Father's Day: Racing Style

Today is Father's Day. This is the day where we take time to thank our fathers and/or grandfathers for what they have done for us. For a lot of us in the racing community, whether it be drivers or fans, our fathers/grandfathers introduced us to the sport. I want to thank my grandpa for taking me to my first race. I grew up with NASCAR on the television, and when I was 5 I went to my first dirt race at Macon Speedway. After that night, I was hooked for life. Some people grew up in racing families. One example that comes to mind is Billy Moyer, 5 time World 100 winner and 2 time Dream winner, and his son Billy Jr. Billy Jr. grew up traveling the road with his dad. He eventually began helping his dad working on the race cars. When Billy Jr. turned 16, he started racing late models, just like his dad. Here in the last couple of years, Billy Jr. has really began to taste some success. This year, Billy and Billy Jr. have had more opportunities to race with one another the last couple of years. When you talk to Billy, he couldn't be prouder of his son. He is quickly becoming a mature racer. Another example, here on the local level, is the Sheppards. Steve Jr. was introduced to the sport by his dad who raced. Stevie (Steve Jr.) started racing himself. Now, he and his son Brandon race. Racing has been passed down from generation to generation in the Sheppard family. There are literally numerous other stories that mirror these, in all forms of racing. To wrap this up, I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to all of the dads and grandpas out there!!

16th Dirt Late Model Dream recap

Hello everyone. As most of you know, this past weekend was the 16th running of the Dirt Late Model Dream, paying $100,000 to win for UMP Super Late Models. The weekend for me started Friday morning making the near 300 mile trek from Decatur, Illinois out to the middle of Western Ohio to the Big E. When I got there, I noticed some big things. One was that there were a LOT fewer motorhomes in the rock lot at the track. It is usually close to capacity. Also it was weird seeing the top pit be nearly empty. I went through and talked to people I know, which is always fun. I walked through vendor's row to see what all was offered. I made numerous trips to the pits both days. I was even caught in a couple pictures talking to one of my childhood heroes, Shannon Babb along with my Grandpa. These photos were taken by Nick Jensen.



I would like to thank Nick for these shots. After this I made a trip over to the Kreke race team since I know a couple of their crew members. This was only time 1 of 2 for me that day of hanging out with them. We BS'ed for a good couple of hours about anything. Around 4 Eastern time, a big shower blew through the track, getting things pretty wet. Everything got dried out and we started qualifying on time. After it was all done, Tim McCreadie was fast qualifier with a 15.629 second lap. Second fast was track owner and NASCAR star Tony Stewart with a 15.714. At the end, Tim rolled the wheel to see how many cars were inverted for the heats the next night. Tim rolled a 5. After qualifications, I made a trip down to the pits and ended up hanging out with the Kreke group again. Got to talk to Brent, the driver, along with his did Al, and the crew. Had a couple cold beers and just bs'ed some more and had a good time. Thanks guys for the cold beer!! When it started spitting rain, I knew I needed to go back to where I was sleeping, the car.

After sleeping for about 6 hours, I then got up, showered, and headed on the bus to the St. Henry Night Club for their breakfast buffet. For $7, it isn't bad at all. After getting back, I went down vendor's row to pick up the souvenirs and shirts I wanted. I walked through the pits probably 3 or 4 times before 7 PM rolled around. At 7 the track was still wet and was being rolled in. At 7:25, the trucks pulled off, and the heats got started. Overall, the heats weren't too bad. They got better as the track had a few more laps on it. The 5th heat was where trouble was obvious. Lightning was lighting up the skies behind the grandstands and the turn 1 and 2 area. At one point with 2 or 3 to go, the cars were pulled off. They pulled back on less than 10 minutes later, and finished that heat. We got the 6th heat in, but you could tell that rain was close as the sky was lighting up, and rain drops started falling past half way of the heat. It gradually grew, then poured. The track was packed in and looked good, but it wouldn't be raced on again that night due to the inclement forecast. It ended up not doing anything, which made the track look bad. I know why they did what they did, and they couldn't just change their mind on an instant. The decision was postponed to Sunday 8 AM as to what would happen. I ended up going with a group of friends I know, one being a driver's mother, to a camp site and having a nice adult beverage and having some entertaining conversations. Got to see UFO's (Walmart sacks, balsam wood, and candles that make a sort of hot air balloon), and even fireworks.

That Sunday morning, the call was made to start racing at 12:30 since Ohio can't race before 12 due to state law. At 12:30 the C main rolled onto the track. We got through the C and B, and it was obvious that starting position would be a key to the Dream. Only Don O'Neal made it from the C to the Dream. The Dream was brought to the green flag by Billy Moyer and Ray Cook. Cook got the jump early and looked tough. Moyer made a move on lap 17 but Cook shut the door on him. Moyer knew he had something. He had his next shot on a lap 20 restart. He layed back, got a run going into turn one, made a slide job, and took the lead. This pass happened to be the winning pass. However, it was far from boring behind him. Attrition was phenominal in this one. At one point, only 11 cars remained out of the 26 car field. It allowed guys farther back to move up easier, but there were some wars waged. Don O' Neal and Chris Madden both made charges from the 20's to run in the top 5 during the race. Scott Bloomquist tried to lurk like he usually does, but had a flat tire on lap 75. This led to a huge roar of cheering from the crowd. He got back out, and was a man on a mission. He ended up finishing 5th. Shane Clanton looked like he might have something for Moyer, even showing the nose under him in 1 and 2 once, but he lost a shock bolt. Steve Francis ran in the top 5 early, but the treacherous cushion right up by the wall bit him as he hit and rode the turn 4 wall around half way and pulled in the lap after that. Cook looked like he might catch Moyer a couple times, but never had anything. Moyer lived up to his nickname of Mr. Smooth. He was very consistent and wasn't challenged in the closing laps. This win was the first for Moyer at Eldora in a decade. My congratulations goes out to Billy, crew chief Steve Norris, and the entire Moyer Racing crew on winning the 16th Annual Dirt Late Model Dream!! Also a big congratulations to local girl Lauren Stewart of Jacksonville, Illinois on winning the Ms. Eldora pageant and becoming the Queen for the next year!!

The Dream turns Sweet 16

In 1994, Earl and Bernice Baltes had the 1st ever race paying $100,000 to win for dirt late models, unheard of at the time. Freddy Smith won the very first Dream race. Since then, other powerhouse names in the sport, such as Billy Moyer, Scott Bloomquist, Rick Eckert, and Jimmy Owens have all won the race. Others have shocked the racing world and broke out for big wins at Eldora and having their dreams come true. Jimmy Mars, Matt Miller, and Steve Casebolt are all drivers that scored their first crown jewel wins in their careers. The Dream has had some extra buzz added to it with the addition of the Prelude, which first came along in 2005. This event has helped raise money for charities by having NASCAR and other various drivers racing in the same late models that we dirt late model fans will watch in the 16th Annual Dirt Late Model Dream. This year, the hype is as big as ever. The fans still look forward to the pilgrimage to the Big E. This is one of those events where a lot of people come together, for one of maybe two times a year. It is really a Dream, for the drivers and fans. I personally can't wait!! I will order the PPV of The Prelude and will head to Eldora Friday morning. Can't wait to see everyone!!