track. Port-a-potties ruled at LPS for one night anyway.

With USAC’s bad boys racing at Knoxville and Lawrenceburg taking the night off after hosting the Outlaws, Hoosier sprinters had Lincoln Park or Paragon to choose from—unless they wanted to hit Illinois’ version of Midget Week. LPS drew 24 with the attendance of Shawn Westerfeld and Michael Fischesser somewhat surprising. Both BOSS regulars are from the greater Cincinnati area and had a bit of a haul. Then again, there was Koby Barksdale from Oklahoma.

Westerfeld, seldom seen in these parts, led most of the first heat before Brady Short made the pass with two laps to go. Logan Jarrett started and finished third. That worked for Terre Haute's Brandon Mattox, who was fourth. Barksdale took the last chair when the music stopped.

Dickie Gaines won the second heat with J. J. Hughes not far behind. Tony Dimattia won the bronze medal and Matt McDonald came on late to take fourth. A. J. Hopkins hustled from eighth to fourth on the first lap, but dropped back as far as sixth before recovering to pass Jadon Rogers to end up fifth.

Max McGhee was the third front row starter in a row to win a heat. He left second place Shane Cockrum nearly a full straightaway behind. Brent Beauchamp was third and Daylon Chambers started and finished fourth. Travis Berryhill made a late pass on Jamie Williams to sneak into the feature.

The Ohio resident, Mr. Fischesser, who has a decent amount of seat time at LPS, won the last chance affair. Nate McMillin came from tenth/last to nip Jadon Rogers on the last lap for second. Kent Christian, with a new car, was fourth. Tim Creech II edged Shelby VanGilder to take the 20^th starting position in the feature.

I spent some quality time with the venerable Mr. Al Pierce, the Eminence of Lincoln Park. It could be said that Al is to LPS what Marv Fish is to the Lawrenceburg Speedway, senior citizens who simply won’t act their age—in a good way, of course. Leaning on the railing at the top of the bleachers and talking to Al between races is always time well spent.

Al, myself, and several hundred of our closest friends watched Westerfeld and McGhee lead the gang to the green, most of whom had impressive sprint car racing resumes. Max McGhee took the early lead before Daylon Chambers spun, bringing out the yellow. Unfortunately, Daylon would repeat the spin a few laps later, sending him to the pits. Yes, it was slick out there.

During green flag racing, the high groove ruled for the leaders with occasional slide jobs executed with occasional success. The third yellow waved on lap nine when Travis Berryhill had a problem in turn three. McGhee still led with Short, Cockrum, Gaines, Westerfeld, Beauchamp, Dimattia, Hopkins, Mattox and Barksdale all in the top ten.

Logan Jarrett interrupted the next green flag segment, bringing out the yellow. Gaines had passed Cockrum, but reluctantly gave the position back under the caution period. Another brief slowdown followed, then several laps of full tilt racing occurred. Short was pressing hard on McGhee, passing him at about the same time Cockrum found a turn one rut, upsetting his progress. Hopkins was on the move after starting 14^th. He was up to third behind Short and McGhee when Matt McDonald spun in turn one, and the race’s sixth caution session began.

A lap after the re-start, craziness took over and a four car scrimmage jumbled the running order. Apparently McGhee and Hopkins had some contact in turn two, with McGhee slowing as he went down the backstretch. Max collected Westerfeld, with Gaines and Mattox also involved. Shawn had a tipover, which brought out the red. Dickie and Brandon were both parked just off the track going into turn three. McGhee walked across the infield to where the Hopkins car was parked. There was no fist shaking, no drama, just an exchange of recipes for rhubarb pie—or something. In addition to the backstretch drama was Tony Dimattia pointed the wrong way in turn one and Travis Berryhill parked next to him.

Only 13 cars were running with Short still leading, but Hopkins, who runs well at this track, right behind him and A.J. had five laps to make his play. Cockrum was third, followed by Beauchamp and Barksdale. It seemed like this might be a notable duel between two of the best.

It wasn’t going to happen. Short sat up a bit in the seat and pulled away from Hopkins, who had a tough scrap with Cockrum. Both traded clean slide jobs before A.J. prevailed.

Short’s victory margin was a half straightaway over Hopkins. Cockrum was a close third. Hughes came back from early misfortune to finish fourth. Barksdale came from 13^th to rack up a top five finish. Beauchamp was sixth, suffering a deflating tire at the end. McMillin came from 17^th to grab seventh. The ageless Kent Christian topped that, starting 19^th and finishing eighth. Dimattia was ninth and Creech motored from 20^th to tenth.

The unofficial time of the feature was 40 minutes. No full moon was available to take the blame. Wild and woolly seemed like a tame and lame description. Instead we can merely call it another milestone for Brady Short and the Lincoln Park Speedway.

Wondering why Indy Car follows up the greatest race at the greatest track with a…street race? I’m…Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Thrill of Victory…

On another lovely Hoosier evening at the red clay oval that is Bloomington Speedway, there was plenty of drama to supply your average TV soap opera, especially after the last race of the night. At the end of the 410 sprint feature, Brady Short stood smiling at the start/finish line, holding a big trophy given to him by an eight year old boy. Not long after that, a somewhat bewildered Jared Fox did the same after apparent 305 Racesaver winner Dakota Jackson was disqualified.

For the second week in a row, the rain decided to stay away. The 45 mile drive west to Bloomington was drama free. The navigator fell asleep somewhere west of Nashville, which meant that he would wake up ready to ramble all night, which he did. Car counts for both 410s and 305s were in the low 20s each. Jake Scott provided the only excitement by flipping in turn two during hot laps. He would return to race again several minutes later.

Kody Swanson passed Lee Underwood to won the first of three 410 heats. Underwood was second, ahead of Shane Cockrum. Ethan Fleetwood was fourth and Billy Cribbs passed Dakota Jackson at the line to finish fifth. All transferred to the feature.

Jordan Kinser won the second heat with Josh Cunningham second. Michael Koontz, Hunter O’Neal, and Brandon Morin rounded out the top five.

Max McGhee won the third heat with Brady Short a close second. Jadon Rogers started and finished third. Tyler Hewitt came down from Marion, Indiana to finish fourth and rookie Steven Schnapf was fifth.

The Racesavers took over with Ethan Barrow, joining Dakota Jackson as the only two who had rides in both classes, winning the first heat. Ryan Tusing came from sixth to finish second. Brinton Marvel, of the racing Marvels, was third, Jeff Wimmenauer fourth. and Danny Clark fifth.

The second heat was downright crazy. John Paynter led early before Andy Bradley passed for the lead, only to spin while leading. On the re-start, Paynter led again until Kerry Kinser’s ill advised slide job didn’t work as he tangled with the leader. A somewhat surprised A.J. McElhenny inherited the lead and the win with Bradley coming back to take second. Kinser was third and Eric Perrott took fourth and Matt Lux fifth.

Pole sitter Dakota Jackson won the third Racesaver heat as Jeff Bland, in a Waltz family car after his was trashed last week at Lincoln Park, came from last to grab the silver medal. Distant relative Luke Bland was third. Kendall Ruble passed Jared Fox at the line to take fourth.

The track had been set up for the late models, at least it appeared to be so. But it didn’t matter a whole lot. It was dry and slick, but there was a decent amount of passing and contending along with a monster cushion at both ends of the track. But it was a Brady Short kind of track (even though I’ve seen him win on different surfaces before, including the hammer down type).

Koontz and Cockrum led the gang to Rusty Nunn’s green flag. Short carved his way to the lead from third in the first lap. Cockrum was offended by this and took the lead on lap two. After an early yellow flag, Cockrum led on the re-start, only to see Short motor by a lap later. The fire chief was passed another lap later by McGhee, who had started sixth.

Lapped traffic became a factor about halfway through as McGhee stalked the leader throughout. On lap 14 Ethan Fleetwood spun while running tenth. Short led McGhee, Cockrum, Jackson, Kinser, Koontz, Swanson, O’Neal, Barrow, and Underwood. A lap after the re-start, Cockrum slipped over the turn two banking, but kept going.

It was like a skating rink on the red clay oval. Navigating the cushion left little room for error. No one had anything for Short. McGhee was a respectable second and Jackson came from ninth to finish third. Kinser was fourth and Swanson took fifth. From starting 11^th, O’Neal passed Koontz at the end to take sixth. Barrow came from 14^th to eighth. Billy the Kid Cribbs was ninth and Lee Underwood grabbed tenth.

Closing out the night would be the Racesavers, which have seen a substantial increase in car count this year. Danny Clark and John Paynter led 19 of their cohorts to the green and Paynter took off right away to take the lead. Five laps were in when the yellow waved for Paynter, who slid off turn two and Kinser, who stopped on the track. This put Jackson in the lead.

Barrow hung with the leader as best he could and a lap 13 yellow slowed things again. Behind Jackson and Barrow were Bradley, Tusing, Fox, Marvel, J. Bland, Ruble, Clark, and L. Bland. The next green flag segment was only three laps, but there was movement up front. Bradley passed Barrow for second and Fox passed Tusing for fourth. Neither Jared nor Ryan were done.

Bradley was not far behind Jackson when he spun in turn two while running second. Fox and Tusing had passed Barrow and now would re-start behind the leader. Yellow fever was still rampant as two more spins slowed matters.

On each re-start, Jackson was in control. His final winning margin was several car lengths over Fox. The group assembled at the start/finish line included photographers, trophies bearers, and Kimb Stewart, who would interview the winner. Everyone expected that Dakota Jackson would come back to the track after weighing in. But there was much surprise, consternation, disappointment and jubilation simultaneously as the blue and white 56 was pushed to the s/f line. Jackson had been disqualified, but no one said why. Folks might have guessed that his car was under the required weight, but I never heard for sure.

While Dakota felt the sting and agony of defeat, Jared Fox was smiling, maybe not in ecstasy, smiling all the same. Hey, it’s racin’ with all its ups and downs.

The top three did some serious passing. Fox started 11^th, Tusing was 12^th and J. Bland passed the most as he began the race 15^th and finished third. Barrow started and finished fourth. Ruble was fifth, ahead of Marvel. McElhiney was seventh (started 14^th) and Eric Perrott took eighth. L. Bland was ninth and Paynter came back from his spin to finish tenth.

After a few years of getting off the ground the 305 Racesavers are one of the few classes of race cars that is growing in numbers. Some deplore the possible eclipse of the beloved 410 true sprint cars. Others fear that the 410s will become dinosaurs. Still others say it’s all good. As usual, I shrug my shoulders and say, “whatever.” All sides have a point. The bottom line is that fans will decide the fate of any racing class more than any other factor, in my own opinion. In the meantime, let us hope racing continues in a way that keeps racers, fans and everyone else happy.

Inviting Lewis Hamilton to the Colonies to do some racin’ (Indy cars, NASCAR and some sprints on dirt), I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Same Script, Different Day

Years from now, if someone is bored or curious enough to read what will be relatively ancient history of sprint car racing, they will stand a good chance of finding a number of articles that will feature Dave Darland and/or the Kokomo Speedway. To his credit, he makes it difficult to come up with a new angle with each victory or milestone. And, to the continual disquiet of his competitors, Darland still is considered among those who are the toughest to beat. This high standard has been maintained for nearly three decades and I don’t see any slowing down for the time being. On a beautiful Indiana evening at the Kokomo Speedway, the home town boy held off the challenges of younger foes and won the Indiana Double, a tribute to the memory, honor and excellence of Bryan Clauson. This was also the finale of Sean Buckley’s brainchild, the successful Indiana Sprint Car Series that is seen on MAV-TV.

After the Sunday rainout, one didn’t have to be the Amazing Kreskin to see that the event would be postponed only one day. Given the size of the crowd, the fact that this was, for many, a work night didn’t deter too many folks or racers. 27 sprints and 10 USAC D2 Midgets populated the pits, along with people such as “leg man” Jim Carter, racer extraordinaire.

Group qualifying saw Justin Grant, in the second of three groups, setting quick time with a 12.758.

 Chad Boespflug used his front row starting spot to take the victory in the first heat, with Jarett Andretti not too far behind. Max McGhee passed Jon Stanbrough late to finish third. Tony Dimattia edged pole sitter Colton Cottle to annex the last spot to transfer to the A. Stevie Sussex had a guaranteed feature appearance locked up until he flipped coming out of turn four. He would return to take the green flag in the B.

Dave Darland won a loaded heat number two with Justin Grant right on his heels. Shane Cottle, who nearly took the lead on the first lap after starting sixth, was third. Pole sitter Kevin Thomas Jr. hung on fourth. Isaac Chapple eased into the last available ticket when Chris Windom slowed with a flat right rear. Parker Fredrickson hit the turn four wall and flipped. Like Mr. Sussex, he would return to race in the B.

C. J. Leary moved from fourth to the lead in two laps and held on to win the third heat. Tyler Courtney took advantage of a minor bobble by Robert Ballou to finish second. Mr. Ballou was third by a healthy margin over pole sitter Travis Hery. And Tyler Hewitt overcame earlier mechanical issues to come from last to take fifth, earning a feature appearance.

By now the track was screaming to be worked on. But first, the B main was conducted. Chris Windom was lonely working the high groove, but made a late pass on Stevie Sussex to win the last chance race. Behind the Arizona resident was Illinois' Colton Cottle in third. Josh Spencer worked the bottom to perfection and finished where he started, fourth. Tim Creech II raced his way to a 20th starting position in the feature. The dry and slick conditions were about to be replaced by a vintage Kokomo surface.

The redraw put Darland and Courtney in the front row, with Boespflug, Andretti, Leary, Grant, McGhee, S. Cottle, Ballou, and Stanbrough in the front half of the field. The quality from top to bottom for most Hoosier features is impressive, which is an understatement.

Darland grabbed the lead as Tom Hansing waved his trusty green flag with Courtney hanging with the legend all the way. Second row starter Boespflug began to fade with Andretti doing his best to stay up front. Most everyone wanted to run high after the track massage, but no one could run it like Darland. Grant ventured low on occasion as he slowly worked his way forward.

Lapped traffic became a factor early as Darland and Courtney continued their duel. It was mid-race when the kid called Sunshine made the pass for the lead. But the seasoned expert tolerated that for about two laps and re-assumed the lead. A couple of laps later Grant passed Andretti after a struggle and set his sights on Courtney. It appeared that Grant and Andretti were both gaining on the two leaders.

The point was moot when C.J. Leary flipped in turn two with 28 of 30 laps complete. He walked away and his accident set up a true green/white/checkered finish. No doubt that speculation was widespread as was anticipation to see how the last two laps would play out. But Darland put a stop to all that by doing the same thing on the last two laps that he had done on 26 of the first 28, namely lead the pack.

Courtney might have been disappointed with a second, but there’s never any shame in running second to a legend. Grant was third and may have been the fastest at the end, but the race was for “only” 30 laps and that was that. Andretti was an impressive fourth. Ballou came from ninth to finish fifth when passing up front was a challenge.

Chris Windom did some serious passing, coming from 16^th to take sixth. McGhee started and finished seventh on a night when he was again racing with a family car. S. Cottle also finished where he started, eighth. Boespflug may have missed the setup; at any rate, he faded to ninth. Tony Dimattia was tenth, the last car on the lead lap.

I hung around for the D2 Midget feature and saw Justin Peck win with Davey Ray second and Zeb Wise third. If I was a sprint car owner and was looking for a driver, Mr. Peck is one that I’d have to seriously consider. Davey Ray has probably forgotten more than most people know about racing. And Mr. Wise, from way up in Angola, Indiana, is racing under the banner of Clauson—Marshall Racing, another one to watch in the future.

Having avoided rain all day, I should have known it was too good to last. I didn’t pay much attention to the clouds south of me. But as I entered Hamilton County, I saw a vast streak of jagged shape lightning. Surely the rain wasn’t far away. It wasn’t, but at least it faded away on Indy’s southeast side.

I’m just thankful that I don’t have to mow a yard again.

Thinking that some sprint car owners need to look at this Sato fellow, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Cowboy Up
On a night when there was much discussion (and cussin’) about a race track that was less than ideal for many, at the end there was still one winner who overcame the track’s challenges and found himself getting to chat with Brad Dickison (despite Brad’s sore throat). A.J. Hopkins didn’t have to pass nearly as many cars as he did at Bloomington on Friday night to finish second, but his Saturday effort at the Lincoln Park Speedway was equally as impressive. After battling with Stevie Sussex, and then Brady Short, Hopkins took the checkered after a race that resembled an enduro at times.
This was a Midwest Sprint Car Series event at the 5/16 mile oval in beautiful downtown Putnamville, Indiana. It attracted 30 cars, including a few USAC guys who weren’t in the Little 500. It was my own ninth race of the year, but only my fifth Hoosier bullring visit. My grandson and I brought my mom and her significant other; it was their second visit ever to LPS and first of this year.
There was a couple of one off rides for the night. Bloomington winner Kevin Thomas Jr. showed up as a teammate to Brady Short. With Shane Cottle at Anderson making his annual pavement excursion, Chad Boespflug was re-united with Paul Hazen for the night. My grandson did his share of scraping mud on the 57 car, thinking his buddy Shane was in the cockpit before learning it was his buddy Chad. And he made a new friend in Brandon Mattox, who was happy to let the not so little guy scrape off several pounds of Putnam County clay.
After animated discussion among drivers and race officials, nearly all of the 30 came out to try and get turns three and four into racing condition. It worked for that part of the track, but elsewhere, things weren’t as smooth. I can recall the late Tony Elliott describing a track in similar shape years ago as having “character.”
The first of three heats was a surprise in that there was not much passing. Pole sitter Jarett Andretti won with little visible trouble. A.J. Hopkins was second and K. Thomas was third. Brady Short stumbled briefly at the start, but recovered to take fourth. Robert Ballou, who was vocal about the track all evening, was fifth.
Fire Chief Shane Cockrum was also a pole sitting winner in the second heat. Stevie Sussex was second and Brandon Mattox came from seventh to finish third. Front row starter Nate McMillin faded a bit, but still was fourth. Jadon Rogers was fifth. Both Brandon and Jadon were beneficiaries of an unwanted hookup between Donnie Brackett and Brandon Morin as they came out of turn two wanting to occupy the same space while running fourth and fifth. Brackett was done for the night while Morin would return and experience a night he’d rather forget.
Chad Boespflug grabbed the third heat win with pole sitter Jon Stanbrough second. Carson Short was third and Kent Schmidt came from eighth to take fourth. Joltin’ Joe Ligouri was fifth and grabbed the last transfer through the heats.
Dickie Gaines hustled to the B Main win. Pole sitter Kyle Cummins was second. Dylan Shaw was third. Front row starter Cody Barksdale took fourth and Max McGhee made his way to fifth after starting tenth.
Andretti and Cockrum led 19 others to the green as Morin burned a provisional to start 21st. The third generation racer took the early lead over Cockrum and Boespflug, who slowed after completing a lap with a damaged front end.
What would follow was a series of slowdowns with one stoppage. With four complete, Sussex got into K. Thomas just past the start/finish line, sending the Alabama native flipping. The red lights came on and KT was out of the car as soon as it was stationary. He headed to Sussex’s car to have a meeting. Perhaps Stevie apologized as Kevin had done the night before at Bloomington.
Andretti led on the re-start with Sussex next to him as the MSCS has gone to double file re-starts except for the last five laps. With six complete, Sussex did almost the same thing to Andretti as he had done to Thomas. Jarett missed a good chance to flip, but slammed into an infield tire instead, ending his night.
This left Sussex, who was about as popular with the crowd as Al Sharpton at a KKK rally, in the lead with Hopkins, C. Short, B. Short, Cockrum, Ballou, Stanbrough, Mattox and Gaines in the top ten.
Hopkins was passed just before another yellow, brought out when Rogers spun. On this re-start, Hopkins pounced moving from third to first before a meeting of Kent Schmidt, Dylan Shaw and, again, Brandon Morin brought out a yellow. Ten laps were complete.
On this re-start, Sussex lined up on the pole as leader Hopkins chose the high line that had worked for him so well so far. The green waved, but Sussex jumped the start by a considerable margin. All lined up, the boys tried again. This time Hopkins got the jump. To some it appeared that A.J. did the jumping. At any rate, off he went.
Only two green flag laps were in before the fifth yellow waved for Sussex, who spun in the treacherous turn two. A few people cheered (not I). The top ten were Hopkins, B. Short, C. Short, Ballou, Mattox, Cockrum, Stanbrough, Gaines, McGhee, and McMillin.
What followed was sprint car racing at its best for ten whole laps. B.Short and Hopkins traded the lead at least twice officially before Hopkins secured the lead. But Brady would not go away, applying maximum pressure on the leader. If that wasn’t enough, C. Short and Ballou weren’t far behind, waging their own war. Hopkins had extended his lead to a half straightaway over the battling trio.
This ended on lap 22 when poor Brandon Morin spun in, where else, turn two. My uneducated guess was that the 98 car was an unruly beast (not unlike my wife’s housecat) to handle after all it had been through. As he motored by the stopped car, Hopkins shook his fist at Morin. (just kidding, all). This was the race’s sixth yellow.
The last three laps were incident free as Hopkins wasn’t seriously threatened, sticking with what had gotten him this far. His habit of driving as straight as he could into turn one, avoiding the pitfalls of the uneven soil, worked like a charm. By contrast, the last three laps weren’t as kind to B. Short. He fell from second to fourth at the end.
It was Hopkins and C. Short leading Ballou (who started 13th) and B. Short (from tenth) to the line. Cockrum was fifth. Jon Stanbrough sixth and Dickie Gaines was seventh after starting 16th. But no one passed more cars all night than Max McGhee, who came from the back to transfer out of the B and then came from 20th to eighth. The law firm of Mattox and Rogers (world’s youngest lawyer) were ninth and tenth.
There was much online discussion about track conditions (not counting Robert Ballou’s post-race comments). Right or wrong, good or bad, all sides have a point. If the situation is corrected, the observations might change for the better. If not, well, we won’t go there. But on some, if not most, nights, bullrings are good for racing for most everyone. On other nights, people who do track prep show that they are human. The track doesn’t shape up very well, even though those people give the same effort at any other time.
So much for that.
Rain Magnet
The way things are going, this could be the Kokomo Speedway’s nickname. The Indiana Double, in memory and honor of Bryan Clauson, was postponed until Monday. It was disappointing, of course. Any racing program that includes midgets and sprints is a winner here. Mother Nature had other ideas.
Heading north of U.S. 31, I noticed dark clouds to the north. Uh-oh. By the time I made it to Tipton County, the windshield wipers went to work big time. As I neared the Howard County line, I could see brighter skies to the north. Thankfully, they weren’t racing in Tipton County.
It had rained at Kokomo, but things were drying nicely as I strolled the pits, seeing who had shown up, saying hi to folks. By six o’clock, skies to the west had that dreary, all too familiar look. Dark clouds promised more rain. I retreated to the truck. A steady, soaking rain commenced, as I started losing hope to see a race on a Sunday night. It quit briefly at 6:45, but began again, this time pulling out all the stops.
A few minutes after seven, I opened the truck’s window to try and hear an announcement. All I could make out was that we would have racing on Monday. I put my book aside and left. Ironically, the sun came out as the parking lot and the pits emptied.
The ride south was dry, but still more clouds awaited me as I eased into Marion County. Yet again, the wipers went to work.
Going down I-465 on the east side, I saw a sight that never gets old. It was a rainbow; briefly, it was a double rainbow. A little further south and the rainbow looked like that big arch in St. Louis, only more glorious. At times, I thought that I was going to drive under the arch and enter heaven itself. As I neared Greenwood, the image began to fade and I moseyed on down the road, thinking about rainbows and such.
Like it or not, maybe rainbows are a lot about the finer things in life. They are not meant to be forever, as hard as that sounds, reads, or is written. But they are meant to provide us with memories as we travel down the road of life.
This lengthy report is finished just an hour before heading back north to Kokomo as the boys and girls will try again to get a show in on a Monday holiday.
Remembering the boys and girls who gave all from Bunker Hill to Kabul, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Impressive—In More Ways Than One

The Bloomington Speedway honored a popular and fallen racer again on a mild Friday night and people there got their money’s worth. Josh Burton left this realm all too soon four years ago after an accident that some have said didn’t look that bad. The family, friends, fans, racers and the track show no signs of forgetting that is as it should be. The feature turned out to be a treat as Kevin Thomas Jr. came from 12^th to win the Josh Burton Memorial. And almost lost in the shuffle was A.J. Hopkins, who started 17^th and rambled all the way to second place.

There were a number of one off efforts among the 35 sprinters (out of about 100 cars) that jammed the pits. Chris Windom was Silver Crown racing at Lucas Oil Raceway Park (or as we stubborn types call it, IRP) and Dave Darland was in the Baldwin Brothers seat. Pennsylvania’s Mark Smith eased into the Rock Steady Racing hoss with Kyle Cummins in the Rick Pollock creation. Justin Grant was also testing the pavement and Stevie Sussex was keeping the seat warm and working with Sam McGhee. Missouri’s Clinton Boyles had made the long trip. The Wingos had two cars, one for Jon Stanbrough and another for Travis Berryhill.

The usual pattern of Bloomington track prep held true. Group qualifying and heat races were crazy fast speeds with little passing, but by feature time people could and did pass. Yet again, Henry Bryant needed to take a bow, which the feature winner agreed with in so many words.

With 35 cars, the format was the usual, four heats, two B Mains and the feature.

The first heat was won by C.J. Leary, which would be his highlight of the night as mechanical problems sidelined the Greenfield resident. Tyler Thomas, Robert Ballou and Kevin Thomas Jr. trailed.

Shane Cockrum won the second heat. After some wheel banging, Jordan Kinser held off Jon Stanbrough to take second. Jeff Bland was fourth. Quite possibly, Mr. Stanbrough filed that away for possible future happenings.

Kyle Cummins outran his usual ride to win the third heat. Mark Smith was second. Ethan Barrow had his hands full holding off Brady Short for third.

Brandon Mattox and Cole Smith started and finished first and second in the fourth heat. Kent Schmidt and Lee Underwood did the same, finishing where they started. The only caution in the sprint heats came when Jaden Rogers jumped the cushion in turn four and stopped.

With Leary done for the night, the first of the two B’s would take three. The track was changing for the better. Dave Darland won the first B, with Stevie Sussex taking second. Chad Boespflug passed Clinton Boyles to grab the last spot.

A.J. Hopkins came from fifth to win the second B. Jarett Andretti dropped back early, but recovered nicely to take second away from Shane Cottle.

Both last chance races went too quick for the grandson, who persuaded pace truck driver Doug Vandeventer to hire him as navigator.

Cockrum and Cummins led 18 cohorts to the green. The Chief took the early lead before Cummins made the pass. But the Princeton, Indiana resident bounced hard off the turn one cushion, enabling Cockrum to take it back. Just a few laps later, Cummins spun in turn two while leading, bringing out a yellow flag.

The top ten at this point was Cockrum, Kinser, Mattox, Ballou, T. Thomas, C. Smith, K. Thomas, Barrow, M. Smith and Bland. Not only do cautions often breed cautions, they can breed red flags too. Right after the re-start, on lap 13, K. Thomas tapped C. Smith coming out of turn two, sending Cole into a spin. Collected were Bland, Barrow and M. Smith. Both Bland and C. Smith had torn up race cars to show for their efforts.

While the red flag waved, there was a brief, but intense, fire in the back of the Pace machine of K. Thomas. After a hasty exit, the fire was extinguished and KT returned to his seat.

The top ten was all shook up now with Cockrum leading, Kinser, Ballou, Mattox, T. Thomas, K. Thomas, A.J. Hopkins, Jon Stanbrough, Dave Darland, and Hunter O’Neal. On this re-start it didn’t take Kinser long to unseat Cockrum as leader of the pack, passing him at the line just before Ballou was caught up in a jam and was spun, bringing out another yellow.

Meanwhile, K. Thomas had been on the move, now running fourth. Right with him was Hopkins, now fifth. After the race’s last re-start, the Alabama native wasted no time in passing Mattox, Cockrum and Kinser in one fell swoop. He pulled away for the win, oblivious to the scrambling behind him. Hopkins had dogged his every move and ended up second. T. Thomas, driving the Burton family machine, dropped back as far as eighth at one point, before recovering to finish third. Kinser and Cockrum faded to fourth and fifth.

Stevie Sussex came on late to finish sixth after starting 18^th. Stanbrough was seventh with fellow Hall of Famer Darland eighth after starting 16^th. Brady Short struggled with a ninth place finish and Ballou came back from the tail spot to take tenth at the end.

It was true that passing was at a premium early on, but it seemed to be the price all had to pay to get a multi-groove track that allowed passing at the end of the night’s program. It was also true that some of those who heard K. Thomas apologize for starting the melee that tore up some good cars were reluctant to accept the apology, not believing it to be sincere. In the heat of the moment, we all do and say things that can come back to us later, good or bad.

Carried further, it’s also true that the alternative to the current track prep performed by Mr. Bryant on the red clay may or may not be better than any other alternative. For some, the waiting for the track to “come in” is worth it when there’s a feature such as Friday night’s. And to take it one more step, maybe Mr. Thomas truly meant it when he apologized. Only he can answer that question. In addition to that, time can and probably will tell if KT was sincere.

Next stop, Lincoln Park Speedway.

Wondering why my wife smacks my hand when I try to hold hers, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Well, They Tried
On a humid, then rainy, Saturday night, yet again I saw another example of the boundless optimism of race fans, racers and promoters. Even though most other Indiana bullrings were rained out, the Lawrenceburg Speedway carried on—despite the forecast of rain interrupting the festivities before the evening’s conclusion. The Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series was the attraction and accordingly drew 41 cars to the jewel of Dearborn County. After their five heat races, the ominous clouds off to the west had the attention of many. The program moved along as quick as it could, to no avail.
Rarely will one find a promoter or sanctioning body chief express much disappointment with “only” 41 cars. But my buddy Aaron Fry seemed to think there could have been even more, what with every other sprint show in Indiana, plus the USAC rainout in Missouri, all congregating at the ‘burg. To add some perspective, there were more cars at Lawrenceburg than there were at the Speedway. (It grieves me somewhat to write the preceding.)
Pole sitter Landon Simon won the first post-North Carolina heat race that I witnessed. Brady Short came from seventh to take second. Only three would transfer and Kody Swanson was third.
C.J. Leary came from fifth to take the lead on the first lap of the second heat and motor on for the win. Dustin Smith was second and Brandon Morin, one of the many long distance travelers, took third.
Dickie Gaines made a last lap pass to win the third heat. Kirk Jeffries, who had led from the beginning, got a bit loose coming out of turn two on lap eight, and finished second. J.J. Hughes was liking his new car and finished third.
2016 BOSS champ Shawn Westerfeld won the fourth heat. Pole sitter Jarett Andretti was second. Justin Grant came from the back row to take third. Parker Fredrickson and Cody Clarkson could not answer the bell.
Max McGhee ran away with the fifth heat with Terre Haute’s Brandon Mattox taking second. Jordan Kinser was a strong third.
Support class heats began and I noticed that no one was wasting time, be it racers or race officials. It was a good thing because those clouds were getting closer. The radar reflected a good bit of precipitation one county west. It was coming.
I moseyed back to the pits, where Mr. Fry had posted the two B Main lineups, but was advising people to get ready to either prepare for the coming rain or get very wet. Several were already loading up. On the walk to the pits and while I was in the pits, the air was still and it felt humid to me. That wouldn’t last.
The modified heats were done, three heats and 22 cars. The first of four Hornet heats took the green at 8:06, impressive given the 7:00 start. I left the pits and walked to the pretty white truck, which was parked off turn two near one of the barns. Turning around to look at the sky, I saw that the lightning was getting the attention of many people.
At 8:08, the wind picked up, coming from the west. During the heat races I had noticed that the wind was coming from the east, usually a good sign that precipitation is one the way. Five minutes later, I was in the truck and could not hear any race cars on the track. There wasn’t much to do but watch and wait. I didn’t have to wait long. Sprinkles began at 8:23 and the rain began at 8:25. I left and drove through rain until I reached Decatur County.
On the way home, I had time to think about some of the times I’ve been rained out. One conclusion is that not all rainouts are identical. Though the result is often the same, circumstances can be different.
I’ve had occasion to run across promoters during a rainout. Most still have some perspective and, to their credit, their sense of humor remains intact. They’ve been in racing for so long, little could surprise them. It’s very rare to see a promoter freak out when it rains. These people are the ones who are not afraid, as a rule, to gamble that it won’t rain. Their attitude is that, if it doesn’t rain and they’ve cancelled a scheduled race, a lot more is lost than gained.
At Lawrenceburg, Dave Rudisell rolled the dice and nearly made it. Had the rain held off only a few minutes, he might have gotten the show in. The crowd was down because, like Rudy, they, too, gambled and lost. But at least they will get to see another non-Sprint Week show for free later this year. The race teams were in that same boat. Several had traveled hundreds of miles only to see rain ruin their plans.
None of these people, promoters, sanctioning body heads, fans, racers or even semi-literate writers, are anything close to normal. Against the odds, they are willing to head to a race track, no matter what the weather forecast is.
I’m reminded of a conversation that I had with ace photographer John Mahoney at Terre Haute last year. We had parked next to each other, near the pits. There had been a decent chance of rain that night, yet there we were, heading to the pits or infield to do our thing. John’s comment described the thinking of many people that love this crazy sport. He said, in so many words, that he didn’t want to stay home and find out that they had raced. There was a very good chance that he would have missed a great race. He was, of course, absolutely correct.
As I sit here in my new home on a cool Monday evening, I have been checking Terre Haute’s weather in the next few days. Sure enough, there’s a good chance of rain. But my guess is that Bob Sargent and company will do everything they can to have the track race ready on Wednesday night.
My plan is to head west northwest on Wednesday afternoon and not stop until either I arrive at the Action Track or I get the word that there’ll be no racing on Wednesday night.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Telling people that I was the first to say “clean and green,” I’m…
Danny Burton

 

The Hoosier Race Report: McCune and His Broom

One didn’t have to be Nostradamus to figure out that Jimmy McCune quite likely would dominate on the final night of the MustSee Sprint Car Series’ southern tour. Sure enough, on a warm and humid Saturday night at the Hickory Motor Speedway, Mr. McCune led every lap of the 50 lap feature, beating both the competitors and the approaching rain (more on that later).

I’ll cheerfully admit that my preference in racing matters runs to open wheel cars with no wings and my surface of choice is dirt. Lots of people who hang or used to hang around a handful of Hoosier bullrings would understand. But with all that, an evening at Hickory was an outstanding Plan B. About 70 miles northeast of my North Carolina temporary dwelling, the drive is worth it, even minus the scenery that is a treat all its own.

I rambled around the pit area, looking for familiar faces perhaps, but just enjoying the atmosphere. On the surface, the impression is one of being laid back, a time to simply absorb all one can see, hear or even smell (once the concession stand opened), but behind the scenes, people are starting to get serious. Most all the usual suspects from the night before at Anderson were in attendance. Georgia’s Jay Dunham and Ohio’s Charlie Shultz, with one of the more impressive resumes in the pits, had made the trip to the middle of the Tar Heel State, making a car count of 16.

In time trials, the biggest question was how close to the 12 second mark someone would qualify. Tom Jewell went out early and turned a 13.641. Several cars later, Jerry Caryer rang up a 13.170. Then came Jacob Wilson, who broke into the 12 second bracket with a 12.645. Dirt tracking Johnny Bridges was the next to last qualifier and took fast time up to that point with a 12.235. But Mr. Bridges dared not take a bow because Jimmy McCune was the last candidate for time trials. His first lap was second fastest, but the final lap of qualifications was the gold standard with a blistering 12.158, a mere .08 off Hoosier Brian Gerster’s track record. One had to wonder that had time trials been conducted later in the day, when the track surface would have been cooler, would we have seen an 11 second lap.

As a child, I remember when the late 50’s—early 60’s version of the supermodifieds would have “slow,” “middle,” and “fast” heats. The MustSee folks did the same thing. The heats, in theory and sometimes in fact, would be more evenly matched.

With three of the five cars in the first heat sporting a number four, one might have been tempted to bet on a number four car to win. Bronzie Lawson IV made that a winning bet as he grabbed the lead on the second lap of the first heat race and went on to win his first MustSee race of any kind. Ohio’s Joe Speakman was second, ahead of Bronzie Lawson III, Anthony Linkenhoker, a veteran of the Virginia Sprint Series, Joe Larkin and Jay Dunham, who was a DNS.

Jeff Bloom passed fellow veteran Charlie Shultz to win the second heat. Pole sitter Tom Jewell, another long time campaigner, was third. Anthony McCune was fourth and Jerry Caryer dropped out with engine woes.

The fast heat was a treat as Johnny Bridges, he of the smoking right rear tire, passed both Jacob Wilson and Jimmy McCune on his way to the win. Behind McCune and Wilson were Bobby Santos and Johnny Petrozelle.

With rain showing on the radar in Hickory, but not falling at the track, J. McCune and Wilson led the field to the green flag. Joe Speakman dropped out before the race began. McCune grabbed the lead and began an effort to shake Wilson, who was as relentless as the leader.

But a yellow flag waved on lap six for sprinkles, just as Bronzie Lawson IV slowed to a stop. Thankfully, the cars kept circling the track and the precipitation faded away. McCune had not pulled away from Wilson and anyone who had proclaimed that the Michigan driver would romp may have been questioning themselves.

Another yellow waved for Jay Dunham, who stopped on track at lap 11.

On the re-start, McCune led Wilson, Bridges, Petrozelle, and Santos. McCune gradually pulled away from Wilson and experienced eyes may have turned to the others as Wilson had his hands full holding off Bridges for second. Both seemed to gain on the leader in lapped traffic, but McCune broke away when he cleared the lappers. With nine laps to go, sixth place Jeff Bloom went a lap down. And Petrozelle, who had been fighting an ill handling car, was lapped on lap 48, two laps till the checkered.

Nostradamus would have been proud.

McCune’s margin of victory was close to 3.5 seconds. It was his 18^th career MustSee Racing win.

At the finish, the top five were J. McCune, Wilson, Bridges, Santos and Bloom, who made a late pass on Petrozelle to take fifth.

The MustSee schedule shows that the caravan heads north to Michigan’s Berlin Raceway on May 13.

Trying to persuade Ann Coulter and Michael Moore to team up and appear on Dancing with the Stars, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Hot April Night
While Hoosier race fans were either freezing at the Plymouth Speedway or getting rained out at the Bloomington Speedway, there were quite a few race fans at the Anderson Motor Speedway, near Anderson, South Carolina who enjoyed early summer like temperatures as open wheel racing continued to make its mark on the Carolina racing scene. At night’s end, no one was hotter than Jimmy McCune, who grabbed the lead midway through the 50 lap feature and cruised to victory as the MustSee Sprint Car Series impressed the crowd on the first of a two night visit to what is usually considered stock car country.
Arriving early despite the annual road construction on I-85 near Greenville and the near 90 degree heat, I found the moderately banked and paved quarter mile jewel in the western portion of the Palmetto State. 14 MustSee sprints and ten of the USAC Eastern Midgets had invaded the jammed pit area.
Watching hot laps from the infield was a treat, as is often the case at most tracks. Anderson is banked more than appears from the bleachers. And there was plenty of sawing going on as the winged sprinters were a challenge during their hot lap session.
Among the 14 were some interesting characters. Jeff Bloom, age 68, was more than three times as old as some of his competition. Johnny Bridges, a rarity in that he’s a North Carolina resident who is all about sprint cars, was quite the show in hot laps and qualifying. He was dirt tracking it in the turns, smoke coming from the right rear. After a while, I started feeling sorry for the tire, but it lasted all night. Anthony McCune, Jimmy’s nephew, was doing double duty, going back and forth from his sprinter to the midget he was driving for the night.
In time trials, a new quick time was set no less than ten times out of a possible 28. J. McCune’s second and last qualifying lap was the quickest of all, a 13.249 effort.
Keeping it in the family, A. McCune was the fast timer for USAC Eastern Midgets with a 15.593 lap. But Nolan Allison made it interesting. He was the last car to take time and his second lap was 15.396.
Tom Jewell held off Anthony McCune to win the first of two heats. Pole sitter Bronzie Lawson IV was third. Ohio’s Joe Speakman, driving a car that was older than several of the younger racers, was fourth. Anthony Linkenhoker, Joe Larkin, and Bronzie Lawson III trailed.
Jimmy McCune took the lead from Jeff Bloom on the second lap and went on to win the second heat. Johnny Bridges, still dirt tracking, was third. My fellow Hoosier Jacob Wilson was fourth with Hoosier resident Bobby Santos, veteran Jerry Caryer and North Carolina’s Johnny Petrozelle finishing up.
There was not much of a rain threat, so an autograph session was held for the sprint car drivers, with a few USAC racers also joining in. Even though I’d be happy if they would just go racing, I understand why promoters do such things. Fans, young and old, seldom get the chance to meet these people. However fleeting or superficial, relationships are established and perhaps a fan gains another reason to go to a race. And seeing that these were open wheel cars in an area that’s always been stock car country, maybe a few of these stock car fans will enjoy a sprint race every now and then. They probably won’t be converted, but they may be more likely to catch the rare sprint car race.
Santos and Wilson led the others to the green after the field lined up in the missing man formation, remembering one of the best at pavement open wheel racing, Dave Steele. Santos took the early lead and Wilson fell in behind him. But J. McCune was on the move after starting fifth. After a lap he was fourth. Five laps were in the books when he passed Bloom for third. It took McCune five more laps to pass Jacob Wilson for second. Santos’s job was suddenly more difficult. McCune reeled in the leader and they ran nose to tail for at least five laps before the third generation racer made a pass for the lead on the outside on the 19th lap.
The new leader set out to lengthen his lead as much as he could. By lap 35 of 50, his lead was a straightaway over Santos. Jimmy seemed to be content with that and cruised to victory. By race’s end, McCune had lapped up to seventh place Johnny Bridges. Santos kept second with Wilson third. Bloom was fourth and Petrozelle was fifth. McCune’s margin of victory was just under five seconds.
The 50 lapper was caution free and was over quickly, in 12 minutes and 40 seconds with an average speed of nearly 89 mph.
George Fultz led all 35 laps to win the USAC Eastern Midget feature over Jessica Bean. It was the 14 year old Colorado resident’s second straight win.
On the way home, I stopped counting how many times I had to adjust the windshield wipers’ varying speeds. Mini-showers popped up all along I-85. By the time I made it back to the mini-mountain, everything was dry.
The next stop would be another visit to Hickory Motor Speedway.
Channeling my inner Rick Steves, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Carolina Observations/Same Message, Different Delivery
Before we began our annual North Carolina visit, I knew that folks do several things different down here. I already knew that this includes how they conduct their racing programs. The pace of life in this tiny dot in the western part of the state is much slower than what I’m used to as I travel all over the Hoosier state. I’ve not dwelt upon such differences, except to realize there’s nothing I can do to change things. But to really give these racing, cultural and social differences some thought, I had to go to church.
Yes, church. To be specific, I willingly visited a church that, on the surface, has little in common with my home church, which is an American Baptist Church. I was struck by the differences in the program and rituals that these Episcopalians followed. Some of those habits are foreign to me, but I was there to learn, among other things.
This Easter Sunday experience reminded me of my racing experience the night before at the Hickory Motor Speedway, maybe my favorite Carolina track, paved or dirt. Having gone to a few races here for a few years, I knew what I was in for and still I went willingly.
Down here, the schedule is seldom followed. I was there to see the Easter Bunny 150, plus the other races scheduled. Time trials were to begin at 4:30. I arrived right on time and qualifying began promptly at…4:50. I wasn’t surprised. I wasn’t even upset. Like my friend Rich Hollmayer has said, I’m alive and I’m at a race track surrounded by friends. I was surrounded by strangers to be sure, but they were all friendly. Women down here call me “honey” even though they are less than half my age, to use just one example. It’s the custom here. I don’t mind.
Regular programs down here typically race up to nine different divisions of race cars, with several divisions indistinguishable from others. Heat races are rare. Each class hot laps, qualifies and runs a feature. As most of you know, we don’t do anything like that back home.
Thankfully, Hickory had none of that going on. After time trials, the featured late models ran a 15 lap qualifier’s race, setting the starting spots in the back of the 32 car field. Up next were the USAC Ford Focus Midgets, with a young man named George Kurtz winning by a straightaway over Hoosier Jessica Bean. This was followed by a Legends feature.
At this point, Hoosier sprint fans would have been chomping at the bit, ready for the feature. Instead, all late model teams were instructed to push their cars out to the front stretch and the fans could go onto the track and meet/greet the drivers, many of whom were armed with hero cards and Sharpies. Thinking about how various sprint car fans would react to this “time wasting” gesture, I had to smile. Several Midget and Legends teams joined the crowd and brought their cars out as well.
I talked briefly with Ms. Bean, as well as USAC’s 2016 Midget Champ Tanner Thorson, who is angling to move on to stock cars as the opportunity arises. The sun was starting to set and just the one race, the 150 lapper, remained.
Up to now, I’ve emphasized the differences in both different religious denominations as well as in different forms of racing. I’ve thought about all the people who would rather wade knee deep in cow dung than go to a different (or any) church. And I’ve thought about race fans who would rather wade knee deep in more cow dung than see other kinds of race cars instead of their favorites.
One conclusion I’ve determined is that these people have more in common with each other than they care to admit. At a stock car race I see the same passion for the on track action as I do at my favorite Hoosier bullrings when sprints are the main attraction. Like their sprint car cousins, late model stock fans wear the t-shirts, drink beer, cheer and boo all night long. There’s not really anything wrong with that…as far as it goes.
At churches of different denominations, I see people sing, pray and listen (ideally) to the speaker. You don’t see much cheering or booing (at least not verbally), but you do see people acting very much like their (fill in the denominational blank) brothers and sisters. Like it or not, they have more in common than one would think.
Here’s what all this means. Maybe we should acknowledge our differences in this life and celebrate what we have in common. How different is the passion of a, say, Dave Darland fan compared to the passion of, say, a Brad Keselowski fan? Obviously, there are also huge differences in the type of cars those two drive, but maybe what’s more important is the fact that both are racers, champions who compete to win to the best of their abilities. And if they were to sit down together and talk about racing, they could relate to what the other describes.
These intangibles that drive this world, everything from the desire to win to the searching for spiritual hope, are the things that truly matter. At the Episcopalian church here in the mountains, I saw the same spiritual feelings as I do at the Baptist church a few blocks from my Indiana home. At the Hickory Motor Speedway, I saw the same passion and spirit of competition among fans and drivers that I do at my beloved Hoosier bullrings, from Lincoln Park to Bloomington--Lawrenceburg—Kokomo—Haubstadt--Terre Haute--Gas City—Paragon—Salem—Brownstown—Eldora--the mile dirt tracks. And it’s true at every Carolina track I’ve visited these past few years.
And maybe at this Easter season where hope abounds, we ought to remember these things.
Rolling open the tomb and getting a nice surprise, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Exclamation Point
A win may be merely a win but it’s not uncommon that some wins mean or say more than others. Some of this can be fact, but most of it is perception. For the first night of the 2017 Kokomo Grand Prix, both the sprint and midget features ended with winners making statements and even assertions. Up first was Justin Grant, who cemented his position as eventual successor to Dave Darland in mastering the lightning fast quarter mile oval we call the Kokomo Speedway. Closing out the night was Brady Bacon, winner of the USAC Midget feature. All he did was re-take the lead from Spencer Baytson and slowly pull away for the win. In the past few years, the occasion of anyone outrunning any of the Keith Kunz stable of excellence has been rare. Could there be a shift in the balance of power in the USAC Midget division? Could the Kunz juggernaut be toppling? I tend to doubt it but predicting such things is about as futile as predicting what various insomniacs will tweet at three o’clock in the morning.
On a pleasant but eventually chilly Saturday late afternoon, 35 USAC midgets and 19 sprints ambled to the pit gate to say hello to Jill O’Connor Demonbruen and sign in. But what really made Jill and her family smile was the front stretch bleachers that were mostly occupied by a large group of race-hungry race fans.
Matt Westfall, ill sounding engine and all, held off Chris Windom in winning the first heat. C.J. Leary was third and pole sitter Kyle Robbins was fourth. Isaac Chapple, hailing from the metropolis of Willow Branch, Indiana in eastern Hancock County, was fifth.
Dave Darland was in a one-off ride as a teammate to Travis Hery and he was strong as he won the second heat. His second row partner, Justin Grant, was second, trailing his former ride. Pole sitter Kevin Thomas Jr. was third. Brady Bacon was fourth with Aaron Farney, in the family car, taking fifth.
USAC Midgets took over with Spencer Bayston, who set quick time and was 19th of the 35 qualifiers, making an opening statement by coming from sixth to win the first heat. Dave Darland, one of five double dippers (the others were Kevin Thomas Jr., Chris Windom, Brady Bacon and Justin Grant), was second. Thomas and Ryan Robinson ran third and fourth, locking up feature spots.
Tyler Thomas, all the way from Oklahoma, led all the way in winning the second heat. Californian Shane Golobic, teammate to Grant with the Clauson/Marshall team, was second heat. Nevada’s Tanner Thorson took third and Arizona’s Chad Boat was fourth.
Grant made his own statement in coming from fifth to win the third heat. Tucker Klaasmeyer, all the way from Kansas, was second. Chris Windom started and finished third. After some close, wheel banging moments, Brady Bacon edged Holly Shelton for fourth.
If that wasn’t enough, Tyler Courtney came from sixth to win the fourth heat. Jerry Coons Jr. was second. Pole sitter Jake Newman was third. The pride of Davenport, Iowa, Davey Ray, wrapped up the last feature spot via heat races with a fourth.
Front row starter Holly Shelton won the B Main. Alex Bright came from sixth to finish second. Gage Walker started 11th officially and took third. Tanner Carrick, a rookie and the newest member of the Kunz team, was fourth. Tyler Nelson came from deep in the pack to place fifth. Ryan Greth hung on for the sixth and last spot in the feature.
The sprint feature was up next and it evolved quickly into a mano a mano battle between a guy who has owned this track since before its excellent makeover and a guy who is threatening to claim the title of King of Kokomo. Matt Westfall and the current king, Dave Darland fired off from the front row. Justin Grant was back in the third row. Darland took the early lead and put a substantial amount of real estate between him and the pack until lap five, when Cole Ketchum’s engine emitted a lot more smoke than was healthy, bringing out the yellow.
Dave may or may not have known who was second. It was Grant, who was second, ahead of Kevin Thomas Jr., Bacon and Windom. Lapped traffic came into play midway through the race, but Darland held off the young Californian until another caution light blinked on lap 15.
Ten laps to go and DD knew he was in for a struggle. For five laps the two racers went at it, slide jobs, over/under moves, you name it. They never touched or even came that close. But with five laps to go, Grant dove low and took the lead for good. Darland faded at the end with an ailing engine. Bacon and Windom both passed Darland before the checkered. Thomas was fifth. C.J. Leary was sixth, ahead of Aaron Farney and Tyler Hewitt. Isaac Chapple and Matt Westfall filled out the top ten.
Adding a bit of trivia, the top five sprint finishers were all racing in both features.
Some time was allowed for the double dippers to hop out of their 410 fire breathers and into their midget rides. The sprint feature had been vintage Kokomo. How could the midget feature be any better?
We found out right away as Brady Bacon leaped from his fourth starting position to take the lead on the first lap before the others knew what hit them. Bacon maintained his lead when the yellow waved on lap ten. Pole sitter Chad Boat was second, Tyler Courtney was third and Spencer Bayston led the Kunz contingent, fourth overall.
On the re-start, Courtney got upside down and flipped hard in turn one, landing on and bouncing off Justin Grant’s hood. Tyler tossed his steering wheel out of the car before it settled in one spot and was out of his seat soon after. Dave Darland, who had been sixth at the re-start, went to the pits with a flat tire. Grant went to the pits, made minor repairs and, along with Darland, returned, tagging the field.
Another re-start and it was Bayston’s turn to shine. He dispatched of Boat quickly and began pressuring the leader. Bayston and Bacon traded slide jobs a few times before the Lebanon, Indiana native took the lead on lap 13. Davey Ray stopped on track, bringing out a lap 18 caution flag.
For the second time in less than an hour, we were to witness another one on one battle. Just because the kid had grabbed the lead from the still young (27) veteran didn’t mean that Bacon was done. With some people thinking that here was another Kunz team victory, Bacon determined not to give up. He traded positions a few times with the leader before reassuming the lead on the 24th lap, never to be threatened.
Bayston had to settle for second. Spencer’s teammate Tanner Thorson, last year’s USAC Midget champ, was third. A pair of juniors, Kevin Thomas and Jerry Coons, were fourth and fifth. The bottom half of the top ten was led by sprint winner Justin Grant, who came from the tail spot after his misfortune. He was followed by Chris Windom, last week’s double winner. Tyler Thomas was eighth and Dave Darland ninth after coming from the back. Ryan Robinson made sure that the Kunz outfit had three in the top ten.
It was also a good night for K. Thomas and Coons. Along with Bacon, they made the top five in both features. Darland had at least a top ten finish in both races.
I was home by midnight, always a plus but also a testament to both the track and USAC in moving the show along.
I missed the Sunday night edition of the Kokomo Grand Prix as both Grant and Bacon repeated. I spent a good part of the day with a little boy who isn’t that little any more. He was eight years old on Sunday and I watched him at baseball practice, running, throwing, catching, hitting and running some more with the kind of energy all kids need to have and some adults too. Later, his grandmother and I took him to Arni’s for some pizza.
Monday began our annual North Carolina retreat, the latest we’ve ever gone south. For my first time, I’m scheduled to catch four sprint car races down there. The plan is to send some articles here as well as Flat Out. Always before we’ve made the visit in March, but seeing that we were between houses, we delayed the trip. The changes have been many the past few weeks as we left a house after 26 years to downsize into a house when we return from the Tarheel State.
We are living the old quote about change being inevitable. And I’m reminded how true that is in racing. Is Karston’s buddy Dave Darland’s reign over the Kokomo Speedway at an end? Maybe, but not necessarily. Is the domination of the Keith Kunz powerhouse of USAC Midgets over? See previous answer.
Hovering over my phone, eagerly awaiting an invitation to Mar-a-Logo, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Broomboy
Given the level of both excellence and parity that routinely is status quo for all of USAC racing, a weekend sweep is fairly rare. When it happens, people should take notice. One weekend does not a season make, but there’s no denying that Chris Windom has the upper hand as the Hoosier/Midwest/USAC 2017 season gets underway. On a surprisingly mild Sunday evening, Windom methodically made his way to the front and dominated the 100 lap Sumar Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track. He was the fourth of four leaders in the race. Given his Lawrenceburg win from Friday night, his broom had a nice workout.
After a Saturday night spent mostly with a rambunctious seven-year-old, I settled for a laid back 50-year-old, namely my niece’s husband who’s spent a few evenings at the Action Track over the years. As we parked, dust could be seen from the track as the first hot lap session had begun. I didn’t panic. I’ve seen dust at Terre Haute and this was nothin’. Sure enough, after several massaging sessions, dust was a minor factor, if that.
There were an impressive 35 entries before the race with no less than 12 rookies trying their luck against some of the best. Three of those, Damion Gardner, Joss Moffatt and Travis Welpott, intended to make every show, but Welpott’s machine wasn’t ready just yet.
The track did slow down after hot laps. Lots of wheel spinning marked the qualifying session and lap times were easily two seconds slower than practice times. Kody Swanson’s lap of 23.599 led the clan. Only 11 of the 31 cars taking time trials were under 25 seconds. (Shrug shoulders. It happens.)
USAC stats-meister Richie Murray informed me that my grandson has never been able to attend a Silver Crown last chance race. Karston was born in April, 2009. The last time the division had a last chance race was at Eldora in 2008. Good news for Silver Crown, and another goal for Karston.
Mark Smith, hailing from Pennsylvania and driving for long time New York open wheel standout Malcolm Lane, started on the pole of the 15 lap semi-feature and ran away with the win. The top eight moved to the 100 lap show with Shane Cottle second. Gardner, who suffered through a subpar qualifying effort, came from 11th to finish third. Dave Darland, still a bit sore from Saturday night’s mayhem, came from eighth to fourth. The ageless Bill Rose was fifth. Rookie Moffatt started and finished sixth. Young Austin Nemire was seventh. And front row starter J.C. Bland held on for eighth.
After driver introductions and pre-race ceremonies, Kody Swanson and Casey Shuman led 22 more to Tom Hansing’s green flag. Fourth starting Shane Cockrum grabbed the lead on the first lap and held the lead when North Carolina’s (yes, you read that right) Johnny Petrozelle spun in turn four on lap 12. Cockrum led last year’s Sumar winner C.J. Leary, Swanson, Shuman, Brady Bacon, Justin Grant (who was attempting to win the first race of each of USAC’s three top divisions this year), Windom, Hunter Schuerenberg (who, like Darland, had to be a bit sore after a Lawrenceburg mishap), teammate Jerry Coons Jr. and Smith, who had already come from 17th to tenth.
On the re-start, Leary gave the Chief fits and finally took the lead on lap 19. This stint at the top would be brief for the Greenfield, Indiana resident. Seven laps later, Swanson, who had eased Cockrum from second, took his turn up front. Lap 30 saw the second yellow wave as pavement ace Aaron Pierce spun in turn four. Under the yellow, Justin Grant dropped out. On the re-start, Swanson led Leary. By now Chris Windom had made his way from his ninth starting spot to third. Bacon was fourth, trailed by Schuerenberg, Cockrum, Coons, Cottle (from 18th), Rose and Smith.
Cottle’s night ended early soon after the re-start as he trailed smoke all the way to the infield pit area. As this happened, Windom was all over Leary and took second. From there, the Canton, Illinois native reeled in the leader. It was only a matter of time.
That time came at the halfway mark, lap 50 as Windom got around Swanson to take the lead and do his best to imitate his dominating Eldora Four Crown performance last September. Lapped traffic didn’t bother him as those chasing him were busy swapping positions.
By now, the low groove was popular as Swanson pretty much abandoned his effort at working the cushion. But it was far from follow the leader stuff. As some people used up their tires quicker than others, some moved forward while others struggled.
Just past the 60 lap mark, Cockrum’s night ended as he went up in smoke after falling out of the top five. At about the same time, a rejuvenated Leary passed Swanson for second. Windom kept increasing his lead. He was just over a straightaway ahead of Leary when the last yellow flag waved for Bill Rose stopping just as he exited turn four on lap 82.
This final re-start was maybe Leary’s best chance to make some noise. Windom did stretch his lead somewhat, but Leary noticeably closed with ten laps to go. It wasn’t happening; Windom cruised to another dominating win. Behind Leary was Swanson. Schuerenberg held off his teammate Coons to take fourth. Bacon hung on and finished where he started, sixth. Darland’s night was quite unlike the night before as he came from 20th to take seventh. Gardner soldiered home eighth after starting 19th. And two of my local boys rounded out the top ten. Dakota Jackson, part of the Nolen three car team, was ninth and Joss Moffatt, in his first Silver Crown ride, came from 22nd to take tenth, admitting post-race that this 100 lap deal was a bit more taxing than the 30 lap sprint car features that he’s used to running.
The feature was over at 8:39, making for some happy race fans who had to work the next day.
Nephew and uncle moseyed back to the pits to visit. It was time well spent. I was happily surprised to see car owner Malcolm Lane’s brother and my longtime friend Ron (along with Ron’s wife and daughter) at the Action Track. Through Ron, I was introduced to a man whose name I’d read many times in years past in the National Speed Sport News. I spent an educational session with both Malcolm and another Lane sibling, Calvin—who had some racing stories of the two wheel variety of his own to tell.
In terms of conversation, meeting people and learning more about people and this crazy world we live in, it was a rewarding evening. I learn a little bit more about grass roots racing every time I talk with Bill Babcock, a friendly man who loves this sport nearly as much as his family—and that’s saying a lot. I learn more about writing, racing and life every time I talk with Dave Argabright, a man who’s experiences in this crazy sport of ours is both timeless and priceless. And to finally meet a man I’ve admired from afar for literally decades, Malcolm Lane and his brother Calvin, was like the icing and the cherry on top of the cake. And there were several others with whom I had brief conversations. Those, too, were valued.
Of course, there were those I missed seeing, but if God wills it, those will be seen at a race track soon.
Just as racers find a way to put themselves into a position to win or do well, often we can do the same if we show up, look around and be friendly to people. This was certainly the case. I’ve found that one cannot meet too many nice people in racing and in life, which at times may be the same thing for some of us.
Hugging a tree and getting slapped by said tree, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Multiple Flips and Glowing Brakes

On a wild opening night, marred by some terrifying accidents, Chris Windom rang up his first USAC victory at the Lawrenceburg Speedway as a robust crowd ignored the chilly temperatures that had folks seeing their breath after the sun went down. It was the ’burg’s opening night as well as the USAC Sprint Cars’ Midwestern opener.

It was also the first race of 2017 for my almost eight-year-old fellow traveler. Wasn’t it last week when his big brother was attending his first race at Winchester Speedway? Now the older one is taller than I am, while the younger can now read words as well as numbers. Neither know any strangers.

Healthy car counts for all three divisions meant a late night with the sprint feature concluding at 11:15. Of the 96 cars jamming Dave Rudisell’s playground, 35 were USAC sprinters. As always, there were a few changes, among them Michael Fischesser changing his number to 44 in honor and memory of recently deceased Greg Staab. Max McGhee took over the Ottinger ride that Kevin Thomas Jr. did so well in last year. Meanwhile, KT was in the Pace family car. Hunter Schuerenberg and the Motsinger family came together and debuted a new ride. Kody Swanson was in the Epperson 2E. Chad Boespflug and company merged with the Hoffman family with the same car and the Mean Green sponsorship. Justin Grant ended 2016 with Mike McGhee and that was still the case. Jeff Bland and Mike Dutcher were hooked up. And Aric Gentry was recovered from his ugly Lawrenceburg crash from last year.

Hot laps were a treat as usual with C. J. Leary setting quick time with a 13.618. Unfortunately for him, that would be his highlight of the night.

Justin Grant went out first and was the fastest qualifier with a 13.251 lap. Several cars gave all, especially the chauffeurs; there were a few hair raising moments as a few left rear tires left the ground and a few cars got up on two wheels. Cooper Clouse hit the turn two wall and flipped before he completed his first lap, becoming the night’s first, but not last, casualty.

Nick Bilbee won the first heat from the pole. Jarett Andretti was second and Chad Boespflug third. Shawn Westerfeld used the neglected high side to pass Justin Grant no less, and locked himself into the feature with Grant heading for the B.

Chase Stockon came from sixth to win the second heat. This would be the highlight of his night as he would meet misfortune later. Max McGhee was second and Hunter Schuerenberg won the battle of the number twos as he took third ahead of Kody Swanson.

Jeff Bland won the third heat, the second car to win from the pole. Jon Stanbrough was impressive all night and was second. New Mexico’s Josh Hodges, who can now say he is a Lawrenceburg feature winner, came back to Indiana and was third. Dallas Hewitt passed Landon Simon on the last lap to grab the fourth and final transfer spot as Mr. Simon missed a chance to flip, bicycling on two wheels in turn four.

Shane Cottle made it three for four as he won a stacked fourth heat. There wasn’t a great amount of passing because the field was so balanced. Carson Short was second and Chris Windom was third. Dave Darland got around Tyler Courtney for third.

The B Main had an ugly start as Travis Hery, Matt Goodnight and Riley Van Hise had a turn two meeting. Hery and Goodnight collided and Van Hise ended up on his side. Three wreckers got busy. On the re-start, Kevin Thomas Jr. nearly went over. C.J. Leary swerved to miss a car but went in the path of Michael Fischesser, who had nowhere to go but the wall. Leary went to the work area and rejoined the race while Fischesser’s night was over too early. Justin Grant led 11 of the 12 laps before Tyler Courtney stole the lead and the race on the last lap. Thomas was third, followed by Corey Smith. Tyler Thomas came from seventh on the last re-start to take fifth. Landon Simon hung on for sixth. Isaac Chapple used a provisional to get into the show.

It would be Boespflug and Windom leading the gang to Tom Hansing’s green flag. But things turned nasty early as Dave Darland and Chase Stockon came together in turn one after the start and flipped wildly, losing their tail tanks and a good bit more. Each car was heavily damaged but both drivers walked away. This wiped out the third row, moving everyone else up a row. On the re-start, Windom simply drove away, the loneliest guy at the track, but maybe the happiest.

When the yellow flag waved for Carson Short on the eighth lap, Windom’s lead was a straightaway as Boespflug had his hands full holding off Grant. On this re-start, Schuerenberg was on the move and it seemed for a brief time he might have something for Windom. But we never found out as Hunter got upside down in turn two, executing another nasty series of flips. He, too, walked away and another good race car was trashed.

The lineup was Windom, Boespflug, Grant, Stanbrough, Simon, Westerfeld, Swanson, Hodges, Courtney and K. Thomas. Not much changed up front as Windom was simply too strong. He reached lapped traffic on the 19^th lap and here would be his biggest challenge. Boespflug and Grant closed the gap somewhat but Windom’s biggest issue was brakes that glowed brightly as he sailed into each turn. Lap 24 saw the Illinois native clear lapped traffic and then he got another break of sorts.

Shane Cottle had been working his way through the field before spinning on lap 25. The field bunched up behind Windom, but his brakes got a break, as it were. Sure enough, on the re-start, Windom pulled away again, and won by a comfortable margin over Boespflug. Grant was third and Stanbrough was a quiet, but impressive, fourth. Simon ran near the front for all 30 laps, taking fifth. Hodges was a close sixth and Westerfeld showed he could run with the big boys, taking seventh. K. Thomas was eighth and Andretti was ninth. Cottle recovered from his spin to take tenth after starting 21^st.

It was 11:15 and we were ready to call it a night. The little guy was asleep before we reached Aurora, surely a new record for him.

Next stop, Terre Haute for another look at the USAC Silver Crown Series.

Attempting to filibuster the weather, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: PRI 2016/The Gathering

For me, it's logical that the largest gathering of racing people would meet in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana at the Convention Center. People that are connected in some small or large way roamed the aisles, gawking at the displays. Others held forth at their company's booth, hawking their wares, many of which were shining examples of the latest technology in racing products. Still others hosted press conferences and/or seminars.

I joined the gawkers, shaking my head in wonder at the variety of items displayed. Company reps eagerly demonstrated how to operate complex machines for onlookers. Racing celebrities (Donny Schatz, anyone?) were interviewed. Show cars of every type of racing (Tyler Courtney’s sprinter, anyone?) abounded, with everything from NASCAR’s version of stock cars to space age vehicles that weren’t built for grocery shopping spread throughout the massive complex.

Right around the noon hour on Thursday I found Aaron Fry, the creator of the successful Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series, holding forth with a group of interesting people. Aaron’s daughter Elizabeth let me know that the 2017 BOSS schedule is not quite complete.

Aaron wanted me to know a little about the Collins Career Technical Center-Powersports Program. This is the first high school to enable young people to build a sprint car as part of their senior project. To aid these projects contributions in the form of anything from cash to tail tanks are accepted.

I left for home on Thursday afternoon, making the long walk on a cold and windy day to the little white truck. It had been an educational first day and I determined that I’d spend more time on Friday walking and talking.

Sure enough, that happened. I began another day of ambling, seeing some familiar faces and learning a thing or two. I looked over the USAC schedule for its top three divisions. The Gas City/I-69 Speedway was listed for two races, one each for Midget and Sprint Weeks. I had a good look at a new safety measure, three bright green lights lying horizontally across the back side of the roll cage. The green lights are for the top three in a given race. Yellow or red lights will activate on every car when there is a spin and/or accident. There will be a light on each car’s dashboard as well. This is a result of the Bryan Clauson tragedy this past summer. Sharp eyed Kevin Briscoe and I seemed to think they were plenty bright enough and wondered if these lights might be a distraction. Time will tell and perhaps adjustments will be made. But at the very least, USAC (and Toyota, who is putting up the funds for all of this) should be applauded for the attempt to make these things four wheeled rockets a little safer.

(As an aside, sure enough, the social media gurus had their say about this new development. Yet again, opinions, often misinformed, was presented as fact with little regard for the reasoning behind the changes.)

In other USAC news, I learned that former Silver Crown headman Andy Hillenburg won’t be replaced and Levi Jones will be handling all three divisions, midgets and sprints in addition to the SC tour. He will have some able assistants, but come summertime, Richie, Spridge and company might be on the road more than at home. I asked Levi if he preferred Tums or Rolaids, as well as Bayer or Tylenol. He laughed and basically said all of the above.

On another chilly Hoosier morning, I headed north to the big city for the last day of PRI. There would be one more day of hands being shaken, acquaintances made, seeing old and new friends, schedules made, begun (or fine-tuned), press conferences, interviews and seminars.

I caught up with the aforementioned Mr. Fry for some more bench racing and plotting, of course.

 I searched in vain for the booth that was supposed to be occupied by the good folks of Badlands Motor Speedway, which is up for sale at a cool $9.75 million.

Nearly $10 bought me a hot dog, a bag of chips and a small Sprite. Every eating location in the Convention Center was pretty much packed so I retreated to a stairway and enjoyed my lunch there.

Tracking down Justin Zoch of Flat Out Magazine, I had a productive meeting with a guy I’ve been writing for the past two years. I didn’t dare complain about the cold weather to the Minnesota resident.

Speaking of guys I write for, I had a good chuckle at the ID card mailed to my house. It showed my residence as Drums, Pennsylvania. Right, and Allan Holland is a Hoosier, too.

Gas City/I-69 Speedway has just the two races I know of, and I heard that the O’Connor family will oversee those two shows. This is good news for several reasons. A well run program, pork chop sandwiches (I hope) and the playground where my grandson will visit between sprint car races. And a race track lives on.

There were several seminars, press conferences and “media opportunities” all three days. There was no way I could make all of them. In fact, I didn’t catch one (even though going to the seminar concerning safety would have been a good idea). I felt bad at first, but then I thought about how I spent my time talking to people like Kevin Briscoe, Aaron Fry and his daughter Elizabeth, USAC’s Richie Murray, Levi Jones, Jim Appleget of Dirt Late Model Magazine and Justin Zoch.

By Saturday afternoon, I was ready to head south again. It had been an educational three days. If nothing else, it had been a more positive experience than my first visit (which was marred only by the introduction of the infamous USAC Silver Crown car that could have doubled as a vacuum cleaner). Though I was tired due to age, three straight days of negotiating I-65, and walking up to five miles per day, it was time very well spent.

I watched a group of dedicated, motivated and energetic people going about their business, which was racing in all its forms. It occurred to me that this snapshot of the PRI show could lead one to believe all is well with racing in general and open wheel racing in particular. I’d not be the one to believe that all is well, but it appeared to me that racing’s health, like my own, is generally good.

These thoughts took my mind to the concepts of perception, reality, accuracy and distortion. We see these in every aspect of life. There are those who wish to look at everything they see through a very small looking glass. They do get a picture, but it’s a distorted and incomplete picture. And if they are predisposed to have a certain opinion, well, it isn’t difficult to add that opinion to a tiny slice of reality that they see through the figurative looking glass. In effect, they end up believing that opinions, even lies, are the truth.

Within the racing world this is very true as well. As we are predisposed to resist changes, good or bad, our knee jerk reactions will most always be negative, at least initially. Too often the result is a group of people who end up saying that racing is doomed. Or, to be more specific, they’ll say that putting lights behind a roll cage won’t work.

Perhaps in earlier times they would have protested the additions of a roll cage or a nerf bar. And to add to the absurdity, most of the complainers have never driven a race car of any kind.

On a much brighter note, few of the nay sayers were roaming the Convention Center. Instead, I saw a good sized and good natured crowd of people who either make their living in the racing business, love racing in general, or both. God knows we can’t have too many of them showing up at the PRI show or at your favorite race track, from that big track out on Indy’s west side to the bullrings that dot this land of ours.

Looking in vain for Heckle and Jeckle, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: As It Should Be

We can say lots of good things about the 2016 USAC/Indiana/open wheel season, but we can’t ignore the cloud that is the loss of Bryan Clauson two months ago. But we carry on. Racers race and people step away from social media and electronic devices to watch them race. And, despite the tragedy that shook so many, the curtain closer at the Terre Haute Action Track was one to appreciate. After a battle that seemed to last for most all of the 30 laps, Chris Windom finally prevailed over Chad Boespflug in the Jim Hurtubise Classic. Mr. Hurtubise was one of a kind, a fun loving sort who liked to go fast. The car number we remember him by is 56. That number would have fit quite nicely on either the winning 5 or the second place 98.

Thanks to a combination of great weather and a desire to present a race, fans streamed into the Vigo County Fairgrounds in the knowledge that this would be the last Hoosier/USAC sprint car race that they would witness in 2016. Little did they know it would be one to remember and a good time would be had by most all.

Carson Macedo’s resume has been missing racing sprints without a wing. On this night he would add to his experience by climbing into the Krockenberger family sprint. Thomas Meseraull was back in his own effort (with a little help here and there), open trailer and all. He was still banged up from his Kokomo flip the night before, but was ready to race. And with this being a USAC points race, Kevin Thomas Jr. was, again, sporting Robert Ballou’s number one while Ballou continues to recover from injuries. The car count was a somewhat slim 22, which meant the three heat format would rule. One had to finish in the top five to keep their qualifying time.

 Chase Stockon was quickest in practice and time trials. After turning a practice lap under 20 seconds, the still young Hoosier had a quick time of 20.424.

Chris Windom missed a great first heat, but didn’t mind. He won by a large margin. Behind him, C.J. Leary, Chad Boespflug, Dave Darland, and Chase Stockon could have been covered by the proverbial blanket.

Tyler Courtney won the second heat; like Windom, he started fourth. Kevin Thomas Jr. and Bret Mellenberndt got together coming out of turn two with the South Dakota native missing a good chance to take a tumble. Pole sitter Brady Bacon was second. Aaron Farney took third. Thomas was fourth and T. Meseraull grabbed fifth.

Jon Stanbrough took the lead from Corey Smith early in the third heat and motored on to win. Sure enough, Stanbrough started fourth. Kokomo veteran Smith was second and Justin Grant, on a tear with Mike McGhee’s car, took third. Jerry Coons Jr., in what may have been his last race for long time car owner Monte Edison (who is reportedly retiring from racing), ended up fourth. Carson Macedo settled for fifth.

Things were moving right along. Even with a track blocking scene at the start of the modified feature, sprinters were lining up for the 30 lap feature just past 8:35.

It’s very difficult for me to name the greatest race I’ve ever seen. There have been so many I’ve witnessed in person that most run together. Some stand out, be it for either wrong or right reasons. I wasn’t ready to say this was the best race I’ve ever seen. But it must rank up there. Simply put, Chris Windom and Chad Boespflug showed why we enjoy this so much. It was a race between these two with all the ingredients for a memorable 30 laps. Speed, of course, close competition, and one yellow flag for a harmless spin meant folks got their money’s worth.

Grant and Meseraull led the 22 to Tom Hansing’s green flag. TMez fell back quickly as Grant took the lead. Boespflug, who started third, charged to the lead on the third lap. Windom, who began the race seventh, was coming on early. With four complete he was second. A lap later and he grabbed the lead from Boespflug. The tone was set.

The lone yellow waved for J.J. Hughes, who had steering issues and spun to a stop in turn four on lap eight. Windom and Boespflug led Grant, Stockon, Coons, Stanbrough, Farney, Courtney, Meseraull and Leary. The top two began to separate themselves from the rest. Windom worked the low groove in turns three and four to perfection as Boespflug hung it out in the Jack Hewitt groove, right by the wall.

Back and forth the lead changed, often more than once within a given lap. Officially Boespflug took the lead on the 17^th lap, but Windom wasn’t done. With lapped traffic becoming an issue the tension increased, if that was possible. Though Windom was like the proverbial rocket ship coming out of turn two, Boespflug still held him off.

But it wasn’t going to last. Windom grabbed the lead on lap 28 with a textbook slide job in turn three and pulled away the last three laps to wrap up his second 2016 USAC sprint triumph. It was Windom’s second Jim Hurtubise Classic win as well.

USAC’s numbers guru Richie Murray said there were 26 actual lead changes in addition to the four official lead changes at the start/finish line. This was accomplished with no beating and banging, no bump and run, and only one re-start after a yellow flag.

The feature ended just shy of nine o’clock. I mingled a bit among the crowd, not in a hurry to leave. For me, it was the last outdoor race of the year. A mixture of feelings hit me as I strolled around this home away from home. After chatting with a few friends (and nearly getting run over by Mr. Boespflug), I somewhat reluctantly headed to the car.

Lost in the excitement up front was Jerry Coons Jr., who finished third after dropping out of the top five early. Stockon and Grant completed the top five. The second five was Courtney, Bacon, Stanbrough, Leary and Farney.

Brady Bacon was the KSE Racing Products hard charger, coming from 17^th to seventh.

The quote of the night belonged to Jerry Coons Jr., who said, “I wish I could’ve been up there to spice it up a little bit.” Uh, I’m not sure my heart could have taken much more spice.

Not worrying about the results being rigged, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Dash and Klash
Indiana weather in mid-October can offer residents anything from bone chilling cold to oppressive heat; on rare occasions this can be within 24 hours. But if our weather is unpredictable, we can count on some things that are very predictable. One of these, of course, is open wheel racing at the Kokomo Speedway, 2016 edition. When the first night of the Kokomo Klash was over on this past Friday, Justin Grant stood holding the trophy and, perhaps, counting his money after winning the sprint car feature. A few minutes later, Chris Windom was in the same spot after doing the same in the USAC Regional Midget feature.
24 sprints and 31 midgets were among close to 100 cars in the pits. Of note concerning the sprints were Thomas Meseraull in a one off in the 04 that has been occupied by Tyler Thomas most of the summer. Dakota Jackson was again in the Waltz family-mobile. Matt Westfall was in a Ray Marshall production.
Thomas Meseraull took the Burton Masonry sprinter to the first heat win, but C. J. Leary made it close at the end, falling a few feet short. Jarett Andretti was third and pole sitter Kyle Robbins ran fourth. Scotty Weir came from eighth/last to take the last piece of candy and Ted Hines prepared for the B.
In the second heat, pole sitter Justin Grant led all the way with Chris Windom second. Jerry Coons Jr. didn't let a subpar time trial deter him from grabbing third. Dave Darland started and finished fourth. Travis Hery overcame a bad start to recover and edge Dakota Jackson for fifth.
Two laps of the third heat were completed and the second row had annexed the first two positions. Shane Cottle and Kevin Thomas Jr. had things well in hand before KT jumped the cushion and flipped hard. Thomas was out of the car quickly and would return for the B. Behind Cottle were a pair of Matts, Goodnight and Westfall. The Tree City Tornado, a/k/a J. T. Stapp, was fourth. Local vet Corey Smith took fifth.
Dakota Jackson controlled things from start to finish in the B Main. Thomas, some repairs made, came from sixth to gradually work his way to second with an ornery handling beast. Ted Hines, Joe Bares, and Jaden Rogers added their names to the feature lineup.
At the other end of the lineup were Meseraull, Cottle, Leary and Grant. Cottle took the lead as the green waved. Two laps were complete when a turn two scrum brought out a yellow. J.T. Stapp appeared to have been the one who did a half spin with several checking up behind him. Travis Hery didn’t check up quick enough and spun.
It was Cottle, TMez and Grant. Thomas had already come from 17th to 12th. A lap after the re-start, the red waved when Ted Hines tipped over. Six laps later another yellow came out for a stopped Stapp.
Now it was still Cottle and his buddy Meseraull, but Grant was third, followed by Windom, Leary, Andretti, Westfall, Darland and….Kevin Thomas Jr.
Again, calamity struck, this time it was Meseraull above the cushion and smacking the wall in turn one, injuring some of the fence as well. The boys had not yet run ten green flag laps. Three laps after the re-start Thomas spun on the backstretch unassisted but kept it going. No yellow was waved and track rules basically state that it’s a case of no harm/no foul.
At about the same time, Grant’s mastery of the high line paid off as he got around the master of the low line, Cottle, for the lead. Justin never could totally shake the “wily veteran” but his margin was maybe ten car lengths. Behind Mr. Cottle was Jerry Coons Jr., who hung around the top five all 25 laps. Chris Windom was fourth. Jarett Andretti wrapped up his 2016 racing at Kokomo with a creditable fifth. Dave Darland started 11th and ended sixth. Matt Westfall was seventh and Dakota Jackson came from 16th to finish eighth. K. Thomas Jr. overcame a heat race flip and a spin in the feature to still grab ninth after starting 17th. Kyle Robbins finished where he started, tenth.
Midgets
Though the Kunz juggernaut didn't end up in the Bryan Clauson Victory Lane, they excelled in the heats. Carson Macedo left teammate Ryan Robinson and the others behind in winning the first heat. Tanner Thorson made it a sweep of the top three spots for Kunz Motorsports. Jerry Coons Jr. was fourth and Gage Walker took fifth.
In the second heat it was Spencer Bayston's turn to lead the charge. Dave Darland was second and Davey Ray overcame a last place starting spot to maneuver his way to third. Holly Shelton was fourth and Oklahoma's Chett Gherke grabbed fifth.
Chris Windom came from fourth in the third heat to the lead in two laps. Tony Dimattia came along for the ride, running second until dropping out midway through. Windom won easily with Kyle O'Gara second. Ryan Secrest finished third and Dave Camfield was fourth. Donnie O'Keefe transferred to the show.
Tony Diamatta took the lead on the white flag lap to win the B over New Zealander Anton Julian. Veteran Kurt Mayhew was third. Ryan Seach and Cole Fehr earned the right to race one more time. Pole sitter Shane Cottle made an early exit before things heated up.
Robinson and Darland led 18 others to the green. Chris Windom took the early lead when Tanner Thorson spun after a lap was complete, collecting Jerry Coons Jr. and Tony Dimattia. They weren’t able to continue but Thorson was.
On the re-start, Windom retained the top spot with the Kunz duo of Robinson and Macedo giving chase. Seven laps were complete when Julian spun and was smacked by Fehr. Windom led Robinson, Macedo, Bayston and Darland. Sixth was Ray, trailed by O’Gara, Shelton, Walker and Thorson. Three number 67s were in the second five, a scorekeeper’s nightmare.
Right after this re-start, a tremendous battle broke out among Macedo, Robinson, Darland and Bayston. Davey Ray joined the party soon enough. Darland discovered an advantage on the very bottom of the track and exploited it to confound the higher horsepower runners. Dave was occupying third place when the red waved on lap 20 for a Spencer Bayston meeting with the turn one wall. The wall won and a good effort was terminated.
On the re-start Windom still led Robinson, Darland, Thorson (!), Ray, Macedo, Walker, Shelton, O’Gara and Gherke. Soon after this, Gage Walker made a charge, taking fifth. Darland was busy, too, He passed Robinson and did his best to catch the leader. Dave came up short as Windom won by about three Cadillacs parked bumper to bumper. Thorson came on strong to take third, edging Walker. Shelton finished a strong fifth. Ray was an impressive sixth. Robinson and Macedo faded to seventh and eighth. Gherke and O’Gara made it ninth and tenth.
The Kunz team is alive and well. They have had a successful year. But the midget portion of the Klash showed that they can be beaten. Windom and the Baldwin Brothers crew are relatively new running midgets but showed themselves to be a force perhaps down the road. Darland may have been working with less horsepower, but he showed why he is and will be a member of various Halls of Fame.
Thorson’s run was quite impressive after having to re-start on the tail after his early spin and finishing third. He quite possibly didn’t make any friends by stating that he preferred to race a winged sprint rather than the Indiana sprint car design, which usually is minus the wing. But driving one of those little screamers that Keith Kunz and company build for him is a lot of fun, he said, so we’ll give him that.
Next stop, Terre Haute.
Neither clowning nor frowning, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Pure Domination
Kevin Thomas Jr. put the hurt on a strong field at the Tri-State Speedway on a chilly night, the finale for the Midwest Sprint Car Series. The following dialogue between two race fans told much of the story.
Race Fan 1: Man, how long have you been here? I thought I was early and I’m parked at least halfway to the farm house.
Race Fan 2: There were a few cars here when I showed up right after lunch. It was kinda cool to watch all the car come in.
RF1: You haven’t been drinking any beer, have you?
RF2: (Laughs) No, I quit, remember?
The pits were jammed with 82 race cars in residence. 26 were sprinters, among them Kevin Thomas Jr., Chase Stockon, Carson Short, Kyle Cummins, Brady Short, Aaron Farney, Tyler Hewitt, Jarett Andretti, Critter Malone and Donnie Brackett.
Group qualifying was the order of the day and Kevin Thomas Jr. was in the third group. His time of 13.255 was quickest of all. The top four of each group were inverted for each heat.
RF2: Did you see that? How did he (Kyle Cummins) squeeze that car in there?
RF1: I don’t know. It was quite the move. I wonder if Andretti knew he was there. And what happened to Critter?
RF2: I think he was bangin’ wheels one time too many. It was a shame.
The first sprint heat's finish would be hard to duplicate. Kyle Cummins made an outside pass on Jarett Andretti to grab the win. Aaron Farney wasn't too far back in third. Colin Ambrose was fourth and Kent Schmidt started and finished in fifth, the last available spot. Critter Malone led the first seven laps and was engaged in a fine fight with Andretti and Cummins for the lead when some wheel banging left him parked in turn two.
RF1: Did you see Tyler give ol’ J.T. that wheel?
RF2: Yeah. I wonder what brought that on. Retaliation?
Pole sitter Brian Karraker led all the way to win the second heat. Tyler Hewitt made it close and took the silver medal. J. T. Stapp was third. Ben Knight and Tony Lawrence trailed. Donnie Brackett, who had been the quickest qualifier of this group, dropped out early with engine woes.
RF1: I don’t know, man. I think they should have called that one back. Carson Short’s engine must have burped or something.
RF2: Hey, we agree. Brady Short was lucky not to wreck. KT was strong, though.
In the third heat, Carson Short had a bad start, which resulted in Brady Short getting a worse start. The opportunistic Kevin Thomas Jr. capitalized on this and passed early leader Chase Stockon to win. C. Short was third. B.
Short made a late pass of Jaden Rogers to take fourth.
RF1: I could see that comin’. That kid got in there too fast.
RF2: Yeah. That would have been fun watching Donnie move up. Critter was tough even though he got a break.
The B main got off to a flying stop when Tony Lawrence did the classic half spin and collected a few competitors. Jared Chastain and Brian Wallace re-started. Jim Shelton and the luckless Donnie Brackett were done. Lawrence also exited with a flat tire. From starting tenth, Critter Malone advanced to fourth after the attrition bug bit. On the restart he charged to the lead and checked out for the win. Ted Hines, Brandon Morin, Kendall Ruble and Chet Williams would race again.
RF1: I knew Tommy would bring the tractors out, but I wasn’t sure when. I’m gonna get a cup of coffee. You want one?
RF2: Yes, but I’m going to walk around a bit, too. If I sit here watching the tractor show, I’ll freeze. Maybe I’ll mosey back to the pits and get the feature lineup.
RF1: Yeah, and see that girl again.
RF2 (feigning ignorance) What girl?
RF1: You know!
RF2 walked away without a rebuttal.
15 minutes later and Race Fan 2 rejoined his friend. He had taken a picture of the lineup with his phone.
RF1: Okay, who’s on the pole and what was her name?
RF2 (with a bit of a smirk): Chase Stockon and her name is Gale.
RF1 (took the phone from his friend): Chase should be tough. Let’s see, Hewitt, Andretti, KT, Karraker, Cummins, Farney…where’s the Shorts? Oh, here. They have a tough row to hoe.
RF1 handed the phone back.
RF1: No picture of Gale? How do I know you’re just making that name up?
RF2 (another smirk): You don’t.
RF1: Ah…
Stockon did indeed take the lead when the green waved and held it for several laps. But Thomas was busy, too. With two complete he was second and Stockon’s time as the leader was to be brief. Thomas caught up with Stockon and they engaged in a brief, but intensive, slide job exchange. The Alabama native made the pass on the local boy (now residing in nearby Ft. Branch) and promptly began to pull away.
Lapped traffic didn’t become a factor until midway through the 30 lapper. It wasn’t a factor for Thomas, but the quartet of Stockon, Cummins, Andretti, and C. Short all had to fight with each other for position and the lapped cars, who were in their own personal battles.
By lap 19 Thomas had a half lap lead over Andretti. At the end, Thomas cruised to the win and missed some classic Tri-State/Haubstadt cut and slash racing action. Cummins made his way to second when the checkered waved. C. Short came from ninth to finish third. Andretti faded only slightly and still ended up fourth. Critter Malone came from B Main land, 16th, to fifth, the hardest of hard chargers. Stockon faded to sixth. B. Short was seventh. Aaron Farney brought Mike Dutcher’s mount home eighth. Brian Karraker and 2016 MSCS Rookie of the Year Tyler Hewitt occupied ninth and tenth.
The two race fans watched part of the modified feature before departing. They walked behind the front straightaway bleachers toward the pits.
RF1: Be safe, buddy. I’ll see you next weekend? Kokomo and Terre Haute?
RF2: Sure thing.
Race Fan 2 angled toward the pits. His buddy noticed this and grinned.
RF1: Going to talk to KT?
RF2: Maybe.
RF1: Tell him I said hi and congratulations. Oh, and tell Gale hello too for me, okay?
Hoping, not groping, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Happy Endings and First Time Winners
It’s very difficult to say that 2016 has been a good year. When your favorite sport loses one of its most popular and best participants, saying that it’s been a good year rings very hollow. But good things have happened this year as well. One of those has been the coming out party of a young man named Josh Hodges. It has been a breakout year for the New Mexico resident. And as the year winds down, he put an exclamation point on his 2016 with a convincing win at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on a beautiful Hoosier night. Hodges pulled away from the rest of the field to earn his first USAC feature win.
My traveling companion had already experienced a busy day. So why not grab a quick nap on the way to the ‘burg? That he did, conking out as we left North Vernon, Indiana and not waking up until we turned off Eads Parkway to the track.
The car count may have been down a bit at 26, but there was quality galore. MIA was Thomas Meseraull, who was set to return to the Shane Wade team for the night, but who fell ill. C.J. Leary and Jon Stanbrough were in their family cars. Justin Grant was again in the McGhee team’s car. And Aaron Farney is, for now, in Mike Dutcher’s chariot. Steve and Carla Phillips brought out their trusty bullet tonight and Arizona’s Stevie Sussex would be the chauffeur of note.
Mr. Sussex must have been raring to go as he set quick time with an impressive 13.453 lap. Talk about an auspicious debut.
Chad Boespflug won the first heat as flames erupted from his engine as he crossed the finish line. He would roll out the backup car for the feature. Chad’s fellow front row starter, Drew Abel, held off Josh Hodges to take second. Kyle Cummins was fourth and Jon Stanbrough grabbed the last empty chair, sending Sussex and C.J. Leary to the B.
Kevin Thomas Jr. was the second heat winner with Tyler Courtney the runner-up. Pole sitter Joss Moffatt was third with Carson Short coming from last, ninth, to take fourth away from A.J. Hopkins. Three of the best went to the B, Chase Stockon, Nick Bilbee and Justin Grant.
Brady Bacon ran away with the third heat win. Dave Darland stole second from Isaac Chapple at the line. South Dakota’s Bret Mellenberndt held off Chris Windom, who was not pleased, for fourth. Jarrett Andretti, Aaron Farney and Dickie Gaines prepared for the B.
The front row of Stevie Sussex and Justin Grant ran one/two in a fairly tame B Main. Leary, Stockon, Andretti, Bilbee and Farney all made it to the feature. With three heats, five moved on and seven transferred from the B. Landon Simon used a provisional to get in.
With three of the six fastest qualifiers relegated to the B, tenth quick qualifier Hodges and ninth quick Darland were the front row for the 30 lap feature. Back in the lineup, Sussex, Hopkins and Moffatt were tardy in reporting; they were moved back two rows and required to write in the Lawrenceburg dirt “I will not be late” ten times (just kidding about the writing).
Darland jumped out to the lead as the green waved with Hodges second. Windom passed Cummins on the second lap for third. Courtney and Stanbrough were next and this order stayed put for the first ten laps or so. But things were about to happen.
The top three closed up as lapped traffic came into play. In the middle part of the race Darland, Windom and Hodges had a spirited fight for the lead. Darland found himself stuck behind Joss Moffatt, who was fighting to stay in the lead lap. Hodges pounced and took the lead with 17 laps completed. A lap later Windom got around Darland to take second. It was tempting to think that Windom, now free of all other traffic, would have something unpleasant for Hodges, the new leader.
But it wasn’t happening. The kid scooted away from Windom and stretched his lead out to ten car lengths at least. Joining Hodges in post-race interviews were Windom and Darland. Kyle Cummins seemed like the quiet guy at a loud party as he finished fourth, which was where he started. Justin Grant was a respectable fifth. The law firm of Courtney and Stanbrough were sixth and seventh. Stevie Sussex’s debut appeared to be a success and he brought Steve and Carla’s baby home eighth. Bacon padded his point lead a little as he came from 13th to ninth. Andretti settled for tenth.
The race was an all-green affair and Hodges set a Lawrenceburg 30 lap race record of 7:21.09.
There is no replacing the Tony Elliotts and Bryan Clausons of the racing world. They will always be one of a kind. But young racers emerge to stake their own claim to a spot in our sport. Mr. Hodges is one of them. He was USAC’s seventh first time feature winner in 2016.
Carson Short had an eventful night. His two attempts to qualify were terminated as the car refused to stay in gear. Things were looking better after his heat as the Illinois resident transferred into the show. From 20th his negotiated his way to 13th and picked up the KSE Hard Charger award.
Bacon has a healthy point lead over Stockon and Darland with fourth in points Robert Ballou injured and fifth place Thomas Meseraull in a hospital suffering from dehydration.
Originally this was to be the last USAC sprint race in the Midwest, but a re-scheduled rainout at Terre Haute, the Jim Hurtubise Classic, is now set for October 15.
Scrolling and trolling, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Eldora Experience
First off, I love the Eldora Speedway. I love the history of the place. I love the biography of Earl Baltes that Dave Argabright wrote a few years ago because the story of Earl and the story of the track are forever intertwined. And by and large, I love what “new” owner Tony Stewart has done with the old track and facility. I love the new structure in the infield, concession stand, restrooms, media center and a roof designed for those wanting to view the half mile oval from a different angle. Most of all, I love the racing I see at Eldora. I inwardly root for each racer out there as he/she flirts with disaster every lap, cheering for everyone to finish each race—which seldom happens. I love the speed as racers sail around the very top groove, inches from the wall and certain calamity. And despite the difficulty of the act, I love the passing at Eldora, even the professionally executed slide jobs.
I hate the wrecks, accidents, flips and the general destruction that visit most every program at Eldora. Careers have been ended and lives have been lost there over the years, making Eldora like most American bullrings. But I love it when a racer is able to walk away from a trashed race car, usually choosing to race again at Eldora if the funds can be secured.
I’m no stranger to the other things that people talk about when racing conversation turns to Eldora. There has never been a shortage of beer and beer drinkers. For some, it’s a necessary part of their Eldora experience. Neither has there ever been a shortage of dust, though it’s been much worse than it was for this year’s Four Crown. The cars were easily visible from the grandstand.
After the Four Crown just completed, all of the above were on hand. It was the largest Four Crown crowd in recent memory, probably because of the addition of the All Stars to the Crown of Four. The racing itself was largely top notch as each of the four classes put on a multitude of great performances. Stories abounded with racers experiencing every emotion from the agony of defeat to the thrill of victory.
Take Rico Abreu for example. He ran off and hid in the USAC Midget feature. His margin of victory should have been measured in yards. But he crashed out of the All-Star feature while leading. His night might be described as bittersweet. Ian Madsen, who benefitted from Abreu’s elimination, might disagree. It was Madsen’s first Eldora victory.
There was Chris Windom, who dominated the final event of the night, USAC’s Silver Crown 50 lap feature. Had it been a 60 lap feature, Windom might have lapped the field. I was too astounded at this flogging to consider it a boring race.
With Windom’s win and Kody Swanson’s misfortune, the 2016 Silver Crown championship slipped through the California native’s hands into Windom’s. Kody’s rare error saw him spin after contact with another car. There was enough damage to keep Swanson from coming back to challenge. Had he finished third he would have been the champ again. He finished fifth, five points behind Windom.
It wouldn’t be Eldora without a nasty crash every now and then. I was in the infield during qualifying and watched Carson Macedo go flying after contact with the treacherous turn two wall entering the backstretch. Later, with a Keith Kunz backup car, he would finish seventh in the Midget feature. Tony Dimattia took two ugly rides, with his midget and sprinter. Both young men walked away.
The feel good story was that of Justin Grant, who’s been casting about lately for a regular sprint car ride. Perhaps he’s found one with the Mike McGhee team. He certainly made a good case for it on Saturday night with a convincing win in the sprint car feature.
The Comeback Kid of the sprints had to be Mr. Windom. He nearly flipped in his heat race and started on the tail of the B Main. From there he sliced and diced his way to an impressive third place finish. In the feature, he gave Grant plenty of worries before settling for second.
Finally, there was Brady Bacon, riding under the radar all night. Along with Tyler Courtney, Bacon competed in all four divisions of the Four Crown. He may not have matched Jack Hewitt’s record of four wins, but four top fives was not an effort to discount for Bacon. Instead of extra money for winning all four features, he got an “‘atta’ boy” from four car owners, among others.
The preceding stories were just some of the 120 plus at Eldora on Saturday night. Ideally those racers’ exploits are what fans should have been talking about the past few days, but that hasn’t been the case, at least on social media. Instead, what I’m reading are a lot of complaints about the program not ending until 2:45 a.m. Qualifying over 120 cars took a long time, understandably. Then the massaging of the track took up close to two hours. The heat races didn’t start until ten.
To hard core fans, this may not have been a big deal. They know that Eldora can mean dust (at a dirt track, no less) and/or a late exit after the last race of the night—or early morning. As long as their tired old bodies and bank accounts can endure the Eldora experience, they will be back, no matter what, no questions asked. They may grumble a bit, but they are hooked.
One problem is that they are not kids themselves. We senior citizens are not the future of this crazy, exciting and spell binding activity. Younger people in every capacity are needed at open wheel/bullring races.
Another problem is that ending a program at 2:45 in the morning isn’t the best way to grab a first time visitor who goes to their first race with or without a friend. Chances are decent that the first time visitor won’t be back. And if that visitor, or any casual fan, has younger children along, they probably wouldn’t make it much past midnight, if that. This will result in fewer tickets sold, fewer beers drunk, fewer hot dogs consumed and fewer t-shirts purchased.
Personally, one of the sadder sights I see at races is a young family leaving early, with one of the parents carrying a sleeping child. Sometimes I wonder if that has been their first visit to a race track. And sometimes I wonder if that’s their last visit to a race track.
Fortunately, at Eldora there are people in charge who are more aware than any of us that long running shows, unless they are on Broadway, are not a satisfactory inducement to get fans to return to this outstanding track/facility. My inner optimist says that they will fix this. Tweaking the Four Crown format is nothing new. It’s been done several times over its 35 years. Mr. Optimist says that they will figure it out.
One downside is that of former fans not returning. I’ve read the words of several the past few days, swearing they won’t be back. In some cases, this is probably true. I have hope and faith that most will return—and will be glad they did.
I plan to do so myself. I still love Eldora. Probably I will always love it.
Introducing Brad Pitt to Miley Cyrus, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Taking Care of Business
On a rare Friday night program at the Lincoln Park Speedway, Brady Short showed why he is usually someone other racers have to reckon with whenever and wherever he signs in. Despite periodic pressure from another true racer, Thomas Meseraull, Short still won the 25 lap feature over the Californian turned Hoosier by about ten car lengths under clear skies over west central Indiana.
The Friday afternoon trip northwest was much slower than usual; dealing with the extra rush hour traffic is not something my fellow traveler and I are used to doing when we head for LPS. But we weren’t late and we weren’t overly stressed.
The little guy woke up from his usual pre-race nap ready to work. First Brady Short, then Parker Fredrickson ended up with cleaner cars after wheel packing and hot laps. Later, Brady’s and Parker’s nights would be, in terms of results, almost complete opposites.
The first heat didn’t begin well for my grandson’s most recent employer. P. Fredrickson bounced off the front straightaway wall and limped into turn one, where he tipped over right after the green waved. After the re-start Ethan Barrow missed a great chance to flip in turn two while running second. A little later, race leader and 2016 Lincoln Park Speedway points champ Shane Cockrum did a half spin in turn four, collecting Kevin Thomas Jr. and Kyle Robbins, both of whom were running in transfer positions. The chief drove away and led until Thomas Meseraull slipped by coming out of turn four to take the win. Cockrum was second and A.J. Hopkins was third. Dakota Jackson, in the Waltz family’s car, took fourth. Thomas came back to grab the last spot and move to the feature.
Pole sitter Brandon Mattox won a relatively tame second heat. Kent Schmidt was second and Matt McDonald third. Jaden Rogers finished fourth. All of these guys started and finished in the same positions. Chris Gurley came from ninth to take fifth.
The third heat didn’t start well as Shelby VanGilder did a half spin with inadvertent help from J.J. Hughes. Tyler Thomas was collected and nearly tipped over as others escaped. Rookie Jacob Brown spun twice and was dismissed from class after two more yellow flags waved. And then Hughes flipped hard in turn two, bringing out a red flag. J.J. exited the car and was done for the night. Brady Short led all the way to win with Josh Hodges, back from New Mexico, second. VanGilder recovered to take third and Bradley Sterrett was fourth. Thomas had fifth in hand until he bobbled in turn four and saw Nate McMillin take both the advantage and the 15th starting spot in the show.
The B Main was a series of reds and yellows with the occasional green. Very late arrival Kent Christian tagged the B and lasted to the second turn before getting caught up in a mess, ending his night almost immediately after it began. That same mess caught up Parker Fredrickson, who tipped over for the second time in less than two hours. T. Thomas won with Ethan Barrow, Hunter O’Neal (in the former Jon Sciscoe car that has visited the winner’s circle a few times), Kyle Robbins and Daylan Chambers trailing.
Cockrum and Short led 18 of their playmates to the green and the fire chief jumped out to the lead. After a couple of laps, Short decided that enough was enough and took the lead. Soon Cockrum was under pressure from TMez, who grabbed second on lap seven and began to stalk the leader.
But this was interrupted on the eighth lap when Matt McDonald spun in turn four. The lineup was Short, Meseraull, Cockrum, Hodges Hopkins, Mattox, K. Thomas (from 13th), Schmidt and VanGilder. Two laps later, another interruption came in the form of a nasty Tyler Thomas flip in turn one. Tyler was out of the car (minus its fuel tank) and walked away. During the red Hunter O’Neal and Shane Cockrum went to the work area.
The next green flag segment lasted five laps. The top five of Short, Meseraull, Hodges, Hopkins and Thomas pulled away from the rest of the field. Meseraull actually took the lead a time or two, but only for a few dozen feet and seconds as Short countered the slider with a nifty crossunder move to regain the lead. But their playtime was stopped briefly when Jadon Rogers stopped on the front straight with a shredded tire. Mattox, Schmidt, VanGilder, Bradley Sterrett and Kyle Robbins were the second five.
As the laps wound down, Short was able to keep a decent amount of track between him and Meseraull, with lapped traffic not a huge factor. Behind them, Hopkins got around Hodges right after the last re-start but couldn’t close on the two up front. Thomas, too, got around Hodges near the end of the race.
Behind Short, Meseraull, Hopkins, K. Thomas and Hodges were Mattox, Schmidt, VanGilder (who started ninth and ran one of her better races in some time), Cockrum (who returned to the race and hustled to a top ten) and Sterrett. K. Thomas advanced more than anyone else, coming from 13th to finish fourth.
The sprint feature was over at 11 p.m. and the navigator conked out just after we entered I-70, not to awaken until we made it home. It had been quite a night. He had scraped mud off two cars, talked me into buying him another toy sprinter, and talked Al Pierce into letting him sit in Al’s comfortable lawn chair for awhile.
He would stay home the next night while Grandpa attended the marathon that is called the Four Crown.
Loaning Gary Johnson my map of Syria, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

The Hoosier Race Report: .038 Seconds

Dodging wrecks and raindrops while ignoring the full moon peeking through the clouds, Shawn Westerfeld made it to the finish line with a last ditch effort to barely beat 2016 Lawrenceburg Speedway track champ Jarett Andretti by .038 seconds, after stalking the third generation racer for much of the 25 lap feature. Andretti didn’t need to hang his head in shame, though. The race was somewhat typical of his season at Lawrenceburg, as well as elsewhere. He ran near the front for all 25 laps, leading most. His mistakes were few and far between. At the end, he gave Westerfeld the smallest of openings coming out of turn four and Shawn grabbed it.

With rain plaguing several Hoosier bullrings this past weekend, open wheel fans had either the ‘burg or Haubstadt as their choices on a cloudy and pleasant, though a bit humid, Saturday night. With Lawrenceburg a lot closer, my traveling companion and I headed east. Somewhere just east of North Vernon he conked out. This meant he would be busy tonight between races, talking to drivers, getting a few autographs—and helping the tech guy check weights of Hornets and Pure Stocks after their heats (videos on Facebook).  His teacher would have been pleased to see him reading four digit numbers and giving the drivers a thumbs up.

26 of the 85 odd cars in the pits were sprints. Brent Beauchamp was a pleasant surprise to see this far southeast as Lincoln Park’s oval simply had too much rain for them to race. J.J. Hughes, often found at LPS, was in the pits as well. Logan Hupp, no stranger to the ‘burg, was in the Gindling’s familiar white 7x. And Cole House, Trey’s son, a true rookie, had also made the tow to the corner of our 200 year old state.

Nick Bilbee and Travis Hery hooked up with a two man draft and left the others behind, running one/two in the first heat. Garrett Abrams was third and Joss Moffatt, a three time Lawrenceburg points champ, came from seventh to fourth. Logan Hupp, with his own ‘burg points title, came from ninth to fifth and locked up a feature spot.

Shawn Westerfeld, yet another track champ, tried to run away with the second heat, but Kyle Robbins made it close in finishing second. Pole sitter Cody Clarkson was third. Pat Giddens took fourth despite spinning and going while Stratton Briggs was fifth. Cole House had a rude introduction to the ‘burg as he caught the turn two wall and flipped wildly down the backstretch. J.J. Hughes spun on the front straight and left with a flat left front tire.

Jarett Andretti made it three for three in front row starters winning heats as he checked out. Joe Ligouri, in the Greg Staab-mobile, was second. Drew Abel came from last to third. Brent Beauchamp came from seventh to take fourth. And Brad Stevens, in a very rare Lawrenceburg appearance, locked up a feature appearance with his fifth place finish.

Hughes came from fifth to win the B Main. Greenville, Ohio resident Matt Cooley was second. Brian Gray started and finished third, edging Logan Hupp at the line. And Tony McVey, modified veteran turning to sprints, would start 20^th in the feature.

The re-draw left a front row of Ligouri and Bilbee. At the beginning we should have known that this one would be a wild affair. Ligouri was ruled to have jumped the start and this put Westerfeld on the pole. On the second try, Tony Main was nudged into a turn one spin and unwanted meeting with the wall. The third time was a charm. Bilbee took the lead, but the red waved with two laps complete when a multi-car tangle left Brian Gray’s car on its side in turn three after some serious flipping. He walked away after a bit. Others involved included Stevens, Robbins, McVey and Giddens.

Bilbee led on the re-start with Andretti second. By taking the green flag, Jarett was officially the 2016 Lawrenceburg Speedway track champ, joining an illustrious list of predecessors, three of whom were in the race.

With five laps complete one of those champs, Joss Moffatt, found the turn two wall and flipped against the fence, bringing out another red. Joss walked away. Bilbee led Andretti, Westerfeld, Hery, Beauchamp, Clarkson, Abrams, Hughes, Ligouri and Hupp. 14 cars were running. Hery got way out of shape and lost several spots. With seven laps completed, Andretti passed for the lead in turn four.

Hard racing was throughout the field. Clarkson raced hard into turn three on Ligouri’s inside. He got into the yellow 44’s side and hurt the left front. Ligouri stopped coming out of turn two as the left front wheel fell off, bringing a yellow on lap 11. Under yellow Joe signaled to Cody that he had a free one way ticket to North Korea waiting for him after the race. (Not really, but Ligouri was not pleased.)

Just before the yellow waved, Westerfeld passed Bilbee for second. Beauchamp had moved from 12^th to fourth and Hughes had come from 16^th to fifth. The second five were Abrams, Clarkson, Abel (after changing a tire under the first red), Hupp and Hery. We were down to 12 cars running.

This green flag segment was a treat. The top four ran close with all hugging the bottom, especially in turns three and four. No positions changed, but disaster struck Bilbee on the 20^th lap in turn four. Nick spun, did a nice wheelie trying to right things, and landed on Beauchamp, who had no place to go. There were no injuries; neither did anyone flip, but the race’s third red waved just in case. Neither racer was hurt and Beauchamp was able to re-start.

As the cars were pushed off to start, one of the push trucks ran over Stratton Briggs’ right rear, nearly tipping the truck. Briggs was able to re-start. It was about this time when my buddy Gregg Sauer pointed out the full moon peeking through the clouds and reminding me of Lawrence Talbot (classic movie fans know about ol’ Larry). According to my grandson, we had ten cars left with Hughes exiting with a flat tire, ruining a fine run until then.

Attrition had meant some serious re-shuffling. Most of the last six laps was uneventful. But Westerfeld was plotting as he trailed Andretti. And when the leader pushed a little high in turn four coming to the checkered, Westerfeld made his move going down the straightaway. His gambit worked and it created a super-close finish, .038 seconds. Jarett would have to take comfort that he had won the war—a championship. And there was nothing wrong with losing to a young man who has improved steadily the past few years.

Most all the rest of the top ten benefitted from the carnage that left just ten running. But there was no shame there. They had managed to miss, for the most part, the calamities that had claimed so many of their mates. Abrams was third and Abel took fourth after overcoming a flat tire. Hupp advanced more than anyone, coming from 19^th to fifth. Hery was sixth and Beauchamp came back from near disaster to finish seventh. Briggs, Clarkson and Giddens completed the top ten.

The feature took nearly an hour to run.

Andretti was the champ with Moffatt, Abrams, Westerfeld and the absent Dickie Gaines the top five in points.

The ‘burg closes things out on October 1, with the last 2016 USAC race in the Midwest before the band of gypsies heads west.

Borrowing John Prine’s illegal smile, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: No Place Like Home

Go to Tri-State Speedway and you’ll find that fans there are like fans everywhere—they like the local heroes. At Tri-State, in beautiful suburban Haubstadt, Indiana, the local favorites are guys like Donnie Brackett, Chase Stockon and…Sunday night’s winner Kyle Cummins, who won the Midwest Sprint Car Series feature after passing early leader Chris “Critter” Malone on a mid-race restart. And fans weren’t unhappy that Sikeston, Missouri’s Hunter Schuerenberg won the Midwest Open Wheel Association’s companion feature on a beautiful Labor Day Eve.

The MOWA portion of the program was a makeup for an earlier rainout. A very good crowd would get a second helping of open wheel action. The anti-wingers could take a longer break should they choose.

Four racers were doing double duty. Chase Stockon, Zach Daum, Carson Short and Joe B. Miller hoped to make a little bit of spending money. Stockon, Daum and Short made both features; Joe B. made the MOWA show. I stood for awhile next to Stockon as we tried to listen to the dueling drivers’ meetings. MSCS and MOWA conducted the meetings simultaneously. I didn’t know about Chase but it was my first time trying to listen to the proceedings of two drivers’ meetings.

MSCS had group qualifying while MOWA went the single car route. Max McGhee, back from a brief sabbatical, was the quickest of the non-wingers with a 13.333 lap. Schuerenberg was nearly a second quicker with a 12.353.

C. J. Leary took the lead early in the first MSCS heat and won by a half straight over Kent Schmidt. Dakota Jackson was third and Donnie Brackett finished fourth. Chet Williams, who was the quickest qualifier of this group, hung on for fifth.

Chase Stockon led all the way to win the second heat. Justin Grant, in a second Mike McGhee sprinter, was a close second. Pole sitter Tyler Hewitt took third. Zach Daum, the only racer to race at Du Quoin and in both classes at Haubstadt, was fourth. Carson Short started and finished fifth.

Max McGhee came from fourth to win the third heat. Kyle Cummins wasn't far behind in second. Critter Malone finished third and Brady Short was shuffled back to fourth after starting on the pole. Jeff Bland grabbed the last empty chair for the feature.

Hunter O'Neal won a crazy B main. Brandon Morin was second with Jaden Rogers coming on late to take third. James Lyerla did the same to take fourth. Colin Ambrose edged Nick Johnson at the line to take the last spot. Ambrose made it interesting after a major bobble midway through the race dropped him from second to seventh.

The MOWA heats inverted zero, which meant that the quickest qualifiers had the inside track to the win. Sure enough, Hunter Schuerenberg won the first heat, which meant he would end up with the sweep of quick time, first heat and feature win. Paul May was second, a full straightaway back. Kody Kinser was third. Jacob Wilson, who had raced at Du Quoin the night before, was fourth. Trey Datweiler locked up the last transfer.

A.J. Bruns won the second heat by another large margin over Parker Price-Miller. Chase Stockon was third with Jim Moughan fourth. Jeremy Standridge was happy to inherit fifth when Jason Keith spun, even though he kept going. It was his second spin of the race.

The third heat was true to form with pole sitter Zach Daum winning over outside pole man Chris Urish, another who had been at Du Quoin. Carson Short started and finished third. The ageless Danny Smith was fourth and Joey Moughan grabbed fifth in turn four of the last lap, sending Joe B. Miller to the B.

The MSCS B saw Hunter O’Neal win from third. Brandon Morin was second and Jadon Rogers was third. James Lyerla was fourth and Collin Ambrose was fifth—by inches. Ambrose had recovered nicely after a mid-race bobble put him in the infield briefly. He nicked Nick (sorry about that) Johnson at the line. Jared Chastain used a provisional to make it 21 for the feature.

The MOWA B saw yet another last lap pass, this one for the lead. Mike Terry Jr. got around Jake Blackhurst to insure a 15^th starting spot in the feature. Joe B. Miller, in his third straight race of the night, grabbed third. MOWA point leader Jerrod Hull was fourth and Dustin Adams would end up being the 20^th starter in the main.

Heat winners Leary, Stockon and McGhee led a strong field to the green and Stockon led the first two laps. But seemingly out of nowhere came Critter Malone from ninth to take the lead on the third lap and promptly began to check out. He wasn’t the only surprise. From eighth, Tyler Hewitt got off to a strong start, passing some of the same people Malone had passed. But yet another was coming from mid-pack.

Kyle Cummins had started sixth but dropped back to tenth before finding some magic on the bottom groove. By the tenth lap he had passed C.J. Leary for fourth. And he was far from done.

11 laps were complete when the red lights flashed for a Hunter O’Neal flip in turn two. Jadon Rogers slid to a stop before making any contact. Hunter walked away. Malone’s huge lead was gone. Stockon was second and Cummins had passed Hewitt for fourth. Leary was fifth, trailed by Grant, Brackett, B. Short and McGhee.

Cummins took second on the 14^th lap and began reeling in the leader. A lap later the lead was his and the local kid was gone. But a Kent Schmidt spin on the 29^th lap set up a green-white-checkered finish. It didn’t bother Cummins as he rolled on to the win.

Malone was second and after the race mentioned that a bad vibration developed when the race re-started. Coming on strong at the end was Donnie Brackett, taking the bronze medal after starting tenth. Another somewhat under the radar was Carson Short, who came from 14^th to fourth. Justin Grant started and finished fifth. Hewitt faded a bit to sixth, a great effort nevertheless. Tyler said the engine lost some power near the end, but he still finished ahead of Leary, yet another who had raced at Du Quoin the night before. Brady Short was eighth. Stockon lost power on the last lap but was still credited with ninth. Daum was tenth.

Stockon, Daum and C. Short all hustled to get into their winged mounts and Chase led the gang to another green flag. He led the first two laps before Short rolled to a stop, his MOWA feature done early. Hunter Schuerenberg had started eighth but was already up to fourth. He was far from done. By lap nine he was pressuring Stockon for the lead. Hunter took the lead two laps later and was ready to check out.

On the 12^th lap Dustin Adams met up with the wall in turn two, flipping and bringing out the red. He walked away. Schuerenberg led Stockon, Kinser, Urish, Bruns, Price-Niller, Daum, Smith and Datweiler. By lap 16 (of 25) the lead was nearly a straightaway. Lapped traffic loomed a lap later but Schuerenberg was not deterred. One final yellow waved for Paul May, who stopped in turn three with 21 complete. But that was only delaying the inevitable.

Schuerenberg cruised to the win with Stockon settling for second. Kody Kinser was third. Zach Daum dropped back early but came back to finish fourth. PPM was fifth, Bruns sixth. Smith came from 12^th to take seventh. Urish was eighth and Jim Moughan ninth. Miller came from 18^th to grab tenth.

For the season, Price-Miller took over the point lead from Hull with five races left in the 2016 season.

As great as the weekend was, with two outstanding programs at Du Quoin and Haubstadt, the highlight was watching, holding and playing with a nine month old girl who is taking some unsteady steps but will soon be motoring around the house, getting into things and pestering her patient and loving four legged friend.

The racing was the icing.

Reminding my wife that Roger Ailes can be a really friendly guy, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Bridesmaid No Longer

Chris Windom has won his share of races over the years, but had yet to win on one of the dirt miles on the USAC Silver Crown schedule. But on a downright beautiful Saturday night, the Canton, Illinois native squeaked by race leader Jeff Swindell to finally grab the checkered, the trophy and the indescribable satisfaction of checking off another item on the bucket list, a win at the Du Quoin Magic Mile, namely the Ted Horn 100.

As the winds of change blow or breeze through our lives, a few things remain the same. There is still nothing in or out of racing like dirt mile ovals featuring USAC’s Silver Crown Series cars. They of the chunky tail tank showed up in force, with 35 taking a lap around the track in qualifying. I was stuck at the back gate at the end of the backstretch for the duration of practice, but this was a positive. The view from back there was unique as I ignored the rule of never turning your back on a speeding race car and watched cars barreling into turn three as they practiced. Hunter Schuerenberg, in one of three Nolen Racing entries, smacked the wall in turn three not long after I arrived. I did see Tad Roach exit the track and then his car when it began emitting an unacceptable amount of smoke and maybe fire as well.

It seemed to me that Chris Windom was getting into three a bit faster than the others. But in time trials he was only ninth quickest, with Kody Swanson setting quick time with a 31.932 second lap, far from Tyler Walker’s 29.138 in 2004. Justin Grant went out third from the last and found himself on the outside pole with an impressive 32.048.

With the vintage Silver Crown Gilmore Special leading the way, Windom and Grant led C.J. Leary, the ageless Jeff Swindell, two time and defending Du Quoin champ Shane Cockrum, Illinois native and Hoosier resident Shane Cottle, A.J. Fike, David Byrne, Windom and Davey Ray to Tom Hansing’s green cloth. The raccoon that had entertained part of the crowd with his romp in the rafters of the covered grandstand presumably found a good seat and settled in for 100 laps of racing in its purest form—or close to it.

Swanson predictably took the lead at the start and Windom immediately began his climb, passing Fike for eighth on the fifth lap. A near disaster was avoided when veteran Jackie Burke ran over someone’s right rear and lost control enough to collect Chris Fetter, who smacked the turn one wall on the eighth lap. All involved were okay. Windom had climbed to sixth behind Swanson, Swindell, Cockrum, Grant and Leary.

On the re-start, a spirited three way battle broke out briefly for the lead among Swanson, Swindell and Cockrum. Swindell took the lead on lap 16 and, with Cockrum in tow, tried mightily to check out. Meanwhile, Windom had taken over fourth place as Swindell made his move for the lead. Three laps later, the Canton, Illinois native grabbed third from Swanson. Swindell pulled away from Cockrum, who had a new problem named Chris Windom, who passed his fellow Illini on the 22^nd lap.

Almost lost in this shuffle for the time being was Casey Shuman, driving Patty Bateman’s rocket. From 21^st, the Shu was already 13^th on lap 25. Up front Swindell soon had Windom to deal with. After repeated attempts, Windom made the pass for the lead in the third turn on lap 36. Two laps later Joey Moughan brushed the turn two wall and rolled to a stop to bring out another yellow. Windom led Swindell, Cockrum, Swanson, Leary, Grant, Fike, Cottle, 16^th starting Jerry Coons Jr., 15^th starting Brady Bacon and Brian Tyler. Under yellow, cars dove to the front straight pit wall so crew members could inspect the tires as best they could. Running through the moist dirt didn’t hurt the tires either.

A brief yellow for debris slowed Windom’s playtime briefly on the 44^th lap. At the halfway mark, Shuman had entered the top ten. Windom had extended his lead by a few car lengths when Grant, running seventh, slowed in turn four with the first flat right rear on lap 57. Justin lost a lap and would not contend for a good finish.

On the re-start Cottle went forward as Cockrum went backward. Cottle was now fourth behind the trio of Windom, Swindell and Swanson with the Chief slipping back to seventh. Up front there was another change in the leader as Swindell got around Windom to lead the 64^th lap. Shuman passed Cockrum on the same lap and now was seventh.

Windom refused to go away quietly, making repeated looks inside of the leader. With 69 laps complete, they passed under the flagstand side by side before Swindell slammed the door shut. Two laps later Jacob Wilson stopped in turn two, bringing out the race’s fifth yellow. On the re-start Swindell either got a great jump or Windom’s car wouldn’t go. In any event it was no harm, no foul. Cockrum passed Shuman, one of the few to do that all night. By lap 81 Windom had edged closer to the leader. Either way, it didn’t matter as Austin Nemire slowed in turn four with a flat tire while Shane Cottle slowed almost simultaneously.

Now it was still Swindell up front, with Windom, Swanson, Fike, Bacon, Shuman, Tyler, Cockrum, Coons and Joe Ligouri, making his first appearance in the top ten. Windom had a better re-start this time and dogged Swindell hard. On the 87^th lap Swindell again slammed the door as he and Windom entered turn one. Cockrum was on the move again, entering the top five again with ten laps to go.

Just as Windom dive bombed Swindell going into the third turn on the 93^rd lap, the seventh yellow waved for Aaron Pierce, who spun in turn four. The last re-start came with five to go. Swindell and Windom traded the lead back and forth in turn three. On the 98^th lap, Windom made an outside pass of Swindell going into the third turn, the final lead change of the race.

Windom’s margin of victory was about 10-12 car lengths, or 1.274 seconds, over Swindell. Swanson was third and now led Windom by ten points as the show goes to Eldora in three weeks. Shuman wasn’t the KSE/Martens Hard Charger, despite coming from 21^st to fourth. (Bill Rose made his way from 33^rd to 13^th.) Cockrum seemingly passed or was passed on nearly every lap, but ironically ended up where he started, fifth. Bacon came from 15^th to sixth. Coons started 16^th and brought it home seventh. Tyler was eighth and Ligouri ninth. David Byrne started the race in the top ten, dropped out for much of the race and ended up tenth. A.J. Fike lost a good run late with, what else, a flat tire.

Here are a few parting shots. When the biggest complaint is that the race started a half hour late (due to a big car count as much as anything), that means the whole program was a total success. 35 cars, a good crowd, and an above average to excellent race—it was time well spent.

Ironically, Jeff Swindell won the Ted Horn 100 in 1990…the year Chris Windom was born, if my information is correct.

It was the fourth consecutive year an Illinois native has won, starting with Chris Urish in 2013 to Shane Cockrum in 2014-5 and now Windom.

Brian Tyler is the leader among active drivers with 17 Silver Crown wins. Chris Windom has four, but Tyler might want to keep an eye on this Kody Swanson character, who has 15.

Reminding John Hunter Nemechek that running a guy into the wall to win a race is not good for the reputation, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Road Trip

Not too often can one take a weekend jaunt and cover lots of ground, not to mention the miles. This upcoming 2016 Labor Day holiday is one to anticipate and, hopefully, remember. I get to enjoy two of my favorite passions. One is going to a pair of what should be two great races at two great facilities. The other can be called grandfather time, an occasion to watch a baby grow into a toddler, maybe hold her for awhile (if she allows—she’s getting more mobile) and say hello to her parents as well, of course.

Saturday afternoon should find me wandering around the pits at the Magic Mile, the gracefully aging one mile dirt oval at the Illinois State Fair/Du Quoin. The first automobile race at Du Quoin was held 70 years ago, a sprint car race won by Sprint Car Hall of Fame member Jimmy Wilburn. Two years later open wheel standout Ted Horn was killed at Du Quoin. This weekend’s race does a lot to keep Horn’s memory alive.

The Horn Memorial entry list contains past winners Brian Tyler (2008), Jeff Swindell (1990), Kody Swanson (2010), Shane Cockrum (2014 and 2015), Chris Urish (2013) and Shane Cottle (2007). 36 cars are entered for the Saturday night race, the highest number of entries in many years.

Dave Darland has 19 starts, more than anyone else entered. Tyler and Jerry Coons Jr. each have taken the green flag 15 times.

Half of the 36 are residents of Illinois and Indiana, with the Illini State presenting ten of its own.

Four rookies will attempt to start; all four are known to Midwest sprint car fans. Three are Hoosiers, Dakota Jackson, Joe Ligouri and Matt Goodnight. Hunter Schuerenberg hails from Sikeston, Missouri.

Granddaughter time is planned between races. After playtime with her on Sunday afternoon, I hope to be heading south down U.S. 41 to Tri-State Speedway, where sprints will dominate. The non-wing MSCS and the winged MOWA sprinters are two thirds of the show with UMP mods also on Tom Helfrich’s quarter mile oval. The Midwest Open Wheel wingers are a makeup date from an earlier rainout.

Kyle Cummins won this race last year and Jon Stanbrough in 2014. Daron Clayton has won it three times, Hunter Schuerenberg twice.

Jerrod Hull is the MOWA point leader, 58 points ahead of Parker Price-Miller. MOWA feature winners this year include Price-Miller, Hull, A.J. Bruns, Zach Daum and Bill Balog.

History, of both race tracks and sanctioning bodies, is an underappreciated part of open wheel rsacing culture. Like any other history, collecting data is a never ending challenge. Over time race tracks have not been as diligent as they could be in keeping and maintaining coherent records.  Some sanctioning bodies are the same, even though USAC is a shining exception.

As time passes, myths, legends and facts mix together to create stories, the life blood of not only racing but our society. On Saturday evening as I turn my gaze across the beautifully maintained Du Quoin oval, it can be easy to take myself back 40 or 50 years. We look back and think of racers who powered their way around the track. We marvel at the memories and declare that surely “there were giants on the earth in those days” of Biblical proportions.

But as we look at Du Quoin through 2016 eyes, as it were, let us acknowledge that there are giants in our presence this coming weekend, people with names like Swanson, Cockrum, Darland, Tyler and Coons. Our succeeding generation of fans will look upon these gentlemen as we look back to the Foyts, Andrettis, Bransons and Unsers. Today’s giants deserve their place in the history books and our memories.

The same applies to Tri-State Speedway @Haubstadt. Its history may not be a lengthy or storied but it has its share of giants, past and present.

As we celebrate our blessings on this very underrated holiday weekend, such as family, the life of Bran Clauson, race tracks such as Du Quoin and Tri-State, and the opportunity to see giants of racing test themselves against the elements and each other, let us live in the moment as much as we can. Let us enjoy our passion, cheering or, if you are like me, just marveling and admiring how these people do what they do. And, let us enjoy and appreciate the other blessings, those that come in small packages and grow up before you know it.

Persuading Anthony Weiner to slowly back away from the computer, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Exclamation Point

In the world of USAC/Indiana sprint car racing, Kevin Thomas Jr. has come as close as anyone to dominating in an environment where parity rules. His 11^th sprint car victory of 2016 (and second of the week) came on a hot August night at the Kokomo Speedway on the final night of Smackdown, a collaboration of Kokomo and USAC that has quickly become a must see for sprint fans from literally around the world. Surely people are already thinking about the 2017 version of Smackdown.

Friday had been a longer than usual day. The Kokomo portion of it began at the Half Moon Restaurant, the culinary choice of racers visiting town and long time sponsor of Josh Spencer and clan. Rain in the late afternoon insured that it would be a later than normal night. By Saturday this old man was almost dragging—until race cars were on the race track.

There was no shortage of fund raising associated with Smackdown. Fans opened their wallets, purses and treasure chests to fight cancer, raise awareness of organ donation (with Bryan Clauson and family leading the way), various and sundry prizes for racers, and money raised to ease the pain of hard luck racers. Thousands of dollars changed hands as fans went above and beyond to do the right thing.

Pre-race found Chaplain Dave Cochran and I engaged in a long discussion of both spiritual and racing matters. We encountered several racing stories that mirrored Biblical stories and teachings. We agreed that many things happening in our world are not part of our plan, but one both higher and different than ours.

The last night of Smackdown brings a different format. There is no qualifying. The top three would transfer out of each of three heats. The B Main would take the top five, not six. But the major departure would be the King of the Hill, a fan favorite. The top eight in points from the first two nights would square off in three lap segments, single elimination tourney style. The King would start on the pole of the 40 lap feature.

Robert Ballou started on the pole of the first heat and won going away. This meant that he would start ninth in the feature. Kyle Cummins was second and Zach Daum edged Tyler Thomas for third.

Dave Darland, strong all week, ran off with the second heat. Second fellow Kokomo resident Shane Cottle. Third was Jarett Andretti. Aaron Farney was a distant fourth.

Brady Bacon made it three for three in pole winners leading the others to Tom Hansing’s checkered flag. Jon Stanbrough started and finished second. Most impressive of all was Brent Beauchamp. This was his first Smackdown visit, which meant that he’d tag the tail of the last heat. He passed Colton Cottle with three laps to go and waltzed away with third place and a spot in the show. Cole Ketchum smacked the wall on the backstretch and flipped hard while running fourth. He was done for the night and maybe for the year. The hard luck monetary award would ease the pain a bit.

Round one of the King of the Hill saw Chase Stockon, eighth in points, facing point leader Thomas Meseraull, who made sure that Stockon would start eighth.

 Next up was Chad Boespflug, who outran C. J. Leary.

 The third pair to step up was Tyler Courtney and Chris Windom. This three lap sprint was the most competitive, with at least two lead changes before Courtney prevailed.

The last first round matchup was Justin Grant and Kevin Thomas Jr. with the Alabama native, Thomas, besting the California native.

The second elimination round saw a pair of Californians square off, with San Jose’s Meseraull besting Hanford’s Boespflug.

Courtney, almost a local boy (Indianapolis) dispatched Thomas and would face Meseraull for the title of King.

Though they were never very far apart, Courtney crossed the line first and would occupy the pole for the feature, with Meseraull beside him.

Tyler Thomas won the B, leading Farney, C. Cottle, Logan Jarrett and Kyle Robbins, who passed the ailing car of Tyler Hewitt with two laps to go.

At 10:15, after fireworks, the fan friendly driver introductions (the missing man formation, and the wave lap Lauren Stewart waved the green flag and 22 gentlemen proceeded to do their best to smack each other down.

Courtney jumped out to the lead from pole with TMez and Boespflug close behind. But Thomas was on the move early, getting around Boespflug before the first yellow waved for Meseraull, who hammered the turn four wall on the third lap after something in the steering broke. Just like that, KT was second. Courtney’s moments as the leader were numbered and it was a small number.

Thomas took the lead on lap six, but didn’t exactly check out. Courtney hung tough, never letting the leader get too far away until Boespflug took second a lap later. Action took a break when Zach Daum flipped hard in turn one with eight complete. He exited the car under his own power. Thomas led Boespflug, Courtney, Windom, Darland, Grant, Cummins and Leary.

Not much changed up front for the next few laps. 14 laps were complete when Kyle Robbins fell victim to the uneven surface in turn one. Tyler Thomas had entered the top ten after starting 18^th. This would be the last stoppage or interruption as those remaining fought tooth and nail, yet nary a yellow or red would wave again.

As green flag racing resumed, K. Thomas continued to lead but simply could not shake Boespflug—or Windom, for that matter. Further back, Kyle Cummins was using the low groove to perfection. The Princeton, Indiana resident got around Darland and Courtney to enter the top five. Meanwhile, Boespflug was giving Thomas a bad case of heartburn with ten more laps to go. And Windom had spent much of the race riding above the cushion at both ends of the track. He was giving Boespflug his own brand of harassment in trying to take second.

Lapped traffic was there, of course, but it didn’t seem to matter, especially to the leader. Thomas took the checkered by a few feet over Boespflug and Windom, ending Smackdown the way he started it, in Bryan Clauson Victory Lane. Darland, a three time winner of Smackdowns past, was fourth after starting tenth. Cummins held onto fifth. Grant was sixth and Courtney faded to seventh. Bacon and Leary followed. T. Thomas was the KSE Hard Charger, coming from B Main-land, 18^th, to tenth.

It was not quite 11 p.m. and suddenly it was over. For the past four days, we had seen rain, destruction of large parts of the host city, emotional memories of one gone so soon, new and old friends getting acquainted and re-acquainted, incredible displays of generosity and…laps upon laps completed by some talented and determined young men asking and giving no quarter.

I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Warily turning down Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s invitation to join them in a friendly game of draw poker, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: (Another) First Time Winner

Our lives contain various and sundry signposts, or turning points. We’ve all had specific events, good and bad, that we refer to as we mosey on down life’s highway. The whole year of 2016 has featured, for all of us, a few of these, most notably just a few days ago when we lost Bryan Clauson. For C. J. Leary, more than just a second generation racer, this year has had its ups and downs; perhaps one could say he’s had multiple signposts this year, going from one ride to another. But it’s been far from all bad, as he has moved from one sprint ride to another. He is the first USAC driver since Kyle Larson in 2011 to get his first USAC win in two divisions in the same year. Back in the spring Leary scored his first USAC Silver Crown victory at Terre Haute. And on a long night delayed by rain, he rang up his first USAC Sprint car win at the Kokomo Speedway on the second night of Smackdown.

Not feeling overly sociable (the introvert in me), I retreated to the little white truck after a light rain began to fall right after six o’clock. I recently purchased from ace photographer Chris Pedersen a 1974 book Stand On The Gas, a brief history of sprint car racing up to then, written by Joe Scalzo, one that I read many years ago. I read and looked at the sky. To me, it was like being in racing’s version of Purgatory. I was at a place I love, but was unable to fully enjoy being there—though the book wasn’t a terrible substitute.

At approximately a quarter past eight, the rain had long since passed and I could hear the siren call of V-8 engines. Wheel packing had begun, despite cloudy skies all around and an ominous looking radar. Purgatory was over.

Qualifying began and Chad Boespflug went out midway through the order and ripped off a 13.109 lap to set fast time of the 44 cars mudding in the pits. Jon Stanbrough went out 43^rd and was seventh quick. The track held up and wasn’t touched all evening. The rain made for a fast and heavy/wet surface. Dirt clods flew all night. Turn one was a challenge as several who took the challenge bounced their way through it. The late Tony Elliott would have said turn one had character.

The first heat race got off to a less than ideal start when Brian Karraker’s car had a bad push and skidded into the path of Jerry Coons Jr., who flipped in turn one after running over Karraker’s right rear. Of the hard luck racer money collected, Jerry received $100. While the red lights were on, the sky began dropping some rain. The yellow flag was waved and a hot lap session was in order to try and keep the Howard County soil from getting too wet. The sprinkles stopped and racing resumed. Zach Daum won the first heat with Leary second. Boespflug got around Karraker midway through the race to take third.

Thomas Meseraull took the lead early to win the second heat. Chase Stockon was second and his southwestern Indiana neighbor Kyle Cummins was third. Early leader Matt Westfall was fourth, holding off Cole Ketchum to hang onto the last transfer spot.

Dave Darland used his front row starting position to win the second heat. Pole sitter Robert Ballou had his hands full keeping Jarett Andretti behind him. Tyler Courtney was fourth as Thursday night winner Kevin Thomas Jr. and Jon Stanbrough went to the B.

Pole sitter Hunter Schuerenberg won the fourth heat. Brady Bacon trailed and Justin Grant was third. Tyler Hewitt was fourth, edging Chris Windom, who would join Shane Cottle in the stacked B Main.

When my homeboy Joss Moffatt pushed wide in turn one at the start of the C Main, his front row mate Colton Cottle pounced. Shane’s nephew led all the way, taking Tyler Thomas, Dustin Smith and Matt Goodnight with him to tag the B.

Pole sitter Logan Jarrett led all the way to win the last chance event. Windom, S. Cottle, Stanbrough, K. Thomas and Ketchum all scooted into the big show. Tyler Thomas came from 16^th to fall short by one, ending up seventh.

Periodic drops fell from the sky as the feature lined up just past 11:30. Meseraull and Leary were the front row, two guys who had basically traded rides this year. Leary took the lead at the start and led a six car breakaway from the rest of the pack, bringing Meseraull, Courtney, Boespflug, Jarrett and Grant with him. The leaders approached lapped traffic at the tenth lap, but Leary was unfazed. Meseraull, however, had Courtney to deal with. Then both began to reel in the leader. Things were getting good when Chase Stockon had an encounter with the turn two wall and slowed with 17 laps in the book.

The boys regrouped with Leary leading Courtney, Meseraull, Boespflug, Jarrett, Grant, Bacon (from 15^th), S. Cottle, Windom and Andretti. No sooner than the green waved when Brian Karraker bounced to a stop in turn one. While under caution, Bacon discovered a flat left rear and exited to the pits, returning before Tom Hansing waved the green.

A lap was completed before Cole Ketchum lost it and collected birthday boy Tyler Hewitt. There went $100 donated by fans to perhaps replace a front axle, which was bent even though Hewitt returned to action. While under caution it appeared that Meseraull had a flat left rear, but he stayed out. Cottle had passed Grant before the yellow and now was sixth. On this re-start, he got around Jarrett to enter the top five. Otherwise, nothing changed up front.

Hunter Schuerenberg brought out the last yellow as 24 laps were completed. He guided his smoking car to the pits. Now it was Leary, TMez, Courtney, Boespflug, Cottle, Jarrett, Windom, Andretti, Grant, and Robert Ballou, who had started 21^st.

Again, it was show and tell time. On this final re-start, the crafty one, Shane Cottle, slipped under Chad Boespflug, expertly negotiating the now treacherous low groove in turn one. Leary, meanwhile, was still having his way, hugging the monster cushion at each end of the track. And at just past midnight on August 27, 2016, he joined the elite group of USAC Sprint car feature winners. Grabbing the silver medal was Meseraull, flat or nearly flat left rear and all. Thomas held off Tyler Courtney, who did his share of bouncing through the turns and off the wall. From receiving the hard luck cash the night before, Shane Cottle came from 12^th to fourth. Chad Boespflug was fifth.

The second five was led by Chris Windom in sixth. Jarett Andretti came from 14^th to finish seventh. Justin Grant and Logan Jarrett were eighth and ninth. The KSE Hard Charger was Robert Ballou, who came from 21^st to tenth.

Ballou and Jarrett did a little beating and banging the last few laps. On the post-race cool down lap, they practiced their sign language skills.

Leary was the sixth first time winner in USAC sprints this year. Surely this would be a major signpost in his racing life.

Going in to the final night of Smackdown, Meseraull leads in Smackdown points. For the year, Brady Bacon maintains a comfortable lead.

Giving that pharmaceutical guy who has jacked up the prices of needed medicine a copy of Dante’s Inferno, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Lonely Leader

Quite often, it can be lonely for any leader for various reasons. Leaders of nations, businesses and organizations of any kind have to make decisions all the time and they get to live with the results. But a racer can be a lonely leader for very different reasons, namely that he kicked everyone else’s ass. That was Kevin Thomas Jr., enjoying a very successful year in the Ottinger family car. His win on Thursday at the Kokomo Speedway’s Smackdown was maybe his most impressive this year—so far.

Even though opening night was a washout, it was still time well spent. The scheduled Celebration of Bryan Clauson’s life was partially complete before the rain returned, causing a mass retreat for dryer places (such as my truck). But enough stories were told, some of them new ones (to many of us), so that the goodness and the quality of this young man was cemented in our minds and hearts until our own appointment with destiny.

Rather than lament the rain that interrupted the stories, perhaps we should appreciate the fact that the celebration happened at all. Because those stories that were told served and will serve as part of the fabric that our memories will carry with us. And there is nothing to prevent our retelling these stories in the coming years.

Unfortunately, with the rain was a nasty tornado that devastated much of Kokomo’s south side. Thankfully there were no deaths, even though property damage was extensive. There was no thought of cancelling the Thursday program and that was appropriate because life goes on. The O’Connor family placed a box for fans to leave donations for local tornado victims by the ticket booth.

With the passing of Bryan Clauson and the horrible weather that hit a good portion of Indiana, we were reminded of just how much is out of our control. Most changes that we experience are forced upon us and how we deal with those changes speaks volumes. And the celebration of the life of an extraordinary young man was both good and necessary. But I can imagine somewhere out there in the mystic BC was good naturedly grumbling, “Drop the flag and race, boys.” And so they did.

It was an impressive car count of 45, nearly as impressive as the track prep done by the crew. The track stayed consistent throughout qualifying. Chase Stockon went out seventh and set an early quick time before Dave Darland bested that, going 14^th. DD’s time was looking good until Chad Boespflug beat it barely, 35^th to qualify. Six cars later, it was Robert Ballou’s turn to stop the clocks quickest. But then came along Thomas Meseraull, third from the last to take his two laps, one of which was 13.205.

As usual, the track was fast and passing was possible, but difficult. C. J. Leary proved that in the first heat. Tyler Hewitt led for about 9.8 laps of the first heat before Leary made his move coming to Tom Hansing’s checkered flag to steal the win. Another Tyler, Mr. Courtney, was third and Darland edged Meseraull for the final spot to make the show.

Jon Stanbrough passed Jerry Coons Jr. midway through the second heat to win. Stockon and Ballou were third and fourth. Shane Cottle was running third when he was tapped by Ballou in turn two, spinning. I’d rather sit through a disco concert than spin any of these guys out, especially Mr. Cottle.

There wasn’t a whole lot of passing in the first two heats but the third more than made up for it. Up near the front, it seemed as if positions were exchanged most every lap. When it ended, Tyler Thomas won from fourth. Chad Boespflug came from sixth to second. Jarett Andretti started on the pole, dropped back to fourth and nearly fifth, but regrouped and finished an impressive third. Kevin Thomas Jr. hung on for fourth.

Hunter Schuerenberg won the fourth heat and Cole Ketchum came from fourth to second, Justin Grant, filling in for Max McGhee, was third. Chris Windom was fourth and pole sitter Brandon Mattox barely missed out.

With 45 cars jamming the pits, the C Main had several desperate people who wanted to race some more. Brian Karraker passed Isaac Chapple late to win it. Chapple and two local shoes, Josh Spencer and Corey Smith, moved to the B.

The B was plagued by four yellows as Brady Bacon edged Thomas Meseraull for the win after they traded the lead back and forth a time or two. Kyle Cummins, quiet all night, was third. Zach Daum was fourth. Logan Jarrett came from 11^th to fifth. And Colton Cottle was sixth after Uncle Shane stopped on the backstretch, bringing out one of the yellows.

Aaron Farney and Isaac Chapple took provisionals.

It was time for the main event. K. Thomas and Stockon led the 24 to the flag after the lineup shifted into the missing man formation as a remembrance to Bryan Clauson. One of the announcers summed it up just before the race, saying we must cry, laugh and now race. And so they did.

Thomas jumped out to a lead early and missed seeing Dave Darland putting on a brief show. Dave dropped back from his third starting position but was roaring back to the front, getting around Chris Windom and Chase Stockon. His quest to reach the leader was squelched when Cole Ketchum’s car went on strike coming out of turn four right in the middle of a large pack of cars with two laps complete. Though there was some bumping and swerving, no one else was involved. 

The lineup was K. Thomas, Stockon, who had returned the favor to third place Darland, Windom, Ballou, Leary, Grant, Meseraull, Boespflug and Cummins. A couple of laps later, Darland was back in second and Stockon was engaged in a true dogfight for third with Windom. Lapped traffic came into play on the 11^th lap. None of this seemed to bother Thomas or the others up front as the battle for third continued.

With 17 laps in, a yellow flag waved for a stopped Logan Jarrett, erasing a big lead for Thomas, and interrupting the Stockon/Windom drama. Now it was unchanged up front, Thomas, Darland, Windom, Stockon, Ballou, Grant, Leary, Bacon, Meseraull and Cummins. The green waved and Thomas took off again. Lapped traffic would not be a factor again.

Behind the lonely leader a continuance of the charge by Windom was the most watched on track action. With maybe four laps to go, he passed Darland for second. This sparked a constant question for many races, that being could he have caught the leader. Of course, we’ll never know, but a little speculation isn’t all bad.

At the end, Thomas was followed by Windom (from eighth), Darland, Stockon, Grant, Ballou, Bacon, Meseraull, Courtney and Leary. Jon Stanbrough was the KSE Hard Charger, coming from 19^th to finish 12^th.  Most certainly Thomas didn’t mind being “lonely.”

With all the various incentives that surface during Smackdown days, with a lot of help, I collected money for the hard luck racers for the evening. Casey Shuman and Shane Cottle were deserving winners of $215 each and both could not be more appreciative. With money left over due to my lack of counting skills, there will be some solace for some racer this evening.

The second round of this series awaits in a few hours as this is written. As for me, it’s time to do some food shopping and have lunch.

Nervously eyeing the shark that wants to jump me, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Education of a Young Man

In the course of chasing their dreams, young racers receive an invaluable education, whether they are aware of it or not. Part of this education involves passing it on. In other words, as they go from race to race, they are setting an example for those who are watching them, mostly younger kids who have their own dreams. Race car drivers are no different than the rest of us in that they can have no clue how much impact a simple gesture could have on another person, especially a kid. It wasn’t enough that Justin Grant made a last lap/turn four pass of Jarett Andretti, who was nursing a wounded car, to win the sprint car feature at the Bloomington Speedway Friday night. After the celebrating and the Kimb Stewart interview, the young California native possessed, in addition to the money and the accolades, a huge trophy. Mr. Grant, no doubt, has several trophies at home. But whatever the reason, he chose to give this one to a little boy, the one who is often found with me at various Hoosier bullrings. Who can know how that seemingly simple act will affect a little boy? You can imagine the immediate effect. This was one happy child, maybe as happy as the winner and his team, the McGhee family and friends.

On this last points night at Bloomington, 26 410 sprinters and 14 Racesavers were among over 100 cars jamming the pits. As mentioned, Justin Grant was in a one off deal with the McGhees. Brady Short and company loaded up and left, reportedly for South Dakota where some big money was up for grabs. This was after a subpar result in group qualifying. Scott Hampton was in Jamie Paul’s car, usually driven by the chief, Shane Cockrum. Dickie Gaines was in Daryl Tate’s Racesaver, his first winged ride in a few years…I think. ARCA points leader Chase Briscoe was in the pits spectating, as was his dad, an all time Bloomington maestro, Kevin. Jon Stanbrough was back in the Pedersen family’s old reliable, open trailer and all. And most of the usual suspects were present, including Chris Babcock and family, with my little navigator scraping some mud off Bill’s car for some cookies and a drink from Debbie Babcock. Earlier he had climbed into Luke Bland’s Racesaver, but was persuaded to vacate the ride so Luke could try out some new stuff.

Jon Stanbrough started on the pole of the first heat and simply checked out, not bothering to wave. Bub Cummings edged Jordan Kinser for second. Matt McDonald was fourth and Chris Phillips held off Travis Berryhill to grab the last vacancy. A lap two red flag waved when Jaden Rogers slid off turn one and flipped. He would return for the B and make the A.

With my helper deciding to keep track of positions in the second heat, my alleged job was easier. According to Karston, Justin Grant won with Jeff Bland second. Tyler Thomas made a late pass on Chris Babcock to finish third. Scott Hampton was fifth. He even caught the yellow flag that came out for Anthony Leohr on the fifth lap.

Brent Beauchamp won the third heat by a healthy margin. Jarett Andretti got around Lee Underwood midway through the race to take second. Brandon Morin pressured Underwood, but settled for fourth. And Hunter O'Neal put himself in position to start 15th in the feature.

Pole sitter Travis Berryhill ran away with the last chance race with Brandon Mattox second. Shelby Vangilder, J.T. Stapp and Jadon Rogers, repairs made, would tag the tail of the feature.

It was off to the infield for the feature as pace truck driver Doug Vandeventer was joined by the little person. Brent Beauchamp and Jarett Andretti led 18 of their best friends to the green. Andretti jumped out to a lead that he’d increase with each lap as Beauchamp fought with Jeff Bland for second. From fifth, Justin Grant joined the fight after passing Bub Cummings on the second lap.

At the halfway mark the yellow lights were at work for a Jadon Rogers spin in turn four. Andretti may have snarled in Rogers’ direction as he idled by under the yellow. Jarett had put some Bloomington red clay between himself and his pursuers on every lap, even after lapped traffic became a factor. The rundown was Andretti, Bland, Grant, Beauchamp, Kinser, Stanbrough, Thomas, Bub Cummings and Morin.

Now was the chance for the hungry coyotes to attack the leader, but it didn’t happen. Andretti pulled away again as Bland, Beauchamp and Grant had a brief, but intense, dogfight. By the 17^th lap Grant had dispatched the other two and was beginning to reel in Andretti.

But then the red flag (the hardest working of the flags) waved. Grant had caught Andretti when Travis Berryhill flipped in turn two with 23 laps completed. Travis exited the car and attention turned to Andretti’s car. Coming to the start/finish line when the red lights blinked, Grant actually got around Andretti and his left rear tire may have contacted Jarett’s right front, which may have been out of alignment.

On the re-start Andretti pushed up the track in turn two and found himself out of shape as Tyler Thomas came calling. Thomas tipped it over and Andretti was able to continue. Another red, another re-start and Aldo’s grandson was far from being home free. Grant was still there behind him and there were still two laps to go.

The green waved for the last time and the two lap pitched battle was on. Andretti’s car may have had handling issues, but he held off the challenger for one and three quarters laps, much of that spent side by side. Grant got the big bite of traction off the fourth turn and led Andretti to the line, winning by a few feet. Beauchamp was third with Bland finishing fourth and claiming the 2016 Bloomington Speedway championship. Stanbrough was fifth with Cummings hanging on for sixth. Kinser took seventh with Matt McDonald eighth. Mattox rambled from 17^th to end up ninth. Brandon Morin completed the top ten.

As the post-race interview concluded, my grandson began walking away with the trophy. I honestly thought he was walking away with it until someone told me that the trophy was his. My mood changed a bit and I had to chuckle and shake my head. Later, Mr. Grant signed the trophy and we all decided it will sit here at home where he can see it whenever he’s here (which is often).

It shall serve as a tangible example of the continuing education of a little boy who will probably remember the night he took home a trophy.

Saturday…

First off, here's a reminder that race promoters aren't like the rest of us. They are optimistic gamblers. Many of them will try to race even when the weather looks less than promising.

The most immediate and recent example came on Saturday night at the Lincoln Park Speedway. The area had been hit hard by rain in the early afternoon hours. The track was a quagmire at best, but Joe Spiker and crew were not deterred. For several hours they did their best to prepare a track that would yield some racin' Hoosier style. But, alas, their efforts were for naught and the gang threw in the towel just past 6:30... about five minutes after I arrived.

I knew of the possibility of that happening, yet I pressed on. Just west of Franklin the rain began and it was rather intense until I motored through Bargersville. The rain eased up and by the time I reached Mooresville, the sun was breaking through the clouds. My hopes increased, even though I figured it would be a late night.

But it wasn't to be. I would be going home quite early. I, like several others, gambled and lost. I'd imagine that none gambled as much as the folks that present racing here each week.

Whiners, second guessers and the usual knights of the keyboard may well would have found a reason to blame the promotion team for waiting so late to pull the plug. Maybe they don't understand the mind of any promoter, the fact that they don't necessarily think like us. Joe Spiker didn't call me and threaten to spray paint my house if I didn't show up; it was all my idea, knowing that the night's festivities might be cancelled.

And I'm already over it. Far as I know, more races are scheduled next week. Smackdown, anyone?

Not letting certain American swimmers near my bathroom, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Good Things Come to Those Who…Race

It was a 28 year gap between appearances by USAC’s Silver Crown division at the Salem Speedway. In 1988, both of my kids, now parents themselves, were in elementary school. Ronald Reagan was winding up his Presidency. Quite a few of the field had not taken the green flag yet. And Bryan Clauson, absence still felt, was a year away from his birth. Winner Kody Swanson was born in the spring of 1988. 28 years later, he made his mark as he profited from Aaron Pierce’s misfortune, taking the lead and the checkered for the 15^th time in Silver Crown history, tying him with no less then J.J. Yeley. It was somehow appropriate that the Swanson car’s number was 63, one used by Clauson quite often. And the running of this race was the Joe James-Pat O’Conner Memorial, the first of these events run without wings in several years.

As time trials began, it was a given that the track record would fall multiple times; the only question would be how many. First qualifier Patrick Lawson was first, followed by Chris Windom, David Byrne, Jerry Coons Jr., Jacob Wilson, and finally Swanson, who was three tenths faster than everyone else with a 15.978 lap.

Rain somehow missed Salem most all day—until the pre-race ceremonies were nearly done. It was a fairly brief shower, but it delayed the start of the 75 lap feature for 20 minutes or so. With the waving of the green, Swanson took the lead. The yellow flag came out immediately as Austin Nemire spun and made contact with the wall. Casey Shuman and Lawson were also involved but drove away.

The track was cleared and the green waved again, with Aaron Pierce scooting by Swanson coming out of turn two and grabbing the lead. A few laps later, lap 14, Jacob Wilson slowed and exited the race with a malfunctioning weight jacker. Windom passed Swanson for second. The top three were running nose to tail when they entered serious lapped traffic on the 19^th lap. Five laps later, fourth place Jerry Coons Jr. joined the crowd.

The second yellow light blinked on lap 25 when Shane Cottle coasted to a stop. It was still Pierce, Windom, Swanson, Coons and Byrne. On this re-start, Windom made an attempt to get around the leader, but couldn’t close the deal. The first three broke away from the others while Byrne pressed Coons for fourth and Bobby Santos III did his best to distract Byrnes. The 41^st lap saw Swanson get back around Windom for second as a dark cloud passed over the high banks, but still no rain came with it. Nine laps later, Swanson was right behind Pierce and ready to pounce. Santos passed Byrne for fifth. Kody was like a batter waiting patiently for a good pitch to hit, biding his time. But it didn’t work out that way.

60 laps were in and Pierce barreled into turn three with maybe a two car length lead on Swanson. Then things changed as Pierce either had something break or he lost it, spinning out in front of Swanson. He re-started on the tail of the field. The re-start order was Swanson, Windom, Coons, Santos and Byrne. It was Show and Tell time. Swanson gradually increased his lead over the last 15 laps. Behind him, things were busy. Justin Grant, quiet all race, passed Byrne, as did Aaron Pierce. While Swanson and the others cruised, Grant had his hands full keeping Pierce at bay.

Swanson’s margin of victory was ten car lengths. Windom, Coons, Santos and Grant, the newlywed, were the rest of the top five as the caravan began looking west toward Springfield, site of the next Silver Crown race.

The threat of rain hurt the crowd and probably didn’t do too much for the car count either. 13 cars were enough for a decent race and this was an above average race, much more competitive than I’d hoped for. I saw enough to warrant a return visit of these cars to Salem. I hoped Andy Hillenburg and Richard Deaton, two quality people, felt the same way.

Heading to Springfield, Swanson’s point lead over Windom is 13.

In my dream world, I wish to see the Silver Crown series become a destination station, not a launching pad to NASCAR or even Indy Car. My dream includes a 20 race schedule, pretty much divided between pavement and dirt. While the half mile ovals are a bit small for these beasts, reality intrudes upon my dreams and allows for the Terre Hautes, Eldoras and the Salems to be a part of the schedule.

A guy can dream, right?

Singing Roy Orbison’s It’s Over to Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Back in the Saddle

The initial shock of the sudden passing of Bryan Clauson was only beginning to wane and racing at the Bloomington Speedway on Friday night the 12^th was the signal that, grieving or not, it was time to race. I think that BC wouldn’t have it any other way. And Kevin Thomas Jr. took the lead midway through the feature and parked it at the start/finish line, taking the win over Tyler Thomas, no relation.

21 410 sprints and 15 Racesaver/305 sprints had braved the annoying humidity. Many of the usual suspects were present, with Kerry Kinser doing double duty, but with the same car. Wandering the pits yielded bumping into an interesting mix of people, most notably friend and race writer extraordinaire Mike O’Leary. He’s one of those few people who leave me feeling as if I’ve learned something worthwhile after every conversation.

Max McGhee built up an impressive lead before winning the first heat over Bloomington point leader Jeff Bland. Brady Short was a distant third. Matt McDonald edged Chris Babcock for fourth. Bub Cummings and Dave Gross brought up the rear.

Jarett Andretti used his front row starting position to win the second heat over Tyler Thomas. Thomas Meseraull, in the Wingo brothers’ car, was third. Shane Cottle, in Jamie Paul’s prize possession, was fourth. Nick Bilbee, Brandon Morin and pole sitter Jaden Rogers trailed.

KT not only won the feature, he also dominated the first heat after starting on the pole. Jordan Kinser was second. Hunter O’Neal, tonight in the Waltz family car, took third. Cody Clarkson finished fourth, ahead of Michael Gass. Bub Cummings and Kerry Kinser would find themselves starting the feature way back there.

Mike Terry Jr. led all the way to win the first Racesaver heat. Veteran Jim Dugan was second ahead of Kerry Kinser. Ryan Tusing won the second heat. Pole sitter Kendall Ruble was second and Jared Fox finished third.

After some competitive kids’ bike races, the feature lined up. The re-draw left T. Thomas and McGhee leading the other to the green. Thomas took the lead and was in control when the race’s first yellow light blinked for Hunter O’Neal, who stopped on lap five. T. Thomas led McGhee, K. Thomas, Bland, J. Kinser, Short, Andretti, Meseraull, Cottle and McDonald. This would be a somewhat caution plagued race with a few laps of intense action between slowdowns.

Matt McDonald brought out the second yellow with eight laps completed. He wasn’t thrilled with Nick Bilbee, who inherited tenth. On the re-start the hapless McDonald tangled with Braxton Cummings, who spun down the backstretch and tipped over, bringing out the red. Braxton was okay. On this re-start, KT began to put the pressure on McGhee for second. This segment would last only three laps before O’Neal spun. Cottle had gotten around Meseraull for eighth.

Yet another yellow waved for McDonald, who went over the banking in turn two. Simultaneously, Jaden Rogers did the same thing in turn four. This was on lap 13 and T. Thomas still led. At the re-start K. Thomas passed McGhee for second. Two laps later it was time to attack and make the pass for the lead. McGhee also got around T. Thomas.

The next yellow was after 16 laps were done when Brandon Morin spun. Now it was K. Thomas, McGhee, T. Thomas, Bland, J. Kinser, Cottle, Short, Andretti, Meseraull and Bilbee. Soon after this re-start, Cottle cracked the top five, using the bottom groove to perfection. Bland and T. Thomas passed McGhee. The yellow flag was put away and the last nine laps were vintage Bloomington, with positions constantly changing among the top ten.

But none of this had anything to do with the leader. K. Thomas only increased his lead. T. Thomas came back and reclaimed second place. Bland increased his point lead with a third. McGhee was fourth. Cottle’s charge to the front stalled with him taking home fifth place money after starting 11^th. Andretti moved forward late and finished sixth. J. Kinser faded a bit to seventh. Meseraull was eighth and Short faded to ninth at the end. And Clarkson came on at the end to edge Bilbee for tenth.  

The Racesaver 305 feature had a tough time getting underway. The first start was called back and Eric Perrott slid down the backstretch and tipped over on the second. The third time was the charm and Ethan Fleetwood was on his horsey and took off. His lead began to shrink as Kerry Kinser, with the wing bolted on, found some speed on the cushion and reeled in Fleetwood, passing him at the halfway mark, lap 10. But Fleetwood had no notion of giving up. As K. Kinser started to fade, the race’s original leader came back to re-take the lead coming to the while flag. Fleetwood and J. Kinser were trailed by what may have been the fastest car on the track for much of the race, that of Dakota Jackson, who had started 14^th, easily the race’s hard charger. Luke Bland and Jared Fox rounded out the top five.

Accidentally spilling my glass of red wine on Hillary Clinton’s new white pantsuit, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Show Must Go On
On one of the saddest Sunday evenings the racing community has ever endured, 21 sprint car teams gathered together at the Kokomo Speedway, knowing that one of their own was in a bad way with a grim prognosis. The show did go on, no doubt that Bryan Clauson would have insisted that it be so. And though the overall mood at the Kokomo Speedway was subdued, the actual racing was as quick as ever—high speeds, slashing through traffic, slide jobs and even some people irritated with each other. When it was over, Thomas Meseraull, in yet another new ride for him, was holding a trophy and reminding us all that Bryan Clauson was on our minds and all we could do was think good thoughts.
All three heats were high speed, one groove around the top affairs. But there was room to pass.
In the first heat, Robert Ballou proved that one could pass as he came from fourth to win. Pole sitter Matt Goodnight was second. Colton Cottle was third with a sick sounding engine. Tyler Hewitt finished fourth and young Mike Gass was fifth. Steve Thomas took sixth and Logan Jarrett slowed, stopped, and had to play caboose.
Thomas Meseraull blasted off from his front row starting spot and won the second heat. Pole sitter Jarett Andretti brought home his new car in second. Max McGhee, quick qualifier in this group, was third. Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Thomas, Kyle Robbins and Billy Cribbs trailed.
Seeing that this was the Bob Darland Memorial, son Dave might have sat up a bit straighter in the seat. He made pole sitter Kevin Thomas Jr. work extra hard to get the third heat race win. Chris Windom was third. Early leader C. J. Leary edged Kokomo resident Shane Cottle for fourth. Lawman Joe Bares and another local boy, Josh Spencer, brought up the rear.
The redraw yielded a front row of Andretti and Meseraull. TMez grabbed the lead and ran, putting some Howard County real estate between him and the North Carolina resident. Ballou wanted to break up this party, but the best he could do was follow Andretti.
The race's first yellow waved on lap 22 for Leary. Meseraull's big lead went...poof! On the restart TMez led Andretti, Ballou, K. Thomas, McGhee, Darland, Cottle, Windom, Coons and Jarrett, who had started 19th. The green flag waved and McGhee passed KT for fourth. Jarrett and Cottle were on the move. But Shane brought out a yellow on lap 29, ending a good run.
This set up a one lap dash, always fun unless you’re a driver. But TMez had things under control, winning the race, some money and a trophy from the Darland family. Andretti bested Ballou in the battle for second. McGhee was fourth and K. Thomas was fifth. Darland started and finished sixth in the race honoring his dad. Coons took home seventh place money and Windom was eighth. Josh Spencer ended up being the race’s hard charger, coming from last/21st to ninth. Kyle Robbins passed a few cars as well, crossing the line tenth after starting 17th.
Jarrett’s great run was spoiled in turn four coming to the checkered as he ended up facing the wrong way after tangling with T. Thomas.
Few in attendance knew that BC was in the process of taking life’s checkered flag as they left Kokomo. But racers did what they do, namely race. Fans did what they do as well. Personally, being at a race track seemed better therapy than sitting at home brooding. There has been plenty of time to ponder the sad events of the last two days, including Aric Gentry’s suffering a broken leg after a nasty crash at Lawrenceburg. Grieving and healing take time; people don’t recover as TV characters do. This is hard core reality. (There is no other kind.)
On August 24, opening night of Kokomo’s Smackdown, there will be a celebration of the life of Bryan Clauson. It will be, I’m sure, a fitting and necessary tribute, as well as a turning point in the racing community’s healing journey. Oh, and there will be a bit of racin’ that night.
We can be pretty sure that BC would want it that way.
Double checking my birth certificate, I’m…
Danny Burton



 

 

To the Family of Bryan Clauson
First off, please know that now is not the time for the usual attempts at comforting such as “it was his time to go,” “at least you were able to watch him grow up,” “it’s God’s plan, not ours,” “at least he died doing what he loved,” “life is not fair,” “he’s in a better place,” or my favorite, “I know how you feel.” There might be a time in the future when such sentiments will mean more, but now is not that time. Now is the time to hurt, cry, feel sick and even figuratively shake your fist at God (who I firmly believe understands your pain). The sudden loss won’t be healed suddenly, if at all. And even if in time you are at all healed, the scars will remain to the end of your own days.
Cry if you must, be angry if you must and hurt as well. Just know that when there are no more tears, you will not be alone. Most certainly you will have the love, caring and support of literally thousands of people, most of whom never met Bryan personally but watched him from afar, anywhere from television to the bleachers to the pits. He made an impression on countless people he never met and be glad that it was no doubt a good one. In their own way, they hurt and grieve as well. They loved the young man that they would never really get to know because of both his accomplishments on the track and his behavior off the track. Long after the mainstream media has moved on to the next story, please know that Bryan’s friends and fans will continue to lift you up and pray that the healing process begin when it should.
Speaking as a father and grandfather, I can recall the last encounter between Bryan and my seven year old grandson. It may have been in the pit area of the Kokomo Speedway, either this year or last year, not that it matters. We were walking through the pits as we normally do, with no set plan in mind. I was people watching and Karston was as wide eyed then as he was when he first visited a pit area at a short track. Bryan approached us, which was nothing unusual. We were acquaintances and we usually said hi to each other when neither was engaged in conversation or otherwise busy. But as I recall, Bryan saw Karston first and had his hand out for a high five (or was it a low five?). Both grinned at each other.
At the time, I didn’t give it much thought. My grandson knows several of the drivers by sight and most by name. Bryan was one of those he knew well enough and he’s had several similar experiences with a group of drivers who appreciate the boy’s interest in what they do.
But now, thinking about it as I deal with this sudden loss of a fine young man, as well as the sinking feeling in my stomach, that brief encounter might go a long way in describing Bryan, not only as a public figure, liked, respected and admired, but perhaps showing that, no matter how famous he might be or become, there were kids all about him watching. And he seemed to be very aware of that. In the midst of the usual interviews he gave after a victory, one could see, if they looked, a decent young man who raced with a determination and ferocity seldom matched, but who came across as a literate, affable, and likable young man. The kind of young man you might want your grandson to watch and learn from.
My religious and spiritual beliefs tell me that there is no greater love than one who dies so others may live. Though it’s most certainly involuntary, Bryan’s last gift(s) will perhaps allow someone else, if not others, to live. This is true in a tangible way. A heart that began its existence in one body can now be transplanted to another, who shall live. At some point, this should be celebrated.
But please consider the intangibles. Consider Bryan’s competitive spirit, that desire along with those gifts he used to race and win against some of the most talented racers anywhere. Consider his kindness to those who felt like they knew him and he knew them, even though that couldn’t be so. Consider his willingness to use a good part of his off-track time to doing for others less fortunate. And finally consider his sense of family; he never seemed to stray from those basic values taught him at home.
The tears may stop at some point, at least externally. And at some point, we must begin to claim the memories and the Lord knows there are many. Most all of these memories will be, I trust and pray, good ones. And at some point, may you, Bryan’s family, be able to smile or even laugh through the tears. We’re not there yet, but we can hope that day will come in its own time.
We all must grieve in our own way and eventually move on. These words have been my primary way of dealing with this unspeakable tragedy. I can hope and pray that they, in some small way, can comfort you all at this time of trial and tribulation.
Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Steady as It Goes

One might have picked A.J. Hopkins to win a feature race on a lovely Saturday night; however, given the talent that was spread throughout the lineup, he would have been something between a contender and a long shot. But the young man bided his time, took the lead from one of the best, Brent Beauchamp, and negotiated the tricky five sixteenth oval we call the Lincoln Park Speedway in beautiful downtown Putnamville, Indiana. Hopkins took the lead on the fifth lap and led the rest of the way, bagging $3,000 and his first Midwest Sprint Car Series victory.

It wasn’t quite as humid as Friday at Bloomington, but it wasn’t exactly cool outside at LPS. More importantly, 28 cars had marked their X’s at the pit gate with several notables on the property. As the would be mud scraper and I ambled through the pits, close to half the assembled throng was capable of winning and quite a few others had a shot at a top five finish.

Pole sitter C. J. Leary won the first heat, but Kyle Cummins made sure that he earned it. There was a similar battle for third place as Jeff Bland edged Max McGhee. Jon Stanbrough, back in his own car, secured the last empty chair.

In the second heat, A. J. Hopkins led the first nine laps before a slight boo-boo in turn two on the last lap put him in second place. Shane Cottle figured that he might as well take advantage after running second the whole race. Pole sitter Tyler Hewitt was third and Brandon Mattox took fourth. Kevin Thomas Jr. managed a fifth after a first lap encounter with Hewitt, who was the meat in a three wide sandwich and had no place to go. KT used a yellow flag slowdown to inform Tyler that now would be a good time to have a chat. Tyler politely disagreed. During an early caution, Carson Short exited the track. He would be back out for the semi. Jadon Rogers flipped after Brandon Morin’s right rear contacted Rogers’ left front. Jadon, too, would return for the B.

Chad Boespflug methodically worked his way to the front after starting fourth to win the third heat. Pole sitter Brent Beauchamp was second. Brady Short survived a brief excursion off turn two to grab third. Robert Ballou survived his own moment, a turn three half spin, to get fourth. MSCS regular Donnie Brackett had his hands full in keeping Jimmy Light from taking fifth.

The aforementioned Mr. Light led every lap of the 12 lap B Main to win after starting third. Carson Short came from 11^th to finish second. Nate McMillin came from seventh to third. Pole sitter Matt McDonald was fourth and Brandon Morin hung on to get the chance to start 20^th in the feature, after an expert mud scraping operation was performed on the car following the semi. Jarod Chastain took a provisional.

Quality cars were, like Friday night, sprinkled all through the field for the 30 lap feature. Beauchamp and Hopkins were the front row, which meant whoever started behind those two had some work to do. Beauchamp jumped out to the lead at the waving of the green with Hopkins committing to the outside groove early. This worked for him as he closed the gap on the leader and made the pass on the fifth lap. By the tenth lap, Hopkins’ lead was the better part of a straightaway.

Behind these two, Boespflug and Cummins couldn’t make up their minds about third and fourth places. They traded positions several times over the first half of the race. And Leary passed Cottle on the third lap to annex fifth, only a car length or two behind those two.

Despite the relative lack of passing up front, this was another fine event. In the closing laps Beauchamp began to reel in the leader. On lap 25, five to go, Hopkins made enough of a bobble on the cushion to allow Beauchamp to close the gap to just a few feet. When the checkered waved at 9:48 p.m. for a race that was caution free, the margin of victory was less than five car lengths. Boespflug, using the high line for the whole race, finally secured third from Cummins, who tried both the top and bottom lanes in his search for speed. Leary was fifth, but through much of the race he had unwanted company in both Ballou and B. Short. Ballou was sixth and Stanbrough passed a slightly fading Short to take seventh. McGhee was ninth and Thomas made it ten.

Ballou was hard charger coming from 12^th, but Stanbrough passed a few cars coming from 13^th. Carson Short started 17^th and scooted up to 11^th as well.

MSCS points-wise, Brady Short increased his lead over Brandon Morin and Tyler Hewitt.

With my wife “trumping” opponents left and right (at the card game euchre, silly), I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Zigging and Zagging

On a hot August night at the Bloomington Speedway, the action was as frantic as ever with Jeff Bland holding off Robert Ballou to win the 25 lap 410 non-wing sprint feature. Ballou closed the gap in the closing laps as both negotiated lapped traffic like the pros they are, but fell short by a few feet.

It was another example of looking at the numbers and concluding that it was “boring.” Bland started second and led all the way, but his lead and win were far from a done deal. Ballou saw to that, along with the lapped cars who were engaged in their own battles.

Ethan Barrow won the Racesaver 305 winged sprint feature, leading all the way and winning over Ryan Tusing by a few car lengths.

The temperature was in the upper 80s, but it was the Hoosier humidity that made going to a race a true challenge. This didn’t stop two aging gentlemen and their seven year old fellow traveler. Neither did the threat of a popup rain shower as little pockets of showers seemed to surround Bloomington.

23 sprints and 14 Racesavers occupied the pits, which contained close to 100 cars. Of note were Jon Stanbrough in the Pedersen brothers 4p, Thomas Meseraull in the Wingo family machine and Jarett Andretti in a new car with new colors after destroying his DRC at Lawrenceburg last Saturday. Only Dakota Jackson was doing double duty, with the family 410 sprinter and his Racesaver ride that’s helped him to multiple Bloomington feature wins this year.

My man Henry Bryant did his usual magic on the track and was helped by the persistent cloud cover that kept a goodly amount of moisture where it needed to be. The heat races were of the high speed/freight train variety. By feature time, the usual two grooves, high and low, appeared. Passing was still tough but doable.

Shelby Van Gilder won the first heat from her outside front row spot. Pole sitter Daylan Chambers was a close second. Billy Cribbs was third and Brandon Morin took fourth after having his hands full keeping Jon Stanbrough in fifth.

Matt McDonald ran the best heat race of his racing career as he kept Robert Ballou behind him in winning the second heat by a whole car length. Kevin Thomas Jr. was third and Brady Short finished fourth. Dakota Jackson took fifth while he had Chris Babcock nipping at his heels.

It was Jordan Kinser making it unanimous with heat race winners winning from the front row as he won the third heat. Jeff Bland was second. Thomas Meseraull gave the 77 a good ride in taking third. Jarett Andretti was fourth. Jaden Rogers started second, slipped up early and hung on to take fifth with Brandon Mattox coming up just a bit short.

Dakota Jackson won the first Racesaver heat over Ryan Tusing. Mike Terry Jr. was the victor in the second heat with Luke Bland taking second.

Chris Babcock controlled the B Main all the way with Brandon Mattox a close second. Third and fourth belonged to the Cummings family with Braxton leading dad Bub to the line. Cody Clarkson would start 20^th in the feature.

For maybe the first time in his racing career, Daylan Chambers would lead the 19 others to the green. Sprinkled through the field were some pretty strong cars. Next to Chambers was Bland, who grabbed the lead. Chambers held second for the first few laps until Ballou got around him and set sail for Bland, who had built a straightaway length lead and maintained his lead even after slipping over the banking.

By the halfway mark lapped traffic was a factor as Ballou slowly but surely chipped away at Bland’s lead. Behind them Jordan Kinser settled into third—until K. Thomas and Meseraull came up to pay their respects. Jordan hung onto third as Thomas and TMez traded position more than once as they, too, fought with the lappers.

In the closing laps Ballou clearly gained ground on the leader. But he ran out of laps and Bland had made it tough for anyone to get close to him. And the lack of a yellow flag in this race would produce more hypothetical situations such as how would the leaders have handled a re-start.

In the end none of that stuff mattered and Jeff Bland stood at the start/finish line being interviewed by Kimb Stewart and accepting a trophy from a seven year old who recently had scraped mud off the winning car at Lincoln Park.

Behind Bland and Ballou was Kinser, who settled for the bronze medal. K. Thomas made the late pass to finish fourth with Meseraull taking fifth. Brady Short advanced more than anyone else, coming from 11^th to finish sixth. Chambers, from the big city of Bowling Green, Indiana, hung on for seventh. Cribbs was an impressive eighth, leading Andretti to the line. And Jadon Rogers came from 15^th to finish tenth.

An extra goody for the winner was a $500 parts voucher from Unique Breedz through Extreme Performance from Ellettsville, IN.

Ethan Barrow won the Racesaver feature, leading Ryan Tusing to the checkered by only a few car lengths. Jared Fox was third and pole sitter Andy Bradley was fourth. Ethan Fleetwood came on late to take fifth.

A little on the cranky side since I lost my coloring book, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: The Josh and Joss Show
For many years, young men (and a few women as well) have migrated to Indiana with the intention of racing against some of the best in terms of weekly sprint car racing as well as sanctioning bodies that bring together some pretty good racers. Many of these young people give it a try for a year or two and either move on to another level of racing or disappear. Most all of them come away from the experience wiser and can say that they gave it a shot. If they stay here long enough and have the ability and desire, they will excel in time. With that in mind, consider New Mexico’s Josh Hodges, in his second summer of Hoosier racing. He’s already won a feature event at Kokomo this year, beating a future Hall of Famer, Jerry Coons Jr. And his win at the Lawrenceburg Speedway, sanctioned by the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series, added to his resume and reputation. If there was any doubt before, now it shall be that here is a young man that the others will have to reckon with. The local boys, the ‘burg regulars, made him earn it, with multi-time track champ Joss Moffatt coming home a close second.
There are few things in this world that could keep me away from the Bloomington Speedway on a Friday night. A couple of years ago, it was an illness that kept me home, realizing that negotiating State Road 46 on a Friday evening while feeling faint wouldn’t be a good idea. All I missed was a clinic put on by Brady Short, who only came from last to win the feature that night.
This past Friday, I was the dinner guest of an eight-month old baby girl who smiles more than any ten people you could name. My three grandchildren will keep me away from a race, even at Bloomington—if I can’t take them with me.
Not only did the smiling baby keep me home from Bloomington, she “made” me arrive late at Lawrenceburg on Saturday. Sprint car hot laps were completed by the time I began wandering through the pits, checking out ‘burg and/or BOSS regulars, a would be cherry picker here and there, and an assortment of guys who only hoped to get in some laps, whether or not they made the feature. Of the 96 cars parked in Dave Rudisell’s playground, 40 were sprinters.
This was another of the memorial races that are held with the idea of remembering racers who have taken life’s checkered flag. Tonight it was Jason Soudrette who was honored for his valiant fight against the disease that finally claimed him in December, 2013.
As the fragrant aroma from the distillery teased my sense of smell, Landon Simon won the first heat. He had some fast company in second place Chad Wilson and third place Travis Hery. The red flag came out when Tobey Alfrey spun in turn three and was smacked by Lee Underwood, who flipped in the process. They were fighting for the fourth and final transfer spot. Earlier Dickie Gaines, still in the Soudrette family car, dropped out. With only five cars left, Steve Little finished fourth and grabbed a feature start.
A few stray sprinkles greeted second heat runners, but nothing came of it. Josh Hodges made a superb opening statement as he came from sixth to the lead in two laps. He was trailed by two Kokomo residents, Dustin Smith and Logan Jarrett. Logan Hupp, in Jake Gindling’s car, was fourth.
Jarett Andretti passed Kody Swanson on the second lap of the third heat and went on to win by a healthy margin. The ageless Ted Hines was third behind Swanson. Mike Miller came from the last row to annex fourth. It would, sadly, be the highlight of the night for the one time Lawrenceburg points champ as he couldn’t answer the bell for the feature.
C.J. Leary, now out of the Mike Dutcher machine, was the latest to try out Shane Wade’s 66 and he led all the way to win the fourth heat. Garrett Abrams was a somewhat distant second. Pole sitter Tyler Hewitt was third and local boy Justin Owen came from last to fourth.
Lawrenceburg standouts Shawn Westerfeld and Joss Moffatt began the fifth heat in the third row and finished it one/two. Moffatt was in former ‘burg modified racer Tony McVey’s sprinter while his engine is being rebuilt by ace engine builder Roger Williams Third place was pole sitter Cody Gardner. Dallas Hewitt came from the last row to fourth. Joe Ligouri was in Dwayne Spille’s car and was tapped on the backstretch, enough to send him spinning wildly without getting on his top. Joe was running third at the time and if that wasn’t bad enough, it was on the last lap.
Todd Keen had been stuck behind a sputtering car in his heat which put him in the first of two semi features. He won the first and took Cooper Clouse with him to the show. In the second of the last chance races, Dickie Gaines had a spectacular run as he came from eighth to pass Steve Thomas on the last lap to secure a spot in the A for the Soudrette family. Thomas held onto second.
The front row of the 25 lapper would be Leary and Moffatt. It was tempting to just give the race to Leary right then as he’d been quite impressive in his heat. But C.J. spun in turn two on the first lap, deliberately as it turned out. The word was that fuel was leaking into the cockpit and the young man from Greenfield quickly decided to exit the race and the car.
This moved Garrett Abrams to the pole position on the re-start. Moffatt took the lead at the beginning as Hodges began his move from fourth. For the next several laps he and Moffatt traded the lead back and forth, often more than once within one lap.
Behind them Westerfeld was on the move early as he shot toward the front after starting ninth. By the sixth lap he was fourth and was pressuring third place Abrams. Westerfeld took third just a couple of laps before a yellow flag waved on lap 15 for Steve Little, who spun into the infield, re-entered the track, and stopped on the backstretch.
The lineup was Hodges, Moffatt, Westerfeld, Abrams, Simon, Andretti, Jarett, Hery, Smith and Clouse. With this re-start, Moffatt made a last gasp challenge to take the lead. It nearly worked. Then Landon Simon’s fine run ended on lap 18 when he stopped against the wall in turn four. He had advanced to fourth before his misfortune.
After this break, it was Andretti’s turn to shine on the re-start. John’s son was fourth when the green waved and got around Westerfeld with a strong move. He gave chase to Moffatt who was second and not far behind the leader. Andretti had just passed Moffatt when he pounded the turn four wall, which won. The car commenced a series of nasty flips with a phalanx of race traffic headed his way. Somehow everyone missed him. And somehow Jarett got out of the car and would walk away.
The re-start order was Hodges, Moffatt, Westerfeld, Jarrett, Abrams, Clouse, Swanson, Hery, Smith and Gaines. There were four laps to go and racing was far from done.
True, Hodges was in control to the end, opening up a bit of a margin over Moffatt. Jarrett passed Westerfeld to take third after starting 12th. Then there was Cooper Clouse, who ran under the radar for the first part of the race. From 22nd he weaved his way through traffic to finish fifth. Swanson was sixth, which was where he started. And Dickie Gaines nearly equaled Clouse as he motored from 23rd to take seventh at the end. Abrams ran well early before fading to eighth. Hery and Smith filled out the top ten.
I’m not much for autographs at this advanced age, but I did seek out Mr. Aaron Fry to secure his autograph. This wasn’t just any old scribbling. Mr. Fry has made this group into a viable and friendly outlet for the workingmen/racers. His impressive car counts have been no accident. Though it’s an Ohio based group, Mr. Fry has no qualms about crossing Ohio’s borders and visiting what’s become their Hoosier home away from home. I can relate to much of the above—except the working part, of course. But it’s why I sought out Mr. Fry earlier this year to see what he thought about my writing a story about him and BOSS for Flat Out Magazine. He was very much in favor of that idea. So with some friends, Aaron and I sat down and talked…and talked for nearly 90 minutes. It was time well spent. And he liked the story too. Sure enough, he was happy to sign his name on the accompanying picture with the story.
Someday, maybe one of the grandchildren will own that magazine that now resides here at home. Maybe they can tell their grandkids about their grandpa and all the neat people he met at various race tracks around the state. And let us hope and pray that by then, race tracks will still exist in some form similar to what we see each weekend.
Still confused about the difference between hay and straw, I’m…
Danny Burton

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Beauchamp Beats the Heat

Extreme weather, like anything else that’s extreme, brings out the best and the other in people. Fortunately for him, it apparently brings out the best in Brent Beauchamp, who won the 25 lap feature at the Lincoln Park Speedway on a toasty Saturday night in beautiful downtown Putnamville, Indiana.

For the first time in nearly a month, the not so diminutive traveler reclaimed his seat on the passenger side of the little white Chevy truck. It was just as if he’d never left. Not long after a quick cheeseburger for him, we strolled the pits and he found A.J. Hopkins’ cars covered in mud after wheel packing and hot laps. Soon enough he was busy scraping mud off a sprint car, getting dirty without bring reprimanded, actually helping out. No doubt the homemade slushy was plenty compensation for his labors. And A.J. Hopkins was probably added to the list of drivers he knows and likes.

Car counts were down at LPS, which was no huge surprise. The heat, the usual Saturday night dilution of the pool of sprinters in this area and maybe the post Sprint Week blues kept some fans and racers home. But of the 18 gathered in the Joe Spiker Recreational Park (really the pits), at least a half dozen was quite capable of winning with a few more capable of a top five.

A.J. Hopkins, with the help of his junior mud scraper, took off from the front row and won the first heat. Thomas Meseraull, in Stan Courtad’s car tonight with help from assorted benefactors, rocketed from eighth to finish second. Enjoying his new title of Bloomington/USAC/Indiana Sprint Week winner, Brent Beauchamp started and finished third. Mario Clouser started and finished fourth. Tim Creech II took fifth.

Like Mr. Hopkins, Shane Cockrum started on the outside front row and won the second heat. The first four finishers weren't that far apart as Jeff Bland was second. Right behind him, in Bland's former ride, was Tyler Thomas. Kevin Thomas Jr. moved from eighth to finish fourth. Half a straightaway back was Hunter O'Neal.

The draw for the feature found Bland and Meseraull on the front row with Cockrum and Hopkins in row two. Beuachamp, T. Thomas, Clouser and K. Thomas Jr. would make it a crowd.

TMez took the early lead over Bland, Hopkins, Beauchamp and T. Thomas. Three laps in and Beauchamp took over third. Two laps after that, he passed Bland for second. Meseraull had hustled to a healthy lead when the red flag waved on the seventh lap and his nice lead went poof when Casey Shuman stopped in turn four with flames threatening to consume his engine. Smart guy that he is, the headman of the Wingless Auto Racing series based in Missouri stopped immediately and had to call it a night.

The re-start was Meseraull, a lapped car, Beauchamp, Bland, Hopkins, Cockrum, T. Thomas, K. Thomas, Clouser, J.J. Hughes and Nate McMillin. Getting around the lapped car quickly, Beauchamp joined Meseraull and they began to separate themselves from the others. Behind them, Hopkins passed Bland for third. Then Jadon Rogers spun into the infield, but was close enough to the track to bring out a yellow flag. Jadon re-started on the tail.

On the re-start, Beauchamp made his move and took the lead, but Meseraull took it back. A lap later, TMez’s pass was negated as another yellow waved, this one for Hughes, who spun into the infield off turn four. J.J. was running eighth at the time and re-started on the tail.

This re-start saw Beauchamp leading Meseraull, Hopkins, Cockrum, Bland, K. Thomas, T. Thomas, McMillin, Billy Cribbs and Creech. But another red, the second, appeared when Mario Clouser got upside down in turn two with Jeff Bland’s car sitting in the infield. Both were done for the night. Clouser was out of the car quickly. There were eight laps to go.

When the yellow came out and the field re-started, Creech found himself with a flat right rear tire, but he opted to stay out. The green flag flew and Meseraull got a great jump on the leader. Side by side they went down the backstretch, with TMez hanging on to lead a lap. That would be his last hurrah as Beauchamp reassumed control a lap later and began to build a small lead. Meseraull would have issues with Hopkins, who made a strong run and took second briefly before accidentally shutting off the car in turn four, slowing and exiting the race.

At the end Beauchamp’s lead was a half straightaway over Meseraull with K. Thomas coming on strong at the end for third. Cockrum was fourth and T. Thomas finished fifth. Hughes came back from his mid-race spin to grab a well-earned sixth. McMillin was eighth and Rogers came back from his spin to take ninth. Through it all, Hunter O’Neal started and finished tenth.

Surely it was one of the hottest, in terms of weather, races I’ve been to in some time. Enduring the heat was no problem while the green flag was out and the boys fought it out to the end. But I was sympathetic to those who couldn’t make it due to the weather, especially for health reasons.

What perturbed me was and is the ranting of internet keyboard jockeys who seem to delight in sharing their wisdom in all matters. In extreme weather, summer or winter, they pontificate how today’s people, especially young people, are soft—or “namby-pamby to quote one. These internet pundits fail to see the irony of telling people how weak they are while the pundit quite possibly types away in the comfort of his own—air conditioned—home. And I’d imagine some of those experts would have to look up the word “irony.” I can be further perturbed upon knowing that quite possibly these esteemed thinkers work inside to make their living. Nothing wrong, of course, with working inside, but don’t put down people who either choose or are forced to stay inside.

Enough of that. It was 91 degrees in Greencastle when we arrived. It did cool off. Some. My grandson and I had a great time and saw some good racin’ all evening. That’s what matters.

Helping Melania Trump write her next speech, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: A Fitting End

Perseverance, desire, ability—all of these things and more are needed to excel in the topsy turvy world of Indiana/Midwest/USAC sprint car racing. All of these have been on display since Friday, July 8, when Tyler Courtney shocked a lot of people by coming from last to first and winning his first USAC feature at Gas City. Since that special night three more, Kyle Cummins, Brent Beauchamp and Carson Short have joined Courtney as first time winners. Bryan Clauson and Brady Short combined to ring up victories, adding to their totals. And as the caravan made its last stop at the Terre Haute Action Track, one could always imagine that another shocker would step forward to join the Fab Four. It wasn’t going to happen. Chase Stockon saw to that as he smiled for all the cameras holding the trophy for winning the 2016 Indiana Sprint Week finale at the Terre Haute Action Track, holding off a determined Robert Ballou to close out a memorable ten days.

Brady Bacon may have been happier, though such things are hard to measure. His string of consistent finishes brought him and the Hoffman team the 2016 Indiana Sprint Week championship, along with some money, prestige, bragging rights and one cool rocking chair, ideal for rocking babies to sleep.

32 teams chose to attack the Action Track after having been rained out last Wednesday. It was no surprise that several were missing; this has been a pattern over the years. A few hot dogs were missing, such as Justin Grant and the Steve and Carla Phillips team, Kokomo winner Kyle Cummins, Shane Cottle (actually Shane was there but not the car), Bloomington winner Brent Beauchamp and Josh Hodges, who probably had plans to head back to New Mexico. This was a bit of a disappointment as the young man has to be considered as someone who could be the next USAC first time winner.

There were still plenty of quality cars in the pits. One of them was Bryan Clauson, who set fast time with a 21.051 lap. The track did slow down for later qualifiers, but the 90 degree temps and a hot July sun will do that to race tracks. BC went out 16^th to qualify, which made his time even more impressive.

Clauson gave people reason to think that he might be the one holding the trophy later as he came from sixth to win the first heat. C. J. Leary was second and early leader Dave Darland was third. Tri-State/Haubstadt winner Carson Short was fourth, moving to the show.

Brady Bacon then made his case to the jury by winning the second heat, also from sixth, passing Robert Ballou in the process. Ballou was second, followed by Tyler Thomas, his first time at Terre Haute in a sprint car and perhaps any kind of race car. Chad Boespflug was fourth.

Tyler Courtney has impressed throughout ISW and won the third heat. In an upset of sorts, South Dakota’s Bret Mellenberndt was second. Jon Stanbrough, presumably in his last ride for Amati Racing Team, was third. Jarett Andretti was fourth. Aaron Farney had a close encounter with the turn four wall before stopping and bringing out a yellow. On the re-start Chris Windom slowed and went to the pits. Both he and Farney would return for the B.

Thomas Meseraull swept to the lead from fourth place on the first lap and led all the way to win the fourth heat. Jerry Coons Jr. was second. Logan Jarrett came from sixth to third. Chase Stockon was fourth, giving no indication what lay ahead.

After a brief massaging of the track, the semi feature was won by Chris Windom, who led all the way, but was pressured by Aaron Farney. Tom Harris was third and made his first ISW feature—I think. Kevin Thomas Jr. cruised to a fourth place finish. Missouri’s Riley Kreisel made his first Sprint Week feature just like Harris and finished fifth. Max McGhee was sixth.

With the preliminary events done, all Brady Bacon had to do was finish fifth or better and he would win the ISW title. As it turned out, he started fifth.

After a few minutes for a scheduled intermission, Stockon and Courtney led the gang of 22 to Mo Wills’ green flag. No sooner than a lap (led by Stockon like all the others) had been completed than Harris flipped in turn four, bringing out the red. He was out of the car quickly.

Stockon took off as the green waved for the re-start and began to stretch his lead out over second place Tyler Courtney. As of lap six the lead was the better part of Terre Haute’s wide, sweeping curves. Meanwhile, Clauson, running sixth, began pressuring Bacon. Lapped traffic began to be a factor around the 11^th lap. This helped Ballou somewhat as he passed Courtney for second on the 23^rd lap. A lap later Clauson, who had just passed Courtney, hit the turn four wall and pitted with a flat tire. Mo’s yellow hankie was waved.

The six lap dash had Stockon leading Ballou, Courtney, Bacon, Farney, Jarrett, Windom, Leary, Coons and Boespflug. Up front, there wasn’t much in the way of changing positions, but one can say that Ballou made it interesting on each lap, or better yet, at both ends of the track. Time and again Robert dove low in either turn one or three, letting the leader know he was there. But still young (from my perspective) man now living in Fort Branch, Indiana withstood every attempt to make the pass. In the last three laps or so, Stockon inched away and won by a few car lengths, becoming the seventh winner in seven nights of Indiana Sprint Week.

Behind Stockon and Ballou was Courtney and Bacon, who won the war, becoming the 2016 Indiana Sprint Week champ. 2015 Action Track/Sprint Week winner Aaron Farney came from 11^th to finish fifth. Chris Windom got around Logan Jarrett late to grab sixth. Behind Jarrett was hard charging Jerry Coons Jr., starting 18^th and finishing eighth. Remember Bryan Clauson? Of course you do. After his meeting with the wall on the 24^th lap, BC hustled back to take ninth. C.J. Leary was tenth.

It was a strange and unpredictable series of races. Who could have predicted that Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Brent Beauchamp and Carson Short would win features and Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Chad Boespflug and Thomas Meseraull (who jumped from one ride to another) would not?

Racers who aren’t with us anymore were remembered. Tony Elliott was honored at Kokomo. Sheldon Kinser was remembered at Bloomington after the Sheldon Kinser Memorial was no more. Don Smith, Terre Haute businessman/community leader, had this race named after him.

Carson Short’s win was the 10,000^th USAC race going back to my pre-school years. (Or…USAC has been around for quite awhile).

Tyler Courtney’s last to first run at Gas City will rank as one of the most amazing races I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t like he was racing against Rodney Reynolds and yours truly. There were a few future Hall of Famers in that crowd.

I’d better quit while I’m behind.

Speeding up the recording I made of the truck race at Eldora, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Ho Hum

At this rate we’ll have to search a thesaurus for more adjectives to describe this year’s Indiana Sprint Week feature results. I’ve started with…wacky, unprecedented, mind boggling, crazy, unusual (massive understatement) and improbable. Yet again, another first time winner took the cheers, the trophy and the money last night at the Tri-State Speedway in beautiful suburban Haubstadt, Indiana. That would be Carson Short, from just down the road in Marion, Illinois holding off Kyle Cummins to take the checkered flag first after 30 laps.

There was one fairly obscure fact that jumped out at me as I toured the pits. Let the record show that only seven racers had raced their way into each of the five previous races. They were points leader Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Chris Windom, Kevin Thomas Jr., Jarett Andretti, Chase Stockon and Hunter Schuerenberg. With Hunter a no show, that number dropped to six for the finale at Terre Haute.

I arrived early enough to watch a race track come to life. It was late afternoon but as I sat, walked, talked and watched, bit by bit, the pace and intensity picked up. Teams arrived, some early, others a little later, and people began unloading race cars and equipment out of their haulers. The three teams with open trailers got the job done a bit quicker. Concession stand workers fried hamburgers or hauled ice. Various tents went up, either to add a little shade or to sell something. Fans tailgated, playing corn hole, sitting around talking and/or drinking a few cold beverages. The old girl that is called The Class Track for good reason was picking up steam and intensity. It was time to get serious.

The car count was a very decent 39. It was the most I’d seen at a Tri-State/Indiana Sprint Week program in years. How many years? I wondered for a moment and asked USAC’s resident stats maestro Richie Murray. Surprisingly, Richie didn’t have it memorized, but in about two minutes he had the answer. In 2007, the count here for ISW was a seams bursting 50, counting a few cars that didn’t take time trials.

Josh Hodges was quite serious about becoming the next first time winner. He was also one of the earliest qualifiers and tore off a 13.319 lap. Just when one might wonder if the track was going away, Chad Boespflug, who was the 38th of 39 to qualify, hustled to lay down a 13.367.

Robert Ballou continued his pattern of a mid-pack qualifying effort, a heat race win (this was the night's first heat) and passing lots of cars in the feature. Tyler Courtney was closing in on Ballou, but not nearly fast enough. Brady Short was third and had his hands full holding off Hodges. Brady Bacon added the B main to his plans.

Thomas Meseraull, enjoying his new ride, ran away with the second heat win. Critter Malone was second. Jon Stanbrough held off Chad Boespflug to make the dance with the Amati Racing Team's hoss. C. J. Leary and Dave Darland would think about what they would do in the semi feature.

The third heat was the Jarrett and Jarett show. Logan Jarrett won from the pole with Mr. Andretti taking second. Local favorite Kyle Cummins passed Dakota Jackson on the last lap to steal third. Chris Windom led a group to the last chance race.

The record will show that Jeff Bland sat on the pole and led every lap to win the fourth heat. Numbers shouldn't be expected to tell the whole story. The top four of this race were so close together they could have almost fit in my two car garage. Bland was trailed by Carson Short, Tyler Thomas and Chase Stockon. Max McGhee and Donnie Brackett would try their luck in the B.

Brandon Morin did a half spin in turn two of the first lap of the C main. All of a sudden we had a thinned out crowd. Of the original scheduled nine starters, five were left. Brian Karraker, Brandon Mattox, Brandon Morin and Daylon Chambers would tag the B. Robert Bell tried.

 

The semi feature had some unwanted drama. Isaac Chapple had been sent to the tail of his heat after passing the pace truck. He vehemently disagreed. So in the B, he came from the third starting position to take the lead, blowing by Brady Bacon. Chapple must have been motivated and led until lap seven when the yellow waved for a spin. On the restart Kevin Thomas Jr. took the lead and Chapple got a bit loose, then collected Donnie Brackett, who had also passed Bacon. Donnie flipped once and landed hard, but exited the torn up new car somewhat displeased. The lineup on this restart was K. Thomas, Bacon, Windom, McGhee, Darland and Farney; this was the order when the checkered waved.  Dave and Aaron were unwittingly benefited by the misfortunes of Chapple and Brackett. C. J. Leary and I. Chapple took provisionals.

Nothing at all against them, but it was a bit of a surprise front row with Carson Short and Jarett Andretti leading 22 of their partners in “crime” to the line. Short took the lead and almost immediately Andretti was under attack by Kyle Cummins, who passed Aldo’s grandson and began to cut into Short’s lead. No matter, the yellow waved on the seventh lap when T. Thomas and Jeff Bland had an unscheduled meeting. Short led Cummins, Andretti, Stockon, Bacon, Hodges, Ballou, Boespflug, Malone and K. Thomas.

On the re-start, Cummins would not let Short get away. He could stay close but couldn’t close the deal. A bit past the tenth lap Stockon passed Andretti for third. Lapped traffic came into play on the 17^th lap as the pace was frenzied, in other words, typical Haubstadt. Some good cars were getting lapped. And Robert Ballou was on the move, to no one’s great surprise.

Beginning the race way back in 16^th, Ballou was already seventh by the first caution. On the re-start, he passed Brady Bacon and Josh Hodges to enter the top five. Up next was Jarett Andretti and Ballou was fourth with six laps to go. He had Stockon ahead of him and was gaining ground.

Back up front the pace was frantic and dicey as the leader and challenger wove their way through lapped traffic as the laps wound down. Cummins nearly had a shot at the lead when Short bobbled briefly, but it wasn’t happening. At the end it was C. Short, Cummins and Stockon on the podium, a real treat for local fans to see three of their own having the privilege of chatting with USAC’s announcer Dillon Welch after the race.

Robert Ballou also had a speaking role afterwards as he was the hard charger, coming from 16^th to finish fourth. And how about that Jarett Andretti? He may have faded a bit from second to fifth, but he remained one of the very few who had made every feature without having to use a provisional. Then there was occasional campaigner Critter Malone, who came from 14^th to finish sixth while Brady Bacon was seventh. The law firm of Boespflug, K. Thomas and McGhee rounded out the top ten.

At this point only one more round of ISW remained with Bacon only ten points ahead of Ballou in Sprint Week points. Next stop, the Terre Haute Action Track.

Trying to convince the pig to wear the lipstick, not eat it, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

 

The Hoosier Race Report: Definitely Not Getting Old

Looking around the pits at each race I attend, I’ve been scouting out possible first time USAC feature winners. There are still some out there, but this edition of ISW has thinned the herd of racers yet to win a national USAC series feature. And at Bloomington Speedway on a beautiful Friday night, the herd got a bit smaller as Brent Beauchamp joined the club, leading most of the 30 lap feature and winning convincingly.

48 sprinters and 17 Racesavers jammed the pits. Making their ISW debuts were Matt McDonald, Jordan Kinser, Aric Gentry, Chris Babcock and Dakota Jackson. Back after a brief absence was Jeff Bland.

The boys were flirting with a new track record in hot laps, but that doesn’t count. It did count when Chad Boespflug went out to qualify and set a NTR with a blistering 10.737, the fastest a non-wing sprinter has ever toured the red clay oval.

With USAC sticking to B Main-sized heat races, stocking the actual C and B, this called for a different kind of racing, more intense if possible. Chris Windom won the first heat from his front row starting spot. He was so far ahead; he could have chased Pokémon. Windom’s front row mate, Brandon Mattox, was second, open trailer and all. Chad Boespflug had some speed left and grabbed third. A.J Hopkins may have missed the inversion, but he still came on to finish fourth after starting seventh.

Chase Stockon passed Robert Ballou early and won the second heat from the second row. And his second row partner, Dave Darland, was second. Pole sitter Ballou took third and his front row mate Brady Short was fourth.

Logan Jarrett won the third heat with Kokomo winner Kyle Cummins second. Brent Beauchamp was tough in his heat, took third.  Josh Hodges, perhaps a future first time winner of a USAC feature, was fourth. Two racers from Bartholomew County in this heat struggled. Jamie Williams signed up for the C Main. Dakota Jackson spun on lap seven and was hit by Nick Bilbee and Shane Cottle. Dakota tipped over, bringing out a red flag.

Hunter Schuerenberg won the fourth heat in which Tyler Courtney basically ended his chances of being the 2016 ISW Champ. Barreling into turn one right after the green waved, he got over the cushion, began to bounce and flipped hard over the banking. He was out of the car surveying the damage quickly. Courtney and company would bring out the backup which was set up for winged racing. Brady Bacon was second and Jerry Coons Jr. took third. C.J. Leary grabbed the last cookie from Aaron Farney at the line, maintaining his fourth place start in the feature.

It was very strange to see Jon Stanbrough in the C Main, but there he was. From fourth starting spot he won. Cole Smith started and finished second. Missourian Riley Kreisel was third after taking the initial green flag third. And Terre Haute’s Daylen Chambers would tag the consolation.

Pole sitter Kevin Thomas Jr. won the semi feature over Thomas Meseraull, liking his new gig driving for Landon Simon. Tyler Thomas was third in Jerry Burton’s car and Jarett Andretti made his fifth straight Sprint Week feature by finishing fourth. Dakota Jackson came back from his heat race misfortune and finished fifth. Bloomington regular Jordan Kinser took the last transfer spot, forcing Jon Stanbrough and Isaac Chapple to burn a provisional.

 It was Darland and Bacon on the front row with Beauchamp starting third and for all 30 laps, Darland and Beauchamp were the Show. Officially there were seven lead changes between these two, but on the track there were multiple lead changes on most of the 30 laps. Dave owned the top as he’s done many times while Brent, who has struggled at this often difficult oval, kept to the bottom.

The first yellow came out on the tenth lap when Jackson and Stockon collided with Chase coasting to a stop. Beauchamp and Darland were trailed by Bacon, Hodges, Leary, K. Thomas, Andretti, Meseraull, Coons and Boespflug. Noting Brady Short’s success the night before at Lincoln Park, I noticed that he was already 12^th after starting 17^th.

Poor Stockon had another moment on lap 14 when he and Jordan Kinser had a meeting in turn four. On this re-start Short had entered the top ten. But in the next green flag segment, which was basically the last half of the race, wasn’t too kind to the Lincoln Park winner. By the time lapped traffic came into play on the 25^th lap, Beauchamp had stretched out his lead to a whole three or four car lengths, leading the last 11 laps of the 30 lapper as the high side started to fade away somewhat, hindering Darland’s progress. To the very end the still young veteran (who I recall seeing run the long gone Thursday night Midget shows at the Indianapolis Speedrome) clung to the bottom and maintained a decent sized lead over Bacon at the end.

Yes, Brady Bacon, who passed Darland at the end to take second with DD third. K. Thomas was fourth and Meseraull took fifth, his second fifth place finish in a row. The second five was Leary, Hodges, Coons, Andretti and Ballou, who was the KSE/B&W Auto Mart Hard Charger, coming from 17^th to tenth.

Beauchamp was the third first time winner of ISW so far, with Brady Short the only multiple USAC winner for the 2016 edition of Sprint Week.

Courtney’s misfortune was Bacon’s windfall as he took over the ISW point lead and added to his season point lead.

The night was an all-sprint affair as the RaceSaver 305s were the support class. Luke Bland won the first heat while Dakota Jackson, the only driver doing double duty, won the second.

Ryan Tusing led all 20 laps to win the feature. Jackson came from his tenth place starting spot to nip Bland at the line for second.

Finding Pokémon parked between Chase Stockon and Nick Bilbee, I’m…

Danny Burton

 

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dlb1600@yahoo.com