Hoseheads Sprint Car Photos & News

Check Out These Other Pages At Hoseheads

Wagsworld Ken Wagner

Sooner Circles Don Hubbard

View From the Pressbox Stacy Ervin

Keeping Track Dino Oberto

Tri-State Outlook Duane Hancock

Western PA News Rick Rarer

Interrogation Gary Costa

Hawkeye Ovals Eric Arnold

Runnin The High Groove Paul Kuyawa

Hoosier Race Report Danny Burton

I Just Wanna Race Brad Vores

Butts In The Bleachers Rusty Rogerson

Broadsliding The Ovals Bob Altman

Not Just Another Racing Column Pastor Dudley Balmer

Dirt Divas Camisha Miller

Hoseheads Forum

the PITS 2010

2010 Schedules

Links

Hoseheads Classifieds

The Hoosier Race Report

by Danny Burton

My Grandson, Landon (a/k/a "The Sword Man"), and me at Gas City. by Jim Morrison

Me and that old guy is none other than Butch Wilkerson. We were at Winchester, jawing as usual. by Jim Morrison

My wife Anita and I taken at a HARF party. by Dave Foist

D’s Dominate

Sometimes names or numbers play tricks. I’m not one to believe in coincidences, but how else can you explain three rows in Saturday’s feature lineup at Lincoln Park having cars with the same number? And how can you explain that Danny Holtsclaw won at the Bloomington Speedway on Friday while Dickie Gaines outran the best of USAC on Saturday night at LPS, including second place Dave Darland?

Damned Hot It Was

Both nights had plenty of heat and humidity, Indiana style. Throw in the usual post-Sprint Week blues and the NASCAR invasion and Friday’s crowd wasn’t as large as normal at Bloomington. But those assembled saw 24 sprinters do their best to race under tough conditions and they by golly did it.

Kent Christian passed Dakota Jackson midway through the first heat to win. Bobby Stines was third, closely followed by Dickie Gaines and Jesse Cramer. Brady Short led a high speed train to win the second heat. Illinois’ Nick Bilbee, Jon Sciscoe, Coleman Gullick and Jerry Coons Jr. were close behind with Coons trying out the Phillips71p tonight.

The third heat had another one of those deals you hate to see, but they happen. It could have been much worse. A yellow flew when Josh Cunningham stopped. After the flag waved and the lights came on, Jared Harris ran over New Yorker Robbie Shuttlesworth’s right rear. Harris’ left front was damaged and he was done. Shuttlesworth would return later. Only five cars were left with Jordan Kinser winning over Chris Babcock, Danny Holtsclaw, Arin McIntosh and Jordan Blanton.

The sun began to hide behind the tree and slightly cooler temperatures gently invaded our space. The B Main was fairly tame with veteran Kevin Chambers holding off Arizona’s Mike Martin for the win. Third generation racer Chase Briscoe was third, trailed by Bub Cummings and the traveling Mr. Shuttlesworth.

Tonight’s track held up better than last week’s Sprint Week dry/slickie (which wasn’t as bad as many made it out to be, seeing that people could still pass). Bilbee and Christian led 18 others to the green with Christian leading early. Dickie Gaines stopped to bring out the first yellow on lap four. Two laps later the red flag stopped all when Bobby Stines got sideways on the backstretch, collecting Dakota Jackson, who lives not too far from this computer. Jackson took a tumble after the contact, uninjured but done. The red was extended for a pit mishap, so the competitors were allowed to get a drink, take the helmet off, and take it easy.

The re-start had Christian leading Kinser, Bilbee, Short and Holtsclaw, who had already moved up from his ninth starting spot. Cramer was sixth, leading Sciscoe, Gulick, Babcock and Coons. Nick Bilbee had it hooked up pretty good and dispatched of both Kinser and Christian, taking the lead on lap nine. But Holtsclaw was on the move, too. A lap or so after Bilbee made his move, Holtsclaw had passed Christian and Kinser to take second, then just before the halfway mark, Bilbee. Then came Brady Short, who got after it when passed by Holtsclaw.

Here commenced a three way battle for the lead as Holtsclaw simply could not shake Bilbee and Short. At the crossed flags it was Holtsclaw, Bilbee, Short, Christian, Gulick, and Sciscoe, with Coons entering the fray. Short actually passed Holtsclaw but had to give it back when a yellow waved on lap 23. By now Gulick had taken third with Sciscoe fourth and Bilbee fifth. The re-start saw a lapped car being bounced around like a ping pong ball, but the race stayed green to the end, with Holtsclaw holding off Short. Gulick was a strong third after starting 11th. Sciscoe was fourth and Coons came from 14th to fifth. Bilbee was sixth, disappointing after a good start. Bub Cummings, as he often does, came from deep in the pack (19th) to finish seventh. Jesse Cramer was eighth, followed by Kinser and Christian.

Bloomington takes this week off for the Monroe County Fair. Not to worry, the venerable red clay oval will have its regular show back on August 6.

Dickie and Dave Show Them How

Another hot and humid Hoosier day greeted fans and teams gathering at the Lincoln Park Speedway on Saturday night. Only 26 sprinters were on hand, a bit of a surprise. With four other classes running and possible rain on the way, folks were nervous. Their anxiety was wasted as the track moved things along with the sprint feature over by 9:30—with no rain.

Damion Gardner was the first car to qualify (single car time trials tonight) and he was quickest at 12.497. Everyone timed in less than 14 seconds with Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland and Levi Jones all under 13.

LPS regular Shane Hollingsworth won the first heat over Bobby East. Gardner was third with Jones and Bloomington winner Danny Holtsclaw also moving on to the 30 lap feature.

The second heat had the strongest lineup from top to bottom. Sometimes it works out that way. Hunter Schuerenberg won with Bryan Clauson second. Daron Clayton was third after dropping back to last on the first lap. Tracy Hines was fourth with Dickie Gaines hanging on for fifth.

Kent Christian was leading the third heat when he hit a rut and nearly tipped it over. Dave Darland was there to take over with fellow vet Jon Stanbrough taking second. Shane Hmeil was third with Jeff Bland Jr. fourth. Jesse Cramer made his way to the feature.

Henry Clarke won the B with Jerry Coons Jr. second. Chris Windom, Seth Parker and Brian Olson rounded out the top five. Ricky Williams Jr. made a late charge to take sixth with Jon Sciscoe taking the last spot for the night.

Gaines and Hmeil led 20 of the best to the line as a nice breeze reminded us that rain was in the area (Terre Haute counts). Hmeil gave Dickie a tussle at first, but the second generation racer was having none of it. Darland took second soon after an early re-start and stayed there, pressuring Gaines but never having enough to get around. It was the same for third place Levi Jones, who settled in third, but had to fend off the other star of the show, Shane Hollingsworth, like Gaines a track regular this year. Hollingsworth was one of the few who was able to pass very many people, moving up steadily from 15th to finish fourth. Daron Clayton ran well early until a late bobble dropped him to fifth. Stanbrough, Hmeil, Gardner, East and Parker (started 16th) were the second five.

And for what it’s worth, I heartily recommend the LPS Bar-B-Q sandwich, thanks to Bill Gardner for the heads up. The cheeseburgers aren’t too bad either.

USAC heads to K-C Raceway in Ohio this coming Saturday while Lincoln Park hosts the 23rd Annual Putnamville Clash with $2000 to win.

Elsewhere

Dave Darland won at Gas City; winning was twice the fun (mid-season Doubler). On Saturday Coleman Gulick won a thriller at Lawrenceburg, fending off Robert Ballou, who flipped on the last lap, then beating Brady Short and Brett Burdette to the checkered. At Paragon, both Kevin Chambers and my man Josh Cunningham won features.

Dealing daily with dastardly and demonic doofuses, I’m……

Danny Burton

Hmmmmm….Where to Begin?

The grand finale of Indiana Sprint Week had more plots and subplots than your basic TV soap opera. There was the race within the race with the seven race points championship to be decided. There was the winner of the 30 lap feature, a first time winner, no less. There was the huge crowd at what has come to be known as the Class Track. The B Main saw its share of fireworks, with a controversial maneuver that resulted in wrecked race cars, hurt feelings and a broken bone. And finally, the way in which the ISW 2010 championship was decided made for some true drama, as Levi Jones lost whatever chance he had to keep his slim lead when he was caught up in a tangle and flipped down the front straightaway. This put Jon Stanbrough in the driver’s seat; basically all he had to do was finish. The 2010 Champ did better than that; he nipped Dave Darland for second while young Blake Fitzpatrick scored his first USAC feature win after passing Darland for the lead on lap 27.

Another hot and humid Hoosier day greeted fans and teams gathered at the quick quarter mile oval north of Evansville, IN. For the third time in seven races, Justin Grant was quick timer with a 13.137 lap. 27 of 33 cars had laps less than 14 seconds. Robert Ballou got upside down during qualifications and loaded up soon after. Matt Mitchell did the same but was able to continue. J.J. Hughes parked it after hurting an engine during time trials.

Slide jobs galore were the order of the day as Levi Jones added a bit to his points lead by winning the first heat from his front row start. The good news was that Jones had made the feature. The bad news that Levi was the 17th fastest qualifier, guaranteeing that he’d start in the pack come feature time. That would bite him hard later. Jerry Coons Jr., whose ISW has not been a lot of fun, finished second with Tracy Hines third. Damion Gardner edged Justin Grant for the final transfer.

Hunter Schuerenberg checked out to win the second heat over Bryan Clauson and Daron Clayton. The race for the last spot was VERY close with Jon Stanbrough edging Brady Short. This would bite Short later while benefitting Stanbrough and would show how close competition is during ISW.

While others fought it out behind him, Ricky Williams Jr. ran away with the third heat. Blake Fitzpatrick prevailed for second with Dave Darland third. Casey Riggs hung on for fourth.

Multi-re-starts made the fourth heat a bit tense. One of those found four cars gathering for a meeting in turn one, jumbling the original lineup. Kurt Gross avoided the trouble and won easily over Danny Holtsclaw Jr., Chris Windom and Ted Hines, who barely edged John Memmer.

Brady Short avoided the controversy in winning the B Main. He was followed by Jeff Bland Jr., Justin Grant, Kyle Cummins and Henry Clarke. Kevin Thomas Jr. finished sixth after some wheel banging with Hud Cone. Hud hustled into turn three, appearing to attempt a payback, but it went bad fast. Hud bounced off Kevin Thomas Jr. (I think), and began a vicious series of flips with a tire flying over the fence in turn three. Gary Rooke and Matt Mitchell were innocent victims. Thomas Jr. escaped unscathed and finished sixth. The only injury was a broken collarbone by Cone, according to unofficial reports.

For the feature Stanbrough started on the outside of the front row and needed to finish three spots ahead of Jones to tie for the ISW title. Dave Darland was on the pole and had his own plan to win. Levi was back in row seven, starting 13th. Things began happening right away.

Bryan Clauson spins on his own about as often as I don a red wig and sing “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.” Sure enough, BC spun in turn three on the first lap. The yellow waved and Daron Clayton spun in turn four, collecting Brady Short and, yep, Levi Jones, both of whom flipped. Short returned but Jones’ night and hopes for the championship were over. Levi wasn’t injured and those who cheered when he flipped (how classy is that?) at least cheered some more when he waved at the crowd.

With the mess cleaned up, the re-start saw Stanbrough leading Darland, Gross, Tracy Hines and Blake Fitzpatrick. Right away Fitzpatrick began a slow and steady charge, moving to third. All he had to do now was pass two of the best in the business, of not the two best. Amazingly, he did it. Darland had passed Stanbrough to take the lead on lap two, so Fitzpatrick had to get around the 53 first. He did that right around the halfway point. But Darland was another formidable opponent. It didn’t matter to the kid from West Terre Haute, Indiana. He reeled in Darland and passed him on lap 27. If that wasn’t bad enough for Darland, Stanbrough came back and nipped him at the line for second.

Remember Bryan Clasuon? He had spun early and re-started on the tail spot. All he did after that was make his way back to fourth, the best run that few folks probably saw, overshadowed by all the other fireworks. Damion Gardner passed Tracy Hines late to take fifth. Kurt Gross was seventh with Chris Windom, Hunter Schuerenberg and Danny Holtsclaw rounding out the top ten.

And Jon Stanbrough, the guy who races for wins and doesn’t worry about points, won himself another Sprint Week title, his second. He, along with the rest of the Fox Brothers’ team, can truly claim Frank Sinatra’s song, “My Way” as their own. He had to share the glory with the kid who won the race, not that either minded.

USAC does it again on Saturday, July 24 at the Lincoln Park Speedway. Tri-State hosts the MSCS sprints on July 31. Good racin’ never seems to stop in Indiana.

Trying to convince the Pope that child molesting is a lot worse than women being ordained as priests, I’m…..

Danny Burton

No Frills, Just Thrills (And Trophies)

Jon Stanbrough and the Fox Brothers race team continue to both amaze and run roughshod over everyone else as Indiana Sprint Week nears its conclusion. With their Friday night win at Bloomington, Jon and the guys have now won three of the six features so far. To say that they are on their game is an obvious understatement. And it doesn’t matter what type of dirt track it is; they win on dry slick tracks as well as the lightning fast ovals.

They are to be admired for various reasons. Loud they are not. Spendthrifts they are not. They don’t hustle sponsors; the 53 car has more decals from races won than sponsor logos or decals. They are a friendly group; at least they tolerate my presence. But one will never describe them as flashy. They come to the track not for the prize money—no one racing at this level will get rich. They appreciate the cheers of the fans but one is tempted to think that these guys would race in front of empty bleachers. Simply put, they race to compete and, even more so, to WIN. The trophy collection is a symbol of the results of their labor of love. For me, they are about the best that Indiana can offer the rest of America. They are hard working guys who work smarter as well. They disdain points racing or chasing track championships. They follow the money and the best competition. At the end of the race they don’t prance or preen in front of the crowd. They smile, Jon conducts another interview like a man waiting to see the dentist, and other better funded teams dejectedly load up and head down the road to the next race.

I love each and very one of the tracks that have hosted ISW, but Bloomington is closest to home in more ways than one. I feel at home there is part of it. That cannot be minimized.

Thursday night’s rain didn’t cool things off; it was another hot and humid Hoosier afternoon. I was feeling poorly but somehow felt better after I arrived at the track. Coincidence? I wonder. No matter, 43 sprinters had shown up and they were feeling good too, despite the heat.

Bobby East had not been seen since his Kokomo tumble, so it was good that he was on hand and better (for him) that he set fast time with a groovin’ 11.244. 23 of the 42 that qualified were under 12 seconds.

Chris Babcock, one of several locals on hand to bedevil the USAC boys, flipped during the first heat, ending his night too early. Jerry Coons Jr. left after the re-start with engine woes; he would return for the B. The track changed quickly into a dry/slick oval with a bit of a cushion. Hunter Schuerenberg used that cushion to win the first heat over East, Hud Cone and Chris Windom.

Bryan Clauson was next to suffer from mechanical woes, dropping out of the second heat to get ready for the B. Brady Short, Brownstown winner, came from seventh to win with Blake Fitzpatrick second. Dickie Gaines was third with Tracy Hines getting a break when Mike Spencer’s motor went south, ending his night.

The third heat saw the advantages of throttle control over throttle mashing. Jon Stanbrough came from sixth to win it with Damion Gardner second. Ace points racer Levi Jones was a steady third with Robert Ballou hanging onto fourth.

It was the local boys’ turn to shine in the fourth heat. Danny Holtsclaw held off Dave Darland to win with Darland barely beating Jon Sciscoe to the line for second. J.J. Hughes, improving with every race, was fourth. Bobby Stines, who had a transfer spot locked up, slid over the bank and came back to fall short at fifth.

The stacked B Main was won by Coons after an engine change (and an injury to crew member A.J. Hoffman, who was released from the hospital) with Kyle Robbins second. Daron Clayton, back after a one night absence due to engine woes, was third. Bryan Clauson hustled to finish fourth. Bloomington regulars Jesse Cramer and Jared Harris made it to the big show.

Gardner and Schuerenberg led 23 wild animals to the green with a very slick track to negotiate, but one where passing could and did happen. Hunter took the early lead as Levi Jones jumped to second from his second row starting spot. But many eyes were on Stanbrough. This was his kind of track, where the right foot needed to pretend there was an egg placed between it and the throttle. Fourth at lap three, Stanbrough moved to third on lap nine, getting around Gardner. Three laps later he passed Jones for second and many folks figured it was a matter of time. Schuerenberg was next. And he was dispatched on lap 14, just before the halfway mark. Jones was third with Hughes hanging tough in fourth and Windom fifth. Gardner was still around, holding off Jon Sciscoe for sixth.

Soon after Stanbrough took the lead, I do believe that I saw people leaving. I had to wonder: were they that confident the race was over? Were they pro- or anti-Stanbrough fans? Did they wish to beat the rest of the crowd out of the parking lot?

It didn’t matter as the 53 car stretched his lead to a half straightaway before getting held up a bit from lapped traffic. Schuerenberg closed the gap at the end but had to settle for second. Jones was third while Gardner was fourth. Jon Sciscoe did the local runners proud with a fifth. Bryan Clauson made a late charge from 13th to take sixth. Chris Windom faded a bit at the end and finished seventh. Bobby East was eighth with Hughes doing well against the veterans with a ninth. Dave Darland came from 15th to finish tenth. The road ends up at Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway on Saturday night. Levi Jones leads Jon Stanbrough by seven points. I’m thinking that the Fox Brothers gang will be pleased to win the race and hang the points, but that’s just me.

Trying to sell off my Delta Wing stock, I’m……

Danny Burton

The Road Less Traveled

Sometimes in life we have to go where others aren’t going. Sometimes we have to try something different. Sometimes we have to step out on faith and hope for the best. And sometimes this actually works out pretty good. If you don’t buy that, ask Mr. Brady Short, who drives sprint cars for a living and who decided to take a different groove to win Round Five of Indiana Sprint Week at the Brownstown Speedway on Thursday night. Brady might tell you that it makes some sense. Because he took the high lane on a late race re-start while his competitors pretty much stayed on the bottom. With nothing to lose, his gamble worked and Short became the fourth different winner in five races of the seven race series within a series.

Brownstown and I have a history, a good one. This is a special Hoosier quarter mile bullring that’s part of the Jackson County Fairgrounds. It’s even older than me and my first memories of Brownstown involve the old supermodifieds that eventually morphed into sprint cars. A few years later, true stock cars ruled Brownstown and I recall the hot dogs of the late 60s/early 70s era like Don Hobbs, Gene Petro, Paul Crockett and a young Jim Curry. As I drifted back to open wheel racing my trips to Brownstown were less frequent, though I’ve tried to catch the dirt late models at least once a year. But make no mistake, a goodly part of my heart belongs to this track and I desperately wanted the open wheelers to do the old place well. They did.

Another story for this race would be the heat; I actually like hot weather and 99 degrees (seen on the local bank’s marquee) gave me all I wanted. But sharp eyed weather observers warned of possible thunderstorms on the way. As a result, the program started late but ended early; rain showed up too late to ruin any racing.

Yet another encounter reminded me that folks actually read these words, folks who are friends I’ve yet to meet. One of these was a Southern gentleman, making the journey to Brownstown all the way from stock car country, South Carolina. Here was a super guy who no doubt feels a bit out of place, racing wise, until he crosses that Ohio River. For awhile, at least, like many others, he was a Hoosier like the rest of us.

Group qualifying was back as the order of the day with Justin Grant setting fast time with a 14.305 lap. 29 of the 39 cars had qualifying times under the 15 second mark.

The temperature dropped and the clouds thickened. I thought to myself, “Rain’s a-comin’ boys; let’s hurry.” Hurry they did.

Levi Jones hurried in the first heat. Languishing in fifth place when a mid-race yellow waved, the 2009 USAC Sprint Champ must have heard that car owner Tony Stewart was watching and hustled to the lead and win over Shane Hmeil, Justin Grant and Henry Clarke. Tracy Hines and Mike Spencer would race an extra 12 laps in the B.

The guys in the second heat were determined to use the entire track. Brady Short won with Dickie Gaines second. Bryan Clauson was third, trailed by Jon Stanbrough. Robert Ballou and the second fastest qualifier, Andrew Elson, were off to the B.

The third heat had way too many passes to count. A good sized blanket could have covered seven of the nine cars on-track for half of the race. Jerry Coons Jr. won with Jonathan Hendrick second. Blake Fitzpatrick was third. Hunter Schuerenberg made a late race pass on Damion Gardner to take the final transfer. Dave Darland joined Gardner in preparing for the B.

We had ourselves a classic dry/slickie now and it was for race drivers, not just racers and not just drivers. And Chris Windom came from sixth to win the fourth heat. Casey Riggs was second. Jeff Bland Jr. and Shane Cottle made it to the show. Matt Mitchell didn’t.

Still the clouds were getting darker. All had that sense of urgency. Plans to re-work the track were scrapped because this is Indiana and we never know how soon it will rain—or not. Instead it was the B Main lining up. This was quite a race with lots of yellow flags and one red (for a Josh Cunningham flip, only one of the night). But it had even more passing as several people were able to move forward. To wit, Logan Hupp started 21st and was in the top six to transfer when he was tapped by Dave Darland and spun midway through the 12 lapper. Andrew Elson won with Robert Ballou coming from 12th to finish second. Mark Perry III was third as Hud Cone came from 20th to take fourth. Damion Gardner was fifth with Ethan Barrow (started 15th) edged Lynsey Tilton (started last, 22nd) for the last spot in the feature. Tracy Hines and Greg Bragg took provisionals, Hines for the second night in a row.

Lightning made an appearance off to the northwest. Amateur meteorologists told me that rain was falling in places like Terre Haute, Bedford and Bloomington. I was wondering if I should trade in the wide brimmed cowboy hat for the baseball cap.

Meanwhile, Brady Short and Hunter Schuerenberg led 22 other hungry wolves to the green. Short led the first two laps as he, Schuerenberg and Levi Jones made running three wide routine for the first few laps. Hunter, with his strongest ISW run so far, led laps three through six, with Jones taking over to lead four laps himself. An early caution sent Bryan Clauson to the pits, badly damaging his Sprint Week hopes. This lap four yellow saw Schuerenberg leading Jones, Short, Justin Grant and Chris Windom. Jon Stanbrough had already moved from 11th to sixth.

Schuerenberg re-assumed the lead on lap 11 as Short faded while Windom and Stanbrough moved forward. Brady was the sixth car in a mini-breakaway with the top six opening a bit of a gap. Windom, who had been using the bottom groove like a master, became the race’s fourth different leader on lap 17, holding off Pac-Man, namely Stanbrough, who was knocking on the door, trying for his third ISW win. Then came a yellow flag and what must have been a winning decision by Brady Short, who had almost become an afterthought.

Windom led Stanbrough on the re-start. Schuerenberg was third with Jones still hanging around in fourth. Short was fifth with it looking like at least a good finish if nothing else. The second five was Bland, Riggs, Grant, Cone and Ballou (from 20th). All headed for the bottom with Stanbrough flirting with the middle of the track. Windom’s chances were increasing with every lap. But no one told Brady Short. Two laps after the re-start he was up to third. And lap 27 saw him sweep around both Stanbrough, then Windom, and take the lead. Amazingly he pulled away from both, flirting with that the high line and disaster if he slipped over the edge. But it wasn’t happening as Stanbrough also tried the high line, too little and too late for the future Hall of Famer.

Windom and Stanbrough held onto second and third. Jones was fourth with Schuerenberg a very respectable fifth. Jeff Bland came from 17th to sixth, followed by Ballou. Hud Cone, passing people all night after timing 37th quickest, came from 22nd to finish eighth, an amazing night for the personable veteran. Justin Grant was ninth with Dickie Gaines coming home tenth.

Odds and ends….This race had more leaders and more passing than the previous four. And Brady Short had lost an engine at Twin Cities on Tuesday night. The rain held off until I left town and was on my way to Seymour. Levi Jones, with a black belt in points racing, leads ISW points with Brady Short now 14 points back.

And Friday night we do it again at Bloomington, with yours truly taking a road, Indiana State Road 46, well traveled.

Having milk and cookies with Lindsay Lohan, I’m……

Danny Burton

Atonement

a•tone•ment [uh-tohn-muh nt]–noun 1. satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.

Racers are like fishermen only in that they often lament about the one that got away, this is even after they snag a big fish or race. Last night at the storied Terre Haute Action Track, it might be said that Jon Stanbrough reached a sort of atonement as he led all 30 laps of Round Four of USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week, his second feature win in the last three meetings and three days after his Kokomo meeting with the turn four wall.

An impressive 40 sprinters were signed in on a hot and humid Hoosier afternoon. The transponders were malfunctioning so one car at a time qualified, pleasing many fans of the one car/two lap option of time trials. Daron Clayton, who has run well all week, was quick time, tearing off a 19.773 lap. Adam Nigg flipped over the turn one wall on his second lap and took a precautionary trip to the hospital. The car was trashed with maybe the engine salvageable.

Coleman Gulick won the first heat with Chris Windom second. Shane Hmiel edged Robert Ballou for third. Clayton and Tracy Hines were first in the B Main line. J.J. Hughes was the second youngster to win a heat, taking the second over sixth starting Dave Darland, Kyle Robbins and Bryan Clauson. Matt Mitchell narrowly missed getting by Clauson. Jon Stanbrough had time to ride the Tilt-A-Whirl at the Vigo County Fair, going on during the races, and still take the win. California’s Mike Spencer was second, trailed by Brady Short and Henry Clarke. Damion Gardner and Jeff Bland Jr. were among those getting to race in the 12 lap B. And Jerry Coons Jr. outran Shane Cottle to win the fourth heat. Levi Jones got around Hud Cone to take third. Local boy Blake Fitzpatrick didn’t quite make it.

The B Main had Clayton and Gardner in the front row. Ricky Williams Jr. spun coming out of turn two and was hit by Tracy Hines, who was hit by Aussie Gary Rooke. Williams would come back to take fifth. Gardner led Clayton, Fitzpatrick, Mitchell, Williams and Caleb Armstrong after a late charge, which sent Justin Grant, Greg Bragg and Kurt Gross packing. Hines took a provisional.

During my meandering around the pits before the 30 lap A Main, I happened upon some thrashing on Clayton’s 92, with the driver himself in the middle. Others drivers were standing, talking, getting their pictures taken, or easing into the cockpit. Another reason that race fans should like Mr. Clayton is that he’s very old school and hands on, a throwback to racers long gone except in memory.

Clayton finally joined the crowd with Clarke and Stanbrough in the front row. Stanbrough took the lead with fifth starting Levi Jones quickly moving from fifth to second. Sixth starting Dave Darland settled into third with Clarke steadily falling back. Clauson, Gardner and Windom all got around Clarke in the early laps.

Jones was inching up on Stanbrough when disaster struck on lap 14. Levi appeared to get into turn one too hot and hit the wall, flipping. Amazingly, the car kept going, albeit at a much slower rate when Jones was hit by Damion Gardner, who also got upside down. Speculation was that perhaps the Tony Stewart Racing machine of Jones had a stuck throttle after his first flip, with the 20 car going over again after contact from the Demon. All were okay.

On the re-start Robert Ballou slowed and was hit by Ricky Williams Jr., who flipped and landed on all fours. For the next re-start, it was now Stanbrough, Darland, Clauson, Windom and Clayton in the top five. Next were Coons, Mitchell, Clarke, Fitzpatrick and Cottle.

Four laps later Windom slowed, bringing out a yellow. Cottle also left the track and was out of the race; two more top ten runners were done. Clean and green was the rest of the race with Stanbrough winning by a comfortable margin over Darland, Clauson, Coons and a very steady Daron Clayton. For the Fox Brothers #53 team, atonement had been achieved.

The best run that few saw was by Tracy Hines, who came from provisional land to finish sixth. Another good race was by Coleman Gulick, who came from 17th to seventh. Fitzpatrick, Spencer and Mitchell rounded out the top ten.

The ISW points were jumbled up a bit with Darland now leading Jones by 11.

The new team in charge of the Action Track was hitting on all cylinders, from track prep to a well run program to the hamburgers to the very decent hour when the checkered waved. This is only good news for THAT fans. The good sized crowd left pleased with what they found.

Thursday night will find the band of gypsies invading the Brownstown Speedway for its first ISW race.

Riding the Ferris wheel backwards at the Vigo County Fair, I’m……

Danny Burton

Brady Stops While Dickie Tops

As Chuck Berry sang a half century ago, “It goes to show/you never can tell.” So it went on Tuesday night at the Twin Cities Raceway Park version of Indiana Sprint Week, a non-USAC show designed to give the regional guys a shot at some bucks. With Brady Short and company on the wet grounds, it was tempting perhaps to just give those guys the money. But it doesn’t work that way as Brady’s engine went ka-boom, billowing smoke that looked like dollar signs to Dickie Gaines, who inherited the lead and the $3000 that promoter Mason Fleetwood forked over.

I was one of those stuck in slow traffic crawling down Indiana State Road Seven to the track. But there was no need to hurry; rain had hit the area and the track wasn’t ready by the time I arrived. But the sun did make a strong comeback, along with some vintage Indiana humidity. The night wouldn’t be that warm, but the humidity could have been cut with a sharp enough night. Despite the weather and the fact that it was a work night for many, it was a very decent crowd with the parking lot more than half full from my view.

Two dozen sprinters decided to stop by the lightning fast 3/8 mile, high banked oval. The “other” version of group qualifying ruled tonight with competitors qualifying alone and getting one lap. Each of the three groups would then race each other in their respective heats. Trust me, it worked.

At some point during qualifications it was announced that the 2011 version of the No Way Out 40 would be honoring the memory of the 2010 winner, the late Jesse Hockett. And it will pay $6000 to win.

The first of the three heats had two different two car battles with winner Casey Shuman holding off Curt Gross. Mark Perry III did the same to Hunter Schuerenberg to take third. J.T. Stapp was a lonely fifth but would move on to the 30 lap feature.

West Coast visitor Greg Bragg, the walnut man, held off a smoking Brady Short to win the second heat. Short’s smoking car should have been an omen right then and there. Casey Riggs was third, followed by Brett Burdette and Shawn Westerfeld.

Perhaps the third heat was the most competitive as Dickie Gaines got around Keith Bloom midway through and sped to the win. Behind Bloom were Brent Turner, Dakota Jackson and Aussie Gary Rooke.

The B Main had a different start as Seth Motsinger spun twice. The first time saw him do a wheel stand, then a 360 degree spin and keep going. The second time he collected Brian Karraker and Brad Stevens, in Dwayne Spille’s 71 tonight. Again, Motsinger stayed in the race. Kent Christian won, leading local boy J.R. Douglas, Jared Harris, Ethan Barrow (in the former ride of new bridegroom Eric Smith) and Cincy lawyer Mike Weber, all of whom went to the A.

The feature had a butt ugly start as someone (I couldn’t tell who) running mid-pack spun, which caused a mess. Barrow ended up doing a bounce/flip; he was okay. Others involved included Stapp, Burdette, Douglas, Turner and Harris, who returned after having a flat tire changed.

Shuman and Bragg led 20 to the green with Ronnie’s kid taking the early lead. Short moved from his fifth starting spot to take second on the second lap from Bragg. Patiently Brady worked the bottom, trying to get around Little Shu. Finally, on the 12th lap, he took the lead for good and it was again tempting to think that was the race. Indeed, Short did lengthen his lead over Shuman, who was passed by Gaines a couple of laps later. Schuerenberg and Bloom weren’t that far off with Bloom beginning to make noises about moving up.

Just past halfway, around lap 18, Short’s engine began smoking some, again from the left side. He didn’t slow and it seemed that maybe he could hang on but three laps later the smoke billowed with mosquitoes in full retreat. Short was done and the yellow flag waved. Gaines now led on the re-start with Shuman, Bloom, Schuerenberg, and Riggs in the top five. Bragg had faded to sixth. Dickie was never pressured again, but Shuman was briefly passed by Bloom, who had dispatched Hunter to fourth—for awhile.

One last caution, which flew when Brett Burdette slowed, then tried to exit to the infield and was hit by J.R. Douglas, re-stacked the deck. Schuerenberg had passed Bloom for third and Bragg had passed Riggs for fifth. The last re-start changed little as Gaines romped over Shuman, who outdistanced Schuerenberg. Bloom was an impressive fourth over Riggs, who garnered his second straight Twin Cities top five.

Indiana Sprint Week officially resumes on Wednesday night at the Terre Haute Action Track. Far be it from me to assume who will win.

Wondering which TV reality show would have me, I’m……

Danny Burton

In Your Face

Sometimes it’s necessary in our lives to get into someone’s face. When your real mail is continually misdelivered, or when the pharmacy gets your drugs mixed up over and over, or when multi-national companies fudge on safety standards, sometimes it’s appropriate for folks’ feet to be put to the fire. And that is the type of sprint car racing you’ll usually find at Kokomo, in your face racing. It lends itself to slide jobs, giving one the right rear wheel, chopping, blocking, you name it. Emotions according run high. Feelings may be hurt—or not. And that’s just in the bleachers at Kokomo, never mind the race track. Levi Jones’ victory on Sunday night’s edition of Indiana Sprint Week overjoyed some and frustrated others. Objective observers seemed to be few and far between. Levi didn’t care.

41 sprinters were in the pits with the usual additions and subtractions. Personally, the only thing more impressive than the crowds for ISW so far has been the car counts. Granted they are down from past years, but considering the economy, there are plenty of cars and a higher percentage of quality equipment.

Group qualifying yielded a quick time of 12.620 by Daron Clayton, and I do believe that was a new track record. There were no incidents but my idea to improve this method of time trials would be to make the groups more evenly matched so people won’t be balked by a slower car. How to do that? However you wish, as long as the result is five or six cars evenly spaced.

Brady Short edged Bobby East, the guy who’s been running good under the radar so far, to win the first heat. Chase Stockon was third with Clayton fourth. Jon Stanbrough’s mid-pack qualifying effort wasn’t what he wanted but it did get him a front row spot in his heat, which he won. Jeff Bland Jr. was second with the proverbial blanket covering third place Tracy Hines, fourth place Robert Ballou, along with Blake Fitzpatrick and Andrew Elson. Both teenagers went straight to the B.

Slide jobs galore caused blood pressure to spike in what was maybe the best of four good heats. Damion Gardner came out on top from his sixth starting position. Bryan Clauson was second with Bud Kaeding third. Darren Hagen sewed up his first A Main appearance this week with a fourth over Levi Jones and Coleman Gulick. Dave the Rave Darland won the fourth heat, leading Chris Windom, Justin Grant and Kurt Gross to the line with Jerry Coons Jr. getting an extra test session.

Jones and Coons ran one/two in the B, with a stoppage when Hunter Schuerenberg flipped in turn two and landed on Coleman Gulick’s car. Coleman was shaken a bit but was okay. Shane Cottle came alive after the red flag and moved up from tenth to finish third. Blake Fitzpatrick, Matt Mitchell and Jonathan Hendrick all moseyed on to the 30 lap feature. It may have been during this race that I heard my grandson counting down on a re-start, “Five, four, three, etc.” I think the young man may be onto something.

Once again, heavy hitters were spread throughout the feature lineup with Jones 10th, Clauson 17th, Darland 18th, Stanbrough 19th and Shane Cottle 21st. Windom and Hines led the snarling pack of maniacs to the green.

Windom led the first 11 laps with Coons moving forward from eighth at the start to first challenge and then taking the lead on lap 11. Robert Ballou, from 16th, and Stanbrough were moving up through all the cutting and slashing. Halfway through and Coons led Windom, Jones, Hines and East. Fitzpatrick was sixth and Short (from 15th), Gardner, Stanbrough and Cottle all in the top ten. Short, Stanbrough and Cottle all needed to be watched. They were on the move.

The second half of the race was one of those full moon-type deals. But a lot of that had to do with the top groove disappearing. Lap 18 saw Bobby East flip in turn four (after running that top line), then get clobbered by Damion Gardner. Damion was quite possibly knocked out for a few seconds as his foot was stuck to the accelerator. He waved to the crowd as he stayed in the cockpit while his car was towed pitside. On this re-start, Jones got around Coons for the lead as it was noticed that Stanbrough had moved to fourth and appeared to be knocking on the door. But then came another red flag—from an unexpected source on lap 23.

When Stanbrough flipped in turn four, an astute observer sitting near me, said, “it’s official. The top is gone.” She was right. Jon, among others, had used up that flying groove and a very good run was done. During the green flag period before the Stanbrough red, Short had been the man on the move, now holding onto third behind Jones and Windom and ahead of a slowly fading Coons. Cottle was up to fifth, ahead of Fitzpatrick, Bland, Ballou, Darland and Hines.

Sure enough it was huggy pole time, with most opting for the bottom. But the carnage wasn’t over as Darland and Ballou banged wheels. Ballou spun on the backstretch and was slightly clipped by Bland, who continued on to turn four, where he flipped and smacked the wall, turning the yellow into a red, lap 27. Under the red, Ballou went to visit with Darland, informing him of a new restaurant that had just opened in Kokomo. Ballou resumed his stroll to the pits, exchanging greetings with the booing fans. Like him or not, at least you know where Robert stands.

For this re-start, Cottle was fourth behind Jones, Windom and Short (Great name for a law firm, eh?). But there was yet another red after a lap of green with Hagen finding the turn two wall and flipping, another victim of the non-existent top groove.

And now it would be a green-white-checkered, but not a contrived one like certain TV/racing sanctioning bodies. Windom gave it quite a try at getting under Jones, but to no avail. And on the last lap, Short, got around Windom to steal second as Jones was relatively unchallenged at the end. Cottle finished fourth, a great run from the back. Coons held on for fifth. Darland also came from way back there to take sixth. Clauson passed quite a few cars late to take seventh while Fitzpatrick was eighth. Hines was ninth while Henry Clarke used his provisional to motor home tenth. In your face, indeed. It was that kind of night with the usual Kokomo slide jobs, wall smacking, tough talking, torn up equipment and great racing.

No doubt all involved with Sprint Week needed a break. And today (Monday) would be as close to a break they would get. A few are expected to head to Twin Cities on Tuesday night for a sprint week race that isn’t a part of Sprint Week. I’m planning on being there just to hang around and see what I can see. USAC’s band of gypsies heads for Terre Haute on Wednesday, followed by Brownstown on Thursday, Bloomington on Friday, with Haubstadt winding things up on Saturday.

Refusing phone calls from my ex-buddy Mel Gibson, I’m…..

Danny Burton

What A Difference A Night Makes

When last seen on Friday night at Lawrenceburg, Jon Stanbrough and the Fox Brothers’ team were probably shaking their heads after a rather ordinary run at Lawrenceburg. All the gang could do would be to regroup and head north to Gas City and hope that Round Two of Indiana Sprint Week went better up at the Gas City/I-69 Speedway. And also to hope that the 53 car qualified nearer the front. Sure enough it worked out as Stanbrough and Company showed the best of USAC the quick way around the quarter mile oval.

44 sprint cars filled the pits at Jiggs Thomasson’s speed palace on a beautiful Indiana summer night. My grandson, his dad and I all enjoyed our usual Gas City ritual. Grandpa signs in, cruises the pits and then all head for the playground—after eating. Maybe best of all, we then watched the sprinters idling around the track, wheel packing, then came the fun of dodging the tiny mud clods that always smack us, giggling and laughing at each other as we get hit continually despite sitting near the top row in the Monica Clauson section of the bleachers.

Bryan Clauson set fast time with a 12.034 lap, not far from the track record.

The fun began immediately as Stanbrough,Clauson and Dave Darland started near the front of the first heat, which meant that the first three of four transfer spots were locked up right away. The battle for fourth was fierce with West Coaster Mike Spencer, in a Scooter Ellis car, holding off Casey Shuman and Josh Spencer.

Heat race two turned into huggy pole heaven with most all aiming for greener pastures on the bottom. Chris Windom won, leading Damion Gardner, Brady Short and Jeff Bland Jr. home.

The third heat featured a perfect four car spin in turn two. Judges gave the guys a collective 9.7 score. Two lead changes occurred before Justin Grant won.Hunter Schuerenberg was second. Scotty Weir led Levi Jones to move on to the 30 lapper.

Jerry Coons Jr., with another subpar qualifying effort, started from the front row of the fourth heat and won. Bud Kaeding was second and Brett Burdette was third. Tracy Hines was a rare bird as he used the high line to nip Kyle Robbins for fourth.

By now the track was like an ice rink and I was half expecting to see my long ago heartthrob Peggy Fleming make an appearance. Instead we got the B Main from Hell. Hey, it happens sometimes. Seven caution flags and a red for Ricky Williams Jr. (who would later take a provisional to make the feature) caused this one to last about a half an hour before Jonathan Hendrick scooted to the win over Daron Clayton, Ted Hines, Andrew Elson, Blake Fitzpatrick and Californian Greg Bragg.

Nostrodamas (spelling?) wasn’t needed to see that the track would be reworked. With that done, the guys took to a completely different racing surface. The old seer of long ago didn’t have to tell us that with Mr. Stanbrough in the front row (with Brett Burdette), the 53 car would be hard to beat.

Sure enough, that was what happened. But never mind that. While Jon was stinking up the show for the lead, a major race long dogfight took place for second on back. For much of the race, Burdette was the man for second. But soon after a pair of lap 20 yellows, the kid from down Sunman, Indiana way was inhaled, first by Mike Spencer, then by Tracy Hines.

At the end, Stanbrough had a healthy lead over Spencer with Jones nipping Hines for third. Scotty Weir came from tenth to take fifth. Daron Clayton may be the snake in the grass for ISW so far, grabbing another fine finish, this time sixth. Bryan Clauson, Jerry Coons Jr. (from 15^th) and Brett Burdette rounded out the top ten.

Jones, Mr. Consistency himself, took over the point lead from Dave Darland, who could not overcome a poor qualifying effort and finished 15^th in the feature. Dave, too, could tell anyone that one night can make a big difference.

The caravan lands in Kokomo for Round Three in not that many hours from when this is written (2:00 A.M.).

Wishing my law enforcing son-in-law had known about the drunken NASCAR fan who was blocking my friends’ view, I’m…..

Danny Burton

Family Reunion

If USAC was to formally conduct a Most Popular Driver contest, most all would say that Dave Darland would be a mortal lock to win such an honor. For at least the past decade this has been so. And now the personable veteran, who should be in the twilight of his racing years, keeps winning. To the delight of a huge and impressive crown, Darland won the opening round of the 2010 version of Indiana Sprint Week at the scary fast Lawrenceburg Speedway. The reaction of the crowd as Dave worked his way to the lead produced even more noise than the 20 odd sprinters on the track.

So it was off to the races with long time friend/race fan Dave Foist, who took the reins for this trip. At my suggestion he was happy to show me on the many routes to the ‘burg. I found myself getting lost trying to remember all the turns that Dave made in Decatur County alone. But soon enough we found ourselves in familiar territory for me, the big town of Napoleon. All this was done while Dave and I swapped stories, both racing and non-racing. The 80 minute drive went much quicker that way.

Later on it was a slice of sprint car heaven on my pit walk with the good dentist, Dr. Tom Lucas. The smell of methanol, the rumbling of the idling engines and the various familiar and friendly faces that quickly gave a smile and a “How are ya, Danny?” Between the pit area and the Clauson RV/castle there was plenty of visiting to do as it was not unlike a huge family reunion, or a church on holy days, with most everyone who was able congregating at the track.

Group qualifying went well—until Keith Bloom flipped his #27 (taped on the tail tank hurriedly in the pits before hot laps) in turn one after seeming to try and flip the lap before. Not much later Andrew Elson flipped his #27, trashing a good car. Mr. Bloom had some reported pain around the eyes and took a trip to the local crash house. Justin Grant was the quickest of the 42 cars that gave it a shot with a 13.367 lap.

Hunter Schuerenberg won the first of four heats, leading Grant, Bryan Clauson and Levi Jones to the line. The second heat turned out to be the best of the night with Chris Windom passing Shane Cottle on the last lap to win. Prodigal son Daron Clayton was a close third with Brady Short fourth. Tracy Hines won the third heat that had a wild first lap with lots of cutting and slashing—some of it done by feature winner Darland, who drove more like a young man in a hurry than a grandfather. “Old” Dave was a strong second with John Memmer and Jeff Bland Jr. both a ways back from the veteran leaders. After having a “fun” moment early in the heat (left rear tire about a foot off the ground going into turn one), Jon Stanbrough became the fourth of four heat winners from the front row, showing that passing was at a premium, at least for the time being and ensuring that 1. Tonight’s B Main would be a good one and 2. Some bad boys who qualified bad but ran well in their heats would be starting back in the pack for the feature. Had he wished, Stanbrough had time to throw a few of his t-shirts to the crowd as he led Caleb Armstrong, who held off three California transplants, Robert Ballou, Damion Gardner and Darren Hagen, who headed for the B.

Second quick qualifier Bobby East won the B over Kurt Gross, California visitor Matt Mitchell, Blake Fitzpatrick, Ricky Williams Jr. and Henry Clarke. Jerry Coons Jr. and Casey Riggs took provisionals while heavy hitters such as Darren Hagen and Bud Kaeding took a hike, heading north to Gas City.

Memmer and Short led 24 of the best to the green when things got ugly right away. Levi Jones got sideways coming our of turn four coming to the flag. The old accordion effect immediately went into gear with guys stacking up like my favorite restaurant’s pancakes. Chris Windom was a victim, scraping his way along the wall while Matt Mitchell made it to turn one. Poor Casey Riggs had nowhere to go and ended up flipping down the front stretch. Mitchell sauntered over to Levi Jones’ car and exchanged opinions about who should have won the recent World Cup (probably not really, race fans). They may have butted heads over that, but order was quickly restored.

There was a complete re-start and John Memmer tried to steal himself a USAC feature as he outgunned Brady Short to take the lead. The youngster from Evansville led the first 24 laps and seemingly had this one in the bag. But we’ll never know as his engine went Ka-Boom! and coasted to a stop, bringing out a yellow. Dave Darland, who had steadily made his way forward, was in the catbird seat. Just before halfway through the 30 lap event, Darland passed Jones for third with the crowd’s roar of approval even louder than the collection of V-8’s on the track. Just a few laps later it was Brady Short being inhaled by the Goodnight family 39 for second. Darland seemed to be gaining on Memmer when the engine expired on the bright yellow 4m. And that was that.

Short held onto second with Bobby East finishing third in what was a little noticed, impressive race from his sixth starting spot. Levi Jones was fourth and Damion Gardner fifth. The second five was Schuerenberg, Clayton, Grant, Fitzpatrick and Clauson. The bad boys who started at the back pretty much stayed there and it was strange to see people such as Stanbrough, Clauson, Coons and Hines running as backmarkers.

Double D

If I had the inclination to do so and asked each racer there tonight who would they wish to see win if they couldn’t, I’d guess that most would say Dave Darland. It isn’t just that he is liked; he, in his own quiet way, commands respect without any theatrics, etc. He shows that the respect of your peers is much more valuable than multi-million dollar deals made so a guy can ride around mid-pack on TV each weekend. He reminded me (unnecessarily) that I’d rather see one Indiana Sprint Week program than a season of any so-called big time racing series, anywhere, anytime.

And now it’s on to Gas City for Round Two.

Tearing the tape off my mouth, put there by Mr. Foist, who was disgusted with my navigating “skills”, I’m……

Danny Burton

Boys’ Night Out

Not too often do all the “boys” get to go with me to a race, all at the same time. So those few times are special when it happens. And in my role as patriarch, enjoying every minute, the boys and I saw Robert Ballou enjoy his tuneup for Indiana Sprint Week by running off with the feature win at the Gas City/I-69 Speedway on Friday night.

There was one member of the clan missing, but his absence was excused due to age—or lack of it. But the four of us were primed and ready for sprinters on a beautiful night for racing. 30 of the beasts were on hand with Shane Cottle, Thmoas Meseraull, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., among others, all determined to grab the prize instead of Ballou.

Shane Cottle had his hands full in holding off Justin Grant to win the first heat as Shane Hollingsworth had similar issues with Ted Hines. The second heat was probably the most competitive as Chris Gurley edged Jonathan Hendrick and Tmez. Kyle Robbins was fourth. Andrew Elson ran off with the third heat win with Brian Olson edging Matt Goodnight for second. Travis Welpott took the last transfer spot. And R. Ballou had time to stop and wave at my grandson as he romped in the fourth heat. Billy P. narrowly beat pole sitter Anthony Pederman for second. Matt Westfall recovered from a near spin early on to take fourth. It was playground time for the infamous Sword Man.

The start of the B Main turned ugly fast. Starter Brian Hoddy didn’t like the lineup and merely held the green flag out, which I always take to mean a yellow will follow to give the guys a chance to try again. The field slowed going down the backstretch as the yellow light flashed—all except Ohio visitor Jim Dues, who apparently didn’t see the light and barreled through the field from the fourth row to crash into pole sitter Mike Miller and flip. Even worse was Miller’s fate. Mike had a flat left rear and maybe more damage as he didn’t return. (If I ever come into an oil tanker full of money I hereby promise to roam the pits, handing out hundred dollar bills to people who suffer from such bad breaks as Miller and team did on this occasion.)

Racing resumed with Jason Holt taking the lead—until his engine went kaplooey, giving Brandon Petty the lead and the win. Josh Spencer, the birthday boy, was second with Michigan’s Steve Irwin third and Ohio’s Landon Simon also going to the main. Steve Ott gave it all, rim riding from 10th to third before sliding over the bank and giving it all away.

The track was re-worked just before the sprint feature and that turned out to be a recipe for a Ballou runaway. The California native simply spanked the field on a lightning fast track with Ballou’s fellow front row starter Jonathan Hendrick hanging onto second throughout the race. Passing was at a premium as Puterbaugh tried to move up, only to be thwarted when he slipped from fourth to sixth. Part of the reason that Ballou had it “easy” was perhaps due to the race’s lone yellow coming on lap one when Shane Hollingsworth spun. Andrew Elson trailed Ballou and Hendrick at the end with Chris Gurley and Shane Cottle running fourth and fifth.

As P.A. man Danny Williams reminded us, there will be NO racing at Gas City this coming Friday, but Round Two of Indiana Sprint Week will be at Jiggs’ speed palace on Saturday night, July 10, after the Lawrenceburg opener.

Home Boys Rule

With Lawrenceburg having the night off, Twin Cities promoters Mason and Tawnya Fleetwood thought it might be a good idea to include sprinters for their July 3 program. That didn’t bother me a bit as this track never fails to showcase speed and lots of it. Joss Moffatt did nothing to dispel that opinion as he hustled to the feature win.

What with four Hoosier tracks (and Waynesfield in Ohio) hosting sprint cars, along with the economy these days, a huge car count shouldn’t be expected, be it for sprinters or our fendered brethren. So 16 sprint cars was about what I expected, with what looked like an evenly matched group.

Moffatt and Jamie Williams, both of whom are from the same town as me, were the heat winners, earning the privilege of making up the front row of the feature. Moffatt tapped J.T. Stapp on lap one of the first heat. J.T. wasn’t overjoyed and seemed to be signaling a touchdown with his arms as Joss motored by under the yellow.

As cars were lining up for the feature Mitch Wissmiller hit a bump in turn two just right and broke something in the left rear, ending his race before it started.

Williams took the early lead and immediately began stretching his lead over Moffatt, Casey Riggs and Shawn Westefeld. The infrequent campaigner then began to be reeled in by Moffatt, who took the lead right around the halfway mark. Two laps after that, the race’s first yellow waved for a Pat Giddings spin, even though he was able to keep going. Three laps later the red flew as Giddings and Broc Burton got together with Giddings getting upside down.

The re-start had Moffatt leading Williams, Riggs, Westerfeld and local boy J.R. Douglas. Two laps later Riggs executed a perfect slide job on Williams to take second.

On a typical Twin Cities track, with the exception that few were inclined to try the bottom, guys must have been humming the old Molly Hatchett song, “Flirtin’ With Disaster” as they ran it up against the wall at some point on every lap. But the rest of the race was clean and green with Moffat and Riggs trailed by Williams, Westerfeld, Douglas, Matt Goodnight (in the family car meticulously prepared with the assistance of the loquacious and talented Rodney Reynolds), Mike Weber and Mike Fischesser.

Twin Cities will offer ISW racers and fans another opportunity to obtain a sprinters’ racing fix with a July 13 race date, an off night on the USAC schedule with 3K going to the winner. If I’m in town, I’m so planning to be there.

Only doing this to impress the ladies, I’m………..

Danny Burton

The Essence of Competition

Friday night, June 25, 2010 was, in many ways, just another night at the Bloomington Speedway. The car count for the support classes was down a bit (too often sprint car fans cheer this occurrence, not realizing that for many, including them, it isn’t good news), but 26 sprinters were on hand, with several quality cars among that number. The feature was what we’ve come to expect at Bloomington, a margin of victory about as wide as your computer screen. And the winner was a familiar face, that being Jon Stanbrough, who edged a fast closing Brady Short for the Fox Brothers’ team’s 100th win. But, for me, this was more than one great racer edging another.

As I’d watched the 53 car hang on to beat the 36, it made me think about the whole concept of competition. I’d not go so far to say that competition is always the best way of doing everything (or…cheapest is not always best) but at least in racing terms, competition is healthy. Jon Stanbrough right now is making Brady Short a better racer. Brady Short is making Jon Stanbrough a better racer. That is what competition is about, or should be. It isn’t merely, “I’m faster,” but it’s also “we make each other better.” We fans are also beneficiaries, no matter whom, if anyone, we root for. And these are the good old days, or will be some day in the future. Today’s younger fans will talk about today’s racers as we older fans talk about racers from days long gone, except in our memories.

Bloomington

In the first heat, Jon Stanbrough got after it early, taking an early lead and checking out. The poor guy had time to text me had he chose. Bub Cummings was a distant second, followed by Dickie Gaines, Jeff Bland Jr. (from ninth) and Bobby East, second generation racers all three.

Not to be outdone, Jesse Cramer won the second heat by a good margin over Jordan Kinser, who had put some distance between himself and third place Josh Cunningham. Brady Short was fourth with Danny Holtsclaw, who edged Bobby Stines for the final transfer spot, finishing fifth.

Chris Babcock won the third heat, leading Kurt Gross, Jon Sciscoe, Robert Ballou and California visitor Greg Bragg to the line.

Bobby Stines inherited the lead and the win after Seth Parker spun on lap 10 while leading the Sprint B. Ty Deckard came from ninth to take second. Ryan Tussing, Dakota Jackson and Lawrenceburg regular Jason Soudrette all would race one more time tonight.

Cramer and Stanbrough led the bad boys to the green and things became crazy right away. Stanbrough’s left front ran over Cramer’s right rear in turn two of lap one. Both kept going but others checked up with less than desired results. Gross and Soudrette spun while Sciscoe and Jackson both had flat tires. All re-started, with Jackson losing four laps.

On the second time around, Stanbrough took off, flying away until lap four, when a yellow waved for Bobby Stines. Chris Babcock had a flat tire while Bub Cummings exited.

The green finally prevailed with Stanbrough checking out as he did in his heat. I was about ready to send him a text until I noticed something interesting: Brady Short was on the move. From 11th, he was fourth by lap eight, with Gaines and Cramer between him and Stanbrough.

Halfway done and Stanbrough still had a nice sized lead but Short was second now, trailed by Bland, Cramer, Gaines, East, Ballou and Holtsclaw. Lapped traffic became a factor and here was where Stanbrough nearly gave it away.

Jon admitted after his win that he’d run through the lapped traffic a bit conservatively. At any rate, Short was closing fast and we were ready for yet another last lap thriller. Brady exited his car with glee, thinking that he’d won. But the consensus was that the Fox Brothers’ 53 had edged the Don Short 36 car, but not by much.

Bland came from 10th to finish third, a steady run lost in the excitement. Gaines was fourth with 13th starting Bobby East fifth. Cramer was sixth with Holtsclaw coming from 14th to take seventh. Robert Ballou was eighth and Ty Deckard came from 17th to finish ninth. Jordan Kinser came in tenth.

Bloomington has a regular show plus a huge fireworks display this coming Friday. And on July 16th, the race that many eagerly await, Bloomington’s edition of Indiana Sprint Week, will bring USAC’s finest to tackle the red clay high banks.

Elsewhere

Shane Hollingsworth won at Gas City on Friday night. I put away the notebook and wandered up to Paragon for the KISS finale on Saturday and saw Jon Stanbrough put the hurt on the guys with another impressive win, #101 for Brad, Steve and the guys. Robert Ballou moseyed up to Lincoln Park and took some of promoter Joe Spiker’s money. Chris Windom won at Kokomo on Sunday night. And yes, the competition at all four bullrings was nothing short of fierce.

Apologizing for my apology, I’m…..

Danny Burton

Veterans’ Night Out

Tracy Hines is near 40 now, not a fresh faced, brash young kid anymore. Older and wiser, he still can race a bit, showing a new crop of fresh faced, brash young men the way to go fast. And Dave Darland passed age 40 a few years ago. Like Hines, sometimes he has to scrap for good rides and make the most of what he has. He, too, shows the youngsters how to go fast and how to handle the ups and downs of life. Last night at the Lawrenceburg Speedway, both of these so-called “old guys” proved that they have a lot left in the tank. Hines won the USAC Midget Week 30 lap feature in a convincing manner while Darland took the companion sprint car feature, his fifth win in the Goodnight family car, as Indiana Midget Week rolled to its conclusion tonight (Sunday) at Kokomo.

‘Twas another hot and humid Indiana afternoon as my son and I meandered our way to the speed shrine we call da ‘burg. It was time for Round Four of IMW and expectations were high for a good night of racing.

The car count was down somewhat but even with two other Hoosier bullrings running (plus Waynesfield, Ohio) non-wing sprints, that could be expected. Add to that some of the midget teams choosing not to tackle the high banks of Lawrenceburg that demand serious horsepower and their count was down a bit too. But 24 USAC Midgets and 26 Lawrenceburg Chevrolet sprinters would provide plenty of what open wheels fans came to see. Seldom should we worry about who is not at a race; we’re better served by appreciating who is there.

Brad Sweet set quick time during group qualifying with a 14.816 lap. Brent Beauchamp flipped hard in turn three during time trials and was taken to the hospital. No new word on him and I’m assuming and hoping that no news is good news.

Right off the bat fans could see that bottom feeding would be the order of the night—until Mr. Rudisell and company would re-work the track (They did; it was only a matter of when.). Brad Loyet did come from fifth to win the first of three midget heats. Shane Hmeil, Zack Daum, Bryan Clauson and Chase Barber trailed with all heat race runners going to the A Main tonight.

Dave Darland has given the Kunz 71 a good run this week. He won the second heat with Bobby East second. Darren Hagen was third with Mario Clauser and Chad Boat running four/five. (Weird to see that Billy Boat walking around with a touch of gray in his hair. Another guy who can’t be that old, can he?)

Sean Dodenhoff spun while leading the third heat and was creamed by Steve Buckwalter. Dodenhoff was done for the night while Buckwalter and crew hustled to make the feature later. Tracy Hines won the heat over Brad Kuhn, Caleb Armstrong and Texan Murray Erickson.

All the sprinters did on the first lap of the first heat was feature three different leaders. Hunter Schuerenberg ended up winning with Brady Short second. Chad Boespflug, Jason Soudrette and Mike Fischesser trailed, with the top five transferring. A very rare sight appeared about then, something we’ve not seen a whole lot of at Lawrenceburg. Dust. No matter, that’s why God invented goggles. Scotty Weir won the second heat over Jerry Coons Jr., with the Hoffman race team making a rare non-USAC appearance with a new car, testing for next month’s Indiana Sprint Week date at the ‘burg. Brett Burdette was third with J.R. Douglas and J.J. Hughes also moving on. Henry Clarke tried an outside pass on Douglas midway through the race with bad results. Henry hit the wall, with the wheel and tire damaged. They he threw his steering wheel at Douglas as J.R. idled by under the caution.

The third heat was a bit tamer as Dave Darland led Casey Riggs, John Memmer, Andrew Elson and Mike Miller to the line.

The last chance race saw more problematic driving, again with Henry Clarke involved. What else could you say; Henry surely drove into turn one too hard even as he had a transfer spot locked up. He plowed into the unfortunate Adam Strausser, who flipped up the banking, landing in turn two. Clarke also flipped; both were done for the night. No steering wheels were thrown. Shane Hmeil won with Shawn Westerfeld and Joshua Clemons trailing. Pat Giddings and Logan Hupp took advantage of misfortune, etc. to snare the last two spots in the feature.

Loyet and Hagen made up the front row of the Midget A, with Clauson, Hines, Boat and Kuhn also up front. Loyet motored off to an early lead, but IMW point leader Brad Sweet flipped in turn one. (Correction! Earlier this week I wrote that Sweet was not running for USAC National points. I was wrong—big time. He is third in National points, behind Clauson and Hines.) Sweet was not hurt and action resumed with Hines immediately taking over a lead he’d be loath to relinquish, meaning that he was de man tonight. Early on Clauson and Hagen made it rough for him, but Tracy had them all covered.

The real excitement was caused by, who else, Dave Darland. Starting 17th, DD was up to fifth by lap 12, though Kuhn re-passed him soon after. Zack Daum also made some noise. From 13th, he was moving forward midway through the race. Halfway home and Hines led Clauson, Loyet, Coons, Kuhn, Daum, Darland and Barber. Daum even cracked the top five for a few laps.

As the laps wound down Coons and Clauson put on a terrific battle for second, a classic slide job fest, two outstanding racers (and people) at their best. Clauson prevailed but not by much. After the race, both showed much class as they congratulated each other for two fine runs.

Meanwhile, Hines, part owner with Bob Parker of the machine, took the checkered with room to spare, followed by Clauson and Coons. Loyet hung in there for fourth with Darland grabbing fifth. Kuhn, Daum, Barber, Buckwalter and Armstrong were the second five.

For the sprint feature, doublers made up the front row as Darland and Coons led 18 others to the green. Coons would lead the first six laps but after that it was all Darland, all the time. He built a good sized lead over Coons as the halfway mark came and went. Schuerenberg held off Short for awhile until the Bedford, IN resident passed and set sail for Coons. The final few laps saw Darland with a big lead while Coons found himself in a déjà vu battle for second place. He won this time, leading Short to the line. Schuerenberg was fourth with Scotty Weir fifth. Andrew Elson made the best run that few saw, coming back from a flat tire to take sixth. Riggs, Hughes, Burdette and Boespflug rounded out the top ten.

The kids would have to wait awhile longer as the veterans still ruled the roost.

Sprint cars next appear at Lawrenceburg on July 9, opening night of Indiana Sprint Week.

Elsewhere

Russ Harper found out today that he won at Lincoln Park last night, edging Bub Cummings for the win. Chris Windom won the 68 lap Chuck Amati Memorial at Paragon, noteworthy that an Illinois native won a race honoring another Illinois native.

Old age, fatigue, going back to work and the late night two hour drive kept me from going to Kokomo. But not to worry, Hoseheads own Kevin Oldham is up there; I’d bet his retirement on that. Read all about it soon right here.

Thanking my buddy Tim Watson for some authentic Wisconsin horse radish cheese (no, really), I’m……

Danny Burton

Go Where They Ain’t

Going where they ain’t is, more or less in racing terms, how you pass people to finish ahead of them. Like most words, it sounds a lot easier than it is to do. If one questions that, just ask Shane Cottle, the latest winner of the circus that is USAC’s Indiana Midget Week. Cottle conquered the tricky red clay, high banked oval nestled in the hills of southern Indiana, passing Tracy Hines for the lead on lap five after starting eighth no less. In contrast, Jeff Bland Jr. would cruise to the companion sprint car feature.

Hot Enough For Ya?

This is a question I hear this time of year as I do my day job. It gets old, but I try to come up with a different answer each time. Nevertheless, Friday afternoon at the Bloomington Speedway was a bit toasty. I kept thinking, “It’s a lot better than January” to myself. Worked for me.

36 midgets (and 38 sprint cars) continued the pattern for IMW, good car counts with lots of quality cars. The computer was broken so USAC had to qualify one car at a time. Jerry Coons Jr. drew a number that would send him out midway through qualifications and set quick time at 11.920.

Brad Loyet won the first of four heats, leading fellow second row starter Tracy Hines. Don Droud Jr. hung on for third with Coons sending Cottle off to the B Main right away. Dave Darland ran away with the second heat. Darren Hagen was a distant second and had a healthy margin over third place Shane Hmeil. Aussie Matt Smith sent Bryan Clauson to the B. In the third heat, Lincoln Park winner Brad Sweet pulled off the track early as Bobby East checked out to win. Billy Pauch Jr. was second, with underrated Brent Beauchamp third. Henry Clarke was fourth. Brad Kuhn won the fourth heat with Iowa’s Davey Ray second. Levi Jones held onto third and Gas City winner Steve Buckwalter was fourth.

Sprintin’ Around (Apologies to my buddy Jim Morrison)

Jim has written many an article with that title and it fit here, so…..

The multi-yellow flag sprint car first heat was finally taken by newlywed Danny Holtsclaw by a wide margin over Bub Cummings. Keith Bloom was third, trailed by Scotty Weir. The second heat featured a four car breakaway. If Jordan Kinser knew who was behind him, he didn’t seem to care as he outran Dickie Gaines, Brady Short and Shane Cottle. More drama was part of the third heat as Jon Stanbrough was trying to move up from his eighth starting spot. He bounced off the turn two cushion, spun and was hit by Chris Babcock. As it turned out, Babcock was done for the night but Stanbrough re-started. The 53 car came on strong, taking third behind Chris Windom and Joshua Clemons. Josh Cunningham was fourth. Jeff Bland Jr. won the fourth heat with Dave Darland second. Youngster Dakota Jackson was third with double dipper Henry Clarke fourth.

Midget B

This one would be a multi-start deal before things settled down. Sweet and Cottle would lead Thomas Meseraull to the line. Bryan Clauson, Caleb Armstrong and Matt Westfall (who started back in 13th) all made the big show.

Sprint B’s

Ethan Barrow led Jon Sciscoe to win the first hooligan as Andrew Elson spun on the last lap and was hit by Jared Harris. Bobby Stines ran off to win the second B with the night’s best battle behind him. Chris Gurley, Jesse Cramer and Matt Westfall had a terrific fight for the final feature spot with Gurley prevailing.

Cottle Reigns…Before It Rains

Folks starting showing me a Hoosier weather map. Rain was on the way, after a hot and humid day. But it held off, giving Cottle time to shine.

Hines and D. Ray led ‘em to the green which quickly turned red on lap two as both Hagen and East flipped in turn two. Hmeil and Clarke were also involved. East and Clarke re-started. Ray spun (with help?) as cars stopped for the red.

Davey’s bad luck continued as he flipped on the re-start. Another red flag waved. But finally the green prevailed and Cottle was quickly on the move. On lap five he went from third to first and grabbed the lead over Hines. Though Cottle wasn’t seriously threatened a dogfight was taking place behind him as Darland wanted second place. Not a lot changed as lap 12 saw a yellow wave for a Shane Hmeil spin. Cottle led Hines, Darland, Clauson and Sweet on this re-start.

Soon after the lap 15 halfway mark a four car breakaway formed with Cottle, Hines, Clauson and Darland leaving the others behind. But a lap 17 yellow negated that. Periodic yellows kept the leaders close as Cottle was surely frustrated. But he wasn’t denied, even after a lap 29 red flag waved. Droud and Clarke both tipped over on the cushion in turn one, with poor Henry getting upside down yet again.

Cottle held on to keep my observation consistent; each IMW winner so far is not running for USAC National points. But Hines, Clauson and Sweet are running for points and were happy, if not satisfied, with spots two through four. Buckwalter was fifth. Darland was sixth, trailed by Coons, Beauchamp (best run nobody saw), Meseraull and Kuhn.

Sweet leads Midget Week points. The gang does it again tonight (Saturday) at the Lawrenceburg Speedway.

Bland Will Cruise While Others Lose
Few fans left as the sprinters took to the track. Jeff Bland did his best to stink up the show, taking the lead on the first lap and moseying to the win. But most fans will look behind the leader for action when this happens. There was plenty.

Dickie Gaines immediately established himself in second with Brady Short and Dave Darland close behind. This stayed the same as the leaders tried to negotiate what had become the usual high and low groove track. Scotty Weir spun on lap 17. Henry Clarke spun to miss Weir and tipped over again. The top five had stayed the same but that was about to change big time.

Jon Stanbrough had patiently worked his way forward from his 11th starting spot. At the re-start he was seventh. But Short slammed the cush in turn two, slowing him and Darland and causing a bit of a scramble, but no yellow. The next thing one knew, the 53 car was third and heading for the front. He passed Gaines for second on lap 23 but time ran out to chase Bland, who won over Stanbrough, Short, Gaines and Chris Windom, who had passed Jordan Kinser late. Danny Holtsclaw faded from the pole to seventh. Josh Cunningham, Shane Cottle and Bub Cummings rounded out the top ten.

Bloomington returns to “normal” next Friday with its regular program. Hoosier Auto Race Fans get in for half price general admission with a membership card.

Wild Ride Home

I’d been warned about the rain that would be awaiting me at home. But I was a bit surprised when rain began falling just east of Bloomington. No matter, one deals with it.

But the rain, wind, lightning, thunder and even a bit of fog combined to make it a fun trip. The most intense was through most of Brown County, east of Bloomington/Monroe County. Sheets of rain kept me awake and white knuckling the steering wheel. Visibility dropped to a few yards on Indiana State Road 46, not the straightest road in our state.

Crossing into my home county, Bartholomew, it eased up though rain still fell at a good rate. I got back up to speed and even caught the Keith Kunz Racing hauler, containing Henry Clarke and Dave Darland’s midgets, #s 67 and 71, along with Clarke’s #67 sprinter. I headed northeast as they headed for the Kunz shop out on the north side. Don’t know about them, but my day was done. Off to Lawrenceburg.

Happy that my truck doesn’t need a wash, I’m…..

Danny Burton

Who Needs Points Racing?

I understand the need for and appreciate the concept of points racing at every level of the sport. But one has to admire people who show up thinking of winning and not having to worry about the big picture. And Round Two of the USAC/Mopar Midget’s version of Indiana Midget Week saw another so-called cherry picker not running for points (this year) and run off with the tidy bundle of cash. Brad Sweet took the lead from Darren Hagen on lap 19 and won the 30 lap feature at the Lincoln Park Speedway, nestled in beautiful downtown Putnamville, Indiana. Dave Darland won the sprint feature.

Another day, another impressive car count on a warm and sunny Hoosier afternoon greeted fans as they dotted the hillside. The size of the crowd was equally impressive with both parking lots almost filled.

40 USAC midgets took group time trials with young Mr. Sweet hustling to a 12.641 lap as quick time for the night; Sweet was in the first group to qualify. Tracy Hines flipped in turn two during qualifying. He wasn’t hurt and a major thrashing put him in the B Main lineup, and from there to the big show (Think lemons and lemonade).

The track looked good early and stayed good and smooth all night long. It followed a fairly normal pattern at LPS. Cars wore out the top groove to the point where people would try the bottom side. Soon enough the 5/16 mile oval became a multi-groove surface with predictable results.

Thomas Meseraull won the first of four heats, over Bobby East, Darren Hagen and Brad Sweet, who used a last lap pass of Henry Clarke to advance to the feature. Bryan Clauson came from sixth to take the second heat, leading Aussie visitor Matt Smith, Shane Cottle and New Jersey’s Billy Pauch Jr. to the checkered. Brad Kuhn won the third heat after leader Davey Ray slowed while leading. Zach Daum, Shane Hmiel and Chad Boat trailed. Ray would return for the B and make the feature. Lap one and turn two of the fourth heat saw a brief, but awesome sight. Cars were five wide coming out of two before sorting themselves out. Sure enough, there was no yellow and it was a brief example of the Lincoln Park that many fans know and love, one that’s been missing in recent years. Front row starter Levi Jones won with Caleb Armstrong second. Gas City winner Steve Buckwalter was third and Jerry Coons had to hustle to get fourth.

Sprint Heats

As the sprinters lined up it occurred to me that someone might consider putting up some extra money for anyone who could double up and win both features in one Midget Week night. Add a bit for each night no one fails to win both and see what happens. Now, if I could only find that extra money….

The first heat was strange in that three different cars numbered 27 were in the heat and that all three were instrumental in bringing out a yellow flag. Things settled down and Scotty Weir won with Dickie Gaines prevailing for second after a spirited battle. Shawn Krockenberger was third, trailed by Keith Bloom. Justin Grant won the second heat. Joshua Clemons was second. Chris Windom, again in the Simon 24, was third with Shane Hollingsworth taking the final transfer spot. Dave Darland won the third heat, back in the Goodnight 39 for the evening. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. took second from Henry Clarke on the last lap. Chris Babcock was fourth. Hunter Schuerenberg must have not seen the yellow flag waving and flipped in the fourth heat. Thomas Meseraull ended up winning. Shane Hmeil was second, trailed by Aaron Mosely (haven’t seen him in awhile) and Aussie Gary Rooke.

Matt Westfall and Joss Moffatt won their respective B Mains.

Midget B

This multi-caution affair was taken by Dave Darland, a look into the near future as Darland gave the Kunz 71 a good ride all night. Tracy Hines, repaired car and all, took second. Davey Ray came back from his own earlier troubles and finished third. Brad Loyet, Henry Clarke and Sean Dodehnoff all made it to the main event with Dodehnoff elbowing Alex Bowman out of the way at the checkered to move on. Bowman was not pleased.

30 laps of fun

Cottle and Hagen led 23 cars to the green with Hagen taking the early lead over Buckwalter, Cottle and Clauson. This held up for over half the race with Dave Darland putting on a great show as he used the high side to gobble up positions from his eighth starting spot. Seven laps in and ol’ Dave was up to third and had Buckwalter in his sights. Two laps later and it looked like Hagen would have to deal with Darland, who was closing fast. But it went away just past halfway when Dave brought out a yellow with a cut tire.

Hagen was looking good but it was time for someone else to shine. On the re-start it was Hagen, Sweet, Cottle, Buckwalter, Clauson, Kuhn, M. Smith, Armstrong, Hines and East. Lap 19 saw Sweet get around Hagen with a bonsai outside pass to take the lead. It would be a lead he’d not give back. Cottle became stronger at the end, passing Hagen for second soon after Sweet had passed the Hawk. Brad Kuhn came on strong to finish fourth with Buckwalter hanging on to fifth. East, Hines, Armstrong, Smith and Jerry Coons Jr. rounded out the top ten.

As the USAC caravan heads south to Bloomington tonight, Lawrenceburg tomorrow night and Kokomo on Sunday night, Lincoln Park will have a regular Saturday night program tomorrow night.

Sprint Feature…Dave Says, See Ya!

Dickie Gaines sat on the pole and it was tempting to think that he’d have this one in the bag, but no. He did take the early lead over a very pesky and impressive Josh Clemons. Darland was third but would not be happy there. By lap eight he’d taken over second and was putting the heat on Gaines for the lead. With Dickie bouncing off the cushion in turns three/four most every lap, Dave was able to pass when Dickie bounced enough to slow him up. Just past halfway, Darland took over and Gaines began to fade. Clemons and Justin Grant both passed Gaines as laps wound down. Scotty Weir came home fifth. The second five were Hmeil, Hollingsworth, Meseraull, Shawn Krockenberger and Elson. Darland was quick to thank the Goodnight family as well as ace mechanic Brian Cripe.

Gas City Leftovers

Race fans miss fellow fans when they are not there. At Gas City my little running mate, the infamous Sword Man, was one of those. Folks kept asking where he was (he and his brother are helping their mom and dad pack for a vacation trip to South Carolina).

They also kept asking me when I’m scheduled to retire. As of this coming Monday, it will be 14 months and three days. But who’s counting? (Me)

And finally, we’d be remiss in not noting that the Buckwalter team is not a high dollar team. Far from it as these guys have put the hurt on better funded teams both nights.

Already having my life back, I’m……

Danny Burton

dlb1600@yahoo.com

A Hosehead Production

Hosehead's Sprint Car Photos & News,PO Box 42, Drums PA 18222-0042