Macon Speedway Opening Night #66

Well, the first Saturday has come and gone.  The first Saturday means one thing to me, Macon Speedway opening night.  However, 2 of the last 3 years it has been the same night as opening night of the Illini 100 at Farmer City.  When LaSalle ended up getting called off, many fans were still stir crazy and looking for a place to take in some racing action.  It hit me right away that Macon's opening night was the same weekend.  I knew of a group of at least 8 who were looking for a place to go.  They call themselves the United Midwest Drinkers, or UMD for short.  I also ran into some others who came long in far that I knew all to see some racing action at the 1/5 mile high banks of Macon, 1 of which brought his simulator (as he was heading to LaSalle for the Illini as well).  It also was his first trip, and I had a nice long discussion with him about the track and his dad and racing in general. 

 I realized how powerful a tool Facebook was, and created an event and spread the word around to ALL of my fellow racing friends and other places where fans could find out.  I knew that there weren't many tracks racing that weekend, so I would give people the information about one of the venues that would be running.

For the large group of a dozen or so UMD members, many were there for the very first time, which was exciting to me as Macon was the place where it all got started for me.  I knew if the racing was like I know it could be, they would instantly fall in love with the track. 

There was a good field of cars, including 20 Late Models, and a total of 140 cars. The track was a bit slimy to start, but was wet and heavy, and gave us some great heats in all classes.  I made it over to see what they thought of the place after the heats.  They were absolutely hooked, and were in love with the place.  You couldn't have given a much better first impression about a track than that.

The feature of the night for me was the Late Model feature, not taking away from the others.  They just were able to get into lapped traffic longer and slice and dice.  Ryan Unzicker put on a show working through lapped traffic, keeping Cory Daugherty at bay to win his 2nd straight feature at Macon, winning the Lite Beer Twin 50 makeup feature at the end of last year to close out the season.  Other winners were Jeremy Nichols in the Modifieds, holding off stiff competition from Dave Crawley Jr. and former NASCAR Winston Racing Series and UMP Modified National Champion Jeff Leka.  Nick Macklin won in the Sportsman class, while Larry Russell Jr. took home the Street Stock feature, Adam Webb the Pro Hornet feature, and Kyle Maxwell won the Amateur Hornet feature.

After the show I seen a couple of them walking back out to their campers.  I asked them if they enjoyed it and if they would be back.  They said they loved it and would definitely be back this year, which was great to hear.   It wasn't how we all planned to start our season, but we all had a great time watching some great racing, and in the end that's all that matters.

Losing a friend: RIP National Speed Sport News

It came to me with great sadness to find out yesterday that today's issue of National Speed Sport News will be the final one ever printed.  The "racing bible" as it has been called, has always been chocked full of racing information.  The internet is the key reason for it's demise.  We are so spoiled now with being able to put out news as soon as it happens and being able to see it as quickly.  

National Speed Sport News has been a staple in our family for over 40 years.  I can remember as a kid always wanting to check the mail to see if there was a new Speed Sport, as I called it then.  I would get it and just lay down on the floor, open it up, and read what all that issue had to offer.  It has been, you could say, a good friend that you get to see every week and spend quality time with.  Now, however, this friend is coming to visit, but they will not be coming back again.  This has put a tear or 2 in my eyes while I have written this, thinking back about all of the good times.  So long good friend!!  Thank you for the memories!! 

35th Spring 50, a great start to my 2011 racing season

After much consideration, my season got started Saturday, March 19th, 2011 at Florence Speedway.  The event was the season opening Spring 50, which pays $5,000 to win for Super Late Models and $1,000 to win for Modifieds.  The area, close to Cincinnati, Ohio, had seen a lot of rain leading up to the race, leaving some, myself included, as to whether it would even happen.  In the time leading up, I did research on possible drivers who would go to try and know what to expect car count wise.  As I found out, sketchy conditions can throw a curveball at things.  I had a list of about 25, with the expectation of 30-35 late models showing, and about 40 modifieds.  They ended up with 25 late models, with a LOT of the people I had listed not showing up for whatever reasons.  While disappointed in the number of cars there, I did see a lot of quality cars which helped make up for that fact.  How much it would, I wouldn't realize until the feature.

I have been to Florence twice before, both in August for the North/South 100.  I have seen the track in it's well known "black ice" form, but this would be the first time I have ever seen the track hooked up, tacky, and wicked fast.  I was absolutely ecstatic for hot laps to start, not only because it was the first time I seen Florence real tacky and fast, but because it would be the first time I have seen race cars on the track at speed since last October.  To say it was a long winter was an understatement.  The racing bug had bit me hard, and I was ready to get my fix of racing, from the sweet smell of fuel and dirt in the air, to the sounds of race motors at full song, to the various sights that racing has to offer.

My first impression of it was "HOLY SHIT THEY ARE FAST!!" It was absolutely awesome to see cars going that fast and still be in control at those speeds.  When the cars were turning laps in the high 15 second range around the high banked half mile, it's eye opening.  There were some signs as well that it was early. The hole that was digging out in turn 4 was one of great concern to myself, as I was worried it would just keep digging out and really put a damper on the racing action.


The modified heats started the racing action off.  The first heat race featured some torn up sheet metal, and even a car flipping over in turn 4.  This craziness had me thinking it could be a long night.  There would be more insanity to be had.  Multiple restarts in the following heats would be called back, but with no apparent reasoning to those of us in the stands.  The late model heats would be where this really reared it's ugly head.  Heat 1 went without incident in this area, but had a couple of mishaps.  Heat 2 was where the shit hit the fan, so to speak.  Jeep Van Wormer and Don O'Neal had the front row. Jeep fired in 4 and the first start he was leaning on O'Neal.  It got called back, which wasn't too bad.  The next start, there was a spin, so no shock.  The third start was good, and got waved off for no apparent reason.  Then Jeep, the polesitter, got put back a row, which made no sense to us.  The decision was greeted with a chorus of boos from the crowd, myself included.  Jeep's night got even worse as he would then blow a motor, and he decided his night was over.

The first feature would be the 35th Spring 50 for the Late Models.  Up until that point, there had been some fantastic racing action, including a furious battle in the first Late Model heat between Scott James and Eddie Carrier Jr (who was fast qualifier but came up just short to Scott James in heat 1).  The groundwork was put in place for a great race.   The first start, also good looking to the eyes, was also called back, which again wasn't popular.  On the next start, James got a jump, but it stuck and the race was on.  It was evident that this one was going to be highly contested.  Carrier Jr. showed early that he was going to be tough, as he rapidly went from 4th to 2nd, and was challenging for the lead when the first caution came out on lap 5.  There was plenty of close slide jobs and some dooring from some drivers, but all in all early it was a relatively clean race.  On the next start, it looked like Eric Wells jumped but Rod Conley hit the cone and was sent to the back.  Some drivers had sneaked up through the field.  There wasn't bad attrition based on track conditions really.  Carrier Jr. before had company in the yellow 71 of Don O'Neal.  He got out in front before halfway and started checking out from the rest of the field.  It really looked like it might be his race to lose.  The big mover was Scott James, who spun early by himself while running 4th with 36 to go.  He would then proceed to rally through the field to the delight of the crowd.  It was awesome watching him carefully yet swiftly move through traffic and march forward.  O'Neal made what would be a fatal blunder on a lap 27 (after a couple of attempts, one ending with Eric Wells trying to go under O'Neal and O'Neal shutting the door and Wells hitting the turn 4 berm.).  O'Neal was penalized a spot, giving the lead back to Carrier Jr.  O'Neal drove like a madman to try and get back by, but Carrier Jr. withstood his barrage.  The excitement with less than 10 to go was for 2nd as Scott James, quite possibly the fastest car on the track, had rallied to 2nd, and the crowd was going nuts.  Carrier Jr. won, James rallied for 2nd, O'Neal was 3rd, with Rod Conley and Wisconsin driver Chad Simpson rounding out the top 5.  The win was Carrier Jr's. first win at the Kentucky oval, much to his delight.  Daryl Herbert would go on and win an absolutely thrilling Modified feature filled with 3 wide racing and a wild finish.  It was a great show.  The restart rule, I learned later, was that there are cones in turns 3 and 4.  When the drivers reach the 1st cone, they can start.  Jeep started before the first cone each time, hence his penalty.  It is something the fans should be a little more well informed on.  Overall, it was a great show and I was definitely glad I went.  I would like to thank the King family for racing on a night where others would have called off.  It was worth the drive.  I will leave you with pictures from victory lane.  Hallelujah, racing season is back again!!

Not the typical Spring Break

It is that time of year for most college kids, myself included.  It is Spring Break.  Most think of Florida, Cancun, Panama, and other warm places.  Well, call me an oddball, or call me a diehard race fan.  While most were planning out these trips, I was scouring my calendar for races the weekend of my Spring Break.  The one that I eyed, as I did a year ago, is the Spring 50 at Florence Speedway.  I wanted to a year ago, but was dog sick.  I even had a ride lined up.  This year, as long as mother nature plays nice, I will kick my season off here.  Do I enjoy warm places similar to where me counterparts are?  Sure.  It's been all winter though, and I am ready to smell the sweet smell of race fuel in the air, see dirt flying and cars running side by side, and the sweet sounds of powerful racing motors at full song.  I would much rather spend my break supporting the sport I love more than just about anything else.  That time is almost here for myself and many others.  The ice has thawed, the weather is warming up, the drivers are itching to go as well.  I am ready for the green flag to drop on my 2011 season!!

2011: It's finally here

Well, after a long winter, lots of snow shoveling (at least for some), and other bizarre weather, we can finally see the ground.  Georgia-Florida Speedweeks for Late Models, Big Block Modifieds, UMP Modifieds, and WoO Sprint Cars are all now a not quite so distant memory.  NASCAR is 3 races in now.  In a sense for us as race fans, March Madness is upon us as well.  Tracks have practice days and schedules set mostly, and the local drivers are toiling endlessly to have their cars ready for the car shows and open practices before the season goes green for them for the first time.  Some tracks are starting earlier than others.  Mother Nature and fuel may play a role in how much fans and drivers alike are willing to travel.  I myself may travel almost 5 hours and 300 miles to Florence Speedway in Florence, Kentucky for the 35th Spring 50, as it falls during my Spring Break.  While others are wanting to travel to warm, tropical locations, I much rather would be at a dirt track watching late models, modifieds, sprint cars, midgets, or anything else sling dirt, see side by side racing, and take in all the sights and smells the sport has to offer to a junkie like myself.  I am smitten by the bug, and I need a dose.  It's time.  The 2011 season is FINALLY here!!

A Decade without Dale: Rembering the Intimidator

It was 10 years ago on this fateful day.  Sunday, February 18, 2001 was the date.  I was sitting in the living room of my grandparents house watching the broadcast with my Grandpa on the big screen TV. There was excitement abound for NASCAR fans.  It was time for NASCAR's Super Bowl, the 43rd Annual Daytona 500.  This was the first broadcast on FOX Sports.  Bill Elliott won the pole for this race driving for Ray Evernham.  The talk coming in was about Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, and most notably their new driver Michael Waltrip.  Michael had NEVER won a race to this point, 462 straight races without a win.  People were wondering why, of all the drivers to hire, why Dale hired Michael.  It was because Dale had faith in Michael.  The race started, and with the package, made for a lot of dicy racing.  This same package was in place when Dale went from 17th to win in 4 laps the previous fall at Talladega.  The race had the BIG ONE, piling up 20 cars, including Tony Stewart who flipped wildly in the air.  Passing by all the carnage was the black GM Goodwrench #3 of Earnhardt stealthily.  When the race resumed, he continued driving like I and no one else had seen him do.  He was driving extremely defensively, protecting the #15 NAPA Chevy of Waltrip and the #8 Budweiser Chevy of his son, Dale Jr.  He kept fending the pack off.  When the white flag waved, no one knew what was going to happen next.  The drama was building as the race was winding down was incredible.  It was literally shaping up to be a storybook ending.  Waltrip wins his first race, his teammate 2nd, and his teammate's father and car owner 3rd.  Going into turn 3 Waltrip and Dale Jr. had a small gap between themselves and Dale Sr.  Dale was battling for 3rd while holding the field back from his cars, like a parent protecting their children.  Dale dipped low to block Sterling Marlin, and the accident happened.  At the time, I didn't think it was THAT bad.  I mean, Dale had been in much worse looking accidents than that.  I realized the seriousness when one of my favorite drivers, Ken Schrader, went over to look into the car to check on Dale.  When he began frantically motioning for the emergency crews, I just got an empty feeling.  I was only 12 then, but realized that it was life-threatening.  Seeing Schrader tell Michael in victory lane was absolutely sad.  I, and I know everyone else, felt bad for him.  This was supposed to be his crowning achievement, and Dale was supposed to be there celebrating with him.  It was Dale who took the chance on Michael to begin with.  Schrader's interview pretty much drove it home to me.  Dale was dead.  I was just numb.  When they came on with the press conference, and Mike Helton uttered the words the NASCAR community dreaded to hear.  "After the accident in turn 4 at the end of the Daytona 500, we have lost Dale Earnhardt."  Those words still elicit a deep emotional response from me.  This is like saying that Superman has died.  It just wasn't supposed to happen.  Not like that.  As soon as those words were said, I broke down and cried.  I wasn't a huge Dale Earnhardt fan, but I had respect for the man, and knew what he meant for our sport.  Little did I know then just HOW MUCH he meant to the sport.  The next day, I can remember someone saying something to me that just angered and frustrated me.  "Why are you so upset?  It was just some race car driver who was killed in a wreck.  Get over it."  I just responded to that by saying something simple and to the point.  "You have no idea, so just shut up and leave me be."  Their ignorance was frustrating to me.  Now as I reflect, I have shed a few tears writing this looking back.  Many memories flash back, about the man known as the Intimidator, what he did in the car, and back to that Black Sunday in which NASCAR was altered forever, and how odd it was the rest of that season and into the next as to how odd it was not seeing the black GM Goodwrench #3 on the track, and how Kevin Harvick, a young and fairly unknown driver to most of us helped speed up the healing by helping Dale's team go back to where he would want them to be, victory lane.  He is gone, but never forgotten.  RIP Dale Earnhardt!!

My 2010 season thoughts

It's amazing how time flies.  We are already to the end of 2010, and a lot has occurred in racing over the last 12 months.  It seems like every year the time flies during the season, then drags along during the winter months.  I am going through that feeling now as a fan.  Thank goodness for racing DVD's haha.  I will give my thoughts about what I saw in the world of racing.

National Late Model Scene: Billy Moyer.  Hands down, he was the best driver in dirt late model racing this year and THE force to be reckoned with in 2010.  Moyer scored 24 feature wins overall, but it was the races he won and how he won them that made this season so spectacular.  Moyer scored 9 feature wins that were worth over $10,000 to win.  That is impressive, but what's more impressive is his sweeps at Eldora and Knoxville.  Moyer had struggled over a decade to win at the Eldora Speedway highbanks.  This year, he did something no one else had done except himself once before.  He won BOTH the Dirt Late Model Dream and the World 100.  His win in the Dream was textbook Moyer.  He took care of his car on a dry track and kept the tires under him and didn't bounce off the walls.  The World was a clinic as he knifed his way stealthily through the field from his 21st starting spot to hold off a late charging Scott Bloomquist and win his record 6th globe trophy.   In Knoxville, Moyer went out and did something that had NEVER been done before.  He swept the entire weekend of the Knoxville Late Model Nationals.   He won all 3 nights in convincing fashion, much to the delight of his hometown fans (For those who didn't know, Billy is originally from Des Moines, Iowa).


NASCAR: I appreciate history, and what Jimmie Johnson did is difficult.  However, I do believe he did it a LOT easier thanks to the current Chase format, which I absolutely hate.  It doesn't reward someone for a whole season's body of work.  The lack of consistency in fines by NASCAR was something that really, quite frankly pissed me off.  It's garbage like this and the fact that the racing isn't as good as it has been in past years that has led to the decline.  There have been a couple bright spots.  Kyle Busch is one.  Love him or hate him, he gets your attention.  He has immense talent behind the wheel.  His win record proves it.  He too did something that no one in NASCAR history has done.  He swept a weekend in the Cup, Nationwide, and Truck series.  He did it at Bristol, and I have to admit it was cool to watch.  It's so hard to get things to go right to do that, and few drivers will even attempt it to start with.    His attitude isn't always great, but at least he isn't a corporate sock puppet like most drivers have become anymore in this day and age of political correctness.  NASCAR's "Have at it boys" was another good idea.  Let the drivers take care of things.  Physical altercations may happen.  Taking swings at one another is much better than using cars to vent one's frustrations.  In the case of that, just keep an eye on it so it doesn't get out of hand and step in if you see it is.  Otherwise, let them settle it man to man, possibly punch to punch.  I'd much rather see that than the same 2 drivers wreck each other weekly and possibly take others out not involved.  I don't mind seeing drivers rub and bump some, as racing IS a contact sport.  The COT is still hideous, but they have made it somewhat better, although the cars still don't even closely resemble the cars on the showroom floors.  It'd be nice to see the cars be different enough you could identify them without the company stickers on them.

Local Racing Scene: Economy.  This word has had a big impact on the local racing scene.  High fuel prices have wreaked havoc on the industry, as it has made it harder for drivers to travel, fans to travel, and promoters to do the day to day things necessary for a track/series.   It has forced all in the business to be smarter, and it has weeded out some who weren't cut out for it.  Unfortunately, it has hit those who are good at what they do but just couldn't keep up.  This is true of drivers and track promoters/track owners.  While this was the case, some places did well due to promoters who had good resources, good business sense, and good common sense. 

My Race of the Year: North/South 100, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.  This 100 lap race featured the most side by side racing throughout the field I have seen in a long time.  The finish to this one was very similar to the previous year's race where Jimmy Mars beat Don O'Neal going into 3 on the last lap.  Jimmy Owens found something up top with about 20 to go to take the lead, but then Earl Pearson Jr. came on strong to take it away from Owens, only to have Owens reel him in as the laps wound down and he got bogged down in lapped traffic.  At the white flag this year Jimmy Owens and Earl Pearson Jr. were dead even at the start finish line.  Going into 3 it was still either driver's race.  Owens got a good run off of turn 4 and won the race, and the crowd went nuts knowing they had seen a good one.  This one was my choice of my Race of the Year because of the overall quality of racing.  My other pick would have been the 2010 World 100 as there were a couple of drivers who came deep in the field to post solid finishes.


Well, that is a wrap on the 2010 racing season.  I know I enjoyed it.  I am looking forward to see what 2011 has in store.  I know I am not alone.  Happy New Year's everyone!!  Celebrate safely!!