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Central PA
The Hoosier Race Report
by Danny Burton
Was Carly Simon Right?
What passes for the “good old days” has always varied, depending on factors such as age, attitude and interest. Does it matter, really, as long as folks appreciate what they or hear? Memories help us appreciate the past and hope helps us face the future. With that in mind, consider one Anthony Wayne Stewart, race fans. Appreciate him. He is truly one of a kind. And once again, he proved it at, of all places, an indoor midget race, showing that he wants to win a Rumble Series feature as bad as any other race on the NASCAR circuit. In a few days, he’ll do it again in Tulsa, Oklahoma as he aims for another Chili Bowl feature win. No one has taken this path. Few, if any, have done better, no matter what path they’ve taken as they piled up wins and/or championships.
On opening night, Friday, December 30, two boys didn’t care about any of Tony Stewart’s wins or championships. It was a night out with Grandpa and we made the most of it. The oldest had his fun by roaming the pits, visiting and eating. The youngest was, as usual, content to sit in Grandpa’s lap and watch races. All night. His only movements were to cheer each winner and pretend to wave each green flag.
I wasn’t too concerned about the indoor noise. These guys have been to enough races for me to know a little noise won’t bother them. But the accumulation of fumes might be an issue, especially if one of them had become sick (not prepared to face their mother’s wrath if I allowed either to get sick on my watch). So we left before Tony smoked the field in Friday’s midget feature. The following night my good buddy (and Hawkeye Racing News editor) Jim Morrison told me that Friday night’s haze was worse than Saturdays. I actually made a good move.
Saturday was a mostly lazy day with much of it spent in a Decatur, Indiana motel room, watching more football in a day than I normally watch in a month any more. The young hooligans would stay at home on Saturday while I hung out with, what else, older hooligans and in at least one case, a very attractive hooligan.
Promoter Tony Barhorst knows a thing or two. He’s hit on a winning formula for his Rumble Series and it works. It gives racers and race fans a chance to get a racing fix in the midst of winter. And if a Tony Stewart shows up, NASCAR fans that aren’t necessarily hard core race fans will show up after years of rooting for their favorite driver and actually see him in person. These are the people that faithfully buy the t-shirts, die cast cars and ball caps; they have to love the chance to have Tony race, win and schmooze a bit with them as he signs his name on a #14 die cast model car.
They were out in force on New Year’s Eve, many armed with phones and cameras. I walked through the pits at times and they were hard to miss, lined up against the wall, angling for a shot of Mr. Stewart, who went about his business as if this happened all the time. (Oh, wait. It does happen all the time to him.) I gave up trying to be polite and decided they could shoot around me. At one point Tony was deep in conversation with none other than Mel Kenyon, who needs no introduction to most hosehead readers. I had to wonder how many of Tony’s fans realized what a great picture that would make, two of the all time racing greats chatting in a pit area filled with race cars, people and all the sights and sounds that are part of it.
After a boatload of preliminary heats, B Mains, and features run by all the other cars (including a myriad of go-cart classes) and after Henry Rife took his four wheel drive vehicle for a ride on a ramp, clearing a mini-car lot, it was time for the last race of the year.
The green flag waved at 10:40 p.m. as 15 survivors prepared for 60 laps of beatin’, bangin’, tappin’, spinnin’, rough housin’, rumblin’ (of course) and even some racin’, which is the bottom line, the main act in the first place, at least for me.
You could be sure there were 14 guys out there who wanted to beat this NASCAR hotshot in the worst way. But there would be two immediate obstacles. One came in the form of the ageless Munchkin, the infamous car that Tony picked up from constructor/guru Mike Fedorcak, Tony’s card playing buddy, who was starting along side Mr. Stewart in the second row. The other was the driver himself, who had already proved in the last two nights why he’s where he is in the racing world. He’d romped on Friday night and was still hungry to do the same to close out a spectacular year.
Pole sitter David Gough was no slouch; he’s been at this game for some time. And he took off to lead the first 18 laps, hands full in holding Stewart at bay, until he slowed and coasted into the infield. From there it was Tony’s race to lose, only slowed by an unofficial seven caution periods and a red flag for a red hot Jon Stanbrough, who reluctantly bailed from the cockpit when a stubborn engine fire sent him to the infield on the eighth lap.
Stanbrough proved again that, if one is going to have trouble, they should have it early as he motored to a second place finish, over a half lap behind. Rex Norris III was third with Billy Wease fourth. Dave Darland came from last (promoter’s option) to take fifth. The checkered flag waved at 11:05 p.m. Shucks, had there been another race nearby, Tony might have tried to win another to close out a red hot streak ending 2011.
But there he was post-race, sitting at a table, smiling and signing, making a lot of folks quite happy. The table was set up just outside turn three. The line easily stretched back 50 feet, fans patiently waiting for their special moment. One could see that Stewart and company would be ringing in the New Year this way. And why not?
I walked around visiting friends, wishing them well until 11:45. It was motel time. It was a night of firsts for me. It was the first race I’d ever seen on New Year’s Eve, my first as a retiree; I’d never have to worry about being ready for work come the next work day. It was the first Eve in a very long time that the midnight hour found me totally alone. At the magical moment, I was motoring south on U.S. 27. It occurred to me that this was the first New Year’s Eve I’d spent without my wife since Richard Nixon was roaming around the White House.
Despite all that, Tony Stewart wasn’t any more pleased with things than I. 2011 had been a year mixed with good and bad, as always, for both myself and the racing community. Through the ups and downs, life had gone on, as it must. It’s been and hopefully will continue to be a bumpy but enjoyable ride. I’ve learned a lot from racing people who’ve been my unofficial teachers without their knowing it. And as I headed south to yet another motel room, I was reminded that “alone” and “lonely” are two truly different words.
Thanks in part to T. Stewart, our ultimate old school racer, for reminding us about those good old days. And maybe we can say, with some degree of certainty, that these, too, are the good old days.
Helping the former Mrs. Woods blow up her termite infested mansion, I’m……
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Racers’ Night Before Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas
at all Hoosier tracks.
Landon and Karston roared,
“Santa has come back!”
“He says he’s goin’ racing
with his Maxim 410.
Heading for the bullrings
to leave gifts for his friends.
He’ll stop at Bloomington Speedway
and make Mr. Miles smile
by keeping the rain far away
from the lovely quarter mile.”
“Gas City!” shouted Karston.
“That’s the place to be.
Good racin’ and Jiggs’ playground
Is for Bubby and me.”
“Are we goin’ to the ‘burg?”
Asked Landon innocently.
“I like those fast high banks
And that cotton candy.”
“How about LPS?” I asked
As the boys looked at me so strange.
“It’s a neat little 5/16th
That’s home on the range.”
“Grandpa, you forgot Kokomo!”
Landon exclaimed so loud.
“That track with good racin’
And the boisterous crowds.”
“Papaw, what’s a Haubstadt?”
Karston wanted to know.
“Santa says it’s great
And we really need to go!”
“Tell us about THAT, Santa
and what it really means.”
“It means outstanding racin’
When the flag waves green.”
“Does Santa go to Salem?”
Landon wanted to know.
“That sleigh will surely fly
And it won’t be very slow.”
“How about Winchester?”
Karston asked with a smile.
We can play in the infield
Inside that fast half mile.
“Don’t leave out Eldora
And don’t worry about any dust.
You’ll love it there, Santa.
It’s simply a total must.”
Santa smiled at the boys
And glanced toward his race-sleigh.
“I’d better tell those racers there
That we must be on our way.”
“Now Darland! Now Clauson!
Now Windom and T. Hines too!
On Levi! On Stanbrough!
On Cottle! And on Jerry Coons!”
Then Santa nodded at the racer in front.
Who smiled and nodded okay
Santa shouted one more time,
“On Shane Hmeil! Lead us all away!”
With that they were gone in a flash,
Headed for a race track.
The boys smiled and waved
and hoped that they’d come back.
Santa is a racer, we all know by now.
He gets a kick out of backin’ it in.
So watch for him at your favorite track
rootin’ for racin’ and for us all to win.
(End notes: May this Christmas season find you all at peace with your loved ones, your God and your self. May we not worry so much about how to wish each other a Merry Christmas or Season’s Greetings. Instead may we be more concerned with how we treat each other, no matter what our differences may be. And may we try to avoid unnecessary wings versus non-wings debates. No one has ever won any of those debates.
Many thanks to many people who brighten my life. I dare not try to name them all, but will mention Allan, Andrew, Landon, Karston, Anita and all the folks at my beloved Hoosier (including Eldora) bullrings: promoters, staff, racers, crews, scribes and other fans.)
Ready to Rumble (in Ft. Wayne of course), I’m…..
Danny Burton
Sprint Car Salvation
For some time now Hoosier racing writer Dave Argabright has been telling stories about racers and races in a way that race fans everywhere can appreciate. Now that he’s a mega-huge TV star (doing pit reporting and various features on Speed TV) I’d guess that he has some new fans who might not realize that Dave was, and is, first and foremost, a writer.
A few years back Dave tried his hand at fiction, writing a chapter each month in Sprint Car and Midget magazine. It went over well; I have heard many fans comment about the series. Dave surely heard as well because he’s taken the same characters, re-worked the plot a bit and written “Sprint Car Salvation”, a year in the life of the semi-famous Jimmy Wilson.
If you like fiction and/or if you like reading Dave Argabright’s efforts, then you need to grab this book for yourself or that someone special. Some of the book follows the magazine series closely, but some things are added while other subplots disappear. (Hint: The IRS goes MIA.)
The book takes place in 1974 as our fictitious hero begins the year in a new ride, the Sonny Ellison #49 (with Ohio’s Josh Shaw getting a thank you here for creating his version of the car from this book). We follow Jimmy, his cantankerous (on a good day) mechanic Jack Harvey, crew man Slim and a host of various characters, heroes, villains and the occasional groupie as they chase races up and down the road. A good bit of the fun is trying to figure out which individual, race track, or city was Dave’s inspiration. (I can guess a few of each myself. And I’ve passed through Milton, Kentucky many times; this is one of the few places that isn’t fictitious.) But that is part of the fun of fiction. To make it sound easy, all you do is draw from your own experiences and observations, throw in facts or things that actually happened, add some imagination and put it down on paper or screen. To Dave’s credit he makes it look easy.
Stories, legends, myths, all with a touch of truth are a huge part of what makes life what it is. Naturally this applies to racing, too. Within the book stories of the past are passed down from older drivers to Jimmy. No doubt some of these tales are based on what really happened, which is fiction in the first place. Good stories are both entertaining and educational. Mr. Argabright’s book offers up a good bit of both.
One example of that is when we ride in the cockpit with Mr. Wilson as he runs heats, features and even the occasional B Main. There are times Jimmy waits a lap or so before passing a competitor. Other times we read of him going for it. We’re reminded that life is like that as well.
Finally, our friend and author could have made the book a bit raunchier. For whatever reasons he chose, Dave didn’t do that and I’m glad. I have this grandson who just turned nine (yesterday as this is written) and he loves to read. In a couple of more years he may well tackle this book. So if anyone wishes for the Agrabright version of “Girls Gone Wild” they will have to wait.
Christmas approaches and, while timing may not be everything, it does matter. Any race fan that also enjoys Mr. Argabright’s efforts at stringing together various words will like this book. For some it may be a brief trip down memory lane, when things seemed less complicated. For a few it may be an introduction to both open wheel racing and the nomadic lifestyle that racers lead. Purists may scoff, saying that is was “nothing like that. All the really good stuff was left out.” So be it. Like the title itself, take what you wish from it and enjoy.
Hustle off to www.daveargabright.com if you wish to find out how to get this book—or any others that Dave has written over the past few years.
Hey, Dave. Is it me or does this book have “sequel” written all over it?
Wishing someone could pay me for being married a bit longer than 72 days, I’m…..
Danny Burton
We’ll Always Have Perris
This odyssey just concluded was the longest of my life—so far. Via trains, automobiles and an airplane, I’ve traveled close to 4,000 miles since the first of this month. I’ve seen a wide variety of the American landscape from my Indiana home to southern California’s Inland Empire. The weather has ranged from a Colorado snowstorm to California sunshine to California rain. I’ve met all sorts of people; fortunately, nearly everyone was nice and friendly. I’ve greeted old friends and made new ones. I’ve visited family on Phoenix, Arizona as well, a visit as close to perfect as one can get, seeing some for the first time in over a decade. And in the midst of all this, I dropped in on a new (to me) race track, seeing Damion Gardner win big money on Saturday night.
The Perris Auto Speedway (The PAS) is not just any old bullring; it is a jewel of a facility that is a short train ride east of Los Angeles. They call it a half mile oval. I’m inclined to think that the “oval” part is correct, but that isn’t really important. What does matter is that The PAS is the home of the Oval Nationals, part of USAC’s annual West Coast swing. This unites both USAC’s national sprinters and its west coast CRA runners, making for some serious racing. Need I add that it’s a race fan’s dream? Especially if that fan has been hankering to take a train AND see racing at The PAS, which I’ve wanted to do for several years now.
Nic Faas stole the show on opening night, Thursday. On Friday the rain took over and took the green, checkered and all the other flags, especially the red. The track and USAC then managed to pull off a two day show in one day, not an easy job. Friday’s rain brought clear skies on Saturday but temperatures reminded me of Indiana—in April.
No matter, 50 cars jammed the pits, the sun was high in the sky, God was in His heaven and, who else, Mike Spencer was quick timer at 16.051.
The C Main shoved off on time and it was all Andy Forsberg’s---until he dropped out. John Aden, Tony Everhart, Kenny Perkins and Josh Ford tagged the B Main. But first…..
On a track that some might say that passing was difficult, those not named Chris Windom would agree. Windom came from the last row to win the first heat over both Rip and Cody Williams. Cory Kruseman, nowadays a part time campaigner, was fourth.
In the second heat Geoff Ensign smacked the turn four wall and collected Bryan Clauson, ending the race for both despite Clauson’s best efforts to rejoin the race (it looked like that flat tire had been repaired in time). Troy Rutherford was again impressive with that 360 engine as he won over Robert Ballou, Levi Jones and Thursday’s winner, Mr. Faas.
Colby Copeland let the others fight it out as he won the third heat. Super Rickie Gaunt was second. Keith Bloom Jr., who has frequented Hoosier bullrings the past two years, was third with Bud Kaeding fourth. Kyle Larson and Hunter Schuerenberg moseyed off to the B.
Austin Williams flipped early in the fourth heat. Early attrition reduced this heat to six cars with two groups of three fighting tooth and nail for position at each end of the track. Matt Mitchell won, holding off Damion Gardner, who started seventh. Ronnie Gardner was third. David Bezio came up from San Diego to grab fourth after a scrap with Danny Ebberts and Jon Stanbrough.
Casey Shuman was the only heat race winner to win from the pole. He held off Greg Alexander, Dave Darland and R.J. Johnson to take the fifth heat. Improbably, this was where all four started the race. The eight car invert sent its share of good cars to the B.
Two of those good cars, driven by Spencer and Schuerenberg, led a strong field to the green for 12 laps. Again, A. Williams flipped and this time the second generation racer was KO’d for a bit. Soon though, he was able to walk away. A bit later a struggling Kyle Larson spun. Meanwhile, the low groove signaled the high groove that there were two grooves for the boys to exploit. Then Schuerenberg flipped while running second; he was okay. Spencer led Clauson, Tracy Hines and Bobby East to the 25 lap feature.
With provisionals, 28 cars jammed the track for the main. Kruseman and D. Gardner led the boys to the green and the Kruser assumed the lead as Windom quickly moved from fifth to third behind the Demon. By lap seven Windom was second as Kruseman bobbled, slowed, then stopped, bringing out a lap nine yellow.
The re-start had Windom leading D. Gardner, Spencer, Bloom, Jones, Faas, Ballou, Hines, Kaeding and Johnson. Schuerenberg had already moved from 25th to 14th, but that would be his highlight. From there it would be all Windom with the only drama being Spencer’s having something to say about the matter. It wasn’t happening as the Illinois native took it home, leading the last 17 laps.
Spencer was tough, but settled for second with Jones, D. Gardner and Faas in the top five. Bloom was sixth with Hines coming from 11th to finish seventh. Mitchell, Ballou and Kaeding made the top ten.
Folks cleared out as the track was re-worked for the grand finale. By now I was wearing all the layers I had and considering the warmth that coffee might bring as the sun bade us good night.
The track was a bit slower for qualifications as Cory Kruseman’s quick time was “only” 16.443 with the top eight in Oval National points for the first two sessions were excused from heat races, moving straight to the feature. Only the top two would advance from the four heats with two B’s each taking four. Get that? No worries, I did---eventually.
Hunter Schuerenberg got it, grabbing the first heat over Kruseman with Kyle Larson headed for the B. A patient and opportunistic Bryan Clauson won the second heat over Richard VanderWeerd. Cody Williams won the third heat over Casey Shuman, who traded a few slide jobs with Greg Alexander. Matt Mitchell had engines woes end his race. He’d be back. The final heat saw Jon Stanbrough tip it over, but recover nicely a bit later. Robert Ballou’s engine went kablooey!, ending his race. R.J. Johnson won with Bobby East taking second.
Dave Darland won the first B from the pole. Matt Mitchell, troubles solved, was second with Kyle Larson third, making his first feature this weekend after starting eighth. The persistent Ronnie Gardner was fourth.
Brady Bacon, wheeling the Hoffman’s 69 this week, won the second B. Stanbrough was second after his heat race annoyance; Ryan Bernal was third with John Aden coming from ninth to take the last spot for the A. Colby Copeland flipped hard going into turn one with parts flying. He was okay, but now owner of a trashed race car.
D. Gardner and Jones led 24 others to the green. The box score shows Gardner leading all 40 laps to win, which was true. But the box score cannot mention that Mike Spencer was on the gas and made the Demon work. From sixth, Spencer was fifth at lap ten, when the red waved for a nasty crash on the backstretch involving Richard VanderWeerd and Brady Bacon. VanderWeerd’s car took a mean ride, ending up pretzel shaped. Richard was shaken but okay.
The re-start had D. Gardner leading Jones, Windom, Bloom and Spencer. Faas was sixth, leading Kaeding, Hines, Clauson and Kruseman. Three laps later and Spencer was third, shuffling Windom and Bloom back. There was room to pass but people and cars were evenly matched as Spencer pressured Levi for second.
Lap 30 saw Bloom’s race end with smoke involved. Bud Kaeding now trailed D. Gardner, Jones, Spencer and Windom. Two laps after the re-start, Spencer took second as Kaeding took fourth. But that was all the change there would be up front as Gardner was simply in total control of the race and the money that went with it.
Spencer and Jones had to be content with podium appearances as Kaeding took fourth over Windom. Post-race those two played bumper cars after an earlier disagreement. (Neither would pull a Kyle Busch and try to wreck each other.) The second five would be Faas, Hines, Clauson (tightening his grip on his second straight National Driver’s Championship), East and Kruseman.
The lucrative Legends of Ascot match races were almost an afterthought unless you were Mike Spencer. Each of the five drivers rotated starting spots for the four lap dashes. The winner of each race would get four points, with each finisher getting one less point. Spencer won two of the four races and wasn’t offended at receiving the $10K (plus?) for his efforts.
So this part of the journey was finished. Neither rain nor cold nor long train rides had deterred me. Friends apologized for the weather, the lack of side by side racing and the high food prices (but the servings and quality were outstanding), but they didn’t need to do that. It had been a ball, from sitting on the pit wall during time trials to hitching a ride in Ken Wagner’s golf cart to sitting with Bob Clauson and Bill Mackey listening to their stories. By the time I reached the motel in Moreno Valley (Best Western’s racers’ rate) I was already thinking about a return trip. Why not?
Years ago my daughter asked me how long I’d be chasing race cars, race tracks and races. My answer then and now would be…as long as I’m able. Thankfully I’m still able. And I’ll always have Perris.
Nudging Kyle Busch while under the caution flag, I’m…..
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Perris, Night One
Perris, California--This turned out to be a night of firsts for me, and most all were great. Perhaps the only person happier than me was Nic Faas, who put a whipping on the rest of the field at the Perris Auto Speedway last night, Thursday. The California native started up front and never looked back, leading all 25 laps of the all-green main event.
My personal firsts started on Tuesday as I boarded a "real" train for the first time in my many years. After two days of varied scenery, reading, yakking, and occasional sleep I rolled into this bit of heaven on earth. After a wrong turn or three (thank you, mapquest) I found the jewel that is Perris, the track.
Catching the last half of time trials from a unique view (turn two at the gate) there sat young Ryan Bernal claiming fast time, a 16.906, edging Mike Spencer. These two were the only drivers of the 49 who timed in under 17 seconds.
First up was the C Main for guys outside the top 40 to get one last chance to play some more. Ronnie Gardner assumed the lead midway through and kept it. After giving Casey Shuman fits for several laps, Danny Ebberts passed the Arizona native for second. Little Shu was third with Colby Copeland grabbing the last available spot; all would tag their heats.
The top four would advance from each of the five heats. Everyone was inverted, making it super tough on hot dogs who wanted to advance. Jon Stanbrough won the first heat from the pole was his good news. The bad news was that his 36th quick time trial would land him deep in the pack come feature time. Danny Sheridan was second with Bobby East third. Damion Gardner was fourth.
Josh Ford also won his heat from the pole on a very fast track that made passing tough. But Mike Spencer showed it could be done. From eighth he charged to a transfer spot before having to lift, losing momentum. Chris Windom came from fifth to second. Dave Darland was third with Wes Gutierrez holding Spencer off to take fourth.
The third heat saw some passing as feature winner Nic Faas came from sixth to win as Levi Jones started fifth and finished second. Shane Golobic was third with Keith Bloom beating Kyle Larson to take fourth. Already the dance card for the B was shaping up to be loaded. Midway through, Danny Faria flipped once, but ending his night.
Cory Kruseman won the fourth heat with Richard VanderWeerd second. Robert Ballou and Bud Kaeding made it an all-California top four moving on.
Hoosier Tracy Hines started sixth and won the fifth heat over Hunter Schuerenberg, who only came from the last row. Greg Bragg was third with Troy Rutherford, 360 engine and all, claiming the last of the feature spots available.
The B Main was locked and loaded with an outstanding group of racers. Alas, only four would transfer with many more sitting out the last dance. Front row starter Mike Spencer won over fellow front row mate Ryan Bernal. Brady Bacon was third with Bryan Clauson holding off Kyle Larson to claim the last non-provisional spot. The race was stopped when Larson did a half spin, jamming up the crowd behind him with five cars involved, blocking the track. C Main refugees Ronnie Gardner and Casey Shuman both ran well. Gardner broke but Shuman came from 25th to finish eighth. That's in 12 laps, kids. Austin Williams and Matt Mitchell took provisionals.
Bud Kaeding and Nic Faas, who qualifed 14th and 13th respectively, made up the front row for the feature. Faas, who spent last summer in the Hoosier state, grabbed the lead at the start and simply checked out, spanking the field big time in a quickie. (No caution flags and a seven minute race) Kaeding hung on until Hunter Schuerenberg passed him with a handful of laps to go. Mike Spencer came from eighth to finish fourth. Wes Gutierrez hung on for fifth. Bryan Clauson dodged a slowing lapped car to take sixth after starting tenth. Keith Bloom, Chris Windom, Damion Gardner and Bobby East made up the rest of the top ten.
Did you ever see a pretty girl and instantly fall in love...of sorts? Well, my wife isn't worried about my newest "girlfriend." She goes by many names, maybe most notably The PAS. Any Midwestern sprint lover can feel at home here, but we're still reminded that we're in California. This is the first race track that I've visited that serves wine and has a designated smoking area. It's a "small" half mile, comparing mostly to our Terre Haute in banking. The backdrop of mountains makes for a pleasant view. But, like many tracks, housing developments are beginning to encroach upon the area. The PAS has a 10:30 p.m. curfew, I am told, and this is a plus in many ways. Finally I must mention that the food may cost more than Hoosier tracks but I'll warn you that the double cheeseburger is a monster sized sandwich. I'll be walking a bit more to work off some of those calories. (But with all that it was a great tasting dinner.)
This is composed on a cool and rainy Friday afternoon here in southern California, necessitating a format change. Tomorrow, Saturday, will be a bit busy for all concerned with a two days worth of racing crammed into one. One can only anticipate and guess how things will be. But then life is always like that anyway. Time for an In and Out burger.
Calling on Gary Hart and Arnold Schwarznegger to counsel Herman Cain, I'm.......
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report:
Shane, Dan and…Fate
My reactions to the tragic death of Dan Wheldon were many. Most certainly, shock and sadness were and are paramount. We all should know that all motorsports can be brutal and cold, offering not just the highest of highs but the lowest of lows. Racers are among the very few who have the potential of paying the ultimate earthly price when things go wrong. A golfer hits a ball out of bounds and receives a penalty of some sort. A racer hits a wall and runs the risk of an immediate exit from life. But one ponders fate when these things happen…or nearly happen.
One cannot help but ask an age-old question. What if Dan Wheldon’s car had hit that wall at a slightly different angle? Would he still be here today? And the same applies to Shane Hmeil. When he crashed at Terre Haute about a year ago, what if the cage first impact had been at a slightly different angle? Would he have been able to walk away? Or to think the unthinkable, would that result have been worse? Those few inches can separate life from death, or a life of doing what one loves. They can also separate one from a life totally unlike what one had lived before a major accident (or illness or any other change). Those inches have been on my mind even before the awful news came out of Las Vegas. But the tragic event that took Mr. Wheldon only brought these thoughts front and center to my mind.
We can easily forget that what seems to be routine can suddenly, without warning, become a tragic experience. Many a time I’ve written that so-and-so “flipped but walked away unhurt.” It’s human nature that complacency sets in at some point to the point where some people cheer when a disliked racer crashes. We remember, on one level, that these lovers of speed and competition can get hurt and they often do break bones, sustain concussions or limp away from the sport entirely. But we are reminded on occasion that fast race cars, especially those of the open wheel and/or open cockpit variety can and do bite – hard.
The more I think about accidents that have claimed racers, famous or obscure, the more I’m inclined to think of those inches and the notion that the Great Flagger in the sky meant to wave the checkered flag for Dan Wheldon. Along those same lines the Great Flagger waved a different flag for Shane Hmiel, perhaps the blue flag with the yellow stripe, the flag that says in effect, “shift gears, son. Your life is going in a whole new direction. Your talents and spirit will see you through.”
And the more I think about those inches that meant a new life for Shane Hmeil and death for Dan Wheldon, the more I’m inclined to think that the Great Flagger is the One who fills that gap between life before and after an accident. He alone can explain the “why” while giving us the ability to figure out “how” these tragedies happen.
In describing countless wrecks, the comment is often made that at some point the racer “becomes a passenger”. This is also true of life as well, of course. I’ve come to believe that the Great Flagger allows racers (and us) some degree of control over their lives. But at some point control was out of Dan Wheldon’s (and a year ago, Shane Hmeil’s) hands. The Great Flagger took over and Dan was, in a blink of an eye, a passenger in the care of the Great Flagger (or whatever name, if any, you chose to use). Somehow, by a matter of inches, Dan’s life was ended. Somehow, by a matter of inches, Shane’s life was spared, but would never be the same, as we have seen.
On one level the above sounds cold, hard, cruel, Darwinian even. One may be tempted to think of the Great Flagger as vengeful, cruel and cold. But perhaps one, in time, might be served better if they (we) look at the big picture.
Consider this past year and the progress made by Mr. Hmeil. Substance abuse, a lifetime ban from NASCAR, discovery and treatment of a disease, recovery from said disease, redemption and comeback too corny for Hollywood… all this led up to that horrible night at the Terre Haute Action Track. Having tamed one demon, Shane nearly lost his life, but instead he was spared. Little did or could we know what the coming weeks and months would bring. I maintain that what they brought was a tremendous effort by an injured racer to get some of his life back. Thousands cheered. And the Great Flagger? I’m inclined to believe that He smiled in love and appreciation. I do not think that He wants folks to get sick, hurt or die. I do believe that He is NOT a micro-manager or a magician. We put ourselves in a perilous position daily, maybe hourly. The Great Flagger offers up the potential, something that is as God-given as whatever natural ability any racer possesses. If anyone ever fulfilled most, if not all, of their potential, is was Shane Hmeil.
Sadly, cruelly, tragically, this is not the fate of Dan Wheldon. The Great Flagger apparently had other plans for him. The contact with the wall saw Dan lose that battle of inches. His family, friends and most of the auto racing universe grieves, has some anger, and asks God, “Why?” But for now, He remains silent, at least to believers. I choose to believe – make that I MUST believe – that the Great Flagger is far from through with Dan. One can imagine him in another, better place, greeted by the likes of Rodger Ward and Bill Vukovich, among others, for a celestial bench racing session. I don’t pretend to know that and refuse to trust that say they do (are you listening, Pat Robertson?). But I do believe that Dan’s spirit and memory shall live on. The example he sat, the love and respect that he had and earned, will hopefully sustain his loved ones as they face life without him. Racing of this type will, in some way, become safer without the pontificating of those who do not drive Indy cars (are you listening, Jimmie Johnson?). Dan’s friends and competitors will certainly miss him, but hopefully the memories will at least blunt the pain somewhat. As a big stone is dropped into a lake, and the seemingly endless waves that roll gently to the shore, Dan Wheldon’s legacy will endure for ages, at least in the Indy Car racing community.
I anticipate this struggle with the concept of inches determining one’s fate for the rest of my days. I don’t expect it will be resolved before the Great Flagger points the checkered flag at me. I can’t say that it bothers me a lot; I cheerfully await the explanation; there are a few more races I’d like to see – and write about.
In the meantime the racing community works through its grief, does what’s needed to make the sport safer, and cherishes other memories of a young man who made his mark on the racing world. And some of us will do the same as we also ponder what a difference a few inches can make.
Writing this one for Dan, Shane, their families, friends and competitors, I’m…
Danny Burton
One Last Time
We are reminded that we should treat that which is important to us as if it’s the last time we will see that person, lovely view, or even race track. That feeling is heightened as summer wanes and autumn takes center stage. Of course it’s also heightened when the birthday cake can’t be seen for the candles. Already I’ve said good-bye to most of the tracks that I’ve haunted this year. Last night it was Gas City’s turn. By himself, Dustin Grant made it worth the trip as he stormed from his tenth starting spot to win the 25 lap season ending race on a fast quarter mile bullring.
The view might not be what we’d call lovely, but it is familiar, that being the scene from the windshield of the gracefully aging white Chevy truck with the racing decals. Some crops are in, though not all. Farther north, the annual explosion of color from the fall foliage is a bit more prominent than here in the southern part of the Hoosier state. Most certainly 2011’s version of Hoosier bullring racing’s days is numbered. Before that was going to happen, 23 sprinters gathered to give Gas City a nice sendoff for this year. Perhaps quite telling was that on this same night sprints were running at both Brownstown and over in Illinois as part of the Gold Cup, Tri-City Speedway’s version of a mini-Midget Week. Lots of boys still wanted to come out and play.
Jonathan Hendrick, denied glory at Lawrenceburg last week, won the first heat over Wes McIntyre. Ted Hines was third with Justin Grant settling for fourth and Scotty Weir fifth in a very strong heat lineup.
Brett Burdette took the second heat over fellow front row mate Jon Sciscoe. Adam Byrkett was third with Travis Welpott and Conner Donelson also transferring to the main.
Chris Gurley came from fifth to win the third heat. Jamie Fredrickson was second with Tyler Hewitt third. Kyle Simon and Ohio’s Rick Horne would move on.
This was awards night for the track as 2011 point champs and top five runners were recognized, led by sprint champ Burdette. This year’s recipient of the Vince Osman Sportsmanship Award was J. Fredrickson, one who was and is most deserving.
There would be no B tonight with 22 cars answering the bell as Tony Main couldn’t get his machine fired all night. Hendrick and WesMac were the front row with Fredrickson, Sciscoe, Gurley, Burdette, Hines, Byrkett, Hewitt and Grant right there.
McIntyre jumped out to the lead and held off Hendrick for the first four laps. As lapped traffic appeared Hendrick took over as McIntyre held off Sciscoe and Grant, who had advanced quickly from tenth to fourth, soon to pass for third.
By the time yellow lights glowed for a spin on lap 11, (thanks to my good friend Mike Padfield, lap counter and all) Grant was second behind Hendrick. Trailing was McIntyre, Sciscoe, Fredrickson, Burdette, Weir, Gurley, Byrkett and Welpott. At this point my chosen ink pen decided to imitate me; it stopped working. But we muddled through until a lap 15 when another yellow came out and a replacement pen took over. Hendrick was still ahead of Grant, using the low line to perfection. This worked for a bit as Grant kept trying the outside to no avail. But on lap 18, Hendrick drifted just a bit high in turn two and Grant pounced, grabbing the lead and keeping it.
Lapped traffic didn’t deter the California native from seeing the checkered first, followed by Hendrick, McIntyre, Sciscoe and Fredrickson, who held off Scotty Weir most of the race to take fifth. Gurley was seventh, trailed by Byrkett, Burdette and Welpott. The time was 9:20 p.m. I was reluctant to leave, which is normally the case this time of year.
Jiggs has given way to Tom this year, handing the reins to a younger guy and downshifting. It’s been a seamless change and gives one hope for next year. Because the memories of 2011 will sustain us for a good while, but we need and want hope as well—for lots of things, not just racing related matters. Looking forward has its place, as does looking behind and living in the moment.
Giving hitting lessons to the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, I’m….
Danny Burton
Right Place, Right Time
I continually enjoy seeing how much the racing that we love reflects “real life.” This past Saturday night at the Lawrenceburg Speedway offered another example as Levi Jones stayed close to the front and was able to capitalize on race long leader Jonathan Hendrick’s misfortune. Levi was a distant second when Hendrick was caught up in a lapped traffic encounter, flipping and giving Mr. Jones the win. In this race, as in real life, one learns that they need to put themselves into a position to win, or excel, or even get the last dance with that pretty girl you’ve been eyeing all night.
Lawrenceburg, IN---It couldn’t get much better than this, a co-sanctioned (MSCS/USAC) race on a chilly but beautiful night at the ‘burg. 38 cars and stars had gathered together to take their shot at a cool $10,000 prize awaiting the feature winner.
One of them was Bryan Clauson, one of the few who has driven just about every type of race car this side of one of those fancy high dollar sports cars that dot the American landscape. He was understandably running a bit late, having qualified for an Indy Lights race at nearby Kentucky Speedway earlier. Kyle Robbins shook down the CTR-BCI-Curb-Agajanian 7 for BC, who had drawn the very first qualifying number.
The good news was that Clauson was only .337 seconds slower than fast qualifier Brady Bacon. The bad news was that his lap was 17th quickest. Bacon was the only one to come in under 14 seconds, with a flying 13.996 lap.
Brady Short had checked out to get things started in the first heat as Levi Jones and Casey Riggs dueled for second. Daron Clayton’s flip in turn two stopped proceedings as Levi’s brakes glowed, then briefly flamed while under the red. Action resumed with Short resuming his romp with Jones, toasty brakes and all, holding off Riggs and Jon Stanbrough.
Chris Windom swept to the lead in the space of one lap to win the second heat. Damion Gardner, Robert Ballou (still sporting the open trailer) and Hunter Schuerenberg all moved on.
Matt Westfall won the third heat over Justin Grant. Poor Mike Miller, a Lawrenceburg track champ, was running last when he flipped in turn two. Like Clayton before him, Mike was okay but done for the night. Tracy Hines survived a strong challenge from Coleman Gulick for third place as Gulick did the same from Jac Haudenschild, tonight’s wheel man for the Hoffman Family.
The fourth heat was one of the most competitive ‘burg heats I’ve ever seen. Blake Fitzpatrick missed some serious sliders behind him as he won. Logan Hupp was an impressive second on an aging engine. After an intense battle, Jonathan Hendrick edged Jerry Coon Jr. for third.
I wonder how many fans realize that, on nights where there is both quantity and quality car counts, they essentially see two features. The only thing is that the first feature is called the B Main, the semi, the consolation, or even the hooligan race. No matter, for speed and drama it matched the 30 lap feature that would follow. This fan appreciated it all.
Fast qualifier Brady Bacon won the 12 lap sprint, earning himself the seventh starting spot for the A. Once again, the leader might have enjoyed the view if he’d had a mirror. Chad Boespflug edged both Jac Haudenschild and Bryan Clauson to take second as the boys went three wide at the line. Ted Hines came from 11th to take fifth. Critter Malone ended up sixth. Some real drama (read that…agony of defeat) was unintentionally provided by local boy Shawn Westerfeld who flipped on lap ten. The young man had a transfer spot locked up when he smacked the turn two wall and flipped. He was not hurt, but ended his season in a way that he didn’t want. Joss Moffatt was caught up in this and he, too, exited. Dave Darland re-started sixth but couldn’t hold off the Critter. Bobby East and Chase Stockon took provisionals.
Ace photographer Chris Pederson predicted that Brady Bacon would win this thing. I couldn’t argue but wasn’t about to predict any winner. But neither of us counted on Jonathan Hendrick.
He and Levi Jones landed on the front row after Bacon, Boespflug and Haudenschild didn’t transfer out of their heats. Stanbrough, Coons, Tracy Hines, Schuerenberg, Bacon, Boespflug, Haudenschild, and Windom were close behind. Hendrick’s outside spot worked best as he grabbed the lead from Levi. At once he began to expand his lead without even waving good-bye.
Behind Hendrick and up front, not a lot changed. At the halfway mark, 15 laps, he led Jones, Schuerenberg, Bacon, and Tracy Hines fifth. Stanbrough was sixth ahead of Coons, Casey Riggs (from 13th), Ted Hines (from 21st, race fans!) and Haud.
Three laps later my notes show that Hendrick approached lapped traffic. It went through my mind that sometimes lapped traffic is a factor. I don’t seriously think that I jinxed the young man from Fortville, Indiana, but on lap 23 Hendrick found himself barreling into turn three with cars spinning, bouncing off each other and right in the leader’s path. Just like that, five cars were out of the race, including the leader, who flipped and brought out the red. Also involved were Robert Ballou, Coleman Gulick, Justin Grant and Critter Malone. Brady Bacon made it six as he was pushed to the pits under the red with an apparent engine issue.
This left Jones now leading Schuerenberg, Tracy Hines, Windom, Riggs, Stanbrough, Coons, Ted Hines, Clauson and Haudenschild. Hunter had a real shot at this but Levi was having none of it, moving off to a safe margin to take his second USAC win of the year as well as his second MSCS win this year.
In the winner’s circle the winner seemed to know what it means to put yourself into a position to win. He acknowledged that he didn’t have the fastest car and that Hendrick’s luck was lousy.
Yet again, behind the winner of a race, slicing and dicing was the rule. Windom nipped Schuerenberg for second. Riggs was fourth and Tracy Hines fifth. Jon Stanbrough led the second five, trailed by Coons. Ted Hines ran as high as sixth but ended up eighth, still an outstanding effort. East came from provisional-land (23rd) to take ninth. Bryan Clauson ended a long day by finishing tenth.
And that was that. Now Lawrenceburg was crossed off my list for 2011. Despite all the issues, rumors and talk, it was another fine year for Dave Rudisell and crew. Soon enough we’ll be looking forward to the 2012 schedule for the ‘burg, among others. For now, it was time to thaw out and head west on U.S. 50. My immediate aim was to put myself in position to get home without getting pulled over yet again by another law enforcement official. I set the cruise control on 60 mph and enjoyed some music as I moseyed down the road, saying good-by to one race and thinking about the next.
Offering to give history lessons to Hank Williams Jr., I’m….
Danny Burton
Three Crown + One
Like most anything else over the last 30 years, the Eldora’s Speedway Four Crown Nationals has changed in scheduling and format since Nancy Reagan consulted astrologists and had Don Regan dumped. Among other things, the most recent incarnation means that the likelihood of someone pulling a Jack Hewitt, winning all four crowns, is about the same as my hitting the lottery. For now the World of Outlaws, the scary fast world of wings, monster-like horsepower and high dollar haulers opens festivities on Friday night while USAC takes center stage on Saturday with its three premier divisions.
It might be like a history student taking a test on 18th Century Russian history on Friday night, followed by three tests on Saturday. The first test would be on causes of the War of 1812, the second on Reconstruction and the last test would be a 5,000 word essay on the Second World War and its aftermath. Imagine taking—and acing—all three tests.
There are only a very few who pull this off. One who comes to mind, especially after this past Saturday, is young Kyle Larson, for now racing’s answer to a young Tiger Woods. Because this young man, son of a Norwegian-British-American Indian daddy and a Japanese American mom, has won races in most every kind of open wheel car on most every kind of track this year. On Saturday night he gave the best of USAC the broom treatment, winning all three features. He didn’t race with the Outlaws on Friday, but has won an Outlaw feature this year.
But this worked out anyway for anyone named Joey Saldana, who continued his comeback from serious injuries two months ago to win the 30 lap Outlaws’ feature. It was a kind of payback for Joe’s kid, who was hurt at this track during the King’s Royal in July.
From Monroe, IN to a former cornfield somewhere in western Ohio—Being a tried and true Hoosier race fan, I cheerfully admit that non-wing sprint car racing is my preference. But I’ll just as cheerfully admit that I like and/or enjoy most all forms of four wheeled motorsport. Most certainly that includes our winged brethren. And with that a World of Outlaws experience is always an eye opener. It comes as close to a NASCAR like scene, at least when strolling the pits. Wall to wall haulers, along with sponsors’ names prominently featured along the side, reminded me of the days when I used to go NASCAR racing and roamed the pits there a time or two. But one thing I could not escape.
This was Eldora. Fans, drivers, owners, mechanics—all speak with a mixture of reverence, anger, fear and….respect. This joint can and has bitten the best. Ask Bryan Clauson or Levi Jones, who both have taken nasty rides here. Best of all ask Joey Saldana.
But after a rigorous convalescence, Mr. Saldana was back with 30 of his best friends, including one T. Stewart, NASCAR superstar, track owner (Eldora for one) and occasional short track campaigner with tonight being one of those nights.
Saldana made a statement in the first heat when swept around the front row on the first lap from his fourth starting spot. The race was his from there. This was after Joey was the fast qualifier, the leader of 10 others who timed out at less than 13 seconds on the wicked fast half mile.
David Gravel and Jason Sides also won heats and Randy Hannagan won the B. Paul McMahan won the dash with Saldana second, but I wonder if Joey was just being nice to Paul, letting him have the pole for the feature.
Granted, Saldana led all 30 laps and was slowed by two yellows, one with four laps to go. McMahan very nearly made a race of it, getting close to the leader in late race traffic. But the California native settled for second, ahead of Jason Meyers, who made a late charge from 13th. Multi-time All-Star champ Dale Blaney was fourth over Craig Dollansky. Donny Schatz came from 12th to sixth. Sam Hafertepe Jr., hard charger of the night, came all the way from 20th to finish seventh. Lucas Wolfe, Kerry Madsen and Chad Kemenah trailed. The time was just past 10 p.m.
To be honest, the modified heats were more competitive than the sprints, with monster sliders and some side by side action. But their magic disappeared come feature time, which became a festival of yellows. Jeff Babcock won the 18 lap feature. I still made it back to northeastern Indiana by 11:45.
Monroe, IN to that same cornfield—This trip wasn’t a solo venture. Kevin (not the famous K.O. seen here, but my son-in-law), the two grandsons and a FOSM (Friend of Sword Man) all populated my wife’s car with me on the 43 mile jaunt.
Sometimes I get things right. I’d told Kevin to “watch this kid Larson” and I, for once, was understating. Little did we know.
Car counts were close to expectations, which meant that the midget count was in the teens, 19 to be exact. Most teams were of the decently moneyed variety, a not uncommon occurrence these days. This subject has been discussed to death and I’m not about to add anything here except to hope it changes for the better.
Bryan Clauson, still a youngster at 22, was quick timer. Tanner Swanson, Tracy Hines and Jerry Coons Jr. won heats that were mostly follow the leader affairs. And then along came Kyle Larson to lead all 25 laps of the feature, waving bye-bye to Clauson, whose view of Larson grew dimmer with each passing lap. Darren Hagen, still chasing Clauson in points, was third.
Larson used others’ bad fortune along with speed and talent to win the sprint feature after starting 11th. Coons, in the Phillips’ 71p, grabbed the early lead from the pole. But Levi Jones took over not long after a caution for Gas City winner Justin Grant, who may have cooked an engine. Soon the fun would begin.
Jones led Coons, Chris Windom, Dave Darland, Bobby East, Matt Westfall and Mr. Larson on a lap 20 re-start. But Levi’s tire shredded soon after taking the green and Coons’ tire appeared to do the same, with Jerry also smacking the turn two wall. Windom must have said, “thank you very much” as he was the new leader.
Larson had moved to fourth on lap 24 but this race was looking like yet another Windom win for the Baldwin brothers. But instantly, history repeated itself. The leader had a tire go bad and the yellow waved again. After starting 10th, Dave Darland now led and had the inside track. But did he? East was second and Larson was third.
The next green flag segment was brief, but long enough for Larson to take second when Chase Stockon brought out the last yellow, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Darland led Larson, East, Hunter Schuerenberg (who had won the first heat) and Tracy Hines (who won the B Main). It would be hard to bet against Dave the Rave, who had two sisters and a brother-in-law who’d taken a brief vacation from dairy farming way up in northern Wisconsin to cheer for the grandfather of two.
But Larson had other ideas. He made a monster move out of turn two and cleared Darland going into three. The kid took the white flag as the leader and this race was his, too. Darland didn’t need to be ashamed of his second place finish, nor East with third. Hines was fourth with Schuereneberg fifth. Bud Kaeding, Jon Stanbrough, Daron Clayton (who came from the last row in Jeff Walker’s mount), Levi Jones (recovering nicely after having to come from the back) and Derek Hagar all trailed.
After scratching and clawing to win the sprint feature, Larson made it a point to stink up the show in the 50 lap Silver Crown finale. And after I’d assured Kev that these guys usually clicked the laps off, sure enough, it would be a caution plagued affair that drove him and the boys to an early (lap 40) exit while I watched the ending.
Larson was good enough to let Levi Jones lead the first four laps before grabbing the lead on the fifth lap. What followed was a few laps of Larson checking out until a yellow would wave. The field would gather behind the leader and Kyle would repeat the process. Poor Levi must have thought he was living his version of the movie “Groundhog Day.” He could relate to Clauson who had a similar experience in the Midget A.
BC was third in this one with Coons fourth and Hines fifth. Robert Ballou’s one off with the Fox Brothers brought forth a sixth with Tanner Swanson, Bobby East, Todd Kane and Hunter Schuerenberg trailing.
Unofficially, of the guys running all three divisions, Larson of course had the best night, with three firsts. Other low scores/good finishes were Hines with 14 (two fifths and a fourth), Clauson and East 17 and Jones 19.
It was past the midnight hour as we motored up Ohio State Road 118 for the last time this year. The boys were conked out after a festive night that had begun on a high note as they all took turns sitting in a replica of the race car driven by Dave Argabright’s fictitious racer Jimmy Wilson, courtesy of builder Josh Shaw from Cincinnati.
We arrived at the tiny Hoosier burg and the others instantly hit the sack as I unwound. It had been quite a racing/visiting weekend. For me there is only one more Hoosier sprint racing weekend left, coming up soon at Gas City (where I missed yet another instant classic with Justin Grant coming from the back to win first the B then the A) and USAC’s last 2011 visit to Lawrenceburg. Where does the time go? It was only yesterday…..(you fill in the blank).
Still seeing Jack bounce it off the walls of Eldora, I’m…..
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Quality and Quantity
Sometimes one matters more than the other, especially if we’re thinking about such things as car counts. We race fans, the demanding ones, wish for both—all the time. But we understand, or should, that it doesn’t always happen. Somewhat painfully, race promoters realize this too. Certainly they want a full grandstand but they operate in today’s reality and that means support classes and that means a certain degree of back gate promoting. So we deal with and enjoy what we can. Often it works out, as it did for me this past weekend. It also worked out for Chad Boespflug at Lawrenceburg on Saturday night and Tracy Hines at Winchester on Sunday afternoon.
Lawrenceburg, IN---This excursion would be my next to last to the little city on the tri-state border, 70 or so miles east of here (depending upon which route I take). One more time Garrison Keillor and crew entertained me for the last part of the trip. But the Prairie Home Companion gang couldn’t compare with the action that the Lawrenceburg Speedway provided on a wild night.
18 sprinters signed in with at least five or six strong teams eyeing the prize. Promoter Dave Rudisell decided that three heats instead of two would be the plan.
In the first heat Brandon Whited held off eventual winner Justin Grant for six of the eight laps. 2011 track champ Chad Boespflug was third with Kevin Thomas Jr. fourth.
John Memmer, still in Boespflug’s former car, simply checked out to win the second heat over Michael Fischesser. But the fun was about to begin.
Shawn Westerfeld won the third heat over Joss Moffatt and Logan Hupp. After the checkered, both Westerfeld and Moffatt wished to gas it a bit more and sped down the backstretch. No problem, but Shawn slowed down going into turn three. Joss kept going, not seeing the slowing red 89 in front of him. The setting sun may well have been a factor here. At any rate, the Moffatt car smacked the tail of number 89 and flipped into the wall. Westerfeld’s car was only slightly damaged and he would return for the feature.
Joss wasn’t hurt but he may have been a bit perturbed and concern when he took a closer look at the roll cage, which was caved in just behind the driver’s seat. In more than one place the weld had collapsed. He was one lucky young man; had he hit the wall at a very slightly different spot, one didn’t want to consider what might have been. No doubt either Joss or his dad Bill was on the phone ASAP after this wreck. One quality car was done for the night—at the very least.
The 25 lap feature began badly. It appeared that Justin Grant got into the side of Shawn Westerfeld (who had to be wondering what was up by now), who collided with Kevin Thomas Jr. who tumbled going into turn one. He and Westerfeld were out before a lap had been run. Grant, now starting third behind pole sitter Brandon Whited, took the early lead on the re-start. But the red flew again when Kevin Studley tipped it over in turn two after contact with Drew Abel. Let’s try again.
Grant resumed his lead stop as John Memmer began a charge to the front. But that ended on lap four as Memmer flipped in turn four, narrowly missing Chad Boespflug. The scorecard now read: Red flags—3, Yellow flags---0. And cars were dropping out one by one.
Once again, Grant took off but it was only a lap later when he brought out a yellow with a flat right rear (which always makes me think of my buddy Tom Fischer). Grant hustled to the pits and emerged with a new tire and the tail spot. Mike Fischesser now led over Boespflug, Logan Hupp, Dwayne Spille and Travis Hery. But it was only a matter of time before Grant would be back up front.
By the halfway mark Grant was a distant second to Boespflug, having just passed Fischesser for position. Lap by lap Grant closed on the leader as Fischesser had his hands full holding off Hupp. With three laps to go I noticed some lapped traffic ahead of the leaders and guessed that the leaders would catch these guys. Grant closed even more and this set up a wild two lap segment, a high speed game of dodge ball and chicken as Boespflug and Grant raced each other and tried to miss the traffic, inches from disaster. These are fine young men, but face it; racers are not normal as we might be. They will scratch and claw their way to the checkered without thinking of anything else. It was as good as it can get.
Boespflug held off Grant to win, capping an up and down season in which he switched rides, not always knowing if or when he’d be racing. Thanks to Landon Simon, it happened. His determination paid off with a Lawrenceburg track championship, putting himself into a special club.
Grant was a close second with Fischesser hanging on to third over Hupp and Spille. Exhale, and head home.
Winchester, IN---One last time north to the Winchester Speedway for USAC’s Rich Vogler Classic; it would be a good way to finish off the weekend.
Like Lawrenceburg, USAC’s newly created pavement division has had occasional troubles with car counts. They have had no trouble with the percentage of quality cars that show up. This afternoon would be no exception.
After some pre-race entertainment by Butch Wilkerson and Jerry Castor, both of whom could write books about their racing adventures; it was time for the real thing.
14 sprinters were on hand but that number dropped as first Brian Gerster, then JoJo Helberg retired after practice accidents. And Caleb Armstrong scraped the wall while attempting to qualify, leaving 11 cars to compete. But, come feature time, compete they did.
Pole sitter Bobby East took off at the green and built a decent lead over Bobby Santos. But fast qualifier Tracy Hines (an eye popping 14.015 second lap) was on the move from sixth. By lap three of 30 he had already taken fourth and was sizing up Chris Windom for third. Two laps later that assignment was completed by Mr. Hines and it was Santos’ turn for scrutiny. And on the eighth lap Hines grabbed second. He was far from done and proved it by passing East to lead the 12th lap and that turned out to be that.
A lap 13 yellow for Tanner Swanson was only a temporary blip on Hines’ radar screen. Tracy may have checked out but he missed a heck of a race behind him. Santos slowly faded to mid-pack, but passing was still tough. East had a decent bit of track between him and third place, but Windom, Kody Swanson, Santos and Kyle Larson engaged in serious wheel to wheel racing. At the checkered Larson edged Santos for fifth. Again, quality trumped quantity.
Larson has been quite the sensation this year. Despite his struggles on Sunday, one had to note that this was his first visit to Winchester. Given his track record this year, one would think that this kid is the real deal. Watch him closely, for he may be moving on soon, to the land of big bucks, lucky dogs, and manufactured green/white/checkereds.
Stretching my fuel mileage, I’m…..
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Appreciating the Peacock
Bloomington, IN---First off the big news from Bloomington last night was the fact that Jon Stanbrough led all 30 laps to score his first Hoosier win of 2011. Who would have thought that it would take the Fox Brothers crew until September 16 to notch their first victory? But notch it they did, surviving a last lap attempt by Levi Jones to steal the win as he tried the outside line on a rubber down surface to almost take the win.
During the post-race interview, Levi may or may not have put his foot firmly in his mouth as he was (somewhat gently but pointedly) critical of the race track’s surface. He did say that normally the track is racier than it was last night. Had he stopped there he would have been fine. But he rambled on, saying that he could have driven a rental car and won the race, or ran just as fast. Well, maybe. But wait; there’s more. The next race for a lot of last night’s runners, including Levi, was the Tri-State Speedway at Haubstadt. Our newest favorite track surface critic mentioned something along the lines of it will be nice to race on a good track. Ouch. (And he “only” finished fourth at Haubstadt, for what that’s worth.)
One wonders about promoter Mike Miles’ reaction to that. There could be many, but mostly one moves on.
The guy who came in second is ordinarily a decent sort, who is one of the best around. He’s future Hall of Fame material. He’s the owner of multiple USAC championships and has earned what he has. He may still be chuckling about his remarks. After all, he didn’t sound angry or upset after the race. It’s just that maybe one should consider that no promoter ever prepares a perfect track every time out; Mike Miles is no exception. And maybe, just maybe, Levi might have been better served in waiting until he had the chance to tell Mike what he told the crowd. What was somewhat ironic and humorous was that Jeremy Hines won the super stock feature that followed the sprint feature….from 12th starting position. Jeremy was quick to note after the race that for him the track was “perfect.” Granted, it was apples and oranges. Oh well. It doesn’t matter now. As always, what’s done is done.
Indiana State Road 46---For the last time this year I was enjoying the scenic view that is southern Indiana. Home. Usually there is very little to distinguish one trip from another. But on this partly cloudy and cool Friday afternoon, I did get a new sight. Not a lovely lady, not even a particularly slow driver. Nothing like that. Instead it was a peacock ambling along the road somewhere near the Brown-Monroe County line. One had to chuckle or at least inwardly smile. No matter, it was something to appreciate and savor, trivial though it may seem.
The peacock was left behind and I approached what we call “civilization.” There is yet another new housing subdivision going up on Bloomington’s east side, more houses that fill up the countryside near the speedway. Long gone are the days when my dad tried a different way home from the track and was, for a time, hopelessly lost out in what was back then (early 1960s) fairly remote country. No more. One can see houses from the track and one wonders and worries how much longer this jewel of a facility stays with us.
This season finale has been for a few years sanctioned by the MSCS. Only a couple of years ago over 60 cars jammed the pits. Tonight there would be “only” 40, but most all were quality rides.
Early on, the track was shaping up like it normally does. Very fast for the early heats but at least two grooves by B Main time. The first heat was a follow the leader deal with Damion Gardner winning over fellow front row starter Danny Holtsclaw. Chase Briscoe was third with Bobby East coming from seventh to take fourth.
It was the same deal for the second heat as Nick Bilbee won from the front row with pole sitter Brady Short second. Keith Bloom was third with Jonathan Hendrick fourth, the same way they started.
But passing began big time in the third heat. Hunter Schuereneberg came from fifth to win. Brandon Mattox started on the pole and held on to finish second in the caution plagued affair. Dave Darland was third with C.J. Leary fourth.
The fourth heat reverted to form, mostly because two future Hall of Famers, Jon Stanbrough and Jerry Coons Jr., were the front row. Chris Windom was third and Jon Sciscoe (with Paul Hazen choosing Bloomington over Gas City tonight) fourth.
Andrew Elson won the fifth and final heat over Casey Riggs, Robert Ballou and Levi Jones, who started last and would benefit from this impressive run later as passing points came into play.
The top two would advance from the first of two B’s. Jonathan Hendrick was leading the first when his front end broke on a re-start, ending his night. Dakota Jackson assumed the lead but Hud Cone was using the high groove to perfection. Hud got around the kid and sailed off on his own. Meanwhile, Casey Shuman appeared and gave Jackson fits. Shu’s dive bomb slide job worked but the youngster came back and nearly grabbed second, losing by a wallet. The recent Lincoln Park winner’s night was done.
The second heat began with a bang I hate seeing. Coleman Gulick slipped a bit in turn two and tried to make it up in turn three. Instead he jumped the cushion and flipped hard, his second in less than a week. The stretcher was brought out but the New York native walked away. Jon Sciscoe and Keith Bloom ran one/two, making the show, but the real fun was the fight for third place. Critter Malone, brakes aglow, took third, holding off Robert (not Bobby anymore) Stines who had come from the rear after bringing out a yellow. Little did we know that the top groove had decided to take the rest of the night off, at least for sprint cars.
The MSCS format had Bilbee and Stanbrough on the front row. (And if you want someone to explain to you how the passing points deal works, I suggest you contact Kevin Oldham. Those kinds of numbers are right up his alley, not mine.)
Nick slipped a bit on the first lap and third starting Levi Jones grabbed second behind Stanbrough. Andrew Elson, who started fourth, grabbed third early on in the 30 lapper and kept it. Hunter Schuerenberg ran well early, as high as third but faded as the laps wore on. Chris Windom was able to work the high groove, advancing from tenth to fourth from up top before settling down low.
Stanbrough was never able to shake the TSR 20 and one had to wonder if Levi would try a last lap maneuver to pass. He did, going high and very nearly making it work. So now one wonders the obvious: Why didn’t he try that earlier? (Note to self: Why not ask him later?)
In the end none of it matter, the track conditions, Levi’s post-race comments, or the fans’ collective disappointment because there wasn’t more action up front. The race, the money and the winner’s interview was Stanbrough’s. After a season of disappointment he was due for a feature win. So as Levi Jones’s tends to spice up his post-race interviews, Jon Stanbrough still remains the shy person that he is in front of a microphone, acting as if he’d like to be catching the next bus that stops by. Ah, the differences among us all—they make the world go ‘round.
For the MSCS/USAC brigade, the next stop was Saturday night at Haubstadt. For me it would be Lawrenceburg. That would have me checking the sky to see if there was a full moon, but that’s another story.
Learning that, in retirement, every day is a holiday, I’m….
Danny Burton
The Hoosier /Race Report: Happiness and Joy
Happiness is temporary or short term. You see it on faces in victory lane. One cannot wipe that smile off their face—until later that night when the smile softens into a sigh of contentment.
Joy lasts longer, ideally a good bit longer. It’s long term. You see it a week later when you say hello to last week’s winner, who can still smile at the memory, or memories.
Each week at the track, if we look a bit, we can see both. We can see a happy winner for sure, but if we look a bit harder we can see racers who may not win on a given night, but who love what they’re doing, no matter where they finish or how much money they make. That is a sort of joy, too.
Such was the beauty of this past weekend. Happy winners that I saw included Dakota Jackson, a first time winner at the Lincoln Park Speedway on Friday night, a kid too young to go race with USAC, but who held off one of USAC’s best to win the sprint feature. On Saturday night, it was Chris Windom’s turn to smile as he ran away from a strong field of USAC’s finest at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Putnamville, IN---This would be the first night of an all-Western Indiana weekend. 26 sprinters were a part of over 100 cars jamming the pits at LPS on a cloudy September night. Among them were plenty of bad boys who one would be tempted to pick. But no, this is Hoosier sprint car racing and one knows better, or should, than to assume.
So few read any meaning into the fact that young Mr. Jackson started on the front row of the first heat and won it over Chase Briscoe (a recent winner at Bloomington), Braylon Fitzpatrick, Casey Shuman (in the Elson family’s 27 again tonight) and Logan Jarrett. Casey Riggs and Kent Christian were headed for B-land.
Seth Parker Jr. won the second heat that was red flagged when Coleman Gulick got into the side of Danny Holtsclaw, sending the insurance salesman flipping off turn two, a deal one hates to see for many reasons. He was okay but parked for the night. Gulick ended up second with Ethan Barrow third. Wes McIntyre was fourth and 2011 LPS feature winner Kyle Cummins was fifth as Dickie Gaines went to the B.
The third heat was that rare heat race from hell as three false starts were endured before the green waved. During the first start, Mike Hagemeier didn’t see the yellow in time and ran over Hud Cone’s left rear tire. This sent him for a wild ride in turn three; Mike was shaken up but would be okay, albeit with a damaged race car. During the red, Robert Ballou parked his brand new car with a damaged radiator, leaving only six cars to fight for five spots. The third false start sent front row starters C.J. Leary and Dave Darland to the tail. Neither, especially Darland, was pleased. Bryan Clauson won by a wide margin over Bub Cummings, who led Cone by another sizable piece of real estate. Leary was fourth. Darland was fifth and would start 15th in the feature, not improving his mood, no doubt.
The B was fairly tame. The biggest surprise was the failure of Kent Christian to transfer. Casey Riggs won with Ballou, repairs made, second. Shawn Krockenberger was third over Dickie Gaines and Josh Burton fifth.
Lincoln Park doesn’t re-draw so first heat winner Jackson was on the pole. Also up front were Parker, Clauson, Briscoe, Gulick and Cummings.
It would be too easy to say that, with Jackson starting on the pole and leading all 25 laps, it was a boring race. But Jackson and many others might disagree. Clauson pressured the young man (who lives about ten minutes from where I sit) for most all 25 laps, trying the bottom and the top side to no avail.
Jackson’s front row mate, Seth Parker, Jr., ran third for most of the race until he bobbled late; Casey Shuman came on strong late to take third after starting tenth. Coleman Gulick was fourth with Bub Cummings a steady fifth. Parker slipped to sixth, just ahead of Dave Darland, who came from 15th to take seventh. Robert Ballou came on strong late to grab eighth after firing off 17th. Chase Briscoe and Braylon Fitzpatrick finished ninth and tenth.
Don’t tell Dakota Jackson it was a boring race, nor tell him that he lucked into it. BC had every chance to get around the kid and couldn’t quite do it. One needs to at least take notice when anyone outruns Bryan Clauson to win. It’ll make for a joyful memory soon, if not already.
Terre Haute, IN---Chris Windom wasn’t the only one at the Action Track on Saturday night in a good mood. Most fans were, or should have been, smiling as well. Despite a fair board that doesn’t seem to be race friendly, racing lives on at the venerable half mile oval.
With green spots all over the radar, it was understandable if USAC, this year’s promoter at Terre Haute, was a wee bit nervous. But rain missed the track all evening and it turned out to be a well run and enjoyable night of racing for the most part.
25 cars were signed in with few surprises. The track itself was about as perfect as it could be. Mr. Sargent and Mr. O’Conner, once again, did an outstanding job at getting the old girl ready to race…or be raced upon.
Kirk Spridgeon predicted a new track record after greeting me and he was almost correct. The super fast surface yielded a 19.337 lap from Tracy Hines, only .008 seconds off J.J. Yeley’s record from eight (?) years ago. Though the times were slower as qualifying neared the end, 18 of the 25 taking time were under 20 seconds.
Passing would be tough all night, but a few showed it could be done. Chase Stockon, sporting a nifty paint job honoring his ailing mom, won the first heat over Damion Gardner, J.J. Hughes (a student at nearby Indiana State University), Hud Cone and Tracy Hines. Jon Stanbrough and Bobby East were off to the B Main. Jonathan Hendrick flipped in turn four and was done. He was okay.
More high flying in the second heat came when Blake Fiztpatrick slowed with a problem and Coleman Gulick couldn’t avoid the slowing car. Gulick took a couple of flips, landing hard. He was okay and quite possibly was a bit sore come Sunday morning. His car was toast, but Fitz returned for the B. Meanwhile, Shane Cottle won the heat with Chris Windom second. Local boy Brandon Mattox was third, a much better ending than the last time he was here (flipping during Indiana Sprint Week). Keith Bloom was fourth and Wes McIntyre fifth. Bryan Clauson exited the track early and returned for the B.
During the third heat, lightning was spotted off to the northwest. Thankfully, it and whatever rain that was with it, stayed away. Dave Darland won the heat with Levi Jones second. Daron Clayton, with enough backing to roll out the family car, was third. Hunter Schuerenberg and Jerry Coons Jr. ran fourth/fifth.
Jon Stanbrough checked out to win the B Main over Casey Shuman, the latest pilot for the Hoffman 69 Mean Green Machine. Clauson was third with Fitzpatrick fourth. Robert Ballou, back in the MPHG 81, was fifth. Bobby East and Kevin Studley also would run the feature.
For Bryan Clauson the feature started in a way he’d rather forget. He bicycled going into turn one right after the green waved and flipped, “easing” his way over the wall. BC was okay, but done and frustrated. The re-start saw Windom begin his 30 laps of dominance. Schuerenberg and Bloom ran well early, but simply had nothing for Windom. Cone and Hines hung around the front, but on the move was Levi Jones, who had struggled in qualifying and started 16th.
Stanbrough slowed with a flat tire on lap 16, erasing Windom’s lead for a brief time. Schuerenberg was still second over Bloom. Jerry Coons Jr. was fourth but about to make some noise. Hud Cone was fifth and Tracy Hines sixth. Ballou, Shuman, Jones and Daron Clayton trailed.
Levi provided the most drama as he steadily advanced, cracking the top five on lap 19. Four laps later, Hud Cone had a flat tire, stopping and bringing out a yellow. Windom was still in his perch with Hunter second, but now Coons was third. Jones was fourth ahead of Keith Bloom. By now Damion Gardner and Dave Darland had entered the top ten.
This segment only lasted three laps before Coons was bitten by the tire bug. And Jones moved up another spot. No one had threatened the leader yet.
As the white flag waved Damion Gardner took a nasty ride in turn four, emitting sparks from scraping/pounding the wall. Damion was okay, but not thrilled to have a bent race car.
This set up a true, not manufactured, green/white/checker. No one had anything for Windom, but Jones grabbed second from Schuerenberg on the re-start. By then Chris was long gone. Bloom held onto fourth. Ballou came on strong for the second night in a row to take fifth after starting 11th. Hines finished where he started, sixth. Casey Shuman had a decent debut for his new ride, taking seventh. Dave Darland won the not-so-coveted passing points award, coming from 19th to eighth, impressive all the same. Bobby East and Blake Fitzpatrick ran nine/ten.
Another last visit (as far as I know) to another race track for 2011. It’s hard not to feel a bit sad, or melancholy. But it isn’t all bad, far from it. Let’s hope that come 2012 the sounds of V-8s fill the air here. All I’ll ask for are more races at the Action Track next year.
There is both hope and joy as well. Joy that it’s been quite a year (that isn’t quite done) and hope that next year brings a lot more of the same for Hoosier bullrings.
Getting up each morning at the crack of Nine A.M., I’m…..
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Improvement As It Should Be
Bloomington and Putnamville, IN---For awhile we’ve seen new kids come out to try their hand at Hoosier sprint car racing. Some are fast right away while others struggle. Some of the strugglers never quite get the hang of it and fade away. But some of those new kids running at the back of the pack don’t stay there. They scuffle, listen and learn. Once in awhile, they get it together. Heat race wins start to come, along with better rides. Persistence pays off sooner or later with a feature win. Hopefully more feature victories follow and this new kid isn’t so new and isn’t a kid anymore. This formerly new kid is, say, Chase Briscoe. If he’s been around for awhile, he’s Casey Shuman. Each kid has both the plus and minus of being of a racing family, but note that neither Kevin Briscoe nor Ronnie Shuman were driving this past weekend at the Bloomington Speedway or at the Lincoln Park Speedway. Their sons were driving instead. I’d guess that there were two sets of proud and pleased parents, appreciating the efforts of these two young men, who won features at two tough tracks, outrunning two strong fields of cars and racers.
Bloomington has had ZERO rainouts for several weeks now, if my aging memory is working. August 26, 2011 would be one more, another lovely Indiana day. 29 sprinters in the pits, cheeseburgers on demand, no work the next day (or any day), I wasn’t about to ask for more.
The first heat gave me what I came to see, pretty decent racing. Jerry Coons Jr. completed a last lap pass to win the first heat over Kevin Thomas Jr. Brady Short was third with Kevin Chambers following up a good feature last week with a transfer spot for the feature tonight.
Brent Beauchamp stunk up the second heat if one was looking for a close battle for the lead. Danny Holtsclaw, now in the Smith 14, was second with Bub Cummings and Chris Babcock trailing. Nick Bilbee had a top four clinched but bobbled, headed to the B.
The third heat was the strongest lineup for top to bottom. Passing should have been tough. Chase Briscoe won with Bobby East, still in the Roberts-Tate ride as Dave Darland was busy welcoming another grandchild into the world, running second. Hunter Schuerenberg recovered from a spin to finish third. Jordan Kinser dropped back early but came back to pass Kyle Cummins for the final transfer spot.
Bobby Stines did the getting-so-far-ahead-he-could-text act and won the fourth heat. Dakota Jackson was second. Travis Berryhill was third with Jared Fox doing a fine yo-yo imitation. Jared started on the pole, sank to last, then came roaring back to take fourth after a terrific battle with Tyler Waltz and Aric Gentry.
Once again, the B Main was about as good as the feature. Hud Cone passed Casey Riggs on the last lap to win. Josh Cunningham was third. Kyle Cummins hung on for fourth.
Briscoe and Beauchamp led 18 others to the green with the kid from Mitchell, IN grabbing the early lead. Beauchamp was having none of that and assumed the point on lap six with Coons moving up to third, then second, already after starting seventh. That didn’t last long.
Beauchamp made a rare error, spinning out of the lead and giving the lead to Coons on lap seven. On the re-start Briscoe, Jackson, Schuerenberg, Thomas, East, Holtsclaw, Short, Stines and Cone all trailed the Coondog. Many may have expected the Tucson native to check out. If so, they would be disappointed.
Jerry kept the lead through the middle part of the race as this Briscoe kid refused to go away. In addition, Schuerenberg was acting like he wanted to repeat as the winner. Holtsclaw began moving up after he’d started eighth.
Just past the halfway mark, lap 14, Bobby Stines spun, bringing out a caution. It was still Coons, Briscoe, Schuerenberg, Holtsclaw, Thomas, Short, East, the surprising Kevin Chambers, Cummings and Cone. Coons kept the lead but Briscoe owned the bottom groove as Coons rode the rim around the top, but not for much longer.
Lap 21 saw Coons make a rare unforced error, spinning where Beauchamp had spun earlier, in turn four. Now the stage was set for…what? Briscoe led but behind him was Schuerenberg, who is having an outstanding season, no matter what he’s driven. And Hunter had to watch his back as the Bloomington maestro, Holtsclaw, was third and ready to pounce.
But Hunter decided to stay in the low groove, perhaps noting what had happened to Beauchamp and Coons. This cemented the win for Briscoe, who put some distance between himself and second. It also kept Holtsclaw in third. Dad Kevin and the rest of the family, along with the fans, were quite happy. This was Chase’s second feature win, but his first at Bloomington. The kid showed that he’s learning and showing patience in choosing and keeping a groove. He had led the first and final parts of the race. And the Briscoes joined the Kinsers in having three generations standing in victory lane.
Schuerenberg was second with Holtsclaw third at the end. Kevin Thomas Jr., also showing much patience, was fourth. Even more impressive, Kevin Chambers had the best race that few saw as he started 13th and steadily made his way to fifth. Bub Cummings was sixth with Josh Cunningham also having a great effort, coming from 19th to seventh. Hud Cone came from 17th to eighth. Brent Beauchamp recovered from his early spin to end up ninth. Bobby East was tenth.
And now there is only one more Friday night of racing at
Bloomington on September 16. What is it they say about time flying?
----------------------
Off to beautiful downtown Putnamville went the grumpy old men, hoping to
see another fun night of racing at the Lincoln Park Speedway. And so we
did with no rain this time.
I try to expect very little at our beloved bullrings. All one can or should ask for is that all involved give their best effort, knowing that each race can’t be a photo finish. Tonight would be no exception; all involved gave their best effort and went home happy, though not as happy as Casey Shuman and the Elson family. All Casey did was win at LPS for the fifth time this year---with the fourth different car.
33 sprinters assembled in the easternmost part of the Joe Spiker pit. It was an impressive number and even more impressive when one considered that 48 cars were at Paragon for the season ending Mike Johnson Memorial.
The top groove ruled for the heats with passing done here and there by the guys who were able to execute textbook like slide jobs. Dakota Jackson started things by winning the first heat over Braylon Fitzpatrick. Shane Cottle and Coleman Gulick also moved on to the feature.
The second heat was stopped when Mark Harden flipped in turn two, okay but done for the night. Kyle Cummins, who has this place figured out, won the heat with Wes McIntyre second. Tracy Hines was third with Brett Burdette using a slide job on Ethan Barrow to take fourth.
The third heat featured some true veterans, guys who have been at this deal for some time. Casey Shuman is a young veteran, not being quite as seasoned as some of the others, but it didn’t matter as he won this heat. Shane Hollingsworth, another young vet, was second. But the ageless Kent Christian was third with Bloomington winner Chase Briscoe edging one of the so-called elder statesmen, Dave Darland, for fourth. Troy Link, who is about my age, spun, a rare event, even though this was Troy’s first time out this year. Troy, Dave and Kent’s years of experience may stretch over a century put together.
Jonathan Hendrick won the fourth heat, leading Jerry Coons Jr. to the line in a caution plagued race. Chris Windom avoided trouble to take third over Logan Jarrett, who nailed down starting spot #16 for the 25 lap feature.
The B Main got off to a flying stop as four cars met in turn one. In this race the low line began to yield good results and better racing, thanks to Dickie Gaines. Ethan Barrow won over Seth Parker Jr. Dickie was third after starting eighth. Dave Darland hung on for fourth in this race and a 20th starting place in the big show. Let’s note that Jamie Fredrickson came from 16th to come up short, finishing behind Darland in fifth.
This feature lineup was one of the strongest non-USAC features we’d see all year, with the majority of the field all having feature wins and/or track championships on their resumes. Hendrick and Shuman led Cummins, Jackson, Fitzpatrick, McIntyre, Hollingsworth, Coons, Cottle and Hines, with even more bad boys further back.
The race was Shuman’s all the way as he hustled the Elson 27 (with Andrew Elson, the regular, away at college) to lead all 30 laps. But it wasn’t as easy as the box score indicated. For most of the race Jonathan Hendrick gave him fits, never too far behind and finishing second. Kyle Cummins, already sporting an LPS win this year, ran well most of the race, running second to Shuman for much of the race before slipping to sixth.
Braylon Fitzpatrick gave fans more entertainment, moving up to challenge for second before slipping over the bank and coming back to take third at the end. Then there was Tracy Hines, who started tenth and steadily marched forward, using the low side. He edged Dakota Jackson for fourth at the checkered flag. But young Jackson had no reason to pout; he ran a smart race for all 25 laps, hanging around up front the whole time.
This evenly matched group made it hard for the hot dogs further back to move up. Shane Cottle finished behind Cummins in seventh with Chris Windom coming from 12th to eighth. Wes McIntyre was ninth and Dave Darland was the night’s hard charger, coming from 20th to round out the top ten. I appreciated and enjoyed every minute of both nights’ racing. Like Briscoe, Shu has worked hard at his craft, improving all the time with the results to prove it.
Already I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy more of my retirement than my dad did as he died before he could retire. If I remain fortunate enough I hope to enjoy this new phase of my life enough for dad and me both. All I can say is, Dad, we’re off to a good start.
Tentative future plans have me heading way up north this coming weekend, visiting Gas City on Friday, entertaining kids and grandkids on Saturday and enjoying a boys’ night out at Kokomo on the Sunday before Labor Day. Further out looms Terre Haute, Lawrenceburg, LPS, Bloomington and Gas City, one more time. That dreaded time nears when the Hoosier bullrings grow silent. Enjoy what’s left.
Trying to sell my Tim Tebow jersey, I’m….
Danny Burton
Checkered and Green Flags
Bloomington, IN---I’d wager that not too often do we take the checkered and green flags simultaneously. But I’m in the midst of doing that and could not be more pleased. The plusses far outweigh the minuses. But one thing that won’t change is the enjoyment I get out of seeing fast cars and their drivers battle their opponents in the other cars, the track, the weather and of course, themselves. Racing, for me, is like life, the never ending search for more, be it speed, the checkered flag, or the desire to see how much deeper a racer can throw that car into the turn. Last weekend saw plenty of this, both at Bloomington and Lawrenceburg. Hunter Schuerenberg showed up at Bloomington with the Epperson ride and rode off with a chunk of Mike Miles’ money on Friday night. And on Saturday at Lawrenceburg, it was Coleman Gulick coming through the field to become the 2011 winner of the Dick Gaines Memorial, a race that any sprinter in the Midwest should want to win.
31 cars were at Bloomington on a warm and typically humid Hoosier night. As usual, the red clay oval was immaculately prepared, the cheeseburgers were well done and speeds were fast.
Track point leader Brady Short, last week’s winner, passed Todd Kirkman on a late race re-start to win the first heat. Kevin Chambers had it together and took third over Dickie Gaines.
The second heat saw a very rare occurrence. Bobby Stines spun unassisted. (Good thing I haven’t been wearing my contact lens lately. They would have popped out.) Hud Cone, up from Oakland City, won the heat over Mr. Schuerenberg, who started seventh, Dakota Jackson and Josh Cunningham, who edged out his brother Mitch and Mr. Stines to race in the feature.
Tonight Bobby East was in the Tate 21x with Dave Darland off racing midgets in Illinois. He started on the pole and simply checked out, leaving behind him a real dogfight. Chase Briscoe was second with Arin McIntosh third. Bub Cummings trailed.
The third heat rolled off with only six cars as Jordan Kinser was sidelined with mechanical woes. Kevin Thomas Jr. won by a good margin over Jared Fox, making a very rare start in the Josh Burton car. Brandon Mattox has recovered from his Sprint Week miseries at Terre Haute and was an impressive third over Ethan Barrow.
Much of the B Main contained some of the best racing all night. The track was still pretty fast but people could pass. A red flag halted a six or seven car battle early on as Lance Grimes bounced off the front stretch wall and flipped. It became worse as not everyone saw the red light in time. David Hair and A.J. Martin tangled and flipped on the backstretch. All were okay. Meanwhile, Nick Bilbee came from ninth to win over Chris Babcock. Bobby Stines passed Ty Deckard on the outside with a couple of laps to go and finished third.
Compulsive bettors and would be mystics were prepared to crown Brady Short the winner before the green and for good reason as the Bedford native has been dominant this year at Bloomington. Tonight Brady would start behind Hud Cone and Kevin Thomas Jr. with Chase Briscoe beside him. But no doubt Brady knew it was not a given. For one thing Hunter Scheurenberg was lined up behind him and was impressive in his heat. The best way to settle all the speculation was to throw the green.
Someone forgot to tell Hud Cone that he wasn’t supposed to dominate. But dominate he did, leading the first half of the race that was stopped on lap two for a pair of flippers, Dakota Jackson and Nick Bilbee in two different incidents. Short stalked Cone and grabbed the lead with less than ten laps to go. But Brady’s tenure at the top would be limited to four laps as Schuerenberg passed both Cone and Short in the space of four laps and took the lead in the midst of heavy lapped traffic. And, despite Short’s best efforts to re-take the lead, Schuerenberg hung on for a most impressive victory with both Short and Cone not too far behind. Vintage Bloomington it was.
Further back, note that Chase Briscoe may well be the most improved racer I’ve seen this year. He started and finished fourth and was about as smooth as his dad was not that long ago. Bobby East was fifth and K.T. Jr. finished sixth. Unsung Kevin Chambers was a steady seventh, using the low line to perfection all race long. Ethan Barrow, Bub Cummings and Chris Babcock all came from back in the pack to round out the top ten. For what should be the last time I left as quickly as I could for home, knowing that one more Saturday working day awaited me.
Would you believe that Bloomington has only two more races left this year? They do it again tomorrow (I was lazy this week; it’s Thursday as this is written.) before taking a couple of weeks off and then closing out the season on September 16 when the MSCS-sanctioned Fall Clash ends the year with an exclamation mark.
Lawrenceburg, IN---If I was a Hoosier sprint car driver, one of several races I’d strive to win would be the Dick Gaines Memorial (along with Bloomington’s Sheldon Kinser Memorial) at Lawrenceburg. Others at the ‘burg on another humid night had the same idea.
21 cars may not sound like a lot but among this group were several quality rides and drivers. One of them, Chad Boespflug, now sitting in the Simon family’s 24 instead of his family’s 98 for various reasons, gave us eight of the fastest laps one will ever see a traditional sprint car run at Lawrenceburg. He might have had some satisfaction in beating John Memmer, out of the family car (finances, etc.) and in Boespflug’s former ride. Casey Riggs, two time sprint feature winner this year, was third and Logan Hupp fourth.
Brian Carraker is another improving racer this year. He
held off Hud Cone and Coleman Gulick to take the second heat. Jason
Soudrette was fourth.
Hunter Schuereneberg was back in his USAC “regular” ride, Mr. Byrum’s
#35 rocket. He and Justin Grant ran away in the third heat, far
outdistancing Shawn Westerfeld and Mike Fischesser.
The re-draw had Carraker and Schuerenberg in the front row with Cone, 2010 Gaines Memorial winner Memmer, Boespflug, Grant, Riggs and Gulick right behind. It was quite tempting to pick Hunter to double up this weekend and for several laps it looked like a good bet.
On lap two, a prime contender, Memmer, took one nasty ride into the turn three wall while running second, doing a helicopter like spin or two and the red lights burned. John was okay, though no doubt shaken. The re-start had Schuerenberg leading teammate Carraker, Grant, Cone, Boespflug, Riggs and Gulick.
Gulick made a few strong moves on the re-start, hustling up to fifth in the first two laps. Grant took second and did his best to stay with Schuerenberg. Hud Cone was running fourth when he had an encounter with a lapped car on lap 13, bringing out a yellow. This moved Gulick to fourth. He wasn’t done.
When Grant was penalized two spots for passing before he reached the turn four cone (even though he may well have been trying to dodge Carraker, who got out of shape on the re-start), Gulick moved up to third. Just past the halfway mark, on lap 16 Gulick passed Carraker and set sail for Schuerenberg, who had built a good sized lead. Gulick needed a caution flag and it waved for a spinning Mike Fischesser on lap 21. Perhaps both Gulick and Grant, who was third, permitted themselves a small smile.
This re-start saw Schuerenberg leading Gulick, Grant, Riggs, Boespflug, Carraker, Dickie Gaines, Soudrette, Logan Hupp and Westerfeld. But only a lap was completed before Hupp tangled in turn three with Soudrette, who was far from amused, offering several gestures at Hupp as the cars circled the track under the night’s last yellow flag.
Trying again, Gulick and Grant had another shot at the leader. It turned out that the kid from New York State, had something for the young veteran from Missouri. Trading slide jobs on lap 27, Gulick took the lead for good from Schuerenberg and raced to victory, splitting two lapped cars coming out of turn four, and causing weak hearts to flutter. Hunter was denied a two win weekend with Grant third. Boespflug, point leader and probable 2011 Lawrenceburg champion, was fourth with Casey Riggs a steady fifth. Brian Carraker beat out Dick Gaines’ talented son for sixth with Logan Hupp eighth.
At Bloomington I hustled home for the last time before going to work the night before. On this night at Lawrenceburg I hung around for all three features, not having to plan ahead for work on Monday. It was a good feeling and one I may get used to having.
As I thankfully take the checkered flag on a checkered work career, I also take the green on the next phase of this life, whatever it may mean or bring. Certainly there is a bit of apprehension, but there is a lot more curiosity for what lies ahead. I’d guess that it means more races, more columns to write, more people to meet and that is mostly good. It also means that there is hope for the future, most especially for this form of entertainment and life that many of us enjoy. It will change, not always for the better, but we can hope that it will endure in a similar form. Up ahead there is a horizon, or a curve in the road, or a hill to be topped, be it on an Indiana highway or in my mind. Often it’s the same one I negotiate most weeks, but I remain curious about what lies over on the other side. I still would like to see, even if it’s the same sight I saw the week before, or the last time I traveled this road. You never know what you might find; sometimes that’s good and sometimes it’s not. But I owe it to myself to look and see.
Filling out applications for senior discounts, I’m…..
Danny Burton
Racin’, Rainin’ and Reunions
Ah well, another one race weekend, but why complain? It turned out to be a decent weekend with my being reminded that good racin’, good friends and a pretty fair biological family are three things that matter to me.
Bloomington IN--Family man Brady Short had a monetarily more profitable weekend than me, winning at both Bloomington and Lawrenceburg. With USAC running out west (well, Missouri) the area boys had the red clay high banks to themselves. 28 sprinters would make for an ideal car count, with Mr. Short not taking anything for granted.
The usual pattern followed at Bloomington tonight with the track being very fast for the heats; passing would be at a premium. By feature time though, there would be a cushion, much of the surface had turned black and people could, and did, pass.
Kent Christian showed the kids how it’s done by running away with the first heat. Bobby Stines was second over young C.J. Leary and Mitch Cunningham.
The second heat had more action, after a fashion. Brent Beauchamp ran off with this one. Bub Cummings and Dakota Jackson ran two/three. But behind them, Jordan Kinser took fourth from Josh Burton, who went a-flippin’ as Kinser’s right rear tire contacted Burton’s left front. Kinser didn’t quite have him cleared before moving up. At any rate, Burton wasn’t too pleased and a skirmish broke out in the pits, quickly extinguished. Later the Burton hauler sat alone by the fence just off turn one, asked to leave, it was said.
I’m not about to be critical of anyone who gets angry, be it while racing or playing Texas Hold ‘Em. We’ve all been angry at something and/or someone. But beware of what you do when you get angry. Ask yourself if the reaction is worth the consequences. I can understand why Burton was upset, even though it was one of those bad racing deals. But was it worth going to the pits and getting physical? Doubt it, but then what do I, a soon to be retired extremely disgruntled postal worker, know?
Chris Babcock re-assembled the meeting and won the third heat. Nick Bilbee edged Jerry Coons Jr. for second after a late re-start. Dickie Gaines was fourth. And Brady Short outran fellow front row mate Ty Deckard to win the fourth heat. Lance Grimes was third with Chase Briscoe taking the last available spot before the B.
After struggling in his heat race, California’s Travis Berryhill won the B over Arin McIntosh. Josh Cunningham was third, joining his brother in the feature. Kevin Thomas Jr. wrapped up a 20th starting spot in the A.
With Short joining Ty Deckard on the front row, it would be hard to find anyone willing to bet against Brady taking this one. And that he did, leading all 25 laps. But….too bad he didn’t have a rear view mirror, for watching the racing behind him, of course. Because Brent Beauchamp, Ty Deckard, Bobby Stines and Jerry Coons Jr. were fighting for position most every laps, with several changes within one lap.
A lap eight yellow flag found Short leading Stines, Beauchamp, Deckard, Coons, Kent Christian, Chris Babcock, Bub Cummings and Nick Bilbee. Right away Deckard grabbed second, then Beauchamp took it from Ty. Just before the halfway mark Coons went over the bank, but he wasn’t done.
At the crossed flags Short led Beauchamp, Deckard, Stines, Christian, Coons and Babcock. As Brady checked out, now it was Stines moving up—again. But Beauchamp had seen enough of that and wrested it away yet again. As the laps wound down, Coons made the most noise, regaining what he’d lost and making one wonder if he’d have had anything for Short had he started closer to the front.
On the completion of the 25th go-around Short led Beauchamp, Coons (from 11th), Deckard and Christian. Bobby Stines faded to sixth, probably a disappointment to the young veteran. Bub Cummings was seventh with Nick Bilbee eighth. Chase Briscoe came from 16th to finish ninth. And Kevin Thomas came all the way from 20th to finish tenth.
And with that, it’s hard to believe that Bloomington has
only two more races scheduled, this coming Fridays and the finale on
September 16, an MSCS sanctioned show.
Putnamville IN—The evening started out just fine from my view-until I
noticed some clouds gathering in the west during sprint heats on
Saturday night at Lincoln Park Speedway. The sprint and mod heats were
run, as the sky grew darker, but as the super stocks took to the track,
here came the rain and promoter Joe Spiker had a rare 2011 rainout.
It was a shame too as it was a good field of 33 cars with no one a prohibitive favorite to win. It’s no doubt my imagination, but it seems that quite often a fast car or two will start at the back of an LPS heat race and then move up and finish well.
The first heat held true to that “theory” with Kyle Cummins coming from the back row to take second behind pole sitter Dickie Gaines. Kent Christian was third with Logan Jarrett fourth.
Coleman Gulick checked out from the pole to win the second heat with Ethan Barrow second. Shane Cottle was third with Wes McIntyre fourth. Had there been a B, Brett Burdette and Seth Parker Jr. would have been in it, as second through sixth in this race ran nose to tail.
Chase Stockon won the third heat over Chris Babcock. Chris Gurley completed a white flag lap pass on Bret Triplett to take third. And yes, Gurley came from the last row.
Chase Briscoe outgunned Shane Hollingsworth to grab the lead and the win in the fourth heat as Hollingsworth had some serious brake failure midway through and nearly flipped going into turn one. Jerry Coons Jr. was second with Nick Bilbee third. Jon Sciscoe, Paul Hazen’s new man in the seat, was fourth after starting, well, you know.
But that was about it. The rains came and stayed and the crowd dispersed, not knowing that about 40 miles east tragedy was visiting our State Fair.
I was riding shotgun as part of the Killer D’s, Dave Foist, Driver, Dean Eddy, Navigator and me, the so-called brains of this outfit of grumpy old men. The trip seemed to go fairly quickly was we told stories, some true and many concerning racing.
From Westport to Greencastle IN---Sunday was spent either at a gathering or on the road. I made the trip to a little town in Decatur County to see close and extended family, some of whom I’d not seen since the last reunion or a funeral. I loved every minute of it.
From there it was off to Greencastle for Bill Gardner’s 40th birthday party. I didn’t stay too long but it was a treat to see the founder of indianaopenwheel.com showing off his cornhole expertise. Bill was and is, as always, an inspiration to those around him—even when he doesn’t feel very inspiring. His continuous health battles would cause many of us to simply give up.
On the way back home I was able to get the Indy Car fiasco on the radio. With that in mind….
Making optometrist appointments for Brian Barnhart and Dario Franchetti, I’m…..
Danny Burton
JoJo Gets His Mojo
All too often races that honor racers that have gone to that great Race Track in the sky fade away after a time. But once in awhile, you get a memorial that sticks around. The Joe James-Pat O’Connor Memorial has now been around for 52 years, nearly as long as me. That is impressive to be sure. And now JoJo Helberg adds his name to the list of winners over the years. This past Saturday night he held off Aaron Pierce to etch his name into a bit of racing history at the storied Salem Speedway high banks. It was a nice touch that the winner is a California boy, as was Joe James.
There was a bit of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth when USAC had to bail out a few days before the race. It’s okay; I did a bit my own self, but that didn’t change anything. True, USAC had an ambitious schedule going this past weekend, but how many guys who raced west of Indiana on the dirt would have been at Salem anyway? The fact is that, right now, most open wheel car counts on pavement are dropping. There are several reasons for this, but worrying about it on Saturday night wasn’t a good idea. I decided not to worry about who wasn’t there.
The Must See Racing Xtreme Racing Series is doing some things right, defying conventional wisdom. A decent car count which included some bad boys has been the norm for these guys. Some TV time has been secured and one must shake their head in admiration. They run a prompt and tidy program.
The 23 car field was reduced by one as I arrived when Jacob Wilson scraped the wall while qualifying. Earlier Dave Baumgardner had also crashed, ending his night way too early. Tennessean Jim Blenkarn was sidelined by mechanical woes.
But the real story was Brian Gerster in the always fast Myers 50. All the personable veteran did was set a new track record with a blistering 14.169 lap. After his run, where he used a somewhat lower line in turns three and four, others tried the same line. JoJo Helberg came closest with a 14.393 run.
Jimmy McCune ran off and hid in winning the first heat while Aaron Pierce took a hard won second. Gerster was third with Tim Cox fourth.
Brian Olson won the second heat, holding off a charging Helberg. Mike Larrison was a distant third. Troy DeCaire was on the move before dropping out.
Sondi Eden was also pressured but held on to win the third heat, the first female to win a sprint heat at Salem. Tom Tolbert was a close second. Hank Lower, who probably gets tired of being described as ageless, was third.
Old Calhoun, at least a replica, led a nice group of vintage cars. Mac Miller spent a lot of time and dollars in constructing the lookalike to Parnelli’s 1963 Indy 500 winning car.
Clouds gathered in the distance, but would bring no rain as the 30 lap feature lined up. Pat O’Connor’s son Jeff led the field in the coolest pace car anyone could have, a Sumar Special replica like his dad drove.
Behind Jeff were Lower and Larrison. Canadian Ryan Litt and Jason Cox made up the second row, with Helberg, Gerster, Pierce and DeCaire lined up further back. Right things were nearly crazy as Larrison got into Lower going down the backstretch. Hank recovered as Larrison took the lead. By lap three Helberg was second and had Larrison in his sights. Lapped traffic would be Larrison’s undoing as Helberg caught and passed the young man from Coatesville, IN on lap nine.
Brian Gerster was also busy. He reeled in Larrison and passed him just as the yellow waved on lap 14 when Jimmy McCune had a tire problem. At this point Helberg led Larrison, Gerster, Litt and Pierce.
On the re-start, Gerster again passed Larrison, who had
a tire going flat. He spun in front of the pack with poor McCune, new
tire and all, ending up on his side. This brought out a rare red flag.
Larrison and Tim Cox, who was also involved, both re-started.
On this re-start, Gerster had his best shot at Helberg, but the leader
was having none of it. Meanwhile, Aaron Pierce passed Ryan Litt for
third. This would be important in a few laps. Pierce had trouble getting
around a lapped car, but it didn’t matter when Jerry Caryer stopped on
the backstretch on lap 19.
This re-start had Helberg leading Gerster, Pierce, Litt,
J. Cox and Larrison. Pierce snookered Gerster on this one and grabbed
second, giving chase to the leader. Both the lapped traffic and the nice
southerly breeze made for some semi-out of control fast cars. Pierce
steadily cut the margin down as laps wound down, coming up a car length
short at the checkered.
Gerster was third with J. Cox fourth and Litt fifth.
There are those will dismiss Helberg’s victory because 1. It wasn’t a USAC race and/or 2. His car had one of those dreaded wings (actually two wings, but who’s counting?). Let ‘em dismiss, I say. Some would assert that Mr. James and Mr. O’Connor would frown upon this. Let ‘em assert, I say. A good friend pointed out that even today’s non-wing sprinters aren’t anything like what racers in the 50s and 60s drove, are they? Times change, whether we like it or not. So do cars, drivers, tracks and fans. We ignore it at our own peril or irrelevance. The past is nice to visit (see above for the vintage cars mention) but we’d best not live there.
I like to think that somewhere in the great beyond, Joe and Pat nodded approvingly at the show at Salem on Saturday night. Maybe Joe even nudged Pat, noting that a California boy had won this race.
Nervously eyeing the stock market, I’m…..
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: What If?
“What if?” is a question we should ask from time to time, if not continually. And race promoters don’t always mind when fans leave the track asking that question. This past Sunday at the gem of north central Indiana, the Kokomo Speedway, folks were surely asking each other, “What if Justin Grant (feature winner) had been caught by Chris Windom (finishing second after starting 17th)?”
This was the Bob Darland Classic at Kokomo on a very hot Sunday night. Seeing that this would be Kokomo’s last race for a month, grandson number one and I felt compelled to show up, even exiting a family reunion a bit early to arrive two hours later in time for hot laps. It would be a night that might make Bob Darland nod in approval.
28 sprinters made the trip with only 10 midgets signed in. But the quality was there, as always.
The first sprint heat was fairly tame with Tracy Hines grabbing the lead from Josh Spencer on lap three and winning over Spencer, long distance traveler Hud Cone and James Bradshaw.
The second heat, in contrast, had some drama. First off, Shane Cottle’s Jeff Walkermobile wouldn’t fire so they began preparing for the B. Then J.J. Hughes came down on Chris Windom and took a wild ride in turn two. J.J. was not hurt, but was done for the night. Windom joined Cottle in the pits, thrashing away. Andrew Elson ended up winning this heat over Chris Gurley. Jamie Fredricksen and Logan Jarrett also moved on.
The third heat saw more of the same. Coleman Gulick and Wes McIntyre traded some slide jobs to get things going before McIntyre spun, collecting Jon Stanbrough, who was in Monte Edison’s 10e tonight. Two more good cars were soon receiving repairs in preparation for the B. Gulick won over a fast closing Justin Grant. Ted Hines stayed out of trouble and finished third. Todd Kirkman was fourth, edging Conner Donelson.
Things calmed down for the fourth heat. Dave Darland won it over Jon Sciscoe, who replaced the traveling Thomas Meseraull in the Hazen 57 for the night. Keith Bloom was third with Brian Karraker taking fourth after a good scrap with Aric Gentry. It was time for what would be an interesting B Main.
The initial start was called back. On the second start, Stanbrough spun. (Yes, you read that right.) For the third start, the boys went single file. Windom won, outrunning his former owner, Jeff Walker, with Cottle at the wheel. Southern Indiana visitor Bub Cummings was third with Stanbrough coming from the back to take the last spot. Poor Wes McIntyre was left standing when the music stopped, perhaps with a car not totally fixed after his heat race woes. The kid who had impressed many during Sprint Week would be spectating.
Elson and Gurley made up the front row for what would be a 30 lap affair. Grant, Sciscoe, Gulick, Spencer, Tracy Hines and Darland were just behind. This would prove to be interesting with various and sundry hot dogs scattered throughout the rest of the 20 car field. Bloom would fire from 12th, Windom from 17th, Cottle 18th and Jon Stanbrough started last.
Elson grabbed the lead right away with the pesky Gurley hanging close and Grant ready to pounce. A lap three yellow gave me time to count back to Windom, who had already moved to 11th with Stanbrough 12th.
Windom didn’t move up much in the next green flag segment, but Grant did, taking the lead and holding it as the lights blinked on lap eight. Elson and Gurley were still up front with Gulick and Hines running four/five.
Grant took off like the proverbial rocket on the re-start, building a half lap lead as discerning fans watched the action from second on back. Gurley wrested second from Elson at the halfway mark with Sciscoe just ahead of a charging Keith Bloom. Gulick was sixth but had Windom breathing down his neck. Ted Hines was just ahead of his brother, but not for long, as that turned out.
By lap 22 Windom was third and could see Bloom, who was
now running second. Chris may well have thought that Bloom was the
leader. But a lap 24 red flag waved for a Todd Kirkman flip (driver
okay/car not so much) and Grant’s huge lead disappeared.
This should have been Windom’s chance to write a fantastic script for
the last six laps. The re-start was Grant, Bloom, Windom, Gurley,
Sciscoe, Tracy Hines, Darland, Gulick, Elson and Stanbrough. We’d better
mention that three lapped cars cushioned Grant, making it tougher for
the rest.
Windom didn’t get the greatest of re-starts and was very briefly passed by Gurley, who ran a strong race all 30 laps. But he did recover to get around Bloom. But by then Grant had checked out—again, leaving folks to ask “what if?”
The final order was jumbled a bit when Jon Stanbrough found himself in the middle of a three car scrum after 29 and three quarters laps with Coleman Gulick and Brian Karraker. Grant and Windom were trailed by Bloom, Gurley and Tracy Hines. Dave Darland, who has won this race in honor of his dad in the past, finished sixth. Shane Cottle came from way back there to take seventh. Jon Sciscoe was eighth with Ted Hines ninth. Andrew Elson faded to tenth after a good start.
My grandson and I hung around a bit after the feature and we saw a somewhat poignant scene. There was the happy winner, Justin Grant, being interviewed and saying all the right things, thanking the right people (especially car owner Mark Hery). There was Dave Darland and family, making their way to Victory Lane to present the winner with the trophy, one that Dave would have loved to win. And then there was Jon Stanbrough, who has won his share, but not tonight, trudging almost unnoticed down the front straight to the pits while the post-race festivities continued. Ah yes, the thrill of victory and the other. And all except the winner asking themselves, “what if?”
As it turned out, all was not lost for Dave Darland. He did win the USAC D1 Midget feature after a tussle with Taylor Ferns, making car owner Chris Gurley happy.
Kokomo Speedway addicts, of which I’m one, must decompress for a month as the track is silent for all of August. The Vince Osman Memorial marks the return of action on the jewel of an oval on Labor Day weekend. Lord willing, I’ll be getting used to not getting up to go to work by then. And yes, Bob (Clauson), it’s true; I can’t wait.
Putting away my Brickyard 400 seat disguise for another year, I’m…..
Danny Burton
Heat Vs. The Love of Racing
Most of us know that a good bit of the nation has sweltered under a hot sun that has been relentless. We’ve done our best to deal with the weather in the most positive and productive manner, even the racing community. Do we go to the races or not? I’d guess that Tracy Hines was glad that he showed up at Lawrenceburg on Saturday night. He was there to take advantage of Justin Grant’s late race misfortune and haul away some ‘burg dollars, which could have bought several bags of ice.
Race fans and teams have made choices that were and are driven by the weather this month. Fans have asked themselves exactly how much they love going to races. When you get down to it, it’s the same question we ask about anything or anyone we love. If it’s 95 degrees in the shade and there isn’t much shade, do we go to races?
If fans ask such questions, then so must race promoters. This past Friday, both Gas City and Bloomington speedways cancelled their night of racing. Most applauded the decision with the inevitable few complaining that either they were owed a Friday night at the races or that tracks should open the gates for the few, the strong, etc. Saner heads prevailed (as they checked the forecast and their bottom lines).
Saturday was about as hot as Friday, but Indiana sprint car racers raced anyway. Lawrenceburg started an hour (plus) later and soldiered on, as did Lincoln Park and Paragon. Car counts were a bit lower at all three tracks; weather was a culprit, as was the post-Sprint Week let down, mentally and financially.
Lawrenceburg had 17 cars in the pits with a decent amount of quality teams braving the elements. Promoter Dave Rudisell pulled out all the stops in letting HARF and DARF members in free, hoping that would be worth someone buying an extra cheeseburger and/or beer.
Old Dave caught some heat of a different kind for a dry slick Sprint Week track; tonight would be different. He probably caught heat for preparing a tacky, wicked fast track that made passing quite an adventure, but was a lot easier on tires.
With guys like Hines, Grant, Brady Short, Damion Gardner, Chad Boespflug and Joss Moffatt among the congregation, there promised to be some very decent racin’ all night.
Short started out by winning the first heat, courting disaster in the form of lapped cars near the end of the race. Grant was second with Boespflug, J.R. Douglas and Shawn Westerfeld trailing.
Moffatt took the second heat over a closing Damion Gardner, who took a few laps to get around third place Logan Hupp. Hines was a conservative fourth with rookie Drew Able fifth.
Buckeye race chaser Gregg Sauer and I retreated to the parking lot in the middle of the fairgrounds, finding a rare breeze and wondering how the caged fighters were doing in the infield of the go-kart track behind the main grandstands. But we don’t love cage fighting enough to go find out; bench racing was more fun with a couple of cheeseburgers on the tailgate of my truck.
The re-draw had Short and Moffatt on the front row with Grant, Gardner, Hines and Hupp right behind. Right away things changed as Grant was ruled to jump the start. He traded places with Short and no Brady was on the pole, no doubt thanking the kid from California.
Short took the lead on the re-start as Grant moved right away to second. Grant did a half spin in turn four as the first lap ended, causing traffic behind him to stack up and giving Short a big lead. But soon after this, Grant was reeling him in, motivated by his demotion. As lapped traffic was already in play, Grant caught and passed Short on lap seven for the lead. Hines and Gardner trailed at this point.
From here Grant did a repeat of his Twin Cities win on the Monday night of Sprint Week, slicing his way through the field, lapping cars up to fifth place, flirting with disaster on every lap and increasing his lead to nearly a half lap. But the fates had other plans.
An errant nerf bar brought out a yellow light on lap 23. It’s quite possible that Grant ran over the debris which flattened his left rear tire. At any rate, his race was done. Gardner may have run over something as well. He stopped during the yellow as well, changing a tire.
The green-white-checkered re-start had Hines leading Short, Moffatt, Boespflug and Hupp to the green. None of that changed as Hines knew he’d caught a lucky break, as lucky as Grant’s break was unlucky. No doubt Tracy can recall races when he lost in much the same way as Justin had tonight.
Hines had a mixed blessing waiting for him in Victory Lane. The good was the HARF and DARF memberships and shirts. The bad was that it was me giving out the HARF prizes. Ex-Sprint Cup flagman/inspector Rick Monroe was on hand to do the honors for the Dayton fan club.
Rick and I visited a good bit off and on for the rest of the warm night in the infield. Dave Rudisell offered me a chance to ride with him in the pace truck for the modified feature. It wasn’t any worse than the time I tried to teach my then 16 year old daughter how to drive. Dave kicked me out after Derek Groomer took the checkered flag in the caution plagued mod feature. (Not really.) It was a different angle, literally, riding around the high banked 3/8 mile oval in a fancy truck with all sorts of toys.
I was reminded that, no matter what class of car a racer wheels, he or she is equally happy when they take the checkered flag first. Some feelings are nothing but universal. A winner’s smile is the same, be it Tracy Hines or first time pure stock winner Matt Wheeler. No matter how high the temperature is.
Shrugging my shoulders at the news the NFL players and owners kissed and made up, I’m…..
Danny Burton
The Battle and the War
Indiana Sprint Week had to come to an end, as all good things do. But it was another great nine days of racin’, Hoosier style. Lots of folks came from literally around the world to be Hoosiers for a few days. Only those who thrive on complaining were disappointed; most were, generally speaking, quite pleased with the proceedings. Most all are already looking forward to next year’s edition.
This band of gypsies, including race teams, fans and various other people gathered together on yet another hot Hoosier afternoon on Saturday the 16th at the Class Track itself, the world famous Tri-State Speedway, usually referred to as Haubstadt, the name of the nearest town. On this last night of ISW, there wasn’t much drama about points. Chris Windom had taken care of that. He had won the war, as it were. But I’d doubt that few fans or even teams were thinking about points. Most were looking forward to what they ended up seeing: a full night of typical Indiana dirt tracking, cars running within inches of each other or the wall, scary fast speeds and, when time permitted, a chance to visit.
While Chris Windom won the war, tonight Damion Gardner would win the battle, leading the last 26 laps to close out another Sprint Week.
“Only” 29 cars were signed in, with the usual suspects ready to race. Others either stayed at home or went to Lincoln Park, which had close to 40 cars. The fastest of the 29 was Jon Stanbrough, who knocked off a 13.233 lap, a full tenth second quicker than Blake Fitzpatrick.
Dave Darland still has it; let there be no doubt. He won the first heat with D. Gardner second. Chad Boespflug nearly brought out a caution when he did a half spin (his third of the week, I think) and fell back. But the green stayed out and all Mr. Boespflug did was pass Shane Cottle, Brady Short and Jon Stanbrough to take third place. Stanbrough was fourth with Short, Cottle and Chase Briscoe headed for the B.
Fitzpatrick won the second heat over two time 2011 ISW winner Hunter Schuerenberg. Andrew Elson was third. But behind him was a terrific battle for the transfer between Coleman Gulick and Tracy Hines, a festival of slide jobs and brave moves with neither giving an inch. As an aside, Gulick found himself in this heat with his Terre Haute nemesis Critter Malone. No antics here; both raced hard and clean.
The third heat saw more of the same. Until a lap three yellow for J.J. Hughes hitting the wall, Levi Jones and Daron Clayton took turns sliding each other. After the re-start, Mike Spencer passed on the last turn to win this heat race over Kevin Thomas Jr. Clayton was third with Bryan Clauson fourth. Levi was the next in line, one spot short.
I gave the fourth heat an A+, not that the others were that bad. Casey Riggs blasted off from fourth to check out. The real action was behind him. Wes McIntyre’s qualification woes were way behind him and he came from last to take second. Kyle Cummins, in his first (and last) 2011 ISW start, was an impressive third. Chris Windom chased Cummins but settled for fourth. Robert Ballou, Jerry Coons Jr. (with an ailing engine) and Chase Stockon signed up for the B.
With Jones and Short on the front row, the others figured that they’d be racing for the last four spots. Race they did. Levi and Brady did finish as they started, as did Coleman Gulick, Chase Stockon, Jerry Coons Jr. and Shane Cottle. But Gulick’s race was more eventful as he dropped back early and came on strong. Robert Ballou had to use a provisional.
All Windom had to do to take home that cool, handmade rocking chair was to stay out of trouble for 30 laps. He did that with no trouble. Tracy Hines and Damion Gardner led 21 more to the green with Hines taking the early lead. Gardner passed Hines on lap five to take the lead for good and Daron Clayton began to pressure Hines. Windom was fourth early on but dropped back steadily with Stanbrough taking over fourth midway through the race.
On lap eight Andrew Elson spun and Gardner slid into the 27, clouting the car with his right side. Amazingly Gardner continued with no major damage. On the re-start Gardner led Hines, Clayton, Windom, Stanbrough, Fitzpatrick, Jones, Cummins, Gulick (from 14th) and Short.
For the next several laps nothing much changed up front until lap 26. That was when Hines spun while in second place. This put Clayton behind Gardner on the re-start, with Stanbrough behind him. Talk about pressure; this was it for Gardner. But the little guy with the heavy foot was up to it. He held off the Missourian with the heavy foot and took the checkered.
Stanbrough was a steady third. Casey Riggs, who has been impressive the past three nights, came on to grab fourth after re-starting seventh. Brady Short was fifth. Levi Jones was sixth, no doubt looking at the big picture for the year. Bryan Clauson was seventh, followed by Blake Fitzpatrick, who slipped late and lost four spots. Chad Boespflug concluded a most successful Sprint Week with a ninth and 2011 Indiana Sprint Week champ Chris Windom did what he needed to do, stay out of trouble and finish tenth in the process.
Just like that, it was over. Time for everyone to go home. Some may have been wishing for more, but it wasn’t happening. I was glad it was over, but knew that it had to end. I was tired, but it was a “good” kind of tired, if that makes sense. As the teams were loading up and heading home, I was already motoring up the road, Indiana Road 57 to Washington, U.S. 50 to Seymour and U.S. 31 north a few miles.
This year’s edition had something for everyone. Controversy, on and off the track, crazy stuff, lots of laughs and a few hurt feelings too. Lots of visiting with old friends and new, along with remembering a good friend in particular, helped make this ISW special. It was fun, inspiring and even educational at times. If all who attended and/or participated enjoyed it half as much as I did, then consider yourselves quite fortunate.
Burning a few provisionals myself, I’m…..
Danny Burton
Ups and Downs
Hunter Schuerenberg has had the kind of year that could try one’s patience. He and his team have won their share of races already this year, but they’ve also had their share of headaches, bad luck, or simply trying too hard. “Feast or famine” might be the right term. Or “having a roller coaster of a year” might work too. But on Friday night at the Bloomington Speedway, Hunter and crew had it all together. When Wes McIntyre slipped over the cushion during the feature, Hunter was quick to take advantage and lead the rest of the way to take his second USAC/Indiana Sprint Week win. Feasting, indeed.
Once again, the weather was great for racing. I played the rare role of passenger as Super Dave (Foist, not Darland) did his best Michael Schumacher imitation. We were lucky. We arrived in plenty of time to get a decent parking spot.
44 cars took time trials with Bobby East having driveline issues and taking a provisional come feature time. Mr. Darland was quickest with an 11.408 lap. Two Bloomington regulars, Danny Holtsclaw and Ty Deckard, qualified in the top ten.
Seems to me that Bloomington’s regulars, more than any other track, tend to give the USAC boys more fits when they get together. Tonight would be no exception. Maybe it’s partly due to the track and partly who these guys are, or how good they are at Bloomington. People like Holtsclaw, Deckard, Bobby Stines, Jon Sciscoe (MIA tonight) and now Chris Babcock routinely make the feature and just as routinely run well. I recall Stines’ great run a couple of years back, leading the first half of the Sprint Week feature.
A non-qualifiers’ heat had to be run with so many cars. Andrew Elson led all the way and won. J.J. Hughes, Matt Goodnight and Logan Jarrett would also tag the heats. Travis Welpott and Todd Kirkman made mighty efforts to get around Jarrett to no avail.
The first heat was fairly uneventful by ISW standards. Dave Darland was hip checked early on by Keith Bloom. After a yellow, Dave returned the favor. Chris Windom won the race, which looked like a high speed freight train on a track that stayed good and racy all night. Casey Shuman was second with Mike Spencer third. To help prove my point, Ty Deckard took fourth and sent Darland, Bryan Clauson, Andrew Elson and Bloom to the B.
Brady Short, Jon Stanbrough, Tracy Hines and Wes McIntyre all started and finished fourth in the second heat. This left Daron Clayton and Coleman Gulick out in the cold of the B.
Bobby Stines had to cancel his third heat race meeting with his friends so Jerry Coons Jr. took the pole position. All he did was simply check out, leaving the others to fight for position. A pair of number 35s, Chris Babcock and feature winner Hunter Schuerenberg, took second and third. Levi Jones had to work to hold off Chad Boespflug for fourth.
Danny Holtsclaw came from fifth to win the fourth heat. Shane Cottle was second with Damion Gardner third. Brownstown winner Casey Riggs made it to the big show. Blake Fitzpatrick and Robert Ballou, Lawrenceburg’s winner, did not.
Coleman Gulick won a B Main that was notable for the action behind him. People fought hard to get a transfer. Dave Darland, Chad Boespflug, Daron Clayton and Keith Bloom trailed. Bryan Clauson grabbed the last spot available, avoiding a dreaded provisional. But young Chase Briscoe was gaining at the end as Bloom and Clauson staged the classic Bloomington high/low groove type battle. Robert Ballou burned a provisional and Blake Fitzpatrick sat down early.
Even after driver introductions the time was still only 9:35 with a bit of daylight left. Schuerenberg and McIntyre were the front row and one would find it easy to think that Hunter should grab the lead at the start. But someone forgot to tell McIntyre. He took command at the start, leaving Hunter and third starter Danny Holtsclaw behind. A lap four red waved when Coleman Gulick slowed. Keith Bloom was right behind and had nowhere to go, except upside down. It was Keith’s second flip in two nights. As it turned out, his Sprint Week was over.
A few laps later, it was Levi Jones’ turn to flip. It appeared that he bounced too hard off the mighty third turn cushion and tumbled, a rare unforced error if that was the case. McIntyre resumed command after the re-start over Schuerenberg, Holtsclaw, Casey Riggs and Dave Darland. But his lead was short lived as the kid from Fortville, IN went over the turn two banking after leading the first ten laps. From there it was Schuerenberg’s to lose. That wasn’t going to happen but the action behind Hunter was Bloomington at its best.
McIntyre recovered strongly from his off track excursion, losing only two positions. He took second from Holtsclaw fairly quickly and was second at the halfway mark ahead of Holtsclaw, Darland, Clayton, Riggs and Coons. Things were very crowded behind the Coondog with quite the dogfight going on.
Casey Shuman rolled to a stop on lap 21. The re-start had Schuerenberg leading McIntyre, Holtsclaw, Darland, Clayton, Clauson, Coons, Stanbrough (up from 18th) and Riggs. Holtsclaw wasn’t done with McIntyre, trying really hard to get second back. That was made easier when Wes slipped again, allowing Darland to move up a spot and begin his own challenge of Holtsclaw, who recently took over the 22 that Rick Vaughn made semi-famous these past few years. McIntyre came back from this slip to try and fend off Stanbrough.
One last yellow and re-start came on lap 28 when McIntyre’s night came to an end. He and Riggs tangled and it appeared that Ballou had no place to go, arriving late. This set up a green-white-checker, but not the NASCAR kind. It meant more anticipation and guessing. Who would do what and when would they do it?
Schuerenberg was having none of it. The guy who won convincingly at Kokomo became the only two time ISW winner. Behind him, things were a bit scrambled. Darland made a late charge, edging Holtsclaw for second. Clauson came on strong at the end to take. Coons also came on strong to take fifth, after starting 15th. Stanbrough slipped a bit to sixth.
Notice that I hadn’t mentioned Shane Cottle until now. The guy who has surely passed more cars than anyone else started 16th and finished seventh. Daron Clayton ran well early but faded a bit to eighth. Chad Boespflug continued his string of impressive ISW runs on a limited budget and took ninth. Tracy Hines was tenth.
ISW points leader Chris Windom had a quiet night, finishing 12th and losing some ground to second place Bryan Clauson. But for one night again, Hunter Schuerenberg was feasting.
Next and final stop: Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway.
Wondering if my phone will be hacked by a news conglomerate, I’m….
Danny Burton
First Time Winner!
With all the controversy about errant water trucks, dust, people getting tossed out of the facility, maybe we should sit back, take a breath and ponder what should be the big story. There were plenty of rumors, hints, allegations and maybe even a threat or two flying about Thursday night at the Brownstown Speedway. All we can verify is that, yes, it was a bit dusty, yes, a water truck was a last second entry in a heat race and most importantly (to me), we had ourselves a fine race with a USAC first time winner. Casey Riggs led the last half of Thursday night’s feature and held off a furious charge from Brady Short to win his first USAC win. Let’s hope that the first time winner’s accomplishment won’t be dimmed by all the other stuff.
42 cars were in the pits with 41 taking time trials. Jared Harris tried but the 81h wouldn’t fire. Those who went out early fared best again. This time it was Levi Jones setting fast time. I watched it all from the backstretch, getting pelted with dirt while eating a cheeseburger (or two).
After the best rendition of the National Anthem so far (a recording by one of our Military Service bands, I’d guess) the first heat lined up. Craziness ensued.
The guys took the green but as they barreled into turn four, a water truck entered the track from turn two as the flag man quickly waved the yellow. The truck began doing its thing as the cars slowly circled the track before exiting. Water was spread on the track and various and sundry trucks circled the oval. 30 or so minutes later, action resumed. The dust wasn’t much better but the racing was, despite a dry and slick surface that slowed speeds but allowed plenty of passing.
Mike Spencer ended up winning the heat after the re-start. Justin Grant, Levi Jones and Bobby East all transferred. Damion Gardner took the second heat as Jon Stanbrough used the low line to take second. Jerry Coons Jr. was third as J.R. Douglas sneaked across the line ahead of Andrew Elson to take fourth. Keith Bloom flipped but was not hurt.
Casey Riggs won the third heat, outrunning Coleman Gulick. Chris Windom, who may be eyeing the ISW title by now, was third after starting eighth with Dave Darland fourth. Wes McIntyre, who has had an up and down ISW, won the fourth heat. Shane Cottle came from the fourth row to finish second. Robert Ballou led a snarling dogfight for third on back with Chad Boespflug fourth. To the B went Blake Fitzpatrick and Bryan Clauson. Brady Short turned it over in turn three. He would return with notable success later.
More and more people were trying the extra high groove on both straights, getting good traction there. Call it the Brady Short Groove, because he used it to perfection last year. He lined up fourth in the semi, repairs made, and won the 12 lapper. Schuerenberg was second. Behind Hunter was your basic mess. Cars bunched up in a pack, minus restrictor plates, scratching and clawing for extra inches. This group included third place Andrew Elson, Bryan Clauson, Daron Clayton and Tracy Hines. Danny Holtsclaw was left out in the cold, but barely.
The unlikely duo of Boespflug and Riggs occupied the front row. Who would have guessed that these two would dominate this race? Dominate they did with Boespflug leading the first half of the race and Riggs the remainder. By the fifth lap Boespflug had stretched his lead a bit with Riggs, Darland and Levi Jones in hot pursuit. One should add that by now Brady Short was joining the party from his ninth starting spot.
The pressure from Riggs and company was relentless and Riggs passed Boespflug right after the halfway mark. And soon after that Boespflug was under pressure from Darland for second. Chad did a half spin in turn three, not stopping but bringing out a caution. The re-start had Riggs leading Darland, Short, Jones and Boespflug. Bobby East had been steadily moving up from 11th and was now sixth. Hines, Schuerenberg, Ballou and Gulick weren’t done either.
The re-start saw Short pass Darland, who slowed and left with mechanical issues. Short was using every bit of the track and then some on the straights to great effect. Behind them, along with Jones and East, was the mother of all racing scrums. Boespflug, Schuerenberg, Stanbrough, Coons, Cottle and Gulick made for quite a crowd, changing positions at most every turn.
A last yellow at lap 26 set up a mad dash on a track that had little traction, but was ideal for people who can race as well as mash the pedal. Short took his best shots at Riggs, who had discovered the Brady Short lane, to no avail. And Brady slipped a bit at the end, losing second to Jones, who had his best finish by far this week. Tracy Hines came on strong at the end to take fourth. East was fifth.
Boespflug has been having an excellent ISW and tonight was no exception as he held onto sixth after his half spin. Shane Cottle must be the king of passing as he came from 20th to take seventh. Coleman Gulick recovered from his forgettable night at THAT to take eighth. Lawrenceburg winner Robert Ballou was ninth, leading 2010 ISW points champ Jon Stanbrough. Chris Windom was 14th, but still had a decent sized lead over second place Ballou. However, he lost ground to Levi Jones for the year’s standings.
Lots and lots of drama, on and off track came with this night. Folks were upset about some things, but after the feature perhaps they were thinking that it was quite a race. My own hope is that people will remember that it was Casey Riggs’ first win. And it wouldn’t bother me if Brownstown is still on the 2012 edition of ISW (With Lincoln Park added). As always, time will tell.
Clouding this is track conditions. Owners can’t be pleased at their tire bills. This will have to be addressed before it becomes a really serious problem, not that it isn’t now. Fans can only hope these things and others can be ironed out.
Stuck in Carmegeddon, I’m…… Danny Burton
Redemption Lives
The preacher was telling me about the importance of seed sowing. It’s right there in the Bible. Little did my friend know that he’d planted an idea in my head.
You see, the previous Sunday, July 3, I’d gone to the Terre Haute Action Track and seen a Hoosier dust storm. A race was postponed due to dust, which was one result of a less than adequate attempt at track preparation. I was more sad than angry about this, being of an age where one should realize that life often brings disappointments.
The sermon of July 10 made me think about the importance of prepping a dirt track under less than ideal conditions---namely summertime under the Indiana sun.
This is also a story of redemption and I truly love redemption stories. This had to do with the United States Auto Club doing their best to rectify mistakes that were made. Rectify they did. For ten days after what I’d labeled a debacle and/or fiasco, the good folks of USAC stepped up and presented a huge crowd of Terre Haute fans some top notch racing, capped off by Chris Windom’s win in the 30 lap finale.
Unlike Monday, the weather was cool by comparison. A few fans had donned jackets or sweaters. A breeze from the north (and on occasion from the east) made track preparation even trickier. But Mr. Bob Sargent and Mr. Reece O’Conner were up to the task. Twice during the night’s program, they and their crew took to the track so it could be massaged as needed. The results showed that this was a good call, making the actual racing the story as opposed to what should be side issues.
33 cars were on the fairgrounds as the Vigo County Fair was in full swing, making a scenic backdrop as the sun went down. Young Keith Bloom was the fastest in time trials, turning a 20.640 lap. The track faded by the time the last qualifiers hit the track, bringing on the first re-working of the half mile oval. Brandon Mattox smacked the wall on his attempt, taking a nasty tumble. Brandon was okay but done for the night and maybe awhile longer.
Damion Gardner won the first heat over Keith Bloom as Daron Clayton stopped with a bum engine while running third. The Hoffman crew would change engines and Clayton would return for the B Main later. Coleman Gulick and Critter Malone benefited from Clayton’s misfortune and would provide their brand of fireworks after the race. Malone got into the back of the Gulick car, clipping the left front wheel, but getting upside down in the process. Both had been racing hard but it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. Malone was said to have not knowing the race had ended. Gulick and his team had their doubts about that. Gulick would pull off the track just as the feature started.
The second heat was about as dramatic. Shane Cottle, came from the back to take third, all in the first half lap. But he faded a bit at the end, sending himself to the B. Chad Boespflug won with Hunter Schuerenberg second after starting last due to his mechanical issues during qualifying. Levi Jones was third with Justin Grant getting around Cottle to take fourth.
The third heat was stopped when Eric Krockenberger smacked the turn four wall, bringing out a red. Robert Ballou won with Chase Stockon second with an impressive run, using the high line to pass Tracy Hines and Blake Fitzpatrick. Chris Windom was another fast guy headed for the B, which would make the feature even more entertaining.
The fourth heat was tame by comparison as Dave Darland won. Jerry Coons Jr. was second with Dustin Morgan third. Bryan Clauson made sure that Jon Stanbrough went to the B. See above paragraph.
With Windom on the pole for the B, it was no shock to see him run off with the win. J.J. Hughes found the wall and flipped in turn three, igniting the red. He was okay but done for the night and heading off to Brownstown. Stanbrough took second with Clayton and Jonathan Hendrick running three/four. A decent sized blanket could have covered Mike Spencer, Shane Cottle and Andrew Elson for the last two spots. The college student from Carmel, IN came up just a bit short. He’d still walk away with some extra cash later.
Jack Kraemer—RIP--- On the surface, Jack looked like a cantankerous old man, with the inevitable toll that time takes upon most of us. But if one looked a bit closer they’d see the glint and humor in those eyes. Jack was a long time race fan who traveled near and far to races up to almost the very end of his long life. One of my favorite memories would be approaching Jack to say hi and him shaking my hand with a firm grip, saying “Hi, Dan. How about a Miller Lite? Here, have some chicken livers.” I’d turn down the chicken livers every time, but it never stopped Jack from offering to share.
Jack’s circle of friends was huge. A few of them (Michael Clark, Randy Mortland and Brent Goodnight, among others) decided it would be a proper tribute to Jack if they’d raise money to give some ISW/Terre Haute racers a bit extra cash to show their appreciation and maybe make Jack proud. Mike and crew succeeded beyond their wildest expectations.
Keith Bloom took away $300 for his quick time. Brandon Mattox, a local boy and a great example of a low buck racer, had his pain eased by about $500. Andrew Elson came in seventh in the B, but he had $400 for his trouble. Shane Cottle took home the biggest chunk of the approximately $4500 raised because he was the hardest charger. Shane came from 21st to fifth and had $2500 dropped into his lap. Hank Byrum was presented with $325 as he was certainly a hard luck owner after Hunter Schuerenberg’s flip. J.J. Hughes’ dad had an extra $400 for being a hard luck owner.
Terre Haute lost a good man the other day, a law enforcement officer named Brent Long who was killed in the line of duty. His family received $100 in appreciation and to help ease their burdens.
In honor of Jack, Jon Stanbrough and Levi Jones slowly circled the track as the PA announcer told the crowd a bit about Jack. I was told that Levi spread some of Jack’s ashes on the track as he and Jon rode around the oval. Kind of neat, I’d say.
Many, many thanks need to go to Mike and crew for their efforts. I like to think that Jack smiles down upon us, not wishing to hear all the kind words, but very joyful that some guys were rewarded for their efforts in a special manner.
By now Jack would have been hollering for the cars to be pushed off. Visiting time was over; it was time to race.
Race they did. Morgan and Stockon led the way to the green. Dustin barely led the first lap as the guys went three wide. But Chris Windom launched from his seventh spot to grab the lead on lap two with Tracy Hines in tow. Windom steadily stretched his lead, making it a full straightaway by the time the yellow waved on lap 12. Jerry Coons Jr. had passed Hines for second just before the yellow. Tracy was third on the re-start with Keith Bloom, Jones, Robert Ballou, Stanbrough, Dave Darland, Damion Gardner (up from 17th) and…..Shane Cottle.
Bloom was on the move, taking second on the re-start. The amber light activated on lap 19. By now Ballou had joined Windom and Bloom. Stanbrough was moving up; now he was fifth behind Coons, who was slowly fading. Cottle was up to sixth as Hunter Schuerenberg had made his way forward, using the very high groove, to seventh after starting 22nd.
Hunter was aiming for the front group, hanging it out on the top groove along with Bloom. One had to wonder if either would flirt too closely with that wall and encounter disaster. Dang it, I thought, as Hunter found it, flipping in turn four on lap 25 of 30. Like all others on this night, Hunter was okay, but finished for the night.
Catching our breath, it was now Windom, Bloom, Ballou, Stanbrough, Darland, Cottle, Gardner, Coons and Spencer leading the way. Stanbrough got Ballou on the re-start as Windom held off Bloom, who ran an outstanding race. Behind Stanbrough and Cottle was……Shane Cottle, who started way back there. Gardner came from 17th to sixth, followed by Bryan Clauson, 14th to seventh. Darland slipped a bit to eighth at the end. Mike Spencer and Levi Jones ran nine/ten.
Windom not only took a commanding lead for ISW and was now only seven points behind Levi Jones for the overall points.
Coming down slow----I said my good-bys and strolled out to my truck to make some notes and watch the traffic jam on a downright cool night. Easing down the lane to exit at the west end was good buddy Bill Gardner’s truck, with either him or Brian Hayden driving, both headed east to Cloverdale. I was glad for Bill that he could make it to the race; he is a race fan in the Jack Kraemer tradition.
It was a good and content feeling, just sitting there watching traffic and making notes. I had a two hour drive ahead of me, but I was in no hurry. I was tired, dirty and stuck in a parking lot 100 miles from home as the midnight hour beckoned. That two hour drive wasn’t going away. But none of it mattered. I was feeling quite fortunate to have seen such a high quality of competition. I was feeling very blessed to have known Jack and to have such memories of him. This was as close to Heaven on earth I could hope to be. I dared not to ask for any more than that. The seeds sown by USAC, the racers and the fans had borne fruit.
Hacking Paul Tracy’s twitter account, I’m…..
Danny Burton
Times at Twin Cities
So all Twin Cities Raceway Park decided again to run a race during Indiana Sprint Week’s break. What’s the big deal? It doesn’t hurt ISW, USAC or anyone else. Turned out to be a deal of sorts, though. Who knew that the weather would be the story? And it didn’t even rain. But after the sun went down, things heated up on the track as Justin Grant was flat out for the 25 lap feature, taking home $3,000.
USAC’s points chasers weren’t about to show up here and no one was blaming them, well, very few anyway. But that left plenty of regional runners to tackle the scary fast 3/8 mile oval. This meant people like Brady Short, Casey Shuman (an Arizona native who said it was pretty hot), Casey Riggs, Justin Grant and Joss Moffatt—who had himself a new car after a trashing of his old one at the ‘burg two weeks ago---would be there. The nifty paint job was courtesy of his dad Bill, the High Priest of race car painting.
Weather---the temperature flirted with the 100 degree mark; thankfully there was an occasional breeze. Promoter Mason Fleetwood made us wait before getting things underway. This turned out to be a good move. Let the sun go down behind that hill just west of the track and then let’s race. The casual atmosphere reminded me of the American South, especially the rural areas, where I’ve spent a bit of time over the years (mostly in Kentucky). When it’s that hot, why hurry?
So hot laps began two hours later than planned, 8:00 p.m. Three groups of sprints would qualify and get only one lap. Each group would race their heats against each other with heats starting straight up.
Grant’s 13.91 lap was fastest. Brett Burdette had a quick lap working before he smacked the turn four wall, as many have done before. This left 21 cars. Brett was okay, but not happy.
Soon after this I noticed that the guy with hottest job was busy scraping mud off the wall in the turns. There was plenty of mud to scrape. Made me tired just watching.
Chad Boespflug won the first heat with a white flag lap pass of Logan Hupp. Justin Grant won the second heat with Brady Short not far behind. Joss Moffatt took third after a last lap pass of Dakota Jackson.
The third heat turned out to be two races in one. Mark Perry III won over Kevin Thomas Jr., C.J. Leary and Brian Carraker. The second group was Mike Fischesser, Drew Abel and Dwayne Spille. No extra charge.
Heat winners Boespflug and Grant led ‘em to the flag and right away things got ugly. Boespflug did a half spin and Kevin Thomas Jr. checked up. Behind KT, Joss Moffatt had nowhere to go. He tipped it over and also had a right front wheel sheared off. Mike Fischesser and Gary Rooke were also collected, with Rooke getting upside down. Only Fischesser could re-start, minus a right side nerf bar while Moffatt and his dad were looking at a formerly new race car, now needing a few hundred dollars’ worth of damage.
Grant grabbed the lead on the re-start and promptly took off as if all the devils of hell were chasing him. With a few near misses with lapped cars, he had people holding their breath on each lap. He and Boespflug were checking out when the race’s only yellow waved on lap eight as Brady Short slowed with a flat tire. The tire was replaced and Brady was ready to be pushed off when the green waved.
This was a shame in that I’d have liked to see Brady rejoin the field and make his way back to the front. The re-start had Grant leading Boespflug, Logan Hupp, Thomas, and Mark Perry III. At once Grant resumed his attack on the cushion at both ends, even as the shelf moved closer and closer to the wall.
With only a few laps to go, Hupp passed a fading Boespflug for second, where he finished. Kevin Thomas Jr., brakes aglow, finished fourth. J.R. Douglas was fifth.
It wasn’t all that late, despite the late start. Mason probably wished that the car count was a bit higher, but the program ran smoothly, a huge plus on such a hot night. I hope he tries it again next year and he probably will if the supply/demand laws are in accordance.
Making sure my hat is firmly atop my head, I’m…..
Danny Burton
Ballou Was Due
Robert Ballou is a throwback in that all he wants to do is race. And if he can flirt with the high groove, no matter how treacherous, so much the better. So he started on the pole Sunday night at Lawrenceburg and did his high wire act for 30 laps, ending up in Victory Lane for the first time in quite awhile.
Love him or not, part of Mr. Ballou’s appeal is that his style reminds somewhat older fans of many racers who went before. He’s not one to race for points; all he wants to do is simply race. He has that devil may care image and maybe attitude as well. Some folks like that while others may not.
39 cars showed up at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on a hot Sunday evening with most all of the core on hand with a few one timers in the crowd. Hunter Schuerenberg continued his up and down season by setting fast time with a 13.922. As time trials went on the track became slower with Coleman Gulick’s 14.793 looking like a very decent lap seeing that he went out last.
Chad Boespflug held off Jon Stanbrough to win the first heat. Kevin Thomas Jr. was third with 2010 ‘burg champ Andrew Elson fourth and sending Schuerenberg to the B.
Justin Grant is getting used to the Mark Hery ride. He came from fifth to win the second heat with a white flag lap pass for the lead. Mike Spencer was second in the Chaffin 50. Blake Fitzpatrick and R. Ballou trailed. Levi Jones and Dave Darland went to the B.
Daron Clayton won the third heat in the Hoffman 69 over Damion Gardner. Keith Bloom and Casey Riggs made turn four passes coming to the checkered to steal both third and fourth from Jerry Coons Jr.
The fourth heat saw Tracy Hines spin going into turn four, collecting Kyle Robbins and Shane Cottle, who tipped it over. Hines and Robbins re-started. Coleman Gulick won and made the show with Brady Short and Chris Windom running two/three. Bryan Clauson edged Hines to take fourth.
Schuerenberg, Coons, Darland, Bobby East, and Tracy Hines didn’t leave much room for anyone else to sneak into the feature. Duston Morgan made his first ISW main event with a sixth. Jones and Cottle burned provisionals.
The track was another dry slickie with the high side preferred by most (most notably Brady Short excluded). Dust had been present most all evening, nothing like Terre Haute, but tires took a beating. Track conditions did make for some hair raising slide jobs throughout the feature.
Ballou and Stanbrough lined up first. Windom, Bloom, Grant, Clauson, Schuerenberg, Darland, Coons, East, Riggs and Hines were all just behind. Ballou simply took off and ran away at the start. He was slowed only by a red on lap seven when Morgan slowed and was clouted by Kevin Thomas Jr., who had nowhere to go and flipped. Stanbrough came along with the same problem: nowhere to go. But during the red, the Fox brothers, no doubt with some help, fixed the Fatheadz 53 and brought it back out to play some more.
Various tire and other woes sent Darland, Bloom and Wes McIntyre to the pits, where they would return to start in the back. Ballou now led Windom, Grant, Coons, Schuerenberg, East, Clauson, Short, Hines and Gulick, who had started 19th.
Schuerenberg hit the wall, bringing out a lap 11 yellow. Halfway done and not much had changed, but a caution on lap 16 saw Gulick’s fine run stopped by an exploding tire.
Questions now included: Did anyone have anything for Ballou? Was it Windom? Coons? Grant? Another question concerned tires. Would they last? Who had made the best choice of rubber? Laps wound down and no one else had tire trouble. And no one had anything for Ballou, but ISW point leader Windom made him work for it; his last ditch attempt to pass at the line fell a few feet short. Behind them, there was plenty of slicing and dicing. Coons, Grant and East weren’t far behind. Clauson took sixth with Hines seventh. Short, who started 15th, came in eighth. Cottle and Jones came from provisional land to round out the top ten, with Levi edging Stanbrough, who had been caught up in messes not of his doing two nights in a row.
Jack Hewitt might have been proud of Mr. Ballou on Sunday night.
And so the caravan would nurse its collective wounds for a day and head west to the Terre Haute Action Track on Wednesday.
Let us give USAC and the Terre Haute Action Track another chance.
After the unfortunate attempt to run at the track on July 3, the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth was to be expected. Yours truly used words like “fiasco” and “debacle” to describe the situation.
But if we’re going to rake USAC over the coals when they try and fail, we’d better be praising them when they do something right. For this Wednesday at THAT, they have stepped up and made amends, or, at the very, very least, made the effort.
Folks who were at the aborted Sumar Classic get in free with that ticket plus they get a free t-shirt. If that isn’t enough there is this from USAC: “A new feature added to the planned night’s activities at Terre Haute will be an open “pit party” for ALL fans to meet drivers, get autographs and purchase shirts direct from the driver trailers. The Pit Party is open to all ticketed admission from 3:00-6:00 p.m.”
This is great news in and of itself, but USAC wasn’t done. There is this, which may be the best news of all: “Additionally, USAC has retained the services of Bob Sargent of Track Enterprises and Reece O’Conner of Kokomo Speedway for track management for the Indiana Sprint Week next Wednesday. The partners come with vast experience and are committed partners of USAC Racing.”
I cannot ask nor expect more than that and neither should fans. I certainly can’t add any more to it except to say, well done and I hope it works out. All should benefit, fans, the track, USAC, the teams and even the sponsors.
It should be a great way to kick off Part Two of USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week.
Not diving out of the grandstand to catch a foul ball, I’m……
Danny Burton
Living Up To One’s Name
One can have some sort of fun with names and Hunter Schuerenberg’s first name is a good example. When Hunter wins, as he does so often and did on Saturday night at the Kokomo Speedway, it’s too easy to say he hunted for the checkered flag and found it first.
Round Two of Indiana Sprint Week came with high expectations. It didn’t fail. The supreme bullring an hour north of Indy did its part to insure that the action would be non-stop. I’ve come to believe that the O’Conner team must have a black belt in track prep.
Another hot Hoosier day and another near sellout; who could ask for more? Often time trials are a crapshoot in that those who draw a later number go out with a drastically different track than those who go before. This didn’t happen tonight. First out was Damion Gardner, who had a 13.079 lap, 13th quick. Last was Bryan Clauson, who was 18th with a 13.169. Quick timer Schuerenberg went out 29th of 40 and ripped off a 12.675 lap.
The caution/red plagued first heat saw Keith Bloom win. His fellow front row starter Levi Jones was second. Jon Stanbrough was third followed by Coleman Gulick. Daron Clayton hopped Gulick’s wheel and took a mean ride, bringing out the red. DC was okay, but done for the night after a quick trip to the hospital. After the red, things got, well, vicious. Slide jobs, crowding, you name it; things were intense to put it mildly. People got upset with other people, to put it mildly. The first heat saw Thomas Meseraull try to slide job Stanbrough, no doubt incurring the wrath of the guy who may be quiet but doesn’t take kindly to such things. For all his efforts, TMez came up a bit short at the checkered. It was quite a 30 minutes.
Bryan Clauson had a big enough lead in the second heat to try out one of Kokomo’s outstanding pork chop sandwiches. He missed a good heat as Chris Gurley made his second ISW feature in a row, finishing second. Casey Riggs was third with Justin Grant nearly flipping, then re-starting on the tail, and coming home fourth.
It was more of the same except it was Blake Fitzpatrick running away and not minding what was going on behind him. Tracy Hines, Californian Mike Spencer and J.J. Hughes moved on with Brady Short adding to an already strong B.
For Dave Darland, the fourth heat was the heat from hell. As Kyle Robbins ran away, Dave tangled with Chris Windom, ending up nose to nose with Kevin Thomas Jr. Later he tangled with the big Aussie, Gary Rooke, who was not pleased. After a re-start Robert Ballou and Windom passed Robbins, who held on to finish ahead of Chad Boespflug. Not much came from the post-race on track meeting of Darland and Rooke, except hard feelings.
The B, or the first A, had front row mates Schuerenberg and J. Coons Jr. run one/two. Second row mates Darland and Cottle ran three/four. Fourth row mates Scotty Weir and K. Thomas Jr. broke ranks and took the last two spots. Damion Gardner took his second provisional in two nights. Bobby East and west coaster Matt Mitchell also took the pass.
It was a bit of a surprise to have Boespflug and Riggs leading the gang to the green, but all that did was show how important the preliminaries are. Riggs took off to lead the first two laps before Boespflug took over. Chris Windom joined the party from third and grabbed the lead after a brief tussle with the California transplant, with several slide jobs exchanged.
But Mr. Schuerenberg was beginning to live up to his first name. Boespflug broke and hit the turn two wall, collecting Stanbrough on lap 13. On the re-start, it was Windom leading Schuerenberg, Riggs, Grant, Spencer, Clauson, Darland, Coons, and Gulick, who had started 20th. It was Windom’s turn to be the hunted. He held off the Missouri native, with a good bit of cutting and slashing, until giving up the lead on lap 25. Schuerenberg passed and that was that. ISW point leader Windom took second with Clauson making a late charge to finish third. Grant and Spencer were fourth and fifth. I’d say that Riggs ran well, hanging on for sixth. Coons was seventh as Gulick charged from the back to take eighth. Darland ended up where he started, ninth. Gardner came from provisional land to come home 10th.
Not 11 p.m. yet and it was time for the second two hour drive in tow nights. Next stop would be Lawrenceburg.
Dodging slide jobs from people trying to text and drive, I’m…..
Danny Burton
We Are All Hoosiers Here
Indiana Sprint Week has become, for many of us, a much anticipated combination of Christmas and a family reunion. Fans gather from literally around the world to enjoy some of the best racing of any kind anywhere. But for nine magical days, they are like those who are not Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. They are all Hoosiers, at least for a time.
Look, there is Dick, a Hoosier who lives in Massachusetts. And here is Ken, all the way from California, his first trip back to Indiana in a few years. Sitting there is a unique character, Ted, one of the few sprint car fans from……South Carolina. Over there is Andrew, a Maine transplant who moved here, an official Hoosier now. Here comes Susan, born in Indiana, living way up in Wisconsin, but a Hoosier all the way (rooting, as always, for her brother—maybe you’ve heard of him. He goes by the name Dave Darland). I see Fred, also from Wisconsin, a Hoosier at heart. Over there, with the camera, is Keith. He may live in Ohio, but we claim him as one of ours, every week, but most especially during Sprint Week.
These are just a few of the several hundred “temporary” Hoosiers who have descended upon our state for a few days. Of course there are the native born as well; no shortage of them.
All of these and more invaded the Gas City/I-69 Speedway on a hot Friday afternoon for Round One of ISW, featuring all of USAC’s finest, plus various and sundry visitors, from next door Ohio to California to Australia. The anticipating was over. It was time to race.
Right away the track went very slick in time trials, especially turn four. For the guys that went out late, their luck was AWOL. Jerry Coons Jr. spun on his second lap, but his first lap was good enough to take fast time.
Jiggs Thomasson is a fine promoter, not afraid to make tough decisions. But maybe the decision to re-work the track wasn’t that tough. Either way, it worked out as the heat races saw some serious cutting and slashing.
With 48 cars here, one non-qualifying heat was needed. Right away, things went south for Sunman, Indiana’s Brett Burdette, who did a mini-helicopter move in turn four. A red flag waved as Burdette was even able to re-start, sporting his new Scooby Doo paint job, which was a favorite of both grandsons.
One red wasn’t enough as another waved for Chase Briscoe, who took a flip near where Burdette had his adventure. Chase was okay but done for the night. The boys tried again and the third time was the charm as Wes McIntyre won the ten lap race over Damion Gardner, Hunter Schuerenberg, and Casey Shuman, who started tenth. Burdette came back from the tail spot to challenge Shuman.
Shane Cottle, firmly in place with the Jeff Walker ride now, won the first heat over Robert Ballou. Quick timer Coons was third. Wes McIntyre came from ninth to grab fourth, the first of the year to advance from the NQ race to the A. He edged Tracy Hines, who had brought out an earlier yellow, and Justin Grant.
A smoking Jon Stanbrough won the second heat with fellow vet Dave Darland second. Coleman Gulick was third as Levi Jones took fourth after “helping” Ted Hines do a half spin, sending Ted to the B. Ted was not pleased and was glad to let Levi know it.
More fun and games were in order for the third heat. Californian Mike Spencer won with southern Indiana visitor Brady Short second. Chris Windom was third with Jonathan Hendrick coming from eighth to fourth. Bobby East provided some excitement as he hit two different infield tires on the last lap and still came close to transferring.
Thomas Meseraull won the fourth heat as Ryan Pace, an infrequent campaigner these days, was second. Andrew Elson came from the last row to take third over Bryan Clauson. Compared to the others, this race was downright tame.
Local (to me) boys J.J. Hughes and Chad Boespflug led the field to the B green. Another great thing about ISW is that folks see, in essence, two A Mains as the talent is so deep. Both B and A Mains are filled to the brim with feature winners, track champs and sanctioning body champs as well. This one saw Boespflug win with Daron Clayton second. Hughes, East, Tracy Hines and Chris Gurley all made it in. Casey Shuman played Santa to Gurley on the last lap. Shu tried a bonsai move going into three, hoping to slide Casey Riggs to take the last transfer. Instead, he took himself, Riggs and Kyle Robbins out as the checkered waved. Past USAC feature winners Blake Fitzpatrick and Hunter Schuerenberg sat down early. It’s that competitive.
It was Ballou, 13th fastest qualifier, and Darland on the front row. Clauson and Windom lined up behind those guys. There was no breathing room for anyone as the lineup was loaded with serious non-wing sprint talent. Darland grabbed the lead at the start and kept it. Too bad Dave didn’t have a rear view mirror. He missed some slicing and dicing behind him. Windom took second right off the bat. Ballou ran third until Clauson got around him midway through. Shane Cottle showed that people could pass by coming from 14th to end up fifth. Jerry Coons Jr. was a steady sixth. Probably the biggest surprise was Chad Boespflug. He seldom runs with USAC, seldom runs at Gas City, but he held onto seventh after starting eighth. Coleman Gulick, Daron Clayton and Tracy Hines all started and finished mid-pack. Folks were reminded of how important qualifying is. And right after that, how important making it out of your heat is as well.
The hour was late after two track do overs and an interminable modified feature. I had work staring me in the face the next morning. My three good friends had to head north as I headed south, sad to see them go. One of them had spent the week with Grandma and Grandpa and it had been a very good time. But the good times (as well as the bad) end and we’re left with a touch of bittersweet, but sustaining memories. So I took that along with another great night at Gas City home with me and looked forward to the following night at Kokomo.
Stuck in traffic with Bruton Smith, I’m….
Danny Burton
Well, They Tried
de•ba•cle [dey-bah-kuh l, -bak-uh l –noun 1. a general breakup or dispersion; sudden downfall or rout: The revolution ended in a debacle. 2. a complete collapse or failure. fi•as•co [fee-as-koh or, especially for 2, -ah-skoh] –noun, plural -cos, -coes. 1. a complete and ignominious failure
Okay, maybe not a total fiasco at Terre Haute on Sunday. After all, the decision to create a makeshift pit area behind the bleachers was a great idea. USAC gets 100% for a fan friendly decision. However…..
By now, I’d imagine most every serious open wheel race fan knows what happened, more or less, at the fabled Terre Haute Action Track. USAC took control of promoting the Sumar Classic and determined that the race would be held on a Sunday afternoon. Folks, including myself, had high hopes this would be a success. I’d guess that few want USAC to fail. Fewer want THAT to fail as well. But things quickly unraveled on a hot, but beautiful, Sunday afternoon.
Two things: First, USAC tried; I’ll always think they really did try. Maybe scheduling a race in the daytime was a huge mistake, but people often talk about the good old days. People also put their money where their mouth was; the crowd was impressive. Second, they are dealing with a county fair board and there are a few race promoters who could tell you some outrageous stories about dealing with politicians, no matter the party and/or ideology. Maybe the heavy rain that Terre Haute received overnight could have been a third factor. Folks would argue about that too.
If the good folks at USAC are to be commended for their temporary pit area, then let us do that. Fans all too rarely get to interact with the cars and drivers. This was the only time all afternoon that I wished that I had either or both grandsons with me. This idea needs to be pursued in whatever form. (See Gas City’s policy of letting kids in the pits before the drivers’ meetings.)
And if we are going to applaud USAC when they do something right, then they have to take the other. I don’t care if the Rev. Billy Graham was preparing the track; whatever was done didn’t work. Even assuming that the overnight rain was a factor, and assuming that the bright sun with the heat was another, I’m compelled to think that this track could have received better treatment.
But in my aging mind that wasn’t the worst. Someone or a group of someones decided that the race would begin. This, after significant dust clouds were created when only five or six cars in the same area accelerated at the same time. Someone, namely Thomas Meseraull, could have been hurt in that pre-green melee. And had that happened, well, we’d be forced to think the unthinkable.
But enough venting. The internet has been clogged with all sorts of ranting and raving the past few days. What’s done is done; it can’t be taken back. I used to tell my kids that if they messed up, it could either be a lesson or a mistake. That was up to them. I loved and still love my kids, including the son-in-law and the grandsons. But we’ve tried to let them know when they’ve fallen short. In other words, we feel that they’ll do better next time. Usually they have.
I’ve similar feelings for this brand of racing we all love. Mistakes are made and occasionally lessons are learned; we should and do point them out, not out of vindictiveness but out of concern, even love. I do not root for USAC’s demise as some night, because we might not like the alternative. Most certainly I do not wish to see the Action Track go away.
Terre Haute politics appear to contain various movers and shakers who would love to move the fairgrounds farther out of town with or without a race track. This should concern all of us who’ve been to this track; it’s been the site of many great races over the years from its inception to just last year. This is more of that thinking the unthinkable, but it must be addressed.
There’s no law that says that things will always be a certain way. We’ve seen too many racing entities go away over the years, from teams to tracks to even sanctioning bodies. But we can do our best to keep what is dear. This includes THAT. For me it also includes USAC because, for all its shortcomings, these people still offer great racing on a regular basis. No, I do have a big place in my heart for USAC and want it to succeed, just as I do for all five of my kids and grandkids.
We’re left with, what, hope? Certainly. Right around the corner is Indiana Sprint Week and it includes a return date to Terre Haute on July 13. I certainly plan to be there, even if the good folks at USAC aren’t pleased with this effort here. Because I love open wheel racing. I love the Terre Haute Action Track. And, God help me, I even love USAC, even when it gives us a debacle and/or a fiasco.
As if we need reminding, Indiana Sprint Week starts Friday night at Gas City. God willing, most of my kids, USAC and myself will all be there.
Back to work…for awhile longer, I’m….
Danny Burton
Retiring (From Predicting Winners)
Bloomington, IN---Suppose you’re a racer who’s near a goal that you’ve wanted to reach for some time now. You’re getting closer and closer with each lap. You can see it on the horizon. And then, in an instant, it’s taken away. You must wait another day.
Or suppose you’re another racer who’s near that same goal. You’re very close to reaching this one, but…. Wishing no harm to you, but wishing to deny you this goal is one of the best in the business. Your elbows are up and you are up to the challenge. Finally, there it is. The checkered flag for a team of racers that have to scrap for parts, borrow things, and walk a financial tightrope just to go racing.
So it went at Bloomington Speedway on this past Friday night. The racing, for me at least, overshadowed the fireworks. Chris Babcock had victory in his sights but spun while negotiating lapped traffic, as Dave Darland was collected as well. And Jordan Kinser had what it took at the end to hold off the maestro of Bloomington, Brady Short, to win the 25 lap feature at the picturesque red clay oval just south of town. And that is why it’s often folly to try and predict who will win a given race—at Bloomington or anywhere.
The weather wasn’t that hot but there was plenty of humidity to go around. It would take more than the weather to hold the crowd down. If it doesn’t turn out to be Bloomington’s biggest crowd of the year, it will be very close. Fireworks brought out a goodly portion of the crowd but the “visitors” saw some decent racing in addition to the pyrotechnics.
I’ve written and told folks that promoters are the real gamblers, not the casino slot players. I’d add farmers to that group as well. But promoters are also fishermen. Bloomington’s Mike Miles charges the same admission for the July 4 holiday races and offers a fine fireworks show, thinking that maybe he might find a new fan that’s come out mostly for the fireworks. Last week Dave Rudisell did the same thing at Lawrenceburg during the fair. It’s a matter of spending a bit now and hoping it pays off later.
Car counts were decent, both here at Bloomington and at Gas City. 26 sprinters prowled the pits at Bloomington while Jiggs’ place had 30. And quickly I made the mistake of thinking that either Brady Short or Dave Darland would take home the big cash tonight. But that came later.
Jordan Kinser started things off right by winning the first heat over Wes McIntyre, Logan Hupp, Hunter Schuerenberg from ninth (in the Epperson 2 tonight) and C.J. Leary. Bub Cummings and Lance Grimes both slid over the bank, giving up certain feature spots. Chris Babcock did the same in winning the second heat. The ageless Kent Christian was second, leading Ty Deckard, Nick Bilbee and still young Bobby Stines to the A. And Brady Short ran off to win the third heat, having time to text messages to his new child had he chosen. Dave Darland was second, followed by J.R. Douglas, Chase Briscoe and John Memmer.
The B Main started out as two races in one as the field split in half until the red flew for Chris Gurley, who dumped his ill handling mount in turn four after fighting a nasty push all night. Mr. Grimes came from fourth to win, taking Bub, Dakota Jackson, Tyler Waltz and Joltin’ Joe Ligouri to the feature.
The eldest grandson rode over with me and was hungrier than he was tired. We stood in the longest line I’ve ever seen at Bloomington to get the Sword Man some ice cream. As it turned out we were able to watch all the Modified A from our spot in line. Unofficially the guys brought out 12 cautions, some sort of record. But it worked out. Clint DeMoss won, as did Landon, who finished off the ice cream right away.
Sprints took to the track after the fireworks show. I was pleasantly surprised to see relatively few folks leave after the light/sound show. Those who remained saw a very good race.
Kinser and Babcock were the front row and Kinser jumped out to the lead right away. Wes McIntyre stopped on lap three to bring out a yellow flag. Babcock grabbed the lead on the re-start and began to build it lap by lap. Kinser had to deal with first Christian, then Darland who both challenged for second with no luck. Short hovered not far back in fifth. At the halfway mark Babcock’s chances were looking better and better. But soon after this lapped traffic loomed and this would be the young racer’s downfall. Chris spun to avoid a lapper and collected third place Dave Darland, who had no place to go.
Kinser inherited the lead and if anyone looked like a sitting duck it was the new leader. For Brady Short was now second and most folks assumed that the new daddy from Bedford would scoot right past the kid of the famous family. But someone forgot to share this script with Jordan Kinser. For the last eight laps of the race Short wasn’t too far behind but never really threatened the leader/winner. In fact, Brady had more issues holding off a surging Hunter Schuerenberg, who started tenth and came from sixth after the last re-start to nearly take second. Ty Deckard was a quiet, but successful fourth. Kent Christian held on for fifth. Nick Bilbee came from 11th to sixth and Chase Briscoe moved from 12th to sixth. Bobby Stines also passed some cars, starting 14th and ending sixth. Logan Hupp was ninth and Bub Cummings, as he often does, rambled from 17th to tenth.
Last year Brady Short stood at the start/finish line after besting Jon Stanbrough. Deservedly happy, he stated that “if you’re gonna be the Man, you gotta beat the Man.” On that night he surely did. On this one, Mr. Kinser could have made the same statement about Mr. Short. And so it goes.
Next up for Bloomington sprint action is the Indiana Sprint Week caravan coming up July 15.
Thinking that the Fourth of July is a time to remember the rabble rousers (I’m thinking Tom Paine here), I’m….
Danny Burton
Remember When?
Do you remember a lazy Sunday afternoon at a race track in the infield? Kids playing ball, racing small cars or simply running around as cars circle the track. Or would you remember dads taking a favorite spot in the infield, perhaps entering the third turn or maybe in the middle while moms spread a blanket in a location not too far from kids or dad. These Sunday afternoons still happen, though not as much as they used to. In this day and age, Sunday afternoon races compete with other diversions and for promoters it’s a tough sell. But it can be done and still is.
I was reminded of this when I read about the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series’ next race at the Terre Haute Action Track, the Sumar Classic 100. The timing for this really couldn’t be much better. It’s a holiday weekend and great excuse for a family outing. Serious open wheel fans can and will try and do the double, leaving Terre Haute and making a beeline for Kokomo. May God forgive me for this, but neither NASCAR nor IndyCar are running on Sunday afternoon; why not head for THAT?
Detractors may gripe and give reasons not to go. Too hot? Sit in the covered grandstand and drink plenty of, uh, liquids. Too sunny? Think about some sunscreen, especially if your skin is sensitive to sun. And sit in the covered stands. Options are a-plenty for fans. Worried about dust? We all are. To a certain extent all track prep is a crapshoot, no matter what time of day the race is. For every race I attend, I try to be prepared for most anything, taking everything from goggles to long pants to a good book to read if there is downtime.
All I know is that I’ve seen some excellent races at Terre Haute the past few years. It wasn’t that many years ago I saw Brian Tyler come out of the non-qualifiers’ race and win this race going away, one of the very best races I’ve ever witnessed anywhere. Lots can happen in a 100 lap race on this fast and racy half mile oval.
The USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series is the most underrated and the best kept secret among USAC’s “big three.” The Sumar Classic is only the fourth of nine (now that North Wilkesboro didn’t work out) races on the schedule. In this age of specialization, both dirt and paved races make up the Silver Crown schedule. The Sumar will be the second of five dirt races this year. In my wilder dreams I see this series expanding little by little. Done properly, it could happen.
There can be lots of reasons that we go to races. Family time for some, escape for many, and great racing for most everyone; all are valid. Tracks like Terre Haute are steeped in tradition; I know a few second and third generation race fans that grew up at the Action Track (one of the great nicknames, by the way).
Many no doubt swear that they’ll never go back after a bad race, be it Terre Haute or anywhere else. Some don’t, but most do return. Racing, whether it’s at Terre Haute or anywhere else, has many of us in its grip. We’ll drag ourselves to a race when we might be better off staying at home. Common sense doesn’t always prevail. But any place that has the tradition that this joint has deserves another visit.
We cannot completely duplicate the past; the image I see in the mirror proves that, if nothing else does. But part of life is about making new memories, or maybe beginning new traditions. With each new generation of fans, drivers, promoters and teams, we do so.
My grandsons are making new memories for me at places like Gas City/I-69 Speedway. (The composition of this column was interrupted by a phone call. The younger grandson had a special way of saying hello…by imitating the sounds of a sprint car, of course.) I go to places like the Terre Haute Action Track and am reminded of the rare occasions I was there with my dad. It’s the same track, the same infield, etc. Hopefully, the cars will pit on the front straight and fans in the infield can get fairly close to whatever is going on in the pits. It’s a special place that can mix new memories with old ones.
I should add that we get two opportunities to visit the Action Track in July. USAC’s hugely successful Indiana Sprint Week rolls into town on July 13, kicking off Part Two of the nine day grind and honoring local legend Don Smith, the man who has been a huge supporter of racing for many, many years at Terre Haute.
For me, it’s worth the two hour drive. Wandering around the pits, visiting, finding a seat or even somewhere to stand, and enjoying a few hours of some of the best competition one can find; these are all good reasons to go. Well those and those hamburgers that are grilled right out in the open behind the grandstands.
Remembering those days in the infield, but forgetting where I put my keys, I’m…..
Danny Burton
They Can’t ALL Be Barn-burners, Can They?
So this past weekend off I went to some fun times at two race tracks I revere. Had a great time, talked to many good people and can’t wait to get back again. So what if the leader on both nights started up front and ran off with the feature? I’ve no statistics to back me up, but I’d gather that relatively few feature races in Hoosier open wheel racing are runaways. If message board maniacs wish to blame the promoters, or the weather, or the street stocks or even the Muslims, so be it. But track prep, no matter who does it, is as much of an art as it is science. And maybe the results had little to do with track prep anyway. At any rate, Chris Windom romped to the win in the 23rd Sheldon Kinser Memorial on Friday night at Bloomington. And Daron Clayton, who’s getting used to his still new ride in the Hoffman 69, did the same at Lawrenceburg on the following night.
Here’s hoping that Hoosier bullrings have the rain out of the way. Some time back I recall telling Judy Miles that I’d pray for rain---on Tuesday. That’s had mixed results, but Friday night brought weather that makes promoters smile. 44 sprinters and a good sized crowd do the same.
The SK Memorial traditionally has time trials and first out was Sunman, Indiana’s Bret Burdette, who set fast time with an 11.678 lap. The top three in the heats moved on to the 40 lap feature. Windom made his opening argument by taking the first heat over fellow front row starter Brent Beauchamp and Dave Darland. Six of the nine second heat starters were teenagers. Jonathan Hendrick, only a non-teenager for a few months, won this one over veteran Jon Stanbrough and college student Andrew Elson. Hunter Schuerenberg went from third to first in the last two laps to win the third heat. Brady Short, a new daddy, was second. A smoking Ty Deckard was third. The fourth heat featured two lead changes in the first lap with Damion Gardner winning. Chris Babcock was second with Bobby Stines third. A yellow light for a stopped Tyler Waltz turned red when Mitch Wissmiller didn’t slow in time and took a mean ride in turn three, ending his night of racing. Keith Bloom is having an impressive visit to our state so far this year. The Californian won the fifth heat from fourth. Braylon Fitzpatrick was second, using the high side while Shane Cottle did the same while taking third.
Five would move from the C Main to the B. The 14 car C contained some decent runners. Jesse Cramer, Chase Briscoe, Dakota Jackson, Seth Parker Jr. and Logan Jarrett all moved on, tagging the B. On the third re-start the A quality B ran all-green. Robert Ballou took it home, leading rare Bloomington visitor Chad Boespflug, Chris Gurley (one of a few Gas City regulars), Lance Grimes (from ninth) and Blake Fitzpatrick. To be applauded were the efforts of Chase Briscoe (17th to seventh) and Dakota Jackson (18th to ninth).
Granted, Chris Windom shot from the pole and led all 40 laps, but one must remember that this young man is having a stellar season so far, with most of his success in the Baldwin Brothers orange machine. There were enough re-starts where people had the chance to make a move, but it wasn’t happening. Third starter Keith Bloom passed J. Hendrick early and kept second.
So one looks elsewhere for their visual kicks. Lap nine saw the yellow flag wave when Brady Short ran into a slowed Damion Gardner. Brady had already moved from eighth to fourth when this happened, sending both to the tail. Watching Brady move up might be interesting. The re-start had Windom, Bloom, Hendrick, Babcock (from ninth already), Beauchamp, Br. Fitzpatrick, Stanbrough, Deckard, Cottle (from 15th) and Darland.
Not much changed by the time the red flew for a Tommy Tipover by Chris Gurley on lap 13. A lap 16 amber light would be the only slowing done for the rest of the race. The top four remained the same, with kudos for Babcock, a Bloomington regular who more than held his own. Cottle kept moving until he made it to fifth. And Brady Short came on to grab sixth. Bretn Beauchamp, Robert Ballou (from 16th), Dave Darland and Jon Stanbrough were seventh/tenth. So maybe passing was a bit behind the leaders, but people could pass.
Chris Windom: Driver of the Year, anyone?
Lawrenceburg, IN—The Dearborn County Fair nearly drove me away from Lawrenceburg on Saturday, but the prospect of good racing won out. Unless you were Joss Moffatt, it went reasonably well. Daron Clayton ran off with the 25 lap feature while Joss Moffatt trashed one fast race car in turn one during the feature. Joss wasn’t hurt and Daron made some new fans, as it turned out.
I quit guessing car counts some time back. If I can’t read the minds of my friends and loved ones, how can I guess who will show up at which track on a given night? So 26 cars was a pleasant surprise as Saturday night runners Lincoln Park, Paragon, and Waynesfield (Ohio) all had at least two dozen cars show up. Perhaps some guys showed up knowing that a regular purse was being paid and few hot dogs would bother. Whatever.
I also read with some amusement at the MBMs (message board maniacs) who fall victim to the notion that of boosting their favorite track at the expense of another. Gee, I thought we were all in this together. As for my favorite track, it happens to be the one where I am when you ask me. From Haubstadt to Angola, I feel very much at home at a race track. And tonight it would be da ‘burg, fair or no fair.
Keith Bloom continues to win my own praise, as he won the first heat over Joss Moffatt, John Memmer, Logan Hupp and Justin Grant, who recovered from a spin to grab the last spot late. Chad Boespflug won the second heat with Daron Clayton coming from eighth to take second on the last lap, an omen of sorts. Casey Riggs, Landon Simon and Jason Soudrette trailed. Jonathan Hendrick won the third heat over 2010 L’burg champ Andrew Elson with Ted Hines third. Aussie Gary Rooke and Alabaman Kevin Thomas Jr. also made the feature.
Shawn Westerfeld romped to the B Main win. Rookie Drew Abel, Pete’s son, was second with sprint sophomore Michael Fischesser third. Dwayne Spille was fourth and Pat Giddings edged Travis Hery for the last feature spot. Coming to the checkered, Hery made an ill advised attempt to pass Giddings. He didn’t get that done but did clip the right rear of backmarker Evan Gindling, who was motoring at the very bottom lane where he should have been. Poor Gindling was sent for a ride, flipping toward turn one, a bit shook up but done for awhile.
The re-draw was conducted with the help of some young fans. A little girl drew out Daron Clayton’s name, which put him on the pole. This would matter later---not just for Clayton but the little girl too. Moffat joined Clayton on the front row with Boespflug, Hendrick, Bloom, Elson, Memmer, Riggs, Hines and Hupp also up front.
Almost predictably Clayton jumped out to the lead he’d not give up. Hendrick settled into second with the others taking their spots, all up against the wall at both ends of the track, flirting with disaster, as they say. Clayton was approaching lapped cars when he nearly met disaster in the form of Mike Fishcesser’s car stopped in the backstretch. The Hoffman 69 avoided not the only the stalled car but also dealing with lapped traffic—for awhile.
Lapped traffic became a factor a few laps later, but not for Clayton. Moffat was running fourth behind Clayton, Bloom and Hendrick when he had his moment on lap 16. A lapped car forced Joss a bit higher and he ran out of room, smacking the wall, flipping and tearing up his fuel tank with a brief fire ensuing. If that wasn’t enough, he was hit by two cars who had nowhere else to go. Five cars were eliminated, Moffatt, Riggs, Hupp (who immediately ran to check on his fellow homeboy), Soudrette (who also took a tumble) and Thomas. Joss and all others were okay, but there was some seriously damaged race cars. The notorious reputation for being hard on equipment that Lawrenceburg has perhaps was enhanced, but one should note that both flips on this night had more to do with driver error than the track. As usual, some people swear at things while others swear by them.
Racing resumed with Clayton now leading Bloom, Hendrick, Elson and Boespflug. Justin Grant had moved all the way from 13th to sixth. Not a lot changed as Clayton once again checked out. But Hendrick dropped like a rock with either tire or brake troubles. (my guess only) For the second night in a row, Bloom was second. Elson took third with Boespflug fourth and Grant fifth. John Memmer was sixth with Hendrick fading to seventh. Ted Hines finished eighth with Westerfeld coming from 16th to ninth. Landon Simon was 10th.
The fair and the $8 admission brought in a good crowd, many of whom who might have been seeing their first live race. Thankfully few, if any, stood during green flag action. No doubt that few understood the format, despite it being explained to them. (Hard to absorb much information at first glance) For many, maybe the highlight of the night came after the sprint feature when Clayton did some super fast donuts at the start/finish line, getting extra loud cheers. But even more impressive (to me, at least) was when DC told the crowd that the little girl who picked his name in the re-draw had herself a trophy. That was classy. I hope that little girl keeps that trophy, tells her friends about the guy in the pretty 69 car and persuades them to come to Lawrenceburg some Saturday night. Or to any other bullring, for that matter. That, folks, is racing promotion.
Going bankrupt buying candles for my buddy Marv Fish’s birthday, I’m…..
Danny Burton
Good Times, Disappointments and Hope
Gas City, Indiana---The weekend past began with a fine Friday night of racing and watching grandkids learn more and more about this sport that their great-grandfather discovered about 60 years ago. The good times continued on Saturday as one of the best at this wild and crazy sport was honored and remembered with, what else, a 68 lap feature race. Sunday brought disappointment as Tri-State/Haubstadt had to cancel due to a nasty rain storm. As for hope, it’s always there, or should be. It was the kind of weekend I’ll take most any time.
27 sprinters checked in at the Gas City/I-69 Speedway on a beautiful Friday night. The grandsons had arrived early enough to get the chance to visit the pits and sit in a few sprint cars. Seeing how technology is these days, their pictures were on Facebook, courtesy of their dad, long before Coleman Gulick hoisted the winner’s trophy in the air. Mr. Gulick (first), Brett Burdette (third) and Casey Shuman (sixth) were quite the congenial hosts in helping along two new fans.
Mr. Burdette won the first heat from the pole over Andrew Elson, Wes McIntyre, Brian Olson and Brent Turner. Daron Clayton, here for a pre-Sprint Week test session with the Hoffman team, went to the B. So did Mr. Shuman, who bobbled a bit on the last lap.
Billy Puterbaugh Jr. took the second heat. Shane Cottle came from last to finish second. Ted Hines, Travis Welpott and Chris Gurley trailed. Jonathan Hendrick and Thomas Meseraull added more spice to the B.
Coleman Gulick came from sixth to win the third heat. Joe Ligouri was second with Jamie Fredrickson coming from last/ninth to finish third, quite impressive. Conner Donelson and Matt Goodnight rounded out the first 15 starters of the A.
There was nothing wrong with the heats, but the B was a pretty good race too. Meseraull won with Hendrick second. Clayton and Shuman made it in and Dallas Hewitt would start 20th. Poor Jason Holt had a top five spot locked up—until his left rear tire went flat. All the guys could come up with was a right rear tire for a replacement. Jason loaded up early despite the effort.
Gulick and Cottle were the front row for the 25 lapper. Puterbaugh, Burdette, Ligouri, Elson, McIntyre, Hines, Fredrickson and Olson were rows two through four. In the back were people like TMez, Hendrick, Clayton and Lil’ Shu. There would be some passing tonight.
But Gulick was determined to see that no one would be passing him. He took the lead and kept it as first Puterbaugh, then Burdette and, at the end, Cottle all took their shots at the New York native. Behind him was a bit of everything.
Just before halfway Brian Olson flipped, almost landing on Goodnight’s car. He was okay but done. By this time, Clayton was on the move, leading the charge of the guys who started way back. DC was seventh on the re-start with Meseraull on his way in ninth. Neither was done.
Clayton was third and gaining on Gulick and Burdette when he found the guard rail on the front straight, flipping into turn one. This brought out another red on lap 21. But the fact that the Hoffman’s new driver had brought the Mopar powered machine from 18th to third had to be of some comfort.
This put Cottle in third on this re-start. But Ligouri spun on lap 23, bringing out a yellow. Now it was Gulick, Burdette, Cottle and Meseraull up front. In turn two the two leaders bumped with both nearly allowing Cottle to sneak through. But Gulick recovered to keep his lead. Cottle did grab second with Burdette third. Meseraull was fourth after starting 16th. Puterbaugh was fifth. Casey Shuman came from 19th to take sixth. Jamie Fredrickson hung in there for seventh. Chris Gurley went from 14th to eighth. And Jonathan Hendrick also passed some people. He started 17th and came in ninth. Andrew Elson was tenth.
The two young fans hung in there to the end, even the two year old who spent some of his time pretending to have a steering wheel in his hands. The older one is big enough to play in the playground without parental supervision. And he knows the drill. When dad said for him to come back when the sprint cars came back out, here he came.
The day had begun for me on a down note somewhat. I went to my last union meeting as an active letter carrier. As I listened to the discussions of the daily issues my craft brothers and sisters face, I felt almost out of place, with one foot in the door and the other out, or, as a friend said, “neither fish nor fowl.”
But by the time I arrived at Gas City and met up with the Three Musketeers, all was well. Seeing those little boys’ expressions when they sat in the cockpits of those cars made up for a lot of bad times. And seeing how the drivers, who might have had better things to do, interacted with those kids was just about as rewarding. Later on seeing them watch each race and nodding when Grandpa imparted some wisdom was more icing.
Paragon, Indiana---For once I put the notebook aside and allowed my buddy Dave Foist aim us toward Paragon, where the late Chuck Amati would be remembered with a 68 lap feature, in honor of his famous number. As it turned out, Brady Short held off the charges by Jon Stanbrough and Robert Ballou to take a victory that he will no doubt cherish.
Evansville and Haubstadt, Indiana---Certainly the cancellation of Sunday night’s MSCS/KISS show at Tri-State was a bummer. But Hoosier race fans must be used to this by now, though they don’t like it. Without internet access while on the road, I didn’t find out about the cancellation until I approached the track. The empty parking lot did arouse my suspicions. With a sad sigh, I went back to Evansville, where my wife was visiting the house of gaming. By the time one reaches this age, one may not get used to disappointments, but should be able to handle them. So be it.
Thinking of my good friend Jerry Shaw, I’m….
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Father’s Day, 2011 (Dad and Me)
The other day I finished a book by a good racing friend named John Potts, former flag man, race official, PR guy, you name it and John has done it in short track racing. John’s book is called “Driven to the Past” and is a collection of racing stories, on and off track. As I read through the book, more than once I found myself saying, “Dad and I were there.” Soon I saw a pattern emerging. When Dad went to a race, there was a good chance that I was going with him, up to the final months of his life.
My earliest racing memories revolve around my dad. From jalopy races at the long gone Columbus Motor Speedway a/k/a “The Hill” to the high banks of Salem to more high banks at Daytona, I tagged along with Dad for well over three decades. Often we were accompanied by Mom, or maybe my grandfather, or sometimes my uncle, but it was usually Dad and me.
My dad wasn’t a hard core open wheel fan. His preferences ran to everything from tail tanks to fenders, which gave me a broad exposure to racers as diverse as Bob Kinser to Iggy Katona (look Iggy up if you’ve not heard of him). In his later years he went to fewer races and stayed home, watching NASCAR on TV when Mr. France’s brainchild was still a charming regional sport. He’d done his time by then, having traveled all over chasing races.
Dad was very partisan, a GM kind of guy to the very end, who also cheered for any car that outran Fords. I can recall him rooting for Chevy powered sprints and midgets when the Offenhausers were still on their last legs. But it was funny that, when Fords invaded Indy car racing, he became an Offy fan, especially at Indianapolis. And when General Motors dropped out of all racing in 1963, he became a Chrysler fan. He wasn’t crazy about Fords, for whatever reason. I should have asked.
In the 70s and 80s, Dad and I both curtailed our racing attendance, he because of TV, and me because of the two F’s: family and finances. We missed out on a lot, only keeping up via the National Speed Sport News. I’ve always regretted that, but never have dwelled upon it. Life is one tradeoff after another.
We made plans to go see a then rare event, NASCAR at Indy. Actually it was the old Busch Series at then IRP. I drove and he was happy to let me drive by then. It was June, 1987. I recall asking Dad if he wanted to walk with me back to the car where I had something to eat. He gently declined. I never suspected anything. Four months later, as he lay dying of the cancer that took him, he confided to me that he wasn’t able to do much walking that day. He knew then that something was wrong. In November of that year, he was gone.
At some point the following year, I began to venture back to the bullrings that Dad and I had frequented in our earlier years. Consciously or maybe sub-consciously, I was trying to re-connect with Dad. Where else would it be than a place like the Bloomington Speedway or any of our other Hoosier speed palaces? To this day, I’ll see something happen on the track and say to myself, “Dad would have appreciated that.” (These early trips eventually led to my writing about this crazy sport that still grips me, but that’s another story.)
I can’t write too much about how much of an influence my dad was and is on me. I actually chuckled at his funeral when my uncle the minister told a story about my dad. My now late uncle and Dad were in-laws but were like brothers. Uncle Hank related a story that took place on a nearly deserted exit off I-40 in New Mexico. An elderly Indian man sat on a chair at a nearly deserted gas station, looking so stern with a demeanor that said no one would dare approach him, let alone get him to talk. Dad wasn’t bothered by that. Before Dad and company left the gas station, he’d had a nice conversation with the old guy. My uncle’s point was that “James Lee never knew a stranger.”
Without noticing at first, I’ve come to realize that I’ve a bit of my dad in me. Without meaning to, I’ve fallen into idle conversations with many people who’ve turned out to be great friends. (Dave Foist is just one example.) I stand sometimes like my dad, arms folded across my chest (as my youngest grandson has been caught doing). In a lot of cases for me, strangers are friends that I’ve yet to meet. And I love all kinds of racing, with open wheel racing by far my favorite…obviously, I’d hope.
So much of what is good about me comes from my dad, along with a loving and caring family, immediate, extended and even in-laws. He showed me right and wrong, good and bad. And he showed me that the fastest car won’t always win.
As many know, I’m nearing my retirement from carrying the mail. Few know that my Dad had planned on retiring at 62. He and Mom had planned to load up my kids in their brand new Chevy full-sized van and travel. But his illness and God Himself dictated otherwise. Dad fell ill and died right after his 60th birthday. It wasn’t meant to be and life goes on.
So my own plans are somewhat similar. When we can, we hope to travel, often taking grandkids with us. But we have this thought in the back of our minds. I’m due to retire at the end of August—right after my 60th birthday.
So, you see, I have high hopes of enjoying my retirement for Dad and me too. And I’d not mind if he has a ringside seat for that, standing on the top row of that great Race Track in the Sky, spiritual arms folded across his chest, nodding in approval. As always I hope to do him proud. What else could I do? Seems like Dad and I are always there, right John P.?
James Lee Burton 1927-1987
Settling for a race track cheeseburger than a tie, I’m…..
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Cowboy Up!
So Bryan Clauson and crew were decked out with these truckstop-like cowboy hats. Actually they looked pretty cool. Not dirt on them—yet. Bryan said that it was a way to remind him and the gang that they had to dig in and ride this horsey home. Of course that “horsey” was the points championship of USAC’s Indiana Midget Week. Clauson then went and promptly won at Lawrenceburg and came in fifth at Kokomo to claim the title. But people like Kyle Larson and his crew surely made them earn it. All the while fans were also among those who benefitted from the racing for all five nights of the tour. By Sunday night, fans leaving Kokomo after yet another great program had seen enough slide jobs, rim riding, bottom feeding, speed, thrills and spills to do them for awhile—or at least until this coming weekend.
Lawrenceburg---I tend to believe that if drivers had a vote, more of them might run at Lawrenceburg. But owners look nervously at their checking accounts and opt out. The track is scary fast, a smaller Eldora. As a result, car counts suffer in terms of quantity. But quality is another matter. Folks who have the dollars and/or the horsepower flock to da ‘burg. If Haubstadt is the jewel of southwestern Indiana, then Lawrenceburg is the jewel of southeastern Indiana.
23 of USAC’s finest were here, including the usual suspects. 19 sprinters were here, with nearly half of them capable of winning. Who could ask for more?
I assumed a position way up high to record time trials in the trusty notebook while trying to dodge Keith Wendel’s camera shots. Mr. Clauson was the fourth to make his run and he promptly set fast time with a 15.340. Hunter Schuerenberg had second quick time but cooked an engine on the second lap. (Catch Keith’s labor of love on Facebook.)
Levi Roberts won the first heat after starting seventh with Bobby East second. Brad Kuhn came in third with B. Clauson taking fourth. Kiwi Michael Pickens won the second heat over an impressive Danny Stratton. Kyle Larson, the sensation of Midget Week, was third after a fierce battle Steve Buckwalter and Matt Smith. Mario Clouser was super in winning the third heat. Jerry Coons Jr. trailed. Zach Daum was third with Chris Windom fourth. There would be no semi-main.
Casey Riggs won an exceptional first heat as the sprinters took over. It had to be one of the ‘burg’s best heats in memory. Seth Motsinger flipped in turn four, stopping the second heat. Andrew Elson won after action resumed. Joss Moffatt won the third heat. No B here either.
Tanner Swanson and Steve Buckwalter led the other fire breathers to the green. Buck took over on the second lap and enjoyed it while it lasted, because Clauson was coming on. BC grabbed the lead on lap six. The Noblesville, IN resident would lead the rest of the way. But in the interim, action was as wild and woolly as it can be at Lawrenceburg. As the cushion moved closer and closer to the imposing wall, I wondered how long it would be before either someone smacked the wall or a couple of someones would collide during a slide job gone bad. Lap 10 saw Trevor Kobylarz flip in turn three; he was okay. By now Pickens had moved from 11th to fifth. Clauson led Buckwalter, Swanson, East and the New Zealander. East faded until lap 21, when he brought out a caution. Pickens was fourth, ahead of M. Smith and Larson. Frantic action resumed, but only for a bit.
Buckwalter flirted with the turn one wall one time too many, and flipped like a fish out of water, collecting Swanson, who also took a tumble. This brought out another red on lap 25. Both were okay.
Two men’s misfortune is often another’s fortune. Clauson still led, but Pickens led those who benefitted from the crash. He was second with Larson now third. Smith was fourth and Tracy Hines had now taken fifth. There was a certain amount of anticipation on the re-start, with folks expecting a wild five laps. But Clauson had other ideas. BC simply left them behind, running away like Monty Python ran from the killer rabbit. (My favorite scene from the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”)
Pickens, Larson and Hines trailed with Darren Hagen taking fifth late from Matt Smith. The guys either loaded up or sat back to watch the sprints.
If they didn’t they missed a good race. Casey Riggs jumped the start twice and was moved back a row, putting Coleman Gulick on the pole next to Joss Moffatt. The youngster from New York was happy to take the pole and shoot to a good sized lead over first Moffatt then Andrew Elson. But Brady Short was busy. Starting ninth, he cracked the top five by lap five, working his way past Moffatt, Robert Ballou and Logan Hupp. A couple of laps later and Short had taken second, but Gulick had a straightaway lead by then. Behind the front two, things were wild with Elson, Ballou, Hupp and Moffatt all fighting for the same spot. I was impressive with Hupp, the recent high school graduate from my town. He simply wouldn’t go away.
The laps wound down and disaster struck Gulick. He had some bad racing luck as he ran over something that cut the right rear tire. Short was there promptly, ready to take the lead, which he did coming to the white flag. Hupp finished second with Moffatt third. Ballou also passed the luckless Gulcik, taking fourth.
Quite a night it was. I hung around to see a guy from Greensburg…Kentucky win the modified feature over Joey Kramer, who started last. And my buddy Rich Hollmeyer came up with the best line of Midget week. There was about five of us chatting in the pits and Rich commented, quite correctly, that we used to admire the attributes of drivers’ wives, but nowadays we did the same for their moms. And that, my friends, is a good definition of getting old(er.) On to Kokomo.
Kokomo---The hot weather was gone, replaced by cooler temps and a breeze from the north. Folks were dressed a bit warmer. It was so cold that Bob Clauson brought out the famed coonskin cap. I made my own statement with a dusty cowboy hat, a black pullover sweatshirt and black shorts.
Car counts were quite decent, 27 midgets and 29 sprints. Darren Hagen, who had not been able to match his Gas City win, set quick time.
The sprints’ heats were first and Chris Windom won the first over Shane Cottle, Casey Shuman, Braylon Fitzpatrick and Kyle Robbins. Thomas Meseraull took Paul Hazen’s 57 to the second heat win. Hunter Schuerenberg took second. Coleman Gulick, Casey Riggs and Tracy Hines all transferred. Blake Fitzpatrick romped to the third heat win. Jerry Coons Jr. was second with Jon Stanbrough third. Dave Darland took fourth over Aussie Gary Rooke. Time for the midgets to do their thing.
Bryan Clauson, needing to finish fourth in the feature to clinch the IMW title, won the first midget heat over Bobby East. Hagen was third with Mario Clouser also moving to the main. Levi Roberts checked out to win the second heat. Zach Daum was a good bit ahead of third place Brad Kuhn. Danny Stratton edged Caleb Armstrong for fourth. Third heat winner Tracy Hines led a festival of slide jobs, cutting and slashing—Veg-a-Matic racing as it were. Kyle Larson was second with Michael Pickens third. Trevor Kobylarz beat Chase Barber for fourth. Barber was not pleased with Mr. Kobylarz’ methods of racing, tapping him a couple of times after the checkered. The fourth heat had only six answer the bell, but this lineup had no weak runners at all. Shane Cottle won over fifth starting Chris Windom. Steve Buckwalter, after a monster effort to repair the L’burg damage, took third. Shane Hollingsworth took fourth over Matt Smith and Thomas Meseraull.
Andrew Elson won the B as Jamie Fredrickson took a ride in turn three. Jamie wasn’t hurt, but was done for the night. James Bradshaw was second. Josh Spencer was third with Anthony Peterman and Conner Donelson making up the last row for the 25 lap feature.
Matt Smith won the midget B over Blake Fitzpatrick, who was replacing Jacob Wilson in the Don Moore machine. Caleb Armstrong was third with Chase Barber fourth. Thomas Meseraull, who can get good results in underpowered equipment, was fifth. Dalton Armstrong took the last available spot. Davey Ray slipped late in the race, losing a spot in the big show.
The order was flipped with the midgets running first. Larson and Daum were the front row with Larson taking the lead that he would maintain for much of the race. But Michael Pickens begged to differ. From fourth Pickens ran up front for the whole race, passing Daum for second midway through the 30 lapper. A lap 17 yellow flag saw Larson leading Pickens, Brad Kuhn, Daum, East, Windom, Clauson, Stratton, Roberts and Hines, who was just getting started.
This segment of the race saw Larson, Pickens and Kuhn control the front, with Tracy Hines, who started 16th, steadily moving up by using the bottom groove to perfection. Pickens finally took the lead as Larson made the tiniest of bobbles. A bit over a lap later the yellow flew, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. By now Hines and Kuhn had also passed Larson. At the end, Kuhn also slipped and let Larson by. But no one, not even Hines, had anything for Pickens. It was Pickens, Hines, Larson, Kuhn and the 2011 Indiana Midget Week champ, Bryan Clauson. Chris Windom was sixth, leading Daum. Buckwalter was eighth with Bobby East changing a tire and coming back to take ninth. Blake Fitzpatrick and owner Don Moore had to be smiling a bit after starting 18th and bringing it home tenth.
Victory Lane was full of happy people. Clauson and Pickens both thanked their teammates and sponsors. Tracy Hines explained how he was able to pass so many people. He had the best one liner of the night, saying that his car was working so well he could pass Shane Cottle on the bottom: “That’s low!” Kyle Larson had to be content with racking up four podium finishes in a row. And here came the sprints.
The sprinters’ front row was a pair of tens, Cottle and Fitzpatrick. Jerry Shaw and I unofficially counted 14 sprint feature winners out of the 20 starters. One has to wonder how many tracks (outside of Indiana) or sanctioning bodies can make such a claim.
Cottle took the lead and held off Chris Windom to win. Windom was able to pressure the leader/winner but was never able to close the deal. Thomas Meseraull ran well early until he was caught up in an Anthony Peterman flip in turn four as the cushion was nearly gone there. Meseraull re-started but his handling was shot and TMez flipped himself a few laps later. Jon Stanbrough hung around the top five for the whole race, but could never get higher than third, where he finished. Then there was Tracy Hines. Once again, he started back in the pack, 14th. Once again, he worked his way to the front. He ran as high as third before fading just a bit to fifth, as both Stanbrough and Andrew Elson passed the FMA. Dave Darland came from 12th to take sixth.
Another IMW was done. My Maryland buddy David McCardell hung around for the stock cars’ features, not wanting to go home. Like a lot of folks, Dave knows and loves Hoosier racing. He knows this is the Mecca of racing. Folks like Dave are Hoosiers at heart. Many will be back next month for Sprint Week, at least part of it.
Cowboy up, indeed.
Wheel banging with Lewis Hamilton, I’m…..
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Barnburning
Putnamville, IN---For your basic /Indiana Midget Week/open wheel/race fan, Thursday and Friday nights at Lincoln Park and Bloomington respectively were about as good as could be. Side by side, cutting and slashing, slide jobs, high speeds, you name it. All of those and more dominated both bullrings. Lots of things became apparent. Bryan Clauson is the guy to beat in USAC’s midget division these days. He’s making others bring their A game each night. And just as relevant, California transplant Kyle Larson is rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with as well. Clauson edged Larson at Lincoln Park while Larson passed Chris Windom late to win at Bloomington.
With sprints playing a very rare role as support class, this week is and has been an open wheel race fan’s dream. 35 of USAC’s finest, along with 24 regional sprinters had shown up at the Lincoln Park Speedway in beautiful downtown Putnamville, IN.
Midgets were first up and Clauson immediately made a statement of sorts by passing for the lead to win the first heat over Hunter Schuerenberg, quick timer Bobby East and Colorado’s Levi Roberts. Gas City winner Darren Hagen won the second heat over Jerry Coons Jr., Brad Kuhn and California’s Chase Barber. Pennsylvania’s Steve Buckwalter, still smarting from Gas City woes, won the third heat. Front row starter Levi Jones held on for second. Hut 100 winner Zach Daum was third. Tracy Hines took the last transfer spot. Chris Windom won the fourth heat from the front row. Kyle Larson made his own statement by coming from sixth to second. One guy he passed was Shane Cottle, who finished third. Another PA guy, Trevor Kobylarz, was fourth. Time for some sprints.
After a good bit of lead swapping, Chris Windom* (doing double duty tonight) won the first heat over Blake Fitzpatrick, Jerry Coons Jr.* and Justin Grant, who started last/eighth. Casey Shuman held off Jon Stanbrough to win the second heat. Ageless veteran Kent Christian was third, trailed by Brent Beauchamp and Kevin Studley. The third heat was taken by Seth Parker. Ethan Barrow, Levi Jones* and Dave Darland followed the kid from Terre Haute.
First of the B’s brought the USAC brigade back out. After a flurry of yellows, Matt Miller won from the pole. Local boy Shane Hollingsworth was second with Thomas Meseraull, Mario Clouser, Ryan Smith and New Zealand’s Michael Pickens all moving on to the 30 lap feature.
Hollingsworth* ran away with the sprint semi-main, leading Nick Bilbee, Brent Turner and Mark Harden, who held off Brandon Mattox for the last transfer.
Coons and Clauson were the front row for what would be maybe the best race of the year. The 5/16 mile oval was as smooth as it’s ever been and there were at least three grooves to use. Clauson owned much of the first half of the race, but Coons and Larson were never too far away. But Larson took the lead a few laps after a red for a Shane Hollingsworth tipover. The lead passed back and forth between young veteran Clauson and Larson several times around the track with official changes at the line not nearly as many as actual changes for the lead. A Michael Pickens spin on lap 26 set up a classic duel for the last four laps. The two contenders didn’t disappoint, continuing their lead swapping. Larson led coming to the white flag, but Clauson was far from done. Coming to the checkered, Clauson flew off the huge cushion, and beat Larson and Brad Kuhn to the line. Kuhn, who had run the best race few had seen, had steadily worked his way to the front, capitalizing on the two leaders’ battling with each other. After the last caution, Kuhn passed Tracy Hines for third and set sail for the leaders, making it a close three car fight at the end. Bobby East was fourth and Jerry Coons Jr. was fifth.
For the sprint feature, Chris Windom and Casey Shuman had quite a battle early on before Windom pulled away for the win. Jon Stanbrough passed Shuman late to take second. Coons was third, relegating Shu to fourth. Coleman Gulick was fifth.
On to Bloomington.
Bloomington, IN---Threats of rain evaporated for the second night in a row as 33 USAC midgets and 28 sprinters were in town. Folks still buzzing about the previous night’s race had no way of knowing that tonight’s race wouldn’t be too shabby itself.
LPS winner Bryan Clauson began festivities by winning another heat race with quick timer Jerry Coons Jr.* heading for the B. Easterner Nick Wean was second with Shane Cottle and Michael Pickens also ahead of fifth place Coons. Westerner Tanner Swanson won the second heat over Missouri’s Hunter Schuerenberg. Caleb Armstrong was third with Levi Roberts taking for the last transfer. Darren Hagen was not amused with Roberts’ driving style in this race and let him know it with only feelings hurt. Matt Smith beat Kellen Conover to win the third heat. New Jersey’s Billy Pauch Jr. was third and would make his first IMW feature. Chris Windom* was fourth. And Davey Ray won the fourth heat. Kyle Larson was second, leading future Hall of Famer Tracy Hines to the line. Trevor Kobylarz was fourth with Bobby East being added to a star studded B Main.
With sprints taking over, Dave Darland ran away with the first heat. C.J. Leary, improving every week, was second. Jordan Kinser came from eighth to take third. Kevin Studley hung on for fourth. Bobby Stines checked out to win the second heat over Jonathan Vennard, Jerry Coons Jr.* and Dakota Jackson. The third heat was the strongest from top to bottom and Jon Stanbrough won it. Kevin Thomas Jr. was second. Lance Grimes was an impressive third. Travis Welpott, making a rare Bloomington appearance, sent Levi Jones* to the B with a fourth place finish.
Brady Short made his own statement, coming from eighth to win the fourth heat over Ty Deckard. Andrew Elson was third. Nick Bilbee ended up fourth. Time for the B’s, midgets first.
Steve Buckwalter, a Hoosier favorite from the Keystone State, won the B with Jerry Coons second. Levi Jones, in both B’s tonight, was third. Alex Bright, Bobby East and Zach Daum made their way to the big show. Darren Hagen and Brad Kuhn were both having not so stellar nights and both took a provisional. How about a sprint B?
Levi Jones made sure that he’d make the sprint A, winning the B. Ethan Barrow was second. Coons was third with Josh Cunningham edging Joe Ligouri after a great duel to take the last spot. And now, for the main event…..
Chris Windom surely wanted this race. He ended up leading 26 or the first 27 laps. But Kyle Larson never gave up. He took the lead for a lap after a lap 17 re-start, then Windom re-took the lead. But Chris couldn’t hold off this youngster that has impressed here since coming east. Larson took control on lap 27 and led the rest of the way. Windom was a disappointed second. Shane Cottle was third, leading a steady Caleb Armstrong and Bobby East. Bryan Clauson, LPS winner, was mired in traffic and finished sixth after starting 12th. Then there was the sprints.
C.J. Leary and Ty Deckard led 18 others at the start. The first four laps lad three different leaders. Leary led the first two laps, giving up the lead to Dave Darland. But Darland would only lead a lap before Brady Short, coming from sixth, took over and romped to the win. Behind him, there was plenty of action. Darland had his hands full, holding off first Bobby Stines and later Leary. After a slow start, Jon Stanbrough joined this party toward the end of the race. The 53, like others, ran out of laps. Darland kept second with young Leary running the best sprint race so far in his brief career and claiming third. Stanbrough and Stines trailed.
And what is maybe the biggest, baddest Hoosier bullring, the jewel that is Lawrenceburg, beckoned.
Hoping I have better luck dodging amateur drivers than the Audi racers at Le Mans, I’m…..
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Oxymoron of the Day
Gas City/Columbus—If one desired to give oneself a headache, one might decide that life itself is an oxymoron.
ox·y·mo·ron (Thanks to dictionary.com)
[ok-si-mawr-on, -mohr-] 
Show
IPA
–noun, plural ox·y·mo·ra [ok-si-mawr-uh, -mohr-uh] Show
IPA, ox·y·mor·ons. Rhetoric .
a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous,seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.”
The most relevant oxymoron for our purposes is one I grabbed out of midair, “young veteran.” Wednesday night’s feature winners at the Gas City/I-69 Speedway could accurately be described as such. Indiana Midget Week, said by some to outdo USAC’s highly popular and competitive Sprint Week, began its five night tour at Gas City with Darren Hagen winning the USAC Midget feature. With regional sprints, unsanctioned, also on the card, Bret Burdette won his second feature of the year. Young veterans, indeed.
Midget Week has come to be a sort of family reunion of the Midwest open wheel community. Folks think nothing of traveling great distances to go to at least one of the five events. Even people who write about this beloved sport pencil this series in as early as they can. I happened to show up at the same time as two of the best at the office. It occurred to me that the three of us would be seeing the same things happening but would have three very different views of the evening. But the eyes, minds and words of Dave Argabright, Kevin Oldham and myself would surely reflect the same love for seeing what these incredibly talented people would do.
This would be one hot Hoosier afternoon. As we don’t enjoy being reminded how unfair life is, neither do we enjoy stepping out of an air conditioned vehicle into the hot Indiana air. Often, going from comfort to immediate discomfort isn’t high on anyone’s list. But this was different.
37 USAC Midgets were in the pits, along with 32 sprints, a most excellent “support class.” Bryan Clauson was the first to find that the middle groove was better than the high groove that had been favored by his competitors as he set fast time with a 12.737 lap.
Clauson looked strong in the first heat as he got around both Zack Daum and Levi Jones to finish second behind winner Brad Kuhn. Hunter Schuerenberg won the second heat over Darren Hagen, who passed Caleb Armstrong on the last lap. Mario Clouser was fourth. The third heat featured the third false start in a row as the boys were a bit itchy to get going. New Zealander Michael Pickens won the third heat by a good sized margin. Behind him was a real fight among Wisconsin’s Davey Ray, Jerry Coons Jr. and Bobby East. Pennsylvania’s Alex Bright took the fourth heat over Chris Windom, Tracy Hines and Kyle Larson.
A few folks were doing double duty tonight with rides for both types of cars. Scotty Weir won the first sprint heat over Travis Welpott, Josh Spencer and Casey Riggs. Shane Cottle, one of the double dippers, won the second heat over Critter Malone, Jerry Coons Jr.* and Thomas Meseraull*, who felt (as I did) that the start wasn’t what it should have been. Dave Darland ran off with the third heat with Coleman Gulick working extra hard to get around Casey Shuman. Ted Hines was a close fourth over recent Gas City winner Billy Puterbaugh Jr. And Levi Jones*, with his non-USAC mount from Evansville, won the fourth heat over Bret Burdette, Chris Windom* and Andrew Elson. (All *s are people who had both sprint and midget rides.)
The Midgets came back for their B-that-looked-like-an-A-Main. Shane Cottle won this one over Thomas Meseraull, New Jersey’s Billy Pauch Jr., Pennsylvania’s Trevor Kobylarz, California’s Tanner Swanson and Pennsylvania’s Ryan Smith. Yet another Easterner, Jimmy Glenn, tipped it over at the start, unhurt, but done for the night. Last year’s Gas City winner of this event, Mr. Steve Buckwalter was among those loading up early. All I could say was, “Wow.”
The sprints’ B had a few heavy hitters of its own. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., last Friday’s feature winner, won over Justin Grant, Bryan Clauson* and Matt Westfall*.
Hagen and Daum led 20 others to the green with Daum getting the jump on the point leader. The young man from Illinois would hold off Hagen for the first half of the race that was slowed on lap two with a caution that left Coons with a flat tire. Hagen passed for the lead on lap 14. Tracy Hines ran third, pressuring Daum all the while. Bobby East started and finished fourth as Hunter Schuerenberg* did the same for fifth.
The USAC caravan most likely has already arrived at the next destination, Lincoln Park Speedway as this is written. Again, sprints will also crowd the pits.
The sprint feature ran 25 laps. Levi Jones may have wished it ran a few more. Darland and Burdette led the 20 to the green. Burdette jumped to the lead as Dave had a lousy first lap, dropping to fourth. Critter Malone grabbed second early on with third starting Travis Welpott a strong third. But Coleman Gulick was coming on and took third on lap seven. The next lap saw Jones get to the top five from eighth behind Darland. Soon Levi passed the Rave as well and set his sights on Gulick. Just past halfway and Puterbaugh was getting the move over flag? Again: “Wow.” Soon after that Gulick slipped over the bank in turn two and Jones got around Malone for second. With about ten laps to go, Burdette had built a big lead. Levi began to chop away at it, lap by lap. To make things better, Darland was gaining on both. But it wasn’t to be. All except Burdette ran out of time.
Behind the winner, Jones and Darland, Gulick recovered for fourth and Malone kept fifth. Jerry Coons Jr. recovered from an early near accident to take sixth. Casey Shuman, Shane Cottle, Thomas Meseraull and Andrew Elson rounded out the top ten.
Soon it’s off to the northwest from here for another evening of this. No complaints here. No more oxymorons, either. Yet. Unless one sees young veterans race.
Giving Sarah Palin basic American history lessons, I’m…..
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Why Families Matter
Columbus/Monroe/Gas City, IN---Families, in one incarnation or another, have been around for a few years, to be funny. To imagine a world without families is to imagine a great void of nothingness. They are essential to life and progress, even dysfunctional familes. And in racing, of course, this remains as true as ever. Gas City/I-69 Speedway’s feature winner provided a great example of this on Friday night as second generation racer Billy Puterbaugh Jr. led flag to flag in outrunning a family man himself, Shane Cottle.
Speaking of families it was a special night here as well. Grandson number two made his Gas City debut, passing the dirt clod test with flying colors during hot laps. Like his big brother, the original Sword Man, he stayed awake to the end. Both fell asleep before we hit the interstate; thankfully dad and granddad stayed awake.
23 sprinters were in the pits as Mr. and Mrs. Thomasson made the rest of us look like newlyweds, celebrating 49 years of marriage. John Kennedy was in the White House, at Indy the engines were in the front (except for Sir Jack Brabham) and I was tagging along with my dad to races all over the state. Congratulations from a comparative rookie at marriage.
Logan Jarrett, another second generation racer, beat Shane Cottle to the first turn off the first heat. That was how they finished with Jamie Fredrickson third. Ted Hines came from eighth to take fourth. Ryan Pace, back from California, took fifth.
Bret Burdette passed Thomas Meseraull coming to the white flag and held on to win the second heat. James Bradshaw, Chris Gurley and Matt Goodnight trailed.
Casey Riggs beat Billy P. to the checkered in the third heat. Jason Holt was third. Matt Westfall and Joe Ligouri transferred to the main. Tyler Hewitt (no relation to Jack, but lists Jack as his favorite driver) took a fairly wild ride off turn one, smacking the fence. Tyler re-started and the fence was fixed.
Scotty Weir took the lead midway through the B and held it, beating Superteacher Travis Welpott. Mr. Hewitt was third. Landon Simon, who lists Landon McIntosh as his biggest fan, was fourth and Adam Byrkett fifth. Perhaps to celebrate his wedding anniversary, Jiggs added the guys who trailed in the B to the 25 lap feature.
NAPA stepped up for the night, with Frisbees tossed into the crowd. We picked up a couple with grandson number two (Sprint)Karston using his as a steering wheel, a source of both laughter and nods of approval from those sitting near us.
Puterbaugh and Burdette were the original front row for the feature. Hewitt spun in turn four coming to the line and another re-start was in order. This time Meseraull got into the back of Burdette. The ensuing six car scrum blocked the track and brought out the red. Also involved were Hines, Jarrett, Goodnight and Welpott. TMez, Burdette and Goodnight were able to re-start.
With Cottle now next to him, Puterbaugh took the lead on the re-start. Lap four saw the third yellow wave. The fourth waved a lap later and by now flag man Brian Hoddy’s yellow flag might have considered filing a grievance due to overwork. The fifth and sixth cautions were due to newcomer Bobby Seward’s spins in turn two, sending him to the pits, sadder but hopefully wiser.
Through all this Puterbaugh continued to hold off Cottle for the lead. But with about five laps to go, Shane began to pressure the white 16. And lapped traffic was approaching. But so was the seventh yellow flag of the night. No more lappers and Billy P. handled the re-start, keeping Cottle behind him.
As is often the case, the best racing, or at least the most interesting, was back in the pack. Casey Riggs, showing some real patience, moved to third. Jason Holt was fourth. Ryan Pace overcame a penalty for running over the re-start cone to finish fifth.
Chris Gurley was sixth with Joe Ligouri coming from 15th to take seventh. Matt Westfall was eighth and Jamie Fredrickson ninth. Scotty Weir passed Landon’s favorite driver on the last lap to take tenth. Mr. Weir came from 16th and while Mr. Simon started 19th.
Time to head back north, helping to carry a heavy two year old, happy and tired, still sporting a dirty spot on his cheek from one of those little dirt clods. His big brother held my hand. For both the Puterbaugh family and mine, for the moment, life was good.
Saturday saw us at a…..baseball game(?). Yes, for my daughter’s 29th* (*I’ll not tell) birthday we took her to Ft. Wayne for a minor league baseball game. Neither a two hour rain delay nor a loss by the home team (the Ft. Wayne Tin Caps—think of Johnny Appleseed/Chapman) dampened our spirits.
Another Indiana Midget Week beckons. First up is a return trip to Gas City come Wednesday. Back home, and then off to downtown Putnamville on Thursday. The shortest trip is Friday—to Bloomington. Saturday’s trip to da ‘burg is a nice drive. And the grand finale is Kokomo, always worth the drive. Well, those are the plans. Let us hope that all either goes well or that whatever bumps in the road are no more than that. It’ll be like a family reunion with fans and teams coming here from all over. Yeah, there’s a racing family too.
Counseling Congressman Weiner, I’m……
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: More Than Meets The Eye
How often does this happen? You read of a race, but only the box score. For example: “Virginia’s George Washington started on the pole and led all 30 laps to win the feature.” It would be easy to assume that this was a snoozer of a race (forgetting that Mr. Washington has been deceased since 1799). But, as we all know or should know, usually there’s a lot more to a race than one guy doing his best to stink up the show. All we have to do is look a bit farther back in the pack and we’re quite likely to see some serious racing. And so it was this past weekend. Brady Short won at Lawrenceburg while Jerry Coons Jr. won at Kokomo, as both checked out in the process. But sure enough, there were people racing for position in the pack, racing with just as much effort as the winners.
Rarely will family members accompany me to a race, but on a mild, pleasant night before the 500, we made the trek to the ‘burg, the jewel of southeastern Indiana, the Lawrenceburg Speedway. It promised to be a fun night and surely it was. It was also an expensive night, which made me chuckle at those who think I don’t spend much money because of the media pass. (Think $30 for food, $34 for admission, $8 for a nifty sweatshirt and another $10 for some cars for the two Sword Men. Ouch. Promoter Dave Rudisell surely raked it in. And it was worth every penny.)
The quantity wasn’t there on a night where several tracks were racing, but there was plenty of quality. Chad Boespflug won the first heat and Casey Riggs showed both speed and good judgment ending up second. Brady Short gave a preview of things to come as he ran off with the second heat. 2010 ‘burg champ Andrew Elson was second.
The heat race winners led 16 others to the green and Short immediately began to check out, though both Boespflug and Riggs did their best to keep up. About halfway through Short bicycled in turn one, nearly giving it all away. But that was as close as Brady would come in losing the race and the $2500.
Riggs and Boespflug settled into second and third while behind them, near mayhem was the order of the day. Kevin Thomas Jr., John Memmer, Coleman Gulick and Robert Ballou all spent a good part of the race fighting for position. It was about as hard and clean as it could be. Andrew Elson took fourth, followed by Thomas, Ballou, Gulick and Memmer, who faded at the end and who also ended up bailing out of a hot seat. John was okay, though perhaps a bit toasty.
Both grandsons were sound asleep by the time we reached the tiny village of Dover, just south of I-74 and about 12 miles north of the track. It was a full night. But the eldest of the two boys and Grandpa had already plotted our next race, Kokomo.
On a warm Sunday afternoon, the infamous and feared Sword Man himself and I headed north to Kokomo, hoping to see some more sprints before the holiday. As is usual with Kokomo, we weren’t disappointed. For this Kokomo Klassic, $2000 was on the line and 25 teams were here to grab it.
At my first glimpse of the track, I was reminded that all too few of us appreciate the work done by track workers. Kokomo has been hard hit by wet weather all spring. There was standing water in the infield but the track itself was in great shape, despite a bump here and there. But message board mania always produces comments that prove that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to staging a race as well.
Group qualifying yielded the quickest time out of the third group with Dave Darland ripping off a swift 13.247 lap. Tracy Hines won the first heat over Josh Clemons, brother Ted Hines, Andrew Elson and Bill Rose.
Mr. Coons took the second heat, leading Thomas Meseraull, Justin Grant, Casey Shuman and Bret Burdette. A scrum coming to the green gathered up Josh Spencer, guaranteeing him and family a frantic thrashing in order top answer the bell for the B.
I’ll take some time here to sing the praises of the Spencers and racers like them. They’ll be the first to admit it’s a shoestring operation; they have no plans to get rich doing this. They’ll do it until finances or other circumstances tell them to stop. They are perhaps the backbone of short track racing in America. For this they deserve our respect and thanks. (And Josh has at least one new fan, the not so little guy with the new Josh Spencer t-shirt.)
The third heat got off to a nasty start with Todd Kirkman taking a wicked ride in turn one, tearing up a nice looking race car and some fence—the same place where he crashed last year. Todd was beat up a bit, but was okay. Dave Darland won this heat over Chris Gurley, Jamie Fredrickson, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Logan Jarrett.
Casey Riggs won the B with Kent Christian second. Josh Spencer, with a fixed car, came from ninth to finish third. James Bradshaw and Adam Byrkett, both numbered 78, would tag the feature.
Like Mr. Short the night before, front row starter Jerry Coons Jr. took the lead and ran away. And like at the ‘burg, things were fast and furious behind him. Josh Clemons, who also started up front, trailed only Coons and Chris Gurley spent a good part of the race holding off a snarling pack. Finally, about midway through, Tracy Hines got around Gurley. Also in the mix were Justin Grant and Thomas Meseraull, with TMez on the move. About seven laps from the end was when Meseraull finally cleared the pack and tried to reel in Clemons, but the Hazen 57 ran out of time. Hines took fourth with Thomas fifth. Grant was sixth with Gurley fading to seventh.
I checked my watch. 10:40 p.m., not bad at all. The two hour drive was worth it.
The not so little boy with me conked out by the time we left the string of stoplights in Kokomo. It was a comforting sight all the same, this kid trusting Grandpa to get him back to his grandparents’ house, sleeping quite soundly. One wonders how much kids retain of this. There is no predicting to be sure. When you think they are daydreaming, you’re wrong. They sit there, absorbing more than we can know. All we as parents, grandparents, fellow fans can do is to pass it on to the next group. And we’d best make sure that what we pass on is worth it all.
Lincoln Park, Bloomington, Kokomo, Tri-State, Lawrenceburg, Gas City, others, these may not seem to be much to those who can’t and don’t know what sprint car racing means to Indiana and that’s fine by me. Because you know and I know that quite often, there is more than meets the eye.
Offering my sofa and/or dog house to Arnold Schwarzenegger, I’m…..
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Tugging on Superman’s Cape
Bloomington IN---The stars were aligned and, better yet, there were few clouds in the sky on a lovely Friday evening in southern Indiana. The stars and cars of USAC were gathered at the Bloomington Speedway, one of the few race tracks older than me.
41 cars jammed the pits with no non-qualifiers’ race tonight. Brady Short won the first heat as Dave Darland made a strong move mid-race to take second over Danny Holtsclaw and Casey Riggs. The second heat was maybe the strongest top to bottom. One of those hot dogs, Hunter Schuerenberg, had himself a mean looking flip in turn four in this heat. Hunter walked away, none too happy. Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon won this heat from the front row, as did all other heat winners. Local runner Bub Cummings won the third heat and another local, “Mayor” Jon Sciscoe, won the fourth heat. Jesse Cramer tried to tip it over in turn two; thankfully he failed, but went to the B.
The strong B lineup had Blake Fitzpatrick and California visitor Keith Bloom leading 22 others to the green. Fitz took the win with third starting Chris Windom, who had just missed a transfer earlier, taking second.
Yet another West Coast transplant, Kyle Larson, and Daron Clayton, now in the Hoffmans’ 69, led a gang of 22 to the green. Larson took control right off the bat as first Clayton then Riggs tried to keep up. But here came Superman, a/k/a Jon Stanbrough, the baddest of a group of bad boys. It wasn’t quite halfway into the 30 lapper when Stanbrough passed Riggs to take second. But Larson had a decent sized lead by now. But then came what turned out to be the game changer.
Brady Bacon had started 17th and was carving his way through the field when he bounced off the turn two cushion, bringing out the race’s only yellow on lap 17. Larson’s life was about to get more complicated as Stanbrough was now right behind the leader. But Chris Windom was now third after steadily and quietly working his way forward from ninth. Dave Darland and Levi Jones were also in the neighborhood.
Sure enough, Stanbrough took the lead on lap 20 and it was easy to think that this one was done. But Windom had other ideas. He passed Stanbrough with little apparent difficulty to lead the last seven laps to take a well-earned win by passing the best. The Quiet One kept second with Larson hanging on to third. Darland and Jones ran four/five. Holtsclaw came from 12th to take sixth with Bobby East coming from 13th to finish seventh. Damion Gardner came from 19th to come in eighth. Keith Bloom was ninth with Mayor Sciscoe running hard to round out the top ten after starting 19th.
With just sprints and mini-sprints running tonight, Mike Miles and crew had me out of there around 10 p.m., greatly appreciated by those few of us who had to work the following morning (but not for very many more).
Lawrenceburg, IN---Life is good most weekends for Hoosier and Midwest sprint car freaks and this one was no exception. With Gas City signing in 39 cars on Friday, that meant there was 80 sprinters racing. Saturday night saw more of the same. 40 cars at Paragon, an unofficial 26 cars at Lincoln Park, 34 Midgets at the Hut 100 down at Haubstadt and 29 cars at Lawrenceburg meant that many Hoosier bullrings were packed with open wheel action.
It was Lawrenceburg’s turn to host the King of Indiana Sprint Series. The weather was looking good—for the time being. Unfortunately, that would change later.
I dream too much at times. As I drove to my usual ‘burg parking spot, I found myself wishing that Indy 500 pole sitter Alex Tagliani could have made the drive down I-74 to Lawrenceburg—to be the guest starter if nothing else. Perhaps sadly, my chances of waving the green at the 3/8 high banked oval may be better than Tags.
Blake Fitzpatrick used the high line to take the first heat. Jack Hewitt would have smiled. Chris Windom, fresh off his Bloomington win, took the second heat. And Chad Boespflug edged Daron Clayton to win the third heat. The fourth heat was maybe the strongest as Josh Clemons won and Jon Stanbrough came from last to take second.
The B Main showed how a guy can go from the penthouse to the outhouse in one night. Justin Grant won with Robert Ballou and Casey Shuman trailing. But Gas City winner Bret Burdette took the last transfer spot after a serious challenge from Coleman Gulick, the guy who was second at Gas City. Gulick ended up pointed the wrong way in turn three on the last lap, perhaps wondering how this happened.
Promoter Dave Rudisell was nervously eyeing the sky and moving the show along. For the 30 lap feature, Clayton and Fitzpatrick made for a potentially fun front row. But Daron jumped the start and moved back a row, giving the pole to….Jon Stanbrough. Sure enough the closest thing to Superman that Hoosier sprint car racing has took the lead under threatening skies. Clayton grabbed second as Fitz began to slip. To make things more fun to watch, Bloomington winner Windom took third and was in the mix.
For the second night in a row, Stanbrough was passed for the lead, this time by Clayton on the eighth lap. And a few laps later, the sky opened up, bringing things to a halt on lap 13, not quite halfway. A few hours later, after consuming a large pizza and a couple of beers, Mr. Rudisell declared it a race and said both points and money would be awarded to all concerned. Message board mania took over, as it is prone to do. Mr. Rudisell was, no doubt, unfazed.
Stanbrough held onto second. Almost unnoticed, Damion Gardner passed Windom near the end to take third. I did notice Keith Bloom, who was coming on strong. From tenth he took fifth. One must wonder what might have been had this one gone the full 30. The second five was Fitzpatrick, Dave Darland, Scotty Weir, Boespflug and Brady Short. The rain began at 9 p.m. 20 minutes later it was obvious that racing at the ‘burg was done for the night. Soaked, I ran for my truck.
Trying to sell A.J. Foyt my ride (oh, wait), I’m…..
Danny Burton
Hunter is Fleet While Brady Can’t Be Beat
Brady Short is two for two at Bloomington this year. His Friday win in the 2011 KISS opener was the latest and most impressive step in his recovery from off season medical issues. He beat a strong and power packed field as Bloomington’s pits were jammed halfway to College Mall, it seemed, with 54 sprinters.
Saturday night saw Hunter Schuerenberg continue his up and down season so far. He won at Gas City on April 29, missed the show at Bloomington this past Friday and won at Lawrenceburg on Saturday night, outrunning a strong, USAC-like, field.
Bloomington---As Friday afternoon wore on, I began to get this good and content mood. Soon I figured out that the weather was nice and Bloomington would no doubt race on this night. I’d not be disappointed as the 2001 version of the KISSeries would begin here at the red clay oval.
Seldom will one sit through six heats. But this would be perhaps the best series of heats we’d see all year. The draw system made for good racin’ with hot dogs in the back working their way to the front. The track lent itself to passing chances and there was plenty of that, given that often Bloomington’s heats feature lightning fast speeds with little passing for position.
Only the top three would move on. Danny Holtsclaw won the first heat from the pole over Brett Burdette. Chris Windom came from ninth, passed Casey Riggs on the last lap, and made it to the feature. Brady Short won the second heat over “Mayor” Jon Sciscoe and Jon Stanbrough, who came from eighth. Dave Darland won the third heat but the real action was behind him. On a late re-start, Bobby Stines decided to try the high side, seeing that he had little to lose. It worked—big time. All Stines did was pass Levi Jones (tonight in a car from Evansville) for third, and then he almost passed Shane Cottle for second. Ty Deckard won the fourth heat over fifth starting Kent Christian, who also made a move after a re-start and took Chris Babcock with him. Robert Ballou won the fifth heat after several laps of side by side racing with Chad Boespflug, who finished second. Bryan Clauson only came from ninth to third. Bobby East won the sixth heat over Jerry Coons Jr., out of the Hoffman car and in the Phillips 71P, which he has driven several times before. Casey Shuman edged both Damion Gardner and Hunter Schuerenberg for third. Other than that, the heats were pretty boring.
The C Main lineup would ordinarily make a decent A Main as tonight’s entry list had the look of a USAC/Indiana Sprint Week field. Jordan Kinser won the ten lap affair over Andrew Elson. Nick Bilbee and Brent Beauchamp both passed lots of cars, but not enough.
The B crowd was even stronger. Four would come out of this one as Bub Cummings did his best Bobby Stines imitation and made a last lap pass of Levi Jones to take the win. Damion Gardner and Logan Hupp would start on the last row of the feature. Some impressive rides would be parked for the night.
By now no one should have been surprised that the track surface was getting slicker and passing was getting more difficult. Most would use the low line. But one guy found his car working the middle quite well, thank you.
Christian and East led a power packed lineup to the green. The rejuvenated former school teacher grabbed the lead at the start, holding off first East then Brady Short, who had started third. Lap ten saw Short, using that unused middle groove, pass Christian for the lead and the race, as it turned out. Christian hung tough for awhile but faded slowly. East held onto second for most of the race. Jon Stanbrough made a most impressive showing as he came from 14th to take third. One had to wonder what might have been had there been any yellow flags needed in this all-green 30 lapper. But that’s racing, as they say. “Mayor” Sciscoe was fourth with Christian ending up fifth. Dave Darland, Shane Cottle, Danny Holtsclaw, Jerry Coons Jr., and Casey Shuman made up the second five.
Next stop, Lawrenceburg.
Another lovely late afternoon, made lovelier by gas in Greensburg that was nearly 25 cents per gallon cheaper than in my town. Soon after that, the Prairie Home Companion crowd took over the airwaves and before I knew it, the ‘burg was in sight.
27 sprint cars were in the pits, with a goodly amount of quality rides. USAC’s Lincoln Park race had been postponed (we hope, and not cancelled) and a few regulars had made the haul to southeastern Indiana.
Casey Riggs won the first heat as Jon Stanbrough probably took it easy in second, knowing that he’d be a part of the re-draw later. Casey Shuman, Chris Windom and Brett Burdette all transferred to the big show. Hunter Schuerenberg outran a strong lineup to win the second heat. Daron Clayton made his debut in the Hoffman Racing 69 with a second, leading Bloomington winner Brady Short, Joss Moffatt and Robert Ballou. Chad Boespflug went to the B. Bryan Clauson won the third heat with Damion Gardner second. Logan Hupp, California’s Keith Bloom and New York’s Coleman Gulick all made it to the feature.
The B was marred by one nasty wreck as Troy DeCaire got into the side of Dwayne Spille, sending both flipping in turn three. Both were okay, but there were two damaged race cars. Chad Boespflug won the B, taking Kyle Robbins, Mike Fischesser, Tracy Hines and J.R. Douglas to the A with him.
The re-draw had Clauson and Schuerenberg leading the gang to the green. As it turned out, Hunter got the jump on the Bullet and kept the lead for all 25 laps. BC did the same with second place. Casey Riggs drove an impressive race, holding off Jon Stanbrough to take third. Damion Gardner ran fifth. Brady Short, Chris Windom, Robert Ballou (from 14th), Keith Bloom, and Coleman Gulick (from 15th) ran six through ten.
Lapped cars never were a factor, though a timely yellow on lap 12 just as the leaders were approaching lappers took care of that. The bottom groove never did work too well, despite a few folks (mostly Stanbrough) tried to make it work. Tire troubles hurt Clayton’s efforts as he dropped like a rock later after running as high as fifth.
It was well that the program clicked off pretty quickly. As I was leaving, I called my wife, who informed me that I’d be running into rain on my way back. Sure enough, rain began between Greendale and I-74 and kept me alert all the way home, with another stop in Greensburg for more “cheap” gas.
It was a satisfying weekend. It was the first time in ages since I’d been shut out of both Bloomington and Lawrenceburg in April. Overall, it was worth the wait. Yeah, the features could have been more exciting---if one is the demanding type who insists that every race end like semi-staged NASCAR finishes. But a big reason why one goes to these events is to see what happens. Kind of like why one gets up in the morning; you never know what each day and/or race will bring. The weekend brought plenty. I dare not ask for any more.
Keeping Mr. Harvick from dislodging Mr. Busch’s head from the rest of him, I’m……
Danny Burton
Autograph Hound and Second Generation
We can never know how much we influence the younger generation. There’s no way of knowing what all they absorb or recall. When you think they are blissfully unaware of something, they fool you most every time. With that in mind I’d like to think that my grandson will remember his first experience roaming the pits at Gas City this past Friday night, even though he was conked out by the time Hunter Schuerenberg outran a strong field to take home feature honors as USAC (finally) came calling to the northeastern Indiana bullring on Friday night. And seeing that racing at this level is so family oriented, it was quite appropriate that second generation racer Casey Shuman edged a Hoosier legend (whose own father was a huge influence in his own right) to win the 25 lap feature at Lincoln Park Speedway on Saturday night.
I’ve fallen into the habit of visiting the Gas City/I-69 Speedway on the rare Fridays that I’m not working. The racing doesn’t hurt, but it’s also an all too rare chance to take the grandson(s) to a race. Two weeks ago, rain foiled a plan for their dad and me to take both boys. Thankfully, USAC and the track postponed the three rained out dates to April 29-May 1. Sadly, the other two dates for both Lawrenceburg and Kokomo were postponed yet again as the spring of ’11 ranks as one of the wettest in the Midwest.
But Friday was a mostly sunny and cool day as I made the long trip north, shaking my head at all the standing water in the fields of mud. No matter, racing would be happening on this night.
I was one of the very few grandparents that showed up at Adams Central Elementary School; needless to say, I stuck out like an old sprinter in a field of winged sprints at school and the infamous Sword Man spotted me right off. Our mission had begun.
We took advantage of the track policy that allows folks to wander the pits before racing. Armed with an ink pen and paper graciously provided by Monica Clauson herself, the little guy (4’6” and 90+ lbs.) and I began our meandering. Twenty or so minutes later, he was sporting several names scrawled on Monica’s notebook. Each racer was unfailingly polite and glad to help make a kid’s day. We thank Tracy Hines, Chris Windom, Kyle Robbins, Bryan Clauson, Jon Stanbrough, Dave Darland and Robert Ballou for their kindness and attention.
That pent up feeling was in the air as so many folks have been grounded due to the long cold winter and rainy spring. An impressive 46 sprinters were signed in. Lots of new paint jobs and sponsors were sported by several cars. As the girls get prettier at closing time, Indiana sprint cars in April are so good looking.
It was no surprise that Blake Fitzpatrick was quick timer on a track that slowed a good bit toward the end; his time of 12.656 came early on. Damion Gardner flipped in turn four; the backup was rolled out quickly with the Demon coming up with the 29th fastest time. Todd Kirkman also flipped on his qualifying run, shaken but not stirred.
The dreaded non-qualifiers’ race was up first, with the top four moving to a heat race and the rest loading up very early. Jonathan Hendrick won as early leader Jason Holt dropped out. Coleman Gulick came from last/14th to claim second with Ted Hines third. After an early spin, Thomas Meseraull came back to take fourth and send Wes McIntyre, among others, packing.
Passing would be tougher later perhaps, but Fitzpatrick made it look almost easy as he won the first heat over Mike Spencer, fellow third row starter. Casey Shuman was a close third with Gardner coming from last to transfer to the feature. The all-green second heat saw the latest Californian to invade Hoosier sprint car wars, Kyle Larson, win in a Jeff Walker mount. The aforementioned Mr. Schuerenberg was second with 2010 points winner Levi Jones third, with the guarantee that he’d start deep in the pack after a very late qualifying draw. Dave Darland was fourth in the debut of a new D. Roberts machine.
The huggy pole gained in popularity for the third heat, but people could still pass. Chris Windom (with the Baldwin brothers this year) won from sixth with Billy Puterbaugh Jr. second. Shane Cottle came from eighth to third and Jerry Coons Jr. was fourth.
Jon Stanbrough also came from sixth to run away with heat four. Brett Burdette was second and Robert Ballou was third. Bobby East would be the last transfer from a heat race.
Tracy Hines won the B from the pole. Bill Rose, Bryan Clauson, Matt Westfall, Justin Grant and Casey Riggs filled up the 22 car feature. Poor Scotty Weir. In his heat and in the semi, he was caught up in others’ deals and had to retire.
By now the Sword Man was already out of gas. Later I’d learn that he had a very long day, so my concerns were unfounded. He missed the B Main, the re-working of the track and the feature. There I sat, a little boy fast asleep as either cars, tractors and a water truck circled the track as the “sounds” of the Village People came from the speakers. (All was forgiven after an old Skynard classic was played later.)
Schuerenberg and Spencer led 20 others to the green and as far as the lead was concerned, that was that. Hunter took the Hank Byrum owned car to the lead and kept it, blissfully unaware of the action behind him. With a several bad boys starting in the back, the most fun would be had by watching their progress through the field.
But just as things were getting good, a very strange thing happened. Jon Stanbrough flipped in turn three on lap six after catching a rut. Like all others, Jon would be okay. On the re-start Schuerenberg led Windom, Spencer, Darland and Clauson. Not much changed up front except Clauson was on the move, from fifth to third. Jones was also charging from his 18th starting spot. By the time Kyle Larson brought out a red for a tumble in turn three on lap 19, Levi was eighth.
After this final re-start Schuerenberg once again took off with Windom unable to keep up. That’s how they finished with Clauson a strong third from 11th. Spencer hung on for fourth with Rose fifth. Jones was sixth with Ballou coming on at the end to take seventh from 14th. Darland, Coons and Tracy Hines made up the rest of the top 10.
The slumbering Sword Man was awake and with help stayed awake long enough to get into the truck. He now had some autographs to show his parents. Hopefully, we’ll get to do it again soon.
Second Generation
Casey Shuman is a somewhat hyperactive, funny, good natured young man. It doesn’t hurt that he can drive a sprint car very well on Hoosier bullrings. He surely seems to have the oval in downtown Putnamville figured out pretty good. For on a surprisingly mild Saturday night he held off a charging Dave Darland to take some of promoter Joe Spiker’s cash.
It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon as the Prairie Home Companion gang and I headed northwest, a good Plan B as Lawrenceburg was flooded from our recent rain. 30 sprinters, including a few USAC regulars, had landed. With USAC invading Lincoln Park next week, it was a chance to check out the track and maybe grab some dough too.
Rain has played hell with the surface here. Getting the ruts out has been a chore. People, including racers, have complained, which is their right seeing that they have to replace parts falling off, etc. But at least most in the know realize that the Spiker clan has been working like mules in a hot sun to get this right---and I think they will. Hey, the dust from the hot laps did go away after the malfunction and the added water.
Dave Darland came from the third row to take the first heat, edging Kent Christian. Seth Parker, Mike Spencer and Joe Ligouri trailed. The all-green second heat was taken by Casey Shuman from the pole. Bryan Clauson came from last to take second with Brett Burdette third in a rare LPS visit. Tim Creech and Brian Olson also transferred. More all-green flag racing in the third heat as Braydon Fitzpatrick won from sixth. Ethan Barrow was second, leading Wes McIntyre, Max McGhee and Ray Humphrey to the line.
Home boy Dakota Jackson won the B, with Andrew Prather, J.R. Douglas, another home boy Logan Hupp and Logan Jarrett waltzing into the feature.
The draw for the feature had Darland and Shuman in the front row with Fitzpatrick and Christian behind them. Darland took the early lead over Shuman as Burdette was making a huge charge to the front, third by lap five. But the young man from Sunman collided with Fitzpatrick in turn two, bringing out a yellow and putting both out. The re-start turned out to be the turning point as Shuman got around Darland to take a lead that he’d not give up. Little Shu seems to own the bottom at LPS; he kept it, offering Dave all of the rest of the track to pass. But it wasn’t happening.
The dynamic duo was followed by Clauson in third. Ethan Barrow was an impressive fourth. The ageless Kent Christian was fifth. Mike Spencer was sixth with Andrew Prather coming from B Mainland (17th) to take seventh. Ray Humphreys came from 14th to take eighth. Dakota Jackson moved from 16th to finish ninth. Joltin’ Joe Ligouri came home tenth. People can—and do—pass on this track.
Brian Hayden is two for two at LPS as he won the modified feature.
Tipping the cap to our boys and girls who brought down the very incarnation of evil in a mansion near Islamabad, I’m…..
Danny Burton
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