2011 UMP Summernationals in review/Thank you to everyone for their concern with Grandpa

This tour, when looked back upon, will be remembered for 3 things.  One is weather.  This had to be one of the rainiest Summernationals in recent memory.  Also, early on, the temps were cooler than usual.  This was a pleasant surprise.  The second thing that will be Shannon Babb's absolute dominance to close out.  I have, in all my years of seeing series racing, NEVER seen a driver close out with 6 in a row to win a points championship.    He had been consistent to that point and not had as much bad luck as his competition, and when he hit his stride, the tour became his personal playground.  The tour overall had a lot of average to poor racing, which was disappointing to see.  The field looked to be as competitive as ever, even with naysayers saying it was just a glorified local show.  The talent around here has shown it can compete past the local level.  The third thing will be the Belle-Clair tire cheating incident involving apparent race winner Michael Kloos.  He was eventually stripped of this and the win was awarded to 2nd place Ryan Unzicker.  The best race I seen that was a part of the tour I would say was at Fayette County Speedway in Brownstown, Illinois, a track I had never been to until this year.  This weekend there were 2 make up dates, and they were 2 great shows.  One was the 31st Herald and Review 100, where Babb proceeded to win his 7th in a row, but it didn't count towards the points since they ended at Oakshade.  The 2nd was the Lynn Chevy Summernationals event at Fairbury.  This was one of the best races I have EVER seen in my 17 years of attending races.  The finish was so close, but looking back, I'd say they actually got it wrong.  I did that night as well, and it has cost Feger $5,000 as a result.  Not knocking the track or Rodney Melvin.  I didn't have an interest in who won in terms of which driver.  I just wanted the person who actually crossed the finish line FIRST to be crowned the winner.  It looks, after reviewing ALL of the evidence currently available, that didn't happen.  I am still completely puzzled as to why the transponders that the series utilized during the entire tour, weren't used for the make up dates.  This was a time where they really could have been a useful tool.  I understand hindsight is 20/20, but this is a case that this SHOULD have been in use, PERIOD.  This also makes me think that tracks should have a super slo-mo camera or a start finish line camera in the case there is ever a question to a result.  In the end, it's awesome to have a problem like that after 50 laps of hard racing on a well prepared track that withstood the hot, muggy, brutal conditions mother nature threw at us.  It is a testament to those who prepared the track.  Also, a big shout out of thanks to the Fairbury group for moving the Late Model feature to 2nd in the running order.  Great decision, and I know I'm not alone in this sentiment.  It sucks that you know some of the people involved on a personal level, but sometimes it happens.  I try to never let emotion get in the way of calling something as I see it.  That night, I called Melvin the winner and didn't have much doubt.  Now, there is a lot more after seeing all of the proof.  Other than that, it was all ANY race fan could possibly ever ask for in a feature event.  They just don't get much better.  My overall grade for this Summernationals has to be a C.  The tour early seemed to have the potential to be a free for all that could produce multiple winners, which it did. It also had the potential to have a 6 car or more race for the points.  However, this just never happened.  Luck had a big role in this, but this sport is notorious for that sometimes.  I would say the Summernationals needs to seriously look at format and series changes to revamp things.  Travel is definitely one of those things.  I'd say a shake up could really strengthen the series.  I will leave this with a link of photos of the races I went to over the course of the Summernationals tour.  In total, I hit 8 shows including the 2 make up events.  Here is a link to the photos from those events, http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150252641534248.344519.503429247&l=095f2f77d6&type=1     A bit of the sights of the Summernationals you could say.    Before I end this, I also have to send out a huge thank you to fans, drivers, crew members, and others for their concern, thoughts, and prayers for my grandfather.  It really means a lot coming from you all.  You all have reminded me yet again why I love this sport so much.  In a way, we all become one big family at the track.  He ended up missing this weekend of racing, but with the heat, it may very well be for the best. He is feeling a lot better right now.  Again, to all of those in the racing community who have sent many kind well wishes, THANK YOU!!  Hope you all enjoyed this recap of the Hell Tour.

My 2010 UMP Summernationals Review

Well, that time of year has come and gone again. The time of year where UMP Late Model drivers can go 29 races in 31 days. I always jokingly call it the traveling circus. I am referring to the UMP Summernationals, aka The Hell Tour. The UMP Summernationals is one of my favorite times of the year. So much racing back to back. I ended up hitting 12 tracks on this year's tour, 2 of which I had never been to. Since it has ended, it is time for me to give an overall review of the Summernationals.
The tour started this year at Brownstown Speedway in Brownstown, Indiana on Wednesday June 16th. Billy Moyer, who just won the $100,000 to win Dirt Late Model Dream that Sunday, continued rolling by winning stop 1 on The Hell Tour. My first night was night 2 of the tour when it rolled into Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, Illinois. That night saw Billy Moyer overtake Frank Heckenast Jr. and Jason Feger to win 2 in a row. My next stop was night 7, Tuesday July 22nd at Highland Speedway. This night would see Shannon Babb win a thriller over Jason Feger. Plenty of side by side, multi-grooved racing was seen that night. It was Shannon's first win of the tour. Night 8 took the tour and myself to Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Illinois. This one saw Dennis Erb Jr. outlast a barrage from Shannon Babb. Those 2 ran side-by-side for the first 25 laps of the feature. This was Erb Jr's first win of the 2010 campaign. Night 9 almost didn't happen for me. I had a presentation I had to attend for a summer class. I ended up getting out right around 7 and booked from Springfield to Alexander, Illinois to Shepp's Speedway. Made it there in less than 30 minutes, and didn't miss the heats. Shannon Babb would claim his second win of the week and of the tour. The following night, night 10, took The Hell Tour to Farmer City Raceway in Farmer City, Illinois. Don O'Neal rolled in driving for Larry Moring. At the end of the night, he lived up to his nickname of The Real Deal. He blew the field away and won. That was his first Summernationals race of this tour, and first win. My next night was Sunday, July 4th at Lincoln Speedway. This night was the first to have the racing be claimed by Mother Nature. Next up for me was the Thursday, July 8th event at Macon Speedway. This was the 30th Annual Herald & Review 100. The feature was probably one of if not the best I have seen this year, and in a while for that matter. It was a slugfest. It came down to 3 drivers in the end after Brian Shirley dominated the 1st half of the 100 lapper. Babb led a good portion. Jason Feger led a good chunk as well. But in the end, on lap 97, Babb went too high and Dennis Erb Jr. snuck by and led the rest of the race and took his first ever Herald & Review 100 win, which was win 2 of this year's tour. The next night took me to Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois. This night was made possible thanks to Tracy Feger, Jason's mom. This night was a good one for the Feger group as Jason scored his first ever $10,000 victory. He won it in dominating fashion, running his traditional high line. This was Jason's first win on the 2010 Hell Tour. The next night took The Hell Tour to Fairbury American Legion Speedway in Fairbury, Illinois. This is probably the most festive date on the whole tour. People come out in droves in campers and motorhomes to tailgate, have fun, and enjoy racing. The racing wasn't bad before the track locked down. In the end, Shannon Babb won his 3rd feature of the 2010 edition of the Summernationals. My next night was Monday, July 12th. This was originally an open date, but since Spoon River Speedway was rained out on Wednesday, July 7, the series decided to schedule the make up for this date. The racing this night was pretty good. This night saw Ryan Unzicker finally break through for his first ever UMP Summernationals win. The next night took the tour not too far, to Peoria Speedway in Peoria, Illinois. The racing wasn't too bad. This night saw Jack Sullivan survive a siege by Jason Feger. Jason was tough, and at one point passed Jack, but a yellow flag negated that pass. After that, Jack held on to win his 2nd win of the tour. My last of 12 races was the Saturday, July 17th date at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio. This trip was also made possible thanks to Tracy Feger. This was my first ever trip there. I loved the place. The racing was pretty good. Rusty Schlenk slipped by Dennis Erb Jr. on lap 17 and never looked back in the 60 lapper. This was Rusty's biggest win of his career, and his 2nd UMP Summernationals win of his career and of the week.
My overall thoughts of the tour this year was that it was a good one. The points weren't decided until the next to last night. There were 4 drivers in the running for a large portion of the tour for the championship. The tour saw 12 different drivers (Billy Moyer, Brian Birkhofer, Rodney Melvin, Jeep Van Wormer, Shannon Babb, Dennis Erb Jr., Don O'Neal, Jack Sullivan, Brian Shirley, Jason Feger, Ryan Unzicker, and Rusty Schlenk) capture feature wins on this year's campaign. Billy Moyer led the way with 6 feature wins. In the end, Dennis Erb Jr's stranglehold on the points championship was broken. Jason Feger was crowned the 2010 UMP Summernationals Champion.


This ended Erb Jr's streak of winning the points at 3 years in a row. There were some surprise drivers who followed the tour for part of if not the whole tour. Those drivers were Bub McCool, Wendall Wallace, Jack Sullivan, Richie Hedrick, and Jim Moon. Only Sullivan followed the tour for every event. I am glad, as the drivers are as well, that the UMP Summernationals is done for this year. It was fun, but now it is back to a state of relative normalcy here in the Midwest.

2010 UMP Summernationals WINS (per driver):
Billy Moyer-6
Jeep Van Wormer-4
Don O'Neal, Shannon Babb-3
Dennis Erb Jr., Jack Sullivan, Jason Feger, Rusty Schlenk-2
Brian Birkhofer, Rodney Melvin, Brian Shirley, Ryan Unzicker-1

To see pictures from the Hell Tour, just visit my Facebook album titled 2010 UMP Summernationals. The link is http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188264&id=503429247&l=5662abba64


Before I end this, I have to thank numerous people. First I have to thank my Mom. Without her, most if not all of my tour wouldn't have happened. The same goes to my Grandpa as well. I would like to thank Tony Hubert as well. He did Twitter updates every night and I was able to follow when I couldn't be there. I'd also like to thank Tracy Feger for the rides to Granite City and Oakshade. To anyone else I missed, THANK YOU!! It was a good tour. Look forward to what the rest of 2010 has in store.