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Florida Open Wheel
By Richard Golardi
A Night of Firsts in the Second Race at Citrus County Speedway
It was a night of firsts at Citrus County Speedway in Inverness, FL on Saturday. The CCS Wingless Sprint Series, running their second race of the year on the 3/8 mile asphalt, had another race with an entry list in excess of 20 cars. Chad Freeman and Garrett Green both had major career firsts on that night, marking a turning point for both drivers. Mickey Kempgens had his first sprint car feature win of the year, in dominating fashion. He lapped the field up to third place, and had a half lap lead on the second place car. The night was in contrast to one month earlier, when contact with another car sent him into a spin, and he was not in the top three by race end. Kempgens is the only driver to finish in the top five in both races at the speedway this year.
Chad Freeman
Chad Freeman, who traveled with his sprint car from Kentucky, entered his first sprint car race in a non-vintage racing series. Freeman has many miles of sprint car racing in vintage racing series, the most recent coming one day prior at the DAARA Vintage Oval Track Nationals in Auburndale. He has been a lifelong close friend of the Riddle family, and the Riddles would take him to the races when he was a boy living in Florida. He has close ties with the sprint car racing community in Florida, and has an impressive collection of Florida memorabilia and scrapbooks at his home in Kentucky. Freeman was kind enough to recently give me access to his collection for my own research. I jokingly labeled him as the curator for the “Florida Sprint Car Hall of Fame Archives – Kentucky Branch”. As sprint car Race Director Stan Butler and I stood observing Chad’s practice laps, Stan remarked that, “we’ve known Chad since he was this tall!”
Chad Freeman’s first race lap of the night found him watching a grinding crash unfold in front of him in the first turn. Steve Heisler flipped and ended up against the second turn wall, leaving him uninjured, but sore. The flip was caused by a crowded three-wide first turn and Heisler going over another car’s tire. Shane Butler expressed remorse after the race before he had seen a video replay. Later, he stated, “I am taking 100% blame on this. But mistakes are made and I am man enough to own up to it.” Butler also apologized to Heisler, whose car bounced off the top of the wall before falling back to the track. Heisler later joked, “People pay a lot of money to take rides like that.” He told me that it was not his first meeting with the turn two wall at the speedway, even showing me a still photo of another crash saved on his smart phone.
Garrett Green
With Garrett Green’s steady improvement on track in his third year in a sprint car, his first top three finish and subsequent first feature win seemed inevitable. A misstep at the year’s first race at Citrus found him heading to the tech area at the wrong time, and being penalized for the misstep. On Saturday, redemption would arrive with his first ever sprint car feature top three, finishing second behind Kempgens. With a heat race win in Georgia last year, he now sets his sights on a feature win. In the immediate future, the fifteen year old racer plans to join the Must See Racing Southern Shootout (two race winged sprint series) in April, and venture into dirt sprint car racing. East Bay Raceway Park is the closest dirt track to the family’s base in Valrico.
Mickey Kempgens in Winners Circle
Steven Bradley would also have an impressive showing, leading early and finishing in third place. The car also had a new appearance, with polished aluminum body panels. Bradley told me of the hours of work that he and his father spent in getting the polished aluminum panels to shine brightly for this race. Richie Corr was among the early front runners in the race, and was in the top five at race end, but would be dropped down in the order for not going to the tech area immediately after leaving the track.
Some of the cars had both American Racer and Hoosier race tires, as the series transitions to using American Racer tires exclusively. Citrus County Speedway required that both rear tires must be American Racer tires for this race. The Hoosier Tire 45 compound for the right front tire was allowed. TBARA will also be making the switch to American Racer tires when it begins competition later this month at Auburndale Speedway and Desoto Speedway. The race at Auburndale marks the return of winged sprint car racing to the Central Florida quarter mile bullring, after a hiatus of at least four years.
Steven Bradley
The feature race video from the Florida Open Wheel channel is here (CCS Wingless Sprint Cars from Citrus County Speedway on 3-1-2014):
Bubba Raceway Park and USAC – It Must Be Speedweeks (Part Two)
Bryan Clauson appeared to be on track to advance to the front on the first night of AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series racing on Thursday night. On lap 15, a flat right rear tire stopped his advance while competing with Tracy Hines for the lead. Bubba Raceway Park was rained out on Friday night, leaving Saturday as his last chance until spring in Indiana. The USAC sprint cars would go on hiatus until April, six weeks away. Clauson has a goal for this year: repeat. “Yes - just try and defend our title. When you’re getting into three straight, you’re talking about kind of rarified air. There’s only a couple of guys that have been able to do it. I feel confident in the team. We brought the same team back. We made a few improvements, equipment-wise,” Clauson said, referring to his 2014 attempt to win three straight USAC sprint car titles.
Looking back on 2013, Bryan Clauson spoke about his year and his late-season surge to the championship. “We kind of got in a groove late last year. We kind of hung around the top of the points deal for a lot of the season. By August and September, we found our rhythm, and became the car to beat every night. Hopefully, we can carry that back into this year, and start all over.” His crew chief (Bob East) and crew are the same, keeping the same winning group from 2013 together. A new tire for 2014 was added, but he saw it as something in need of just fine-tuning. His 2014 plans include the full USAC sprint car and midget series, and adding winged sprint car races on off days. “I’m shooting for thirty or so winged races. I’d like to do more. It’s kind of scattered – I’m going out to Yuma next week to run ASCS races. I’m going to Vegas and Tucson the week after that to run the Outlaw shows,” Clauson told me. He felt that he got a late start last year, and only ran about ten winged races last year. He wants to make it thirty races this year, but won’t be disappointed with twenty or twenty five winged races, as last year was his first time racing a winged sprint car.
Bryan Clauson
Clauson viewed winged sprint car racing as something new and challenging, and wanted to have fun with it. “You learn, you can take some things from that, and apply it to the non-wing stuff, and vice versa. It keeps me on my toes a little bit.” What about the Little 500 (a race he entered as a rookie in 2013)? “I’d like to do the Little Five again, it kind of depends on some of the scheduling stuff. They’ve got that POWRi World Midget Championship that I’m leading right now. I think they’ve got a couple races during that. It’s depending on the full World Championship schedule. I’m chasing something on the Little 500. Not quite there where I can say I’m going to be back, but I feel good about it.” He will be in a few Silver Crown races, but not the full season. He is still pursuing wins in both the Hoosier Hundred and the Little 500 – the two big Memorial Day weekend short track classics in Indiana.
Tracy Hines is an owner/driver for USAC sprint car racing this year, and brings The Carolina Nut Company with him for full-season sponsorship. He looks forward to helping his sponsor cross-promote and helping them with their goal of getting into more stores nationwide. They are a gourmet peanut company, with multiple flavors of nuts. They are in all Sam’s Club stores and some other stores also. They are also an associate sponsor on his Parker / Hines midget and on his Mark Lightfoot owned Silver Crown cars. Hines won the Silver Crown race at the Belleville High Banks in Kansas last year, a place where he had come close to winning in the past. He led all 50 laps on the high-banked half-mile. It was the first Silver Crown win for car owner Mark Lightfoot. He is racing the full schedule in all three USAC national divisions. “It’s what we’ve done for years – run all USAC races. We’ll try it again for three championships, and see what happens.” He would not say that he was setting the goal of three USAC championships in one year for himself, as he wanted to “just win races.”
For Jon Stanbrough, his ride in the Michael Dutcher/RW/Tri-Star Motorsports #37RW sprint car, with new teammate Kevin Thomas Jr. in the #17RW, was his big news so far this year. Car owner Dutcher partnered with Alabama driver Kevin Thomas, Jr. last year to garner seven wins and finish fifth in the USAC sprint car season-long championship. This year, Jon Stanbrough has joined them in a second team car, with both contending for the National Championship. Stanbrough has always been viewed as one of the toughest drivers on dirt. At 46 years old, he has racked up 31 USAC National Sprint Car wins. Stanbrough and Dutcher had worked together before, for a few races in 2009. Stanbrough had previously said that he had high hopes for the team, and wanted to get back to winning more frequently.
“New team. I’ve got high expectations. Same thing I always look for – I just want to win as many races as we can win. If we’re in contention for the championship, maybe we can get that too as an added bonus,” Jon Stanbrough told me, while added tearoffs to his helmet, which was perched on the hood of his new car. Does he think he will get more wins this year, and have a better chance at the championship? “Yeah. No doubt in my mind that we will. It’s not that I wasn’t competitive before. It’s just that we didn’t get to run all of the series. This year, that’s our plan right from the get-go is to run the whole series. You know that luck is a big part of it, so hopefully we can have a little bit of luck on our side as well.”
Tracy Hines
For the weekends without a USAC sprint car race, Stanbrough said that he had no definite plans on where he would be going. He has had substantial success in the Indiana-only KISS Series (King of Indiana Sprint Series), winning the series championship six times since 2003. “We’ll just look at the schedule, and pick and choose where we’re going to go, and where we might race besides USAC. No definite plans on exactly where we’re going. I’m more concerned with just focusing on running the sprint car this year,” he said, when asked if he had any Silver Crown races planned. “If something comes available, and I feel like it’s something good, that we can be competitive with – maybe,” he said, putting extra emphasis on the last word.
Bubba Raceway Park and USAC – It Must Be Speedweeks (Part One)
On Saturday, the second of two Ocala races on the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series schedule was held. Bubba Raceway Park was supposed to be the location of three races, but Friday was rained out. Fortunately, the rain did not cause the severe track drying problems that occurred earlier in the month when the All Star Circuit of Champions made their visit. For Floridians, the rain meant a few less races run by the national sprint cars series during Speedweeks, but the quality of the racing was not diminished. When Levi Jones asked about being a sprint car racing fan in Florida, I remarked that February always means a binge of travel and race-going, followed by eleven months of looking forward to next February.
With three to four cars in contention for the win during the Thursday race, on Saturday night it was time for Bryan Clauson to make his methodical move through the field to win. Clauson also began the trip home with the lead in the USAC sprint car points. Dave Darland was in second in the points with an all-time USAC record set in Ocala for his 1,000th USAC national feature start. Darland was back in the Phillips Motorsports #71P car again. “My Phillips Motorsports team is committed to me another season, and we’re happy about that. We had a great 2013, and we’re looking forward to 2014. Me and Clauson went down to the very last race of the year at the Oval Nationals at Perris,” Darland said. “It was a good battle clear to the finish, and we had a lot of great battles throughout the year. He won seven races – I won seven races. It was a good balanced year for USAC.” Darland said that he doesn’t set many goals, as “I’m just here to win races. I’m going to run the #41 car in a lot of the other non-USAC sprint car races, and another ten to fifteen races with the #17RW midget on dirt.” He also has some Silver Crown races planned with a new car owner. His race total for the year is 60 to 70 races.
Twenty-one year old USAC sprint car rookie Jarett Andretti did have his father John, and driver coach/ crew chief Levi Jones in his pit for his season start. He also had the advantage of having Jones take his car out on the track during Wednesday practice runs to test setups. Jones had retired from driving in 2013, and now lives in the St. Louis area. Jarett Andretti’s 2014 schedule had recently been expanded to include a possible rookie run in the Little 500. I asked if he had wanted a variety of races this year, or would have preferred to make USAC sprints his main effort? “I think we’re always working on a variety of races. I want to run dirt sprint car as much as we can, but we’re also going to run the full Silver Crown Series to get some longer races, and get some pavement in there. And then, the Little 500 is so prestigious. Getting variety is what’s best for you and that’s what makes these guys so great is that they can run from pavement midgets to mile Silver Crown cars. That’s what made Tony, Jeff, Carl – all those guys so great. So I’m hoping to get the same variety”
Since Jarett is running the full USAC sprint car schedule, he does have hopes of staying in the top ten in points, and contending for Rookie of the Year. “USAC sprint cars are probably the toughest short track racing in the world. To compete at a high level is the ultimate goal.” He told me that he is looking forward to Eldora, Belleville, and the dirt miles. He may also be in some pavement winged sprint car races. “It’s going to be an exciting year. I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’ve liked working with John and Jarett on some other stuff, and I like the way they approach the race team, and what they want to accomplish. I agreed to help them out,” Levi Jones told me. Wearing jeans and a Window World team shirt, Levi smiled easily and seemed completely comfortable in his new role. Testing the car on Wednesday and mentoring the newest Andretti family racer on Thursday seemed an easy transition for him. He said that he could not make it to all the races, but would try to help them cut down on their learning curve. “His goal is not to race sprint cars for thirty years, I would say. We want to try to make a splash and give him the best chance we can to get into Victory Lane.”
With the team expanding their race schedule, and racing more weekends, Levi Jones said he could not follow them all the time. “That’s one of the big reasons why I’m not racing is because I can’t obligate to traveling all over the country, and doing it all the time with responsibilities at home. We can test, and do stuff together.” He wanted to help shrink down what may be a two or three year learning curve, and get them wins sooner. Jones is also working with Shane Hmiel’s midget team, and Great Clips Racing. He admitted that he does get asked about how he can be at the track, and not be driving? “A lot of those people were ones that wanted to win, and wanted to win championships, and never got the right opportunity to do it. I was fortunate enough to win a lot of big races, and championships, and accomplished my goals in a sprint car. I turned thirty. Tony wasn’t going to call me and say ‘hey, one of these Cup cars is struggling, and do you want to drive it for a couple of weeks?’ That wasn’t going to happen.”
John Andretti had taken a position with Andretti Autosport last year, a sort of go-between for the driver and the engineer, Levi told me. John and his son Jarett then decided that Jarett could use someone in similar role for himself. “I hot lapped it once last night, just to make sure that the steering feels like it’s steering, and that the motor does everything right, and the car feels good.” Levi explained that he was a little worried that he wouldn’t want to get out of the car after the Wednesday night hot laps. “I’ve made enough laps in a sprint car, and done it enough that it was pretty easy for me to get back out.” And you were happy, and had a smile on your face after the run? “Yeah,” he replied.
Living just outside of St. Louis, Levi Jones has a 250 mile drive to get to Indianapolis. Hmiel’s team is close to him in Illinois. “I was a race fan before I ever became a driver,” he told me. “I love being around it, and doing it. When you win working on a car, you get the same feeling you do as when you’re driving it. It’s still fun for me to be here.”
East Bay Winternationals Week with Florida’s Drivers
By Richard Golardi
“Up and down. It wasn’t good, and it wasn’t bad,” is how Robbie Smith described his experience at the 2014 East Bay Winternationals for 360 sprint cars at East Bay Raceway Park. The Tampa owner/driver did make the A-Main feature on Thursday night, a night that included a heat race win. The only other driver from Florida to make it to an A-Main at East Bay during the Winternationals was Danny Martin Jr. Danny made it to the A-Main on each of the three nights, with a best finish of 13th on Friday, and B-Main wins on Thursday and Saturday. There were fewer drivers from Florida making it to the A-Main as compared to one year ago. Many drivers explained that since they did not race these engine types each weekend, the drivers from other states who did had an advantage. The biggest winner of the week had to be Wayne Johnson, who won on both Friday and Saturday. Californian Rico Abreu challenged Johnson for the $10,000 prize on Saturday, nearly passing near the race end. Abreu did not reach his goal of winning some races while in Florida for his first Speedweeks, but did have an impressive week at East Bay. His A-Main finishes improved from 6th, to 5th, and then a 2nd place on the last night.
Robbie Smith
“It was one of those things that we tried and we missed,” Robbie Smith explained, when speaking about the changes made to the car to gain speed. He added that he felt he made a mistake on Friday that cost them a starting spot in the feature race. A follow-the-leader night on Saturday, with what he described as a “pretty greasy” track led them to make some changes to make the car lock down, but they did not work. He plans to go to Bubba Raceway Park and Volusia Speedway for his next two races, and is not intending to race the complete schedule of 21 Top Gun races. “We’re not running any full schedule with anybody. We’re going to pick and choose what we do this year. We’re going to have some fun, and try to win some races,” Smith, the 2013 Bubba Army 360 Sprints Champion, told me. He also is looking to run some USCS series races during the year. His main goals for the year are to get more confidence in the car, and get some momentum going toward winning races.
“Me and Robbie are running pretty good, for the Florida guys. Tryin’ to represent,” Danny Martin Jr said. A new car that was not handling the same, despite bringing their best equipment to the Winternationals, meant he was faced with a car that was hard to drive in the slick track conditions. “Unfamiliar equipment can get you in trouble, too. You spend the whole weekend trying to figure it out.” Up next for Danny is Hendry County, the opening race of the Eagle Jet Top Gun Sprint Series on Saturday. The injected motor will be put back in a new car, which he has never driven before. Car owner Doug Shaw was looking to run some USCS races on those weekends without a Top Gun race. Danny Martin Jr. is the defending Top Gun driver champion.
Regarding the return of Top Gun to Bubba Raceway Park (in place of Bubba Army 360 Sprint Series races), Danny Martin Jr. believes that, “if Don (Rehm) runs the series, then we’ll be better off.” Referring to Bubba Clem, Danny stated that, “he’s a good guy, but to try to run the track, run all the series, and then run the sprints, I think he got just a little too much stress. And then, on top of that, his day job and everything. Maybe it just got to him. You know, that stress will get to anybody. Don does a real good job. Last year, he was starting to tech a little more. I think we’ll have a good series this year.” What is his main goal for the year? “Just win races. I want to go on the road. We really haven’t made a final decision. We’ll just see how money goes. If we picked up a fuel sponsor, or someone to cover our tires, we would definitely be out of town. But with Doug (Shaw) floating the bill all on his own, and he’s not selling too many race cars, it makes it a little tougher to go spend two or three thousand per weekend.”
Gene Lasker
Although he did not have a new car at East Bay, Johnny Gilbertson’s car did have some new colors, and new sponsor stickers. “We just changed the colors up a little bit. There’s a lot of black cars out there now, so we wanted something a little different,” he remarked. He does plan on running more dirt races this year, while currently waiting for a motor to be completed. It will force him to find a new motor to use at Hendry County on Saturday. He plans to run most of the Top Gun dirt races, and also East Bay Sprints. “I’m going to run TBARA races, as schedule permits. There’s just a lot of dirt races this year, so it really doesn’t leave a whole lot of room.” With so many dirt and pavement races this year, he could race a sprint car on almost every weekend. But are there enough sponsor dollars to do that? “If we bounce around, probably. If it was every weekend a pavement car – then no.”
This coming Saturday, Gilbertson will have Aaron Pierce behind the wheel of his #22 winged sprint car at Showtime Speedway. Aaron’s last race in this car earlier in February resulted in a win at Citrus County Speedway. Dave Steele’s #33 pavement sprint car is also being prepared at the Steele Performance shop, alongside of the #22 entry, and both cars will have 360 motors on Saturday. The Showtime Speedway 75 lap “Florida State Championship” race will allow 410 motors with the 360s.
A J Maddox had a new car at East Bay for the Winternationals, which still had some bugs being worked out during the week. He viewed his struggle as “trying to keep up with these guys that do it for a living. It’s pretty tough to make the race. They’re only taking twenty cars. We had some bad luck Thursday night. Popped a motor Thursday night and spent Friday afternoon trying to swap it out.” His sponsors from 2013 were back again this year, with Manikis Performance Parts added. A third place in his Thursday heat race and B-Main race was not enough to advance, with so few cars advancing to the A-Main. He wants to wait to see how his first Top Gun series races work out for him before making a decision to race all 21 Top Gun races this year. “I’d like to do some traveling this year, and do some USCS races,” he added, after only racing in one USCS event last year.
Wayne Johnson
With a new color scheme and graphics on his Car, Tyler Godwin also had a new driver logo, with a hand grenade pictured next to his name on the car’s body panel. “It came about a couple of months ago, when I first starting driving for Brian. They made a little comment, saying ‘we have a hand grenade in the car. Pull the pin, and see what happens.’ Ever since then, it just stuck.” His Winternationals races did not provide the degree of success that he wanted, and he looked forward to better success in the first Top Gun race in one week.
A wreck on Friday night involved a scary moment when a flipping car partially got into Tyler’s cockpit, impacting the upper left part of his containment seat. Tyler was uninjured. “If I didn’t have the ButlerBuilt seat containment, I probably would have had a broken shoulder, or something broken. The left rear tire was actually inside the cockpit when he hit me. In the B-Main, everybody’s pretty aggressive on the starts. If you don’t pass them on the starts, you won’t have a chance. All of a sudden, I see two cars flipping in front of me, and I rolled out of the throttle. Then, there was a clear spot, and I gassed it.” He continued after the wreck, with a damaged wing, until a right front torsion arm and torsion bar went flying out. That caused the nose to dig in, and he pulled off the track. He will try to run most of the Top Gun races during the year, but also add some USCS races in the Deep South states later. As far as Tyler Godwin continuing his late 2013 hot streak, which saw multiple race wins, he replied, “we’ll see. I’d like to say so, but I don’t want to sound cocky.”
“The luck of the draw in the pill is killing us right now,” Gene Lasker told me on Saturday, describing his bad luck so far during the week. A new motor proved fast early on, and he knew he was running the same speed as other cars. “It’s just a matter of being lucky enough to start in the right spot.” Lasker told me he is looking forward to the upcoming Top Gun series races, and racing at Bubba Raceway Park and East Bay. “We’ll run for the two championships this year (Top Gun and East Bay Sprints). This is a brand new car we built for the next season. Our motor program this year is with Ron Hutter. He’s one of the best motor builders in the country. Up until now, I’ve just been using the driver. I don’t care if the shock’s broke, or the wing’s in the wrong spot. I just drive harder, and different, and make it happen. It’s getting to the point where everybody’s so fast right now that you need to have real good equipment to be able to win.”
Lasker told me of a race at Ocala, where he started on the front row along with Jack Hewitt, and won the race during a time that he felt that Hewitt was at the top of his game. Hewitt had just finished winning all of the Four Crown races at Eldora Speedway. “I won the first national event in my career at Ocala. I will remember that forever,” Lasker confessed. “We always want to go back there. The race tracks are the race tracks. This is what we do.” To Lasker, the people that were running the race tracks were less important. His memories were with the track, and the good memories of the track will remain.
The video from this year’s East Bay Raceway Park Winternationals is from the #6S car of Robbie Smith, as he races against 55 other cars to make it to the A-Main on Saturday (from Florida Open Wheel channel):
World of Outlaws Weekend at Volusia Speedway Park
By Richard Golardi
After starting in eleventh place in the feature race at Volusia Speedway Park on Saturday night, Donny Schatz took the lead on the 23rd lap after passing Kasey Kahne Racing competitors Daryn Pittman and Cody Darrah. This World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series action was the second night of a three night series of races at the North Florida track. Thursday night was the first and only night for the All Star Circuit of Champions at the track, which saw mainly one lane racing and limited passing. That all changed by Friday, with 48 hours having passed since the last rain storm. The low and high grooves were both ready, and several racers were battling for the feature win late in the race, with Brad Sweet, Paul McMahan and Tim Shaffer all involved. Kasey Kahne would end the night in Victory Circle with his car # 49 and driver Brad Sweet. This was a repeat for Kasey Kahne Racing to win the first series race of the year at Volusia, where Pittman was the winner in 2013. “The bottom was a little better, but if you got too close behind a car you got bad air and it would take away the nose. That’s what happened getting into one with Tim, and I about hit the wall. I knew I had one more chance and Paul (McMahan) snuck up on me, but I never gave up on the top,” Sweet said after winning night one with the Outlaws.
With three nights complete at the Volusia County banked half mile, the fastest cars and teams that are emerging include the three Kasey Kahne entrants (Pittman, Sweet and Darrah), Donny Schatz (coming off a 23 win season in 2013), Joey Saldana (Thursday night winner), and Paul McMahan ( three consecutive top five finishes in the first three nights). Kerry Madsen is also notable for a third place finish on Friday night, after winning on Monday night at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala. Steve Kinser, in the first three races of his final year, dubbed the “Salute to the King” Tour, had finishes of 24th, 11th, and 7th (he later won the last feature race on Sunday night). Thursday night saw some drama for Kinser, when a broken part caused a spin in the feature, with Danny Holtgraver and Rico Abreu making contact after the spin. Heat race #3 winner Abreu would be forced all the way up to the wall in turn three, and avoided a wreck.
“It was a lot of fun and you kind of had to pass everywhere,” Donny Schatz remarked after the Saturday win. “We didn’t have the greatest night last night, but you’ll have that in racing. It’s how quick you rebound. It was a fun race, it was awesome fast and sometimes I didn’t know where I was going to end up.” The multiple lead changes and extremely fast track conditions were a welcome change from Bubba Raceway Park earlier in the week, where rain caused a very muddy track. Most World of Outlaws teams withdrew from racing at Bubba Raceway, drawing flak from various quarters because of the decision to withdraw.
Also new for 2014 was a requirement that either full containment seats or side nets would be required with the World of Outlaws. Aluminum or carbon fiber-type seats are permitted; with the driver’s left side headrest / helmet surround extending at least 4 inches forward from the back of the headrest. Jac Haudenschild had used a flat back seat in 2013, which no longer is allowed. When asked about the new seat in his #9W Destiny Motorsports car, Jac said that if he could have kept his “old school” seat this year, he would have kept it.
“Well, Bubba’s was a disaster. We really appreciate all his hard work, but it was just a disaster,” Danny Lasoski told me, in summarizing his week in Florida. “We broke an engine the first night (Thursday),” he said, referring to Volusia Speedway Park. “Last night (Friday), we qualified terrible. Started 24th, passed the most cars, and the hard charger award. Tonight, we dug another hole, we’re 25th quick, so we’ve got a lot of work to do.” Lasoski would race to a second place finish in the B main on Saturday, and then finish 22nd in the Saturday night feature race. On Sunday, he would improve his qualifying and feature finish positions, finishing in 18th place in the feature.
Lasoski was looking forward to traveling to East Bay early in the week for Wednesday practice at the Tampa area track for the 360 Sprint Car Winternationals. Next: “Yuma, Las Vegas, Tucson, and then out to California.” Concerning all the “Florida guys” on his temporary crew while in Florida, he said, “pretty cool – it’s nice to be down here. I’m a Floridian now, so I love it. They’re helping. All these guys are working real hard. I couldn’t do it without them.”
Jac Haudenschild, after flipping in the Monday feature race at Bubba Raceway Park, was hoping for a better weekend when racing moved to Volusia. “We’ve been having a little bit of a tough time, but the 9W car, we’re going to get it going good. We’ve got Scott Benic working on the car, and we’re looking for good things. Rick Rogers owns the car this year, and we’re going to run a lot of races.” How many races? “Oh, I don’ know. It’s kind of up in the air, but we’ll run 60 or 70 races.” Concerning the flip on Monday, he said, “I just got up on the cushion, and I got upside down. We went over a couple of times.” He was uninjured. Haudenschild is not done racing in Florida yet, as the team has a 360 engine for East Bay later in the week, where racing resumes from Thursday to Saturday. His goal for 2014 is to win as many races as he can.
Rico Abreu described his struggles in the car on Friday night, where he was tight at times and loose at other times. He won a heat race on Thursday night, was the fourth fastest qualifier on Friday night, and an engine change prior to the feature on Saturday night allowed him to finish in 16th place. His best feature finish of the weekend came on Sunday night, with a 13th place finish in the last night at Volusia. His Florida Speedweeks travels take him to East Bay Raceway Park next weekend, before the cross-country trek back to California.
“It’s all new to me on these big tracks, where you keep up your momentum, and hit your marks. I think I was getting better as the week goes on, and we’ll learn for when we come back next year,” Rico Abreu told me. He was involved in the incident on Thursday night when Steve Kinser broke and spun on the sixth lap. “Steve Kinser spun out and I went to miss him and Holtgraver hit me. It’s just a racing incident, and we move on. Today’s another day. We’ve got a lot of races planned for these next couple of weeks.” Abreu remarked that he was impressed by the high speeds at the Volusia Speedway half mile. “You don’t get to go to as many places like this, where it’s so fast. Keeping your speed up, and your hands down, and it’s a lot going on. It’s experience for me.” Does it have some similarity to Eldora? “At Eldora, you get to the fence as quick as you can, to get momentum around there. So, it’s a little different.” He also praised his team, saying that it was a great team that he had behind him, and gave thanks to his family and supporters. Abreu carried my GoPro camera in Friday night’s feature, after it was mounted on Christopher Bell’s car for the heat race and B main.
Videos from All Stars race weekend at Bubba Raceway Park and World of Outlaws weekend at Volusia Speedway Park are on the Florida Open Wheel channel:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSdPdgmUo6WfkfR6Eo__QBA
Winged Sprint Car Legends Come to Florida for Speedweeks
By Richard Golardi
Steve Kinser
And so it begins. The last full season of racing for a legend. A legend who has set records that none seriously think can be broken. Steve Kinser has twenty World of Outlaws titles, and 576 career WoO Sprint Car A-Feature race wins. He also has an IROC Series race win and one start in the Indy 500 as a 42 year old rookie in 1997. During his last full season, he will celebrate his 60th birthday on June 2nd. Just don’t say that he’s retiring, or use the word “retired”. He’s not retiring. He does want to consider returning next year to a part-time schedule of racing, in a sprint car that he owns. This is his last year of racing the full WoO schedule, and last year with Tony Stewart Racing.
But does he ever have visions of himself relaxing in a recliner, with a cold drink in one hand, and a remote control in the other hand? And when he does try to imagine this, does he dread it a little bit, or is that OK with him? “I’m dreading it. When you’ve done this for as long as I have, you just wish you could do it forever. You know, your body starts telling you it’s time. I’d rather not talk about it a whole lot. That’s how much I dread thinking about not racing. It’s a tough situation for me,” he said, as we stood looking out over the pits at Bubba Raceway Park.
His feelings upon starting his last full season of racing were not ones of joy or relief. He described it as, “not a good feeling, for sure.” When he was at the point of deciding about 2014, he knew that he had a couple of different choices to consider. “I was thinking about this year, and just running what I wanted, and Tony and my wife Dana both asked me if I could run one more year. I said well yeah, I guess I can do that. They just thought that was the right thing to do. We’ll get through this year, and I’ll weigh out everything and I’ll make a decision whether I’m finished, or I’ll run a few races next year. I don’t know. That’ll be up in the air. But, it’s definitely my last year running 100% of the races, for sure.” So, at the end of the year, you’ll make the decision – done for good, or run some races during the season? “Yeah, well I might run 50%, or I might run none. Who knows? I’ll be sixty years old in June. At best, I could probably run another four or five years, you know what I mean? It’s sort of time to slow down a little bit, I guess.”
When looking back, do you feel good about having a chance to race in NASCAR, the Indy 500, and also your incredible success in sprint car racing? “Well, sprint cars has always been what I race. It did give me an opportunity, with the split in IndyCars, to go run that one year. And then dabbled just a little bit, but it wasn’t a really smart move to try to do any NASCAR racing. I’m not complaining about anything. I’ve had a great career, and hope we have a good year this year.”
Danny Lasoski
“It’s a whole new race car, but it’s the same team. It’s my own team. Myself and Chris Milius are going to be running probably 50 to 60 races. I’m going to run those with my car, and then I’m going to run 30 with Mark Burch’s car,” Lasoski told me. Where will you be racing? “Wherever and whenever with his car. We’ve got both 410’s and 360’s, and just wherever there’s an open race is what we are going to do.”
What have you been doing to kill time, since there has been no racing (prior to Sunday) here at Bubba Raceway Park? “I live down here now. I live down here in Ocala, so I’ve just been enjoying it down here. I go home every night.” Although he’s a Floridian, he is not a year-round resident and still lists Dover, Missouri as his hometown. “I spend the winter down here. I love it down here. Great people.” Danny even mentioned having TBARA racer Ben Fritz on his crew during Speedweeks, and Ben’s Ocala Lawns sticker was visible on Lasoski’s wing.
What is your goal for the year? “Same as every year – win the Knoxville Nationals. That is it. You know, we can look at every race and you want to win every race, but at the end of the day, these are all practice races to get to the Knoxville Nationals. We were lucky enough to win a hundred races. We clinched a hundred races at Knoxville last year. So, we’ll go back there and see if we can’t win a couple.” Danny said that his Speedweeks plans involve all the Volusia Speedway Park races, and then take a look at East Bay Raceway Park to see what the track looks like before he decides if he wants to race in the 360 Winternationals there. “If it’s rough and nasty, then I’m not going down there. It’s the same car – I can just switch motors.” Beyond East Bay, he is looking at Yuma, Arizona, and Las Vegas as his next stops. World of Outlaws, ASCS, Knoxville weekly races and All Stars all figure into his schedule for 2014.
Daryn Pittman
Daryn Pittman envisions himself winning the World of Outlaws driver championship again in 2014. “Oh, absolutely. There’s no other way to look at it,” he said confidently. “There’s no reason we can’t do it again.” The entire team worked hard over the winter on those areas that they felt were weaknesses, he said. His main competitors in 2014 are Donny Schatz, and he mentioned Tim Kaeding as a main competitor for race wins, and also Brad Sweet. The Kasey Kahne Racing teammates (along with Cody Darrah) did not race at Bubba Raceway Park on Sunday or Monday, but will compete at Volusia Speedway Park.
I asked about his feelings seeing Steve Kinser in his last full season as a competitor of his and everyone on the World of Outlaws trail. “Obviously, I’ve been around long enough to be a huge fan first, and raced against him as a competitor. It will definitely be a loss to the sport, but will obviously never be replaced. I’d like to see him have a better year than he did last year, and go out pretty strong.” What if it is the last lap, and you and him are side by side for the win? “That would be pretty cool, but I won’t treat it any different than if it was anybody else.” So you would not back off? “He’s won twenty of them. I’m not here to help him win his twenty first. It’ll be fun to race with him. It was a great pleasure to watch him as a fan first, and then be able to get to race with him and get to know him a little bit also.”
Pittman has the same crew chief and crew for 2014. “It wasn’t broke, so we didn’t fix it,” he said, referring to his team. He feels that the team is picking up in those areas where they lacked a little. “We’re not sitting still and expecting to do the same thing, and that is going to be good enough.” He went bowling one night with his crew during the rainouts, along with the other two Kasey Kahne Racing crews. “That was good times,” he said.
Dale Blaney
What was Dale Blaney’s choice of time-killing routines, while waiting out the rain last week in Ocala? “Been in my car. Driven to Target. Driven everywhere – Dunkin’ Donuts about eight hundred times. I left home Tuesday morning, and today was about the first day I’ve really seen the sun. I’m glad to be racing. Everybody knows the track’s going to be in rough shape, just because of the rain they’ve had on it. It’s going to be hard to pass, but he does a great job.” Dale had a new team, and new car number, but it was the same car, and same motors as last year. There was a new owner (Tony Kennedy), new truck and trailer, and a white and black winged car with number 14K (K for Kennedy). “He used to race back there in Ohio, and he was always number 14. It’s his number, and his letter, and we’re just racing for him.” Dale told me that he is running the full All Star schedule, to defend his 2013 All Star championship, and about 20 World of Outlaws races. There may be a few other races, for a total of about 65 races in 2014. This was a schedule that was about the same as the past few years.
With the rained out races from last week, Dale was looking at 7 races in 8 days starting on Sunday. Tuesday was the only practice day. “If you’re racing for a living, it’s just like going to a job. So, it’s just another day,” he told me. His main goal for the year was to win the All Star championship, and next was to win a big race (he mentioned King’s Royal, Knoxville, Williams Grove, Lernerville, and Brad Doty Classic). “You never know from year to year if it’s going to be a good year, or a bad year. Hopefully we can just be consistent and run good all year. We didn’t win an Outlaws race. First time in four years that we hadn’t won an Outlaws race. Hopefully we can be a little bit better this year.”
Rico Abreu
Rico Abreu, in Florida for his first Speedweeks sprint car races, has an ambitious schedule planned for the month of February. In addition to running 410 races at Bubba Raceway Park and Volusia Speedway Park, Abreu will race in the 360 Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park. All these Florida tracks are new to him, having previously concentrated his racing efforts in California and the Midwest. The tracks are new, but the racing is not. He is in the seat of the Abreu Vineyards winged sprint car on dirt, and that is familiar territory. Why has he not come to Florida for Speedweeks in the past, I asked? “Last year, we were talking about going to Australia, and we ended up not going. So, we got everything ready to come to Florida, and start the year off early. I think I can run 25 races before the first King of the West race in California. It’s really important for me to be here, and to be here with all the best sprint car drivers. I’ve watched a USAC race here at Ocala, but I’ve never raced here. We’ve got a 360 for East Bay, and then Yuma (Arizona) on the way home (California).”
How do you think you’ll do in your first Florida Speedweeks? “Hopefully win a couple of them. We’ve got good cars, good motors, and I have a very good crew chief – Paul Silva. We get along well, and we have a good friendship. Paul’s a really good guy to be around.” And you won on a variety of tracks last year, is that correct? “Yeah, I won with the USAC midgets, and the sprint cars in California. This year, my goal is to win a sprint car race out of California. The competition is tougher with the Outlaws. I’m going back to all those tracks that I ran last year, and my goal is to win at some of them.” How many open wheel races are you going to run this year? “Hopefully, 130 races that I have on my schedule. That’s a lot of races, and a lot of traveling. It’s a lot of time away from home. It’ll be good for the next step in my career.” Abreu told me that he is still looking for his first USAC sprint car win, which seems likely to happen soon.
Non-wing Sprint Car Racing is Back in Florida
By Richard Golardi
Interviews were conducted at Citrus County Speedway on Saturday, February 1, 2014, during the season opening race. The race was the debut of the new CCS Wingless Sprint Series, and marked the return of non-wing sprint car racing to Florida. The 30 lap feature race was won by Aaron Pierce, driving the number 22 car owned by Johnny Gilbertson. The track plans to run ten non-wing sprint car races on the first Saturday of each month, through November 2014.
Citrus County Speedway Driver Group Photo
Aaron Pierce
“I got in there one time a little hard, and me and Mickey were racing for position, and I got into him a little bit. It wasn’t on purpose, but it was just one of them deals, you know what I mean? I apologized, but he wasn’t hearing it, which I totally understand. He was upset, and he has every right to be. It wasn’t anything I did on purpose. I don’t drive like that. We had a really good car. We had the best car on the race track. At the end, the left front was coming loose a little bit, and I felt something chattering. I just had to finish those last four laps, and not miss my marks, and I knew we’d be good. I got up on the outside of the 21 car (Jimmy Alvis Sr.) that was leading. I tried to get him on the bottom, and I just couldn’t do it, because he was guarding the bottom pretty good. I got down into one and two there, with like five to go, and got him pinned down, where he couldn’t get up the race track. We got him, just by forward drive. By the time we got up on the straightaway, we beat him.”
You got through about half the field, after a twelfth place start, was that correct? “Yeah, I drew the worst possible pill. There were twelve in the bag, and I grabbed the twelve. That’s why you’re not supposed to grab the first one you touch when you stick your hand in there. I’ll be back, for sure.”
Aaron Pierce
Richie Corr
Since this #14 sprint car is your new car, have you been racing in other series, inside or outside of Florida in the recent past? “I have been on hiatus. I raced with TBARA many, many years ago. About 15 years ago. It’s actually been that long since I’ve strapped myself into a race car. It’s good to be back, and I definitely need some more seat time, and some exercise. The heat race was awesome. I just ran out of steam. I started first, and finished fourth. I probably could have finished second, behind Ace (Joey Aguilar). I just was totally out of breath. And that was the heat race. For the thirty lap feature, I’m going to have an oxygen mask on (laughing).” Are you going to be here, for all ten races? “Yes, sir. We’ll be back, every time they have it. I’ve been building this car. This used to be the old red seventeen car – James Donaldson’s car. I bought it a year ago. It turned out to be an awesome machine. I’ll run all the TBARA that I can run. I’m currently looking for sponsors too. We’re looking for some funding, so we can do it full-time.” Does your choice of #14 as your car number mean you are a Tony Stewart or AJ Foyt fan? “Tony Stewart fan. That and it was the only other number that was available.” Richie would be involved in a wreck that put him in the fourth turn wall in the feature race, but said that he will return.
Richie Corr
Ty DeCaire
Is it correct that you are running all ten non-wing races here at Citrus County Speedway? “Correct.” Are you running the TBARA winged races also? “We are still on the fence about that. We haven’t decided if we’re going to run both of these two series. That’s still up in the air too.” So, on March 1st, when Showtime Speedway and Citrus are both running on the same night, you will be here at Citrus? “Yes (at this point, his crew nodded their heads in unison, and added ‘this (Citrus) is a definite, Showtime is likely, TBARA is probable, and the Little 500 is questionable’).” The team told me it was questionable because of the expense, and that participating in the Little 500 might mean missing one of the other series. How does the car feel tonight, I asked? “The car feels good. Starting off the day, we were a little rough. It wasn’t the same as when we were here the last time for practice. It didn’t feel the same earlier on today. We made a few minor changes, and the car came alive in the heat race.” Ty would garner an eighth place finish in the feature race, and was the highest finishing rookie.
Ty DeCaire
Joey Aguilar
When was your last non-wing sprint car race? “Probably two and a half or three years ago.” Was that the IPSCA race here? “Yes. We were leading at eleven laps into it, but they said that I jumped the start. They put me back four spots, and then I spun out twice, and I ended up fourth, which wasn’t bad after what went on.” How does the car feel tonight? “Well, we’re struggling a little bit tonight, but the guys are working really hard. We won our heat race, and started on the pole, and that probably was a big plus. We weren’t the fastest car. They went over the car, and found a couple of things that is going to make it better for the feature. We’ll go out there and mash the gas, and see what we’ve got.” How many of the non-wing races here at the track will you run? “We’re going to run them all. All ten races.” And all twelve TBARA races? “We’re committed to all of Showtime, and we’re committed to all this non-wing stuff. With the TBARA, our owner said they probably would want us to run them all. But, it is a debate right now. We’ll be at the first couple of races. We would like to run some USCS stuff. They have seven races this year. I want to be there (Atlanta race) this year, if I can. But, let me emphasize, I’m just a driver. I do what my car owners want me to do. So, wherever they would like us to go is where we’ll go.” Joey was near the front of the field during the feature race, and would take a third place finish in the race.
Steve Heisler
“It’s been a little crazy this week. I’ve been working on the car six or seven hours a night. This has been killing us. Tired and wore out. Ready for a little break.” How many laps of the heat race did you get in? “None. Out of fuel. Thrashing with everything else, we forgot to check it. Just - driver fault. We’re going to go out for the feature. The car’s good – real good. The driver’s still a little rusty. We’ve got to work some minor changes with the driver. Get the rust knocked off, and I think I’ll be alright.” How many races did you have last year? “Zero. There was one race here in 2012, that was in Ray Bragg’s car.” Does it feel a little strange, being back in the car again? “Oh, absolutely. It feels like getting back on a bicycle again. It’s tough – just trying to get back in the groove, but I’m working on it.” Do you plan on running all ten non-wing races here? “Yes, we’re running all non-wing. Tommy wants us to run some wing shows – I know he is. I don’t want to go too crazy. It depends on how my sponsorship works out for me. If the sponsors don’t come through, then it’s going to be a laid-back season. Come over here, and try to win a race or two over here, or at least stay in the top five.” Despite a spin early in the feature race, Steve almost got a top ten in his first race in the new #25 car. He finished in eleventh place.
Heat race at Citrus
Travis Bliemeister
“This is my second or third wingless sprint car race. I’ve got maybe a handful of winged races on pavement. About five or ten years ago, I raced a little bit at Auburndale with the Central Florida Wingless Sprints, and then one time I ran down at Punta Gorda.” Have you been waiting for a non-wing pavement series, because that’s what you like, or is there a different reason? “Yeah, I mean it’s more affordable. I don’t have to have the big motors. This has actually got a carbureted engine in it. They say that you take the wings off, it evens up the playing field. So, we’ve been waiting for the wings to come off, so we can see what we’ve got.” Are you running all ten races here? “We’ll just have to see how tonight goes, and see how we do. This is a dirt car. We can make it adapt to pavement. I’ve run at East Bay, and Volusia and Putnam and Ocala. I also have a dirt car, and we’re going to run a full dirt season this year too.”
Dave Retzlaff
Dave told me that he has not been racing for the past four years, as he was repairing the crash damage to the same car that he brought to Citrus County Speedway this night. His last heat race win was in TBARA in 2010. He was hesitant to say how he thought he might do in the feature race, because “there’s a lot of fast cars out here. I ain’t saying. The car’s a little tight. I’ll do a little juggling. Hopefully we’ll do good.” Dave was a one-man crew at the track this night. He was the owner-driver, the chief mechanic, and the crew.
Dude Teate
“It feels pretty good. I think we’ve got a shot at winning,” Dude told me prior to the sprint car feature race. Did he intend to run the entire series at Citrus? “Yeah, as far as we know, unless something else comes along. The track’s close to our house, so we’re going to do it.” The #0 car was one that Dude would be driving in the TBARA races this year, after competing in the #31 car in 2013. But, he was not committing to a full season in either of the series in the #0 car. This car was last seen in competition in 2012, in a TBARA race at Punta Gorda in which Dude won the feature race.
Video of Aaron Pierce at Citrus County Speedway is here, on the Florida Open Wheel channel:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSdPdgmUo6WfkfR6Eo__QBA
2014 Florida Speedweeks Preview
By Richard Golardi
This year’s edition of Florida Speedweeks will mark Tony Stewart’s return to racing, but not behind the wheel of a sprint car. He will mark his return in a Sprint Cup stock car at Daytona International Speedway. He will be at Bubba Raceway Park, but will be “rooting on his team”, not driving a Tony Stewart Racing sprint car, as he did last year. After a one year absence, pavement sprint car racing returns to Speedweeks. Citrus County Speedway will have non-wing sprint car racing on February 1st, the first of a series of ten non-wing races in 2014. There will be three successive weekends with national sprint car series racing each weekend, up to and including Daytona 500 weekend. Among the anticipated highlights of this year’s Speedweeks include the following:
· The final Speedweeks for the King of the Outlaws, Steve Kinser. Kinser announced his retirement in December 2013, with one last full season of racing in 2014
· There is a new live network broadcast of short track racing during Speedweeks, with hope for more broadcast dates in the future. MAVTV will broadcast live from East Bay Raceway Park on Thursday, February 13th, a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race
· The previously mentioned return of Tony Stewart, with two new teammates on his NASCAR Sprint Cup team (Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch). With 19 Daytona victories on his resume, Stewart will attempt to add his first Daytona 500 title to that resume
· Richard Childress Racing brings car number 3 back to NASCAR Sprint Cup, with Austin Dillon driving
· The return of pavement sprint car racing to Speedweeks also marks the return of non-wing sprint car racing to Florida, making Florida a prime setting for pavement sprint cars (TBARA – 12 races in 2014, Citrus County Speedway – 10 races, and Showtime Speedway – 4 races)
· Bubba Raceway Park adds an additional night of sprint car racing on Thursday the 6th, and ups their sprint car racing total to 6 nights, the most of any track during Speedweeks
· NASCAR short track racing returns with the Battle at the Beach downsized to a one-night event on the short track at Daytona Speedway
· A Tale of Two Drivers: Kyle Larson and Bryan Clauson
Sprint cars at Citrus County Speedway for Speedweeks
Although they are both recognized as two of the most talented short track open wheel racers in the country, Kyle Larson and Bryan Clauson find their careers taking divergent paths. Both drivers will be the subject of extensive press scrutiny and will likely find their legion of fans growing over the course of Speedweeks. Over the course of the past six months, both drivers have seen events pass that will play a significant role in their future careers. In August 2013, Larson was selected to replace Juan Montoya in the number 42 Target car in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series. His first race in this car will be in February at Daytona Speedway. The remainder of the season will likely see him in competition with Austin Dillon for the Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year title. With so much success in open wheel racing in his past, Larson will have high expectations to garner race wins and eventually bring Sprint Cup championships to his team.
Bryan Clauson has earned another USAC National Sprint Car Series title and his first Chili Bowl Golden Driller trophy in the past six months. In prior years, a foray into Nationwide Series stock car racing, and a single entry into the Indianapolis 500 in 2012, did not result in an offer to race full-time in either series. Some have labeled him as a USAC “lifer”, unlikely to move up into any higher-paying series. Regardless, he will still be widely admired for his skill while he races on dirt short tracks across the country.
The season opening race for the World of Outlaws sprint cars will see Sammy Swindell making another attempt to take the driver championship at age fifty eight. Tony Stewart Racing will bring back the duo of 2012 Outlaws champion Donny Schatz and 20-time champion Steve Kinser in his farewell tour. The race location, at Volusia Speedway Park, was the site of Daryn Pittman’s first 2013 World of Outlaws feature win. Nine months later, he would celebrate his first World of Outlaws driver championship in his first year with Kasey Kahne Racing.
Speedweeks at Volusia Speedway Park
Last year, Daytona Speedway’s new 4/10 mile backstretch short track marked the realization of a goal to add racing during the track’s race week downtime. This downtime lasted from Monday through Wednesday. Now a one-day event, the Battle at the Beach will see the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East run its second race of the week on Tuesday evening. The first race will be held at New Smyrna Speedway on Sunday evening, a track that was frequently rumored to be the new location of the Battle at the Beach for 2014. The Sunday night K&N Pro Series East race replaces the USAC National Midget Series, which raced on this night in 2013. The USAC midgets saw disappointing attendance and car counts last year. With New Smyrna Speedway now a designated NASCAR Home track, it is not surprising to see NASCAR racing get priority.
The debut of the CCS Wingless Sprint Series at Citrus County Speedway will mark the start of a significant increase in the number of pavement sprint car races in the Sunshine State. The series starts racing on February 1st, and thereafter on the first Saturday of each month. The majority of the winged sprint car races after Speedweeks fall under the aegis of the TBARA, racing at six different tracks across the state during the year. The Safety Kleen TBARA Sprint Car Series returns to action in mid-March, with races at Auburndale Speedway and Desoto Speedway. Showtime Speedway has four winged sprint car races scheduled for 2014.
That gives Florida a total of 26 pavement sprint car races during 2014, as compared to 21 pavement sprint car races currently scheduled in Indiana in 2014 (if the HOSS and AVSS series both schedule the same number of Indiana races as in 2013). At one time, Florida was so dominant in pavement sprint car racing that the 1986 Little 500 was composed of over 40% Floridians (14 of the 33 starters in 1986 were Floridians). Can one now correctly call Florida “The New World Center of Pavement Sprint Car Racing”? Maybe …
New Smyrna Speedway
Complete Schedule of Sprint Car Races – 2014 Speedweeks
Saturday, February 1 CCS Wingless Sprint Cars / Citrus County Speedway, Inverness
Thursday, February 6 All Star Circuit of Champions / Bubba Raceway Park, Ocala
Friday, February 7 All Star Circuit of Champions / Bubba Raceway Park, Ocala
Saturday, February 8 All Star Circuit of Champions / Bubba Raceway Park, Ocala
Wednesday, February 12 All Star Circuit of Champions / Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville
Thursday, February 13 All Star Circuit of Champions / Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville
Friday, February 14 World of Outlaws Sprint Cars / Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville
Saturday, February 15 World of Outlaws Sprint Cars / Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville
Sunday, February 16 World of Outlaws Sprint Cars / Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville
Thursday, February 20 USAC National Sprint Car Series / Bubba Raceway Park, Ocala 360 Sprint Car Winternationals / East Bay Raceway Park, Gibsonton
Friday, February 21 USAC National Sprint Car Series / Bubba Raceway Park, Ocala 360 Sprint Car Winternationals / East Bay Raceway Park, Gibsonton
Saturday, February 22 USAC National Sprint Car Series / Bubba Raceway Park, Ocala 360 Sprint Car Winternationals / East Bay Raceway Park, Gibsonton
Saturday, March 1 Winged Outlaw Sprint Cars / Showtime Speedway, Pinellas Park
Weekend #3 Itinerary Recommendation
Friday, February 14 World of Outlaws Sprint Cars / Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville
Saturday, February 15 ARCA Stock Car Series (Day) / Daytona International Speedway The Sprint Unlimited at Daytona /NASCAR Sprint Cup (Night) / Daytona International Speedway
Sunday, February 16 World of Outlaws Sprint Cars / Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville or NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, New Smyrna Speedway, New Smyrna Beach
Weekend #4 Itinerary Recommendation
Friday, February 21 360 Sprint Car Winternationals / East Bay Raceway Park, Gibsonton
Saturday, February 22 NASCAR Nationwide Series (Day) / Daytona International Speedway
USAC National Sprint Car Series (Night) / Bubba Raceway Park, Ocala
Sunday, February 23 Daytona 500 / NASCAR Sprint Cup / Daytona International Speedway
The Daytona 500 race weekend has the addition of a national sprint series running in North Florida on the night before the 500. The USAC National Sprint Car Series is running at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala on Saturday night, which is a 40 minute drive from Daytona Speedway. With the Nationwide Series running at Daytona on Saturday afternoon, that leaves enough time to make it to Ocala to take in the USAC sprint cars on Saturday evening.
The finale of Speedweeks then takes place on Sunday the 23rd, with the running of the 56th Daytona 500. With major renovations going on, part of a $400 million project known as "Daytona Rising", fans will see 20 million pounds of steel frames waiting for installation. The new 170 foot high grandstands will overshadow the original 140 foot high grandstands. The best part is that fans will not have to climb lots of stairs to get to their seats. Instead, they will take escalators up and down. A seat in the top row may require walking 20 rows, at most.
For more information, and links with Daytona Speedway Speedweeks race schedules, and Daytona Rising project artist renderings, visit my Twitter feed at:
https://twitter.com/FL_Open_Wheel
Jason McCord of USAC Looks Forward to 2014
By Richard Golardi
For Florida, the loss of a USAC National Midget Series visit to New Smyrna Speedway in 2014 is tempered by the news, from USAC’s Jason McCord, that the USAC sprint cars may return to East Bay Raceway Park in 2015. McCord told me that he and East Bay President Al Varnadore had tried to arrange for the return of the USAC National Sprint Car Series for this year, but ran out of time to complete the deal. East Bay had last hosted USAC in 2010, and Bubba Raceway Park took over the following year as host of the February Speedweeks visit. For 2015, the schedule may likely include both tracks hosting the AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series, with multiple nights at both tracks, and a one day break in between.
“I was in talks with Al Varnadore over at East Bay to try to get something going for this year to try to put a second part of the swing together for the sprint cars, and hopefully get 5 or 6 races in. Unfortunately, we got it going a little late, and we couldn’t make it make sense this year. He was open to doing it the following weekend, but to keep teams here for a week would have been too problematic,” Jason McCord told me, in an interview at the PRI Trade Show in Indianapolis. “He and I agreed that we’re just going to start early on 2015, and we’re going to incorporate that into next year. Obviously, our shows do well down there. Our races are great. We never have to prove our product. Hopefully we can catch good weather on our swing down there this year, and next year have East Bay incorporated and maybe have 5 or 6 nights of racing down there.” Would it be 5 or 6 straight nights of racing? “The goal would be to have 5 or 6 races in 6 or 7 nights. Maybe one night off in between to give guys a chance to work on their cars. But, you can’t take too many nights off because a lot of the guys that are traveling down there have full-time jobs. You can’t ask them to take off too much time,” McCord said.
One possible stumbling block that may have made the deal to bring the USAC sprint cars to East Bay Raceway Park unworkable this year was a previously scheduled MavTV live broadcast event. The MavTV live broadcast is on Saturday, February 15th, just a few days before the USAC sprint car teams arrive in Florida for the first practice day, on Wednesday, February 19th. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be the feature race for the Saturday night live broadcast from East Bay.
I asked about the new dates for a couple of iconic events in May, which are the Tony Hulman Classic at Terre Haute and the Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. These two races were moved to a Wednesday / Thursday pairing in 2013 (instead of the Thursday / Friday dates), but neither race was run on the new dates. The Hulman Classic was rained out on Wednesday, and the Hoosier Hundred was run on Friday, after a rainout on Thursday. “It’s something that Bob Sargent and I have talked about for a number of years. He felt like it was worth a shot. He knew he was going to ruffle some feathers, moving a traditional date. He thinks the risk is definitely worth the reward one time. If it doesn’t work, we’ll go right back to Friday.”
I asked Jason McCord to highlight the 2014 changes and additions for all three major open wheel racing series that USAC presents (sprint cars, midgets, and the Silver Crown cars). “The Honda National Midget schedule is going to be pretty similar to what is was last year. We just kind of moved some dates around. The Pepsi Nationals are back in the fold now at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin over the Fourth of July weekend. On the AMSOIL National Sprint car side, we’ve added some pretty cool things. In June, we’re going to make a swing over to our actual sponsor’s race track at AMSOIL Speedway in Superior, Wisconsin. It’ll be our first trip there. We’re taking the sprint cars for the first time this year to Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction (Nebraska). Our Eastern Storm is going to be five tracks this year. We’ll be at Grandview, and we’re going back to Lincoln Speedway, then to New Egypt, and then Port Royal and Susquehanna. We’ve got both Lincoln and New Egypt back this year, so we’re excited about that.” Indiana Sprint Week will have the same venues and same rotation in 2014.
McCord also praised the Sprint Car Smackdown in August at Kokomo Speedway as one of the most anticipated and exciting events of the year for the sprint cars. “That thing’s grown by leaps and bounds. I’m really proud of what we built there from the ground up. I think that thing’s got a ton of potential to be something special,” McCord told me.
Any new tracks for the Silver Crown Series, I asked? “Yeah, for Silver Crown we are going back to Belleville for the second year. Syracuse is back, and Memphis is back. So, we’ve got a couple of places we’re going back to that we haven’t been to in a while. Other than that, we’ll have our standard two shows here at Raceway Park here in town. Obviously, all the miles. Terre Haute is going to kick the season off on April 6th.”
Returning the attention to Florida, I asked if the National Midget Series was not returning to New Smyrna Speedway in 2014 because the attendance was somewhat sparse for the two dates in February 2013, or if it was because of another reason? “Honestly, we never got into the specific reasons. The biggest challenge for us was for guys to get off some weekdays to travel to Florida. A lot of the midget teams are just on the heels of the Chili Bowl. Just travel, and that part of the midgets right now – car counts are difficult to get that far. We’re trying to figure out where we are going to take that pavement midget thing anyway. We need to try to build that thing up and give it a shot in the arm. To try to take some teams here in Indiana, that we rely on so heavily during the season, and make them spend so much of their annual budget to make that trip just doesn’t make sense. We need to be able to afford to race back here first.”
We also spoke about Kyle Larson’s win in one of the midget features at New Smyrna, and how it was one of his very few appearances in Florida in an open wheel race car. Larson was scheduled to come to Bubba Raceway Park for the USAC sprint car finale (Saturday night) last year to run Hoffman Racing’s second sprint car. But that was the day of his big crash at Daytona Speedway in a stock car. Larson escaped injury, but several spectators were injured. “He was a little shook up, so he went ahead and skipped out and went home. That’s the only time I can remember Kyle down there. Obviously, he’s going to make a lot of appearances now,” McCord said, referring to his racing and sponsor duties with the #42 Target sponsored NASCAR Sprint Cup car. Larson was fortunate to end his year with his selection to drive in the Sprint Cup Series for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in 2014, and move on to the next step in his impressive career. It’s a move that brings him back to Florida, and the place is Daytona Beach – for the Daytona 500.
Q & A with Jim Hanks of the Must See Racing Series
By Richard Golardi
With the return of the “Southern Shootout” to Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, the Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series is back in Florida for the third year in a row. Series founder and owner Jim Hanks enters 2014 at warp speed, adding races and finalizing a winged pavement sprint car schedule that includes eighteen races in six different states. With USAC no longer racing sprint cars on pavement, his sprint car series tightened its grip on the title of being the dominant national pavement sprint car series.
Interview was conducted in Indianapolis at the PRI Trade Show in December.
Q. I see that the “Southern Shootout” is back on the schedule for 2014, but later in the year, in April. Was there a reason why it was changed to a date later in the year?
A. To make things work out for the start of the season, and how their schedule works, they’re really the ones that pick that date. That comes from the race tracks.
Q. Those look like two good dates, not in competition with other series in Florida, and not competing with the Grand Prix of St. Pete, as you were in March 2013.
A. Well, that makes perfect sense to us, that’s for sure.
Jim Hanks
Q. Was there a possibility of adding any additional Florida dates, like New Smyrna Speedway, or other tracks? Were they considered or talked about, or being considered for 2015?
A. Well, there’s always a possibility, and New Smyrna is a great race track. As far as Must See’s schedule in Florida, this will be the third year that we’re returning to Five Flags, and Mobile, and that kind of fills up our schedule. This year, we’ve got more races, but they’re all closer to home here.
Q. It looks like there may be more Floridians competing, especially in the Little 500. It could be twice as many Floridians entered in 2014, as compared to the last two years.
A. Wow. We think that’s great news. You’ve got great race teams down there, and the Little 500 is kind of the top of the mountain for pavement sprint car racing. Florida’s always had a great competitive presence in that race. Everybody is delighted, including me, that the teams from Florida are going to come up and race.
Q. Including Dave Steele – he said that he’ll be back.
A. Excellent. Yeah - I think that’s outstanding.
Q. What about changes to the schedule in 2014? What’s new and why were the changes made?
A. Changes were made because of the demand for our series. We’ve added Baer Field here in Indiana. They contacted us, and want to have us. We’re going back to Rockford Speedway in Illinois. One race that we’ve added that we’re really excited about is on Labor Day weekend. We have the Labor Day 200, which will be 200 laps at Anderson Speedway with wings, and that will be a two-day event. The Little 500 is an iconic event. It’s not replaceable. But, winged pavement sprint cars have become very popular in the marketplace. We thought it was a really good bookend to the Little 500, which is non-wing.
Dave Steele at Five Flags Speedway
Q. So the intention is to have some racing on the first day, and the 200 lap feature on the second day?
A. This is going to be an event. This isn’t just another race spread over two days. We’re going to make this a big deal. Big for the fans, big for our teams, and big for our television distribution.
Q. It sounds like an interesting concept, to have a second big race annually at Anderson Speedway.
A. We think it is. We think it’ll be good for everybody. I think it’s got the possibility of becoming the next big sprint car race in the business of racing. That’s exactly what we are pointing for.
Q. Are there any other changes in rules, tires, or is anything else changing for 2014?
A. Yes, we are going to have some rule changes, which we’ll announce after the first of the year. We’re going to not restrict innovation, but some of the guys have gotten a little too innovative with the wings. We want to stay true to tradition, not restrict innovation, but not let it get carried away. We’re going to be introducing a new Tech Director, after the first of the year. Next year, all the cars that race with us on a regular basis, we are going to inspect them before the first race, so that they can get an inspection sticker. We’ll know that they are absolutely rule compliant. We’re also going to pump the motors, inspect the motors, and seal them.
Q. This is going to be done before the first race?
A. Before the first race.
Floridian drivers at 2013 Little 500
Q. So, they would have to bring the car to …
A. We’d probably go to where they are. About half our teams are in Indianapolis, so that shouldn’t be a problem. But, our inspector would go to their race shop. What we want to do is make sure everybody gets off on an absolute level playing field. We do inspect everything. I’ll give you an example. Three cars that park on the front straightaway – we assign them one official to each car. That car doesn’t get out of his sight until after they go through the inspection process. But, we’re going to be a little more visible about it, so that people are more aware that we want a level playing field. Everyone follows the rules, compliant with the rules.
Q. There are Floridians, including Garrett Green, turning sixteen during 2014. Is there any possibility of him racing with the series, outside of the Little 500, before that day in August 2014 when he turns sixteen?
A. Well, you’ve hit a hot spot subject there. Personally, my principle has been you need to be sixteen to race a sprint car. It really, in many ways, isn’t related to ability. Garrett Green is special. He’s got a lot of experience, and certainly is getting it done in a very positive way at the race track. One of the things that we’re considering in our rules package is if someone turns sixteen within “X amount” of days of our first race, we’re going to allow them to race.
Q. So, this means allowing them to race during the year in which they turn sixteen years old?
A. Exactly. Garrett turns sixteen in the middle of the year. We don’t want to penalize him for the opportunity to be our Rookie of the Year. Therefore, we’re taking a very hard look at that.
Q. This would mean a rule change from the current rule that does not allow a driver to race until after their sixteenth birthday?
A. Correct.
Q. So, we may see that rule change between now and April?
A. You could see that rule change between now and the end of the year – this year (2013). That’s my answer – we’re taking a serious look at it.
Q. I am hoping that we might see a Floridian win at the Little 500 next year, and possibly even another Floridian take Rookie of the Year, for the second year in a row.
A. Well, of course you do – you’re from Florida. You know what? These are all great young men driving these cars. Our competition, I think it’s safe to say, is second to none. I’ll just say this – if you won one of our races, any one of our races, as a team and a driver, you’ve done a serious day’s work. It’s very competitive. I couldn’t be prouder of our race teams. We have an unusual series. We’ve got a great group of teams here.
Q. That’s all my questions. I’ve always enjoyed the racing at Must See events. Hopefully I can catch more than two or three races next year. Thank you for your time, and thank you for the interview.
A. Well, I want to thank you, not only for the interview, I want to thank you for what you do for racing. You’re very objective. You’re an asset to our sport, and I mean that sincerely.
Q. Thank you, Mr. Hanks. Those are very kind words, and I thank you for that.
Insights on 2013 and a Look at Bubba Raceway Park in 2014
By Richard Golardi
For a short period since mid-November, the return of the Bubba Army sprint cars to Ocala’s Bubba Raceway Park seemed to be in doubt. That is no longer the situation. I have received confirmation from Bubba Raceway Park that there will be sprint car racing at the track beyond the month of February. The track already has five nights of sprint car racing during the “2014 Bubba Army Winternationals”, as they are called. The first visit will see the All Star Circuit of Champions in two nights of racing on February 7th and 8th. I was not able to confirm if Tony Stewart will enter a car for himself, as he did earlier this year. Next, on the three nights prior to the Daytona 500 (February 23rd), the USAC National Sprint Car Series will race (February 20-22nd).
Bubba Raceway will be running the Bubba Army Limited Sprints, but on a much smaller scale then previously. They have told me that they do have some dates set for them, on a 2014 race schedule that will be released shortly. Some doubt about the return of the series was raised when the last scheduled race, on November 16th, was rained out and not rescheduled. On the December 21st rain date, mini-sprints ran in place of their bigger cousins.
Sixty-seven year old Otto Scrape was named the 2013 Limited Sprints track champion, against a field of competitors that included eleven year old Tyler Clem (son of track owner Bubba Clem). Clem drove to four limited late model feature wins and is the track’s 2013 Limited Late Model champion. Robbie Smith is the track’s 2013 Bubba Army 360 Sprints champion, a series that ran earlier in the year with ASCS / USCS rules. The Eagle Jet Top Gun Sprint cars did not race at Bubba Raceway Park in 2013, and are not scheduled to return in 2014. Danny Martin Jr. was the Top Gun champion this year.
I believe this is a winning situation for the fans, as long as there is not a repeat of the schedule conflicts that saw the sprint cars running at Bubba Raceway Park on the same date as other Florida series, which happened several times this year. Top Gun has already released a 2014 schedule, so their 2014 race dates are known, and schedule conflicts can now be avoided. FSCA had raced at Putnam County Speedway, which is still dormant after ceasing operations in July. Bubba Clem has shown his love of sprint cars by purchasing a sprint for his son, and luring some of the country’s biggest and best known series to race at his track. The return of Bubba Army sprint car racing in 2014 is a win/win for all parties involved.
I was not surprised that the most popular video of the year on the Florida Open Wheel Channel was “Jac Haudenschild at Volusia Speedway Park”, video taken on Saturday, February 16, 2013 for a World of Outlaws event. The camera placement (just over Jac’s left ear, without a containment seat to block the view), combined with Jac’s aggressive driving style, allowed the viewers to see a driver’s view of thirty laps of dirt-in your-face wild action.
“Wow!! That car was exorcist like! That’s a veteran wheelman doing what he does best,” one forum commentator hilariously penned after viewing the video. “That is the coolest GoPro vid I’ve seen! He is driving that thing!,” remarked another viewer. “Jac is truly the most exciting driver to watch in the past 30 years. He has always brought an A game no matter what car he was in. What a thrill to watch him for so many years!! Thanks for the ride, Jac,” was one fan’s heartfelt comment. I wholeheartedly agree. That was one wild ride. Thanks, Jac. I think I’ll get in line to buy some more tickets for that ride in 2014.
Some of my personal highlights of the year included my annual trek to that central Indiana sprint car Mecca, Anderson Speedway, for the Little 500. A Florida team took their share of the spotlight as Team Green Racing’s Garrett Green took the Rookie of the Year title against a field of rookies considered the strongest in many years. Bryan Clauson and Bobby East were among the rookie entrants in 2013, and Green beat them all to the finish line after 500 laps. The tradition of Florida drivers heading north for the Little 500, and doing well in the classic event continued in 2013.
I also was able to set one exhausting personal record during Speedweeks in February. I was at the track each night (without any vacation days) for nine nights in a row, from Friday, February 15th through Saturday, February 23rd. The tracks on that nine-day trek included Volusia Speedway Park, New Smyrna Speedway, East Bay Raceway Park, Daytona International Speedway (Short Track), and Bubba Raceway Park. The racing competition included sprint cars, midgets, mini-sprints, modifieds, and stock cars. I still marvel that I did not miss a single day of work during the nine-day marathon, and still had thoughts of going to Daytona for the 500 on Day Ten. Would I do it again? Yes, with a big smile on my face.
TOP FIVE STORIES OF THE YEAR IN FLORIDA SPRINT CAR RACING
By Richard Golardi
As 2013 draws to a close, I wanted to look back at the year in sprint car racing in Florida. 2013 was a year that saw more races, an expanded February Speedweeks schedule, Daytona Speedway add their name to the Florida short track revival, and a flurry of tracks changing owners and leaseholders. Many of these tracks held sprint car races in 2013, or will bring in sprint cars in 2014. Here are my “Top 5” stories of the year in Florida sprint car racing, and my choices for Florida Promoter of The Year, Track of the Year, Driver of the Year and Florida Race of the Year.
1) Short Track Renovation, Revival and Resurgence
Showtime Speedway, Volusia Speedway Park, Desoto Speedway, Three Palms Speedway, Putnam County Speedway, and the new Daytona International Speedway short track. All these tracks, with the exception of Daytona, hosted sprint car racing in 2013, or will bring it back in 2014. Putnam County appeared poised to be the new center of sprint car racing in North Florida, with races from multiple series. The oddly shaped track ceased operating in July. Citrus County Speedway is currently undergoing off-season renovations to prepare for an 11-race sprint car season, and the return of the TBARA series in October for the Frank Riddle Memorial. Auburndale Speedway will once again host sprint car racing in 2014, after a long absence.
2) New Dirt and Pavement Sprint Car Series
A Winter Series at Showtime Speedway during the winter of 2012-2013 morphed into the Outlaw Winged Sprint Series in 2013. Originally limited to only the last Saturday of those months with a fifth Saturday, six more races were added later. Dave Steele followed up his Winter Series title in January by winning the Outlaw Winged Sprint Series title in September.
Bubba Clem’s commitment to start his own sprint car series at Bubba Raceway Park began with the Bubba Army 360 sprint cars in March. A later series, the Bubba Army Limited Sprints, saw an 11 year old driver (Bubba’s son, Tyler Clem), and a 67 year old series champion (Otto Scrape). No plans for either of these two sprint car series to return to Bubba Raceway Park in 2014 have been announced.
Another new series will soon be added – the CCS Wingless Sprints at Citrus County Speedway in Inverness. The first of ten 2014 series races is scheduled for February 1st, the first race of the 2014 Speedweeks sprint car schedule.
Tony Stewart and Jason Leffler at Bubba Raceway Park.
Joey Aguilar displays his injured hands
3) Injury and Recovery
Tragedy struck sprint car racing in the Midwest in 2013, and also in the Pennsylvania /New Jersey area. Josh Burton lost his life in a sprint car crash in Indiana in May. Jason Leffler and Kramer Williamson later suffered fatal injuries in separate accidents in New Jersey and in Pennsylvania.
In Florida, stories of injury and recovery were dominant. Two sprint car drivers in Florida were seriously injured in separate incidents at Desoto Speedway (previously known as Full Throttle Speedway). Both drivers have since recovered and returned to racing, or are planning to return to racing in 2014.
Geoff Styner suffered a broken neck in a frightening TQ midget crash in May in which his helmet struck the concrete wall at high speed. The sprint car owner/driver plans to race his dirt sprint car again next year. He won’t be racing a TQ midget again, he said.
In October, Joey Aguilar’s car had a cockpit fire in a TBARA heat race, causing him to suffer third-degree burns to both hands. His comeback a mere four weeks later, at New Smyrna Speedway, allowed him to stay in contention for the TBARA driver title. He would eventually finish in second place to Dave Steele for the 2013 driver title by a mere ten points.
TBARA Drivers Garrett Green (top), Ty DeCaire (middle), and Chris Gimmler (bottom)
4) Florida Becomes a Fertile Training Ground for Young Drivers
Garrett Green, age 15, earned the Rookie of the Year awards in both the Little 500, and also the USSA series, both racing at Anderson Speedway in Indiana. He would end the year with three top five finishes in the last three TBARA feature races of the year. Ty DeCaire, at 15 years old, would top his year with a top five qualifying time and top five feature finish at Showtime Speedway in September. Nineteen year old Chris Gimmler drove to two feature wins in FMARA TQ midget competition and moved up to compete in full size sprint cars in the TBARA.
The TBARA could have four or more sixteen year old drivers in competition next year. Devin Curl and Blake Rose are readying for competition with the series in 2014.
On dirt, 17 year old Rebecca George had her first top five feature finish with the Top Gun Sprint Series in November. She could be joined by two or more other female sprint car drivers on dirt in Florida next year.
Tyler Clem held the distinction of being the youngest sprint car racer in the state during the year at eleven years old. After ending his first sprint car race against the wall in the fourth turn at Bubba Raceway Park, he later would finish sixth in the September 21st feature race. He also had four dirt limited late model feature wins during the year at Ocala.
5) Dirt Sprint Car Racing Split
After the Top Gun Sprint Series dominated the dirt sprint car racing scene in Florida in 2012, the scene would change in 2013. Bubba Clem would break from Top Gun to sanction his own series, racing exclusively at Bubba Raceway Park. Through 2013, there would be seven races at Bubba Raceway, with a total of five different winners. The FSCA (Florida Sprint Car Association) also reentered the dirt racing scene in Florida with several races scheduled for Putnam County Speedway. All but one was cancelled when Putnam County ceased racing in July.
2013 Florida Promoter(s) of the Year –
TBARA Series Officials
Buff Fritz, Joshua Wichers and Rex Hollinger are being recognized for their hard work and dedication to promote and market the series to the pavement sprint car fans in Florida. They are also hoping to gain a following nationwide with a start-up TV production company, whose goal will be to get the series on national cable TV. Upcoming races have been secured at New Smyrna Speedway, Desoto Speedway, and Citrus County Speedway, with Auburndale Speedway and Three Palms Speedway also added for 2014.
2013 Florida Track of the Year –
Showtime Speedway
The nine sprint car races at the Pinellas Park track were the most for a single series at one Florida track (excluding national sprint car series). Track leaseholder Robert Yoho was also the only promoter to have a winter sprint car series (4 races from November 2012 to January 2013), and attempt a Thursday night race in August (it was rained out after a morning sprint car exhibition race was broadcast on local TV). A 2014 Speedweeks 75-lap winged sprint car race on February 22nd will pay $3,500 to win.
Dave Steele
2013 Florida Driver of the Year –
Dave Steele
Dave Steele won a total of eight pavement sprint car feature races during 2013, which included three TBARA wins and five Showtime Speedway wins. He was the track champion at Showtime Speedway in sprint cars, and also won the TBARA driver championship for the third time. He also debuted a new dirt sprint car in competition at East Bay Raceway Park, and announced plans to return to the Little 500 in 2014, where he is a two time-winner.
Florida Race of the Year:
USAC National Sprint Car Series, Bubba Raceway Park, Thursday, February 21, 2013
Throughout the latter part of the race, Dave Darland and Bryan Clauson would pass and repass each other in a furious battle for the lead in the first USAC sprint car race of the year. The drama would not end there. Darland and Coleman Gulick would feud on-track over an earlier incident, with damaged cars on track and flaring tempers off track. Clauson would beat Darland to the finish line and take the victory in the first of three nights at Ocala. Surprisingly, neither driver would win again that week during “Bubba’s Winter Dirt Games”.
Runner-Up, Race of the Year:
Eagle Jet Top Gun Sprint Series, Hendry County Motorsports Park, Saturday, November 2, 2013
Tyler Godwin would charge through the field after starting at the back of the feature to take the win. The race also saw Rebecca George lead her first laps in a sprint car, and take her first top five finish.
Top Five Florida Open Wheel Racing Videos of the Year:
1) “Jac Haudenschild at Volusia Speedway Park” 2/16/2013, 36,500 views
2) “Joey Aguilar - Cockpit Fire at Full Throttle Speedway”, 10/26/2013, 23,700 views
3) “USAC National Sprint Cars at Bubba Raceway Park, Feature Race, 2/21/2013”, 2/21/2013, 18,100 views
4) “Geoff Styner TQ Midget Crash”, 5/4/2013, 13,000 views
5) “All Stars at Bubba Raceway Park, Feature Race, 2-8-2013”, 2/8/2013, 10,900 views
These videos may be viewed, starting with the #1 video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6AHPvhe3NM&list=TLs5rL2Z9WeYDu_Esz4bRiyGCU-z0HpjBN
Report from the 2013 PRI Trade Show in Indianapolis
By Richard Golardi
Place – PRI Trade Show in Indianapolis
Date – Friday, December 13, 2013
With the IMIS and PRI Trade Shows being merged into one show in Indianapolis for the first time, the show had a distinct open wheel flavor for its return to the “Racing Capital of the World”. I was fortunate to get to interview Jason McCord of USAC and Jim Hanks, of the Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series. I will have these interviews in upcoming columns. I also spoke to Steven J. Grein, Executive Producer at MAV TV, about the possibility of Florida sprint car racing having a place in the MAV TV broadcast schedule. MAV TV did announce at a lunch meeting with the media that they were still looking for new programming.
Present at this impromptu meeting with Steven J. Grein was TBARA officials Buff Fritz, Josh Wichers and recent TBARA feature winner Ben Fritz. TBARA is moving forward with plans to put together a start-up TV production company for an upcoming TBARA race, with hopes for the race broadcast to air on cable TV. MAV TV did announce Dave Despain as a new lead announcer for its race broadcasts, which will include the Chili Bowl in 2014. The network will also broadcast live from East Bay Raceway Park, with the dirt late model event airing on Saturday, February 15, 2014.
New Series
A flyer for the new 2014 King of the Wing pavement sprint car series (Midwest / West Coast Sprint Car Shootout) was spotted at the ARCA Series booth. I was told that there is no current sanctioning body involved with this new series. I was not able to get any further information on the use of the photo of Dave Steele's car on the flyer. Dates announced as: 6/28 - Berlin Raceway, 7/2 - Toledo Speedway, 7/4 - Winchester Speedway, 11/21 - Madera Speedway, 11/22 - Irwindale Speedway, 11/23 - Kern County Raceway. Winchester Speedway was not listed on the recently released 2014 Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series schedule. This schedule did reveal that Must See Racing will return to Florida for the third time in 2014. The date at Pensacola’s Five Flags Speedway on Friday, April 11, 2014 is paired with another race the next day in Alabama.
The USAC National Midget Series will not return to New Smyrna Speedway in 2014. This year, the series raced for two nights on the Sunday and Monday before the Daytona 500. Attendance was lower than anticipated for the national series, which did have Kyle Larson in its lineup on the first night (he won the feature). New Smyrna will have the K&N Pro Series East as its headline event on Sunday, February 16th, in place of the USAC racers in 2014. There will be a USAC presence in Florida for the 2014 Speedweeks, as the USAC sprint cars will return to Ocala’s Bubba Raceway Park for the three nights leading up to the Daytona 500. The possibility that more dates may be added for Florida in 2015 is still open, according to Jason McCord.
2014 Target Ganassi Racing IndyCar Drivers
Target Ganassi Racing provided some excitement at the show on Friday morning, with an announcement and press conference to present their new IndyCar team for 2014. Ryan Briscoe is the new driver, going to the #8 NTT Data car, and previously hired Tony Kanaan moving to the #10 Target car vacated with the retirement of Dario Franchitti. Kyle Larson was also present, and had to deflect questions about his future participation in IndyCar, and if he will compete in a Chip Ganassi car in the Indy 500 in the future. Larson will concentrate on NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2014, and will be a favorite for the Rookie of the Year title.
Larson Marks Racing
Of the sprint cars on display, one of the new teams to display a car was the #2 GoPro sponsored car from Kyle Larson’s Larson Marks Racing, with Shane Stewart listed as driver. The car did not have any World of Outlaws or other series stickers displayed on it, but did have several GoPro cameras mounted on the car. Honda also has its USAC midget engine on display, and the new hauler for Kevin Harvick’s #4 Budweiser sponsored NASCAR Sprint Cup car was present. Jimmy McCune’s sprint car was displayed with its 2014 colors, ready for 2014 Must See Racing competition. The team confirmed that they will be ready for the first date in Pensacola in April.
Gentlemen Start Your Off-Season – You’ve Got Seven Weeks
By Richard Golardi
Upon the completion of this Saturday’s season ending Top Gun Sprint Series race at Hendry County Motorsports Park, the 2013 Florida sprint car season will be over. Exactly seven weeks later, on Saturday, February 1, 2014, it starts again. That is the date for the first sprint car race of the 2014 season (as of this date). It is the first race of the newly formed CCS Wingless Sprints, running exclusively at Citrus County Speedway in Inverness. The series has an ambitious schedule of ten races on the docket for 2014, running on the first Saturday of each month through November. I have spoken to numerous teams based in the west Central Florida area that are already making plans to participate, including some drivers that have not been in competition recently.
The pavement sprint cars concluded their race season at Orlando Speedworld on Saturday with the last TBARA event of the year. With a brand new engine under the hood of his bright green #55 car, Tommy Nichols dominated the event by leading all thirty laps and picked up his first victory since 2011. On a slick, oily track that suppressed passing, Dude Teate was second and Joey Aguilar finished in third, his second top three finish after being injured. Garrett Green topped off his year with his first TBARA heat race win. His crew discovered a punctured tire after the heat race was completed. He was one of several drivers to suffer a punctured tire, likely as a result of debris from a demolition event held at the track one week earlier. Attendance at the 3/8 mile track located east of Orlando was sparse, especially when compared to the sizable crowd at New Smyrna Speedway two weeks prior.
TBARA Drivers at Orlando
Noticeably absent from the Orlando Speedworld race was the newly crowned 2013 TBARA driver champion Dave Steele. Having wrapped up the 2013 driver title at New Smyrna, he elected to race his dirt sprint car at East Bay Raceway Park. His night ended after four laps, due to a bent radius rod. The 2013 TBARA Rookie of the Year title went to Matt Alfonso, who topped off his year with a best finish of third in the October 26th race at Desoto Speedway. He also finished in sixth place in the sprint car driver points at Showtime Speedway.
One of the notable returning drivers at Orlando Speedworld was John Gilbert Jr., who was injured in a grinding crash at Citrus County Speedway near the end of the season in 2012. He suffered broken ribs and a neck injury, and the car was totaled when it struck the wall at the turn three entrance from the pits. He did return to racing in the May 4th TBARA race at Desoto Speedway, but sat out the rest of the season. He explained that his business concerns required his attention during the year, and racing took a back seat to his Florida Keys home construction company. Earlier on Saturday, he took his car to Desoto Speedway for practice laps, to allow himself and Mickey Kempgens to get some pre-race practice.
Matt Alfonso, 2013 TBARA Rookie of the Year
“I’ve just been taking care of business, my company. I decided to come out for the last race of the year, and hopefully we’re going to race a full season next year. We were over at Desoto testing today for a little bit, and got it tightened up a little bit,” John Gilbert Jr. told me. This was done in order to be prepared for next year, he said. Mickey Kempgens would later substitute for John in the car for the night’s feature race. I asked about this move, and he explained that he just felt more comfortable putting Mickey in the car. He has two cars available for next year, but did not have any current plans to put a second driver in the backup car during next year’s races. He plans to race the full TBARA schedule in 2014.
Mickey Kempgens will return in the black #5 car in 2014, but it will be raced in a non-wing configuration only, at Citrus County Speedway. He hopes to earn the CCS Wingless Sprints champion title in this series, and “try to pick up a wing race here or there.” The #5 car won’t be running with a wing next year, he informed me. This was the car he drove to feature wins at Showtime Speedway and Citrus County Speedway in 2013, with a wing.
Sprint cars at Orlando Speedworld
Car owner Bobby Rose plans to put his sixteen year old son Blake Rose in his sprint car next year. This will add a fourth sixteen year old to the pavement sprint car roster next year in Florida. Current drivers Ty DeCaire and Garrett Green will both turn sixteen years old in 2014. Green told me that he has set a goal of a top five finish in the 2014 Little 500, and also a TBARA feature race win. Ty DeCaire will have a new DeCaire Motorsports sprint car for winged races in Florida next year. He is also trying to arrange sponsorship to allow him to enter his first Little 500 in May. Devin Curl, who had competed against Garrett Green in go karts since the age of five, is another sixteen year old pavement racer. “Devin Curl. He’s sixteen. He’s a state champ in go karts. He’s kind of a little protégé of ours – between Ben and I,” Buff Fritz told me earlier this year. Curl saw action in the orange #84 sprint car at Showtime Speedway and Citrus County Speedway.
Car owner/driver Rex Hollinger has taken on some promotion duties with the TBARA, and this most recent race at Orlando Speedworld benefitted from his hard work and good contacts. He believes that TBARA is in a healthier position at the end of this year’s competition, as compared to one year ago. “We’ve got around ten races working, and a few more coming. I think we’re going to have an excellent year in 2014,” Rex said. He was also proud to have finished every race in 2013, including deftly maneuvering around the wreck in the first turn at Orlando that happened in front of him. This move helped him earn a seventh place finish. “I want to win. I’ve been racing sprint cars now for two years. I want to win a heat race. It would be a wonderful thing to win a feature, and that may or may not happen. But I think I can win a heat race, and I’m going to give it my level best,” Hollinger told me, when asked about his 2014 racing goals.
Feature race winner Tommy Nichols revealed that he may have a ride in the Little 500 next year, adding his name to the list of Floridians working toward their 2014 Little 500 entry. Dave Steele recently announced that he will be an entrant in next year’s 500. Steele has won the event twice previously, in 1996 and 2009. Stan Butler previously confirmed that he is starting preparations for a two car team for himself and his son, Shane, for next year’s Little 500. It appears almost certain that the number of Floridians in next year’s Little 500 will exceed the total from 2012 and 2013 – which was four Floridians in each race.
Finally, the PRI Trade Show takes place this week, leaving the confines of Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center. The trade show returns to Indianapolis, which it left when Indy’s convention center was being renovated. Indy’s weather forecast for the opening day, Thursday the 12th, is a high temperature of 21° F. The high temperature on race day in Orlando last Saturday was 82° F. A December 10th article on The Weather Channel’s website is titled “Florida's Warm Weather Leaves the Rest of America Jealous”. “Florida stood strong in frustrating the rest of the country to no end. You win, Florida. You always do,” the article concluded. (Credit: Weather.com)
Season Finale for TBARA and A Look Forward to Speedweeks
By Richard Golardi
Dave Steele has an insurmountable points lead going into the finale for the TBARA at Orlando Speedworld on Saturday. His 60 point lead in the 2013 driver points standings, over second place Joey Aguilar, is sufficient to have earned him his third TBARA driver championship. The maximum number of points that a driver can earn at one TBARA event is 55 points, so Steele cannot be overtaken for the points lead. Steele also was the TBARA driver champion in 2005 and 2009. This accomplishment also marks his second driver championship of the year, in addition to the Outlaw Winged Sprints at Showtime Speedway. Joey Aguilar, Mark Gimmler, and Dude Teate hold the next three positions in the TBARA driver points, all within 17 points of each other for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places.
Returning to action at Orlando are the #3 car of Garrett Green, and also the #31 of Dude Teate, and the #11 of Joey Aguilar, all of whom placed well at New Smyrna Speedway in November. I have confirmed that the #22 of Johnny Gilbertson is not returning, and the #33 of Dave Steele is also not returning, as he is racing his dirt sprint car at East Bay Raceway Park. Green is completing his first full year of sprint car competition, and his second race with new Team Manager and Crew Chief Lee Cipray. Team Green Racing has also acquired a new Beast chassis to race at the Little 500 in May, and has said that Cipray will handle the Crew Chief duties at this race also.
Dave Steele 2013 TBARA Champion
On dirt in Florida, the Top Gun Sprint Series points lead is currently held by Danny Martin Jr., with three races remaining at two tracks over the next two weekends. Martin Jr. will not be able to duplicate Steele’s feat of earning multiple championships during the year, as sprint car competition has concluded at Bubba Raceway Park. The rained out November 16th race has not been rescheduled, leaving two different drivers listed at the top of the points for the two different series at the track. Robbie Smith stands atop the Bubba Army 360 Sprints points standings, while 67 year old Otto Scrape earned the top spot in the Bubba Army Limited Sprints. I have not been able to confirm if the track will issue two separate driver titles, or combine them into one. Billy Boyd, the feature race winner at East Bay Raceway Park on November 9th, also earned the 2013 East Bay Sprint Championship on that same night.
Garrett Green at Orlando
Three Palms Speedway in Punta Gorda has been confirmed for a Speedweeks TBARA event in 2014, on Saturday February 15th. This gives the track management about ten weeks to complete the necessary construction projects, which include new catch fences and grandstand seating. The Punta Gorda asphalt track released photos of the new colors on walls - black with a green stripe across the bottom. They have also reported that the catch fences have been ordered from the manufacturer, but they do not have a delivery date. They do have local fence installers ready to go once the fences are delivered. Also under consideration is a possible (not yet confirmed) two day stand for TBARA at Punta Gorda on 10/31 and 11/1. No announcement has been made yet as to whether one of the nights would be run without wings.
Showtime Speedway has revised their sprint car schedule for 2014 Speedweeks. At one time, it showed two weekends of competition, with plans to include both wing and non-wing cars. The revision means that the sprint cars now have one weekend, one race. The 75 lap "Florida State Championship Wing Sprints" is on Saturday February 22nd. This date puts the track in direct competition with two other sprint car races also on the 22nd. On the other side of Tampa Bay, East Bay Raceway Park has its last night of the 360 Winternationals, and Bubba Raceway Park has its last night of the USAC National Sprint Car Series, both on the 22nd.
Wall at Three Palms Speedway
The month of February next year will see a very different Speedweeks schedule for Florida’s 360 pavement sprint cars. After being left off the Speedweeks schedule this year, there are already three dates planned for the 360 asphalt racers in 2014. One of these dates is for a new series debuting in Florida – the CCS Wingless Sprints at Citrus County Speedway. The series unveiling will be on February 1st, and on the first Saturday of the month thereafter through November. The other dates are the aforementioned TBARA date on the 15th at Three Palms Speedway and the 22nd at Showtime Speedway. Only one Saturday night lacks an asphalt sprint car race during the month, which is quite a contrast from this year’s Speedweeks lineup.
So far, the announced Speedweeks sprint car schedule (pending release of the 2014 USAC schedule) includes a return of the same two series that visited Bubba Raceway Park this year. They are the All Star Circuit of Champions on 2/7 and 2/8, and the USAC National Sprint Car Series for three days - 2/20 to 2/22 (Thursday to Saturday). The 360 Winternationals return to East Bay Raceway Park for those same three days. Three Palms Speedway and Showtime Speedway both have sprint cars in February, and add Citrus County Speedway, minus wings. Volusia Speedway Park returns with five straight days of sprint car racing on Wednesday through Sunday, 2/12 to 2/16. The first two nights will see the All Star Circuit of Champions in action, followed by three nights of the World of Outlaws. The Friday 2/14 date at Volusia is the first race of the year for the World of Outlaws sprint cars, as has become their custom.
There are some Speedweeks unknowns also, with the status of the USAC National Midget Series returning to New Smyrna Speedway at the forefront. This series raced at New Smyrna on the Sunday and Monday prior to the Daytona 500 this year, but attendance was disappointing. On Sunday, their competition was the World of Outlaws at Volusia, and on Monday they had the Battle at the Beach racing at nearby Daytona Speedway. Also, New Smyrna has already scheduled a headline event for that Sunday (2/16) – the K&N Pro Series East stock cars. Another unknown is the return of sprint cars to Bubba Raceway Park, as the return of the Bubba Army 360 Sprints seems to be in doubt. The Bubba Army Mini – Sprints have replaced the sprint cars on the 11/16 rainout date, now racing on 12/21. Prior to this date, there was no mini-sprint series at the track that carried the “Bubba Army” moniker.
TBARA at New Smyrna Speedway – Comebacks and Disappointment
By Richard Golardi
On race morning last Saturday, Ben Fritz was uncertain if he was well enough to race that night in the penultimate TBARA Sprint Car Series race at New Smyrna Speedway. He had been sick with the flu all week, unable to work, and was still feeling the symptoms on Saturday. Fritz had one feature win this year in his #16 sprint car, coming on Labor Day weekend at Showtime Speedway in Pinellas Park. The racer and small business owner had hoped to add to the win total, and set a new career benchmark for total wins in one year. “Monday morning at nine o’clock, I got sick, and I’ve been sick all week. I didn’t really think I could make it tonight,” he said after the completion of the 30 lap feature race.
Joey Aguilar ready to race
Fritz would start the feature race from the sixth starting spot, with TBARA points leader and September feature winner Dave Steele starting in mid-pack. Steele had won two of the three races held since the series resumed competition after a summer of rainouts and race cancellations. “We were running third about the whole feature, and got around Joey (Aguilar) with a couple of laps left. Dude (Teate) broke a spud on the fuel pump and I got around him going into three for the checkered flag. I hate winning that way, but man … a win’s a win,” Fritz proclaimed. So, if Dude Teate had not broken, you were looking at a second place finish? “Second - yeah. We were running second when he broke, so if he didn’t break, he would have definitely won it.” Ben told me that the team discovered a bent axle after the last time at New Smyrna Speedway, and the axle’s replacement helped to make him more competitive.
Joey Aguilar’s doctor told him that he could race on November 23rd, as his hands seemed to be healing quickly from the third degree burns suffered four weeks prior at the Bradenton TBARA race. Taken by air ambulance to Tampa on that night, his hands received the most serious injuries in a cockpit fire caused by a fuel leak that sprayed his hands and legs with fuel. With the burns limited to the tops of his hands, and wearing special gloves to protect the healing skin, he was determined to make his racing comeback on this night. He also was quick to credit the quick response of the track crew at Full Throttle Speedway (Desoto Speedway) on that night, and his safety equipment from Simpson Safety Products. He showed me the new gear that he had – including new fire resistant underwear, shoes, socks, gloves and helmet from Simpson.
Ben Fritz
As for the #11 car, the fire damage was limited to the cockpit, and it had new seat padding and knee pads, seatbelts, and a freshly painted seat. The rest of the fire damage was minor, and even the cameras that recorded the incident made it through the flames with only cosmetic damage. Car owner Sharon Riddle graciously allowed me to place a camera on the car again, to document the comeback for the tough-as-nails racer.
“Man, feels like I’m back home again,” Joey Aguilar said. “This is what I’ve been waiting for, to get back to the race track and get back in my sprint car. Feels great.” How do your hands feel now, I asked? “Hands feel great, man. I don’t have any pain. Zero pain. We just got to watch out for the sweat tonight, and keep them clean. After the heat race, we’ll re-wrap them, and put some new stuff on them for the feature.” I remarked that he was using all Simpson products on the night of the fire, which provided impressive protection from the flames. The burns on his hands were likely caused by sweat, which boiled inside the gloves, and caused the third degree burns, he believed. “I’m sponsored by Simpson, and everything that I wear is Simpson, and I wouldn’t trade them in for the world.”
How do you feel about your new-found notoriety, with the video of your fire being viewed over 23,000 times, and being interviewed by various people in the press (including a Daytona Beach News-Journal article last week)? “Well, I always wanted to be famous, but not for being on fire. I wanted to be famous for winning sprint car races like I do, and outrunning guys like Dave Steele. The main thing I’d like to get from all the coverage that I’m getting with the fire is for all drivers to realize that they need to wear all their fire proof stuff. You don’t know how important it is to have all of that stuff on until you experience something like I did.”
Joey must still wrap his hands twice a day for two more weeks, and feels that they are 75% healed. He runs a warehouse for a carpet company, and has been back to work doing what he called “light duty” for the past two weeks. He took a week and a half off from his job after being injured. “I’m not one that likes to sit around the house and stare at walls, and watch soap operas. I’d much rather be out there being involved in something, whether it be my race car or running my warehouse,” Joey said.
Dude Teate appeared to be on his way to a late-season sprint car win, for the second year in a row. After taking the lead in the feature race on the eighth lap, he held off Joey Aguilar, who pressured him throughout the remainder of the race. Heading down the back stretch on the last lap, his engine sputtered and died with only a quarter mile to go before reaching the checkered flag. Until this happened, he appeared to be the certain eventual winner. “The spud for the fuel pump and power steering – either it spun that spud, or it broke it, or whatever. Going down the back straightaway after we got the white flag, it totally shut off, and I lost the power steering too. So, I assume that’s what happened. And, I just sat there and watched everybody blow by me. It was a good car,” Dude Teate explained, still managing a smile despite the disappointment of seeing the victory slip away. “It was a rocket. I think it was the fastest thing out there in the feature, until it broke. It had plenty of fuel – it just shut completely off. I wish it had run out of fuel, because then we probably would have still won it. We would have been shaking it back and forth. Half a lap. It’s one of them deals! It’s probably the best we had the car all year. We’ll fix it and go to Orlando. We’ve got one more shot”
The Tampa Bay Area Racing Association returns to Orlando Speedworld next week, after a three and a half year absence. There was one race attempt in June, which was rained out after practice. Car owner Rex Hollinger has been in close contact with manager Ozzy Moya (who he said “is a gearhead, like all of us”), and even arranged for a car for Moya to drive in the Crasharama Enduro race at the track this Friday. “They are looking ahead to 2014, and they want to have several sprint car races. They are going to return to Friday nights (New Smyrna Speedway races on Saturday), with several big Saturday night events mixed in, and they want to feature sprint cars on several of those Saturday nights,” Rex Hollinger told me. Orlando Speedworld has bought TV and radio ad time, and has printed materials to promote the December 7th TBARA race at the track, the 2013 season finale.
Mike Tharp, racing at New Smyrna Speedway for the first time, was asked for his impression of the track’s long straightaways. “Holy Mackerel,” he exclaimed. “I never felt anything quite like that. Pretty long – I could have eaten a sandwich going down through there. I’m anxious to see if I can get a little better down there. Definitely the first time out there, when I looked at it, it was a little intimidating. But after I’ve been on it, it’s quite exciting and I’m looking forward to doing it some more.” Tharp told me that he had raced a dirt car on St. Augustine Speedway, an extinct dirt track that was also known for its long straights.
Stands at New Smyrna Speedway
Garrett Green, winding down his first full year of sprint car competition, was at New Smyrna for the first time in a sprint car. It was not his first high-banked oval race, as he had raced in a HOSS series sprint car race at Angola Speedway in Indiana in September. Starting in the rear of the starting field of fifteen cars, he managed one on-track pass of Dave Steele near the start, and finished in fifth place. He described his car as being tight in the center and loose off, and he was completely down on the apron at one point trying to complete a third turn pass. His team is planning a program of wing and non-wing sprint car racing next year. They may add more races in the Midwest during the warm weather months, in addition to a return to the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway. Two of Green’s rookie accomplishments during the year involved this central Indiana track. In addition to the Rookie of the Year award at the Little 500, Garrett Green earned the USSA Rookie of the Year award in competition at Anderson.
Q & A with Tyler Godwin
By Richard Golardi
Cool, calm, and calculating. That is the impression that one gets from dirt sprint car driver Tyler Godwin. He says that he tries to keep his emotions under control while on the track, so that his single purpose is to get the car to the front, and then win. And winning is just what he has been doing on Florida’s dirt tracks. In his last six sprint car races, he has four feature race wins and two third place finishes. There was no finish lower than third place. At Volusia Speedway Park in October, he led every lap of the feature race in a dominating win. When I spoke to him on Saturday at Ocala’s Bubba Raceway Park, we were waiting out the rain, which would eventually cancel the night of racing.
Q. What first got you interested in racing?
A. When I was seven, my grandfather took me to a go kart race out at Dirt Devils out on 52. I got pretty interested in that. It was either that, or race dirt bikes, and we chose to race go karts.
Q. Are you a lifelong Floridian?
A. Yes, sir. All my life. I was born and raised in Tampa. (He still lives in Tampa.)
Q. But – you’ve got a little bit of a Southern accent. How could that be possible for a “city boy” from Tampa?
A. My dad is originally from North Carolina, and my Mom’s side of the family is from Macon, Georgia.
Q. OK – there’s a lot of Southerners on both sides of the family. Although, if you’re from Tampa, you’re hardly a “country boy”, right?
A. I don’t consider myself a “city boy”. Probably half and half.
Q. Was your first race in a go kart?
A. Actually, my first race we went to Dirt Devils and we lapped all the way up to third place.
Q. How old were you?
A. Seven years old. My grandfather took me on my birthday, and at Christmastime I had two go karts sitting in the front of the Christmas tree.
Q. Why two go karts?
A. Originally, I was going to run one, and so was my grandfather. That way, he could figure out what did what, and that way he could help me get faster and better as a driver.
Q. Kind of be your mentor – your grandfather?
A. Yes, sir. My third race out, the track was real slick, and I was leading the race and a lapped kart spun in front of me, and I smacked him, and bent the chassis. So, I had to use his chassis for the rest of the season, and that kind of ended his career in racing. Every corner of the chassis was bent. It’s actually hanging up in my shop. It was my first go kart, so I kept it.
Q. What are the other types of race cars that you have driven?
A. Besides the go karts, we jumped in the sprint cars when I was fourteen. We looked at open wheel modified, but I said ‘no, I don’t want to do that’. We went to my first Winternationals, and I said ‘this is what I want to race’. On October 14th, when I turned fourteen, my grandfather pulled up at my house, and we opened the back door of the trailer, and there was a brand new sprint car sitting there. We started at Okeechobee because I couldn’t race anywhere yet, because I was too young. Actually, I’m the youngest sprint car feature winner in the State of Florida. I beat Jeff Gordon and Sport Allen.
Q. When was that first win?
A. We rented the track a couple of times and after my sixth or seventh time, they said, “alright, you’re ready to race.” That night they made me start in the back at Okeechobee, and that was my first race, and my first win.
Q. Your first start, and your first feature? You won it?
A. First race, first start, first win. Once a month, we would rent the track out, on a Sunday. We’d try different things. I had to prove that I could flat-foot it around the race track before I could race. Finally I got to the point where I could do that. The next time they raced, I started in the back in the heat race and the feature and came from the back and won the race. From there, we started racing East Bay, because I went in front of a judge and got emancipated. Brian Maddox, my car owner, actually beat me in my first race there. That was pretty ironic, with how I’m now driving for him. Then we sold the limited sprint, and bought an open 360.
Q. And your car owner was still your grandfather at that time?
A. My grandfather was my car owner up until three years ago, and then I drove for other people.
Q. Did you ever venture outside of sprint cars into other classes?
A. I had the opportunity to drive one of Jeff Matthew’s open wheel modifieds when we came to Ocala, but we got rained out. That kind of went out the window, so it’s always been a sprint car or a go kart. Then we started traveling with the USCS and ASCS divisions, and won a bunch of races with them. We traveled in the Southeast states. Then they had the ASCS Rebel Region, and we raced that series for two or three years. I was in first in the points, and later finished fifth in the points that year. Then we picked up a good sponsor and went to the Knoxville Nationals one year. We made the A main one night, and the second night we missed it by one position because I blew a motor. Now, I’m driving for the Maddox’s, and I’m grateful that they are able to provide me with a good car, and good equipment. So far, we’ve been doing pretty well, and hopefully we can continue the rhythm we have. Just drive smart, and don’t let my emotions take over. If I can continue what we’re doing, then we’ll be alright for next year.
Q. Have you ever had a bad crash, or been injured at the track?
A. I’ve had a bunch of pretty good wrecks in the sprint car, but I’ve never gotten really injured.
Q. So you haven’t had any ‘sheet time’, when you were admitted to the hospital?
A. Well, a couple of times, I hurt my knee. But, the worst wreck I’ve been into was in a go kart where I flipped over and the kart landed on me. I ended up breaking a collar bone, and a couple of other bones. Actually, you have a better chance of getting hurt in a go kart than you do in a sprint car, because you’re not strapped in. In a go kart, I’ve had a bunch of state championships and a couple of national championships.
Q. Have you had any track championships or series championships in a sprint car?
A. I’ve come close, but we’ve always had some bad luck in a race.
Q. What was your most rewarding win in a sprint car?
A. Probably the most rewarding win in a sprint car would be at Volusia this year (October 12th). It was the most rewarding because Danny Martin’s always won there, and the Maddox’s have never won there, regardless of who was driving. I did very well there.
Q. What’s your favorite track?
A. I like Volusia. Actually, my favorite track’s not in Florida. It’s Phenix City, Alabama and Knoxville Raceway out in Iowa. In Knoxville, we ran the Nationals. It was the 360 Nationals. We ran there in’09, I believe it was. We did pretty well there.
Q. What do you think is the reason why you have done so well just recently, with four wins over six races?
A. I think it comes down to maturity. As I’m getting older, my maturity is growing with my age. I’m settling down in the car. The biggest factor is not letting your emotions take over. I’ve seen it in a lot of drivers, and I’ve done it numerous times. I have good equipment underneath my butt. My grandfather and Brian – they wrench on the car.
Q. Can you continue this type of dominance for the remainder of this year (3 races), and again in 2014?
A. We are going to try our hardest. Robert Delgado’s building me a carbureted motor for next year, and I’ve got a brand new car coming. So, we’re going to do some limited races in the State of Florida, and then we’re going to also travel and do some ASCS and USCS races. The new car’s going to be for traveling. We’re going to run Top Gun, and whenever they are not running, we’re going to go up north and run.
Q. Do you think that makes you the favorite then for next year in Top Gun?
A. I wouldn’t say the favorite. I would say we’re going to be one of the best competitors in the series, between Danny and myself.
Q. Do you think Danny Martin Jr. is your number one main competitor?
A. Yes, sir. Danny’s always been my number one main competitor. You know, he’s one of the best in the State of Florida, and he has a lot more seat time than me. He’s raced longer than I have. He’s been struggling. You know, with his new car owner, they’re trying to get like they were two years ago. Everybody else has figured out how to go fast. They thought they would go out and dominate and they realized that everybody else has figured out what makes the car go faster, and getting the most out of their motors. I don’t believe that they are getting the most out of their motors, like they were a couple of years ago. They are one of the ones to beat for next year. We’re going to have to try the best that we can, just like we have been for the past couple of weeks.
Q. Thank you, Tyler.
East Bay Sprint Season Finale and Other Dirt News
By Richard Golardi
The list of female sprint car drivers in The Sunshine State is limited. Right now, it consists of one driver, seventeen year old Rebecca George. Rebecca is a young woman with her priorities set for the next decade of her young adult life. She knows that she wishes to continue racing her George Motorsports dirt sprint car in Florida. The blue and orange car was purchased earlier this year by her father and team owner, Tim George. It was previously driven by Amanda Ferguson in Florida competition.
Keith Butler
At East Bay Raceway, Rebecca recounted her top five finish at Clewiston one week earlier, her best career finish in a sprint car. She had led laps early in the feature at Clewiston, and had a top ten finish at East Bay last Saturday night. “I’m definitely getting more used to the car. I had a really strong finish last week when we went down to Hendry County with the Top Gun,” Rebecca told me. “This is the end of my second year in a sprint car. I’ll just keep on trying to do better and better. I know we have one more Top Gun race this year. Just keep getting seat time, and hopefully have a good strong car for next year.”
Her daily activities include caring for her cows and pigs, her “show animals”, and preparing for her chosen career path as a large animal Veterinarian. “I show ‘show cows and pigs’, so I’ll be spending a lot of time with them. I have two cows, and then I have a show pig for the South Florida Fair. It’s definitely a lot of hard work and responsibility, and it definitely teaches you a lot,” according to Rebecca.
So, you told me that you are working in a Veterinarian’s office, in addition to taking care of the animals, and going to school, and a race car driver. How do you find enough hours in the day to do all these things? “You have to really manage your time well. I’m hoping to go to school to be a large animal Vet. So, being able to put the hours in at a Vet’s office really makes it easier for me to learn things. I know the outcome will be very well for me.”
Billy Boyd
George Clooney's new movie 'Tomorrowland' is filming in New Smyrna Beach this week. Some buildings in New Smyrna Beach were used for filming, along with some road closures in the area to accommodate the film crew. Now, all Florida needs is to get Clooney and crew out to Bubba Raceway Park this weekend, or New Smyrna Speedway next weekend. After all, Clooney has the clout, and Hollywood is always looking for a good story. Small town boy makes it big in a sprint car on Florida’s short tracks, then moves on to the big time, with the two main characters cast as a father and son duo. George Clooney as the father, and playing the son would be …
The newest notable driver to be added to the ranks of dirt trackers in Florida is Dave Steele. The new dirt sprint car was a project that was under way in his Tampa race shop for several months, but kept under the radar. The car made its first appearance in social networking discussions only days before its first race at East Bay on Saturday night. A white #33 design, it shared most of the same sponsor stickers seen on his pavement car. It looked the same, but would it be as dominant on dirt as Steele has been on pavement since his 2012 racing comeback? The answer is maybe. Steele would challenge Billy Boyd for the lead in both his heat race and the feature race, but finish second to Boyd in both races. Boyd would win the feature and clinch the 2013 East Bay Sprint driver championship in the process.
Keith Butler brought back his blue and yellow #19 dirt car, which had been missing from competition, due to the lack of an engine. He looked strong in his heat race, with an easy win. Problems came in the feature, including a second turn spin, and he eventually earned an eleventh place finish. He plans more dirt track racing in the future, which has been limited in the past 12 months.
I have learned that Tyler Godwin, who I spoke to at East Bay Raceway, has earned the seat in the #82 sprint car for the remaining dirt races at Bubba Raceway Park and in the Top Gun Sprint Series for the remainder of the year (East Bay and Clewiston). After an impressive string of finishes as a substitute for the injured Matt Kurtz (who will return to action at Bubba Raceway Park), Tyler was an observer at East Bay Raceway on Saturday, but he was readying for the four remaining 2013 dirt races. While earning his title of Florida’s Super-Sub, Tyler’s finishing record while substituting (September to November 2013) consisted of four feature race wins and two third place finishes. There was no finish lower than third place.
The outlook for Florida dirt sprint car racing in 2014 appears to be on track to mirror much of what we saw in 2013. Without a 2014 racing schedule from either Bubba Raceway Park, or the Top Gun series, it is still anticipated that the two will race separately in 2014, and try to avoid schedule conflicts. The only 2013 track that appears to be gone is Putnam County Speedway, which shut down in July. February again will see Bubba Raceway Park with the All Star Circuit of Champions and USAC National Sprint Car Series making visits. Tony Stewart’s planned return to sprint car racing may see him make an appearance in his #14 car at the track owned by his friend.
Remaining 2013 Florida dirt sprint car races:
11/16 - Bubba Raceway Park, Ocala, FL - Limited Sprints
12/7 - East Bay Raceway Park, Gibsonton, FL - Eagle Jet Top Gun Sprint Series
12/14 - Hendry County Motorsports Park, Clewiston, FL - Eagle Jet Top Gun Sprint Series (Night)
12/15 - Hendry County Motorsports Park, Clewiston, FL - Eagle Jet Top Gun Sprint Series (Day)
The videos from the Florida Open Wheel channel are here (Rebecca George driver profile video from East Bay, and also East Bay Raceway Park 11/9/2013 feature race video):
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSdPdgmUo6WfkfR6Eo__QBA
The Recovery – Geoff Styner Looks to the Future
By Richard Golardi
“It was exactly four months from the day of the accident and we went in for final x-rays. Everything is aligned, everything healed straight … perfect. They took the halo off. I wasn’t in a neck collar for more than a day. I took it off. It was uncomfortable. They told me that the more I could keep it off, the better. The movement in my neck has been really good. I still get a little stiffness turning to the left. The prognosis is that we’ll be really fine. We’ll be like brand new. No surgeries, thank God. No rehab. Just taking it easy and waiting on the final healing process,” Geoff Styner told me.
It had been close to six months of recovery for TQ midget and sprint car driver Geoff Styner when I spoke to him at Full Throttle Speedway in Bradenton, the track where he was injured on May 4th. The TQ midget that he was driving in the FMARA feature race flipped on its side and hit the third turn wall roll cage first. His helmet impacted the wall and his C1 neck vertebra was broken. There was no paralysis, and he would be required to live with a halo screwed into his head for four months while his neck healed. He did not know if he would ever return to driving a sprint car again, as he wanted to delay the decision until he was further along in the healing process.
Geoff told me that he has no lingering neck pain, and no headaches. He said he remembered everything that happened at the track, but a few things in the hospital were a little hazy, as he was given morphine for pain relief. “I went in every two weeks for them to retighten the bolts in my head. It wasn’t painful. It was just uncomfortable. It’s nice to have it off. No surgeries. Fortunately, the care I was given at the first trauma center, they set everything square and straight. With the halo on, nothing could move.” Geoff slept in a hospital bed while the halo was on his head, and was unable to drive or work. The support of friends and family and his wife Linda played an important role in the healing process.
Geoff Styner sprint car
“For the first week or two after the halo came off, I spent a lot of time lying in bed. The neck muscles weren’t strong enough. Little by little, the neck starting coming back. Right now, I can only turn that far to the left (turns head about 30 degrees to the left). I have a lot of movement to the right, but not as much to the left. That will come back. They told me, “don’t force it, don’t try to stretch your neck, just let it come back naturally.”
Have you returned to work, I asked? “Yes. I’ve been back to work for a month now.” Full-time? “Yes, and it’s going good – a little sore. You know – getting the muscles to work again. The back muscles were the main ones, being immobilized for four months. The back muscles took a while to start working again. We’re still on the mend. I’m about as normal as I’ve ever been. I drive a sprint car. How normal can you be?”
Beyond strengthening muscles that had been unused for months while wearing the halo, Geoff’s recovery process was nearly complete. Was this the time to make a decision regarding his future behind the wheel of the sprint car that he owned, the yellow number 15JR car? In October he put his friend Jay Stutz in the car for the TBARA series race at Full Throttle Speedway. He wanted to give his friend his first experience driving a sprint car in competition. Jay was a driver with many miles of open wheel experience, all of it in a TQ midget. In a race that resulted in many damaged cars, Jay avoided all the wrecks and finished the feature race in eleventh place.
Styner TQ midget crash damage
Are you getting back behind the wheel of your sprint car again? “Yes, in January. I can’t do anything until January. The neurosurgeon told me that in January I’m fine. I’m good to go. What they’re worried about right now is the G forces. They don’t want the G forces and the shaking on the neck. So, he told me that in January I can get back in the car. So, January we’re going to get back in the car. Get some practice, and see if I’m still able to do it physically and mentally. I want to get in the car tonight. I feel 100% that I can still do it. But, I won’t know until I get in the car, and I realize that.”
“This has made me look at life in a whole different way. My life changed in a matter of ten seconds. I’m fortunate. I’m alive. It’s changed the way I feel, and the way I look at life every day. You can’t really take tomorrow for granted. We all know that as race drivers. There’s that chance that you come to the race track, and you may not go home. We don’t think about that. When I get back in the car, I’m not going to think about that. I’ll be honest. Unfortunately, tonight we had another scare. The life flight was very emotional for me.” Watching it? “Yeah. Unfortunately, I know where they’re at. I know emotionally where they’re at,” Geoff related to me. Joey Aguilar was burned in a cockpit fire in his car that night, and is now recovering from third degree burns to both hands, with plans to return to racing later this month.
Geoff said that he considers himself to be a “true believer” in safety equipment. He has ordered all new safety equipment from Simpson, including a new helmet and the Simpson Hybrid Pro for his head and neck restraint. He credits the safety equipment worn on the night of the accident with saving his life. “Getting back in a car? My car is safe. I do all the precautions to make sure my car is safe. I feel pretty good. I haven’t really announced it yet, but I will not be driving a midget again.” So you are getting back behind the wheel of a sprint car only? “Right. My future in a midget is no more. I’m not saying the cars are not safe. They are. I’m going to stick with the sprint cars. I feel more comfortable in a sprint car.”
Do you know the date or race that will be your planned return to racing? “No. We’re going to go to the old Punta Gorda Speedway (Three Palms Speedway) sometime in January, and I’m going to get on the track alone.” Is this to prepare for the February 15th TBARA race that will be at Punta Gorda? “I don’t know about that. My focus actually is going back to strictly running dirt again. I’m a dirt guy. I grew up on dirt, and I built a sprint car to run dirt, and I enjoy the dirt. We’ll run East Bay. I love East Bay. It’s a really fun track. It’s a fast track. Maybe venture to Bubba’s – I don’t know.”
Why the change from asphalt to dirt? “Because I’m running a dirt car on asphalt. I don’t have a lot of money to run an asphalt car.” The car that he will run on dirt is the same number 15JR that raced at Full Throttle Speedway in October. It has a limited motor in it, what Geoff said is an “East Bay legal motor”. He felt he could be more competitive on the dirt with this setup. He seemed to have some sadness with leaving TBARA competition, having felt that they treated him very well, but he reiterated, “I’m a dirt guy, you know.”
“I want to thank everybody – the racers, the fans, everybody. It’s nice that a small town guy like me, a real low-budget guy, can get the love from the sport and everything. It just shows that you don’t have to be one of the big names. You know … that people care. It’s great to be back at the track, and I just look forward to getting back in the seat, and being out with my friends. You know – back doing what we do.”
Arduous Night for TBARA at Full Throttle Speedway
By Richard Golardi
“Can we get the car ready for the feature?” That was the question asked by Joey Aguilar, while being treated for burns, and being prepared to be transported by air ambulance to Tampa. He was concerned about the car. This was a car that had a fuel line douse him with fuel while racing in a TBARA Sprint Car Series heat race at Full Throttle Speedway. TBARA President Buff Fritz informed me that a high speed bypass came loose, and then it sprayed him and the car with fuel, which got on the rotor. "And the rotor's hot, and boom, an instant fire", as Buff told me. The cockpit was instantly filled with fire, and Joey steered the car into the infield and bailed out. Fire crews reached him quickly, and put out the flames covering his legs. Aguilar was treated for his burns at Tampa General Hospital’s burn center, and released later that night, while many were still at the track. He later said that he had third degree burns on both hands, and a first degree burn on his left leg.
“It was a serious fire and to come away with burns on both hands and on my left shin, all around it was handled in a great manner. When my car caught on fire, I knew I needed to get to the middle of the track. I knew Richard Boyer had safety equipment on his 4 wheeler for which I am very thankful. And I want to thank him for his fast response and thinking ahead of the game and checking his equipment,” Joey said. “I would like to thank all the officials, and safety crew at the track and all involved that put me out. Without all of them, I'm not sure where I would be,” he added. Joey has also stated that he intends to be back in the car for the next TBARA race at New Smyrna Speedway on November 23rd. This gives him four weeks for his hands to heal sufficiently. Two weeks later, on December 7th, the season’s last TBARA race takes place at Orlando SpeedWorld.
Wrecks and attrition whittled down the field of 19 cars that started the feature race. There were eleven cars still on the track at the finish. This benefitted the rookies, who took three of the top six finishing positions. Garrett Green finished in fourth place after a ninth row start. Matt Alfonso had a third place finish, and has the TBARA Rookie of the Year title virtually sewn up. Chris Gimmler appeared to be on his way to a fifth place finish, only to be passed by his father, Mark Gimmler, on the last lap. He took sixth place. Rookie Devin Curl was out early after a driveshaft joint broke, and his ankle was injured. He did not leave the track, and had wanted to get back in the car. Repairs could not be made to get back in the feature race. “It was my third time in the car, and then boom,” he said, still managing to laugh about his luck.
“Christopher did an outstanding job. I passed him on the last lap,” Mark Gimmler told me. He would have had a top five, if not for … “If not for me passing him on the last lap,” he said, chuckling. So why did you pass him on the last lap? “He screwed up, and went low, trying to stay out of the speedy dry going into one, and I took him. Went right around him on the outside,” he explained to me, still smiling. He’s another competitor on the track, as you view it? “Yes he is.”
Mark Gimmler also told me that there was disappointment among the drivers that a spin in the second turn early in the race did not bring out a yellow light, and four of the following drivers got caught up in a second turn wreck, along with the car that had spun. “The guy that was spun out in the corner was spun out for more than half a lap, and the yellow light was not on,” he said. Gimmler told me that he got some damage in the wreck, and that Jimmy Alvis Sr. ran over his left rear tire.
Scotty Adema had been trailing closely behind four cars that were involved in the second turn wreck, but backed off on the front straight. He then deftly placed his car between the outside wall and the crippled car of Dude Teate, while Teate’s car was sliding up to the wall. Completely missing the wreck, he exclaimed, “first time in my day, I went into the corner ninth and came out fourth.” How did you know to back off, and avoid getting caught up in the wreck? “I heard Danny screaming caution a bunch of times when I was getting into three, but the lights and flagman weren't reacting to anything. I backed off just before the flag stand and found a hole up top. Almost got hit by Dude’s wounded ride on my way out, then almost hit Ben down the back straight,” Scotty Adema replied. He eventually finished second to feature race winner Dave Steele.
Geoff Styner returned to competition at Full Throttle Speedway, where he was badly injured in a TQ midget crash in May. But he was not driving this day. He brought his sprint car to allow Jay Stutz to drive his first sprint car feature race. Jay told me that he had many miles of open wheel racing experience, all of them in a TQ midget. He was also the car owner of the TQ midget that Geoff Styner crashed at the track in May, an accident where Geoff’s helmet impacted the concrete wall. “There’s good drivers out there. First time in the car – got some good seat time. It was a lot of fun,” Jay told me at the end of the evening. We also spoke about how he was able to avoid all the wrecks, and see the checkered flag for an eleventh place finish. “I drove TQs, so it’s something similar. A little more horsepower, though,” Jay said. He thought that he had a close call when the turn two wreck happened, but “heard something coming up behind me, and I said I’m out of here, and I mashed the gas.”
The safety team at the track, a combination of track personnel and personnel from TBARA, received praise for the quick response to the fire in Aguilar’s car. A mere ten seconds after Aguilar dove out of the car and hit the grass, a firefighter had driven a pickup to the fire scene, grabbed an extinguisher, got out of the truck, and had the extinguisher opened and spraying while running to Joey. With two extinguishers soaking him with water, the fire on his legs was out mere seconds later. A GoPro camera on the car also made it through the fire to record the entire event, despite being in the flames.
At the end of the evening, the messages coming from the Tampa General Hospital burn center conveyed reassuring news that Joey Aguilar would recover, and was already making racing plans. “He is doing great, and will be back to 100% in 3 weeks,” read the message from Joey’s wife Tiffany. “Joey wanted to make sure that all drivers and owners know he is doing great, and he really felt like he was a part of a big family,” the message continued. What was the first question that he had for the doctors who were treating his burns in Tampa? “Can I race on the 23rd?”
The videos from the Florida Open Wheel channel are here (Cockpit fire in Joey Aguilar’s car and also TBARA 10/26/2013 feature race video from Full Throttle Speedway):
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSdPdgmUo6WfkfR6Eo__QBA
2014 Golden Gate Speedway Reunion: A Proposal
By Richard Golardi
Golden Gate Speedway Reunion signboard
TO: Golden Gate Speedway Reunion Organizers & Participants, and TBARA, and Citrus County Speedway
RE: A Proposal
In order to promote an enhanced and more exciting Golden Gate Speedway Reunion, and Frank Riddle Memorial event for 2014 (and beyond), the following is proposed:
Golden Gate Reunion
1) With the release of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule, we know the Charlotte night race is 10/11/2014. The ideal dates for both the reunion and Frank Riddle Memorial TBARA race would therefore be on the following weekend.
2) It is proposed that the Frank Riddle Memorial TBARA race be held on Saturday, 10/18/2014, and the 2nd annual reunion be held on Sunday, 10/19/2014. This will allow out-of-town participants to attend both events over the course of one weekend.
3) The benefit to both events would be as follows - increased attendance at both events due to crossover participants. Also, car owners would have an additional venue to display their cars, at the speedway main spectator entrance. Reunion organizers would have an ideal opportunity to promote their event the next day while at the speedway on Saturday. There will be increased media interest and the possibility of a TV deal via MAV TV or other network. Nostalgia sells, and fits well with the Florida promoter’s target market.
4) (Q) When racers get together, what's the one thing that they'd really like to be doing? (A) Race. A unique opportunity exists now with so many "Legends of Florida Sprint Car Racing" still active, but nearing retirement from racing. With vintage sprint cars, and legendary sprint car drivers in town, put the two together on the track. The "First Annual Florida Sprint Car Legends Race", a joint Golden Gate Speedway Reunion / TBARA sanctioned 10 lap exhibition race would be held on the night before the reunion, as part of the Frank Riddle Memorial event.
5) The exhibition race could take on 2 possible scenarios: (1) race the vintage cars with the "Florida legends" sprint car drivers, or (2) race the modern versions of the cars (presumably safer) with the same "Florida legends" drivers. Several of the “Florida legends” drivers are even car owners, and some are owner/drivers.
Riddle family members celebrate with race winner
Golden Gate Reunion Vintage Cars
TBARA Driver Group
Frank Riddle Memorial Returns – Complete with Fairytale Ending
By Richard Golardi
The Tampa Bay Area Racing Association (TBARA), once it approved a petition request to name the October 19th race at Citrus County Speedway as the Frank Riddle Memorial, likely did not foresee the race turning into the feel-good story of the year. Frank Riddle’s daughter, Sharon Riddle, is the owner of the number 11 sprint car, a number used by her father on his car. In addition, the car has the yellow and blue colors seen on Frank’s car. This is the car that won the Frank Riddle Memorial on Saturday night.
Joey Aguilar, chosen to drive the car this year, made his racing comeback in late 2012, which followed two years out of the cockpit. It was his second win this year in what he calls a “Frank Riddle Memorial” car, the first win coming at Showtime Speedway in June. He was determined to win this event, and it showed in the aggressiveness and bravado that he displayed on the track. Going three-wide down the front straight and deftly handling the heavy traffic that clogged the 3/8 mile track, he brought the number 11 car (built to honor Frank Riddle) home first in the feature race. “All for Frank Riddle, baby,” Aguilar proclaimed, after being handed the trophy. Looking skyward, he added, “thank you very much,” his voice showing the emotion of the moment.
“This was all for Frank Riddle, and for his daughter Sharon, who gave me the opportunity. This is the Frank Riddle Memorial, and we won it baby!” Aguilar said that he believed that he would be on a two win streak, if not for the magneto problem at the last TBARA race in September. He also proclaimed that a new JRE engine was coming soon, adding “we got a new one coming, so they better watch out.” After an inopportune start to the evening that involved missing out on practice, he went on to win both a heat race (expanded to eleven laps to match Riddle’s car number) and the feature race. “It’s my wife’s birthday today. Happy Birthday, baby,” Joey told the fans, adding a little extra to a night that the Aguilar and Riddle families would remember for a long time.
A chain reaction crash on the third lap of the feature race in a tightly packed bunch of cars led to a broken radius rod for Ty DeCaire, limiting him to only three and a half circuits during the feature race. Devin Curl, the 16 year old currently racing in the #84 car, completed his first sprint car feature race outside of Showtime Speedway, bringing the car to a fourteenth place finish. Another rookie driver, Chris Gimmler, overcame a spin in his heat race to finish behind Curl in fifteenth. Ray Bragg II celebrated the return of the #66 machine to competition with a ninth place finish, in a car that is still for sale. Two-time TBARA champion Shane Butler was seventh, and fellow two-time champion Johnny Gilbertson was noticeably absent from this race.
This event marked the return of the Frank Riddle Memorial after a five year hiatus. I did see the Citrus County Speedway and TBARA officials in an impromptu meeting after the racing card was completed. I believe there is some progress toward a return of the event in 2014, but nothing has been finalized. The positive attendance numbers should be a strong push to see the event return, and the decision to begin a track non-wing sprint car series in 2014 could be a detriment to the return. A reunion held the prior weekend for former Golden Gate Speedway racers did bring in some vintage cars and retired racers from the Tampa Bay area, and other states. I have already proposed to both parties that they hold both events on the same weekend next year, possibly the Saturday and Sunday of the third weekend in October. This should hopefully be the weekend after the Charlotte NASCAR race (a Saturday night event that could cause a short track downturn in attendance).
With the vintage sprint cars in the area for the reunion event, could a “Florida Legends Sprint Car Race” even be a possibility? Both the Golden Gate Speedway reunion and the Saturday night race event were lacking in one area, but it wasn’t the same for each event. The reunion was fun on many levels. But to only be able to hear the sound of a racing engine start and rev up, without any racing? To add a vintage racing event with the legends of Florida sprint car racing at the wheel of the cars, even if only an exhibition race, would add that dose of live racing excitement that the reunion lacked.
Joey Aguilar Winners Circle
For the speedway, the nostalgia factor was at a low level, with only one vintage sprint car on display, and none that made any laps of the track. To have a fleet of vintage sprint cars on display, and then put them on a track for the first ever (to my knowledge) race with only Florida sprint car legends behind the wheel? That would put the nostalgia factor through the roof. Another alternative would be to have the “Legends drivers” compete in modern day sprint cars for a 10-lap exhibition race, which would allow modern, safer cars to be used. Among those drivers who have raced recently in Florida, or who have told me of an interest to get behind the wheel, are Sonny Hartley, Stan Butler, and Bill Riddle. Then there is other Hall of Famers such as Jim Childers, a three-time Little 500 winner (most wins by any Floridian).
TBARA, after leaving the positive vibe of a sizable crowd and an exciting race with a feel-good ending, moves on next Saturday to race at Full Throttle Speedway in Bradenton. This is a race that originally was to be run without TBARA sanctioning, but was added to the TBARA schedule within the last week. Drivers were told that the regular TBARA purse structure would apply. The sanctioning body also confirmed two dates at Punta Gorda’s renamed Three Palms Speedway for 2014, on February 15th and October 31st. I was told by TBARA President Buff Fritz that a joint race event was planned for New Smyrna Speedway in 2014 with the X-1R Pro Cup Series, a stock car series that last raced in Florida at New Smyrna in March 2011, also a joint event with TBARA. The April to May 2014 period is under consideration for this joint race event. TBARA is also working on getting other New Smyrna Speedway dates on its 2014 schedule.
Ty DeCaire in car
Stan Butler, now confirmed as the race director for the Citrus County Speedway non-wing sprint car series (dubbed “CCS Wingless Sprints”), did confirm some race dates for the new series. The 2014 inaugural race for the series will be on January 4th, with racing to continue on the first Saturday of each month thereafter, through November. Bill Riddle, son of Frank Riddle, told me that he is considering a two-car team for the series with entries for sons Billy Riddle and Bryan Riddle, who were at the track on Saturday. He even added himself into the mix, saying he might consider getting in the car himself.
Notes from Top Gun Sprint Series at Volusia Speedway Park
By Richard Golardi
Florida’s own Super-Sub, Tyler Godwin, has a record of two wins and one third place finish since substituting for an injured Matt Kurtz in the number 82 car. The most recent feature race win, at the Eagle Jet Top Gun Sprint Series race at Volusia Speedway Park, saw him lead all 25 laps, as none of the other competitors was able to mount a challenge. He had finished in third place at Bubba Raceway Park one week earlier, in a race won by teammate AJ Maddox. Two weeks prior to this race, at Hendry County Motorsports Park, he racked up his first win of the three-race streak, again with the Top Gun Sprint cars.
Tyler Godwin
Other notes from the night of racing at Volusia Speedway Park:
· With larger stands than most of Florida’s dirt tracks, the size of the crowd had to be disappointingly small for both the promoters and the sanctioning body. I do admit that I am used to seeing sizable crowds during my annual visit for the World of Outlaws race in February, and this memory is hard to wipe clean. At one point during the evening, I counted a total of one fan seated in the second turn grandstand.
· Matt Kurtz was at the track, sporting a removable cast on his right hand, which was broken last month (in an off the track accident). It looked like a hybrid type plaster cast, but with parts of a wrist splint connected to it. He’ll be wearing it for a few more weeks, before his anticipated return to action next month.
· With Kurtz’s return, what happens to Tyler Godwin’s stint in the number 82, previously driven by Kurtz before his injury? The talk I heard in the pits was that a three-car team may be coming, with Kurtz and Godwin as teammates. Both drivers have multiple wins on Florida’s dirt tracks this year, so any wise car owner would do what’s necessary to keep them. AJ Maddox did win the last race at Bubba Raceway Park, and appears safe in his number 3A ride, making him the third team member. I could not confirm if this car will be operating the same as it is now, or would see some changes in other personnel.
· J R Steele was splashed with boiling water from his car in the feature race, and his crew did confirm that he appeared to have suffered some burns on his hand and leg. After struggling to get out of his car when it stopped on the front straight, he hurriedly tore off his gloves and the shoe and sock on his right foot, which apparently got splashed with the super-heated water. There was no fire in the car, and he managed to get it stopped on the front stretch dirt without damage. He was taken from the track by ambulance for treatment of the burns.
· A new pace car was present at the track – a BMW with pastel pink paint. Under the track lighting, it looked almost purple / pink. The pink pace car was present, it is assumed, to recognize National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
· Despite having one of the fastest cars in the feature race, and passing two of the top three finishers early in the feature race, Mark Ruel Jr. would have a disappointing end to his evening. First a shredded rear tire put him to the back of the field. After a quick tire change, the restart saw him make less than one lap before another car spun in front of him and he was struck in the right rear corner by the spinning car. He rolled into the infield, but the damage to the right rear of the car put him out for the night. With my GoPro camera on the car, Mark warned me that I would hear his cursing when reviewing the video, once the car rolled to a stop in the infield. I replied that it was something that I had heard from many other cars, on many other tracks.
· With Volusia Speedway Park providing the Top Gun Sprint Series competitors with a bigger track and higher speeds, it is a nice contrast to the smaller tracks seen during the rest of the year. This was the last sprint car race of the year at Volusia. Were the mostly empty stands filled with sufficient ticketholders to warrant bringing back the sprint cars? Have the current promoters made an adequate profit to warrant returning in 2014? These questions are still unanswered as of this date.
· Motorheads LLC was the engine supplier for all of the top three finishers, which included teammates Tyler Godwin and A J Maddox in first and second, and Danny Martin Jr. in third place. Motorheads LLC is the engine shop that is run by Martin.
· A reunification for dirt sprint car racing in Florida, which would help with car counts, appears unlikely for 2014. The two main reasons are that 11 year old Tyler Clem, currently racing a sprint car at Bubba Army race events at Bubba Raceway Park, would be too young for other Florida series, and Bubba Clem (his father) had previously stated that he wants to run the sprint car racing taking place at his track in Ocala.
· In the Winners Circle, feature race winner Tyler Godwin could be heard asking his crew, “were they catching us?” Their answer was, “you drove away every time.” Godwin’s lead was never challenged during the race, but seemed to get smaller later in the race. He told me that the motor wasn’t taking off on restarts the way he had wanted later in the race. “The motor got a little rich at the end, but that’s just a minor adjustment,” he said. His crew’s expertise with the adjustments made after their heat race, where Tyler got passed for the heat race lead, allowed him to cruise to his second race win since his “Super-Sub” status began.
The feature race video from the Florida Open Wheel channel is here (Eagle Jet Top Gun Sprint Series from Volusia Speedway Park on 10/12/2013):
Citrus County Speedway to Host the Return of the Frank Riddle Memorial
By Richard Golardi
The Frank Riddle Memorial, which will be run for the third time on October 19th at Citrus County Speedway, is being held to honor a man who is a Florida sprint car racing legend. This memorial race was held at Desoto Speedway twice previously, in 2007 and 2008. The race will be run as part of the TBARA Sprint Car Series schedule. Who is Frank Riddle, you may ask? He was a family man, a working man, a businessman, and a racer. Frank Riddle was elected to the Little 500 Hall of Fame in 1996, and also the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2010. This last honor came three years after he died in 2007, at age 78.
"Citrus County Speedway to Host the Return of the Frank Riddle Memorial"
Frank is known for winning the Little 500 twice in the 1980s when he was in his fifties. The Little 500 is known for being one of the most prestigious and grueling sprint car races. It is a test of both man and equipment. Frank had always wanted to race and win in the Midwest. He had already won his share of 100, 200, and 300 lap races throughout the Southeast. In his first attempt at the Little 500 in 1978, he started fifth and finished in fourth place. In just his third try in 1984, he qualified on the pole and won the 500 lap race. He came back the next year and repeated the same feat. In five of those attempts through the 1980s, he was the fastest qualifier each time. In his career at Anderson Speedway, he had sixteen starts in the Little 500, with two wins, five top ten finishes, and nine top ten starting positions.
Frank Riddle’s status as a fierce and talented race car driver was initially earned in Florida, while competing at tracks around the Tampa Bay area. These tracks included Phillips Field, Golden Gate Speedway, and the half mile dirt oval at the Florida State Fairgrounds. Phillips Field, in Tampa, was where he drove his first race in a 1935 Ford. Early in his career, Frank raced stock cars, modifieds, and supermodifieds, which ran with wings in the 1960s, well before their use in Formula 1 and IndyCar racing. He would run two or three supermodified races a week, frequently ending his night in the Winners Circle. During this time, Frank would also race all over Florida, from the Southeast coast to Pensacola, and also in the Deep South. Some of the races would be as long as 300 laps, where Frank would show his expertise at taking care of his car, and making it to the checkered flag.
When sprint cars replaced the supermodifieds at Golden Gate Speedway in 1967, car owners sought out Frank to drive their car, as he had already shown his abilities in IMCA sprint car races at the Florida State Fair dirt track. When the Tampa Bay Area Racing Association was formed two years later, Frank was a regular competitor on both the dirt and pavement with his fellow Bay area racers. He has 95 lifetime TBARA feature wins during twenty years of racing with the association, which places him second on the overall winners list, behind only Wayne Reutimann with 97 wins.
Tall and lanky, Frank’s friends called him “Bones”. He was known for his big smile and his worn blue driving uniform. During the 1980 season, he ran the USAC National Sprint Car Series in two blue and yellow number eleven J.W. Hunt Produce cars (one for dirt, and one for pavement), and earned the Rookie of the Year title at 52 years old. A popular story from Frank’s career involved a frightening crash and fire at Anderson Speedway. His car caught fire after coming to rest in turn one, where a fan crawled under the fence, and ran to the car to tell Frank that he was on fire, and to get out. Frank would meet with the fan when he returned to Anderson to race, remembering the good deed for many years after that fateful day. After he retired from his job as a CSX railroad engineer in 1987, he spent his time farming when he wasn’t at the track.
After starting his racing career in 1948, Frank Riddle racked up 250 feature wins over the next 48 years. It was said that he loved racing, and that he loved the people that he knew through racing. His wife, Margaret, and his family, and a small farm in Thonotosassa became his life after he retired from racing in 1997 at age 68. That year was his last trip to Anderson to drive in the Little 500. To this day, he is still credited with starting the tradition by so many Floridians of heading to Central Indiana each year to race in the Little 500. The highest finishing Floridian at the Little 500 earns the Frank Riddle Award. That award was won this year by a rookie in his first Little 500 effort, Garrett Green.
For all of these accomplishments, and for living a life that was both memorable and admirable, that is why the Frank Riddle is being remembered with the revival of the TBARA Sprint Car Series feature race “The Frank Riddle Memorial”. Jimmy Riddle, Frank’s brother and another Florida racing legend, passed away earlier this year. He will also be remembered during the pre-race ceremonies at the track. The race will take place in Inverness, Florida on October 19th at the Citrus County Speedway. (Credit: Ken de la Bastide, The Herald Bulletin; and Carlton Calfee)
TBARA Fall Season Opening Race – Scotty’s Back, Steele Smelts the Competition
By Richard Golardi
At New Smyrna Speedway on Saturday, for the Tampa Bay Area Racing Association fall season opening race, Scotty Adema brought his small crew and a new car. He also brought the skill and determination that he would need when multiple obstacles were thrown in his path during the first half of the day’s events. The first practice session saw smoke pouring from the left side of his engine, due to an oil leak. With the leak repaired, the second practice session on the high banks brought proof that he had the speed needed to compete for a feature race win. Scotty had spent the summer preparing the new car, a Diablo chassis, for TBARA’s return to competition. His last race was in May, almost five months ago. The Diablo, emblazoned with a fire engine red Firefighter theme complete with flames, did not disappoint and was one of the fastest cars all night.
67 car of Scotty Adema
In his heat race, Adema settled in behind the yellow car of Mark Gimmler. While running closely behind Gimmler, he had a fraction of a second to react to a medium-sized metal object that appeared on the track, in the third turn racing groove. Maneuvering safely around the object, which appeared to go unnoticed by officials, he next had to anticipate where the object would show up on the next lap. It appeared to move further down the track and closer to the inside line at least once, due to being struck or brushed by another car. Adema would follow the yellow #51 car of Gimmler across the line to finish second in the heat race, after a caution period allowed the track crew to retrieve the errant metal object from the third turn.
Throughout the feature race, Scotty Adema was close to the front, after a mid-pack start in the same row as Dave Steele, a heat race winner from earlier. “I haven’t raced that close at this speed in a long time, and I missed it,” Scotty told me after the evening’s racing had concluded. “It really is fun to know you can trust these guys, and do that. It was a blast.” That’s why you’re smiling then, I asked? “Oh yeah,” he replied. “I haven’t raced at this track since 2006 Speedweeks. We ran a couple of non-wing races, but both times we showed up, either the water pump or the fuel pump broke. So we never got more than two or three laps.” The race’s finish would be determined after a late race red flag, with Joey Aguilar and Adema and Dave Steele at the front. Early leader Larry Brazil Jr., who played the role of the rabbit and pulled out to a huge early lead, lost the lead after 19 laps. He eventually finished in fifth place.
Top Three at New Smyrna Speedway
The restart with five laps to go, although it was not the final restart, was the one that sealed the fate of the eventual feature winner, Dave Steele. This restart began with Steele in third place, behind Aguilar and Adema. With Aguilar drifting high to block Adema’s pass attempt down the long front straight, Steele dove low and passed them both by the first turn. “Dave kind of bonzaied us when we both backed out and he took the lead. I went to the outside, and all of a sudden here comes this white ghost,” Scotty told me. “I honestly thought Dave was going to slide right up into the side of him, but he made it through there.” Steele would retain the lead and power to the win after one final restart with three laps remaining. It was at this last restart that Adema made his move to take second place from Joey Aguilar. “It looked like Joey’s motor stumbled a little bit, and I went to the outside there, and he gave me the outside. I’ve got to thank him for that. He’s a tough competitor, and he gave me plenty of room out there. I was smiling the whole time we were running side-by-side there.” He would finish the feature race in second, behind only Dave Steele.
Summarizing his night, Adema told me, “we had a couple of little leaks here and there, but other than that, we couldn’t ask for a better night. Well I mean you could – you could get a win. But as far as what we were competing with, and as many laps as I had in the car, I’m happy. This is only the second time I’ve raced all year. I had to knock the rust off of it for here, quick.” The oil leak in practice was a valve cover improperly installed, and there was also a minor rear end leak.
Adema revealed that Dave Steele had helped with putting his car together, and that it was “pretty much a copy of his car. There’s a couple little differences here and there, but it’s about the same.” The Diablo chassis had a Gaerte engine under the hood. “He likes the car on one end, and I like it towards the other.” Are any changes planned for the next TBARA race at Citrus County Speedway? “Yes, once I get the adrenaline out of my head, and can sit down and analyze it, and watch the videos of the car. I’ll look at what exactly was the car doing, because out there you’re kind of just reacting. Then I’ll go back, and maybe just fine tune it.” Driving at New Smyrna, he would crack the throttle for the turns, and then accelerate again quickly, without touching the brake pedal. “Go into the corner, roll out to about quarter throttle, and then right back down.”
Dave Steele in Winners Circle
After getting two second place finishes in his last two races (both at Showtime Speedway), Dave Steele was determined to get back to his usual winning ways. This was evidenced by the brave move to pass both the first and second place cars by diving low into turn one at the restart. “It was either lapped traffic cobbing those guys up pretty bad, but they seemed to be getting through that pretty good. Or… try something on a restart. Luckily, our engine is really crisp on starts and restarts, so it worked out good for us,” Steele told me. And you got by both those guys with no contact? “No contact. I was able to get along side of them on the front straightaway, by the flag stand, and get underneath them going into one. Whatever it takes, I guess.” What if there had not been a yellow flag? “Unfortunately, it was looking like probably third.”
A blistered tire, first noticed in the heat race, became a badly blistered tire in the feature, but did not deter Steele from being the first to the checkered flag. “Our car was pretty good once we got in clean air. At this track, when you get the dirty air off the guys in front of you, it’s tough. It limits your passing attempts to traffic and restarts.” Do you think this makes you the favorite for the remaining TBARA races, and the championship? “I don’t know about the favorite for the races. I guess we’re looking OK for the points. I’d say the sixty seven is probably second.” Do you intend to run the non-TBARA race in October at Full Throttle Speedway? “Oh, I think so. We’re just out there to race. There’s politics involved in it. If you’ve got a race car, you might as well race it.”
Steele did openly admit that there is still some work to do to improve his car. “The last two races prior to this, we had a couple seconds. If you’re not winning, you’ve got to do something. There’s a couple of things we need to try.” Was it the car or the driver? “That’s hard to say. I’m no spring chicken any more, but it’s hard to say. The guys we’re racing against are getting tough too. So, you’ve got to give those guys credit.” I’ve asked other drivers if everyone else’s car and driving ability was getting better, and they thought that could be the case, I remarked. “Yup. I agree,” Steele stated.
I also spoke to fourth place finisher Ben Fritz, who told me that he was battling a tight race car all night. Did he think the result would have been different if the late race cautions hadn’t happened? “The yellow came out, and I ended up getting one car with three laps to go (Larry Brazil Jr.), and we ended up fourth. What ifs? The top three guys could have blew up.” There was no contact in turn one, but what if they had taken each other out? “Exactly. I don’t believe in what ifs, so …” But, you would have been in first place! “Yeah, that would have been nice. Overall, at New Smyrna, if everything’s going home in one piece, and your motor’s still running, it’s a good night.”
TBARA Fall Season Preview – Buff Fritz Interview
By Richard Golardi
The Tampa Bay Area Racing Association returns to the track this Saturday, at New Smyrna Speedway, after a one and a half year absence from the track. After the state’s pavement sprint car competition was limited to only Showtime Speedway all summer, New Smyrna constitutes a dramatic shift to high speeds and high banks. For this reason, the racing club will limit competition to racers who are sixteen years of age or older.
Two competitors raced at Showtime Speedway last Saturday for the track’s last sprint car race of the year, and were under this minimum age (Ty DeCaire and Garrett Green, both fifteen). DeCaire impressed with a top five qualifying performance, and followed this up with a fifth place finish in the feature, his best performance of the year. DeCaire and Green would battle for position throughout the latter portion of the race. Green would be hindered by failing brakes late in the race, and DeCaire would pounce at the last restart to take the position. Another teenage rookie made his first sprint car start in the number 84 car previously driven this year by Ben Fritz and Mickey Kempgens. Devin Curl, who had competed against Garrett Green in go karts since the age of five, missed a top ten finish in his first start by one position. Prior to the Showtime race last Saturday, his only other time behind the wheel of a sprint car was one practice session earlier this month.
Buff Fritz and Devin Curl
Some of the competitors who have expressed a desire to join the TBARA trail for the remaining four races are Scotty Adema (debuting a fire engine red Firefighter themed car with an “Engine 67” logo), and three drivers seen at Showtime Speedway in the past month. These three are Russell Jones, Bobby Gordon, and Terry Taylor. The two drivers under sixteen years old, DeCaire and Green, will be able to rejoin the TBARA at the next race at Citrus County Speedway in October. This race marks the return of the Frank Riddle Memorial since it was last run in 2008. The series returns to New Smyrna Speedway again in November, and concludes its 2013 season at Orlando SpeedWorld in December. One other pavement sprint car race this year, at Full Throttle Speedway on October 26th, is not part of the TBARA schedule.
I asked TBARA President Buff Fritz to tell me what he was looking forward to in the upcoming four series races during the fall? “Well, we’ll be out of the gate next week at New Smyrna. We haven’t been back there in two seasons. So, it’ll be good to get back at that venue.” Do you think the cooler weather will help with increasing attendance? “Sure. Heck yeah! Who wants to come to the races when it’s one hundred degrees out? I’d like it to be about sixty to seventy degrees.” I also asked about if there was a desire to continue scheduling races through January, February, and March. That seems unlikely, as there is a desire to give teams some time off to “get their equipment back together”. There was nothing to announce about possible February 2014 Speedweeks events, or if they included New Smyrna Speedway. That track had the USAC National Midget Series race this year, during the two days that had seen the TBARA race in previous years (Sunday / Monday prior to Daytona 500 weekend). But, Fritz did reveal that “we are talking to Mr. Hart about Speedweeks. Mr. Hart is ready to have us back.”
Ty DeCaire
Where will the series be racing beyond Speedweeks next year? “Well, we’re working the 2014 schedule right now,” Fritz told me. “I don’t know. After we get this week in, I was going to start working promoters next week.” Including Jamie Haase at Three Palms Speedway in Punta Gorda? “Yes. We have been in contact. Josh has done a real job working with those fellows down there, and they are ready.” What have they been saying? “Verbally – four races.” Starting when? “The first part of the season. They want to go, like every other month. He’s still trying to get that track put back together.”
Right now, there are no anticipated changes in rules for the TBARA, but the next annual meeting is in December, when rules changes may be proposed. The series is pursuing the new drivers and cars to get involved, and Fritz was proud to talk about the “young boy in the eighty four car tonight – Devin Curl. He’s sixteen. He’s a state champ in go karts. He’s kind of a little protégé of ours – between Ben and I. He’s been with us since he’s been eight years old. Now he’s sixteen, and we practiced with him a couple of weeks ago, and tonight he gets his first shot in the eighty four car. He looked good out there. We’re really focused on his car control. We’ve been coaching him, and he’s listening, so we’re real proud of that.”
Regarding the younger drivers and New Smyrna Speedway, Buff Fritz said that this would be evaluated on a race-to-race basis. “Club members voted on that deal. In the beginning, the agreement was not to have them on the half miles. The speeds are just way, way too high for those fellows to be on the half miles yet. Their day will come. They’re just young fellows and they’re getting seat time and paying their dues.”
“A lot of these promoters are starting to do their own deals. There’s some concern in the racing world, especially sprint cars here in Florida. Some of these tracks are starting to hold sprint car races in-house, and that’s a concern to us in the TBARA,” according to Buff Fritz. “Coming into 2014 will be our 42nd year as an organization. With an agreement, we bring stabilization. We bring something stable. We bring rules and we bring a structured purse that’s in place. You know when you leave the house exactly what each position pays. We bring our own officials and we’re a totally self-contained series, and we bring the best quality sprint car racing in the State of Florida. I try to stress with my guys – hey, if they pay better than our purse, then there’s not much you can say. But if they go, and their purse is less than ours? Guys - we need to stay together with some unity and loyalty, and we’ve got to stay together as a series. We can’t give our services away.”
The relationship between the series and Full Throttle Speedway, which hosted one series race in early May, appears to be stagnated. A disagreement over the purse resulted in the removal of two additional 2013 races from the schedule. “I have no problem with the fellows down there at Full Throttle. I’d really like to come back to that venue. It’s a great place, and the drivers like it, and it’s centrally located,” Buff admitted. Any possibility of patching up the relationship and bringing Full Throttle Speedway back into the fold looks unlikely for the near future. It may grow more remote with Three Palms Speedway added to the 2014 schedule for four races, and more frequent racing at New Smyrna. Citrus County Speedway has confirmed a new non-wing series for 2014, and has not stated their intentions to schedule their usual supplement of two TBARA races.
What about expectations for car count? “Well, we hope to be at 22 to 25 cars. That’s where we’ve been. Last year, we averaged 18 cars for the whole season. The highest we had was 26 cars. There’s a lot of cars sitting in Florida on the pavement side, and we’re working hard to get these guys back out.”
What about the new non-wing sprint car series at Citrus County? Is that a good thing for TBARA, or a bad thing? “That’s a bad thing for TBARA, and it’s a bad thing for sprint cars, especially pavement racing. It’s not like the North, or the Midwest. They think they can run non-wings, by themselves, and what rules are they going to run? There’s too many opportunities to spend your dollar, and when you flood or saturate an event like sprint car racing, it becomes – oh, we’ll go the next time. People will say – they run again next month, we’ll go see them next month. Nine events at one track is too much.” Could TBARA have started a second series themselves, but exclusively non-wing, under TBARA sanctioning? “No, no. Any promoter has the discretion to make the show either a wing or a non-wing.” But, would TBARA have considered running more than one series? “We don’t need one. That’s the problem. There’s only five pavement tracks left in business, and there’s not enough race cars, and not enough race tracks to continue having a non-wing and a wing series.”
Schedule for remaining 2013 TBARA Sprint Car Series races:
9/28 – New Smyrna Speedway, New Smyrna Beach, FL
10/19 – Citrus County Speedway, Inverness, FL
11/23 – New Smyrna Speedway, New Smyrna Beach, FL
12/7 – Orlando SpeedWorld, Orlando, FL
Non-wing Pavement Sprint Car Racing Returns to Florida
By Richard Golardi
Non-wing pavement sprint car racing has become somewhat rare in America. Michigan and Indiana see these cars race on a couple of tracks. An undetermined amount of support (which seemed limited to social media) appeared in late August for the Tampa Bay Area Racing Association (TBARA) to hold its first non-wing race in decades at Citrus County Speedway. The race is now scheduled for Saturday, October 19th and will be run as a winged race. I can’t confirm the date of the last non-wing race held by the association, but apparently it was 25-30 years ago, when they held races on both dirt and asphalt. I can confirm that the conversations that I held during this period, in late August, appeared to show some level of support for this history making change.
Non-wing pavement sprint car racing is coming to Florida in 2014. It won’t be under the aegis of the TBARA, which appears to be committed to only winged sprint car racing. It will take place at Citrus County Speedway in Inverness, beginning in January 2014. In fact, the first race is already scheduled for Saturday, January 4th. Thereafter, it will run on a monthly basis, with 9-10 races scheduled for the year. The speedway appears to be the only venue for non-wing pavement sprint car racing in Florida next year. Showtime Speedway did mention an intention to add non-wing sprint car racing to a multi-day event in February 2014, but those plans may have been changed.
Gary Laplant is the new operator and promoter at Citrus County Speedway, after successfully petitioning the fair board to take over the track lease from the previous leaseholder. When we spoke in August, I asked if he was in favor of having a non-wing race at the track. “I support it. I heard that they wanted to make it a memorial race, on top of that, for Frank Riddle. I’ve talked to drivers, and they are for taking the wings off. I’d rather have the wings off, because I think it would be a good selling point for me,” Laplant told me. At the time when a non-wing TBARA race was the subject of discussion, Laplant said, “for the TBARA, the wings have not come off for twenty five years, since they left dirt. I think it would be a great selling point for the track, and for the series. I think it would be a great decision for them, honestly.” Subsequently, a decision by TBARA officials to race only with wings may have prompted Laplant to make the move to add non-wing sprint cars to the plans for the 3/8 mile pavement oval in Inverness.
“You’ve got people that love wings, and you’ve got people that don’t care for the wings,” Laplant told me. I asked about the plans for the race to be named as the Frank Riddle Memorial, and if it seemed appropriate for a non-wing race to be held (a subject still being debated at the time of our August interview). Many of Riddle’s biggest wins came in non-wing races. “It’s a tribute to Frank, and then you’re going to get the people that like the non-wing racing, and so you’re going to put them together,” Laplant said.
The last non-wing pavement sprint car race held in the state was in September 2011, a race held by an independent group at Citrus County Speedway. A video recording of the feature race shows two and three-wide racing in the corners of the 3/8 mile track. The driving skills of the competitors were on display with lower cornering speeds, and cars sliding in the corners. Plans for Citrus County Speedway to have a non-wing sprint car series in 2012 were later dropped, and only winged TBARA sprint cars have raced at the track since then. It is unknown if the TBARA cars will return to the speedway in 2014, in addition to the new non-wing sprint car series.
I spoke to renowned Florida sprint car veteran (and proponent of non-wing sprint car racing) Stan Butler earlier this week. He told me that there are hopes for at least fifteen cars for the first race in January, with purses that are comparable to TBARA. “I was at the very first race that TBARA ever ran,” Butler told me. “The plan is not to schedule races when any of the other tracks are running. If they actually did a winged race on the night of a non-wing race, I think there are enough supporters out there to support both of them. I think there are a lot of guys who haven’t been running with a wing, because a lot of them don’t think they can run with the Steeles and the guys who run up front with a wing. And they are right. It doesn’t take as much motor, and I don’t think you are going to use the tires as bad.” Looking ahead to next year, he said, “I’m excited.”
Is there a possibility that Dave Steele could come along, and dominate all the races in this series as he has done for most of this year with wings? “Honestly, I don’t think so,” Butler said. “You never know what he’ll do. I don’t think you’re going to have anybody dominate. I really don’t.”
Concerning the genesis of this idea to bring back non-wing sprint cars to Central Florida, Butler told me that Gary Laplant had helped support Michael and Carla Rudolph’s non-wing sprint car series. This was the now defunct Central Florida Wingless Sprint Car Association. “So that’s when they were trying to get that Frank Riddle Memorial race changed, to make it a non-wing race. That’s what Riddle, and most all of us, always ran weekly at Golden Gate. We were a non-wing sprint car class. And then TBARA started, and wanted to go to West Palm, and stuff. We started TBARA, and there weren’t more than two or three races a year with a wing. As time went on, the tracks let TBARA be their sanctioning body.”
We also discussed which teams would likely enter cars for a new non-wing series, and Butler mentioned names that have not been running their car lately, but may be enticed to return to the track. With Laplant having planned to take over the lease of the prior track leaseholder for several weeks, and receiving county fair board approval just this week, he already had discussions with participants prior to this week. That explains how a planned first race date in January could be revealed so quickly. Butler also revealed to me that School Bus Figure 8 racing will be returning to Citrus County Speedway. School Bus racing has been trying to recover from a tarnished image, due to some fatal race accidents in Florida. Some planned changes are being implemented to reduce the danger to drivers in the buses.
“I’ve been around sprint cars all my life. I’ve got the experience, and I had a little taste of running the TBARA. I think everything will run smooth. We ought to be in good shape,” Butler said confidently. Do you think it’s a good thing for Florida to have another sprint car series? “Well, I’m not saying it’s another series, because actually it’s not. It’s no different than track-run late models, and track-run modifieds. And that’s how we all started. We had a track, and we ran weekly back in those days. Personally, I can’t afford to support a traveling series, because I can’t afford it. There are a lot of guys that I think would be OK with a one-track deal a month. Then that leaves them other nights, if there’s something else going on, they can go run their sprint car.”
In conclusion, Butler admitted that he would feel disappointment if the series did not reach adequate car counts, and show it was financially viable. “I think it’s a perfect place for non-wing sprint car racing. It’s easy on cars. It’s easy on motors. I think it’s going to be a good thing. I think it takes Florida sprint car racing back to its roots, where it started at one race track every week. Only, this will be once a month. If it doesn’t work out, I’m going to be really disappointed, but I think it’ll work.”
Here Comes Florida’s Fall Blitz of Sprint Car Racing – and Some New Players for 2014
By Richard Golardi
Florida’s fall blitz of sprint car racing begins this Saturday, and extends for a full three months of sprint car racing every weekend (save for one Saturday after Thanksgiving) through December 14th at Hendry County Motorsports Park. Pavement fans will have multiple tracks offering up winged pavement action, including returns to two East Florida locations (New Smyrna Speedway and Orlando Speedworld). TBARA returns to New Smyrna Speedway’s high-banked half mile on September 28th, after Showtime Speedway monopolized the summer’s pavement racing schedule. The fall season will have six pavement sprint car races across five different tracks, starting with Showtime Speedway in September and ending with Orlando Speedworld in December. Two other tracks that will add December dates on dirt are East Bay Raceway Park and Hendry County Motorsports Park.
Bryan Riddle
The fall season will also mark the return of the Frank Riddle Memorial as part of the TBARA schedule, which was last run in 2007 and 2008 at Desoto Speedway. This year’s date will be at Citrus County Speedway on October 19th. A successful petition process, launched on the popular internet petition website Change.org, was begun on April 24th, and garnered its one hundredth supporter signature on August 29th, reaching its stated goal. The petition asked for this TBARA race to be named the Frank Riddle Memorial, after the legendary two-time Little 500 winner and member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. Several members of the Riddle family are slated to attend the memorial race, including Frank’s grandson, Bryan Riddle. Bryan has told me that he is hoping to have the #11 car that was raced by his grandfather ready to enter for the full race in October. This is the same car that he raced in the Florida 400 in 2007, his first ever sprint car race.
Several new car and driver combinations have been seen at Showtime Speedway recently, including two new cars that made their debut at the last race on August 31st. One of these new cars was the #99 car driven by Bobby Gordon, with sponsorship from StreetNASCAR.com. This car was previously run out of the Reutimann race shop, and will run with Gordon behind the wheel for Showtime and TBARA races. The only upcoming race that Gordon will miss is the November TBARA race date at New Smyrna, as he has another race commitment. Bobby Gordon was last seen in the #90 car at New Smyrna Speedway last year, so he has recent experience at that track.
The second car to take to the track for the first time that night at Showtime Speedway was the #63 car of Terry Taylor. The 65 year old owner/driver was making his first ever start in a sprint car on August 31st. Taylor told me that he had raced midgets up north for twenty years in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, including some USAC midget shows. In Florida, he has raced in a TQ midget and dwarf car. The car was previously run as the #1 car. It was purchased from Dave Steele on July 3rd and was built by Mac Steele. “It takes some time to learn how to drive the car,” he replied, when I asked him how it was going. His wife, Tamara Taylor, had given the car to him as a 65th birthday present, he said. He was quick to praise Johnny Gilbertson, Mac Steele, and Dave Steele for their help in getting the car ready to race in August. He is planning to enter the remainder of the Showtime Speedway and TBARA races this year.
The #75 car was also seen in action recently, with new owner Russell Jones, who purchased the car from Curtis Sutton. His last race at Showtime Speedway was his fourth race in this car. Stan Butler confirmed that he is starting preparations for a two car team for himself and his son, Shane, for next year’s Little 500. They need about $10,000 of sponsorship money to make the deal feasible. Keith Butler was also spotted with a car nicknamed “Ms. Liberty”. The car is one he bought from Kenny Adams in 2009. When I asked about the sprint car he had been racing recently, he told me that “the rust bucket got retired”. It was a car driven by Tom Bigelow in the ‘70s. “It was previously called ‘Foxy”, but I called it rust bucket,” Keith told me. He is not making plans for a return to the Little 500, as he is concentrating on pavement races at Showtime Speedway and possible upcoming non-wing races.
With the retirement of the Speed Channel, and the emergence of MAV TV as an alternate auto racing based network, the new player in TV auto race programming may turn to Florida in the future. There are no announced plans to televise any of the upcoming Florida races, as the network has depended heavily on Indiana sprint car racing and the Must See Xtreme sprint cars, which conclude their racing by the fall season. With each passing year, Florida has garnered increased attention for its late fall and winter racing, and hopes remain high for a TV package in the near future, bringing even getter attention.
In recent memory, the TBARA has been Florida’s only pavement sprint car racing show. Then, the Outlaw Winged Sprint Series at Showtime Speedway in Pinellas Park saw its debut in July 2012. Add another two players to that pavement racing list:
· A race that was originally listed with TBARA sanctioning, and then dropped from the TBARA schedule, will be run at Full Throttle Speedway (previously Desoto Speedway) on October 26th. This is the only sprint car race listed on the track’s updated fall calendar. It is unknown if further races will be planned, or if it will return as a track series in 2014.
· I spoke to Gary Laplant, promoter and operator of Citrus County Speedway, and he has confirmed that a non-wing sprint car series is being considered for the track in 2014. There are no dates set yet, as Laplant stated that he will know more next week, after a meeting of county officials puts a final stamp of approval on his lease proposal. He will move forward with plans for this non-wing series once that occurs.
As previously reported, Jamie Haase of Three Palms Speedway (previously Punta Gorda Speedway) will bring sprint car racing back to Southwest Florida in 2014, and wants to have the TBARA sprint cars race at his track. The Punta Gorda area has been a home to sprint car teams, and several TQ midget teams. Haase told me that he wants to have the TBARA stage four races at his track next year.
The 2013 sprint car season at Showtime Speedway will come to an end next week, with the season’s last race on September 21st. A revised Winter Series for the track, to include sprint car racing, will move its start date forward to January 2014, in preparation for a very busy month of February. Gone are the Winter Series dates in the months on November and December, now replaced by a multi-day event in February which will encompass the last weekend of the month (Daytona 500 weekend), and also Saturday, March 1st.
· This “2014 Florida Championship Figure 8’s and Winged Sprints” is set for Showtime Speedway on 2/22/and 3/1 next year.
· The other Winter Series dates, to include sprint car racing, are 1/18, 2/1, and 2/15/2014.
· As happened when the original 2013 race dates were announced early this year, the rest of the 2014 sprint car dates are limited to those months with a fifth Saturday (there are only four in 2014 - 3/29, 5/31, and 8/30/2014 with the last weekend of November as an off week). There were more dates subsequently added to the 2013 calendar, beyond the “fifth Saturday” limitation.
Winter Series Will Return to Showtime Speedway in 2013
By Richard Golardi
The 1956 USAC Florida Winter Sprint Car champion was Don Branson. In a series that raced at Palm Beach Speedway, Jacksonville Speedway, and Medley Stadium (Miami), Branson had two second place finishes, and one third place. In 2012, winter sprint car racing (outside of the few weeks of racing during February Speedweeks) returned with the Winter Series at Showtime Speedway. This November 2012 to January 2013 series was thoroughly dominated by Dave Steele, earning him the 2012-2013 Winter Series crown. Fortunately, present day Floridians will not have to wait for an entire generation for the return of a Florida winter sprint car series. The Winter Series will return to Showtime Speedway in 2013, according to promoter Robert Yoho. It will include sprint car racing, and will likely include some Thursday night races during the winter season.
Yoho told me that he will continue a tradition of having a Winter Series, as he still intends to race at the Pinellas Park track on a year-round basis. The schedule of race dates are about 80% complete, will include some Thursday nights, and will include sprint car racing. He also confirmed for me that he will continue to manage and officiate all of the sprint car racing at the track, which will preclude the participation of the TBARA. The track series, dubbed the “Outlaw Winged Sprint Series”, will continue with double file restarts, and without heat races, in favor of longer 40-lap feature races. Dave Steele is still a dominant force in Florida, having won two out of the last four Outlaw Winged Sprint Series races, and one of the two TBARA feature races in 2013. Steele should be a favorite to repeat as Winter Series champion, but he has not been as dominant during the summer as he was during the last Winter Series.
Robert Yoho conducts interview
I asked Robert Yoho to tell me how he felt about the track’s oval success, including profitability, and oval attendance numbers. How are things going overall? “We’re behind schedule,” he replied. “We don’t have the attendance that we want. It’s just taking time to build the place back up, but it’s probably due to the weather, and you don’t know whether it’s going to rain, or not rain. It’s a pot luck shootout. So, people stay home and listen to the weatherman.” Will the Winter Series return? “Yes. Let me explain something to you – Showtime doesn’t close. We’re going to have a two-week event in March, with Thursday night and country & western music and qualifying and racing, and the works.” Do you mean two Thursdays in March? “Probably a Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and then a Saturday. It’ll be the last week of February, and the first week of March. The dates are already scheduled. March 1st will be the last day of it.”
Yoho had told me previously of an event tentatively called “Showtime Goes Indy”. I asked if this was the same event being planned, and if this was the name that would be used. “Showtime Goes Indy. We’ll have the World Championship Figure 8’s and sprint cars.” Will you have November, December, and January race dates, in addition to this special event? “We’re going to go music, with racing. We’re going to try something different, on Thursday nights.” What Thursday nights are you looking at? “We don’t know that yet.” This would be during November and December? “And possibly January and February.” So it would include sprint cars, and it would be the return of the Winter Series, as it was last year? “Yeah. I’ve got the schedule 80% done.”
Showtime Speedway
I also asked if he still wished to run all of the sprint car racing himself, without any other race sanctioning bodies (such as TBARA) involved? “Evidently, TBARA has done better that I have. I’ve got more dates but I just don’t have the number of cars. And, they can’t seem to put it together because of their expectations and everything in their contract since it’s a little bit different. If we could get the crowd back, sprint cars will pay more. You know, we’ve got to get the crowd up. Our goal is a thousand people a week. We’re not hitting it. You know, so we’re working on it.”
So you still feel the same about running and managing sprint car racing here – it’s going to be done by you? “Yes. TBARA is more than welcome to come and tech them and use my results and my payout. All they’ve got to do it tech it and give the guys the points and they get more races, and that’s fine. But, as far as me going with what they want to do, I want double file restarts and I want the way I do things.” What if they OK’d the double file restarts, but wanted to do something that you’re not doing now? “Their contract needs a lot of help. Their contact has got a little bit of a problem. This is 2013, and you need a contract? Tough. I need a handshake and a verbal. I’ve got a $50,000 deal coming in here in November with the Sons of Anarchy and this band here (picks up CD case) – Soul Circus Cowboys, and we did all that on a handshake.”
The videos from the Florida Open Wheel channel are here (winning driver interview from Showtime Speedway, and also Showtime Speedway 8/31/2013 feature race video):
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSdPdgmUo6WfkfR6Eo__QBA
Meet the Newest Member of Florida’s Sprint Car Young Guns – Daniel Pollitt
Daniel Pollitt
By Richard Golardi
The fact that another Florida teenager is entering the world of high-powered sprint car racing in Florida may not be news. But fourteen year old Daniel Pollitt, who has plans to start racing his sprint car in East Bay Sprints and in Top Gun Series dirt races, and then possibly add TBARA, has 2-time TBARA champion Johnny Gilbertson as his Crew Chief and mentor. 3-D Motorsports driver Daniel Pollitt is pursuing a lifelong dream to race sprint cars. The team has purchased a 2007 Maxim dirt sprint car from Johnny Gilbertson, and is preparing it for the remainder of the 2013 race season. The car has previously raced 15 times, winding up in Victory Circle on 8 occasions.
The car is currently being converted over to an asphalt car, but may be raced on both dirt and asphalt, as Daniel has racing experience on both surfaces. “We bought a 2007 Maxim dirt car although Johnny is looking for axles, etc. to covert over to asphalt,” according to Jeff Pollitt, Daniel’s father. “We plan on starting out at East Bay Raceway and the Top Gun Series and some TBARA events as well. Certainly the Three Palms Speedway and Full Throttle Speedway if at all possible, as those tracks are both within ten miles of Boy Scouts camps.” The team has already added the Boy Scouts of America as one of its team sponsors. The fourteen year old racer lists Marco Island, Florida as his hometown, and he has been racing for nine years. The team members are listed as Daniel, Danielle (Mom), and Dad (father Jeff Pollitt), which explains the 3D in 3-D Motorsports. His racing experience comes from the Heavy World Formula and Quarter Midget and Half Midget classes.
Daniel Pollitt’s victory lap at Heavy Honda State Championship
The team has benefitted their main sponsor, The Boy Scouts, by recruiting scouts from Florida to the Northeast and Midwest. “We hope to operate similarly within the sprint car ranks racing in Florida in the cooler months, and in the Central Pennsylvania area and travelling in the summer. We would however entertain spending time anywhere that an opportunity might present itself,” stated Jeff Pollitt. Pollitt also feels that they have a great advantage in having Gilbertson, who is the Manager at Steele Performance Parts in Tampa, as Crew Chief and also as a mentor to the teenage racer. “Johnny works on these machines full-time, so he has access to and knowledge of the latest sprint car racing technology and safety equipment. His help will be invaluable in getting our team up to speed and keeping our driver safe,” Pollitt said.
Daniel is the second young sprint car driver to make his debut, or announce plans to debut, in Florida sprint car racing this month. On August 10th at Bubba Raceway Park, 11 year old Tyler Clem made his first sprint car start in a Limited Sprint Series race at the track owned by his father. Clem has plans to race in a late model and sprint car at the Ocala track. He sits in first place in the Limited Late Model points at the raceway, with one late model win in 2013.
New 3D Motorsports sprint car
Daniel Pollitt Racing Highlights from recent years:
· 2009 First feature win on dirt at Keystone
· 2009 2nd at USAC Eastern District Championships in Heavy World Formula
· 2009 3rd at USAC Eastern District Championships in Heavy Honda
· 2010 2nd at the USAC Dirt Nationals in Half Midget
· 2010 6 QMA Feature wins on Dirt
· 2010 USAC Tampa Winter Series Heavy World Formula Champion
· 2011 1st USAC National Feature Win at Hagerstown
“Daniel loves the Boy Scouts and is quite a remarkable recruiter. He is a small step away from being an Eagle Scout. His goal is to attain that distinguished honor before he enters his first sprint car race. We hope to make some of the end of the year Top Gun events around Thanksgiving, which should be the beginning of an incredible Florida Open Wheel season,” remarked Jeff Pollitt.
The tracks that Daniel has competed at include Keystone, Eldora, Tampa Bay, Oaklane, Pocono, Silver City, Hagerstown, Little New Smyrna, and Indianapolis. “We are also trying to secure funding for Johnny Gilbertson as well. A seasoned veteran and a rookie trying to keep things together and only God knows what may take place. With our past experiences and love for racing it should be a lot of fun to be involved in or even just watch,” Pollitt told me. He sees a five year plan in which Daniel is eventually traveling the World of Outlaw schedule. Daniel grew up going to Williams Grove Speedway, and camped there when the Outlaws were in town. He isn’t interested in NASCAR or IndyCars at this point.
The family-owned team is offering marketing partnerships to interested businesses, organizations and individuals. You may contact Jeffrey Pollitt at (239) 394-7325 or Team3Dmotorsport@aol.com for more information.
E-mail Richard Golardi quickterm@yahoo.com
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