Hoseheads Sprint Car Photos & News

Volume 11, Number 7

The Great Escape

Growing up, embracing responsibility and thinking of the big picture has never been anything to get too excited about. It was ages ago, but I can vividly recall that feeling of knowing when it was time to look for my first job, choosing to spend the dog days of summer manicuring a golf course just to earn a measly three dollars and seventy-five cents per hour, saving for my first set of wheels while occasionally splurging on sprint car pit passes and t-shirts. Yep, it was generally hot, sweaty, and draining work for such a small wage, learning early on that the real world was not all peaches and cream.

Some fifteen years removed from school and mired in mediocrity, a recent employment opportunity literally fell into my lap, allowing me to broaden horizons while also earning a sizeable increase in pay. But in order to receive the raise, more money meant more responsibility, more hours, and even more stress, suddenly requiring me to be much more serious about my career. Trying to juggle a job, a long-distance relationship, physical fitness, friendships, family, household chores, and my passion for attending and writing about sprint and midget racing, my world was already complicated enough. Throwing more work on top of the stack, it’s just not humanly possible to add to an already impossible schedule. Tired of doing everything half-ass because of time constraints, something had to give.

Highest on satisfaction but lowest on pay, it was not a pleasant process in arriving at the sobering conclusion that my most time consuming of extracurricular activities, namely the authoring of weekly articles, would simply have to take a back seat. Call it a sabbatical, call it a break, but don’t call it a permanent retirement just yet. Drained of energy and all avenues of creativity, that’s been the last month of my life. Work must come before play and much like when I was sixteen; I had to sprout some wings and learn to fly once again. Regardless of whether or not I desired the added internal turmoil, it’s a move I would eventually be forced to make one day down the road. Finally addressing the inevitable, I took the plunge.

An inability to generate creative juices does not mean I’ve lost interest in my premier passion. Worn out from my first full week of new responsibilities, as a prime example I still decided to slither south to Bloomington Speedway at 6:30 PM on a Friday in late May. In an earlier life, not being able to witness hot laps or every heat race would have amounted to a cardinal sin. Nowadays, just knowing that I can relax in my happy place, I understand that late is much better than never. Riding down with my father who has been chained to his dental practice since he decided to start taking his adult life seriously, I immediately understood his plight.

A month of working longer than usual hours, hitting the gym, and tending to yard work, my only real break from reality has been watching automobile contests in person and since my last blog; attendance has been both frequent and varied. Starting with the Tony Hulman Classic, there was also the Hoosier Hundred, the Little 500, the Indianapolis 500, the King of Indiana Sprint Series at Bloomington and Kokomo, and the World of Outlaws at Lawrenceburg. Watching from the stands as a paying customer without pen and pad of paper in hand, it has certainly taken me back to my roots.

In my month from hell, I picked and chose my races, unfortunately missing a pair of special performances, one being Josh Spencer’s first career sprint car victory at Danville (June 6^th) and Chris Gurley’s return to victory lane at Kokomo (June 7^th), his first sprint score since an August of 2000 weekend when he doubled up at Gas City and Paragon. I must say that I was completely thrilled by Shane Hollingsworth’s incredible victory at the Hoosier Hundred where his Gene Nolen squad rose from the ashes, recovering some of their stolen equipment less than a month prior to the event. Truly not prepared to race as the car hadn’t even been fired until Friday night right before practice began, Shane and Gene proved that underdogs can still get it done, even with backs placed squarely against the wall. Spencer and Gurley’s triumphs were a long time coming, equally outstanding feel-good stories that I wish I could have experienced in person. Congrats to all three on giving me a reason to keep going.

Getting back to my situation and wondering if my schedule would ever let up, an honest vacation to cast away concerns was sorely needed. Fat chance that was going to happen while my inbox piled up with endless requests, trying to learn a new position all while maintaining my old one. The tunnel I was about to enter seemed at least a hundred miles in length and so easy to be overwhelmed, I tried to take one day at a time. Reminder to self: count to ten and take deep breaths. Everything will be ok.

Or will it?

Post Lawrenceburg WoO, I pried my rear end from my desk chair long enough to make the journey down to Kelly’s Pub Too for the usual Monday night radio show with D.O. Laycock. Shaken out of my work-induced coma by a convocation of Kiwis, if I couldn’t take a vacation, the vacation was coming to see me.

The fun-loving group was led by former UMRA TQ terror and current National Midget Car Series general manager Bryce Townsend, who is still Terry Goff’s worst nightmare after a brief 2000 UMRA stint that netted six victories. Bryce was accompanied by current New Zealand midget madmen Angus “Angry” McLeod (bringing wife Joanne) and Chris McCutcheon, former 50 lap Western Springs World Derby winner Justin Insley, ex-Wood Duck Racing car owner Wayne “Mags” Nicholson, stock car racer Dean Mulholland, and U.S. host Alan Rush, a speedway bike racer employed in various capacities at Menard Engines.

Insley informed that BSL Racing LTD, the company where he builds Australia and New Zealand’s most prominent chassis in the Aggressor (www.aggressorchassis.com), has purchased the operation that once created the Breka chassis (the machine of choice for 2008/2009 New Zealand dominator Michael Pickens), adding 25-year veteran mechanic Tim Clark to the payroll.

On Friday evening I would meet Ray Easton, the other half of the former Wood Duck team who proudly owns a pristine LTC chassis once steered in the southern hemisphere by the late Larry Rice. Bryce’s wife Jenny and daughter Jade would also make my acquaintance for the first time as well.

If the Kiwis are in town, one thing is for certain – it’s USAC Indiana Midget Week! What the hell?! Is it already time for Midget Week? If so, where had the summer gone?

Dating back to its NAMARS Five Crown roots, an extended offering of Hoosier flavored midget car racing has been an August tradition, at least in the last decade. But this time, the Midget Week calendar was moved up to June, thereby avoiding the myriad of scheduling nightmares and large events post Indiana Sprint Week. I’m not so sure this worked in favor of the large contingent of Australians and New Zealanders who consistently travel halfway across the globe for this particular week, normally blocking out a month to also soak in the surrounding Belleville midget or Knoxville sprint car Nationals.

Five nights in length and similar to last year’s plan, the only alteration to the 2008 version was a North Vernon substitute for Liberty. But before Midget Week ever began, the Townsend troops toured an Outlaw invasion of Lawrenceburg and spent a traditional Sunday night in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Arriving just in time to come on the air and discuss the series that he manages, afterwards Townsend invited me to his corner of the bar for pizza and Coors Lights, catching up on stories from the last two years. In town since June 3^rd, each evening (and early morning) Bryce and the boys closed down Kelly’s Pub, not to mention the local tavern in Sun Prairie. Monday June 8^th would be no different, although I only made it to 1 AM, probably a record post-radio show for yours truly, at least on a work night. For those who gave me grief about staying out so late, who else travels this far to request my presence at a social gathering? I’ll never be able to hold my liquor as well as they do (Justin says “eating is cheating”), but why not honor them by at least trying to hang?

Making a few late night memories and offering a temporary escape from reality, it was a great way to begin Midget Week! Tuesday and Wednesday weariness at least made me feel human again and after an eight hour stint on hump day, an eighty minute gallop to Gas City allowed a 6:45 PM arrival time, missing just the first combined practice/qualifying session. As my nephew and I weaved our way through the congregation of campers and RVs, we were greeted by a solid 36 midgets and 20 sprint cars, the midget population far better than I expected after a sub-par showing at Knoxville just two weeks prior.

Making for four midget heats, three sprint heats, one midget B, and of course a pair of A-mains, the ten events were completed at an astonishingly early 9:36. We weren’t even on the grounds for a full three hours, with a tip of the fedora offered to the Gas City crew led again by previously-retired Jiggs Thomason, who was forced to take the reins after promoter/operator Leroy Battieger recently vacated his newly appointed position. The word from Nona Thomason is that Tom Brenner is next in line, spending the evening training with her husband.

Brooding cloud cover kept everyone’s fingers and toes crossed but thankfully the spigot was cranked shut. The overcast skies kept the beautifully prepped black dirt consistent for the Midget Week opener, packed with moisture and dust-free. A bit narrow in the width of the racing groove, as they say, two out of three ain’t bad. Heat race and B-main calamity was kept to a minimum, allowing the show to go off without a hitch.

Showing their hand for the first night were some special guests, namely the international duo of Sydney, Australia’s Mark Brown and his fellow countryman Dene McAllan. Quite effective in their homeland, “Browndog” (in an Aggressor) has already bagged 7 wins in the New Year while McAllan laid claim to four scores in 2009. Goodyear, Arizona’s Nathan High (second at the USAC midget opener at Manzy and an ASCA winner at Canyon), Kansas competitor Andrew Deal, Oklahoma’s Matt Sherrell, Ohio’s Matt Westfall (the ’98 NAMARS rookie of the year and champion), Avon’s Miranda Throckmorton (in the ARDC-based Burke 54), and northern California’s Wes Gutierrez added flair outside of the usual USAC contingent. Throw in a wildcard or two like Thomas Meseraull and Josh Wise and that’s what makes Midget Week so special.

Oh yeah, and who can forget Royersford, Pennsylvania’s Steve Buckwalter? For those who don’t get to see him compete on a regular basis, Buckwalter could have easily been considered the main attraction all week long, displaying his passing prowess while wringing out all kinds of speed from his Stealth/Don “Bug” Ott combination. Nine times an ARDC winner in ’08 and ’09, because of points handicapping he regularly cleans house from as far back as 16^th.

Perhaps it’s a sign of the poor economic conditions, but there were no opening night midget rides to speak of for two-time Midget Week king Shane Cottle, Dave Darland, or Jon Stanbrough, three of the absolute best on Indiana’s bullrings. So rare for hired guns to find rides in anything these days without bringing cash or sponsorship, Darland did land in the Fike 69 for the final three nights.

Buckwalter’s 12.975 topped the I-69 qualifying charts and as already mentioned, Wednesday midget and sprint prelims were virtually crash free. The Midget B-main contained a few minor skirmishes and bad luck, in the form of flat tires, befell Mark Brown, Chase Barber (blowing a fourth quick qualifying time), and Dakoda Armstrong, all of whom were in transfer positions. By 8:20, all that were left to run were twin features, enough time to grab a tenderloin and some caramel popcorn. For a guy who is supposed to lose five pounds, I know I’m not helping my cause. But the junk food is just too hard to stay away from, especially at the excellent Gas City concession stand.

Darren Hagen and two-time USAC midget champion Jerry Coons, Jr. led the 24 car midget main to green and when Jerry led easily off of turn two, that was essentially all she wrote as he paced the entire distance. A late race red flag flew for a Chad Boat Tommy Tipover and one last caution was waved for a Kevin Swindell spin (operating in fourth at the time), supplying Jerry’s only threat in the form of eighth starting Brad Kuhn (last year’s Gas City Midget Week winner). But even on the final lap restart, the Coons/Wilke-PAK combo could not be conquered.

Trailing last year’s sprint and Silver Crown king were Kuhn (in a Fontana powered Beast entered by Rotondo Weirich), Darren Hagen, Bryan Clauson (from 9^th), Ryan Kaplan, Brad Loyet, Tracy Hines (up 12 spots from 19^th), Wise, Sherrell (from 20^th), and Bobby East (also up 12 spots from 22^nd). Additional A-main amber illuminations were accounted for by Ricky Ehrgott (three times), Buckwalter (twice), Zach Daum (twice), Sherrell, Wise, McAllan, Levi Jones, and Cole Whitt.

Wishing a happy birthday to his fiancée Amy, the Las Vegas winner noted, “Greg Wilke made some changes after the heat race and obviously made the right call. The track was in great shape even though it was a little narrow. This Gary Stanton Toyota ran great. I got beat a couple of weeks ago at Knoxville by Kevin Swindell, who did a great job out there. But I’m glad to be here again.”

Wednesday’s sprint car finale contained some heavy hitters in the first two rows. A sure-fire winner would have to come from Cole Whitt, Dave Darland (Daugherty 7R), Shane Cottle, and Jon Stanbrough.

“Deputy” Dave (I still prefer “The Rave”) led the first circuit but immediately Whitt whisked by on the outside of turn three, leading by the time they reached the east end of the quarter-mile. Fresh off a solid victory in the Illinois Sprint Week opener the previous night in Danville, Stanbrough briefly jousted with the Lincoln legend, stealing second but reverting to third when Ryan Pace chose the spin cycle in turn one.

Bouncing through three and four with an ill-handling Peterbilt of Northwest Ohio F5, Dave yielded second to Jon, who just clipped his left front wheel. At Brian Hodde’s crossed flags, pupil Whitt had three car lengths on his former teacher. Lapped traffic soon came into play and with five to go, Jon’s Fox Brothers owned DRC chassis was soon biting the rear end of Cole’s Bullet.

Lunging low off of the second bend, with four tours remaining The Silent Gasser made his winning move count, taking his first Gas City I-69 Speedway conquest May of 2008, victory number three of the season (upping it to four after a marathon MSCS Sunday affair in Terre Haute). The hottest sprint car chauffeur at Gas City in the last two seasons, after his second place effort Cole was still batting a cool .500, a winner in 7 of his last 14 sprint car starts here. Cottle, Coons (up five spots from ninth in the Tapy 12), Westfall (twice a Waynesfield winner in ’09), Darland, Marc Arnold, Kent Christian, Scotty Weir (Baldwin 5), and Jason Holt (Jackson 42G) rounded out the first-ten finishers.

Rather mysterious, no sprint car victory lane interview was conducted, but the early 9:36 PM exit meant I was home before the 11 o’clock news. Any way you slice it, that’s one helluva deal on a work night.

Thursday

Heavy rains overnight and into Thursday nixed the second round at North Vernon, what was to be USAC’s first national midget event there since 1994. A rare rain date was initially added on Friday, August 14^th but was changed to July 14^th, the Tuesday night in the second leg of Indiana Sprintweek. While other diehard race fans dodged rain by attending Brownstown’s UMP Summer Nationals dirt late model event (giving it rave reviews), the wet weather allowed me to catch up on lost Monday night sleep while also maintaining my routine trek across the street to the gym.

Friday

A half day on Friday was miraculously given the green light so an earlier than normal departure allowed me ample time to make it to the third round in Bloomington. Flying solo, my usual trip down 67, 39, and 37 was detoured only slightly, calling upon the advice of my father to find old road 37 just south of Martinsville. Navigating the smooth, tight, and twisty asphalt through the picturesque Morgan-Monroe State Forest, I even recognized some scenery from the movie “Breaking Away”. Breathtakingly beautiful country, I found signs pointing to various orchards and wineries, not to mention traveling through the tiniest of towns in Hindustan (Quite an odd name, isn’t it?). Wandering Indiana, this is prime proof that there are still desirable areas close to home that have not been explored.

Spotting Fox Hollow Road, this is where famed USAC and Indy 500 mechanic Galen Fox (father to Brad and Steve) now calls home, quite a departure from the congestion and commercialism of Avon’s Rockville Road. Old road 37 eventually emptied out on College Avenue just near Cascades, the city of Bloomington’s first park that dates back to 1924. Touring downtown and veering right at the Walnut fork, at the intersection of Morton and Grimes I stumbled upon the sad sight of the abandoned McDoel Yard, once the second largest facility for the former Monon Railroad. Passing the former Southside Café, a place where Bob Knight reportedly frequented (the place is now a tattoo parlor), as much as the landscape of this college town has changed in the last two decades, thankfully the Bloomington Speedway is still a viable entertainment outlet.

Sampling a pit area stacked with 38 midgets and sprints each (the largest gathering of equipment all week), after walking the hill to the main stands I found former sprint car competitor Ande Possman in the house. Having been out of open wheel action since 2002, the still-hungry Possman, now employed by the Indianapolis Fire Department, is said to have a line on a POWRi mini sprint ride later this year. Stay tuned for further details.

Before this year’s round of Midget Week, according to www.openwheeltimes.com USAC midgets have only competed in Bloomington seven times in the 53 year history of the organization. An employee of the sanctioning body for over three decades, current Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson had not witnessed the midgets at Bloomington until 2009 and the last time he had even visited the track, it was way back in 1965 for what were then considered supermodifieds. In the state were sprint cars reign supreme, do you suppose it was the allure of an odd midget show that drove Donald down south?

Another Davidson, that being 1996 track champ Derek Davidson, also made a rare appearance of his own, breaking from the norm and escaping Indianapolis traffic to reunite with former New Zealand benefactor Mike Baylis. Before Derek was ever a full-size sprint car competitor, in the very early 1990s he took a tour of New Zealand with an offer to drive a TQ midget. Blowing the engine on the first night, Baylis skillfully arranged a full-size midget ride for Double-D. Never having even sat in a midget before, Derek nearly stole a feature victory that initial night. Now the outside rear tire changer on Ed Carpenter’s Vision Racing entry, on off weekends he spends quality time with his wife and two kids, occasionally scrounging a ride in a mini sprint. A Bloomington feature winner 6 times in 30 A-main starts, the Purdue University grad once admitted in victory lane that “I bleed black and gold (Purdue’s colors), but I love Bloomington.”

Nineteen midgets dipped below the previous Bloomington midget track record, with Buckwalter again besting the field with an 11.565 second tripping of the timing beam. Sprint car prelims were first on tap, watching yet another Kinser attempt to make his mark, that being Jordan Kinser, utilizing equipment once belonging to Roger Crites. Third from the end in one of two sprint car B-mains, even a Kinser has to start somewhere.

Midget heats were punctuated by upside down excursions from Henry Clarke (Kunz 97) and Andrew Deal, not to mention a rather nasty spill from Wes Gutierrez, tipping over the turn two bank and tumbling all the way to the catch fence that separates race course from parking lot. After being transported to an area hospital, Wes would return to action two days later. The transfer of Gutierrez from one ambulance to another was the lone break in the action all night long. A busy evening that kept me from heading back to my car for a sweatshirt, it was much needed when it became cool enough to see one’s breath.

Aussie Mark Brown again had some awful luck in his heat, drilling a spinning Tracy Hines and putting him out for the night. Both Thomas Meseraull (a POWRi winner on Saturday at Belle-Clair) and Chad Boat benefitted from last turn, last lap surprises in copping heat race laurels, precursors for the midget finale.

Witnessing Levi Jones land the final midget A-main ticket from the seventh row of the B, it reminded of the horrific Midget Week Mister Jones was enduring. Relegated to the B-main each evening and requiring a provisional to start at Lawrenceburg, his best qualifying effort was 14^th (Gas City) while his best A-main start was 11^th (Kokomo). Third in the final series standings, teammate Tracy Hines worked hard all week long and received limited results, although he did tell the fans post-Kokomo that the team’s new Chevrolet midget engine needs further development. Seemingly down on power and with GM cutting back on its racing budget, will the TSR midget camp revert to its former Steve Smith built Hawk Chevy to remain competitive?

The only time all week that the sprint car feature was rolled off before the midget main event was in Bloomington and given how exciting the midget race was, I would like to see all Midget Week tracks adopt a similar standard.

Beginning the 25 lap sprint from the outside of the front row (alongside the Truckers 12 of Jerry Coons, Jr.), Bedford’s Brady Short burst to the lead around the top side of turn two. Immediately diving to the bottom of three and four, Short would go untouched, pocketing his third Bloomington bounty of the year and fifth overall. Up front for all 25 laps, three separate cautions for spins involving Kent Christian, Anthony Peterman, and Kyle Robbins kept the competition somewhat close.

Without a race to watch for first, one didn’t have to look far for some action, as the war waged for second was supreme. Coons, third starting Darland, fourth starting Westfall, fifth starting Stanbrough, sixth starting Boat, and seventh starting Bland held a heated duel for podium placements, jockeying in two-by-two formation for the majority of the affair. The final rundown, behind Short, saw Coons, Boat, Stanbrough, Bland, Darland, Westfall, Dickie Gaines (from 19^th), Jon Sciscoe, and Aric Gentry (from 16^th) collect top-tens.

Enjoying the spoils of victory in front of the large Friday night throng, Short said, “Hats off to these guys behind me. They keep giving me a good car and keep me out front. That’s five this year but it should be number seven. I also want to thank Mike Miles for preparing a great racetrack. They received a lot of rain here and he worked his butt off.”

Starting Josh Wise (coming through the B after a heat race crash) and Brad Sweet from the front with Coons, Boat, Hagen and Buckwalter not far behind, before the midget green flag flew, just to make things a little more interesting several Kiwis, myself, and former TQ terror “Hollywood” Mark Frazier (with wife Lindsey) made a small wager on the feature winner.

Living the high life as much as possible, Sweet stayed on top as both he and bottom-feeding Wise pulled away from the field. Outside of an early caution for Brad Loyet, two-thirds of the event went uninterrupted, with Wise prepared to pounce at any moment. Twenty-one down and nine to go, Josh had successfully made his move in turn three before a Cole Carter/Levi Jones altercation restacked the deck. Movers and shakers at this point included Tracy Hines (8^th to 3^rd), Clauson (9^th to 5^th), and most impressively Brad Kuhn (14^th to 4^th), the latter keeping his wheels inside the narrow strip of moisture around the infamous infield tires much like Kevin Thomas used to do.

When green lights were lit Kuhn acquired third from Hines and after some oil was expelled from Matt Sherrell’s power plant, Sweet swept to the outside of Wise in turns two and three to reclaim P1. The other Brad (Kuhn) stayed glued to the bottom and produced second place, with a Daum/Jones incident keeping Sweet honest.

With just five laps left, “The Wee Man” maintained his rim-riding tactic in turns one and two but again steered low in three and four. Just a lap and a half remained when Kuhn made a serious charge for first, both Brads racing for the same real estate in turn three. Kuhn’s right front drilled Sweet’s left rear and by the time they reached the same corner on the final lap, Sweet’s left rear air pressure was absent, allowing Kuhn to slip underneath through the final turn to steal an unsuspecting victory. Second place slammed the rear end of first place on the cool down lap, displaying the anger and frustration of yet another Midget Week checkered flag that slipped through his hands. Wow! What an ending!

Kuhn and Sweet were chased by Wise, Hines, Clauson, Buckwalter, Boat, Coons, Brent Beauchamp (up 13 spots from 22^nd), and Shane Hmiel. Jenny Townsend took home the small eight dollar prize by choosing the guy who wears a hard hat painted like a Purdue University football helmet.

The winner explained afterwards, “Obviously it wasn’t intentional. I was committed to the bottom and Brad came down. I was all over the brakes and thought I was going to spin. It’s unfortunate. It was not intentional by any means. I’ve been leading this deal (Midget Week) twice on the last night but have had engine failures. Scott (Benic) has won Sprint Week twice and I want a Midget Week trophy for him too.”

Cooled down and with some time to reflect, a philosophical Sweet had this to say: “It was fun. We were racing clean for the lead and then he (Kuhn) ran into the side of me. He didn’t see me coming down. He raced hard. I raced hard. That’s short track racing. I’ll just come back tomorrow and try to put on another show.”

What a show it was! After hanging around the pit area with Double-D, the night suddenly became late, deciding to stop at a Wendy’s drive thru and head home for some shuteye, declining another invitation to close down Kelly’s Pub. At least for me, it’s all about pacing myself, as Midget Week was still very young.

Saturday

Lawrenceburg Speedway was the site of round four and recalling Brady Bacon and Cole Whitt’s slides for life from 2008, I licked my chops in anticipation, enthusiastically encouraging the attendance of those who missed last year’s round.

Lawrenceburg’s luring of 23 sprints and 28 midgets was the lowest total car count of the week, but as I’m often reminded on Sunday nights, quantity does not always equate to quality. Midgets appear so tiny on these tall banks and Chad Boat’s 14.687 second tour of the three-eighths mile high banked bowl sure seemed like he was setting the world on fire. Kody Swanson, unquestionably considered an asphalt guy (recently clocking quickest up at the Prairie), was perhaps the biggest surprise of the quickest six.

As promoter/operator Dave Rudisell took the stage for the invocation and national anthem, hearts immediately became heavy when he informed of the passing of longtime Lawrenceburg promoter Mel Johnson, losing a lengthy battle with cancer at 1:30 on Saturday afternoon. In a fitting and classy tribute, during a moment of silence Dave took a tour of the speedway on the same tractor that Mel had worked this same clay just a week or two prior to his passing. A friend to everyone involved in the Indiana short track scene, my fondest memories of Lawrenceburg will always be under the Mel Johnson regime, the era when I first visited these grounds and witnessed some mouth-watering action on the circle of mud that I previously did not know existed. It’s a huge understatement to say that Mel will be missed dearly, but it’s still one that must be made.

With the orange Lawrenceburg clay wet, blindingly fast, and narrow, three midget and sprint heats apiece ran clean and green and a third turn, final lap Jerry Coons, Jr. slide job of rookie Andrew Elson for top honors in the first sprint heat provided the most excitement. Tonight, Jerry pushed the pedals of his USAC chariot, the famed Hoffman 69 from nearby Loveland, Ohio. Once a Trucker at the beginning of 2002; Levi Jones took over number 12, at least for Saturday.

Such a large disparity existed between the haves and have-nots, especially in the sprint car camp where huge amounts of horsepower and bravery paid huge dividends. I wouldn’t say that 2007 Lawrenceburg champ Joss Moffatt has a gorilla Gaerte underneath the hood of his Maxim, but he sure is making the most of his equipment. Winning by well over half a lap, I know I’ve not seen a more dominating heat race win this year. In talking to Joss the night before, he says that he may get a shot in Charlie Brown’s winged number 99 if everything goes to plan.

The midget B was bagged by Steve Buckwalter but surprising was the failure of both Kevin Swindell and Levi Jones in earning their A-main spots, both cashing in provisionals to tag the tail in row 12. And with only winged mini sprints serving as downtime, the USAC midget finale was staged at an astonishingly early 8:40, still plenty of sun showing on the western horizon.

Clauson, Buckwalter, Swanson, Hagen, Sweet, and Boat began from the first three rows and after an initial false start, Steve led to turn three. Watching Hagen’s right rear wheel cover sail over the fence like a flying saucer, by the time Zach Daum spun on the tenth tour, the running order was virtually the same.

Clauson bobbled on turn four cushion when action resumed, with “The Hawk” swooping down to steal second. Smelling blood in the water, Brad Sweet attempted to put Clauson in a pickle with a turn one slide job for third. He’d have to wait until turn four to pull it off, but Bryan returned the favor in one. A Swindell, Brown, and Wise first turn entanglement would eventually enforce red flag conditions because of a shortage of tow trucks. After wasting three front axle assemblies and several sets of shocks, Browndog’s world tour was over.

With fourteen to go, Hagen, Clauson, and Sweet fanned three wide for the runner-up position, still chasing that pesky Pennsylvanian who had just enough horsepower to speed away from the snarling pack. Dipping underneath Darren in turn two, BC was back to second place status and with seven to go, a Chase Barber spin spoiled Sweet’s stampede to the show position.

Eager to earn his first-ever USAC score, perhaps a bit too overeager Buckwalter overextended cushions in turns two, three and four, allowing Clauson to collect first place with five to go. Finding the bottom lane to his liking once again, Brad Kuhn swiped fourth from Sweet.

A Ricky Ehrgott revolution reset the field for a five lap dash, allowing the Kasey Kahne collaborator to crash Kuhn’s party, pushing the Purdue grad back to 8^th. Last year’s Lawrenceburg winner then flew past Hagen and Buckwalter on consecutive circuits. Needing a couple more laps to make a move on Clauson, Sweet would again have to settle for second. The final rundown had Bryan besting Brad, Steve, Darren, Tracy, Chad, Brad (Kuhn), Jerry, Dave, and Kody. Alan Rush pulled Clauson’s name out of the hat and walked away with a cool $28. No – it’s not quite up to Argosy Casino standards across the street, but not bad nonetheless.

His first Lawrenceburg victory lane landing since June of 2006, Clauson commented, “This feels awesome! I grew up racing here. It’s different now of course, but it’s a lot of fun. Early on I was better than it showed. I made a mistake on a restart and was disappointed in myself. I dug down deep and thought that if I could stay close, I could make a move late.”

Despite being second-best, an excited Sweet said, “The track was awesome! I could go above the ledge and that made for some good slide jobs. Hats off to my guys – they gave me a good car tonight.”

The 25 lap sprint car A-main featured Jerry Coons, Jr., Shawn Westerfeld, Joss Moffatt, Andrew Elson, Brady Short, Shane Hmiel, Levi Jones, and rookie J.J. Hughes in first four rows, starting straight up by virtue of their heat race finishes. Last year’s Midget Week sprint car hero Dave Darland began 16^th.

Sliding Westerfeld on lap one and slapping his left front, Jerry Coons, Jr. was on a mission, waving bye-bye to the rest of the field. Building a massive lead in two laps, an early caution for Jonathan Hendrick kept things respectable.

Green means go and that’s just what Jerry did, constructing yet another insurmountable margin in no time at all, clearly the class of the field. One could choose to watch him decimate the competition, but a more intriguing sight was Levi Jones’s surge from seventh. Ordering the Trucker’s 24-Hour Service DRC/Foxco above the cushion, especially through the east end; he rocketed off the second corner with massive amounts of momentum and easily earned fifth from teammate (and roommate) Shane Hmiel. Wailing on Westerfeld for fourth, soon he had third and second place in his sights. Saying hello to Fonzi way upstairs, he shot past Short and Moffatt in less than one lap.

Soon Hmiel followed Levi’s lead above the cushion and quickly worked his way to third, nearly giving head wrench Jim Whiteside a heart attack in the process.

With five to go and through some scary lapped traffic, Coons still maintained a full straight lead. In his own area code, Jerry would not be touched. Jones, Hmiel, Short, Moffatt, Darland (up 10 spots), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (up 12 spots), Westerfeld, Elson, and Casey Riggs finalized the first ten.

With just a mini sprint feature left to run at 9:45, Coons told the surprisingly sparse Midget Week crowd, “Lapped traffic was pretty tough. It was slick on the curb – pretty physical and fun. We’ve been struggling with the Hoffman car and there are some big races coming up here at The Burg – 2 USAC shows and a ten grand to win show. They’re doing great things here. We needed to get some laps in and learn a little bit. It’s the first time I’ve won for the Hoffmans at Lawrenceburg. It was hard to pass in the midget, but much easier in the sprint car.”

Nearly impossible to exceed last year’s lofty standards (both sprint and midget features were thrillers); it is of my opinion that if the midget main event would have been staged first, the feature could have been even better. It still wasn’t a bad show and the fact that there was no dust coupled with the earliness of exit time, that’s a huge plus in my book. Sprint and midget doubleheaders usually take a long time to complete and already this week, I witnessed two that were finished before ten o’clock. As an Indiana open wheel fan based in Indy, life is still very good.

Sunday

Only one more night existed in this brief respite from reality. Sad, yes, but unfortunately oh so true. Every good thing must come to an end and I could cry in my cereal bowl just thinking about having to return to the real world in less than one day, but the time wasted worrying about tomorrow would take away from my high expectations of Kokomo’s Midget Week madness. If there ever was a way to end this escape, Kokomo is like the whipped cream, nuts, and cherry on top of my ice cream sundae. Hearing Bryce Townsend and the boys rave all week about their last trip here in 2007, it made me look forward to it that much more.

Rarely exiting these front gates disappointed; tonight was definitely not one of those rare occasions. Thirty laps of this Midget Week finale were not nearly enough as I found myself wondering how the action could get any more intense or exciting. It’s been almost two weeks since I witnessed it in person and it still blows me away. Holy cow! What a race!

Arriving to the most congested parking lot of the weekend, obviously word has gotten around about the potential of this event at this venue. Scrounging some super seats way up high, my nephew and I planted our behinds on solid pine in front of two more New Zealanders, one being TQ racer John Hopewell (number 13A) and the other being Cameron Coughey.

Avidly staying abreast of the American side of the sport via the web, Hopewell said he finally made his U.S. travel plans around the Christmas holiday. Absorbing World of Outlaws at Lawrenceburg (winning a LaRosa’s pizza for the longest tow), Illinois Sprintweek at Danville, UMP late models at Brownstown, and even NASCAR at Kentucky (in addition to Gas City and Bloomington), John said that on his next tour he can definitely skip the NASCAR deal altogether. If only he would have asked about stock cars ahead of time, I could have saved him the trouble and expense.

Hopewell advised that two additional Kiwis made the trip as well, those being Shayne Alach crew members Jason Sutton and Carl “Babyface” Assassin (Insley told me to call him that), brining the NZ total to 15 by my count. That of course did not include any of the Australians with Brown and McAllan, who brought over a bunch as well. While Townsend was texting Alach who watched Kokomo streaming video from home, the fact that so many people from so far away go to such great lengths to escape their own reality to be a part of Midget Week, it has become crystal clear that this series has solidified itself as an International destination. Let’s hope it continues as playing host to such fine individuals makes the week that much better.

33 midgets and 21 sprints were just enough to put on one whale of a program. Beginning with sprint car warm-ups and qualifications, Ryan Kaplan (12.789) rocked a top-six containing Whitt, KISS winner Billy Puterbaugh, Levi Jones (Baldwin 5), Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tapy 12), and Shane Cottle. Midget times were topped by Brad Sweet’s 13.449, impressing his Budweiser backed boss who was in the house to watch the action after competing in Brooklyn, Michigan.

The most dramatic lap of the week unquestionably came from fifth quick Ricky Ehrgott, whose two-wheeled tour of turn one resulted in one of the most dramatic and violent flips since this speedway was revamped for 2005. Flipping to the top of the catch fence, it thankfully spit him back out onto the track. After the safety squad took their time extricating him from the wreckage, Ricky stood up in the seat, conscious and alert. Just inches from flipping into a crowd of people who like to stand beyond the turn one fence, the recent incident at Farmington, Missouri where a sprint car landed in the pit area, killing a crew member, reminds that short track fences cannot be tall enough. Pay attention folks.

With Ehrgott’s absence, Clauson, Boat, Buckwalter, Hagen, and Darland clocked second through sixth best. Clauson’s lap kept him in the hunt for the Midget Week title, entering the final night just four points behind Brad Kuhn, who clocked a dismal 19^th. Remembering Jerry Coons, Jr.’s jolt from 18^th to a near win last year, anything can happen at Kokomo.

Midget heats reminded why the parking lot was so packed, as this is the perfect place to see the smaller machines in action. With marker tires pushed all the way to the infield, heat winners had Hagen coming from fifth, Clauson from sixth, Hines from fourth, and Dakoda Armstrong from second. Too busy to jot down notes as I craned my neck back and forth, everywhere you looked there were two and three wide battles, enjoying Shane Hmiel’s bike ride to blow past Buckwalter for the final transfer on the final lap of the final heat.

The biggest bit of sprint car heat race excitement had second-quick Cole Whitt tasting the turn one concrete, clipped by a quickly closing Jerry Coons, resulting in a pirouette for Jerry and a smashed tail tank for Whitt. The Coons contact required a lengthy thrash from the Trucker’s 24-Hour crew, reworking the rear half of the car by swapping the rear end, birdcage, Jacobs ladder, radius rods, a torsion arm, right rear wheel, and tire. The driveline was suspect and because they couldn’t locate a spare, they went ahead and used the same one.

Waiting through 20-lap street stock and thunder car features, the only iron represented all week, I can understand the financial benefit of having the stock cars on hand, not to mention the fact that they help revive the surface with their excessive weight and skinny tires. However, I still would have preferred an exclusive open wheel week. Sprint and midget doubleheaders take longer to run, so twenty less minutes of track activity could make a difference on a late Sunday night. Still, even iron couldn’t detract from the anticipation of what was soon to come our way.

Fairly clean racing up until the midget semi-feature, it reminded of the once-famous saying, “Midget racers, midget minds.” Containing five yellow flags for boys behaving badly, the action was actually quite entertaining, enthused by Brent Beauchamp’s lone ranger run to the front from the top shelf. Unfortunately, that line of choice bit him briefly, smacking the fence and falling to 7^th but not before making another charge upstairs to solidify the final transfer.

Some of those sitting near me thought track rework prior to both sprint and midget finales was unnecessary, but after viewing the outstanding products offered in both features, I think they know better now. The revamping actually made the middle groove more operable, making a huge difference for the midget main, which was first on the agenda.

An all-RFMS Racing front row featured Darland and Hagen, with The Hawk harnessing first place right off the bat. Sliding sideways in turn four, Clauson fell from 5^th to 12^th, earning a reprieve when Boat got out of shape exiting turn two and connected with Sweet, collecting Coons and inverting all three in a huge mess. Exiting and inspecting the damage, Jerry’s Wilke-PAK Spike suffered right side down tube damage but was otherwise good enough to continue.

Boat and Sweet were done, ending frustrating weeks where both drivers were blindingly quick but didn’t have the feature finishes to show for it. Sweet timed second, fifth, second, and first but exited early at Gas City and could have easily won Bloomington and Lawrenceburg. Boat timed third, third, first, and third, but could only claim finishes of 12^th, 7^th, 6^th, and 22^nd.

With 28 to go, the front five showed Hagen, Darland, Buckwalter, Swindell, and Hmiel, the latter starting outside the sixth row. Up ten spots in two laps, Cole Whitt had stormed to sixth already!

The green cloth was dropped and Whitt whisked to fifth and challenged for third while Hagen dramatically slowed atop turn four, out of the lead and the event. Timing well all week (7^th, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 6^th), Darren’s finishes of 3^rd, 12^th, 4^th, and 21^st had to be a bit of a disappointment.

Darland was now the man on the point with Whitt, Buckwalter, Swindell, Hmiel hot on his heels. Clauson was right there in sixth too. The top three ran in tight formation against the large ledge, with Buckwalter looking low in four and finding second place, all over car 69 for the big banana. Slip and slide, dip and dive, just as Larry Rice used to say on the ESPN Thunder telecasts, Steve slid The Rave through one and two, but not before the people’s champ immediately dove underneath to reclaim first. Darland continued to lead, but just barely, as Buckwalter continued to apply heavy pressure on his outside. With thirteen down, Bobby East slowed to a crawl on the front chute. Counting Darland, Buckwalter, Whitt, Swindell, and Clauson as the first five, the Midget Week champion would be determined by the highest placement between Clauson and Kuhn, who was five more spots behind BC.

Fanning four-wide for third in turn two, Bryan found fourth while behind him, Brad blasted to seventh. Hauling his Spike hard on the right rear and deep into the lower to middle regions of the Kokomo corners, Clauson garnered rights to third and second place, although Buckwalter certainly had something to say about runner-up status. Playing the old-fashioned high-low game, Bryan’s price was right in reclaiming second.

Now sinking his teeth into Darland’s lead, they soon dueled wheel to wheel as BC briefly led off two. Staying on top, Deputy Dave marshaled first through the next set of corners but moved low to block by the time the lead tandem attacked turn one, all while Dave’s wife Brenda loudly screamed with enthusiasm behind us. The close-quarter racing allowed Buckwalter another shot at the premier position, salivating at the thought of zipping by both. Unfortunately, a Henry Clarke and Zach Daum dump in turn three killed the momentum, red flagging the feature at lap 26.

Restarting with a flat sounding engine, Buckwalter soon pulled pit side, effectively making it a two horse race. What a bummer, as he definitely had the strength to pull off a stunning victory. Timing quickest in the first two rounds along with 5^th and 4^th in the final two, his finishes of 23^rd, 6^th, 3^rd, and 15^th did not indicate just how much of a force he was. As I mentioned earlier, he was often THE show.

Darland, Clauson, Whitt, Kuhn, and Swindell led the field to green and while Dave chose the top of turns one and two, he changed lanes in three and four, hoping to steal Bryan’s line. Instead choosing the middle, “The Bullet” fired to first place, a lead he’d never relinquish.

Kuhn made it to third with two to go and by the final lap; it was a three car tussle for second that turned heated. Darland brushed wheels with Whitt as they approached turn three, turning from the top to the extreme bottom to eventually claim second place in a photo finish. Kuhn had to settle for third (from 17^th) and Whitt fourth (from 16^th), with Swindell crossing fifth (from 11^th). Starting 23^rd via a provisional, Kody Swanson soldiered home sixth while Hines, Coons, Beauchamp, and Caleb Armstrong took home top-tens.

Whitt blasted Darland after the checkered, with both cars coming to a stop on the south end of the speedway. Dave removed his helmet and walked towards Cole’s car, the two of them having more than a few animated words about that eventful last lap.

Dave told Rob Klepper afterwards, “It was a good racetrack – pretty racy. It was one lane early but I adjusted the shocks on the red flag and made it faster. Bryan did a great job. He’s been winning a bunch of sprint and midget races it seems like. Me and Cole got together there on the last lap. He wanted to talk about it. So we talked about it. I want to thank Don Fike for giving me a chance.”

Celebrating his 20^th birthday, a feature win, and the USAC Indiana Midget Week championship on the front stretch, Clauson claimed, “Gol-lee! From basically spinning out on the first lap to winning it…wow! The track came to us in the middle of the race. We found a groove that worked and were able to race tooth and nail with Darland. Dave will kill me as this will show his age, but I grew up watching and idolizing him. To race wheel to wheel with him is special. I knew he would go for the block in turn three.”

As for third place Kuhn, he came up short yet again for the Midget Week banner, but his week was still very impressive, passing more cars than anyone. Charging from the back to win at Bloomington and nearly pulling off another monumental feat at Kokomo, he said, “It was my fault – qualifying that far back. Tonight was actually big picture racing. We put ourselves in a good position for the overall championship with how we ran tonight. My car owner Steve Weirich is a down-the-road kind of guy. We were honestly racing for tonight though.”

Final Indiana Midget Week points had Clauson edging Kuhn by eight points. Hines took third with Coons and Hagen collecting fourth and fifth. Earning the inaugural Indiana Midget Week Kiwi “Inn” (as in bar) Challenge after pulling Bryan Clauson’s name from the hat was “Angry” Angus McLeod, taking home the week’s top prize of $32. Next year, look for an official trophy (perhaps the nose piece from an ex-Steve Lewis/Don Fike Beast), more money, and potential sponsorship from Kelly’s Pub Too. You’ve got to pay to play but I can hardly wait!

The sprint car side of the ledger took the green flag at 11:01, sending Shane Cottle and Jerry Coons, Jr. to the first corner before anyone else. Immediately attacking the cushion, Coons was the first to exit turn two, again saying goodbye before anyone else could have a say in the outcome. Twenty-five laps only took ten minutes to complete in the green to checker affair, completely uninterrupted by cautions.

Bicycling his Maxim and peeling left rear rubber from rim, Ryan Kaplan spoiled his quick time by exiting early. Beginning fifth, Cole Whitt fell to 8^th and was the one to watch the rest of the way, using the all of the available lanes to work his way to second on the white flag lap. A wicked turn four slider from Billy Puterbaugh relieved him of the position however, having to settle for third.

Intense action also existed for fourth through seventh, as Cottle, trophy dash winner Andrew Elson, Hunter Schuerenberg (Epperson 2), and Jones worked hard for their positions. Kent Christian, last week’s feature winner Chris Gurley, and Kevin Thomas, Jr. earned eighth, ninth, and tenth.

In a quick interview afterwards, Coons succinctly said, “I have to thank R&B Racing, the Tapys, and mechanic Kris Kirchner. They worked their tails off from the time of the heat race until pushing off for the feature. It feels good to win for those guys.”

Talk about a productive Midget Week with wins on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, one midget victory and three eighth place finishes may not have been to Jerry’s liking, but the sprint car results were sterling: fourth, second, first and first.

And how about that Truckers number 12? Fourth with Coons, second with Coons, second with Jones, and first with Coons, putting some solid veterans in the seat should quiet the team’s naysayers. The rare combination of patience, talent, and experience obviously go a long way.

All in all, Kokomo was absolutely incredible. Maybe it’s just the fact that midgets only appear here on rare occasions (this Sunday’s Bob Darland Memorial also sports a sprint and midget doubleheader), but I’m still fired up after a barn-burner of a feature. Dare I say that under perfect conditions, midgets are better here than sprint cars? Okay, maybe not, as I’m sure I’ll change my tune after watching a killer sprint car feature here during Sprintweek. Regardless, tonight was just what I needed to make me forget about my upside down world, at least for a handful of hours.

A break from the norm, that being the society of Indiana sprint car racing and my new management position at Consona, Indiana Midget Week may not have been the true vacation in a land far away that I so desperately desired, but much to my surprise, the vacation came to visit me. Great racing and the company of even better friends, many coming lands far, far away; the combination made the week a memorable one, an escape from reality that ended with another late Monday night at Kelly’s Pub Too.

Leaving at 12:30 AM this time, it was very difficult to say goodbye to both my break and my friends, hoping that I can one day visit them in their homeland, a visit that would inevitably become the vacation of all vacations. As the new CFO of our company told me last week, “Actions do not happen unless you dream them. Dreams do not happen unless you act on them.” Simply put, it’s up to me to make it happen. Waving goodbye to the remaining Kiwis still in town, I have a distinct feeling that it will be only a matter of time until we meet again.

Bringing together people from opposite ends of the world as an escape mechanism, who knew midget car racing could be such a unifying force?

bullringko@aol.com