2010 Mid-Season Recap/Analysis

Wow, this season has really flown by. We are already to the midpoint of the 2010 racing season. That means it is time for my mid season review of the racing I have seen so far. On to the grades for the tracks I have been to:

Farmer City: C. What has happened with Farmer City Raceway this season has been a travesty. It is a shame to see such a racy facility sit idle like it has this year. The racing action, the nights I have been and they raced, have been pretty good. The Illini 100 was a decent race. The weekly racing, when they ran, was ok. Crowds were scarce. When they race, the racing isn't too bad.

Macon: C-. Macon Speedway has definitely had an off year, even for it's standards. This year started out with some great car counts in all classes. The track conditions haven't been as good. There were 3 nights early in the season where the track ate tires up on the cars. FOr a month, between rain and scheduling, there were no late model races for a month and 2 weeks, which sucks for myself as a fan. There has been some good racing there this year as well. Last week was a very off night with the fireworks malfunction and dryslick, hard, one grooved race track. The biggest race of the year is Thursday night with the UMP Summernationals Late Model 30th Annual running of the Herald & Review 100.

Shepp's: B-. I have been to about a handful of shows at Shepp's Speedway this year. Only once did I see a bad night. THat was the first night they had ever run the POWRi Midgets there. There was weather threatening earlier and that may have been to blame. Opening night was one of the best nights of racing I have seen all year long. Brian Divley, Dick Taykor, Jeremy Nichols, and Mike Hammerlee were all in the mix and running multiple grooves late in the race. Divley went for broke on the last lap into turn 2 and stuck it into the outside wall. Nichols ended up winning this free for all event.

Kankakee: B. I have attempted to make 2 shows there this year. The first was leg one of their late model triple crown. It got rained out as we rolled into town. I did make the UMP Summernationals race there, They ran just late models and modifieds. The track wasn't as racy as it usually is, but wasn't terrible. They did run quite late that night, the first time I had that problem there. Look forward to hitting more shows later on.

Fairbury: B. The environment there is by far the best there is locally. I always enjoy my trips to Fairbury. There had been a lot of rain leading up to the Bob and Pappy Allen Memorial. The track was rougher than usual> They worked to do what they could but it was choppy all night. It was still very racy however.

Lincoln: D. This grade isn't totally based on the racing. This has to do with how the show is ran. Both trips this year there was a threat of rain. It rained before the main event, the UMP Late Model features, had been ran. Last night's UMP Summernationals event was one that has me quite irritated. You could see there was rain in the area. Yet they ran the Crate Late Model and Modified features before the Late Model feature. Nothing against those classes, but when weather is a threat, you change the order of events to make sure the show that the people paid their money to see is ran. Pure and simple. Racing last night was blah but they kept working on the track and it did get better.

Highland: A. This was my first ever visit to the Highland Speedway located on the Madison County Fairgrounds. It is a unique little track. The racing I seen there was fantastic. They even went out after the semi's, cut the track up all the way around, and watered it. The results was fantastic feature racing in all classes. I had heard they had been doing this, and to see it with my own eyes was a good thing. Definitely will go back there again.

Belleville: B+ Belle-Clair Speedway was eventful as usual. The gates opened 20 minutes late due to their people not being there on time, which wasn't a good thing. The racing was pretty good. Dennis Erb Jr. and Shannon Babb ran side by side for 25 laps in the late model feature. The modified feature, even though it had 10 cars, produced a photo finish with Tyler Dibert winning his first ever feature. Another good night overall.

Brownstown (IN): C+. This is where I kicked my season off this year. I went there for the Indiana Icebreaker Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event. The weather for late March was beautiful and warm. The week before they had a lot of rain fall there. The track showed it as it was quite choppy in turns 1 and 2. The racing wasn't too bad. Definitely a racy track when right.

Eldora: A. I went to Eldora for the 16th Annual Dirt Late Model Dream, my 4th Dream event I have attended. The heats were some of the best I have seen at Eldora before. It rained during the 5th heat, but we got the heats in. After that the bottom fell out of the sky. Then it quit. It stunk, but it happens. The racing resumed 12:30 PM EDT with the C-Main. Don O'Neal actually made it from the C to the B, to the Dream. The race started with Ray Cook, who had just won the Show-Me 100 earlier on Memorial Day weekend, jumped out the the early lead. Moyer made his move on a restart on lap 20. After that he lived up to his moniker or Mr. Smooth. The racing behind him was pretty good for a day race. In the end only 13 cars finished but overall the racing wasn't too bad.

All in all, it has been a somewhat rainy season. The racing has been decent overall. Looking forward to what the second half of the season has in store.