Early Cancellations

As you all well know, the weather the last 2 weeks all across the Midwest, Ohio Valley, and all points in between, has flat out sucked unless you are a duck or fish.  Many places have seen well over 4 inches of rain in a single week, and it still falls.  Some promoters are coming under fire for their cancellation processes, and quite frankly it puzzles me.  A promoter, at the end of the day, has the job of trying to make money.  This means not only getting cars in the pits, but fans in the stands as well.  Every time they open the gates, a lot goes into even a weekly show.  They foot the power bill for EVERYTHING for the night, pay the concession and track workers, pay to have an ambulance on the grounds, and so on.  Needless to say, without a healthy car count or crowd count, a promoter is bound to take a bath.  The economy right now is tough for EVERYONE.  I for one appreciate a promoter cancelling early enough because it gives me the chance, as a fan, to find somewhere else to possibly go or to make alternate arrangements for the day/evening.  It saves a lot of money for fans and drivers alike who could drive a long ways to a track only to cancel right before starting.  Situations like that are a no win as fans and drivers alike end up pissed off and have a negative thought about the track in the back of their mind, something that could keep that driver down the road from coming back.  So promoters, please, keep up the good work.  If you know you can't get things ready or it looks highly unlikely, cancel early enough so drivers and fans can make alternate arrangements.  However, if you believe you can get the show in and think the people and drivers will be willing to make the gamble, I say look at whether you can afford to do so or not.  If you can, go for it.  I'm much more forgiving as a fan if the genuine effort is put in to get a show in even when it looks questionable at best.  Sometimes luck is on your side and the show gets ran to completion, while others it comes up short.  It's not an easy job being a promoter, and few will ever see what goes into getting things ready for a show.  It's almost a thankless job.  Keyword there is ALMOST. I say, to those who work hard to have a well prepped track, efficient show that is fair to fans and driver alike, THANK YOU!! 

Welcome back friend: Farmer City Raceway is alive and well to start 2011

As most of the Midwest and some fans, drivers, and others in the dirt track racing community knew, Farmer City Raceway was in serious jeopardy of closing the doors, possibly for good.  In under a month, JK Promotions, made up of Central Illinois Late Model Driver Kyle Logue, as well as local businessman Jeff Hammer, along with many volunteers and others, whipped the quarter mile oval quickly into shape.  As a fan, I was eagerly excited to see the changes in person, even though thanks to social media, I had seen some pictures and videos of the track and the facilities. 

Opening night was slated for Friday, April 8, 2011, and the forecast coming in was supposed to be fantastic.  The entire week leading up to the event, I went about promoting the event on various pages on Facebook, including those of local television stations, radio stations, and newspapers.  Thursday night I seen rain was coming through, and I was quite nervous, although nowhere as nervous as those involved with the track were.  When Friday rolled around, it was nice out, but not as nice as it was supposed to be.  I, along with my grandpa, left for Farmer City around 12.  After having a good meal at Imo's Cafe, we headed to the track to see how things looked.  Needless to say, it was an absolutely amazing sight.  There were many new boards on seats, the wall was painted and looked quite good, the ratty billboards were down, the concession stands had been revamped, the restrooms were as clean as I could EVER remember them being, and lots of things were painted.  The improvements were much needed, and it was definitely something that put a smile to my face.  Seeing the pits, it was a bit concerning.  It was evident they had a hefty overnight rainfall.  I knew they would bust their asses to get the pits worked in so there could be racing.  They had the track looking good already.  The banking in 1 and 2 had been built up some, but there's still more to go to get it to where it was pre Don Hammer.  

After toiling endlessly, they got the pits worked down, and cars started arriving around 3.  When it was all said and done, the 2 big classes, UMP Late Models and UMP Modifieds, had 33 and 25 cars respectively.  The other classes, all but one of which will be running weekly, had turnouts of less than 15 each, which was disappointing to see.  When late model hot laps rolled out, I had a chill run up my spine.  It was a feeling of joy and relief.  Racing was back at Farmer City Raceway.  The track was very smooth, tacky, and fast.  Early, it was nerve racking looking around and not seeing many people in the stands.  The weather there at the track was cloudy and cooler than forecasted, and outside of there, it was sunny and warmer.  I knew fans like myself and other "diehards" would be there, even if it were in the 30's.  I was hoping others who aren't as crazy as us diehards would come out.  As the night went along, the crowd kept growing.  Eventually, the stands all around had few seats open, which was absolutely awesome.  The show was ran in a timely manner, even with timing light issues.  They kept the show rolling along and were well organized, which was quite impressive.

The racing itself, was old school Farmer City.  The cars were fast in their heats, and the track widened out as the night went along.  One race that was absolutely amazing, and in my eyes the race of the night, was the 2nd Late Model semi.  Jason Feger and Brandon Thirlby ran well over half the race side by side with almost no room whatsoever between them and never touched.  The crowd was cheering loudly, some for or against the drivers.  I was just cheering because the track was delivering the kind of racing that has made it a popular track among fans, and why it's one of the best in Illinois.  The Street Stocks set the bar early with a great feature featuring side by side racing between Lance Johnson and Brian Cassell, with Johnson prevailing.  The UMP Modifieds were next, and they were married to the top side.  There was some passing deeper in the field, but overall not as much as I would have hoped for.  Justin McCoy took a horrible ride as he hit a disabled McKay Wenger who wasn't able to get off the track.  Thankfully, both drivers were okay.  In the end, Jay Ledford scored the UMP Modified feature win.

The Late Model feature was a good one, and it was somewhat a blast from the past.  The names and faces may have changed some, but the racing was similar.  Every groove was being utilized on the track, and drivers in the field kept moving around to see what worked for them.  After a near disaster, Brian Shirley held on over a fast charging Frank Heckenast Jr. to win the $1,500 feature.

The Sportsman were next, and it was a 3 car race between Dave Crawley Jr., Nick Macklin, and Allen Crowder.  After 15 laps of intense racing, Crawley Jr. prevailed.  The minisprint feature was a runaway, with Ryan Guyett scoring the dominating win.  The final feature, the Hornet feature, featured the finish of the night.  Fast Joe Reed led all of the feature, but the K-2 of Casey Gernantz reeled Joe in and passed him off of Turn 4 on the final lap, and won by little over a nose.  It was a thrilling finish to a great evening of racing.  After going around and talking with many friends (drivers, fans, etc.), it was time to head home. It was a much more successful opening night than I could have ever envisioned for the track.  It is great to say that Farmer City Raceway is BACK in 2011!! 

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!!